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muiltifandomnerd · 4 months

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Adventures of Chika Hanabusa: The Restoration of Earth

Disclaimer: This book follows the events of Percy Jackson and Heros of Olympus fanfic, this fanfic will not include Trails of Apollo, The Kane Chronicles, and Magnus Chase.

Chapter 23: Reunion Party

Chika PoV

I woke up from my sleep and I proceeded to get ready. I brushed my teeth, and I went to the shower. I decided to make the shower hot because it is relaxing, these showers are like miniature rain. Once I’m done with the shower, I put on a green sweater, jean shorts, and a white headband for my hair. Reyna was waiting on the couch for me, and she was wearing black leggings with a purple shirt with Camp Jupiter written on it.

“I’m curious Reyna, is that the only shirt you have?” I pointed and snickered while Reyna glared at me.

“Of course not but it is comfortable, hey are you teasing me?” Reyna says in an annoyed tone. I just laugh out loud.

“Yes, I am!!! I'm sorry, you are just so cute to tease.” I winked while Reyna softened her glare and looked amused.

“You were never that bold with me before, if anything you were pretty shy.” Reyna did a small smile while I sat next to her on the couch.

“It was because I wasn’t sure how to act around you, but then I realized that I have to become bolder and more confident to get your attention.” Reyna looks on amused.

“I’m glad that you are comfortable with me now. I still would love to hang out with you if the offer still stands.”

“I would love-” I was about to answer but suddenly a black girl with brownish hair with golden eyes and an overweight Chinese boy looked on at us in some magical hologram thing.

“Sorry if we iris message you at the wrong time. Jason forgot to tell you about the reunion party we are having later in the afternoon. It is still going to be at Camp Jupiter, and Percy promises to bring in pizza. Nico will also pick up everybody through shadow travel." The black girl says informative. Man, this is so random, Reyna's friends just appeared out of nowhere and invited her to a pizza party.

“I will be there, I would also like to bring a friend if that’s alright?” Reyna asks while the black girl and Chinese boy look at each other and look back to the screen.

"Sure." The Chinese boy says and suddenly the magical hologram of the two is gone. I look at Reyna and even she looks a little bit surprised by the iris message.

“Hey Reyna, are you sure you want me to meet your friends?” I asked uncertainty. I will be honest, I’m super nervous about meeting Reyna's pals. God forbid that they might find me awkward and weird.

“Yeah, I am.” Reyna cast a warm smile and I stare back nervously with sweat coming from my forehead and my heart rate going slightly up.

“I don’t mind meeting your friends, but I'm worried that they could find me weird or like they could prevent you from hanging out with me?" Reyna pats my forehead and strokes my hair.

"They will not be like that if anything they might worry about you finding them weird because they were child soldiers and weapons for the gods their whole lives," Reyna says in a sad voice. I guess the whole child soldier is normal in this demigod world. I'm glad that Father allows me to have a normal life instead of sending me to these camps that make child soldiers.

“I guess I could give them a chance. Where will this Nico guy show up?” I ask

“Probably either 12 or 1 pm” She answered, and I quickly checked the time from the kitchen oven. It is 11:30 am right now, so pretty 30 minutes or an hour from now. I saw a note on the fridge as well, it was in Father’s handwriting. The letter is pretty much him saying that he will spend a night with his friends, and he trusts me to look after the house. I can’t blame him since it’s a Saturday and I’m leaving to meet with Reyna’s friends.

Suddenly I hear a door knock and I quickly look through a window. It looks like some emo kid with a black hoodie and black chains around his pants.

“Hey Reyna, is that Nico?” Reyna came over to the window and she looked a bit excited.

“Yeah, he is" I quickly open the door for the kid and the kid steps into the home. He looks a bit happy to see Reyna. I guess they are good friends.

“Nice to see you again Reyna.” Nico holds out his hand and Reyna just hugs him like he’s her little brother.

“Nice to see you. Nico, this is Chika.” I quickly bow to him, and we shake hands.

"Thanks for looking after Reyna, Chika," Nico said in gratitude while I blushed madly.

"It's more like the other way around." I rubbed the back of my head and laughed awkwardly.

“Well anyway I hope you girls are ready, I’m very hungry and Percy better bring the good kind of pizza.” We quickly got out of the house and Nico grabbed both of our hands and he gathered the shadow around. Oh no not this again, man I hate shadow travelling. Even back when Hyun uses it, I still hate the feeling of your body disintegrating into shadows. I felt my body disintegrating and suddenly we were back with Baccus Garden once my body came back from the shadows. There is a huge table set up for us and a bunch of teenagers like us sitting on the chairs like they were waiting for us.

The black girl and Chinese boy that was from the Iris message earlier came towards us and greeted us, “Hey sorry from earlier, my name is Hazel and this is my boyfriend Frank” She pointed towards Frank while the Chinese boy, Frank, looked on sheepishly.

“Yeah we are very sorry about that situation," Frank says apologetically.

“No it's fine, I was just surprised. Thank you for letting me go with Reyna to this party." I say in gratitude. Suddenly a blonde girl with grey eyes and a teenage boy with sea-green eyes appeared and they brought Dominos.

“Hey guys, I Got PIZZA!!!!!!" the teenage boy with green eyes shouted

“They can already tell Seaweed Brain.” The blond girl stated the obvious.

“I know Wise Girl, I’m just happy we don’t have to deal with godly dram anymore.” The boy says in a laidback manner. Reyna and I took our seats on the table and looked at who was sitting across from me, It was Jason Grace with his white dress shirt, and next to him was a native American girl with colorful eyes holding onto him. It looks like they are a couple.

"Nice to see you again Reyna and Chika," Jason says politely while his girlfriend looks at me in curiosity, as if she's wondering if I'm a threat. Frank brought the plates and he gave everybody else plates and napkins. The green-eyed teenager gives us each a slice of pizza. It's your classic hand-tossed cheese pizza from Domino's. Nico, Frank, and Jason look like they tasted Dominos for the first time and they seem to enjoy it. Piper, Reyna, and I just calmly ate our slices and tried to savor the flavor. The blonde girl and the green-eyed teenager sit at the center of the table. The green-eyed teenager calls out to me, "Do you want to introduce yourself?"

I took center stage in front of the other people, “My name is Chika Hanabusa and I’m a daughter of Demeter. I’ve let Reyna stay in my home for this semester.” The blonde girl and the native American girl stare at me.

“If you are a daughter of Demeter, how come you never been to Camp Half-Blood?” the blonde girl asked in curiosity.

“Because my father didn’t exactly trust it. My godly mother just relented and let me have something closer to a normal life. Reyna told me that you all must sacrifice your childhoods to keep the world safe. For that, you guys have my gratitude." I say as I bow to the group.

“No problem, my name is Piper Mclean and I’m a daughter of Aphrodite and Slayer of Mother Earth.” The native American girl with colorful eyes says as she finishes up her slice.

"I'm Percy Jackson and son of Poseidon," The green eye teenager says as he is eating the slice.

“I’m Annabeth Chase and I’m a daughter of Athena. I'm also the architect of Olympus, survivor of Tartarus, defeater of the Titan King, and the discoverer of Athena Parthenos" The blonde girl says with a smug smile while Percy looks on with hearts in his eyes. I have a feeling that they are a couple. Dang this girl is very accomplished and she seems very proud of it.

"You already met me before, but I want to be formal this time. My name is Jason Grace and I'm the son of Jupiter and also slayer of Gaia.” Jason looks on with electricity spinning around his eyes.

“My name is Hazel Levesque and I'm the daughter of Pluto. I am part of the seven with Frank, Jason, Percy, Piper, Annabeth, and Leo." Everybody looks on in sadness when this Leo is brought up, I'm assuming that he died during the quest.

“Honestly we owe all of this to Leo, he sacrificed himself to burn Gaia, so we can sit here and have pizza," Jason says as everybody else is silently listening to Jason, I guess the wounds of Leo passing away really did a number on them. Just what did Gaia do to them? I wonder if she gives a damn about how her actions hurt these innocent people? I know that she must have terrorized them.

“I’m just glad that we don’t have to deal with Gaia, She and the gods of Olympus ruined our lives far enough. Honestly, guys, I'm thinking about leaving both camps and just giving the mortal world a chance. Piper and I already talked about this, and we will leave once the party is over." Percy just pats him on the shoulder while Frank and Hazel tearfully hug him. Both Nico and Reyna look at Jason in sympathy. Annabeth looks on to Jason in understanding.

“You know Jason, I feel the same way. I’m leaving both camps again. I want to find myself away from being a son of Hades.” Everybody looked shocked while Reyna looked like she got shot in the chest. I can tell that Nic means so much to Reyna because she is fighting back tears. Suddenly Reyna tackled hug Nico to the ground while Nico looked startled. Everybody looks on in amusement.

“Nico, you better stay alive or else.” Reyna threatened while Nico just chuckled.

"Don't worry Reyna I will be. I will always be here for you guys no matter what. I just want to explore myself.” Nico says earnestly.

“What about Will?” Jason asked

“He and I broke up; we realize that we are better as friends. He even supported me on this.” Percy looks unsure of what Nico and Jason are doing while Annabeth looks on in approval.

“It’s safe to say but we all need a break from being a demigod. Jason and Piper have fun with being regular high schoolers. Nico, you are always welcome to Camp Half-Blood” Annabeth says sternly. I’m assuming she’s the leader of the group.

"And Camp Jupiter" Reyna stated while Nico laughed.

“You know, we should all dance together one last time.” Percy grabbed Annabeth and they just danced. Frank carries Hazel and proceeds to dance with her. Jason and Piper just dance on the spot while Reyna, Nico, and I watch them dance together. Even after all of that crap that they went to, they still had time to have fun. These poor demigods are just victims of the higher power, I could have been like them if Father didn’t fight for me. I decided to awkwardly dance around them but Reyna also held my hand together and we just danced together. Nico looks super surprised to see Reyna dancing with me. I’m kinda shocked too and I can feel everybody else looking at me.

“Pretend that they are not there.”I buried my head in Reyna's shoulder while she tenderly held my hands together. Before you know it, they all fade to the background, and Reyna, and I dance in our separate world.

As everybody stopped dancing, we all finished our pizzas. I want to ask the group questions before the party is over.

"Hey guys I was wondering what exactly Gaia did to you?" Everybody looks uneasy like they were traumatized by her actions.

“She started the Second Giant War, she tries to trick Hazel by bringing both her and her mother to Alaska to revive, she causes the fire that killed Leo's mom, he stole Thanatos doors which caused Percy, Annabeth, and Nico to travel through Tartarus to close them, and she's been manipulating Camp Half-Blood And Camp Jupiter to go to war with each other," Jason stated while everybody else nodded on.

"It's just very messed up that a being will do all of this to you guys," I say in a compassionate tone. Gaia needs to answer for all she has done to this group of demigods, she can’t just ruin people's lives.

"Honestly the gods are selfish scumbags, they never care about who they hurt. I'm glad that Leo burns that bitch alive. We have always been manipulated to fight their wars. Gaia, Cronus, and Zeus are all horrible.” Percy angrily says while everybody just silently agrees. No one wants to argue with Percy, not even his girlfriend.

“I’m not going to lie; I was very nervous meeting you guys since all of you are Reyna’s friends. You guys are chill, and I hope that we can hang out again.” Everybody just applauds and gives me a handshake.

The group told me more horror stories about the war and some like Jason and Percy taught me some fighter pointers. Hazel showed me how she manipulated the ground and I showed her about making some plants grow faster. Hazel has cooler abilities than I do, I guess we children of Demeter are pretty much useless.

Everybody watched Annabeth and Reyna spar and I could confidently see that they could beat up UFC fighters. They are so evenly matched, and they both landed some successful hits at each other. Piper looks very uncertain around me and just doesn’t attempt to talk to me. I wonder if she hates my guts or something.

Despite Piper being a bit cold to me, the party was a blast, and we all had a good time. Next time I see Gaia, I will need to confront her on all of this. She needs to know why her actions are just plain wrong.

#pjo #pjo ocs #pjo fanfic #reyna avila ramirez arellano #reyna x oc #jason grace #percy jackson #nico di angelo #frank zhang #hazel levesque #annabeth chase #piper mclean

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kmze · 1 month

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Thoughts on 8x09-8x16 remember how the beginning of the season I said it was the most I enjoyed the show, well this is the opposite because wow this was just depressing! Cade fizzled out once he went top-side (his motives seem confusing) and everything feels rushed trying to get to the finish line. Stefan is the most frustrating to watch because going from EVIL > EMO so fast gave me whiplash and it was all for nothing. One and a half seasons of development gone for what exactly? It's not the worst half season as it's very emotional and a lot of good character moments and of course THE WEDDING is beautiful and perfect when it gets to just be a wedding about two characters with the best love story (IMO!!!) on this show. Bonnie and Caroline got to live (!!!) and Kai showed up to make me laugh one last time. Lots and lots and lots of thoughts and bitching below, thank you to everyone who commented or sent me questions it was nice feeling the nostalgia of the old fandom here!

8x09

Damn it’s been a while since the Salvatores were in suits like this they look good!

I love Caroline’s dress (pink like her robe in 1x19) but her hair looks too flat sometimes. Bonnie looks stunning though I love that green.

Vomit inducing love story is a very accurate description of that trainwreck!

CTFU thinking about how Caroline had to watch that insanity unfold with Ripper Stefan staring at her while trying to psychologically damage Damon. She walked down like fuck crisis mode, she was so desperate she’s dancing with Damon!

HA! Violet's date has Stefan's hero hair! This drama queen!

Love the smooth way Ripper Stefan took Caroline’s hand and dragged her away but FOREVER ROBBED we didn’t get dancing dialogue with them! I can even see that Paul is yapping in the scenery shots. I feel like there was something in the script and it got cut, probably that she wanted that striker, he would have known because she said it to Damon right before he grabbed her hand to dance. I love that he brought it to her too, no ulterior motive he just knew she wanted it.

I love the Caroline and Violet scene.

How many gas leaks does this town have!

That last scene is so pretty, it reminds me of beauty and the beast. Note how Ripper Stefan catches the ring flips it and puts it in his pocket meanwhile he made Damon toss the necklace to prove he didn't care. He even “proposes” the next time he sees her.

8x10

BELVAFORE EPISODE

So glad Bonnie is finally decided to join the main plot again this week.

Caroline pulling an Elena getting Matt to do it for her! I feel like if Candice wasn’t pregnant she would have been this involved in the plot last season.

“Nah” CTFU you know what I’m counting that too, he’s got five proposals! Love that Caroline got the “Hello, Caroline” from the current evil brother.

This is something you don’t notice unless you’re looking for it, but Ripper Stefan hasn’t had a ripper binge since the end of 8x08 and it’s because he started drinking to sublimate (like he instructed Lily in 6x20). Even the beginning of 8x09 he’s not drinking bourbon in the bar but when he gets to Miss Mystic Falls he heads straight for the bar. In my completely biased opinion too it’s also because he’s around Caroline, she just naturally keeps him in control because that’s what she promised him. Damon on the other hand always triggers him, he cannot relax around him.

Awww Liz and Caroline!

Caroline forgiving Damon because he was the only one who mourned Liz not Caroline’s Mom is probably not reason enough for most of us to forgive Damon for what he did but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that’s how Caroline feels and I thought this was a great scene for their relationship. Ultimately I’m glad he was turned human though and she’ll never need to be afraid of him again.

Ripper Stefan is such a maniac! The clause he puts in for whether Matt is going to ring that bell is some Jigsaw level mind games. Why doesn’t Peter just put Matt in a choke hold and tie him up? Idiot family.

Poor Tyler, he really thought Bonnie or anyone would care that Damon killed him. Nope Tyler you needed to be a British white vampire who showed up in S5 for anyone to care about your death it seems.

Ripper Stefan’s reaction to Damon telling him he forgives him THE BEST! This whole scene is so good and a great explainer as to why this relationship has and always will be off balance. Also he’s complained three times that Damon ruined his life having him work for Cade so someone’s not as content as they act like they are.

Notice how once Caroline started talking and basically told him she knew exactly what point he was trying to make he shut up. He was acting just like he did in early S6 when he had to push her away the most. The change in his face is so apparent to, it's unfortunate a lot of this ended up going nowhere because they were already planning on making Stefan human, Caroline was breaking through his walls way more than she realized.

THE BAMON LETTER! So good! I love that Damon memorized it and I can’t help it but I feel so much more from this scene than I have every Bonenzo scene this season. Because it’s full of callbacks and I actually believe everything he’s saying because I’ve seen it unfold. I know it was never going to happen but the ending of the show being Defan falling for Elena’s two best friends and then compelling away her memories so she could finally live a safe life would have been such a great twist ending!

8x11

EL OH EL Ripper Stefan made it very clear to Caroline Damon was his trigger last episode yet he’s asking where she is to tell Damon everything he’s doing wrong.

“Quality like Caroline Forbes” my thesis statement!

I’m sorry but whatever with these losers who want to be cured of having superpowers. Why doesn’t Enzo just walk into the sun when Bonnie dies if it’s such a big deal. I also don’t get why ANYONE is so eager to become human with the LITERAL DEVIL walking around.

God shut UP Matt!

“Some of us don’t regret it” IN YOUR FACE MATT

Usually I ignore the wormholes these characters drive through to get places (especially last season oy) but y’all acting like it took two hours to get from Virginia to Upstate New York I cannot allow! Bruh GTFO!

Why is Bonnie so uninterested in trying to become a witch again? I cannot help but notice the entire time romantic BE has been going on Bonnie hasn't had her powers and that don't sit right with me (and as soon as he dies she gets them back)!

Caroline really turned that around on Damon in a fantastic way to guilt him into using the cure on Cade. Bravo. HOWEVER! Damon and Caroline were way too slow putting the pieces together in this episode and it felt like the show dumbing people down on purpose for plot. Why would they not ask Cade right away what task Stefan was on and furthermore why would they not warn everyone he's on the loose since he just tried to burn the town to the ground?

“I’m thinking something symbolic maybe find a bathtub to drown her in, full circle kind of thing” THE PETTINESS I FEEL!

This was really the most evil version of Ripper Stefan. IDK if it was the power of working for Cade or it was like Alaric and the serial killer ring and the more times you shut it off the more evil you get. I do think they made him so evil because they wanted to cure him (because he wasn't the intended death they plotted the whole season but let me wait to bitch about that) and it needed to be forced on him. Because this didn’t really flow with how he acted in S6. Of course that’s because he was distracted by NH!Caro and after he got her to let go too he just sat in the passenger’s seat. As opposed to Damon who hasn't been cooperating since they started this mission and has him way on edge. TBH I don't even understand Cade's motives here but maybe that's because this is Katherine's idea (which UGH) because I could DEFINITELY buy that she'd love watching Ripper Stefan murder Elena.

Welp play stupid games win stupid prizes Stefan!

Very cool how Bonnie created her own psychic world there.

8x12

Look as bad as I feel for Bonnie I cannot help but say how fucking stupid is Enzo that he was standing with his back to the door, I mean how did he not hear Ripper Stefan yapping about drowning Elena in a bathtub!

Cade really fizzled once he went top-side, he was way more intimidating and intriguing before they rang the bell IMO. I will never understand why he let two sirens he had for 2,000 years go for the Salvatores only to be like "oh well give me Stefan's soul" after like two months of working for him. I thought Stefan's soul wouldn't be as tastey and he was much more useful being a menace?

The thing about Stefan turning human storyline is it only exists because he wasn't supposed to die in the finale! Brett Matthews filled in the pieces during one of those podcasts that the death was switched after they planned out the whole season (like literally Damon compelling Stefan was always the plan). KW came back in around 8x11 and made them switch it, and having Stefan human probably made it easier for the writers to not care if he died a la Tyler. They needed the brother who lived to be human so they could do the final Defan scene. So while parts of this are interesting overall I look at as “what’s the point” if he was going to die he should have died a vampire rather than this unbelievably inane cure plot.

Wait actually I’m not done bitching! What was the point of this Ripper Stefan plot too! Felt like they just wanted to make him do something bad like Damon did for the first SEVEN EPISODES OF THIS SEASON. Rather than actually exploring how Stefan said he was a “reformed ripper” in 6x20 and even in 8x08 he says he’s trying to do it right this time because he made the choice to turn it off. Don’t even get me started about how he admitted he’s “both” in 8x04 and it just went nowhere. Stefan’s blood addiction and how that influenced so much of who he was and how he hide parts of himself just dropped for dramatic effect. Stuff like this makes me feel the Stefan stans who complain the show only cares about Damon are right, like Stefan was such a complex character they were afraid to really explore him.

Bonnie and her Mom's scenes are really touching, I love the burial with the petals. The song is beautiful too, this episode has some fantastic music.

I can't believe old timely Matt was a thing!

Caroline saved him just like she said she would!

I know this is a deeply serious scene and it's very nice but I can't help but think Julie put this Matt and Bonnie scene in and being like 'oh 200 years ago we were a thing' because she was plotting them ending up together.

Caroline gave Stefan hope and Damon didn’t take it away from him. Love that.

You know Ric is way too eager to let Stefan die when he’s in this mess because he was protecting his daughters! I hate this motherfucker.

KAI I MISSED YOU!

8x13

Matt ringing the bell was 3 days ago! Why is this show’s timeline insane all the time feels like 800 things have happened since!

If Kai is just a psychic imprint because he was dead and only came because of the bell than how the hell did he survive for like 20 years in that prison world? He came back in S2 of Legacies to be killed off for the third time.

Dorian makes some great points and I do like that the show made a point to be like so what if Stefan feels remorse he still murdered all these people. However he murdered Dorian’s family while working for Klaus to save Damon, it’s always saving Damon that ruins his life.

Omg Kai drawing the heart on the window thinking about Bonnie! I can’t believe how much I like this now!

Very here for Caroline just giving out Stefan’s money as she pleased to clean up his mess.

Okay rant time it’s absolutely RIDICULOUS the amount of times Stefan is hemorrhaging blood as a human! The idea he could dig a grave like that after having stitches is impossible and now he’s been shot and needs a blood transfusion but SOMEHOW the cure is still in his blood. Fucking most annoying plot device ever.

THANK YOU CAROLINE! God shut up Matt! Always whining about vampires and blah blah blah but who keeps fixing everything! The vampires! Even on Legacies all that shit Alaric talks and who always saves the day, the damn supernatural beings!

Endlessly annoyed that now the show decides after stifling Bonnie’s powers constantly since S3 were like “oh actually Bonnie’s super duper powerful” honestly go to hell. Really waited until the end of the damn show to do that…

SUCH A GOOD SCENE! This scene parallels perfectly back to Steroline’s first kiss where Stefan said “if anyone could control death it’s you” because that’s what she did!

Caroline calling out Stefan for his martyrdom was so good, this is why I like them they have real conversations and they don’t put each other on pedestals. Stefan’s motive for going on a spiritual journey makes sense too, even though he chose to live for Caroline because he loves her so much what Cade said still rang true to him. He thinks he’s a burden now because he promised her forever and now he can’t give her that.

Josie trying to set Lizzie on fire for hurting Caroline LMFAO

8x14

Okay LOL there’s SO MANY scenes of people visiting limbo when they’re on deaths door and I still see posts of “Stefan had no reason to visit Elena instead of Caroline” in the finale and like um yeah he did lol. Literally the only person he could see in limbo, the show is not complicated you’re just in denial.

Finally a real selfie! Stefan is so pathetic, it brings me so much joy lol.

CTFU Lizzie and Josie setting things on fire because Steroline broke up! I can relate!

Truly amazing how much Stefan never learns his lesson! As soon as Damon roped him back into the main plot he’s like REVENGE! He didn’t even pretend to care it was to save Elena.

ONE LAST VERVAIN NEEDLE STAB! This was the funniest thing I noticed during this rewatch, no matter what vervain needle in his pocket.

I like that they brought back the slasher movie scenes with Kai’s return as he’s walking around the Armory to murder the twins. Caroline “for Jo” moment was awesome!

Love the psychic fight between Bonnie and Cade to save Damon’s soul. Then Stefan stabbing Cade and kill him and the whole psychic blast with the ashes falling. Really well shot scene, only thing is it’s endlessly stupid how they brought Damon back to life after he finally did something selfless.

HES SO FUNNY! Stefan doesn’t even let Caroline close the door he’s on his knee saying “Marry me” the man’s got two speeds; careful fear and dead devotion.

I think that was Stefan’s best speech, it’s this or the 6x22 one but this was so beautiful and sincere. A part of me will always be sad he didn’t get that life because him living out a human life helping supernatural kids was a great ending for him. They also spent all that time last season about how he wanted to be a father. And I love that even though he was human and could have children of his own he wanted to raise Caroline’s children with her, like he said he couldn’t imagine doing any of it without her. Both proposals were so great, this one about words the other about actions. I like to believe they’ll have a third one in the afterlife and then they get a wedding with everyone there since Caroline will be the last of the group to find peace (Lizzie might still be alive).

The Armory door becoming one of Steroline’s things was awesome, doors and windows symbolism and both scenes are reunion-esque.

The Bonkai karaoke scene CTFU I’m sorry I enjoy them and the Katherine reveal was great it was so hyped up in a corny way but it worked. The moment kinda needed to break the fourth wall, it sucks she’s such a letdown in the finale.

8x15

The OG Deadbeat Mom returns!

Oh Damon gave Caroline Elena’s necklace to borrow, I could not remember what it was and I akways see gifs of that moment. This is a really great scene.

It would be easier to feel bad about Enzo being dead if he wasn't in every god damn episode since he was murdered! Do Bonnie and Enzo just have this same dancing scene over and over again like what is even the point of this? I totally get why people love this ship because they give them very cute stuff and there's good chemistry but truly they bore me to death.

Poor Valerie LOL probably got excited seeing a call from Stefan only for him to be like “hey Caroline and I are getting a married can you do me a favor” so mean. Valerie would have been a cool guest star on Legacies.

They kept reminding Stefan he was gonna DIE it was cruel! The writers were warning us.

Damn the wedding really is amazing, it just made me feel so many things. The music (like they used a cinematic masterpiece score), the looks, the vows, and the kiss! That might be their best kiss with the petals falling the smiles between kisses and the way Stefan is holding her so tightly! I also love that Stefan called Caroline his "sounding board" because that was one of the best parts of watching them fall in love. How they'd meet by the fireplace and talk about the days current events or Stefan would just spill his guts to Caroline looking for her guidance. God they really were THAT ship.

See now that's how you do a dancing scene with Bamon, the snark, the twirl, the looks they could have been amazing!

