#you think you’re better than the clowns when you’re standing in MY circus

[pumpkingeorge]

It kind of sucks when you want to be silly funny but sometimes people take that as you being stupid dumb and they talk down to you as a result as if you don’t recognize the shit game they’re playing.

[sasster]

Performances

I’m doing this thing where I’m trying to write things for my friends for their birthdays. So here’s my second attempt at that! Happy early birthday to Roe!! I was a little bit silly and couldn’t sit on it for another two days.

TW: Mutilation and blood, but the details don’t get too too graphic

[doc]

—

Stage lights have a horrible way of announcing themselves as they turn on. A horrible crack fills the air as impossibly bright light floods the previously darkened stage. At the center of that stage, Bigby stands holding a hand up to his face in a futile bid to block some of it out. At least long enough for his eyes to adjust. Hundreds of featureless faces, save for leering eyes, surround him and watch his every move, that much he can tell without even having to get his bearings.

A ball of lead makes a home in his stomach as his gaze sweeps wildly around his surroundings.

The tight rope hangs high above his head, settling at such heights that it appears to be swaying from where he stands. Behind him the tiger cages sit exactly where he remembers leaving them, the big cats inside stare back at him with what must be remorse. Bigby screws his eyes shut, having taken up the challenge of not letting the fear that settles around his throat show, though the little hairs that stand all around his body quickly betray him.

He swallows around the constricting of his throat and tosses a glance to his right and finds a gaggle of mutant circus performers staring back at him. There is a range of emotions scattered from horror to amused, more facial expressions than he can count.

Before he gets to try, movement from stage left catches his attention.

That movement also gets the attention of whoever mans the lighting, because suddenly all of the spotlights are angled in that direction.

Now illuminated from all available angles, the Ringleader steps out and onto the stage with all of the flair and mirth needed to command an audience. He fixes his stupid bowtie while hundreds of unseen faces erupt in cheers for his mere presence.

Bigby wastes no time in making a break for it, he runs in the direction of the group of ogling mutants while Emarra addresses his adoring fans. The escape is short lived, and he did know better, when a familiar coldness wraps around both ankles and drags him back to the center of the stage. He looks down to see thick coils of shadow wrapped around him and slowly writhing upward.

Sweat coats the base of his neck, but still he swallows his fear.

Finally, Emarra crosses to the center of the stage behind him and rests his hands on his shoulders.

Very suddenly his voice is in Bigby’s ear, cooing with hardly contained enthusiasm.

“Just in time for the main act,” he practically sing-songs the declaration. “You’re going to love it.”

That promise makes Bigby shrug fruitlessly against him. The clown only gives his shoulders a squeeze.

He opens his mouth to speak, to curse him out for the audacity, anything, but all that comes out is the sound of a wet choke and it becomes clear that a third tendril has wrapped itself around his throat.

“You know you don’t get a speaking part in this act.” Emarra warns with a firm pat on the back.

Then he crosses to stand in front of Bigby, speaking directly to the crowd again.

“How should he die?”

A hundred different voices shout a thousand different ways to die.

Asphyxiation. Flaying. Limb removal.

“Bleed him out!” One intrepid voice shouts above the rest.

Emarra shakes his head, exhaling a humored sigh as he leans in to listen to more suggestions.

Bigby is no stranger to the cruel options being hurled out, but something in his stomach turns and he feels the desperate need to cry.

Split him in two. Slice him up from the guts. Drown him!

“Throwing knives!” Another lone voice shouts.

“I like the way you think!” Emarra calls back, his approval palpable. “Throwing knives it is!”

The audience erupts again, their excitement rocks him to his core.

Bigby struggles against his confines as one of the freaks brings out a wheel to strap him to and a bucket filled with knives. The shadows, ignorant to his protests, walk him to the wheel and then affix him to it.

He wants to scream, he doesn’t want to give Emarra the satisfaction.

“Are we ready, Belbig?”

Bigby puffs his chest out and says nothing.

“We missed you.”

The wheel starts spinning, Emarra starts to throw his knives. Randomly at first, a couple of them don’t even make it close to his body, then he starts to pick up speed and precision.

One grazes his cheek, another cuts through his shirt but draws no blood, a third pierces him in the thigh.

Bigby swallows a cry, Emarra’s laugh is filled with mirth.

Mirth that makes his head spin opposite to the wheel.

The knives start to come in pairs, then in threes. They start to pierce him indiscriminately.

Thigh again, his stomach, one separates his middle finger from the rest of his hand, two into his shoulder with enough force that they dig into the wood behind him. His blood begins to paint the floor of the stage, slick and oozing, it shines under the lights.

Three more knives come his way. One pins his left ear to the board, the second severes the right one completely, but before the third makes contact between his eyes, the world fades to black.

Bigby wakes up gasping for air into a throat that feels raw, the red glow of the plugin night light on the other side of the room pulls his attention almost immediately and puts him back into his body.

That was stupid, he thinks, he wasn’t even scared.

Around him the outlines of the proof of his new life push the bad dream to the fringes of his memory. Shelves of knick knacks conjure up the image of Orfuse and Lucy excitedly shoving figures into his hands and babbling about what’s for dinner. The bookcase reminds him of the comic book he’d been meaning to read with Maelia.

He sighs, he doesn’t even remember what the dream was about.

Beside him, Tiger stares at him with her ears standing straight up. She broadcasts her concern directly into his mind with a sense of urgency that he can almost taste.

He hopes he didn’t yell too loudly, or at all for that matter.

Bigby takes a few minutes to lay there in his bed, absently petting her to soothe her nerves, before he finally decides that he must be awake for the evening and drags himself out of the bed.

His gaze lingers on a small wooden tiger that sits on his desk, the newest and most cherished acquisition from his employer. Peace settles in his chest and he heads down to the kitchen, savoring the cold of the ceramic tiling against his feet as he makes his way down the hall.

The coolness roots him to reality.

That was a really stupid dream.

A really really stupid dream.

When he gets to the kitchen he notices Zerkev, standing over a counter already brewing his evening coffee. Bigby doesn’t say anything as he takes the seat across from the newspaper that was already set out in the fuchsia’s usual spot.

His ears twitch before Zerkev even starts to speak.

“Evenin’, son.” He says, his normal drawl crowned by the sort of drowsiness that says he just woke up. “Sleep well?”

Bigby gives a non-committal “Mm,” in response and his ears continue to twitch.

“Me too. Thought I heard something, couldn’t get back to sleep afterward.” He continues with a shrug. “Happy for the company. Coffee?”

Bigby’s face scrunches up at the idea of coffee that isn’t the overly sweet kind he gets from the cafe by his job. He also couldn’t imagine asking Zerkev to make it that way.

Though he couldn’t possibly have seen the reaction, Zerkev moves to grab some juice from the fridge instead.

In the silence that settles around them, Bigby looks down at his hands and legs to check for damage that surely must be there as bits of the dream float around in his head.

More silence passes before both drinks are set on the table. A tall glass for Bigby and a mug for Zerkev.

Bigby loses himself to his reflection in the golden liquid.

Zerkev takes his seat and unfolds the paper, never one to force him into a conversation that he didn’t want to have.

The smaller troll puts both hands around the glass, still focusing on his reflection.

“What did you hear?” He asks bluntly, worry causing the hairs along his neck to stand.

What if he screamed out during the torture of his dream? He wasn’t even scared!

“Crashing?” Zerkev answers and it sounds more like a question. “Maelia knocking somethin’ over with his tail, no doubt.”

The lie comes from Zerkev’s mouth, but Bigby’s ears twitch in response as he adopts it as his version of reality too.

“Must’ve woke you, too.”

“Yeah.” He replies with what could be a little too much urgency.

Zerkev turns a page in the paper.

“Thanks for keepin’ me company, son.”

Across the table, Bigby sighs all of the tension into his cup and gives another non-committal “Mm.”

[kpop-stories-21]

Better Than Before | Part 1

Group: TXT

Pairing: Soobin x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Rating: 18-21+

Genres, Trope & AUs: Non-Idol AU, Non-Idol AU, Dark Fae AU, Fantasy AU, Angst

Content & Trigger Warnings: Princess!Reader, Kitsune!Soobin, past verbal abuse, past abusive family, staged kidnapping

Summary: You and your cellmates plan an escape. Things go very awry and you end up in the last place you would want to be.

General tags: @kpop---scenarios @jeonrose @skittlez-area512 @mybiasisexo @biaswreckingfics @stardragongalaxy @anyamaris @liliesofdreamsskz @pyeonghongrie-main @naturalogre @bxffietheblxxdy @sanjoongie TXT tags: @spicyseonghwas

If you want to be added to my taglist, click here

Network pings: @cultofdionysusnet | @kdiarynet | @sandsofire

MDNI banner, divider, and support banner courtesy of @cafekitsune

Masterlist | Main Masterlist

The stone wall was cold through the thin material of your dress, slowly sucking the heat out of your body. You looked up bleakly, glancing around at the others you shared this cell with to see if any of them were willing to share some body heat. One of the girls you hadn't yet befriended noticed you and motioned for you to come join her. As you got closer you saw she was wrapped in a large, fur-lined cloak; which she opened as you got closer. Huddled together, the two of you began to talk quietly.

“It’s winter where I came from. I always complained to Ma about this cloak bein’ too big, but I’m glad now that she never got around to gettin’ me a smaller one.”

You smiled faintly. “So am I.”

The girl slid a hand out from under the cloak. “I’ll not tell you my real name in case some of them Fae are listenin’, but you can call me Lorra.”

You hesitated a moment, not really sure what to say since your family weren’t really the type to give nicknames of the kindly variety. As you pondered this a memory surfaced your mind unbidden, taking control of your body as it washed over you.

“Mother, Y/N is being a baby again!” Your oldest sister Beca yelled, long nails stabbing into the skin of your arm as she pulled a ten-year-old you away from the bottom of the stairs she had just pushed you down, ready to act innocent so that you would take the blame yet again.

Your mother, the regal Queen Aerona, burst into the room. Her heavy makeup almost gave her the look of a circus clown, but you forced yourself not to laugh at the thought in order to avoid making her any angrier than she already was.

“I swear to all the gods, Y/N, if you don’t grow up and stop acting so childish, your father and I will have to take more drastic measures.”

She pulled you away from Beca’s grasp and took hold of your shoulders, shaking you viciously. “You need to learn to take what life gives you without whining or we’ll still be calling you little Mabis when you’re all grown up!”

You were brought back to the present moment by Lorra shaking you gently.

“Are you alright? I apologise if I was prying, you don’t have to tell me if it brings up unpleasant memories.”

You shook your head ruefully. “No, no, it’s fine. You can call me Mabis.”

“Oh, what a lovely name!” Lorra exclaimed.

You bit back a bitter retort, keeping your opinions to yourself for now. “Mabis” was one of several ways to say “baby” in Welsh, and you heard it far too often while growing up. It was the least negative of the many things they called you, and the first thing you could think of when put on the spot.

The two of you lapsed into silence for a while, and you ended up falling asleep on Lorra’s shoulder. Pale rays of light from the midday sun filtered through the small cell window to shine directly into your eyes, rousing you from the neck-breaking position you’d fallen into.

Lorra was still beside you, wide eyes glued to the door of the cell. You followed her gaze and found a tall male Fae standing at the door, a large tray with several small bowls on it resting in his hands. You assumed it to be food, but if all the stories you’d heard were anything to go by, the Fae were not to be trusted in any way.

“Are they feeding us, or knocking us out in order to take us somewhere else?” Lorra whispered, fear creeping into her voice.

“I don’t know.” You replied, eyeing the creature warily. “But it’s best to keep your guard up anyway. All this bustle has to be on our account, and it’s got to be building up to something.”

Lorra nodded in agreement and the two of you watched as a burly man near the door took the tray and the Fae retreated, locking the cell door behind him. Everyone crowded around the burly man to see what had been brought. To your surprise the bowls contained what looked to be a hearty stew, complete with large chunks of meat and what you assumed to be the Fae’s equivalent of vegetables.

The burly man, who you learned was going by the name Shownu, offered to try the stew first in case something had been put in it. You didn’t know about the others, but you were definitely grateful for the offer. You watched with bated breath as he cautiously consumed the contents of a bowl, and when several minutes went by without anything happening, he began passing out the rest of the bowls.

You ate the stew with relish, enjoying the rich flavours. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d had such good food, back at home you’d always been given leftover bits that were several days old. It was pleasantly warm, and fought back some of the chill that had set in.

When you finished eating, you noticed that the others had all grouped together and were whispering amongst themselves. Curious, you sat down beside Lorra and quietly asked what was going on.

“They’re discussing possible ways of escape.” She told you. “One of the women, Jisoo, says she thinks she’s figured out what type of Fae our guards are and has some ideas of how to overpower them. She also says if we escape as a group we have a better chance of actually making it back to the human realm.”

You nodded in agreement, a seed of hope forming within you at her words. If you could get back to the human realm, maybe change your name and appearance, you could start over and live the life you wanted to live, not the one your parents wanted you to live. This was the chance you’d been looking for since you came of age, and by the gods you were going to take it.

“What’s their plan?” You asked Lorra.

“I didn’t catch all the details, but they’re hoping to try it tonight. They want most of us to feign sleep just as a precaution if something goes wrong and we get caught. That way we wouldn’t be lying if we said we didn’t know what happened.”

You nodded understandingly. “That makes sense.”

You suddenly noticed everyone looking at you and shrank back a little, but Lorra smiled reassuringly. “I was catching her up on the plan. She’s agreeable to what’s been discussed.”

Shownu and some of the others acknowledged Lorra with nods, then Jisoo glanced at the window. “It’s getting dark.” She murmured. “We need to stick to our usual routines to avoid suspicion, so let go about as if we’re getting ready to sleep.”

Whispers rippled through the room and then everyone stood, laying out on the floor whatever cloaks, capes and blankets they’d had upon entering the Fae realm. Once everyone had settled down a weighted silence filled the air, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath to see if the plan succeeded.

The time felt like it was passing up far slower than usual, but you knew that was just your anxiety peeking through. As you lay there, wrapped in blankets and pretending sleep, you felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Letting your mind wander, you recalled the first time you found yourself in a similar kind of position.

Your mother had been acting quite strange the past week, being something very close to nice even when there weren’t any guests or visitors around. You knew almost immediately that something was going to happen and accepted every gesture with hesitant gratitude, constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Halfway through that fateful week, the strange men arrived. They were dressed all in black, with masks covering the lower part of their faces and many strange-looking weapons strapped to various places all over their bodies. You asked your mother who they were and why they were there, but she would always put you off with vague answers and quickly change the subject.

You didn’t learn of their purpose in the palace until the last day of the week when you were summoned to the parlour in your best dress. As soon as you stepped in you noted that the atmosphere of the room was thick and prickly, as if charged with electricity. There was also a sour undertone that stuck in the back of your throat and set your teeth on edge. Every nerve and instinct in your body was screaming that these men were extremely dangerous and that you should not be in this room with them, but you knew by the look in your mother’s eye that leaving was not an option. Moving with smooth, practised steps, a too-familiar numbness washed over you as you made your way to the settee next to your mother and sat down. You folded your hands in your lap to hide their shaking and waited for an explanation.

“Y/N, sweetie, these men are bounty hunters. However, they do occasionally perform other tasks and I have hired them to take you somewhere quite special.”

You looked at her in confusion, daring a quiet query since she was always nice to you in front of others. “May I ask where exactly they’re taking me?”

Her smile stretched ever-so-slightly, a subtle indicator of her rapidly fading patience. “I’d like to keep that a surprise, dear. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll love it.”

That meant you would most likely hate it, seeing as your likes were so far removed from what she wished for them to be. But since you had no say in the matter, you just had to trust that wherever she was sending you would be somewhere you could eventually escape from.

“When will we be leaving?” You asked, resigning yourself to your fate for the time being.

“Sometime tonight.” She replied, her grin turning wicked. “They’ll come get you from your room when they’re ready to leave.”

“Should I dress for travelling?” You asked, feeling even more unsettled than before.

Your mother shook her head. “What you have on will be just fine. Now, please go to your room to wait for them.”

“Yes mother.” You stood, curtseying to the men before turning and leaving the parlour.

Once back in your room you sat on your bed and began bouncing your leg anxiously, trying to figure out where in the world your mother was shipping you off to. As you sat there, you heard a couple of the men walk past the door to your room. Curious and hoping to pick up a clue or two you tiptoed to the door, pulled it open the tiniest bit, and pressed your ear to the crack.

“You think she’s figured out where the Queen’s sending her?” The first man asked.

The second man shook his head. “Not at all. She may look pretty, but these princess types are usually quite dumb. She won’t have a clue until we step into the circle and bring her to the Fae realm.”

Eyes wide, you silently shut the door and stood frozen for a moment, mind reeling from what you’d just heard. She’d finally done what she’d threatened from the moment you turned 18: sold you to one of the Fae courts. You could only hope she hadn’t sold you to Oidhche, you’d heard some awful things about the Fae there.

Every minute that passed felt like an hour as you waited, nerves growing more frayed the longer you sat there. Finally, just when you thought you might explode, there was a knock at the door. You opened it and found two of the men standing there. One of them held a sack in one hand and a coil of rope in the other.

Before you could utter a word, they pushed their way into your room. The sack was thrown over your head and you immediately froze, heart palpitating with fear as your hands and feet were tied tightly. One of the men threw you over his shoulder like a sack of vegetables and they began to walk out.

Once outside the palace, you were unceremoniously tossed in the back of a large wooden cart. You could already feel a few bruises forming as you lay still, not daring to move as several rough woollen blankets were thrown on top of you. You heard the sound of a tarp being pulled over top of the cart and tied down, then the cart began to move.

You were pulled from the memory by Lorra whispering in your ear.

“The guards are coming, be ready to run.”

You whispered an acknowledgement and gripped the blanket beneath you, ready to push to your feet at a moment’s notice.

A soft, metallic clang! reached your ears, followed by the sounds of a short struggle. Then, silence. You held your breath, praying no other Fae heard anything. When several minutes passed without incident, Shownu whispered for everyone to get up and follow Jisoo out.

The group shuffled along quietly for a while, everyone working hard not to make any noise. It wasn’t until Jisoo found a door to the outside that you were all instructed to begin running. It was rough going for a while, but then the sun finally came up and things got somewhat easier.

Suddenly, a shrill scream echoed from behind you. You stopped running immediately and turned to see what had happened. What greeted your eyes sent icy terror spiking through your veins. It seemed the Fae had finally noticed the group’s absence, and a horde of them were pouring over the horizon. Some rode mounts while others raced on foot at inhuman speeds, and still others soared through the air on multicoloured wings. Several of them had already caught up to those at the back of the group and were expertly separating everyone to make for easier catching.

Frantic, your eyes combed the area to see where that scream had originated from. To your dismay you found Lorra cornered by a large male Fae who hauled her up by one arm, throwing her over the saddle of his mount and turning back with a smug grin. Off to your left you saw two female Fae circling Shownu while Jisoo was carried off into the sky by another female. The group was crumbling before your very eyes, and soon you would be the only one left. Already, you could see several Fae moving toward you, and it was that sight which spurred you into action once more.

Fear mixed with adrenaline to grant speed to your feet as you fled the approaching Fae. For a while you ran blindly, ignoring your surroundings as you focused only on staying ahead of your pursuers. Then the woods grew thicker and you were forced to slow your pace a bit to keep from tripping over a root or bashing your head against a low-hanging branch. You could feel the adrenaline starting to dwindle and weariness beginning to settle in your bones, so you kept an eye out for somewhere you might be able to hide for a little while and recover your strength.

Just as you were starting to despair of ever getting away, you saw a little house appear in the midst of a small grove of sturdy oak trees. Relief washed over as you picked up a little more speed, praying to all the gods that it was as abandoned as it looked. The trees pressed close against the sides of the house, making it look like the house was just part of the trees.

