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gmariam19 · 3 years

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This is no drabble - this is a one-shot! Here is my 2k Secret Santa fic for KrampusKink2020 Week Four featuring both prompts - toys and toys. 😇 I almost want to apologize as I feel like it’s one of the more ridiculous things I’ve written for these two, and it kind of goes on and on, and then there are some really bad lines at the end. . . but well. Maybe that’s the point? Utter ridiculousness? Enjoy and thank you for reading! 😊

Secret Santa

Beaumont Kin opens his gift first and finds the newest action figures from his favorite comic. He guesses they’re from Jess, and she happily drinks her whiskey shot since he was right. Her gift is a model airplane to go with her growing collection, but it’s not from Rey, and Jess drinks again for being wrong. Maybe it’s a good thing they are all at home on Zoom this year; at this rate, someone is going to end up under their own table instead of under Finn and Poe’s. At least Jess has Jannah to make sure she gets to bed.

Rey received a large shipping box and pulls out a gift bag just as big—actually, it looks like a garbage bag with a red bow. She finds a large stuffed animal and squeals as she throws her arms around the life-sized wolf. “I think it’s from Jannah!” she says.

Jannah shakes her head and mimes taking a shot. They’ve all got them lined up and ready to go. Rey frowns. “But you know how much I love wolves! You got me one last year!”

“We all know how much you like wolves, Rey,” Finn tells her. “It’s why you’re living out in the middle of nowhere. Now drink.”

Rey shrugs and hugs her wolf again, completely nonplussed by the jab; solitary living out west suits her more than anyone Finn knows. Or maybe she’s still getting over the bad break-up with Ben Solo. She does her shot—probably tequila—and gasps at Jannah to go next.

Jannah opens a Nerf bow and arrow set. She tears into the packaging and starts shooting it around the room until there is a loud crash and a startled meow. Jess and Jannah dash out of view of the camera, laughing.

“She hit Ivee!” Jess tells them as she sits down again. “She’s mad, but okay.”

“So who do you think it’s from?” Rey calls. She’s cuddled up with her stuffed wolf and drinking a glass of wine now.

Jannah returns to the screen and studies them. “Well, I want to say Poe because he’s such a kid at heart, but that’s too easy. So I’m going to say Rose because she’s smart and sneaky like that.”

Rose shakes her head. “Wrong on both accounts!” Poe laughs. “Drink twice, my dear!”

Jannah pulls a face, but she does both her shots, choking them down as Jess claps her on the back.

Rose opens her gift next, a new strategy game that she’s been talking about for weeks. “I love it! And Beaumont can’t wait to play it with me!” Kin groans, and Rose bumps him off their sofa with a grin.

“Who’s it from?” Rey asks.

Rose leans closer to the screen, pretends to squint at them all. “Finn!” she announces. “Drink!” he tells her.

She does a shot of dark rum, and Finn is up next. He is sitting on the floor with the couch behind him. Poe is lounging next to him with a whiskey sour, and there are several vodka shots lined up on the coffee table. If they have shots left at the end of their Secret Santa exchange, they’ll make toasts to the terrible year that was 2020.

Finn’s box is wrapped in black and red paper with a beautiful gold bow— not particularly festive, but well-wrapped, elegant, and mysterious. Finn has a funny feeling about it and glances up at Poe, who is watching closely and clearly holding back an impish grin. Which means he either knows what it is and who it’s from, or he got it himself.

Finn rips the paper off and finds a fancy shirt box. The theme was toys, but this looks more like clothing. It would be just like Poe to break the rules. Poe has a bit of a clothing kink, Finn is starting to suspect, and if it’s clothes, he can be sure it’s from Poe.

He pulls apart the tissue paper inside and stops. Stares. Looks up at the computer, then at Poe, and back down at his box. He can feel the heat rising in his face.

“What is it?” asks Rey. “Finn! Show us!”

“It’s from Poe,” Finn says, without pause—and without taking it out of the box. “And that’s my final answer.”

“Show ‘em what it is!” Poe says, and he’s laughing as he leans in to kiss Finn on the cheek. He picks up a shot and winks. “Or I will.” Finn watches him swallow, looks down at his gift, thinks…what the hell. Maybe two can play this game.

He pulls out a long black vest…a red silk sash…a soft velvet eye patch. A miniature plastic sword with a small bottle of rum.

There is dead silence on the computer screen, until Rey falls over laughing, literally kicking her feet in the air. Rose covers her mouth as Kin snorts, while Jess and Jannah start asking a dozen questions at once. Finn lets them have their fun, then decides to have some of his own. At Poe’s expense.

He takes off his sweater and pulls the vest over his t-shirt. Ties the sash around his waist (even though he knows perfectly well that’s not what it intended for) and puts on the eye patch, then opens the bottle and takes a long swig while he brandishes the sword. He can feel Poe watching. Good.

His friends are screaming with laughter online. Finn feels utterly ridiculous, and he sort of hates it...until he looks at Poe, whose eyes are wide, his lips slightly parted, and is he breathing quicker? Finn knows that look, because he knows exactly what turns Poe on. And it seems Poe really likes pirates, so Poe can sit there and suffer just as much as Finn.

Finn winks, and Poe’s mouth falls open a little bit more. Totally worth it.

“I hate you,” Poe murmurs.

“You love it,” Finn whispers back.

“Pirates, Poe?” Jess asks. “Really?”

“Is it a Johnny Depp thing?” Rey asks. “I bet it’s a Johnny Depp thing.”

Poe shakes his head. “Fine, keep your secrets,” says Jess. “But open yours now, it’s the last one. Maybe you got matching outfits.”

Poe makes a rude gesture before reaching for his gift. It is a small box, and Finn has been trying to figure out what it could possibly be since it arrived in the mail. The agreement had been to exchange toys this year, because they were all feeling old and sorry for themselves after so many months at home. It seemed like it would be fun, and why not turn it into a drinking game too? They are all both young enough to play with toys and old enough to drink—perfect.

But Finn has that feeling again. There’s something about Rey…she’s focused on Poe, but also trying hard to look casual. Too casual. He watches her as much as he watches Poe open his gift.

It looks like a jewelry box. Poe opens it, slams it shut. Looks wide-eyed at Finn and then bursts into laughter and falls over, rolling on the floor. Everyone asks what it is…except Rey. Poe tosses the box to Finn.

“Show ‘em,” he wheezes. Finn opens it and tosses it right back to Poe.

“No way,” he says. “I already got this hot mess.” He gestures at his pirate outfit, and Poe sits up, still laughing.

“Well, it’s from Rey, that’s for sure,” he says. Rey finally looks at the camera.

“How did you know that?” she demands.

He leans in. “Because you are not as innocent as you look, sweetheart.”

She grins, and it is that sly grin Finn loves about her, when she steps out of her comfort zone and surprises them all. She nods and takes her shot. “We did say we were exchanging toys,” she points out.

“What is it?” Jess demands. “Come on, Poe. Show us!”

“You really don’t wanna know,” Finn tells her.

“Sure she does,” Rey says. “Go on, Poe. Show her.”

Poe shakes his head, but he’s laughing again. “I will get you back for this, you know. No matter how far out in the wilderness you decide to move!”

“You’ll have to find me,” she throws back. “Now show them!”

“I have a plane. Do another shot and I will.”

“Do one with me,” she counters. So they both drink, and Poe picks up the box. Finn leaves the picture. Grabs a shot and downs it himself, earning a smile from Poe. And a wink.

“I saw that!” Rey exclaims. “You love it!”

“Well, I’ll find out soon, I hope,” Poe replies, and he holds up the cock ring Rey gifted him. Everyone dissolves into laughter again, and Finn joins them, because it is pretty damn funny. And it’s from Rey, of all people.

“Thank you,” Poe says. “And Finn thanks you as well.”

“Hey!” Finn calls. “I got my own weird sex gift, thank you very much.”

“Oh, that’s what the sash is for!” exclaims Jannah, and everyone falls apart again.

They reveal their Secret Santa identities to those who guessed wrong, then finish their shots making toasts and telling stories. Everyone pours a few more, and an hour later, they start to sign off, bleary-eyed but feeling warm and happy from the time spent together, even if it was onscreen.

“Enjoy your gifts, boys!” Jess calls before she and Jannah leave. Rose and Kin wave goodbye, no doubt to try out Rose’s new game. Rey is grinning like a cat at Finn and Poe.

“So,” she says. She finishes another glass of wine, and her nose is red.

“So,” Poe drawls. He puts his arm around Finn’s shoulder.

“Gonna try out your new gifts now?” Yes, she’s had more than a few.

“You think I haven’t been waiting all night for this?” Poe jerks his head toward Finn, who took off his pirate outfit a while ago. Poe frowns. “Where did my pirate go?”

“Your pirate is ready to board the ship,” Finn murmurs, then glances up when Rey bursts into laughter. “Sorry, Rey. But I think it’s time we turn in.”

“Have fun!” she sing-songs, humming a bit of a pirate song. Finn joins her as he reaches toward the computer; Poe’s hand is already roaming along his thigh.

“Merry Christmas!” he tells her. “We’ll talk to you in a day or two!”

“Merry Christmas,” she says. “Love you both!”

They tell her the same and log off. Finn picks up Poe’s gift box. “I can’t believe her, sometimes.”

“That was definitely an unexpected surprise,” Poe agrees.

“Yours, too. A pirate outfit? Seriously?”

Poe shrugs. “It was for fun. I got you something else for tomorrow.”

“I hope it’s not a wizard costume.”

“Space wizard, maybe.” Poe smiles and leans against Finn’s shoulder with a happy sigh. Finn teases his lips against Poe’s ear.

“You ready to head back to the ship and rock the boat? Because my peg leg isn’t the only hardwood around here.”

Poe smirks as he turns and starts trailing kisses down Finn’s neck. “That depends. You ready for me to shiver your timbers?”

“If you don’t, I might sentence you to walk my plank.”

Poe stops, sits up, and makes a face. “You know, pirate pick-up lines are not as sexy as I thought they would be.”

Finn grabs the red sash, wraps it loosely around Poe’s wrists. “You sure you don’t want to be my prisoner, mate?”

Poe’s lips curl up at that. “As long as you wear that eye patch, captain,” he murmurs.

“We’ll take turns,” Finn whispers. Because Poe would make an exceptionally handsome pirate as well, he thinks. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

“Oh, but I’m definitely trying out my gift first,” Poe replies, helping Finn to his feet. They share a leisurely kiss before making their way to the bedroom, where they spend hours exploring the new possibilities of cosplay and cock rings.

#Finnpoe #Stormpilot #krampuskink20 #Finn #Poe Dameron #Rey #Secret Santa #gmariam19 #2000 words exactly because I have number issues

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starship-squidlet · 3 years

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As the November/December fervor that was New Music, holiday one-shots, and Twelfth Night is starting to die down (it’s not dying down just yet, I know, because starting Friday I’ll be posting every day until 1/5, but it’s fine shhh), I wanted to present some of my other fic ideas to y'all, and let you guys pick what you'd like to see next!!! Whichever one(s) of these I wind up writing, I'll be working on planning the New Music sequel while I do! I’m also going to put ballpark ratings (based on what I have planned/the image I have rattling around in my head of the fic idk)

So here are my current fic/AU ideas that I have rattling around in various stages of planning, in no particular order of personal preference:

(I made headers and they make me happy so you’re going to see them)

1) Yo Ho Hero: Space Pirates AU. Think: Newsies characters, (grittier) Treasure Planet aesthetic, Star Wars planet-hopping, and an embarrassing amount of plot from the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything movie. Jack, Race, and Elmer are plucked out of their ordinary lives and thrust into a whole new world as unlikely heroes when Princess Katherine is captured by a wicked pirate. They join the crew of Prince Crutchie and his mage Davey to rescue Katherine and defeat the evil Captain Mechno-beard. (Rated K+-T because... they’re pirates. It’s going to get violent at times, but I don’t intend for it to be like gory or anything.)

Main Characters: Jack Kelly, Elmer Kasprzak, Race Higgins, Crutchie Morris, Davey Jacobs

Supporting Characters: Spot Conlon, JoJo de la Guerra, Specs, Romeo, Skittery

Minor Characters: Sarah and Les Jacobs, Katherine Pulitzer, Buttons Davenport, Albert Dasilva, Snyder, probably others IDK I haven’t finished planning.

2) The Green Fields of France: beginning in canon-era, a look at the lives of Elaine, Mush, and Finch, along with their descendants. Mush and Finch go off to war and never come back. Years later, Elaine finally learns what happened to them. (This one is entirely self-indulgent, I won't lie) (Rated K+. No adult themes, that I’m planning on, but there will be talk of war and dying. Nothing graphic, but just to be safe)

Main Characters: Elaine O’Dell (OC), Charlie O’Dell (OC)

Supporting Characters: Race Higgins, Albert Dasilva, Crutchie Morris, JoJo de la Guerra, Mush Meyers, Finch Cortez

3) {unnamed modern!academia!AU}: Albert transfers to a new grad school and meets a collection of... interesting people, not the least of which is the enigmatic Race Higgins. Follows them and their friends on a wide variety of adventures over several years as they work on their degrees. Theoretically, several slow burns all at once because I intend for this to be very long and a little over-dramatic. Also, it’s kind of an Indiana Jones/Jurassic Park/Stargate AU all at once don’t ask it just seemed like fun. (Rated T. Moderate adult themes, including alcohol, minor violence, dinosaur violence, alien/sci-fi violence, potential “hooking up”. IDK. They’re adults. Who knows what they’re going to get up to. Again, nothing graphic/explicit/everything will be pretty much glossed over but it will also be there.)

Main Characters: Race Higgins, Albert Dasilva, Mush Meyers, Finch Cortez, Elaine O’Dell, JoJo de la Guerra, Buttons Davenport

Side Characters: Elmer Kasprzak, Davey Jacobs, Sniper Wah, Crutchie Morris, Jack Kelly, Spot Conlon, Tommy Boy, Henry Butler

Minor Characters: Specs, Smalls, Sarah Jacobs, Katherine Pulitzer, probably a lot more honestly if this turns out as long as I think it will, assorted characters from other franchises

4) Shakespeare: canon-era. Maire O'Connell comes from an immigrant family with an abusive father. She becomes a newsie to try and get her siblings away from him, but it's hard. Set in a world more like the 92sies movie than the musical. (Rated K+-T for Maire’s father and the Delancey brothers beating people up)

Main Characters: Maire O’Connell (OC), Jack Kelly, Davey Jacobs, Spot Conlon, Race Higgins, Sarah Jacobs

Side/Minor Characters: other newsies we’ll see who comes up

5) A Midsummer Night's Dream: unsurprisingly based on the title Part 3 of the Modern!Theatre!AU. Jack and Crutchie are still working at the World Theatre and living with Elaine and her brothers. March 12, 2020, their whole world changes. It is a summer of life-altering realizations as they all learn more about themselves and each other and hopefully become better people for it. Yes, this is the COVID quarantine one. Very gay. (Rated K. It’s just soft.)

Main Characters: Jack Kelly, Crutchie Morris, Elaine O’Dell (OC), Alan O’Dell (OC), Alden O’Dell (OC)

Side Characters: Davey Jacobs

Minor Characters: Anyone else who’s come up in As You Like It or Twelfth Night (which I know I haven’t published and have hardly written at this point it’s fine) is fair game, but won’t be appearing much because... quarantine.

6) {unnamed fairy tale AU}: This is literally only a vague idea, but I’m thinking something along the lines of Once Upon a Time, incorporating lots of different fairy tales/themes??? I’m thinking sort of the vibe of the Spiderwick Chronicles meets the Hobbit, with elements of Peter Pan/general changeling child legends and Irish mythology. Very mystical. IDK. If this is the one y’all want to see, it’ll probably take longer to start posting, because I’ll have to do more planning (unlike the others, which I have at least a little bit of planning done for, I have very little of even a concept for this one, it just seems like fun). (Rated ??? because who knows)

{Characters TBD} (I’m leaning towards a Davey lead though, based on the loose image forming in my head after making this moodboard)

Feel free to ask questions about any of these that you’d like to hear more about!!! I’m always happy to talk about story ideas xD Make sure to let me know which one(s) you’d like to see in the near future!!! My mesages and ask box are always open!

Tag list: @the-cowbi @i-am-a-wizard @xbanner-carriedx @celestial-rose-sky @ersterwithablog (let me know if you’d like to be added to/removed from the tag list!!! You can also let me know if there’s a specific story you’d like to be on the tag list for if/when I write it!)

All images from google. Headers made in Procreate. Please let me know if any of these images belong to you and you want them credited/removed!!!

#jack writes #fanfic #fanfiction #newsies fic #newsies au #the theatre au #a midsummer night’s dream (newsies)#amnd (newsies)#the green fields of france (newsies)#tgfof (newsies)#yo ho hero (newsies)#yhh (newsies)#the space pirate au #the fairy tale au #the academia au #shakespeare (newsies)#maire o’connell (newsies oc)#shakespeare (newsies oc)#yes i know the gills picture from the yo ho hero banner is a peta promo image i don’t care

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lo-55 · 3 years

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Revel Ch. 14

Revel

Notes:

Vague nsfw in the start of this chapter, but it's nothing explicit. Just a couple of dorks trying to bone.

The first time Tori convinced Katakuri to lay with her was something she would never forget.

It took a lot of coaxing and promises and careful touches from the both of them. He was skittish still, no matter how many time she told him she thought he was lovely, no matter how many kisses she lay upon his skin.

She understood. He had never touched another woman, and they had been wed nearly three years before she had him on her bed, stripped bare for her soft hands and sweet lips to glide across his skin.

She was careful with him, and he even more so with her. It was a night they would never forget, if only because Tori had spent half of it breathless, her face red and tears in her eyes.

All because she tried to take the reigns, and straddle him, but she was so eager she overshot and ended up tumbling ass over end, off of her husband, off of the bed, and onto the floor where she stared up at his shocked face through her thighs dropped around her ears.

She couldn't help it.

She started laughing.

He picked her up off the floor, and she caught her breath and prepared to guide him inside her-

But made the mistake of looking him in the eye.

They stared at each other and Tori’s shoulders started shaking. Katakuri put his hand over his mouth, muffling the gruff laughter that matched her helpless giggling. She clung to his chest, and tried to calm down, but after that every time they made eye contact she fell apart again.

The end of the night found her laid across his chest, still giggling like a loon but more than satisfied. She knew she would be bruised in the morning and Katakuri had deep scratched down his back, but they’d had fun and that was the important part.

When they woke in the morning Madelle was standing outside the door, with a letter in her hand. It wasn’t from her sister, but it was about Gemma nonetheless.

Gemma, her younger sister, the youngest of all of them, was also the first to conceive.

Tori looked from note to Madelle and handed it back.

“Excuse me,” she said brightly. “I’m feeling competitive.”

She shut the door and went back to bed, with no intention of sleeping.

Three months afterwards found Tori and Katakuri dressing in their room for one of Big Mom’s Tea Parties. This time it was Oven being sent to the altar, to secure another alliance with an up and coming big shot that Tori didn’t even know the name of. Only that those particular pirates were making enough waves to warrant being welcomed into the fold.

Tori still wasn’t sure why she had been brought in. Her island was, still, nothing particularly special to Big Mom, and Katakuri’s ignorance led her to believe that no one off the islands knew the Enchantress existed.

Those were questions for another day.

As it was Tori was searching her mother's old chest, the one she had been given when she visited Soldano last. At the very bottom was the jewelry box.

Inside there was a string of small pearls. They were pink, almost red in their vibrance and Tori tugged them out to wear around her throat.

Only, the clasp caught on the velvet lining of the box.

Tori’s brows furrowed.

She gave a careful tug. She didn’t want to break the necklace. Or the box. But what could it be caught on?

Tori followed the clasp until she wiggled her nail in the small gap it had created. She pulled until there was a strange click and necklace popped free. More than that though the lining lifted away to reveal a small hollow. And, inside of it, a red key.

Tori lifted it carefully out of its hiding space, turning it over and over in her hands. It was heavy and smooth. She couldn't figure out what it was made of. Some kind of metal, but it was tougher than anything else she’s seen. It had no give at all.

A black lock and a red key.

And here she had the red key. What were they? Where was a lock, and why did Ziani want it so badly? If they found out about it, would they come after her? Would they threaten Tori, her handmaids, her husband?

Katakuri could demolish all of them but Tori…

She touched her stomach, where it was only just started to curve under the weight of a new life.

She couldn't endanger her child. Not until she had more information. Their islands history was one that filled with bloodshed, murdered queens and poisoned kings, all from people vying for power. She was not fool. Tori understood exactly how dangerous the world was.

