#what a surprise....thought this was gonna be a short n snappy post

[unproduciblesmackdown]

i seen a few times ppl like implying that the positive char development that the donuts are getting via their experiences has anything to do with them having Needed A Break from each other.......i’m truly bemused like. are you talking about this in terms specifically of their Relationship to each other? b/c frankly the way i was seeing it is that their relationship prior to these arcs was actually in a fairly chill place, and that they had figured out a lot of things abt their own / each others needs in terms of it that had been causing them problems and all. obviously i wasnt thinking like “guess everythings perfect for them now” since i mean it wasnt even clear they were like for sure officially ~together~ but also b/c why would it be when they’d just started to be able to have a more solid handle on their own mutual deal

but also like. the only thing we can really say is that sadie quit the big donut and got “yolo” knuck tats because there was nothing at all adequate abt the job w/o having a coworker to hang out w and the fact that lars just went off and died is like, well then live for the fuckin moment i guess huh. like that situation isnt even caused just by the fact that lars is absent, like maybe he’s on vacation or something. its that he, again, died and is still in danger and nobody knows for sure if/when he’ll get back. maybe she wouldn’t’ve started a garage band if that hadn’t happened, but its not like if she had done that and lars was still there, she would definitely be prevented from doing anything involving pursuing her interests, like. idk hopefully nobody thinks that ppl in relationships can’t have independent pursuits or focus on their personal interests

meanwhile there’s no point in saying that anything lars is doing requires sadie’s absence either. its more sort of say the absence of absolutely everyone on earth save steven for a bit there. like sure it was a factor that they got separated the way they did and he felt bad for being too panicky to help her but, same as with sadie, that has nothing to do with benefitting directly from her not being there. and its not like being separated from sadie was the One Reason he was able save everybody and get them all on a spaceship. there was like half a dozen factors there; to suggest if sadie had been there he wouldn’t be able to do this is.....i dont even know...

like fr this whole time for the both of them, the other has been probably the person they’ve been most comfortable being most like themselves around, and not feeling the kind of pressure from each other that generally stifles them in most other situations (like how lars is afraid of how ppl (he presumes negatively) judge him, how sadie feels bound by various expectations for what ppl think she’s really like (but isn’t really like))...the fact that they’re both getting to explore these different sides of themselves isnt really anything they couldnt do back on earth together. the events that happened to separate them (and separate lars from like all of earth...just to reiterate..) just happened to give them a real boost along the lines of making these decisions that impacted their development and gave them these totally new roles within totally new experiences

this is like ppl who have some idea that lars “needed” to die. like, even when its not just ppl who think so badly of lars’s char that they Wanted him to die, but rather looking back on the fact that that happened and he was killed/revived real quick lol—lars didnt Have to do that to have the development of getting to actually fight to protect others and himself and gain some confidence. he wouldve done that whether or not it had actually killed him—when he let the guys scan him without knowing it WOULDNT kill him was arguably enough to give him the same development as if the one hadnt blown up at him suddenly. and i mean, the space piracy is given a fun angle because its cool and genre, but none of them are doing it for fun. they’re trying to get to earth and not fuckin die along the way. lars is getting to continue Experiencing Some Confidence for the first time in probably ever but to present the situation he’s in and how he’s gotten there as something he “needed” is a bit cruel lol...he coulda done that on earth

like yeah if they were both living their normal lives you dont Know that some normal earth event would make them quit and sadie pursue her interests and independence while lars is put in a situation where he feels like he Belongs in a group and has confidence in himself and his ability to do like, anything. but thats coz events sort of just happen at you randomly. like how the event of being attacked by aliens basically led to this for them...it wasnt the Only Way these things could happen, its just The One Way That They Did

and like i also dont quite see that these changes theyve gotten to go through are going to put them in a perfect version of a relationship when lars gets back to earth...they still dont have the longest history of feeling kinda secure in the fact that the other really does actually like them ok, and this whole time theyve been teenz so what do you expect them having a smooth tumult-free development for, and having positive (and negative) experiences separately doesnt just automatically translate into an instantly leveled up relationship the moment they stand within 10 ft of each other again. they gotta catch up and relearn where each other is at and what their new lives and wants and needs are...and just coz their positive development might make it a bit Easier for them if some of their strongest insecurities are a lil blunted now & plus just that being happier tends to make everything easier, doesnt mean that everything is simply effortless. tbh if a relationship is effortless and stays together forever thats less Romantic And Ideal than like, sheer luck.

and it’s unrealistic (in life and in how the show doesnt make a character complete an emotional arc in a single episode or suddenly shed a defining trait just because they realize they ought to change their approach re: something or other) to think that either lars or sadie have like, completely shed all their issues as individuals anyways. and i mean, its their issues that drove them to make these changes theyre currently on. sadie being frustrated with her job, feeling unable to be herself = the motivations that means she’s now really actively pursuing what tf she feels like doing and pushing for it to continue and for it to be in line w what she wants it to be. but she’s not suddenly freed from all insecurities or feeling like everything’s perfect forever and she can never feel stifled again. plus yanno this whole time she freakin misses lars coz they’re friends and that’s not like...something she’s needed to do. absence makes the heart grow fonder but “be apart from each other indefinitely” isnt any kind of a relationship requirement. its just painful and all.

and lars knowing what its like to be afraid all the time and being frustrated abt it means he was so pushed to all at once finally stand up against what he’s scared of that he went and got himself killed, and also that he doesn’t feel the same social pressure he did on earth amongst the off colors, because he knows they know what its like to be scared all the time too—which ppl back on earth didnt understand about him. and so its the fact he’s so familiar with fear and stress that he’s able to fight for them and himself so hard now. but it’s not like you can just Decide your lifelong anxieties out of existence. after a dramatically changing experience, you’re not gonna be the same person you were before, and you’re not gonna be a totally different person. lars isnt some different person unaffected by fears or insecurities anymore. like heck he was still afraid that sadie actually didn’t miss him at all and was maybe even glad that he was gone, something that was completely in line with who he’s been and how he’s felt this whole series. and people go and be annoyed b/c i guess they expect him to just be a character Completely Changed by one dramatic yet brief part of his life rather than a character who’s still just developing and shaped by all his past experiences actually. and who, no, didnt get to choose to shed all fear b/c thats not how it works. he still feels it, he just finally got the taste of taking action anyways. plus even now that he’s not stuck in a crisis over thinking sadie might just hate him now, tbh he does still need to hear it from her that she doesnt lol)

also? tbh? lars’s Whole New Thing has been happening while he’s (mostly) isolated on a spaceship, w just the offcolors and maybe occasional interactions w hostile aliens, which hardly counts as socializing. and sadie’s whole thing of being herself and pursuing her own desires is still happening just around the cool kids really—not to mention all behind a persona. it’s actually not even that like, a lack of confidence = lack of stage fright or vice versa. its a whole other thing for her to stand up for herself and make her own choices in areas that have nothing to do with her band, even though the experiences within the band will help and give her a starting point and something to feel secure in. just like when lars is back on earth and off the ship, he won’t have the same role he has just around the off colors, just being the front of that band in his own, more imperiled, less musical way. and just coz he knows he can hold his own against destructive imperialistic colonizing aliens, doesnt mean he’s gonna be fearless in the face of the cool kids now, or think he can do anything. he’s still faced with the expectations and perceptions from ppl that he did before he left, even if the way ppl act with lars can easily change now. again, just coz things might be easier for the dnuts now doesnt mean they’ve just shrugged off their problems or are now faced with effortless paths in all aspects of their lives

theyve needed a break from the norm they used to have, but Each Other was the least of what was holding them back from changing things up for themselves. it was completely external events as much as anything else that changed things up for them, coz thats how it works sometimes—and within their new circumstances theyve gotten to experience a new situation that lets them be a bit different than they’ve gotten to be back on earth. i mean, they were really restricted. they had the terrible job, both have somewhat strained relationships w parents who dont seem to really understand who their child is, both of them feel pressured by people in general, both have insecurities, both were kind of just faced with a future that didnt involve them being able to just see happiness coming down the line. and it was a big problem for both of them tbh that neither of them really had any friends. sadie was finding it difficult to express herself or be herself, she was always in a scenario where someone (her mom, corporate policy, customers,) expected her to be a certain way that wasnt the real her, she had a crap job, nobody really seemed to know her, her tendency to Hold Back Until You Blow Up could be counterproductive to say the least. lars is stuck in the same job, with nobody thinking he’s particularly good for anything, even his parents not really expecting him to succeed in any way, desperately wanting friends but being too afraid of people to make any, being defensively irritable and pushing people away but unable to be angry on his own behalf. they’re both getting their first chance to be themselves, they’ve both stumbled into Friend Groups where they’re not only respected but supported and even esteemed, they’re both making and acting on choices completely on their own and not being as held back by their fears. but they’re the same people and none of this means the problems they’ve been dealing with are over because of it. they’ve just been forced to adapt to this change that’s come upon them, and they’ve both happened to make the most of it and be getting something positive out of a really crap situation. they could be having these arcs via a different scenario, but it would probably have to be more drawn out if nobody was in fuckin space

getting away from me slightly but its weird to say that lars and sadie Needed to be separated by lightyears thru a horrible experience and one of them is killed and still in space indefinitely. and i dont know how you’d describe what’s happening there as “a break.” that not only implies that they chose to be separated but that they have had the option to be together this whole time and continuously chosen not to, and have considered this whole experience to be a positive thing. an involuntary separation where both really wish they weren’t separated isnt a break. and to say that either of them Need to be separated in this particular way, like, man you know what their relationship needs? someone to be sent an impossible distance away & he died and might die again and might be unable to return. like, no relationship needs that or anything like that. it’d be affected by it sure, and they might be able to find silver linings in it as they have, but its never going to be necessary.....like, fucks sake if it was, how fucked up would that be

again a break would have to be something voluntarily chosen that they believed would be positive for them both, not that they believed would involve mortal peril. and they like, arent enjoying the fact theyre separated. and what the characters are going through is more about their individual developments than how it necessarily applies to their relationship—again i’d argue their relationship was in a decent place actually. not perfect obv, but good...i mean look at how good they both were at recognizing what they were both struggling with re each other. lars didnt Almost Die or anything, until later. and i imagine this stuff is going to help, but not in a “if this hadnt happened their relationship would be doomed” way. and again it is kinda wild to say that any of this might be required of them for any reason, they’re really going thru some shit w all this

anyways 🍩

#what a surprise....thought this was gonna be a short n snappy post #long post /// #donuts #my phone has hated me the whole time b/c again i didnt expect it to be so long and got stuck typing this in the mobile app #(if the app would actually let you Select All on text posts i couldve moved it to the notes app. but for whatever reason i cant and dont #want to imagine; the ‘’only letting u select one paragraph at a time’’ kind of forces you to just forge ahead after a certain point of no #return) #if this is all ‘’oops couldnt post!! so it has to be deleted’’ abt this i’m going to kill it 🔪

[dragonstoravens]

Babylon Vol. 1: I’m an Idiot but At Least I’m Fun

[ID: a blue patterned banner with text reading “BABYLON.” End ID.]

BIG CW for this one: Blood, mild body horror.

(Totally ran out of time to post this yesterday, so here we are a day late again! For the 2/3 people that actually see this on tumblr lol. Just one chapter, and not a mega long one, but be safe while reading and feel free to message me for a summary or sections to skip if you’re worried about the content warnings. Hope you enjoy!)

Taglist (ask to be added or removed!): @charlottedotexe @glitterandstarshine @rainbowcoloreddays @the-starlight-chills @erased-in-stone

General: @elywritesbydarkness @residentofthedisc @humour-and-hyperfocus @skyfirewrites @viawrites-andacts

16. I’m An Idiot But At Least I’m Fun 

    There was a steady dripping from the edge of the table she sat on. Azure sighed and then held her breath, digging the scalpel into her arm once more. She’d missed the intended node once already, and this was getting a little dicey. It crossed her mind that she really should consider an assistant for when she did her more complex updates, but then she’d have to deal with their concern for her wellbeing and that really only ever did more harm than good for her efficiency. A twinge of pain shot up from her elbow, and she reached behind her to carelessly flip a switch on a box wired to her ankle by about four yards of copper wire. The pain subsided, and she set the scalpel down in exchange for a pair of forceps. Time to dig. The dripping continued, blood running onto the ground and towards her workshop drain. She paid it no mind. She’d eat a cookie later. 

    But still, something burned at the back of her mind. She looked at the clock on her monitor, brow furrowed as she wiped a bloody gloved hand on her shirt. She was forgetting something. The faulty node was still blinking beneath all the blood, taunting her. Suddenly, a spurt of blood crossed the room, and some wiring escaped her arm, snaking slowly out of her open incision. She grit her teeth. That was never a fun feeling, blood-warmed metal exiting her body. “Fuck, oh, goddamn it-” Another spurt of blood, this one dripping down her arm and to the ground even though she had her free hand clamped around it. She grumbled low in her throat, words coming through the forceps she now held between her teeth. “Sonofabitch, I swear everytime I try-”

    “Bluemom, You have a visitor.” Her floating personal assistant bot, Bean, hovered over to her, his front display reading out her current rate of blood loss and the time. “He had an appointment.”

    “I don’t recall my brother or Turq or even Smalls needin’ appointments to see me. Just send ‘im in, whoever he is he’s seen worse I’m sure.” She waved the bot off and he hovered away, whistling his customary exit tune. She used the hand on her currently bleeding arm to open a drawer and rummage through its contents. “Gauze, gauze, gauze….”

    The door slid open, and a voice, not that of any of her shipmates and yet all too familiar, said, “Jesus.” 

    “Your Three O’Clock is here!” Chirped Bean. “Trinity Jericho has arrived.”

    She looked up to see Trinity standing in the doorway, hands on his hips. She could practically see the loading screen behind his eyes as his brain searched its databanks for an appropriate reaction or facial expression in response to the bizarre scene in front of him.

    She was a mess, blood running down her arm and all over her white tank top, a spare coil of fine wire hanging around the shell of her ear. A strange contraption was slithering its way out of her wound, the inside of her elbow flayed open. She’d have blushed in embarrassment, but she couldn’t really spare the blood, so she settled on smiling sheepishly. “Oh, uh, hey?”  More blood, this time escaping her fingers and splattering weakly at her feet. “...I’ve got gloves in that drawer right there behind you, would you mind helpin’ me for a quick sec? My hands are occupied right now.” Her tone was conversational, as though she was asking him to grab something from a fridge as opposed to putting on gloves to shove wires back up into her bicep. She continued using her lacerated arm to dig for gauze, blood dripping from her elbow and onto her bare feet.

Rather than figure out how to react, it looked like Trinity had decided not to react at all. His face was exceedingly casual, save for his slightly raised eyebrows, as he went over to the desk and removed the gloves, pulling them on. “Should I even ask?”

Something between a human laugh and a pig snort left her mouth. “Only if it’s necessary. I think I just nicked a vein. I’m more concerned with these connectors, they’re not supposed to be connected this loosely, which means they really shouldn’t be hangin’ out my arm like a hound dog out a pickup truck window.”

“Just nicked a vein,” Trinity mimicked, affecting a higher pitched southern drawl that combined with the slight disbelieving tone to his voice. “Ok. Ok, you’re completely insane, and probably only partially from blood loss. Now, tell me what to do.” He turned his attention to the wires, examining them closely with an expression that rivaled his focus when looking at a particularly interesting problem in one of his own production lines. “I think I see the basics of what’s going on here, but you’d know best.”

“It’s just the coolin’ lines, they kinda just gotta be-Oh!” She pulled a roll of gauze and some medigel from the drawer she’d been digging in. “Found ‘em.” She looked back up at him, arm stretched out, still applying pressure. “I’m not insane until I lose a full liter, by the way. We’re not even a quarter of the way there. They’re just coolin’ lines, you can just shove ‘em back in. I’d have done it already if I didn’t need to keep my blood in my body.” The cooling lines glowed a faint purple and continued to slowly snake their way out. She beheld her own mess with interest for a moment, puzzling something out. “Wonder if I could…”

“Let’s save that little curiosity journey for later, yes?” he interrupted, just the slightest hint of panic creeping into his tone that stopped short whatever she’d been about to come up with. “Maybe best to explore all the other experiments you could run on yourself when you’re not already bleeding all over the floor.” He started pushing the wires back into her arm, probably more gently than she would have done herself. “And, for the record, you’re insane with all your blood in your body. But I’m sure you know that already.”

