#y’ever make an au of an au

[succulant-system]

i like to think of pyramid steve as some sort of false euclidian like a brood parasite of some sort

[wynnyfryd]

Trailer park Steve AU part 30

part 1 | part 29 | ao3

cw: Steve Harrington committing unforgivable thought crimes (besmirching LotR)

"Uh," Steve stammers as Eddie tugs him off the couch, because he just propositioned the guy while covered in snot and tears and wearing a blanket as a cape, and now that guy is holding his hand.

Eddie doesn't let go after he gets him to his feet. Their fingers lace together, and his palm is soft and warm, his fingers slightly callused. Steve can feel his own pulse pounding in his wrist.

"Simmer down," Eddie teases, "I'm not having sex with you. Yet," he adds with a lewd waggle of his brows when Steve puppy-dog pouts at him. "This is better than sex, anyway."

"If you're having shit sex, maybe.” Steve rolls his eyes and lets himself be dragged past a messy counter, where Eddie stops to grab a black lunch box and a cassette tape, a tissue for Steve’s face, then down the hall to Eddie's bedroom.

"My kingdom," he grins as he shoves the door open and waves Steve through with a bow.

His room is amazing. Awesome and terrible all at once: awesome, because it looks like someone put Eddie’s essence in a blender and ran the blades without a lid, and terrible, because the place is a fucking pigsty. There’s a bag of bread on the floor.

Eddie tells him to make himself at home, so Steve plops down on the edge of his bed, takes in the explosion of artwork tacked to the walls while Eddie buzzes around the room — swoops and swoons like a drunken bee, kicking shit into messy piles, sticking a cig in his mouth and forgetting to find the lighter, turning on the stereo. He pops in the cassette, and Steve lets out a surprised laugh when he hears the upbeat strumming.

"Rumours? Really? That's your 'better than sex' cure?"

Eddie cranks the volume. "It's workin’, ain't it?" he mumbles around the unlit cig.

Steve tries to frown and fails. "…Shut up."

Eddie snickers at him; gives him the cutest smile he's ever seen, nose scrunched up, eyes crinkled at the corners, then he tucks the cigarette behind his ear and shakes his hair out with a grimace. “Christ, it’s hot in here." His hands move to the hem of his shirt. "Look away or don’t, baby, I’m changin’!”

Steve smiles and averts his gaze, falling back on Eddie’s bed and looking at the ceiling with his legs dangled over the edge. In his periphery he can see Eddie hopping gracelessly around the dresser, trying to tug his foot out of the end of his skinny jeans, cursing under his breath; dropping all the ‘g’s off the ends of his words.

"I like your Southern accent."

"Do ya now?" Eddie throws it on thick, really hamming it up, "Well then, I reckon it's plum near the most attractive dad-gum thing y’ever did hear 'round these here pawrts."

Steve honks a mortifyingly stupid laugh, which makes Eddie laugh like a chime in a windstorm, which just makes Steve laugh even more, and maybe Eddie was right.

Maybe this is better than sex.

He wipes at his eyes, misty for a good reason for the first time all night, and when he looks up again Eddie’s dressed in his pajamas. Dark gray gym shorts, a black cut-off tank, the arm holes deep and loose to expose his armpit hair, his ribs.

Steve’s mouth goes dry.

Eddie’s wiry and pale, firm muscle wrapped around his string-bean frame, and he's covered in tattoos — black line art and gray shading, fantastical beasts and staffs and swords, a crazily-detailed set of serpent scales snaking up his side. But it's his legs that catch Steve's eye.

His legs are covered in words. Words and doodles everywhere, from his calves to his thighs, the lines wobbly and thick like Eddie put them there himself. There are quotes in sloppy cursive, longer ones in blocky print; a few stylized to look like comic book dialog, the words POW! and DANGER outlined in spiky bubbles above his knee. Steve wants to trace the lines; rehearse him like a poem, learn each ink stroke with his fingers until he can recite them all by heart.

Eddie catches him staring and gives a small, pleased grin. “Like what you see?”

Steve’s tongue feels too big for his mouth. “Yeah. I really do.”

The smile widens. Eddie clambers onto the bed, stepping over Steve’s head and plopping down beside him with his back against the wall, one leg drawn up, the other stretched out long and loose.

Steve shifts to lay the same direction, and his shoulder brushes Eddie’s leg, his wrist ghosting against his ankle bone. He doesn’t pull away; likes the look of their skin tones side by side — the smooth desert landscape of his inner arm, accented only by a few veins and moles; the riot of ink and art all along Eddie’s shin. Eddie’s feet are bare, and they’re wide, a little hairy (reminds Steve of Dustin’s nerdy ring book, and he almost says as much, but he knows Eddie’s even more obsessed with that shit than the kids are. He really doesn’t want the dude to pop a brain boner and spend the next four hours lecturing Steve about jewelry lore.)

“What are you giggling at down there?” Eddie nudges at his elbow.

“Nothing,” Steve says, and Eddie responds “All right then, keep your secrets” in a silly character voice. He stretches to the side and grabs a joint off the bedside table.

“Now,” he says, voice slipping into that deep, slow sing-song thing he does — his sales pitch tone, Steve realizes. “This part is, of course, completely optional, but. In my humble, expert opinion—”

“So humble,” Steve teases under his breath.

“—It really enhances the whole experience.”

“The Stevie Nicks Therapeu- thera-” Oh, screw it. “Un-saddening Experience?”

“That is correct.” He holds it out over Steve’s face, wiggling it in offering, and Steve thinks about his conversation with Robin over brunch:

"I can't believe you did coke.” "I can't believe you smoked weed." "I know." "Was it okay?" He hasn't tried weed since... "Yeah," she answers seriously. "Yeah, it was okay. It was nice, actually."

“Okay,” he decides. I trust you. “Let’s do it.”

Eddie puts the joint between his lips and lights it up.

—

part 31

listen i know it’s a quote from a movie that will not exist for another 16 years just let me have this. tag list in separate reblogs under '#trailer park steve au taglist' if you'd like to filter that content. if you want to be added tomorrow please comment and let me know (must be over 21; please either verify in the comment or have your age visible on your blog)

[darksturnz]

“You better get on your knees and eat this pussy right,”

small blurb cause i can’t get this verse out of my head.. ib any boxer!matt + dealer! triplet au and any dancer!readers! ( @sturnioz fb!chris + shy!reader for the mean x shy dynamic!). contents: smut smut smut smut smut, little plot, no actual p in v, fingering, matt’s a little mean?

The video starts with you up close, dark cherry-red nails brushing against your bottom lip, your mouth quirking into that teasing little smirk Matt both loves and hates. Megan Thee Stallion’s Plan B is blaring, and when you mouth the words, “You better get on your knees and eat this pussy right,” before pulling back to show off the tight little outfit you’re wearing—a cropped black corset that’s barely containing you, paired with a leather mini skirt so short it’s sinful—it’s game over for him.

The camera pans down slowly, your nails running along your hips like you know exactly what you’re doing. You’re wearing knee-high boots that make your legs look endless, and the glint of gold rings on your fingers as they trace your exposed skin is the final fucking straw. Matt doesn’t even hear the second line of the song because the anger is already boiling under his skin.

He hadn’t seen you before you left. He was at the gym, and by the time he got to yours, you were already gone, out with Jean and Oliver, leaving him to deal with a shitty phone call from his supplier. It wasn’t until hours later, when the apartment was quiet and he was mindlessly scrolling through TikTok, that he saw the video. And fuck, it had him spiraling.

15k likes in under three hours. Men and woman in the comments losing their goddamn minds. “She’s so fine, raw no question.”“Whoever she’s with ain’t doing enough i can promise you that.”

The phone nearly cracks in his grip.

By the time you stumble through the front door, laughing with Jean and smelling like tequila, Matt is sitting in the dimly lit living room, jaw tight and leg bouncing. The second he hears your boots click against the floor, he’s on you, gripping your wrist in a way that makes your breath catch.

“Matt—”

“Nah, Shut the fuck up,” he literally growls, dragging you past a startled Jean and into your bedroom. The door slams shut, and the lock clicks before you even process what’s happening.

“Are you seriously mad right now?” you ask, yanking at your wrist, but his grip doesn’t budge.

“Oh, m’way past mad, kid,” he spits, shoving you down onto your bed. His hands are on you immediately, yanking your skirt up to your hips and exposing your lace panties. “The fuck were you thinkin’, postin’ that shit?”

“It’s just a video,” you say, rolling your eyes even as your body betrays you, thighs clenching under his heated glare. “Relax.”

“‘Relax,’” he mocks, dragging your panties down your legs and tossing them aside. His fingers press against your slick folds, and his jaw tightens. “Yeah, you’re real fuckin’ relaxed, huh? Out there lettin’—…lettin’ random dudes see you like this while you’re already drippin’ for me. Don’t play dumb, baby. You knew what you were doin’.”

You bite back a moan, your nails digging into his forearm as he slides two fingers into you, curling them just right. “y’ever thought— that…maybe I wanted to piss you off,” you murmur, the bratty edge in your voice clear.

Matt chuckles darkly, leaning over you, his breath hot against your ear. “Congratulations, kid. Mission fuckin’ accomplished.”

You arch against his hand, but the smirk on your face doesn’t fade. “I dunno, there was a few guys at SINNERS who look capable.”

His movements still for half a second before he’s on you again, faster, harder, his thumb circling your clit in a way that makes your back bow. “Say that shit again,” he growls, his free hand gripping your jaw, forcing you to look at him. “Go on.Tell me how they’d have you like this—already halfway fucked out and cryin’ before a single orgasm.”

You gasp, your head falling back, but he’s relentless, dragging another orgasm out of you before you can catch your breath.

“Answer me, petal” he demands, his voice low and dangerous as his fingers keep moving. “No other dude got you beggin’ like this, not even Mr. Fiancé, huh?”

“N-No,” you choke out, your voice wrecked, your body trembling beneath him.

“Yeah that’s right,” he mutters, his lips brushing over yours in a surprisingly soft kiss. “You’re mine. Wouldn’t want you to forget it.”

But Matt doesn’t stop—not even when your thighs clamp around his wrist, not when your voice cracks as you whimper his name. His fingers are relentless, fucking into you at a pace that has you spiraling, trembling, completely at his mercy. He’s watching you with that smug, arrogant smirk plastered on his face, like he’s never been more sure of anything in his life.

“Look at this fuckin’ a mess,” he mutters, his free hand pinning your hip down as you squirm. “All that attitude, all that fuckin’ mouth earlier, look at you now. Barely holdin’ on. Kinda pathetic kid don’t you think?” He punctuates the words with a curl of his fingers, hitting that spot that makes your whole body jerk.

You gasp, clutching at the sheets, trying to twist away from the overwhelming sensation. “Matt, I—I can’t,” you stutter, but even you don’t sound convinced.

“Can’t?” he mocks, his voice dripping with condescension. “You’re takin’ it right now, aren’t you?” His thumb presses hard against your clit, and you cry out, the sound desperate and wrecked. “That’s what I thought.”

You’re losing it, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes as the pleasure builds and builds, your body shaking under his touch. But you’re still clinging to that last shred of defiance, even as you’re coming undone. “Fuck you,” you manage to spit out, though the words lack any real bite.

Matt laughs, low and dark, leaning down until his lips are brushing against your ear. “Such a naughty mouth. You literally asked for this, petal.” His teeth scrape against your earlobe, and your breath catches in your throat.

“Matt, please, s’not funny anymore” you whimper, your nails digging into his arm, leaving crescent-shaped marks in his skin. You’re teetering on the edge, and he knows it. He can feel it in the way your walls flutter around his fingers, in the way your voice breaks every time you try to speak.

“Please what?” he taunts, his pace quickening. “Use your words, baby. You’re a smart girl, tell me what you need.”

You’re too far gone to care about your pride anymore. “Please, I need—need to come,” you gasp, your voice barely audible.

“There it is,” he murmurs, his tone softer but still laced with that edge of control. “That’s all you had to say.” His fingers drive into you one last time, and the orgasm hits you like a tidal wave, crashing over you so hard it leaves you trembling and gasping for air.

When you finally come down, Matt finally slows his movements, pulling his fingers out of you with deliberate care. He leans back, watching as you lay there, completely wrecked, your chest heaving and your legs still trembling.

“Don’t wear no dumb shit like this again without me there,” he mutters, his voice quieter now but just as firm. His hand comes up to cup your cheek, his thumb brushing away the tear that slipped down your face. “Got some fucked up feelings about it, understand?”

You nod your head weakly, your voice hoarse as you whisper, “Understood.”

AUTHORS NOTE: me dropping a teaser at 2am when i work in thirty minutes and haven’t had a lick of sleep in the last 40 hours.. <333 anywho! proper boards n better credits for anything remotely similar will be posted later.

TAG LIST: @jetaimevous @sturnsblunt @riasturns @ifwdominicfike @chrissturns-wife @pip4444chris @ribread03 @ariestrxsh @angelic-sturniolos111 @pvssychicken @mattslolita @stvrnzcherries @dottieboo @lovergirl4gracieabrams @bluestriips @sturniolo-fann @chrisslut04 @owensbabygirl @sturnslutz @sturniqlo @sofieeeeex @jadasmp4 @ncm9696 @courta13

[vargaslovinghours]

EleVeN!11!!1! (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10½)

Fuzzy Edgar forever. I don’t remember the context now, maybe there wasn’t any to begin with haha, he’s just so cute with slightly longer hair! And upset :)

Some Diaryfic snuggles ♥ Scriabin can be so sweet to him at the worst time ah, I love Edgar’s hard on his arm and Scriabin’s pulling his hair out of his injured eye ����

While I was very inspired by the Red Flags meme going around (we’ll get there), I was just as inspired by Mixed Messages - this exchange is so silly and them to me. He’s just trying to flirt back, you don’t have to make it harder! That’s just what Scriabin does haha

🥐 🖕 D:’

What else did you expect Scriabin to do with texting capabilities?? I’m still very enamoured with the thought of Scriabin using emojis and Edgar using emoticons - they are sort of different generations!