That small moment where the camera pans down to Stefan and Caroline dancing and it looks like Stefan mouths “I love you” before kissing her. So important to me. I love how as soon as Damon said they would continue with the ceremony they just stopped worrying about the impending doom of Katherine and it was just about them finally getting this moment, finally getting to be married. And this small dancing scene was so precious to them where they just got to be in love and married and happy and it's taken away from them so suddenly it's good to know they got some joy.

8x16

So Stefan knew Bonnie saw Elena while she was in limbo, and he knows about limbo because he met Cade there in 8x13.

LMFAO Vicki was like “there’s nothing you can do to stop me” and Damon threw her out the clock tower. That was just classic Damon one last time.

Bonnie and Ric basically teamed up to get Caroline out of MF so Stefan would sacrifice himself because they both wanted him dead. No I’m not bitter or anything.

I hate how Stefan died (especially on HIS WEDDING DAY), I just hate that it was basically a suicide because the show decided that’s the only way to find redemption. I do get that Stefan could never let Damon die it’s the optics, I hate it. Stefan was even the one who kept saying he wanted to try and atone for his sins, he wanted to find redemption through that and then suddenly here he's like death is the only way to redemption. This is all KW because this whole episode feels like it was written by someone who hasn't watched this show since S3.

“I love you so much” god this is just heartbreaking, they couldn’t have let them have a day or a week to enjoy being married? Paul and Candice do a great job and I love that the kiss is a reverse parallel to their first kiss, they still deserved better.

WHAT IS THIS WIG

I can’t even listen to Katherine explain her plan that wig killed me.

In all seriousness though what even is the motive of her plan? She wants to burn MF to the ground because why? Just such a waste, they should have killed Cade earlier and had Kai and Katherine be the main villains to end the season, they could have had Katherine possess someone else until Nina came back like Vicki. Maybe throw Silas in there too if Paul felt up to it, just because we know he got dragged to hell too.

Bonnie saving the day with all the witches and controlling the hellfire was the best scene in the finale. Still annoyed they waited until THE LAST EVER EPISODE to make her super duper powerful but this scene was fantastic. Her suddenly knowing how to lift the curse on Elena though RME.

So Legacies S4 kind of enhanced the “tell Caroline I heard her” scene because it established that souls can get stuck in limbo if they have unfinished business with someone still alive. Stefan knew about limbo and knew Elena could be seen there, so he’s clearly looking for her (hence the bumping into him scene). He finds her and tells her everything and then when she hugs him he says “there’s something I have to say” because that was his unfinished business. He needed to make sure Caroline got his message that he’d love her forever too. And I love how it was written that he “heard her” not that he listened to her message. It makes it sound like when he died Caroline’s message was the thing he heard (because he always thought of her before he almost died) and that’s why he goes to limbo first to have Elena relay his message. It was beautiful and I will admit if Stefan didn’t die we never would have got this powerful moment of them promising to love each other forever (still would rather he lived though).

The chin kiss! Gets worse every-time I see it!

I do love Caroline’s ending and that TVD acts as her origin story because the school is the first mark she’s going to leave over her immortal life. However no matter what it’s still heartbreaking that she became a widow the same day she became a wife. I don’t know how that’s not supposed to be tragic.

The funny thing about the KC letter is if Caroline never went to TO you could have totally spun this as a hint-y endgame if you cared enough (which lbr that's what it's all about for shippers on this show). BUT! Because she went there this is just a cliffhanger, the voiceover even says this is the beginning of another story so it's pretty obvious this was just bait and now we know how that story ends. Also forever and ever LOL that Caroline got $3M from Klaus and she ignored his ass for almost a decade until Rebekah was like “please babysit my 1000 year old brother because I can’t physically go near him” such a troll job.

The DE endgame is such a tragedy lol, I'm sorry but the writers did not give a flying fuck about them! I mean yes they got the HEA but really that was just out of default, once they had Stefan die they were the only ship left. And I used to think it was all Ian's fault being unprofessional but he was fine with Nina in their Datherine scenes like this was just that they gave them NOTHING. They didn't even share dialogue, if anything Elena talks about Stefan more and then they just kill them off lol, as opposed to Caroline and Bonnie who the show indicates will have more stories to tell.

Defan last scene is great but I shall never forgive them for not showing Stefan's wedding ring we all know he was wearing because of BTS shots.

Line that made me laugh: (only one, too depressing)

Kai: I think I’m on the waitlist for heaven but they’re not returning my calls (yep that's definitely it Kai LMFAO)

#tvd rewatch #tvd spoilers #S8 rewatch #8x09 - 8x16 #k rewatches tvd #this was not therapeutic lol #got mad all over again about stefan #I just HATE IT #not even that he died #I would have been fine with him dying because I like the symmetry of his being 171 and there's 171 episodes #but not like this #as a vampire no forced cure storyline #and not his FRIGGIN WEDDING NIGHT

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isolavirtuosa · 2 years

Text

Cass & Dean's Infinite and Beyond Playlist 6-10

[fanfiction] Dean/Castiel

Canon Compliant Coda / Sequel to Cass & Dean's Infinite Playlist

The one where Cass makes a Daddy Issues playlist.

Referenced songs playlist on Spotify.

Parts 6-10/26 under the cut. Previous parts here.

- 6 -

Sam and I had a tendency to end up at the other’s front door with a six-pack at fairly regular intervals. This afternoon it happened to be Sam knocking on my door, and I was glad to have him.

“Where ya been, dickwad?” I asked, giving him a friendly slap on the back.

“Uh, down the street from you where I live?” he said, moving into the kitchen to get the brews on ice.

“Thanks for the geography lesson, Copernicus.”

Sam rolled his eyes at me, slouching against the kitchen counter.

“You want something to eat?” I asked.

“You cooking?”

“I could make some chili,” I offered.

Sam grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

“Okay, big brother will whip you up some chow,” I said, moving around the kitchen and gathering up the ingredients.

Sam cracked open a beer for each of us and set mine by the chopping board as I set to work. “You’ve gotten so domesticated,” he mused at me.

“I’ve always cooked for you,” I said, waving it off.

“Yeah, but you didn’t always do it well,” he pointed out.

“Unappreciative much?” I grumbled.

“You know what I mean,” he said, not caring at all that he was wounding my very manly pride. “I mean, once we were in the bunker you really came into your own, but this,” he said, gesturing to the extensive spice rack and the drying herbs hanging from the ceiling. “You’ve gone all Julia Childs in here.”

“I would consider myself more of an Anthony Bourdain,” I commented, putting some olive oil in the pan and turning on the burner.

“Of course you would.”

“Shut up, bitch, I’m making you chili.”

Sam shrugged and took a swig of his beer. “Appreciate it, jerk.”

“Go put a record on or something,” I said, my back to him as I worked my kitchen magic.

Sam disappeared into the living room.

I found myself humming Bad Moon Rising, until I was oh-so-rudely interrupted by Soul Meets Body blasting out of the living room. “Dammit, Sam!”

“It was in your collection!” he shot back.

“Because of your bad influence!” I snapped, smacking my pan with the ladle harder than really necessary. I was pretty sure there was no worse sound on this earth than Deathcab for Cutie.

“Hey, is it my fault that your angel got tired of all your mullet rock?”

“My angel loves mullet rock!”

He didn’t respond to that, but I could feel his smugness permeating the air.

I stomped over to the living, crossing my arms over my chest.

Sam was on the floor, surrounded by records as he sorted through them.

“Just so you know, every time Cass listens to this album he looks completely confused and keeps muttering to himself about how your taste in music friggin’ sucks,” I informed him smugly.

“Oh, yeah, that sounds like Cass,” Sam said, rolling his eyes.

“Okay, so maybe he says it in a more Cass-ish way, but the meaning is clear enough,” I relented.

“What does he say exactly, Dean?”

“He says, ‘does Sam not find this whinging tone grating on the eardrums?’” I said, doing my best eye squint and head tilt.

“Oh, kinda sounds like when he’s listening to metal and says, ‘how does Dean tolerate this affront to sound?’” Sam said, doing his own eye squint and head tilt.

I huffed at that.

Sam snorted. “I mean, do we need to be taking criticism from a guy who listens to Britney Spears unironically?” he asked, holding up a Britney album.

That gave me pause for a moment, and then I felt my cheeks heating up for some inexplicable reason. Maybe it was all the car dance parties Cass and I had been having lately.

My brother gave me a funny look, then tucked some of his Disney princess hair behind his ear and went back to flipping through albums.

I went back to my chili, grumbling about pussy emo music.

Dinner carried on with the same kind of relaxed bickering. I finally got Sam to change the record, though how we ended up agreeing on listening to one of Bobby’s Kenny Rogers records, I didn’t know.

I was pleasantly buzzed. We were talking about taking a drive up the coast, maybe with Eileen and Junior if they wanted to come.

“You should invite Cass, too,” Sam said casually.

And suddenly I just needed to know. “How did you know?”

“How did I know what?” he asked, taking a pull from his beer.

I tried not to turn red and felt myself failing. “About… me.”

Sam was now looking at me like I was crazy, which wasn’t really a new thing, but I hated that look when I was trying to actually be open with him.

“About me and Cass,” I sputtered out.

“What about you?” he asked, looking almost amused now.

“You don’t have to be a jackass,” I muttered, staring down at the table.

“Dean, I’m not…” he trailed off. “What do you want to know?”

“I just said it,” I grumbled.

“How I knew about you and Cass? What about you two?”

He wasn’t really going to make me say it. “You just… you just looked at me and you knew. And Charlie did the same thing. And even Bobby. And I don’t…” I trailed off, feeling shame start to coil in my belly even as I tried to fight it off. “I mean, it’s not like anything really changed… Just we’re… you know, and…”

“You’re in love,” Sam supplied softly.

“I… yeah,” I said, not minding that wording so much. “But I’ve always loved him, ya know? He’s Cass. So nothing really changed, it just… shifted? But you assholes all keep giving me these knowing looks like I… I don’t know, like the whole damn universe got flipped upside down…”

“Dean.”

I stopped and looked up at him.

“That night you came over, I looked at you, and it was like… some kind of tension had been released,” he explained. “You looked… lighter. Happier. It was a good thing.”

“And why did you just assume that it was all due to Cass?”

“I didn’t,” he said. “It wasn’t really about Cass. It was about you, letting go.”

“Oh, okay, Elsa.”

Sam groaned. “Dean, man, come on. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Please enlighten me.”

“Okay, then,” he said, like he was about to school me. “You’ve always had this idea of what it means to be a man-”

“Samuel,” I growled.

“You asked a question, Dean.”

I sighed, stabbing my chili with my spoon. “Yeah, all right. Do your Dr. Phil thing.”

“Oh, like I can tell the great Dean Winchester anything.”

“Sammy.”

We exchanged some non-verbal communication, and Sam finally seemed to accept that I wasn’t trying to be a complete ass and was ready to at least attempt to listen. “Look, the way Dad raised you was fucked up.”

“The way he raised us.”

“No, Dean,” Sam said with a shake of his head and rueful smile. “You raised me.”

I flushed at that, feeling my own mouth twitch into a small answering smile. “That why you’re such a damn hippie? ’Cause I’m pretty sure I told ya a million friggin’ times to cut your hair.”

Sam just kept smiling at me, his eyes conveying all the shit that definitely never needed to be said out loud.

“Was there a point to all this?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, “there was.”

I waited.

“I think there are a lot of things that held you back from being happy when you were alive,” he said, “and a big one was trying to live up to Dad’s stupid standards.”

“Dad wasn’t-”

“Dean.”

Even now there was always a defense of my father lingering at the tip of my tongue. I let it die.

“You’re really… kind,” Sam said slowly.

I snorted at that.

“Yeah, dude, I know, it sounds crazy,” he said, giving me a lopsided grin. “But… you are. You… were. When we were little. You… you always…” he trailed off, his expression losing its lightness. “I didn’t have a mother, Dean, but you… you always held my hand when we crossed the street, and read stories to me after you tucked me into bed, and kissed my friggin’ knees when I skinned them and…”

“Yeah, yeah, I was Mother Fuckin’ Teresa,” I muttered, wishing he wasn’t staring at me with those big doe eyes of his, all watery.

“You were,” he said, the sincerity in his voice making me want to sink under the table. “You were so… kind, so gentle, so… sweet with me. Not with anyone else, because you already knew… It’s like Dad beat the kindness out of you, Dean. He sharpened you into the hunter that you needed to be, but he… he took something away from you. Something important. And when I was still little you could… like be yourself for a few minutes while you were taking care of me. You were so… soft, Dean, you were…”

“Jesus, Sammy,” I groaned, because if I wasn’t already dead this conversation would literally be killing me.

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but I need to say it,” he said stubbornly. “I was the only person you could be yourself with, and then I turned into a moody adolescent and you stopped holding my hand, you stopped hugging me, you stopped… everything, because I wasn’t a little kid who needed your affection anymore, but you…

“So help me god if you say I was the one who needed the affection.”

Sam raised an eyebrow at me.

I rubbed my face with my hand, feeling exhausted just listening to him talk. “So all this has to do with how you knew that Cass and I are fucking, why?”

“Dude!” Sam cried, giving me a mortified look

It took me a moment to rewind what I’d said. Shoulda stuck with ‘boyfriends’, but I’d dug this hole for myself and I was going to own it. I looked Sam dead in the eye, pushed my tongue against my cheek rhythmically, and mimed giving a blow job.

The sheer horror in my baby brother’s eyes made it all worth it. “You are sick.”

“Are you gay-bashing me?” I asked innocently.

He kicked me under the table.

I kicked him back harder.

“You’re not getting out of this by being you!” Sam snapped at me, emphasizing his point with another kick.

“Eat your chili, Sam.”

“Not until I tell you what a kind, sweet, lovable person you are,” he growled at me.

I laughed at that and picked up my spoon, shoveling food into my mouth. It was easier when he wasn’t being sincere.

Sam started eating again, too, but then he put his spoon down suddenly. “I saw that in your eyes. When you were sitting on the couch with Cass. That person you’ve always hidden away. The one who loves so deeply and doesn’t care what anyone, especially John Winchester, thinks about it.”

“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered, and refused to look at him until all the chili was eaten and we were back to the mundane topics of our regularly scheduled sibling banter.

- 7 -

Cass was a cuddler, and his dedication to it was almost pathological. He would climb into my bed in the dead of night, throwing the sheets aside and forcing my arms around him so he could lay his head on my chest and wrap himself around me.

The first time he did it, I woke up as soon as he touched the sheets, ready to fight.

“Hello, Dean, we are cuddling,” he informed me, snuggling into me.

“You don’t just… stealth cuddle someone, Jesus,” I complained, pulling my hand away from the gun that lucky for Cass wasn’t under my pillow anymore. “Give a guy some warning, would ya?”

“But you looked so peaceful sleeping…”

“Do I seem peaceful now?” I growled at him, still half-asleep.

He just leaned up to kiss my cheek and then burrowed back into my chest like that was that.

And that was that.

I didn’t even wake up anymore when he came clamoring in. After years of sleeping on a hair trigger, I could finally just sleep for as long as I wanted, as much as I wanted, as deep as I wanted, without always having to be ready to defend myself on a moment’s notice.

So it wasn’t a surprise when I went to bed by myself and woke up the next morning with an armful of Cass.

“Morning, angel,” I mumbled, aiming a kiss at the top of his head.

“Good morning, Charlie,” he deadpanned at me.

It took me a moment to wake up enough to understand the reference, then I cracked up. “You Lucy Liu or Cameron Diaz?”

“Definitely Drew Barrymore,” he said.

I laughed harder.

Cass grinned up at me, looking all mussed and rumpled even though he hadn’t actually been sleeping.

“Love you,” I said sleepily, still laughing a little as I pecked him on the lips.

“I love you,” he replied, brimming with sincerity. He always said it back, but never as a reflex.

“You stickin’ around for a while?”

“Yes, as long as John Bonham does not need my assistance in carrying out his duties today,” he said.

I’d stopped asking ‘the musician or the angel?’ after about the fiftieth time Cass mentioned some famous rock musician that he had business with, because it was always a damn angel that Jack had created and named. It was my own fault, so I couldn’t really complain. “Good,” I mumbled instead, closing my eyes and attempting to go back to sleep.

Cass’s stare was almost heavier than the physical weight of him lying on top of me.

I cracked an eye open, meeting his gaze. “Could you… tone it down?”

His nose scrunched up in confusion.

“Haven’t you got better things to do than creep on me while I sleep?” I tried.

“No,” he replied, continuing to stare.

I rolled my eyes and pretended to be put out.

Cass just smiled at me. “I like the way the morning light illuminates your features.”

“You are so corny,” I groaned.

“Says the corn-fed Kansas boy.”

I snorted at that. “Yeah, Cass? That what you’re into?”

“Corn-fed Kansas boys?” he asked, squinting at me.

I waggled my eyebrows at him.

“Well, there’s one I’d certainly like to get into,” he said, staring into my eyes pointedly.

All the air pushed out of my lungs and I had to look away from that unwavering gaze.

There were some things Cass and I didn’t do.

He laid his head back on my chest, one hand tracing up and down my forearm in a soothing repetitive motion. “Do you want coffee?” he asked suddenly.

“Hm?” I said, realizing I’d been drifting back to sleep. “Nah, not yet.”

“You want more snuggle time?” he asked, scratching his five o’clock shadow against my neck.

I was supposed to tell him that men did not ‘snuggle’, but instead I snorted and rubbed my cheek against his hair. “Yeah, darlin’, that’d be alright.”

“Good, I also desire more snuggle time,” he informed me, rubbing that beard more insistently into me and peppering in a few kisses.

I couldn’t stop my fond smile. I kissed the top of his head and cradled him closer.

Sam had it all wrong when he said I was ‘kind’, but I could kinda see how I was a bit… indulgent with Cass. Making him a little happy after all the shit I’d put him through seemed like the least I could do. So Dean Winchester indulged in a little morning cuddling. And if Cass stared at me a little too long from a little too close, so be it. I wasn’t gonna make an issue out of his weird pastimes.

He seemed perfectly content now, staring up at me and occasionally peppering my skin with kinda sexy kisses that didn’t have any intent behind them but still made me shiver.

I shifted a little, feeling his weight pinning me down. “You’re like a weighted blanket,” I murmured sleepily.

A frown tugged at his lips. “You hate weighted blankets.”

“Oh, Jesus, do you remember when Sam thought one would be nice gift for me?” I asked, snorting at the memory. “I woke up in such a panic I shot a hole in the wall.”

“Yes, Dean, I recall the time you almost killed us all because of a weighted blanket.”

“It’s like someone holding you down, man, it’s super freaky.”

Cass rolled his eyes up at me.

“This would have never happened while I was alive, would it?” I mused, cupping his jaw.

“You allowing me to function as your weighted blanket?” he grumbled at me.

“Me liking the weight of you holding me down?” I countered, and then immediately flushed, biting my lip.

Cass’s expression relaxed and he pressed a small kiss to my thumb as it brushed by his lips. “I’m glad that those fears no longer control you.”

I guided his face closer, needing a quick kiss to settle the weird tension in my belly.

Cass pressed his forehead to mine, gazing at me gently. “Would you like your coffee now?”

I thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

“Okay,” he said, still lingering, still weighting me down.

I squeezed him tighter, then finally let go, feeling level.

“This time I am definitely going to make the coffee correctly,” he declared as he got up.

“Big words.”

Cass just flashed me a grin before wandering off towards the kitchen, inexplicably humming You’re the Inspiration.

I groaned, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and trying not to smile.

- 8 -

“I wanna see you completely drunk,” I decided, glaring at Cass over my whiskey glass.

“I don’t get completely drunk, Dean,” he replied from across the kitchen table, looking bored.

“That’s not true,” I said, squinting at him. “Remember that time back in Blue Earth?”

Cass gave me a very unimpressed look. “Oh, yes, the time we killed the Whore of Babylon after I realized my father had abandoned us so I proceeded to drink a liquor store. What a nice memory to reminisce about.”

“The way you said ‘whore’,” I said, cracking up.

“Do I amuse you, Dean?” he asked with a glare, but there was no edge to it.

“Yep.”

“I do not intend to.”

“I don’t believe you,” I said with a grin, reaching across the table to loop our fingers together.

“Most of the things I say that you laugh at were not meant to be jokes.”

“Yeah, but you know what you’re doing.”

Cass got this strange, secretive smile on his face, and started tracing along my fingers. “I actually haven’t seen you drink in a while.”

“Yeah,” I said, kinda mesmerized by the feel of his skin against mine. “Just… feelin’ nostalgic or some shit.”

“Or some shit,” Cass repeated with a sage nod. He continued tracing along my fingers, dipping between each one with such a feather-light touch that it was doing funny things to my stomach.

I took another sip of my whiskey, looking away from him. “Hey, so on game night-”

“We do not talk about game night, Dean.”

I snorted. “Okay, well then remember when you were human? You went from the greatest of all time to a one beer queer.”

“Dean,” he said with that reprimanding tone of voice.

“What?” I asked. “It’s true.”

“Dean,” he repeated, and now he straight up sounded disappointed.

“What?” I repeated in a tone that was definitely not a whine. Without really wanting to, I let my eyes meet his again.

“We’ve talked about this,” he told me in his disappointed dad voice.

I gave him a blank look, because I honestly had no idea where we were going here.

“The homophobic language, Dean,” he said with a long-suffering sigh.

“Homo… hey, now, I didn’t-”

“Dean.”

“It’s a saying!”

“Dean.”

“It is,” I said in a tone that was definitely not sulky.

“That’s not the point.”

“Well how can I be homophobic when we’re…” I trailed off, gesturing between us.

Cass proceeded to give me the most patented ‘bitch, please’ look I had ever witnessed in my life, and it left me struggling for words.

“I’m not homophobic!” I finally snapped, irritated.

“I know that,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Okay, then what’s the problem?”

“Did you mean it in a complimentary way?” he asked, still dragging his thumb along the shape of my fingers.

“Huh?” I said.

“When you called me a… ‘one’ ‘beer’ ‘queer’… was it complimentary?”

“Obviously not, it means you suck at drinking.”

“So you used that word to belittle me.”

I stayed quiet, not meeting his gaze.

“Dean?”

“I got it, Cass.”

He picked my hand up off of the table, pressing his lips to the back.

“Sorry,” I finally mumbled.

“It’s okay,” he said, setting my hand back on the table and curling our fingers together.

“I don’t mean anything by it.”

“I know.”

“It’s just… how I’ve always talked.”

“I know.”

“I don’t…” I floundered, before finally repeating, “I don’t mean anything by it.”

“I understand,” Cass said gently. “I know your heart, Dean, I know how good and pure it is. But you can’t continue to use the excuse of ignorance when you’ve been educated.”

“Sam’s lectures are not an education,” I muttered.

Cass rolled his eyes at me.

I taught him that, so I couldn’t be too mad.

In the living room, the record player started crackling.

Cass looked into my eyes for a moment, then carefully pulled his fingers away from mine with a lingering brush before going to re-set the record.

The opening strains of Hot Blooded filled the air, and then he was back, taking my hand in his again like he’d never left.

We both looked at each for what was probably too long.

“This song is highly inappropriate,” Cass finally said, breaking up the intensity of the moment.

“Dude.”

“‘Are you old enough?’” he asked, wrinkling his nose.

“It’s a legitimate question.”

“That a grown man would even consider sexual liaisons with a teenage female is so distasteful.”

“Not into age differences, Cass?”

He picked up on what I was implying immediately, leveling me with a glare. “No,” he said, sounding more petulant than he probably intended. “What I am saying is that a being that is fully developed mentally and sexually should be interested in other beings that are fully developed mentally and sexually.”

“Whatever you say, cradle robber,” I said with a shrug.

He looked flabbergasted, and it was hilarious.

“I mean, you’re getting all holier-than-thou over like a what, a twenty year age difference?” I asked. “Our, you know, several millennia age difference didn’t seem like a problem for you when you took me to bed, huh?”

“That’s different,” he protested, turning an interesting shade of red. “You are fully developed.”

“Really?” I asked. “‘Dean, you’re behaving like a child,’” I mimicked him.

Cass squinted at me. “So you’re saying you’re… ‘not’ ‘fully’ ‘developed’?”

“Yep,” I said, doubling down. “Pedo,” I added for good measure.

He flat-out pouted at me, his bottom lip making a big showy display of sticking out.

“Baby, I’m just teasing you,” I laughed.

“Oh, so I’m the baby here?” he grumbled at me.

“Yeah, definitely,” I said. “Just call me Daddy.”

“Okay, Daddy,” he deadpanned at me.

It took me a minute, and then I was laughing so hard my entire body was shaking with it. “Jesus,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes with my unoccupied hand. “You know exactly what you’re doing,” I accused him between wheezing laughs, recalling our earlier conversation.

Cass just shrugged, but I could see the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“I love you so much,” I said, shaking my head and smiling.

Cass’s entire face lit up. “I love you, too, Dean.”

Just a few simple words out of my mouth could make him so happy, and yet I was always denying that happiness to him.

Instead of dwelling on that thought, I picked up my whiskey and finished it off. “Hey, remember that time Ellen and Jo tried to get you drunk?”

“‘Tried’ being the operative word.”

“We should go to Harvelle’s,” I said, getting enthusiastic about the idea.

“I highly doubt there is enough alcohol at the Roadhouse to fully intoxicate an angelic being.”

“You clearly have not been there recently.”

“If you believe there will be sufficient quantities to achieve what you are searching for, then I’m not opposed to giving it a try,” Cass said with a shrug. “It would be nice to see Jo and Ellen.”

“Alright, it’s a date,” I said, giving his hand a squeeze.

He looked perplexed but pleased, and that was all I needed.

- 9 -

Somehow our date turned into a double date with Sam and Eileen riding in the back of Baby while the sounds of Cass’s carefully curated Songs That Will Be Played in the Car mixtape filled the speakers.

“I feel like you took the theme a little too damn literally,” I muttered as both Sam and Cass enthusiastically sang along to Fine Young Cannibals.

“She drives me crazy!” Sam warbled.

“Oh oh,” Cass replied, completely out of tune.

Eileen and I exchanged long-suffering looks through the mirror.

‘At least you can’t hear them,’ I mouthed at her, and maybe it was in poor taste to be jealous of Eileen’s deafness, but she smirked at me, so I was pretty sure she agreed.

“Oh thank god,” I muttered when the song changed to Queen’s I’m In Love With My Car.

“Dean’s theme song,” Sam said, cracking up.

“Shut up,” I said, giving him a glare in the mirror.

“Yes, that’s why I picked it,” Cass explained cheerfully.

“Don’t contribute to this,” I grumbled, giving him a half-hearted smack in the arm.

