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epickiya722 · 3 days

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I'll be honest, I'm going to sound probably all over the place with this, but I tried my best!

Okay, so going back to chapter 252, I see that Yuta was indeed sliced by Sukuna, but what I wasn't expecting that would resort to him being sliced in half just as Gojo was back in 236.

This is where it got confusing to me. How was Yuta sliced in half? Why was he sliced in half? Before this, just like Yuji, he was tanking Sukuna's cuts and using RCT. Just before this moment, Sukuna was also hit with Jacob's Ladder and his guard is at his lowest.

Did Sukuna manage to actually execute a slash that could completely cut through at that specific, odd moment and Yuta couldn't stop it? Or... did Yuta let it happen?

What if Yuta is just... tired?

I know, I know!

Like, I don't know, it just seemed odd to me.

It gets me that in 262, they state that their plan is that if Satoru loses and dies, his body will be taken over by Yuta, but... that was it. No one said anything that in order for Yuta to take over Satoru's body that he (Yuta) had to be mortally injured.

He could have switched his brain without being on the verge of dying, right? Which makes me question when Kenjaku uses the technique, does Kenjaku have to be close to dying to body hop?

That's for another day!

I recently (last week) rewatched JJK 0 and watching the beginning of that movie reminded me just how depressed he was and how little of himself he cared for. Yuta tried to off himself.

Also take note that he is constantly amazed by whatever his friends do. Evident enough against his fight against Geto. In 261, he shifts the attention back onto the topic of Gojo when Maki remarks how he's important to him, too. His reaction is highly negative.

He gets angry, and thinking about what Maki said, I feel like that has a double meaning. Yuta is important because he is a friend. But he is important because he is also a weapon. He is the best player after Gojo that they got, he's the strongest after him.

It's almost feels like this is the moment Yuta decided to just throw it all out the window and take that risk because he was tired, but at the same time he wasn't just going to leave the others hanging.

This chapter does feel a little like the ending half of Shibuya. Yuji is once more unable to finish off the enemy that has been constantly terrorizing him because of an interruption by someone with a technique that allows them to use other techniques and just so happen to arrive possessing the body of a Special Grade sorcerer.

But let's go deeper into this, because when you think about it... Yuta is the Yuji in 261.

There are people dying around him after Gojo is out of commission in some way because of a dark haired villain who again uses the techniques of someone else! Both Yuta and Yuji had Gojo on the mind, but disregarded themselves, however there is a difference. Yuji's main goal was to save Gojo, Yuta has to use Gojo's body.

Here's something else about 261. Yuta is also like Kenjaku here. Both choose to possess a body because the technique engraved in the body is useful.

However, in opposition, Kenjaku willingly seeks out to do this. Kenjaku wants to do this because it benefits Kenjaku. Yuta doesn't want to possess Gojo's body, it's not something he is at all happy about. It's not something he ever dreamed of doing.

While this chapter is similar to the Shibuya Incident, there's bits where it mirrors Shibuya but distortedly. Kenjaku gets away with Gojo at the end of that arc. Here? It's not looking too good for Yuta. (I do believe in him though. I do feel like he will indeed accomplish something here.)

It's reminded that Yuta's technique allows him to copy a technique for five minutes. When Mei Mei points out the three possible outcomes of Yuta's technique timer running out, two of them has a result that may lead to death. Only one doesn't, and that's living on in Gojo's body.

So Yuta knows that he has a possible higher chance of dying possessing Gojo's body.

There's also the case of taking over Gojo's body to use his techniques was a last resort when everyone else was wiped out. When Yuta arrives back on the battlefield, Yuji had his claws right in Sukuna's chest. Yuji probably would have easily ripped Sukuna's heart at that moment had not Yuta showed up.

And I know, I know some Yuji's fans wanted that, I definitely would have loved to have seen that (payback), but I think back to Yuta's words in this chapter and overall what has happened.

Everyone, at some point, had to shed that bit of their humanity to win their fight.

It takes a curse to kill a curse. This is literal and figurative to the story. To be a jujutsu sorcerer you have to shed some bit of yourself to kill a curse.

This whole time, Yuji, probably the most human character (how ironic) has little by little shed his humanity as the story progresses. He's losing himself.

What if Yuta caught that? While we know Yuji didn't know some of the plans doing on, we can guess it wasn't the case vice versa. What if Yuta knew about everything or most of what Yuji had to do to get to where he is?

What if Yuta coming in right as Yuji was about to rip out Sukuna's heart was him saving Yuji from losing that last bit of humanity he has? Keep in mind that Yuji and Sukuna mirror each other, so ripping out his (Sukuna's) heart would make Yuji no better than Sukuna.

Shibuya was the start of Yuji truly believing himself to be less of a human. Chapter 261 mirrors Shibuya in some regards and I feel like the next couple of chapters may be Yuji seeing himself as a human, not a cog, again.

What if for the next chapters during Yuta's second confrontation with Sukuna, Yuji may get that hit of morality back when he learns what Yuta has done, he'll reflect on it and think about himself? What if once he learns what Yuta has done he gets a "do I want to be like that" moment?

I don't know, I don't know. But I feel like this...

Yuta is tired. He has those dark shadows under his eyes that make him look physical tired, but what if that is also a connotation/visual way of saying that Yuta is tired of how his life is now?

He acts like he's in a better state than how he really is and maybe this whole time, he just wanted to let go. He puts on this show though because he doesn't want the others to fret over him and snapped when Maki said he was important to them. He no longer felt like a human. Just a monster, a cog to the system... a curse, if you will. He accepted death when he knew there wasn't a high chance of escaping it.

However, he chose a moment that was "Hey, I'm going to die and I accept that, but you (Yuji) I'm giving a chance". I'm sure he knew about Gojo's plan to wanting a better future for the next generation. He's continuing to pave a way for that generation. Yuta's giving Yuji that chance to still be human, something he feels he can no longer be. He's been in Yuji's shoes, so he certainly know the path Yuji may be heading. Yuta may have the intentions to stop him heading in the same direction he and Gojo were steered into.

This may be Yuta's way of helping Yuji break that cycle.

#thinking about how gojo told him he's twice as blessed #for having the blood of two opposing families #but what if yuta having a mix of that blood is a representation of his inner turmoil?#that's just me #i wrote this like... I've been working on it since thursday and my mind has been all over the place #just kiya's thoughts #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #jjk spoilers #jjk manga spoilers #jjk 261 #okkotsu yuta #yuta okkotsu #okkotsu yuuta #yuuta okkotsu #yuji itadori #itadori yuji #yuuji itadori #itadori yuuji

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hockybish · 3 days

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I Didn't Want This Either

l Luke Hughes l masterlist l part 1 l * warning: death *

"Can we talk?" Jack knocked on the window of Luke's car. He didn't like what he was going to ask Luke, but he needed to get the conversation over with.

"What's up?" Luke watched as Jack fiddled with the sleeve of his jacket.

Jack took a deep breath in, counted to five, before let out the inhaled air.

"I know this is never probably going to happen, but I just want to be prepared just in case. because you never know what could happen. and Addie agrees with me, for once, I know it's crazy.

"Jack spit it out."

"Now that I have two kids. I've been thinking more about what happens to them if something happens to us. And I think I want you to raise them if we can't." The older brother asked of the younger one.

"Jack, I don't know." Luke contemplated what he was being asked, which was really nothing, but he knew. "Isn't there anyone better for the job? Mom? Quinn?"

