#I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone in which case I’m screwed and I’m SORRY

[silveny-dreams]

"used to be funny" bro you're still the funniest (and all around best) person on this hellsite

HHHHHHHH I DUNNO ANON HAVE YOU MET MY FRIENDS @theunmappedstar @sophies-earbuds @sophiexmallowmelt @three-gulons-in-a-trenchcoat @when-all-hope-feels-lost @eating-mooncakes @bookwyrminspiration @ultralazycreatorfan @make-kotlc-gayer THEY KINDA CORNER THE MARKET ON FUNNY IN THIS FANDOM

#Emily I’m tagging you because I want to be friends #this is how I make friends now #I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone in which case I’m screwed and I’m SORRY #kotlc #keeper of the lost cities #ask #anon #anonymous

[mischiefandspirits]

Bernard Figures It Out

Was reading through all the comments on @frostbittenbucky's post and all I could think of was that it was Bernard talking to Tim. Then I got to thinking...

"I've connected the two dots."

"You didn't connect shit."

"I've connected them."

Bernard figures out Tim's a superhero... sort of.

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

Tim fidgetted nervously as he waited on the front porch of his boyfriend’s house. Bernard had sounded so serious when he’d called during Tim’s lunch to ask him to come over after work so they could talk about something.

Which Tim had done, after spending an entire board meeting just going over the past week trying to figure out what he’d done.

The only thing he could think of was that he’d ducked out halfway through their lunch date on Wednesday to give Duke some backup, but Bernard had seemed understanding when Tim explained there was an emergency at GRC Labs. It couldn’t have been a tipping point, either, since Tim had managed to only flake on three other dates over the past few months they’d been dating. Kate had been happy to cover for him as often as she could “out of queer solidarity” when she found out Tim was dating a boy for the first time and Tim had managed to trick Bruce into covering a few actual Wayne Enterprises emergencies for him when they came up.

There had to be a reason Bernard was breaking up with him, though. Had he missed something? He definitely wasn’t forgetting an important day. He was good with days and Tam was even better, so she would have reminded him on the off chance that he had forgotten.

What was he missing?

Bernard was smiling when he opened the door, but there was a nervous energy to it that had Tim’s stomach sinking. “Hey, Tim.”

“Hey.” Tim gave his own nervous smile then slipped inside.

They went into the living room and sat down on the couch.

Tim frowned when Bernard grabbed a manila folder off the coffee table. Crud, had he screwed up enough that Bernard had had to make a list? He knew he was new to dating a guy, but he hadn’t thought he’d done that bad. He’d really been trying, especially with how his and Stephanie’s relationship had fallen apart at the end. “What -”

“Just let me speak, Tim,” Bernard said, waiting for Tim’s nod. “Okay, so you know Clark Kent, right?”

Tim blinked as Bernard opened the folder to show a picture of Clark. It looked like one of the employee pictures from the Planet’s website, with his dorky “I’m just a humble country boy” smile and the golden globe from their roof photoshopped in as the background. “Uh, yeah? I think so. He works for the Daily Planet, right? I think he’s worked at a few of Bruce’s events. Not a lot of outside reporters are willing to come to Gotham.”

“Exactly!” Bernard said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Tim.

“What?”

He pulled out the picture to show the next page was an article titled, “DAILY PLANET REPORTER… BATMAN!?”

A wave of relief washed over Tim and he placed his face in his hands. “Were you up all night on the hero conspiracy boards again?”

“No. I mean, I found this on a board and was up all night thinking about it, but I found it reasonably early.”

“One in the morning isn’t reasonable, Bernard.”

“Says the guy who’s always wide awake when I call to infodump.”

“Touché.” Tim leaned against Bernard and gave him a smile. “So tell me, why is some reporter from Metropolis from all places Batman.”

“First of all, living in Metropolis is the perfect cover. Everyone assumes Batman would live in Gotham, no one would consider he could be from anywhere else. Metropolis is outside the GMA, but close enough that the commute is still possible.”

“But it’s Metropolis.”

“And who would think Gotham’s Dark Knight lives in the sunshine capital? Plus, I hear he disappears a lot on the job. There’s gotta be a reason for it!”

Tim made a note to let Clark know he needs to cut back on the disappearing act some since people are catching on.

“And have you seen the guy? He is swol AF, babe.”

“Please don’t call me babe while you’re talking about how hot another guy is.” Especially Tim’s honorary uncle.

“You know I prefer twinks.”

“BERNARD!”

“I’m just saying,” he continued, ignoring Tim’s shout. “The guy is definitely hiding something! Besides, Kent is an investigative reporter. He’s gotta know a lot about cases and the underground and detective work.”

Not as much as he likes people to think, but more than he likes people to know Superman does, Tim mused. “But what about the other vigilantes?”

“Well, Kent has a cousin…” Bernard flipped through a folder and pulled out a picture of Kara. It looked like a screenshot of her interviewing Lena for CatCo. “She’s obviously the latest Batgirl. Look at her hair. And the first Batgirl and the current Batwoman were obviously Lois Lane, the red hair is just a wig. Did you see how she kicked butt at that last event she went to? She’s not as subtle as Kent. That means their son is the latest Robin. He’s exactly the right size.”

Oh, Damian better not hear about this, Tim cackled internally. His youngest brother hated being reminded that Jon was the same height as him despite their two years age difference. Damian definitely took after Talia when it came to body type, no matter what he said.

“And Kent also has a brother.” This time he pulled out a picture of Kon. The clone must have been caught by a reporter out shopping with Ma since he was carrying some paper bags and glaring at whoever was behind the camera. “At least, he’s supposedly Kent’s brother, but he was a teenager when he first showed up with the Kents. A lot of people think he’s actually Kent’s son, that Kent got a girl pregnant when they were teenagers and something happened to the mom so Kent had to take him in. Now the Kents are trying to hide it by saying the two are brothers.”

That was… scarily accurate actually. Especially given Luthor and Clark were close friends at the time that Kon would have theoretically been born.

“And that beef would explain why the younger Kent brother went all crime lord on Gotham for a while before reconnecting with the family.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, Kent Jr.’s got the perfect build for Red Hood.”

Tim bit back a comment on how Kon was shorter than Jason by a good foot. Timothy Drake-Wayne should not know that. Add Jason to the list of people who can’t hear this theory.

“And then there’s this girl,” Bernard picked up a picture of Lois, Jon, and Natasha Irons walking down the street together. “No one’s sure exactly who she is, but she’s been spotted with the Kents a few times. I think the cover story is that she’s Jon’s babysitter.”

“And the actual story?”

“She’s Black Bat, obviously. That’s why she wears a mask that fully covers her face. She doesn’t want to stand out as the only African American Bat.”

“Isn’t Signal also Black?”

“Yeah, but he works in the daytime so he’s already a standout.”

“And who is Signal in this? And what about Nightwing and Red Robin?”

“Well, Nightwing’s just a Blüd who came to Gotham. He doesn’t count.”

Ouch. Sorry, Dick.

“And Red Robin is obviously an older Robin, the one who was Robin when we were kids. Kent wanted to keep him on, and I don’t blame him. As for Signal, he’s got the same backstory as all the other Robins Kent picked up, he just went the Signal route because he didn’t fit the usual Robin mold.”

“Because the female Robin fit the mold,” Tim snorted. Robin Mold, as if he and his brothers were even the same ethnicity. Or even had the same hair color. Jason dyes his hair, Dick’s is brown-black, Tim’s is pure black, and Damian’s is more a dark brown and it’s only getting lighter as he gets older.

“She didn’t, that’s the point. Kent tried to give breaking the Robin mold a chance by letting his cousin have a go at it, but he realized it just didn’t work so she went back to being Spoiler and he got a new Robin.”

Not touching that with a ten-foot pole. “Right, and where does he get the usual Robins? Please tell me you’re not back on the secret government orphanages theory.”

“No, no, no. Kent travels sometimes for his job, right? And a lot of the time he’s going to places that have been hit by disasters or major crimes. So he’ll take in some of the displaced children to train as his robins.”

Tim pressed his face back into his hands.

“You see it, right?”

Honestly, Tim was just wondering how his boyfriend could be so close, and yet so far off. “How would Kent even afford taking care of a bunch of secret -- possibly illegally acquired -- children without anyone noticing?”

“Simple. Bruce Wayne is funding him.”

“Bernard, I love you, but what the heck?” Tim blushed and looked up as he realized what he’d said, but Bernard didn’t seem to notice as he steamrolled ahead.

“It’d also explain how he can afford all the gear and how he’d be able to travel to Gotham or anywhere else Batman goes without anyone noticing. He probably has a secret Batplane or something.”

“Why would Bruce do that?”

“Because Wayne cares about Gotham, everyone knows that, and this way he can make sure someone’s taking care of the city without anyone putting two and two together.”

“And two plus two is?”

Bernard gave him a hard look. “I’m not stupid, Tim. Bruce Wayne is obviously Superman. His face is right there.”

Oh, the others are going to love this! Too bad I can’t tell Damian or Jason. Jason especially would have loved this. “Right. Bruce is Superman.”

“He is. Superman is known for being nice and Bruce Wayne’s basically all that’s keeping the city running at this point. That’s nice as hell.”

Oh my god.

“And Wayne does charity for the victims of cataclysms, doesn't he? I bet he first saves people from them as Superman and then builds them new homes for free.”

Oh my god! Why am I not recording this!?

“And the Wayne’s were rich enough to hide the fact they adopted an alien baby.”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “If you’re about to tell me this is why Bruce’s parents got killed, you might want to stop while you’re ahead.”

“It’d make sense. There’re all sorts of unanswered questions about their deaths,” Bernard muttered under his breath, flipping through the folder. He pulled out another picture of Kara. This time she was in full Supergirl attire with a bus held overhead. “So if Wayne is Superman, then that’d mean your ex-girlfriend could be Supergirl. They look a lot alike and it’d explain how she got involved with you all.”

“Bernard, she has a human dad. You know, Cluemaster. The supervillain.”

“Yeah, her dad. But we don’t know anything about her mom!”

“Let me guess…”

Bernard pulled out a picture of Karen. She and Helena were suited up and talking to a group of cops, two goons held over each of Karen’s shoulders. “Her mom could be Power Girl! Some makeup and a wig and she could look just like Crystal Brown! And Damian Wayne is obviously the new Superboy! That’s why his background is such a mystery, right? He had to stay a secret until he could control his alien superpowers. That’s why he’s always so mean. It’s a cover since everyone knows Superboy is super sweet!”

Sure, when he’s not helping Damian pull pranks or using his adorable powers to put the blame on Kon and I. “No, Bernard. Damian and Steph are just very human hellspawn. And Bruce and Crystal are human too. I can’t believe you called me over here just to tell me you think Superman is both Batman’s sugar daddy and my adoptive dad.”

“Well, that’s not exactly why I called you over,” Bernard admitted, the nervous energy coming back. He grabbed Tim’s hands. “Tim -”

Tim’s stomach sank. “You are breaking up with me!”

“What? No! I don’t want to break up!”

“Why are you acting all nervous and serious then!?” Tim asked, pulling his hands away to throw them up in the air.

Bernard shook the folder. “Because I’m trying to tell you I figured out you’re Superboy!”

Tim’s brain blue-screened and his hands slowly dropped. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I know you’re Superboy. The older one, obviously. By the way, you and Damian really need to figure out separate names.”

Forget Jason and Damian, Kon can never find out about this. He’d never let me live it down. “Bernard, you called me a twink five minutes ago. Su-” Shoot, I can not risk getting Kon’s attention! “The older one might not be as big as Superman, but he’s not a twink.”

“Well, yeah, that’s the shapeshifting at work.”

“The what?”

“Obviously you Kryptonians can shapeshift. Why else would you look so much like humans?”

… Why do Kryptonians look so much like humans? Was there some - Wait, no! Break into the Fortress of Solitude for research later! Reassure your boyfriend that you’re not an alien now! “Bernard -”

“And that explains why your step-mom was so hot.”

“Gross.”

“She and your dad were actors hired by Luthor so you could have a normal life! But now Bruce has custody so he adopted you.”

“No.”

“That’s why you and your dad were so weird with each other when I met him.”

“We were weird because he’d just gotten out of a coma not long before to find that his wife was dead so he decided to actually be a dad for once in his life, but overcompensated and became a helicopter parent to a kid who was mostly on his own for his entire life!” Tim blurted out. “I am not an alien, Bernard!”

“Well, not technically since you were cloned from Superman on Earth.”

“Oh my god! You were just talking about Steph being Supergirl! Why would I date my dad’s cousin?”

Bernard blinked. “Supergirl and Superman are cousins?”

Right, Timothy Drake-Wayne wasn’t supposed to know that. “I thought they’d said something like that before, yeah. Are people seriously saying I’m Superboy on the internet?”

“NO! No, I swear I would have led with that if I thought your identity was compromised. A few people have mentioned Wayne and Damian, but not you or Steph or Jason.”

“Wh-Jason!? You think Jason was an alien too!”

“No, not exactly, but a few times when I’ve visited I swear I’ve seen a guy in the manor who looks like Jason. It’s just been out of the corner of my eye and he’s gone whenever I look so I’ve always thought it was just Dick or Bruce or some picture of Jason that my mind was playing tricks with, but it makes sense now that I know Wayne is Superman. He must have been able to heal Jason with alien tech, but couldn’t say anything because that would give away that he’s Superman.”

Damn it Jason! And damn it Bernard! I’m dating the smartest moron in the world! “Bruce did not bring Jason back with alien technology and none of us are aliens!”

“It’s okay, Tim. I won’t tell anyone.”

Tim grabbed Bernard by the jacket and pulled him into a kiss. When he started to feel lightheaded, he pulled back, “Could someone whose skin is as solid as stone kiss like that?”

Bernard blinked dazedly at him for a moment. “How do you know what Superboy’s skin feels like?”

Tim screamed internally. “He’s saved me from a kidnapping before.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I can get you the police report if you want.”

“Huh… And the others?”

“Not Supers. I can stab Damian the next time we’re at the manor if that’ll prove none of us are aliens.” He’d rather stab Jason, but that would probably only confirm to Bernard that Bruce used alien technology to bring him back.

“You probably shouldn’t stab your brother if he isn’t an alien.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “I won’t stab him anywhere deadly.”

“That’s not the point,” Bernard said slowly.

“He’ll be fine.”

“If you say so.”

“So do you believe I’m not an alien now?” Tim huffed, letting go of Bernard’s jacket.

The blond’s eyes dipped down to Tim’s lips. “If I say no, will you kiss me like that again?”

“You’re ridiculous,” Tim said, but he kissed him anyway.

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

“Okay, but I still say Clark Kent is definitely Batman.”

“Sure, Bernard.”

#Tim Drake #robin #red robin #bernard dowd #timber #fanfiction

[yniswaifu]

The bet - 5

Your eyes are glued to your phone screen, millions thoughts running through your head.

Will you see us off before we leave for the game?

Even if the message from Suna, whom you had been very close to these past days following the incident, it still didn't change the fact that he was part of the volleyball team.

The team that also had Osamu, your (ex) boyfriend.

It had taken everything in you to not jump in his arms when you saw him at the practice the other day. You had completely forgotten that there was a chance you'd encounter Osamu when you went to deliver Ginjima something your mom sent.

And boy did you regret going there.

Maybe deep down you had wished he wasn't. And that he got a plastic surgery to change his face or something, since you weren't sure what you'd do if you saw him. So when his deep voice echoed through the gym calling for Suna, your eyes instinctively connected with Osamu's face and you were thinking just why it had to be this way.

He was still the same as you remembered him. Except, his eyes looked hollow. You were observant, and you knew he wasn't doing any better than you, but you still was a wuss to confront him.

Loser of the year award goes to y/n.

Looking at the text again, you breathe out and reply with a yes. The circumstances were against you, but you could still meet your friend and cousin before they go for the game, even if Osamu would be there.

You'd be in and out in a flash.

Determined to avoid Osamu, you shut your phone to retire for the day when it pings again. And the text is from someone you least expected.

Can we talk?

***

You don't what went in her head, when f/n came all the way to your house to talk about something in the middle of the night. Even though you two belonged to the same neighbourhood, it was weird and dangerous for her to be walking around alone.

"you could have spoken to me in school tomorrow as well." you say, frowning. Somehow you always had a protective streak towards f/n.

F/n blinks up at you, her lips on the straight line. "but...it was urgent."

"so urgent you had to come all the way here in the middle of the night?"

Rolling her eyes, she lets out an impatient sigh. "yes. And it's only 10pm. Now listen."

Taken aback by her tone, you stared at the girl in front of you. The air around her had a slight change. She still looked sweet and kind, but that also held a firmness that wasn't present earlier. Did something happen?

F/n searched your eyes for something, but you just kept quiet and looked at her. You were extremely confused by this sudden meeting and became more confused by her next words.

"I want to be friends with you."

Huh?

For a few seconds you weren't sure what you heard. She wants...to be friends? What?

"I'm sorry?" you say aloud, trying to comprehend what's happening.

F/n fiddled with her hands and looked away. "you heard me?" she mumbled.

"yeah. Yeah I did. But I don't understand. Why?"

Giving you a side glance, f/n sighed again. "because I think you're really cool."

You were beyond confused at this point. You were one of the reasons f/n had a shitty love life, and here she's standing and asking you to be friends again?

"But–"

"I know." she cuts you off. "I know what you did. What you all did. And I pray no one has to go through it." taking a step towards you, she holds your hands. "but these past few days I've been thinking, and watching how you're trying to take all the blame on your shoulders. You were the one who told me the truth, when you could have hidden it forever. You could have blamed Ginjima for being part of the scheme too but you went out of your way to tell me he's innocent. And you could have pretended things are alright when they're not. You sacrificed your love for me and chose the truth, and I don't know who could be more admirable than you at this point. "

You hadn't even realized the tears gathered in the base of your eyes when f/n finished her speech. You hadn't realized how her words struck a cord in you and how the cord snapped. You hadn't realized how much weight you carried on your shoulders for this.

Tears wouldn't stop flowing from your eyes as you watched f/n, speechless. A soft sob breaks out as you palm your face, trying to hold it in. But it wasn't really possible when a pair of warm hands wrapped around you and you let out all the pain you had stored in you.

You hugged f/n back and cried till you couldn't physically cry anymore, and f/n just held you, rubbing your back in silence.

After you calmed down, you part from her and wipe your face before saying, "yes I'll be your friend."

It was so random and straightforward that your new friend couldn't help but laugh. "I'm glad." she says, shedding a few tears herself. She didn't have to tell you that she has forgiven you, and you didn't have to thank her for forgiving. It was all conveyed through your actions.

You both giggle and smile at the newfound friendship when you suddenly remembered.

"ah, I'm going to meet the volleyball team tomorrow before school starts, you wanna come?"

At that f/n's face drops. You knew what she was thinking so you add. "you don't have to if you don't want to." you knew you could handle yourself by avoiding Osamu, but the same couldn't be said about f/n. Or Atsumu for that matter.

F/n gives you a sheepish look. You understood she still wasn't ready. And that meant she's also not attending their games.

"sorry." she says.

You shake your head and squeeze her arms lightly. "that's fine. Take your time. It's not easy, I know."

She nods. "are you attending the game?" she asks.

You shrug. "I don't know. Maybe not."

"you won't cheer for gin?"

You smile. "of course I will. From the four walls of my house. Because there are other people in the team I don't want to meet...yet."

F/n makes an 'o' and suddenly giggles. "boy problems suck huh."

You join her and giggle too, nodding. "it sure does."

You suddenly get a wave of deja vu as your meet with Suna comes to mind. It's like you found a friend in f/n again, after him.

It's not bad at all.

***

You stand a little far from the volleyball team, hiding behind the building. There was everyone, including the twins. Your eyes lock on Osamu, who is looking as handsome as ever. Gosh, if only you could hug him. You missed hugging him.

Shaking your head, you take out your phone and call your cousin.

"hello?"

You see Ginjima standing with Atsumu. Shit. "hey, have you guys left for the tournament?" you ask. You seriously weren't ready to see them all together.

"no. We're waiting for coach. Where are you?"

You see Suna walking up to Ginjima and you heard a voice in the background asking who it is, to which Ginjima says your name.

Suna takes the phone from his hands and says, "I thought you said you'd come to see us off? Where are you?"

Trying to stop the smile forming on your lips, you reply. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Suna nods to no one in particular. "hopefully we don't leave in those few minutes."

You giggle at his tone. In the time you hung out with him, you noticed Suna had the ability to make you laugh for no reason. It's just the way he spoke, or his way of thinking, that amused you.

Your eyes turn to Osamu, who was eyeing the two boys curiously. Your heart wrenched at the thought of not being able to greet him, and you curl your hands in a fist. The impulsive part in you said screw it and go to them. But the anxious part of you reminded you of all the worst case scenarios if you did that.

"oh whatever." you mutter and straighten your uniform before stuffing your phone inside the back and appearing from behind the building. The boys hadn't noticed you yet, so you try to plaster a smile and walk towards them.

Shit, what are you doing! Turn back! Turn back!

The voice inside your head screamed at you to return and say you couldn't make it on time. But you chose the reckless option. You just wanted to breathe the same air as Osamu, even if that sounds creepy as heck.

Speaking of Osamu, he was the first one to spot you. Your eyes connect and they widen for a moment before turning back to normal. At least for you it does.

As for Osamu, poor dude cannot look away. All the determination he had gathered to make up with you crumbled as soon as he spotted you. You were beautiful, even if you were in the school uniform that he has seen a million times. It still doesn't change the fact that you made him weak in the knees.

You made a beeline for your cousin. "Gin!"

Ginjima and Suna, as well as the others look in your direction. You wanted the ground to open up and swallow when you felt a pair of gray eyes on you, boring holes. Not only that, but his blonde twin was doing the same. You hadn't any contact with either of the twins, and this is the first time after the fight that you were so near them.

Suna's face breaks into one of those rare smile he gave when he sees you. To anyone, specially a gray head, it may look like you're someone special to him, or that he had a thing for you. But it really wasn't that. Sure, you were special because you were cool enough for Suna to openly respect you, but that's all. He saw a good friend in you and you did the same.

"so you came." he states, the smile still playing on his lips.

You give him a small smile yourself. "of course. I did tell you I'll come."

You throw your arms around Ginjim's shoulders, who looked nervous. His expressions were so open you couldn't help but laugh at him sometimes. "what got you so nervous kid?" you ask.

Scowling, he mutters. "I'm just three months younger." but makes himself smaller in your embrace.

"Aw. Don't worry. You'll do well."

Suna laughs at the baby voice you use on Gin. You didn't treat him like a baby, but sometimes just to tease him you used that voice.

"hopefully." he says, and you let go of him to greet the third years when they come around you.

You fall into a casual conversation with them, and the twins were the only people away from the group. Atsumu had his eyes narrowed at you, and Osamu looked like he had entered the sad Romeo stage again. There was longing in his eyes to hold you, but alas, what could he do about it.

Atsumu eyes his brother and rolls his eyes. He looked pathetic. He wasn't any better, but what's with that expression. He couldn't bear to see his brother like that.

Letting out a huff, he shoves his twin towards your direction. "go and talk to her."

Osamu turns to look at him with surprise. "I thought you hate her?"

