#yea I drew this over a year ago and I still have too many ideas for Sanji

[hyacinth-04]

Even after a year the Sanji brainrot has grown and I have more ideas

[peterbabytt]

StarkerFestivals // Summer Bingo // Royal AU

synopsis: prince peter parker, 19, is set to marry princess morgan stark, 17, in an arranged marriage... it's not his fault her father is so devilishly handsome...

words: 1,525

warnings: light swearing

!!everyone featured in this fanfiction is 18+ unless specifically stated otherwise!!

i hope you enjoy 💓 feedback/constructive criticism is and always will be accepted, but hate will always be blocked

(by proceeding, you understand and accept the warnings previously provided)

    “Your Majesty,” Peter lifted his gaze to the door of the library. Michelle, a young servant in the castle, was standing in the doorway. Lifting the edge of her skirt ever so delicately, she curtsied before Peter and his mother. “Your Highness.” Peter cringed. He knew she was being respectful, polite, professional before the queen, but as the two of them? Peter insisted she use his name, as he had a distaste for the formal tone.

    “The Royal Family has arrived.” Oh, good... and here, Peter was hoping they had been run off the road on their way over. Peter glanced at his mother to gauge her reaction. Her features were soft and delicate, but he knew those eyes all too well. In her own mind, she had already debated how to cancel tonight’s dinner a thousand ways over, all with varying degrees of severity.

    “Yes, thank you, Michelle. We will join you in the foyer in a moment.” She beamed. Michelle—MJ—nodded, curtsied once more, then turned to leave the library. The moment she was out of earshot, Mary turned to her son. “It’s not like we’ve had this planned for months already. You’d think, for the sake of the kingdoms, they’d be punctual.”

    “Easy, mother…” He tried, resting a bookmark between the pages of his book before rising, stepping towards his mother, and offering his arm to her. “You’re too tense. I’m sure there’s… a decent explanation.” For their own sake, there’d better be.

    They walked at an easy pace, a pace much slower than Peter was used to, and yet, even after arriving in the foyer, the two still had to await the arrival of their royal guests. And Mary was growing even more impatient as each second dawdled on by. Peter, on the other hand, had a grin resting gently over his features. Tonight was already off to… an interesting start, and if it continued in any similar manner, he knew his mother would call off the arrangement.

    A part of the boy felt guilty for wanting this dinner to go awry, but was it really so wrong to just… not be ready? Everything seemed to be moving so quickly. He had only turned 19 a week ago, and he still felt as though he had yet to meet his own self. Sure, he had a bit of a grasp on who he thought he was, what he thought he liked, and who, for that matter… but even so, many things had changed throughout the span of a year.

    He’d met who he thought was the love of his life, even despite the fact he knew his parents would never approve. In that moment, in the desperation to just be himself, he had prepared to lose everything he’d ever known, all for a chance—not even a guarantee—simply a chance to finally know who he was. He took a leap of faith and prayed to stick the landing. But he stumbled. And that terrified him—he had been so sure of himself...

    Peter leapt from his bed, running a shaky hand through his mess of curls. He felt his skin prick with goosebumps, but from the cold or the fear, he hadn’t yet figured out. MJ was still on his bed, but she was now sitting upright, watching him with concerned eyes.

    “Are you okay?” Peter couldn’t bring himself to form an answer. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment, so he hid his face in his hands, took a moment to gather his thoughts, gather his breath… then, finally, sat back down on the edge of his bed. MJ scooted closer to the prince, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Peter?” It was then that he realized he hadn’t yet answered her question.

    “I’m sorry, I… I can’t.” He trembled as he spoke, so MJ reached for the undershirt he had discarded only moments ago. He took it, but made no move to put it back on just yet.

    “Peter, look at me,” MJ’s voice was soft, soothing, unoffended. He obeyed, and the hand that rested on his shoulder moved to cup his cheek. “It’s okay. This is a big step. We don’t have to do this tonight.”

    “It’s not that…” The words tasted bitter on his tongue, and it took all the strength in his body not to vomit.

��   “You can tell me, sweetheart… what is it?” The look in her eyes showed nothing but sympathy, nothing but love… how had he let himself get this far? If he had known from the beginning, he shouldn’t have brought her to his bedroom… shouldn’t have promised her something he could never give her… was it selfish?

    “I love you, I do, just… not the way I thought I did.” The instant the words fell from his mouth, he wanted to reel them all back in, to ignore everything his mind was begging him to do—set everything aside and just give in. But he couldn’t bear the idea of lying to his best friend. To himself, he could live with… but MJ deserved so much better. “I’m sorry, that sounded… harsh.”

    “It did, yea,” her tone was playful, but the smile never met her eyes. She was hurting, but she would never admit it.

    “You deserve so much better than this…”

    “Peter, there’s nobody else I want… I want you. I want to be with you. I want to make this work, and I know it’ll be hard, but I want to do whatever we can to make this work.” He tried to ignore the tears welling up in his eyes.

    “I can’t lie to you, too.” A thick silence fell between them. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let it come this far.”

    “Peter, whatever you’re trying to get at, I’m not understanding.”

    “I’m—”

    “Her Majesty and His Royal Highness,” An unfamiliar voice drew Peter from his thoughts, and he had to force his eyes to focus. He hadn’t even noticed the gates had opened and the royals had been led inside. He glanced briefly at his mother to ensure she hadn’t noticed his trance, then adjusted his posture before—oh… holy shit…

    The king that stood before him was easily not the king he had imagined. He pictured the man to be far less… sweet heavens and all things holy, was there even a word to describe this man other than purely beautiful?

    He wore a deep blue suit that had been tailored oh-so perfectly for his frame, and his hair had been styled in a delicate wave. He begged himself not to reach out and card his fingers through it—it’d be a shame, afterall, to disturb such beauty. His beard was expertly shaped, sharp and clear edges defining his even sharper jawline. Peter couldn’t help but imagine how that very beard would feel between—

    “I present His Majesty, King Stark—” The queen extended her hand, and he accepted it in his own, raising it gently to his lips for a kiss. Peter was enthralled—hypnotized by their curvature.

    “It is indeed a pleasure to meet you, King Stark,” his mother spoke, and Peter nearly bounced on the balls of his feet, eager to hear the king’s voice.

    “The pleasure is all mine, Your Majesty,” Peter felt faint. “And please, forgive my informality, but call me Tony.” He turned to face Peter next, and he was almost certain, this time, that he would faint. He’d have absolutely no shame in it, either.

    Tony, with a smile, extended his own hand to Peter, and it took every fibre in his being to keep his own from trembling as their palms connected. God, even his hands were sexy. Rough skin, calloused fingers, a warm embrace. Had he died? Was this Heaven?

    “—and Her Royal Highness, Princess Morgan.” A beautiful, beautiful young woman with features to match her father’s. She wore a lovely black dress with a slight v in its neck, and her hair hung in delicate curls by her shoulders. Peter could easily admit that she was, indeed, effortlessly gorgeous. He only wished he could hold some sort of attraction to her rather than to her father…

    It was customary that both families dine together before a decision on an arranged marriage was made, and Peter thought he would never again be so thankful for customs or traditions in his life, for this particular custom meant his assigned seat at the dinner table was right beside Sir Stark himself. The idea of it, at least to Peter’s own understanding, was that the prince would dine beside the opposing king so the two could get to know one another and bond before the father of the princess could make a decision on the marriage. And then, of course, the same way around for the princess and the opposing queen. Then again, of course, this could also just be a blessing in Peter’s favor.