"No, Luke. Quinn and Liv have enough going on and Mom and Dad don't need to raising two little kids after the raised us." Jack explained. "Plus you're great with them and they love you so much. Please Lukey."

"Fine"

"Great! I'll add you to daycare pick up." Jack reached over to give his brother an awkward hug before they went on with their separate ways.

"You're pretty." Jack chanced a glanced over at his beautiful wife. They had just dropped the kids off at daycare and were on their way to the rock.

"You're not too bad yourself Mr. Hughes" Addie said scrunching her nose at the man next to her.

"I'll talk to Luke or Nico today, maybe one of them can take the kids and we can have tonight." He kept looking back and forth from the road to his wife.

"Jack watch the road please." She clenched her jaw. There was traffic all around them, making her feel a bit nervous.

"What Ads? It's fine." Jack's eyes left the road again to look at his wife.

"Jack!"

Jack never saw the car until it was too late.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Luke jumped out of bed. He scrambled to get ready for practice when the brain fog cleared and he saw it was after 10 am already.

He was so late. His alarms must not have gone off or something, because he was never late for practice. And here he was going to be late for the first time in forever.

Luke chose to forgo his usual morning routine and caffeinated beverage, thinking it might give a chance to get to the practice facility faster.

He was almost there when the traffic started to picked up. There must have been an accident. All sorts of emergency vehicles were surrounding the area.

As Luke got closer to the heart of the situation he noticed a two crumpled up cars. A silver one and a very familiar looking green one.

Luke got a good long look at the wreck as he passed it. Two white sheets littered the ground, the car accident must have been that bad that people died.

That's why there was so much commotion.

He felt bad for the family that was going learn the news that they lost people they loved. Little did he know his phone was blowing up at the moment, messages and phone calls from his parents and brother, family members, teammates, and close friends with that specific news.

The now super late hockey player got to his destination only an hour later than he was supposed to be there. He thought it was a bit odd how the normally packed parking garage was near empty. Where was everyone?

"Luke what are you doing here?" Nico frowned at the defensemen who was trying to get ice ready as fast as he could.

"I know I'm late. I didn't set my alarm and then there was some big accident. I'll do extra of whatever you want. I'm sorry." Luke finishing up lacing his skates up. If he had been looking at Nico eye's went wide at the mention of the accident.

"Practice was cancelled a couple of hours ago."

"Why would they do that we have a game tomorrow?"

"The league is thinking of postponing it"

"Why?" he stopped what he was doing to look up at his captain. There was a feeling in the room, there was something seriously wrong.

Luke finally glanced around the empty locker room, it held the same odd feeling that the lot had.

"Um. Have you looked at your phone lately?" The older man scratched the back of his head nervously.

Luke furrowed his brows at the question. No, he hadn't looked at his phone, he had been a little busy trying to get there as quickly as he could, the action didn't feel necessary at the time.

But now a bad sinking feeling was telling him that maybe he should.

He had a total of 19 missed calls from him Mom, Dad, and Quinn alone. Not to mention the other various voicemails that completely filled the digital voicemail box was completely filled. On top of that there were over a hundred txt messages from a variety of people.

There was even a message from Jack, a simple heart emoji followed by an 'i luv ya bro,' that was timestamped hours before everything else.

"Nico, what's going on?" His voice hitched after he read a txt from Trevor that read 'i just heard about j. i'm so sorry.' When Luke looked up from the device he took note that Nico was now accompanied by their new coach and a few devils' personal.

"Luke you should call your parents back" The captain picked at the skin around his fingers.

"No just tell me. What's going on?" He thumbed through his device trying to decipher the

"Let's take this somewhere a little more private. Yeah?" The group of higher ups attempted to usher then to a different room a little more quiet and appropriate to have this conversation. Luke shook them off, wanting them to just spit it out.

"Say it Nico" Luke shook them off. He wanted Nico to just spit it out. He was tired of this go around and the hesitation

Nico sighed heavily. He didn't want to be the one to tell his friend the news, it would be better if it were coming from a family member, but they were all on there way to New Jersey at moment. So he had to do his best.

"There was an accident" Nico began to say. Luke felt his heart beat faster, and a pit forming in his stomach as he realized what Nico was telling him. Maybe this would have been better coming from his mom or dad, hell even Quinn.

"Jack and Addie were in the car-" Nico continued. That green car that look familiar. Jack had a green car.

"No no no no no no no." He covered his ears in an attempted to block out what Nico was telling him. This wasn't happening.

"they didn't make it." Nico finished. He put his hand on Luke's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. The kind gesture didn't help anyeay as Luke grabbed the nearest garbage pail and emptied the contents of his stomach in it.

It was true. It couldn't be true. Jack wasn't dead. This was all just some sort of prank, a sick joke. Jack was going to walk around the corner and say sike.

He need to get out of there. Anywhere but there. He had this pain in chest, and it was hard to breath anytime he thought of his brother.

He got in his car and drove without a destination in mind. He drove and drove until he found himself in a deserted mall parking lot, not another car or person in sight.

Luke sat in his perfectly fine car and screamed. There wasn't anyone around, so no one would be able to judge him. Not that he cared. He needed to get his emotions out.

Why Jack? Why couldn't have been him? If only he had been on time today, maybe it would have been him in that accident and Jack would still be alive.

He had been receiving texts all day. Luke ignored all of them. A few people called, he ignored those too. Ellen had been calling him at least once every hour, but he still refused to talk to her.

There was one number that had been persistently calling him, even more than his mother had. Maybe she had gotten a hold of a phone and was calling from that. He didn't know, but he finally decided to answer the call.

"Hello, this is Kiya over at Happy Times nursery, am I speaking to Luke?" The very peppy and friendly lady ask.

"Yeah, I've been a little busy, what is this pertaining too?" He mumbled his reply confirming it was him.

"Good, good. We've been trying to reach Jack or Addie for a couple of hours now seein that it is well past pick up time for Lucy and Felix. We were just wondering if someone was on their way to retrieve them. They are our last kids for the night and we would like to go home."

Shit

Let me know what you guys think!

#luke hughes #jack hughes #luke hughes imagine #jack hughes imagine #luke hughes fic #nhl imagine #nhl blurb #nhl fic #Luke Hughes x reader

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strwbrythoughts · 2 days

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time's up | dr. veritas ratio

The doctor - also known as your husband - has come to refine your problem-solving skills, particularly in mathematics.

A/N: This man is insufferable but I simp because smart + muscles = hot!!! Also can you see me projecting onto this and wdym i don't like triangles, ngl i accidentally switched to first person pov at the ending 💀 this is why i need to find time to write in my busy busy schedule

Divider by @/osqrie

"You have 15 minutes to solve these questions. You may begin."

The soft click of the digital stopwatch in his right hand sounded louder than ever to your ears. Your eyes went from his soft, smiling face - which in itself, was a rarity - towards the questions printed on the single sheet of white, A4-sized paper on your desk. They were all mathematics equations. Every single one was an integration-related question.

You always thought that you could escape the topics you didn't like after finishing your studies in the undergraduate level. Life had been pretty smooth-sailing after graduation; you opened a cute and cozy bakery, you married a genius, lived in a comfortable home, have and maintain a loving relationship...but this. This was the least of what you would expect. Being tutored and tested on the one subject you refused to take back in university.

