#who is the worse half in this scenario you ask? well obviously it's | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

felicitysmoaksx · 10 months ago

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Hi everyone! Not much to say except I wanted to have this done by Valentine's day. Obviously, that didn't happen. But oh well! I hope you enjoy this chapter nonetheless. For song recommendations, I recommend The Archer by Taylor Swift and Homecoming Queen by Kelsea Ballerini. To set the mood with where Sarah's head is at. And Only Us by Kaitlyn Dever and Ben Platt for Sarah and Connor's relationship.

Rating: Explicit (Minors DNI 18+)

Summary: It was only a two-hour and twelve-minute flight to Chicago. Yet it was the longest flight of Connor’s life, as he stared at his phone-willing it for any updates about his girlfriend.

Word Count: 3.2k

Warnings: Implied Car Explosion, implied Sexual Content, Depictions of parental abandonment, depictions of violence, inaccurate medical procedures

Read On AO3 | Part One | Fic Playlist | Fic Playlist but Less Shippy | Want to be tagged when I post a Rheese story?

It was only a two-hour and twelve-minute flight to Chicago. Yet it was the longest flight of Connor’s life, as he stared at his phone-willing it for any updates about his girlfriend. When he bought his last-minute ticket, he also bought the wifi package so he could enable wifi-calling to ensure he didn’t miss an update about Sarah’s condition. Her sister had told him she had told Ava she could share information about Sarah’s condition with him.

“I-Hank wants all of us back at the district to find out who this.” Erin sucked in an audible breath that he could hear through the phone. After he had spoken to his boss (probably harsher than one might, considering Ms. Goodwin had the power to fire him) and hadn’t so much as asked, as told her he was coming home early, presentation be damned; Will’s phone had been passed back to the detective.

She might’ve been holding back another sob, “So I can’t be here with her and my brother isn’t able to get here until tomorrow morning because of heavy rain in New York-”

“Go do what you need to do. I’ll be there with Sarah.” His reply was instantaneous as he reassured her, “As soon as I’m in Chicago, I’m by her side.”

“I figured as much when you said you were coming home. So I told Dr. Bekker she can share Sarah’s medical information with you.”

But that conversation had been just before he boarded the plane and since then his phone had been unnervingly silent. He didn’t even get a meaningless notification, which only made Connor that much more worried and agitated. Sighing, he dropped his head in his hands as he rubbed his eyes. With no news of how his girlfriend was doing or how her surgery was going, his imagination was conjuring every worst-case scenario.

Connor touched the screen of his phone and resisted the urge to throw it when it lit up. He still had another hour and a half on this flight. Plus the forty-five minute drive to Med from the airport.

[LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK]

Two and a half hours later, he was at Med. He didn’t even go home to drop his luggage off. Instead, it was dropped in the corner of the doctor’s lounge in the ED. Erin was there when he found Sarah’s room in the ICU. Looking a little worse for wear with her matted curls and a neck brace, From where he stood, he could see white gauze on the side of her neck..where the bullet must’ve been...Sarah seemed to be sleeping peacefully though. He sighed audibly in relief. “Thank God,”

The detective’s eyes snapped up and met his. Connor nodded in silent greeting to her, before he was moving forward to the sleeping brunette’s side. Then he sighed in relief as he pressed his lips gently to her forehead.

“Hey babe, ” he whispered when he pulled away from Sarah, despite her sister sitting in a chair on the opposite side of her bed, and could probably hear everything he was saying. Still, he softly teased Sarah, “You know if you wanted me home early, you could’ve just asked. You didn’t have to worry me half to death.”

“When I didn’t hear anything, I started thinking of everything that could happen in her surgery,” Connor explained to her sister and Erin nodded in agreement.

“Me too. That’s why I stopped by before we started running down leads. I arrived just as they finished getting her settled in here. Dr. Bekker said the surgery went off without any complications. They pulled two bullets out of her and she should recover well, but there will be some scarring on her neck. But that’s to be expected. And her sedation should wear off in a little while and she said the neck brace is just in case she gets restless.”

“What happened to her wrists?” Connor asked, spying the angry-looking bruises and cuts on the skin of her wrists. Erin hesitated before she told him.

“Barbed wire. Her wrists were bound together with barbed wire.”

Instantly, Connor lifted his eyes away from her wrists. Then he shut his blue eyes and counted backward from ten. Twenty. He made it as far as thirty before the monster in his chest was nothing more than a roar in his ears. When he finally opened his eyes again, he stared at Erin.

“What happened? How did this happen to her?” He asked, “Do you know anything yet?”

“We don’t know for sure. But our working theory is that Hank asked Sarah to talk to Justin. Because he was worried about Justin falling into old habits and his knack for finding trouble because of those habits.”

She was quick to reassure him when she saw a dark look on Connor’s face. “He wasn’t. He was actually trying to help a friend’s widow get out of a bad situation after her ex-boyfriend roped her in. We’re guessing that Sarah went to talk to Justin because the last app open on her phone was a Find My Friend app and she was…caught in the crossfire of it all.”

The monster roared once more. Feeling restless, Connor stood up and paced until he was at the foot of her bed, where a paper chart hung on a clipboard.

“Paper chart?” He said aloud, more to himself than Sarah’s sister, while he flicked it open to look at it. Even though Erin had told him Sarah would be okay, he knew he’d feel only a little better if he knew what happened during her surgery.

“Something about the wifi being down while I.T. is working on it? At least that’s what I heard.” Erin shrugged while she untangled a knot in Sarah’s matted curls.

[LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK]

“You said Dr. Bekker was handling Sarah’s case?” Erin looked up at Connor’s tone more than the question. Because she could hear the quiet anger in his words, she raised an eyebrow at him as she nodded, “Yeah, why? What’s wrong?”

“The pain meds she has her on? They won’t do any more than the equivalent of an aspirin. For a bullet wound.” He said with the anger rising in his voice, “Did she tell you about this?”

“Yes,” Ava had been weary to give Sarah anything stronger, explaining the effects it could have on the baby. But when the blonde had been getting her settled, she offered to change it if Erin wished. She almost considered it. Then she remembered the words of her sister just a week earlier about having this baby, Erin opted to stay with Dr. Bakker’s treatment plan.

“Did she say why?”

“Yes,” but Connor didn’t know about the baby yet. Her sister had been waiting to tell him until he got back.

“Are you going to tell me why?” His confusion was apparent with his eyebrows raised at her. Erin turned back to look at her sister. She frowned slightly.

“It’s not my place,” the police detective explained, knowing Sarah would want to tell her himself. But the curly-haired brunette wasn't awake to do so right now. Erin sighed and turned back to face him, “It’s not my place to tell you…My sister really should be the one to tell you. But with Sarah being sedated, I will if you want. ”

Her sister’s boyfriend was silent momentarily as he glanced back down at the chart in his hands. Then he whipped his head up to stare at Erin. Something flickered in Connor’s eyes, and Erin saw it. A realization. It was almost like watching an old cartoon with a light flashing over his head.

“She said she had something to tell me. Nothing bad, but she was waiting until I got back because she said it was an in-person conversation.” He said slowly. Then he was flipping through her chart. He must’ve found what he was looking for because he stopped abruptly. His eyes never wandered from the chart as he said, “Sarah’s pregnant…eight weeks according to her blood panel…”

“Yeah,” Erin confirmed even though her sister’s boyfriend had the proof in his hands, “That’s why Dr. Bekker gave her the lesser pain medication. She said she was limited on what she could give Sarah, worried about how it might affect the baby.”

After replacing the chart at the end of the bed, Connor fell heavily into the chair he had been sitting in before. This was not how he was supposed to find out he was going to be a father.

How she reacted to Boston offering him a job made so much sense now…More sense than it just it had originally.

“Connor,” he looked up at his name being said quietly. Erin continued to caution, “Be gentle with her about this. She was nervous to tell you. But I don’t think it’s as much to do with you, as the experiences she watched my mom go through.”

[LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK]

Connor felt his mouth dip downwards. Sarah hadn’t told him a lot about Erin’s mother. But he knew enough to know he didn’t like the woman and he hadn’t even seen her.

“Sarah said she tries to be a con woman,” he mumbled, well aware that he might need to tread carefully because he was talking about Lindsay’s mother. Erin opened her mouth to respond. But Sarah mumbled something unintelligible before she could.

Erin and Connor both turned, but the curly-haired brunette was still asleep. Connor's lips twitched, slightly amused that, she talked in her sleep even now. (Something she vehemently denied she did like most people denied they snored.) He moved before Erin could so much as blink. Gripping her limp hand in both of his Connor pressed his lips gently to the skin of the back of her hand. “It’s okay baby. You’re okay. We’re okay.”

But when Sarah started whimpering quietly, Connor stood up. With gentle hands, he soothed the deep line that had appeared on her forehead. “Shh…it’s a dream baby. A dream. You’re safe. You’re okay. You’re okay. I’m right here. Your sister is here. You’re safe.”

“Con-woman is much kinder than Bunny deserves. Especially how she treated Sarah after Robert left the last time,” Erin told him, once Sarah was settled again and Connor had sat back down. “But yes, she tries to be one and her favorite scam to run was before she hit forty, she was telling whatever jerk she was with that month, that she was pregnant to trap them into taking care of her. They never took it well.”

The female detective sighed, scrubbing a hand down her face. Connor watched her squeeze Sarah’s other hand, “I don’t think she likes to admit it. Or if she’s even aware of it, but I think Sarah internalized those memories so much more than she realizes that she expects you to be unhappy with her about this baby.”

Connor’s frown deepened at Erin’s words because there was no way he could be upset with Sarah about this. But he wasn’t sure how to convince her of that, if she had been internalizing since she found out and had been for the last week. His girlfriend was a stubborn woman like that.

Erin left a little while later after she received a text from Jay Halstead. He was waiting in the parking lot. It was time to start running down leads. She stood up to leave and leaned over to press a kiss to the brunette’s head.

“Any advice?” He asked when she pulled away. Erin raised her eyebrows at him. Connor cleared his throat and continued, “On what to do with her and this pregnancy? How do I reassure her? Do you think I should tell her I know? Or let her come to me first then tell her I knew.”

“I don't know, but you’ll figure it out,” Her eyes held a few tears, but Sarah’s sister gave him a watery smirk, “Because you love my sister and unlike all of her other past relationships, I don’t feel like I need to worry about picking up the pieces of her broken heart with you.”

“Does this mean you like me?” He called softly, a ghost of a smile on his face when she started to walk away. She glanced over her shoulder and shrugged but her tone seemed teasing more than serious. “Don’t flatter yourself, it means I tolerate you more than anything. But the others never got past dislike. So you’re already farther ahead than them.”

[LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK]

In another universe, Sarah slept for another day and a half, but in this universe, with the lighter medication; she woke up sooner than later.

Before Sarah resurfaced the land of the living, she lay between awake and asleep trying to make heads and tails of where she was, and what was going on. She knew she wasn’t in the trunk of the car anymore because there was a steady beeping in her ears. There was also a weight on her stomach, but she knew it wasn’t Justin’s unconscious body on top of her anymore. And her neck…her neck…It was like there was the worst crick in her neck, but worse. So much worse. Someone was holding her hand…

She awoke fully with a soft gasp of pain. A dim, dark room greeted her when the brunette finally blinked sleep away from her eyes. Her eyes darted around the room��She was in the ICU…which explained the steady beeping. That was her heart monitor.

Sarah looked at the hand interlocked with hers. Then she sluggishly moved her gaze down her body…Her boyfriend who was supposed to be in Boston was holding her hand. Her boyfriend, who was also fast asleep with his head resting against her hip. That explained the weight she felt. She thought, raising a hand to curl into his dark locks. (His hair was damp) Usually, when he was asleep, Connor would practically purr and nuzzle deeper into her when she played with his hair.

But these weren’t usual circumstances. Instead, he made a noise and turned to face her. His ocean-blue eyes were just opening until he saw that she was awake.

“Hey,” he whispered, sitting up so fast that he almost gave her whiplash. If she could only move her neck, which she just realized was immobilized by a neck brace. Connor cupped her cheek gently, “There she is.”

“You’re home,” Sarah pointed out the obvious in a voice that did not sound like hers, as he sat at the edge of her bed. His arms were on either side of her as he leaned in to kiss her forehead. He lingered in the kiss as he nodded. Sarah continued, “You’re not supposed to be home for another few days…Unless I’ve been asleep longer than I think I have.”

“You haven’t,” Connor reassured her, pulling away. “But I should probably call Ava before anything else. She told me to call it something happened because she thought you’d sleep through to tomorrow.”

[LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK] [LINE BREAK]

“Ava said we can take off your neckbrace if you want to. Are you in any pain?” Connor asked her softly, after a quick phone call with Ava, in which the blonde woman told him she’d be there as soon as she could. Because in the span of that phone call, his girlfriend drifted somewhere. He could see it in her brown orbs. They were getting warier with each second that passed. When she didn’t answer him, he touched her hand, “Sarah? Baby?”

“I was shot.”

“Yeah,” Connor exhaled softly. He almost felt like a volcano with his emotions threatening to build and boil over. But he needed to keep it together. For Sarah’s sake. The trauma surgeon continued to explain methodically, focusing on the facts of her case, “Ava pulled two bullets out, but you should make a full recovery and-”

“Did she tell you about…anything else?”

“You mean about the baby?” Sarah sucked in a sharp breath at his words. Connor winced. He didn’t mean to approach the subject of the baby like that. Especially given Erin’s words from earlier, about Sarah thinking he’d be upset. (Granted he didn’t know how he was going to tell her he already knew. But it wasn’t going to be that blunt.) He squeezed her hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to just blurt it out like that. But no one’s told me anything that suggests they aren’t fine. But we can ask Ava to do an ultrasound when she gets here. Or I can get a nurse to page OB right now. It’s up to you.”

Some of the tension loosened in Sarah’s shoulders, but she asked, “You’re not upset with me? About the baby?”

“No baby, it took both of us to make them,” Connor said gently, taking a seat on her bed again. Like earlier, his arms were on either side of her. “We haven’t had the kids talk yet, but I am not upset. I’m the farthest thing from upset and now our conversation last week about my job offer in Boston makes a lot more sense to me now.”

“I almost told you after you told me about Boston.” His girlfriend nodded, but wouldn’t meet his eyes. So with gentle hands, Connor grabbed her chin until her brown orbs were blinking owlishly at him.

“I wish you had,” he murmured tenderly and when she started to protest, he continued, “I understand why you wanted to wait until I was home, but I wish you hadn’t waited because then you wouldn’t have had the chance to think I would be upset with you about this pregnancy when it took both of us to make this baby.”

One of his hands came up to rest protectively on her still-flat stomach, to cradle their baby. Their baby. Sarah covered his hand with hers before she interlocked her fingers into his. “I wouldn’t have even let that thought cross your mind. Mostly though, I wish you would’ve let me know that there was a chance you were pregnant.”

“You were in Boston. Nothing you could’ve done from there.” She mumbled.

“Except we could’ve had a conversation so I could reassure you that we’re in this together.” He paused to lean down so he could press his forehead to her head. “And you wouldn’t have had to sit all week, if I know you, the way I think I know you, spiraling because it was a bad week and you were overwhelmed enough by everything else that had happened.”

The way she was back to not meeting his gaze told him that he was right. Holding in a sigh, at her flight or fight response tendencies, Connor pressed his lips back to her forehead. Her hand curled into his shirt.

“Will you kiss me?” The brunette asked in a shy whisper and he pulled away to look at her. Their hands were still interlaced. Then with his blue eyes soft, Connor leaned in and captured his girlfriend’s lips in a tender kiss. He felt a tongue at the seam of his lips, which was unusual. Because he was usually the one who initiated kisses like this in the relationship. Still, Connor opened his mouth and allowed her to deepen the kiss. Her tongue moved against his almost languidly. Until, her movements weren’t so lazy as she moved her free hand to grab the back of his head.

Connor went with it, letting Sarah dictate the pace of the kiss. Then his chin knocked against the top of her neckbrace and it all came crashing down. Where they were. Why they were here…

“Wait, baby…” Sarah sucked on his bottom lip. He barely contained his groan of pleasure. The brunette wasn’t usually this forward. Connor hated to stop it, but now wasn’t the place, and it certainly wasn’t the time.

“Rhodes, I said you could take off her neck brace. I didn’t say you could maul her like she was your last meal.” Sarah pulled away from him at the sound of Ava’s dry voice. Her cheeks were as red as they were the first time the blonde woman caught them on the roof two months ago.

#chicago med #one chicago #sarah reese #connor rhodes #my writing #rheese

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racke7 · 2 months ago

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For anyone wondering about my life.

My car is still mine (and will remain so for the foreseeable future), and it's got new brakes+suspension and also (as of today) entirely new winter-tires.

Basically, my car didn't pass the inspection (that sucks), but I have a reputable mechanics down the street and they were able to fix-and-inspect it for 4k sek.

Considering that I'd been nightmare-scenario-ing the situation as possibly costing like half the value of the car? This was fantastic news.

In order to celebrate this fantastic financial news, I finally went and impulse-bought FF14.

So. Yesterday I spent all day trying to get that fucking mess of a game to work (why do I need two accounts, SE? Why can't I change the country after creating an account, SE? Why are you like this, SE?).

Then I realized that in order to properly play the game I needed 98gb of harddrive-space and that's not something that I have on my SSD. But hey, it managed to install just fine on my HDD? So it's probably fine-...

Why is it taking me a minute to load into any teleport-location? What the fuck.

Okay. Whatever. Maybe that won't be so terrible-... Wait, this means that it's going to do that for basically every dungeon-duty ever, doesn't it? Oh my god. This is hell.

