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#aw geez I know it’s a silly thing to be stressed over but
jester089 · 6 months
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What would happen if, having appeared at the circus, the reader looked around and said animatedly. “Wow...this place has changed so much. You did a good job, Kane!” - instead of the usual panics. It was as if they were already here. And how do they know his name is Kane?
everything is very simple. The reader has already been to the circus once (back when the queener was alive), but was able to escape. The reader decided to come back, because they felt sorry for the people in the circus, but when they came again, all the old characters had long since disappeared, and instead they saw the main cast. They had to explain everything again: what the world looks like from the outside, how much it has changed, and most importantly, that there is a way out and they are helping them.
They know how to find a way out, remember their past and true name, and have decided to came back to help others escape. It would be cool if Kinder remembered the reader, because he was the first
Back so soon?
So their is what you asked. But it made me think of something. What if reader was someone who created Caine/the circus. And they check in like every 6 months or so just to see how everything is going, and to make sure nothing is going horribly wrong. But they can't get the others out. So they just do their best to make the place comfortable. I'll still write your request but my idea will probably be written soon. Maybe. I honestly don't know. But you didn't specify on if you wanted the crew sperate or not so I'm just going to do a one shot.
TADC crew x Reader who visits the circus
You pop in on digital circus every now and again just to check in on everything and see how Caine is. Your a coder and stumbled upon it by chance. That is actually how you found a way out, and help everyone with their memories. Those x'ed out doors are people you've gotten out, or ones who abstracted before you could help them. You sometimes use it as a vacation too. Life is stressful and that place is full of a childlike fun and relaxing atmosphere when you aren't worried about escape. I mean you don't have to eat, drink, or sleep. And you get to go on silly adventures. 10/10 vacation spot if that's your thing. You pop into the colorful main room and look around. It's about the same as last time, that isn't a bad thing though. "Caine! I'm back!" No response. huh. Eh he's a busy guy you can't really blame him. You start walking towards the rooms hoping to meet everyone new. ~~~~~
You get there and skim over the doors different pictures. "Ok so looks like we gottt. A comedy masked ribbon person. A mismatch of colors and pieces poor them. A chess piece. Oh no, their was a queen version. Oh geez now I feel awful. Maybe I should stop by more... Ok uhh, a ragdoll. A periwinkle bunny. And a Jester. Alright not a bad line up." You ring each rooms door bell getting no response each time. "Wonder where everyone is. I hope they're ok." You start wandering around calling out for Caine every now and again. ~~~~~ After around 20 minutes of wandering you find Caine and the group of people that the rooms belong to at the carnival. You jog up to them waving. "Caine! I'm back!" He does an over the top spin and hold the sides of his head like. "Y/N!!! What a pleasure to see you again! Back so soon too! We were having a day at the carnival! Seeing as how it wasn't used for a long time I made some changes! Their is now more rides! And an arcade! How about I introduce you to everyone!" "Yeah I would love that! Also I can't wait to try out the new rides. I had been on the old ones more times then I can count." He directs you towards the crowd of people some are looking at you confused as to how you know Caine, and aren't freaking out. Some just look like they don't wanna be there. ~~~~~
Around 5 minutes later you know everyone by name (Sorry I didn't write that. But you already know who they are and that would have taken me longer then I'm willing to take) so you introduce yourself and how you know Caine. "It's lovely to meet you all! I'm Y/N L/N, but you can just call me Y/N. I'm a coder who can get in and out of the digital circus so I visit sometimes." The short Jester who you now know as Pomni snaps her head in your direction. "You have a way out?!" "Uhh yeah. That's actually the main reason I visit so often. To help people out and get them out. It doesn't really work without me here so I try and visit whenever I can." "Get. Me. OUT OF HERE!" "Ok, ok geez. The rest of you want out too?" You receive only positive reactions so you take that as a yes. You motion for all of them to follow but before you walk off you turn to Caine. "Be back soon! Just gotta get these people home." "But of course. I feel their should be a way for me to be able to get people out. You'd think I would me being the controller of everything their would be. But at least their is a way for everyone to get out. See you soon Y/N and thank you again for all your help!" You wave then lead the group back to the main room and to the stage. "You can do this just about anywhere but this is the place that I've found is the best. My best guess is because it's always where people pop in when they first arrive." You walk up to a seeming specific wall and do something (?) to it. You move off to the side and motion for them to walk into the wall. Pomni essentially sprints into it not even thinking that you could be joking. And she goes straight through. The others soon following. After everyone's out you stretch and start walking back towards the carnival. "Some digital cotton candy sound pretty good right now. And I wanna try out those new rides Caine talked about."
(If I'm being honest I didn't really like how this turned out. But I digress. Sorry it took so long. And sorry only really Pomni talked. Still I hope you enjoyed it! I'm going to give this a special tag cause I feel like I'm going to continue it someday.)
xoxo, Jester
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salty-croissants · 5 months
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what do Bullfrog and Rayman/Ramon like to do when they're cuddling with the reader? 😊
Thank you for the request ! 
It’s like , very late for me right now … but I got a burst of inspiration as soon as I read what the request was about : this is something that I’m always happy to write … just wholesome affection between the reader and the boys , love this prompt very much :,) ❤️
I hope this turned out okay ! 
I’m probably gonna pass out after this lmao , it was worth it tho :,)👍
Details : use of gender neutral reader ; 
established relationships ; 
no warnings needed 
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Bullfrog 💚
The number one rule this frog has when cuddling with you ? He wants you to be as comfy as possible , and if you want Bullfrog is going to bring something to drink for the both of you : a nice cup of tea , some juice … anything goes , as long as you like it .
< Here’s your tea , mon amour … be careful , it’s still hot . > 
< Thanks love , you’re the best ~ > 
If you’re someone who happens to get very flustered when he speaks French , Bullfrog will have the time of his life whispering sweet nothings in your ear while holding you in his arms … 
The way you blush is just so cute for him ^//^ 
< y/n , ma bien-aimée, tu es merveilleuse à tous points de vue … ~ > 
< B-Bullfrog pleasee ! ~ > 
One silly personal headcanon that I have is that Bullfrog gets especially relaxed by sounds of streams of water streams , waterfalls and other similar things , so I imagine that he would be very happy to have them as a bit of a background ambience while snuggling close with his beloved … 
He probably saves all of those “10 hours of waterfall sounds to sleep and relax to” compilations , he just likes them a lot :) 
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Rayman 🧡
Now this man … 
This man doesn’t get as many chances to cuddle you as he’d like , given that he has to deal with so much while working on his show , so you can be sure that Rayman will make the times he can be with you truly special … 
< Aw … did you light up all these candles for me ? > 
< Mhm , I sure did . Cuddles with my lovely y/n need a bit of atmosphere after all ~ > 
< Hehe , you’re always so sweet Ray , thank you ~ > 
Rayman loves to just lay his head on your lap while staring up at you … it’s such a nice moment of intimacy , especially since it’s a position that makes it easy to snatch a kiss or two … or maybe three ;//) 
< Here , come a little closer y/n … god , I’ve missed this so much … ~ > 
While he likes to be able to talk to you while you cuddle ( especially since you’re possibly the only person who he can be fully sincere with ) , Rayman adores to just listen to anything you may want to say while snuggling close to you and let the sound of your voice relieve him from all his troubles …
He is just so glad to have you , he can’t stress about it enough ! 
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Ramon 🖤
I think it’s safe to say that after everything that’s happened , Ramon has become even more physically affectionate than before : he just really needs all the reassurance he can get , so one thing he’ll do when you cuddle is wrap his hands around your waist to prevent you from even thinking about getting up …
< Ah geez , is that my phone … ? Can I just check real quick who it is ? > 
< No . Might be another one of Eden’s tricks to try and locate us . > 
< Heh … are you sure it’s not also an excuse to keep me from getting up ? > 
< Hmm … I dunno what you mean ~ > 
He really loves to bury his face in your chest : the sound of your heartbeat and your warmth are like a shelter from the outside world , and Ramon longs for nothing more than having you as close to him as possible . 
It’s also so very relaxing for him to be able to be vulnerable at least for a moment … he just can’t begin to express how important you are to him , but he’ll do his best .
< y/n … I love you so much , you know that … ? 
You’re … heh , literally everything I could ever ask for . > 
If you end up falling asleep while you cuddle together , Ramon is going to be watching over you for quite some time , looking at you while occasionally leaving little kisses on your face …
He won’t rest until he’s sure that you’re safe , he won’t allow anything bad to happen to you … not now nor ever . 
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threadsun · 8 months
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For some reason the pacing in this one feels too fast to me but I don't know how to fix it, so! Here is the final part of the intro fic for the cult au. I won't send in the entire fic post until you're online again, I'd hate to clog up your inbox more than I already have ^^;
You turn to see, well, an e-boy. You don’t mean it in a rude way, that's just the best way you can describe this guy “Nick! Perfect timing, change of plans. I’ll get your opinion on my latest edit later. Do you think you could take their grace to see Bo?” Nick’s eyes light up when Shaun calls you your grace but they otherwise hold their cool expression “Of course, follow me your grace” Nick gives you a little bow before turning to leave “W-Wait, you’re already leaving?”
You turn back to tell Ian you have to go, but you’d love to hang out later “Yeah, and besides we gotta get you into costume if we wanna stay on schedule” Ian visibly relaxes a bit “Oh, ok, I’ll see you later then” You bid them farewell and head off to go see Bo. You two walk in silence for a while when you hear a clinking sound, it’s not metallic, it kinda sounds like if you knocked two pieces of porcelain together. The sound comes from Nick’s pocket and you ask him if that’s his fidget toy
“Hm? O-Oh, yeah…sorry” You tell them it’s fine, whatever helps you get through the day, huh? “Heh, yeah” …Cool, cool cool cool, this conversation is going great. You decide now’s a good a time as ever to ask their pronouns “He/him, you?” You tell him your pronouns “Cool, cool” Very cool, so cool, you’re so very cool right now and definitely not wondering if he hates you, that would be silly…Yeah, ok, this is a bit silly. You’re sure this guy thinks you’re fine, you’re just panicking again. Just breathe. Geez, how many anxiety attacks can a person have in a day? Why can’t that number be zero?
“Hey, are you alright?” You tell him you’re fine, just stressing out over…everything, you guess "Damn, god's relatable" That manages to get a laugh out of both of you "Sorry, I guess I just wasn't expecting that. It's cool though, nice to know I'm not the only nervous one" Wait, he’s nervous? Nick pauses for a second "...I'm seeing god for the first time since I was seven, yeah, I'm a little nervous" He says it like it's the most obvious thing in the world, and you guess it kind of is. These people think you’re a big deal, it would be weirder if they weren't nervous around you
You tell him that there's no reason to be nervous, you don't bite "Aw, I was looking forward to that" Nick slaps his hand over his mouth "I am…so sorry. I can't turn it off" You laugh and tell him you get it, telling him you do stuff like that all the time “Right, thank you your grace, you’re too kind” You want to correct him and say that that’s the normal response but you don’t know if that’s safe. It’s gonna be your job to pretend to be god now, fuck, how are you even gonna do that? Ok, you can question that later, right now you need more info
You ask him about Bo "Oh, yeah, he drank some water yesterday. He's not doing great but I'm sure once he meets you he'll be on the mend. He just needs a new purpose, a new master, I'm sure of it" His reasoning is pretty good but he sounds more like he's trying to convince himself than you. You tell him you're sure he'll be fine, and that it sounds like he's been doing a great job taking care of him. Not everyone's strong enough to take care of a dog like that. You watch his face turn from as pale as porcelain to firetruck red "Huh…thank you your grace"
As you continue to walk your eyes are drawn by the giant fucking house in front of you. Holy shit "Yeah, it's pretty big, huh? You like it?" You shake off your surprise and tell him it's massive "Yeah, don't know how the founder lived there personally. All that space would drive me up the wall" …what?
That's your fucking house? Nick chuckles "What you and the house get up to is none of my business but I'd say so" you're pulled from your bewilderment when you feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up "Well hey there, I was starting to think you'd never show up" You turn to see Berry who is…right next to you? How did he "We managed to get everything inside but we couldn't bring it into your room with Bo in there"
You thank him and take a half step back to try and get him out of your bubble but he steps with you staying uncomfortably close. You try to look for anything that isn't Berry to focus on when you see Joseph leaned up against the house. You wave over to him to catch his attention, he seems to flinch at your acknowledgement and gives you a meek wave in return "Well it's a good thing you showed up when you did, that mutt probably would have keeled over by tomorrow if you didn't show up"
You hear the clinking of Nick's fidget toy getting louder but he doesn't say anything. You tell Berry Bo sounds like a strong dog and probably could have held out a little longer. You're not sure if you believe yourself on that one but Nick seems to relax as you say it "Huh, if you say so your grace" Nick starts walking towards the house and you follow him, thankful for the out "He might growl at you but as long as I'm here with you he won't bite" Nick opens one of the front doors for you, the heavy thunk it makes as it closes making you wonder if the damn thing was made of stone. You two walk up a flight of stairs and down a hallway before he stops in front of a door, your things neatly stacked next to it
"Ready?" As you'll ever be. Nick opens the door and his voice becomes a bit softer "Hey Bo, how are you feeling?" You hear a growl and then a voice? "Why is he here?" Is there someone in Bo's room? "Huh? Oh, Berry and Joseph were just delivering their grace’s things" You look past Nick to see someone lying on the bed, their voice is dull and hoarse "Their grace? They're here?" Nick opens the door fully and you finally see it, their ears and tail, their voice, the way their clothes hang from their emaciated frame, Bo
He perks up as you say his name “Your grace?” You can tell his energy is low and yet he spends whatever he has left into wagging his tail for you. You have to walk to the other side of the bed to get a proper look at him, he looks sick, pale and boney where you’re sure he was once full of life. You greet him, telling him your name before extending your hand to him to sniff, you see his face drop as he does “Why…why do you smell like him?” You ask who “Berry, I mean, not all the time, but sometimes he smells like that in the mornings” You can feel the blood drain from your face, no, no no no, don’t be silly
You tell Bo you probably just use the same soap or something, does he not like it? “Wha? No I…If it’s yours I like it” It’s only once Nick reenters the room do you notice he ever left, man he’s quiet. You see he’s holding a stick of jerky and ask Bo if he could maybe take a few bites, for you? Nick smiles at you and hands you the jerky “Mhm, I-I can do that…I’ll be good” You hold the jerky up to him as he takes a few bites. You can feel Nick’s excitement radiating off of him as you let Bo eat from your hand. He’s slow, chewing each bite thoroughly before taking another, only eating a bit before he stops
“I’m sorry, I feel so full already” You tell him it’s ok, gently patting his head as you tell him he did such a good job for you. You smile as you hear his tail thumping on the bed behind him “Thank you your grace” You see him start to tear up “Please…don’t go” You cup his cheek with your hand and tell him you’re here to stay, which means he needs to get better for you, deal? He giggles “Deal”
!!!!!! I love Nick sooooooo much, the fidget toy and the jokes!!!!!!!
Also Bo being able to smell Barry on them 👀 and Barry being such a creep
God this is so good Moon and I kept stopping to talk about how good it is as I was reading it to them!!!!
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nephrosoupp · 3 years
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hello j-just a quick? Question I don’t know how to ask this of the ins community because ins is anxiety-inducing but
I think I’ve been losing followers each time I post anything that vaguely conveys negative emotion? If I write that I’m down in a post and draw something about those sad thoughts the next day I’ll look at my insights and see -50 followers (not that I really care about those trivial numbers but)
Or actually even just, normal doodles (normal by my art’s standards of sub-par normality) I lose followers anyway
I’m just? Unsure ?what it is I’m doing wrong?
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wh6res · 3 years
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one more time | markhyuck
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"if i'm going to teach you how to fuck her right, you’re gonna need the best seat in the house, markie!" — lhc 
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warnings. dubious content, swearing, bondage, voyeurism, masturbation, exhibitionism, mentions of stalking, fingering, oral (f receiving), degradation, there’s a knife (but no knifeplay), a threesome, implied kidnapping 
disclaimer. i dont condone anything. this isnt a normal relationship. this aint love.
note. prolly going to hell for this but who cares. markhyuck for @nakamotocore​ i wuv ya ie please get better soon! TT and dom hyuck for my napaka kalat na mami @donghyukcore​
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against all rational thinking, haechan is getting bored from seeing the pathetic five feet distance between you and mark when he comes home. he tries to understand the other male in the relationship. truly, he does, even if he highly doubts that celibate little mark lee can pleasure you the way he can but everything's practically past that line now. donghyuck just wants to have some fun with you two, is that too much to ask for? at this point, he's blatantly ignoring the fact that you and mark don't even like each other.
but haechan cares for mark just as much as he cares about you and he won't just let his best friend miss out on all the fun things he can do to their little doll, right? what kind of a friend would he be? once haechan shoves him into a world of temptation and sin and pleasure, mark would kiss his self-induced celibacy goodbye.
plus, you've been awfully naughty these days.
talks about wanting to come home or getting at least a few rights to have gadgets were the only thing you said whenever you see him. it went as far as practically growling and running away from haechan when he tries to initiate something with you, screeching your lungs out and saying, "don't fucking touch me, you creepy little psycho!"
deflowering mark.
punishing you.
he'd be killing two birds with one stone.
he's fucked your stubborn little self into submission once, but all that overprivileged tv sessions might've put silly little ideas into your dumb little head again. alas, no worries, he'll just have to do it one more time. and maybe, now with the aid of his good 'ol buddy mark, they'll both be able to screw you up so good you'll never want to leave their clutches.
"gumdrop, can you come here for a second?"
haechan isn't deaf to the exaggerated groan you let out from the living room and it grates on his nerves how utterly brave you are for being passive aggressive. you reminded him of a little girl in a temper tantrum because they weren't given any candy - and when you show up in the master bedroom clad in your little pink dress, eyes upturned and sharp, a pathetic little girl was all he can think of when he saw you.
only now did he notice that you had even detangled your hair from the intricate braids haechan spent at least twenty minutes doing earlier this morning. where was mark all this time? why wasn’t he there to stop you? geez, you both are so going to get it, this time!
"what do you want?"
"can you give me a hug? i felt awfully stressed at work today. i need my little gumdrop."
this was obviously a test. don't get him wrong, he'll still punish you but if just this one time you learned to swallow that bitchy attitude and come crawling to him as the perfect lover should, maybe he won't be too harsh.
but he gave you too much credit, he thinks. of course his dumb cockwhore doesn't know shit. of fucking course, you wouldn't know it was a test. not when you scoffed, rolled your eyes at him, and spun in your heels to walk back to the living room.
"beat your meat with your own hands, creep."
haechan's reaction is immediate, his long legs allowing no delay in crossing the room to mercilessly fist your hair. he had pulled your hair so bad you thought it was going to rip right at the roots, all of his pent up anger due to your poor behavior channeling into that one grip.
you feel his scoff of disbelief against the curve of your neck as haechan pulls you flush against his body. "what the fuck did you just say to me?" he laughs patronizingly. "beat my meat with my own hands – aw, baby! that has got to be the best one yet!"
it truly was, though. he's not going to lie. out of every vicious snarl and hate-induced words you said to him, that particular offhand comment takes the cake. seriously, sometimes haechan thinks you're deliberately trying to make him furious – gumdrop, if you wanted to be fucked silly, all you had to do was ask.
he hurls you to the mattress, breath knocking right out of your lungs. before you can even sit back up and crawl away from haechan, he's already crawling over your body to sit directly on your stomach, fiddling with something on the headboard. you nearly scream in frustration, no matter what you do, you just can't throw him off of you!
"i don't know why the fuck you're behaving this way but it's gone too far. one more time. do i need to fuck some respect into you, one more time?”
a new wave of motivation surges through you when you hear the familiar click clacking of metal. your eyes widened just a fraction, the only thing that gave away the unease quickly seeping under your skin. if not for haechan's perceptive eyes, he would have missed it.
he merely used one hand to grip both your wrists in a vice. "no!" you squirmed, tossing and turning and trying with all your might to get him off of you. "no! i don't want that – not the cuffs!"
he loops the respective bands around your wrists with practiced ease. the last handcuffs he used had torn and marked your skin, something haechan wasn't fond of. only he can paint your bare skin with colors.
thus, he bought newer ones. the bands were a bright shade of red, connected to each other using a medium sized chain that loops around one of the steel wires of the bed, and the little bells attached to the bands ring with your every movement.
haechan knows the bells drove you crazy. its incessant ringing driving you up the wall as you couldn't keep your hands still whenever he fucked you to oblivion – he knew how much you loathed the sound of the bells, all the more reason for him to enjoy.
and mark, too. speaking of which…
you stubbornly pull at your bounded hands, glaring at the man before you as he studies your state. the corners of his lips curl up at the sight of you struggling. "you always look so good in red, gumdrop."
before you were given a chance to reply, he stormed out of the room with a sense of purpose bounding his steps. "lee donghyuck!" you screamed. "fucking come back and get me out of these, you pervert!"
he can hear you thrashing in your chains and yelling profanities from a room away. where was the demure girl he turned you into after only a week living in the apartment? though funny enough, the blood in haechan's sadistic side rushes in excitement at the prospect of wiping that glare off your face. it wasn't the fear, nor your submission that gets him off. it was the idea that he can and he will break you down no matter how many times you try to build yourself back up again.
he's not too sure whether he's going to eliminate that dirty mouth you've developed, though. because you did make him snort in the most unattractive way when you told him he can fucking jack himself off when he had been merely asking for a hug. this aggressive side you developed is… nice. he can work with it.
"can you ask your play thing to keep it down?" mark hisses, flinching and making an offkey sound with his guitar when a certain screech from you caught him off-guard.
haechan smiles.