Or perhaps it was your mistake when you told him your weak points in the academic aspect of yourself. That was a side effect of marrying a genius, you supposed...or a 'Mundanite' as he would use to refer to himself.

But you couldn't think of that now. You had a test to complete, and you didn't want to receive his punishment for not being able to do so within the given timeframe. His eyes could be felt on you, as if burning into your body and directly gazing at the very essence of your soul. The rise in your heartbeat and downturned gaze highlighted how nervous you felt to answer this paper.

After taking a deep breath to clear your head, you observed the questions carefully. There were 3 questions, and all of them were pretty easy to solve (or at least, that was what the instructions said). The first two questions were fine; only including polynomials and exponents respectively. As you got to the third question though...you couldn't say it was 'fine'.

It included one of your most disliked topics...trigonometry.

Granted, the trigonometry was pretty simple, but you never seemed to be able to wrap your head around how so many formulas could be derived from them. When Veritas explained it to you in one of your tutoring sessions, you asked for more breaks than usual since you had put a barrier in your mind; 'I will never understand this'; which in turn, made the topic seemed harder than it actually was.

The soft 'ding!' of the bell on my desk reminded you that you had five minutes left for this last question. You gulped, hoping your nervousness would be swallowed away as well. His eyes were glued to the back of your head; not that you dared to look behind my shoulder at the moment.

Every second counts after all, even if you had no clue what steps you should take to solve the problem on the paper.

Your brain seemed to malfunction and your memorisation skills failed you right this moment. You didn't remember the basic formulas, and you didn't know how to derive them from the triangles either. With no viable options left, you decided to unleash your expertise; cooking up your own theories.

'Ah, he's definitely punishing me for this...' was the only thought floating in your brain. Autopilot mode was switched on, and your hand glided across the paper, writing down whatever nonsense that seemed to be related to trigonometry, regardless whether they were correct or not.

The digital stopwatch in Veritas' hand had reached its last minute; the fifteenth minute. "Time's up," his voice bounced off the white walls right into your ears. "Put down your pen and stop writing."

Although reluctant, you did not wish for a heavier punishment. His words were followed by the sound of the pen being put onto the wooden desk. Within seconds, he was stood right next to your desk, using his index finger and thumb to pick up the piece of paper.

His eyes scanned my answers, going from left to right as he inspected each line of working. There was a faint smile on his lips...until it was gone.

Gulp.

He had definitely seen the absolute mess you made on the last question.

A slam onto the wooden desk; you swore you heard the wood crack a little bit. "Did I not teach you this last question?" You could barely reply. His tone was dripping with condescension, but you didn't take offence from it. Both you and him knew he had the right intentions, but his ways wouldn't be able to satisfy everyone.

"You did! I...I just didn't like it."

Veritas let out a 'tsk' thrice, seeming almost animated as he did so. "You do know what you have to do now, right? So come on, what are you waiting for? Is time not ticking?" He took a seat on his chair, eyes looking straight into mine.

You sighed, preparing your facial muscles...as you climbed into his lap. Ah yes, the 'one hundred kisses or you're not leaving this room' punishment. A classic, really. Your lips peppered his face, landing on each part like the first snow of winter; gentle and heartwarming.

"Lunchtime is nearing, so you better carry out your responsibility quickly and dutifully, dear. You'd hate to have lunch at 4 PM again, hm?"

Ah, crap! He was right! Better get to work now!

Thank you for reading!

#berry writes #honkai star rail #honkai star rail x reader #star rail #star rail x reader #dr ratio #dr ratio x reader #veritas ratio #veritas ratio x reader #hsr veritas

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venturelovebot · 1 day

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A/N: This sincerely took me damn long enough. There's really no excuse other than my brain was being really stubborn this month, so I'm sorry about that. Link to request is here!

Premise: You're the new kid at school with horrific anxiety and no friends. Angela Ziegler has a plan for that. Anxious!Alt!Reader x Nerdy!Kidcore!Venture hehehe featuring a tiny bit of SunShrine

Warnings: None! Pure cavity inducing fluff!

EDIT: EVERYTHING IS FIXED NOW PLEASE DISREGARD ALL PREVIOUS READS 😭

"Oh! I'm so glad you decided to show up, Sloan!" Angela beams, taking a seat at the library table.

"No problem Miss Ziegler! What did you want to talk to me about?" They ask, sitting down in the opposite chair.

Angela folds her hands underneath her chin and looks them directly in the eyes. "You already agreed to tutor [Y/N] for me, but I wanted to inform you that it's no longer necessary." She begins explaining.

"Oh– did something happen?" They add, taken aback by the sudden decision.

"Not exactly. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that [Y/N] does all of their classes alone." Angela takes a moment to decide how she wants to word the next part of the explanation. "Never mind that. I think it would do them a world of good to have someone they could call a friend."

"... a friend?" The confusion on their face grows.

She nods. "That's where you come in."

Sloan fidgets in their seat nervously. "Uh, well..."

The first thing that comes to their mind were all the rumors about you, that you were one of the weird ones: you hated everyone and everything, your parents were trained CIA spies and your presence was just a plant to keep everyone distracted, that you poisoned someone at your previous school and that's why you had to transfer here.

A look of horror appears on their face. Tutoring was one thing, but being your friend? What were they, a lab rat? What happens when they inevitably end up as poisoning victim number two? Surely Angela was out of her mind.

They can hear the main doors opening and closing in the distance.

"Miss Ziegl–" Your voice shyly calls out before noticing someone sitting with your teacher.

Your body freezes in fear.

"[Y/N]! You're just in time!" Angela stands up from her seat and offers it to you.

You say nothing, now moving stiffly towards where she was sitting before replacing her presence in the chair. You gaze down at the table with emotionless eyes. Angela's arms gently squeeze your shoulders in a desperate attempt to comfort you before the main doors open once again.

"Ah, Miss Ziegler. It's good to see you here." Your biology teacher walks up to the three of you before placing a hand on the small of Angela's back.

"Please– just call me Angela at this point." She giggles lightly before turning away from the two of you. "You kids have fun now!"

What a weird sequence of events that just happened.

"Wait... Miss Ziegler and Miss O'Deorain are dating?" They sincerely couldn't decide what was weirder at this point: Angela forcing them to be your friend, or the fact that Moira was able to pull anybody– let alone somebody like Angela.

Sloan's eyes turn back to you. This was the first time they had seen you up close before– the intricate make up, the dark clothing and the beautiful jewelry– it was certainly what they expected. However, there was an intimidating air about you when viewed from afar that was lacking up close. Instead of scary, you just seemed frightened. Lonely, even. Is that how you lured in your victims? A nervous grin appears across their face.

"Um. Hi!" They speak up in the cheeriest voice they can muster.

You glance up at them and your eyes don't know where to look first: the colorful chunky hair clips with fruit patterns, the rainbow glasses chain, the dinosaur themed tape holding said glasses together, the rainbow rubber bands present on their equally as rainbow braces... you could go on and on. The truth is that you enjoyed the look, though. It was the type of uniqueness that you enjoyed.

"... hi." Your voice is soft and you can't bring yourself to raise it.

An awkward silence passes between the two of you before they remember it was lunch time.

"So–" They set their dinosaur shaped ita bag on top of the table, grabbing a juice pack from inside. "Um... lunch, huh?"

They stab the straw into the box before taking a sip.

"I didn't bring mine."

They stop sipping.

"Oh. You just forgot it...?" They wonder.