Atsumu didn't say anything. He didn't hate you. He never did. He was just mad at you on that day because he wasn't seeing anything except the break up, and that you caused it. But when he calmed down and assessed the situation, he knew what you did was noble. But his ego was big and he didn't want to let go of that just yet.

"just go." Atsumu replies in a soft voice, almost a whisper as he shoved his brother again. Osamu gulped and gave him one last look before dragging his heavy steps towards you.

To say he was nervous would be an understatement. He wasn't this nervous even when he asked you out behind the gym after gawking over you from afar in the morning assembly every day since the day you helped a girl who had passed out. Something about you just caught his attention. Maybe it was the serious aura about you, the 'no-nonsense' attitude but also a softer side that was very discreet. His eyes would look for you in every assembly after that. After getting shuffled during the new year, Osamu finally managed to stand in the row beside you. He would catch glances when one day you caught him staring. And he took a leap of faith.

Good thing that leap worked.

But the leap of faith he took in the present scene didn't take him far, for he was just a couple feet away from you when he saw their coach arriving and instructing the team to enter the bus. It was time.

A small part of you broke when you saw Osamu's approaching steps falter at the sound of the coach. You may be a loser, but he sure as heck wasn't and you were grateful for that. You wanted him to approach you, talk to you. Because if he started running towards you, your feet would soon follow. But sadly that wasn't the case.

Osamu contemplated whether he should continue his trek towards you or go to the bus. He was almost tempted to forget the darn game and run to you. But your next words stopped him.

"you got it."

His eyes flicker to you in surprise. The rest of the team was already on their way to the bus, so they were out of earshot, except for Atsumu who was behind his brother. You turn to the older twin, and smile. "you too Atsumu."

Atsumu wasn't surprised, he was touched. Anyway, he was guilty for misbehaving with you, and didn't find the courage to apologise, but if you're giving him the smile you always did, like a sister to a brother, he takes it as a sign of forgiveness.

He couldn't help but smile. Maybe you two didn't even need to talk, maybe this was the closure. "I'll do my best. And name a serve after you." Atsumu says, as he walks past you with a pat on your shoulder.

You chuckle at his words and wave him goodbye before looking at Osamu, whose lips quivered slightly. Dang, it's not the time to get emotional. That's not what you intended when you took the step first towards him.

"go." you say, amusement lining your eyes when you see him struggle to not hug you. Things weren't completely okay, and you two had a lot to talk. But that comes after this tournament.

Osamu nods, wiping his eyes with his jersey jacket. He puts on his mask and eyes crinkle at you, indicating a smile. You give him a smile of your own before he walks away, glancing at where you were standing a couple of times.

Step 2, check.

Things are coming to an end guys. One more chapter to go. It's the first step towards getting back together. For both the twins. Stay tuned.

#haikyuu imagines #osamu x reader #atsumu x reader #suna rintarou #haikyuu ginjima #fanfictions #haikyuu scenarios

[dragonotaku-justineverything]

(Pokémon AU) How did Jaune meet his adorable little Eevee, Caramel? And what was his first interactions with Aerial and her own Eevee Mocha like?

Well... I got a bit carried away again. I just love this AU and I'm really getting into Pokemon again recently, so sorry for the long post ahead.

But I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless!

It was a beautiful day outside Beacon Academy. The sun was shining brightly and hardly any clouds were visible. Multiple flocks of Wingull, Starly, Pidgey and other bird-like Pokémon soared freely in the sky around Beacon. A few letting out some faint cries sporadically. The Wooloos were happily grazing and rolling around in their paddock. Many students and visiting trainers alike were outside, just enjoying the nice weather with their Pokémon. This nice weather gave both Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc the idea to enjoy the day with a nice picnic outside with their friends.

On several blankets spread out in a grassy portion of the academy's lavish courtyard near a tree, the group of eight friends were all eating and chatting away. All of their Pokémon were out of their pokeballs and gathered around them.

Some were just lazing about, such as Ren's Greninja sitting cross legged while dozing off with his head tilted down or Weiss's snow white Vulpix snoozing in Weiss's lap while she sat in the shade of the tree. Others were chowing down, like Nora's Shinx or Blake's Litleo, eating berries/Poké food in their own little food bowls. Or in the case of Pyrrha's Aron, he was eating some screws, nuts, bolts, and other small pieces of scrap metal. Yang was busy brushing her Growlithe's fur, and watched her Combuskin running around with Ruby's Zorua.

Jaune was happily munching on a sandwich. He put the sandwich down and moved his hand to lightly scratch Hera's head, who was laying down next to his left thigh. Normally she'd be laying in his lap, but that space was currently taken. A small glass container was resting in a space between his legs. Inside it was a Pokémon egg he'd "won" two months ago wrapped in a blanket, so Hera had settled for laying right next to him instead. She was adapting pretty well to the new circumstances with said egg. Though Jaune was still wondering how she'd react when it finally hatched

His nails lightly scratched just around the base of the tuft of white fur on her head, just where she really liked it. "Shoo-, mmm *swallow*, sorry. So Pyrrha, you're Metang actually evolved on live TV?"

Pyrrha lowered her fork with the next bit of her chicken and strawberry salad to respond with a smile. "Yes indeed. It happened during the final match of my second tournament at Sanctum. It was quite an astonishing sight."

Jaune smiled and leaned back a bit. "I bet! Man, watching a Pokémon evolve in person must be amazing."

Yang looked up from her Growlithe over at him. "You've never seen a Pokémon evolve?"

Jaune chuckled a bit. "W-well I mean I've seen it on video and stuff, just not in person."

Nora shamelessly jumped in and added her two cents. "Neither have I! It must be soooo cool!"

Pyrrha giggled happily and looked over to her Metang, who was actually on the ground for a change instead of floating, with Cubone resting on its head. "Well, watching my Beldum evolve into Metang was definitely a sight I'll never forget."

They group continued to converse, laugh, and just enjoy themselves. Their Pokémon did as well, all of them getting along pretty well. They were all so engrossed in their merriment, none of them noticed another member slowly walking towards their misshapen circle.

That was until she made her move.

Jaune felt a small tug at his hoodie but ignored it, thinking it was just Hera rolling around in her sleep. It was a pointed finger and a question from Ren that actually made him look. "Uuuh Jaune... do you know who... that is?"

"Huh?" Jaune looked down to where his friend was pointing, which was by his stomach. There, in his hoodie's pocket near his stomach, was a small little brown Pokémon with a small, furry body and a big fluffy brown tail.

And half of its body was buried inside his hoodie pocket, rummaging around in it.

"WAH!??" Jaune nearly jumped up in surprise, but he managed to stay pretty still for the most part, trying not to jostle the egg between his legs. However, he still shot back an inch or two when he threw his hands up above him and fell back, his head lightly landing on the blanket.

Hera, startled by her Papa's sudden jolt, sprang up to her feet and spun to look at him. She lowered her stance, ready to defend him if she needed to! That's when she saw the little brown Pokémon as well, now standing on top of her Papa's stomach while he was laying back, but its top half was still stuffed in her Papa's pocket! What was it doing? Was it trying to attack him?! She wouldn't let it!

"Growl! ROW! GRO-!" She had just started barking at it when someone else's yelling stopped her.

"Eevee! Stop that! That's very rude!"

The brown Pokémon stopped moving finally, and stood still for a moment on Jaune's stomach, then slowly started walking backwards. It took a little tugging, but it finally pulled itself out of Jaune's pocket. As it got free, everyone around got a good look at its top half.

The first thing they all noticed was a large collar of fluffy, cream colored fur. Then two long, thin ears on top of its head. Finally its small, soft, squarish face with two big dark eyes and a happy smile. As well as a small plastic candy wrapper hanging from said smile.

Weiss, Ruby, Yang, and Nora all let out a coo of "Awwwwww" at the same time.

"Eevee no!" The group again heard the voice call out again, and almost all at once, they looked away from the 'Eevee' and towards where it was coming from.

There they saw a young girl, running up to their group with her arms waving above her. She was quite slender, had dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had a light blue jacket on, open in the front to show she had on a black halter top underneath it. A pair of tight black and blue pants with heeled fur boots matching in color. A simple black choker around her neck finished her outfit nicely.

Then the group noticed that a Pokémon that was just like the one on top of Jaune right now was also running alongside the girl. One this one had a small band of flowers around the base of one of its ears. It was hopping/skipping along right by her feet as they both ran towards them, its whole body arcing into the air as it followed her.

Within just a few seconds, she was right next to them, her arms still frantically waving. "Eevee you can't just jump on people you don't know like that! That's very rude! And give that candy back! You can't go stealing from peo-" The girl abruptly stopped her admonishment of the Pokémon as she finally looked at who Eevee was still standing on top of. "...JAUNE!?"

Jaune, still laying on his back, turned his head to look at the new girl that screamed his name, and quickly shot back up to a sitting position when he saw her. "Aerial!?"

The two looked at each other for a moment, then both smiled widely and started to laugh. Aerial started talking first. "Hey! What are the odds of running into you like this!"

"Me? What are you doing here haha?!"

Aerial leaned over a bit, smiling down at him. "Aunt Juniper said you'd gone off to Beacon, but I wasn't expecting to see you so soon!"

Jaune, still sitting, smiled brightly back up at her. "Yeah hahaha, it's always been my dream to go to a professional Pokémon academy after all haha. Hera's here too!" As Jaune finished, he pointed towards the Fire-Type.

Aerial shifted her gaze to her and her eyes brightened even more. She got down on her knees and hunched forward, getting close to Hera's height. "Heeeera~ hi! It's been such a long time! How are you?"

Hera's earlier confidence seemed to wane a bit as she started to look a little nervous. Papa seemed to know this woman and was happy to see her, so she shouldn't be worried, but she still pulled back a bit from Aerial. She seemed a little familiar to her as well, but she wasn't sure...

Jaune chuckled. "She might not remember you, Aerial. It was a couple years ago now."

Aerial pouted childishly and straightened her back, "Awwww that's a shame. I definitely remember her!"

"I don't doubt that. You loved her as a kid."

"Uuuummm... hello?"

Jaune and Aerial turned their heads in unison to look at who spoke.

Yang was holding a hand up, like she was waiting to get noticed or called upon. "Uuuh yeah, we're still here. Mind uuuuh, filling us in on what's happening Jaune?"

Jaune sweatdropped a little, slightly embarrassed that he'd completely forgotten about the others present for a minute there. "He he, sorry guys." With one hand, he gestured to Aerial. "Everyone, this is my cousin, Aerial Yeager. She's from Atlas actually, so that's why I was so surprised to see her."

Aerial waved at the group, still with a smile on her lips. "Hi everyone! I trust Jaune's been good to all of you."

A lot of them nodded at that, and many of their Pokémon had stopped in their activities and gathered around as well, looking at the new arrival.

Aerial's eyes scanned over all of them and began to sparkle. "Awwww you all have such amazing Pokémon!"

"Speeeeaking of which... Aerial, are these Pokémon yours?"

Aerial turned away from the group and back to Jaune. He was pointing down right beside him. There, the Eevee from earlier that jumped on Jaune was licking away at the now unwrapped candy that it got from his pocket, looking completely carefree. Meanwhile, it looked like the Eevee with flowers that ran up with Aerial around its ears was admonishing it.

"Y-yeah, they are. H-hey Eevee what did I say! That isn't yours!" Eevee stopped licking and looked up at her with a head tilt, then just went back to licking the candy happily. "Hooooh." Aerial sighed and bowed her head, feeling defeated at being ignored.

"Hey it's no big deal Aerial, I have plenty of these caramel candies. I was just caught off guard when Eevee just appeared out of nowhere."

"Yeah sorry about her. She's kind of a handful sometimes. She likes doing what she likes when she likes. Oh, everyone," Aerial gestured in front of her towards the two small Eevees. "This is Mocha and Eevee, their sisters."

Blake was the first to catch what she said. "Mocha?"

"Ah yeah, that's what I call my Eevee, the one with the flowers. The other Eevee... Well, no matter what name I try, she doesn't respond to it. Coca, Ginger, Toffee, Hazel... she doesn't seem to like anything I pick out for her."

The group all turned to the Eevee still licking away at the candy, not noticing or caring about all the eyes on her. Mocha seemed a little annoyed at her sister's actions still, but had stopped reprimanding her as she didn't seem to care too much.

Jaune looked down at the Eevee right next to him, then slowly reached a hand over and gently rubbed his index finger on its head. "You sure do like that candy huh? Did you smell it and that's why you came over to me?"

Eevee didn't seem to mind the light petting. In fact she seemed to like it as she enjoyed her treat. She stopped her licking for just a moment and looked up at the person petting her. "Vee vee vi!"

Jaune chuckled at its happy cries.

"Grooow!"

A very familiar voice on his other side made Jaune turn his head to see a begging Hera standing next to him. "Oh sorry Hera, you probably want some pets too." Jaune reached his free hand over and gently began petting Hera's white floof on top of her head. That immediately put a smile on the Growlithe's face and she happily nuzzled Jaune's hand back.

Aerial shook her head in slight disbelief. "Same old Jaune. Always a whizz with Pokémon."

Now that the excitement had fully died down, the group went back to lounging about like they were, now with an extra member as Aerial sat down and joined them at Jaune's invitation.

They all talked and got to know each other more. Aerial explained how she was indeed from Atlas, but had come with a few friends on a trip to Vale and Beacon to explore what kinds of Pokémon were here. Aerial told them about her friends, her school, and of course also her Pokémon. They were all surprised by how many she already had. A Braviary, a Ludicolo, and a Munchlax. Plus her two Eevee's as her companions, that made five Pokémon in total! There were teachers at Beacon that didn't have that many!

After about another two to three hours of talking, laughing, bonding, and snacking (Jaune offered some of his food to Aerial which she gratefully accepted), the sun was beginning to set and Aerial said she had to go. She stood up; brushed some crumbs off of her pants; said her goodbyes to everyone, giving Jaune her scroll number and promising that they'd talk again soon; and called for Mocha and Eevee to come along. Only that's not what they did.

Mocha stood up with her no problem and was ready to go, but Eevee didn't. She just kept laying down next to Jaune where she'd been for the past hour getting pets and even , licking a second caramel candy that Jaune had given her. She didn't move at all at Aerial's call.

"Eevee? Come on, it's time for us to go."

Again, Eevee didn't move.

"Eevee." This time Aerial's voice was a little more stern. "We need to go. Now come on." Aerial walked over to the Eevee and bent over to pick her up. Before she even touched her, Eevee had snatched up her treat and jumped into Jaune's lap, getting a surprised "Ooph!" from him. She set her treat down and turned to look at Aerial. Then for the first time all day, it let out a cry. "Eev! Ve ve Eevee!"

Aerial pulled back. She was surprised to hear Eevee talk back directly to her. Sure she didn't listen sometimes, but never out right talked back at her. "Eevee! What's gotten into you?"

Eevee didn't respond this time, just curled up in Jaune's lap and hunkered down.

Everyone watched this unfold, but only Ren spoke up. "I think Eevee is trying to say that she'd like to stay with Jaune."

Aerial looked over at the stoic boy, wide eyed. "W-wha? Wait really?" Aerial looked back at the tiny curled up Pokémon in Jaune's lap, happily laying down with her eyes closed, her treat finished in a hurried bite. "B-but... Eevee really? Y-you wanna stay with Jaune?"

Eevee looked up to Aerial, smiled easily, and nodded. "Ve ve!" It definitely seemed to be happy.

Aerial kept looking down at Eevee, and Eevee kept looking up at her. After a few seconds, Aerial's expression shifted from being slightly sad, to understanding. "Okay. Well then, let's see what Jaune thinks." Aerial looked down to cousin, his confused face making her almost giggle. "Jaune, it looks like Eevee has taken a liking to you. Would you like to keep her around with you? I know you'd take amazing care of her, so I'd be comfortable with you taking her with you if you want."

Jaune's mind nearly exploded from hearing that! His cousin was asking him if he'd like to have another Pokémon!? For real?! Jaune felt his lips twitch upwards before he even said anything. He looked down at the Eevee in his lap. She seemed very happy there, and she'd wanted to stay with him first. Jaune looked back up to Aerial and nodded once. "I'd love to. And I promise that I'll give her the best care that I possibly can!"

Aerial knew he'd say that. He loved Pokémon, so being offered one by a family member was probably like a dream for him. "Well alright then. I have to say... I-I'm sad to see you go, Eevee." Eevee looked up at Aerial when she said her name. "But... if this is what you want, then I can accept it. I know Jaune will take great care of you, and I can call to see you anytime I want. So... you take care of yourself and Jaune alright? Your sister and I will see you again, sometime real soon, I promise."

Eevee smiled and leaped out of Jaune's lap, landing close to Aerial's feet. The little Pokémon nuzzled her head against Aerial's leg and let out faint coos. Aerial quickly dropped down and scooped Eevee into a tight hug. She held it for at least 10 seconds before she let her go, setting her softly back down on the grass. When she did, Mocha bounced over to her sister and they started talking by themselves, most likely saying their own goodbyes while Aerial stood back up. "Okay, I guess this is goodbye for now Eevee. Jaune, I'll definitely be expecting some video calls from you now. Oh, and maybe you'll be able to think of a good name for her too."

Jaune, now no longer having a Pokemon in his lap, stood up. He was careful not to bump the container with the egg in front of him as he did so. He stood up straight, showing off just how much taller he was than his cousin. "You got it Aerial. I hope we meet again sometime soon as well. This was fun." He took a step forward and embraced her in a hug, which she returned.

When they separated, Aerial stepped back. "Okay, well... we really have to head out now. My friends are all probably waiting for me back in Vale and I need to catch a Bullhead before they stop for the night. It was nice meeting you all! I hope to meet you all again someday!" Aerial started to leave, and Mocha, having finished her goodbye to her sister with a loving nuzzle, followed her.

Eevee watched as they left. Eevee suddenly bounced forward a few feet in their direction and let out a loud "Eeeeveeeee! Eeeeeveee!", saying goodbye for now to her family.

Aerial stopped and turned her head back to look at her after her cry. She smiled back at her and waved before continuing. As the pair got farther and farther away, Eevee returned back to the group, stopping in front of Jaune.

Jaune smiled and knelt down to be closer to her. "Eevee, I'm touched that you wanted to stay with me. I promise that we'll have some amazing adventures together! Oh, there's someone that I want you to officially meet now! This is Hera." As Jaune said her name, the red Growlithe walked up next to her Papa and stood next to him proudly. "She's my best friend and has been with me since I was a kid. I hope you two can be friends."

Hera padded forward and stopped right in front of Eevee. She looked down at the smaller Pokemon with a big smile. She leant forward and gave Eevee a big lick on her head, which Eevee started to laugh at. The two then began to talk to each other in their out cries, and Jaune could already tell they'd get along fine.

"Well... that was sure something huh?" Jaune looked behind him and saw Nora holding her Shinx in her arms, and all his other friends smiling at him.

"Haha yeah, I guess so. Aerial's always been super trusting of family, but this shocked even me."

Yang walked forward and lightly punched his arm in a friendly way. "So... got any names for your new friend Vomit Boy?"

Jaune, while he was rubbing his now sore arm, looked down at Eevee again. As he did, he noticed a wrapper from the caramel candies he'd given to the Eevee earlier. "Huh..." Jaune knelt down and picked up the wrapper, then looked at it in his hand. "Maybe I do. Hey Eevee?"

The Pokemon stopped speaking with Hera and looked over to the kneeling Jaune. She quickly skipped over to sit right in front of him. "I was thinking, since Aerial couldn't think of a name you liked, yet you liked these candies so much, how about I just call you Caramel?"

Eevee looked up to him curiously with her big doughy eyes. Slowly those eyes began to shine with joy and she jumped up at him. Thankfully Jaune was used to this sort of thing thanks to Hera, so he caught her easily since she was a lot lighter.

"Whoa haha! Okay then, I guess that's a winner huh? Well, welcome to the team Caramel!"

AND! FINALLY! DONE!

Aerial Yeager is an OC created by my good friend @jace-the-writer-guy, who is also Jaune's cousin on her mom's side. I owe him a big thanks for helping me write this because I constantly was asking for specific info on his OC and him giving me ideas for stuff.

I'd been planning this out bit by bit for so long, so I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed this origins ask for Caramel, Jaune's Eevee!

#rwby #hera #hera the growlithe #caramel #caramel the eevee #mocha #mocha the eevee #jaune arc #aerial yaeger #jace the smut guys ocs #pokemon in remnant au #ask #sfw #fluff #jace the smut guy

[lavenderbexlatte]

a screw loose

stray kids 1.4k words gender-neutral reader insert Reader & Yang Jeongin FLUFF/SFW

🖤 warnings: banter, locked doors 🖤

connect with me! / masterlist

You’re woken up, extremely unceremoniously on a Sunday morning, by screaming.

It’s not exactly screaming, you realize, as you startle upright and fling back the covers. More like yelling, a dull-toned yell that echoes around your quiet weekend-morning apartment and makes you absolutely scrabble to figure out what’s going on. That isn’t your roommate’s voice. But no one else should be in your apartment, not at this hour.

Making sure you’re dressed decently enough to meet this situation head-on, you venture out into the hallway. There’s no one that you can see, your roommate’s bedroom door wide open and their room dark.

And then the yell comes again.

“HELLO?”

That’s absolutely not your roommate. You blink hard, as you realize that the voice is coming from the bathroom. That door is firmly closed, but you can see the light peeking through the doorjamb. Someone’s in there.

“Hello?” you reply.

“Oh my God, hi,” the voice replies, “I’m stuck.”

“Cool,” you say, stupidly, “Who…who are you?”

There’s a pause that goes on so long, you begin to wonder if you’re hallucinating, or maybe still dreaming.

But the answer comes sheepishly, “I’m Jeongin. Minho’s cousin?”

As soon as he says it, you feel incredibly stupid. Minho had mentioned a little cousin coming to check out the local university, who might stay over a couple nights. You’d agreed without thinking about it, and then promptly forgotten the entire conversation.

And now that little cousin is stuck in your bathroom, bright and early Sunday morning, with Minho nowhere to be found.

“Can you get me out?” he asks timidly.

“Oh, shit,” you say, realizing the situation you’re in as you say it, “No, it – this happens, the lock sticks and we have to call the landlord to get it open again with one of the building masters-”

You hear a loud thunk, as if the kid has smacked his head against the wooden door.

“I’ve been in here for forty minutes,” he says miserably.

“I’m a heavy sleeper, sorry about that,” you say, feeling genuinely bad for the kid. “When did Minho leave?”

“Like an hour ago. He’s getting groceries.”

“For an hour? Bullshit,” you laugh wryly. “Dunno where he actually is, but I would bet cash that he’s not grocery shopping. The nearest store is literally five minutes down the road.”

“That bastard.”

You laugh again, louder this time. “I’m gonna get my phone and call the landlord, hold on.”

“Not like I have any choice,” Jeongin mumbles.

“Still.”

You hurry to snatch your phone from your bedside table, and return to lean on the wall beside the bathroom door as you ring your landlord, hoping that despite the early hour, he’ll answer. Between the two of you, Minho is better with tools, and even he can’t make heads nor tails of an IKEA piece. You’d rather not deal with this on your own.