"why don't you shut her up?"
it took a good few minutes trying to talk mark into stepping into the bedroom where he's got you chained to the headboard, but alas, haechan can be persuasive if he wants to be.
frankly, the younger man is sick and tired of hearing both of you bicker – it's no wonder you've developed a sharp tongue! it's all mark's fault and yet it's haechan that has to do the dirty work of setting you straight all over again. you're a tough cookie to crack, someone hauntingly immune to the violence and chaos.
and yet…
"you don't – don't seriously plan on doing this, do you?" your eyes go back and forth between the two males, primarily addressing the younger, devil-spawned male. haechan, ever observant, picks up the light tremor in your voice.
haechan had uttered a playful "if i'm going to teach you how to fuck her right, you're gonna need the best seat in the house, markie!" before forcing the older boy to sit by your side, mark's thighs grazing the temples of your head as your eyes awkwardly flutter up to the spectator.
mark couldn't deny he was intrigued by the emotion reflecting in your orbs. when your eyes met, it was a silent plea, he just knew it was. and unlike vulnerable and helpless you, mark, to some extent, still had at least some sense of freedom to him. he can choose to walk away, to stop haechan from trying to get him laid, maybe even talk the other boy into postponing your punishment.
but he'll do no such thing.
not because he has a moral compass (he doesn't, really) but because mark knew firsthand, there's no stopping haechan once he sets his mind into something – and right now, if that boy wants to punish you and use mark to fulfil his exhibitionistic fantasies then that's what'll happen.
your bottoms were the first to go, haechan's blunt nails digging into your skin as he pulled it down slowly, patronizingly, while watching bemused at your squirming. "this is how you know she needs a reminder," he says, addressing mark. "a good princess should take whatever's given to her like a good girl but if she's being an ungrateful brat –"
you flinch when he harshly smacks your thigh.
"– she gets what’s coming for her, right?"
there's a second's delay with mark's reply. haechan didn't mean for the question to be rhetorical, he wanted an answer from the other boy.
"right, mark?"
"r – right…"
haechan laughs, flipping the skirt of your dress up. "what, are you that excited for pussy that you're stuttering? that's cute."
you hear mark intake a sharp breath when haechan dives in to give you feathery kisses in your inner thigh. he always starts off this way, after figuring out this gets you wet way faster than simply kissing you.
as haechan starts talking, lips lazily grazing over your skin, you fight hard not to utter a single sound as you pull on your chains. "listen carefully, markie. do you hear those whimpers? she likes it," you feel the prickles of his sharp stare. "she's just too much of a fucking brat to admit it. go on gumdrop, your fighting spirit makes this all the more interesting."
you hate the patronizing tone he used as his hands trail higher, and higher until it's pinching at the bud of your clit. and against your whole being trying to keep your lips sealed, alas, it parts and creates a soft whimper that has mark stiffening next to you.
haechan lays his tongue flat against your folds. you weren't in the least bit wet yet to accommodate his size, but that's easy. he merely circles the bud with the tip of his tongue before pushing two fingers in. months of standing in the shadows outside your window had made him memorize the movement of your fingers whenever you pleasured yourself.
he felt the jolts of the bed as you shook your head side to side, trying with everything you can to hold your moans in. a corner of his lips can’t help but curl up. "what, gumdrop? too shy to lose yourself because we have an audience? don't worry our celibate little friend over here seems to like it. go on, give him a show."
too lost in the ministrations of his lips and fingers, you don't see haechan meeting eyes with mark, nodding at an object lying on the bed side table. you can only shudder when the cool tip of a knife presses against the base of your throat, hooking under the collar of your dress as mark slowly rips it off.
but haechan doesn't have the patience. "dude, give that to me. at your phase you'll get her naked tomorrow. let the tip cut her skin, the bitch deserves it anyway."
you scream when he drags it unceremoniously down your front, narrowly missed tearing at your navel. there are a few pricks of pain here and there for when the knife accidentally nicked your skin. he sure was ruthless as can be. why did you even bother acting like a brat, cursed him out, when it gave you no benefits whatsoever? did he unknowingly transform you into this sick little masochist that thrived on his sadism?
"no."
it was a defeated whisper. the last of your resolve turning into dust as the breath escapes your lungs. why did losing feel so heavy in your chest? you don't notice your arms slumping, nor your head nodding off to one side, the weight of your horrible reality sinking into you once again as if you had only been kidnapped yesterday.
but it had not been yesterday. it's been days. weeks. months. and the last time you sneakily got ahold of mark's phone and searched for your name, the last news clip or article published about your disappearance had been three months ago. that only meant one thing.
they weren't looking for you anymore.
just like that the world continued, other people's lives continued. all the while you're stuck here, rotting in the arms of your captors.
haechan's face emerged in front of you. he smiles and you would've believed he felt an ounce of guilt if not for that wicked stare in his eyes. "you've always been most beautiful like this, gumdrop. the hope disappearing in your eyes upon the realization that no one's coming for you anymore – i love it. i love you, my pretty girl."
he placed a chaste kiss on your forehead but he might as well have shot you straight in the heart.
there was no warning, nothing to ready you for the sudden intrusion happening on your bottom half and it was so bad, that it made you shut your eyes, hands wrapping around the chains as tears started falling across your cheeks.
rough fingers reached out and wiped them away.
something felt off.
the fingers were too calloused, opposed to the softness of haechan's nimble fingers. and while the aforementioned male had more length than girth, the person who's thrusting himself inside you is the complete opposite. he's stretching you out too much, not even bothering to give you time to adjust when he's already bucking his hips like an animal.
"shh, it's okay. i'll take care of you…"
this wasn't haechan.
and when you fluttered your eyes open to see mark's boyish little face, you can't help that look of betrayal painting your features. at least you only had to deal with one obsessive, sex-deprived freak. now, you're not so sure if you can handle both of them.
how foolish of you to think that mark's self-induced celibacy stretched far and wide when in reality, he was also just a boy with his own needs. a slave to his own temptations.
how cruel. so, so cruel.
in the back of your mind, you were thankful haechan cared enough to properly get you in the mood or else you would've been staining the bed sheets red by how deep and frantic mark’s thrusts were. it felt like he wanted to tear you in half.
"if i didn't know better i'd say you're experienced, markie! i wouldn't fucking know you're a virgin by how much you're humping her like a dog.”
curse him and his dirty mouth. his constant degradation is making it easier for mark to slide in and out of you, and a proof for that is the lewd slick sounds echoing in the room partnered with the older male's deep grunts – a complete opposite of the pitched, whiny sounds haechan makes.
'gumdrop, come on! be noisy with our first-timer here just how you're always noisy with me, yeah? don't be such a killjoy." the pout in his voice is evident, coming from the side of your ear.
you wish you had never turned your head, otherwise you wouldn't have to see him pumping his own dick in his hands right in front of you. the glare you shot probably looked pathetic, what with all the tears streaming down your face and your little theory proves true when you see his mouth quirk up to the side.
"i fucking hate you."
"mark, fuck her harder, wouldja? until she learns her fucking lesson."
the disturbed stare you gave him does not slip his notice, his hand's pace turning erratic, spurred by the slick sound of your walls, skin clapping, and mark's broken whines.
make him stop, your eyes said. please.
but haechan only shoots you an innocent smile before shaking his head. "didn't you tell me to beat my meat with my own hands?"
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808 notes · View notes
theoreticslut · 3 years
Text
Sleepover // f.w. + g.w. + o.w.
 fred weasley x reader; george weasley x platonic!reader; oliver wood x platonic!reader
requested: no
word count: 4.5k
warnings: none, fluff
A/N: hey loves! I wanted to post something last night, but after I got done with classes I didn’t want to even look at my laptop (hence why I didn’t do any homework & am highkey stressing but that's beside the point). Either way, you’re getting this right now. (i may be procrastinating homework now but shh) I hope you all like this! I really like it, even though it’s probably not my best writing. It just makes me smile when reading it 💗
Song mentioned is No Idea by All Time Low 
“Good practice today guys. I think we’re getting in shape for our next match. Hit the showers and don’t forget about practice tomorrow at 2.” Oliver states, ending practice.
You sigh, grabbing your duffel bag as you catch up with him and the twins.
“I know you want us in shape, Ollie, but geez.” You huff, breathing heavy as you finally fall into line beside him.
“It’s not his fault that you slacked off on training this summer, y/n.” Fred teases, slinging an arm around your shoulders, his body odour hitting you right in the face.
“All I did was train this summer! I had fun with it, but I trained none the less. And please, refrain from putting your pits near me until after you’ve showered.”
He chuckles, removing his arm upon your request, not without ruffling your hair beforehand though.
“You bloody git.” You huff, fixing your hair as he laughs, Oliver rolling his eyes at the both of you.
“You could always take up more training sessions with me if you feel like you’re not doing well.”
“That’s the last thing I want, Ollie. No offense, but most people enjoy having a break from training every now and then.”
He chuckles, shrugging his shoulders as the four of you make your way back to the castle.
The four of you have been friends since you first met at quidditch tryouts, all of you beyond excited to play for your house. While Fred, George, and Ollie all made the team to play, you had made the team as a reserve seeker as you were “supremely talented,” but the current seeker was already skilled and trusted. It was her last year anyway, so instead of playing your first year on the team, you spent the year learning and training under the current seeker to take over for her once she graduated.
You’re not really sure why, but the four of you just hit it off and had been friends ever since. You never really connected well with female classmates, even less when you started hanging out with the popular, desirable quidditch boys. You didn’t really care though, you and the guys got along well and had fun together joking around and hanging out on your free time.
Even though you didn’t really care to, you do wish you had at least one female friend. You’ve been dreaming of having a sleepover for years now, but you’ve yet to convince the boys into having one as they “didn’t want to be girly.” That doesn’t mean you haven’t stopped trying though. All you wanted was one sleepover and you’d be happy.
“So what are you guys doing this weekend?” You ask.
A chorus of “nothing” sounds from the three boys and you smile, putting on the cutest face you could make.
“Well if none of you have anything going on...could we please have a sleepover?” You plead, attempting to make puppy dog eyes.
All three of them groan, looking over to you in pleading.
“This again?” George sighs to which you pout.
“Come on, they’re not that bad. Seriously, I won’t make you do anything girly if you’ll give me just one, ONE face mask.”
“Y/n, we’ve talked about this.” Oliver states.
“I know, but I promise it’ll be fun. We can sit around and snack, watch some movies, play some board games or something. Sleepovers really aren’t as girly as you make them out to be.”
“No. We don’t do sleepovers, y/n. I’m sorry, but they just don’t sound fun to us.” Ollie explains.
You sigh, frowning as you surrender to defeat for now.
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
All three of the guys frown, feeling bad that they’ve upset you, but they’re not going to force themselves to sit through something like that.
“Why don’t you ask the girls? I’m sure they’d love to have a sleepover with you.” Fred suggests, slinging his arm around you again.
“I’m not going to ask them, Freddie.”
“Why not? They seem like they’d be into that.”
“Because I’m not going to. If you haven’t noticed, I don’t really get along with other girls.”
“You’re being silly. Here-“
You pale as you see the girls just a little ways behind you and you know what Fred is going to do.
“No, Fred!”
“Hey! Angie, Katie, Alicia?”
“Fred, stop. Please.” You beg.
“What’s up?” Alicia asks, cocking her head a bit at Fred.
“Y/n here has been begging us for a sleepover for awhile because she doesn’t really have anyone else to have one with. Maybe you girls and her could have one?”
“A sleepover? Yeah! We’re actually planning one for tonight, would you like to join us?” Angelina smiles, excited to have you join.
In all honesty, the three girls have been dying to get to know you better. They’ve seen you joke around with the guys and know you’re funny, and you’re also immensely talented and intelligent. They’d love to be your friend, you’ve just never seemed interested.
“Really? You’d be okay with me joining you guys?”
“Yeah! We’d love to get to know you better. Why don’t you meet us after dinner?”
“Yeah, okay. Thank you!”
“Of course! I can’t wait for tonight! It’s going to be so much fun!”
You nod, smiling at your other three teammates as they head off towards the courtyard while you and the boys make your way back to the common room.
~.~
“Is it just me or does Oliver push us super hard at practice?” Alicia asks out of nowhere.
“Oh no, he definitely does! I swear to Merlin that I’m doing everything I can to just keep up.” Angelina huffs.
“He’s awful about it. And yet he says that I just need to train more.” You huff, rolling your eyes as you pop some popcorn into your mouth.
Its nice having others you can talk to that understand your thoughts.
“No way! Really?” Katie asks.
“Really. I don’t think he understands the meaning of going easy.”
“That’s ridiculous! I can’t believe he said that!” Katie gapes, eyes wide.
“That’s not even the worse thing he’s said before. I swear to Merlin that he doesn’t realize how bloody blunt he is at times.”
So far this sleepover has been going pretty well. You honestly didn’t expect it to go so well. You were sure that it would be really awkward and you’d have to excuse yourself halfway through the night.
“It can’t be easy being friends with three athletic boys.” Alicia states.
“I mean, it’s not all bad, but it’s not the most fun at times either.”
“Yeah? Like when?” Angie asks, all three of the girls focusing their attention on you.
“Well, they’re protective whether they realize it or not, but they can also be real insensitive at times and often make things worse before making them better. They’re nice to hang out with. There’s never really any sort of expectation with them so that’s cool.”
The girls nod, listening intently to you. They’ve never been jealous of you for being so close with the guys, but they have often wondered what it was like.
“I think the worst things about being so close with them, is that I get a lot of backlash from other girls and I never really get to be a girl myself. I guess they just kind of see me as one of the guys, you know?”
“Yeah. That can’t be any fun.” Angie agrees, frowning.
“I’m actually surprised you three don’t hate me. A lot of the girls here are really mean to me just because I’m close with them.”
“We could never hate your for being close to them. I mean, if you’re friends, you’re friends. There’s no crime in that.” Katie states.
“You think it was sometimes.” You sigh, popping some more food into your mouth.
“We’re sorry about that, y/n. You don’t ever have to worry about that with us.”
“And if we ever hear someone being mean to you about it we’ll definitely take care of it.” Alicia states, Angie and katie agreeing.
“Thanks. That’s, uhm, really nice to hear.”
“And from here forward we’re all friends and we’ll have sleepovers whenever we want! You deserve to have some girl friends and be able to be a girl yourself. Seriously, I know they’ve been your best friends for ages, but you don’t have to give yourself up just to stay friends with them.” Angelina adds.
You smile, feeling like you finally fit in for once with other girls. You’re really not sure what had happened to get here, but you were beyond excited.
~.~
It’s been about a month now since you and the girls had your first sleepover together and you’ve found that you get along with them surprising well. Not only do you get to talk about girl things like crushes and makeup or clothes, but you still get to talk about quidditch and classes and day to day things. And surprisingly, you feel like you’re heard and understood compared to when you were only hanging out with the guys.
You and the girls have had a sleepover every weekend since then, usually starting Friday night and not ending until Sunday afternoon. You’ve gotten to know each of them really well and them you.
You learned that Angie has a bit of a crush on George, Alicia has one on Oliver, and Katie has one on the Ravenclaw chaser, Roger Davies. They learned that you have a crush on Fred, and have been trying to help get him to notice you after you explained that you’re positive he’s never once seen you as anything other than a friend.
They’ve been helping you learn to do makeup because you only knew the very basics. They’ve given you some of their clothes that they don’t care for that accentuate your body and it’s curves. They’ve even helped you update your hair a bit, trimming it and adding some movement to it. Angie even went as far as adding some balayage to it, having learned how to from her aunt over the summer.
It’s safe to say that you’ve been spending a lot more of your time with the girls than you have with the guys and they’ve been noticing.
“It’s been awhile since y/n’s hung out with us, hasn’t it? I think I only really see her in classes lately.” George points out.
“Yeah, she’s been spending a lot of her time with the girls. Which is good I guess, but it is kind of weird not having her around as much.” Oliver answers, frowning a bit as he pushes his food around on his plate.
The three of them sit in silence for a bit before Fred pipes up with an observation of his own.
“It’s not just me that’s noticed that’s she’s changed a bit, yeah? Like, she’s been dressing a bit differently, and she’s done something with her hair.”
“Yeah, and have you noticed that she’s been wearing makeup? Did she wear any before?” Oliver asks, ignoring the food on his plate now.
“She did, but she’s definitely wearing more of it now. It looks good though, yeah?” George asks, looking between his twin and his team captain.
“Yeah.” Both Fred and Oliver sigh.
“Is it me, or does she almost seem...happier now too?” Fred asks, bringing the big question to existence.
They’ve all noticed you seem to smile bigger and brighter, even though you’ve always smiled a lot. Not only that, but you seem a bit more outgoing too and just more confident in yourself.
Have they really held you back that much as your best friends? Would it have been any different if they did more with you? You always did things that they enjoyed. Sure you enjoyed them too, but the one thing you wanted most they kept denying you. If they had given in and had a sleepover with you, would you have been as happy with them as you are with the girls?
“Hey, guys! How are you doing today?” You ask, sitting down beside Oliver as you start filling a plate for yourself.
“Y/n!” They all greet you happily and you smile, not sure where all the enthusiasm came from but you’re not going to complain about it.
“Uh, we’ve been good. A bit lonely without you, if we’re honest.” George answers, watching as you start eating.
They’d never admit it outright, but they’ve missed you more than should be physically possible. They never realized how fun you were to have around until you weren’t around anymore.
“Yeah? I’m sorry, I haven’t really hung out with you guys lately have I? I’ve just been so busy with the girls I guess I hadn’t realized how long it’s been.”
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s been a while. It’s okay though. Maybe we could watch a movie together tonight?” Oliver suggests.
“I’d love to, but I already have plans with the girls. I’m sorry.”
“No. It’s okay. We get it. Maybe another night?”
“Yeah, definitely! I miss hanging out with you guys.” You say, smiling before turning your attention to your plate, missing the way each of them perked up at your words.
~.~
“Y/n!” Oliver calls as you make your way out into the hall after class.
You stop, turning to see him pushing his way out the door trying to get to you, Fred and George right behind him.
“Hey, what’s up guys?”
“Not much. We were just wondering if tonight you’d like to watch a movie with us? We’ll head down to the kitchens and grab all your favourite snacks and drinks, we can even watch one of those romcoms that you like. If that’s what you’d like to do, that is.”
“Oh,” you frown.
“Guys that sounds amazing, but the girls and I are having a sleepover again tonight. Maybe we could do that tomorrow night?”
All three of them deflate at your words. It’s been about a month and a half now that you’ve barely hung out with them and they’re all starting to get a bit upset by that fact. They miss their best friend and how they never had to share you.
“Another sleepover? But you do them every weekend. You’ve even done some throughout the week!” Fred pouts, not believing that you’d turn down an offer like that.
“I’m really sorry guys. Definitely tomorrow night if that’s alright?”
“Yeah. Th-that’s fine.” Oliver agreed, bummed that you’re turning them down but not wanting to make it seem like you can’t hang out with the girls.
“I’m sorry.” You frown, awkwardly walking away from them as they all nod.
“What are we supposed to do? It’s like she doesn’t want to hang out with us anymore.” Fred sighs.
“Even at practice, on breaks or during drills, she’s hanging around them more than she is us.”
“It’s frustrating, I know, but at least she’s got someone to do the things she was always asking us to do. I mean we should be happy, she gets to have her sleepovers and we don’t have to, right?” Oliver states.
“I guess. But do you think it’d be any different if we had just given in and had one with her? I mean they can’t be that bad can they? The girls are always laughing when they’re having one.” George points out.
“That they are. I wonder if they’d let us in on one...”
“We could ask them tonight? They usually start after dinner, yeah? So let’s ask them at dinner if we can join!”
~.~
“Oh Merlin” Fred, George, and Oliver all mumble as they step foot into the girls’ room.
It took some convincing, but the girls eventually let them join their sleepover tonight, but they didn’t realize how unprepared they were for it until they stepped in.
“Hey guys! We’re glad to have you here!” Alicia greets, giggling alongside you.
“I can’t believe you guys actually wanted to join. How many years did I ask you three for one and you turned me down each time?”
“Well they didn’t seem interesting then, but you’ve thoroughly piqued our interest now.” Oliver mumbles, blushing a bit.
While it’s true they were curious about it, they were truly more jealous that your attention was here and not with them.
“I think they were just jealous that you’re spending time with us and not them.” Katie whispers in your ear, making the both of you chuckle as you roll your eyes and katie nods at you.
“So, uh, what normally goes on at these things?”
“A little bit of everything. I’m sure all of its a bit too girly for your liking though.” Angie teases, all three of the boys flushing in embarrassment.
“Well we’ll give it a try. One time won’t hurt, right?” Fred asks, not too sure of his words anymore.
“You’ll have to find out.” Alicia smirks, breaking out into a fit of laughter with the rest of you girls at the guys terrified faces.
“C-can you at least give us an idea of what to expect for tonight?” Ollie asks.
“Like Ang said, a little bit of everything. Obviously we can’t do all the same things as we normally do, but we’ll get pretty close.”
“What things can’t you do?” George asks, looking over all the girls but stopping on you, hoping that you’ll give an honest answer.
“Oh you know, sharing gossip, talking about boys, sharing personal details.” You say, counting them out on your fingers as you talk.
“Talk about boys?” Oliver asks, eyes popping out of his head as Fred cuts him off.
“Personal details? What kind of details could you share that we wouldn’t already know about?!”
All four of you girls stop, looking at each other, before breaking out into a bout of laughter.
“Oh, Fred. You boys barely scratch the surface of knowing y/n. Trust us.” Katie states, chuckling to herself as she looks back at you.
“That’s not true!”
“What’s her most embarrassing memory to date?” Angelina asks, cocking a brow as Fred stutters.
“Uh, oh! I-it’s, well...”
“It’s alright, Freddie. It’s not important so it’s not like you need to know.” You try to console him but it only seems to make him feel worse.
He’s supposed to be one of your best friends. He should know things like this, but as he thinks about it, he’s not even sure of your favourite colour.
“Alright, so that’s what you aren’t doing tonight. What other things do you do?” Oliver asks, changing the topic of conversation.
“Well we do face masks, we do each other’s makeup and hair, we try on different outfits....but we don’t have to do any of that while you’re here.” Angie informs.
“Yeah, we can just eat snacks and play some games. Do some karaoke. Maybe watch a movie? We kind of just do whatever we feel like.” Alicia explains.
The guys nod, worried about what the night will be like, but knowing that they’re not going to leave early. They’re going to get the full experience and they’re going to at least pretend to enjoy it.
~.~
“Wait she said that to you?! Bloody imp.” You huff, as Alicia tells you about a run in she had with one of the ravenclaw girls.
“Right?! I just can’t believe she had the nerve. Someone definitely had her panties in a twist that day.” She huffs, working on applying some eyeshadow to your lids.
The guys watch in amusement as you and Alicia talk. They’ve never once seen you so happy.
You have inside jokes that make you laugh over the littlest of things. You have the confidence to talk out loud and freely share your thoughts. Sure you talked with the guys, but not nearly as much or as animatedly as you do with the girls.
You seem to thoroughly enjoy the activities you were doing, and not just sitting there because that’s what you all were doing.
In all honestly it sent the guys into a spiral of mixed emotions. They were happy to see you so happy, but they wanted you back for themselves. They felt guilty for wanting you to themselves when you weren’t nearly as happy as you are now. They feel guilty for not caring about you in the same way as the girls seem to.