Looking into it, I realized that my computer could theoretically handle a new internal SSD, if I just gave up on the 1TB HDD. This is a lot of space to give up, so obviously it would need to be a 1TB SSD, and that costs-... surprisingly affordable? Cool.

And it's being sold in a store in the nearby city. And they allow people to pre-order it. So I did, and immediately started transferring the files on the HDD to an external-drive for the temporary switcheroo.

Today, I got ready to drive into town to buy this SSD, and remembered that I had some other things I should probably buy whilst I'm out there. And then I looked out the window and realized that there'd been frost last night.

Frost that lingered into 10AM. Yeah. Definitely time for winter-tires. But, thankfully, the workshop that switches those tires? Basically next door to where I wanted to go anyway. Jackpot.

So I rolled the winter-tires out of storage, and shoved them in the car. And off I went.

And then I got there and the guy who would check the tires before they changed them? (The fact that this guy exists is why I'm willing to spend 500sek on having them do all of the physical work for me. Lazy, yes. But also safer.)

Anyway, this guy? He explained that my tires were made in 2014, and rubber gets really fucking shit at being rubber even after five years. So, yeah.

(My dad had something similar happen to him a few winters back, and mom basically refused to let him drive that car until he got better tires, because that's incredibly unsafe.)

But why should I believe this guy? Well, see, I remember a certain near-accident I had last winter. Where I tried to brake and just kept sliding.

(This basically scared me off from driving during winter for several weeks. It was not fun.)

Guess what happens when rubber-tires get "hard like plastic" when driving on ice? They slide.

So, I'm entirely willing to believe him (the guy I got the tires from was a car salesman, doubts were inevitable). And when asked for a price, it's 6k sek "new and mounted".

Could I have gone looking for used-tires? Maybe. But it would've probably taken me long enough that I'd need my shitty winter-tires in order to drive out to buy them, and then I'd need to have those be changed out for these new ones (1k sek).

So, if I found someone willing to sell them for 500sek/tire? It would still cost me 3k sek. So, half the price, for worse tires (and I don't even know if I'd be able to judge what amounts to "good tires" so I might get scammed outright), at some unknown future date (no idea how long it might take me to find any in the area).

And that's assuming that that's actually what they'd sell them for, because it's entirely possible that this unknown person might try to ask for 1k/tire. And then I'd only save 1k sek. For a massive undertaking, with more stress, and a worse end-result.

Or I could pay them up-front, and have the problem just... go away.

(The voice of my mother in my head popping up to say "do NOT drive with UNSAFE tires YOU COULD DIE", was also a factor.)

So, my car ended up costing me 10k sek this week. Not happy about that. Very relieved to hear that the reason I nearly had that accident was likely more because I had terrible fucking tires than because I "wasn't paying enough attention".

Also. My SSD-drive appears to work perfectly from installation, so that's fantastic. And depending on how fast it is in practice, I might move Skyrim over to it too (so that C:/ doesn't have any games).

But yeah. That's been my financial adventures today.

#personal stuff #laughing #also. one of those errands was to buy an actual exercise-mat so that i don't have to sit on the floor #i've been wanting one of these things since i tried to do sit-ups back when i was a teenager. we'll see if it lives up to the hype.#my car-key is still broken in half. in case anyone is wondering. it's always really funny to turn it over to someone else bcs of this.#''you get two keys. when you turn the key both of them must touch on the metal. it's simple but finnicky. good luck.''

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thoughts-with-hailey · 3 months ago

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My Life in Prythian - Chapter Two

Summary: After being captured by the bat boys my life is getting a little bit more interesting. I try to explain myself to the fae and maybe convince them to let me hang around for a while.

Content Warnings: language, violence, childhood trauma, sexually explicit

Chapter Two

The fucking prison?

They took me to the fucking prison.

Azriel and Cassian both held me in a firm grip as they marched me towards the entrance, their fingers digging into my arms. “This is ridiculous,” I groaned as they half carried, half dragged me into the place that sent shivers down my spine. “I’m not here to harm you. I didn’t even ask to be here! Well, okay, maybe I did sometimes when work was super boring or I was having a particularly bad day so I thought ‘wow I wish I was in Prythian tied up in Azriel’s torture chamber right now’ but obviously that was more of a dark fantasy than actual wishing! Please, just let me go. Don’t like, send me back to my world though. Just like…can I work for you guys or something? I don’t have any notable skills but I could clean your house or something.”

“This one is worse than the last one,” Cassian grumbled.

Azriel, true to form, said nothing.

The pair of them hauled me through the spiraling paths of the prison, faces grim and grasp tight while I tried to look at everything and anything. Behind the locked doors of the cells I could practically feel the magic radiating off of who or what ever was on the other side. My mind drifted to Lanthys and I couldn’t help my grin at the memory of what he said to Nesta. Sure the guy was a villain and sure he probably was a bit of a misogynist, but a girl has needs. Imagining him a time or two on a self pleasure night wasn’t the worst thing I had done.

“Is Lanthys still here?” I asked, unable to help myself. “Or has Nesta already beheaded him? Actually a good question is where are we in the timeline of your story. Is Hybern dead yet? Wait, earlier you mentioned redheads falling at Azriel’s feet, so that must mean Bryce was here! Damn, so Lanthys is dead. I-”

“Shut. Up,” Azriel growled, his voice dangerously low and filled with irritation.

Clittia perked up again and both their eyes slid sideways to me alerting me that they definitely smelled my arousal. My cheeks heated.

Staying silent had never been one of my best skills, especially when I am stressed or anxious, so it took maybe a few steps before my mouth opened again. Before I could speak, however, Azriel let out a sigh and jerked me out of Cassian’s grip only to shove me against the stone wall. Even though I’m tall, standing at a solid 5’10, Azriel was still tall enough that I had to look up into his eyes as he glared down at me with murderous intent.

“I swear to the mother,” he rumbled, his face nearly pressed to mine as he pressed his hard, warm body into mine effectively trapping me between him and the wall. “If you do not stop talking I will make you regret ever having a mouth in the first place.”

I should’ve stayed silent. Honestly. I have basically zero self preservation and read way too much dark romance to end up in this scenario with one of Prythian’s famous torturers whomst I also harbor a small crush on. Dream or not, I should’ve stayed silent. Instead my mouth decided to say, “Is that a threat or a promise, Shadow Daddy?”

The shadows in question seemed to laugh as they bobbed near his ears and I watched in awe as one darted out to caress my lower lip before Azriel snapped. One moment I was pressed between him and the wall, the next I was thrown over his impressively hard shoulder as we made our way down the hallway.

“Ow!” I glared as his shoulder dug into my stomach and my face smacked against the hard planes of his back. “What the fuck!”

A loud ‘smack’ echoed through the halls when his hand connected with my asscheek hard enough that I knew it would leave a mark, even through my clothes. “Stop squirming before I drop you,” he bit out.

Bracing my hands on his hips I pushed up enough so I could see Cassian following behind us, a smirk on his handsome face. Of course he found this amusing. Shooting him a glare I shifted my weight to my left hand and raised my right, fully intending to smack the perfectly sculpted cheeks not far from my face, when one of his shadows snacked around my wrist to stop me.

Cassian’s smirk turned into a full blown smile and I couldn’t resist the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

A loud creaking behind me alerted me that a cell door was opening and I sighed. I highly doubted that Azriel was about to play out any of the fun visions I had had about us in this exact scenario.

The inside of the cell smelled awful, like someone had definitely died inside and they didn’t bother to air it out. Before I had the chance to complain Azriel was demonstrating his lovely strength once more as he swung me back over his shoulder and deposited me into a chair. Instantly Cassian was there slinging chains and shackles around.

I didn’t bother to fight it knowing full well there was nothing I could do to stop them. As a human fighting a fae warrior with hundreds of years of training I would be lucky to last two seconds. They could snap me like a twig and not in a fun way.

Azriel rounded on me, eyes filled with fury and threats, as he asked, “How do you know all of this about us?”

“I told you, there are books-”

“No!” he glared, his hand shooting out to wrap around my throat. I gulped against his palm, able to feel the strength and promise within the firm yet somehow gentle grip he held me in.

Now, as much as I’m into kink and BDSM shit, I have to draw the line at a hand around my throat without prior consent. Childhood trauma instantly had my mind blanking and panic rising in my throat even though he wasn’t exuding any strength in that grip. Images of my mothers watery blue, angry eyes swam before my vision as my body replayed the last time someone had tried to strangle me to death. My heart started pounding so loud that the roaring in my ears was the only thing I could hear and all my senses shut down. My poor traumatized brain decided to transport me from the dank prison cell to the pristine white tiled kitchen of my mother’s house, the scene of so many horrific memories of my childhood, and it was no the strong grip of Azriel’s scared hand on my neck but the boney one of the woman who had brought me into the world.

“Please,” I whimpered, unable to stop myself from reliving some of the worst memories. “Please don’t do this again.”

Tears, hot and painful, forced themselves out of my eyes and down my cheeks.

My mind was always a dark place to be. Haunted memories of the past lurked under the shiny surface of smiles and jokes, ready to take over my good days and remind me that I might have escaped that house but I would never escape what had been done to me. On any given day the monsters lurking beneath my smile threatened to come out and play, to wrap me in their darkness and immerse me in the memories of it all.

It seemed a simple hand around my throat without prior warning was enough to do that.

Unaware of my real surroundings I struggled against the chains holding me, the memories plaguing me, and screamed. I screamed for help from my brother who was no doubt watching with amusement as she tried to end my life, I screamed for help from my father who was at work and would come home too late to see what she really did while he was gone, I screamed for help from the neighbors who never seemed to call the cops despite how often this happened. I screamed and no one ever helped me. I screamed and I screamed until their was nothing left inside me.

The cool air caressed my cheeks and I sighed, snuggling deeper into the pillow. What time was it? Had my alarm not gone off yet? That seemed highly probably. After a dream like that I usually found it was three in the morning with the moon shining bright instead of the sun. There was little doubt in my mind that if I lifted up my head I would see the darkness of my tiny apartment and then have trouble falling back asleep.

Scowling I tried to force my brain back into sleep mode, angry at the direction my dreams had taken. Normally when I dreamt of being in Azriel’s dungeon it was for pleasure, not torture.

My stomach churned and my head ached as I thought of the dark memories I tried to keep underwraps most days, irritated they had infiltrated one of my good dreams. Couldn’t they surface when I was having a dream about work or something? Why did they have to come into my Prythian dreams?

“Is she awake?” a low voice echoed around the room.

I froze.

“She is,” another replied, a voice like silk as the words poured softly from their lips.

“Hailey,” came the deep rumble I now knew as Azriel’s voice. It was closer than the others, almost right next to me, and instinctively I turned towards it. “There she is,” he murmured, something akin to relief in his voice.

Slowly I opened my eyes to find his shadows were there surrounding me, caressing my cheeks nad my hair like they were long lost friends instead of …well…whatever they were. Above me Azriel’s eyes shone in the darkness of the cell, filled with what I thought might be concern but also might be irritation. It was hard to tell considering how closed off he seemed.

I grimaced and looked around.

No longer in the chair and no longer chained up, I was laying on the disgusting floor of the cell with my head in Azriel’s lap and surrounded by more than just Cassian. Across the cell he stood close to a stunning fae female who looked a bit irritated and a bit curious so I could only assume it was Nesta. Next to her was a slightly shorter version of her with bright eyes and a tentative smile on her lips, tucked underneath the arm of the high lord of darkness himself. Feyre and Rhysand. They were truly in front of me in all their fae glory. And both were looking at me with a mixture of concern and interest.

“Hi,” Feyre said softly, taking a step forward. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit, honestly,” I groaned, trying to sit up. “My head is killing me.”

Gentle hands aided me and I glanced up to see Azriel looking down at me with emotions welling in his dark eyes. “Careful,” he murmured. As if he could sense the questions brewing inside me he sat me on the ground beside him, keeping a supportive arm around my shoulders, as he said, “You started screaming and thrashing around. I couldn’t get you to calm down, and then you fainted. Rhysand…well…”

Rhysand stepped forward, his eyes shuttering slightly as he offered what appeared to be an almost apologetic smile. “Hello, Hailey. I’m Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court, which is where you are now. I was already on my way here when you started screaming, so, well, you wouldn’t calm down so I had to…”

The guilty look that crossed his face combined with the ache in my head told me enough. “You went in my head, didn’t you?”

His eyes widened slightly and flicked to Azriel. Azriel gave a nod, answering whatever question Rhys had asked mind to mind, and I rolled my eyes. No wonder Nesta got annoyed with them. Being left out of the conversation was honestly frustrating as fuck. “Yeah yeah,” I waved off, looking between all of their stunned faces. “I know about the whole going in my mind thing. I know a lot of shit I probably shouldn’t and honestly it’s making me wonder how good old Sarah knew about it. Or maybe she has a magic mind and made up this whole word just by thinking it. Who knows. Either way can we establish that I know way too much about all of you and that I learned it from books so we can get out of this cell. It smells awful in here.”

Rhysand took a moment to look taken aback by my words before his face set into an unreadable mask. When he opened his mouth to speak, however, Feyre placed a gentle hand on his arm and shook her head. One look between the two had him backing off and her stepping forward to kneel on the grungy dungeon floor in front of me.

“Hailey,” she said softly, eyes full of kindness as well as caution. “I’m sure you can understand why we are a bit shocked to have you here, let alone seeming to know these odd things about us that some of us didn’t even know about each other. Cassian mentioned that you knew about some gift he threw in the Sidra? And Azriel said you know about when Byrce was here.”

“Yeah, like I said, I read it in a book.”

“What else do you know?” Nesta chimed in, her voice full of skepticism.

I turned my gaze to the beauty that was Nesta and wracked my brain for details about her. “Nesta,” I murmured, causing everyone to pause since none had said her name yet. “Remember when you fell on the stairs that time and your hand seemed to go through the step? Or what about when you pissed yourself on that river bank the day you found the mask? Oh, I know. The night you lost your maidenhead to that random male from the bar and he was scared once he realized what he had done because you are the High Lady’s sister? Or-”

“Stop,” she bit out.

I grinned, turning my gaze to Cassian. Amusement filled me as i realized I knew way more about any of them than they were comfortable with. Azriel might be the shadow master and spy master, but I was the one who had the written gospel of our lord Sarah J Maas. “Cassian, should I mention how the first time Nesta was kissing you that you-”

“Enough,” Cassian barked, his face heating.

My eyes flicked to Rhysand and Feyre, both who tensed and I my grin deepened. In a room of these powerful fae creatures, I held an immense amount of power. “Rhys,” I said casually, causing him to scowl. “I always thought it was so interesting that when Feyre used her mind powers to show you what the Bone Carver appeared to her as, you-”

Yeah, okay I admit maybe that had been going to far because he sucked the air right out of my lungs without even moving. Choking I clawed at my throat as the lack fo air instantly sent sharps of pain through my chest.

“Those are private moments,” he hissed, stalking closer. “There is no way you can know-”

“Rhys!” Azriel growled, stroking a gentle hand down my back.

Instantly the air was back in my lungs and I coughed. “Fuck,” I managed, clutching my throat and glaring at him. “When I read you did that to Tamlin at the high lord meeting I thought it was funny. Experiencing it, however, isn’t as funny.”

His eyes narrowed and instinctively I leaned into Azriel’s warmth. Whatever had happened between the time I started screaming and now, Azriel seemed to have migrated sides. Instead of being angry or cautious of me, he was protecting me and comforting me. Interesting.

Rhys, however, looked ready to bite someones head off.

“How do you know all this?” he demanded again.

“I told you I read about it in-Oh!” A thought occurred to me. Turning to Azriel I offered a small smile. “Do you have my bag, the one I had when I got here?”

Across the room Nesta produced the bag in question and I reached for it, intending to pull out my ipad and show them. Well, if my iPad worked in Prythian. Nesta, however, glared at me. Okay, maybe the pissing herself thing was too far. Instead of giving it to me she opened the bag and started rooting around.

“What the hell is all this?” she murmured. I watched as she pulled out a granola bar I had intended to be my lunch, then a spare tampon which had me smirking for obvious reasons, then my phone. “This is like the one Bryce had. Are you from Lunathion?”

“No,” I frowned. “I’m from an all human world. There’s technology like in Lunathion, sort of, but there’s no magic or fae or anything. Listen, if you let me see that I can show you the books.”

“Books? How can this show me books?”

“Bring it over. Actually if you bring over the bigger version of that from in there, I can show you all the books I have in there. Oh, and Feyre! You would love Procreate. It’s like drawing or painting but on the screen.”

Nesta pulled out my ipad and slowly walked over. Thinking of all the fanart in my library and the hundreds of books in my kindle app I couldn’t help but smile as I opened the cover and prayed for it to turn on.

The familiar light of my lockscreen greeted me, which happened to be a fanart I had found of Cassian and I laughed softly. “Look. In my world people love you guys so much they draw photos of you. This one is Cassian, actually. I set it as the background.”

Nesta leaned over my shoulder and peered down at the screen for a moment, then looked over at her mate with a sly grin. “They pictured you much more handsome than you are.”

“You should see the ones of Rhysand,” I rolled my eyes conspiratorial. “The author of these books said Rhys reminds her of her husband so she constantly calls him the most handsome male ever. The fan art is wild. Honestly, having seen the real thing now, I can say I am thoroughly disappointed.”

Nesta gave a snort while Rhys glared between the two of us. “Back on topic,” he all but growled.

“Right, of course.”