Glancing behind you, you saw that you were far enough ahead that you were not in the direct sight line of those pursuing you. Thinking quickly you ran ahead into a clump of bushes, then backtracked to the house by stepping in the footprints you’d already made. Once back at the house, you stepped carefully as you made your way to the door. Testing the knob, you found it unlocked, and hurried inside. Closing the door all but a crack, you watched to see if your ruse worked.

To your immense relief the Fae went right on past the house, following the trail you left. One they had passed, you closed the door fully and leaned against it, eyes closed as you began to calm down.

Suddenly a voice off to your left asked, “What are you doing in my house, little human?”

[promptfairy]

❥     𝟖𝟎𝐬 𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐒    [   𝚂𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂    ]   .

sentence starters inspired by various lyrics from random hits from the 1980s !!   some lyrics have been slightly modified to be more usable .  change gendered language   &   add context to your needs .  happy roleplaying !!  ♡

“   something’s  buggin’  me .   ” “   something  ain’t  right .   ” “   my  best  friend  told  me  what  you  did  last  night .   ” “   i  should  have  been  with  you  instead .   ” “   wake  me  up  before  you  go .   ” “   i’m  not  planning  on  going  solo .   ” “   take  me  dancing  tonight .   ” “   you’re  my  lady ,   i’m  your  fool .   ” “   it  makes  me  crazy  when  you  act  so  cruel .   ” “   come on ,  baby .   let’s  not  fight .   ” “   we’ll  go  dancing   &   everything  will  be  alright .   ” “   we’ll  go  dancing  tomorrow  night .   ” “   it’s  cold  out  there ,   but  it’s  warm  in  bed .   ” “   don’t  look  at  it  like  it’s  forever .   ” “   i  guess  that’s  why  they  call  it  the  blues .   ” “   time  on  my  hands  could  be  time  spent  with  you .   ” “   picture  my  face  in  your  hands .   ” “   live  for  each  second  without  hesitation .   ” “   never  forget  i’m  your  man .   ” “   cry  in  the  night  if  it  helps .   ” “   i  simply  love  you  more  than  i  love  life  itself .   ” “   some  boys  kiss  me ,   some  boys  hug  me ,   i  think  they’re  okay .   ” “   the  boy  with  the  cold  hard  cash  is  always  mister  right .   ” “   you  know  that  we  are  living  in  a  material  world .   ” “   i  am  a  material  girl .   ” “   boys  may  come   &   boys  may  go .   ” “   experience  has  made  me  rich   &   now  they’re  after  me .   ” “   opposites  attract .   ” “   you  must  try  to  ignore  that  it  means  more  than  that .   ” “   what’s  love  got  to  do  with  it ??   ” “   who  needs  a  heart  when  a  heart  can  be  broken ??   ” “   it  scares  me  to  feel  this  way .   ” “   there’s  still  enough  time  to  figure  out  how  to  chase  my  blues  away .   ” “   i’ve  done  alright  up  ‘til  now .   ” “   i  wanna  dance  with  somebody  who  loves  me .   ” “   i’ve  been  in  love   &   lost  my  senses .   ” “   sooner  or  later ,   the  fever  ends ,   and  i  wind  up  feeling  down .   ” “   when  the  night  falls ,   my  lonely  heart  calls .   ” “   don’t  you  wanna  dance ??   ” “   i’m  sick   &   tired  of  everything .   ” “   all  i  do  is  eat   &   sleep   &   sing .   ” “   there  are  moments  when  i  think  i’m  going  crazy .   ” “   the  sight  of  you  will  prove  to  me  i’m  still  alive .   ” “   some  boys  take  a  beautiful  girl   &   hide  her  away  from  the  rest  of  the  world .   ” “   i  wanna  be  the  one  to  walk  in  the  sun .   ” “   you  could  never  know  what  it’s  like .   ” “   there’s  a cold   &   lonely  light  that  shines  from  you .   ” “   you’ll  wind  up  like  the  wreck  you  hide  behind  that  mask  you  use .   ” “   did  you  think  this  fool  could  never  win ??   ” “   i’m  still  standing  after  all  this  time .   ” “   i’m  picking  up  the  pieces  of  my  life  without  you  on  my  mind .   ” “   i’m  still  standing .   ” “   if  our  love  was  just  a  circus ,  you’d  be  a  clown  by  now .   ” “   heaven  is  a  place  on  earth .   ” “   they  say  in  heaven ,   love  comes  first .   ” “   we’ll  make  heaven  a  place  on  earth .   ” “   in  this  world ,   we’re  just  beginning  to  understand  the  miracle  of  living .   ” “   i  was  afraid  before ,   but  i’m  not  afraid  anymore .   ” “   when  you  dance ,  there’s  a  magic  that  must  be  love .   ” “   i’ll  be  coming  for  your  love ,   okay ??   ” “   i’ll  be  gone  in  a  day  or  two .   ” “   i’m  slowly  learning  that  life  is  okay  ??   ” “   it’s  no  better  to  be  safe  than  sorry .   ” “   you’re  all  the  things  i’ve  got  to  remember .   ” “   you’re  shying  away .   ” “   i’ll  be  coming  for  you ,   anyway .   ” “   sweet  dreams  are  made  of  this .   ” “   who  am  i  to  disagree  ??   ” “   everybody’s  looking  for  something .   ” “   keep  your  head  up .   ” “   it’s  gonna  take  a  lot  to  drag  me  away  from  you .   ” “   there’s  nothing  that  a  hundred  men  or  more  could  ever  do .   ” “   i  seek  to  cure  what’s  deep  inside .   ” “   i’m  frightened  of  this  thing  that  i’ve  become .   ” “   some  are  born  to  sing  the  blues .   ” “   sometimes  i  feel  i’ve  got  to  run away .   ” “   the  love  we  share  seems  to  go  nowhere .   ” “   once  i  ran  to  you .   now ,   i’ll  run  from  you .   ” “   you  need  someone  to  hold  you  tight .   ” “   don’t  touch  me ,   please .   ” “   i  love  you ,   though  you  hurt  me  so .   ” “   i  just  want  to  tell  you  how  i’m  feeling .   ” “   we’ve  known  each  other  for  so  long .   ” “   your  heart’s  been  aching ,   but  you’re  too  shy  to  say it .   ” “   you’re  turning  heads .   ” “   anything  you  wear  looks  good  on  you  especially .   ” “   there’s  nothing  i  can  tell  you  that  you  haven’t  already  heard  a  half  a million times ,   but  still ,   i’d  like  to  say  you  wear  it  well .  ” “   they  can’t  compete  with  you .   ” “   you’re  more  than  just  a  pretty  face .   ” “   you’ve  got  exactly  what  it  takes .   ” “   can  you  feel  it ,   too ??   ” “   i  toss   &   turn  in  my  bed  in  the  morning  when  i  think  about  you .   ” “   i  attempt  to  look  my  best  for  you .   ” “   you  sure  are  sweet .   ” “   would  you  mind  if  i  had  a  little  bit  more  of  your  time ??  ” “   just  keep  doing  what  you  do .   ”

[attemptinghaikyuu]

Joking About Dating A Friend But They Take You Seriously

A/n: woohoo, we’re doing another one babbyyy! I’ll never get tired of these sorts of situations honestly <3

G/n reader

Team Captains (most of them~)

Kuroo Tetsurou

He was walking behind you, about to tap your shoulder, witty conversation starter at the tip of his tongue one he totally hadn’t prepared a day beforehand, only to be hit with you saying “Wow, look at you! A fantastic boyfriend i have indeed.”

Reals back, all thoughts flying out of his head

All internal excitement dissipates as panic and dread take its place

You had introduced Kuroo to the guy you were calling your boyfriend, saying you were only friends and yet…

How come he didn’t know? Him and you were close to each other, right? Had he been so deep into your smiles and pretty eyes that he had misread everything? Maybe he had made up the little signs that meant you felt the same

It was probably his feelings making him a lovesick fool

That thought stuck with him the most because that made him pretty delusional if he got everything this mixed up

He has so many questions rattling in his brain, pinning him down, that he doesn’t realize you’ve turned around and are staring at him

It takes your hand waving back and forth in front of him to startle him out of his trance

His panic doubles, voice strained

“Ahh, hey there kitten. What’s new?”

It’s missing his usual excitement and he sounds strangled, you notice right away that he’s also turned away from you

“Tets are you all good? Are you sick, I could get you some medicine if you aren’t feeling well?”

“What no, I’m not- you don’t have to do any of that, I’m better than I could ever be.” He chuckles and he knows he’s not being convincing in the slightest

“Huh, I’ll get the truth out of you in a sec, I’m gonna say bye to my friend and then we can go, okay?”

“Don’t you mean boyfriend.” It comes out before he can stop himself

The bitter tone is so obvious he’s tempted to bolt, maybe start over as a circus clown

He’s positive he could pull that wig off

Your voice is laced with laughter when you ask if he really does need to go see a doctor

“And what boyfriend?” You pause, smile growing. “Are you talking about yourself or what?”

Now he’s flustered and confused. It’s not like you didn’t talk like that with him but you had a boyfriend now didn’t you or was that..?

“WAIT EARLIER YOU-

He takes a deep breath, he could be wrong, he needs to stay calm

“We’re, we’re you just kidding around when you said your friend was, well ya know?”

You laugh again and explain, slightly embarrassed by the mishap, that yes you were kidding around

He feels all of his confidence come back and asks the question that leads to you two finally dating

“If that’s the case and the spot really isn’t taken, how about I become your boyfriend?”

Bokuto Koutaro

He. Is. Crushed.

Everyone around him can feel the tense atmosphere and looking at his face is like a punch to the gut with his heartbroken eyes, he’s staring at you like you’ve died instead of said you loved your girlfriend

All bokuto had wanted was to give you a quick hug before he headed off to practice

Instead he has to deal with the weight of knowing you’re with someone else, that and the realization that he needs to put away his own feelings so he doesn’t ruin your relationship with the person you love

He had known he liked you for quite awhile, it was hard figuring out a time he should confess or whether that would make you uncomfortable

He’s glad he never tried anything since it saved him from the possibility of making things hard for you, seeing as how you would’ve had to let your friend down

Bokuto looks at you closely, there’s a grin on your face as you stare at her and if you’re happy then he can live with this

That’s what he firmly thinks

And so pulling himself up with a smile, he walks over to you with a solidly convincing amount of energy

He talks excitedly and almost exactly like he would normally

What he’s saying doesn’t sit right with you though

His words are depressing and he looks like he’s forcing himself to talk like this

You stop him in the middle of a joke, that wasn’t all that funny with the sad way it was being told, and ask if he’s okay

His smile gets even bigger, and now you can see it’s clearly fake as he gives you some excuse about training being harder on him lately

You decide to wait and give him a little space, you assume he’ll walk off to volleyball practice, and later you’ll be able to talk with him about whatever’s going on

When he keeps talking and it becomes clear he’s not moving, stalling for time, you ask if you can talk alone with him

“Bo, is um, did something happen? You’re upset aren’t you?” You question him cautiously

“Nope! I’m just glad I get to talk with you, it’s not something I’ll be able to do as often since you have to spend time with your girlfriend and all!”

His smile finally slips as what he said hits you both

You’re quick in explaining the mistake now that you know what’s eating away at him

He can’t believe his luck when he hears you say it was just a joke, it’s too good to be true

But he doesn’t care, he’s just happy

Doesn’t even let himself process it all before he’s asking you to please, think about dating him

You’re both glad his smile is back to normal when you say you’d love to

Kita Shinsuke

Keeps it together like the seemingly impassive and parent friend that he is

Hurts so much more then he wants to admit

Doesn’t want to believe what he just heard but if you say that you have a partner, than those are the facts and he can’t change anything

But shit, does he wish he could

He’s standing right next to you, a step away and if he took it you would be pressed against his side

That’s an impossible reality, a fantasy he needs to put to rest now that he knows your feelings for someone else

That step however, is ungraciously closed when you trip backward from what appears to be your partner moving their foot as you had moved forward, resulting in you falling onto Kita

Instantly flustered by it and is feeling so betrayed by his body when he automatically puts an arm around you to keep you upright

He tries to be respectful as he removes himself from your side, it isn’t right for him to be that close to you, he’ll just have to push down the disappointment he feels from the lack of contact

“Kita-kun! I’m really sorry about that, my friend” you give a pointed glare towards the person of your affection. “accidentally knocked me into you.”

He gives a small smile at you, slightly unsure as to why you would address your partner as just your friend

If he’s being truthful, he doesn’t want to think about it anymore and that’s why he allows himself to shrug off the strange event

He acts like he always does in the next couple days, though the aggressive lilt in his voice that appears at any mistake he spots, gives away his frustration

His feelings are boiling over the surface and he realizes he needs to find a way to get over this

The best way to do that, he concludes, is to tell you his feelings so he can take the rejection and move on

A resolution that he puts into motion the next time he’s with you

He does it simply and tries to make it as small and meaningless as possible

“Thanks for listening to this, I know it must be difficult to deal with.”

You’re speechless and Kita wishes this could be easier but he steels himself for what’s about to come next

“I- Kita, I know you’re not and I apologize in advance, but are you a dumbass?” You’re expression is both mortified and happy and he really doesn’t know what’s happening

“I like you. I was messing around with my friend and I promise you, I will never be doing that again.”

Oh, Kita is so relieved and the first thing he does when you become official is pull you in for a hug

And he’s gonna keep pulling you in for hugs :3

Ushijima Wakatoshi

His surprise is on full display and he ends up staring at you so intensely you automatically come up to ask him what was wrong

Isn’t sure how to put into words how he feels at the moment

You are your own person, so he shouldn’t feel any right to being the one to call you his partner

Yet he can’t stop the disappointment from filling every part of him

Ushijima wants to be mature about this though, If you think that girl is good enough for you then he will live with the heartache

So he shakes his head and comes up with a small excuse for his behavior

He seems normal to most in the following week, quite and stoic, more silent around you than he’s probably ever been but nothing really out of place per say

However his annoyance with your girlfriend only grows when he sees that you are not being treated how most would in a romantic relationship

He’s had enough when he hears her tell you about this pretty girl she saw the other day

She’s all casual and smiles when she says it too

Walks over, taps your shoulder, and asks if you can talk in private

It wasn’t right and he was 100% calm when he explained why he thought you weren’t being treated right

And he definitely wasn’t a little jealous and using the way your girlfriend was acting as a way to see if he could prove he could treat you better

Okay, so maybe he wasn’t being completely rational when he was making his points as to why you should maybe, just possibly reconsider the whole dating your girlfriend thing

But the fact that she hadn’t held your hand was very important and he needed you to know that

He needed you to know that you shouldn’t have to listen to the one you cared for like that, speak of another person they found good looking, especially when the most attractive one was you

Ushijima doesn’t know how to take your silence when he finishes, and you seem… embarrassed?

Had he gone too far? Over stepped a boundary in his jealousy?

He was considering an apology for his rash behavior when you spoke up, though it was more appropriate to call it spoke down with the way you had your head lowered and voice quiet

“Toshi, did you mean all that?”

He’s not sure where this is going, he responds honestly regardless

“Yes, I meant it and I’m sorry if I insulted you.” He doesn’t apologize for insulting your girlfriend tho~

“Then you should probably know that I was only playing around when I said I was dating my friend. We’re not together.” You finally look into his eyes. “I’m pretty single and uh, if you really wanna help me in my dating problems you could date me, that’d fix them all.”

The slightest blush appears on his cheeks and when he reply’s with his yes, it’s almost like a happy sigh

He makes sure to show you how much he loves you everyday, he’s also still slightly bitter around your friend <3

Terushima Yuuji

Freaking out

He is having a hardcore internal screaming sesh

Walks away from you so he can pretend he didn’t just hear that

Also wants to make sure you don’t see him panicking

He finds a place where he’s alone, a field outside the gym he had been in, that is till he’d heard you talk to your boyfriend

Who was apparently, very entertaining if the way you had been laughing was any indication

Stands there, blank for a few seconds

Is so set on not crying over something like this because he knows that you’re amazing and shouldn’t be so surprised over you dating some other dude

He should go back inside and act like he always does, or maybe not since you are with your boyfriend

He’s being stupid, acting this overworked

It’s what he tells himself but he can feel a couple tears slip down his cheeks and there’s a sob bubbling up in his chest against his will

This didn’t feel fair

He wants to do something, he just doesn’t know what

Pretending he’s fine would be a good option if he could stop crying

It’s not looking feasible at the moment however

Takes a shaky breath and is coming to the decision he should leave you alone for now when he hears his name

Someone’s calling him, someone who absolutely cannot see him right now

He starts sprinting, but the thing about crying is that it’s pretty exhausting and before he knows it he’s gasping for breath, too slow to move out of your reach

“Terushima! Why would you-

You stare at his tear stained face, concern pulling your features into a deep frown and he desperately wishes he wasn’t the cause of it

“Hey, what’s wrong?” You ask the question softly, making it all hurt a little more

His eyes are closed when he replies. “Nothing you need to worry your pretty head with.”

“Whatever it is I won’t judge and if you want advice or someone to just listen I’m listening.”

“You, it’s really not..” he breaks. “Are you really with that guy?”

It’s none of his business, why’d he have to ask that?

Understanding lights up your face, and with the new information having connected the dots you move closer to him

“I’m not. He and I were joking, so please don’t cry.” He feels a hand wipe a stray tear from his face

“Would you maybe wanna go out sometime,” you laugh a little. “I hope I didn’t completely misread this, if I did I suppose we’d be matching.. and I wouldn’t mind so much if that was the case.”

He answers by grabbing your hand.

“That answer shouldn’t have been so cute, I’ll forgive you by taking you up on that date though.”

[xx-narcissa]

cry baby

warnings: teasing/bullying, crying, brief description of an anxiety attack

a/n: this one is kinda personal, in the sense that i‘ve gone through the same thing. anyways hope you guys enjoy this one :)

pairing: Wanda Maximoff x f!Black!Avenger!Reader

summary: You’re known as the most sensitive Avenger, and the rest of the team enjoys nothing more than watching you cry. Wanda does her best to remind you that you don’t have to tolerate that, and that you’re not alone.

masterlist

(not my gif)

It was a well known fact that you were the most sensitive avenger. In their eyes, you just ‘couldn’t take a joke’. You got angry easily, and you always cried when you were angry. Their laughter definitely didn’t help.

Actually, at the moment you were crying. Why? Because you had a really stressful day and you just wanted to come home and eat the yogurt you had been waiting to eat since yesterday, only to find it gone. You marched into the living room, declaring an explanation.

“Is if that time of the month?” Tony would always joke.

“It’s not the end of the world.”. Steve would always say, being the ‘wise’ man he is.

“It’s not that serious.” Sam would always sigh.

“You’re overreacting.” Natasha would always brush you off.

And then they’d laugh. “Look at her! Crying over yogurt.” They’d point and they’d laugh, like you were some clown at a circus. And when you’d keep crying, this time out of embarrassment, they wouldn’t even apologize. “Oh, we’re just teasing. You need to learn how to take a joke for once.” You tried to laugh along with them, but you couldn’t find it in you. They were hurting your feelings, and there was nothing you could do. If you walked away, you were regarded as a bad sport for not going along with the joking. If you cried more, you were just proving their point of you being a crybaby. And if you stopped crying, they’d just continue laughing until they had their fill, but they’d make sure to tease you about it later.

You’d not only cry when you were angry, but also when you were nervous or overwhelmed. The first time you went to one of Tony’s parties, you ended up crying in a corner. You could barely breathe, it suddenly got very hot, and you couldn’t stand up right, having to use the wall to support yourself. Natasha found you in this state, and instead of trying to make it better, she laughed. Right in front of your face. She made fun of you. Her laughter attracted the eyes of others, until everyone in the area was staring at you. Whispering and snickering. You rushed out of there fast as you could. And never went to one of his parties again. “Aw, you’re no fun. We were just having a laugh. It’s not like we were trying to be mean.” Natasha tried to defend herself. You just let it go, knowing there was nothing you could say to be taken seriously.