“I think I impressed Snape today with my potion.” You share.
“That makes one of us. I completely botched it. Maybe you could help me with it next time?!” Angie asks, shifting her attention to you from where she’s laying with her face mask on.
“Yeah, definitely. I’d love to see Snape’s face the day we brew a potion perfectly. He’s such a grumpy old git, always finding something wrong. It’d be nice to get a compliment from him or at least render him speechless.”
“Definitely. I’m sure he’d find a way to criticize the potion even if it was perfect, though.” Katie adds in, sending all of you girls into a fit of laughter.
“Is this what you normally do?” George asks, looking around at all of you girls.
“What?” Angie asks, looking over at him.
“Just talk about anything and everything?”
All four of you look at each other before nodding and shrugging.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“It’s cool.”
Fred and Oliver nod in agreement. It’s kind of nice just listening to you all talk and gossip.
“Stop moving!” Alicia chuckles at you, drawing everyone’s attention, as you sing along to the music playing in the background.
“Now there’s a piece of me, tells me I shouldn’t leave, every time I see your face.”
You giggle as Alicia shakes her head at you.
“Because every time you come around, love you take my breath away!”
Alicia rolls her eyes at you and all that the guys can do is smile. They’ve never once seen you so open and carefree. You’ve only sung a handful of times, but every time you’ve noticed someone is around you immediately shut up.
It’s kind of nice seeing you participating in something you enjoy so much. You truly do look so happy.
“Sing with me, Alicia. Please?” You pout, doing your puppy dog eyes at her.
Oh how Fred misses that look. You only did that when you were trying to get them to do something, usually to get them to have a sleepover with you or go to honeydukes in hogsmeade.
“I never want you to leave until I take you in, but the truth is...” he watches at you look at Alicia, waiting for her to join in.
“She has no idea - no idea!”
“That I’m even here- that I’m even here!”
You cheer, laughing as she sings along with you, completely getting into the song.
“She has no idea!” You belt out, letting Alicia do the echo.
Fred watches as the two of you sing animatedly to the rest of the song, even started to throw theatrics in to emphasize the lyrics.
Oh how he wishes he had seen this side to you sooner. He’s not really sure what’s going on, but watching you be so happy makes him feel all warm and bubbly inside. Although he does wish to see you that happy with him, he is just happy to see you happy in general.
“Wow” Oliver states, staring at the two of you, not realizing he spoke until all of you look at him.
“Wow what?” Katie asks, confused.
“Huh?”
“What are you ‘wow’ing at, Ollie?” You ask.
“Oh, uhm. Well, you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, y-you’re so happy now. It’s just nice to see. I mean, You’d never sing around us voluntarily and you’re laughing so much more.”
You smile, nodding at him. You’re not really sure what to say to that.
“Yeah? Thanks.” You smile. “I, uh, have been a lot happier lately.”
“It shows. It’s really nice to see, but we’re sorry that we weren’t making you happy.” George frowns, watching you as your eyes water.
You can hear the girls awe at them but you’re suddenly slapped on the shoulder by Alicia.
“Hey, hey, hey! I know this is sweet, but no tears. I did not just spend half an hour on your makeup to have you cry it off.”
“I can’t help it.” You chuckle, your tears ready to spill over.
“Wow, so emotional y/l/n.” Fred teases, smirking as Alicia, katie and Angie all throw something at him while you just chuckle and carefully wipe at your tears so you don’t ruin your makeup.
“You’re such a git, Freddie.” You roll your eyes, chuckling as he smiles at you.
“But I’m clever. I didn’t want you ruining your makeup. It looks too good.”
You laugh, trying to hide a blush as the girls all ‘ooh’ at you, knowing how you feel about him.
“Thank you, Freddie.”
He nods, smiling as he watches Alicia keep working, ignoring the teasing punches and hair ruffling from his twin and Oliver.
~.~
“Hey guys.” You greet, sitting down next to Fred as all 6 of your friends looks up at you.
“Hey, y/n. How did your Charms test go?” Angie asks, taking a bite of her food.
“I think I nailed it.” You smile, proudly, as you start filling your plate for lunch.
“That’s my girl! I knew you would.” Fred smiles, pulling you into a tight hug as you giggle.
It’s been a few months since your sleepover with the girls and the guys. Since then, your two friend groups have meshed together really well.
All of you would sit together at meals and would joke around. You would still have your sleepovers with the girls, but at least once a month all seven of you would have a sleepover together again, although they’re a little bit different now that you’re all coupling up.
It didn’t take long for George and Angie to get together, and after that happened it didn’t take too long for you and Fred to get together. It kind of helps that once Angie and George were dating, Angie told of your little crush on his brother. Luckily for you, George knew that his brother liked you too so it only took a few pushes and some convincing on Fred’s part to finally ask you out.
Alicia and Oliver have definitely gotten closer, but they’re not quite dating yet, and katie is still chasing after her ravenclaw chaser. It’s helping a bit now that the guys are on her side and can talk to Davies for her.
It’s safe to say though, that all of you are happy. You have the girls to share yourself with, but you still get to see the guys and hang out with them. The guys are happy that they have your attention again and that you’re happy with them, and the girls are happy that they’ve gained you as a friend.
For starting out with just the guys, you have to say you’re pretty happy with where you’ve all ended up together. All it took was a sleepover.
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Weasley twins taglist - @tovvaa @midsummernightdream @wand3ringr0s3 @tinylumpiaa @freddie-weaselbee @lovesanimals @pandaxnienke @stxrryxsky @fredweasleypls @georgeweasleyishot @melonoptimist @pineapplesandpinas @psychocracker @the-real-santana-lopez @zabinizucchini @andrea-23-5 @slytherinambitious @amourtentiaa @slytherin-7 @youralternatpersonality @teenagesublimefan @accio-remus-lupin @lindsaytriestowrite @missetbilu @pinkypurplemagic @leovaldez37 @chlo333w3asl3y @georgeswhore @weasleysprincess @snoopydoop1 @angeletarte @hpotterwhore @hogwortslut123 @impulse-anchor @celestialmage23 @gomi-owo @rosietoesy @jackys-stuff-blog @4amhotchner @weasley8800 @mollysolo @lilypad-55449 @harrysboo28
fred weasley taglist - @justafredweasleysimp @christhebell @papapapadumb @person992004 @aviezap @cctorresavcadiz @hopefullhearts @onlyfreds 
george weasley taglist - @georgeweasleysbabe @stilinskibiles
oliver wood - @anxiousblanketqueen @moatsnow @stoopidwithtwohoes  @livvysnaps
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bigsteeb · 4 years
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this is gonna be a long post so bear with me, growing pains got a b i g emotional reaction out of me & I need to share my thoughts & feelings about it because jesus fucking christ.
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ok first things first, someone hug this boy immediately. he’s sat in his room, still in his pajamas, in day time watching dog copter. this whole scene is just steven going “lol I’m sad, I’m gonna comfort eat & stay in my pajamas & watch a kids show I watched when I wasn’t as sad haha” & it’s not only upsetting, but relatable too fuck. his room is a mess along with him eating ice cream at what I assume is morning… making it his breakfast? geez steven. also idk if it’s just me here but in this shot he looks… bigger? like ignoring his body size shifting later on in the episode he looks a lot wider than he usually does when paul & drew board episodes to me, he’s rivalling etienne & maya’s steven’s wideness. did he… get chubbier from comfort eating? how much time has passed since together forever for him to put on weight if he has? this could literally just be steven slouching or his pajamas making him look bigger but as someone who is an advocate for the body positivity shown in su & suf it has me curious. I want to hug this soft, sad boy. It could also be due to how steven’s design fluctuates through the animation process, it’s never really on model all the time. 
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the grunting noise he makes in this scene is very distressing, as are other moments from the episode too. a glimpse at the glow-bracelet he proposed to connie with is enough to physically pain him? fuck me man. is he leaving his room where there’s already ice cream… to get more ice cream? sobs. also the puns in this shot. I cant? slow burn?! you’re evil crewniverse. not to mention his body size changing throughout this scene, god this poor lad.
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screams, this was when I started worrying. the boy is now in an environment he has never been in before & is feeling extremely uncomfortable & vulnerable. look at the lines under his eyes, his sad eyebrows & pout I hate it. also don’t even get me started on this part. the slight raise of a voice being enough to send him into panic?! fuck I hate how much I relate to that. 
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here’s where I immediately broke, no god damn pun intended. seeing steven’s skeleton, steven’s fucking skull, like this pained me. that crack on his skull is from fucking jasper in jail break. I can’t express all of the visceral emotions that were going through my body at this. there was intense sadness for steven, extreme anger at jasper & the gems for allowing shit like this to happen to him. turns out he’s not as resilient as we thought he was. each hit he takes physically breaks him & then his gem instantly heals his wounds, my heart fucking broke at this. think back to everything that happened to him, everything that physically hurt him. it broke him I can’t deal with it! then there’s what priyanka says to steven next;
“you seem to of made a series of miraculous recoveries, but that doesn't change the fact that you experienced trauma. you’ve recovered physically but, have you recovered mentally?”
this part here along with her reassuring him that there’s nothing wrong with his brain, how childhood trauma can have an impact on how your body responds to stress & how you act in your social life, the usage of the word “cortisol” too. this stuff being in a children's tv show is incredible. the writing for priyanka describes trauma simply enough for kids to understand, but for adults to fully realise too. folks, steven has ptsd. there wasn't one bit of sugarcoating about it or nothing, this is canon fact & it hurts me. for so long have I wanted steven’s emotional issues to be alked about, to not only be brought to steven’s attention but to the audience’s too.
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everything that has happened to him has built up to this moment. this moment where his behaviour & coping methods are finally making sense to a large majority of the fandom, & to steven himself. he’s hurting; physically, mentally & emotionally, & he isn’t coping well what so ever about it. his emotional support system is complete garbage, no one regularly checks in on him & folks just take steven at face value like “oh yea glowing pink? he’s fine it’s just steven�� but he’s the bad person?! I hope a lot of you out there who genuinely believe steven is a bad person re-think yourselves after this. dealing with trauma is tough as shit. some days you even wonder if that one thing that fucked you up is really worth being labelled as trauma. I still can’t believe this is the route they’re taking, if he doesn’t get some form of therapy by the end of future I’ll be furious.
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then things begin to spiral as he remembers what happened with connie. he clutches his chest in pain & begins changing size over intense amounts of stress & it was extremely distressing to watch. steven immediately reassures connie that this isn’t because of her, but because of everything else that happened to him. however. I believe that that’s a slight lie, he wouldn’t of spiralled if he hadn’t of remembered the proposal, steven you fucking himbo. he continues to reassure them both that he’s fine, just that he needs them to leave so he can calm himself enough to control himself.
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then this happens.
“I. CAN’T. BE AROUND YOU RIGHT NOW!”
this was fucking intense. he means this literally in 2 ways btw. his body size shifting over the stress he’s feeling is a danger to both connie & priyanka in this moment, but it’s also because of how it started. being around connie hurts him. he’s not mad at her though let me make that very clear, just that thinking about what happened when he tired to propose to her is sending his head in a fritz. he did what he did full of confidence in together forever, for connie to then make him realise how silly he was being. these two are destined for each other, but that advice from ruby & sapphire has really fucked with him. he looks up to those 2, looks up to garnet, their relationship is so strong & stable. for them to give him that advice & to then scream “DO IT!” in his face is incredibly tasteless imo.
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then greg gets here. I knew connie was calling for either greg or the gems when she was on her phone as she left the room, fuck yea connie I love you. the breathless, strained “thank you” from steven towards connie for calling his dad? g o d. connie telling him she’ll be there for him when he’s ready?! g o d. these next boards were done by rebecca, I knew immediately when I saw steven’s face. it makes sense that rebecca boarded these, because fuck. 
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how do I move on from all of the stuff I’ve been through? how do I live life if it always feels like I’m about to die!?
I’m tearing up as I type this. when I first heard the leak of this audio I so badly wanted to believe it, but to also believe it was fake too. I was an emotional mess off & on for about 3 days over it because I couldn't stop thinking about how fucking distressing it was. like… shit steven. he seriously feels this. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain he felt just saying this in front of his fucking dad. he is hurting badly. this boy, this sweet sweet boy we’ve watched grow & develop into the person he is today is distraught about his future & life. it is… soul crushing to watch this. a group of friends of mine have found joking about the episode as a form of coping with the intensity of it & as much as that’s valid as fuck, any joke coming from this episode feels morally wrong to me. I can’t bring myself to join in it feels terrible even thinking about laughing at it to cope. I love them all, but I can’t bare myself to join them. this moment ending with greg comforting steven, telling him he’s here for him & all of his struggles, got me weeping. greg is possible the best father figure I’ve seen on tv, let alone a kids tv show. he’s amazing.
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the final scene right here is lovely. greg making steven a hot chocolate & listening to him vent, reassuring him over his worry for his future. this right here is exactly what steven needs. someone to talk to, someone he could trust to talk about his feelings to. this the start of his support system, tag on peri from in dreams, bis in bismuth casual as well as connie from the past few episodes & it’s already looking great! even when greg eased him about being there for him steven still feels guilty about him leaving his tour, leaving his tour because he got a phone call from connie about his son being in need & steven feels guilty about it. fucking hell man. I did enjoy how the episode ended though, with that little moment between the both of them;
“just get some rest kiddo. you don’t have to solve all of your problems in one night.”
“yea. thanks dad.”
it’s a great message too, all of your struggles can’t be dealt with all at once. I’ve used a similar analogy before but it’s like removing a dead tree. you have to deal with all of the little things surround this issue first before you get to the deep, harder stuff. along side the message about trauma they’re both very important messages, I’m glad they exist in the show.
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one more thing before I end my thoughts & feelings over growing pains.
this ending shot;
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as soon as I saw the frog mug my mind raced back to the promo for this scene, & this whole moment to come entirely. if you remember this moment has the first set of leaked audio within it, the audio of the gems basically cornering steven about him not opening up to them. christ pearl even gets mad at him for his gem building a wall behind him, protecting him from them. it’s common knowledge, I hope, that steven’s gem reacts to his emotional state. pearl herself has said this;
“I think your gem is reacting to your state of mind.”
his gem building this wall? it felt like steven was being threatened by them. this scene now has awful connotations with it. because since we now know what the pink mode is doing to steven, how actually painful it is, think back to these;
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yea. fuck the gems. I’ll let it slide if steven, greg or priyanka haven’t told them about what happened at the hospital. but if they do know, if they know how much it hurts steven being in his pink mode & still press into him about it I’ll see red. with steven’s trauma & now ptsd being cemented into the show I fucking hope garnet, amethyst & pearl get held accountable for what they put on him as a kid. that shit will not slide with me if they don’t. do not condone what the gems put him through. do not condone the gems for making steven feel like he had to be his mum for them. just… don’t. please.
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Brian Quinn Mini Series “Don’t You Remember?” Part 1 of 3
(A/N: Woohoo! Part 1 is here! All three parts of this mini series are based on Adele songs, the titles of these songs will also serve as the title of the chapter. Also trigger warning: some swearing, minor counts of abuse, and miscarriage. Enjoy!)
Word count: 3000ish?
As I took one last look in the mirror and smoothed my hair down. I embraced in seeing my reflection in the mirror, it has been so long since I had looked anywhere close to decent, let alone actually dressing up with my hair, nails, and makeup done for an event. I sharply let out a deep breath that I didn’t know I was holding in and reminded myself to have an amazing time tonight. I was walked out of my bathroom and into my bedroom I looked around to see all the progress I had recently made in the past month or so. My bedroom was no longer littered with empty food containers, dirty clothes everywhere, and most importantly I was no longer a wreck that was either huddled up on the floor curled into a ball, only moving to my bed, the kitchen, or the bathroom. Remembering the last year and the hell I had endure I never thought I would be okay again. I stopped the thoughts that were pooling in my head, tonight was about me and my life, I was not gonna spend any more time thinking about my stupid ex boyfriend and havoc he wreaked on my life. Besides tonight I was going to see the celebrity that I wanted to be my boyfriend in real life so that made me beyond thrilled. I was taken out of my day-dream by the sound of my phone notifying me that my Uber was a minute away,  I gave my cat a few pets and a kiss on the head before I got in my Uber and began my journey to the venue.
As I was dropped outside of the venue I saw the giant sign lighting up with the four friendly faces that were the event. Sal, Murr, Joe, and Q all with the biggest smiles with tonight’s date in big letters. I could barely contain my excitement as I got in line. I smoothed my black jumpsuit and waited eagerly to get inside. I looked around to see what other people chose to wear and I was nervous. A lot of people came in t-shirts and shorts and there I stood with my hair curled, with a cat-eye and deep red lipstick, dark painted nails, and in a skin-tight black jumpsuit with a sheer netting top with two lace appliques on the chest with a nude camisole layered underneath, it was topped off with my favorite opal halo ring, stud earrings, my nose ring, and finally my black vans. I decided to heck with it! I love this outfit and that is all that matters. Soon, I got up to the front of the line got my ticket scanned and went inside to find my seat. Not long after sitting and waiting the stage lights lowered and the venue erupted with screams and applause as the Jokers entered the stage.
 The show was a blast! It was filled with so much silliness and laughter, and meshed into an enjoyable blur as I found myself exiting the venue and waiting near their tour bus. I had done this so many times after concerts that I hoped that maybe I’d get to at least see them up close in person. While I waited with the ten or so other people that had the same idea. I chatted with the roadies and other various crew that were outside, just because they weren’t famous didn’t mean they were any less cool, so I talked them about cool stories from tours they’ve done and any other topics that came up. After standing out there for what felt like hours, the jokers came out of the venue and the other people pushed and shoved past me trying to get photos and autographs from the guys. I was beyond star-struck to see the four guys who unknowingly gotten me through so much recently that I froze in place. I felt my hand slip into my bag and clutch on the envelope I had in there. I was in awe seeing them like a few feet in front of me. But I also realized when everyone else pushed past me I was now at the back of the line. I mean don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled to see them not through a TV screen but part of me hoped that I would be able to give Q the letter I wrote him in person. Seeing how after his horrible love life he was still able to find joy and bring it to others as well inspired me and played a huge part in helping me get over the nasty breakup I went through with my ex Dean. I stayed at the back listening to them talking to the fans and answering questions and debated leaving seeing as there was no way I was going to get to talk to Q. As I was about to turn around and leave Sal spoke up,
“Hey what about you back there standing all by your lonesome?” I looked around, surely he couldn’t be talking to me. “Yeah you! In the black jumpsuit.” Oh my God, he is talking to me. He motioned me to come over, and had the group of fans make a path for me. I gently shuffled to face the Jokers, I could barely breathe and I was practically shaking with excitement. There before were the Impractical Jokers. I took a brief moment and glanced at each one of them, Q last of course because he had always been my favorite. When I looked at his facial expression, I couldn’t quite place it. I had never seen him make that face on the show before.
“What’s your name?” Joe asked.
“I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you guys.”
“Hey Y/N! It’s nice to meet you too, is there anything we can do for you? A picture, an autograph?” Murr asked with his bright smile never fading
“I mean I would love a picture, but I don’t want to keep you guys too long. I mean I’m traveling to your show tomorrow night too, so it’s not a big deal or anything.” I saw Sal nudge Q once or twice on the arm before Joe finally spoke up. “Oh of course! Don’t worry you’re not taking up too much time or anything we love you guys!” I beamed a ginormous smile when he said that and asked one of the other fans to take a photo of all four of us and thanked them as they handed me my phone back. Now, I knew it was now or never that I had to give Q the letter so I piped up again.
“There is one more thing! If that’s okay?” I know they had just said it was, but I still wanted to check. Now, Joe tapped on Q. Huh, he was really shy in person, he didn’t speak a single word since I’ve been up here.
Sal smiled and was the one to answer this time, “Heck yeah, what can we do for ya Miss Y/N?” As soon he asked, he looked back at Q and I heard a small exasperated sigh.
My hands got shaky again as I reached into my purse and pulled out the letter sealed in an envelope and addressed to Q. “Um here, Q. I have this letter I wrote you and I was hoping to give it to you in person.” As soon as I said his name Q’s eyes darted to mine. He took it from and paused for a second. The whole world seemed to be silent in that moment.
Finally I heard Brian Quinn speak, “is it okay with you if I read it now, like not out loud or anything. I just want you to be here when I read it.” I felt a blush rise to my cheeks, never did I think I would be standing in front of Brian Quinn as he read my story about my horrible ex boyfriend who broke my heart and left me during some the of worst parts of my life to be faced alone. Just a year ago I was sure I was gonna marry Dean, that he was it. But instead he chose to flirt with my best friend, cheat on me, and claimed I was lying when I told I was pregnant after I got fed up and left him. He still thought I was lying when I told him the stress he caused me resulted in a miscarriage. Through the whole breakup (and most of the relationship too) Dean had me convinced that everything that happened was my fault and I should have been grateful to have him be willing to date me in the first place. The only thing that got me out of a year long slum of sadness and heartache for the Dean I used to know and the child I had lost was watching Impractical Jokers, they were the people that taught me to smile and laugh again. Because of them I went back to work teaching elementary school and finding happiness and joy in the little things. I nodded my head to Q that he could read it now. Before them, I used to look back at the relationship begging Dean to remember why he loved me before, but they helped me realize I deserved more.
I watched him open the envelope, take out the multipage letter and begin to read it. I could tell when he was getting into all the gory details of my breakup by the way his face showed sadness, and then anger. The guys kept watching him, trying to figure out what was going on in the letter. Finally, as he was getting to the end I saw a small smile on his face. He put the letter back in the envelope and said in a shy voice, “could hang around for a few minutes after everyone else has left? I wanna talk to you about this, but I also wanna make sure everyone gets their photos and stuff.”
“Sure, I could do that.” I let a giggle. After everyone else left, the first thing Q did was hug me. My brain was on fire! My celebrity crush was hugging me? AHH!! OMG YES! It was no measly hug either, it was a giant bear hug, he enveloped me and we stayed like that for a few moments. Finally we pulled away.
“Hey, if this isn’t too forward, what are you doing right now?”
“Umm. Nothing? I was just gonna go home, get ready for tomorrow’s show and go to bed.”
“Would you like to get some food with us? I know a really good 24-hour diner that we’ve gone to when we’ve toured here before.” Okay this had to be a dream, or you hit your head on your ceiling of Uber and are hallucinating right now. There was no way this was happening!