     It wasn’t until Peter felt a knee bump into his own underneath the table that he realized this was definitely a blessing in his favor. Now, of course, it could have been an accident, so, naturally, he brushed it off as one… the first time.

~~~~~

tags: @longlivestarker @starkeristheendgame @katzenbaby1 @starkerbee​

i had more i wanted to do with this one, but i couldn't find an ending that satisfied me lol i might do more with this later, i'll probably work on it a bit more, and repost later, but for now, here's this 💕

happy pride month 💓

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Empires on the Horizon Epilogue

Jason is a CEO: Epilogue

When i started this fic (around 9 months ago-- holy hell we could have had a whole human in that time) i didn’t expect it to go in the directions it did or to produce the characters and story it did. While it’s not one of my more action-packed fics it is still very special to me because 1. it’s my first jason centered fic (of which we don’t have much of); 2. it’s my first really long multi-chap (the longest before this was 10 parts); 3. i got to explore so many of my crackships and dynamics of friendship i may not have been able to if we (for example) stuck to canon; 4. most importantly i love this fic because it started out (the very first chapter) as an original story that just was not going anywhere but when i decided to make it a fanfic, suddenly ideas were pouring from my fingers like wine from a split barrel. these characters feel as much mine as they are Rick’s (which is a dangerous path to go down and i’m not actually claiming they’re mine-- gods please don’t sue me). in short i love this fic dearly, i’m so proud of how far all these little babies have come (especially jason) and i hope you feel even a smidge the joy i feel over this, as you go on to read the very soft conclusion to Jason Grace as CEO.

masterlist; my links

[image has alt text]

There was something almost magical in the gleaming silhouette of the Manhattan skyline. There was something hopeful about it too. 

Jason Grace stepped out of his car, relishing in the sound of the gravel crunching under his feet and the babble of people all around him. His suit—  a deep blue, dark enough to look black, and glittering with tiny silver diamantes that looked like stars— clung to his shoulders and hugged his legs. The theme of the evening was “Starry Night”. He figured coming as the actual night was accurate enough. Drew and Silena had done a beautiful job on his outfit, to no-one’s surprise. He would see them here tonight, along with their husband, and the rest of his friends. And tomorrow, oh tomorrow, he would be off to Rome, with the man that filled his life with overwhelming light.

“Jase,”  Someone called out from the darkness, “Are you hiding from us because you put two different shoes on again and are too embarrassed to say?”

“Shut up Annabeth,” He laughed, “I’m coming.”

He walked towards the group of silhouettes, making out Leo and Annabeth, and Nico and Will, and coming from behind them were the dressmakers and their Charles. Hazel and Frank would be making an appearance later in the night.

“You all look beautiful.” He smiled, hugging them, kissing cheeks and foreheads, relishing in their closeness and their comfort, as he has always done. And they did in fact look beautiful. Annabeth in a dress of blue swirling around her and pooling at her feet— the colours matched the sapphire on her ring finger; Leo in a matching floor-length skirt and a sheer polo-neck that showed off every clean brown line of his skin; Nico and Will, in contrast, were complete opposites, the former in a black suit with silver jewellery, and the latter in an off white with gold accents; Silena, Drew and Charlie all had on suits with various parts of the galaxy embroidered in gold, threading a spectacular tapestry through the emerald green. All in all, his friends were really hot.

“Y’all ready?” Will drawled, tilting his head to the entrance of the hotel a little way away.

“Let’s go celebrate!” He winked in response.

And then they’re walking towards the bright lights, launching into conversations and updates and work and jokes. It was familiar in the way driving home after a long time away was, or catching a waft of the specific smell of your elementary school art room, or seeing someone from your childhood and slipping into a comfortable back-and-forth.

“Jase,” Charlie scooted next to him, breaking away from his conversation with Nico, “How’s the construction for the new section of the outdoor center going? I heard you hit a snag last week with the design?”

“Yea there was a few centimeters off with one of the structures and it caused the whole area to be off balance,” He scrunched his nose, remembering the horror from last week. “I’m just grateful we caught it in time.”

“I can’t believe it’s been a year since that center went up,” His friend marvelled, eyes wide with the disbelief of time. He knew the feeling well.

“It’s crazy. I came back from my holiday and then everything was just on fast forward.” He shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “I’m happy though, with the progress and how far we’ve come.”

“You’ve just burst and grown and brightened,” There’s that soft smile, the one that made all of Jason’s insides turn to mush. The one that told him he was loved in every capacity.

“I know.” He felt the blush creeping up his skin, pale after the long winter months. “I don’t owe it to myself though. All of you guys have—” 

“No way mister,” Annabeth chimed in, “You absolutely owe it to yourself. You got yourself there, we just cheered you on.”

“Yea,” Leo nudged his arm, a gentleness shimmering in his brown eyes. “You were the hero of your own story.”

He muttered thank you’s and tried to embrace the blush but their love and joy and pride still drowned him. Before anyone else could pile on the sincerity they were walking into the lobby and being ushered to the large, elegant ballroom three doors down.

There was a collective gasp from their group, audible even above the low hum of chatter, and the soft jazz drifting through the speakers. The entire room had been made to look like they were standing inside the middle of “Starry Night”. Like they were the townsfolk parked outside their houses witnessing the strange and magical sky above them. Swirls of blue in the draping curtains and circles of yellow in the chandeliers and wisps of the cypress trees growing from the walls as if the very room had been built around a tree.

“This is—” He didn’t even have the words to fully express his awe. If he were an art major he would have died from the beauty of it all. As it stood he could barely keep himself up.

“I know,” A voice said quietly from behind him. “It’s almost divine.”

He didn’t say anything, didn’t even turn around to see who it was. He simply stepped back and let arms envelope him. He didn’t need to check, because he knew, he would always know. In the heat of their skin, and the hum of their voice, and the love that radiated between them like scorching summer sun.

“Moró mou,” He sighed, tipping his head back to rest against a shoulder. From this angle he could see blazing green eyes and jet-black curls, and impossibly high cheekbones, and a jaw sculpted by Michaelangelo.

“Hello my love,” Percy Jackson smiled. “How are you?”

“Happy.” He muttered, lips brushing against his boyfriend’s cheek.

“Good,” The man nodded, squeezing his waist where his arms still wrapped around. “Are you going to be okay tonight?”

“I will not just survive through it,” His eyes crinkled at the corner as pure joy washed through him, “I will live through it, and I will enjoy every minute of it.” He knew the reason for the question, for the concern. But tonight it was not needed. He was nothing but excited and elated for the hours, and then days, weeks, years to come.

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

A glass tinkled somewhere to their right, grabbing their attention. And then Zoe and Reyna were stepping together and drawing people towards them as if they were gravity, magnets, the center. They looked it certainly: Zoe in a stark white dress, hugging her figure, shimmering like stardust every time she moved; and Reyna in a watery blue, gauzy and flowing in time with her body, where she goes it will ripple behind her.

“Thank you,” His lawyer started, giving them a dazzling smile. “For being here. All of you.” She looked them each in the eye, her own filled with love and… were those tears? From his no nonsense, boss lady lawyer? Oh he was so going to give her a hug and then tease her endlessly about it. 

“We have a thousand people to thank for all of this,” She gestured to the room, “And a thousand more to thank just for being here, but that will come in the form of surprise take-me-homes at the end of the night.”

“However,” Zoe’s voice, still as strong and quiet as ever, rang out across the room. “There are two people we would like to thank right here, right now.” Her smile lit up the world as her eyes landed on them. “In typical us fashion, it’s a little out of the ordinary but please can both our ex-boyfriend’s come up here.” 

The crowd burst into laughter, him and Percy with them, as they detangled themselves from each other and walked hand in hand to the front of the room.

“As you can see,” Reyna grinned. Jason held in the groan he knew would accompany her next words. “We did a Partner Swap.”

The laughter only loudened, people whistling, and clapping in time with their amusement.

“I will spare you the sordid details,” Zoe’s own giggling softened to a smile, “But two years ago, after Jason and I had broken up, I called him in a panic asking for help. And despite being on a much needed holiday where he happened to meet a certain someone,” She winked at them, eyebrows waggling comically, “He listened to me, then made use of his contacts and connected me with Reyna.”

“And after I charmed the suit off of her, and won her lawsuit,” Reyna stepped in, grinning wildly, “She agreed to pop open a bottle of champagne and celebrate our win.”

“I’m not quite sure about the charming part, angel.” Zoe quirked an eyebrow, “But yes one champagne bottle and the rest was history.”

“In conclusion to this whole ordeal,” His lawyer turned to them, “Jase, Percy, we have a present for you, to thank you for loving us, and for loving us enough to let us go, and furthermore for bringing us together.”

Zoe handed them an envelope but before they bothered to open it they pulled the women in for a hug, thanking and congratulating them. He would not change what they had for the world. He will be grateful forever. He will love them even longer.

Percy ripped open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper. He leaned over his boyfriend’s shoulder and read with him.

The universe has a funny way of pulling stars together but we know with certainty that the four of us are born from the same constellation. Thank you for everything. We know we can never really repay you but please accept this as a start. 

Tucked into the last fold of the paper were two plane tickets to Japan. The holiday they had discussed once, a Saturday game night that ended with the four of them huddled around the fire in Zoe’s apartment, chattering softly about this and that. Printed in small font at the bottom of the page was a cherry blossom branch and more text that read,

Get married losers, we want joint holidays so we can get the couples packages.

He bubbled with laughter at that, and looked up at his friends, tears pooling in his own eyes.

“Alright everyone!” Reyna clapped her hands, gathering the attention of the humming crowd. “Let’s get this engagement party started.”

And then music filled the room and people dragged each other to the middle of the space and there were cheers as the song came into focus and truly Jason understood the meaning of life that night.

After they had thanked Reyna and Zoe again, and chatted with their other friends Percy pulled him to the dance floor.

“Jase,” His boyfriend cupped the back of his neck, arranging their bodies into a work of art. “We have wonderful friends.”

“The very best,” He agreed, swaying their hips in time with the beat. “We have built an empire with them by our side.”

“Will you be the emperor then?”

“There is no monarchy in this kingdom,” He smiled, blue eyes glittering and bright. “It is just us, and our love, and everything beautiful the world has ever had to offer.” He saw oceans reflecting back at him, wonder soaking in his words, happiness pressing against his lips.

His boyfriend pressed their foreheads together, bodies still moving to music far away. “And if we look further?” Percy breathed, “Past the empire, to the horizon beyond?”

“It is all home,” Jason Grace smiled. “We are home, my love.”

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

Okay there are so many people to thank and you best believe i’m going to thank them all because this fic would literally not exist without them.

@nishlicious-01​​ my favourite person, my biggest supporter and the only person who gets to shout at me when im writing fanfic at 1am because i’m not sleeping but also because ‘why am i not reading it ciara????’

@queen-of-demons-and-hell​​ for every comment, every like, every complaint you took when the writing demon was on strike. you have my heart. id be lost and a little lonely without you.

@leyontheway​​ your comments on this fic were golden and i often came back to them just for that extra burst of motivation and serotonin. i found a friend in you and now i can’t imagine my life without you.

@msdrpreist​​ Sky, mi cielo, you are one in a billion and i cannot believe i found you (and you me) across all this space and time. thank you for your unwavering support and your wonderful thoughts.

@larrikin-is-a-himbo​​ when we started this fic i believe you were @/queenbrunnhilde (or something to that effect) but although your username has changed your loveliness and endless support hasn’t. Thank you for sticking along for the ride

@spoopylucy​​​ Lucy... what do i even say to the person who singlehandedly changed my day, week, mood every time i saw a reblog from them? your tags were the start and the end. they made every upload an exciting task. and i knew no matter what happened in the fic or how long it took as soon as i got a notif from you i couldn’t be anything but happy. thank you my Luce, you’re an angel!

@not-hiesenberg​ for being my ‘ciara what the fuck even does this say? do you know how to spell?’ checker when i was too tired (more like too lazy) to do it myself.

@lesbian-peanuts​​ thank you for the love! you were one of the first people interested in this little universe and i can never thank you enough for that​

@legendary-cupcake​​ your spam when reading this was such a happy moment in my life and im ecstatic that you stayed for the ride! thank you​

to all the people on my tag list, who have liked this fic, and especially those who have commented: i see you, i love you, and i thank you with a heart full of happiness. you changed my world.

[pekorosu]

just a lil “if ash lived” headcanon that i need to unload somewhere bc i've been holding it in for a long time

- set within the manga ‘verse

- takes place when ash and eiji are in their early 30s... so around the mid 1990s?

- i don’t get the weird animanga trope where older = longer hair, so they’re gonna look the same... maybe with slightly shorter hair bc they get regular haircuts now 

- (note: i've always interpreted long-haired eiji as symbolic of the fact that he couldn't move on from ash’s death)

- ash and eiji will continue living in the states, idk if still in NYC or somewhere else. they’ll move around a lot though.

- ash will mostly remain underground as he had to fake his death after lao’s stab, but he does it in a "hiding in plain sight" kind of way. only a handful of people know he’s still alive.  

- ash spends most of his time on the computer, mostly coding, hacking, being a nerd, among other fun stuff.

- he also takes on “jobs” anonymously, and occasionally from max (who’s still into investigative journalism) when he needs info that can only be obtained through Dubious Means.

- i also like to think that ash's a bit of a hacker robin hood lol. but he isn’t doing it purely out of the goodness of his heart, as part of it is a subconscious need to atone for his “sins” and cleanse the gnawing and persistent feeling of shame that gets amplified when he’s around eiji.

- also whatever he’s up to these days would ofc still be Highly Dangerous and Illegal, but it keeps him busy and would sate the part of him that’s still hungry for adrenaline without him having to engage in stuff like active bloodshed or substance abuse. basically that’s how i imagine he’d try to cope with life the only way he knows.

- eiji continues to do photography and other part time gigs bc he does not like the idea of mooching off ash forever, and he slowly makes a name for himself.

- ash and eiji live together but they are NOT together in a romantic sense... not yet >:)

- therefore eiji will probably date other people in the meantime, which gets a little troublesome bc it's not like he can bring them home to where his secret Very Important Friend is secretly hiding.

- ash will maybe have one-night stands every now and then. or not. idk. this isn’t a very important detail.

- anyway there will be lots of clueless but mutual pining :)

- ash especially, is of the opinion that they should start living separately bc someone will eventually track him down, maybe someone who has a past or present grudge on him. combined with his current activities, it’s only a matter of time before eiji would unwittingly get dragged into his problems again.

- eiji is v adamantly against that plan bc he's sorta developed a debilitating sense of paranoia that ash might just get killed somewhere while he’s not looking. not that ash isn’t paranoid either, but his insecurities often tip the scale over to “eiji is safer away from me” than “with me”.

- basically they’re doing their whole “stay. no, leave. no, stay” dance all over again, but like, dragged out over MANY YEARS.

- you thought eiji’s letter would’ve cleared up any crossed wires? 

- HELL NO

- like yea, there was probably a beautiful honeymoon period of about a year or two after they reunited, before their respective trauma and issues started creeping in and fucking things up again.

- esp on ash’s end, i think he’d engage in a lot of self-sabotage. and eiji is only human, he has his own limits and baggage too.

- there will be a government conspiracy plotline but on a smaller scale compared to canon that i am unfortunately not knowledgeable enough to worldbuild on, but it will probably have something to do with cybercrime/cyberterrorism/stuff like that bc it needs to tie in with ash's hacking shenanigans.

- i've heard that sing ends up becoming some sorta political big shot in yasha? idk, i haven't read it myself, but since china’s rising status was mentioned in GoL i imagine the plot should relate to that somehow.

- therefore sing would also get to be in this story! 

- i guess this means yut-lung would come into the picture at some point as well, and it would be a good opportunity for a redemption arc but i haven’t given it much of a thought bc i’m indifferent to his character orz SORRY.

- look i can’t do plot, but i am basically envisioning a political thriller with a side of slow burn romance (wait, you mean like a rehash of canon?)

- i’m thinking max is the one who kicks off the story by bringing something fishy to ash, and they just end up uncovering more and more and MORE stuff as they keep going.

- so for like 80% of the story, ash and eiji will be separated bc ash will be busy spying or infiltrating something... and being at the center of Plot Things, while max and eiji will be more on the outside dealing with the journalist side of things. i’m fond of max-ash interactions but i’m also REALLY CURIOUS about max-eiji’s dynamic :D

- meanwhile sing will be like, half in and half out i imagine. he's versatile like that lol

- ...i did NOT mean that in a dirty way

- anyway, this will provide ash and eiji ample space to work out their issues separately, as i think living in close quarters for so many years has actually been aggravating them. ofc those issues don’t get 100% resolved by the end, but some time apart from each other to cool off and spend with other people should provide a bit of perspective.

- i want ash to make some NEW FRIENDS (!!!) that are on the same wavelength as him bc there’s only so much that he can tell eiji and i’m sure he gets rather lonely, so there will be OCs that he will meet in the middle of Plot Things.

- ash will get trapped at some point. preferably with sing so they can have a much needed heart-to-heart talk. they’ll have a lot to hash out, ranging from the events in BF, shorter’s and lao’s death, all the way to ash’s love life. 

- btw i like the idea of eiji and sing being close drinking buddies who confide in one another but ash is kinda, justalittle, not very happy about that LOL 

- i mean, it's not like eiji can confide in ash when ash is the topic at hand, ya get me? as for sing, he’s similar to ash in the sense that they live dangerous lives, so i imagine he just finds it nice to be able to hang out with someone mundane like eiji every now and then.

- not to say that ash and sing aren’t talking to each other at all, but i think they’d have a bit of a rift between them. sing probably does feel some resentment, both at ash for killing lao AND at himself bc he knows deep down that given a choice, he would’ve saved ash over his own brother. ash can sense that tortured vibe, so eiji’s like their middle man. AND THAT’S WHY THEY NEED A HEART-TO-HEART TALK

- (SIDE NOTE: i want akira to have a role in this too. i actually have a separate headcanon that happens prior to this story... kinda like an alternate GoL? 

akira goes to the states to visit eiji, but ash is also there, yeah? akira and ash start out sorta prickly with each other bc ash is all weird and standoffish and always cooped up in his room. she probably mistook him as a jobless model mooching off eiji at first since 1) eiji and ibe have never spoken about him back in japan (cuz he’s supposed to be dead), 2) why would eiji be living with some random hot guy? unless they met during one of his photography gigs? right??? 

and then she ends up witnessing them in the middle of a tiff, which makes her not like ash even more bc HOW DARE HE YELL AT POOR OKUMURA-SAN??? UNGRATEFUL JERK!!!

but over the course of her visit, she snoops around learns a bit about their history and gathers hints as to why their r’ship is kinda strained. also ash and akira somehow end up bonding (reluctantly) over their emotional insecurities and part on a friendly rivalry to win over eiji’s affections (which eiji is completely oblivious to. also akira may have been 100% serious but ash was just jokingly playing along with her (OR WAS HE???)). anyway long story short, ash teaches akira some cool tech/IT stuff along the way so that leads to her gaining an interest in the field. 

she won’t be able to do much in this story, but a minor role would be cool :)

 ^ a lighthearted gyoza-making scene amid all the angst)

- (SIDE NOTE #2: i ALSO want cain to feature in this, but bc canon provided very little bg info on him it’s hard for me to figure out where he’d fit. but i suppose that’s precisely why it would be great to include him, since i can just make up my own backstory! lol. for now, i think he should be connected to one of the new OCs to make him more central to the plot. or heck, he can be involved himself! ...yeah, i’m just salty about how cain was treated more like a convenient plot device compared to the other major side characters. we barely know anything about him even though he was one of ash’s most trusted allies. #caindeservedbetter2k20)

- anyway, back to the main story. ash (and his new "friends") barely escape where they’re held hostage. ash would be rusty with combat now as he’s spent the past few years doing only stealth work and being rather sedentary. 

- so there’ll be lotsa old man!ash jokes like them poking fun at him whenever he complains about his back hehe

- when they finally emerge outside they find themselves in the middle of nowhere! they then hijack a passing pickup truck and do a roadtrip back to civilisation. ROAD TRIP FTW

- at this point, quite some time has already passed and ash even has a fuzzy beard and mane and all. he’s standing at the back of the truck with a small smile on his face and the wind blowing in his hair, thinking GONNA GO BACK AND SEE EIJI, MISS HIM LOADS, HELL YEA 

- (bonus: this song and this scene is the catalyst for this entire headcanon btw)

(drew this about a year ago. i was trying to imitate the manga’s art style... and the ash i had in my mind was a little different. i’m too lazy to redraw, but he’s fuzzier now okay! MORE FUZZ! like an actual freakin LION!)

- meanwhile, eiji and max will get into some deep shit around this point? 

- eiji in the pic above was me imagining that the Bad Guys had tossed some damning evidence (eg. severed body part?) on the ground like “ash’s dead/ash’s in a lot of danger now so hand over all the info u have”

- and eiji and max are like. SHOOKETH

- this would be the 3rd time ash has “died” after all, and as they say... 3rd time's the charm...

- eiji almost gives in, but then max spits in their face like fuck no and then... yeah. they get beat up and taken away or something lol

- EDIT: hmm... what if the Bad Guy is someone IN the government, and he uses his power to get eiji and max arrested for aiding and abetting a wanted fugitive (ash). and then ash has to rescue them... JAILBREAK STYLE

- also it might be cool to introduce ash's mom somewhere in this story... maybe SHE'S the villain! mwahaha *drama intensifies*

- anyways they will get saved by ash and gang bc that’s just the way things go, BUT! only on the condition they already made it out at least 80% of the way bc GODDAMN IT👏LET👏EIJI👏BE👏BADASS👏FOR👏ONCE👏 

- (that is, after he overcomes the initial shock of ash possibly being dead again... again...... again............)

- there will ofc be moments of “oh my god, you’re okay” "i thought i lost you...!"

- something like this, because one can never have enough cheesy reunion scenes

- this will eventually lead to REVELATIONS (of the romantic kind, yes) 

- buuuut they will never say "i love you" directly to each other bc ash is too emotionally constipated and eiji is too japanese. it's okay, they will communicate it through heated stares 👀

- i would love for there to be a scene where they have to be separated again for Plot Reasons and ash sorta hesitantly goes all "...will you wait for me?" as a direct parallel to canon!eiji's "i'll be waiting" and it’s like,

- FINALLY! 

- FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! ash has finally allowed himself to ask for this, to let himself want it! 

- and eiji would be like OF COURSE I WILL YOU BIG DUMMY, ALWAYS AND FOREVER

- but i think it'd be hilarious if eiji pops up while ash's in the middle of the final showdown and ash's like WTF I TOLD YOU TO WAIT FOR ME and eiji's like I WAS WORRIED OKAY YOU WERE TAKING SO LONG

- idk how this is supposed to end...

- oh wait! since the plot is government-related, maybe Someone will be able to pull strings to wipe out ash’s criminal record (past and present) and give him a brand new 100% legal identity, as thanks for his efforts? or maybe ash (or sing) just does it himself somewhere along the way LOL. anyway, he’ll be able to start over with a fresh clean slate and finally work on recovery FOR REAL NOW. yes this is a happy ending AND it didn’t require him to go to japan /flips off canon

- ...i realise it’s never going to be that simple but W H A T E V E R

- (also they probably will visit japan in the future with that shiny new passport... gotta meet the in-laws and all y’know)

- who do i gotta pay to write this cheesy self-indulgent fic for me

[vinaity]

hey !! i saw you were looking for some danganronpa requests and i was wondering if you could write mondo owada x fem! reader where he asks the reader to prom (or just any school dance) thank youuu !! 💖💖

woohoo! this ended up being almost 2k words (1.7k to be exact), and this is my first time writing in months! this was a joy to write, and i added some more plot and context to this!~

this is also my first time writing mondo, so please don’t judge!

You were never really the type to go to proms- but that didn't mean that you would straight up turn someone down rudely if they did ask.

Now, people have tried to ask you to the prom- but you had to politely turn them down because you weren't interested to go this year.

There was one reason for this: Your ex.

You had caught him cheating only a mere week ago, and going to the prom would bring you more pain. Seeing those happy couples dancing would've added salt to the wound to your breakup.

That's what brought you here, sitting in class casually when something landed on the back of your head.

You turned around, seeing a scrunched up paper ball sitting behind your chair. Picking it up, you turned around to your desk and opened the note.

"Meet me under that one tree after school, don't bring anyone else."

You knew exactly what tree they had meant, there is a sakura tree near the schools entrance. You usually could see cars or busses driving past, as there was a car-park on campus for people to park if they were attending here. But people don't really go there unless it is to have a quiet place to study, but this could be for something different maybe?