Quickly I entered my passcode and opened my kindle app. “Look,” I showed Nesta. “Each one of these images is a book and when I open it the pages appear on the screen like if you were holding it. Like I told Az earlier; there are four books in the series about you guys and one novella about that one winter solstice. Here, this one is called a Court of Silver Flames, and it’s all about you. It starts with the day Cass showed up at your door and took you to the House of Wind.”

Nesta grabbed the ipad from my hands and scanned the page, which was detailing her conversation with Cass and the male who had tried to sneak out her window. After a moment she handed it back, her face pale and drawn. “You said everyone in your world has read this?”

“Well, not everyone. A lot of people, though! There are groups dedicated to talking about this, and book clubs and people throw parties where they dress up like you guys! It’s actually super cool. I’m part of an online group, uhm, it’s like inside my technology other people with technology can connect and talk to each other? Anyways, I’m apart of this group inside my technology where we make jokes and stuff.”

“Jokes?”

“We call them memes. It’s-here I’ll show you one.”

With a few taps of my finger I open the gallery and find a comic I had drawn making fun of Tamlin. “Look.”

Once again Nesta took it and looked it over for a moment before she snorted again. I sat silently as she passed it to Cass and it made it’s way around the group causing smirks to appear from everyone. Outwardly I was quiet for once but inside I was doing a happy dance. The inner circle liked my memes!

“See, I’m not here to harm you or anything!” I pointed out again. “I only know this stuff because someone wrote it down and I read it. In our world it’s just fantasy. I’m truly not sure how Sarah knew all this, so if you’re going to capture and torture someone for information it should be her.”

They all shared a glance that had me shouting, “Wait! Don’t like, actually do that. Please. She still needs to publish the rest of the series.”

“How did you open the portal?” Rhysand asked carefully, eyeing me. “Do you have one of those magical objects like Bryce?”

“No, no, nothing like that. Honestly I’m not sure how it happened. I was looking into a mirror and then all of a sudden I was here. I truly don’t know.”

“So you don’t know how to get back?”

“No.”

He sighed and nodded. With another shared glance and another shared conversation between their minds, he said, “I guess you can stay with us for the time being until we figure out how to send you back. I’m warning you now, if you do anything, and I mean anything, to hurt anyone, you will be locked up in the deepest cell of this prison and will never see the light of day again. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You can stay with Cassian and Nesta in the House of Wind and-”

“The ten thousand stairs won’t stop me, you know,” I supplied helpfully with a grin, my mind back on track to my usual thought process that involved being as close to Azriel as possible. “There’s this thing in my world we call the Valkyrie Challenge, and part of it is training like Nesta so we all do ten thousand steps. I’ve done it multiple times. So if you’re trying to make sure I can’t escape, putting me in the House of Wind isn’t exactly going to work out for you.” Turning my gaze to Azriel, who’s shadows were still swirling around me, I smiled sweetly. “Maybe you can be my baby sitter, Shadow Daddy? Since you were so good at it when Nesta needed to be watched, I’m sure you can keep me in line.”

“Apparently all I have to do is wrap my hand around your throat and you’re completely incapacitated,” he retorted with a scowl.

That sure sobered me up. Alright then. Turning to Nesta, who I had always loved, I asked, “Is it cool if I come hang with y’all and bring my little Shadow Daddy with me to be my chaperone? When you and Cass are up to your headboard nonsense I’ll need someone to entertain me.”

Nesta’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she glanced between me and Azriel before she gave a quick nod. “I think this is going to be incredibly entertaining, whatever happens.”

#acotar #fanfic #acotar fanfiction #thoughtswithhailey

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andrewmoocow · 1 year ago

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Steven Universe Snake Eyes chapter 11: The Ultimate Fusion (originally published on November 6, 2023)

AN: Happy tenth anniversary to Steven Universe. For my anniversary present, I bestow upon thee the penultimate chapter of not just Steven Universe: Snake Eyes, but also the entirety of Steven Universe: Alternate Future. It truly is a pain to let this story go after three years, but as a wise man once said, all good things must come to an end. With the plotline involving the development and redemption of Black Rutile now come full circle, it's time we finally address Steven's relationship with the Diamonds before they go off and save the universe from a planet-eating snake demon. It's going to take an awful lot of work to forgive beings as powerful as the Diamonds, but if Steven was able to accept Black Rutile's apology, then anything is possible, right?

Synopsis: In a last-ditch effort to save all reality, the Diamonds must fuse together in order to stand a chance. However, Steven still has some baggage with the other Diamonds to deal with.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Ebersole as White Diamond, Gem

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Samantha Newark as The Lapidarist

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie

Jennifer Paz as Lapis

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Matthew Moy as Lars

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Atticus Shaffer as Peedee

Ron Perlman as Inner Steven

Aurelio Voltaire as King Cobralan Jormagundr

Jason Marsden as Prince Nosiop Jormagundr

Shirley Millner as Queen Constricta Jormagundr

Cissy Jones as Princess Naja Jormagundr

Keith David as Pyth

Henry Rollins as Captain Boa

Kari Wahlgren as Envyrno

Nicole Sullivan as Sylvia Spectre

Peter Cullen as Titanium

Steve Blum as Sheriff Spiegel

Dominic Armato as Captain Gearfeet

Wally Wingert as Rigby Starglow

Ray Porter as Squamata

Tim Curry as Velhallen Beo

Featuring Elton John as Stars

Weird Al Yankovic as Stevaldo

And Jack Black as Rutilated Quartz

Steven was still processing what he had heard earlier. Him fusing with the Diamonds? Perish the thought! Sure, he was always up for helping others, even former enemies. Still, after all that the Diamonds had done to him, his family, and most of the known universe, it was way more challenging for Steven to accept that they were coming to him for help rather than him coming to them. He needed some time to think about this while everyone was preparing for the final battle with Squamata.

"So now they want my help after all they've done to me?" Steven angrily muttered to himself while pacing around the throne room. "Oh sure, I've allowed Black Rutile to repent, but it's going to take more than just saying sorry to make up for thousands of years' worth of genocide!"

"Problems, Steven?" Inner Steven asked from within Steven's mind. "Frankly, I'm quite surprised that those Diamonds are asking you for help for once instead of you asking them. And they couldn't have picked a worse time to do it, too."

"And now I have to fuse with them in order to save the universe!" Steven agreed with his darker half. "While I'm more than happy to find a way to stop Squamata once and for all, I'm not sure how this can work, given all my baggage!"

"Worst case scenario, the fusion fails astronomically, and we all die." Inner Steven proclaimed. "Just being realistic here. But then again, no one ever listens to the darker impulses of the self. And speak of the devil. Look who it is!"

Just then, Black Rutile stepped into the throne room, obviously still adjusting to her reforming into a Crystal Gem after sacrificing herself to protect Steven. In addition to the blank spot where her diamond symbol once was now being filled by the star of a Crystal Gem, Black Rutile's cape was now replaced with an all-white trenchcoat with pink details and a star on the back, dark gray trousers, and her original green visor to replace her red one.

"Hello again, Steven." Black Rutile awkwardly greeted. "It's me again, Black Rutile. I always come back and all that. Something the matter?"

"Go ahead; I'm sure you can trust her now." Inner Steven advised while figuratively shoving Steven towards his former enemy. "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

"So, Black Rutile, how are you adjusting to things?" Steven asked Black Rutile.

"I'm slow to adjust, like always." Black Rutile replied. "Love the new look, though. So, you have to fuse with the Diamonds to save reality, huh?"

"Exactly." Steven added sourly. "You know how fusions must involve total cooperation between its components to stay fused? Yeah, I don't think that's possible between me and the Diamonds."

"I can totally understand where you're coming from." Black Rutile stated. "I felt utterly betrayed by the Diamonds, too, but if they could give me a second chance, then surely you can do the same to them!"

"But you're different!" Steven exclaimed to his now-former enemy. "You were at least able to recognize that you hurt me and are working to make amends for that. They're focusing more on everybody else they hurt and always act like they've been friends with me from the beginning!"

"You're kind of vindicating one of the reasons I hated you right now." Black Rutile snarked. "The universe doesn't have to revolve around you, you know! You have to consider everyone else in this world, too!"

"Yeah, maybe I can be selfish, but at least I don't have an entire planet forced to worship me, or else they'll die!" Steven argued. "Why can't they just focus on what they did to me for once?!"

"Because it's not as simple as you think, Steven." Black Rutile stated with her arms folded. "This kind of stuff gets messy, and everybody's got issues, especially the Diamonds." She then looked down at where her diamond symbol used to be, nostalgically reminiscing on her time as a member of White Diamond's court. "And sometimes, they screw up. But that doesn't mean they won't just pretend like it didn't happen." Black Rutile offered a tender pat on Steven's shoulder. "Try to cut the Diamonds some slack. They may not always get it right, but they're trying. That's more important than you think."

"Wait, I think I got an idea!" Steven exclaimed in realization while he ignored Black Rutile. "What if I don't need to fuse with the Diamonds to save us all?!"

"You have got to be kidding me." Black Rutile grumbled with a facepalm. "Okay, fine, let's see whatever harebrained scheme you have, I guess."

"I admire that you made me take time out of my schedule to bring me here, Steven, but what is this for?" the Lapidarist asked as she sat in front of Steven, Black Rutile, Lars, and Ronaldo at the abandoned Ouraborium. "Whatever you have planned, please make this quick. We are preparing for war."

"Listen, Miss Lapidarist, I know we don't have much time, but I want to show you some alternatives to fusing with the Diamonds." Steven announced.

"It's his way of saying he's not ready to fuse with them yet because of his leftover baggage." Black Rutile snarked before Steven pushed her aside and then turned to Lars.

"She raises a good point, you know." Lars agreed with Black Rutile. "You can't just ignore your feelings about someone like that!"

"No, no, I bet people have wanted to see this for a while." Ronaldo said as Steven took Lars's hand and the two fused into a tall, pink-skinned man with crazy, 1970s-styled hair and dressed like he was the leader of a lonely hearts club.

"Oh, my stars!" the newly formed fusion of Steven and Lars gasped in amazement with a British accent. "Hey, that sounds like a pretty good name! That reminds me, I wanna test something." With a loud yell, Stars created a portal he jumped into, with another allowing him to land on the Lapidarist's shoulder. "Pretty impressive how I'm thinking with portals, eh?" He then summoned a large bass guitar from his hair to swing through the air like a sword before crashing down onto the ground with a big 'TWANG!'

"So cool!" Ronaldo cheered. "Do me next, do me next!"

"Okay, love, don't get so impatient." Stars laughed before un-fusing into Lars and Steven, who gave Ronaldo a high-five before the two merged into an equally tall man who was very bizarrely dressed, fitting Ronaldo's eclectic interests, with outrageously curly hair.

"Whoa, I look so stupid!" the fusion of Steven and Ronaldo laughed jokingly. "Wait, I am Stevaldo! I dare to be stupid!"

"Guys, where are you?" Peedee called for Steven and Ronaldo as he entered the arena. "The Gems want everybody together to stop the Lapidarist. Don't keep us-"He stopped himself immediately upon seeing Stevaldo in front of him with a big goofy grin as he began playing the accordion. "What just happened?"

"Check it out, Peedee, it's me, Ronaldo!" Stevaldo eagerly said. "I fused with Steven, and it feels super cool! Check out what I can do!" With his fingers to his temples, Stevaldo manipulated the rocks beneath him and used them to form a message saying, 'I AM STEVALDO!' "Pretty cool, huh?!"

"So when are you going to fuse with me?" Peedee asked.

"Maybe when he realizes he's using fusion to get out of making amends with the Diamonds." Black Rutile answered with a smirk. "But what do I know?"

"Is this true, Steven?" the Lapidarist wondered as Steven un-fused with Ronaldo. "Are you that uncomfortable around the Diamonds?"

"Yes, you got me, I am uncomfortable." Steven confessed. "I'm happy that we were able to convince them to heal all the corrupted Gems, a little easier than I thought, but that still doesn't distract from the fact that they were this way because of the Diamonds to begin with! And that's not even getting into how their treatment of Pink led to the rebellion, which led to so many lives being ended over thousands of years!"

Steven resisted the urge to cry as he poured his feelings out until the Lapidarist patted him on the head with her giant hand. "There there, Steven." She calmed him down. "Forgiveness and compassion shall always take time. So until the time comes for everyone to apologize, it's best to remain optimistic. In the meantime, you should be helping your friends save the universe."

"You're right." Steven sighed in resignation. "I can't dance around this any longer."

"Okay, everyone, double time, we ain't got much left to do here!" Amethyst yelled as she gave orders to all the members of the army of Gems, humans, Slytherophidians, Metals, and other assorted creatures from across the universe, all vastly different but still united against a familiar foe who desired nothing more than to destroy everything he saw. Friends, families, planets, and even entire galaxies were all in danger of being consumed by this mad god and his heralds. "Come on people, let's go go go!"

"Already got all the Gems ready!" Lapis declared with the Little Homeworld Gems behind her. "You ready, guys?!"

"YEAH!" the Little Homeworld Gems all cheered in reply.

"So this is it." Envyrno proclaimed. "These are the end times."

"At least we all had fun while we lasted." Sylvia Spectre answered sweetly as she contacted her superiors at the Coalition of Galaxies to assist in the final battle. "Now then, are you ready to help others for once?"

"Guess I got no other choice." Envyrno responded with a smirk.

"In any war, there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith." Titanium gave a rousing speech to the other Metals. "But there are also days when a few brave souls unite to save the universe. We can be heroes in our own lives, every one of us, if we only have the courage to try. Now, we must take strength in kindred spirits, not of our species, all true warriors. If not in body, then in spirit. I am Titanium of the Metals, and I send this to the fearsome Squamata. Leave this universe alone. Because we're coming for you."

"Rigby, it's been an honor meeting you." Captain Gearfeet said to Rigby Starglow with a grin. "Say, can you sign my arm? I want to prove to my crew that I was lucky enough to meet you!"

"Okay, you got me." Rigby smirked as he took out a pen and wrote his signature on Gearfeet's cybernetic arm. "Who knows? Maybe we'll run into each other again someday."

"One last call before the apocalypse, everyone!" Sheriff Spiegel said while passing around a flask of alcohol to Deputy Edward, Monty, S-L1M3, Lady Imagineer, the Decimator, Earthos, and Michelle Angelon. "Anybody care for a sip?"

"I'm good." Jasper said as she turned to White Topaz. "Now, are you sure you're comfortable having to work alongside you-know-who again, dear? If you want, I can poof her again."

"No, don't be such a worrywart, honey." White Topaz said before kissing her girlfriend on the cheek. "If she says she wants to change, I trust her with all my heart. Besides, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be wearing this sick number." She did a twirl to show off her new reformed outfit, now a black wrestling singlet with a big white star on her chest. "You like it?"

"Really fits you." Jasper said before she saw Steven and Black Rutile reunite with the others. "Steven! I've been wondering where you ran off to."

"Is everything alright?" Pearl asked. "We know you're a little uncomfortable around the Diamonds, but we're also aware that you really don't have a choice in the matter. If you're ready to talk with them, we'll make sure that they have enough time to- "

"You're too late, Steven." Garnet bluntly stated. "The Diamonds are already shipping out with the Jormagundrs to face Nosiop." As Garnet concluded her sentence, Steven turned to see the Diamonds, along with Spinel, Hessonite, Citrine, and the royal family, flying off in a big warship outside the castle walls. "Tough break."

"Doesn't matter, as long as all of us are still together." Steven declared. "The Diamonds can wait; we got a universe to save!"

"You got that right." Black Rutile said as she drew her sword and stood alongside the Rutile Rebels, both past and present. "Buckle up, Lucent Gems, today's the day we make a change!"

Within an hour or so, more warships began arriving from Alethinophidia, carrying the defenders of Serpentes toward the final battle with Squamata. One ship housed the Crystal Gems, the Rutile Rebels, now dubbed the Lucent Gems, Lars and the Off-Colors, the various competitors in the Contest of Champions, Bialyoom & Meinerr, Aescul, and the Fryman brothers. Another carried the Diamonds, Spinel, Hessonite, the Jormagundr royal family, the Universal Lords, Captain Boa, Flipso, and the Black Pearl Brigade. Finally, a third ship was transporting the Metals into battle.

Squamata and his heralds all turned to discover the three ships in the distance as they descended to the ground and their respective passengers disembarked for the final battle. Meanwhile, the Lapidarist appeared from above in a flash of light to lead the resistance against Squamata.

"So, you finally show yourself, my dear creator." Squamata sneered with a hiss. "What can one speck of light illuminate within the dark abyss that is I, Squamata? Countless stars. Countless worlds. Countless lives. All fell to me, all brought to nothing, and all because of you." With an ominous glow in his eyes, the god of snakes summoned an unstoppable army of darkness to aid in his destruction of the universe. "You and your kind have tried so hard to keep your sins hidden away that you had no idea that there would be souls of darkness who wanted to unleash my wrath upon the universe. You simply could not live with your own failures, and where did that bring you? Back to me."

"You will find that mortals are far more resilient than you believe, Squamata." The Lapidarist declared with a speech of her own. "Look at these people, these mortal beings. Consider their potential! They have done so many amazing things with the short time they have in the universe, yet they always made the most to ensure a brighter future for all! And that future involves you dying once and for all!" She raised her arm to the sky. "CHARGE!"

With that, the Lapidarist's armies raced into battle for the fate of all reality. In the process, Lapis and Jasper fused into Malachite, Cat's Eye and Holly Blue fused into Chrome Chalcedony, Cinnabar and her crew combined into Painite, Black Rutile, and White Topaz fused into Lepidolite, Aquamarine, and Eyeball fused into Bluebird Azurite, and Steven and Lars fused into Stars.