“I would love that!” And with that you and the guys piled into a sleek black SUV and made your way to the restaurant.
 On the way there you heard Sal mutter to Joe and Murr, “Geeze this guy practically can’t speak to her cause he thinks she’s so pretty, and now he’s inviting her out to food not 5 minutes later. What is up with him!” Joe and Murr exchanged glances and giggled. They both knew what this feeling was, it was what Joe felt with Bessy and Murr with Melyssa. Wait, he thinks I’m pretty? At the diner, you enjoyed the company of all the guys, with your permission Q divulged into the contents of the letter. By the time it was over Sal was hugging you and practically bawling, Murr was in shock and didn’t know what to say, and Joe was ready to hunt Dean down and kill him. You insisted you were okay and asked to spend the rest of the evening focusing on happy stuff. When it was time to go, Q had you put your phone number in his phone and he did the same with yours. As you were about to order an Uber to take you back home, Q grabbed your hand.
“This might sound crazy... But since you’re a teacher you don’t work tomorrow right?”
“Tomorrow is Saturday so no I do not have work tomorrow.”
“Awesome, so why don’t you come with us on the tour bus to the show tomorrow? It’s so far from here I would hate to think of the travel time it would take you tomorrow.” That really threw you off guard. Brain Quinn wants me to go with him and his buddies on their tour bus, overnight? The other guys chimed in and agreed with him. You thought it over for a moment, ya know what? Why not! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!
“Sure! I’m down!” They all cheered but then a groan left my lips. “Shoot, but what am I gonna wear? What about the smeared makeup I’ll wake up with?”
“Don’t worry we’ll get that taken care of, Bessy and Melyssa are coming tomorrow so I’m sure they can grab some yoga pants and makeup remover on the way. And plus we have tons of merch shirts so you could take one!” Wow, he really thought of everything didn’t he. 
-THE NEXT EVENING-
Bessy and Melyssa were super sweet! Sure enough they came with makeup wipes and some really cute yoga pants that went really well with the tour shirt. I was invited to watch backstage with them and I happily agreed. As the guys were about to go on-stage I heard Sal, Murr, and Joe whispering about some prank punishment they were going to pull on Q at the end of the show. Occasionally, they’d look over at me and then go back to plotting so quietly I couldn’t hear them. Again tonight the show was amazing and funny! These guys just had such amazing chemistry with the audience and each other. Finally it was the end of the show when Joe piped up.
“Before we end for the night, we have a surprise addition to this performance, don’t we boys?” He looked over at Murr and Sal, Q looked around confused.
“Oh that’s right Joseph!” exclaimed Sal, “We have something special planned. And for this, I’m gonna need my buddy Q to go stand in the middle of the stage alone.” Q looked over the guys still wondering what was going on, then he briefly looked at me and then made his way to the middle of the stage.
Murr spoke next, “Joe, Sal, and I thought it would be fun to do an impromptu live punishment on Q. Does that sound good?” Q groaned and the whole crowd cheered. A live punishment how cool! I wondered what they have in mind.
But as soon as Sal started explaining the punishment I tired to put the pieces together. “Ya see,” Sal began, “Very recently Q has become friends with a girl that he finds very very pretty.” Q’s eyes went wide and the crowd continued to scream.
Murr continued “Yup! Just last night, after she fell asleep he could not stop going on about how he thinks he fell in love at first sight, and then after spending hours talking to her, he knew he was sure!” Huh? Did he meet someone else last night? Huh I’m not surprised he’s a chick magnet and amazing.
Joe followed “So we’re gonna need her to come out here right now to do this punishment. Come on out Y/N!” My jaw dropped. Brain thought I was pretty and thought it was love at first sight yesterday! Before I knew what was happening Bessy and Melyssa were leading me to the middle of the stage. Where I was placed right next to Q and the crowd went wild.
The boys asked in unison, “Q are you ready for your punishment?” He looked at me with a shy smile, gulped and then nodded his head. “ASK Y/N ON A DATE!!!” they screamed at the top of their lungs. The noise of the audience was now deafening. Joe came over and handed Q a mic. Then Brain turned to face me, his cheeks the brightest color of red.
“Uh,” he started out. “Hi Y/N.” I was then handed a mic too by Murr.
“Hi.” He leaned in and took a closer look at my face.
“Wait this is you without makeup?” He motioned to my face as he asked.
I nodded my head “yup.”
“Wow, you’re even more beautiful than yesterday. So uhh. Would you like to go on a date with me?” I didn’t even say anything I just turned and hugged him, and kissed him on the cheek. The guys started cheering with everyone else.
Sal said one last time “Okay, so maybe that wasn’t a punishment for Q, but it definitely was for Y/N!” with a laugh “We are the Tenderloins from Impractical Jokers have a good night everyone!” With that we all walked off stage. My mind was racing, Dean who? A year ago I was begging him to remember me, but now I was begging for him to forget me as soon as possible, because the Brian Quinn and I had a date to look forward to.
(A/N: If you read this far, thank you! I know it was LONG. Feedback is always appreciated :) )
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undertalethingems · 4 years
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Bark at the Moon, Chapter 5: Lapse
<Previous / Next>
Or read on my Ao3>
Rating, Setting: Gen, Pre-canon
Chapter Warnings: None?
Chapter Summary: Papyrus is left to his own devices...
Papyrus rubbed at bleary eyes. Normally he was perfectly fine staying up all night, but with things being so stressful and hectic lately, he’d found himself sleeping more despite the threat of nightmares and his natural insomnia. He'd tried to stay up and keep watch, just in case.
But Sans had never come home last night. Papyrus had checked, in case he'd slipped past him while he napped,but the rooms were empty as ever. He found himself pacing the floor anxiously, at a loss for what else to do and his mind buzzing. He’d have to call Undyne and say he was out sick again… He hated lying like this, but he hated the thought of telling the truth more. He'd have to keep up the act. Well, it wasn't like he'd never done that before.
“Hello, Undyne, it is me, Papyrus,” he said into the receiver when it was time, sounding appropriately regretful. “Sans is still sick. I am still… you know. So. Neither of us can work. Again. I am very sorry.”
“Papyrus, it’s okay,” Undyne replied, sounding more sympathetic than she had a right to. “I know you guys are having a hard time. Just take care of yourselves and I’ll worry about the rest, got it?”
“Very well! Thank you,” he replied, and hung up, grateful for her patience. He laughed to himself--patience was not a quality he typically associated with Undyne. He'd have to make it all up to her somehow--he'd already slacked off far too much. But what could he do from his position? If only Sans had bothered to get his own cell phone...
Papyrus sighed. Maybe Sans had just fallen asleep somewhere strange—he did that sometimes. But what if someone found him? What if he reacted badly again and hurt them? He wouldn’t mean it of course, but who would know that? What if they were both found out and never treated the same again…?
Papyrus turned back to pacing the floor, a dozen thoughts whirling through his head at any given moment. Lunchtime came and went, and before long it was evening. But there was still nothing from Sans, and he wondered if this was how Sans had felt when he’d run away. His pacing trailed to a halt. How could he have done this to his own brother?
Tears, unbidden and stinging, sprung to the skeleton’s sockets and rolled down his cheeks. He sank to the floor with a hushed sob, shuddering. He missed Sans, had missed him so much, and then they'd gone and fought over what were silly, small things really! And now Sans had run away--he’d transformed himself after doing goodness knew what, blamed himself for acting on instinct, and almost given up on himself completely. He was in no state to be alone.
No, no, he was fine, Papyrus assured himself. He couldn't give up hope! Sans had been in a bad way, but he’d been bad before and always managed to pull out of it. He wouldn’t do anything foolish, surely--he had to believe in him, trust that he'd come back when he was ready. Papyrus dried his tears, took a few deep breaths, and headed up to his room to browse the Undernet for a while. At least he could see what everyone else was up to.
And he wouldn’t sleep, just in case Sans made it home tonight. Or the next night. Or the one after that. Whenever he came back, he'd be ready.
But it wasn’t a week before he got stir-crazy. The house wasn’t exactly small, but he was starting to feel like its walls were pressing in on him and there was no real room to stretch his legs. Sans wasn't here to take them out somewhere he could run freely. There were only so many times he could vacuum or scrub everything before cleaning lost its appeal too. He’d turned to Sans’ quantum physics books just for something new to read after he’d exhausted his own collection... but the subject made his brain feel fuzzy and his heart ache. Undyne was getting worried too, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could say his brother was sick before she stormed over again to check on them. But he was too afraid of his past getting out to risk leaving the house himself. He’d wait—he was the Great Papyrus! This was nothing he couldn’t handle.
Nothing he couldn't...
 Nothing he...
 He paced the house, falling into a rhythmic path; doorway, living room, upstairs, leap down to the doorway and do it all again. It was moving, and moving felt good, so he kept doing it, over and over until he got tired. His claw caught in the carpet and he hissed at it before tugging free, and discovered it could be torn. Oh, fun! He dug his claws in and pulled with legs and back, ripping up a long strip of the stuff--only to be instantly filled with regret. No! This was making a mess! He didn't make messes, that was the brother he was waiting for, he knew better! He gave a sad trill and tried to put the carpet back, but it was too late. Though tearing it had been fun, he shouldn't do that again. That was bad. He went back to pacing.
Papyrus found a shredded cushion in his jaws. He wasn't even sure what had come over him--it was just soft, and looked nice to bite and--now there were bits of stuffing all over the floor. He... he hadn't meant to destroy it. He dropped the mangled cover and began sweeping up the scattered fluff, then tried to stuff it back into the cushion. But it wouldn't stay in, there were far too many holes, and he ended up pushing it into the corner. He'd deal with it later. After his brother came back. He paced for a while, then headed upstairs when he finally felt tired and curled up in his bed.
A loud, weird sound startled him awake. He waited, and it came again--oh yeah, he knew that sound. He got up and found the little black shiny thing that was making the noise and took it into his jaws... wait that wasn't right. It rung again, and the sound vibrating through his teeth startled him into dropping it. But somehow that did the trick.
"Hey, Papyrus? You there?"
Who--oh yeah! What was her name again--Undyne! It was Undyne's voice! She... sounded worried. He needed to make her not worried, he needed to--to think, to talk!
"Hhhrrhhhh--" he rasped, no, that wasn't right! Come on!
"Papyrus?!" Oh great, now she sounded really worried!
He rumbled a growl and coughed to get the right magic going. "HHHEllo, Undyne, there we go! Forgive me!"
"Er, everything alright there?" she asked, sounding a little less worried. "I haven't heard from you in a few days, and then it was like you couldn't talk just now--what's up?"
Papyrus blinked. Had it really been a only few days that he'd...? "It's fine! I just managed to catch the same thing Sans is sick with. We are both absolutely miserable!"
"Aw geez," Undyne replied. "Well, take care of yourselves, and let me know if you need anything--I'm serious. And if you don't, call me when you're feeling better, okay?"
"Of course! Thank you!" he replied, and she hung up.
Papyrus remained staring at the phone for a while. He'd slipped, let himself get away. Without enough to do, it was easy--even now he wanted to go back to pacing, circling the house like a trapped animal. But wasn't that what he was...?
Well, trapped, yes. Animal? Only in the broadest of terms. He wouldn't let this happen again, he was better than that! Darting over to his bookshelf, he pulled out all his books on puzzle design and spent the rest of the day devising new traps. Despite his claws getting in the way or tearing the paper, he drew blueprints and worked out calculations for mechanisms well into the night--anything to keep his mind sharp. A lack of stimulation invited stagnation.
He'd almost lost himself back in the forest too. Only his determination to work out a solution had kept his mind clear enough that when Sans found him, it hadn't taken too long to reawaken his thoughts once more. But with Sans gone, and his sources of entertainment dwindling... He had to be careful. He drew furiously, covering his floor with blueprints and books and ideas, and for a little while, he felt safe.
Papyrus startled out of a nightmare with heat lingering in his jaws and the smell of smoke filling his nose. Panting, he got to his feet, eyes fixed on the scorched carpet and wall before him. Sharp orange caught his eye, and he swatted at the embers still gnawing at the edges of his diagrams. He checked for more hot spots, found none, shook himself out and crept over to crack a window before retreating downstairs and shiver on the couch.
As much as he hated to admit it... maybe this wasn't something he could handle after all.
It had been a long, long time since he'd attacked anything in his sleep. It wasn't even the first time he'd had this sort of dream--thinking that his brother had died somehow was pretty well played out by now. It almost didn't phase him. But it helped that until now, he'd always been able to check on him, see for a fact that Sans was very much alive and his usual obnoxious self.
But Sans was gone, and had been for a while.
Before that, he hadn't been his usual, obnoxious self.
And a dream that he'd lashed out at their creator, and their creator had struck back and--it was just too much for Papyrus. Even for someone as great as him. He couldn't stand to be alone anymore, but there was only one person he could call.
Reluctantly, haltingly, he shambled upstairs to retrieve his phone, and returned as quickly as he could; the blackened carpet still haunted him. He sat on the floor with his hand hovered over the keypad, trembling. He wasn't really going to do this, was he? Admit he couldn't do something on his own, admit he wasn't perfectly okay and no one should worry about him? Reveal he'd been lying to Undyne...?
But he needed help, for getting food if nothing else--
But he couldn't admit what he'd done, or else she'd be furious--
But he wanted to talk to her, to someone so badly--
He backed away from the phone with a whine and paced around it for a while, torn between his desires until nothing made sense anymore. Lost in anxious thought, the sudden sight of the phone on the floor sent him leaping back with a yelp, and he fled to a corner where he could watch it. The phone was scary.
He flinched when it rung, and hissed at the sudden noise and light as he curled tighter into the corner. He wanted to get away from that thing, but couldn't leave. And it was bad that it was ringing too, he was going to be in trouble! But he couldn't do anything--!
He buried his face into the floor and shuddered long after the phone had stopped. And he jumped a good six feet straight up when the front door practically exploded. Back arched against the wall, he stared wide-eyed at Undyne, who seemed just as shocked.
"Papyrus?!"
He rattled.
In an instant, she was hugging him. He was stiff at first, unsure of the sudden contact--but something in his mind seemed to switch off, and he relaxed. He laid his head across her shoulders, after more than a few shuddering definitely-not-sobs, he sat down slowly. Undyne let him go.
"Hey Papyrus, it's okay. Can you tell me what happened?"
He whined nervously. It was now or never.
“G… gone,” he finally managed to croak, then coughed. “Sans is gone, Undyne... He... The day you came to visit, and I said he was sick, he took a shortcut out and I—I haven’t seen him since! He’s gone...”
Undyne studied him wearing a stunned look. “He left you?”
“Y-yes, though, I don’t know that he meant to be gone so long, I—I don’t think so, not after I left him… Unless… unless he’s still mad at me about that! That has to be it, why else would he...? He, he, he hates me for it, I just know it, I’m a terrible brother!” Papyrus cried, curling in on himself.
“Hey!” she barked, pulling his head up to look at her. “Listen up--there's NO WAY that's true. You matter more than anything else in the world to Sans, even I can see that! When you were gone, he got—he got so bad I don’t think he left the couch for a week. If he was sick, maybe it was some kind of fever dream..."
Papyrus shivered. "...Maybe. But he should have been back by now."
"Provided he's still alive..." Undyne uttered, then realized what she'd said and to who she'd said it. "I mean--! Of course he's alive! He's probably just slacking off somewhere!"
Papyrus couldn't help another whine. "But he always comes home... He's never been gone this long..."
Undyne furrowed her brows and drew back as she thought. "Hold on... If he hasn't been here, but I thought he was just sick... Where the he--uh, heck is he? He's just... gone?"
Papyrus rattled harder. Maybe Sans was dead. He couldn't keep his whimpering from rising to a keening howl.
Undyne winced as her friend broke down, and took his trembling wrists into her hands. “Hey, Papyrus! Listen--I wish you would have told me sooner so we could have gone looking for him. Both of you guys… it’s like, you don’t want anyone to worry, but then these problems aren’t things that just go away if you don’t talk about them, and running away won't help either. I was… I’m terrified we’ll lose you just because you never say when anything is wrong.”
Aside from a muted sob, Papyrus was silent.
“So come on! You want to find your brother, right? Good or bad, we need to figure out what happened. We have to go looking for him.”
“I can’t go out. I can’t. I can’t…” Papyrus whimpered, and Undyne sighed.
“Honestly? I don’t think anyone will recognize you. I know I didn’t, back when Sans first brought you back, and I know you pretty dang well—I mean, I didn't until you spoke. So I’ll do the talking, and if anyone asks we can say you’re a trainee from New Home or something, depending on where we’re looking. I just…” Undyne trailed, eye darting as she thought. “Look. I can’t rest until both you skeletons are back on your feet at 100 percent, because anything else has messed with you both something awful and I hate seeing my friends suffer. So come on. Let’s find Sans and give him what-for for making you worry.”
Papyrus studied her, then managed a soft laugh as he rubbed at his eyes. “Not too much of a what-for though."
Undyne laughed, and helped him stand. "I'll give him exactly the right amount of what-for, how about that? First things first though--I'll make us something to eat and then we can come up with a plan."
Considering he couldn't remember what he'd last eaten, Papyrus nodded. "An excellent plan, Captain Undyne! I'm afraid I've let my usual culinary exploits fall to the wayside, so... that would be nice. Thank you."
"Hey, no problem. Like I said, I wanna see you guys back at 100% sooner rather than later. Come on though, I'm not gonna do it for you!"
Papyrus leapt into action, happy to have the company, happy that Undyne wasn't mad at him. He was still worried about his brother, but they were going to do something about that too. In the meantime, an evening with someone as cool as Undyne wasn't a bad way to spend it. He'd slipped a little, but it was nice to have someone help him back up. Maybe together, they could help Sans too--wherever he was.
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the-princess-ana · 4 years
Text
Imagine your alarm going off one morning in July. You rub the sleep out of your eyes with your delicate knuckles and remember what day it is. You push your covers back with your long slim legs and fuzzy-socked feet (even in summer your feet are always cold). Then it hits you. Today is the day that you and your boyfriend are going to the roller coaster park together! You wanted to get there just as it opened to get on all the best rides, so he'll be here soon to pick you up. You're so glad that you don't eat breakfast and don't need to put a lot of makeup on. Your cheekbones and jawline are already so angular and they make your eyes look so big on your face - definitely a time saver on mornings where you feel rushed like this one!
You walk over to your closet and quickly decide what to wear. It doesn't matter too much - everything looks good on your tiny body. You decide on some cutoff denim shorts and a favorite cropped t-shirt. You slip off your fuzzy socks and put on a pair of white vans to complete the look. Pulling your long hair back in a high ponytail and grabbing your phone and sunglasses you know you're ready to go.
You sit on your front porch with a bottle of water and wait for your boyfriend. He pulls into the driveway a few minutes late and you're especially glad that you were ready to go so quickly so you two can definitely make it in time for the park to open.
"Hey baby, you look amazing." he smiles, excited to see you and leans over to give you a kiss as you hop into the passenger side of his car. Your thighs barely touch as you sit and you instinctively turn the air conditioning down as you start bubbling about all the things you want to do in the park today.
You guys get the the theme park a few minutes before they open and there's already a crowd forming in front of the gates. They will definitely already be lines for all the good rides, but you're not too stressed. You have all day.
You save a spot in line while your boyfriend goes to buy tickets. Being alone in large crowds used to make you nervous but now you know that the only people looking at you are staring at how beautiful and thin you are. You hear someone near you whisper to their friend while looking in your general direction and the only word you can make out is 'model'. You nervously wrap your fingers around your wrist. Plenty of space. He meets you in line with your tickets and seems to sense your unease, so he puts a loving arm around your tiny boney shoulders and assures you that you're about to have one of the most fun days of your life.
When the gates finally open everyone starts walking quickly to the biggest baddest roller coaster in the park. You smile at your boyfriend with a bit of mischief in your eye and grab his hand.
"Oh God what are yo-" he tries to say but doesn't get the words out in time before you're pulling him through the crowd. You weave back and forth in between people, passing between them almost like a spirit. They might not have even noticed you bobbing in between them if it weren't for your boyfriend ungracefully knocking into them behind you.
"Sorry! Oh my God I'm sorry." You can hear him saying behind you, but you laugh and pull him along anyway. You finally arrive at the most terrifying roller coaster in the whole park and the two of you laugh as you get in line.
"Geez, Baby" he laughs with a hand on his forehead "I just about stampeded over a couple 8-year-olds back there!"
You giggle apologetically. "Well the wait time is only at 15 minutes right now. I think a few civilian casualties was worth it."
He reached the end of the short line and are directed to get into the front car. You buckle in and the right attendant looks at you wearily and comes to try to tighten the strap. He looks like he's mildly concerned that you might just slip out of the ride, which doesn't make you feel any better. Finally, everyone is loaded on the ride and the car takes off and immediately starts climbing to the top of the biggest drop you've ever seen in your life. Your heart stops.
"Is it too late to get off??" You ask your boyfriend with panic in your voice.
"Oh we are way beyond that point." He laughed, trying to sound calm but you can hear that he's also scared silly. He grabs your hand and holds your tiny fingers, probably as much for himself as for you.
You get to the top and slowly go over the crest. The ground is so far away, and your pointed straight at it. And then, you're dropping towards it. Three seconds and you're zooming up the next hill again. You scream and laugh and try not to pass out from the adrenaline as the coaster flings you sideways and upside-down. After what seems like no time at all, the ride is over and you're shaking and laughing as you get out of the car. Your boyfriend is laughing too and helps you walk towards the exit.
"That was SO MUCH FUN!!" You scream.
"Go again?" He asks.
"Absolutely not. Can we just go get some drinks and sit down for a minute?" You need a diet coke stat.
He laughs and holds your hand again, walking you towards a drink stand. "Maybe afterwards I'll play some carnival games and win you a teddy bear."
"Aw! And I can carry it on my back for the rest of the day!"
"You mean like this?" He squats in front of you and grabs your legs, hoisting you into the piggyback position, which is no issue at all for him since you're so light. You laugh so hard you start crying. "Where to, m'lady?" He asks.
"Onward to Diet Coke!" You point dramatically.
This really is the best day of your life.
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dumbdotcomm · 4 years
Text
something about the rain
(a/n) i had the most fun time writing this fic for @sassatello and their amazing oc, Adrian!! thank u so so much for letting me write him and donnie!!! love u!
//
Donnie remembers seeing space for the first time, wide-eyed and curious, only sixteen and terrified. It would have almost been perfect, had it not been for the mind probing and electrocution and shit.