Here’s the Red Flags! So gd catchy, damn lol. I was specifically inspired by the X is on a date with themself edits, it was so tempting to consider a Ladyverse version as well haha. Edgar’s uncomfortable smiles were so incredibly fun hehe ♪

Y’see because with that many eyes- you get it

Edgar’s little “Or do I??” makes me laugh haha, anything to get out of this situation!

Waiter Jake ❤️💕💖💞💗 Rescue him!

Very inspired by this one specifically, he’s totally innocent! Not offputting at all! ♥

Alright well good luck with that bye. I love Edgar being menaced into continuing this date hehe ♫

Scriabin just keeping on the pressure for this date to keep going! Slight neg in “Couldn’t you have dressed up a little nicer though? ✨” pft

Brief aside with Scriabin!Edgar out drinking with my OC Mint who has very openly had a crush on the Vargases for a while now, thanks Mint

Honestly it was all just an excuse to turn him down and have Scriabin call Edgar his “landlord” haha; I was feeling nostalgic and went back to reread some old YuGiOh fics and had been so long away that I forgot that was a term used in the fandom to refer to the bodies of people the various Yamis would take over hehe ♪ It felt very fitting!

I can call him that but don’t you call him that >:(

Angy Scriabin!Edgar, the usual

Handplates re/reading doodles!! Hghgh!!! The theses of these stories of codependent relationships cut me to my very core I’ll have you know 💕 I managed to avoid falling down the rabbit hole of Handplates!Vargas but I was this close, lemme tell you. The subtle shift in phrasing changes so much ;; I love them dearly

A kind-of leftover WOY style Scriabin, since I made his hair all pointy in my first doodles - the WOY style is quite soft and round! He looks very silly hehe

Another song that is, yes, unironically in my Vargas playlist. This is a Nny song to me and you can pry it from my cold dead correct hands. That beautiful facial hair ♪

More Handplates/Vargas, this time obviously inspired by my holiday request 💕💖💞 I honestly rather like how calm Gaster seems whenever he’s in Edgar’s vicinity, he is a fairly unassuming human haha. Is it because he doesn’t laugh very often? Oh no that’s sad actually haha

I’m not done with Blank Slate Ch. 4 just yet - hopefully soon! - but this lineup stands out to me especially since I made it while rereading Handplates. Specifically after Gaster is pulled out of the Void - Gaster having to face the people he loves who have no memory of him really spoke to me in a Blank Slate way - the scenario of being able to completely start over and have never done anything to hurt your loved ones, at the expense of never having done anything to them, as far as they’re concerned, ah! It hurts so beautifully!! That’s one of the central themes I’m chasing so it was so cool to see in that context! Very inspiring ♥

So remember how in my Sims post, one Vargas family ended up with two Todds? Well what if that but actually

Twin Todd AU, just try and stop me

The saddest little twins y’ever did see ahh 💔 Having to share Shmee because there’s just the one of him! Who has a greater need :’0

I actually went and skimmed the SQUEE! comics to get a better grasp on the Casils, I’d forgotten basically everything haha. It seemed in keeping that if they could barely keep track of the one Todd, they wouldn’t bother even differentiating between two :’) Taking Todd shifts to better share the load

At least they have each other! More helpful than a stuffed bear who eats trauma? On par at least?

I also happened to catch this screenshot of the Todds gossiping about their shadow-dad, though I’m not sure who had seen him :0 By now I have found an adoption memory-loss prevention mod - thank goodness :D - but it wasn’t installed at the time! :0 Blue Todd is the Todd who’d already been the Vargases’ kid, Red Todd is newly-adopted Todd :)

Greetings in order! One of the Todds came by to scout out this strange new person

It’s a name to go by, if nothing else

Reporting back from the field, he has served his big narrative influence hehe ♥

Uh, yeah, about that- While I don’t doubt you were seeing double at times, uhm-

Surprise! Double the sons!

Only so much space in this apartment! They’re probably used to sharing a space to sleep weh, the implications of this AU are sad! I have no one to blame but myself haha

I have never been able to give up this twisted love I have for Edgar getting flustered about incredibly silly things and Scriabin chiding him with just his name haha ♥ Real twins do not delegitimize whatever the hell you two are to each other 💕

Who me? An affinity for how names shape identity and what it means to be a whole separate person? In love with this story in particular? You must be mistaken. But really, what would their name(s) be? I also love the subtle differences even just here - one Todd speaks up for the other! Dynamics ✨

1994, 2004, basically the same year innit. Scriabin is so much more on the up-and-up about the latest technology than Edgar, that old man

In which the offscreen is me lol, I was so blown away by how much more advanced the Sims 2 was from the Sims 1 ♥ Scriabin doesn’t need a box with a program in it, he has the absolute funnest toy in the world already!

And isn’t that the most important part ♪

Scriabin immediately makes himself and hooks up with every Sim he can, Edgar uncomfortable and totally not watching a~ny of the animations hehe ♪ Honestly though, the thought of Scriabin being genuinely excited to virtually get it on with any-and-every delights me haha

Look. Look, okay, look- If I could choose what to be inspired by, I would but sometimes

Obviously Scriabin would be a long Furby lol, this exchange can be summarized to “Scriabin no D:” “Scriabin yes >:D”

He’s complaining that Edgar ignoring him sleeping is boring haha

I did briefly lose my mind over how the Furbish word for “I/me/my/mine” is all the same - linguistically it makes sense, self-possessive, but in this, in their context ♥

Based on that one Wojak format - looks into the camera like “Yes. I am in your head. Insanity tracks” pfft

And it’s @jaspravex with the steel chair!! I hadn’t drawn any of them in like a month and then all of a sudden- I was 1000% not expecting to be hit with such a huge wave of inspiration but gosh and dang did this line of thought light me up. The implication! The jealousy! Wow that’s a lot all at once I wasn’t expecting ♥ Somehow these two never ended up on my shipping chart, dynamics I swear haha ✨

There’s September through February for the fourth go ‘round! Wild when I put it like that :0 Like clockwork, these lads ♪

[blood-mocha-latte]

Gurl. Sledgefu Valentine-day drabble! Make it fluff, make it angst, make it heart-shaped! *guitar riff*

LINH you’re a genius truly. i had way too much fun with this; enjoy some modern au sledgefu for the Number One sledgefu pal <3

~

“‘m just sayin’. You broke up with me.” 

Merriell flicked at Eugene’s ear, staring up at the ceiling in something that could almost be amusement, if he wasn’t almost flat-on-his-ass fucked out. “I did it for good reasons.” He muttered, bringing his smoke to his mouth with the fingers that weren’t running through Eugene’s hair, lank with sweat and darkened to a burnt carmine. 

From where he rested his head at his chest, Eugene stretched, reaching his own nimble fingers up to take the cigarette from Snafu, bruised lips wrapping around it absently. The sight of him hollowing his cheeks out to pull at it made the corner of Merriell’s mouth quirk up, an almost helpless smile, and Eugene arched a pale eyebrow, unimpressed. Snafu shook his head.

“Just rememberin’, ‘s all.” He said, smooth, tugging at Eugene’s hair. “Gimme my smoke back.”

Eugene released it easily enough. “What in the hell’s a good reason.” He muttered, not a question, temple sticky with sweat where it rested against Merriell’s bare collarbone, shifting slightly.

It was goddamn hot, in the room, because Merriell’s AC broke a week and a half ago and he hadn’t gotten along to getting it fixed, even though he could easily, and he wasn’t expecting this. Not anymore.

“A good reason is realisin’ that all we had in common wasn’t good enough, cher.” Snafu said. Because Eugene might have been his ex, now, but he was always just Sledge, first, and Merriell didn’t lie. He never would. 

Eugene didn’t seem insulted, by his reason. Instead, he just snorted, pale and freckled nose wrinkling up delicately. “Why do you say it like that?” He asked, his own accent curling queerly around his words, and Merriell wrinkled his nose right back.

“Like what? Cher?” He asked, and Eugene huffed, leaning forward to peck at his lips in what was more of a bite than anything else. 

“My sister-in-law’s been learnin’ French.” He said, clever mouth leaving Merriell’s own to suck a gentle mark under his jaw. “And it doesn't sound anything like that. Y’sound like you’re sayin’ the first syllable in Shawshank Redemption.” 

He followed the honey-words with a sharper bite at Merriell’s jaw, and Snafu hissed slightly as his tongue soothed the mark. “Y’ever even seen Shawshank Redemption?”  He asked, fingers still teasing through Eugene’s hair, tugging none so gently. Eugene made a discontented sound as he did, releasing Merriell’s skin to bat away the hand in his hair.

“No.” He said, eyes still dilated, lips a cherry-soda red. Merriell hummed, tugging on his hair slightly to force him forward, another biting kiss. 

And if they were still dating, and if Merriell thought he had any sort of permission to have Eugene in any way other than this, he would make promises.

Would whisper them against Eugene’s bruised and blood-welled skin, would bite them into his lips. Would promise to show him movies, or teach him phrases, or show him how to break a copperhead’s spine just right so it became like a scaly rope in his palms.

But they weren’t still dating, and Merriell wouldn’t promise him anything. Not when he had any right to. Never did, even, maybe.

When they were, they didn’t call it that, and Merriell taught him different things, anyhow. Like how to best read a map. Keep sand out of his rifle carbine. Line up the sights just right, leading a running man on, and squeezing the trigger—

Merriell’s skin almost crawled. 

He didn’t want to think about that.

Instead, he pressed lips to Eugene’s tacky-warm skin, an unspoken, unpromised prayer. Eugene leaned into him, a near affectionate cat, before pushing away from Merriell’s chest to lay back on his mattress. Snafu only had one pillow, so he closed his eyes against his sheets with a soft hum, eyes slipping shut.

Merriell was helpless to only watch him, heart somewhere in his throat and somewhere in the sand, the sky, the ocean.

“All we had in common wasn’t good enough.” Eugene murmured, lips forming the same words that Merriell had said seconds before with none so much of a whisper. “I think that’s bullshit, Mer.”

Merriell released a soft, hoarse sound in the back of his throat, maybe a protest. “‘s a good reason.” He said, as convincingly as he could. He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince, anymore. “All we had was a secret. That was it.”

Eugene stretched, back arching against the mattress, eyes staying closed. Midday sun streamed through wooden blinds, striping him like a gold-red tiger, freckled and warm and tacky with sweat.

“Mutual frustration over the DADT.” He murmured thoughtfully, and Merriell hummed.

“And the DADT’s been repealed, boo.” He said, like it wasn’t obvious, like they hadn’t fucking celebrated it, like they both hadn’t known that it was going to be their end. 

Eugene rolled over onto his stomach like he didn’t know. “Bite me.” He said, and, as always, the phrase in his mouth made Merriell smile. “Not like it matters. What’s my favourite colour?”

“Green.” Snafu said unthinkingly, the word on his tongue like it had always been there. Eugene hummed, reaching out a single reddened, freckled hand towards him, running light fingertips over Merriell’s cheekbones, the wedge of his nose.

“And what’s your favourite colour?”

Snafu huffed, impertinent, but responded to him all the same. That was another problem; he couldn’t fucking refuse him a thing. “Green.”

“See? There you go.” Eugene sounded almost entirely too smug. “I should come down here and visit more often.”

Coming down and visiting was more akin to Eugene tracking Merriell down through Burgie and then threatening his address out of his boss, and visiting was more like jimmying the lock on his door and not letting Snafu push him out. 

“You broke down my fucking door like we were still in Iraq, Genie.” He said, his words slurred by Eugene’s trailing fingers across his lips, and Eugene leaned forward further, kissing at the mark he’d left under Merriell’s jaw heartbeats beforehand.

“Well, you ran away like we were still in Iraq, Merriell, so all’s fair.” He said evenly, smugly, and Snafu turned to squint his eyes at him.

“If this is what college is doing to you,” he said, in reference to the general rebuking and smugness, “you need to quit immediately. It’s not good for you.”

Eugene’s laugh was a huffing exhale, breathed across the side of Merriell’s face. “On the contrary,” he said, “I’m gonna start bringing you with me.”

“I don’t know how to read.” Snafu said immediately.

“Mm. That would make sense, you never responded to any of my emails.”

“Yeah. My reading dog is only down here every other month to go through my taxes for me. ‘s a real delicate system, Gene. My brain would burn outta my skull ‘f you brought me anywhere near a school.”

Eugene hummed, a low, playful rumble, and shifted up to press his lips to Merriell’s again, tongue tracing the seam of his lips.

“Best just keep you here, then.” He muttered, and Snafu hummed, hand shifting up to run through Eugene’s hair, again.

“Alright.” He said, in between bruised and gentle kisses. “But just remember—” Eugene pushed up and over him, laying directly on top of him, their legs tangling together, and Merriell brought his other hand to press against the back of his neck. “I broke up with you.” 

Eugene hummed, and it sounded amused in a way that Snafu’d never heard, anywhere else. 

“I hear you did it for good reasons.” He mumbled against Snafu’s lips.