Or on your first mission. You cried in the jet because you were scared to mess it up or get someone hurt. You were sat next to the window, trying to keep to yourself, until Sam saw the tears streaming down your face. “Are you crying? Look, she’s crying!” As if this were a freak show and you were the main attraction. Nobody tried to make you feel better, they just had a good laugh at your expense. And being thousands of feet in the air didn’t help either, since that meant you had no escape.

And those were just a couple of the times you’ve cried around the Avengers. It’s nearly a daily occurrence at this point. You’d think they’d get tired of always laughing at the same thing, but nope. It’s comedy gold to them.

You’d save your big tears for your room. Where you’d lock the door and just sob to your hearts content into your pillow. One time Tony overheard you, then told everyone else you were crying. The next day, they wouldn’t stop mocking you for it.

Honestly, there were days you just wanted to quit. Being an Avenger was starting to not be worth all the teasing and all the laughter. You were contemplating on whether you should formally quit or just run and never look back. But your thought process had to be put on hold for a mission.

And that might’ve just been the best mission you ever went on.

Because when you guys came back, there was an extra person. Wanda. She intrigued you ever since you first saw her. You would’ve introduced yourself on the flight back, but you were too busy thinking of all the events that just went down. Your body was shaking with tiredness, and you were so glad the fight ended when it did, otherwise you might’ve just collapsed then and there. All the Avengers had a little ‘gimmick’. Natasha with her guns, Clint with his bow, Cap with his shield, etc. What a horrible day for you to have a sword. Too much running and way too many close calls.

“Wow, (Y/N). I’m surprised you didn’t cry on the way back.” Tony chuckled to himself as you all went into the building. You looked down in shame, feeling that familiar burning sensation in your throat. The last thing you wanted to do was cry, especially in front of Wanda. That would be a horrible first impression.

“Tony, be nice. Or she might cry.” Natasha joined in.

“You know what, Bruce? Maybe we should work on a cure for her disease. What’s it called again? Crybaby-itis?” Tony added, making Bruce laugh as well. It wasn’t even a good joke, just the fact that they got to poke fun at you was funny enough for them.

As soon as you got the chance, you sped off to your room. Sometimes you had to distance yourself from them before you said something you didn’t mean or punched someone in the face.

Hours go by before you hear a soft knock at the door. You were in your pajamas watching cartoons, and really didn’t want to be bothered. But you decided it would be nice to get a little social interaction in before bed. Although, Wanda is not who you were expecting to be at the door. “Oh, hey Wanda. Did you need something?”

“No, I just wanted to check on you. We were never properly introduced, seeing as how you left as soon as we got back.”

“Right. Sorry about that.”

She smiled and shook her head. It was a nice smile. You definitely wanted to see it more often. “No, I don’t blame you. They were being pretty mean to you.”

“Ah, it’s fine. They do it everyday.” Her smile dropped and a concerned look appeared on her face. “Sorry, I realize now that that doesn’t sound any better. But yeah, I’m kinda used to it now, I guess.” You stepped to the side after realizing she had been standing in the doorway this whole time.

You guys talked a little bit, just getting to know some basic things about each other. And you did your best to console her about her brothers recent death. You didn’t really know what to say, but she assured you that just having someone to talk to was enough. You guys spoke all through the night. She didn’t leave your room until around 1 am. You told her she could stop by any time, and she offered the same for you.

After that, you thought about leaving less and less. Wanda was basically your reason to stay. She didn’t laugh at you like the rest of them. She even stood up for you, even though nobody listened. When you were upset, she’d do her best to calm you down and cheer you up, instead of making you feel worse by cracking jokes.

One night, everyone was hanging out in the common area, drinking and talking. At first you weren’t going to join, but they all insisted. “Oh Wanda, you gotta hear this story.” Natasha spoke up. Everyone’s attention was on her now. “So, (Y/N) was new to the team.” Great, it’s a story about you. “And Tony was having a party. Then she went and everyone was looking for her, and you won’t believe this. I found her in the corner, crying!” You winced as the memories of that night came flooding back into your mind. “I mean, we knew she was a crybaby but I didn’t think she’d do all of that.”

“Oh, that reminds me of this one time, I was in the lab and (Y/N) came down to help.” Yay, another story. You hoped that Tony wasn’t saying what you think he was saying. “So I told her she can just pass me whatever tools I need. And I’m naming tools and she’s giving me the wrong things but I let it go because not everyone can be a genius like me. Then something goes wrong with the machine and I need to fix it quickly before the whole thing messes up so I tell her hurry and give me the torque wrench and she gives me a screwdriver. Can you believe that? Then she bursts into tears before I could even say anything. But yeah, I was pissed. She just ran off crying. I didn’t laugh at the time because I was mad, but looking back on it, it was pretty funny.” Ugh. You hated that story. He was barking orders and you didn’t know what was what. You were under pressure and handed him the tool closest to your hand. You just wanted to be nice and help, but you never offered to help him again after that.

They continued laughing at and exchanging stories about you. While you just sunk deeper and deeper into the couch with every word. You felt so small, unheard, unseen, unwanted. None of the stories were about anything other than you. And they weren’t even nice stories about you. All of them were times where you cried and embarrassed yourself in front of people. They just found it hilarious for some reason.

Since you were too busy fiddling with your hands in your lap, you didn’t notice Wanda staring at you. She felt so bad. After Tony’s story, she stopped paying attention. She didn’t want to anymore since she saw how much it was hurting you. “You know what? It’s getting late. How about we call it a night?” Wanda suggested. Anything to take the attention away from you.

“What? It’s only 11! We’re just getting started.” Sam acted as if it was unheard of to go to bed at 11.

“Yeah! We haven’t even played ‘Who can make (Y/N) cry first?’ You just gotta tease her until she cries, and whoever makes her cry gets bragging rights. You can go first, Wanda.” Clint added.

Wanda honestly felt sick listening to them. They had so much fun at the expense of your dignity. Who the hell wants to brag about making an innocent person cry? These people were supposed to be ‘Earths Mightiest Heroes’ and here they were shamelessly bullying their teammate. “I’d rather not. It seems mean.” She protested, setting her drink down on the table.

“She’s fine with it, right (Y/N)?” Natasha nudged you with her elbow, bringing you back to reality. You were already near tears, your throat feeling like it was on fire and your head pounding with an oncoming headache. So you knew their stupid little game wouldn’t last long anyways. Shrugging, you turned your attention back to your hands.

“She hates it when we call her a crybaby. I don’t know why though. I mean, we’re all adults just having some fun. She just needs to get over herself.” Tony always loves to put his two cents in.

They kept saying ‘she’ as if you weren’t present in the room. They didn’t even speak to you at all. Instead just saying mean things about you in front of your face until they saw tears. “It’s so annoying. We’re always walking on eggshells around her, because she’ll always find a reason to cry. Sometimes I think she just wants attention. Other times I’m convinced she’s nothing but a big baby.” Sam laughed while sipping his beer.

You were trying so hard to cry, but it was increasingly harder with all the horrible names and adjectives they were using. Annoying, crybaby, sensitive, attention seeker. “She cries so much. She should try just shutting up for once.” “Yeah, we’d all be better off if she went a day without opening her mouth.” “In meetings she’s pitching ideas, when they’re really just the worst ideas ever.” “and she’s always crying on missions. as if the world revolves around her or something.” “and a sword? that’s such a stupid weapon. i want to know who even came up with that.”

If they must know, sword-fighting was something cherished by your family. Your parents learned, your grandparents learned, your great grandparents learned, and all the way up the family tree, everyone learned. Even if some of them got a job and everything, sword-fighting was just a skill everyone in your bloodline had. And you were no exception. Which made it sting even more when they insulted it.

You had actually started crying a few minutes ago, but they were so into their insults that they didn’t even notice. That is, until you silently stood up and slowly walked to your room. They didn’t even bat an eye or say goodnight or anything. They just kept talking about you.

That pillow was surely tired of you. But you needed to scream. And you didn’t want the entire building hearing you. So you had to scream into your pillow. After your screaming session, you got into the shower, made the water cold, and stood there crying. You cried for a good 15 minutes before getting out. Then once you got dressed and into bed, you cried some more. You just needed to get it all out before you inevitably face them again in the morning.

Your sobs had turned into soft sniffles, and you felt yourself being taken over by drowsiness. Before you had a chance to fully fall asleep, you heard the door open. You shot up and your hand flew to the sheath holding your katana, that you kept by your bed at all times. You relaxed when the lights were turned on and Wandas face was revealed. “I’m pretty tired, and not in the mood to talk. Sorry.” You muttered and laid back down, hoping she’d take the hint and get out. The light was flicked back off and the door closed, so you could sleep in peace. Until you felt a weight at the end of the bed.

“Well, I’ll just sit. I didn’t want to leave you alone after what happened tonight. They were being horrible towards you, and you’re probably upset with me for not saying anything, which is completely understandable. I just want you to know that I’m sorry you have to deal with them everyday, and I hope I can make it better.” She placed a hand on your leg with a sad smile. “You’re a nice girl. You don’t deserve this. And next time, I’m going to speak up. Nobody should be talked to that way.”

Wanda sat there with you for a little while. Not even expecting a response. She just wanted you to know you weren’t alone, and you appreciated it. Her hand stayed on your leg, and after a while you put your hand out from under the blanket, that way she could hold your hand instead, and she did. It was very warm against your skin, and it was some long overdue contact that you definitely needed. Once she was sure you were asleep, she kissed your knuckle and quietly left the room. But you felt it, and had a good dream that night.

Yeah. Wanda was your reason to stay.

taglist 🏷

@blkmxrvel

[voiceless-terror]

More than Enough

For @tma-mspec-week Day Three: Polycule

Characters: Jonathan Sims/Sasha James/Tim Stoker/Martin Blackwood

Rating: Teen

Summary:

“But what if-” Once again, Jon struggles to find the right words. He knows their situation is unorthodox to most people, and the thought of Martin looking at him differently is too much to bear. “What if he doesn’t understand?”

“Then explain it to him,” Sasha relays patiently, her hand never leaving his. Things are always so clear to her, Jon envies that. “You’re my partners, you’re dating Tim, sometimes me and Tim have-”

Or: How One Became Four.

It starts with Sasha and Jon.

She’s fresh off six months in Artefact Storage, shell-shocked and stand-offish. Jon starts a few months later and they learn the ropes together. She warms up, divulges little tidbits of her time in the other department that Jon devours. He’s young, hungry for answers and Sasha’s already jaded by her few years in academia. This is just a transitional job, she assures him. It pays better than most research gigs and allows her to keep up a certain lifestyle. 

“I’m looking at other places, putting out feelers,” she confides in him one day over coffee. It’s become their daily ritual, a mid-morning break where they can commiserate on the staid academics that ask too much of them and the fanciful statements that end up on their desk. “Whatever you do, don’t get stuck here.” She leans back in her chair, gives a cynical little smile. “Or maybe you should. It’ll be different for you, you’re a man.” He starts a protest but she cuts him off. “It’s an old boys club and you know it. Besides, I know all about your extra meetings with Bouchard. He’s never done that with anyone else. Who knows - in a few years you might be my boss!”

He scoffs at that. Jon feels like he’s treading water. He’s a great researcher, sure, but he hasn’t exactly made himself popular among the others. He’s quick to bite, dismissive, blunt. It’s why he and Sasha get along so well, tucked away in their own little world. Of course she would notice the attention from Elias; Jon’s flattered by it, even if he stammers his way through every interaction. Elias seems to find this amusing, but Jon wants to impress him. 

Though not at the cost of his friendship with Sasha. “I always mention your work to him. I’m rubbish with technology, but you-” She rolls her eyes.

“Don’t, he’ll see right through that. Manipulation’s not your strong suit.” Jon stares down at his rapidly cooling drink, an embarrassed flush spreading across his features. But her hand reaches out to grasp his and a fond smile lights her features. “Thank you, though. It’s sweet of you.”

Jon likes Sasha. Their personalities occasionally clash, but never for too long. Jon’s quick to forgive and Sasha’s too fond to hold a grudge, though she’s loath to admit it. So when her roommate suddenly moves out and she’s left in a bind, it’s only natural for Jon to take her place. He’s been rent-poor, living paycheck to paycheck in a shitty studio that’s still an hour’s commute. Sasha’s closer and her flat’s substantially nicer; she offers and he accepts, easy as that. It’s a practical move, and Jon has to admit his lonely little flat is starting to feel suffocating. 

They fit together easily, like pieces of puzzle slotting in place. Sasha’s brutally efficient in her personal matters; bills and maintenance that Jon finds overwhelming and confounding she takes care of with ease. He’s heard her on the phone in that light, practiced tone of hers as she casually threatens the landlord for necessary repairs. Jon finds himself relaxing bit by bit, feeling comfortable in his own skin as she snarks at the dinner table over a dish he’s made. He used to cook for Georgie like this. Now he cooks for Sasha.

“You’re good at this,” she comments one night over chana masala. “Loads better than the frozen meals I’m used to.”

“It’s nice, having someone to cook for. Harder to do it for one.” He feels a bit uncomfortable with the admission, though he knows he shouldn’t - this is what it’s like, when you love someone.

He’s never said that to her, of course. He gets attached too easily but never knows quite how to show it. And it’s not his usual sort of love, he doesn’t want to date her. She’s more than a friend, and Jon’s never had many of those; he has no metric to measure this against. He thinks he could stay in this flat with her forever, so long as he could see her smile every morning and yawn every night. 

On a Saturday morning she stumbles out of bed and makes her way over to the kitchen. “Morning,” she grumbles, as she reaches for the coffee pot and kisses his forehead. Jon doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to.

On a Wednesday night Jon drinks too much. 

“Sasha,” he slurs, her arm the only thing keeping him from falling off his stool. “I want you t’ know…”

She smiles indulgently, takes a sip of her drink. “Yes, dear?”

“I-I love you.” She pauses and Jon’s heart drops. “N-Not like that, but like friends. Good friends. Very good friends. But m-maybe not.” She’s still smiling, that’s got to be a good sign, right? “I-I just love you, okay?”

And then she laughs, puts an arm around his shoulder and pulls him close. “I love you too. Stay with me forever, okay?”

He takes her hand between his and promises, with all the solemnity a drunken man can muster, that he’ll stay with her forever and then some. The next morning, while they’re both nursing massive hangovers, Jon broaches the subject again.

“Did you mean it?” he asks tentatively, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. “What you said last night. Do- do you want me to stay forever?” She turns to look at him, bleary eyes suddenly alert.

“Yes.” There’s no tease in her words as she leans into his side, a warm weight on his shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever meant anything more.”

Jon stays.

______

Two years later, Tim joins the Institute.

He’s handsome; charming, but subdued. He’s been assigned a desk near theirs, invading the quiet little corner that had become their world. Tim greets them both with a smile and a perfunctory handshake before settling down at his desk and powering up his laptop. He doesn’t speak to them again.

Jon watches as he goes back and forth between circulation and his desk, building an impressive stack of books- The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi, The Congress of Clowns and Other Russian Circus Acts. Sasha told him he worked in publishing, Jon knows she got that information through her usual nefarious means. Perhaps he’s writing a book, Jon says. Sasha thinks otherwise.

“He’s one of those,” she says over sandwiches and tea. She invited Tim, but had been turned down with an apologetic smile. 

“Hmm?”

“Like you.” She sets her drink down, eyes him with her steady gaze. “He’s got a reason.”

Mr. Spider doesn’t like it.

Jon shivers at the reminder. Sasha never brought it up after he initially confided in her one vulnerable night last year; she just held him through the shaking and the tears. He’s only told the story twice; once at eight, again at twenty five. It never got easier.

“No one believed me,” he whispered, tucking his face into her shoulder as his body itched from phantom legs skittering across skin. She squeezed him back.

“I do.”

They’re friendly enough to Tim, giving him his distance while still trying to be helpful. Jon points him in the direction of texts and scholars who might be useful, Sasha teaches him a few of her more invasive tricks that Jon refused to learn. Slowly, bit by bit, he opens up. Never shares his story, no- but he smiles, jokes around with them, accompanies them on their lunch breaks and eventually entices them to after work drinks. 

He’s handsome when he smiles, Jon thinks to himself as Tim regales them with stories of dates gone wrong. Sasha catches his eye and winks. He wonders if she’ll tire of Jon now that Tim’s around. He’s everything Jon’s not; good-looking, confident, secure in his intelligence. Sasha laughs so freely around him. He could ground her where Jon cannot- they can be a chaotic force, the two of them. It’s why they keep to themselves.

But at the end of the night it’s Jon’s hand she takes, swinging it gently with hers. “Stay with me forever?”

He smiles. “Forever.”

They invite him over to their flat one night in spring, when the trees are blossoming and Jon’s allergies are acting up. He’s sniffling miserably on the couch, Tim sprawled next to him as Sasha pours some wine. Despite his misery, Jon’s content.

Tim nudges him with his foot. “So what’s your deal?” he asks in a wheedling tone, though his smirk betrays an almost imperceptible anxiety. It’s strange. “You and Sash. Dating, roomies…?”

It’s Sasha who answers, handing Jon a glass of wine and standing before Tim, tall and proud. “Jon’s my partner.” It’s matter of fact, and Jon can’t help the warmth that floods him. “We’re not dating. I’m not interested in that.” She hands him his glass with a smirk. “But if you want to romance Jon, feel free.”

Jon sputters as she laughs- he’s transparent, as usual. They’d talked about it briefly- Sasha’s fine with him dating other people, but Jon’s never felt the need to. Sasha’s enough. She still is, but he can’t deny the way his heart swoops whenever Tim aims that smile in his direction. Sasha likes him too, in her own way.

Tim’s still gaping at them and Jon can’t help but join in on the laughter, as embarrassed as he feels. “Is the great Timothy Stoker nervous?” Sasha says in between giggles. “Guess we know how to shut him up now.”

“L-Look, can you blame me?” Tim says, a smile growing on his face. “You two can be very intimidating, not to mention gorgeous-”

Jon kicks at his leg. “Don’t joke.”

“No, we are.” Sasha interrupts, daring him to disagree. She turns that deadly smile back on Tim, delighting in his falter. “So what’ll it be, Stoker?”

There’s silence, Jon can feel his heart racing. They’ve got this all wrong, Tim doesn’t want him, Tim’s going to leave, Tim doesn’t understand-

“Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?”

Jon blinks. “Uh, yes?”

“He likes Thai!” Sasha calls as she walks over to her bedroom, leaving the two of them on the couch, laughing nervously. 

“So you’re bi, then?” Tim asks, scooting closer to Jon and throwing a blanket over their legs and an arm around his shoulder. It’s warm in all the right ways and Jon leans closer, the awkwardness dissipating at the touch of his hand. 

“I prefer pan,” he replies. It’s the first term that felt right to him. Georgie used to make some stupid joke about a ‘gender buffet’ and him ‘having one of everything.’ It still makes him smile. “And- and you should know I’m also ace. So there’s some things I won’t be able to do for you.” He looks for disappointment in Tim’s eyes and finds none. “I hope that’s alright.”

“Of course.” Tim smiles like he means the words and Jon feels light, almost dizzy. “Are kisses alright?”

He nods shyly, and Tim takes this as his cue to pepper him in obnoxiously loud smooches- one in his hair, another on his nose. Jon manages to bat him away after Tim almost gets him in the eye. 

So Tim and Jon are dating. Tim takes him out to dinner, the movies, one memorable night of karaoke. Sasha joins in when she wants; they go to museums and lectures. One night she laces her fingers through Tim’s, smiling at his wide eyes.

“What?” she says innocently, doing the same with Jon. “I’ve got two hands.”

On Wednesday nights Tim goes to the gym. Jon sits at the table, passes Sasha a bowl of reheated spaghetti before settling down in his chair. He fidgets, not touching his fork.