But in spite of it all, being in the depths of space was probably the most exhilarating, awe-inspiring, fantastical thing and there were an awful lot of perks about floating through stars literally and saving and liberating and all that. 
It had its ups and downs, Donnie had to admit. And now he’s a little bit more removed from the trauma of his last intergalactic encounters. He’s not sixteen, he’s not even a teenager anymore, and so he’s sort of learning how to detangle himself from the awful shit he’s been through.
And maybe the universe has kinda given Don a reason to move forward. 
Like it got very, very tired of seeing Donnie destructively bury all of his stress until it made him physically sick. So it gave him something that would kill him if he ever let that happen.
That universal gift is named Adrian. And he’s fucking insanely the greatest. 
////
Going through District TZ-3 is hell. But it’s the best way to Zrt•vn. 
On this edge of the galaxy it snows. Though it looks more like ash the further towards the epicenter of the planet they get. 
The flakes fall slowly and some stop suspended in the air, rotating on an axis as they melt, and rocks float through them, falling down to the ground. They bounce off the shuttle and dent the sides, skipping back into the moving sea of snow and ash. 
The storm lasts a while and the wind rolls the snow and ash and rocks form like waves, over the wings of the space shuttle, rocking it softly. 
Inside, Adrian watches, his eyes lost in the swell of waves, fingers pressed lightly against the glass windows; something is aching in him, picking at him as a familiar kind of thing, as he looks out into the flakes that spun so slowly to the waves. 
It was one of those things, he guessed- like when he saw the Guide maps with all of these galaxies and planets and worlds and he'd look real, real hard at one of the planets, green and blue and huge, and know it instantly. Donnie’s planet. 
Donnie calls that place home so naturally; no uncertainty in the way he claims that world, and Adrian knows that as much as he’s tried to- he knows he doesn’t belong there fully. 
That he’ll never have the contentment Donnie so easily possessed. It drove him crazy thinking about how someone could be so grounded and yet such an incredible dreamer. 
And how someone who dreamed so hugely for others couldn’t even make sure he got more than three hours of sleep a night. 
It’s wonderfully out of reach to Adrian. Donnie’s always been one notch above him in that way. 
And as he watches Don fight sleep at the control of their ship, Adrian adds Earth, belonging- and Donatello- to the plethora of things that he can't get out of his head. 
///
It takes only another half hour for Donnie to stop blinking away exhaustion and just full on pass out at the helm, his head officially connecting with the control panel and sending their teeny explore ship zooming through the sea of snow and ash. 
Adrain only lets himself completely chortle over it once he knows they’re definitely not gonna crash, and that Donnie definitely didn’t hurt his forehead. 
“‘M okay…. ‘m okay, really,” Donnie mumbles, blindly swatting Adrian away because that’s convincing, “Just resting... my eyes.” 
“Like hell you are,” Adrian snickers, and hefts Donnie up as best he can, Don’s sleepy eyes blinking open to find his, cheeks all droopy and shit, “Don’t think Raph didn’t tell me about you pulling, like, an all-weeker.”
There’s cots in the back, a small tucked away space Adrian sorta designed himself, filled with a collection of things he’s picked up from dozens of planets he’s traveled to on his journey to come pick Don up. 
They’ve known each other for a good while now, a real good while. Enough for Adrian to know that Donnie’s bound to be feeling kinda shitty this week because their little talks of late have been nothing but Don being grumpy and self-deprecating through little soft spoken jabs at his worth. 
And so Adrian stopped his work and his planet-hopping and came to scoop his best friend up, finding a nice little corner of this district with just the best scrapped tech and organisms worth studying. 
And a long enough travel time to catch up on some much-needed sleep. 
He gets Donnie onto the cot and watches him sink instantly into it with a content sigh, a smile following it. Mission accomplished, Adrian goes to stand, only pausing when his wrist is tugged, caught in Donnie’s grip. 
“This means nothing…” Donnie yawns, “You just wanna drive.” 
Adrian hopes Don can’t feel his pulse, that he’s too out of it to notice the way Adrian freezes up, breath caught in his throat. 
“Get sleep, dummy,” he forces out, patting the side of Donnie’s face affectionately before closing the curtains to the cots.
He settles down in Don’s spot at the controls, resting his chin in his palms and breathing out wistfully. 
/////
Neither of them are the best at preparing meals, and preserving food on a space shuttle isn’t the easiest, but there’s something about eating next to the best person you know that makes bologna and colby jack cheese sandwiches taste exponentially better. 
They touch down on Zrt•vn earlier than they estimated, and rising suns are a marvel.
“I cannot believe Earth has like, only one sun,” Adrian says around a mouthful of bologna and cheese, “That’s drab.”
Donnie snorts, brushing the crumbs off his thighs, “It is drab. I mean, it’s beautiful...but compared to this?”
He gestures to the horizon, a blaze of brilliant purples and oranges. Adrian loves this most of all- seeing Donnie so amazed, seeing all the things Adrian himself might feel are mundane shine so beautifully through Donnie’s eyes. 
Eyes that light up, still, in spite of all the horrors he’s been through.
It’s extraordinary. 
Extraordinary. 
“I’d love to study the UVs- I mean that’s definitely not my field of study but geez….it’s gotta be a whole different setup here.”
Adrian nudges Donnie softly, “‘Field of study’ my ass… you have a gillion fields of study.” 
He subconsciously wonders if he shoved too hard, or too softly- was it too weird? Ill-timed? Jesus, he was overthinking, spending too much time with this goof, and Adrian would be damned if he started second guessing himself around Don like this. 
“I actually don’t dabble in a ton of fields. I wish I had the time anymore...there’s just so much to retain, you know?” Donnie says, every attempt at flirtation going above his head as he smiles softly and aloofly at Adrian. 
“Yeah… yeah I feel ya,” is what Adrian murmurs back, unable to completely detach himself from Donnie’s stupid big ass brown eyes. 
They hold a stare for what feels like an eternity, before Donnie blinks and lets out a laugh that cuts through Adrian’s thoughts.
He goes to stand, offering a hand to Adrian, “Guess we better get this exploring on, right?”
Adrian takes it, swallowing hard and getting to his feet too, offering Donnie a lopsided smile, “Early bird gets the worm!”
Donnie’s grin widens, he doesn’t let go of Adrian’s hand.
“Hey, lookit you! Picking up on lowly Earthling terms,” he teases, poking at Adrian’s plastron. 
It pierces right to the heart, and Adrian can’t get a normal rhythm back the whole time they suit up, not with the way Donnie stays so close to him the entire time. 
////
On this planet, it rains. Just when the suns rise and just as they make it out the ship, the clouds roll in thick and heavy and dark, and the precipitation starts. 
In the darkness patrol lights from ships in search of spare parts sway across the dirt, and they hide, Adrian and Don, search goggles glowing in the heavy blackness. The sky lights up with dying stars that burst quietly from miles away, their dust falling onto them right alongside the rain, making the downpour harder. 
Still, from afar, the sky is pink and purple, and even in this, there’s beauty to be found. But Donnie can’t help but feel a little disappointed. Maybe if he’d just slept back home and didn’t freaking pass out on Adrian, maybe if he got up sooner they’d- 
A hand rests heavy on Donnie’s shoulder, startling him out of his racing spiral of self pity and loathing. His eyes snap up and Adrian comes into view, his lips moving before sound even registers to Donnie. 
“-ood? I can go find- find the ship if you’re not feeling good, I’m so sorry, shoulda double checked the weather…”
Donnie takes a gulping breath and blinks away the heat behind his eyes. 
“I’m okay…” he says, as confidently as he can, because he is, now, “And don’t be silly, Adrian, it’s a mess out here...you could get hurt or...really wet or...you know…”
As stupid as he feels, Adrian’s slowly spreading grin somehow pacifies the feeling, and Donnie finds himself rubbing the heat from his neck.
“X’vr’s forbid I get wet now,” Adrian jokes, his hand falling from Donnie’s shoulder, but it still hovers beside his arm, “But we shouldn’t split...this rock’s a pretty great cover for now.”
Donnie chuckles breathily, surveying the storm happening around them, “Yeah...yeah I guess it is. Sorry I panicked- I mean, I- I don’t know. I fucked this up...we could’ve been done scavenging if I hadn’t-”
Adrian looks a cross between hurt and confused and it’s a look powerful enough to shut Donnie up a little.
“And now I’m making shit worse by...rambling like this,” he mumbles guiltily, wringing his hands. 
There’s only a few heartbeats of silence where Donnie’s sure Adrian is gonna chew him out for being so...himself. But that’s a stupid thing to think, actually. Because Adrian’s face softens into a smile. 
“You didn’t make nothin’ worse, Donnie,” Adrian says, his voice quiet but firm enough that it overpowers the sound of the pouring rain, “You couldn’t have...because as shitty as this rainstorm is...it’s kinda pointless ‘cause I’m. I don’t really care, as long as I’m with you.”
At his admission, Donnie stops wringing his hands. He just stops...everything really. He blinks slowly. “You...well, I mean-” he tries searching for his words, because surely Adrian is just- “That’s...that’s really nice of you to say but-”
“Don,” Adrian says, more loudly, more certain, and holds Donnie by his shoulders this time, “I’m not… ‘being nice’ or some shit. I like being near you.”
Donnie’s eyes widen, the silly, lovely lost look in them subsiding as realization takes its place. 
And without taking his eyes off Donnie, Adrian presses the release to his helmet, searching Don’s face breathlessly. “Can I kiss you?” he asks around this huge, wonderful smile.
Donnie’s only half-sure that he nods, and still unable to form words he undoes his helmet too, his lips meeting Adrian’s within seconds- half of seconds. The embrace is warm and strong and frames by overeager and overjoyed smiles. 
And Donnie silently thanks the universe for this, for this wild gift he’s been given- for yet another beautiful thing to live for. 
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krisseycrystal · 4 years
Photo
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rated: t
fandom: Steven Universe
prompt: “Drunken Shenanigans” + BisPearl
requested by: Anon
SO UH a while ago a super sweet anon here on Tumblr req’d BisPearl + “Drunken Shenanigans” and the idea is GALAXY BRAIN let’s be real i just had to uh...take lots of creative liberties with ancient gem tech to fabricate a reason/way/method gems could become any semblance of “drunk”
then this 5k monster was born because i also felt like indiana jones-ing it and having a LOT of silly shenanigans
i haven’t written this long of a oneshot in a long while but it was FUN and i hope somewhere, out there, that anon that requested this enjoys it! if anyone else wants to req anything, i have about 3 fluff bingo prompts left so have at it
- o - o - o -
Open Again, My Home [Read on AO3]
- o - o - o -
Here’s the thing about exploring ancient gem ruins to assist an “infected” outpost gem colony on the fringes of gem-controlled space dealing with a problem caused by long-forgotten and time-corroded gem technology: if something in this abandoned temple is a potential threat to gemkind, then it is doubly threatening to humankind.
There are only two things keeping Pearl from completely freaking out:  one, that Garnet has silently sworn that she won’t let go of Steven’s hand, and two, that Bismuth and Peridot--the only other two Crystal Gems who might know something about what they’re walking into--are with them.
“Whoa-ho-ho!” 
Steven’s laughter is infectious: bright and booming. It bounces up and down the crumbling stone walls, and it would be comforting; it would be wonderful to hear; it would probably make her smile, if it didn’t remind Pearl every five minutes that he is here when he probably (no, definitely) should not be.
Steven’s gloved hands run over a long banner of ancient gem glyphs carved into the stone. A thin cord of light runs along the border, where a red dot zips down its surface. It lights up the transparent bubble of Steven’s helmet and illuminates the stars in his eyes.
“This is so cool…!” he enthuses. The quiet crackle of his suit’s radio underplays the projection of his voice, but does nothing to hide his wonder. 
Bismuth scoffs and turns back to look at him. “You’re kidding me, right? That little emergency light-show’s nuthin’.”
“It looks cool.”
Bismuth opens her mouth to answer, but Pearl elbows her and sends her a Look that dries up her words in the middle of her throat. Bismuth holds up her hands. She turns around. “Just sayin’. I can make cooler.”
“Really?!”
“Bismuth, we don’t have time to humor him,” Pearl sighs. The light from her gem swings right and left, carefully analyzing every tile before they step on it. “The longer we’re here, the longer we risk exposure to whatever it is that’s affecting the colony.”
“Not a colony.”
“Outpost.” Pearl’s face squeezes tight. “Right.” 
Bismuth watches her. They come to a stop, standing at the forefront of their traveling group. Peridot nearly runs into Bismuth, her eyes glued to the tablet she’s never without. Bismuth puts her hand on Peridot’s head and turns her to the left a few degrees. “You don’t have to be so stressed, Pearl. We’re gonna be fine. Tiny herself said this thing isn’t airborne.”
“It scientifically can’t be,” Peridot agrees, deftly stepping around Bismuth’s legs. “Our light-composed forms would be completely immune to it if it was.”
The hall ends in a T. A perpendicular, second hall stretches right and left. Peridot frowns and looks back down at her glowing screen. She swipes madly with her finger. Amethyst frowns, the epitome of boredom, as she peers over Peridot’s shoulder.
Pearl frowns and wraps her arms around herself. “Yes, I know that.”
“As far as I have been able to surmise, the virus is spread through direct contact with one’s gem.”
“Yes, I know, Peridot.”
“Besides, it’s not fatal to gems. It just makes us act strange.”
“I know.”
“Then relax?” Bismuth suggests. She looks Pearl’s rigid form up and down; there’s nothing but tension in her now. “We’re careful. We’re pro’s at fixing things for gem ex-colonies by this point. Besides, we ain’t gonna touch anything in here, Pearl. Peridot and her robonoids have got this covered.”
“I know. I know.” Pearl sighs again. She holds her forehead in her hand. “I just--”
“--ah-ha!” Peridot cheers and with a dramatic pose, directs the group left. “The central maintenance hub should be this way!”
“Woo-hoo!” Steven cheers with both fists in the air.
Bismuth looks to Pearl again. Pearl gives her a small, pained smile, turning away. Amethyst squeezes beyond them to follow on Peridot’s heels with a quiet, faux-accented, “Excuse me.” Steven giggles behind them after Garnet quietly murmurs something.
Bismuth follows Pearl down the darkened corridor.
- o - o - o -
“Interesting…”
“Whatcha got, Peri?”
“The cave-in above those towers.” Peridot taps her screen and zooms in on the data her robonoids are rapidly inputting. The tiny green orbs crawl all over the corroded remains of the temple’s central mainframe. “This planet’s strange merqua must’ve corroded away the temple stone, causing the ceiling to collapse over a couple hundred years ago.” 
“Oh?” Amethyst pushes back the lock of her hair that wants to slip in front of her face. “Is, uh, that important to figuring out how to stop this virus?”
Peridot hums, tapping her finger against her chin. “Perhaps not. Unless determining how the virus came to be is our key to creating a cure.” 
Pearl tries maybe too hard not to appear like she’s listening in. She stands like a sentry next to Garnet as Garnet sits cross-legged on the floor, both lap and arms full of a slumbering, space-suited and self-proclaimed moon boy.
When Peridot begins pacing again, stepping away and continually reading her screen, murmuring nonsense under her breath, Amethyst groans. She flips her long, white mane over her face and drags her feet towards the others. “Ugh! This is so boring. I wish we had something to fight.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” Garnet murmurs.
Amethyst flops onto her face at Garnet’s knee. Her hair cushions her fall.
Pearl smiles. Her hand curls over her mouth. When she looks to the mainframe again, she sees Bismuth looking at the cave-in. Her broad hands sit on her hips; her mouth is twisted in a way that does nothing to disquiet the anxiety rolling in Pearl’s gut. She puts a hand on the back of Steven’s helmet and then walks over.
“What is it, Bismuth?” 
Bismuth glances down at Pearl. “Aw, geez, Pearl. Promise me you’re not gonna flip?”
Pearl’s hands fist in front of her stomach. “Uh. If you tell me what that’s supposed to mean, I’ll think about it.”
Bismuth holds up a finger aimed at the ceiling cave-in. “That merqua is corrosive stuff, right? It ate right through the stone infrastructure of this temple. Course, it took time for that stone to break down, but that stuff’s been sitting here for how long? Centuries?”
“That’s what Peridot said.”
“It’s probably still eating away at this place,” Bismuth mumbles. “No wonder the tech’s all on the fritz. I ain’t ever seen anything like that merqua.”
Pearl lets out a deep and long exhale. 
Bismuth turns to her and offers a smile. “Hey, though. Nice job.”
“On what?”
“Not flipping out.”
Pearl’s laugh is too forceful to be genuine. She waves a hand. “Oh, Bismuth, I believe somehow I’ve fooled you if you think this is any semblance of not freaking out.”
“You never did answer me. What’s got you worked up?”
“I--” Pearl stops and looks behind her, to Garnet and the boy curled into her shoulder. 
Bismuth nods before Pearl has to say another word. “Steven.”
“Steven,” Pearl sighs. “Look, I realize he’s in that suit and Peridot has assured me over and over again it should protect him, but if it rips and he somehow comes into contact with that merqua, or his gem gets in contact with this virus…”
“If any of us come in contact with that merqua, really.” Bismuth’s face tightens. She scratches the back of her head. “I mean, you did hear me, right? That stuff’s corrosive. That…native liquid to this planet is literally eating through rock and it can malfunction our technology. That’s not something I want anywhere near any of us, human or gem or hybrid.”
“I know, but--”
“--Pearl, maybe for once you should stop bein’ so concerned about someone else, and spare some of that concern for yourself, too.”
Pearl blinks at Bismuth. She opens her mouth as if to say something, stops, and then asks instead, “What, do you think I’m not concerned about my own--”
A shudder runs through the stone of the room as, instantaneously, a loud crack booms loud as thunder.
Steven jerks awake, pulling himself up out of Garnet’s lap. “W-what was that?”
Garnet and Amethyst are on their feet half a second after him. 
“Peridot.” Garnet’s voice is low in both warning and question.
Peridot steps back from the towers and monitors. Her fingers hover over her tablet screen, but her eyes roam side-to-side, up-and-down across the chamber. Her gaze lands on the merqua, still steadily dripping down through the broken cracks.
“Uh. I think that was the temple,” Peridot mumbles. “That wasn’t the mainframe.”
Another shudder and a part of the floor drops from under their feet.
It slants at a lopsided angle, the room jaggedly cracked two-thirds of the way across its expanse.
Caught in surprise, Bismuth nearly slips and falls. Pearl grabs her arm to keep her upright. Peridot crashes to the floor with a yelp and a skid until she sticks her heels into the crumbling stonework. Several dark towers, now on uneven ground, crash into one another like dominos. Robonoids squawk as they fall. Sparks sputter and fly, a mini-fireworks show in the dark. 
“Are you guys okay?!” Amethyst shouts. She stands square-shouldered in front of Garnet and Steven, on the slender portion of the room that didn’t lurch and tilt out of balance.
Bismuth dusts herself off. “Fine!” 
With careful steps, she inches down the floor’s new incline to reach Peridot. Peridot’s eyes are fixed on the gap between the central maintenance hub’s floor and the ceiling of the cavernous room beneath them. 
“W-we should get out of here,” Pearl says. “This isn’t safe. Peridot, you have enough data, right?”
Bismuth helps Peridot to her feet and then slowly, up to the other side of the room’s higher floor. Steven and Garnet hurry to extend their hands over the edge’s lip. 
Peridot nods, but it’s shaky. “Y-yeah. Wow. That was…something.”
“Yeah,” Bismuth laughs. As soon as Peridot’s on higher, more stable ground, she turns back for Pearl with a breathless smile: more nervous chuckles than anything else. “You can say that again. Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen a--”
The floor drops.
With a great, thundering crack that rips asunder their stability, Pearl and Bismuth fall into open air.
Steven’s scream follows them down--
     down--
          down--
“Pearl! Bismuth!”
It happens too fast.
Spinning and flapping her arms, Bismuth turns to find Pearl. She reaches out for the speck of white, glimmering teal, and darker blue that she thinks she can see in the middle of the falling temple stone and chunks of floor. Metal crashes behind them, groaning and sparking as it slams into the wall in a free, wild tumble just like them.
And then Bismuth hits the ground.
Earth craters under her. Chunks of floor pierce the ground on either side of her, falling in a dusty upwind. Bismuth coughs and ties to push herself up in the midst of the crashing debris, lifting her head to see if she can find Pearl.
She isn’t sure what it is that makes herself poof: a fallen tower or a piece of what was once the floor--but she knows the instant it happens.
Because all she can think is:  shit.
- o - o - o -
Reforming is a surprising challenge and Bismuth doesn’t know how or why or what the heck is keeping her from taking shape until she physically forces the problem away for space to be. Once the glow of her form solidifies, she lands heavily on her knees. A ragged gasp later and Bismuth places a hand on the boulder that had been pinning her down (potentially the one that poofed her?) and pushes herself up to a stand.
“Overalls,” she murmurs. “Nice. I can dig it.”
A glance up and at the pile of broken floor surrounding her brings a grimace to her face. “Literally, I guess.”
After climbing out from under the fallen debris, it takes only a few moments to find Pearl. It takes Bismuth another second to recognize that something must be wrong. Pearl’s curled onto her side, fallen on top of broken and crumpled mainframe towers. She doesn’t seem to be injured. So why isn’t she getting up?
The word cracked doesn’t even finish crossing her mind by the time Bismuth’s already started wobbly descending the rubble, arms outstretched. “Pearl! Answer me, Pearl! Are you okay?”
She doesn’t stir. 
Bismuth crashes to her knees beside her and rolls Pearl onto her back. “Pearl! Talk to me!”
And finally, Pearl…laughs?
It’s a laugh Bismuth has never heard, in all the thousands of years she’s known Pearl: high and dreamy, like she’s breathing through clouds and having a great time of it.
“Uh, Pearl?”
“Oh, Bismuth!” And it’s not like Pearl’s voice is particularly different. Maybe there’s a slight slur to her speech and strange saunter to the way she talks, but it shouldn’t be as alarming to Bismuth as it is. Probably. “There…you are. I was worried about you.”
“Uh, yeah. Back atcha.” 
Pearl hums and lifts a hand. At first, Bismuth thinks it’s coming for her face but then Pearl tosses her hand back above her head and it lands with an awkward thud on the corner of the tower she’s stretched out on. Pearl giggles. Her shoulders shake, chest lifting up with the motion. She closes her eyes and her head sags towards Bismuth’s knee.
There’s a strange, goopy liquid trailing across her gem, dripping down her right temple and to the metal. Or maybe it came from the exposed innards of the tower? 
