Tumgik
#so glad I picked up scribbling on paper again. I actually got stuff to do digitally today and!! literally it feels so much cleaner
b4kuch1n · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
I actually for real feel like my phone's scanning quality has dropped monumentally while I was away on thing so that's a fun thing to figure out now. anyways
#sk8 the infinity#kyan reki#hasegawa langa#renga#answering of ''sure'' whenever they ask ''are you gay'' strikes again#gods. genuinely at least on the export the quality of these dropped like to half. whats up with that#sorry if these are impossible to parse#anyways. scribbled these during ''holiday'' ''vacation'' ''getaway'''#sometimes it really is the simple things. hallucinating vividly about the casual life of a pair of teens to survive being in a car for 6hrs#WITH da family#so glad I picked up scribbling on paper again. I actually got stuff to do digitally today and!! literally it feels so much cleaner#like I feel like I relearned a bunch stuff doing traditional ink again for a sec#but yeah. u guys should know by now how much I think about food as a concept#took 3m off last year to write about it in fact. but now Im just microdosing by drawing langa#I'm also actually so insane about reki being a scaredy cat it's so. something. it means so much to me#this of course means koyomi is a jumpscare champion. among siblings that are close in age there must be#the one who sleeps in the lower bunk. and the one who ties a doll to a string by its neck and lower it down to be next to the others face#'why is that so specific' no further question. thank you#gods okay. I need to lay the fuck down it is now my time. to be in bed#Im onto some real exciting stuff rn! and when this piece is done I'll return to ink for a sec#so uh. ink comm maybe not this week. but the next#happy late labor day! seek and destroy. have a good night
144 notes · View notes
chipper-smol · 3 years
Text
Hollow Knight Telephone Round Two: Babysitter SL
Prompt: Shade (lord) is in the midst of final exams and they’re more stressed and tired than usual while babysitting. They accidentally fall asleep in the middle of a calm spell and the god babies become worried. The next time Shade comes over, all of the god babies present a gift they all made together!
By @minnesotamidian-blog​
Shade barely noticed their surroundings as they entered the nursery playroom. Plastic clattered and they sighed as Radiance yelled at the top of her lungs. At least she wasn't screaming. Yet. The scene was set: Unn was still in a crib and chewing on a bar, Root was climbing slowly onto a chair. Radiance was knocking over plastic blocks as Grimm cackled away. For once, Wyrm was playing peacefully with a kick toy, batting at it with his tail. Root got onto the chair and squealed, raising her arms. "Big Root now!" The little blue-eyed godling squeaked out.
Shade picked her up, hugged her to their chest before holding her out. "Now you're a flying Root."
She screamed laughter as Shade tiredly walked her around the room before setting her down near some of her favorite toys. They made sure nobody else had claimed the chair and took a seat, bending over to pick up the fussy moth. "Ancient enemy!" Of course she bit their hand.
Shade winced and just ran a hand over her fluff. "Are you hungry for something that isn't void?" They spoke tiredly.
"Oranges!" She yelled out.
The teen sighed as he went to the mini-fridge with snacks and found some miracle of miracles! pre-peeled oranges. Shade pulled them out and put her in a high chair with one at a time so she wouldn't be tempted to throw the extras at them.
Finals were here and they were really taking it out of the gangly god. Why did they have to know stuff about inorganic chemistry? Why did they have to know about history nobody cared about? There were some fun subjects, but the finals seemed to even suck the fun out of those classes, going over notes and studying everything just in case. They'd been pulling long nights and the night before had been an all-night cram session-and they still had to come to work, they couldn't afford not to. They'd underlined all the stuff the teacher had said was important to remember and had written down stuff from the last finals about each teacher's usual tests.
It made narrowing down what to study from impossible to I'm totally toast. They groaned as they set down a calmer Radiance the opposite side of the room from Wyrm. She found toys that interested her, at least. Root wandered over to Wyrm, who was really into knocking at the kick toy and purring. Root settled nearby and burbled as she hugged and gnawed a plushie.
The teen couldn't help it. The kids were calm for once; their head started to tilt forward, eyes heavy. They were exhausted. Shade's eyes closed and their breathing deepened. At first, their toys were too interesting to notice their babysitter's state; but it didn't take long for Grimm to get bored enough to fly over and notice. "...Shade? Shade's eyes are closed." They landed and the four children not in a crib headed for the batlike godling.
"Is Shade dead?" Wyrm sounded worried.
"Don't be stupid, they're having a nap!" Radiance huffed.
Root looked up and swayed before patting Shade's leg. "Grown-ups don't have nap times." She was tearing up.
"Nuh-uh, they're having bad dreams and it's tasty!" Grimm clamored onto their lap.
The others joined, Radiance grabbing Unn to join them on the sleeping teen. Grimm rested between Shade's horns, Unn was on one shoulder, Radiance on the other, with Root and Wyrm curled up together on Shade's lap, Wyrm purring for once.
When Shade woke up, they were surprised by the weight on their body and forced themself to look down and around before moving. "Uh oh, I fell asleep… sheesh, I'm glad this place isn't a fiery disaster." They picked the godlings up. "You're not dead!" Wyrm exclaimed.
Root burst into tears and even Grimm joined in on the crying spat. Shade sighed and spent the rest of the time comforting them until meal time and settled them down. Time to go home for them all!
But the worry didn't leave the heads of the little godlings. "We should make something for Shade. If they're having nightmares, they might be sad." Radiance sighed. "But that doesn't mean I feel bad for my ancient enemy!" "What do we make?" Root twirled around, slowly turning in place until she fell onto pillows in her dizziness.
"Something of clay! I can burn it dry!" Grimm hopped around.
"But there's no clay." Unn spoke slowly, thoughtfully. "But there's crayons and paper."
"Oooh. We can make a pretty picture for Shade!" Wyrm waved his head happily. The group went for papers and each started to draw on the paper. "You're taking up too much paper!" Wyrm whined.
Radiance complained in turn, pointing at the color he was using. "I want that color!"
Wyrm growled and argued back. "I had it first!"
They started rolling around over their drawings, biting and clawing. Grimm gave a solid scream that startled the two. "You ruined Shade's pretty pictures!" He yelled.
The two looked at each other and hung their heads. "...sorry." Radiance muttered.
"-'m sorry." Wyrm looked away from the moth, skulking. "Start again? You can have the crayon, Radiance…"
Radiance took the crayon and they all picked up the last piece of paper. "I think this is better." Root spoke cheerfully.
It was three days later, once Shade had a solid night's sleep and finals completed that they'd returned to work. A large construction sheet of paper in grey covered in scribbles and rough names and messages was waiting for them.
Feel better soon Shade
Love you
Best babysitter
Tastiest nightmare!
Not the worst anciant ancient enemy.Shade could only feel warmth and laugh, hugging the drawing to themself. There were some days the job felt like the best thing in the world.  ------------------------------- By @tomatotimes
Tumblr media
-------------------------------
By @loud-whistling-yes
"No."
The kids protested louder. Shade lifted the TV remote higher up, now above their head.
"Screentime's over, I said no."
Wyrm attempted to crawl up their leg in what was a rather pathetic attempt at stealing the remote, but was promptly shaken off. Grimm tried next, flying overhead to snatch the controller. Shade ducked and grabbed him by the tail before he could send himself flying straight towards the ceiling fan for the third time that day.
"Find something else to do," Shade said as they stuffed the remote deep into their pocket, much to everyone else's dismay. "Look, as much as I'd love to shut you guys up for the whole day, you've all been staring at the TV for hours now and I don't want to get in trouble with your parents."
Louder complaints.
"No, no, no. I am not cracking this time." Shade announced as they pulled Radi, who was hissing like an angry cat, off their jeans and pulled their phone out. "You guys got me last week, never again. No more TV for you, we're doing something else before I lose my money for tonight. Google almighty, what is your suggestion."
activities to do with children
fun activities to do with children
activities to do with toddlers
what can I do with kids that isn't a major headache to deal with goddamnit
Go to the park? Shade took about half a second to consider the thought before wondering why they even thought it was possible anyways. Five kids from the deepest depths of hell, outdoors? No. No park.
Finger painting? A pain to clean up, but better than outdoors. Then they looked up from their phone and considered the idea with greater thought. Grimm's wings, Radi's legs, Unn and Wyrm's… er…. Body?.... Nevermind.
Play pretend? …. If they hear the name Hallownest one more time they might just go insane.
Hide and seek? No. No no no no no. No more hide and seek. Shade was utterly sick of hide and seek. If they had to spend another second stuffed inside the closet or trying to get Radi off the roof they'll probably quit the job right there and then.
Baking?
… That might work. Sure, cleaning up is gonna be absolute hell but it's the only thing Google suggested that they haven't tried yet without horrible results.
Shade stuffed their phone back into their pocket and made a getaway to the kitchen, everyone else following, probably still trying to get the remote back. Butter, eggs, flour, sugar, oh, even some chocolate chips…
"Well then," They declared, pulling every ingredient out of the cabinet and fridge. "We're making cookies! And no, no one is allowed to touch the oven when it's hot. If you guys behave we'll have cookies in like, an hour or something like that."
The kids watched in confusion as Shade ran around the kitchen, pulling out bowls and spoons and a bunch of other utensils while typing furiously on their phone.
Cookies recipe
Cookies recipe easy
Cookies recipe for beginners
Cookies recipe for kids
"What do you guys think about chocolate chip cookies?"
Multiple chitters of approval. "Chocolate chip cookies it is then."
Step one: sieve the flour. Oh wyrm, first step and it's already gonna go to shit.
"Okay, you guys can watch this but for the love of the holy wyrm, do not touch it." Shade measured the correct amount of flour before scooping Wrym and Unn off the floor onto the table so they could see while Radi pulled herself onto the chair. The Lady had already clinged herself onto their sweater and Grimm was doing just fine flying nearby.
“You guys get one chocolate chip each if you guys behave and don’t get flour everywhere.” Shade added. “Now, Lady, hold still and don’t move, I gotta keep my hands steady for this…”
************
"Okay, chocolate chip time." Shade popped open the jar of chocolate as the kids cheered. "Actually, we’re not supposed to be eating this plain, cause it's going into the cookies. But no one actually does that so you guys get five chips each for not setting the kitchen on fire so far."
"The recipe says a cup of chocolate chips but we all know that's a lie." They added while shoving their phone back in their pocket and grabbing a handful of chips before mixing the batter together. "I'm probably not someone you should take life lessons from, but here's one thing I can guarantee you should take to heart: never follow the recipe when it comes to chocolate chips, you count that with your soul."
Final step: oven time. The oven was preheated earlier, and the only thing left was to get the cookies into the tray and into the oven. "Now, who wants to make heart-shaped cookies?"
****************
Three deformed stars, five mutated trees, two malformed cats, several irregular hearts, a couple handfuls of chocolate eaten straight from the jar, and one (1) perfectly round cookie later, the cookies were on the tray, in the oven, and in a surprising turn of events, no one burned themselves… yet. Shade grabbed everyone and made sure no one was in a five-meter radius within the oven before picking up all the dirty bowls and utensils. “Cookies will have to sit in there for about 15 minutes, we’ll be cleaning up in the meantime.”
“Don’t look at me like that, and no whining, if you want cookies you gotta deal with the mess afterwards. That's the payoff, unless you're a wizard who has a passion for baking. Then that's fair, I guess." They dumped all the used utensils they could find and turned on the sink. The sief, three bowls, tablespoons and teaspoons.. Oh wait.
"Radi, the big wooden spoon, please?" Shade called, sponge in their hand and bowls being thoroughly rinsed.
Radi, of course, was not willing to help, because she's basically a feral house cat that just so happened to grow more legs than the average feline. Shade sighed and moved on to finding the next helper they could find.
"Grimm, I know you're touching the oven, stop it. I'm pretty sure you're immune to fire but not everyone else and you're setting a bad example for them. Get me the spoon please."
“Lady, here’s a cloth, help me dry the bowls up. Wyrm, … i have no idea how you can help, no limbs and all but uh, could you go get Unn? I have no idea where she went. Thanks.” The last sentence was to Grimm, who flew over with the mixing spoon and dropped it into the sink while Wyrm scurried away to find Unn, wherever she’s napping at.
"Radi? Radi, I know you're right behind me, stop pretending that you can't hear me. Lady has an extra cloth with her, you're on table wiping duty."
*********
“See? That wasn't so bad,” Shade sent the last of the bowls back into the cupboards and closed it shut. “And the cookies are pretty much done.”
“Also, no. You may not eat the cookies the moment I pull them out of the oven. These rules also apply to Grimm because it's unfair to everyone else.. Don’t look at me like that Grimm, I know you’ll eat them all before they cool and leave us nothing.”
The cookies smelt delicious, and were left on the dining table to cool. “Now that it's cooling down, it's naptime.”
A chorus of groans and wailing.
“It’ll be ready when you guys get up. Up up up, sleep time.”
**********
If you’ve been anywhere near toddlers before, you’d know that getting them to nap in their bedrooms is a near-impossible situation. And Shade was not a person who deals with near-impossible situations well. So following the months old custom, Shade turned on the tv, remote miraculously not pickpocketed, collapsed onto the couch, and waited for everyone piling on them to fall asleep before moving them into their bedroom and pretending they managed to wrangle them all into bed.
And it all goes to plan, the Lady and Wyrm were sound asleep on their lap, Radi and Unn were dozing off on their shoulders, and they're pretty sure the snoring from the top of their head was coming from Grmm. Now, step 2: get everyone off them and onto the beds.
… Or maybe later. It's been a long day, and the couch is pretty comfy. Yeah, just five more minutes, nothing wrong with that…
And if the parents came home to see a cleaner-than-expected kitchen, a tray of chocolate chip cookies, and five kids snoring on top of their babysitter, also sound asleep, then that’s nobody’s business.
And if the originally completely full jar of chocolate chips was pretty much empty, then that’s no one’s business as well.
-------------------------------
By @astronomicartz​
Tumblr media
-------------------------------
By @hollow-kin​
Shade lord wanted to take a nap. They are sooo tired, but they are babysitting 5 baby gods for 5$/H. Grimm is a brat, Radiance his sister is also a brat. Unn was ether eating or seeping, same with grub1. Lady was, well sweet and cuddly. they needed to find a distraction for the kids, what would work?
Would tv work, would cartoons work? They had dinner already. Tv had to work or grub and radiance would destroy the house. They needed to take a nap. Now what to watch was a different question, they would have to ask the kids. “so, what do guys want to watch? “Movie!” well they were all in agreement, what was good. “What kind of movie do you guys want to watch?” “Fire!” “dath” “animal” “tree” “ok. No, we are NOT watching fire.” “awww” “i do not know what dath means so no. So nature show it is then.” they go over to the tv and turn it on, then select the world around us. Lady was quick to fall asleep, on their lap. Shade lord slowly fell asleep, and grub nested between grub and shade lord. Grimm climed up to shade lord's head. 
-------------------------------
By @hawaiianbabidoll
Tumblr media
-------------------------------
By @neoliberalsatan
A gentle darkness surrounded the shade lord. He finally felt at ease. "finally", he thought, "rest." it didn't take long after that before the darkness started to take shape and a whole new world created out of shadows sheathed him.
But the happiness of the shadows didn't last long. A new and a new sound drowned out their world and all the animals and plants took to hiding back in his head. The shade lord felt the distressed creations stir inside his mind and woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He rubbed his lowest eyes and accepted the call
"Hello, with shade lord. How can i help you?" "Oh sorry dear, i know it's terribly late but we got an unexpected call and need to leave. Since you've babysat Unn multiple times we assumed she would like to stay with you. Is it okay for you? Can we bring her to your place?" The shade lord thought for a moment and decided he could use the money. "Yea it's fine, she's always such a pleasure to babysit." The voice on the other side sounded relieved. "Thank you. You're a life saver. We will make sure you're compensated accordingly."
Feeling a bit more awake after the phone call he started to prepare for having baby Unn over. After a while her parents arrived and after some greetings he was home alone with the baby. He walked with her in his arms towards the living room and placed her gently inside the crib. She opened her eyes for a moment after losing the feeling of someone holding her, but then closed them again and fell back asleep.
The shade lord decided he couldn't sleep anymore and made some popcorn and decided to put on a movie. It didn't even take 20 minutes before he got called again.
"Hello, with shade lord. How can i help you?" "Oh yes finally someone who answers. Sorry but you're our last hope. We were going somewhere tonight but our babysitter called off. Do you think you could babysit our lovely Radiance? She's very good behaved and won't cause you trouble." "yea, no problem. You'll just need to bring her to my place if it's no trouble"
Not even 5 minutes later the parents showed up and dropped of their larva. Shade lord looked at it a bit confused but didn't get the time to say anything because the parents left as soon as they handed her over. He closed his front door and gave the larva a good look. She was white and had a fluffy appearance. She had 5 pairs of legs and yellow-orange eyes. She started to writhe a little bit and shade lord made sure to hurry to the living room. He took a pillow and placed it on the couch and softly laid her on it. She seemed at ease and rested on the pillow all stretched out
Shade lord continued his movie, which was finally starting to get interesting, but as usual the commercial break hit. He was in the kitchen making more popcorn when he got another call.
"Hello, with shade lord. How can i help you?" "Hello, is this the babysitter?" "Yes, that's the one you're speaking with." "Great, a family member had an accident and i need to be there for them so do you think you could babysit for me?" "Yep, totally." "Thank you, can we bring him to you?" "Oh yea, no problem."
A few minutes later his doorbell rang and he hurried towards it. The father carried his toddler in what could only be described as wing-esque appendages. The shade lord extended his arms for the man to put his toddler in and felt a gentle brush of the leathery membrane. He shivered lightly before feeling a sudden warmth light up in his face, like someone has started a fire. When he looked back up the man was gone and he closed the door. The creature he was holding in his arms was unlike anything he had ever seen. 2 horns sprouted from its black head. The face was as bleak as white linen on a summer day. It seems she likes make-up because she had already 2 black lines running from her cheeks towards her eyes, eventually fading into the darkness of her head. She had the same membranes as her father and no limbs besides it.
He wasn’t even in the living room before he heard his front door being was under siege. He put the weird creature down and opened the front door. Immediately he was assaulted by Hollow, a very energetic child. He was wearing a green cloak today and it finally seemed he was starting to grow bigger than a hand. His horns has also branched into the inside. Immediately after Hollow jumped on his he could hear Pale complain about his unprofessional work attitude. Although he was bigger than most it seems he wouldn’t grow much anymore. His tiny stature didn’t discourage him from being bossy. Finally White entered. By far the biggest of the bunch, she was also the most introverted. Her roots slid elegantly over towards him and even managed to stop Pale from talking for a moment.
He took them inside the living room only to find that somehow the larva and the winged creature had somehow gotten into a fight and now both were in hiding in opposite sides of the room. Normally he wouldn’t make such a big deal out of this if somehow his couch wasn’t full of tiny needles and a chair was on fire. He rushed to the tap to fill a bowl of water to extinguish the little fire. With the attention being diverted Hollow managed to slip from the watch of Pale and could now be found in the corner Radiance was hiding. The larva figured out quickly he liked to play games and had soon enough set up a plan to make him betray Pale.
In the meantime White had climbed the couch and started pulling out the needles while Shade lord had figured out what the membrane between the appendages from the weird creature were for. Namely, for flight. And now she was attacking his horns and he couldn’t reach her. As if her flying was not good enough alone, whenever he raised his arms she would back off and launch a little fireball  All this commotion woke up baby Unn who slowly started to slither away from her crib to find food.
The shade lord finally had enough of the little fire hazard and rushed towards the pantry to get a kettle. Once he had found it he peeked around the corner only to find that fire hazard eating his popcorn! All caution was thrown aside and he grabbed her by the guts and put her inside the kettle. She tried to heat it but he added some water to it. While it evaporated quickly it was apparently enough to bring over the message. Now he could focus his attention back on the larva again, only she could’ve produced those needles, which White was making great progress with removing them as a quick glance told him.
Now back to Pale and Radiance who were apparently having a fight (Darkness, that larva really has a talent to provoke others). They were arguing near the coffee table, because apparently they wanted a fight so bad they just ran to each other and met in the middle. Hollow was climbing one of the legs of the table, but wasn’t noticed by the shade lord because he was too occupied with the other 2. He tried to separate the arguing pair but they were at each other’s throats. They even had summoned a needle and a tiny dagger to fight each other. The shade lord obviously didn’t count on this tiny factor and had soon enough one in each hand. He screamed, trying not to curse, barely not failing miserably, and Pale managed to escape. In any other situation this wouldn’t pose a problem, but Hollow, after eating some popcorn, found himself at the right edge of the coffee table and pulled out his tiny wooden sword he got from Pale. The larva, Darkness curse her, used this to her advantage and made the sign to Hollow to betray Pale. The act of betraying Pale involved jumping off of the coffee table and hitting Pale as hard on the head as possible. Naturally, all of this went according to plan and even brought some extra spectacle. After Hollow had hit Pale on the head he wasn’t prepared for the recoil of the wood and ended up hitting himself in the face.
All of this lead to 3 crying children (1 of them from laughing, the others from pain) and 1 very angry young adult. He put the larva on the couch and took care of the others while White held a close eye on the damned 10 legged thing. After Pale and Hollow weren’t crying anymore he took the little fire hazard out of the kettle and continued his movie, which was getting to an end.
After the film ended a documentary started and had all the kids hooked. He went to check on Unn only to find an empty crib. He could however see a slimy trail lead up his wall and onto the ceiling. It went through the door into the pantry where he kept his food and toys for the toddlers. He looked up on the ceiling only to find a sleepy Unn with a letter block in her mouth. Suddenly Unn started to make a very weird noise and fell from the ceiling onto his face. He swiped her off of his face onto his shoulder and then washed it.
He returned back to the tv to watch the documentary that was still playing and plopped down on the couch. Not long after he was asleep with White on his left shoulder, Unn on his right shoulder, the little fire hazard on the same arm and Pale curled up in his lap. Radiance and hollow were still awake but occupied with the documentary instead of causing trouble. After the documentary ended they crawled up against his sides and fell asleep.
-------------------------------
By @constantlost 
Tumblr media
-------------------------------
By @bugbeee
Exhaustion seeped into Shadelord’s body, limbs weighed down by a heaviness they hadn’t experienced in a while. The smatter of godlings that lay around them on the couch, or on them in Radi’s case, was enough to convince them that they had died and that this was the Eternal Void that was created to punish them for cheating on that test in the 8th grade. In their defence, it had been on rock sedimentation.
Wyrm continued his grumbling from the corner of the couch, still infuriated by the attack on his person only moments before. Root, the aggressor, looked remarkably pleased with herself. Shade knew they should probably punish her further in some way but... well, to be perfectly honest, they simply were not paid enough to do so.
They really should have charged more. Fifteen dollars at least per tiny demon they had to look after rather than the whole bunch. Fifteen dollars was not enough to encourage discipline. It was enough for them to make sure none of the godlings killed the other. And they had thought they had come up with an ingenious plan to secure some peace and quiet.
After much wrangling, they had finally managed to set up two separate playpens, each far enough away that the godlings wouldn’t start screaming if one of them saw their rival. Wyrm and Root in one pen, Grimm, Radi and Unn in another. It was a gamble, but one that thankfully seemed to have paid off. Radi was still exhausted from the tussle she had just had with Wyrm, and Grimm seemed content to chew off the heads of the plastic Garbies they had found. Unn continued to watch, and occasionally helped Grimm execute a Garbie in a spectacular manner. It was both reassuring, and beyond disturbing. Root and Wyrm meanwhile were cheerfully ignoring each other as they both played with their own toys.
It should have been foolproof.
Unfortunately for Shade however, they were dealing with infants instead of fools.
For some damned reason, Root had decided that now was the perfect time to act up, instead of being the sweet little darling she had been so far. Her target, much to their dismay, had been Wyrm. In all fairness, the godling had probably deserved it in some way; most likely he had tried to worm too close in order to steal some of the grubpaste and mushroom sticks Shade had left out as a snack. Root had seen this theft as a cardinal sin, and had subsequently decided that Wyrm deserved nothing less than absolute annihilation.
The momentary doze Shade had managed to fall into was abruptly interrupted by loud shrieking and wailing, resulting in them vaulting over the couch to hurriedly find out which one of the godlings was being tortured.
The scene that greeted them was... well, it wasn’t any less ridiculous than some of the other stuff the little goblins had pulled before.
Using her flexible tendrils, Root had seen fit to wrap them around Wyrm, and aggressively dunk him into the bowl of grubpaste he had attempted to steal from. His shrieks and hisses had woken up Radi and drawn the attention of the other children, who were now cheering on Root’s attack on Wyrm’s person.
“Enough,” Shade declared, shooting a glare behind them, “Root, let him go.” Root looked up innocently.
No, she seemed to say with her eyes, justice must prevail.
“Justice won’t get me my fifteen dollars,” they hissed out in return, and they could have sworn that Root shrugged, turning away from them to dunk Wyrm into the bowl yet again.
“No!” they cried out, quickly whipping down to grab the poor child before he could be further humiliated. After finally being saved from his vicious tormentor, Wyrm decided it was time to go into hysterics, lashing out with a sharp tail to fully show his displeasure. Root simply watched impassively as the rest of the children cheered.
Shade wondered if fifteen dollars was even worth it at this point.
“Alright, alright, enough! Root, you go in time out. We do not waterboard our fellow godlings in grubpaste. Wyrm, calm down, it’s just grubpaste- Settle down!” they yelped out, flinching as something heavy settled onto their head. The soft fluff revealed that Radi had decided to fly out of her pen and taunt Wyrm in person. Shade wanted to sob with frustration.
The door cracked open, and Ghost peered in, head tilted curiously.
Need help? they signed, and Shade wanted to collapse in relief.
“Please,” they begged, and their sibling nodded grimly, even as amusement danced in their eyes. Shucking off their school backpack, they quickly headed over to the other pen and signed to them, bobbing their head up and down in a soothing motion. Grimm and Unn were entranced. Radi less so. She remained seated on their head, but at least seemed to have finally stopped provoking Wyrm.
“I’m just going to clean him up,” Shade explained uselessly, watching as Ghost simply nodded and waved them off. 
With a tired gait, Shade wandered into the kitchen and turned on the tap, listening as Wyrm’s panicked yelps grew louder at the realisation of what was going to happen next. Radi snickered softly, before leaping off and gliding back into the living room.
Bath time, according to the godlings, was a fate worse than death, and something to be avoided at all cost.
Unfortunately for both Wyrm and Shade, it was a necessary evil. Wyrm disagreed. Loudly. And with claws.
He howled furiously as Shade slowly lowered him into the warm water, softly scrubbing at the now-dried grubpaste sticking to his skin. Despite his attempts, Wyrm failed to prevent them from continuing his bath. He turned to pathetic pleading instead, making soft mewling sounds as though he was nothing more than a poor innocent child who had done nothing wrong, ever.
Shade, who remembered the little bastard knocking a glass ornament onto their head, was not convinced. Ultimately there was no escape, and Wyrm reluctantly gave in to the soft scrubbing, though he made sure his rumbling complaints were known.
“Yes, yes,” Shade said quietly, “I truly am the worst. Close your eyes so I can rinse you.”
Wyrm, in a dumb act of defiance, did not close his eyes. The hysterics started again, and Shade contemplated drowning themself in the half-filled sink. Fifteen dollars, they repeated. Fifteen dollars.
Grabbing a tea towel, they quickly dried the godling off, carefully teasing out water droplets from soft scales. He child gnawed on their fingers in revenge. “I’m done,” they announced, wandering back into the living room with a now clean, and furious, Wyrm.
Ghost looked up from their position on the floor, back leaning against the couch as they played with Grimm. Radi immediately perked up at the sound of Shade’s voice, and quickly flew over, making herself at home on top of their head. Unn seemed to have decided to undertake the momentous task of scaling up the back of the couch, leaving a thick trail of slime behind. Root, still stuck in her pen as punishment, let out a wail, demanding to be let out.
Shade was all out of energy to fight back or deal with a tantrum.
“Alright, alright, out you go,” they muttered, depositing Wyrm on the couch before reaching down to lift out the petulant child from her terrible prison. She clung to them desperately until they finally collapsed on the sofa. She quickly wriggled out of their hold and instead plonked down beside them. Wyrm had hissed at the sight of her, and slunk to the other side of the couch to sulk.
Grimm let out a raspy cackle at the sight, before diving down to nip at Ghost’s fingers.
Unn finally made her way to the top of the couch and waved her eyestalks victoriously. All Shade could do was give her a tired pat.
They sank into the couch, the exhaustion creeping back in. It should have been foolproof.
Fifteen dollars.