Cass gave me the most innocent look he could muster up, which was pretty damn angelic, but I was on to his game by now.

“I’m in love with my car!” Sam sang enthusiastically. “Got a feel for my automobile!”

“Such a beautiful love song,” Eileen put in.

I shot her a look.

She winked at me.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure Roger Taylor fucked his car, yeah?” Sam mused.

“Sammy, how much did you pre-game before getting into my car?” I asked.

“Just a coupla beers…”

“Uh-huh.”

“Or…” he trailed off, squinting at his fingers as though he were trying to count to a high number.

Eileen shook her head, touching Sam’s arm to get his attention and then signing something to him.

I still sucked at sign language, but the soft smile he gave her assured me whatever she was saying wasn’t for me.

“How does one have sexual relations with a car?” Cass mused.

“Dunno, ask Dean!” Sam declared, breaking away from his lovey-dovey gaze with Eileen to give me a shit-eating grin.

“Dude, like I would defile Baby like that,” I scoffed at him.

“So you do know how the mechanics of it work?” Cass asked, squinting at me.

“You can’t fuck a car, Cass,” I explained patiently.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Eileen commented.

Sam nodded his agreement.

“What the hell is wrong with all of you?” I asked incredulously.

“Dean called me ‘Baby’ the previous evening,” Cass put in out of nowhere. “Do you think that I should read something into it?”

Sam sucked his teeth. “Yeah, shit, Cass, man, that’s no good if he can no longer differentiate between his car and his boyfriend.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, squinting at him through the mirror. “And also, why are you telling them our personal business?” I chided Cass.

“It’s just Sam and Eileen,” Cass said with a shrug, like it was no big deal.

The obnoxious twosome in the backseat were snickering at our little telenovela, and I realized it really wasn’t a big deal. So I took one hand off the wheel to flip them off, then rested it between the seats and wiggled my fingers until Cass took the hint and laced his fingers with mine.

“Aw,” Eileen couldn’t help but utter.

I winked at her.

She gave me a soft, knowing smile.

I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling, too.

Then Prince’s Little Red Corvette came on, and my stupid tipsy brother and my annoying angel boyfriend started singing as loudly as they could, and it just felt like the Impala was filled with… joy.

I held Cass’s hand tighter, and maybe I sang along, too.

- 10 -

The lights were all blazing when we pulled up to the Roadhouse.

“Full house,” Sam commented as he pushed his way out of the backseat.

I hesitated.

Cass gave me a head tilt.

“You ready to get drunk?” I asked, forcing a smile.

He stared at me.

“Come on,” I said, letting go of his hand and opening the door.

He followed me inside.

Sam and Eileen were already filling a couple of pitchers of beer at the bar. The Roadhouse tended to be self-serve, as Ellen and Bill’s idea of heaven apparently wasn’t serving a bunch of old hunters drinks for the rest of eternity.

I looked around for the Harvelles, spotting them holding court at a corner table.

“Dean,” Bill said, sticking his hand out towards me.

“Bill,” I said, shaking it.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Ellen hummed, getting up from her seat to wrap me in a hug.

“Hi, Ellen.”

“Haven’t seen ya in a while.”

“Yeah, been kinda busy at home,” I said with a shrug.

Ellen arched an eyebrow at me, then turned to Cass, wrapping him in a hug.

Cass had gotten very good at returning hugs. “It’s good to see you, Ellen,” he said warmly.

“So what brings the Winchesters here tonight?” she asked.

“We’re gonna get Cass drunk,” I informed her.

“Good luck with that,” Ellen said with a snort. “Pretty sure there isn’t enough booze in heaven to get that one drunk.”

“Your previous attempt was valiant,” Cass offered. “Dean wishes to re-create it, but slightly more effectively.”

“Well, Jo’s got some hard stuff stashed away in the back if you can drag her away from her game,” she said, nodding her head towards the back of the bar where the pool table was.

“I will keep you updated,” I said, and Ellen grinned at me as I took my leave.

Jo was lining up a shot, bent over the table with one eye closed.

“Don’t miss!” I yelled cheerfully as she moved the cue.

The cue ball clacked into the 5 ball, sending it rolling into the pocket.

“I never do,” she said, standing up slowly and flipping her long hair over her shoulder.

Had Jo always looked so…

I shook it off, offering her an easy smile. “Wanna put your money where your mouth is?”

“Busy,” she replied, nodding her head towards the little fanclub of hunters who were waiting by the pool table to have their asses handed to them.

“Busy, sure.”

Jo scoffed at me and lined up her next shot, sinking it easily. “If you just came over here to annoy me…”

“We’re gonna get Cass smashed,” I explained.

“Oh?” she asked, looking intrigued. “Is that even possible?”

“Well, this one time at game night-” I began.

Cass shot a glare at me, making me grin.

“I’ve got some 190-proof Everclear in the back,” Jo said, waggling her eyebrows.

“So it’ll be like a shitty 90’s house party…” I reminisced.

“You are so old.”

I gaped at her, offended.

“Are you two done flirting?” Cass asked, squinting at me.

“We’re not-” we both started and stopped at the same time.

“I am going to join Sam now,” he stated, taking his leave.

Jo straightened up, looking between me and Cass’s retreating back. “I’ll bring some shots over after I finish this game.”

I gave her a little nod of acknowledgement, already following after Cass.

“Dean Winchester!”

Apparently we were at Cheers.

“Hey, you old son of a bitch,” I said, pausing to exchange pleasantries with Caleb, followed by several other hunters who called out to me before finally making my way over to the table where Sam and Cass were sitting.

“You’re popular,” Sam commented, handing me a beer.

“Not as popular as your wife,” I said, nodding over to the bar where Eileen was surrounded by other hunters.

“Yeah,” Sam said, smiling fondly.

I rolled my eyes.

Cass rested his hand on my knee as he leaned into the arm I’d settled around his chair.

I startled, having not even realized I’d put it there.

He turned to me with a frown. “Is this… okay?” he asked, quietly enough so only I could hear him over the din of the bar.

I hesitated, but then forced a smile. “Yeah, of course.”

“Dean.”

“Of course,” I repeated with more sincerity. “I’m just… it’s new.”

“You don’t have to push yourself.”

“I wanna push myself.”

Cass huffed out a smile, his eyes crinkling and his nose scrunching up.

I felt myself smiling, too, briefly reaching up to cradle his cheek in my hand before going back to my beer.

Sam was giving me a look, so I chose to ignore him.

“You boys are in luck,” Jo said, bustling over to the table with a stack of glasses and some bottles tucked under her arm. She lined up the shot glasses on the table, then started pouring from one of the bottles. “This is the warm-up.”

“Jack Daniels?” I asked, picking up a shot and giving it a whiff.

“Coy Hill High Proof,” she said, pushing a shot to Sam, taking one for herself, and leaving the other five for Cass. “About 140 proof, give or take.”

“Awesome,” I said. “Down the hatch.”

Sam, Jo, and I all downed our shots.

Cass eyed us like he was cataloging something in his weird angel brain.

“Ya gotta drink ’em to get drunk,” I explained.

Cass gave me his patented ‘bitch, please’ look and proceeded to down the five shots in rapid succession.

We all cheered.

“Feeling anything?” Jo asked as she refilled the glasses.

“I am feeling like whiskey tastes like watery grain molecules and wondering why humans subject themselves to this nonsense,” Cass said with a shrug before downing the next five shots.

Jo cracked up and filled the glasses up again.

Eventually Eileen wandered back over to the table and we somehow ended up playing Quarters, everyone making Cass take a shot of Everclear every time they got the quarter in the cup.

This was all fine and good until it was Cass’s turn. He never missed.

“Cass ish dishqualified,” Sam declared after one penalty drink too many.

“For what reason?” Cass asked, wrinkling his nose.

“For cheating,” he said solemnly.

“I am no cheater.”

“Using your angel mojo is totally cheating,” I said, grinning at him.

“How is that cheating? It is a part of me.”

“Cheater,” Eileen put in.

“Dirty, dirty cheater,” Jo agreed.

“Filthy,” I smirked at him.

Cass glared at me, ignoring the rest of the rabble-rousers. “I do not cheat.”

“Drink!” Eileen declared, pushing the bottle of Everclear over to him.

“Why do I have to drink?” Cass asked incredulously, finally looking away from me and over at Eileen.

“Drink!” she repeated.

“Drink! Drink! Drink!” Jo and Sam chanted.

“These are not the rules that we agreed to,” Cass grumbled, sullenly snatching the bottle and chugging.

We all erupted into cheers.

Cass finished the bottle and slammed it on the table. “You are all behaving like children.”

I leaned in closer, letting my lips brush against his ear. “Sorry, daddy, we’ll be good.”

Cass breathed out slowly, radiating pissed-off energy, but when he turned to meet my gaze, his look was pure sex.

I bit my lip, grinning at him and trying not to turn completely red.

He turned his face a bit more towards me so Eileen couldn’t read his lips as he mouthed, ‘the things I am going to do to you when we get home.’

The trying not to turn completely red thing went out the window, but it wasn’t so bad, being the recipient of the pure desire burning in Cass’s eyes. “Babe, I think you might be a little drunk,” I pointed out, trying to laugh it off.

“No,” he said dismissively. “You might be a little drunk.”

“I’m not… okay, yeah, maybe a little,” I agreed after a little self-reflection. I was feeling loose and warm in a way that alcohol hadn’t really made me feel in years.

“Alright, new game,” Jo said, passing Cass an unopened bottle of absinthe. “And if you don’t start dancing on the tables after this, I’m getting the rubbing alcohol from the first aid kit.”

“Is that… safe?” Sam asked, looking perplexed.

“I am an angel of the Lord, Sam, your disinfectant products cannot harm me,” Cass explained.

“Oh, well then, bring on the isoproperr uh isopropro… rubbing alcohol,” he finally decided.

“After this game,” Jo said. “So let’s play Never Have I Ever, and I’ll start. Never have I ever… uh… had wings.”

“Am I expected to drink now?” Cass asked.

“Well, if you’ve ever had wings, then yep,” Jo said.

“Does it count if an angel was possessing your body?” Sam asked, scratching his head.

Jo turned to Eileen.

“Absolutely,” Eileen said.

Sam and I both gave her a look and took a drink from our beers.

“You’re next, Eileen,” Jo said, nodding towards her.

“Never have I ever been to Purgatory,” she said.

“We’re trying to get Cass drunk here,” I complained, taking a drink along with Sam and Cass.

“We can’t help it if you two do a lot of stupid things,” Jo pointed out.

“How is being possessed by an angel or going to purgatory us doing stupid things?” I demanded.

“Knowing you two, bad choices,” Jo said.

“Co-dependency,” Eileen added.

“Fuck you both very much,” I grumbled. “Sammy, show them how it’s done.”

Sam grinned, his eyes drooping like he was about to fall asleep. “Never have I ever been a girl.”

Eileen and Jo rolled their eyes and took a drink, followed by Cass.

Jo’s look turned to intrigued.

“I have occupied female vessels,” he explained to her.

“Wait, wait,” she said suddenly. “Sam was totally possessed by Meg, so wouldn’t that make him a girl?”

“I was still in my body,” Sam protested.

“Yeah, but there was a girl in your body.”

“I would hardly call Meg a ‘girl’,” Cass mused.

“Okay, this is hurting my brain,” I complained. “Though, yes, Samantha definitely-”

Cass stopped me from continuing by covering my mouth with his hand.

“Thank you, Castiel,” Jo said with a sigh.

“What?” I protested when I was free to speak again.

“No one wants to hear your misogynistic nonsense,” she said.

“How am I-”

Cass covered my mouth again.

I glared at him.

“Trust me, Dean, I’m helping you,” he informed me. “Now, it is your turn.”

I made a face at him and then thought about it for a while. “Never have I ever willingly dressed like a tax accountant for years.”

“Define ‘tax accountant’,” Cass said, gazing steadily into my eyes.

“Just drink, already, J.P. Morgan,” I replied, smirking.

He looked very unimpressed with my cleverness as he took a long swig of absinthe. He set the bottle down, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, and declared, “it appears to be my turn.”

“Oh, this should be good,” I said, rolling my eyes. Cass never understood how these things worked.

Except when he did.

“Never have I ever worn women’s pink satin panties,” he said, toying with the bottle in his hand and not even looking at me.

“You son of a bitch.”

Jo stopped with her beer halfway to her lips and burst out laughing.

Sam was looking at me like I was an alien.

Eileen eyed me up and down in a way that was very confusing.

“Dean?” Cass prodded. “Aren’t you going to take a drink?”

“Goddamn traitorous fucking angels,” I muttered before taking a long drink and refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

Cass squeezed my knee gently under the table.

I could suddenly sense how insecure he felt, afraid that he’d gone too far.

Lucky for him, I was buzzed enough not to actually be angry about him revealing one of my deepest, darkest secrets.

“Nicely played, angel,” I conceded, letting my arm slide from the back of the chair to around his shoulders, pulling him a little closer.

The tension eased from him immediately, and he turned to give me a small, pleased smile.

“You’re gonna pay for that later, though,” I threatened.

“Oh?” he asked, his head tilting to the side but oozing smugness.

“Little shit,” I grumbled at him, then leaned in close to press a quick kiss to his mouth.

“Never have I ever…” Jo’s voice suddenly cut in to our little moment. “…made a complete and utter spectacle of myself at the Roadhouse being all lovey-dovey with my boyfriend.”

Sam snorted.

I was mortified, pulling away from Cass. Maybe I’d kinda sorta forgotten that we were in public.

Cass for his part just rolled his eyes and drank the rest of his bottle.

“You gotta drink, Dean,” Eileen pointed out.

I gave her a very sullen look and drank my beer, setting it down on the table with a little more force than necessary. “We need some good music,” I decided, standing up abruptly and moving off towards the jukebox.

It felt like everyone in the bar was staring at me as I went.

After flipping through all the songs, Beautiful Loser seemed like the correct choice.

#isola cass & dean's infinite playlist #fanfiction #you don't just stealth cuddle someone jesus

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kerwynlar · 2 years

Text

Back - A Belly Kink Fic by Kerwynlar

King Ander had been unable to eat while his husband was away on a dangerous mission. With Marcus back, the king regains his appetite but suffers the consequences. Fortunately Marcus is more than happy to help him feel better.

Read it on AO3 or below the cut.

Content warning: This story contains a description of what could be considered anxiety-induced disordered eating. Please proceed with caution if that's a difficult subject for you.

King Ander flew through the halls of his castle, his mind a white static buzz of hope and excitement. He shoved open the main doors before the guards could open them for him and burst into the courtyard just as a group of dirty, battered men rode tired horses through the archway.

“Marcus!” The king gasped, seeing only the rider who led the procession. He froze, the relief all but knocking him to his knees. Ander’s eyes filled with tears and his head swam. He stood, trembling, as the burly form of his husband dismounted and rushed up to him. Marcus wrapped Ander in his strong arms and the king sagged against him.

“Oh Marcus, thank god,” he said through tears of relief.

Marcus hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head. “I missed you, my king.”

Ander pressed his forehead against Marcus’s metal breastplate, willing his tears to stop, then looked up at his husband’s face. He frowned on seeing the cut across a prominent cheekbone and bruising over one side of Marcus’s square jaw. “You’re hurt!”

“Some cuts and bruises, my king. There’s nothing worse than what you can see.” Marcus gently tipped Ander’s chin up and kissed him passionately, heedless of the soldiers, guards, and others in the courtyard. When they finally broke apart, Ander looked searchingly into Marcus’s face. “You’re really not injured?”

“I’m fine, my king, I promise you.”

“And your men? Did they all make it back?”

“Yes, my king, they’re all here. A few injuries, but they’ll all be fine.”

“Thank god,” Ander murmured as he pressed his cheek against Marcus’s chest. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

Marcus rubbed his hand over Ander’s back. “I need a bath,” he said quietly, “and then I will show you how much I missed you.”

Ander smiled and tipped his chin up for another kiss, then stepped back and drew himself up, squaring his shoulders. The king turned to an attendant who was waiting off to the side, his voice taking on a different, commanding tone. “Nuala, inform the council that the Prince Consort has returned. He needs time to rest and refresh himself but ask them to-” he turned to Marcus, “join us for dinner?” Marcus gave a subtle nod and Ander turned back to the attendant. “Tell the council that if they will join us for dinner the Prince Consort will brief them on the details of his mission over the meal. Inform the kitchen and the staff that we will be hosting the council for dinner in my private dining room. Make sure also that the Prince Consort’s men have all their needs seen to and any injuries are treated immediately.”

The attendant bowed. “Certainly, Your Highness.”

Ander nodded at her then took Marcus’s hand to lead him to their apartment.

Ander and Marcus lay naked in their bed following lovemaking that began desperate but turned languorous and gentle. Ander was curled against Marcus’s side, his head on the broad muscular chest. Marcus ran his hand over Ander’s hair and down his back again and again.

“Ander,” Marcus said softly, reluctant to break the comfortable silence.

“Mm?”

“I can see your ribs, love.”

“I can see yours ,” Ander replied, “and they’re bruised.” He trailed gentle fingers over the ugly purple blotch.

“That’s nothing,” Marcus said. “And I was eating whatever we could forage and the dried supplies we had with us. You were here.” Ander let the silence stretch out and Marcus sighed. “Ander, please. You haven’t been ill, have you?”

“I’m not ill. I was just…” he buried his face in Marcus’s chest, “sick with worry. I couldn’t eat while you were gone.”

“Ander…”

“I could have lost you!” Ander’s voice broke with emotion. “I could have lost you and not even known for months! For all I knew you were already dead. I don’t - I don’t know how I would go on without you!”

“Oh, my love.” Marcus’s voice was quiet and he squeezed Ander to him. “I’m back, love. I’m here now.”

Ander let his tears fall on Marcus’s chest for a few minutes before taking a shuddering breath. “I couldn’t neglect my duties,” he said just loud enough for Marcus to hear, “but the worry took up so much of my mind that I had to neglect something , and that something was food.”

“Oh Ander,” Marcus stroked his hair, “I’m so sorry, love. I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you.”

Ander pulled himself back and shook his head, wiping roughly at his eyes. “Don’t apologize. The fact that you accomplished the mission and brought all your men back is incredible. I’m fine. And now that you’re here I’m fantastic.” Ander leaned in for a deep kiss. When they parted he glanced at the clock across the room. “Let’s get ready for dinner. I suspect you brought my appetite back with you.”

Ander relaxed back into his seat. Marcus’s big hand was on his thigh, where it had been almost the entire time they had been at dinner with the council. His husband - his brilliant, brave, gorgeous husband - had finished giving his report on the mission and was now answering the council’s questions. As the information was largely a repeat of what Marcus had told him in private, and the conversation required nothing of Ander but his presence, the king found himself becoming more aware of the feeling in his stomach. He was full . For the first time in weeks. It felt incredible. He would have liked to rub his belly, but didn’t want to draw attention.

A kitchen maid approached and grinned broadly when she saw his empty plate. “May I bring you some more, Your Highness?” she asked quietly enough that no one else would hear.

“Yes, Jessa, thank you.”

Her smile widened as she bowed. “Cook started baking a honey cake when she heard you were eating, Your Highness. It’ll be ready shortly.”

“Thank Cook for me, and tell her I’m looking forward to it.”

Ander had finished a second portion of meat and vegetables and was slowly making his way through the giant slice of honey cake that Jessa had brought him when his stomach began to cramp in earnest. His belly had started to get a little sore during his second helping but the minor soreness was outweighed by the blissful feeling of fullness that he was adding to. And the food tasted amazing. He had largely been subsisting on broth and the bare minimum required to keep him able to attend his duties. With Marcus away, everything tasted like ash in his mouth and he had been nauseated more often than not. But now Marcus was safe and uninjured and back . Ander would sleep in his husband’s arms that night. The meat had been tender and juicy with a rich sauce, and the vegetables were sweet and crisp. Each bite he took of the honey cake melted on his tongue.

But it seemed his stomach had caught up to the fact that it wasn’t used to this. It gave a lurch and a cramp, and it was all Ander could do to keep from groaning audibly. Oh, this had been a mistake. The fullness and the heaviness still felt lovely, but waves of pain were seizing his belly. He tried to focus on the conversation and not let his distress show, but then Marcus squeezed his thigh and gave him an inquisitive look. Ander tried to smile at him normally but his hand quickly flew to his mouth to stifle a burp.

“My lords,” Marcus said, turning back to the guests, “I hope you and His Majesty will forgive me, but after weeks of sleeping on the ground, I find myself quite eager for my bed. And with His Majesty’s permission, I would also request my husband’s company.” Marcus brought Ander’s hand to his lips and kissed it. Ander thanked the council for joining them and bid them a good night, then pushed himself to his feet. Oh he felt as if he had swallowed a cannon ball. Multiple cannon balls. He glanced down at his front and was immensely relieved to see that his robe hid any signs of his overindulgence, but he knew his belly was severely bloated. Ander felt Marcus’s eyes on him, and looked up to see the inquisitive expression again, and his husband offering his arm. He acknowledged the council’s bows and took Marcus’s arm, resisting the urge to sag against his side.

“Are you alright, love?” Marcus asked when the door shut behind them.

“Fine,” Ander somehow managed a light tone and squeezed the brawny arm. “Still beside myself with relief that you’re here and I’m actually touching you.”

Marcus chuckled and leaned down to kiss Ander’s cheek. The king’s overfull stomach chose that moment to give an audible grumble and Ander’s hand flew to it.

“Your stomach?” Marcus asked gently. “It can be difficult to adjust to a regular meal after being hungry for a time. I’m sorry, I should have instructed the kitchen to serve something light tonight.”

“I believe I was taking up all of your attention this afternoon.” Ander tried for a flirtatious tone, anything to not have to talk about his aching stomach.

As soon as the door to their room shut behind them Ander’s stomach gurgled loudly and cramped again, forcing a quiet “mmf” out of him. Marcus came up behind him and wrapped him in his arms, placing his hands ever so gently on Ander’s belly. “That doesn’t sound so good, love,” Marcus said quietly with a kiss on Ander’s shoulder.

Ander’s belly ached to be touched and rubbed. The thought of Marcus’s big warm hands soothing the churning, relieving the awful pressure, made the king a little weak in the knees. But no. This wasn’t the time. He had been so stupid to eat that much. Ander forced himself to step forward and out of Marcus’s embrace.

“I’m fine, really.”

“Ander,” Marcus chuckled, “you haven’t been able to deceive me since we were 13 years old. I can tell you’re uncomfortable. I don’t know how much you ate since I was focused on the council, but that rich meal after you’ve been eating so little? There’s no way you don’t have a stomach ache.”

Ander sighed and turned to face him. “You just crossed the Wild, twice , were attacked by wyverns and bandits, and saved an entire village from starvation! I should be fussing over you tonight, not dealing with the aftermath of stuffing myself.”

Marcus stepped forward, shaking his head. “Love, the only reason I was able to do any of that is that I knew you were safe and sound here, waiting for me to come back to you.” He cupped Ander’s cheek. “If our positions were reversed? If you had been off on a dangerous mission for weeks and I had no way to contact you and no idea when or if you would return to me? I would have been beside myself with worry. I don’t know what I would have done, but I can promise you that it wouldn’t have been keeping up with my responsibilities perfectly and just losing a little weight.” Marcus leaned down to place a gentle kiss on Ander’s lips. “You are strong, and brave, and an excellent king. I am in awe of you, my love, and I can think of no better way to celebrate being home than to hold you and comfort you.”

Ander’s eyes filled with tears and when his stomach gave another loud complaint, he let himself rest his hands on his middle. He stepped forward into Marcus’s arms. “I love you,” he whispered, laying his cheek against his husband’s chest.

“And I love you. Now let’s get you undressed so I can fuss over you and help you feel better.”

Ander took a step back, grimacing. “I’d rather just lay down.”

“In a formal court robe?” Ander didn’t meet his eyes, his hands holding his middle protectively. “Come on love,” Marcus urged gently, “after weeks with only ugly soldiers for company you’re going to deny me the pleasure of seeing your body and touching your skin?”

Ander chuckled a little then sighed. “This is embarrassing, Marcus. I’m so bloated, I probably look ridiculous.”

“Ander, you’ve seen me piss my pants -”

“You were a child!” Ander cut in.

“You’ve pulled me out of a puddle of my own vomit and cleaned me up,” Marcus continued. “An act that was so far below the dignity of the crown prince that no one would have believed me if I told them.” He stroked Ander’s cheek as the king rolled his eyes. “I’ve known you since we were barely more than babes. I’ve loved you since I’ve known what love was. I know and adore every inch of your body. Are you hiding a round, bloated belly under that robe?” he stepped forward and placed a hand on Ander’s middle. “Let me see so that I can tell the right places to rub to make you feel better.”

Ander sighed. “Alright.”

Marcus kissed his forehead and began unfastening the clasps securing the robe, then gently eased it from his shoulders and draped it over a chair.

The swell of Ander’s belly pushed against the fine linen of his shirt and strained the laces of his breeches. Marcus carefully untied the breeches and Ander gave a relieved huff. Moving slowly, Marcus pulled the shirt out from the breeches and slid his hand underneath, gently placing it on the curve of Ander’s belly. Ander’s skin was warm, the swell firm under Marcus’s hand but he could feel the grumbling and gurgling within.

Ander made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan and rested his forehead against Marcus’s shoulder.

“I’m glad you ate,” Marcus kissed the side of Ander’s head. “And I like that I can see and feel that you ate. I’m sorry that you have a stomach ache, but I’m very glad that I can help you feel better.”

With that Marcus moved his hand to the small of Ander’s back and guided him to the bed. Ander sat and Marcus kneeled in front of him, quickly pulling off his boots and setting them aside.

“Oh,” Marcus breathed as he gazed up at his husband, “you beautiful man.”

“Stop it,” Ander mumbled, running his hands through Marcus’s hair, “I’m not beautiful, I look ridiculous.”

“Beautiful,” Marcus insisted, then leaned forward to place a gentle kiss near Ander’s belly button. Ander gasped - his skin was so tender and sensitive, the kiss seemed to light every nerve in his body on fire.

“Marcus,” Ander whispered.

Marcus kissed Ander’s belly twice more before it made a loud gurgling sound and Ander grunted in discomfort. Marcus patted the pillows, arranging them so that Ander could recline against them. “Here, love.”

