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lawslessons · 3 years

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A Healing Touch (Law x Reader)

“It just takes one touch, and then you’ll know in an instant that they’re the one for you. They’ll be the one that heals you...”

Hello, dears! I hope you all enjoy this! This is the letter N from the soulmate list, nursing! The premise is that a touch from your soulmate is enough to heal any ailment, any illness forever. Because of my school work load and some health issues, I may be publishing less just to take care of myself. Thank you for understanding. Love you all!

Modern! Au

Warnings: Terminal/Chronic illness, medical devices, mentions of death

Synopsis: It had been years since they had first found out they were sick. Another broken down van and another hospital trip for them to hear news they already knew before: Their illness was chronic and slowly becoming worse as time went on. But one faithful encounter with a certain doctor may be enough to change their path for the better.

“How many years has it been since we found out you had this? Seven? Eight?” Nami asked with a small sigh as she sat with her friend on the small chair that was by the hospital bed. Her friend smiled and shook their head.

“Ten,” Ten softly said as they looked up at the ceiling as the IV in their skin slowly inserted the fluids into their system. Their eyes were somewhat dull and the bags had become more prominent from the lack of sleep these past couple of days and the serious lack of nutrition.

“The feeding tube doesn’t look comfortable,” Nami winced as she looked at the tube inside of her friend’s nose. They laughed and smiled at Nami with an affectionate smile on their face.

“You’re right, it isn’t. But I need this, I haven’t been able to keep food down in days,” they pointed out as they looked at the monitors that were next to them and saw all the vitals they were presenting. “I’m sick of being in these damn hospitals all the time though,” They said as they rubbed their face in some frustration. “I want to be able to go back and explore and have fun with you and the gang again. This is just ridiculous at this point, I’m holding you guys back,” They frowned. Nami frowned with them and moved to hold onto their hand and squeeze it.

“No, no you’re not. You can’t control your illness, no one blames you for that. Besides, maybe we can finally find a doctor here that can actually give more answers inside of just giving you fluids,” Nami sighed, the woman read the look on her friend’s face and saw that they weren’t as confident as she was in having answers so soon for this illness.

“Maybe, I’m not sure,” they sighed. “It’s getting harder each time I’m stuck here,” they said as they looked at their wrist with the numerous hospital bands on it. Nami watched the light beginning to fade from her friend’s eyes and it broke her heart just a little more.

“We can look for another — “ Nami was quickly cut off by a knock on the door and someone opening the door.

“Is this (Y/N)?” A gruff and tired voice asked as he started to look through his tablet. Part of his face was obscured by his blue mask, but they were able to see some tattoos on his hands as he typed some vital work on his tablet. “I’m the immunology specialist here, I’m here on a special consult for your case,” He said as he checked the fluids being given to them and typed some more.

“What’s your name?” Nami asked.

“Doctor Law,” The man said as he stepped back from the vital machines and looked over at Nami and her friend for a brief second. “Alright, I’m starting you on a new course of antibiotics and we’re going to take some blood samples to get some tests run,” he said as he looked up from his tablet. “Any questions?” It didn’t look like he wanted to ask that, it seemed as if he was forced to ask that out of obligation for his job. They knew that, so they knew better than to ask, but Nami didn’t seem to know that.

“How do you know that you need to start them on something new? You didn’t even do an exam,” she pointed out.

“I don’t need to,” The doctor shrugged, and they sighed at that.

“Nami, it’s alright. It’s not like he’s going to find anything new about my condition anyways,” they sighed. But the moment the words left their lips, they regretted it. Law visibly scowled and he looked away from the two who were in the room with him.

“Excuse me. I need to check on some other patients now,” he said before he went to leave the room a bit rigidly. They both watched as Law left the room and winced when the door was closed a bit roughly behind him. Silence ensued for a moment before Nami began to snicker and laugh.

“Why did you say that? I don’t think it’s a good idea to make your doctor mad,” Nami teased. They rolled their eyes and smiled at their friend.

“It’s whatever, he know’s I’m right. No doctor has been able to figure this out, what makes him think he’s so special?” They asked. Nami had to admit that what they were saying was true, she had even seen this play out in other cities and other hospitals throughout the country. They continued to talk for a few more hours before a nurse came in to inform Nami that it was time for her to leave.