"Okay, just gotta tell the Diamonds I'm not interested!" Stars muttered to himself as he tried running over to Yellow Diamond. "Uh, hey, Yellow, can we talk?"

"Not now, Steven, saving the universe here!" Yellow exclaimed while repelling an army of shadow creatures with a wave of her hand. "Blue, back me up here!"

"Already on it!" Blue replied while firing lasers from her palms. Disappointed that he couldn't talk to the Diamonds yet again, Stars instead focused on helping the other Crystal Gems against Squamata's heralds.

"Hey Steven, neat new fusion!" Peridot complimented Stars's look.

"Thanks, love." Stars replied before summoning his star-shaped bass to fight off the invading army.

"Wait, Steven can fuse with humans other than him and Greg?" White Topaz asked while she and the Lapides held up a water shield to help defend the Metals.

"I guess so." Connie replied. "Bismuth, on your left!"

"Got it!" Bismuth yelled while smacking Velhallen Beo away with a hammer fist.

"Blast you, Gem scum!" Velhallen snarled before lunging at Garnet like a predator. "I've waited centuries to kill a Gem! And you have the honor of being the first!"

"Not quite." Garnet smirked in response. "Malachite, now!" Malachite then took Beo by surprise by snatching him from midair with a water claw and tossing him straight at Torius Vosania.

"Playing hardball, eh?" Beo smirked while firing a giant purple energy beam from his hands that White deflected with her laser eyes, prompting a beam struggle between the two.

Meanwhile, Cobralan, Constricta, Naja, and Boa all stood face to face with Nosiop, Pyth, Mr. Manco, and Torius, the royal family ready to free their son and brother from the Serpent Society's clutches and be a normal family again. "Nosiop, I know you're still in there, my boy." Cobralan reached out to his son. "Please, let your old man into your heart and listen to him."

"Me listen to you?!" Nosiop yelled angrily. "You never listened to what I had to say, so why should I do the same? I legitimately wanted to change our society for the better, but you were so stuck in your traditional ways that you never noticed your own family's feelings!"

"You know, father, he raises a good point." Naja stated.

"And that's why I wanted to talk to you, Nosiop." Cobralan added. "A human told me that I wasn't the best parent towards you. He knows from experience, for he is a father much like me, a father who also debated with himself on whether he was a good parent to his son. But at the end of the day, he accepted that no matter how much he treasured his child, he still needed to grow and change as a man himself. So please, my boy, let me try to be a good parent, and maybe we can work things out. Let us slay Squamata, and together, we can work towards a brighter future for our people."

Nosiop's face dropped as he gazed at his father, now repenting for his past problematic treatment of his son. He finally acknowledged his ignorance of his son's wants and now wanted to make amends. It almost brought a tear to Nosiop's eye and made him want to drop his weapon and return to his family with open arms. But unfortunately, destiny had other plans.

"I believe you've talked with your boy long enough." Pyth smirked while grabbing Nosiop by the shoulder. "Perhaps before you two are reunited, he should slip into something more comfortable. Oh, Squamata! I got a new vessel for you!"

"Excellent, my priest!" Squamata grinned eagerly before he zoomed straight into Nosiop's body through his mouth, forcing his spirit into the young prince and possessing him like the demon he was. As Nosiop was now possessed, his original self was locked away within his mind, and Squamata took control, allowing his new body to grow exponentially in size. With a sadistic grin, Squamatia took his body for a spin by laying waste to the rebellion surrounding him, smacking his tail around and firing lasers from his mouth. "Oh, this is most excellent!"

"Nosiop, sweetie!" Constricta yelled in horror before running for cover.

Before Squamata could cause any more harm to the rebellion, one fusion was brave enough to stand up and defend his friends from harm. Steven immediately un-fused with Lars and fused with Ronaldo so Stevaldo could summon a giant shield to protect them. "Stay away from my friends, Squamata!" Stevaldo announced. "I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am the one character in a superhero comic who is genuinely skilled in his own right yet is useless compared to the gods he surrounds himself with! I am Stevaldo, ally to good and nightmare to you!"

"Oh, another fusion with a human?" Squamata smirked in Nosiop's body. "I must admire your creativity, Steven Universe, but it shall not be enough! Bring me the ultimate fusion!"

"Now is your chance, Diamonds, become Gem!" Squamata urged Steven and the Diamonds. "Of course, there is something you need to address first."

"Right." Stevaldo said before un-fusing as Steven continued holding up the shield. "I know you've heard this way too many times before, but the reason why I'm so uncomfortable around you guys is that even though you're trying to make a change, you still don't understand what you've put me through with how you treated Pink and what you did to all those species through covering up what you did!"

"We don't understand? Are you kidding? Us? Of course, we understand. I mean, do you call this a war, this funny little thing?" Yellow declared, snapping Steven out of his funk. "This is only a small scuffle compared to what we endured!"

"We did worse things than you could ever imagine! And when I close my eyes, I hear nothing but the screams of the Gems who gave their lives for us!" Blue added worriedly.

"And you know what you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it?" White added, clenching her hand for extra emphasis. "You hold it tight till it burns your hand! And you say that no one else will ever have to live like this! No one else will ever have to feel this pain! Not on my watch! So go on, hate us all you like, but that won't change the fact that you would never exist without us! We need you as much as you need us! We're sorry for abusing you for what Pink did! Please forgive us!"

"That's all I needed to hear." Steven smirked in acceptance as he held out his hand to finally make amends with the Diamonds. The other three Diamonds each placed their finger on the hand, and in a brilliant flash of white, yellow, blue, and pink light, Gem was finally reborn after thousands of years.

"I-I'm whole again." Gem gasped while gazing at her massive hands and her surroundings. "I know what I must do." Without even thinking first, Gem zoomed towards Squamata with speed rivaling that of the speeds of light and sound combined before grabbing the possessed prince of Serpentes by the tail and spinning him around in the air before slamming him to the ground. "TAKE THIS!"

"Ah, the original Gem, long have I waited to see you!" Squamata snarled in joy before charging at Gem and attempting to bite her in the forearm, but Gem thought quickly and slapped him away. "Yes, this is just the fight I wanted!"

"It's time for you to surrender, Squamata!" Gem boomed while preparing another. "Let Nosiop go, or we will make you pay the price!"

"However, there is but one mistake you Gems fail to notice." Squamata smirked. "You never know when you'll be taken by surprise." At that moment, Squamata seemed to disappear, and in the next moment, the Lapidarist let out a loud shriek of agony as she keeled over while poison began to spread through her body. "Let us see how you fare without your god to save you!"

"Oh no, Rebeugar!" Gem yelled as she raced back to where the Lapidarist had fallen and un-fused into Steven and the Diamonds to try and save her.

"Thank goodness you got here in time." Captain Boa stated. "I don't think she has much time left after an attack like that took her by surprise."

"Hold on, I can fix this!" Steven exclaimed as he tried using his healing spit to cure Rebeugar of the poison, but to his shock; it didn't seem to work. "Oh no, what's happening? My spit isn't working!"

"That's because Squamata's poison is so lethal; not even your spit can stop it from killing its victims." Cobralan said remorsefully as he laid the Lapidarist to rest. "You can rest now, milady. We'll take it from here."

"I do not know what'll happen after I die. But I know that you are reality's last hope." The Lapidarist said weakly while gazing at Steven and Black Rutile one last time as the poison began killing her. "I was wrong. You two shall make the ultimate fusion that will save us all. My time is short, but I shall leave you with one final message. Everyone, I urge you all, one final time. Believe in Steven."

As the Lapidarist finally died in a flash of light, Steven and Black Rutile looked at each other, knowing exactly what to do. "Are you ready?" Steven asked while offering Black Rutile his hand. "Do you trust me?"

"I do." Black Rutile answered before taking Steven's hand, and the two danced together, glowing so intensely that the light could be seen for miles. The two began to fuse, something neither of them ever thought would've been possible in the past, and the result was an androgynous figure dressed in a conventional superhero costume with intense pink skin and large, curly hair. Could this be it? Could they be the ultimate fusion thousands of years in the making that will destroy Squamata once and for all? Whatever the case, the newly formed Rutilated Quartz had only one thing to say.

"Awesome."

Dear god, this chapter was a massive undertaking, but it was all worth it in honor of the show that changed my writing career forever. Well, that along with Gravity Falls and FLCL. Happy anniversary Steven, hope it's a good one. Next chapter will be the final chapter of Snake Eyes, and as I stated earlier, the long-awaited finale of Steven Universe: Alternate Future. Until we meet again for one last adventure, let's see how far we've come and how far we'll go.

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mandy4ever69420 · 4 months ago

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4.11

ian looks like hes about to cry watching mickey make nice at the christening afterparty. much to consider abt ian's trauma in life circling around role as a witness. i also include the fact that fiona had that breakdown in sheila's house at monica in s1 as part of this watching someone just fall the fuck apart like that and feeling responsible is awful

'ian + mickeys freedom' is a photo/gifset that needs to exist. i need to see it. i dont want you to go back to juvie / youre not free / it was hard looking at you through that glass / etc

thinking today about that person who thought that mickey was deliberately being alluded to in seasons 6 7 8 because they didnt know his departure was supposed to be permanent. wrt ians vigor when he gets to hit mickey's dad. the opportunity to live out a scenario where he gets to physically defend someone from their homophobic parent

i cannot even believe i saw people calling mickey misogynistic for how he talked to svetlana in season 4 like i was already like 'ok but we realize why that was like that right.' but i figured maybe i was being overly forgiving or it was worse than i remembered. no dude it was very obviously tit for tat homophobic / abuse related harassment to every insult he relays her way. its literally the mindset about women ontologically being victims in any scenario. come on now.

this is more or less baseless but i always assumed that when svetlana said she was very close with terry she meant she was often sort of lying on mickey's behalf. both because it strengthens her leverage and because it does protect him in the way she needs to have a second set of hands around and to have a reason to be living in the house she lives in. Also i enjoy how this unintentionally is the first time we hear about how terry is as rachel said just like funny and charming and charismatic when he's not being a nightmare. everybody is a person even when theyre a terrible person and svetlana is very skilled at dragging even half of a good time out of something horrible. because of those damn circumstances she will be in

horrrible sad debbie matt conversation but when she asks why he ever dated seema and he says 'she seemed nice' and debbie says 'well she wasnt' . Ha. it's like how matt 'seems nice' rn but i know damn well he isnt

i love the way frank talked to emily when he thought she was fiona. It's so heartbreaking. and the solace he was able to unintentionally offer this little girl and how you get this glimpse of the ideal person he wants to be even if he can't articulate it.

it's funny to me how many people are blinded by liking sheila. she's not even just like someone 'nice' who does bad things she's straight up kind of a nightmare to be around. wym you are mad at sammi for wanting to be in her dads hospital room

oh also. vindication today re mickey just not liking people and not liking to be treated too gently for too long or he gets uncomfortable. i mean we knew this. but he literally explains it in the plainest of terms. Also it was funny to watch kevin try to suck up and mickey was like Die. kevin's so lucky that all that other shit went down so he was no longer on mickey's hitlist and could be slightly homophobic in a non dangerous way and mickey would feel relief instead

#so the episode has thots now

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snuggles-and-struggles · 1 year ago

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"Index" of my spicyhoney ideas and AUs, in no particular order

11-15/???

✮ Long Distance

Another twofer. The first was about Edge and Stretch being childhood friends who wind up separated when Stretch's family moves. They stay in touch, though gradually not as frequently as they get older, until they finally meet again as adults, and boy, if they thought their crushes on each other were bad before... lmao

The other one I'd actually started for a month prompt thing either last year or the year before. Edge and Stretch meet in an online chat room (or similar). They wind up unlikely friends, growing closer over the years until they finally meet in person and...yeah, there's no denying the sparks that fly.

✮ Swap > Fell

A bit of a weird one. It's like, half spicyhoney, half spicybbq? After Edge and Red move to the house in Snowdin, they're about 11 and 16, respectively. While Red is setting up the machine in the basement, something goes wrong and there's an explosion, of sorts. As he’s coming to, he realizes there are now two strangers, other skeleton monsters, in their basement with him.

Stretch and Blue get yeeted into Fell at young ages. They're only a little older than the uf brothers, so they wind up staying with Edge and Red until they can manage to fix the machine and go home. That doesn't happen. As time drags on, they begin incorporating more, and...it's not pleasant, but honestly it's easier on all of them having each other.

Eventually Stretch and Blue change their nicknames to Slim and Viper, (though in the privacy of their home, Edge and Red still call them their old nicknames usually), and of course, Edge and "Slim" wind up together, how could they not?

I was thinking of incorporating some cherryberry (/whatever the uf sans/sf sans ship name is) but for some reason I also got the idea of Viper winding up with Blaze (uf Grillby)??

I honestly can't remember if they'd surface or not, but I do know I've thought about mv scenarios where Slim meets a more proper us Papyrus and gets a little bent out of shape about it, feels guilty, like Edge should be with him instead, etc etc, similar to Rust's sentiments in the horrorswap ideas where he feels like he’s not good enough but Edge is so obviously crazy about him and they make each other happy but eh, that's menthol illness babey!

✮ Missed Connections

This one is like au minesweeper. There's seven million different versions, but the overarching theme is that Edge and Stretch had met underground thanks to the machine. Either they didn't get along at all or briefly dated, ending on a relatively sour note.

Many years later, after they've all surfaced, Stretch has made a decent life for himself, but Edge, well. He'd (usually) gradually become disconnected from all the others. No ones heard from him (usually) for years, until a chance meeting with Stretch.

The reason I say seven million is because I've rotated this one a lot, sometimes it's just like. Angst on top of angst with more angst sprinkled to taste. Other times it's just kinda sad and about the many ways life can kind of lead you down paths you'd never expect, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. I've never been able to settle on one concrete version I like, but frankly it's usually difficult to reach any sort of fitting happy ending in these ones.

✮ Movie star

Similar to the college one, I have a massive note for this that I. May or may not have posted somewhere on this blog?? Stretch is a famous actor. Has been since he was a teen, so he’s pretty used to it all by now. And he’s tired of it. He feels like almost impossible to build solid, new relationships without people either wanting to use him or be with him just for appearances. So. He tries anonymously online dating. Surprisingly, he actually meets someone, going a bit anonymous themself.

Over months, Stretch and Shade talk and become closer and closer, until eventually, Stretch asks if they could go out on a proper date. Shade is hesitant, but ultimately accepts, so long as Stretch is comfortable coming to his home for something casual, like a dinner date.

It goes incredibly well, but there's something odd about it all. Shade lives in an isolated cabin in the middle of the woods, and was much more anxious and shy in person. For the most part, Stretch shrugs it off as Shade just being a bit of a hermit, but eventually, he comes to find the rabbit hole goes a little deeper than expected...

✮ Mutant

Another one not too dissimilar to Missed Connections in that, I actually have a number of different versions of this bad boy, though they're usually more separate and self contained, just sort of based off similar concepts.

One of the first though starts similarly to the long distance au/fic idea. Edge and Stretch were childhood friends...but Edge had a lot of health problems, and his father didn't like him going out to play or people coming over very often, so as Edge got older, Stretch saw him less. He was a strange little kid, always had to wear a mask and never spoke, but he was sweet and him and Stretch got along fantastically.

Until one day, Edge's family disappeared. Stretch went to visit only to see a new family moving in to their (previous) house.

Many years passed, when, much to Stretch's shock, he got a call from Edge's brother, Red. Over the many years, Edge had become a terrible homebody, and Red was desperate to find something that might help him relax into being social again.

Stretch agrees, of course, and is actually quite looking forward to seeing Edge again, only...once he finally arrives after the trip halfway across the country, Red has some...extra info, for Stretch to keep in mind. It's then he learns about what Edge's father had done to him, turning him into a lab rat, the effects it's had on his body, and that's why he’s so closed off and shut in. And actually meeting him, yeah, Stretch could understand why...

Of course that doesn't change the way he feels. And even though Edge is resistant at first, it's not long before they've started rebuilding the close friendship they'd had before. Which of course becomes more, eventually.

#might have one more of these to post today. might not. who knows...#spicyhoney #papship #papcest #sns fic stuff

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thatstormygeek · 1 year ago

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Hooray. It's time for all the posts telling people who are not doing a thing that they are somehow even more evil than the people actively working to make things worse. And this is somehow a good, progressive message.

Look, I get it. Voting is a thing we should all do. I have been voting longer than a lot of people on this site have been alive. And I've voted in the vast majority of elections in which I could (yes, I have missed the occasional oddly-timed special election). Believe me when I tell you that the get out the vote messaging has not meaningfully changed in four decades.

For my entire adult life, every big election has been The Most Important World-Changing Election of All Time!!!! (tm)

Are things bad right now? Yes, obviously. Is the upcoming election important? Of course. Is human nature suddenly going to change in a way that makes the same, threadbare Panic! At The Voting Booth line suddenly much more effective? I have my doubts.

If you want to blast out some epic, over-the-top threat against nonvoters, or tell them they are responsible for the actions of people they didn't vote against, it's not like I can stop you. I do wish you would admit (to yourself, if no one else) that your post is more about virtue signaling than actually increasing the percentage of people who go to the polls.

It'll be like "if you don't vote, unfollow me!" And then half the notes are op adding clauses. So if your post isn't aimed at people who are kept from voting by the various barriers thrown up by the system, who is it for? The people who just don't care? Think a lot of those folks are gonna re-examine their actions so they can keep following you? (assuming they'd even do as asked anyway)

And why don't these people care? Did their education fail them? Are they burnt out on the endless election cycle? Do they just not give a shit about other people? Each of those scenarios would call for a different approach, but that would require getting as far as actually talking with nonvoters. And, well, that's hard.