You looked at the note suspiciously, as you didn't recognize the handwriting.

As the day went on, your mind drew back to the note which was sitting in your pocket.

-

It was lunch when you were beginning to overthink, but suddenly you heard a voice being you

"Hello Y/N!"

You turned around, seeing your good friend Ishimaru Kiyotaka walking towards you with his lunch in hand.

"Taka! Hi!" You smiled happily as he sat next to you.

Something was off, your other friend wasn't here. He was always here, but today where was he?

"Where's Mondo?" You asked innocently, looking at Taka in concern.

"M-Mondo is just sick! Yep, he's just sick. Nothing else." You were growing suspicious, as Taka never stumble or repeat his words. As Taka was blabbering on, an idea had popped up in your head considering the note you had received earlier that day.

"Taka, I don't wanna be rude or anything, but do you know anyone with this handwriting?" You asked, showing Taka the note.

He had taken his sweet time reading the note, even bringing it to his face to have an closer inspection.

"Me?!" Taka scoffed, "I have no idea what you're talking about! Are you even going?"

"I am, why?"

"Why?! You have no idea who even gave this to you in the first place!"

"It got thrown at me earlier, I don't know who threw it but someone did."

"That doesn't matter! You could die for all I know!"

Before you both could argue more, the bell had rung for lunch to be over. You sadly didn't have any classes with Taka, so you were just left with your thoughts for the remainder of the school day.

-

Your curiosity was at it's highest when the bell had rung to indicate that it was indeed 3pm and that the school was over for the day, which left you rushing outside of the school and towards the parking lot.

As you were walking away from your locker, you felt someone's hand grip your wrist. You turn around in shock, only to see.. Taka?

"Nope, there's no way you're going there by yourself!"

"But the note says that I can't bring anyone."

"I don't care at this point, I want you to be safe and not end up dead on the sidewalk the next day or something!" Taka had always been the one to think the worst out of everything, which was both a good and bad thing depending on the situation.

"At least follow the notes rules and wait nearby or something."

"Fine, but I want to be able to see what was going on."

"Alright fine, but if anything bad happens you're coming to save my ass."

"Fine."

-

When you had to leave Taka and head down closer to the exit of the school, you had suddenly felt a weird vibe. It was quite hard to explain in words, but it felt like something was fishy with this whole situation.

Why was the note thrown at you in the first place when you had told people that you weren't going? Why was Taka acting so defensive earlier? And most importantly, where in the world was Mondo?

You, Mondo and Taka were really close with each-other. Yeah, you did have other friends as well- but you had felt like Mondo and Taka were the people who understood you the most. You and Taka had known each other for years, and when Mondo was introduced to your tight-knitted group by Taka, you had welcomed him with open arms.

After knowing Mondo for 4 years, you had had secretly grown feelings for him over time. You didn't want to say anything as you didn't want the friendship to be ruined, and besides why would he go for someone like you where there are so many other, more attractive girls out there?

You had never told Taka about this, as you were scared Taka would tell him. You knew in your heart that Taka would never do such a thing, but you had just went with the safe way and kept your feelings to yourself.

There were lots of secrets you hadn't told them, but one of the big ones was that you didn't really love your ex. When you thought about it now, you had thought that he would be a band-aid fix on your feelings for Mondo. In retrospect, the relationship just made you fall in love with Mondo harder.

Mondo was always at school, no matter what event had happen he would still show up. He didn't really care much about the education part of it (unlike Taka, which you thought was kind-of relieving), and he was genuinely there for you if you ever needed someone to talk to (Taka was like that too, but he was too busy with his studies all the time to even hang out outside of school).

Everyone would ask why you weren't afraid of Mondo, and you would always reply with "There's more then what meets the eye you know, you can't just base someone on their actions.  Because if you don't at least give them a chance, you won't be able to see the real them or to see the motivation for their actions." And it was true, especially for Mondo.

Your thoughts were side tracked as you arrived at the tree, much to your dismay there was no one there. Deciding to wait for at least an hour, you sat against the tree and began scrolling through your phone hopelessly.

The sound of an motorbike disrupted your thoughts, you looked up to see Mondo.. on his motorbike. He gestured for you to come here, which had you running towards him.

"What are you even doing here?! Where were you all day?" You asked as he just huffed and handed you a helmet and gestures to the spot behind him on his motorcycle, which you put the helmet on and sat on the spot behind him.

As he began to drive, you leaned close to him and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Just wait will ya', we'll be there soon." He replies, focusing on the road ahead of him.

After driving for about half an hour, Mondo parks the motorbike near a park and tells you to get off the bike and head to the park with him. You comply, following him as he enters the park and sits himself against a tree.

You stand in front of him, wondering what he was doing until you heard him speak, "Ya' sitting down or what? I've gotta tell ya' somethin'."

Sitting down next to him, there was silence as you both just sat and stared at the sky.

"Mon?" You asked, looking over at him, "Why did you take us here?"

"There's somethin' I've been meaning to tell ya' for months." He replied, locking his eyes with his, "I-I just don't know how it'll go out ya' know."

"The only way is to ask, Mon. What's up? You can tell me what's bothering you." You smiled at him, gazing into his violet orbs.

"Did you wanna go to prom with me? I heard you goin' on about how you weren't gonna go, but I just wanted to make it so ya can have a good time." He admitted, "I know it's hard to get over a breakup, I've been there once or twice in my life."

"You have?" You asked surprised. You had thought that Mondo hadn't dated anyone.

"Yea, It's hard- trust me will ya." He replied, "I just wanted to make a memory with ya that we'll both remember. I never really got to cherish those with my brother."

"Mon, that's so sad.. and I'm happy you want to make those memories with me." You smiled at him, leaning over and squeezing his arm, "I would love to go to prom with you."

Mondo's eyes lightened up as your smile widened, "Why did you think it was hard to do in the first place?"

He looked away from you and stared at the grass, "Because there's somethin' I've been meaning to tell ya for years."

"Go ahead Mon, we have tons of time."

"I-I like ya, but not in the friend way. I have for years, Y/N." He turned to you again, "I still remember the first day we met."

"In the cafe-"

"-Yea, I remember thinking that you were the sexiest person I've ever seen." As he said that, you felt a blush creep up on your cheeks, "After knowing you for so long, it made me realise that you've made my life better then it was. You make me a better person, and I love ya' because of that."

"I-I love you too Mon- you've made my life much more entertaining. Also.. you give the best hugs." He laughed at that, "But.. I would date people to get my mind off you. To be honest with you, it made me fall in love harder with you."

He smiled as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder and pulling you close to him, "Y/N.. I love ya so much, and it feels so good knowing that you feel the same way."

You hummed, leaning close to him as the arm around his shoulders snuck down to your waist- "It's true Mon, I love you- more then words could explain."

"Same here, doll."

[marvel-mega]

mind, heart, and soul (remus lupin x reader)

A/N: yes this is a marauder lupin fic! I love young!remus and professor!remus so expect more of him soon <3 this is an extra fluffy fic I love ‘pinning’ type pics I think they are so sweet. I have a list of prompts I created myself that I drew inspiration from for this fic! I can post them but if you guys want to send in some ideas im more than open to new ideas and feedback!

warning: fluff, flirty sirius, pinning. 

word count: 1.4k

*not my gif, credit to owner <3* 

Remus never really understood how to talk to girls. Especially you. You were smart, funny, and understood all of Remus’ clever jokes. Not only that but you were best friends with all of his closest friends. Which made it difficult to get alone time with you, when you and Remus were together so were the rest of the marauders. While the other boys said that you had to know about Remus’ crush that didn’t really stop Remus from never telling you out of fear of losing you and your friendship. Sirius jokingly flirted with you just to annoy Remus but hell Sirius even flirted with James sometimes so Remus knew that his flirtatious advances never held any weight but Remus wondered if you understood that, so many girls fell for Sirius’ charming persona.

As you grew older Remus knew that bodies changed but in his experience, his body changed most dramatically, with his furry little problem. You even became an animagus to stay by his side during his changes. You became a beautiful doe, which in his eyes couldn’t have been more of a joke. It was like the universe wanted to show him how much he wanted you human or werewolf. After your fifth year during summer vacation, Remus was determined to tell you how he felt about you nothing was going to stand in his way, and if he lost you as a friend which he really hoped he didn’t then it was just two years at Hogwarts watching you from afar. Okay, it was a lose-lose situation but he couldn’t sit around pinning for you and watch while you got with somebody else completely oblivious to Remus’ feelings.

As he boarded the Hogwarts express Remus tried finding you but to no avail. Where could she be he thought to himself? And sat with the other marauders asking them if they’d seen you. Sirius smirked at him and Remus just knew it wasn’t going to end well, “you haven’t seen her have you moony?” “No, I just said that Sirius. What are you going on about?” “Let's just say I won’t be the only guy you’ll have to fend off of Y/N,” Sirius said and began talking to James about quidditch. Remus was beyond confused then he heard you laugh he knew that laugh from miles away and just as he suspected there you were laughing with a Ravenclaw boy in the trains’ corridor that Remus didn’t know. But what he did know is that the boy was a bit too close to you for Remus’ liking. As you turned around Remus noticed a few.. changes. Your legs looked longer and appeared endless and you looked like you slimmed down a bit, no that wasn’t right its like the weight you had decided to move and fill itself in other… places on your body. You seemed fuller and plumper for lack of a better word and Remus wasn’t to only one who noticed. As you approached the cart where the four boys were sitting James said, “Remus you got some drool on your chin mate,” before laughing as Remus rushed to clean the imaginary drool on his face you finally reached Remus and pulled him into a hug and Remus couldn’t help but feel his mind reel at how close you were to him and how he could really feel how developed you’d gotten. Before Remus could enjoy it any longer Sirius butted in and said “Come here princess I want a hug.” Before winking at Remus over your shoulder as you called him drama queen but pulled him into a hug regardless. All the boys were quiet as they stared at Y/N as she attempted to sit comfortably in the train car. “Okay guys what’s up did I grow a second head and nobody told me?” James was the first to speak, “Well my oblivious Y/N you see you have how you say blossomed over the past two months.” Y/N still looked so confused and Remus didn’t understand that someone as beautiful as yourself didn’t see that other people were starting to make note of it. Sirius draped his arm casually over your shoulders and began telling you how beautiful you looked today, Remus didn’t fail to notice the blush that rose on your cheeks. Which infuriated Remus not because he was angry at you, you could never do anything wrong in his eyes he was angrier at himself at the fact that that he couldn’t speak as open to you as Sirius does.

As the group arrived at Hogwarts the stares didn’t stop especially from the first years who saw you as a brand new shiny toy that added to the magic of a whole new school and a whole new life ahead of them. Remus knew that those guys would never get a chance with you but the way they looked at you didn’t fail to sour his mood. As James, Sirius and Peter walked ahead of Remus he didn’t notice you were beside him until you said, “You've been awfully quiet this evening.” He looked at you, really looked at you, and saw the same beautiful girl he fell in love with years ago whether or not you ‘blossomed’. “Rem?” You said while smiling at him. “Yea I’ve just got a lot to think about.” “I know what you mean with my OWL scores that came my parents are pushing me to figure out what career I want to pursue.” Remus had forgotten that your time together was coming to an end at Hogwarts. After Remus didn’t answer, you changed the subject, “what do you think James’ was going on about on the train? I don’t think I look any different, sure I lost the baby fat and grew a few inches but that’s pretty much it.” You looked up at Remus despite growing a ‘few inches’ you still had to look up at the curly-haired boy. Remus gulped, “well Y/N I’ve actually been meaning to tell you something and it has nothing to do with your changes.” You looked confused but Remus continued before he could change his mind, “you look different. More… developed, to say the least.” Remus couldn’t stop his eyes traveling down to your chest and your face burned red. “Oh.” Was all you said and Remus felt defeated but trudged on, “Yea so what I wanted to say was that I’ve had the biggest crush on you and I won’t bore you with the whole ‘I’ve liked you from the moment I laid eyes on you’ speech because that’s not true. Because that would be infatuation what I feel for you is so much more than that its love, admiration and so many other things that I can’t seem to put into words at the moment. I like you for your brains, your charm, your stubbornness, your strength, and your heart. Your looks come after that because I'm sure no matter what you looked like I still would’ve fallen head over heels for you Y/N Y/L/N.” You stood silent for a moment, trying to register everything Remus just told you before a tear fell down your cheek. Remus knew he’d ruined it. “Its okay Y/N I understand if you don’t feel the same way I just really don't want to lose you as a fr-“ Remus couldn’t finish what he was saying because you had kissed him, you the girl of his dreams, the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts had just kissed the marauder with the furry little problem. Remus felt like he was on cloud 9 he couldn’t stop smiling. As the two of you pulled away he looked at you and saw that you were beaming. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to hear that I’ve had the biggest crush on you for ages rem and last summer boys started to ‘notice’ me more but I could tell they just wanted my body but with you, I don’t need to be perfect and neither do you. Remus Lupin I love you for your mind, heart, and soul. You never need to change a thing about you I'm already obsessed.” Sirius came out into the corridor where the two of you were and yelled, “Come on lovebirds Dumbledore is about to do his speech.” The two of you walked hand in hand into the great hall both of you looking thoroughly ecstatic.

[a-tamed-dragon]

Within These Walls: Chapter 1

Heyo, here is the first chapter of my Tokka work. I also published it on my ff.net (Prue2146)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh yes, here we are again. You know what’s up, I know what’s up, yes, I have a final to complete but this takes president because I am young and impulsive.  Ohhh boiiiiii * rubs hands together*

This is going to be a compilation of isolated incidents where Toph and Sokka's friendship evolves as time goes on and as they grow as individuals within the confines of four walls. These interactions are solely interpersonal, without the influence of other members of the gaang so as to eliminate social hive-minding behavior.  The time when each interaction occurs will be recorded at the top of the story as it is not chronological.

Set in the Avatar Universe. Maybe eventually be a lil lemoney...  but gratuitous devil’s tango is not the point here.  

Setting: In the Fire Lord’s Palace for meetings with Zuko and the gang. Most of the group is back together. In this verse confirmed Zuko is “secretly” * snorts” in a thing with Suki. Suki and Sokka ended years ago, and Sokka throws himself into his work but hasn’t found anything. He has, however, been close with Toph for years and she has developed quite the unshakable thing for him, something he reciprocates and has shown throughout the years. Each chapter will be a time in the past starting from when she was 17 that it started showing.

Toph is 20, Sokka is 25, respectively.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think, constructive criticism is welcomed.

Currently:

I could see Katara and Aang retire to their rooms, next to each other, Katara walking to the far wall and using the doorway behind the bookcase to walk into Aang’s room. Good idea on Zuko, pat on the back for thinking that through.

I averted my mind to the other end of the hallway, far down at the corner,  he was taking off his shirt in front of the balcony windows, looking out.  His sword was lent against the wall next to his bed. Then he let his hair down, shaking it out, and collapsing onto the bed, grabbing a book off of his nightstand.

I was bored. Perhaps he was too.

With a half-thought formed I stood up and walked out of my room. My hair was loose, and I was in my bed-clothes. Just a giant shirt that brushed above my knees. The palace in the summer was unbearably hot.

I passed by Aang’s door, sure to steer close to the far wall to make minimal noise as I did so. The palace was teeming with life up and down its vast halls. The building, although not to anyone else, was humming with life.

I made knocked on the door, feeling his sit up a bit on his elbows before inviting me in.

“ Oh, hi Toph.” He put the mark back in the book and closed it.

“ Hey, whatcha reading?” I closed the door softly behind me and stood at the foot of his bed, arms crossing, relaxed.

“ About the Spirit Library, Zuko lent it to me from his library.”

The thought of the library brought back the memories. I shrugged it off, the past is just that. “How interesting, probably can’t compare to the real thing, huh?”

Sokka ran his fingers through his hair, undoubtably aware of the unease I have towards the library.

“Getting chased around by a giant owl? Oh yea, nothing quite like it.” As he spoke he patted the spot next to him.

I chuckled and moved up the bed. “I’m sure.”

We rearranged ourself as I got situated. Tucking the tail of my shirt under my butt I tucked my legs back and lent my weight onto my side so to lean on him. Sokka raised his knee to bend so that I could table my forearm across it and rest my chin there. He looked up at me from his reclined position on some pillows.  He was smiling, when he did his eyes crinkled on the corners and his cheeks rose.

His right hand raised and suspended my bangs away from my face, and there he kept the closed-mouth smile on his face.

“You were our hero that day.”

His words were sincere but mentally 'rolled my eyes'.

“ Not all of us, you know.” I reached up to hold his wrist but he didn’t let my hair fall back, ignoring my tug.

He shook his head slightly and slowly.

“ Oh hush you. You kept an entire library up against spirit world magic. Pretty heroic if you ask me.”

I didn’t respond but he kept staring. “ You know what I mean.”

“Yea yea..” I felt his heart beating as I held his wrist, it seems that he grew into a man all of a sudden. Two years ago he was still growing into himself and now he was some tall, muscular, young man with the same goofiness to him.

It also seems that we came to embrace each other more often all of a sudden as well, it wasn’t uncommon I come to his room or he come to mine or stay in each other’s. There was something burning just below the surface, something that I think we both knew but the other was too stubborn and maybe a little unsure to explore.

The casual indecency of our friendship made it all the more intriguing to everyone, what was going on in within these walls? It was always fun to hear the whispers and the questions I would get from even Katara. She hears whispers too, you know.

As Sokka slayed his palm on my cheek I sighed into it, we didn’t do anything, should anyone ever ask.

I closed my eyes as his thumb swept across the apples of my cheeks.

“. . . Sokka?”

He almost purred back, “Yes?”

“ . . . Are you going to stare at me all night or tell me something.”

“ Depends. What do you want to me to tell you?”

The firecrickets were thrumming outside as his room overlooked a large courtyard. An occasional breeze of cooler air came in through the open windows.  The palace grounds were much quieter than Yu Doa, much more peaceful.

I shrugged, “ Whatever you wanna talk about.”

Sokka’s hand was big and warm as it cupped my whole cheek almost to my chin. It made my entire body warm, not that it needed to be in this summer heat.

“ Well,” He paused in thought for a moment, looking at the books on his side table “I’ve been reading about the Spirit Library, and a book about Avatar Kyoshi, did you know that she was 7 feet tall?”

“Wow, she must have been scary.” I set my chin up on my arm, my face not facing his but towards the window to catch the occasional breeze.

“I can’t imagine someone that tall. She’s like a human building.” His hand moved off of my face to rest on my knee, scooting my other hand away to sit his just above my knee where my nightshirt stopped.

I smiled, funny, Sokka.  “How’ve you been? I can tell you’ve been training more. Why? Got a new girl?”

What I couldn’t see was Sokka’s eyes scanning over me. He was examining my face as, which was lit in the moonlight right over my useless eyes. His gaze swept over my shoulder and down to the outline of my chest against his knee, my hair fell over my shoulder as well, long enough to sit on.

“Me? Oh you know, a bit more here and there, gotta keep these muscles up so I don’t disappoint the ladies.” He was being humorous, of course, the tips of his fingers no skating along the span between my knee and nightshirt on my upper thigh, light as air.

I raised an eyebrow, going along with it.

“Oh, can’t let that happen. Big, strong Southern Water Tribe warrior must have all the girls lining up.”

“Yea, well.” He tucked the piece of hair I blew out of my face back behind my ear. “I don’t have a special someone.” His voice was more somber now, that remark had a sadness to it that I felt for him.

“You’ll find the right one, one day. Who can resist you, ponytail?” I smiled and faced towards him. He smiled back.

“Maybe one day.” His hand found its place back on my leg, running his fingertips and nails up and down the small expanse of exposed skin. ”Do you?”

“Don’t you worry about me. I’m far too busy.” a cheeky grin on my face. What were we doing?

He matched me, “You mean that you haven’t fallen in love with me yet?” The feather-light touches turned into a hold on my thigh. This was different.

“Please, you? Why would I love a goofy noodle-armed pony-tail guy?”

“ Heyyy, I’m not noodle-armed anymore! You said so!”

“Even more a reason to find a Mrs. Sokka. Besides, the real question is how you haven’t fallen in love with the greatest earth bender of all time. Plenty of men clamber over each other to gawk at me on the daily.” I poked a finger at him.

“Whoever said I haven’t?”

With that he sucked all the air out of the room. Dead air hung between us. He took my shock as an opportunity, one I was too stunned to fight. One I let happen.

He pushed himself up with his right hand as he grasped my pointing hand by the wrist in his left and lent into me.

I felt his lips so close to mine as he waited to see if I would fling him out of the nearest window or crush him completely between the two walls. I almost let it, so close to it, my heart pounding in my ears, his heart going a mile a minute. Just as his lower lip brushed mine I pulled out of reach. Just out of the way.

That.. that can’t be at all true.. but his heartbeat told me it was. You can love people in many different ways, what way did he? Heat rose to my cheeks as I flushed, as unsure as I’ve ever been, suddenly feeling like I was submerged in the water unable to swim or earthbend my way through it.

At that Sokka offered no protest. Letting go of my wrist he drew his arms up in surrender.

“I’m sorry- I” He stammered as he sat up completely.

“ Sokka,” I said curtly. Make up my mind. What I want I could have,  I wasn’t sure what I felt. If he wasn’t kidding then I can’t let him think I felt the same. Or is this what I’ve felt? This reverence, this deep respect for the man who saved my life on an airship, my best friend, my closest confidant, was this love that I had for him?

Yes, of course, but the kind that made me want him physically? More than I wanted to admit to myself I wanted to feel what it would feel like to have his mouth on mine and his hands on me, setting me on fire.

In this isolated moment, in the isolation and safety of four walls, yes, because within these four walls I’m not myself and who I need to be. I’m just his Toph and he is my Sokka; this wildly insane meat-heat of a man

I nearly laughed, grasping his chin between my thumb and fingers.

“ Knew it.”

He grabbed my hip and the space between my jaw and behind my ear, as he was much taller than me he towered as he leaned down to kiss me. A simple moment, one that kept going and going as one turned into 2 kisses to 3. When I pushed back into him, the tip of his tongue swept across my bottom lip.

He tasted like the liquor he drank before retiring to his room, not entirely unpleasant.

He pulled away, “Really?”

I snickered, “Have you met me??”

Sokka’s chuckle reverberated deep in his chest, perhaps the sexiest sound I’ve heard him make.

“Ohh yeah, I’ve met you.” His hands swept under my butt to the back of my thighs and pulled me onto his lap.

Part 2

_______________________

That's Chapter 1. I hope you like it.

~Prue

[windup-dragoon]

So not exactly the AU you had mentioned @astralyehga​ as I had intended. But the end result I’m still happy with. Originally it was going to be Hien helps Kiri get a date with Aymeric, but in doing so and boosting her confidence, Hien realizes he has feelings for her. BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENED. It kind of just wrote itself tbh. And at one point I was still going to go with that original idea, but then I thought I would have to write a second half and I thought the likelihood of me actually finishing it was pretty slim so. This is here instead. uwu THANK YOU FOR THE AU IDEA THOUGH I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I even watched a rom com just to get in the writing mood. lmao. I watched the ugly truth bc it used to be one of my favorites. 

【Ｍｏｄｅｒｎ　Ｌｏｖｅｒｓ】

Hien x Kirishimi 

Word Count: 2,291

“To what do I owe this pleasure tonight, friend? Hard day at work?” 

The gym was always vacant at this time of night. When the street lights illuminated the city and traffic was nonexistent. The clock read well past midnight, marching ever forward in tandem with her weights lifting and falling from the bench. 

Mismatched eyes peeked out from beneath thick lashes at the owner of the voice who now kept her company. Hien, the owner and her personal trainer, grinned down at her. Her hold of the equipment slipped, the weights clattering back into place just behind her head. Kirishimi grimaced but sat upright from the bench. 

“You could say that.” Her hand raked through snow white hair as a sigh heaved itself from her lips. 

Hien crossed his arms with a quirked brow. “Didn’t you say you were meeting up with your friends tonight? Or was that next Friday?” 

Kirishimi didn’t respond. Instead the woman pitched herself forward, head in her hands. 

“Ah. Still sore. Got it.” 

This wasn’t the first time Kirishimi had been left to her own devices on a Friday, or even Saturday night. She often worked late, finishing paperwork that everyone else left abandoned until the next business day. Most times her plans would reschedule, only to never be realized. All of her friends, no matter how dear they were, had lives of their own. Each had a significant other to keep them company and enjoy the evening with. So when her own plans fell through? They were there to pick up the pieces and make the night spectacular with or without Kirishimi’s presence. 

