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anactualcaseofthetruth · 3 years

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Friends Can Break Your Heart Too > Chapter 3 Archive Of Our Own Link

Catch Up: Chapter 2 Chapter 1

Summary: Mia Flores flees to Santo Padre for one reason and one reason only: her godfather and the man who raised her, Bishop Losa. The last thing she expects is for Angel Reyes to come into her chaotic life and just maybe be the one thing that starts to make sense.

Chapter 3:

“Pizza!” Letty calls out as she enters the house just a few steps ahead of Mia.

Immediately, all construction noises cease, the small hand tools are dropped, and they are closing in.

“Fucking finally,” Coco says as he takes the pizzas from his daughter. “I was starting to feel like we’re working in a real fucking sweatshop, like no food or breaks until you’re done, you know?”

“Dude, you take a smoke break every fucking five minutes, calm down,” Angel instructs while freeing Mia’s own hands of the small pizza and box of Styrofoam on top without a word.

“Hey! These are for me and Letty, you each got your own pizza,” Mia complains with hands out.

“What, I’m not allowed to help? Be nice?” he questions and holds the food above his head so she can’t reach.

“Fine. Thank you, now give it back!” she whines and follows him to the kitchen to join the others, jumping for it the whole way.

“No, I don’t like your attitude.”

“Angel! C’mon, I’m hungry!” Mia exclaims with hands on her hips and a frown on her face

“Apologize first,” he says, and their audience laughs.

“I’m going to slap you,” she counters grumpily.

He looks her up and down, noting her ripped jeans and a tight, white tee matched with a black jacket and black and white sneakers on her feet. “Can you even reach without heels on?”

Mia’s eyes turn to slits before tapping him in the balls. It’s not so hard to hurt him, but enough to put him into defensive mode and lower the food. “Now, was that so hard?” she asks sweetly while handing the Styrofoam off to Letty.

“You better watch your back, Flores,” he warns, ignoring the snickers around them, and reaches for his pizza.

“Oh, but you’re so much better at it than I am,” Mia teases in return.

Angel nods as he swallows. “Can’t argue that. Hey, prospect, beer?” he asks of his brother a moment later.

EZ turns from his own pizza and takes enough out of the fridge for all of them besides Letty. She gets a bottle of Coke instead.

“Wait, you guys have beer here? While you’re working? I’m doing to die in a house fire, aren’t I?” Mia sighs while looking down at her white spinach pizza.

“Nah, there was nothing wrong with the wiring, so we haven’t had to mess with it. You’re safe from house fires,” EZ assures her.

Coco, on the other hand, makes an unsure noise and shrugs. "That’s not saying the crackheads who lived here before didn’t fuck with it. So, if you do die, it wouldn’t be on our consciences."

“That is what I was worried about, how you all would feel if something happened, not about actually dying,” Mia tells him in monotone.

“Good looking out, no worries, we’d be alright,” Coco insists, and the group laughs some more.

Upon further inspection to Bishop’s rental, her godfather decided a small remodel was in order before she could move in. “Nothing huge,” he promised her, “just some paint and maybe new carpet.” Well that was a month ago, and she has yet to move in.

What he meant by ‘nothing huge’ is repainting every single room, new molding, replacing over half the light fixtures, a few new windows, and a completely redone bathroom upstairs. Then, after finding hardwood in good condition under said carpet he decided he wanted certain rooms without carpet at all which meant pulling up good carpet that wouldn’t have even needed replaced. The kitchen, luckily, was the best-looking room in the house when they started, having been redone before the last tenants moved in, so all he insisted on was a fresh coat of paint, a few new appliances, a couple tiles replaced, and a good cleaning.

Mia’s been told the upstairs is ‘almost done’ and they are finishing up the living room now.

She has also noticed new pieces of furniture showing up when she isn’t around. Which, that isn’t hard to do since she only stops by once or twice a day to feed the guys and ‘make sure they are doing their fucking work’ at Bishop’s request. A new queen-sized bed appeared two weeks ago, a dining set a few days later, and after commenting on how comfy his couch is one similar has taken residence in the garage, not that she is supposed to know about it.

Mia's done her best to not argue with Bishop about all of it. She knows he means well, however, when she looks around all she sees is her godfather silently pleading with her to stay, possibly forever, but when asked about long-term plans she avoids giving any real answer.

It’s not dependent on her, not really, it depends on whether her past catches up with her.

“So how much longer until you guys are finally done with this place?” Letty asks as she eats her chicken fingers. “I can’t wait to have a sleepover.”

Mia smiles at the younger girl and pushes all thoughts of her ex away. Over the past month the two of them have formed a close bond. She sees a piece of herself in Leticia—being one of the few Mayan daughters, having mothers who barely cared, and men who aren’t quite their fathers as their sole parent. Coco is actually Letty’s dad, but she didn’t know that until a couple months ago, so it’s still ‘completely weird’ according to her.

She hopes to be the female figure she needed when she was stupid teenager for Letty. Growing up around these guys isn’t easy. It’s certainly never dull, but Mia remembers how kids at school used to look at her, with that mixture of fear and pity, of jealousy and hate. She remembers what boys thought of her, that because of how women are around the MC that she would be both easy to sleep with and manipulate.

That last part wasn’t entirely wrong, but she wants it to be different for Letty.

“Well, Prez is supposed to have a walk-through in a day or two. If he doesn’t see anything else wrong with it, hopefully next week,” Gilly says when no one speaks up.

Mia likes Gilly, she likes all the guys, but these four are a package deal. Angel is the ringleader, EZ his sounding board, Coco the one who challenges him when necessary, and Gilly is the silent partner. He only really speaks when spoken to, but is always listening, and is very much a protector.

“You guys said that last week,” Letty reminds them.

“Girl, you know we had the Vegas run and it set us back. Stop pushing,” Coco warns her. “It ain’t even your house.”

“No, but we’re going to have a sleepover the weekend she moves in,” Letty tells him like its common knowledge. And honestly, she’s been talking about it so much it practically is.

“Really?" Angel questions with a playful look towards Mia, never one to pass up an opportunity to give her shit, or flirt with her. Sometimes both happen in the same sentence. "Anyone else invited to this sleepover?”

As always, she decides to play along. “Why? You need a facial? We can buy extra masks.”

“It’d be nice to be thought of, that’s all,” he insists. “Besides, it’s not me that needs the facial. EZ’s skin is shit compared to mine.”

“Hey,” his little brother speaks up and it sounds so pitiful Mia can’t help but laugh.

“Shoulda seen his face in junior high. Pimple fuckin’ city,” Angel goes on. “Our mom had to buy him special cream and everything.”

“Can we stop? Like, that’s the point of this?” EZ asks as he turns just a little red.

“The point is mine was clear and yours wasn’t,” Angel responds.

“And when we were kids you were fat and I wasn’t,” EZ says with arms crossed. “So, shut up.”

Everyone laughs as they eat, but Mia is practically jumping up and down with joy. “Oh, my God, please tell me you have pictures. I want to see pictures of little chunky Angel,” she pleads.

“Stop, it wasn’t that I was fat exactly,” Angel tries to stop her giggles. “I wasn’t! I was a little late to puberty, alright?”

“Dude, you were definitely chunky,” EZ states. “Accept it.”

“No, I just didn’t grow for, like, a year, that’s all,” Angel argues. “You, quit laughing,” he demands while staring Mia down. “I’m serious, I was pretty much the same height for a year. Ezekiel was almost as fuckin’ tall as me, and he’s two years younger than me. Then, I shot up, like, six fuckin’ inches.”

“And you lost all your baby fat?” Mia asks, still snickering.

“As a matter of fact, yes, I did, and now look, all muscle, baby,” Angel says and lifts his shirt to show the abs that he knows she’s fond of. And, sadly, she’s not allowed to touch them because no one knows they are sleeping together.

“Damn,” they all hear Letty mumble and Mia can’t stop the laugh from bubbling up her throat. She would have said the same thing if she hadn’t seen them before.

“Alright, put that shit away, I got a kid here,” Coco urges and throws a napkin at Angel’s chest.

“What, this shit?” EZ asks while lifting his shirt too.

“Hold on, I gotta get a picture of this,” Letty says, her phone already in her hands.

Coco smacks it away. “Stop, they are like your uncles.”

“No, they definitely aren’t,” she counters, making the brothers laugh while dropping their shirts.

Mia gives Letty a pointed look that the girl ignores. She knows all about the younger girl’s crush on EZ, and she also knows how completely unattainable and stupid it is. Letty will grow out of it eventually, probably when she gets a crush her own age. At least, her next crush better be someone her own age.

“You’re real funny. You get that shit you needed for school?” Coco questions as he stands having eaten his whole pizza save three slices. Letty nods with her mouth full. “Good, we should get going. You got school in the morning and I got my own shit to do.”

“Yeah, what’s her name?” Angel asks innocently while picking up another slice.

“Ew,” Letty mutters as the others laugh. “Let’s go before this conversation continues. Is your car unlocked, Mia? The stuff for my project is still in it.”

“Yeah, it’s open, help yourself.”

“I’m going to head out too. I told Pop I’d stop by before he went to sleep,” EZ mentions.

“Let me know if there’s anything good on the history channel,” Angel jokes.

“Don’t worry, I know how you feel about a good Vietnam documentary,” EZ assures him and the brothers share a laugh.

Everyone starts getting up and throwing away their paper plates and saying their goodbyes. For now, anyways, since most of them will meet up back at the clubhouse before the night is over.

Mia’s just finishing up putting all the leftover pizza slices into one box for the boys to fight over tomorrow before she brings over their lunch when Angel comes back into the kitchen.

“I locked your car,” he says, and she jumps about a foot in the air. “I know it’s a piece, but you still shouldn’t leave it unlocked like that.”

She turns with a hand over her heart. “Don’t do that, I thought you were leaving,” she scolds him.

“When did I say that?” he questions with a crinkle to his eyebrows.

Mia rolls her eyes. “I don’t know, maybe when everyone said they were leaving, and you walked out with them?”

“I never said I was leaving. Besides,” he starts while approaching her and sets his hands on her hips, “I can’t say goodbye before I get a proper hello.”

“Oh, a proper hello?” Mia asks as his head dips in closer to hers. “What would that entail, exactly?”

“This,” he says and lifts her onto the island, their lips already connected and tongues threatening to meet.

His beard brushes against her chin and she reaches up to lightly scratch at it. “Mm, scruffy,” she murmurs, having admitted her liking his beard to him before. He does, in fact, use a special beard shampoo and pomade in it.

He smiles at her and lifts his chin so she can have better access. “I swear, if I was a dog this shit would make me do that kicking leg thing,” he mutters with his eyes closed.

“Hm, you’re cute,” she tells him as his chin practically sits in her hands, his face the picture of peace.

She’s not ashamed to admit that Angel quickly has become her best friend, not only in Santo Padre, but in general. Of course, she’s never been one to have many friends. Growing up other kids were weary of her, of Bishop rolling up in a Harley to pick her up from school, and their parents only saw the kutte on his back.

When it came to the club, there weren’t many other Mayan kids. Most of them, like Coco with his other two that aren’t Letty, pay for them but aren’t really involved in raising them. Sometimes, when it was a son, they’d come back around during their teen years, want to be like their biker dad, and prospect once they hit eighteen.

Her best friend was Marcus Alverez’s son Esai, but she hasn’t spoken to him since she left Oakland when her and Bishop had their big blowout. Cutting the club out of her life included Esai, and no matter how much he tried to claw his way back in she didn’t let him. That’s a bridge she hasn’t repaired yet.

“You look tired, osito,” she whispers and his eyes pop open.

Angel smiles lazily. “Is that what I am to you, huh? A teddy bear?”

“My teddy bear,” she corrects.

“Let’s keep that between us, huh?” he murmurs when his eyes slide closed again as she continues to scratch at his chin. “Wouldn’t want the guys to know how sweet I am on ya.”

Mia holds back a laugh. “As far as they're concerned the only thing you’re sweet on is my ass.”

“Ain’t no hiding that, querida,” he agrees. After a few minutes Angel’s eyes open and his face breaks out into a smile. “I have a surprise for you.”

“Is it shiny or is it chocolate?” she immediately asks, making him laugh and lift his chin from her hands.

“Neither it’s upstairs,” he replies and turns around to signal for her to jump onto his back, and she does, happily.

Mia tightens her hold around his shoulders. “Ooh, a sex swing? I’m in, but Bishop might be pissed."

Angel's laugh in return is loud and boisterous. “Nah, not that, but I can always add one later if you want,” he says and begins making his way up the steps. “Remember last week when Bishop told you to think about colors for the house? And you weren’t sure about what you wanted to paint your bedroom?”

“Uh, yes,” Mia confirms as they reach the top. “But Bishop said I had time to choose, that painting was the last thing you guys were going to do and I had colors for all the other rooms so you guys could get started.”

“It is, but” Angel stops at the master bedroom and lets her slide down his back until her feet touch the ground. “I got an idea. If you hate it, I can fix it, make it whatever you want, I just,” he sighs, his nerves obvious.