It's much easier to make a self-righteous post about how not voting us the evillest of all evils.

It's also emblematic of how we put the most responsibility for effort on those with the least power. Rather than demanding the Democratic party do more to show people why they should vote blue, folks are out here yelling at people to vote in the hopes that maybe the party will decide to do something that helps them. If we can just get 60 62 64 Dems in the senate. You have to VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO and we'll push them to the left once they win the election but once the election is won we'll tell anyone who dares criticize a Dem that they are the reason things suck and actually everything is good and fine thanks to the Dems but there's an election coming up so we can't risk implying the Democrats aren't perfect and give the GOP ammo so hold your criticism until after this election because it's the most important election of all time and if you don't vote blue you might as well be murdering trans kids yourself but we really promise this time that we'll push them to the left after the election...

So yeah. Vote. It's the most basic way to exercise your voice. But maybe, just maybe, some of you diehard Dem defenders could swivel your cannons 180 degrees and use some of that energy to actually agitate for meaningful change from your party instead of screaming at random individuals about their personal decisions.

Or not. After all, what you're doing has been working so well.

#this is my brain on life #us politics #missouri #representative government my ass #fire the gop #republicans are unfit for office #trashpool says fuck this shit #vote blue

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suzalulusource · 2 years ago

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💜💚 matching icons for you and your worse half 💚💜

#suzalulu #code geass #clamplove #cgedit #codegeassedit #lelouch vi britannia #lelouch lamperouge #suzaku kururugi #kururugi suzaku #code geass icons #clamp #mod edits #official art #chain earring #who is the worse half in this scenario you ask? well obviously it's

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itsclydebitches · 3 years ago

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Angsty fic idea that I might write myself someday, but is also totally free if someone wants to snag it.

(WARNING for mentions of self-harm.)

I’ve read a bunch of “Izzy the Spewer” fics where Izzy gets sick for whatever reason—rough seas, migraines, the terrifying ordeal of being known—and Stede swoops in with some good old-fashioned TLC that makes Izzy’s angry little brain short-circuit. Fantastically done, keep it up. HOWEVER, I have yet to come across a fic that really plays with the thought I have every time I read that scenario. Namely: “Izzy is learning to correlate kindness with illness, right?”

Right?

Izzy hails from Black Sails land where kindness is in short supply and desiring it—or worse, needing it—is basically a social death sentence. Or a literal one. So, after Stede offers some of that rare, quality grade H/C, Izzy is primed to explain half of that with, “Bonnet is a fucking bonkers man who doesn’t know how to pirate properly” and the other half with, “When someone as crazy as Bonnet does comfort you it’s only because you’re pathetic enough to warrant it. He’d never just do that on the regular, because who the hell would? The only time you get kindness is when you find a magical unicorn man who doesn’t know better and the only time he’d give it, especially to someone like me, is when you’re basically at death’s door.”

Izzy comes to the simple but highly problematic conclusion that Being Gravely Ill = Receiving Comfort He Can’t Get Anywhere Else.

Soooo… why not just be sick more often ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Which is far from ideal, obviously, but not for reasons Izzy is equipped to understand yet. The only thing he’s grappling with is the indignity of being sick in the first place, but significantly that ship has already sailed. Fang already told the whole crew about his nickname, Lucius made it a staple insult, and they all watched him losing his lunch over the side while Stede kept him from going overboard. There’s no coming back from that. But asking for more of that attention? He’s gonna—what? Just fucking walk up to Stede and request that he rub his back, or stroke his hair, or—heaven forbid—hug him? Absolutely-fucking-not. Izzy would rather die. Even if he DID make an attempt the words would literally not come out of his mouth. Being sick is the lesser of the two evils and since he’s already a weak, pathetic, needy excuse for a First Mate, might as well do whatever is necessary to deal with those failings.

Izzy might have the emotional intelligence of a rock, but he’s a damn good planner and can keep things subtle when it matters. At first no one notices that he only gives into the urge to heave when Stede is on deck and can see him do it. Everyone knows that Izzy eats dinner alone, long after the others have finished, but not that he’s restricting himself to the portions that have started going bad, resulting in many late-night bouts of suffering. He stops the breathing exercises he developed years ago to keep his nausea under control, stops self-medicating whenever a storm is on the horizon, even starts putting himself in situations that he knows will make his stomach churn, all with the intent of crafting a situation where, oh no, his stubborn Captain is insisting he’s taken care of? Well, who’s he to disobey an order?

And it works! Until it doesn’t, of course. Because I’m a fan of the crew continuing to develop their found family, they’ve been approaching the “Spewer” business as a kind of heavy-handed teasing. They know it’s not nice, but Izzy is such an asshole, and besides, they kinda thought it was a past thing? Not something he’s still struggling with and certainly not to this extent—like teasing your brother for falling down the stairs that one time except, huh, he’s falling down the stairs weekly now. That’s not funny anymore.

Their concern merges with Ed’s because really, he’s been sailing with Izzy for most of his life and it’s never been this bad. If anything, he should be doing better on The Revenge where there’s always fresh food and blue skies appear with an almost supernatural frequency. Stede too has started to grow suspicious, especially after that one time where Izzy didn’t really seem sick anymore, but kept claiming he was (because the idiot was so close—SO CLOSE—to just asking for comfort without this whole charade, but of course he didn’t).

It all comes to a head when Stede and Ed confront Izzy about it… which goes about as well as you would expect. Izzy goes into the meeting terrified that Ed noticed him playing this game with his boyfriend and is probably going to anchor him for it. Ed thinks it’s great that Stede and Izzy are bonding—the fact that he’s finally acknowledging his own crush on Izzy doesn’t help, given how overprotective he’s feeling— but otherwise he’s just confused? Especially since he’s such a tactile person and threw himself headfirst into touching Stede the second he realized that was allowed. Stede has the best handle on what’s really going on, but doesn’t know how acknowledge all that without making things worse. So he just, uh, makes things worse? Realizing that Izzy has the self-preservation instincts of a teaspoon, they try to go the “Making yourself sick means you’re not in a position to act as a functional First Mate” route because Izzy is all about being useful right? Except great, now he’s feeling guilty about how sick he can get, guilty about using that to get something he thinks he shouldn’t have, AND guilty about how that’s making him a liability. He and Ed get into a huge fight about it. Stede dithers. Punches are probably thrown.

They think things have cooled down a few days later, except then Izzy gets legitimately sick—no fuckery involved—and Ed just… doesn’t believe him? He’s suspicious now, understandably. Not because he thinks Izzy is always lying about when he’s ill, or always sets out to make it worse, and he certainly doesn’t have a problem with him getting comfort from Stede—or him!—for any reason, but he’s terrified that Izzy is still hurting himself and that shit needs to stop. But being accused of that when he’s actually ill is the fucking tipping point and Izzy… crumbles. Just fucking looses it. No more filters, or barriers, or excuses. The man’s a sobbing, exhausted mess and this is it, they’ll both be disgusted by him now.

They’re not, of course. This time Ed and Stede comfort Izzy together and, more importantly, insist that he stays with them even after he’s calmed down/is feeling better. Lots of talking it out where they insist that yes, he can have this. No, he doesn’t need to be ill enough to “deserve” it. Izzy, there’s two of us and we’re both overflowing with affection 24/7, we guarantee it’s not an imposition to ask for things. But he can’t. He just literally can’t. There’s no version of Izzy (yet) that can ask for comfort when he needs it, or simply take it with the understanding that it’s always freely offered. So they devise some strategies to help Izzy ask without feeling like he’s asking; simple actions that will cue them into his mood without anyone else being wiser. The most successful is having a designated spot in the Captains’ cabin that is his and his alone. For a long time, Izzy will only accept their attentions in complete privacy anyway, so sitting on this particular part of the couch always means… well, the whole point is that Izzy doesn’t have to say what it means. He’ll get there, but right now he just has to sit down—that’s it, just sit, even he can fucking sit—and his Captains understand precisely what he needs.

And with their relationship and Izzy’s coping skills developing, everyone lives happily ever after ^_^

(Bonus cathartic comedy moment: Someone unknowingly sits in Izzy’s spot and he reacts precisely like a pissed-off cat would. Glaring from across the room, coiled tight as a spring, hand ominously on the pommel of his sword. This means nothing to me, don’t fucking think otherwise, but you WILL move and you will move NOW.)

#OFMD #Our Flag Means Death #Izzy Hands #GentleHands #SteddyHands

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vquacki · 3 years ago

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It's My Fatherly Duties!

Short DAD Scenarios

Characters: BONTEN - Rindou Haitani, Ran Haitani, Sanzu Haruchiyo

~ Inui Seishu, Kokonoi Hajime, Izana Kurokawa,

~ Souya Kawata (Angry), Nahoya Kawata (Smiley)

Warning ⚠︎︎ : Mature content, cussing, MINORS DNI

Note : requested, I added some characters. Hope ya don’t mind! These are pretty short, just little things I put together. Word barf kinda..? Anyways- I hope you enjoy :))

R I N D O U

His lashes fluttered open when he heard a loud crash coming from the hallway, along with a string of cuss words sounding like his daughter's voice.

“What the hell was that?” You groaned, not a single word was uttered from your husband when he sprung out of bed, bolting to the bedroom down the corridor.

“Tohru?!” Rindou yelled, flinging open the door. Revealing your teenage daughter fully dressed, half way through her second story window. A facade of pillows under her blanket seeminging meant to be her ‘sleeping body’.

“Oh dad, I-”

“What the hell are you doing” The man was fuming by the ears, pajamas ruffled when he jolted out of his slumber.

“Is Tohru okay?” You peeked from behind the broad shouldered man.

“I was just going to get fresh air!” Your daughter lied, making up a somewhat excuse to appease her angered father.

“Hey Tohru! Hurry up and get down here!” You heard a boy's voice call out, looking over at Rindou’s face to see the man's darkened expression.

“Who the fuck is down there? Is that a boy?!” He growled, stomping his feet over to the glass. Pushing past his daughter to take a look.

“Oh shit- her dads here. Let’s book it!” The kids whispered, but loud enough for Rindou to make out, hastily running down the dark street.

“You little shits! Don't you dare come back here!” Rindou growled, slamming the window shut in the process.

“What! Dad!” Tohru whined,

“You're so grounded young lady!” Rindou shouted, not caring for the sleeping neighbors beside his shared condo at three in the morning.

“Rin, she was just having some fun!” You defended, you were also like her when you were her age, trouble makers run in your blood. Actually Rindou couldn't even talk- he was running roppongi at her age.

“No! She's just too young to be hanging out with boys!” Rindou’s brows joined together as he withered in front of you.

“But we dated when we were her age-” You deadpanned at him,

“Grounded! My final answer!”

R A N

Ran was coming home from a late night bonten meeting, mouth agape when he saw his daughter’s feet dangling out from her window.

Fearing the worst he sprinted to the ground below his child, hands outstretched to catch her if she were to misstep.

“Mitsuri!” His voice boomed,

“Eh? Dad?!” His daughter stuttered, slowly slid out the window, climbing down like she had done this many times prior to this awkward occurrence.

Toes easily touching the grass with ease, not a scratch upon the females porcelain skin.

“Ran?” You yawned, cracking the door ajar. It was late, you waking up to your husband's screams outside your house.

“Mitsuri, what are you doing climbing out your window like a maniac?!” Ran scowled, hands running through his messed up hair. Sweat dripping down his temple from the not so pleasant adrenaline rush.

“I was just gonna hang out with some friends..” your daughter answered, fingers gripping the edge of her shirt, scarily waiting for her dad’s reaction.

“At this time of night? .. out your window?”

“Ye-”

“Phone privileges. Give me it.” Ran demanded, palm stretched out.

“But-” no question she was a tad bit spoiled by her father. You being the bad cop, while your husband played the good cop for his beloved daughter.

“If you want to go anywhere all you got to do is ask!” Ran plucked the phone from his daughter's hand, a wave of relief washing over him. Secretly thanking whatever being watching over him that it wasn't some sort of gang related subject.

“This is what you get for spoiling her!” You laughed from the sidelines, hand clutching your stomach.

“This is your fault too ya know!” Ran argued.

“I’m the one who tries to discipline her! But someone always lets it go!” You emphasized the special somebody.

“Whatever” Ran sighed, This was a lesson for the usual carefree man, a special lesson he wouldn't forget in the many years to come with his unborn future children.

S A N Z U

It was Sanzu’s best day of his life when his daughters were born, the two only being about one year apart. They were spoiled to the core, anything they wanted their money liberl father blessed them with. He thought they were the sweetest things ever, them both being a daddy's girl after all.

He never would have expected to see both of his daughters outside his humble abode, standing beside two boys, most likely a double date.

He stared in shock, hands pressed firmly against the glass, teeth gritting.

“Huh? I tucked them into bed an hour ago” You rubbed your eyes, riding yourself of the sleepiness threatening to drown you. The pink haired only tutted his teeth, swifty twisting the door knob to confront the four children outside.

“Oh you better run” your oldest daughter whispered, gesturing for the boys to make haste from her deadly father.

“You better not come back here, unless you want trouble you fuckers!” Sanzu yelled, red in the eyes from anger. Not bothering to chase after the two scoundrels.

“Dad, mom! What are you guys doing awake?” Your youngest asked, sheer panic in her eyes, watching her insane fathers unpleasant smile.

“I swear you two will be the death of me” Sanzu uttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. A irked gleen in his orbs as he stared them down.

“They were just friends dad, stop overreacting” the older daughter said,

“I- You little shi-” He bit his lip to suppress his anger fueled words, knowing well it would definitely hurt his precious children's feelings. Having regretted it later if he were to say those sinful words.

“Now now Sanzu, let's head to bed” You wrapped your arms around your lover, dragging him inside the house.

“You can sort out their punishment tomorrow, after a good night's sleep” , coating him with reassuring words. That day he learned how misjudged he was of his children, even so he still loved them with all his heart.

I Z A N A

Izana had his feet kicked up, relaxing in his office while he watched the moon. He had a clear view, the street lamps positioned next to the sidewalk, the side of his beautiful house facing his office window. He was enjoying his free time, mind taking over his body while he thought about his life choices. He was in ease until he saw his son's window light up, a long string of rope being tossed out the opening.

Sitting up from his chair, he rushed over to his clear casement. Throwing his window open, a boy and girl standing beneath his son's window. The two holding the rope still as your child tried to slid down.

“My my Yuki, where are you off to?” Izana laughed, nerves finally relaxing when he figured out what was going on. Calmly settling into the frame, head leaning on his chin. It wasn't like he had the right to be upset, he did much worse when he was his son's age. Robbing, fighting, killing. You name it, Izana’s done it.

Sneaking out was nothing compared to what he did, but he wasn't gonna just let his son go. He was more wise now, he knew for a fact he didn't want his son to end up anything like him. Sure, he wanted the boy to have fun, but in a normal kid way.

“Dad! Um- I”

“You better get your arse back up that window before I drag you around with that rope” Izana smiled, Totally different from the sentence he was portraying. Not forgetting his manners, giving a nonchalant wave to the other two kids.

“Zana? Who are you talking to?” You asked, placing a cup of tea you had prepared for Izana on his desk.

“Oh no one doll” Izana answered, closing the window before walking over to you.

“Let's go to bed, yeah?” He proposed, trailing his hands around your shoulders, guiding you to the door.

“But the tea I made”

“Im tired~”

Overall the male wouldn't want to talk further about the situation, nor would he discuss it with you. Trivial matters held no place between you both, as long as the child did not dare do it again.

I N U I

Inui wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead, the AC wasnt working at the motor shop. Him, draken and yourself were sweating bullets, the hot material around you not helping. You had decided to help the pair around the shop, cleaning what you could. Or helping with cashing every customer out, it would've been an easy task if it wasn't blazing hot.

Leaving your daughter home alone, obviously thinking she’d stay and do her teenage things. You couldn't be more mistaken, astounded as you watched her fiddle around with a boy across the street at the ice cream parlor.

“Y/N please don't tell me that Kagura..” Inui’s jaw dropped, the wrench that was once in his clasp dropping to the ground. Startling the concentrating Draken that was crouched over a motorbike.

“What's wrong Inui? Y/N” Draken twisted his body around, raising a brow when you two just started muttering to each other like two creeps.

“Is that... a boy” Inui held his chin between his fingers, squinting to get a better view of his kid.

“You trying to catch flies with your mouth Inui? Close your yap” You whispered,

“Y/N! She's too young, I feel like I just held her in my arms not too long ago. She can't get married just yet!” Inui argued, he would've been on the verge of tears if he didn't have a reputation to uphold.

“What? The fuck are you on Inui? She's probably just with a friend!” You patted his back, reassuring the man.

“Boys and girls can be friends ya’know” you added.

Cueing the two children across the road from you, feeding scoops of ice cream to each other.

“I don't think friends do that..” Inui looked over at you, eyes widening when you swung the motor shop’s door open. Hands coming around your mouth to amplify your words,

“Kagura, is that your boyfriend?”

“WHAT?” Inui almost fainted, the ledge behind him holding his wobbly frame up right.

“I didn't know you guys would be here!” Your daughter jogged across the street, leaving the boy sitting by himself.

“And no! Just a friend” She answered your embarrassing, blushing as she stared down at the ground.,

“I sense some lies” you wiggled playfully at the flustered girl.