It rings three, four, five times, and then goes to voicemail.

“Looks like we’re not getting any help,” you say grimly.

“Can’t you just take the doorknob off?” Jeongin asks.

You just barely hold back a self-deprecating scoff. “I really appreciate that you think I could do that.”

“Not to be rude, but like, it’s really simple.”

“Then tell me what to do,” you say.

“Get a screwdriver,” Jeongin replies, right away.

Luckily, you do own one. It’s buried at the bottom of a kitchen drawer, under boxes of thumbtacks and spare bits from furniture packs, but you find it and dutifully return to Jeongin in his bathroom prison.

“Can’t you do this from the inside?” you ask.

“I mean, I could, if I had the tools,” he answers.

You lean down and attempt to shove the screwdriver under the door. It just clunks uselessly against the wood; the handle is too thick to fit through the narrow gap.

“Just unscrew the little screws holding the doorknob on, it’s not that hard,” Jeongin repeats, and you can tell from his clipped tone that he’s getting impatient.

“Watch it,” you hiss, collecting your screwdriver and sizing up the rusty-looking knob, “You’re what, eleven years old? Don’t be rude.”

“I’m nineteen. I’m looking at colleges.”

“If you’re nineteen, why aren’t you in college already?” you ask.

“None of your damn business.”

You ease the first tiny screw out of the casing, loosening the knob up just a fraction, and move to the second one.

“Are you a super senior?” you ask, just to be annoying.

“A what?”

You shake your head, though he can’t see you. Kids these days…

“A super senior,” you repeat, “An older-than-normal high school senior.”

Jeongin sighs, long-suffering and loud. “I can see how you and Minho get along.”

“Why? Because we’re both incredibly charming?”

“You’re both incredibly annoying,” Jeongin amends.

“I dunno, you’re the one who got locked in my bathroom and woke me up at the asscrack of dawn on a weekend,” you counter.

The second screw comes loose, falling easily into your hand. Only one left.

“It’s almost ten,” he says.

“That’s nearly dawn.”

It occurs to you then that you don’t know what Jeongin looks like. You’ve never met the kid. You didn’t have the chance, before he went and got captured by your faulty door. For some reason, you’re just picturing a younger Minho, even though they’re just cousins and probably don’t look that much alike.

“Nobody told me that the door sticks,” he defends.

“I keep telling Minho that we need to get it fixed for real,” you say, “He just thinks it’s funny when I get locked in.”

“How often do you get locked in?” Jeongin asks, voice weary.

“Maybe like every two weeks?”

“And you just…live like this?” he asks.

You collect the last screw, the doorknob now rattling easily in its slot. “Do you want my help or not?”

“Since you’re the only option, yes, I want your help.”

“I gotta tell you, putting that much faith in me, this early in the day, is a mistake,” you say.

“Have you even done anything?” Jeongin complains.

Before you can answer, the doorknob is turning in your hand, and the latch slips uselessly right out of its notch in the strikeplate. You let go as the door swings inward, letting out a faint cloud of lingering steam.

And there’s Jeongin. Taller than you expected, skinny but toned, and absolutely topless, damp shaggy hair dripping a bit onto his collarbones.

“You did it,” he says, mild surprise in his overlarge Disney-princess eyes.

“I did,” you agree.

You shouldn’t be looking so blatantly at your roommate’s younger cousin’s chest, but goddamnit, you’re just a person and his body doesn’t match his cute face at all. He’s definitely still young and growing into his features, but in a couple years, he’s gonna be a knockout. You can tell. It’s kind of hard to look away, honestly.

“His eyes are up there!” comes Minho’s petulant voice, loud in your small apartment.

Of course, this is when he decides to come back. Of course. He’s standing in the hallway holding a reusable shopping bag and a takeout carrier from Starbucks, which means he actually was getting food and you just have no faith in him.

“You didn’t tell me the lock sticks,” Jeongin replies accusingly.

“It only does sometimes,” Minho says, retreating toward the kitchen with his haul.

“If you’d told me, I wouldn’t have used the lock!”

Jeongin follows Minho into the kitchen, and not wanting to be left out, you go along, too. He’s unpacking the food, leisurely and exaggerated. There are, you notice, three takeout cups, not two.

“I got you a Starbucks and this is how you repay me? Creeping on my baby cousin in the shower?” Minho says.

It takes a second for you to realize he’s talking to you, and then you bristle. “Excuse me? He got locked in and I helped!”

Minho ignores you in favor of turning to Jeongin. “And kid, go put some fuckin’ clothes on.”

“We kind of took your door apart,” Jeongin tells him, “Sorry, I guess.”

“Our door!” you protest.

“Clothes,” Minho repeats.

You’re absolutely not still looking at the span of Jeongin’s back as he turns to go back to Minho’s room, no way. Not appreciating the dip of his waist or his long legs. Minho brushes past while you’re totally not checking him out at all, giving you a hard elbow in the side as he does.

“Don’t mind (Y/N)’s cradle-robbing tendencies,” Minho says, slinging what would be a reassuring arm around his cousin’s shoulders, if said arm was not attached to Minho. “It’s harmless. Mostly.”

#stray kids #stray kids fluff #yang jeongin #yang jeongin fluff #stray kids jeongin #stray kids jeongin fluff #i.n #stray kids i.n

[ptitelidio]

Part 2 ½:

 Part 2 here: https://ptitelidio.tumblr.com/post/656547814999031808/rivetra-theories

Summary: the scene takes place two weeks ago from the 1st part when Petra was chosen to receive the jaw titan by Captain Levi Ackerman himself. Things will get tough when she has to meet Reiner Braun for the next raid over Paradis, a soldier she knew some years ago.

 Involving: Petra Ral, Levi Ackerman, Theo Magath, Piek inger, Colt Grice, Reiner Braun and Ziek Jäger.

Italic font = flashback

Point of view: Petra’s

 The trains stops as we get off and Gabi is already overexcited about the upcoming events –Willy Tybur’s speech. I approached her with a warm smile and patted her head.

           “How are you doing, young candidate?” I asked her

           “Oh that’s you, Petra isn’t it? Nice to meet ya. I heard you got the jaw titan, what a lucky woman…”

           “Yes, that’s correct. And I heard a lot about you, apparently you want to get the armor one?”

           “I’m the worthiest candidate for the armor titan, I made a lot of efforts lately.”

           “I see… and… by any chance, are you related to Reiner? I mean both of you are named Braun”

           “Actually he’s my cousin. I know I’m lucky to have a warrior among my family. Do you know him?”

           “Ah.. not really I only heard some things about him that’s all…”

 For the mission to success, it was imperative that I stayed as far as I could from Reiner Braun. Even though we never talked face to face when he was a soldier, he might have seen me somewhere. People usually say that it’s hard to not notice me because of my ginger hair.

And with Eren somewhere in Marley… he could screw it all up.

             “Miss Ral, let’s go,” Captain Levi waved his hand at me.

           “I’m coming.”

 I caught up with the distance between us, then he put his hand on my back so that I hurry up.

           “Are we far from M. Braun and M. Jäger?” I asked

           “We have only a little more to walk.”

 I noticed Pieck’s smile as Colt reminded her some old moments with Reiner, naturally she seems to know him much more than I do.

 Anyways... I have to find an excuse to avoid that meeting… but what? I have to find a way or else…

             “Hey, take this.” Captain Levi threw a bunch of keys and asked me to bring some plans he left in his room.”

           “Oh…”

          “Look. The apartment is just there. I need you to bring us the plans for the raid. You’ll find them in the second drawer of my desk,” he said as he pointed out a large grey-brick building.

 As if my prayers had been answered, I went there as fast as I could. I however had something to do before going there. Hanji and I were supposed to meet today to give them a briefing. I made sure to bring a cape to hide among the crowd.

  After a little while, Hanji finally showed up covering their eyes with the edge of their hat.

            “Aaah Petra it’s nice to see you again,” they said with joy.

          “Me too, it’s been a while!”

          “Is everything going well? You’re not in trouble?”

          “Don’t worry, I’m not. I managed to avoid a meeting with Reiner Braun, oddly the captain of my team asked me to bring some plans. He could have done it himself…”

          “Yes it’s weird… you should keep an eye on him. And you talked about plans?”

          “That’s right, apparently it’s about a raid they plan to make over Paradis.”

          “Ugh… we have to act fast. Do you know who’s in charge of the assault?”

          “No nobody is aware of this but the higher ups. But I bet M. Jäger has something to do with this. I didn’t meet him for the moment, but he seems to be a very important figure.”

          “You may meet him in any case. You have to.”

          “I know, I’ll be careful.”

          “Then if you don’t mind, let’s get those plans”

   ***

          “Did you find them?” Hanji asked

          “That’s weird… he told me they were in the second drawer but it’s empty.”

          “He might have forgotten or lost them, he’s probably messy just like me” they laughed

          “No that’s not possible. He’s very caring about cleanliness. Look at his room.”

          “You’re right… then… do you think he might have fooled you?”

          “What do you mean?”

 Hanji started turning around and mumbling some unintelligible things

          “If that’s the case… he might have… but why is he…”

            “Hanji?”

          “We have to get out of here right now.”

          “Ugh? Why?”

          “Trust me, there’s something odd.”

 But before we could leave the room, we heard someone’s footsteps getting louder.

            “Let’s hide on the roof” they said pointing out the steel stairs.

 Someone entered without knocking… which means it’s the Captain. Why is he here?

          “Stay behind me Petra, I’m watching who enters”

          “That might be Captain Levi” I whispered to Hanji

          “No it’s not him.”

          “How could you be so sure? You never saw him”

          “What’s the point of searching the flat for someone if they know they are already here? Moreover, he’s not only looking for someone but he’s thoroughly looking for you. Which means someone said to him that you were coming. Probably your captain himself as he gave you the keys.”

          “Why would he even suspect me? If I ever wanted to steal the plans, I would be uncovered as soon as he would notice it. I’ve not been among them for a long time.”

          “You’re right, then the only reason for that man to be here is that he and your captain suspected that you would show the plans to someone before giving them to him.”

          “Then the mission is doomed Hanji.. I’m sorry…”

          “Don’t be, I never said he knew who you were. He might suspect you but don’t forget that Marleyans have a lot of enemies. Besides, anyone would get those plans as our little island is full of scarce and valuable resources.”

 Hanji was right as ever; she was not our commander for nothing.

          “Oh… it’s not really related but I discovered that his last n…” I began

          “Wait, wait! Someone else’s coming.”

 Hanji couldn’t see the second person as they didn’t enter the room, but the man seemed to be arguing with the other.

             “Hanji let me see who it is.”

 As I bend over the roof, I immediately recognize his back. It’s Commander Magath. What the heck is going on?

            “Hanji, he’s the Commander of the warriors. Do you think he and Captain Levi were cahoots?”

          “By any chance, is he named Theo?”

          “Yes that’s correct. How do you know?”

          “Look at the other side of the key.”

          “Theo Magath; 106. I see… it’s his room. Wait, do.. do they live together?!”

          “Shh, keep quiet Petra. You have to discover it, go and see where your Captain is and tell him you found an empty drawer. If he ask, tell him there was nobody with you but you saw Magath entering AFTER you came but you didn’t say something to him as you noticed his name on the key.”

 The man finally went out and as he walked down the street, but he was not alone, Captain Levi was the second person.

          “No need to look for him, he’s there anyways Hanji…”

  ***

 Point of view: Levi’s

  When we arrived at the meeting point, Ziek and Reiner were already here. Pieck and Colt hugged Reiner and saluted Ziek.

             “What’s up shortie?” Ziek teased me

           “What’s with that look, jackass?”

           “The plans, where are they?”

           “I sent one of my subordinate to get them.”

           “Why’s that?”

           “Don’t discuss the orders, Eldian” Theo comes to us hands in pocket.

 Ziek’s attitude switches to an obedient little puppy, he salutes Theo and keeps quiet.

             “I’m coming back in a minute I have something to check, don’t wait for me,” he continues.

  Theo asked me a favor before we got off the train, he asked me to give the keys of my room to Petra so he would ask her some questions in a quiet place, just to be sure she’s not involved with spying. The thing is, she should have found the plans for long so why is she not coming back?

            “Hey shortie, you’re coming?”

“Yeah…”

             “Hey Pieck, don’t you think M. Magath was acting strange just now?” Colt said

           “Yes I noticed too but don’t be noisy.”

           “You think he’s acting weird? Colt, do you remember that time when he asked me what my secret technique was to wipe my ass.” Ziek said laughing “Joke apart, the weirdest thing is that he’s actually keeping the plans in one of his pockets”

           “Wait what?!” I said

           “What? You didn’t notice?”

           “Just go, I’m coming back with my subordinate”

  ***

            “Ah, Levi you’re there. Your subordinate, Petra, she’s not there.” Theo said to me as I reach the front foor of my flat.

          “What are you doing, Theo? Did you take the plans to get her to confess that she stole them?”

          “So you noticed. Well, it’s the best way to uncover her if she’s guilty.”

          “But she’s not. I already told you I’m not sure she’s a spy.”

          “But what if she was an Eldian, she could have gotten the plans and vanished.”

          “I don’t think she’s that stupid.”

          “Okay, well then where is she now? She was supposed to get in.”

          “I don’t know..”

          “You know, all I want is honoring the promise I made to your mother years ago.”

          “I don’t need you to protect me, Theo. I’m not a kid anymore.”

          “Anyway, let’s join the others.”

          “But what if she’s lost? She may have been in the wrong place or met another Marleyan that roughed her up?”

          “Oh Levi please, don’t be stupid. Nobody would hurt her; she has a red armband. Come on, we made the others wait too long.”

#rivetra #levixpetra #levipetra #petraral #leviackerman #aot #attackontitan #petra x levi #marleyan soldiers

[asimpforarmin]

Not so Safe? 💛

Content: Armin Arlert x Reader, Modern AU, two dorks being awkward

Summary: You and Armin go to the beach during quarantine as a way to get away from the stressors of life, keeping safe during it.

WC: 2,123

Genre: fluff?? maybe i guess. Wholesome stuff.

Warnings: None

A/n: This is my first fic on this account and also the first one I’ve written in a long time, so this might be bad, idk. Btw check out this playlist: https://youtu.be/1_2lm4tS9N4 It’s really nice and I listened to it while working on this. Ok bye-

You were bored, just slouching in bed late at night waiting for something to happen. Since quarantine hit, you really haven’t been able to see your friends, well not without a screen. You’ve been keeping up with your closest friends, Connie, Sasha, and Armin, and playing Minecraft with them when you don’t have (or don’t do) your schoolwork. You’ve been missing actually hanging out with them though.

So you decided to group message them about it, see if they wanted to go do something, taking safety precautions of course. Turns out Sasha’s mom wouldn’t let her go anywhere because she was worried for her, and Connie was staying with family out of state. But Armin could come.

You moved to private messages to talk to Armin about it, so you don’t spam the group chat or make Sasha and Connie jealous.

“Hey, are you free on Friday?” you asked.

You quickly saw him typing back to you, “Sorry, no, but I can do something on Wednesday or Thursday.”

You sat up a bit, “Alright, either one works for me.” You had that equivalent of awkward silence between texts where neither of you know what to say. “Which one do you prefer?”

He responds after a moment of thinking. “Wednesday’s fine. What do you wanna do?”

You thought it over for a moment, not actually expecting to get this far. “I know that ice cream shop down the road’s open. We could get some ice cream and head down to the beach for a while and just screw around if you want.”

“Sure. Which ice cream shop again?” He questioned. Armin lived not too far from you and had been over a couple times.

“That one we pass when you come over. Taking a right from my house it’s on that corner, a few shops down from the gas station.”

“Oh that one! Ok.” He responded.

“Did you get your bike fixed?” You asked. You all had bikes and would go places on them before the whole virus thing happened. Thing is, Connie crashed into Armin after hitting a pothole and totaled his front spokes.

“Yeah, it’s all ready to go. Do you have a cooler?”

“I know there’s one somewhere in the garage that I can find and clean out.”

“Alright, I’ll see you Wednesday?”

“Definitely.”