“Hey,” Mia says and grabs his hands so both of them are intertwined, “I’m sure I’ll love it, whatever it is, just because you did it,” she assures him. “Unless it’s just plain white, then that’s kinda lame and I’ll probably laugh.”

Angel chuckles and shakes his head at her. “It’s not white, promise.” He opens the door hesitantly with an unsteady breath. “Just… don’t lie if you don’t like it, okay?”

“Promise,” she echoes back to him and he flicks the lights on before ushering her inside.

Mia finds the room painted a pink-orange shade, the kind in a sunset, but it’s the ceiling that makes her gasp. It’s blue, dark blue, with slashes of different shades throughout to resemble the night sky, along with some yellow and gold. It’s very Van Gogh, but of course not Van Gogh.

“Oh, my God,” she whispers with hands over her mouth.

“And, uh, there’s this too,” Angel tells her before slapping the lights off and the ceiling lights up. There are glow in the dark stars on it. Not enough to be childish or make the room bright, but just enough to look like stars faraway in the sky.

“Angel,” Mia sniffs.

“I remembered how much you liked looking at the stars when you first moved here,” he explains. “And I woke up last week to some stupid infomercial on the TV in the middle of the night. They were selling some Starry Night knockoffs and the idea came to me. I hope you don’t mind or, I don’t know, if you don’t like it I can—”

“Stop,” she insists with a hand on his chest as she looks up. “It’s… it’s—I don’t even know what to say, Angel.”

“You like it?” he asks, and his voice is so soft, so vulnerable Mia’s heart tightens.

For a moment all she can do is nod. “I love it,” she finally manages and blinks to stop the tears from forming. “I’ve never had anyone go out of their way for me like this except Bishop, at least, not unless it was some sort of apology from a boyfriend at the time.” The lights come back on and Mia turns to face him, but Angel is looking anywhere but her. “Did you do this yourself?”

He nods and looks up at the artwork, still avoiding eye contact. “Yeah.”

“How did you—I mean, how?” she asks with a knot in her throat.

“I used to paint when I was a kid, and into high school. I, uh, stopped when my mom died,” he confesses with his eyes now on his hands as he plays with his rings. “I was rusty as fuck, but I don’t know, I think it turned out pretty good.”

“Hey,” Mia urges and lifts his chin until their eyes meet. “I love it.”

Angel nods and licks his bottom lip. “Really?”

“I absolutely adore it,” she promises, her voice low and gets on her tip toes while wrapping an arm around his neck to pull until their foreheads are touching. “And the fact that you did it yourself? That makes it so much better. You’re very talented, mi osito.”

“Again, with the teddy bear? You’re gonna fuck up my rep, querida,” he teases.

“Well, the rep you have with me is being almost too good in bed and possibly the sweetest man I know, so,” she stops with a shrug and starts backing him up until he hits the bed half-covered in plastic.

Angel falls on the bed with a laugh and shoves at the plastic covering until it hits the floor. “Almost too good? Damn, gotta step up my game then.”

Mia moves to straddle him. “Please don’t,” she replies with her hands on his chest. “I would end up ugly crying, like, all the time.”

“Ugly crying, huh?” he asks and removes her hands from underneath his shirt where she had been trying to push it up. “Now I know what the goal is.”

“I am serious, Angel Reyes, do not,” she warns and starts fighting for control of her hands so she can continue to undress him. “Let me go! I want to make it up to you,” she insists as they begin to wrestle.

Angel rolls them over and pins her hands above her bed. She tries extremely hard not to get turned on, but fails miserably. “I don’t want you to make it up to me,” he tells her once she stops struggling. “I did this out of the goodness of my heart and making it up to me implies that I did it for something in return.”

Warmth spreads from Mia’s chest down to her toes. “Okay, then, can we fuck just because I’m horny then? It has nothing to do with me being incredibly grateful for what you’ve done.”

“You sure?” he questions and tightens his hold when she begins to resist again.

“Nothing at all,” she confirms as she squirms. “I just realized why you’re so good with your hands and I want to feel them all over me.”

“Alright then,” Angel lets go and sits back on his haunches. “Strip, everything off.”

“You’re sitting on me,” Mia reminds him with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll help with the bottom stuff, but I think you can handle the top,” he tells her while pulling his own shirt off. “Hurry up, I wanna see if I can get you to do that ugly crying thing.”

Mia glares at him once the top is over her head. “Do not. This mascara is not waterproof.”

“Not my problem. I’m always prepared,” he replies while flashing a condom in front of her face, “it’s time you start to be too.”

She rolls her eyes while undoing her bra. “I can’t believe you’re about to get laid after saying that.”

Angel grins and starts to take off her pants. “I’ve gotten laid after saying tons of dumb shit. It’s the pretty face that gets the panties to drop,” he says before sliding her cheeky lace underwear down. “What my mouth can do helps though. So, get up, you’re gonna sit on my face.”

“Geez, bossy,” she mumbles but readily slips out from underneath him and onto her knees.

“You’re into it,” he murmurs before pressing his lips against hers as his hands slide down her bare sides.

“Only when your mouth or dick are involved,” Mia says, breathless, when they pull away.

Angel grins as his hand slides between her legs. “We’ll see about that.”

About an hour later, Mia makes her way downstairs looking for Angel. Guys have it so much easier, she thinks. All they gotta do after sex is get dressed. Being the handsy motherfucker her boy is, Mia looks like she’s been through a tornado after they’re done, and needs put together, not to mention a moment to pee. He just throws away the condom and zips up before sauntering off.

“Angel?” she calls after not seeing him in the living room or upon entering the kitchen.

“Outside!” she hears and notices the back door slightly ajar.

Mia finds him outside on a lawn chair, the kind people lay out on next to a pool, apparently something else she has inherited from Bishop’s previous tenants. Angel is holding a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other. “Room for me?”

Angel tilts his head back to look at her before parting his legs. “Always for you.” She lifts a leg of her own and swings it around to straddle his hips. “Beer?”

She nods and takes a sip before handing it back. “So,” she starts and stares at him expectantly.

“Sooo?” he echoes while taking a swig.

“So, you paint?”

Suddenly, the beer becomes interesting, as it’s all he can look at now. “I did.”

“Osito, you just pulled a Michelangelo on my bedroom ceiling. You paint, present tense,” Mia insists.

“I… relapsed,” he attempts to joke, but Mia shakes her head and lifts his chin.

“You know you can talk to me, right? We don’t just have sex, at least, that’s not all this is for me,” she admits with a tint of pink in her cheeks. “You’re like my best friend and I don’t say that easily. I’m not really one for friends.”

“I don’t believe that shit for a second,” Angel immediately disagrees with one last puff of his cigarette before flicking the cherry off the tip and turning his head so the gray smoke doesn’t hit her face. “But, if you gotta know, and I know you won’t shut the fuck up until I tell you,” he goes on and she grins in triumph, “my mom liked to paint. It was her thing. It was mainly religious shit, you know,” he says with a shrug, “but she was really good. She even has a piece hanging in the church we went to growing up.” He stops to smile, and Mia can’t help but mirror it, the genuine happiness coming from him infectious. “I remember when it first got displayed, my dad told everyone his wife painted it. I swear, he worked it into every single fucking conversation somehow.”

“And she passed it on to you?”

Angel puts the beer bottle down and wraps his arms around her waist, his hands resting on her ass. “Not really, I mean, not intentionally, I guess. I was an angry kid, it started in junior high, back when I was a chubby fuck. I punched a few holes in the walls, and every time they made me fix it, but that just made me angrier,” he says and looks passed her head. “I don’t know, I guess it pissed me off that they made me patch them up without really asking what was wrong? My mom tried, but—” he stops and shakes his head, “she wasn’t the one I wanted to open up to.”

“You wanted your dad,” Mia states and Angel nods, his eyes meeting hers again.

“One day I got sent home from school for fighting and my mom had to come get me. Pop wouldn’t leave the shop, said it wouldn’t matter if he did, that I wouldn’t listen to him anyway,” he continued, “maybe he was right, I don’t know.”

Mia slips her hands under his shirt, her fingers drawing endless loops and shapes on his bare skin. “What was the fight about, do you remember?”

Angel nods slowly. “They used to call EZ Kodak because of his memory. Some asshole cornered him in the bathroom, had a friend hold him down while he pushed some sleazy magazine in his face and told him to remember it because it would be the only naked girl he ever saw or some shit. I was chubby, but EZ was as thin as a fucking rail. That kid’s metabolism is no joke,” he comments with a faraway look in his eyes, like he’s reliving the memory. “I found out and took the fucker down. I remember being pulled off him and looking at EZ, he was so embarrassed. Before they took me away, he asked me not to tell, so I didn’t. I didn’t tell what the kid did to him, and the little dick didn’t fess up to what he did either, so all they knew was that I held him down and kicked his ass.”

“That… sucks. It definitely made you look bad,” Mia points out with a stink face. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m his big brother, I do what I gotta do,” Angel says easily, and she knows without a second thought he would do it again. “I expected to come home and go straight to my room or have a list of shit to do around the house. Instead, Mom brought me outside to the patio. There was this big, white canvas and a bunch of paint. She told me to paint my feelings. I thought it was stupid as fuck.”

Mia smiles, picturing little Angel looking at his mom with his ‘the fuck is this?’ expression and it’s definitely a funny image. “But you started painting?”

“I did it to just get it over with so I could go to my room, but I don’t know, it helped me get aggression out,” he admits. “My mom did religious realism, but I was super into abstract. I was throwing fucking paint around so fast my chubby ass worked up a sweat,” he chuckles at the memory. “It didn’t turn into anything, just a big shit colored blur, but it was better than punching a hole in the wall I had to fix the next day. Every time I got angry my mom had a canvas for me. I learned, I developed my own style, and I started taking classes at school. Sometimes I even watched my mom, asked her questions, and helped her a little bit. It became our thing.”

“That’s sweet,” Mia comments, her fingers now scratching at his happy trail as they often do.

Angel’s lips slowly stretch into a wistful smile. “I got real into charcoal for a while. Fuck, everything was covered in it. EZ hated it since we shared a room. My mom was annoyed because of the laundry, but she never said anything. Eventually, I settled on acrylic as my main medium. I would have so many fucking layers that it would take so fucking long to dry. I kept stealing her hair dryer to make it dry faster. She got so annoyed she bought me my own.”

“What did you do with all your work? I would like to see them, but I don’t think there is anything hanging at your place, or the clubhouse, or—”

“When she died, I quit,” Angel cuts her off. “It was our thing, and without her…” he trails off with a shake of his head, “I didn’t want to do it anymore, or be reminded of it. I stashed all my shit in the basement, it’s still there unless Pop tossed it.”

“What about her stuff?”

“It’s at the house, Pop still has a few displayed, has all her supplies exactly where she left them. I swear he turned parts of the house into a shrine. I could barely go in there right after she died and—” he falters, his voice deep and his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Um, I kept what she made for me in my old bedroom. I couldn’t look at it every day, I still can’t,” he admits. “I don’t know how Pop does it.”

Mia’s hands move to rest on his chest, rubbing softly to comfort him. “It’s okay that it still hurts, osito,” she assures him, and he drops his head while nodding. “The more you bury it, the more it hurts when it come out,” she whispers and kisses his head, her hands framing his face now.

“I didn’t—” Angel stammers and coughs to clear the knot in his throat. “EZ and I weren’t as close when we were teenagers, we had different shit going on in our lives, but I always had my ma. Sometimes I told her shit she didn’t even wanna hear, you know,” he chokes out and keeps shaking his head, but Mia keeps her hands firm. “We were closer than they know. Pop and EZ had each other, they talked all the time, but she was the person I talked to. With her gone…”

“I know,” she murmurs and kisses his forehead, his temple, anything she can while he refuses to look at her. “I’m here, mi angelito, I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere,” she promises over and over, her voice soft and hopefully soothing to him. She knows he’s settled a bit when he takes one of her hands in his and opens it to kiss the palm, a silent thank you she accepts. “Did your dad or EZ ever mention anything about it? About you not painting anymore?”

Angel shrugs nonchalantly and picks his head up. His eyes are glassy, and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but she simply kisses each one chastely to let him know it’s okay. “EZ mentioned it a few times, but I told him to shut the fuck up and he did. I told him to shut the fuck up a lot when she died. He learned to stop pushing and I stopped giving a fuck about pretty much everything.”

“Is that why he went after the person who killed her, and you didn’t?” Mia asks, and instantly regrets it, but Angel doesn’t move or retreat into himself, even if he does tense up considerably.

His hands find her ass again, a way of comforting himself, she thinks. “EZ kept wanting it to be more than a robbery, more than just a senseless murder. It was like he couldn’t see anyone wanting to do wrong by her because she was like a saint.”

“But you could?”

Angel looks her in the eye now. “There’s a lot of evil people in the world. Our mother wasn’t spared because she was a good person. Good people get the shit end of the stick all the time. Ezekiel is the smartest person I know, but he couldn’t wrap his head around that. It ate at him. Sometimes I think if I didn’t push him away I could have helped him, stopped him, something. But I was too busy doing anything I could to not think about it, about her, what happened, that my little brother had to be the one to find her, that my father got his heart broken, and how fucking lonely I was with her gone.”