[starlitangels]

Taken for Granted

Pups AU. Why Natalie finally confessed to Danny 1.5k words

—

Danny shut the door to the house behind him and leaned against it. Knocking his head back against it a couple times.

“What’s up?” Lily asked—from two inches away from his ear. 

Danny swore and lurched away from his sister, cloaking instinctively. She started cackling in delight. Danny shook his messy, overlong bangs out of his face and decloaked. He flipped his sister off and stomped over to the stairs.

“Awww! C’mon Dannyyy!” Lily whined, following after him. “Don’t be such a spoilsport! What’s wrooong? Talk to meee! I’m your wise big sister!”

“Wise, my ass.” Danny rolled his eyes again and cloaked—on purpose this time—and slipped up the stairs to his bedroom.

Lily just laughed. “You know you can’t escape a shifter that easily, right? Especially not the shifter you live with!” She bolted up the stairs behind him. But Danny had already crossed his bedroom and climbed out his dormer window and onto the roof, closing the window behind him with magic.

He sat down on the roof and looked out over the backyard. No one was peering out a neighboring window. No one was outside in their backyards this late at night that could see him...

He decloaked again, lying back on the roof, bracing his head on both hands. The shingles were still warm from being baked in the sun all day. Taking a deep breath, he sighed.

His window slid open. His dad climbed out, still spry and nimble despite being near his fifties. “Hey, kid,” Milo said, settling down on the roof. “What’s goin’ on?”

Danny lifted his head off his hands to free one. He vaguely gestured with it before putting it back, making a noncommittal face.

“Don’t gimme that, Danny,” Milo chided. “You’re my son. You’re more like me than your sister, even if she’s the shifter. Tell me. Please?”

Danny sat up, leaning against his dad’s side as Milo offered a side-hug. 

“You spent the afternoon at the Shaw’s place, didn’t you?” Milo asked. “Everythin’ alright between you and the girls?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah. Natalie and Micah are fine. So am I. It’s just...” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “It’s been four years,” he said. “I’ve been crushing on Natalie for four years and I’m too much of a coward to actually do anything about it.”

“Ahhh.” Milo nodded in understanding. “What scares ya?”

Danny made another vague gesture. “Everything.”

Milo chuckled. “Same. But specifically, about your crush on Natty?”

Danny waved his hands around. “I don’t know. She and Micah are my best friends. I love them both. Micah’s family. Natalie... she’s family too, but she’s more than that to me. And I don’t know what to do about it and... I don’t want to ruin what we have. I value our friendship so, so much. And... I’m afraid if I do something about it, I’m going to lose her in every way that matters.”

Milo hummed in thought, rubbing Danny’s arm comfortingly. “You still daydream-a kissin’ her?”

The way Danny went rigid was all the answer Milo needed. He smiled to himself, knowing his son wouldn’t see.

“Y’ever think she daydreams ‘bout kissin’ you too?”

Danny shook his head. “I doubt it. She doesn’t think of me that way.”

“How do you know?”

“Don’t you think if she did, she’d have done something about it? Natalie isn’t me. She’s brash and bold and brave and not afraid of anything. If she daydreamed about kissing me, she actually would have done it by now.”

Milo hummed in thought. “You don’t know that for sure.”

“Don’t I?” Danny challenged. His voice drifted, echoing his dad’s accent. He usually sounded slightly more like Milo than the rest of the pack, but the more he really talked to his dad, the thicker that accent became.

Milo shook his head. “No. You don’t. Fact-a the matta is, she’s a teenage girl. She may seem brave, but she’s prob’ly just as scared as you.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Doubt it.”

Milo ruffled his son’s hair. “You’ll see.”

—

Natalie flopped onto her bed after Sam came and picked up Micah, screaming into her pillow.

Knock-knock. Soft knuckles echoed off her open doorframe.

“What?” she mumbled, voice muffled by the pillow her face was buried in.

“Are you okay?” a low, gravelly, familiar, quiet voice asked softly.

Natalie rolled over to see her dad leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded. She shrugged and sat up. “Fine.”

“Natalie Jean,” David warned. “I raised you. I can tell when you’re not fine.”

She shrugged and looked around while waving a hand. “It’s nothing.”

“Baby girl,” David said, repeating the tone of warning. “Talk to me.” He glanced down at the seam in the carpet that separated her bedroom from the carpet. “May I come in?”

“Sure.”

David crossed to his daughter’s bed in two strides and sat on her bed. She sat up and climbed into his lap, curling up and tucking her head under his chin. He started to rub her back soothingly, occasionally twisting the end of her braid around his fingers. “Talk to me, Natty. What’s wrong?” he entreated gently.

She sucked in a deep but quick breath and whooshed it out. “I’m scared, Dad.”

David snorted. “My beta, scared?” he asked, amusement lacing his voice.

She groaned. “Yes. Scared.”

“What do you have to be scared about? You went to that last-minute meeting of alphas and betas in the city alone when I was out of town with my mate and you held your own for the Shaw pack when you’d been beta for all of two months. After that, I can’t imagine you being scared of anything.” He wrapped his other arm around her and held her close to his chest, chin resting in her hair.

“It’s stupid,” Natalie said.

“It’s not stupid. Anything that scares you is something to seriously think about.”

“I’mscaredthatI’mgoingtoloseDanny,” she spoke the sentence in such a rush that it came out as one word.

David scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “Lose... Danny?”

She nodded.

“Why?”

He felt warmth against his chest. A tear had soaked through his shirt. His baby girl—the cheerful rock of the family who took after his mate so much—was crying. She started to tremble, just a bit. “I think I’ve taken him for granted, Dad. And I’m scared I’m going to lose him.”

His eyebrows lowered even further. “If you can explain to me exactly how you assume you’ve taken Danny for granted, I might believe you. Even so, I doubt that I will.”

Natalie untucked her head from under his chin to meet his eyes. His mate’s eyes stared back at him in his daughter’s face. Usually so warm and joyful, now filled with tears. “I think I’ve taken for granted that he’ll always be there. Like... like no matter what, he’ll just be right behind me with that little crush on me, waiting for me.”

The words sunk in. David nodded, slow and understanding. “You think someday he’ll get over his feelings and leave.”

Natalie wiped her cheeks and nodded, swallowing thickly.

David sighed, tugging on the end of his daughter’s braid affectionately. “I don’t think you know Danny as well as you think you do.”

“What makes you say that?” Natalie asked.

He took a deep breath, trying for figure out how to word his thoughts. “Danny isn’t a shifter. He’s not genetically inclined to unconditional loyalty the way shifters are. But I’ve watched you, him, and Micah your entire lives. Danny is Milo’s son through and through. And while he’s not genetically inclined, I’ve never seen a non-shifter as thoroughly loyal to those they care about as Danny is to you and Micah. But especially you. Even if he does someday decide to get over his feelings for you, he’ll never stop being one of your best friends. The same way he didn’t stop being one of your best friends when he started developing feelings for you.”

Natalie sniffed. “What if I don’t want him to get over his feelings for me?”

Ah. There it was. She’d developed feelings for him in return. Or, at least, was finally admitting it to herself. If he asked his mate, they’d say that on some level Natty probably always had feelings for Danny in some way. Maybe even before Danny started to have a crush on her.

David rubbed her back soothingly. “Well. Then... do something about it,” he said.

“When?”

“Whenever it feels right.”

“What do I do?”

“Whatever you think would be best. Say it out loud that you’ve got feelings for him—ask to kiss him—something that will make it obvious you feel the same way as he does. You’re young. You two have all the time in the world to figure out what you want from the relationship you already have and the relationship you want to have. Trust me, baby girl.”

She nodded and buried her head back into his chest. “Thanks Dad,” she said. “You’re the best.”

[leafsgarbage]

happier than ever (fc pt.2) | m.a.

A/N: I gave in lol ENJOY 

Synopsis: He was everything you wanted, and everything you couldn’t have

Genre: angst and fluff, best friend’s brother!AU

Warnings: None :)

Pairings: Timeskip!Iwaizumi x f!reader, (eh) Timeskip!Atsumu x f!reader

Song Rec: Happier Than Ever - Billie Eillish

Main Masterlist

pt.1

There’s a lot of coincidences in life, and meeting Atsumu was definitely one that is deeply engraved in your mind. You wouldn’t want to call it your worst mistake, but more so a lesson to be learned. 

Avoid your best friend’s brother at all costs. 

It hurt, it hurt so much, but you needed to let Atsumu go for your own sake. He hasn’t tried to find you ever since that day he left your house, but he has left you voicemails. So many voicemails. You haven’t listened to a single one, and you refuse to listen to them, but you can’t bring yourself to delete them.

You didn’t want to tell Anka about everything that went down with Atsumu, and she didn’t ask you. She did however, take care of you after he left. She would go over to your house and the two of you would hang out like usual which made your days brighter.

However, every time you looked at her, you saw him. Every single time. It hurt your already bruised heart and sometimes you’d sob after she left your house. You hated him for doing this to you. For leaving you feeling so alone.

One day, you got a knock on your door, which was odd because Anka wasn’t going to come today. When you open it, your heart stops just for a moment because you think its him. but it’s just Osamu. Your body feels heavy and you lean against the door. “Come in.”

The two of you sit next to each other on the couch. You don’t look at him because you fear you’ll just start crying. “How are ya?”

You laugh at the question and shake your head. “That’s a stupid question ‘Samu. I know you’re not stupid.”

He scratches the back of his head chuckling. “Well, it seems you’re doin’ well enough to make fun of me.” Both of you laugh with one another. Once it dies down though, Osamu puts his arm around your hunched figure, your eyes glued to the ground. “Please look at me y/n.” You shake your head, eyes closed. “Yer killin’ me like this, please.”

“If it’s killing you ‘Samu then I’m already dead.” He stays silent. He knew you and his brother were together, but he could not have imagined you were this in love with him. “I can’t look at you-” he kneels down in front of you so you’re staring right at him. You sob when you take in his features, exactly like the boy you loved. The boy you still loved.

Osamu felt horrible and cradled you in his arms. You were so small in his embrace, especially with the way you curled up and wrapped your arms around his neck. “I’m sorry, kid.”

Your heart broke all over again. Seeing Anka was bearable, but Osamu was Atsumu in the flesh. Obviously you could tell them apart but that didn’t matter. You were seeing who your heart wanted to see.

After you had settled down, ‘Samu place you on the couch to rest while he made you your favorite onigiri. You ate the food sniffling, but your stomach was happy. Oh how you missed Osamu’s cooking. “I’m gonna get going, but if y’ever need anything, just call me alright?” You nod and give him a hug. “Love you kid, please take care of yourself.”

You tried to take care of yourself. Your world had shifted so suddenly, and it was about to once again.

Haru: Hey y/n! Do you want to hang out at my house this weekend? You can bring Anka and her date, my brother got home and just bought a shit ton of alcohol and gave me some.

You decided to take Haru up on his offer. You did ask Anka if she wanted to go, but she was babysitting her cousins. You didn’t know what to do, but you were so tired, you just wanted to let go, even if it was just for a bit.

In your mind you could hear Osamu nagging you, that this isn’t what he meant by taking care of yourself, but you blocked it out. You blocked everything else out because you were so hurt nothing could be much worse.

His house was so far, you wondered why he chose to go to Inarizaki when there are three other schools so much closer.

It was just you and Haru so you two settled down to watch a movie in the basement while you drank away. You were both at opposite ends, and maybe you should have been more wary about getting drunk with a guy you barely knew, but you felt at ease around Haru. 

“I don’t mean to be rude, but where was your date for prom?” You freeze just as you were about to take another swig. 

You purse your lips and shake your head. “He’s an ass.” And you left it at that. Haru didn’t press the matter anymore either. The two of you just talked, laughed, and had an overall good time. You chugged the last of your nth beer and there was no more left. 

Haru was passed out on the couch, so you covered him in a blanket before attempting to walk up the stairs. It was nice hanging out with him, he didn’t know about Atsumu and there was nothing more refreshing than a clean slate. 

You stumbled on your last step up and put your hands out in front of you to catch yourself. You do and as you stand up, you’re met with a tall man in front of you. You think its Haru’s father at first, but when he steps a bit closer he seems far too young. They do look a bit alike though.

“Hey.” He says startling you and you’re about to fall backwards but he pulls your arm and secures one of his arms around your waist. “Are you ok?”

You shake your head because you’re most definitely not, but that wasn’t good because you’re a bit dizzier now. “Ah- um, -hic- who are ya?”

The man places you against the wall and looks down at you seriously. He looks angry but you don’t feel like he’s angry at you. “You’re in my house, shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

The man has a point. “Um, I’m Haru’s hic friend from school.” You try to sound as normal as possible, but it’s taking all of your energy to do it. “Who are you?”

“I’m Haru’s older brother.” He crosses his arms in front of him still keeping eye contact with you. You feel a bit odd so you avert your eyes to his arms. Damn, they’re pretty big. “Your name?”

You nod. “Y/n hic.” He doesn’t say anything for a bit so you speak up. “Thanks for the stuff.” Wow. You wanted to just shrivel up and have the earth swallow you whole. I’m going to die of embarrassment. 

Much to your surprise, Haru’s brother just chuckles at you. “No problem.”

“Um, and your name?” You ask, cheeks red, you’re not sure if from the alcohol or the embarrassment. Maybe a bit of both.

He unfolds his arms and gives you a tight smile. “Iwaizumi Hajime.” You nod and try to take a step, but ultimately end up falling. Hajime caught you and leads you to the porch outside. “I figure some fresh air would do you good.” You thank him and sit on the swinging chair while he opts for the one to your right. “Do you need me to take you home?”