Tori put the key back in place, pressed the lining back until it clicked, and donned her pearl necklace.

It hung like a circlet of blood around her neck.

“We’ll need to figure out what kind of name we should give them,” Tori mused, staring out at the sea. She rested her head on Katakuri’s chest, listening to even pull of his breaths, unobstructed for once. They stood on their balcony in the dead of night, where no others would both they or see his face. Tori still thought he was lovely.

“What do you mean, ‘what kind of name’?” He asked, stroking slowly through her long, sea dark hair.

“Well. I suppose it’s not so complicated outside of my isles. But I am of Imperia and Soldano. I’m a ‘Di Imperia’, of Imperia, because I’m the princess. People without titles have their first name and family name, and in Soldano is there’s enough old families and things are so complicated that there’s three names. The Tria Nomina .”

“Three names,” he repeated dubiously. “Like the ‘D’?”

“Maybe,” Tori shrugged. “I couldn’t say for certain. I’m not a historian.”

“No, you’re a polymath.”

“And you are a flatterer.”

“If I can be. Would you give your daughter three names?”

“I might give your son three names,” Tori elbowed him lightly. “We don’t know what it’s going to be. Anyways. There the praenomen , the nomen , and the cognomen . The praenomen is the personal name, to differentiate between members in a family. Katakuri, Lola, Cracker. All of you Charlotte’s, but all of you different.”

“So it’s a fancy word for a first name,” he concluded.

“Mhmm. Exactly. The nomen is the last name. You all come from the same ancestor. You all came from your mother. Charlotte. And the cognomen , that’s a way of distinguishing branches in a family. My mother was Dolce Regina Genova, but her cousin was Chiara Regina Violante. Both from the Regina family, but from different branches.”

Katakuri squinted at her, his ever curved mouth twitching.

“I think,” he said slowly, picking her up easily by her hips. “That you fancy people enjoy making things needlessly complicated.”

“It’s all about power and inheritance. Our power comes from our bloodlines. Without being able to trace those back directly to the people who owned the land, who ruled the country, we lose our influence,” she admitted. He wasn’t wrong.

“Your power is your own,” Katakuri corrected. “You push back the tide itself, if you put your mind to it. You are brave enough to speak for my sister. You are foolish enough to speak against my mother.”

“Flatterer,” she leaned up to kiss him, feather soft. “You think too highly of me.”

“Perhaps.” He turned and caught her mouth in a slow kiss. “You will never stop surprising me, will you?”

Tori smile at him in the dark. “I’ll certainly do my best not to. Good surprises only.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Katakuri threatened.

Tori grinned against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

This life wasn’t perfect, but she had found her happiness. She had her crown and country. She had her husband and her handmaids. Very soon, she would have her first child.

Tori took Katakuri’s hands in hers and pulled him close, letting the crash of waves be their music as she dragged him into a messy, wild dance.

All she could do was revel in what she had.

End Revel.

#one piece #one piece fanfiction #katakuri #charlotte Katakuri #katakuri x oc #oc #victoria di Imperia

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singledarkshade · 3 years

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Magical Mix Up

Chapter Four

(Chapter Three can be found here)

Rip turned when Amy arrived at his side with a mug of tea. He took it with a slight smile before placing it on the table beside the courier he was building. It was not easy doing it from memory with his currently fuzzy brain, but he was getting there. Once he finished it then the next part would be to tune it to the frequency of the Waverider’s engines and time travel matrix, which would be the really tricky part. However, the Doctor seemed convinced he could help with that. Rip had to admit that this was an interesting ship, there seemed to be no obvious pattern to the layout, and the tech was beyond his own. He would love to spend some time investigating it.

“How are you doing?” Amy asked softly when she placed a plate with some chocolate biscuits next to him.

Rip looked up at her and could see the worry in her eyes for her husband, “Hopefully I should be finished soon. Normally I could make this quicker but after my last trip through the vortex I’m a little slower than I usually am.”

Amy laughed, “You seem to be doing alright.”

Sighing Rip shrugged, “This is familiar to me. Making things and fixing things always helped me relax when I was stressed.”

“So, you make a lot of things that let you travel in time?” Amy asked amused.

Rip laughed softly, “Actually, yes.” He could see she wanted to ask and decided to help ease her mind, “I was raised by an organisation called the Time Masters who trained me to guard the timeline. My ship, the Waverider, is more than likely where your husband is being held. I know that ship better than anyone because I basically rebuilt it. Multiple times in fact.”

“Is Rory safe there?”

Rip nodded, “He will be. If they think he’s me with missing memories then they’ll be trying to get him to remember,” he gave an amused smile, “If a friend of mine is still with the team then I’m hoping he’ll work out Rory isn’t me. If he doesn’t, I will never let him forget.”

Amy smiled at him, and squeezed his hand, “We’ll get you home too.”

“Thank you, Amy.”

Amy left her husband’s double to work while she went to check in with the Doctor. Spending time with Rip, she could see the differences that only someone who knew one of them well would and hoped one of the people who had grabbed Rory was able to see them too.

“Doctor,” she called, finding him with his head buried in the chest he kept in the console room, “What are you looking for?”

He looked up, dazed slightly at the movement, before replying, “Rip needs some elion crystals for his version of the vortex manipulator. I know I have a few but can’t quite find the bag.”

The end of his sentence was slightly muffled as he stuck his head in the box once more. Amy winced as she heard things clattering and smashing before the Doctor emerged with a small black velvet pouch in his hand.

“Found them,” he cried, bouncing to his feet, “Come on, Pond. Let’s pass these to our guest.”

Amy followed him, finally asking, “Doctor?”

“Yes?”

“Surely you know how to make one of these,” Amy noted, “So, why let him do it?”

The Doctor stalled and turned to her, “Because this is his technology, I don’t have the precise knowledge he does, and it won’t be as accurate for tracking the ship. Besides he obviously needs something to do, and I don’t want him messing with the TARDIS.”

He started walking again, stalling once more when Amy asked, “So are Time Masters and Time Lords related somehow?”

Turning to her, he demanded, “Time Masters?”

“That’s who Rip said raised him,” Amy explained, confused as the Doctor slammed his hand to his cheek with wide-eyed astonishment.

“Of course, he’s that Rip Hunter,” the Doctor shook his head before starting to walk again, “Well that explains the knowledge of time travel devices.”

“You know a lot of people called Rip Hunter?” Amy sighed, even more confused.

Amy managed to catch up just before the Doctor entered the small room Rip was using.

“Here,” the Doctor place the pouch beside the other man, “Elion crystals.”

Rip nodded and gently slid several out onto the table, quickly finding one that fit his requirements. Amy and the Doctor watched him place it in the casing before finishing the final few connections and snapping it shut, “Done.”

“Excellent,” the Doctor said, “Let’s get to the control room and we can use that, along with the trail we followed to find Rory.”

Rip was relieved he managed to create the new courier so quickly. And he was right, sitting here working on it made him relax so his mind felt clearer. Following the Doctor and Amy through the corridors of the ship, he tried to work out what kind of vessel it was. There were no windows showing space or the time stream, not to mention there was no flow to the corridors. Stepping into the control room, Rip knew the Doctor’s technology was leagues ahead of the Waverider.

“Okay,” the Doctor brought up several schematics, “This is the original energy trace we detected in the hospital where Rory works,” he pointed to the top line, “And this is the one that found you,” he pointed to the bottom line.

Rip nodded and checking the information began to calibrate the courier, happy that it only took a few minutes before he found it.

“Got it,” he smiled at the nervously bouncing Amy.

The Doctor pulled out a long wire and offered it to him, “Plug it in and we’ll follow the trail to give us a destination.”

Rip followed the instruction then moved to join the Doctor and Amy at the other screen. Hope filled him when they got a lock and the screen lit up showing a pathway through the timestream to…

“Ancient Rome,” the Doctor said, “Oh that is unfortunate.”

Confused, Rip asked, “Why?”

“Because Rory and Rome,” Amy sighed, “Are not a good combination.”

*********************************************

Rory groaned as he managed to pull himself up out of the awkward angle he’d been thrown into. Thankfully he had no broken bones, and nothing seemed to be bleeding. Looking around he saw that the door to his cell was now open. Rory eased his way out of the room watching for any of the people who had put him in there.

He could hear shouts from nearby, from the small snatches he could hear it sounded as though someone was trapped. Part of Rory wanted to go help but he knew that if he did then he would end up back in the cell once more. The nurse part of him was shoved to the back as the Centurion took control and heading away from the group, he was relieved to find an exit to the ship which was half open. Climbing onto the crates sitting in the room, Rory managed to squeeze out of the door and quickly looked around. There were some rocks not far from where he was, and he ran towards them quickly. Reaching a safe haven, for now, Rory turned and stared in amazement at the ship in front of him. Blinking as it suddenly disappeared, Rory realised they must have fixed a few things and would soon be looking for him.

Luckily just beyond the rocks where he was hiding were several trees that he could use as cover to find himself a safe space. Moving quickly Rory reached the trees and hugged the tree line to give him as much protection as possible. Reaching the edge, he walked a few feet beyond finding he was on a hill and looking down relief filled him.

The Centurion was home.

Sara sighed in relief when they managed to release Jax from the engine room finding he wasn’t injured and Zari called down to let them know she’d managed to fix the shielding so the ship wouldn’t be visible, wherever they were.

“Is everyone okay?” John asked.

“Zari was a little banged up,” Sara told him, “But I’m okay, Jax?”

Jax nodded, “I’ve been better but I’m fine. You?”

“Yeah,” John shrugged, before asking, “What about Rip?”

Sara’s eyes widened and she darted off to the cells without replying, hearing the two men following her. Reaching the open door, she skidded to a halt finding an empty cell.

“That’s not good,” Jax grimaced.

Taking a slow breath Sara turned to them, “John, you come with me and we’ll look for him, he can’t have got far. Jax, you and Zari fix the ship. Focus on making sure we can secure Rip once we find him again.”

Jax nodded and Sara grimaced, this was the last thing they needed with the ship out of order but turning to John she said, “Let’s go.”

*********************************************

“Bollocks.”

Cisco turned in surprise to where Gideon was sitting at the unexpected swearing coming from the former AI.

“What?” he asked.

Gideon let out an annoyed sigh, “The Legends obviously did not follow my instructions implicitly and skipped a few steps. Therefore, the engines fired and threw them through the time stream.”

Cisco grimaced, “That is bad.”

“Extremely,” she frowned, “This means my ship has crashed in the past, very possibly contaminating the timeline.”

“Can you track it?” Cisco moved to her side.

Gideon smiled at him smugly, “Of course I can, Mr Ramon. I ensured one of the steps they would not skip implanted a trail for the time sphere to follow.”

“So, where are they?” Cisco asked.

“Rome,” Gideon brought up the details, “Neither of our outfits are suitable for the time-period. We need attire that will not draw attention and possibly some weapons that we can conceal but access easily. Just in case.”

Cisco frowned, “Not sure where we can get that. We don’t have a fabricator or a seamstress on call.”

“A costume shop will suffice,” Gideon noted, “And I can make adjustments.”

“Okay,” Cisco said, “Let’s get things together, so we can go find them. I should probably call Barry.”

Gideon shook her head, “There is only room for two of us in the time-sphere and I may need your expertise to get the Waverider fixed.”

“Okay,” Cisco nodded, before murmuring softly, “This is going to be fun.”

Gideon finished inputting the co-ordinates for the Waverider while Cisco pulled together outfits and supplies that they required. Sitting alone in the time travel device her dear Captain had created as they sat watching an empty part of space waiting for time pirates that were possibly going to arrive sometime within the next month. He was bored, driving her crazy with his continual tinkering and finally suggested he perhaps work on some theories of what Time Masters could use in addition to their ships.

He’d designed the sphere and the time courier over those few weeks. It made her smile to think of him. Rip Hunter had been a handful and it was almost impossible at times to keep him in one piece, but she missed him deeply.

It hurt more in this form, an emptiness that she knew would never be filled but Gideon would keep his memory alive in her and continue to protect the timeline as he would want.

Closing her eyes, Gideon thought of the kiss they’d shared and wondered how different it would be in this form. Shaking herself, she focussed once more on ensuring the time-sphere was ready for their journey. She had no time to be sentimental, no time to wish things ha been different and no time to imagine the impossible.

The Legends, the team her Captain had asked her to watch over, needed help and that was what she would focus on.

No matter how much she wanted to dwell on other things.

#fic #legends of tomorrow #rip hunter #gideon #sara lance #jefferson 'jax' jackson #doctor who #rory williams #amy pond #eleventh doctor #the flash #cisco ramon #crossover

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artificialqueens · 4 years

Text

If You Ever Wanna Be In Love (I'll Come Around), Chapter Two (Branjie) - Athena2

Summary: After a mix-up at work leads to Vanessa pretending she has a wife, she uses this fake wife to get out of work events. But when she runs out of excuses and needs a wife for a party, Vanessa finds herself turning to Nina’s friend Brooke, who just so happens to need a fake girlfriend.

Previously: Brooke and Vanessa agreed to a fake dating arrangement Now: Brooke pretends to be Vanessa’s wife at a work dinner.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the amazing feedback for chapter 1! It really does mean so much to me that you enjoyed it and are excited for more! I hope you like this chapter and leave feedback if you’d like! Thank you so much to Writ for betaing, you’re the absolute best <3 <3 <3.

Brooke dumps half her closet on the bed. She hasn’t done this in a while, hasn’t stalked around her room in a robe and makeup, trying to pick an outfit. Sure, she goes to work everyday with fierce eyeliner and sharp suits and silk shirts, but this is different. She’d been extra steady with her eyeliner, blending her contour until it was perfect, but she’s not sure why. Maybe she just wants to take advantage of the night and an opportunity to look nice. Maybe she wants to impress Vanessa–who’s definitely prettier than she remembered–and show her that she’s going to be the best fake wife she can be, good enough to turn heads and have them be the perfect couple at the party.

Whatever the reason, it has her rifling through every dress and pant suit she owns, trying to decide if purple or black or red is the right color, if she should go stripes or plain, form-fitting or loose. She and Vanessa exchanged numbers after coffee, and Brooke has a text asking what to wear half-written before deleting it all. No need to bother Vanessa over this. Eventually she pulls on the plain black dress that pops against her pale skin, figuring a classic will work.

Vanessa is smiling hesitantly when Brooke gets in her car, shooting out apologies for the mess. Brooke moves aside an old magazine advertising fun kids’ activities and settles in, legs bouncing as she gets a good look at Vanessa, soft waves tumbling down her back and dazzling teeth giving the sun a run for its money.

“You look nice,” Brooke says, hoping it’s okay to say. Vanessa does look nice, and she figures compliments should be part of their fake marriage. Her dad always complimented her mom whenever they went out, leaving Brooke and her sister with their grandma whose cloud of old-lady perfume almost dissolved their lungs.

“Thanks. So do you.”

“Thanks.” Brooke looks at her lap, panic growing as blocks pass in silence. She knows almost nothing about Vanessa, and somehow she has to convince people they’re married for the night. Can they really pull this off? This could be one of the worst situations she’s been in, aside from the time she and Nina tried to dye their hair pink after finals and spent the night scrubbing the dorm bathroom clean, pink staining their hands for days.

Vanessa peeks over at her when they hit a red light. “Hey, Brooke? Thank you for doing this. You really saved my ass.”

Brooke blushes. “You don’t have to thank me, it’s not any trouble. I would’ve just been watching Gilmore Girls with my cats for the third time.”

“Gilmore Girls?”

“It’s a really good show. Really soothing, too,” Brooke says. She doesn’t add anything else, doesn’t add whether Vanessa would like or not because she doesn’t know the kind of things Vanessa likes. Vanessa could be a horror movie fan for all she knows, but from the way she jumped out of her seat when a squirrel ran in front of the car, Brooke’s thinking that’s a no.

Vanessa nods. She cranks up the radio when Beyonce comes on, chattering about work, and as they drive further away, Brooke almost forgets her nerves.

—

Vanessa’s hands are stuck on the wheel as they pull into the restaurant parking lot. Brooke looks nice–a lot nicer than Vanessa expected. Her sleeveless dress reveals strong arms that taper into clever hands and long fingers, and Vanessa has to stop looking.

Brooke fidgets with her gold bracelet, and Vanessa knows she’ll have to take the lead to get them through this. She notices her own hands are sweaty, and she dries them on her dress, forcing herself to stay calm. Paul and everyone else already bought the fake wife story, Vanessa reminds herself. All she has to do is turn up the charm until they’re completely sold.

“We got this, right?” Vanessa meets Brooke’s eyes with a hopeful smile.

“Right. We go in, we act married, we get out,” Brooke says.

Vanessa laughs. “You’re making us sound like spies! Just relax, okay? Follow my lead and we’ll be fine, I promise.”

Brooke nods, and Vanessa hands her the second fake ring she’d gotten from the thrift shop. It shines in the dim parking lot lights, gaining its second life through Brooke.

Brooke opens her door then slams it, turning back to Vanessa. “Wait. How did we get engaged?”

“What’s it matter?”

“If I’m playing a part, I want to do it right. And what if someone asks? Our stories have to match so we don’t get caught in the lie.”

Vanessa takes a breath of awe. As absurd as this whole thing is, she clearly has the right person for it, someone careful and dedicated enough to make sure they succeed. Vanessa thinks for a second. “You proposed to me on the beach, at sunset.”

Brooke scoffs.

“What?”

“That’s so lame! That’s something a boring straight guy would do for his girlfriend he knows nothing about. If I’m gonna propose to you, it would be better than that!”

“It’s not even a real proposal!” Vanessa argues, though part of her is touched that even if it is fake, Brooke wants her to have something nice.

“Still,” Brooke insists.

“Got any ideas?”

“What would your dream proposal be?” Brooke asks. “Not some generic beach thing. Something special.”

Vanessa’s pictured her wedding before—gold sun streaking through red and orange leaves as her dress flows behind her on the walk to her wife, the fall air crisp as an apple-—but hasn’t considered all the exhausting details and planning that would get her to that point.

“Well, don’t laugh, but I had a pirate thing when I was little. My mom would put coins and toys in the sandbox and give me a map and I’d dig for them. So let’s say you did a little treasure hunt that ended in the proposal.” Vanessa never knew how much she wanted something like this, something to show her wife knows her like no one else, but as she speaks, she can see it happening. Her breathlessly flipping over a tattered map to see neat lines and bright red X. Her going through each step, faster and faster as her excitement builds, until she reaches the end and Brooke is on one knee with a box—

Vanessa shakes her head to clear out the image.

Brooke smiles. “I like that. It’s nice.” She leans in closer, like she’s sharing a secret. “I had a dinosaur thing, so I won’t laugh.”

“Seems like you still have a dinosaur thing, Miss Museum Head,” Vanessa teases.

Brooke blushes, and Vanessa’s heart leaps. “I guess I do.”

There’s a beat of silence, and they both realize this is it. Doors slam, locks click, and they give each other one last nod before entering the restaurant.

The small restaurant room Paul reserved is packed with disgruntled library employees eager for a night off, and every single head spins toward her and Brooke. A few mouths drop open, and Vanessa grins. They do look impressive, Brooke’s black dress flowing down her long frame, a perfect match for Vanessa’s red dress with tiny black stars, one of her favorite thrift store finds.

But beyond the outfits is something Vanessa can’t quite describe. She gets a look at her and Brooke in a mirror on the wall, and something about them looks right, like they could be on opposite sides of the room and you would still know they were a couple. Maybe it’s the way Vanessa leans into the space around Brooke, or the way Brooke slows her pace for Vanessa’s matchstick legs, but there’s some sort of magic bubbling around them.

Couples cling like koalas and Vanessa throws an awkward arm around Brooke’s waist to look more couple-y. Brooke stiffens slightly before relaxing into it.

Paul runs over. “So you’re Vanessa’s wife,” he says to Brooke, pumping her hand up and down with no sign of stopping.

“That’s me,” Brooke agrees. “I’m Brooke, if Vanessa hasn’t told you.”

“Actually, she hasn’t,” Paul says, giving Vanessa a look. “We’ve been wanting to meet you for months but Vanessa says you’ve been sick a lot lately. I hope you’re doing better after your stomach problems last week?”

Brooke shoots Vanessa a death glare, but she still answers warmly. “I’m much better now, thank you.”

“Glad to hear it.” Paul ushers them over to the table, and Vanessa quickly pulls her arm back.

“Sorry,” she whispers. “Just thought we needed a little touching.”

“It’s fine,” Brooke says, sighing in relief as they slide next to Nina at the table.

Vanessa quickly makes the introductions to her coworkers. Silky smiles devilishly and A’keria and Yvie narrow their eyes, serving as her test panel for the night, to see if she and Brooke can really sell things for the admins.