“Hey, everyone deals with shit in their own way,” Mia assures him. “EZ wanted to fix it, bring her killer to justice. You tried to ignore it because you couldn’t deal with the pain. What happened isn’t your fault, it’s not your brother’s either. And EZ doing what he did… he’s too headstrong to have let it go. It probably still would have gone down, but instead of your dad losing one son to the prison system, he would have lost two.”

Angel chuckles and licks his lips. “He lost me a long time ago. Ever since EZ was a toddler I lived in his shadow. He was the golden boy, the sports star, he was supposed to get out of here, be someone important. There were no aspirations for me, no dream to follow, it was all on EZ. He and Pop were always close, always reading shit, having these meaningful conversations that would stop as soon as I walked into the room. When EZ got locked up it was like Pop had nothing left because not only was his wife gone, but his best friend was too.”

“Angel—”

“It was the loneliest fucking year of my life until the club came to town,” he cuts her off, his hands pulling her closer. “I started to prospect as soon as possible. It’s a family, and I hadn’t had one since my mom died, and fuck, I needed something, anything, to hold on to. It wasn’t what my mom would have wanted, but I had to stop pretending things were gonna be different between me and Pop. I’m never gonna be like EZ and he never tried to understand me, even after EZ went away. Every Sunday I went to the house for dinner and we barely said five words to each other that weren’t about sports. Every holiday was a letdown. I’d stop at the shop a few times a week to check in, just to make sure he was okay. He’d give me meat and send me away.”

“What about now that EZ’s home?”

He sighs. “It’s better, I guess. He has his buddy back. Sunday dinners are more lively. He accepts the club a bit more now that EZ’s a prospect, but it’s still the same with me and him.”

“But now you have your brother back,” Mia insists, her voice hopeful.

At that, Angel smiles, and it’s real. “I do. I forgot how much I missed him, how much I love him. The MC kept me busy, but having him back, and prospecting? Sometimes I feel like we’ve never been closer.”

“At least you have that. Only child over here, remember?” she reminds him. “Bishop’s done so much for me that I can never thank him enough, but having a sibling is different. I would be in a room full of people and still feel completely alone. There’s just stuff you can’t tell your dad.”

“I asked Bishop what happened to your dad, to Valentino,” Angel confesses, and Mia’s eyebrows raise. “All he said was that he was shot.”

Mia looks down at their laps and nods. “He was. Eleven times.”

“Damn.”

She peers back up and shrugs. “The risk comes with the life, and my dad wanted to be part of the Mayans ever since Tio started it, Bishop too.”

“Wait, you call Marcus Alvarez Tio?” Angel asks, his face almost comical.

Mia can’t help but smile, even with their topic of conversation being what it is. “Yeah, I know you guys all see him as your beloved Padrino, but to me, he’s the guy who did something completely over the top at every single birthday of mine until I was, like, sixteen,” she explains, her lips still curved upwards. “I mean, when I was eight, he brought a pony to my party. A fucking pony. When I turned eleven, he got me a trampoline and put it at the clubhouse. It was broken before I turned twelve, but it was fun while it lasted.”

“Well, now I know what to ask him for my birthday,” Angel comments and she barks out a laugh. “Your pop was from Oakland?”

“Yep, born and raised. He and Bop grew up together, and what Bishop wanted my dad wanted too. They had similar backgrounds—immigrant parents, hard home lives, just not an easy upbringing. They came up together and quickly became part of Tio’s inner circle once they were patched in.”

“What happened?”

Mia moves her hands his chest and starts wringing them together. “There was some new MC trying to make a name for themselves,” she starts, and Angel’s hands make their way to hers, linking them together. “I guess they figured what better way to do that than to take out the president of the mother chapter of the Mayans?”

“Dumb fucks,” Angel swears with a shake of his head. “That shit doesn’t make you legit, it starts fucking wars.”

“Yeah,” Mia murmurs. “They were in Oakland doing business and my dad saw the windows go down. He pushed Tio to the ground and pulled out his gun. He took most of the hit. Bishop took one in the arm himself. My dad was dead within a few minutes, before the police even got there, or so I’m told.”

“I’m sorry,” Angel says quietly. “You were five, right?”

She nods. “Bishop insisted on being the one to tell me and my mom. I remember her screaming and falling to the ground, then Bishop coming over to me,” she recalls, blinking to keep her eyes clear. “He told me, and I refused to believe him. I started hitting him actually, and he had just gotten shot so even though I was five it had to of fucking hurt. Eventually he just bear hugged me until I started crying.”

“And then he stepped up for your dad.”

Mia nods. “After the funeral, I wouldn’t let Bishop leave my sight. I would throw the biggest tantrum if he left. And my tantrums weren’t just screaming and crying like other kids. I went fucking postal. I threw shit, broke whatever was in my way. I would get so worked up I made myself sick. Tio gave Bop some time off from club stuff to help me and my mom, to spend time with me so I wouldn’t turn into the Tasmanian Devil every time he left the room.”

“You know, I’ve heard you talk about Bishop raising you, what you remember about your dad, but this is the most I’ve heard about your mom,” Angel mentions. “There a reason for that?”

“There isn’t much to know about her. Personally, I think it should take more than giving birth to make you a mother, because she gave birth to me, but that’s all she ever did. She’s no mother,” Mia states.

“It was like that even before your dad died?”

“She was there? I don’t know, I mean, Bishop says she was involved, but I have no memories of it. Maybe I held onto what I remember of my dad because I knew I wouldn’t be able to make more memories. But after he died, she just spiraled. Started drinking a lot, when that stopped doing the trick she turned to pills, and then graduated to heroin by the time I was ten.”

“She never got with anyone else?” he questions, his fingers playing with hers.

“Oh, she got with plenty,” Mia assures him. “Whatever she had to do to get her fix, she did.”

“I meant, not another Mayan?” he corrects.

Mia makes a face. “The thing about my mom is, well, she’s a user. She liked being with someone in the club, the respect you got from the girls who weren’t, the looks on the street when someone knew you were an old lady. My parents don’t have this big romantic love story like yours,” she goes on. “My mom was going back and forth between my dad and Bishop before she got pregnant. She would fight with my dad then get with Bishop, when that went south she’d go back to my dad. When she got pregnant she actually didn’t know who the father was.”

“Oh.”

Mia smiles a little. “Bop used to joke that I was one of the luckiest girls in the world because most guys bail in that situation, but they fought over me. They both wanted me, and they both wanted her too. Eventually, they got a test and Valentino Flores was crowned lucky winner of the sperm race. They got married when she was six months pregnant.”

“Bish didn’t want her after?”

“He did, actually,” she answers. “But the heroin got in the way. It turns out that is my mom’s one true love, not my dad, not Bishop, and certainly not me. Bishop refused to make her his old lady until she got clean and was able to take care of me. And, with her and Bop’s history, not to mention my dad’s, no other Mayan would get with her out of respect. It kinda pissed her off because she liked being a kept woman, you know.”

“She’s still not clean now, I’m gathering,” Angel pieces together.

“Nah. She never is. The longest she’s made it is six months. Every couple years or so she comes around wanting to be with Bishop, wanting to get clean, wanting to be together ‘as a family’. He falls for it every time, but I know better. I hate it because he get his hopes up, wastes so much money putting her through rehab, getting her everything she wants when she says she’s clean, then a few weeks later she’s gone and takes everything she can with her. His cash, whatever valuables she could get her hands on. She even sold one of his guns once, one of the .45s that had the Mayan insignia on it and shit.”

“Damn,” Angel swears. “Pop and I were never close, but he was still there. I knew no matter what happened he’d bail me out of whatever jam I got myself into, that I’d always have somewhere to go, a warm meal to eat,” he goes on with a shake of his head. “I couldn’t imagine not being close with my ma. That sucks, I’m sorry.”

Mia shrugs and leans against his chest, her arms snuggled between them. “My mom needs to be the center of attention, something she stopped being when I was born. The only thing she loves as much as heroin, is herself. I was never more than dollar signs to her, the Mayans supported her because of me, and she knew it,” she exhales, content as his large, warm hands rub up and down her back. “I’ve never known different. It was Bishop who made sure I stayed in school, got me into dance classes when I wanted them, signed me up for kickboxing because he wanted me to be able to protect myself. He’s the reason I’m alive,” she admits. “Well, him and Esai.”

“Esai Alvarez Esai?” Angel asks, pulling away enough to look her in the eye.

Mia nods with a ghost of a smile on her face. “Yeah, we were raised together. I think they wanted us to be like brother and sister. I mean, we have pictures of us in the bath when we were little, but that’s not the way it went.”

“You and Esai Alvarez?” he questions, his expression dumbfounded.

“Do you know another one?” she wonders in a giggle.

“No, I just—he, I mean, he’s fucking married to the club. He’s gonna be king, you know,” he comments and pulls her back against his chest. “I’ve never seen him with the same girl for more than a couple hours.”

“That was one of our problems. I couldn’t,” she stops and sighs, “I get there are rules. What happens on a run stays on a run, he could get his dick sucked whenever I wasn’t around, that shit happens but I—I never got right with it. It’s why we were on and off for about seven years. He’d go on a run and he’d come home looking so fucking guilty and would deny it up and down, but I knew. He’d admit it, we’d break up, he’d fight to win me back, and eventually I would give in,” she goes on and shakes her head. “He was my first everything, I couldn’t let go, I wouldn’t at the time. I had only two people I truly let in my life that I knew would love me no matter what, and he was one of them.”

“Wait,” Angel says, his mind churning. “La que se escapo,” he whispers to himself.

“Oh, fuck,” Mia groans.

“You’re the tattoo on his arm, the one that got away,” he continues. “Gilly asked once, he told him to fuck off.”

“Sounds about right,” she laughs. “He got the tattoo for my birthday. My birthday, his tattoo, fucked up, right? But he didn’t get ‘the one that got away’ until we broke up for the final time. I was pissed, but—he had to do something with it. I covered mine up.”

“You had one? Of him, I mean?”

“Kind of, I had the, uh, the old lady tattoo on my arm,” she answers as she shifts to reveal her skull tattoo to him, the one that got them talking in the first place. “I covered it with the tattoo for my dads. I’d always wanted something for them, and a guy I knew said he’d be able to cover it easily enough,” she says and pulls her jacket back up. “Fuck, that pissed him off. To Sai, that meant we were really over. He refused to cover his, did that instead,” she goes on. “Told me that I would be the only woman he would ever marry, so if it wasn’t me, it wouldn’t be anyone, and so there was no reason to get rid of the tat. I’m sure he’ll get someone knocked up one day and she’ll be his old lady, and she’ll be able to accept the shit I wasn’t able to.”

“Not the life for you, huh?” Angel asks with an eyebrow raised.

“It could be,” Mia insists. “I understand being in the club, loving it, putting it above most of the things in your life, but I need to be the one thing that it’s more important than. Not that I would ever make him choose, I respect the MC too much for that, but—I need to know that I’m number one. Sai couldn’t do that, no matter how hard he tried. I realized I was trying making him into someone he wasn’t, and I loved him too much to do that,” she explains. “He really tried the last two years. He’d opt out of runs, spend every spare moment he had with me, was completely transparent, but—he would get so angry sometimes. It made him feel like I was keeping him from the club, but I wasn’t, not intentionally, I just didn’t trust him. He had too curious of a dick.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t piece this together sooner. Of course, you knew E, why wouldn’t you? And that tattoo, it’s really you,” Angel mutters more to himself than her. “I feel like a fucking idiot.”

“He got it when I turned eighteen and he asked me to be his old lady. I was so happy, I thought that things would be different, and they were for a little. Bishop was pissed off because I moved in with him, but I was eighteen, he couldn’t stop me. Of course, I was back and forth between break-ups,” she mentions as an afterthought.

“This relationship, it sounds great, by the way,” he teases.

Mia laughs a little. “When it was great, it really fucking was. When it wasn’t, we were toxic, and I didn’t see it until later. He never hit me or shit like that, Bishop would have killed him if he did, but I saw what he did as cheating, and he didn’t. It made me feel like I wasn’t enough even though he swore up and down it wasn’t about me,” she continues. “And, like you said, he’s gonna be king. There is nothing he would choose over the club, and even though I would never ask, I needed to know I meant more, but I never would. When I finally accepted that I ended it. There were a few hiccups, and it was one of the hardest things I ever did. He was my best friend, he knew every single piece of me, you know?”

Angel shakes his head. “No, I don’t. I’ve never been with anyone like that.”

“You’ve never had a serious girlfriend?” Mia asks, biting her lip when Angel’s hands roam across her ribs, his fingers brushing against her bra. “I don’t believe that.”

“I’ve had girlfriends, but never like you’re talking about. The most serious one was in high school, which sounds fucked up when you’re thirty-one,” he says, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. “But I also haven’t been looking for anything serious.”

“What happened to her?”

“Her name was Adelita. I knew her from school, we were in the same year, but I guess you could say we met at church. Mom made us go every Sunday, rain or shine, sick or healthy,” he states, but then rethinks it. “Well, if we were, like, projectile vomiting or some shit we got out of it, but that meant she had to stay home too, and we knew how much church meant to her.”