"I just don't like eating lunch." You lie– it wasn't the food you minded, it was eating in front of others that bothered you.

They don't reply. Normally they would just get up and leave in a situation like this since you clearly weren't interested, but Angela roped them into this without much of a choice. What else were they supposed to talk about with such an asocial human being? Especially one who was rumored to the absolute worst to deal with. This entire situation felt so embarrassingly hopeless, but at least it would make for a funny story to tell Kiriko and Illari.

"Hm. So..." Sloan mumbles, mostly to themself. There really wasn't much to talk about with you it seemed.

You place your coffin shaped backpack on the table and pull out a cutesy coloring book with your coloring pencils. You were entirely done with this attempt at a conversation.

That's when they glance down at what you were coloring– Kuromi.

"Oh! You like Sanrio, too?" Their face lit up.

You guess that was to be expected based on their extra colorful exterior– but it was also the first time you met someone who also seemed to enjoy Sanrio despite being out of its intended age range.

"The characters are pretty cute." You continue to color on your own.

Wow. A full sentence from you! They really couldn't believe it at first.

"Can I help?" They ask, grabbing a colored pencil without asking.

They seem so happy... it was definitely impossible to say no to something like that.

"Sure." You move your coloring book up to let them color the top half of the drawing.

You both work carefully to ensure you stayed inside the lines to make the coloring look nice. Their job was to color Kuromi's signature hat in her iconic colors. They decide to tackle the larger parts with the black coloring pencil first. You were taking care of the background she was standing in: a Halloween candy wonderland. You alternated between orange and purple for the wrappers in order to fit the theme.

But before you knew it the lunch bell begins to ring again, signaling the end of your lunch break.

"Aww... that sucks. We were almost finished it, too." Sloan pouts.

"There's always tomorrow." You note.

They place the color pencils back into their tin and watched as you carefully pack up all your things. Everything you did seemed so graceful and thoughtful– hardly someone worthy of the rumors of being a serial killer. Or a government spy. Or an animal hater. Where did those comments even come from, anyway? You really didn't seem like you deserved them.

"Oh! I almost forgot. My name is–"

"Sloan." You state. "Miss Ziegler told me."

They shut their mouth again.

"I'll see you tomorrow." You try to gather the courage to sound excited, but in the end it's squelched by anxiety, just like everything else in your life was.

You turn and head towards your next empty class.

"I didn't think I'd ever hear that child talk to someone that wasn't Angela." The school librarian speaks up.

"Mrs. Amari? You were here the whole time?" They ask.

She chuckles to herself. "Where else would I be? Well... the beach sounds nice." They joke. "Now get to class."

"Yes m'am..."

As soon as they exit the library they watch as you make your way down the empty hallway mirrored to everyone else. They could really only hope that things would continue to go as smoothly as they did today.

... but why does their heart feel like it's racing?

Sloan sits down at the table that the two of you shared yesterday. Angela greets them again with the same warm smile she greeted everyone with.

"So, how did it go?" Angela inquires.

"I think it went okay." They reply.

"[Y/N] told me that you found something in common. That's great! Try to get them to come out of their shell a little bit more. Don't be afraid to ask questions, they don't bite." She smiles.

If it wasn't for the conversation you two had yesterday then they certainly would've thought otherwise.

"Speak of the devil. Someone used the side door today!" Angela speaks up and draws attention to you.

Sloan turns around in their seat.

"Sorry." You apologize, once more exchanging seats with your teacher.

"No need to apologize, [Y/N]. You've done nothing wrong." Angela assures you.

"Ah... sorry." You apologize for apologizing.

"Oh, never mind. We'll work on it." Angela reassures you. "You two be good to each other while I'm gone!"

You both watch as she leaves to join your biology teacher waiting in the hallway.

"I'll still never get over the fact that she's dating Miss O'Deorain." They finally speak up.

"Love often finds itself in peculiar places." You reply.

They didn't expect such a poetic response to a nonchalant observation. You casually place your bag on the table and pull out the same coloring book and color pencils as yesterday, as if what you said was no big deal.

"Oh! That reminds me..." Sloan reaches into their dinosaur ita bag and pulls out a candy bar and juice box. "I know you said you didn't like lunch... but I didn't want you to go without eating, either."

They offer it to you and for a moment you don't know what to do with yourself. No one in your entire life had done something so kind for you before. You reach out to take the treats, and by accident the warmth of your fingers brush up against the palm of their hand and you delicately blush from the interaction.

Little did you know it also caused their heart to skip a beat– but why? Why did they feel so nervous all of sudden?

"Thank you." You finally take the gifts and graciously peel open the wrapper to bite down into sugary goodness.

"You're welcome!" A grin lights up their face.

The two of you eat in silence, but this time it wasn't awkward. The quietness was actually a nice change of scenery compared to a crowded lunch hall. They couldn't help but miss seeing their other friends though– but how would you react to seeing two new people you'd never met before?

"Miss Ziegler said I should ask you more questions." They state, placing their empty juice box to the side.

You raise an eyebrow.

"... I can't really think of any." They add– that was a lie, but they're not ready to ask you to hang out with other people just yet.

"My favorite color is [favorite color]. I also like [favorite animal]. My favorite ice cream flavor is [favorite ice cream flavor]. I think that covers everything." You answer.

"... not quite." Sloan grabs the black and pink color pencils and continues working on Kuromi's hat.

"What else could there be?" You wonder.

They don't look up from coloring. "Well... why do you take all your classes by yourself? If it's okay to ask."

"Oh– because of anxiety. It didn't use to be so bad until I transferred here." You explain. "The first day I came here people started gossiping about me. Apparently I'm a serial killer."

Guilt strikes their heart like a lightning bolt. "That's horrible..."

"Well, it's okay. I got used to it pretty fast at least." You tried to sound optimistic while brushing aside your bad memories.

"No! It's not fair. You sound like a really nice person..." They admit.

"I do...?" You're curious about that claim. "How so...?"

"Well, you haven't given me a reason to dislike you so far!" They point out.

You think over their words for a moment. "Hm. There's still plenty of time." You point out.

"I don't think so. I like spending time with you." A soft pink blush lights up their face. "I mean– as your friend!"

You can't help but giggle at the sentiment. "I like spending time with you, too."

"Oh, brother. Get a room." An unknown voice teased from behind a bookshelf.

A cute, punkish girl with a beanie steps into view.

"Kiriko?" Sloan watches as she sits down beside you.

"Illari is here, too. We missed your yapping." She says, and a sigh comes out from behind the same bookshelf that she hid behind.

"Good going, loud mouth. I'm never bringing you to another stake out." She takes the empty seat next to Sloan.

Without hesitation you mentally hide inside yourself and cast your gaze downwards. It was just like the day they first met you, the little light twinkling inside your mind had been shut away once again. They think about reaching out to touch your hand and comfort you, but they decide against it. The last thing they want to do is make you feel worse.

"I don't think you guys are supposed to be here." Sloan says.

"Why not? We just thought we'd stop by and say hey." Kiriko glances over at you. "You're [Y/N], right? What's Sloan tutoring you in?"

You couldn't say anything even if you wanted to.

"I'm actually not tutoring them." They speak up for you instead.

"Oh. So you just decided to abandon us then?" Kiriko jokes.

"No! That's not it..." They sigh out of frustration.

They start to explain the whole situation from the beginning. Meanwhile, your hands are shaking from the stress you're being forced into dealing with.