“Maybe.”

“Where else would you go?” He asks.

You shrug and stare at the nice houses surrounding his. “Dunno, guess I should go, huh.”

“If you want, you can take my room, I could sleep in Haru’s room.” Hajime scrunches his nose. “Actually I’ll just take the couch, Haru’s room stinks.” You agree with the man and have him lead you up the stairs. “You went to Inarizaki with Haru?”

“Mhm, we had lab together our last year. Where did you go to school Iwaizumi-san?”

“Aoba Johsai.” You nod and try to remember if you heard anything about them.

“Your girls team was ok. Their setter was a bit too readable though.” You blurt out.

Iwaizumi catches you by surprise again by just laughing. “Our setter was much different from that. I don’t think we’ve ever played against the Inarizaki boys’ team.”

You flinch just a bit, but Iwaizumi asks if you’re ok and you just shake it off, blaming it on the alcohol. “They were good, but a lot of our good players left for college when I entered high school.”

“You guys had the Miya twins right?” You nod. “I heard the setter had crazy serves, it would’ve been cool to experience that.”

“Believe me, the setter at that time was just as crazy as his serves.” Iwaizumi chuckles at your response and for once, you actually don’t feel this pain to talk about him, at least not with someone who doesn’t know what happened. “He was good, although I was able to catch his serves every now and then, heh.”

“Did you know them?” Iwaizumi places you on his bed and he sits on the ground across from you.

“Yea, my best friend was their sister. I’ve known them for a while, but the twins doing their own thing so we’ve lost touch a bit.”

Iwaizumi shrugs and smiles at you. “That’s just how it is. I went to California and my best friend went to Argentina straight out of high school. Do you know Ushijima?”

“Yea, Inarizaki boys played against them once, Anka and I went to watch. They had a cannon.”

“His father, he’s so cool.” Iwaizumi then goes to tell you how he’s been studying under him and learning all he can about sports medicine and physical training. 

“That sounds really cool Iwaizumi-san, I’m happy for you.” The two of you talk more into the night about what you’re going to do. You’re planning on trying out for one of the teams based in Hyogo like JT Marvelous or Himeji. He congratulates you and you continue to talk about life in volleyball and your love for the sport. 

You talk until the sun comes up and you’ve sobered up. “Do you still need a ride home?”

You really don’t, but you can’t help but agree anyway. “Yes that would be really nice of you.”

It’s easy with Iwaizumi, he talks you talk and there is no awkwardness. Your body tenses up when you realize that Iwaizumi and Atsumu are the same age and that they’re both a friend’s brother. You weren’t trying to start anything with him, but you enjoyed his company and how open he was, you would have never guessed with such a cold appearance.

“I’ll be heading back to California in a month to finish my last year. I don’t know if I’ll see you again, but it was nice to meet you y/n.” He stops in front of your house and you nod at him.

“Thank you, Iwaizumi. Good luck, with everything.” You enter your house and let out a breath. You’re sad that you won’t see him again, but you convince yourself that it’s for the better. 

Life goes on and you don’t see Hajime again after that day, and you only kind of talk to Haru. You told Anka about it and she said you should have been more careful.

“So, I guess I’ll see you later.” You begin to cry as you say goodbye to your longtime best friend. “I’m gonna miss you.”

She swats you on the back. “Don’t say that you’re gonna make me cry.” It’s too late because she’s already sobbing. You and Osamu drove her to the airport together. Atsumu couldn’t come because he was at an away game in Korea. 

He did call her right as you were by security checkpoint. “Hey little Miya.” He says to her on the phone. You haven’t heard his voice in so long that it makes your heat skip a beat. 

She laughs at the nickname and talks to her brother. It hurts because you know she can’t be mad at him forever, but you don’t know how you’re going to get over this. The Miyas were your family but now it’s hard to be near them and that hurt the most. 

You both wave goodbye and you and Osamu drive back home. The ride is easy, you’re comfortable around ‘Samu but you can’t help the fact that he is trying to tell you something. “What is it ‘Samu?”

“Don’t be mad ok, he practically begged me to tell you. He asked if you’ll just call him back. He sounds real bad y/n. I’m not tryna tell you what to do but he’s my brother, it’s hard to see him like that.”

“It’s hard for me too, ‘Samu.” You wish you had someone to tell you to never talk to him again and just ignore him but this was your only family and you felt like you couldn’t lose them. “Ok.”

When you got home you dialed his number and he picked up. “Y/n?”

“Hi.”

“Hey, y/n. I’m so sorry, I’m sorry about everything.”

“Alright. Is that it?”

He sighs into the phone. “I just want ya back in my life, it’s hard without you.”

It feels good to hear him say that, but it hurts even more. “I don’t think I can do that.” You hang up because you couldn’t stay on the phone anymore.

This time though, you’re not surprised when two weeks later he comes to your house. “Can ya please stop just leaving me like that.”

“You left first.”

He shakes his head at you. “Stop being so childish y/n.”

“I’m sorry I don’t relate to you Atsumu. It’s so easy for you to bury this under the rug and never think of it again because you did this!”

The setter is upset and annoyed, one of his many flaws is not listening and always taking the defensive. “Please y/n, its frustrating how you’re acting because it really wasn’t that big of a deal and I’m here now. I’m asking to you to forgive me and you won’t even think about it.”

You laugh at him, so angry. “Do you even hear yourself right now? Do you realize how much of a dick you’re being. I’d never treat me this shitty. You’re giving me a headache.”

“Jesus, y/n. I’m sorry. I’m here right now because I love you because I want to make amends and you never answer my calls or are at home. ‘Samu is tellin’ me that yer out and about in random places-”

“Because you made me hate this city!” You get a call right when the tears are falling down your face and your breath is labored. “Hello?”

“Hello y/n l/n! We wanted to formally welcome you to JT Marvelous...” The call goes on for five minutes and then you hang up

Atsumu reaches for your hand and you let him take it. “Congrats, I didn’t even know you tried out for teams.”

“Well now you know.” You pull away and sit on the couch and he follows you like a puppy. “I’m tired of this Atsumu. You say you love me then you yell at me and I don’t know what to do.” Atsumu is still upset but he sits next to you and wraps his arms around you. “You go make me feel all special but you go and spend your time with other people and leave me behind for someone new, do you know how that feels?” You throw a weak punch against his chest, but he doesn’t flinch. “I don’t talk shit about you... Never told anyone anything bad, cause that shits embarrassing, Atsumu. It’s embarrassing because you were my everything.”

“I do hope you know that yer my everything y/n. You still are because despit everything, I came back to you because I finally fucking realized that you’re it for me. You make me happy.” He tells you and you know it’s the truth for him, it’s just not yours.

“All that you did was make me fucking sad. So don’t waste the time I don’t have, and please just... don’t try to make me feel bad because I know, I know that I loved you with everything I could, and if you wanted someone more mature you should have just said that.” You push him back so you could look at him.

He’s not crying like you are, but his face is torn and he looks frustrated. “All I wanted was you! That’s is, y/n. That’s what I’ve been trying to get ya t’understand.”

You hold his hands and look in his eyes. “ ‘Tsumu, if that was true you wouldn’t have missed all these important moments for me.”

“What are you-”

“I could talk about every time that you showed up on time, but I’d have an empty line, cause you never did.” His eyebrows furrow and you sigh because you have to explain to him. “You left my birthday early, you told me you weren’t coming to my prom 10 minutes before we were supposed to go-”

“Y/n that’s childish to hold on to-”

“Stop calling me childish! Stop it, I hate that you do that. Before you always said how mature I was, is that because it conveniences you? These were important for me and you weren’t there. You ruined everything good, always said you were misunderstood. But I understand you perfectly fine, and I know that you’re not what I want anymore. I don’t want this. I hate this. Just fucking leave me alone.”

You get up to show him out and before he leaves, he kisses your cheek. “I love you.”

“If only that were enough.” And you shut the door on him, letting him go for the second time hurt just as bad and you go to wallow in your room, all alone, in an empty and lonely home.

A year into playing for JT Marvelous, you went to Hitachi, which was a dream come true and an honor. They had a base in Osaka which was nice to train in since it got you out of Hyogo.

After practice, you left to go eat at your favorite tea spot nearby. The girls couldn’t go because they were heading back home for their week break. 

When you entered you saw a familiar man at a table, to make sure it was him, you asked the host to lead you to the man at the booth. Your suspicions were correct and you thought it was so crazy for you to see him again. “Iwaizumi-san?”

He looks up from his phone and smiles at you, making you shy all of a sudden. “Y/n! Wow, is this real life? It’s so good to see you.”

Regardless of how little you and Iwaizumi knew each other, the two of you just clicked, instantly and electric. You were so comfortable around one another and being around him was refreshing. 

You two finished having tea and he walked you back home at your apartment. “Hey, if you don’t mind you want to come back here tomorrow? Same time?”

“Yea, I’d like that.”

A couple dates here and there, Iwaizumi asked you out and you of course said yes. You were a bit nervous of what to expect, but it was so easy with him. You both trusted one another and there was never any question as to how each of you were feeling. Hajime was honest and upfront, he never had you questioning anything.

A couple months into the relationship you introduced him to Anka and she really loved him for you. “Ah he’s gorgeous y/n, good for you!”

He asked to meet your parents a couple times but you declined because your parents wouldn’t be interested anyway. It caused a long talk between the two of you and him letting you know that you had him, even if the rest of the world was against you, you had him. He made you cry using that sentiment.

This is was being in love was supposed to feel like. 

Two years later he popped the question on your anniversary and you said yes again. It was also around this time that the Olympics were coming up so Hajime would be super busy at work with the athletes. 

“Bye babe, love you.” He shouted from the door of your shared apartment.

“Bye Haji, love you!” You realized an hour later that he forgot his lunch so you made your way to the training facility which was also located in Osaka. 

Iwaizumi always talked about you to the team. He would always refer to you as his fiancé since he met the boys after he proposed. They knew you a lot more than you knew about them and they were very happy for their trainer. 

When you got there you had to scan your ID and called Hajime to ask if he knew you. They allowed you in after receiving confirmation. You waved at him from afar as all the players were taking a break. “Haji, you forgot your lunch!” 

A big smile came on his face and he kissed your cheek while taking his lunch. “Thank you, come meet the team.” You smiled and felt a little intimidated walking towards the best in Japan. “Guys this is my fiancé y/n, y/n these are all the guys.”

“Hello! Nice to meet you.” All the guys wave at you but you spot a familiar face. “Suna?” He gives you a smile and gets up to greet you, you freeze for a moment when you see Atsumu right next to him.

“Hey how’ve you been, it’s been a while.” He gives you a hug and nudges at Atsumu to come say hi.

He waves and makes his way towards you. “Hi y/n.”

To his surprise, you smile at him. “Hi Atsumu, it’s nice to see you.”

“It’s uh- great to see ya, y’look good.” He compliments, and he really means that.

You laugh and nod along. “Thank you.” Suna heads back to his spot on the bench and leaves you two. “Hey, I just wanted to say I’m sorry, I was just really hurt and I shouldn’t have yelled or been as mean as I was, it was a bit childish-”

“No.” He grabs your hands so you’ll look at him and know he’s serious. “I’m so incredibly sorry y/n. I was really bein’ childish and stupid. You’re wonderful y/n. You were always wonderful and I’m happy yer with Iwaizumi-kun, he’s really great.”

“Thank you ‘Tsumu. I’m very proud of you, and I miss you guys, haven’t had a Miya family dinner in so long.”

He chuckles. “We’ll schedule one soon.”

“Alright, I’ll hold you to it, I gotta go.” You hurry back to Iwaizumi and give him a hug and kiss goodbye.

Atsumu gets it now, how it feels to be left behind, and he knows that you deserved better, but he also knows that he deserves to be happy to, even if it’s not with you.

Both of you are happier than ever.

A/N: Yeooooo I did it, and I’m honestly very happy with this, enjoy lovelies!!

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Taglist: @aurorahoneybuns​ @elianetsantana​ @bigdickdaichi​ @lilsweetsie​ @erinoikawa​ @mel-goes-unknown​ @haikyuutothetop​ @tsukisemi​ @youngandloveless​ @arminbitchlover​ @nekomavsnohebi​ @yyvveess​ @brokencoinlocker​ @yeahhemmings-​ @random-fandom-girl-24​ @lonnie-hoteen5505​ @mikaelatpln​ @enjoymyloves​

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[bigskydreaming]

About all the stuff you were talking about, do you know any fics that handle those things well? It is exhausting trying to go through the Dick Grayson tag to try and find ones that handle even one of those remotely well so any you can tell me would be wonderful.

I use my Bookmarks page as a go-to for people looking for that sorta thing. I haven’t added to it in awhlie which is like, a useful reminder for myself to rectify that.

I’m not sure off the top of my head what fics on there address these particular areas of canon or fanon issues, but they’re in there, and I don’t bookmark anything I wouldn’t reread since that’s....the only reason I bookmark stuff lol. Aka nothing that contains elements or fanon tropes/issues that would’ve pulled me out of the read on the first go-through.

Specific authors who I consistently like for their takes on all of that, hmmm....off the top of my head, @dustorange only deals in Quality Stuff and her Hierarchy of Needs for Dick’s characterization has similar enough rankings to my own personal one, that I’m always like, yes, this hit all the beats I was hoping for from this summary, I am full, I could not eat another bite. But maybe a dessert course later. I guess. If you insist.