Ander gingerly swung his legs onto the bed and leaned back as Marcus perched beside him. Marcus eased his hands under Ander’s shirt again and started by rubbing the sides of Ander’s rounded belly, encouraging the straining muscles there to relax. After a minute Ander sighed and let his eyes flutter closed. The warmth of Marcus’s hands was incredibly soothing as was the mere fact of Marcus being there, on their bed, touching him. Once Marcus felt a little more give under his hands, he moved his attention to the top of the swell, just over Ander’s packed stomach. He rubbed gentle circles with his fingertips at first, then added a little pressure with his thumbs. Ander’s eyes flew open as a huge belch erupted from him. He covered his mouth, blushing bright red. “Oh, ugh. I’m sorry, excuse me.”

Marcus leaned forward to kiss his cheek. “No need to apologize, love. Did that help a bit?”

The pain in Ander’s belly had eased slightly but he kept his hand over his mouth. “A bit.”

“Good.” Marcus kissed Ander’s other cheek and returned to a sweeping motion with his thumbs. After a moment they both felt a burble along one side of Ander’s stomach. Ander grimaced at the accompanying cramp and shifted under Marcus’s hands to bring them to the right spot.

“Oh, there,” he murmured and groaned softly as Marcus kneaded the tender area. Marcus smiled and focused on the spot until Ander sighed with relief and some of the tension left his face and shoulders. Marcus began seeking out other places on Ander’s bloated belly where he could feel tightness and massaging them until they unknotted. Ander drifted in a sleepy haze, making no effort to stifle the relieved groans that Marcus’s hands were producing from him.

Eventually, Ander felt pressure building uncomfortably in his chest. He swallowed but it brought no relief. Too sleepy for embarrassment, Ander took one of Marcus’s hands and pressed it firmly to the top of his belly, just under his ribs. Marcus took the hint with a smile and pressed in. He had just massaged a circle over the area when Ander gave a deep burp. Marcus kept pressing and the burp was followed by another, after which Ander’s head flopped back in relief. “Better,” he breathed, “better.”

Ander’s belly was still rounded, but it felt less tight under Marcus’s hands and the grumbling within had moved lower and was less angry. Marcus rubbed wide, gentle circles over the whole area, feeling his eyes starting to get heavy.

Ander caught Marcus’s wrist and brought his hand to his lips to kiss. “I think we’re both ready for sleep, love.”

Marcus smiled at him and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, that sounds good.” It was the work of a moment for Marcus to strip down to his underclothes and climb into bed beside Ander. Ander rolled onto his side and Marcus wrapped himself around his back. Marcus kissed the top of Ander’s head and laid his hand gently on his belly. A few more soft rubs and they were both asleep.

#starving to stuffed #belly kink #belly rubs #stomachache #hurt/comfort #fluff #like really fluffy fluff #established m/m relationship #royalty #kerwyn's writing

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realcube · 3 years

Text

telling the hq boys you faked an orgasm

characters ♡ bokuto, kuroo, hinata & tendō

content warning ♡ cursing, fem!reader, nsfw themes, all characters aged up - minors dni

kōtarō bokuto

♡ you must be a really good actor if you managed to fake an orgasm without him noticing js

♡ anyway, bokuto needed a lil’ ego boost bc he hadn’t been to well at his games lately so you were talking about how great he was in comparison to your exes 🥰

♡ bc that always cheers him up pfft

♡ after a while, the topic accidently kinda steered off in the direction of sex so you reminded him that he was the first guy to ever make you cum

♡ and since he seemed to have gone back to his normal, cheery, confident self, you thought it was safe to joke about how the first time you ever came was on round two (2) of y’alls first time together

♡ he was chuckling, laughing at a previous joke you just made then he literally just froze-

♡ which creeped you out tbh

♡ ofc you asked him if he was okay and once your statement had fully processed in his brain, he asked with a shaky voice if you meant to say round one

♡ his red cheeks and pout should’ve been a big sign that you should lie and say ‘yeah, i meant round one.’ but instead you just shrugged and said, ‘no, it was round two. i faked it the first time.’

♡ you may as well just have stabbed him through the heart and left his corpse in a Target parking-lot >:’(

♡ WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT 😭

♡ bokuto tackled you into a hug - and luckily you were already sitting on the bed or else that could’ve ended badly - as he buried his face into your neck and blubbered, ‘oi! was my dick not big enough the first time?!’

♡ bc obvsiously dick size = orgasm 👍 /s

♡ you tried to explain to him that he was just really stiff the first round but in the second, he actually started to utilize his lips and hands - but that just made him defensive

♡ ‘i was nervous, (y/n)!’

♡ ‘yeah, i understand, bo! i was nervous too. but look on the bright side, you were the first guy to ever make me cu--’

♡ ‘ON THE SECOND ROUND! I’M A FAILURE-’

♡ if he wasn’t already in emo-mode, he is now

♡ though he probably takes it closest to heart out of all of them, he’ll probably forget about it after a good nights’ rest lol

♡ honestly 90% of his problems are solved by sleep and the other 10% is solved by water

♡ but for the rest of the day, pls be gentle with him 🙏 he is sensitive-

tetsorō kuroo

♡ offended™

♡ he told you about an argument he had with bokuto about who was better in bed and he said something along the lines of ‘then i told that owl bastard that i made my girl cum with just my finger so i guess my di--’

♡ and you were already in a pissy mood bc he has been talking non-stop for the last half hour, not letting you get a word in so when you heard him say that, you blurted out, ‘who’s your girl then?’

♡ kuroo was just about to keep rambling on until he finally faltered, ‘what?’

♡ you blinked rapidly, unsure of whether you should continue or not but his glare that seeming to penetrate to tough exterior prompted you to choke out, ‘uh, wh- who said you could do that?’

♡ kuroo cocked his head to the side, quirking a brow, ‘how bout the time i had that meeting thing?’

♡ that was in reference to the time he was wearing a suit for his conference which he had to leave for in a few minutes, so ofc he didn’t have the time to get undressed so he just fingered you

♡ however, after a while it was clear that you weren’t gonna reach your high anytime soon and you didn’t want him to miss his train, so you just..pretended to cum :)

♡ ‘uuhhh’

♡ kuroo’s tongue ran over his bottom lip, looking irritated at first before he pounced on you with tickling hands, ‘tell me what you mean by that! did you cum or not?!’

♡ you tried to stutter out a response but his fingers worked quickly at your stomach, ‘i- uh- no!’ you finally managed to squeal, resulting in his whole body immediately freezing

♡ ‘why?’

♡ you blinked rapidly, inhaling sharply at his sudden change in demeanour, ‘b-because you were gonna miss your train, baby!’ you yelled, clasping his cheeks in your hands

♡ kuroo chuckled, running a hand through his hair as before pinning you to a nearby wall by placing an arm over your head, ‘that’s no excuse, babygirl.’ his gaze burned through his bangs and into your eyes, ‘now, how do you think i should punish you for lying to me?’

♡ your throat ran dry, looking up at him with pleading eyes as you ran your hand up his chest, your mind too fogged by the feeling on his knee rubbing against your clothed cunt to process his question properly

♡ ‘c’mon, use your words.’ he cooed, taking your chin between in index finger and thumb before angling your head upwards

♡ once he realised that you were at loss for words, he answered on your behalf with a sly smirk on his face, ‘i’ll make you cum so many times - until that slutty mouth of yours forgets how to lie to me.’

satori tendō

♡ he’s probably the least fazed

♡ if it was in the past, at least

♡ like if you tell him that you faked an orgasm with him on your first time together, he’d hardly be surprised lol

♡ he’d just chuckle and shrug bc ofc he’d be awkward during his first time, but he’s gotten a lot better since then so it’s fine

♡ but if you say you faked a orgasm last night- he is shocked

♡ like you can see his hair inflate and his eyes widen

♡ ‘wha- why?’

♡ you shrugged, casually taking a seat beside him as if what you just said wasn’t a big deal - which it was, to him, at least

♡ ‘but you’re usually a slut around my fingers.’ he said, tugging on each of them individually, preparing them for the lengthy session they were about to have

♡ ‘i guess it just didn’t hit the same yesterday’

♡ he raised a brow, taking one of your clothed breasts into his hands to fondle with it while he kept his eyes glued on your blushing face, ‘how ‘bout we try it again then, doll? this time, i won’t stop until that pretty little mouth of yours is begging me to let you cum.’

shōyō hinata

♡ he honestly feels bad for you

♡ when you approached him to explain that his fingers alone didn’t really do it for you last night, he felt so guilty

♡ like he didn’t want you to feel obligated to fake for him-

♡ but he was glad that you told him :))

♡ he wasn’t too sure about the fingering thing either so it wasn’t that big of a loss for him lol

♡ that was hardly an excuse though bc ofc he wanted you to feel good no matter what

♡ anyway, he probably use this against you if you are ever being too bratty - like he’ll threaten to only fuck you with his fingers for a few weeks or so if you don’t fix your attitude

♡ or he’ll slip out at the last second and replace his dick with his fingers just as you are about to reach your high to ruin your orgasm 🥰

♡ he feels kinda bad that you had to fake an orgasm for him but he promised to make it up to you :3 and he did, many times

♡ like he took the fact you didn’t like his fingering and ran with it

♡ though he initially wanted to improve his fingering skills, once he realised that he could use it as a punishment for you, he didn’t bother

895 notes · View notes

a-small-batch-of-dragons · 3 years

Text

Healing

Prompts: So I’ve recently binged all your SS fics practically and I know you SWAMPED in prompts, but if this sounds like something you could enjoy creating I’d love to request a promt as well:

Set in your SS Butterfly Project, could we maybe get Virgil reacting to all the sides (specifically L and Ro) learning to heal, and bouncing between helping sooth everyone’s anxiety over all the changes? I’d just love under appreciated Virgil helping in the moments in between the healing process if that makes any sense…

I appreciate the he*l out of you regardless if you take this prompt or not; and you deserve all the kindness the world has to offer you. ❤️ - mylgbtbabies

I would take any fic where somethigns off and virgil knows it. Someone: Im sure its fine!! Virgil: Idk man Im anxiety my spooder sense be tingly. - anon

If you're taking requests for Sanders Sides uwu can I ask for something Virgil-centric? I just love the emo boy - anon

ahh yes the babes

Read on Ao3

Warnings: ngl this one's pretty much fluff

Pairings: DLAMP, LAMP, DLAMPR, that found family

Word Count: 3538

Healing: To restore to health or soundness; cure.

Healing: To ease or relieve (emotional distress).

* * *

Healing isn’t a linear process.

It’s messy, it’s hard, and no one should expect it to be anything otherwise. Humans are complicated, more often than not brains are absolute garbage, and trying to navigate everything on your own is difficult. Really difficult.

So is learning how to ask for help.

Virgil sighs and leans back against the couch as Roman continues to type on his laptop. He risks a glance up at Princey to see his brow furrowed slightly in concentration. Every so often he’ll quirk his eyebrow in the way that means he just made a hilarious typo and has to go back. Virgil hides a smile as he turns his attention back to his phone. Can’t intrude too much on the process, that’s not how it works. He glances up to make sure no one’s coming down the stairs and shifts his weight again.

“Are you alright?”

There’s Roman, taking care of everyone else first. “I’m good, Princey, just trying not to fuck up my spine.”

“…do you want to come sit up here with me? I won’t mind.”

Virgil cranes his neck back, letting a slow and lazy smile come across his face. “Nah, ‘m good right here. You just make with the typey typey, okay?”

Roman smiles too, victory achieved. “Okay.”

“That’s my Princey.”

Virgil isn’t humble enough to not feel the little rush of pride at seeing a quick flush spread to Roman’s ears as he turns his attention back to his laptop. Suppressing a chuckle, he starts mindlessly scrolling again, getting sucked back into whatever’s contaminating his dash this time. What’s this about a k-drama…?

“Oh! There you are!”

Patton might not notice the way Roman startles, but Virgil does. He looks up and quickly shakes his head as Patton comes the rest of the way down the stairs.

“It’s work hours, Pat.”

“Oh, I thought—“ Virgil gives him a look that he knows Patton understands as Roman is setting the rules here, and he nods quickly— “well don’t mind me, I’m just getting a drink.”

Roman relaxes slightly as Patton bustles in and out of the kitchen, then a little more as Virgil reaches up to squeeze his hand.

“Thank you,” comes the quiet mumble.

“I gotcha, Princey. Work hours are your thing, I’m happy to help.”

Sure enough, a few minutes later, when Logan comes down the stairs carrying his computer, he takes one look at them in the living room before his mouth drops open slightly.

“Is it…work hours?”

“Mhm,” Virgil says, letting his head loll back, “you wanna join?”

“May I? I can be quiet as well.”

Virgil looks up at Roman. Roman glances up, smile softening when he sees it’s Logan, and gently pats the sofa next to him. Logan smiles too and yeah, okay, Virgil’s fine with his edge lord image fading slightly if it means he gets to be fond at watching these two nerds be gentle with each other.

The two of them start to type on their laptops, Logan’s constant murmurs of what he’s working on an amusing contrast to Roman’s silent yet expressive face. Virgil keeps the barrier there, warding off Janus and Remus when they try and drag the others into the dramatics—if anyone, especially Janus, tries to deny that he’s as much a part of it as Remus is, do not under any circumstances believe them—to keep the nerds safe.

After a while, when Virgil re-emerges from whatever deep dive he’s gone on this time—and yeah, he might be looking to pirate that k-drama, maybe—he realizes there’s no more typing. He looks up, a little concerned, only to be incredibly glad no one else is around to see him melt at the sight on the couch.

Roman’s laptop lies partially closed on his lap, the screen just touching the tops of his knuckles. His head and shoulders are angled toward Logan and his eyes are closed. Logan’s glasses are slipping slightly off his face, his head on Roman’s shoulder, eyes closed, lips parted slightly as his hair falls back into his face. His laptop has been set on the coffee table, somewhere safe.

Virgil shakes his head, standing and carefully taking Roman’s laptop from him. He saves whatever’s on it and sets it next to Logan’s. Then he takes the blanket from the back of the couch and carefully drapes it over the two of them. He slides Logan’s glasses from his face and undoes the top button of Princey’s collar. Can’t do for them to have a red mark, after all. And he sits back down to keep watch.

Sometimes, when they’re doing better, they ask for more. Roman comes to him sometimes and asks, very very quietly, but he does ask, for Virgil to come sit with him by his room. Virgil happily takes up residence in the warm spot in the hallway next to Roman’s room, right where the big windows are, soaking in the warmth from outside as Roman closes the door gently behind himself.

Something that everyone had to learn pretty quick once Logan and Roman started reaching out was that both of them are extremely private people. On the surface, it might seem like they’re different—and if they’re being honest, they certainly thought they were very different—but they aren’t. Not really. Roman hides behind being too much, Logan hides behind not being anything. Whether or not anyone actually knows them without any of the facades is up for debate.

Except each other. They…they…know each other.

Virgil would be lying if he said he isn’t a little jealous of how close the two of them have become. There are soft smiles they only have for each other now, little brushes of their hands against each other’s as a constant way of saying ‘I’m here, I see you, are you alright?’ And sometimes it’s Virgil’s job to sit outside one of their rooms as they try and hold each other steady.

Their company feels better than their solitude and it’s up to them to decide where that line is.

Today, Virgil’s just keeping an eye on Roman. Fielding off anyone who comes to knock on his door, glaring away the more persistent ones who don’t seem to understand that Roman needs his space right now, kindly fuck off. Logan comes around the corner and immediately understands and he sees them murmur quietly to each other when it’s time for dinner.

When he watches Logan, it’s a little harder. Because poor Logan is so used to pushing himself to the side to be able to make decisions, to help do things, that Virgil has to remind everyone involved that no, Logan’s enforced a boundary that means he doesn’t want to be disturbed right now, he’s allowed to do that, let’s leave him be for now. Left brain boys have to stick together.

But the others, to a certain extent, are easy. They care about Roman and Logan as much as Virgil does, and if it’s to help them, they’ll do whatever they have to. Protecting them from themselves…that’s another story.

Logan is too fucking good at pretending he’s fine. He’s too good at pretending he doesn’t have emotions, that he doesn’t care what’s going on unless it’s the absolute most illogical thing that’s happening. So, sometimes he has to work a little harder to get Logan to admit it.

“L,” he mutters as the others continue to argue, “check-in.”

“I’m fine.”

Janus shoots him a look as he continues to argue. Virgil tugs gently on Logan’s sleeve.

“No one’s gonna be mad if you say you aren’t, bud.”

Logan shakes his head firmly, eyes still trained on the way Patton and Janus are insisting that they’re the one right.

“Hey,” Virgil says softly, making them take a step back, “I need you to look at me, L.”

“What is the purpose of this?”

“You’re seizing up again.” Logan looks down at his hands, sees the way they’re shaking as Virgil gently runs a finger over the back of one of them. “It’s okay, bud, you’re gonna be fine, you just have to let yourself not be for a moment, okay?”

Logan risks a glance at the others but they haven’t noticed anything. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. Judging by the way Janus is being more dramatic than normal and Roman has turned so his back is facing them, they’ve noticed something’s wrong and are purposefully not noticing anything else.

“Logan,” Virgil calls, “do you need a minute?”

Logan’s mouth opens, closes, then he nods sharply.

“Okay, thank you, I’m really proud of you for saying that. Can I sink you out?”

Another sharp nod.

Virgil sets his hand gently on Logan’s elbow and sinks them out, right outside Logan’s room. He nods to the door.

“Do you need to be alone for a moment? Or do you need me with you?”

Logan looks at the door. His hands shake again. Virgil sees them twitch toward his legs. Then he looks at Virgil and oh, okay, no, Virgil’s definitely coming inside.

“Come on,” he says, guiding hand still on Logan’s shoulder, “just through here, okay? I’m gonna get you a glass of water.”

Logan looks small, Virgil decides he doesn’t like that. He presses a glass of water gently into Logan’s hands, watches as he drinks the whole thing without complaint, and then carefully sets one of Logan’s fluffier pillows into his lap for Logan to hang onto.

“Do you want to sit here for a moment?”

Logan nods, then buries his face in the pillow and breathes. Virgil closes his eyes and starts to breathe too, keeping it slow and steady as he breathes in, then out, then in, then out. When Logan’s breathing starts to hitch, he opens his eyes and scoots a little closer, wordlessly offering a shoulder. Logan takes it after a moment, his face still buried in the pillow even as his head comes to rest on Virgil’s shoulder.

“Let it out, bud,” Virgil murmurs into the crown of Logan’s head, “don’t try and keep any of that shit in you. It’s just me.”

Watching Logan cry isn’t fun. He doesn’t recommend it. But it’s much, much better than the alternative.

“Hey,” he calls again, a fresh glass of water in his hand, “drink, bud, it’ll help.”

Logan drinks, a little slower this time, as Virgil settles back on the bed, one leg folded under him.

“Do you want to talk about it? Or do you want me to distract you?”

Logan shakes his head. “I…do not think distraction would be helpful.”

“Okay. Do you want me to give you the logical reason why this is fine, or the emotional one where I tell you how much we care?”

Logan sniffles.

“Both it is, then.” Virgil scoots closer, ready if Logan needs to lean against him again. “Despite the fact that your role is Logic, no one expects you to be entirely logical. You are a person, you have feelings and emotions, and they are as much a part of you as Logic is. Trying to deny that isn’t logical, nor productive. The reason you are who you are is equally due to both of those things.”

He softens his voice as Logan leans toward him again, smiling at how shamelessly Logan is asking to be comforted.

“And that’s why we care about you,” he mumbles, ignoring the heat rushing to his own face, “because you’re you. You’re…prissy and stuck-up and a know-it-all and it’s perfect, L. You’re our braincell and you’re fucking ours. You’re—you’re not going anywhere.”

Logan’s arms still grip the pillow tightly even as his head nudges its way under Virgil’s chin. Virgil smiles and lets him, only realizing he’s absentmindedly nuzzling Logan’s hair after a minute.

The others will be fine. Logan just needs a moment to check out.

Roman, on the other hand, fucking sucks at letting himself ask.

And yeah, Virgil’s not too proud to admit he still feels sick at how much he’s fucked that up for him. But he’ll be damned if he doesn’t try and fix that now.

Princey’s gig as Creativity isn’t misplaced; Virgil’s equal parts impressed and dismayed at how well Roman’s managed to get himself what he needs without directly asking for it, be it a favor, a piece of feedback, or a conversation.

The one thing he can’t do that with is touch.

Roman needs physical contact like he needs water. He may run hotter than a goddamn furnace but he somehow manages to look cold. Watching him sit himself apart from everyone else hurts now, especially when Janus comes and confesses that he can hear how much Roman tries to insist that he doesn’t need affection from the others.

So, they built a system. Some with Roman’s knowledge, some without. Roman goes to them for comfort when he needs it, but sometimes, when he really needs it, it’s up to them to figure out just how much.

Remus knows his job when it comes to this. His brother is Roman and you don’t get to be a Dark Side without Janus as a dramatic caveat. He’s well-versed in blackmailing self-sacrificing idiots into taking care of themselves.

Remus finds Roman when Roman’s sitting alone, off to the side, staring out into the expanse of the Imagination. He sits down, brushes their shoulders together, and frowns when Roman apologizes and shifts further away.

That’s the first indication.

He suggests they go bother Patton, or sneak out to the field and practice cliff jumping. If Roman’s alright, he’ll roll his eyes and propose an alternative, or agree and they’ll scamper off. But instead, he smiles softly and says no thank-you, politely inviting Remus to stay if he likes, but he’d rather not move.

That’s the second indication.

The third one comes when Remus carefully—really carefully—prods at Roman to see how obvious Roman’s dazed state is. He’s barely there.

Time for reinforcements.

Who gets called depends on who’s around. Since Remus is usually the first one in the chain—although that responsibility does get bounced around—everyone else’s schedules make absolute consistency difficult.

Today, it’s Janus.

He sits on Roman’s other side, pressing their shoulders together. If he’s alright, he’ll lean into him, or at the very least, tolerate it. His presence is strong, enough to coax down his shields and that’ll be the end of it. But today, he scoots away from him too, another apology on his lips.

They exchange a look over Roman’s head.

No one banters quite like Remus and Janus, and sometimes that’s all it takes to pull him out of his head. Sometimes it’s an offer to go flounce around an abandoned castle, and there’s a small smile on his face as they leave.

Not today.

As a last resort, Janus reaches out and gently calls to him.

“My prince, are you alright?”

Sometimes it’s enough.

Not today.

“Alright,” Remus declares, getting up and clapping his hands, “time to pull out the big guns.”

Sometimes he’ll get up and walk with them, sometimes he won’t. He has carried him through the Mindscape before, but it was only once. And that was when he couldn’t actually move and they’d had a murmured conversation where he gave him permission to.

Today he gets up and follows them, confused as to what’s going on. They march him straight to a door and Remus knocks on it.

“Roman’s upset,” he says as soon as the door opens.

Virgil smiles and steps aside, letting him come in. Sometimes it’s a waiting game, sometimes Remus pushes him inside. But today, Roman bows his head and walks inside, letting Virgil close the door behind him.

Sometimes it’s a protest. Sometimes it’s a: ‘this really isn’t necessary,’ or a ‘do we have to do this?’ When that happens he indulges Roman, meets every quip with one of his own until he can knock Roman off-balance with well-placed sincerity and use his distraction to steer him to the bed.

Sometimes it’s an apology. It’s an: ‘I’m sure you’ve got other things to do, I can just go,’ and he shakes his head, tells Roman he’s more than happy to spend time with him. That no, he’s not being rude, that he all but asked for Roman to come. When that happens, he normally clams up, stays quiet, until he relents and gathers Roman up into a cuddle by the door.

Sometimes it’s silence. It’s a bowed head, curled up like a frightened animal, braced for punishment. It’s the moments where the gap between Light and Dark feels uncrossable. It’s the moments where the anger is disappointment, where the frustration is indifference, until he speaks first and murmurs that no, Roman’s not in trouble, he’s not here to lecture him, he’s hurt and he wants to help, as he takes Roman into his arms.

Every time it’s a fight.

It’s knowing that he can’t win because of course, he can’t win but this isn’t something he’s supposed to win but he can’t show weakness but he won’t have a choice because it’s the slow, patient kill that speaks of nothing but kindness and care but Virgil has enough to worry about and he doesn’t get to dump all of his problems on Virgil but he knows he wouldn’t do this if he didn’t care but he cares about everyone and Roman isn’t special but he knows that doesn’t matter and he needs this but it makes him want to rip all of his skin off and start over but then he’d get blood on his carpet and that wouldn’t be very polite either—

Virgil guides him to the couch with a hand on his back, sitting him down and bringing two cups of tea to the table. He cups Roman’s hand around one to gauge how warm it is and if his fingers grow too red, he sets it aside. He sits next to him and carefully reaches out.

Here she is, sitting right next to him, and yet he’s almost nowhere to be found.

He needs to relearn how to ask for comfort, for reassurance, for what he needs, but the wait hurts them both.

I’m trying, I’m trying, I promise, I’m sorry—

It’s alright, I’m right here, just ask, that’s all.

When he finally reaches out, Virgil snaps and bundles Roman into his arms. He tucks Roman up against his chest, letting him wind his arms as tightly as he needs to, guiding one leg, then the other, over his. Roman lets out a little whine as he tucks his face into the crook of his neck. He cards his fingers through Roman's hair and smiles as the poor prince melts into his arms.

The familiar protective instinct swells up and Virgil finds himself wanting very much to wrap him up in his hoodie and keep him safe from the universe.

He keeps his breathing even, hoping his heart doesn’t begin to race from the need to protect the Roman. This is for Roman, this is what he needs, to chase away the worries of the world and be safe.

Sometimes they fall asleep like that. Sometimes Roman needs to cry and he hushes him tenderly. Sometimes he seems convinced that if either of them lets go they’ll fly apart.

It doesn’t matter.

If he feels the safest with Virgil’s arms around him, his head on his chest, his heartbeat in his ear, the world could be on fire and he would not leave his side.

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#dragonbabbles #fic #sanders sides #virgil sanders #roman sanders #roman angst #logan sanders #logan angst #janus sanders #deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit #remus sanders #sympathetic remus #patton sanders

76 notes · View notes

gaitwae · 3 years

Note

"I would rather die a thousand times;" with loki please?

Warnings: argument, hurt/comfort, cringey crying, ambiguous ending.

Summary: You decided to ask Loki if the two of you could ever have a romantic relationship. Loki, who knows this question might be from some weird Midgardian infatuation instead, gets defensive.