“It’s what makes me fun!” Her irreverence for her own safety could almost be seen as endearing, if it wasn’t so dangerous. She grabbed a spray bottle marked ‘alcohol’ in big red letters, a roll of duct tape on her wrist. “Here, put pressure on it once it’s all in there, I’ll secure it back down later. Musculature will hold it for now.” She put the spray top of the bottle of alcohol between her teeth and bit down, twisting to remove it and dumping some of the contents over the open wound, no sign of a grimace. “Quickly dude, or we’re gonna be covered in blood. My heart’s still beatin’. God this would be so much easier if my limbs were detachable.”

Trinity almost said wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been covered in blood, or detachable limbs are another thing we don’t want to explore right now, but he was a little too busy to worry about snappy comebacks. He got some disinfectant a little more directly to the wound by covering a bandage in medigel, and set to work sealing the edges together temporarily with glue that he knew should work like stitches. The alcohol had luckily done the double job of cleaning away the excess blood, so all he had to do was swipe away the fresh blood that had just welled from it with a piece of gauze and apply the bandage. On top of it he folded a few more pieces of gauze for extra pressure, and he secured the whole thing with medical tape. It was quick, but rather well done for a rush job nonetheless. Azzy blinked at the result.

“Oh, I was gonna slam some gauze and medigel in there and throw some duct tape over it but that works too.”

“I know that’s what you were going to do, which is exactly why I didn’t do it. Might as well make use of an extra pair of hands.” Said hands, though gloved, were a bit of a bloody mess now, and he walked over to a sink with a bin for biohazard disposal to clean up. “Luckily I know something about cybernetics and first aid. I know you do too.” Unspoken was the implication that not everyone did-- that most people would probably freeze up or panic at such a sight. Beneath even that lay certainty that she did this often. Despite his jokes about her being insane, she’d been perfectly calm. This maybe wasn’t how all her repairs went, with the blood and all, but it wasn’t a surprise, either. He thought maybe that should scare him, but instead he simply accepted it as fact. What else could he do?

“Can’t see how it matters too much, can’t avoid the scarrin’ anyway. Thanks, though.” she looked up at him with that same lopsided smile before bending her arm a couple times. “I forgot you were comin’, lemme get this shit cleaned up and we’ll get that maintenance outta the way.”

He shrugged as he finished washing his own hands and disposing of the gloves, and started to help her clean up. “Scars, those don’t matter. Everyone has them, visible or not, you don’t make it far in life without them. But in this kind of world… I think you might as well save yourself a little pain and danger any time you have the chance.” There was an honesty in his voice that drew her attention, but he was facing away from her. He cleared his throat awkwardly and turned with a crooked grin. “So, what nefarious plans do you have for my eye today?”

She was already across the room in front of a pair of doors, arms crossed over her front to pull her shirt up and over her head. She was facing away from him, her back tan and striped with thin white scars all the way up her spine, ending in one final splintering burst at the base of her neck. Barely visible at this distance was the white ink tattooed across her back to make the whole mess look like a dandelion puff. The shirt fell to the ground with a wet flop as she hit a button to open a closet full of more white tank tops, these ones pristine. Her hands were clean already. “S’not like I feel it anyway, that’s what the ankle wire’s for.” She grabbed a shirt and tugged it over her head, fixing her beanie as she turned to face him again and grabbed a mop from the corner. 

“Ankle wire?” He glanced down, mechanical pieces fitting together behind his eyes. “Of course. You electrocute your nerve endings to suppress pain. Makes perfect sense.” Was she imagining the tiny edge to his voice? “And to think you lectured me before about the external charging I was doing. Don’t you ever worry you’ll fry them, go numb permanently? Although…” He shook his head, the joking tone back to his voice. “Never mind, you could probably fix that if it happened, anyway.” 

Azzy began cleaning, ignoring the edge to his voice. This was why she never let anyone assist with her cybernetic self experimentation. This, and the process of the reset. She let herself sound cocky. "Of course I could fix it. Anyway, I have an update for the cooler, so it'll adjust with your body temp, like a real eye. Good for if someone's lookin' atcha with thermal imagin'." She hit a button and hopped onto a counter, the edges of the floor beginning to flood slightly with water. "I also thought maybe I'd upload this real spicy book I read last week to it, in case you get bored. You’ll love it." She snorted, unable to keep a straight face.

He laughed quietly along as he lifted himself onto the counter next to her. It was odd-- even through genuine humor he was looking at her like he was considering something, searching her for the answer to some unspoken puzzle. He let his gaze wander again just before the point where consideration became outright staring. “Feel free. That thermal imaging sounds like a great idea.”

The floor was done flooding, washing the remaining blood down a drain in the center of the room. She hopped back down, crossing the room and grabbing her boots off a shelf. Can't mess with people's eyes with your bare feet just out and around. She looked up from her feet with a curious expression, like he'd given her a brain teaser. "What was that look? You were thinkin' about somethin', and it's almost definitely not the alien erotica I'm puttin' in your peeper as soon as the standard tune up is done."

He shrugged. “I’ll tell you later. There’s some research I want to do first.” He slid off the counter. “First things first, heat regulation and alien erotica.”

"Don't have to tell me twice. Get on the table, I'll get the hookups. Pop that sucker out too, I need to check the retina." She pulled a clean pair of gloves on, snapping the cuff against her wrist. The sensation ricocheted up her arm. Her elbow and wound sparked. Her freshly patched arm swung out of its own volition, landing squarely on Trinity’s backside. Azure blinked, tips of her ears turning bright scarlet as her mouth twitched. “Oops.”

Trinity turned to look at her and blinked bemusedly. “...Getting an early start on the erotica part?” he quipped, but his already pink cheeks flushed darker as he spoke.

Azure giggled in response, pulling her arm back the moment she realized she’d left it there in shock. “Sorry. The node’s been misfirin’, if I hadn’t missed the incision point I’d have replaced and calibrated it by now, my bad.” Her eyes flickered briefly downwards and then immediately to her desk, smirking as she rolled her shoulder and shook her hand to get out any further bursts. “...Glad to know you don’t skip your squats. It’s a nice ass, now that I’m lookin’ at it instead of the wires in my arm.”

“A misfire, sure.” Trinity smirked back. It was easy to tell she was being serious about the misfire-- a lie would have come with a lot more stammering and awkward pauses-- but it was a prime opportunity to tease his friend that he wasn’t about to miss. “Your powers of observation are astonishing. Here.” He popped out the cybernetic eye, deceptively simple looking detached from its complex inner workings. He grinned, and tossed it lightly in one hand, waiting for her to turn back to face him. “Catch.”

She held a jar of fluid for his eye in her hand already as she turned, brow raised. As she faced him, he smirked and tossed the eye towards her, an easy to intercept underhand throw. “Ohfuck-” Snatching it out of the air and setting it gently in the jar, she pouted at him. “Dude, I’m not makin’ you another one if that one breaks.”

“You didn’t make the first one.” He smiled. “It’s fine, I knew you’d catch my eye.”

She stared at him blankly for a moment, then set the jar down and cracked a smile, some small hint of a blush on her cheeks. “Very funny Hotshot, well done. Don’t throw your fuckin’ organs.” Digging out a small monitor and some wires, she glanced over her shoulder with a smirk. “I’m sure all the girls tell you that though, right?”

He scoffed, amused at the idea of the women at the events he attended saying anything about organs out loud. “Just you. It’s a bit of an honor, really.” 

“Flatterer. Don’t think I don’t know about your eight illicit rendezvous with five women in the last two days. Sara Mitchell told me all about them last time.” She rolled her eyes and stood, handing him the bundle of tech and tugging at his shirt collar to plug something into his port. “They’re tryin’ harder every time, I swear. I can see why you wanted the backup more ‘n more, I can’t imagine how you got anythin’ done at those things.”

“Mostly by ignoring anyone I didn’t want something from,” Trinity replied casually, opening his shirt a few more buttons to let her access his port more easily. The motion revealed those tattoos she’d already noticed a few times before when doing repairs-- the birds in flight, the trinity knot, the wall, the crumbling tower. Again she considered that their placement, so close to bone in most places and with so many heavy black lines and detailed patterns, must’ve really hurt. A phantom pain shot down her own spine in sympathy at the thought.

“Well, I guess that explains it just fine.” She flipped a few switches, monitors whirring to life. “Not very nice, but then again neither is listenin’ to them gripin’ because I won’t tell ‘em your-” She stopped herself, face reddening as she dropped a heartbeat sensor in his lap. A nasal feminine voice replayed in her ear, begging the question how big is it, really? She picked her sentence back up with a rambling vigor, trying her absolute best to drown her own thoughts out. “-current plans. Nasty, all of ‘em. Super nosy. Can’t blame you for ignorin’ it. Wanna put that on your finger? Don’t matter which, any of ‘em are fine, I gotta make sure the readin’s are accurate.” 

He gave her a look like he wanted to question her about the hesitation, though she was certain he had a pretty good idea what the ladies had actually been asking her about. However, he simply quirked an eyebrow in her direction as he slipped the sensor onto his pointer finger.

Face still red, she hooked the eye up to a different wire. Something hummed and buzzed, and she heaved a dramatic sigh. “Sorry, you don’t have enough space for the porn. You have all of it allocated for images and text files made by the unit itself.” She made a few keystrokes and turned, looking at everything but him. “Okay, that’s updatin’. Lemme see your empty eye socket, your nerve is registerin’ some weird readings.”

Trinity turned his face up to hers, exposing the scarred inner socket of his eye. He’d never said what had happened to it, but it didn’t look pleasant. “The optic nerve? It should be fine, it’s totally cybernetic. It’s not degrading again, is it?” There was a hint of nervousness in his voice at the thought.

“It’s probably just one busted cell. It’s still machinery, sometimes parts need to be replaced.” She grabbed a pair of foreceps and clicked them together where he could see with his good eye. “Tell me if you feel this, because you’re definitely not supposed to.” She poked around at the back of his socket. “Anythin’?”

“No. I think your mother poked around in there enough when she was installing it that it won’t feel much ever again.”

“Then your actual nerve past the cybernetic and into your brain is fine, its just a couple of cones tryin’ to be data transmitters.” She poked at something else and made a small noise of triumph. “I’ll have it replaced, shouldn’t be hard. I think I made a couple extras when I was up all night last week.” The foreceps went back to the table and her face reappeared in his line of sight, beaming. “Your whole business is just as busted, but it’s no worse than when you came the first time. Matter of fact, some of the burns from when your eye wasn’t cooled properly have healed pretty well, like they weren’t even there.”

“Oh,” Trinity responded, pleasantly surprised. “Yes, I tried to do some first aid to keep it from scarring the way my leg did when I used to charge my taser externally.” He didn’t meet her eyes, even though he’d only done it a half dozen times, and all long before he’d met her. The second reminder of his own carelessness with his remaining nerves made him feel a bit guilty for sniping at her about her own. “I took the eye out when I could, used some burn creams and medigel, that kind of thing. Anyway, I’m glad to hear that there’s nothing wrong with the organic nerves.”

“Yep, if nerves had feelin’s they’d be happy as hell. Strong impulses, not too much overtime. Whatever took ‘em out the first time, you’re recoverin’ pretty well given that you lost your whole ass eye.” She returned to her computers, hands flying deftly across the keys and screens as she looked for more anomalies. 

“Well, it’s been a couple years at this point. I let it degrade for a while before I sought out your mom, but… it’s good to hear that damage didn’t last.” At least those nerves had recovered. Others hadn’t, but that was going to be the subject of his research for the next few days. Despite what he’d seen earlier when Azzy had been working on her own cybernetics, he trusted her implicitly with his. If anyone could fix his problem, she could.

“It makes sense, the brain doesn’t like leavin’ things so close to it busted. Optic nerve is pretty close.” Her tongue poked out at the corner of her mouth and she squinted at her screen. “....Hey, want a wider zoom on your sensor?”

“Why not? Whatever you think, I trust your judgement.” He leaned back slightly, relaxing, and let her work. She stood quietly for some minutes, occasionally humming a quiet tune that was almost familiar. 

Eventually, she was satisfied with her work. She unhooked his eye from its wires, passing him the jar. “There you go, go ahead ‘n smack that back into its place and you’re all set. Recalibrated it’s temperature sensin’ and the coolin’ system to be a little more sensitive to ambient heat. Don’t go swimmin’ in super cold water, though. Might be a little too ambient for it for now.” She had that same smug look she always did when she was done doing maintenance, eyes bright.

“Of course. Thanks, doc.” He said the last bit with a slight smirk, and popped the eye back into place. It rolled around for a few seconds before settling. “See you at the next event?”

“Only if that guy with the braid’s there, I hear he’s kinda fun.” She took her gloves off and waved him off the table. “Get outta here, I gotta reset my arm.”

“Alright.” He stood, a quick pat on her non-injured shoulder his goodbye. “Be careful of that wound. I bandaged it so well, it would be a shame if you messed up my handiwork.”

“I have three doctorates, of course I’m gonna mess it up.” She gave him a quick pat as well, her smile genuine. “I’ll go easy on it. Bean’ll take you back, careful none of my scary vigilante’s eat ya on the way out.” The small bot hovered over his shoulder, beeping a hello tune.

He grinned, and nodded. “I’ll try to steer clear. Let’s go, Bean.” He followed the little bot from the lab, with one last wave towards Azzy, not looking back. She heaved a sigh and grabbed a wire, connecting it to one of her ports once the door closed behind him. She had a limb to test and reset.

#chapter update #wip: babylon #writeblr #writers on tumblr #spilled ink

[kpopmultifan127]

The Guardian Angel (NCT)

This story will come in four parts and will be released each day.

                                              The Guardian Angel

School has been getting more and more hectic lately, but it wasn’t too bad because her friends were always around to make school less stressful. Jaemin, Jeno, Renjun, Doyoung and y/n have been friends since elementary school. Jaemin and y/n have been friends even longer. They grew up together as kids and she met the others along the way. Jaemin and y/n met each other through their parents. Her mom and his mom were best friends and it was only right their kids grew close together. Y/n was around him so much she had feelings for him but never told him. She knew if she did their friendship would never last. So y/n just had her one sided love and enjoyed having him by her side. More so when Y/N parents split up when she was only 8, they felt like it was time to let go and their love was just puppy love. They both agreed to it and left on good terms.

Unfortunately for her it took some time to adjust but she managed with the help of Jaemin. As the years went by and her dad began to get sick. So her mother would take care of him from time to time because he had no one else. He got better and worse all the time. So herself and her mom did a lot of traveling back and forth to help her dad, but now that she’s in high school she needed to concentrate on school to be able to get into college. Her dad has been doing good throughout the time so she didn’t worry too much.

As school started and they had a little bit of time before class started. Y/n, Renjun and Jaemin had the same homeroom so they all went together.

Y/N: ugh...I wish school would hurry up and finish already.

Renjun: omg y/n we didn’t even start yet.

Y/N: yeah yeah I know but still.

Teacher: ok class let's begin. But first before I start I would like to introduce you to our transfer student. Please introduce yourself.

Student: Hi my name is Rosie nice to meet you all.

Teacher: why don’t you sit next to Y/N there’s an empty chair there. Y/N raise your hand!

As she lifted her hand the shy student walked over and sat next to her.

Y/N: hi I’m y/n...nice to meet you.

Rosie: nice to meet you y/n

As class began time flew by and the teacher surprised the class with an upcoming project that is due.

Teacher: Ok class now I know I normally let you do projects in groups but we are going to try something different today and just do partners.

In y/n mind she hated it because she glanced over at Renjun and Jaemin smiling because they had already picked each other for the project.

Rosie: Hey y/n would you mind if we were partners for this project? I don’t really know anyone in this class but you.

Y/N: sure why not.

The bell rang Renjun and Jaemin made their way over to y/n and Rosie.

Y/N: Thanks for picking Renjun over me Jaemin….I thought we were friends.

Jaemin: Sorry Renjun was already giving me the death stare if I didn’t partner with him.

They all let out a giggle before packing up their books and heading over to the cafeteria for lunch.

Y/N: Hey Rosie why don’t you join us for lunch? You can meet our other friends.

Rosie: Can I?

Renjun: Sure.

Rosie: Ok that would be great.