“Now, about those stomach problems?” Brooke demands. Her eyebrows are furrowed and Vanessa has to consciously stop looking at how adorable the expression makes her.

“Well, when I don’t want to go to parties, I use you as an excuse sometimes,” Vanessa says sheepishly.

Brooke pinches the bridge of her nose. “And how many times have you said I was sick?”

Vanessa shrugs. “I kinda…lost count?”

Brooke groans, heaving a mighty sigh. “I really hope this food is better than slightly-above-average.”

—

The food, it turns out, is actually better than Vanessa expected. She makes her way through fish in lemon butter, but Brooke’s lasagna came with garlic bread that’s calling her name. They’re supposed to be married, after all, so why the hell not? She reaches over and grabs a chunk. Brooke then asks for a bite of fish, and Vanessa knows from her friends’ approving nods and the calm behavior of the others that they’re completely selling the wife thing.

Vanessa doesn’t know what exactly makes a marriage look real, but she follows stuff her parents did—sharing food and joking with each other, letting their hands brush every now and then, each one making her whole arm tingle.

Brooke does her part wonderfully, no question about it. She maintains her calm all through dinner, answering question after question about herself and work. Even though Brooke seems to hold back when she talks about her job, like she’s afraid no one is interested, Vanessa finds herself really engrossed in what Brooke does, no acting required.

Brooke does a lot more than look at bones all day, Vanessa learns. She supervises the museum’s dinosaur collection and has been working on a special summer exhibit for months, getting permission to borrow a T-Rex skull from another museum. She’s also started more kids’ programs, special events and days just for them. As she speaks, Vanessa can see it. She can see Brooke strutting across the museum’s stone floor in a sharp black suit, opening up a crate of fossils and grinning like a little kid, staying at the museum long past closing to set it all up. It makes her smile, and the smile doesn’t leave.

Vanessa also learns that Brooke likes hiking on the weekends, and she’s grateful they’re not really married, because if she ever had to tag along on a hiking date she’d probably pass out.

When they walk back to the car amidst Paul shouting his hopes to see Brooke again, Vanessa feels sad somehow, like the thrill of tonight is fading.

“I, um, I had a nice time tonight,” Brooke says quietly, after Vanessa starts driving. “I haven’t been out in a while. I’ve been focusing on the T-Rex exhibit since January. Haven’t had time for much else.”

Vanessa nods. “Yeah, I get it. We get a lot more kids in the library for summer, I’ve been pulling crafts out of my ass to have more activities. But I love it, you know?”

“Yeah,” Brooke says, grabbing her purse as they pull up in front of her apartment. “Um, I’ll text you about the party at my mom’s, okay?”

“Okay. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Vanessa almost wishes the night didn’t have to end, that they could still buzz with that same magic that overtook them in the restaurant. She wonders if she’s getting her wish when Brooke releases the door and turns back to her.

“Your ring,” Brooke explains, and it hits Vanessa again that this is all fake, just an act. Brooke’s face falls as she tries to twist the ring off. “It’s stuck.”

“What do you mean,stuck?”

“I mean it’s stuck!”

“But it went on okay.” Vanessa shakes her head. “I bet you crack your knuckles. My mom made me stop, said I’d get big knuckles—“

“That’s a myth!” Brooke shoots back, tugging harder on the ring.

“Let me help.” Vanessa twists it with her, trying not to hurt Brooke.

“If I lose my finger, I’m mailing it to you so it can haunt you forever,” Brooke says, a hint of panic creeping into her voice.

“No one is losing a finger! Hang on, I have lotion.” Vanessa grabs the mini bottle of Aveeno in her purse and rubs it into Brooke’s hand, trying not to think of how soft—albeit sweaty—her skin is. Vanessa gives one last tug that sends her flying into the door, ring triumphantly in her fist.

Brooke massages her hand, then meets Vanessa’s gaze. Suddenly, they both erupt into laughter so fierce it brings tears to Vanessa’s eyes and makes her stomach hurt. I’m that moment, Brooke becomes more real to her, shaking and snorting with laughter, her face stretched into a grin. Brooke isn’t just someone who passes dishes at Nina’s without being asked, but someone Vanessa thinks she might want to know more, and she’s suddenly grateful for the birthday party coming up, grateful for more time with her.

“Okay, okay,” Vanessa wheezes. “Good night, for real.”

“Good night.”

Brooke gracefully walks into the building, and Vanessa finds herself staring at the empty space Brooke occupied long after she’s safely inside.

—

Brooke can’t quite believe it, but dinner with Vanessa was fun. Even with the number of questions Vanessa’s coworkers threw at her and the answers she had to keep spitting out, things began to feel less like a contest to prove their fake relationship and more like a real dinner party.

Vanessa is funnier than Brooke had remembered, telling story after story about the library’s chaos, from the time a grown man got stuck in the bathroom to the woman who almost went over the library desk when she found out there was no vending machine in the children’s room. Vanessa acts her stories out like she’s on stage, changing her voice and making exaggerated faces and swinging her arms all over the place.

She and Nina meet for their weekly breakfast the next day, and it’s nice to be around her warmth, nice to be around someone who knows the previous night was fake, freeing Brooke from pretending to be someone else. Even so, all Nina can talk about is how well Brooke and Vanessa did.

“I’m just saying, you really pulled it off,” Nina says around a mouthful of toast. “And she took some of your food! That was so cute, did you plan that?”

Brooke shakes her head, turning to the waffles she won’t have to share with anyone today. Not that she had really minded Vanessa’s slim wrist darting to her plate. “We didn’t plan it. She literally just stole my garlic bread.”

“Well, it worked. You looked so natural. I know A’keria, Silky, and Yvie were impressed, and they’re hard to win over.”

Brooke smiles a little at that. You can’t assign grades for being someone’s fake wife, but Brooke likes knowing she did a good job.

“Yeah. Vanessa’s gonna be my fake girlfriend at my mom’s in two weeks, and then I guess that’s that.”

“You’re really just doing the two things and that’s it?” Nina stares at her in surprise.

Brooke looks down, suddenly self-conscious. “Yeah? I mean, that’s what we agreed to…” she trails off. After last night, she was starting to think that more time with Vanessa could be a nice thing. Vanessa is funny and kind and charming, almost like Nina in a way, and Brooke was sucked into her personality in the dim restaurant lights. But now, in the cold morning light, the effects have worn off. They’re just two people who barely know each other, pretending to be in a relationship a few times. They might keep in touch after, talk at Nina’s parties, but there’s nothing more than that.

“Well, maybe you could stay friends after and do things,” Nina says. “You seemed like you had fun.”

“Yeah.” Brooke shovels some waffles into her mouth, because Nina is right and they both know it. Luckily, Nina moves the conversation onto the library carnival they’re having, and Brooke can forget all about last night.

—

That night, Brooke’s phone buzzes while she’s curled up with the cats, watching TV. Her heart flutters a little when she sees the sender.

Vanessa Mateo: So how long do I have to wait for Lorelai and Luke to get together?

Vanessa Mateo: Is Rory gonna end up with this Dean guy?

Vanessa Mateo: I need answers!

Brooke’s fingers hover over the phone. It’s been a while since she’s texted someone besides Nina or her mom, and she’s not sure how to approach this. Just as friends, she tells herself, and begins to type.

Brooke Lynn Hytes: You’ll just have to wait and see ;)

Vanessa Mateo: Brooke Lynn Hytes did you just winky face me???

Brooke Lynn Hytes: ;) ;)

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #nina west #yvie oddly #silky nutmeg ganache #akeria davenport #branjie #lesbian au #fake dating au #s11 #fluff #if you ever wanna be in love #athena2 #concrit welcome #submission

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ft-dads-au · 4 years

Text

Birthday Wish

A big thank you to @watcher-ofthe-sky for letting us use her fanart of Igneel’s scarf!

Natsu Day 2020 Pairing(s): Natsu & Erza, Natsu & Gildarts A collaboration by @mdelpin and @oryu404

AO3 | FF.Net

Summary: When Natsu wakes up on his birthday he has a simple wish: to spend a nice day with Erza and his father.

July 7, 2003

Natsu felt the warmth of the sun's early rays trickling through his bedroom window, signaling the start of a new day, but he ignored it, choosing to keep his eyes closed. Today was his birthday, but he had no idea what to expect.

Every year since he could remember, his parents would come into his bedroom on his birthday to wake him up. His father would sing Happy Birthday in Fiorean, and then he'd launch into renditions of birthday songs from his native Alvarez. Natsu had never really understood the words themselves, but he'd always enjoyed it regardless. It had always been one of his favorite parts of the day, and he found himself hoping for it, even though he knew that with his mother gone, it was unlikely.

Everything had changed since she'd died last August. His dad - who had always had a joke or a funny story at the ready - was now sad pretty much all the time. Whenever he wasn't at work, he spent most of his time sitting in an armchair and staring off into space.

His older sister Erza was doing her best to fill the void created by their mom's absence. She'd been learning how to cook, do laundry, and all the other chores their mom used to take care of. There was no more time for games or pretend, leaving Natsu feeling adrift. He tried to do as much as he could, helping out with the chores and attempting to put a smile on his dad's face, but nothing seemed to change.

Regardless, Natsu had always been a bit of an optimist, so he remained in his bed with his eyes closed.

Wishing.

Waiting.

Allowing himself the barest flicker of hope that his dad would walk into his room at any moment.

He wanted today to be a good day. He didn't even care about presents, although, of course, that would be nice. The only thing he craved this year was to have a nice day with his dad and sister. So he waited and waited and waited some more until the heat underneath the covers became stifling, and he had no choice but to admit that his dad wasn't going to come.

Trying not to let that affect him, Natsu got up, making his bed to keep Erza from having to do it. He decided to go to him instead. Maybe if he asked nicely, his dad would still do it. He rushed through brushing his teeth, thinking about the words he would say. Stepping out of the bathroom and into the hallway, he walked to his father's bedroom, working up his courage as he got nearer.

But he never got the chance as Erza came out of their father's bedroom and closed the door behind her, standing in front of it with a face Natsu had come to recognize. Erza was disappointed. Still, she smiled brightly when her gaze fell on him.

"There you are! I was getting ready to come get you!" she exclaimed, her voice too cheerful, her smile too quick for him to trust that everything was okay, "Happy Birthday, I can't believe you're nine already!"

As she led him away from the room and down the stairs, she chattered nonstop about everything they were going to do to celebrate. Natsu looked back at the door, an unexplainable sense of dread coming over him at the sight.

The next thing he knew, he was sitting at the breakfast nook, staring at a huge breakfast of pancakes and bacon.

"Isn't dad coming to eat?"

"Nah, he was tired, maybe he'll feel up to it later," Erza muttered in between bites, her eyes fixed on the pancakes on her plate.

"Okay," Natsu shrugged and dug in, it wouldn't be the first time that had happened.

They cleared the dishes, putting them in the dishwasher for later.

"Would you like your present?" Erza asked shyly.

"You didn't have to get me anything," Natsu replied, but his grin was enough to show he sure as hell didn't mind.

Erza rolled her eyes at him, grabbing some sort of wrapped cylinder from the coat closet at the foot of the stairs and shoving it at him.

Whatever it was, Natsu could tell she was really excited about it, reminding him of other birthdays. "It's not another dragon onesie, is it?" he teased, unwrapping the present as slowly as he could manage, knowing that it would drive her crazy.

He didn't last long, his curiosity and excitement overriding his need to be a brat, and soon he was looking at a foam practice sword like the ones that Erza used in her lessons.

"Wow! This is awesome!" Natsu moved it from arm to arm getting a feel for its weight, and soon he began making practice slashes.

"Wanna spar?" Erza asked, grabbing one of her swords from the same closet and pointing it at him.

"Sure!"

She taught him the basics, enough for them to play around, pretending to be pirates fighting over treasure. Their squeals of laughter getting louder and louder until Natsu had to ask, "Shouldn't we be quieter?"

"Oh, yeah," Erza agreed, but rather than being quiet, she stopped altogether. "We should get started on your cake."

Natsu followed her into the kitchen, "You're gonna let me help?!"

"Well yeah, Mom taught you all her tricks. We want it to be a yummy cake, don't we?"

Natsu nodded eagerly, "It's not hard, I'll show you!"

They worked together until they were both satisfied with the results, giggling at their batter covered faces. They cleaned up while the cake baked, with Erza fixing them sandwiches while they waited.

The cake came out looking pretty nice, and they set about making frosting, with Erza determined it needed to be pink to match his hair, although she had also pulled out some strawberries from the refrigerator to decorate the top.

It had been a great day, but there was still something missing, something he desperately wanted. He couldn't help thinking that as much fun as they'd had Erza had kept him busy every moment of the day, almost as if she were trying to keep him away from their dad. And shouldn't he have come down to eat at least? They'd had two meals already, and unlike at breakfast when there had been plenty of food for all three of them, Erza had only made sandwiches for the two of them.

That sense of foreboding came back even stronger as he wondered what Erza was trying to keep him from. So while she was putting frosting on the cake, he snuck away, wanting to find out what was going on and hoping desperately that all that was wrong was that his dad was hungover again.

He had reached the stairs when there was a knocking at the door. Natsu was surprised to see Erza answer, they weren't supposed to do that without an adult present.

Two people came in, one was a policewoman, the other a tall man who was studying Erza and him as well.

"Are you kids alright?" the policewoman asked his sister.

"Yes, we're fine," Erza sounded polite like she always did with adults, but all Natsu could do was watch in fascination and dread.

"Is there an adult here with you?"

Erza remained silent, and it was clear that she was struggling with what to say.

"Of course there is!" Natsu yelled, full of indignation at the implication, "Our dad is upstairs."

It was Erza's flinch that did it. Every single doubt he'd had that day returned full force, and no matter how much he struggled to quiet it, it wouldn't go away.

He had to go upstairs, needed to show these people that they could go wherever they came from because his dad was right there. And soon, he would come downstairs and sing him Happy Birthday, and they would eat the cake that Natsu and Erza had made together.

"Son, you need to come with us," the policewoman said, earning a glare from the other man.

"You don't need to do anything yet," the other man assured him, "My name is Gildarts Clive, I am a social worker from the Magnolia Department of Social Services. I've been sent here to make sure that you are safe and that there is someone here to take care of you. That's all."

He smiled at both of them, and Natsu relaxed slightly, "Now, what are your names?"

"I'm Erza Dragneel, and that's my little brother, Natsu," Erza answered for both of them, her voice sounding wooden, and just like when they were eating pancakes that morning, she wouldn't look at him.

"Tell you what, Natsu," Gildarts walked towards him slowly, holding both his hands in front of him, "Why don't you and I go upstairs to talk to your dad, and if he's there like you say, then we'll go right away, okay?"

Natsu thought it over and nodded, that sounded reasonable enough.

"If he isn't up there, though, I'm going to help you pick out some things, and we'll take you to stay somewhere safe until he returns."

That part not so much, but Natsu was sure he had nothing to worry about, so he once again nodded in agreement.

"Good man," Gildarts smiled and gestured at Natsu to lead the way to his father's room, following him up the stairs.

Natsu stood in front of the door, but he couldn't seem to make his hand move to open it. Gildarts knocked on it and waited for an answer. When none came, he called out.

"Mr. Dragneel, this is Gildarts Clive from the Magnolia Department of Social Services, if you're in there, I need you to answer me."

They both waited in tense silence, but once again, there was nothing, only the quiet sound of Erza crying as the policewoman asked her lots of questions.

"Alright, Mr. Dragneel, I'm going to have to open this door. I apologize for the intrusion," Gildarts peered down at Natsu as if waiting for his approval.

He must have done something for Gildarts was opening the door, and Natsu rushed in wishing to hear his father complain, but Erza's tears had been enough for him to realize what he would find. His father wasn't there. The black and white checkered scarf he always wore sat neatly folded on the bed, along with a gift-wrapped box and a card.

Natsu found he couldn't move, and as much as he hated to feel Gildarts' gaze on him, he was almost grateful when the man picked him up and sat him on the bed before inspecting his father's closet and bathroom.

"It looks like those are for you," Gildarts prodded, sitting next to him, "Don't you want to open them?"

He shook his head, "Not before he sings me Happy Birthday."

"It's your birthday today?"

Gildarts studied him again before sighing, "Why don't you show me to your room? I'll help you get some things together. We don't know where your dad is right now, but we'll leave a note downstairs and a card. If he comes back-"

"He's going to come back!" Natsu screamed, making Gildarts startle.

"Sorry, my bad, when he comes back, we'll have a talk with him and get this all sorted out, okay?"

Natsu could hear Erza coming up the stairs, the policewoman following close behind, and when they passed his room to get to hers, he wanted so much to be angry with her for keeping this from him. But he couldn't. She must have been upset too, but she'd spent all day trying to make his birthday the absolute best she could given what she'd known. How could he fault her for that?

Natsu followed Gildarts to his room, watching listlessly as he packed some of his clothes into a bag. He let his eyes wander over his walls, which were covered with posters of dragons of all kinds. Models he'd built with his dad over the years sat on his bookcase, all vestiges of happier times.

His throat felt like it had a weight on it, but still, he didn't cry. Just took everything in and wondered what had happened. How did everything go so wrong in such a short time? It wasn't that long ago that he'd had a mother who had loved him and a father who - hadn't needed to be found.

Natsu refused to believe that he was gone for good. This wasn't the first time he'd left for a couple of days. He always came back, bringing presents and apologizing for his absence, and then everything would be better for a few days.

Natsu had no idea where his father went during these times, but they seemed to do him good, and that's all that mattered to him. That's what this was, he was sure of it. And with that thought, he relaxed. He'd just have to make sure he was here when his father came back.

Natsu understood this wasn't a fight he could win. He had no choice but to go with these people, but that didn't mean he had to stay.

Once Gildarts was done, he offered him his hand, and Natsu took it, allowing himself to be led.

"Are you sure you don't want to open that present, kid?" Gildarts asked him again.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Alright, but at least take this," Gildarts left him in the hallway and Natsu waited patiently, confused when he saw the social worker holding his father's scarf, "It might make you feel better in a strange place."

Natsu doubted it, but he nodded and let Gildarts wrap it around his neck. He'd just give it back to his dad when he saw him.

Erza came out of her room with a bag of her own. She searched his eyes and then hid behind her bangs, "I'm so sorry, Natsu. I had to."

"It's okay," he assured her, and wanting to let her know how much he appreciated everything she'd done for him, he added, "I had fun today, thank you."

For some reason he didn't get that seemed to make her cry again. Gildarts walked over to her, whispering some words that Natsu didn't catch, but they seemed to make her feel better.

They were led out of their home and placed in the back of a vehicle. Gildarts had grabbed the cake and brought it along with them, but Natsu didn’t want it anymore. Erza seemed afraid, but Natsu wasn't worried. Everything would be fine as soon as their dad came back.

He was sure of it.

0-0

Gildarts had been right about one thing, wearing his father’s scarf did make him feel better. It reassured him whenever they were moved from house to house and he wore it all the time. Natsu didn’t feel at home anywhere, and soon he closed himself off to everyone but Erza and Gildarts. No matter how nice the people were, and sometimes they were, they weren’t his parents and he wanted no part of them.

For two years, he stubbornly ran away from every foster family social services placed him and Erza. It made no difference to him how far away it was, he would make his way back to Magnolia, returning to their real home, determined that his father would come back for them.

He'd fought anyone who said any different, including Gildarts, who had been on the receiving end of his anger more than once.

He was the one who would invariably come and drag Natsu back to his foster home, always managing to keep him out of trouble. It did nothing to lessen Natsu's determination, and no matter how much Erza begged him to stop, he couldn't let it go.

Until the night Makarov Dreyar had shown up in Gildarts' stead.

He introduced himself as Gildarts' father and explained that Gildarts had gone back into the military. He would no longer be able to protect Natsu from the consequences of his constant rule-breaking, so he'd made arrangements for his parents to become their new foster parents.

Makarov even promised to bring Natsu to the house whenever he wanted, as long as he promised to stop sneaking out in the middle of the night.

Natsu wanted to fight, to say that the only home he needed was right behind him, but he had to admit he was drained. The news that he wouldn't even have Gildarts anymore hit him hard. As much as he fought with the social worker, he couldn’t deny that he'd taken a liking to him. Gildarts had been a steady presence in his life, always willing to listen and Natsu had enjoyed the time he got to spend with him, even when he was in trouble.

Now he’d abandoned Natsu as well. But he knew that wasn't exactly fair. Gildarts had left, and it did hurt, but he’d made sure that in his absence, Natsu and Erza were taken care of by someone he trusted. Something their own father hadn't done.