Tags: @make-me-imagine @thorfanficwriter @bwemph @myraiswack @rorybutnotgilmore @loki-snape-our-hero @wolfish-trickster @lucywrites02 @mostly-marvel-musings @winterfrostsarmy @superheroesandstardust @castiels-majestic-wings @geekns @lokis-high-priestess @natandersonnla @cozy-the-overlord @megthemewlingquim @frostedgiant @whatafuckingdumbass @thebookbakery @delightfulheartdream @twhiddlestonsstuff @lokistan @the-emo-asgardian @amwolowicz

Happy ending! I’m sorry for the (mostly) angst!

+-+--

The sun sank low beneath the horizon long before Loki had said a word. You were biting at your nails silently. The god was yet to make his decision. Time dragged on and on, ticking along with the clock on the mantle. The sound it made was horrendous. The sound of silence would have been worse. You wanted an answer, but it would take years and years before the two of you could reach an agreement.

You just wanted to know if there was a possibility.

“Loki?” you whispered. You couldn’t keep your mouth shut any longer.

“Hmm?” Loki picked up his head and faced you. He had that sad look in his eyes, again, his fingers curling nervously. “Oh, yes,” he said quietly. “I was still thinking, Y/N, I apologize.�� He pulled his hands over his knees, then back over his thighs. “You really think that he’s out there, don’t you?”

“Who?” you asked, knowing exactly what he was referring to. You didn’t want to give in to his let-down — not when you still had some shred of honor left. You found your feet very appealing, suddenly.

“That man; the ‘One,’ you’ve called him.” Loki heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head. He wiped his face. Your heart plummeted. Dipped. Your belly was set ablaze and your eyes felt scratchy. You knew what was coming. “Listen, I don’t know if we’d ever be… together, but I would feel much better if I knew your ‘One’ was still searching for you, too.”

“Loki,” you pleaded, “that isn’t fair.” You swallowed the tears down — if you cried now, it would show how weak you were — how much you relied on him. He would be scared off, wouldn’t he? Would he lose respect for you? Would he despise you? What would be the outcome? What would happen? “That’s not fair at all…”

“No, it isn’t,” he conceded. He turned his head away from you. You knew he couldn’t handle your tears well. His voice raised slightly as he continued, “But asking such a fragile question isn’t fair to me, is it?”

You felt the tears slip down. You wiped them away quickly, trying to regain your composure. “Loki…”

“Is it?” he snapped, causing you to jump. “Did you have to ask now, Y/N? Did you have to let your emotions get the better of you when we’re trying to escape this blasted planet?” With each word, more rage slipped into his voice, his tone, his whole manner. He was furious with you. You had upset him.

“Loki, I —”

“Asking me to be your partner is out of the question! I would be dead first, Y/N! The situation we’re in, the pressure we’re under, I would rather die a thousand times than put our lives at risk for your silly fantasy!” He threw his hands down. You didn’t remember them flying so high. “Dying like a hero is far better than dying to protect your flimsy, mortal heart.” His chest peaked, then fell harshly. “You change so frequently; I’m surprised you even figured out that you wanted me. Perhaps it’s the thrill of danger, yes? The possibility of becoming a legend? An idol? Or is that too much glory for you? Are you hoping for rescue? To be saved like you had been taught from so young?”

You couldn’t speak. You didn’t move. You didn’t know how; after all, you hadn’t really been on the receiving end of his scolding. Well, that wasn’t really scolding. That was just… degrading. He was insulting you, peeling away your confidence layer by layer with a steady glare. He was angry — no, he was embarrassed — at your query. If you knew he would react this way, you would have sewn your own lips shut. You thought you could trust him. You wanted to trust him. You wanted that more than anything.

“You’re being cruel,” you pushed out. “You have no idea what I want.”

“I know you’re a small, witless child,” he growled. Loki stood from his seat. You ducked your head and stared at your knuckles. He grabbed your chin, jerking your face up without hurting you. “You’re simply an… an insect in the grand scheme of things who imagines greatness for yourself. I’m something you haven’t attained, that you haven’t experienced. You don’t want me for who I am, but rather what. Y/N, you’re a dreamer. That is why you follow me. Yes?” The god’s eyes searched yours with a frantic need. You clenched your jaw, removing his hand from your face.

You said nothing.

“Answer me,” he spat. He dropped his arms, spreading his legs apart in a warrior’s stance. He was battling this topic more than you had imagined. Unless you were seeing things, Loki’s blue eyes were shining. His lips were tight against each other. Why was he losing his temper so? “Answer!”

You kept your eyes focused on his; you wouldn’t say anything, you couldn’t, your tongue wouldn’t let you. Your knees shook. Your hands tingled. Your cheekbones tingled, too. Your throat hurt. Your nose burned. The longer Loki saw your tears, the wetter his own orbs became. Your body hadn’t racked with sobs yet, but they were waiting to erupt any moment.

“Why could you possibly want a relationship with me, Y/N? I’m not yours to study, to toy with. Greatness cannot be the basis of love.” He looked between you and the door. His escape was too far away. The confrontation was hurting far too much — it was evident, written all over his face. “You can’t love me. Why would you?”

“Because you’re a hero,” you whispered. Your eyes followed him, but your limbs disobeyed every order to stand, to turn away, and walk out the door. Your last chance to spare your own feelings was slipping through the door. “If you weren’t, I would have been gone long before asking the question.”

“So… it is greatness,” he said quietly. “You want the persona.” He sniffed sharply, settling back into his chair. He raked his hands through his hair, once, twice, three times. He couldn’t sit still, but you still couldn’t move. “Not… me.” He wiped under his eye with his thumb. Finally, you understood why Loki was so offended by your question.

After all, who could ever love a man if he was a concept? What woman was loved wholly when the world focused on her beauty?

Your own heart shattered as you watched his crumble. Before you understood what was happening, you stood and walked to the prince. The forgotten prince. The prodigal son who had been thrown away, cast aside, and crushed like a cigarette under a boot. Once a bright flame, but quickly reduced to dying embers. Oh, and you had the nerve to ask him if there was a possibility of having his heart… you were like a child asking to hold something frustratingly delicate.

You held his head, petting his hair for him. Your lip wobbled, as did Loki’s. He shook his head with agony. He buried his face in your body, clinging onto your hips with arms wrapped tight. You kept running your fingers on his head, scratching his scalp, and playing with his hair. His arms shook against your person. He tugged you between his knees to grip you better.

“I love you,” your voice came, echoing the ringing thought in your nearly empty mind. “I would love you even if you weren’t a god; I would love you if you lived under a bridge and smoked gasoline.” You tried for some humor. Loki’s fingers dug into your shirt. “Your greatness comes from your heart, Loki. Isn’t that what matters? Your heart?”

His shoulders jerked forward, the pace faster and faster as a heart-wrenching noise escaped from him. You tightened your grip on him. His sobs kept coming, over and over and over. They weren’t loud — they sounded more like whimpers than anything else. It didn’t mean that the sound wasn’t enough to tear someone’s soul in half. It was tearing your soul in half. Seeing him like this… you didn’t know what to do other than to be his anchor. This was so unlike Loki; at the same time, this was Loki.

This was every piece of hurt he had been holding onto for who knows how long. You had just found the weak spot in his armor. Loki loved you deeply and you could care less if it was platonic or romantic. Your stupid selfishness had caused a breakdown…

Yet, it was healthy. He needed this. He needed this.

You didn’t need an answer tonight. You didn’t need an answer for a while.

This was more important. You’d rather die a thousand times than walk out on him in a moment of need.

The clock passed midnight long before Loki calmed. By the time he had stopped making that tear-jerking sound, the clock was seconds away from chiming. When he stopped shaking, it was almost one o’clock in the morning. You had moved to sit next to him then. Loki rested his head on your chest and shoulder. The only words spoken were your affirmations and your coos. For the Norns’ sakes, the crying was awkward; just by the way he stared off into space, you could tell he wouldn’t want to talk about this.

Ever.

“I’m sorry,” he said once it was over. “That wasn’t very… very heroic of me, was it? He laughed sourly. You continued to stroke his hair. “I wail like an infant and you’re still here…”

“I thought it was very brave,” you said honestly. “Breaking down in front of someone who might not truly love you? I’d just run away and hide.”

“You’re pushing it,” he mumbled, deadpan. “If this was me years ago, I don’t suppose I would have even let you see me like that. I would rather be dead, first.”

“I’m glad we solved something, tonight,” you told the giant in your arms. “But next time, I think we should talk about it slowly.”

“Agreed.” Loki closed his eyes. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Oh, you’re excused,” you yawned. The clock ticked quietly. It was like a lure to sleep. You felt safe, squished in this seat with Loki.

If someone wanted to take you from Loki, you’d have to be dead first.

#gaitwae writes #loki #marvel #mcu #loki x reader #loki laufeyson #loki odinson #loki x y/n #loki mcu #mcu loki #loki x you #loki angst #loki hurt/comfort

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that-bi-bitch-writes · 3 years

Text

A Cursed Reality-JJK x M!Reader (Ch.2)

Question: Do you guys prefer longer chapters or shorter chapters? I’ve been making an effort to write longer chapters but if you hate reading them I’ll write them less.

Warnings: fluff, comparison of Inumaki’s speech to a disability/handicap, cursing. Dislike of Maki (Not me. wrong bitch. I love her)

Previous || Next

Chapter Two:

[Name] actively dislikes hanging out with the second years. Not that they’re bad people in any way, it’s just he’s anxious and awkward, and even after spending a year familiarizing himself with the school and the people in it, there’s like a small group of people he would invite to his birthday party.

That and he just doesn’t care for Maki Zen’in. And it is most definitely mutual. To him, she’s just pretty. She also won’t die in a battle between her and a curse below first grade. But that’s about the end of her appeal. Of course, Panda is fun to tease but he typically plays the peacemaker between the second years. [Name] would rather not care about people in peace.

There’s no dramatic reason to it all, it’s just [Name] didn’t really come to Jujutsu Tech by choice so he hadn’t intended on making friends. He obviously failed considering he befriended Inumaki within his first day and they have some homoromantic vibes going on in their friendship.

That’s not to say you can’t platonic cuddle with your best friend but when you longingly gaze into each other’s eyes and he’s the only friend you’ve made besides an annoyingly hyper 30-year-old because no one else understands you like he does… And it kind of goes both ways considering you’re the only person he trusts himself enough to have a full-on conversation with.

Yeah, it’s not looking very good for the argument that they’re not gay. They’re not though. At least not now.

“[Name]”

“Yeah toge?”

“You look like you’ve got something on your mind” Inumaki responded. And although he had plenty of experience saying words, having a conversation without using safe words felt a little weird. It was an aspect of who he was now and [Name] being immune to the cursed speech wouldn’t erase the problems he had with talking and it didn’t make [Name] his savior or soulmate.

Luckily [Name] was both lonely and not a complete asshole because he had no problems adapting to the switch between Toge’s ‘onigiri glossary’. Learning it was actually a really fun experience because it turns out Inumaki did not have the exact translation of all his safe words. He would just say an ingredient and [Name] had to fill in the blanks. There was a lot of trial and error and a lot of [Name] smiling down at Inumaki’s concentrated face.

“I was just thinking.” [Name] broke the contemplative silence.

“Hmm”

“You know” [Name] started again “... They say it was believed people kept their souls in their throats” and as Inumaki gave a confused denial (“fish flakes”) [Name] was internally panicking on whether or not he should keep going with this specific train of thought or make a joke to deflect from the very real and emotional but corny statement he was about to utter.

“Ah fuck it. I want to exercise the curses in the world or at least enough to keep you safe so you don’t keep damaging your soul when you use your cursed technique”

“Sujiko”

[Name] looked at Inumaki. And as if breaking off pieces of his soul didn’t matter to him, Inumaki spoke, a short sentence that stunned [Name] into silence

“I love you”

If Gojo hadn’t come in, they might’ve kissed.

“[Name]-kun!!!”

Aaaand [Name]’s sentimental mood was gone. Don’t get him wrong, Gojo definitely would get an invite to [Name]’s birthday party, but the man was like 30 running around being overly cheerful and with that teasing nature he was definitely repressing some trauma. He also definitely had some of the worst timing

“What is it Gojo?”

“No sensei at the end? So mean!

“Fushiguro was sent out to find a cursed object but he’s been out all day with no calls back home or anything. Of course I plan on going to check on my beloved student, but I am busy for the next hour or so. Can you please check on him? For your favorite sensei?”

“My favorite sensei is actually Nanami and he’s not even a sensei but yeah I’ll check on the emo kid”

‘You’re pretty emo yourself dude’ Gojo thought to himself

“Ah Thank you [Name]-kun. You’re a lifesaver” Gojo called out behind him as he left to do whatever it is crazy white haired ‘old’ men do.

‘He’s/I’m totally not doing this for free’ both [Name] and Inumaki thought at the same time.

[Name] got up suddenly and started getting ready to leave paying no attention to Inumaki who watched him get ready with a casual interest. Before [Name] headed out, he turned to look at Inumaki with a serious and concentrated expression.

“Toge.”

“I love you”

“What the hell happened here?”

“....”

“Fushiguro-kun, if you please”

“Well I only know half of the story so it’s best if we hear it from Itadori”

All eyes whipped to the shirtless Yuji who had just gotten control of his body back from Sukuna, the apparent king of curses.

“I’d say it started when I went to school this morning but I think it started a little earlier for Fushiguro. Right Fushiguro?” Yuji asked

‘I swear I’m going to explode if someone doesn’t tell me the how we got this far I mean Fushiguro is bleeding from his head, this pink haired enthusiastic kid is possessed and I can’t tell if he’s too sweet to care or if he lost a few of his brain cells when he and the little emo first year wrecked this building’ [Name] thought to himself.

Clearing his throat he began “Well okay Fushiguro has a lot of really bad injuries so is it okay with you if he just quickly shares his part and then you take over?”

“Ohh Yeah that makes sense” Itadori awed and both he and [Name] turned their attention to poor Megumi who was bleeding from his forehead.

“Yesterday I was sent to retrieve a special grade cursed object and when I got there it was gone. Gojo sensei told me I couldn’t go home until it was recovered. The next day I stalked around the school and investigated when I saw Yuji for the first time.”

“Oh I remember that. It’s my turn to take over now. Uhh. I was in the occult club with my senpais Sasaki and Iguchi and we were asking the spirits about which animal the Student Council President was weaker than ( a fish) and then he burst in the room because he didn’t approve of our club-”

“Fast forward please” [Name] interrupted

“Fushiguro found me after my grandpa died and told me Iguchi and Sasaki were in danger because of the finger so I led him to the school where they said they were going to peel off the seal”

“And that’s why we’re here” [Name] surmised

“So what’s the situation”

“Gojo-sensei”/ “Old Man what are you doing here?” Megumi and [Name] called out

“I wasn’t gonna come but the higher ups got involved. I knew you’d all be fine though, I sent [Name] here to deal with it.”

“That’s true” Fushiguo mumbled

“I’m glad you all have faith in me” [Name] started “But that means I came here for absolutely nothing”

“... So did you find it?” Gojo asked

“Um sorry.... I ate it”

Gojo who didn’t hear the whole introduction and [Name] who didn’t quite get to the eating of the finger part in the story turned to Yuji in shock

“For real”

“Haha you’re not kidding. They’re combined. How does your body feel?” Gojo asked Yuji

“Okay”

“Can you switch to Sukuna?”

“Sukuna?” Yuji asked

“The curse object you ate”

“Oh yeah. Probably”

“Ten seconds” gojo said “Take control again after ten seconds”

“I dunno about this”

“Don’t worry. I’m the strongest Jujutsu sorcerer”

Megumi looked to [Name] after hearing a curious “hmm” but [Name]’s face showed no anger or displeasure.

“Megumi hold onto this will ya” Gojo’s voice bled through Megumi’s thoughts of who would win between [Name] and Gojo. Give it a year or two and it might actually be [Name].

“What’s this?” Megumi asked

‘It better be a fucking weapon’ [Name] thought ‘Because if he sent me out because his important business was shopping he’s gonna regret it’

“Kikufuku Mochi” Gojo replied casually before feeling bloodlust leaking from [Name]. He’ll just have to make it up to the second year somehow

“Behind you” Fushiguro called out and [Name] sucked his teeth hoping Gojo would get hit at least once. He did not get his wish once

“I’ve got a student watching so..I hope you don’t mind if I show off a little bit” . And after that Gojo commenced kicking Sukuna’s ass. Sukuna tried to monologue a little as he sent out a powerful attack, but he missed Gojo on account of Gojo’s infinity dispelling the attack. By the time Sukuna realized Gojo was unharmed it was time for Yuji to switch back.

“Oh was everything okay?” Yuji asked as he came to his senses.

“Oh what a surprise” Gojo responded “You really can control it”

“Yeah, but he’s kind of annoying”

“It’s a miracle that’s the only side effect” Gojo said right before knocking Yuji out with one finger

“If he wakes up and isn't possessed, he might have potential as a vessel. Okay question for you two. What do I do with him?”

“Even if he is a potential vessel… He must be executed under jujutsu regulations…

“But I don’t want to let him die”

“Is that a personal opinion? Gojo asked

“Yes, a personal opinion. Please do something about it.

Gojo smiled and the two of them turned their attention towards [Name] who had been silent throughout the whole experience.

‘Besides being a little too excitable, he’s not bad. Like a puppy. I’d keep him as a pet.’ [Name] thought

“Don’t kill him” he said

“A precious student's request. And one from my favorite second year? Of course. Leave it to me!” Gojo said before lifting Yuji up.

[Name] still a little upset he was called away for nothing, raised his hand in front of his mouth so gojo couldn’t see what he was doing and whispered

“Fall over”

“Aak! [Name]-kunnn”

Fushiguro was shocked to see Gojo faceplant on the ground with Yuji on his shoulder. If the combination of Fushiguro’s wide eyed expression and the sight of Gojo in pain made [Name] giggle a little, he’d never admit it.

#x male reader #male reader #male reader insert #x reader #reader insert #jjk x male reader #jujutsu kaisen x male reader #m!reader #male!reader #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #that-bi-bitch-writes #a cursed reality

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calpalirwin · 3 years

Text

Better Now

Summary: Putting yourself back out there after a heartbreak is never easy, but you and Ashton are learning that it’s worth it.

A/N: Big thanks to @jessalyn-jpeg for listening to me cry over Taylor Acorn songs while I figured out how to combine her latest releases into 1 fic.

Word Count: 2.6k

And away, and away we go!

Aside from the composition book that lay open on the coffee table, the recording room was empty. Face contorting in curious confusion, Ashton picked it up, thinking one of his bandmates had left it behind. But as he caught a glance at the words sprawled across the lined pages in black inked handwriting he didn’t recognize he knew he should have closed it. Songwriting was a very personal thing, and he would hate for anyone to find his own songbook lying around and read the contents. But the words jumped out at him, and he found himself taking a seat, still holding the notebook open in his hands.

“And no one comes to save you, you learn to save yourself. The world, it just keeps going on while you’re going through hell. No, it’s not all that it’s cut out to be. ‘Cuz you can’t hide behind the silver screen. Love ain’t like the movies.”

“Jesus…” he whispered to himself.

“Excuse me?” a female voice asked from the doorway, and Ashton jumped, snapping the notebook shut.

“Uh…” he stuttered, staring at the woman with her hair messily thrown up, dressed casually in jeans and a tank top, a tired but wild look in her bright eyes. “Hi. Can I help you?”

She adjusted the guitar case strap on her shoulder. “Uh, I hope so? A notebook? Standard composition notebook. Black and white colored. Probably impossible to distinguish from any other black and white standard composition notebook. I know, super helpful description. You haven’t happened to see one lying around here, have you?”

“Like this?” Ashton asked, flashing the notebook in his hand.

“It would look exactly like that!” she brightened. Then, her smile faltered. “But that one’s probably yours, isn’t it?”

“Uh, actually no. It was on the coffee table when I came in. I, uh, thought it might be one of my bandmates, but it’s not their handwriting.”

“Oh, so you read it?” she asked. No anger or embarrassment. Just clarifying a fact.

Ashton rubbed at the back of his neck. “Sorry… I didn’t read a lot. Just enough to realize the handwriting was different.” He held out the notebook to her for her to take. “It’s uh, good by the way. Whatever you’re working on. Relatable.”

“Thanks,” she said, taking the notebook from him and flipping through the pages to confirm that it was in fact hers. “I really need to keep better track of my shit… Thanks for finding it.”

“Yeah, ‘course. And sorry again for reading bits of it.”

She waved a hand at his apology. “Oh, it’s fine. My fault for leaving it lying around. Sorry you can relate to it.”

Ashton shrugged. “Heartbreak: part of the standard human experience. Some of your lyrics actually remind me of a song my band put out once years ago. At the time I considered myself lucky to not be able to relate to it. But seeing yours… which is far more poetic than anything four teenage boys could come up with… I’m glad for songs like that. Makes you feel a little less alone in the drowning.”

“Yeah, I’m hoping this helps me at least start to tread water again. How long ago was the heartbreak for you?” she asked, then shook her head. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. I should probably be going anyway. Let you get back to your shit, and go off to deal with mine.”

Ashton chuckled. “Nah, it’s fine. It’s been about four months for me. So still recent enough to sting like a bitch.”

She smiled and laughed a bit at his words, but there was a sadness to both. “Two and a half months for me. So just enough to actually drag myself out of my bedroom.”

“And down to a studio where some jackass reads your most personal feelings. Awesome…”

There was a bit more realness to her laugh this time around. “Honestly, not a problem. It’s meant for people to hear, you know?”

“I suppose that’s true. I’m Ashton, by the way.”

“Y/N.”

“Good luck with the song, Y/N. Feel better soon, yeah?”

“Thanks. You too.” She turned to head out of the room, before pausing and turning back around. “What was that song? The one your band made that you couldn’t relate to at the time?”

Ashton’s cheeks turned pink. “Oh. You don’t wanna hear that one, trust me. Cringey teenage attempt at being emo punk.”

“Damn… Emo punk is my favorite.”

Against his better judgement, Ashton pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Alright,” he gave in, pulling up the song. “But you’re not allowed to make fun of me. Like I said, this was years ago.”

Y/N held out her pinky finger. “No judgement, swear.”

Ashton linked his own pinky with hers, and hit play. For the next three and a half minutes he watched her carefully as she stood there with her eyes closed, nodding her head along with the beat. On one hand, he was glad her eyes were closed because it meant that she couldn’t see him watching her, or see his embarrassment. But on the other hand it meant that he had no clue what she was thinking. He hit pause before it could replay again. “Like I said, some of your lyrics have a similar feeling,” he said with a shrug.

She opened her eyes as she nodded. “Yeah, I see what you mean. About thinking you’re getting the fairytale movie ending one second, and the next the ending is anything but happily ever after. Was one of those solos you?”

He shook his head. “Nah. I’m the drummer. So-”

“Lots of back up,” she interrupted with a knowing nod. “Is it because you don’t sing at all? Or just out of convenience?”

“Mostly convenience. In our earlier days we used to split up singing pretty evenly. And then we all got more comfortable in our roles. But I still sing from time to time in more than a back up way.”

“That’s cool. And I bet it makes recording stuff and everything so much easier. I have to do a lot of borrowing or outsourcing to get all the sounds I want.”

“Not in a band, huh?”

“Nope. Just your regular solo artist.”

“That’s gotta get lonely.”

“It can be. But it also means making things in my vision, and not having to compromise on that.”

“Well, if you ever need someone to lay down some drum tracks, or just some company so you’re not drowning alone, I’m here most of the time.”

She nodded, understanding what he wasn’t saying about an intrinsic need to stay out of the house as much as humanly possible. Away from the memories that haunted every aspect of being awake. “Thanks, Ashton,” she said, once again turning to leave, but found herself turning back towards him, another question on her lips. “Do you mind if I ask you something personal?”

“Go for it.”

“What’s the hardest part of breaking up? Of trying to move on, and feel like yourself again?”

“Honestly? Waking up, and seeing that empty side of the bed. Hits you like a freight train all over again. That kind of overwhelming sense of dread that you’re never gonna feel normal again.”

“But then you get up, and try anyway, hoping that today it hurts just a little bit less than it did yesterday.”

“But it doesn’t, and you start to lose hope that the pain will ever stop.”

“That’s the hardest part.”

“The fuckin’ worst. But hey. It can’t suck forever. Or, that’s what I keep telling myself anyway. That’s what finally gets me out of bed.”

“And hey! Maybe I'll get a hit song out of it in the process, too.” She feigned a smile, flashing her notebook.

“Oh, that’ll be a hit, no question about it.”

“Thanks. For uh… well everything, I guess. See you around, Ashton.”

“Good luck, Y/N.”

~~~

Y/N eventually did get the courage to ask Ashton for both his company and musical help, on a day when she found it harder than normal to get up out of bed.

She trudged her way into the studio, spotting him watching a coffee pot in the common living area. “Oh, hey,” he smiled warmly as she pulled open the fridge. “Making a fresh pot if you want any.”

She shook her head, grabbing a water bottle and taking a few sips from it. “Can I get your help today?” she asked in a low whisper, hoping to hide the wobble in her tone.

“Yeah, of course. Everything alright?”

She shook her head again, then wordlessly left for her recording room.

“So, what’s up?” Ashton asked when he found her a few moments later, cup of coffee in hand.

“You’re not allowed to judge me for any vulnerability today.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good. Because this verse is gonna be really hard for me to record.”

He nodded, taking a seat while she set up behind a microphone. A soft guitar track started playing, and when she took a breath, Ashton prepared himself for lyrics of her most recent break up. So when her soft voice started singing, “ ‘Cuz after my dad died, even though she never let us see her cry, my mom was broken inside, ‘cause she just lost her best friend. Why don’t they prepare you for that? When the picture perfect life you had goes black,” to say he was shocked was a bit of an understatement.

There was a click of the track, and the guitar stopped, the headphones settling around her neck. “I’m sorry about your dad,” he spoke up softly. “I- that’s gotta be rough.”

“Most of the time it’s a dull ache. A small hum I can ignore if I don’t focus on it. But there’s a few days where the pain is all fresh, like I’m learning the news again for the first time. A shock to the system.”

“I like the juxtaposition of it all. Most of the time when people think of love gone wrong, or ending before we’re ready, it’s the break up. Because the alternative… it’s…”

“Unfathomable.”

“Yeah. It’s a pain that I can’t imagine, that’s for sure.”

“Lucky you.”

He chuckled slightly. “Nah. Not in the way you think. My own experience is fucked, but in the other direction. He left and never gave a shit.”

“That’s rough.”

“It was, yeah. I guess the small benefit is that I was too young to remember him leaving. So for me, he’s always been gone. Haven’t ever known anything different.”

“See, I’m grateful that I at least have my memories of my dad. Even if he’s been gone longer than I had him. But it’s like a double-edged sword. The memories bring some peace. But it also fuckin’ sucks that they’ll never be anything more than that. That I don’t get new ones.”

“Well, I dunno if talking about him helps you at all. But if you want to, you can.”

“You don’t mind? I don’t wanna bore you, or make you jealous.”

He patted the empty spot on the couch next to him. “C’mon, you asked for my help. Let me help.”

She gave a small laugh before moving to sit next to him. “Remember, you’re not allowed to judge me for being vulnerable.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

He listened as stories of her childhood fell from her lips. He offered her up the box of tissues on the coffee table when her words got choked, and would gently prompt her into continuing when she stopped to apologize. He provided her with stories of his own childhood when her own stories grew too painful to share, confiding in her the way she was confiding in him. And when the sun started to cast long shadows across the room, maybe not a lot of work had been done when it came to her song, but Ashton had helped her nonetheless, and both of them felt a little lighter than they had been in a while.