They walked over to the cafe as they already saw Doyoung and Jeno sitting at their usual table.

Doyoung: over here guys…

Y/N: Hey guys this is Rosie, she just transferred into our class today.

Rosie: Hi…

As they sat down everyone officially introduced themselves.

Jeno: So Rosie what school did you transfer from?

Rosie: Busan school of music.

Doyoung: oh nice. How come you transferred here if you don’t mind me asking?

Rosie: I used to get bullied a lot in that school and my mom decided to take me out of there and find a school where I’m safe.

Y/n: Oh my god that’s horrible Rosie! Well you’re safe here with us!

They all seemed to be having so much fun talking and laughing, before they knew it school was over and it was time to go home.

Y/N: Hey Rosie wanna come over to my house? Hang out for a bit and maybe work on the project for a little while?

Rosie: Sure.

They all went their separate ways after school. Rosie and y/n had fun hanging out and working on the project.

Rosie: oh my gosh look at the time I really need to get home! I had so much fun today, thank you for everything.

y/n: Hey no worries! See you tomorrow.

A week had gone by and everyone became closer than ever. Y/n stood outside waiting for Jaemin who always took her to school since her house was on the way to school. As they both got to school Rosie was already there talking with Renjun and Jeno laughing.

Y/n: Hey guys, you’re here early.

Jeno: yeah whatever. So what else happened Rosie.

Rosie: He wouldn’t leave me alone so the teacher pulled him away but she grabbed the wrong thing and ripped his shirt off.

Everyone was laughing and having fun over a shirt that got ripped off. Class was about to begin and y/n was waiting to walk to class with them.

Y/n: you guys ready to go? Class is gonna start in 20 mins.

Renjun: just go if you don’t wanna be late, we have time.

Y/N: you coming Jaemin?

Jaemin: You go ahead, I'm going to walk with Renjun.

She was confused on what was with everyone’s attitude lately. They were so short answered and snappy with her. She just decided to brush it off. After class finished they all just left without saying anything to her.

Y/N: Hey Rosie when are we gonna work on the project I was thinking maybe tomorrow at the coffee house I was talking about?

Rosie: oh yeah that’s great I’ll text you.

As y/n sat at the coffee house she told Rosie to meet her as she got comfortable and opened her books and laptop and waited for her to arrive. She said they’d meet at 3:00pm. It’s now 2:45pm she probably would be there by now. Y/n sat there as she began her part of the project. 3:00pm rolls around and Rosie still isn’t there.

Y/n: I’ll just send her a text…

                                               To: Rosie

3:05pm- hey Rosie are you ok? Remember we're supposed to meet at the coffee shop at 3?

4pm came around and still no reply from Rosie. So y/n decided to just pack her things and go home. Just as she was packing up her phone lit up from an instagram notification. Rosie had posted something so y/n clicked on it. Y/n was shocked to her eyes to see Rosie was at Doyoung’s apartment with Renjun, Jeno and Jaemin. Jaemin who she was best friends with from the beginning. Y/n was curious to see what had happened so she decided to text Jaemin.

                                               To Nana:

4:10pm - hey Nana. Rosie canceled on me today. Want to hang out?

                                        From Nana:

4:12pm - Sorry y/n I’m busy right now working on the project with Renjun

Why would Jaemin lie to her like that? She didn’t understand. They’ve been friends since they were kids and he lied to her just to hang out with Rosie and the boys. As she went home and unpacked her things she laid there irritated by the fact her best friend lied to her.

END PART ONE

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2

#NCT #NCT DREAM #JAEHYUN #JAEMIN #NCT JAEHYUN #NCT JAEMIN #NCT NANA #NCT 127 #FAN FIC #FANFIC #NCT FANFIC #NCT FAN FIC #JAEMIN JAEHYUN #NA JAEMIN #JUNG JAEHYUN #NCT DREAM JAEMIN #NCT 127 JAEHYUN #NCT DREAM FANFIC #NCT 127 FANFIC #NCT FLUFF #JAEMIN FLUFF #JAEHYUN FLUFF

[kagakusenpai]

That one super silly Rika x Ashiya fanfic I regrettably wrote

You know sometimes you just get this really dumb idea? And you’re talking with your friends and you mention it and they're like ‘haha do it!’. Ya, so I did it.

I know I had some stupid fun writing this, so I hope you all enjoy it too - these events take place sometime after volume 11. Don’t worry its SFW ;)

~~

“Dude, this storm is getting crazy, you sure Libicocco isn’t back to kidnap Chiho or something?” Urushihara asked while lazily leaning backwards from his permanent post at his computer.

“You know you shouldn’t joke about these things, remember what happened last time he showed up? Something about you ending up becoming more of a useless corpse than you usually are.” Was the snappy reply from across the room.

The windows in Room 201 of Villa Rosa Sasazuka were creaking and groaning under the immense pressure of the storm that had suddenly taken Tokyo by surprise.

“I hope Ashiya makes it back in time to make supper, I’m starving already.”

Maou checked his phone to see if Ashiya had sent him a message.

No new messages.

“Maybe we’ll have to get a MgRonalds delivery…Kawada’s gonna complain if I ask him to deliver in this weather…” Maou muttered as he stretched himself out on the floor.

“Dude, if you order delivery Ashiya’s gonna kill you. Plus, if Acies finds out she’ll make you order thirty burgers…again.”

Maou stared at the clock on the wall. 6:42pm. Deciding whether he’d rather face death in the form of starvation or Ashiya’s wrath, he let out an audible sigh.

~~

Elsewhere in Tokyo, the Demon General Alciel was fighting his own battle. The once ferocious general who had cunningly brought his enemies to their knees without lifting a finger was currently on a battlefield he’d never experienced before. The sweat on his face was starting to form neat rivers as it slowly slipped down his forehead and onto his cheeks. Shivering from the combination of wet clothing and air conditioning in the room he stammered:

“Ms. S..S…Suzuki, I’m terribly s.s...sorry. I meant n-no offence.”

He knew he had messed up.

~~

40 minutes ago, at Shinjuku Station.

Normally accustomed to riding the train during non-peak hours, Ashiya was quite frustrated with the hordes of businessmen that were constantly entering and exiting the train. When he finally managed to get out at Shinjuku station, he found himself being pushed and pulled along with the crowd as he tried to find the right exit.

“If I recalled correctly, Ms. Suzuki had mentioned we should meet at the ‘New South Gate’.”

Earlier that week, Ashiya had sent a message to Rika Suzuki asking if he could request her assistance in purchasing a new phone. Considering recent events, he thought it would be appropriate if he also had a mobile phone to contact Maou in case of an emergency. Rika had arranged they meet today after she got off work at six o’clock.

As Ashiya turned the final corner to reach the New South Gate, a familiar voice shouted out behind him.

“Heeeey! Ashiya over here!”

Rika grabbed Ashiya’s shoulder before he got swept further away by the crowd. Blushing ever so slightly, she pulled him aside, away from the steady streams of business men flooding through the ticket gates.

“Ah, Ms. Suzuki, I didn’t notice you there. My sincerest apologies for such an oversight”

“No, no it’s fine! I know its super busy right now so there’s no choice but to call out before I lose sight of you. Anyways let’s go before it gets any more crowded here.”

“It gets even busier than this?” A stunned Ashiya replied as he quickly followed Rika further into the station.

After a few minutes of navigation, Rika and Ashiya finally arrived at the Yamanote line platform headed towards Ueno. Ashiya had seen an advertisement for a big cellphone sale at a major retailer near Ueno station, prompting his request with Rika earlier in the week.

“It’s twelve stations from here to Ueno, so let’s see if we can snag a pair of seats. Keep your eyes peeled Ashiya!”

“Understood. I shall make amends for my previous mistake with due diligence in acquiring seats for Ms. Suzuki”

“Hey, no need to be so… oh the trains here, quick!”

Ashiya and Rika rushed over to a less crowded door on the train and hopped on. Unfortunately, not only were all the seats taken but this cart was packed with rush hour commuters. Rika and Ashiya made their way to the middle of the cart and stood face to face while holding onto the hand grips.

“Ms. Suzuki, it appears to me that most of the seats here are occupied by what seems to be…sleeping businessmen” Ashiya frowned.

“Don’t worry, they’ll end up waking up ten second before their station. It’s second nature to the veteran salarymen around here, believe it or not.”

Ashiya smiled at Rika’s casual explanation. He noticed that her work clothes were different than usual. In place of her usual purple and white vest and shirt, she was wearing a deep olive-green shirt with elegant ruffles down the middle. The red hairslide she normally wore had been replaced with an intricate blue clip with a butterfly pattern. She gave off a more mature aura, fitting of Rika’s role today as his guide, Ashiya thought to himself.

“Now Arriving at Shin-Okubo Station. The doors on the left side will open.”

Ah, eleven more to go. Ashiya realized that a fair number of people were queued to enter the train at this station.

“Ahhh, this is gonna be crazy packed! Hold on tight Ashiya.”

The doors opened, and dozens of people began to make their way into the train. Unfazed by the sudden influx of people, Ashiya held his ground against the increasing pressure from the other standing commuters trying to stuff their way into the train. Rika, on the other hand, was not faring too well but managed to stay on her feet.

The train lurched forward as it begin making its way to the next station. Suddenly…

“Ah!”

The momentum from the passengers pushed Rika off her feet into Ashiya’s chest. Being a bit short in stature, the sudden lunge forced her to let go of the hand grip and grab onto Ashiya’s chest.

“I-I’m s-sorry Ashiya.” An embarrassed Rika could barely get the words out of her mouth as she desperately tried to regain her footing.

“Not a problem Ms. Suzuki, please feel free to hold onto me until you’ve regained your footing. I do say, it’s amazing how you manage to survive these crowds every day on the ride back home. This almost feels like a new type of battlefield.” Ashiya looked down at the panicked Rika, his whiskey brown eyes gauging whether he should lend a hand.

His strong, steady gaze made Rika squirm even more. Nervously glancing downwards, she carefully fidgeted her feet around to find a position that would allow her to stand up straight and keep her balance. The train’s constant rocking offered no help with her attempts.

Another sudden turn forced her to cling onto Ashiya some more. She could smell his clothing, which had a strong smell of the softener that Ashiya frequently used. Her grip on his shirt let her feel the shape of his chest muscles. They were much more toned than she thought. His usual UNICLO wear didn’t do his body any justice, she thought. Rika allowed her mind to wander like this for a moment…she suddenly felt pangs of heat coursing through her body. She was starting to lose her composure.

“Ah what am I thiiinkiinngggg!” Rika whispered to herself.

“I think we’re almost at the next station Ms. Suzuki. I believe I have the perfect opportunity to acquire us some seats, as that gentleman beside us seems to be preparing to stand up shortly.”

Ashiya’s brief interjection brought Rika back to her senses. The adrenaline had begun to flow after her series of distracted imaginings. Luckily, they both managed to grab a pair of seats on the train at the next station.

Rika stared down at her handbag, trying to avoid all eye contact with the aloof Ashiya, who was busy gawking at the sheer number of commuters on the train.

~~

“Now arriving at Nippori station. The doors on the right side will open. For transfers to the…”

“Two more to go! We’re almost there Ashiya”

“I’m sorry for having to put Ms. Suzuki through all this…”

“No, its my pleasure! Plus, it beats having to go home alone in these crowds, it will be a lot less busy by the time we’re done.” Rika finally mustered up the courage to look back up and smile at Ashiya. The moment her eyes met with his, she felt her chest tighten a little.

As the train began to move again, Rika noticed that all the new passengers were carrying soaking wet umbrellas. She looked out the window behind her to check the situation.

“Ashiya look! It’s absolutely pouring out there. Did you bring an umbrella?”

Outside, a large storm had begun to brew. The rain was almost pouring down sideways, meaning the wind was also blowing in full force.

“Ah, yes. I do keep a small one on my person just in case something like this does occur.” Ashiya grinned as he felt his jacket pocket to confirm he had brought his umbrella.

Rika let her mind wander for a split-second, imagining her and Ashiya sharing an umbrella and walking through a rainy Ueno park on the way to the electronic store.  

“What am I thinking?? I’ve devolved into a friggin’ generic high school girl!” Rika thought to herself while biting her lip, trying to come back to reality. Her composure had already begun to crumble, even before the main event had begun. Face flushed and heart pounding she covered her face with her hands.

The sudden screeching of the train being brought to a stop brought her to reality, again.

“Attention all passengers, due to a sudden change in weather the Yamanote Line will be suspending service until further notice.” The authoritative voice on the intercom announced. “We will momentarily be stopping at Uguisudani station, all passengers are advised to disembark and seek other means of transport.”

Ashiya suddenly stood up. His back to Rika, he keenly observed the situation. It hadn’t even been a month since the previous ‘storm’ that resulted in both his and Rika’s lives being turned upside down for weeks. He tried to detect any sources of demonic or holy energy nearby, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Deducing that this weather might truly be from natural causes, he sat back down and turned towards Rika. Seeing her behaviour for the last few minutes led him to believe that she was also worried about the possibility of a demonic or angelic attack.

“It seems that we have nothing to be worried about, Ms. Suzuki. This storm seems to be one hundred percent natural, I assure you.” Ashiya gave a warm smile towards Rika, who was still recovering from self-inflicted embarrassment.

She gave a quick nod to Ashiya, unable to think of an appropriate reply. The revelations made to her in the past few weeks were sinking into her mind. Angels, demons, other worlds… it still made no sense to Rika. All that she was certain of was that the man sitting beside her, Shirou Ashiya, was currently making her feel emotions she knew all too well. Regardless of his demonic background, his white-blond hair and taut stature made her eyes stray more often than not when they were together.

The train slowly started inching forward, towards the next station: Uguisudani.

Rika thought back to the first time they had gone out shopping together. Remembering how she wished that the walls between her and Ashiya could break down, even just a little bit, made her realize how much things had and hadn’t changed since then. Learning about his past, had in a sense, widened the gap between the them. They both came from different worlds, Rika having no part to play in the epic battles of the Ente Islanders that took place. Thinking back, she missed being a naïve girl enraptured by the sight of the kind yet mysterious man that suddenly came into her life. Her train of thought was interrupted by the train’s arrival at the station.

Ashiya and Rika made their way out onto the platform along with the other passengers on the train. The rain was pouring at such an incredible speed and angle that not even the roof of the platform was able to stop them from getting completely soaked.

“Shall we go to a nearby coffee shop and wait there until this storm subsides? I wouldn’t want Ms. Suzuki to get soaked and catch a cold in this weather.” Not to mention, should Rika catch a cold, both Maou and Emi would harass him for not properly taking care of her while they were out together.

“Sure, I think I saw a sign for a small family restaurant down that street, let’s go there!” Rika exclaimed as she pointed Ashiya towards the direction she assumed the sign pointed towards.

Ashiya went to open his trusty pocket umbrella before they set out from the station. The moment he opened it and stepped outside, a large gale of wind snapped the umbrella’s top off. The force of it snapping pulled the handle out of Ashiya’s grip.

“Ah...”

He had purchased that umbrella soon after he moved into Japan with Maou. The umbrella, along with any sentimental value it had, was carried away by the wind. He’ll have to budget for a new and stronger one later.

Seizing her chance to live out the small fantasy she had on the train, Rika stepped up: “Don’t worry Ashiya I have an umbrella we can share h-”

With a short woosh~ her umbrella also slipped out of her hand and disappeared into the distance, probably chasing after Ashiya’s umbrella to keep it company.  

Rika stood there, speechless. The torrents of rain were relentless, and she knew they had go somewhere quickly before they both ended up being swept along with their umbrellas in the rain. The cold was already getting to her, slowly seeping through her clothes and causing her to shiver.

“Time is of the essence Ms. Suzuki, let us go quickly!” Ashiya quickly draped his jacket over Rika’s head and placed his hand on her opposite shoulder to hold it in place.

The warmth of his hand gently grasping her shoulder made Rika’s heart begin to race, she gripped her handbag with both her hands and brought it to her chest as they began to race through the streets.

As if sensing the sudden increase in Rika’s heartbeat, the storm picked up its pace. Rika let out a small yelp as the rain battered her sides like a barrage of arrows.