“What is it?” Sasha asks, setting her own fork down. “You’ve got that look on your face.”

“I-” he stutters, sighing as the words won’t come. Just tell her like you practiced. “I’m not trying to, well- hmm. I don’t want to insinuate anything-”

“You would never.”

“But, I’ve noticed- I’m not- Tim is very handsome.”

Sasha smiles indulgently. “Mhm. Go on.”

“And I’ve noticed. I don’t- if you wanted to-” Goddamnit. Pull yourself together. “I wouldn’t mind it, if you were to - that is, if you’d like to engage in-” He closes his eyes, purses his lips in frustration. “Please stop me.”

“Why Jon,” she replies, her voice coy and teasing. “Are you giving me your blessing?”

Jon sighs, his face warming as he opens one eye- she’s grinning, just as he expected. “...Yes?”

Six months later, Tim moves in.

_______

“Jon wants to bring a boy home!”

Jon smacks him in the arm and scowls. “Tim, don’t-”

“What, it’s true!” He leans back in his chair, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Jon wants to knock the smile off his face and maybe onto the floor, if he can get a good kick in. “I don’t blame you and in fact, I encourage it. Martin’s a catch-”

“Martin?” Sasha perks up. “Finally!”

“Not you too-”

“Jon, he’s a very sweet boy-”

“-good-looking, too!”

“And if you want to bring him over, please do.” She reaches across the table to give his hand an encouraging, if condescending, squeeze. “I’ve seen the way you look at each other.”

“But what if-” Once again, Jon struggles to find the right words. He knows their situation is unorthodox to most people, and the thought of Martin looking at him differently is too much to bear. “What if he doesn’t understand?”

“Then explain it to him,” Sasha relays patiently, her hand never leaving his. Things are always so clear to her, Jon envies that. “You’re my partners, you’re dating Tim, sometimes me and Tim have-”

“I don’t think I’ll need to go into that much detail just yet,” Jon cuts her off, ignoring Tim’s snicker. “It’s just...what if he thinks it's weird?”

“Weird can be good. And if he doesn’t agree, well - he’s not worth your time.”

If only it were that simple.

It’s been about three months since he first ran into Martin in the break room. He’d seen him around plenty of times, but despite his hulking form, the man can make himself very, very small. It wasn’t until he quite literally ran into him, causing him to drop his newly organized files, that Jon got a good look at his face.

It was a nice face. Soft, kind, with big blue eyes and curly red hair that fell across his forehead. He wanted to touch it, tuck it behind Martin’s ear and he almost did, despite the man’s rambling apologies and meek demeanor. He stood there, frozen, even as Martin handed back the file with a bashful smile.

“Sorry, I’m pretty clumsy. Are you alright?”

Jon was fine. He should probably say that.

“Y-Yes. I’m Jon.” Wow. Smooth.

“I know.” Martin put a hand behind his neck, nervously chuckling. “You’re quite known around these parts.” His eyes widened and his face turned red. A nice red. “N-Not in a bad way, of course! You’re- you’re just very smart and- and direct- and oh Lord, that’s not a compliment, is it-”

“Thank you for my file,” Jon replied robotically, his eyes trained somewhere over Martin’s shoulder and not on his very, very blue eyes. “I have to take my leave now.” Why are you talking like this?

Their next few encounters were similarly stunted and awkward. Martin made tea at ten every morning, coincidentally when Jon got his yogurt from the fridge. He started making Jon a cup as well; he wasn’t sure if Martin was particularly excellent at making tea, or if it just mattered that he was the one making it. Jon tried not to dwell on the sentimentality of it all. 

He shouldn’t want another partner. He’s got Sasha, who he loves, and Tim, who he also loves, albeit in a different way. They should be enough for him. They are enough. But Martin makes him tea and asks him how his day is going and smiles at him and people don’t do that. He tells himself he just wants a friend, but he finds his mind wandering- Martin’s hand in his while they walk down the street, Jon nestled into his side on a movie night and Tim’s there too, because Martin is very comfy and handsome and warm. Sasha’s in her armchair reading a book because tonight they’re watching a romantic comedy and she hates those. Jon hates them too but Martin likes them, of course Martin likes them-

No. He’s getting distracted. And he’s standing in front of Martin like an idiot, saying nothing. This is going terribly. Why did he ever think this would not go terribly-

“Jon? Are you alright? You look like you’re about to have a stroke.”

“I’m not having a stroke,” Jon responds on auto-pilot. “I’m trying to think of a clever way to ask you out but you are very distracting.”

Shit. Martin stares at him, mouth open in shock. He’s got nice teeth. Very straight.

“Um- I-I thought you were with Tim?” Martin squeaks out. Oh God, I’ve scared him. Do I keep going? “Or- or Sasha, oh! I’m not accusing you of -”

“No, you’re correct,” Jon grinds out, willing himself to be calm. He doesn’t want Martin to think his frustration is aimed at him. “Sasha’s my partner and I’m dating Tim, and sometimes Sasha and Tim-” No! Abort! “-sorry. We’re together. But, um, I-I also like you, and I think Tim likes you but he hasn’t said- I’m sorry, this is going all wrong.” He looks down at the floor, clenching his jaw. “I understand if you say no.”

“I’m not saying no,” Martin’s voice is lower now and Jon feels a hope rise in his chest. He’s not? “So it’s, it’s like an open thing? You’re accepting applications?” Jon would laugh at the joke if he weren’t so paralyzed with fear.

“Not really? It’s, we aren’t dating around or anything, but I suppose it is open, in a way.” He pauses, takes a deep breath. “Open for you.”

Martin’s smiling like he can’t believe his luck, and it confuses Jon because who wouldn’t want him? Kind, handsome Martin who makes him tea and doesn’t laugh at his stupid jokes but rolls his eyes affectionately and tells his own in turn. Jon doesn’t think he’ll ever understand his humor but it makes him smile and that’s important. And now Martin’s taking his hand and he- oh fuck Martin’s taking his hand Martin’s got his hand and it’s warm, just like he knew it would be-

“I-I think I’d like that.” A squeeze. Jon dies but only a little. “Wow, this is sort of crazy for me, y’know? You’re all so, so intimidating and good-looking-”

“Yes, we are,” Jon agrees, squeezing his hand back. “But we’d like to buy you dinner, if you’re amenable.” Martin laughs and says yes, he’s very, very amenable. It feels right holding Martin’s hand. It feels right to see him with Tim and Sasha, smiling and joking. It feels right to lean into him at the end of the day, to nudge his side in the night and apologize in the morning.

Martin’s lease expires in seven months. They start looking for a new apartment after three.

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29032062

[straynstay]

Changbin - Hybrid AU! (part II)

part I

here you are again buying a ticket for the circus

you barely slept after last night, the thrills of being a volunteer to a fire act still keeping the adrenaline running through your body

and, of course, him 

Spear B

you were excited to see what kind of fiery tricks he would pull off tonight since he promised you something special

as soon as you entered the tent, you sat on the second row in front of the stage

this time you wouldn’t hide yourself

kids and parents filled the place once more and you felt nervous

nervous to see his reaction once he spots you in the crowd

and nervous to see him again

you can’t deny that he bursted your heart’s doors and took a place in it in less than 24h

he was really impressive and mysterious, someone you’d like to know better

hopefully tonight you’ll be able to talk more

the lights suddenly went out and that same circus song began playing

funny how yesterday you were terrified of it, but now it made you excited because you know he is coming

the attractions were the same as the day before, nothing much changed except for the audience’s reactions

the kids were more hyped than yesterday, and you can’t deny you’re too

especially when the ringmaster appeared to announce the special act of the night

you can feel your own heartbeats resonating in your chest and your hands starting to get clammy

“ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages! You’ve laughed with our clowns, you’ve been thrilled by our acrobats, you were amazed by our jugglers…” the ringmaster spoke

“but now it’s time!” drum rolls filled the arena, just like it did yesterday

“it’s time to be mesmerized by our main attraction of the night!” the spotlight moved around the arena

oh lord… it’s now… he’s coming...

“brace yourselves because it's gonna get hot in here! Make some noise for Spear B!” the kids screamed their lungs out and you held your breath once he got on stage

he was so different, holy shit!

he had an undercut and his hair was styled to show his forehead

his right eyebrow had an X on it, which was quite charming, and he was wearing a tight red shirt

goddamn, you weren’t ready for this!

Spear B bowed to the crowd and as soon as he lift his head, the entire stage caught on fire

you were taken aback by the sudden heat, and the flames were so tall that you couldn’t even see him anymore

a hype song began playing and you saw some balls on fire moving in circular motion above all the flames

Spear B walked to the front of the stage, and you saw that he was juggling the balls amid the fire

the kids screamed, but you couldn’t do anything except to be mesmerized again by him

Spear B threw one ball at a time so high it almost reached the peak of the tent

when they all started to descend, he somehow created with his own mouth a thin stream of fire aimed directly at them and blew them up one by one like tiny fireworks

you smiled seeing his amazing pyrotechnic performance

you still had no idea how he did it, but it was absolutely extraordinary to witness it

he snapped his fingers and immediately the sleeves of his red shirt caught on fire

the flames quickly reached his shoulders, but with a strong clap of his hands he put out all the flames, including the ones that were still burning on the stage

the trick not only made his sleeves burn completely, but it also revealed the huge muscular arms you had no idea he had

geez… you’re twice as hot now

the lights suddenly went out and the song stopped

you held your breath once again, not knowing what to expect next

after about twenty seconds, a sudden brightness illuminated the arena, making your eyes shut involuntary

once you opened them again, you saw the same wooden target from yesterday, the same one that you were bound to while he threw spears on fire at you

but this time the edges of the target were lit up in flames

“and for Spear B’s last act, he had chosen a brave soul to come up on stage and be his victim” the ringmaster’s voice echoed through the arena

you smiled in the middle of all that hot craziness once his eyes found yours for the first time that night

he only motioned his head towards the stage and you already knew what to do

so you followed the staff and got up on stage once again with him

“ready?” he smiled and you felt your legs shaking seeing him so confident and so good looking and so, so close to you

you swear you felt heat radiating from his body

“yes” you answered trying to remain cool 

“yesterday you promised an unforgettable performance, so I’m counting on it” you provoked him

“don’t worry, Spear B never disappoints” he winked and you wish you could just grab him right here and now

but the staff came in and placed you safely on the wooden apparatus in the same Vitruvian Man position with your arms and legs wide open

you could feel the heat from the flames surrounding the target tingling your skin, and it made your heart beat faster

this was already different from the day before

you saw him picking up four spears and putting one on his right hand while the others he kept on his left hand

he turned his back to you and a staff came behind him while the crowd cheered loudly

you couldn’t quite see what they were doing, but as soon as he turned around again you regretted coming tonight

he was blindfolded

WHAT?!

“are you kidding me?” you asked almost screaming

“this isn’t even my final form” he mocked smiling, and it hurt to see that his smile was even more prettier with his eyes covered

the spear on his right hand caught on fire out of nowhere and you felt your stomach trying to get out of your body through your throat

but to make it even worse, you felt yourself moving

the staff was spinning the wooden circle with you attached on it

FREAKING HELL!!!!

you could only scream, even though you weren’t spinning too fast

the fact that you’re stuck with a blindfolded guy aiming a flaming spear in your direction made your life flash before your eyes

you led a beautiful, yet monotone life so far, but with no regrets

except for tonight

you shouldn’t have come back here

you’re so dead

you closed your eyes when the crowd began cheering

a loud thud was heard and your heart felt like it dropped to your belly

one down, three to go

Lord have mercy!

you pleaded silently, praying to the universe to allow this to finish soon

another thud and loud screams, but you were sure no one was screaming louder than you right now

you felt your consciousness slowly slipping away, this was taking too long for your liking

two more loud thud and the wooden target finally halted its movement

but you didn’t have enough courage to open your eyes

“give it up for Spear B!” the ringmaster shouted while the staff untied you from that wheel of hell

your legs were wobbling, but you were able to keep yourself straight with the help of the spears stuck on the target

when you slowly opened your eyes, you saw Spear B with his arms open in front of the crowd receiving his well deserved applauses

he took a few steps back, and out of the blue huge flames engulfed the stage again, just like he did in the beginning of his act

you shut your eyes quickly, afraid of the sudden fire so close to you

you also felt remarkably hot with drops of sweat running down your spine

“scared?” Spear B’s voice was soft near your ears

you opened your eyes and almost lost control of yourself

he was right in your face, protecting you with his body while the flames were still burning hot behind him and the circus song played loudly

it was overwhelming standing so close to him, especially with his huge arms next to your head and his taunting lips within your reach

“was this unforgettable enough for you or should I try again tomorrow?” Spear B gave you a smirk and you didn’t even know how to react, you felt like putty right now

“I’m sweating” was all you could say, and it made him laugh wholeheartedly

the flames on the stage disappeared once he snapped his fingers and could breath a little better now

“you still haven’t answered me” Spear B raised an eyebrow

“are you out of your mind?” you asked feeling all the rush of adrenaline hitting you at once

“YOU TIED ME UP, SPUN ME AROUND AND THREW SPEARS BLINDFOLDED ALL WHILE THIS THING CAUGHT ON FIRE” you screamed staring at him

you took a couple of deep breaths, using your back of your hand to wipe the sweat from your face

“so… I guess this is a yes?” you gave him an angry look, but his expression caught you off guard

he looked a little nervous, and even though you wanted to kick him for doing this without any heads up, you couldn’t actually blame him

you’re the one who accepted going on stage, and you’re the one that was expecting a mind-blowing performance from him

he delivered it, you can’t deny it, so you really didn’t have to be so mean to him

“I was just trying to impress you, I’m sorry” he apologized with his head down and your heart shattered like it was made of glass

“don’t apologize, you were great” you smiled a bit seeing his lifting his head to look at you

“you think so? I scared you” he placed his hands behind his back, and although his arms flexed lusciously, the fear in his gaze was all you could focus on

he asked you if you were scared, but now you know he’s the scared one

“you didn’t scare me, you just took me by surprise, that’s all” you gave him a comforting smile and he nodded, seeming to regain his confidence back

“may I know your name or should I just call you Spear B?”

“my name’s Changbin, but you can call me cutie if you want to”

“Changbin is fine” you laughed

“Then I’ll call you cutie” he winked, making you blush a little

“this is my first time visiting your city, can you show me around?” Changbin asked

“is this your smooth way to ask me on a date?” you teased

“it was just my way of asking you out, I know it wasn’t smooth at all” he placed his right hand behind his neck and let out an awkward laugh

“it wasn’t, but I liked it” you replied “this is a small town, but I can show you some fun places”

“I’ll get changed real quick and be back, you can wait me outside” Changbin said cheerfully and ran backstage

you laughed at the situation and got off the stage

you didn’t even noticed everyone was gone because Changbin fogged your mind with his presence

you went outside and sighed in relief after breathing the fresh night breeze

there were still some children with their parents taking pictures and chatting with the hybrid performers, and you thought of Changbin

he was able to play with fire so easily, but was he also a hybrid?

there were no records of hybrids that can control fire, so what was he?

“psst” you turned your head to see Changbin’s head peeking from a small spot near the tent and you smiled walking towards him

“shall we?” Changbin put on a black cap matching the rest of his black outfit

he was just in regular loose clothes, but he looked so good it was unfair

the two of you began walking away from the tent, bodies so close that your hands were slightly rubbing together

after a small silence, you decided to speak

“I’m sorry if this sounds rude, but I need to ask… what are you?”

“I’m a hybrid” Changbin told you

“yeah, I figured that out” you replied “but I still don’t know what kind of hybrid you are”

“can’t you tell?” he opened his arms so you could take a better look at him

damn, he was fine

“no, I mean.. you look like a normal human being”

“no, I look like a hot human being” yeah, you couldn’t deny it

“and how are hot human beings created?” you asked raising your eyebrow

“crossbreeding with fire-breathing dragons, cutie” he winked

“what?!” you laughed aloud in the middle of the street, he was totally messing with you

“c’mon, please, I need to know, I’m dying of curiosity”

“I’m serious” he said laughing as well

“ah, stop it” you lightly pushed him to the side and continued walking

“why do you think I can control fire?”

“dragons are mythical creatures, they don’t exist” you stated

“tell science that”

“then how? how are you possible?” you pointed at him

“my grandpa was an experiment, his lab was trying to create legendary hybrids for selected people to own”

“the scientists somehow managed to encode a fire ability into a lizard-like gene and ta-da! my grandpa was created”

to say you were in shock was an understatement, but he continued explaining anyways

“my grandpa was the only one who survived, his brothers and sisters all had weird mutations and faced horrible deaths”

“but he didn’t show any signs of being a hybrid, he wasn’t immune to fire, he couldn’t control it, he didn’t have scales, he just looked like a normal boy”

“and that’s why the scientists tried to kill him, cause he was flawed and reminded them of their failure, but luckily he managed to escape and found refuge in the circus”

“he was just a regular juggler until puberty came, then black scales grew on his torso, arms, and neck, fire could not harm him and he could not only control fire but produce it as well”

“then my grandpa knew the lab had succeeded creating a dragon hybrid, but they never knew”

“he became the main attraction of the circus and everyone everywhere came to see him. Some people even tried to buy him, but the circus is a huge family and we don’t sell our own”

“he made a lot of money and the circus was thriving, those were happy days as they tell me”

“my grandpa met my grandma, they had my mom, but she didn’t had the dragon gene”

“my grandpa was disappointed that he couldn't pass on his abilities, until baby Changbin was born” you laughed of the way he said this

“I mean, I didn’t come out of my mom’s womb spitting fire, but I was never burnt, so my grandpa thought that I must be special like him, and he was right, but we only found it when I hit puberty as well”

“yeah, I’m a man now, you can tell that, right?” he wiggled his eyebrows making you laugh again

“my grandpa taught me all the tricks he knew and here I am, trying my best to build my legacy as a legendary hybrid too”

wow… you’d never guess this is his family’s story

“is your grandpa alive?” you asked

“yeah, and he’s still performing” he smiled proudly “he’s with the main circus in another town, this circus is actually a side one, he says I need to practice in front of people and there’s no better way to practice if not in front of someone special”

“you didn’t practice in front of me, you practiced with me” you laughed

“but I did alright, didn’t I?”

“yeah, you did” you gave him a fond smile

“here we are” you smiled seeing the bright neon plaque of the only ice cream parlour in your town

you both got inside, and since the owner knew you too well, he promptly began preparing your order

“this is really small, but I swear they have amazing flavors” you said “but if you want to stick to the traditional ones, they have it too”

“here you go” the owner handed you the single scoop of chocolate ice cream with melted chocolate on top and your mouth watered

“thank you, can you put it in the tab, please?”

“I can pay” Changbin reached for his back pocket, but you stopped him

“it’s okay, I have an open tab here, I’m a regular” you explained

“you won’t have anything?” you asked already tasting your ice cream

“no, I’m cool” Changbin quickly replied “can we…?” he pointed outside and you nodded, even though you thought his behavior was a bit odd

you both resumed walking and you began sharing with him some funny stories about the ice cream place 

“I’ve never had ice cream” Changbin confessed unexpectedly and you stopped on your tracks

“why not?!” you were confused

“it’s too cold, I can’t eat it”

“really?”

“yeah, it hurts if I drink, eat or stand too close to something extremely cold” Changbin sounded a bit disappointed

now it made sense why he was so eager to leave the ice cream parlour, he wasn’t feeling well

“so you have no idea what is like to have ice cream? seriously?” he nodded

you had to show him somehow what ice cream tastes like, so you got closer to him, holding his neck tightly and pressing your cold lips on his

Changbin let out a bit of smoke through his nostrils, making you laugh and breaking the sweet kiss

“I was just regulating my body temperature” his cheeks were reddened

“I’ll take that as a compliment” you smiled

he licked his lips and smiled too

“chocolate ice cream is really good, by the way” Changbin said “but now I wonder what strawberry ice cream tastes like”

“why don’t we find out?” you smiled even more, intertwining your fingers with Changbin’s, pulling him back to the ice cream shop

thankfully, there were many flavors for you to show him tonight

[moonbaby26]

Title: Diamond in the Rough

Pairing: Peter Maximoff x Reader

Summary: Continuation from last chapter. You and the others get some more down time in your last day and night on the ship together. Reader talks about some sensitive things with Peter, culminating in more bonding and fluff at the end.