Oh.
“Aw, gee…” Bismuth swears a colorful storm under her breath. “Pearl, why?”
“Why what?” Pearl blinks slowly.
“Why’d ya have to go and land on the virus?”
“Well, ‘snot my fault. It’s not even on my list.”
Bismuth…tries to follow that line of thought. “Come again?”
“List! My list!” Pearl tosses her hand up again and it falls against Bismuth’s shoulder. Bismuth sighs and gets her hands under Pearl’s shoulder to lift her to her feet as she adds, “You know, the one Amethyst helped me get set up. She’s quite capable, you know. She knows so much more than I do. You know Steven’s been thinking about making a Little Homeworld?”
“Uh-huh.”
Bismuth gets them both standing by the time that she can hear a familiar voice shouting above their heads. She lifts her head to watch a familiar, gleaming pink bubble slowly waft down to them.
“Bismuth! Pearl!” Steven shouts, his voice strange and distant through his suit and bubble. The pink pops away as soon as he lands. “Are you guys all right? You sure fell a long way!”
“Steven, what the heck are you doin’ down here? Don’t tell me Garnet actually let you--no, nuh-uh. Don’t touch her; she’s infected.” 
“But I’ve got a suit on! I can help! It’s not like I have a tear in this thing yet; I’ve been super careful and--” Steven brings up his hands to the level of his chest the instant Pearl rolls her head up to see him.
The smile stretching her face is far too wide and bright.
“Steven! You’re okay!” Pearl crows.
“Y-yeah. Uh. Hey, Pearl.”
Pearl takes a step away from Bismuth and wobbles. Immediately, Steven’s gloved hands latch around hers. Her slender knees shake under her as she bends over, elbows bow-legged outward. A giggle runs through her. “Oh, dear. This is a strange feeling.”
“What is?”
“Bops on your head.” Pearl says it so simply, so easily, like it should make sense. When Steven doesn’t answer, she continues, loosely waving a hand. “You know, that apple-falling thing. There were those fig snacks you always enjoyed when you were younger, but only the strawberry ones. Could never get you to eat blueberry until you were seven…”
Steven looks at Bismuth. Bismuth shrugs. “You remember how the other infected gems were acting in the colony?”
“Yeah. Like they were drunk.”
Bismuth makes a strained, odd face. She gestures to Pearl with both hands as Pearl straightens up to frown down at Steven.
“Steven. How do you know how to identify drunken behavior?”
“Uh, well, you see, during our jam sessions, Jenny, Buck, Sour Cream, and Sadie sometimes--”
Bismuth steps in front of him, taking Pearl’s hands and pulling her away. Pearl stumbles into Bismuth’s chest and Bismuth takes extra care to make sure her head is turned away from her gem. “Okay! That’s enough. Let’s just focus on getting us all out of here and rejoining the others. The sooner we do, the sooner we can figure out how to get rid of this virus. Okay? Okay.” 
Steven’s booted footfalls behind her are rapid, twice as many for every single stride of Bismuth’s. “Oh! Wait! I know how to get out of here!”
Bismuth stops. 
Pearl whips around to look at him. She smiles, nods, then turns to look at Bismuth, smug. “See? ‘Smy smart boy.”
Bismuth doesn’t know what to say to that. She looks over her shoulder to Steven instead. “You do?”
“Yeah! You think I would drop down here after you two without a plan?” he stops, seems to think better of his words, and immediately waves his hands. “Wait, don’t answer that. The others are making their way out of the temple, too. Peridot said she might have enough information to begin working on a cure. Besides, whatever other information she could have gotten is lost, now. So Garnet gave me a future vision kiss and we parted ways and now I know the way out of the temple!”
“Oh.” Bismuth blinks down at Steven.
Pearl grins and pokes Bismuth’s cheek. “You’re impressed.”
“What?”
“Say it. Tell ‘im you’re impressed.”
“What?” Bismuth repeats because her brain feels too full of doe-eyed stupid with Pearl so close to her front that she can’t think of anything else to say. She shakes her head. “Course I’m impressed. This is Steven we’re talkin’ about, here. I’m always impressed with ‘im.”
“Aw, Bismuth!”
Bismuth smiles at the stars in Steven’s eyes and the warm flush in his cheeks. She shakes her head and wants to laugh out loud. Instead, she puts a hand on the back of Steven’s round, transparent helmet and ushers him ahead. “Yeah, yeah. All right. C’mon, then,” she says. “Lead the way, lil man.”
“You got it!”
- o - o - o -
“Oh my gosh. This is hilarious.”
“I know, right?”
“What’s funny?” Pearl looks back at the two pairs of expectant eyes gazing up at her. She smiles and waves back at them, wriggling all the fingers on her right hand.
Amethyst loses it. She clutches at her stomach and rolls onto her back, legs kicking into the air.
Steven laughs, too, but more so at how hard Amethyst is laughing than Pearl’s behavior itself. He grins and looks up at Pearl, who seems pleased at being the object of their humor, grinning airily at them both. 
“I mean, it’s kind of funny that I’ve never seen you this relaxed before, Pearl,” Steven hums, propping an elbow up on the couch cushion.
Peal has never slouched for as long as he’s known her. Now, her form is a lazy curve against the back of the couch with her thin legs kicked out before her. She folds her hands over her stomach, the absolute image of comfort. “You haven’t? Huh. Steven, you haven’t seen me like this before.”
“That’s what he just said, man.” Amethyst picks herself up the instant the front screen door of the beach house swings open and Bismuth strides in.
Like a switch has been flipped, Pearl’s face lights up. “Bismuth!”
“H-hey, Pearl. Again.” Bismuth chuckles and doesn’t know what to make of the quick glance Steven and Amethyst throw each other from opposite sides of Pearl. She clears her throat. “How’s she doin’?”
“‘Bout the same,” Steven answers honestly and Pearl makes a move as if to stand.
“Bismuth!” Pearl sings again. Her calf hits the corner of the coffee table and immediately, Amethyst and Steven are on their feet to grab either one of her arms. Pearl wobbles, before righting herself and giggling. “Oh, haha! Stars! Thank you. That would have been an embarr-arra-assing spill.”
Amethyst’s laugh starts in the back of her throat with a shocked, choking sound. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
Bismuth sighs and steps forward to take Pearl’s hand from Steven before Pearl can repeat herself. The corner of her mouth curls up in a humored smile aimed at Amethyst. “Stop it. She can’t help it; you know Pearl would be mortified.”
“Yeah, which is exactly why it’s hilarious.”
Bismuth rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Anyway, Peridot sent me. She thinks she has an idea she wants to try. Steven, think could we borrow that bottle of Blue’s?”
“Of course!” Before Steven finishes talking, he’s bounding towards the bathroom.
Amethyst has to stifle another laugh behind her hand. “Pearl, what are you doing?”
Bismuth hadn’t even noticed Pearl’s index fingers poking into either side of her bicep as her glassy eyes are fixed on the way the steel-blue tone of Bismuth’s hue bends and warps under the pressure of her touch. Over and over again. Quickly, Pearl withdraws her hands, throwing them behind her own body with such force she nearly topples over. She giggles, her face ice blue, when Bismuth--again--catches her. “N-nothing! Sorry.”
Steven returns with the bottle outstretched. His eyes rake back and forth between Bismuth and Pearl. “Want me to come with?” 
“Oh! Oh!” Pearl bounces on the back of her heels and raises her hand up from Bismuth’s hold to her face. “Yes! Me too; me too! Count me in, Bismuth! Wherever you go, I’ll follow! I’m very good at that.” 
“Yeah,” Bismuth slowly and awkwardly laughs. “Sure. Why not. We’ll make it a party.” She looks to Amethyst and raises a brow. “You comin’ too?”
“You know it! I ain’t missin’ this!”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought…” Bismuth ruefully grins at the same time Pearl cheers.
- o - o - o -
Peridot’s string of machines and salvaged parts of the outpost temple’s mainframe towers make a curious amphitheatre in the sand. Lapis watches idly, with her arms crossed over her chest, as Peridot runs back and forth between screens and data, huffing and hawing.
“Ugh!” Peridot cries, throwing her hands in the air. “This would be so much better if I had any actual equipment!”
“Well,” Bismuth chimes, holding Pearl up so that she doesn’t sag onto the sand, “Pearl mentioned something about a Little Homeworld I think. Maybe that’ll help you get some, uh, whatever it is you’re wantin’, exactly.” 
“Hm? Bismuth, what did I say?” 
Amethyst snickers. Lapis Lazuli snorts, turning away.
Peridot spins around to them. “You’re back! Oh, good, good, good, good, good!” With outstretched hands, she makes grabbing motions towards the bottle Steven holds. To Steven’s surprise, she latches on to his arm instead, dragging him over to the biggest screen on display. “Okay, so I have a couple working theories and we’ll probably need to test all of them on Pearl…”
“Oh, I’ve heard of that!” Pearl chimes in. Then, she leans into Bismuth conspiratorially, “That’s what humans call a pair of people who go on dates.”
Bismuth feels her face burst into heat at the same time as laughter busts out of her. “I’m sorry?”
Lapis’ shoulders are shaking as Pearl continues, “You know what I’m talking about, Bismuth, right?”
“I don’t think I do.”
“Couples! A one plus another one! One plus two plus one plus one plus--”
“--how was I supposed to know a human thing like that?”
“Don’t you want to be one?”
Bismuth doesn’t know what to say to that. She thinks she lost track of what it was Pearl was talking about. Or some part of her sorely wishes she did, anyway. “Uh. Pearl, you doin’ okay? Maybe we should sit down…”
“Perfect!” Peridot, fortunately, saves her. “Sit her down on this chair, Bismuth. We’re going to try a few different methods to see if we can combat this virus!”
Bismuth breathes a sigh of relief and pulls Pearl along to the plastic-white lawn chair that looks far too dirty and dusty to be sanitary. Pearl would throw a fit about being expected to sit in it if she were in her right head; thankfully, this Pearl lets Bismuth push her down against its flower-embossed backing without a fight.
Steven raises an eyebrow. “Uh, Peridot? That looks like something out of my dad’s old storage unit.”
“It probably is. I borrowed it from the car wash.”
“Huh.”
Peridot rubs her chin, looking at her glowing screens one final time. Finally, she sighs. “All right. I guess we’ll have to try Steven first.”
“Huh?” 
Peridot pushes a quarter-full box of latex gloves into Steven’s chest. “Here. Apply one and lick your hand, please.”
“Didn’t we try this at the outpost?”
“Yes, well, we’re trying it again!” Peridot throws her hands into the air. “Pearl, you’re going to have to look at us.” 
Perhaps for the first time in her entire life, Pearl whines. “But then I wouldn’t get to see Bismuth.”
“Oh, what a travesty.” Amethyst sighs dramatically and puts the back of her hand against her forehead. Lapis, now standing at her side, clutches at her stomach, pressing her lips together hard to keep from laughing.
Bismuth rolls her eyes, but with a good-natured grin, she steps around the old chair. “There. Now you can see me, right?” 
“Better.” And Pearl extends her hand.
Bismuth can feel everyone else’s eyes on her. Her face blooms with heat. She turns around to the circle of an audience she has, all watching her and Pearl very, very closely. “All right! That’s enough, you guys! Knock it off! We’re just friends,” she shouts as she takes Pearl’s slender hand in her own and squeezes it.
“Oh!” Lapis laughs loudly. “Sure! Because that’s what this is!”
“Just ‘friends.’” Amethyst curls her fingers into air-quotes and bends over, laughing. 
“Hey, Amethyst,” Lapis says through chuckles and chortles, extending her dangling hand. “Since we’re…just friends…how about you hold my hand while I get treated for a virus?”
“Why, Lapis,” Amethyst answers, bowing over Lapis’ hand, “since we’re such good friends, I’d be honored to!”
“Oh, Amethyst! Our friendship is just so integral to my feeling of safety and comfort!” 
Bismuth tries not to laugh, pushing a hand against her own face.
Steven snickers and tries to stuff his laugh behind his own spit-slobbered hand, until Peridot grabs his wrist and pulls it away. She brings him to Pearl’s front and nods. Steven nods back, mouth pulled into a serious line, then slaps his palm over Pearl’s gem on her brow.
Pearl blinks. 
A shiver passes through her.
She giggles. “Wow…it’s been a while since you’ve needed to do that, Steven.” 
Peridot squints at her. Bismuth chuckles and moves as if to pull her hand away. “So, uh, okay. How’re you feelin’ now, Pearl?”
Pearl gasps softly. “Certainly not good enough for you to leave me, Bismuth!” And the frown on her face is enough to make Peridot groan and for Bismuth to take her hand back with a quiet, “All right, all right, I’m sorry; I’m here,” that has Lapis and Amethyst snickering all over again behind her.
“It didn’t work!” Peridot huffs. When Steven opens his mouth, she holds up a hand. “Never mind. I know it didn’t work when we were at the gem outpost, either. It was worth a second try. Give me Blue’s Diamond’s bottle.”
Blue Diamond’s essence doesn’t work, either.
Peridot’s a grumbling mess. She pulls Steven and his still-gloved hand aside as Pearl looks up to Bismuth with wide eyes. “Bismuth, is there something wrong with me?”
“What?”
Pearl’s eyes begin to shine with tears, two gleaming, wet pools of baby blue. “The lacrimal essence. It should heal; why aren’t I better? One impossible right after another. Gems can’t get sick! Am I dreaming?”
“Uh…” Bismuth looks behind her to Lapis and Amethyst, but they aren’t even watching anymore. Instead, they are focused on dramatically recreating the scene between Bismuth and Pearl to their own knee-slapping hilarity.
Bismuth sighs and shrugs. “I mean, I guess you’re--”
 “--what happens if I wake up?”
“Uh…”
Bismuth moves aside as Peridot comes forward with Steven’s hand again. In the center of his round palm, cushioned against the cool cyan of the disposable latex, is a swirling mix of glowing blue and neon pink. 
Bismuth has never seen anything like it.
It’s...remarkably pretty, actually.
Bismuth looks to Pearl and puts on her best, most encouraging smile. “Well, you’ll see me and I’ll be there to tell ya it’s not the end of the world. How’s that?”
Pearl blinks and that’s when Steven slaps his hand against her gem.
There’s a burst of sparkling light.
- o - o - o -
“Ugh, I’m mortified.”
“I knew you would be.”
“How could you let me say those things, Bismuth?”
“I had no idea what was gonna come out of your mouth!” Bismuth laughs and the entire stairway leading up to the beach house shakes with it. “None of us did! It was kinda wild, actually. Amethyst and Lapis got a big kick out of it. Steven, too, I think. Garnet was holding down the fort at the outpost, so she wasn’t there for some of it.”
Pearl groans and shoves her head in her hands. The setting sun casting Beach City in its warm, peach-pink hues should be calming, soothing. Instead, her gut is tying itself in ribbons over her own hazy memories. “They’re never going to let me live this down.”
“Probably not.”
“I’m so embarrassed…”
“Aw, hey,” Bismuth puts a hand on Pearl’s back. “I don’t know if you remember what I told you before Steven and Peridot fixed you, but…this ain’t the end of the world, Pearl. Amethyst, Lapis--we all understand that. It’s why everyone else is givin’ you your space as they fix-up the other infected gems at the outpost.”
When Pearl doesn’t answer and instead, only groans more, Bismuth laughs and wraps her arm around Pearl’s shoulders to bring her against her chest. “C’mere.”
“Bismuth…”
“Yeah, Pearl?”
“How are you not embarrassed?” Pearl pulls away from Bismuth’s arms, slipping down to the step below to frown up at her. “I did so many things that unthinkingly put you in such…awkward situations the entire time. How are you not embarrassed to be by me, right now? How can you look at me?”
Bismuth chuckles. She props her elbow up on her knee and sets her cheek against her loose fist, gazing down at Pearl. “I dunno. I thought it was cute.”
“C--” Pearl’s face flushes with ice. “--Bismuth!” she hisses. “We’re not in one of those anime Steven likes to watch! Cut that out!”
Bismuth laughs again, but it’s soft and fond. “No, not that kinda cute. I thought it was good. It was interesting seeing that side of you, the side of you that wasn’t afraid to ask for me to be there or for physical affirmations. The side that wasn’t afraid to put yourself and what you wanted first for once. Y’know?”
“Oh.”
“I liked it.” Bismuth shrugs a shoulder. 
“You did?”
Bismuth chuckles. “Yeah. I like you, Pearl. Every side of you there is.” 
Slowly, Pearl smiles. After a moment, she tentatively leans against Bismuth’s knee, eyes on her face as if checking every second, every motion, every contact, was okay. But when Bismuth makes no move to stop her, she lets her cheek bunch up against the surface of Bismuth’s thigh.
The steel-blue tone of Bismuth’s hue bends and warps under the pressure of her touch.
“I like you, too, Bismuth.”
It is as soft and gentle as a thank you.
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Shitty things my mom does (feel free to add your own)
Me: Hey, mom, its my day off and I want to relax
Mom: Relax?????! You are so lazy!! All you do is sit on your phone!!!! You cant live through those yputubers go have a life!! Get out of the house once in a while!!! At your age I was woth your dad
Me: *rolls eyes bc ive heard it before* Okayyyyyyy sorry I asked to relax for once.
Mom: For once????! You give so much attitude!!! You are so.ungrateful!!!! You poor baby you dont know the stress i deal with with our money problems, ypu need to get a full time job or get a.second job!!!
Me: *nearly in tears, but handling it* Alright fine I wont relax. Geez. I just asked a question and you went.off on me
Mom: *proceeds to scream at me and get my dad to yell at me even though I am just sitting there taking it*
~~~~~~
Mom: *complains about millenials* *later says something i find offensive*
Me: Wow. That was rude.
Mom: Oh you poor millennial you want everything handed to you dont you? You want everyone to be happy froofroo nicey nice to each other dont you?
Me: Better than you generation.with their bullying and homophobic/racist stuff.
Mom: Oh that w a just being silly!!! And it.toughened us up!!! The world is cruel!!!
*later*
Mom: Why are you SO scared of.living on your own??? Dont be such a baby!! The world isnt so bad!!!
Me: *internally screaming*
~~~~~~
Me: *genuiniely forgets something*
Mom: Thats a poor excuse. You.didnt forget you just didnt want to do it. It wasnt something for YOU so you dont care you are so fucking selfish!!
~~~~
Mom: I was doing so.much more at your age. You are not an adult. You are a child. Age is nothing, it doesnt.make you an adult.
Me: *pissed off* Then how are you an adult?
Mom: you are so hateful! I go to sleep crying every night because.of the way you treat me.
~~~~~~~
Mom: If i do something that bithers you, tell.me and we can work ir out.
Me: (*thinking* wow! Things are finally turning around!!) Okay well *thing that genuiniely upsets me*
Mom: That bugs you???? Lol, you need to get over yourself.
Me: 🙃🤐
~~~~~~~
Mom: *once tore up any nsfw art I had at 15. Restricted anything or:13 or more and even cursing in comics* Why dint you like when im in your room? Are you hiding anything? What are you hiding? Drugs??
Me: ??!?!?!? You tore up.art you.didnt like because it was dirty even though I was a horny teenager and that was my way of working out those feelings????
Mom: I never did that. You are.lying. you.have always lied no one will ever believe you.
~~~~~
Mom: If you keep pissing me off I'm gonna punch you.
Me: Do it and I will call the cops on you.
Mom: you arent a minor anymore i can do it.
Me: ???its still assult??? Lmao
Mom: Do it. Your dad will defend me. He works for the jail. I will tell the cop that you are lying. You have lied so much to.me and your dad they will beleive me and not.you because.you are a.dumb kid.
~~~~~~~
Me: Hey. I'm 20. Can you treat me.more.like an.adult?
Mom: Sure. Pay this.much retn, this much bills, this much everything. You have to have it next week.or.else you will be evicted from MY house.
Me: You.know i dont make that.much a paycheck???? And this isnt what I was talking about???? You know this?????
Mom: I am.the parent you are the child. Get over it. No matter what i will be the adult and you will be the kid.
~~~~~~~~
Me: *shows my.mom something nsfw i did bc I was proud of.it, gave fair warning of what it wpuld be*
Mom; This.isnt talent. This is garbage. Why are you wasting.your talent
~~~~~~~~
Me: *draws fanart*
Mom: I wish you would make.ypur own works. Not cpoy someone else's creation. You habe potential. Use it. Go to.college.
Me: I cant.afford.college. I dont.make.enough to save.
Mom: Stop buying bullshit (art supplies to help.me). I know how. to save. I have taught you. I must be a failure.
~~~~~~~~
Me: *age 16* Mom I think I have bipolar disorder.
Mom: If you.really think thst call a therapist and set it up yourself. I habe watched you and.you.dint look like.you do, you are always smiling.
~~~~~~~
Me: *accidentally says 'we' when talking about the lgtb++ community, even though i have come out at pan repeatedly*
Mom: We???? Lol you arent GAY I have seen the way you check guys out.
Me: No but im.not straight. Im.pansexual. I habe told.you this.
Mom: Whatever.
~~~~~
Mom: *watvhing some transphobic piece of shit* Well, they do have a point that once you are a boy you are always a boy
Me: Abd thats what horomone replacement is.for???
Mom: Thats dangerous i don't get it. There are only two genders.
Dad: Even after surgery you are still a guy. Even if.you.look like a girl and act like a girl.
Me: ????thats awful and transphobic?????
Them: no way!! We love everyone!!!!
Mom: the inly ones that bither me are the nonbinaries. I will call THEM 'it'. I dimt get how they can be nothing. Women that are nonbinary just hate women. I refuse to call them they.
Me: *explains it.in a way she can understand*
Them: Dont.understand. wasnt in my generation. Doesnt make.sense. there are only.two genders.
Me: *red flags for homophobes and transphobes*
~~~~~~~~
Mom: i cant wait until you finally get a boy friend. *stops* or girlfriend or ITfriend. I want to see you happy.
Me: ?????????? How do i meet people
Mom: put.make up on and make.yourself.look nice and.not.like a scrounge once in a while. *also tries to set me.up woth COMPLETE STRANGERS I DONT FIND ATTRACTIVE*
~~~~~~~~~
Mom: *got.pissed when i was 12 and chatted online, telling me everyone I talked to was pedophiles*
*now*
Me: *chatting with online friends*
Mom: What are you doing?
Me: Checking notifications.
Mom: I bet you are talking to.your booooyyyyfriends oooooooooooooooo
Me: Nope.
Mom: Uh huh
Me: no.