“Ms. Suzuki! Please hang on for one more moment, I will get us to safety.” Ashiya, his eyes filled with raw determination, gingerly picked up Rika and sped towards the end of the street. He couldn’t let Rika stay out in the rain any longer. Looking around, he couldn’t find the family restaurant, but he spotted a nearby building with a sign indicating hourly room rentals. He recalled Urushihara telling him that these types of buildings, called ‘Net cafés’, existed as a place where one can rest for hours with various facilities, including laundry and showers, for an extended period. Prioritizing drying off, he decided this would be the most appropriate choice.

Meanwhile, the sudden princess carry that Ashiya sprang onto Rika had dealt serious mental damage. She voiced no protest as Ashiya picked her up and lifted her high up against his chest. The gears in her brain had stopped functioning long ago.

“O-ok…thank you.” Her voice was barely audible, but Ashiya could feel her cold body shivering ever so slightly.

The next couple minutes flashed by like a blur for Rika. Ashiya gently put her down on one of the soft chairs in the lobby of the building they entered before heading towards the reception. She noticed him asking a few questions before getting a set of keys and walking back over to Rika, who had begun to regain her senses. He offered out his hand to help her get up from the chair. Rika, who had already lost all sense of shame, happily obliged and took Ashiya’s hand. Its gentle embrace caused Rika’s face to feel pangs of warmth.

“It seems we are just in luck, as there was an available room for us to dry off in.” Ashiya led Rika towards the end of the hallway where their room was located.

“You’re fine paying with a hotel, Ashiya? Isn’t that expensive for you?” Was all Rika could come up with, seeing how the normally stingy Demon General just spent a large portion of money without a second thought.

“I agree, it is unfortunate to have to spend money on such short notice, but it is an emergency and Ms. Suzuki’s safety is my top priority. Besides, the rates for this Net Café is quite cheap considering the laundry services they also offered.”

Rika smiled to herself when Ashiya mentioned her name. Even though she hadn’t told him her feelings, she was always happy to find that he cared so much about her. Most men would start revealing their true nature and act overly familiar with her at this point, but Ashiya’s gentlemanly attitude even now showed that he was a true man of class.

“You mentioned laundry, but I have nothing to change into…so I don’t think I’ll be able…”

“Don’t worry Ms. Suzuki, I mentioned this to the receptionist and they said that outfits could be provided to us with the room, at a very minimal cost. I was quite impressed, but unsure what they meant when they asked the theme of the outfits. I requested we receive the most normal set, so long as they fit us both.”

They arrived at the end of the hallway, Ashiya fumbling with the keys for a moment before managing to insert it correctly into the lock. Still latched onto Ashiya’s hand, Rika timidly followed Ashiya into the room, trying to asses her current situation. She looked around the room for a moment before realizing something…very shameful. The once broken gears in Rika’s mind started spinning in full reverse. She could feel her pulse pounding in her forehead as her eyes darted around the room. Ah, no this can’t be.

Ashiya had yet to turn around and piece together the look of horror that had begun to develop on Rika’s face. He was genuinely intrigued with the colorful layout of the room. Urushihara’s explanation of a Net Café did not mention the spacious and extravagant room he was currently in. A small basket was neatly placed on the bed, beside a couple of clean bath towels. He stepped forward to see what its contents were. He found a colorful assortment of round mints wrapped in neat foil packaging.

Picking one up, he turned around to offer it to Rika, who had been silent since entering the room.

“It seems there are some complimentary treats for guests in the room. Would you ca-”

The great strategist and Demon General Alciel could have never predicted Rika’s reaction.

“P-P-P---PUT TT-THAT DOWN RIGHT NOW ASHIYA!!!!!!!!!!” Rika’s voice rose quite a few decibels as she barely managed to stammer out her sentence. Her eyes were stained red and the expression on her face showed that she was on the cusp of breaking down.

“D-DON’T TOUCH THOSE” She pointed an accusing finger at the ‘mint’ in Ashiya’s hand.

Every single alarm inside Ashiya’s brain went off at that moment. Rika was acting completely normal up to this point, albeit a bit quieter ever since getting off the train. With the possibility of an enemy attack being second to none, Ashiya realized that the reason lay in something he had done. Further assessment of the situation had to be immediately done before coming to a conclusion.

“What is wrong Ms. Suzuki? If you are injured I can look and see if there’s anything I can do to help.” He kept calm as he took a few steps towards Rika.

“STAY AWAY.” Rika began yelling. She knew she was being unreasonable, but the situation had already gotten out of hand in her mind. Her consciousness was floating in and out. Part of her knew Ashiya was being naïve, but her instincts as a woman were taking over for her already fried brain.

Realizing he was only making things exponentially worse, Ashiya backed down. From the look on Rika’s face, Ashiya could tell that she was exhausted, but also afraid of something. Could it be that she finally saw him as the demon that he truly was, and being locked in a room alone had terrified her to wits’ end? The great Demon General Ashiya of the past could have cared less about the opinion of one lowly human, but the fact that Rika’s actions made Ashiya feel empty on the inside was an unmistakable sign that he had changed.

“I’m terribly… sorry Ms. Suzuki! I will go ahead and wash up, so please relax and keep the room to yourself.” Hiding the tinge of sadness that he had just felt, Ashiya grabbed the basket and towel and rushed into the bathroom.

Rika sensed the slight falter in Ashiya’s voice as his soggy figure made its way to the bathroom. She was being cruel to the man she loved yet could not stop herself. She knew she had to explain to Ashiya the issue behind this whole situation before she imploded any further. Water still dripping from her arms, she grabbed the remaining towel off the bed and began to dry herself off.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Ashiya took a good look in the mirror at his drenched figure. He must have looked quite pathetic in front of Rika. The bitter feeling in his heart wasn’t going anywhere. He must make amends with Rika somehow.

“A quick warm shower should help clear up my mind.”

Turning on the shower to allow the water to warm up, he grabbed a bottle of liquid soap from the basket he brought with him and undressed himself.

“This really isn’t a hotel isn’t it…” Rika shook her head. She cupped her hands and placed her head in them, so no one could see the desperate expression on her face. Once Ashiya gets out of the bathroom, she’d ask him a few questions and explain to him what their current situation was. That way he’d also feel a bit of embarrassment and tensions would hopefully dissipate between the two of them. Her hopes were beginning to rise when –

*BANG* … … *THUD*… … “Aaaa…”

“Ashiya? Was that you?” Rika was certain the noise had just come from the bathroom. “Is everything OK?” Had something happened inside the bathroom? Could it have been an enemy attack? Rika was still unfamiliar with the allies and enemies of the Ente Islanders she knew but still considered that something heinous may be taking place on the other side of the wall.

No answer.

Taking a leap of faith, Rika opened the door too the bathroom and peered inside, expecting the worst.

She wasn’t too far off.

“…Ms. Suzuki? I’m sorry but could I enlist your help for a moment here? I seem to be experiencing some issues” A half-naked Ashiya was sprawled on the floor of the bathroom, with only his underwear on.

“Y-yes?” Rika took a step back and hid her body behind the door. Still peering from around the corner, she observed the fallen Demon General in all his glory.

“It seems that the complimentary soap provided by this establishment is far below standards!” Ashiya declared in a defiant tone. “The residue it leaves is extremely slippery and has made it extremely difficult for me to even walk! If you would be so kind as to pass me my towel Ms. Suzuki, I will clean myself up and remove myself from this pitiful state.”

Crestfallen, Rika was speechless. Normally even the thought of her seeing Ashiya shirtless would cause all the neurons in her brain to fire simultaneously, but now she was slowly dying on the inside. Extra careful not to step into the room, Rika nimbly grabbed Ashiya’s towel from off the counter and tossed it at his face.

“Many than-”

Rika shut the door mid sentence.

Ashiya thoroughly dried himself off with the towel, quietly cursing this strange soap. Perhaps it was a unique kind of soap and he had not been taught the correct method of application? Nonetheless, more important matters had to be attended to - making amends with Rika over whatever had happened.

“Ah, I forgot to bring an outfit with me to change into!” Ashiya swore at what seemed to be his twentieth blunder of the day.

Towel neatly wrapped around his waist, Ashiya had no choice but to go back into the room and fetch the outfit himself. Asking Rika to do something again would be extremely dangerous. Back onto the battlefield once more.

Sitting in the corner of the room, shoulders raised, and hands placed on her knees, Rika stared down the still shirtless Ashiya that crept out of the bathroom towards the closet. She had a clear idea what to tell Ashiya to resolve this messed up situation in her mind, but perhaps it could wait until he was dressed again…

Ashiya opened the closet.

He… couldn’t understand the meaning of the closet’s contents. A maid outfit, nurse outfit, cat costume and…some strange clothing made up of black leather and strings. Did the receptionist mistake his request for an outfit for… something else? The only outfit that could even fit Ashiya’s body was the odd leather suit. Likely designed for some sort of horse riding or climbing, with all the metal rings attached to the torso. It seemed odd to him that medieval clothing like this existed in modern Japan.

“I guess I’ll wear this until my clothes are dry.” Ashiya pulled the outfit out of the closet.

Rika couldn’t believe her eyes. She could only stare as Ashiya pulled out the costume from the closet. The moment he tried to slip it over his head, she knew she had to act, or else she’d die of shame before being able to explain anything to Ashiya.

“MR. ASHIYA…ah…umm… could you please listen to me?!” Rika’s hoarse voice surprised herself, the nervousness was getting to her. “There’s something you should know about this room before you put that…”

Unfortunately, Ashiya’s head was currently stuck inside the costume by the time Rika had begun her protests. Head tilted at an obscure angle, he was truly the epitome of a man who had lost his wits.

“Mmmmphh-ss-s-orry Ms. Suzuki I couldn’t mmmngg-hear wh—”

Rika had had enough.

Dashing from her chair, she darted to Ashiya and forcibly ripped the costume off his body. Grabbing his exposed sides, she pushed him onto the bed before running into the washroom and fetching his wet clothes. She threw the soggy clothing onto the body of their lifeless owner. Fists clenched she walked back into the bathroom.

“Put your clothes on Ashiya. Right now. You have thirty seconds.”

He didn’t need to be told twice, Ashiya had his clothes on and was kneeling on the floor when Rika walked back out thirty seconds later. The sweat on his face was starting to form neat rivers as it slowly slipped down his forehead and onto his cheeks. Shivering from the combination of wet clothing and air conditioning in the room he stammered:

“Ms. S..S…Suzuki, I’m terribly s.s...sorry. I meant n-no offence.”

He knew he had messed up. It didn’t matter why but this was his only means of escape from the current situation. Standing at the other end of the room, Rika had a deep frown on her face.

“I’m only going to ask this once, so listen carefully.” Rika took a deep breath.

She couldn’t look Ashiya in the eyes. Shifting her focus to the floor, she continued.

“Do you know what a love hotel is?”

“A l-l-love hotel?” Was the confused reply. Head bowed, Ashiya was searching through all his past experiences in Japan to find a reference to this ‘Love Hotel’ Rika mentioned. He only recalled a few things.

“It is a place where couples go to experience time together in privacy, f-from what I understand…”

He wasn’t wrong, but Rika knew she had to bridge the information gap that Ashiya was clearly missing. Her face reddened at the thought of the question she was about to ask.

“Ashiya, how do demons…reproduce?”

It was Ashiya’s turn to be at a loss for words. Rika had thrown a curveball in Ashiya’s direction that he couldn’t have expected in a million years.

“I’m sorry Ms. Suzuki but I don’t understand the purpose of this…”

“Do you know how humans do it???” Rika’s strained voice showed that her composure was near its limit.

“Y-y-yes?”

“Well, that’s what this room is for.” Rika tightened her fists a little as she told Ashiya the crux of the issue.

“B-b-but why this strange clothing and soap?” Ashiya was genuinely concerned why such odd things were placed in the room.

“Humans… have certain things they do to…umm…set the mood for these things…” was the soft reply from across the room.

Ashiya could sense the tension in Rika’s voice. He realized that he must have given Rika many mixed messages when he dragged her into this room, considering it had something to do with human mating. Still unaware of the bizarre customs behind the deed, Ashiya figured it would be best to just keep quiet and let Rika relax. He would have to buy her an apology gift on a later date for sure.

“I understand why you must have been so confused Ms. Suzuki. Please accept my sincerest apologies.” Ashiya stood up and gave a deep bow towards Rika.

“A-ah, n-no it’s fine, since you didn’t know what kind of room it was…well…” Rika nervously shuffled her hands into her pockets before continuing. “I guess I kind of overreacted as well and started yelling at you instead of stopping to explain things.” She knew the adrenaline had gotten the better of her.

“I accept full responsibility for what has occurred here today, it was my fault for failing to provide proper accommodations. Please rest assured I hold no ill-will towards you Ms. Suzuki.” Ashiya had a small innocent smile on his face.

Seeing this, Rika’s heart warmed up a little, along with her clothes.

~~

The tired figure of Shirou Ashiya labored up the stairs to 201 Villa Rosa Sasazuka in the moonlight. It was half past nine when the storm had finally let up and he and Rika could leave the love hotel. Although the tensions had been mostly lifted, Rika had adamantly declined his offer to accompany her home. The bitter feeling from earlier had crept back into his heart during the long train ride back.

“Humans are such…such…” Ashiya was too exhausted to finish his sentence. He opened the door to room 201 and quietly stepped in. The moon provided just enough light for him to tip toe in and put his bags down. Sighing deeply, he sat down with his back to the wall. He stared at the moon for a short while before looking around the room to see what the state of the room was.

At the other end of the room there was a large plastic bag overflowing with MgRonalds wrappers. From the sheer size of the bag, Ashiya assumed that at least 20 burgers had been ordered. His brain didn’t have enough energy to even get angry about that right now. Maou and Lucifer were both sleeping soundly in their usual spots, sprawled out without a care in the world.

Ashiya opened his bag. Even though they didn’t ‘use’ the room at the love hotel, being the stingy man that he was, he snuck some of the complimentary ‘mints’ and soap into his bag to take home. He carefully took them and placed them in the cabinet under the sink. Even though he was still unsure of their exact use, he had paid for the hotel room and wanted to get his money’s worth. The finances of the Devil King’s Castle on earth were no laughing matter, and Ashiya would keep anything if it meant they could save a few hundred yen later.

He let out a quiet yawn. Better get to sleep soon, so he could wake up and make breakfast for the two demons sleeping beside him. Ashiya quietly prepared his bedding and slid under the covers. What a long day it had been for him.

He fell asleep almost immediately, completely unaware of the ticking time-bomb he had just placed under the cabinet.

“aa...Ms. Suzuki…how good to…mmm…see…no…I” Ashiya muttered in his sleep.

But that’s a story for another day...

#hataraku maou-sama! #fanfic #rika suzuki #shirou ashiya

[mysteli]

es in vegas (choices crack series) part 2

A/N: I honestly thought this chapter would SO much shorter than the first one but I’m about to be honest... it’s not. Its longer so good luck. I wanna everyone for all the support and suggestions for this crack series. You all seem to really enjoy it and I’m really happy now you did!

This chapter jumps straight to morning after because that’s where the real plot starts. I’ll be adding in flashback scenes of the night before to show what happened  while the group are trying to figure it out. It’s just better than playing out the night and then helping everyone figure it out when the reader already knows everything. Enjoy!

Warning: the best way to describe this is probably… mature? mainly of the content in it because if it’s just clean then it ain’t really Vegas. this series will feature implied nsfw but not really anything descriptive (mostly just mentions), exaggerations on use of alcohol, strong language and… crazy behaviour? It’s just weird and I’d proceed with caution…

P.S: this is probably the weirdest one yet and a lot of things are gonna be revealed quickly after each other so you gonna have to keep up :D

ALSO, anything in italic is a flashback from the night before

Disclaimer: most of the plot belongs to the Hangover and the characters belong to Pixelberry. I’m just mashing the two together.

Pairings: Jake X MC, Craig X Zahra, Diego X Vaaryn, Aleister X Grace - just the OG pairings for now but things could change ;) -

Tag list: @brightpinkpeppercorn@likethetailofacomet @xo-endlessmayhem-xo@sceptilemasterr @indiacater @chyeahboy@candychoices @zaffrenotes @nicknameking@bailey-choices @szeherezada @whatsernamerps@aries-light @endlessly-searching-for-you@justboredtrash @beckettsattunement@gerrysacushla @mind-reader1 @sweet-honeybird@allykrane @seraxa @violarobics @princessstellaris @mechaspirit

I tagged everyone who liked the post just in case! If you wanna be removed, just let me know!

