#he suffered a lot because of a certain blond S-class | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

therealvinelle · 3 years

Note

Ok I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I'm just now copying your Norwegian Bella AU into a text translator, and if you don't already have 50 people in your inbox demanding a translation then shame on ALL OF US because this is glorious! And while Google Translate does have a certain charm (it translated "piper hun ut" as "she beeps") I'm curious to see how you'd put it in English.

Troquantary is referring to this post. In which Bella doesn't speak English.

Fun fact, you're the only one who's gone into my inbox to request this. I was so sad, had the translation half-written and everything, but I was too proud to beg. So thank you, Troquantary, for popping this ask.

As for the dictionary fuckups, sounds about right. I made a few typos, too, that made Google Translate suffer even more. (Such as managing to mix up "henne" (her) and "hendene" (hands), resulting in Aro patting Bella instead of clapping his hands. Poor Google.)

Also, there are a few cultural references and language things that would be lost in the translation, in an attempt to keep them I included notes clarifying things.

Some things, like Aro and Carlisle's very old man way of speaking, are easier said than done to translate, you'll have to bear with me there.

Additional notes are that I added a few things to this version, many of them because translating is hard, but a few because while translating I thought "oh you know what would be much funnier-" and then wrote that.

Alright, without further ado:

When Renée left Charlie she did not go to Florida, she went to Oslo. And she went all in to make her daughter a true Norwegian, hiring Norwegian nannies and making sure never to speak English around the child. Since transatlantic flights are expensive, little Bella Swan rarely got to visit her father, and as such she never did learn what should have been her native language.

She quickly forgot what English she did have in favor of Norwegian, with the exception of words like “Yes”, “No”, and “I’m Bella”.

The few trips she took to visit her father were all the more awkward than in canon since she couldn’t play with the Black kids. Let not the blame fall upon Charlie: he took Norwegian classes and speaks conversational Norwegian. He can’t speak to Renée, because her Norwenglish is incomprehensible even to Norwegians, but he can communicate with Bella.

Not that he’s had a lot of chances to do so.

Bella makes it to seventeen years old, she’s in second grade at Handels* and is a major outsider among the preps there, and then Renée marries a handsome skier**. Together they shall travel the continent all winter to participate in as many skiing races as they can, and in the summer they’ll take gigs at Hurtigruta to see the coast.

*“Handels” is the nickname for an Oslo high school infamous for its pupils being rich and beautiful blonds who are going to be CEOs when they grow up.

**Skiing as a sport is huge in Norway

***Hurtigruta is a famous ferry that travels across the Norwegian West coast

Bella, who sucks at skiing and is too young to work at Hurtigruten, takes the hint.

With dread in her stomach and dictionary in hand she goes to her father in America.

Where she doesn’t speak the language.

Faen.

Charlie gives her a car, and I wish this meta was set in the present because I could have joked about electric cars and the automat only driver’s license*, but Twilight is set in 2005 so I can’t. The car part proceeds without drama.

*An increasing number of Norwegian youth take the driver’s license for automatic cars only, and we’re the country in the world with the highest percentage of electric car purchases.

School is worse than in canon, because she is now a thousand times more sensational than if she was merely the new student. She is from another country! All of Forks keels over with excitement.

To make matters even worse, our girl doesn’t understand a word of what people are saying.

She is too awkward to let them know she doesn’t know English. It’d become a thing, and they might think she’s dumb. To be fair, it’s not good that she’s been through primary, secondary, and now a year and a half of high school and still sucks at English.

So she nods, smiles, mumbles “Hi, I’m Bella” to the new faces, and blushes heavily when anybody says anything.

People assume she’s shy. That’s a bit boring, but oh well.

She has her biology class with the redhead hottie she noticed during lunch. She watched him and his family, they were fascinatingly pretty, but she doesn’t know anything more about them. Sure would have been great if she could have asked the tiny girl (was it Jess?) about them.

Biology proceeds as in canon - Edward badly wants to eat the delicious girl, but fortunately doesn’t.

She runs into him in the office when he tries to switch to another biology lesson, but she has no idea what he’s saying so she only has the suspicion that this somehow concerns her. Which is still uncomfortable, but Bella is probably the problem here. The hottie surely can’t be.

He’s missing from school for a week, Bella finds that weird.

He returns, and to her great horror he starts talking to her.

“Hello”, he says.

Bella dies inside. He’s too handsome!

"I'm Edward Cullen," he continues, and ok, she got that. The hottie is called Edward, that’s good to know. She’s not sure she caught that last name, though, Köln?

He says something else, it’s gibberish to Bella even though she’s concentrating, and at the end there he says “Bella Swan”.

She gulps.

"I'm Bella Swan," she confirms and nods. That should be correct. God, she hopes it’s correct.

He smiles a crooked, boyish smile. She’s awed. She didn’t think it was possible to be so beautiful.

He says something else.

Bella didn’t catch it.

She blushes even harder, she hasn’t been more embarrassed in her life. Here he is, the most handsome guy in all the world, and she has nothing to say to him. Literally, they don’t speak the same language.

She should tell him.

It’s one thing to chicken out of telling the town she doesn’t speak English, but there’s something different about Edward Cullen. He deserves the truth.

But...

He’s the most beautiful person she has seen in her life. He is American, too, so the odds of him knowing Norwegian are microscopical. If he finds out she doesn’t understand a word he says he’ll stop talking to her, and selfish as she is she doesn’t want that.

So with a slightly guilty conscience (but not enough to fess up) she contributes to the conversation with enough words and smiles to pull through. "Yes", "No", "Thank you", and "That's nice".

He is surprised by several of these answers, but instead of giving her odd looks and losing interest he grows more invested in the conversation.

Class ends.

The next day the near accident happens, and he saves her. She is stunned - dear god, did he just pick up a whole car? After teleporting across the parking lot..?

Soon she’s in the ER, and more than a little bit stressed about that fact since she knows the Americans have a terrible healthcare system.

She hopes Charlie has an insurance.

An insanely beautiful man walks into the ER, and Bella is shocked. He is just as handsome as Edward and Edward’s lunch friends!

He introduces himself as Carlisle Cullen, and Bella can only assume this is someone’s older brother. Possibly related to the blonde girl.

He smiles at her, says something, and she answers, "I'm Bella Swan."

He frowns.

That must have been the wrong answer, then.

His hands return to investigating her scalp, and to her great surprise he switches to perfect Norwegian, "kjenner De* noe ubehag når jeg holder her?" Do you feel any discomfort when I touch here?

*De is the Norwegian polite pronoun for “you”. Du = thou = the French tu, and De = you = the French vous. These polite pronouns went out of use in the 1980’s, save for when addressing royal persons, and would be considered antiquated in 2005.

He hurries to add, "Norsk lærte jeg i... fjor sommer. Det var et nettkurs." I learned Norwegian… last year. Online class.

"Hvilket da?" Which one? Bella asks, because Charlie needs to hear about this. The doctor has beautiful, if slightly outdated, pronunciation.

The doctor’s smile turns uncertain. She gets the feeling there’s something he doesn’t want to say. "Husker ikke," I don’t remember, sier han etter en litt vel lang pause.

That’s a shame. And weird.

"De hadde hellet med Dem i dag, som ikke ble truffet av den bilen." You were lucky today, not getting hit by that car. he then says, noticeably changing the subject.

"Det var ikke hell, det var Edward," It wasn’t luck, it was Edward, she replies sharply.

The doctor definitely looks uncomfortable.

She continues, "Han krysset skolegården på et blunk, og plukket opp hele bilen. Jeg så det," He crossed the schoolyard in a moment, and picked up the whole car. I saw it,

The doctor laughs. "Om han kunne det hadde nok gymkarakteren hans vært meget bedre. Nei, frøken Swan*, jeg beklager å si at det høres ut som at De er litt omtåket. Det er helt normalt ved hjernerystelse." If he could do that, his PE grade would be a lot better. No, Miss Swan, I’m sorry to say you seem confused. That’s normal with concussions.

*Addressing a young woman as “frøken” is even more outdated than using polite pronouns.

Why does Bella get the feeling he’s lying?

She’s discharged.

We’ll jump ahead to her trip to La Push - that trip uneventful, since Jacob knows she doesn’t speak English. They stick their hands in their pockets and stare at the sea.

The next day she’s shanghaied to Port Angeles, because apparently she said “Yes” at the wrong time when talking to Jessica (Turns out Jess’s name was Jessica!) and accidentally said yes to a day trip to Port Angeles.

Like in canon she wanders away from the others, and as in canon she is nearly gang raped. And again as in canon she is saved at the last moment by Edward.

He buys her dinner, and she can’t believe her own luck- and misfortune. A date with the most handsome guy on the planet (hence the luck) and she can’t say a word to him (hence the misfortune)!

He says things to her, lends her his jacket, and really this is it for Bella, she’s peaked, life can’t get better than this.

(That’s a lie, it would be better if she spoke English.)

He’s so amazing.

She’s gotten pretty good at navigating conversations with him, so she nods and aha’s her way through.

In his car on the way home the tone takes a more serious turn.

He asks her about something, and it’s a serious question, that much she’s gathered. She answers in the confirmative.

He is silent.

Did she say anything wrong?

(Edward, on his end, just asked if she knows what he is. She said yes, so calmly, not even a trace of fear in her.)

A few days later he takes her out on a walk in the woods.

He shows her a meadow in the woods, and when he steps into it he lights up in the sunlight.

Bella is in shock.

She knew there was something different about him, but- holy cow. This guy isn’t human.

Is she dating a god?

She stumbles into the clearing after him, and they spend a day together where he says things, and she can barely hear any of it (nevermind understand it) because she’s so distracted by how pretty he is.

The next day he takes her to a house in the middle of nowhere. She doesn’t want to guess that this can be where he lives. Surely gods don’t live in houses?

He shows her inside the house, and introduces her for Dr. Cullen and a lady with a name she doesn’t catch.

Bit weird that these two are acting like a couple of parents, they’re far too young and divine for that.

Edward shows her around in an old-fashioned office, and she doesn’t know what to make of i when she sees a painting of Carlisle. Edward launches into a long story when he sees her watching it, unfortunately she doesn’t catch any dates or artist names. At one point she heard the word “suicide”, though, and that’s not good.

She doesn’t get much out of the story.

The baseball game doesn’t happen because Bella didn’t pick up on what Edward wanted and didn’t realize she was being invited to a thing. They spend the afternoon watching a movie instead.

The relationship continues, impeded slightly by communication problems, but she’s mostly able to cover those up.

Until her birthday comes around.

She gets a papercut.

Jasper lunges at her. Edward throws her into a glass table, and then everyone is leaving.

Carlisle is kind enough to switch to Norwegian when he’s stitching up her arm, perhaps remembering the last time she was his patient. "Jasper har ikke vært på dietten vår så veldig lenge." Jasper hasn’t been on our diet for very long.

"Diett?"she asks. She’s never seen Edward eat anything. She wasn’t clear on what the Cullens ate, honestly she thought they were above such things. She was thinking maybe photosynthesis. The knowledge that they apparently eat food astounds her, but diets?

"Dyreblod istedenfor menneskeblod," Animal blood in stead of human blood, Carlisle clarifies.

Whachasay?

Carlisle gives a slight smile. “Jaspers liv som vampyr fikk en brutal start." Jasper’s life as a vampire got off to a brutal start.

...

Vampire?!

Bella’s missed something here.

Oh dear lord, oh fy faen, she has missed something.

“Åja”, uh huh, is all she can say, and suddenly she’s very aware of the fact that she’s sitting there with a bleeding arm.

And Carlisle.

Who is a vampire.

Over the course of the following conversation Bella makes a host of discoveries.

Edward has been a vampire this whole time, and he’s a telepathic vampire. Whether Bella should be a vampire too or not has been a matter of hot debate, but due to religious reasons Edward doesn’t want that.

Carlisle also brings up how Edward died of the Spanish flu.

"Jeg var under den oppfatning at Edward fortalte deg bakhistorien min?" I was under the impression Edward told you my back story? Carlisle asks at one point, and Bella just has to ask very nicely if he’d be so kind as to repeat it.

Turns out the guy is nearly four hundred years old.

Jaha.

Jahahaha jaa ha.

That’s… a lot.

She wanders out of the house in shock, and hardly notices Edward’s strange behavior over the next couple of days.

One day he picks her up at school, and takes her behind the house.

That works out.

He’s a vampire, but he never hurt her. He is endlessly beautiful, perhaps easier to love now that she knows he’s not a god. He’s her Edward, and that’s suddenly easier now that she knows.

They can still be together.

But now that she knows this about him, it’s about time he knows something about her as well.

It’s time to finally be honest with him.

So when he opens his mouth, she opens her mouth as well, but she doesn’t get any further than to “Edward-” before he launches into a monologue.

She’ll have to wait until he’s done before saying her piece. It’s a bit embarrassing, but it doesn’t seem like he intends to stop talking anyway.

And what he’s saying seems to be serious, so it’s probably best to let him finish.

Edward concludes his monologue by kissing her forehead. Then he disappears.

Where did he go?

A big unsure, Bella goes back to the house. She’ll just have to wait until he gets back.

She doesn’t know what to think when Charlie returns from work and tells her the Cullens have all left.

Oh, god.

Edward must have found out she doesn’t speak English.

She made a mockery of him.

He has every right to leave.

Knowing this doesn’t make it any easier to live with.

Bella sinks into a depression.

The hallucinations begin, as in canon, though Hallusinward speaks Norwegian. Thank god for small mercies.

The friendship with Jacob (dictionary in hand) blooms, as someone has to help her see those hallucinations.

The cliff diving happens, and Alice shows up. Bella’s not sure what this is about, but she has gotten good enough at English to know that something bad happened, and Alice wants them to do something.

She’s a bit surprised to find herself on a plane to Italy, though.

Alice tells her to “Run to Edward” and ok, she got that, actually.

So she saves Edward.

After that she’s taken into the sewer, which turns out to house dozens of vampires.

Bella, Edward, and Alice are received in some kind of hall, where an unusual vampire has quite a bit to say. She understands some of what he’s saying, at least the part about “la tua cantante”. She knows a bit about Italian, see, so she knows that he’s talking about a song now.

She wishes she knew the context.

At one point he takes her hand, and appears fascinated by it. She wonders if he’s a palmreader. Not very vampirey, but what does she know.

He asks her a question.

"Yes," she says.

Saying yes has gotten her this far, after all.

But when he lights up and claps his hands together, and Edward and Alice stare at her in shock and betrayal, she knows she must have said the wrong thing.

The two are dismissed from the room before Bella can do or say anything, she’s just listening to Edward make a racket outside in the hallway.

Not good.

The unusual vampire brings her further down in his sewer palace to a basement, and she is given comfortable clothes to wear.

This is getting terrifying.

The vampire leans towards her - and she chickens out.

"Jeg snakker ikke engelsk!" she squeaks. "Non habla ingles!" I don’t speak English.

Han stanser, og ser forvirret ut. "Que- Hva behager*?" I beg your pardon? spør han etter et øyeblikk.

*A very formal, and slightly outdated (you can use it, but people will think you’re putting on airs. And they will be right) way of saying “excuse me?”

Sobbing, Bella tells him the whole story, from how she didn’t want to be the weird kid in school to how she’s now somehow in Italy without knowing why nor what she just agreed to.

When she’s done the vampire starts laughing.

"Dette forklarer jo en hel del," This explains quite a bit, ler han. "Men, kjære Bella, jeg er redd det ikke endrer noe." But, my dear Bella, I’m afraid it changes nothing.

He tells her that she has agreed to serve him and his army of undead warriors into eternity.

Well fuck.

"Du skal få slippe det, når du ikke visste hva du samtykket til - men skjebnen din forblir den samme. Loven er loven." You’re released from that promise, as you didn’t know what you agreed to - but your fate remains the same. The law is the law.

After a moment of silence, during which she looks terrified, he hurries to add, "Vi har en lov. Du må bli en av oss." We have a law. You must become one of us.

A law that Bella Swan has to become a vampire?

People are finally speaking Norwegian, and Bella is still lost. And it’s too embarrassing to keep pestering this poor, polite man with questions.

So she nods.

He gives her a glittering smile, and bites her.

When she wakes, Aro offers her an English course. A language course that, naturally, leads to her staying in Volterra. Why not learn a few more languages while we’re at it, dearest Bella?

Some time later Edward breaks into Volterra to save his Rapunzel, only to barely recognize her now that she’s a vampire who says things. Lots of things, she talks all the time now. WHAT DID ARO DO TO HER.

Too mortified to admit that she never spoke English, Bella claims she’s been brainwashed.

Aro is having too much fun to correct her, and the whole sad affair sets off a regrettable flood of rumors.

#troquantary #norwegian things #bella swan #twilight #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #evighetens kyss #evighetens kyss meta #evighetens kyss renessanse

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asthmark · 3 years

Text

❝ chemistry ❞ o.st

synopsis → osaki shotaro moving to town means trips to the dance studio, boba dates, and the perpetual teasing of lee donghyuck.

pairing → shotaro, reader

requested? → yes! based off @onlyjihoons’s shipping game answer ♡

word count → 5.5k (this was supposed to be 1k.... goodbye.)

a/n → i enjoy writing texting scenes WAY too much ;; tbh this is like 50% texts im cryign but i had to convey how much i love 00 line .... and also how firmly i believe in lee donghyuck devil supremacy. as always, feedback is greatly appreciated and enjoy!

if someone were to ask you how you felt about your friends, you would without any hesitation, answer that you loved them to death. of course, if you were being completely honest, you would also have to add that you experienced the urge to strangle them from time to time. that might earn you a couple odd stares but you’re sure people would be more understanding if they knew who was in your inner circle to begin with.

for starters, there was lee jeno — tall, handsome, and the textbook definition of a gentleman. then, na jaemin, who you would consider to be the yin to jeno’s yang. an extremely energetic guy and, in your book, a total freak of nature ever since you found out that he inhales four shots of espresso on the daily. liu yangyang was a more recent addition to your group but, being as quick-witted as he was, he quickly fit right in. he also had a habit of going on somewhat aggressive rants in german which renjun found to be extremely amusing. speaking of, huang renjun was another one of your close friends — the shortest of the group, actually. (and, much to renjun’s dismay, that’s exactly how donghyuck liked to introduce him to people.) he was the type of guy you could trust to keep everyone in check which consequently made you mildly terrified of him.

however, it could never compare to the perpetual fear you have of lee donghyuck.

of course, you love him to pieces but sometimes you really wish he didn’t find so much joy in, well, making everyone miserable. you couldn’t deny it was funny to watch him tease and taunt your other friends. you still remember him purposefully messing up renjun’s game at the local arcade just when he was about to reach his high score — and also the way renjun had tackled him to the floor right then and there, resulting in the six of you being banned from the place. or, that time he offered to pay for everyone’s starbucks orders only to tell the barista that jaemin’s name was ben dover. (to no one’s surprise, yangyang had found that joke particularly hilarious.) you can also clearly recall how hard you had laughed in both of those situations.

but, donghyuck never let anyone laugh for too long.

according to him it was ’only fair’ to make sure each of his friends was at the receiving end of his gags. so, despite laughing at his latest victim’s expense, each of you knew that donghyuck would make sure you were in the same position sooner or later.

you definitely weren’t expecting it to be your turn one dull friday evening.

things are going slow for you as you sit at your desk, typing away on your laptop. school has been out for hours and your professors have decided to be saints and leave you little homework for the weekend. beside you, your phone dings, alerting you of the new text message in your group chat.

[4:23 pm] hyuck: i’m bored 🥺

[4:23 pm] you: plz never use that emoji again

[4:24 pm] nana: it’s misleading dude

[4:25 pm] yangx2: yeah like when have u ever made a face that isn’t this 😈

[4:25 pm] renjun: donghyuck is the devil = confirmed

[4:25 pm] nana: CALLED IT

[4:26 pm] hyuck: u guys are literally so evil

jeno laughed at “u guys are literally so evil”

[4:27 pm] jeno: look who’s talking lol

[4:27 pm] you: dangg u know it’s bad when lee jeno disses u

[4:28 pm] jeno: ...ngl it kinda feels like ur shading me rn

[4:28 pm] you: u would be correct :)

[4:29 pm] hyuck: um HELLO can u guys go back to paying attention to me???

[4:29 pm] renjun: what do u want, diva?

[4:29 pm] hyuck: i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(

renjun disliked “i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(”

yangx2 disliked “i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(”

you disliked “i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(”

nana disliked “i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(”

jeno disliked “i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(”

[4:30 pm] hyuck: OH COME ON

[4:30 pm] yangx2: i think what u meant to say is that u wanna make one of us very miserable today, right?

[4:30 pm] hyuck: .....no comment

nana renamed the group chat “hyuck hate club”

[4:31 pm] hyuck: ok i’m honestly feeling so attacked right now

[4:31 pm] jeno: well now u know what it’s like to be friends with u

[4:31 pm] you: so true king omg ur on a roll

[4:32 pm] hyuck: hmm okay so either jeno or y/n is gonna be today’s target, got it

[4:32 pm] hyuck: anyway can u guys come down to the dance studio now??

[4:32 pm] you: what makes u think i would go anywhere near u when i know ur plotting ur revenge on me as we speak

[4:32 pm] hyuck: because maybe i’ll have mercy on u and just terrorize jeno instead

[4:33 pm] you: good enough for me! thnx bestie, see u soon!!

[4:33 pm] jeno: HEY

nana laughed at “good enough for me! thnx bestie, see u soon!!”

[4:34 pm] yangx2: u literally cannot trust anyone in this friend group

[4:34 pm] renjun: ikr isn’t it great???

you might have been slightly out of your mind to willingly go see donghyuck knowing you had teased him in your group chat earlier. although, if there was a slight chance he would show you mercy if you did hang out with him, you were going to take it.

the studio was where you had first met donghyuck, along with the rest of your friends due to the dance classes you attended. after bumping into each in between classes and during practice, you began to get well acquainted. turns out, the six of you actually got along incredibly well and after a while, you began to share routines and tips, even choreographing together from time to time. obviously, this led to the infamous group chat being formed and lots of time spent outside the studio as well.

but, none of you had lost that love for dancing. in fact, forming your little clique had only made it grow. as you opened the front doors of the building you had made so many memories in, you wondered if donghyuck wanted your insight on a certain routine or needed some help choreographing. of course, there was also the possibility that he really was just bored and wanted you to suffer with him.

what you did not expect, however, was to see him caught up in conversation with another person. you couldn’t clearly see them with donghyuck in the way; all you knew for certain was that your best friend’s mouth was moving a mile a minute. you tentatively tiptoe into the room, hoping to not intrude on their discussion. but, at hearing the doors creak open, donghyuck puts his rant on pause to enthusiastically wave you over.

you sigh, putting your belongings down and approaching the pair. as you near, you notice that hyuck has a huge smile — no, smirk — on his face. you internally curse yourself for believing that he would ever pass up an opportunity to torment you, especially in front of a stranger.

“this is a very dear friend of mine,” you hear him introduce to his acquaintance. “her name is y/n. she dances, too.”

“oh, that’s really cool!”

the stranger’s unusually cheery tone prompts you to finally peek behind donghyuck and put a face to the voice.

and what a face he has.

“this is shotaro,” donghyuck informs you. “he’s new to town and quite the dancer. caught him in the middle of a routine.”

your knees almost wobble as you take in the stranger — shotaro’s — kind eyes that almost sparkle. (you aren’t sure if it’s because of the fluorescent lights of the studio or just part of his charm.) his lips are curved up into a friendly smile that makes you feel slightly giddy. his hair falls into his face almost perfectly, not a strand out of place and you’re uncertain as to how that’s even possible since, as donghyuck had said, he was dancing. not to mention, there’s not a bead of sweat on his face. did this guy come straight out of a disney movie or something?

“excuse her,” donghyuck chuckles. “good looking people tend to make her freeze up. don’t worry, this happened when she met me, too.”

you offer your friend a glare and an elbow to the side and you swear you hear shotaro chuckle. you turn to him instead, putting on a welcoming smile.

“my bad, i just—”

“got lost in his eyes?”

you pinch the bridge of your nose. “donghyuck, please don’t make me have to attack you in front of our guest.”

more giggles escape shotaro. (you swear it’s the prettiest thing you’ve ever heard.) you curiously tilt your head at him.

“sorry, it’s just that, you guys are too funny,” he admits with a sheepish smile.

you mirror his grin, slightly relieved he was amused instead of weirded out. “yeah, well, just wait ’til you meet the rest of us. it’s like a circus show, you’ll love it.”

“hello, clowns!”

“speak of the devil,” donghyuck murmurs, watching as yangyang and renjun enter, followed by jeno and jaemin.

“woah, who’s the cutie?” yangyang asks renjun, in what you presume he thinks is a whisper. however, yangyang has never spoken quietly a day in his life. renjun simply shrugs at his question.

having clearly heard the compliment, a faint blush creeps onto shotaro’s cheeks.

“guys, this is shotaro,” donghyuck answers, tugging the sandy blonde forward.

he gives a somewhat shy wave. “hi, y/n’s friends.”

jaemin erupts into laughter. “uh oh, looks like he likes y/n more than hyuck.”

“don’t blame him,” jeno mutters.

shotaro’s forehead creases, face suddenly twisted in worry. “oh, i’m sorry, was i not supposed to say that?”

“oh no, don’t worry,” donghyuck denies, quickly. “i’m sure y/n doesn’t mind at all, right?”

if you could crawl into a hole to avoid the embarrassment, you would. of course, donghyuck was 100% right; you really didn’t mind shotaro calling the group that if it meant you could hear him say your name over and over again. in fact, his sweet voice could probably make the dictionary sound like the most addictive song. but, donghyuck had no right putting you on the spot like that.

jeno suddenly speaks, catching on to your flustered state and donghyuck’s evil grin. “so, it’s y/n’s turn today? sweet, i’m off the hook!”

shotaro furrows his brows slightly. “huh?”

“oh, it’s just an inside joke,” jeno says, smile reaching all the way up to his eyes.

you wish you could strangle him right then and there for finding amusement at your expense but the last thing you want is for shotaro to think you’re some sort of psychopath. (although, with a friend group like this, you’re definitely beginning to think that’s where you’re headed.)

“got it,” shotaro responds, breaking out into a grin himself. “you guys seem like a really close bunch!”

“the closest,” donghyuck corrects, overly sweet, as he wraps an arm around you. (you resist the urge to shove him off.) “you’ll fit right in!”

you believed that the torture was over the day donghyuck introduced shotaro to your group. you would probably just see him from time to time and the studio (hopefully without hyuck around) and it would all be downhill from there, right? the latest notification on your phone alerts you that you are absolutely wrong.

hyuck has added one (1) user to the group chat

[1:05 pm] hyuck: welcome shotaro!!

[1:06 pm] unknown: oh hey guys! :]

the emoticon almost makes your heart beat right out of your chest. you roll your eyes in frustration at how easily affected you were by this guy. seriously, why did everything he do have to be so cute? regardless, you quickly add his number to your contacts.

[1:06 pm] hyuck: why don’t we do a little roll call so shotaro can save ur numbers to his phone

[1:07 pm] yangx2: YANGYANG

[1:07 pm] yangx2: HA I WAS FIRST

[1:07 pm] jeno: ...

[1:08 pm] jeno: anyway this is jeno :)

[1:08 pm] nana: jaemin present!

[1:08 pm] renjun: hi shotaro, this is renjun

[1:10 pm] shotaro: haha cool thanks a lot, i just saved all ur numbers!

[1:10 pm] shotaro: but quick question, is y/n in this group chat? :0

you almost drop your phone at reading shotaro’s message although you’re unsure why. he just typed your name, get it together, you urge yourself.

[1:11 pm] you: heyy shotaro! i’m right here :)

[1:11 pm] shotaro: oh yayy! i’m so glad ^^

hyuck disliked “oh yayy! i’m so glad ^^”

[1:12 pm] hyuck: shotaro plz return my love what does she have that i don’t T-T

[1:12 pm] nana: a heart

[1:12 pm] yangx2: a brain

[1:12 pm] jeno: a conscience

[1:12 pm] renjun: a functioning moral compass

[1:13 pm] hyuck: wtf

[1:13 pm] shotaro: ahahaha it’s like i’m watching a comedy

[1:14 pm] you: told u it’s a circus

[1:14 pm] you: i say get out while u still can

[1:14 pm] shotaro: whaatt and leave u behind? no way!

nana renamed the group chat “shotaro x y/n supremacists”

[1:15 pm] jeno: my thoughts exactly

[1:15 pm] renjun: took the words right out of my mouth

you cringe at your friends’ blunt behavior, praying shotaro didn’t find their antics to be too strange.

[1:16 pm] shotaro: 😳

[1:16 pm] nana: aww someone’s shy

[1:17 pm] renjun: he wouldn’t last a day in itzy

[1:17 pm] yangx2: HELPP

you shake your head, laughing silently to yourself as you mute the group chat and place your phone back down. although, moments later, you receive a direct message. you presume it’s one of the boys trying to rope you back into the chat but the moment you see the contact name, you’re forced to do a double take.

[1:21 pm] shotaro: i hope i’m not bothering u but i just wanted to make sure ur okay .. you kinda went quiet in the gc :>

[1:21 pm] shotaro: it’s shotaro from the dance studio btw!

you can’t help but find the fact that he seriously thought you wouldn’t remember him adorable. how could you ever forget a face like his?

[1:22 pm] you: that’s so kind! i’m okay, i promise. i’ve just had to put up with those dorks for way too long, sometimes i just ignore them haha

[1:22 pm] shotaro: lol yeah they do seem like a handful! but i look forward to getting to know them better!!

[1:23 pm] shotaro: and u too ofc~~

it takes all your willpower not to spam dozens of heart emojis in an attempt to show shotaro just how he has reduced you to a lovesick fool. instead, your response is short and sweet.

[1:23 pm] you: right back at u, taro! ♡

“okay, take five,” donghyuck pants, pausing the music blaring from the speakers.

you gladly obey, wiping away the light sweat you had worked up from the latest routine you and hyuck were constructing.

you both belonged to the same dance class and frequently paired together for partnered projects. the rest of your friends attended different classes, which you constantly joked was for the best since there was no way one dance instructor could possibly handle the six of you together.

“how do you feel?” donghyuck asks you, running a hand through his tousled hair.

“the choreo’s great, i’m proud of what we got so far,” you reply. “of course, i would be happier if i didn’t have to get so up close and personal with you.”

donghyuck scoffs at your joke. “i can’t do anything about that. the teacher said the whole concept of the routine is supposed to be is intimate.”

you fake a gag, failing to contain a laugh when hyuck playfully shoves you in offense.

“i’m sorry i can’t be shotaro,” he adds, a smirk forming on his lips.

you roll your eyes. “oh, very funny.”

“c’mon, you’re acting like you wouldn’t kill to have him as your partner, especially with choreo as spicy as this.”

“well, it would beat being paired with you,” you remark, picking up your water bottle and taking a swig.

“hm, then looks like today might be your lucky day,” donghyuck replies, eyes trained somewhere behind you.

you follow his gaze, nearly choking on your water as soon as you catch sight of shotaro entering the studio. he meets your eyes, plucking out his earbuds and offering you a small wave.

“oh, hey guys!” he exclaims, cheerfully.

“hey ’taro,” you greet, rather quickly, earning you a knowing glance from your partner.

“’taro?” hyuck repeats, amused, as he folds his arms over his chest. “you guys are already on cute nickname basis?”

shotaro giggles, eyes squinting adorably as he does so. “it is a pretty adorable nickname, right? she’s the only one who calls me that!”

your heart beats faster when you see how oddly excited that seems to make him. did he somehow find it endearing?

“seems like the two of you are becoming quite close, hm?” continues hyuck.

shotaro nods enthusiastically before glancing at you tentatively, as if to check for confirmation.

“yeah, you could say that.”

your agreement causes yet another smile to grace shotaro’s lips — this time he seems relieved. you briefly wonder if the kid ever stops flashing those pearly whites of his. you certainly hope so, or else your heart may never catch a break.

“well, since you’re comfortable enough with each other,” donghyuck begins, flashing you a grin.

you’re not even sure what he’s gonna say but you already feel the need to put an end to it. after all, nothing good has ever come of donghyuck’s mischievous grins. you subtly purse your lips and narrow your eyes in an attempt to get him to stop whatever chaos he’s planning to ensue.

nevertheless, he proceeds. “maybe you could help me out with this choreography?”

you want to facepalm at donghyuck’s lame excuse of a lie. however, on the other hand, shotaro’s face lights up in delight.

“you’re working on choreo? what for?” he inquires, curiously.

“for our dance class,” hyuck explains, motioning towards you. “i have a couple ideas so i was thinking you two could maybe try out some steps i’m planning to include. you know, to help me... visualize.”

“that sounds awesome,” shotaro responds, oblivious to your friend’s untruths. “i would love to help you guys out.”