“I’ll see you in the morning, alright?” Nami assured her friend as the nurses changed her friend’s medication and wrote some notes down for the doctor who as working on her friend’s case.

“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” they smiled before they started to drift off to sleep from the heavy doses of the new medication they were now on. They slept for a while until they heard something fall down in their room. They stirred in their sleep and tiredly rubbed their eyes to look up at who was in their room. Their eyes met gray ones and for a moment, the world was still between them.

“Sorry, I dropped my pen,” Law softly said as he picked up his tablet’s pen and pocketed it and looked down at the person who was staring at him. “I’m sorry that I woke you up,” he said as he awkwardly took a step back.

“Why are you here?” They asked.

“I’m checking your levels. You had low sugar and your pulse was low too,” Law explained as he looked at the monitor again. “Your levels are leveling out now, but I’m going to need you to stay here for a few more days for observation. I looked through your medical history and it would put me at ease if you stayed here,” Law said as he looked down at them again. They smirked and shook their head.

“Put you at ease?” They teased. Law scoffed and looked away.

“You know what I mean. I’m waiting on some of your tests results to come back, you know by now how slow the labs can be,” Law casually said as he looked at his tablet again. They were surprised, was he really trying to make conversation with them?

“I do know, I’ve been in and out of hospitals for ten years,” They shared. Law looked over at them and seemed to be giving them more of his attention so they could elaborate. “I was pretty young, like fourteen? Fifteen? I can’t remember, the years are blending together at this point. Anyways, I was just at school and suddenly I wasn’t. Suddenly I couldn’t stomach milk, gluten, anything. And then I felt like I was constantly on fire, I found out I was having an allergic reaction to the air freshener in my house. And when we went to the hospital, we found out that my organs were starting to shut down from how intense the reaction was. More than me being scared, my friends were terrified. My best friend Nami cried so much, we missed prom together with our other friends because of this,” They shared. And before they even knew it, Law pulled up a chair next to them and they spent the rest of the night talking, they honestly would’ve talked longer if it wasn’t for Law’s pager going off.

“I need to take this, I’ll see you later then,” He said before he had to stand up and leave. For the time they were talking to one another, they didn’t feel sick. But the second he was out of the room, their stomach started to turn and churn rather uncomfortably inside of them. They tried to get as much rest as they could before Nami and the rest of the crew came in with masks on.

“Hello! Did you sleep well?” Nami asked as she sat down next to her friend.

“Well — “ “Oi, there was someone weird standing by the door,” Luffy said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and Zoro pointed at the door.

“Was he tall? Dark hair and with tattoos?” They asked, this emphasis on details didn’t seem to slip by Nami or Robin for that matter.

“Yeah, he was,” Usopp said while they felt their face grow a little more flushed.

“Why don’t you guys go see what’s in the cafeteria while me and Robin talk to them?” Nami suggested. And before anyone could protest, Luffy began to laugh and grab his friend’s by their hands and drag them out of the room to check out the hospital food. “Ok, so what happened after I left? I missed a lot,” Nami pouted while Robin chuckled next to her.

“I didn’t sleep that much last night,” they began before explaining with an embarrassed smile what they and Law had talked about in the night. By the end, Nami had a big smile plastered across her face.

“You like your doctor, don’t you?” Nami teased.

“Hush! No I don’t. I haven’t even known him that long,” they defended.

“I don’t believe that is a good criteria to measure it by,” Robin said with a small smile. Nami nodded in agreement before she pointed an accusatory finger at her friend.

“You’re avoiding the truth because you’re scared! You like him, and that’s ok to admit,” Nami tried to assure them. They looked a little hesitant, they brought their legs up to their chest and sighed.

“I am scared, I will admit that. I’m scared because I haven’t liked someone since I’ve gotten sick and I’m worried about what may happen if I were to one day… you know…” The trio went silent at that and all of their minds began to spin.

“Maybe that won’t happen,” Robin hopefully said, being hopeful like this wasn’t like her, so Nami knew that her friend had more to explain. “There’s this phenomenon where soulmates are able to cure each other of their ailments when they’re finally together,” she explained. Their jaw dropped and they quickly looked away.