Let me know if you wanna be tagged! 💗and let me know if the tags work because Tumblr is acting up.

Masterlist

Summary: The next morning finally arrives after many drinks and many weird things that the gang struggle to remember as they wake up. They try their best to remember the events of last night with only their surroundings to help them.

Words: 9301 (sorry)

ENDLESS SUMMER IN VEGAS  PART 2 - THE MORNING AFTER

A blinding light shines through the darkness that kept Logan asleep and she suddenly feels a sharp pain jolting around her head like a boomerang. Her exhaustion is creeping in on her the moment she’s forced to awaken as the sun dares to reveal itself through the giant window in the room she’s currently in. For some reason, she feels out of place and like she can’t even bring forward the knowledge that she was ever asleep in the first place. Her mind has fallen completely blank and Logan has no choice but to blame that on her current tired state. 

Hesitantly, she moves away the shields of her eyelid that was protecting her from the power of the sun’s rays but now she’s gonna have to fend for herself. Her ocean eyes slowly drift open and the throbbing pain in her head and aches of her body makes it difficult for her to manage to move. Her entire figure is numb and her legs are the weakest they’ve ever been. She swears it feels like five minutes ago, she was accepting to the combined party at the strip club but the last thing Logan can remember is taking those shots. Then everything else is just... empty. It’s like she blacked out almost immediately and lost control of herself for the rest of the night.

Holy shit... who knows what she dared to do or dared to say? What the fuck even happened last night? 

From this information, Logan can easily realise that the pain in her head is due to a miserable hangover but why is the rest of her so weak as well? She swears she can barely move. Blinking away the agony and light, she summons the strength to lift her head and position herself so she’s a little more uncomfortable. That’s when she takes the moment to study her surroundings. 

It’s the bedroom that she was looking at she bought the villa with her friends the day before. Logan and Michelle were fighting over it for a few minutes and they never really came to a conclusion about who would get it. Looks like Lo won that battle. Everything is so messed up and trashed that the room is almost unrecognisable, which only scares Logan about how crazy they truly must have went last night. Hell, this is only one of the bedrooms. Imagine how everything else looks. 

Carefully, Logan guides her gaze around her surroundings, only to find the same thing in every inch of the space. An absolute fucking mess. She lets out a sigh of relief when she senses some of the feeling returning to her body and that’s when she realises... she’s not alone in the bed. 

“Holy shit!” Logan screeches in a harsh whisper but it still projects enough of an echo to wake the person underneath her and it scares them as much as it scares her. However, she calms down a lot when she realises exactly who it is and she’s stunned with herself that she never knew who it was in the first place. 

Jake jolts from his sleep, startled from the volume of Logan’s reaction to seeing him. His cerulean eyes widen and his breath catches in his throat. “What was the actual fucking need for that, Princess?” Jake reacts in a snappy tone and Logan understands. That’s probably one of the worst scares Jake has ever experienced, especially if he’s just as hungover as her. He backtracks a little, rubbing his head out of irritation. “Ow... head rush.” 

Logan takes his slight pause to survey his morning appearance. He looks even worse than he usually does in the morning and usually, he’s a mess when he wakes up. But this is just the I can tell you got wasted last night kind of level. His sandy hair is all over the place, some strands sticking up and some hanging lazily over his eyes like strays. His normally bright eyes have dimmed from the exhaustion and his eyes are watering like there’s no tomorrow. However, Logan’s eyes widen when she spots that Jake has a fucking heavy,  bruised, black eye. 

“Woah Jake... what happened?” Logan asks, cupping Jake’s face caringly and scanning his bruise closely as her eyes flood with concern. 

Noticing her worry, Jake starts to feel anxious himself. “What? Is there something on my face? Is it acne ‘cause I got an assload of it the first time I had a drink!”

“What the fuck? Of course there’s no acne, Jake. You’re 27.” Logan points out correctly. “You’ve just somehow managed to get a black eye.” 

“Oh ok. That sounds more like me.” Jake jokes, forming a weaker smirk because of how tired he is. “Funny though because I don’t remember shit from last night.” He admits.

“Me neither but I...” Logan’s words she stopped short and she glances down at herself, only then realising that she is completely naked and so is Jake. She isn’t too surprised though because they were both drunk and in Vegas so of course they would have had a little or a lot of fun. “Oh... that explains a lot.” Logan mutters to herself, not even realising she said that out loud, as she studies herself curiously. She’s absolutely covered in marks and bites. What the hell did they do? Never mind... no one should answer that. 

Barely catching her words, Jake smirks as he follows her gaze and realises what happened as well. She looks so weak and exhausted but in a good way... a satisfied way. The way that Jake knows he did good. Very good. She bites her lip nervously and runs a hand through her platinum blond hair. She’s plastered in sweat and the room is already hot enough as it is. 

“Looks like I do well when I’m drunk.” Jake points out proudly, raising an eyebrow at Logan in a knowing manor. “Wow... I wonder what we did last night.” He adds with that sarcastic glint in his eyes.

Logan just rolls her eyes, attempting to ignore his little cheeky comment. “Don’t seem like there were any breaks either.” 

“Good point because I can’t seem to fucking wake up, darlin’.” Jake tries to stretch but his hands barely move when he tries to move them, blocked by some kind of force dragging his hands back down to where they were previously. “What the actual fuck...”

Jake tries the action again, only to fail once more. Noticing his frustration, Logan eyes him questioningly. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t even know.” 

Confused, Jake brings both his hands at the same and lifts them out of the covers of the bed so they are now viewable to his eyes, only to be annoyed by the sight he is greeted with. It turns out to be a lot more funny to Logan than it will ever to be to him. “Handcuffs...” is all Jake manages to mutter, scanning the metal item carefully. They’re securely tied to his hands and they sure as hell ain’t coming off without a key. 

Logan struggles to hold back a laugh, feeling like the tables have turned. “Wow... looks like it wasn’t all you last night.” She winks at him in a flirty manor and he just rolls his eyes, pulling at the cuffs as an attempt to rag them off. 

“If last night was that kinky... then we must have used oil or something. Is there any in here?” Jake suddenly questions and Logan seems grossed out by that idea.

“Jake, why the hell do you need oil?”

“To slide the cuffs off otherwise there must have been a key.” 

Logan furrows her brows bewilderedly, seeming to have a different idea of the current situation. “What do you mean? Aren’t they the fake ones that you can just take off without a key?” 

“Nope... these are the real deal, Princess. I would’ve had them off by now if they weren’t real, trust me.” Jake states bluntly, feeling absolute shame for what this has become. 

“Then where did we get real handcuffs from? Pretty sure you can only get those if you steal them from...” Logan stops short when she realises what could’ve happened last night and Jake seems to catch on at the same time. “No... please no.” 

“We couldn’t have been that drunk...” 

“We probably were. It would explain why we can’t remember shit.” 

“This is just too weird. You think one of us got arrested and robbed the handcuffs after getting let off or something?” 

“I wouldn’t put it past us, Jake. Trust me.” Logan scans the handcuffs and notices there’s a little bit of... inappropriate stuff scattered on the metal. “All I know is that the station ain’t gonna want those back.” 

“Well I want them off!” Jake points out, narrowing his eyes at his wife and practically blaming her with a skeptical look. 

“Don’t be blaming me, babe. It’s not my fault.” Logan defends herself, holding her hands up in a surrendering manor. “Blame Nevada. Not your innocent wife.” 

Jake smirks at that and keeps his eyebrows raised. Clearly he’s still suspicious. “Well then, Nevada done messed up. You think the key is in here?” 

“I don’t know. It could be back at a police station.” Logan dares to point out, folding her arms idly. 

Glancing around the junkyard of a room, Jake starts to panic a little when his eyes don’t spot the key to the cuffs. “That’s the last thing we want, Princess.”

“Oh my god...” Logan spots something scattered across the bedpost as she has been busy scanning everything else in the room. All their clothes are resting in all corners of the bedroom but something specific and sudden catches her eye. 

Jake lifts his head at the worry in his wife’s voice, suddenly anxious himself. “What?”

“Jake... there’s two bras in this room.” Logan points out and Jake is annoyed that his worries were brought up like that for nothing. He obviously doesn’t take that revelation seriously.

“Princess, maybe you had the crazy idea to empty your suitcase and all your clothes flew out or something. That’s why there’s to. Cause I refuse to believe you were wearing two bras last night.” 

“I wasn’t...” Logan admits and a horrible idea suddenly reaches her and she shivers at the thought. “Jake, I bet you stole that bra from the strip club or something.” 

Actually offended, Jake leans back and furrows his brows at the crazy insinuation. “Now why would I choose to do that?” 

“You were drunk. You don’t really get to choose.” 

“Whatever. I’m tellin’ you I didn’t steal no stripper bras.” He mutters as he checks the nearest beside table and moves to look at the other one until he freezes when he spots something else strange on the other bedside table. “Oh fuck... not another thing.”

“What?”

Jake tilts his head towards the odd item. “On the table there. There’s a piece of paper.” He points directly to where the paper is resting on the beside table. “Can you fucking pick it up since I’m... your bitch now?” Jake swallows and cringes at the thought, even though what he said was meant to be a little unfunny joke.

Logan just scoffs and reaches for the note. Once she retrieves it, she can obviously tell it’s a letter directed to them but she can’t seem to recognise the handwriting. “It’s a letter.” She tells Jake before allowing her eyes to skim over the poorly executed letter. Whoever wrote this isn’t the best at writing nicely. The more she reads the words, the more her ocean eyes widen and the more she can’t push away that horrible idea that’s been looming over her mind since she saw that fucking bra on the bedpost. 

This is so bad. “Oh my fucking god...” Logan curses under her breath, face palming hard from the shame. 

“What is it? Show me.” Jake requests and Logan hands him the letter as she tries to process whatever the fuck it is she just read. Jake seems to develop a similar reaction as he reads through the note himself. 

“Oh shit...”

The note was addressed to them from... extra company they must have had last night, the words being: 

‘sorry i took off but ya girl is late for work. i had fun last night. you’re both VERY good and pay VERY nicely’

Logan feels like she’s struggling to breathe since her breath is catching in her throat so much. Jake just furrows his brows, not sure what to make of the situation. 

“Looks like it wasn’t either of us doing all the work last night.” Jake points out at the wrong time, only to be rewarded with a pillow to the face, curtesy of his irritated wife. “Oh come on Lo...” 

“Holy shit... how much did we spend on that bitch?!” Thats Logan’s reaction. That’s the first thing she thinks of. 

“Wow. That’s the thing you’re worrying about?” Jake reacts, clearly amused but also really just as confused as Logan. He’s just better at hiding it. 

“Jake... this isn’t funny. It’s gross. It’s wrong. Someone else was in this bed last night. Touching both of us. Kissing both of us. Fucking both of us. While you were in handcuffs and the worst part is... this was all with our fucking consent!” Logan rants, completely losing her mind and will to stay sane. The ache in her head and body is even worse than it was before and she’s so uncomfortable. Out of nowhere, Logan leaps off the bed and dusts her bare body off, as she dares to think about the thought of someone else having her hands on her that’s not Jake. She hates that so much. It almost feels like betrayal. 

“Lo, what are you doing?” Jake asks, sitting up and watching Logan as she struggles to move across the room, as her legs are undeniably weak and her body isn’t willing to keep up with her. “Baby... you need to calm down.” 

“Calm down?” Logan reacts, as she scans the room for any sort of clothing and when her eyes spot one of Jake’s solid black hoodies, she throws it on as quickly as possible, needing to feel covered in that moment. “I can’t stand that we did something like that Jake. How did I manage to watch someone else touch you and... do other stuff with you when I’m the only one supposed to be doing all that? It just pisses me off, babe.” 

Jake smirks at the true meaning behind her anger. “Oh... so that’s why you’re pissed off?” He assumes, moving so he’s sat on the edge of the bed and closer to Logan, who has now moved back towards the bed and she’s now facing Jake. He wanted to snake his arms around her waist and pull her against him with reassuring intentions but the godforsaken cuffs hold him back.

“And the fact that we spent god knows how much money just for an extra hand which we don’t really need by the way.” Logan corrects, stroking Jake’s bare shoulders and moving closer to him herself since he can’t really guide her. 

“That I can agree with, darlin’.” Jake’s smirk widens as he tilts his head so he can plant a small kiss on the end of Logan’s wrist. Such a sweet movement. “Listen, Princess, let’s just forget about that hooker that fucked us both by the way, not just me so you shouldn’t be complaining too much.” 

Logan narrows her eyes at that comment. “Thin ice, Aragorn.” 

“Got it.” Jake laughs, letting his smirk falter a little as he tries to reassure her. “Whatever happened last night, I don’t even remember it and neither do you so we won’t even know who it was that we invited over? So let’s not panic ok?”

Logan is silent for a moment but she knows she can’t stay hesitant. They still have to figure out what the fuck is going on, especially with everyone else. “Ok... that makes sense. I’m sorry.”

“It ain’t your fault. It’s never your fault.” Jake promises and Logan leans down to bring their lips together briefly. For a moment, Logan feels like her legs are about to give out and she accidentally manages to fall into Jake’s lap, causing that cocky smirk to cross his face one more. “Can you even walk?” 

“Shut up. Remember you gotta walk out there in cuffs until we find the key so we both know who our friends will think the boss was last night.” Logan counters and Jake already knows he’s lost. 

Carefully and cautiously, Jake and Logan exit their bedroom and enter the main area of the villa, probably where some of the gang ended up sleeping. They’re immediately met with all the familiar faces of their group, some awake and some still dozed off. Estela lies propped on the armrest of the couch, rubbing her eyes and exposing her exhaustion like everyone else. Quinn is sat on a kitchen counter with three empty bottles of water scattered around her and half full one placed in her grip. Craig is sprawled on the floor somewhere still sleeping, also snoring so damn obnoxiously and Zahra struggles not to laugh out loud. Diego is curled up at the end of the couch, sleeping soundly and peacefully. Zahra is flopped on a chair for one, her head rolled back and a black coffee in her hand. To everyone’s surprise and undying awkwardness, Sean and Michelle are sleeping closer to each other, as in cuddling with Sean’s arm wrapped around her waist and she’s curled up into his chest. They ain’t gonna be happy when they wake but you can only wanna know what happened to them last night as well. Furball is curled up on the kitchen counter, eyeing a stressed Quinn with concern as he tries nuzzling her to cheer her up. He’s such a precious little fox. Grace and Aleister are also coupled together in one of the beanbag chairs but Aleister doesn’t even look like himself. He looks just as much as mess as everyone else does.

Hm. So much for that no drinking and staying sane pact.

Above all, everyone just looks like they wanna collapse into an eternal sleep and like they can’t figure out what is going on, which sounds about right. The only strange thing is that Raj and Vaaryn are nowhere to be seen. 

Jake and Logan go unnoticed for a while and she can tell that he’s hesitant to go in because of the jokes that will come out since he is still attached to cuffs. Either way, they gotta confront the group. So Logan just shoots Jake a look that tells him clearly to suck it up and move on, which he huffs at but obeys. 

Logan rubs her eyes tiredly but letting her bare feet tap against the wooden floor as she walks towards the group, the sound of her footsteps alerting those who are awake, which is Quinn, Zahra and Estela. Jake follows behind lazily, keeping his attention away from everyone. He knows he won’t dare speak for the next few moments. 

“Morning, guys.” Logan greets everyone, a yawn escaping her the moment she talks. 

“Hey, Lo... sleep well?” Quinn questions politely, forming a weak smile. 

“Honestly... I don’t remember.” Logan jokes but everyone knows she’s been undeniably serious because they all feel the same way. 

“Oh my god. Same... I’ve got the worst headache.” Estela agrees, running her hands through her brunette hair out of stress. 

“I swear I spent most of last night in total darkness.” Zahra jokes, once again with a hint of solemness. 

“Yeah. I woke up this morning and I just didn’t know where I was. Turns out I was on top of the fridge.” Quinn responds, giggling as she chugs the bottle of water in her hand. Everyone watches her strangely as she does it. “For the hangover. Lo, come have a sip. It actually helps. 

Logan takes a quick glance at Jake, who simply shakes his head at her in a pleading manor. He’s stood directly behind her so if she moves, the girls are gonna notice the cuffs.

“It’s fine, Quinn. I’ll pull through.” Logan smiles at her friend’s kindness but decides to protect Jake for the next five minutes. 