“great!” donghyuck claps his hands together. “just a heads up, the theme of the routine is intimacy, so i wanna see all that charm of yours, shotaro. it’ll, uh, help me choreograph.”

you cringe at the obvious fib. meanwhile, it’s as if a switch has gone off in shotaro’s mind. his smile fades and his eyebrows knit together. “hold on, i-intimacy? does that mean—”

“that you’ll have to get a bit touchy-feely with her? yeah,” donghyuck interjects, innocently.

“y’know... i’ve really been wanting to dance with her.” he faces you, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “just never thought it would be like this.”

you offer him an apologetic smile. “i know, it might be a bit... uncomfortable. you can back out if you’d like. i promise hyuck and i won’t mind.”

shotaro’s head shakes, vigorously. “no, of course not!” he must realize how quick he was to deny your offer, making him suspiciously eager to be close to you as he immediately adds, “i mean, it’s good practice.”

you suppress a giggle. “sure thing. hyuck, should we get started now?”

the boy in question dramatically picks at his nails, acting as if he had been waiting on you both for hours. “if you guys are done flirting, then, yeah.”

you roll your eyes, shooting shotaro a mildly annoyed stare. he grins, finding it to be equally amusing as it is endearing. (what can he say, the faint pout that appeared on your face was cute.)

“shotaro, how about you get in position right behind her.”

shotaro obeys, making sure to leave a significant amount of space between the two of you. however, donghyuck doesn’t seem to approve.

“closer!” he commands. “the concept is intimacy, not social distancing!”

shotaro shuffles forward, pressing his front into your back. you can’t help but notice how firmly toned his chest is. curse his dancers body, you think.

“okay, now, lemme see your hands on her waist!”

you feel the breath of shotaro’s shaky exhale on the back of your neck as he obeys, sliding apprehensive hands around your midsection. there’s silence on donghyuck’s end and through the mirror you watch him observe the two of you, no doubt acting way more pensive than he truly is. you know he’s just prolonging your flustered state by keeping you in this intimate position with the younger boy.

although, shotaro himself might know it too, considering the fact that he begins to rub comforting circles into your sides that he’s currently gripping, as per donghyuck’s request, in an attempt to calm you down. you nearly melt right then and there. at the same time, you hope he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

donghyuck calls out your name, successfully startling you and putting an end to the peaceful atmosphere. “why don’t you go ahead and lean on his shoulder. just lay your head back nice and easy— good, very good! look at that chemistry!”

if you’re being sincere, reclining on shotaro feels way more natural and enjoyable than it should. he steadily holds you in place, almost as if he secretly wishes to never let go. you wouldn’t be completely opposed to the idea either.

“alright, last thing, guys! y/n, how about you hook your arm around shotaro’s neck?”

you do so, fingers brushing softly against his jaw. he shivers beneath your touch, erupting into giggles when you shoot him an odd stare.

“i’m ticklish,” he confesses, in a whisper.

you can’t help but smile widely. “is that so? hm, i might have to exploit that information sooner or later.”

“as long as donghyuck doesn’t find out,” he replies.

his comment certainly gets a chuckle out of you. “did you finally realize how evil he is?”

“if the torture he’s putting you through right now is anything to go by, then absolutely.”

“only a matter of time before it’s your turn,” you reply. you lean into his ear to add, “by the way, this is anything but torture for me.”

“hey! no whispering!” donghyuck reprimands.

for the first time, shotaro goes against the older boy’s orders to whisper back, “it’s mutual. if anything, i think this is the best thing i’ve done since i moved here.”

your heart melts at the sincere admission. you stare at shotaro in what you’re sure is a very obvious case of heart eyes. you’re taken aback to find that he, too, returns the lovesick look. perhaps he was immersing himself a bit too much in the intimacy concept...

“stop! pause! cut!”

you and shotaro (reluctantly) untangle yourselves from each other to face a seemingly unhappy donghyuck.

“can you guys please just focus on my instructions without falling in love with each other?” he pleads. “i mean, you haven’t even gotten out of the starting position yet.” he groans, exasperated. “actually, you know what, just take five.”

[2:03 pm] hyuck: good morning

[2:03 pm] nana: it’s 2 o clock in the afternoon but ok

[2:03 pm] hyuck: i just woke up, therefore it’s morning

[2:03 pm] shotaro: good morning :3 did u sleep well?

[2:04 pm] hyuck: i slept a wonderful 27 hours, thnx for asking!

[2:04 pm] yangx2: ?????? THERES NOT EVEN 27 HOURS IN A DAY IM SCREAMING

[2:04 pm] you: LOLLL WHY WAS HE HIBERNATING

[2:05 pm] renjun: i was just gonna ignore him but i am genuinely concerned now

[2:05 pm] shotaro: woww,, well at least you’re well rested now! :]

[2:04 pm] nana: shotaro, i am begging u not to encourage him

[2:04 pm] you: all it takes is one (1) supportive person and he becomes an unstoppable force of evil

[2:04 pm] shotaro: o_0

[2:05 pm] jeno: besides ur like the only other person here with common sense besides myself and maybe renjun. i can’t lose u to donghyuck :(

[2:05 pm] renjun: ykw i’m not even gonna argue with that

[2:05 pm] yangx2: yeah shotaro is a good guy™

[2:06 pm] hyuck: i hate u guys and ur goldfish attention spans

[2:06 pm] you: sigh what do you need hyuck?

[2:06 pm] hyuck: i want boba :(

[2:07 pm] you: that actually sounds really good but idk if it’s worth being around u

[2:07 pm] hyuck: i’ll pretend like u didn’t just say that <3 what if i paid?

[2:07 pm] you: ....

[2:08 pm] yangx2: LMAO HYUCK BEING NICE IS SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR

[2:08 pm] renjun: ikr it’s making me super uncomfortable rn

[2:08 pm] hyuck: can’t i do something nice for my friends? :/

[2:08 pm] jeno: no

[2:09 pm] nana: nope

[2:09 pm] yangx2: nah

[2:09 pm] renjun: absolutely not

[2:09 pm] you: never seen it happen before so no

[2:10 pm] hyuck: u guys are so fake :( shotaro do u wanna hang out with me? if u say no i’ll scream :)

[2:11 pm] shotaro: yeah i guess i could :]

[2:11 pm] renjun: oh this just got interesting.. i guess i could tag along

[2:11 pm] yangx2: me too, i gotta be there to record whatever happens

[2:12 pm] nana: i’m in

[2:12 pm] jeno: same

[2:12 pm] you: hhhhh okay fine.. only to ensure taro’s safety

[2:13 pm] shotaro: (^з^)-︎♡

due to the fact that you believed donghyuck was going to try and officially initiate shotaro into your friend group with one of his infamous pranks, you decided to head to the boba shop. you hoped that if you showed up, you would be able to prevent whatever mayhem he had planned or at the very least, provide some damage control.

you pushed open the door to the quaint building, the bell dinging to announce your arrival. your eyes immediately lock onto the table in the far back since it was where you and your friends always sat — you had practically claimed it. you expect to see all the chairs filled but, to your surprise, only one person occupies the space.

osaki shotaro.

he beams, probably relieved to finally have some company in the otherwise empty shop. (after all, you weren’t sure how long he had been sitting there all alone.) nevertheless, you allow yourself to wonder — just for a second — if maybe he was just that ecstatic to see you. the way he enthusiastically waves you over seems to be in favor of that theory. it’s almost confirmed when you reach he table and he pats the chair beside him.

you let out a soft laugh. “the whole table’s empty, ‘taro.”

“i know,” he admits. “i just really want you to sit next to me.”

you swear you could break down in tears simply from the way he’s looking at you; like you’re all he needs. it’s pure adoration. you wonder if that’s how you look at him too. you can’t help but ask yourself if he, too, notices your longing stares.

you decide that you would be a monster if you denied shotaro his wish, so, you internally prepare yourself to sit next to possibly the sweetest boy you’ve ever known. yet, that proves to be difficult as said boy stands up to pull out your chair like the gentleman he is. you shoot him a grateful smile, mentally dethroning jeno as the most well-mannered person you know and passing the crown on to shotaro.

“so, how long have you been waiting for?” you ask, resting your elbow on the table and leaning into your palm to stare attentively at the boy to your right.

“actually, i only got here a couple minutes before you. we did agree to meet up here a quarter before three, right?” he asks, slightly confused.

you nod in confirmation. “honestly, i think we got set up.”

shotaro tilts his head. “really? why would they do that?”

“might have something to do with our ‘chemistry’,” you explain, quoting donghyuck.

the japanese boy’s mouth falls agape, as he comes to the realization. “oh, so they literally set us up.”

“mhm,” you agree, smiling ever so slightly.

shotaro must be paying closer attention than you thought because he picks up on your grin. “what’s with the smile?”

you shrug, feigning uncertainty. “i guess i just don’t feel so bad about being set up if it’s with a certain cutie i know.”

“oh?” he raises a brow, cheeks growing as he too mirrors your lovestruck look. “should i be worried about this guy?”

“certainly not,” you reassure him. “i’ve only got eyes for one.”

you see a faded tint of pink rush to his cheeks and you find it adorable how your confession flusters him. you can’t help but caress the supple skin as gently as possible. shotaro leans into your touch, his own hand coming up to cup your own, almost as if he were holding you in place. after a couple moments of basking in the intimate moment, you retract your hand.

“maybe we should try and get hyuck to include that in the choreo, huh?” you suggest, a teasing smile on your lips.

shotaro chuckles, “sounds good to me. i might even ask if i can fill his position, too. if not, i just might get jealous.”

you playfully shove him and he raises his hands in surrender. you chuckle, grabbing one of the menus that litter the table, planning to offer shotaro some help choosing an item from the list that is surely unfamiliar to him but it seems something outside the window behind you has caught his focus instead.

“looks like we have an audience.”

you take a deep breath at his words, preparing yourself for whatever it is you’re going to see upon turning around. when you finally do, all you manage to catch is five heads ducking beneath the windowsill, in a weak attempt to not get caught.

“of course,” you nearly laugh. “they’re so predictable.”

shotaro seems to find the situation humorous as well, if his amused tone is anything to go by. “to be honest, we should be thanking them. they got us together.”

“oh, so we’re together now?” you inquire, raising a brow.

“w-well, i mean, if you want to. i-i definitely want to.”

“no need for stuttering,” you reassure him, reaching over to stroke that one ticklish spot on his neck. “to quote a very wise — and handsome — young man, ‘it’s mutual.’”

he smiles at his own words being recited to him. “i don’t know about you, but i think we should seal the deal.”

“interesting. how do you suppose we do that?” you ask with faux curiosity. you certainly had some ideas of your own.

“maybe... a kiss?” shotaro leans forward, eyes closed expectantly as he taps his cheek. you resist the urge to pinch his lovely, round baby cheeks. he peeks one eye open to add, “for the audience, of course.”

you giggle, completely and utterly love-struck by the boy before you. in fact, you are so enamored by him that you decide to go the extra mile and press a sweet, chaste peck to his lips.

it seems as if he himself didn’t expect it as his eyes snap open, hand coming up to cup his lips in shock. when he finally uncovers his mouth, you see there’s a dazed, giddy grin on his face that let’s you know the smooch was very welcome pleasant surprise.

your phones simultaneously go off, alerting you of incoming messages. it’s a given that it’s none other than the group chat.

[3:15 pm] nana: that smooch was romcom worthy i’m so impressed right now

[3:15 pm] jeno: shotaro is living proof that being a gentleman has its perks! everyone in this gc should take notes!

[3:15 pm] yangx2: HERE IHAVE THE VDIEO OF THE WHOELE THIGN IF ANYOEN WANTS IT

[3:16 pm] yangx2: attachment: 1 video

[3:16 pm] yangx2: SORURY FOR THE TYPSO MY TEARS ARE BLURRIGN THE KYEBIOARD

[3:16 pm] renjun: can we get boba now?

[3:16 pm] renjun: oh wait my bad, congrats to the new couple :-)

[3:16 pm] renjun: to celebrate they should pay for everyone’s drinks.. just a thought

[3:17 pm] hyuck: ur welcome, y/n and shotaro ;)

415 notes · View notes

animeyanderelover · 3 years

Note

Hi! Regarding my revision request, can you do same theme like previous one (minato in poly relationship/marriage with kushina and fem uzumaki s/o) also kushina love s/o as younger sister. Thank you!

You wanted Kushina not married to Minato and as a platonic Yandere, right?

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, obsessiveness, clingyness, manipulation, bullying, blackmailing

Uzumaki s/o who’s like a sister for Kushina

⚡️🌶It’s a bit understandable that Kushina would be that way given the fact that you two came from the same village and were chosen as the next two jinchuriki. I guess in the end it wouldn’t even matter too much whether you two knew each other from before or not. If you two did, you would of course be already very close. If you didn’t know each other before, you would become really close over the following years. You two are the only ones who can understand each other and relate to each other and next to that you two thought at that time that everyone else would just make fun of the two of you.

⚡️🌶Kushina is even as a platonic Yandere protective, very much. And especially if you’re getting mocked and teased for your hair she sees...well, she sees red. She didn’t even care that much that she was getting bullied, she was only concerned about you. She saw you as her sister and you most likely as hers too so it was understandable that you two were seen together all of the times. And we had in here those meanies again who made fun of it. Not like it ended well for them if they mocked you or, Jashin forbid it, pulled on your hair. Because then they got to experience a scary Kushina.

⚡️🌶Kushina was due to her overprotectiveness extremely observing of her surroundings and so noticed rather quickly a certain blonde head in her class who kept staring at the two of you, especially you. She kept every bully in mind and couldn’t recall having ever seen him around. But to be frankly, she didn’t trust anyone in this class so she took it that he was more of a silent and timid guy who just disliked you two from the distance. It led her to snapping every time a bit at him when she caught him staring at you again, pulling you protectively closer to her and glaring kunai his way.

⚡️🌶He never seemed to really dare to approach you though, even though Kushina suspected he badly wanted to do so. She had actually no problem with him staying away like this from you except if he liked you which she started to suspect was more the case. But if that was true, he should come to you and not keep staring like a weirdo. That was cowardly to do and next to that that would be by a long shot not enough, not with Kushina as your best friend and sister, not by blood, but by love.

⚡️🌶Now let’s just pretend that instead of Kushina, you were kidnapped and saved by Minato who had followed you due to the traces of your red hair you had left behind. You most likely knew him as the ‘creep who kept staring at you’, as Kushina always called him. But you might have most likely also suspected that he liked you and on that night he talked for the first time to you, telling you that he thought that your hair was beautiful and apologizing for not having been faster to save you and just standing all the time by and watching you and Kushina suffering. He would from now on be there.

⚡️🌶In the meantime Kushina felt like she was ready to kill, blaming it on the village and the shinobi that they had let it happen in the first place, all because no one liked them due to their hair and position as jinchuriki. It was not fair! She was most likely also already on her own search for you, not trusting the shinobi from the village to have enough motivation to find you since they hadn’t even realize yet. So you can only imagine the shock and relief hitting her like a shower of bricks the moment she saw Minato and you walking together home. She just pushed Minato aside and was all over you, ignoring his presence completely.

⚡️🌶But at the very least she thanked him later on, although also scolding him for never having done anything before despite him liking you and her, in another way, and also thinking of your hair as pretty. She told him that this was just such a cowardly move for which he had to apologize a couple of times before she seemed to calm down a bit.

⚡️🌶Afterwards he started to make up for the time he had just watched and done nothing, now he was there and always lectured people who made comments and fun of you two for which Kushina and you learned to respect and view him as a friend of yours. Now, Kushina was still more dubious of him during the earlier phrase of this friendship due to not trusting him completely yet. She did know that he liked you really and her in a friend-like way so she didn’t distrust him in a way that she thought he would betray you two. But more because she knew he liked you. She had never considered the thought of someone else playing possibly an important role in your life. So far it had always been you and her and she wanted it to stay that way. She felt threatened and jealous in a way and it caused her to be the first few weeks a bit salty around Minato. And whenever you two spent time without her, she sulked afterwards for quite some time until you came back and told her she was the best.

⚡️🌶That changed of course after her and Minato became close as well, the boy noticed most likely that Kushina wasn’t exactly happy with him as the newest addition to your and her old duo which was now a trio. He was genuinely interested in her as well and wanted to be closer to her, he wanted to be her friend. She kind of refused at first and this rebellious and jealous act of hers was noticed by you as well and it saddened you most likely a bit. You wanted both of them to be friends since you liked both of them.

⚡️🌶It led to Minato pointing it out to Kushina which had noticed by now as well that you were upset due to her way of acting around Minato. And the last thing she wanted was making you sad, especially if you were because of her. So she became reluctantly more willing to spent time with him and get to know him better in hopes of getting along with him. And in the end they found a point to bond over which was you. Both of them cared a lot for you in different ways and no matter how bad any future arguments seemed to be, the moment one of those two brought up that you would be not happy when seeing them like this, they stopped and found a less intense method to solve the problem. Most of the arguments were anyways not something serious, but more over something silly which made you more giggle than laugh.

⚡️🌶So Kushina came over time to the terms of accepting Minato and seeing him as one of the very few persons she was actually okay sharing with. She of course still became jealous when he wanted to spend too much time with you since she needed her time with you as well, but the fact that she wasn’t scaring him as often and much as other people was sign enough for Minato that she liked him.

⚡️🌶Much more on the contrary, she started shipping you two, even more when noticing that you had started to like him too. It was no surprise, Minato is a handsome and charming man who can make everyone swoon over him. Was totally excited when you told her that you had feelings for him, but weren’t sure how to tell him. She wanted you two by now to get together and she also wanted to help so the longer Minato seemed to hesitate to confess to you, the more frustrated she became, the hair-pulling kind of frustration.

⚡️🌶The moment her string of patience snaps she’s the type to just walk over to him and threaten him to just tell you before she does it herself or before you might lose interest and get tired of him. He’s the only one she’s okay with dating you so he better move his ass and tell you before she drags him personally to you. It’s an effective method, especially when she manages to scare him.

⚡️🌶Both of them team up a lot for you and are also fine with spending time with you together, but both need time with you alone as well. And in that point it can get kind of tricky sometimes since both are clingy and as soon as you’re with one, the other starts to miss you dearly. But at the very least they have understanding for that and also don’t compete over you to find out how you like better. Kushina is also protective over the relationship you two have since it makes you happy and it somewhat leads her to scaring other girls after Minato away. Minato on the other hand is also protective over Kushina’s bond with you since she was from the earliest days there for you.

⚡️🌶She respects Minato and trusts him with you, but she also doesn’t care much to shout at him if he manages to upset you. Doesn’t matter if he’s already Hokage or not. Luckily the chances for that to happen are very, very small.

⚡️🌶The only scenario where her and Minato might get in a serious fight with each other is the moment you would want to leave him and he has to resort, as a last way, to blackmailing and bribing you. That’s the only occasion where she’ll be truly mad and pissed off. It’s still a bad situation for her since she knows that she’s in the disadvantage since he’s the Hokage and she also sees him as her best friend which hurts her even more if this should happen. Because she trusted him and thought he was better. For Minato this is still not easy either, he sees Kushina as his best friend as well and knowing that both Uzumaki’s are now upset and hurt because of him just pains him as well.

#yandere naruto #yandere naruto shippuden #yandere minato #yandere minato namikaze #yandere kushina #yandere kushina uzumaki #platonic yandere

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prettyboy-parker · 3 years

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favorite fics of 2020 (and a goodbye)

hi all!

first, i wanted to say this is inspired by one of my closest friends my bitch @honeybunstarker . thank u for that

secondly, i wanted to say a final goodbye. i know that i nearly left a few months ago, but i was still on the fence about writing for marvel then. now, ive lost all interest. thank you all for fueling my love for writing, and making these past two (??? i actually don’t know) years full of excitement and encouragement! from the ups (the blocklist, secret santa) to the downs (my favorite blogs and friends deactivating without a word), ive had the greatest time in this fandom.

in case you were worried, i am NOT deactivating. my fics will be available for you to read whenever you want.

but, i will not be writing for marvel anymore, nor will i be posting on this blog.

now that the sad part is done, i didn't want to leave you guys without anything to entertain yourselves with. so, here are my favorite fics, including some non-marvel, from this year!

(all descriptions are from the work itself)

my top fic from this year, which is also one of my favorite fics of all time, is a dog named sunshine.

“Bucky Barnes has issues. Mental health issues, and a whole lot of them, to be precise. Bucky is fucked up, and he knows that. His apartment looks like a dumping ground on most days, he can’t sleep through the night, sometimes he doesn’t shower for six days and doesn’t leave the house except to see his therapist once a week. Mostly, Bucky has no idea how the whole “talking about your problems” thing is supposed to help him, but sometimes his therapist has some really great ideas. Like getting a dog. Which is how Bucky meets Steve. Steve has blond hair and shoulders as broad as Bucky’s future if he wouldn’t suffer from depression and multiple mental disorders, and a waist as small as Bucky’s self-esteem. Steve also has a yellowish dog with floppy ears called Sunshine. And sunshine makes its way into Bucky’s life with a bounce in its step.”

a modern stucky fic which portrays depression in the best way i have seen in a fic so far. unfortunately, it has been orphaned before being finished :(

starker:

hey baby, slip between my beta-pleats and get to know my alpha-helix? By @starkerforlife6969 and @darker-soft-starker

“Even though Tony can't tell the difference between Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo, Peter really has no other choice.

His heat is around the corner, so even though he loathes the party-going, booze drinking, smug playboy know-it-all that is Tony Stark-

He'll just have to do.”

if you asked me what my favorite starker fic of all time is, i’d tell you it’s this one

raising hybrid puppies by jaypendragon

“A non-powered Tony/Peter coffee shop AU with billionaire Tony and working-class, teenage Peter. Also, Toomes has a bakery and somehow Last Week Tonight is a genuine plot point.”

underage, slowburn, happy ending

even though it’s one of the most notorious fics for the ship, i never read it until the summer.

waiting for marriage by tuesday

“In which Tony gets married and kidnapped in that order.

—

Tony Stark went to Vegas to cause a scandal.”

just super fun!

push you out (pull you back in) by @lovelystarker

“So basically, Peter's kind of fucked. And not in the way that he wants to be-preferably by his mother's hot new boyfriend who has beautiful brown eyes and a disposition that's more than put-together. It wouldn't be so hard to ignore the crush, really it wouldn't, but Mr. Stark has practically moved in, so Peter can't avoid him if he wants to, and unlike his mom's past boyfriends, this one actually likes to spend time with him. So yeah, Peter's kind of fucked.”

just,,, wow. important to note that it is unfinished.

stucky:

you go to my head by alby_mangroves and brideofquiet

“Why would you do that for a man you don’t know?” Bucky asks.

Steve raises one slow eyebrow at him, then the other, till his expression turns from skepticism to disbelief. His forefinger and thumb reach into his shirt’s front pocket and draw out a wrinkled dollar bill.

Steve looks him in the eye when he says, very patiently, “For money, Bucky.”

40′s stucky is my favorite stucky

that boy is a problem by 2best friends

“In which a twinky little goth punk named Bucky puts a leash around Steve's dick and he's really into it.

(The leash is a metaphor. For now.)”

just porn

all the angels and the saints by speranza

“In which Steve Rogers loses God and finds God and loses God, and also: Bucky.”

if it makes you cry, it’s probably good!

sugar sweet by colorcoated

“College Student Bucky finds himself immediately attracted to Steve. He knows that Steve's a bit older than him, and that Steve himself is put off by the age difference. . . But that doesn't stop Bucky from wanting to climb him like a tree.”

the only slowburn i have tolerated

my bucky by cleo4u2 and xantissa

“Bucky finds a feral Alpha in the woods. Rather, the Alpha finds him. Bucky is sure it’s the end of his life as an independant Omega. It turns out to be the beginning of the strangest romance Bucky’s ever known.”

stony:

(i want you to see) the darkest side of me by ann2who

“In Monte Carlo, Steve meets the wealthy widower Anthony Stark. It’s love at first sight—at least for Steve—and he can’t believe his luck when Tony asks him to live at Stark Mansion, his large estate in Malibu. Never in his life had Steve thought something like this was possible… never had he been this happy. However, soon Steve realizes that Tony is still deeply troubled by the death of his first wife and haunted by the many ghosts she left behind. The longer Steve lives in her shadow, the more he understands that… He can never be what Tony’s wife had once been for him. And Tony might never truly love him.”

total mindfuck.

ironstrange:

let it be by lucifersfavoritechild

“While dealing with his son's car accident and a rapidly-dissolving marriage, Tony is drawn to Peter's surgeon, Dr. Stephen Strange.”

where severus snape is hot, not a stalker, and somehow gets the girl by utopiste

“Or: Peter Parker is sick and wants to cut his Neuroscience class. Tony just wants to help (and maybe date his son's hot teacher). Stephen Strange just wants to give his lecture in peace.”

miscellaneous:

geraskier: who needs plans anyways by NTK

“All witchers are alphas or betas by nature, since no omega has ever survived the Trial of the Grasses. Gerald has never had any problems with satisfying his needs on the occasional rut, for the whores from Poviss to Nilfgard were eager to be of service to a sturdy hunk like him. On the other hand, a certain omega/ bard/ occasional witcher tagalong has always made certain to acquire enough suppressants from local healers before setting out on a new adventure. That is, until the travels with his favourite White Wolf led the unlike pair into uncharted territory for longer than expected… life ensues”

philtriss: bound by sapphiresmoke

“Leashing involves a pupil being bound to their master in body, mind, and magic,” Philippa explained, folding her hands on the desk in front of her. “It is not something to undertake lightly, but if you accept, I will be able to share my magic with you, and instruct you in ways that would be otherwise be impossible if I were to only rely on verbal communication. It is intimate, it is at times invasive, but if you consent to this, Triss, it will make you vastlymore powerful, and from the look in your eyes, that seems to be exactly what you are looking for.”

vandermatthews: one more night like this would put me six feet under by jukeboxgraduate

“To be alongside the same person week after week, to share honesty and trust with someone day after day, is a rare treasure in a life that hinges on dishonesty. Hosea holds it close to his heart.”

din/cobb: every wave is a tidal if you hang around by wolfhalls

“Din comes to Mos Pelgo, and finds a lot more than he was looking for.”

and finally, rough day by @no-droids, because we all need to be a little indulgent sometimes.

#starker #stony #ironstrange #stucky #fic recs #geraskier #philtriss

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migila · 4 years

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MitsuChou Week, Day 6!

Note: I cut it really close with this one, but made it in time! I actually really like this idea, and am considering making a multichapter story out of it later, with more details.

Day 6: Isekai

Chou Chou honestly had no idea how the hell did this happen. She and her team went to what was supposed to be a perfectly regular C-rank mission, escorting a wealthy merchant. All was going well; they were almost at their destination…

…And then the attack happened.

Everything had happened so quickly; she faced the enemy head on with Moegi-sensei and Shikadai while Inojin stayed back to guard their client. The enemies were weaker than she’d first thought; they were actually bringing them down pretty easily. They were winning, or more like they did win. But as they proceeded to tie them up, one woke up too soon and used a jutsu. What kind, Chou Chou had no idea. She hadn’t even seen what signs the redhaired man had done. She just remembered the light that had spread out, how Moegi-sensei had pulled Shikadai with her as she jumped, but Chou Chou herself had been too close to the source. She’d been pulled to the center of the light, and everything had gone black.

When she’d woken up, it was only her and the attacker, the later still unconscious, fortunately. When he woke up, she’d been determined to know what happened to the others, happened to her team. She’d beat the information out of him. To her relief, the man said nothing had happened to them. To her horror, the man informed her that it was them that something had happened to. According to the man, he’d sent them to a parallel universe with his jutsu. She didn’t even know what that was, but after he’d explained, she had refused to believe it.

But after she’d reached Konoha in order to get help, the man following hot on her heels, she had no choice but to believe. The village looked so different, much older. The stone faces were there, but she didn’t recognize the face, there was only one, after the Fourth Hokage. She’d seen familiar faces, tried to talk to them, but they’d had no idea who she was. Not the one who looked exactly like her uncle Shikamaru. Not the one who was like aunt Ino.

Not even the one who was a splitting image of her dad.

She’d fled the village, the redhaired man waiting for her not too far from the gates, and she’d demanded that he send her back.

But he couldn’t.

Apparently, it took him three years to gather enough chakra to cross dimensions. She was stuck.

That was two years ago.

Chou Chou had had no choice but to temporarily settle down in to this familiar yet so different world. Fortunately, the man, Nagato she learned his name was, knew the Hokage, who was aware of the man’s strange power. He’d arranged her an identity and a place in the village for the time being until she could go home.

“Hurry up, Chou Chou!” a blond boy called out. Her place in the village included placing her in a three-man team as well. She hadn’t known if she should’ve laughed or cried when she had met her new teammates.

“Yeah yeah, I’m coming” she called out as she walked over to this world’s version of Uzumaki Boruto. Yes, Boruto existed, same name and face, but the personality was different. This one wasn’t so much of a prankster and didn’t have daddy issues.

“So troublesome…” again, Chou Chou hadn’t known if she should’ve laughed or cried. She’d ended up in the same team with Nara Shikadai. He was exactly the same, inside and outside. It was heartbreaking, for as familiar as he was, he wasn’t her Shikadai.

“You’re late” said her new team leader.

“Sorry, Ino-sensei” she said. Ino looked the same too, but Chou Chou had found out that in this reality, she had married a man that wasn’t uncle Sai.

In other words, Inojin didn’t exist here.

It wasn’t just the blond artist; over the past two years, she’d also learned fast that neither did she. Or any young Akimichi heir for that matter; Chouji Akimichi of this reality had never married. Sarada’s parents were both married here too, but not to each other.

Her best friend didn’t exist, either.

Metal did, but he might as well not have; while his name and face were the same, he neither acted or dressed the way that the guy Chou Chou knew did. Iwabe was around, not all that different, but seemed to be more of a jerk than in her world. Wasabi and Namida were here, almost the same as ever. She hadn’t met Denki, Sumire or Mitsuki, but she hadn’t heard of their families either, so there was no strong reason to believe that they didn’t exist.

Not that it mattered to her either way; even if she met them, they wouldn’t be the friends she knew.

“A-rank mission, finally” Boruto breathed out, but Shikadai scowled “B-rank, idiot. It only becomes A-rank if we’re unlucky and get noticed by the wrong people, which we do not hope.”

“It can even become S-rank if we’re really unlucky” Ino pointed out “The danger of death is real here; if there were people available, the Hokage would’ve sent an all jounin team instead of a jounin and three chuunins.”

“But all’s good if we don’t get spotted, right?” Chou Chou asked, going the mission details through in her head. They were to break in to a certain S-class criminal’s assumed hiding place, steal certain documents and get the hell out of there. If they weren’t noticed, all would be perfectly fine. Even if they did get spotted, as long as the criminal, Orochimaru was the name if she wasn’t mistaking, wasn’t there himself, they could still all make it out alive. The abilities and numbers of his subordinates was unknown, but it was considered likely by the Hokage that their team could handle it. The only thing that had Chou Chou truly worried was the possibility that the man would be there.

“True enough” Ino said “But if we’re unlucky, get spotted and the boss is there, we’ll all likely fail and die.”

Chou Chou gulped, and she was sure Boruto did too.

“…He’s that strong?” the blond asked.

“Yes” Ino confirmed “Which is why I tell you this: if we get spotted by him once we already have the documents, Boruto will make a break for it with them while the rest of us try to hold the man back.”

“Wha-!?” Boruto started, but Ino cut him off: “No objections!”

“It makes sense” Shikadai spoke up, nervous sweat running down his brow, but otherwise he appeared unaffected “You’re undeniably the fastest of us, Boruto, and that way we still have a chance for success of the mission.”

Boruto no longer protested. Her Boruto would have, but not this one. Instead, he glanced at his team mates, taking a deep breath.

“Okay, let’s do this”

They left the village gates, and like every time before, Chou Chou prayed that she’d make it back, that she wouldn’t die in this world.

---------------

They managed to brake in. Chou Chou had noted in her mind that there was something familiar about the place, but quickly dismissed the idea. If she’d been here in this world, she’d remember, and she certainly hadn’t had any super dangerous missions in her world, their little adventure in the land of Earth not counting, so she couldn’t have been here in her own world, either.

…Right?

She jolted as she saw Shikadai give a signal. Someone was coming. They hid and held their breaths as two men passed. Neither were the S-class criminal, they’d been shown a photo, but it was still better to go unnoticed. And they did.

“Let’s go” Ino said quietly, and they continued on.

They got the documents, and Boruto took a hold of them as planned, just in case. So far so good; now they just had to get out.

But of course, their luck wouldn’t last. As soon as they’d stepped out of the room, they were surrounded by twenty or so people. They’d been spotted after all.

Shikadai, the most observant of them all, quickly gave them the signal they’d agreed upon beforehand. The place’s boss wasn’t around, at least for now. Good. Still, with this many enemies, Chou Chou knew what Ino’s orders would be. And sure enough, she shouted: “Boruto, go!”