And that's when Natsu remembered Erza's words the day they had been taken away, the apology he'd thought was for lying to him about their dad's absence. For not being able to give him the birthday he'd hoped for.

I'm so sorry, Natsu. I had to.

It had been Erza who had called Social Services on them.

Now that he thought about it, she hadn't acted at all surprised when they had shown up at their door. The realization dismayed him, but he knew in his heart that it was the truth. And he had to wonder why she’d done it.

Erza was not one to give up easily. She must have somehow recognized that Igneel wasn't coming back from wherever he went this time. Or maybe she just accepted that she couldn't take care of them on her own anymore. Either way, she had made the tough decision to ask for help, to ensure that they were cared for, just like Gildarts had.

Erza had accepted the truth two years ago, and Natsu realized that maybe it was time he did too.

If Igneel hadn't come back to them yet, it was quite likely he never would.

Erza had given them a chance at another life, and now Gildarts had offered them a home with his own family. But all Natsu had accomplished with his denial was to hurt himself and put them at risk of being separated. He didn’t want to do that anymore.

Natsu finally let himself cry for all the things he'd lost while Makarov comforted him as best he could.

"So, do we have a deal?" Makarov asked when Natsu was done.

“Yeah,” he sniffled, “There’s just something I want to get from inside.”

Makarov flashed him an approving grin and fished around in his pocket, extracting the house key and presenting it to him, “Gildarts hoped you’d say that.”

#fairy tail #ftdadsau #natsu dragneel #natsu & erza #natsu & gildarts #fics #natsu day

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unfortunate-stranger-losers · 4 years

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Right-Side Up AU, Part Three: It’s the End of the World {AO3} {tumblr} {Part One} {Part Two}

Chapter Fifteen → Secret Lairs

“Are we there yet?” Nancy asked.

“We’ll get there when we get there.” Hopper said.

Nancy groaned and flopped onto Jonathan’s shoulder. “Babe, tell your parents to drive faster.”

“No, no, Hopper’s-” Joyce began.

“Don’t-” Hopper started.

“Oh, shut up.” Nancy said.

“Nance, we can’t break the speed limit.” Jonathan said patiently.

“But Hop’s a cop and he just beat up the mayor. We should be able to do what we want.”

“I’m worried about your morality right now.”

“Eh, we’ll deal with that later.” Nancy sighed, before glancing out the backseat window. “It’s getting dark. If we don’t get back- what if the kids need help?”

“We get that, Nance, trust me. We’re going as fast as we dare.” Joyce assured her.

“We’ve just got one more stop.” Jonathan added. “The… Hess Farm, right?”

Joyce nodded. “We’re almost there, don’t worry.”

Jonathan hesitated, glancing between everyone in the car. “What if we find something there?”

“Then we’ll deal with it.” Nancy said.

Jonathan took a deep breath. “What if we don’t?”

They fell silent, and remained that way until Hopper parked the car, and remarked, “Well. Looks like somebody’s home.”

A truck was beside them, marked in large letters with LYNX. “What’s that?” Nancy asked, peering over Jonathan’s shoulder to see.

“I think it’s a delivery service?” Jonathan guessed.

“Then why don’t we see a delivery guy?”

“Son of a-”

“Okay, Holly, here’s what you have to do to find the treasure.” Steve said, looking about as uncomfortable as he felt- fortunately, Holly didn’t notice.

Dustin and Will were way less uncomfortable than the older teens at this plan, but they’d managed to convince Holly that they had a treasure hunt, but she was the only one who could go through the tunnels; however, if she got lost, it was game over. Then, when they were done, they were just going to wait in the parking lot for her Mommy to pick her up! She was very excited to play the game- Steve was very much not.

“We’re directing you through these radios.” Steve said, “So you don’t have to memorize anything. But every time you come to a fork- that’s when there are two or more paths- you call us and ask us which one to take. If you get hopelessly lost, find the nearest exit and tell us where you are, and we’ll pick you up. If you get scared of the small space-”

“‘m not.” Holly assured him, giggling. “I’m plenty brave!”

Steve took a deep breath. “Yeah, but also, you’re four-”

“Five.” she held up five fingers.

“See? She’s five. Practically a grown up.” Dustin said, smiling at Holly as she giggled.

“When I was five, I was already undergoing testing.” Will said. “Fun fact, that’s when I stopped speaking.”

“Not a fun fact, Will.” Steve said. “Fun facts make you feel better.”

“What does he mean, ‘when he stopped talking?’” Robin asked.

“Trauma.” Will replied, repeating a word he’d heard his Mom use.

“Not making me feel better about sending Holly through the vents, Will!”

“I’s okay, Steve!” Holly beamed, bouncing a little. “Nancy and I have adventures lots! She helped me climb a tree, and I helped her climb in the window and didn’t tell anyone!”

Steve bit his lip. “Ah. Okay. Um, in that case, why don’t we keep our scavenger hunt secret for a bit, too?”

“Got it!” Holly made a motion akin to zipping her lips.

“Okay, you’ve got a helmet me and Will slapped together.” Dustin grinned, handing it to her. “Should fit, lemme strap it on. It’s got a flashlight on top so you can see.”

“And take this.” Will handed her the Russian dictionary. “When you get to the treasure room, drop it first to make sure there are no booby traps.”

“Robin’s going to help you up, and the rest of us will be waiting, watching your dropoff point to make sure pirates aren’t there.” Steve said. “Are you sure? We can always just sit back here and eat ice cream.”

“I wanna find treasure!” Holly nodded.

Steve sighed and said, “Just be careful. And if you hear someone who’s not us-”

“I know, Mr Steve, can I go now?”

“...okay. Okay, Robin, you help her up, we’ll meet you on the roof.”

Robin shot him a thumbs up before kneeling by Holly to make sure her helmet was on right. Steve held the door open for Dustin and Will, who were whispering to each other as they walked out.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Steve said, “Did we just kidnap Nancy’s little sister?”

“Pfft, she’ll be fine.” Dustin said. “We’re on the radio for her.”

“She’s five.”

“No,” Dustin shrugged, “I think Five was that kid they made me hang out with who could change emotions.”

“That was Three.” Will said.

Steve started. “Wait, there are more of you?”

Will’s face fell quite a bit, and Dustin quickly linked their arms, in some form of comfort, before blinking back his own tears and turning back to Steve. “Not, um… not anymore.”

It was just them now. Lucas, Dustin, Mike, Will, Kali- wherever she was- and nobody else.

Right?

“Did you hear that?” Joyce whispered.

Hopper and Nancy shone flashlights around the Hess farm, which was supposedly abandoned- however, Nancy was kneeling by an ashtray, looking at the still-smoldering cigarettes. Someone had been here very recently. Hopper also had a gun in his hands, and Nancy had one in her belt. Jonathan was sticking close to his Mom, though at the moment he was running a hand over a shelf, curiously sweeping aside the dust.

And just as Joyce asked, they all indeed heard the same sound- very vibrant, but with a dark echo. Like something was starting up. As the sound flared, a dim lightbulb overheard flickered.

“Goddamnit.” Jonathan muttered.

Hopper stood up straighter, and passed his flashlight to Jonathan. “You three stay behind me. We’ll follow it to the source.”

Suspecting they didn’t have time to argue, Nancy nodded, though as they followed Hopper, she passed her light to Joyce and reached over towards the handle of her gun, just in case.

They passed several rooms, but the sound seemed to reverberate across the walls. Just when it got louder, they stepped into another room, and found it had dimmed.

“Where is that coming from?” Hopper whispered.

Joyce stepped back behind the group, and glanced around the room they’d just left- an empty bedroom, recently cleared, with only a mattress on a blank bed. She knelt towards the bottom, shining her light towards something- an air vent, right at the edge of the wood.

She crouched down and put her ear against the floor, just as the sound started up again. There it was- much, much louder.

“It’s below us.” she whispered to the others.

As they turned back, her eyes flickered to the vent, to see some kind of red light shine behind it.

“Oh…” she whispered.

She gestured to the bed, and Hopper nodded, the two of them grabbing the edges and lifting it up, placing it against the wall. Underneath was a large, rectangular hole, a staircase leading down to a wooden floor. They all glanced at each other, and then Hopper went down first, Nancy at his heels and pulling out her weapon. Jonathan and Joyce quickly followed suite, and they descended into a relatively normal hall. However, once Hopper turned to the left, shining his light, they saw the red glow, and some kind of machinery, the kind that did not look like it belonged beneath a farm.

Jonathan held up a hand to silence them, and then gestured towards one of the larger machines- behind it, they could hear low, indistinguishable mumbles.

“Hey, dipshits!” Hopper shouted, running forwards.

“Oh, okay, fuck subtlety, I guess.” Nancy muttered, running after him.

On the side, two men looked over at him, a bit shocked and blinking in the flashlights now shining in their eyes. They stood up, as Hopper said, “Hawkins PD, hands in the air.”

They didn’t make any movements, simply staring in befuddlement.

“Don’t make me say it again!”

One of the men turned to the other, and started speaking rapidly, in a language they were unfamiliar with. Joyce and Nancy shared a confused look, while Jonathan swore under his breath.

“Do…” Nancy stepped forwards, lowering her gun slightly, “Do you speak English?”

One of the men stepped behind the other, who started to speak, though still in another language, his tone suggesting he was trying to explain something.

“We can’t understand you!” Hopper said.

The man pointed to himself, continuing to speak. “We don’t understand!” Hopper continued, but the man seemed as unable to understand them as they him.

Then Joyce grabbed Hopper’s shoulder, shouting, “Shut up!” They all quieted, and she pointed up. Above them, they could hear thundering footsteps, slowly walking towards the opening.

“Shit.” Nancy said.

“Holly, can you hear us?” Steve asked.

“Uh-huh!” came the light voice at the other end of the radio. “Like I could last time!”

“Steve, stop checking in on her.” Dustin said, peering off the roof. “She’ll be fine.”

The door to the stairwell opened, and Robin stepped out, asking, “What’s up?”

“Holly’s doing great.” Will said, showing her the blueprints under him, where he was tracking her progress with a red marker. “She’s just got a turn or two and then she’s there- so long as she didn’t get lost.”

“Oh, God, don’t say that.” Steve put his head in his hands.

Robin took his walkie-talkie, just as they heard a buzz. “Right or left?”

“Tell her she goes right.” Will said.

“Right.” Robin said. “You know which way right is, right?”

“Yeah, the one that doesn’t look like an L when you hold up your hands.”

Dustin held up his hands, making an L shape with both. “Oh, hey, she’s right.”

“This was a horrid idea.” Steve groaned.

“You keep saying that, but she’s doing great.” Dustin said. “Honestly, I didn’t even know my way through vents at this age.”

Steve banged his head against the edge of the roof.

“I think I found it!” came Holly’s voice. “I see the boxes!”

“Good! Good girl!” Robin said quickly, as Will sat up and nodded that Holly had likely found her way there. “Do you see anyone there? Anyone at all?”

“No. I’s empty.”

Dustin took the walkie, and said, “Push the book against the grate to pop it open, then drop on the ground to check for traps. Then climb down to open the door for us.”

“Gotcha!” Holly said.

There was another pause as she turned off her radio to push the grate, and Will said, “Should we go down to meet her?”

Dustin moved to help him fold up the blueprints, and he said, “No, wait until she has the door open. We need to make sure nobody else is coming.”

“Once the door’s open, we run down as fast as we can.” Robin said.

“And then we get some incriminating shit outta there and figure out what’s going on.” Steve said.

Will and Dustin shared another glance, and Will said, “What if what’s going on… affects us?”

“How?” Robin rolled her eyes, but Steve also shot them a worried look.

“Look,” he said, “Whatever happens-”

A radio buzz sounded. “I jus’ move the panel and press the open button?”

“Yes!” Steve took the walkie. “Very carefully.”

“Hold on. I have to climb on a box.”

“Be careful.”

“I’m good. I can climb good!”

Steve groaned and passed the walkie to Dustin, who slid it into his bag, along with the folded blueprints. “Jesus.”

They heard a clang, and Steve and Robin breathed sighs of relief as the garage door opened up. Holly slid off a box and ran to the front, shooting a thumbs-up and jumping up and down with glee.

“We found it!” she squealed.

Nancy knelt beside Jonathan and Joyce, as well as one of the men who’d been in the basement- Hopper had moved very fast, stuffing tape over the mouths of both of them and around the wrist of the second as a sort-of cuff, while the first was handcuffed beside them. One of them was beside the machine, in more-or-less open view, while they guarded theirs, and Hopper waited behind another machine for their intruder to step through. She held out her gun, waiting, just in case…

“Don’t move!” Hopper shouted, and Nancy tensed, positioning herself in front of the Byers, starting to feel her heart pound in her chest. “Drop the gun! Drop it!” She didn’t hear any gunshots, so Hopper must have the man at gunpoint, but from the sound of Hopper’s frustration, the intruder wasn’t putting down his weapon.

“You understand what I’m saying, big guy?”

Nancy held her breath, glancing down at her weapon to make sure it was ready to fire.

“Drop! The Weapon!”

“Or what?” Nancy froze, shutting her eyes as the man spoke. It was definitely the same man from the lab. Jonathan reached out to put a hand on her arm. “You going to shoot me?”

“Good. So you do understand what I’m saying, huh?”

Joyce moved over to the man they had handcuffed to a pipe, looking him over quickly. He didn’t seem injured, just very confused.

“Yeah, if you don’t put that thing away, I’m gonna blow some daylight into that thick skull of yours!”

“No, you won’t do that.”

“Why’s that?”

“Cause you’re a policeman. Policemen have rules.”

Nancy muttered under her breath, “Yeah, but I don’t,” and started to stand up.

Jonathan moved his hand to her shoulder and pushed her back down. “Nancy, no.”

“Why not? I’ll just go over there and shoot his fucking face off.”

“Nancy, Hopper’s got it under con-”

A gunshot went off, bouncing against the metallic floor, and they heard shouts of a struggle, and someone being slammed into the wall.

“Or maybe not.” Jonathan sighed. “But Nancy-”

“Too late, I’m going to kill someone.” Nancy said, standing back up. “You two stay here, I’ll be right back to deal with that guy.”

Before she could move, they saw Hopper’s gun slide across the floor, landing near them. “Son of a-” Nancy began.

Joyce grabbed the weapon, flipping it over in her hands, as they heard machine gun fire, bullets hitting against the ceiling. “Yeah, you’re not going out there.” Jonathan said. “You’re gonna get shot.”

“I shoot him first, no big deal.”

“Nancy.”

“Hopper needs this.” Joyce said, holding up the gun.

“Then throw it at him.” Nancy said. “Or, just shoot the guy yourself.”

“I can’t shoot.”

“Then throw.”

The machine gun fire stopped, and they heard a clatter as the gun slid across the floor. There were more shouts and thumps, and Joyce finally said, “Alright, I’m gonna throw him the gun.”

“Good.”

Joyce leaned out from the machine, shouting, “Hopper!” He looked up from the ground, where he and his assailant had fallen. She threw the gun, and they watched as it soared completely over Hopper, skidding into the wall.

“Wow.” Nancy said.

“Uh, nice try?” Jonathan said.

“Son of a bitch.” Joyce muttered.

“Okay, my turn.” Nancy said, finally pulling away from Jonathan and stepping out with her gun. Just then, she saw that the Russian intruder ha leaned over, grabbing Hopper’s gun, and she immediately turned and pushed Jonathan and Joyce back, as Hopper ran to them, ducking behind the machine for cover as gunfire blasted.

“We are so fucked!” Jonathan shouted.

“We are not fucked!” Hopper said. He raced to the man and undid the cuff connecting him to the pipes, before slamming it on his own wrist. “He’s coming with us, everybody run!”

“I think he ran out of bullets, let me try to shoot him!” Nancy said.

“God, fuck, Nancy, just run with us!” Hopper said.

“Okay, damn!”

They raced for the stairs just as the machine gun fire started up again. Joyce shouted and pushed the teenagers ahead of her, though Nancy turned and fired a few shots towards the source of the gunfire before they reached the upper floor. Even as they shut the bed back over the entrance, though, they could still see bullets pouring through, shattering the mattress and sending pieces flying into the air. Hopper grabbed a nearby bookshelf, knocking it over onto the bed, before shouting, “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

They raced out of the house, Nancy moving herself to the rear of the group in case the intruder should follow them. As they ran into the yard, Hopper tossed Joyce the keys and said, “Joyce! Drive!” He then turned to the teenagers and said, “You’re in charge of Smirnoff here in the backseat!”

“Why do we have to be in charge of the prisoner?” Nancy whined.

“Because I said so, now get back there!” Hopper undid his handcuff and said, “And one of you cuff to him for the drive.”

“Not it.” Nancy said. Jonathan groaned.

“Kids, we are running from an assassin with a machine gun!” Joyce reminded them.

“How is this worse than last year?” Nancy shrugged, before throwing open the car door. “Let’s move out.”

Steve pulled the edge of a pocketknife across the tape atop one of the boxes marked for Imperial Panda, narrowing his eyes. He passed the knife back to Dustin, before opening it to see a large, metallic box. There was some kind of handle on top, so he simply reached down, twisting it to the side and pulling it open.

There was some kind of hiss as a bit of steam burst out, and Steve dropped the lid onto the ground. Inside the box were four canisters, stuck into the metal and topped with similar handles.

“That’s definitely not Chinese food.” Steve said. “Okay, everyone step back, in case what’s in here is radioactive or something.”

Robin stepped back, and Holly obediently moved a few paces, though she seemed to be getting a bit bored of the game and was now playing with her pigtail. Dustin and Will, meanwhile, stayed near Steve.

“Boys, seriously?” Steve said.

“We’ll be fine, probably.” Will said.

“We have a better chance at survival than you.” Dustin pointed out.

Steve groaned, but said, “Okay,” before reaching down and turning the handle of one of the cannisters, pulling it out for them all to see. It was a long tube, inside of which was some bubbling, green liquid.

“What the hell?” Steve muttered.

“What is that?” Robin asked.

Before anyone could guess, there was a metallic clanging, and the room shook.

“Uh, was that just me,” Dustin asked, “Or did the room move?”

“Oh no.” Steve shoved the cannister back into the box.

The room trembled again, and he ran to Holly, picking her up and taking off for the door.

“Steve?” Will asked.

The room shook again, and just as Steve feared, the doors started to slide shut. He wasn’t quite there yet, so he leaned down and carefully threw Holly, watching her slide under the closing panel and land on the concrete.

“Steve?” she called, as Steve raced for the door, just as it slammed shut.

“Holly, listen!” he shouted. “We’ll be right out, tell your parents we’re just closing up, okay? Wait for them in the parking lot- don’t go with anyone but your parents, you understand?”

“What the fuck?” Robin ran for the door, pounding on it. “Where’s the button- Dustin, press the open button!”

“Are you okay?” Holly asked worriedly.

“We’ll be fine! Just… dealing with the pirates!” Steve said quickly, and then he thought of something. “Holly, listen to me- tell Nancy we have a Code Red, okay? At the mall. Code Red at the Mall.”

“Code Red?”

Dustin ran for the button panel, pressing onto the Open button. “It’s not working.” he said.

“What do you mean it’s not working?” Robin said.

“Holly, can you remember that?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Steve said, “Now go wait for your parents. Be safe, okay? We’ll be right out.”

Will shook slightly, and he stumbled into a corner, sitting on a box, and hugging himself. “Dustin?” he called.

Dustin, who was incessantly pressing the open button, turned, eyes widening. “Will?”

“Something’s wrong.” Will squeezed his eyes shut. “Do you feel it?”

Dustin ran to him, sitting beside him and wrapping an arm around him. “Will, calm down, buddy, it’s okay-”

“What the fuck is happening?” Robin asked.

And all at once, Dustin understood what Will had meant- because at that moment, he felt flashes. Flashes of the future.

Vents, bright lights, tunnels, metal. A door pounding behind him. Shouting- from all of them. Screaming. Some kind of pain, in the arm- was it his arm? Will’s? Someone else’s? Being chased, electricity sparking in front of him, and… falling…

“We’re gonna drop!” he shouted, grabbing onto Will, who had already started screaming.

“What?” Robin shouted.

Steve grabbed Robin’s hand, dragging her over to the corner, before protectively throwing his arms over both of the boys. All Robin could do was join the huddle as another metal door slammed over the one that had just closed.

And with that, the room fell.

Joyce drove as fast as she could. The intruder had managed to escape just as they were driving away, and they had a few bullet dents and a shattered back window to prove it. As they moved down the road, Hopper muttered to himself, trying to figure something out. However, after what had to be an hour or two, he got a buzz on his walkie-talkie.