Warnings: Some cursing, mentions of sex and arousal. Nothing explicit though.

Chapters: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Taglist: @drikawinchester , @n0obmaster69 , @alexloveskili , @what-a-silver-lining , @bluesprings18 , @weakmoony-stuff , @slytherinsi-mp , @wintwrsoldiwr , @tommy-braccoli , @amourtentiaa , @cringingmemeries , @bi-panicatthe-disco , @himbos-are-my-lifeblood , @simp4mcuwomen

Peter Maximoff x Reader Masterlist

—————————

“So you really weren’t going to tell me that you just said ‘screw it, peace out, guys!’, and pulled the sacrifice card to throw yourself out of a plane?”

Peter’s voice carried through the barracks as he looked at you like you were the crazy one for once.

“Well...it was in the middle of crashing at the time.” You countered, much quieter by comparison and looking to Jean or Kurt for any help here. Some of you were sitting on the floor, others on the beds, roughly in a circle as you talked.

But Kurt only piped up to make it worse. “Yes, I did not like that at all. Next time we must find another way. I thought too that you’d chosen to go down with the plane so we could escape, (Y/N).”

“But you can fly right? None of us could fly.” Scott butted in a bit unexpectedly though, on your side of the argument no less.

“(Y/N) can levitate like me.” Jean corrected. “The flying is newer though, not yet perfected.” She smiled at you then in a way that told you she wasn’t about to let you back out of getting credit for that risk taken in Egypt. “You still hit the ground, hard.” She added. “I went back in your mind to make sure you’d made it after we teleported.”

The others all looked at you, and you tried not to lose your nerve. “My energy field was still up though when I hit. That’s the important part...”

“I mean I could jump off a building with a helmet on, I’m pretty sure it still wouldn’t work out for my head.” Peter retorted, though with a very self aware look before he finished. “And no, that’s not what’s wrong with me.”

Scott actually laughed at that, which surprised both you and Peter at least. Maybe he was different when alone with Jean, but in front of the group he’d stayed fairly no nonsense since Egypt. Though who could blame him for being a bit uptight after all he’d been through recently.

“We did all get pretty wrecked.” Peter admitted after a moment though. “Thanks for the save, Jean. Up top.” He held his hand up in front of her to signal for a high five.

She obliged, but a bit half heartedly. “I had the Professor in my head though, egging me on. He helped me unlock that. But I still couldn’t have done anything if you all hadn’t held that guy in place for that long for me. He just would have escaped.”

“I wonder what happened to the woman?” Kurt considered. “Do you think she learned her lesson too?”

“I doubt it,” Ororo answered then. “We called her Psylocke. But she just wanted to be more powerful. I don’t think she’d care now about who we hurt.” She looked at all of you at that. “I am sorry...if I hadn’t said well enough before. I thought he wanted to make the world better for us, but he didn’t. He really did just want to control everyone, human and mutant alike. I was wrong.”

Scott shrugged. “You figured it out by the time it really mattered.”

“And he probably just would have tried to kill you if you’d shown disloyalty any sooner than that,” You agreed.

“Can’t stay mad at anybody with a sick mohawk like that anyway.” Peter commented too, clearly admiring her hair.

Ororo chuckled. “If I’d known other mutants like you all before, things likely would have been a lot different.”

“Well you know us now.” Jean offered.

“Yes, I’m new here too,” Kurt added. “There’s a lot to learn. I’m glad Raven found me as well to bring me to the school. I never had mutant friends either in the circus.”

“Woah, wait. You were in a circus? Like the whole bit? Elephants and clowns and stuff?” Peter turned his head to look at him, curiosity easily peaked.

“Ja.” Kurt replied.

As those two went off into a separate conversation about whether or not there’d been bearded ladies, strong men, and the like in the Bavarian circus, you just looked back to Jean.

“We’ll definitely have a lot to catch up on when we get home. You think Jubilee is going to be mad that she missed all the action?” You asked, only half joking.

“Oh man,” Jean conceded. “She’ll be all over us wanting details.”

But her next words surprised you a little as her voice so easily transitioned just into your mind afterward for privacy, her lips no longer moving.

“You know as soon as she finds out you met someone, she’s going to go nuts wanting details about Peter.”

You could only look at her for a moment. It was such a strange thing to consider. This had all happened so fast. But with her bringing up that point, it was the first time you’d really thought about what it would be like to potentially introduce him to other friends of yours back home, to try and communicate what he meant to you already.

Could you call him your boyfriend? Would you say you were dating? He’d already called himself that label, but did that mean you could say it? Would the others even believe it was possible to feel these things for someone you’d only known such a short time? Would they think you were naive, or just caught up in the whirlwind of the moment and that this would all fade?

“Hey, relax. I wasn’t trying to send you into a tailspin.” Jean’s mental voice broke back through that wave of anxious thoughts. “I haven’t known Scott for very long either. If anyone wants to waste energy judging us, I would say that’s their problem.”

“Yeah,” You just answered then, remembering you still needed to respond in a way that made sense to the last thing she’d actually said out loud, about Jubilee. But you went quiet afterward, letting the others steer the conversation to new things as you all continued just trying to pass the time.

It wasn’t too very long later though when you’d had another visitor to the barracks. You were all a bit surprised to see Moira walk in, noticeably without the Professor and carrying something in her hands.

“Some new brass arrived today, or officials I mean. They wanted to speak to Charles themselves.” She said quickly, obviously realizing by your looks that you were all wondering the same thing of where he was. “But I wanted to come by and take care of this for the ones that needed pictures.”

As she spoke, she raised up the thing in her hands as if that should also be some clear explanation for her purpose here. It still took you a moment honestly to realize it for what it was, accompanied by what she’d said.

“For your licenses and passports that we’re printing.” She clarified anyway before continuing, the polaroid camera in her hands. “You two,” She pointed at you and Peter, and then at Raven. “And you. You already had valid driver’s licenses. We’ll reuse those photos for a new license and passport. Charles wanted everyone to have both, as you’ll still need to travel within the U.S. as well once we’re back. The rest of you I need current photos of.”

The thought of Peter actually taking the time to get a driver’s license seemed pretty absurd when he could travel anywhere much faster on foot, but before you could ask him anything, Hank was speaking up.

“But I already had a license and a passport,” Hank responded in some confusion.

Moira looked a little awkward, but still answered kindly. “But the pictures were of you before. It won’t match how you look right now for us to get back into the country.”

Raven snickered and Hank shot her an unamused look.

“Uh, but I can’t take off my glasses. You want me to take it with my eyes closed?” Scott asked dryly, though it was a legitimate question.

Belatedly you realized this also meant he’d been completely prepared to drive one of the Professor’s cars illegally then, before you’d asserted yourself to be the one to drive you all to the mall that day. This was a mental note you’d have to save for later.

“Glasses on is fine. We’ll note it as a medical exemption.” Moira answered easily, though already looking for a spot to have them stand against. “And this might actually be better to do in the hallway, if you could- Hey!” Her hands were abruptly empty, as she startled, then looking around.

You blinked after the flash that came almost simultaneously. A hand squeezed your shoulder before Peter pulled back away, the stolen camera in his other hand as the photo began to eject from it.

“I thought you couldn’t move like that with your leg,” Moira chided, now realizing what had happened. “And that thing isn’t mine to break, just so we’re clear.”

“You’re like three feet away, I don’t have to run if I can just lean over and grab it.” Peter responded smoothly, pulling the photo out before offering her back the camera. “So what, that thing is CIA issue? If I push the wrong button is it going to laser me or something?”

“No.” She huffed. But didn’t look as if she wished to extend the conversation any further to get drug into this right now. She just motioned for the others to follow her into the hall as she then turned away. “Come on, guys. We’ll try to make this quick.”

Peter didn’t seem to mind either way, just putting his attention back to the photo he was now holding as if it were a prize. “What do you think?” He asked you after a moment, the image becoming more and more visible as the film developed.

You saw yourself there, though surprisingly not a terrible image considering you hadn’t even been prepared. Your expression in the photo was simply neutral, glancing elsewhere even as Peter’s smile was wide and bright, him leaning in with his face almost touching yours in the photograph.

“I’ve taken worse,” you said truthfully, but then looked back to him, amused at his seeming satisfaction with it. You wondered if he was actually planning on keeping the photo, instead of it just being a little joke. Wouldn’t he rather a better one at least?

“What?” He questioned, seeing your expression. He flicked the photo gently. “It proves you’re real if anyone asks later.”

“Why would you have to prove...” But you ended up just smiling, and gave up before you even really started, seeing how happy he still looked. “If you want a picture together, I’m sure she’d let us take another if we asked. You know, if we asked nicely, and didn’t just steal her camera this time.”

“I like this one.” He insisted though, holding onto it regardless. “It really looks like you.”

“Um...wouldn’t I always look like me?” You asked quizzically.

“It’s real,” He tried to explain. “Natural? If we took another you’d just smile on purpose.”

You still didn’t fully understand. He was smiling in the picture after all. But to his point maybe, he did look almost giddy in the photo. Not something you would be able to replicate on command. “Okay.” You said, fine either way. “If you like that best.”

“There is something I think I’m going to ask Moira anyway though when she comes back,” He admitted.

It wasn’t very long either until you were able to find out what that was.

When the others did start to file back in after taking their pictures in the hallway, Moira had just leaned in the doorway briefly to thank them. “We’ll have these made up in time for tomorrow for your travel documents, thank you.”

She was already turning to leave again before Peter stopped her.

He cocked his head, piping up. “Hey, can I ask you something?”

She did pause, but her look back at him was slightly wary. Likely not knowing if this would be more humor or not. “Yes?”

He didn’t mess around though this time, just getting to the point outright. “Do you think you could send somebody to my Mom’s house? You know, just to say everything’s cool and I’ll be home soon? She’s probably losing her mind right now.”

Moira’s expression changed fully at that, empathy going to the forefront. “Of course. Yes. What’s her name? Her address?”

That mood faded just as quickly though as he raised his eyebrows, teasing. “Well shouldn’t the CIA know that?”

She sighed. Staring at him as the annoyed look returned.

“You’re so serious,” Peter smirked. “Magda Maximoff, suburbs outside D.C.” He rattled off a street address afterward, but still continued, “We’re in the phonebook anyway. Prof.’s been there too, he’d know.”

“We’ll look it up.” She agreed. “See you guys later.”

With that she was gone. The rest of you settled back, just sitting and talking again. And you’d gone off with Peter down by your beds after a while. Just the two of you again.

You’d realized obviously before now by their interactions that the Professor had met Peter at some point previous to his coming to the mansion the other day. But like so many things, in the rush of everything, you hadn’t learned much more.

“So Xavier’s been to your house. Was he trying to recruit you for the school?” You asked, honestly just curious. Though it was a little disappointing to consider you may have had a chance to meet Peter much sooner if he’d accepted any kind of invitation like that then.

You had been sitting on the bottom bunk together again, but he leaned back behind you now, stretching before putting his arms behind his head. He pulled his legs and cast awkwardly back up into the bed as you shifted to try and let him get how he wanted.

He looked pretty content though as he lowered an arm back to put it across your lap. “Well that was years ago. He had hair, he was walking. He didn’t want me for your little private school though. He just wanted me to help them spring my dad from the Pentagon...but I don’t think he knew it was my dad either then. It was all Logan’s plan to bring me. Really I didn’t find out much else. These dudes just showed up at my house, and I went with them to commit a felony.” He shrugged a little. “Probably not that smart, right? But I didn’t have anything else cool to do that day I guess.”

You wondered how much of that story Xavier would really tell you if you asked one day. You could only imagine what reasoning someone like the Professor would have to do something so brazen, even if it was to help Erik. Especially when Xavier had always preached to you all the importance of staying within the law and not using your powers to exploit any rules that would apply to non mutants. For now, you only asked a little bit more though. “How many people actually came to your house to do that then?”

“Oh, it was just three. Prof., Hank, and Logan.”

Well that made it even more interesting really. Hank was also so well known for always following the rules. But then again, he also was one of Xavier’s longest friends, like Raven and Erik. They’d all known each other since many years ago.

But this was the second time Peter had said this name of ‘Logan’. Shouldn’t you know that name? Well yes, you knew at least one. You couldn’t forget the name Jean had told you back in Stryker’s base. The man who’d gone on a rampage, though also cutting you violently from your own restraints before he’d escaped. Honestly you might even have scars from that when this was all said and done. But the name in and of itself wasn’t that unusual of a name. And what Peter was talking about apparently occurred years ago.

“I don’t think I know a Logan,” You said honestly. “Was he a mutant too?”

“Oh hell yeah,” Peter answered, raising up a closed fist. He made a noise, and a motion you didn’t understand as if he was doing something in midair with his fist, before adding. “Three big claws come shooting out this dude’s hand. It was so gross, but badass.”

You stared, the realization finally hitting hard. It couldn’t be a coincidence then. “Peter!” You exclaimed abruptly. There was just no way they were two different people. It was too unique of a mutation. “That’s the guy!”

“Huh?” He looked up at you in surprise. Confused at your sudden excitement.

“The one from the base! Didn’t Jean tell you?” Without thought, you lifted your shirt enough to show him those long claw marks still red across your stomach. They were dry now, already trying to heal. But it was three in a row, still clear as day. “The guy that tore through all those soldiers and freed me, she told me that his name was Logan.”

“She didn’t tell me that.” Peter stammered slightly, definitely caught off guard as you’d raised your shirt. “She just said to expect you to be bloody when I went looking for you.” He was staring at your exposed skin now though. “So Logan did that?”

You tensed slightly as you felt his fingertips graze your abdomen. It wasn’t unpleasant, just a bit unexpected. You lowered your shirt back down, but noticed obviously when he just let his hand stay under it.

When you didn’t show further aversion to the touch though, his hand continued idly wandering on the skin that was unbroken. “Well damn, that’s super screwed up then. I know they said a guy went full rage mode and tore the place up. And yeah, I saw the bodies he left when I went looking for you. But they didn’t say his name. I didn’t see him either before he took off.”

“It has to be the same person.” You reiterated. “But if you really want to be sure, you can always think of those memories of him, the Logan that you knew. If you let Jean look into your thoughts later, she could tell you for certain if it was him.

Peter looked a little disconcerted, but just agreed anyway. “Yeah, sure. I just, man how long did they have him there then? What a dick that Stryker guy was. Fuck him.”

But after the little bit of anger, he was only looking back at you. That thought of Stryker seeming to also remind him of your initial meeting with him. “How’s your ribs?”

You felt his fingers trail up across them at the question. “Sore,” You admitted. “But what isn’t?”

His voice was quieter then though, his hand moving back down before it reached your chest. “Then don’t jump out of any more planes please.”

You paused, wondering if he really was so bothered about that to have brought it up again. You’d all played so fast and loose that day though, doing whatever you felt you had to do. “It was a big day of firsts that’s for sure.”

“No kidding.” He agreed.

And nothing was ever going to be the same again was it? Even when you were all home again and the mansion was finally rebuilt. Were you all just going to go back to class like you hadn’t almost died? Would you just pretend that you didn’t know there were still entities out there that wanted you dissected, destroyed, or both?

“I think it gave the Professor a lot to think about too.” Is what you finally said. “I feel like he’s going to change some things going forward. But I don’t know how much yet. I don’t know if this could really mean the resurrection of the X-Men.” It was a crazy thought. Xavier and Hank never really liked to talk about that part of their past. They’d lost a lot then, or at least that’s always what you’d inferred from the bits and pieces you had heard over the years.

“X-Men...” Peter repeated, making a face like he wasn’t sure if it was a decent name or not. “Guess it’d still be better than being called Charlie X’s Angels or something like that.”

You smirked. “You know they used to all have codenames too.” Though you were sure not all of them were self named. “Xavier was just Professor X, Hank was Beast, Raven was Mystique, Scott’s brother Alex was Havok, your dad was Magneto of course. But there was Banshee, Darwin, and Tempest as well.”

He gave you a contemplative look. “Can I call you Lite-Brite then?”

Your look must have clearly said no, but he just kept going, very amused at your reaction.

“Glo-Worm?” He offered instead.

“Seriously? You’d name me after a bug?”

“Nah, they’ve got these super cute toy ones. Wanda had one. She slept with that thing all the time. They glow when you hug them.” He was grinning again now. “I mean, you’re comforting too right? Think I could make you glow?”

“I don’t think it works that way.” But honestly you might be lying to save face as he was now rubbing his hand further up into your shirt again.

“Don’t we all lose a little control when we get excited?” He countered, his tone getting a little more dangerous. “I know I do.”

You felt that statement was likely a bit of a trap, hesitating as your curiosity swelled. What could happen with his powers if he did have an uncontrolled moment like that? He was likely right though. Just like the onset of mutant powers came for most of you around the same time as puberty, they could also be triggered by intense emotions or stress. So it was reasonable to think that another powerful feeling such as arousal could also lead to some issues for those of you already less experienced in controlling yourselves.

“Brings a whole new meaning to safe sex doesn’t it?” He said as he let go of you then, putting his hands back behind his head. He still looked too amused, even though he seemed to sense when you needed another break from the touching to process your own thoughts.

“Did that happen with her?” You asked though. Not afraid, but yes, maybe some concern in your expression. You really hadn’t considered any of this before.

His smile faded at the unexpected mention of Crystal again. But he only hesitated a little, looking at you as he answered honestly. “Sometimes. She uh, burnt me a couple times. In the literal sense. She was like the band, Earth, Wind, and Fire. I mean she could control water too, but I liked the band joke better.” He frowned slightly. “She always hated that joke though.”

“Did you do anything to her?” You responded quietly before you could think better of it. Was this really any of your business? No, not really. But, it could be a part of your future.

There was a little surprise in his eyes, but his answer was immediate. “Babe, I’m the last person you’d ever have to be afraid of.” He looked bothered still as he continued though. “And no, I never hurt her. She would have knocked me into next week if I had.”

“So what does happen if you lose control that way?” You still asked, deciding you still did want to know.

He gave you an awkward look. But if he was going to offer out this information, it seemed there was going to at least be a small price for it. “If I’m really riled up? Turned on? You can say it outright you know.”

You weren’t going to say it in any more explicit way than that though, but you nodded at least. “Yes, you know what I mean.”

He sighed at your modesty, but reached out his hand after a moment. “Let me see your wrist then. Way easier just to show you.”

Well, if it was anything dangerous, he wouldn’t be so casual about it would he? You did offer him your wrist, not knowing what to expect as he clasped his hand around it.

You could tell he was focusing on something for just a moment, before the oddest sensation you’d ever felt shot from your wrist, down into your fingertips, and all the way up into your shoulder before you jerked your hand back in surprise.

Your reaction didn’t seem to faze him at all though as he’d easily let you go. It looked like you’d only done exactly as he expected. “You’ll still feel it for a bit after, just so you know.”

And you could still feel it, fading but definitely there as you flexed your fingers. “What did you do?” It wasn’t painful, but it was like a tingling, instantaneous whenever he’d done it. Not just through the skin, but into the bone, the muscle, everything. The only thing you could liken it to at all is when a limb woke up from being asleep, yet it wasn’t as uncomfortable as that and it was far deeper.

“Well you asked what happens if I get too excited. I, uh, vibrate?” He tried to call it something without really knowing what to call it. “I’m no science guy, but I’d guess it moves everything I’m touching down to what, the atoms right? So that’s what you’d feel. But it wouldn’t just be from my hand. I was doing it on purpose there. If it wasn’t on purpose it’d be literally all of me doing it.”