“What! Anyways, Sorry I left the house without telling you” Kagura apologized,

“Just don't do it again, without my permission..” Inui stated,

“Especially not with a boy.”

K O K O N O I

Bribing people is his forte, and if they did not obliged? Threatening always did the trick.

And that's exactly what he did when he saw his descendant out with a male. All was dandy until the boy came running back, babbling about how his girl was the so called ‘love of his life’.

“Hey brat, you got a death wish?” Kokonoi asked, leaning against the door frame.

“Koko go easy on him, he’s just a kid” You nudged the man, a mischievous grin plastered on the males face.

“And I kinda think it's cute” You said, a small smile erupting from your daughter that was not so far behind her parents.

“I approve, kid! I like your romantic drive!” You clapped,

“Y/N!” Kokonoi pouted,

“You better not try to bribe him with money again” You threatened, waving a finger at the whiny man.

“Yeah! I like him too, dad!” Your daughter agreed.

“You're like twelve, go play chess or something” Kokonoi barked, crossing his arms in disapproval.

“Dad, I'm sixteen!”

“That's what I said”

S O U Y A

He almost had a panic attack at the sight, having to shield the man from the scene playing out. Your twin daughter saying their goodbyes to their dates, followed by a kiss. You removed your hand when the boys were no longer in view, riding off in their motorcycles.

“Shira, Nihra” You held Souya up by the shoulder, the light headed male limping towards the worried kids.

“What's wrong with dad?” Nihra questioned, eyeing her ghostly pale father.

“He's out of it” You giggled,

“I'm not crazy am i?” He stood tall, letting go of the arm you had draped around him.

“There was boys-” His voice cracked.

“You saw that dad?” Shira sweat dropped, watching as her fathers should leave his body.

“Next time ask before you go out” You smiled, you weren't too strict on the two. They were Souya’s children, earning most of their adorable traits from him. Even his fighting skills.

“This better not happen again, i'm trusting you” Souya grumbled.

“Sorry pops” The two girls remorsefully sollied the man, both hooking onto one of Souya’s arms as they helped his shell into the house.

N A H O Y A

Nahoya was beyond pissed, infamous smile widening. Taking fast steps towards your daughter and her significant other.

“Look boy, I don't know who you are. But my daughters not up for grabs” Nahoya grinned, cracking his fingers.

“O-okay sir” the boy was jittering, body trembling from the males intense arua.

“If I catch ya here again” he used his finger to slash his neck, motioning to the death that would happily greet the boy if they were to ever meet again.

“Yer dead meat kiddo” Nahoya laughed, watching as the boy ran for his life.

“Dad, that was really extra!” Your daughter sneered, a pout on her lips.

“Shut up!, you're grounded rat!” Nahoya shouted.

“Yeah Nahoya, there was no need to threaten the poor kid. He looked like he was gonna piss himself.”

“Exactly the effect i wanted”

End Note : as I said this was a word barf T-T, so it’s quite short.

Reblogs & Notes are always appreciated! Take care! ♡︎♡︎

2K notes · View notes

lalal-99 · 3 years ago

Text

When in College: Making lifelong friends

This is chapter 3 of 5 of the story "Play with Fire" {skz h.h.}. Word Count: 9.4k Click here for chapter overview. Click here for the Masterlist.

Teaming up with Hyunjin for this project was nothing like you had expected. There were no creative differences, and there was no bickering like usual. It was much worse.

When Mr Park had told you that this could be a blessing in disguise, you had given him the benefit of the doubt. He had about as much experience in this field as one could, so he should have been right, right? Well, as it turned out, he couldn't have been more wrong.

There wasn't a minute of choreographing in which the two of you weren't hanging at each other's throats, ready to murder one another. Whenever you came up with something – a sequence of steps or movements – It wasn't good enough for Hyunjin. And whenever he came up with something, it was purely for himself – as if he totally forgot that you had to be in this routine as well.

You couldn't see this work out in any scenario, and you had worked with some difficult people before. You had managed to teach children and some of the worst dancers at your old dance school. Though, not even that could compare to trying to get Hyunjin to accept one of your ideas. Not even a single step seemed to be worthy for the ever-so-perfect Hyunjin.

After a month of constantly butting heads, you were at the end of your patience. It had even gotten to the point where you had to take breaks every five minutes so you wouldn't do something that could get you arrested. Whoever had created Hyunjin must not have known that there was a thing called 'too much ego'.

The worst thing about being unable to spend more than five minutes in one room with Hyunjin was that, this way, you couldn't make any progress. You still had basically no choreography apart from a few moves that seemed fine to both of you. Though, you were sure that half a minute of choreo for a three-minute song wouldn't guarantee you a good grade, or even just that you'd pass.

"No, you're not doing it right! It goes like this," Hyunjin exclaimed after you had attempted one of his overly detailed moves. He proceeded to show you what he wanted it to look like, and as you had expected, there was no difference. You had executed the move just as he had shown you.

"I did exactly that," you retorted, repeating the movement in all its entirety. "You can't tell me there's a difference."

"But there is. Your face, it's not the same. Also, you have to put your weight into your knee. Not your thigh, your knee!"

"What do you think I've been doing all this time?"

"Well, obviously not what I told you to do."

At those words, you let out a sigh of frustration as your head rolled back against your neck. You took a few deep breaths to calm down before looking back at him. You brought your hand to your hair, harshly running your fingers through it.

"Let's take five," you said, walking over to your bag at the side.

"Another one? Who doesn't have lung capacity now?" Hyunjin muttered though you understood him just fine. After the process you had made over the past thirty minutes – which was non-existent – you simply ignored his comment.

As you took a sip from your drink, which you now regretted not lacing with alcohol of any sort, you thought back to what Mr Park had told you. 'If you really feel like you don't fit creatively, then make it fit. Find common ground and work off of it.' Fair enough, you thought to yourself – but what if there was no common ground to work off of?

There was nothing that you and Hyunjin had in common. Maybe the frustration you could unleash in each other and the mutual love for dancing. But that was it. And you could hardly make it work just through those.

"Why is this so hard?" you asked, more to yourself, really, but Hyunjin heard it anyway.

"I told you. You're just not a really good dancer," he said, hopefully in a joking manner, for the sake of your sanity.

"That's not what I mean," you replied, trying to ignore his rude comment. You knew that he was just trying to stir you up, and by now, you deemed yourself immune against the things he said, just for the sake of getting you riled up. "I'm totally capable of doing your steps."

"If you say so."

"I mean, why is it so hard for us to just get along?" Hyunjin looked at you as if you had just escaped a mental institution. "I don't mean in general, dumbass," you rolled your eyes at him. "I don't care if we're arguing about stupid things in our free time. But this is different. This is for a grade. We should be trying to work alongside instead of against each other."

"What is it with you and grades?" Hyunjin questioned, shaking his head. "Is everything about winning with you? Do you always have to be the best at everything?"

You couldn't help but wonder if this was about that infamous game of Truth or Dare a little over a month ago. After that, your rivalry had only skyrocketed. For a while, you had been sure that Hyunjin was mad at himself for letting you win something so stupid. You would have probably blamed yourself had you given in on that day. Though, something about his behaviour – the way he couldn't talk to you in the halls or when you were hanging out with your friends – told you that there must have been a deeper reason behind it.

"I don't have to win at everything," you disagreed, making Hyunjin chuckle sarcastically. "Fine, I like winning. But so do you," you finally gave in with a sigh. "Also, I don't need to be the best. I just need to do well in this class. Like A- well."

For the first time in forever, you weren't yelling at each other. Though it felt a little unfamiliar, you could have really gotten used to it. The calm felt relaxing, even if Hyunjin's pure presence made you tense.

"What do you mean, you need to do well?" Hyunjin asked in confusion as he put his bottle down next to him. Even though the two of you were sitting on the same bench, you had chosen each end as your current resting space. You were as far away from each other as you could possibly have been. "College isn't just about grades. It's about new experiences and meeting people that will be with you for the rest of your life."

"Sure, it's about all of that. But if I don't get good grades-" You stopped yourself as you looked up at the boy.

Should you really confide in Hyunjin out of all people? You hadn't even told Seungmin or any of your other friends about your situation. Those were the people you should be talking to, but they hadn't asked the right questions yet. Hyunjin, well, he had. It took you a few seconds to finally realise that maybe, this was just what both of you needed to hear.

"If I don't get straight A's, my mother will make me drop out of this school."

For a few seconds, your words hung in the air. The moment you had spoken them, you felt like you had exposed something so intimate to Hyunjin – you felt naked, even. It only made matters worse that he didn't reply to your statement, apparently confused by the new information he had gathered.

You knew that Hyunjin couldn't have possibly figured what to do with this information. It wasn't as if he had any pressure of achieving nothing short of greatness laying on his shoulders. For all you knew, Hyunjin's parents were proud of their son for going after his passion. All of your friends were getting the support they needed from their parents, so he couldn't have possibly understood what you were going through.

It wasn't easy for you to talk about this. Seeing no one knew about your situation, nor could have understood, you felt isolated most of the time. Like you were alone in this.

"What do you mean?" Hyunjin's question took you out of your trance. His face was still full of confusion, but you deemed the moment to be over. Too much time had passed, and you had changed your decision. You couldn't talk to Hyunjin about this. Seungmin, maybe, or Chan. But not Hyunjin.

"You know what, forget what I said," you told Hyunjin as you got up from the bench, making your way back into the middle of the room. You looked at the boy through the long mirror that decorated the wall. "Teach me that move again. Maybe I'll get it now."

"I lied. You got it before. I was just trying to irritate you," Hyunjin suddenly confessed, his brow furrowing in the process. "What do you mean, you're mom will make you drop out if you don't get straight A's?"

"Wait, you lied to me?" you questioned in surprise, but Hyunjin had set his mind on finding out whatever it was that you were trying to hide from him.

"Don't try changing subjects now. Why would your mom make you drop out?"

For a couple of seconds, you debated whether you should yell at him for lying or just tell him to shut him up. It took you a few moments to realise that no matter what you decided on doing, he wouldn't let this go. You had already revealed enough to get him curious, the cat already halfway out of the bag.

"I promise, I won't make fun of you or anything if that's what you think." Something about Hyunjin's face made him look genuine. You couldn't really pinpoint it, but somehow, it made you feel less uncomfortable talking about this.

"Fine. But only if you let this go afterwards. We need to get at least the first minute of this choreo down today," you gave in with a sigh as you turned back around to look at Hyunjin. His eager nod affirmed your rule. "My mother was never a fan of me wanting to become a professional dancer. She's a High School principal and really conservative. When I got into this school, she'd only let me go under one condition: I needed to do something outstanding within three years, or she'd pull all my funding. In her world, outstanding achievements mean straight A's. So, there's that."

You didn't like the feeling this exposure gave you. It was as if you were being judged by a critic, or in this case, a rival of yours. By opening up to Hyunjin, you gave him a base to take you down. It was almost as if you were giving him the weapon to end you. Like you had just told him about your Achilles tendon.

Even though he had promised not to use this knowledge against you, you couldn't have been sure about it. It wouldn't have been the first time someone stabbed you in the back when you didn't expect it.

"Can we please continue now?" you questioned after a few silent seconds, eager to finally get this over with and get out of here. The tension in your back grew with each second, and at that speed, you'd be unable to move at all in moments.

"Not yet," Hyunjin told you as he leaned forward a little. A small chuckle left his lips as he looked down at his intertwined hands for a moment before his eyes came back up to look at you. "I can't believe I'm saying this right now, but I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Your mom, putting this pressure on you. It's suffocating to know that if you screw up, everything will slip out of your hands and fade away. So, I'm sorry you're feeling this way, even if you don't really let it show right now."

What had gotten into him, you didn't know. Hyunjin was being kind, and you didn't trust it one bit. Had it been any other person, you wouldn't have been surprised by the sympathy. But it was Hyunjin, the guy who had attempted to pick you up with a stupid pick-up line, the guy who used your fetish against you in a game of Truth or Dare. This was nothing like him, so you couldn't believe it was actually him sitting in front of you.

And, even worse, he was right. You had told Hyunjin what was really going on with your compulsion for good grades, though you hadn't shown him just how much it actually affected you.

You hadn't told him about the sleepless nights, trying to study for exams just to make sure you'd get an A – about the nights spent at the practice room just to make sure you wouldn't forget a single move. You hadn't shown that side – you just couldn't. You barely let yourself see you like that, so you obviously couldn't let Hyunjin.

"The sleepless nights, thinking about whether you made the right choice. All the bruises from practicing way too hard. The weight constantly laying on your shoulder. It's not easy, especially considering that we dancers have to be relaxed to do our job. The pressure isn't doing us a favour, that's for sure."

You couldn't help but notice how Hyunjin had switched from a 'you' to a 'we' statement. Maybe he had done it subconsciously; Maybe he had spoken in generalisations. What stroke you about it was, that he seemed sad when he said. As if he had not only sympathy for you but understanding. This couldn't have been a coincidence.

"You're right. It's not easy," you hesitantly agreed, your eye focused on Hyunjin's face. A dark shadow ran over his features as he stared at an uncertain spot on the floor, his hands fiddling. It was that small nervous gesture, this small detail some people would have probably missed, that told you Hyunjin wasn't just feeling bad for you. He was feeling bad for himself. "So, who's putting pressure on you?"

You didn't recognise your wondering mind until that question left your lips. As soon as the words had gotten out, Hyunjin looked up at you, the floor no longer of any importance. For a second, he seemed to be unsure whether or not to confide in you. That was until he realised that you had just done the same to him. You had opened up to him without knowing where it would lead, so why shouldn't he?

"My dad," Hyunjin eventually confessed, his hand coming up to play with his bracelet. He didn't seem to notice it, but you sure did. "When he found out I don't want to take over his business, he threw me out. He said that if his son wanted to compromise everything he had worked so hard for, then he no longer had a son."

"That's harsh," you mumbled, more to yourself, but he heard it anyway.

"Yeah," Hyunjin agreed as his eyes came back to you. "It makes you grow up way too fast. To pay for tuition, I work part-time at a bar in the city."

Everything was quiet for a while as you were taking in what you had just found out. Not only had you been nice to Hyunjin for about five minutes, no, you had also learned that maybe you shouldn't be so hard on each other. Had you not been vulnerable, you would probably have never found out that he was struggling as much as you were, perhaps even a little more. But for once, this wasn't about winning.

"I'm sorry," you finally spoke up, giving Hyunjin the same sympathy he had given you mere moment before.

"So, what is this? Where do we go from here?"

You thought about Hyunjin's words for a second, trying to find an answer you could give him. Obviously, everything that had happened before this moment couldn't be forgotten. You couldn't have just become friends after all your previous fighting, acting as if it never happened. Same upbringing and all.

"What if-" you stopped as you waited for Hyunjin to look up at you. "What if this is our common ground? A base of understanding that we can work off of?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"I'm saying, maybe Mr Park wasn't wrong after all," you spoke, turning around to face the mirror yet again. Through it, you looked at Hyunjin, throwing him a small smile. "Let's just keep in mind that we're both trying to achieve something here. I'm trying to get a good grade to please my mom and you- well, I guess you want to show your dad that you made the right choice? That you can live without him bossing you around?"

A laugh escaped Hyunjin's lips as he shook his head at your words.

"Whatever it is that you're trying to prove here, I'll keep in mind that we're not that different," you explained your previous words. "You good with that?"

"Fine," Hyunjin finally gave in as he put his bottle away before getting up to join you in the middle of the room. "By the way, my goal is to have more money and be more handsome than my dad."

Now it was your cue to laugh as you realised that you had attributed Hyunjin too much reason. Of course, he was trying to prove something this shallow rather than something of depth.

"Just show me the move again. From the top!"

»»»»»»»»»

"Welcome to Chez 'Hwang Yeji's family's cabin in the woods'."

The loud sound of a couple of car doors being thrown shut echoed through the trees as you were looking at the massive cabin in front of you. The scene displayed itself as you had only ever seen in movies – a visibly old, castle-like mansion peeking out between the orange trees. Winter was coming late this year, so even though Christmas was only a week away, the trees had just started losing their leaves.

As you watched the view in front of you, you noticed the cabin's width. The ivy that covered the dark exterior made it appear even grander than it actually was, but the size was impressive either way. You had known Yeji's family to be on the more comfortable side regarding money, but this was still a lot. You couldn't even begin to imagine what this property must have been worth.

Despite everything that could have gone wrong with a bunch of 20-year-olds residing here, the Hwang's had allowed you to use their cabin for a weekend away before Christmas. They must have trusted their daughter a lot to let her and a dozen strangers stay here.

The group had been looking forward to this vacation simply because Yeji had raved about this place so much over the past year. Apparently, she had made some of the best memories here, and now she wanted to show her friends what the fuss was all about. Apart from that, it was a chance for all of you to strengthen your bond. A friendship getaway, if you will.

As everybody made their way towards the entrance, you took a second look at the estate, noticing the deep green window sills that decorated it. In connection with the dark brown wood and the ivy, it made the house look even more like it was straight out of a fairytale. You would not have been surprised if the faucets were made of gold and tiny fairies dressed you in the morning.

"This place is massive," Changbin noticed as the group entered the cabin behind Yeji. Your first impression of this place was only reinforced by Changbin's visible surprise. You knew for a fact that the boy's family was pretty wealthy themselves. So that he was as impressed by the size of this place as you were, made it obvious how big it actually was.

"Thank you," Yeji said as if it had been her to purchase this mansion. "So, there are three bathrooms and four bedrooms in total. One of those is a double bedroom, and I think everybody's okay with Jisung and Minho staying there. They're still in their honeymoon phase, and I think none of us would like to walk in on something spicy if one of them or – God forbid – both of them were assigned to another room."