-------------------------------
By @arandoskeleartist​
youtube
157 notes · View notes
angellbarnes · 3 years
Text
Forgotten Love - part three: lions and tigers and secrets, oh my
series summary: You’re new to the Avengers. In joining the team, there’s a lot that no one yet knows about you. And there’s some unusual tension between you and a certain brunet. Under a pseudonym and with completely fresh start, and background, you hope for a chance at a new life. A better life. But how long will it last before someone figures out the life you’ve hidden away?
chapter summary: Quite some first mission. And some close calls, too.
pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader
words: 1.9k
warnings: only killing those hydra goons
A/N: Ooooh I’m actually really happy with this chapter. Hope you all like! As always, likes, comments and reblogs are much appreciated☺️
series masterlist
Tumblr media
The jet speeds off to an unknown location. FRIDAY is left in charge, of course. Everyone else either sits at the sides or is preparing for when you land. You get up from your seat and walk to the middle of the jet, where Tony, Steve and Nat are all looking at a hologram of some sort of concrete building.
“Hydra base.” Nat states.
“We’ve gained intel to a specific experiment they’ve got going on. They’ve been trying to recreate more of the supersoldier serum. We can’t let that happen.” Steve informs you, in his patriotic, ‘I’m Captain America’ voice he likes to use.
“Right.”
“Fury’s informed us that they may be closer to recreating it than we thought. He’s picked up some new radiation that’s coming from this building.” Your gaze falls from Steve back down to the hologram. With a flick of his fingers it spins, giving you a 360 view of the place. The sight makes you feel uneasy, in a way unknown to the team.
“If you haven’t guessed already, our job is to get rid of whoever and whatever is causing this.” Tony adds. “We take out the bad guys, steal their shit, and boom. Avengers win.”
“Always so serious.” Nat jokes. You smile at her and head to the weapons area, grabbing a few knives and a handgun, and slotting them into various places on your suit. Bucky is also there, picking a few similar knives but a much larger gun.
“This is your first mission, right?” He asks, not even glancing at you. You think for a moment, not quite sure how to answer.
“Yeah. It’s my first.”
“Don’t sweat it. We’ll be in and out in no time. It usually goes according to plan.” He finally looks at you, smirking, and gives you a wink as he walks away, leaving you with more conflicting feelings.
“5 minutes to landing.” FRIDAY announces.
“We’ll head down now to scope out the area.” Rhodey says. The back of the jet opens and he heads off in his War Machine suit, followed by Sam, followed by Tony using his nanotech and jumping out before he’s fully suited.
“Looks like you’re rubbing off on him.” You hear Bucky say to Steve.
The jet lands in the clearing of a nearby forest, leaving the rest of you to venture through it to the base, undetected under the cover of the night.
“Ready?” Steve asks as you head out.
“So ready.” You reply.
You, Nat, Steve and Bucky all head through the trees and it’s not long before you reach the large, grey building. As you approach the facility, you would have guessed it was abandoned by now if it wasn’t for what Fury had reported.
“Emily, we’ll head through the front and you boys can go around the back.” Nat orders.
“Yes ma’am.” Steve salutes her with a smirk and you head off in your different directions.
You and Nat find a small side door where the front of the building is and to your surprise, it’s unlocked. Both of your guns are up at the ready as you sneak down the eerie corridor. Only dim ceiling lights cast any glow amidst the darkness, the kind that are always flickering in horror movies. You come up to a split in the corridor and push Nat up against the wall with you when you sense an unwanted presence.
You close your eyes, concentrating on the way this person is moving. Though the footsteps are inaudible, you can feel it: the vibrations through the floor, of a male, walking with the rhythm of a robot. Patrolling the grounds. The vibrations get stronger as he nears. When he reaches the corner is when you pounce, catching him in a headlock and choking him silently unconscious, until he falls limp in your arms. You snap his neck. One swift motion and you lay him down on the ground, letting the logo on his uniform get to you more than it should have.
“Damn, Quinn, you sure have some surprising moves up your sleeve, don’t you?” Nat comments, stepping over the agent’s body. “A force to be reckoned with.”
“Buck, come on.” Steve picks up a jog as the pair head through from the opposite side of the premises, but Bucky is still looking over his shoulder every 2 seconds.
“Sorry.” He mumbles, and picks up his pace to match Steve’s.
They head further into the maze and, after taking out a few HYDRA heads, they find themselves in a corridor with a single door on the left hand side, reading ‘WS room 1’
“Winter Soldier.” Bucky speaks softly. “That’s what it stands for. Winter Soldier.” He takes a stammered breath. “This is one of the places they tortured me.”
Steve pays his friend a sympathetic glance. Bucky halfheartedly smiles but resolves to staring at the floor. He walks up to the door and takes a look through the small square window. Through it, there’s a small room, encased by glass, with computers and other equipment as such. Ready to make notes. Observations. Beyond that is a larger room with a stand consisting of various panels and buttons and a lever, which is attached to the large-framed chair beside it. The mere sight of it causes Bucky’s skin to crawl with the pain of the past. It almost makes him jump when Steve places a hand on his shoulder, signalling the time to head off again.
“Uh, guys, you might wanna check this out.” Tony’s voice crackles through the coms. “Get to where I am right the fuck now.”
You and Nat start running down the halls now, checking Tony’s location using the new tracking device he installed into everyone’s suits. Taking out numerous faceless HYDRA agents on the way, you make it to a door, a huge metal door, where two agents lay dead either side. Bucky and Steve arrive just as you do.
Steve opens the door.
With a loud creak, a blue glow emits from within the room, and standing in the middle is Tony, surrounded by viles and viles and bottles and machines. Paperwork is piled up messily throughout the place. You all head inside, slowly making your way around, taking notice of all the colours in various glass beakers, tubes and containers, some smoking, some not. Glancing at all the scribbles on the paper scattered around, and on the walls, it’s clear that this is the testing room for their serum. And by the look of the fridge in the corner, filled with bright blue viles, they succeeded.
“Wait, have they already figured it out?” Steve questions.
“No!” Bucky slams his fist on the table, angered by the despairing truth.
“They did it. They actually did it. And God knows how long they’ve had this. For all we know, there could be dozens of newly created supersoldiers walking among us.” Tony says, taking out a vile and holding it up to the light. You take a sharp inhale and turn away from the rest of the group, suddenly feeling light-headed. As you focus your breath and lean against the workspace, you also focus on the paperwork in front of you. It’s a file. Your soul leaves your body as you stare at the black folder, a blood red HYDRA logo stamped to the front. Underneath, some writing:
‘CONFIDENTIAL - SS test subjects 1-12’
SS. Supersoldier.
You hesitantly open it. Nameless faces are enclosed, reduced to nothing but numbers. All have red stamps over their files, labelling ‘FAILED’ in red. Every one is the same; a face, a name, ‘FAILED’.
Until you reach number 12.
You slam the file shut and jolt back upright.
“Emily? You okay?” Nat asks. You spin to face everyone, who now looks slightly concerned by your sudden outburst. You release the breath you were holding in.
“Yeah. Sorry. Seeing this just makes me so angry, you know? How they just want to create monsters with this stuff. No matter the cost.”
“Tell me about it.” Bucky comments. Everyone gets back to what they were doing before.
You sigh in relief, as if you were expecting them not to believe you. You discreetly slide page 9 out of the folder and fold it up small enough to fit into a pocket in your suit.
“This seems too easy.” Bucky says, as he looks over a page of scribbled formulae. You all gather round and look through what seems to be the final renditions of their recreated serum. As you read through, trying to make sense of the cacography, an overwhelming sense washes over you. You shut your eyes, trying to focus the feeling, pinpoint the source of it.
“Guys,” You open your eyes wide. “we need to get out of here. Right now. It’s everywhere. Let’s go, come on!” You yell at everyone as you feel the heat rise beneath you. You run, and the others follow. Nat grabs a load of HYDRA’s work, taking whatever looks important enough, and heads out with the rest of you.
You make it out of the building and keep running towards the forest. Rhodey and Sam meet you from where they were on lookout outside.
“Get down!” You shout, and everyone covers.
The facility is blown to smithereens, the sound of it erupting through the dawn’s serenity. Bright orange fills the sky, melting into the sunrise.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Sam urges, to which everyone gets up and heads back, exhausted, to the quinjet.
You let yourself fall onto a seat, leaning your head back against the wall and releasing a long-awaited breath.
“Thank God we have you on our team, Quinn, otherwise we would have been barbecued.”
“Glad to be here, Stark.” You manage to push yourself up, gathering with everyone around the table, where the team is examining what Nat managed to pick up. You scan what’s in front, and your heart falters.
“Where did you get that?”
“Grabbed it on the way out.” She replies. “Looked important.”
“Well, yeah, files with huge capitals that say ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ usually are.” Sam remarks.
You’re tense the whole flight back, biting your nails and lip as you all go through the papers. And when you land, you’re the first one off the jet.
“How did it go?” Wanda asks when you’re back in the compound.
“You want the good news or bad news first?” Tony pours himself a drink.
“Tony, it’s like 7AM.” Steve states.
“Well done, Cap. You can tell the time.” Tony carries on pouring and takes a large swig, holding his glass up to Steve as he swallows.
You rush to your room in silence before anyone starts recounting the mission and passing round that file.
You shut and lock your door, sliding down it and letting your face fall into your hands. You reach for the piece of paper you took and unfold it. You can hardly bear to look at it, feeling sick to your stomach. You barely recognise yourself.
~~~
“Did they all make it out?”
“Unfortunately.”
“And her?”
“She’s with them now.”
“We will have her back. She can’t hide from us. Number 12 will be back with us soon.”
245 notes · View notes
procrastinatingnerd · 3 years
Text
Hi everyone! So this was my first time taking part in the @osemanversebigbang but I had so much fun!! I can't wait to read everyone's entries! 💜
Title: Angel Rahimi And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Lunch Break
Characters: Angel, Juliet, Rowan, Jimmy, Lister, Bliss, two of Angel’s future uni friends (OCs).
Spoilers? Minor spoilers of important events in “I Was Born For This”.
Word Count: 3.6k
Ships: Bicci, one joke about Juliet/Rowan.
~Joan of Arc (Probably)
“I am so fucking tired”
“Right, time’s up, put your pens down.” The exam officer says from the front of the room. I scribble one last sentence before my hand gives out, and I all but throw my pen onto the desk, sighing as dramatically as I can. This week is a fucking nightmare. Exams and assignments are the piss. Fuck uni, I’m ready to drop out. Or drop dead. Either works, honestly.
As I leave the exam hall, I walk past some people from the students’ union. They’re handing out flyers for the Christmas ball next week. My housemates are all planning on going, but my friends and I planned our present swap for that night, so we’re going to spend it eating a fuck ton of snacks and watching the cheesiest Christmas films we can find. I can’t wait, I bought them each a bag of their favourite sweets from the American candy shop, it's going to be so much fun!
But that’s next week. Right now, all I want is to sit at a table that doesn’t have an exam paper on it, and eat something very greasy and very unhealthy. There’s a pizza place just on the edge of campus, run by some of the culinary arts students, and they make the best sauce ever. It’s pretty cheap too, which makes it a favourite for most people, especially at the end of a semester, when everyone’s bank accounts are running low.
I have about an hour until I need to be back in the exam hall, so I take full advantage of the outdoor seating and collapse into a chair after ordering. My pizza is brought out to me not long after, and I breathe in the smell. Nothing has smelt more gorgeous than the slices sitting in front of me. It’s a surprisingly warm day, for December at least, and for a moment, everything feels calm. I can hear a bird singing in a tree somewhere, other students are hanging around campus, most with their noses in their phones or in textbooks, and I actually let myself relax for a bit. I’ve done all the revision I can for this next exam, and I’m in desperate need of a break. I deserve this.
I pick up my first slice of pizza, and bring it up to my mouth. As I’m about to take a bite, however, my phone rings. I put the pizza down with a sigh and answer the phone without looking at who’s calling. Mum probably sensed I wasn’t doing any work, and is calling to check up on me.
“Hello?” I say tiredly.
“Angel, hi! Is this a good time??” I grin at the sound of Juliet’s voice.
“Hell yeah, it’s a perfect time! What’s up?”
“Wait, you don’t know why I’m calling?” Juliet says hesitantly. Shit. What have I forgotten now? I know it’s not her birthday. Wait, is it mine?? I swear exams rot your brain, have I actually forgotten my own birthday?
“No…?” I ask after internally monologuing for way too long.
“Oh my god, you don’t know??” Juliet screeches in my ear, “Angel go look at your phone, it’s urgent!”
Now very concerned, I put Juliet on speaker and, for the first time all morning, actually read the notifications filling my lock screen. I open the Twitter news one, and my mouth drops open in shock.
“Holy shit.”
On my screen is a news article with a headline that reads, “THE ARK’S JIMMY KAGA-RICCI AND LISTER BIRD’S SECRET RELATIONSHIP EXPOSED”, and just below it sits a large photo of Jimmy and Lister, standing outside a pub, kissing. I don’t believe it.
“Holy fu- Hold on a second. Mate, isn’t that the pub by Piero’s house?!” I say, bringing my phone as close to my face as I can, as if that’ll help me see better. There’s a loud shuffling noise on the other end of the line, and then I hear a gasp.
“Oh my god, you’re right!” Juliet says. “Rowan said they were going on holiday, but I thought he meant abroad or something.” I smile at that. Ever since our little jaunt to Kent last summer, Juliet and I have kept in touch with the boys. We even have a group chat now; us and them and even Bliss is in it. I’m so glad we stayed friends.
At first, Rowan was really quiet, and if he did speak he and Juliet would almost always end up arguing, but they’ve been getting along quite well lately. I’m not saying I ship it or anything, I’ve learnt my lesson there, but I have to say, fangirl-to enemies-to lovers would make a wicked fanfiction trope.
“Did you see any of this coming?” Juliet continues. “Surely Jimmy would have said something to you?”
“He said he was dating someone, but didn’t want to give details because they were taking things slow. Well, that and that celebrity phone hacking scandal freaked him right the fuck out, remember?” I say.
"That's
right, he stopped talking on the group chat for like two weeks, didn’t he?” Juliet giggles back. “Well, nevertheless, I’m happy for them. They’re cute together.”
“Yeah, they are.” I grin again. “Oh my god, poor Rowan though! I’d hate to live with a couple, especially a new one! It’d be nauseating.”
“Oh I know, right? And imagine what’ll happen when they have their first fight!” Juliet gasps again. I shudder at the thought.
“I’m muting the group chat when that happens.” I joke.
“Not a bad idea.” Juliet laughs back, then pauses. “Oh, Angel, I’m sorry I’ve got the get going, but do you want to skype later?”
“Yeah, no problem! I’ve got a revision session at 6, but I should be free by 9ish?”
“Sounds perfect! See you then!” Juliet says, and with that, she’s gone, and I’m back to sitting alone with my pizza.
Jimmy and Lister. Holy shit. I don’t think anyone in the fandom saw this coming. Everything has been about Jowan, since the fandom started growing it’s the only ship that ever existed. No one bothered writing fics about any other pairings. The only Jimmy/Lister fics I ever came across were platonic ones, and even they made sure to mention Jimmy’s boyfriend Rowan.
Oh god, I hope they’re okay. The fans got so crazy when Bliss and Rowan’s relationship was exposed. Jimmy/Lister is the final nail in the Jowan coffin. Jimmy must be having the panic attack of his life! I’ve got to-
My phone rings again.
I look down at the screen, and see Jimmy’s name. I take a deep breath, and answer.
“Jimmy, hi! How are-”
“Have you seen it??”
“Yes.”
“Oh god. This isn’t how we wanted to tell you guys.”
“You sure? Because getting caught by the national press worked so well for you last time.” I tease. Silence. Oops, probably not the best thing to remind him of right now.
“Jimmy, you still there?” I say carefully. There’s a slight rustle on his end, which means he probably just nodded. “Everything is going to be fine, I promise. The fans will move on. They already did with Jowan, right?”
“But what if something happens again? Something like-”
“It won’t. You guys have better security now, and you’re doing less public events. You’re going to be fine.” I hope and pray that I’m saying the right things. Jimmy and I have gotten close lately, but I’m nowhere near as good at helping him deal with his anxiety as Rowan and Lister are. There’s more silence, until finally, Jimmy speaks again.
“Okay. Yeah. Yeah I think you’re right. Thanks, Angel.”
“Course I’m right! If there’s one thing I know, it’s fandom drama.” Jimmy laughs, and I grin back. “And don’t forget, you’re not alone in this. This is happening to Lister too, and no doubt Rowan and Bliss will be there to help you. Just talk to them.”
“Thank you Angel, I’ll go do that now.”
“Perfect! Love you Jim, I’ll text you later.” I say, and the call ends.
He’ll be okay. He’s got too many people who love him not to be. I take another breath and put my phone down on the table. As soon as I do, however, it buzzes again, and I see Jimmy is trying to facetime me. Now very concerned, I answer it and hold the phone up so he can see my face properly.
“Jimmy, are you okay, what’s happened??” I ask anxiously, but he looks fine. He looks at me with a confused expression.
“Nothing, I’m just talking to the others, like you said.” He says. It’s only me and him on the call. I stare at him in silence for a moment.
“Jimmy, mate… I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not any of them” I say slowly, and to my surprise, Jimmy laughs.
“Yeah I know, but I was kind of hoping to have you here, too, if that’s okay?” He says sheepishly. “It’s okay if you’re busy, it’s just that… I don’t know, you’re good with this stuff and you make me feel calm? Sorry, I know that’s a lot to just dump on you.” Jimmy doesn’t look at me directly, and I start to feel tears in my eyes.
“Well damn, Jim, I guess if you truly love me that much, I can stick around for a bit.” I laugh, and quickly glance at the time. “My lunch break is only halfway over, anyway, so I have plenty of time to hang out while you talk to the others.”
Jimmy seems to let out a breath, like he’d been holding it, and grins.
Just as I’m about to start talking again, I hear a ping, and Lister’s face appears on screen, followed by Rowan and Bliss.
“Hey Jimjam, you okay?” Rowan asks, looking as calm as ever. “Oh hey Angel.” He adds. I give him an awkward smile.
“Wait, Angel's here?” Bliss interrupts before Jimmy can answer. “Nice, how’s the week from hell going? Didn’t think we’d hear from you until you’d made it through.”
“Yeah it’s rough, but I’m getting there. This is a welcome distraction though.” I grin at her.
“So you’ve seen the pictures then. They look good, right?” Lister chimes in, before correcting himself. “I mean, it’s horrible they found us, fucking pricks, but you’ve got to admit we look good.”
“You can be so self-centred sometimes.” Bliss laughs.
“Come on Lister, this isn’t a joke.” Rowan chides him.
“Well, I guess he isn’t wrong..” Jimmy mumbles nervously and I see him smile a bit.
“See, Jimmy agrees with me!” Lister argues back at Rowan, who rolls his eyes.
“It’s still not something to laugh about.” Rowan says firmly. “Cecily’s already on damage control, cancelling some events, beefing up the security at others, and giving the tabloids hell. She’s also let your grandad know, Jimmy.”
“Wait, aren’t you guys all down there already?” I ask, confused.
“Nah we got back last night. That picture was taken when we went out for lunch the other day. Took their time printing it.” Lister says.
“Probably needed time to pad out their articles. Seriously, how can they write so many pages about two people dating?” Bliss adds.
“Probably whining about how Jowan is now well and truly dead.” Rowan rolls his eyes again. “Although I have to say, I’m pretty happy about that part.” I cringe slightly as he says that. I will never not regret being one of the Jowan fangirls.
“So Cecily’s already got a plan? That’s good, that’s a bit of a relief.” Jimmy speaks up, looking visibly more relaxed than he had sounded over the phone earlier.
“Yeah she’s got it sorted, so we can start planning our Christmas party!” Lister says, making the others groan.
“Lister what the hell makes you think we should be throwing a massive fucking party right now?!” Rowan says, his voice growing louder. Lister goes quiet, looking like he wants to shrink into his seat, before eventually speaking up again.
“Look, it doesn’t have to be anything big, I just mean… Angel, you’re gonna be in London with Juliet, right? Come over, drag Bliss with you, Jimmy can invite his grandad, Rowan you can bring Jade, and there you go, that’s our party!”
“That’s...actually a good idea.” Rowan says, surprised.
“Yeah, that sounds like fun!” Jimmy adds.
“I’m up for it, Angel, do you think Juliet will wanna come?” Bliss says.
“Hell yeah she would, let’s do it!” I reply with a massive smile on my face. Partying with Bliss and the boys sounds like the best way to spend my Christmas London trip. I’ll make sure to tell Juliet about it when I talk to her later. As I start planning all the food I’m going to bring over, and wondering what the boys’ flat will look like at Christmas, the conversation starts up again.
“You sure you’re doing alright, Jimmy? I can come back home if you need me to.” Rowan says, focusing things on the issue at hand again.
“No no, don’t worry, stay with your family. They’d kill me if I made you miss out on spending time with them.” Jimmy jokes. “I’ve got Lister here, and Cecily’s number if I need it. My head isn’t giving me too much grief right now, anyway.”
“Wait, Lister, you’re there with him?” Bliss asks.
“Yeah, check it out!” Lister says, before picking up his phone and moving. He takes us out of what I think was his room, through a hallway and comes out into a large living room, where we can see Jimmy on a sofa looking at his phone. “Say hi to the chat, Jim!”
Everyone laughs as Jimmy gives an awkward wave to Lister’s phone. Lister then hangs up and launches himself into view of Jimmy’s screen, and the two shuffle about until they’re practically sitting on top of each other, faces
squished together so the tiny phone camera captures them both. I hate how cute they look together.
“Alright, if you’re sure, Jimmy,” Rowan says, smiling for probably the first time this whole call.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Jimmy smiles back. “This whole situation is terrifying, and I’m more than ready to hide in my room and not see another mad fangirl for the rest of my life, but... if I did that we’d never get to hang out with Angel again.” He finishes, biting his lip as if unsure of whether or not the joke will hit.
“Uh..ouch!” I clap my hand on top of my heart dramatically and laugh, while the others join in. “I’ll have you know I’ve abandoned my fangirl ways. Mostly. Sort of. Okay, not completely but I’m not shipping real people anymore, so that’s something, right?!”
Lister is giving Jimmy a look of what I can only assume is pride for making a decent joke during a time of peak anxiety, Rowan has his head in his hands, probably contemplating his life choices now that Lister seems to be rubbing off on Jimmy, and Bliss still looks shocked that such a joke came out of Jimmy’s mouth, not Lister’s. When things calm down again, I check the time and speak up again.
“Well this has been fun Jim, but I’m afraid I have mad fangirl duties to be getting back to. Shrines to build, fanfiction to write, you know how it is.” I say sarcastically.
“Thanks again, Angel, for being here, and listening. And you’d better be right about that fandom drama.” Jimmy laughs again, although this time I see his smile falter a bit.
“Hey, look at me,” I say, moving as close to the screen as I can without squishing my face on it. “Things will settle down before you know it, in the meantime, we’re all here for you. You’re not alone in this.” Rowan and Bliss nod in agreement, and I see Lister hug Jimmy closer. Jimmy takes a breath and nods as well.
“Thanks Angel. And good luck with your exam. We’ll see you over the holidays.” He smiles.
“Yeah you got this Angel, go smash it!” Bliss chimes in, giving me a thumbs up and a grin. I say one last goodbye to them all, and hang up.
I look back down at my pizza, still uneaten. I need to stop letting myself get distracted during phone calls. I can eat and talk to my friends at the same time. I’m usually a master at it.
“Fereshteh!” I look up again. Either I’m going loony, or someone just said-
“FERESHTEH!” I turn around and see Mollie and Christina barrelling towards me, with the most excitement I’ve ever seen on a students’ face during exam season. They crash into my table and both start talking at once.
“Have you seen??”
“Did you know??”
“How long have they been together?!”
“Oh my god is this why you won’t tell us about what happened in Kent?!”
“Woah, easy on the interrogation! Seriously, you guys need to work on your interview skills.” I put my hands up in surrender and laugh. Mollie rolls her eyes at me.
“So? Did they tell you or what?” She asks again. I roll my eyes back at her.
“You know I don’t want to tell you guys anything about the boys. They trust me, and I’m not going to fuck that up because of some shit a tabloid prints.”
“How dare you appeal to our morality and ethics, we want gossip dammit!” Christina giggles, lightly banging her fist down on the table.
“Then stick to the Twitter pages.” I stick my tongue out at her. Mollie and Christina are two of my housemates, and are part of the Ark fandom. I never planned on telling them about Kent, but they figured out who I was thanks to the pictures of me and Jimmy on the train. I didn’t think you could tell it was me, but fangirls are like master detectives. They figured it out in less than a week. They haven’t told anyone though, they’re good mates.
“So how are you feeling about all of this? Whether you knew or not, having it out in the press like this is a lot to handle, especially after last time.” Mollie says, now in serious mode.
“It is a lot, definitely, but they’ll be fine. They’ve had this happen before and they know what to expect from the fans. I just wish I could be there for them.” I say, sitting back in my chair.
“I get
that, it must suck that you guys are so far apart now.” Christina chimes in.
“I mean it’s not like we ever lived close to each other before. The only reason we even crossed paths over the summer was because I was staying with a friend. But yeah, being away from them all is kind of hard sometimes.” I sigh dramatically, making Mollie and Christina grin.
“Are you going to visit them over Christmas?” Christina asks.
“I’m definitely going to visit my friend in London again, for a day or two, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to see the boys.” I quickly lie. “They cut back on public events but they’re still really busy most of the time. And this,” I gesture to my phone “definitely won’t help.”
“We’ll keep an eye on fandom updates for you, and try to shut any mentions of Jowan down,” Mollie says, reaching across the table and giving my hand a gentle squeeze. I squeeze hers back and give her a grateful smile. I mostly stopped interacting with the fandom after meeting the boys, reading fanfiction, and discussing theories with other fans just feels weird and creepy to do when the people you’re talking about are your friends. So it’s nice that I have Mollie and Christina looking out for them, and doing what I can’t. Christina has a pretty big following on Tumblr, and Mollie’s a Twitter ace, so I trust them to hold their ground with the fandom.
“Okay, you don’t have to give us any details, but genuinely, what do you think of Lister and Jimmy as a couple? Because I don’t think the fandom could handle a breakup.” Christina says after a while, making me laugh.
“Pfft, yeah I don’t think the boys could handle a breakup, either.” I smile. “But honestly? I think they’ll be good for each other. Lister is good at helping Jimmy relax and step out of his anxiety bubble, and Jimmy can help reign in Lister’s chaotic energy. Plus they’re freaking cute together, I mean just look at this picture!” I finish, gesturing dramatically to my phone again.
“They are so cute!” Mollie nods in agreement. “I’m actually shocked no one thought to ship them together before.”
“That’s the Jowan storm, for you,” Christina adds. “Can’t believe we ever shipped that.”
“So gross.” I shudder at the thought. Suddenly the alarm I’d set this morning went off, making us all jump.
“What’s that?” Mollie asks. I check the screen and practically leap out of my seat.
“Oh shit, my exam starts in 10 minutes!” I say, gathering my stuff up as quickly as I can. I say my goodbyes to Mollie and Christina and start running back across campus to the exam hall.
I make it just in time, much to the invigilator’s chagrin, check my bag in at the desk at the back of the hall, and collapse into my assigned seat. The exam starts, and it’s only when it does that my stomach reminds me that I never actually ate lunch. Shit.
I start to silently scold myself for being so stupid, when my mind starts drifting to the video chat with Jimmy and the others. He and Lister looked so comfortable with each other. Makes sense, they've known each other for so long. But even still, Jimmy looked so much happier once Lister sat down with him, and Lister himself practically seemed at home with Jimmy’s arms wrapped around him. I smile at my exam paper.
I’m so happy for them.
55 notes · View notes
writings-by-blondie · 3 years
Text
~If The Stars Could Speak~
Soap Mactavish x F!Reader (teaspoon of Angst)
Tumblr media
She was way too good for him and he knew that yet he couldn't forget the way her (h/c) hair fell over her shoulders, her laugh and a bit cold, but glittery look of her (e/c) eyes when their gaze met for the first time..it was like he could see universe in them.
He was in cold, gloomy, Russia, on a mission that was to be last, scribbling down words on the peace of paper, counting down hours till he get to hold her forever...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
His most trusting man, and friend, Simon and him decided to lay back and enjoy some free time they were granted away from their ever noisy and ever busy camp.
They were at downtown, walking and talking about how tonight is their night - they will leave job at office and they will just enjoy strong alcohol and good music.
The night was a bit chilly, but nothing unusual for the late September.
That just meant that John will finally have chance to wear that nice black spitfire jacket he bought not long ago, and he looked well in it.