In terms of specific takes and tropes I’ve been talking about tonight, @themessofthecentury has a fic that delves into all the Spyral aftermath in a really satisfying way. Y’ever been like, ugh can someone please write a lengthy beast of a multi-chapter that takes all of that and says ‘Lo, there is Gold in these hills” and has a range of POVs but that all consistently prioritize and center Dick in the areas and matters he should be the one prioritized? That’s the one, that’s Fault Lines, its a WIP but its alive and kicking and very much what you’re looking for to read something actually catharctic after the way all of that was handled in canon and most related fics.

Umm, lessee.... @hood-ex is all about Top Notch Tropes, especially for great scenes where Dick’s with a wide range of characters, and its like, casual slice-of-life stuff, but delivered in a way that Just Says No to fanon and even when writing Dick as light-hearted and having a good day, its like...actually in character for him and he’s not Dick Grayson, The Balloon Animal That Walks Like A Man (but is actually 70% sugary cereal). You gotta follow her on tumblr though to get all the fics, cuz she’s like me in that she writes a lot of done-in-one scenes that never get moved over to Ao3 because eh, we’ll do it tomorrow but also we’ll forget about it by tonight so no actually we won’t. And thus there’s a lot of hidden gems to be found there.

@ckbookish writes a lot of stuff set in the early Nightwing days when Jason was Robin, and from what I’ve read there’s a lot of focus on Dick and Jason bonding and also exploration of Dick’s thoughts and reactions to Bruce’s “Bruce NO” behavior of that era that’s very much in character and IMO hits all the right notes in the complicated arrangement of allowing Dick his Feels there and placing the appropriate blame where appropriate but without demonizing Bruce and over-embellishing the more than enough to work with fuck-ups canon helpfully provided for that era. 

In fact, in general I’m inclined to say the author sticks as closely to canon as possible while just....making it better by just adding the little ingredient that is ‘Actual Exploration of Dick’s Feelings and Choices As Viewed Through Empathy-Colored Glasses By Someone Who I Feel Actually HAS Met or Been A Teenager At Some Point in Their Life and Thus Is Aware They’re Not Actually Unreasonable Wild Animals Whose Behavior Even When Rational Is Actually Irrational Cuz Hormones Yeah I Know I Was Surprised Too’. So I’d say their work consistenly delivers the story and emotional beats I look for from Bruce, Dick and Jason in that era, actually humanizing all three of them without going overboard with adding flaws all willy-nilly just cuz.

The only reason its not on my bookmarks page is cuz unfortunately, the sticking close to canon means Dick joining the Bludhaven police force to try and clean it up from the inside, and like.....not a criticism or condemnation of the execution of that premise at all, like, Dick’s clear in his reasons and from what I read goes about it in a way that actually fits if Dick had criticisms of the institution as a whole and an earnest belief he can effect change to it from the inside, its just like, purely as a personal subjectivity thing, Dick Grayson and Being a Cop is like my ultimate NOTP, I see it and I reflexively hiss like a vampire who forgot the sun was a thing. Its just not for me in any execution, but if that’s not true for you then its got everything else I’d look for in fic and thus while I can’t vouch for his characterization or the dynamics in later stories, like, I’m pretty sure you’d still be in Primo Characterization territory. 

There’s stuff on my bookmarks page from an author named discowing(amelia from a fairytale) - something like that. I can’t recall their tumblr off the top of my head but I know she says it somewhere in some of her author’s notes. Anyway, her stuff runs the gamut but consistently delivers on moments I really wish we could see in canon, so def worth a read. And I know her views on the Spyral aftermath and what’s needed for actual catharsis there are right in my wheelhouse, just in general, so if that’s the barometer you’re going by, then like.....idk whatever a barometer says or does when it gets the readings its supposed to, look its late, that’s the metaphor I’m going with, just pretend it was solid.

Those are just some of the authors where I’m familiar with more than one of their works off the top of my head and tend to like their focus and narrative/character choices across the board. I don’t know the full extent of work of every author linked on my Bookmarks page, like a lot of people write a lot of fic in a lot of fandom and I see a long list of fandoms and fics all organized by date posted so its more like one DC fic per page, and my ADHD self is like hahaha what if it was naptime tho zzzz.

But yeah, that’s not nearly enough to sate my greed and want for Good Dick Grayson Takes but it should get you started. There’s some good stuff out there, that’s never been in question, its just that like you said, it can be exhausting trying to wade through fics that you can’t tell at a glance if they’d be to your liking or not because the tags are all complimentary of Dick but two chapters in you’re like wait is this the other kids’ brother or is this their nanny, I feel like I’m reading about what if Fran Drescher wore tights and fought crime with flippity-flips. Which I mean, that’s a Premise right there, alright, its just not remotely the premise I look for out of fic where I have the weird expectation that Dick should be treated and regarded more like equal family to his siblings than like, okay what if he was actually just an au pair that was mostly hired to be eye candy.

[electrozeistyking]

Y’ever end up accidentally making an AU because of music you listen to? That’s happened to me so many times, omigod. 

[purplepersnicketywrites]

(For the sentence prompts) I would give my life for "things you said when you were drunk"

haha, yes good

—

Eijirou wasn’t drunk.

Tipsy? Yeah, probably a little. Maybe more than a little, but like, not drunk. No no, now, Bakugou! He was really drunk. Absolutely plastered. Hammered. Smashed. Wasted, maybe.

“Duuuude,” Eijirou said, watching Bakugou tip back another drink. What exactly it was? Hard to tell, and Eijirou hadn’t really been paying that much attention. “You’re gonna be pukin’ soooo bad later, man.”

“So fuckin’ what, K’sh’ma,” Bakugou tried to growl. It came out kinda whiny instead. “S’wha’ we’re here for, right?”

Eijirou laughed, throwing back his head. It wasn’t even a joke but it was so goddamn funny. “I think we’re still s’posed to be celebrating, acsual-actuaaa-ahem. Actually. Bro.”

Bakugou sneered, or at least he tried to. His nose went all scrunchy and it was so cute that Eijirou was sure it sobered him by two degrees. “You’re drunk.”

“Nah, not’s much as you, buddy,” Eijirou said. His eyes alighted on the remains of the buffet table. “Oh shit man they’ve still got the, the things! We gotta get some.”

“G’roff me,” Bakugou grunted, but he let Eijirou tug him along by the wrist without any resistance. Eijirou figured it was a complaint just for show.

He drew up to the table, already salivating at the vola-whatsits. Vool-avots? Oh, Vol-au-vents! They were a French thing, and Eijirou vaguely remembered that Aoyama had suggested them. Eijirou had demanded that there be meaty ones. He thought these had all been demolished sometime back at the beginning of the party when it had all still been respectable.

Now came the true test- were these the meaty ones? Or were these the vegetable ones Sero had asked for? Eijirou picked one up and almost cried. “Baaaaakugou they still have the meat things! Bakugou! Look!”

Bakugou rolled his eyes. “Eat ‘em then.”

“Oh my goooood,” Eijirou said, stuffing three into his mouth - Bakugou made a disgusted noise. “Kaminari and Jir- WAIT NO Kaminari and Kaminari need to get married, like, every day.”

Bakugou plucked one of them away from Eijirou and ate it. “You know y’can fuckin’ jus’, like, make these? Whenever?”

Eijirou shifted to shield the rest of the vol-au-vents from Bakugou’s thieving hands. “Jus’ ‘cause you’re a kitchen god doesn’t mean the rest’f us are!”

“I can make you fuckin’ vol-au-vents,” Bakugou said, jutting out his chin.

Eijirou blinked at him. “Really?”

“Yeah, I’ll make ‘em, like,” Bakugou frowned slightly. Was he swaying on his feet, or was that Eijirou? “The best fuckin’ vol-au-vents y’ever had. These’ll taste like dirt in compari-whatsit.”

“That’s so manly, dude!” Eijirou cried, feeling another wave of tears start rolling down his cheeks. He thought he’d cried himself out during the ceremony, but apparently there was still more for him to give.

“Damn straight,” Bakugou growled. “You won’t want anythin’ else for our wedding.”

There was a beat of silence. It stretched into two, into three. Eijirou’s mind had gone completely blank, save for the two words ‘our wedding’ echoing endlessly through it. He was sure that his eyes were bugging out, and that his mouth had fallen open.

Bakugou, for his part, looked frozen to the spot.

“Ah fuck,” Bakugou said eventually. “I hate bein’ drunk.”

With that, Bakugou turned and moved away.

“Agh,” Eijirou said, droppin his vol-au-vents and leaping after his friend. He grabbed Bakugou’s arm, swinging him around so that they were face to face. “No no no no no, I’m not drunk enough to let that slide, man.”

Bakugou had gone really quite impressively red, and his shoulders were all hunched up to his ears. Classic embarrassed defense posture. “Just forget about it, okay?”

“No,” Eijirou said, squeezing Bakugou’s arm. “Okay, okay, here’s the plan-”

“Kirish’ma, jus’ drop it,” Bakugou said in a warning tone. Eijirou levelled a glare at him.

“Argue with me after I’ve said this,” Eijirou said. Fire flared in Bakugou’s eyes for a moment, but then it dimmed. He nodded, and Eijirou continued. “Alright. The plan is: we go back to our hotel room, we pick a bed, and we spoon until we wake up.”

Bakugou’s eyes widened, and the corner of Eijirou’s lip tugged up. “Tomorrow, we’re gonna be misaaa-miserable with hangovers. S’gonna suck. But! We’re gonna be sober, and we’re gonna talk about this, uh, us. Thing.”

Eijirou loosened his grip on Bakugou’s arm, sliding his hand down to circle his best friend’s wrist. “You’re gonna ask me to be your booooyfriend, and I’m gonna say yes, an’ when we get home we’re gonna spend, like, a week makin’ out. At least.”

A weird sound left Bakugou’s lips, and for a moment Eijirou didn’t understand what he had heard. Oh, Bakugou had laughed. An incredulous, breathy laugh that made Eijirou’s insides thrum with delight. He felt the smile pulling more firmly on his mouth, and let it sweep over his face.

“Give it, say, a year,” Eijirou said, catching Bakugou’s hand now. “And then you can propose to me properly. How’s that sound?”

“Not half fuckin’ bad,” Bakugou said, lacing their fingers together. “But I have one, uh, amendem- amena- fix. Fuck. One fix for the plan.”

Eijirou raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“I get a goodnight’s kiss.”

Eijirou beamed, pulling his very-soon-to-be boyfriend towards the party room’s exits by the hand he had captured. “I think that can be arranged.”

[highabovethecloudssomewhere]

“Where the Sun (Never) Shines” - Boku no Hero Academia Fanfic

This is the worst thing I’ve ever written. I’m so sorry. 

(NOT a deathfic, but...y’ever hear of “Shou Tucker” and “Chimeras” and “Fullmetal Alchemist”? ...Yeah...)

Title: Where the Sun (Never) Shines Rated: T Notes: This is not happy. Not yet. I’m really sorry. 

The door bangs the wall as the heroes infiltrate the facility, fists raised, Quirks at the ready. The room is vacant; shelves line the walls, floor to ceiling and full of books. Some of them are inscribed with runes and symbols that Shouto can’t read. The room is dimly lit and smells foul—not the “something’s died in here” kind of foul, but the musky, damp, there’s-probably-mold-growing-somewhere kind of foul.

“Split up!” calls a hero, swinging his arm out to get everyone’s attention. “Leave no stone unturned! Retrieve Midoriya at any cost!”

That’s what they do. Dispersing, the heroes spread out, taking down hallways, knocking down doors. Shouto goes likewise, feet pounding into the ground with every desperate footfall as he makes his way further into the building.

Shouto runs, fast then faster. He breaks away from the heroes, finds a hallway no one else seemed to notice. And then he keeps running. This hallway isn’t nearly as well-lit as the entry room, and the further down he goes, the darker it gets until he can barely see his hand when he puts it in front of his face. Without thinking, he sets his left hand ablaze to light his way.

The hallway leads him to a door, shut and bolted. Shouto wastes no time; there’s a metal rod lying conveniently on the floor, something that looks like what’s used to stoke the flames of a fireplace, and Shouto freezes the hinges with ice as cold as he can make it—so cold that it almost hurts his hand—and then breaks through the metal with the rod.

The door falls open and Shouto runs over it, into the room.

He stops short.

In the light supplied by the flames on his hand, he can make out a figure in the darkness, shrouded by shadows and hunched in on itself, almost like it’s trying to hide. It doesn’t seem dangerous; it doesn’t turn when it hears the door hit the ground, and it doesn’t growl or snarl or flinch back. It simply...sits.

Almost like it’s waiting.

Shouto looks around. The room is dark and empty, with exception of a few chains on the floor—some of which, he realizes with horror, are attached to the creature’s (it looks something like a dog, dark shaggy fur hard to make out in the dim light) front paws.

Shouto makes sure the coast is clear, then approaches hastily. Their target is Midoriya, they have to find Midoriya, but he can’t leave this animal to suffer here alone in the hands of a crazed scientist. He’ll let it free and then go about the rescue mission.

The animal turns big, soulless eyes to look at him. Shouto actually stops dead in his tracks as chills run down his spine, but he’s able to overcome it.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” he soothes, kneeling on the floor in front of it and examining the shackles. “I’ll get you free, don’t worry—”

“To...T-Todo…”

Shouto freezes.

And then slowly—ever so slowly—he raises his head.

The creature’s big eyes are still soulless and empty, but Shouto thinks he sees something in them this time. A flicker of something. Recognition. Relief, maybe. Something.