As Yeji looked around the group, everybody agreed with her hypothesis.

After that infamous game of Truth or Dare, it had taken the two not more than a week to finally start dating, and you liked to believe that you had at least a little to do with that. Even though they never mentioned you when explaining how they came to be to outsiders.

"Oh, come on!" Minho said with a huff. "We're not that bad, are we?"

"Well, let's just say that you're number two on the list of couples that could possibly ruin this trip for everyone. I'm looking at you, y/n and Hyunjin."

"Excuse me," you complained, holding your hand to your chest. "First of all, we're not a couple. And second, ever since we got assigned to do that project together, we've been getting along way better."

"No, we haven't," Hyunjin disagreed, a confused look on his face. "Just an hour ago, you stopped the car in the middle of nowhere to make me switch to Chan's group."

Admittedly, that was true. After picking up one half of the group with your car, Hyunjin had constantly been getting on your nerves.

This song is so bad – change it!

So, you just disagree with the speed limit?

I swear, if you don't slow down in curves, I'm gonna throw up.

All of these complaints had gotten you to a point where you just couldn't take being in the same car as Hyunjin anymore. So, for the sake of not murdering him, you had stopped the car and made him switch. Jisung had been dying to change cars anyway, seeing Minho was sitting in yours, so it was a win-win for everybody.

"Just because we finally agreed on a choreo doesn't mean we get along better," Hyunjin added, making you roll your eyes. He should have been just as offended by Yeji's comment as you were, but apparently, his dislike for you was worse.

"Whatever," you brushed him off as your eyes came back to Yeji, who had been watching the whole scene unfold.

"So, can we have those two stay in rooms on different sides of the house?" Changbin questioned, his eyes trained on Yeji, who nodded in agreement.

"I already thought about that," she explained as she let her bag fall to the ground and sat down onto one of the couches. "There are three three-bed rooms left. I also brought a few mattresses for the people who get up early to work out. Changbin, Chan and I will be staying in the living room, so we don't wake all of you in the morning."

The two boys seemed to agree with that decision, taking a few steps back and leaving the people who weren't yet assigned to a room at the front. The nine of you looked at each other as you waited for further instructions.

"The rest can just stay wherever, as long as Hyunjin and y/n don't stay in the same room."

For the next few minutes, a discussion about who would stay in a room with whom took place. There were preferences, like Jeongin wanting to room with Seungmin since he was already used to his roommate. Also, Yuna was set on sharing a room with only girls since she couldn't sleep with the boys' snoring all night.

After about five minutes, all of you had agreed on a constellation that would make everybody happy. Hyunjin, Felix and Ryujin would stay in one room since all of them usually went to bed late. Chaeryeong, Yuna and Lia would share a different room for opposite reasons. Finally, Seungmin, Jeongin, and you made up the last group. You and Seungmin had been friends for a while, so it only made sense that you'd share a room. Also, Yeji had suggested that both Felix and Seungmin were the people who could calm Hyunjin and you down the fastest. So, if anything were to happen, there was an emergency team for damage control.

Honestly, you weren't used to your constant fighting with Hyunjin being addressed this openly by the rest of the group. No one ever said anything about it, so you had always assumed that your friends simply didn't care. As if the bickering wasn't worth their time. Now that it had become the reasoning behind decisions, you felt a little guilty. You couldn't help but figure that if the two of you had gotten along better, there would have been less tiptoeing around a confrontation.

As soon as the decision regarding rooms had been made, Yeji showed you the rest of the house. After seeing the actual size of this place, you had determined that this was the fanciest place you had stayed at yet. It wasn't too posh, though the decoration and just the overall interior design made it appear dream-like. Someone had really put their heart and soul into this place, and it showed.

Finally, Yeji showed you the rooms so that each group could get their beds ready for the next two nights. It was then that you noticed just how serious your friends had been about keeping you and Hyunjin out of each other's way. The room you'd be staying in was as far away from Hyunjin's as it could have been. Yeji had even ensured that you'd be using separate bathrooms so that you wouldn't run into each other there. It seemed ridiculous to you, but you didn't complain as you knew where they were coming from.

When everybody had gathered back in the living room, further arrangements were made. Since dinner would be taking a while – Chilli apparently needed a few hours to simmer – Minho and Ryujin had decided to start preparations early. So, as everybody else was playing games or watching videos on YouTube, the two of them began cutting the ingredients.

Even though they had assured you multiple times that they didn't need any help, you had insisted on giving them a hand. You hated washing dishes due to the way your hands felt from the soap and because of the disgust you felt for leftover food that wasn't yours. Therefore, you couldn't have been assigned for clean-ups and instead needed to help with cooking. Neither of the two appointed chef's could say much about that, so now you were standing at the kitchen counter, cutting onions.

The scent of sizzling garlic and ginger started filling the room after a while, which was only a slight distraction from the sting in your eyes. To keep your sight from watering any further, you looked to the side, which was when you noticed Jisung giving his boyfriend some company. The boy was sitting on the kitchen counter, talking to Minho as he drained the beans.

Whenever the two of them were together, they undeniably gave you the feels. As you looked at the young couple, you also didn't feel as angry that they hadn't yet thanked you for your work. If it weren't for you, they would have probably never confessed their feelings to one another, but who were you to brag.

As soon as you were done with the onions, you handed them over to Ryujin. She couldn't help but laugh at your crying, which had been obviously due to the unavoidably piercing scent of the vegetable.

"You okay?" Ryujin asked as she tried stifling her laugh. Her hand came up to wipe some of your tears away from your cheeks. "You got a little something here."

"Thanks. Is my makeup okay?" you questioned, and from the amused look on Ryujin's face, you could tell that it wasn't.

"Nothing a tissue can't fix."

"Is there something else I can do? Can I cut something else?" you asked as you took the paper towel out of Ryujin's hand when she handed it to you. You quickly dried your face of the tears, noticing just how dark the towel was after you had wiped your face with it. It was safe to say that you didn't need any makeup remover tonight.

"Here," the girl said, handing you three bell peppers. "Cut these."

When Ryujin turned around again to pour the cut onions into the big pot, you made your way back to your previous place at the counter. As you began cutting the first pepper, you noticed a figure appearing at the other side of the bar. Before looking up, you could already tell it was Hyunjin from the suffocating smell of his perfume. Why he had used this much anyway was a mystery. There were no girls around, he could have wanted to impress with his scent, so it didn't really make sense.

"You know that these are way too small, right?" The self-assured expression on Hyunjin's face as he eyed one of the pieces you had just cut made you roll your eyes. Apparently, he was a better cook than you now.

"I might not be a great chef, but I think my girl would have told me if they were too small," you pointed out with a fake smile as you noticed Ryujin coming to your side. "Thanks for the help, though. I'm glad you took the precious time out of your day to correct me."

"He's right, actually."

The words coming from Ryujin made a satisfied smile appear on Hyunjin's face as he placed the tiny piece of pepper in his mouth. The girl threw you an excusing expression as she inspected your work on the board.

"This might be a good size for a sauce, but for Chilli, they're too small."

"You just had to say that in front of him?" you questioned silently, but Hyunjin heard anyway.

"It's not like I'm gonna brag about obviously being a better cook than you are. You know me better than that, don't you, princess?"

The pet name made the hair in the back of your neck stand on end as you thought back to the last time Hyunjin had used it. During your competition back when you had been playing Truth or Dare, he had called you by that name multiple times. Undeniably, it had made you feel a certain kind of way, though you would have rather died before telling him that.

"Are you gonna keep standing here?"

"I like it here. It makes me feel- right," Hyunjin joked with a smile as he started tying his hair up.

You had no idea why he felt the need to get his hair out of the way when he wasn't about to do anything that would make a better sight necessary. Still, you couldn't help but get lost in the view for a few seconds.

Hyunjin's Adam's apple was so prominent, so desperate for attention, as you could only imagine what its reaction to lips pressing against it would have been. When he came back up, his now tied hair framing his pretty features, you forced yourself to snap out of it. Though, that came a little too late, seeing he had noticed your visible staring.

"Take a picture. It lasts longer."

"Ugh," you huffed at his egoistic remark as you wiped your hands on the apron hanging around your waist. "Like I was actually looking at you. I was just debating how sober I have to be to endure your presence."

"Well, you better think fast because I just decided to delight you with my company for a while." You knew for a fact that Hyunjin was doing this to irritate you. Even though you were immune to his teasing in the practice room, when it was just the two of you working on your project, you couldn't help but let it affect you outside of practice.

"Fine. I'll get the beer then," you told Hyunjin as you took off the apron and started making your way around the counter towards the small key-bowl by the door.

"I'll help you," he said as you turned on the spot. Why he was so set on annoying you out of all people, you had no idea.

"What? You don't think I can carry a couple of six-packs by myself?"

"Calm down. For once, I was actually trying to help you. But if you'd rather throw out your back, go ahead." You sighed at his words before signing for him to follow you after all. It would be quicker this way anyway, so a tiny bit of assistance wouldn't hurt.

"Where did you put the six-packs?" you questioned as you stood in front of the pretty bowl on the green window sill. It contained all of your individual keys and you quickly took out both yours and Chan's car keys. As you held them up beside your head, you threw Hyunjin a questioning look.

"What do you mean, where did I put the six-packs?" Hyunjin asked in confusion.

"I mean, did you put them in Chan's trunk or mine?" you specified your question, but he still didn't give you a straight answer.

"Neither because I didn't get six-packs," Hyunjin explained, making your eyes widen at the realisation.

"What do you mean, you didn't get six-packs?"

"I didn't get any beer because it was your job to get it, remember? When we decided who would buy what, you said you could get the beer. Your brain can't be that small," Hyunjin pointed out as you brought your hands to your head. To keep yourself from getting a headache at his irritating behaviour, you started rubbing your temples softly.

"Yes, I said that I'd get the beer. But then you said that you knew a guy who sold beer and that you'd get it much cheaper from him, remember?" you asked, using the same blaming tone Hyunjin had used.

"That was merely a statement. I never said I'd get the beer, just that I could get it cheaper than you."

For a few seconds, you looked at Hyunjin in disbelief. The fact that he didn't see that all of this was his fault annoyed you even more. In his head, he must have seen himself as a perfect human being, unable to do any wrong. Usually, you would have been jealous of self-confidence like this, but not if it meant that he was putting you at fault. And obviously not if it was Hyunjin.

"Hold up! We don't have any alcohol?" you suddenly heard a third voice from beside you. When Changbin stopped next to you, you saw the disappointment on his face. He must have been looking forward to the beer as much as you had.

"Looks like it," you agreed with a sigh.

"Okay. I know we made a promise not to address this directly, but this is personal now," Changbin told the group of people behind him. Everybody was watching the scene unfold as if it were a soap opera – as if one of you would commit homicide at any second. "You two morons can fight all you want. Ruin this weekend for everybody, if it makes you happy. But I need alcohol to be able to take it. Bad enough that you can't get along for just two days, but now everybody else has to witness it sober?"

"Excuse me? You made a promise not to address what directly?" you asked as you looked at the people behind Changbin. Everybody was avoiding your eyes as much as possible, looking at their phones or watching their feet as if you hadn't just asked them a question. "Did you promise each other not to talk to us about out fighting?"

"I'm not saying we didn't," Changbin agreed, and for a second, you could sense a hint of guilt in his voice. Apparently, you had been right about your assumption, but Changbin had a different problem at the moment. "But that's not the point here. This is about the beer and the fact that the two of you didn't think it was necessary to check with each other who was getting it. And now, we're the only ones suffering."

That it had taken alcohol to make Changbin tell you about their pact was somehow sad. Like it needed the absence of beer for them to finally tell you about this. What was even worse, though, was that they had to have a pact like that at all. As if they didn't want to wake the monster that was yours and Hyunjin's messed-up relationship. It made you feel angry as well as guilty.

"It was her fault," Hyunjin tried to excuse himself, making you look at him with an 'are you fucking serious' expression on your face.

"No, it wasn't!" you disagreed just as loud as he had.

"You know what? Both of you forgot to get it, so you're gonna make up for that now," Changbin told you as he grabbed Chan's car key out of your hand. The other one, your key, was lingering in your palm as the boy started leading you towards the exit. "I don't care which one of you was at fault, you're both leaving, or I'm gonna go totally berserk."

With those words, Changbin opened the door for the two of you. When it took you too long to leave for his liking, he rolled his eyes, pushing both of you lightly towards the outside. As soon as you were standing in the cold, Changbin closed the door almost completely. The leaves were cracking under your shoes as you turned around to look at him.

"I think we passed a drug store about 20 minutes from here. Just follow the train tracks, and hurry. It's gonna be dark soon."

With a loud thud, Changbin closed the door in front of you, leaving the two of you in the cold. For a few seconds, all you did was watch the dark wood as you felt a shivering breeze run through your clothes. Obviously, you hadn't expected the boy to snap like this, and honestly, it scared you a little. After all, Changbin was a scary dude – cute but also so buff, he could have easily picked both of you up to throw you off somewhere. You didn't even dare to knock on the door after that to ask for a jacket. Even if it had negative degrees outside.

"Are you coming?" Hyunjin asked as he started making his way to your car in the driveway. After you had taken one last look at the door, debating whether you should tell the man off for treating you this harshly, you finally decided not to push it. "y/n?"

"I'm coming," you yelled, a little annoyed as you turned around. Hyunjin was already standing by the passenger's side of your car, waiting for you to open the door. He seemed to be just as loosely dressed as you were, so at least both of you would suffer from Changbin's punishment. "You're really impatient. You know that, right?"

Your question stayed unanswered as you opened the car door to let both of you into the car. When you sat down on the soft cushion, you noticed that the inside was in no way more comfortable than the outside. Apart from the wind gushing outside, it was just as cold on the inside. You blamed that on the non-existent garage. On a property this well planned, one should think there'd be at least one garage to park a car in. Apparently, the four bedrooms and three toilets took too much space for that.

As you were backing out of the driveway and started making your way back on the same road you had gotten here on, you thought about what you had just found out. Apparently, all of your friends had a mutual understanding that they couldn't talk to either of you about your constant fighting. You had never imagined something like that, seeing they had never talked to you about it, so to say you felt a little betrayed was an understatement.

Maybe it wasn't your right to feel this way, since it was you who caused their behaviour after all. Still, they could have at least talked to you about all of it if it had bothered them this much. There had been no need to go behind both of your backs and discuss how to act around you. As if you were a monster, they didn't dare go near.

Even worse was that it didn't seem to bother Hyunjin one bit. The boy seemed to not care about their conspiracy at all, which made you mad for some reason. Perhaps you wanted him to worry a little more about how people received your relationship. But then again, there wasn't really a relationship to begin with.

It wasn't until ten minutes into your joyride that you were taken out of your daydreams by a light beep coming from your speedometer. Your eyebrows furrowed together as you noticed the gas symbol lighting up in a steady rhythm.

"What is that?" Hyunjin asked, breaking the silence laying over you for the previous minutes. Up until now, you hadn't talked to him, seeing you had other things to worry about than making this ride more enjoyable for him.

"It's just the gas. No need to worry," you told Hyunjin as you shifted gears. "We'll just need to drive by a gas station to fill up the tank."

"No need to worry? I think a red light blinking is more than a good reason to worry," Hyunjin pointed out as his eyes came to look at you in disbelief. "Why didn't you fill up the tank before we left?"

"Because I know my car. I knew I still had enough gas left to drive up here, and as it turned out, I was right. Also, I know that a blinking light means that it still has about 30 minutes in it," you told him with a stern expression as your eyes came to look at him for a second.

"30? More like ten," he corrected you with a huff as he rested his elbow on the door.

You couldn't have explained why this was the last straw – it simply was. Hyunjin had been getting on your nerves more than usual, ever since he had sat down in your car three hours earlier. You blamed yourself for trying to be the bigger person and volunteering to pick him up. You wouldn't have done that if Chan didn't have to take a detour to pick Hyunjin up.

At that moment, as Hyunjin had corrected you yet again, you just lost it. Sure, he had been right about the size of pepper slices earlier. Maybe there had also been some other occasions in which he had been not wrong, but this was different. This was your car, and you had enough experience driving it to know it inside and out. Hyunjin had nothing on you in this field, so he had no right to correct you.

The second the words had left his mouth, you stomped on the brakess, forcing your car to stop immediately. It sent both of your bodies into a forward bend, the seat belts cutting your airways for a second before your bodies were pressed back into the cushions. Hyunjin turned his head to look at you in shock – his hand coming to his heart as if he had just escaped a heart attack.

"Why'd you do that?" Hyunjin asked in confusion as he scanned the outside through the windshield. He seemed to be searching for a reason you had stopped this suddenly. When there was no deer or rabbit around, rapidly running over the road, he was all the more confused.

"Why do you always have to know everything better? Why do you have to correct me on any matter?"

Your question hung in the air for a few seconds as Hyunjin gathered that this had been your reason. The second he comprehended that you had stopped the car so abruptly to ask him that, his look changed to one in disbelief rather than confusion.

"Is that the reason you stopped the car? To ask me that?" he inquired angrily, but before you could even answer, he spoke up again. "Are you fucking mental?"

"I don't know, Hyunjin. Am I?" you questioned, sarcasm thick in your voice as you turned the car off. The music stopped playing, and the ventilation shut down instantly. "Is it crazy of me to freak out when some guy continuously keeps nagging and mansplaining things to me? Also, is it crazy of me to want you to care more about what people think of us? Is it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about our friends. Didn't you hear what Changbin said earlier? They intentionally avoid talking to us about our fighting, even though it obviously bothers them." Even as you explained it to Hyunjin, he still appeared to be totally oblivious to the whole thing. "Changbin said that we ruin things for them. Doesn't that bother you?"