As the two men walked they spotted the bar they wanted to be in for the rest of the night, right outside of it, sticking out like a sore thumb was parked some expensive car that John didn't know how to indenify as. He wasn't a big car head like his friend.
"Look at this mate. Its Porsche, bet some meat heads are in this place",
said Simon chucking and eyeing the car and tilting his head slowly towards the bar.
Mactavish smirked and pushed his friend gently as he started walking in, "You have a problem with that or you're just scared of guys who drive expensive cars, eh?".
Inside of the bar you and small group of your friends were in VIP lounge. Infront of you, on small glass table was a bucket filled with ice that kept some red bulls and couple of Baltica beers cold.
You were drinking Jack Daniels, your glass half full. Being tipsy already, you fake-laughed at some perverse joke friend next to you finished telling.
Tonight, you really felt down. Truth to be told, you've been feeling under the weather last couple of months, nothing seemed to go the right way and nothing you did could change that feeling. On top of that your stupid poosh boyfriend broke up with you over text last week, and even though you understood that your friends cared for you and wanted you to forget about that fool and enjoy yourself, you still couldn't shake away the bitterness and just wanted to curl away in your bed, eat some strawberry ice cream and watch ‘Casablanca’.
But here you were, in a black dress that glittered under the light, your hair styled in lazy but not messy curls, and your over-expensive white heels. You looked like the IT girl that every man would want for them selves, to put you on pedestal and admire you.
(Y/n) leaned back in the black leather seat before she took a deep sigh that was followed by pouting and throwing down rest of the Jack that was in her glass down her throat. It burned for a bit, but the sweet flavour of alcohol made her want to drink more, so she opened the half empty bottle and poured more of the honey-coloured liquid into her glass.
She leaned in close to her friend on the left and whispered,
"I need to go and check my make up. Save a seat for me, and dont touch my bottle, I will know if you do.",
you almost groaned last words since you knew well that your friends loved to mess with you.
The (h/c) girl now stood up, taking her light coloured purse that matched with her heels, in her hands and started walking towards the washroom of the bar.
The floor was wooden, hard wood, after all the bar was made to accommodate high class people and to draw in tourists who had a lot of money to spend. Her heels making a little bit noise as her steps collided with the floor. It was a southing sound, like when rain hits the metal.
Her hips swayed as her dress didn't quite hug her whole neatly shaped figure, so it swayed with her movements, glittering under the dim light of the noisy bar.
She had to watch every step since she felt that the alcohol was indeed kicking in, but the song playing on stereos drew her attention and just for a tiny moment she forgot completely that she had heels on.
"Shit-", you muttered loudly as your purse left your hands and you could see the dark wooden floor getting close to you now, but you weren't colliding with it, instead you felt stern grip on your waist, feeling the coldness of someones hand that went straight to your skin, under the dress. You furrowed eyebrows before looking up, facing a, without any exaggeration, handsomest man you ever laid eyes upon.
His eyes, blue as the sea in mid July in the noon, almost glittering like a waves when they shine under the hot sun. His smell now invaded your nostrils touching your senses, stimulating them, wanting more of it. It was pine mixed with old brand of ‘denim’, manly but still subtle, just enough.
He smiled at you softly looking into your eyes, not breaking eye contact once.
"Careful now lass, we don’t want any broken bones yet, the night is still young eh?..", he spoke with thick and extremely attractive (for some reason) Scottish accent and she took deep breath in, as the man slowly placed the girl in front of him back on her legs, parting his hand with her waist. The girl licked her lover lip, realizing now that she was blushing way more than it was appropriate for this kind of situation and softly muttered, "Sorry.. The heels..", under her breath before she walked pass the man and disappeared into woman's washroom.
Mactavish however trailed her with his eyes, her long and subtly toned legs, and the way the subtle cutout on her dress reviled a bit of her thigh. She was clearly in distress and he couldn't help but chuckle a bit to himself as he picked up her purse from the floor and sat down in the nearby booth with Simon.
"What the hell was that?", Riley said as he took off his black leather jacket, placing it next to him.
"It was like some scene out of those old movies mate. Its like, in that one moment, universe existed to put us together.", John smiled to himself, also placing his jacket next to him, being a bit surprised at his own words, he wasn't cheesy, but romantic? He was that.
And he would never let any of his friends know that since well, it was an army and he didn't need Ghost going around the base telling everyone that their captain was softie.
"Since when are you that cheeky eh? Maybe Price doesn't make you do enough pushups at morning." Simon smirked at his friend and raised his hand to call the bartender,
"Its a quote, some of us are literate cinema vise mate", Mactavish smirked back at him leaning over the table, trying to reach for his cigars in his back pocket, "But she is bonnie, nonetheless.".
In washroom you tried to steady your breathing. You put your hand on your chest and closed eyes, but the only thing you could see was the man's eyes and his face. Girl quickly opened her eyes and looked at her reflection in big mirror that was placed on black and white tiles. (Y/n) looked at her face, noticing few spots where her make up was messed up, she pouted a bit and reached down on the sink for her purse, but her palm was met only with cold marble sink.
You quickly shot your gaze towards your hand, with your eyebrows furrowed. Eyes darting across the sink, around it and eventually around the whole washroom then the realisation hit you like a heavy boulder- you dropped your purse when you tripped, when he grabbed you.
"For fucks sake..", you muttered under the breath. It was enough humiliating that probably whole bar watched you stumble around like a new born deer and almost kiss the floor, but now you had to go retrieve your purse that was probably still on the ground and go back to washroom again looking like a lost highschool girl on the party.
You shook your head and realised that stupid anxiety attack got your judgment clouded- people fall every day, and they drop stuff everyday too.
The girl now straighten her posture, fixed her hair a bit and opened the door, exiting the cool room she was in before heading to the booth were she dropped her purse, but to her surprise the purse was not on the floor instead she heard familiar thick accent from the booth next to where she was standing,
"Looking for this lass?", the man waved with her purse smiling at her with one of his brows raised, his friend watching her, waiting for her next move.
You swallowed a big gulp, approaching the booth were the men were sitting slowly, taking your purse from the blue eyed man,
"Yes, thank you. Saving me from embarrassment.. Very noble of you.", you said with a now confident voice, not breaking eye contact with him. There was something about him, something unexplainable. It was like that with every second she looked at his face, at his slightly parted lips as a little smile formed on his face, you were losing grip on the time it was like a whole universe worked for you and him.
"Glad I could help ma'am. Those shoes do look dangerous, better watch your step.", the man spoke and she smiled at him, shyly nodding and turning around, breaking the eye contact with him, slowly walking towards her own booth where her friends were loud and drunk.
But every step you took was heavier than the last one, you didn't want to go there, you wanted to sit with him, smell that invading pine again, feel his touch again.. Was this alcohol that was in your bloodstream?
You stopped suddenly and took a deep breath, before turning on your heels and going back to the two man who were now smoking, their drinks were on their table as well.
"Oh screw it. Universe, dont make a fool out of me!", you thought internally as you approached back their booth, and both men looked up at you again.
"Do you need some help lassie? Are you feeling well?", the blue eyed man asked. You actually just now noticed that he had his hair styled as a mohawk and it suited him so nice, the scar over his eye stuck out as well.
You snapped out and shook your head in denial,
"Would you mind if I joined you for a drink?",
Ghost cleared his throat and looked away with a huge smirk over his face, avoiding John’s stern look. Mactavish moved himself to the left, leaving vacant place for the girl to sit and nodded his head down while putting out cigar that was already burned.
You sat next to him, smiling and biting inside of your cheek, leaving your purse on the edge of the table waving to the bartender to get his attention, you showed him universal sign for ‘another bottle’ and the man nod to you.
You returned your attention towards two men who were gazing at you the whole time.
"So, who wishes to start this AA meeting? How about you sir?", you pointed at men across from you. Both men cracked at your joke before the one you pointed at started talking,
"Name's Simon, that’s Soap- I mean John..", Simon barely held in his laugh looking away from the pair. You looked at men next to you and his jaw was clenched, he obviously didn't like that one.
"Y/N, nice to meet you fellas. This night needed some life in it. I was dying of boredom over at VIP's. Some fresh environment is nice..",
you smiled at John who was downing his beer, slowly he nod at the girl and the bartender finally came with your new bottle of Jack and three glasses for each of you.
"Put it on my bill, thanks.", you said and John eyed you as you opened the bottle of whiskey and poured everyone about a half of the glass, raising your own towards him as you finished. You smirked a bit, leaning towards him, unintentionally, your thigh subtly brushed against his light blue denim jeans.
"Cheers to not breaking bones and to concerned strangers.”, you said the words, slowly looking up at his eyes yet again.
John looked down at you, slowly colliding his glass with yours.
"Well, cheers to me I guess..", Simon muttered to himself and downed down the glass. You couldn't help but laugh sincerely, John joining you while rolling his eyes at Simon,
"Ghost getting ghosted, this will be the story to tell the mates back at camp for sure..".
You raised your eyebrow in confusion, leaving your glass on the table and crossing your legs, leaning back,
"Camp? What are you two like some secret agents or something?", you asked and John and Simon talked to you about their job deep into night. They explained their line or work as subtle as they could and shared some of the funniest moments from their missions with you.
John enjoyed your laugh, the way you blushed when you caught him looking at you, avoiding his gaze, how well your lips were glossed and your perfume that made him want to invade your neck and collarbone with small and soft kisses. He also noticed how soft your skin was when he "accidentally" touched your hand as you were reaching for the bottle, wanting to pour another drink.
It was about 3 in the morning when you turned around towards the bartender who was next to you, telling you and your new friends that the bar is closing in about five minutes. Your friends left long time ago, too drunk to even notice that you were gone or that you were now sitting elsewhere.
"Oh come on Gorge! Cant you see how much fun we are having here? Can’t you just lock us in or join us?", you blinked innocently at the bartender and it made man blush, ofcourse that didn't go unnoticed by Mactavish who cleared his throat subtly and put his hand around your shoulder. You turned your head, raising eyebrow at him and questioning what the hell he was doing.
"Come on lass, man has a job to do, a boss to answer to. We will get you to your hotel eh?", you chuckled at him, now relaxing into his touch, and he loved it. He softly rubbed exposed skin on your shoulder with his thumb and you inhaled sharply, smiling at him reaching for your purse and pulling out keys from your car,
"I drank a lot.. Who is driving lads?",
You closed the door of your Porsche and could hear Simon in the back seat whistle,
"It even has leather inside and tv in the back of the seat. Of course it does.. For gods sake (y/n), you could've just told us that you are rich. We would've distanced from you.", Riley made a joke and you laughed, turning around in your seat looking at Simon, as John started the car, slowly advancing towards the main street.
"I wouldn't trade time I had with you boys for nothing in this world. I haven't laughed like that in ages..",
Riley now looked at Mactavish on review mirror smirking,
"Soap, drop me off first and then take (y/n) back to her place. Base is just around the corner it will save her some gas.".
You eyed man who was driving now, waiting for his response, he groaned in response then he nodded slowly looking at you, before returning eyes to the road that was empty. The city was in deep sleep.
John parked infront of some old looking house and Simon chuckled, "Well this is my stop. I'll see ya in the morning mate, don't forget to freshen up, we will need you frosty eh?",
Simon said before he slammed the doors shut and swiftly disappeared into the house.
You looked at John and pouted a bit, he looked and you and wiggled his eyebrows playfully,
"Where to miss?", he put up his best British accent and you couldn't help but laugh at how silly he sounded.
"With you? To the stars.." you leaned on his shoulder and kicked down your heels, tucking your legs under your tights.
Mactavish took a deep breath, inhaling the sent of your perfume, before he started driving again, he reached for the radio and turned it on.
A soft tune of "Midnight" song was on it and you hummed in approval.
"You know, I feel like I should've met you long ago instead of wasting my time around, not knowing where am I going, what am I doing. I wish this night could last forever John, I wish I could be stuck in it forever.."
The man smiled and reached for one of your hands, locking his fingers with your smaller ones, his eyes never leaving the road.
"I want to show you one place, if you are not up for sleep yet lassie?"
You parted your head with his shoulder to look up at him, his face being illuminated by dim street lights, he looked so soft and like he didn't have any worry in the world.
"Aye sir, I am in your hands for the rest of this trip." you joked and he let out a huffed laugh, bringing your hand closer to his lips, kissing your knuckles, you watched him carefully, biting your lower lip as you felt the warmth spread throughout your entire body from just that tiny exchange of affection.
John parked the car, pulled the break and turned the machine off. He leaned back in the leather seat and looked at you, smile creeping around the corners of his mouth.
"Take my jacket, it can be windy up here."
He said and reached in the back seat for his jacket, handing it to you. You took it into your hands and looked around you, it was quiet and dark all around. Not single lamp post or anything was in the vicinity, only the headlights that John left on, and the soft tune of radio that still played.
"There is nothing here, and honestly it feels like a horror movie. Am I about to be murdured  and thrown from this cliff John?"
Mactavish just chuckled and opened the car doors on his side,
"Do you trust me lass?", he asked as he leaned on the car roof, peeking inside and looking at you.
"Do I trust man I just met in local bar to exit my car, my only way of escaping, and obey him to walk into my own funeral? Sure yeah, here I come.." you said with playful tone as you stepped out of your car, flinging his black jacket over your shoulders and sliding your arms into it. It smelled like him and you buried your nose into the collar of jacket, closing your eyes and getting lost in the man's perfume mixed with aftershave. You were about to close the doors of the car when John cut you off,
"Don't close the doors, we won't be able to hear the music".
He was now behind you, towering over your smaller frame and your heart skipped the beat as you turned around to face him.
He slowly reached for your hips and without any hesitation or struggle, swayed you off your bare feet and lifted you up. You instinctively warped your arms around his neck smiling at him.
"You need to stop watching that many horror movies, they will rot your pretty brain"
He smiled at you with his eyes, looking down at your parted lips. Your face being right infront of his, possibly few inches away since he could feel your breath on his skin, and you could feel his. Blush creeped around your cheeks and he put you down on the hood of the car that was still warm from the engine. Your hands left his neck, but he still remained between your legs, not letting your hips just yet. You could've swore that his eyes were shining that night, you knew it was not possible, that your brain was seeing tings the way it wanted to, but you still chose to believe that impossible was possible in that moment.
His shadow that was casted due to headlights now moved, and with deep inhale his grip left your hips and you bit your lip. You felt disappointed and empty, you wanted him to lean in closer, you wanted to taste him and to seal the deal, but he moved away, hopping on the hood with ease, next to you, and leaning down on the windshield, one hand behind his head and other stretched out across the hood. He wiggled his eyebrows at you and slowly nodded towards his hand.
You pouted but soon enough curled against him, resting your head on his arm and softly gliding your hand over his chest, feeling his heart beat under your palm.
In response he softly put his fingers in your hair, massaging your head in circular moves.
"Look up lass, the sky is beautiful tonight. No clouds, just stars blinking and shining somewhere out there, far, far away. Haven't seen this in a while."
You listened to his words and followed his gaze up towards the sky. He was right, it was indeed beautiful. Dark blue mixed with dozen blinking lights looking back at you and him. Moon was nowhere to be found however. And then it struck you, the whole moment was inscribed into your memory- his soft breathing, the glitter in his eyes, the soft music that was playing from inside the car, the murmur of water somewhere in the distance, the ruffle of the leaves and grass that were moved by soft breeze and your eyes watered a bit, you really wanted to live in this moment forever, to lie on his arm forever and to gaze at the same stars forever.
John noticed the hard breathing next to him and faced you with soft smile "Dont cry lass, I more like you smiling, it suits you better. Can't say the same for those shoes.. Those didn't work for you that well eh?" you chucked through the tears and felt his thumb on your cheek as he wiped one stray tear.
"I just want to be here forever.. Like this. With you next to me. If I had one chance to freeze the time it would be right now, right here with you so I could look at your eyes filled with thousand stars forever, counting them slowly one by one, never getting bored of you." the girl said softly pulling herself closer to him. John smiled and kissed her hair softly.
"Funny how you are telling me the words I should be telling you bonnie. Maybe this is just a dream eh? Maybe we will wake up from it feeling empty..I know that I will miss you when I am gone.. Now, tell me who broke your heart?"
John said with whisper, still gazing up at the stars, slowly closing his eyes.
"Life did. But its nothing you can't fix.." you said quietly, blushing and looking up at him. He opened the eyes and looked back at you, his eyes trailing every line of your face, trying to remember all the features of it as he leaned in and slowly kissed your forehead.
"Dance with me?" He asked and you smiled up at him.
"I dont have any shoes on." you replied as with one swift move he pulled you off the car .
"That is nothing I can't fix." he smirked a bit and lifted you up from the car, telling you to stand on his shoes.
"John no, I am heavy." you chuckled as his hands held you close to him, his hands under his jacket, one placed on small of your back and one firmly held your hip, your feet now on his shoes, and he started moving slowly in tune of "Gloria" by Midnight that was on radio station at the moment.
"Bollocks, you are light as a feather, I can't even feel you. Do you even eat something or you just drink every day?" He joked and you laughed, throwing your hands over his head, locking them behind his neck.
"Captain Mactavish, stop teasing me and kiss me. I demand that action." you ran your hand over back of his head, feeling the tingles on your palm from his fresh shaven hair cut.
He looked down at you, lingering his eyes on your lips that were smirking a bit, slowly closing distance between the two, teasingly.
He pressed his cold lips on yours and you closed your eyes, wanting to remember every single moment and every move he made.
He slowly moved his hand up and down your back, inviting you to deepen the kiss which you accepted. He kissed you slowly, with passion with every move. He was spilling all of his emotions right then and there, he held you like was afraid that you will disappear from his arms, like he wouldn't be able to touch you or feel you. Your heart feel heavy, and you swore he could hear it since it was crashing against your ribcage. 
John slowly parted with your lips, looking into your eyes, his forehead resting on yours,
"After I am done with next mission, I will steal you and take you away so we can count all of the starts together, alright?" He asked and you nodded in approval slowly.
"Promise you wont forget?" You blinked up at him and he softly leaned in and kissed your lips again, kiss that was assuring and warm.
"I will be back in two days, wait for me here and be ready for a trip.", he softly brushed his nose on yours and you smiled wide at him, the universe was on your side, fate was on your side. It gifted him to you, to keep him and to cherish him, that whole night was like a fever dream, it almost didn't feel real- but it was. He was there and you were with him, swaying to the music slowly, kissing and feeling each other praying that sun wont come up just yet..
In two days you were at the same spot, your truck filled with all your stuff you needed.
You paced around the car excited, wanting to have his arms around you again, wanting to kiss him again... But he never showed up.
You never saw him again. You visited the bar often, you went to the house where you left his friend that night but the house was not there, it was demolished not long ago.
John disappeared without the trace, just the way he came into your life, unnoticed.
You never heard from him again. It was like that whole night was just a distant dream you had, and you would believe it if it wasn't for his jacket that was in your closet, his smell still lingering on it.
Years have passed, you never quite moved on, settling for a man who was nothing like John, but he cared for you, he really did.
Treating you right, bringing you flowers for every 14th of February, never forgetting anniversary or your birthday.
He didn't have stars in his eyes, he never took you to that place, never made you fall in love with him in bare hours, but he was enough. You had a nice house in nice neighbourhood and you lived a nice life with him.
You were at kitchen, preparing a lunch for your husband and you, when you heard a bell ring of your doors. You swiftly cleaned your hands and rushed to open the door.
"Yes?" You said as handle turned and the door opened.
Man who you never met before stood before you. He had small blue eyes, his beard was a bit weird but it suited him nice. He had a brown hair, and looked like life never treated him with ease.
"Can I help you sir?" You questioned the stranger and he nodded affirmative
"You are a hard one to find (y/n). Took me long enough.. Name's John Price, I have something for you.", he said and pulled white small envelope from his pocket handing it to you
"What is this sir? How do you know my name?" He smiled sadly at you and turned around being ready to leave when he stopped in his tracks, not facing you still.
"I am sorry. Wish I did more." .
He said and you were more confused than ever, you watched as man left your property and you closed the door, looking at the envelope that was in your hand. It was a bit heavy, but only on one side of it.
You rushed to the living room, where you sat down and opened it.
Dog tags fell out from them, they were cleaned recently, but the rust on them was noticeable still.
"John Mactavish"
ARMY
Some numbers and rest were scribbled from them.
Your heart dropped and your lips parted, eyes already filled with tears that slowly left your eye, falling down your cheek.
In the envelope was also a paper, it had blood stains on it. You tried wiping your eyes and reading it.
"I want to invite you for a walk,
To a quiet place; In the moor.
When the breeze sings midnight,
One if those nights- the moon is full.
A restless pounding invades in my heart,
When I think of my confidants-
The stars.
If they could only speak ,
What would they say?
If you could hear them talk.
For they know of my fondness for you,
And that in my thoughts
There is no other one.
If only the stars could speak
They will tell you that I love you,
They would ask you,
To love me back."
You hugged the peace of paper like it was John himself and let your tears fall freely whispering to yourself and to the paper like he could hear you, like he was the one in your arms instead of this bloody peace of paper.
“I do love you John.. I never stopped.”.
A soothing closure fell over you. Now he was the star somewhere up in the sky, looking over at you every night you faced the sky, waiting for you to join him one day.
201 notes · View notes
takuyakistall · 3 years
Text
tuna | anniversary special
Synopsis: A normal day in Yuu's new life in NRC but, somehow, today made them feel a little bit nostalgic.
Notes: I wanted to write something for Twisted Wonderland's anniversary! This game really means so much to me and I don't think I would've picked up writing again if I didn't stumble upon it. Something about Grim and Yuu's relationship makes me emotional and the fact that Grim got a new card in the game didn't help me cope at all. I ended up writing this fic as a result, this is just purely fluff! (I think) I hope you guys like this.
Tumblr media
The smell of charred coal and an oily can of tuna greeted Yuu's nostrils as they stirred awake, grumbling incoherent words as their eyes adjusted to the sudden sunlight entering their room through the window. It was almost peaceful.
Almost.
Had it not been for Grim feasting on his tuna noisily and messily. Yuu sighed as they stood up from their bed and began to arrange it—folding the sheets, dusting the pillows and set them aside neatly. The creaking of the floorboards with each step they took used to unnerve them, afraid that it might give in one day but Yuu learned to get used to it. Though sometimes they can't help but worry for the day when it actually gives in. Maybe they could ask Headmaster Crowley before that happens?
Yuu shook their head and dismissed the thought. The last thing they wanted to hear was Crowley spouting nonsense all over again and then disappearing without a trace. Judging from all the times Crowley has let them down, who's to say that he won't do it again? They pulled out the wooden chair placed by the table and scrunched their face when they saw how Grim was eating.
"You're making a mess everywhere!" Yuu scolded, trying to snatch the tuna can from his hands (paws?) before he could knock the other stuff down on the table. Grim didn't bother refuting as he sat back lazily on the chair, a satisfied grin on his face.
"Mhm... That was delicious~!" Grim let out a merry sigh. The breakfast he'd been used to everyday wasn't something he would look forward to or enjoy. Living in an abandoned dorm meant that no one else was there to cook for them but theirselves and there was no way Yuu was letting the ghosts handle the cooking. As a result, most of their meals were either bland or too little in terms of portions—Crowley wasn't one to ensure these types of things so that's one more thing Yuu adds to the list of 'Why I don't like the Headmaster'.
So when Grim found a can of tuna lying around somewhere, he didn't waste a second to grab the golden opportunity in front of him. Though there was one tiny little problem with what Grim did.
Yuu got that for their breakfast today.
Together.
And much to their misfortune and Grim's doom, the can was empty. Yuu had to pause for a moment to process the sudden discovery—Grim ate all of the tuna. They had to clench their fist tightly so as to not grab the ribbon tied around Grim's neck and shake him like a pepper shaker. Grim was blissfully unaware of the way Yuu was giving him glares that could kill and continued to relish himself in his euphoria. Though that was short-lived when Yuu decided to open their mouth, gentle anger lacing their voice.
"Grim. Did you eat all of the tuna?" They crossed their arms across their chest, a perfect close eyed smile on their face as they tilted their head slightly when they questioned Grim. He froze for a moment, eyes widening and his lips slightly twitching as Yuu furrowed their eyebrows. Clearly, they saw how the sudden realization hit the raccoon-cat (or whatever he was) and how nervous he became. He needs to think of an excuse—fast.
"A-Ah! About this…" Grim started, throwing his paws around in the air, making out incomprehensible gestures. Though before they could hear his explanation, an important thought crossed over Yuu's mind and they felt their blood run cold.
"Hey… Grim. What time is it?" They didn't wait for a reply, feet already scrambling towards their closet as they vigorously looked for a clean uniform. Grim held a confused expression.
"Eh, time? Isn't it…"
"Grim you idiot! We're bloody late!"
"F'nya!! Why didn't ya tell me sooner!?"
"Oh so now it's my fault? You're the one who didn't wake me up!"
"Professor Trein is going to be so mad…"
"Just shut up and start walking!"
Both of them dashed out from Ramshackle, the doorknob at the entrance getting slightly jammed so Yuu had no choice but to break the rickety door down. Not that it was difficult though, burglars could've easily killed them during their sleep—that is, if people even manage to climb a whole mountain to bother stealing from them. They'll just have to explain the door incident to Headmaster Crowley as well later. That is, if they manage to talk to him at all.
But, for now, the only thing stuck in their heads was to run as fast as they can or else it was off with their heads!
Tumblr media
“You’re late.” Their teacher, Professor Mozus Trein, spoke in a cold tone. Gingerly stroking his cat’s head as it purred but that didn't give Yuu and Grim any ease at all when they stood there, unmoving, at the classroom entrance. Yuu tried to keep a neutral expression, hands at their side and feet together. Grim, on the other hand, wasn’t doing so well with doing the same as Yuu. He had trouble standing straight on two legs so he decided to climb up Yuu’s back to their shoulder and stayed there.
The sudden shift in weight on one of their shoulders made them grimace slightly.
“Good morning, Professor. Please excuse my tardiness, it won’t happen again.” Yuu bowed slightly, hoping that this would all be over quickly and he would let them go to their respective chairs. They straightened their back, looking at Trein directly before he gave them a slight nod and returning his attention to the chalkboard in front.
Yuu and Grim let out a sigh of relief simultaneously as they quickly went to their respective seats with Grim hopping off Yuu’s shoulder. He grabbed a bunch of books from Yuu’s bag to stack them up. Sitting on it since he wasn’t tall enough to see on his own without the desk obstructing his view.
Yuu caught the sight of Ace trying hard to keep in his laughter in the corner of their eye. They wondered for a moment about what Ace could possibly be laughing about until they heard Grim snarl ever so slightly. As if a lightbulb suddenly popped up over Yuu’s head, it suddenly clicked all too well.
He was laughing at them.
Although Yuu didn’t particularly mind being laughed at by that clown, Ace Trappola, Grim didn’t share the same sentiment. They had to hold back Grim’s tail to stop him from throwing a fit during class—it was a good thing Professor Trein had his back turned or else they’d be in bigger trouble.
A few minutes into class and Yuu could already feel their head explode. Coming from a completely different world than Twisted Wonderland, there was no doubt that they were going to have difficulty understanding things from here. While History of Magic was indeed an interesting subject, Yuu couldn’t help but feel the need to pull their hair out when they saw what Professor Trein was writing on the board.
‘Those symbols… am I supposed to know them? This looks more like a summoning circle more than anything, how am I supposed to understand this?’
They slapped their forehead repeatedly and forced theirselves to stare at the board once more—hoping that staring at it for a while would miraculously make them understand whatever that is. Grim, on the other hand, looked like he was boding well—looking so studious and listening attentively. But the moment he picked up a pen, that’s when the image was ruined. Yuu had to stifle their laughter when they saw him struggle to write on paper.
While it was a bit mean to laugh at him, Yuu couldn’t deny the fact that the drastic change was hilarious.
“Yuu, is there something you’d like to share with the class?” Professor Trein suddenly called out their name. Their back straightened and their gaze immediately snapped to the teacher in front. It seems like the Professor was paying more attention to Yuu.
Someone in the classroom let out a snort. Small, but audible for it to be heard by everyone in the dead silent classroom.
“Ace Trappola, do you have something to say as well?”
Ace stood up almost immediately.
“N-Nothing, Professor!”
Yuu was a tiny bit glad that Ace slipped up. At least they won’t be alone when Professor Trein decides to punish them. They shot a mischievous look at Ace, sticking their tongue out that screams: Serves you right!
Tumblr media
“Dismissed.” With one single word from Trein, the class burst into a series of relieved sighs and yawns—a few ones groaning here and there but they were eventually glared at by the Professor and his poofy cat. Ace sluggishly walked towards Yuu and Grim with Deuce, who looked as fresh as ever, following behind.