“Hang on... something’s off.” Estela points out with a knowing smirk on her face. 

Logan catches Estela’s gaze being fixated on her and she furrows her brows bewilderedly. “What is it?”

“Is Jake okay?” Estela asks, gesturing to the pilot. 

“Why wouldn’t he be?” 

“Well, for one. He’s not talking at all and two... he isn’t touching you at all while he’s talking to us like he’s usually does.” Estela tilts her head to the side and eyes Jake with wariness. “What gives, cabron?”

“Nope,” is all Jake manages to mutter and Logan rolls her eyes and steps simply to the side, revealing what Jake has been hiding since he walked in. The handcuffs. Immediately, Jake narrows his cerulean eyes at his wife. “Wow... traitor.” 

Logan just scoffs, a smirk playing at her lips. “Ssh. You’re on lockdown.” She teases and Jake just huffs at that. 

Estela, Quinn and Zahra gasp at what’s before them, desperately trying to hold back their laughter so they don’t wake anyone up. Yeah it don’t matter about Jake’s precious feelings. He got handcuffs on for crying out loud. 

“Jake... want some advice? Take the damn cuffs off.” Estela advises as bluntly as possible. 

“That’s rude. It’d be like putting down Logan’s pet.” Zahra retorts, scoffing mockingly at Jake. 

“Shut the fuck up, Starbucks.” Jake snaps before turning his attention to Estela and seating himself in an empty space on the couch. “And I would’ve taken the damn cuffs off, Katniss. Trust me... but I can’t.” 

“Aren’t they the fake ones?” 

“Nope. They’re the real deal.” 

“So... we can all figure out what you two did last night then, can’t we?” Quinn assumes, shooting Logan and Jake separate knowing winks. 

“Um...”

“Don’t try and deny anything, McKenzie. All the signs are there.” Quinn stops Jake before he can protest, folding her arms confidently. 

“What fucking signs... aside from the cuffs.” Jake enquires, eyebrows raised. 

“Duh. Logan is wearing literally nothing but one of your hoodies. She’s placed her hair very carefully so that the hickeys and marks on her neck and arms aren’t visible but trust me, Lo, the leg ones are. And of course... the cuffs.” Zahra explains and it’s kinda scary how she knows so much about how to spot sex or whatever. “Looks like we found our local kinksters.” 

“We don’t even remember what we did so it didn’t happen for us.” Logan jokes, her mind drifting back to the revelation from earlier. 

“Oh man. Wonder what else you did then.” Zahra mutters, taking another sip of her coffee and letting out a satisfied sigh after each sip. 

“You don’t wanna know.” Jake accidentally says his thoughts out, alerting everyone awake and causing their eyes to widen a little.

“Wait so you do know something. What...” Zahra questions a little too eagerly.

“You’re not supposed to be interested in mine and Logan’s sex life.” Jake counters firmly but Zahra just rolls her dark eyes.

“If it’s a night in Vegas, everyone is interested.”

Logan just rolls her sapphire eyes and heads for the bedroom, leaving Jake to break the news. Clearly she’s gone to retrieve the note or something but she still left Jake alone and leaving it up to him to tell the group something they would be a little too interested in. 

“Agh, fine but you better shut the fuck up because Lo is having mixed feelings about it and by the way... we were drunk and we don’t remember it but it’s definitely true. Understand?” Jake finally relents, keeping himself calm and collected. Barely, however. 

“We understand, Jake.” Estela accepts the boundaries in a overly exaggerated sarcastic tone. 

“Ok...” Jake doesn’t know how to prepare himself for this. He sucks in a few sharp breaths and exhales as a way to calm himself down but nothing could prepare someone for an awkward moment like this - especially when the three girls are staring at him expectantly. “...last night, me and Princess somehow ended up... sharing a hooker.”

In that moment, everyone loses their goddamn minds, especially Quinn. “You had a threesome?!” Her high-pitched screeched execution of those words causes everyone in their surroundings to awaken and they catch the sound of the words as well so they jolt awake pretty quickly and immediately seem to be aware of where they are, which is much better than Logan’s slow start to the day. Those who were asleep have widened eyes and their jaws could easily be seen as mere memories on the floor, as well as Jake’s brain cells because he just lost them all in those last few seconds. 

Meanwhile, as Michelle begins to get up, she realises how closely she slept to Sean and suddenly, her instincts kick in. 

“Holy shit... what the fuck, Sean? Why is your hand there?” Michelle reacts by jolting up and almost hitting Sean in the face. She quickly brushes off his hand that lingers on her waist. 

“Um... that wasn’t me. That was the alcohol in me.” Sean corrects, yawning as he speaks and exposing he natural exhaustion.

“You can’t be that touchy when you’re drunk.” 

“Let’s just leave this as an awkward moment and move on.” Sean suggests and Michelle simply nods, moving further down the couch and stretching as an attempt to wake herself up.

Jake glances at Quinn with narrowed eyes, as Logan paces back with a confused look on her face to find everyone staring at her with puzzled looks. Jake did tell them to be cautious but Quinn completely tuned those words out. Furball has helpfully clasped his paw over Quinn’s mouth in order to prevent from reacting to anything else and luckily, it helps. 

Logan freezes when she realises what’s going on and she grips the note in her hand rather tightly in order to calm her nerves. She paces over to everyone slowly, noticing that some people are still groggy but they somehow managed to hear the words anyway, even if they haven’t processed them.

“So...” Sean tries to start of the conversation smoothly. 

“Did you guys hire a hooker last night?” Craig chimes in at the exact wrong time. Zahra swiftly whacks him on the head and Logan is just left dumbfounded. “Yo, Jake are those handcuffs? Damn...” Craig pipes up again, only to be silenced by another smack to the head, curtesy of Zahra.

“You need to shut up. 

“Listen... we don’t even know how it happened. We just got this note with handwriting we didn’t recognise that’s talking about the fact we are very good and we pay very well. That’s all I can say because that’s all that’s repeating in my head a fucking million times.” Logan is clearly stressed and she paces over to Estela and hands her the note before walking over to Jake and leaning in to him. 

Everyone passes the note around and reads it over. “Well that’s fun.” Michelle says in an obviously sarcastic tone. At least it better be.

“And it happened. What if the bitch comes back?” Logan is suddenly very panicky and Jake wishes he could help he more physically.

“Trust me, she won’t. What I learned last time I was in Vegas was if you pay her off, she never returns.” Zahra points out randomly and suddenly everyone is confused. “Don’t say anything about it. It’s too much of a story. Just take my advise because it’s good.”

“Well, judging by this, I’m guessing we’re gonna discover just how eventful last night really was. You guys remember anything?” Logan questions with curiosity lingering in her gaze.

“I should remember things but my brain isn’t working. I didn’t drink at all last night.” Aleister claims and it’s a trashy claim at best.

“That excuse isn’t working for you anymore. You probably ended up drinking the most.” Estela remarks, rolling her dark eyes at the Englishman.

“That’s a load of rubbish. I was the most presentable out of all you.”

“Maybe you should look in the mirror, Malfoy.” 

“Wait! You did drink something, Al. I remember something after we took the shots, barely but I remember it.” Quinn announces, a smiling breaking out on her features as she’s pleased with herself since she remembers something. 

Everyone finishes taking the shots and Aleister is already starting to develop a frustration with this entire situation. He just wants to go home and hang out with his soon-to-be-wife. He has no time for social banter, no matter how much he’s lectured about how necessary it is. This is his life and he intends to take control. 

While all the others drink out of their shots, Aleister tosses his behind him, not paying attention to where exactly the alcohol would land and destination is definitely bad. 

“What the fuck?!” A female voice calls out from a distance after feeling a liquid infecting her. Everyone follows the echo apart from Aleister.

“Oh shit, Al. Look what you did.” Michelle points out, gesturing behind Aleister where a stripper has paused her dancing and... well stripping to examine the drink that has spread on she leg. “You hit the stripper.” 

“She probably thinks it’s oil or something.” Craig jokes, taking another shot of the tray and chugging it down.

“Or the sweat of the people watching her so closely.” Zahra joins in with the inside joke and that results to her and Craig high fiving eagerly, proud of their instinctive banter.

“Pretty sure that would be your sweat on her since you two are the horniest in this whole damn club.” Sean retorts, folding his arms and sustaining a knowing smirk on his features. 

“Wait... what? A stripper?” Aleister reacts, tilting his head only to find a stripper on the stage looking down at him, pointing to the liquid on her leg. 

“It’s a little rude to say out loud.” The stripper states solemnly, hands on her hips and a sassy expression fixed on her face. 

“No offence?” is all Aleister manages to respond with. 

“None taken.” The stripper accepts his shitty apology, shrugging her shoulders idly. “Did your drink fall out of your hands or did you disrespect me on purpose?” She suddenly questions, eyebrows raised skeptically.

“I... I had no intention of hitting you. I just didn’t want the drink.” 

“So you had to throw it?” The stripper challenges, tilting her head to the side and it’s clear she isn’t buying it. “So you did throw it on purpose.”

“Excuse me... lady!” Grace pipes up, pointing sharply at the stripper, who looks down at them from the stage, barely clothed. “You have no right to accuse my fiancé of anything.”

The stripper is suddenly intrigued by hearing the word ‘fiance’. “Why you would let your supposable fiancé sniff around strip clubs? It’s a little worse if you join him.”

“You just had to mention the fiancé part, didn’t ya Grace?” Jake calls Grace out on her mistake and she just blocks him out, rolling her chestnut eyes back in annoyance. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t be talking, Aragon.” Logan tells Jake as nicely as possible, resting her finger on his lips for a few seconds before dragging it over his lower lip agonisingly slowly, affecting Jake a little too much.

Jake leans in and nuzzles her neck as revenge. “Looks like were gonna get a little sidetracked. Besides I am booked in for a private show.” He teases, lifting his head and planting a lingering kiss on Logan’s lips.

“Something tells me that I’m before you.” 

Meanwhile, Grace is still attempting to save her own fiancé from getting a drink tossed back at him. He ain’t holding up well. 

“Just don’t assume anything. He’s just annoyed. He didn’t wanna hit you.” Grace defends Aleister once more and the stripper doesn’t seem to interested anymore.

“Whatever... as long as he wasn’t disrespecting my position. I don’t care.” The stripper responds before finally leaving and going back to doing what she does best.

“Pretty sure were only appreciating your position, girl.” Craig exclaims, waving his hands in the air eagerly and Zahra joins in and they it soon escalates into a little dance party. The vibrant colours on his shirt match the rainbow spotlights that are bouncing off his shirt ever so often. 

Once Aleister finally finds the will to speak again, he merely swerves around and says the words they’ve all been waiting for and definitely expecting. “Oh, whatever. I’m having a drink.” Aleister finally relents, swiping the rest of the shots off the tray and chugging them in a matter of seconds.

Who’s ready for a long long long night?

“Oh shit... yeah. Al, you did drink.” Sean remembers... sort of. “Well at least that makes sense since you’re just as much of a mess as we are.”

“I refuse to believe that I would ignore my own oath.” Aleister claims once more, running a hand through his tousled platinum hair. 

“Chill, Malfoy. I don’t blame you. I’d wanna drink if I got owned by a stripper.” Jake jokes but once again, he is the only one laughing. No one is in the joking mood right now. 

“Wait... that stripper. What if it’s the same one you supposedly had a threesome with?” Quinn suggests and that’s actually the smartest thing she’s said all morning.

“Not a bad shout, Ariel, but it’s still something I don’t ever wanna speak of.” Jake retorts, exhaling sharply and everyone understands immediately.

“Can we talk about something else then?” Zahra questions, looking directly at Craig’s face for some reason. 

“Yeah sure.” Diego agrees, finally speaking up. Seems like he’s only just truly woken up. He tilts his head a little, looking as if he’s searching for someone.

“Craig... why do you have a drawn on mustache on your face?” Zahra enquires, barely containing her laughter and everyone is so startled when they realised they’ve only just noticed this now.

“Dude what?! I’m too young to die!” Craig exclaims and it almost makes no sense. He uses his hands to search his face and he almost screams aloud when his fingers finally brush over the moustache and a cringed look overtakes his features. “Oh no... I’m Mario!” 

“No Craig, you’re Inked Luigi.” Estela corrects and rightfully so. 

“I’m ashamed I thought that was real.” Grace mutters under her breath and she facepalms hard. 

“Um... Velma...” Jake begins but Grace raising her eyebrows at the new nickname makes him shut up for a moment. 

“...Velma? Oh my god... it only gets worse with you, Jake. Logan... you poor soul.” Grace exaggerates with sympathy as she lets her shoulders slump back and her apologetic brown eyes dig into Logan’s skull, it almost hurts.

“At least she got one who’s very ambitious when he’s drunk.” Zahra chimes in, raising her coffee proudly towards Jake and shooting him a mocking wink. Jake simply rolls his eyes and tries to ignore the stupid comment. 

“I was gonna point out, Velma, that you have... a tattoo.” Jake points out, his voice a little shaky and everyone suddenly falls silent when they realise it too. 

All of the group are already very aware of how Grace feels about tattoos. They make her anxious and full of worry for reasons no one can really understand. It’s mostly down to her mother and how she would react knowing that Grace has cursed her skin or whatever. It’s obvious that Grace has a habit of overthinking things so no one is ready for her reaction on this particular situation.

No matter what however, she can’t change the outcome. She has a tattoo. It’s actually true. A real tattoo. Worst part is, it rests on the most noticeable part of her body and the group are actually cursing themselves for not spotting it sooner. It’s actually kind of pretty but still, even if it is the most beautiful thing in the world, Grace will hate and worry about it. No one can win. It’s a inked deep red rose engraved on the side of Grace’s forehead, outlining her head shape and edge of her eye. Seems like dark brown, tousled curls have been covering it but since she decided to move them out the way, a more likely chance came of noticing it. 

Now here we are and the reaction is bound to be deadly.

“Oh crap... Jake please tell me this is just one of your pathetic jokes.” Grace pleads, an expected hint of anxiety in her chestnut eyes.  

Jake is slightly offended by her comment, even if that wasn’t the original intention. “Well, shit, Grace. I was actually feeling sorry for you. Not anymore. I even called you by your actual name. Fuck that ever happening again, Lisa Simpson.” 

Estela just huffs at Jake’s pettiness. “In other words, no, this is not one of those pathetic jokes.” 

That’s when Grace starts to panic. She’s about to lose her mind. She leaps out of Aleister’s embrace and rushes towards the nearest mirror and she gasps, startled by the sight before her. It still hasn’t truly hit her yet. That’s not real is all she wants to tell herself. Some of the group are eyeing her with concern but others are just dying to laugh. The sympathetic ones consist of Aleister, Quinn, Sean and Michelle but everyone else can barely contain their laughter. 

Grace grazes her hand over the tattoo, not realising or paying attention to the fact that it actually looks really cute. “Oh my god... this is so bad. My mom is gonna strangle me!”

“Grace, you’re 23. What exactly can your mom say or do?” Michelle dares to ask and Grace narrows her dark eyes at the owner of such a stupid enquire.

“Everything, Michelle! She will judge and mock and bring out a kitchen knife!” Now everyone is aware of Grace’s irrational thinking and they need to find a way to calm her. 

“Darling, I’m sure your mother wouldn’t do that. Maybe she’ll have an opinion but you can always get it removed.” Aleister suggests and when Grace forms a deep scowl, it also practically burns through his skill once she’s glancing at him. It’s like a fucking laser and Grace is pretty damn relentless when she’s angry. 

“But it’s still here now, isn’t it Aleister? If somehow I ended up getting a tattoo and Jake and Logan were provoked to have a threesome, who knows what other crazy shit we got into last night?” Grace explains and she’s clearly not wrong. They could have got into a lot of trouble last night, especially with the possibility that someone got arrested. 

“What about my moustache? You didn’t mention that.” Craig points out and Grace merely rolls her eyes. 

“Maybe she didn’t mention it because it isn’t that crazy for you, Craig.” Michelle responds and Craig shrugs his shoulders, playing with the drawn on moustache that lingers above his mouth. 

“I am pretty proud of it though. I could be the Moustache Man!” Craig exclaims excitedly, throwing his arms in the air and almost knocking Zahra’s coffee clean out of her hands. He was about five seconds from being dead. 