The blond ran off, and Chou Chou stopped the two that tried to follow him. They all still had a chance for survival, but it was for the best to secure the mission’s success by letting Boruto go ahead.

“Even if I die young, there’s no way in hell I’m dying here!” Chou Chou roared. It was chaos all around, but she and her team held their ground. Ino of this world was differently stronger than the one in their own, which was something Chou Chou was very grateful for right about now.

But even this world’s Ino didn’t seem to see the huge explosion coming.

Chou Chou cried out as she got hit by falling debris. Blindly scrambling for safety, she lost sight of her team. When she finally stopped to catch her breath, she realized that she was alone with one of their enemies, though fortunately the man seemed to be unconscious, perhaps even dead.

“Okay, all’s good” Chou Chou muttered “Everything’s gonna be okay, I’m gonna be okay.”

She looked around, realizing that she was stuck in a rather small space, the walls having given in in both directions. She was strong enough to move some of the debris, she was sure, but she was worried of the ceiling collapsing on her.

“Ugh…”

Chou Chou froze, realizing that the enemy with her wasn’t quite as dead as she had hoped. Damn.

She’d have to kill him.

She’d killed before, in this world. It was scary, but she was a shinobi. Even if she hadn’t come to this world, she knew she would’ve had to kill eventually. Still, she always hated it.

“I’ll just get this over with” Chou Chou thought as she took out a kunai, hoping that the enemy was still at least somewhat out of it. She wanted to make this quick, both because she didn’t like to make her enemies suffer needlessly and because she didn’t want to risk a fight that would make the ceiling collapse.

As she approached, she noted that the enemy still lying on the ground looked young. And familiar. In fact, he looked a lot like-

“Mitsuki?”

---------------

When Mitsuki regained consciousness, the first thing that his mind registered was the pain. For a brief moment, he wondered what had happened, but the memories rushed back to him quickly. Juugo had noticed intruders. He’d alerted the others, and Mitsuki had joined them out of curiosity. He hadn’t planned to take part in the fight; intruders were his parent’s problem, not his, even if Orochimaru wasn’t present. However, as the blond boy who’d tried to flee on his own spotted him and attacked, he had had no choice but to fight. The guy had been good, but Mitsuki was better, getting the upper hand quickly on their short one on one. He’d had a perfect opportunity to kill the boy, but he’d plunged his kunai in the blonde’s shoulder instead. He was Orochimaru’s enemy, apparently, but not Mitsuki’s. Mitsuki did as he pleased, and killing an enemy that wasn’t his wasn’t on the list of things he wanted. However, when the boy he’d stabbed turned out to be a clone and he himself got stabbed in the side on the next second, the boy had become his enemy. Mitsuki didn’t enjoy getting stabbed.

They’d fought, and the collision of their attacks had caused an explosion, far larger than he would’ve expected. It might not have been much of a problem outside, but inside not only did the force throw him back, but the walls and the ceiling had started collapsing. He’d scrambled out of the way but, apparently, he’d hit his head at some point. Or maybe he’d lost consciousness due to blood loss, who knows. But he was alive, and right now that was enough.

“First I need to heal my injuries” he thought, attempting to reach out for the wound on his side, but found out he couldn’t move his hands. At first, he assumed them to be stuck under something since they didn’t hurt all that much, but after a moment he realized that they were tied. As were his legs.

Eyes snapping open in full alert, Mitsuki came face to face with a chubby girl eating potato chips, where the hell had she gotten those from, he wondered, that had to be one of the intruders. He could see the Konoha headband, which wasn’t good. He knew how much the Konoha shinobis hated his parent… which made him wonder, how come he wasn’t dead yet?

“Morning” the girl said with a smile after he’d opened his eyes “That’s quite bad injury; I wasn’t sure if you’d make it.”

This was not the kind of interaction Mitsuki had been expecting. Was this some new form of interrogation?

“Do you want some?” she asks, lifting up the bag of chips “Onion flavored.”

“…”

Chou Chou sweat dropped when Mitsuki didn’t react to anything she said. She had no idea what she’d been expecting him to do or say; she didn’t know how her Mitsuki would’ve reacted in this situation, either. And even if she did, this wasn’t her Mitsuki, a genin from Konoha. This was a Mitsuki who, apparently, worked for an S-class criminal.

His own parent.

While she’d been tying Mitsuki up for safety reasons, tending to his wounds too while at it of course, she’d realized why the place had seemed familiar. This was Orochimaru’s base in their world as well, the one she’d gone to with the Uchihas and Lord Seventh. And the S-class criminal they were dealing with was none other than Orochimaru, though the photo she’d seen looked way different than the person she recalled meeting.

Not that it mattered. What mattered was that Mitsuki was here. Even though he was not her Mitsuki, her annoying as hell friend, there was no way she could bring herself to kill this guy who looked so much like him. Not that she even needed to right now since they were both stuck and she had the upper hand, being less wounded and not tied up.

“Is there a reason you haven’t killed me yet?” Mitsuki asked after a while when the girl didn’t say anything. In this situation, he could still gather information. He should also try to keep her distracted, keep her talking until he figured a way to save himself.

“Is there a reason I should kill you?” she countered, much to Mitsuki’s surprise. The boy had assumed she just considered him an enemy, one of Orochimaru’s lackeys, and would try to kill him for it. But the thing is, he wasn’t. Unlike his parent, he had nothing against Konoha and wouldn’t attack its shinobi if they would just leave him alone. But apparently, his face was already in a bingo book, marked down as Orochimaru’s subordinate. And all that just because he’d been in his parent’s company when a group of anbu attacked them and he’d defended himself. If the girl didn’t know he was on Konoha’s kill list, then maybe it made sense he was still alive. Maybe she thought he was Orochimaru’s prisoner.

“I suppose not” he answered with a small smile of his own “Is there a reason I’m tied up, then?”

“Just to be safe” she said, smile still in place “I didn’t want you to attack me in fright when you woke up.”

That made sense, Mitsuki realized.

“Can you untie me, then?”

At this, Chou Chou hesitated. He seemed calm and civil, but the Mitsuki of her world was a good actor, and she was willing to bet that this one was too. Even if he seemed like he wouldn’t attack, there was no guarantee.

“I think I’ll keep playing it safe for now” she tells him “Sorry.”

Not naïve, then. Of course, she wasn’t, she was a shinobi, but Mitsuki had to try it.

Shifting a little, he took a look at the wound on his side, only to find himself bandaged. He certainly hadn’t expected that.

“Don’t move around too much; your wound could open” she tells him “Just take it easy.”

Maybe she was a bit naïve, after all. There was no way he could “take it easy” in this situation. Surely, she had to know that.

Popping the last chip to her mouth, Chou Chou tossed the empty bag away.

“Alright” she stood up, making Mitsuki tense “Back to work.”

He watched as the girl moved debris aside bit by bit carefully, always pausing to see what would collapse after each one. Seems like she prioritized getting out over getting information from him. That was good; it gave him time to wiggle his way out of his steel wire binds. They dug in to his skin painfully, but he was flexible, he could do this.

Keeping his eyes on the girl, only occasionally glancing down at his work, Mitsuki focused on not letting out any sounds of pain in order to not alert her. When his hands were finally free, he quickly untied his legs. The girl had yet to notice. Now would be a good time to sneak up on her, take her by surprise and kill her fast, but he decided against it. He wasn’t in the best shape, so he might as well allow her to do the heavy lifting for him. He’d kill her after the debris was cleared. Were he not injured, he could just knock her out or even leave her alone; she seemed somehow different from the other shinobis he’d encountered over the years and he was curious, but right now he couldn’t take any chances.

She was almost done, he saw. He could move the rest himself; now was the time to move. He got up, or he tried to, but the burning pain in his side as soon as he tried to sit up stopped him. Hand flying to the wound, he was unable to hold back the gasp of pain, alerting the young kunoichi immediately as her head turned sharply. So much for his sneaky assassination plan.

“Don’t move; your wound will open!” Chou Chou yelled, rushing over. Pushing him back down, she observed his bloody side, which was already turning even redder. The wound had indeed reopened “Shit.”

She’d already used up whatever little bandages she had with her for emergencies, so she’d have to improvise… she could make bandages out of her own clothes, but her dress was rather short as it was, so she’d rather not… but there wasn’t much of a choice.

Seeing her pull out a kunai, Mitsuki attempted to do so too, only to find out that his pouch of weapons was no longer where it was supposed to be. Of course, she had removed it. Taking a piece of debris instead, he swung it at her, but the girl dodged just in time.

“What the hell, you jerk!?” she cussed “Here I’m trying to help you and you try to smash my head open!?”

“I don’t see how you’ll help me with a kunai” Mitsuki simply said, wincing in pain as he fell back down again. The blood loss was making him dizzy.

Chou Chou gave him a hard look, but told herself to not be too unreasonable. He didn’t know her; he didn’t know she wasn’t going to harm him. The more she thought about it, the more understandable his reaction was.

“I’m just gonna make some new bandages, okay?” she says, starting to cut the hem of her dress “I already ran out of the actual ones.”

Mitsuki stared. Had she not already treated his wounds once and had she not already been cutting her clothes apart, her rather short clothes he might add, he never would’ve believed her words but currently, she was doing nothing that went against what she said.

She was interesting indeed, along with being very confusing.

The stare didn’t go unnoticed by Chou Chou.

“Would you mind being a gentleman and stop staring?” she says “I know I’m gorgeous and that it’s probably hard for guys to keep their eyes away, but you could at least try!”

“You’re delusional” Mitsuki said with a chuckle, but looked away anyway. Normally he wouldn’t even consider it, but with the girl’s irrational, amusing behavior, he found it extremely unlikely that she’d attack him now, so he considered it to be safe.

“Keep telling yourself that” Chou Chou said with a wink, one that he wouldn’t see. Her smile dropped as she realized that what he’d said was very much like something she could imagine her old friend Mitsuki saying, and it clenched painfully at her chest. She had to keep in mind that this was not her Mitsuki; this was a stranger, apparently a criminal, and she mustn’t let her guard down.

But even so, she couldn’t bring herself to abandon him.

Mitsuki didn’t fight back as the girl started to bandage him up, supporting his own bodyweight the best he could when she rewrapped the wound. As she did, the idea of killing her now briefly entered his mind. She was so close that it would be easy. His teeth were sharp; if he wanted to, all it should take would be one quick movement of his head to sink his teeth on her throat, ripping it open. It’d be so easy-

“What did I say about staring?” Chou Chou asks, finishing up her task before pulling her kimono styled dress to cover more of her front “Pervert.”

Well, Mitsuki supposed that it was natural to mistake staring at her throat for staring at her chest, at least for someone who thought so highly of herself. Perhaps the idea that he was considering the idea of slitting her throat really didn’t even cross her mind.

Lucky him, but it made him wonder the level of Konoha shinobi in general.

Maybe this really was a bad idea, Chou Chou realized. Similar as they were, her world’s Mitsuki would never get caught staring at her like that. While he could be a jerk sometimes, he did have a certain set of manners… or maybe he was just more subtle in order to not get in to trouble?

“Urgh, now’s not the time to be thinking of this!” she scolded herself. She had more pressing matters to address, mainly what she should do now. Should she just leave Mitsuki there and walk away? That might be the safest option for her, but what about him? What if the wound was worse than she thought and he didn’t get help in time? What if the ceiling collapsed on him? What if someone from her team stumbled upon him and killed him in his nearly defend less state!?

“I can’t leave him here” she realized with finality. Taking a deep breath, she swung his arm over her shoulder, apologizing when he hissed in pain.

“What are you doing?” Mitsuki asks, though at this point, he feels like he has an idea.

“I can’t just leave you here with the ceiling in the danger of collapsing” she tells him. He had expected something along those lines, though the possibility of her taking him along as a hostage had also crossed his mind. Who knows, maybe that was the case and he was being tricked.

“No” he decided “She’s not smart enough.”

With that in mind, Mitsuki decides to let her support him and lead the way.

Especially since she didn’t seem to realize that she was walking deeper in to his home, not away from it. Unless the whole place was in shambles, she’d be trapped soon enough.

This was going to be interesting.

---------------

“Told ya she’d get caught too” Chou Chou heard Boruto say after she was literally thrown in to a cell, the door locking behind her. The girl glared at him, though she supposed that this time his lack of faith in her was well earned. Just how had she let herself get ambushed like that?! It’d been three plus Mitsuki on one, so her loss wasn’t unexpected, but it still irked her. As did the amused look Mitsuki had had on his face after she’d been defeated and his friends, or whatever they were, tied her up.

“Shut up Boruto” Shikadai snarled “You were supposed to run!”

“I did!” the blond protested “…Well, I tried.”

“We all messed up” she heard Ino say, much to her surprise. She hadn’t seen the older woman; apparently, their teacher was somewhere behind her “But it’s too early to give up.”

“How come none of us are dead yet?” Chou Chou couldn’t help but ask. She felt like that’d be something that they’d do, even if they kept one or two of them alive for information.

“Apparently, they want to leave it up to their boss to decide what to do with us” Shikadai said “That’ll give us some time to think of an escape plan, at least. Though if he gets here before we get out…”

“Then it’s game over” Chou Chou realized, gulping “Please tell me you have a plan.”

Turns out he didn’t.

---------------

Mitsuki sighed in relief, finally free from Karin’s worried fussing. Not that she didn’t have a reason to worry, but it had still been annoying. Besides, his mind was stuck on other things. Other people. One person in particular.

“I didn’t catch her name” he realized, afterwards wondering why it even mattered to him. Well, he supposed he was curious by nature. Still, it wasn’t what was on the front of his mind right now. Instead, he was wondering about the kunoichi’s actions before getting caught.

When they were surrounded by his comrades, he had expected her to use him as a living shield. The idea of her slitting his throat on the spot so that she could get rid of at least one enemy had also crossed his mind, but instead of doing either, she’d pushed him aside, seeming to try being careful, almost like she was trying not to hurt him, before lunging in to the fight. Fight that hadn’t lasted long, which was no surprise as the shinobi was badly outnumbered, not to mention their side had Suigetsu, who was one of their strongest. He’d dragged the kunoichi away while Mitsuki had been taken to Karin. Now that he was patched up, he wondered what had happened to the girl. Was she still alive? Knowing the people around the base, probably not, unless they were in mood for some torture. But he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to check.

Getting up, he immediately winced. Turns out it would hurt to check; moving hurt.

“No pain, no gain” Mitsuki muttered wryly, proceeding to gather some information. It wasn’t too hard. He found Juugo quickly, who told him they were waiting for Orochimaru’s decision and had all four prisoners locked up and alive. He supposed it made sense; his parent could use some more material for his experiments. Or something to annoy Konoha with. Or just someone to torture. Prisoners had a lot of uses, after all.

Finding out the exact location of the prisoners, he slowly made his way to them, wondering what he’d see. Would the kunoichi act the same with her comrades around? Did she do things like this often, or would they be surprised if he revealed how she’d treated him? Would they believe him if he did and she denied it? It would make sense for them to not believe; he was the enemy after all.

“There’s always the chance that her naïve personality was just a well-done act” he reminded himself “Very well-done act.”

Be it this or that, he wanted to make sure of it himself.

---------------

“…Still no ideas?” Chou Chou asks, making Shikadai sigh.

“Again, no”

“And you’re supposed to be a genius…” the girl muttered, and it clearly irked Shikadai.

“Why do I need to be the one to come up with something?” he asked “You know what? If you want a plan then here’s one: you always go on about how gorgeous you are, so how about seducing a guard to make him let us out of here!?”

“Shikadai!” Ino yelled, scandalized “Stop that!”

“Not that she’d be able to…” Boruto muttered, eyeing Chou Chou up and down with the girl staring back, unamused “No offence, but since it’s you…”

“No offence my ass, Boruto” she snapped.

“But there’s some idea in that plan” Ino says with a sigh “I’ll try it.”

“You’re married” Chou Chou points out.

“And you’re a child” Ino shot back “This is for the mission; it’s a natural course of action to take.”

Her three students exchanged glances, but didn’t argue further.

When the door opens, Chou Chou can’t help but think that she could try going with Shikadai’s original plan, for Mitsuki was at the door. As gorgeous as Ino-sensei was, the younger kunoichi was convinced she was too old to get Mitsuki’s attention in the slightest.

“You!?” Boruto asks “I thought I took you down already!”

“Almost” Mitsuki admitted with a coy smile “But I got help in time.”

Chou Chou gulped, wondering if he’d rat her out. For a split second their eyes locked, and the girl was quick to look away, praying he’d keep his mouth shut.

The girl’s reactions were enough to tell Mitsuki that the girl had indeed helped him out of good will, without having permission from her team. Very interesting.

“Well next time you won’t be so lucky” Boruto told him.

“Don’t provoke him!” Shikadai hissed, but Mitsuki ignored him, turning his attention to Boruto. Tilting his head, he asks: “What makes you think there’ll be a next time?”

Boruto doesn’t answer, and they stare at each other. Mitsuki takes out a kunai, walking towards the blond. While the rest were Orochimaru’s enemies, this one had stabbed him, which made him Mitsuki’s enemy as well. This was personal.

“Stop!” Chou Chou calls without thinking, and to everyone’s surprise, the boy actually does stop in his tracks. Turning to look at the girl, he asks: “Why?”

“Why?” she echoes.

“Why should I stop?” he clarifies patiently, tilting his head with a small, curious smile on his face “Why should I not kill someone who attacked me?”

“Ah… um…” so it was Boruto who had stabbed him. Damn, he was always causing trouble! “Well… uh…”

Mitsuki tilted his head, patiently waiting for the girl to come up with something. Depending on what she said, he might actually choose to not kill her friend. He didn’t have a permission to do so anyway, but he wasn’t really a fan of rules. If he wanted to kill someone, he’d kill someone, even if Orochimaru wouldn’t like it. Not that he’d get in to too much trouble; there’d still be three more prisoners, and it’s not like his parent even knew about any of them yet.

“Well… you could be the better person here?” Chou Chou says uncertainly. That was all she could think up; to give him a chance to consider himself better than Boruto. She saw Mitsuki blink, still looking at her with that same smile, but he wasn’t making a move to attack anyone. She supposed that was a good sign.

“What if I don’t care if I’m the better person or not?” he asks, smiling at the girl’s dumbfounded look.

“Well… that’s…” she seemed to be thinking hard. Mitsuki weighted his options. He could just go and kill his enemy now, but if he did that, he doubted the situation would stay the same. The kunoichi would get mad for sure, and there’d go his entertainment. He didn’t want that, but would it be worth of getting rid of his enemy?

“I can always kill him later” he thought, chuckling as he put his kunai back, walking towards Chou Chou instead.

“Hey! Stay away from her!” Boruto shouted, but Chou Chou wasn’t too worried, if not a little nervous. She’d already gotten him to leave Boruto alone, for now at least, which was a good sign. Maybe this Mitsuki did indeed listen to reason.

“Why?” Mitsuki asks, looking at Boruto over his shoulder, smirking “Are you afraid I’ll steal your girl?”

The reactions are immediate. Boruto sputters, but Chou Chou barely notices it as she bursts out laughing, finding the idea way too funny. Also, a little disturbing, but mostly funny. Her and Boruto? Her and Boruto!? No way, never, not in this world nor hers! Even Mitsuki of her world would have a better chance with her than either Boruto!

Mitsuki watched her, amused. It was just a simple jab that he hadn’t really been expecting any reaction to, but this was certainly interesting. Then again, maybe he shouldn’t be so surprised. She seemed to be like this all the time; at this point, he highly doubted it’d be some kind of trick.

Swiping out a kunai, he ignored the shouts of the three shinobi, noting that oddly enough, it was the girl who stayed calm, although her eyes were fixed on the weapon as well. He cut the ropes on her legs, again taking note of how unconcerned she looked when he brought the weapon closer, though he did notice her tense.

“Come with me” he says “If you cause trouble, I might as well kill one of them, so I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“And if I kill you, your friends will kill us” Chou Chou added with a raised eyebrow. Mitsuki smiled “Exactly.”

“Chou Chou, don’t follow him!” Ino said sternly. Normally, the girl would’ve listened to her team leader, but she was dealing with Mitsuki now. She’d take a gamble. Besides, what’s the worst thing that could happen, considering their current situation? At the very worst, death might just come a little earlier, not that she believed Mitsuki planned to kill her. She just had to make sure she wouldn’t give him a reason to, either.

“No worries, I got this!” she says as she stands up wobbly, her body sore and her hands still tied behind her “I know what I’m doing.”

Mitsuki wondered what the girl, Chou Chou, they’d said her name was, meant. Did she have a plan or was she simply trying to reassure her friends? If the former, then he was sure she was up to something amusing. This would be fun.

Kunai still in hand, he led her outside of the cell, this time ignoring the blonde’s shouts of kicking his ass if he did anything to her. The guards gave him questioning looks, but didn’t try to stop him. Perks of being the boss’s son.

Chou Chou kept eyeing the route they were taking, attempting to memorize it and look for possible ways to escape. She knew that if she made a run for it now, she’d probably get away from the wounded boy behind her and if she got lucky, she might even be able to sneak out. However, that was not an option with her friends still inside. If she went to get help on her own, they’d probably kill everyone else so that there’d be no one left to save.

“But if I can get Mitsuki to our side, he can help us escape” that’d be ideal, but how would she do that?

“In here” Mitsuki said, pushing a door open before shoving Chou Chou forward. It was a small push; had the girl not wanted to move, she could’ve easily stayed put. But she didn’t.

Observing the space, she saw it was completely empty. Weird. Pushing that thought aside, she looked at Mitsuki who’d just closed the door and was now standing in front of it, staring at her. She decided to wait for him to tell her what he wanted, but as time ticked by and he just kept staring, Chou Chou started to get a little unnerved.

“What?” she finally asked, unable to help herself.

Mitsuki smiled, having wanted to see how long she’d stay quiet if he didn’t say anything. She’d lasted longer than he’d expected.

“When you told me not to kill your friend, I was expecting you to say that I could spare him to return the favor” he says “Why didn’t you? Did you not want your team to find out that you helped an enemy?”

Chou Chou stares, her mouth slightly gaping. Right, she could have tried that!

…But even if that was an option…

Mitsuki stares at the girl, who now looks surprised.

“Could it be?” he smiles “It didn’t even occur to you, did it?”

Chou Chou blushes, and that is all the proof Mitsuki needs. His smile widening, he points out: “You’re not very smart, are you?”

Her blush deepens. She’s interesting to watch alright.

“Well excuse me for not being a genius!” she hisses, and Mitsuki almost points out that it doesn’t take a genius to consider something like that, but ends up keeping his mouth shut anyway. Basking in his amusement, he almost misses the girl’s next words “…Even if I had thought about it, it wouldn’t have been right.”

“Right?” he repeats, puzzled.

“It’s not right to help someone just to get help myself” Chou Chou huffed. It was at that moment that she remembered what Mitsuki was like in their academy days. He’d seemed to have very little sense of right or wrong, using Boruto as a moral compass. But this Mitsuki had had no such influence-

“Oh boy” she realized, paling “I might be in a far bigger trouble than I thought.”

Mitsuki blinked as the girl’s face suddenly got a lot paler. That too was interesting, but also puzzling as he couldn’t think what could’ve scared her so just now. He shifted his stance a little, and did not miss how Chou Chou took a step back at that exact moment. Curious, he took a step forward, only to see her taking another step back. Interesting. Normally, it would’ve been a logical thing for her to do, but the change in her behavior had been very sudden. Why did she seem so much more afraid of him out of the blue?

With every step that Mitsuki took forward, Chou Chou took back. Why had he gotten so menacing right after she realized how much trouble she was in? It was like he was reading her mind!

“Or maybe my worry was just shown on my face” she gulped “Damn.”

The girl yelped as her back hit the wall, but Mitsuki was still advancing on her, taking his time. Or maybe he just walked slowly because of his injuries. Regardless, he ended up reaching her, standing right in front of her. She could see that he seemed a little confused, like he was thinking of something. Right now, she wasn’t all that sure that she’d want to know what that something was.

She was afraid; Mitsuki knew. He wondered what she’d do if he extended his hand. Her options were limited as her hands were still tied, but she could try to run; there was enough space to her left. She could try to swipe him off his feet, she could headbutt him or bite his hand. She could cover in fright, too, and that was starting to feel like the most likely option. Curiosity getting the best of him, he decided to do just that.

As Chou Chou saw a very familiar twinkle in Mitsuki’s eyes, she froze. It was the look he, well, the other he, tended to have when he was making fun of her. Fear overtaken by a familiar annoyance that she hadn’t really felt in a couple of years, she cast him a fierce glare, not moving an inch.

Mitsuki froze in turn, again not understanding the sudden change. They stared at each other for a good while before Chou Chou raised an eyebrow, asking: “What? You afraid I’m gonna bite or something?”

Withdrawing his hand, Mitsuki confessed: “That did occur to me, yes.”

Chou Chou tried, and ultimately failed, to hold in the chuckle, which turned in to full laughter in no time. She was laughing so hard that she was doubling over, having to squat down.

Mitsuki blinked, completely baffled, yet he was unable to keep a smile from forming on his face, soon laughing as well. He had no idea what she was laughing about, but it was infectious. She, with her very presence, made him laugh.

Chou Chou noticed this, and it only made her laugh harder, his laughter fueling her own. When she finally calmed down, he’d already stopped. It still took her a minute to regain her composure, but when she did, only one thought was in her head.

What now?

“Why did you bring me here?” she asks, and Mitsuki has to wonder the same. Why indeed? He could’ve just talked with her in the cell… but would she have been the way she is now in front of her comrades? Probably not, and he decided that was the reason why.

“I wonder…” he muttered instead, and Chou Chou recognized that smile; usually, it meant that someone would get in trouble. And she was the only one with him now “Why do you think?”

“…” part of Chou Chou’s earlier wariness returning, she chose not to say anything. If she gave him nothing, he could not be angered by it or use it against her.

“…” she was wary, Mitsuki realized. Even though she’d been laughing so hard just now…

…

She was an enigma, alright.

His silence was unnerving her, so much so that Chou Chou started to wonder if her not saying anything would anger him. Gosh, what a mess she’d gotten herself in to!

“Well…” she started uncertainly “Maybe you wanted information? Why we’re here, how many of us came… and stuff?”

Mitsuki chuckles.

“I already know what you were after and that it’s just the four of you” he said “And if I wanted more information, the fastest way to get some would be torture.”

He said it so casually that Chou Chou almost thought he was joking. Almost.

“…Then I have no idea” aside from one, but she found it very unlikely.

“In a way, you could say that I do want information” he said, smiling “You are rather peculiar. I’m interested to know how someone can be… like that.”

It sounded like an insult, but she wasn’t sure if it was one or not. Her Mitsuki tended to use the same word of her, so maybe it wasn’t? Either way, getting angry at him wouldn’t help her. Taking a deep breath, she decides to try to forget where she is and that she’s in the company of an enemy. It’s a move that could turn out to be fatal, but it’d help her think, and she’d yet to abandon the idea of trying to get Mitsuki to side with her. Sitting down on the ground, she says: “I don’t really know what you mean by “like that.” I’m just being the way I always am.”

“Hm” Mitsuki hummed, sitting down as well “Interesting.”

“You’re not exactly normal either you know” the girl said. She saw Mitsuki blink “Who just pulls along an enemy for a casual chat?”

“Who joins their enemy for a casual chat?” Mitsuki shot back. Chou Chou rolled her eyes “I’m tied up, unarmed and in a heavily guarded enemy territory. What other choice do I have?”

Mitsuki realized that she was right; she wasn’t here because she wanted to be, not in the least. Somehow, he found that realization slightly depressing.

“But you don’t seem like a bad person, so it’s not like I mind” she said, much to Mitsuki’s surprise. He couldn’t doubt the sincerity behind that smile “What did you want to talk about?”

For starters, there was one thing he wanted to confirm. He knew things about Konoha’s most powerful clans, and judging from her body shape-

“You’re from the Akimichi clan, aren’t you?” he asks, and the reaction is instant as her eyes widen, a hint of panic forming in them.

“No” Chou Chou quickly denies. There were people in the village who’d come to the same conclusion, but with her and the clan denying, had quickly dropped it. She hadn’t expected it to come up here “I’m not.”

Mitsuki smirks.

“I think you’re lying” he says, and the paling of her face is all telling “Unless, of course, you’re not officially part of the clan. An illegitimate child, perhaps?”

Chou Chou doesn’t answer. His guess is so close, yet still so far. It made her wonder if some people in this world who she had gotten to know actually thought the same but kept their mouths shut.

“I’m not” she said “Do not tarnish the Akimichi name with such accusations.”

Mitsuki tilted his head to the side with a coy smile.

“Why so defensive of them?”

Chou Chou glared, refusing to say more on the subject. She couldn’t let anything slip.

Mitsuki’s smile faded at the girl’s glare. If he tried to press her on the subject, she might not be as willing to talk anymore. Better change it.

“Which clan are you from, then, miss Chou Chou?”

She was momentarily surprised he knew her name, but then realized it must’ve been because he’d heard her friends calling for her.

“…None” she decided to answer, for it was true in this world “I have no clan.”

“She’s lying” Mitsuki found himself thinking. For whatever reason, she was keeping the clan she belonged to as a secret; he could see it from her eyes.

But even so, he decides to leave it be, for it’s her he has interest in, not her clan.

“What about you?” she asks “What clan do you come from?”

“I don’t know” he answers honestly “It’s just me and my parent left, and he doesn’t talk about our clan in the slightest.”

“I see” she hums “So is your parent Orochimaru?”

She probably shouldn’t have asked, Chou Chou realized as she saw the alert, which was soon taken over by cautiousness, in Mitsuki’s eyes.

“How did you know?”

Fortunately, she had an excuse formed.

“Just a hunch based on your behavior” she said “You don’t seem like someone who’d work for a man like Orochimaru, yet here you are. Blood ties seemed like the most logical reason.”

Mitsuki stared. Her logic was so simple and full of flaws, yet she got it right on the first try.

“I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore” he thought “Even if I don’t work for him, being his son makes me your enemy.”

“Does it?” she asks, much to his surprise “My enemies are the ones who hurt my friends or my village. You haven’t done so as far as I know” she pauses “Well you did clash out with Boruto, but he can be a jerk sometimes so he might even have deserved it. Plus, he’s fine, so it doesn’t really count.”

Mitsuki stares at her smiling face, again so sincere. He chuckles.

“I suppose it doesn’t” he admits. Then, he asks her something that he has always been wondering “What’s Konoha like?”

“Konoha?” she echoes, and he nods. He knows some things, things he’s heard by coincidence, and some things his parent has told, though those aren’t much, for the man hated his former home. But Mitsuki was interested.

“Well, it’s lively” Chou Chou starts, proceeding to tell him what he wants to know. She tells about the views, the places, the people, careful to make sure she talks about this world’s Konoha. Few times she slips with certain details, but he doesn’t notice, he can’t tell the difference. When he asks a question, she answers. Some of the things she says make him laugh, including some that weren’t intended to do so. She pouts when that happens, knowing he’s partly laughing at her, but she’s not angry, not really. She was having fun; she hadn’t talked this freely since she ended up in this world.

“You really love Konoha, don’t you?” he asks suddenly.

“Yeah…” Chou Chou says, but to Mitsuki, she looks sad “But... it’s not really home.”

“It’s not your home?” he echoes, confused.

“Well, it is now, but it’s not where I’m from” she mutters, and he can hear that the joy has departed from her voice “But I can’t go back home yet…”

He’s curious, he wants to ask why, but he’s sure she won’t tell even if he does. She refused to talk about her clan, so he highly doubts she’d speak about her home, either.

He’s brought out of his thoughts by a loud growl. He jolts, jumping to his feet and wincing at the pain in his side before drawing out a kunai, looking around.

“Relax, that was just my stomach” Chou Chou said with a snort. Mitsuki looks at her in disbelief, his mouth dropping open in to a small “o.” Then, unable to stop himself, he starts laughing, hard, wincing again as it hurts his wound.

“It’s not that funny!” Chou Chou snaps with a blush.

“I have to disagree” Mitsuki says after he gets his laughter under control. Putting his kunai back, he says: “I’ll go get you something to eat.”

He’s already at the door before the girl can react.

“Stay here” he says before he goes “For your own safety.”

The door clicks shut, and Chou Chou hears it lock. She’s not sure if that just now was a threat or if he was simply warning her about his comrades. She considers disobeying, but decides against it, knowing that she wouldn’t get far.

Mitsuki comes back soon enough, and Chou Chou wonders if he’s going to untie her or if he’s planning to feed her. Normally, she would never allow the later, but right now she’s really hungry.

Mitsuki puts down the lunch box he’d swiped from Karin, knowing that he’ll be her last suspect when she notices it’s gone. He just hopes it has something Chou Chou likes.