“Hey, did you get everything Professor Trein said? Today’s class was sooo boring.” Ace whined, crossing his arms over his chest as he asked his three friends.
“Nope.” Yuu answered truthfully as they put back their pen into their case.
“Not at all…” Deuce closed his eyes and clutched his forehead.
“Hmph! Of course I did, I even took down notes.” Grim was proud as he puffed out his chest. Ace’s eyes perked up for a moment, wondering if he would let him view his notes until a sudden realization struck him. He wouldn’t be able to decipher Grim’s terrible handwriting in the first place. His expression slowly turned into one of disappointment—something akin to the feeling of finding out your name wasn’t in the Top 50.
Deuce was the first to comment. “These are….. Notes?”
“Grr! What’s that supposed to mean!?”
“It looks like a bunch of scribbles made by a cat.” Yuu added. Grim was about to be fuming mad until his ears drooped down slightly, Yuu felt a pang hit their chest. Could they possibly be feeling bad?
“Well… I’ll give you an A for effort.” Yuu patted Grim’s head, hoping that they didn’t hurt his feelings too much after that comment. Instead of lifting his spirits up, Grim felt like his soul got crushed. He felt like Yuu pitied him more than actual commendation, but he won’t say anything. He’ll take the crumbs of praise he can get.
Ace straightened up and walked towards the exit, dragging his legs slightly as he called out his friends. “Oi! Let’s go have lunch already, I’m starving!”
“Coming!” Deuce replied before promptly poking Yuu’s shoulder to make sure that they heard Ace.
“Alright, alright. Give me a minute to fix all my stuff, you guys can go ahead.” Grim stared at Yuu, wondering who should he go with—Yuu or Ace and Deuce? He was going to accompany the Heartslabyul Duo until he remembered how Yuu didn’t get to eat breakfast because of him.
He felt a little bit bad for leaving them like this.
He opened his mouth to say that he’s going to stay with Yuu until they suddenly cut into his thoughts like a knife into butter.
“Grim, you can go ahead too. Save a seat for me while you’re at it.”
“Are ya sure?” Grim asked them for reassurance.
“...? Are you going to miss me or something?” Yuu teased.
“No way! Nevermind, I’m leaving!”
Yuu watched as the Ace, Deuce, and Grim exited the door before letting their smile drop into a frown. They wondered if today was an okay date to ask the Headmaster about progress on the whole ‘find Yuu a way back home’ thing. But, there was a possibility that their visit to his office will be all for naught. Crowley was someone unpredictable, after all—eccentric is another way to put it nicely.
They tapped their fingers against the desk rhythmically. Dozens of thoughts running inside their head. The chatter outside the classroom cutting their train of thoughts continuously which annoyed them to death but it was something they took comfort in. The nostalgic noises of a bustling school filled with students going on and about.
It reminded them of their homeworld.
Yuu decided to look for Crowley as they stood up from their chair. A nostalgic bitterness lingering in their mouth as they left.
Tumblr media
“Why did I think I would find him today?” Yuu asked no one in particular. Eyes glued to the wall clock as they counted the minutes they had left before break ended and classes started again. They silently dwelled on their regret of visiting Crowley’s office, it was nothing but a waste of time. Now they had less than 30 minutes to go into the cafeteria to get some food.
Each step they took was taxing. They put too much force with every one and perhaps that was a result of getting mad at a useless bird—their temper can’t help but explode a little bit. By the time Yuu arrived, they spotted the idiot trio sitting by the window. They had already finished eating long ago but they were still there. A thought popped into their head.
‘Could it be…? They were waiting for me!?’ Yuu knew it was nowhere near the truth but perhaps they can indulge theirself once in a while with these kinds of thoughts. Grim was the first to spot them.
“Where were you!? Break is almost over.” The grumble Yuu’s stomach let out made their cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Maybe it was because they skipped breakfast? Grim felt bad. This was his fault, wasn't it? Ace and Deuce urged Yuu to go buy something to eat but one look at the line formed by the counter, Yuu immediately declined. They’re going to be late for class if they waited!
Grim stared at the small portion of lunch he set aside for himself for later. Much to no one’s surprise, it was fish. He had a debate with himself—asking if he wanted to keep this or offer it to Yuu. In the end, he went for the latter. He nudged Yuu with his paw before holding up the plate with his two paws.
“Have this if you want… Ya didn’t get to eat breakfast because of me, right? I feel kinda bad but here.”
Ace’s eyes were wide in shock and Deuce dropped his yogurt. Yuu was flabbergasted at the sudden nice gesture Grim was showing but-
“Sorry, but I don’t want rabies.”
Grim had to resist the urge to set everything on fire. Yuu had to bite back a laugh when they saw how mad Grim was—denying everything about him having rabies. The troubles they had about Crowley were long gone and replaced by the bubbling happiness growing in their chest. The sight of their friends—Grim, Ace and Deuce—was enough to convince them to forget about it. Even if it’s just for a short while.
The nostalgic taste danced in the tip of their tongue once again. A sudden wave of sadness washing over them as they thought about the day when they’ll eventually go back to their own world.
I’ll miss this. Definitely.
They looked up to see Grim causing a mess with Ace holding him back and Deuce trying to summon another cauldron. Yuu shook their head.
But, for now, let’s focus on the present.
Is it so bad that Yuu wanted the incompetent headmaster to stay incompetent? Just for a little longer, don’t find a way back.
143 notes · View notes
sergeantsporks · 3 years
Text
Summer School
Rating: General Audiences, Gen
Part 3 of Camila is Hunter’s Mom Now
You know how there was always that one kid who was smarter than everyone else, and then they transfer to a new school, and suddenly they're not the smartest one there anymore? Yeah. Hunter finds out that nothing in the Boiling Isles prepared him for a human high-school education.
Ao3
“Hey. Thanks for meeting up with me, I know you’re busy.” Camila sat down in a chair, motioning for Hunter to sit down next to her.
An old man—the nameplate on his desk pronounced him “Principal Hal”—sighed. “Yes. Of course, Miss Noceda.”
“I’ve found… alternate schooling methods for Luz, but I’ve enrolled my two other children, Vee and Hunter in school.”
“I know.”
“Eheh. Right. The thing is… Hunter hasn’t ever… had any kind of formal schooling. So… he’s never taken higher maths, or sciences. He doesn’t know algebra, or chemistry, or…”
Principal Hal heaved another sigh. “So, what exactly does he know?”
Hunter crossed his arms. “I know thirteen different ways to kill you where you sit,” he snapped.
Camila shot him a look. “He can read, and write, and do basic math—it’s just high school, really. Oh, and history, he hasn’t ever taken a history course.”
“Well, we have summer school options—it’s a bit late, but we can look at squeezing him in. And Vee?”
“Vee went to summer camp, and she did very well there, she should be just fine.”
“Hm. Well, I’m very sorry that Luz won’t be joining us this year—”
“No, you’re not,” Camila muttered.
“—but I’m very glad she’s found a schooling system that… works better for her.” Principal Hal scribbled something down on a piece of paper, and handed it to Camila. “Take that to the front office, and they’ll get you the textbooks Hunter will need for his summer schooling.” Principal Hal looked like he’d bitten into a lemon. “I… look forward to having you as a student here, young man.”
Hunter inclined his head. “Thank you for your time, sir.”
He followed Camila out of the office. “I don’t think he likes me.”
“You threatened to kill him thirteen different ways. I don’t blame him. That was very nice at the end, though, thank you.”
Hunter felt a warm glow in his chest at the praise. “How come Luz isn’t coming?”
“Luz… never did well in school. And she’s determined to go back to Hexside, so I’ve enrolled her in some online courses so that she won’t fall behind on human studies, and if she can get through the Boiling Isles, I’ll… let her continue her education there. If she promises to check in frequently, and hide the portal very, very well.” Camila stopped in front of a wide desk, handing the secretary the piece of paper that Principal Hal had handed her.
The secretary disappeared and came back with a stack of books that she pushed to Hunter. “First class is Monday, you’ll be with the sophomores retaking algebra. Welcome to the family.”
Hunter picked up the books gingerly, trailing behind Camila. “Why does this book have a lizard on it if it’s a math book?”
Camila unlocked the car, climbing into the driver’s seat. “Great question. I don’t know.”
“What’s a sophomore?”
“Second year of high-school. You’ll be a junior, a third year.”
The lower class. With the students who’d failed algebra the first go round. Hunter’s ears burned, and he cracked open the algebra book, staring at the numbers. “I can read this outside of class?”
“Sure, if you want to.”
By the time they got home, Hunter was deep in. He kept reading as he walked inside, going straight to the kitchen table and setting the books down. He could figure this out—and then he could move up, at the very least to the regular second year level. He still had time before he officially started school—he could learn all of this.
Luz came bouncing down the stairs. “Amity responded! I have no clue how this thing works across dimensions, but I am so glad—hey, whatcha reading, Hunter?”
He didn’t look up. “Algebra.” He flipped the page, and neat, numbered rows of problems faced him. “Hey, they give you practice problems!”
“Blech, I thought you were my brother, Hunter. Math? When you don’t have to?”
“I’m behind. I need to catch up, or I’ll be stuck in lower grades.”
“Oh, right. Prodigy with extreme fear of failure. I forgot.”
Hunter tuned her out, digging out his old sketchpad and copying the first problem, flipping back in the book for the solving process. “Mhm.”
“Anyway, now that I can contact Amity, we’re going to work on opening a portal from their end.”
“Uh-huh.”
“She has the titan’s blood and ingredients on her end—hopefully it won’t be long before she can figure it out.”
Hunter frowned, checking over his work. “Mmm.”
“Watch out, there’s a deadly monster behind you.”
“K.”
Luz heaved a long-suffering sigh and left him to the book. Hunter re-read the lesson, then flipped back to the problems.
I can do this.
The day passed by in a blur, Hunter plugged through the book, slowly but surely. At least this made sense—everything had a logical, calculable end. It wasn’t like magic, where intent and emotion played factors.
“Hunter—Hunter, it’s time for dinner.”
Hunter barely heard Camila, glaring at the quadratic formula. He kept misplacing a negative, he was pretty sure.
A hand reached over and closed the book with a thump. “Hunter. Give your brain a break and eat something, mijo.”
Hunter struggled to pull the book open against Camila’s hand. “I’ve almost got this one figured out—I can get it—”
“Dinner. Math can come after.” Camila cleared the book away. “I’m glad you’re taking school seriously, but it’s important for you to do other things, too. Don’t worry—you’ll catch up, you’re a smart kid.”
“I need to—”
“What you need to do is take a break and eat. Come on, help me set the table.”
Hunter slowly got up and opened the drawer for napkins. His stomach growled at the smell coming from the stove. Alright, maybe it was time he took a break. Look at you, Golden Guard. All… domestic.
“Luz! Vee!” Camila called, “Dinner!”
Vee came bounding down the stairs, but Luz was nowhere to be seen.
“Luz!” Camila called again.
“She’s looking at potential wild portal spots,” Vee explained.
“Ayiyi. One won’t put down his math textbook and the other one won’t stop looking for a way into the demon realm.” Camila thumped up the stairs, and Vee poked at the algebra book.
“Algebra can be tricky. We did a lot of math-y stuff back at camp. Where are you?”
“Quadratic formula.”
“Already?”
Hunter shrugged. “I’m a quick learner.”
Luz bumped down the stairs, Camila shooing her onwards. “You and Hunter are going to get healthy eating and working habits if it kills me!”
After dinner, Vee started on the dishes, and Hunter opened up the math book again. I am going to figure this out.
After a while, Luz and Vee disappeared upstairs. Camila put a hand on his shoulder with a yawn. “Don’t stay up too late, ‘kay?”
“Mhm.”
Camila flipped off all of the lights except the kitchen one.
Red fluttered down to his shoulder as he yawned, chirping that he ought to go to bed.
“I’m so close. Just one more lesson.”
Xxx
Camila blinked blearily at her alarm as it beeped at her. She yawned, changing into her scrubs and heading down the stairs. The kitchen light was still on, Hunter slumped on the table, his algebra book open next to him. Camila gently slid the pencil out of his hand, scooping him up and moving him to the couch. He nestled into the cushions with a sigh, Red landing on his chest and closing its eyes with a sleepy cheep
“Oh, what am I going to do with you?” Camila sighed. She glanced at the textbook, then grabbed a few sticky notes, writing ‘remember to take a break’ on them and sticking them in the book every few lessons. She shook her head, grabbing her keys and flipping off the kitchen light. “Buenos noches, mijo.”
Xxx
“Hunter. Hey, Hunter. Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuunter.”
Hunter snapped awake, sitting up so fast he nearly head-butted Luz in the face. Red slid off of his chest, flapping its wings frantically to right itself.
“Wow, you’re twitchy.”
Hunter yawned. When had he moved to the couch? He didn’t even remember falling asleep! “Hngh—what time is it?”
“Nine-o-clock, sleepy-head! Hey, you know a lot about titan’s blood, right? You think you could look over some stuff and tell me which you think is most likely to be a wild portal?”
Hunter rubbed his eyes. “If you can see the demon realm in the water, it’s a wild portal. Oh, or if the water is boiling hot.”
“You mean like a geyser?”
“I wouldn’t recommend jumping into one of those, but yes. Like a geyser.”
“Hmmmm.” Luz picked up his sketchpad from the table. “You need any help with math? Can’t say I’ll actually be ABLE to help you, but—”
Hunter snatched the sketchpad away. “I don’t need help,” he snapped.
“Yeesh. Okay. Have fun with your numbers.”
Hunter shuffled to the table. A single sticky note was stuck to the cover of the book.
Don’t forget to eat breakfast, it read cheerfully.
Ah. Camila.
Hunter went to the pantry and shoved a protein bar in his mouth. There. Breakfast. He opened the math textbook again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Alright. Three quarters of a math book, one day to go before summer school. He could do this. One more all-nighter.
“Whoa.” Vee peered over his shoulder at his sketchpad. “Hey, why don’t you… come on out with me. I’ll introduce you to my friends from cabin seven. You need to touch grass.”
Hunter scribbled through a line of numbers. Wrong. “Nope. I’m busy.”
“You know that you’re supposed to learn this stuff at summer school, right? Not two days beforehand.”
“I’m learning it now, so I’ll be prepared for what they want me to do there.”
“Uh… that’s not how it’s supposed to—”
“I can’t be in the class with the failures!” Hunter blurted.
Vee blinked. “Oh.”
Hunter flipped the cover of the book back and forth, his other hand tapping on the table. “I’ve got to learn this now, so that they’ll move me up to the next subject—I’m two years behind, Vee, and don’t even get me started on history!”
“That’s not your fault.”
“I can’t fail here—being here in the human realm is my second chance, and I can’t blow it! Camila thinks I’m smart, and I can’t prove her wrong!”
Vee sat down at the table next to him. “Whoa. Okay. Calm down, Hunter. You are smart, and that has nothing to do with how good at math you are.” She gestured to his sketchpad. “Look at how far you came in a day by yourself!”
Hunter slammed his hand down on the table. “It’s not enough, I’m still way behind!”
“Hunter. Hey, Hunter. Listen. You… don’t have to be the best at everything, okay?”
“Yes, I do, that’s how this works.”
“No. It’s really not. You don’t have to be the best. As long as you’re doing as well as you can… that’s what matters to Camila, okay? Even if you don’t succeed. Camila thinks you’re smart because you are. You don’t have to prove it to her. And you don’t have to pull all-nighters and learn the entirety of algebra in two days to be smart. C’mon, you need to quit focusing on school for a few hours.”
Hunter ran a hand through his hair. “Just a few more lessons—
“No.” Vee snatched the textbook away. “I’m going to keep this until you take a break. And maybe a nap, you look like you didn’t get any sleep.”
“What? No, I didn’t mean to, but I did fall asleep.”
“Hunter.”
“Fine, fine, you win. I’ll just steal it back later.”
She yanked his hood over his head. “Good luck. Just a couple of hours not doing algebra, Hunter.”
“Fine. I guess I can do that.”
“Good. Come on, let’s go meet up with my friends, they’ll predict your future with hexes hold ‘em cards.”
“I understood all of those words separately. Are your friends…okay?”
Vee grinned. “Trust me. They’re gonna love you.”
31 notes · View notes
leahseclipse · 3 years
Text
Early stages
(Gif by @zhuzhubii​ )
*
Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader
Summary: When Spencer starts dating someone, his work gets in the way, causing more problems than he thought it would.
Category: Fluff/ ~Angst
Warnings: Mentions of case, usual cm stuff, but mostly fluff
Requested by @definitelynotkatesblog​ (ily Katie!!)
A/N: Okay guys be ready, 'cause you're in a full ride for a fluff fic with baby Reid ;) I just fking love writing baby Reid, he's *screams internally* (you got the idea) anyway, enjoy!!!
Word count: 5.1k
Tumblr media
After shortly visiting his mother after he wasn't able to visit her for a week because of work, he had made his way back to the office, checking his watch that indicated him that it was 5:44PM as he left the building; the weather was quite comfortable when he had gotten outside.
His phone had run out of battery, resulting in hurrying back to the office in case he had been called for a case, as he was way too embarrassed to ask for someone's phone to call JJ. 
Spencer never was comfortable to talk with people, it had been a bit difficult to feel at ease with his colleagues at first, but eventually he got the hang of it, but in general, when he doesn't know people, it's a different thing. 
The first impression that they usually have when he begins rambling about things that come out of his head is that he's either weird, before he explains the "I can read 20 000 words per minute, I have an eidetic memory and an IQ of 187…" thing. 
They also freeze for a minute, trying to understand what he just said, for the simple reason that when he rambles about binary code for example, not everyone tends to understand the way he explains it when he uses the proper terms. 
As he was in a hurry, he didn't manage to get the time he needed for putting his stuff back in his satchel, so a few of the books he had originally taken from his apartment and the ones his mother had given him to read were in his arms. He just had to hope the books wouldn't end up on the floor because he'd stumble into someone on the way.
And a few seconds later, what he hadn't hoped for unfortunately happened.
He hadn't seen the girl who was running in front of him while he was in his thoughts. She seemed to be in a hurry from the way she was running.
He had managed to save a few books from falling to the ground, only two or three had fallen.
"Oh- I-I'm sorry! Let me help!" She had said, panicking.
"It's okay, don't...worry." He reached out his hands towards the girl's hand that was holding the two books, as he looked at her.
She was beautiful.
The kind of beautiful girl that takes your breath away.
It had taken him a few seconds to come back to reality after he had froze when he had seen her face.
"A-are you okay? I hope you...didn't get hurt."
"Don't worry! Everything's okay! I...uh, gotta go, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, have a great day!" She hurried out before running past him down the street.
He hadn't even gotten the time to ask for her name, she was already gone when he had glanced behind him. 
He had let out a sigh, before walking in the opposite way, in hopes to see her again, even if it wouldn't be soon, or never, if she wasn't from around.
*
For once, the beginning of the day had happened to be quite calm, everyone had managed to get more sleep and head to the office at eight o'clock instead of two in the morning.
Spencer had felt relieved about that, just a few days ago, the usual coffee shop he goes to and that happens to be closer to his apartment had reopened after the works that needed to be done were completed.
He didn't feel like drinking the coffee they had at the office, it wasn't horrible, but not as good at the one he usually drinks from the shop.
Before he had stepped inside, he had called Morgan to ask him and eventually the team if they wanted him to grab coffee.
It wasn't a serious thing that could go to the point of a real fight if he wouldn't ask them, but he'd get "lectured" by Morgan for a few minutes before he'd give up.
It only was a simple joke between the members, but Spencer didn't really go well with the joke stuff. 
After he had scribbled down the orders on a paper before hanging up, he stepped inside the shop, waiting in line behind someone.
"I can't join you guys tonight, sorry. I'm not sure that my boss would let me leave early….maybe on Thursday. Okay, yeah. It's gonna be my turn, I gotta go. Yeah, bye Sarah." 
He didn't mean to pay attention when she was talking on the phone, it happened before he even got the time to not do it, but the voice suddenly felt familiar.
'Where have I heard it?'
He searched for a bit in his mind, as the incident from a week ago popped up.
"Oh- I-I'm sorry! Let me help!"
"Don't worry! Everything's okay! I...uh, gotta go, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, have a great day!"
The girl from the other day.
'Was it really her?'
He had asked himself that, because completely different people can have the same voice, and as for her hair, different people can happen to look the same when you can only see their backs.
Spencer had immediately thought that it must have been fate that allowed him to see her again, but he couldn't rush too fast, he wasn't really sure that it was her.
It wasn't until she had stepped further towards the counter when it happened to be her turn to order; causing Spencer to step out of his bubble and step forward as well.
Deep inside him, he knew that it was her, he was sure, but his lack of social interaction made him create an excuse so that he wouldn't have to talk to her.
He didn't want her to think that he's weird because he'd ask for her name, and possibly her number if the conversation goes well, but he couldn't rush.
He still had to manage to place a word in order to initiate the conversation first.
If only.
When her order was done and handed to her after the payment had been given, she was on her way to the exit, suddenly stopping to take her bag from the side to the front before opening it, probably to look for something.
He didn't exactly know what went on in his mind at that moment; his brain must have sent a signal or something for him to move instead of watching her go.
He still doesn't know how he managed to place a word.
"Um...excuse me? I don't know if you remember me but we kinda...uh, talked, well uh...I, we ran into each other first, but don't worry, it was totally ok, you didn't...do anything bad, I- sorry, I'm rambling."
"No, it's okay! I remember you. I'm glad to know that, I was afraid I did something bad, you reassured me now. Thanks for asking me how I was...I'm sorry, what's your name?"
"It's Spencer R-Reid. I also uh...generally introduce myself by doctor, I'm not actually an MD, but I have three PhDs, but uh...since I'm not actually here for professional terms, I thought that doctor would have been too um...strict..? I…"
'You're rambling again Spencer, she looks even more confused now.' 
"Is Spencer fine then?"
"Y-yeah, it is. What should I...call you?"
"Oh, y/n is just fine." 
"Um...okay. Y/N," He paused, as he desperately tried to convince himself to ask her the question that had been in his mind since he had seen her. 
"I know all of this is sudden, because we barely know each other and I may seem kind of weird because of what I'm asking but, what about we uh...see each other later, hang out, you know?"
"Yeah, why not? I'm free tomorrow, what about 2PM, same place? You'll show me some of your books, I guess. I really liked the blue one you had, I can't remember the name."
"Oh, t-that one?." He said, rapidly taking it from his bag to show it to her as she nodded.
"That one, yeah, it really sounds interesting, will you tell me more about it tomorrow?"
"I will."
"Great! I can't wait, see you tomorrow."
"See you." He said, as he watched her making her way to the exit before disappearing in the corner of the street.
Well, turns out it wasn't as bad as he had imagined it would be in his head. At least that's one thing done. 
He couldn't wait for that day, and the next one to go by so that he could finally talk to her. He wanted to show her the book, answer her questions, give her information, he wanted to hear her voice, see her expressions. It had only taken just a glance to fall in love with her.
She might not feel the same way now, but even seeing her would be enough.
The excitement and waiting had been worth it when he had seen her again. He was already there for an hour, he didn't want to be late and made her wait at all. It never was his type to be late, especially if he's about to spend time with a person he likes.
She was wearing a beige cardigan along with a white top under it, and black jeans, tucked under her black shoes. He had noticed every single detail. 
Someone else would have probably found it weird and compared that behavior to a psychopath's; but he couldn't just give a single glance at her and stop looking, but eventually, he'd had to stop staring if he didn't want to scare her.
When he had begun talking with her, he understood what people meant when they felt like they knew someone for an eternity. 
Spencer had felt at ease when they talked, she'd listen to him, even if he noticed that she had understood half of what he had said, but still tried to somehow figure it out before he had explained, and kinda understood and didn't at the same time.
He had noticed that she'd put her thumb on her lips every time she was thoughtful.
He clearly had the behavior of a psychopath by picking up everything she'd do; but he couldn't help himself but look at her features, her manners, the way her hair bounced back and forth, the way her eyes lightened up when a subject she appreciated came up in the conversation.
In that moment, she was the only thing his mind was focused on. He hadn't even noticed that he had barely drunk the half of his cup that was now cold when he had put his hands on it. 
He was too mesmerized by her to notice it.
Who would have thought that the small genius of the office, the one that not a single member of the team would imagine he'd talk to a girl, would actually talking to one, plus, managed to be the one to initiate the conversation? That clearly seemed impossible until that day.
But even if it seemed unreal, she was here, in front of him. 
It wasn't a dream.
What made him think it was a dream was because y/n was way out of her league, if someone would see them together they'd probably ask themselves how he did to talk with a girl that beautiful, from his point of view.
If she hadn't talked when he had started blanking, none of them would have been able to talk. She seemed more confident, but he still had noticed her hesitance when she started her sentences, or didn't know if she could ask for an easier meaning of his rambling.
Even if the most nervous of the two was probably him, he had told her not to hesitate if she needed to ask a question about whatever he was saying.
The team had often made him know that he often was talking without explaining, which caused him to have to explain everything from the beginning with easier terms, instead of the proper ones that no one could even understand if they didn't actually know the meaning beforehand.
They haven't talked about work at all, they just forgot about it. To Spencer, they were like two teenagers hanging out in a coffee shop after school. 
They had talked about books, their music taste, even if the conversation had mainly been made by her as Spencer was more fond of books than music, so, the conversations about books had been started by him in general.
She knew some books, but she wasn't reading often, and had admitted that she didn't know many authors, which Spencer gladly helped by proposing a hundred of authors.
He had unconsciously ended up overwhelming her a bit after proposing ten authors in a row; she had to gently stop him to ask him to come back to some of the authors he had listed.
But, nonetheless, the free hour and the few minutes had gone smoothly, and way too fast. 
"Shit, it's already 3:20. Um...do you want to stay in touch?"
"You mean that you want my...number?"
"Yeah. Gimme your phone genius." She said, as Spencer had nervously taken in from his pocket to give it to her, as she entered her number, handing it back when she was done. "I've already sent a message so I know who it is. I really liked talking to you, that was nice."
"I-I liked it too. It's not everyday that I get to chat about books with someone else. I don't...really have a lot of people to talk it with."
"Well now you have someone. I would have told you to call me whenever you want, but I doubt my boss would like to see me on a call that's not related to work, so it would be in the evening, in case you want to talk."
"Same here. I'm pretty busy all day, but um...would you uh, like to hang out again sometime? I...it just crossed my mind, and I'd really like to hang out with you again. If you want, of course."
"Don't worry, it's okay. You know that I wouldn't dare to say no, I like to hang out with you too."
"So uh, if we can this week again, what do you say about two or six in the afternoon, tomorrow? I'll let you know if I can."
"You mean...like a date?"
"Yeah, I guess so?"
"Oh, a date it is then. I'll let you know too." She spontaneously answered, as she took her stuff and got up from her seat. "It sucks that we have to go, I wish we could have had more time, but unfortunately, we both work."
"Sucks, yeah. The hour went by fast." 
"It did. Way too fast." She let out a sigh, glancing at the door. "Well uh...see you later, I have to go n-now." She stuttered, as she waved at him before stepping out the shop.
"See you later y/n." 
And that was it, he definitely was head over heels with her. 
*
He suddenly found himself waking up in a start in the middle of a night when his phone began ringing.
It took him a few seconds to realize what was just happening, as he took the phone and answered before missing the call.
"What…? It's 4AM."
"Reid, it's Morgan, and yeah it's 4. We got a case so you gotta come."
"Seriously…? Okay, I'll be there in 15." 
"Got it. Don't be late." Morgan said, hanging up.
What an awesome way to start the day.
Just yesterday, he thought that his day would be calm, just for once. 
Well, he was wrong.
He grunted as he got up from the bed, before turning his lamp on in order to manage to see something instead of trying to find the light switch with the little light that was here.
It never took him a lot of time to get ready in the morning in general, he wasn't the type of person to linger when he'd get ready, he'd just go to the bathroom first to take a quick shower, taking his clothes in with him so he wouldn't have to search for them in his closet, he'll just have to dry up and put them on to save time.
Once he was done with the tasks he had in mind; he quickly checked that he had everything he'd needed, and proceeded to exit his apartment to make his way to work.
On his way, he had received a few messages to which he had answered, but accidentally went on y/n's contact.
'Shit.'
They were supposed to have a date today; and whether the case is nearby or in another state, he won't come back for at least more than a day, and probably won't have much time for the kind of chat they had the other day.
Well, that's another great way to start the day, because now he has to cancel a date he had been waiting for, and doesn't even know when they could set another day, or if it would even be possible at all.
The very least he could do, and the only one, would be to contact her to let her know.
Hopefully they'll be able to reschedule.
*
Turns out another killer decided to make the case longer, so turns out they had to reschedule once again.