And then, in his heart, he feels something similar. Recognition. And then a stab.

“Todo...roki…”

Shouto’s hands drop to his sides and hang limply. His eyes are wide, his mouth hands open, and he’s stabbed him repeatedly in the gut by poison daggers and the poison spreads and burns through his skin in a combination of ice and fire.

He raises his left hand, lets the fire light the room.

Now he sees it. The creature’s black fur has a deep green hue to it. He doesn’t know how he’d missed it before.

“T-Todo...roki…?”

The animal’s voice—except it’s not an animal—sounds a mixture of pained, scared, and relieved.

“Shou...chan…”

The poison burns Shouto’s veins and suddenly he’s moving, and he wraps his arms around the mutation—Midoriya—and holds him close.

“Shou...chan…?”

Shouto’s shoulders heave as he holds Midoriya closer, tighter. Sobs wrack him. He hasn’t cried like this in years.

“I’m sorry,” Shouto chokes, burying his face against the fur on top of Midoriya’s head. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“...Don’t...cry…”

That only makes it worse. Shouto shakes his head feverishly and squeezes his eyes shut, overwhelmed.

“We’re gonna fix this,” he swears, even as he chokes around his sobs. “We’re gonna fix this, Midoriya, I promise—it’s gonna be okay, we’re gonna fix you, it’s gonna be okay…”

He babbles on like that a little while longer; quieter; quieter…

“...Go...home?”

Shouto nods shakily, holding him tighter. “Y-Yeah, we’re going home, Midoriya. We’re going home.”

If you want to see more of this AU, feel free to leave a prompt or something in my askbox. I don’t have any more original ideas for this. 

And if you just want to use the ask box to scream at me that’s okay too. 

[storybycorey]

AU Mulder and scully rented a cabin by a lake during the season of secret sex (bonus if Mulder calls her baby)

Haha, I actually didn’t reblog that post about the AU’s, but wth, I’ll go ahead and do it anyway!

1.      The first night there, they sit out under thestars in matching Adirondack chairs, wine glasses resting on a table nearby.  Mulder pulls Scully’s hand into his lap and playswith her fingers, massaging, tickling, lifting them to his mouth and nibblingat times.  They quiz each other on theconstellations until she climbs into his lap, telling him, “Forget about thestars up there.  Make me see my ownconstellations right here.”

2.      The second night there, they take a long,leisurely walk on the path behind their cabin. When they begin, it’s not-quite-dusk, but by the time they’re on theirway back, they’ve pulled out the flashlights in order to see.  With the glow of the cabin just barelyguiding their way, Mulder drags Scully up against a tree and murmurs, “Everdone it in the forest before?”  She grinsin reply, “I was willing once, but a certain someone had mothmen on his mindinstead…” Mulder chuckles, “Glad you ditched that loser,” and proceeds to throwaway the bars and the cars and the war, just like he should have done a coupleyears ago, back in that Florida forest.

3.      The third night there, they drive into town topick up provisions.  They plan to headback to the cabin and fix themselves dinner, but at the last minute, Mulderpulls into a tiny little Italian restaurant, tucked just off the road a fewblocks from town.  “But Mulder, the groceries…Not to mention we’re not dressed for dinner…,” Scully argues, but he shushesher,  “Let’s have a real dinner together,where nobody knows us.  Just once, Scully.”She hides her pleased grin and nods.  Theysit on the same side of booth, snuggled dangerously close, and don’t correctthe waitress when she refers to Scully as Mulder’s girlfriend.  They touch and they kiss and they flirt.  And when there’s nobody else around, Scullyreaches her hand beneath the tablecloth and finds a way to tell Mulder thankyou.  The ice cream that was waiting inthe car melts, but they couldn’t care less.

4.      The fourth night there, they meander down to thelake.  It’s still, black, but themoonlight makes it glow.  Scully dips atoe in the water.  “Y’ever skinny-dipped,Mulder?” she asks.  “Why, Agent Scully!” heresponds in mock surprise.  She laughs,and the sound echoes across the lake. They’ve got their clothes off within minutes, and are slipping below thecool water to swim. They find each other out in the deep, and he asks her asher legs slip loosely around his waist, “What else’ve you done in the water, mylittle mermaid?”  She gives him a slow,wet kiss.  “Mmmm, lots,” she whispers againsthis lips. And then she shows him.

5.      The fifth and last night there, they sit on thefloor in front of the fire.  It’s reallytoo warm for a fire, but Mulder thinks staying at a cabin without at least onceusing the fireplace is a waste. Scully doesn’t necessarily disagree, as shesips her wine and leans back against his chest. “It was nice, wasn’t it?  If only…,” she says wistfully.  “Shhh, it’s not over yet,” he responds.  His hands slip beneath her top, fingers slidingover her abdomen and eventually cupping her breasts.  Air sucks through her teeth. Pressing his lipsto her ear, he whispers, “The things I plan on doing to you tonight in front ofthis fire will make up for every ‘if only’ you can think of, baby.”   She turns,eyelids hooded and naughty grin upon her face, “Then get on it, G-Man.  Clocks a-ticking, and I plan on getting mymoney’s worth out of this fire tonight.”

As soon as they return toWashington, Mulder calls up the owner of the cabin and pre-books a week foreach of the following five years.  Healso sends an extra $200 to cover cleaning costs on the rug in front of the fireplace.

[kujo1597]

One of my lovely readers asked me if I could write Peridot comforting Amethyst like she does Lapis and a scene like that was way overdue for my human AU.

So this is for you, Aly on AO3!

“Beach day” ended early for Peridot, the sun became unbearable even under the shade of an umbrella. She didn’t really mind. ...Apart from the fact that she was no longer able to see Amethyst in her two-piece swimsuit.

When she finally dried off Peridot heard the front door slam and then saw Amethyst bolt through the house with her head hung low.

This was an extremely concerning sight, especially with how happy Amethyst was just moments ago.

Peridot quickly went up to Amethyst’s room and knocked on the door.

“May I come in?” Peridot asked.

“No,” Amethyst did a poor job of hiding how upset she was.

“Will you be willing to talk to me? We can do it through the door.”

Silence.

“Amethyst, what happened?”

The bed creaked and before Peridot knew it the door was open.

“We ain’t doin’ this through the door,” Amethyst said. Peridot couldn’t help noticing that her eyes were red and that she had put on huge baggy clothes.

Amethyst flopped onto the bed and Peridot sat at the desk and turned the chair to face her.

“What’re ya doin’ over there?” Amethyst asked. “Don’t wanna be near me?” She barely audibly added, “Don’t blame ya.”

“I simply feel that this arrangement will make it easier for me to play the type of supportive role currently necessary.”

“This how you do things with Lapis?”

“Pretty much,” Peridot said with a nod. “Now, please tell me what happened to upset you.”

“Got called fat.”

“There’s more to it,” Peridot decided to press the subject.

“Yeah! There is!” Amethyst sat up, her anger very clear. “It reminded me why I don’t swim in public. Especially during tourist season!”

Amethyst ran her fingers through her still-wet bangs. “Fucking Canadian tourists looked at me and said,” Amethyst put on a “Canadian accent” which in Peridot’s opinion sounded way more like a Minnesota accent, “Ah gee, lookit that. Americans really are big, aren’t they, eh.” The fake accent stopped. “Like, it shouldn’t bug me ‘cause I’m happy with how I look but-” Amethyst rubbed her eye “-still stings, y’know.”

“I know, things accumulate and old wounds can still hurt,” Peridot decided to add with a touch of humour, “I banged an old knee fracture recently and it hurt like the dickens.”

She continued, “Amethyst, how you felt is perfectly valid; what they said about you was awful. Don’t beat yourself up over reacting like a human being.” Peridot made eye-contact with her girlfriend who was currently her patient. “What action do you think you should take?”

“Throw ‘em in the ocean,” Amethyst said bitterly.

“What would that accomplish?”

“...Nothing.”

“What would accomplish something?”

“Making out with you.”

Peridot’s face turned bright red, that response made it a bit difficult to remain impartial. “A...and why would that accomplish something?”

“‘Cause you love my bod and I need somebody other than me to right now.”

“Ummmm...” the redness worsened, Lapis never asked to be made out with; apparently Amethyst required a different technique. “I was thinking something along the lines of you listing off five things you like about yourself.” Peridot had a little trouble breathing, normally that request wouldn’t get such a reaction but the forwardness and timing.

And Amethyst knew exactly what she did. Seeing Peridot so flustered greatly improved her mood and self-esteem. “I can list things later, I’ll even write ‘em down for you, doc.”

“Please don’t call me doctor right now, kissing your patient is highly unprofessional,” Peridot felt in the mood for some roleplay. She sauntered up to Amethyst to the best of her klutzy-one-footed-unfeeling-feeted ability. “I don’t want to have to stop seeing you.” She put her hands on Amethyst’s love handles and leaned in.

“But Doctor Hōseki, I never learned your first name,” Amethyst played along.

“It’s Peridot,” her voice was as smooth and low as she could get it.

“Like the space-gem?”

“The very one.”

Peridot closed the gap between her mouth and Amethyst’s. She gently coaxed Amethyst’s lips open and ran her hands along her girlfriend’s hips. Peridot was still pretty bad at starting tongue-kisses so Amethyst more than happily did. She found the uniqueness of Peridot’s tongue very fun to explore.

They separated for air.

“Y’ever make out with your other patients?” Amethyst kept up the roleplay.

“No, you’re the only one to get me to break my code,” Peridot smiled. “You’re special.”

“Thanks,” Amethyst rested her chin on Peridot’s shoulder, she stopped playing. “You really helped me out Peri.”

“You’re welcome,” Peridot rubbed her thumb across the ripples on Amethyst’s back. “But I’m serious about the list.”

“I know, I need to see the good parts of myself for myself.”

Peridot nodded. “I’m glad you understand that.” She backed up so she could kiss Amethyst on the forehead. “You’re going to be fine. And if you ever stop feeling fine, I’ll be there for you.” Peridot’s mind went to their fight at the rave.

“I promise.”

[the-elf-mahat]

Pain Redefined by Disturbed. You can't escape the Metal, babe.

(( LET THE AU SHENANIGANS ENSUE! ))

“Moooom!” Shana stomped into her mother’s office, her long, shiny dark hair only partly braided and her eyeliner smudged. “Hattie locked me out of our room. Again!”

“Figure it out between yourselves, dear.” The Silvervine matriarch paused in her work, turning away from her laptop to peer over her reading glasses at her elder daughter with a kind but firm expression. “You’re sisters and you love each other. You need to find a way to work out your differences when I’m not available.”

Shana spun around, giving an exaggerated huff of disapproval as only a teenage girl can. As she stalked up the stairs, she felt vibrations in the walls from the wailing guitars and pounding bass of the music Hat had turned up as loud as it would go–probably just to plague her sister’s sensitive hearing. Shana approached their room, easily able to make out the screamed lyrics even through the locked door.

PLEASE BELIEVE METHAT MY EYES DECEIVE MEDON’T STAND ME UP, JUST LEAVE MEI HAVE FALLEN AGAIN, THIS IS THE ENDPAIN REDEFINED

“Hat!” Shana banged on the door with her fist. “You’re being really immature right now! Open the door!”

The volume lowered a fraction, just enough to hear her half-sister’s ridiculous, grating accent say, “Look on th’ floor!”

Shana looked down, saw an old hotel key card, and groaned. Hat had grown up with her father, a man who traveled extensively to some very odd places and had some very odd opinions about his daughter’s education. One of the things he taught her before he died was lockpicking, and Hat was now infuriatingly insistent about passing that skill on to Shana.

“I don’t need to learn to pick locks, Hattie! I’m not a–a delinquent like you!”

“Ye need ta learn if y’ever wanna get in yer room again!” Hat shouted cheerfully, and turned the music up again.

“Uuuuugh,��� Shana growled, resting her forehead in her palm. She was the good kid, good grades, calm and competent–she didn’t have many friends at school but that was all right, she didn’t need them. She had plans for college, a good relationship with her mother–and then, Hat. This… devil-child of a half-sister she had never even heard of until she turned up on their doorstep last year. Shana tried so hard to be polite, kind even, but Hat didn’t care, she just… went around ruining everything, starting fights and sneaking liquor and shoplifting, and of course she was incredibly popular at school because people were idiots. “I am gonna kill you when I get in there, Hat!”

She reluctantly picked up the key card, mentally going over what she remembered from Hat’s garbled lecture on the subject. Bend the card… slide it in… feel it catch… wiggle it–

To her surprise (and a small, small, tiny bit of satisfaction) the lock popped open and the door swung free. Shana stared at it for a moment, gaping and holding the card, while Hat beamed at her from across the room. The scrawny, dark-skinned girl darted over, grabbed Shana by the wrists, and before she could protest the older girl found herself pulled up to stand on her sister’s twin bed, while the other girl began to bounce up and down, shaking her short, bleached hair to the pounding pulse of the music. Shuri, their family cat, mewled in protest at the disturbance and slipped off from where she had been lounging at the foot of the bed to go find somewhere peaceful, and for a moment Shana almost moved to follow. But Hat was smiling at her, tugging at her hand in encouragement to join the dance and she found herself beginning to sway to the beat, mouthing the lyrics at first, and then she and her sister screaming them together at the top of their lungs as they lost themselves to motion and sound.

AND I KNOW THAT STILLNESS SHATTERSWE HAVE ALL BEEN FRIGHTENED BY THEPAIN OF FOOTSTEPS ON THE PAVEMENT OF OUR LIVESI STAND AND FIGHTI’M NOT AFRAID TO DIE

[kujo1597]

Actually, That Was a Good Thing

Life is constantly moving forward. Things are always changing, nothing is ever still even when you don’t realize it’s moving. A lot can happen in just a year.