"[Y/N]? Are you okay?" They add.

Words claw at the inside of your throat and you swallow them. A thousand butterflies blossom in your stomach before you grab your bag and rush out the main door and down the empty hallway, your footsteps echoing against the walls. All that remained was a coloring book and color pencils– seemingly the only proof that you existed at all to anyone else.

Kiriko was the first to speak up. "Oh. My bad..."

"Well, what do we do now?" Illari asks. "Just wait for Miss Ziegler to show back up?"

"I don't think we have a choice." Kiriko adds.

You open the door to the art room without looking at your teachers.

"[Y/N]! Good to see you again!" Niran calls out from his desk.

"Hello Mr. Pruksamanee and Miss Vaswani." You reply back, and take your usual seat in the back of the classroom.

The peace settles on you for a moment. Then, you lay your bag on the table and reach for your coloring book within. Your hand glazes over the empty fabric inside before you realized you had left it behind, and you breathe a heavy sigh of frustration.

"What's wrong, [Y/N]?" Niran sits down in the chair opposite of you.

"I left some things behind at the library. I'll just have to get them later." You respond.

"Oh! I hate it when that happens, but at least you know where you left everything!" He chimes.

"Unlike Niran." Satya teases.

He laughs. A smile draws itself on your face.

"Say– you're still working on your clay scarab for your friend, right? Why not do that in the meantime?" He suggests.

You look towards the back of the classroom at the bone white statue. It still needed to be painted, and you bought a special coat for it that would make it iridescent just like a real scarab.

"I guess that's not a bad idea." You answer, getting up from your seat once more.

You grab your hand sized friend alongside your special paints and a palette to put them on. Niran is kind enough to grab you some new brushes from the closet so you didn't have to reuse the old ones with paint chips littered through out the bristles.

"Satya, your favorite animal is the dragonfly, right?" Niran asks.

"I'm surprised you still remember!" She replies.

"I just find it lovely that there's someone else who finds beauty in insects." He adds.

You begin brushing your figurine in a layer of black paint. This would serve as the base layer for the reflective coat once it dries.

"Say, what's your favorite animal, [Y/N]?" Niran asks.

"[Favorite animal]." You speak up without hesitation.

"Wow! Didn't take long to decide on that. What all do you like about them?" He prods you further.

"I think they're cute!" You answer honestly.

"That much is true!" He agrees.

You finish up the first layer of black paint on the scarab before setting it down on discarded newspaper nearby to let it dry.

"Do you have any other classes today, [Y/N]?" Satya asks.

You dispense a little bit of iridescent overcoat onto your palette. "No. Why?"

Satya looks up at you from her desk. "Why not finish up painting so you can give it to your friend after school?"

You think over her words for a moment before a smile widens on your face. Thinking about their reaction fills you with butterflies again– but this time, they're excited. You can feel the jitters crawl up into your fingers as you pick up the paintbrush for a second time.

"Do you think they'll like it?" You wonder.

"Of course! Why wouldn't they? Anything made by a friend is special regardless of what it is." Satya assures you.

"Okay. I hope you're right." You reply.

She begins writing a note for Sloan in her beautiful handwriting. "I'd bet my job on it."

"I'd bet Satya herself on it." Niran beams.

You apply the finishing touches to your clay scarab before observing it under the lighting. The back of it becomes a glimmering gradient of green to purple, while everything else was painted opaque black to help the gradient stand out even more. The pride of seeing your finished piece swelled in your chest.

"It's wonderful! You did such a good job, [Y/N]!" Niran encourages you with a smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Pruksamanee." You reply.

The final school bell rings and the empty hallway fills with shouting. From the window you can see waves of people coming and going for minutes on end before the noise begins to dwindle.

"Here." Niran fetches a small piece of yellow ribbon from the closet and ties it around your scarabs neck– or its equivalent of one.

"It's perfect. Thank you again, Mr. Pruksamanee."

You hold your bug friend in your hands and look over it one more time.

"Niran, may I speak to you in the back room?" Satya gestures for them to leave before Sloan arrives.

"Very well." Niran places a hand on your shoulder. "I'm sure everything will turn out just fine, [Y/N]." He gives it a comforting squeeze before walking off to join Satya in the storage room.

Now it's just you, your scarab, the oncoming silence–

"[Y/N]?" Sloan's voice squeaks from nervousness.

– and the little rainbow nerd standing right outside the door.

You perk up at the sound of their voice.

"[Y/N]! You're okay!" They run up to hug you without a second thought.

You feel a pink blush light up your face as they enclose their arms around you. The connection between the two of you is electrifying, you can almost feel your hair standing on end. Their scent lingers in a delicate cloud– fruity goodness, almost like cereal milk– and you close your eyes to welcome in the affection.

For the first time in a long time you feel yourself wrap your arms around someone who wasn't in your direct lineage. You cannot sincerely remember the last time this had happened. Time briefly pauses for a moment more before they pull away, and you feel yourself already missing their embrace.

"Hugging the serial killer? Oh shit!" Some kids laugh out in the hallway. "They're next for sure!"

... but the words didn't sting as much as they usually did.

"I'm so sorry about what happened earlier. I explained everything to them the best I could– they feel really bad. They didn't know any better." Sloan explains.

You look at them with a smile. "It's okay, I believe you. I'm sorry I ran off like a scaredy cat."

"You don't have to apologize! You've didn't do anything wrong!" They assure you.

Angela's words from earlier echo inside your head. "No need to apologize, [Y/N]. You've done nothing wrong."

"– I almost forgot! You left these in the library." They add, handing your coloring book and color pencils back to you.

"Thank you." You graciously take them back before slipping them both inside your backpack.

"Oh!" They finally notice the hand sized scarab figure on the table. "That's so cute!"

Your blush turns from peach to ruby.

"It's for you." You watch as they pick up their gift and hold it delicately in the palm of their hand. "Do you... like it?" You ask.

They're quiet for a moment as they study your work with a grin on their face.

"Like it?! Please, this is literally perfect! I love it!" They feel tears start to form in the edges of their vision. "But how did you know? I never told you I loved scarabs."

"Mr. Pruksamanee and Miss Vaswani told me. I don't know. I guess I thought about making one for you after that." You clarify.

"You talk about me?" They question.

"Yes– no– not in a bad way!" You start getting nervous.

Sloan only grins, showing off the neon colors adorning their teeth. "You think about me?"

You clasp your hands to your face as shyness overtakes your entire being.

"Yes! No– I mean yes! But, like I said– not in a bad way! Gaah!" You cry out in frustration as you feel a familiar set of arms wrap around you once again.

"You're too sweet!" They comfortingly rub your back as your heart explodes inside of your chest.

Tears begin to stream out from your eyes as they console you to the best of their ability. "I know I've only known you for a couple days, but–" your voice hitches between sobs. "I think you're cool! And nice! And fun to be around!" You admit.

"Aaaawwww!" Sloan squeezes you tighter. "[Y/N]! You're so cute!"

"N-no I'm not!" You play down your compliment in a desperate attempt to save yourself even more embarrassment.

"Yes you are! You're adorable!"

Congratulations! You've officially made it worse– and yet, the kindness rattles around in your brain relentlessly, sending off all sorts of happiness receptors inside that were collecting cobwebs all this time.

"Cute! Adorable! Kawaii! Sweet! Baby! Angel!" They swing your body playfully as your face burns with the power of a thousand white hot suns. "Precious! Little! Sunshine!"