“You were pickin’ up girls at church, Reyes?” Mia teases with a rock of her hips.

“Querida, I can pick up girls anywhere,” he answers with a knowing smile. “Anyways, she helped out a lot at church, and my mom would always guilt me and EZ into helping with whatever fundraiser or cause they were involved in every few months. We were working a booth together during the end of summer carnival and I was doing more flirting than working—”

“What? I do not believe that for a second. You have to be lying—ah!” Mia stops in a squeak when Angel tickles her sides.

“It’s my love language, mi dulce, literally,” he jokes. “One minute we’re working the booth, the next my mom is there and inviting her to dinner. It just kind of escalated from there. She wasn’t my first girlfriend, but she was the first I think I actually loved.”

“You think?”

“Looking back, I think I was trying so hard to be someone I wasn’t for her. I tried to be into the things she was, I wanted to care as much as she did about everything she did, but—I think I just wanted my mom to be proud of me for something, to have something for her to gush about to her friends what was about me for once and not EZ,” he admits.

“I didn’t know your mom,” Mia states the obvious, “but I know she had things to be proud of you for. It’s easy to see how much you loved your mother, how you would do anything for her, you even shared a hobby with her. So, I know damn well she gushed about you, Angel Reyes, so you shush right now.”

Angel smiles and presses a soft kiss to her lips. “Thank you.”

“What happened? With Adelita?” she asks.

“Just didn’t work out. We really didn’t have all that much in common. I mean, I like helping people, I still donate to the church and to causes and shit, but spending every waking hour asking people for money, going door to door to give out pamphlets and shit? Man, I felt like I couldn’t fuck my girlfriend without getting money from someone else first,” he says, and Mia can’t help but laugh. “Besides, she went into the Peace Corps after high school and I knew that shit was not for me. We ended with no hard feelings.”

“And nothing since? No one serious?” Mia asks.

“After Mom died, I didn’t want serious. I just picked up girls to fuck ‘em. And ever since I’ve been in the club, I’ve been happy to sleep with whatever hang around was paying attention,” he answers honestly. “Besides, it takes a lot to be with someone in the club, you gotta deal with more than the average bullshit a guy puts you through.”

“Oh, I know,” she confirms.

“You also don’t know who actually wants you for you or because of the leather,” he adds on. “Like your mom, being an old lady is all some chicks want, it doesn’t matter who gets them the title.”

“So many girls hated me when I was with Esai, even after we broke up because they knew how much we still meant to each other. None of the girls understood, to them I had everything. If Esai was going to be king, I would have been queen, but being an old lady wasn’t my end goal. Being with Esai was. This one particular puta, Bianca, fuck, every time she could she was tryin’ to get her nails in him. When we broke up, she thought it was like open season. I was in more than one fight with that bitch,” she says with a vengeful look in her eye.

“I would pay to see that shit,” Angel insists, and Mia pushes on his shoulder as he laughs. “What? I know you can fight, Bishop’s gone on about it, how many matches you won when you were in kickboxing.”

“Yeah, that’s why they guys were always quick to hold me back, they knew I could do some serious damage,” she mutters grimly. “All I wanted was five minutes alone with her, still do. She was all talk and I hate that.”

“You’re still close with E, then?”

Mia looks down, mostly out of shame. “I was. When Bop and I had our falling out I wanted away from all things having to do with the MC. I was so sick of him bailing out my mom and never taking my side with her. Esai tries to stay out of shit when it comes to my mom. He fucking hates her, but he respects Bop’s feelings about her, so he didn’t back me up. I cut him out too and haven’t had the lady balls to reach back out. This is the longest we’ve gone without talking since we broke up. I needed time away from him then to get over him, you know. That, and every time we hung out right after we ended up fucking.”

“I don’t know if I want to be in love like that,” Angel admits and starts to light another cigarette.

“Like me and E?”

“Maybe, I guess, more like my parents,” he answers before inhaling. “I saw what happens when it ends. My dad still isn’t the same, almost ten years later.”

“That’s where we differ—you don’t know if you want it, but I don’t know if I’m capable of it,” Mia confesses.

“I don’t know if I believe that,” Angel comments.

Mia’s eyebrows raise as she makes a face at him. “I loved Esai, but—I never trusted him so I never completely let myself go with him. I trust him with my life, but my heart? I barely trust myself with that shit,” she stops and shakes her head in shame. “The relationship I ended when I came out here…” she trails off and holds her face in her hands so he can't see her shame.

“Hey,” Angel pulls on her wrists softly, but they don’t budge. “Hey, talk to me, baby,” he pleads quietly. “You’re my best friend too, you never have to be afraid to tell me shit.”

“It was bad,” she confesses, her voice barely above a whisper. “It didn’t start that way, and—fuck,” she swears while trying to hold back tears, hating herself for getting so upset. “When Bishop and I had our falling out, he was brought into the fight.”

“Your ex?” he questions while finally removing her palms from her cheeks.

“Yeah, his name’s Jay—Jason, actually,” she corrects herself. “We had just started dating when my mom OD’ed, again, and we weren’t serious, but,” she stops and shakes her head, “I mentioned it when we got into it, how the guy I was dating was a normal law-abiding citizen and being there, trying to figure out what detox program to get my mom in, it shouldn’t have to be my normal, his either.”

“What did Bish say?”

“That it didn’t matter, she’s family and you do what you have to for family,” Mia recites from memory. “I said that she wasn’t my family, and she didn’t give a shit about him, and until she decided to get help herself nothing he did would matter,” she pauses to wipe at the corners of her eyes in an attempt to rid the pool of tears. “And he said he raised me better than to not care about my own mother and he was ashamed of me.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Angel coos when tears start to fall. “It’s alright, c’mere,” he murmurs while pulling her into a hug.

“He’d never said that before, that he was ashamed of me,” she manages to get out in between shaky breaths. “I’d been arrested, kept in holding cells, tried drugs I told him I never would, made so many bad decisions he found about after the fact, but he’d never said he was ashamed of me.”

“He wasn’t, he’s not,” he assures her. “You don’t hear the way he talks about you when you’re not around, the joy in his eyes, how excited her gets. He loves you more than anything, mi dulce, please believe that.”

Mia nods against his chest, sniffling. “It hurt. What he said hurt, it hurt that it felt like he kept choosing her over me hurt, that he continued to believe her and not even listen to me, it really hurt. And I wanted to make him hurt too, so I said that I was done with it all—her, him, the MC, and that I would be better off with my cookie-cutter new boyfriend who would be able to give me a normal life.”

“It was a fight, everyone says shit during fights,” Angel responds in an attempt to console her.

“Yeah, but I made good on it. I stopped going to the clubhouse, I ignored Esai’s calls and texts, I didn’t check in with Bop the way I used to. I dug my heels in, and so did he,” she sniffs. “I fucked up. I made Jay out to be like Captain America and he wasn’t, I was just so angry, and so I tried everything to make it work to prove I was right. I gave in way too much, let him make me feel like I was crazy, isolate me, and control everything, and I mean everything,” she stops as her eyes well up again. “Fuck.”

Angel holds her tighter and presses kisses against her hair, shoulders, anywhere he has access to. “I’m right here, baby, I’m not going anywhere,” he promises.

“If Bishop knew what happened between me and Jay,” Mia says while wiping her cheeks, “he would be ashamed of me, it wouldn’t just be words.”

“Why do you say that?” Angel asks after a silent moment, his voice firm, cautious.

Mia shakes her head. “Never mind, forget I said anything,” she says and makes a move to get up, but he holds her down.

“No, I ain’t forgetting shit,” he tells her. “Talk to me.”

“It doesn’t matter, okay?” Mia insists and pulls free from his hold. “I got out of it, that’s what’s important. I’m here and made things right with Bishop and, and,” she falters and looks him in the eye, “I met you. My best friend.”

“I know you want me to let this shit go, babe, but—”

“No, no buts,” she cuts him off. “I need you to trust me when I say I handled it.”

Angel takes in a deep breath and stands with her. “Alright.”

“That’s it?” Mia asks, surprised.

“We’re best friends, right? If you say you handled it, then I believe you. That’s what best friends do,” he answers. “Especially ones that sleep together.”

“See, this is why we’re perfect for each other,” she insists while wrapping arms around his middle. “We’re best friends, we trust each other, and you don’t want to fall in love while I don’t think I ever truly can. We get the fun without the responsibilities of the relationship.”

Angel smiles softly before kissing her. “Well, when you put it that way…” he trails off and kisses her again.

They are interrupted by Angel’s phone buzzing in his pocket. He tugs it out and answers it immediately after looking at the caller. The conversation is quick, one she’s heard too many times before, but understands all the same. He’s needed at the clubhouse.

“I gotta go,” he sighs, but makes no move to let her go. “Thanks.”

“For what?” Mia asks, her chin resting on his chest as she looks up at him.

“Thanks for listening,” he whispers before kissing her gently. “I haven’t—I don’t talk about my mom, it’s just something I avoid, but it felt good talking about her with you.”

“Any time,” Mia says and pushes her lips against his in a barely-there kiss. “Me and Bop talk about my dad all the time. It was hard at first, but it makes it easier, I think. It helps keep your memories too.”

He nods. “Noted. You coming to the clubhouse?” he asks as they start to make their way back through the house and to their vehicles.

She shakes her head while leaning against her car. “Nah. If you got called in that means you guys are gonna be in templo for a bit and I’m tired. I was running around with Letty all day, remember?”

Angel puts his helmet on as he nods. “That girl does tire you out. Her mouth alone never stops moving.”

“Shut up, she loves you guys,” Mia scolds him with a smack to his chest.

“I never said she ain’t family, she’s just a teenage girl. I stopped being interested in them once I hit twenty,” he replies.

“Coming from your current sex partner, that’s good to know,” she jokes in return.

“Ooh, sex partner, I love it when you talk dirty. Say it again,” Angel instructs.

“Sex partner,” Mia says in a sultry tone.

They start to move closer to kiss again, but his phone goes off. “Fuckin’ Boy Scout,” he swears and pulls his phone out and declines his brother’s phone all. “Such a fuckin’ pissant.”

“You love him. Go, they’ll start to wonder where you are,” she encourages. “Thank you, again, for my ceiling.”

Angel’s leg swings over his bike and with a kick the engine roars to life. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just made the call to get it done when you asked, remember?” he says with a wink.

Mia nods with a knowing smile and watches him pull away while berating herself for even bringing up Jay, let alone talking about what their relationship was like with Angel.

She makes a mental note. It will never happen again.

CHAPTER 4

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lovelyirony · 4 years

Note

Through flames and oceans (for the fic title)

u know. this was supposed to not go the direction it did. but it did.

People say they will do a lot for love. They will walk through flames, cross an entire ocean for love.

Bruce tells himself that that’s the stupidest fucking thing people say. He, for one, will not do that. There is also the unspoken reason of that love really isn’t in the cards for him.

Currently, he’s running away from his ex-girlfriend’s dad, General Ross, because he may or may not have done some experimentation and turned into a rage monster, but also revealed some state secrets.

Come on, can you blame him? Cosmo said twenty-year-olds need to accomplish something before they hit thirty. And he’s quite sure he just made the list.

But as for love, he is thinking about it right now because his ex-girlfriend found a very nice girl named Valkyrie, and they’re kind of set to have an engagement party, and “would you please come to the United States to help us celebrate?”

Betty is a wonderful woman, really and truly. And Bruce is okay with how their relationship ended, because it’s not like Bruce could come to family dinner and expect anything besides murder or maybe cold potatoes. And Betty deserved someone far better than him, and from the picture that was sent, it looks like Valkyrie is an amazing catch.

But there is the small matter of making it to the States without getting caught. He is on quite a lot of “no-fly” and “travel restrictive” protocols. This sucks, by the way. He had frequent flier miles saved up and everything.

It sucks, at least, until he remembers Tony’s number and calls it.

(Tony had given him his number, but sometimes he forgets that four and nine are two distinctly different numbers.)

“Brucie, baby! What can I get for you? Don’t worry, the government hasn’t been able to tap my phone calls since I was seventeen and mostly joking about finding out where their secret weapons storage is.”

“Betty’s having her engagement party, and I’m invited. I kind of need a ride home.”

“Where are you located at, right now?”

“Buenos Aires.”

“You lucky son of a bitch, god I miss it there. You having a good time?”

“When I’m avoiding government agents, yes.”

“Hm, well i’m sending a new employee of mine to go and get you. Big guy, probably Swedish.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t presume if someone’s Swedish or not, Bruce. I’m a terrible person, but not that terrible.”

“I...I don’t follow your sense of humor.”

“No one does, that’s why celebrities call me avant garde and ahead of my time.”

“Good to know. What’s your new guy’s name?”

“Thor.”

“Are you...are you fucking with me?”

"Darling, you’d be having a much better time if I was.”

“I don’t like the energy we’re manifesting here,” Bruce deadpans.

Tony snorts. “Okay, hippie. He’ll be there by tomorrow morning. Just stay tight where you are, sugar.”

Thor is a gigantic man. He parts crowds like it’s what he was meant to do, and maybe it is. Bruce stares up at him.

“Hello Dr. Banner,” Thor says, smiling gently. “You are Dr. Ross’s friend, right?”