“Oh for fuck’s-” he muttered. He picked it up and said, “This better be good news.”

“Not really, Chief.”

Everyone flinched at the sound of the voice of one of the other officers- Powell? Had Hopper been found out? “What?”

“You know how you wanted updates on that Driscoll woman in the hospital?”

Hopper shut his eyes, and said, “Joyce, pull the car over. I feel like we’re going to need to plan some shit.”

#stranger things #stranger things 3 #stranger things au #rightside up au #rsu3 #st fanfic #mine #my fanfic

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trojansblr · 5 years

Text

#FightOn! (02) | ot7

Summary: The University of Southern California is a prestigious school - only the best or the richest can attend. That means there will be a lot of spoiled brats. Two groups start colliding and the entire college shift alongside them. What will happen when sparks starts to flow between them? Drama will certainly be there.

Pairing: BTS with -eventually- female characters

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Smut (in the future), CollegeAU!

A/N: Don’t forget that if you want to be part of this fic, you can! Just send us an ask with a couple of infos about yourself like your name, age, your major, some personality and physical traits and we’ll find you a spot in USC!

The Characters • Day 1 • Day 2 • Day 3

After getting out of Jimin's room, Deo walked in a fast pace back to her dorm. Hyori had been texting her non-stop and she was sure she wasn't sleeping yet. It wasn't like her at all. She would want to know every last bit of detail of what had happened in that room and Deo would innocently tell her only to regret it the second right after when she saw Hyori's smirk. The smaller girl already knew what was going through her roommate's mind and she wasn't in the mood for sharing. Not that Hyori minded. She had a whole elaborated plan on her mind already, focused on making her friend see the supposed love she had for the art boy. It was obvious to Hyori so it should be like that to everyone else. 

The next morning, when Deo woke up Hyori was already long gone. She was used to that by now. Every morning the girl would wake up a couple of hours earlier to do some jogging. That and to watch the sunrise as she took some sips from her first coffee of the day. Nearby, a cafeteria started beeping signaling coffee was ready to be served and Jin finished taking the last slices of bacon off the pan onto his plate when a sleepy Carolina swooped it right from his hand with a lazy smile spread across her face.

"Hey!!!" Jin screamed at her. "That's my breakfast!" He said making Carolina let out a chuckle. 

"Why do you need two plates then?" She asked already sitting down, fork in hand ready to dig in. 

"Sure thing captain hook." Jin laughed as he noticed she had her right eye closed, sleepiness and the brightness that came from the window being too much to handle at the moment. 

"Arrrgggh!" She pulled up her sleeve long enough to cover up one of her hands and she let out the pirate scream. 

The two were a handful to deal with. Especially in the morning. And their friends were well aware of it. Considering everything, it would be very hard for any of the two to find such a good housemate as they were to each other. Jin was a quirky guy to say the least and Carolina was even worse so joining the two together you would get the most random interactions ever. Including Jin's curiousness for bras and their engineering, to Carolina's habit of enjoying to walk around naked and meditating at 3 am with her head hanging from the couch and her legs pointed up to the ceiling. Nonetheless, they were great friends. 

Another person that was always fun to be around was Hoseok. He was the life of the party. No, saying that is insulting his whole persona. He was the life of everything. Everywhere he went, people knew and appreciated him and he was always happy. When he wasn’t, chaos was about to happen. But today, he woke up feeling more excited than usual. He was going to skip his first period to have breakfast with his sister. 

They had this tradition for a long time. As a kid, Hoseok considered his sister his best friend, she was a bit older than he was yes, but he knew there was no one else in the world that would get him like she does. When she flew to America to study fashion design he was the one who took it the hardest. So after the first year of college she flew back to Korea and convinced the entire family to move back with her when she returned for her second year. Ever since then, on the second Wednesday of the month, Hoseok and his sister would always have breakfast on a cafe nearby. The distance was exactly the same from the house to it and from the University.

"Jaz~~" Hoseok called out as soon as he laid eyes on his sister that was sitting in one of the corner booths. He was always divided between the sunny window and the comfort of the wall sofa. "No sun today huh?" He asked, after giving her a kiss on the forehead as a hello. 

"Honestly, since we moved here I can't even remember how pale I used to be." She joked. She loved heat and the beaches. 

As soon as the waitress spotted Hoseok sitting at the booth, she started walking in their direction, although she could already guess what they would order. "Good morning Peg, how are you?" Hobi greeted her with a huge smile. 

"Hey Hun." She smiled to the boy. "Is it the usual or you're up for a change?" 

"The same, as always." Jazmine, that used to be Jiwoo decided to change her name as she opened her first store 'Jazzy'. She conquered many achievements but now she had a new challenge and she wanted her brother to help. 

"These here," she said, pulling up a big pile of papers off of her bag and onto the table "I need you to spread them around campus." She bat her eyelashes unnecessarily, Hoseok was already picking up one of the papers and examining it. 'Model needed for fashion show' 

"Can I model?" He asked excited. He was proud of his sister's clothesline. 

"Of course you can. I already did one just for you, but I need more. Boys and girls and since you're so..." she searched for the right word "popular around campus, I'm sure you'll find the right people." 

"I'll do my best!" He placed his arm up to his head, saluting as if she was his captain. The food came right after and they started digging into their plates, not having space for conversation. The only sounds pronounced were "hums" and "woow" from how good the food tasted. 

Carolina was tired of hearing her tummy growl despite the hotel breakfast like she had just a couple hours ago so it was time to take a little pause from her soundtrack class. The teacher wasn't teaching anything new to her so an hour or so away wouldn't hurt much. She could already take this path with her eyes closed. Turning left, go down two flights and then left again and she was at the bar. She ordered her usual chocolate cupcake and climbed up the stairs again to her usual broom closet. 

"What? Do you need a broom?" The guy asked as soon as she opened the door, arching his brow as he exhaled the smoke from his cigarette. 

"Yes, it's witching hours already" Carolina said with a smirk on her face. 

"That's not the usual look for a witch. I guess times were good to your kind." 

"Should I presume you're the artist behind all those drawings?" Carolina asked pointing to her drawings and its correspondence. 

"Yeah I am. I was just finishing up answering you." He says with a smirk more guessing than saying but by the intrigued look on Carolina's face he was more than certain that he was right. 

"I think this is the part where I ask your name then." She said in a cool tone but too intrigued on the inside. 

"I'm Ben. Ben Hayes. And you?" He put out his hand for her to shake. 

"Carolina," She crossed her arms, eyeing him up. "Jones" 

"And what are you doing here Carolina Jones? Shouldn't you be in class?" He said in a mocking tone.

"Shouldn't you?" She raised her eyebrow. 

The truth was that Ben indeed had somewhere to be. He had been hired for a couple of weeks now to be the substitute for Miss Finning, the professor of Arts and History. He already knew he was not going to be hired. He had been jumping schools ever since he finished his degree but he never got to maintain his position. He started off in Liverpool, his hometown, then moved to London, travelled to the USA and taught in Michigan, Chicago, Houston and now LA. So he was more than certain he wasn't to stay here either. 

"I don't think that's any of your business is it?" 

"Then I could say the same, Ben Hayes." She winked at him but she was still standing still. 

"But are you going to stand there or sit down? I won't bite unless you ask me to." He winked back with his blue-ish/grey-ish eyes, tapping on one of the boxes next to him. 

"You shouldn't go around saying such things you know..." She sat down. "Someone might ask you to... someday" she says more in a whisper. 

"And I'll be more than ready to attend to their needs, trust me." His british accent rang through her ears, making her almost have goosebumps. "But do you want to stay here or do you wanna go somewhere else? I have a break between classes and I could use your company." 

"I don't know... How am I gonna be sure that your 'more than ready' is indeed reliable? Cause you know, I can't just skip being here in peace for something that isn't true..." Carolina teased. 

"Do you need a test drive then?"

"I don't ever say no to free testing." Ben's arm that was already wrapped around her, pulled her closer and Carolina took no time to react and grab him by the collarbone of his shirt, kissing him hard. The kiss was sloppy and full of tension and their hands were touching everywhere they could to ease their hunger. 

"Shall we?" He asked with a smirk on his face, parting from the kiss and nodding towards the door. 

Noon came pretty soon and the sun was hitting hard, summer was starting to creep in through spring and everyone was starting to gather they lunches, including Hyori. She only had time to have a sandwich with Hoseok before grabbing her book and finding a good spot in the lounge area. She sat down in a table of four, the only one that was available and took her books out. She was too nervous for her own liking, she tried to take down some notes from the class she just had but it was in vain, her mind was rushing through a million of things, making thousands of scenarios in her head. 

"Hey Hyori, have you been here long?" Jeonghan sits down besides Hyori, with a smile on his face, scaring her a little. She was too busy in her thoughts to even notice him coming. 

"Hi Jeonghan! No, I just got here!" She smiles to him, trying not to show how nervous she really is. 

"Should we start studying our biology? I-I mean just biology! Not ours, everyone's." Jeonghan says and then laughs embarrassed. She laughs alongside him, noticing his cute smile. He was also very nervous. 

"Sure, let's do it! Do you usually study just by reading or do you like to talk about it?" 

"Talking. It gets stuck in my mind longer!"

"Same for me" Hyori giggles. "Before we start though I have a question…" This had been bugging her ever since the first text they exchanged. 

"What is it?" He tilts his head to the side, curious, as he stares at her. 

"You're pretty smart yourself… so why would you want to study with me?" She pauses for a moment and then continues, trying to explain herself better. "Don't take me wrong! I'm glad we're studying together!!" She adds, with a blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"I think it's pretty obvious... You are top of the class and I mean... you're very pretty so I just needed an excuse to talk to you." Just like her, he was super embarrassed but he wanted her to know what he really felt, even thought that meant he had to be a little awkward and upfront.

"You're shyer than I thought you would be" She laughs, trying to ease up the mood. "And thank you, if it means something I think very high of yourself too." A proud smile showed up in his face and his whole body warmed up.

"So if we're in a time of being honest... I think I should tell you I came here to do more than studying." He turns his body in his seat so that he is completely facing her. He was holding up his breath and he didn't even realized but he was a man on a mission now. He continued to lean in into her and he could already feel her breath when...

"Oh! There you are guys!" Asa, a cute pale boy with the brightest blue eyes is rushing up to then, holding his backpack just by one strap on his left shoulder. "I thought you did study sessions in the library!" He smiles, totally clueless of the situation that was going on. 

"Oh- Hi! Hm- Who…?" Hyori asked, breathless, while nervously looking between both boys.

"This is Asa. He's my roommate." Jeonghan says, with a big frown on his face. 

"Hi! I heard a lot from you Hyori!" Asa says as he sits down across the table from them and can't help but wink at the girl. 

"So are we studying or not?" Jeonghan asked, clearly upset that Hyori's attention was now divided. 

"Yes! Of course!" She opened her manual on the marked page. "Are you… from our class? I never saw you there." She eyed Asa.

"Oh no!" He said chuckling. "I heard from Jeong here you were giving lessons and I always wanted to know more about biology!" He said as honest as he could be, making Hyori open up a big smile. 

"Well you're always free to contact me, I love biology and I love teaching so…"

"I'll make sure to hold you to that! You will want to get rid of me in no time." He joked, making her laugh but before she could reassure him, Jeonghan spoke again. 

"Can we study? Some of us have exams to prepare for!" 

"I highly doubt it! And yes sorry-" She couldn't help but tease Asa one last time before turning to Jeonghan and squeezing his arm. "Ok, everyone on page 70?"

"Oh I don't have a book, can we share one?" Asa said sheepishly.

"Have mine, I can see from yours?" Jeonghan said to Hyori almost immediately throwing him his book. 

"Yes sure!" Hyori let a shy smile as she felt Jeonghan pull his chair closer to hers.

As it was usual on Wednesdays, Jimin and Taehyung would always eat together. This Wednesday it ended up being McDonald’s. They decided to do this every week ever since they moved into their dorms and realized neither one of them really knew how to cook. They would always order individual menus, but ended up having bites out of each other’s food; because Jimin’s wrap looked too good and fresh and because Tae’s bacon was just asking Jimin to take a huge bite.

Right now, it was almost 4 in the afternoon and Jimin was going to have football practice. They were walking together in silence, they knew each other for too long to have to always keep a conversation; in some, they enjoyed the silence time they’d have from time to time. But Jimin kept sighing and Taehyung knew something was wrong, he was just making his friend hurt a little before giving him love.

“I have a problem and I need to talk to you about it. Ask me what’s going on.” Jimin mostly cried, putting his full weight on Tae’s shoulder like he had just fainted.

“Ahhh” Taehyung said in an annoyed tone, followed by a chuckled, before pushing his friend back to his place. “Just start talking! Why are you always like this?!”

“Are you going to be a good friend or just complain?” He faked a pout before laughing right after, seeing Tae’s side look. “I’m nervous about the game this week. We have to win or we’ll drop down to 3rd place and that’s not nothing something we can afford right now... plus I have an exam of history of contemporary dance on Monday and I don’t think I’ll have time to study.”

“Look... I don’t think you need to worry.” Taehyung started off confident but genuine. “You are a pretty good quarterback, that’s why they chose you to be it. You'll do just fine, don’t overthink about that. Your body will remember everything once you’re on the field you know?” He squeezed Jimin’s shoulder and then proceeded. “About the exam... I can help? I know a few things so maybe we can just revise it before you go to sleep? I can stay up and read it to you?” Taehyung would do anything to help Jimin, especially if it was about something he cared about. Even when he was little, he used to stood up to boys who tried to be mean to Jimin even if he was scared to death of them.

“But what about the party?!”

“What party?” Taehyung asked. Was there a party he wasn’t invited for?

“The volley’s team is playing home. I'm sure there’ll be a party even if they lose, which I doubt. It’s an easy game.” Jimin said, thinking of what Jungkook had said at lunch the day before. He was confident they would win the game by far. “If we go to the party we can’t study.”

“Oh... It’ll be a pity if we lose the party, right?” Taehyung let an ‘huh?’ “Maybe... we can just not sleep and try to get all that history in your head?” He suggested but the look on his face wasn’t too confident. It wasn’t a party if they didn’t get completely hammered.

“I’m screwed.” Jimin said after a few minutes of ponderation, letting out again another sigh. “Might as well go out with a bang, right?” He shrugged and they walked a bit more. But then the thought of his parents came to his mind and all the effort they had done for him, he couldn’t let them down and lose his scholarship. “Maybe I should find a job? To help my parents?”

“You know you wouldn’t even be able to tend to your basic needs if you did that... you’re already all packed!” Taehyung said worried.

Jimin’s family wasn’t loaded, but they’d always lived well. His dad worked as an accountant for many years now and he reached a point where he was making a lot of money, so much so that his mom even quitted her job. They even found a house in one of the nicest neighborhoods, that’s how him and Taehyung were friends, they were front neighbors and they would play every day. Them and Carolina, but she wasn’t very fond of Jimin and he never quite understood why. But a couple of years back, the company for whom Jimin’s dad worked had a crisis and they had to let go more than half of their employees. Luckily, Jimin’s dad wasn’t one of them but it was getting hard for him to sustain an entire family on his back. That was one of the reasons he had to stay on campus. That and because both him and Taehyung wanted to have the “full college experience”.

“Did they tell you something? Maybe I could like find a job and help you out?”

“Not really. I talked to my mom yesterday and she said my dad had been working late. They're threating to fire a couple of people so he’s been doing some extra hours to not be part of the ones who will be fired.” Jimin said in a sad tone that Taehyung picked up right away.

“I’m sure your dad will be fine! He’s a good worker! And like I said, if you need me to help, I can help you. I'll look for some part times next to our dorm.” And he already knew Jimin wouldn’t be capable of ever asking him to but he would still look, just in case his friend needed help.

“It’s ok Tae, but thank you.” Jimin squeezed his shoulder and that meant he was grateful for everything his friend would do for him. Taehyung gave him a sweet smile.

They kept on walking, talking about some random things that would pop into their minds. That was until Jimin stopped on his track, furrowing his eyes as if he was trying to see someone and Taehyung did the same, trying to look in the same direction he was.

“I know that girl…” Jimin trailed off. “Oh, that’s Jean from my class. Hey Jean!” He walked up to her, followed right after by Taehyung. She was leaning against a tree, a book in hand.

“Oh hum… hey… Jimin.” She started off shy. She wasn’t even aware he knew of her existence.

“Are you alone?” He asked and she simply nodded.

“Oh is that Free?” Taehyung sneaked out of Jimin’s back, seeing the manga the girl was reading.

“Yeah, I just started reading it.”

“Woah!” He said excited. “I didn’t know there is a manga for it, I only know the anime.” Taehyung said while peaking over to see the pages.

“You should try it then, it’s even better than the anime for now.” She smiled politely to him.

“I will!”

“We’re headed to the field, wanna come?” Jimin said as he pulled his bag up his shoulder.

“Oh no… thank you anyway!”

“Well, I’ll see you in class then!” Jimin waved off, starting to walk back to the field.

“Bye Jean!”

“What are you going to do now?” Jimin asked, noticing they were just a couple of feet away from the field.

“I’m going to lie down there.” Taehyung pointed towards the bleachers where a couple of cheerleaders were already sitting down. “Imma watch you play and I'll take some photos to remind you how great you look.”

“Ah~~!” Jimin let out an overexaggerated sigh, his hands over his heart. “You are my best friend, you know that!”

“I know, I'm the best.”

The boys parted ways. Jimin went into the locker room to change into his uniform and Taehyung took out his camera, ready to take some shots. The cheerleaders were all gathered, sitting in a circle going over the routine for this game and he noticed Deo, from the night before. Their eyes met for a couple of seconds before she looked away, turning her attention to what some other girl was saying. Soon the boys got out of the facilities, helmets under their arms and walked straight to the coach. It didn’t take long for Taehyung to fall asleep. His tummy was still kinda full from lunch and the sun was just making everything better. He was warm and the hard wood from the bleachers didn’t seem so bad so he just laid down, taking up 5 spaces. He woke up a couple of hours later, with Jimin shaking him up, laughing hard. ‘Oh man, your forehead, no bandanas for you for a couple of days.’ And as soon as he touched his forehead, he hissed. Did he really had to keep his arm all over his face BUT miss his forehead, no luck.

On the other side of the campus, the study session got a little bit calmer after Hyori started explaining everything the best way she could and Asa was trying his best to pay attention but it was hard. Even harder for Hyori, who kept on laughing at his jokes and interventions. Jeonghan was regretting ever telling his roommate about his plans for the afternoon but he couldn't just kick him out, at least not in front of Hyori. After a while, Hyori's phone kept on beeping and she just had to excuse herself from what she was teaching Jeonghan to take a look at it. 

"Guys, the study session is great and I wish I could stay more but it's getting late and I promised my friends I would have dinner with them…" She pouted a little. "You guys mind if I go?"

"Of course!" They both said at the same time.

"Kiri I'll be waiting for our next study session!" Asa says getting up, mimicking Hyori's movements. 

"Stop being annoying!" Jeonghan whispered to him, widening his eyes to Asa. 

"Please do!" She laughed to Asa, not even noticing Jeonghan's face. "It was really nice to meet you Asa. Thank you, you two for today, I had a good time" She smiled kindly to the both of them, giving a kiss in the cheek to each one of them. "Bye guys~ See you around!"

“Dude what the hell!” Jeonghan slapped his roommate’s head, annoyed that he ruined his little date.

“What did I do?!” Asa scratched the place where he was hit, still looking at Hyori fade in the distance.

Hyori was hugging her books so tight; she kept her eyes on the floor, overly excited by her study session and was trying her best to steady her breathing. She already knew she was going to get teased for being late, something she never did and always complained when Jungkook was. Her pace her face and she as a hole bumped into a tall boy that quickly apologize. She did the same.

Namjoon kept on looking at her as she walked a little too fast. His heart tightened a bit, did he hurt her when they bumped into each other? He was so focused on going over his speech for debate club on his head that he didn’t even noticed where he was going. That and the fact that tonight’s debate was against Najma Aweys. She was this pretty girl who was majoring in English Lit and she caught his eyes ever since his first debate against another college. That was the moment he first noticed her.

His dad was nagging his head for over a month now because the semester was almost over and he still didn’t have any extracurricular activities to add to his resume alongside his perfect record of attendance and grades. So tired of hearing him, he joined the debate club and the president was so impressed by his arguments that he was invited to join the regional contest.

He remembers that day perfectly. He was so nervous he was afraid the sweat was going to be noticeable on his armpits since the air-conditioner wasn’t working and it was almost 38°C. Najma was wearing a soft blue flowy dress that fitted her curves perfectly and made her look almost like a princess but once she started talking and disarming her opponent, that was when it really hit him. He was crushing on her.