You were excited to see at least one of your close friends during the pandemic. You set your alarm for tomorrow, which was Monday. You only had to wait until Wednesday to see him.

~~~~~

Wednesday rolled around soon enough and you had just finished the last of today’s schoolwork. You packed up a backpack with some extra snacks, water, and some bandages in case either of you fall.

You texted Armin “Hey, where do you wanna meet?”

“I can just meet you at the ice cream place if you want.”

“You sure? That's kinda far from where you are.”

“I’ll be fine, it's not terribly far.”

“Alright, well I’ll see you there.”

“Cya,” he signed off.

You put your phone in your backpack, before dusting off that old cooler, filling it with ice, and putting it in your bike basket. You set out for the shop feeling good. You haven’t been outside in a while, and feeling the wind against your skin felt perfect.

You went down the road a ways, pulling up into the shop’s parking lot. You pulled your bike over and leaned it against the curb with the kickstand, and waited for Armin.

About 10 minutes later, the blond comes into view, pulling into the lot, spotting you, and heading over. You look up at him, pulling your mask up as he does the same. He wipes his brow as he’s hauling his bike over. “Hey, how are you?” he asks, looking down and putting his kickstand to the curb.

Your smile, “Good, how about you?” In all honesty you were great now that he’s here. You haven’t seen him in person for around 11 months and you’ve missed him.

He looked back up at you and you could tell he was smiling even under his mask.

“I’m fine, happy to be outside,” he sighed.

“Hey, your hair’s a little longer,” you pointed out.

He blushed a tiny bit, “I’ve only gotten it cut once during this and now since everything’s reopening, my mother’s scared to take me to get it cut again. The only reason she let me come on this trip was because it’s contactless.”

“I see, well either way it looks cute,” you reassured him.

He let out a small laugh, “Thanks.”

“Anyways,” you say, going up to the front of the building, “what flavor do you want?” You put some gloves on before reaching for your wallet.

“I’ll just have the cookie dough.” Armin pulls out his phone to pay that way.

“Hey, I can pay for both of us if you want,” you say, looking over at Armin.

“It’s fine, I have my own money,” he politely declines.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s my pleasure,” you say, taking money out of your wallet, enough for the two of you. “What size do you want?”

He puts his phone back into his pocket, looking up at the size chart. “I’ll just have a medium.” You nod and go up to tell the person at the counter your orders. A few minutes later, your orders are in the window. You hand the cashier the money, then take off your gloves and grab your ice creams. You put the bowls in Tupperware and then in the cooler.

“You ready to go?” You ask Armin. He nods, clicking his helmet back into place and getting on his bike. You get back on your bike too and the both of you head out.

It’s another 10 minutes before you get to the beach. It isn’t the best weather for this kind of visit. It’s overcast and a little bit foggy, but it’s still a nice place to hang out.

The both of you lock your bikes up and take your ice cream out of the cooler. You hand Armin his dessert and open your own.

“Wish the weather was better,” you commented, looking up at the grey sky.

“Well if the sky’s not clear, that means less people will come,” Armin points out, looking over at you. You nod and look around for a spot to sit down. “We could go over there,” Armin suggests. He’s pointing at a couple boulders decently spaced apart up on the hill away form everything.

“Ok,” you say. You both start going over. There’s no one else at the beach besides a few random people chilling at the shoreline. Armin hops up on the boulder to the right and you get on the left one.

“Thanks for paying for this,” Armin sheepishly says, taking a bite.

“It’s no problem, I’m happy to,” you say. God, you wish you could hug him. Quarantine’s been horrible to your social interaction, plus you may have an inkling of attraction to him. Even to just hold his hand would be ethereal. But you can’t. You need to stay safe, and you don’t know if he feels the same about you.

“So, um, how’s your week been so far?” He inquires.

“It’s been okay. Hating school as usual, but besides that I’ve had a good time keeping up with you all,” you say.

He takes another bite before speaking, “If you want, I could help you out with your work if you’re having trouble.” This wasn’t the first time he offered, but you felt like too much for agreeing last time.

“I’ll think about it, I’m managing alright for now though. How about you? How’s quarantine been treating you?” You ask him.

“I’ve been able to keep up with things for the most part, but it does get tiring. It’s good to finally get out of the house again.” You nod and both of you just sit there for a moment, eating and looking out at the ocean. You couldn’t see that far out because of the fog, but what you could see was nice.

The waves slowly crashed against the sand and rocks while you heard gulls above you. You cherished this moment, as simple as it is. Even if your feelings were unmatched, he was still your best friend. You get butterflies whenever he’s around. He makes you happy and anxious in the best ways possible.

Armin looks up before taking out his phone. “Looks like it’s supposed to rain in a bit.”

“That’s a bummer, I wish we could stay out here longer,” you say.

“We can always come back. I’m still free tomorrow.” You perked up at his suggestion.

“Same, we can do that,” you quickly reply. He nods his head in agreement.

“Same time?”

“Sure.” You both went back to eating for a moment. “We should  do this more. This is fun.”

“I do quite like this. It’s relaxing to take a break every now and then,” he says.

The two of you keep talking, about home, friends, hobbies, school, etc, when you felt a raindrop on your cheek. You look over at Armin, who looks up at the rain.

“Guess it’s time to go,” he says, slightly frowning. You stand up, getting the trash from your ice cream and start walking over to the trash can. It’s under one of those buildings that look like metal car awnings, but with benches and the board that shows the directory and rules of the beach. Armin follows suit.

“We really should have checked the weather,” you say, disposing of your trash, “I don’t feel comfortable with either of us biking in the rain on the road like this.”

Armin throws his trash away, “We’ll be okay, it’s not a whole lot,” he says. “Besides, you can call someone if you don’t feel comfortable.”

You sit down on a bench, looking on your phone. “Looks like it’s not supposed to stay for too long. We could just stay here for a while if you’re okay with it.” He sits down next to you and nods. He looks between you two and sees the small gap.

“Sorry,” he says as he moves further away.

“Hey, it’s okay,” you say. You want to tell him how you feel, you really do, but if he doesn’t feel the same, you’re afraid things won’t go back to normal.

You start to say his name at the same time he speaks, which causes you to both chuckle. “You go first,” he says.

“Go ahead, I’ve already forgotten what I was saying.”

“That quickly?” he smiles.

“Apparently.”

“Well I- I don’t know how to put this properly, but…”

“But what?”

“I want to do this more often, and I know you already said that but I really miss hanging out with you.” He looks over at you, waiting for your reaction.

“I miss you too,” you say. You felt your cheeks darken as your face warmed up. You look over at him, he was just the same as you. That gave you the confidence you needed. “I really like you, Armin.”

He looks up at you suddenly, “You mean like, more than friends?” he asks you nervously.

“Yeah. More than friends. I have for a while but I just haven’t said anything.” You look away until he says something, not wanting to face him as he’s making up his mind, but he answers almost immediately.

“I do too! I- I mean I just didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure if you felt the same.” You felt your breath hitch in your throat, wanting to say something, but you just didn’t have the right words.

“Well, um, we should definitely do this more often then,” you finally say, giving him a smile.

“Do you uh, want to hold hands?” he asks shyly.

“Should we?”

“It’ll be fine as long as we wash our hands when we get home.” You nodded and stuck out your hand. He took it as he moved a bit closer to you.

You two just sat there for a moment, taking everything in. The rain, each other, the sounds coming from the road. Even though it seemed so new, it felt good. It felt right. Armin started speaking again, talking about how he’s been thinking of this moment for a long time. You smiled and continued the conversation for a decent half hour, still clasping hands.

You finally heard the rain let up and the sun began to shine through the clouds.

“You want to go down to the shore for a bit now?” You asked him.

“Of course,” he said. You got up, taking him by the hand down the hill.

#aot #aot x reader #snk #snk x reader #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan #attack on titan x reader #shingeki no kyojin x reader #armin arlert x reader #armin x reader #fluff? i guess

[silverducks]

Game of Thrones - Jaime Lannister

A rambling character study of Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones.

Introduction

Ok, so nearly a month since I finished watching Game of Thrones, and I’m still not over how it ended. Like some things I can reconcile myself too, some things just annoy me when I overthink what happened and some things - ok one thing in particular - is just not letting me go.

And that is the way the show ended for Jaime Lannister.

I know I’m like 2 years too late on the GoT bandwagon and no one cares anymore. But I’m writing all these posts because I still care, having recently experienced what you all went through 2 years ago. And I know what I’ll be posting will have all been posted countless times before and discussed in the fandom years ago. But I kinda need to still get my own thoughts written down and outta my head.

Before I go on though, I just want to add in here that I do still love this show and, even right to the very end, think the acting, crew, music, sets/scenery, costumes, basically everything was pretty much amazing. That is except the writing, which, went downhill after series 4. Before then it was pretty much amazing too (not always perfect (is anything?), but so darn good!)

Now, turns out when I came to write down my thoughts on Jaime’s ending, I had even more than I realised. Basically it’s turned into me writing one massive analysis of Jaime’s character based on the show. So I’ve split it into separate posts, with this first one more of an intro, a summary of my thoughts and overall opinion on Jaime and a bit of context on my own experience with Game of Thrones.

Now, spoilers for Game of Thrones ending

I’ve read/watched a lot on the internet since I saw those episodes (series 8, episode 4 and 5 in case you weren’t sure) and I know a lot of people don’t like how they ended Jaime’s story in the show either. But I’ve also read a lot of comments where people did like it, or at least thought it made sense. The reasons they give make no sense to me, but it’s made me think and overthink and analyse way too much about how they did end his story.

So, in order to try and get them out of my head, I’m putting them down here. It’s a long, pretty rambling read, split up into a few parts because it got so long. Across the posts I’m going to go through my own understanding and perception of Jaime’s character and his arc and why I think they completely ruined it in episodes 8.04 and 8.05. I’ll then focus on some of the main reasons I’ve seen why people think it did make sense, and why (even though I maintain everyone is entitled to their own opinion) I completely disagree. Jaime’s character arc was annihilated in the show even more than Kings Landing. And that is more than a bit frustrating.

Now, just a bit of background to add some context to my thoughts; I basically only got around to watching the show a few months ago (I’ve not read the books yet). I basically binged watched the entire show and am now just a little bit reeling from it all! LOL! Also, as I did binge watch it, it meant I didn’t spend time between episodes/series really analysing/theorising etc. I had a few ideas and thoughts, but not to the depth it would have been had I needed to wait impatiently for each new episode. This means I think my viewpoint is of the show as an overall whole, rather than each separate series, because it kinda all rolled into one. This may, or may not, have affected my opinion and so this analysis of Jaime Lannister and my disappointment in his ending. It also means, having only watched the show once, I’ve probably forgotten or missed bits. However, since I finished the show, I’ve watched a lot of YouTube videos and read a lot of stuff on the net about it, including in comparison to the books. (And I maybe rewatched some of my favourite scenes just a few times…) And now I am analysing and theorising and thinking about this show way too much! LOL!

So I guess my viewpoint isn’t one of ignorance, but it might not be quite the same as someone who’s been invested in the show from the start.

Like most viewers, I pretty much thought Jaime = evil villain for most of the earlier series. He had the odd moment, but it wasn’t until he did that speech with Catelyn about the conflict of all those oaths he’d taken that I even started to take note of his character. And then series 3 happens, where he has his road trip with Brienne, loses his hand, saves her from a bear and basically starts his wonderful path of character development. And basically manages to go from a guy I pretty much do not like at all at the start, to one of my all time favourite characters ever.

Also, I’m definitely a Brienne/Jaime shipper and did wish them to have a happy ending. However, I pretty much never thought the show would actually even go there, let alone make it happy. In fact, I actually did my best to NOT ship them for such a long time because, being Game of Thrones, I knew it was very unlikely to end well. But, then yeah, their intense staring contests kept on happening and darn it, the way that Jaime’s voice breaks when he says Lady Brienne and him giving her a priceless sword, and what the sword represents and…

Ok, well, yeah, I could gush about them all day, but anyway, I ended up not being able to fight the ship any more after series 6 and THAT tent scene. But, even then, I still didn’t think the show would make it canon, like it would just leave it all open ended/make up your own mind kinda thing.

And then we get to series 8. Like we have a whole episode (that is actually named for their very storyline) with Jaime just staring at Brienne, being all dorky around Brienne and then, if that wasn’t enough, he even KNIGHTS Brienne! I mean, this is epic for this ship! And I would have been ok (not happy, but satisfied) as a Brienne and Jaime shipper if that had been it.

But then no, then he barely leaves her side in the fight against the dead in the next episode – they fight side by side with their two halves of one whole swords, each risking their own life for the other multiple times. And then in the next episode (where I don’t think there’s barely any scene where they’re NOT right next to each other) the show DID make it canon. Like it actually did go there, they slept together (in an adorably awkward scene I love). Heck, Jaime then even chooses to stay in the North and be with Brienne, even though he hates the North. Like this was just epicness of all proportions and I got so excited and all those shippy feels I was trying to hold back just came rushing out and then... and then...

THEN that scene happens. He leaves her. Like WTH…

Anyway, more on that in another post. I guess what I’m trying to say is that as much as I ship them, my issues with Jaime’s ending is less about his relationship with Brienne, and more just his complete 180 on character development. Jaime’s arc has been heavily influenced by Brienne, but it is still amazing in its own right. As I didn’t expect Brienne/Jaime to ever happen (so when it did and then got taken away in the very same episode, it’s incredibly frustrating and gives even less credence to what does happen), it’s not why I’m so annoyed and disappointed with what happened to Jaime.

I’m annoyed because they took all this amazing character growth over 7 series and then screwed it all over in less than two episodes. No, that’s not enough. It was a complete and utter character assassination that completely undermines and destroys 7 series worth of investment and development, completely nullifying everything Jaime went through as a character.

So, yeah, I’m a bit annoyed, but that’s because it makes no sense and it’s bugging me enough to write this whole series of posts. Because I can’t let it go. And having read people justify, even like it online, it’s made my inner analysis thought train go into override. And I’m sorry if these posts are like I’m preaching to the choir, or writing such obvious stuff and repeating myself, I’m just trying to get it all out my head as coherently as I can. Hopefully allowing me to move on a bit.

#Urgh #I need to sit in a corner and try to cheer myself up again before I can write anymore #Maybe watching some Brienne and Jaime fan videos will help cheer me up #And also simultaneously depress me even more.

#Game of Thrones #Jaime Lannister #Brienne x Jaime

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Reunions & Resistance

A JSE Fanfic

This one took me a while, but luckily, I was able to get it all done within the week, and do a lot of my homework too lol. Can’t wait for summer break, man. More time for writing. Anyway, a lot happened last chapter, and we’re mostly following up on that. I don’t want to say too much in case people haven’t read the last one, but basically we switch in between Chase and JJ’s points of view to see how they’re dealing with their respective...challenges. Hope you enjoy!

You can find the other stories under the pw timeline tag!

“Good night! I’ll see you later!” Chase stood on his front door and waved as the car pulled away from the side of the road. In the windows, a pair of small faces pressed up against the glass and waved back. Chase kept at it even as the car drove down the street, right up until the moment it disappeared around a corner. At which point he dropped his hand and turned around to head inside, smiling softly to himself. Halloween wasn’t his favorite holiday, but this? This was a good holiday.

He turned on the front room lights and was about to sit down when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Quickly, he dug it out to see a text from Marvin: Hey call me now please!

Perfect timing. Once he got settled in, he was planning on calling Marvin anyway, to tell him the good news. He guessed he could do it now. Quickly navigating to his contacts, he called Marvin’s number.

The other end was picked up on the first ring. “Chase!” Marvin said.

“Hi Marv. Are you out of court by now? You better be, it’s late.” He glanced out the window at the twilight sky. They ended up only going trick-or-treating for an hour, but the kids were still young and Stacy was worried, so it was fine. They’d go longer next time. “How’d it go?”

“Good, but Chase, there’s a thing—”

“So you won?”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant, but Chase!” Wait a second...Marvin sounded...frantic. “Have you seen JJ today?”

“Huh? No, not yet. I was gonna go over later. I was actually thinking about asking you if you’d seen him today. I expected you to rush right over after you got out.”

“I wanted to stop by home and pick up his present first,” Marvin explained. “So I did, and I went to his flat, but he’s not here.”

“That’s not too weird, is it?” Chase asked, wandering over to sit on the sofa. “Maybe he went out for dinner or something, it is his birthday, after all.”

“Maybe, but he would’ve told us, right? He knew that we were going to stop by.” Chase could hear the sound of Marvin’s nervous footsteps on a hardwood floor. “I’m still at his place, and the only thing that’s different is there’s these weird cupcakes on the counter. So maybe he did go out, but he has to have been here since then to drop them off, if that’s the case. I texted him a couple times, but he hasn’t answered any of them! There’s not even the little ‘Seen’ message popping up.”

“Whoa, Marvin, calm down a bit,” Chase said gently. “He’s probably just...maybe his phone is out of battery?”

“I don’t think so. He likes to keep it fully charged. Even has one of those portable battery things. Chase, it’s really weird that he’s not here,” Marvin insisted.

“Well, yeah, but there has to be an innocent explanation, right?” Chase wasn’t too sure himself, but he had to get Marvin to stop freaking out. He could hear faint thumping sounds on the other end now. “Are you hitting yourself? Marv, be careful, that could bruise.”

“R-right.” The thumping sounds changed, now more like knocking on a wall. Marvin’s breathing was shaky. “Should we call the police? I really don’t think he’d be gone, especially not today.”

“You can call them if you’re sure. Or I can, if you don’t want to talk.”

“Right. Right. I-I’ll text him one more time, just in case.”

There were a few moments of silence as Marvin took his phone away from his ear and started texting. Chase waited patiently, slightly amazed that Marvin’s phone could stay on a call while he needed to use it. He must have a more advanced model.

“Wha...?” Marvin made a small, confused sound. Then, after a slight pause: “Chase, his phone is here. JJ’s phone is here.”

“Well, no wonder he hasn’t been answering texts, then,” Chase said, trying to sound lighthearted.

“No no no, Chase, he wouldn’t leave his phone here if he was going out! He uses that text-to-speech app for people who don’t know BSL. A-and I can see his usual notepad on the coffee table, he didn’t take that either. He wouldn’t risk leaving both of those at home when he goes out!”

Chase’s heart slowly sank into a sea of dread. It was true; Jameson always made sure he had a backup way of communicating in case he ran into someone who couldn’t understand him. “The only way he would do that...” he said quietly. “...is if...either it was an emergency, or if someone...”

“I’m going to call the police now Chase!” Marvin practically shouted.

“Dude, do it! I’m hanging up right now!” And Chase did just that, ending the call.

It couldn’t be true, could it? Something couldn’t have happened to Jameson, right? He didn’t have any enemies or—

No. Wait.

“Shit!” Chase cursed. He was an idiot! The day had been going so well, he’d completely forgotten about Anti. He would certainly count as an enemy, even if he was Jameson’s brother. Maybe especially. Chase quickly sent a text to Marvin. WAIT I JUST REMEMBERED. Yo don thin kit could be that anti guy??.? Tell the police that too!

“God damn you,” Chase growled. “Fucking...Anti.” He’d never even met him, but he just kept making his and his friends’ lives hell, didn’t he? For over a year, now.

Would this ever end? Or would this cycle continue?

——————

Someone was driving a chisel into his head with a hammer. That’s what it felt like. His head was pounding, and each new spike of pain could have easily been in time with the smack of a hammer. He couldn’t even move, the headache was too overwhelming, tears leaking from his closed eyes. The moment it started to lessen up, he quietly drifted off to sleep.

Then, of course, he woke up with his head still hurting. But this time it was bearable. Still awful, but he managed to open his eyes.

This...wasn’t his room. This wasn’t his apartment. Nor was it a room in any of his friends’ houses. He didn’t recognize the pale yellow wall he was staring at, or the white blanket covering him. Slowly, he rolled onto his back, not wanting to make any sudden movement in case it aggravated his headache, but he didn’t see the ceiling. Instead, he saw wooden slats and the bottom of a mattress. A bunk bed? He didn’t know anyone who had a bunk bed. Where was he? Actually, what had happened before he ended up here? He cast his mind back, and—

Instantly, Jameson sat straight up, hitting his forehead against the oddly close bottom of the bunk above him. Crying out, he fell back and rubbed the spot of impact. That definitely didn’t help the headache.

Movement. Coming from the bunk above him, it sounded like, accompanied by creaking and the sound of fabric on fabric. “Wh-who’s down there?” A voice asked. “Are you—you’re awake?”

Actually, that voice sounded familiar. JJ pushed away the blankets and rolled over to the side of the mattress. He grabbed the headboard to help him stand up, since he felt strangely dizzy. Once up, he transferred his grip to the edge of the top bunk, pausing a moment to stop swaying. Then he looked up at the person on the top bunk.

“Wait a second. Jameson?! That’s you?!” It took JJ a moment to recognize Jackie, but once he did, he gasped. It had been almost a year since he’d last seen him, and in that time period, he’d changed a lot. Now he was a lot paler, his hair grown to shoulder-length, and his red hoodie was significantly darker, apparently not having been washed in a while. Jackie was holding onto the railings that surrounded the edge of the top bunk, dangerously leaning over. There was a metal cuff around one wrist, a length of chain connecting it to another cuff attached to one of the railings.

JJ slowly nodded, letting go of the bed to finger-sign. J-A-C-K-I-E?

“Oh my god. You too?! Why don’t we get everyone in here?! Fucking...Kidnapped party with the boys, hey-o!” Jackie laughed hysterically. 

...Are you okay? JJ asked.

“Well, uh, relatively, I guess. I’m not, like, actively hurt or anything.” Jackie pressed a hand against his head. “Killer headache, though. You too?” JJ nodded. “Great. Fantastic. Probably from whatever drugs he used. Are you okay? What the hell are you doing here?!”

I’m fine. But it’s a long story. JJ looked around the room. The walls were all painted pale yellow. No windows, but he thought a square on the wall looked a bit different, so maybe the window had been bricked up and painted over. The bunk beds weren’t the only furniture. There was also a white wooden dresser and a similar-looking table, along with two chairs. A corner of the room had a mini fridge and several cabinets that looked like they belonged in a kitchen. There were two doors. One, open, led to an attached bathroom. The other door was closed. Though he knew it was probably a waste of time, JJ walked over there, staggering a bit with the dizziness, and tried the doorknob. Locked, of course. Do you know where we are? He signed, turning around to face Jackie.

“Where we are? No, sorry.” Jackie shook his head. “I’ve been held hostage in a couple different places by now, and this isn’t any of the previous ones. Or maybe it is. It could be in that first house, just in a room I didn’t get to see. But, uh. Yeah. We’ve probably been asleep for a while, judging by his usual style. So there’s no way of knowing.” He paused. “You, uh. Seem weirdly calm about this.”

I'm saving the emotional breakdown for later and looking for a way out now, JJ said, then idly tried the door again. He leaned down to look more closely at the knob. It looked normal. No loose screws when he shook it or anything.

“Oh.” Jackie paused. “Well then, fair enough, but I mean. You haven’t even asked who kidnapped you or why I’m here or what’s going on. Just where we are. I was expecting a bunch more questions.”

Well I already know all those, so I only wanted to know where. JJ tried to peer through the gap of the door. Weren’t there some locks that could be worked around if you slid something through there? Idly, he patted his pockets despite knowing there probably wouldn’t be anything in there. But then he had to stop. He didn’t have any pockets. What? Impossible. He looked down at his clothes, and noticed for the first time that they didn’t belong to him. Blue T-shirt, black pants, white socks. Strangely, he still had his pocket watch, now hanging around his neck. Also I want to know where my clothes are.

“Man, he gave you new clothes? Lucky,” Jackie said jokingly. “But anyway.” He returned to being serious. “What do you mean, you already know? That is what you said, right? You can’t already know everything.”

JJ turned around. Jackie wasn’t as knowledgeable in BSL as all the others, given how he’d been abducted before he could become fluent, so he signed slowly, finger-spelling occasionally. I know I’ve been taken by a man calling himself Anti, and that he took you back in December and Henrik in August. He’s a mercenary who has apparently started kidnapping and serial killing as a hobby. He made Henrik help him with some of that, and now Henrik is in a mental hospital because of all the trauma combined with previous issues. And I know Anti isn’t going to kill me.