“Um...yeah. I am.”

“Excellent. I’m a friend of Valkyrie’s, is it okay if I go ahead and fly out to the airport nearest their house?”

“Uh, is Tony okay with that?”

“Of course. And we can stop at your house if you need anything.”

“Oh, I don’t have a house. Or an apartment. You would not believe how much the US government hates my credit score.”

Thor chuckles a little bit, leading him back to a nondescript car.

“Right this way.”

Thor is cool as a cucumber on the outside, as they’re driving. He’s mindlessly tapping on his phone as Bruce stares out the window.

Inside? Oh, Thor hates Val for this. So much.

so, you didn’t think to send me a picture of dr. banner? just the address?

lmaooooo called it. betty owes me something now. fuckin nerd. just ask him out.

no. we still have to bypass american security

which you are “old hat” at. or did i forget that you nearly almost charmed the pants off of one of the airline people?

we don’t speak of that.

relax. stark’s taking care of it anyway.

The airplane ride home is uneventful, thank god. One of Tony’s jets awaits, and the pilot is very surprised to see a man who ranks number four on America’s Most Wanted List to be there.

“You...you know Tony?”

“And you know what an NDA is,” Tony announces over the intercom. “Bruce, welcome. Mimosas are premade, in stock. Sit back and enjoy the ride! Thor, you do what you gotta do to make sure Bruce stays safe. Enjoy the bridal shower!”

The pilot is a bit apprehensive. But mostly okay. Bruce promises nothing’s going to happen, he’s just going to drink tea and catch up on news about the current state of things.

Bruce gets bored with finding out that things are still terrible, so he talks to Thor.

“So...are your parents just really into Norse mythology, or did they know you’d come out a huge guy who has the potential to probably stop Ragnarok?”

Thor chuckles, the laugh rumbling and deep.

(Okay, that’s hot.)

"My parents’ names were Odin and Frigga. You could say they were traditionalists when it came to my brother and I.”

“You mean...?”

“He embodies the name a bit too well for my taste, but yes.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“Yeah. Let me tell you about the time we accidentally crashed a fashion week thing...”

Bruce laughs a lot about that story. Thor’s laugh is majestic, and they sit a little bit closer.

By the time the plane lands, they’re great friends and Thor reaches over Bruce in the baggage area and wow that man has very defined muscles.

Not that that’s important. No, that’s like. Not important at all. So what if Thor is very well-muscled and maybe this will play into Bruce’s intrusive thoughts/daydream thoughts at later intervals? Does not matter. At all.

(Oh god the man smells like salty ocean air Bruce has got it so so bad. So Bad.)

Tony greets them at the landing pad with a wide grin, eyes lighting up.

“Well, don’t you two make the happy couple,” he teases. Bruce turns red. This does not go unnoticed.

“Bruce, honestly, you run away from government and my friendship, and this is what gets you--”

“A bridal shower? To get me home? Yes,” Bruce says, cutting in not-at-all smoothly. “Now, where are Betty and her bride staying at?”

“Oh, they’re staying at the cutest little bed and breakfast for their bridal shower. Rented out the whole thing--well Pepper did, it was our wedding gift to them, and of course I mean Pep’s wedding gift, because I have something else planned-”

“Please tell me that you do not have a house bought for them,” Thor says.

“Complete with a laboratory and gymnasium,” Tony says with a wink. “I’m kidding, they already have a house. I just kind of kicked them out for a week while I remodel their entire kitchen. Val gave me the colors, I was surprised that she has taste.”

“If she hears you say that, she’ll kick your ass.”

“Which is why she won’t,” Tony reminds Thor. “Now, let’s get to unpacking. Bruce, I’m getting you some good shampoo, holy shit your hair sucks.”

“Thank you Tony, I love and value our friendship and our kindness towards each other as well,” Bruce deadpans.

“Oh come on, you have to look good. It’s your ex’s wedding party!”

“You make us sound so dramatic,” Bruce says with a snort. “We broke up. Big deal.”

“You and Betty...?” Thor asks.

“Yeah, but it’s fine. We were dating, and then I pissed off her dad, who happens to be a general. I mean, also the government. But mostly her dad.”

“Wow.”

Thor’s type shouldn’t be feral scientist. But it is.

They’re led inside, and Tony bids them goodbye.

“Duty calls,” Tony says airily, waving. “Make yourself at home, don’t put coffee grounds down the disposal or I will kick you out. Rogers is still nursing his wounds.”

“Noted,” Bruce says.

“I drink tea,” Thor answers.

Bruce shares a look.

“You too?”

“Yeah, I prefer it over coffee most of the time.”

Bruce smiles.

“I think we’re going to get along.”

They have a couple of days until the wedding party, and Thor has never seen New York. Bruce is fairly sure that no one will even see him on the CCTV footage as long as he’s walking next to Thor, so he deems it good enough to go and get a bagel.

Thor is a very gentle man. That’s a good quality.

He smiles at a little girl, who is staring, open-mouthed. Even gives her a little wave. Bruce grins.

“You like kids?”

“I do. They mostly just want to have fun, want to see what the best of the world is. I think we all need that occasionally.”

“I��ve never thought of that,” Bruce confesses. He takes a sip of his coffee.

“I love watching my cousins,” Thor continues. “The way they grow and figure it all out, it’s rewarding. What about your family?”

Bruce freezes.

“Um. I don’t exactly have a family.”

“Then you’ll just have to meet some of my cousins,” Thor amends, smiling as he sips his drink. “You’d like them.”

“I’d like that,” Bruce says, grinning. “What’s next on our New York agenda?”

"I told Loki I’d visit some stores for him and pick up some items he’s been wanting.”

Have you ever seen a sales associate from Chanel be terrified at your presence? No? It’s worth it.

Bruce is kind of concerned.

“I...are you...?”

“My name is Robert, uncanny similarities,” Bruce responds. “We both were born in Ohio.”

“Why is it always Ohio,” Thor mutters. “You reckon my brother would want this shoe or that?”

“Ooh, definitely go with the heel. I think that’s good.”

“Gotcha.”

Next shop is Dior.

This goes a bit out of hand. His whole line about being Robert with Incredible Similarity does not go as planned.

He and Thor are on a subway, currently running away from some authority figures and calling Tony.

“I was in the middle of learning drama about high society that I can use in my next romance novel, are you joking?” Tony hisses.

“You write romance novels?” Thor asks.

“Now is not the time to question that, I’m in the middle of making sure you get a car to your next stop. How well do you both know what a Chrysler is?”

“The building, right?”

“God, I hate you so much,” Tony groans. “No, um...it looks like the wing things that they give army people when they do something that I guess they think is cool.”

“Oh. Okay. Get in that car?”

“Yes. It’s gonna be red with silver detailing.”

“Tony, they’re gonna know it’s us.”

“Believe me, they won’t. Trust me.”

So as it turns out, it’s not the most ostentatious vehicle.

Because Tony pulls up in a lifted pick-up truck, painted a sparkling, neon green with bright orange wheels.

It is the ugliest goddamn thing Bruce has ever seen. Also the most effective.

Thor nearly shoves Bruce into the car, and they’re sitting too close, and Bruce probably shouldn’t be focusing on the fact that Thor’s hair is now artfully messy, but here he is. Doing that.

“So, sorry that before the wedding shower we’re being hunted down by the government.”

“Not the worst thing that I could be doing on a Friday,” Thor says with a shrug. “I think you’re just about the most interesting person I’ve met, Bruce.”

He smiles at him. Bruce’s heart skips a beat. He can’t tell if it’s because of the eye contact or the fact that they’re in close proximity. Maybe both.

“You wanna go on a date after all this?” Bruce blurts out.

He does. And as soon as he says it, he kind of regrets it because they’re in a car with glittery silver interior seats and he’s also in pants that have seen better days, and his hair is a Mess.

(Also self-esteem issues, but Bruce is used to that so he’s not counting it.)

“Like, after we get home or when the government gives up on finding you?”

“I don’t know. Whichever one comes first?”

“Technically, I think I count as army jurisdiction, and military budget is a fountain of money.”

“Ah. Then home it is. How do you feel about ordering in?”

“Mm, sounds good,” Bruce says, grinning. “You’re the best.”

“Well, I certainly try,” Thor says, grinning right back. “You wanna go to Betty and Val’s shower together?”

“Yes. Do we have to amend our ‘how-we-met’ story?”

“Not at all. Valkyrie used to run an underground fight ring. She knows the feeling.”

“How has that not come up in conversation?”

“We were kind of preoccupied trying to figure out what a Chrysler car looked like.”

“Oh, true.”

At the wedding party, Bruce and Thor are very happy. Betty and Val roll their eyes and laugh as they talk.

“Leave it to my dad to ruin everything,” Betty gripes.

“Well he didn’t ruin this party or my meeting Thor,” Bruce defends. “Besides, you know what happens if he steps a foot near you.”

Betty grins.

“You serious?”

“Can’t promise you’ll get your security deposit back, but yes.”

Betty pulls him into a hug.

“You’re too sweet to me.”

“Yeah, tell me that after he steps on the limousine.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry,” Thor says, grinning. “I think Tony has some sort of security feature worked in.”

“Oh, he does,” Val says. “He’s threatened to pull some of the contracts for safety gear. Won’t go through with it, but Ross can’t touch the wedding. Best gift ever.”

When the party gets late, Thor and Bruce are sitting out on the porch. Clean-up is happening, and they’re taking a break. Thor thinks that Bruce has never looked more beautiful in a rumpled yellow shirt, soft lights making his face glow.

“I’m glad I met you,” Thor murmurs, moving a stray curl.

“Really?” Bruce asks, smiling softly. “I think I’m glad I met you too.”

Bruce grins behind his door when they make it home. Thor had kissed him on the cheek, and while that wasn’t too big of a deal, it was a big deal to him.

“See you in the morning, dear,” Thor had told him.

He was going to be up half the night with that line running through his head.

A lot of people do a lot of things for love. Bruce still wouldn’t walk through flames, or swim across an entire ocean, but he’s starting to understand.

#lovelyirony writes #GOD. this was supposed to be sad and now it isn't only because i had a funnie thought #thorbruce #bruce banner #thor #tony stark #betty ross #valkyrie #OF COURSE I PUT A RAREPAIR SHIP IN THERE WHAT ELSE WOULD I HAVE DONE?#valbetty #idk what the ship is called but i like #thor is In Love #Bruce is Awkard but u know what. okay #go him #best line is about the chrysler

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lilteamushroom · 4 years

Text

Karasuno Team x reader pt 2

(I never expected so many people to like and want a part 2! It’s so long but it’s a good one!)

Part one:

Warnings: swearing??

The RV started up and began to move, you snickered as Ukai yelled at Tanaka and Hinata to sit their asses down. You sat on a small couch near a window next to kiyoko (Pfft let me get my gay ass outta here) Kiyoko, Suga and you talked about how long your family has had the beach house. “My family used to go to this beach house every summer when I was younger. But as I got older we stopped going as a family and now it sits with no one living in it.” You explained to them. “Though don’t worry about bugs and dust being in the house, my mom said she sent out some cleaners to make sure the house was clean and was stocked with food for us.” You told them. “I wish we could do something for your parents, for doing all of this for us.” Suga sighed. You smiled “Oh don’t worry, I think someone actually using the beach house makes her very happy.” you reassured Suga. “(Y/N), I heard you work at Ukai’s store.” Asahi chimed in. That caught you off guard. You knew they would find out and to be honest you were surprised they didn’t figure it out sooner. “Oh yeah! Its a lot of fun working there. And since the coach is my boss, it makes scheduling around practice and games much easier.” You stutter a bit. “Thats so cool! Do you get free stuff?” Nighinoya asked from across the table. “No- I wish I did. That would be so nice.” You say as you think of how awesome it would be to get free soda pop and sweets.

The rest of the ride there, wasn’t too bad. You put on a movie, which the guys voted on fucking The Spongebob movie. what. the. fuck. Not only that but they cheered and were so invested in the movie.

Crackheads. They are all crackheads.

The RV finally came to a stop, you looked out the window to see the old beach house from your childhood.

They all gasped, maybe a bit dramatically. “Are you sure we are at the right place?” Daichi asked. You nodded. “This is it my friends.” you say to them as you grab your bags from under the seat. Everyone nearly jumped off the bus, you swore you watched Tanaka jump out of the window of the RV. They all followed you to the front door. “Wow! Is that a boat?!” Hinata asked. You nodded your head. “We can take it out sometime this week, if you want.” you offered him, he nodded happily. You pulled out the small key that had a flower key chain on it. You unlocked the door and let them inside. They all looked around in amazement. “The main room is big enough for everyone to sleep in, besides the other rooms aren’t guest rooms, the last I checked they were remodeled into a gaming room, a movie room, and a lounge/hangout area.” “ (Y/N)!!! WHAT THE HELL.” Tanaka nearly screamed. “WHAT?!” You yelled at him, trying your best to match his vocal range to mock him. “THis is so CoOL!” he shouted. Ukai clapped his hands, “Set your bags down, and go get your swimsuits on.” Ukai instructed everyone. “Yes Sir!” Everyone yelled as their excitement filled the room. You went to the bathroom and changed into green plaid trunks and a yellow swim shirt. You went out to find you were one of the first people changed, which never happened. You were confused. Where was everyone else? You found them wandering the vacation house. Well you found them in pairs, first you found Hinata and Kageyama in the kitchen, then you found Tsukishima, Tadashi in the game room, Daichi, Suga and Asahi were in the lounge room, Kiyoko, Ukai an Takeda were on the back porch all sitting in on the lawn chairs put out there, Tanaka and Nishinoya were examining the boat under the deck.