~~~

Help in the form of company was given with much less hesitance after that, with Y/N and Ashton seeking each other out with regularity. Some days would be spent with the two barely exchanging a word as they played out various melodies, or wrote new lyrics. Other days were filled with endless chatter as they shared ideas they had, and provided ideas on how to overcome any blocks in creativity, or just swapped more stories. And other days still, he would help her work on her song.

When Y/N finally finished her song, Ashton was the first person she thought of to share it with, dragging him excitedly into the room with her. “Jesus, this is the happiest I think I’ve ever seen you,” he teased with a giggle.

“Do you wanna hear the song or not?” she asked.

“It’s done?”

“It’s done!”

“Well, hit play! C’mon!”

For three and a half minutes they stood in the middle of the recording room while her song blasted from the speakers.

“Well?” she asked expectantly when silence overtook them once more. Then, more quizzically, “Why are you staring at me like that?”

He had an amazed smile on his face, dimples cratering his cheeks, and a soft shine in his eyes. “Staring at you like what?” he asked in response.

“Like you wanna… I dunno… kiss me or something…”

His tongue darted out to wet his lips. Then the soft look was melting away into confusion. “Cuz sometimes I think I want to.”

“And other times?”

“I talk myself down because I’m not sure what I want, or what I feel. We’re both still getting over people who caused us a lot of damage. And I don’t always feel like I’m ready to think about starting a relationship with someone new. But I also know that I’m never going to be ready until I actually start doing it. And I really like the friendship we’ve built the past couple of months. I feel more like me when I’m around you. Like, not only am I no longer drowning, I can actually feel the bottom. But I don’t know if those feelings come from being around someone who can relate to what I’m going through right now, like some weird trauma bond. Or if it’s real “I like you’ feelings. And it’s not fair to you for me to not know.”

She nodded, both understanding what he was saying, and what he wasn’t saying. “What if I kiss you instead?”

“Please, don’t.”

“Because you’re scared we’ll hurt each other? Ash, if we don’t at least try, then we’re never gonna know what’s real and what’s not.”

“It’s partially that. But also… If we end up kissing… I’m not going to want to stop.”