That was a lot, and Jackie went silent for a bit as he processed it. “Well. Okay, then. You actually know more than I do.”

JJ tried to smile, then walked over to the dresser and started pulling open its drawers. More clothes, similar to what he was already wearing. No shoes, only socks. Jackie. Do you think you could get down from there, or are you stuck?

“Uh...I think I’m stuck, but honestly, I haven’t tried yet,” Jackie mumbled. “I woke up like. A few minutes ago. Oh hey, there’s a clock on the wall! That’s new. Man, this is the nicest place I’ve been captive in yet. Hang on, I’m gonna see if this chain is long enough to let me get down.”

The ladder to the top bunk was over at the foot of the bed, while Jackie was cuffed to the railing near the head. He crawled over, managing to put his feet on the top rung. But that’s where it got difficult. Spinning around, he could only reach the middle rung before he had to stop, arm yanked taunt to the side. “Yeah, no. Sorry, JJ.” He climbed back to the top bunk, sitting once again at the top of the ladder.

It’s alright, JJ said, frowning. But I can see several complications with that.

“Oh yeah, trust me, it all sucks,” Jackie sighed. “Uh...so. How do you know Anti isn’t going to kill you? I mean, honestly, I’m still not so sure that I’m...um...” He suddenly looked uncomfortable, and more than a bit scared. “A-anyway, you seemed like you definitely knew.”

JJ sighed. He walked over to the chairs at the table and sat down, taking a break to press his hands to his throbbing head. He should probably tell Jackie, right? After all, he’d told Chase and Marvin. And it would be good for them all to be on the same page. Anti is my brother, he explained.

“What?! Like, biologically? For real?”

Yes, unfortunately. He’s my older brother, I lived with him for seven years. Well, technically longer, if you count when we were kids, before we were put into the system. But I mean, he practically raised me from sixteen. Jameson paused. He wasn’t good at it.

“I can imagine,” Jackie muttered. “Wow. Wow, man. That...that sucks.”

Jameson nodded. I thought I’d never see him again, but then he appeared in this city, got involved with all of you, and...I guess it was only a matter of time before he...realized who I was. But I hoped...He squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden wetness in them. I hoped that this wouldn’t happen.

“Wait, did you know he was going to kidnap you if he found you?”

No, but I knew it was a possibility. JJ laughed quietly. That really says something about the kind of person he is, doesn’t it?

Jackie shook his head slowly. “I’m...so sorry, Jameson. Is there anything I can do?”

Jameson thought about that. Well, we need to get out of here. I know it’s going to be difficult, but if there’s anything you can do...

“Right.” Jackie glanced down at his cuffed wrist, then nodded. “Right. H-how about I start with...telling you everything I’ve noticed about him? Maybe if we know how he acts, that’ll help.”

That sounds like a great idea. It had been three years since he’d seen Anti, after all. A lot could change in that time. And I’ll tell you what I remember.

“Pool our information,” Jackie said. He took a deep breath. “Right. Okay, so to start from the beginning...”

——————

A day passed. The police looked over Jameson’s apartment, finding nothing suspicious. Marvin identified everything in the rooms as belonging to JJ except for the cupcakes in the plastic packaging, with their blue frosting. Normally, the police probably would’ve dismissed them, but once Marvin explained the situation—namely, that JJ was part of the friend group that included Dr. Schneeplestein and a missing private detective named Jackie Donovan, both of whom had been proven to have been kidnapped—they decided to run tests on them.

Two days passed. Chase finally got around to explaining the good news he’d received earlier on Halloween to Marvin. That cheered him up briefly, but he was quickly overcome with worry for JJ again. And Chase felt that same worry threatening to engulf him as well. Especially after the detectives contacted them both and said that the strange cupcakes had definitely been laced with illegal sedatives: namely, the strong, but slow-acting, variety. That pushed them to label the case as a definite abduction, with this strange Anti as the main suspect. The same detectives that were working on Jackie’s case took this one, as well, since it was so likely to be linked.

Four days passed. Marvin wasn’t doing so well. Chase was newly busy, but he made sure to check on him. A good thing he did, too, because there were a couple times when he walked in the house and Marvin was just lying in bed, clearly been there since he woke up that morning, often with a cat or two nearby and a bunch of tearstained tissues. Chase wasn’t one to miss the irony of the situation, having been in that position before with his friends being the ones to check in on him. But at least he knew what to do. Make food, insist on hydration, encourage movement, and offer distraction. And also feed the snake and the cats. That part was new.

A week passed. No news from the police. Chase had to admit that maybe there wouldn’t be news for a while, though he didn’t express that to Marvin. After checking in on his friend one more time, he headed out for his other business of the day, which was, incidentally, more visiting and checking in on people.

Chase had stopped by the hospital every day that week. Honestly, the routine distracted him, and it was good to see some progress being made somewhere. By now a lot of the staff were familiar with him, and didn’t even bother to ask him who he was there to visit. Though a lot of them still directed him to the appropriate wing. It was probably required to.

One short trip up an elevator and down a hallway, and Chase pushed walked through the open doorway of the room, making sure to put on a cheerful expression. “Hey bro. It’s me again.”

Jack’s eyes immediately opened at the sound, head swivelling over to look towards him. He managed a small smile—that was good, he was having trouble with facial movements—and a slight up-and-down hand motion that wasn’t really a wave as much as it was a flop. “Hhh...hhiii. Sha-ays.”

“Hi Jack.” Chase took his usual spot in the chair next to the bed. “You’re looking good.”

“Mmnh.”

“No, really.”

Jack reached to the side and hit the controls for the bed, raising it into more of a sitting position. He pointed towards the table next to the bed.

“Oh, right.” Chase twisted around and picked something up. A board about the size of a large school notebook, with rows of squares printed on its surface. Each square had a different word or phrase written inside, some accompanied by handy pictograms. This was a communication board. Dr. Emerson had explained it was meant to help people who had difficulty speaking normally. It looked a bit childish, with the pictures and color-coded squares, which made sense, because they were apparently primarily used for kids. But Emerson said that, since Jack was still having trouble talking and moving, this was a good alternative. “Here you go, dude.”

Jack dipped his head in a slow nod. He adjusted the bed a bit more, then propped the board up using an arm and used the other hand to point. Chase scooted a bit closer to look at the square he was indicating: How are you?

“Oh, I’m good,” Chase said. It was, of course, a bit of a lie, since he was still really worried about Jameson. But that was a complicated situation that he didn’t really feel like talking about. “What about you? How are you feeling?”

“Mmnn.” Jack pointed to a square labelled Bored.

Chase laughed. “You need a TV or something in here. I thought hospital rooms were all supposed to have them. Like, they came pre-installed with those old boxy models that hang from the ceilings.”

“Heh.” Another small smile, though this one was a bit weaker and quickly fell. Ater a moment, Jack pointed to a different square, this one simply labelled Phone with an accompanying simple picture.

“Yeah, I have my phone.” Chase pulled it out of his pocket. “Why? Do you want to text someone?”

The No box, accompanied by a slight head shake.

“Okay. Then...do you want to take a picture or something?”

The Yes box.

“Really? Well, I don’t know if you can hold the phone,” Chase said reluctantly. Jack was having trouble even holding a pencil, hence why he couldn’t write. “Here, we can take a picture together, okay?”

“Eeuh.” The Yes box.

“Alright.” Chase opened up the front-facing camera, then leaned over next to Jack. “Look at the camera.” Jack appropriately turned his head towards the raised phone, and gave one last small smile. Chase matched him with a big smile of his own, and took a couple pictures. “There we go. Look at us.” He showed the phone to Jack, swiping through the photos. “I like this first one, what about you?”

“Ffferr.” Jack tapped a box with the number One in it.

“Right? We look good.” Chase laughed a bit, then put the phone away. “Hey, none of those tubes got mixed up or pulled out while we were doing that, right?”

Jack turned to look around, then slowly reached up and touched his nasal cannula. I don’t think so, said the box on the board he tapped.

“You have a call button you can press, right?” Chase asked fretfully.

Yes box.

“Good. Good.” Chase let out a short breath. If anything happened to Jack after all of this, he would...he would...well, he honestly wasn’t sure what he would do, but it wouldn’t be good.

“Shhays?” Jack asked. “Wh...wherr Mahffin?”

“Where’s Marvin? Oh, uh.” Chase hesitated. “He’s been busy lately.”

“Mmmm?” I don’t think so box.

“You don’t believe me, huh?” Chase shrugged. “Well, it’s true. I don’t know that much about it, either. I guess maybe one of his holidays is approaching. That or he’s looking for a new job.” That second one was actually true. Or at least, it had been before Jameson disappeared. Chase knew Marvin had put in applications at a couple different places, but he didn’t know if any of them had been accepted.

“Mmnnh.” Jack blinked slowly. “Sshays? Whh...whhbout faays?” There was a worried edge to his voice. “Ffay Shays. Fffay Mhffin.”

“The fakes. Right.” Chase nodded slowly, swallowing back a lump in his throat. “I guess I did promise to explain that.”

“Eeuah.” Yes box.

“Well...” Chase hesitated. “Did...did the doctor explain to you why you were in a coma?”

Yes box. “Ssneeep.”

“Yeah, Schneep made some mistakes. I-I guess only you know what really happened that day.” Chase sighed. “And I guess you can explain that once you figure out how. Y’know, I...explained the whole situation to you a couple times, while you were asleep. I don’t know how much you heard. But...basically. What’s important when it comes to the matter of ‘the fakes’ is...” And he hesitated again.

“Shaays,” Jack said, sharply gesturing to the Now box.

“I know, I know, it’s just...it’s hard, bro.” Chase took a deep breath. “Okay. So there’s a criminal running around. Which is, I know, freaky. But basically, he’s one of the dopplegangers. Looks like us, you know? So ‘the fakes’ are when he...would pretend to be us. A-and I guess he came in to see you while doing that?” He shuddered. “I don’t know why. None of us do. But it’s going to be okay. The doctor knows, a-and he knows to make sure it’s me. Uh...because Marvin’s been...busy this week, he hasn’t come in to see you. And when he does, I’m gonna come, too. So...if Marvin comes in alone, that’s not him. But you, uh, probably shouldn’t indicate that. Um. Got all that?”

Jack stared at him for a long while, then slowly tapped the Yes box.

“It’s a lot, I know,” Chase said reassuringly. “It can be uh...do you need a moment?”

Another long pause. Then the I am okay box.

“Okay, if you’re sure.” Chase let out a breath. “What would even happen when ‘the fakes’ showed up? Would they just talk to you?”

Yes box.

“Probably not about normal stuff.”

No box. Followed by the I am scared box.

“Wha—” Chase coughed awkwardly. “Y-you mean he said upsetting things?”

Jack made a small sound, almost like a whimper. Yes box.

“Oh...oh no.” Chase shook his head. He knew from experience that it was really easy to talk to someone who couldn’t answer, to pour out everything you wouldn’t normally say because you knew they couldn’t tell anyone what you said. In the past, talking to comatose Jack had been a way for him to be honest when he felt terrible, but for an actual criminal to come in and talk like that? Those secrets would probably be a lot darker. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Jack blinked at him. Then indicated the How? box.

“...right. The board is good, but I guess it wouldn’t have all the words you need.” Chase nodded. “Well. I mean, later. If you want to talk about it, you can. I-I can teach you BSL, when you’ve got, y’know...better hands.” Jack wheezed at that, a short laugh that made Chase smile. “Yeah, JJ taught me. You remember me telling you about him, right?”

Yes box. “Hhee...sow-sounsss...nai-nais.”

“He is really nice. I think you’d get along.” Chase went quiet. What was happening to Jameson now? It couldn’t be good, not if Anti was involved. Damn it. He couldn’t let anything else happen to his friends! All of them have been through so much already. Marvin was breaking down, Schneep and Jack were in hospitals, and Jackie and Jameson were being held hostage by Jameson’s psychopathic older brother. Enough was enough! He had to do something!

“Shays?” Jack’s head listed to the side, and he tapped the How are you? box. 

“O-oh. Yeah, I’m alright, bro, don’t worry, I was just thinking.” Chase shook his head. It was settled. He’d figure out a way to deal with this situation more directly. “Anyway, I was wondering. Can you, like, eat normal foods yet?”

No box.

“Aw, man. I was gonna offer to bring you coffee tomorrow.”

Jack’s eyes widened a bit. “Waa-aay. W-whhayy!”

Chase laughed. “Glad to see that hasn’t changed. But, well, doctor’s orders and all that.”

“Ahhhh.” Jack tried to frown, but only managed a twitch in his mouth.

“One thing to look forward to after all that physical therapy,” Chase reached over to squeeze Jack’s wrist. “You know, you’re already improving really fast. You might be out of here in a couple months.”

“Heh.” That definitely cheered Jack up.

Chase smiled, and quickly moved on. Later, he’d try to think up a way to deal with other situations. He couldn’t just abandon his friends, after all, and he was getting real sick of all this terrible shit happening. But that would need some more planning. For now, he’d focus on one thing at a time.

——————

They’d been stuck in the room for a week, and JJ was starting to get really worried. Why hadn’t Anti showed up yet? What was he planning? Luckily, they wouldn’t starve, as it turned out the mini fridge and strange cabinets had been stocked with food. But that had to run out eventually. What was going on?

The room was locked down tight. The door outside was solid, and that weird square on the wall that might’ve been a sealed-up window showed no signs of wear. There wasn’t a window in the bathroom, either. But on the morning of the second day, JJ did find a small key in the bathroom’s medicine cabinet, which turned out to unlock the cuff on Jackie’s wrist. “Thank god for that,” Jackie had muttered when JJ unchained him from the bunk. “Not gonna lie, though, it’s weird being able to actually walk around.”

Jackie seemed mostly bored with the whole situation, to be honest. Which probably made sense. After all, he did keep reiterating that this was the most comfortable captivity he’d been in since Anti took him. But Jameson just found himself getting more and more worried as time passed. He tried to distract himself by helping Jackie catch up on his sign language learning, but eventually that didn’t work, and he just kept pacing the floor, anxiety slowly growing with every passing hour.

When the locked door finally opened, JJ was almost relieved that the anticipation was over with. But that relief was quickly overshadowed when someone stepped into the room and shut the door.

It was Anti, of course. He didn’t look too much different from how Jameson remembered him. Same brown hair, same single blue eye accompanied by a fake green one. Same scars over half his face, though the long one across his throat was new. However, that watch hanging on a chain around his neck...that was not new. Jameson recognized that immediately, and resisted the urge to reach up and grab his own watch, around his own neck.

The moment Anti entered, Jackie went pale, sitting down hard on the bottom bunk and scooting back until he hit the wall. But Jameson couldn’t move. He stopped his nervous pacing against the wall by the dresser and instantly froze, eyes locked onto Anti. And Anti stared at him in turn, eyes occasionally flicking up and down as he looked him over. The room was silent enough for the three men’s breathing to echo in the air.

Then, slowly, Anti took a couple steps away from the door. He was still standing in between the other two and their only exit, but he didn’t keep guarding it. JJ then noticed that Anti was holding two plastic bags in one hand, which he then set on the ground. Finally, Anti looked away from Jameson, searching the room with his eyes before landing on Jackie. He frowned. “What are you doing? That’s not your bed.”

Jackie flinched. He scrambled up from the bottom bunk and towards the ladder, climbing up it to the top, where he resumed his position with his back against the wall. Anti nodded, then glanced towards the other end of the cuffs still attached to the railing. “Where’s the key?”

Nobody answered, but Jackie instinctively glanced towards Jameson before glancing back. That didn’t go unnoticed by Anti, who looked back towards him. Jameson still couldn’t move. He couldn’t if he wanted to. He was a statue with limbs made of cold, solid stone, a beating heart in his chest pounding loudly in his ears.”Well...I guess it’s fine, then,” Anti finally said, not looking away from Jameson. He went silent for a few seconds. Then: “Jamie.”

That finally broke the spell, and Jameson backed up. What was he supposed to do? He’d been so worried about why Anti wasn’t showing up, that he didn’t think what to do when he finally did. His mind was scrabbling for purchase on shaking ground. His pulse was racing wildly. He couldn’t think of a solution. It wasn’t even an option underneath the sudden appearance of emotion whirling around his brain. Fear? Grief? Dread? Surprise? Relief?

“Do you...like the room?” Anti asked.

It was such an absurd question that the only response Jameson could muster was a strangled choking sound.

“I-I mean, it’s not exactly a five-star hotel, but I tried to make it nice. You have to share it, unfortunately, limited space. Do you two know each other? You’re friends the rest of the group.”

He just had to respond to that statement. How do you know that? Jameson asked, signing shakily.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on them,” Anti stated plainly. “Didn’t realize who you were until I saw you signing with that long-haired one, Marvin. You’re not online, so I couldn’t figure it out from tagging or anything. Took some more old-fashioned work.”

You were stalking me, Jameson said. Weren’t you?

“I had to find out where you lived, didn’t I?” Anti said, ignoring the faint shake of Jameson’s head. “But you caught on. Hah. You always were a clever boy.”

What do you want? Jameson asked. Why did you do this?! He added, signs growing steadier.

“Well you were going to freak out if I tried to talk to you normally, weren’t you?” Anti’s voice was unnervingly calm. “And I was right. I didn’t want to do this, but you kind of made me. So here we are.”

I didn’t ‘make you’ do anything! Jameson protested. You never have to kidnap people!

“This isn’t a kidnapping.”

Jameson just pointed over at Jackie, staring at Anti significantly.

Anti hesitated. Then he laughed. “Alright, I guess it is. Like I said, you’re a clever boy, Jamie.”

Stop calling me that! Jameson signed sharply, feeling a rise of sudden white-hot rage. I hate it, I’ve always hated it, and it doesn’t make this whole thing better if you keep calling me by that stupid nickname! It doesn’t change the fact that you drugged me and took me to some place far away and are now keeping me here against my will!

“Against your will? Aw, you mean you don’t want to see your big brother again?” Anti tilted his head to the side and smiled sickeningly.

Jameson shook his head violently. No! You’re a murderer who just abduct—

“Because I’ve been dying to see you again,” Anti interrupted, walking closer. Jameson paled, but found he couldn’t back up. “Did you know I thought you were dead? Did I tell you that already? I doubt you planned it to look that way, honestly, you’re clever but you never plan ahead. So I guess it was just a coincidence that the note you left sounded like a...permanent goodbye. Why’d you throw your jacket in the river, though?” Anti slowly reached up and grabbed the watch around his neck. “Did you think about what that would imply?” he asked softly.

And once again, Jameson was a statue, petrified by Anti’s dual-colored gaze like a real-world victim of Medusa. God damn it, why did Anti sound actually hurt by this? Was he actually hurt? JJ hadn’t really been thinking when he’d dropped his old jacket in the river three years ago, he just saw his reflection in the water, and suddenly wanted to get rid of the jacket his brother had bought him. So he did, then fled with the suitcase he’d packed. It was true, he hadn’t really been planning ahead when he left, though he’d thought about how Anti would react. Sometimes he wanted to go back, hating to make him sad, but convincing himself he was probably angry. Still, he remembered almost doubling back at a couple different bus stops, thinking it wasn’t worth it. 

Had Anti really thought...? Something like that would be upsetting to anyone, especially over someone who’d been under your care for years. He never meant to—

Why was he thinking about this?!

Jameson shook his head, and pushed Anti back. I don’t care what you thought, he said harshly. I don’t care how you felt.

“Of course you do,” Anti said. “I saw how you were hesitating. We’re brothers, Jameson, we care about each other. And you’re so sensitive, of course you can’t help it.”

No, no, no. Jameson continued to shake his head. I don’t care how you felt because you never cared what I felt. A seventeen-year-old shouldn’t be helping to dispose of a body. A twenty-year-old shouldn’t be afraid to go outside because his brother convinced him enemies would be after him.

“I didn’t want to get you involved in any of it,” Anti insisted. “But sometimes I had to! I couldn’t do it alone. Jamie—Jameson, it killed me to ask for your help. I just wanted you to be safe, but I was putting you in active danger out of necessity. So I had to make sure that nothing happened to you, especially when I was out and couldn’t protect you. I was just trying to keep you safe.”

You’re contradicting yourself, Jameson signed, keeping his face carefully expressionless. Keeping me safe, yet continually involving me in your work? You were a hypocrite back then, and you’re a hypocrite now.

“Oh my god, why can’t you just understand?!” Anti suddenly shouted. “No, of course! You don’t understand! You’re not even trying! It was so fucking difficult, Jameson, I did what I had to.” He took a deep breath. “Please, Jamie. You’re a sweet boy. Always have been. Why can’t you be now?”

Because you fucking kidnapped four people and killed thirteen! Jameson signed, aghast. Are we forgetting that? Or are you just trying to get me to?

Anti sighed, looking disappointed. “Alright. We can stop for the night.” He backed up, glancing over towards the bunk beds to make sure Jackie was still sitting there. “It’s a complicated situation, all of it. But you’re my little brother, and I care about you.” He reached the door, and grabbed the handle. “I brought you groceries, since I saw you were about halfway through them. I’ll stop by again.” And quickly, he opened the door and slipped out, the lock clicking behind him.

Silence.

Then Jackie let out a long, slow breath. “That was...that was f-fucking terrifying.”

JJ relaxed, letting out all of the tension he’d been holding. I told you he wasn’t aggressive all the time, he said, walking over to the plastic bags Anti had left on the floor and crouching down to look through them. A lot of dry foods. No drinks, but that was fine, since the mini fridge was full of them. He grabbed the bags and moved them over to the cabinet area.

“Yeah, but...it’s an entirely different thing to see it in person.” Jackie slowly inched back over to the bunk beds’ ladder, sitting with his feet on the top rung. “Mother of fuck. I thought it couldn’t get worse than the time he was strangling me, but that. It wasn’t exactly threatening, but it was...wow.”

Sorry, the time he what?! JJ asked, eyes wide as he turned to look back at Jackie.

“Oh. Uh...I-I’ll explain later, if you want,” Jackie mumbled. “What did he bring?”

Dropping the subject for now, JJ glanced through the bags again. Everything we need, he said. You’re right. He’s watching us.

Jackie nodded. “Of course. Wonder where the camera is this time.”

Jameson gave the room a sweep with his eyes. There wasn’t anywhere obvious, but then again, modern cameras were so tiny. It could be anywhere. A direct connection to Anti. He’d be always there, always watching...

Suddenly, Jameson’s legs gave out and he fell to the floor.

“JJ!” Jackie scrambled down the ladder and rushed over. “What happened?! Are you okay?”

“Hhhhnnn.” Jameson covered his mouth. His furious blinking couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, and a few slipped out. He got into a kneeling position, slowly shaking his head.

“Are you hurt? I-I mean physically?” Jackie reached out to touch Jameson’s shoulder, only for him to sharply pull away and shake his head harder. “I—okay. What’s wrong? What do you need?”

He just kept shaking his head, now trembling all over as he bent over and covered his head with his arms. It was just one conversation. One conversation, and in the course of that conversation, he had frozen up, gotten angry, then slowly started buying into what Anti was saying. He managed to catch himself this time but...It was going to go back to the way it used to be. There was no way to escape it. And now, he was physically trapped as well, unable to leave. He’d just keep listening to Anti. God damn it. God damn it! He couldn’t do this!

“H-hey, it’s...I mean, that looked really hard to do.” Jackie sat down on the floor next to him, crossing his legs. “But you did it, you know. It was really impressive, actually.”

Jameson looked up, and managed to start signing. I won’t be able to do it next time.

“What are you talking about? Of course you will!” Jackie smiled a bit, before looking grave. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s still going to be hard. But you’ve done it before. Hell, sounds like you managed to run away from the bastard in the past. When you were on your own, too. I probably can’t do much to, like, fight back, but I’ll still be here. Kind of have to be, ha. So...that’s different, I guess. Tell me if you need anything. Okay? I promise I’ll help.”

Jackie’s positivity was a bit awkward, but his tone was genuine. JJ found himself relaxing. He took a few deep breaths, then looked around the room. Things he could see: bunk bed, bags, bathroom door, mini fridge, Jackie. Things he could hear: his heartbeat, breathing, Jackie talking, slight humming from the lights. Things he could feel...he went down through the list.

“You...are you okay?” Jackie asked.

Better, JJ replied. But a bit drained. I think I’m going to take a nap.

“Alright. Go ahead. I’ll get these groceries sorted out.”

JJ nodded, and stood up, making his way over to the bottom bunk. Pushing the covers aside, he climbed in, turning to face the wall. His pocket watch was still hanging from his neck, and this time, he couldn’t stop himself from holding it. Then he took it off. Not around the neck. Somewhere different. To remind him that things weren’t the same.

Slowly, he fell asleep to the sound of Jackie rummaging in the cabinets.

——————

That hadn’t gone well. Anti sat down at his desk, replaying the conversation over. Where had he gone wrong? There must have been a couple places. Jameson clearly didn’t trust him, for obvious reasons. So, he’d need to find some way to gain it back. If Jameson wanted him to leave him alone, then he would. For a bit. Refine his conversation skills and what to say. Put more effort into it. He might have to lie at times, but that was fine.

He glanced at his phone. Some notifications alerting him to new messages in his...“work” email. Eventually, he’d have to answer some. That was how he got money, after all, which allowed him things like this new safe house.

What about Jackie? He’d been pretty quiet during that encounter. Good. If he was trying to gain Jameson’s trust, it would be a shame to hurt a friend of his. He’d let him be for now.