Once they were all done exploring the house, everyone met up on the beach at the volleyball net. They underestimated how hard it actually is to play volleyball in sand. They kept slipping and falling, soon they caught on that you weren’t falling?? “ (Y/N)! How do you stay on your feet?” Hinata asked you. You smirked. “You gotta kinda, dig your feet in the sand, instead of being ontop of the sand-” You dug your foot into the sand, “-You’ll be more grounded.” You showed them. They caught on, not many falling anymore, though many still fell on their asses which was super funny to you. Nishinoya being the libero, kept face planting and getting a mouth full of sand. “Man! It sucks trying to catch the ball without getting sand in my mouth!” Noya complained. “Maybe its because you suck.” Tanaka snickered. “Shut up! You keep on not even hitting the ball!” Noya defended. “All right lets take a break!” Ukai yelled out. “Coach, can we go swimming?!” Hinata begged with Noya and Tanaka giving Ukai puppy eyes. Ukai sighed then smiled at them. “Yeah sure. We are here to take a break.” Ukai laughed. Hinata, Noya, Tanaka cheered as they sprinted to the shore. Asahi came up to you “Are you gonna get in the water?” He asked. You shrug “Maybe. I’m not a huge swimmer, though I love to collect sea shells.” You say to him. “That sounds fun! I’ll come with you to look for sea shells!” Suga offered “Me too.” Kiyoko chimed in. Many of the boys splashed each other and played chicken fight. You sat high above the others on Daichi’s shoulders while Hinata was sitting on Asahi’s shoulder. You held Hinata’s hands, trying to push the other off. In the end Hinata got the upper and and Y E E T E D you into the ocean. Everyone laughed and took turns playing chicken. Hinata and Asahi were the ones champions against everyone else.

- - - - - - -

Soon the sun was setting and everyone was getting settled in for the night. The sea shells you got were set nicely on the window seal above the sink. The who team was sleeping in one big dog pile in the living room, in the kick ass fort they had built. You went to brush your teeth when Nishinoya caught up with you in the bathroom. “When do you plan on telling the others about... Your secret?” He asked. “I am tomorrow night when we sit around the fire for smores. I am nervous you know? Can you try to understand how I feel?” You asked him as you took his hand in yours. Noya felt his cheeks heat up from the contact of your hand in his. He nodded. “I’ll try my best (y/n)!” He smiled. You gave him a grin back as you let go of his hand and opened the door to the bathroom and locked it behind you.

Your reflection looked back at you. You took off your binder that had been on for 10+ hours. You read online that you should only have it on for 6-8 hours and you shouldn’t bind when working out... You were breaking many rules when it comes to binding but it was your only way to be on the team without anyone raising any eyebrows. You stretched your hands above your head letting your chest and ribs stretch and be free. You threw on a tank top, sweatpants and a big hoodie to hide your breast size. After getting ready for bed you went back to the living room to find the team chatting and nearly laying on top of each other. You smirked and jumped onto the pile of boys in front of you. “Woah! (y/n)!” Tadashi laughed. “You guys make a good pillow.” You chuckled as you laid your head on Suga’s leg. It was uncomfortable so you leaned up and wiggled your way to a small spot between Tanaka and Hinata. They all were shoulder to shoulder. Even though they are dorks, they are family. They make your life so much better. Were you ready to tell them about everything? Or at least your gender. Everyone kept talking til Ukai came in the room and inhaled. “GO TO BED.” He yelled then shuffled back to the room nearby. You couldn’t help but snicker before laying your head on Tanaka’s shoulder as a pillow. You starred at the ceiling before finally dozing off to sleep.

- - - - - - - -

In the morning, you woke up 2 hours before everyone else. You wanted to make bread from scratch for them. You remembered as a child you would wake up in the morning to the smell of freshly baked bread filling the house. You wanted to do the same for the boys who took you in and made you part of their family.

Noya shook Hinata.

“Bro bro. Do you smell that?” Noya asked. It took Hinata a minute to get himself out of his sleepy state. He sniffed the air.

“It smells like a Kneaders cafe. Like on Monday when all of the bread was just barely baked.” Hinata noted. Tanaka woke up and instantly smelled baked goods. He sprung out of bed and dashed to the kitchen.

You smiled at him when he came into the room.

“Good morning Tanaka. How are you doing?” You ask him.

“Good! What is the smell??” He asked quickly. The oven went off as you grabbed the oven mitts.

“Well everyone has been working hard so I decided to bake you guys fresh bread.” You smiled lightly as blush marks spread across your cheeks.

Tanaka grinned. “That sounds awesome!”

“I’m going to go get the rest of the team up.” You say to him “I’ll come with you!” He said as he grabbed your hand. You stood there in shook from the contact of his hand in yours. The blush on your face reddened.

“That looks pretty gay” tsukishima said from behind you coming into the room. You pulled away from Tanaka.

“Your gay four eyes!” You huff at him as you walk past him. Tanaka boomed in laughter behind you. “Dumbass. Shit like that can hive me away.” You mutter to him.

“What?! Your gonna tell the team tonight anyway.” He scoffs. You dart a glare at him as you both enter the main room where everyone was. You opened the blinds, and turned on the light.

“I made a surprise for you guys. I’m gonna make breakfast.” You inform them. Asashi groaned as he sat up. He raised his hand

“I’ll help you with breakfast (y/n).” He said as he yawned. You grinned at him. “That would be great! Thank you!” You beam at him. “The rest of you better be up in 15 minutes!” You almost hell at them. But you held back from yelling at them because you choose not to be a dick.

For now.

It had been 20 minutes and Daichi, Suga and Tadashi were still not awake. You smirked at Noya. “Wanna help me get the others up?” You asked him. “Always!” He grinned. “What you plan on doing?” Ukai asked. You looked at your cup on the counter. “I have an idea.”

You, nishinoya, and Hinata all held a cup of water as you and the rest of the team walked down the hall to the main room where you guys slept. You held your cup over Daichi’s head. You looked down on him like he was your victim. Nishinoya stood over Tadashi and Hinata over Suga. You counted down in a whisper.

Splash

The 3 of them yelled out from the sudden contact of water. The rest of you were laughing so hard that tears were forming in your eyes.

“Oi! What was that for?!” Daichi yelled.

“You weren’t up for breakfast.” You say to him almost coldly.

They apologized and got up for the day. They all changed into their swim suits when you said that it was time to take the boat out.

Noya was nearly bouncing off the walls when you got the keys out for the boat. Luckily you knew how to drive the boat. Everyone piled in as you started it up making sure it had enough gas. You drove it out fairly far the turned the key to turn it off.

“Alright guys! You can jump in and swim!” You say happily. Many of them jump in when a few stayed behind because they didn’t want to swim.

“Yo! (Y/N)!! Get in here!” Tanaka yelled waving at you from the water.

“Yeah (y/n)! Join us!” Hinata begged. You shrugged and got up from the drivers seat. You ran then jumped off the side of the boat your arms lifted in the air, your legs kicking off the deck to boost you into the air. It felt like time slowed down. Like when you go to hit the ball during a game. How you always were inspired by your teammates to do your best during a game.

You came back to reality when you hit the cold but refreshing water. The guys laughed as you reached the surface of the water. These guys were your best friends. You would do anything for them. Going through so many practice days and games. You get close to them after going through so much.

Once it got later into the day you drove the boat back and parked it. Though most of the team stayed at the beach and swam.

Soon they are going to find out your secret. Your stomach turned and did flips as you thought about tonight. When you would have to tell them who you really are. You were scared. What if they don’t accept you? What if they kick you off of the team. The only reason you go to karasuno high is for volleyball. If you got kicked off you would most likely move back into your parents house. Would they feel betrayed that you cheated the system and lied to them so you could be on a team? All these questions came to your head in waves. You forgot where you were for a while until Noya swam over to you then dunked you under water.

“(Y/n)!” He whined.

“Pay attention to me” he huffed. You stared to splash the salty water at him. “Is this the attention you wanted?” You laughed as you continued to pretend water bend at him. You swam away from him to get to shore so you could think more, of course Nishinoya followed you like a lost puppy would. You eyed Tanaka then he came over.

“Come with me for a walk.” You say to them. They nodded and followed you, walking along the shore, where the water would come up and tickle your feet every so often.

“What’s wrong (y/n)?” Nishinoya asked you. Your lip trembled. You tried to find the words.

“Well, I’m scared. I get this same feeling before a game.” You confess, your hands twiddling each other. “Scared? Of what?” Tanaka asked.

“Of tonight. I’m scared I’ll get kicked off the team. Or everyone will treat me different. I’m still the same (y/n). Or I dont know if they’ll be angry with me for lying to them for so long. Maybe they won’t want to be my friend. If that happens I will have to go back to having no friends and-“ you got cut off by Nishinoya putting a hand on your shoulder. He smiled.

“It’s okay (y/n)” he said gently. Which was weird to you because he was usually so loud. Your hand touched your cheek which was wet from tears you didn’t even know you were crying. They both brought you into a small group hug. “It’s all good (y/n)!” Tanaka laughed. “We still want you on the team. And if idiots like us still want you then I’m sure the rest of the team will too!” Tanaka encouraged. You nodded, whipping your tears away. “Thanks guys. I’m not as nervous for tonight. Still nervous but not as anxious.” You laughed. They nodded in excitement. “You got this (y/n)!” Noya cheered. You smiled from their enthusiasm.

“Thank you guys. I think I’m ready.” You say to them. They walk back to the beach house and saw the other boys some how managed to start a fire in the fire pit without setting everything on fire. “There are s’more things in the house and hot dogs of you guys are hungry.” You offer to them. They nodded and yelled at the same time as they rushed inside to grab the stuff. Ukai helped you move large logs around the fire for them to sit at.

“You ready for tonight kid?” He asked you. You didnt answer right away.

“If I’m being honest, I’m nervous. Beyond nervous. I’m scared the team won’t like me anymore.” You confess to him. He walked over to you and ruffled your hair.

“Know thing these crazies, they will accept you. Your an amazing player, and a valued member of this team. For the past 7 months you have earned a special place on this team. No matter if you were a boy, girl, black white, tall, short, this team will love you for who you are.” He tapped your forehead when he said the last part. You held in tears, wanted to hug Ukai. He truely was the best coach. You nodded to him. “Thank you coach.” You say softly. The stamped of boys came back with the s’more things and hot dog stuff. You all ate food over the fire as the sun went down. Soon it was dark. Everyone was chatting then their conversations went quiet. You made eye contact with Noya and Tanaka. They nodded to you. You were ready. You stood up. “There is something I haven’t been totally honest with you guys.” You started out. “I love this team and everyone on it. But this might change how you see me and how you play volleyball with me.” They looked at you with curiosity and a bit of confusion. “I’m... I’m a girl. Biologically I was born a female.” You confessed to them. Some were confused, some were shocked, some didn’t change there expression. “I was planning on not saying anything, but two morons walked in on me changing.” You glared at Nishinoya and Tanaka. They gave you a dorky smile. You took a breath and continued.

“I’m worried that me being a female will change how you view me and how you play with me. Or treat me for that matter. I’m still the same (y/n). The same one who cried with you, played with you, won games with you. I’m sorry I never told you guys.” You said to them. You wanted to run and hide under the covers of your bed, expecting them to yell or be disappointed. But there was silence. The silence was almost as bad as yelling.

“It’s fine if your a girl (y/n). It’s not a bad thing but why didn’t you join the girls volleyball team with michimiya?” Daichi asked. You tugged at your shirt then let it go.

“That has a bit of a story behind it. Before I came to Karasuno I went to an academy for weathly kids. They had a volleyball team but all the girls on the team joined to show off the skin tight booty shorts and the small tank tops. I joined a team to play, to gain friends, to win and to learn. All I got there was girls in skimpy outfits. I could have tried the girls team here but I didn’t want to take the chance so a little arrangement with my mom, a haircut and a binder I was a different person at a new school where no one knew who I was.” You say to them. Asahi nodded. Some still looked confused.

“The only ones who knew were the coach, and until 2 weeks ago Nishinoya and Tanaka found out.” You say to them.

Tadashi raised his hand. “What’s a binder? Sorry I feel kinda dumb for asking.” He admitted. You put your hands up “it’s okay!” You say to him Tanaka jumped up.

“It’s a wrap that goes around her boobs!” He explained loudly. You karate chopped his head

“Sit down dummy.” You say almost harshly to him. “That’s the basics of it. I wrap it around my chest so then I am flatter. Then I wear a bigger jersey so then my chest doesn’t show.” You take a breath.

“I hid this because I was scared.” Tears were filling your eyes but you didn’t let them fall.