So that would mean, well...that would be a very intense sensation to say the least if you would happen to be having skin to skin contact in more places than one when he would accidentally do that. You tried not to let your expression change much at the realization. The last thing you wanted to do was to throw this very personal dialog further down into the gutter.

“I still think you’d glow though.” He added confidently. “And if your energy deal is always as warm as it was in that elevator shaft back at the base, I think it’d feel really good too. Just for the record.”

Yes, this was definitely teetering on that edge of going fully into a place you weren’t ready for just yet. But you only had yourself to blame. You asked him to elaborate, and he did. You knew your powers could be a lot more than harmless though. Much more than warmth. You didn’t know if it’d be too pessimistic to mention that right now though.

“I don’t know what I would do.” You finally said, just speaking the truth when you didn’t know what else to say.

“We can talk about something else you know if you want.” He poked you gently in the arm, seemingly offering you an escape route if you wished to take it. “Like we’re still going to the mall at some point right?”

“Definitely.” You answered gladly.

“You should come over too, play some video games when we get back. I’ve got an Atari and a Nintendo. Or we could watch a movie. You like Bruce Lee? Karate Kid? Stuff like that?”

The genuine eagerness emerging in his tone was something you really appreciated. A reminder that in reality, even though he evidently enjoyed any physical contact he was allowed to have with you, it was only a part of the whole picture. He just wanted to be around you too.

“Yes, I think that’d be awesome. I haven’t seen many of those movies, but usually Jubilee picks for movie night. Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles...over and over.”

He laughed. “Oh, no way. There’s more to life than Molly Ringwald. Time to expand your horizons!”

You were smiling too, about to say something back when Scott’s voice carried from further down the barracks.

“Hey, they brought dinner if either of you want to eat!”

“But is it even worth a crap!?” Peter called back immediately and just as loudly.

“Heck if I know!” Scott answered and you could swear you heard a lot less loud Jean tell him to quit yelling in her ear.

“I’m still salty about that fake strawberry garbage from earlier.” Peter said, just to you then as he sat back up.

It wasn’t much of a surprise to you though that the food would be brought to you all this time, considering the episode in the mess hall before. The only thing that did surprise you was that it would already be dinner time. Though it was hard to have much concept of time right now really, especially when there were no windows to see the sun or sky below deck.

But it did give it more of that prison feel too. The hours running together, locked away in close quarters, and now with government mandated food being dropped off impersonally. It either felt like prison or being in a rare species exhibit at the zoo.

“Well, you said you’re like a hummingbird metabolism wise, right? You have to eat something.” You spoke, while hanging back to give Peter a chance to get up on his crutches.

Really the hummingbird analogy you were liking more and more though as you personally thought they were adorable, and they literally were the bird equivalent to him in your opinion. This flamboyant little bird that beat its wings so fast it could actually hover in place or disappear in a blur once they did decide to take off. Not to mention the exclusive high sugar diet.

“Glo-Worm,” Was all he replied back, but very pleased when it still got a strong reaction from you.

“Please don’t make that one stick. It’s a lot less cute than Hummingbird.”

But he just offered a non-committal smile, walking past you. “We’ll see.”

——————————

Some few hours later, when it was time for lights out again, Peter had wanted to take a shower so you were already in the bottom bunk alone.

You tried to stay awake to wait for him, but you must have already been asleep for how bad you startled when you felt something pressing down against the mattress beside you.

And when you shot up, you were even more confused at the sudden pressure against the top of your head before you finally woke up enough to realize Peter now had his hand splayed there, pushing your head back a little.

“Woah,” He whispered in the dark. “You about nailed the top of the bunk. It’s just me.”

You relaxed, trying to look at him before you felt him let go, laying down beside you. As you laid down as well, he shifted several times, trying to get comfortable.

“I hate this damn cast.” He complained. “Do you know how weird it is to have to shower with a garbage bag tied around your leg?”

You could feel his still wet hair though on the pillow as he nuzzled in closer with you. You’d both joked a little earlier about looking forward to getting to share this bed one more time tonight before heading back to the U.S. and your sort of more normal lives tomorrow. The emphasis of the joking though had been about getting to continue the kissing that had been interrupted on the flight deck.

But now that you were here, you found you really just wanted to hold him and enjoy the warmth and quiet together. Because you didn’t know when this chance would come again. Would you go your separate ways tomorrow? You back to New York and wherever the other displaced students were now staying, and him back to D.C. to reunite with his mother? He wouldn’t be able to run and come to find you again until his cast was off. And how many weeks would that take, even with mutant healing factors?

You didn’t really know what the exact plan was after you’d arrive in the U.S. either, but maybe there was something you could do after all. “Hey.” You said quietly after a bit, hoping he was still awake.

“Mmm?” He made a questioning noise, hugging a bit tighter to you.

You took it as enough response to say that he was listening. “So they said that we’re landing in New Jersey tomorrow, right? Well everyone else is going to want to go north to get back to Salem Center, New York.” You didn’t really need to clarify where the school had been though, he’d obviously already found it. “But you’ll need to go south to get back to D.C., and it’s not like Xavier is going to expect you to find your own way home. Someone’s going to have to drive you and-”

But Peter didn’t even let you finish, already very on board with the idea. “And we give Prof. the old puppy eyes and beg for it to be you.” You knew he was grinning again then just by his tone. “I like it. Road trip.”

You felt relief that he approved of your spur of the moment plan, but then again he’d already said he wanted you to come over to his house sometime. You wouldn’t be able to stay very long you were sure, but at least you’d get the car ride together if this all worked out. And you’d get to see where he lived, maybe even hang out for a little while before having to drive back to New York.

It was funny how just like that you now had something to look forward to again. But would Xavier really be on board? Would he feel comfortable letting you drive back alone? You’d just have to convince him that you were old enough now and capable.

“I guess I should have cleaned my room a little better before I left.” Peter mused. “Can be a bit of a train wreck, just like the dude that lives in it.”

“Oh, someone else lives there too?” You teased slightly.

But Peter only played along. “Yeah, a real piece of work. Guy just plays video games all day, and wears out the same shitty records playing them over and over with the volume up. Maybe reads some comic books or jets off to nab some Twinkies from the convenience store down the block. Real outstanding citizen. I heard he’s dating now though. Who the hell would want that charity project?”

“Hmm.” You knew he was only half joking, Peter really still seeing himself in the way he just described to a large degree. But you were patient, and determined to keep working on building his self confidence little by little. “I think if he met someone then, it’d be someone who believes in the old ‘diamond in the rough’ expression. They must really just like him for him. They probably even see his real value even when he can’t yet.”

Peter was quiet for a few moments at that before you felt him run a hand through your hair. “I guess that would make him really lucky then. He probably should bust his ass to make sure he doesn’t disappoint them then and screw that one up.”

You smiled softly. “All he has to do is be himself. If you have to fight too hard just to maintain a relationship, it likely was never right to begin with.”

“Been there, done that.” He at least agreed, but was now running his fingers down along your face.

You knew what he was hoping for and leaned in to meet him as you kissed. It was very soft though, like he was still thinking of what you’d said. He didn’t press for much more either, just a few more kisses before he nuzzled his face back down against you.

“I’m still going to do the best I can.” He spoke quietly against your neck. “I want you to be happy.”

“I am.” You said. Feeling every bit of those words as you stayed warm against one another. It felt safe. It felt right.

And no one said anything else. You were both content to leave it that way, falling asleep just as you were.

———————————

(Continued in next chapter here)

[thewildwaffle]

Humans are Weird Shorts : Shorts

This was from a prompt given by a user on Ao3. For my “Shorts” series, they wanted a story about aliens thinking shorts are weird. It was silly, yes, but made for a great slice-of-life short!

***

“Oh I feel like we haven’t had a day off in decacycles!” “Varree, you had a personal day two cycles ago. I saw it on the schedule. Don’t over exaggerate or I’ll start to think you’ve been hanging around the humans too much.” Varree's stiff fur rose indignantly. “Look who’s talking. You always get grumpy whenever there isn’t a human to sit with at meals. Yeah, don’t think I don’t notice that!” Varree’s wispy voice squeaked a bit in triumph as she reached for another basket of laundry. Multiple limbs reached in and began folding the various cleaned clothes and fabrics. “I do not!” Riyabin huffed as he leaned over to help with the laundry. The first thing he grabbed was a uniform that, by the looks of it, belonged to a human. “Hmpf!” He dropped it back into the basket and grabbed another. It was also a human uniform, which made sense since it was usually asked by the custodial and ship-keeping staff that each species submit laundry and other cleaning requests together as much as possible. With a sigh, Riyabin relented and began folding and putting uniforms onto a cart for returns. Varree laughed. “No need to be so gruff about it. You’ve got a touch of ‘human furor’ or whatever. So what? So does most of the galaxy!” The basket of uniforms was nearly empty. It helped when a kreechen like Varree had three sets of arms that made the work go fast. She stacked the now-empty basket with the others and pulled another over another one that was full of what looked like human clothing. This one had a mixture of uniforms and civilian clothes. “Ooh,” she sifted through the basket, “we better hurry with this one. I’m sure whoever these belong to will be wanting them in time for shore leave!” She pulled out a large article of civilian clothing. It was purple and somewhat triangular in shape. “Hey, this kind of looks like what sefra usually wear, doesn’t it?”

“It’s called a shawl, and it looks nothing like what we usually wear,” Riyabin shook his gray-streaked head and grabbed a shirt from the top of the pile. “Humans sure have a lot of different types of clothes though, don’t they?” Varree held up another strange-shaped article of clothing. “Like, look at this? How am I supposed to fold this? What’s even the purpose of this?” “I don’t think you’re supposed to fold it, use a hanger,” Riyabin gestured to a rack holding other hanging clothes off to the side of the room. “Humans have one of the widest array of clothing styles because their planet has such a wide range of temperatures and climates that they can survive in.” Varree had slowed down considerably with this basket as she kept stopping to examine different articles of human clothing. Riyabin merely shook his head and kept working. He usually dealt with folding and returns for crew clothing by himself, but with the ship-wide rest day/shore-leave trip coming up, he’d recruited the small kreechen to the task to make sure everything was done in time. “Hey, look at these,” Varree held up yet another article of clothing. It was smaller than the other ones she’d pointed out and made out of a heavy blue fabric Riyabin had seen many times before with human civilian clothes. The shape of the article was familiar, but it was just that he’d never seen them look so… short. “I think I’ve heard of those before. They’re like normal pants but, uh, short.” Varree tugged on the end of the clothing with an amused expression. “You mean they’re not for some tiny-legged human?” “No, they just leave the skin below the hem exposed,” Riyabin had never personally seen a human wear such an article of clothing, but he was almost certain he’d seen them worn in human media before. Varree gave a purring hum as she considered what he’d said. “I’ve never seen a human with bare legs. I always just assumed it was some sort of faux pax for them or whatever.” “It depends on the environment or culture they come from, but many are okay with varying levels of exposure. It’s just that civilian clothes are usually for comfort, so they usually have jeans or what they call sweatpants.” “Ew, sweat?” Varree paused folding the soft gray pants she’d been working on and squinted a pair of eyes at them warily. It was common knowledge that human bodily fluids, sweat included, could be dangerous to come into contact with in certain circumstances. “It’s just a name, they call them sweat pants because they were originally designed for athletes. A lot of humans like them because they’re warm and soft.” “Oh. Okay then” Varree sighed and placed the folded sweatpants on the cart. “So those have a purpose. What are the tiny pants for?” She held up the denim shorts she still held in her other arm. “They’re usually worn in warm weather so the human’s legs don’t overheat,” Riyabin explained. “They’re called shorts.” “That’s not a very creative name.” “Yeah, humans are kind of hit or miss with naming things. I’ve been told that the shorts made out of that particular kind of material are very fashionable.” With a sigh, he paused and stepped back. The basket was empty. That was the last one too. Well, of the human clothes. There was a small basket of sashes and ties that the stransi used as uniforms. Those took no time at all to process. After that, all that was left was to clear the laundry machine vents, make sure the cleaning droids had room access, and push the carts of clothes to the designated pick-up area. “Thanks again for helping out. That went a lot faster than usual,” Riyabin smiled and gave Varree a polite bow. The Kreechen blinked all eight eyes and smiled. “Happy to help, it helps to have a few extra hands to lighten the load.” “So what are your plans for your day off? It’s not every day we get to go planetside on Earth.” “I know right? I’m so excited! Humans Esomo and Oliver invited me to a circus.” “Oh,” Riyabin blinked in surprise. That’s not what he’d been expecting. He’d been researching different Earth terms and cultures, but wasn’t sure what a circus was. He’d have to look that up. “Well, that sounds like a good time. Human Zara invited me to her hometown. Her family lives outside some large and very historic cities and they’re going to give me the “grand tour” as they’ve described.” “Large cities presumably filled with tons of humans? Sounds like you’ll have no excuse to be grumpy,” laughed Varree. Riyabin was just about to retort with something smart, but Varree turned down the corridor and started walking away. “Well, I’ve got to get ready. I’ll see you later. Have fun on Earth!” “You as well,” Riyabin called back. “And thanks again for helping!” Varree waved one of her dark hairy arms and continued on presumably towards her personal quarters. Riyabin stayed standing in the corridor a moment longer. After he was sure Varree was gone, he pulled up a holoscreen from his wrist device and looked up the word ‘circus.’ Knowing how eccentric and quirky humans could be, he should have expected what he’d found. What really intrigued him were the images of what was known as ‘clowns.’ If Varree had been so fascinated by something as simple as human shorts, she was going to be blown away by the strange and festive-looking clothes that seemed to be the norm at a ‘circus.’ “Well,” he chuckled quietly to himself, “isn't she in for a treat.”

[janis-1987]

Under New Management (Fizzmodeus)

Chapter 7

Masterpost X

< x >

Fizz doesn't feel any nerves as he prepares to take the center stage for the last time at the circus, in fact he feels relieved, knowing that he'll likely never be here again.

That's when Blitz comes up behind him, "It must suck to know you've become obsolete." He says with venom in his voice.

Fizz rolls his eyes and flicks his tail in annoyance, "Yeah, glad you've come to terms with the fact that you'll be fired soon."

Blitz growls, "Not me you noodled limbed asshole, you. You're being replaced by a fucking robot. You've become washed up."

Fizz bites back a growl, "Only because Mammon is greedy and cheep, nothing can top the original, I still do shows throughout all of hell. And the robot that's replacing me? It's part of a line of sex dolls. So clearly, my popularity isn't going down hill anytime soon. I would say I can't say the same for you, but you would have had to have actually been popular for it to be true."

Blitz snarls, "Ugh, you think you're so much better than every other imp here. You'd be nothing without those limbs of yours."

Fizz tenses, "Shut up. I'm allowed to think I'm better than everyone because I am better. I'm definitely better than you, I always have been. You couldn't even make a stupid balloon animal correctly. You're a sorry excuse for a clown."

That makes Blitz snap, and he tackles Fizz, pushing him out onto the stage.

The crowd gasps in shock. And Asmodeus and Mammon rise from their seats, almost insinc.

Fizz snarls angrily, "What do you think you're doing Blitzo?"

"Putting you in your damn place!" He screams, attempting to rip off one of Fizz's arms.

Fizz kicks Blitz off of him and stands up, dusting himself off. He knows he's in front of an audience and reporters, he can't afford to mess up, "Aww is the joke of a clown jealous." He teases.

The audience looks uneasy, unsure if they're meant to laugh at his remark.

Fizz doesn't seem fazed by the lack of laughter. He needs to get the show going and make this look good. "Hah, oh wow." His arm stretches and grabs the microphone, and the spot light focuses on him, "What a way to start a show, huh folks? You know, I told him starting a fake fight wouldn't make anyone laugh."

Blitz hisses, getting back up to his feet and trying to tackle Fizz again.

But Fizz just slips out of the way, causing Blitz to land on his face. The audience laughs.

Fizz joins their laughter with a smirk, "Well, that's one way to make a fool of yourself, that's for sure." He makes his way to the center of the stage, a smile on his face, though, he's mindful not to lose track of Blitz, "Anyways folks, we have a great show for you today, the new face of Lu Lu Land is here to present himself. And don't worry, it ain't the fool who can't seem to catch a break."

Blitz scowls and is about to make another attempt to attack Fizz when he's pulled off stage by security.

"I'm happy to introduce, the only thing that could possibly fill the big shoes I've left after leaving this place, can I get a drum roll folks?" Fizz calls out, a big smile on his face.

The audience humors him, doing a drum roll, as Asmodeus and Mammon sit back down.

Another spot light clicks on and the curtain opens.

"The robotic Fizzarolli!" He says, gesturing to the robot who bows. Fizz hands the microphone off to him and stretches up to Asmodeus' viewing box.

As the show continues, it's mere background noise to Ozzie who looks over Fizz, very worried.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Asmodeus asks as he checks the imp for injuries.

"I'm fine Ozzie. I'm honestly surprised he had the balls to do that." Fizz replies, he was mostly fine after all, just a few scratches. Though he could feel pain emanating from his lower back, he wasn't about to tell the already worried prince that.

Asmodeus shakes his head, "You handled it well, though I doubt anyone is going to fully believe that was just part of the show."

Fizz shrugs, "Eh, they will, as long as I show enough confidence in it, no one will doubt it."

"How do you know that Fizzy?" Asmodeus asks, eyeing the reporters.

Fizz sighs, "Its not that first time that dick weasel has tried to ruin one of the shows by doing that. I've learned all his tricks now though, it ain't easy to keep me down. I'm a resilient little thing." He says with a smirk.

"And Mammon just let him keep performing with you?" Asmodeus asks in utter shock.

"Yeah, well, Mammon has never been too worried about my safety, besides the worse he is, the better it makes me look." Fizz replies, sitting in Ozzie's lap, "Don't worry about it too much, just relax and enjoy the show."

Asmodeus nods his head a little, trying to do just that, but I was hard. While it wasn't surprising to learn that Mammon didn't care about the little imp, he was. He may not know the full extent of the imp's injuries but just watching the fall he knew it must have hurt, "Are you going to be okay to perform at the club tonight?" He asks softly.

Fizz looks at Asmodeus in surprise, he'd never had anyone care enough to ask that after Blitz pulled a stunt like that, "Wha-? Yeah Ozzie, I'll be fine, I'll just take a few more pain killers for my back."

"So you are hurt?" Asmodeus asks in a hushed shout.

"Well, I mean, a little I guess. But it's fine, I'm fine." Fizz says, both for himself and for Asmodeus. He couldn't let a little stunt like that rattle him.

"Should we leave early? I'll let you rest and get yourself a break." Asmodeus says, starting to work himself up.

"Are you crazy? The reporters will definitely notice if we go and that will only cause trouble." Fizz whisper shouts, as much as he appreciates Asmodeus' concern for him, this was not the time or place for him to express it.

Asmodeus looks sadly at the little imp, "But, he hurt you."

"Oh Ozzie, it's alright, I've been beaten up worse than that and still got back on stage." Fizz replies, trying desperately to not be an asshole towards the only person to ever show what felt to him like genuine care.

Asmodeus sighs, "Alright little one, but after the show, we're going to leave the party early to get you cleaned up and so you can have some well deserved rest before the show at my club."

"Okay, okay, fine. But really, you don't need to, I'm okay." Fizz replies, honestly really content with the idea of being able to relax and not run from performance to performance. He stretches a little and a quiet whimper escapes his lips as a chorus of cracks come from his spine, each one a painful pop.

Asmodeus eyes widen, he wanted to stand up right then and take his Fizzy home. But he knew Fizz would only get mad at him for babying him like that. He wishes the imp hadn't been through so many years of abuse with Mammon. Maybe then he'd be more willing to let Asmodeus take care of him.

Finally, the show comes to an end and the audience files out. After the regular attendees leave, the royalty makes its way to a separate tent for the after party.

Fizz sits himself on Asmodeus shoulder, hoping him not moving around as much and staying close to the demon prince would help Asmodeus feel better about the whole situation.