Tonight had just been another defeated Friday night to Kirishimi. 

Hien, her trainer now for more than a few years, had known the story all too well. In her disheartened state, she wound up here at his gym, practicing her kick boxing or lifting weights. It was almost routine these days. But, in some small comfort, there were worse places she could have drifted to besides his gym. 

He sat on the bench beside her and draped a white cloth over her head. “How ‘bout a nice hot shower and I’ll get some sake? I’ve got left overs from dinner, if you’re hungry.” 

The offered towel was promptly used to scrub her face. “Sure.” 

-- 

How many times had she ended up in this very room? A small studio apartment over the gym that always smelled of honey and apples. From the kitchen, to the living room, all the way to the back where sliding doors led into Hien’s bedroom, all of it could be seen from the moment one walked in. The host himself stationed himself at his makeshift mini bar beside the glass doors leading to a tiny, unused balcony. The lighting of his apartment was dim, as usual, nothing but strings of fairy lights that she had helped him string up from corner to corner some months ago. 

He prepared a small tray for Kirishimi while she showered, sake for them to share and black styrofoam to-go boxes he had ordered earlier that evening. Surely he would have loved to cook dinner himself for the woman, but you burn one pizza and you’re immediately branded a poor chef forever after. With fire alarms howling into the night and a pillar of smoke being waved out the balcony doors, she had sworn off his cooking from then on. 

It was one of his favorite memories. 

Not long after Hien settled himself onto the only piece of furniture in his living room, a couch no less, Kirishimi elbowed the door open and padded barefoot into the apartment. Furiously she scrubbed her white hair with a clean towel, water still dripping down the front of her borrowed t-shirt and soaking the collar. In her urgency to leave the vast loneliness of her own apartment she had forgotten her freshly washed t-shirt, having little choice but to bum one from Hien instead. 

“Sorry ‘bout this. I’ll get it dry cleaned if you want.” Kiri spoke in between ruffling her hair like wet feathers and combing her fingers through the locks. 

Hien dismissed her with a smile. “Nonsense! It’s only a t-shirt. I have a million others, if you must know.” He teased. It wasn’t the first time he had lent one to her and he somehow doubted it would be the last. “Come sit and eat. Knowing you, you haven’t had a bite all day.” 

“Not true.” Kirishimi protested, plopping down in the seat beside him. The couch sunk a bit beneath their weight, forcing their shoulders together. “I had a doughnut at work.” 

He whistled. “Wow. A whole doughnut. Well, I won’t deny the nutritional value of a doughnut. Sprinkles?” 

“Yes. Brightly colored. Pink, maybe?” 

“Ah. Then certainly you don’t need chicken alfredo-” Hien leaned forward, about to grab her box when she uttered a small squeak in defiance. 

“Hold it right there, criminal scum! You really think I’d turn down alfredo?” 

Grinning, Hien shrugged. “I knew that’d get you.” He slid the box across the coffee table, handing her a fork and a poured drink as well. “Now,” He leaned back against the couch with arms behind his head. “You wanna talk about today?” 

“Not really.” Kiri sunk to the floor between the couch and table. Hien was quick to steal her towel and wedge it between the back of her head and the cushions of his only usable furniture. If she needed to spend the night, at least her bed wouldn’t be soaking wet from her hair thanks to his effort. 

“Kiri,” He drew out her name, an almost commanding tone. “You can’t bottle it up forever. The last time you tried you drank my bar dry and nearly puked on a couple passing by.” 

Silver brows drew together while miscolored eyes burned. “I won’t miss this time.” 

“Kirishimi!” Hien exhaled. “I’m being serious. Humor me?” 

The young woman, blowing out a sigh that lifted her hair from her cheeks, knocked back one cup full of sake. “Fine,” Reluctance filled her voice. “If you insist. 

“Bein’ that it’s Friday, everyone wanted out of the office early. But instead of working together to get it all done, people just up and left after lunch. I had to stay behind, again, to make sure everything got filed correctly and all. That new secretary was nice enough to at least announce she was leaving...” Kiri paused in her story, staring vacantly at the mess of noodles lumped together in the container before her. 

“She mentioned a big party downtown and that I should invite my friends to go out. We’d all have drinks and just chill after a long week. I don’t really like the idea of parties but I did wanna see the gang. Been pullin’ such long nights at work, I haven’t seen any of ‘em for a while. So after lockin’ up the office, I texted everyone. Shuri, Illya, Laurelis. But-” 

“They’re busy?” Hien finished when Kirishimi failed to continue. 

“Yeah...” Kirishimi shook her head and finally dipped her fork into her food. The noodles slithered round and round the utensil but she had no intention of eating just yet. “It’s fine! I mean, they’ve all got their own stuff goin’ on. They wanna spend time with their guys and live their lives. I’ll catch up with ‘em another day, yea? Just sucks bein’ alone...ya’know?”

“Mhm.” All the time he had known Kirishimi, since the day she waltzed into his gym and signed herself up, he had never known her to be obsessed with the idea of a boyfriend. Yet here she was, trying to deny the fact that it bothered her. From time to time the guys of the gym would flirt with her, ask her on dates and say pretty things to her, but they were never right for Kirishimi. Some would later admit to being intimidated by such an athletic woman while others just assumed she had money to spare. 

While she fought with her dinner, Hien spared a glance at his phone. A chat message he had started earlier that week filled the screen. 

Illya:: Have you asked her yet? 

Laurelis:: Hello!!! It’s getting late! Tell us something!! 

Shuri:: You had better not have chickened out! 

He couldn’t deny the guilt welling in his gut. Instead of asking Kirishimi to meet him at the gym, he had begged her friends to help him in his endeavors to reach her. They were kind enough to oblige but seeing the slump in Kiri’s shoulders made him regret that decision. The girls weren’t to blame. Though he doubted Kirishimi could ever be truly mad at them. They were like family to her; sisters to the bitter end. 

“Have you considered finding yourself a boyfriend?” Hien forced the words out of his mouth before he could second guess himself. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees now, taking a sip of his own sake. 

Kiri’s fork stopped spinning for a heartbeat. Eventually she snorted and arched a brow at him. “Yeah. It’s real easy, isn’t it? Lemme just go ask some rando’s if they wanna date me.” She huffed before taking a bite. 

“Please, do not ask random guys to date you.” He pleaded with a light smile. 

“Sorry, but I’m afraid that’s my only option. Or die alone, I guess. My cursed bloodline ends with me.” Kiri teased, dramatically quoting a line from a movie the two had but recently watched. 

“C’mon! You’re just being pessimistic. Surely there’s other guys in your life?” Hien leaned a little closer, desperate to catch a glimpse of her features while she nibbled at her food. 

“The guys at work are scared of me. Especially when I wear heels.” 

“You do that on purpose.” 

“I like feeling superior! They treat me like dirt anyway. Bunch o’ assholes.” 

“Anyone else?” 

“Nope.” 

“...What about me?” 

“What about-” Kiri turned toward Hien, a questioning look dancing in her eyes. But her words fell short when she noticed him. His green eyes watching her, holding her gaze. 

The sound of soft rain pelting the window soon filled the silence of the apartment. It was a romantic ambiance. A window in the kitchen, left open, let in the sweet scent of an approaching storm and the musky aroma of falling rain. 

Her heart jumped into her throat as they shared in the quiet moment. All the discussions she ever had with the girls about this very topic came rushing to mind as she searched for words to say in response. Many times she had lamented to the others about her feelings for Hien, always under the impression that he had eyes only for the cute girls who frequented his gym. The girls in tight outfits who giggled and winked at Hien when he taught them how to use specific equipment. She had always wanted to be like them, so flirtatious when asking for his number so they could keep in touch. Several times before she had assumed he had even dated one or two of them, fleeting as they were. 

Illya, Shuri, Laurelis, and even their significant others had demanded that she at least talk to Hien about it. To open her heart to see what transpired. But fear had kept her back. If he turned her down or realized her feelings, would he ask her to leave the gym? Who then would she turn to when she was alone at night, wanting anyone's voice but her own to fill the silence. Who would she spend her off days with watching movies or keep him from burning his own building down? It was the fear of being alone that chained her. 

But now... 

“Hien... You are... definitely a guy in my life.” Kirishimi managed to mutter, her cheeks burning with heat. 

“Took you that long to notice?” Hien teased. 

“Shuddup!” She huffed before crawling up onto the couch beside him once more. “You know what I meant. I didn’t think you thought of me like that...” 

Hien turned so his back was toward the armrest, his body fully facing her. “It’d be an awful lie to say I didn’t think about you every day. Some nights I wait downstairs... Just to see if you stop by.” 

“You could have texted me! You could have... said something...” 

“I was afraid I’d lose you. I wanted to make sure you felt the same. Your friends gave me one hell of an earful when I spoke to them.” Hien frowned at the memory. Three women demanding he be honest. Although quiet and polite, the trio had honestly frightened him. But if it hadn’t been for them, he may have never found out. His question left unanswered. 

“Hien...” Kiri, chewing a moment on her bottom lip, closed her eyes and reached for his hand with both of hers. “Hien, ya’ idiot! Of course I like you! I get stupid butterflies in my stomach when I see you. Gods know I look like a blushin’ idiot when you parade around the gym without yer shirt on. Or the fact that you’ve been my personal trainer for over a year when I don’t even need one-” 

“At least I don’t charge you for that.” Hien interrupted, a blossoming grin plastering his face. “Kirishimi, I’m sorry I’m not a rando off the street like you envisioned, but will you go out with me?” 

Snowy hair bounced wickedly as Kirishimi replied with an eager nod of her head. “Hells yes!” In unison they moved toward one another, Hien’s arms looping around her waist and drawing her onto his lap while her hands brought his face to hers, lips crashing in a heartbeat against the other. 

[lovemesomesurveys]

Have you ever sold anything online either on Craigslist, eBay, Amazon, etc.? If not, what is your website of choice like any of the above for buying things? No, I’ve never sold anything. I like shopping on Amazon, Etsy, and Ebay as far as those kinds of websites go. If the opportunity arose, would you ever go to a nude beach? Do you think you’d be comfortable enough, being naked among others like that? Absolutely not. I’m not comfortable naked, and I most definitely wouldn’t be naked in public. I’m waaaaaay too self-conscious. I don’t even wear bikinis or any kind of swimsuit. I also have no interest in seeing other people naked. You do you, boo, but it’s not my thing.  What was the last book you read? What about the book drew you to want to read it (plot, title, cover…)? Did you end up liking it? I recently finished a trilogy (The Jack Ryder Mystery Series). Well, what I thought was a trilogy but I discovered there’s actually 3 more. I’m about to start the 4th. I read a few other books by the author and enjoyed them and the description of the first book caught my interest. I was hooked after the first one and had to keep going to see what happened. Have you ever considered keeping a dream journal? If you have one, have you ever looked back on it at all of the odd/interesting dreams you used to have? I thought about it before, but I’ve never done it. I very rarely remember my dreams. I generally forget them soon after I wake up or just remember random bits of it. Do you think regifting is cheap, or is it okay? Have you ever regifted before? I mean, I’ve been given gifts that weren’t really my thing, but I knew someone else would really enjoy them so I gave it to them. I’ll tell them, though. I’ll be like, “Hey, so I got this but I already have it/it’s not really my thing, personally, but I know you like them so I thought you might be interested” or something like that.

How often do you wash your hair? What do you think when you hear of some people not washing their hair for weeks at a time? Is it healthier, as they claim? I wash my hair 3-4 times a week. Weeks would be too long, but I think a few times a week is fine. I also dye my hair, so it’s best not to wash it too often.  Do you think President Obama should stay in office, or is it time for a new president? It’s time for our current president to be out of office. In general, do you like/get along with your mother’s or your father’s side of the family more? I get along well with both sides. Have you ever seen an animal give birth? Have you ever had a pet give birth before? Not in person, no. What do your plans usually consist of on Christmas morning? Are they the same this year? We get up early and sit in the living room while my brother passes out the presents and then when they’ve all been passed out we start opening them. We like showing each other what we got as we go. When we’re done, we mess around with some of the stuff for awhile. Christmastime this year is going to be weird given how this year has been. :( Do you like iPads/tablets or laptops more? E-readers or books? Laptops. I do a lot of my reading on the Kindle app on my phone, honestly. I have access to tons of books and it’s just really convenient. If you don’t get much snow where you live, do you wish you did get more snow? If you do get snow where you live, do you get a lot? Do you like snow? It doesn’t snow here at all, but I wish it did. If men could get pregnant too, would abortion still be as big an issue as it is? Yes. It’s still abortion and people have strong opinions about it.  What is something you want to try to accomplish within the next year? I don’t know. Have you ever had to “come out” to your parents about anything (sexual orientation, change in religion, etc.)? How did it go? No. Do you ever get drunk by yourself? No. I don’t drink. Has there ever been a time where you’ve forgotten something extremely important? Yeah. What’s the most unusual kind of pizza you’ve ever tried? Nothing unusual. If you were given the chance to decorate an entire house the way you wanted, with no limit to cost, how would you decorate it? I don’t have the creativity for that. Like, I’d have some ideas and certain things I’d definitely want to have, but I wouldn’t know how to go about decorating an entire house.  If you could have any kind of lava lamp, what kind would you have? Nah. What movie do you know by heart? There’s several. Has there ever been a time where you thought you were going to be great friends with someone, but it just never happened? Yes. What’s one of your favorite things to touch/feel? Something soft or furry, like my faux fur throw blanket. How often do you wear tights? I haven’t worn tights in years. I wear leggings everyday, though. If you had to choose, what’s the most important thing in your life at the moment? My faith, family, and health. Do you have Netflix? Yep. Has there ever been anything you’ve become interested in much later than other people? Yeah. Like with TV shows or movies, for example. Why is your favorite TV show your favorite? I have a lot of favorite TV shows. Describe your favorite picture of yourself, or post it. My baby photos. Is there a genre of music that some people would be surprised that you enjoy? I don’t think so. Assuming you have a Facebook, if one of your friends posted things that annoyed you, would you be more likely to delete them as a friend, hide their statuses, or just put up with it? I’d just hide their posts. I think you can like “mute” people or something like that on Facebook. Have you ever had a veggie burger? I had one once several years ago. Do you like candles? I wish I were into them cause they’re aesthetically pleasing and relaxing, but I’m not. What’s your favorite video game? Mario Bros everythijng. What was something you liked about today? It’s only 4:43 in the morning. Ask me later. When was the last time you passed out? Never. Do you think “friends with benefits” relationships could ever possibly work without anyone getting hurt? Not from my experience and many stories I’ve heard from other people. Someone catches feelings or you’re not on the same page and someone/both get hurt. It’s just too messy. Do you wear more sweatshirts or jackets? Sweatshirts. What was the last thing you had to drink? Starbucks Doubleshot energy drink. When was the last time you wore a sports bra? Never. When was the last time you went to a waterpark? I don’t do waterparks.  Does your best friend live close to you? My best friend is my mom, who I live with. Have you ever rode a train? Nope. Where did you get the shirt you’re currently wearing? The UC I went to. When was the last time you played Rock Band? With whom? I’ve never played Rock Band, but I loved playing Guitar Hero back in the day. I want to play! What was the last thing that you ate? Ramen. Who last messaged you on Facebook? My aunt. What were you doing Saturday at 1:30 pm? Sleeping. The last time you were intoxicated, what were you drinking? I think it was Jack and Coke. It was 7 yeas ago, so *shrug* Who last walked you home? When I was 19-early 20s I had a friend who lived like 10-15 minutes away walking distance and she and I walked around a lot to nearby coffeeshops and restaurants before she got her license. And to each other’s houses. Anyway, there were times she walked me home. What do you do to help your face from breaking out? I don’t do anything, honestly. Thankfully, acne just stopped being an issue for me when I got older. Apart from a couple pimples every now and then. Did you make any new friends lately? If so, what are their names and how did you meet them? Nope. Would you rather see your favourite band/artist in concert with 2 other people or have a free $20,000 shopping spree to Walmart? I’d take the concert for sure. I haven’t been to one in over 10 years, I miss concerts! Who knows when we’ll have any concerts again now. :( When was the last time you went out to eat? Back in early February. On a scale of 1-10, how anxious are you currently? At this current moment, like a 4. What kind of music do you listen to? I like variety. Various genres and artists across decades. What does your perfect day consist of? A day at the beach. Do you have any online friends? We have an awesome little survey community on here. I read your survey answers and I root for you. I want the best for you guys.  Would you dye your hair red? I do. I’ve been dyeing my hair red for 5 years. If your ex wanted to take you back, would you say yes? Nope. How is the weather? Right now it’s 57 F.

[thorsstorms]

Abroad Pt. 13

(Chris Hemsworth x Reader)

Summary: Being the Hemsworth Kids’ Nanny, you were vowed to keep it strictly professional for their sake, but do the stolen glances go unnoticed between you both?

Word count: 4k

Warnings: None

A/N: if you want to be tagged, PLEASE SEND AS AN ASK.

Masterlist

“Okay, I’m going to pick you up after school, and don’t forget your lunch is-” She completely ignored him and went straight to a table with a few other kids and picked out her own coloring sheet from the pile in the middle. He watched confused, almost offended that she was so comfortable with this while his palms were sweaty, drawing against his thighs to dry them.

“Hello! I am Mrs. DeCarlo,” she reached for your hand, and then his next, introducing yourselves. “I have a flyer for you both. It’s just a little bit about me, what is going to be going on in the classroom this year, and all my contact information if need be.”

You retrieve the paper from her manicured fingers, glancing over it seeing a small syllabus along with an email and phone number. You handed him the paper while you called one of the boys back over to you, Tristan was the wanderer.

After some convincing from the teacher that she was going to be fine, regardless of his excuses, you left and headed for some breakfast with the boys. The small breakfast place was enough to remind you of one back home.  The classic breakfast bar seating and the cute red leather booths were feeding into your longing. the aroma of the diner was immediatly making you want a stack of pancakes and sweet tea but you knew it would just make you sick.

Breakfast had not been your friend lately, it was a battle you couldn’t win. If you ate, you would throw it up afterwards, and if you didn’t eat, the nausea would still hit with a headache like you were starving yourself. You ordered a bowl of fruit and picked at some oatmeal, but you knew it was coming. Chris noticed your lack of eating but didn’t say anything, just a sorry look hiding behind his mug of coffee. The steaming was just enough to hide his lingering curious stare and a somewhat paled face while you avoided the food you did want. 

“Papa can you always take Indy to school, and can I always go eat breakfast?” Tristan dropped his fork back on his plate so he could talk to him. The moment was just enough to drag his attention to the mans twinned blue eyes looking back at him. You were always so fascinated by the sentences that they compose in their minds. Always able to see their little gears turning but never know what is actually going on up there.

Chris turned his head towards him when he started, watching him speak. “How about everytime I come home, we can get breakfast. Deal?”

“Deal,” he said, turning back to his pancakes. “But, how many times are you coming home for?” Chris was able to decipher what he was trying to say while trying to hide a smirk from his grammar, it was too cute to ignore. 

“Bubba do you remember when I go to work, and I get to fight the monsters?” Tristan nodded as he continued. “Well I only have to fight the monsters for two more years, and then they will be all gone!”

“You have to make them all dead?” Tristan furrowed his eyebrows seeming sceptical.

“Yeah, now you eat your breakfast so you can get big and fight them with me.”

Back home from breakfast, Chris immediately took to the couch in front of the tv and just sat there with the boys asking to play the Wii. After it was turned on you joined him, pulling a blanket from the back of the couch.

“Scoot over,” you asked him, after he took it upon himself to stretch across the couch. A smirk occupied his face when he didn’t move, not one inch.

“Ok you asked for it,” you pulled the blanket around your shoulders and dipped a knee between his legs to bow down. He was now your bed and he wasn’t allowed to complain.

He opened his arms for you to slide into. “You’re not very comfy,” you complained, but it was half-assed. He stayed silent thinking in his own thoughts. He didn't say anything when you picked up one of his hands and drew it up to your hair for him, but instead moved on autopilot knowing what it meant. His fingers dragging across your hair was the melting point of your own will. He didn't need to think about your actions, well, that action at least. 

Into the afternoon, Chris left to go pick her up while the boys were down for a nap, a nap that was getting increasingly harder to maintain. She came in tossing her bag to the floor and talking a million miles an hour about new names you hadn’t heard before, what she did today, how excited she was to go back tomorrow. While you were ecstatic to hear she had a great first day, all it took was one look before she got the gist and picked her bag off the ground where it didn’t belong.

Later that night you got to trail the grocery store by yourself. It may not sound like much, but the silence and calmness of getting to do it alone and not in a rush was almost meditation worthy. Stalking up on lunch things for India, a few items for some yummies that you had pinned, and of course all the basics.

The sound of your ringtone coming from your purse in the basket drew your eyes away from the selection of nausea meds coating the shelves. When you see Bri’s name on screen you almost wanted to mute it and just continue shopping in peace but you knew her too well. She wont stop till you answer or text.

You answered the call and figured you would give her the benefit of the doubt, “Yes?”

“Damn I hope you don’t always answer the phone like that.” You fought the urge to roll your eyes. She says she doesn’t need anything, but she was bored and wanted to see what you were up to. She, of course, likes to get nosey, as always, “So, have you decided to wife him up yet?”

“Bri! Jesus Christ give it a rest would you?” The girl is relentless, she can’t even talk to you lately without needing yes or no answers.

“Yea yea whatever, It’s not like you can have babies for two more years anyway.” Confusion crossed your mind before, oh yeah, she demands you tell her everything, even some super-secret contract details that you guiltily spilled in a moment of weakness about him preparing to leave. Who were you kidding, you can’t hide anything from her. Even though you don’t live together anymore she will prod until there is nothing left to tell, got to love her. Two years till he was able to take a break.

“Well what about you? Actually, I don’t want to know. Just please don’t make me an auntie before he goes to the Major Leagues.” As much as the idea appealed to you, you both knew what Ty’s goals were. A Brewers uniform and nothing less. 

“Well the next draft isn’t until June next year, and even then I would have to wait another year.” You stopped to think about it… that doesn’t make sense. Your math skills were never the best.

“Then just don’t use the same birth control,” you said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “When you go next time just don’t get the bar again.”

“No, you airhead, we just got it again. They last three years.” Excusing the name calling that you were about to return, you corrected her.

“They last four years, Bri.”

“No, (y/n), It’s three,” You stopped your steps in the middle of the shampoo aisle. She continues to tell you off to prove her point. Reminding you how you both got them at the same time from the same doctor when you moved to Gold Coast in the first place. She never slowed, always had to be right. 

You were listening to her rant about how you better have been using rubbers while you stood frozen in the isle, a look of shock and realization tainted your features.

Her rambling about getting it out asap was almost tuned out while you thought to yourself. When was your last cycle?

You couldn’t remember.

“Bri, I think I’m going to be sick.” You replied to her, telling her about how you haven’t been able to eat breakfast lately, the morning when he came home a few days ago. Listening and agreeing, you found yourself wandering back towards the pharmaceuticals.

“Will you come over?” You asked, while eyeing the stupid three boxes in the basket, opting towards the self checkout.

“Yea, I’ll be out the door in five. Just… wait for me.”

After you pulled in the garage you eyed the one bag you brought up front with you. You fiddled with the boxes for a second, deciding on opening them and stuffing the tests in your pants. You hopped out of the car and took the boxes straight to the dumpster before starting to grab a few paper bags to take inside.  At the time it sounded like the best place to keep them till you were by yourself but the immediate uncomfortable poking began.  

Chris met you in the kitchen, grabbing the rest of the bags while you started to put them away quickly. He almost trapped you in the kitchen by pulling a bottle of ketchup from your hands, prompting you with sleeping kids and an empty bed, but you swerved from his hands, yelling back that you would be back down.

You hurriedly climbed the stairs in the most uncomfortable fashion, pulling the tests from your pants and aimlessly looking around for where to hide them safely until Bri gets here. Somewhere out of sight so they can’t taunt you for the next hour. 

You heard the door at the bottom stairs open and you almost jumped out of your skin, quickly shutting the tests underneath the sink in the kitchenette. Standing straight at attention when he emerged from the stairs with an expectant look.

“Uh, Bri is coming,” you said awkwardly, scratching your head. “I wanted to take a shower before she got here.”

“Oh..” He thought about it, taken back as to why she was coming when it was the night before he was leaving. The night he wanted to spend with you. “In the sink?”

You blinked, not understanding the question, “What?”