“Turn around” he says “I’ll untie you.”

“Right” Chou Chou says, relieved. Having to be fed by him would’ve been awkward.

She opens the small lunch box, finding rice balls. Yummy.

Smiling happily, she starts eating. After being done with half of them, she asks: “Aren’t you going to have some?”

“I don’t eat” he replies simply. Chou Chou shrugs “More for me, then.”

As she keeps eating, Mitsuki wonders what to do from here. He would like to just continue speaking with her, he wanted to know more, but he knew that wouldn’t do. Even if no one found them here, his parent would be back eventually and find out there was a fourth prisoner as well. He’d want to know what Mitsuki’s been up to, and he’d kill Chou Chou, unless he had a way to make her useful. But Mitsuki didn’t like either option, so that left-

“I can get you out of here” he told her just as the girl finished the last rice ball.

“Huh?” Chou Chou was surprised. She had aimed to get an ally out of him, but this easily… “How?”

“Right out the door” Mitsuki smiled “With my parent gone, we only need to avoid his three most trusted men. None of the others will question me even if they see me with a prisoner.”

That could work, Chou Chou knew. If she got out, she could go get help… the problem was that she didn’t believe she’d manage to do that in time to save the others.

“I’m not leaving without my team” she told, firm and simple. Mitsuki frowned.

“I can’t let that many people out without it being suspicious” he said “And I’m not interested in doing so, either.”

“Looks like I’m staying, then” she said, standing up “I’m not abandoning them.”

Mitsuki stood up too, wondering what such determination to protect someone felt like, what it felt like to be protected. He knew that he wouldn’t put himself in such a risk if his parent or any of his subordinates got caught by the enemy, and he highly doubted any of them would take the risk for him, either. Why were they so different? Perhaps finding out would be worth a risk?

“Alright then” he said, smiling “I’ll sneak all four of you out.”

Chou Chou stared. Was it really this easy, or was he leading her in to a trap?

“No… don’t doubt, not now” she told herself “Even if it turns out to be a trap, this is the best chance you’ll get.”

And probably the only chance.

“I trust you” she says, hoping that it really was the right move.

---------------

Mitsuki knocks down the guards before they can even realize what he’s up to. As Chou Chou opens the door to the cell, she sees the relieved faces of her friends.

“Chou Chou, you’re okay!” Boruto says in relief.

“Of course, I am” she says as she runs in to the cell, kunai in hand “We have to hurry.”

“Did you knock out the guards?” Ino asks from behind her as she releases Shikadai and moves on to Boruto. Chou Chou bites her lip before muttering: “Well… not exactly…”

“We need to hurry” she hears Mitsuki say from the door, and recently released Shikadai jumps, immediately attempting to catch him with his shadow, but misses and ends up with a kunai held to his throat. Smiling, Mitsuki says: “Please don’t give me a reason to kill you.”

“Hey, cut it out!” Boruto yells, about to lunge at the pale boy, but is stopped by Chou Chou “No Boruto, you cut it out!”

Her team looks at her in confusion, so she hurries to explain: “He’s helping us escape, so don’t pick a fight with him!”

Shikadai looks down at the kunai almost pressed against his skin. Chou Chou knows that look; it’s calculative, he’s going over his options. She hopes he won’t do anything stupid.

“I see. I’m sorry, then” he says, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. Chou Chou wonders if Mitsuki notices this “Could you move that, please?”

It takes a few seconds too long for Chou Chou’s liking, but eventually, the weapon is removed. She sighs in relief, moving to help Ino. After the woman is free, they all leave the cell with Mitsuki in the lead.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ino asks Chou Chou in a hushed whisper.

“This is the best we can get” Chou Chou says back “So I’m gonna trust him.”

“How did Chou Chou manage this?” she heard Boruto ask Shikadai, though it seemed like it was supposed to be a whisper “Could it be that she actually used your plan and it worked!?”

Chou Chou’s face heated up and she cast Boruto a glare, which he answered with a sheepish smile. Shikadai however, was watching her thoughtfully.

“Chou Chou, be honest” he said “Did you?”

“Of course not, asshole!” she yells at him, immediately getting shushed by the others, Mitsuki included “Sorry…”

“What I don’t understand is why are you helping us” Shikadai addressed Mitsuki, but the pale boy just shrugs.

“I felt like it’d be fun” he says.

“You’re betraying Orochimaru for fun?” Boruto asks in disbelief, but Mitsuki shakes his head “I don’t work for him in the first place.”

Chou Chou would really like to know what the others are thinking right now.

“Then why are you even here? Why did you attack me!?”

“I didn’t; you attacked me first, so I defended myself” Mitsuki points out as he looks over his shoulder, a slight frown on his face “And I’m here because my parent is here.”

Chou Chou prays that he won’t mention who his parent is.

“So… you’re not a criminal?” Boruto asks, and Mitsuki shakes his head before turning his attention forward again as they sneak through the mazelike hallways.

“But your face is in a bingo book” the blond argues.

“Because I defended myself against the shinobi that attacked me while I was in the company of my parent” he says simply “I have no desire to cause trouble for Konoha or it’s shinobi, aside from the ones who cause trouble for me.”

Everyone goes quiet, and Chou Chou wonders if they believe him. Eventually, Boruto asks: “What’s your name?”

Chou Chou gasps, realizing that she hadn’t asked. Thank god she hadn’t said his name on accident!

“Mitsuki” he replies, suddenly extending his hand “Halt.”

Mitsuki hears their footsteps stop, obeying him, but his attention is focused on Suigetsu, who’s loitering at the front door, possibly waiting for Orochimaru. He wonders how to go about this. Could he distract the man enough for the four to slip past? Should they go past by force? He didn’t want to risk alerting others and truth to be told, he didn’t want to harm Suigetsu, either…

“We need another way out” he finally says.

“Or we can just knock that guy out” Boruto suggests, but Mitsuki stays firmly on his decision “No one’s harming him.”

“Hey, you might not be a criminal, but that doesn’t apply to whoever is guarding the door, right?” Boruto tries to reason “We can just kick his ass!”

Chou Chou shifts uncomfortably, afraid that Boruto’s going to piss off Mitsuki and cost them their chance at escaping. One look at Ino and Shikadai tells her that they’re probably thinking of the same thing.

“Kick who’s ass?” they all, even Mitsuki, jump. He whirls around, only to meet the gaze of amused Suigetsu. They were caught “Well?”

Boruto dashes forward, but Mitsuki trips him before he can reach Suigetsu.

“Suigetsu” he greets with a wide smile “Mind letting us pass?”

“What if I say no?”

“Then I’ll make you” Mitsuki says, the smile not leaving his face. It’s a bluff, but he knows Suigetsu won’t take the risk; his parent has made it clear to them all that Mitsuki is not to be harmed.

Suigetsu sighs.

“You’re lucky that I’m not allowed to harm you” he says “Fine, shoo. But don’t think for a second that Orochimaru won’t hear about this!”

“I won’t” he says “Let’s go.”

Chou Chou sees how Ino hastily pulls Boruto, who’s eyeing Suigetsu suspiciously, along as they flee from the door. And then they run.

---------------

After what felt like hours, Chou Chou has no idea how long it’s actually been, they all stop running. Mitsuki is still among them.

“I think… we’re safe for now…” Ino says, out of breath “Let’s take a short break.”

Everyone collapses on the ground, trying to catch their breaths.

“We actually made it out…” Shikadai mutters as he stares at the clouds “Weird.”

Chou Chou notices that Boruto is staring at Mitsuki.

“What are you going to do now?” the blond asks “You were seen; you’ll be in danger if you go back.”

“I’ll manage; this isn’t the first time I cause trouble” Mitsuki says with a chuckle, wondering what his parent would have in store for him. He’d probably get off rather easy since these weren’t people that Orochimaru had specifically wanted captured.

“You sure about that?” Shikadai joins the conversation, also looking at Mitsuki “I think you should run away.”

“I’ll be fine” Mitsuki insists, turning to look at them “And if I’d run away, I’d have to defend myself from all the shinobi on my own.”

“Can’t we get him off of the Bingo book somehow, Ino-sensei?” Chou Chou asks, knowing from the looks on their faces that she has surprised everyone “He’s not a bad guy.”

Ino stares at her, before glancing at Mitsuki.

“…I’ll have a word with the Hokage, but I can’t promise anything” she says “Honestly, what I should do is to capture or kill you right now, but I think we can all pretend there was no chance to do so.”

Mitsuki blinks.

“Agreed” Shikadai says.

“Hell yeah!” Boruto.

Chou Chou just smiles, looking at Mitsuki, who gives a small smile back. Her smile fades as he stands up.

“I must go” no one tries to stop him. Before leaving, he looks at Chou Chou one last time “I’m glad to have met you, Miss Chou Chou.”

“Likewise, Mitsuki” she says with a grin. When the boy is out of sight and far away for sure, she says: “That guy’s totally in to me.”

No one tries to deny it.

---------------

It had been three weeks since she met Mitsuki, and now she was on another dangerous mission. Again, things didn’t look too good. Ino-sensei? Down. Boruto? Down. Shikadai? Nowhere to be seen. She still had energy, having arrived later than the others as she’d been guarding the other side of the valley, but she wouldn’t last forever, plus there were too many enemies. Unless Shikadai showed up soon and in good health, she was screwed.

She noticed the enemy coming from the left with a sword drawn, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to dodge as she was too busy holding back another one. He’d get a hit in, there was no avoiding it.

“C’mon, Shikadai, please come!” he didn’t, yet Chou Chou heard metal clinking against metal. She saw the back of a kimono shirt, and the light blue hair accompanying it was all-telling.

“MItsuki!?” she breathed out in disbelief.

“Hello Miss Chou Chou” he said before slitting the stunned enemy’s throat, moving on to the one Chou Chou was fighting right after, but that one managed to dodge “I see you’ve gotten yourself in some trouble.”

She scowled, and he didn’t miss it.

“Would you like some help?” he asks, smiling. Chou Chou blinks, staring at him for a while, but decides to not to look at the gift horse’s mouth “Sure.”

Mitsuki is strong, she soon learns, stronger than in her world. Or maybe it’s just because he’s older; she’s stronger than few years back too, after all. Together, they actually manage to take down the enemies, though neither of them gets out unharmed, either.

“Finally” Chou Chou says as she collapses, having just taken down the last enemy. She winches, the large gash on her left arm rapidly bleeding.

“Let me see” Mitsuki commands as he walks over, and Chou Chou obeys without a second thought. Turns out this Mitsuki is a medical ninja, and he manages to stop her bleeding rather quickly, before wrapping her arm up in bandages.

“Thanks” she says. Looking around, she sees Boruto and Ino still in the same places they’d collapsed in to, hopefully still alive. Wanting to find out, she walks over to Ino. There is still pulse, and her injuries don’t seem deadly. Thank god.

“This one’s alive” Mitsuki calls out and Chou Chou sees he’s gone over to Boruto. She doesn’t have the time to relax before Mitsuki continues: “But not for long if nothing’s done to that headwound.”

“Shit!” Chou Chou curses as she rushes over, checking the injury. Her limited medical knowledge wouldn’t cut it “Mitsuki, can you help him?”

For a moment he doesn’t move, and Chou Chou fears that this was the extent of how much help she’d get, but then he moves his hands to Boruto’s head, much to her relief.

“He’ll live” Mitsuki said after he was finished “As will the other one at the entrance to the valley, but it’ll be a while before he can walk again.”

Chou Chou froze. Shikadai!

“You mean Shikadai?” she asks, but clarifies at Mitsuki’s questioning look “The guy that was with the three of us last time.”

“Yes, him” the boy confirms “The fight was over when I got there, but he’d somehow managed to evade death.”

Chou Chou sighs in relief.

Mitsuki stares at the girl, amused. Unlike the boy, Shikadai she’d said, she hadn’t seemed to think even for a second that he’d be an enemy. She’d accepted his help without hesitation, like he was one of them, and even asked for his help. It was weird, but the feeling he got from it was… nice.

“She truly is something else” he muses.

“I need to get to Shikadai” Chou Chou decides, picking Boruto up “Can you bring Ino-sensei?”

“Of course” he says, going to pick up the woman. Really, it’d be easy to kill her, kill them all, doesn’t the kunoichi realize that? Doesn’t she even consider the possibility? He wondered how someone so naïve had lasted this long as a shinobi.

---------------

“Shikadai!” Chou Chou cheers as she sees the boy slowly limping towards them, bloody and out of breath, but still alive.

“Chou Chou” he breathes “How are the others?”

“They’ll be fine, and the enemy’s down” she says “No worries; mission accomplished!”

Shikadai smiles before his sceptic gaze turns to Mitsuki, who has a calm smile on his face, but who is also eyeing him. Chou Chou sweat drops, realizing that the two men are pondering if the other is a threat.

“C’mon you two, we’re all friends here!”

Raising an eyebrow as he turns to her, Mitsuki asks: “We are?”

Chou Chou sighs.

“Why are you here?” Shikadai asks, and Mitsuki’s attention returns to him.

“I was simply passing by on my way home” he answers as he puts Ino down “I have no intention to cause trouble -unless you plan to attack me, that is.”

Shikadai stared, but then he smirked.

“Think I’ll pass on that; it’d be too troublesome” he says “Thanks for the help.”

Chou Chou smiles, relieved.

“Don’t mention it” Mitsuki says, turning to Chou Chou “I’ll see you again, Miss Chou Chou.”

He runs off, the two staring after him. Chou Chou had not missed how he’d only addressed her. She chuckles.

“Honestly, that guy’s so- “

“Smitten with you” Shikadai finishes for her with a snort “We were saved because of that, I think, but in case you do encounter him again, be careful.”

“He’s not a bad guy, Shikadai” Chou Chou said, a slight blush on her face, caused by someone else saying it out loud.

“Let’s hope you’re right” the boy sighs “Otherwise things might get troublesome for you.”

---------------

That was far from the last time Chou Chou saw Mitsuki. She had a few more dangerous missions that went wrong and he showed up to help, which she was grateful for, but he also appeared randomly during some of her easier missions, coming to sight the moment she was alone, once even when she had night watch and her team was asleep right around her. It’s not that she minded, in fact she enjoyed his company. She could be herself with him without fearing any consequences. The thing that worried her was the possibility of getting in trouble for being seen with him.

Or to be exact, being seen by someone else than her team members. Those three had caught them red handed at least once each already, and she wouldn’t be surprised if she had missed some times. She wasn’t worried about Boruto; he was actually becoming friends with Mitsuki, which was good since she wouldn’t be around forever. Shikadai and Ino-sensei however…

“Chou Chou, you need to cut ties with that boy” Ino said “Even if his name is no longer in the bingo book, he’s still considered a suspicious individual. Interacting with him the way you do will eventually put you in danger.”

This wasn’t the first time she’d told her that and, as usual, Chou Chou told her not to worry before walking out of the café. And then she ran in to Shikadai, which wasn’t uncommon thing to happen after one of their sensei’s rants. She was starting to suspect that they planned these supposed chance meetings.

“Don’t you start too” she said, walking away, but as expected, Shikadai followed her.

“You know I don’t have anything against that guy” he said “But logically thinking, whatever you two have going on won’t end well.”

Chou Chou glared.

“And why is that?”

“You’ll be going home soon, right?” he asks, and she freezes. How? How did Shikadai know? What did he know?

“I heard from the hokage, the whole team did” he said “That you’re not from around here.”

“…”

“Does Mitsuki know?”

“…No” that was the one thing she hadn’t told him. Maybe she should have, considering that she knew that once she got a chance to go home, she would and they’d never see each other again.

“You’ve clearly become close” the young Nara says “And the closer you are, the more it’ll hurt both of you when you leave.”

Chou Chou stops walking.

“Just keep that in mind” Shikadai says, but unlike his friend, he continues to walk. Chou Chou bites her lip. Of course, she’d known that Mitsuki would be sad when she eventually left, but she hadn’t really thought it’d be that big of a deal. She’d thought that it’d be fine; he had other friends…

…But did he? He wasn’t her world’s Mitsuki; he certainly wasn’t friends with the same people as he was in her world. Some of them didn’t even exist. He sometimes talked about the people he lived with, it sounded like some were his friends, but how close were they? Perhaps not that close, perhaps there was reason he always sought her out, even when it was dangerous.

“What have I done?”

As Chou Chou was musing over this, a messenger from the Hokage came to tell her Nagato was back.

It was time.

---------------

Mitsuki smirked, about to sneak in to Konoha again. He’d done so few times before, though in neither time did he reveal himself to Chou Chou. With how often she told him to avoid the Konoha shinobi, just in case, she’d certainly worry if she saw him in the village. Sometimes he just couldn’t help it as he got the sudden urge to see her, like now.

He wasn’t sure if his parent knew about him sneaking in to Konoha from time to time or not, but he certainly knew about what he’d been up to. Had laughed about Mitsuki having normal teenage behavior and how that was an interesting find. Not that Mitsuki cared. He just wanted to see his amusing, unique friend.

The first friend he’d ever had, Suigetsu and the like not really counting in his opinion.

Reaching her apartment, he saw the lights were out. She wasn’t home, then. It was late though, so was she out on a mission? Or maybe a late-night snack-

“To think that you’d appear tonight of all nights” Mitsuki froze as he heard the voice. Slowly turning around, he saw Shikadai and Boruto staring up at the tree he was in. He relaxed, but only slightly. Boruto wouldn’t attack, he knew, but he still wasn’t sure where he stood with Shikadai, if the boy would attack when having a chance or not.

But right now, none of that mattered. What Shikadai said had awoken his curiosity. Jumping down to join them, he asks: “What’s special about tonight?”

The two exchange glances. They’re hesitant, Mitsuki realizes. That’s nothing new with Shikadai, but Boruto usually does whatever he wants without really thinking much, so his behavior puts the pale boy on edge.

“Give it to him” Shikadai finally says, addressing Boruto. Reaching in to his jacket, the blond pulls out a scroll, holding it out for Mitsuki to take. He blinks before taking it. He doesn’t need to be told to know that it’s from Chou Chou. He unfolds the scroll.

To Mitsuki

I’ve finally gotten a way to go back home and once you read this, I’m probably already there. It’s not easy to get there, so once I’m back, I won’t be returning to Konoha anymore. Don’t worry though; Boruto is your friend too, isn’t he? And Shikadai’s warming up to you too, I know he is, so you won’t be lonely.

I’m happy we met, even if it was in an odd way. I’ll always remember you.

Chou Chou

Mitsuki just stared. She’d left? For good? She hadn’t said anything about it the last time they saw each other! Why?

“When did she leave?”

“A bit over an hour ago” Shikadai told him. Mitsuki was relieved; perhaps he could still catch up. He was about to break in to a run, but was stopped by the black-haired boy holding his arm “What do you plan to do? Stop her from leaving, from returning to her family where she belongs?”

That’s what he wanted to do, no doubt. He didn’t want to lose Chou Chou, and if Shikadai got in his way-

“Let him go, Shikadai” Boruto interrupted, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder “Mitsuki will do what’s for the best, I’m sure.”

Shikadai didn’t agree with his friend, that much was clear, but he seemed to trust Boruto.

“You need to hurry” the young Nara said as he let go “She’s leaving with the help of a jutsu. It’s meant to be activated 30 kilometers south from the village. Activation takes time, so you might still make it.”

Mitsuki nods, taking off.

He had to reach her in time.

---------------

Nagato was almost ready, he’d said, but Chou Chou didn’t remember another time she’d felt this impatient. It was finally time, so she just wanted to hurry and get this over with so that she could go home. She’d miss the friends she’d made here, but she missed her family and the friends back at home more. If there was one thing, she might regret about leaving, it’d be not telling Mitsuki the truth. Unlike to her team, no one had told him that she’d one day leave for good. She had planned to, but Nagato had gotten ready sooner than she had expected, and she had had no chance to see Mitsuki again.

She hoped he’d forgive her.

“I’m almost done” Nagato tells her “Sorry about this whole mess.”

Chou Chou chuckles.

“I’d tell you that you better be sorry, but I think I’ve yelled at you enough over the years” she tells, smiling at him, and he gives a sad smile back. Right, he was another friend she had to say goodbye to. Not right away as he’d be stuck in her world for a while after using his jutsu, but eventually. And truth to be told, she didn’t really want to be around him much after she got home in the fear of ending up here again.

“CHOU CHOU!”

She’d recognize that voice anywhere, in any world.

“Mitsuki!?” she sees the boy rushing towards her, and she can only stare. Just what are the odds that he’d be passing by here, this close to the village, in the same direction she’s in, today of all days?

…

It couldn’t be a coincidence. Somehow, he’d gotten a word of what was happening. Boruto must’ve told him.

She didn’t know if she should be happy or upset. Now she could say a proper goodbye, but this also meant she had to face him. She’d have to see the hurt on his face, have a painful goodbye.

Mitsuki comes to a stop in front of her, panting slightly. It was rare to see him so out of breath.

“I got your letter” he says “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was planning to, but this came faster than I thought” she said “Sorry.”

“Why do you need to go?” Mitsuki asks “You have a home in Konoha. You have friends.”

“You have me”

That was left unsaid.

“…I know” she said “But I also have a home and friends elsewhere. And my family. This isn’t where I belong.”

“But it could be” Mitsuki tries “You could decide to belong here, to not go back. Make a new home here.”

Yeah, she knew she could.

But she didn’t want to.

“I know” she says, a sad smile on her face “But I’ve decided not to. I miss my parents, I miss everyone. And they don’t even know for sure that I’m alive.”

“But- “

“Chou Chou, it’s time” Nagato interrupted whatever Mitsuki was about to say.

“I’m coming!” she called back, giving Mitsuki a sad smile “I’m glad I got to see you again, but I need to go now. Bye Mitsuki.”

She turned to walk away, but was stopped by Mitsuki taking a firm hold of her hand.

“Mitsuki…?”

“Don’t go” he simply said. He didn’t want to lose her. She made him happy in a way no one else did. He needed her.

“I have to” Chou Chou said. She had been so sure she could leave without crying, just glad to finally head home, but as she looked at Mitsuki now, not crying became an impossibility. The tears gathered in her eyes, soon falling down her cheeks “I’m sorry.”

He could stop her from leaving, he was strong enough. Fast enough. More so than her, he knew. He didn’t know how strong the redhaired man was, but if he acted quickly, he should be able to catch them by surprise. He could make sure she stayed here, with him.

…

She hadn’t tried to pull her arm away. She hadn’t told him to let go. Looking in to her eyes, he saw no fear or anger, only the tears and sadness of having to leave. She didn’t fight against him because, unlike her friends, she had full faith in him. She didn’t even consider that he’d seriously try to stop her, try to keep her from going home.

“You’re too trusting, Chou Chou” he thought, his lips curling in to a small smile “You’re one of a kind.”

He lets go.

“Stay safe” he tells her.

“You too” she says “And if you have time, look after Shikadai and Boruto for me. Especially Boruto!”

Mitsuki laughs.

“I will”

He watches her rush towards the man. He watches the peculiar sight of a portal appearing. He watches as she looks over her shoulder one last time and waives. He waives back.

And then she’s gone.

---------------

Home at last. She’d said goodbye to Nagato, not knowing where the man headed, deciding not to ask. She’d walked in from the gates of Konoha, sighing in relief when she saw the familiar stone faces, all seven of them. She’d reported to the Hokage, who’d been shocked to the say the least. She’d explained everything to the best of her ability before being taken to a hospital for a checkup. Her parents came to see her there. She wept. Her team came too, and she wept some more, later hoping that she hadn’t broken any of Inojin’s delicate bones when she’d hugged him.

Now she was out of hospital and, while she wasn’t given any missions yet, she was out for lunch with her team. She sure had missed the Kaminari Burgers.

“Chou Chou!”

But not as much as she’d missed her best friend.

“Sarada!” she yelled as she saw the girl rushing in from the door. Both of them stared, tears forming in the eyes of each girl, before they ran for a hug.

“Lord Seventh told us you’re back” she said “Gosh, where have you been?!”

“I was told not to say anything” Chou Chou said. It seemed that dimension traveling was best to be kept secret “I missed you!”

“We’re here too, you know” Boruto said. He might have been trying to sound offended, but failed poorly as he was grinning from ear to ear “Welcome home!”

Chou Chou laughed.

“Good to see you too, Boruto” she said, wiping her tears “Have you stayed out of trouble?”

“You’ve completely forgotten who he is, haven’t you Chubs?” Inojin snorts, and they all share a laugh in Boruto’s expense.

“It’s good to see you’re back, Chou Chou” the girl freezes. This voice…

Slowly, she looks behind Boruto. That’s right, she’d completely forgotten that, in this world, where Boruto was, Mitsuki usually followed. And such was the case today as well.

“Mitsuki…” she muttered, and the boy smiled in reply. This wasn’t the Mitsuki she’d learned to know during the past year, this was her Mitsuki, the one she’d longed to see along with the rest of her friends. And she was glad to see him, she really was…

And yet, her heart ached as she looked at him, the one who was so similar to the man who’d asked her not to go, not to leave him.

“Ah what the heck, it’s like I’ll always find something to complain about” you gain something, you lose something “I’ll never forget them, him especially, but…”

“It’s good to be home” she says, winking “Bet you missed me, huh? Sorry to say this, but remember that I’m still out of your league.”

“Even time can’t cure your condition, I see”

Chou Chou laughed. She was home alright; this was the Mitsuki she knew.

Her Mitsuki.

#mitsuchouweek2020 #MitsuChou week #mitsuchou #mitsucho #mitsuki #akimichi chou chou

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lonestarbabe · 4 years

Text

Holding Out For A Hero

Chapter 7: Paralyzed (AO3)

T.K.

T.K.’s day didn’t start well. When he woke up at eight am because of his phone vibrating against his nightstand, he knew that he was getting up on the wrong side of the bed. He had every intention of not answering, but when he saw that it was mom, he picked up right away. This conversation will end one of two ways: she’ll lie about looking forward to my show tonight or she’ll make an excuse why she can’t come to the show tonight.

“Mom?” T.K. asked in case he’d somehow misread the caller ID. She didn’t usually call him. She was more of an email person. He’d tried to get her to convert to text, but she said that she already had to send emails for business anyway so it was easier to use one platform. She was one of the few women in America who didn’t want to text him; yet, she was the one who he wanted to text him the most.

“Hi, honey,” she said, and her apologetic tone made T.K.’s heart sink. It’s happening again. Not even my own mom wants to see me. She’d do anything in her power to avoid me because I’m an awful son who she got stuck with.

“When is your flight coming in?” he asked, a hint of wishful thinking in his voice. I’m such a fool. I should know better than to hope. Hope only leads to heartbreak.

“About that…” her voice was sad and slow. It had been that way since 9/11, at least to T.K. She sounded more normal at work functions. It made T.K. wonder what was wrong with him. Why am I the one who my mom can’t stand?

“You’re not coming,” T.K. confirmed, and he wondered whether she didn’t want to come because of a bout of depression or because she wasn’t interested in his career.

He imagined the way she was probably biting her lip and giving him that look she always gave him as a child and she told him that he couldn’t have something that he wanted. He didn’t expect much from her anymore.

“I’m sorry, Tyler. I just have a work thing that I can’t miss.” A work thing usually didn’t mean she actually had a work thing. When she had actual work things, she was always more specific. She loved talking about her job, so when she avoided talking about it, T.K. knew that she was overcompensating for lying.

She always did this, and he let her because she was a grown woman, and he was a grown man. They both had lives of their own, and if their lives didn’t align, that’s just how it would have to be. He’d learned to deal with it, but the sting never went away. He felt it each time she rejected his attempts at having a relationship with her. He couldn’t help but think about how unfair it was that he lost his dad and that he had also lost his mother too. She used to dote on him when he was little. She cheered him on in his kindergarten play. She made him costumes for Halloween. She did everything a mom should do and more, and then she stopped doing all that. She ditched whatever mom duties she could get away with.

After 9/11, he’d spent the whole summer with his dad’s parents, and she’d barely called him. He’d cry until he was sick on those balmy nights because he missed his family, and his whole world felt unsteady. His mom said it was good for him to get out of the city for a while, but even though it had been attacked, the city still comforted T.K. Wounded or not, it was still his home, and his mom was in it, and it made T.K. terrified to not be able to see that she was okay. He followed her around for an entire month after he’d returned home. He’d cry each day when she’d go for work. When school started, he’d go to the nurse’s office and beg one of the nurses to call his mother to pick him up. Eventually, she stopped showing up, so the nurses would give him some soda and crackers until he’d calmed down enough to go back to class.

Whenever his mom went anywhere, he worried that she would never come back. Her brow would furrow as threw another fit and begged her not to go. “I have to go to work, honey,” she would say, tired and lost without Owen. “Please, don’t make a big deal of this.” But T.K. was too scared not to throw a fit. If she never left, he never had to worry about her coming back.

Maybe I exhausted her too much then. I was too clingy, and she got tired of me being around. Maybe that’s why she needs so much space.

“It’s fine.” This was all fine. He wasn’t a kid, so he didn’t need his mom there, and she’d been to plenty of shows before. It wasn’t like she was missing anything that special. But she told me that she would be there. T.K. had been looking forward to seeing her all week. They didn’t get a lot of time to talk, and he’d imagined how nice it would be to have her around for a few hours. He’d gotten his hopes up, something that he should have known better than to do because when you get your hopes up, you can only ever be disappointed.

“Are you sure? Maybe I can catch a later flight and see you after your show.”

“No, it’s okay.” He wasn’t going to make her come if she didn’t want to. “I’ll be tired, and there’s no point flying out just for one night.”

He wanted her to protest and say that it would be a bother to fly out to see him for a few hours, but he heard her sigh in relief. “We’ll get together another time.”

“Any stop on tour I can get you tickets for. I’ll pay for accommodations too.” I’d do anything in my power to get her to a show, but no amount of cajoling will sway her.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude. I know how boys your age like to go out and have fun. I wouldn’t want to ruin that.” If she knew anything, she would know that he only liked to “go out and have fun” when he wanted to forget. It wasn’t something he did for recreation. It was a need. Something he had to do to get out of his head. Before he could answer, she said, “Well, I better go.”

“Yeah, me too.” Got to go wallow a while.

“I love you.” Those words sounded different when they were an apology.

T.K. held back a sigh. “I love you too.” T.K. hung up, and he plopped back in bed. He wished he could go back to sleep and never wake up. Maybe his mom would actually show up at his funeral. Nothing draws a crowd quite like the final show.

Carlos

Carlos’ day started with his air conditioning breaking. He was woken by a huge clunk, an in his drowsy state, it took him fifteen minutes to realize that the noise had come from the vent in his living room. The air conditioning sputtered and then came to a halt. Carlos was surrounded by an uncomfortable silence. He’d gotten used to the sound of the air conditioning always being on, and the quiet had always put him on high alert because when things were too quiet, that’s when he With his limited knowledge, he tried to get the air conditioning to work, but the couple of youtube videos he watched and the wikihow hadn’t gotten him very far.

He was sweating with the exertion of a job not done when the doorbell rang. Carlos groaned. Who is bothering me this early? His first instinct was to think T.K., but it was 9 am, and T.K. didn’t get up that early if he didn’t have to. It was a show day, though, and everything is different on show day. T.K. sometimes had too much energy to sleep in on show day. It has to be T.K., Carlos assured himself because he hadn’t had the time to make a relationship with anyone else. There’d been a one night stand when he’d first arrived for the job, but that hadn’t been satisfying, and he hadn’t had the care to hook up with any guys since. I have my hands full with protecting T.K.

Certain that it was T.K. dropping in to visit him, as T.K. did from time to time when he was bored and needed entertainment, he didn’t even look through the peephole to see who was at the door. As a former police officer and a bodyguard, he should have known better, but he was hot and tired, making it hard to think straight.

He swung the door open, “Hey,” and the sight of the willowy blonde woman in front of him nearly knocked Carlos off his feet. “Emma? What are you doing here?”

She didn’t wait for him to ask her inside. She brushed past him and sat on the couch, patting the cushion beside her like she owned the place. “We need to talk.” Emma had always been bold, and she had always expected the world to bend to her will. Until everything with Taylor happened and there was nothing she could do to make the situation better.

“It’s been a long time.” Carlos wasn’t sure why she had popped up now. There were plenty of times when he still lived in Austin that she could have come for a visit. He chose to sit in the chair next to the couch, leaving more room between him and Emma. They had never been that close. They had only ever known each other because of Taylor. Even then, they hadn’t been more than acquaintances.

“Michelle’s still looking for her sister.” Emma’s hate for Michelle was probably a big reason why she and Carlos had never become more than two people forced to spend time together.

“She’ll never stop, and you wouldn’t either if it was someone important to you who was missing.” For all her faults, Emma was loyal to the people she loved. She’d do anything for them, which was probably why she’d come all the way to LA to see Carlos. “You’re here for your brother.”