And it did, Asmodeus felt a lot better knowing the little imp he was so deeply in love with was safe on his shoulder and no one would dare to even attempt to touch him.

Of course the reporters come swarming, asking a million questions.

"Fizzarolli, was the attack really part of the show?"

"Do you still work for Mammon or are you soley working for Asmodeus now?"

"Are you and Asmodeus a couple?"

Fizz resits the urge to groan, all the questions were making his head hurt, he clears his throat and gets down.

"Alright, alright, give me a second will ya? Anyways, yeah the attack was all an act, it was all coordinated ahead of time and I'm completely fine." Fizz starts to explain, "I do still work for Mammon but Asmodeus is the sole owner of my contract. And that last question is just laughable, a little imp like me with the embodiment of lust? Come on now, you're just looking at things that aren't there." He says with a laugh.

Asmodeus keeps a straight face but couldn't deny the last answer Fizz gave stung, he wanted to be with Fizzarolli, he truely did. But now he was almost certain that the imp who had captured his heart didn't return the burning feeling he felt in his heart everytime he saw him smile.

Fizz gets back onto Asmodeus' shoulder and as the reporters go away he sighs in relief, "Sheesh, those assholes never get off my back. Sorry about the last answer, I know we fucked and all but neither of us need that absolute shit show of press. I mean, can you imagine how they would have twisted that?"

"Mhm." Asmodeus says absent mindedly.

"Ozzie? Is something wrong?" Fizz asks concerned.

"Yeah... Yeah, everything is fine. I'm not feeling well either, we should head home."

"Oh, uh yeah, okay." Fizz says, now worried that he did something wrong.

Within a few seconds they're back at Asmodeus' house, sitting together on the bed.

"Okay spill, what's buggin you Ozzie?"

"Fizzy... I... I love you."

[genderfluid-insomniac]

"I'm Still Standing" singer!Hawks x reader

words: 1.4k

You saw him nervously pacing on stage and playing with his black leather jacket and red wings fluffed up due to anxiety, locking eyes with you and laughing nervously. Going over and putting a hand on his cheek, “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to do great!”

Keigo leaned into your touch and hummed, “I know. I just can’t help these pre-show nerves. How are you feeling, baby bird?” You sighed and rested your head against his chest, feeling his arms wrap around you while you do the same.

“I could be better,” you received a look from your boyfriend, “okay, I’m nervous but you are too!” He raised his hands in defense, “Fair point”. You both laughed and ran your hands over his jacket. The black leather complimenting the dark blue ripped jeans he had on and white shirt, not even mentioning how his vermillion wings stood out and accentuated his gorgeous features.

Glancing up and seeing him catch you staring, smiling as you got flustered, and continued to reach a hand up over his soft slightly chapped lips and below his eyes, tracing his black birthmarks around his eyes. You felt so lucky to have him as a partner for love and for singing, the confidence he gave off was infectious and he knew it.

You heard the manager call him over, kissing each other before he was on, sending you a wink and smiling excitedly. Keigo knew what he did to your heart and never stopped making it flutter, as he always did. You waved to him and crept closer to the wings of the stage.

“Come on, Keigo. You got this!” muttering under your breath. All of you had practiced for a week and tuned your skills, your lover had rehearsed his piano lessons up until tonight and refused to show you, insisting that the surprise would be worth it.

On the stage was a single old classic piano with a mic attached and a stool, lighted dimmed and tinted a navy blue. He walked over and sat on the stool, looking back up to you and your group, flittering his hands over the keys and his facing blooming with determination.

Running his hands over the keys and playing the first few notes, the music and lights giving a light pumped up feel, “You could never know what it's like, your blood like winter freezes just like ice.” The crowd picked up the beat and started swaying in their seats and you were doing the same dancing where you stood, glancing at the other performers beside you.

You could see Keigo’s eyes closed but keeping the rhythm and feeling himself, trying to stay seated as his feet tapped along with him, his head bopping up and down, angling his head so the mic could still pick him up. “And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you, You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use,”

His wings twitched and moved behind him, each feather feeling the energy of him, and syncing with it. He was in his own world, his blonde hair swaying and remaining in perfect shape, his whole body surging with joy as he sang his heart out. “And did you think this fool could never win? Well look at me, I'm coming back again.”

“I got a taste of love in a simple way. And if you need to know while I'm still standing you just fade away” With every lyric he sang, the crowd responded and clapped along. The kids got up from their seats and dancing with their parents and the elders smiled as the handsome man captured a song they once heard beautifully.

You knew the chorus was coming and you met Keigo’s gaze as grinned, “Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did,” eyes brimming with happiness and wings flaring out slightly, “Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid” Shining with confidence as he sang the last couple words, his past was known between you both and he told you there were a couple of things that distracted him and made him feel free, singing was one of them.

The euphoria inside you was nothing compared to his, “I'm still standing after all this time,” you could tell how connected he was to those words and how true they were. “Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind.” The audience was eating up the energy he gave off and giving it back twofold, they could feel the emotions through the song, it had a different meaning to each of them but all similar.

Whatever you did can’t stop me from getting better.

“I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah”

Here I am, stronger than ever.

“I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah”

Your friends bumped your shoulder and grinned with pride, inviting you to quietly dance with him and you happily accepted, catching Keigo’s eyes as he glanced from the keys to the mic. The emotion you both shared was undeniable, “Once I never could hope to win, you starting down the road leaving me again.”

Letting your mind drift through your memories as he sang the third verse, how he struggled to believe that things could get better and his life could change for the better. That’s when you both met, giving him a chance at hope and shifting his mindset by letting love into his life, as much as he grew to appreciate you, you appreciate him and how hard he fought every day.

“The threats you made were meant to cut me down, and if our love was just a circus you'd be a clown by now.” Some days Keigo came home depressed and hopeless, thinking back on all the times he was berated and gaslit. Trying desperately to not give in to those negative thoughts, knowing they went nowhere, learning it was okay to accept help.

Lovingly staring at him as you danced and spun with the others backstage, cheering loudly as he reached the chorus and stood up, pushing the stool over. “Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did? Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid!” Wings unfurling as he got swept up in the song and the crimson feathers catching the light of the spotlights,

Keigo looked to you full of pride and exhilaration and tearing up. You mouthed to him, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ and laughing as tears brimmed your eyes as well. “I'm still standing after all this time, picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind” By now the crowd was singing along and completely in the moment as your boyfriend was, hearing him press a high key a few times for effect.

“I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah” It truly was a magnificent display, Keigo full of joy and hope singing fully heartedly into the mic and annunciating each word with meaning. “I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah” pounding out the final notes and finishing it off with a bang, hitting the keys and pushing away the piano as he jumped back.

The lights flashed and came back on, the overwhelming cheer from the audience and how loud it was, still shook up from singing, Keigo smiled and looked to you a bit nervous. Laughing you motioned to take a bow and he copied you, bowing at the hips and fanning his wings out as he did so, charming the crowd as he always did.

You applauded him and ran to him and soon as he got off stage, jumping into his arms and giggling as he spun you around, his hands firmly on your hips. “I knew you could do it, you were amazing! I don’t have the words!” Keigo laughed with you and held you close, his golden eyes bursting with joy, and kissed your lips.

[sanstropfremir]

Hey love, hope you're having a nice day

My mom strongly believes Taemin has a thing for using some sort of element to cover his head in most of his MVs. Obviously we're both too dumb to catch the symbolism (if any) so I thought why not ask someone who knows?

So what do you think? Is there any deep reason behind the head bags or is it just an aesthetic thing?

anon!!!! mwah!!! i'm having a better day because you sent this in!!!!

your mom is right, taemin absolutely has a thing for covering his head, specifically his face! you can see masks and/or veils (under the cut):

in the hit the stage performance of sayonara hitori

in the offsick concert teaser

in the nippon budokan performance of i’m crying

in the move mv here (there are several shots from this scene), and here

in the want mv here

there’s a quick shot of him pulling off a veil in criminal

and of course, advice. and again.

also some other images:

1. from the ngda act 1 promo photos

2. from the 2kids promo photos

3. from the move album scans

4. the cover of ngda act 2 messiah version

5. an actual bag over his head in the criminal mv

6. from the most recent short vcr in the ngda beyond live

7. from the sayonara hitori album scans

this is not an exhaustive list because i know i’ve missed some; i'm 80% sure there was a mask with the red outfit in the ngda act 1 scans but this is enough examples i think to show that it’s definitely deliberate. and i'm not even bringing up all the times he physically covers his face with a body part or it’s obscured through an effect, because then we gotta talk about the famous choreography, the idea choreography, the just me and you vcr, and countless promo photos and album scans from essentially every era in his entire solo career.

the backbone of the kpop industry in its current state is the idols' faces. human nature has proven time and time again that the easiest way to catch an audience is through a pretty face (by whatever the standards are at the time), and in an industry built on militant commercialism, of course the emphasis is going to be on those faces. you can see it in every bit of content. turning physical albums into mass collectibles, with multiple versions, giant photobooks, photocards. an idol’s face IS their uniform. when an idol doesn’t want to be seen, what's the first thing they do? cover their face. (and people still take pictures of them anyways). i’ve seen countless times on vlives and ig lives where an idol is wearing a mask and there will be a stream of “show us your face <3”’s until they do. their face is their brand. every decision a stylist, a publicist, a company makes is to optimize exactly how beautiful they can make their idols look, because that’s by and large what the fans want. obviously it's a product of the larger trend in unattainable beauty standards fueled by social media, but i'm not going to talk much about that, because it's a lot. if you’ve followed me for long enough (probably just for more than a few days tbh, since i talk about it constantly), you’ll have noticed that i'm a huge proponent of ‘ugly’ hair trends, and i'm a huge proponent of ugly styling in general. when idols have to be fashion models as well as inhuman performing machines, you’re setting them up to everything that plagues that industry as well, which means massive complexes about their faces and bodies, in the most mild of terms.

‘ugliness’ has freedom in it. part of the reason why i’ve gone extra insane for advice as a whole is because it IS ugly. taemin’s extensions ARE awful. his hands are blackened and dirty the whole mv, and so are portions of his body. he’s visibly flaunting his real tattoos*, which are still deeply stigmatized in the east. we see him get in a car crash. in arguably the most flattering/conventionally attractive outfit, he’s got heavy mascara tear tracks. the song isn’t particularly melodic, the choreography is childish and jerky, the lyrics directly call out the people that treat him like an object. and of course, the mask. all of these are cracks in the facade, confronting us, on purpose, with the crumbling of his perpetually pretty, perfect persona. he's hurt, he's angry, he's got his hands deep in the grime of living in the public eye that the public refuses to see, and now he's going to smear it all over himself until you DO see it. at the end of the mv his triumph is not that he washes himself clean, but that he paints overtop. gesso on an old canvas; a fresh start, but fundamentally informed by the things underneath.

taemin uses masks as a way to deface himself. both in the literal sense of removing his face from the equation but also in the synonomic sense of the destruction, the obliteration, the vandalization of himself. of his brand. known as sm’s pretty boy since he was 14, who is he if he doesn’t have his face?

as a general device the masks are an entreaty to address him on his own artistic merit. but they do often have specific meanings within their contexts. in the i’m crying performance it is to remove himself as an entity all together; he is anonymous now, an unseen narrator to the performers on stage.** in move and want it’s for emphasis on his body; proof that he can still ensnare you with his limbs alone. pulling off the veil/reversing it back on in criminal as a revealing/concealing of the two sides of himself on display in the mv. the literal suffocation of one of those sides with a plastic bag. the voice in idea says ‘you are my messiah,’ but the cover of the album denies confirmation of that identity.

there’s more to be dug into here, especially with the ngda act 2 photos but i’d have to go back through my catholic iconography notes again and this would be a lot longer than it already is. i’m also looking at this from a western perspective, there are undoubtedly double meanings specific to a korean context that i haven’t clocked. but that’s the reason i love his work so much! it stands up to a lot of rigorous analysis and there’s always going to be something that i don’t catch right away, something more to learn.

---

* we learned like yesterday that his hip tattoo is a peony, which he named as symbolizing freedom. peonies tend to have primarily positive meanings across east asian cultures, but in victorian floriography, they mean shame and sometimes anger.

** this style of performance is very common in cirque du soleil shows, especially the older ones from the early 2000s. it's pretty common to have a ballad or operatic singer featured as a ‘narrator’ to a specific story section of routine. i’m sure this is probably frequent in other places as well, but i’m naming cirque specifically because that’s where i’ve seen it the most, and also because there is an actual circus performer on stage during this. plus there’s a guy in a pierrot costume, who is probably the most famous clown***. (although the costume is technically wrong because pierrot is supposed to be unmasked. (ironic plays loudly in the distance))

*** clown of the technical variety and not clown of the honk honk birthday variety.

[heresathreebee]

Old Stomping Ground

[Ava Starr X Female Reader]

Summary: One of the good things to come out of constant alien invasions are the abandoned ruins of New York, and you’re fixing to show Ava your favorite place. Previous Masterlist Next

Tag(s): 13+ | can be reader gender and race neutral reader but is written with woc readers in mind, no-snap au, post-Ant Man and the Wasp, Ava and reader on an adventure in post Avenger's New York, homelessness, alien trees and the power of community.

AN: no-snap au, post-Ant Man and the Wasp. No beta, we die like men. Just you and Ava having a short adventure.

You took three days off of work for this one. Packed two backpacks with food, water, clothes, and other supplies. Bedrolls and bug spray and hiking poles. Ava laughed at your enthusiasm but she seemed to vibrate with excitement right along with you. 

"Can you at least tell me where we're going," she pleaded. 

You ran through the end of the checklist for the third time, trying to be extra careful now that you wouldn't be hoofing it solo. You dodged the question expertly with a "it's not far and it's not dangerous so hush! Learn to enjoy the mystery, babe." 

Ava rolled her eyes playfully but stopped asking and let you finish. After that you ate a hearty breakfast and began your journey north by northwest. In the taxi, your girlfriend's eyes darted from building to building as you turned on every street and you mentally gave up on scolding her. She was too pragmatic to allow for that level of trust yet. 

You were surprised that it took her until you passed the ruins of the daycare you once attended that she whipped her head around to whisper, "is this… Leviathan alley?" 

You shush her but can't keep the excited grin from your face. "It's a bit more than just an alley." 

Once SHIELD was finished stripping for parts and gutting the cybernetically enhanced alien creature left behind in the Battle of New York, the rest was abandoned. The city's been planning to clean up and rebuild but there are scores in the earth where the leviathan crashed and crumbling, precarious buildings that need to be brought down first in the safest way possible. While the city’s been debating how to deal with the destruction, the poor and destitute had moved in and discovered the blood of the chitauri has some very interesting properties. 

"It's like it changes the property of concrete," you explained, climbing over rubble and reaching back to pull her up, "uhg– breaks it down into some kind of hyper fertilizer. There's this copse of trees growing where we think the stomach was and I think in its natural habitat, the creature was probably an omnivore of sorts and may have swallowed thousands of seeds–" 

"That's all very fascinating dear, could you please take this?" Ava shoves a canteen into your hands and cups your hands to bring it closer to your mouth. You've climbed for what feels like miles and hey, you are pretty parched. "Think we'd better rest and eat, maybe look for a safe place to set up camp and… oh, look over there!" 

Ava's sudden whisper makes you turn. It's green in that direction, though this 'alley' is shrouded in darkness due to the dome made from the spine and ribs of the leviathan, the sprigs seem to grow just fine, becoming taller as they moved farther away from you until they began to develop woody stalks and trunks. 

"That's the forest you were talking about," Ava whispered in awe. “I wanna get a closer look.” 

You gently caught her arm. “Camp first, eat. It’ll still be here tomorrow.” 

~ 

Ava didn’t expect you to take her into an encampment. There were two dozen people in tents, an open grill going and laughter. They seemed to recognize you. It was mostly older adults, a few elderly people wrapped in thick blankets and teens walking around asking anyone needed drinks. You grabbed the blanket from your pack and wrapped Ava in it as soon as she found a seat on a slab of concrete. 

"Comfy?" 

Ava smiled up at you, taking the proffered fruit slice from you. "Very." 

She examined the strange fruit. It had a thin violet skin with a spongy white inner layer and pink juice with black seeds  dripping from it. She leabed over your shoulder get a look at the fruit as a whole, and it seemed the pink goop was loose inside the fruit similar to a coconut. 

"Are these from the trees," she asked. 

"Yeah, they're edible don't worry. No side effects we've seen," you assure. 

Ava nods but as she's licking the tangy pink juice you continue, "well except for Nadia but she's a mutant." 

Ava flicks worried green eyes at you and slowly takes the fruit from her mouth. She's already swallowed on reflex so there's no turning back now, only managing whatever weird things would come next. 

"Uh… what do you mean by that?" 

You blink at Ava. "Oh it's not, like, bad or anything. Right, Nadia?" 

A dark skinned girl in an orange beanie looked up from her phone. "What?" 

"Tauri makes you, what, gassy?" 

The man on the grill threw his head back in a laugh and Nadia kicked a rock at you. "Ha hah, you're everybody's favorite clown in the circus. It doesn't make me gassy, you jerk, it makes me smell like roses actually." 

"Oh," Ava said, "that's all?" 

You and Nadia shared a knowing look. "It's strong. Not overpowering but strong like you've got your nose buried in a whole bouquet of them." 

"And your fingers tingle and you make sparkles– " 

"Nadia I think that's just you, baby!" 

People laughed and the conversation died down. Ava let the slip of tauri fruit linger in her grasp until you gently pried it out and ate it yourself. You were side eyeing her but kept your question to yourself and eventually Ava was able to relax. She fell asleep during Nadia's uncle Rodney's story with her head on your shoulder and dreamed of violet things. Violet dresses, violet paint, violet fires, and violet sprigs. 

All you could dream of was the smell of roses so close and so thick you could touch it. 

~

The walk through the natural path as the trees got thicker finally prompted Ava to ask the question that's been plaguing her. "How do you know them? Are they family?" 

You cast a quick glance over your shoulder and slowed your pace to match hers as your fingers tapped the straps of your backpack nervously. "Sort of. They were family when I had no home to go to. Then I got a job with enough money and a stupid good deal on my apartment because I had no priors. 

"Rodney and Jules and some of the others prefer it out here with the forest. Some of them have nowhere else to go or no way to take care of themselves. Nadia's been kicked out of every home she's ever been to, but she won't go to that gifted school for mutants in Westchester county. Can't say I blame her either." 

"School for mutants, eh," Ava said as she trudged on, "interesting." 

You walked along in silence, drinking in the inviting quiet of the forest and the tiny chirps and peeps of its new inhabitants. You'd almost say it would be a shame to tear this place down knowing it's a new natural habitat, but you know New York had a hundred bigger and more pressing issues to deal with right now. As long as any capitalist moguls kept their eyes elsewhere, the new jungle should be fine. 

As the forest becomes denser, you have to pull a rechargeable flashlight out to see the ground beneath you. Black bugs crawl under and over the brush and fallen twigs, and something no bigger than a cat scuttles away out of the path of the light. Ava puts a hand on your arm and you open your mouth to assure her you'd protect her, but as you look at her you realize she's ready to protect you. Arm poised out and eyes darting around for signs of sudden movement from the brush. 

You walk in silence for what feels like an fantastic eternity but when you look at the canopy you stop yourself. Ava looks up to, gently taking a hold of your hand to keep you close and it sends tingles up your arm. She rarely reaches for you but she seems to be growing more and more confident of it. 

Light dances beyond the thicket of the leaves. Green and gold flashes as a soft breeze creates gaps beyond the chitauri rib ceiling and every time a light flashes you feel warmth on your skin like soft little kisses. 

Something wooden creaks, and that creaking quickly turns to snapping. You unconsciously squeeze Ava's fingers as you spot a black tree trunk beginning to fall towards you. Suddenly, Ava's arms are around you and she pulls you down into a duck. 