“Are you taking a shower in the sink? Why are you there if you want a shower.” He looked from the bathroom and back to you leaning against the counter, sensing your weird mood. You took notice of his tone, it got short.

You felt bad for blowing him off. You stepped towards him, trying to get yourself to calm down. You didn’t know anything yet so ruining his mood along with yours was not the plan.

“Will you shower with me?” You asked, wrapping your arms around his waist, planting a small kiss on his chin.

“Hmm. If you insist,” you smiled, reviving his own. “But we are going down stairs because mine is better.”

Bri came into the house to see you scurrying across the living area and past the kitchen in only a white towel and dripping hair. You grabbed her hand and skipped up the stairs with her quickly, feeling nervous all over again.

“Why? What? Where are your clothes? I could have waited! Did you tell him?” She asked.

“No, are you crazy. And by the way, I am pretty sure he is pissed off that you are here,” you dismissed the fact but it didn’t mean that it wasn’t true. “He leaves in the morning and when I told him you were on your way he got moody.”

“Oh he’ll get over it… Where are they?” You pointed to the cabinet under the sink and walked into the room to find clothing. You emerged in leggings and a t-shirt, watching her pull them out. Standing next to her as she pulled them out felt surreal all over again. A wave of panic surging through you at full force from the sight of them.

The feeling of dread came over, flooding behind your eyes, “Bri.” Her name fell like a whine from your throat. A headache was drawing up, one that you knew was self inflicting from the sudden onslaught of anxious thoughts.

You palmed your eyes, taking a second to pull yourself together. Her voice shook you from your own mind. “You are not taking these until you are in the right mind.” She said strictly. “You are not doing this while you are upset. So go ahead,” she motioned towards you. “Get it out now.” She wrapped her hand around your arm and pulled you to the couch, grabbing the plastic sticks of death with her.

You sat across her trying to keep the floodgates under control, so you didn’t say anything at first. “(Y/n) I’m serious, or I’m going to call him up here.”

“Bri I can’t,” your voice was unreliable, “I can’t do this right now. This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen.” You shielded your eyes from her, worried she wouldn’t have the mercy you wanted at the moment. She didn’t say anything, but you felt her wrap her arms around you, tugging you to her.

“I’m not- I can’t do it by myself,” you mumbled into her shoulder taking a shuddering breath.

“What do you mean ‘by yourself’?” The softest voice you had ever come from her was more comforting than you thought.

“He. He’s going to be gone for so much time. It’s my fault. I should have known better. I made him sign the contract Bri. I told him to sign it!” You pulled away from her and drew up the tshirt to try and dry your eyes.

You were officially the person who will ruin his routine repeatedly. How could you have not known that they were only effective for three years before their hormone deposits run out? The answer was that you did know, you were told, it was somewhere in the unknown regions of your mind while your decision making decided that it was four and not three.

“No, this isn’t just you, snap out of that. He knew what he was doing when he signed the contract. Just stop.” You stilled, looking away from her. Whatever form of softness that was previously present is gone from the tone she was using. “Don’t drown yourself in pity. If you really are, and these are positive, then you cant be shoving this stuff on your shoulders. So stop that now,” you nodded, still avoiding her direction when you knew she was staring right at you. “Now what else are you gonna cry about?” The deep breath you took flooded your lungs like a small encouraging hug before you continued. 

“I’m so far away from my family. My mom is going to be upset with me. My dad, oh my god my dad.” The calmness you managed to muster for a moment was broken with a shuddering breath. He always wanted the best for you. Someone to be married to that could provide for a family, and protect his family. You are not married. That’s the first check on the list for your dad. Chris cant be with you all the time. There is the second. You were pretty sure the third strike would be the fact that he is divorced and already has children. Why didn’t you think to talk about these things with your parents while you were home? Because this was not in a plan for either of you.

“You are living with him, if your dad expected anything less then he is being unreasonable. And your mom, sure she’ll worry about you doing this so far from her but dont think for a second she won’t be here if you ask. And they know you, they raised you. They know you are more than capable of doing this, if this is even happening. Which we don’t know yet, by the way.” Her words resonated enough for you to fit in another good deep breath, she was right, as always. 

“Okay?” You nodded, wiping your face again.

After a moment to think, you were ready to take them. As ready as one could be. 

A baby.

You having a baby. Why are you crying?

The reasons to get upset are all so external. It was time you think about the baby that could possibly be your own for once. Not someone else’s. It could be your own little person. Your own to raise, to dress, to teach, and to love. Your own little person to raise without the guidance of other adults telling you what to do. The tears were for the thought of filling the little hole in your heart that was reserved for the child you would one day have of your own.

You nodded to yourself. You could this, you can take them. You can bare the thought of carrying a little baby of your own. Maybe it wasn’t so conventional all the way around, but it would work because it would have to work.

“Yeah?” Bri confirmed your mood, ready. She watched you grab them from the couch and walk into the bathroom, shutting the door behind you.

The bathroom door clicked open, grabbing her attention as you walked out. “I put them on the counter upside down, will you set a timer?” You asked quietly, walking out. She nodded while you sat back down next to her. 

Her eyes held a glossy look with your own. It was selfish of you to throw this on her, to not think of how she was taking this. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for you and you knew it. Your entire lives were spent together, if you were going through the pain, she was going to go through it as well.

You leaned into her for comfort and her hand went to your hair, where she knew you liked it. “This almost doesn’t feel weird for me, if feels like I should be asking you why you haven’t had a child sooner.” You gave her a weird look. “I mean, I know the reason but like, do you know how long you have had baby fever? Since you were like... ten.” You let out a sad laugh in her arms knowing it was true.

“Wow,” she sighed, stopping her hand. “A baby. You and a baby, wow.”

“I know.” You both laid in silence until the timer on her phone went off. The air was still between you both, no one making a move to get up.

“Will you look at them?” You whispered. She agreed while you pushed off of her.

You watched as she grabbed them from the counter and walked back towards you. All three tests were still upside down in her hands as she set them down on the coffee table. You pulled the fluffy blanket off the back of the couch and pulled it over you for some sort of comfort while she sat back down.

“Which should I flip first?” You shrugged at her. You didn’t care, just hoping she would do it already. Your eyes were glued to her hands as she reached for one on the far right. “Ok, I’m gonna do it. But if its positive you have to stay calm okay? If it’s negative you are going down there right now to tell him what just happened.”

“Okay! Just do it! My heart is about to beat out of my chest.” Her fingers reached it and picked it up so she could see it. She stared at it, knowing you were watching her expression.

“Negative.”

It was weird to feel your heart drop. To feel a twinge of sadness flow over your shoulders, down to your chest where you could almost feel the little reserved empty hole in your heart be as hollow as ever.

“It’s-it’s negative? Are you sure?” You took it out of her hands and looked at it. It was negative. There was barely any reading on it at all. “Thats, great. Really. I don’t-”

Your hands fell to your lap. It wasn’t meant to be filled right now. The day will come when it is in your plan, when it is supposed to happen. Drawing your eyes back up to her who was holding both the other ones in her hands. Her brow was tweaked looking between them, back to the one in your own hands.

“What?” You asked. A reminisce of annoyance was sprinkling. It’s not like it was her fault that it was negative.

She moved her hand from her mouth to speak, “They are positive.” She shoved them both into your hands. You flipped them next to each other setting eyes on the prominent stripes on them both. Both of them were positive. You picked up the third in your lap looking at the almost non existent line of its own.

“Maybe it’s wrong. It’s a false positive,” your words stuttered out.

“No! There is no such thing as a false positive, only false negatives.” She grabbed them back admiring them. She was entranced by the tests not noticing your spike in breathing.

“I’m pregnant?” The rhetorical notation flew over her head throwing yes’s at you, repeating the words of affirmation.

~

Chris was down stairs sitting in his bed, ready to send you a passive aggressive text. He wanted you in there with him. To be laying next to him under the blankets like always. With your head sticking out of the top, your hair thrown over the pillow cases.

It had only been maybe half an hour since you hopped out of the shower and ran out and he already missed your presence next to him. The bedroom felt baren without you in it. He didn’t like it.

All it left him with was the faint smell of your favorite body wash that tainted the bedding where you lay night after night, even when he wasn't there for you to feel next to you. 

He erased the words he tried to type out three times. He didn’t want to sound rude, or desperate, or irate. The text box was left empty, shutting his phone off and tossing it onto the bedside table. He had an early morning.

Chris tiptoed up the stairs to your room in the early hours, trying to decipher which lump under the blankets was you and which was Bri. The phone flashlight guided him over a pair of shoes and a pillow thrown on the floor. He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled the blankets back a bit. The motion of the bed moving and the random light was stirring you awake.

The phone was set on the nightstand, the light illuminating the dark room just enough that you could sneak open your eyes without feeling blinded. You pulled the blanket over your head, though it wouldn’t budge with him holding it down.

“Princess,” his hand pushed your hair out of your sleep ridden eyes that weren’t staying open. You hummed in response. “I have to go.” His voice was a whisper in the quiet room. Just barely heard over the sound of the whirring fan in the corner.

You pulled your arms from under the covers lazily reaching for him. He knew it meant for a hug, bending down to brace himself on the mattress while you squeezed him tight. His face tucked in your neck, giving you a small kiss to the soft skin before pulling away and kissing your lips.

“I love you,” he whispered against your lips, “even when you blow me off.”

“Im sorry, I love you,” he gave you another squeeze, letting you know he’d call when he landed, before standing up and heading out.

“That was so cute it’s disgusting.” Bri’s tired voice grumbled next to you. You ignored her, settling back under the plush feathery blanket, ready for the moment to be a dreamy haze in the morning. 

“Wait!” She shouted, sitting up in bed. You gasped, knowing what she means by her yelling, throwing the blankets off yourself. You charged out of the room taking the stairs two at a time and throwing open the garage door to see the jeep gone and the door already shut.

“God dammit!” You yelped to yourself.

Why does this kind of shit have to happen to you? 

Four weeks till he would be back. Four weeks till your brother got here with Chaz and his girlfriend. Four weeks you were going to keep this to yourself, between you and Bri only. She is now sworn to secrecy.

You trudged up the stairs, shaking your head at her expectant gaze, answering the question she was asking. You didn’t make it in time.

What did you expect? Him to be ecstatic and leave you with a smile on his face right after you tell him the news? Maybe it was for the best to wait.

~

“I feel like I kind of got the gist over the phone. These are the model bands that I picked out for you.” The soft cloth was littered with different sized bands and several metals. The small clutter of various sized diamonds and a few gems lay still, waiting to be inspected. “These three are a set. Each carry a dainty feel, and together have the most elegant look if you ask me.”

“I like that one too.” Chris’s eyes struggled to keep a gaze long enough on one band, this was a commitment job for his mind that couldn’t pick. He set down the thicker band that was held in his fingertips and reached for her outstretched hand that was sporting the trio. The thin bands were encrusted with the tiniest jewels, enough to catch the eye, but not enough to be obnoxious. “Can the setting be altered if I didn't want the diamond that type of cut?” 

The jeweler marveled at his choice of vocabulary, impressed that he actually took time to look over the catalog she sent with him last time. “Of course.”

“Ok, I think this one will work.”

Taglist: @keithseabrook27 @odinson-barnes  @jonsnowisthesexiestbastard @weekendswithnewtmas  @innerpaperexpertcloud @toomanyflowerboys @thefashioncomplex   @basmaraafat @imaginationintowords @taketimeandappreciate  @superheroesaremytea @vampiregirl1797 @ynm1505 @danathewitchywoman @avengerswhonow @thorfanficwriter @disaster-rose @cap-just-said-language @xmarveled @kemkem101 @chonisberonica @hildehuffles

[mamagabi-s-corner]

because tumblr is ass, I have to redo the ask uuu

@sweetsugarystars​ asked about zai-ro

me @/ Zai-Ro

ok jokes aside, no one will know that this dude’s name was actually Deceit before I fleshed him out into a stand-alone character.. 18-19 year old me was a cringy ass crappypasta baby who liked the concept of zalgo (previous persona was a mutant™) and Deceit was like.. a part of said persona™

trigger warnings for rape, abuse and manipulation. Maybe more shit, but I’ll try and keep my shit tagged as much as possible. Keep in mind, the Pretender story is a dark one, not safe for kiddos nor for anyone sensitive to such. god I will eventually start working on it as soon as I finish Borderline which.. I hope in a year or 2 I can finish it so I can fuck off in peace haha. THINGS THAT ARE WRITTEN IN HERE ARE THE THINGS I DO NOT CONDONE IN THE REAL WORLD!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON’T SAY I CONDONE IT, I ACTUALLY DON’T I JUST WRITE IT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PLOT DEVELOPMENT AND TO EXPLORE SAID SENSITIVE TOPICS TO SEE HOW FAR I CAN PROGRESS THE STORY!!

anyways. when zai zai was fleshed out. he

-was suppose to be the antagonist of the Pretender story (dude was to object against Starna being the 7th satan and would do anything in his power to make it not happen) -the main enemy of the Shnibas (i.e. his relationship with Mei was abusive, as he was the perpetrator) -actually tortured Starna to the point of giving her some real ass ptsd there.

but all that went to shit because I felt like zai just didn’t fit that narrative, not to mention the execution looked wack (I was still a budding writer so I had no idea what I was doing); so I decided to see what potential I can weed out of him. Sure enough, I bit off more than I could chew, and now you have a mentally crippled Lust Demon who drank way too much respect women energy drinks. I did keep at least one aspect to him, being that he CAN AND WILL use his status as the Satan of Lust and pull a r/maliciouscompliance on those who dare abuse Starna, or not even help her because she’s an aborted child.

So basically his story is a shellnut of development hell which turned into him being an actual victim of abuse, seeing as that there aren’t many written male characters who are abuse victims/survivors.

Poor guy was a rape child of an existing aborted child who was kept in obscurity by the former Satan of Lust (Zai’s father), gave birth to him at an unripe age of 16 which was thought to be impossible because aborted children aren’t able to reproduce until they ‘evolve’ (rumor has it that at a certain age aborted children will become full fledged demons.. but their life expectancy is up to 16). anyways I think I remember telling you about the horrible treatment his mother went through (being mostly a sex-slave rather than a ‘wife’ of the Lust Demon at such a young age, wore really suggestive outfits that revealed most skin, and was generally shunned for being an aborted child), it gets worse when zai-ro goes through the same thing she does, despite her objections; but her voice never mattered as she was always silenced. Of course, when the whole thing blew over and Zai began to craft statues as a way to cope, it would always be of his mother, but she would always be clad in nice dresses that covered her overly exposed skin. I think I showed you that one image I drew of zai’s mother (with some parts of the arms missing) Zai gets the horns from his mother lel. anyways that other part will be explained in a few. (anyways I can’t find a coherent version of the spoiliops so have this video)

(picture is the concept image drawn 2 years ago for zai-ro’s rose garden, with his mother’s statue in the middle)

What I did change (from the aforementioned aspects earlier), was that Mei and Zai WERE in a relationship, but it’s actually Mei who’s the one who manipulated him without much regard nor awareness. He depended on her and actually felt love for the first time, but was not aware that her love towards him was.. empty.. let alone conditional. When he learned of that discovery, he felt betrayed by her and actually went against her, eventually leading into a serious bloody conflict between the two. Both of them barely got out unscathed and kept their distance from each other, no one won that day. Zai-Ro of course suffered the most and as a result he hid himself in his own rose garden; the prolonged isolation caused him to have a ptsd like hallucination where his mother, hovered over him, verbally abusing him, saying how she should have killed him when she had the chance, how he reminds her of his father, technically his brain being a piece of shit. He took it out on the statue, damaging the arms in the process. When he realized what he had done, it was too late. That statue still remains in the rose garden as a grim reminder of his own consequence. Mei of course was hurt and grew such resentment towards him, that she wouldn’t even acknowledge his presence at all. neither did zai-ro but yea, it drove other Satans insane, but they couldn’t do much because they had no idea what happened between the two.

until several hundred years later when she began having vivid dreams of a particular event which changed her life forever - she was a witness. To what? She bore witness to Zai’s father’s concubines having sex with a young teenage Zai-Ro. She remembered hearing him beg them to stop and cried, often resulting in her waking up in tears.. The biggest kicker is a nightmare where the same teenager looms over the corpses of the once concubines who raped him on a daily basis. When he became the Satan of Lust, the first thing he did was kill all his father’s concubines, sparing no one, and again. Mei, was the witness.

she lamented on the past and eventually realized why he lashed out at her in the first place. She never took pity on him, she never showed any regard towards his feelings, or at least pretended to; her love wasn’t even love. It was pure manipulation, something that sadly runs in the clan (Shniba clan is notorious for being manipulative, especially towards their significant others… the only exception would be Akako who actually showed love towards Sha-Mi. If she hadn’t and manipulated him the entire time, she wouldn’t be seen in the drawings up on the wall in the domain of the shniba clan, she would be fucking around like the rest of the sisters and brothers (implying she too manipulated her victims into getting what she wants, but when she met Sha-Mi, she stopped and eventually settled down with him, even giving birth to Mei and her older sister (brother at the time)) With manipulation tactics running in the family, it’s up to you to figure out a way to put an end to it.

In other words, Mei is the perpetrator in this story, Mei is the woman who abused her partner to the point he depended on her, she LEECHED off his love for her and got what she wanted. When she realized that, she began to hate herself for it, and eventually distanced herself from her clan (the remaining shnibas alive are herself, her daughter and her sister, her mother is in a death bed while the rest of them were killed in the war against the former Satan of Lust, literally reduced to ash while akako’s body was preserved), and out of her own volition, tries to find a way to grow out of that behavior not just for the sake of others, but for herself. Now the biggest question is whether Zai forgives her or not.. It’s up to him to decide that. Maybe with Clem’s help something might happen, who knows.

[the-what-but-not-the-when]

Those That Wander   -   Part 1

Summary: Lizzie’s life is almost complete.  With a husband, a daughter, and limited trips to the Underland her life is pretty great.  She only wants one more thing, Hazard.  Hazard is a runner.  He’s been pretty much everywhere but never for long.  He doesn’t want relationships and he doesn’t want a home.  He doesn’t want to be hurt.  But maybe it’s time to try again.

“Kanpai!”  Hazard led the strangers sitting beside him at the bar in a toast.  It was late into the night, but the group was still lively, though the man on his right had fallen asleep on his plate.  Hazard’s phone rang, interrupting the terrible impromptu karaoke session that had broken out.  He stumbled out into the cold air and had to close one eye in order to correctly position his finger to answer the phone.

“I’m sorry it’s so late Hazard.”  The tinny voice said through his phone.

“ s’okay.  I’m still awake.”  Hazard replied, sitting down against the wall.

Lizzie giggled from the other side of the world. He loved her giggle.  “Having fun on your last night in Japan?”

“Of course,” Hazard picked a leaf up off the sidewalk and crumbled it in his hand, “Yea, I’m gonna miss this place’s squid.”

“Well I’ll let you get back to eating then,” she said with laughter still in her voice, “I just wanted to double check the plan for tomorrow.  You know how Boots is.  She always thinks things will just work out without knowing the specifics.  Even international travel somehow.”  Lizzie sighed, “though I don’t know how much help you’ll be drunk.” 

“She’s gonna get there after me so she’s right, it’ll all be fine.” Hazard finished in sing-song, releasing the leaf to the wind. “I’ma pick her up from the gate and everything.”  Hazard said in tune to the song floating out the door beside him.

“Okay,” Lizzie said hesitantly, “I gave her all of the information for the hotel,” Hazard scoffed so loudly a group looked at him from across the street.  “Please, Hazard, a hotel.  For my sanity.”  

Hazard never used hotels.  Hotels weren’t a way to live life.

“There is nothing wrong with sleeping in a hotel. I need to know where you guys will be, please.”

“Fine.”  It was more of a grunt than a concession.  Hazard could never say no to her, but her concern for Boots only angered him more.  He was so jealous of their family.  He wished he could talk to Lizzie more, but her life upset him too much. 

She was happy.  She had her family.  She had started her own family.  She had parents, siblings, a husband, a daughter.  All in a perfect equilibrium between the Overland and the Underland. Hazard had no one.

He hadn’t been back to New York since he left over a decade ago.  He had barely even been back to North America at all.  Hazard knew he was running from his problems, but it was so much easier than the alternative.  Why think about his dead family and war torn home when he could visit so many different places?

 Constantly learning everything about a new culture was the perfect distraction.  He had been in Asia since hearing Lizzie was getting married.  He didn’t have the courage to go.  He still had the present he had gotten for them.  Lizzie and the mystery man.  He had gotten them the same thing he had gotten Gregor and Luxa, though he never sent them theirs either.  He thought briefly about sending back the many gifts he had gotten for all of them over the years with Boots after her vacation with him in Australia, but he knew he would never follow through.  

 They would sit in storage in Spain forever, probably.

Hazard jumped when he heard the mumble come from the phone.  He had forgotten he was talking on it.  He raised it back to his ear, “Huh?”

“Do you have enough money?”

 “Yes, I’m fine.” Hazard regretted how angry he sounded, until he remembered Lizzie’s perfect life and the anger returned.

“Okay,” Lizzie said, her voice soft from his tone, “I’m going to send some anyway.  Let me know when you guys check in, please.  Stay safe, Hazard.”

Hazard pictured the bank account Lizzie often put money into.  He barely used it, he didn’t need it.  He had no idea what he wanted to do with it.  It just sat there, a number in an app on his phone.  

“I will.”

They were both quiet.

“Goodbye, Hazard.”

  “Goodbye, Lizzie.”  Hazard dropped the phone to his lap.  “I miss you.” He said into the night.  “All of you.”

He struggled to stand, throwing his phone into his pocket and heading inside to finish his drink.

“Girl problems, eh?” the bartender asked, prompting everyone at the bar to “oooooh.”

Hazard laughed, “Oh I lost this girl a long time ago when I continually kept an ocean between us.”  He finished his drink and slammed the empty glass onto the table. He gestured for another and started another conversation in Japanese to get the focus off him.

The bartender poured them all fresh drinks and a smile crept back onto Hazard’s face as they shouted, “Kanpai!”

Lizzie couldn’t get herself to hang up the phone.  She sat at her kitchen table surrounded by maps and receipts for Boots’s trip.  She knew Hazard thought they had hung up, she was listening to the muffled sounds of his fun from what sounded like his pocket.

Her tears had dried from hearing what Hazard had said after they said their goodbyes, but it was hard to lift her head from her hands.  She really hoped Boots would be able to convince Hazard to come back.  To come home.

A car door slammed outside and she knew it was Boots. Lizzie’s husband Drew and their daughter were visiting his parents for the day.  Lizzie had told Boots to be there by noon, but of course she was a half an hour late.  They didn’t need to leave for another hour though, Lizzie made sure Boots wouldn’t miss her flight.

Boots opened the front door and Lizzie finally hung up.  She didn’t need Boots making fun of her.  

  “Sister!”  Boots yelled, struggling to fit through the door with her luggage.

“In here,” Lizzie replied, neatly putting all the papers into a folder.

“’Ello, mate!” Boots said in a terrible Australian accent while she enveloped Lizzie in a hug, “Let’s go!”

She dragged Lizzie out of the house and they went to the airport.  Lizzie loved how numbing Boots’ company was.  She talked so much and never needed any input.  It was so easy to forget about Hazard.

They stopped to eat before Boots went through security and Lizzie used the time to write a letter begging Hazard to come back, at least to visit.  She knew he was hurting.  He needed friends and family.  He needed to stop running.

She gave Boots the third draft of the letter, making her pinky promise not to read it.

She sat in her car until Boots took off.  She mindlessly folded laundry when she got home, stopping halfway through just to stare at the wall.  She stood up suddenly and headed toward her closet.  She knew exactly where the safe was.  She almost never opened it, but she and her husband fought over it all the time.

He knew nothing of the Underland.  A decision she was never sure if it was the right one. She loved having a place free from the Underland, but she was never truly free.  The memories never faded.  

Her husband refused to accept that she needed to keep secrets.  Only one secret.  Which she kept the memories of in the small safe.

She unlocked it and pulled out the small pieces of paper inside.  A scrap of code.  Some letters. Pictures from when they were little, from Gregor and Luxa’s wedding, their coronation.  A recipe for shrimp in crème sauce.

Lizzie stared at the pictures, cracking a smile at their younger selves.  Even though she remembered those days clearly, it was strange seeing the Underlanders.  The humans see through skin and the giant animals.  

She looked closely at the pictures with Hazard, still young and pale.  It was hard to see any resemblance to the man he was today.