“First you say I like him and now you’re saying soulmates? Isn’t that a bit much?” They softly asked. “I mean, I don’t think that’s possible, things like that happen in fairytales to royals, and I am not a royal. I am a regular person who is sick and dying,” a wave of sadness dropped over all of them at their words.

“Dying…?” Nami found herself asking her dear friend. They looked up at the ceiling and sighed softly.

“I’m tired of fighting,” They admitted. They heard the gasp of shock from Nami and could feel the frown from Robin, but that didn’t deter them. “There’s no point if there isn’t a cure. Every time I’m forced to be in a hospital, I get better for a few weeks and then I’m back and I’m worse than before,” their hands grabbed at the blankets as tears began to well into their eye’s. “I’m so tired of all this pain, it never ends…”

A few hours later, Nami and the rest of the group left when a nurse scolded them all for being too loud. When their friends were gone, they found themselves stuck in their own thought again. With their knees at their chest, a flood of negative emotions dropped over them and threatened to drown them before a voice seemed to pull them out of the water.

“I got your lab tests back,” He said as he closed the door behind himself and moved to be standing at the edge of his bed. “As you probably expect, the results aren’t good,” They scoffed at that and turned away from him. Why did he have to be so blunt? Couldn’t he read the situation. “But, I can do something about then,” Law shared as he tried to get them to look at him. He sighed and moved back to be a safe distance away before he pulled his mask down. When they saw his full face, their face went a soft shade of pink. Of course he had to be even more attractive, how was this even possible? “Are you listening to me?“ Law scowled, they quickly snapped out of their little day dream and nodded their head.

“Yes.”

“Anyways,” he sighed in some annoyance. “I need you to trust me,” He then said.

“Why? I don’t even know you that well,” They pointed out. Even though they talked all night, that wasn’t near enough time to get to know who he really was.

“You don’t know me? So what? I need you to trust in my medical skills,” Law sounded a little disappointed but they didn’t seem to care as much. After their talk with Robin and Nami earlier, their mind had been in one spot the entire night.

“And what if I refuse to go through with your treatment?” They asked.

“Your prognosis isn’t good,” Law looked dumbfound that they were even considering refusing his treatment, his advice. “I can only promise you weeks. Maybe a month.” They went quiet at that. The sobering thought of dying from their illness hit them. They didn’t even realize that it had gotten this bad until now.

“A month is all I need,” They finally said as they looked up at Law with a serious and content expression on their face.

“What?” Law asked in a small whisper. Were they being serious? A month? Was that all they really wanted?

“What is living if I’m stuck living in a hospital for another ten years? I would rather live one more month on the road with my friends. Our van is almost fixed, soon we can hit the road again. When it’s done, I want to leave here and live out the rest of my life,” They stated. Law looked absolutely appalled by what they were saying, while he never got involved with patient matters, he couldn’t help but feel drawn to them.

“No.” Law stated. His hands balled into fists and he glared down at the person in front of him. “You didn’t even listen to what I had to say, do you want to die that badly? Why?” Law asked. They didn’t seem to deny that, they knew that they were rejected Law’s suggestion without even listening to him.

“Do you think this is living? Laying down in a hospital bed? Not being able to eat? Crying constantly because of the pain? This isn’t living, this is hell. I’m in hell, Law,” They bluntly stated. “I just want to see heaven even if it’s only for a month, I’d give anything for that,” They admitted with tears freely flowing from their cheeks at this point. That caught Law off guard, he wasn’t expecting there to be tears. He never knew how to handle people who were crying.

“You’re right, that isn’t living,” Law agreed, “But I said I could help you, I just need you to trust me,” Law said as he put his mask on again and moved closer to them. “Do you think you can grow to trust me?” Law asked as he looked down at the patient in their bed. They looked up at Law and felt more tears burst out of them, they were overwhelmed with all the information they were given in one night.

“I’ll try,” They mumbled through their tears. Law sighed in relief and moved to stand back by the door again. If anything, they were only going through this just for Law and to appease him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Law said before he left.