Anti looked over at the other item on the desk. A small turquoise notebook. After a few seconds, he reached over and picked it up, fanning through the pages until he reached one in particular. Then, he slid something out from between them. A keycard. He’d been reading this notebook for a while, and based on the contents, he could guess what this card was for. Why Marvin had it, he wasn’t sure, since it clearly belonged to that doctor woman.

And he wondered...should he make use of the card now? Or should he wait a while?

He played with the card for a minute, flipping it over his fingers. No, he’d wait. He already had enough to deal with at the moment. Maybe once he’d adjusted to the change. Still, it didn’t mean he couldn’t give the idea some thought. Bring it into solid reality.

Three at once might be a little much, but he could handle them.

And Jameson might like another friend.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticegos #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticeye au #septic egos au #septic egos #chase brody #marvin the magnificent #jameson jackson #jackieboy man #antisepticeye #brigid writes fanfiction #pwtimeline

[myblueeyedbuggers]

My Boys

Chapter 2

Chapter 1 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7  Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11  Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14

Pairings: Reader x Steve Rogers (Platonic) Reader x Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 1918

Warnings: Language, A tiny bit of Angst

Summary: After being abandoned by her parents in Brooklyn in 1929, y/n makes a living for herself by working for the Црни лабуд gang until she meets two boys in a back alley and her life slowing begins to change.

So, Hi again, I know I said that the next chapter would be shorter but I kinda got carried away with the story, hopefully you guys don’t mind XD As mentioned before All requests and imagines are open, any constructive criticism is welcome. Enjoy Everyone! (I just noticed I linked the wrong page for Chapter 1, not a very good tech student am I? XD)

A few days later-

The right side of my face felt like it was on fire, a constant ache reminding me of what happens when I fail my task, boss handed my ass to me in more ways then one. The damn beatings from the boys made me too weak to stop the bastard named Greg from running off and calling the police, the dick decided to hand himself in instead of spending time with yours truly, which in all honesty is understandable, any sane person would turn and leg it away from a small lass looking like she went 5 rounds with a bear.

Perhaps walking around in the middle of the day isn’t the best idea when your face looks like the rear end of a smashed-up truck, people were stopping and staring at me, it was really doing miracles for my self-esteem (Notice my sarcasm there). I’d already managed to screw up this “mission” anyway, staying undetected with a face like this is nearly impossible, my decision of winging it this morning coming back to bite me in the ass within the first 5 minutes out the house. Safe to I was royally buggered, both literally and figuratively.

My mind was buzzing with different techniques and plans I needed to get the next target, maybe I could break into his house and dig up some dirt on this guy, from what I’ve been told that should be easy considering the dirt bag’s cheating on his wife with the maid from the apartment be- whatever train of thought I had was completed obliterated, somehow my ass hand ended up on the floor. Again. Irritation flooded my veins, whoever did better be ready to dig themselves an early grave, looking up my eyes made contact with the one person who I wished to never see again. Bucky f**king Barnes. “Why is it every time I see you, you’ve somehow managed to piss me off? Is that how you greet everyone or am I just that Special?”, I was met with silence. Not unnerving at all, glancing at him I noticed he was staring at my face with wide eyes, immediately I pulled myself from the floor and ran like hell in the opposite direction.

 This is not an ideal situation, to anyone else it’d look like I was running for the bus, when I was actually running for my life, “y/n! stop!” like that’s gonna bloody happen ya moron there’s a flipping reason I’m running, cause I ain’t doing it for fun!I already know I’m gonna regret doing this, my feet changed direction and guided my body down a small but familiar ginnel, two lefts and a right later I was approaching a wall, adrenaline was rushing through my body as I launched myself at the wall. Surprisingly I didn’t faceplant and managed to get a hold of the top of the wall, the lower half of my body erupted in sharp pains, but I needed to ignore them, quickly pulling myself up and leaping off to the other side. As soon as my feet touched the floor I was off, I didn’t really wanna know if Bucky saw what I did or where I went, I might not like the guy, but he doesn’t need to get tangled up in with a hopeless case like me.

Once I was certain that I’d lost him, I crouched down behind some bins and attempted, key word attempted, to catch my breath. I’ll admit that was way too close, anyway why does he care? I was and still am being a complete dick to him, does he not get the hit that I’m not his number one fan? Eh, when’ve I cared?  it’s just me against this bullshit world and I’m pretty sure that ain’t gonna change anytime soon. Now fully recovered, I emerged from my hidey hole and… walked right into Bucky. “What the Hell?! Are you some form of f**cking ninja or something, did you not get that don’t wanna talk or do I need to give you a formal letter?!”, he just stared at me with raised eyebrows and let me finish my rant, cocky bugger.

 “You done running now? Wanna try telling me who the hell did this?”, okay who the hell crapped him is cereal? “Nobody, I simply fell of a bike earlier on this week avoiding the village idiot”, giving me, an incredulous look Bucky sighed and covered his face in exasperation. Seeing an opportunity to get away, I slowly started edging away and to be fair, I nearly got past him before he grabbed my arm, “do you really expect me to believe that y/n?”.

The glare I sent him could have made Satan himself piss his pants, but Bucky didn’t even flinch much to my frustration, “Believe it, don’t believe it all in all I couldn’t give a shit, now let go of my arm before I rip it off “I’m pretty sure I just growled at him. And of course, the dick does the opposite and tightens his grip on my arm, wait is he dragging me?! The hell! do I look like dog on a leash? “Fine then don’t tell me, but you’re coming to my house to get cleaned up” his tone was final and left no room for arguments, but it’s me, when have I ever backed down from a challenge? “Nope, nah, not happening I can take care of myself thank you very much, now I’ll ask you one last time. Let. Go. Of. My. Arm.”

My voice held so much spite, I hardly recognised it as my own, “No” and with that he picked me up, ignoring my protests, and started carry me to his home

.-40 minutes later

How the hell Bucky managed to carry me for this long, I have no idea, for a lad of 14 he’s impressively strong and that’s the annoying thing, I’ve been trying to get off him for the past 40 minutes and even my hardest punches and kicks just seemed to tickle him. At one point he even started laughing at my threats, which added to my burning rage, the urge to smack this cocky son of a gun was hard to contain at this point. I’ve no idea what neighbourhood were in, it resembled a perfect suburban hub, the ideal place to settle down and raise a family, I wonder what it’s be like to be apart of a fully functioning family coming home to people who loved you…it must be nice. 

 Unknown to Bucky, a single tear slid down my face, my heart longing for a family to call my own, but that’d never happen, hell according to my parents I wasn’t even supposed to exist, by the time my mother realised she was pregnant it was too late to get an abortion. I was a curse that ruined their lives and their relationship, I’ve got the scars to prove how much of a waste of space I am, “You okay back there? You’ve been quite for more than two minutes” Bucky’s voice cut through my thoughts, for a minute I’d forgotten where I was. Okay that’s enough of feeling sorry for yourself y/n, pull yourself together you’ve managed this long without anyone, “Hello? Are you asleep of somethin?” I swear down this guy is more annoying then my conscious sometimes, “Nope I was thinking of all the different ways I can kick ya ass later buddy boy”, his body vibrated with laughter as Bucky let out a load laugh at my reply. 

Do you see what I’m dealing with here ?!, “Good to know you’re back to the you’re ever cheerful self doll”, what in the name of ever loving fudge?! “Since when did I become your doll Barnes? last time I checked slingin’ a girl over your shoulder and carrying her off isn’t the way to get a girl!” all the bugger does is laugh, laugh I tell you! this boy is gonna be the death of me. “You sure about that doll face? cause it worked for me”.

I could practically see the stupid smirk on his face, also can someone explain to me why I’m blushing? For once I had nothing say, my sarcasm failed me…damn it. A low chuckle brought my attention back to the annoyance with legs, more commonly known as Barnes, “We’re almost home Doll, Mama should be able to clean you up in no time” oh no, no, no I don’t do well with parents, or any adult now that I think about it, they always have this look of pity in their eyes when they see me. It’s like they’ve just found a homeless kitten on the street and feel the need to adopt it and take care of it until they get bored, it’s infuriating and embarrassing, “Oi! Barnes, I ain’t telling you again I can look after myself, your mama doesn’t need to trouble herself with me I’m perfectly capable of cleaning myself up!” he let out another frustrated sigh, he must be going for a record it’s the 20th one, before ignoring me completely and walking up the drive.

“Yeah you keep saying you okay by yourself but look at the state of you y/n! you’ve got a busted-up nose and lip, a black eye and a cut on you’re eyebrow! How the hell is that taking care of yourself?!” for once he did have a point, but hell’s gonna have to freeze over before I admitted that, “Not that you’d know this Barnes, but this is what happens every day, I have to make my own livin’ I ain’t got anyone to rely on and it’s been that way for years, it’s how I like it! now put me the hell down before I kick ya ass to China!”.

The sound of an opening door stopped Bucky’s reply, “JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING LUGGIN’ THIS POOR GIRL AROUND LIKE A SACK OF POTATOS?! PUT HER DOWN NOW!” holy mother of all things holy I do NOT want to be on the receiving end of this lady’s anger! I think my ass is attracted to the floor, one minute I’m being held captive by an annoying pillock and the next I’m on the floor nursing a bruised behind, “Jesus Christ talking about letting a girl down quickly!” hands grabbed my upper arms and pulled me to my feet, Bucky’s apologies faded into the background when a shocked gasp silenced the conversation. Slowly I raised my head, Bucky’s mother had tears falling down her cheeks, her brown eyes were filled with the two emotions I hated the most, pity and sadness.

 Not being able to keep eye contact any longer, my gaze shifted to the porch floor, her shadow slowly started to move towards me, she was being cautious as if she were approaching a wild animal and I hated it. I hate seeing people treat me like a basketcase, I can’t stand it “I’m very sorry for disturbing you ma’am, I’ll leave” I quickly turn around and start to walk away, about 3 steps in a gentle hand grabs my shoulder and stops me. “Sweetie, you don’t have to apologise for anything, come inside I’ll get you cleaned up, Bucky, honey Steve’s inside with your father and sister” and with that Bucky’s mother guides me inside with a comforting hand and a gentle smile. 

Soooo..yeah this happens, I’m not gonna lie I felt really bad writing the sad bit about the reader, I may have teared up a tiny bit, anyway YAY chapter 2 is outta the way!. Hope you all liked it  :)Rose xx

#bucky barnes x reader #captain america x reader #reader #mcu #reader insert #steve #bucky #bucky barnes #sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #fanfic #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers #winter soldier x reader #winter soldier #captain america

[burnedbyshoto]

Burned Out

pairing: bakugou katsuki x reader

warning: cursing, alcohol mention, angst

word count: 1,981

a/n: this is for an anon and for @monst, enjoy!

✩✶✩❇✩✶✩

Fairytales were supposed to have happy ends, at least that’s what you had always been told.

The prince and the princess would meet and fall in love, but they would be distanced by some big bad and evil force. Thankfully the prince would defeat the evil, the princess would rejoice and their love saved, and they would live happily ever after. That was something that remained true through every story, in every tale love prospered. So was it cocky of you to think that your fairytale would end just the same?

You met Bakugou Katsuki in high school, and while he was no prince, nor was it love at first sight, the two of you did eventually fall for each other. Your feelings had been confessed in your second year of school and surprisingly, he had confessed his own feelings as well. The two of you remained in silent bliss about your new relationship for three days before things collapsed. 

Villains overthrew Japan and the two of you were separated.

By no means were you some damsel in distress, but in the end, Bakugou was among one of the heroes who defeated the big bad evil. You can still remember throwing yourself into his bloodied and weak arms as he stood there victorious. Blood stained nearly every area of his body, but his eyes were strong and emotional as he stared at you with a smile.

“I t-told you, heroes don’t l-lose,” he stammered through his pain as he kissed you.

That was the end of your fairytale, the next step was to move on with life and live happily ever after!

It wasn’t the case here.

How you craved it was the case.

But something changed one day with Bakugou.

He just stopped... caring.

It had started three years into your relationship. He began to start skipping days at work for no sensible reason, at least there was no actual explanation he could give you when someone came and reached out to you about it.

“Where’s Ground Zero?” His sidekick asked you one day as you were patrolling down the same street.

Your eyebrows scrunched as you laughed a bit confused, “Isn’t that what I should be asking you?”

“He hasn’t shown up at all this week,” the sidekick spoke slowly as if he was admitting some deep and dark secret. “I thought you knew?”

You didn’t.

Your hand slammed to the back of your neck as you scratched it, trying your best to disguise your uncertainty. “I’m sure he’s home?”

That night you had gotten home, Bakugou wasn’t there. Your frown deepened when he showed up hours later, his body bruised and battered as if he had been patrolling today as if he was trying to convince you he was working.

“Hi, love,” Bakugou murmured as he pressed a soft kiss to your lips. “It was a long day at work.”

That was the first lie you had experienced come from Bakugou Katsuki.

When had he ever lied to you?

“Was it really?” You decided to play along as you watched him prepare the plate of food you had prepared for dinner.

“Mhm, shitty villains still under Shigaraki’s influence are still out there,” Bakugou sighs as he slides into the seat beside you.

“Why haven’t you shown up to work in a week?” You ask quickly, your heartrate hammering as your eyes widened at the sight of Bakugou freezing at your question.

“It’s a long story.”

“I have time.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, sorry.”

“O-Oh, okay.”

After that, he stopped caring about the special days of your relationship. Of how you two always took the third weekend of the month to yourselves, to get out, to be a couple! It was a wonderful thing the two of you did, personal days were important and getting to destress with each other was even better in your opinion.

“That sounds like it will be fun for you boys!” You call as you lay under the blankets of your bed.

You hear Bakugou spit into the sink, the water running seconds after as clattering sounds ring from the bathroom.

“It should be, as long as those idiots don’t screw anything up,” Bakugou responds as you watch him walking out of the bathroom in nothing but sleeping pants. Your lips quirk into a small smile as you watch him turn off the lights and climb into bed with you. You snuggle immediately into his side as he holds you, the minty freshness of his breath soothing you.

“When are you guys going?”

“Next weekend.”

Next weekend… but that was…

“I thought next weekend was our monthly getaway?” You asked as you pushed away from Bakugou, your eyes confused as millions of emotions ran through his eyes.

He had forgotten.

“Fuck, baby, I forgot… shit, I’ll text them and--”

“No!” You interrupt, your head shaking as you refused to let you get in the way of his bro bonding days. “It’s just this one time, it’s fine, ‘suki! We have more weekend getaways, plus we have so many under our belt I can make do without one.”

Even in the darkness, you could see his cheeks tinting red as he pressed an apologetic kiss to your mouth.

“I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you.”

“I’m sure you will, lover boy.”

But he never did make it up to you, and it wasn’t the last time he double booked on your weekend getaways.

It started piling up, slowly and surely.

Date nights became once a week thing until they vanished until once a month thing. Even getting him to take you out once, getting him to join you somewhere was a verbal battle. He forgot your anniversary, instead choosing to go out with his friends and came back blackout drunk. You convinced yourself it wasn’t that big a deal as it was your fourth year anniversary, you could handle not celebrating this one, right? 

But there was fighting, so much fucking fighting.

The bitter, revolting, and disturbingly toxic verbal fights that left both of you crying for each other. Fights that created chipped walls between the two of you, fights that were only being resolved with angry and bitter sex. It was exhausting and you were desperate for improvement.

But it was too late for improvement, not when there was a picture of a drunk Ground Zero on the cover of a tabloid with a girl in his arms. There wasn’t anything flirty between them, the newspaper confirming that there was nothing for you to be offended about, but this was taken on the night that the both of you had promised to talk. The night that you believed change was finally going to happen for the better. But he never showed up until long after you had passed out while waiting for you.

Eerily as it happened months ago Bakugou opened the front door of his apartment, his voice ringing out about his bad day at work.

His eyes locked on your figure which was closed off, distant, and cold.

“You okay, y/n?” He asks, his tone tired and his body looking exhausted as he drops his bag onto the ground.

Your eyes drop to the ground as he steps towards you, his finger brushing your hair out of your face as he chuckles, “Is something wrong? You look pretty sad-- where are your blankets?”

There was no need to look where Bakugou held his attention right now, honestly, you had no idea how to feel about the fact that he had noticed so quickly. Happy because he noticed? Sad because why was his attention already dividing away from you after he had just stepped through the door?

“I didn’t want to leave you a note because I respect and love you too much to do that,” you whisper as you think about the boxes of your belongs that had been transported to your office. “I’m breaking up with you.”

Your eyes finally lock on his own, and you’re not surprised to see that his eyes are emotionless.

“What?”

“One year, ten months, and seventeen days,” your voice cracks as you smile, yet the warmth that typically joins it was missing entirely. “That’s the last time you told me you loved me.”

“There’s no wa--”

“It is,” you laugh as you shake your head. “And it was through a text message too. It’s not the reason why I’m breaking up with you though… I know you aren’t a verbal person when it comes to expressing your love, but regardless.”

“Then why are you breaking up with me,” Bakugou asks, his voice a near echo as if he was merely a reflection of himself.

“Because I need more!” You cry as your hand’s fist at your side. “I shouldn’t have to be a person you interact with only when you’re drunk! I was your goddamn girlfriend yet I didn’t even feel like your fucking friend, Bakugou! I was a second thought at best! I saw that you were out getting drunk even though you promised we would stay and talk about our issues... We fight constantly, you get drunk weekly, your agency hasn’t seen you in days! I’m supposed to be your lover, not your goddamn babysitter! I can’t do this anymore! Not when I’m trying to be loved, because goddamnit I deserve to be loved by someone who goddamn wants me!”

Fat tears well down your face as you glare at your feet, refusing to look up at Bakugou, “It’s not even that I don’t love you, because I really do. I prayed you were the one for me, I thought that you were the one I was meant to be with forever, but I see that I was wrong. We are meant for other people and that’s okay, it’s just… I love you too much and I need to get out before I can’t anymore…”

Your words are strong but you want nothing more than to crumble into the floor and never move again.

“I really did lose everything, didn’t I? Including you.”

Your eyes snapped up at your ex-boyfriend’s face and you fell frozen at the sight of equally large tears rolling down his face. His face is full of bitter amusement and just pure tragedy.

“I’ve been failing at everything recently… I just feel so burned out from everything, and I didn’t know how to fix anything. My agency basically kicked me out, I’ve been working with Kirishima’s agency for months now… my friends hate me when I’m drunk and it’s bleed into their behavior when I’m sober. I’m not trying to excuse my dumbass actions, I put all that in front of you when I shouldn’t have ever… I’m sorry, y/n. I know I told you, heroes, always win but… this is an evil in me that has been kicking my ass for ages now. I really am sorry, I do love you too, so fucking much but I don’t deserve you. If you’ve felt I haven’t loved you in nearly two years, I-- I don’t deserve you.”

You’re speechless as Bakugou presses a wet kiss to your forehead, “I’m sure whoever it is out there meant to be yours, they’re one lucky bastard. I’m so sorry.”

Without anything else to say, Bakugou walked past you, his eyes dark and shoulders stiff as he entered the bedroom. The door clicked softly behind him and your heart hammered in your ears as muffled sobs seemed to scream in your ears.

Despite the tears streaming down your own face, despite the fact that you wanted to storm into that room and beat him silly until your angry punches became desperate and forgiving kisses, you walked out of the apartment.

Fairytales had a big bad evil… was your assumed evil always wrong?

#bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou imagine #bakugo katsuki #bakugou angst #bnha writing blog #bnha #bnha x reader #bnha imagines #mha #mha x reader #mha imagines #mha bakugou

[archivedatl]

Old Blogs

Howdy. I’ve noticed some concern over the loss of my old blogs here n’ there so I decided to post all of them in one large, comprehensive blog-a-verse. Hope this brings a smile to a few faces. Our Street Corners Keep Secrets This is me asking for a brick to be thrown through my window,
a message attached that reads, "Why can’t you just wake up?"
I am not a star,
don’t look up to me in hopes of finding something more.
That which is out of reach does not promise anyone a goddamn thing.
Hope arises in possibility,
but possiblity is fragmented and selfish,
so don’t think for a second that I am safe ground to walk on.
I will sink beneath the feet of a thousand travelling companions,
and make ruin of any city’s foundations,
because concrete and steel can never tell a soul how it feels.
Our street corners keep secrets, and our road signs only suggest,
never deciding for us,
never knowing if the destination to which they lead,
is where we truely belong.
Life’s greatest tragedy is not that it will some day end,
but that most of us just live to follow directions,
and many times we end up totally lost. I am a landmine. Sometimes I break down so hard you can hear it, and when I can stand to come near it with means to repair, the chances of walking out unscathed are slim to none.
I know because I’m one; a victim of second-hand breakdowns and bad impressions, made under intoxicated conditions with poorly lit expressions. And I regret not going back, I regret not missing flights, I regret not asking for more and taking chances that I can only hope will not be forgotten. My fingers are crossed.

I-O-U.

Now my telephone’s dead and I can’t stand to hold out like this, but I’m constantly checking myself so as not to be a burden. Anything too heavy eventually gets dropped, no matter the cost. Let me be light as a feather, but valued enough so as to remain in a back pocket, until those jeans need washing and I find my place on a bedside table, to be read aloud on nights when memories and prying needs return to haunt the foundations of this room.

Pick me up,
Read me every now and then,
I won’t disappoint.
*I am* witty and engaging so bless me with attention, because I’m *dying* for attention *without* any means of telling *you*. I’ll talk the talk, you take care of the rest. What up thugs?

I’m alive and well, realizing how eternally grateful I am for everything going on in my life day by day... Its a lot like learning to walk - at least, that’s how I’d like to think of it. We’ve all been there, so I won’t waste your time painting a pretty picture of how it all goes down...
I want to talk about other things...
First and foremost, I’ve come to understand that as of late there have been a lot of people finding this little piece of my life tucked away on the web; moreso than usual, and for that reason, I’d like to extend my proverbial hand to anyone and everyone who may have something - anything to say to me. Thank you for taking an interest in who I am and what I’m attempting to do with my life. I am opening myself up, as much as possible, to anyone who may be interested. All I ask is that whoever you may be, wherever you may be, understand that I am only human - two hands, ten fingers, and a life... I’ve received a few messages from people, upset that I haven’t been able to respond to their previous comments or private messages, and who now probably think less of me for it. I hope this isn’t the case, but its bound to happen. What I’m saying is that I don’t live my life on the internet... I’m sorry if there’s a message I never got around to responding to... I’m just not that good at keeping up with reality, let alone a virtual one. I will, however, try harder from now on... And understand that even if I don’t respond, I probably have read your message. I don’t just clear my inbox and move on. Thats plain rude. :)

To all my good friends,
the ones I should talk to more often,
the ones I left back home,
the ones I will never stop loving,
thank you for still hugging me when I come home...
I know I don’t always show it,
but I’m forever indebted to you all for everything you’ve ever done for me...

That brings me to my second point.
The closest friends you’ll ever have are the ones you’d take a bullet for,
but they’re the ones you constantly feel you could put a bullet in as well. ;)

Think about that one.

That’s it for now. I can’t believe I’m up at 5:14am. Touring has made me an insomniac, but I feel fucking great.

Have a good one y’all,

Me Lawyers and Liars I am a liar.
I am self absorbed.
I am in this for me.
I am seeking recognition.
I am not concerned with politics.
I am attempting to rise to the top.
I am never going to forget my intentions.
I am allowed to worry about my own life above the lives of others.

-------AFTER ALL---------

I am human. Part Deux: Colors, Sounds and Feather-Downs 
Current mood: happy I had a long, goofy conversation several weeks ago with an interesting girl who I haven’t seen since, in a diner I have yet to revisit, but it stirred up some thoughts that I found pretty interesting. Maybe I’m just nuts. Anyhow, the discussion began on a simple basis; I inquired as to what her favorite color might be. She said she didn’t know. I replied, "How can you not know? Its a simple question." -- She paused, looking sort of surprised, as if someone had never pressed her for an answer before, and then replied, "Well... It changes... Today its yellow."

I didn’t know what to say...
I didn’t understand.

How can your favorite color just change?