"Now, now– no throttling other students Mx. Cameron!" You hear Niran finally speak up, teasing the two of you for your blatant and shameless PDA.

"I'm not throttling them! I promise!" They let go after being called out.

"Oh my! Spending a little too much time in the sun, are we, [Y/N]?" He adds.

"Niran, please." Satya chides. "Let poor [Y/N] take some breaths. I'm sure they're overwhelmed."

"My apologies. Take all the time you need."

Everyone gives you a little bit of time to regather your thoughts. The minute hand on the clock ticks by slowly, and before anyone knew it, thirty minutes had already flown by. You can hear Sloan's eight bit style text tone going off from their pocket.

"Ah– I guess I gotta go. Thank you again for the scarab [Y/N]–"

"Wait!" You cut them off. "W– would you wanna come over tonight? And maybe watch a movie? Or something?"

The blood rang in your ears as your heart pounded one thousand beats per minute.

The same sparkling grin paints their face from ear to ear. "Would I?!"

You could hardly believe what was happening to you.

"A friend! You finally made a friend!" Your mother cheers, heating up the hot cocoa over the stove.

"Mom! Please!" You beg her to stop being so dramatic before Sloan loses all interest in staying over.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. [last name]!" Sloan looks around your house in awe.

Everything appeared entirely normal– perhaps a little dated, but that's to be expected. No government surveillance equipment. No dead bodies. No headless cats. Just ordinary in every sense of the word.

"Please, just call me [mom's name]!" Your mother replies. "Or maybe even mom at this point!"

Sloan giggles. "You got it, mom!"

You roll your eyes in despair.

"The hot cocoa will be ready in a few minutes. You kids have fun!" Your mother watches as you walk steadfast into your room.

"Awesome! Thanks again, [mom's name]!"

"Please don't encourage her." You beg.

You watch as they flop down on to your bed and snuggle up into your pillows. The stark difference between your darkly decorated bedroom and their rainbow appearance was almost comedic.

"So, what are we watching?" They ask.

"I– I don't know... I didn't think I'd get this far..." You admit.

You pick up the remote and start scrolling through all the options before you find a relatively good looking movie to put on– a horror film about demon zombies.

"Demons and zombies? At the same time? Wow!" They joke.

"Everything has already been done before. What else is there to make and sell?" You reply.

They lay on their side facing the television. "I guess you have a point."

You stand up to dim the lights so that the screen was easier to see.

"Hot cocoa!" Your mother barges into your room without warning, setting two mugs on the nightstand.

"Thanks, mom." You watch as she waves and turns the corner back into the living room.

You sigh in relief before climbing back on to your bed and laying next to your friend as the movie starts.

"I know it's only been a week, but I can't see myself living without you!" The lead female actress cries out. "Please don't leave me here with the demon zombies!"

You stifle a laugh as hoards of sickly looking mutants shuffle across the screen and into the darkness. One of them latches on to a screaming human as it bites into their neck, causing an obnoxious amount of blood to spout from the wound. They fall silent as it continues to eat the gored flesh of its victim.

"Ew..." Sloan mumbles underneath their breath.

Another human has their leg severed out of nowhere by a mysterious falling beam. Several demon zombies feast on the severed appendage before the bleeding human limps away as fast as possible.

"What in the world is this movie even about again?" They question.

"Didn't you read the title? It's about demon zombies." You turn around to face them instead of the screen.

Their gaze is fixated on you– their pulse increasing as your eyes meet theirs. A near uncontrollable urge to reach out and cup your face overtakes them and they use all the willpower they have in their body to hold themself back.

Why? What could possibly be causing them to feel this way?

A peach toned blush paints across their face.

"Are you scared? Need me to hold your hand?" You tease.

They don't reply right away. Instead, they think about when your hand brushed theirs in the library earlier today. The same rush of emotions they felt then were beginning to return in this moment.

"Of course I'm not scared! Why would I be scared?" They jump on the defensive. "Are you scared?" They playfully mock you instead.

A giggle stirs from your lips. You're so cute– oh no! It's too early for them to start thinking like that. You're just friends. Miss Ziegler told them to just be friends with you. So that's what they're doing of course– just being friends.

Friends.

Your hand reaches out to touch theirs and they instantly latch on with zero hesitation. The warmth and softness of your skin was just as noticeable as it was all those hours ago.

Friends.

"Can I be honest with you for a minute?" You don't let Sloan reply before speaking up again. "I know it's only been a couple days, but I'm glad you decided to not give up on me, and be my friend."

Right. Friends.

"No one at school has ever been as nice to me as you've been. I'm thankful for that. And for you, too."

The word ricochets inside their skull like a bullet.

"I know it's still a little early to say what I really want to say. So, if I do what I'm about to do... you won't tell anyone, right?"

Your face leans in close to theirs.

"Right?" You ask one more time.

"R-right–" They reassure you.

Your eyes gently close before your lips press softly against theirs. A second passes– then two, then five, then ten– before you pull away and recast your eyes on their crimson colored face. Their free hand flies up to their lips in disbelief. The fireworks inside their body light up simultaneously as the realization settles on them. The words you want to say continue to dance on the edge of your tongue.

"C-can I have one more? I won't tell anyone–" Sloan asks– or pleas, more like.

You repeat the process one more time and the two of you quietly gaze at each other afterwards. The lead actress on television holds desperately on to her love interest as the two of them overlook the burning city crawling with the demonic undead.

"I know it's still early– but I love you. If we survive this, will you still love me?" She wonders.

"Of course. I will always love you–" The protagonist happily returns her affection. "– but don't tell anyone. Not yet. Not until all of this is over."

"So! How have you two been getting along?" Angela inquires, noticing how you've moved to sit next to Sloan instead of in front of them.

You glance at your 'secret' admirer for a second before smiling.

"Good." Is all that comes out.

"That's wonderful! I'm glad everything is working out between you two." She smiles warmly, just as she always has.

"I talked to Illari and Kiriko and they would still love to meet you, [Y/N]. Would you like to try talking to them again today?" She adds.

You nod.

She stands up and heads towards the door. "Super! I'll let them know they can come in. You kids be on your best behavior, alright?"

"Yes m'am!" You both say in unison.

Both girls you saw yesterday enter as Angela leaves for her daily lunch date.

"Oh~ what's with that face, hmm?" Kiriko points out with a sly expression.

"What face? It's just my face!" Sloan defends themself before turning away to avoid drawing any more attention.

You can't help but laugh.

"There's something you're not telling us. I have a feeling I know what it is, though." Illari states.

You brush your hand against Sloan's underneath the table. A finger wraps itself around one of yours as their face begins to glow from embarrassment.

"I can't tell you. Not yet." You smirk.

The truth is that nothing needed to be said– because it was already written across their flustered little face.

#SHSKSLCNJDBSJD I HAD TO PRIVATE THIS AND FIX IT AND UNPRIVATE IT AGAIN PLEASE HELP ME #overwatch #overwatch 2 #sloan cameron #sloane cameron #venture x reader #venture x you #overwatch x reader #overwatch x you #overwatch fanfiction #venture overwatch #venture ow2

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lovecanbesostrange · 2 days

Text

Please know that since yesterday I am mentally trapped in these two panels. There is actually a lot I will miss Krakoa for, but I also felt a bit of resentment throughout the era and this family is a big reason why. NOW that we are in the last stretch of burning it all down and the new X-launch is in reach, we'll get this wedding special. And we finally have all four together in a panel. NOW?! I bought X-Men Unlimited #4 in either fall of '94 or spring '95, solely because of the cover. 30 years of waiting. Let me live in this moment for a bit.