She was such a hypocrite for asking him to come back. She barely saw her family and her husband didn’t even know about the Underland. It just didn’t feel right that Hazard was alone.  Then again, nothing ever really felt right.

Lizzie went to sleep early, barely waking up when her family got home.  She woke up to a text from Hazard with a picture of her unopened letter and a winky face.  He had sent it an hour ago.

Lizzie showered wondering what his silence could mean. Had she been too blunt?  Or not enough? She grabbed fresh clothes from the dresser and headed to the nursery where her daughter, Della, was already awake. Lizzie couldn’t not smile when her daughter smiled.  Her dark curly hair and wide eyes looked so like her and Boots as babies.

Lizzie made breakfast on autopilot, still thinking about how Hazard would react.  Her husband, Drew, waddled into the kitchen with an adorable bed head and kissed Lizzie on the temple on his way to the coffee pot.  

He noticed immediately something was wrong, but she used Boots as a cover.  It was nerve wracking when Lizzie thought of her naïve sister traveling abroad, but she knew Boots would be safe with Hazard.  She really just wanted Hazard to come back.  They all did.  Lizzie really missed him though.

Lizzie scooped Della out of her high chair while her husband went to shower.  Her daughter was an amazing distraction and it seemed like seconds before Drew called for her from the bedroom.

“Liz? You, uh, you left it out.”  Lizzie’s heart dropped, her stomach erupting in nerves. “And open.”  He finished. She turned around to see him with a handful of pictures, his face blank with surprise.

[dp-pastandpresent]

Past and Present: Chapter 29

"ABOUT TIME! That's all you can say after putting me through all of your stupid traps?!"

Danny was furious and had every right to be. After experiencing memories of both his past and future, he wanted answers.

"Ahhh. I see you and your group found my message."

"Message? That's what you call it?"

"Something like that. You see, each time a ghost tries to enter my realm without one of my medallions, they tend to get a bit… lost. But we've had this conversation before."

"We have?" Danny asked, confusion on his face as he floated towards what passed for ground in Clockwork's hazy realm.

"Yes, when I first took you to the portal. Don't you…" Clockwork's eyes went wide again as he realized something he hadn't before.

"You don't remember your time with me, do you?"

'That explains why he was so confused during his early days out there…'

Danny stared at the ghost in front of him, anger still plain on his face.

"Not much more than the memories YOU'VE been feeding me, no."

Clockwork lurched back at this, almost as if offended by the boy's accusations.

"Huh. That's strange. I knew you'd forget a few things when you went through, but to forget even the things we had discussed so recently… well that's something even I couldn't predict."

Danny kept looking at the ghost in front of him, his green eyes glowing in frustration.

"I could care less about the things we discussed, what I want to know is WHY you kept my memories from me!"

Clockwork's frustration vanished slightly as he chuckled at this comment.

"My boy, I did not keep memories from you! I simply returned the memories you lost during resurrection."

'He truly remembers nothing about his return? The things I told him?'

"Yea, when it was most convenient for you…"

Danny was starting to soften up a bit, and he slowly lowered himself to the ground.

"When I returned them is beside the point. Shouldn't we be discussing the real reason you're here?" Clockwork asked, trying to change the subject as he glanced at the frozen girl behind him

Danny followed the ghost's gaze as his own eyes grew wider.

"Sam! What did you do! Why is she still?"

Clockwork chuckled again.

"Don't worry Daniel, she's just in Time Out. In fact, I'm surprised it didn't affect you either."

'Why didn't it affect him?'

"Time out?"

"Yes. It's something I can do when I need to stop time, allow myself to think things through. Get people out of my way for a bit."

"But somehow… I'm… immune?"

"Your powers amaze me Daniel. Every day you grow stronger, and yet every day you also grow more human. There really is no limit to what you can do. And while I pride myself on being the Master of Time, even I cannot see what you will do next."

"But you have an idea, don't you? You've had ideas since you resurrected me. You knew I'd be more than just someone to open that portal."

Danny could feel his whole suit glowing brighter with energy as he floated closer to Clockwork, almost backing him into a wall.

"Danny!?"

They both stopped and looked over to see Sam standing up, her purple eyes wide with surprise.

--

'How is the girl awake? I didn't even Time In yet!'

Clockwork was confused as he watched Sam approach the two of them, unsure what to think.

'Is it possible Danny's powers override my own?'

'But why would they? It's not like I'm….'

'He was awake when you clearly timed out.'

'That doesn't mean….'

'He made it through your time traps faster than expected…'

'Still…'

'Even as he becomes more human, his powers gain strength…'

'Could it be?'

"STOP!" he found himself yelling out loud, gaining confused looks from both Danny and Sam who had just finished embracing each other during Clockwork's inner crisis.

Clockwork shook his head, trying to get his mind clean.

"My girl… I'm sorry. I just had a moment. You scared me is all. You see, I had you frozen in time, and yet now you're awake and it was not my doing."

Sam raised an eyebrow and looked at Danny again.

"It seems your boyfriend is more powerful than I initially thought," Clockwork continued.

'We need to weaken him…'

"Who are you calling powerful? You're the one that froze me!" Sam said in frustration. "You're the one who has been controlling me the whole time I've been here. Telling me things, trying to get me on your side. Pushing me to listen to you. Well guess what! Danny's back and I'm done!"

She crossed her arms and looked back at her boyfriend, who in turn looked at the ghost before them.

"You've been controlling her too? How long? Longer than she's been here? Who else have you manipulated?" Danny's eyes grew intense with these words.

Clockwork grew young as he listened to Danny, a bit of fear once again creeping up into him, though he tried to hide it with a smile.

"Heh. Samantha? I've only done what was necessary at the time, and I've never once touched her outside my realm."

"But you've touched me. You've fed me memories, led me to believe things."

Clockwork sighed, realizing there was no avoiding that subject as it came back around.

"Yes."

"So all those returning memories, they were all from you?"

"You really believe that that I've been watching you that closely?"

'I have, but he doesn't need to know that.'

"My boy, I have fed you memories when you needed them most. But many memories have returned to you on your own and to my surprise."

"How can I even be sure?" Danny asked, glaring.

"You can't. But you have to trust me. I've only interfered when it was needed."

"But what about Danny's powers?"

Clockwork turned to Sam, his eyes softening a bit as he aged himself to his oldest form.

"His powers are strictly his own. They have nothing to do with anything I have done."

"But you told me…"

"What I told you was the truth. His powers, his ability to change into a human… It's all linked to your love."

--

'Love? That's what's making me change?' Danny found himself thinking as he listened in.

'What else has he told her? And can I believe it?'

He was unsure what to believe at this point, but he knew that there must have been some discussion in the time Sam had spent alone with Clockwork.

"Love," Danny said quietly, but not quietly enough that Sam didn't hear him.

"Danny, I…" she started.

"Love. That's what started all of this. Fifty years ago. When I went into that shop. It was love. Love that drew me in."

He looked at Sam, who had concern in her eyes as he continued to talk.

"Love made me do it. My love for Sarah… it killed me. And then…" He stopped. Something was different. Sam. She wasn't herself. At some point during his monologue she had begun to change.

"Sarah?"

"Danny, what are you talking about?" She asked, confusion growing.

Sam had been standing in front of him, but now it wasn't Sam. Or at least, it didn't look like the Sam he knew. Her hair had gotten longer, her outfit had changed to one from the fifties, even when she spoke, it sounded like…

"Sarah?"

"Danny, stop. It's me, Sam."

"No. It's not… Sarah?"

He closed his eyes, trying to make sense of what was in front of him.

'It can't be her. It's an illusion. Clockwork's realm is messing with your head. You need to stop. Breathe.'

He opened his eyes, and in front of him once more was the Sam he knew. He let out a deep sigh at this.

"Sam."

"Who else would I be?" she asked.

"It's just, for a moment you looked like…"

"Sarah?"

It was Clockwork who interrupted this time, another smirk on his face.

"I was afraid this would happen. Your memories. In my realm they're magnified, and with that suit they're sure to be even stronger. One little thought of the past and it becomes real."

Danny looked back at Sam, trying to focus, but Clockwork was right: she had begun to look like young Sarah again.

"And only I can see it?" he questioned.

"After all, they are your memories."

'How do I make this stop?'

Danny shut his eyes again, trying to focus on what he had been thinking before.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, he was able to put his thoughts into words.

"My love for Sarah is what killed me, but my love for Sam, it's what's making me human?"

"Remember boy. You were full ghost until you discovered her, SAVED HER. And then… you started feeling emotions. Became hungry, tired, warm even. Your eyes turned blue and your hair black. And it's only when she's in trouble that you are able to control it." Danny closed his eyes and turned his head to the ground, trying to take it all in. He wanted to believe it; after all, they had said it before. So why now was it different? Why was he having second thoughts?

'I just wish I had some say in all this. I feel like everyone else is choosing my fate for me.'

He looked up to see his 'hallucination' of Sarah once again turned back into the girl from the present.

"Danny, I know it's a lot to take in," she hesitated.

"Sam, you know I care for you… and I'd do anything for you…"

--

Clockwork watched as Danny wrestled with his mind, trying to make sense of the truth he had finally come to learn.

'I really thought you would have figured that out sooner.'

"You know, you could think clearer if you took off that annoying power suit. It's not helping you here anyway."

Danny had been gazing at Sam, trying to figure out his emotions, but with these words he furrowed his brow and looked at Clockwork.

"Why does it even matter?" he replied.

"That suit, it was designed to magnify your powers, correct?"

Danny nodded.

"Precisely. Well in here, things work a little differently, affect each other a little differently. And I can sense that the suit is magnifying it all. I really think you would benefit emotionally from being free of it."

'And that would help me regain a bit of control.'

As much as Danny hated to agree with Clockwork, he had to admit that the amplified nature of his surroundings was not helping him.

"This doesn't mean I trust you," he said as he turned intangible and let the suit fall off. To Clockwork's surprise, it did not fall through the floor like normal human objects: instead it landed safely.

'I need to keep a closer eye on the Fentons and their technology…'

But before Clockwork could think that through any further, he heard a gasp from the girl and looked back to Danny.

Clockwork and Sam watched as Danny's body transformed. His white hair faded to black, his green eyes turned blue. Remarkably, though, he stayed floating, the bits of ghost DNA in him keeping him safe. "Danny?" Sam asked, confused as Danny stood up.

Danny turned from Sam's confused face, to Clockwork, who looked just as confused.

"You knew that would happen if I took off the suit?" he questioned with lowered eyebrows.

'I knew it would weaken him, but make him return to human? I thought their love was stronger than that here.'

'Perfect! The opportunity to win him over! He's vulnerable, questioning his emotions.'

"If you would stop for a moment and think, maybe, just maybe you would realize that I am not completely against you!" Clockwork replied, as he returned from his thoughts with some anger showing in his voice.

'Stop. Think. Don't make him any more mad at you then he already is. Keep him vulnerable.'

Clockwork closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing in a calmer manner.

'Win him over Clockwork.'

"I had no way of knowing you would change back, as this isn't normal. None of this is. No one has ever seen a ghost that can change forms. In fact, when I resurrected you, I was surprised to even see you as a ghost. I expected you would be fully human."

Clockwork had never revealed this to anyone, but was beginning to realize he needed to be a little more transparent if the boy would ever do what was needed.

"Hold on!" Sam chimed in, reminding the group that she was still there. "You just said his powers were fueled by our love, but now you're saying you don't understand what's happening?"

"I always knew Daniel's destiny was connected to you, that is true. But it wasn't until I resurrected him and watched things play out that I realized his powers, the ability to change forms, must also be linked to you and how he feels about you at any given moment."

Sam and Danny exchanged glances at this, trying to decide if they could truly trust the ghost before them.

"As I said before, the moments his emotions are high – for example when are in trouble," he pointed his staff to Sam, "he is able to summon his ghostly half. But when he finds himself questioning things, or remembering his past – well that's when the human emerges."

Danny looked again to Clockwork, who had aged again as he spoke.

"So, I really have no control over which form I take?" he asked, coming a little closer to their ghostly host.

'What can I say to make him believe me?'

"Right now, that is correct," the ghost replied, looking Danny directly in the eyes and causing him to shiver. "But soon, you will gain control over both forms, even without her help."

He gazed into Danny's blue eyes a second longer before turning away towards his screens. Holding up his staff, he allowed the largest to come on and show the one scene he had memorized.

"That scene! I saw it in your traps, the ones from the future. Why… Now?" Danny asked, floating closer to Clockwork as he watched the ice cream event play out.

"Because that scene is the one that started all this," Sam answered, also coming forward.

'Ahh, she learned something."

"The girl is right. This is the scene that made me realize your fate. The moment I discovered you in two separate timelines and knew you must be important," Clockwork replied never taking his eyes off the screens.

"I have not been able to see every moment that has come before it until it occurred to you in real time. That has never happened before, so naturally at first I could not understand why. But as I learned after your resurrection, it is because of your powers."

"My powers?"

"Yes, boy. You see, when I brought you back, you were a full ghost. I had expected you to be human, as I had witnessed in this scene. Imagine my surprise when you weren't."

"You find a way to finally control resurrections, finally bring people back, and it's not what you expect! You couldn't just be happy it worked?" Danny asked, angrily.

Clockwork glared back at the boy, using every ounce of self control to keep himself from sending Danny flying across the room

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO BRING YOU BACK!" he blared, unable to keep his voice down. "I worked for eons to figure it all out. I had everything right! And now you're floating here, telling me to be happy with my mistake?"

He couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep himself from allowing his powers to take control. He held his staff in front of him, the orb at the top emitting a vibrant green glow.

Without another word, Danny suddenly felt himself losing control as he flew backwards across the room, landing against the wall and falling to the ground in pain, a bit of green blood trickling down his forehead.

Sam began to run to Danny but found herself unable to go far as Clockwork raised his staff in anger.

"Let him lay. Let him think. Let him realize that I am right!" the ghost yelled as Sam was forced to return to her previous spot.

Danny slowly stood up as he heard Clockwork's angry voice yelling at Sam. He could feel energy pulsing through his body as he stepped back towards the ghost. But as hard as he tried, he could not bring himself to fully return to his ghost form.

Sensing the struggle the boy was having, Clockwork let out a laugh.

"You think that one burst of anger can bring back your ghost powers? When will you learn that there is so much more to this?"

But even as he watched, Clockwork found himself regretting his recent decisions.

'Why can't you just tell the boy the truth. Let him gain control and fulfill his destiny.'

'His destiny? I still don't even fully know what that means. The book has never once said a thing about WHAT that darkness could be…'

'What if it's…?'

He couldn't finish his thoughts as he found himself pinned against the wall, green eyes glaring down at him.

--

"I may not have my powers, but I still have my strength! And I am done listening to you ramble about destiny. Either you tell me what's going on or I find someone who can!"

Danny had been able to take advantage of Clockwork's moment of mental confusion and had lunged forward, pinning his adversary into the corner. After a moment with no response he decided to let the ghost go and lifted himself up off the ground. As he did he felt a clunk against his chest and looked down to see the amulet still hung on his neck.

'Of course! That amulet. The dragon! But why isn't it helping me return my powers?'

Danny reached his hand to the amulet and looked at it closer, trying to see if there was anything new he could learn from it. But sadly nothing had changed since the last time he had examined it.

"This amulet. It has somehow been storing my energy, my power. Helping me gain control."

"Precisely." Clockwork said quietly as he raised himself off the ground, his emotions calming after the brief confrontation.

"And yet, it doesn't always work."

"Working is not the correct term, boy. Let's just say, it KNOWS when it's needed, just as it knew when it was needed with the girl," the ghost replied, exasperated.

"The girl?" Danny asked, looking down at it again. "The dragon?"

"What did you think? That it was just another necklace? Ha!" Clockwork allowed himself to age down at this.

"So, it's like everything else, linked to my emotions? My emotions are clearly high right now, so why isn't the stupid thing working?" Danny asked, raising it up as if to take it off.

"Danny! Stop!" Sam yelled, finding Clockwork's power over her diminished as he ran towards him.

"He… he told me once. That humans can't… survive long here. And that amulet, it may be all that's keeping you alive!"

Danny froze, unable to completely take in what she had just said.

'He told you that Sam?'

"That amulet, when it was with the girl. It represented her lost love and the painful memories it held," she continued, much to Danny and Clockwork's surprise.

"And now that you've removed it, you've rid her of that pain and linked it to us instead."

"Sam, how did you…" Danny began, then looked to Clockwork, who had resumed his normal stature, and nodded his head as if to say he was the one who told her.

"Danny. It's linked to your destiny, whatever that may be," she finished, taking another step closer to her boyfriend and holding out her hand.

At her touch Danny felt a jolt of energy once again as he watched a faint glow return to his body.

"I… I… believe you. But I still don't understand. Clearly we're meant to be together, but why can't those feelings help me control this? And what is this darkness I'm supposed to be eliminating?"

"Ahem…"

Both teens turned, almost forgetting Clockwork's presence in their moment of emotion.

"If all this mushy stuff is over, maybe you could stop and actually listen to me."

--

"Why would I listen to you?" Danny asked, raising his voice. "You just attacked me for speaking my mind!"

"Well if you would have listened to what I've been saying, I wouldn't have needed to do what was necessary."

'Will he EVER learn that I know best here? That I CAN HELP!?'

"Necessary? That's what you call it now? So, if I say something wrong again are you going to try putting me in time out?" Danny laughed at his own joke.

"Haha boy, you are so, so clever. Just stop for one second and let me talk." He aged himself into his eldest form and lowered himself to the ground at this, trying to come off as less menacing.

Sighing, Danny took a couple of steps forward. "You've got 5 minutes," was all Danny could say, despite his knowledge that there was no obvious way home.

"Daniel, clearly you are still learning. Let me help you regain some control. I can teach you many, many things about your destiny."

Danny looked at Clockwork as he said this, confusion again showing in his face.

"This is coming from someone who just said they didn't understand my powers."

"Well yes, but I understand ghosts, moving on, and legends. And you, son, are all three." He smirked at this, hoping to win over a bit of the boy.

Sam had stayed back but was beginning to panic now, realizing that Clockwork was trying to gain control.

"Danny, don't! Remember, your power is linked to me. I really doubt that he can help you here as much as being in the human world with me could!"

"There is always another way. Always." Clockwork smiled as Danny looked between him and Sam, trying to convince the group, and himself, that this could work.

Sam glared at Clockwork, furious that he would even suggest such a thing after specifically stating that their love was the key.

"But that scene, with the ice cream, it can't happen if you stay here!"

"But time changes, as all things change. That moment is not set in stone. And even if it is, once you master your powers, you will be free to return."

"STOP!" Danny yelled as he closed his eyes, feeling a bit of ghost energy radiate through his body as they turned back to bright green. "BOTH OF YOU STOP! You are acting like children fighting over a toy!" He said, enraged, "And I am NO ONE'S TOY!" Danny began to shiver as his eyes turned back to blue and he slowly fell towards the ground, no longer able to stay afloat. Upon reaching the ground, he continued to sink, although very, very slowly. His confused eyes darted down to his amulet, grasping at the idea that there could be even a small bit of stored energy, but instead it just clanked against his chest, almost as if it was tired. He then looked between the Sam and Clockwork, complete fear on his face.

'At last. His human side is taking over. Let the boy see that there are consequences to his actions. Don't save him… yet,' Clockwork thought as he watched Daniel sink.

"See son, this is what I could teach you. How to control your ghost powers here. After all, when you let your humanity win, you end up losing," Clockwork said, once again revealing the power-hungry nature Danny had come to know as he let himself age down.

Danny continued to look at the ghost as his body slowly sank through the floor, unable to move until finally he felt solid ground. But with that feeling came another feeling he didn't like. A feeling of helplessness that could only mean Clockwork had gained some control.

--

"Danny! He's been controlling me the same way he is you right now. Grabbing a mental hold and making me do what he wants. I know you can fight this, stand on the ground yourself, without his help!"

Sam stepped forward as she said this, trying to find a way to keep him from sinking through the ground without Clockwork's powers. As she did, she felt a clunk against her neck and remembered the medallion that was keeping her here. She looked down at it, grabbing it in her hands, and then to Danny, who was trying to resist Clockwork's hold, but also didn't want to sink.

"Sam, I, I…" He looked at her and watched her change once again into the Sarah he remembered. "I need his help, if I want to control this. I know it's linked to us, but right now, I need his help…"

"No you don't!" she said loudly as Danny's view of her changed back to Sam and she ran forward, pulling the medallion off her neck and holding it towards him. "You just have to trust me. Trust US. This will work out. We just need to believe that it will."

'If I give him this, he'll survive here without that jerk's help. But… what will happen to me?' She thought for a mere second before acting. Losing all the hesitation and fear from before, she threw her medallion around his neck.

Danny felt its power take hold and was able to let Clockwork's grip on him disappear. His eyes turned back to a green as he watched Sam sink through the ground, much faster than Danny had been, but not before saying her last words to him.

"I love you Danny."

[judithsupportsteamchampery]

Fan Interview with Deniss Vasiljevs after the Figure Skating Grand Prix in Grenoble, France, Sunday, November 25th 2018

- by Judith Dombrowski - 

Sitting back home in Germany in front of my computer the last weekend seems still unreal for me. It was my first Figure Skating live event since 2007 and if I regret an only thing about this weekend it would be that it took me so long to go again. The main reason for my journey to Grenoble was the attendance of my favorite Skater - Deniss Vasiljevs from Latvia. I follow his career for two years now, since he started working with my former favorite skater Stéphane Lambiel. It was absolutely emotional and amazing to see him perform live, even though the competition itself didn’t turn out for Deniss as he probably would have hoped for. Still he was able to create absolute magic on the ice.

On very short note I had the luck to organize a very spontaneous fan-meeting on sunday morning. Thanks so much to Deniss’ manager Christopher Trevisan to make it possible and for the great cooperation.

Here is now the transcript of the interview we had with Deniss. I hope as many fans as possible will enjoy reading it. You can probably tell only from reading that Deniss and I were both still a bit nervous and shy at the beginning (well I definitely was, and he seemed as well) but it got into a very nice and relaxed conversation really soon.

Also please notice, that this was the first time in my life that I did such an interview, and it’s also my first time ever I am doing such a transcript. I decided to write everything down word by word just as they were spoken. Of course you will notice some grammar mistakes from my and from Deniss’ side since we are both no native speakers, and spoken sentences are always different from written sentences. I still decided to change absolutely nothing and just type it down as everything was said, that nothing Deniss said would be changed in any way. In case you are interested to translate this into another language, please try to do the same. I would also kindly ask you to ask for permission if you wish to translate it or publish it anywhere else. Thanks so much and I hope you will enjoy this. :)

Approximatly 25 - 30 people joined the meeting. I waited for Deniss outside of the hotel were we held the meeting at. Once Deniss and Christopher arrived and we came up the stairs everyone stood up and clapped. After some small greetings the interview started.

Me: Alright… I am a little bit nervous, so I wrote something down (referring to my notes). We all really appreciated your great programs. For me it was the first time seeing you perform live. It was really something special, much better than on TV. Your two programs this year are absolutely wonderful and appealing, so thank you. (Everyone was clapping.) I want to tell you some greetings from the Fan community. There are fans in Latvia, from Russia, someone wrote from Peru, (he really looked amazed when he heart Peru) from Mexico, from Hungary and they all send you their dearest greetings.

I will just start with the questions and of course everyone who has some questions can just join in and ask. I - and I think many of you here as well - read the transcript of the fan - meeting at NHK and there you talked a lot about the samurai program and I thought it’s really impressive that you shared some really deep thoughts about the programs and you can really see it when you perform. So there was a question from the internet who asked if you were personally involved in creating the costume or who created the costume for the samurai program.

Deniss: Well, it was the designer together with my whole circle who worked with the program.  We put a lot of energy in it and we all came up with this very interesting  - I guess - idea and all together that’s formed this…

Me: yea. you also drew the samurai very well…

Deniss: I love to draw. So my idea is very often to remind it on the paper and I am happy to share it for example for the work. For the things that I need to… It’s a place that can help..