“I’ll never forgive her for dragging you into that whole thing.” Emma hadn’t been so concerned about Carlos. It was more like she had been concerned about what the Iris situation had done to Taylor because of Carlos. “That was the beginning of the end. If you’d never gotten fired—”

“Emma, stop. That’s not what happened. Things were tumultuous before that. Me getting fired didn’t make Taylor do what he did.”

“Michelle makes things worse. She pokes at the fire until it explodes.” More than that, Michelle was a healer, and she did whatever she could to help people. She could become obsessive, but so could Carlos, which was why they got along so well. They both were dedicated to get what they want and protect people from suffering.

“Don’t talk about her like that. She’s my friend, and I offered to help.” It was true that he’d offered his help only after Michelle had begged him to do something, but he had loved Iris too, so he didn’t need much convincing. He wanted to know what happened to her nearly as much as Michelle. “I would have done it for any friend who needed me.”

“She ruined your career.” His career had been ruined for reasons much more complicated than going against orders, but it wasn’t something he’d ever talked much about. What would be the point? Carlos knew that if he had been a white, straight man that his superiors would have let his transgressions slide, but he wasn’t, so one strike and he was out. They’d been glad to get rid of him. Austin was liberal, but there was still bigotry and corruption in its systems. Other officers could commit cold-blooded murder while he’d tried to find a lost life and had been punished for it.

“I was the one who investigated a case I was told to drop.” He had been a young cop, so he’d had no business acting like a detective.

“We all know it was Michelle’s idea.” Emma acted like Carlos was just a puppy who had no autonomy. I make my own decisions. I may let other people influence me, but no one can force me to do something I don’t want or something that I don’t believe in.

“That doesn’t matter,” which was true. Carlos took responsibility for his actions. He couldn’t excuse away what he’d done just because someone else had suggested it. He didn’t even regret his actions. “What are you here for Emma?”

“Taylor isn’t doing well. I want you to come to Austin and visit him. I think it would lift his spirits.”

“I think that would send the wrong message.” He wouldn’t want to get Taylor’s hopes up when he had no intention of being part of his life again.

“You’re the love of his life,” Emma looked desperate, and he felt for her, but he couldn’t help her.

“That’s exactly why it would send the wrong message because he’s not mine. Not anymore.” Carlos wasn’t sure that he ever loved Taylor as deeply as Taylor loved him. Carlos had cared for Taylor, but their relationship was unbalanced.

“You can fake it for just a little while. He’s going crazy without you.”

“He broke up with me, not the other way around,” which had allowed Carlos to get away from Texas and start bodyguarding in LA. It was a blessing in disguise, even if he didn’t consciously realize it then.

“You weren’t going to stay with him.” That was probably true, even though Carlos would never admit it. Their relationship had been too much, and it wasn’t going to survive everything else. Carlos had needed to get away from Taylor for his own sanity, so he’d been relieved when Taylor had ended it first.

“I was never given the chance.” With everything that had happened between them, there was no reason to think that they would have been able to keep going.

Emma crossed her arms and gave him a disbelieving look. “I’m not here to argue about your intentions or what might have happened. All I want is for you to talk to him. He’s been depressed.”

“Listen, Emma. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him, but I can’t be responsible for his mental health.” Not anymore. I need to protect my own mental health. I can’t save anyone by destroying myself.

“Whatever happened to your hero complex?” Emma’s voice was cold, and he knew that she was trying to get a rise out of him. She knew how Carlos was, and she knew how to put his head in a bad place. He didn’t have time for this.

“We were toxic together, Emma. Why would you want us back in the same room?” I can’t let Taylor back in. I get lost in Taylor’s bubble, and I can’t let that happen again.

“Because I want Taylor to stay alive. I’m worried what he’s going to do to himself.”

“He’s in jail. There’s not much I can do to help him.”

“It’s your fault that he’s in there.” As much as Carlos knew that Taylor’s actions weren’t his fault, he still felt guilty about everything that happened. He wondered if he made different choices that things might’ve been different. I couldn’t help Taylor when he needed me the most. I let him down, and the damage that has been done can never be erased.

“He got himself there. I had nothing to do with it,” but the anxious, doubtful feeling in Carlos’ chest made him wonder if he was only fooling himself. Even when he’d said his goodbyes to Emma and ushered her away from his life, he knew that his bad mood wouldn’t lift easily.

T.K.

The feeling of disappointment and rejection lingered as he went about his day, and he knew that he needed to snap out of it because he wasn’t going to be able to perform if he had a rain cloud over his head for the whole damn show. He’d been resisting the temptation since the morning. He’d done pretty well, reminding himself that he needed to keep his shit together, but the more he tried to avoid doing something stupid, the more he imagined doing that stupid thing. The only way to stop thinking about doing drugs was to do drugs. I don’t want to have to think anymore.

It was only 3 pm, but he knew that he wasn’t going to get through this day without a little something extra. If he took something now, he’d be okay for his show at seven. Mellower. Happier. Hopefully. He’d be able to stop thinking so much about how he was unloved by and unimportant to his own mother and anyone else who has had the displeasure of knowing me. The only people who like me are the ones who don’t know that much about me. My fans think I’m great, but they don’t know that I only ever ruin things. The world would be better off with me in it, but here I am. Still here. Still suffering. Still a fuck up.

Before he could think better of it, he swallowed an upper, as covertly as he could, because he’d sworn off narcotics. At least for a while. He’d been pretty good about being sober, facing the world with a clarity that made him feel like he was a ball bouncing two inches from a cliff. Most of the time, but sometimes he just couldn’t stand it. His body itched to be filled. When it came to oxy, it was more than just a psychological itch. It was a physical need. It made him sick to not have it, which was why he was trying to replace with the party drugs that didn’t leave him feeling like shit when he didn’t have them. Nothing was as good as oxy, though, but E was pretty good. It was something, and it would keep his brain from spiraling too much. I really want an oxy. What if I just have one? One was one too many, he knew. If he gave in, he’d keep giving in. He had some control of himself with the stimulants, at least he liked to think that he did, but when it came to oxycodone, he had no resistance.

The restless feeling in the pit of T.K.’s stomach didn’t go away right away, but as the drug hit his bloodstream, his brain started to feel like cotton balls. I need to find Carlos and tell him how good I feel right now. He wanted to share his happiness. Because I like Carlos so much. I want to be someone who he could like back, but that’s not who I am. Too much has happened for me to be anything more than a nuisance. I’m awful, but he’s still so good to me. He treats me with dignity even if I don’t deserve it. He has such a nice smile too. He’s handsome. He’s strong. He’s brave. He’d make a really good hero. If only he could save me.

It took him fifteen minutes to find Carlos around the venue. T.K. had searched everywhere, and there weren’t a lot of places that Carlos could be, but T.K. kept getting distracted. His thoughts were fragmented, but he was too high to care. When he finally saw Carlos, he felt accomplished, and when Carlos saw T.K., he grinned. T.K. beamed back, feeling so happy to be the object of Carlos’ attention, even if just for a moment. I never want him to look away. T.K. had feelings for Carlos that he would never address when he was sober.

T.K. couldn’t help but throw his arm around Carlos’ shoulder. I want to be close to him. I don’t feel close to people often. The feel of Carlos’ sturdy body under T.K.’s arm made T.K. forget all the gapping distance in his life. “You’re so nice, Carlos. You always make sure I’m okay, and you make me laugh when everything seems unfunny.” I love him so much. “I never have to worry when I’m near you. I always hate it when you go away. I hate it when anyone goes away.”

“What are you talking about?” Carlos said distractedly, paying closer attention to the security briefing he was reading than T.K. He didn’t notice the glossiness in T.K.’s eyes or how he was clearly having a mental breakdown muted by a pill that made everything feel good even though life was so gray. Maybe it’s better that way.

“I just really like you because you don’t act like I’m the gum on the bottom of your shoe. I’m, like, the gum in your mouth. You know, a fresh piece of gum that you actually enjoy. Not the gum after an hour when it tastes like nothing and makes your jaw hurt. You make me feel like the five seconds of delight you get from bubblegum.” It was as close to a love confession as T.K. could come. He didn’t even know if what he was feeling was love or admiration. Whatever it was, he didn’t want Carlos to leave him. He’d be devastated when he did because he will. Sooner or later everyone leaves.

Carlos looked up, seeming concerned, and T.K. shrunk in on himself. Maybe he can look away just this once. I don’t want him to see me like this— high, crazy, broken. T.K. felt a sudden pang of shame. He wished he could vanish and take back the words that he’d said to Carlos. They’re too honest. Too insane. I shouldn’t fall in love, or admiration, so fast. I barely know anything about him other than that he’s nice to me. It’s pathetic to love someone just because they don’t treat you like shit.

Carlos

Carlos narrowed his eyes, looking T.K. over, and now that he was paying attention, he could tell that something was very wrong, and it made him sick to think that T.K. was not okay. This is not good. T.K. is not okay. He has a show tonight, and I should have noticed that something was off sooner. It’s my job to protect him, and I can’t do that when he’s so set on hurting himself. “You’re high,” Carlos stated. There was no questioning or doubt in his tone. This was not what Carlos wanted to deal with when he came to work. He was already reeling from his visit with Emma, and now T.K. was on a path of self-destruction, and Carlos didn’t know how to deal with it. How am I supposed to help him? How do I keep him safe from himself?

“I’m not,” T.K. refuted, and his voice sounded weak. “Please, Carlos, you have to believe me. I know I’m acting weird but…” he trailed off, excuses failing to be fabricated. I knew he wasn’t going to get better overnight. This shouldn’t have caught me off guard. I should be better prepared for this. I should know what to say, but I don’t. I just want to shake him and hope that sense settles into his brain and slaughters all the mental illness. That’s not how it works, though. I am powerless. All I can do is stand here and hope that he’s okay. Just like I did with Taylor. I couldn’t control Taylor just like I can’t control T.K. If it were any other client other than T.K., Carlos wouldn’t have felt so strongly. T.K. hit all the right buttons that made Carlos want to shield him from all bad things in the world. I have feelings for him, unprofessional ones, and I’m worried that I have them because of Taylor. T.K.’s so different from Taylor, but he’s just the same in all the wrong ways.

“Don’t lie to me,” Carlos shouted. T.K. bit his lip, and Carlos could see the hesitance on his face. “Lying to me is only going to make me angrier,” and Carlos knew that he needed to hold in his temper. He could feel all the feelings of this day bubbling up and threatening to burst from his body in a slimy, filthy goo of past and present worries culminating into one nasty monster. He tried to keep his tone down, but he was being as loud as he could be without drawing attention to them. He needed T.K. to know that this situation was serious. It wasn’t something Carlos was going to ignore the next day when T.K. had sobered up and was acting normal again.

“Fine, I am. I’m high. What’s it to you? You’re my bodyguard. Not my mom or even my manager.” I care, dumbass, he wanted to say, but he couldn’t form those words on his tongue between all the anxiety and fear that were forming words of their own.

“Why can’t you get it through your thick skull that I am here to keep you safe, and if you’re high, I can’t do that. You making it impossible to do my job, T.K. I didn’t sign up to care what you do in your personal life, but I am getting paid to keep you safe. If you’re going to mess up your life, at least do it on your own time, and don’t drag me into it. I like this job, and I want to keep it.” I like you, and I want to keep you.

T.K. froze, looking startled, and he looked like he was going to try to return a nasty remark, but his mouth opened, and then it closed again. I’m such a jerk. T.K. looked like he might cry, and Carlos couldn’t blame him. Carlos had long ago trained himself not to cry when the hot bubbles of sadness, fear, and frustration pricked at his eyes, but when he was alone, he cried a lot, letting the feeling vacate his body like soda from a shaken bottle.

Carlos couldn’t take the silence so he continued on his tirade. “You have so many people rooting for you, but then you go and do things like this. You can’t keep doing the same old things and expect that the people around you aren’t going to be impacted. You’re entitled to your feelings, but everyone else has feelings too, and you never seem to consider those.”

“That’s not how it is,” T.K. tried to argue, but Carlos was already fired up, and he couldn’t be reasoned with.

“It is, T.K. You hurt other people with your actions, and I’m not saying this to make you feel bad, but you’re unhappy, and you’re dragging everyone down with you. I don’t want to be unhappy.” I’ve worked too hard to get away from my unhappiness to go back.

T.K.

“Stop yelling at me,” T.K. said because he couldn’t take the way Carlos’ words made him feel. Every insecurity T.K. had about being too selfish, too needy, and a waste of space was amping up, and the cloudy happiness of his high was clearing with Carlos’ words, but he was still high enough that the pain of what Carlos was saying wouldn’t strike him until later when his show was over and he had time to think without the assistance of Ecstasy. When he sobered up, Carlos’ words would hurt more than T.K. would ever admit. I must pretend like things don’t hurt because denial is a substance nearly as strong as a pill.

“You’re fucking up your life. You have a show, and you can’t just go around popping pills when you have a job to do.” I’m just a job to him. I am the gum on the bottom of his shoe, after all. I’m the unsatisfying bubble gum that has lost all its flavor. I can’t believe I thought he might care. He’s no different than anyone else. He doesn’t know me. He just follows me around and sees most of my life, but he doesn’t care to look at me more than he has to. I’m just a junkie who is useless and ruins everyone’s life.

“Not for like three and a half hours,” which was a bad excuse considering that once T.K. took a drug, his whole day was set up to be unproductive. He couldn’t get his head screwed back on once he went down the addiction rabbit hole.

“You need to stop this shit.” T.K. hated being lectured. The person who had a right to lecture him was dead, and he didn’t want to care about what anyone else thought. Still caught up on my dead dad.

“It’s not that easy.” Trying to be sober was one of the hardest things that T.K. had ever done. It wasn’t like he could just decide to stop and be done with it. It took time and too much effort. Being mentally healthy required the energy that being mentally ill had taken.

Carlos’ face softened. “I know it’s not, but you still need to try. You can’t keep acting like you’re invincible. This could kill you.” T.K. logically knew that Carlos’ hard words were because he was worried, but that didn’t stop the thoughts of inadequacy from clumping in his head like a blood clot.

“I know that.”

“But you don’t take this seriously.” He couldn’t take anything too seriously without having to do self-analysis that he wasn’t ready to do.

“I do. I went to the therapist that you and Judd wanted me to see.” That was technically a lie, but Carlos doesn’t need to know that.

“Yeah, but are you putting the work in, T.K.? Are you trying to do better? Or are you going through the motions?”

“This is my first relapse. It’s not even oxy. There’s no need to freak out.”

Carlos pinched the bridge of his nose. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“I wanted to, but I didn’t.”

“What did you take?” T.K. didn’t see how it mattered because it’s not like he could do anything about it now.

“Who cares?” No one should. There’s no reason to care about someone like me.

Carlos gritted his teeth. “I care.” It made him feel like a loser, but hearing the words, “I care,” did something to T.K. It melted some of the rage and stubbornness he was feeling, and it made him want to confess everything to Carlos. To be vulnerable. But only for a second.

“Ecstasy.” He hadn’t premeditated taking it, but he had kept a stash of it just in case. So, maybe it had been more planned than I realized.

“That isn’t good for you either.” That’s the whole point! I like destruction. I like being wasted. I like wasting my life. Maybe my misery will end sooner this way.

“I don’t fucking care.” I care, but I can’t let myself care. Caring only brings pain, and I’ve had enough pain in my life. People have had it worse than me without ruining their lives, and I can’t understand how they do it. I’m not strong enough to be like them. I’m weak, and I’m a loser charading to the world as someone who matters. But I don’t matter, and no matter how many hit songs I have, I never will because no one will ever know the real me.

T.K. felt a surge of rage fill him, and he didn’t know what to do with it. It was going to consume him, and before he could think better of it, T.K. punched the wall, and with the drugs, he didn’t feel the strong as much as he might've, but he could see spots of blood on his knuckles where the skin had been peeled off. Carlos’ eyes grew wide, and without saying anything, he dragged T.K. into the bathroom and sat him down on the closed toilet seat.

Carlos

The day had gone from annoying to horrendous, and it seemed to keep getting worse. I shouldn’t have yelled at him. I’m such an asshole. He’s an addict. I can’t expect that he’ll get instantly better. I know how addiction works, and I know how hard it can be to stop using a substance. Carlos hated seeing T.K. go through this. It never got easier to see someone important to you struggling.“Are you okay?”

Carlos exhaled. “I’m sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have blown up at you.”

“It’s not,” T.K. refuted. “I took drugs before you yelled at me, so pretty sure it’s my fault.”

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have taken my feelings out on you. I had a hard morning.” He felt like the worst person alive for yelling at T.K. Carlos knew that the drug use wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t help but wonder if it could have been avoided if he had been more careful with his words. He should have sensed that T.K. was spiraling before it had gotten to the point that it had, but he had been so caught up in his own shit that he’d not done his job. I need to start acting more like a professional. I should have never lashed out at a client. I’d resign if I didn’t think that T.K. would drive any other bodyguard away. He needs me here, and I need him to be alive.

“Are you okay?” Carlos looked exhausted, he knew, but everyone who was part of the tour got exhausted. “You look like you haven’t slept in days, dude.”

Carlos ran a comforting hand through T.K.’s hair, but he quickly pulled it away because it didn’t make him feel like he was just T.K’s friend. “I’m okay.” He’d been having a lot of nightmares lately, but it wouldn’t be professional to say so. Like any of this is professional anymore. I’ve crossed so many lines. I’ve gotten too close. I’m compromised, but I can’t walk away. “I’m more worried about what happened with you today. Do you need to talk about your relapse.”

T.K. shook his head, looking down at his hands instead of Carlos. “No. I’d rather not talk about that.”

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“You already apologized. What I did wasn’t because of you. I was having a bad day, so wasn’t something you did to set me off. That was the final straw I guess.”

“I’m just saying that you shouldn’t, like, feel guilty about it or anything, and you can’t treat me like glass just because I might slip up.”

“I’ll do better T.K.”

“I’m an addict. You don’t need to do better. I need to do better.”

“Okay,” Carlos said, and he didn’t look convinced.

“You know that moment when you take a bath and dip your head underwater and the world is muted. You still hear sound, but it’s so distant that you can detach it from yourself, and in that moment, it feels like you can finally breathe, but obviously, if you stayed under there, you’d drown. So, you come back up only to crave wanting to be in the water again, even if it kills you.” Carlos didn’t know that feeling, not that exact one, but he knew what it felt like to have your head dipping underwater and bobbing back up when you never know when you’ll be able to breathe and when you’ll have to hold your breath. That feeling lingered. It followed him no matter where he went, and it could be suffocating, but it was never life-threatening.

Carlos nodded sympathetically, “Sometimes drowning feels like a noble pursuit rather than a death mission.”

T.K. sighed. “Yeah, and sometimes a death mission feels like a noble pursuit.”

#holding out for a hero #911 lone star #911 lone star fic #911 lone star au #Elise Writes #my writing #my fics #911 lone star fics #tarlos fic #wip

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batskulldrag · 4 years

Text

Phoenix by Fallout Boy

Chapter Ten: Ready Aim Fire by Imagine Dragons

once more I will state that I have no OC’. s everyone is either a youtuber or a character from 2017′s dream daddy. I will ask that you check out Jenna Marbles’ video ‘making corn on the cob but instead of the corn bone it’s a hotdog’ it’s not nessarry, but it is funny.

Patton squeezed Logan’s hand as he looked around the room. It was nice, it looked like every kid’s dream room. But the idea of being evaluated was crushing the air out of his lungs. Granted, E. S. had suggested a psych evaluation for them to boost their chances in court, and he did want some parenting advice. So, there they were in Picani’s office, waiting.

He stole a glance at Logan. His husband’s once stoic expression now a thin veil to mask resentment. Patton could almost see every memory of every doctor he was dragged to so his parents could cure him. Logan squeezed the arm rest until his knuckles were white and the bones threatened to pop out.

“It’s ok.” Patton rubbed his shoulder gently. “This time is going to be different. No one wants to cure you. We’re just gonna talk to him. There’s nothing wrong with you. Remember that.”

Logan silently slid his arm around Patton and held him close. Patton rested his head on Logan’s shoulder and listened to his heartbeat. It was slowing down and his own heart started mimicking the calmer rhythm.

The door opened and a cheerful man with curly blond hair and a tan cardigan danced in vocalizing the Loony Toon’s theme song. Ok, so Picani was definitely not a stuffed shirt. This would be nice.

“So, you’re Patton and Logan.” Emile smiled. “We met a few times before.”

“Virgil’s doing a lot better.” Patton chirped. “They’re taking the bandages off soon.”

“That’s good. Has he adjusted any since last week?”

“A little. He’s not as skittish.” Patton smiled. “I’ve been taking him to work with me since I had to go back to the library.”

“That should be a good way to keep his mind off things.” Emile pondered. “Maybe they’ll let him volunteer there. It’s good to keep busy.”

“Today, he read to the kids.” Logan added. “I think some interaction with people closer to his peer group is doing him good.”

“That is awesome news.” Emile smiled and put his hands together. “But now I think it’s time to talk about you two. ‘Sup?’”

“Our lawyer said that it would help us if we had psychological evaluations.” Logan responded. “We all suspect that Payton might try to use certain things against us.”

“Such as…” Emile led.

“For starters I have Asperger’s syndrome. One might argue that it would make me unfit to raise a child.”

“The usual ‘they can’t feel empathy’ song and dance?”

“No, there hasn’t been any singing.”

“It’s a metaphor sweetie.” Patton rubbed his hand.

“Oh.” Logan looked away. “Right.”

“So, where on the spectrum are you?” Emile asked. “You seem really high functioning.”

“I am high functioning. Mainly, I can’t read emotions, I don’t understand metaphors or sarcasm, flashing lights give me migraines, I have a noise sensitivity and I get intensely nervous around people. And I don’t like most sweet foods. They hurt my mouth.”

“How about routines?” Emile continued.

“I have routines, but I don’t impose them on other people. I like to stick to a schedule; to do things in a certain order. But I don’t have an episode if the schedule is disrupted.”

“What normally triggers one?”

“Usually things build up. My most recent episode was a two weeks ago when Roman and I were trying to build a futon without instructions.”

“Why without instructions?”

“They were lost long ago. It was maddening.”

“That.” Emile pointed at them. “Would drive anyone crazy. So, I don’t really see any reason why you can’t adopt Virgil with Patton. Asperger’s isn’t exactly the life ruining hinderance that everyone thinks it is.”

Patton nuzzled up to Logan.

“See. It’s fine.”

Emile smiled at them.

“It’s nice to see a happy couple in here.” He sighed. “I do a lot of couple’s therapy.”

“Logan and I are happy.” Patton confirmed. “We’re almost to out ten-year anniversary.”

“That’s quite the milestone. How’d you two meet?” he leaned forward.

“I had to go to him for tutoring, and we just clicked. Logan proposed while we were in college and we’ve been inseparable ever since.”

“We were more or less inseparable before that.” Logan interjected. “I just decided to make it official.”

“You’re a Garnet.” Emile clasped his hands to his heart.

“Like from Steven Universe?” Patton asked excitedly.

“Exactly, you two have found your balance and have a solid relationship.”

“That is fair.” Logan looked up. “Most of our arguments did consist of the fact that I can be stoic, and Patton can be over passionate. Exactly like Ruby and Sapphire.”

“That is awesome.” Emile smiled. “And having a stable marriage is usually important if you want to adopt.”

Patton squeezed Logan’s hand and beamed up at him from his shoulder. Logan returned a smile.

“So, what other things are on your minds?” Emile pointed his folded hands at them. “We’re in the judgement free zone here.”

“Well,” Patton rubbed his arm and looked at Logan. “I was on antidepressants for a while after my mom died. And I kind of still am on the medication. I was really out of it.”

“How old were you when she passed away?”

“I had to be about nineteen or twenty.”

“What happened to her?” He asked gently.

“She had ALS.” Patton looked at the floor to hide his tears, why was he still crying after all these years? “She lasted eight months.”

Eight months? That was it? He could have sworn that it was longer.

“I’m so sorry to hear that.” He handed them a box of tissues.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I still did this.” Patton dabbed his eyes. “It’s been twelve years.”

“If they put you on antidepressants that means that it must have hit you pretty hard. Watching family die, especially from something that awful can really take its toll. There’s nothing wrong with how you feel, or how long you feel it. And moms are important, losing one is a blow no matter how old they are.”

“It hit me really hard.” Patton pressed himself into Logan, who started petting his hair. “I was sleepwalking, one night I woke up in the parking lot of the hospital because I thought I was taking mom to the doctor. I used to do the dishes in my sleep.”

“Was it just you, taking care of her?” Emile squinted. “What about your brother?”

“Payton was in college too. He didn’t want anything to do with it.” Logan answered, still petting Patton.

“I told you I get why he didn’t want to be there.”

“Don’t make excuses for him, you know that’s not why he avoided the house.”

“Hey, don’t unfuse over this.” Emile offered hesitantly.

“Logan and Roman helped a lot during all that. With Mom and Virgil.”

“Virgil was with you?”

“He was just a baby. Mom was diagnosed a few months before his first birthday.”

“And Payton left him with you? Just like that? Just like Pink leaving Spinel in the garden?”

“If Payton was a good father, we wouldn’t be here.” Patton pulled out another tissue. “I don’t wanna talk about my brother.”

“Alright, we’ll just zap those thoughts with the memory eraser.” Emile pretended to zap himself with a ray gun. “Go on with your story.”

“Well, I still walked in my sleep even after mom died. And I lost my appetite and I lost interest in my job and all my classes. It was like I was dead. I went numb.”

“Do you know why?”

“I…” Patton clenched his fists against his knees. “I was relieved when she died, and I couldn’t handle feeling like that. Am I a terrible person?”

“That’s a normal reaction.” Emile said plainly. He said it as if it were a fact that he just knew. Like there was no doubt about its validity.

“What?” Patton looked up at him reeling from the whiplash that comment gave him.

“Your mother, someone you loved died in front of you. And you already said that it took a long time. Anyone would be relieved for that to be over. Like when they bubbled the cluster, they were relieved that the shards weren’t suffering anymore. And that’s normal. That, and the stress it was putting on you was over, and I know you think that sounds awful but it’s natural to be relieved. It doesn’t make you a bad person.”

“No?”

“No.”

Patton nestled closer to Logan. Logan hid it well, but Patton knew that he had just been vindicated and was thrilled. Patton accepted defeat contentedly and with guilt free relief.

“Logan was there the whole time.” Patton sighed. “All through it. He even got me to go to therapy.”

“Was Logan living with you at the time?” Emile asked. “There’s nothing wrong with that, Ruby and Sapphire were fused for a few thousand years before they got married. I was just wondering if he moved in to help with your mom.”

“My parents threw me out of the house after they found out I was gay.” Logan said blankly, but he was squeezing the couch arm again. His bones turned back up to say hello. “After they.” He sighed. “After they beat me severely.”

“Oh.” Emile said sadly. “I’m so sorry. Were they always like that?”

“The statistics of autistic children who are abused by their parents would break you.” Logan looked up at the ceiling.

“Yes then?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ever get help after you left your parents?”

“Yes, I’ve worked through my issues with them. And I don’t plan on letting them back into my life any time soon.”

“That’s fair.” Emile nodded. “They sound like a toxic influence.”

“I will consider forgiving them if they apologize.” Logan still looked at the ceiling. “And on no other conditions do I hold them any loyalty.”

“Well, last thing you need is your own abusive parents showing up when you’re trying to adopt.” Emile agreed. “And you shouldn’t forgive people who are going to continue to be a bad influence on your life.”

“I thought there was going to be more, I don’t know,” Logan looked back down. “More appeals for us to change our ways. Some form of judgement or a quote unquote cure.”

“Nah, you guys are good.” Emile smiled. “You can keep up therapy if you just wanna talk, but I don’t really have anything new to tell you.”

“This is it?” Logan gestured vaguely at the room.

“You’ve been on that couch before, haven’t you?”

“My parents wanted a cure. I’ve seen psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, holistic physicians, herb peddlers, and a neurosurgeon.”

“Wow,” Emile nodded. “That is one expensive wild goose chase. How do you feel about your Asperger’s now?”

“It’s a part of who I am. It took me a long time to realize it wasn’t a horrible disease. And my parents dragging me to a new doctor every week didn’t help. They didn’t help.”

Patton put his arms around him and just hung there silently.

“Is any of this going to keep us from getting custody of Virgil?” Logan sighed.

“Well, your parents being abusive could bring up a ‘cycle of abuse’ argument, but I don’t think it’ll go anywhere. Aside from that, Asperger’s and situational depression shouldn’t stop you. Neither of you are violent or incapable of taking care of yourselves or a child. And you’ve already done a great job with Virgil so far. You’re made of love, and it’s stronger than him.”

“I wanna introduce you to our roommate sometime.” Patton said happily. “I think you’d be friends.”

# # #

The day of the barbeque rolled around and Patton, Logan and Roman were eagerly getting ready.

“Let’s see him one-up this.�� Roman said sternly, holding up a watermelon sculpture.

The rind had been picked clean and gently sculpted into a frog with melon balls filling up his body and coming out of his mouth. Impressive was an understatement.

“Right.” Logan sighed. “Remember what I said about competing with Brian. Leave Virgil out of it. He’s had enough pressure in his life as it is.”

“I would never do anything to hurt our emo nightmare.” Roman was dead serious. “From now on Brian has to step to me. And anyone who wants our emo has to step to me as well.”

“And me.” Patton clenched his fist.

“We’re doing Lord of The Rings now?” Logan was not amused. “And me.”

With that said a loud thud came from upstairs. All three of them had the same thought and ran upstairs. Reaching the door first, Logan knocked. But Patton had different ideas and burst into the room like a firefighter. Virgil was pulling himself off the floor with his jeans tangled up around his ankles and his cast shoved through one of the holes in the knee. The shock of Patton and Co’s sudden arrival knocked him back down.

“Can I help you?” Virgil asked flatly, pulling his t-shirt down over his boxers.

“Sorry,” Patton backed out of the room quickly. “We heard you fall and wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“I’m ok. My stupid cast got stuck is all.”

“Do you need help?”

“Nope, I’m good.”

“Ok, we’re ready as soon as you are.”

“Cool, just let me get my pants on.”

“Ok.” Patton closed the door and turned to the other two. “Am I a helicopter parent?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Logan squinted as he thought. “Just be sure of boundaries. Don’t make a habit of bursting into his room. That is his space, and we want him to know we won’t violate it.”

“And I want you to know that it isn’t soundproof.” Virgil opened the door and walked out, smiling at his own joke.

# # #

Patton had his arm around Virgil the entire walk over. Admittedly, Virgil was happy both for the attention and the extra help walking. He wasn’t quite used to this walking cast, and he was still upset that he couldn’t keep the painted one. Sure, it smelled like an old band aid that crawled out of a sewer full of dead possums, but it was still cool on the outside. Maybe they could paint this one.

Patton led him over to the food table and gingerly set down a tray of peanut blossoms. He pulled two off the plate with a flourish, handed one to Virgil and kept the other.

“Clinkies.” He beamed, holding his cookie to Virgil’s.

“Clinkies.” Virgil agreed, tapping the cookies together and shoving his entire cookie in his mouth.

Roman set his melon frog down on the table and whispered to it.

“Ok melon frog, this is what you trained for. This is your time. You don’t be scared. I trained you better than that. I love you, melon frog.”

“You two need a moment alone?” Virgil smiled.

“No.” Roman turned quickly, holding his forearm to his forehead. “it’s better this way. Long goodbyes would only make me weep.”

“Dude, extra is a word they made up just so they could describe you.”

“It is.” Roman ruffled his hair. Were they all just going to do that from now on?

“Jenna!” Patton yipped, holding out his arms.

A short woman with blond hair that showed dark brown at the roots ran over and hugged him. Two Italian grey hounds were at her heels keeping up surprisingly well. Virgil lost all interest in people and sat down to play with the dogs. They immediately started licking him and climbing him for food.

“Where were you, beech?” Jenna asked. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Family stuff.” Patton smiled and tiled his head towards Virgil. He turned his attention. “Virgil, this is our friend Jenna.”

“Hi, I love your dogs.” Virgil chirped, strangely comforted by the mini dogs who were stomping the hell out of his every lower extremity.

In response the grey dog started whining as if he were being tortured.

“I didn’t do anything!” Virgil panicked.

“Kermit, shut up.” Jenna scolded her dog, “He just does that.” She dismissed.

Patton looked around with a look of concerned horror.

“No Marble?” He said fearfully.

“What? Beech am I mourning?” Jenna pointed to herself. “No, Marble is inside. He didn’t want to come out and mingle.”

“What’s this one’s name?” Virgil asked, giving the tan doggo vigorous scratches as she wagged her tail at a mile a minute.

“That one’s Peach-y girl.” Jenna baby talked at the dog, who somehow wagged her tail faster.

Peach bolted off his lap, ran in a wide, happy circle and trampled back onto him.

“So, how do you like the neighborhood so far?” Jenna asked.