Mom: Whatever. You are chatting eith strangers. You are an adult.if you.dint want.to.listen oh well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mom: You dont love the pets like.I do. You forget to feed an water them. Thats how.your dog died. (She died of old age :/)
(Also note i feed and wster them when i remeber AND do the cat litter AND play with them. She cuddles them and.pets them)
~~~~~~~~~~
Me: I think i habe depression.
Mom: No you dont. I do. Look at my self harm scars I habe always wanted to kill.myself. you smile how arr you.depressed??
~~~~~~~~~
Mom: *uses stuff from when I couldnt do things in my own against me, like changing my diapers*
Me: Hey this makes me feel bad about being alive and makes me wish I was mever born
Mom: Oh I'm joking. Get over it you sensitive snowflake.
(Feel feee yo add your own! My dad is a gaslighter and mental abuser, starting to realise my mom isnt a poor abuse victim. Theres a reason she loves my dad. Too much alike. Anyways I wanna hear your own!!!)
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every1studio · 6 years
Text
like a kdrama /“how you guys met” edition [day6]
genre: FLUFF
ficstyle:  bulletpoints + reactions + #whatwouldtheydo + LONG
prompt: “how would you encounter each member and how you guys would keep seeing each other”
note: I think I like these “like a kdrama” series... but like they are slowly becoming a collective of mini drabbles...
SUNGJIN
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he was packing up his guitar
“today’s another successful buskering day...”
Sungjin slings his guitar case
causing it to hit you and falling over 
breaking your guitar into pieces
he felt like he bumped into someone so he turned around
you were just crying over your guitar
“nonononononono”
he clasped his hands over his mouth
“I’M SO SORRY!!”
you turned to look at him with watery eyes
and he felt his heart tightened
you were crying because of something he did
he kneels down
“can I offer to buy you a new guitar?”
you shook your head
“but... guitars are so expensive...”
you couldn’t fix this one 
and you definitely didn’t have the money for another one
a chuckle escaped from his smile
“and I ended up breaking yours..it won’t settle in well for me if I don’t..”
with that he asked for your number
you both went to go look for a new guitar for you
it ended up feeling like a date
“that one looks nice”
you tried to reach for it but you were too short
he comes up from behind you and gets it for you
“he-here you go..”
even after he got you a new guitar, you guys would meet up
having guitar sessions and buskered together
every time you both were playing the guitar and sang, you guys had the habit of looking into each other’s eyes
not pulling away until the song was over
people started to ship you guys
you guys lowkey shipped each other
it’s only a matter of time before you guys move on from this silly crush
JAE
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Wonpil stole his glasses from him and hid them
though he didn’t really need them; he just liked wearing them
he wasn’t in the mood to deal with Wonpil so he went out to get coffee
di-ding 
upon entering the coffeeshop, he bumps into you spilling a customer’s drink on him
“OH MY GOSH, I’M SO SORRY... JUN!! COULD YOU MAKE ANOTHER LATTE FOR TABLE 3?”
you frantically cleaned the spill off of the left side of his chest
he was just looking at you
how short you were compared to him
how strands of hair was falling into your line of vision
how your hand was on his beating heart
how beautiful you were
(wait... HER HAND IS ON MY HEART)
his heart beats faster upon realizing this
“I’MSORRYI’MSOSOSOSORRY!!”
he shakes his head; coming up with a plan
“I lost my glasses.. so it’s my fault for running into you..”
you gave him a concerned face
“do you want to lead you to a table for you to sit down? I’ll take your order there too?”
(with any chance that he had with you, he’d take it)
he started smiling shyly as he nods his head
you lightly grabbed his hand and led him to a table with a view of the counter where you’d be working
he also pretended like he couldn’t read the menu; so you bent down, face to face, to read each item to him
“could I get cappuccino then?”
you nodded smiling widely
he just fell in love in that moment that you were making a drink for him
when you came back, he tried to be cheeky
he points to his shirt
“you should take it to the dry cleaners..”
but you smiled; you caught onto him
“you just want my number, don’t you?”
he was getting even more shy and embarrassed
but when he went to go pay for his drink, you wrote your number on his receipt
since that day, he’s visited you at the coffeeshop EVERYDAY
“a coffee a day, makes me want to make you my bae” 
was on a napkin that Jae gave to you
“I found it on the floor and it seemed relevant”
YOUNG K 
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this was the first day of your business statistics class
none of your friends had that same class so you were all by yourself
you sat down near the front but not in the front row
you needed to pay attention in class but you didn’t want the instructor looking at you the whole time
(this is a good spot) you thought
UNTIL 
this big head sits in front of you
you looked around and there were so many other seats
he HAD to sit in the one in front of you
you tried clearing your throat to get his attention
but he was too busy taking out his laptop
you tried to be nice and tap him on the shoulder
he looks back at you; up and down
before you could say anything else, he turns back around to face the front
you scoffed as you rolled your eyes
you kicked his chair
“listen I was trying to be nice, why they hell are you sitting RIGHT in front of me?”
he doesn’t turn around, “because I can easily talk to the instructor this way.. the perfect seat.. if you’re so short just sit on a pillow or two”
ever since that day, you and that kid had a battle of dominance 
it may seemed childish but none of you were going to give up the seats
even after class, you guys would often see each other on campus
probably had the same major as each other
you guys would race to get to the counter of a coffeeshop first and get a ridculous order just to piss each other and the worker off
out of nowhere, he wasn’t in class
which was weird because he was always in class
it didn’t worry you at first
but finals were coming up
you made sure you took good enough notes for him to use
you didn’t even know his name
after 2 weeks, you walked into class to see him sitting in front of your seat again
you couldn’t help but get a little concern
“where the hell were you?”
“that’s none of your-”
FWAK
you tossed the notes that you rewrote for him from your notes
“I just did it because it was like reviewing over all the topics..”
you sat down and he just looked at you in awe
he looks back down at the book and it was labeled “idiot who sits in front of me”
you heard him chuckle as you saw his hand in front of you
“I’m YoungK...I was..with my band.. we were performing these past two weeks..”
“psh, what’s your real name”
“Youn-”
“YOUR REAL NAME!”
“brian..”
“what?”
“BRIAN!”
“OKAY GEEZ!”
you guys found that you both had the same major so you guys ended up studying together a lot 
“study dates” your guys’ friends would call them
but were they?
he’s always thought you were cute 
but annoying
and you always thought he was fine as fudge buckets
but cocky
WHO KNOWS
WONPIL
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you were on the bus
finishing your shift; you were a bartender
it was a risky job for a female too
but you were confident in defending for yourself
it was 4AM; it was the weekend and people were going home drunk at this time
“pr-pretty laaadddyy, why hiccups why are you all by yourself?” a sleazly looking guy stands next to you
the bus was packed and you’d just given up your seat for an older gentleman; who ended up falling asleep
no one was doing anything; they were just watching this guy edge closer to you
you were about to call him out and fight him
but a younger guy slides in between you and the sleazebag 
“sorry babe, I got caught in the back of the bus...”
you looked at him
he was a really sweet looking boy
he was trying to get this old drunkard off of you
but you could tell he was a little under-prepared and a little shy
within an instant, you clung onto his arm
“I was wondering where you were,” you pecked him on the cheek
the bus stopped 
thankfully it was your stop
you and the guy got off as the sleazly guy eyes you guys
the bus left and the guy slid his arm from your grasp
“I’m glad you’re okay now.. I .. I gotta go..”
“wait!” 
as he turns around, you gave him a peck on the cheek again
“thank you, honestly I would’ve done fine on my own.. but having you there really made me feel safe..”
you gave him your business card, and you smiled as you backed away; motioning for him to text you
but he doesn’t leave, he walks up to you
“I don’t feel comfortable with you walking home during this time..”
you smiled
“are you already trying to be my boyfriend?”
his eyes start to waver
“you don’t have anywhere to be?”
he shook his head, “just home..”
“I’m y/n..” you took out your hand
he moves in to shake it, “Wonpil..”
but you laced your fingers with his
“I’ll feel safer this way..”
he just takes it and blushes
(why is it so fun teasing him? it’s too cute)
to your surprise, he lived in the same complex as you
and you saw him basically every morning and night
after finding out where you lived, he went out of his way to take you home
it just became a routine but he was still shocked when you told him you wanted to date him
“we already act like a couple, shouldn’t we just be one already?”
DOWOON
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you just wanted to de-stress
exams were kicking your butt and it was killing you
you went to an arcade to just get your head outta the educational gutter of mess
you went for the Street Fighter machine
usually you did well; setting scores
but today, not only were exams kicking your butt
the person on the other side was kicking your butt too
not once
not twice
5 TIMES
you lost to the person 5 times
a little mad and a little irritated, you stormed to the other side
“couldn’t you have let me won once?”
Dowoon looks over to see such a gorgeous being
out of timidness. he looks back onto the screen
“you should’ve played harder..”
“excuse me?”
he didn’t want to say that, but it was the first thing that he could say to you
his emotionless face didn’t help the situation either
“HEY DON’T TALK TO DOWOON-OPPA LIKE YOU KNOW HIM!!”
a bunch of girls started to surround you and yelling at you
apparently, he was a popular pretty boy from the other school in the city and you were being rude?
he didn’t want his “fans” to be so involved with his life
“get lost,” he told them as he grabbed your wrist and led you out of the arcade
you both stopped in front of an convenience store
“sorry..I didn’t mean to say what I did early.. I’m just-”
“used to it?”
he looks at you as if you could understand what he’s feeling without having to say anything
“you’re probably popular yourself..” he says as he shuffles his feet into the concrete ground
you laughed
he thought it was the purest thing in the world
“what makes you think that?”
“you’re...pretty..”
you blushed, “th-thanks...um..Dowoon?”
he nods, smiling a little bit
“I’m-”
the sound of your grumbling stomach interrupts you 
you both start laughing
“I’m y/n..”
“well y/n.. I’m gonna treat you to the best convenience food combo; ramen, ddukbokki with potato chips and cheese~”
you picked out drinks as he made the food
when the both of you were done, you both sat across from each other
“be careful~ it’s hot~”
a couple of girls walked by
“oooh look at them~ talk about a visual couple~”
you choked on your food as he opened up your peach milk for you
“th-the things people say huh?” he says as he busies himself with his banana milk
“ye-yeah..”
little did you guys know, that you guys became known as the “convenience store couple” since you guys were always there after being at the arcade
did you guys actually become a thing? only time will tell
END
[masterlist + guidelines]
591 notes · View notes
hamilton-one-shots · 6 years
Text
Hamilton High School AU 50
Aaron brought out a tray of cupcakes. "We're just finishing up with the decorating."
"Thanks!"
"You're the best!"
Aaron nodded and went back to the kitchen as the girls began eating the cupcakes.
Lafayette smiled and began getting up to join them before his phone rang, another Snapchat from Hercules coming through. He blushed as he saw a picture of shirtless Hercules lounging in his room, winking with a cheeky grin with the caption [Miss you xx]. His face was dark red and he was sure that he'd be flustered just if the girls noticed his reaction. Naturally, he had to get revenge. He covered the camera so the screen was black, as if he was hiding, with the simple caption [THE GIRLS SAW THAT PICTURE OVER MY SHOULDER, HERC]
[LAF WHY] Hercules sent a panicked selfie.
[Kidding <3] He sent back a selfie with a cheeky grin.
[my poor heart can't take this stress] He looked more than relieved. A minute later, he sent back another selfie, showing off more of his shirtless self as he laid in bed. [I suppose I can forgive you... 😉] Then another. [Honestly I feel so cuddly right now. why aren't youu heerreeeee...?]
"Ew! Stop it!"
Lafayette practically jumped out of his skin as Martha cried out.
"George is so disgusting!"
Frances tutted. "Alright, you don't like him. You'll at least have a date with a red solo cup, just like me." She rolled her eyes and caught a glimpse of Lafayette's flustered face. "At least Lafayette will have a fun night. What did he say?"
Lafayette shook his head. "Nothing. He's just being silly.." He sent back an almost casual looking selfie, a slight blush still visible. [You seem like you want a little bit more than just to cuddle with me 😘]
How could Hercules resist taking things further? [Me? Want more? Never... 😉] said the caption over Hercules's selfie with him winging and sticking his tongue out cheekily. Soon after, he sent another topless picture, the dim light of the room catching every curve of Hercules' muscles. [Have fun with the giiirrlllllsssss...! Hope you have a long hoodie 😘😘😘]
Lafayette blushed again, Frances grinning.
"He's sending you something rude, isn't he?"
"Ooh, scandalous!"
"Let us see!"
"What are you guys up to out here?" Theodosia asked as she and Aaron brought out the rest of the cupcakes, a few strawberry slices decorating the tops.
"Hercules is sending Lafayette something that's making him blush and he won't let us see!"
Lafayette rolled his eyes. [Yes, this hoodie that I stole from you is plenty long on me and I need that now, thanks to you 💗] He sent a picture of the giggling girls. [Seriously, though, they're getting curious. We can continue this later 😘] "It is none of your concern and I'm not letting you see."
Aaron chuckled and decided to let the girls torture Lafayette without him. He got Rosie and CC and took them outside to Theodosia's backyard.
[Not gonna lie, I'm looking forward to 'later', baby 😘❤️]
At least he decided to leave him alone.
"He's sending you nudes, isn't he?" Frances asked with a tut.
Theodosia shifted uncomfortably at that. She was still a bit too raw for jokes like that. "As long as you don't save them.." she said dryly, attempting to brush it off. "Hey, do you think you can do my makeup next?"
"Of course I can. And he's not sending me nudes, just shirtless selfies... That you're not allowed to see." He sat beside Frances on the floor and finished the makeup that he'd began. "You know, it was actually my friend John Laurens who taught me how to do makeup. He was trying to explain something about art to me and he figured I'd learn more easily if he used a metaphor that I'd get, like makeup. So we both kind of learned that way." He finished with Frances after maybe fifteen minutes, keeping it simple and mainly natural, though a touch of light pink here and there added the soft femininity to Frances's face that she struggled to grasp herself. "There you go."
"John seems like a cool guy. Theo really seems to look up to him." Frances looked at her reflection in a mirror and smiled. "Hey, I like this. Do you think you can do my makeup for the dance next Friday?"
"Of course. You're up, Theodosia." He smiled as she sat in front of him and began on her makeup. "Do you do art, too?"
"Oh.. Nothing nearly as great as John. He's so talented!"
"I'm sure you're great."
"You should see her art, Laf! It's splattery, but still so neat and really pretty."
"Aw, Marti.." Theodosia muttered, flustered by the compliment. "It's just for fun.. But I'd like to get better.."
"If Alex and Aaron wanted you to be involved in the art dance, I'm sure you're great. Who are you going as, anyways? Those two are Anna and Else and I'm going with Herc as Cinderella and Prince Charming."
"Me and Aaron are going to be Ariel and Eric." She smiled softly.
Lafayette nodded. "I still want to see your art." He took a bit longer than he had with Frances's, adding quite a bit more detail to it. The end result seemed fit for a mermaid, shimmery blues and greens highlighting the details of her face and a few scale patterns were done around her face in silver.
Theodosia shrugged and looked in a mirror, gasping quietly. "Oh, Laf.. I love it! It's so pretty! I can tell you learned this from John Laurens."
Lafayette smiled. "I'm glad you like it.." He smiled and did Martha's makeup, keeping it natural as he had with Frances.
Just as he finished up her makeup, they all turned towards the kitchen door as Aaron and the cats came back inside, Rosie yawning. CC picked her up by the scruff of her neck and carried her to the couch, laying around her protectively as he went to sleep.
Aaron smiled, then turned towards the girls, his face going bright red as he looked at Theodosia. "Oh... Wow.. You look amazing.."
"Now it's your turn!"
"Over my dead body."
Lafayette tutted. "I'm kidding. Now it's my turn. The girls get to make me look pretty."
Frances roller her eyes. "We can't make you any prettier than you already are."
"If I can make you three prettier than you already are, I think you can make me look a lot prettier than this."
All three girls blushed. Lafayette was so soft and caring and he got along well with the girls so well, it was no wonder they liked having him around so much.
"Well, If anyone can do this, it's definitely Theo," Martha said, volunteering her friend for the project.
Theodosia shrugged. "Well, I can't make you prettier, but I can do something." She used his face as a canvas, similarly to how he'd done to her. A baby pink flower outlined in lavender and detailed with blue spread over his cheek, splatter marks and petals over his other cheek. It showed her distinct style of splatter marks and ink blots, coupled with a bit of eyeliner and a shimmery pink lipstick.
Lafayette smiled widely as he looked at his reflection, the flower moving perfectly with his face.
"I told you I couldn't make you prettier, just add to how pretty you are.."
He rolled his eyes playfully. "Then I suppose I did all of your makeup for nothing? You all already face faces fit for princesses."
Aaron smiled as Lafayette flirted- no, complimented, the three girls. As much as he seemed to fluster them, it was so casual, it was impossible to imagine him doing it for any reason other than to make them feel nice. He'd have to take notes to have the same effect on Theodosia.
Lafayette took a selfie and sent it to his friends with the caption [Theodosia made me a princess!]
John, who had been watching movies at the time, responded first. [Gorgeous! She's a great artist!]
Hercules responded right after, taking another second after being blown away by his boyfriend's looks. [Woaaahhhh, baby! 💕 You're so precious, good god! 👼] [God I'm in love with you 💕]
Lafayette smiled and showed Theodosia. "See? It's not just me."
Theodosia felt a familiar flutter in her chest as she read the responses. With the exception of Hercules, who was reasonably more focused on his boyfriend, the reactions were so pure and sincere. Mark didn't give anything a second thought if it wasn't sexy or hot, but there was so much more to the world than guys like him... and Theodosia was overwhelmed by it. She hiccuped and her friends giggled a bit.
"Oh, geez.." Martha sighed.
"If only there was a handsome gentleman that could cuddle the sadness out of you.."
"But I'm not sa-" She was cut off by Frances nudging her and pointing towards Aaron. "Oh! Yes, cuddles, please.."
Aaron nodded and gladly sat beside her, wrapping his arms around her as she hiccuped and a few tears spilled.
"Oh, god, I'm going to mess up the makeup.. I'm so sorry, Laf.."
"Don't be. A girl as talented and pretty as you should always be receiving this kind of attention," Lafayette responded as he carefully wiped the remaining makeup from her face. Just as it came naturally to Thomas and Alexander to berate and belittle, Lafayette loved to flatter girls on things they didn't necessarily get enough compliments on, only rarely using it to flirt and get his way.
Frances and Martha decided against teasing the couple for once and Lafayette sided with them, letting them be as soon as he finished cleaning the makeup. The pair looked too happy to disrupt. They passed the time by talking a bit more about the dance, talking about how the girls were going to sing for it and how a few kids from the school band were going to help them out. They even asked Lafayette if he wanted to sing a few songs. Of course, he accepted and even volunteered John to join them, too.
Still, they were teenage girls. They could only remain quiet for so long. So, as soon as Lafayette came out of the kitchen with a bottle of water, Martha and Frances gave each other a look, sharing the same idea.
"Spin the bottle?"
"Definitely. Theo?"
"Well, I don't see why not. Aaron?"
"I don't know.."
"What is this game? I've never heard of it."
They all looked at Lafayette, surprise. Of all people, he'd never heard of that game?
"You spin the bottle and you're supposed to kiss whoever it points at," Aaron explained.
Lafayette smiled and finished the water. "I'll play. It sounds fun."
Martha took the first turn, spinning the empty water bottle. When it landed on Theodosia, the pair gave each other the quickest peck on the lips before giggling, though they seemed to lack humility that most people might have.
Theodosia smiled and took her turn next, the bottle pointing at Lafayette. "Looks like Herc's got some competition.." she joked.
Lafayette smiled. It was just a little kiss, like in theater. He knew Herc wouldn't mind. He moved forward a bit and pecked Theodosia's lips, making her blush brightly.
Kissing one of her friends was one thing, but Lafayette was first off, gorgeous from head to toe, second, he'd been complimenting them all night, and third, he treated it so casually that it surprised her. Her face was bright red as Lafayette moved back into his place.
Aaron took his turn next, spinning the bottle and watching as it pointed at Frances. "Oh, geez," he teased.
"Oh, shut up." She leaned towards him and pecked his lips. "You should consider yourself lucky."
"Were you Theodosia, I would."
Lafayette smiled and took his turn, the bottle pointing at Martha. He gave her a quick peck and let Frances take her turn.
She landed on Martha and their kiss was so quick, it almost looked choreographed.
Then, Martha spun the bottle as if she hadn't just had a turn, Frances stopping it.
"Why don't we make this game more interesting? Little pecks are so boring. Three second kisses or you can let everyone know that you're a wimp."
"Frankie, you're so mean," Theodosia muttered.
"But I'm in," Martha shrugged.
"I don't see why not," Lafayette agreed.
Theodosia and Aaron agreed after another minute and Frances let Martha spin the bottle again.
"Thank you." She span it and it pointed at Lafayette, making her blush for the same reasons Theodosia had done the same.
Lafayette was hardly embarrassed by the game. "Would you mind if I kissed you?"
"No, go ahead." Still, she blushed more as Lafayette did just that and returned the kiss.
"Does anyone else feel awkward watching this?.." Frances asked as Lafayette sat back down.
"I feel fine with this," Martha sighed dreamily.
Theodosia spun next, landing on Lafayette, but before he could ask, she shook her head and spoke. "I'd prefer not to. It's not you, I'm just being awkward.."
"That's fine," Lafayette nodded.
Aaron took his turn next, the bottle pointing right at Theodosia. He turned to her and smiled softly. "May I?.."
She nodded and leaned towards him, blushing brightly as they kissed. It wasn't just a little peck, it was a full on kiss. She may have been shy about affection, but there was no one she'd rather be kissing than Aaron. He was so sweet and caring. When he pulled away, she was left in a state of shock, unused to such soft affection. In fact, she stayed in that state until Lafayette took his turn and landed on Aaron.
"Don't worry, it's just a little kiss," Lafayette assured him as he leaned towards him and kissed him.
Aaron blushed and returned the kiss, blushing just as brightly as Theodosia was. Lafayette was a good kisser and he knew it.
He smiled as he pulled away and turned to Frances. "Your turn."
She span the bottle and grinned as she landed on Lafayette, being the last person to test his kissing abilities. Unlike the others, though, she was the one who leaned towards him. She sat on her knees in front of him and grabbed his collar, pulling him into a kiss. It was a bit rougher than the rest of the game, but she still couldn't help but blush at Lafayette's abilities. "Like I said, all of the good guys are gay or taken," she said as she got back into her seat.