“Hey Najma!” He waved at her as he saw her talking outside the debate club with her girlfriends. “Nice suit.” He winked as she smiled politely to him.

“Hey Nam!” It was her nickname for him.

He was too awkward to have a full conversation with her, the only thing he always managed to do was these small interactions. And to him, it was better than nothing. Jin would always tease him about having to make a move 'Dude if she has a nickname for you that means something. Who knows more about girls than me?’ and that would always make Carolina laugh and tease him about how even the clueless Tae was smoother than himself, the old timer.

Hyori was now jogging. The café that was only a couple of minutes away from campus seemed like it was miles away and she was getting frustrated for being late. Even Jungkook was already there. She stopped when she saw the sign right around the corner and she turned it, all her friends were sitting outside, in a table that clearly wasn’t made for 5 people but they were all squeezing in to be together. Once they noticed her, everyone stopped talking just to pick it up right back, but now directed to her.

“Oh look who finally decided to show up!”

“There she is!”

“Can we eat now? I’m starving!!”

“Sorry I’m late!” Hyori said trying to catch her breath from all the jogging but still making her best to look normal.

“And where have you been to be this late?” Jungkook put up his wrist tapping on it like he had a watch there and his left eyebrow was arched. This was the perfect moment for him to excuse himself from all the times he was late and nag Hyori.

“None of your business.” The girl said taking a seat on the end of the table, right between Deo and Jimin.

“Is everything ok?” Hoseok asked, honestly concerned.

“What do you mean none of my business?” Jungkook stepped all over Hobi’s question. “I always have to tell you where I was!”

“And that’s because you’re a child.” Deo teased, sticking her tongue out making Jungkook scoff and make some comment about not knowing why they were even friends. The only thing he wasn’t doing yet was pouting.

“Jungkookie, we’re your best friends, stop being grumpy.” Jimin said, squeezing the boy’s shoulder.

“Everything is fine Hobi, just took me a while to get here.” Hyori smiled to the boy that was on the other end of the table, completely ignoring Jungkook.

“Where were you then missy?” Deo asked again, since Hyori had managed to escape the question.

“I was on the library studying! I lost track of time! Oh~” she looked around to the plates of some boys that were already ready to be ate. “What are you guys eating?

“I ordered some fries! With cheese on top.” Hobi said proudly, looking at his dish.

“Pizza, but don’t- I need to know!” Deo whined.

“Of course she wasn’t in the library” Jungkook rolled his eyes, joining Deo and folding his arms to give his sentence more impact. “No one loses track of time in a library.”

Hyori gave Deo a knowing look that she understood right after. It meant ‘please shut up I’ll tell you everything at the dorms’. “Well that’s because you have no braincells.” she finally answered Jungkook.

“And it depends on what you’re doing there.” Jimin teased.

“Are you serious?” Jungkook pretended a hurt look. “Woah… I should find new friends.”

“Oh stop you two! Let’s just eat!” Hobi said, tired of waiting to eat his chips that were getting cold.

“She started it!” Jungkook whined, making everyone laugh.

“It’s ok, I’ll ask for a round for us Gguk!” Jimin whispered to the boy.

“Shut up virgin boy.” Hyori furrowed her eyebrows making Deo automatically spit her drink, not being able to control her laughter.

“You’re going way too far, Lee!”

“Guys!” Hobi and Jimin both said at the same time, tired of hearing them.

“Ok kids, that’s enough.” Deo said standing up and pulling Hyori right behind her. “We’re going to order her food.”

“Bring beer!”

“Don’t forget my sprite!”

“On it!” Hyori said winking to Hobi. Once they stepped inside the door Deo started asking a million questions.

“So~~ you’ll tell me now or you’re going to make me suffer and wait until we get to the dorms?”

“Please don't do a scandal, and I'll tell you better once we are at the dorms but basically I was with Jeonghan but a friend of his arrived and sat there with us and he was like the cutest” she emphasized a lot in the last word “I must have blushed like tons"

"You're still blushing, it looks like you ran a marathon" She chuckled, excited with her friend’s life. "But ok, serious face on but once we get to the dorms, you'll have to tell me everything!"

“I literally ran a marathon to get here!” They both laugh and the waiter finally comes.

Hyori orders a plain burger with fries, she’s not very hungry. And after all she ran if she ate a lot she’d probably throw up. They pay the drinks and the food and the waiter informs them the food will only take a couple of minutes and he’ll bring it to the table. Once they step outside, Jimin shushes the other boys.

"Oh yes, such nice weather here!" He says a little too loud, pretending nothing happened, but the girls were too smart not to notice their whispers.

"What do you think of the weather Jungkook?" Deo asks Jungkook, arching her eyebrow to him. Next to him, Hobi was looking up to the clouds, almost whistling, making his best to avoid eye contact.

“The weather?” His voice got up an octave. “Yup, super nice! We should go to the pool and uh… have a party?” His tone was nothing but confident and Deo couldn’t help but laugh at his silliness.

“Oh~~ we should really go to the pool!” Jimin said now excited with the thought of a swim. “Let’s go after we eat!”

“Ok cut the crap. The weather? Really?” Hyori said still standing up next to the table, one hand on her hip showing even more authority.

“It is a nice weather.” Deo joked.

Hyori arched her eyebrow and looked at Hoseok that immediately look everywhere but to her. “Hobi look at me.”

“Hey don’t force eye contact like that! You weirdo!” Jungkook said but she ignored him.

“Hum…” Hoseok trailed off, exchanging looks with the boys. “Sorry bro… basically there’s this new girl-”

He’s interrupted. “Dude what the fuck!” Jimin and Jungkook said at the same time and if it weren’t a desperate time, they would’ve high fived.

“Jimin likes her, she’s one year older than him and her name is Sarah. That’s all I know.” He lowered his head in defeat and then turned to Jimin. “Sorry!”

“DUDE BRO CODE!” Jimin said, frustrated.

“Wow, we can’t even talk in peace now.” Jungkook shrugged.

“Huh…” Deo started, “and you weren’t going to tell us!”

“Sorry! I’m an honest guy!” Hobi said, putting a chip right in front of Jimin’s mouth that he just couldn’t refuse.

“Oh please tell me all about her!” Hyori now sat down, waiting expectantly.

“See! They can help!” Hoseok added.

After that, Jimin was forced to spill all the details he had on the Sarah girl. He didn’t really know much but Hyori and Deo already were with their phones on their hands searching on social media for the girl. If she was majoring in Investigative Journalism, she had to have any form of social media, and if she did, they would find her. Jimin wouldn’t be able to hide the girl from them for a very long time and in a way he was glad Hobi spilled everything because although Jungkook loved a good gossip, he was terrible at getting information. By the end of the dinner, the girls already found out that Sarah was friends with one of the boys Hyori tutored and now it was only a matter of days until they started planning a super scheme to make her and Jimin talk. They were good friends like that.

Jungkook was the first to abandon the hangout because he had practice and he, obviously, didn’t have his bag done to shower. Once he got to his floor, the smell of barbeque filled his nostrils and he wasn’t walking anymore, he was more like floating, following the amazing smell. He ended up in front of his own door. Once he opened it, he saw Yoongi and Namjoon eating.

“Hey man.” Yoongi said once he noticed him.

“You want some?” Namjoon asked, turning around in his chair to see Jungkook.

“The smell in the hall… amazing guys.” He chuckled. “Thanks, but I have to say no, I have practice in a few.”

“This late?” Namjoon said already feeling sorry for the boy.

“Are you sure you can handle going to practice on an empty stomach?” Yoongi asked. He didn’t hang much with Jungkook but he liked to have him as a roommate. He was quiet, clean and he liked the same type of food as him.

“Yeah, we have a game Saturday and coach is going crazy with our practices. We’re even playing with the girls now.” He laughs lightly. “I ate like an hour ago. I’ll probably end up bringing something home.” He says turning to Yoongi that only nods.

“With girls? Like… girls in mini shorts?” Namjoon says already excited, the thought of joining the team, running through his mind.

“Wish it was that good bro.” Jungkook laughs dryly, tapping on his shoulder. “Most of them look like Hulk, they enter full beast mode.”

“Oh… that must be- uh… Nevermind.” He turns back to his food.

Yoongi couldn’t keep a straight face to Namjoon’s comment and laughed lightly. He heard rumors about a party and Jungkook confirmed it right away, inviting them to join after the game. They talked a little bit more about their crazy front door neighbor. It was an old lady, maybe in her 60’s and she acted like she was 20. Hell, she even lived near campus. Besides her, everyone in the building was a student. The new good story was that she was developing a crush on Namjoon. Every time she heard him leave the house, she would peek her head out of the door, with rolls on her hair and say ‘have a good day handsome’.

Jungkook excuses himself and goes inside his room, picking up his gym bag from the floor. He quickly shuffles through his clothes and picks up a random shirt and a pair of shorts, a towel and his flipflops. He crossed the living room, saying goodbye to the older boys that were finishing eating and left, towards the elevator.

“Oh hey Jin.” Jungkook said once the elevator’s door opened, revealing his neighbor from the top floor.

“Hey man, how are you?”

“It’s been a while since I last saw you. Since the photoshoot...” He recalled the moment they were together for the last time. It was a photography class and Carolina had brought Jin and Taehyung to model. Jungkook ended up befriending both boys and took photos of them as well.

“Ah~~” Jin lets out a satisfied sound, remembering that day as well. “It was fun and the shoots you took of me looked great.”

“If you ever need new ones hit me up.” They reach the ground floor and both exit the elevator, walking side by side until they leave the building completely.

“You have practice?” Jin asked, only now noticing Jungkook’s bag.

“Yeah, it’s in a few.”

“I can take you. I’m going out with a friend but it’s still early, I can drop you there.”

“I won’t say no to that. If I had to walk all the way back to campus I doubt I'd be able to score.” He chuckles. They got inside the car and it took Jin a while to start it. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh yeah, I'm just waiting for Carolina, she should be coming down any second. She has practice too.”

‘Oh boy’ Jungkook thought to himself. Carolina only frowned when she saw him but before she could say anything Jin told her to get in or else they would be late. She had to get into the backseat, very reluctantly and once they got to campus, she quicken up her pace to not even have to talk with the so called virgin boy. He honestly didn’t mind, after the last time they were together, things went south really fast.

The vibe was bugging Jin and he made a self-note to ask Carolina what had happened between the two but probably not today. He was going out with his friend Harry, a boy from his major that finished off last year but they maintained contact. If he didn’t get home very drunk, it wasn’t his friend Harry. But once he woke up, he would remember to ask.

> Day 3 <

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sparklyaxolotlstudent · 5 years

Text

La Catrina Part 2

Electric Boogabo

Marinette still felt she had stepped into some sort of bizarre alternative universe.

With Lila gone, her evil influence was slowly but surely being lifted of her classmates. Everyone was friends with everyone again, and now Chloe was behaving… well, like herself, but she didn’t go out of her way to antagonize everyone else. She had even complained when she learned Marc had a different lunch time than them! Marinette hoped she wasn’t developing a crush on Marc… that would be awkward… Her friendship with Adrien had also changed, she no longer called him ‘Adrikins’, nor she clinged to him (Although she did when she saw other girls try to get into his personal space). Sabrina and Alix were also hanging out, which was a bit weirder, but Alix carefree personality seemed to gel well with Sabrina’s anxiousness.

What was weirder was when she arrived today (Late as usual) she learned that Kim and Alix had somehow started a very heated argument about which one of their Akumas would win in a fight. Marinette knew Timebreaker had killed several of them, but since she erased that, Timebreaker was a bit less menacing. Dark Cupid was a bit more specialized, and being a long ranged akuma, it was hard to determine which one would win.

“Timebreaker just needs to touch Dark Cupid and he’ll be gone!”

“She would need first to catch him, duh!”

Marinette found it amusing, but very healthy that they were talking about their akuma versions in the third person.

“Lady Wifi would be able to stop him without breaking a sweat”

“What? You too Alya?” asked Kim incredulous. Now his Dark Cupid had to fight TWO akumas.

“The Bubbler could also catch him in a bubble”

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be all ganging up on me like that!”

“Evillustrator could delete the bubble and Lady Wifi’s cellphone” said Nathaniel. Kim basically ran to bear hug him, making the tomato kid blush as red as his hair.

“I knew someone would be on my side”

“Well, Gamer has a 95% chance of winning with his giant robot stomping on them” added Max, clearly jealous of the attention Kim was giving to Nathaniel.

“Pfft, Stoneheart would be able to break that little toy in two seconds flat!”

“And then Reflekta would convert anyone into a clone of herself, negating their own powers.”

“And Princess Fragrance would control them anyway”

“Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! Antibug had all the powers of Ladybug, and since Ladybug defeated all of them, Antibug would be able to defeat all of them too, it’s basic math.”

None of them really knew what they had done as Akumas, so all of them were second hand accounts, some with video backup, and some without, so they couldn’t really dispute what Chloe has said.

“But Vanisher could totally sneak up on Antibug” Surprisingly, it was Alix who was encouraging Sabrina, who blushed a bit. “Or Horrificator could eat her or stop her with that weird goo thing.” Mylene smiled at that. “Hey, what about you Marinette? I bet your akuma form is crazy powerful”

Everyone looked at Marinette expectantly, but she just looked like a deer in highlights.

"Uh..."

Fortunately for her, the bell rang and Miss Bustier entered the classroom, and everyone dropped the subject and went to their seats.

“That was a close one” said Nathaniel in a low voice when Marinette took her seat at his side. Marinette looked at him. Was he referring to the Akuma competition or the reason why she couldn’t allow herself to have an Akuma form, namely, that she was Ladybug? Maybe he was talking about Kim holding him too tight.

With that and the Lilakuma incident, she couldn’t help but think that Nathaniel knew more than he was letting on. Rooster of enlightenment, indeed.

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

Marc approached Marinette when school was over. He made sure Nathaniel wasn’t with her.

“Marinette!” Yelled the black haired teen from the other side of the road, which caused Marinette to get distracted and almost hit a lamppost.

“Hey Marc! Didn’t see you today at school. Nathaniel missed you” Marinette winked, and Marc blushed at the mention of his crush.

“Really? What did…? No wait, I HAVE to ask you for a HUGE favor!”

“Where do we hide the body?”

“No, not this time. I want to ask Nathaniel on a date, but I’m getting cold feet and…”

“… wait… you’re not dating already?”

“… wha… No, we’re not!... did he say something?”

“No, I just guessed… You’re always hanging out with each other… hell, he invited you to the picnic my class organized”

“Because it was in your honor and I’m your friend? Anyway, my friend Gabriella told me we can go to the Dia de Muertos Festival her family is offering and I thought we can go on a double date, even if they don’t know is a date, me with Nathaniel and you with Adrien.”

“Whaaaaaat?” Marinete.exe had stopped working. “He wouldn’t, would he? I mean maybe we can have a date, but what if he doesn’t…”

“I already asked him”

“What? What did… wait, you hate Adrien”

“Pffft, of course not!”

“You painted a moustache on him in one of my posters”

“Because I thought you would like him with facial hair?”

“… ok, he would look hot, but that’s not the point. You also gave him an eye patch.”

“Because he would make an awesome pirate... Look, I’m not his biggest fan, but if you like him I’m supporting you 1000%, and I told him that if he wanted our forgiveness he would go with us to a festival to have lots of funs and probably some mild indigestion.”

“Yeah, I’m not going to go overboard on the tamales again.”

“So… you in or what?”

Marinette thought for a moment. Ever since the Lilapocalypse her crush had diminished to manageable levels, and she was able to talk to Adrien like a normal person… like a Good Friend™… Maybe it was time to take the next step, and help Marc while she was at it.

“Sure, let’s go!”

“Awesome! We’ll coordinate everything with Aurore and the others, see you tomorrow!

Marinette got her spirits high, SHE WAS HAVING A DATE WITH ADRIEN! But now duty called, and she went to Master Fu house for tea time and her miraculous lesson.

------

“Red is called ‘Daring’ and will allow me to resist high temperatures, it is ideal for the desert or if we ever fight in a volcano or a fire based akuma.”

“Very good Marinette, you are a expert on the potions already!” Wayzz congratulated Marinette floating happily around her.

Marinette smiled. She was DYING to try some of the potions, especially the pink one, which would allow her to fly, or the purple one, which would make her look like something out of ‘Saint Seiya’.

Master Fu smiled. “I know we have been doing this all in theory, and the potions shouldn’t be taken lightly, but it is in our best interest to be on guard and don’t take Hawk Moth lightly.”

He went to the phonograph, and invited Marinette to open it. She did it with some nervousness, as it was the first time she had done it on her own.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, we have never started a fight, nor we will escalate one, but times are dire and I’m afraid it will come a time when Lucky Charm will direct you here and the Akuma won’t let you. Choose wisely for an extra miraculous to have on hand for a partner you can trust.”

Marinette looked at the miraculous on the box, displayed in front of her. Having the Bee hairpin would probably be the easiest, since everyone knew Chloe was Queen Bee… but as good as Chloe was behaving later, they weren’t hanging out other than at school. Alya and Nino… the Fox and the turtle... They did hang out a lot, and if this had been a month ago, she would have picked the Fox Miraculous without a second thought… but now… She picked the Rooster cufflinks. His powers were a bit more overspecialized, but she knew that she could count on Nathaniel. And she also was still wondering if he did know her secret or she was being too paranoid.

“This one”

“A good choice. The Rooster of Enlightenment can be applied to many situations.” Marinette placed the cufflinks inside her purse, with Orikko materializing from them.

“Hello!”

“We might even need to make some granola bars infused with the transformation potions for Orikko”

Orikko’s eyes went huge. “I LOVE transformations! Especially when my holder flies! They always say that Roosters don’t fly hehe”

Marinette rolled her eyes, but it was too late to pick another kwami. She just hoped Cocorico would not become a pungeon master like Chat Noir.

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #ml fanfic #ml la catrina

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foxboymyles · 5 years

Text

Pardon My Imprudence [Chp 4]

Note: Last Chapter for today :)

Zoro and Luffy started to walk out the door. The weather was pretty cold, with a slight breeze outside. The sun was just about to set. Luffy held Zoro’s hand with a smile on his face.

“Say, I saw a cool plush! It was a lion, but he had this mane that looked like the sun or somethin’” Luffy said.

“Oh? Nice. When was this?” Zoro asked.

Luffy stopped, all of a sudden. Zoro asked what was wrong, and he pointed at a weak dog on the sidewalk. It looked like it was a Jack Russell terrier, but he was really dirty and scrawny, as you could see his bones from the skin. Luffy walked towards it. He pet it gently as it slowly wagged its tail.

“He must be homeless. ‘Looks like he’s starving, too!” Luffy said, worried.

“Ice cream’s not that expensive. We should spend some on getting him some food.” Zoro added.

Luffy brightly grinned and jumped on Zoro. He repeatedly said thank you while kissing his cheek multiple times. Zoro blushed and with gentle hands, took Luffy off of him. Luffy picked up the scared dog and went to a dog store. They bought 8 dollars of dog food and a dog leash. Luffy gave the dog a handful of kebble, and like he expected, the dog ate it all in a whole gulp. Luffy put the dog on a leash, as the dog wagged his tail up and panted excitedly. He smiled and realized that he saved a life. Once Zoro and Luffy got their ice cream, they went home and Zoro took a rest on the couch. It was 9:00 PM now. Luffy filled a bowl up with pebble food as the dog rushed to it and chomped it. It was the right time to pour water into a bowl as well. Luffy gazed at the dog and grinned. Ace came downstairs with Sabo, and his eyes open wider than space.

“YOU BOUGHT A DOG WITH 20 DOLLARS?!?” He exclaimed.

Luffy shook his head.”I bought his stuff with 10 dollars. The doggie was free.”

Zoro blushed and chuckled when Luffy said ‘doggie’. Ace blushed and gave a big sigh.

“You’re gonna have to ask Shanks about this.”

“Oh, I already know,” Shanks said, appearing from out of the kitchen.

“I think it’s great. We’ve never had a family dog. All we need to do is find out if he’s had any of his shots.”

Luffy grinned and agreed with Shanks, petting the pup as it licked his face.

“I could pay for some of it if you’d want me to.” Said Zoro

Shanks was hesitant. “No no no, it’s quite alright. I can pay for it myself.”

“No, I insist. It’s the least I could do.” Zoro said.

“You don’t need to prove yourself. You already did. Ace can agree.” Shanks said, smiling.

Zoro stared for a while, then started petting the dog with Luffy.

“What should his name be?” Asked Sabo.

“ChouChou!” Luffy responded.

Shanks laughed and got his phone from the counter.