“Then you better not be a lousy kisser.”

~~~

7 Months Later

Ashton got a small flash of deja vu as he saw the black and white composition book lying open, the beginnings of a song scribbled across one of the pages. “Just another hopeless broken heart cliche. And all my fairytale ambitions, I just watched them wash away.”

“Y/N?” he called out, curious to learn where this song was going, and also where his girlfriend could be hiding. “Babe?”

“But it’s too late for sorry baby, even if you’ve changed. I’m not letting myself break down, count me out. Oh, I’m better now,” her voice sang softly as it came down the hallway with her, a black pen twirling between her fingers. She paused as she spotted him standing there with her notebook, a smile lighting up her face. “Hey, you.”

“Hey,” he matched her smile, handing her the notebook and pressing a kiss to her head. “That’s nice. Whatever you were just singing. What inspired this one?”

“Just reflecting a bit on this past year,” she told him, as she quickly wrote what she’d been singing in the notebook before the lyrics left her head.

“Feeling a lot better these days, huh?”

“Better than I’ve ever been.”

Tag List

@aquarius-hood1996 @creator-appreciator @philthepegacorn @myfavfanficsever @cxddlyash @youngblood199456 @stormrider505 @iknowyouthinkimbulletproof @hoodhoran @metalandboybands @maybeememez @kaitieskidmore1 @wiiildflowerrr @heartskippeddabeat

#better now #ashton irwin #ashton irwin fic #ashton irwin x reader #5sos #calpal irwin

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stillebesat · 3 years

Text

Meeting Virgil (5x1) -Third Time

Sanders Shorts: Remy Sanders Sides: Virgil Blurb: A Special Delivery Prequel. -Five times Remy tried to give Virgil a child and the one time he succeeded. Inspiration: @book-of-charlie asked: What did Virgil mean by “the last 5 times?” Fic Type: STORK!AU, Winged!Remy Chapter Warnings: Implied Neglectful Parents, Implied Miscarriage Taglist in Reblog. To Catch Up: First Time Second Time

Little Lacey was going to change the world. Remy knew it from the moment the baby girl’s eyes had lit up upon seeing him and his wings. From the second she had opened her mouth and let out the most contagious laugh he’d ever heard.

Even now, as he wound his way through the golf course parking lot crowded with stalls and people waiting for the fireworks to start on the hill above them, Lacey drew smiles from everyone standing nearby with that contagious bubbling laughter as she bounced in his arms.

He’d been tempted to put her to sleep when the twin lines of green and purple he’d been following led straight into this noisy place with music blaring, kids screaming, and the smell of popcorn and cotton candy thick in the air. First impressions with new parents hardly went well if the baby was screaming their head off after all, yet Lacey apparently loved the chaos surrounding them. She’d perked right up, her giggles ringing in his ear before he’d even landed.

There was no doubt. Despite her previous parents’ best attempts to treat her like a forgotten dusty doll in a china cabinet, Lacey thrived in having everyone’s attention focused on her. For being in the limelight. Yes. Remy knew she would change the world once she was older if the way everyone cooed -from the lady waiting in line with her son to get their face painted to the burly motorcycle dude that looked like he could tear your head off with his pinky- at her was any indication.

It was attention that Remy wasn’t exactly used to dealing with himself anymore. Usually his S.T.O.R.K. duties took him to places that were...quieter...more…secluded environments. One on Two situations where he could meet the new parents away from watching eyes, give them their new bundle of joy and then take off soon after their bond was established.

“Oh, isn’t she precious!” A grandmother cooed at Lacey, her hands twitching with the obvious old person urge to pinch the baby’s cheeks as she gave Remy a warm smile. “You’re one lucky fella having such a beautiful daughter!”

His stomach did a little uncomfortable flip flop at that. It wasn’t the first time he’d been mistaken as a parent, but it always threw him off when people assumed he was capable of such a feat when growing up it had felt like everyone expected him to die before he reached twenty.

According to Larry and Dot, however, despite the years he’d spent ferrying babies around -and getting them to their parents without issue...well, major issues-- he was still quite ‘rough around the edges.’

Ha.

He’d like to see them say that when faced with the burly motorcycle dude two stalls over. He couldn’t be that rough acting anymore.

Probably.

Maybe.

Eh.

Remy shook his head, wings twitching against his back as he grinned at the woman, glad his metallic green eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses. “She’s adorable alright, but I’m just watching her for a friend while they grab a bite to eat.” He tilted his head to the twin lines that led towards the other side of the food stalls beyond the lady as Lacey giggled in his ear, nuzzling her head into his shoulder.

The words flowed easily enough off his tongue, despite the bitter taste they left. Lying wasn’t really a thing with S.T.O.R.K.s hence his...technical truth. He was watching Lacey, though friend might be a bit strong of a word when he’d never met the parents before. But he was planning to grab some of those delectable chicken strips he could smell afterwards. So yah...basically the truth.

He was good at that.

Larry and Dot would visibly roll their eyes but quietly smile their approval at his ability to find and exploit loopholes.

The grandmother’s eyes grew softer as Lacey wiggled, reaching fingers grabbing onto the feathers her little hands could reach. “How sweet.” She murmured, placing a hand over her heart.

Did she mean Lacey or the fact Remy was ‘watching’ her? He sighed internally, keeping the smile in place with effort. He’d never been the greatest at interacting with old people who would ‘dear me’ and ‘oh my’ him to death if he accidentally slipped and swore in front of them.

“Mhmmm, if you’ll excuse me.” He gave her a nod, wings pressing harder against his back as he edged around her, waving one hand over his head like he was acknowledging someone in the distance and quickly vanished into the crowd, following the green and purple ribbons that would lead him to Lacey’s future family.

Still both glowing with the exact same shade of brightness. Still unknown just which one would end up with little Lacey’s shining personality in their lives.

Well. He paused as the two colored ribbons finally diverged. The Purple leading to the right to where the sun had just set. Green leading to the left to where hundreds of people were sitting, waiting for the show in the sky.

Both options meant still more people. But with the brightness being so close, he’d have to scope out both possibilities first before making a decision.

He exhaled, trying to remain relaxed as the crowd brushed by him, his wings trembling against his back. It wasn’t like anyone could see his wings so he had nothing to fear about being mobbed for his feathers. But still. The constant press of people unknowingly touching them had him on edge.

“Purple first.” He mumbled, adjusting his grip on Lacey as she sat back up, clapping her hands together with a squeal as he moved them closer to a brightly colored bouncy house. It wasn’t like the Edgelord would be here among the Good Old Rocky Mountains when he lived on the opposite side of the country, but it would be best to confirm that first.

With how quickly ‘Virge’ had vanished that night in the woods, it wouldn’t surprise him if the poor guy was still lost in the backwaters of Virginia.

No. Probably not. He seemed resourceful enough...unless he’d gotten himself captured by a Mothman colony--did they have colonies or were they more of a solitary creat--

Remy unexpectedly broke through the crowd, coming out where a line of porta-potties stood like quiet stinky sentinels in the fading light.

And there, right where the purple line ended, stood Mr. Not-a-Good-Dad himself in all his gothic glory. Wearing a black tank top that showed off his arms, artistically torn jeans, and purple dyed hair falling into his storm colored eyes.

Remy’s heart skipped a beat as he stumbled to a stop, rapidly blinking to clear his vision of this impossible mirage. “No. Fu--Freaking. Way.” He breathed, staring at Virge just as the guy reached down and picked up a little girl who couldn’t have been more than four or five years old, easily balancing her on his hip like he’d done this exact action multiple times before, speaking softly to her as he brushed the tears from her wet cheeks with his thumb.

Remy swallowed, bouncing Lacey as she wiggled in his grip. Lost maybe? Had to be. He couldn’t see the bonding lines between the two of them for all that Virge looked like a Father patiently calming his distressed child.

Of course, that didn’t rule out the possibility that she was his cousin, or even a niece or some kid of a friend. He would need to get closer to the girl to know for sure if there was any connection between the two.

Remy shrugged, drawing in a steadying breath. Well. Better make his move now rather than later. “Well, Laceyloo” He said, giving the girl a wink as he moved forward. “Ready to try your luck with our resident Emo?”

Didn’t the saying go that the ‘third time's the charm’ or something? With how adorably cute she was...and with how comfortable Virge seemed with this other little girl, perhaps Lacey’s laughter would be the key to convincing Dark and Brooding to accept his obviously destined role as a Father.

One could hope.

“Hey Stranger.” He called, pushing his sunglasses up into his hair as the Edgelord jumped like he’d just been electrocuted, causing the little girl to cry out and cling to him as stormy grey eyes met Remy’s metallic green ones.

Virge glowered at him even as his hands moved to soothe the girl, low words leaving his lips as she buried her head against his chest, his stormy eyes only softening as Lacey sat upright in Remy’s arms and gave him a tiny wave of her hand and a delighted giggle.

“Hey.” He said, still focused on Lacey, a myriad of conflicting expressions crossing his face.

Hook.

Remy moved a deliberately casual step closer, wings fluttering with anticipation. “Fancy meeting you here.” He made a show of looking around. “Does Mothman usually attend this sort of thing?”

Virge rolled his eyes, glancing at the girl in his arms before focusing back on Remy. “Slenderman actually.”

A what? Remy paused, glancing at the sniffling girl with a raised eyebrow. “Really?” She didn’t look like a...whatever a Slenderman was.

Another thing he’d have to go look up if these encounters with V-man were gonna continue and he kept insisting on referencing random fantasy cryptid creatures that Remy had barely heard of.

That way he would be more prepared next time.

If there was a next time.

If Lacey failed to work her magic.

Which she wouldn’t.

Because she was Lacey the Amazing and this was their lucky third encounter. So of course he wouldn’t be seeing his stubborn Emo Nightmare again.

Unfortunately.

Virge snorted. “No. She wouldn’t be considered one if I was. Lily here has lost her parents. I’m helping her find them. Right Lily?”

The child glanced up, face tear-streaked, bright brown eyes shimmering with more tears waiting to fall. “They’re gone.” She whimpered.

“And we’ll find them.” Virge assured, voice going soft. “Remember? You were telling me what your Mommy was wearing. A pretty pearl necklace right? Her favorite that you can’t yet wear?”

She sniffled, nodding. “Yah.”

Remy shook his head. Well that was a helpful description.

Not.

Still. Edgelord had shown more patience with the crying kid than most strangers would in this sort of situation. “A necklace.” He repeated. “Like you’ll be able to see that in the dark.”

Virge rolled his eyes. “It’s more help than you’re currently being, Eagle One. Plus I am listening for anyone calling her name.”

“Mhmm in this crowd? The parents would need to scream quite loud.” He took another step closer, smiling as Lily and Lacey made eye contact, the baby in his arms wiggling as Lily straightened with a “Hi you!” as she waved at Lacey. “No, It sounds like you need help from an Expert.” He said, spreading out his wings, flapping them once.

A bad decision really with how many people were around that he could have hit, though the surprised sound Virge made as he lifted a hand, taking an automatic step closer as his grey eyes darted to the people continuing by made it well worth it.

He froze as Lacey laughed, making grabby hands at his wings and Lily gasped a soft “Angel?” leaving her lips, her brown eyes growing bright with awe.

A S.T.O.R.K. But he wouldn’t begrudge the child for her confusion. Remy nodded to Lily, bouncing Lacey in his arms. “I’m here to help you Lils. We’ll find your parents.”

This close he could see easily her parent line--the same Green one he’d been following earlier ironically enough, because of course it would be the same fu-freaking line he’d followed all the way here, winding its way upwind of the porta-potties to a low hill with a couple shade trees at the top. Well, if it didn’t work out with Mr. Reluctant here, at least it appeared Lily already liked her potential new baby sister if their shared giggles and fascination with his wings was anything to go by.

Virge stared beyond Remy, watching the crowd, growing more tense the longer everyone else continued walking by without reacting. “They can’t--” He whispered.

“See them? No.” Remy folded his wings, unwilling to keep them open and exposed around so many individuals now that he’d made his point. “Betcha that’s why people don’t usually see your Mothman either.” Probably. It had to be a magic related thing. Or belief thing. A blending ability? Were S.T.O.R.K.s like Mothmen? Bigfoot? Vampi--oh, yah no….his wings pressed against his back. If it turned out Vampires and Werewolves and Mothmen were actually real only then would he have a mental breakdown over maybe being in the same category as mythical creatures. Right now. He had to focus. Find Lily’s parents. Give Lacey to the Edgelord and walla. Mission accomplished.

Virge slowly shook his head, shifting Lily against his side before he rubbed the back of his neck. “No, there's been enough credible sightings of Mothmen by people to discount that theory.” He said, shrugging one shoulder. “It may explain why, when people talk about their encounters with Angels, that they rarely mention them with wings though.”

Remy rolled his eyes. “Not an Angel, V-man. I already told you. I’m a--”

“Stork. Yes. But are you sure that’s not a type of Angel?” He asked, eyes gleaming in the faint light given by the lamp posts. “You bring babies to parents who want children right? You’re willing to help me find this girl’s parents. Therefore a Stork could be a subset of Guardian Angels.”

Huh.

“...You been thinking on this alot?” Remy asked faintly.

Which One. It shouldn’t thrill him that Gothica incarnate was thinking about him. And Two. Questioning his so-called ‘Angelhood’ was definitely not going to keep him up all night regardless of how this encounter ended. An Angel? HIM?! Ha. Larry and Dot would have a conniption that their troubled ward was considered some sort of goodie two shoes Guardian Angel.

Maybe.

Else Larry would tear up, crush him in a hug, and start blubbering Dadisms of ‘being so proud’ and Dot would pat him firmly on the back and say “about time.” It was hard to tell which they’d go most days.

Remy shook his head, raising a finger and jabbing it in Edgelord’s direction. “You.” He said. “Are distracting me from helping Lily” and Lacey “find her parents. Shame. On. You.” He spread a wing towards the girl in Virge’s arms. She immediately perked up, a shy smile on her lips as she reached out to touch his feathers.

Laughter danced in Virge’s eyes as tilted his head, purple tipped bangs falling in front of them, shadowing their grey color further as he maintained eye contact, not at all distracted by the wing inches from his arm. “Oh? Then tell me, O Mighty Stork, how can you find her parents?”

“Same way I keep finding you.” Remy said with a smirk, heart fluttering in anticipation as Popsicle blanched. So close. “Not that you can see it.” He pointed to the ground where the purple ribbon still shown between Virge and Lacey and then over to the green one that also streaked from her to run parallel to Lily’s line that would lead them to her parents. “But all children have a connection between them and their parents or guardians that we,” he gestured to himself, “can see.”

Virge licked his lips, glancing to Lacey, then to the ground, his arm tightening protectively around Lily. “And Lily’s parents are?”

“Right up that hill.” He said without hesitation, pointing to where the green line led. “I can’t see who it ends at, but they are over there. I can easily reunite Lily with them, if you don’t mind holding little Lacey here for me in the meantime.” He said, his wings rising and mantling around them to block Virge’s view of anyone else as he held out the baby for him to take.

Lacey automatically reached out to her potential new Dad, making grabby hands along with a soft cooing sound demanding to be held.

Line.

Virge reached out, arm already curving to take the baby from him, only to hesitate at the last second, grey eyes flickering with shadows as he met Remy’s green ones. “That first time. When you broke into my place. You said…” He licked his lips, hand trembling as he pulled it back to hold onto Lily. “I would only have to ‘hold her and see.’ What did you mean by that?”

….Smart Fish.

Remy exhaled, shaking his head. Sinker totally sunk. Suspicious Nancy here just had to remember some off hand comment he’d made ages ago and question it.

It was times like this that he wished he could Lie to potential parents. It would make his job so much easier. But at the same time, he knew all too well that starting out a budding connection with lies would mean a crumbling family foundation later on. Best to stick to the truth to give the child the best connection with their new parents from the start.

Remy pulled Lacey back into a more steady position against his chest, soothing her disgruntled sounds as she still tried to reach out to the Emo--or maybe it was Lily she was reaching for? The other little girl was bouncing in Virge’s arms hard enough to be a workout as she stretched towards Remy.

Probably a good idea to not have those two touch just yet. He wanted to try and make the bond with Virge work first before allowing Lacey to complete the bond with Lily’s family. He shifted to keep the two out of reach from each other before speaking to Virge. “A parental bond is only established with a child in the custody of a S.T.O.R.K. when said child is touched or held by the new parent. It’s a love at first contact sort of thing.” He said, not at all surprised when the reluctant Emo took two quick steps back away from him.

Stubborn. Why was he so stubborn about this?! Shouldn’t him showing up Three Fuc--Freaking times be clear enough indication that PopStar here was meant to be a Father?!

“So~. If I were to hold Lacey for you while you helped Lily--’” Virge asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I would have killed two birds with one stone.” He said simply. “Lily would return to her parents and Lacey here would have bonded with you and you’d be her new Dad.”

Virge growled at that, eyes flashing as his shoulders hunched high enough to nearly touch his ears. “I told you before that I’m not a good Dad.” He hissed. “And yet you just tried to trick me into--”

Well most people weren’t this stupidly resistant to becoming a parent.

Remy raised an eyebrow. “Ah Huh. For some reason, LolliPop.” He gestured to Lily still comfortably resting in his arms. “I don’t believe you.”

Virgil bared his teeth, arms tightening protectively around the girl. “This is different. She’s lost! I’m not going to leave her to wander around here all alone!”

“And Lacey is different how?” Remy retorted. “She is lost, looking for a new Dad, and walla you’re here to save the bloody day!”

Virgil shook his head, taking two more steps back, nearly hitting the nearest porta-pottie. “NO.”

And just like that the Purple line fizzled, growing hazy to Remy’s sight as the Green line took on an even brighter glow.

Remy groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Jiminy Crickets! And he’d had such high hopes that Lacey would be the breakthrough to Virge’s reluctance in joining the Fatherhood Club. “It’s not as bad as you’re making it out to be, you fuc--freaking scaredy cat!” Not that he had any personal experience in it, but he’d seen it. Seen how happy the men were to become fathers once the bond was established. “I don’t make mistakes in this. You’d be an excellent Dad no matter your doubts. I wouldn’t be here talking to you otherwise!”

“You don’t know that!!” Virgil retorted, a tint of panic to his voice. “You can’t! How can I believe some guy showing up with a random baby in his arms--you could have kidnapped her for all I--”

“You’ve seen my wings.” Remy interrupted, spreading them out and flapping them for emphasis. “Obviously I’m not exactly some guy. I don’t kidnap babies. I rescue them from bad situations and take them to better ones. That’s what a S.T.O.R.K. does!”

“I can’t--”

“You’ll have to at some point.” Remy snapped. “I’m going to keep coming to you until you do. You do realize that right? You’re marked for Fatherhood and if it’s not me that can get that through your thick skull it will be a different S.T.O.R.K. who does.”

Virge violently shook his head. “No. I’m not--”

“A good Dad. I know. I’ve heard.” Remy rolled his eyes, snapping his wings shut as he turned away to follow the green line, adjusting as Lacey twisted in his arms trying to look behind them. “I still don’t believe you.” But it was obvious by how the purple line had faded to nearly nothing that Lacey wouldn’t end up as the Edgelord’s kid.

A pity. The dude could use some serious laughter in his life. Bright and bubbly like little Lacey’s. Too bad he was apparently immune to her charm.

“...Where are you going?”

Remy fought back the urge to snarl. “To take Lacey here to her next best option, which funnily enough is Lily’s parents so are you coming with me to reunite them or not?” At least he already knew that Lily would get along with Lacey. One hurdle gone in that regard.

Virge made a noise of surprise. “They lost their child and you’re taking another to them---”

“Mistakes happen.” Remy said shortly, glancing over his shoulder. “No one can be the perfect parent 24/7. It’s impossible. You get distracted at the wrong moment and walla your child has slipped away. Or you think someone else is watching them while they think you’re watching them and no one questions why they haven’t seen the kid recently. it---her parent line is still bright, Virge.” He looked away as Mr. Reluctant caught up and fell in step with him. “They aren’t horrible bad people just because they lost her tonight. They love her. No doubt about it.”

And if Cynical Gothica was so concerned about them and their parenting skills then he should have said YES to being the Dad to Lacey before his purple line had fizzled out!

Virge ducked his head, shoulders hunching as he brushed Lily’s hair out of her eyes. “...Okay.” He mumbled a dozen steps later. “But what if they--they loved--love her, but…but did something---what if something happened to hurt her? Badly? And they couldn’t--what if it’s not fix--fixable? What then? Would you really--”

Remy stopped just short of cresting the hill, wings prickling, goosebumps on his arms sending a chill through him as he turned back to Virge. This. He could sense. Was important.

“Mistakes happen, V.” He repeated in a softer tone. “Whatever mistake you think you’ve made that you think disqualifies you from ever becoming a Father…” He stretched out a wing, brushing the Emo’s cheek, causing him to look up, eyes so soft and vulnerable that it made Remy’s chest ache. “It’s not an unforgivable one. Again. I wouldn’t be here if it were.”

People changed. People could become better than they were. Whatever had happened in the Edgelord’s past wasn’t a deal breaker to the S.T.O.R.K.s. The three times he’d shown up in his presence had to be some sort of proof. He’d never heard of someone refusing parenthood before, but the fact that Remy kept returning, the fact that Virge kept coming up as an option in the first place, had to mean something.

V bit his lip, eyes troubled as he looked to Lacey then back to Remy, the purple ribbon connecting the two flickering like a sputtering candle. “I’m not--” He whispered.

Remy let out a slow breath, well aware that his wing was still touching his cheek, but unwilling to pull away just yet. “It’s something to think on, Virge O’Doom.” He said, voice still soft. “Once is a Chance, Twice a Coincidence, Thrice? It’s a Pattern. It’s just a matter of deciding if you’re ready when I come back a Fourth time.”

As much as he wanted to convince him and make it to work between Lacey and the Emo...the line had already fuzzed once. He didn’t want Virge to have any doubts in this.

“LILY?!” A shrill woman’s voice suddenly rang through the air, breaking the tension between them like a snapped wire. “LILY WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“LILYLOO?” A man called out, his voice breaking on the last syllable. “Lily?! Has anyone seen my daughter?!”

Remy smirked, pulling his wing back and raising an eyebrow to Virge as Lily jerked upright at her name, nearly pulling free from his grip in the process. “See? Not bad parents.”

Virge drew in a visibly shaky breath, his arms tightening around the little girl. “Right.”

“MOMMY!” Lily cried, wiggling to get free. “DADDY!”

“We got her!” Remy called, using his wing to push Mr. Reluctant forward up the hill, pitching his voice so it would carry to the frantic parents. “Over here!” He raised his free hand, waving to draw their attention as he moved his other wing to cover Lacey, hiding her from their view for now.

“Oh, Lily!” Her mother rushed forward wild curly hair streaming behind her like a banner, pulling her free from Virge’s grip with little effort to smother her with kisses. “Don’t scare me like that.”

Lily wrapped her arms around her Mother, burying her head against her chest. “Sorry Momma,” She whimpered.

“Where was she?” Her father asked, hovering anxiously behind his wife. His fingers running through his daughter’s hair.

“By the bathrooms.” Virge said, shuffling awkwardly in place. “She was crying, so we---” He gestured to Remy and himself. “Were helping her find you.”

We? Nope nope. “Pretty sure that was all you.” Remy muttered under his breath, shifting as Lacey wiggled in his grip, trying to peer out from around his wing. He would have never been aware of the girl’s situation if Castlevania hadn’t taken the initiative. His job usually involved helping unloved kids. Not loved ones. Even if they were lost.

“Lily,” Her mother scolded in a soft tone, lifting up her chin. “You know you need one of us to go with you.”

The girl sniffed, eyes welling with tears. “But I’m a big girl! I can go by myself! I’m no baby.”

Grief flashed across the Mom’s face, one hand dropping to her stomach before quickly rising back to cradle the back of Lily’s head.

Ah. Remy straightened, light green dust swirling at his fingertips as recognition flashed through him. He’d seen that particular look hundreds of times before from mothers who’d lost a babe in the womb. He’d bet his sunglasses that the baby would have been the same age as little Lacey here had they survived to full term, hence why the line was so bright. Lacey could easily slip into the family like she’d always been a part of them.

“That may be.” Her husband said, taking the opportunity to pull Lily into his arms, squeezing her tight as he gave his wife a concerned look, his own eyes showing a hint of grief as well. “But you know how your mother worries about you.”

“So much, baby girl. So much. If I lost you too-” Her voice hitched as she abruptly cut off, bowing her head, wrapping her arms around her middle.

“But you didn’t.” Remy said soothingly as he moved closer to the family, fingers of his free hand twisting to scatter green dust around them so that any nosy viewers would stop paying attention now that the little family reunion was complete. “Everyone is safe and sound. No harm done.” He pulled back his wing back to reveal baby Lacey, purposely brushing his feathers along her neck, causing her to break into soft laughter, twisting in his arms from the tickling sensation.

The Mother looked up at the sound, mouth dropping open. “Oh.” She breathed, clasping her hands over her heart, eyes shimmering as she stared at Lacey. “She’s--”

“Cute right?” Remy asked, holding her out in an unspoken invitation to hold her.

Unlike Virge, the Scrooge of Fatherhood, hovering beside him, she didn’t hesitate. She reached out to gently take Lacey into her arms, a hidden weight vanishing from her shoulders as Lacey giggled, nuzzling her face against the Mother’s neck, tiny fingers gripping onto her shirt.

“She’s absolutely precious.” She murmured, pressing a kiss into her thick hair. “What’s her name?”

“Lacey.” Remy said simply, the tip of his wing stretching out to push the Father and Lily closer to them.

“Lacey.” The Father repeated, moving to her side, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched his wife slowly rock the baby back and forth. “An L name.” He reached out, running a hand down Lacey’s back, causing the green line in Remy’s sight to flash twice indicating the parental bond had been accepted. “Just like Lily’s.”

Perfect. Remy exhaled, snapping out his wing to block Virge just as he tried to interrupt the moment.

Idiot.

Remy grabbed him by the arm, dragging him away as his wings fluttered, sending more light green sparks swirling away to settle around the newly expanded family, ensuring that Lacey would be able to bond with them in peace without further interruption.

Virge struggled, twisting in Remy’s grip, unable to break free as the first set of fireworks burst in the sky overhead. “That’s it?! You can’t seriously just--”

Remy rolled his eyes. “Can. Did. Bought the T-Shirt.” Or food. Could he still get his chicken strips if the fireworks had already started? Probably not. That was disappointing.

“Seriously?! You can’t just drop off a baby and leave!”

Funny. Remy pulled them to a stop at the bottom of the hill, mantling his wings so that Virge stood in his shadow. “I’m a S.T.O.R.K., Grimm Reaper. You do remember what that means right? Leaving babies on doorsteps is kinda the whole jig.”

Virge bristled, not at all intimidated. “But you just left her!”

Must be all those Mothman encounters. Remy crossed his arms. “In good hands, Virgeroo. Not all parents need me to stick around once I give them a child.” Thankfully. He hated dealing with the ones who had a million and six impossible questions they wanted answered. But he wasn’t actually going to leave little Lacey there just like that. What sort of S.T.O.R.K. would he be to literally just dump a child in a lady’s arms and leave?

He’d double back around to check in once he was sure Virge wouldn’t go try to find them and ruin everything.

“But!”

“No.”

EmoDramatic threw up his hands. “How will they explain this though? Going to a fireworks show with one child and coming home with two!”

Remy spread his arms, wiggling his fingers. “Maaagiic~.” He smirked, snapping his wings shut. “They can explain it however they want.” The bond would ensure that whatever reason they gave for suddenly having another child, it would be believed by those who heard it. “It’s not your concern.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, brushing past him.

Not until Mr. Not-a-Good-Dad accepted his fate at least. And who knew when that would happen. Would his curiosity help spur him into taking that final step?

Virge whirled with him, fingers brushing his wing before landing on his arm, sending a shiver down Remy’s spine. “I don’t understand.”

“And you won’t, LolliPop.” Remy shrugged free from his grip, slipping his sunglasses back over his eyes. “Not until you say yes to Dadhood. That’s another thing you can think on until I see you next.” He gave his Edgelord a two fingered salute as he jumped into the air, shimmering dust whirling around him helping him to vanish from view as a series of green and purple fireworks exploded overhead.

To Be Continued.

#Meeting Virgil #stillebesat #Sanders Sides #STORK AU #Remy #Virgil Sanders #Sleep #Anxiety #implied neglectful parents tw #implied miscarriage tw

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kazuyumi1412 · 3 years

Text

Me two days ago: “I’m really glad that I finally finished that idea that I had! Now, about those other ideas…”

Me today: “…”

Me today: *URGE TO MAKE FOLLOW-UP INTENSIFIES*

Seriously, though, ever since I made the end of my little “Not All Heroes Wear Capes” fanfic post (In @gilby-the-geek-girl ‘s words, “a fanfic of a fanfic”.), I’ve been wanting to make the rest of that little storyline! I was wondering what would’ve happened after Virgil went into hiding, along with how everything gets resolved.

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

Hero in Hiding

[Vanishing Act]

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

“It’s cold as hell in here…”

Virgil muttered to himself as he made his way throughout the house, hearing the echoing voices of his housemates wandering around. Even though it’d been a few hours since he’d initially shrank, they were still looking for him relentlessly. Well, he couldn’t say that they weren’t dedicated, but the reason that they’d spend so much time trying to find the person that nearly brought the house down eluded him.

As for Virgil himself? Well, aside from being cold, he kept thinking about how it must have felt for the others to live with him, especially when his voice started to act up. The voice that caused that whole mess…

What was going on with his voice anyway? It didn’t sound like the large, booming voice that came with his flare-ups normally. It sounded exactly the opposite. Small. Quiet.

Weak.

No, there wasn’t any time to think about that. All he had to worry about at that point was keeping himself in the walls and making sure that nobody heard him. Well, that and make sure that he wouldn’t freeze to death. Damn, it was cold being that small.

“HAVE EITHER OF YOU SEEN VIRGIL?” he could hear Logan asking the other two.

“NOT EVEN A HAIR ON HIS PURPLE HEAD,” Patton replied.

“ACTUALLY, IT’S FUCHSIA,” Roman corrected him. “STILL, WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED? ONE SECOND, HE WAS ONLY A LITTLE TALLER THAN PATTON, AND THE NEXT, HE DISAPPEARED!”

Virgil covered his ears when Roman got louder. If he was the one that changed sizes instead of him, he was pretty sure that they’d all be deaf by that point. Then again, he had the (not exactly supernatural) superpower that was being able to tame the beast that was Virgil’s anxiety, so that had to count somewhat.

“IT’S CERTAINLY STRANGE,” Logan remarked. “WE’VE NEVER SEEN THIS SIDE OF HIS POWERS BEFORE. AND FROM HIS REACTION, NEITHER HAS HE.”

“AGH!” Roman groaned out of frustration. “IT’S BEEN THREE HOURS, AND WE STILL HAVEN’T FOUND HIM! HE COULD’VE SLIPPED OUT OF THE HOUSE FOR ALL THAT WE KNOW!”

“FALSEHOOD. WHILE THAT’S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE, YOU’RE NOT FACTORING IN WHAT’S OUTSIDE THE HOUSE.” — Virgil imagined that Logan was listing off the next items off using his fingers to count — “IT’S RAINING OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW, SO HE COULD BE WASHED AWAY. OTHER ANIMALS COULD CONSIDER HIM AS THEIR NEXT MEAL AS WELL. AND IT’D BE FREEZING FOR SOMEONE AT THE SIZE THAT HE’S AT, WHATEVER THAT HAPPENS TO BE RIGHT NOW. ESSENTIALLY, THAT’S THE ABSOLUTE LAST PLACE THAT HE’D WANT TO BE.”

“SO HE CAN’T BE ANYWHERE EXCEPT IN THE HOUSE?”

“UNLESS YOU WANT TO INCLUDE THE EQUALLY BAD IDEA OF GOING INTO THE PIPES.”

“WELL, I’M SURE THAT HE’S AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE,” Patton reassured them. “I CAN FEEL IT.”

“SPEAKING OF FEELING,” Roman noted, “IS IT JUST ME, OR WAS THERE SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING EMO? ASIDE FROM THE SHRINKING PART.”

‘Thinking that the person that almost brought the house down is incredible?’ Virgil thought. ‘He must’ve hit his head harder than I thought.’

“HE DEFINITELY SEEMED SLIGHTLY MORE VOLATILE THIS TIME AROUND, THOUGH I’D IMAGINE THAT IT WAS MAINLY DUE TO HIS HIGH STRESS LEVELS,” Logan stated.

“I GET THAT MUCH,” Roman remarked. “I MEAN WHY HE STOPPED WHEN HE SAW ME BLEEDING.”

“I THINK…WELL…” Patton said with a tinge of uncertainty, “I MIGHT BE WRONG, SINCE EVERYTHING WAS ALL JUMBLED, BUT–”

“JUST TELL US WHAT IT IS!” Virgil could tell by Roman’s tone that he was getting desperate.

“I THINK VIRGIL FELT GUILTY. FOR ALL OF IT.”

Right as he heard those words, Virgil almost instantly remembered what happened to cause the incident.

__________

Virgil tried to calm down as best as he could, staring straight at his hands as he rested on the couch. He would’ve gone back to his room at that point normally, but recently, he’d felt more anxious than normal being there. As for why, he couldn’t put a definite finger on it. Was it about school? His dwindling antidepressants? Something else he couldn’t think of? He had no idea.

“You alright there, Not Sleeping Beauty?” he heard Roman ask him. Apparently, even without looking directly at him and even with all of the eyeshadow he had on, Roman could still see the dark circles under Virgil’s eyes. “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“I’m fine, Princey,” Virgil muttered a reply.

“Fine?” Roman knew about his dislike of that word, so hearing Virgil use it definitely threw up some red flags.

“Yes, fine.” — his tone sounded almost like a growl — “Now, can you leave me alone? I’m trying to think.”

“You know that going without your beauty sleep isn’t good.”

“I said that I’m fine, Roman.”

“Hey, I’m just worried about you, Snow Fright. That’s all. Your grades are going to dip if you don’t get your sleep.”

Something in Virgil snapped when he heard that. He stood up, not noticing the change in his height or voice as he glared at Roman. “I said that I’m FINE!”

The massive reverb shockwave shook the house, knocking everyone off their feet and shaking things loose, even cracking the ceiling.

Oh boy…

__________

Virgil fled towards a different part of the house once he remembered that, not wanting to be reminded of the giant mistake that he’d made a few hours prior.

When he was satisfied with how far he went, Virgil sat down to rest, being rather winded. Who knew walking across the house at that size could be so exhausting? Either way, he wondered how the other three would act the next morning. Would they still be looking for him? What about cleaning up the damage that he’d caused? He remembered back to when Roman lifted him up that one time and he tried to get back at him, only for Logan to yell at both of them to go outside. Guess it was because he didn’t want Virgil accidentally wrecking the room that they were in. What would he think of him now that he actually wrecked one of the rooms? Virgil’s thoughts were cut short as he heard a door open and shut through the wall behind him.

“HOW IN THE WORLD ARE WE GOING TO CLEAN THIS UP?” he heard Logan mutter to himself. He guessed that he’d wandered to where Logan’s room was. “THE CEILING IS DEFINITELY GOING TO NEED TO BE REPAIRED. WHAT WAS VIRGIL THINKING?”

“Glad to see the human calculator likes me,” Virgil said to himself, his words oozing sarcasm.

He thought that Logan would continue going on about the damage, but was surprised to hear the next words coming out of his mouth. “IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT. HE KNOWS IT JUST AS WELL AS WE DO. SO WHY WOULD HE HIDE FROM US LIKE THIS? IT’S JUST SO…ILLOGICAL…” He heard the chair to Logan’s desk being pulled out. “WHY ARE YOU HIDING, VIRGIL?”

Did he know? No, he couldn’t know. His senses were keen, but not enough to hear Virgil’s extremely quiet voice. Or were they? Virgil didn’t want to risk it, dashing off to another part of the house just in case Logan could hear his voice.

As he continued wandering through the walls, he heard what seemed to be Patton talking to himself. Virgil really didn’t want to risk almost getting noticed again, but then again, Patton’s hearing wasn’t as sensitive as Logan’s. Either way, Virgil’s curiosity got the better of him, and he quietly approached the side of the wall and listened in on Patton’s one-man conversation.

“EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT,” Patton muttered to himself. “WE’LL FIND HIM EVENTUALLY. WE HAVE TO.” — he sniffled a bit, and Virgil could only imagine that he was fighting back a few tears — “HEY, I SAID THAT EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT. CRYING’S NOT GOING TO DO ANYBODY ANY GOOD RIGHT NOW.”

Virgil’s heart broke a bit inside when he heard that. For all the time that he knew Patton, he knew that he didn’t like showing that he was crying at anything other than a scene in a movie. Holding back his less-than-awesome feelings when it came to other people. To hear him fighting back tears was…

Well, he really didn’t have any words to describe it.

If Patton was that worried about him, then he could only imagine how Roman felt about Virgil’s disappearance. He was always a drama queen regardless, even though he technically identified as male.

“Can’t these guys go one night worrying about themselves for a change?” Virgil said to himself, making his way through the house’s walls. “They got hurt because of me…”

He heard his stomach growl, with the sound echoing a bit in the hollow walls. Swearing to himself a bit, he decided to change course and head towards the kitchen, going to get himself something to snack on.

Slipping out of the wall for a bit, Virgil looked around, trying to find something out in the open that he could take. After all, he couldn’t open the fridge, and the cabinets were too high for him to reach. Being that small had a lot of disadvantages, didn’t it?

“LET’S GO IN THE GARDEN…”

Virgil quickly hid, hearing Roman’s voice coming in his direction.

“YOU’LL FIND SOMETHING WAITING…”

His voice. Something seemed off with it.

“RIGHT THERE WHERE YOU LEFT IT, LYING UPSIDE DOWN…”

It wasn’t his usual soft voice. Not the reassuring one that Virgil knew.

“WHEN YOU FINALLY FIND IT, YOU’LL SEE HOW IT’S FADED…”

What was it? What was different about his voice this time around?

“THE UNDERSIDE IS LIGHTER WHEN YOU TURN IT AROUND…”

Virgil peeked out from his hiding spot, seeing Roman sitting on the couch. He couldn’t make out his face from that distance, but even just by his slouched posture, he could tell that Roman was not his usual happy self.

“EVERYTHING STAYS RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT IT…”

What was he hearing in Roman’s voice?

“EVERYTHING STAY, BUT IT STILL CHANGES…”

Exhaustion?

“EVER SO SLIGHTLY…”

Frustration?

“DAILY AND NIGHTLY…”

A hint of a solemn tone?

“IN LITTLE WAYS…”

Roman completely stopped, letting out a sigh. Virgil quietly got closer to him, making sure to stay hidden by using cover. He saw Roman resting his head in his hands, though he couldn’t tell what face he was making.

“BUT NOTHING REMAINS…”

Woah. Okay, Roman changing the lyrics? Virgil knew that something was wrong at that point. Maybe he was feeling all the things that he thought he was feeling. Then again, he couldn’t know for certain. He wasn’t an empath like Patton, nor was he a telepath like Remus. Whatever “-path” he was, it wasn’t either of those two. Either way, he hid underneath one of the chairs, recognizing that it was the exact same one that he’d been hiding under when he initially shrank, and looked up at Roman.