Look at what they are doing with the art! Oh sure, Mystique and Nightcrawler are the blue ones. Pair up Destiny and Rogue next to that to make them look similar enough as well. Only for my brain to scream "but the personalities are the other way around!!!!!!!!". Irene and Kurt work on faith and believe in possibilities and reaching out to be better. Raven and Anna Marie typing this out makes me feel weird are the ones who will kill a bitch and say they will darken their soul so others don't have to. Plus there is the element that they both have lived more than one life and their sense of self is distorted .

They've come a long way, okay?!

Yes this is exactly what it looks like. For plot reasons Nightcrawler was too weak to teleport and dangling off a cliff next to Mystique. And of course Rogue could only save one and before she made a decision Mystique said "I make this for you" and let go. I still like to believe she flipped them the bird when she fell. Because she is Mystique. "HaHa! Take this, you think I'm the worst mother ever, but you will have to live with a moment of nobility from me!" (Also Destiny knew this would come, and she fucking knows there is something good inside of Mystique. It just comes out... different. And needs very specific circumstances.)

Apart from X-Men Evolution (and the X-Men Forever alternate history comic with its very special vibes), we have never gotten any bigger acknowledgement of this family. And Irene has been cut out. Either conveniently on account of being dead, or because she's an old lady and clearly just a gal pal, ahem. (It's also very funny to me to go back to their first appearances, where the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants has the biggest Three Stooges energy ever. I needed Mystique, Destiny, Rogue, Pyro, Blob and Avalanche to have a drinking contest on Krakoa. That is what Krakoa was supposed to be about!! You needed to give us 200% domestic nonsense, fun and games. So it would hurt everybody when it was inevitably taken away. EVERYBODY needed to find happiness in that place in unconventional ways.)

Sadly not my original thought (I don't have those), but recently I read some comment where somebody said that with Irene being his bio-mother, Kurt should have inherited a type of precog-sense, a sorta spidey-sense for teleportation. A natural ability that he won't teleport into an obstacle. And I would be so on board with that. (Also funny, because Ms Marvel had that type of sense and I could pull up panels where Nightcrawler tried to trigger that in Rogue.) Would it be weird to add that now? Sure. But also super cute and helpful.

My deepest gratitude goes out to the fanartists who have doodled and sketched and painted cute family moments for them out of time. Now canon can catch up. Imagine their dinner conversations. N: "Logan is my best friend." M: "Oh, that reminds me there is this blue furball running around with his and my powers. I don't even remember if we ever had sex or not, we're so close in age and have these memory gaps." N: "Mutter, nein!" D: "You should ask him out, you two would make a cute couple. Trust me." R: "You're setting up Nightcrawler with Wolverine and keep giving me grief over Gambit?" M: "He speaks too much French! Wolverine might be Canadian, but at least he's not a Franco-Canadian!" N: "So I couldn't date Northstar?"

Do not get me wrong though. Mystique and Destiny are horrible people and they will stab others in the back. They have worked for the government, they have plotted assassinations of government people. They have fought alongside and against the X-Men. I don't want them tamed or be reasonable. I want their mess. I want them as anti-villains. Because they don't do heinous things for nothing. They like to create less horrible murder events than what could be... some writers just liked to go overboard with the scheming and forgot the sympathic undertones, which I want to cling to. And we deserved a time of peace on Krakoa. Truly imagine a Mystique who was happy on Krakoa. And the absolut batshit villainous energy when it's burned down against her will... now THAT would have been something. Instead of baking resentment into the foundation.

#X-Men #Rogue #Nightcrawler #Mystique #Irene Destiny Adler #wednesday spoilers #sorry I'm so sorry but I can't get over this...#ramblings

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secretobsessionstuff · 2 days

Note

it’s so good to have you back! i have an idea for a potential future blair fic. what if blair comes down with a nasty stomach virus compounded with a migraine while on a road trip to somewhere important with dakota? maybe she thinks it’s just a migraine and then well.. shit gets real *no pun intended* haha. it doesn’t have to be a road trip, if that doesn’t inspire anything for you, but maybe somewhere where she can’t get away that easily? no worries if you aren’t interested and if you are, take your time! 😊

Thanks for the no pressure! It helped a lot as I try to get back into this. I wasn't sure if the "pun" meant no scat lol, so there's just emeto. I hope it's okay...don't know how I feel about it. Maybe typos maybe not...but probably typos.

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

Blair thought her headache would fade once they left her parents’ house. Seeing her extended family for Easter was always a joy, but she could do without the noise from the little ones. At first, the squealing and giggling upon finding an Easter egg was cute. Inevitably, the happy laughs turned into fits of crying and tantrums when the celebration was over. Though the children weren’t happy to be leaving, Blair had to admit she was looking forward to a silent car ride home with Dakota.

Two hours into the four-hour drive, and her headache had morphed into a migraine. She succumbed to the pain a while ago by leaning the passenger seat back as far as it would go. Her sweater lay over her eyes to block out the daylight. She wrapped her arms together in an attempt to sooth herself, but it was Dakota’s soft voice that did most of the work.

“Is it just as bad?” he asked, brushing a hand over her knee. In times of crisis like this, Blair liked to kick off her shoes and sit cross legged. Maybe if she made herself smaller, the pain would shrink as well.

But no, the pain pushed against the walls of her body. Hey eyes threatened to explode from the pressure; her belly whined to the beat of the blood pumping in her ears. Misery loved company, so her head seemed to have invited her stomach to join the party.

“It’s getting worse,” she mumbled and shifted uncomfortably in the small space. The bumpy ride did nothing to ease her aches. Every bounce and turn jostled her like Jello. She imagined her brain jiggling against her skull in time with her roiling tummy. “Can you go slower?”

“Gosh, babe, if I drive any slower, we might make it home by Christmas.” Dakota’s eyes squinted in the sunlight. Keeping his eyes on the road hardly mattered when they were going 40 in an 80, and there were no other cars along the country road. He set the cruise control to the snail-like pace so that he could give his fiancée more of his attention. “If I hold out my arm like this, you can lean against me.”

Blair just groaned and sat up straight in the seat. The sweater fell from her face, making her wince at the harsh light. At the same time, the car rolled in and out of a pothole. Her stomach rose in her throat. “Really? You couldn’t have gone around that?” Her tone was as acidic as the liquid that burned her esophagus.

“I’m doing my best, Bee.” Dakota took his hand off her leg. “I know you don’t feel well, but don’t get mad at me just ‘cause I’m the only one here.”

That hurt. Not as much as the sword through her head, but it stung nonetheless. “I’m sorry,” she said, miserably wrapping her arms around her midriff. “I just feel sick to my stomach, and this bumpy ass road is not helping.”

Dakota opened his mouth to provide comfort, but Blair was not finished.

“And the sun is so fucking bright, and what is that horrible smell? It’s like burning rubber.” Blair pouted. “Why does everything in the universe hate me?”

Dakota gave her a lopsided smile. “Well, I’m in the universe and I don’t hate you.”

Blair scoffed and cracked a small grin. “Stop being adorable. I’m dying here.” She had to admit, his joke allowed some tension to ease off her shoulders. She wasn’t alone and everything wasn’t terrible. There were many things that were terrible, but her partner was not one of them. “…Thank you.”