The next day, the rigid treatment began. It involved Law personally giving injections to them along with fluids and more medications. He spent most of his time in their room over the next few days, and he even had to admit that he had grown attached to them the more time he spent around them. This was bad, wasn’t it? Even the nurses were talking about it.

“Doctor Law is going in there again.”

“I heard he was only here for a consult, but now he’s staying! Why is that?”

“Do you think he likes them?”

Law did his best to ignore all the words from his coworkers, but the more they spoke, the more Law reflected on his actions and the more he realized he was falling for them. Shit.

Days turned into weeks and soon they were two weeks into the process and they seemed to be doing much better than they previously were doing. And Law was too. In the nights, he would grab himself a coffee and go off to the room where they always were in and talked to them about his day at work and would hear about the shenanigans that were happening with their friends. He learned about their whole crew, Luffy was the head of their adventure and then there was Zoro, Sanji and so many others that sounded interesting. They even had a medical student traveling with them named Chopper, it sounded so fascinating to him.

“So, what’s the prognosis now? Think I’ll be better soon?” They asked Law with a hopeful look on their face. Law felt his chest tighten as they began to smile at the poor doctor.

“You should be better soon, you’re doing really good with your blood work and soon we’ll be able to give you real food,” Law explained. “What would you want to eat first?” Law found himself asking before a long conversation began between the two of them. His heart felt so, so warm, he could feel it beating even behind his eyes when he looked at them.

“Law?” They asked, “Is something wrong?” God, stop looking at me like that, Law pleaded in his head with no avail.

“No, no, you’re all good,” he assured them.

While they were at first making some progress health wise, the results that came in today were worrying Law.

“How are they that low? Why is their body rejecting the medicine now?” Law asked himself as he looked over the scans. This continued on for another three days. More tests, more worrying results and more worrying signs from them. Slurred speech, low energy, it was getting harder for them to breathe too and it was terrifying Law. Their friends were even more worried.

“Tra-guy, what’s happening?” Luffy asked with a small frown, he looked ta his friend through the window that was there and then at the taller doctor.

“I…I don’t know,” Law finally admitted. “I don’t know.” He felt like a massive failure, after all he made a promise to them to make them better. “You guys should go home now, it’s getting late. I’ll call you if I have any updates,” Law said as he looked into the window and sighed. He knew it was a mistake to get this attached to them. He knew it was farther than just being attached, he had fallen for them. Hard. It was late in the night when alarms started to blare near his area.

“Code Blue!” A nurse shouted as she stared to run with a crash cart to an all too familiar room. Law felt his heart drop while he was running, he slowed down and stopped in front of the room.

“Doctor Law! We need your help!” Another nurse shouted as she grabbed his hand and dragged the stunned doctor into the room. Law felt like he was having an out of body experience none of this felt real to him.

“Give me the paddles, now!” Law shouted as he was handed the paddles and quickly got them activated. He placed them on their chest and took in a deep breath, “Clear!” Their chest rose with the shock but their heart was still stagnant. “Charge to one-fifty!” He ordered as he looked at their tired face, God he couldn’t lose them. He couldn’t. “Clear!” Another shock, and then another and another. Soon he had to be pulled back by the nurses to stop with the paddles. “No, no no!” Law shouted as he looked down at them, the person he fell for. The nurses started to clear the room and soon Law was left alone with them.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry,” Law whispered out as he looked them over, tears rolling down his cheeks. “I love you…” He finally said through his tears. His hand went to their cold cheek and he gently caressed the smooth skin. The second his skin touched theirs for the first time, sparks shot through him. Under his fingers, their skin began to warm up and soon their heart began to beat once again. Law pulled back in shock as they seemingly come back to life.

“Y-you’re alive?” Law said in disbelief as he watched them gasp for air and cough.

“What happened...?” They asked, Law laughed and quickly moved to hug them close to his chest on the bed as tears continued to stream down his cheeks like a pitiful river.

“I thought I lost you,” Law said as he finally pulled back and gained his composure back. “You can’t get rid of me that easily,” they tiredly teased.

“I don’t want to,” Law said after a minute, they both looked into each other’s eyes and felt the sparks once again.