“THAT IDIOT BETTER KNOW WHAT HE’S DOING, HIDING FROM US LIKE THIS,” Roman said to himself. “MAKING US WORRY ABOUT HIM. HE’S PRACTICALLY GIVING US HIS LEVELS OF ANXIETY!”

“Liar...” Virgil muttered. “You’d all be better off if I wasn’t around.”

“I HIGHLY DOUBT THAT,” he heard Logan’s voice remark.

Virgil froze up, wanting to turn around before he felt himself being lifted up. He quickly shut his eyes as tightly as he could as he braced himself. It felt like Virgil’s heart was beating a mile a minute.

“PUT HIM DOWN!” Patton exclaimed. “YOU’RE SCARING HIM!”

Virgil felt himself being gently set down on some surface, though he couldn’t tell what it was with his eyes closed. As he slowly peeked to see where he was, he saw Roman, Patton, and Logan all staring back at him, all having various degrees of concern on their faces.

And just when he thought that things couldn’t get worse...

“ARE YOU OKAY?!” Patton quickly asked, looking at Virgil’s tiny form. “YOU’RE NOT HURT, ARE YOU?”

He quickly covered his ears upon hearing Patton’s loud voice. “You’re about to burst my eardrums if you’re not careful,” Virgil replied.

Patton let out a sigh of relief alongside Roman, though Logan seemed rather unphased. At least, on the outside.

“REGARDLESS,” Logan said, keeping his voice down, “I’D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU MEANT BY ‘YOU’D ALL BE BETTER OFF IF I WASN’T AROUND.’.”

“You heard that, huh?” Virgil remarked, already knowing the answer.

“YOUR VOICE ISN’T THAT QUIET.”

Virgil let out a sigh, knowing that he couldn’t keep quiet about it, otherwise the other three would get at him nonstop. “Well, you saw what happened earlier. I’m practically a ticking time bomb. I was just thinking…” — he took a deep breath to calm his nerves — “I was thinking that…maybe you’d all be better off without me. I just wanted to see what it was like for a day.”

“AND I ASSUME THAT YOUR INITIAL HYPOTHESIS WAS WRONG?”

“Not all of it. I finally know how you feel when my voice acts up.”

“ANYWAY, CAN YOU TURN BACK TO NORMAL?” Roman quickly asked. “WE CAN’T HAVE YOU STUCK AT YOUR ‘PINT-SIZED’ SETTING, C-3MO.”

He crossed his arms a bit. “You know he can’t change his size like I can, right?”

“I KNOW! I’M JUST RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS! MY BRAIN’S FRIED BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH WE’VE BEEN WORRYING ABOUT YOU!”

Virgil reflexively covered his ears again as he heard Roman yell. To be honest, he wasn’t at all used to having to cover his ears every time one of the other three tried to speak. Either way, he was a bit curious himself, and he tried to get back to his normal size. Unfortunately, he wasn’t really able to get much of his height back, so Virgil was pretty much stuck as the shortest person in the house for the rest of the night.

“I’M SURE THAT YOU’LL BE BACK TO YOUR ORIGINAL SELF IN THE MORNING, VIRGIL,” Logan stated. “NOW, IF YOU DON’T MIND, IT’S LATE, AND WE ALL SHOULD BE GETTING TO SLEEP.”

“SEE YOU IN THE MORNING, KIDDO,” Patton said as he carefully patted Virgil’s back.

The other two left, leaving Roman and Virgil alone in the room. It was a bit awkward to have such a height difference between them at first, but then again, it was essentially the reverse of what usually happened.

“SO, I GUESS I’M TAKING YOU BACK TO YOUR ROOM, UM…VIRGIL,” Roman said as he held out his hand, having run out of new nicknames for Virgil.

“Hold on,” He told Roman. “I…” — Roman motioned for him to go on, hearing him out — “You mind if I sleep with you tonight? My room’s not the best for helping my anxiety go down.”

He smirked a bit. “IS THAT JUST AN EXCUSE TO GET IN BED WITH ME?” — Virgil got a bit flustered, and Roman chuckled — “I’M JUST KIDDING. C’MON.”

He carefully picked Virgil up in his arms and carried him over to his room. It wasn’t exactly his usual fireman carry, but still, Virgil wasn’t exactly his usual self at the time, so a bride carry had to do. After setting him down, Roman went to “quickly” change into his pajamas, leaving Virgil sitting on his bed. He glanced off to the side, seeing a familiar green gingham dress and off-white apron on the plush next to him.

“And here, I never thought that we’d see eye-to-eye,” Virgil muttered, a slight laugh escaping from his lips, probably from the absurdity of the situation. They were practically the same size at that point.

Eventually, Roman returned, having changed into some sweatpants and an old t-shirt, and carefully clambered into bed. Taking both Virgil and Mrs. Fluffy Bottom in his arms, he laid down on his back. With the utmost amount of care, he flipped the hood on Virgil’s jacket up, covering his head.

“GOOD NIGHT, YOU TINY THUNDERSTORM,” Roman said before drifting off to sleep.

Virgil could feel Roman’s heart beating as he laid on top of his chest, looking over to the plush rabbit accompanying him. He smiled as he shut his eyes, feeling the warmth comforting him.

Even if his powers seemed like a curse sometimes, he had to admit that there were some blessings in disguise hidden within them.

#nahwc #size shifter #tiny!virgil

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themadauthorshatter · 3 years

Text

So... I've been watching KH rewrites.

And while I'm not rewriting ALL of Kingdom Hearts, but I have a few ideas to change 358/2 days:

The organization has an agenda: find and kill Sora, Riku, and Kairi so they can stay out of the way, but with Sora sleeping, Kairi safe on Destiny Islands, and Riku running all over the place, their jobs just got harder.

The change the title to 358/3 days, because Axel's in on this too. This is the sea salt TRIO we're dealing with, not sea salt duo.

We see a majority of Roxas's beginner days, like before, but in between them, we see Xion with Axel, mainly because Xemnas trusts him enough to be able to incapacitate Xion, if she gets too fired up.

Oh yeah, Xion doesn't really look up and smile at Roxas when she first sees him. In game, her mouth just opens in a gasp and she clenches a fist. In her first days, she's strictly in 'attack anything that comes near me' mode because she's scared and confused. We see it happen when Demyx waves a hand in front of her face and she literally jiu jitsu throws him to the ground.

Xion stares at Roxas and Axel and follows them individually. Axel finds it creepy and warns her not to get any ideas while Roxas pretends not to notice.

Xemnas is more proactive, checking on and somewhat favoring Roxas and Xion, Roxas more than Xion at first before fully switching over to team Xion. Everyone notices, especially Larxene, and it's not a good thing. Except for Axel, who's okay to stay out of Xemnas's attention.

Larxene is a bitch. As in she not only tells Roxas to not use his keyblade, but also to hold still so she can kick him.

Lexeaus is a little kinder. He does still hit Roxas within an inch of his life, but he lets Roxas hit back, as hard as he can. Roxas does so, hitting him in the side, like by the abs, but not completely, and it only hurts Roxas more than Lexeaus, the big guy fights a pitied smile and tells him to try again. Roxas does so, hitting harder, and Lexeaus grunts and fakes it to look like Roxas really did hit him hard. Roxie boy apologizes, but Lexeaus brushes it off, complimenting that Roxas is a more than qorthy choice for the keyblade.

Zexion is not a fan of Roxas, because he looks too much like Ventus. He eventually has a silent kinshio with him and acts A LITTLE friendly towards him, but nothing serious.

Vexen has to be kept on a leesh so he doesn't lock Roxas in his lab and scientifically check him out. AT LEAST BEFORE HE GOES ON A MISSION WITH HIM. After that, he wants nothing to do with the kid.

Axel is a little weirded out by Roxas, at first, but warms up to him.

Marluxia is a little creepy in that while he trains with Roxas, like practice missions, he gets face caress-y and Roxas later asks Axel if he can not go on missions with Marluxia.

Xemans does not get like that with either of Roxas or Xion; all he does is ruffle/play with their hair and pat their back and shoulder.

AND XEMNAS ISN'T PORTRAYED AS A VILLAIN UP-FRONT. IN A PERFECT WORLD, THIS IS RELEASED BEFORE KH2!!!!!!

Saïx sees Axel's growing connections with Roxas and Xion, and he gets meaner because of it.

Roxas has his own version of anti-form or rage form, in the form of non-form, where he takes on a look very much like a mix of the samurai and dusk nobodies; he's bendy, fast, and hard as shot to lock onto, target-wise, but get hit and there's next to nothing that's going to save you. Roxas can only use non-form when he has no other optiin, and that's because he hates using it with a burning passion. Whenever he uses it, he has a hard time seeing things, so he relies on his hearing and any bright lights that catch his attention. Game wise, this is his limit break. When his health is low, non-form is activated with a cool looking transformation.

Non-form is the reason why Roxas is Xemnas's favorite, at first.

Xion doesn't talk to Roxas at all when they go on missions together, at least not until Roxas goes into non-form to save her, even though she doesn't really need saving.

Demyx was initially chosen to watch Roxas, but he saw the kid, newborn, scared, and confused, go into non-form and damn near attack him until Xemnas kicked him away. Saïx was the runner uo, but he gave the role to Axel, who successfully calmed Roxas down enough for the newbie to return to normal.

Xion warms up to Roxas, but is cold towards Axel, who returns the feeling, but also makes a deal with her; in front of Roxas, they have to play nice together or else Saïx is going to snitch to Xemans, who will have Xion ripped apart piece by piece until there's no putting her back together. Behind Roxas's back, however, they can fight all they want, as much as they want. Hell, they can even try to kill each other. BUT ONLY BEHIND ROXAS'S BACK SO HE DOESN'T SEE IT HAPPEN.

Roxas is given pretty lenient missions and it's not just because of his connection to Sora and Ven. It's also because of how unstable Non-form is.

Oh, yeah. Roxas hallucinates and hears both Sora AND Ventus, but it's only when things get too quiet. Xemnas has Axel keep an eye on him because he made friends with Ventus as Lea and had contact with Sora. If anything, the redhead can keep Roxas stable enough for them to bring him to Castle Oblivion and find Ven, when he's ready.

And he'll be ready when he dual wields keyblades, which Xemnas KNOWS wil happen because he's Xehanort and Xehanort apparently knows all.

He doesn't know enough because there's another person who can dual wield: Xion.

Xion is still a replica, but this time is made with fractures of Kairi's and Sora's hearts, Kairi being able to wield a keyblade because it got passed down from Aqua to her by accident and Sora because he's Sora.

When Axel is sent to Castle Oblivion and is reported as gone, Roxas's reaction is much more severe. First mission with Xigbar goes fine until the end, where Roxas not only gets hallucinations of Sora and all that, but also because he's experiencing a new emotion: GRIEF. He goes into Non-form and goes insane. Xigbar directs him to a dark corridor, where he's released right into the castle in The World That Never Was and starts destroying anything amd everything that moves before going all aroung the castle.

It soon becomes a really darkly comedic game of Catch The Kid Without Killing Him Or Letting Him Leave To Another World.

No one's fully successful, except for Saïx, who also goes berserk to stop and hold him so Xemnas can collect him. Roxas struggles in Saïx's arms and lets out scream after scream until Xemnas comes to get him and snap him out of it.

Roxas leaves Non-form and is led to his room by Xemnas, who compliments his ability to imitate emotions, despite not remembering how to.

Roxas, already trying to keep it together, breaks down again, and Xemnas holds him close, letting him get it all out, and explains that this is why they fight and need to fight warriors of the light, including Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

After that, Roxas is only allowed on recon missions until he's stable again.

It's fine though, because Axel makes it back a week later, saying he got knocked unconscious by Sora. He escaped and made it out a-okay, leavung out the part where he may have merced Vexen and Zexion.

Roxas is still glad.

Axel reports to Xemnas and Saïx and euns into Xion.

The threat still remains, but he's still playing nice for Roxas's sake.

Over time, Axel and Xion learn to get along and even become friendly enough to be sarcastic and jokey with each other.

It also helps that Xion also deals with hallucinations and her way of dealing with them is by running. Axel and Roxas followed her and came face to face with a GIANT heartless, maybe a more threatening version of the Dark Side.

All three fight it, but it knocks Xion and Axel away, the redhead gets up and is almost smashed into the ground before Xion lunges, going into her armored form. Roxas follows as well, in his Non-form.

The two make quick work of the heartless amd Roxas struggles to turn himself back, where Xion does it perfectly.

Axel compliments the work, but hugs onto Roxas before he can lash out at a frightened Xion, telling him to play nice or they're not having any more playdates and he'll be locked in his room 24/7.

Roxas turns back and he and a surprised Xion pass out, leaving Axel to groan at having all the icky jobs; he got the crap beaten out of him amd wants to pass out with the two children, but instead has to carry them back to the castle so neither die on his watch.

They all recuperate and pat themselves on the back for their victory.

Xemnas congratulates them as well, having let himself in the infirmary because he heard what happened.

Axel reports that they're all fine and the heartless is gone, and Xemnas is more than glad to hear it, at least before her turns to Roxas and asks if he was hurt, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He's fine, just a little dizzy, but fine.

Xemnas is more than glad to hear it, pushing back Roxas's bangs and playing with his hair a little before leaving them all to heal, ignoring Xion entirely.

She doesn't take it personally and instead remarks about how nice it was of Xemans to join them, for once.

Axel agrees with the sentiment and makes Roxas and Xion promise that they're won't be anymore surprise runaways like that again.

They agree, though Xion asks if surprise ice cream can be exempt.

Axel smiles and exempts surprise icecream.

They all become real friends after this point, and it includes them poking fun at each other("Er, I don't know my past so I'm gonna go Saïx berserk on anyone who asks, der, der, der"), sarcasm(Xion: "There really is no hiding from Saïx, is there?" Axel: "Well, there's always under Xigbar's bed, but no one's ever returned, so tell me how it goes."), and light name calling, like hot head, burning britches, and smoke and more smoke for Axel, hoodie and emo band for Roxas, and little miss pissed off for Xion, because she's funny to make annoyed and angry.

And they try more than sea salt icecream, like doughnuts, cakes, and eventually healthier foods that are still sweet.

Roxajs and Xion gonon missions together and eventually start more than a friendship.

Axel keeps an eye on them whenever he can and begins lying to Xemnas, saying neither are really progressing with their powers, but are maintaining, so there's that at least. Xemans is not convinced and asks an old question, considering how Axel has possibly the best memory out of everyone here: What happened to Sora? Axel feigns ignorance, because he TOTALLY helped Sora take out Marluxia.

Okay, but what about Naminé? More ignorance because she up and vanished. Maybe Sora stole her away or something, who knows? Teenagers do weird things.

Xemnas, more than a little fed up, notes that Axel's getting close to Rozas and Xion and admits that as much of a shame as it would be to waste resources, it'd be even more tragic to lose their own numbers, maybe even Saïx as well, despite how cold he's turned toward Axel. If it makes him feel better, he doesn't need to do the 'icky job,' Saïx can do it for him and he can simply watch.

Axel steps down and Xemnas twlls hom to tell the truth next time, if he doesn't want to lose anymore friends.

There will be a part 2 of this

#kingdom hearts #kh 358/2 days #kh roxas #kh xemnas #kh axel #kh xion #sea salt trio #kind of a rewrite #there will be an eventual part 2 #kh saix

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pendragonsandbuckleys · 3 years

Text

Reclaiming that broken youth.

Summary: Michael had made it his mission to relive a small piece of the past with Alex. First he tried with the rings, two chunky black and silver things that he’d claimed had been left at the junkyard during his one of his shifts. Alex had simply joked that they weren’t his style anymore and left it at that.

The eyeliner had been a much harder sell and still Alex had refused.

And now, as he was ambling his way up the driveway, he was starting to think that maybe his third attempt would not be so lucky.

aka. Michael convinces Alex to let him dye his hair.

Word Count: 4,949

[Also on AO3]

Was it embarrassing the number of excuses he’d found to come and see Alex? Yes.

Was he going to stop anytime soon? Not likely.

Nostalgia had been rearing its ugly head again leaving him craving a time long since passed and he’d been coming up with whatever reason he could to justify seeing Alex. Going to his house, or the Project Shepard bunker, or the Crashdown where he just happened to bump into him.

The photo of the two of them had been moved from the cardboard box to the desk along with the few other pictures he treasured of Max and Isobel - he couldn’t make it too obvious after all. But seeing the two of them together like that often made him miss what they used to have. Things were so much simpler back then, until they weren’t.

The problem with nostalgia though was that the feelings weren’t real. They were an echo of what used to be that tended to leave an uncomfortable emptiness the longer you thought about it.

That time had passed and there was no getting it back. Unless?

Surely they didn’t need to be seventeen again to get that feeling back. That soft, carefree feeling that used to settle on their skin as they kissed in the desert.

That’s why he had made it his mission to relive a small piece of the past with Alex. First he tried with the rings, two chunky black and silver things that he’d claimed had been left at the junkyard during one of his shifts. Alex had simply joked that they weren’t his style anymore and left it at that.

The eyeliner had been a much harder sell and still Alex had refused.

And now, as he was ambling his way up the driveway, he was starting to think that maybe his third attempt would not be so lucky.

Three quick taps on the wood brought Alex to the door and he was so focused on the sight of him that Michael barely noticed the smile it brought to his own face. He was in full casual wear, t-shirt, jogging bottoms, matching bed hair sticking up in a perfect mess.

“Hey.” Alex welcomed him with a bright smile. If he was at all surprised to see Michael on his doorstep on an early Saturday morning with absolutely no warning, he hid it very well. His eyes darted over to see where the truck had been parked comfortably on the driveway, before flitting back to Michael.

“I thought we could have some fun.” Michael spoke with a smirk, forgoing any formal greeting, eyes already glistening with mischief. And oh how differently that sentence would have been taken when they were seventeen.

Alex was about to step aside without hesitation when he noticed the box held gently in Michael’s grip. He eyed it warily, already sensing the reasoning for the visit. “What is that?”

“Fun!”

“Um no, I believe that’s called hair dye.”

“Just hear me out.” Michael grinned as he confidently side-stepped his way through the doorway and into the house. “We haven’t hung out properly in a while and we both have the day off…”

Alex shook his head as he pushed the door closed behind him and followed Michael towards the living room. He never would have denied Michael entry, but there was something about him making himself at home that gave Alex a warm feeling in his chest. “See, you keep saying we but I don’t see a box of dye for your hair anywhere.”

“Yeah, well I never had an emo phase, did I?”

“The important word there being phase.” Alex crossed his arms against his chest as he peered down at Michael’s hands again. It was a white box with a bunch of writing on it, but the guy on the front was very clearly modelling the black dye inside. “You know I never actually used to dye my hair back then, right?”

Michael shrugged and waved his hand in the air as if to say whatever, we’re doing it anyway and handed the box over for Alex to get a better look. “You vetoed my other options so I’m stepping up my game.”

Alex watched him closely, noting how he squirmed slightly under his gaze. At first, when Michael had started dropping by a few weeks ago, always at odd hours, always unannounced, Alex had been worried. The ‘hanging out’ excuse could easily have been a guise, an easy escape from any problems he was avoiding and Alex didn’t know how long was best to let Michael hide from whatever was going on.

But seeing him now, wide eyes filled with an innocent sort of playfulness, it looked like Michael really did just want to spend time with him. Even if he did have the most random idea for a pass time. “Why are you so desperate for me to dress all emo again?”

“For…fun?”

Alex chewed his bottom lip to hide the small smile threatening to emerge. “I’m only off work for a week, you know.”

“That’s why it’s temporary.” Michael turned the box around in Alex’s hand and tapped at the words printed clearly on the back. “Three washes and it’s gone.”

“You’ve got an answer for everything, haven’t you?”

Michael wasted no time in getting them set up. He grabbed a spare plastic bowl from the kitchen cupboard, an old towel that Alex didn’t care about dirtying and set Alex’s shower stool in front of the large bathroom mirror.

He should have been embarrassed by how excited he was getting, but he was far too busy being filled with said excitement to care. Against all odds, Alex had actually agreed to do this with very little persuasion required and there was no way he was letting him change his mind.

Alex didn’t interrupt as Michael rummaged his way around the house, finding what he needed and he certainly didn’t show his bemusement at how Michael seemed to know exactly where everything was. And once everything was ready, he took his place in the designated seat, strangely nervous at the thought of Michael dyeing his hair.

Though maybe it wasn’t nerves. He certainly had butterflies, though it could be from the thought of engaging in this teenage sleepover-esque activity. For the boy he liked to come over to his house and willingly run his fingers through his hair for the next hour? Seventeen year old Alex would have done anything for this.

“Right, tell me what to do.” Michael said as he pulled the instructions from the box and handed them to Alex before emptying the rest of the contents next to the sink. He’d probably end up doing it his own way, but he just wanted to give Alex an excuse to stop staring at him as he worked.

As Alex unravelled the instructions a small packet of gloves fell out onto his lap. They didn’t look the sturdiest but it was better than nothing. “There’s the gloves so make sure you wear them,” he said as he placed them next to the bowl.

He gave a quick skim read of the words to get a general idea of what do. There was a lot of writing and he doubted Michael would be patient for long enough to get through it all. “Oh okay, this sounds pretty easy, literally just brush it evenly through my hair.”

Michael nodded distractedly as he carefully fiddled with the lid of the tube. The room wasn’t exactly big and he’d already elbowed a wall with one arm and knocked the empty bowl to the floor with the other. Tripping over the towel had been an added bonus that Alex had enjoyed far too much. He had no idea where this clumsiness had suddenly come from, but now he was being extra careful with everything.

“Put it in gently. We don’t want it going everywhere.” Alex instructed him as he squeezed the dye into the bowl. The coal-black cream squelched as it left the tube and a small drop splattered onto the white tile wall which Michael hastily wiped with the back of his hand. It smeared across the wall at first until he managed to clean it all off.

With everything set up, he clamped Alex’s towel covered shoulders and beamed at him through the mirror’s reflection. “You ready?”

“Go for it.” Alex rolled his eyes at the enthusiasm radiating off Michael. Yep, he definitely felt like a teenager right now.

Michael started out slow. The dye was cool against his fingers as he scooped a blob into his palm. He knew Alex would be able to wash it out almost instantly if it ended up looking terrible, but still, he didn’t want to get it wrong.

He took a breath before reaching for Alex’s hair. Only now did it click just how intimate this activity was for two people who had barely done more than stand a few feet away from each other recently. He thought it would be a bit of fun, getting Alex to dress up in his old high school persona that they both used to love. But now, with the dye in his hand, he realised that meant running his fingers through Alex’s hair. An action that he used to love whenever they kissed. The smooth strands under his fingertips, pulling him closer when he could no longer control his urges.

But they were friends now. And friends dyed each other’s hair, right? Friends helped each other put on makeup or decided outfits if one was going on a date, so doing each other’s hair was no different from all of that.

The strands of hair slid across his palm easily, turning from dark brown to black with a single touch. It felt just as soft as it did ten years ago.

The room was silent as he worked save for Michael’s movements and the occasional hmm from Alex. Michael wasn’t sure if Alex realised that he was making the little noises but he was just glad he was finding it relaxing. The casual glances over Alex’s head and into the mirror showed that his eyes were closed, his lips curled into a small smile.

Michael was surprised by how much he was enjoying it himself. He was used to working with his hands all day, but this was different. Working on the cars was methodical, a heavy-handed muscle memory from years of experience, but this? This was gentle, personal.

It took about as long as would be expected to cover hair of Alex’s length and as Michael moved to the front so he could finish up the fringe, Alex opened his eyes to watch him work, “So really, what’s with all the emo stuff?”

Michael avoided the eye contact as he concentrated on turning the remaining brown into black. How could he explain that he was feeling nostalgic without it sounding sappy?

“It’s probably just some misguided attempt at reclaiming my youth.” He answered as he scooped more dye onto his fingers.

“Okay, but it seems more like we’re reclaiming my youth.”

“Yeah, well, this part of your youth was the best part of mine.” Michael replied without thinking, feeling the heat instantly rise up his cheeks at the honest answer.

The mortification was written so clear on his face that Alex forced himself to hold back a chuckle. They were still working on getting that openness back to their friendship, so for it to come out so easily every now and then was a nice step in the right direction.

“I actually always wanted to dye my hair back then.” Alex spoke up, steering into a new conversation to save Michael’s embarrassment. “It seemed like the next logical step for my fashion choice.”

“So why didn’t you?”

“Getting the eyeliner passed dad was enough of a challenge and even then it was something I could take off pretty instantly if need be. I think the dye would have been too much of a risk.”

Michael felt a pang of sympathy for all Alex had to endure back then, he’d seen it firsthand several times all the way up until Jesse Manes’ death after all. But no. They weren’t going to dwell on that today. If they were reclaiming their youth then all unwanted memories were unwelcome and henceforth banned from all thoughts.

He nudged Alex’s shoulder playfully as he moved back to the bowl. “And you didn’t have an expert hairdresser to do it for you.”

“That too.” Alex laughed, rolling his eyes as he heard the sound of yet another blob of dye dropping to the floor, “Though I didn’t expect my hairdresser to get it everywhere but my hair.”

Michael gritted his teeth with a frown as he looked down at the small black splatter, a glaringly obvious stain against the white. “Hey, that’s only the third time.”

He ran his hands through Alex’s hair for the last time, being careful to check that every strand was covered. The dye had already started doing its job beautifully and emo Alex was very much taking hold.

It was as he was stepping back to inspect his finished work did he notice just how much of a mess he’d actually made, sheepishly pointing out to Alex that there was some on the edge of the sink, a few blobs in the shower and it was on the wall in about four different places.

“How the hell did it get there, I didn’t even go near that wall.” Michael exclaimed, utterly confounded at the mess he’d managed to create. Had he been in his own head so much that his hands had taken on a life of their own?

“It’s fine,” Alex laughed fondly as he nudged the bin closer with his foot. “Just put the gloves in there before you touch anything else.”

“…wait, there were gloves?”

Alex turned around this time to look at Michael properly. He hadn’t noticed the lack of gloves on the hands in his hair, but looking at them now he could see they were completely covered not by the plastic, but by a creamy black gunk. Michael had a mischievous look on his face, tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek as he tried not to snigger and Alex could feel himself doing the same. “What is the first thing I said to you?”

“Put it in gently?”

They couldn’t hold back their laughter. Scrubbing his hands removed all but the faint grey tint now dyed into his skin, but Michael didn’t care. Maybe it was all the dye fumes, but it felt like he was on a weird kind of high. Here they were, two boys giggling away like they’d been caught making out in the supply closet at school and in that moment everything felt right with the world.

Leaning back against the sink Michael crossed his arms as he admired Alex’s hair from the front. Even slicked back against his head it was looking good but they still had twenty minutes to fill before it was ready. “So, what should we do while we wait?”

Alex slyly leant over to the bowl, still filled a quarter of the way with leftover dye and waggled his eyebrows impishly at the horrified look Michael was now giving him. “Come on Guerin, it washes out.”

It really was quite a small bathroom with nowhere to run so as Alex stood up to get closer, Michael backed away so much he practically fell into the shower. The laughter returned as he tried to hide as much of his hair as he could with his arms. “Nope. These curls are sacred and there’s no way you’re turning them black. The most you’d ever get on me is the eyeliner.”

Alex gasped gleefully, eyes wide with excitement as he watched it dawn on Michael what he’d just said. He opened the bathroom cabinet and there, at the back of the bottom shelf, was Michael’s latest gift to him. Still unused, he’d only kept it for sentimental reasons, a fond reminder of his past self, but now Michael had no excuse.

“Take a seat.” Alex batted his eyelids innocently as he gestured to the stool he had vacated and Michael had no choice but to comply. He always found it hard to deny Alex anything, but right now, he’d do anything to keep that joy in his eyes.

Alex hadn’t used eyeliner in over ten years. At age seventeen it had taken him weeks to perfect the art without smudging it or poking himself in the eye and when he first joined the military he often missed the soothing action of it. But now, a decade on, he still held the pencil with the hands of someone who would never forget how to use it.

Michael looked up at him expectantly from the seat, a slight tingling rushing through him as Alex held his chin to tilt it upwards. He’d never worn any kind of makeup before, never really had the urge to, but there was always a first time for everything.

There was something quite sexy about Alex knowing exactly what to do, telling him when to look up, when to blink, pressing the pencil down just enough to leave the colour on his skin, but not too soft that it tickled. His hands were very gentle as they held Michael’s face and he felt his mind wandering as he let Alex work.

“Guerin, stay still or it’s going in your eye.” Alex admonished lightly, tongue poking out as he concentrated. He was surprised by how steady his hand was being and he didn’t want to mess it up now.

He gave a few more strokes before stepping away, tapping the pencil against his chin as he admired his work with a grin. An eyeliner-wearing Michael was never a look he’d imagined before, but it sure was a look he was appreciating. It was a subtle change, but one that made Alex want to dress him in a leather jacket and start a rock band with him. “All done.”

Mourning the loss of Alex’s touch, Michael sighed as he got to his feet, knees popping as he stood up and leaned in close to the mirror.

He looked…different. Not a bad different, maybe even a good different. It made his eyes seem brighter and his lashes look darker and the longer he looked in the mirror the wider he could see Alex’s smile getting.

“Alright, I’ll give you this one. It doesn’t look too bad.”

“Right!” Alex was practically giddy as he stepped closer to look at Michael’s eyes through the mirror. Their hands brushed lightly as they both leaned against the sink. “I didn’t think it would look this good, but now I’m starting to wish you’d had this look in high school.”

Michael turned to face him then, bottom lip between his teeth as his eyes roamed over Alex’s face. Maybe this whole nostalgia thing wasn’t so bad when you had someone to share it with.

He grabbed the eyeliner from Alex’s hand before he could be stopped and held it above his head with an eager grin as if Alex couldn’t reach it easily. “Your turn.”

Michael had been banished to the sofa while Alex washed out the dye. He’d willingly volunteered to help but Alex wanted the finished look to be a surprise. Not that he could blame him. If it looked terrible at least it would give Alex the chance to kick Michael out of the house before he even saw it.

Not that that would actually happen, Michael had done an excellent job and the finished article would prove just that, thank you very much.

The muffled noise of the shower turning on and off filtered through the walls as he peered around the room. He’d seen the inside of Alex’s house enough times now to know the layout but not enough to know its contents.

The colourful spines of the neat pile of books stood out against the brown of the table they were sitting on. Their titles were too small to read from across the room but it made Michael wonder what kind of books Alex read now. He’d never thought to ask in all the time he’d been back in Roswell. Did he still read fantasy books like the ones Michael used to see him get lost in for hours at a time? Or were they non-fiction, filled with facts about a world that Alex had always longed to explore.

There were a few plants dotted around the room which Michael was nerdy enough to know the names of. They weren’t the type that required much watering though Michael could almost picture a green-thumbed Alex taking care to provide them what they needed.

But taking up most of the space was a whole range of musical items. A turntable alongside a crowded box of records, because of course that’s how Alex liked to listen to his music. A pair of speakers on either of side of his keyboard, a thick black pair of headphones sitting atop the black and white keys. And guitars. So many guitars.

I mean come on, four of them in one room? Alex was practically begging him to pick one up.

Three of them were next to the keyboard, held neatly on their individual stands, but it was the guitar standing alone that caught his attention. It was leaning almost precariously against the wall, looking like it could slide to the floor at the smallest touch but he had a feeling it had been there for a while. It was the one Alex had tried to gift to him all those months ago, after all.

Before he could stop himself, he pushed off the sofa and edged towards the guitar. Its case had been unzipped just enough at the top to show the dark brown wood poking through and Michael didn’t hesitate to unzip it the rest of the way.

Plucking a few of the strings made Michael wonder if maybe Alex had played it recently. It seemed to be perfectly in tune. It had been a little while now since he’d held a guitar, let alone played one, but this one seemed to fit so naturally in his hands.

The faint whirring of the hair dryer could now be heard through the bedroom door and Michael couldn’t help himself. His fingers fell into place effortlessly and played a tune that he once played for Alex all those years ago. It wasn’t hard to remember, it was one of the only songs he actually knew by heart and the muscle memory of the notes hadn’t failed him yet.

As the strings vibrated under his fingertips, the rest of the world fell away, the soft melody filling the room. He’d missed this, the calm that would wash over him whenever he used to play and for a brief moment as his fingers slipped between the C and G chords he wondered why he ever gave the guitar back.

“Suits you.” Alex’s quiet voice interrupted the notes and Michael almost dropped the guitar in his surprise. He hadn’t heard the hairdryer stop, hadn’t heard the door creaking open but the way Alex was smiling at him told him he had nothing to feel embarrassed about.

The smile wasn’t what he was focused on though.

The inky black hair had turned out so much better than he’d ever imagined. The dark strands contrasted his lightly tanned skin so starkly and Michael could tell that he had taken a few extra minutes to style it a little.

His eyeliner was mismatched and uneven - one eye having been done badly by Michael before Alex, fearing the idea of getting poked in the eye again, had confiscated the pencil and finished the second eye perfectly by himself.

He looked like his innocent seventeen year old self.

But also not. His features were matured enough to set the illusion off-kilter just slightly.

He looked incredible.

Michael wasn’t sure when his legs had made the decision to stand up, but here he was, two feet away from Alex, staring at him with his mouth half open. Alex took the silence the wrong way though as he gave a nervous laugh, feeling his cheeks redden.

He anxiously rubbed the back of his neck and the movement knocked Michael out of his daze. He slowly dragged his eyes away from Alex’s hair and down to his lips, watching them form the words as he spoke. “It looks terrible, doesn’t it?”

Had Alex even looked in the mirror? Had he not seen what Michael was seeing right now?

And it’s not even like the hair and makeup changed him that much. He’s looked beautiful the entire time Michael has known him, he just looked beautiful with his old style right this second rather than his new one.

Maybe Michael just always thought Alex looked most comfortable in his seventeen-year-old style, it was a look he had precisely crafted for himself to best represent the person he was. The black jumpers with bold patterns, the makeup, the piercings. It was the look of a rebellious kid who didn’t want to fit in.

His current style was created through circumstance, through being forced to take on a duty that he never chose but has now made his own. And his style was his own now too, the muted colours much more reserved, but still his choice.

But now standing before him was a beautiful combination of both of those people and oh dear, he’s never really stopped thinking about Alex this way, has he? And more important, how long has he been staring at him without saying a single word?

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his throat had gone strangely dry.

“No.” He whispered in reply as he stepped closer, his feet making their own decisions again and he suddenly couldn’t stop himself. In that moment he couldn’t remember why he had been holding back for all of these months when the person he wanted most in the world was standing right in front of him.

He kissed him before he could stop himself, hands gently grabbing Alex’s face, feeling soft lips against his own. It felt like he was seventeen again, kissing for the first time in the darkened rooms of the UFO Emporium but as his hands crept up into Alex’s hair the sound of a distant car horn through the open kitchen window broke through his dream-filled haze and he realised what he had just done.

“Oh god, I’m sorry.” Michael stuttered out as he pulled away with a gasp, instantly embarrassed at how impulsive he had been. He bit his bottom lip as his eyes stayed trained on Alex’s chest, not daring to lift them any higher. In one tiny moment of weakness he had broken their agreement and he wanted to kick himself for how stupid that had been.

It had been decided that they would just be friends. No drama, no fighting and definitely no sex. The relationship between them would be strictly supportive and platonic and as much as Michael had longed for them to be something, he had agreed for the sake of keeping any kind of connection with Alex. And turns out, he couldn’t even give him that.

If he had looked up he would have seen the surprise on Alex’s face. Surprise that Michael had kissed him - sure - but more the surprise that Michael had pulled away so abruptly. And far too soon for that matter.

Before Alex could talk himself out of it, he took Michael’s face in his hands and kissed him right back. His heart fluttered as Michael instantly pulled him closer, softer this time, as if they both knew in that moment that there was no rush.

Michael’s entire body tingled, heat filling his chest as Alex lips parted with a tiny breath. He was hardly aware of what his own hands were doing, so desperate to never let go, his knees almost giving out as the rest of the world fell away, leaving them in their intimate, almost forbidden, moment.

As his fingers ran through the soft strands of the freshly dyed hair, Michael was reminded of every other time they had performed this same action, how natural this felt, how safe, like coming home.

“I would have let you dye my hair weeks ago if I’d known that’s all it would take.” Alex sighed as they parted, still only inches from Michael’s face, not daring to move any further lest the spell be broken. He hadn’t seen the day going this way when Michael had turned up on his doorstep with his mischievous grin but he wasn’t about to complain.

Michael gave a small huff of laughter at the unexpected comment, his hands itching to pull Alex closer. He had been wanting to do that for a long time, but he’d been good. He’d stuck to their agreement and given Alex the space to move on, no matter how many times he’d wanted to rebuild that abandoned bridge between them. But it seems the long awaited move had now finally been made and he didn’t have to hold back anymore.

Because here Alex was, black hair, dark eyeliner, standing in front of him with that nervous post-kiss smile that Michael had missed for far too long and now he never wanted to let this moment go.

It seems today had definitely been third time lucky.

Very lucky indeed.

Thank you for reading 💜✨

#roswell new mexico #alex manes fic #michael guerin fic #malex fic #alex manes #michael guerin #malex #my fic

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