Everything happens so fast it blinds you. You can't see, can only feel as shivers of warmth and cold jitter through your entire being, drowning you into sensations you've never felt before. It makes you feel fear more than anything. Is this how you die? Cowering? 

When the sounds of falling trees stop, there is only the wind and the rush of Ava's windbreaker against yours. You test your fingers to see if they still work and dig them into her back. Nothing broken, you're still standing if gravity is correct. 

She finally lets you lift your head from her embrace and survey the scene. That tree opened a spot in the canopy for more natural light to pour in which is good because your flashlight was lost among the thick bramble bushes. 

Ava brushes your forehead. "Are you OK?" 

It must be a trick of the light but she looks like she's shimmering. Perhaps you hit your head or something but it seems like you never fell. Your standing just beside the fallen tree but you could have sworn you'd almost felt it go through you. And then…

And then there was the smell of roses. 

"I'm fine," you say at last. "Let's get back, probably shouldn't have come here by ourselves anyways…" 

Ava gives you a look, it almost looks like trepidation. You steel your resolve and press on to retrace your steps, knowing you had a lot of walking to do before you would exit the treeline. 

Ava has powers and you're ok with that. You'll just let her tell you in her own time. 

[blookmallow]

Can you do a rating on child animatronics like you did with the clowns

i sure can

welcome to animatronic nightmare preschool

theres a trend ive discussed about spirit before where all their female animatronics tend to be either the “old hag” type, or “creepy little girl” - and now that im thinking about it i actually couldn’t think of any boy characters ive ever seen. i dont know why this is exactly. theres something to analyze there but im not really sure what it is. i found a few but almost ALL of them are little girls. i dont know what to say about this but i did notice it 

there IS a boy in this group though: 

ring around the rosie

enter the ritual 

just some nice kids having a fun time. it may be cliché at this point but i love the “spooky nursery rhyme” trope anyway (and y’know, ring around the rosie was already creepy to begin with. im not sure if the theory that it’s really about the black plague is actually true but its still highly questionable to include the line “ashes, ashes, we all fall down” in a childrens rhyme with no explanation either way) 

for some reason the fact that none of them have hands and its just their sleeves tied together is really funny to me and i dont know why. they also dont have feet and im not sure if its a technical limitation for convenience purposes or if they’re supposed to be little ghost children but it definitely comes across like they’re little ghost children who tied their sleeves together to try to feel like they’re holding hands which is very cute. 10/10 big fan of this one 

i already mentioned harriet hustle in this post, shes fantastic 

angeline

i LOVE this one shes SO cute

i dont really understand how she's supposed to be scary, the description is like "she'll scare the lights out of your guests" or w/e but like, she's just. a kid who can see ghosts. she herself isn't even a ghost. i like her id adopt her i think she'd be a fun addition to a graveyard scene 10/10

abandoned annie

ok technically this one is a doll but im counting her anyway, shes one of my FAVORITE spirit animatronics bc A) i love creepy dolls B) shes cute and most importantly C) her entire fucking face unhinges i need y’all to watch the video on this one its so good 12/10 ive said this before but animatronics that do something completely fucking unexpected are my absolute favorite 

broken girl 

completely batshit. horrifying. shes actually initially standing upright and then snaps backward and screams and the image does not do it justice i highly recommend the video for this one. not much there as a Character but as “really effective way to scare the shit out of someone” its, i would imagine, incredibly effective. 9/10

there’s also menacing molly who looks similar and has the same kind of “facing away from you but then snaps backward” scare but is on a swing and sings “I see dead people, I see ghosts 💖i see the things that hate you the most” before she does her jumpscare which is incredibly funny to me 

double trouble

creepy little girl trope meets creepy twins trope, at first glance i thought this was just like, discount grady twins (which it looks like they also have, in blatant knockoff form. they’re uh, not good) but it looks like their description backstory is that they killed their mother and disappeared with their rumored-insane father so its slightly different. one of their phrases is “daddy says we have to play outside :( he doesnt want any more blood on the floor” and i love it 

they have a pretty good sense of personality and character to them even if its not necessarily groundbreaking. 7/10

ellie hatchet 

i love this one bc so many of the creepy little girl animatronics are just pretty much standing there being creepy but not ellie. she’s fucking DONE with all of you. you come near her she will swing an axe at your face. 6/10 not really a big stand out but i appreciate her undying rage 

lunging lily 

shes spooky. she jumps out at you. thats about it. i dont really have anything to say about this one. that sure is a creepy little girl that jumpscares you. i like that she goes “help me... help me...” before she jumps out but i feel like it would be hard to get the timing right for that to actually work as a lure to make guests curious where the sound’s coming from since most of these are motion activated. anyway 6/10 shes just not very interesting 

johnny punk 

one of the rare boy characters, i have actually seen him in store and just completely forgot about him because he was that uninteresting. he doesn’t really do much and his backstory on site is just like, “He's got a nice house, loving parents and a severe attitude problem.” 

like this isn’t an undead child back for revenge against those who wronged him or a crazed circus runaway or anything. he’s just a bratty kid. hes like a 13 year old who just saw Joker and has decided to make it his entire personality. this comes across less as a threatening figure and more just like some shitty kid who thinks he’s cool. i glanced at the comments on the wiki page and it turns out absolutely everyone hates him which is completely hilarious to me 

2/10 nobody likes you johnny go do your homework and apologize to your mother 

i also found limb eating zombie boy, who is considerably better 

gross. bloody. would probably be pretty effective if you had him like, placed among some boxes or something so people dont see him at first and aren’t expecting him there. pretty standard zombie. i dont have much to say. He’s Fine. 6/10

mommy’s favorite

ive seen this one in the stores several times, I think we have her there now, and i just don’t. get it? she just moves back and forth with the “shhh” gesture and it’s like, ok, she’s vaguely creepy, but what’s going on here. she just says “don’t wake my mommy! she’s been sleeping for a long time!” so i guess the implication is that her mother is dead and she doesn’t understand, which is just sad rather than scary. the description says she makes mommy’s tea just how she likes it with five drops from the special skull bottle, which could imply she killed her mom, which would make more sense as a horror character, but if that’s How Mommy Likes It that implies the mother instructed her daughter to unknowingly poison her, which is horrifying but in a way darker sense than a spooky halloween prop lmfao 

anyway if i have to go digging into descriptions to try to figure out what this character is or what shes supposed to be or anything i just dont feel like its a very effective character design. and i did read it and i still dont really get it. 2/10 i just feel like im missing something here 

anyway there’s a bunch more variations of “scary possessed child” that are all basically the same, so im just gonna close this out with:

swinging skeletal boy 

allo there, guvna 

look at this dapper little victorian child im gonna cry he’s so cute 

he just swings but has this surprisingly endearing soft little voice which COMPLETELY contrasts the weird shit he actually says. hes this precious little skeleton kid with a sweet little voice who goes “your skin is so nice :) can i have it? haha. that’s okay. I’ll take it when you’re sleeping” 

absolutely love animatronics with that “wait WHAT did that thing just say” factor to them i love this guy 11/10 good boy my new son 

i would also like to mention that people are also continuing to dunk on johnny punk in this guy’s comment section too fsadkflj people hate that shitty joker kid so much their hatred has bled into other completely unrelated swinging children

[writer-room]

Siblings: Chapter One

AO3

Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Summary: The Bats reflect on how their thoughts about siblings have changed over the years. Some opinions stayed, others didn't.

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

Dick always wondered what it’d be like to have a little brother or sister.

He recalled asking his parents why he didn’t have one. Not accusatory, just curious.

His mother had smiled and said that they had their hands full plenty with Dick, and he was all they needed. His father, while still kind, said that they didn’t really have the time or resources in the circus at the moment to add another child to the family.

Dick was disappointed, but he understood the reasons.

Even still, he’d find himself staring at the kids that watched the acts with awe. Older kids lighty taunted their younger siblings, ruffling their hair and pretending they were too good for it all, and that they were doing their siblings a favor by being there. Kids who nudged their brother or sister to distract and steal the snacks from concession stands, later whispering words that’d make the other gape or giggle. Young children holding their sibling who was of toddler age or younger, pointing towards parts of the acts, their glee growing upon seeing the excitement of their sibling.

Dick hadn’t been lonely growing up in Haly’s Circus, he had his parents and the other people who worked there, from the handlers to the clowns to the tricksters. 

And yet, he still found himself watching the kids who’d come in with one, or even two or three, brothers and sisters, taunting and laughing and sharing their wonder.

A sibling would’ve been nice, he thinks mournfully. It might’ve even been fun.

Ah, well. At least he had the circus.

,

“Hey, hey Dick. Dick. Dick, lookit.”

“If I turn around and I see you about to push Damian off the roof, I’m breaking your helmet.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Dick sighed, turning back from where he was keeping an eye on the streets below. Jason, who’d only been a few feet away, immediately took this moment to seize Tim, who had been too busy looking through his binoculars to care about whatever the two had been doing, and proceed to chuck him off the roof.

Dick pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan as Tim’s undignified shriek was cut off by him catching himself on a fire escape below, scrambling to get a good hold on so he didn’t fall the rest of the way.

“What?” Jason huffed. “You said not to push Damian, and I didn’t push Damian.”

“Of course,” Dick replied sarcastically. “My mistake, I’ll be sure to rephrase it as don’t push anyone off the roof.”

“Now that’s just unreasonable,” Jason huffed, hand on his hip as Steph and Cass snickered from the nearby chimney they were perched on. “I can think of plenty of people who deserve to be pushed off roofs. Like Scarow, for example. Bastard made me break my good hand last month and I still need to shoot a bullet in his back for that one.”

“Then don’t push your family off roofs, is that enough for you?” Dick sighed, standing up and peering over the edge of the roof. “You alright down there, Tim?”

“Names,” Damian finally chastised, not once having glanced over to the others from where he was on the corner of the roof, farthest as he could get from them.

“Oh, sure, now you worry.” Tim grumbled from the fire escape, finally pulling himself to his feet and brushing himself off. “Dick, please tell me I have permission to stab out Jason’s eye.”

“You do not.”

“He’d be fine!” Tim complained, snagging a hand on the stairs and instead pulling himself up along the outside of the fire escape instead of walking up the steps like a normal human being. “Harper could probably make him a new functional one in two days if she's in a good mood.”

“I’m not making him a new eye in two days. Maybe two weeks.” Harper informed from the other side of the roof, also ignoring the others as she tinkered with some gadget.

“Get anywhere near me and I’ll cough on you,” Jason threatened, also peering down off the roof. “You have basically no immune system, you’d die in a week. A long, painful death. Poetic cinema, really.”

“If you say it's poetic because you were beaten with a crowbar for two hours, I’m dropkicking you.” Steph warned, eyes narrowed.

“You’re so mean to me,” Jason gasped, placing a hand on his chest as he turned. “What did I ever do to deserve this? I’m nice to you!”

“No, you’re not.” Chorused Dick, Tim, Damian, Steph, and an extra voice through their earpieces.

“Wow, thanks, Babs.” Jason grumbled. “Showing up just to bully me, typical.”

“Names,” Damian warned a second time.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Babs crackled through their earpieces. “You’re not the only one I bully.”

“Everyone please stop harassing Jay,” Dick pleaded, though it came out more as an exhausted sigh.

“Names,” Damian growled a third time, losing his patience.

“I know it's fun,” Dick continued, ignoring him. “But this is supposed to be a scouting mission, and I’d rather he didn’t start taking out petty revenge during patrol.”

“I have no idea why he’s so surprised we get bored when scouting,” Steph mumbled quietly, to which Cass simply shrugged.

“You have no faith in me,” Jason snorted, and Dick could tell he was rolling his eyes under his helmet.

“I have plenty of faith in you,” Dick soothed. “I also, however, know how you are.”

“Don’t worry,” Steph raised a hand. “I already lost faith in you when you tried to kill Tim.”

“Which time?”

“Steph, don’t taunt him. Do it back at the Manor.” Dick lightly scolded.

“How many times do I have to repeat this?” Damian snapped, whirling from his post to glare at the others. “We do not use names on patrol!”

“Doesn’t Jon call you D on patrol?” Harper raised a brow, glancing towards him.

“That is different! He does not use my actual name!”

“Hypocrite,” Jason coughed under his breath.

Tim finally swung back onto the roof, skillfully rolling and dodging when Jason attempted to immediately kick him off again. Tim rolled close to the chimney, quickly pulling out his bo staff and crouching, glaring at Jason. It was reminiscent of two cats in a standoff, arched backs but neither of them making the first strike yet.

“Do not fight,” Cass said calmly. 

“Thank you, C--” Dick hesitated, glancing at Damian for a brief moment. “--Orphan.”

“Fight in Cave,” Cass continued cheerfully. “We have sparring mats for reasons.”

“And I take that back.”

“You wanna hang with the cool kids?” Steph asked, leaning off the chimney to offer her hand.

“Yes. Have I mentioned you’re my favorite person?” Tim grinned, putting his staff away as he took the offered hand and was pulled onto the chimney beside Steph and Cass.

“You could stand to say it more often,” Steph teased.

“Cheaters,” Jason grumbled, relenting that fighting both Steph and Cass to get Tim was a losing battle.

The three were rather squished on the chimney, but none of them seemed to mind. Harper only rolled her eyes and went back to tinkering.

“We really need to bring D--Signal on one of these things.” Dick muttered, shaking his head.

“Because he’s sensible, or because you want him to suffer like the rest of us?” Tim raised a brow.

“Because he deserves the same family bonding time.” Dick said simply.

“Duke and Cullen are next to me listening in on this,” Barbara said through the communicators. “I am here to inform you that Duke is both touched and terrified.”

“The bumblebee was awake and didn’t even bother to join us?” Harper snorted. “Rude.”

“Cullen agrees with you.”

“He better,”

“I’m taking a ten hour nap after this,” Dick complained, sitting back on the edge of the roof, legs dangling in the open air as he leaned back dramatically on his hands. “I deserve it. Self-care and all that.”

“That is the length of a normal amount of sleep.” Damian raised a brow.

“Not in this family, it’s not.”

“Preach!” Tim pumped a fist.

“You don’t count, Tim.” Dick chastised, leaning his head back to look at Tim upside down. “Everyone here remembers to sleep at the latest once every two days. You don’t sleep for five.”

“I’m being harassed,”

“You’re being bullied into a proper sleep schedule.” 

Damian suddenly whacked Dick over the head, startling him with a yelp as Jason hid a snicker. Harper and Cass looked over for a moment before continuing with whatever they had previously been doing.

“Names!” Damian hissed. “Do you all want your identities revealed?”

“Literally nobody is here,” Harper pointed out.

“If Gotham hasn’t found out our identities by now, they never will.” Steph snorted.

“Especially finger-stripes over here.” Tim added, a smug expression on his face.

“A nine-year-old finds out your identity one time and you never hear the end of it.” Dick muttered under his breath before sitting up and proceeding to snatch Damian, who had been previously stalking towards the others, by wrapping an arm around his chest and tugging him closer as the boy squawked.

“You were using a Flying Grayson move, dude.” Tim deadpanned. “You gotta pay the price for being flashy for no other reason than because you can.”

“That’s his entire personality.”

“Why do you all hate me?” Dick whined, holding a squirming Damian close as he gave the boy a noogie. “What did I do to gain such torment?”

“You want the list?” Harper looked up, finally putting away whatever she was tinkering with.

“We alphabetized,” Cass added.

“Wrote on the front and back,” Steph nodded sagely.

“I’m adding three more to the list when we get back,” Damian growled, looking ready to bite Dick if he didn’t stop soon.

“You better be joking about that list,” Dick warned, releasing Damian for his own safety. “Because if I ever find a list of reasons to be mean to me, I will not show mercy.”

“Do you mean you’re gonna attack us physically or emotionally?” Jason inquired.

“Emotionally,”

“You sick bastard.” Steph whispered in horror. “I can’t believe you would use your powers for evil.”

“Does it make it any better if I tell you the list, if it does exist, would probably only exist so that when we notice someone looks like they’re gonna do something stupid, we use the list to remind them of something you did so they take it out on you and not, say, turn all of Gotham into a gang war zone.” Harper said slowly.

“I hate you,” Steph glared. “You mess up one time--”

“You died, Steph!” Tim exclaimed, before getting a batarang chucked at his head that Damian somehow snuck into his utility belt.

“She didn’t even die,” Jason snorted, crossing his arms. “Both of you two had lame fake-out deaths.”

“Why am I the one who’s become the punching bag?” Dick complained, holding Damian back again when he tried to grab the batarang Tim had dodged and threw it again.

“Because you’re actually good at feelings and everyone else is emotionally constipated.” Harper deadpanned.

“And the Ric incident.” Damian added right after, giving up in his thrashing. A shutter passed over the Bats at the mention of the name.

“Aw,” Dick’s face softened, ignoring the Ric comment. “You guys care about my advice?”

“Congrats,” Barbara chuckled slightly. “You’re the therapist brother.”

“Don’t tell him that,” Jason groaned, flopping backwards on the roof. “Now he’s going to be mushy and clingy all week.”

“Lord knows you idiots need it,” Harper huffed as Dick practically glowed.

“I’m sicing him on you later.”

“Jokes on you, he hasn’t found my apartment yet.”

“Yes I have,” Dick raised a hand, turning towards her. “Well, Robin found it, but I still know it.”

Harper stared at him for a few moments, momentarily turning her head to Damian for a moment before going back to Dick, and then turning to Jason.

“You’re a monster,” She whispered, a look of true horror on her face.

“I know,” Jason cackled gleefully.

“None of you are leaving the Manor when we get back.” Dick said matter-of-factly, pointing a finger to his siblings. “We’re gonna bond, and you’re going to like it.”

“We’re already bonding right now!” Damian protested.

“You’ll have to kill me first.” Steph hissed, shying behind Cass.

“Bold of you to assume you can keep me confined to the Manor.” Tim huffed in offence. “Orphan, I’ll stash you in one of my safe houses if you promise to be my bodyguard.”

“Deal,”

“You guys are so dramatic--”

“Hey, guys? Crazed pyromaniac with flamethrowers to the north.”

The group immediately dropped whatever they had been doing, heads snapping up towards the direction Barbara had tiredly informed them of the attack.

It was only a few moments before the sight of flames peaked over one of the buildings, dying out almost immediately. Shouts and rumbles were steadily growing in volume, especially the cackling of Firefly, likely revving up whatever weapon he’d acquired this time.

“Fantastic, can’t even keep watch with you morons.” Damian growled.

“Oh you are not the only one trying to work here!” Tim snapped. “Orphan, for example, is doing a wonderful--where’d she go?”

He and Steph looked around rapidly, their sister suddenly missing from the chimney. How they hadn’t noticed she’d left their crowded space was a mystery that’d likely never be solved.

“Over there,” Jason said boredly, upholstering a gun and pointing across the rooftops.

The outline of Cass’s body could be seen sprinting across the roofs towards where the fire had been spotted, leaping with reckless abandon.

“Life lesson for the rest of you,” Harper hummed, getting to her feet. “Be like Cass.”

“Stop using real names!” Damian barked.

“Last one there is on cleanup duty!” Steph hollered, shoving Tim and taking off in the same movement.

“Asshole!” Tim yelled as Jason, Harper and Damian all bolted after her without a moment's hesitation. 

Dick laughed, just getting to his feet as Tim stumbled up and after the others, swearing obscenities.

He quickly ran after his siblings, though he strayed a little further back, nobody paid attention to who showed up last anyway, his eyes darting from each of his siblings. Someone had to make sure they didn’t face-plant off a roof.

They shouted over each other as they descended down to take out Firefly. The guy had really picked a bad night to start causing trouble. It’d be over in no-time.

Even still, Dick paused on the roofs, scanning the streets below as the others ran to and fro, yelling over each other as Barbara switched between the coms to talk to them. It was a chaotic mess and Dick found himself grinning at it all.

His siblings were a hot mess, and it was amazing.