"He didn't mean that," Hyunjin told you confidently, putting you off. "Changbin was just pissed that we forgot the beer. He obviously didn't mean anything of what he said."

"But didn't he, though? Just think about it. Don't you notice how the mood shifts whenever we get into another fight? Don't you realise that they're doing everything in their power to keep us away from each other, to not have us go off at each other?" You just couldn't believe that Hyunjin was brushing all of this off. "Because of us, they have to constantly think about what they're doing or how to spend some time as a group, and not have it blow up in their faces."

"You're reading too much into this," Hyunjin shook his head, but this wasn't enough for you. You needed to stop this madness while you still could – for the sake of this weekend and your friendship with the group.

"Even if I was, I can't go on like this. We have to settle this feud once and for all." As you spoke those words, your eyes landed on the train tracks behind Hyunjin. You had been driving alongside them towards the next village for a while. Though they had merely been a background scene up until this point, you realised that they would come in handy now.

"What are you doing?" Hyunjin questioned when you hastily opened the car door. He followed right behind you, watching you as you walked straight towards the tracks. Since they were located on a slight elevation, a hill, if you will, you were struggling for a few moments. Your sneakers kept slipping off the stony ground, but somehow, you made it up there anyway.

"We've been competing against each other for too long. Get up here, so we can finally end this war," you explained as you came to a halt in the middle of the rail. "Whoever gets off the tracks last wins."

As you stood there, breathlessly waiting for Hyunjin to join you, you felt as sure as never before. After a year of fighting over something neither of you could remember, you knew this had to come to an end. It had to at some point, and today seemed to be a suitable day for that. Well, apart from the cold breeze making you shiver all over as you were standing on a hill with no jacket. Not even the trees could slow down the wind, but this needed to be done. If not now, there was a chance you'd lose your friends. In a way, you did this for them.

"You're crazy!" Hyunjin pointed out as he came closer. "Get down there, y/n! You're gonna get hurt."

"Maybe I am crazy. But I won't fight this war any longer. Now, get up here, or you're gonna lose due to non-participation."

"I don't care!" Hyunjin was basically screaming by now, something about this situation making him nervous. You had everything under control, so his fear was unfounded. "Are you really this hellbent on winning that you're gonna risk your life?"

"I don't want to lose our friends because of this thing we've gotten caught up in. So, if this is what it needs to finally get this over with, then yes," you told Hyunjin honestly as you waved for him to join you again. "Now, get up here!"

"y/n, please!"

Why Hyunjin was literally begging for you to come down from the rails, you didn't know. He should have had as much interest in settling this conflict as you did, but for some reason, he chickened out now that it got to the grand finale. If anything, you had expected him to immediately join you. You had always seen him as the more competitive person out of the two of you. So that he didn't even want to compete in this was a little out of character for him.

As you stood there in the cold wind on the tracks, you felt your heart race. Whether it was from the risk you were taking or from the anticipation of what was to come after you had settled this fight – it didn't matter. This was as much adrenaline as you had ever felt rush through your veins, and for a second, you closed your eyes, simply enjoying the feeling.

"y/n, if it means this much to you, then you win. I don't care, just please come down." Hyunjin was getting more nervous by the second when he wasn't even at any risk. After all, it was you standing on train tracks, so he wasn't in any direct danger. Why he all of a sudden cared so much about your well being, enough to make him give up a fight he hadn't even begun fighting, you couldn't have known.

"I don't believe you!" you yelled at him, crossing your arms in front of your chest. "You've been trying to one-up me for a year. I don't believe that you just don't care now."

"But I really don't!" he tried convincing you.

You wanted to speak up again, to tell him again that you still didn't believe him and that he should get his pretty little butt up there. Though your actions were cut short when you heard the loud sound of a horn echoing through the air. As you turned around, you saw a train heading towards you in the distance. It must have still been about a minute away, so you didn't even think about getting off the tracks now. Not this close to finally ending this.

"This fight will end with or without you participating." As you yelled for Hyunjin, you fastened your stand on the stony ground. The last thing you needed was to trip over your own feet and fall.

"Fucking hell, y/n!"

Hyunjin started making his way over to you and up the elevation. His eyes kept wandering in the direction of the oncoming train, and you could tell that he was guessing how much time he still had left. The train would reach you within the next minute or so, and if he kept on stumbling the way he was, you knew he wouldn't make it in time to join you. What a great moment to forget how to balance, you thought to yourself as you shook your head at Hyunjin's clumsiness. Perhaps it was also his visible anxiety about this, so you should cut him some slack.

Obviously, you wanted this to be a fair fight, not one you'd win, simply because Hyunjin didn't make it in time to participate. Just cause he forgot everything he must have learned about balance at some point during his dancing career didn't mean he should miss out on this. Which was why you finally decided to hold your hand out to him after a few seconds, trying to help him up the hill.

The moment Hyunjin grasped your wrist, you expected him to push himself further up the elevation. He was supposed to join you and enter this final competition. Though, when his fingers touched your skin, he immediately started moving backwards, pulling you along with him.

As you were dragged towards Hyunjin, you felt your feet give out underneath you, inevitably sending you into his body. You were heavy enough to make him lose his balance yet again. After trembling for a few moments, the two of you finally landed on the ground, rolling towards the foot of the hill.

It took you a few seconds to realise what had just happened as you pushed yourself off the ground, or much rather, his body. Hyunjin was trapped below you as you had somehow landed on top of him. When you felt him move underneath you, visibly uncomfortable with your weight pressing onto his lungs, you sat up.

"Ugh," Hyunjin groaned as he pushed himself up on his elbows, a few blades of grass stuck in his hair. One of his hands came to his head as he scanned the back of it for wounds and bruises. The search turned up empty, which was when he realised the position you two had somehow ended up in. "Get off me."

"Sorry," you apologised as you brought your right leg over his waist to sit down beside him rather than on top of him. As he was lying beside you, he kept his hand over his chest to calm himself down. At that moment, the train finally passed by you, sending the air around you into a frenzy.

"You should be sorry," Hyunjin pointed out as he tied his hair back up, groaning when he noticed that his back and shoulders had taken the toll of your fall. "I almost died because of you."

"You didn't almost die. The train wasn't even close to hitting either of us," you explained, a stern expression on your face.

"Close or not, you're really out of fucking control," Hyunjin yelled as he slowly got up from the ground, stretching his limbs in the process.

Before you could say anything else – apologise again, or point out that he should probably stop being so harsh towards you when you had won the competition – he quickly made his way towards the car. You decided to follow him, shaking your head as you joined him inside the vehicle, still shivering from the cold.

Inside your car, the temperature wasn't any better, seeing you had turned it off before. The ventilation couldn't have kept it at a bearable temperature without any power, so you turned the key to start it up again. Your fingers were shaking so much, you missed the key on the first try, though the second didn't make any difference. The car didn't turn on, even on your third try, which was also when Hyunjin noticed that something was wrong.

"Just turn the fucking key," he told you, causing you to look at him earnestly.

"What do you think I'm doing?" you questioned as you tried it yet again. The speedometer kept lighting up and dimming down a second later as the car kept quiet otherwise. It took you two more tries until you had to come to the gruesome realisation that the problem wasn't your unsteady hand. "Fuck."

"The gas?" Hyunjin examined, an 'I told you so' look on his features.

"Stop bragging. It's obviously not the gas but the battery," you corrected Hyunjin, not daring to look at him further.

Honestly, you weren't sure if it really was the battery, but there was no way you would let him have this victory. For the sake of your ego, you tried it one last time – ineffectively. You brought your hands to the steering wheel, letting your head fall on top of it as you recognised that this was really happening.

"Let me guess, we're stuck?"

With a sigh, you looked over at the boy next to you, a defeated expression on your face. There was no need to deny it – Hyunjin already knew that he was right.

"Yeah, we're stuck."

127 notes · View notes

moonlit-imagines · 4 years ago

Text

Misbehavior (Part 1)

Jason Todd x batkid!reader

warnings:

a/n: tysm anon!!

prompt: anonymous: “Hello Lacey! Hope your doing great! Could I please request a bat family x batsis!reader where the reader is Kind of the middle child (I was thinking older than Damian but younger than Tim) and she’s always forgotten and in the back. Maybe some scenarios can be that no one listens when she talks or they forget to invite her to do stuff. So then one day she acts up in school like maybe punching someone for no good reason because she’s craving attention but instead of Bruce showing up to get her Jason shows up and he sees that she’s actually really sad and starts to question her until she tells him everything and maybe spills some tears and it ends with just Jason comforting her and cheering her up. Just some soft Jason for my soul! Also have a great day and I hope that you feel better and more motivated now after your break! 😘”

part 2

No matter what you did, none of your deeds went unnoticed. Good or bad.

You always heard how Dick was so independent, the one everyone should use as an example.

You always heard how Barbara could do it all, she never failed to impress.

You always heard how Jason was reckless, someone who needed to get his act together.

You always heard how Tim was such a prodigy, he was one of a kind.

You always heard how Steph was so determined, she had such amazing goals.

You always heard that Cass was perfect, they’d never change a thing about her.

You always heard that Duke was so strong, he’d never give up no matter what stood in his way.

You always heard that Damian was dangerous, a kid that needed to be guided.

But what about you? What did they hear about you? Nothing. No one ever spoke of you, they didn’t have the time. It seemed as if you were just unimpressive, there wasn’t one thing that needed to be mentioned. Stuck in the middle of a bunch of bats and birds, no way to stand out in the crowd.

Maybe not in a mask or a cowl, a dress or a suit, behind a computer or among the darkness, but there was one place you couldn’t be ignored...

You sat at your desk, picking at old tape with the tip of your fingernail. The teacher had nothing interesting to say, so what was the point of being here? What made Gotham Academy so special that you just had to attend this place?

The uniform was overkill, the classes went nowhere, the students were too preppy, and you didn’t have a single thing in common with anyone here.

Anger was starting to bubble inside you as you continued your internal self-loathing. Your mind was only focused on the negative, but it was shifting from school back to home.

No one was ever there for you, not even on patrol. You’d called for backup several times on missions and nearly lost it all when you had to go in alone. If it were anyone else, a teammate would have met them in a heartbeat.

Your plans were always overshadowed whenever you tried to set up a mission or even just a day off. You wanted cookies? Too bad, Tim wants brownies. You wanted to watch a movie? Too bad, everyone chose a TV show. It was the little things that irked you the most. Half the time, you never even got the memo.

And what about when you all come back from patrol with all sorts of injuries and Alfred comes to patch you up? Well, not you. He’ll run to check on cuts and scrapes. Meanwhile, you had a broken wrist and a black eye.

You’d finally run out of things to pick at around your desk which resorted in you tapping instead. There was a brief bit of zoning out as you remembered the time that Damian’s plan for evading Killer Croc’s attack was to push you in the way. Or the time that Jason hid his guns in your bed for reasons he didn’t care to explain. Or when Dick drank the last of the milk and didn’t tell you until after you poured your cereal. Or when Tim told you that you weren’t fit for the mission he had been planning. Or when Bruce blatantly ignored the story you told out of pure excitement, giving you nothing but a “sounds like you had fun.”

While you were in a horrible daze, you felt a hand on your shoulder that snapped you out of it faster than the Barry Allen. Without even evaluating the situation, your reflexes caused you to turn and twist your classmates arm backwards as he screamed.

“Hey! Stop, ow, that hurts! Stop! Stop it!” You processed his words too late and knew exactly what was coming next.

“Y/N L/N!” You teacher shouted as you drew your hand back. “Dean’s office. Right now.” Her sharp voice sent a chill down your spine, not even the Joker could do that. You’d be able to explain the situation pretty easily, you just didn’t want to make it worse. But there was one ankle that sent you off the edge. Another student tripped you on your way through the aisles, and that student caught a fist to the face. The audience gasped and shouting from your teacher ensued, but you didn’t listen, you’d take the punishment at this point. So you walked right out and headed for the dean’s office without so much as a hall pass.

“Mx. l/n? What’s this about?” Dean Williams was surprised to say the least, you’d never been sent in for discipline before. Was there a certain way to do this?

“Well, I zoned out and some kid behind me grabbed my shoulder, I accidentally twisted his arm.” You retold your story, the abridged version. “But on my way out I punched a kid in the face because he tripped me. That one’s on me.”

“...Well,” the dean frowned at his obligations, but had to go through with some kind of punishment, “I’m going to have to suspend you for physical contact with a student. I’ll call your father to come pick you up.” You shrugged and slouched back in your chair, giving up on any hope of talking your way out of this. It might as well just happen. You listened to the clicking of the buttons on the dean’s phone as he typed in the Wayne Manor phone number, obviously reaching Alfred almost immediately.

“Wayne Manor.” You eard his faint voice through the speaker.

“Hello, this is Dean Williams from Gotham Academy, may I speak to Mr. Wayne? I have his child in my office.” Your dean explained over the phone, peeking back at your for a split second. You were completely unbothered, it was baffling.

“Is it Damian?” You heard him ask, causing an involuntary eye roll.

“Y/N, actually.” There was a long pause before someone else picked up the phone. “Mr. Wayne, this is Dean Williams at Gotham Academy. I have y/n sitting across from me right now, they seemed to have gotten themself into a physical altercation with two separate students, I have no choice but to suspend them.” You heard a deep sigh over the phone, then the handheld piece was handed to you.

“Bruce?” You asked.

“Really? Fighting at school?” He sounded unimpressed. Nothing new, even when you do something new.

“Something like that. Whoops.” He hung up on you right after that, so you handed the phone back and told your dean, “Guess they’ll get me soon.”

“You call your father by his first name?” Dean Williams had nosily questioned.

“I’m adopted.” He obviously didn’t know you as well as your more troublesome sibling, it was time he just minded his business.

After a good thirty minutes of silent waiting while listening to keyboard clacking and papers flipping by the front desk, the office door opened, and to your surprise, it was one of your brothers.

“I’m here for y/n.” He mumbled, signing the piece of paper and showing his ID.

“Alright, Mr. Harper, I just have to check some paperwork really quick...” The receptionist went into your file and checked for your emergency contacts. “You’re all set. Now, y/n has been suspended for two weeks. I suggest you get to the bottom of their little ‘outburst’ before they’re able to come back to school.” It actually pissed Jason off to hear her say that.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” His sarcasm wasn’t subtle. “Come on, kid.” Your brother gripped your arm and led you out of the office, noticing your bitter expression that he couldn’t even rationalize. Was that normal? “So what happened. Bruce just told me to come get you.”

“Of course he did.” You rolled your eyes on the brink of tears, he didn’t even come to get you himself. Jason opened the car door for you and nudged you inside, slamming it once you were clear.

“You better have a good reason,” he warned as he started the engine, “I was in the middle of a poker game.”

“Oh, yeah, ‘cause I’m such an inconvenience.” You were starting to remind him of himself. That was never a good thing.

“Okay, my bad. I didn’t mean it like that.” Jason began speeding down the block, you’d never once seen him obey a speed limit. You’d think someone with a fake ID and a death certificate would want to avoid any run-ins with the cops, but Gotham was just one of those cities.

“Yeah, right.” You reached for the radio knobs and felt Jason’s hand wrap around your wrist.

“No music until you explain yourself.” You fell back into your seat to pout, muttering some curses under your breath. “I won’t tell Bruce or anyone. I swear.”

“I just zoned out. Reflexes.” You bluntly replied.

“What?” He still didn’t have any context to go off of.

“I twisted someone’s arm backwards. Honest mistake.” Jason knew there was more to this story. “But on my way out of the classroom, I punched this kid who tried to trip me. That was on him.”

“As much as I condone payback, you can’t do that at school.” He sighed. “You’ve never been sent home before. That I know of. So why now?”

“Yeah, you know, maybe that’s the issue? You couldn’t tell me if I’ve ever gotten in trouble before. None of you could. You couldn’t tell me a definitive thing about me. When’s my birthday, Jason?” He was at a loss for words. “That’s what I thought.”

“So this was all for attention?” Jason asked. “There’s a hell of a lot of better ways to go about that.”

“Tried them all, this one barely even worked.” You replied with a crack in your voice. “How come none of you care about me? Why am I always looked over? I’m just like the rest of you. I put on that stupid suit every night and kick ass, I get my job done, I get good grades, I’m resourceful, I’m special—” You’d let that last one slip in your rant to your older brother, it shocked him so bad he stopped the car.

“I know what you mean.” Jason stared straight ahead at the empty road. “I felt the same way when I came back. After everyone was used to me being back, it was like nothing ever happened. Bruce just went back to calling me careless, irresponsible.”

“At least you get noticed, Jason. Your identifiable.” You turned to him with a pained look and he risked his confidence to look you in the eye. Once he did, he couldn’t look away. It hurt him to see someone so familiar to himself have tears running down their face because they felt forgotten. No kid should ever have to feel like that. That was why Bruce took him in. That was how Jason became Robin.

“Fuck this.” Jason hit the gas and turned the car around. “We’re getting ice cream. Do you like ice cream? That’s a serious question.”

“I...I guess.” You were somewhat confused by his sudden literal change in direction.

“Good. You’re my kid for today, all my attention goes to you. I’m sure Bruce won’t notice if you’re gone for a few hours.” Jason’s jaw dropped at his last comment. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, you’re right and you should say it.”

taglist: @thatwaspossession // @ravenmoore14 // @thisetaernallove // @kinoko-kai //

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