Zahra forms a skeptical glare. “If I lost that damn coffee, you and your precious moustache would be cut up in slices, ready to be served outside a fucking trashy restaurant right now.” Her threat was slowly spoken but still affective.

“Hey, that’s pretty funny though, Drax. I’ll give ya that. That way we can have Moustache Man and Mimosa Man.” Jake counters, his natural smirk forming on his lips and he’s pretty surprised that no one else is making fun of the cuffs he’s still trapped in. They probably are in their heads. Suddenly, Jake realises something as he surveys the room. Someone is missing. “By the way, speaking of mimosas... where the hell is Raj? Thought I would have heard him talk by now.”

Processing Jake’s comment, everyone scans their surroundings, realising Raj is nowhere to be seen. “Oh yeah. How did we not realise?”

“Um... guys. I can’t see Vaaryn either.” Diego points out, concern flooding his gaze as he tries to search for his beloved. 

“Hm... lets look around for them. I mean... they gotta be here somewhere right?” Logan suggests and everyone nods along, hesitantly and slowly rising from where they rest and searching their surroundings for any signs of Raj and Vaaryn. 

It’s pretty clear that they couldn’t have gone far. If they were even half as drunk as everyone else last night then they would be crawling around like everyone else and struggling to even balance their consciousness and keep it together. Their memories are also probably fragmented from all the alcohol they must have consumed but if they get lucky, they might have been sober enough to wake up early and go get everyone food or something even better. No, nothing sounds better than food right now. 

Soon enough, no one has any luck in the living room so they result to checking all the rooms in the villa. They have no success until one member of the group opens a door and finds something shocking on the inside. 

“Ok... me and Quinn are gonna check the bathroom!” Sean announces before idly pacing over towards the bathroom and he carefully grasps the handle and whispers something to himself before he enters. “Please oh please, god don’t let me find Raj or Vaaryn taking a shit or anything because that would just be... traumatising.” 

Barely catching his words, Quinn scoffs mockingly, still carrying a water in her hand. “Sean... just so you know... I’ll never be able to get that image out of my head now.” 

Realising, Sean facepalms hard. “Me neither. Alright I’m going in.” 

Twisting the door knob, Sean swings the bathroom door open, stunned by what he sees inside at first. He doesn’t realise that it’s about to get worse. Sean and Quinn’s eyes widen with confusion at the sight of Raj cowered in the bath, shaking and grasping the edges of the bath as he eyes something in the distance with complete and utter fear. He hasn’t even spotted his friends yet. The dude is paralysed.

Careful and concerned, Quinn approaches Raj and alerts him of her presence. Immediately, he remains silent and doesn’t really know to say. “Hey Raj. Sleep well?” 

Raj runs a hand through the black curls of his hair, struggling to stop his shock from showing. “Quinn...” He begins in a harsh whisper. Meanwhile, Sean watches on, arms folded and mind stacked with confusion. “...I want you to look to your right as slowly as possible and don’t freak out when you see the beast.”

“...What?” Quinn reacts, completely bewidlered. 

“Do it.” 

Hesitantly, Quinn obeys and Sean follows through as well, as both pairs of eyes drift to stare in the right direction and those eyes widen when they see the cause behind Raj’s undying fear. 

“Holy shit.” Sean says in a lowered whisper, since his breath has caught in his throat so he can’t find the strength to react loudly.

“Is that a damn tiger?”

Indeed it is. It’s an actual tiger. Born and bred in Vegas. A tiger. This is just... what the fuck? It’s a tiger resting on the tiled floor of the master bathroom, taking in the luxuries of the villa and just enjoying it. The creature looks relaxed and unfazed by the presence of Raj, Quinn and Sean but they are undeniably concerned and frightened by the presence of this predator.

“Is that... real?” is the only amount of words Sean can muster up and he finds himself shaking at the sight of the tiger. 

“Of course it’s real, dumbass. I don’t see a fucking mascot.” Quinn snaps in a harsh whisper, moving to grab Raj out of the bath and help him out the room. This is why he was so trapped. But he pulls back, clearly too scared to leave.

“No! It can smell my fear.”

“Raj, why didn’t you call us before? We would have helped you.” Sean questions, furrowing his brows. 

“I would have but I was sure you were asleep so I didn’t wanna disturb you.” Raj admits and everyone appreciates his politeness but he still should have said something. “Besides, this thing might have gotten scared and jumped out at me.” 

“Well how about we stop stalling and get the hell out of here instead of giving this tiger more time to swallow us all?” Sean suggests and both Quinn and Raj nod along, with Raj needing extra guidance as he prepares to escape the bath, which is thankfully done without fuss. 

“What do we do now? Run for our lives?” Quinn wonders, shrugging her shoulders as she remains startled by how much the tiger stares them down. 

“Sounds about right.”

With that, they all exit the bathroom as quickly as possible. 

They barely make it out the bathroom without the tiger managing to take a hit at any of them since it seems to now be startled by the fact that they were trying to escape and managed it. They’re all rightfully scarred now and they know that whatever they did last night has to be fucking horrible because how did they manage to get a fucking tiger in the damn bathroom?

On heavy feet and heavy breaths, Raj, Sean and Quinn rally the group back together and try to calm themselves as they try to tell the others about this damn tiger. 

“Guys... first of all we found Raj.” Quinn clarifies before easing the group into the next dangerous part. “Any luck on Vaaryn?”

“No... we may need to retrace our steps to find out where he is.” Estela admits, scratching her jaw thoughtfully and it looks like she’s trying to prepare a plan. 

“We could try visiting a police station. See if they know if any of us got arrested because how else would we have got those cuffs—“ 

“Okay guys, I know this is stressful but we are not done!” Quinn interrupts them but they practically cut her off first.

“Sorry... what else?” 

“Um... Raj could probably the calmest saying it.” Sean suggests and Raj takes that as a compliment but he can’t find a smile.

Raj clears his throat and lets out a heavy sigh before revealing the crazy information. “THERE’S A DAMN JUNGLE CAT IN THE BATHROOM!” Clearly not as calm as everyone initially expected. 

“Wait what? A tiger? A real life tiger? Like the one off the Jungle Book or Aladdin?” Diego reacts, his jaw stranded on the floor. 

“Yes! A real life Sher Khan!” Raj confirms, his hands messing with his dark hair and tousling it even more. 

“Hold on... I need proof. Let me check this out.” Jake points out and he makes his way into the bathroom, the cuffs still attached to his wrists. 

“Remember if he gets you, you can’t save yourself with your hands!” Logan calls out to him and Jake sticks his tongue out at her before entering the bathroom. 

His cerulean eyes immediately widen at the sight and after one second, he comes back out and closes the door behind him, stunned by what he’s just seen but also really amused. 

“Well shit... Abu looks hungry.” Jake makes a joke but it isn’t come off well because of its lack of accuracy.

“Abu’s the monkey in Aladdin.” Diego corrects and Jake rolls his eyes, elbowing Diego in the head as he paces past him.

“Forget about the fucking tiger, you won’t believe what I just found.” Zahra announces, her eyes glued to her phone and everyone immediately eyes her with eagerness and curiosity. 

“What’s so important that we just forget about a jungle cat being in our fucking bathroom?!” Sean questions sarcastically, folding his arms as he wanders behind Zahra and checks out what’s on her phone screen.

“I found messages from the group chat last night from about 3am. Clearly we weren’t all together the entire time. This should give us an idea about what’s going on.” Zahra explains and everyone seems intrigued by the idea so they all gather around Zahra’s phone and she makes sure that everyone can see. “You are not ready for this.” 

Logan: wassup bitches 😉 

Estela: yo lo! 

Estela: ha... i just realised i just made a word 

Estela: yolo! 😝

Jake: well guess we can guess who the most drunk here is 

Quinn: obviously u jake 

Quinn: im not drunk

Jake: that’s what drunk ppl say 

Craig: guys! you won’t be able to guess what i just did 😱

Zahra: everything u do is impossible to guess

Craig: that just says that everything i do is mindblowing 🤯

Aleister: i love u guys 

Jake: i love u too malfoy

Jake: youve always been my fave 🥰

Jake: don’t tell princess 😉 

Logan: wow jake 😂

Diego: catch that betrayal 🤭 

Aleister: i know i say i hate u all but i really love u and grace, u r the most gracious creature on the planet 

Estela: omg aleister is drunk shakespeare 😆

Grace: awww, hun that’s so sweet 💕 ily2

Zahra: ewwww barf 🤮 

Raj: oh come on z that’s true love 😃 

Zahra: my ass 🍑 

Aleister: grace u r my princess 💗 

Jake: woah malfoy too far 

Jake: u can’t go round stealin my nicknames 

Aleister: oh im dreadfully sorry jake 😞 

Jake: its ok ima let it slide cuz ily 😘

Logan: jake r u ok

Jake: yeh princess im coooooolll

Jake: this hooker just gave me her number

Logan: wtf 😯 

Estela: Oooooooo 

Jake: i don’t know what to do with it

Logan: throw it away dumbass 😠 

Jake: but what if i wanna make the sex Darlin

Grace. what is goin on 

Raj: im struggling to figure that out

Logan: you only make the sex with me 🤫

Diego: 😂😂😂😂 yeh jake lo owns u

Jake: oh yeh... btw 

Jake: 🍆 

Logan: wha?

Estela: this is disturbing 

Estela: on the bright side i just found a pretty ladybug

Aleister: jake r u eating an eggplant?

Jake: nah princess is 😉 

Aleister: is it tasty 

Logan: were debating al

Aleister: can i debate with u 

Raj: don’t do that al or I swear u will lose your vision 

Aleister: well im eating chicken so 

Aleister: 🍗 

Craig: guys... i still haven’t told ya bout what I did 🥺

Quinn: sorry craig what did you do

Zahra: i bet it was something stupid 🤔 

Craig: I SWALLOWED A ROCK 🤪

Zahra: i was right

Diego: how did you manage that 

Craig: i swallowed it 

Jake: logan is swallowing something rn

Quinn: jake will u stop with that

Estela: srsly or i will cut your eggplant off myself

Aleister: it’s rude to ruin someone’s food 

Aleister: don’t destroy jake’s eggplant before logan gets to eat it 

Logan: itd be nice if we didn’t talk about this guys 👍 

Quinn: ok fine back to craig

Diego: yeh Craig before I meant like how did it happen

Craig: oh this dude dared me to do it and ya’ll know I don’t go back on dares 

Zahra: maybe that’s why your brain don’t work craiggers 

Craig: my brain works fine z 

Zahra: sure 😐

Craig: that emoji looks a little negative 

Zahra: how did you guess

Craig: my brain is just that good 

Raj: where’s meech and sean at

Jake: michelle is out there probably swallowing sean’s eggplant 

Aleister: im sure sean’s eggplant is delicious 

Diego: can ya’ll stop sayin eggplant

Jake: 🍆 

Diego: y jake

Jake: i didn’t say it

Grace: srsly wha if meech and sean are off somewhere together

Quinn: I wouldn’t put it past them 😂 

Quinn: and i just got my fifth phone number tonight

Raj: another one?? 😲

Craig: how are u doin that q?! 😱

Craig: you must have a secret!!

Quinn: nothin much I just think the strippers like me

Zahra: they probably think you’re one of them

Craig: or they think u got good money

Logan: i need jesus 

Jake: I am jesus 

Jake: you already got me 😉 

Logan: nvm i need a new husband 

Craig: pick me! plz!!

Jake: hands off craigslist 

Sean: sup fuckers! 

Estela: rude 

Estela: -brings out machete-

Grace: 😂😂😂

Raj: oh shit estela is armed!!

Sean: sorry estela 

Estela: sure you are 

Logan: where the fuck are you sean

Sean: im at the chapel 😃 

Logan: wtf are you doin at the chapel 🤔 

Quinn: omg is someone getting married 😱

Quinn: i call maid of honour! 

Craig: and i call godfather 

Aleister: craig that’s babies 👶 

Sean: yeh someone is gettin married 

Sean: and I want u guys to watch 😂 

Michelle: hey butches 

Michelle: oh i can’t spell 😂 

Grace: you all need to greet each other cleanly

Raj: you all really do need jesus 

Raj: anything that isn’t jake jesus 

Jake: couldn’t be fucked growin that damn dumbledore beard anyway

Estela: diego’s castaway look is more like a jesus 

Diego: hey! that isn’t how i would describe it

Logan: meech r u with sean 

Michelle: yeh y 

Logan: wtf r u guys doing

Michelle: oh we’re getting married 😊 

Logan: what 😮

Jake: 💀

Quinn: omg can i be your maid of honour

Michelle: sure you’d have to get here quick tho cuz the ceremony is bout to start 😃 

Estela: this is so weird 😑

Sean: im gonna be a daddy

Aleister: once again that’s babies 👶 

Zahra: he’s still technically gonna be a daddy to someone 😂 

Craig: oh my god this is so cool 😎 

Craig: my boi is finally growing up 

Raj: r u sure this is legal 

Sean: yeh it’s vegas 

Diego: I can already see this turning into runaway bride 😂 

Logan: r u sure this is ok and u wanna do that

Michelle: idk

Logan: then y r u doin it

Michelle: for fun?

Sean: can’t talk no more guys the ceremony is about to start 🤫 

Jake: 🍆 

Aleister: 🍆 

“Ok... what the hell is that?” Logan questions, covering her mouth with her hand out of shock. “Michelle and Sean... got married?”

“Oh my god... please tell me that really didn’t happen.” Michelle pleads, running her hands through her ombré hair in order to expose her stress and worry. 

That’s when Raj notices something glimmering on Michelle’s finger, reflected and highlighted by the sunlight from outside which makes it more clear to the naked eye.

“Um, Meech. There’s a ring on your finger.” Raj points out calmly and Michelle immediately moves her finger so the ring is in her sight. It looks very expensive and that’s only one thing that scares her.

“Oh no...” Sean reacts, facepalming hard and burying his face in his hands out of shame.

“Well this is just fucking great.” Grace complains, pacing back and forth with her hands behind her head as she tries to process everything that has happened in the last what 15 minutes? “So let me get this straight... Sean and Michelle got married, Jake and Logan had a threesome, Craig got a drawn on moustache, I got a tattoo, there’s a tiger in the bathroom and we can’t find Vaaryn.” Grace pauses for a moment, out of breath and it gives her a second to realise something. “We’re in deep shit, guys.” 

i just hope this makes sense and isn’t too much too fast. also hope that texting scene wasn’t too long. I think it was and i always appreciate feedback :)

#guys im so nervous about this chapter #help #playchoices #choices #pixelberry #choices stories you play #endless summer #es #choices es #es in vegas #choices crack fic #fan fiction #jake x mc #aleister x grace #craig x zahra #diego x vaaryn #jake mckenzie #quinn kelly #estela montoya #sean gayle #diego ortiz soto #Michelle nyguen #craig hsiao #zahra namazi #raj bhandarkar #grace hall #aleister rourke #mysteli

[jonghyundroppedthesoap]

My Number One Fan

Chapter 26 Pairing: JongKey Word Count: 2,922 Summary: Kibum goes to the same, run-down bar every week to watch the man of his affections sing his heart out with a mere guitar for company. He wasn’t expecting the coffee, nor the beautiful personality within the singer. And he definitely wasn’t expecting to fall in love.

A/N: this chapter is awfully short, i know, but i needed to get all the necessary filler out the way before the dramatic stuff begins ;;)) next chapters gonna be a packed one i swear! oh and enjoy the 2min <3 

chapters 6-25 posted on @ourshineeshrine for now

The sun was shining brightly when Minho decided to go for a serene walk that Saturday afternoon, hands positioned lazily in his pockets as he scuffed his feet along the gravelled ground. Often, when too caught up in his thoughts or simply tired of sitting around, Minho would escape his house for just a little while and head to the local park, revelling in the soothing environment it provided him with. The large oak trees lining the green terrain swayed softly in the wind, leaves rustling and cascading down onto the blanket of grass below.

It was true that they lived in the same neighbourhood. And Minho supposed that the chances weren’t completely unlikely. However it still came as quite the shock when, as he made his way around the forged dirt track, Minho’s eyes fell upon Taemin seated on a nearby bench. The younger boy was simply staring at his shoes, occasionally kicking at the rocks beneath his feet and watching as they rolled forward before coming to an abrupt halt against the grass.