“It’s nice.” Virgil moved his head to keep Peach from licking the inside of his mouth. “I haven’t met too many people though.”

“Well.” She gestured at the crowded yard. “That’s gonna change.”

Jenna darted off to greet more guests and the dogs followed her. Darn. Virgil looked around tensely. There were a lot of people. Did they know? Were they going to bring it up? Were they going to ask? Were they going to take sides? Whose side would they be on?

Slowly it became reality that he couldn’t just sit here until someone needed a prop and then just go back to his seat. What was he supposed to do? How did people act at things like this? He’d never been to anything so casual. Was he supposed to play with the other kids? Talk to the adults? Eat? Was he supposed to eat? Was it time to eat? Where were the dogs? Where was Patton? Where was he?

“Ok kiddo,” Patton, it was really Patton, he was back. “Jenna and Julian are vegans, so there’s a lot of vegetables. But they’re good. Both of them are awesome cooks.”

Patton set a paper plate full of food on his lap and sat down next to him.

“She didn’t say she was a vegan while I was talking to her.” Virgil looked for Jenna in the crowd.

“They’re not preachy about it.”

“Cool.”

“And plenty of other people brought meat.”

Virgil took a bite of what he thought was pulled pork and spit it out immediately.

“Is this?” He rubbed the seasoning off and saw that it was yellow. “This is a banana peel!”

“What?” Patton took a taste and grimaced. “That is! Barbra must have brought it.”

“Is she a raccoon?”

“Wait here.” Patton stood up and walked over to the ‘pulled pork’ dish.

He looked around and quickly set the dish on the grass. He made a few beckoning gestures and a mastiff ran at him and started inhaling the banana abomination. He pet the bear sized creature contentedly and strolled back to their spot.

Having run out of food, Bear Dog lumbered over to them. Virgil tried to react in time but before he could, Bear Dog had his entire plate in its mouth. Plate and all, it ate everything.

“Countess, no.” Patton ordered. “That wasn’t for you!”

Countess smacked her lips and started licking Virgil’s face. He silently accepted that he would die by dog smothering and decided that was indeed how he wanted to go.

“No.” Logan showed up out of nowhere and tried to nervously shoo the dog away. “No, shoo. Get away from him.”

“I’m ok Uncle Logan.” Virgil wrapped his arms around the dog’s neck.

Logan stared anxiously. His every muscle was tensed at the dog’s presence.

So, Uncle Logan is afraid of dogs. I wonder why.

“OK friend.” Virgil ruffled the dog’s fur. “Go play with someone else! Go play!”

Countess zoomed away, no doubt measuring on the Richter scale. She would cause tidal waves in her wake. Tidal waves of drool.

“I’ll get you a new plate.” Patton pushed himself off the ground. He paused and suddenly lit up. “Dodie!” He waved happily in someone’s direction. “Come meet the baby!”

“Does he mean me?” Virgil looked to Logan for help.

“I believe you’re about to experience an equivalent to women passing a newborn around for everyone to hold.” Logan raised an eyebrow. “Patton is very excited.”

Patton scampered over with the tiniest morsel of a woman. This girl, who Virgil assumed was an adult had long brown hair and a young face. She could probably fit in a backpack.

“This is Virgil.” Patton gestured eagerly. “Virgil, this is our friend, Dodie.”

“Hello.” She chirped with an equally tiny voice nestled in an English accent.

“Hi.” Virgil looked between the three adults.

“I trust you’re adjusting to all the Patton hugs?” Dodie smiled. “It’s sometimes hard if you don’t like cuddles.”

“I’m getting used to it.” Virgil smiled back. There was no way she’d hurt him, right?

“Who doesn’t like cuddles?” Patton asked in surprise. “Cuddles are the best!”

Dodie and Logan both laughed.

“Virgil, they’re laughing at me.” Patton protested. “They’re making fun of my Patton-ted hugs.”

“Did you just make a pun with your name?” Logan sighed.

“Yeppers. You deserve a Patton the back for guessing that one.”

“This is what my life has become.” Logan rubbed his temples.

“Your name is a pun, Logan.” Patton put a hand on his shoulder.

“Falsehood.” Logan snapped quickly.

“It’s true honey, your name is Logan Berry. Like loganberries.”

“I may scream.”

“But can’t.” Patton added. “Your volume is too low-gun.”

“You’re dead to me.”

“I love you.” Patton wrapped his arms around him.

Logan sighed and grabbed one of Patton’s hands.

“Why are you like this?” Logan looked back at him.

“God owed me a favor.” Patton pressed his cheek to Logan’s.

Virgil couldn’t help but laugh at that. The sheer amount of confidence in that phrase was a power move for the ages. No one could top that.

“You call yourself a catholic.” Logan said harshly.

“No, I call myself Patton.”

“That one’s on me.”

“Uncle Patton never said he was catholic.” Virgil looked up at them.

Could this be it? The explanation. Could a stern religious upbringing have warped his father into a cruel person? And could that same life have also turned Patton into a soft puppy dog of a person?

“Yeah, we were raised catholic.” Patton shrugged. “But mom was never too strict with it. She even ended up getting divorced, so, I guess we weren’t that religious. We didn’t even eat fish that often.”

Virgil deflated. The explanation that he wanted, that he needed. The explanation that he deserved! Once again, it had slipped through his fingers. He saw red for a second. What made a monster? What made his father? Had a loving, supportive home really churned out that bastard? What the hell happened? It didn’t fit!

He looked up at his uncles. Logan had come from the sort of home that Payton described to his voters, and he was a stand-up guy. Happily married despite his homophobic parents and willing to pull some strange kid off the streets and let him live in his house. And all in all, Logan would be a great dad. Were Logan and Payton just products of their environments in a different way? Did each of them just choose to defy their own upbringing? What made Payton decide to turn the other way? Hell, for that matter what made Logan?

“Virgil, we can get you a chair if you don’t want to sit on the grass.” Logan shattered his concentration.

“I’m good.” Virgil answered once the shock wore off.

This! This is exactly what I am talking about!

“Here you go.” Patton put another paper plate in his hands and kissed him on the forehead. “And this is for you, not the puppers.”

“I tried to keep it away from her.” Virgil took the plate. “She was just too fast.”

“I know.” Patton ruffled his hair. “Once you’ve eaten why don’t you go introduce yourself to the other kiddos? Maybe you can make some friends.”

“Sure.” Virgil shoved an entire brownie in his mouth. For some ungodly reason it was spicy.

Now beginning to think that no one in this cul-de-sac could cook, and not wanting to look rude Virgil swallowed the brownie. His eyes watered and his mouth tasted like a used napkin from an Italian restaurant. He ran his tongue across his teeth and found what was left of dried leaves stuck to his gums. He spat them out on the grass.

Virgil glanced up at Patton, who also had a brownie. Maybe it was just him, maybe he just didn’t like sweets. He observed Patton intensely. Patton took a bite out of his pastry and a look of confused disappointment swept over his face. He reluctantly swallowed and set the remaining brownie on the grass.

“I think someone put oregano in those.” Patton coughed.

“Barbra again?” Logan questioned.

“No, she doesn’t use sugar.” Patton rubbed his chin. “Let’s search out the culprit.”

“Sure, why not?” Logan shrugged.

“Ok, Virgil, if you need us, we’ll be nearby.” Patton patted him on the head.

“I didn’t think you were gonna abandon me.”

“Ok, just yell for us or Roman if you need us.”

“Cool.” Virgil chanced a corncob. Surely plain vegetables couldn’t surprise him.

There was a hotdog in it.

As soon as his uncles were out of sight Virgil set his plate on the ground. The dogs could have it. Desperately confused, he lay down on his side and thought. The pork was a banana peel, the brownies were made with oregano and the corn, which he couldn’t for the life of him figure out how, had a hotdog in the center instead of a corn cob.

“If this is weird, I swear to god…” Virgil picked up one of Roman’s watermelon balls.

Sweet rapture, it was just watermelon. He all but wept tears of relief. And had his foot not been in a cast he would have danced.

“So,” A disinterested voice interrupted him. “You’re the new kid.”

Virgil looked up and saw the single coolest person in the known universe. There before him was a man of about thirteen clad in baggy jeans that were held up by one belt and adorned with two more. A chain hung from one belt that trailed down into his pocket. He wore a legion of black rubber and leather bracelets that accented his MSI t-shirt. His judgmental look was emphasized by two eyebrow piercings and three small hoop earrings in his ear cartilage. He tilted his head to show off the half-shaved half long look his dyed grey hair had been styled in. It was notably uneven, he must have done it himself. What a legend.

“Maybe.” Virgil tried to play it cool as he wiped watermelon juice off his chin. “I’m new here, but in other places I’ve live many lifetimes.”

“Cool.” The legend accepted him. This was a glorious day. “My dad wanted me to introduce myself to you.”

Man, doesn’t that just figure? I should’ve known that this icon wouldn’t just talk to me for the hell of it.

“Cool, I’m Virgil.” He tried to sound like he wasn’t drooling over this guy’s look. “I’m named after hell’s tour guide.”

“I’m Lucian.” He bested him with a way cooler name. “So, you’re living with Patton and Logan?”

Wait, I can just call adults by their first names?

“Yeah, they’re cool.”

I think.

Lucian scoffed. Evidently Patton and Logan weren’t cool. Virgil looked around a single idea was creeping up on him. And that was the idea that this dude may be here to torture him. He looked around for Patton, maybe he was within earshot. But if he yelled for Patton he’d be ‘that kid’ and so far, that was one of the few things he hadn’t been yet.

No, mostly he was just that idiot who still wet the bed, and wasn’t that so fucking funny? He had also had a few panic attacks, one on stage. There weren’t many people in his corner.

“Anyway…” Virgil said awkwardly, still trying to gauge if this guy wanted to attack him or not. “Are there any other cool guys here or is it just you?”

“I’m pretty much the only cool guy in the neighborhood. And, like the only other dude.”

At that Virgil looked around the yard. Lucian was right, most of the people had daughters. From the looks of things, they were they only guys there. Another observation was that a lot of the parents seemed to be single. That or they were all in gay relationships like his uncles were. Was this a gay community? A gay-borhood?

“Wanna see my scars?” Virgil offered blankly.

“Sure.” Lucian seemed taken aback.

Virgil’s hands weren’t in as bad shape as before. But they were still messed up. The skin had stiffened up, making it difficult to open and close his hands still. And his palms currently looked like melted plastic with massive blisters jutting up out of them. He had band aids on both thumbs and his left index finger to cover up the missing nails. And finally, there was a very faint ribbing pattern in the center of his palms. Left over from the desk lamp he had tried to bust his window with.

Lucian stared at his hands with a dismayed look of revolution and terror.

“Geeze dude.” He gagged. “How long were you trapped in there?”

“I don’t know. I left my stopwatch behind.” Virgil shrugged.

Lucian gave a respectful scoff at the joke.

“So, do a lot of people know about the…” Virgil struggled to do air quotes. “Fire?”

“Yeah, my dad told me. Then he told me not to bring it up. I mean, like, why tell me if I have to act like I don’t know?”

Virgil chewed on one of his bandages, he was debating running away from this conversation. The god of coolness knew that he used to be his dad’s punching bag and that wasn’t exactly ideal. He’d prefer for that not to have happened. Fight or flight was kicking in, but he couldn’t exactly fight a topic.

“Whatever.” He tried to play it off. “So, do you go to school nearby?”

“Yeah.”

Ok, let’s try something that will get me a better answer.

“Did you eat any of the food yet?”

“No.”

“Ok, because it’s all not what it’s supposed to be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucian squinted.

“It means I ate corn of the cob and found a hotdog in it.” Virgil held up the offending vegetable as proof. “Exhibit A.”

“What the fuck?” Lucian snatched it away and looked at it closely. “What the hell? There’s a hot dog in here! How? Why? The fuck?”

“I know right? And there was pulled pork that turned out to be a banana peel, and someone made brownies with oregano in them.”

“Geeze, these cookouts get weirder every time.” Lucian sneered.

“Do you have a lot of these around here?”

“Sure, Jenna and Julian love to do weird things like this. And Brain is always ready to show off. And my dad likes to throw dinner parties.” He made a face and did air quotes. “Like the Victorians.”

“Well, I guess I have to socialize now.” Virgil sighed.

Speaking of that particular hell, Roman emerged out of nowhere with a tall, dark woman in tow. Roman’s friend had waist length hair that flowed down her back like liquid ebony and walked with an air of confidence that almost rivaled him.

“Hi Virgil.” Roman greeted happily. “I see you’ve met Lucian.”

“I have.” Virgil nodded. In his past life this would be the point where he was forbidden to talk to this guy under whatever pretext.

“That’s nice. We all figured you two would get along.” Roman beamed and gestured towards his guest. “This is our friend Lily.”

“What’s up?” Lily asked excitedly.

“Uhh… we were talking about food?” Virgil looked at the grass, intimidated by this massive presence.

“You shouldn’t talk about the food behind its back like that.” Lily answered. “You have to insult it to its face.”

Virgil looked at Roman for help. Roman just smiled at him. But Lily saw him and laughed.

“I’m just teasing.” She waved a hand dismissively. “I’m just here to observe how deep Patton and Logan’s betrayal runs.”

“What?” Virgil sunk into himself.

“Now that they’re adopting, every single person and childless couple is gonna get twice the flack about…” She did a higher voice. “Settling down and starting a family.” She returned to her normal voice. “When ya girl wants to do that, she will. And it is none of your business. I’m a brown woman, so I already get nagged about that by my family. I don’t need my neighbors to start.”

“Yes mam.” Virgil uttered in awestruck terror.

“Anyway.” She ruffled his hair, like Patton had done hundreds of times already. “It was nice meeting you. I won’t cramp your style anymore.”

With that she left, and Virgil was convinced he had just met the god of yore or some other deity.

“She’s fun, isn’t she?” Roman smiled.

“Yeah.”

“Well, I came over to make sure Barbra doesn’t get a chance to talk to you.” He continued. “She probably wishes you were dead as well.”

“I’ll keep Karen away from him.” Lucian said disinterestedly.

“Good. Don’t even let her look over here.” Roman said backing away.

Roman tripped over a sprinkler but recovered himself with surprising grace and walked away. As he left a new figure emerged. A dude roughly the same age as them wearing an orange hoodie with the hood up. The hood half concealed dark curly hair and cast a shadow on his sort of mustache that he was trying to grow. You know the kind, it’s like six hairs and they’re all different lengths.

“My dad told me to introduce myself to you.” Hood man sneered at him.

I wonder if anyone can talk to me without being told first. But I’m two for two in pity friends.

“Cool.” Virgil said blankly. “I’m Virgil.”

“I’m Ernest.” Hood man returned.

Virgil tried to think of anything he would have in common with people his own age. And unless these two were chess club members, which they obviously weren’t because they weren’t losers, he was going to come up short. His dad was in prison and he was still screwing him over. He really was all powerful.

“Did either of you eat any of the brownies?” Ernest asked in a hushed voice.

“Yeah, there was oregano in them for some ungodly reason.” Virgil answered.

“What?” Ernest looked confused. “They’re pot brownies, they’re not made with Italian spices.”

“I don’t feel high.” Virgil shrugged. “You sure you didn’t get ripped off?”

“Lucian.” Ernest glared daggers at their third member. “What did you sell me?”

“Oregano leaves.” Lucian scoffed. “And apparently that’s a good thing, because you were planning on drugging the entire neighborhood!”

“You scammed me! I want my ten bucks back!”

“No way! You paid me ten bucks to learn a valuable lesson.”

Virgil pulled the draw strings on his hoodie and started chewing on them.

“What lesson?!”

“Not to be an idiot! What would have happened if one of the little kids ate your roofied crap?”

“Weed is less unhealthy than chocolate!”

“Not if you don’t know you’re getting high! What if someone gave River a brownie?! You would have drugged a baby!”

“So, you just threw whole ass leaves in some brownie mix?” Virgil interrupted. “And what, hoped that no one would notice?”

“What?” Lucian walked over to the table and came back with a brownie. “You idiot! You’re supposed to make it into butter first!”

“How the hell was I supposed to know that!” Ernest threw his hands up. “I can’t just google how to make pot brownies!”

Virgil limped over to the table and came back with a lemonade. He drank it contentedly as the scene unfolded.

“What if someone ate one of them and went in the pool you jackass?!”

“You can’t swim after eating! No one would have!”

“Ok, but they were whole leaves.” Virgil said probably to himself. “Even if it was real drugs anyone would have just spat them out after one bite.”

“You can’t just drug people! You’re describing the thought process of a rapist!” Lucian crescendo-ed.

“Ok. I’m calling my dog over, so your head explodes.” Ernest said sternly.

“Careful not to drug her!”

Virgil left and came back with a plate of chips. The argument was going great. Clearly Lucian was winning, but Ernest whistled, and bear dog came bounding over. Bear dog gave Lucian a quick lick on the hand before he could react and then she went for Virgil’s chips.

“This isn’t over you dick.” Lucian said before storming off.

Ernest stood victorious. Bear dog ate Virgil’s entire plate, plate and all.

“The brownie thing was stupid though.” Virgil commented, petting the massive dog. “Like, that was poorly planned at best.”

“I know that now.” Ernest rolled his eyes. “But it’ll be a cold day in hell before I admit that to Lucian.”

“I admire your resolve.”

Virgil counted that event as a success. No one died, nothing caught on fire and no one got arrested. He even made a couple of friends. Granted they were pity friends, but he would take what he could get. And they made hamburgers towards the end that didn’t have any weird stuff in them. Great success.

#sanders sides #sanders sides human au #logicallity #parental moxiety #parental anological #platonic lamp #pattonsanders #logansanders #romansanders #virgilsanders #famILY

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eltanin-malfoy · 5 years

Text

Lay All Your Love On Me

based on the song by ABBA

pairing : draco/fem-y/n

word count : 2.1k

warning(s) : implied sex

requested : yes

a/n : i’m not a fan of the stereotypical ‘songfic’ format, so am just going to write it up more so in a manner to reflect the tone of the song? hopefully it works out.. also, this is nowhere near as upbeat as the song, so, sorry.

It had started as a short-term thing, really. Whatever it was the two of them had started to pursue. They were both sexually frustrated and stressed, but their timing was just absolutely off.

It was close to the end of their fifth year. Y/N wasn’t doing particularly well in her classes and with the widespread fear of You-Know-Who coming back into power, she found herself searching for some kind of an outlet. As unlikely as it was, she saw herself getting interested in a certain very infamous student : Draco Malfoy.

They’d all heard about what Potter had said about his father. They’d all grown afraid of the sneering blonde who passed rude comments about their less privileged upbringings. But, for some unknown reason, Y/N couldn’t help but wonder what lay beneath the surface of this monster of a boy.

She’d seen him that one summer morning. It was supposed to be their last Hogsmeade weekend before they were off for the summer. She’d stayed back in the castle, desperate for some peace and quiet after the end of their exams. After an unusually lonely lunch, she’d decided to take a stroll as she sipped at a tall glass of ice cold pumpkin juice. She passed through the courtyard and caught sight of his white hair.

She didn’t think he’d wanted her to find him the way he was, tall frame slouched back against an unfrequented corner, staring out at the sunlight in some all solemn way that was totally uncharacteristic of him. Why is he alone like this in the first place? She’d carefully taken a couple steps closer, curious to see what lay on the other side of the dark cloak slung across his shoulders.

Crunch.

Before she knew it, he’d turned at the sudden noise. Her gaze immediately fell and she stared down at the ground, noticing that she’d managed to step on some kind of crumpled bunch of papers.

“What are you doing here? You-” He paused the instant he noticed her bending down to pick it up. “Don’t.” His usual taunting voice had turned weak and she couldn’t help but sneak a glance at him again. The usual silver shine in his eyes had faded, and they’d turned glassy. She disregarded his words and picked it up, unravelling the paper to look at what was written on the paper.

It was a copy of the day’s Daily Prophet. Why is he getting all touchy about this? She skimmed through the pages, opening up the front page again.. and suddenly.. it hit her..

The Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

It’d only be a few days since everyone said it had happened. Only a few days since Dumbledore and Harry Potter and his so called army had gone and fought against He Who Must Not Be Named. And Malfoy’s own father had been said to have been in attendance, and according to that issue, was said to be attending a hearing which would seal his fate.

He pulled it out of her hands, tossing it to the side. She practically jolted backwards, the glass in her hands falling to the ground with a crash. Their gazes met and she could practically feel her knees getting weak. She didn’t really know him, to begin with, their only contact had been the few words uttered in class which neither of them remembered for much after. Their sudden intimacy shocked her and she looked to the side, shutting her eyes as she felt blood rushing through her ears.

He held her hand, probably having noticed her buckling knees. "I'm sorry about that, Y/L/N", He whispered softly, voice quivering. She returned the favour with a gentle clasp on his palm. He was warm. No not warm, burning.

Was it that hot a day? Or…

She slowly peered up at him and noticed how flushed his face was, and felt her own getting hot. Why did he have such an effect on her? She couldn’t even understand it herself.

***

It really hadn’t taken much for her to agree to it. Really. Barely anything at all.

Just a day after that first meeting, the few conversations they’d managed to have by themselves had worked their charm. She liked to think it was just pity, really. They were at the brink of the Second Wizarding War, and somehow, his family had ended up on the wrong side of things. At least, in her perspective.

It’s not that they talked much anyways. She wasn’t even sure if they had much in common. It had all started in the least romantic way possible. They’d forced themselves into an abandoned broom closet on the seventh floor, desperate to find a place to discover each others’ bodies for the first time.

Even after that first time, Y/N could not find a way to explain that almost juvenile rush of feelings she felt every time she even thought about Malfoy. She tried her very best to ignore it, to remember every horrid thing she’d heard of him doing. But she just couldn’t stop herself from thinking about him. Every other second she spent with him before they left the castle was almost ethereal to her.

Every single experience before him suddenly seemed inferior. Every single person she’d ever felt attracted to suddenly felt secondary. She just couldn’t wrap her head around why.

***

That ridiculous infatuation had followed her through the summer and she couldn’t help but feel giddy as she got back on the Hogwarts Express for their sixth year. For some reason, his stupid pale face had given her a sense of security whenever she’d thought about it, and without it, she’d feel that same shiver up her back. She couldn’t help but feel a bit hopeful, wishing that the time they’d spent together before break had truly meant something to him, but to her displeasure, they’d crossed paths, even locked eyes, but hadn’t said a word to each other.

So.. it was nothing, then? Should I just ignore my feelings till they go away?

She shuddered slightly as she noticed who he was with. Zabini, of course. She narrowed her eyes as she saw Pansy Parkinson sitting beside him. She tried her best to look away, drudging her trunk along with her as she followed her own companions, but she looked back, and what she’d seen in front of her hadn’t helped much with the sudden lurch of anxiety she felt in her abdomen.

Why is his head on her lap? Are they together now? Is it really true he goes through girls the way he does?

She grit her teeth and felt a pang of anger, but forced herself to turn away before she did anything she’d later regret. But, again, she found herself questioning her feelings. Why the sudden jealousy? He isn’t even yours to begin with, you silly old prat. Why had she suddenly become so bad at not catching feelings? Every single actual relationship of yours has suffered because of a lack of the same, right?

She shut her eyes as she followed her friends into an empty compartment, shrugging away the memories and engaging in conversation as if nothing had even happened.

***

It didn’t even shock her, to be honest, when she smelled all her memories of him in that stupid cauldron of Amortentia Slughorn showed to their class. Pumpkin juice, parchment, that smell of the outdoors in the summer, that broom closet and his dumb, fancy cologne. She stared over at his own blank face, wondering what it smelled like to him, or even if it did at all.

He stayed stone-faced every time she caught sight of him, seemingly not even realising how much she’d begun to stare at him whenever she got the chance. She’d noticed how he’d begun to change. That usual smug expression had faded to something a lot less confident, and she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t noticed how much paler he’d seemed to have gotten.

She couldn’t help but feel worried for him, but she didn’t even know if she should care.

It clearly meant nothing… right?

But yet again, she couldn’t control herself. She found herself writing to him on a spare bit of parchment, quill shaking in her grasp.

Malfoy,

I need to see you. (She’d then scribbled through ‘I can’t stop thinking about you.’) Meet me at that same spot in the courtyard, right after lunch, next Hogsmeade weekend.

- Y/N.

She’d folded it up and taken it to the Owlery right before breakfast, fastening it to the leg of one of the many school owls. She’d watched as it had flown into the Great Hall that morning, and as it dropped her letter into his lap. She watched him intently, but yet again, he was silent, barely eating anything on the table in front of him. Her heart sank, but she forced herself to keep going with her work.

***

That day arrived and Y/N couldn’t help but feel optimistic about it. She’d spent those few lone hours between breakfast and lunch reminding herself of every moment they’d shared, every time their lips had met, every-

She felt herself come back down to reality. He’s not going to be there. He’s probably off doing whatever it is he gets up to these days.. don’t even see him in the corridors much anymore.. I wonder.. She sighed. He’s probably with Parkinson.

She made herself go down for lunch, even though she couldn’t stop looking across the hall in search of that lanky idiot. She scarfed down her meal and left the hall, carrying a glass of cold pumpkin juice again. She walked through the courtyard, and couldn’t help but think about how similar it was to that one day.. all that had changed was the weather.

A steady autumn breeze blew onto her face as she took a sip from her glass, staring around at the reddening leaves falling from the trees around her. She tried to take the same path she did that very day, but before she knew it, stumbled on something and felt herself slipping forwards.

She groaned and braced herself for her fall, stretching her hands out in front of her, but suddenly felt someone grip her waist and pull her back onto her feet.

“Can’t seem to watch your feet, can you, Y/L/N?” drawled out a certain someone. She turned almost instantaneously, hands over his on her waist. She looked up at him, silent as she looked over his face.

Close up, everything seemed all the worse. His eyes seemed red at the rims and puffy. His face was obviously even more pointed and thin. His usually wellkept hair seemed stringy. He looked over at her face with his eyes narrowed as if he was very bored at the sight of her. “Cat got your tongue?” He remarked, slowly drawing his hands back as they grew jittery at her touch. “You’re the one who called me here, you know? I deserve some kind of explanation.”

She took a shallow breath, looked to the side, then back up at him. “Well.. I.. I.. I’ll.. “ Draco was now looking at her with some perplexity in his expression. “I’ll be frank with you, alright? I haven’t been able to.. been able to stop thinking about you.” She surveyed his face for some kind of reaction, but he remained unreadable. “All summer. It’s just.. I don’t know. Ever since we.. since that time in the broom closet. You’re all that I can think about. You probably haven’t even given it a second thought.. but.. I guess I just needed to know.” She gulped. “Did it mean anything? Or have you.. have you moved on, with Pansy?”

He almost scoffed, lifting his hand up dismissively, but instead he just looked at her with that same blank expression. “Pansy? She’s just a friend.. she fancies Blaise. She wanted to get him jealous and I didn’t mind the..” He took a deep breath and smiled almost reluctantly at her. “It did mean something. Us. But, not anymore. I have.. responsibilities now. I don’t have time for this anymore. Good day.”

He walked off without another word, running a hand through his hair, but instead of his usual confident stride, he paced off nervously with his eyes fixed on the floor beneath him. She felt that same rush of curiosity, practically a need to know what was behind those stormy grey eyes. She wanted to call out his name, wanted him to look back at her, but couldn’t move a muscle.

She wished she could have taken Pansy’s place. She wished he could tell her what it was that was troubling him so much. She wished so much that she could be his. But she knew, deep within, that none of these wishes could ever come close to coming true.

#draco x reader #draco malfoy #draco malfoy x reader #draco #hp #draco imagine #draco malfoy imagine #hp imagine #romance

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heroes-writing · 5 years

Note

Yo, can I get some headcanons where Saitama, Iaian, Amai Mask, Flashy Flash, Metal Bat and Mumen Rider caught doing couple-like things. (talking dirty, whispering sweet nothings to each other, cuddling, making out, having sex, whatever you want.) Thank you so much!

Word Count: ~1296

Metal Bat: I feel like in school he might be theboyfriend that gets pulled into kissing sessions between class. You know thecouples eating each other’s faces? He’s not quite that level, but you mightfind him huddled in the stairwell trying to squeeze in some smooches before hehas to part with his s/o for an entire hour--(Oh, the AGONY!)

He’ll be pissed if someone interrupts, but on the other handhe might become incredibly embarrassed too. Especially if it wasn’t his idea!He is usually courteous and dislikes rudeness, so he’d apologize to thosefollowing the general flow of hallway traffic with a bow. Then he’ll try torecover by taking his s/o by the hand and escorting them back to theirclassroom, blushing all the while.

-The rest venture into nsfw territory!-

Saitama:

It’s hard to imaginehim getting caught out in the open. I feel like he’d be the one to get flackfor “public indecency” by some hero because he even dared to kiss his s/o onthe cheek…So in a different circumstance, he would most certainly be caughtwhen he’s at home. Mostly by the rag tag crew he’s collected from the HerosAssociation: Genos, King, Bang, and Fubuki.

Saitama may just be hanging out in the evening watching amovie, or things are heating up in his futon with clothes being removed at aneasy pace. He’d have an arm around his s/o or have them cuddled against hischest while they kiss and grope. They could be talking in hushed undertones,about anything, but it would be intimate all the same while the sun setsoutside the window. Whoever barges in and ruins his moment with his s/o willget a glare for sure.

(AND I JUST REMEMBERED: I also have an OLD (ugh, 3 years old apparently???) scenario fill forthis: https://heroes-writing.tumblr.com/post/134074860971/could-i-request-a-scenario-where-saitama-and-his)

Iaian:

While Iaian trains, his s/o could meet him at AtomicSamurai’s dojo to save him the trip of going into town. Seeing his s/o alwaysmakes Iaian beam with joy and race towards them like a certain dogbreed...-cough- (Blonde Kelpie) -cough-

It’s pretty funny actually. His s/o is always in thesame place beneath a large red torii, and wherever Iaian happens to see them,he jogs right over at a forward tilt.

Kama and Bushi, Atomic Samurai’s other disciples, are theones who can’t help but stumble across the couple when they pass by Iaian’s superobvious meeting spot. Usually it’s chaste, and nothing is outright indecent,but sometimes it’s been quite a while since Iaian and his s/o have seen oneanother…They simply can’t help but share some passionate kisses at the veryleast.

Iaian’s signature move would be a gentle kabedon. A strongarm over his s/o’s head so he can angle his right above their own. If his s/o is eager they’ll pull him in forsome kisses for his whole dojo to see. In most cases, he can’t help but returntheir affection with gusto. His whole body will align with theirs; his embracewould be gentle and warm.

Amai Mask:

Unless he’s not adamant in keeping his relationship a secretfrom his all adoring fans, he’ll detest the thought of being the subjectof illicit photo leaks, controversy, or even simple rumors. He won’t be caughtdead with his s/o in a way that could be construed as anything but platonic.

The only ones who can catch them in the act is his closeinner circle that he employs for his idol-work, and the upper echelons of theHero’s Association. (Since he seems to have an iron fist over class A, I assumehe has a lot of people in his back pocket.)

In the case that it’s his Idol manager, he’ll be caught inhis dressing room before a show. Amai mask seems like he would want to assertcontrol over his s/o or be domineering in some way. He would pin them to hisdressing room door with both hands clasping his s/o’s arms above their head.He’d be pressing kisses, licks, and possessive marks into their skin that onlyhe can see. One of his knees would press between their legs, possibly slipping eagerhands beneath their clothes.

He’d only stop because his manager would knock on the doorsaying that the show was ready to begin. Amai would have no problem invitingthe man inside for a chat, and his s/o would have a hard time fixing theirclothes or hiding their blush. Amai, on the other hand, wouldn’t give a damn.

Flashy Flash:

This is a rare sight to see! Not only do I think he’s rathersubdued in ordinary circumstances, he’s a ninja. If he doesn’t want tobe seen, he won’t. If he doesn’t want anyone around while he’s distracted,he’ll stay alert to anyone’s presence. Maybe in a location where he can lowerhis guard completely will Flashy Flash be caught gently stroking his s/o’scheek and speaking to them in low tones. If the location is the HeroAssociation tower and he took his s/o there to stay under guard during anattack, he’ll be trying to part from them to tend to his duty as a hero.

A worker of some kind watching through the security cameraswould see it. Flashly Flash hushing his s/o’s worries in a darkly lit room andtrying to soothe their fear in the ways he knows best. Close contact, his armsslung low around their hips, while speaking to them calmly. One desperate kisswill turn into a dozen. 5 minutes will turn into 10. His hands will slip everlower, till he’s gently kneading his s/o’s behind, and he’s hefting them atop alarge meeting table to step between their legs...

The security camera will turn to follow their movements byjust a fraction, and in a flash, the feed will go dark.

Mumen Rider:

Sweet Mumen would be caught cuddling his s/o in public! Beinghis s/o takes some real toughness after all. He would make even the most hardenedperson worry for his wellbeing.