(A/N: Holy cow! I’m actually done this! I wanna thank those of you who read this until the end. I appreciate you so much! And I really appreciate new readers as well I hope you enjoy reading the whole story. Of course I’ll still be writing stuff for this AU but the main chunk of story is done.

And a big shoutout to @drawbauchery for her Mom Zircon AU. It really inspired my human Zircon. That dynamic between Zircon and Peridot is super cute! And I really wanted to do a similar dynamic. But without the stalker, I think I’ve put poor Peri through enough already. Haha.)

You can also read this on Archive of Our Own.

Chapter 15

Peridot let out her breath in a puff when she put a heavy box on a brand new carpet.

The room looked and smelled so clean.

“Ooof,” Amethyst put down another heavy box.

As she looked around Peridot felt a bittersweet feeling.

“Heck of a year,” she said.

“Huh?” Amethyst didn’t quite catch that.

“I was just thinking that is was just one year ago that I was living with Lapis and the two of us had our first date.” Peridot’s expression turned apologetic. “Sorry my moving day fell on our one-year anniversary.”

“Don’t worry about it; important thing is that we’re together,” Amethyst kissed Peridot on the cheek. “Not like it’ll take all day to do this anyway.”

“Yeah,” Peridot knelt to give Max a pat. She pointed at an arbitrary part of the hallway. “Go explore, Max. This is our new home.”

But he stayed put.

“Little guy probably needs to adjust first,” Amethyst suggested. “He’s never been here before.”

“That’s true. He’ll explore with me, I’m sure.”

Amethyst stretched out. “Well, we should start unpacking.”

“Then go out and buy a mattress. The bed in here is too soft.”

“You already tested it?”

“I felt it while putting boxes in my bedroom. I can’t sleep on it.”

“Alright, mattress shopping it is. Good thing you’re not stuck with that clown car anymore.”

Peridot laughed. “Yeah, I still can’t believe Pearl surprised me with a car. Fixing it with her was so fun, then she let me keep it!”

“So which room you wanna unpack first?”

“How many belts does one demigirl need?” Amethyst playfully groaned as she sprawled out on Peridot’s bed.

“I don’t have that many. And it’s not like they’re all the same anyway,” Peridot pulled out a few belts. “See? This one has an alien pattern, this one is covered in Pokémon, and this one is houndstooth.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen,” Amethyst really didn’t get it. “That’s just a lot of belts nobody’ll see.”

“A few of my therapists told me that doing small things for myself, even if it’s silly stuff like wearing goofy belts that only I know about can help my mood.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Probably should guessed. So is that houndstooth one because you like Persona 4 so much?”

“You know it.”

“And y’know... having a million belts is probably better than me. I just have the one and it’s being held together with duct tape,” Amethyst changed the subject. “Since you’re buying a new bed, do you mind if I have this one?”

“Not at all.”

“Cool.”

Peridot finished organizing her closet knowing full-well that it wouldn’t last. But it was satisfying nonetheless.

“Do you think Max will be fine while we go shopping?”

Amethyst glanced at the sleeping lump on the bed next to her. “I don’t see why not. Buddy’s passed out. And you leave him alone all the time.”

“Sometimes dogs piddle and get destructive when they’re nervous. He’d be left all alone in a strange new place.”

“We’ll just take a trip to Dreamy Sleep then come back.”

Peridot glanced at Max. “Well, what I can do is leave some of my clothes laying around to hopefully keep him calm.” She gave it some more thought. “Yeah, he’ll be okay if I do that.”

“Ready to go then?”

Before long Peridot changed and left her clothes on the bed and couch.

While her and Amethyst carried the new mattress through the hallway, thank the stars Peridot got a room on the first floor, Peridot was confronted by a woman with bright-yellow hair styled up into two points. 

“Do you have a dog?”

“Yeah,” Peridot signaled to Amethyst to put the mattress down. “But he only weighs nine pounds so he’s well within the size limit.”

“That’s well-and-good but if he cries constantly then we’re going to have a problem.”

“Max cried? Was it the whole time I was out? He’s usually very quiet.”

“He cried for the first five minutes.”

“Ah, this was his first time being left alone here. He should be good in the future. I don’t go out much so he should be adjusted next time.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed. “What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a freelance programmer,” Peridot replied growing more irritated. She knows she doesn’t exactly look ‘respectable’ but frankly, bright-yellow hair doesn’t either.

“Okay the-”

“Jeanne!” Another woman came bounding through the hall. Her pale blue hair curved and floppy. “Are you harassing our new neighbour?”

Jeanne, oh how the sound of that name made Peridot’s skin crawl, replied, “I was just asking them about their dog.”

“I must apologize for Jeanne,” the blue-haired woman said. “She’s a stickler for the rules.” Her tone turned firm when she started to face the other strange lady. “I told you it was just a nervous pet.”

“It’s fine,” Peridot said, the new woman seemed very nice and when Peridot looked at her she felt something she’s never quite felt before. In some ways it was like how she felt about her dad. But different. 

Jeanne... not so much.

“Oh, right,” the new lady turned to Peridot. “Isa.”

“Peridot.”

“Amethyst,” she waved from where she was leaning against the wall.

“Good to meet you,” Isa said then she looked between Peridot and Amethyst. “Are you two living together?”

“No,” Peridot hesitated but saw a wedding ring on Isa’s finger and a matching one on Jeanne’s. “We’re not living together but we have been dating for one year. Exactly, actually. So you and Jaune are married, right?”

“Yes.”

“Got married the day it was made legal.”

“That’s great,” Peridot said, feeling relieved. Some of her neighbours in her old apartment were... less tolerant.

“We should let you go,” Isa said.

“Yeah,” a part of Peridot didn’t want this conversation to end. She started to consider getting to know Isa over tea. “Max is missing me. It was nice to meet you.”

The four all waved and said their goodbyes and Peridot and Amethyst reached Peridot’s room.

She carefully opened the door and Max came bolting out then started to run circles around her.

“Okay, hello, I know, you missed me,” Peridot picked Max up and kissed him. “Let’s check around for accidents, eh Max?”

After the inspection which turned up nothing resulting in lots of scritches and smooches from Peridot, and the mattress was in place, Peridot and Amethyst sat on the couch watching TV.

“So Peri, how ‘bout we do something naughty?” Amethyst wiggled her eyebrows.

“Oh, what do you have in mind?” Peridot gave Amethyst a sultry look.

“Well,” Amethyst dragged the next sentence out sexily. “Why don’t we cheat on Kofi and order Domino’s?

“How scandalous,” Peridot leaned into Amethyst. “Pull out your phone and place that order.”

“You want those spicy chicken bites?”

“You know I do-” Peridot couldn’t keep up the routine; she started laughing uncontrollably.

“How could you?” Amethyst said in mock offense. “I try winning your heart with pizza and chicken and you laugh at me?”

“I can’t help it,” Peridot said between giggles. “We’re such big dorks.” She collapsed onto Amethyst clutching her stomach.

Amethyst traced lines next to Peridot’s mouth with her thumb. “Maybe I should cut back on the comedy a bit. You’re starting to get laugh lines.” She rubbed Peridot’s cheek. “Then again, those are the best wrinkles. Means you’re happy.”

“Please don’t stop making me laugh, even when I look like my lola,” Peridot sat partially up and wrapped her arms around Amethyst. “Your sense of humour is one of my favourite things about you.”

“You feeling alright? Like, you’re cuddly but not usually this mushy.”

Peridot nestled into Amethyst’s neck. “I think I’m just feeling a bit lonely. I haven’t lived alone since college.”

“Want me to stay the night?”

“No,” a shake of the head. “Well, yes. But you shouldn’t. It’d be best if I just rip off the bandage. So to speak.”

“Alright, if you change your mind tell me,” Amethyst looked at her phone. “Still up for cheating on Kofi?”

“Always.”

“Have I ever told you that I appreciate how you started trying weird shit with your food?” Amethyst stated, amused by Peridot putting her chicken bites onto her pizza.

“I’ll never surpass the master,” Peridot took a bite. “I’m not brave enough to mix strawberries, canned tuna, and hot sauce together.”

“Not my best sandwich in all honesty.”

“They can’t all be winners,” Peridot said with a shrug.

They ate supper while watching Ninja Keith reruns.

Eventually Amethyst spoke up. “So, you still doin’ that Lapis and Jasper thing with me tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Peridot finished off her crust. “We need to make sure it goes well. And if it doesn’t, we need to be there to help them.”

Amethyst grabbed another slice of pizza. “True. And fukkin’ deck Lapis if she makes my sister even worse.”

“She won’t. Lapis has made great progress. Have faith in my roo-former roommate.”

“I know,” Amethyst sighed. “Just worried. Jasper’s been doing better too.” She took a big bite. “Don’t want it to go backwards.”

“I feel the same way when it comes to Lapis.”

“You sure you don’t want me to spend the night?” Amethyst had noticed a subtle sadness in Peridot’s eyes. “Sometimes it’s best to take band-aids off slowly. Y’ever slice your leg open?”

Peridot cringed. “Yeah, ripping off the bandage hurt like a son-of-a-gun.”

“But if you peeled it and wet it then it wouldn’t have.”

After a moment’s thought Peridot gave in. “You’ve convinced me. So I guess you need to go get your stuff then.”

“Nah,” Amethyst polished off her pizza. “I had a feeling you’d want company the first night. My stuff’s in my car.”

“You know me well.”

Peridot and Amethyst barely dragged themselves out of bed the next morning. They were both worried that things would go horribly wrong with Lapis and Jasper.

But before they arrived at the meeting place Peridot decided to drop Max off at the beach house. He needed the supervision if they were gonna be gone for the day.

Pearl was the one who opened the door. “Hello Peridot and Amethyst.”

“Hey Pearl,” Peridot greeted her. “Thanks for puppysitting on such short notice.”

“Don’t mention it,” Pearl gave Max a swift pat on the head. “I actually kind of like him now.”

“We can’t dawdle,” Peridot put Max on the floor then pointed into the house. “Go find Steven.”

With that, Max excitedly ran off.

“Bye Max,” Peridot called after him with a giggle.

“Amethyst,” Pearl turned her attention to her. “I need you to pick up a few things.”

“Got it,” Amethyst saluted as she took the shopping list.

“You’ve never watched Max for the whole day before,” Peridot passed a basket full of blankets, toys, and food for Max to Pearl then pulled a piece of paper out of her hoodie pocket “As you know he eats at all three meals, though breakfast isn’t an issue... He gets three-quarters of a scoop of kibble. Max sometimes sleeps under stuff so if you haven’t seen him in a while check under Amethyst’s bed. Let’s see...” Peridot looked over her list to find more urgent stuff.

“Peridot,” Pearl interrupted her thoughts. “He’ll be fine. I’ll read the list, I promise. You two need to get going.”

“Well, okay,” Peridot passed the list of care instructions to Pearl. “Remember, keep an eye on Steven, I always catch him sneaking snacks to Max.”

“Okay,” Pearl pushed Peridot out of the doorway.

“And watch him when he potties,” Peridot’s fretting continued. “Seagulls like to pick on him.”

“I got it.”

“And don’t forget-”

“Goodbye, Peridot.”

“Yes, goodbye,” Peridot said automatically.

Pearl closed the door on her.

“Well that was a bit rude,” Peridot put her hands on her hips.

“She’s right though, rude or not we gotta go,” Amethyst jabbed her thumb at the car.

The couple raced to the back corner of the meeting place so as to be discreet. They weren’t actually supposed to be there.

Not long afterwards Lapis strolled in, then Jasper. Those two looked pretty okay, nervous, but okay.

“Lapis,” Jasper said after taking a deep breath. 

“No, I’m going first,” Lapis firmly stated. She made eye-contact with Jasper, sighed, then said it.

“I’m sorry.” Lapis kicked her foot. “I shouldn’t have taken all my anger out on you.”

“I...” Jasper could barely believe what she just heard. “Um...” That wasn’t part of her plan... “Okay.” She cleared her throat then recalled the script she had rehearsed at home. “I took advantage of you to punish me. I did bad things, and always felt bad about myself and I used your anger to give me what I felt I deserved.”

Lapis looked like she was about to blow a gasket. “What! No! I used you! You were such an easy target. So big and smug, with that stupid nose piercing, you look like a bull, and you got angry back which made it easier for me to yell at you. But then you stopped and I kept going. For once I felt powerful.”

“And I felt like I deserved it so I let you keep going and egged you on, and when you did leave me I tried to get you back, I craved the attention. Nobody ever stays with me, our relationship, as awful as it was, was the longest one I ever had. I didn’t want it to stop and be alone again,” Jasper breathed in, “but it really was bad.”

“You know, you didn’t deserve what I did to you.”

“I know that now, but at the time I truely believed I did.”

“We were really bad for each other, you brought out the worst in me.”

“And you brought out the worst in me.”

“We really shouldn’t be together.”

“Well,” Jasper recalled what Peridot had told her, “we shouldn’t date,” she held out her hand, “but we can try being friends.”

Lapis didn’t take Jasper’s hand. “What if we fall back into our old habits?”

“Amethyst and the peacock will call us out on our shit,” Jasper jerked her head towards where the two she was referring to were sitting. “That’s why they’re here.”

Lapis looked at them. “God dammit, were they here the whole time?”

“Pretty sure.”