What happened to yesterday’s favorite color?
If, on a whim, something of such esteem and value can be replaced with another, then on what grounds was it ever of any more value to begin with?
When I was little, my favorite color was green. It stayed that way, no matter what I said to be trendy at the time (IE. 8th grade was my "black is such a raw and expressive pigment" phase, but everyone goes through that shit.) As of late, I’ve become more partial to blue - Light blue in particular, but that’s not that important. My point is that something happened that caused me to send green packing, and to fall absolutely head-over-heels for blue.
(Stay with me on this...)
Now, such a dramatic change in attraction doesn’t just happen - I mean shit, I know we’re only talking about colors here, but this kind of switch-a-roo has only happened ONCE in my entire life. Green ---> Blue. Just like that. Must mean somthing, right?
Pablo Picasso went through a "blue period", at which time he was broke and mourning the loss of a dear friend. There’s a similarity there somewhere.
Please don’t get me wrong, I am by no means depressed, nor do I have any reason to be, but perhaps color - every, individual hue, represents to each of us a state of being, and in turn, helps us to deal with whatever it is we may be going through. I’m not talking mood-ring shit here. What I mean is that there are things - simple things - that without our knowing, mean the world to us and when they change, they change for our own good, because whether we like it or not, we are looking out for ourselves. We do it unconsciously - But we do it. We do it to stay happy and to stay alive... And above all else, that’s what matters.
On this note, I’d like to attempt to make my point - Don’t throw yourself out on another’s whim. People change, as do intentions and as a result, consequences. Live for yourself - love those around you, but realize that they’ve got their own agendas. People will screw you - You will screw people... Green ---> Blue. Get it? I’m not sure I do... Always consider that your life will venture in new directions, but be aware that other’s will do the same, and in accordance, understand that to be happy, people must exist in their own light, cast in and of themselves, not by the light of their peers. Conflict will arise because of this. Conflict is to be expected; conflict is a part of life. Find ways to work through conflict, even if it means picking a new favorite color...


I hope this makes a little sense.


I’m tired and rambling, and perhaps just a misguided fool, but I think there’s something in this - something that I am learning and accepting as my fingers punch these keys to an inviting, hypnotic rhythm. I feel like they’re leading me somewhere, and I’ve decided to follow.

____I’m going to bed. Take from this what you will.

Love,

Alexander William Gaskarth

*I feel fine* The first of many, I hope. 
Current mood: happy So I’ve decided to spill it; the beans, the juice, my guts... Whatever you want to call it, consider it spilled. Up to this point, I feel like I’ve done an excellent job of keeping just about everything true about myself, to myself... and for good reason - what people don’t know, people can’t use against you. I guess that’s my first confession. I fucking despise the way people operate. The way people go out of their way to find things out, only to throw them senselessly (BLINDLY) into conversation later. I don’t know if its intentional, (I guess that sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t,) but frankly, it gets to me. Its the same kind of prying aggravation I feel when someone starts moving shit around in my car, or on my computer table. Stop putting hills in my rugs! Please. Call me OCD but if I put something somewhere, chances are, I wanted it there and it should remain that way. Its the same for anyone else. Let one’s own business remain that way. Anyway. I’ve fallen into a depression lately - not emotionally per say, but I feel like my ability to open up to people has peaked over the past two years. I used to be so ready to say anything, without caring how it affected me, but recently I’ve become so protective of myself, not because I’m afraid of getting hurt by others, but because I might make myself look bad. It’s disgusting. I never used to be so self-absorbed. Its like in every situation, I’m wearing a mask... Not just one mask, in fact, but many masks; Masks to hide masks between people - to hide certain sides of myself from those who disapprove where others don’t. I try so hard to win the approval of everyone. Why? Fucked if I know. I just love being the center of attention I guess. And all this time I thought myself to be humble. No sir. But then, who really is humble? Everyone wants to be loved, right? So am I wrong in looking out for my own well being? Who knows? It makes me sick to my stomach, regardless. I’ve unknowingly stumbled across so many insecurities lately that I feel like a different person at times. It’s like I’ve been born all over again, to a world where I have to carry myself differently. I’m still opinionated, I’m still eagerly in search of answers, but my motives have changed. I do it for myself now; for the praise and admiration I earn as a result of my actions, not for the simple pleasure found in just "doing it". Maybe its all just part of growing up, as they say. Maturing... You know? But does it continue to change? Will I stop acting like such an asshole? Who knows. It worries me. I don’t want to be like this, but its who I’ve become... What’s worse is that I don’t know who or what to blame for the transformation. That would be too easy, right? I digress. I’ve got a lot of things on my plate. My dreams are coming true right before my very eyes - I have a band - We’re going somewhere - This time next year I hope I’m far, far away from this place. I want to see Japan. I’ve wanted to see Japan for a while now; call it a calling. Haha. I don’t know what I want when I get there - I don’t even like the hustle of big cities for too long. Gives me a headache. But there’s something about it. I’ll see it soon enough. The repetition of every day life kills. It ruins the flow of my creative juices. No joke. On days that I sleep in, I go to bed feeling exhausted, and yet, I never sleep on the weekends, when I should want rest. I don’t. It would be a waste of freedom. Why spend time on parole in seclusion, you know? I’m only tired on weekdays - only when I know I have to drag myself out of my fucking room to take a shower and go to school, and then to work. Maybe I’m not tired. Maybe it’s just a natural defense against running myself into the ground with routine. I feel pale, and sick, and run down... For no reason. I eat right. I see the light of day. I breathe fresh air all the time. I love the outdoors. Shit. I love my life. But between Monday and Thursday I feel so transient... My head isn’t in the clouds - My feet aren’t on the ground. Where am I? I don’t know, but frankly, it sucks. I have some good friends. We get hammered sometimes and forget about everything. The occasional dramatic scene is worth it. People naturally don’t get along with one another. It’s all a matter of how tolerant people are. I have some tolerant friends. In turn, I think I put up with my share of bullshit. It’s like a cycle of tough loving. But it works. It keeps me sane. In the end I think we really do love each other. Awww. I also like to kiss people. It gets me into trouble sometimes. Whatever. Certain individuals need to stop looking for love in the wrong places. --I can’t talk. --I’ve found love in the worst places. --Its not an easy thing to deal with. --Doesn’t change the way I feel about them. --Its ok. --As long as I’m happy. There I go being selfish again. ___I’m done confessing for now. Take from this what you will. Love, Alexander William Gaskarth *I feel better.*

#Alex Gaskarth #2008 #So Wrong It's Right #MySpace #blog #text #ap tour

[not-oscar-wilde]

Reunited

part two of revived and reunited. read part one here and/or the full fic on ao3

Dave had known that Klaus grew up in a big house, but nothing could quite have prepared him for the imposing vastness of this building. It seemed too big to be a home of any kind - not that it had ever been much of a home, if what Klaus had told him was anything to go by. 

“This is it?” he asked.

“It sure is. The Umbrella Academy!” Herb seemed positively delighted. Dave wanted to feel the same way, but his heart was beating too fast and his mind racing too much for that. What felt like just a day ago, he had as good as died in Klaus’s arms. He had seen his lover break and it had torn him apart almost as much as the bullet. Klaus still thought he was dead. Everyone thought he was dead.

He had a single suitcase to his name, currently resting on the ground beside him. Apparently the Commission was more powerful than he cared to think about, obtaining all the documents he’d need to live in the twenty-first century with concerning ease. The supposed fact that he had been born in 1990 somehow seemed the most bizarrely futuristic, but all of it started to unnerve him if he thought about it too much or for too long. And he was already plenty unnerved. 

The person who opened the door to them was a child. He couldn’t have been older than fifteen at most, though he had the look of a much older man, one who had been interrupted while reading the newspaper and enjoying his morning coffee. This must be Five. Klaus’s time travelling, previously missing sibling. “Herb, I’m not coming back to the Commission,” the child said bluntly.

“I wasn’t gonna ask you to! I know, you’re retired,” Herb said with an awkward grin. “I’m just here to make a, uh, delivery. Think of it as part apology, part ‘we’re hoping you won’t do any more to screw up the timeline now we’ve got it all nice and fixed up if we do this for you’.”

Dave should probably have felt more insulted by being referred to as a delivery, as if he was some kind of package, but he was too busy processing the conversation. So Five had worked for the Commission? Was that how or why he could time travel? Or was that how the Commission had learned to time travel? Before he could figure it out, Five’s eyes slid from Herb to Dave, and he realised he was making a terrible first impression. So despite his confusion, Dave forced himself to smile and held out his hand to shake. “Dave Katz. You must be Five, right? It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

Five raised his eyebrows as he looked him up and down. Somehow, this was so much worse and he felt so much more awkward than the times he’d met any girls’ father. How could someone who looked so young also look so… authoritative? Klaus’s family was confusing, but he knew they mattered to him. And that meant he needed them to at least approve of him, even if they didn’t like him. After what felt like an age, he seemed to find Dave adequate and firmly shook his offered hand. “I am,” he said coolly, then turned his full attention back to Herb. Well, that could have gone a whole lot worse. “I don’t have any plans to do any more major time jumps. I’ve had enough apocalypses for several lifetimes, and the two seem to go together when my family is involved.” 

Perhaps Dave was just going to have to get used to not understanding half of what was said around him. It was almost as bad as being on leave in Vietnam and trying to comprehend flashes of conversations in a language he didn’t speak beyond a few of the very basics. Though everyone associated with the Commission had spoken English around him, it may as well have been Vietnamese for all the sense it made. 

“Well, just in case your brother has other ideas, we figured we’d step in before he had you try and save Mr Katz here,” Herb said.

“Ah, you know one of my brothers. My condolences,” Five said sardonically. “Which one?”

Did he not know about the two of them? Klaus had said that each of his siblings knew he was queer, and Dave had just assumed that if he had found a way back to them, he would have told them about him. But perhaps it still needed to stay somewhat unsaid. Perhaps he hid his emotions around his siblings just as much as he did around acquaintances. 

“Klaus,” Dave said softly. His lover's name felt so right on his lips, it was hard not to smile whenever he said it. Sure, when they were alone, he was ‘baby’, ‘honey’, ‘sweetie’, but ‘Klaus’ could and did contain just as much joy and affection.

“Ah… He’s in his room. I can go fetch him, if you like?” Five offered with a nod and a knowing smile.

Dave barely managed to choke out a ‘please’ before Five disappeared in a flash of blue light, just like the one that had brought Klaus to him in the first place.

He was going to see Klaus again. He was going to see Klaus in a safe place, where there were no bombs and no gunshots and no need to look over their shoulders constantly to make sure no one saw too much. 

His heart leapt so intensely that it damn near knocked him sick, and when the tall, slender figure of Klaus Hargreeves appeared at the top of the stairs alongside his brother, time stopped. 

He was the same Klaus that Dave had left on the battlefield, but so different. His hair was long now, with his soft curls falling to his shoulders. He was wearing an oversized zip-up sweatshirt fully unfastened, that beautiful, foolish, romantic tattoo on show across his stomach and just as perfect as it had been the day Klaus had told him what it said. Hanging just above it were his dog tags, resting against bare skin perhaps just a little more tanned than when Dave had seen him last. He was a vision of eclectic perfection and Dave had never been so happy to see another living being alive and well.

The cheeky grin on Klaus’s face morphed into wide-eyed, open-mouthed shock as he made eye contact with Dave. He dimly registered Herb’s brightly exclaimed “surprise!”, but he couldn’t process anything that wasn’t Klaus. For Klaus to have grown his hair so long, it must have been over a year of Klaus thinking he was really dead. Even though Dave knew it wasn’t his fault, he still needed to apologise. Though he couldn’t turn back time, he could promise the rest of the time he had to give. Though he couldn’t fix it, he could do everything in his power to make things okay again and to cherish this second chance he had to offer Klaus his heart. 

“Hello,” he said softly. “I’m sorry if I kept you waiting.”

Eventually, Klaus glanced over at his brother, blinking back tears. “You see him too, right?”

“Obviously.”

Before Dave could say or do anything more, Klaus was pushing past Five and rushing down the stairs. He threw himself at Dave, hugging him so tightly that he almost couldn’t breathe, holding on as if his life depended on it. Dave’s arms found their rightful place around him within a second, and as soon as they did, Klaus seemed to melt against him with a trembling exhale. He couldn’t see his face, but Dave knew his lip was quivering. He knew that look, knew Klaus’s ‘struggling to hide how much he was hurting’ face. He didn’t need to see it. He just needed to hug Klaus tightly, to rub his back in the way that said ‘we’re safe now’. 

“I’m gonna be so pissed if this is another dream,” he said, his voice slightly stuffy with suppressed tears. 

Another dream. So Klaus dreamed about him. If only his younger self could see this, could know that one day little David Katz was going to end up in the dreams of the most wonderfully crazy and incredibly beautiful man who had ever lived. “I think this is real,” he said. 

Klaus pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes, his hands on Dave’s biceps. The way he looked at him… Klaus had always looked at Dave like he was something special, but this was more. This was like he was the eighth wonder of the world, the most marvellous and incredible sight imaginable. “How the hell?” Klaus asked, those beautiful eyes turned misty.

“If I could, uh, field that one?”

Dave had almost forgotten that there was anyone else there with them. It was like they were alone again, in one of their stolen moments for just the two of them. The rush of panic of being caught had him instinctively stepping away and letting go of Klaus, as if he could somehow pretend that they hadn’t been caught in one of their secret, tender moments. That panic was hard-wired into him, a self-preservation instinct. 

But he was safe here. Herb knew about them both. Five knew about Klaus, at least. They were allowed to be seen together here. So Dave slipped his arm around Klaus’s waist and pulled him close. He never wanted to let go again. 

“We figured, well, we don’t want any more Hargreeves related timeline screw-ups, and our, uh, previous management didn’t exactly give your family the best, uh… You know.” Dave didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to interrupt and ask, particularly when both Klaus and Five seemed fully aware of what he meant. “So we figured the best way to do that was to do some light resurrection to reunite you two in 2019 and still keep everyone back in 1968 thinking that Mr Katz here died in action.” 

“Elegant,” Five said approvingly. “A faked death is never easy to execute well.”

Herb seemed to be fighting back glee over the praise. “Thank you. As Acting Director, I feel like a few tweaks to the way things are run are a welcome change. There’s no reason we can’t employ a spectrum of tactics to keep the timeline running smoothly. Plus I gotta say, I’m always a sucker for a good love story.”

Klaus laughed. But it wasn’t his usual laugh. It was tinted with hysterics, with madness and sadness and that inescapable sense that he was barely holding it together. Klaus liked to hide behind his jokes and his careless attitude, but Dave knew him well enough to know that he was on the edge and even the slightest thing could push him over into a breakdown. He wanted more than anything to take him to some private corner and guide him through it, to cry with him and hold him and promise him the world. But could he, with Herb and Five watching? Would Klaus want him to? Physical affection was one thing, but Klaus had always found emotional closeness much more intimate.

The laugh turned into a choked sob, and Dave couldn’t hesitate anymore. He needed to wrap his love up in his arms like a shield promising him safety and protection, so that was what he did. “I love you,” he whispered, his voice so soft that no one else would hear. But this time, it wasn’t that he needed to hide his love, he simply didn’t need them to hear. All that mattered was that Klaus knew and never forgot it. 

“Herb, would you join me for a drink?” Five offered, and Dave made a mental note to thank him for that when he next got a chance. But for the time being, he could just savour having the chance to comfort Klaus without an audience as Five and Herb left them alone together.

“I watched you die and I couldn’t save you, and I… I thought I’d stopped this version of you ever existing and still couldn’t save you,” Klaus said, his voice heavy and trembling. 

Dave didn’t really know what that meant about a version of him, but he didn’t need to. There would be time for explanations later. “Hey, none of that,” he soothed. Klaus had always been so ready to sacrifice himself, to do anything to keep Dave safe, his own self-preservation and safety be damned. And yet somehow, Klaus still seemed to think that he was selfish. Somehow, he thought both that he must be a hero and that he wasn’t and could never be one. “You don’t have to be a superhero for me, remember? You’re already my hero, just as you are.”

This time, Klaus’s laugh was much more genuine. “You sap,” he teased, though his eyes were still damp when he pulled back enough to look at Dave. “I missed you so much…”

However long it had been for Klaus, he didn’t look any less in love than when Dave had last stolen a private moment with him. However long it had been, Dave’s hand still fit perfectly cupping Klaus’s face, and when he kissed him, they still melted together as if they belonged together. Perhaps they did.

Klaus’s breath tasted of stale cigarettes and from anyone else, it might have been off-putting. But this was Klaus, and Dave was so glad to see him safe at home that even the smoke on his tongue tasted like pure bliss. 

“I love you,” Dave repeated when they broke apart. He’d didn’t think he’d ever get tired of saying that. 

“I love you too.” Klaus looked down with a soft smile, a hint of that rare bashfulness that Dave had always loved. He was so sweet when he didn’t try to hide behind a joke or a distraction. That tenderness, that vulnerability, it was such a gift to get to see it. 

Dave tucked a fallen strand of hair behind Klaus’s ear and lifted his chin with the tips of his fingers. “You know how we talked about getting some little place together somewhere all private and safe where we could wake up next to each other every day?”

Klaus gave a soft chuckle. “Uh-huh. You promised to make me proper bagels for breakfast.”

“I’ll make you whatever you want, baby.” He’d never actually cooked much of anything without his Mom or his aunties ordering him around, but he was sure he could figure it out. If it would make Klaus happy, he’d find a way. He had a second chance to be with Klaus, a chance where they could be safe together, and he wasn’t going to waste that. He’d make Klaus anything his heart desired. Perhaps one day he could even make Klaus his husband. But he was getting ahead of himself. It was too much to ask Klaus to marry him then and there. He didn’t even have a ring, and if he had the chance to do it in this wonderful future, he was going to do it right. He’d never thought much about marriage before, but he was undoubtedly in love with Klaus and this was a world where marrying a man was possible. Suddenly the whole concept seemed much more appealing than it ever had before. There was time for that later, though. There was no rush, and Klaus had been forced to think he was dead for far too long. He needed time to heal first. 

But when Klaus’s smile was so perfect, it was hard not to think about how much he wanted to be with him. “Is this your way of saying you still wanna get that little place together? Because we could. Turns out dear old dad never bothered to write a will, so his money automatically gets split between the six of us once it clears. And I’m not even gonna spend any of it on getting high.”

They’d imagined that life so many times, but it had always been an abstract future, a ‘one day’, a wistful fantasy to help them survive. The idea that it could become real, even if neither of them could have predicted the circumstances, was almost too much. “Of course I want that,” he said, then leant in for another kiss.

#klave #klaus hargreeves #dave katz #tua #fic #my content #idk if this is good or not but they're in love and my heart goes !!! for them #my writing

[emma-nation]

Unfinished Business - F!Sam x MC Fanfiction

Summary: When Sam Dalton is caught in a scandal, Anna Schuyler is the only one who can help her. But will her former nanny be able to leave the past behind?

"Samantha Dalton was like one of good dreams you don't want to wake up from. You close your eyes, you force your brain to remember every minor detail, you begin to imagine what comes next... hoping to be in control. You want to fall asleep again. You want it to continue, but it's too late now. You're wide awake."

Genre: Angst, Romance

Notes: Hell yeah, three ongoing multichapter fics. I'm so screwed 😎

Tag List: If you wish to be tagged in future chapters and fics of this pairing, let me know.

"I can't do this anymore, Sam," Anna did the best to avoid her eyes. With the right look, they could melt the ice that had formed around her heart for the last few weeks. One look could make things warm again, but only for some time. Time enough for her to open up and fall in love once more, immediately followed by the realization all of that was nothing more than an illusion. She'd be fooling herself again.

This time she just had enough. It was the end.

"Anna, I'm sorry," the CEO didn't know very well what to say. Despite her usual calm voice tone, Anna could sense the nervousness in her words. "But Sofia is my wife."

"And I'm only the nanny."

"This is not what I meant. We just... we allowed ourselves to get too carried away. It was good while it lasted but now, we must face reality."

It was just a dream. Samantha Dalton was like one of good dreams you don't want to wake up from. You close your eyes, you force your brain to remember every minor detail, you begin to imagine what comes next... hoping to be in control. You want to fall asleep again. You want it to continue, but it's too late now. You're wide awake.

----------

Anna collected her stuff from the desk, giving one last emotional glance to the classroom in front of her. Before leaving for Summer, her fourth grade students had prepared her a small surprise. A little party with cake, snacks and a "Thank You, Ms. Schuyler" sign hanging in the back of the room. They also drew her some cards, which she saved for when she got home. It could become very emotional for her workplace.

"Anna," the principal appeared at the door, catching her attention, "I came here to congratulate you. It was your first year as a Science teacher in our school and you captivated all the kids, as well as their parents."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Rockwell," Anna smiled. "I love working with children and now I see I made the right decision taking this job. This year was the most rewarding experience of my life."

"So we can expect you to return next year? I'm sorry, the parents keep me asking this question all the time."

"Absolutely!"

"They'll be glad to hear that. Have a nice Summer, Ms. Schuyler."

After living in New York for the last two years, Anna was finally ready to drive to her mother's home in Rhode Island. They both had saved enough money for a road trip across the country. Her mom deserved to live that dream after caring for her ill step-dad for some long months, until his recovery.

When she arrived at her apartment, her best friend, Jenny, was still at work. What meant she'd have enough time to finish packing without having to stop to hear the latest gossip about the company she worked for, or unsolicited dating advice.

"But first," Anna pulled the small pile of cards from inside her purse, "let me cry my eyeballs out."

And she did. She learned how to love and connect to each one of her students. Those cards need to be kept in a special place, where she'd always be able to read them and remember the sweet moments she shared with those children.

Grabbing a box in her closet, Anna accidentally came across a picture of the Dalton twins. She didn't even remember where she had placed it, when she was getting rid of everything related to that family. All she wanted was to keep those boys' memory out of sight. She missed them too much for words. They were the reason why she accepted that job as a teacher in first place.

"I wonder how different they must look now," she thought. "They're already nine."

With a tightness in her chest, Anna placed the picture back in its secret spot.

"I still can't believe you're really going!" Later that evening, Jenny complained in the living room, where she divided her attention between painting her nails and watch TV.

"Well, it's time for you to come with terms with that. I'm only returning by the end of Summer," Anna responded from the kitchen, while she finished washing the dishes.

"Anna, we could have the Summer of our lives. Think about all the hot men and women you could meet, all the parties we could attend..."

"I promised my mom, okay? We've been planning this trip since I finished college."

Jenny was suddenly teleported back to her side, wrapping her arms around her like a clingy teddy bear.

"But I'm gonna miss you," she spoke with a mournful voice.

"I'll miss you too," Anna assured her. "I'll keep you updated on every detail. Don't worry."

"I know your mom is going with you but... Anna, it's time for you to find someone. Even if it's only a one night stand."

"This is not the main purpose of this trip. This isn't about my sex life, I want my mom to relax."

"It has been two years, for god's sake."

"I know. And I'm glad I've set my priorities straight, I live with my best friend in a nice apartment, I got this amazing job and I love my students. I don't need anyone else in my life to be happy. I am happy."

Jenny rolled her eyes, crawling back to the couch. She should know it was useless to bring up this subject. Anna's heart was indefinitely closed for balance. If that was one thing she learned from her last experience was that shouldn't open up so easily.

"Shut the hell up!"

Jenny yelling so loud in the living room, made Anna almost drop the plate she was holding.

"You need to come here right now and watch this," she added.

"I'm sorry, Jenny. You're not getting me into that steamy TV show you're always obsessing about."

"It's a really good TV show, okay? But it doesn't matter at the moment. You need to watch the latest news!"