Minho smiled fondly. From his slightly elevated position, sunlight flittered in at exactly the right angle to land gracefully on Taemin’s skin, highlighting all of his beautiful features. His slighty mussed hair was swept back with the wind, and as light was further shed upon Minho’s feelings, he found himself not really caring in the slightest. Perhaps at first it had been slightly alarming that he had begun to gather feelings for his friends but now, after some careful consideration, Minho figured that he was actually rather lucky. Not only did he get to spend practically every waking moment with Taemin, but the two already knew each other in and out – there’d be no need to hide his true self in fear of judgement.

Taking one last, deep breath, Minho slowly began to make his way towards Taemin, at this closer distance suddenly being very aware of how torn his facial expression seemed to be. Minho frowned in alarm and quickened his pace. The younger boy’s gaze didn’t at all divert from their position on the ground even when Minho stood a mere two metres away, and he coughed slightly to break the silence, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. “Taemin. Hey.”

Taemin looked up in astonishment, an obvious red hue immediately flushing against his cheeks. His shoulders had tensed unconsciously, but despite his noticeable discomfort, Taemin replied with a slightly awkward, “Hey, Minho. What’s up?”

“Nothing much.” Minho grinned brightly, taking a seat next to Taemin and crossing his legs. “Just wanted some fresh air. You?”

Albeit slightly forced, Taemin smiled back. “Me too. Just needed to think about some things I guess.”

Minho nodded. “School’s been super busy lately. Kibum and I have got our end of year exams in like, a week, and to be honest…I think I’m gonna flunk. But don’t tell Jinki I said that.”

“You’re probably gonna get a sport scholarship though so I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about.” Taemin nudged Minho’s ribs playfully in reassurance, immediately regretting his actions as Minho’s body stiffened.

Minho opened his mouth as though he was about to say something before suddenly halting in his tracks, settling for a simple, “Taemin...”

The first year held his breath. Was this finally the moment? Was Minho finally going to confront what had happened nearly a week from now? He looked up at the older boy with hope swimming in his eyes and offered a smile. “Yeah?”

“Well um…just…thanks for being a good friend.”

As the words fell upon Taemin’s ears, his hopes were diminished like a fire during winter, simply nodding softly in response. It was stupid, really. But nonetheless, Taemin could feel his anger slowly rising at Minho’s ignorance on the matter and clenched his fists.

“Also, Taem. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow. Just you and I? Maybe go to the movies or the arcade…I don’t know.”

Taemin remained silent and simply glared at the ground, shaking his head marginally at Minho’s audacity. First he plays with Taemin’s feelings by kissing him, but then never brings it up again and instead thinks that they can just resume their friendship like nothing ever happened. He bit his lip, fighting down the insults which threatened to spill from his mouth, and refused to meet Minho’s curious stare.

Minho frowned at Taemin’s silence. “Uh…Taemin? Everything alright buddy?”

“Y’know what, Minho? Everything isn’t alright!” Taemin fumed, standing up and pacing on the spot. “You have been practically ignoring me for the whole week, haven’t mentioned anything about last Sunday, and now you wanna hang out? Look Minho…I know you hated what happened the other day, okay? I get it! Either let’s talk about it, or you stop acting so awkward! It’s in the past…so just tell me how much you hated the kiss and let’s move o—“

“I never said I didn’t like it, you idiot!” exclaimed Minho, up on his feet and staring Taemin directly in the eyes.

Breath coming to a sudden halt, Taemin’s jaw dropped and he stared at Minho with wide eyes, not quite positive if he’d heard correctly or not.

Minho took a tentative step forward and spoke again softly. “I never said that I didn’t like it, Taem.”

And then, gently and cautiously, so unlike the times before, Minho’s lips were pressed flush against Taemin’s, lifting a hand to rest precariously against the younger boy’s cheek.

“So wait…” spoke Amber, draped over Kibum’s bed like a duvet. “You’re saying that your parents think that Jonghyun is making you gay, and now you’re grounded from going out?”

Kibum sighed and spun around aimlessly on his desk chair. “That’s literally what I just said, yes.”

“Don’t get snappy with me, Kibum. We have to work our way around this. Can’t he just come over like I am now?”

Sighing loudly, Kibum shook his head. “Technically, he could. But…If he came over it would only make things worse, ‘Ber. My father practically hates him, and Jonghyun’s really touchy anyway. To be honest, he’d probably go home more upset than if he didn’t come at all. Let’s just leave it, m’kay?”

Amber sat up and studied Kibum closely before collapsing back onto the bed. “For now. We’re gonna talk about this again later. But for now…” the tomboy snorted loudly. “Can you believe Minho rejected me, yesterday?”

Kibum choked, practically falling from his seat in surprise. “H-He what? Rejected you? You fuckin’ made a move?”

“I just asked if he wanted to chill tomorrow, calm your farm. Y’know…I could’ve sworn he liked me, but oh well.”

Utterly confused, Kibum sat in silence, the gears in his head turning at a million miles per second. His thoughts ran back to the day before, when Taemin had spoken of Minho’s strange attitude towards their kiss. Supposedly, he’d practically ignored Taemin entirely after it had happened, yet he had been the one who had asked to kiss Taemin in the first place. Kibum paused for a second, eyes widening in joyous realization that in Amber’s perspective, seemed to border insanity.

She rose an eyebrow and punched Kibum’s leg, taking satisfaction in the way her best friend yelped in pain. “Get that serial killer smug grin off your face and tell me what you’re thinking.”

“Oh my God,” Kibum muttered, laughing softly under his breath. “Oh my fucking God.”

“What?! Tell me, you dick shit!”

Kibum chuckled loudly and fell onto the bed besides Amber. “Who would’ve known, huh?”

Fists clenched, Amber grabbed Kibum’s wrists and in a fluid motion and twisted them around his back, digging her elbow harshly in between his shoulder blades. Kibum yelped in pain and attempted to escape the tom boy’s strong grasp, body flailing pathetically before falling into a slump.

“Now, are you gonna stop acting like an asshole and tell me what’s got your knickers in a knot?”

“My what in a what now?”

Amber tutted and applied more pressure. “Stop stalling and answer the god damn question, Kibum.”

Groaning loudly, Kibum stuffed his face into the duvet. “Rradgi b’sekshal Min’o ‘ikez Ta’mmn”

Amber screwed her face into a frown. “What the heck?”

“I said…” Kibum sighed, roughly tugging his wrists out of the younger girl’s grasp. “Raging bisexual Minho likes Taemin.”

Silence. Thick, drop dead silence. Amber simply stared at the polaroid pictures upon Kibum’s wall, and in concern, the latter worried that she liked Minho a lot more than he’d previously expected. He leaned forward slightly to gauge her reaction, however immediately retreated in surprise upon realising that she was laughing. “Honestly,” she giggled. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“At first glance Minho seems as straight as a stick but like…the thought of him having a crush on a guy is just so natural. I literally can’t believe that my whole friendship group is fucking gay.” snorted Kibum, shaking his head at the odds.

Amber looked at Kibum. “Wait, so Taemin is gay too?”

He paused. “Well no…But he definitely has a crush on Minho though, so my statement still stands.”

Squealing uncharacteristically in both a mixture of excitement and disbelief, the tomboy grabbed a packet of Cheetos strewn on Kibum’s bed and shoved a handful in her mouth. “If they get together, and you start talking to Jonghyun again, then you guys can double date!”

Kibum hummed, a forlorn glint lingering in his chocolate eyes. “I don’t know if I should even talk to Jonghyun, to be honest… It’s just gonna make things worse.”

With a sad sigh, Amber sat up straight and addressed Kibum sympathetically. She seemed cautious, as though tip toeing around a rose bush, and bit her bottom lip. “There’s nothing wrong with liking a guy, Kibum.” she spoke softly.

Anger sparked in Kibum’s chest, and he glared harshly at his best friend. “I know that, Amber! But I’m just sick of it being so hard… Loving someone isn’t meant to be this hard.” His voice had managed to drop to a whisper within mere milliseconds, and he ignored Amber’s loud gasp of surprise.

“It wouldn’t be this bad if it wasn’t for your parents. You just said it, Kibum – you love Jonghyun! You guys have something really special, and you can’t just give up on something like that. You have to work around this, Kibum. Please. I just…I hate seeing you like this, alright?”

Kibum nodded, but it was safe to say that he wasn’t quite convinced by Amber’s words. She knew his parents pretty well, certainly. But no one knew Kibum’s parents quite like Kibum himself, and deep down, he understood that getting around them would be a lot harder than it seemed. He thought about his father, and his mother who was finally beginning to recognize that he had his own beliefs and feelings. He thought about the slap – the stinging in his cheek which psychologically, had never gone away. He didn’t want to drag Jonghyun down that hell hole. Why would Jonghyun even want to be a part of something like this when he had a perfect family back at home? Where his mother and sister joked around joyously, accepted him for who he was, and gave Jonghyun all the love he deserved. His lifestyle could never match up to that standard, and it was with this mindset that Kibum decided that yes, keeping his distance from Jonghyun certainly was better for the both of them.

Standing outside Kibum’s bedroom door, Kibum’s mother could feel her own heartbeat picking up considerably as she heard her son and his best friend speaking within the room. She should’ve just kept on walking. Gone to her bedroom like she’d originally planned on doing. And she was going to keep on walking after a few minutes, she really was. But as those eight words fell from her son’s mouth so casually and so genuinely, she found herself pausing in disbelief, not quite sure if she’d heard him correctly.

‘Loving someone isn’t meant to be this hard.’

‘You love Jonghyun!’

The woman’s breath caught in her throat, and if it wasn’t for the wall that she was currently leaning against, Kibum’s mother was certain her legs would have gave way by now. She’d had her suspicions, of course. About their relationship being something less than…pure. But an emotion as deep as love had never been on the agenda, and she found her heart slowly tearing apart at the connotations of those short phrases. Her mind went back to just the other day, where Jonghyun had helped her with her groceries. His eyes had been red, bloodshot and puffy, clear signs of crying and sleep deprivation. Had their treatment towards Kibum and Jonghyun inevitably lead to his? Two depressed boys who couldn’t even bring it within themselves to see the other because of what people around them thought?

The guilt was overbearing. Kibum’s mother knew that, along with her husband, she was a key catalyst in this behaviour and caution. Yet before she could even ponder on what this truly meant to her and her family, a sound within the room knocked the woman out of her senses and pushed her on her way, trudging towards the marginally opened hallway door with a fatigued frown lining her features.

Jonghyun stood before the bathroom mirror, staring at his slick hair in nervous anticipation. A bottle of opened dark hair dye lay on the countertop, and if Jonghyun had never done this before, he was sure that at that moment his hands would certainly be shaking. He spun around one last time to make sure that every inch of his previously blonde locks were covered before grabbing a plastic cap and slipping it over his hair. A loud exhale escaped his lips, and Jonghyun slumped onto the edge of the bathtub with clenched fists. Potential song lyrics played within in his mind on repeat, but the only thing which kept Jonghyun from writing them down was the fact that he knew Kibum wouldn’t be joining him at the bar tomorrow. Honestly, he didn’t really know why he’d decided to finally change his hair colour. It had been blonde since he’d left school, and before now, he’d never even considered changing it back to brown. But now it was done – there was no turning back.

He stood below the shower head and allowed the water to run down his face as it washed the excess dye away, thoughts drifting back to his conversation with Kibum’s mother at the supermarket just days ago. While it was indeed a nice offer, Jonghyun still racked his mind for ideas to somehow see Kibum before two weeks’ time, mind coming to a cruel halt at every turn. Whether it be too risky, too public, or just too downright impossible, it seemed that there was no way whatsoever that Jonghyun could meet up with Kibum before the latter’s parent teacher interviews.

The songwriter stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, watching in the mirror as his hair gradually dried to dark, mousy brown. Jonghyun smiled despite his prior melancholy, and could only hope with all his heart that Kibum’s parents worked on Tuesday afternoons.

Minho pulled away softly, hand still softly cradling Taemin’s cheek. A wide, ecstatic smile rested on his face and he watched Taemin’s expression carefully to gauge any sort of reaction.

It was safe to say that Taemin was in a stupor. Unblinkingly, he stared at Minho’s grinning face, not quite positive if he’d imagined that kiss or not. His heart raced at a million beats per second, and although there were no mirrors around, Taemin was fairly certain that at that moment his cheeks were glowing a dazzling red. Awkwardly, he licked his lips, diverting his gaze to instead stare at the ground. “W-What was that for?” he mumbled softly.

Chuckling melodiously, Minho shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I like you, and I liked that kiss the other day, so why not?”

Taemin froze, head slowly lifting to look at Minho once more. He studied Minho’s carefree smile, he’s relaxed shoulders and his twinkling eyes, feeling his own face distort into a frown as he did so. “You’re lying.” he muttered. “Stop fucking with me, Minho.”

And immediately, just like that, Minho’s carefree expression faded away, transforming into something more alike to worry and fear. “I’m not, Taemin…I swear. I like you.”

“Then why did you ignore me for the whole week, then? Last time I checked, you had a crush on Amber!”

Minho gnawed gently on his bottom lip. “I know, I was just scared, okay? Not of liking a boy because I honestly don’t give a shit about that. But… you’re my best friend, Taem. I didn’t want to ruin things between us.”

With a scoff, Taemin crossed his arms over his chest. “Well…Well how do you know you haven’t ruined things? Why’d you just assume that I like you back, huh? ‘Cause I’m going through my gay ‘phase’ right? I must be jumping at the chance to date a guy like you.” Sarcasm had begun to lace with Taemin’s tone of voice, and Minho felt his oxygen clot with anxiety.

“N-No…Taemin. Why are you getting so angry? I already told you that I didn’t mean it like that when I said ‘phase’. I just thought that maybe—“ His voice cracked, and in fear of shedding tears, snapped his mouth shut. Minho swallowed thickly. “Do you…like me at all? Even just a little?”

Taemin flushed red, immediately turning away. “No, I—“

“Taemin. Please. ” interrupted Minho firmly, raising a brow. “Do you like me?”

The first year’s hands shook, but nonetheless, he responded quietly under his breath. “M-Maybe…just a little.”

That elicited a small smile to flutter onto Minho’s face, and hesitantly, he reached forward to entwine his fingers with Taemin’s. “Then why are you being so…I don’t know…”

“Cautious? Disbelieving? Maybe because…I’ve liked you for a lot longer than you’ve liked me, and this all seems so sudden, Minho. How am I supposed to know that you’re actually serious about this? A week might pass, and next thing you know, you’ll be crushing on Sooyoung or Sulli. I,” Taemin flushed. “I really like you, okay? I just don’t want to be your little experiment.”

Minho gave Taemin’s hand a gentle squeeze, softly lifting Taemin’s chin with the other. “This is new to me, I know. But you’re my best friend above anything else, Taem. And I wouldn’t have acted on my feelings if I thought they were anything but genuine. Just trust me, okay? As your best friend, if anything.”

Taemin’s eyes searched Minho’s frantically, as though they in themselves held the truth to his words. A second past, then two, and then another. And then before Minho could even voice another syllable, Taemin dived forward, wrapping his arms around Minho’s neck and kissing him square on the mouth.

“I trust you.” he whispered after only a short moment, leaning forward once more to instead wrap the older boy in a tight, affectionate hug. Minho’s arms reciprocated the embrace immediately, tightening his arms around Taemin’s waist and resting his chin atop of his head.

He smiled brightly and breathed a sigh of relief. “So…does this mean we’re like, a couple now?”

“Nah,” droned Taemin sarcastically. “We’re friends with benefits.”

It was safe to say that Taemin took great pride in Minho’s flushed face at that comment, and found himself laughing pleasantly.

“T-Taemin!”

“No need to hold your breath, frog boy. You can just call me boyfriend for now.” winked Taemin, grabbing Minho’s hands and pecking his startled look away. “Now c’mon…Let’s go play video games at your house.”

Minho beamed, and together, they set back off down the path with their hands clasped tightly. “Wah, my boyfriend is so cool.” he commented, bumping Taemin’s side playfully.

Smiling mischievously, Taemin bumped Minho back.

“And my boyfriend...resembles a frog.”

It was safe to say Taemin ignored Minho’s complaints the rest of the way back to his house, yet despite their bickering, both boys were simply on cloud nine that afternoon, their lingering smiles never quite fading until the sun had set.

#jongkey #chaptered #drama #romance #high school au #2min #fanfic #mnof #26