“She’s such a worrywart,” Lapis said with a fond smile. “Dumbass.”

“So how ‘bout it?” Jaser offered her hand again. “Wanna try being friends?”

“Sure,” Lapis took the offered hand. “We can try.”

“Hey Amethyst, Peridot,” Jasper called out to them. Amethyst perked up but Peridot looked confused. “You gone deaf, ya little peacock?”

“No!” Peridot replied with a blush, then when her and Amethyst joined Jasper and Lapis she continued, “it was just weird hearing you call me by my name.”

“Been over a year, kid,” Jasper clapped Peridot on the shoulder.

“Wait,” Amethyst crossed her arms with a smirk, “you knew Peri’s name the whole time.”

“I had a good feeling about her.”

Amethyst playfully smacked Jasper’s arm. “You ass. You were testing her.”

“Of course, I don’t want you getting hurt again,” Jasper chuckled at her feisty little sister. “Anybody patient enough to put up with me calling them such a dumb name’s bound to be good. Or at the very least be able to put up with you.”

As the exchange between sisters went on, Lapis looked at Peridot. “How’s condo life treating you?”

“Pretty well so far. I met two of my neighbours. They’re nice. So...” Peridot felt a small tug in her chest, “how’s the roommate search going?”

“Bad. You set the bar too high. I can’t go back to eating nothing but garbage,” Lapis’ cheeks warmed up. “And you’re nice and funny.”

“You know, you can come over any time,” saying this made the tug go away slightly. “I’d like that, and so would Max.”

“That damn mop, miss him too,” Lapis said under her breath then added in a normal tone, “And you swing by whenever. I’m not changing the lock.”

“It slipped my mind that I never gave my key back. I’ve had it for so long...”

“I never asked for it. I know I can trust you.”

“True, but I might scare your new roommate if I just waltzed on in. I don’t need to deal with the police.”

“Yeah, you do look kinda sketchy,” Lapis teased Peridot. “But I’ll just tell her to expect a short big-eared nerd with dumb hair to randomly show up.”

The two laughed.

“But I’m serious Peridot. Come over whenever you want. And bring Max.”

“You too. And I will come over with Max, he misses you too.”

Sensing that Peridot needed a hug Lapis held out her arm. “Come here, you sap.”

Peridot accepted the hug.

And that’s when Lapis realized she needed it too.

After some more talking Amethyst and Peridot parted ways with Lapis and Jasper who also went their separate ways.

“So glad that went as smoothly as it did,” Amethyst sounded relieved.

“Me too,” they arrived at the door of the beach house and Peridot opened it. “I wonder how Max did.”

Peridot looked around for him and and didn’t see him.

“He’s sleeping on the couch,” Pearl said, startling her. “Him and Steven ran and played all day.”

“Max must be pretty tuckered out then,” Peridot said with a laugh. “He’s gonna sleep well tonight.”

Amethyst chuckled. “Yeah, good for you, he kinda fussed a lot last night.”

“He’s never done that before, not even when I first got him,” Peridot sighed. 

“You have to remember, he’s known the duplex for most of his life,” Pearl surprisingly gave Peridot this gentle reminder. “It’ll take time for him to adjust to the new location and not having Lapis around.”

“It’s an adjustment for me too,” Peridot said under her breath.

“That’s natural, I imagine moving from Canada was one too,” Pearl placed a hand on Peridot’s shoulder. “But at least this time you actually know people and have some company. Even if it is of the furry variety.”

Amethyst gave Peridot a crushing hug. “Yeah! And if you ever need non-furry company just give me a call.”

“Thank you, both of you.”

“Well, you can stay for a bit, or if you need to go you can find Max on the couch,” Pearl jabbed her thumb towards the living room. 

“I think I should get going, I have stuff I need to do and groceries to put in the fridge,” Peridot walked into the living room.

And Steven was there. “Hi Peridot,” he said with a smile. “I think Max had fun.”

“It looks like it,” Peridot gave a very sleepy Max a pat. “And I trust you had fun too.”

“I did,” Steven gushed. “I didn’t know he could run that fast.”

“Yep, he’s pretty speedy when he wants to be.” 

“We had races, and played tug, and chase,” Steven listed off all the things the two of them did on his fingers with a big grin.

“Did you know that he knows how to play peek-a-boo?”

“He does?” Steven got starry-eyed. “I need to do that with him next time.”

“But maybe not around Pearl,” Peridot whispered. “He does this cute little bark and I don’t know how she’ll handle that.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind,” Steven whispered back.

“Unfortunately, I have to take him home now,” Peridot picked Max up and he blearily opened his eyes, noticed Peridot, then went back to sleep. She gave him a kiss. 

“Aw, okay,” Steven sounded disappointed. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll see him again before you know it,” Peridot ruffled Steven’s hair.

“And you too, right?”

“Yeah,” Peridot smiled fondly. “And me too.”

Steven gave her a big hug and she left after getting another hug from Amethyst.

Max trotted next to Peridot through the hallway of the condo building. She technically was supposed to have him on a leash but he was well-behaved so it should be fine. And it was, Peridot reached her door without incident, well, apart from a mother looking at the two of them nervously as Max sniffed towards her child.

She’ll just have to get used to them, Peridot figured, only slightly bitterly.

Peridot didn’t finish her unpacking yesterday so when she finished putting groceries away. She started with her action figures because robots in cool poses always lighten up a room. She started with the Labrys Figma Amethyst managed to get her for Christmas.

A knock on the door interrupted Peridot’s reminiscing.

She hurried as fast as she could on her bum knee and prosthetic foot.

“Wait,” Peridot was slightly out of breath and a bit too late. When she got a look at who was walking away she smiled. It was Isa! ...And Jeanne. “Sorry about that, I was unpacking,” she added with a laugh, “and my legs are kind of a mess.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Isa said, she was momentarily mildly puzzled then remembered the sight of Peridot in shorts. She held out a basket. “Here, a welcome basket.”

“Thank you,” Peridot took it and looked through it. “Ooo, I can make marmalade with this.”

“Marmalade?” Jeanne snickered. “What kinda punk are you?”

“One that’s a marmalade-loving nerd,” Peridot didn’t really appreciate Jeanne’s tone.

Or maybe a slight bias was shining through.

“So, uh,” Peridot awkwardly pointed at her door, “would you two like to come in and chat?”

Isa and Jeanne exchanged glances. 

“Sure,” Jeanne shrugged and Isa nodded.

Peridot led them into her home. “Now, it’s still a bit messy. I had more stuff than I thought.”

“You sure it’s such a good idea to invite strangers into your home?” Of course a Jaune was snarky and picky.

Peridot looked at Max who was still sprawled out on his back. “Well, Max doesn’t have a problem with it so I think having you two over is fine.” She held up her basket of fruits. “I’ll go put these away, make yourselves at home. Do you want tea?”

“No thanks,” Isa replied. “And I can help with the basket.”

“Thank you.”

The two went into the kitchen while Jeanne sat on the couch next to Max. She looked at him for a bit and he looked at her.

“Is your dog friendly?” Jeanne called to the kitchen.

“Yeah,” Peridot called back. “Go ahead and pet him. He especially likes chin scratches.”

While putting fruit away Isa looked in the living room and smiled. “Peridot,” she pointed at the couch, “I think Jeanne and Max like each other.”

Sure enough, Jeanne was smiling as she rubbed Max’s tummy and the pup was loving it.

Isa pulled out her phone and took a picture making sure Jeanne wouldn’t catch her and get embarassed.

And in that time Peridot decided that maybe Jeanne wasn’t so bad. Max is a pretty good judge of character after all.

Putting food away didn’t take long at all, Peridot and Isa joined Jeanne and Max bringing glasses of water.

“So, what do you two do for a living?” Peridot kicked herself for asking such a boring question.

“Get this, me and Jeanne are both lawyers.”

“Jaune’s a lawyer?” Peridot couldn’t believe it, how could somebody with highlighter-yellow hair be a lawyer? “Like, practicing?”

“Yes I’m a practicing lawyer,” Jeanne was understandably annoyed. “And why do you keep saying my name like that and making that face?”

“Oh, I didn’t realize,” Peridot didn’t want to touch on that subject so she stayed vague. “Somebody ruined that name for me. I assure you, it has nothing to do with you.”

Finding this odd, Isa kept it in mind. “Where are you from?” She asked.

“Calgary, Alberta,” Peridot replied.

“Me too,” Isa smiled as she put more pieces in place, especially as she got a better look at Peridot’s face. “Actually, you look kind of familiar.”

“Well that’s odd, I didn’t go to law school. I guess maybe we could have gone to elementary school together...”

Even more pieces fell into place, especially with that unique eye colour.

“Would you happen to know Jaune Diamont?” Isa asked out of the blue.

“What, no way they know somebody that important,” Jeanne waved her hand dismissively but then she noticed Peridot’s off expression. “Wait... do you?”

“Um... uh...” after much hesitation Peridot answered the question. “Yes. She is my mother.”

“Holy shit,” Jeanne said in quiet disbelief. 

“Aha! I knew it!” Isa was far less quiet. “You look just like her! You’re Peridot Diamont-Hōseki!”

“I can’t believe one of your crazy theories ended up being right,” Jeanne still wasn’t over it.

“I remembered that Jaune had a daughter because the lawsuit involving her was the talk of law school,” Isa looked at Peridot who was barely hiding her mild crisis. “Then one day the discussion suddenly stopped. It’s always bothered me. Something big must’ve happened.”

“It got settled out of court,” Max crawling onto her lap helped calm Peridot. “That’s all I can legally say.”

“That’s really suspicious,” Jeanne raised an eyebrow.

“Considering I’m sitting with two lawyers I really can’t say anything more.”

“You know,” Isa’s suspicions about the case had woken a strange new feeling up inside her, but she couldn’t place it, “you can tell your lawyer about it. It’s not official yet, but if you need one you can hire me.”

As much as Peridot didn’t appreciate the subject of Jaune being pushed on, that weird feeling from earlier returned. She... kind of wanted to tell this lady she only just met more about it.

“I’m really uncomfortable going into detail,” Peridot took a breath, in and out, and stroked Max. “But I will tell you this. It was a divorce case and ‘alleged’ child abuse was a large factor.”

Both Zircon’s eyes went wide.

“Oh jesus...” Jeanne was the only one to speak.

Isa didn’t, she had a feeling that was it, but that new feeling made her unusually quiet. After a little bit he figured out what that feeling was.

She wanted to take care of and protect this young woman she recently met.

“I don’t know what to say,” Isa breathed in. “But if you need a restraining order filed or anything, even not legal matters, my door is open.”

“You have my gratitude,” unlike Isa, Peridot still hadn’t figured out what she was feeling. “Oh, and I’ve already filed a restraining order against her.”

“Well I would hope so,” Jeanne loudly said.

Isa realized something. “For the record, my wife’s name is spelled J-e-a-n-n-e not J-a-u-n-e so she doesn’t have the same name as your mother.”

“That’s good to know,” with the bias gone Peridot was actually able to think better of Jeanne.

Though she still found Jeanne a bit rude...

“Moving on,” Isa made a motion with her hands as if she was physically moving something. “I see you like video games. Jeanne was really into them when she was younger. Weren’t you dear?”

“Yep, I was a SEGA kid. I played a lot of Sonic.”

“Ah, I was a Nintendo kid myself, but I did have Sonic CD on the PC.”

“Missed that one, the SEGA CD was too expensive and I didn’t even know about the PC version.”

“It got re-released on a few consoles. I have it on my PS3 if you want to play it.”

Jeanne actually smiled. “Maybe some other time.”

And Peridot smiled back.

The three chatted for a while about their interests and eventually the Zircons had to leave.

Then Peridot got back to her task of unpacking while talking to Amethyst on the phone.

“Whattup Peri?”

“Hey Amethyst,” Peridot couldn’t hold in her giggle. “Do you remember Jeanne and Isa?”

“Yeah, just met ‘em, blue and yellow hair, right?”

“Right. They were just over and they’re actually really nice.”

“Cool, it looked like you didn’t like Jeanne.”

“It was mostly bias since her name sounds like my mother’s,” Peridot answered truthfully. “But it’s spelled differently. The sound still bugs me a bit though.”

“Give it time.”

“I will.”

“So why’d you call? I like talking but we saw each other earlier. It’s not like you.”

“Still feeling a bit lonely I guess.”

“Want me to serenade you to sleep?” Amethyst jokingly offered. 

Peridot laughed. “No thank you. I don’t want to wake up with a dead or broken phone.”

She heaved a heavy box onto the table to sort through.

“Still unpacking?”

“Yeah, it’s taking forever. How’d I amass this much stuff in four years?”

“Dude, I’m the same way. You keep buying these little trinkets and before you know it you look around and think ‘shit, how’d this happen?’ And then you go and buy more stuff.”

“For someone who isn’t into statues I sure have a lot of statues...”

Amethyst chuckled heartily.

The two of them continued to talk as Peridot unpacked.

Peridot looked around her quiet new living room and let out a satisfied breath. She finally finished unpacking.

As her eyes wandered she thought about where she was just four years ago.

At the time, the fire seemed like the end of it all.

She lost her home.

She lost her belongings.

She lost her savings.

She would wear the scars for the rest of her life.

It hurt.

But from that fire she met Lapis, a close dear friend.

Then Amethyst, her wonderful girlfriend.

And of course, Max. Her companion who helped and continues to help with all the stress.

All that loss and nearly dying put everything into perspective.

It made her a better person. And in several ways, it gave her a better life.

Peridot smiled.

That fire was actually a good thing.