“I don’t want to either,” They admitted as they leaned in and rested their forehead against Law’s. Law softly smiled and gently ran his fingers through their hair. Law looked into their eyes and slowly leaned in to kiss them. Their lips connecting together felt so natural and raw and law began to feel his heart speed up even after he had broken their kiss.

“I need to run some tests now,” Law said as he gently cupped their cheek in his hand and smiled. “I’ll be back soon, I need to tell the nurses,” He said as he pressed a small kiss on their temple and moved to get some more of the tests run.

“What do you mean they’re cured?” Nami asked in disbelief as she looked at their friend who was standing, walking and acting carefree.

“We don’t know how it happened, but they’re all better now,” One of the doctors said in some disbelief.

“All thanks to Law,” They chuckled as they moved to stand by Nami and smiled.

“Oh! Speaking of him, aren’t you going to grab him so he can come with us?” Nami asked while Luffy nodded his head.

“Yeah! I want Tra-guy to come with us,” Luffy pouted. They laughed at that and smiled, for the first time in weeks, months, they were feeling better. And this was a different kind of better, a cured sort of better. They went over to one of the nurses and smiled at them.

“Is Doctor Law here?” They asked, the nurse looked at them with a bit of an uneasy expression on their face.

“Him? Oh, he left early this morning, I think he has to return back to his other hospital,” the nurse explained. They stood there with a shocked and hurt look on their face. He left? Why did he leave? Why would he want to leave? They silently nodded their head and moved to go back to their friends, but they did their best to smile. Did Law lie to them? Was he just messing with them this entire time?

“He left, but it’s ok. I think it’s time for us to leave too,” They said as they started to lead the way out of the hospital. The group of friends all looked at one another with an unsure look on their face, but they knew better than to question them about it. When they went outside, Franky stood by their nice van with a big smile on his face.

“All ready to hit the road again?” Franky asked, the group all did their best to smile with him. The group of friends looked at their now healed friend and watched as they did their best to smile/

“Yes, I think — “ They were cut off when a tan, warm hand was placed on their shoulder.

“You going to leave without me?” Law whispered to them. They quickly turned over their shoulder and looked at him in shock.

“Law! You’re here! I thought you left,” They said as he pulled Law into a heartfelt hug. Law awkwardly smiled and rubbed their back before he pulled away and gently ruffled their hair.

“I did leave, I left the hospital, I’m taking a small break for now, I need to make sure that you’re doing alright and that nothing will happen to you,” Law explained as a small blush appeared on his cheeks. He moved to used his fuzzy hat to try and hide it, but they stopped him by placing a hand on his cheek. They smiled and gently moved to press a small kiss on his cheek that left the man breathless.

“Come with us, Law,” They said before they looked back at the rest of the group, everyone behind them smiled and seemed to be on board with this idea. Law looked at them all and watched as they all came forward and tried to bring him in closer.

“Yes! A new friend!” Luffy cheered.

“Welcome to our team, Tra-guy,” Sanji smiled as he stubbed out his cigarette on the concrete. They held onto both of Law’s hands and squeezed them with this new found confidence and strength. It was all thanks to Law, they both looked into each other’s eyes and smiled at one another and knew this was the beginning of something special, a new life together. Not only that, but their crew as well, them being so accepting and warm to him made his heart clench in an amazing way, he couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe he could be this happy.

“Thanks,” Law smiled as he squeezed their hand, he could get used to these guys. Anything for them.

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dailydaydreamings · 4 years

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Best in the Worst Way, Part 8

The Reader has been having a love affair with two Avengers and gets caught in a sticky situation. She’s suddenly faced with life decisions she’s not prepared for, including who to love, what she wants, and is this all worth it?

The very first thing you did after opening the package was to throw it into a drawer. Wrapping and all.

It would have been the sweetest gift had it come from Bucky. Coming from Steve, it made you feel a little queasy.

The rest of the morning you stated vaguely at your screen, mulling over your relationships. When Steve finally knocked on your door, you barely managed, “Come in.”

“Hey,” he greeted. You nodded in acknowledgment, folding your hands in front on you on the desk. “Did you get my gift?” He handed you your tea, clearly looking for the frame.