"You didn't have to torture poor Laf!" Martha said.
"I didn't torture him, I blessed him."
Theodosia rolled her eyes. "Maybe we should play something else... Or get some sleep? We do have school tomorrow and it's almost one in the morning."
They all agreed and changed into their pajamas, the girls doing so in Theodosia's room and Lafayette changing in a bathroom. Aaron decided to wait, for the time being.
Martha and Frances slept in the guest room and Lafayette volunteered to take the couch, Rosie curling up on his stomach under the blanket that Theodosia let him borrow.
After changing, Aaron slept on a folding bed in Theodosia's room beside her, Thor sleeping in Theodosia's bed and CC sleeping with Aaron. For the first time that night, the house was quiet.
And it stayed that way in the morning for a while as Aaron woke up, making sure to do so before everybody else, and went to the kitchen, making breakfast for everybody.
Lafayette was awake right after him, stretching as he joined him and helped him cook.
"Thanks."
"No problem. You know, it's not good to bind your chest as long as you did."
He looked up at him, eyes wide with shock. "What?"
"I accidentally peeked into your bag. It was beside mine and yours fell over and opened. I don't care or anything."
"Right.." He looked back at the food and finished it, helping Lafayette put it on plates for the girls.
As they did that, Martha came into the kitchen, seemingly troubled. "Laf, can I borrow you for a second?"
"Of course."
She led him to the bathroom, to a crying Frances. Frances Kinloch, the girl who embodied a less evil Heather Chandler was crying like a lost child. And it didn't take a genius to see why.
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missinghmmingbird · 7 years
Text
The Cold Shoulder
Peridot and Lapis's roommate arrangement has thus far been harmless and going well. Peridot certainly saw it that way.
After Lapis returns from a day hanging out with Steven, however, Peridot comes to the realization that among watching silly television shows, they've had yet to do one thing, one important thing: talking.
Words: 4116
Notes: Set not too far after "Alone at Sea" ended. This is... obviously long overdue (we in season 5, everyone!), but bear with me! Also can be found on Ao3 (username is MissytheAngle) and check out here for info about my new ko-fi account 
A lonesome quiet echoed through the barn for most of the day, save for Peridot as she tapped away at her tablet. Then wings flapped through the air. Footsteps padded across the barn, and the silence returned with a vengeance.
Peridot placed her tablet on the ground and glanced down to see her roommate, who had her back turned to Peridot. Lapis Lazuli stared out the door, her skirt caught in the light breeze that sneaked into the bark. Her teardrop gem glistened as the sky crackled with lightning.
"Oh, Lapis!" Peridot jumped up and picked a paper off of the floor. She made her way down to the bottom floor and to the other side of the barn. Lapis stayed ominously still, so Peridot persisted. "I'm glad that you're back. I'm sure your trip with Steven was a nice change of pace."
Lapis stayed quiet. Peridot hesitated, but guessed that Lapis simply failed to hear her. Peridot held the paper up, showing a drawn picture of herself and Lapis sitting together while surrounded by lightning bugs. "I decided to do something a little different while you were gone. You came back much earlier than I expected, so—"
Lapis turned, and Peridot's mouth fell shut. However, rather than look at Peridot or reply, Lapis walked to the hammock strung around wooden supports. She collapsed into it, the hammock swinging lazily side-to-side.
Peridot tilted her head. "Uh... is everything alright?"
Lapis's fingers rubbed through her hair. A lone sigh was her response.
Gulping, Peridot walked to the hammock, staring at Lapis's back. "Well, uh, you see, I was starting to work on this new meep morp of you and I. This is technically my first paper drawing, so I was wondering if—"
"Can you just... leave me alone?" Lapis interrupted in a whisper.
Peridot frowned. "Well, I just noticed a few days earlier that you really liked that one episode of Camp Pining Hearts where Paulette learned that Percy actually makes good paper drawings, despite him being afraid of showing off his talent to the rest of the camp and—"
"I don't need you to tell me what happened. I was there. I saw it," said Lapis.
"Fair point, but I figured since you liked it—"
"Except I didn't. The ending sucked." Lapis spun around, eyebrow slanted. "He just forgave Paulette for taking his art and putting it in the main hall, all because everyone else was impressed. Even though she was being awful and taking what wasn't hers." Her expression softened, although a storm brewed in her eyes. "It shouldn't be that easy."
Peridot stared at her. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Lapis didn't say anything for a good, long minute, which told Peridot more than words would. "I'm tired. I'm going to try and fall asleep," Lapis finally said, turning back around.
"I didn't know you sleep."
"Steven talked to me about it a few days ago. When he was sleeping over. It sounded weird—you just stop moving, stop thinking and just aren't here, but... it doesn't sound too bad right now."
Peridot smiled. "Perhaps we can try it together. I always found it to be a waste of time unless gems require the recharge, but I suppose it can't hurt to try."
Lapis let out a sigh. "I... I need to go," she said, standing up.
Oh, stars, not again! Peridot knew where she was going, and hadn't seen her do this for quite some time. Lapis did not run off as often as when they first lived in the barn together. They were doing so much better! And Peridot did not want to go back to those first few days.
"Hey, wait!" Her arms reached out, just barely ghosting over Lapis's arm.
Lapis whipped around, her lips curled back. "Don't touch me," she said, her voice cracking.
Peridot stepped back. They stood there, staring at one another in a contest to see who would break the silence first. Lightning cracked from outside, and the rain pounded on the barn roof. Finally, Lapis turned her head with a sigh, her hair shielding her expression. "You could make this easier for me."
"What? I'm just trying to be a good roommate!" Peridot said, shocked.
"It'd be better for both of us if you didn't."
Peridot grimaced, frustration creeping in and threatening to replace any leftover patience she had for Lapis Lazuli. "Or maybe you could start trying more! I'm trying to be nice and friendly—how roommates should be—and you're being... weird again!"
"Weird?" Lapis asked, sounding offended.
Peridot flinched, catching her words too late. "I just... I just liked when we started hanging out more. You know, like friends."
Lapis said nothing.
"I thought we were making progress in our friendship," said Peridot, shaking her head. "We spent that one night looking at those light bugs. You said it was nice. Were you lying?"
Peridot waited for a response. She again received none in return, with Lapis just tilting her head down.
"Were you?" Peridot repeated, her tone lowering.
"No, I wasn't!" Lapis snapped, yet her voice was still fragile. "Geez, can you just let it go?"
"Then can you at least talk to me?" Peridot stepped closer without realizing. "I mean, did I do something wrong?"
"You don't understand," Lapis muttered under her breath. Her hands tightened into tense fists.
"Haven't I proven that I'm better than the last time we met? That I'm not the bad guy here?" Peridot gestured to herself, leaning close to the hammock and seeing Lapis's vulnerable expression, the tired look in her eyes. "What more could I possibly do to show that?"
"Just... stop," said Lapis, teeth showing. "Please."
"If something's upsetting you, you can tell me. It can't be that bad, ri—" Slowly, Peridot again reached out, her hand brushing over Lapis's arm.
Lapis's entire body tensed, then shuddered. Her expression turned blank, only to rapidly shift into something terrified and desperate. "Don't do that! Just... don't!" She ripped her arm from Peridot's grasp. She stammered before screaming, "Just do yourself a favor and go away!"
Lapis threw her arms to her sides. The rain just outside the doorway skidded to a stop and stormed into the room, like an army at Lapis's command. Peridot looked over and yelped. She froze in place, but raindrops missed her by a few inches. Together, the raindrops made a dent against the weak barn walls and sloshed onto the floor. The large amount of water just barely touched Peridot's feet.
Peridot's hands balled up, and her posture straightened as she whirled back. "Are you trying to hurt me on purpose or something? What the heck was that for?!" she yelled, agitated and unable to hold back the panic that ran through her body. "What is wrong with you?"
Lapis's hardened expression melted into shock as she stared down at her hands. The exhaustion in her eyes was more visible. No longer on edge, Peridot noticed the way Lapis looked down at herself, now that she wasn't focused on Peridot.
Peridot's fingers uncurled. "Uh, Lapis?"
Lapis's eyes darted to Peridot, and she looked panic-stricken. Lapis stepped out fully from the hammock, letting it stand between them. It swayed violently, and the longer they stood there, it began to slow down to a mere creak. Lapis stepped away with light steps padding across the floor. It still sounded so loud as they stood there, both unable to speak up first.
"Lapis!" Peridot shouted, as if yelling would catch Lapis's attention, which was clearly elsewhere. "Look, we just need to talk about this! That's how this should work."
Shutting her eyes, Lapis let out what sounded like a pain-filled grunt. Her grand water wings spread out from within her gem, and she slipped through the door and into the dark sky.
"Wait, wait!" Peridot stuttered and ran out of the barn, her crumpled drawing slipping from her fingers.
Once outside, she searched around the barn, shielding her eyes from the rain, which had lessened. The sky was darker—it was nighttime already. She even checked the tip of the silo in the distance. No one was there. Peridot began to panic. Had Lapis just run off, far away where the gems couldn't find her? Peridot kicked the ground, grumbling to herself in disappointment.  
Even if yelling at Lapis did feel like stress had been lifted off of her shoulders, Peridot did not want it to go like that.
Then she walked around the barn and looked up. Lapis sat at the edge of the roof, her head dipped down and drenched.
Peridot hesitated, wondering if leaving Lapis alone would be best. Some nights Lapis would sit around the barn, only to escape to the tip of the silo to escape company. Despite some nights where Peridot called out for Lapis, she would otherwise let the powerful gem be.
The roof of the barn, however, was a first. And seeing Lapis looking so distressed as rain cascaded down on them made Peridot's decision clear.
Peridot found a nearby trash can and pulled the lid off. Standing on the metal lid, she elevated herself to the roof of the barn, albeit shakily. She sputtered whilst struggling to keep her balance, until she reached the top and jumped off with relief.
"Stupid clodding metal powers!" Peridot hissed through her teeth as she clung to the hinges for dear life. She grunted and kicked her feet in a struggling to fully sit on the roof.
Lapis barely acknowledged Peridot's presence. Her hair moved slightly through the cold air as her empty gaze looked down at Peridot.
Once Peridot gained her footing, she stood up, dusting herself off, and peered down at Lapis. "Uh, hi."
"... Hi."
"To be honest, I just wanted to show you my new paper drawing. I didn't realize it would upset you that much."
"Of course you didn't," said Lapis, not meeting Peridot's gaze. Her hands were balled into fists, pressed into her skirt. She let out a hollow laugh. "Peridots are supposed to be smart, yet everything seems to fly over your head."
Peridot's eye twitched. “Maybe I could better understand you if you told me why I upset you. You know, as opposed to running away all the time.” She crossed her arms.
Lapis buried her face into her knees. “Grr, why won’t you just leave me alone?” she asked with a hint of upset breaking her voice. “Especially after what just happened.”
"It’s just that, you know, I understand that talking about problems helps improve one’s mood.”
“No, it won’t,” said Lapis with unwavering conviction.
“It couldn’t hurt to try.”
“I don’t want to talk.”
Peridot looked at her feet, trying to think of what to say next. Nothing came. Her voice was lost. Lapis did not further acknowledge her; she simply sat there, burying herself in her arms.
So Peridot sat down at the edge beside her, inching herself away just a bit when Lapis startled. Peridot’s feet dangled from the edge, and she looked down at the distance between herself and the ground. For a moment, Peridot waited for Lapis to surprise her by saying that she did want to talk, that she was only holding back for... some reason, and make this all easier for Peridot.
Peridot waited and looked up at the sky. The clouds were beginning to separate, revealing stars behind the gray curtains.
When an idea struck, her face lit up and her eyes shifted back to Lapis. “Are you familiar with constellations?"
Nothing.
“Well,” Peridot said, “if I remember correctly, humans give constellations names based off of these beings who they say could exist but really don’t. It’s weird, but actually fairly fascinating. I have yet to actually find out all about them, so I decided to make up my own. I can introduce you to some, if you’d like.”
Again, Lapis was quiet. Peridot groaned, shoulders sulking, and she closed her mouth.
Minutes passed. The silence was painful and drove Peridot mad. The way Lapis balled herself up confused her; Lapis was hanging out with Steven, someone whom Lapis liked over just about everyone else. Peridot expected Lapis to return a bit more cheerful, possibly enough to join her in watching another episode of Camp Pining Hearts.
Questions roamed through her head, and she wasn’t getting answers!
When one question came out of her mouth at last, however, her desperation faltered. “What… happened?”
“Why do you even care?” Lapis’s voice was sharp, much like the glare she gave Peridot.
“Because we’re roommates!” Peridot exclaimed. “We should be able to get along, talk about things. We’ve been getting along great the past few weeks! But now…” Peridot’s face fell. “It’s like it wasn’t important. You seem… different.” After a moment to think, she relented on expressing a lingering thought. “And you almost attacked me. There has to be something wrong, and I can’t really just forget that.”
“I didn’t want to hurt you,” Lapis replied, and Peridot only noticed now that her body was shaking. “I really didn’t.”
“Well, I believe you, but I don’t want to just… ignore this!” Peridot said.
“Doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me.”
“It is to me!”
She recalled all those nights where Lapis escaped to the silo, leaving Peridot to herself. Those were the first few nights they roomed together, where Peridot felt like she did not have a roommate at all. Days later, Peridot had tried to talk to Lapis, and it almost worked, with Lapis continuing the conversation. But more often than not, as if Peridot said the wrong thing, Lapis would shut down and followed with the same cycle of hiding away. Somewhere along the way, those days and nights occurred less and less.
“I’ve done some awful things,” said Lapis, with a warning gaze directed toward her roommate. “You really don’t want to know.”
Peridot thought over this for a moment, and shrugged. “Considering I’ve tried to capture and destroy the Crystal Gems multiple times, trust me, it’s just something you come to accept. Now I don’t do that anymore! Now look at me! I’m now part of the team I was trying to destroy.” She jumped up with a new surge of excitement sparking through her body.
“You have no idea.”
“Try me.” Peridot smirk.
Lapis cringed. “Seriously. I’d rather not.”
“Uh… please?” Peridot asked hesitantly, struggling to manage with the right tone. Something about Lapis’s narrowed eyebrows told her she failed, which caused her to groan. “How bad can it be?”
“Gah, no, you just don’t get it.”
“What don’t I get?”
Lapis’s reply was barely above a murmur, something Peridot could not decipher.
“Um… what was that?”
“I’m tired of hurting people!”
Peridot recoiled. She struggled to say anything at first, with something caught in her throat.  “What?” she said.
“I’m so tired of it. And the worst part is…” Lapis let the sentence trail, her fingers stroking one side of her face. “Did Steven ever tell you about… about Malachite?”
“Well...” Peridot stumbled with her words. As she recalled the basics of what Steven told her about, the more of what Lapis said sank in, and she avoided Lapis’s gaze. “He said you trapped Jasper in a fusion.”
Lapis nodded, a slow and tired nod. “I did, and it was awful. It lasted for so long, because I-I didn’t want to let go. When trapping Jasper, I didn’t realize what it would do to me. I felt terrible for what I did; I hated her, I hated me, I hated us.” Her voice trembled, clutching her head. “And it… it was too much. I regret every second I made both of us miserable.”
Peridot just nodded, her mouth dry and unable to form words. An unsettling feeling descended through her body.  
“But I liked it.” A dark shadow fell over Lapis’s face as she peered down at her hands. They curled, just a little, before becoming two aggressive fists. “I… liked having control and no longer feeling like some sort of prisoner.” She stuttered at ‘prisoner,’ like it brought back nightmarish visions. “I just needed to feel like I had some control in my own life, after so long of feeling trapped and alone. E-even if it meant bringing others down with me.”
Peridot’s face fell. Lapis’s voice was drenched in a flurry of emotions—not one prevailed. Peridot looked away, unsure in how to respond. It was probably for the best, because Lapis continued.
“I even almost hurt Steven once!” Lapis laughed bitterly, which caused Peridot to lean back. “Did he ever tell you that? He and the others, they were trying to… trying to stop me from going back h-home! To Homeworld! I stole the entire ocean because I had no other choice. I fought them all, and could’ve won, too.
“And you know what he did? What he did after all I did to him and his friends?” She turned to Peridot. Her eyes, wide and wild, were washed over with stress. “He helped me! He helped me get back to Homeworld! After everything I did.” She sounded... angry, but Peridot wasn't sure who it was directed at.
“That’s because he wanted to,” Peridot added, not needing to know the details of what happened to know why Steven helped her. However, she couldn’t hide the shudder that crawled up her form. “That’s just Steven being Steven. If he could forgive me for constantly trying to defeat him and the Crystal Gems, then I’m certain he’d be willing to help you in your situation.”
Lapis smiled briefly, a small light in the grayness of the sky. “I know.” She paused, and it faded. She bowed her head back down, and her tone quieted as she finished, “Everyone I let someone get close to me… gyuh, they only get hurt in the end—by me!” Lapis emphasized this by poking a finger directly against her chest. Her hand fell, anger simmering as she added, “Even you.”
“That? That was an accident… wasn’t it?” Peridot asked.
“Yes!” Lapis cried out with desperation that only made Peridot even more uncertain.
“You don’t want to hurt me, do you?” Peridot asked, fighting to hold back the fear gripping at her, the part of her that worried if this was true or not. The realization that she knew very little of her roommate smacked her right in the stomach only now.
Lapis said nothing for a second, but because of that, it was as if the second lasted forever. Peridot placed her hands on her chest. Then, to Peridot’s relief, Lapis shook her head, quick but nonetheless a reply.
“Then that’s good!” Peridot replied, forcing a small smile. “We can start from there.”
“Good? What if I do something… awful? What if I actually hit you with that water, just because you were being annoying,” Lapis said. She sighed, digging her fingers into her bangs. “I didn’t want to… but I couldn’t help it. I really am just awful.”
“If you were awful, you wouldn’t feel that way. That has to mean something.” The tension in Peridot’s body began to lessen.
Lapis looked away, eyes lost elsewhere. “I feel like if I could start everything over, knowing what I know now, I’d do it all right this time.” She paused, a hand on her chin as if pondering. “But other times, I think…” She shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t.”
Peridot blinked.
“I wouldn’t hurt anyone, or I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone, but I know I’d still do it again. Part of me knows that. I wish I could forget it, all of it, but I can’t. It’ll always be part of me. If I could end this terrible cycle—” For the first time that night, she looked at Peridot, truly looked at her with a genuine gaze, “I would, but I don’t know how.”
Peridot turned her head, staring down at the ground feet below. “Did… you ever tell Steven this?”
Lapis shook her head. “I couldn’t… well, I tried. But I don’t think he believed I would do any of the things I did. I broke his dad’s leg, I tried to steal the ocean, what I did to Jasper—but he still believes in me.” She played with her hands. “I don’t think he realizes what I’m capable of. I want to tell him that, but… that’ll only disappoint him. I can’t disappoint Steven.” She gave a smile that did not seem sincere or warm, but rather sad. “He’s the one good thing about this place.”
“Hey, I’m here too!” Peridot said without thinking over her words.
Lapis glared at her.
“But it’s true! You don’t have to be alone with all of… this.” Unable to clarify what she meant, she waved her arms vaguely toward Lapis. “At least Steven is there for you, and hey, so can I.”
“I don’t want someone to just be there for me!” Lapis shouted, throwing her arms out. Peridot jumped back, making Lapis lower her arms with dark glint in her eyes. “I don’t know what I want. I guess… I guess I want to be better.”
The air was cold, and the night was so dark now. Peridot wrapped her arms around herself.
“But I don’t know how,” Lapis repeated, eyes watching over the near full moon hovering above them. It shone over the both of them with a pale glow.   
Peridot was stunned into silence for a whole minute, one where she tried to find the right words as she scrambled through her mind. Stars, her mind was still scrambling just to take in what Lapis said. Part of her wanted to run away, but another side of her knew that that was just… wrong. She looked down at the balled up gem sitting atop the barn roof beside her.
Small comforting words came to mind, but they were too weak and meant nothing. “It’s okay” “It’ll be okay” “everything’s fine.” They were nice, certainly, but were any true? No, no, and she refused to lie or sugarcoat. That just wasn’t Peridot.
With a gulp, she said, “I want to believe in you.”
Lapis’s head spun around to look up at Peridot. “Believe in me? What, are you crazy?”
“Not as crazy as Steven, I suppose.”
Lapis scoffed. “You’re joking, right?”
“Somewhat, but what I’m saying is still not entirely wrong.”
“I…” The crazed look in Lapis’s eyes calmed. She looked exhausted, but also weary. She grimaced. “Why? Why would you trust me?”
“I want to,” Peridot corrected, hands held close to her chest. “Which is different. If we want to make this whole roommate thing work, then we have to settle some things. Perhaps open up to each other more! And be more honest.” She hesitated. “Aaaand perhaps not try to hurt one another, too.” She forced an awkward, hopefully amusing grin.
Lapis stared, observant eyes watching over Peridot. Then her gaze fell at Peridot’s feet but also at nothing. Her eyebrows knitted down. “That’s not exactly easy. You know that, right?”  
“Then we’ll work on it.” Peridot shrugged. “Like us trying to live in this barn together. We can work on this together.” She gestured between the two of them. “We need to better understand one another to actually live together, given the circumstances.”
“You really think that’s a good idea?”
“Probably one of my better ones,” Peridot said, smirking.
Lapis blinked. Slowly, her head dipped to look at her hands. They curled up but then relaxed. She brushed her fingers against her skirt.
“Okay.” She looked back at Peridot. “I’ll try.”
Peridot nodded.
They sat there for a few moments, which passed and turned into a full minute of silence. Peridot awkwardly looked around, wondering if there was something to do afterward. Did they hug, or… no, something told Peridot that the last thing Lapis wanted was physical contact.
Lapis stared at her, but said nothing.
Peridot gave her an awkward smile. “I, um, I’ll just leave you be, then.” She spun around to elevate back to the ground.
Before she could reach the other side of the barn, a gentle voice stopped her.
“Hey.”
Peridot turned around. Lapis brushed her fingers through her bangs, which partly shielding her eyes. “Look. Can you at least stay here?” she asked, her gaze averting from Peridot. “Maybe you can tell me about those constellations you mentioned.”
“Umm… yeah.”
Peridot sat down again, her feet kicking midair. Lapis didn’t say anything, but Peridot swore that she saw a tiny smile at the edge of her lips.  A sincere smile that lit up Lapis’s face. Peridot smiled lightly, point up at the stars.
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