I imagine that he would have gotten into a scuffle of somekind, or he’d be making his way home on his bike only to see his s/o at themarket.

With a cheerful grin he’d wave them down, and they’d sooncome running. He get’s hurt so often, so I’m sure he’d be bleeding fromsomewhere or have a horrendous crack in his glasses or helmet. His s/o would bequick to run their hands over him, worried and cautious of anywhere he may behurt.

Mumen would try to soothe them with confident words andsentiments full of the appreciation for JUSTICE. He’d gently claps their handsin his, and tell them he’s alright, and that he would escort them home safely.

Overcome with affection, his s/o would throw their armsaround his middle and give him a swaying hug that he could never hope toresist. He may protest and blush about the display, but it won’t stop him fromrubbing his cheek into theirs or accepting a swift kiss.

After he tries to ignore the cooing crowd forming, he’descort them home. I imagine he’d like to place one of his s/o’s hands on thehandlebars of his bike and placing his own on top! He doesn’t want his bike toget in the way of some quality hand holding!

#Saitama #Flashy Flash #Amai Mask #Mumen Rider #Metal Bat #Iaian #headcanons #opm #one punch man #opmheadcanons #opm headcanons #Anonymous

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moodyvalentinestories · 5 years

Text

Something Just Like This Series: Part 3 – An Unlikely Alliance | Thomas Hunt x Rachel Fields

“Hey, do you think you could help me with something?”

Summary: I’m telling you, they’re being idiots. Even though they miss each other terribly, they’re not going to admit it. Like, at all. So maybe… maybe they need a little nudge in the right direction.

Pairing: Thomas Hunt x Rachel Fields

Word Count: ~ 2,400 words

Notes: Oh-oh. Is that… is that a ship waiting to happen?

❥ Moodyvalentine’s Masterlist

❥ Something Just Like This: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Epilogue

Rachel taking a leave of absence from school to work on her film was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it meant he didn’t have to see her in his class every day, a curse because the more time she spent on set, the more the speculations about her and Mr Winters’ relationship flourished. And as much as Thomas told himself he didn’t care, as much as he tried to ignore the front pages of the tabloids whenever he passed the three newsstands on his way to and from the university, as much as he avoided thinking about it by burying himself in work… it would never be enough. It would never work. Because he did care. Deeply. These last two weeks of not seeing her – not once – had been, for lack of a better word, hell. A hell he himself had created.

Even now, as his focus should have been solely on the essays of his Hollywood 101 students, she weaselled her way into his thoughts. He’d hoped staying in his office on campus late would help, as he would at least not have any reminders of her lying around – because despite how untidy it made the place look, he couldn’t bring himself to put away the necklace she’d so carelessly abandoned on his night stand before joining him in bed or take off the little note she’d pinned to his fridge when she’d left the next morning – but it was no use. She was right there, even when she wasn’t. He wondered when that would stop, if it would ever—

His train of thought was interrupted when he heard a faint knock on the door. He looked at his watch – it was late. Too late for any student to come by, especially on a Friday. Unless… His heart picked up speed. What if it was her?

“Come in,” he called out, trying to keep his voice steady. What would he say to her?

It didn’t matter. Because the girl that walked in was not Rachel. Though she may have very well been sent by her.

“Miss Sinclair, what can I do for you?” Thomas asked, clenching his jaw. How much did she know? Had he truly hurt Rachel enough for her to talk? To try and get him fired? He wouldn’t have thought she’d stoop so low. Maybe he’d given her too much credit.

The young blonde sat down across from him, folding her hands in her lap to keep them from shaking. She was scared – unlike Rachel, she wasn’t one to look for trouble – and Thomas knew then that he didn’t want to hear whatever she would say. But he would. Because if he was right, and this did have to do with Rachel, he needed to know. Anything he possibly could, he’d soak it all in.

“For me? Nothing. I lost all my respect for you when I found out that you’re the reason my best friend is crying herself to sleep every night,” she said in a hostile tone he’d never heard from her before, and it felt as if she’d put her hand right through his chest and ripped his heart out. He’d known Rachel wouldn’t have taken it well. But he’d hoped that, unlike him, she would have found a way to forget by now. Even if that way came in the form of a certain Hollywood heartthrob.

But he couldn’t let her know that. He stood up, putting both his hands on his desk as he spoke. “You should leave, Miss Sinclair. I will not let you throw around baseless accusations and—”

“No,” she said, showing no inclination to stand. She sat, looking calmer by the second, and stared him down. “I’m not leaving until I’ve said my piece. You would do well to listen. Because I’m very protective when it comes to my friends. And Rachel is my best friend, Professor.”

Thomas swallowed hard but felt inclined to obey as he sat back down. “Very well. What is it you wanted to say?”

“You’re going to make things right with her. Because, regardless of what I think of you, she cares about you. Far more than you deserve, honestly,” she said. As if he needed anyone to point that out for him. “And you’re going to do everything in your power to make her happy. Or I will not hesitate to call up my bodyguard friends and send them after you, understood?”

_____________

It wasn’t like she didn’t love what she was doing anymore. She still did. She still had her passion for it. But it was hard for her to enjoy anything when her stupid brain spent every fucking second of every fucking day thinking about him. The cast and crew all noticed, but they left her alone as long as she was on set and did her job. Except for Chris. Because Chris was just too damn nice to ignore his former friend’s suffering.

Luckily for her, he’d accepted her constant I’m fine’s and Don’t worry’s without much of an objection. Until tonight, that was. Because tonight, it seemed, he’d finally had enough. As they waited outside the studio for their respective drivers, he turned to her and said, “I’m sorry about the tabloids.”

“What?” Rachel asked, surprised that he’d even tried to start a conversation. Usually, they’d just stand next to each other in uncomfortable silence after she assured him she was fine. There wasn’t really much they could say to each other, after all.

“It’s what’s bothering you, isn’t it?” he said, tilting his head to one side. “That people are talking about us. As in us, being together.”

She had to suppress a laugh. As if she gave half a fuck about what the general public thought. Though, he wasn’t entirely wrong. The tabloids did bother her. Because, despite everything, she wondered what a certain professor of hers must have thought. He probably thinks I’m a slut for moving on so quickly. “Yeah, it kinda sucks.”

“Kinda sucks?” Chris raised an eyebrow. “Excuse my French, but you’re not acting like it kinda sucks. You’re acting like you’d rather die than work with me.”

She sighed. She didn’t want him to feel like she had an issue with being in this movie together. Because she didn’t. Starring in a film alongside him was something many – including her not long ago – could only dream of. “That’s not it. I don’t… I don’t have a problem with you. I’m just… there’s just a lot of stuff going on in my life at the moment and—” Her phone rang and she couldn’t have been more relieved. It was the perfect excuse to get out of this conversation. “I should take this. It’s probably important.”

“Of course. Yeah, sure,” Chris said and stepped away to give her some privacy.

Rachel answered the call, unsure what to expect. It was a number she didn’t recognise, but that probably just meant that Ethan had given her contact information to someone who may be interested in working with her. Why anyone would make a call about work at this hour, though, she couldn’t fathom. “Hello?”

“Are you Rachel?” someone said on the other end of the line. His voice was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on where she knew it from.

“Who’s asking?”

“This is Ryan Summers,” the man said and Rachel nearly dropped her phone. Holy crap! Of course the voice had seemed familiar – the guy was a legend! But why would he be calling her? “I got your number from Hunt… well, it’s not like he gave it to me. But I went through his phone when he wasn’t looking and I… never mind. Do you have a moment?”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Of course this was about Thomas. How could it not have been? “Not interested,” she said, about to hang up.

“Wait! Wait, don’t… please. You’re going to want to hear this, I promise.”

She bit her lip. Of course she wanted to hear it. She wanted to hear whatever she could about him. How was he doing? Had he moved on? Of course he had. He never felt the same way about you, remember? “Fine. But make it quick.”

_____________

Addison couldn’t believe she’d just threatened her professor. Who had she turned into? This was so not her thing. Sure, she didn’t always follow the rules, but, unlike her best friend, she also wasn’t hellbent on breaking them. Damn. She was tempted to apologise immediately after but, remembering that she wasn’t doing this for herself but for Rachel, she bit back the apology and continued to stare at Professor Hunt with a stern look in her eyes.

“Miss Sinclair, I do not appreciate being threatened by a student,” he said eventually, glaring at her.

Christ, how does Rachel do it? How could anyone not be deterred by that cruel, icy glare? She would just have to try. Because she wasn’t going to give up. Remember, you’re a good actress. Just pretend this doesn’t scare the ever-loving shit out of you. “And I don’t appreciate seeing my friends in pain.”

His expression changed at that statement, and he faltered for a moment. “I—” His features hardened again. “I’m not discussing this with you. If Miss Fields wants to speak to me, tell her not to send someone in her stead next time.”

“She didn’t send me. She doesn’t even know I’m here.”

“Then I’ll assume she doesn’t want to see me,” he said and while Addison couldn’t see any emotion on his face, she heard it in his voice. It had hurt him to even say that. She opened her mouth to speak again, but he shut her down. “This is your cue to leave, Miss Sinclair. You would do well to take it.”

She huffed but got up anyway. Fine. So that had been a bust. All she’d accomplished was getting on Hunt’s bad side. But that didn’t mean she’d let this go just yet. She’d just have to try harder.

_____________

Ryan was surprised at how young the woman that had picked up the phone sounded. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if he had the right number. He’d simply chosen the number Thomas had called the most, but maybe that wasn’t right. Maybe he should have gone through his texts to be entirely certain that this Rachel woman was the right one.

His doubts disappeared soon enough when she told him she wasn’t interested. Her voice had sounded like it was laced with thousands of tiny needles. Yes, this was the woman who’d been deeply hurt by his idiot of a friend’s words. And if there had been any doubts left, they would have been entirely gone by the time she’d agreed to listen without much convincing on his part.

“Look, I don’t know who you are. Nor do I know what happened between you two. But I’ve never – or, at least not in a long time – seen him this way. I think—”

“If you’ve got something to say, just say it,” she said. “I’m tired, and I’ve got neither the time nor the patience to deal with his shenanigans.”

Ryan held back a chuckle. She sounded like a woman Hunt would go for alright. For a moment, he wondered where he’d found her – though, in the back of his mind, he already knew. He just couldn’t believe it yet. “My point is, you two should talk. I’m sure—”

“Does he want to talk to me?” she asked. Her voice sounded almost hopeful.

He swallowed hard. “Well… I…”

“That’s what I thought. Good night, Mr Summers.” And with that, she hung up.

Damn it, Ryan thought to himself as he looked out the window of the car. And then he realised where he was. Hunt’s place was less than two minutes away. Fine then. If that hadn’t worked, he’d just have to try to knock some sense into him again. He quickly told his driver the new destination. Unfortunately, he was out of luck – Thomas wasn’t home. But he wasn’t simply going to give up like that. There was another place he could try. He would find him tonight and he would get him to see reason. Somehow.

_____________

As she brainstormed how to possibly go about this endeavour on her way back to her dorm, Addison didn’t pay any attention to her surroundings and promptly crashed into someone.

“Oh, I’m sorr—” they both said at the same time and laughed.

She looked up and it took her a few seconds to recognise the man in front of her. It was dark out, after all. But once she did, she nearly had a heart attack. “You’re Ryan Summers.”

He let out a good-natured laugh. “And you are…”

“Really, really sorry. I was kind of lost in thought and… well…”

“Oh, tell me about it,” he said. He hadn’t been particularly attentive, either, as he tried to figure out how on Earth he would get Hunt to listen. “I’m pretty sure this was my fault.”

“No, no,” she said, letting out a nervous chuckle. Even after years in Hollywood, after hanging out with A-Listers left and right, she was still in awe whenever she met someone famous she had not yet talked to.

“Let’s say we’re both at fault then, hm?” She was positively adorable.

He probably just said it to make her feel better, but it would have been a stupid thing to argue about. “I can live with that.”

Before they both went their separate ways, Ryan asked, “Hey, would you happen to know if Hunt’s still in his office?”

Addison grimaced. “I mean… yes, he is. But I have a feeling he’s in a really bad mood so you may not want to talk to him.”

“What, forgot to hand in an essay on time?” he joked.

“Something along those lines,” she said with a shrug. She couldn’t very well tell him the truth, could she now?

Ryan smiled. “Well, thanks for the warning. Have a good rest of your night.”

“You too,” she replied. “And good luck. I hope I won’t read about your murder in the papers tomorrow.”

He laughed again as they continued on their ways. After taking a few steps in opposite directions, they both turned around at the same time.

“Hey, do you think you could help me with something?”

Tags: @lilyofchoices @trappedinfandoms @flyawayboo @alleksa16 @silversparrow02 @hopelessromantic1352

#wherefore art thou my professor #wherefore art thou my student #rachel #hwu #hwu hunt #thomas hunt

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matteredloyaltyaa · 4 years

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really LONG CHARACTER SURVEY. RULES.

repost , don’t reblog ! tag 10 ! good luck !

TAGGED. I stole it. TAGGING. Go for it. lol

FULL NAME : Arthur M/organ NICKNAME : A handful. English, Cowboy/Cowpoke, Black Lung, etc. Common aliases are Tacitus Kilgore and Arthur Callahan. AGE : 36. BIRTHDAY : January 25th, 1836. ETHNIC GROUP : Caucasian. NATIONALITY : American. LANGUAGE / S : English, primarily. Knew a handful of Welsh thanks to his father, but it’s faded with disuse. SEXUAL ORIENTATION : Bisexual, somewhat closeted. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : Biromantic, somewhat closeted. RELATIONSHIP STATUS : Verse dependent, single-ship with @notanoutlaw in most. CLASS : Lower/working HOME TOWN / AREA : Arthur just mentions he was born “up north”, I headcanon around the Oregon area, possibly California due to his mother’s favorite flower, but it’s uncertain. Though, the place he laments the most about is New Austin, or “out west”. CURRENT HOME : Transitory, he moves with the gang. PROFESSION : Outlaw, occasional bounty hunter.

PHYSICAL. HAIR : Light brown, dark blonde in some lights. EYES : Unique eye colour, blue-grey-sorta hazel. NOSE : Average, dimpled. Scarred from fighting and getting it broken a couple times. FACE : Somewhat sharp features in the brow and cheekbones, square jaw. LIPS : Full, can be dry/chapped. COMPLEXION : Somewhat clear? Hard to tell. Dry, dirt spattered sometimes. BLEMISHES : Uncertain. SCARS : A handful. Most notable are the one he has on his chin that is most visible with shorter facial hair, one across his nose, and the one left on his shoulder by the O’Driscolls in chapter 3. TATTOOS : N/A HEIGHT : 6′0, possibly 6′1 WEIGHT : Uncertain, fluctuates. BUILD : Stocky, broad shouldered and he can be fairly intimidating, especially when his weight is about average or above. FEATURES : Look above? ALLERGIES : N/A USUAL HAIR STYLE : Right parted, about 3-5 in length. Though, for people who don’t know the system--fairly short, tufts out around his ears and may reach the back of his neck before he cuts it again. USUAL FACE LOOK : Expression wise, his kind of got a resting irritated face, sometimes bored. Rarely clean shaven unless he has to be, usually keeps a fair amount of stubble. USUAL CLOTHING : I change him too much to say. Tends to keep his heavy navy blue winter jacket, jeans/ranch pants, some sort of button up shirt, and sometimes his tan leather jacket. Tends to keep his hat, however, unless he needs to go without.

PSYCHOLOGY. FEAR / S : Arthur has a mild one of change. He’s adaptable but he’s very sentimental and nostalgic, he will miss “old ways” and previous places. There’s also losing his usefulness, disappointing those who depend on him (much as he will get defensive when it happens). Post-Guarma, he does develop a fear of drowning. It won’t keep him from swimming, but getting swept or held underwater may cause some panic. Post-game au, he does fear about getting sick again and actively avoids doctors. ASPIRATION / S : Uncertain, just wants to get out of the mess he’s in and eventually just wants a calm existence somewhere. However, once he’s diagnosed with TB, his main goal is getting those who want/will listen to him out of the gang as it starts to fall down. POSITIVE TRAITS : Caring, compassionate (to people he knows, might not be clear on first impression), intelligent (much as he may say the opposite and isn’t exactly book smart), observational, brave, humorous (in certain situations and may be a cover sometimes), friendly (somewhat, changes as he ages), artistic, creative, loyal, etc. NEGATIVE TRAITS : Violent, murderer (doesn’t do it without reason but he knows he’s killed more than he certainly should), defensive, (passive) aggressive, sarcastic, depressive, self-deprecating, selfish, rude (sometimes intentional, sometimes not), conflicted, stubborn, reckless (sometimes, has mellowed out with age but it’s still there), self destructive (sometimes), money-driven (not always a flaw but he’s easily swayed by money). MBTI : ISFJ-T - Turbulent Defender ZODIAC : Aquarius TEMPERAMENT : Phlegmatic-Melancholic ANIMALS : I’m not going to take the quiz because the game is very heavy handed with the whitetail buck motif for high honor Arthur. lol VICE HABIT / S : Smoking, drinking, etc. FAITH : Non-religious. GHOSTS ? : Generally, the existence of ghosts isn’t something he completely writes off after he’s witnessed the few in the game, but he’s also hard pressed to admit to believing in them outright. AFTERLIFE ? : Not in any sort of defined sense. He’ll often say he doesn’t believe in one or it won’t be a nice one for him if there is, but he finds himself nervous about the subject once he gets sick. REINCARNATION ? : He doesn’t know enough about it. ALIENS ? : Not really? Doesn’t really know he’s looking at a UFO when he sees it. POLITICAL ALIGNMENT : Don’t start. ECONOMIC PREFERENCE : Uncertain. SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION : Uncertain. EDUCATION LEVEL : Does not have a formal education on even the basic levels (primary, high school, etc), however Hosea and Dutch have taught him to read and write and he’s learned a handful of things when it comes to survival and his lifestyle. However, he’s not exactly book smart or the “book learnin’ type”.

FAMILY. FATHER : Lyle M/organ, deceased. MOTHER : Beatrice M/organ, deceased. SIBLINGS : No blood related, but considers John as one along with a couple other members of camp. EXTENDED FAMILY : He has a few uncles, aunts, and cousins, but he’s not in touch. Issac, his son, and his mother, Eliza, who are both deceased. Mary L/inton/Gillis, ex-fiance. (Cain Kennedy, lover - @notanoutlaw) NAME MEANING / S : Arthur - English, “noble, courageous”, Morgan - (and I’m going against what’s been said in fandom) - Celtic/Welsh surname, comes from Old Welsh name Morcant - “mor” as “sea” and “cant” as “circle”. HISTORICAL CONNECTION ? : Uncertain in the game, but it’s been pointed out about King Arthur and also Morgan le Fay, which highlights his struggle with good vs evil themes in his character.

FAVOURITES. BOOK : Uncertain, mostly non-fiction. MOVIE : -- 5 SONGS : -- DEITY : Doesn’t know enough to give a favorite. HOLIDAY : Christmas, in a way. Not quite for the religious context, but he enjoys the hunting and cooking the gang does to celebrate, singing and talking over fires. He remembers it vividly when he was younger, so it’s stuck with him. MONTH : April-May. SEASON : late spring, early summer. PLACE : He likes most places in wilderness, give him something with a view and he’s good. WEATHER : Sunny, average weather. Not too hot, not too cold. SOUND : Rain, birds, etc. SCENT / S : Again, rain, campfires, etc. TASTE / S : Prefers savory over sweet. FEEL / S : Weightlessness in his limbs once he’s able to sit/lay down after a long day, fingers in his hair, etc. ANIMAL / S : Horses, dogs, cats, animals. NUMBER : He hasn’t given it much thought. COLOUR : Blues, greens, deeper colours.

EXTRA. TALENTS : Sharpshooting, Arthur’s got impeccable aim and speed when using guns, there’s also his drawing, he’s getting fairly good at tracking, etc. BAD AT : Admitting to mistakes, expressing himself emotionally, adhering to rules, anything overly scientific, etc. TURN ONS : Sense of humor, confidence or self-assurance, kindness and/or compassion, dark hair, etc. TURN OFFS : Hypocrisy (much as he suffers from that himself), cockiness (has a limit before confidence becomes a turn off), excessive or needless cruelty, etc. HOBBIES : Drawing, writing in his journal, hunting, wandering around/sight seeing, etc. TROPES : Anti-Hero/Anti-Villain,The Atoner, The Big Guy, Jerk with a Heart of Gold, Obfuscating Stupidity, etc. AESTHETIC TAGS : Horses, old west, deserts, nature, gun slinging, writing, drawing, photography, etc.

FC INFO. MAIN FC / S : R/oger Clark, mainly in game icons so I haven’t found a need for one. ALT FC / S : -- OLDER FC / S : -- YOUNGER FC / S : -- VOICE CLAIM / S : R/oger Clark GENDERBENT FC / S :

MUN QUESTIONS. Q1 : if you could write your character your way in their own movie , what would it be called , what style would it be filmed in , and what would it be about ? A1 : I actually REALLY enjoy the game’s story line, much as I feel the redemption through death is overplayed and not as deep as people make it out to be. I’d find a way to subvert that or some alternative, but idk. I like the game’s story. lol

Q2 : what would their soundtrack / score sound like ? A2 : Western-y. IDK? The game’s soundtrack is actually really good too so. Q3 : why did you start writing this character ? A3 : I love his development and progression as a character, and even with the trailers where he seemed no more than an angry outlaw there was a part of me that was still “hmm” about writing him. Ultimately, he’s grown to mean a lot to me and I really enjoy writing for him on this blog. Q4 : what first attracted you to this character ? A4: As mentioned above, Arthur probably has one of the best character progressions I’ve seen in a while imo. Even in the beginning, I went in under the impression that I’d be playing as this outlaw so the violence and gruffness wasn’t too much of a surprise, much as I wasn’t too attached until later chapters in the game because of this. However, as I spent more time playing as him and reading his journal, seeing how he interacts with strangers and people he loves, he has some depth to him and some deep rooted flaws and insecurities that are played very well in the game. He’s probably one of the few character deaths I’ve cried over. lol Q5 : describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5 : I have to be truthful, Arthur’s an asshole. lol I didn’t like and still don’t like him from Colter into Horseshoe in behavior and personality, much as it’s lessened from my first play of the game because I know what happens to him and how he grows. However, while he’s not blind to himself and how he acts, he doesn’t think for himself really. Even if he hates debt collecting, he does it for the gang and even tells Strauss he does it for pleasure at a point (sarcastic or not, considering they are talking about Thomas, a man trying to raise money for charity while suffering poverty himself on top of having TB), he does whatever Dutch tells him, among many other things. It’s not until later in the game that the theme of grasping redemption comes into play, and he starts to act and think for himself a little more once things start to spiral. As much as I love him with all my heart, Arthur’s got some deep flaws that are hard to ignore. Q6 : what do you have in common with your muse ? A6 : HHHhh. I’d say we suffer from similar self-esteem issues, not just in body image but morality of character (much as his are way more complicated than mine jaksfha), we also have a similar sense of humor...Yeah, idk. I’m attached to him as a character and I can relate to him in certain ways, but it’s hard to pinpoint. Q7 : how does your muse feel about you ? A7 : Idk, he’s pixels? Though, for the sake of a fun answer, I genuinely don’t know? We can be fairly similar in mannerisms and thought process (at points), but I have no idea if we’d actually get along if by some universe rip we were able to meet. Q8 : what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with ? A8: I don’t want to get specific, I interact with a lot of interesting characters. Anybody who’s put me out of a comfort zone or forced me to look at Arthur in the different way has definitely stood out. Q9 : what gives you inspiration to write your muse ? A9 : The game itself is a good source, I enjoy putting up lets plays of it in the background sometimes if I’m struggling or just need something that isn’t music. I get more muse putting together blog playlists than playing them, but there’s that, too. Also generally plotting or talking about him can pull some to the forefront. Q10 : how long did this take you to complete ? A10 : An hour or so, I think?

#hey i'm already damned . || about .#ain't us who changed . || headcanon .#/// long post #[I love how once it got into paranormal experiences I had to account for the fact some of those things exist as things in canon lmao]

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borisbubbles · 5 years

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Eurovision 2010s: 170 - 166

170. Carl Espen - “Silent storm” Norway 2014

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So what to do if you really, really love a certain Eurovision song but at the same time think it is thoroughly unsuited for Eurovision?🤔 Because that is what I’m feeling about Carl Espen’s Silent Storm. This song, with no intent towards hyperbole, is one of the best in this ranking. A genuine, immersive ballad that remains very true to Carl Espen’s former soldier with ptsd / lumbering cuddlebear character. Authenticity always sustains. Unfortunately, the live performance kind of agitates the song’s inherent magic for me. The staging isn’t good, if I’m honest? The orchestral arrangement adds nothing but create a vague sense of pointless “classiness”, disrupting the intimacy which is this song’s selling point. Overall, again, a fantastic song but as a Eurovision performance it’s merely ‘Good’.

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169. Jonida Maliqi - “Ktheju tokës” Albania 2019

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Like, Carl, Jonida really could’ve been one of the all-time greats yet she never rose beyond the normal share of what I consider “good, but not great”. However, unlike Carl, “Ktheju tokës” being underwhelming is of no fault to Jonida or the Albanian delegation. I assume you’ve heard of the giant CGI eagle they were planning to turn Jonida into? If you haven’t, now you know they tried during rehearsals and the special effects company messed it up, leaving “Ktheju tokës” with nothing but the bare minimum.

Having said that, “bare minimum Ktheju Tokës” is still a pretty good entry though. Jonida WORKS what is a pretty crappy staging and ugly dress into minimal liabilities with her stellar acting, as you may expect of someone with her talent. Mostly importantly however, IN SPITE OF ALL THE MISFORTUNE AND HATRED AND DISMISSAL AND ABANDONMENT SHE HAD TO ENDURE, SHE STILL QUALIFIED!!!!!

And I can’t say I wasn’t anything other than over the moon the second she was announced as a qualifier <3 She truly was one of the most hapless contestants in this year and possibly of all time, and it’s great she avoided getting Moran’ed out of the competition.

And now she’s ~Queen of the Gays~

L E G E N D

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168. Ira Losco - “Walk on water” Malta 2016

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I dislike using the word “class act” to positively discribe Eurovision entries. There’s something elitist about doing so, but mostly I just think it’s dumb to care. Who watches Eurovision for the professionalism?? It’s like watching Game of Thrones and rooting for Jon Snow. Nobody cares about the goodness is, it’s all about the petty vicious female-fronted catfights and ritual suicide by dumb decision making!! Wait am I still talking about Eurovision or 🤔? Anyway, Ira Losco is one of the few I happily make an exception about because, damn what a class act. Of course it required Malta to trash the rubbish song Ira Losco entered MESC with a generic Swedish one, but it worked just about well enough. “Walk on water” suffers from being a bit too middle-of-the-road for me, but it’s always and entry I enjoy revisiting and that is worth something.

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167. Max Jason Mai - “Don’t close you eyes” Slovakia 2012

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LMAO i don’t even like Max that much more than Kristina 😂. I really like him though. GRINDHOUSE METAL PUNK <3 fronted by a stereotypical DUMB BLONDE <3 Also one of those entries that has a really pleasant and sensitive chorus but AGGRESSIVE shrieky verses. What a reverse Viszlat Nyar <3 This entry is STANWORTHY

Miroslav spents the entire entire song wandering around the stage as if he was put there by accident, delivering hilarious non-interactions with the camera (It’s impossible to gif, but each time Miro finally looks INTO the right camera, the screen cuts away IMMEDIATELY into a wideshot <3). He is of course, much like the song, is delightfully incompetent. My favourite example of this comes when he tries to get the audience to clap (misheard quote: “I WANNA SEE YOUR HANDS IDIOTS!!!”) and, well...

Exactly ONE person getting up and clapping along as Miro performs a few Nottet Pirhouettes <3 Naturally this glorious mess finished last place in its semi and it was very sad.

and that concludes Slovakia in this ranking... Can’t say it’s been a whelming experience of any sort, but fingers crossed somebody near them (Czechia, Hungary or Poland) win VERY soon to re-ignite their Eurovision interest. They may not be good at Eurovision, but at least they are never boring. BRING THEM BACK!!!

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166. Paradise Oskar - “Da da dam” Finland 2011

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Lol, this high ranking is entirely on Paradise Oskar because if I’m blunt “Da Da Dam” is kind of really da-da-dumb. 🤭 “Peter is smart // he knows every European country by heart.” Something tells me Peter doesn’t have a lot of friends. Also, DIE PETER!!

Fortunately this insipid ~environmentalist~ lullabye is fronted by one of 2011′s most magnetic humans. Axel is nothing but a disarming, angel-voiced light elemental descended from musical heaven and manages to sell this really, really silly song (like, this song could’ve been in a 70s contest, it’s THAT frivolous). Rip my sweet cherubic skald.

#Eurovision #Eurovision Song Contest #Finland #Slovakia #Malta #Albania #Norway #Paradise Oskar #Axel Ehnström #Max Jason Mai #Ira Losco #Jonida Maliqi #Carl Espen #Da da dam #Don't close you eyes #Walk on water #Ktheju tokes #silent storm

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dixielis · 5 years

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An Interesting Turn of Events [2/?]

Pairing: Jotaro Kujo x Noriaki Kakyoin Summary: There were three things Jotaro Joestar was completely certain about: One. 80’s rock was the be-all end-all of music. Two. The movie Jaws wrongly portrayed sharks as evil and blood-thirsty, and he did not stand for it at all. Three. Being an alpha while also part of the Joestar-lineage was an absolute curse. Warnings: Omegaverse with omega!Kakyoin and alpha!Jotaro Dio is in this and he’s pretty creepy A/N: Chapter 2! weep woop

Read on Ao3 here: LINK

He did partially blame all the moving around on why he didn’t end up having any friends at any of these schools. Sometimes other kids would try to make small talk with him or invite him over to play with them. Kakyoin would however always turn them down. What would even be the point? He would eventually have to move away anyways. And if he didn’t get attached to anyone it was always a lot less painful to do so.

Today was his first day of his latest high school. This had to be the fourth or fifth one he would be attending. He had honestly lost count at this point.

Kakyoin went about his first day as he had done many times before. Go to the principal’s office, collect his schedule and a map over the school grounds, head over to homeroom and introduce himself to the rest of the class. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t done before.

His first day, thankfully, passed uneventfully. Aside from a few questioning glances nobody tried approaching him. Kakyoin instead spent the day homing in on the conversations going on around him, trying to learn as much about his school as possible. About what was currently going on, and most importantly, about who to avoid.

At his lunch break he decided to sit close to a group of mostly omega girls who were chatting loudly with each other. He always found that these sorts of groups seemed to have all the latest news and gossip, and that they would discuss it loudly enough for anyone to hear.

“We should all make a pact. About who we will ask to the dance”

“That is still four months away”

“You can never get started too quickly. I call Jojo!” The other girls let out noises of clear distress at this.

“Not fair! You can’t just call somebody like that”

“Well, I just did!”

“Jojo as in the tequila-smuggling one?”

“Yes!”

“Then I want the other one!”

“Not if I ask him first”

Kakyoin realized that he had quickly lost track of their conversation. Not that it seemed to be very interesting for what he was after in the first place. Whoever were considered the hottest alpha’s on campus wasn’t really anything he needed to know. It wasn’t like he was searching for one anyways.

“I was already asked to the dance actually” one of the girls exclaimed proudly.

“No way! Who was it?”

“That weird French beta. You know, the one with the weird hair?”

“Oh, what did you say?”

“I told him no. I don’t really want to go to the dance with a beta”

“You probably only did it because he has bigger boobs than you”

“He does not! I said no because I’m going to ask Dio”

“But I was going to ask Dio!”

“You can take the Frenchie instead since you seem to like his boobs so much!”

Kakyoin decided that it was time to officially zone out from their chattering. He felt like he has heard enough unrelated gossip to last him for the rest of the month.

The next couple days continued in a similar fashion. Kakyoin simply kept his head down and tried to avoid attracting any unnecessary attention. Whenever somebody spoke to him he would act polite, but always try to keep himself unmemorable. He wanted to be practically invisible.

This worked surprisingly well until his fourth day. The unexpected groupwork in biology class did however end up breaking his lucky streak. Since he doesn’t know anybody in the entire school he has no choice but to let faith decide who he will partner up with.

And faith apparently decided that he deserved to suffer that day. Because of course his first official group member had to be the kind of douchey alpha that he would prefer to avoid at all costs. And of course said alpha had to start making inappropriate suggestions at him as soon as he sat down.

Kakyoin was too busy refreshing his memory of every ancient torture method he could think of to even notice the other two people taking their seats nearby. It wasn’t before Mia decided to cut of the alpha in the middle of one of his especially lewd comments that Kakyoin noticed that they were no longer alone.