You swallowed the lump that had formed in your throat. “Steve sit,” you motioned at a chair.

Frowning, he did as he was told.

“I did see it, the thing is Steve, it feels a little wrong to put it on my desk,” you admitted.

His reaction was immediate, complete confusion and utter bewilderment, “Why.”

You could feel a burning sensation in the back of your throat as you started, quite hoarsely, “We’re not together anymore, Steve.”

He threw his hands in the air, “And I can’t declare that I love my children.”

You pursed your lips, trying to compose yourself. “Yet, I would still have to look at it everyday. And it was clearly meant for me.”

He stood, pacing in front of you, “Is it so wrong that I still love you.”

You closed your eyes at his admission, trying to get control of yourself. You felt a tear slide down your face and you quickly brushed it away.

“You still love me too,” he crooned.

You opened your eyes, he stood in front of you, with his hands braced on the back of the chair.

“I do,” you said as another tear leaked down your cheek. “But I’m crying because I’m carrying two babies inside of me who are fucking with my hormones and I feel like I’m losing control. It’s been over for us since you walked out when I told you I’m pregnant.”

You kept a cool head, despite the tears now freely streaming down your face. Fuck Steve. How dare he make you cry.

He looked so hurt by your admission, like he was closing into himself, trying to make himself smaller.

You squared your jaw, grabbing for a pen to fiddle with. “Need I remind you that you told me to get an abortion after I’d already started picking names for my children, which would cause me to have to pick between you and Bucky? That I didn’t want to pick, but you forced my hand so I chose. And I didn’t pick you.”

He flinched at your words, before whispering, “But I changed my mind, y/n.”

You snapped the pen in half and stood.

“You walked out when I told you about your children, and then didn’t speak to us for weeks. You got into a fist fight with Bucky. You told me to get an abortion. You’ve been nothing but cold with Bucky and flirty with me. You still want me to pick you, but the only your getting back on my life is by making things right with him so we can all be together again. Get the fuck out of my office.”

He blinked in surprise, but didn’t say anything as he left. He didn’t even look back. Weeks of pent up emotion had come up all at once and you were a sobbing mess on your office floor.

You managed to text Tony that you were going home early and Bucky to ask him to drive you home.

The next two weeks passed in a blur. You and Bucky had started prepping the apartment for the babies and you’d been extremely tired.

At 15 weeks, Bucky was so excited to tell you the babies were the size of apples. Doctor Lawrence told you they were definitely bigger than apples, as developed as 15 week fetuses, but just bigger.

You were starting to show too in tighter clothing. Not a lot, but enough.

Enough that when you looked in the mirror and cradled your belly, it was all so much more real. There’s so much more to do before they come, and then, you need to care for them, somehow.

Steve had stopped meeting you at the entrance in the morning and evening, and bringing you tea. The only time you saw him was in passing and at your ultrasound. At the latter, he didn’t say a single word, and left as soon as it was over.

You felt terribly, of course, but you tried to remind yourself it was for the best.

Everything changed the day you walked into the building and directly across from your office was a giant chalkboard. You and Bucky frowned at each other in confusion before walking up to Tony who had a piece of chalk in his hand.

“What’s this?” You asked, but you very quickly realized what it was.

“A little betting poll,” Tony said.

Indeed.

In swirling text it said, Guess the Sex. Below that, there were three columns: Two Boys; One of Each; Two Girls. Below each header was room for one to write their name and the amount they were betting.

Tony had written his name under two boys for fifty thousand dollars.

Steve had also participated it seemed and had written him name under Two Girls for two hundred dollars.

“Are you fucking kidding me Tony?” You asked, gesturing to the absurd amount of money.

“I’m trying to get people to play,” he threw up his hands in the air. “Besides, I have a feeling.”

You rolled your eyes.

Bucky took the chalk from Tony, “Well so do I,” he said, writing his name under One of Each for five hundred.

You snatched the chalk from him and said, “You’re wrong.” You put your own name down under Two Boys for a thousand. “It would only be my luck to have a house filled with boys.”

Tony laughed, “Thank you, mama!” He held out his hand for a high five, which you obliged. “You are finding out the sex, right?”