“I was scared you were going to see me different and kick me off the team.”

Don’t let the tears fall. Do not let the tears fall.

“I didn’t have many friends before coming to Karasuno. You all are my best friends. The best people I have ever met.”

Dammit. The tears streamed down your cheeks.

“Please still let me be part of the team.” You cried bending over and bowing to them. Daichi approached you. He put a hand on your shoulder and waited for you to look up at him. You looked up and met his eyes, who had tears swelling in them too.

“You will always be accepted on this team, (y/n).” He said to you pulling you into a hug. Tadashi came up and hugged the both of you. Then Tanaka and Nishinoya. Then Hinata and Kageyama. The others followed through.

“We don’t want you to leave the team (y/n)!” Hinata cried. “Yeah don’t leave us!” Kageyama snapped. “We want you to stay.” Suga softly said. They all chimed in on how they wanted you still on the team. You couldn’t hold it in anymore. You sobbed. Simple as that. All that emotion that you had been holding in? It was coming out right now. It was a good night. It ended well with your teammates accepting who you are. You were so happy.

Now the question is, who falls in love with you, or gets blushy when ever your around?

#karasuno x reader #hinata #tanaka #tadashi #nishinoya #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!!#haikyuu ukai #tsukishima #asahi #sugawara

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mpregwrites · 5 years

Text

Pop That Lock

rated: g/soft t for swearing words: 2302

@soukokuweek day one: “trial and error”

***

The only thing that kept Chuuya from launching his phone full-force against the nearest wall was the fact that he was a reasonable person who could control his temper when dealing with shithead Dazai and all of his stupid ass shit. Definitely not because he did that exact thing last week and had to make a very embarrassing trip to the service provider with the barely-recognizable smashed remains of an iPhone X that probably deserved better. He refused to go back for at least the next month or they were going to start worrying about him and his tendency to go through thousand dollar phones every couple of months at best.

There was still a pressing matter at hand: Kouyou’s birthday party. He had already requested leave for the rest of the day starting at noon but that didn’t do anything to mitigate the issue of Dazai most definitely showing up just to ruin it, and Kouyou deserved better. In the past year or so he had installed seven more deadbolts on his apartment door and started locking them at random in the vain hopes that it might deter Dazai from just breaking in whenever the hell he felt like it, but Dazai’s lockpicking abilities were second to none in the worst way. He could put up with having his furniture moved two inches to the left but he drew the line at crashing Kouyou’s birthday party.

He tapped his foot quickly on the ground, arms crossed over his chest. There had to be some way to keep Dazai from showing up uninvited and eating all the crab. It was rude to keep excusing himself from the festivities to re-lock the door every couple of minutes, not to mention how fucking annoying that would be. Sometimes it felt like Dazai hadn’t really outgrown all of his 16-year-old mischief.

Regrettably, though, Chuuya was far too mature these days to match all of Dazai’s nonsense blow-for-blow, and he was fresh out of teenagers to ask for tips and tricks. Maybe he could hire one for the night—

He smacked himself in the forehead. The answer was staring him in the face the whole time.

Fishing his phone out of his pocket, he opened his contact list and pressed ‘call’ on Mori’s contact info, not even bothering to hide the mania of the grin cracking across his face as it rang. Gin only raised an eyebrow at him before going back to sharpening her knife with extreme prejudice, because Gin only knew how to do things with extreme prejudice and Chuuya appreciated such an honest and straightforward approach to life.

Finally, Mori answered the phone. “Hello, Chuuya-kun. Did you need something?”

“Apologies for bothering you, Boss,” he replied, bowing slightly even though Mori couldn’t see it. “I have a, uh… peculiar request to make of you pertaining to the festivities tonight.”

“Oh? I’m intrigued.”

Chuuya shifted the phone from one ear to the other so he could grab his wallet out of his pocket and rifle through the bills in the fold. “In the interests of keeping unscrupulous characters from disturbing said festivities, I was wondering if it would be okay for me to borrow a certain asset for the night.”

Mori chuckled, amused. “They’ve been in a bit of a mood lately, you know. Are you sure you can handle that?”

“I’m sure.”

“Alright, then. I leave them in your capable hands.” And with that, Mori hung up, leaving Chuuya with a rising giddiness under his skin that thrummed warmly. Kouyou was going to have a fantastic birthday party because he was finally, finally going to be able to outsmart Dazai after ten years of knowing each other and a lot of mortifying losses taken.

Everything was going perfectly.

***

Q removed one earbud from their ear and looked Chuuya up and down from where they were perched on their bed. “I don’t want to, though.”

So things maybe weren’t going perfectly, but Chuuya wasn’t going to admit defeat to a fucking teenager. He ground his teeth together tightly and counted backwards from ten in Japanese, then French, then Russian, Italian, Spanish, and eventually English before he felt like he could open his mouth without screaming obscenities. “You will notice that it wasn’t a request and I specifically phrased it as such to avoid confusion, Kyuusaku.”

They rolled their eyes and a vein started throbbing in Chuuya’s forehead. After the heavy traumatization they received during the entire Guild bullshit three years prior it had been decided that maybe locking them up like an animal wasn’t exactly welcoming to the development of a healthy mental state, so Chuuya and Kouyou both lobbied for at least humane treatment. They were given their own room and the periodic ability to head out into the dregs of normal society, provided they behaved and were accompanied by several mafiosi.

Unfortunately, this also meant that they had the chance to develop a personality, and mixed in with the dangerous cocktail of hormones running through their pubescent veins, it meant they were kind of a snarky shithead. God, he hated dealing with teenagers.

“What do I even get out of this?” Q asked, reclining back onto their elbows and crossing their legs at their ankles. “It sounds boring with no payoff. No thanks! I’ll just read manga here instead.”

More than he hated dealing with teenagers, he hated dealing with mouthy teenagers with zero work ethic, and—holy fuck, 16-year-old Q was just a repackaged version of Dazai at 15. Chuuya wanted to scream.

“Look,” Chuuya said, trying to level with Q as best as he knew how. “I’ll give you $500 and a PS Vita with three games of your choice if you just sit by the front door and flip locks all night. A monkey could do this.”

“Then hire a monkey to do it.”

“I’m trying.”

Q frowned. “I said it sounds boring and I don’t want to do it. It’s not worth the effort.”

“I’ll give you an extra $100 for every time Dazai gets frustrated and swears.”

They sat up straight, pulling their legs in to sit cross-legged on the bed. “I guess… it doesn’t sound that bad when you put it like that.” Q tapped a finger on their chin thoughtfully, humming a long tone that only got longer the more Chuuya’s foot started involuntarily tapping out of irritation. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it. But I want one of the new Vita models. None of the crappy older ones. And let me use your Amazon Prime account to order figures.”

Chuuya sighed. “Deal.”

***

Dazai whistled a happy little tune to himself as he walked by the doorman and the person manning the front desk of Chuuya’s apartment building, waving at them. They waved back. All was right in the world.

The elevator ride was the longest part of the job every single time he came here, and he was running fashionably late to his already fashionably late lockpicking session. His lockpick set bounced against his leg in his jacket pocket as he shifted from side to side to stretch out his back for the crouching hell he was about to endure. Soon enough, the elevator slowed to a stop, dinged, and the doors opened.

Chuuya’s apartment was more than one apartment. The hat rack decided years ago that one apartment wasn’t enough for him, so he bought half a floor’s worth of apartments and had it remodeled into one massive living space, complete with multiple bedrooms for guests, an entertainment center, a full library, two different kitchens, more bathrooms than any person with one ass could ever need, and several other luxuries he definitely didn’t need. He liked to throw his fancy executive paycheck around as much as he could, and it was kind of cute.

He also refused to give Dazai a spare key to it, not that it ever stopped him. Eating all of his crackers and leaving crumbs on the couch was part of the experience of their relationship, after all.

The party was clearly a rager from what he could hear from behind the closed door. Surveying the eight deadbolts between him and Chuuya’s home cooking and absurdly expensive alcohol collection, he whipped out his lockpicking set and got to work.

The first bolt gave easily, and the next two weren’t locked. The third was, as was the fourth, but the fifth wasn’t set. The sixth and eighth were, the seventh not. It was easy enough to fiddle with the picks to get them open, and all in all it took less than ten minutes to get through all eight. He stood up, brushed himself off, and then grabbed the handle and turned it.

Or, well, he tried turning it. It didn’t budge.

He stared at his hand, still around the doorknob, and said, “What the fuck.”

***

Senbonzakura faded out and Fukagyaku Replace started up, but Q had their other ear trained on the door. Every time they heard a lock click out of place, they would either lock it back up or lock one of the ones that hadn’t been locked. It was mindless work, but at least they were going to get free food out of it once the party was over on top of the other agreed-upon spoils.

They heard Dazai swear again outside the door and added another tally to their list.

***

Three hours of hosting later, Kouyou was pleasantly tipsy and ready to go home. The consensus among the rest of the guests was much the same, and they all thanked Chuuya in turn as he escorted them to the door, undoing all the locks in one swift motion and letting them out. When the last of them had left, he stood in the threshold and looked down.

On the floor outside the apartment, Dazai sat with his knees to his chest and a pout on his face. It was equal parts hilarious and adorable. Chuuya kicked him with the toe of his house slipper. “Get up, asshole. There’s leftovers.”

“I think I’ll just sit out here until I die of starvation instead,” Dazai replied, the pout infecting even his voice. “Since you clearly don’t want me around. This is a pretty cruel method of torture, even for you.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, you were the torture specialist, Demon Prodigy,” Chuuya said back flatly, kicking Dazai again. “Stop pouting and get in here already and fucking eat something. I’ve gotta get Cinderella back before midnight.”

“I don’t want to now. McDonald’s wouldn’t treat me like this.”

Chuuya snorted, leaning back into the apartment to address Q from where they were still sitting on the stool they had been provided at the start of the party, one earbud in as they played Snake on the shitty Nokia flip phone Mori allowed them to have. “Honor system, but how much do I owe you for this one?”

Q pursed their lips and did some quick mental math. “Well, you said $100 every time he swore, so with the $500 you started with… $2000?”

“I’ll make it $3000 because he’s pouting like a goddamn child.” He pulled out his wallet and selected the appropriate amount of cash before handing it to Q. “Go ahead and grab some food before I take you back to headquarters. You’ve earned it.”

Almost immediately after the words came out of Chuuya’s mouth, Q vacated their seat with enviable speed and scurried over to the spread of leftovers on the dining room table, loading a plate up with everything they could see. With that problem out of the way, it was time to get his stupid manchild of an ex-partner to stop throwing a silent fit on the floor outside his apartment.

He put his hand on the top of Dazai’s hair and gave it an affectionate ruffle he would deny until his last breath. “I made crab. Just the way you like it.”

Dazai looked up at Chuuya, the angle accentuating the way his bottom lip was dramatically sticking out. He sniffed. “I guess if you make it up to me with a romantic dinner I can get over the pain you’ve caused my poor heart.”

“Yeah, yeah. Get in here, stupid.”

***

Q stuffed another bread roll into their mouth, glancing back and forth between Chuuya—his mouth so impressively turned down into a frown it was a wonder his lips hadn’t fallen off yet—and Dazai—currently holding his fork so tight it was threatening to bend in his hand—while chewing. They swallowed. “Are you guys gonna eat?”

“You know, Chuuya,” Dazai said, icicles forming on the words, “when I say ‘romantic dinner,’ it usually means just the two of us.”

“I don’t think they could pick up a hint if you dropped it right at their feet and literally fucking pointed at it, Dazai.”

They took another bite of the roll and chewed slower this time, more deliberately. They were pretty sure there was some kind of tension in the room over something, but knowing Dazai and Chuuya it could easily have been over just about anything under the sun. It wasn’t worth worrying about it, not when there was so much food ready to be eaten. And why would they eat in the living room when there was a perfectly good table begging to be dined on?

Chuuya put his face in his hands and sighed deeply. Dazai’s top lip twitched violently.

After about five minutes of that, Q swallowed, drank half a glass of water, and pointed at Dazai’s plate before saying, “Do you want that or not?”

The fork finally gave out.

#bsd #soukoku #soukokuweek19

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cadenreigns · 5 years

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Star vs the Forces of Evil: The Last Magic (part 1)

This is the first part of a movie idea I had. I originally wanted to do more of a script with included images, but I just don’t have the time or energy to do that to the degree it’s in my head, so here’s the first fourth~ish of my movie idea that tries to stay similar in tone to the show and would answer some questions that were left hanging. Also, the end of this section will probably make you think it’s going in the way one would expect from someone with my character preferences, but I think you may be surprised once I get farther into it.

“Many Years Ago”

Fade In

Hekapoo is seen holding an infant Festivia with Omnitraxis, Lekmet, and Rhombulus walking out of the room.

Omnitraxis: “We’ll call for the caretakers, keep an eye on the new princess until they get here.”

Lekmet: “Baaaaah”

Hekapoo: “Yeah, yeah. It’s not like I’m gonna drop her.”

The door closes behind the Glossaryck brothers leaving Hekapoo alone with Festivia. The infant reaches up, making babbling noises, then starts shaking her arms.