He had messaged her earlier in the day before going in the jet, and the case happened to be longer than expected because they'd just discovered that another unsub could be involved. 
And as if it wasn't already bad, he was using the same m.o, but wasn't targeting the same type of victims, it totally was different. If he could say it that way, they just had 'another case'.
The week was going amazingly great, he wasn't even sure if the second rescheduling would even happen, no one could know of a case in advance, the only way for them to know was per a call. 
He would have to give her the same excuse every time.
She had kept sending messages as; 'it's okay.', 'don't worry', 'it's no big deal', but he couldn't figure out whether it truly didn't bother her, or if she pretended like it didn't bother her.
He didn't tell her what exactly his job was, so it really pained him to have to give the same excuse. She would probably start to wonder if he's not lying at some point later.
 Spencer really didn't want her to think he was making up excuses because he wants to avoid y/n, it's the opposite; he'd like to see her so bad, if he could just go and take the first plane to Quantico, he'd do it.
God, he hated that. It truly wasn't something he liked to do, especially to her in this situation. She really was nice, caring, attentive, an awesome person; he didn't like to put her in that situation at all.
He would have liked to have a second choice, but he didn't have any. He could only send her a message to let her know. He couldn't see her, but he couldn't bear imagining how disappointed she must have been.
His thoughts about what she must have been thinking were probably exaggerated after he thought of it. He could be worrying for nothing, and she could just be okay with it, as she told in her messages. He really hoped she didn't think he was avoiding her.
Let's hope they'll be able to reschedule.
*
"Again? God, is it ever gonna stop? I'm tired of it." Spencer slighted, he had to reschedule...again. 
"Trust me kid, everyone is. It's been a hell of a week we just had." Morgan answered Spencer, as he leaned back in his seat. "What got you so frustrated? You're not like that usually."
"What do you mean?"
"Come on kid, I can see that you have something on your mind. I would say that it was your mom, but even when you don't see her for a week, a call is enough for you to be calm. So...it is a girl?"
"What? No, it's not! I'm j-just frustrated, that's all! There's uh, nothing else."
"Then if there's 'nothing', why are you getting so nervous suddenly? You can tell me if you have a girl, we're like brothers Spencer."
"You know that you can really get annoying sometimes?"
"No. Probably because I'm not. Who do you think I am? I'm Derek Morgan, a funny and charming man." 
"Funny and charming, yeah. Clearly, the lack of sleep is seriously affecting your brain."
"I can assure you it isn't. Let me remind you that this whole conversation started because you didn't want to admit you had a girl."
"I don't have a girl, we just talk, we're not together."
"So you admit that you…sort of have one?"
"Fine, I kinda have one. But nothing serious is going on."
"I wouldn't have imagined that you'd manage to get a girl to talk to you one day."
"Why? Does everyone think I can't have a girlfriend here?"
"Mostly." Emily interrupted. "You can barely talk to girls in general. Well, it depends."
"What depends?"
"Lila Archer." Morgan answered.
"If you're talking about the kiss, she's the one who started!"
"And you kept going." Emily said.
"Okay- Where is the conversation going guys? I don't see any correspondence between the subject we were talking about and Lila." 
"If you say so, pretty boy."
"There's no 'if you say so.'. You're really annoying Derek. I'm gonna see if they need help in the other room. Bye." Spencer got up from his seat, waving at the two agents, before walking away.
*
Rescheduling.
Again.
He was sure that she was about to lose her patience at this point. 
And considering the amount of paperwork that would be waiting for him after the closure of the case, he began asking himself if they'd ever had a single minute one day.
He got out of the building, deciding to call her this time.
"Hello?"
"Uh, hi y/n, it's Spencer."
"Oh, do we have to reschedule again?"
"Yeah. Again."
"Spencer, is something wrong? It's been three times already."
"I know. It's just that….there's something I haven't told you." 
"And...what is it?"
"I...wasn't going to tell you at first, but...I work for the FBI."
"That's why? You could have told me, I wouldn't have been mad; but, if you didn't want us to see each other again, you could have let me know at least."
"Wait, no- I do want us to see each other again! I was just...really busy at the office, and I...didn't know how to tell you...that I work for the FBI. I didn't want to avoid you, not at all."
"It really is okay. I'm glad that you told me now. Thanks."
"I didn't want to lie to you anymore. I was already sad whenever I had to send you a message."
"I was a bit sad too, I really want to see you. Well, now that I know the reason why, call me again when you want to reschedule, it can be a real meeting, or just a call."
"I'm really gonna do my best, I swear y/n. I'll let you know as soon as possible." 
"I'll wait for your call then."
"Okay, uh...have a great day."
"You too." She said, as Spencer hung up, visibly looking irritated because of the situation.
*
The week had been surprisingly calm. 
Surprisingly, because by now, JJ would have come by to announce a new case, but she didn't. When everyone had seen her, she was walking calmly, not in a rush.
This was weird.
The past few days, when he'd finally think he could call y/n, JJ would burst in the office. But this time, she didn't. 
Today could really be a calm one. It could be. 
If he happened to have luck today, he could finally hang out with y/n. No more rescheduling. 
As everyone was either busy with paperwork, daydreaming, or doing something else, the office wasn't as noisy at it usually was. Only the sound of the doors, phones ringing and a few calm voices would eventually be heard by everyone.
The team's tasks had suddenly been interrupted by the voice of Rossi who stepped in the bureau.
"Guys, I was wondering, since we apparently don't have anything to do, what about a dinner party tonight, my place? Just thought about it." He asked, as a few sentences of agreement were soon heard. "And Reid, you're coming this time, don't you dare decline."
"I uh…plan to see someone. So, I don't really know."
"Then bring them to the party. I'm sure we'll like whoever you'll bring. It's all solved." Rossi clapped his hands together, turning to the other side when Emily had brought his attention.
'I guess it's happening then.'
He quietly got out of the bureau, walking in the direction of an empty conference room, closing the door behind him, before taking his phone from his pocket to dial a number he knew so well that he could type it with his eyes closed.
"Oh, hi Spencer, what's going on?"
"Are you free tonight? At um...8PM?"
"Yeah, I actually am. You know that I never have anything to do. Where do you want to go?"
"Actually, it's a surprise. I'll come to pick you up, uh…would it be too intrusive to ask for your adress?"
"No, not at all. This is wow...exciting. We'll finally get to see each other."
"Yeah, I know. It's been a while since we were supposed to see each other, but I swear, it's for real this time, I won't call you to cancel, only to let you know I'm coming."
"Well, don't forget to call then. I tend to overstress, so if I don't get a call, or even a text, I might explode."
"I'll call, don't worry. And, don't forget to send your address. I don't want to ask the tech analyst to spy on you."
"Alright, alright, I'll send it after the call, I promise. I have to go now, sorry. I'll see you at 8."
"I'll see you at 8. Bye." 
Holy. 
Spencer thought he might explode. His whole thoughts were full of excitement, he finally was about to see her after a week or rescheduling bullshit because of the work. 
All he had to hope for now was for the evening to go well; she didn’t knew any of the members, they didn’t know her as well, plus, Spencer didn’t really know if Morgan had let everyone know that he had met a girl, let’s hope not.
*
As he was about to go, he had took his phone out of his pocket to see the address, before noticing that she had forgotten to send him the address, nonetheless, he had to shortly call her so that y/n could indicate it to him.
He had drove to her place in just a few minutes, and couldn’t believe that she happened to live in a street he’d walk by often.
What a small world.
It almost was like they were meant to meet each other at some point; and fate reunited them. 
He knew that he had said it at least a billion times since he had first seen her, but she really was pretty. She had a black dress on, which was under a thin jacket of the same color, along with white heels, that weren’t too high.
Spencer had even wondered if she hadn’t put heels so that she could be a bit taller, and somehow manage to reach his height. He didn’t want to mention it to make her uncomfortable in case it happened to be what she wanted to do, but if it was that, he really found it cute, and quite funny.
The car ride had happened to be more entertaining that he thought it would be, the conversation simply started with a single talk about books, and a few minutes later, it was about plants. He really like to be capable to talk with someone that was at ease to talk about anything that’d cross his mind.
She didn’t seem to be uncomfortable, so that reassured him a lot, he stressed a lot about it.
God, he couldn’t believe that he actually was talking with her. He had already mentionned it when he had to reschedule again, but she was way too beautiful for him. She’d be able to freeze his mind with a single glance.
She truly was amazing.
“Spencer? Is everything okay? I think we just arrived, you stopped the car”
“What? Oh, I-I’m sorry, I got distracted. And y-yeah we just arrived.”
“That place is...huge.”
“Yeah, don’t worry, I thought that too the first time. You’ll quickly adjust to it, Rossi is really nice, you’ll feel at ease in no time. Come on, we should get going.” Spencer said, as they both opened the door that was on their respective side, before walking in the alley towards the door.
They soon were welcomed by a blonde girl after Spencer had rang the doorbell. She seemed a bit shocked of what was in front of her eyes.
“Oh my god, did you bring your girlfriend Spencer? I wasn’t aware of that.”
“Uh I...we are uh, just dating, for now, it’s uh-”
“We’re not together yet, we just talked, it’s our first date tonight.” Y/N had interrupted Spencer, as she could clearly see that he was struggling with forming a sentence.
“Oh, wow, it’s great! I’m happy to know that. I’m Penelope, by the way. You can call me Penny if you want. Come inside guys, I’ll introduce her to the rest of the team.” Penelope said, looking at Y/N, as she closed the door once they were in.
“There you are pretty boy! I see you brought the mystery girl with you. I’m Derek.”
“I’m y/n. It’s nice to meet everyone, I heard a lot about the team when I talked with Spencer.”
“I hope he didn’t tell bad things about us, we’re nothing but nice.”
“No, don’t worry, he didn’t.” She said, as she glanced behind his shoulder at the people walking towards them.
“We have a new face here apparently.” The brunette said.
“Yeah, I’m the new specimen. It’s nice to meet you, I’m y/n.”
“Nice to meet you too; I’m Emily, this is JJ, and the two guys over there are Rossi and Hotch.” Emily said, as she motioned the concerned people to y/n. 
“Everyone really seems nice.”
“Don’t worry, everyone is.” Spencer interrupted. “What do you say we uh...go over there so you can talk to others...?”
“Yeah, that’d be great.” She smiled,as she walked to the direction of the living room where the two men stood.
The evening had gone even more better than he thought it would. They all had been amazingly welcoming with her, and as he had noticed, they all had felt like they had known each other for more than just a few hours.
Spencer couldn’t truly wait to spend more time with her.
276 notes · View notes
the-evil-authoress · 3 years
Text
GX Month Day 7: “Ojama Delta Thunder!!”
That’s right! You know what today is! Today we celebrate The Chazz, the one and only Manjoume Thunder! Give sparky boi a hug!
WE STAN SUPPORTIVE WORKPLACES IN THIS HOUSE. Also, tiny bit of Egoshipping at the end.
This monster is just over nine pages. What am I doing with my life?
“So you wanted to talk Pro stuff?”
It takes Chazz’s brain an extra minute to process the words, still reeling from the bombshell Jaden decided to drop on them tonight. Then he latches onto the chance to think about literally anything other than the fact that Jaden literally fused himself with the monster that tried to kill him! How stupid do you get?! “Yes, please, I’m desperate.”
“Alright, no need to grovel.” Aster holds a hand out to preemptively stop any further begging that admittedly would have happened. “Like I said, I’d be glad for the company.”
It’s still surreal to watch Aster be both honest and vulnerable even though Chazz has seen it a few times now thanks to these group talks Jim started. Chazz has actually seen most of his friends break down in tears at this point. This year has been a fucking trip. “Okay, what’s the catch?”
“You’ll be my assistant.”
“Sorry, what?” Chazz must not have heard that right.
“You’ll have the chance to see how the Pros work up close and personal, and I get an extra pair of hands on deck.” Aster shrug. “Win-win.”
That is absolutely not a win-win! “I’m not gonna be your lackey!”
Aster levels him a look that would be insulting enough even without the younger boy’s obvious lack of fear in the face of Chazz’s anger. “So you don’t want my help then.”
Oh this son of a- Deep breath in. Hold it. Exhale. Don’t scream bloody murder at the literal one person related to the Pro Dueling business giving Chazz the time of day. “Fine. What exactly am I expected to do?”
*
“You’ll be managing Aster’s schedule,” the woman says as she escorts Chazz up the elevator because Aster couldn’t be bothered to meet Chazz himself. Esmerelda, she introduced herself as, an employee of the Senrigan Group assigned to look after Aster. Purple curls spill over her shoulder and she’d be pretty if her smile wasn’t so...unnerving. Sharp green eyes bore down at him and Chazz wants to fidget in this stupid, uncomfortable suit. “Take this.” Esmerelda holds out a simple flip phone and Chazz accepts it with minimal confusion. “It’s a company phone and will be your primary method of communication.”
This gig sounds simple enough at least.
At the top floor of the company-owned skyscraper, the doors open to reveal a spacious and luxurious pad. Reminds him of home, honestly, and Chazz has to swallow down the confusing mix of emotions that brings. “I’ll be living here? Not bad.”
“Certainly not.” Esmeralda chuckles and gives Chazz a smile that - in one word - he would describe as plastic. Leading him through the entryway-living room space, she opens a door to a room that looks like a typical office space.
“That’s a lot of phones.” He stares incredulously at the appliances that line the desks.
“Of course,” Esmerelda says and Chazz finds it more than a little unnerving that she doesn’t deem it necessary to address why there are so many phones in this room. “This is your desk.” She taps a spot on the table top with an immaculate nail. “Make sure you arrive before seven.” Chazz nods and the woman leads him back out of the room to a set of narrow double doors that open onto a balcony. “You will be sleeping there.” She points down at a comparatively tiny, rustic looking building squeezed between the back of the skyscraper and the road. Is that a warehouse?
*
It’s a warehouse. There’s a couch and table on the landing near the door and a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. The power is out and a cloud of dust rises from the couch when Chazz sets his briefcase on the cushions. Sadly, this isn’t much worse than the Slifer Dorms. He’ll make it work.
*
“You put him where?” Aster looks up over his cup of chamomile tea, something Sartorius recommended after noticing his trouble sleeping and, like most of Sartorius’ suggestions, works fairly well. Setting the cup down, he presses his finger tips to his temple and doesn’t wait for an answer. “Esmerelda, you are evil.”
“With all due respect, sir, this boy is a Manjoume.” Esmerelda frowns, posture stiff where she sits on the other end of the couch and brows furrowed in an expression that speaks exactly how she feels about this situation. “The Manjoume Group is our biggest rival. He could be here to steal company secrets.”
“I highly doubt that,” Aster mumbles and picks his tea up again.
“To my knowledge, Chazz has an estranged relationship with his family,” Sartorius says from the armchair across the table, pencil tapping lightly against the clipboard on his lap. That paper is either Aster’s schedule or a crossword; Aster doesn’t care enough to squint. “Besides, he is a personal friend.”
Aster scoffs. “Chazz and I are not friends.”
“Friendly acquaintances then.”
“Acquaintances,” Aster corrects. “We’re just acquaintances.”
“Of course,” Sartorius agrees in that voice that implies he knows something he isn’t willing to share yet. Aster narrows his eyes at him over the cup but doesn’t press the issue. He’ll find out soon enough; Sartorius isn't that good at keeping secrets.
“Exactly,” Esmerelda presses. “Why are you sticking your neck out for him?”
Sighing, Aster sets his cup down to massage his temple once more. He knows Esmerelda means well, but she’s been watching him like a hawk even since he got back from the other dimension and Aster misses that small bit of freedom. “I don’t know. Maybe because I felt bad for him? Maybe because I wanted someone to talk about-” He lets the sentence hang and shelves the bulk of his bitterness and frustration before continuing; he doesn’t need to take it out on them. “-who actually understands.”
Esmerelda presses her lips. Sartorius stares at him with those damnably soulful eyes. Even if he could have predicted that whole fiasco, he certainly wouldn’t have been able to stop it. Aster doubts nothing short of the sun imploding could have stopped Jaden from chasing Jesse across dimensions; Aster had just been the idiot who got too close.
“It’s late.” Aster exhales wearily. “You should go home.”
Nodding, Esmerelda stands and bids him a good night. Only after the elevator has closed behind her does Aster allow himself to slump against the couch. Sartorius sets the clipboard on the table - it’s a crossword - and holds out his hand. “Shall we retire?”
“Yeah.”
It’s easy to be vulnerable around Sartorius, probably because of how long they’ve known each other, and Sartorius is still the only person Aster can completely relax around. He lets Sartorius pull him up off the couch and they head down the hallway to the bedrooms at the back of the suite.
“I’m in the next room if you need me,” Sartorius promises with his usual nightly greeting, and Aster has the distinct feeling he’ll be taking him up on that later. Today’s been stressful.
*
Chazz arrives at the office room at 6:55 sharp and freezes at the sight of the person already sitting there. “Good morning, Chazz,” Sartorius greets like they’re old buddies or something and not the guy who brainwashed him less than a year ago. “I trust Esmerelda already briefed you on the daily necessities.”
“No?” Chazz croaks. He’s going to be working with Sartorius? What happened to Esmerelda?
Sartorius’ expression falls into one of surprise and concern, but one of the multiple phones rings before he can respond and his attention immediately swerves. “Good morning, this is Sartorius speaking,” the man says with an uncanny level of grace and authority. Whatever is said on the other end of the line prompts him to pull up some kind of spreadsheet on the computer in front of him. Another phone rings as the conversation continues and Sartorius wordlessly directs Chazz to answer it with his hand.
“This is Weekly Duelist,” a voice chirps in his ear, a bit loud and on the edge of demanding. “Next week, could we have Aster...”
A third phone rings. Sartorius pushes a pen and paper at Chazz as he sets the first phone down and reaches for the next. “Write it down.” He’s on the next call before Chazz can ask for elaboration.
And so the morning goes. Chazz scribbles down the names of different dueling events and talk shows and gods-know-what-else that want Aster’s attention while Sartorius alternates between his own conversations and calling back the interested parties on Chazz’s list to fit them onto the spreadsheet.
Esmerelda shows up during a lull in phone calls as Sartorius walks Chazz through using the digital schedule, and Chazz’s brain is too fried from the last 2 hours of his life - has it only been 2 hours?? - to even care about the guy being in his personal space. “The first few hours of the morning are always the busiest. If you can’t confirm at the time of the call, write down the request and call back later. You must also always consider location and travel time- Oh.” Sartorius looks up abruptly. “Excuse us a moment.”
Standing, Sartorius pulls Esmerelda back out the room with him, and Chazz takes the opportunity to just sit and do nothing. A few names remain on the callback list. Should he get started on that or wait for Sartorius to return?
“You sent him in here with no instruction.” The conversation floats in from beyond the door.
“I told him to arrive before seven.”
“Before seven does not imply ‘in time to receive instruction’, Esmeralda. If you weren’t going to show him anything last night, he should have been here at least half an hour before hand.”
So that woman set him up for failure? Whatever, nothing Chazz isn’t used to. Reaching for the phone, he calls back the next event on his list. He’s got two more events scheduled before Sartorius and Esmerelda return and sits back in the chair smugly as he ends the call. Sartorius’ eyebrows rise as he glances over the schedule on his own screen.
“Well done! I’m glad to see you taking initiative.” The praise sends an odd thrill through Chazz like a half forgotten memory and he decides not to dwell on it. Sartorius turns back to Esmerelda with an almost smug grin. “And you worried.”
The woman presses her red lips together with a dismissive hum; Chazz prefers it to the plastic smile.
A tea and snack break later, Chazz finds himself fetching Aster’s clothing and duel disk - why the hell does someone need that many of the exact same thing?! - for a photo shoot, then hauling books from a truck to the table of a signing event - he didn’t know Aster wrote a book about duel philosophy. Admittedly, he’s curious - all while occasionally answering phone calls and penning new events onto his paper copy of the schedule.
The sun has set by the time he finds himself slumping back in his desk chair, Aster’s schedule neat and tidy on the spreadsheet before him. The phones have finally gone silent.
“Good work today.” Sartorius enters with a tray of soup and breadsticks and sets it on the desk adjacent to Chazz.
Chazz blinks at it. “You cook?”
Sartorius smiles. “Yes. Mizuchi and I lived alone for most of our lives, so we had to learn how to take care of ourselves.”
“Oh.” Chazz doesn’t know what to say to that so he doesn’t say anything as he reaches for the soup and spoons some of it into his mouth. It’s surprisingly good, mild, not too salty like most of the canned stuff.
“There’s an extra room up here for you,” Sartorius says and Chazz looks up sharply.
“I don’t have to stay in the warehouse?”
“Goodness, no.” Shaking his head, Sartorius presses his lips and continues at length, “I suppose Esmerelda wanted to test your resolve.” Chazz snorts. “I assure you, Aster and I did not approve.”
Didn’t stop them from letting him sleep there last night. Chazz can’t even muster the energy to glare at the man, only managing what must be a fish eyed stare. He dips the breadstick in the soup before taking a bit; oo, now that’s a good combination of flavors.
“How was your first day?” It’s still unnerving how calm and even Sartorius speaks even without the malicious undertones from the Light of Destruction.
“Exhausting,” Chazz answers without hesitation.
Sartorius chuckles. “I’ve put on some tea if you’d like to join us.”
Chazz considers this and shakes his head. “Nah, I’m gonna go get my stuff.” Still too weird, and honestly he wants nothing more than to crash in a real bed and stop existing for a few hours.
Nodding, Sartorius stands. “The room is at the far end of the hall. Mine is the second on the left if you need anything.”
Chazz really shouldn’t be surprised these two live together.
*
The following week is more of the same. Chazz follows Aster to all manner of events from meet-and-greets to fancy parties, always doing the heavy lifting and always answering the phone. During the precious few moments he has to breathe, Sartorius talks his ear off. The man is a surprisingly witty conversation partner and the complete opposite of Chazz’s sparse memories from the Society of Light.
“Of course I’m different.” Sartorius laughs good naturedly as Chazz curses his slip of the tongue. “That wasn’t really me, Chazz.”
No, Chazz supposes it wasn’t.
“He’s so good with people,” he mumbles, leaning on the balcony railing where they watch Aster mingle in the party below.
“Of course.” Sartorius sounds fond. “That’s what it takes to succeed. I believe you can learn a lot from watching him.”
Yeah, if Chazz can manage to find the time between everything else.
*
“You want me to what?”
“Organize the cards in here,” Aster repeats and Chazz baulks at the sheer number of stacks that line the shelves. “The power’s back on so that won’t be a problem. No specific deadline, just work on it when you have spare time.”
“What spare time?!”
Aster only raises his eyebrows with that unimpressed expression he’s so fond of giving, and Chazz clenches his teeth.
“Can I least get some gloves and a mask and a duster?” It’s filthy in here and Chazz doesn’t fancy breathing in whatever dust cloud he’s found to kick up.
“There should be cleaning supplies in the closet.” Aster waves a hand vaguely before turning to take his leave. “Good luck.”
*
A number of people make house calls with Aster; Chazz doesn’t pay much attention to them because he’s usually neck deep in phone calls and keeping Aster’s schedule straight - he does not need another double booking fiasco, thank god Sartorius had the charm to sort it out peacefully. One guy in particular, however, Chazz does get used to seeing; Mike something-or-other, a TV producer hell bent on getting Aster in on his comedy acts. Aster throws him out more than once.
“Why don’t you just cut ties with him?” Chazz asks after another such altercation. “You clearly don’t like him.”
“He’s good at what he does.” Aster frowns, annoyed if not outright angered. So are Slade and Jagger and that didn’t stop Chazz from telling them to fly a kite. Picking up his cup, Aster winces as his hand shakes and quickly sets the cup down before the tea can spill. Chazz zeros in on the movement.
“Hand,” he says, scooting over to sit by Aster on the couch without a second thought.
“What?”
Chazz doesn’t wait as he takes Aster’s hand and smooths out the joints between his own fingers before pressing gently and rubbing circles with his thumbs.
“You know massage??”
“Yeah.” Chazz still doesn’t get why everyone makes a big deal of it. This is something he’s always been able to do; used to find it weird that other people couldn’t because it felt so easy to him. A natural skill or whatever. “Jesus fuck,” the English expletive slips past his lips as he feels the knots and strained muscles in Aster’s hand. “I’m cancelling meet-and-greets and signing events for a while.”
“Excuse me?”
“So your hand can heal,” Chazz cuts Aster off before the other can work himself into righteous indignation. “You can’t duel without your draw hand. Two weeks of minimal activity and you should be fine. But we should tape this. Do you have a first aid-”
A white kit with a red cross hovers in the peripheral of Chazz’s vision. He stares dumbly up at Sartorius as Aster huffs with amusement. Cautiously, Chazz takes it. “Can you still see the future or something?”
“Predict,” Sartorius corrects as he takes his usual seat in the arm chair. “And not all predictions are accurate.”
“Riiiight.” Just gonna ignore that piece of information for now then. Chazz pulls the ace wrap out of the kit and turns back to Aster’s hand. “Tell me if it’s too tight.”
Maybe he’s imagining it, but there might be a sliver more respect in Aster’s eyes when Chazz finishes wrapping his hand and a tiny, genuine smile on his face.
*
This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening!
Aster’s going to lose his entire career just because one lousy card went missing?!
Chazz paces back and forth across the warehouse floor, gnawing on his fingernails. The cards have all been organized - monster, trap, spell, then by type, archetype, and alphabetical. Chazz could point exactly to which box a single card is in, but the one card apparently more important that Aster’s fucking career disappears from right under his nose!
They even know who took it! They have photos from the security camera! But they can’t prove shit because the bastard was smart enough to keep his face covered and away from the camera! If they can’t prove it, they can’t get the card back! And then Aster-
“Boss, breathe!” Ojama Yellow squeals. “I think you're having an angry attack!”
“Anxiety attack!” Chazz screams, suddenly aware of just how rapid and shallow his breath has gotten. Geez, he sounds like Jaden after-
JADEN!
Chazz dives for his school-issued PDA, yanks up the contacts, and rapidly taps his foot against the floor as he waits for the other end of the line to pick up. He dials twice before getting an answer.
“What?”
“Jaden, I need your help!”
“Do you have any idea what time it is?” The other boy sounds groggy and disheveled.
No, Chazz has absolutely no idea what time it is in Japan, he is on the side of the globe and that’s not important right now! “Listen! I need you and your freaky powers for help with something!”
Silence. The line clicks dead.
“DID YOU JUST HANG UP ON ME?” Chazz screams into the empty warehouse. It takes three more tries to get Jaden back on the line.
“And why should I help you?”
“SERIOUSLY? Wait.” Something about Jaden’s voice sounds off. The cadence? “Yubel? This is Yubel isn’t it? Put Jaden on the line! I don’t want you!”
“Jaden is asleep as I was before you so rudely interrupted me and will be returning to now,” Yubel snips.
“WAIT!” Chazz screeches before she can hang up again. He doesn’t need to waste any more time on callbacks. “Never mind! I just need help! Aster needs help!”
The silence on the other end stretches long enough that Chazz fears the monster already hung up. “I’m listening.”
*
Chazz doesn’t even question it when Jaden tumbles out of the shadows onto the warehouse floor, grumbling about fudged landings and never being at locations before, just snaps at him to hide the wings and drags him up to Aster’s apartment. “I brought help!” he announces as they barge in.
Aster’s head snaps up and Chazz watches the scathing remark die on his tongue as his eyes fall on Jaden. “Oh. That’s an idea.”
“Okay, what the hell is going on?” Jaden walks fearlessly up to the trio. “Cuz I got the basics from Yubel, but details would be nice.”
“Yubel?” Esmerelda asks with a weary glance between Jaden and Chazz.
Jaden blanks at her then turns away dismissively. “Not important.”
Aster tosses the security photos onto the table between them. “This is the guy who took the card. Mike, a TV producer who’s been trying to get me to go along with his comedy gimmick for weeks now. We know it’s him but these photos won’t hold up in court.”
Picking the photos up, Jaden holds his chin thoughtfully. “So you just need me to get this card back?”
“And maybe some proof that this guy stole it,” Chazz adds quickly, trying not to cringe as Aster’s eyes flicker over to him, but the pro silently nods his agreement.
“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.” Setting the photos back on the table, Jaden glances at the elevator, makes a face, and walks straight for the balcony. They all watch in confused silence until Jaden leaps off the balcony railing.
Esmerelda screams. “Is he insane?!”
Even Chazz charges toward the balcony, leaning over the edge in terror, only to find Jaden standing calmly on the sidewalk below like he didn’t just jump off the top floor of a fucking skyscraper!
“How?!” Esmerelda gapes, gripping the railing with white knuckles.