“Aw, you know I just want you to feel better.” Dakota reached his hand out to rub her belly. “I’m sorry this migraine came at such a bad time. It’s making you feel sick?”

She nodded. “The nausea is bad this time. Usually I can ignore it.”

Dakota must have let the Easter bunny take the wheel while he scanned her face. “You do look very pale. Are you going to throw up, you think?”

She shook her head, then immediately regretted the decision. “I hope not. I’ll try to fall back to sleep so that doesn’t happen.”

Ironically, it was the nausea that kept her from sleeping. The pain in her head swelled with her bloated belly. All that chocolate coated her insides in a thick layer of gooey slime. When she began to burp, the taste of Terry’s chocolate orange made her gag.

Blair was alert now. With wide eyes, she clamped a hand over mouth. She forced down two more burps or else she knew Dakota’s car would be ruined in seconds. “Babe—” she began, feeling a tightness in her throat that pinched her words “—Pull over. I need to be sick.”

Without hesitation or issue, Dakota brought the car to a stop. "Wow sleep did not happen, eh?"

What a stupid time to ask a question.

Blair threw the door open with just enough time to lean over and burp wetly over the ground. She gagged, bringing up a small wave of vomit. It was mostly coffee from the afternoon. The bitter flavour clung to her tongue, but it would not stick around for long because there was much in her stomach to get up.

"I'm right here," Dakota said with a hand on her back. "You're okay." Blair leaned further out of the car with the next heave, nearly falling onto the grass. He caught her arm. "Oh, maybe you're not. Hold on, I'm coming around."

He turned off the car and jogged to the other side. Luckily there were no cars with them on the road. If Blair wanted privacy, she picked the right place to lose her lunch.

Her lunch was fertilizing the grass. Hopefully the open field would thrive on half digested chocolate, coffee, and cubes of cheese that were no longer in the shape of cubes.

She coughed and burped in between waves. "Ugh, Kota, help..." She reached out for him and allowed him to help her out of the car. They staggered like drunken lovers until their knees met the earth.

"I got you." Dakota held onto her shoulder and pulled her hair away from her face. "You're doing good."

"...my head..."

"I know." Dakota kissed her forehead. His lips met unexpectedly warm skin

"...my tummy..."

"I know." Dakota did not lean down to kiss her tummy because the organ chose that moment to convulse again. He heard a gurgling sound in Blair's throat before she pitched forward and heaved a mostly-liquid bout of sick onto the ground. Dakota rubbed her back. "Oh my Bee."

Blair fed the flowers one more time, shedding tears from the force of each retch. The vomiting released pressure from her head but did nothing to ease her belly; it only reinforced the ache that dwelled in her gut.

Dakota's lips still tingled from the heat of the kiss. He knew then that he had to get her home fast. They would need to go much faster than they had been, but at least a bed would be waiting. Blair couldn't suffer like this while on the road.

The universe agreed that Blair should not be in the car.

When Dakota went to start the car again, the engine gave a mighty good try, but failed. Dakota swore under his breath and spared a glance at Blair who still sat in front of a puddle of sick in the grass.

"No, please, no." He took the key out and tried again. "Come, on come on."

The engine tried, and tried, and...nothing. It was just as fatigued and sick as his girl. He called the doctor for only one of the patients.

Defeated, Dakota returned to Blair's side. By the looks of it, she hadn't thrown up again. He sat down next to her with a dejected sigh. "I have bad news."

"I heard."

They both sighed and sat unmoving on the grass. Blair's gaze was lost in her thoughts or maybe her pain. Dakota's gaze never left her. Her red cheeks, grey lips, and dark eyes worried him. He reached out silently with the back of his hand to touch her forehead.

Blair looked up at him with glassy eyes. "More bad news?"

"Yeah." He scooted closer to her and kissed the side of her head. "Remember when I got an infection while camping and got a really bad fever?" Her expression told him that she remembered, though not fondly. "This might be something like that, at least until the tow truck arrives."

"I knew the migraine was different this time. I just don't understand where this bug came from."

"You were around children all weekend. What do you expect?"

• • •

Blair slept in the backseat of the car while Dakota kept watch. She put her head in his lap and tried to ignore the gurgling in her tummy. Again, Dakota came to the rescue and gently rubbed the warm skin of her belly.

He wasn't sure how long he traced circles and lines over her stomach, but it was long enough for the sun to begin setting. He made a game out of spelling different words with his fingertips. In invisible ink, he wrote words like 'love' and 'Blair' and 'dildo'.

Occasional gurgles emanated from her belly. Dakota worried that Blair would bolt upright and tell him to pull over as if the day would repeat itself. But she stayed asleep. Her expression softened in her slumber.

Amazingly, she only woke up when Dakota moved to greet the tow truck driver. With the plan settled, he returned to the car.

"Honey." Dakota shook her awake. "We're going home now."

By the time Blair came to her senses, the car was ready to be hitched to the truck.

This was bad. Blair paced along the road, bitting her nails. She watched the car be lifted partially off its wheels. This was very bad. The driver spoke to Dakota and then went into the truck. Very very bad.

Sleep was good, but her belly did not like being awake. Suddenly the nausea came rushing back. The headache was gone, but the virus had nowhere near run its course.

"Babe, you ready?" Dakota called. She did not move. He came closer. "Honey, are you alright?"

With tears in her eyes, she shook her head. "I'm going to throw up in the car. I can't. I feel really sick again."

"Okay, okay, no worries." Dakota tried to calm her down. "I'll explain the situation to the driver and he'll understand."

Something wet and horrid squirmed in Blair's stomach; it was the dread of driving in a gross truck while feeling like this. But it was also the very real bug that filled her throat with nausea.

"Please don't make me do this, Kota." She covered her mouth to hide a wet burp, but she could not keep the moan from escaping. "I don't feel good."

She was losing colour by the second. Dakota felt like he was approaching a timid animal. "Okay, we can wait. It's fine."

"I don't like this. I don't wanna--urp--throw up again." She paced with her hand glued tightly to her mouth. Her legs shook and her back spasmed with the need to lurch forward. She felt the gag rising from the pit of her belly.

Dakota touched her arm. "Baby, just let yourself be sick. The man can wait. And if you need to throw up in the truck, just do it. I'll tip him well."

She shook her head.

"I'm right here. Nothing bad is going to happen." He started to gather her hair in his hand. "That's it. Lean over. I've got you." She moved her hand away and retched emptily. It was like her belly was shy as well. "Let it happen, Bee."

Maybe it was Dakota's hand on her back or the fact that she wanted this day to be over, but Blair gave in to her need. She relaxed her muscles just long enough for them to squeeze tight once more when the sick came rushing out of her mouth.

"Good job," Dakota said. "Five stars. Encore."

Blair gave an encore, not that she could help it. She would not have given it five stars.

In the end, Dakota's encouragements are what saved the day. She felt secure enough in her tummy to get in the tow truck. Dakota did indeed explain the situation just in case, but it was not needed. Nor was the bag needed. Thank God. The truck had three seats in the front. Blair hid herself behind Dakota who took the middle. It was a long drive, but a clean one.

"I'm sorry this happened, Blair," Dakota said softly when they were five minutes from their house. "How are you feeling, now?"

"Better maybe." She squeezed his arm. "Thanks for being the one thing in the universe that is right."

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