The beta would then continue talking, pretending as if nothing had been going on. Kakyoin felt himself spacing out as he took a proper look around at his designated group members. Mia seemed alright, at least. The two other alphas on the other hand gave off very different vibes. Kakyoin could almost taste the tension between them in his throat. The blonde one still had an underlying scent of disgusting want coming off him. Kakyoin could see him still trying to make eye contact with him, and opted for observing the dark-haired alpha instead.

The majority of his face, his eyes included, were obscured by the brim of the cap he is wearing. His arms were crossed over his quite well-defined chest. Kakyoin silently curses himself out for even noticing the others build.

The alpha definitely gives off an intimidating aura. He is everything an ideal alpha should be after all, at least look-wise. But he also seems to be calm and secure, the exact opposite of the light-haired alpha seated in front of him.

Kakyoin’s thoughts are suddenly interrupted as the dark-haired alpha suddenly speaks up. Apparently they are now splitting up into pairs, which Kakyoin embarrassedly realizes he had completely missed while he was busy eyeing up the man in front of him.

Kakyoin gave a quick prayer to any gods that may be listening that he would end up working with the beta. But as usual, faith has other plans. Plans that end up with him forcing to pick which of the alphas he would rather work with. Which in and on itself is a very easy choice. The alpha known as Trent has returned his hands to Kakyoin’s desk, one of his fingers stroking up his wrist slowly.

God, he can’t wait to get those hands away from in.

His mind races to make up an excuse to not have to work with Trent. Lying about his father’s job might not be the smartest idea, but at least it gets the job done. Trent immediately let’s up on him, a strong sour scent now coming off him in waves. Kakyoin can’t help but smirk slightly to himself at the others change in mood.

Then Mia and Trent end up leaving, and he is all alone with the alpha who is apparently known as Jojo. Kakyoin silently cursed Trent out from under his breath. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief washing over him as he watches him walk out of his line of sight.

He turned his eyes towards the remaining alpha and suggests that they should get going as well. He only received a grunt in reply, and Jojo immediately stands up and starts heading off as well. Kakyoin quickly shoved his things back into his bag and hurried after him.

He could feel the burning hatred and jealousy coming off a group of omegas as they pass them. Their attention is clearly pointed towards him. Kakyoin only shoots them a dirty look in response. It wasn’t his fault that he ended up being partners with Mr. tall and handsome, like they clearly all yearned after so badly. Kakyoin still remembers the conversation he overheard a few days earlier, which lets him know that the alpha he is currently following is quite sought after by a large chunk of the local omega population.

They soon ended up alone in one of the spare rooms just down the hallway. Kakyoin quickly learned that the alpha doesn’t seem to say a lot, neither with his words or with his expressions. His eyes are still hidden underneath that godforsaken hat of his, making him even harder to read.

Kakyoin almost started to regret his decision of pairing up with him when he notices the dolphins covering one of the alpha’s notebooks. He bites back a smile at the revelation. A bad guy wouldn’t have sparkly, bright blue dolphins doodled on his notebook, would he?

As they start talking Kakyoin quickly realizes that Jotaro is not what he thought he would be. He doesn’t seem to mind Kakyoin’s teasing and his apparent interest in starfish is quite endearing.

When they eventually get properly started with their assignment Kakyoin finally gets the chance to take a proper look at the alpha in front of him. His hat has been angled away from his face and Kakyoin can now properly see his eyes.

They are a striking emerald green colour, and Kakyoin can immediately feel himself drowning in them. His long eyelashes and thick, slightly furrowed brows also don’t help one bit. Kakyoin immediately understands the other omegas’ reactions towards him.

Kakyoin silently curses himself out as he feels his own cheeks heat up. This was not according to the plan at all. He tried to calm his now rapid heartbeat.

He refused to fall for an alpha he had known for a total of twenty minutes.

Kakyoin jumped slightly as the bell suddenly rang, signalling the end of class. Jotaro looked up from his books and their eyes met for a split second. Kakyoin can feel his heart start racing again.

Fucking omega biology.

He quickly made up an excuse about his next class being on the other side of campus and hurried off. Hopefully Jotaro hadn’t noticed how stirred up he had become. He could feel his heartbeat returning to normal as he hastily made his way down the corridor.

He was fine. None of that necessarily had to mean anything.

He quickly checked over his schedule. Art was going to be his next and final class for the day. He let out a breath of relief at this. In art class he could hopefully just take a seat in a corner and ignore everyone around him. People wouldn’t even think there was anything strange about it, and would hopefully just believe that he was just another passionate art student.

Kakyoin arrived at the classroom a good few minutes before the class is about to start. The room consists of a number of larger tables, that they are obviously supposed to share.

Great. Not even here he could be alone.

Kakyoin silently scanned through the people already seated. He knows that people from all years are mixed together, so he is even unsure of which students are in his grade.

Most tables are already seemingly full, people chatting loudly among each other. He noticed that one of the tables however still had just one occupant. An omega who was already bent over a sketchbook, doing quick confident strokes over the pages. He seemed to be completely engulfed in his drawing and doesn’t even look up as Kakyoin takes the seat opposite him. Kakyoin however doesn’t mind this one bit, enjoying the few moments of silence before the rest of the seats around the table inevitably end up occupied as well.

Just as he predicted, a few more people are soon seated as his table. Luckily none of them are paying him any mind either.

“You mind if I sit here?”

Kakyoin turned his head and looked up at a blonde beta dressed in an interesting mix of sky blue and bright pink. He had a polite smile on his face as he gestured to the seat next to Kakyoin.

“Oh. Sure, no problem” Kakyoin replied, shifting slightly to the side as the beta sits down next to him.

“You new here? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before?” the beta asked as he looked him up down.

“Yeah, I just transferred here a few days ago. Name’s Kakyoin”

“I’m Caesar, nice to meet you” the other boy offered, holding out his hand, smiling brightly at Kakyoin as he shook it. Caesar then starts making small talk with him, telling him stories about various things that has happened around campus.

“Could you please keep it down, some people are trying to work here” an unfamiliar voice hissed out. The boy across from them who had previously been caught up in his sketching was now glaring straight at them.

“Shut it, we’re not in a fucking church” Caesar replied curtly, like he they had this conversation several times before.

“Doesn’t mean that you have to shout!”

“You’re the only one shouting here, you know”

“Shut up!”

Caesar let out a snort at the others clear irritation. He then turned back towards Kakyoin.

“That’s Rohan, don’t mind him he’s just a fucking gremlin”

“Stop calling me that you fucking bottle of mediocre dressing-” Rohan was suddenly interrupted by a new voice being added to the mix.

“Gentlemen, there’s no need to fight” the voice was almost alarmingly calm and practically dripping with the semblance of alpha. Kakyoin quickly turned his head over his shoulder to regard the newcomer, who is standing right behind him.

His hair was a similar shade to Caesar’s, but that seems to be the only thing they have in common. This man is a lot broader, and taller, and immediately gives of a strong aura of alpha. Kakyoin’s eyes snap up to look at the others face, only to find that he is already looking straight at him. His head is slightly cocked to the side, a clear look of interest hidden somewhere deep in his yellow eyes.

The alpha breaks their eye contact to sit down in the vacant seat next to Kakyoin.

“Nobody said that you could sit down” Caesar said coolly, clearly not happy about the alpha joining them. The alpha however ignored him, instead choosing to keep all his attention fixed on Kakyoin.

“So, what’s your name?” he asked, his eyes not leaving Kakyoin’s for even a second.

“It’s Kakyoin. I’m a new transfer student”

The alpha hummed in approval, the sound low in his throat. He reached his hand out towards Kakyoin’s ear. Kakyoin felt himself freeze up as Dio gently poked at his earring.

“Kakyoin, huh. It suits you”

Kakyoin immediately decided that he did not like the way his name sounded coming from those lips. Not one bit.

“I’m Dio Brando, a pleasure to make your acquaintance”

Kakyoin recalls the discussion that the omega girls were having a few days earlier. Dio had been one of the names thrown around in their conversation. So he was clearly someone that most people knew of. Kakyoin was not very surprised at this, as he understood why Dio would seem desirable to an omega. At least to those that didn’t spend a lot of their waking time actively trying to avoid such people, like Kakyoin himself did.

But before Kakyoin had time to come up with a reply their teacher had entered the room. Kakyoin felt as relief washed over him. There was a certain coldness in Dio’s eyes that he didn’t like. And Caesar’s reaction toward him joining them worried him as well.

The assignment of the day was to do some simple sketches of different types of landscapes. The room was quickly filled with a low buzz of voices as people begun talking among each other while getting to work.

Kakyoin and Caesar immediately hit it off, discussing which upcoming games they planned on purchasing. Kakyoin found him to be surprisingly easy to talk to. Every now and then Rohan would throw in a word about how annoying they were, but Kakyoin quickly learned to simply disregard it.

“Favourite final fantasy game in three, two, one”

“Seven”

“Ten”

“But seven is so good!”

“Have you even played the tenth one?”

“I have but it comes nowhere close to-“ Caesar suddenly trailed off as a splatter of paint without warning come flying straight at him, coating him in the dark green substance.

“Rohan, what the fuck?!”

“I told you to shut up” Rohan replied calmly, giving Caesar a slight smirk before turning his attention back to his sketchpad. Caesar cursed him out from under his breath.

“An important lesson to learn, Kakyoin, is to never wear your best clothes to art class. Because Rohan will undoubtedly fuck them up because he can’t stand people talking like normal human beings” Caesar let out an irritated huff at the end of his rant.

“I’ll be right back, I just have to get this shit out of my clothes before it stains” Caesar then quickly walked off towards the closest bathroom.

Kakyoin looked over at Rohan, who shot him another sharp glare, clearly warning him that he would be next if he didn’t lower his voice. Kakyoin only let out a snort at this, and went back to sketching at his current drawing of a desert, adding in a few palm trees.

“You’re pretty good”

Kakyoin nearly jumped out of his seat as Dio’s voice sounded directly into his ear. He could feel the warmth from his breath ghosting over his neck. Kakyoin felt a sense of uneasiness wash over him.

“Oh, thank you, Dio” He replied, deciding that he should probably at least attempt to stay polite with the alpha. Dio hummed slightly.

“Any particular locations that inspired it?”

“Well, I went to Egypt with my parents a few years back” Kakyoin disclosed, and tried to ignore the feeling of Dio’s breathing against his neck as he kept on drawing.

“Beautiful place” Dio agreed, leaning forward a bit. “I lived there for a few months a while back”

“I see” Kakyoin replied curtly, unsure of what to say. He simply continued to draw, while discreetly watching Dio from the corner of his eye. He noticed that Dio had given up on watching him sketch and was now looking directly at him again. But he didn’t say or do anything. He simply sat there, almost hovering over him but never actually touching him.

“Shouldn’t you be working on your own piece, Brando?”

Kakyoin turned his head towards Caesar, who had seemingly just returned from the washroom. He glared down at Dio with slightly narrowed eyes.

“I was simply admiring Kakyoin’s work” Dio replied sweetly, but backed off none the less. Kakyoin looked between the two men as Caesar took his seat again. The tension between them felt so strong you could cut it with a knife.

And in the blink of an eye everything seemed to turn back to normal again.

“Guess who managed to save his shirt” Caesar clapped his hands together excitedly as he smiled brightly at Kakyoin. “In your face, Rohan”

Caesar and Kakyoin quickly got back on track of their previous discussion. They did however try to keep their voices down, so they wouldn’t warrant any more hissing noises from Rohan. Before Kakyoin knew it the bell had rung, signalling the end of the school day. People around him started to pack up and head out off the classroom, and Kakyoin did the same. Just as he was about to stand up, Caesar grabbed hold of his shoulder.

“Hey, you wanna swap numbers real quick? I want to send you the video of that speed-run I told you about earlier”

“Eh, sure” Kakyoin said hesitantly. “Let me just grab my phone”

He started to rummage through his bag, finally finding it at the very bottom of it, hidden underneath a whole days’ worth of textbooks. He fished it up and turned towards Caesar, whose earlier carefree expression had turned sour. Kakyoin quickly looked around and noticed that they were now left alone in the room.

“Listen, Kakyoin” Caesar begun, and Kakyoin turned his attention back towards him.

“You should watch out around Dio. He may seem charming eunough, but it is all an act. He is absolutely ruthless when things don’t go his way”

“Why?” Kakyoin asked wearily. “What has he done?”

Caesar let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“It’s a long and complicated story, but he has these really sick ways of seeking revenge on the people that he feels have wronged him. One of my friends are one of those people, he actually ended up getting stabbed because Dio couldn’t handle not being the best at everything”

Kakyoin’s eyes widened at this.

“Is he okay?” Caesar just nodded in response.

“He’s fine. But there’s been lots of other rumours of things he’s done going around. But his family are all lawyers, so they usually succeed in keeping it on the down low. That’s why you’ll probably only hear people around here praising him” Caesar fell silent.

“I see” Kakyoin replied, an unnerving feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. “Thank you, Caesar. I’ll keep that in mind”

Caesar gives him a slight smile. They stand in silence for a few moments.

“Right! Could I still have your phone number? I wasn’t kidding about that speed-run”

Kakyoin happily agrees and they quickly swap numbers. Caesar then picks up all of his stuff and heads towards the door.

He hesitates just as he is about to walk out of the room, and turns back to face Kakyoin again.

“Please do be careful around Dio. I’ve hears rumours about the… things he has done to omegas’ in particular”

“I’ll be careful. Promise”

“Good. I guess I’ll see you later then” Caesar lifted his hand in a wordless goodbye and walked out the door. Just as Kakyoin was about to pick up his stuff his head poked around the doorframe again.

“And if he tries anything always punch for the throat” Kakyoin let’s out a quick laugh at this.

“I know how to fight, Caesar”

“Just making sure. Bye then!”

And then his head once again disappears, and Kakyoin can hear his footsteps moving away down the hall. Kakyoin throws his bag over his shoulder and follows out into the hallway. The school is almost entirely empty by now. Which wasn’t very surprising, very few people enjoyed being in school enough to actually stick around after the day had ended.

Kakyoin made his way towards the main entrance, and out into the slightly cool afternoon air. The sky had begun to darken ever so slightly. He should probably get a move on if he wanted to make it home before it turned completely dark. He started digging through his pockets for his headphones, as he began walking, turning down onto the road toward his house.

“Kakyoin”

He instantly froze in place.

That was without a doubt Dio’s voice. Kakyoin turned his head slightly as he watched Dio confidently march up to him, both hands deep in his pockets.

“What took you so long, I was beginning to think that you had gotten lost somewhere” Dio smiles at him.

“Ah, Caesar just wanted to show me something before we left” Kakyoin fiddled with his thumbs nervously. “Why are you still here, Dio?”

“I was hoping to get some company on my walk home. Luckily it seems we both live down the same road” Dio flashed him another smile. His eyes however still looked as cold as they had been back in the classroom.

Kakyoin could feel his mind spinning as he tried to come up with an excuse that would keep him as far away from Dio as possible.

“I wouldn’t want to bother you, you must be pretty tired-“

“Nonsense, you are far from being a bother, Kakyoin” Dio paused as he looked Kakyoin up and down. “Shall we?” He nodded slightly, signalling for Kakyoin to keep walking. Kakyoin’s mind is at a blank, and he simply does as suggested. Dio picks up his own pace as well, walking close by his side.

“Besides” Dio continued “It would be unfortunate if you were to walk home all alone and run into someone, troublesome”

At the last few words he looked straight into Kakyoin’s eyes. Kakyoin could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“I know how to take care of myself, just because I’m an omega doesn’t mean I’m helpless” he countered. His words would hopefully be enough to make Dio back off.

Dio raised his hands in defeat and let out a slight chuckle.

“I’m sure you can, but it is always better to be safe than sorry, isn’t it?”

Kakyoin just stayed quiet. But Dio didn’t seem to mind his silence. Instead he started telling Kakyoin about his studies, every now and then asking Kakyoin a question, which he in return replied to as curly as possible.

Dio however did not let this faze him, as he kept on talking until Kakyoin could finally spot his own house appearing in the distance as they turn a corner.

He let out a slight sigh of relief as he stopped to a halt in front of the gate. Dio abruptly cuts off in the middle of his sentence.

“Oh, this is where you live?” he asked, his eyes still refusing to leave Kakyoin’s form.

“Yep. Bye then” Kakyoin replied dismissively as he turned to walk up to the gate. Dio’s arm quickly shot out in front of him, stopping him from moving away.

“I live just a few blocks down the road, we’re practically neighbours” Dio smiled at him.

“That’s nice, but I really should get inside-“

Kakyoin is once again cut off as Dio shifted to stand right in front of him, effectively blocking Kakyoin’s view of the front door. One of his hands comes to rest at the slight curve of Kakyoin’s waist, and Dio leans forward slightly.

Kakyoin stood frozen in shock.

Dio’s other hand moved up to tuck his wavy bang behind his ear, before lightly grabbing a hold of his chin. Kakyoin could feel Dio’s breath on him as he leaned downwards slightly. His stomach turned.

“I wouldn’t mind if you were to come over to my place for a bit, Kakyoin” Dio’s voice is nothing more than a whisper.

Kakyoin’s mind suddenly goes clear and he springs into action, giving Dio a sharp push, resulting in him taking a few staggering steps backwards.

“I’d rather not” Kakyoin said coldly, hoping that his voice won’t betray him as he can feel a slight tremble in his hands.

Dio looked taken aback for a moment, before he quickly slipped back into his previous confident smirk.

“I see-”

“And I would prefer it if you were to back off from now on”

They stand in silence for a few moments, Kakyoin only focused on keeping his breathing even.

“I’ll head off then, it was nice meeting you, Kakyoin” Dio said in an indifferent was, bowing his head slightly. He gave Kakyoin a final short glance, his expression unreadable, before he turned around and continued on down the road.

Kakyoin watched him until he finally turns a corner and is out of his sight. He willed his heart to calm down as he quickly opened the gate and slipped in through the front door. He immediately made a beeline for his room and threw himself down on the bed.

All he had wanted was a quiet, uneventful day.

But he had gotten anything but.

Faith had apparently decided that it was time to introduce a series of new assholes into his life. First that douchebag Trent, and then that absolute creep Dio who made his skin crawl. He felt thankful towards Caesar for at least warning him about the guy. At least he had been kind towards him today. Maybe they were even close to becoming friends. They had exchanged numbers after all.

And then there was Jotaro. The past hour of activity had been quite effective in keeping him off his mind. But now that he is back home and safe in his own room his thoughts started floating back to those bright green eyes of. That were almost tender, and were missing that aura of coldness that Dio’s emitted.

Kakyoin let his eyes shut for a moment. His brain too tired from the day’s events to do anything more productive. He slowly felt himself be lulled to sleep, dreaming of emerald green eyes and dark, messy hair.

#Jotaro x Kakyoin #jotakak #JJBA #fanfiction #omegaverse #my fics #AITOE

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floppy999 · 5 years

Text

My reading list (bkdk fanfics)

Here it is!

All these fics were updated or finished on december. (Not particular order)

Swap it out ( Not Rated )

''Good morning, Deku.'' Katsuki said happily with a sweet smile.''Fuck off, Kacchan.'' Izuku responded in a bored tone, not even looking at the blond when he sat down in the seat in front of him.The whole class held their breath.''Holy shit.'' Koji finally said. In which Kaminari has an idea, Todoroki likes to spend his father's money and Izuku and Katsuki are up for the challenge.

Off Limits (Explicit)

When his second rut hit, Katsuki was tempted to start reconsidering Izuku being off limits. It wouldn’t be too weird, right? It’s not like they were hanging out together on their off days. While screaming into a pillow in a fit of frustration instead of rubbing himself raw, it seemed like a great idea.Once his rut started tapering off, he threw away the idea again. -Then the third rut hit, and Katsuki was officially over this bullshit.

Cross Off (Explicit)

“But are you two really friends?”

That sharp sting hit Izuku in the gut again, but as he opened his mouth to respond, Todoroki walked past him, heading towards the exit. The dual-haired teen cocked his head to the side as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Just think about it, Midoriya. We aren’t here to tell you what to do, but we do hope that you will take our concerns under consideration, and try to convince Aizawa-sensei that his decision is not right for you.” Iida removed his hands from Izuku’s shoulders, and followed suit with Todoroki, casting a brief nod in Izuku’s direction.

Hummingbird Heartbeat ( Explicit )

“The knife went through his fucking chest, Kirishima.” Katsuki spat his name into his face, mouth twisting into a vicious snarl, teeth and all. “You know that's where his heart is, right? And his fucking lungs? All the vital shit?” Kirishima blanched. “I-I know, I just meant—” “What, you mean to tell me that your stupid fuckin’ ass is so ignorant to forget that he lost a shit ton of blood, hah?! Yeah, it was a flippin’ knife wound, oh hoo-ray, but look at the nerd now! He’s fucking dying because of it!”

In A Sky Of A Million Stars (Who Cares If One More Light Goes Out?) ( Mature)

He could never forgive himself.It was his fault.He’d planted the idea like a seed he’d never known would grow. (Or: What if Izuku jumped?)(OR: The one where Izuku jumps and lives and Katsuki visits him every day and Class 1-A not-so-secretly finds it adorable that their designated angry pomeranian brings flowers to his comatose childhood friend.)

Bad at Love ( Teen And Up Audiences )

Class 1-A is put to the test in one of U.A.'s classes and tests where they face a faux-villain they can't seem to win against. During the two-day fighting, Bakugou noticeably becomes more and more shaken by the faux-villain. Midoriya wants to help him and to become his good friend once again. Bakugou knows there is more than friendship in his own head but wants to keep Midoriya close, if only to keep him safe. But with jealousy, friendships, and their dreams on the line, they have to get even closer to help the other.

The Roads Between ( Mature )

In a world with disappearing quirks, Izuku, a government employee, and the recently captured Lord Explosion Murder are forced to team up in order to stop a coup of Japan by the League of Villains. More than just their lives are on the line and teamwork is the name of the game, but how can two people so seemily different from eachother ever hope to accomplish such a task?

Crimson Concrete ( Mature )

Bakugou Katsuki was pretty sure he had this vampire shit down to a tee. All he had to do was stay away from the sunlight, avoid churches and not have any attachments to humans? That was literally how Katsuki had lived his life up until now- it was the exact same, except, he supposed, with higher stakes (ha, get it?)“Hey dude, does this mean you can’t eat garlic bread anymore?”Oh.OH NO.

The Space Between (Mature)

Holding his expensive camera tightly between his hands, Midoriya Izuku looked up at the once-white letters displayed on the black storefront banner. “The Hard Luck Bar,” he murmured to himself, unsure if he was getting ready to enter or flee.

Amateur photographer Midoriya Izuku is stuck in a rut and desperate for a change of pace. Deep in his city's grimy underbelly, he finds exactly what he's looking for in the form of an underground punk sensation on the verge of their big break, fronted by a foul-mouthed firework of a human being. Loud, brash and passionate, Izuku may have just found the creative spark he needed, as well as something new to set his soul ablaze.

Cinnamon Bun Bun ( Explicit )

In a world with humanoid creatures called "pets", Katsuki Bakugou finds himself suddenly the owner of a timid curly haired rabbit. How the fuck did that happen? Will the reluctant new owner and abandoned pet be the best thing for each other or will it end in disaster? Only the tags will ever know.Warm and fuzzy fluff pet AU with hints of angst and humor! *This story is mostly about fluff. Warning and "past" tags for a backstory chapter(s) almost exclusively. Will warn at the beginning of ANY chapter with ANY sensitive issues.*

Stay with me, Midoriya ( Mature )

An alternate "conclusion" of the battle when Midoriya saves Kota during the Summer Camp attack. Or, Midoriya is badly hurt and Bakugo is the only one who heard the scream for help.

Restless ( Mature )

Second year at UA was essentially the same as the first, though everyone had fucking been developing and growing or some such asinine shit. And Katsuki was still reigning supreme. Things were fine up until shitty Deku had to derail everything with his fucking.....fucking. This year was gonna be hell for Katsuki.

Swarm (Explicit)

General Izuku Midoriya, a rare omega cherry bee and Second in Command to Chief All Might's army, is left to run and defend Brambleberry Hive. he never expects a swarm of vicious hornets, led by alpha general Katsuki Bakugo, to ambush them and take over the hive. Bakugo takes his place as Chief Alpha, making Izuku his prisoner and slave. But Izuku refuses to let Bakugo control him and fights the alpha every chance he gets. He will have his revenge on Bakugo and regain control of Bramberry....

my ex-man brought his new boyfriend ( Mature )

izuku's desperate to get a date after being persuaded (forced, more like) to go for a family reunion back in his hometown, in which he will most definitely see his ex, todoroki shouto, with a date of his own.in a last attempt to find someone, izuku asks for help and ends up getting bakugou katsuki.

The Hunting Party ( Explicit )

Izuku had gotten himself into many messes over the years. He’d once got stuck in the back of a restaurant after hours because he’d been too shy to ask someone to let him out of the staff bathroom he’d locked himself into.

Painting Flowers ( Teen And Up Audiences )

Where Bakugo Katsuki works at his parents' flower shop and Midoriya Izuku is a hot regular that simply comes to sketch flowers all day long.

BNHA: Hybrid A/O/B Works ( Works:6) (Explicit / mature)

You ever fantasize about Wolf Bakugou chasing down a sweet rabbit? Or the wacky shenanigans of trying to figure out his pet's heat problems? This is the series for you, mate, and I'm always happy to provide your dosage of pure nsfw. (With too much plot)

Say you love me ( Mature )

Izuku is going through his very first break up and suffering the whiplash affects of it. He discovers he’s got a new neighbor and his name is Katsuki. They’re not the best of neighbors in the beginning but by the end of the story they will be. But basically Izuku and Katsiki end up falling in love but don’t necessarily know that they both feel the same way about one another because they’re both very slow in the feelings department when it comes to other people. But with the help of Bakugous best and only friend, Eijiro, and a lot of prolonged effort shit happens.

Lovebites ( Explicit )

Katsuki Bakugou was going to hate this summer.He thought he'd hate it because he was being forced to leave home and work for his mother's friend in a small, seaside town. He thought he'd hate it cause he was being punished for burning his room to a crisp. He thought he'd hate it because he hated change.But it turns out, he hated the Supernatural Turfwar between four species that shouldn't exist but do a whole lot more....Or The one where Katsuki is forced to move in with Inko for the summer and finds himself falling for a particular bloodsucker....

Album Title in Progress ( Explicit )

Izuku's singing makes Katsuki realize sex is Real™ and uses those feelings to make a bomb-ass(lol get it? cuz his quirk is...) album while also helping a self-doubting Izuku realize how fire his mixtape is.

A Chaotic Reunion ( Teen And Up Audiences )

Even as a villain, Izuku Midoriya's admiration for Bakugo Katsuki never faltered, even when his admiration for all the heroes in the world did. After leaving his home to join the league, Bakugo Katsuki remains his one true reason to keep going on in such a pointless life. He never expected to meet him again, especially not in this kind of situation.

The Hardships of love ( Explicit )

Katsuki has always known just exactly what he wants, that just so happens to involve a certain green-eyed boy. How will he cope when what is his suddenly goes away, only to return years later? A/O/B universe, Alpha Katsuki, Omega Izuku,

Soul Bonded ( Explicit )

Izuku Midoriya had always been told he was a beta. So why did he find himself sneaking into Kacchan's room and taking old shirts? Why did his sweaty gym clothes smell so good all of a sudden? A story in which Bakugou and Midoriya are definitely not mates, no matter what Recovery Girl and Midnight say. And they definitely, DEFINITELY don't have feelings. Nope.

Iridescent ( Mature )

After Katsuki learned Izuku’s secret about One For All, he said that things would be different from now on. The two of them learn how to stand on equal grounds and be proper rivals, and that gradually leads them to evolve into something more – or, rather, they start to realize what was there all along. Because what’s left after all the bitterness and misunderstandings are gone? Positive feelings. By the time they reach their third year, they can’t go a day without seeing each other. Eventually, they start pining over one another. Katsuki secretly works through his insecurities in order to accept his feelings for his childhood friend, but it goes haywire once he realizes that he doesn’t know how to apologize for the wrongs he has done.

Stygian Fire ( Mature )

Izuku's Quirk manifest at the tender age of five. It's strange that he would have a fire Quirk given what his mother's Quirk is, but he chalks it up to genetics on his father's side. A week later, there's a (familiar) stranger in the kitchen, and everything changes.

i packed up everything except those memories ( General Audiences )

For a long moment, they all stare at him, wide-eyed and shocked.And then Bakugou laughs and leans forward to press his mouth to Midoriya’s. “I fucking love you, ya damn nerd.”Midoriya reddens, but kisses back enthusiastically, and his lips curve into a dazed smile when Bakugou pulls away. (or, Bakugou works at a bar and Midoriya is the nerd that keeps him company.)

The Art of Indifference ( Not Rated )

Bakugou is used to being the center of attention- be it anger, confussion, or fear (mostly fear) everyone always gives him a reaction.Until all the sudden, Deku doesn't. What a fucking asshole.

Wild Child ( Explicit )

Imagine Tarzan, but KatsuDeku,with wolves instead of gorillas,and with a lot more smut.

The Kiss ( Teen And Up Audiences )

Katsuki has feelings but refuses to admit it; Izuku has feelings but refuses to act on them. And just when they finally begin to understand each other, that fucks everything up. Or: What if Katsuki kissed Izuku at the end of their fight?

Full Disclosure ( Explicit )

Izuku had never wanted to protect anything as much as he wanted to protect the fire between them, even as it caught fire and consumed him. He'd gladly go up in flames if it meant getting to see Kacchan like this. Or The alternate outcome of the battle at Ground Beta and the relationship that changed because of it.

When lust prevails ( Explicit )

Bakugou and Midoriya got into a heated argument which led to heated interactions; main pairing BakuDeku, side pairing KiriKamiEpilogue update featuring jealous Bakugou, confused Midoriya, pragmatic Todoroki, and class 1a eavesdropping the drama :DThis story is officially completed :)

Sheep in wolves clothing ( Mature )

Don’t go into the woods at night. It’s a self explanatory warning but apparently not even passing near them in a vehicle is 100% safe. Especially not when all the news stations are warning of an unknown threat. Unluckily for Izuku it’s the only route home

You Found Me Flinching In The Dark ( Mature )

Or, Izuku remained quirkless, he became a hollow depressed kid that lives his last few years of high school in a mental ward. (Updates once a month)

Go to Bed, Dumbass ( Mature )

"What the fuck are you doing here at two in the morning?" The blond male asked in a voice that was closer to a growl as he curled the weight he was holding."I could ask you the same question," Izuku replied with a small smile as he headed for the bench press.

Never Easy ( Mature )

Bakugou and Midoriya have known each other forever but as the years drug on their relationship became complicated and the boys found themselves barely knowing each other. Things seem dim on them ever really being friends again but when Midoriya is caught in an awkward situation by Bakugou, things start to change, and both males seem skeptical about getting their hopes up. This does not start out Mature, but will have Mature parts. I will warn you and you can skip them if you like.

Grief Counseling ( explicit)

A slowburn fic where Kacchan tries to convince Deku to take advantage of the grief counseling provided for free to heroes experiencing their first failed rescues. Lots of flirting. Healing their relationship comes first. The romantic bit where they fall helplessly and stupidly in love comes after.

"Streetcar Named Desire" ( Explicit )

If yesterday someone told Izuku that he, one of the most diligent students with the top academic ranking, would end up in Principal Aizawa’s office today, he wouldn’t have believed them. But lots things could change overnight. So here he was, slouching in the creaking chair in the reception in front of the principal’s office. [the story about how Deku and Kacchan ended up taking part in a school's play and went through high school shit and ended up in love]

Unseemly Beasts ( Teen And Up Audiences )

Dragons. Destructive beasts tearing through everything in their path and deadly to anyone who opposes them. Midoriya has never seen a dragon, never planned to, but now he needs the help of one. He just... didn't want to kill one. Not if he could help it.

Rivals with Benefits ( Explicit )

When Izuku gets drunk at a Class 1A Halloween party he accidentally outs himself. Then to make matters worse he confesses to Katsuki that he wants to be a little more than rivals.

2,645 Miles ( Explicit )

Izuku wants so badly to get to the other side of the country without his parents realizing he's missing. He just wants to find out who he is.Katsuki is desperate to make it to Los Angeles without being caught by the police, desperate to fix his mistakes.Neither know what to expect, but on a roadtrip across the U.S. involving four fugitives, two oblivious runaways, a high risk crime ring, and a police taskforce, the two will discover that there's more in store for them than what they originally thought.

Dragon's Mark ( Mature )

Katsuki Bakugou has been living on his own for many years, accompanied by a very annoying red dragon named Kirishima. They are the last of their kind, unknown to humans. At least, that was how it used to be until a shy boy by the name of Izuku Midoriya enters the picture.

Breaking Point ( Mature )

“Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

#long post

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