Me: So you talked about the samurai program quite a lot in Japan already so you don’t need to repeat yourself again now. But we would love to know also a little bit more about the short program because it’s a really unusual choice of music for skating so how did you come up with the idea for the short program and this specific piece of music.

Deniss: How I came up with it? I don’t know it was a suggestion. But why we accepted it rather was because it is quite a challenge. It’s unique in it’s own style and so far I haven’t seen someone trying to really make it in this specific way so for me it’s really a big  ( )  (I really can’t understand the word he is using here, maybe it’s „curiosity") how I can improve it to the level I want. How I can show all this emotion be clean and sharp because the music is very groovy and more like whatever… feeling this kind of just enjoy the moment and that’s I guess the biggest contrast in this part that I find very attractive but I try to work to do my best.

Me: So you said you want to improve something? So what do you think needs to be improved?

Deniss: There is no limit to perfection. And I try to improve everywhere I can. But I guess what I would love to define is to make the skating a little bit more.. probably not simpler but easier for me to execute from the right… like the music always has this dynamics and just a little bit better on my breathing and movement to this flow. That would hopefully help me having more power when I need it later on. And having the step sequence.. it has already been changed quite a bit after the last competition to suit the technical panel better and also takes a big part of the program and it’s a moment when you still head towards the second part of the program which also is very energy consuming so this kind of balancing out is required anyways.

Me: Well good luck for that. For us it seems already very perfect and you are really groovy in the program. I especially like the ending pose… it’s.. so unique. (laughter)

Deniss: Yea I very close to kiss the board. (laughter from everyone)

Me: Yea, especially at NHK, I thought there it was really close.. I thought two days ago it was a bit shorter (I re-watched the SP yesterday and saw that I had been wrong. He really had been very close to the board in Grenoble) but we also thought.. it maybe could cause some time problems… when you are sliding too long… not to go over time…

Deniss: No, the movement just has to stop… so technically when you are sliding… (laughter)

Me:… you are not moving…

Deniss: It depends how you look on it.. but I understand by the word movement.. that your body is not moving. You can slide on the ice because… ice is slippery..

Me: yeah….

Deniss: … so you slide… right? (laughter)

Me: So… hopefully the judges will be on your side… and… One comment I guess on the yellow pants… because it’s really controversy. I personally really really like it and it really suits the program and the music and it is an eye catcher.. so.. did you like the idea of the yellow pants from the beginning… or how did you come up with that?

Deniss: Initially I think that the match of the colors yellow and shiny is very into the mood of that time. Maybe today it is less popular and a little bit going away from that. But at that time the kind of moment of this very sparky time labs that I try to present to the audience it’s exactly that very shiny and really kind of… Cause I heard the… I am not sure if it’s completely sure if it is the correct word… but the „cheap disco“..

Me: … from the 70s / 80s…

Deniss: Yea kind of if you have this kind of colored and all of this in a sense represents that period of time.

Me: yea, that’s true.

Deniss: And you have those pants that go like… (shows with his hands the shape of flares)

Me: Oh yeah.. I know only the German word (for flares) but I know what you mean.

Deniss: So, all of that is that time and I heard different opinions on it… some people love it, some people cannot stand it. But the point is.. overall this atmosphere I am trying to create is related to that what I already mentioned.. and..

Me: That time was also controversy, right?

Deniss: It is like a theater. When you try so represent as best as you can that moment, that spirit, that fun moment.. so and this costume.. yellow pants… I find them really a good illustration of what exactly that time means and having actually in my point of view a very nice balance of colors, because I have yellow pants, the purple shirt which is also in this kind of style and i also think it gives a little bit of elegance that I have the black jacket it at least helps to make the lines better. So all of that is a combination of a costume that I actually imagined on my own and thought it would be a great way…

Me: Well, wow!

Deniss: I am honestly very happy and glad..

Me: So it’s your own work and you really feel represented by it. Or the it represents the program…

Deniss: That’s almost the way I feel that time. I have one show program, one of the firsts I’ve got and I have this costume which was basically light blue with a lot of different colors and to me that’s a disco.

Me: Yes!

Deniss: I see that sparky or this shiny…blablablabla… too much things… too much everything… to me that is the time I heard from my grandfather even a little bit touched by my father. He told me how he saw it and that overall created my understanding of that time.

Me: Very good explanation actually.

So I told you before that I will unfortunately miss the Gala but I guess (referring to the other Fans) a lot of you are coming and… are you going to perform the same Gala program as at NHK? The Woodkid?

Deniss: Yes… yes. I would like to skate that one.

Me: Yes! It was amazing. I really watched it like 10 times after it came out. And we had - my mother and I -  tried to interpret it a little bit and we would like to know if that’s the way….

Deniss: If it matches me..?

Me: Yes, exactly. So we thought that you are representing the soldier who on the one side likes his profession but on the other side sees als the disadvantages that come with it like not being able to see his family and his love so he is really torn between liking what he does and missing home…

Deniss: That would be also a nice addition but it’s not exactly what I thought it would be. The first time I encountered this music and in general this idea I got behind it was I guess 5 or 6 years ago when I was following one game what was called „Assassin’s Creed: Revelations“ for the opening of that song or the trailer for that game was exactly this piece of music that I am skating to - „Iron“ by Woodkid. For me that’s the moment for me to form the opinion about it in general for me the story is that he’s a worrier and he is searching for something in the game at least and he is in a sense suffering. He has a lot of challenges and he’s not living kind of a happy life in the sense that he has constant struggles, he has to get food and has a very like big bandage and he is still fighting for it. He is in a sense a surviver and at the same time he has this… at some point anyone having that much stress in their life… they break. So and this is a sense a scream of soul which I try to partly represent in my performance.. this nasty feeling like it’s too much and at the same time you have no escape from it and you have to continue. So it’s kind of very dark and very touchy moment. For me personally when I skated.. I really try to put it more towards the… like very deep soul harming moment.

Me: Yea, you can definitely see that you are feeling it.. you’re really into it… your whole face… your emotions…

Deniss: Yes, that’s the best way to make it good to live it…

Me: yea to live it in the moment. Exactly. You are really in the song… and… it’s a great song, as well.. it’s really catchy…

Deniss: Yea, I really love the power that it has, it’s really impressive. I really like the author…

Me: Yea.. Woodkid… yea…

Deniss: Yea, he has quite a few great songs.

Me: Yea definitely.

Deniss: Skating to one of his creations is a big joy.

Me: Yea, it’s getting quite popular in skating and I only knew him from skating and now I listened to all of his songs and they are really amazing. I am really wondering why he isn’t more popular in general…

Well, good luck for all of you seeing it live this afternoon. I wish I would, but I hopefully will one day.. well I have more questions written down but maybe some of you want to join in and ask something?

Charlie: Okay, this Short Program for this season is the „Papa was a rolling stone“ and you also used Jimmy Hendrix two years ago and it’s a very curious choice for a guy like you and where does the inspiration come from? Who's idea is that? Your idea or Stéphanes idea?

Deniss: This music was found in a sense by Stéphs choreographer, Salome, and it was just a very good piece of music that would be interesting if I can make it… so we accepted this kind of challenge and did our best to present it the best way we can.

Charlie: And you really succeeded. When I first heard the song I didn’t even know the song „Papa was a rolling stone“ so I googled it and searched for it on youtube and I was like: This??? I am not sure! But then I saw your performance and I totally changed the idea, it was so awesome.

Deniss: One of the biggest challenges for this program like music wise was that actually music never starts… it starts and starts and starts and then it finishes and it still starts, so it’s never getting actually a peak so that’s probably was the hardest part doing it maybe… maybe the music works… so…

Charlie: You succeeded.

Deniss: We kind of found the right way.

Me: Anything else?… Alright… then I will go on… Probably we all gratulate you on graduating last summer from school.. I heard you did very well..

Deniss: Yes… I was really impressed by my marks.

Everyone clapping

Deniss: It was far more than I expected, especially I invested in the education.. because I was… well figure skating life is kind of busy… although it might sound on the paper that it’s not too much but actually it takes far more than that…

Me: Yea, it’s a whole lifestyle….

Deniss: Yea, it’s completely different. And the point that I actually managed to write the tests that well… actually a big thank you to everyone that helped me to prepare and actually kind of tutored me.. so I am very grateful for all their input… and miracle…. (points to his head)

Me: Yea, your good brain…

Deniss: That managed to squeeze all the information and delivered it at the right time..

Me: You learn that in figure skating as well… that you maybe concentrate at the right moment… Well, congrats. We are interested in… how is your studying now going? What are your plans? I heard that want to study in Switzerland… I think now it’s really hard…

Deniss: Education is a pretty big question and I constantly like switched for the last ten years changing what I want to do, where I want to go, what is my heard wish and for example right now since I am dedicated to figure skating all the time. I can not attempt a full time very serious education the way I would normally do it in Switzerland although it might sound that it’s not far with the schedule I have it’s massive… so..

Me: Yea, I studied.. so, I know what it takes…

Deniss: So, in my opinion like I plan for now about for getting a really important degree that I will enjoy that’s basically after I am done with my career which will take hopefully another 7 years. I really want to enjoy this road as long as I can and be perfecting it. So education has another standing than in usual life as an athlete it’s kind of a bit pushed in that part but nevertheless I am really really into learning more about art. Art has many varieties and ways to develop for example one of them is cooking, drawing and writing. There is just so many things I have done even looking from the perspective of figure skating. So I kind of anyway by staying and working full-time as a figure skater and do my best to improve that. And also I am attending, I am trying to have the same way I managed to finish the school to get a university a degree in Daugavpils which right now I am kind of a bit behind but soon I will hopefully catch up, now where I have a little bit of time and I am getting the degree on social skills and… (he said a word here that I didn’t understand)

Me: Sorry, the last I didn’t understand.

Other Fans joining in: Teaching!

Me: Ah, good, nice!

Deniss: Not exactly yet where I will use it but still I think it’s good to keep myself busy with something else except from skating because at some point when you do the same thing over and over again sometimes your brain gets overwhelmed, so I need something different and that is my kind of way to escape from it. So I am attending that. In the future I guess I will have after my career the education in business and management or something that is more relating to the being a self managing… not a firm but something like your own established small business. Sometime…

Me: Good luck, but I think it is a good decision like that and… you are young…

Deniss: Everything comes at the right time.

Me: Yea… So you are now living in Champéry for like 2 1/2 years, something like that…

Deniss: Yea…

Me: How is your learning French going actually?

Deniss: Slowly… little by little… I think I understand French pretty well I am actually starting to start talking back a little bit. From other points of views I am doing better than I am telling everyone. But I think it’s still a long long journey to actually fully completing the education of French. So far I am a bit scared in a good way to learn writing and grammar. Because I heard it’s pretty complex and so far I don’t really use it so much. The world is switching to the international language English. So it’s more I think a bigger priority to have the potential to communicate and talking rather than writing.

Me: Yea. Good luck on that as well, because I think it’s such a big opportunity when you live in another county to learn another language.

Deniss: But Switzerland has… French.. and German and even a little part of Italian… so…

Me: So yea.. and I guess within your skating group everyone is speaking English since they are coming from all over the world.

Deniss: yea!

Me: It seems like such a nice team actually.

Deniss: Yea. We have a really nice group of people that we have a really good relationship between each other and be rather supportive than on each others way. And it’s really a beneficial.. and we really enjoy each others company and it helps to progress better and faster. So I really enjoy having this set to my side. It’s a big joy.

Me: You can really see this even only from the pictures that it’s a good atmosphere. And I think.. Champéry is a really small village.. So there is not so much going on there, so you kind of have to get along with your people..

Deniss: Yes, when you choose your way more like a self improvement person and you are really focused a lot on learning and a knowledge that would reflect.. then your life has a… being a figure skater you rather spend a lot of time on that and then probably a little bit shorter amount of time that we actually spend together and doing something together. But from time to time.. we have a really incredible time together where we are really enjoying each others company.

Me: Do you like hiking in the mountains?

Deniss: Yes! I adore that activity!

Me: Yea.. definitely, I am coming from an hiking family… So I know.. been in the Alpes a lot…

Deniss: Maybe I am not such a hiking hiker.. but I love to walk around. With the amazing nature around and enjoy the sound of the morning birds at least during the spring or summer yet when the sun is rising. So during the winter it’s probably a bit harder…

Me: Yea… are you skiing?

Deniss: I never tried.

Me: Yea, it’s dangerous…

Deniss: So far as I remember I was not allowed to do that activity because of the Olympic season. And still, if I am correct, I am a little bit shortened on the activity because I am a very much beginner. And I have to take care of my physical condition in order to practice. So… it’s very important to be careful with such fun things.

Me: Yea, well I can understand, I am also kind of a beginner with skiing.. and… you fall a lot.. at the beginning… so.. you probably shouldn’t risk it.

Deniss: I heard if I will use the shorter skies it could be more similar to the blades.. so probably…. (he smiled very brightly and everyone laughed)

Some girl from the back: Except for the trees coming in your way…

Deniss: It’s not my job to move from the trees. It’s the job of the trees… (everyone laughing really loud)

Me: Yea, just tell them that… and we’ll have the next Fan meeting right at the hospital. So… after some more laughter  there was recently… we all know you like cooking and baking and recently on instagram there was a cooking battle or a cake battle between you and some woman… How did that come along and who won that.. actually?

Deniss: It was more like a joke, I guess…

Me: Yea, of course.

Deniss: Because I mean… I didn’t see it that much as a competition, I in general enjoy the process… And I think it’s even worse than figure skating to judge because everyone has a different taste, different preferences, and.. completely two different styles. She is from the United States, for her cake primarily must be super sweet and rock solid. And for me cake must be nice and fluffy, very well balanced and not too sweet. So… It’s like a… someone likes that more, someone that… And this baking, cooking in general, it’s a big part of my lifestyle, because unfortunately like usual way you approach it I guess… as people don’t usually work that much hard physical activity. There are a lot of.. so you have to kind of know what you eat, how to balance, how to nutrition, and for me just because of this necessity it brings me a big part of enjoyment to figure that out the best way I can and achieve this supplementary kind of super important part of my real performance that you see afterwards on the competition on the ice. So all this cooking thing is more like… not just a hobby but a necessity that I have to really be careful with. An although I love baking and I do that I think not enough that I would love to. But I have to be kind of limited with that and so far it works… partly I guess…

Well unfortunately the time for questions was up then. I apologized that we didn’t have a proper gift for him anymore because the meeting had been on such a short notice. But we bought him -  as it had been a suggestion from the Facebook Fan group - honey and oranges. So I explained him why: Honey, because we heard he loved honey, and oranges because he needs a lot of vitamins. There he laughed and said that he actually got a little bit sick during the last days and that the vitamins where a perfect idea.

We then still took some group pictures and Deniss signed some banners and some flags,

then they left.

Thank you so much Deniss for taking so much time for your Fans. Your thoughtful and deep answers to every question really impressed me. You are really able to make everyone around you happy and smiling, not just with your performances on the ice, but also with your great personality off the ice! All the best for this season, your future on and off the ice, and always keep as you are!!

[buckyscrystalqueen]

Wayward Hounds

Pairings: Sam Winchester x Reader

Warnings: Fluff

Word Count: 1,684

A/N: Posted from my old blog and unedited so it may be sloppy AF.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Yours or mine?” Sam asked as you rolled off him, half asleep, to get away from the shrill ring of the cell phone.

“Yours.” You grumbled as you belly flopped onto the bed with a grunt. “Can’t we just have one day to sleep in?” you whined as you looked toward your side of the bed to see the time and instead of the clock, you came face to face with your massive pit bull, Titus.

“Wayward Hounds, this is Sam.” Your husband said sleepily as he sat up and flipped on the light and you lifted your head off the pillow. 5:57. Half hour until your alarm would be going to go off anyways. Your eyes trailed over the 5 dogs that lay on the bed, hopefully looking at you with tails wagging. “Yea, Jody. Give us like half hour to let our pups out and we will head out there.” Sam said and you growled happily at Minnie, the pit/ lab mix you happened to be looking at, at the idea of having to get out of bed. 

“Daddy is not very nice.” You said to your dogs and you felt Sam’s hand fall in a gentle smack on your ass. You smiled as Titus and Astro, both big mama’s boys jumped off the bed in your defense. “Looks like someone’s in trouble.” You said with a glance toward your husband, as Sam hung up the phone. He raised his hands up over your back with a smirk on his face, challenging the two monstrous dogs and they leapt on top of you to get to him as he playfully played the drums on your bare back side.

“Alright, alright.” Sam said with a laugh as the room was filled with barks. “God you would think we owned a zoo instead of pits!” he said as he pushed Zippo off of you. You flipped your dreads back and glared at him.

“Well, when you attack the mama…” you said as you shoved him with a laugh. “So, where are we going today?” you asked as you rolled on your back, stretching across the bed in the little space available. Sam bent over quickly and blew a raspberry on your stomach and you squealed as you tried to wiggle away from him. 

“We are going to rescue a litter of puppies that are running across 17.” He said and your eyes shot wide. “And no, we are not keeping them.” He told you and you pouted.

“What about just one?” you asked as you wiggled on the bed, you pat an empty spot on the bed by your head. “He could sleep right here.” you said and Sam laughed.

“(Y/N), we have five and run a rescue. Can you honestly tell me you don’t get enough puppy love all day long?” he asked as he got out of bed and you shrugged. 

“You can never have enough puppy love, Sam.” You said as you rolled off the bed. “You got dogs or coffee?” you asked Sam as you walked toward the bathroom, grabbing jeans and a sports bra on your way. 

“I’ll take the dogs.” He said as he pulled on his shirt and opened the bedroom door. “Alright, pups. Let’s go.” The room was filled with sounds of dog pants and the clinking of dog ID tags as your five fur children leapt off the bed and darted toward the back door. You got dressed quickly, tying your hair back with a bandana and you grabbed the first shirt off the pile clean clothes you didn’t put away from the night before.

“Do we know how many puppies?” You asked as you started up the coffee pot, grabbing two traveler mugs from the cabinet as the room filled with the sound of dog food hitting the bottom of metal bowls.

“Jody said 4 but they kept running back to a ditch. She managed to catch 1 so far.” You turned and looked at him as he tied off the bag of food.

“The mother?” Sam shook his head with a shrug and you didn’t say anything. Rescues involving puppies were always hard.

“Van’s stocked up?” Sam asked as he opened the back door to let the dogs back in and a blast of cold wind followed your four-legged children inside and you shivered as you nodded.

“Vet-mobile is good to go!” you told him as you poured coffee in the two mugs. “Ready?” you asked as you handed him a mug and he nodded as he grabbed his keys.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Come here, baby.” You said to the last puppy as you pushed yourself a little farther into the drainage ditch. “I’m not here to hurt you, little one.” The tips of your fingers wrapped around the scruff of the little dogs neck and you smiled to yourself as you kicked your foot. “There we go sweetheart.” You soothed the squealing pup and you pulled it to your chest as Sam’s large hands grabbed your ankles, pulling you out of the drainage ditch on the flat roller you had created for this exact purpose. 

“Last one?” Sam asked as your head cleared the tunnel and you nodded as you handed the puppy up to him. 

“Far as I could see.” You got up and stretched slightly, your back cracking from being on the roller for the past 3 hours. There weren’t four puppies, there were 9 and their poor mother was nowhere to be found. You shook your head as you stood up. “What would you say 2 months?” you asked as Sam looked at the puppy you had just handed him.

“If that… these babies are tiny.” You walked toward the van as you shook your head.

“Who just leaves puppies as cute as this on the side of the road?” you asked as you opened the back door. You looked at the 8 puppies you had laying in the deep dog bed under a dull heat lamp and shook your head. “At least they look like they were take care of so that’s a plus.” You shoved the roller behind your chair.

“They were definitely family pets. No fleas or scabies and only 2 ticks between the 9 of them; negative for parvo, heartworms or any other parasites. We got here just in time babe.” Sam said as he checked out the last puppy while you sat down on the ground and picking up the nearest puppy.

“So, we while we are sitting here, we gotta come up with names.” You said as you looked at the sleeping puppy you held in your hands. Sam groaned.

“(Y/N), if you name them, we are gunna end up keeping one like we always do.” He said as he drew blood from the wiggly puppy on the table. You turned the puppy in your hands toward him with a pout.

“Baby, can you really say no to this face?” you pouted and he smiled.

“Honestly, I was gunna keep one the second Jody called us.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Sam!” Dean called out from the back row of kennels and you looked up from the dog run to see Dean struggling to keep Pepper in her cage. She had given birth to a littler of pups 2 weeks ago and she wasn’t letting anyone in the cage for any reason. How Dean forgot that you had no idea.

“Damn it, Dean” Sam yelled as he dropped the two large bags of dogfood he had on his shoulder before he darted across the property to help his brother. You tried to move to help but watching your husband, seeing the sweat soaked t-shirt sticking to his body, accentuating every muscle moving as he pulled the cage door shut while Dean pushed the dog into the cage, latching it closed before she had a chance to try to get out again. You shook your head as you stood up, leaning against the fence surrounding the dog run. You couldn’t help but sigh as you watched the love of your life run his forearm across his forehead to wipe the sweat away and you felt your stomach flutter. God he was so hot.

“Damn, baby! Take it off!” you yelled out with a smile and Sam looked across the yard at you with a smile. He walked over to you and as he pulled his shirt up to wipe his face, you groaned. Even after 5 years of marriage and 2 years of dating before that, you still couldn’t get enough of him. As he walked into the pen, the group of dogs that you had out playing ran toward the new playmate and he laughed as he squatted down to say hi. The smile he had on his face as he was knocked to the ground was mesmerizing and if you had to guess, his eyes were shining with love as the dogs attacked him with slobbery kisses. Starting the rescue had been Sam’s idea after he had found baby Titus, tied to a tree, a chain digging into his neck while he was doing his residency as a vet 6 years ago and while it had been a challenge, at the end of the day it was absolutely worth all the hard times the two of you had gone through.

“They never run out of love do they?” Sam asked as he came over to you, wiping dirt and grass from his hands onto pants and you shook your head as you pushed off the fence. 

“They get a second chance at a happy life, baby. You would love the person who rescued you too.” Sam wrapped his arms around your waist and leaned down to kiss your nose. 

“Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asked and you blushed slightly. “Especially when you smile; I love your smile.” You smiled again, hiding your face in his chest with a laugh.

“You make me smile, baby. Always have.” You told him as you looked up at him.

“And I never plan on stopping.”

[impulseislost]

If This is The End (2)

im finally done with this one so

Warnings: uh, swearing, a little bit of freaking out idrk what else

Sunrise

Earth, sector 9 Approximately 364 days, 7 hours and 27 minutes since Lee Felix’s disappearance.

Jeongin’s eyes fluttered open, the lights in his small room suddenly flashing from a low golden glow to a bright white, waking him up quickly and without much fanfare. He paused, resting in his bed for a moment longer before pushing himself out with a barely muffled hiss. The room was quiet, the rooms either side of him probably empty to be honest, as he staggered into his cleaning facilities to shower.

He frowned, reviewing where the other members would be.

Chan was probably already working. Woojin was probably patching up Jisung right about now, who’d probably injured himself again. Hyunjin would be training. Minho would be dancing, probably (Gods knew why). Changbin would either be waking up, like him, or with Jisung or Chan. That would leave Seungmin.

He nodded to himself as he finished up. He could live talking to Seungmin, yeah. He just...

He didn’t particularly want to, didn’t want to bother anyone else. If Felix had still been there… Jeongin didn’t want to think about that. About the elder brother he had lost.

About how they still hadn’t found him.

How they likely weren’t going to find him.