Jenny was actually watching the news. Nothing good could've happened to spark that sudden interest. That had to be something stupid or celebrity gossip. Against her best judgment, Anna approached the TV.

"If that's something silly, I'll kill you for interrupting my tasks!" Anna's mouth suddenly dropped when she read the headline on her screen. "Oh."

"Dalton Enterprises Scandal: CEO Sam Dalton accused of insider trading."

Images of police officers closing the company and carrying out boxes and computers for further investigation appeared on the screen. As well as Sam being conducted to the officer's car while journalists and photographers chased after her.

"Karma's a bitch, huh?! Mrs. Perfect is going down!"

Anna didn't answer to her best friend. She was still trying to process what her eyes were watching. Her heart seemed to stop for a second as the camera focused on Sam's face. In just a few seconds, her eyes had the desperate need to capture every detail. She wanted to know if she looked any different, if she had changed her hair or even her clothes. She wanted to know if some make-up was trying to hide the bags under her eyes for lack of sleep, or if she had been so happy with her marriage she was appearing even younger. Any minor signs that would make her mind create a possible scenario of what Sam's life could be right now.

She hadn't seen or heard of Samantha since quitting her nanny job. Though it was difficult, she managed to avoid any news related to the Dalton Enterprises CEO. They didn't part in good terms, yet one thing she was sure about, Sam was a decent person. She would never get involved in such a scandal. She had a reputation to keep.

"I... I don't know what to say," Anna was finally able to mumble some words. "Honestly I don't think she'd do that. There must be a misunderstanding."

"Anna! Are you seriously defending her?! After everything she's done to you?"

"No. I just..." Two years had passed since the wedding. Anna realized a lot could've changed. Sam could've changed. She had changed. "Maybe you're right."

As she lied in bed, millions of thoughts started running through her mind. What would be of the boys? Who would have their custody in case Sam went to jail, her parents or Sofia? Could Sofia or Robin have any involvement in that scandal?

Anna didn't get any sleep that night. When she woke up in the morning she was still exhausted.

The apartment was silent and peaceful. Jenny had already left to work. She was alone. No one would witness or even judge her next action. After preparing herself some coffee she sat down and started to research more about the insider trading scandal.

"I'm not interested, only curious," she mentally assured herself as thousands of articles started showing on her laptop screen.

Not only Sam was being accused to cheat on Sofia with another woman, but she tried to cover up the affair by giving her mistress a check to purchase Dalton Enterprises stocks. The launch of a new and revolutionary product in the coming weeks would surely grant her some cash. In the following days of the launch, the woman and her husband made millions of dollars.

"What have you gotten yourself into, Sam?"

The trials were scheduled for the next few weeks, and in case of conviction, the CEO could spend over 20 years in prison.

Only a couple of days later, Anna was in the garage placing all her luggage inside the trunk. She had to leave immediately, for her own sanity. The scandal was a great reason to stay away from New York City. The television wouldn't stop talking about that subject, or show the face of the woman she once loved.

"Dammit," entering the car, Anna noticed she had forgotten her cell phone upstairs. The latest events had impacted her more than they should. She was constantly distracted and anxious, secretly following the last developments of the case.

She picked up her phone, returned to the car and turned on the radio. Playing some loud music always helped her to relax. The crowded streets and the buildings slowly started to stay behind as the road approached.

"And I'm here, to remind you of the mess you left..."

Anna sang aloud, completely involved by the song. And then, her eyes almost missed it. Through the rearview mirror she saw a blur moving on the back seat.

"What the..." she needed to remain calm and act cautiously. The roads were impressively calm and deserted, a perfect scenario for murder, like in every horror movie. She slowly slipped her hand into her purse, grabbing the pepper spray. "I'm not one of those chicks who die so easily."

In one sudden fast move, she stomped on the breaks and turned around, spraying whoever was hiding behind her seat.

"Anna!" She was able to take a better look. The figure was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses. "Stop, please!"

She was able to recognize that voice even among millions of people. The years hadn't erased it from her memories.

"S-Sam..." Anna pulled the disguise, confirming her suspicions, "what are doing here? In my back seat?"

"I can explain."

"You better."

She returned to the driver's seat, attempting to relax. Samantha Dalton was inside her car, for some very screwed up reason.

"I know it's strange," and now she had moved to the passenger seat, being at a short distance from her. Close enough to notice how her presence was making her nervous. Close enough to notice she wasn't breathing. Close enough to see her hands shaking. "But I needed you to hear me."

"You could've called, Samantha. Or even showed up at my door! You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"You wouldn't answer. Would you?"

And that was it. One look and all the walls melted away. Her heart started beating faster, reminding her of the moments they shared two years before.

"No," Anna answered, fighting those feelings. "I wouldn't."

"I need your help, Anna," Sam touched her arm briefly, but enough to know she'd cause impact. "I'm in serious trouble and you're the only one that can help me."

#playchoices #the nanny affair #sam dalton #sam dalton x mc #sam x mc #f!sam dalton x mc #f!sam x mc #the nanny affair fanfiction #tna fanfiction #unfinished business #choices stories you play

[legendofzeldaalinktothepast]

Solar Power 

Fandom: She-Ra (2018) 

Ship: Platonic Scorpia and Entrapta, mentions of romantic Scorpia/Perfuma 

Words: 2204 

Rating: G 

The princesses are having a sleepover, and Scorpia is having trouble fitting in; fortunately, Entrapta understands where she’s coming from. 

Scorpia shoved the window open and took in the fresh, summer night air. 'Breathe, girlie. It's gonna be fine.' she reminded herself, counting her breaths and taking comfort in the silence around her. Just taking a moment to herself immediately brought her anxiety down a few notches -- at least enough to think straight again.

'Ugh... I knew this would happen. Why do you always get so nervous around them? It's not like they're gonna bite you!' she thought, rubbing her face with her claws.

She turned towards the bathroom sink and splashed her face with some cold water, finally grounding herself. 'Alright, Scorpia. You can do this! You're supposed to be the tough girl, and you've handled far worse than a slumber party!' Slicking back her hair, she took one last deep breath and unlocked the bathroom door, heading back towards the main living room. 'Just think of it like the bunks at the horde. It's basically that, but with more perfume and less-ugly pajamas!’ 

The sound of chatter and scent of baking cookies filled the hallway. Excitement rose up in Scorpia's chest; while she was never fond of eating sweets (years of consuming those bland horde rations really screwed with her taste buds), the smell of them was definitely pleasant, even nostalgic in a way.

Once Scorpia reached the living room, she bit her lip; now came the struggle of joining the crowd. Again. 'Ugh, no, don't think of it as a crowd! That's exactly what caused my little meltdown in the first place.' she thought, shaking her head. 'I gotta think of it as... Little clusters. Clusters I can handle.'

And she wasn't wrong; while all of the princesses were hanging out in the same general area, they had also formed smaller, more manageable groups... Catra, Adora, and Glimmer were chatting in the kitchen while the cookies baked. Perfuma and Entrapta were playing a game of chess on the floor nearby. Spinnerella, Netossa, and Frosta were standing by the fireplace, while the youngest of the three loudly told a story, which the married couple listened to with amused expressions. Mermista, an outlier, had fallen asleep on the couch.

'Hmm... which cluster to join...' she thought. In all honesty, Mermista's sounded the most appealing, but just flopping down and falling asleep next to her probably wouldn't make a good impression. Even she knew that. 'Maybe I could listen to whatever story Frosta is telling? That'll give me an excuse not to talk, but at least I'd be part of something!' she thought with a grin. With her goal clear in mind, however, she'd completely forgotten about Entrapta and Perfuma playing chess right in front of her, and ended up stepping on their board.

"Oh, uh, hey, girls!" Scorpia greeted, awkwardly waving a claw. "Sorry about that, I'm such a ditz, heh..."

"That's okay, I'm a ditz too!" Entrapta grinned.

"Neither of you are a ditz! Accidents happen." Perfuma smiled warmly, picking up the chess pieces.

Scorpia's heart fluttered. "S-still, I didn't wanna ruin your game! Here, lemme help." She sat down on the floor beside them, helping place the pieces back on the chess board. "Let's see... This one goes here, I think. Queens go next to the horses, right?" Scorpia said, holding the queen and knight piece in each claw.

"I-it's alright, I mostly remembered where my pieces were!" Perfuma reassured, taking the pieces from Scorpia's claws and placing it back on the board.

"Heh, me too!" Entrapta said, eagerly placing her own pieces back on the black and white tiles.

"Mind if I join the game? I've never played this before!" Scorpia said.

"Oh, unfortunately it's only a two player game..." Perfuma smiled sadly. "But once we're done with this round, you can play against Entrapta!"

"Checkmate! Scorpia's turn!" Entrapta grinned, making her knight piece jump over Perfuma's king.

Perfuma narrowed her eyes. "Did you re-arrange the board in your favor? I am almost positive your knight was not that close to my king."

"Maaaaybe." Entrapta folded her hands politely and tilted her head.

Perfuma rolled her eyes. "Well, it's no big deal," she said with a shrug. "After all, winning isn't everything! What matters is we had fun." She rose to her feet, smoothing out her night gown. "Scorpia, you can take my spot now! I think I'll get myself some tea."

"Thanks, flowergirl." Scorpia said with a wink. Perfuma rose to her feet, and Scorpia scooted over to where she'd been sitting. As she set the chess pieces back to their original places (or well... to the best of her ability. She really had no idea how this worked), she found her gaze shifting back and forth towards Perfuma, even long after she'd headed into the kitchen.

Entrapta gave Scorpia a nudge with her pigtail, causing her to jump. "Do you want me to tell you the rules?" she asked.

"Oh, uh... Nope, I'm good." she said, too ashamed to admit she had no idea how to play chess.

Entrapta cackled. "That's good, because I didn't want to! Chess is soo boring, but Perfuma really wanted to play it, and it only felt fair since she's been listening to me tell her about my newest robot all night -- her name is Sandra, you should meet her! But anyway, let's play something else!"

Scorpia didn't respond; her gaze was still cast towards the kitchen, and anxiety still lingered in her chest. It took her a moment to even process Entrapta's suggestion. "Oh! Uh, sure! What kind of game?"

Entrapta cupped Scorpia's face. "First, let's play a game called 'Tell Entrapta Why The Heck You're So Nervous Right Now'."

Scorpia burst into laughter; for the first time that night, she'd begun to loosen up a bit. "Oh, I dunno, just... I guess just. I've never been really good at these kinds of things, ya know?"

"Oh, I totally know!" Entrapta nodded. "Like, the whole... People thing. Especially when it's other princesses." She blushed a little.

Scorpia smiled. "Yeah... I'm glad at least someone does." she sighed. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a lot of fun, and I'm glad I was invited! But... When everyone seems to fall into their little groups, and it gets loud and overwhelming... I dunno, I just feel so wrong, like I shouldn't be here."

"Ohh..." Entrapta said, tapping her chin. "Hey, you wanna go outside?"

"Uh, sure! What are we gonna do?" Scorpia asked, confused by the sudden shift in topic.

"Follow me." Entrapta said, and before Scorpia could question any further, she lifted herself up by her pigtails and scurried towards the door. Scorpia hauled herself up to her feet, glancing back one last time -- Perfuma had permanently joined the kitchen cluster, and Spinerella glanced Scorpia's way for a mere split second before turning back to Frosta -- and then continued out the door.

For a moment, she'd wondered if Entrapta had just up and vanished -- but soon enough she spotted her, sitting on the branch of a nearby tree. How she'd gotten up there so quickly was beyond Scorpia. She approached her with an amused expression on her face. "Whoa... You sure know how to climb."

Entrapta giggled. "Yeah, come on up! It's nice up here!"

"Ah, but... I'm a little heavier than you are, are you sure it's safe?" she asked; even with a body as tiny as Entrapta's, the branch seemed to be bending ever so slightly beneath her weight.

"Well... I could take some of the tools out of my pockets!" Entrapta said. At first, Scorpia thought the idea was absurd... but then she began pulling wrenches out of her pockets, one by one, and for a moment Scorpia thought it would go on forever... But soon enough, there was a pile of wrenches and various tools on the ground that probably weighed even more than Scorpia. How Entrapta had managed to fit all of those in her pockets was beyond her.

"There we go! Now it should be safe for you to join." Entrapta smiled.

"Heh, I guess I can't say no, now." With a grunt, she lifted herself up onto the branch of the tree, seating herself beside Entrapta. It took herself a moment to balance properly -- what she had in strength, she lacked in grace... But at least it wasn't too high, so if she fell, she'd get a couple bruises if she was unlucky.

"You ever hear of solar powered technology?" Entrapta asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah! That's stuff powered by the sun, right?" Scorpia said.

"Correct!" Entrapta said. "Like, one time I made a solar powered robot, and when I forgot to charge her battery, she had a lot of trouble functioning at night, or on super cloudy days... But when I do remember to let her charge in the mornings, she's able to do the most amazing things!" Entrapta flapped her hands. "Her name's Sandra!"

"Oh right, you mentioned her earlier!" Scorpia said, though she wasn't quite sure where Entrapta was going with this.

"Yeah! I think you'd love to meet her." Entrapta said. "Anyway, there was a reason I brought this up... Oh, right! Well, sometimes I'm kinda like Sandra. If I don't take some time to charge myself up -- in this case, just sitting somewhere quiet, maybe even twirling a wrench around -- and I go into a place with lots of people and noise, I kinda just break down, like Sandra! So that's why I always make sure to find some kinda quiet place when I go to sleepovers. Usually I just climb around in the vents, but I had a feeling that wouldn't be your thing, so that's why we're outside!"

"Oh, I know what you mean" Scorpia brightened up. "That's really nice of you. I tried doing a little recharging in the bathroom, but... Then I started worrying people would think I was sick, so I headed out before I was actually... You know, ready." She sighed, leaning her head against the trunk of the tree. "Like, I really do love being with the girls, but... They're so hard to connect with sometimes, and it gets noisy with all the talking and music and smells of perfume and food... None of which are bad, by the way! It's just... too much at once. Especially when Perfuma's around, I mean..." Scorpia blushed, not sure if she wanted to elaborate.

Entrapta scooted a little closer to Scorpia. "No wonder you looked like you weren't having fun. You weren't ready to come hang out with people. And what's Perfuma have to do with it?"

Scorpia blushed. "Ugh, she's just... Really pretty, you know? And I'm not really sure where we stand..."

"Is Perfuma your girlfriend?" Entrapta asked.

"Mmmmmaybe." Scorpia turned her head to the side. "Kind of? I don't know. Ugh, but she's so outgoing and extroverted and good with people, and I kinda worry that I'm getting ahead of myself and that I'll look like an idiot if I assume she is, and it turns out she doesn't feel the same..."

"You'll probably look like an idiot either way." Entrapta shrugged. "But if you are dating, and you assume you're not, that'll probably hurt her feelings. So it’s better to assume that you are. I mean, I'd be flattered if you assumed you were my girlfriend, even if I see our relationship as more platonic."

Scorpia chuckled. "Guess you're right about that." she said with a sigh. "You're a really good friend, you know?"

Entrapta blushed. "Thanks... I've been trying really hard lately, and well... Sometimes people still think I'm a bad friend."

"Hey, I think they just don't really get you." Scorpia shrugged. "But I do, because I'm the same way."

Entrapta flapped her hands. "Yes! That's very true! Our brains were wired in similar ways, so it only makes sense that you'd get me!" she said. "But you know what? That doesn't mean the other princesses won't like you! And that doesn't mean Perfuma doesn't, either. Like, it was really hard for me to get along with Perfuma too, but now I play chess with her, and she asks me questions about robots!"

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Scorpia smiled. "Thanks for letting me talk this out with you, girlie. I'm feeling a lot better, now..."

Just then, the door behind them swung open. "Hey, dweebs!" Frosta called from the castle, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Karaoke starts in five minutes, so ya better get your butts in here if you wanna sing!"

Scorpia brightened up immediately. "I'll be right there!" she called. "You coming, Entrapta?"

"Mm, need a few more minutes to recharge..." Entrapta said, kicking her legs. "But you can go in without me! I'll probably be able to listen from out here, anyway."

"Hah, that's true! Especially when I'm the one singing." Scorpia climbed back down from the tree and landed on her toes. "See ya in a bit!"

"See ya!"

Once Scorpia was back inside the castle, Entrapta turned her gaze back up towards the full moon. "Hmm... I wonder if I could make a solar and lunar powered robot..." she mused to nobody in particular, reaching down with her pigtail arm and retrieving one of her wrenches from the grass.

#she ra #fanfiction #scorfuma #autistic entrapta #autistic scorpia #working on posting opalescent tides btw! just thought id repost a couple of oneshots while im at it #solar power

[bestillmyslashyheart]

there’s a new (air)man in town (pt 2/?)

part one

“Why didn’t you tell me you were moving here?” Michael leaned over the table and lined up his shot.

“I figured Alex would’ve and if he didn’t, I thought it might be a nice surprise,” Patrick told him.

Michael didn’t look at him. “Alex and I aren’t exactly talking right now,” he confessed.

“I know,” Patrick replied easily. “He told me. Said you were dating Maria now?” Michael met his eyes briefly before focusing back on the table. “You happy?”

Michael sighed heavily and finally looked at him. “I’m trying to be.”

“Is she helping?”

“Yeah,” Michael smiled. “She is.”

Patrick nodded once. “Okay then. I can’t wait to get to know her.” Michael nodded, a wary look in his eyes. Patrick gamely did not roll his own. “Look, she’s your girlfriend, right? And she’s Alex’s friend. Of course I want to get to know her, man.”

“Yeah, okay.” Michael quickly sunk another ball. Patrick barely glanced at the table, knowing already that Michael was going to win. 

“How are you?” Patrick asked. “How’s your brother? Your sister?”

Michael flinched, his cue stick missing the cue ball and smacking the six. “I’m good. They’re good. We’re all-”

“Good?” Michael didn’t seem amused. “Seriously, Michael. I haven’t talked to you in months. What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Right,” Patrick said, voice full of mock understand. “Nothing’s going on with you. That’s why you’re not talking to Alex, why you ignored my texts for months, why you smell like you took a bath in some whiskey,” he stepped forward and grabbed Michael’s left hand, “why you’ve been shooting pool like your hand isn’t crushed?” Michael yanked his hand free and Patrick let him. “I’m just worried about you, Michael.”

Michael scoffed. “Don’t be.” He held his arms out. “I’m fine.”

“Hey,” a woman’s voice came from Patrick’s left. It was Alex’s friend Liz. “Mind if I join you guys?” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Maria’s busy and it was getting a little lonely at the bar.”

Patrick smiled warmly. “Sure thing. You can be on my team, help me take Michael down.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You know there’s such a thing as three person pool.”

“Sure,” Patrick agreed. “If you want to lose in one turn.” Liz looked surprised. “Have you never played pool with this guy?” Patrick laughed. “If he’s sober, you’re screwed. If he’s drunk you might get a few turns in.”

Michael scoffed but he was already racking the balls. “I’ll let you break,” he said generously. “Decide which one of you wants to actually have a turn.” Patrick wasn’t sure he was sober enough for that but he wasn’t going to argue. Michael seemed to have gone through a few mood changes just in the short time he’s been here.

Liz waved him on so Patrick broke and sunk the six. He missed the next shot and let Michael play. “So Alex said you’re a scientist?” He turned to Liz. “Something really complicated?”

Liz laughed and nodded. “I specialize in biomedical research, mainly regenerative medicine.”

“That sounds very important,” Patrick paused, “and probably very far over my head.”

“She makes people better,” Michael said from across the table. He and Liz exchanged a look.

“I’m trying,” she allowed. She cleared her throat. “So what about you? You’re here to join Alex’s team?”

Patrick nodded. “Yep. He had an open space on his team and I was up for relocation so it seemed like a perfect fit. Besides, now I finally get to see everything I’ve always heard so much about.”

Liz raised an eyebrow. “Alex talked about Roswell?” Michael missed the last striped ball and she stepped up for her turn. “That doesn’t sound like him.”

“Even Alex Manes gets homesick sometimes,” Patrick told her. “But he mostly talked about you and Maria and Rosa and this bar and your family’s diner more than anything else. He loves you guys a lot.”

Liz smiled. “And we love him.”

Patrick laughed. “Good.” Liz looked at him strangely but he didn’t bother to clarify. 

“How long have you known him?” She asked, setting up her second shot.

Patrick had to think about that. “Technically we met ten years ago? But it was only in passing so it doesn’t count. We met in training about eight years ago and somehow agreed to live with each other,” Patrick shrugged. “It worked out and we lived together for almost six years. We were lucky enough to get a second shared posting.”

“They served two tours together, too,” Michael added. 

“That’s right,” Patrick nodded. “His first and second.”

Liz looked over at him. “You guys are really close, then.” She smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I’ve just never heard him mention you.”

Patrick didn’t take offense. “He’s not one for sharing, is he?”

“So how do you know Michael?”

“Well like I said, I-” Patrick grunted when Michael’s elbow collided with his diaphragm. He covered the motion by walking in front of him so Liz wouldn’t see. Liz came around the table to their side after missing her shot. Patrick looked at Michael in question, unsure how to answer if Michael didn’t want him telling the truth.

“Guerin!” Someone yelled from across the bar. Michael looked over and nodded before turning back to Liz and Patrick. After a brief hesitation he waved Patrick on.

“I’m gonna get a drink.”

Liz watched him leave. “So?”

“I, uh, I lived with Alex for almost six years,” he repeated. 

“So you said,” she looked at him. “Doesn’t explain how you met Michael, though.”

Patrick was confused. “I met Michael when he visited. After a couple of visits we started talking to each other without Alex around to mediate.” He shrugged. 

Liz’s eyes were wide with surprise. “Michael visited Alex?”

“Yeah? Did you not know they used to be together?” Patrick would kick himself if he’d blabbed about Alex’s business without his knowledge.

“Yeah, I mean no,” Liz shook her head. “I thought they had a thing in high school.”

“I mean, that’s when they got together,” Patrick blinked. “Look, I’m not comfortable talking about them with you since they clearly haven’t.”

Liz nodded. “Yeah, no, I agree. I guess I just realized I haven’t actually talked to Alex about it.”

Patrick cocked his head. “So you talked to Michael?” That seemed less likely.

“Maria,” Liz replied. “Before she started dating Michael she was really torn up about it because he had a history with Alex. I guess I heard her wrong when she mentioned it.” Patrick hummed but didn’t say anything. “I’ll talk to Alex.”

“Probably a good idea.”

“Hey,” Michael rejoined them. “I was thinking of calling it a night.”

Liz blinked in surprise. “You were?”

Patrick placed his cue stick on the table. “I’ll head out with you. Liz, it was really nice to meet you, I hope we’ll see each other again soon.”

“Yeah, you too,” she smiled. “It was really nice to meet you.”

Michael nodded at her in farewell and they left. 

“Isn’t that your Airstream?” Patrick pointed out the silver trailer. He’d heard all about it from both Michael and Alex but he hadn’t known Michael parked it outside the local bar.

“Yup. Maria’s mom went missing and Maria’s worried. She’s been staying here in case her mom finds her way back so I moved it out here to help her keep an eye on the place and so she’s not alone.”

Patrick smiled. “You’re a good guy, Michael Guerin.”

“If you say so.”

“I do,” he clapped a hand on Michael’s shoulder and squeezed. “Now give me a ride back to Alex’s. He dropped me off here.”

Michael stuttered to a halt. “Alex dropped you off?”

Patrick turned to face him. “Yeah. I tried to get him to come in with me but he said he had something to do so he left.”

“And you believed him?” Michael scoffed.

“No,” Patrick met his gaze evenly. “I figured he probably made up an excuse to not have to spend a night with his ex and his friend that’s now dating his ex. I didn’t push it though.” Michael looked away. “Come on. Take me home, Cowboy.”

Michael’s usual “don’t call me that,” was much sharper than usual. Patrick was taken aback before he remembered that he’d only picked the nickname up from Alex.

“Okay, I won’t.”

Michael led the way to his truck and they got in silently. A few minutes went by before Patrick tried his luck again. “What happened to your hand? I thought it was permanent.”

“Miracle cure,” was all Michael said.

Patrick accepted it. “And your family? How are they?”

Michael sighed heavily. “Liz dumped my brother and he responded by running away. It’s been a month and no one’s heard from him. My sister’s husband was killed in a freak lightning storm around the same time so she’s a little bit of a mess.”

“And you?”

“I’m fine.”

“Try again.”

“I’m doing better.”

“Good.” They pulled up to Alex’s house. The man himself was out on the patio, a pad of paper in his hands as he scribbled something down. There were no lights on except for the string of fairy lights and it made Alex’s skin glow. “You know,” he commented lightly. “You’re a terrible liar.”

Michael stiffened. “I am doing better.”

Patrick looked at him. “I believe you.”

“Then what-”

“Where’s your brother, Michael?”

“Patrick.” There was a warning in Alex’s voice that Patrick rarely heard and had never had directed at him. Patrick glanced out the open window to see Alex staring right at them, his pen and paper forgotten in his lap.

“Thanks for the ride, Michael,” he said. “And don’t be a stranger, okay? Next time you ignore my texts, I’m gonna be banging on your door.”

Michael smiled slightly and nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

There was a moment after Patrick got out of the truck where Alex and Michael stared at each other. Neither said a word and finally Michael pulled away.

Patrick fell into a chair with a huff. “Why do I get the feeling I’m going to have to get used to people lying to me?”

The corner of Alex’s lips quirked upwards. “Welcome to Roswell.”

#roswell fic #my fic #malex fic #eventually #rnm #patrick scott