“I’m not even gonna question it.” Aster waves a hand as he returns indoors. Sartorius chuckles quietly, the only person who hadn’t made a mad dash after the reckless idiot.
Chazz sinks to the balcony floor, waiting for his heart to finally get the memo that they don’t need to be freaking out anymore. Gods above help them all...
*
Jaden gets the card back and manages to publicly humiliate Mike in the process. Win-win.
At the end of Chazz’s ‘employment’, Aster challenges him to an official PR duel. It’s the first time Chazz has gotten to seriously break out his deck in a while and he fears he’ll be rusty, but the plays come to him easier than they ever had. Oh, he gets it now. When he organized all the cards in the warehouse, he read each one’s effect; he thought about how to play them and combo them with each other. Aster’s deck is easy to read and Chazz pulls off a spectacular win.
Amidst the cheers, Aster holds out his hand. “Nice work. Guess you did learn a thing or two.”
Riding the adrenaline high, Chazz pulls him straight into a hug. Aster grunts, going rigid before awkwardly patting his back.
“Maybe not in front of the cameras.”
Chazz immediately backpedals. “Right! Sorry!” There’s an odd expression in Aster’s eyes as they shake hands properly this time.
*
“Sartorius. I have another problem.”
Sartorius sniggers as Aster predictably sinks into the seat next to him, flipping over the cards in his game of solitaire. “Oh, I don’t think this one is a problem,” he says with confidence, this morning’s card reading still fresh in his mind. “You should ask him out.”
It takes a second. “SARTORIUS!” Aster pushes away from the table, looking positively scandalized. “I don’t have time for a social life let alone a romantic one!”
Humming, Sartorius places a card on its designated stack. “I’m sure you can make the time. After all, you’ve been making time to visit Duel Academy quite frequently of late.”
“For my mental health!” Aster goes on the defensive, but there’s no denying the hint of flush on his cheeks. “And that's not the point! I don’t care if you read it in cards, I’m not just randomly asking him out!”
Sadly, Sartorius knows half of Aster’s reluctance to the idea is because the media would have a field day with any celebrity’s love life, let alone one with...less conventional preferences. That will not, however, prevent Sartorius from teasing his best friend. “How would you prefer to ask him out then?”
With a frustrated whine, Aster glares at Sartorius. “Not at all.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Shut up.”
25 notes · View notes
peach-pops · 4 years
Note
Hi! Can I requests a HC with Suga, Kageyama, and Noya where they go into Ukais store and they completely fall head over heels for the girl behind the register ( she can be related to Ukai or just works there for him)
This is my first request! Make sure you guys like/comment/reblog if you enjoyed it and requests are open! 
Suga, Kageyama, and Noya develop a crush on Ukai’s new employee 
➣Sugawara
One day after practice, Suga finds himself heading to Ukai’s store with Daichi and Asahi because they’ve been craving those steamed pork buns and since it was Daichi’s turn to pay for food, it was an offer he couldn’t refuse 
He’s definitely an advocate for “Free food is the best food” 
#sugardaddydaichi
The boys walk into Sakanoshita and Suga is the first to notice a new girl standing behind the counter who is reading the newspaper with her legs propped up just like a mini Ukai
Instead of a cigarette between her lip, she has a stick of chocolate pocky in her mouth 
Suga thinks you are SO cute and he can’t stop staring at you but once you look up from your newspaper to lock eyes with him, he averts his gaze and continues to walk forward, only to bump into one of the shelves by accident 
“ Woah, you okay suga?” Daichi asks as he turns around to face his friend
“ GAH I’m fine!”
Suga hears you let out a small giggle as you went back to your newspaper and pretended to act uninterested in the boy, even though you knew fully well that he was reallllllly cute
Daichi is a smart boy and he can clearly tell that Suga is completely flustered over you but decides to say nothing for now while Asahi is deciding between which flavor drink he should get 
He’s oblivious, aren’t all aces? 
The boys grab their buns and head over to the counter where you greet them extra politely because you are an underpaid customer service worker who is just genuinely nice a cute boy is in front of you and you wanna make a nice impression
“ Okay, you’re all set,  is there anything else I can do for you guys?” You asked sweetly as Daichi looks over to Suga who’s cheeks are getting flushed
Daichi gets Asahi’s attention and nods over to the door,” We’ll be outside Suga, don’t take too long.” 
Suga’s eyes practically are pleading with Daichi saying “ Please don’t leave me I think I’m choking on my own tongue” but Daichi just laughs and walks out with a confused Asahi trailing behind him 
Suga just tries to calm himself down because he knows the goal is to make a nice impression and hopefully set up a date so he can see you again 
“ From the way you were sitting, I imagine you’re related to Ukai? ”
Suga immediately regrets this approach because now he sounds like a weird stalker but you don’t think anything of his question
“ Mhm, I’m his niece Y/N, how do you know him?” 
He replays your name out loud and for some reason it makes him smile even more
You being Ukai’s niece doesn’t really make Suga panic even though the thought of crushing on his coaches niece seems like he is crossing some sort of moral line
Suga tells you that he plays volleyball for Karasuno and that your uncle is also his coach which lights up your face 
“ No kidding, what a small world! I would love to come out and cheer you on. When’s the next game?”
Suga short circuits for a second because you specifically said you would cheer him on instead of the team as a whole
“ S-sure! There’s one next week if you want to come .ANDmaybewecangetsomethingtoeatafter!” 
“ Sounds like a plan, its a date,” You smiled as Suga nods excitedly before rushing out of the store without another word 
“ Did I just hear her say that Ukai is her uncle?” Asahi asked as the three of them walked down the street
Suga nods and blabs on about his interaction with you but Asahi and Daichi look at each other the whole time as they think of how screwed Suga will be once Ukai finds out
➣Kageyama
Kageyama never really heads to Ukai’s store unless he’s with his teammates but one day when he’s out jogging, he forgets his water bottle so he decides to stop by Sakanoshita to grab a drink since he knows he won’t be able to run much longer in this heat 
He steps into the store and he’s blessed with not only the blasting AC but the sight of a girl around his age refilling the drinks in the fridge
Kags can only see the side of your face but even then, he feels his heart skip a beat 
He’s never felt anything like this before so he’s convinced he’s about to have a heart attack but then the unsettling thought hits him as he’s just standing there in the middle of the store with his wallet out 
“ She’s really pretty” and Kageyama doesn’t even realize he’s said this OUT LOUD until you turn around and give him a shy smile
“ Um, thank you, you too”
Kageyama wants to just run out of the store because he is so embarrassed and he can feel the back of his neck and ears heat up as he contemplates leaving
And that’s EXACTLY what he does!!!!
The dude just leaves without buying anything and decides to just run back home because he is MORTIFIED 
You’re kinda bummed out because “damn, I scared another one off this week” but you realize that he dropped his wallet as he was sprinting out so you knew he’d be back
You didn’t look through his wallet, all you did was put it in one of the drawers at the register and continued on with your day as usual 
Just kidding, you totally looked through it and founds his Karasuno school ID and when you saw he was a first-year too, you mentally gave yourself a high five
Kageyama on the other time is freaking out because not only did he lose his wallet, he is so sure that the last time he had it was at Ukai’s store which means he has to see you again
He decides to wait until later that night to show up because he thinks maybe Ukai will be there instead-but sure enough when he shows up, you’re still sitting behind the counter and this time, he can see your whole face as you’re doing homework 
And his heart stops when he sees that you’re wearing a Karasuno school uniform because he could’ve sworn he would’ve recognized someone as pretty as you around the hallways
He’s never felt this way about any girl before and now, he slightly regretted not listening to Tanaka’s advice on how to pick up girls because he was felt so lost on what to do 
You could feel someone staring at you but when you turned your head up, you found yourself almost glad to see him
“ Oh hey Tobio! Did you come back for something?” 
His brain short circuits for the millionth time because hardly anyone calls him by his first name and he figures you probably went through his wallet 
Kageyama sheepishly nods as he heads over to the counter. You don’t even understand how hard it is for Kageyama to even talk to you
Cause granted, he’s talked to girls before like Kiyoko and Yachi but never a girl he was interested in because until now, he never even found himself attracted to girls 
You hand him his wallet as you defend yourself, saying that you only went through it to find his address so you could return it after your shift  
he apologizes over and over again on how much it was a burden for you to keep his wallet for the day
All you could do was laugh at how absurd this whole situation was and your laugh made Kageyama tense up because even your laugh was attractive 
He made sure to keep that in his head though 
Kageyama doesn’t know why his feet are practically cemented in front of you but he just doesn’t want to leave
He makes up any excuse and looks down at your math homework and thinks of an idea
“ Oh, do you need help with that?”
And Kageyama feels so stupid because why the hell did he just offer to help you with math homework when he only has one working braincell
You look down at your homework and back up at him,” You know this stuff?”
Kageyama looks at you before swallowing hard and shakes his head,” No…I’m actually really bad”
You giggle at his attempt at trying to be helpful but you nod back towards your homework,” Well don’t worry, I have math under control...If you want I can tutor you sometime?”
Kageyama almost says yes way too quickly before he pretends to think it over in his head and happily accepts your offer
You smile back at him before grabbing a sticky note and scribbling your name and number on a piece of paper,” Call me whenever, yeah?” 
You know that face Kageyama makes where his smile is super weird and squiggly? Well thats the exact face he has as he takes the piece of paper and tells you goodnight
And you can bet everything you have that he immediately rushes home and pulls out his homework just so he can have an excuse to call you up 
➣Nishinoya 
Nishinoya frequently visits Ukai’s store even if it’s out of the way because he likes to see a familiar face 
And also tries to bargain a “family discount” to which Ukai always denies him 
So one night Noya feels a sudden craving for literally anything that isn’t within his own house and he just decides to go drop by Sakanoshita to annoy Ukai out of a free bag of chips
“ Oi Ukai-” Noya stops in his tracks when he sees a girl around his age carrying a big box of products out from the back of the store
He is completely SMITTEN for you right away and in the back of his mind he’s like Kiyoko who? 
He had been going to Ukai’s for a long time but he had never saw you around before so already his mind was thinking of who you could be 
“ She’s too pretty to be Ukai’s daughter- he isnt even married why would he have a daughter-unless his wife left him with a baby and that’s why he’s grumpy all the time- wait but aren’t babies made by having-”
Noya kinda snaps out of it as you let out a small grunt while you’re trying to balance the two boxes on top of each other
Lets be real, Noya is the number one women respecter so when he sees you somewhat struggling, he rushes over and helps take some of the weight off of you
You could feel your load lighten but you still keep your hand on the box,“ I got it, it’s fine!”
“ No, please let me help! You’re too pretty to carry heavy things, you need a big strong man to help!” 
He didn’t mean for it to sound so unfeminist because again, he loves women as much as Hinata loves volleyball but he just didn’t want you to hurt yourself
You guide him where to set the boxes and they’re way heavier than Noya anticipated but since he wanted to impress you, he tried to play it off like it wasn’t even that heavy 
“ Thanks for the help, I hate making multiple trips” You said as you crouched down and opened up the boxes. When you look up at the boy for the first time, you feel your heart skip a beat because duh, cute stranger alert and Noya was feeling the exact same way 
“ I would do it again in a heartbeat,” Noya smiled and introduced himself and when you said your full name, Noya felt like his mind had exploded
“ Woah! I know him, he’s my volleyball coach- I’m Karasuno’s libero-that’s the school I go to- and he owns the store- but you probably already know that- I’ve never seen you around before, are you new?” 
When Noya gets excited, he has a tendency to talk people’s ear off but you found it so amusing and almost endearing 
“ Yep, today’s my first day. It’s been pretty hectic but it keeps me pretty busy for the most part.”
“ You know, I’m here all the time so I practically own the store myself. If you need any manly assistance, I could help you- like right now- do you want me to stock these chips? The cheesy ones are my favorite what about you?” 
You didn’t want to burden him but after trying to convince him you were fine doing it by yourself, you just gave up and decided that it would be quicker with him by your side
It would’ve taken you about an hour to stock whatever was left but with Noya’s help, you two managed to get it done in 20 minutes. While you closed up the shop, he even offered to walk you home because “ someone as pretty as you shouldn’t walk home without a bodyguard” 
You happily accepted your offer because hellooooo any excuse to hang out with him longer worked for you! 
When you got to your house, you gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek to thank him and for extra measure, you pulled out a bag of cheesy chips from your coat
Noya practically fell to his knees once you closed your front door and he was simping so hard for you that everytime he wasn’t busy with volleyball, he would close up the shop with you and walk you home
1K notes · View notes
pascalscenarios · 3 years
Text
HOW TO LOVE (Marcus Pike x Reader
Tumblr media
HOW TO LOVE
Marcus Pike x Reader  
Summary: To say thank you for helping you out last night, you take Marcus out for Lunch
Warning: None
Words: 2016
Author's Note: Hello! It’s been a hot minute! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I’ve kinda been all over the place for the last two weeks. I finally had time to actually write! I’ll try my best to go back to posting on Saturdays/Sunday like I was. 
My Whiskey fic Common Ground, will be coming up soon pretty soon. Sorry for the wait! 
Hope you all are doing well! Enjoy! ( this chapters sorta boring sorry :( )
- K
CH 1| CH 2 | CH 3
Chapter 3
You sat at the information desk as you watched Marcus from across the lobby. The Art crime team came in early this morning. You were observing him, taking notice of how he interacts with others. He was talking to another agent. His hands were on his hips laughing about something. You wanted to say thank you again for last night, but you didn’t feel like bothering him.
You must have been staring for a while because the other agent took notice. They said something making Marcus look over his shoulder, locking eyes with you.
You were caught, but you tried to play it off as best you could. You quickly make yourself look busy, picking up a pen and writing random things down on a blank piece of paper.
Your eyes slowly glaze up seeing Marcus say something to the agent and walk towards your way. You continued writing on the paper making a fake to-do list, writing whatever popped into your mind.
“Hey” he smiled standing in front of the desk.
“Hi”
“How’s your day been for far?”
“Uh...busy!” you say, not daring to look up at him, embarrassed that he saw you staring at him. You didn’t know why you were still trying to pretend, you were caught.
“Really? Because I’m pretty sure I saw you staring at me.” he joked at you, smiling.
You felt your cheeks burn. There was no doubt you were turning red.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare...”
He chuckled. “It’s alright”
“It’s just...I.. uh...I wanted to say thank you again… you know for last night” you finally look at him, fiddling with your pen.
“Yeah, it was no problem. Did you make it home okay?”
“ I did, thanks to you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“How about you? You made it home alright?”
“Yeah, just fine...If something like that happens again, just let me know...actually-” He leans in close, grabbing the yellow sticky note from off your desk, and takes the pen that you were holding from your hands.
“Here” He quickly scribbles something down, peeling it off and handing it with the pen back to you.
You take it as he places the sticky note pad back on your desk.
You look down at what he wrote.
Marcus: 202-555-4275
He gave you his number.
“My cell phone number in case you need anything...Is that okay?” He was hoping he wasn’t overstepping.
“Yeah, thank you” you smiled.
“Alright, well I just wanted to tell you hello real quick. I’ll see you around.” With that, he smiles and makes his way towards the elevators.
Without thinking you called out his name “Marcus!”
He turns around looking at you. “Yeah?”
“Do you wanna maybe get lunch later today? My treat. It’s the least I could do since you helped me out last night.” you offered. You felt bad for the way you treated him and then he was willing to help you. You wanted to return the kind gesture.
He smiled brightly at you.
“Sure, I’ll swing by your desk at 12?”
“Yeah” “Okay, I’ll see you then!” With that, he heads on his way.
“Lunch date with Marcus Pike?” Laurie chimes in, sitting in her seat next to yours and we both watch him wait for the elevators.
You spin your chair back facing towards, Laurie following. You take the sticky note, folding it up, and stuffing it in your pants pocket. “It’s not a lunch date...more of a thank-you lunch. I got caught up in the rain last night and my car got towed while I was printing the packets out.”
“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I should have gotten those packets printed out earlier-”
“No! It’s not your fault. Everything worked out fine actually. Marcus was still around. He gave me a ride and helped me get my car back from the impound...It was really sweet honestly.”
“See he’s not so bad after all. Give him a chance dear, get to know him.”
Although you were still a little wary of him, part of you was curious to learn more about Marcus.
It was noon. Marcus should be coming around soon. You were working on brainstorming ideas
“You ready?” Marcus
“Sorry, just give a few minutes.”
“No worries take your time.” He says he patiently waits for you.
You head over to the office grabbing your wallet and phone from your bag. You walked back out into the desk area placing the lunch break sign out, then walking over to the short desk door, letting yourself out.
“Where do you want to go?”
“I know this good cafe that’s not far from here, it's down a block. Not too far, we can walk.”
“Okay.”
You two head over to the exit, Marcus opening the door for you. “Thanks”
He gives you a smile as you exit, following behind you. You both made your way down the steps and onto the sidewalk. Today was a nice day. It was sunny, a blue sky with patches of clouds, and a soft wind blew.
“So” Marcus begins to say.
“How are you liking D.C. so far?” he stuffs his hands in his pocket as he walks beside you.
“It’s great. I’m from Virginia actually. My family used to drive up to D.C. all the time when I was a kid.” You smile thinking about the fond memories you have.
“Ah, so you’re used to all the hustle and bustle around here…” He chuckles.
“Sorta, It's different living here than visiting. I’m from a small town so the rush 27/7 is something I need to get used to.”
“I know what you mean, I’m originally from Texas. I worked at the FBI headquarters in Austin. I’m used to the rush but D.C. is a whole different type of face pace”
“Texas? You’re pretty far from home. How come you’re out here on the east coast?” you asked.
“In Austin, I was working on local art crime cases. I got offered a promotion to run a task force here in D.C. dealing with international art crime.”
“Wow, that's great.”
“Thanks”
“How long have you lived here?”
“Couple years now.”
“Do you miss home?”
“Yeah, I do, some aspects of it, like my friends and family. I try to visit when I can, if not then phone calls and facetime are the next best thing.” He stayed silent for a few moments. “Do you miss home?” “Not really, other than my parents. I’m glad I got out of my hometown honestly. It’s like a breath of breath air.” you sighed in relief.
“Yeah, I’m kinda glad I got out of Austin. I had a fiance back home. We were supposed to start a life out here, but she ended up leaving me for another man.”
Maybe this was what Elliot meant when he said you might have something in common with Marcus… ex issues. You felt terrible that Marcus' fiance left him for another man. It reminded you of the countless times your ex cheated on you. You knew the feeling. The feeling of hurt and betrayal.
“Marcus, I’m so sorry-”
“It’s alright. It was a while ago. I’ve moved past it.” He shrugged.
“I know, but still that must have hurt.” You say sadly.
“It did, but what happened, happened. Life moves forwards. The person you’re meant to be with will come along eventually.”
Marcus was so optimistic and helpful when it came to love, unlike you. You on the other hand were fearful and scared of it.
“Here we are.”
He says stopping in front of an old brick building. You look up reading the sign outside.
Martells’
“It’s a family-owned cafe and has been here for years. They got the best sandwiches in D.C.”
You were slowly warming up to Marcus, starting to grow comfortable in his presence. You two sat at a table for the past hour eating lunch and talking about random things. He asked you questions about yourself. He was genuinely interested and cared about getting to know you, your hobbies, and your passions. It was strange for you, but it felt nice to be heard and even seen in a sense. Your ex never cared or seemed interested when it came to things you were interested in or liked.
Marcus told a story about his first case as an agent. He couldn’t help but laugh at his own story, poking fun of himself. A huge smile was smeared on his face, his eyes squinting as he laughed. You liked his laugh. It was that contagious.
“Oh no!” You gasped, laughing.
“They never let me hear the end of it. To this day, they still talk about it down in Austin. My old coworkers still give me shit for it when I talk to them.” He shakes his head.
“How did you even bounce back from that?”
“You didn’t…You wait until someone makes a bigger mistake, but mine was top tier. I don’t think anyone could outdo what I did, but I managed to figure out cases which took most of the attention away” He picks up his soda, taking a sip.
His phone began to ring. He pulls it out of his pocket looking at the caller ID.
“Sorry I gotta take this”
“No, of course”
“Hello?” he answers the call. “Yeah...Mhm...Shit. Okay, I’ll be there in a few.” He hands up, stuffing the phone back in his pocket.
“I’m sorry, something came up, I have to go to the FBI building.”
“I understand. I should be going back anyway.” You looked down at your watch. You lost track of time. You went over your lunch break.
The two of you stand up, throwing your trash away and exiting the cafe.
“Alright, I guess I’ll see you,” You tell Marcus.
“I’m not going anywhere yet.”
You furrow your eyebrows at him, “But you have to go??? Aren't you gonna take a cab or is someone gonna pick you up”
“Yeah I gotta go, but I’m walking you back”
“Marcus, you seriously don’t need to” You were fine walking back on your own.
“No, I’m walking with you back” He insisted.
“But-” you tried to protest.
He cuts you off “-No buts, come on”
You gave up trying to argue about it and you let him walk back with him. When you reach the museum steps you both stop.
“Thank you for lunch.”
“You’re welcome. Martells was great. You weren’t kidding when you said the sandwiches were good.”
“I told you...I had a great time. Maybe we could do lunch again some other time?”
“Yeah. I’d like that.”
“Great...I’ll see you later. I hope you have a good rest of your day.”
“You too, Marcus”
You lightly wave. You make your way up the steps to the top. You look over your shoulder, seeing that Marcus was still standing. Once he sees that he reaches the top, he walks away down the sidewalk back in the direction you guys came from.
You open the entrance door walking through the lobby to the information desk. You see Elliot at the desk talking to Laurie.
“Well look you came back from her overextended lunch..” Elliot teases.
“I’m so sorry, I lost track of time-” You say as you make your way to your chair.
“It’s fine, you don’t have to apologize, especially if you were on a date with Marcus Pike!”
“How’d it go?’ Laurie asked.
“First off, It wasn't a date, it was a thank-you lunch” you addressed Elliot, “second, it was fine,” you tell Laurie.
“Fine? Just fine?” Elliot gives you a look.
“Yeah…”
“That’s it?” Elliot was expecting more.
“What do you want me to say, Elliot?”
“More than just that it was fine!”
“Elliot, Marcus, and I hardly know each other. All we did was talk. That was it.” You rolled your eyes.
“What do you think about him?” Laurie asked.
“He’s...different.”
“Different bad or Different good?” Elliot raised an eyebrow at you curious as to what your response will be.
“Good...Different good.” a smile slowly crept on your face. 
TAG // @alberta-sunrise​ @spacenerdpascal​ @ryleyrooroo​ @reader-s-cantina
MT // @wifeofdindjarin @icanbeyourjedi​ @sara-alonso​ @greeneyedblondie44
43 notes · View notes
crystalirises · 3 years
Note
Um hi when your request are open I really enjoyed the fundy npc au could you do a bit of a continuation, like maybe alivebur is just dragging fundy into his mess at attempting to break dream out of prison. I'm perfectly fine if your not interested in it
Now. As I've said, I usually might not do requests or continuations when it comes to stuff I put in the "Brainrot Central" thing cause it's just full of fanfic stuff that entered my brain and I had to write down so it would leave.
However, the NPC Fundy AU has a special place in my heart. Mostly cause Fundy vibing on his own and not actually getting involved with the whole dsmp thing is nice. And yes, I am very much aware that taking out Fundy within the storyline would cause some stuff to be different. But essentially, all the major stuff that happened, still happened. It's only minor things that have changed. But otherwise, the same stuff still happened.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. I'm adding the link of the ao3 here, but the story is also after the Keep Reading.
Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31985884/chapters/81078352
The cottage had rotted beyond repair by the time he got home.
Wilbur had rushed to the front door, forgetting the bags of missed gifts that he’d brought with him. He flung the door open, the hinges so loose that the piece of wood slammed onto the wall before collapsing to the ground. He coughed at the cloud of the dust that flew right into his face.
“Fundy?! Fundy! I’m home!” Wilbur stepped into the house, “Fundy, papa’s home!”
There was no shout of joy, no hurried footsteps, no little boy that clung to his leg and demanded to know where Wilbur had been. He took a deep breath through clenched teeth, quelling the panic that had begun to bubble in his chest. His son was asleep, surely. He walked deeper into the house, frowning once he realized how utterly devoid the house was of furniture. Portraits had been torn off the walls, wooden chairs had been smashed against the floor, and there were random patches of black on the stone floor - almost like someone had set a fire on them. Wilbur quietly headed towards his son’s bedroom, finding the door open and the bed completely empty.
Wilbur staggered back. His son had to be somewhere nearby. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to keep himself from falling into hysterics. Fundy had to be nearby. He had to be.
At some point, Wilbur found himself wandering over to the living room.
He found the letter on the table, his hands shaking while he reached to pick it up.
Wilbur could only read the first and second lines before his knees buckled underneath him, his breath picking up. A god. A god. A god had taken his son. His hand clenched around the paper, his heart breaking once he realized that the paper itself looked a year old. Wilbur was only glad that it hadn’t been a day old. He laughed at the thought of that misery. Imagine finally coming home, only to realize that you were late for one day. That he could have stopped his son from leaving if he’d just been a day earlier. Then again, what did it matter? One day. One week. One month. One year. One hour. One minute. One second. He was late. Wilbur had been late to come home. He broke his promise. He should have been there for his son. He’d been gone for six years. Six long years. His baby wouldn’t even be a baby anymore. He’d be… He’d be fourteen.
His sadness melted into anger. The gods have been a menace to his life, and now one has taken his son. It wasn’t enough that they’d trapped him in their barbaric world. They took his son too. He’d promised himself to live for his son. That no matter what the gods threw at him, he would not kneel to their whims. Schlatt had called him insane, that he was better off resigning himself to a pitiful life within the gods’ realm, a puppet whose purpose was to entertain them. Schlatt had nothing to live for anyway, except his alcohol. He didn’t know what it was like to be a father.
Six years. Six years of torture, of trials, of fucking betrayals. And all so he could return home to a ruined house and a missing son. The paper crumpled in his hold, forcing him to snap back to reality. It had been a short letter, written in the messy and hurried handwriting of a child. Wilbur traced what his son had scribbled out, ‘I’ll always I love Love you.’ His poor little baby.
Did Fundy think papa had abandoned him? He pressed the letter against his chest, remembering the day he’d left his son alone. It had been the first time he’d left his son alone in the house. It was supposed to be a quick trip to the village. Wilbur hadn’t known that the gods would whisk him away to a world where he would continually fight for his life, his son’s memory the only reason that he kept fighting for his survival. Now, his son was gone, whisked away by a god.
Wilbur didn’t know which god had taken his son. But he knew one person who would know.
He placed the letter inside the pocket of his pants, hesitating for a moment before letting go. Wilbur wouldn’t need to keep holding onto a piece of paper forever. He’ll find his son. He headed out of the cabin, pausing at the doorway while a memory flashed in his mind. The day he left, he crouched down so that he could be level with his son. Fundy had pouted at him, scared that his papa wouldn’t come back. Wilbur had chuckled, patting his son’s head before ruffling his hair. He had promised to be back, promised that he’d make Fundy’s favorite pancakes for dinner. Fundy had been so excited, tail wagging behind him while he told Wilbur to come home quickly. His hands shook, but Wilbur forced himself to move out of the rotting house. He had to leave.
He picked up the bags, glancing down at the toys that he’d brought with him. He had missed so many birthdays and so many Christmases. Wilbur picked a fox plushie among the pile of toys, pressing it close to his chest. Fundy would have been so happy to get so many toys. Tears began to fall down his cheeks. Fundy would get the toys, he’d make sure of it. He’ll get his son back. He’ll get his little champion back. Wilbur didn’t glance back at the house, it didn’t matter to him.
Wilbur could only hope that Phil would be able to help him.
---
General Wilbur Soot was content to stay like this forever…
A soft smile graced his lips, a hand reaching up to ruffle Fundy’s hair.
It didn’t matter to him that Fundy was pretending to not know him. All that mattered was that he’d found his little champion again. This was his second visit of the week, and though his son was jittery about his presence, Fundy had quickly warmed up at the promise of pancakes. Now here they were, in the kitchen that Fundy’s den had. Wilbur would have preferred that Fundy stay near him, that his son be safe and happy within L’Manburg. If Wilbur had to be honest, he had been hurt when his son immediately declined his offer. Then he realized why Fundy had done so.
His little champion had always been so smart. Wilbur leaned back against his seat, glancing over at the bag of toys that he’d left on the couch. Fundy had been confused by the gifts, but he hadn’t complained when Wilbur insisted that they were for him. His poor son. He hadn’t gotten a proper gift in so many years. Well, it didn’t matter now. His papa was finally back, and Wilbur would always make sure that Fundy was content and happy. He’d have to bring Fundy more food soon.