“Well, you kids can go to bed now,” Shanks said.

Zoro was about to get his stuff when Shanks interrupted him.

“You don’t have to leave, you know. Stay for the night.” Shanks said, dialing the number for Mihawk. “I’ll just call your father and tell him you’re sleeping over here.”

Zoro nodded and grabbed his stuff. He went upstairs to Luffy’s room and laid them down by the bed. Looking around, he observed the blue covered sheets and the starry night light that shined upon the dimly lighted room. There were shelves of boxing trophies and bottled miniature ships. There were a few clothes on the floor, his hamper barely hanging onto the pants he tossed in it. Looking in his drawers he found piles and piles of pirate and Tony Tony Chopper comics. Then there was the sock drawer. Zoro blushed and slowly opened what he assumed would be his underwear drawer. It was then that he slammed the drawer closed.

“Zoro! Whatcha doin’?” Luffy asked, innocently.

“Ah, nothing important. I was just looking at your room.” Said Zoro.

“Oh! It looks cool, doesn’t it?” Luffy said. “I have something I saved for you, too!”

Luffy got a fluffy teddy bear from under his bed and handed it to Zoro. They both sat on his bed.

“I got this when Shanks adopted me. I think you should have it, though.” Luffy said, blushing.

Zoro grabbed it gently and looked up at him.

“Are you sure you want to give me this?” Zoro asked.

Luffy nodded and told him to close his eyes. He leaned into Zoro and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Gradually, the slow soft kisses got faster. Zoro held his waist as Luffy rested his weight on him.

Ace opened the door, and Luffy pulled up the covers to the bed.

“Hey, I just needed that fly swatter you ha-” Ace said, only to look at Luffy struggling to not keep it obvious.

But it was definitely obvious. Ace quickly got the fly swatter, with a short thanks and a hot freckled face, and the door was shut. Zoro gave Luffy a long kiss back. Luffy rested his head on Zoro’s chest. He felt the warm vibrations as Zoro’s chest rose and fell.

“That was almost better than food,” Luffy said, cutely.

Zoro kissed him on the cheek. “Am I better than food?” Zoro asked.

Luffy looked up at him. “Yeah.” The teen gave Zoro a peck on the nose. Zoro chuckled and ran his hand through Luffy’s hair.

“ ‘Love you, Zoro.”

“I love you too,” Zoro replied.

It was getting late, and Luffy’s eyes felt droopy. Zoro was already fast asleep. The sky was lit in a dark blue, with the most beautiful stars. The silhouette of a tree stood out in the middle. The candle in the room dimly lit the space and shaded Zoro’s face in warm colors. Luffy’s eyes twinkled at the scene, from the stars that lit in the sky brightly. All at once, he seemed content. His eyes closed.

…

The next morning was bright. Too bright, Zoro thought. He grumbled angrily at the alarm clock and slapped the off button. Zoro shook Luffy, but he had no success of waking him up. Then, getting his surprisingly still cold-water bottle and poured in all over him. Luffy gasped awake and wriggled around. As soon as he realized what was going on, he hit Zoro in the arm.

“Stupid! I could have wakened up myself, ya know!” Luffy shouted.

“Yeah, sure,” Zoro said, getting his pants and baggy shirt on.

Luffy whipped something out of his closet and put it on. He had on blue shorts and a red tank top, put on his sandals, and waited for Zoro to put on his shoes. He laid on his stomach on the bed, both hands squishing his cheeks and his legs kicking slowly. For a moment he was looking at Zoro’s face. His tan skin and sharp eyes, up to his mint green hair. Zoro turned to look at Luffy once he realized Luffy was staring at him.

“Great, now you got me staring. Did you know you have huge eyes?” Zoro said.

“Is that somethin’ to make me mad?” Luffy replied, annoyed.

“No. I just look at you and I can see galaxies in them. Your eyes are- kinda pretty.” Zoro admitted.

“I’m not pretty! I’m a man!” Luffy shouted defensively while blushing.

Zoro walked passed him and opened the door. “I’m just saying your eyes look pretty. But sure, I guess you are pretty.”

“You’re just trying to taunt me, I know it! Let’s fight! Right now!” Luffy angrily shouted, following him down the stairs.

“Wow Luffy, even when you’re mad you’re beautiful,” Zoro said, jokingly.

“Beautiful?!? Bu- stop calling me that! It sounds girly!” Luffy yelled, even redder.

Sabo was up making pancakes. What was surprising is that Ace, Luffy’s usually sleepy and lazy brother, was up with an average look on his face. Sabo quickly got his suitcase and took off his apron. He wore a dress shirt and pants, with shiny black shoes. He was gathering his things out the door whilst Luffy was getting down the stairs.

“I have to go visit Koala now. She’s expecting me to get the storyboard in by today.” Sabo mumbled to Ace.

“Isn’t this your guys’-what- 4th anniversary?” Ace asked, helping Sabo.

Sabo turned to the tiny gift on the counter and grabbed it. He said a short thanks and hugged Luffy from the stairs. After that, the door shut faster than 3 seconds later. Luffy sat down on the couch.

“Sabo has a girlfriend?” Zoro asked.

“Yep. They’ve been together since they were 13.” Ace answered.

“Why don’t you guys go to our school?”

“We go to a private school. Guess it’s just because Shanks wants us to stay serious with want we want to accomplish.” Ace said.

Zoro frowned thinking of Mihawk’s plans for his education. Even if Zoro got good grades, he doesn’t know that he’ll take him to a private school or not.

“You ok, Zoro?” Luffy asked, his hand touching Zoro’s.

Zoro nodded, grabbing and kissing Luffy’s hand. Ace turned after hearing footsteps. Shanks was making his way down the stairs, with his watch in his hand.

“Ace, you gotta come with me,” Shanks said, hurryingly.

Ace raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“It’s Makino. She’s not feeling great.” Shanks responded.

“Makino? Why can’t I go?” Luffy asked.

“You have to take care of ChouChou,” Shanks said, as Ace raced after Shanks through the door.

There was a slam. Luffy huffed and laid his head in Zoro’s lap.

“Who’s Makino?” Zoro asked.

“She’s kinda like our mother. She’s really close to Shanks and she’s taught us a bunch of stuff.”

Luffy laughed. “The funny thing is that Shanks and she haven't started dating yet.”

“Well, maybe they're not sure if they're ready for it. It's better to be friends with someone a while before going into that.” Zoro said.

“That's true…” Luffy said. He extended his arm out to pet ChouChou. ChouChou barked, then licked all around Luffy’s hand.

“Hey, that tickles a little bit!” He said, laughing. Zoro smiled at his joyful face and laid his head on the armchair. Until there was a knock. Then murmuring. Luffy got the door and stood up, while the dog barked loudly.

“Hiii, Luffy!” Nami said, cheerfully with Usopp and Chopper behind her.

“Oh hi, Nami. What’s up?”

“Just wanted to check in with you goof-offs. Also..” Nami sat down and looked at the two, while Usopp and Chopper turned on the tv to watch a cartoon. “I wanted to know if you guys would like to come with us to prom? It’ll be really fun.”

“Prom? I’ve heard of that but I never been to it.” Luffy said, curiously. Zoro looked at Nami and nodded.

“We’ll be there.”

“Sweet!” Nami said, happily. “It’s in a month so no rush, but it wouldn’t be as fun without you dorks.” She smiled and turned to Usopp and Chopper. “Hey what are you both up to?”

Luffy looked at Zoro. “Is your dad going to be upset you’re still here?”

“Who knows but that doesn’t really bother me,” Zoro answered. ChouChou jumped into his lap.

“Do you and Ace get along now?” Luffy asked.

Zoro nodded. “Yeah. He’s a little secretive though. I don’t exactly know how he actually is.”

Luffy smiled. “He’s really cool once you get to know him. He always sticks up for me and Sabo. Just gets moods sometimes.”

Nami added. “He’s pretty cute!”

Zoro rolled his eyes. “Of course you say that.”

“Hey! It’s just my opinion.” Nami replied.

“What about Sanji?” Usopp asked Nami.

“Uh, I don’t know.” She said, quietly. That part of the discussion was stopped subtly by Nami. It looked like she was unsure about that part of her relationships, to Zoro. Luffy doesn’t really pay attention to that stuff, so if he asked him, he wouldn’t really have any interesting input about it.

“Chopper, that’s cheating!” Usopp said, furiously mashing his controller.

“Nuh uh, I just know how to play the game.” Chopper replied. “X Triangle X does a huge combo. You just didn’t know!”

Usopp gasped. “Ehhhh!?! Well, thanks for sharing your method!”

They hung out together for an hour or so, until Sabo came back home. He hung up his jacket and looked around.

“Hi guys. Looks like a full party here.” Sabo remarked.

“Hey Sabo!” Luffy said, walking up to him and hugging him tightly. “How was it with Koala?”

“It was great! We went to a restaurant. I think you’ll like to go there someday.” Sabo continued. “It’s a sandwich place and they add all different kinds of meat.”

Luffy’s eyes lit up. “That sounds like heaven.” He said as Sabo laughed. He turned and hugged Zoro gently.

“Hey, Zoro. How’s your day been?”

“Pretty good. Seems like you had fun.”

“Hi Sabo!” Usopp and Chopper said in unison. He greeted them back with the same enthusiasm. Then hugged Nami and smiled.

“Hi, Nami. How have things been?”

“They’ve been ok, I guess.” Nami quietly said. Sabo frowned. Lately, she’s looked like she’s not in the mood.

“Wanna chat outside for a minute? You seem sad.” Sabo replied. Nami nodded and walked outside to their backyard. She sat in one of their benches and crossed her legs. Sabo sat next to her, trying not to bother her as best as he could. Ever since Luffy had been Nami’s friend, Sabo has always been the person she talked to for help. Nami’s past wasn’t so great. Her mother died from gang members and her eldest sister is now taking care of her. She is especially very to herself, so at least one person she could vent to always made her mental health a lot easier to deal with. Since Sabo is her elder and his personality was warm and welcoming, it was very easy to open up to him.

“I think I like Sanji, but he’s not making it easy for me to do that.” Nami murmured.

“Why is that?” Sabo asked.

“He’s always talking about how he loves women so much. That’s ok but he’s just- I don’t know, obsessive. I’m not sure how I will deal with that if I get together with him.”

Sabo put a reassuring hand on Nami’s shoulder and looked her in the eye. “Tell him it bothers you. If you’re not ready to confess those types of feelings, then don’t do it yet. But if you observe his character afterward I’m sure it will lead you to your answer.” Sabo looked up. “But even if he’s not the right one for you, you are such a pretty and amazing girl. You are so strong, too. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Nami hugged him and smiled. “Thank you.” She felt a lot brighter now. It made Sabo feel like he did a good job. “I’m gonna go back now. Are you making anything?”

“Luffy wants Nachos for dinner, so I’ll start prepping that.”

“Oh, alright. Also, tell Ace I left him a present on his desk. I forgot to get him a birthday present last year, so I felt bad.” Nami said, leaving the sliding door open for Sabo to come in.

...

#zolu #fanfic #writing #sanami #sanam #sabo #luffy #zoro #chopper #usopp #ace #shanks #one piece #anime

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brookylnboy · 5 years

Text

Pirates Part Two

A/N: You might have seen this first part before (AND I’M INCREDIBLY SORRRYYYY). The last part is different though! Also, does anyone know if you can listen to radio stations on a phone (if not, sorry for the inaccuracy!)

“Evans!”

“Come on, Y/N!”

“Where are you taking me,” you asked as he pulled you along.

“We’re going out.”

“I need to go back to my trailer.”

“I thought you wanted to go out.” Normally you would feel bad when Evans did this to you. You didn’t say that you wanted to go out, nor have you ever for that matter. However, Evans always managed to pull this trick where he makes you feel guilty for not wanting to go. Hence, why you went out all the time with Evans. So much that, people were convinced that you were dating.

Which you definitely were not.

“Not tonight Evans.” He pouted and you patted his back.

“Rain check?”

“Sure,” you told him. You turned and started walking towards your trailer.

“Go have fun with Tom.”

“What?” You whipped around to look at him. He had his shit eating grin.

“I know that you ditch me for him. Knew for a little while. Just be safe okay. I don’t want anymore nieces or nephews okay.”

Your face went wide. “We don’t-”

“Just look in the drawer okay.”

“You did not!”

“I did. You have fun.” He winked before disappearing before you did anything. Evans might be much stronger than you but man could you be scary. Once inside your trailer, you searched through your drawers until you found the envelope labeled responsible. Rolling your eyes, you dropped it back and closed the drawer thankful that it wasn’t a half used box.

You waited for Tom on the couch picking up the book you were currently reading and that resided permanently on the counter next to the couch. However, it didn’t take long for you to fall asleep especially once you slide down to a half sitting half laying down position.

You started to wake up when you felt a blanket wrap around you, the sudden weight on top of you alerting you to Tom’s presence.

“What time is it?”

“Past midnight.”

“You kept me waiting,” you teased him.

“I’m sorry darling. I had to film another quick scene before I was released for the night. Why don’t you go back to sleep?”

“No, I can stay up.”

“You need some sleep darling. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” You wanted to argue more but you were having trouble keeping your eyes open.

You could tell he was about to leave even before he said, “Goodnight.” And reached out to him as he talked.

“Stay,” you asked. He smiled.

“Of course.”

You moved over for him picking up the blanket as you did so that once he lay down beside you, you can wrap your arms and the blanket around him. You moved to rest your head on his shoulder as he adjusted the pillow his right arm wrapped securely around you.

“Good night,” you told him as you felt yourself slipping back to sleep.

“Good night darling.”

When you woke up the next morning, you smiled realizing that Tom was still there. You carefully moved your head to see him still asleep and then tried to carefully slip out of his grip (since you needed to pee) to no avail. He immediately tightened his hold on you and pulled you closer to him as you tried to keep silent.

“You aren’t allowed to leave darling,” Tom whispered.

“I kind of need to pee.”

“It can wait,” he chuckled as you rest your head back onto his chest. If you really needed to, you could escape but it wasn’t a dire emergency yet. So for now, you enjoyed his presence.

“Do you want to talk now,” you asked him.

“We can,” Tom replied and before you could respond there was a loud banging on the door.

“Y/N? Are you alive in there? Someone told me that you never left last night so I hope you’re in there since you aren’t picking up your phone and neither is Tom.” It was Evans of course and you sighed as you got up to answer the door. “Oh thank God. You’re needed in costume and makeup.”

“I thought I wasn’t filming till later?”

“Since they had Tom stay late last night, all scenes were shifted to earlier today. Did you not get the message last night?”

“I haven’t looked at my phone.”

“Well, you’re needed in makeup, which I still don’t know why I had to get you.” You shrugged. “If you see Tom, tell him he’s needed later and to check his phone.” He winked before leaving.

You walked into the trailer. “So Chris said to check your phone-”

“And you’re needed in makeup,” Tom finished. “The door was left slightly open.” He offered you a smile.

“We’ll talk later,” you asked.

“Of course, darling.” You grabbed your phone and checked messages as you walked to the makeup trailer. There were more messages than you would expect and ignored all except the ones dealing with filming.

Once in the makeup trailer, you sat down in one of the seats smiling at Emilie and offering her a good morning.

“Last scene for the week,” she commented as she started applying something. You sucked at makeup and never really followed what all happened to your face during your time there, although you should start learning.

“It will be nice to have a few days off after the crazy hours this week,” you told her with a slight chuckle.

“I bet it will. You going to get dragged out by Evans?”

“Probably.” She chuckled.

“What should we listen to today?” Every time Emilie was in charge of your makeup, you would listen to a different radio station, podcast, playlist, etc.

“Surprise me,” you told her. She pulled up her phone and clicked onto one of the radio stations that played new popular songs. “Going for the popular radio station?”

“It will be a weird break from the 80′s and 90′s.” You never listen to the stations that overplayed all the popular radio stations. Although, some of the songs were really good, you just enjoyed older music and weren’t into rap or “party” songs.

Once your makeup was completed, she moved onto hair (after you go to the bathroom). Tom came in sitting near you as Jenn started on his makeup. “I see the station has changed.”

“It has. I don’t know how I feel about it.”

“It just seems weird,” Jenn commented. “It’s not a day on set until at least one Queen song plays.”

“We could still play a Queen song,” Emilie added chuckling.

You could hear some commentary in the background on the radio and eventually, the conversation died down at it was the sound filling the space. “Now, here’s Taylor Swift’s new song.”

The music started playing and you heard Tom ask Jenn a question.

“Which Queen song should we play today,” you asked taking Emilie’s phone and switching over to Spotify and pulled up Queen.

“We haven’t listened to Bicycle Race in a long time,” Jenn said. You added it to the queue as the radio still played in the background.

“Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy is always good,” Emilie added.

You looked over to see Tom sitting there uncomfortable and rather pale. He seemed deep in thought. “Tom?”

He looked to you and took a moment to respond. “Bohemian Rhapsody.” You added in the three songs and even added on “Killer Queen” to the playlist letting it play as you looked back over at Tom worried.

Tagging:

@shockwavee

@theoneanna

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddleston x y/n

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e350tb · 5 years

Text

Steven Universe: Marooned Together - Chapter Thirty-Nine

(thanks as always to @real-fakedoors for proofreading)

Some parts of the universe were exceptionally beautiful, corners of a breathtaking canvas lined by every colour conceivable to the eye, crowded by sprawls of inky oceans, scenic starscapes, and celestial shapes that boggle the mind and entrance the senses.

The mining colony was not one such place.

The planet was missing chunks, likely the result of overvigerious strip-mining, and what remained was a dull, earthy-brown colour. The poles were tinged with shining ice, but the effect was offset by the miles and miles of metal platforms that marked the main mining areas. It was a dead world, its corpse dismembered and pillaged by the insatiable demand of empire.

To Stevonnie, it felt decidedly… wrong.

Amethyst crossed her arms as she regarded the planet.

“Peedee had something a little better than ‘somewhere on this planet’, right?” he asked.

“We’re looking for Platform Gamma,” replied Peridot, “According to the scan, it’s… here.”

A holographic display appeared in front of them.

“It’s very new,” she continued, “Started up about ten years ago. There’s a laboratory, a mine and a production facility.”

“So we blow it up?”

“No,” replied Peridot, “Peedee said keep it quiet. We need to sabotage production, but a massive explosion would… draw attention.”

Amethyst nodded.

“So make it look like an accident,” she muttered.

“If we staged a mine collapse around where the power generator is,” suggested Peridot, “It would take them a long time to re-establish the tunnels. They’d need to call in Bismuths, rescan for minerals… it could take them months, even years, and while they do that…”

“...we think of our next move,” said Stevonnie.

“Exactly.”

“You’re forgetting something!” snapped Zircon, “We can’t exactly just land. Need I remind you all that we’re pirates?”

Peridot nodded, scratching her chin.

“Amethyst,” she asked at last, “How’s your shapeshifting?”

“Yo! Name’s Purple Agate, here to check out the mines!”

“Oh stars, we’re screwed,” Lapis whispered.

She and Stevonnie were huddled together in a small crate, currently being pushed out of the Crystal Avenger by Peridot. The gem was now wearing limb enhancers, which she had complained dreadfully about - “They remind me of who I was.” - and Lapis wondered where they had even come from. Probably a pirate raid, she guessed.

The crate stopped, and a voice replied to Amethyst’s declaration.

“Agate!” It was clearly another Peridot. “I… uh, very good to see you, I didn’t… I didn’t know Blue Diamond wanted the facilities inspected.”

“That’s the point, it’s a surprise inspection,” replied Amethyst, “I wanna see everything, just so my Diamond is up to date on everything, you know? So, uh, show me around.”

“Of course! I, uh, what’s the crate?”

“What’s the crate? What’s the crate?” Amethyst affected a scandalised tone. “You don’t get to know that, you… pebble! Just take it into the mine, next to the generator!”

“Y-yes ma’am, of course ma’am!” the Peridot replied hastily, “You! Amethysts! Take this into the mine, now!”

“The mine? You want us to…”

“Yes, the mine! Don’t argue, just go!”

The cart creaked and groaned as it was pushed away, and Lapis was suddenly acutely aware of the distance between themselves and their friends.

“I already hate this,” she whispered.

“It’s okay, Lapis,” replied Stevonnie quietly, “I’m here.”

Awkwardly, they reached out their hand for Lapis to take.

There was a dull mechanical hum, and the light shining through the cracks in the box darkened. Evidently, they had entered the mine.

“I hate coming down here,” one of the Amethysts muttered.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” said the other, “I don’t care what Aquamarine says, there’s a monster in here…”

Lapis shot Stevonnie a meaningful look.