Jeongin rubbed his eyes, pulling a random shirt from his clothes rack and yanking it over his head with a slight tearing sound. Oh yeah, he forgot Earthian shirts weren’t as strong as the ones back home. Just what he needed to add to his already sour mood.

All he really wanted right now was to cry.

Felix was gone, probably dead if the reports were anything to go by, killed on that fucking planet and dragged away to be some creatures dinner. Minho and Hyunjin were always arguing with each other, getting in each other’s faces about the smallest things even if it didn’t warrant the drama.

Chan was vacant, just, never around anymore. Woojin barely even got him to eat at times. Jisung was spending all his time with the scientists, with only Changbin to support him. Repeating those same stupid tests over and over like the results would be any different.

God, even Seungmin wasn’t the same anymore.

The family he’d joined over a year ago no longer felt like a family. It was cold, broken. Like the words, Nine or None, jokingly uttered by Felix over a year ago, had become law rather than an uplifting motto. Like none of them could function properly without him. It really looked that way sometimes.

Jeongin laced his boots up before he left his room.

The moment he left the room, the sounds of an argument reached him, escalated more than what was usual for the time of the morning. Hyunjin was screaming his head off today apparently. Jeongin didn’t bother going to step between Minho and Hyunjin. He wouldn’t get heard over the argument, not like Changbin would. Not like literally anyone else would.

Instead, he turned away, focusing on leaving the dorm quietly and heading the roundabout way to the mess hall.

A year ago, someone would’ve been waiting nearby to keep him company, to make sure that he wasn’t eating by himself. The last time that had happened had been his birthday. Where even Minho and Hyunjin had put aside their issues just to make sure that the youngest of them had been happy.

But that had been a  while ago. It was almost September now, over six months later.

His boots scuffed against the ground as he walked. He could hear the sounds of laughter as he passed by the dorms of Sungjin’s and Jaebum’s teams, an empty pit filling his chest as he remembered what he’d lost once again that morning. The boy swallowed harshly, hurrying his footsteps and disappearing around a corner just as a door opened behind him. He didn’t want to think about it.

Doors slid open before him as he paced his way into the mess hall, empty save for two of the two girls from Yeji’s team. He left them alone, after all, he still wasn’t sure that Jisu actually liked him.

It made sense, they’d been sent out just after the collapse of his team. He knew it looked like they were just the replacements.

Even so, he couldn’t help but be jealous of the way the two girls laugh in easy companionship.  Couldn’t help but feel jealous in the way that all the other teams in the compound seem to forget about their team sometimes. Or just stare with pity in their eyes as he passed.

They didn’t do front line stuff anymore, after all.

Jeongin shook the thought away, picking up a tray and slowly picking pieces of food onto it. An apple? He didn’t feel like one today. The collection part of the process took him five minutes, excluding the amount of time he spent just staring blankly at a zip-locked back of dried fruits. By the time he was done, Jeongin was ready to leave again.

He dropped his tray onto a table, away from everyone else, away from his group's old table. Just, by himself, gazing at the food quietly. Accepting. Hoping that maybe, just maybe, Seungmin or Chan would come over to sit with him. He quickly gave up on that idea.

Five minutes passed as he picked at his food in silence. The sounds of the mess hall had only gotten louder as more and more men and women on-site came for their breakfast. The rest of his squad remained absent, leaving him alone to deal with the noise.

Their old table sat empty still and after a moment’s hesitation, Jeongin switched tables to where he used to sit with his hyungs. A chattering started up next to him almost immediately (the noise coming from Jisu and Ryujin) and he tensed up. This had been a mistake. The chattering continued, intercepted with muffled giggles and the clear noise of shade and gossip being thrown his way. Jeongin tried to ignore them, continued to attempt to do so for another few minutes even, before the sounds of a chair being scraped back across from him drew his attention.

He looked up from his food, to see a certain blonde-haired man sitting across from him, placing his own tray (Why did he need a tray for two pieces of toast and a cup of coffee? The company had perfectly good plates for fucks sake, not that he could talk) down and running a hand through his mess of unruly curls.

“You looked like you could use some company,” Chan noted quietly, raising his mug and taking a sip of his coffee. Jeongin blinked as the elder raked his eyes across the mess hall, daring someone (Ryujin) to laugh at them.

His eyes lingered on Jisu and Ryujin a moment longer than anyone else. The two girls remained silent.

Jeongin remained quiet for a moment, watching as his team leader and brother figure sipped at his coffee and examined something on his datapad. Beside them, Jisu and Ryujin started talking again in much quieter tones. Their whisper’s once again filled the air.

“... Hyung. I thought you’d be working?” Chan glanced up at Jeongin, holding a piece of toast halfway between his mouth and the plate. A grimace flashed across his face as he placed the piece of bread down and linked his fingers together.

“I’m… Taking the day off. Kinda need it y’know?” The younger blinked for a few moments before it hit him.

Felix had gone missing this time last year. Of course Chan would need a break to grieve.

“I… Yeah, I get you.” His hands shook as he attempted to pick up his chopsticks once again. God, Felix had been gone a year now and they’d done nothing to find him. What sort of brothers were they?

Not very good ones obviously.

As he managed to regain control of his body enough to pick up his chopsticks, Chan’s toast was placed in his mouth with a quiet crunch. An uneasy silence fell between the two of them allowing the noise of the mess hall to flood through them and sweep away their thoughts. Jeongin felt awkward.

The silence between them felt unnatural to him, and honestly, he blamed himself for it. He should’ve been a better dongsaeng back when Felix had first disappeared and done his best to support his team. To support Chan. Instead, he’d frozen, choosing to hide away in his room rather than face the problem and only come out when the damage was already done.

This wasn’t their team. They weren’t like this.

Hyunjin should’ve been there, laughing and clinging onto Seungmin or Minho. Minho should’ve been there, teasing Jisung over some stupid thing he’d done that morning. Woojin and Seungmin should have been there. Changbin should’ve been there. Felix….

Felix shouldn’t have disappeared.

He was drowning. Drowning in this silence of his creation.

“A-Are we… Uh… Do we have…. Is there anything we’re gonna do to commemorate him?” Jeongin’s voice felt weak. The words were too hard to get out. But he had to know. He had to.

Chan glanced up, expression thoughtful as he stared at the boy, “Uh…. Yea. There is, we’r--” He cut himself off, a blue shine flashing over his eyes for a moment before he stood up and downed the last of his coffee.

“Listen, I’ll tell you later. Right now I have to go, Hyunjin and Minho are screaming at each other again.”  Chan sighed, taking a bite of his other slice of toast. Jeongin nodded, feeling numb now that Chan had stopped speaking.

“Tell me later?” He begged quietly, desperation creeping into his voice in a way that he hated. Hated so much. Chan paused before nodding at him reassuringly.

“Promise.” The younger released a sigh, as Chan brushed his hand over his hair and left him alone again. Alone in the mess hall of people who were gossiping about their team.

But he was used to that.

There were a lot of things Changbin could handle in this universe; He had been stabbed in the back more times than he could count. His body had broken down way too many times. Fuck, he’d even lived through the incident that’d cost Chan, Jisung and himself everything. Cost Jisung his eyes.

But having Minho kicking and screaming at Hyunjin. Having to restrain a kicking screaming Minho, as Chan restrained a kicking screaming Hyunjin… That wasn’t high on his list of favourite things to do in the morning.

Fuck, even Chan looked about ready to backhand the pair half the time.

Neither of the two would shut up when the other became involved with them. Ever. Changbin’s room was located between the two of theirs as well so lucky him, he got to wake up most mornings to, surprise surprise, a screaming match between the two.

This had been going on a year. A whole year, from the day Felix vanished to now, and they still hadn’t sorted out their shit. A whole fucking year.   If anything, the whole thing was just draining.

“Hyung, for the love of god could you just shut the fuck up? Thanks.” He snapped angrily into Minho’s ear. Alright, so…. Maybe he was a little frustrated. Honestly, it was probably about time anyway.

I am going to fucking throw Minho off the climbing wall at this rate. I don’t care if he’s a dancer, His thoughts angrily swirled through him as Minho narrowed his eyes and closed his mouth. From where Chan was holding him on the other side of the room, Hyunjin burst out laughing. Changbin’s eyes flicked up to the younger.

“Something funny over there?” Hyunjin’s eyes widened, and he quickly shut his mouth, his face paling. What’s up with him?

Minho paused, going limp in Changbin’s arms. Fuck, he was heavy. The younger paused, exchanging a look with Chan before dragging Minho away and into his room.

The elder remained limp until they reached his room before he squirmed in Changbin’s arms to try and escape him.

“Hyung.” Minho’s head jerked up, shaking off whatever was going on in his head. “You alright Hyung?”

The dancer nodded, dropping himself onto his bed in a manner that was so unlike him.

“It’s been a year.” He paused to swallow, “He’s been gone a year and no one’s found anything of him. And we keep going on. Pretending we’re fine.” Minho paused again, looking up at Changbin with a mournful expression gracing his face.

“We’re not fine. Channie hyung is overworking himself -- you can see it in his stance-- Woojin is never around anymore. Me and hyunjin…. We’ve been having these problems since day one. Jisung hasn’t come out of their lab at all over the past week for anything other than sleeping or eating. Seungmin is always training, all day every day, trying to get better in a way he doesn’t need to. And fuck, your just snappish now. Some of us can barely talk to you, I can barely talk to you for more than five minutes without you snapping for something we’ve done.”

Changbin paused for a moment to take in the words. It was true he supposed. He couldn't remember the last time he’d just spoken to Minho without getting annoyed at him for doing something stupid. He had no defence for it either.

“Oh.” Minho raised an eyebrow, staring at Changbin with a frown.

“That’s it? Just ‘Oh’?” Changbin nodded, avoiding the elder’s gaze. That was it. He had nothing else to say.

Minho sighed before motioning for him to leave the room. He bit the inside of his lip, hesitantly nodding and leaving the elder’s room.

Outside the room, Chan was finally letting Hyunjin go. The door slid shut behind Changbin as he quietly watched the exchange between Hyunjin, all teary-eyed and sobs threatening to escape his mouth, and Chan with his sad smile and understanding nods. He watched as Chan hugged the youngest in the room before they separated, Hyunjin heading to the mess hall by the looks of things.

The moment Hyunjin was out of the room Changbin watched as Chan sagged against the wall and sighed. Changbin cast him a worried glance, eyebrows furrowing. After a moment, he watched Chan stand up straight and take a deep breath.

“What happened between them this time?” Changbin asked. Chan shrugged, a frown passing over his features. A moment passed before he said anything.

“No clue.” Changbin groaned in annoyance, bringing his hands up to rub at his eyes.

“Not again.”

“Can Captain Bang please report to the Major’s office? I repeat, can…”  A cold robotic voice announced over the intercom, distracting Chan. He looked up from the report he was reading as surprise washed over him, the Major wanted him? He must’ve heard wrong. A moment passed where he did nothing before an alert flashed up on his datascreen followed by the announcement repeating itself. Alright, so that hadn’t been fake.

That’s a little frustrating. And anyway, for a society so technologically developed, why do we even need intercoms anymore? He wondered, placing the report down on the table and sending the alert away. With a quiet groan, he stood, casting a longing glance at the report and the messy English handwriting filling him with a sense of nostalgia.

It made sense, it was one of Felix's old reports after all. He wasn’t even sure why he had been reading it in the first place. It wasn’t particularly interesting, just the rundown of one of his first missions, how he’d been with Hyunjin and almost shot Jisung when he’d ran in front of him.

It was funnier at the time. Well, kinda. After the panic of Jisung almost getting shot passed. Chan stood up, pushing the chair back into the desk with a quiet sigh.

His boss wanted to see him after all.

He hesitated for a moment after he stood up before he left the desk and exited the room. The hallway before him was empty. Strange for where he was in the barracks. But he supposed it made sense considering the day and how his team were. His team’s quarters were normally much more lively after all.

It’s empty, He noted, as he walked through the halls, casting a glance into Hyunjin’s room as he passed the open door. The boy seemed to be holding his head in his hands, muttering to himself.

Chan wanted to linger, to go in and make sure he was alright. But he couldn’t. Not at that moment. God, why couldn’t he just be there when his team needed him? He tore himself away, turning to jog down the hall and out of the barracks with a frustrated noise.

Compared to the light coloured walls of his teams quarters, the rest of the site was quite drab. Light grey walls that stretched for meters, only interjected by pale blue lights or doors. Even then those were far and in between, often sealed closed by someone else’s key card or code.

He was tired of the colour grey honestly. It was just… Depressing, at this point at least.

The doors to Park Jinyoung’s (the elder one not the younger)  office opened quietly, allowing Chan entrance to the room with little fuss. The room itself, unlike the rest of the building he’d passed through, was brightly coloured and warmly decorated. Warm red rugs decorated the floor upon one of which a cat was sleeping on.

Behind a great oaken desk sat Park Jinyoung himself, reading through reports with a frown. The man looked up as Chan opened the door and his face split into a pleasant smile, which wasn’t actually the most pleasant to look at.

Years of fighting had garnered the man many battle scars, including one which twisted from his chin through his lip and up to his ear.

“Captain Bang, good good. Please, sit.”  Chan bowed, warily watching the man as he slowly sat himself down in the chair opposite Jinyoung’s desk. The man in front of him hummed in a pleased tone.

“Now, Captain, I know this is a bad time but...  I have a mission for you and your team.” Chan froze, a mission? Today of all days?

“Sir, with all due respect I do--”

“I am aware. That’s why it’s not a priority yet. You and your team have a week before it becomes urgent. Give or take a few days.” Chan gritted his teeth as the man cut him off. A mission would mean condensing Hyunjin and Minho in a small amount of space for several hours. A painful several hours that Chan really didn’t want to deal with. Even so, he couldn’t just deny the mission.

His team needed it anyway. The man sighed, rubbing the heels of his palms into his eyes.

“What do you need us to do Sir?” Jinyoung smiled, interlacing his fingers together and leaning forward over the desk.

“There’s been stories from the 4th quadrant of someone causing trouble in one of the outer rings there. Your mission is to investigate and if needed, eliminate any threats.” Elimination? Chan frowned, that on its own would mean organising teams.

The thought ran through his head quickly. Hyunjin and Minho would have to be separated, Jeongin was weaker in his dancer rank than songstress. Jisung needed to have someone with him that wasn’t Hyunjin or Minho, and shouldn’t be Changbin. Changbin was a bit too… Uncaring at times.

“Do we have any reports on this at all Sir, or we going  in blind?” His eyebrows furrowed. Chan watched as Jinyoung sighed, before shaking his head.

“As I said before, stories. I would send any other team, but… If I get any more reports of your team being too  loud, I’m going to shoot someone.” Chan winced. God damn it, Hyunijn and Minho. He was probably going to have to shoot the pair himself at this rate.

“That’s going to be annoying Sir, but I’ll see what we can do.” He nodded once, waiting for the waved dismissal that came soon after.

“Good. Oh and Chan? Good luck.” Chan smiled gratefully as he stood and turned for the door. Leaving, he twisted and offered up a quiet reply.

“Thank you, sir.” The door closed behind him with a click,  leaving chan to lean on a nearby wall and slump in exhaustion. A moment passed before he stood up and connected a line to Woojin. The quiet that met him in the moments before Woojin picked up lasted him until he passed the next door.

“Channie?” The elder’s voice was quiet, sleep ridden. Chan felt guilty for a moment, realising he must have woken Woojin up when he really needs as much sleep as he can get. But that’s before he remembered he needed someone to round up the horde.

“Sorry Hyung. You were asleep?” He doesn’t need to ask really, it’s just a formality. There was a yawn on the other end before a quiet ‘no’ reached his ears. Chan smiled bitterly at the blatant lie. What a Woojin thing to be doing.

“Sorry. Um, Anyway, I need you to collect together the boys. We have a mission. Yes, I will explain, but… Just… Separate the problem children please?” There was a sigh and the rustling of sheets. Chan winced again.

“Alright Channie. Want me to partner them up?”

Chan thought about this for a moment, as he strode through the grey halls.

“Pair up Minho with Jeongin and Hyunjin with Jisung. That should solve a couple problems.” He responded after a moment.  There was a quiet affirmation.

“That all?”

“Yes, thank you hyung.”  Woojin sighed before the sound of a hilt being attached to its port reached his ears.

“You’re lucky we love you so much Chan.”

It was loud. The was filled with the various chatterings of seven different boys and the one sitting by himself quietly. Hyunjin hated the loud.

Ironic for someone who argued so often he supposed, but it was different them. It was him creating the noise then.

He guessed he was luckier in that moment that everyone was quieter than the time Taeyong’s team had visited. It had been too loud back then, forcing him to wear his headphones the whole night. The boy frowned, perching forwards in his seat as he watched Minho and Changbin talk in a slightly quieter voice than the rest of them, neither of them picking up on the little things he did.

Changbin was tired, grouchy. He just wanted to sleep through this trip. Minho was the opposite. He was awake, excited. As if this excursion was a chance for him to use up pent up energy. Hyunjin didn’t like it. He pulled his knees up to his chest, searching in his bag for his headphones.

Chan sent him a worried glance from nearby. Was he okay? Was the noise too much for him?

Hyunjin looked up, catching Chan’s eye and smiling brightly. Chan was convinced, Hyunjin could tell, but he smiled back before he returned back to his book and conversation. He sighed, finally finding his headphones and covering his ears with them. Instantly, everything was quiet. While not a perfect solution, it was the best they had just yet.

He sighed, leaning back. It was a nice change, the quiet, he noted again as he let his eyes slip closed.

He was shaken awake after what barely felt like a moment, Jisung’s face appearing in his field of view. Hyunjin groaned, pulling his headphones down to his neck before he reached for Jisung’s hand. The noise attacked him the moment he did.

“We’re here now Jinnie. It’s time to wake up.” Jisung chirped at him. Hyunjin let out another groan, removing himself from his seat and stretching. There were some clicks in his spine before he reached down to grab his bag and hilt. The hilt itself had been recoloured (Jeongin’s idea, in memory of Felix he said) and now shimmered a lilac at his touch.

It felt safe to him. Safe, like coming home to his mother felt. Jisung coughed from beside him.

“Can we go? Channie hyung is waiting, man.” Hyunjin sighed and clicked his hilt into it’s designated place. At the click Jisung’s head jerked in the direction of the noise before Hyunjin reached out a hand to him and waited as the boy grabbed a hold of it. “Thank you Jinnie.” Jisung’s voice was grounding, reminding him to be careful as he lead the boy out of the ship.

Outside the ship… Hyunjin frowned, looking around and taking the bustling sounds and cityscape. The buildings around them all rose in graceful curves with tinted windows that blocked the harsh sun. And as Hyunjin exited the ship he saw the blue coverings that spiralled throughout the city. He turned to look for Chan, a frown on his face as he spotted the elder.

“No one told me we were coming here.” He whispered, clutching tightly onto Jisung’s hand. Chan sighed, whispering an apology as Hyunjin sighed, breathing in the air of his home planet before he looked down.

Just what I wanted, to redye my already dead hair,  He thought numbly, rolling his shoulders and letting Jisung’s hand go.

“Can we just hurry up then. This sun isn’t good for us.” There’s a collective noise of agreement from the boys amongst the general chatter and noise of his world. He takes this to mean as they’re already beginning to feel the sun. He sighs, jumping as someone (Chan) grabs his hand and someone else takes Jisung.

“Sorry that I didn’t warn you earlier. I didn’t even find out until we landed either if it helps.” Hyunjin groaned again.

“Aren’t they meant to warn us about these things Hyung?” It wasn’t a big deal. It was fine. Hyunjin would live, preferably without Minho’s laughter though. He shot a glare in Minho’s direction before he let Chan pull him in the direction of the rest of the group.

As they made their way through the streets, Hyunjin felt himself gradually tense up as they started encountering more and more people. Eventually, the number of people in the streets started decreasing until there were few to no people around them. It’s nice, he thought numbly as chan lead them into the almost empty outpost on the planet, there’s no one around for once.  

The outpost itself was nearly empty, save for the few soldiers permanently stationed here and the desk workers who lived in the city. It was quiet, almost too easy for Hyunjin to disappear if he really wanted to.

Not that he did.

Chan coughed, sending all of them a look.

“Meet me back here in ten minutes, we have some investigating to do tonight before I can set you free in the city.” Hyunjin frowned, blinking before he remembered. Chan had outlined their mission while they were on the ship. Maybe, just maybe, Hyunjin had been zoning out during that part of the flight.

They were looking for anything unusual on the plant, right? It made sense to him now why they were there.

Hyunjin sighed, leaving the room to follow Jeongin to the area they were sleeping during this trip. The room itself was small, but that wasn’t the problem here.

No, the problem was it was loud.

On one of the top bunks, he could see Changbin had placed his stuff, ignoring it now that he was mid-argument with Jisung. The younger seemed to want to sleep on the top bunk this time.

Hyunjin didn’t particularly care really, he just wanted the argument to stop. It was just adding to the noise really.

He cast a glance around the room, placing his belongings on a free bed before he left the room. Back in the lobby, Chan was talking to someone. He sighed, waiting a few moments as the conversation ended before he coughed to catch Chan’s attention. The blonde looked over and smiled brightly.

“Jinnie! How are you? Is it too loud?” Hyunjin shook his head, explaining in as few words as possible how his home planet was naturally quieter. Chan smiled again,  glancing at the time before replying, “That’s good then.”

Chan glanced at the time again, giving Hyunjin the opportunity to take in the information around him. A minute passed before the others started drifting into the room, starting with Jisung surprisingly. As the final boy walked in Chan clapped and went over their mission again. Hyunjin zoned out again. He seemed to be the only other person in the room who had any clear idea of what was happening.

Probably because Chan was too loud about it.

A few minutes passed before Chan tugged at his sleeve, and asked Hyunjin if he knew the way to a specific district of the city. He blanked out for a moment before he nodded. That area was about half an hour away if memory served him right.

Maybe?

The district turned out to be closer to forty-five minutes away, but could anyone really blame hyunjin for not knowing exactly? No. As the went through the district though, the buildings started deteriorating in stability and upkeep to the point where he could barely recognize some of them. He wasn’t sure how the skyscrapers had become rubble so quick.

He didn’t like it.

“Yah, Hyunjin, You sure you’re leading us in the right direction. This area looks destroyed.” Changbin called to him, a scuffle in the ground letting the boy know that the elder had stopped moving. Hyunjin paused, twisting around to look at the ruins around them.

To look at the broken walkways and the lights that glittered off shards. He took a hesitant step back, wincing at the glass crunching under his feet.

“I.. I don’t know. What happened here?” His voice was quiet as he glanced to Chan for answers. The elder just shook his head.

“I have no idea. All I have is the rumours going around this area. Apparently some kind of soldier from an unknown company? Anyway, this guy has been causing trouble but no actual official records.”  There was a mumble of slight unease within the group.

“Alright then, how has this not actually been reported then?” Minho called from the back of the group and for once Hyunjin had to agree with the man. Why was this the first he’d heard of this? How had a disaster of this scale gone unreported? Why hadn’t his parents told him?

“Listen, I have no clue. I promise. This is the sorta stuff that should’ve been.” Chan soothed, pressing a hand into his head. Hyunjin frowned, pulling up his datascreen to check his messages. A moment passed him by where he tapped the screen until he reached them and frowned. The last time his parents had messaged him had been several weeks ago, which of itself was alarming.

Hyunjin’s parents weren’t the type to just vanish on him with no explanation. It was weird and he didn’t like it.

The world around him went silent. Hyunjin panicked.

He twisted, glancing at Chan frantically.

“Hyung! Please tell me I’m not crazy, and that it’s not quite, please!” He begged, watching as Chan tilted his head in confusion for a moment before letting his mouth open in realisation. He blinked uselessly at Hyunjin. The younger bit his lip, turning to the next person,  Minho. The man raised an eyebrow at Hyunjin curiously.

“I don’t know what quiet is Hyunjin.” He noted. Hyunjin whimpered taking a step back and dropping to his knees to clutch at his head. No, no no.

His knees hit the ground with a quiet thump as he stared blankly at the ground. Quiet. He wasn’t used to the quiet. Feet were moving around and someone shook him roughly. The noise returned for a moment before it fell quiet again. He whimpered again, allowing himself to be drug to his feet and pulled into a rough hug.

“It’ll be fine Jinnie,” Jisung whispered to him.

It was to quiet. He could still physically hear evidently but… The noise was still missing. It would've been nice had he chosen for the noise to be missing of his own accord.

A click sounded through the air, followed by a surprised whimper, this time not from Hyunjin. He flinched, reaching for someone’s hand. His hand wrapped around Minho’s wrist but the man didn’t try to shake him off, instead staring blankly at the back of their party.

“Move any closer, and I’ll make sure your party takes some loses.” A cold voice sounded out, drawing Hyunjin’s attention to where Woojin and Chan had started moving, hands on hilts. The voice itself was strangely familiar and kind of baritone.  Hyunjin glanced away from his hyungs to look up and swallowed sharply.

Quiet whimpers were escaping Jeongin’s lips as he struggled against the arms holding him with a handgun pressed against his head. That wasn’t what Hyunjin was looking at, no.

Hyunjin was looking at Felix and his cold expression.

“Am I clear?” The freckled boy called out to them again.