…but first, he had a war to win.
---
President Wilbur Soot knew he couldn’t let his emotions take control of him…
He watched his son run off, the fox hybrid scampering away before Wilbur could ask - demand - why Fundy didn’t want to stay in L’Manburg. Dread and betrayal stung his chest, but he quickly pushed them away. He supported and understood why Fundy didn’t want to stay with his papa.
His little champion thought his papa had abandoned him.
Wilbur sighed, turning his attention towards the blackstone walls that were built for his son.
…for he had a nation to run. But that didn’t mean that his emotions weren’t ripping at the seams.
---
The exiled ex-president Wilbur Soot had no more dreams for the future…
He laid in his father’s arms, the piercing pain in his chest turning numb while blood ran down his mouth. He could feel his father’s hand on him, pushing against the bleeding while he muttered a repeated prayer of ‘no’s.’ He shouldn’t laugh. He knew that. But he couldn’t help the weak giggling that slipped past his lips. He knew what it felt like to lose a son, why was he giving his own father the pain he felt? He shook his head, because he was a selfish bastard, that’s why.
Phil was muttering his name, begging him not to close his eyes. Wilbur closed his eyes. In his last moments, he wanted the world to melt away. He wanted it all to fade away. Wilbur basked in the darkness of near death. There was no L’Manburg. There was no Manburg. There was no Dream. There was no Schlatt. He floated in a black abyss, alone and silent. He felt his hold on the waking world begin to slip, and in the darkness, he could hear his father beg him to open his eyes. Wilbur chose death. It was time for him to leave this cruel mortal realm, for good this time.
His little cha— Fundy would be happier once Wilbur was dead.
… he’d already lost everything in the past anyway.
---
Ghostbur draped a warm blanket around his sleeping son.
They’d had a tiresome day. His little champion needed all the rest that he could get.
Ghostbur… well, he didn’t need any sleep!
He was more content to sit by his son’s side.
He’d make sure Fundy was safe and happy. Ghostbur will chase away all the nightmares.
---
The newly revived Wilbur Soot was very happy to be with his little champion again.
Sure, he wasn’t all too pleased to leave Fundy on his lonesome by the time they reached the prison, but it had been a quick prison break. Never underestimate a father who was in a hurry.
The warden never stood a chance.
Wilbur hummed along while Dream followed after him, his reluctant ally flinching the moment sunlight touched his pale and scarred skin. He didn’t quite wait for Dream, itching to get back to his son. Fundy could be so… He could be so… adventurous. By the time he and Dream returned to where Fundy was, his son was sitting underneath an oak tree, knees pressed to his chest while he stared off into the distance. Wilbur chuckled, the noise snapping Fundy awake from whatever reverie he had been in. He reached down a hand to pull his son to a stand, the fox hybrid pausing before reluctantly reaching out. His son stood up, then shrieked when he finally saw Dream.
“Now, Fundy, it’s rude to scream at others. Be nice, little champion.” Honestly, Wilbur was in limbo for only thirteen years (one year, apparently, in the mortal realm) and already his son had lost any form of manners. Then again, Ghostbur wasn’t much of a father. He had to control himself from thinking about the ghost of his old self, the same man who chose to leave his eight-year-old son alone. The same man who had taken so long to escape from the god’s grasps. He had been a weak man back then, but now he was strong enough to care for his son. He was just… eight years late. He glanced over at his son, the fox hybrid having hidden behind Wilbur’s back. Oh, well, his little champion had always been a bit too shy. Wilbur grinned, gesturing between Dream and Fundy. “Dream, this is my son Fundy. Fundy, this is Dream. He’s a friend.”
“I know who he is!” Fundy snapped. Wilbur frowned, his son was never this… snappy.
“Dream, if you excuse us for one moment. I have to speak with my son, you would understa— No, wait you wouldn’t. Sorry, forgot you were terrible with children.” The masked (well, he wasn’t wearing a mask now, and Wilbur refrained from laughing at the poor man’s plight) man didn’t say anything. He never even looked at Fundy. Good. Wilbur didn’t want Dream near his son anyway, even if they were allies. He led Fundy further away, a hand resting on his back. Fundy’s eyes were skittish, looking here and there almost like he was preparing to run. Wilbur held onto his son’s arm, pausing once they were far enough away from Dream, “Little champion, what’s wrong? Are you upset? I know it’s a lot, but I assure you, Fundy, Dream is a good ally—”
“Friends?” Fundy shook his head, disbelief in his eyes. “S-since when?”
“Dream brought me back to life, little champion.” Wilbur ruffled his son’s hair, the fox hybrid flinching before backing off. He tried not to take offense to that. “He’s the reason I’m here now.”
“... Where’s Ghostbur?”
“Does it matter? I’m here. Who cares about the ghost of a man long since dead?” He grasped his son’s shoulders, ignoring the frightened look in his eyes. Ghostbur had been a pitiful replacement of who he had been, but he had to thank the ghost. Ghostbur had spent a lot of time with Fundy, and had realized that Fundy… didn’t even know who Wilbur actually was. “I’m here now, son.”
“Stop calling me that.” Fundy muttered underneath his breath, eyes cast low to the ground. The sadness in his son’s look pulled at Wilbur’s heartstrings. “I’m not your son. You’re confused—”
“It’s alright, Fundy. We’ll get your memories back, papa promises you that.”
He pressed a kiss to his son’s forehead. Fundy winced, but didn’t make a move to run away. If anything, a bright shine seemed to appear in his eyes at the promise. Wilbur grinned, of course Fundy would want to remember. His little champion would want to remember… But then… Wilbur frowned. Did he really want Fundy to remember the pain of his lonely childhood?
He held his son’s hand in his - still so small. They’d cross that bridge when they got to it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wilbur @ Dream: No, wait you wouldn’t. Sorry, forgot you were terrible with children.
Fundy, who is literally 21-years-old: 🧍
Also:
Me: you can't make Fundy's hands smol, he's a pianist >:( are you making his life miserable? Also me: Not in this world :p Me: aight seems legit
15 notes · View notes
Text
ωιℓнємιηα νєηαвℓє | тнє ¢σℓℓαя | ρт 1
surprise bitch
i bet you thought you’d seen the last of me
--
warnings: swearing, sexual implications if you squint
word count: 3.1K
--
enjoy xx
--
Tumblr media
You'd been Ms Wilhemina Venable's personal assistant for five months now. And let me tell you, it was a roller coaster of emotions. Some days the woman was mild; not really bothering anyone much, except when they got on her way or were being especially annoying. But other days, she was literally a volcano. One word could set this bitch off, one slight misstep and you were literal toast. It was a difficult job, for sure, but honestly you didn't hate it. From the first day you knew that you weren't going to get off the hook on pretty much anything with Venable, so you did your best to impress her. To make sure that she knew that you were serious about your job and helping her out.
The woman seemed to not hate you, actually. Sure, at first she treated you the same as everyone else: badly. She's a very critical person, so you had to watch your mouth and actions. But a few weeks in and you had mostly come to understand what set her off, and what she liked, how she liked things done. It was actually quite rewarding, when you did stuff that she approved of. And surprisingly funny watching her tell off thing one and thing two (that being Mutt and Jeff) (seriously who names their kids that wtf). How she dealt with those two on a daily basis was beyond you, but she also dealt with you so you guessed she must have some sort of secret. And it was one of the many that you were determined to uncover.
You'd be lying if you said you didn't have just a teeny tiny crush on Venable. I mean, who wouldn't. Actually, I take that back. A lot of people wouldn't. And you were glad because somehow the idea of someone else having her made you feel strange. In a bad way. A feeling you weren't used to, that's for sure. But you pushed that aside for now because you had some serious work to do. Currently, you were writing down the important meetings Venable had for that day, and emailing the few people that she requested you to. (yes I did have to look up 'what do personal assistants do' don't @ me)
Tumblr media
(so there's that)
It was kind of boring, rather repetitive, but remembering the look on Venable's face when you did what she asked, in a timely fashion, and correctly, you smiled and continued on with a renewed sense of vigor. (the look fills you with determination)(okay okay I'll stop sorry i had to) You picked up your pen again, looking away from your laptop for the moment, and refocus on the planner next to you, quickly scribbling something down as you hum a tune under your breath. The pen moved smoothly against the paper, clean lines in neat handwriting appearing under your swift movements. The action is soothing, and you glance back at your computer, checking to make sure you had your number correct, before again looking down, writing down the last meeting for the day.
With a quick noise of satisfaction, you click the end of your pen closed and smack it against the desk a few times, flicking it between your fingers (imagine that scene in 'hit me baby one more time' where Britney is messing with her pen) and tapping your finger. You had been diagnosed with ADHD, so the impatient movements and fidgeting weren't an uncommon occurrence. Some people hated it, the constant leg tapping or finger drumming, the noise annoying for others. But the sound helped you to focus more. At your old job, you were allowed to listen to music whilst you worked, but Venable requested that you not do so as she wanted you to be able to hear what was going on around you. So you instead had to fill the empty silence with something else.
But all at once, a hand was placed over the one with your pen, stopping the movement and causing your other hand to falter it's rhythmic tapping pattern. Your head shot up and looked to the hand still resting on yours, swallowing at the purple half-glove covering it. And even though you were aware of the person that must have been now standing behind you, you still jumped in your seat and let out a shocked squeak when her voice was suddenly directly in your ear whispering "Stop fidgeting. You'll break your pen." The chuckle that followed as the hand retracted made you sigh a shaky breath, head falling back down again. "Hello Ms. Venable. Sorry for bothering you." You heard the woman tsk behind you and were tempted to spin your seat around to look at her, but you could also feel your face heat up at the sound and didn't particularly feel like showing that fact off to her.
"You weren't bothering me, Miss l/n. I simply do not want you breaking the pen, or making a mark on the desk. It simply won't do." She said, and you nodded, apologizing quietly again and setting your pen down on the wooden surface, pushing it a few inches way from you to prevent your fingers from wandering and grabbing it again. Clearing your throat slightly, and recognizing the lack of blush on your skin, you did turn around then, planner in hand, ready to give it to Venable as you had finished it early. But you once again forced your self backwards, chair back bumping into your desk as you found said woman almost directly in front of you, so close that all you had to do was barely bring your arm out and be able to touch her waist. She looked down slightly, one eyebrow raised and a small smirk on her lips at your actions.
"I--s-sorry, Ms. Venable, you just startled me there. U-Um, could you....could you, back up..a little bit? Please?" You mumbled, your free hand's fingers tapping nervously on your leg. Venable must have noticed the motion as she did so, taking a few steps back to allow you some personal space, and you let out a breath. Swallowing, you thanked her and stood up, hesitantly holding the planner out to her, not making eye contact at first but soon bringing your eyes up to meet her gaze, not wanting to look weak in front of her. Without a word, the woman grabbed the paper from your fingers, eyes moving down to read through it quickly. A few seconds passed before she let out a pleased hum. A small smile appeared on her lips when she looked back up at you, nodding once and saying "This looks very good. Thank you, Miss l/n. I hope I didn't give you too much of a fright before."
You quickly shook your head and assured her that she didn't; "Oh, it's fine, Ms. Venable. I wasn't paying attention, I probably should've heard you. Normally I would have, I must have been lost in my own thoughts. I'm sorry." Venable sighed lightly and waved you off with a "Stop apologizing. You did nothing wrong." You smiled shyly and glanced away from her, praying that a flush didn't appear over your cheeks. But one must have as the woman chuckled quietly again, clearly amused. But it was quickly over, as she turned without another word, only speaking as she was about to be out of your sight, with a "Oh, Mutt and Jeff wanted to see you by the way. I don't know what for, but I'd be careful if I were you." And before you could say anything else she was gone. You stood there for a few moments, thoughts flitting through your head. Why would those two want to see you? You didn't have anything to help them with, did you? They weren't angry, right?
You managed to rid yourself of such things, and quickly turned to face your laptop, not bothering to sit down as you just bent over to rest your elbow on the desk, crossing your ankles behind you and typing a few things out onto the screen before pushing the thing closed, giving it a little pat on the cover when it was done. You didn't have a reason for doing that, but you did it with most things anyway. You didn't recognize, once again, Venable presence in the room until she cleared her throat and you stood up quickly, spinning around to face her and absently pulling at your skirt, which you hadn't realized had hitched up a bit when you bent down. That was when you noticed the slight flush over Venable's neck, and how she was very much avoiding eye contact with you.
Clearing her throat again, she muttered "I apologize. I just came back to ask if you'd gotten those emails I asked you to send done as well, as that was my original purpose of coming here." You repeated her action before speaking, the atmosphere suddenly very tense; "O-Oh. Yes, yes I did most of them. I have one left that I was going to finish when I got back from the boys." Venable nodded, motioning vaguely with her hand for you to go on, and you did, slowly making your way towards her. As you were about to pass her, a quiet "Thank you" on your tongue, your wrist was grabbed, and you looked back to the woman in purple, a shock being sent up your arm at her touch. She had a curious look on her face, one that you couldn't really read, and she whispered "Perhaps you should wear longer skirts. We wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea, would we?" You swallowed roughly, throat suddenly very dry as you realized that it must have pushed up a bit further than you thought, and nodded quickly, also averting your eyes, looking anywhere but at the woman.
She finally let your wrist go with a hum, and allowed you to go past. Turning to face you after you'd made a few paces forward. She saw the flitting movements of your hands at your sides, and the way that you subconsciously pulled at the fabric of your skirt, tugging it a bit further down your legs. She hadn't meant to make you uncomfortable, of course, she was just surprised when she returned to your desk to find you bent over it, typing at your laptop. She also wasn't expecting to see the way that your skirt hitched up as your hips leaned against the thing, revealing a few more inches of thigh than Venable was used to seeing from you, and it made her breath catch and her throat go dry. She felt her face flush as multiple inappropriate thoughts and images flashed through her head. Most including you still bent over that desk, her hands on your skin, your voice a mess of whimpers and moans.
The woman was slowly becoming aware of just how you felt about her, and she was a bit ashamed to admit how it made her feel. You were the best assistant she'd ever had, for starters, and did your job almost perfectly. She'd never once had any reason to yell at or insult you, as she didn't have any grounds to do so on. You were well behaved, professional, and got your work done quickly, efficiently, and correctly. Venable was impressed, to say the least, and hoped that you weren't planning on leaving her anytime soon. And the image that she had just witnessed only a few minutes prior, even as she trekked through the building to return to her own office, still had yet to leave her, moments on loop like a broken record.
Meanwhile, you had just entered the last hallway to get to the large open space that Mutt and Jeff occupied, and a moment later you had arrived, and stood at the top of the stairs, arms crossed as you observed the two. One was doing something with his computer, the other had his face buried in a pile of cocaine. Loudly, you announced your arrival with "You know that shit's terrible for you, right?" Mutt's head popped up from behind the white dust, one side of his nose dirty with the stuff. With a sigh, you hopped down the stairs, pulling out a small handkerchief from your shirt pocket, walking over to him and carefully wiping the skin clean. He smiled lopsidedly up at you and you smiled back, shaking your head and replacing the cloth in your pocket once again. "Thanks, babe. And yeah, that's the point." Mutt said, spinning around in his chair once, arms flaring to his sides with a large grin.
Again you shook your head playfully, crossing your arms again. Jeff finally looked up at you, a grin on his face as well, and you looked over to him. "Well well, he lives." you said, and he scoffed, standing up and moving to be in front of you. He patted your head, ruffling your hair a bit; "Hey!" you exclaimed, pulling back and giggling at his antics. "I was told you boys needed me for something?" "Yeah, we're tryna figure this out, and since you're the math wiz here we thought you could help." "Mhm." You nodded and gestured with your hand, saying "Alright, where is it then?" Jeff led you over to his computer, pointing out a few figures and numbers on the screen, explaining to you what they were trying to do. He showed you what the machine was doing currently, and you bent down again, eyes skimming over the many things onscreen.
You'd taken a few years of coding in high school, so you kinda knew what you were doing. So you placed your hands on the keyboard, quickly typing out some values, imputing them into the system and placing them in the correct order. "Yeah, you did this part wrong. See where you had this string here? You need it over here for what you're doing. Now try it." You said, standing back up after pressing enter, saving the changes. Jeff did so, pressing the button on the mechanical arm next to the computer, and sure enough, it moved correctly this time. Jeff laughed out loud, smacking you on the shoulder and calling Mutt over. The other boy did so, and grinned, letting out a "whoop!" You bit your lip to stop from laughing again at their behavior, but it was infectious and you ended up laughing anyway, leaning a hand on the desk as your head bowed.
The three of you made a few jokes in there at some point, one person saying something and the other two bursting into laughter again. Eventually it petered out, huge smiles still on your faces, and Jeff picked you up around the waist, spinning you around. You let out a peal of laughter again, smacking at his shoulders, saying "Jeff, stop it! Put me down!", barely being able to get the words out between giggles. Finally he put you down and you stumbled a bit, dizzy from the spinning. Again you had to balance yourself on the desk, catching your breath from all the laughing as Mutt came up behind you and poked at your side, which made you shriek and jump back. Your eyes went wide and you shot up straight, however, when two sharp strikes were made on the floor of the room. You knew exactly who made them, and you spun to face the entrance, Mutt's hand still on your waist. Your laughter died down at the serious expression on Venable's face, and all of your excitement dropped to the floor as your nerves flared up again.
You absently pulled at your skirt, remnants of your earlier interaction still fresh in your mind. Venable's eyes raked over the three of you, Jeff looking around, a bit nervous but still okay, Mutt slowly backing away as his hand dropped from your side. And you, right in the middle, standing rigid and frozen, hands clasping in front of you to avoid any further motion of your fingers. Venable's gaze seemed to be focused not on you, but on the boys, as she took a few slow, menacing steps forward, cane smacking against the hard floor. In a low voice, she said "And what, pray tell, is going on here? I was told you two needed to see Miss l/n for a work inquiry. This does not look to me like a 'work inquiry'." You swallowed, but before either Jeff or Mutt could respond, you took a small step forward, steeling yourself and internally praying that today wasn't the day you died.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Venable. I-It was my fault. The boys did ask me here for a problem, which I fixed, but we got a bit caught up in it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. It's not the boys fault, you should be upset with me." You said, doing your best to keep eye contact with the woman, who's gaze was as hard as ever. And again, she took another few steps forward, until she was directly in front of you. It was times like these that the height difference was made very obvious, as she used her left hand to pull your chin up. No one made a sound for a few charged seconds and you stared right into Venable's dark eyes. She was close enough that you could feel her soft breathing on your skin, and it made shivers pulse down your neck. Finally, the woman pulled back, pushing your chin away from her with a flick of her fingers.
She turned without a word and walked out, marching up the steps as the three of you watched her back, until she turned the corner and was out of your sight, at which time you let out a breath you didn't realize you'd been holding, back slouching as you turned back to face the boys. You feel into a chair heavily, rubbing a hand over your eyes. "Love that woman, but holy fuck is she terrifying." You murmured under your breath. Jeff, who was closest to you, nodded in agreement, silently turning back to his computer to work some more on his codes. Mutt did the same, right after taking a nice sniff of some of that coke. You let out another heavy sigh and stood up. You then cleared your throat and said "Well I had better get back to work, before Ms. Venable comes back and actually murders us all. I'll see you boys later, and try not to OD on that stuff."
Mutt waved, as did Jeff, and with that you walked out of the room and headed back to your desk, praying that you wouldn't have to deal with Venable's wrath yet.
74 notes · View notes
hailhydra920 · 3 years
Text
A Chance Protector Pt.5
Tumblr media
Pairing: Lumberjack!Steve x Reader
Summary: Steve has a long day
Warnings: None
           Steve woke up to the sound of pounding. Groaning, he rubbed his tired eyes and stumbled out of bed. He ambled to the door, his eyes still blurry with sleep, and he swung it open. Bucky was standing there, a plate of bacon in his hands, and a smile on his face.
           “Did you forget, pal? I don’t smell pancakes, and your hair looks like two rats just got done mating.” Bucky chuckled.
           Steve was too tired to respond and just grunted, opening the door wider so Bucky could step inside. He ruffled Steve’s hair, and walked into the kitchen. Bucky stared at Steve’s tired state and crossed his arms.
           “Okay. Tell me what’s wrong. You never sleep in, and you never forget about our occasional breakfast together. Spill, now.”
           Steve sighed, running his hand through his hair before speaking. “I just got lost in my thoughts last night, and I couldn’t sleep. It’s no big deal.”
           Bucky raised a quizzical eyebrow, but just turned toward the cupboard. He took out the ingredients for pancakes and began mixing them together. Steve sat on a stool, watching Bucky prepare breakfast.
           “Was it about Peggy?”
           Steve stared at his friend, his blue eyes darting to the floor. “A little. I was also thinking about Y/n.”
           Bucky chuckled. “Ooh, girl trouble.”
           “It’s not like that.” Steve sighed. “I’m just curious about her personal life. And I don’t want to come off as creepy or anything.”
           “Well, you could take her out on a couple dates.” Bucky shrugged as he poured some batter onto the pan. “You could put yourself out there again. You can take some more steps in the healing process.”
           “I don’t think she’d be up for that.”
           “Why not?”
           Steve rolled his eyes. “She’s got ex troubles. And from the brief conversation we had on the subject, I think she doesn’t want anything to resurface.”
           “Then don’t make it a date. Just ask her if she wants to go to a get-to-know-you dinner.”
           “That’s a date.” Steve scoffed as he grabbed some bacon.
           “No, it’s not.” Bucky retaliated putting some pancakes on Steve’s plate. “Eat up, because we have a long day at the school.”
           Steve groaned. “Do I have to go?”
           “Yes. And bring a chainsaw! Kids kill for chainsaws! Actually, they kill with chainsaws. Maybe you shouldn’t bring a chainsaw. Don’t bring a chainsaw!”
           “I won’t. But I highly doubt anyone will come to my table anyway.”
~~~~~~~
           “Do you pull huge trees from their roots and split wood with your hands?” One little boy asked with wide eyes.
           Steve nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “Not exactly. I cut the tree with a chainsaw and I split the wood with my axe.”
           “A real axe?! Do you ever chop people’s heads off?”
           “N-no, I only chop wood with it. An axe is nothing to play with. Neither is a chainsaw. Never play with those things.” Steve sighed as the kid walked away.
           “Hi, Mr. Rogers!” Ronin called with a grin.
           “Hey, Ronin. Whatcha doing?”
           Ronin fiddled with the pencils on Steve’s table and rubbed one, causing the blue to turn to green. He smiled. “I came to your table to learn about what a LumberSteve does, and you have cool pencils. All the other tables have lame stuff, but you have color changing pencils and cool stickers.”
           Steve smiled fondly at Ronin, watching as he messed with the pencils and sifted through the stickers. He was glad someone thought the stuff at his table was cool, he wasn’t exactly sure what kids liked so he found some old supplies that he had in his basement.
           “Well, we’re actually called Lumberjacks.”
           Ronin looked at Steve in disbelief. “Really?! But your name isn’t Jack.”
           Steve laughed. “Yup, it’s crazy. We’re just called lumberjacks. We cut huge trees and chop them up into pieces that people can use for their stove.”
           “Wow,” Ronin breathed. “You must be super strong!”
           “It does take a lot of strength. What do you want to be when you grow up?” Steve asked the energetic boy.
           “Well…” Ronin looked at the pencil in his hands. “I wanted to be a boxer like my daddy, but…he’s not a very nice guy anymore. So maybe I can be a lumberjack like you! All the lumberjacks I’ve met are nice.”
           Ruffling Ronin’s hair, Steve let out a small laugh. “And how many lumberjacks have you met?”
           “Just you, but you’re really awesome. Do you think you could come over for dinner? That would be nice.”
           That was one thing about kids that always surprised Steve, they were so frank with everyone. He did want to have dinner with you, but it would probably make you uncomfortable, and that would make him feel awkward, and then the whole thing would be a disaster. Steve stared at the little boy’s expectant eyes, and he sighed.
           “I don’t know. You’d have to ask your mother. I wouldn’t want to intrude or anything.”
           Ronin jumped with joy. “Yay! It can be like a family dinner!”
           Steve swallowed back a lump in his throat. “I wouldn’t go that far buddy. Let’s just take things one step at a time”
           “Okay. Bye, Mr. Rogers!” Ronin said walking away.
           “Bye.” Steve said with a small wave.
           Bucky had been watching Steve, a smirk on his lips the entire time. Strolling over to his table, Bucky clapped Steve on the back.
           “What was all that about?”
           “Just telling a kid about being a lumberjack.”
           “Riiiight.” Bucky chuckled. “Tell me how family dinner goes.”
           “Ugh, it’s not a family dinner! And it’s probably not even going to happen. Go back to your table ya grease monkey!” Steve groaned pushing Bucky away.
~~~~~~~
           You were scribbling down whatever came to your mind, the pieces of your novel coming together in perfect harmony. It was one of those writing streaks and you just had to write it all down before you forgot it. The pencil was moving in record time, your thoughts becoming more real by the second. You were completely in the zone.
           “Mommy! We’re home!”
           And now that zone was gone.
           “Mommy! Mr. Rogers is coming over for dinner!” Ronin shouted with glee.
           You’d never lifted your head so quickly. “He’s what?”
           “I invited Mr. Rogers over for dinner. He said to ask you, but I knew you’d say yes.” Ronin said hanging up his backpack.
           Dawn hung up her backpack beside Ronin’s and smiled at you. “Mr. Rogers is coming over for dinner?”
           You sighed and rubbed you hand across your face, and your eyes landed on the slip of paper by the lamp. Steve’s number was nicely written on it, he had said to give him a call if you needed anything. Thoughts bounced around in your head, trying to determine to if you wanted to call him or not. You slowly picked up your phone and typed in his number. Your finger hovered over the call button. Closing your eyes, you pressed the call button.
Perm Tags: @sleep-i-ness​ @thefridgeismybestie​
A Chance Protector Tags: @fukyouthink
36 notes · View notes
Text
Paralles | Chapter 10
Add yourself to my taglist! | Here’s my masterlist! | Parallels Masterlist
Characters: OC! Violet Grace Dawson, Luke Patterson, Julie Molina, Carrie Wilson, Bobby Wilson, Reggie Peters, Alex Mercer, Flynn nolastname, Willie nolastname, Nick Danforth-Evans, Dirty Candy 
Guideline: Sunset Universe is the universe in which Sunset Curve is famous and Violet is friends with Carrie, Julie and Flynn. Candy Universe is the universe in which Dirty Candy is more famous and Sunset Curve has broken up. 
Song(s) used: Boy Bye - Emma Bale
Warnings: I wrote this after watching Ginny and Georgia, so.... I added Marcus Baker as a character don’t @ me. Minor anxiety. 
Words:  4,231
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
The second Violet woke up the day after her date with Luke, her phone started ringing. Glancing down at the screen, Carrie’s picture smiled back at her. Violet chuckled, not surprised that the girl was FaceTiming her at this moment and immediately picked up. 
Before Violet could even greet her best friend, the blonde girl attacked her with the important question. “How was it? Tell me everything!” 
Violet chuckled as she sat down on her bed with the phone angled in front of her. “It was so amazing! He took me to this fancy Italian restaurant called “Figurati Italia”, which I’m pretty sure means “Imagine Italy”.” She sounded dreamy and resembled a lovesick puppy. It scared Carrie a little as the girl droned on and on about how chivalrous and amazing Luke had been on the date. 
“He did say something about a blind date you guys had set us up on…” Violet continued after minutes of dream-talk about the date. “What’s that about?”
Carrie swallowed harshly. Being reminded of that mistake made the guilt well up in her stomach. “That was – uhm…” She searched her brain for the right words. “Violet – other Violet – was so in love with Luke and the boys knew Luke had a minor crush on Violet too, or at least they thought he did. So, we set them up on a date, before the whole Sunset Curve thing blew up. When they realized what we had done, Luke kinda laughed in her face and told her he’d never date her…” 
Violet’s jaw dropped. “What an asshole!” she snarled. “And you let me go out with him?!”
“I’m sorry, Vi! But this is different, this is – this is to get you back!” 
Violet chuckled, her second of anger switching out into worry. “And what if that’s not how we get me back?” 
“Then we’re just gonna have to find another way and in the meanwhile, get you used to this universe?” Carrie suggested. Her stomach felt weird in that moment, like a bad omen, a foreboding that something terrible was going to happen. 
The brunette girl nodded her head slowly, trying to wrap her mind around the idea of being here. Forever. She wasn’t the Violet that used to live here. She was nothing like her. Or at least, she didn’t think she was, judging from the stories she’d heard. People would notice, at some point that she wasn’t who they knew her to be. There had to be a way to mislead them. To learn to be the Violet they knew. 