“...monster,” she repeated flatly, “There’s a monster.”

Stevonnie smiled awkwardly.

“Well, maybe it’s just a myth?”

The crate rumbled on for some time, and Lapis curled into a ball, trying to convince herself that Stevonnie was right - that it was just a myth, that the Amethysts were making up a story, that there couldn’t be some kind of subterranean monster on such a dead world. Honestly, the whole thing sounded like something from one of those old videos that had been in the old barn on Earth - Space Conflicts, right? Slowly, she allowed herself to calm down.

There was a sudden, loud poof, and the crate shook violently.

“Oh my stars!” one of the Amethyst’s screamed, “It’s a…”

She trailed off.

“...wait, I know what you are!” she snapped, “You think I can’t handle a B-oof!”

There was another poof, followed by a sudden, deeply uncomfortable silence. Slowly and deliberately, Stevonnie drew their sword, holding it up above them.

The lid suddenly flew open, and an enormous face stared down at them.

“Alright, let’s see what they got…”

The face trailed off. Stevonnie stared up in stunned silence, their eyes wide. Lapis tilted her head - this face was familiar, certainly, but she couldn’t quite place it…

“B… Bismuth?!”

“Stevonnie?!”

Stevonnie jumped up, leaping out of the crate and into the Bismuth’s arms, laughing as they hugged the big gem. The Bismuth laughed back, wrapping her arms tightly around them.

Oh, Lapis thought, this must be Bismuth.

She’d heard of Bismuth, of course - Stevonnie spoke of her regularly. She had been both one of the oldest and newest Crystal Gems, having rejoined the team not long after Lapis had left. She’d never heard a bad thing about her. And yet there was a strange sense of unpleasant… familiarity about her, as if she’d seen her long ago…

“I can’t believe you’re alive!” exclaimed Stevonnie, “I thought…”

“I can’t believe you’re alive!” replied Bismuth, “Guess it takes more than some jarheaded upper-crust to kill you, huh?”

She glanced down the mineshaft at the sound of feet on dirt and grabbed Stevonnie’s shoulder.

“We’ll catch up in a ‘sec,” she declared, “Right now, I reckon we’ve gotta hide…”

“Welcome to the main labs, Agate,” the Peridot - 4DT - said officiously, “Normally, Aquamarine would be breathing down our necks right now, but she’s off giving a report, so we’ve got the place to ourselves…”

“Are you engaging in personal rivalry, 4DT?” asked Peridot, winking at Amethyst, “Would Blue Diamond approve of that?”

“I… uh, um, I…”

Amethyst chuckled as the Peridot stammered, before shaking her head and returning to ‘official mode’.

“Anyway, there are two major research and development areas here,” she explained, “The Drone Project and the main Project Chrysalis floor.”

Amethyst pursed her lips.

“What’s the difference?” she asked.

“Shouldn’t you know…”

“It’s a test.”

4DT nodded.

“The-the Drone Project is effectively the run off,” she explained, “The failed test subjects were sent there for conversion into drones so that they wouldn’t be a complete waste… and as of a few cycles ago, test subjects have been moved from the Zoo and from Blue Diamond’s storage to bolster drone numbers.”

Amethyst frowned.

“That’s…”

Disgusting. Horrific. Appalling. Monstrous.

“...interesting,” she said, “So you make ‘em into robots.”

“‘Cyborg’ would be the correct term, but yes,” replied 4DT, “But they’re nothing compared to the significance of Chrysalis.”

“And can you explain that?” asked Peridot, barely disguising the unease in her voice.

“White Diamond recognises the… potential effectivity of the human consciousness, despite it’s inferior organic housing,” said 4DT, “It is surprisingly adaptable and capable of learning. With the right… upgrades and indoctrination, that consciousness could be of use to the empire.”

She shrugged.

“Now my diamond questions the use of all this, but White Diamond asks, you don’t say no,” she continued, “And I must admit, the whole process has been fascinating, perhaps even… fun.”

A distinctly red feeling flashed through Amethyst and she fought the urge to throttle 4DT where she stood.

“In any case, the Chrysalis lab is off-limits to those without White Diamond’s approval,” continued 4DT, “But I can show you some of the Drone Production Lines. This way…”

Amethyst and Peridot glanced at each other as they followed 4DT through the Drone Project Door, trying to ignore the strange stench that wafted out of the dark room beyond…

“Welcome to my home sweet home, Stevonnie!”

Bismuth extended her arms as they walked into a small cave. It had been a brief walk, but a difficult one - through a crack in the wall, over a broken bridge and through an abandoned, half-collapsed mine shaft. The little room they found themselves was surprisingly homey - small relics decorated the walls; faded photographs, carvings in the rock face, a hastily built cot and…

“A Ruby?” quizzed Lapis.

The little Ruby huddled in the corner looked up.

“Please don’t hurt me!” she squealed, pressing herself up against the wall. As her legs scurried on the dirt floor, Stevonnie caught sight of her gem - their eyes widened.

“Leggy?!”

“L… Leggy?”

The little Ruby looked down at the gem on her leg, and then back up at Stevonnie.

“You’re… the Crystal Gem human!” she exclaimed, “We played the Base Ball with you!”

She paused, then smiled brightly.

“That was fun!”

“Wait, you two know each other?” asked Bismuth, glancing from Stevonnie to Leggy.

“Yeah,” nodded Stevonnie, “She’s from the Ruby Squad!”

“Like Navy was?” quizzed Lapis warily.

“Yeah, but… I don’t think she’s like Navy, Laps,” said Stevonnie, “She’s just a little…”

“Wait wait wait wait wait, ‘Laps?!’” Bismuth’s eyebrows shot up. “Is that… is that a pet name?”

Stevonnie and Lapis glanced at each other, blushing furiously.

“Oh… my… gosh!” Bismuth laughed out loud. “Are you two… a Lapis Lazuli? Dang, Stevonnie, you’ve got taste… and if you’re dating…”

“Bismuth, I…” Stevonnie stammered.

“...it means you’re fused full time!” exclaimed Bismuth, pulling Stevonnie into a hug, “Oh, if Garnet could see you now…”

“Actually,” replied Stevonnie, “She has.”

Bismuth let go of them, stepping back - their eyes were wide. For the first time, Stevonnie had a moment to regard their new form - the old apron remained, but she now wore black gloves. Her shoulders, elbows, knees and thighs were lightly armoured with purple metal pauldrons - her shoulder pads were decorated with blue stars.

“...she’s…”

“Yep,” replied Stevonnie, “She’s okay. And so’s Amethyst and Peridot.”

Bismuth smiled, eyes lighting up.

“You mean… the Crystal Gems are back?!” she exclaimed, “All of them? I…”

Her face fell.

“...you didn’t say Pearl.”

Stevonnie nodded sadly.

“We don’t know where she is,” they replied, “I… I’m sorry, Bismuth.”

There was a long silence.

“Well, I guess beggars can’t be choosers, right?” said Bismuth at last, “I mean, if you’re alive, then… then maybe…”

She shook her head.

“Let’s not think about it,” she decided at last, “So, ‘Vonnie, Lapis; you wouldn’t have come here unless something’s up, so why don’t you tell me what it is and we can get down to Bismuth!”

#steven universe #marooned together #stevonnie #lapis lazuli #amethyst #peridot #blue zircon #lapvonnie #amedot

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definitelynotscott · 5 years

Note

WIP game: life, blue, and/or help !

Secrets

The banked rage in his heart flickered to life, and he set his tumbler on the table because he didn’t want to test its strength.

“Can I come in?” she asked, voice subdued, serious blue-green eyes looking up at him from under her golden lashes.

He chose the two-tiered dangly kind with a hook clasp and golden glass chips to match her hair, since he had never determined if her eyes were blue or green.

She was wearing a strapless dress in a blue so pale that at this distance it looked white except in the folds and valleys of the fabric.

He couldn’t help but smile back.

Understanding lit her eyes and he couldn’t help but grin.

Inheritance

Draven inquires about her love-life. (from the summary/outline)

To-Write List

(Please remember that while some of the stories in here haven’t been written because I’m slow, some of the stories in here haven’t been written because the initial idea just wasn’t that strong.) Cut for length. Like. There’s just over 39 pages. There were going to be a lot of hits. Some of these I’ve posted about before so I’ll come back in the morning and edit in links, but I’m tired now.

I guess I’m here to light up your life, but maybe not like you expect. (Soulmate AU II)

Okay, so he was a dick, saddling her with, essentially, a mark that called her a whore her whole life, but was she really planning to avoid speaking to him forever? (Soulmate AU V)

“How’s married life?” (Soulmate AU XIII)

And even when you’re a good liar “Ha ha, you’re my friend, and he’s a big part of your life, so of course I’m interested…” will only take you so far. (Soulmate AU XIV)

Ezreal hasn’t really thought about the sudden appearance of Darius in Lux’s life, he’s busy concentrating on his studies (and Taric, but…). (Some college AU)

Lux walks in on Garen and Darius trying to kill each other but mistakes it for another activity entirely. Garen doesn’t deny it, in fact goading her into making Darius’ life hell by acting emotionally vulnerable (“I wanted something more than physical”) (Wow you get the entire prompt for this one. Also a College AU)

All he wants is to show Lux how grateful he is to have her in his life. (Established Relationship AU/Starting Their Own Business AU/Unplanned Pregnancy AU)

Domestic Life in Noxus sort of thing where an assassin and an “information broker” get married because the landlord is only renting to married couples. (I actually posted about this one before!)

But she feeds him and keeps him safe like she would have for Jane, and makes snarky comments about his dad and all the unhealthy people in his life, and she starts to grow on him. … And they’re having one of their sniping little conversations like they do, and she pulls up the “upgrade to PAID” line, and there’s a pause and he says “…I could pay you…” kind of reaching out to the one non-toxic person in his life. … While she’s sending out applications and going for interviews she’s texting Justin to make sure he’s eating and sleeping, and giving him little pep talks about not abandoning his dreams and not letting the toxic SOBs around him direct his life. … Then Justin is kidnapped by unsavory types and Darcy A) can’t tell anyone because then she’d have to fess up about talking to Justin all the time and she’s sure they’d assume she’s a traitor and B) why would Tony help Justin anyway? (That Darcy Thing I Outlined Here.)

Being in prison is essentially a monastic lifestyle he didn’t choose. (Overwatch Thing I Posted.)

She’s double insulted since he should know she can make his life hell, and that she can be happy in whatever circumstances. (One of many Arranged Marriage AUs (but not quite so many that I’ve busted out the Roman numerals yet.))

They save her a bag when the gym gets crowded, and help her brush off a follower. … Garen immediately leaves to look for spare garments in the car, as everyone can see her bra is see-through blue mesh. … They listen to music supplied by Professor Heimerdinger (Space Jam, Commander Thinks Aloud, Blue & Beautiful, etc.) … Slow-dance to Blue & Beautiful. (College AU/Gym Rat AU)

Gifts would appear out of nowhere, usually in a plain box, but once you opened it the wrappings were bold, obvious, Demacian blue and gold. (Kind of a Lux-being-a-stalker AU)

Conjoined households are seen as lower class because A) if you’re high ranked you’ll be stationed in the city, B) if you’re strong enough you can defend your household without help. (More of me making up weird societal rules about marriage because that’s fun for me.)

OKAY WE’RE SKIPPING THIS ONE. O///O (But the word was “help” - not “helping” or “helped” but “help.”)

A big old fish is just as likely to toss itself over the edge without her help (and without knocking her over the railing) so she stays inside. … He helps where he can (he can use the railings like parallel bars and kind of walk himself down using his hands, but he’s also kind of banged up from getting thrown against a lighthouse. (Lighthouse Keeper/Merman AU)

This one I was working on with someone else so IDK if I should share it, but it pinged on “help”.

Lux always completes her assignments above and beyond the call of duty, but with so little help, hope, experience, and cooperation (from both her superiors and her “clients”) her edges are beginning to fray… (Kinda… a Public Defender AU? Also a “DANG IT WHY ARE THERE ALL THESE “NOXUS WINS HERE ARE THE HORRIBLE CONSEQUENCES” AUs AND NO “DEMACIA WINS AND HERE ARE THE HORRIBLE CONSEQUENCES” AUs” AU)

Sequel: Darius is assigned to help Cassiopeia with Shurima because his Demacian tattoos will strike fear, but what happens when Demacians descend upon them? (Sequel to a Pirate AU where the Demacians are the Pirates (”Harsh justice of the sea” anyone?))

Ezreal and Janna decide to helpfully “prove” that she should avoid an arranged marriage. (Obviously an Arranged Marriage AU)

Draven’s thrilled, really wants to help with the wedding plans. (Double-Blind Marriage AU/Arranged Marriage AU)

“If you’re going to half my storage space I’m going to have you help me translate the ancient Demacian parts,” he said, sounding amused. (Magic Made Them Do It story, but set after “The Incident.”)

Ezreal is helping Jayce construct a device (recreate Ekko’s device?) (De-aging story)

OKAY WE’RE SKIPPING THIS ONE TOO. O///O (It’s not even that bad, I’m just easily embarrassed.) Pinged on “helping”.

But it’s a personal issue, so she’s willing to help. (Draven playing matchmaker AU)

He can’t help but agree internally. (Vampire/Werewolf AU)

…bathing him to help him smell more like pack. (We’ll just, uh, clip this one a little bit… ^^; )

KAT REALIZES SHE INHERITED HER FATHER’S JOB OF HELPING TALON INTERFACE WITH SOCIETAL STANDARDS (”Accidental” Baby Acquisition that I’ve mentioned before.)

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momestuck · 5 years

Text

Let’s read Hiveswap Friendsim... volume 7!

So. Our narrator is like... building something resembling a functional social circle. Something resembling. We’ve made all of 13 friends! That’s a lotta friends!

But we’re not done. Oh no. This one is called “of business, flagrantly illegal” (I should like... actually report the titles lol) and we are going to meet...

Remele is another cerulean girl, with a similar multiple eyeball situation as Vriska/Aranea’s Vision Eightfold. Funny, we’re getting a lot of that colour... it’s almost as if the Homestuck fandom is packed with lesbians obsessed with Vriska. Ha. Ha.

Also Konyyl, olive, cf Nepeta. Buffest troll we’ve seen yet, unless we count Equius.

Both these girls look pretty fighty.

Remele

Remele was written by Cee L. Kyle, who also did Bromya and Zebruh.

We end up in an art gallery. We can spot the obvious ones: Mona Lisa, American Gothic, The Scream. The others... maybe someone who knows more about art can let me know.

There’s a lot of purplebloods here, but before we can leave, Remele shows up.

Is that an accordion in the soundtrack? Also god, good luck your shirt over that horn Remele... guess that’s why she’s got such a wide neck.

Anyway her quirk is that she puts the letter ‘e’ on the end of random words.

We learn a little about the narrator.

Let’s try praising the art... sure enough, flattery works. We get a tour.

Faygo as a high class drink... well played. That fits.

We learn that gore and ‘religious themes’ i.e. clowns are what sells to highblood trolls. The narrator seems to have some knowledge of purplebloods, which is weird because I think we’ve only met them on a non-canon (i.e. non-friendship) branch.

The portrait art is pretty good in this game.

Could this be... Equius? Probably not, tbh. I’m not sure if he’s even been born yet.

She’s about to tell us about her webcomic (omg), but then a reporter (teal text box) shows up. Apparently she’s in a legal suit over her comic being fanwork. We ask how serious it is.

Gorjek... hmm, best not mention whose bathrobe we’re (still?) wearing.

She gets the idea to get us to do an art heist for her.

I am extremely down for an art heist. Fortunately the options agree...

Previously degree of enthusiasm has mattered, but I doubt it will here. All the same, let me click ‘hell fucking yes.’ We get a real choice: steal the keys or bust down the door.

Let’s try the subtle approach first.

...hold on a minute. I am not very confused. I thought the friendship routes are canon. Does this mean that we failed to befriend Polypa? Or that canon is an arbitrary and fake concept and time isn’t real?

The strange part is, previously the narration in this chapter mentioned the mall movie theatre, which was on the other Polypa branch. This might be a “don’t think about it too much” situation, or it might be a sign of timeline shenanigans. I mean, this is a Homestuck game...

This would be a very confusing chapter if we’d not played all the earlier branches a couple of chapters ago!

Luckily, Remele intervenes and saves us from the purpleblood guy! ...wow, that’s pretty gutsy, given how OP purplebloods are.

We get an action scene, in which we stab the guy with a paintbrush.

That’s a cool axe portrait for one scene! Most of the time they don’t bother to depict stuff like weapons.

So surprisingly, this isn’t the death branch, and we agree to do the heist another day. Apparently having a customer die is excellent news...

So we get to be a muse for a second time.

OK, side branches. What if we tell her her art is derivative?

We get called a ‘plebe’ is what. No surprises there.

Now, to the heist. Let’s try breaking the door down.

Remele picks the lock with paintbrush.

I can safely say that is not an experience I’ve ever had.

Inside, we get a new background...

Lasers ahoy. We are short enough to shimmy over to the alarm, and Remele guides us to press the right buttons.

Remele nicks a painting which she says is derivative of her earlier work before she tried to make money from her work, and now wants to rip off in return. But then security shows up!

She bullshits her way past the guard with the power of confidence and privilege, and we leave with the painting. What’s gonna go wrong?

Ah. After all that... we don’t end up Friends(TM).

I kind of like that ending actually. Playing with the established pattern.

And that’s the last ending for Remele. Nice.

Artists, huh.

Konyyl

Konyyl is by Aysha U. Farah as well. We don’t take long to find her...

Unusually, her track has vocals - though no lyrics I can make out. It’s pretty Fantasy.

She demands to know if we’re who she’s waiting for. Apparently she finds it plausible we’re a woman. I guess we really are a AFGNCAAP. Or at least an AFGNAP, since we seem to be something of a nerd and probably from a Western country.

Apparently she’s waiting for someone called countryyladyy453. Well, that typing quirk sounds familiar... what does she want with Skylla?

Skylla shows up. Lady is with her, so we can trust we didn’t go down the branch where Lady got dognapped.

The narration hangs a lampshade on the ambiguity.

I am really enjoying the reappearance of characters from prior episodes!

And indeed it turns out the story this time concerns that prior episode. We’re here to rescue lusii! Lususes?

So I guess Konyyl is some kind of mercenary.

There’s a cute interaction where Konyyl accidentally calls Skylla pretty...

They get in an argument... Skylla calls Konyyl a coward. We get a choice of how to defuse... say we know people, or ask if Konyyl works on spec. Well, no self-respecting professional would take the latter, so let’s draw in some of our other friends. Some of them might be useful...

A great idea! Unfortunately...

Ahaha. Well played.

OK, so let’s try and get her to work on spec. Which in this case means that the bandits probably stole a bunch of other stuff, and she could get paid with loot.

She goes with it.

However, Skylla isn’t coming. Because Konyyl is horny for her she’ll put us at risk.

Despite the narrator’s expectations, we have little trouble tracking down the bandits. New background, hey!

But unfortunately, along with the ship is... an adult troll. Tall, dark grey skin, big old claws.

She mentions someone called Azdaja who’s usually the brains of an operation. From the description, probably a yellowblood. Maybe we’ll meet him later.

We get our real choice: follow the pirate into the warehouse, or board the ship.

Let’s do the ship. I feel like this will lead to us dying in space, but that’ll be fun right?

BIG WORM

Unfortunately, the adult troll is on board the ship. She mind controls us into submission (cerulean) and... we end up in space! Apparently with a shipment of lusii on board. This troll does not seem to be able to fully mind control us, but like Vriska, can only put us to sleep. Konyyl, on the other hand, is fully affected.

The ship is hit by something, and starts to re-enter the atmosphere. We learn the narrator didn’t really want to go to Alternia.

This time, we make it to an escape pod... but Konyyl’s had it with us.

Hey, died in space, just like I said!

Now let’s try the warehouse.

Konyyl marches up to the door. We see some lususnappers chilling in a break room, and suggest a different door.

Konyyl remains unimpressed with us, but we keep going. And blunder right into the break room anyway.

Konyyl massacres them. The narrator starts to feel... less than great at ‘a bunch of kids getting massacred’.

Konyyl, however, is surprisingly gentle with us over this panic attack. The game is, naturally, one step ahead of my commentary...

And, after that... she loots the bodies. “It’s a lot messier and takes way longer than it does in videogames.” We comment a little on her blackrom attraction to Skylla... and she gives us a phone! A phone of our own!

Hooray! Now we can actually stay in touch with our 15 friends!

That was a neat little episode I think. I enjoyed the callbacks... though I’m still confused about which Polypa route was canon.

#momestuck #lets read hiveswap friendsim

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