Hekapoo (holding Festivia up so they’re eye to eye): “Oh we got a little party animal here.”

Festivia giggles and Hekapoo smiles. “When you get older I’ll show you how to really party.”

Fade Out

“Many Years Later”

Fade into Hekapoo yelling as Moon tries to pull a toddler Star off her horn while Star screams “Mine!” repeatedly. Hekapoo nearly falls over when Star is finally pulled free.

Moon: “I’m so sorry, Hekapoo. The book said you practically raised Festivia, so I thought Star might take to you…not try to take something from you.”

Star (still reaching towards Hekapoo’s horns): “Mine!”

Hekapoo (rubbing the base of the horn Star was grabbing): “Yeah, well she’s quite the aggressive little party animal, isn’t she?”

Moon (sighs): “Her father’s influence I suppose. Maybe we can find her a head band or something so she’ll think she has horns of her own.”

Hekapoo (shrugs): “Sure, you do that. But if there’s nothing else, I’m going to head back to the forge. Someone’s gotta keep an eye on the portal network so no worlds get smashed together or anything.”

Moon (laughs): “Oh Hekapoo, who would even be capable of such a thing.”

-Cut to Star and Marco walking down the street of a post-Cleave Echo Creek-

The familiar toll of the opening song notes starts. What looks like the wand is pushed in front of the camera, but then pulls back to show it’s the face of Star’s watch as the opening continues. The opening would be a modified version of the show’s regular opening, but instead of jumping through portals Star drags Marco through doors and windows, with each small scene they jump through giving a glimpse of life after the Cleave. Their parents, along with Eclipsa and Globgor having a cookout while Mariposa and Meteora play, Ludo and his band of monsters landscaping, Jackie and Chloe (I guess) skating by, a glimpse of the military at the edge of town, and so on until it culminates in the final shot from the season 1 opening of Star and Marco standing in the center of a big group of characters, but in addition to those in the original opening there will be all the characters introduced since then for one massive group shot.

The shot starts black, which is revealed to be the interior of a fridge when Star opens the door and faces the camera while looking for something.

After a few seconds of her not finding anything and making “thinking noises” Marco, who can be seen sitting at the table behind her looking through a stack of papers, says: “Can I help you find something, Star?

Star (looking back at Marco): “Do we have any more of that brown goop?”

Marco: “You mean the disgusting leftover Glossaryck pudding that you wouldn’t let me throw away and that you’ve been snacking on for weeks?”

Star: “Yeah, the pudding (extra drawn-out emphasis on the word pudding, almost like she’s saying it for the first time).”

Marco: “No, Star, you finished the last of it yesterday.”

Star (turning to Marco): “Aww man, I was in the mood for pudding.”

Marco: “We can pick some up la-”

The alarm app on Marco’s phone sitting on the table goes off, drawing both their attentions.

Marco: “Looks like there’s no time for pudding anyway, we gotta go or we’ll be late.”

Star: “Last one to the backyard’s a rotten corncob!”

Star races out of the kitchen towards the backyard. Marco smiles and stack all his papers together before putting them into a backpack and following after her.

The scene shifts to the Diaz backyard, where there’s now a large pen for Nachos and Cinnabar (Hekapoo’s dragoncycle). Star is leaning over the side, swinging her feet back and forth while watching them eat.

Marco: “Are you going to take Cinnabar out today? Or are you riding with me again?”

Star (puts her hands on her hips and feigns annoyance): “Marco, how am I supposed to hold onto you like a girlfriend should if we’re not on the same dragoncycle.”

Marco (rolls eyes): “We gotta find you a different channel to watch besides that one that only shows 50’s biker movies, but alright. Nachos, time to fly, girl.”

Nachos looks up from her bowl and excitedly takes off, jumping the pen fence and landing right besides them. Cinnabar briefly looks up at Star, growls, then goes back to eating.

Star: “I think Cinnabar still doesn’t like me.”

Marco (hooking his backpack to the back of Nachos’s saddle and then mounting her): “She’s still just getting used to all the changes.”

Star: “And she misses Hekapoo.”

Marco (briefly looks away while his hand tightens on Nachos’s horn-handle, then looks back at Star with a smile): “Well there’s nothing we can do about that right now. Not if we want to actually be on time for once.”

Star (hops on Nachos behind Marco, princess style, and wraps her arms around his waist): “Then we better get going!”

Marco (revving Nachos horns): “You heard the lady, time to fly Nachos!”

Nachos takes off. The camera follows behind and then slightly above to give a sweeping view of the fused Echo Creek. They fly past the ponyhead cloud kingdom, over the entrance to the underworld, and between castles and skyscrapers that make up the skyline until they start to descend towards city hall.

Marco (once they come to a stop at the entrance): “Here you are Ambassador Butterfly (emphasis on the word ambassador)”

Star (hops off and kisses Marco on the cheek): “See you after work Principal Diaz (emphasis on the word Principal)”

They laugh and Marco takes off, leaving Star to go inside.

Star skips though the townhall entryway, greeting everyone she sees by name, until she reaches a door labeled “Inter-World Conference Prep Room.” She pauses, takes a deep breath, and steps inside. There she sees Moon and Eclipsa talking beside a playpen with Meteora and Mariposa inside.

Eclipsa (looks up, noticing Star): “Well look who’s on time.”

Moon (smirking): “Wonders never cease.”

Star (sarcastically): “Haha” (leans over the side of the playpen) “Hey babies! Mariposa, are you being good for Eclipsa and Globgor while your parents are on vacation?”

Meteora and Mariposa: (happy giggling)

Eclipsa: “She’s been very good, like a little angel.”

Moon (crossing arms and leaning towards Star): “And have you and Marco been good (emphasized) while the Diazes have been away?”

Star (exasperated): “Yes mom.”

Moon: “Well good. Now I hope you’re ready, we have a full docket today.”

Star: “Really? Anyone we know?”

-Cut to a table with Star (slumped over), Eclipsa, and Moon sitting at one end while Ludo (wearing a little suit) and human man (let’s call him Bruce, it doesn’t really matter) yell at each other from either side-

Bruce: “You’re stealing all my landscaping business!”

Ludo: “You’re stealing all my remodeling business!”

Bruce: “Well that ain’t hard, I’ve seen the shoddy electrical work your boys do.”

Ludo: “Well your team of ne’er-do-wells wouldn’t know how to stack a stone feature if their lives depended on it!”

Eclipsa: “Now boys, there’s no need to be so hostile. Just like when I used to work on combining magic, trying to put together two volatile spells will just cause everything to explode.”

Moon: “That’s a very good analogy, Eclipsa.”

Eclipsa: “Thank you Moon.”

Ludo and Moon look at the two former queens with expressions that say they obviously don’t get it.

Bruce: “Look ma’am, I’m sure that means something interesting wherever you’re from, but that doesn’t help me when this little chicken-man is messing with the livelihood of me and all the employees of Campbell, Inc.”

Ludo (outraged): “Chicken-man!? I’ll show you a chicken man!” (snaps fingers, the chicken-headed monster from his crew, dressed in construction-style clothing, steps out of the shadows and next to Ludo). “You’re keeping all of us at Avarius Construction Co. from getting our foot in the door! So if you want to see what a chicken man can do, we’ll show you right here right now!”

Star: “Ok, why don’t each of you take a deep breath and calm down.”

Ludo and Bruce give Star the stink eye.

Star: “Look, these meetings are supposed to be about helping fix the problems between people from earth and people from mewni, but we can’t do that if you just start fighting from the get go. So why don’t each of you give the other a…um, opposite of an insult…”

Moon: “Star dear, do you mean a compliment?”

Star: “That’s it, give each other a compliment!”

Ludo and Bruce each lean back and cross their arms, each now refusing to look or speak to the other.

Star: “Come on.”

Ludo: “Fine. I guess his team is pretty good at the electrical side of things. We sent some boys off to study it, but it’s been slow going.”

Bruce: “Well, I guess it is pretty impressive how fancy you all are with your stonework.”

Ludo (embarrassed): “Well you know, you get a feel for it after rebuilding a castle so many times.”

Moon: “That’s a wonderful start. Maybe now we can start to discus ways you two could work together to not impede one another’s businesses.”

Bruce (ponderously): “Working together huh…that’s not a half bad idea.”

Ludo and Star: “Huh?”

Bruce: “The Avarius and Campbell teams come together. My boys will help yours learn all they need to know about the wires and pipes that fill a home, and your boys teach mine about all style and finesse that goes into the exterior work.”

Ludo (smiling mischievously): “Then not only would our teams figure out the other aspects of the job…”

Ludo and Bruce (excitedly): “But we could charge even more!”

Star: “Uh, that wasn’t really what I had in-”

Bruce: “What do you say we go draw up some paperwork for this joint venture right now?”

Ludo: “I say let’s do it!” (jumps off the table, but looks back at Star before making his way out after Bruce and smiles) “Thanks Star!”

Eclipsa (as everyone but she, Moon, and Star files out): “Was that a good outcome?”

Moon: “Well, they weren’t fight anymore…so technically I suppose it was.”

Star (slouching in her chair): “I hope Marco’s day is going better than this.”

-Cut to Marco landing in front of the high school while Mr. Blue Sky by ELO (or something similar in tone) plays-

A banner over the entrance reads “Mewni catch-up month” as Marco dismounts Nachos, grabs his backpack, and heads inside. The tune continues, Marco basically bobbing to the beat as he goes down the hall and passes open classrooms. Each classroom’s door is clearly marked with a subject, with mewmen, monsters, and demons filling the student desks while one of the Echo Creek natives we all know and love stands at the front of the class. Alfonso in Math, Jackie in history, Janna in shop (though she seems to be showing them how to make lockpicks), and so on. Marco finally arrives at the principal’s office, approaching the intercom as the tune starts to fade out.

Marco (into the microphone, as he talks different shots of the classrooms listening to him over the intercom are shown): “Good morning Echo Creek students new and old alike. I’m Marco Diaz, your state assigned mediator and I’d like to welcome you all to another day of learning. Thanks once again to all the mewman, monsters, and demons for coming and thank our volunteer teachers for helping everyone to catch up with earth subjects so that we can all start the next semester together. As usual I’ll be making rounds for a good part of the day, but if you need anything don’t hesitate to reach out to me. And above all else, have a great day.”

The tune fades back in as a montage starts that jumps back and forth between Marco mostly having a great day assisting different classes (maybe have slime mix some chemicals with himself and catch fire at one point just for fun) and Star growing increasingly frustrated with dispute after dispute between monsters and humans, humans and mewmen, and monsters and mewmen. She would also start to have bags under her eyes near the end of it. This would go on until the song reached its natural conclusion during a Marco part of the montage and the school bell goes off.

Marco (shouting for all to hear as the mewmen, monsters, and demons file outside the school as he stands where the parking lot meets the football field): “Alright everyone, now it’s time for the active part of the day. For those of you that brought something with wheels, follow Jackie to the parking lot.”

Jackie (raising her arm and shouting): “You heard Diaz, follow me skaters, bladers, and bikers!”

Jackie skateboards off with Rock Johansen (on a homemade, Flintstones-like bike), Courier-chan on her own skateboard, and Penelope Spiderbite in rollerblades, among others following after her.

Marco: “As for the rest of you, (pulls a football out from behind his back) today we’re going to give football a go. It’s sort of like cornball, but weirdly both simpler and more complex.” (Tosses the football to Tom) “Will you get them start on the field, I need just a minute.”

Tom: “Will do.” (turning to group) “This way everybody.”

Marco watches everyone file towards the field, including Rich Pidgeon (in his mech suit) who’s making his way up next to Tom in the procession. Marco seems content, even as Janna steps up beside him with one of her mischievous grins.

Janna: “So how’s the honeymoon going?”

Marco (still smiling as he turns to face her, in the background you can see Tom pass Rich the ball): “Not gonna let you bait me today, Janna.”

Janna: “Liar, I always get you to take the bait.”

Marco: “Well there’s still some time left in the day for you to try I suppose. Though, before that, I need you to stop teaching everyone how to be…well, criminals.”

Janna (feigning surprise): “As if I would ever do such a thing.”

Marco (crossing his arms): “Yesterday I caught you teaching a class how to hack military software.”

Janna: “psh, that’s an important life skill.”

Marco: “It’s an illegal life skill is what it is.”

Camera jumps to the field where Rich still has the ball.

Rich (winding up a throw with his robot arm): “I’ve been studying this game, watch the ‘wicked’ spiral on this throw.” (throws the ball super hard)

Camera jumps to the parking lot, where Jackie is instructing everyone on how to keep their balance. She looks back towards the field and sees the ball arcing up and preparing to come down right towards Marco.

Jackie (shouting): “Diaz!”

Camera jumps back to Marco and Janna, who notice Jackie shouting something, but can only just make out that it has something to do with being behind them.

Jackie (now hard to hear from distance): “…behind…”

Marco (visibly confused): “What’s behind-” (turns towards the field as the football collides with his face).

Screen goes black. It’s silent for a few seconds, then slowly a voice starts to be heard. It’s faint, but repeating the same word over and over, each time becoming just a little clearer until you can finally hear…

Faded voice: “Muscles!”

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