“Do you know if Violet had some sort of diary? Just so I can get a sense of what she was like, how her brain worked and stuff?” 
Carrie pondered over it for a moment. “She did have this songbook she used to write her songs and thoughts into? I believe she hid it in her nightstand.” 
Violet immediately dove towards the white nightstand and opened the first drawer, finding a bright blue fake leather notebook with ‘VGD’ embossed in gold on the front. 
“I found it…” 
Curiosity rose within both girls. Carrie had never been allowed to look into that unless it was a song Violet was willing to share. Though she knew there was more in there than she was allowed to see. Violet’s biggest secrets, her deepest thoughts. They were all stored in there and now, the girls were granted a free pass into Violet’s mind. 
“What’s in it?” Carrie asked. 
“Songs, mostly,” Violet replied as she browsed through the notebook. She halted at a song titled ‘Homesick’ and as her eyes scanned the lyrics, she could feel every single feeling her parallel self was feeling in that moment. Her eyes halted at the date that was scribbled at the very top of the page. “Care… Around what time did you set her up with Luke on that blind date?” 
“Uhm…” Carrie hummed as she pondered about the question. “I’d say around March 2018 or something.” 
Violet’s heart dropped. “Huh…” 
“What?” Carrie asked. 
“I think Violet may have written a song about him,” she mumbled, but Carrie heard her, loud and clear. “It’s kinda heartbreaking…” Her fingers traced over the stains of run-out ink. Violet had been crying while writing this song. “Luke’s an asshole…”
“That’s no news,” Carrie scoffed. 
Violet stared at the paper while the gears in her brain started doing their work. “He needs to pay for what he did… He needs to pay for breaking that poor girl’s heart.” 
“And how are you gonna do that? He’s so self-absorbed and obsessed with his fame, he won’t even notice you’re trying to make him pay for what he did…” Carrie reasoned, but to no avail. Violet was already plotting the perfect scheme in her mind. 
“Vivi,” her mother walking into her room made her snap out of her train of thought. “Can you go to the store for me, please? I forgot the feta cheese for dinner tonight.” 
Violet rolled her eyes at her mother. “Of course, ma, I’ll go in a minute.” 
“Don’t call me ‘ma’,” her mother frowned. “And get outta bed, it’s past noon!” 
The girl managed a smile. “Sorry, mom. I’ll go in a minute.” 
Her mother shot her a smile before turning on her heel and leaving her daughter’s bedroom, letting Violet and Carrie to their conversation. 
“I hear there’s a super cute new bag boy in the store around the corner,” Carrie informed with a smirk. “Total cool guy. Guitarist and has a motorcycle.” 
“Huh,” Violet hummed as the gears in her brain started working yet again. “I do have a thing for guitarists, don’t I?” 
“That you do,” Carrie agreed. 
Violet chuckled before saying goodbye to Carrie and getting off her bed. After throwing on some fresh clothes and doing her makeup, Violet left the house for the store with the scheme unfolding in her brain. The new bag boy would be the perfect pawn in her plan. 
Though, when she entered the store and laid her eyes on the new bag boy, she didn’t expect him to be this gorgeous. His sharp jawline and high cheekbones, along with the perfect swoopy brown hair was enough for her heart to nearly burst out of her chest. 
“Fuck,” she muttered and made her way towards the cheese aisle. With her mind set on the pretty bag boy, she searched the shelves for the feta cheese and once she had found it, she reached for it. Being in such a rush, however, caused her to take the packet behind it with her, causing it to fall to the floor. “God dammit, stupid cheese,” she groaned to herself as she bend down to pick it up. 
A hand bumped with hers as she reached for it, and, when she looked up, she stared straight into Pretty Boy’s light brown eyes. Violet swore they stared right through her soul, baring every little piece of her. 
“What’s the cheese done to you?” he asked, chuckling as the two of them got up again, both holding the cheese. 
She regathered herself from the impact the boy had on her ovaries and flicked a strand of hair out of her face. “It did what I want you to do.” She confidently said, her lips slightly parting as it had always been one of the many tricks she had up her sleeve. 
Pretty Boy’s eyes skidded from the left to the right, trying to figure out what she meant. 
Smirking, Violet wrapped her hand tighter around the cheese and, as he was still holding it, pulled it closer towards her, pulling him along until his face was inches away from hers. “Fall for me,” she whispered before letting go and pushing past him. 
“You got plans tonight?” he shouted after her. 
Violet smirked and turned around, glad her plan was working. “Yep, I’ll be at Red and Blue tonight,” she told him, hoping he’d get the hint. Judging by the smirk that lifted his plump lips, Violet knew she was winning. 
“I’ll see you there then.” 
And the boy managed to keep his word. That night, when Violet was at Red and Blue with Julie, Flynn and Carrie, the Pretty Boy showed up too. Her breath hitched in her throat as she noticed him approach her. 
“You didn’t,” Carrie gasped in Violet’s ear. 
“I did.” She smiled at the boy. “Hey,” she greeted when he was close enough. 
“Fancy seeing you here,” he teased as he reached for her hand and kissed the back of it like a true gentleman. “I never got your name.” 
She went on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his ear. “Violet Dawson,” she introduced herself over the loud music. 
“Marcus. Marcus Baker.”  The two of them smiled at one another, causing Violet’s world to stop spinning for just a moment. “Wanna dance closer to the DJ? The atmosphere’s always better there.” Violet bit down on her lower lip as she nodded her head in response. Marcus then led her through the sea of dancing people, holding on tight to her hand. 
As the two danced together to the music, Violet noticed Luke walking into the club with his bandmates closeby. His eyes skidded across the crowd and halted when they met Violet’s. He hadn’t even noticed who she was dancing with until he had approached them. 
“Hey,” he said, “Who’s this?” 
“Marcus,” Pretty Boy introduced himself with a smile as he reached his hand out for Luke to shake, which the rockstar completely ignored. “Okay…”
“You wanna get out of here?” Luke asked Violet, cocking his head towards the door. 
Violet’s eyebrows knitted together, “I’m actually having fun, Luke. I’d rather stay.” She looked up at Marcus, shooting him a quick, apologetic smile. “But you can go if you’re not having fun.” 
“Oh, uhm… No, I’m staying. You want something to drink?” he asked instead, and Violet could tell he was getting a little nervous. 
“Sure. You want something, Marcus?” 
Marcus hummed and grabbed Violet’s hand again before guiding her towards the bar, leaving Luke to trail behind them. 
“When were you gonna tell me you had a boyfriend?” Marcus asked, his lips pressed to her ear to make sure only she would hear. 
Violet chuckled. “Oh, he’s not my boyfriend. We went on like one date and I think he’s desperate for another, but I’m not really that interested.” 
“Ah,” said Marcus, nodding his head. “You need me to make sure he knows that?” 
Violet smirked. “No, I’ve got another idea for that.” She said and confidently made her way to the stage. Marcus watched as she walked, his lips turned up into a smirk. 
She grabbed the microphone on the stand and cleared her throat before nodding at the band, telling them to start playing the song. While the upbeat, bass-driven music chimed through the venue, the girl started swaying her hips before starting to sing with her eyes focused on Luke. 
“You thought I'd worry That I've made the wrong decision But I'm moving on way faster than I thought I think I've grown out Your destructive efforts Still you're holding on to all the things we loved”
A soft, yet distinctive guitar riff chimed in at the pre-chorus and when she looked up, she found Marcus next to her with a guitar in his hands and a smile on his face. 
“You want me to come back Like I want you anytime Now I'm here with somebody Now it's the sad boy you play out And again I'm falling Yet again that's no surprise Thought I left it behind”
Having Marcus there gave her the confidence to really go for it on the chorus. She started moving her hips to the music while singing the lyrics to Luke, who stood near the bar, watching her and Marcus like a hawk. 
“But I don't want this You think I want you back But I'm so over this Boy bye And I'm not homesick You think I want you back But I'm so over this For now?”
The music went back to its bass-driven core and while Violet focused on Luke at the back of the club, Marcus couldn’t keep his eyes off of Violet as she sang. From the moment they had met, he had found her interesting. She was this overly confident, attractive woman and it intrigued him. He wanted to know what she was compensating for. 
“Friends keep asking why we're not together So I guess you haven't told 'em what you did Oh You may be sorry It's not better late than never And I think this time I'm glad we called it quits”
As even Marcus grew more confident on the guitar, Violet made her way over to him and leaned on his shoulder. This action made him look up. Neither of them could hide the smile crawling to their lips as their eyes locked. 
“You want me to come back Like I want you anytime Now I'm here with somebody Now it's the sad boy you play out And again I'm falling Yet again that's no surprise Thought I left it behind”
She stepped away from Marcus again and for a few seconds, kept eye contact with him until she got lost in the music and let herself go during the chorus. 
“But I don't want this You think I want you back But I'm so over this Boy bye And I'm not homesick You think I want you back But I'm so over this For now?”
Her eyes landed on Luke again to see his reaction on her performance. She didn’t like what she saw though. He looked at her in the same way he had during their dinner. The literal embodiment of the heart eyes emoji. It frustrated her, but it didn’t distract her from the song. 
“But we gotta stop the playing round The playing round For Gods sake Oh we gotta quit the playing round It's more than we can take Oh we gotta stop this playing round The playing round For Gods sake Oh we gotta stop the playing round It's more than we can take”
“But I don't want this You think I want you back But I'm so over this Boy bye And I'm not homesick You think I want you back But I'm so over this For now?”
Marcus took Violet’s glance his way as a sign to really go at it on the guitar and show off a little. It did seem to impress her as she turned towards him, giving him that same smirk she did in the store. 
“But I’m so over this Boy bye And I'm not homesick You think I want you back But I'm so over this Boy bye Boy bye”
She let out a very last hum as the band stopped playing, Marcus included. The crowd then burst out into applause and even the guitar boy next to her clapped for her. Her cheeks heated up whilst she locked eyes with him. 
“I didn’t know you could sing,” Marcus said, placing the guitar back where he found it. 
Violet shrugged. “Didn’t know you played guitar.” That was a lie, Carrie did tell her that, but it was the right thing to say as it caused Marcus to bare his pearly white teeth that nearly caused Violet to get a heart attack. 
“That was hot,” Luke grunted in her ear when she and Marcus approached the bar for another drink.  
Violet furrowed her eyebrows. “You didn’t get the hint, did ya?” she asked and Luke tilted his head a little, the smirk vanishing from his face. “Leave me alone, Luke. Please?” 
“Wha– Violet?” Before he could say anything else, Marcus had already whisked her away to go and dance on the dancefloor with a drink in their hand. None of it made much sense to Luke, but he figured it was just the new way Violet operated. Maybe she didn’t want to be exclusive. Maybe he needed to try harder. 
And that’s what he was going to do. 
Try harder.  
Tumblr media
Violet was almost scared to turn up to practice the next day. Luke would probably hate her for rejecting him and it would make everything awkward and weird. It wasn’t going to end well and she knew that. 
When she arrived at the garage, she was proven right. Luke acted cold towards her as soon as she entered the studio and everyone could feel how the warm, comfortable bond they had, had turned ice cold. 
“No, Bobby!” Luke groaned for the nth time that rehearsal. “It’s a B chord, not a C chord! Are you ever gonna get it right?!” His voice was thundering through the garage and it startled each and every person in that room. 
Violet glanced over to Carrie, who furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She hadn’t been informed about the conversation Violet and Luke had had the other day, but she could tell something had been off about the two since rehearsal started. 
“Luke, calm down!” Alex yelled at the lead guitarist. He did know what had happened between the two and he knew Luke was taking it out on everybody else instead of owning up to it like an adult. 
Luke scoffed, “No, Alex! This is exactly why we broke up in the first place! Because we don’t work!” His eyes flicked over to Violet, making her feel like there was a different layer to that sentence. They wouldn’t work either. 
“No, you’re just mad because you got rejected!” Alex fought back. At least someone mentioned the elephant in the room. The girls on the sofa gasped and all three of them immediately looked at Violet, who shrunk in her seat behind the piano. 
Luke clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Rub it in, why don’t you?” he muttered before placing his guitar on its stand and gathering his stuff. 
As he started to make his way to the door, Violet got out from behind the piano and ran after him. “You can’t run out of rehearsal, Luke! Come on! Just because I didn’t wanna go on a date with you, doesn’t mean you have to quit the band!” 
“I do though,” he said and turned around. With a few large, but slow-paced steps, he stopped in front of the brunette girl that had broken his heart and hurt his fragile reputation. 
“Why?” 
Sighing, Luke muttered,“Because I joined for you, you idiot.” 
Violet couldn't possibly say anything to that and let Luke walk away again. The feelings she had been feeling for him all this time finally got reciprocated. By a different version of Luke, that is, but still. It didn’t quite matter which Luke said it. She heard it coming from his mouth. The words she’d been wanting to hear for years. 
“I am so sorry, guys,” she breathed, hiding her face in her hands. “This is all my fault.” 
“It’s not your fault, Violet,” Reggie said, shrugging. “Luke’s just stubborn. He can’t take no for an answer.” 
It was supposed to make her feel better, but it didn’t quite. She had ruined any and all chances she had of returning to her own universe just because one version of that guy had hurt her years ago. 
“Can we end rehearsal early then?” Alex questioned, coming out from behind his drums. “I got a date with Willie tonight.” 
Violet smiled. At least that was a thing here. “Yeah, sure. It’s not like we’re gonna be able to perform at Chubbie’s anyway,” she said, shrugging. 
“We’ll get there, don’t worry,” Alex tried to soothe her and placed a hand on her shoulder as he passed her on his way to the door. 
“Yeah, we’ll be ready in time,” Reggie agreed as he, along with Julie and Flynn left the garage, leaving Violet with the Wilsons. 
Violet shook her head, trying to wrap it around what had just happened. “How can we be ready in time when the gig is this weekend?” she mumbled to herself when Carrie wrapped her arms around the girl. 
“I know how to get your mind off of everything,” she said, pressing her temple against Violet’s. “Girl’s night at my place.” 
Violet couldn’t help the smile reaching her cheeks. That did sound like a good plan. The best plan, even. It would keep her mind off Luke and the gig and the whole universe thing. It would calm her nerves and anxieties. 
Or at least, she thought it would until they arrived at the Wilson’s house. A group of girls stood at the front door, angry expressions on their faces and arms crossed in front of their chests. 
“Where have you guys been?” Kayla asked, grumpily. “We’ve been waiting here for over an hour!” 
Carrie squeezed her eyes shut. “Fuck, I forgot about rehearsal…” she muttered. 
“Rehearsal for what?” Violet questioned, unaware of any gigs that were happening for Dirty Candy. Though, judging from Kayla’s shocked face, there was a gig she should be aware of. 
“The gig this Saturday!” she sneered. “A mega-important gig at that!” 
Carrie and Violet glanced at each other, eyes widened in complete horror. The exact same day as the gig at Chubbie’s with the boys from Sunset Curve. As Kayla and the girls started yelling at Carrie and Violet, the latter completely zoned out. She couldn’t hear a word of what was said. All she could think about was how she might be stuck here for the rest of her life if she didn’t perform at Chubbie’s on Saturday with the boys. 
What if they didn’t show up after that humongous fight? What if that wouldn’t be the thing they had to do to get her back? 
The girl’s storming off snapped Violet out of her thoughts, yet she still found herself in some sort of state of shock. Nothing felt right anymore and everything kind of sucked. There was no way she was ever going to survive in this universe if stuff like this kept happening. 
“Vi?” she could hear Bobby’s voice in the far distance. “Are you okay?” 
She coughed, shaking herself back. “Yeah… Yeah. I’m okay,” she clearly lied but the Wilsons didn’t push further and instead took her inside where the girls watched some movies together. 
Within half an hour, Carrie had already fallen asleep and Violet couldn’t bear watching the rest of the movie. Her mind was restless and kept running back and forth over her options and every possible scenario that could happen. 
There was only one thing that could keep her mind off everything. So, she hoisted herself up from the couch and made her way to the music room where she took a seat at the piano. 
Her fingers grazed the keys, letting a soft melody fly out the instrument. A content sigh left her body as she let the music take her away. It felt nice to let everything out of her system. It seemed to be her one and only escape to her from this crazy world. 
“You okay, Vi?” Bobby’s voice shook her out of her thoughts, causing to stop playing the piano. “You seemed a little out of it earlier.” He moved over towards her and sat down next to her. Their shoulders touched and it caused a weird spark to send shivers down Violet’s back. Something she had never felt before. 
“Yeah… Everything’s just… a lot, you know?” Bobby tilted his head, urging her to elaborate. “The switching universes, Luke suddenly being into me, the pressure of being in Dirty Candy…. It’s just – a lot… I’m used to being on my own, writing music with my best friends, but now I’m suddenly supposed to be this whole other person…. It’s exhausting.” 
A single tear rolled down her cheek, which Bobby caught with his thumb just before it reached her lip. The two locked eyes and for a second, Violet found herself drowning in his eyes. She had never noticed how gorgeous they were until now. The dark brown, the slight twinkle that was in them. She had never seen him up close like this. Her eyes took that liberty to scan his entire face. From his eyes to his nose and cheeks to his lips. Before they could move back to his eyes, Bobby closed the gap between the two of them and kissed her, full on the lips. 
Violet was startled, at first, but quickly melted away under his touch, closing her eyes as he deepened the kiss. The kiss lasted longer than it should’ve, but Violet didn’t quite mind. Or at least not until her mind drifted back to Luke and she felt like she was kissing him instead of Bobby. 
This caused her to flinch back. 
“Sorry! I shouldn’t have…. I’m sorry,” she quickly muttered before getting up and running out. 
Though it was a mistake to Violet, Bobby didn’t quite see it like that. If it were up to him, this would’ve happened a lot earlier and could happen a lot more often. He had never admitted it to anyone, but he had been in love with Violet for years. Those feelings had never been reciprocated, so he didn’t act up on them either. Violet was just Violet. Until now.
Tumblr media
Everything Taglist: 
@bonobos-candy-bar-2 @calamitykaty​ @littlemissaddict​ @n0wornever​ @phantompogues​ @praetorofthelegion @sweetpeasturtleneck @wanniiieeee  @lesko_ @sunsetwilson 
JATP Taglist: 
@90ssunsetcurve @angryknightstatesmantrash @authentic-gillespie @bexxy @bookdealer5 @bright-molina @brooke0297 @bucksmaddie @buckybarnesishot310 @caitsymichelle13 @candycornmgg @catgirlpwr @charliesmountains @cordeliascrown @crybabyddl @echocharm17618 @fangirlangioma @flower-name @frickin-bats @gray_jato @hannahhistorian92 @happinessinthedarkesttimes @headheartbellarke @hemmingsness @iainttakingshitfromnobody @ifilwtmfc @jandthephantoms @jaskiers-sweetkiss @jatp-is-god @joynerxmercer @kaitieskidmore1 @kcd15 @kelpwithawhy @kinda-really-lost @kiss-themoongoodbye @knitsessed @lilostif16 @lookingthroughmirrors @magicalxdaydream @marinettepotterandplagg @musicianspiritsblog @mystic-writings @notasofti @pxperphxntom @rangerelik @rh-girlonfire @ruvaitkevicius @spencerreidwhore @stars-soph @stressyanddepressysimp @sunsetcurvej @talk-on-the-street @tefilovesreading @tenaciousperfectionunknown @teti-menchon0604 @the-hufflepuff-hunter  @thedarkqueenofavalon @cucumbers-and-olives @thequirkybookaholic @threeghostboys  @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic @whitetigerlover17 @boggie-brainrot @wiselight @gigglysokkamcu @nightfurya
Luke/Charlie Taglist: 
@camiladelrio98 @cloudy-skyler @gingerxarmy​ @killerqueenfan @lolychu @lovesanimals @luckylouiebug  @lukeys-giggle​ @myfriendscallmebeans​ @needyreggie​ @perfectlywrongformend3s​ @rachmmb​ @tenaciousperfectionunknown​ @thecharlietomygillespie @whitemanshoe19​ @rottenroyalebooks
Crossed out names are the users I was unable to tag. Please make sure everything in your settings is set so I am allowed to tag you or if you changed your url, please drop me a message/ask!
TAGLIST |  MASTERLIST | PARALLELS MASTERLIST
19 notes · View notes
liibrii · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media
Ojiro Aran x Reader
Part 2 of this scribble
Genre: angsty with a happy ending 
Warnings: Inarizaki shares 1 brain cell and the manager is using it 24/7 ; some cursing
A/N: after that first part I felt really bad for breaking reader's heart so here we go. 
Tumblr media
For the remaining days of the training camp Aran can't look you in the eyes. Somehow that hurts more than his rejection. Your heart lays in shards and pieces yet that doesn't sting nearly as much as the awkward glances and silence and the careful tip-toeing he does when you're around. You try your best to act as if nothing happened. Hiding behind laughter and smiles is so easy nobody on the team notices you're heartbroken.
It all changes once you return home. Your room is so silent when you hide under covers and hug your favourite plushy. Your throat itches and every breath hurts. It's just a stupid crush, you keep telling yourself, just a crush that will fade away. Yet in that moment it doesn't hurt any less. You burry your face in the pillow to muffle your sobs.
Before the summer break started you made plans with other third years to meet at Kita's and watch the stars. Hours before you were supposed to meet you come up with an excuse and stay home. You aren't sure you could handle Aran's presence without bursting into tears.
You shudder at the though of the coming weekly practices. If only you had put more effort in finding another manager. Quiting the club would be so simple then.  
Tumblr media
Summer practices were the ideal time for mischief. With no homework so much time was left to freely ponder how best to rig the vending machine. At turn you saw a prank practically begging to be pulled. Watermelon dowsed in chilli oil, some salt in a water bottle, volleyball covered with slime that could easily be blamed on sweaty hands, ah the opportunities really were endless. It was the time when your talents shone the brightest.
At least they did in previous years. Now you just want to reorganize the storage and return home as soon as possible.
“Are ya feelin' okay?“ asks Kita after helping you move some very heavy boxes.
Your heart drops. Has he noticed you've barely been holding back tears? “What do you mean?“
“You've been behavin' these last weeks.“
Ah. His reasoning catches you by complete surprise. Part of you wants to laugh, part of you wants to smack him. A part of you is disappointed he hadn't noticed you really need a shoulder to cry on. “Such observational skills Shinsuke, no wonder coach picked you to be the captain.“
“Did somethin' happen between you and-“
“Nothing happened.“
He knows you're lying. The light pat on the head he gives you tells he sees the hurt you've been so thoroughly concealing. Your throat starts itching again and tears threaten to spill before you bite your lip, too stubborn to let them fall.
You take a moment to compose yourself before returning to the gym, glad Aran is nowhere to be seen. Some of your boys are gathered by the bench and you hear the twins arguing. At first you don't care, after all it's a normal occurence. Your curiousity is only sparked once you hear the mention of your name.
“What are they fighting about this time?“ you ask Omimi when you come closer.
Immediate silence falls on the group as they all look at you. Great, what did you do this time?
Atsumu grabs the letter laying on the bench and hands it to you. Your heart drops. You don't have to read it to know what it is.
Your name on the envelope is written so big it's impossible to overlook and it's sealed with a glittery heart sticker.
“Open it, open it,“ urges the blonde and Osamu immediately berates him to leave you be.
You wonder who it could be from. Or maybe you don't want to know. It doesn't fill you with any kind of giddines or anticipation, just with slight nausea accompanied by shaking hands.
You hear a fight erupt behind you.
“Senpai, should we stop them?“ Ginjima points at twins rolling on the ground. You shrug, not really caring what they are up to.
“They could get hurt,“ says Omimi.
“Don't worry Omiren they have no brain so there won't be any permanent damage.“
You stuff the letter in the pocket of your jacket. The tears you've been trying so hard to hold back start running down your cheek and you hurry away before boys could notice.
Tumblr media
The letter lies unopened on your bed. You've been contemplating throwing it away on the way home but decided against it. It would be too harsh, throwing someone's feelings away without even considering them. You remove the glittery heart sticker and read the paper inside.
Dear y/n,
you're truly amazin'. Everytime I see ya my day becomes better-
You stop reading. Not because you wouldn't care, but because you recognize the handwriting.
Tumblr media
The plan was genius. Bulletproof. Absolutely fantastic without any loopholes and no way of anything possibly going wrong in any way.
All Twins needed to do is make Aran believe someone else is competing for your heart. Stoke his jealousy till it becomes stronger than his utter embarassement over having completely misunderstood your confession.
Only they had no idea you knew the handwriting of everyone on the team in case you ever needed to forge their signature.
Moments after reading the love letter you decide to talk to Osamu the coming day. What point would there be in playing with him? You weren't looking forward to the conversation in the slightest still, better let him down gently as soon as possible.
You try to get him outside after practice ends but his brother doesn't seem pleased only one of them is having your attentin. You grab Osamu's arm, ready to drag him away. “Sorry but we gotta speak in private.“
He doesn't even flinch under your tries to move him. “'Bout what?“
You don't want to do it, but if he refuses to move you had no other choice. You pull out the love letter and watch as all the colour drains from his face. “This.“
“Why would 'Samu know anythin' bout that?“ interferes Atsumu waving frantically and as if that didn't already raise your suspicions he continues to blabber on and on till Osamu stops him.
“Stop Tsumu. We've been found out.“
After they explain their genious plan you need a moment to grasp what is happening. “Okay. Let me get this straight. You thought making Aran jealous would make him confess?“ They nod. “Right. How does me thinking Osamu's got a crush on me help?“
“Yer weren't supposed to know who wrote the letter,“ mummbles Osamu.
“Samu sweetie, you have the most memorable handwriting I've ever seen. By that I mean unreadable. And you used the wrong kanji here, by the way.“
God, when did your boys become such idiots?
“We're sorry.“
If you weren't feeling so many emotions at once you'd find their crushed faces hilarious. Instead you sigh. You're exhausted. And in a need of ice-cream, preferably with some cookies on the side. “Right. Let's never mention this again.“
“Then Aran-san and ya-“
“Aran doesn't like me, alright? It's fine, I'll get over it. Now get your asses back to practice!“
“I never said I didn't like you,“ says a familiar voice from behind your back.
The faces twins make while backing away to leave you alone with Aran make you wish you'd disappear into thin air. It takes all the strength you have to turn. It's the first time in your life you aren't happy to see him. You stand in silence, avoiding his gaze and condidering running away. Aran speaks up before you can act.
“Sorry for avoidin' ya. I've been meanin' to talk with ya but couldn't think of what to say.“ He fidgetes with a rose in his hands. “I'm sorry.“
“Why?“ you weakly ask, unsure if you want to hear the answer.
“When you... confessed. I thought it was a prank. And I never let you explain cause I got scared. I like ya, y/n. But I could never tell if you were messin' around with yer flirtin' or I was just readin' too much into it.“
“Why would I mess around?“
“Well... I never thought you'd actually be interested in me... I mean yer so amazin' ya know. It's no wonder ya have secret admireres. Ya keep track of everythin' the team needs, yer always cheerin' me up when I need it the most.“ His shoulders slump as he utters his next words. “I never believed ya could be in love with someone as borin' as me. I just want ya to know I do like you. More as a friend. Though ya deserve someone better.“
Aran is confessing to you. He is proclaiming his love for you, holding a rose, looking like the prince charming straight out of your dreams. And yet your annoyance grows with every word that comes out of his mouth.
“Excuse me?“ you interrupt. “What the hell do you mean I deserve someone better?“
Your words take him aback. He tries to mummble his way out of this particular pickle but you're having none of it.
“Gosh Aran you can be real impossible sometimes! First of all, how dare youeven think I would ask you out as a joke?! Is that how low of an opinion you have about me?! We're friends for fucks' sake you know me better than that! Second of all, why on earth can't you see I've been head over hills in love with you since we were first years?! And I swear, if I have to hear one more oh I'm nothin' special, I'll throw some hands, you hear me?! You are amazing! The best possible friend one could ask for, you have the patience of a saint, you're fun to be around, and so much more! What do I have to do to get this to stick in your head?! Use super-glue?! I don't want anyone else! I want you.“
Aran looks completely shocked as tears form in his eyes.
Oh no. Now you've done it.
“Please don't cry cause then I'l cry and this will get even more embarassing.“
He chuckles. “Sorry y/n.“ He takes your hand in his. “I really, really want to be your boyfriend.“
You're the one trying not to sob now. Ah, how the tables have turned, you think and nod. You can hear cheering somewhere in the distance but you couldn't care less. You grab Aran’s jacket and pull him down, crashing his lips to yours. They're soft and warm and you don't want to part from him, ever. He hugs you and you're glad he's holding you so close because right now you couldn't stand on your own. When you part he presses a kiss to your nose and then forehead.
“I love you,“ he whispers.
46 notes · View notes