You looked at Bucky and he shrugged. You looked back at Tony and said, “Maybe.”

His protests followed you as you walked into your office, and then the fun began.

Naturally, Natasha came by your office first. She took one look at the wall and wrote her name under Two Girls. She strutted into your office and demanded to know when you’d know the sex.

You laughed, leaning back in your chair, “I don’t know, Nat. I had my last ultrasound yesterday and I don’t even know if I want to know.”

She shook her head and declared, “You want to know.” Before promptly leaving your office.

Bruce was next. He came into ask you for something, and took a seat in front of you. “So how are you feeling?”

You smiled, “Pregnant.”

He laughed, “I’m honestly surprised we’re having this conversation.”

You bit your lip, so we’re you. A year ago, this would have been the last predicament you saw yourself in.

“But it’s good!” Bruce assured you. “Babies are natural.”

You laughed. “I’m actually really excited, Bruce. I wasn’t. But I am now.”

“That’s really good,” he grinned. “You know I saw this documentary about monitoring babies development after birth until a year and I —”

“Bruce,” you interrupted, “I love you, but no. Definitely no.”

“Right!” He stood up. “Of course not. It’s not even my area of expertise.”

You chucked as he turned towards the door and jumped in surprise at the chalk board.

“Oh!” He exclaimed. “When did this get here?”

“This morning,” you called after him.

He examined it for a moment before writing his name under Two Boys.

The rest of the day went by with various coworkers stopping by to write their names on the board. Most were either for two boys or one of each. Tony’s large bet was certainly getting people to play.

Clint walked by around the time you were packing up, a sucker in his mouth.

“Nice Tony,” he said, picking up the chalk and writing his name under Two Girls.

“You seriously think I’m having two girls?” You asked coming up beside him to look at the board.

“God no,” he said. “I think you’re having two boys. But there’s less people over here, bigger pay out if I’m somehow right.”

You blinked in surprised. He wasn’t wrong there was only 5 names unde Two Girls for the fourteen on the board. He’s stand to make large amount of money if he was right.

———

“So two boys?” Bucky asked as he made dinner and you sat on the counter.

“I have no doubt in my mind,” you said as you scrolled through Pinterest on your tablet for baby room ideas.

“But don’t you want a girl?” He asked.

You nodded, “But I have a feeling we’re having two boys.”

He paused, as if in thought. “I think we’re having at least one boy. I’m kinda scared of having a boy though,” he admitted.

You frowned, putting your tablet down, “Why?”

He shrugged, “I know girls are tough but there’s something that is so scary to me about a boy taking after me.”

You stroked your belly abscent mindedly, “I hope they take after you, Buck.”

He sighed, “I know none of it was my fault, I try to tell myself that everyday. But babe, what I can do...”

You hopped off the counter and came to wrap your arms around his waist. It had been a long journey with him. When you’d first come to work for the Avengers, one of the first things you’d done was to book Bucky’s first therapy session.

Nightmares and bad days had followed, as well as two years and counting for struggling to find the right doses of medications. That at least was getting better, right after you’d started sleeping together he was out on a particularly nasty dosage that made him both violent and quick to anger.

It didn’t change that he was the best man you knew.

“The babies will be so lucky to have you,” you murmured. “To teach them, to love them, to protect them. They’ll take after you, but only in good ways. So you better get used to thinking about two boys taking after you because there’s gonna be two of them.”

He laughed, leaning over to kiss the top of your head. “You’re so sure.”

“Yep.” You pecked his lips. “Finish this, I’m starving.”

He laughed, “What do you want to do tonight?”

“Survivors on tonight,” you suggested, pulling out plates to set the table.

“Good choice,” he said.

You were just getting ready to sit down when Bucky’s phone rang. You didn’t complain as he picked it up and said, “It’s Steve.”

Pursing your lips, you picked up your own phone. Sure enough, Tony had texted: Barnes and Rogers are being sent on an assignment. Sorry :/ Come over if you’re lonely?

“It’s for work,” you said. “Pick up.” Because you still weren’t sure if he would.

He rolled his eyes and left the room. You picked at your dinner as you texted Tony back, Picking out furniture for the babies’ room and watching Survivor. My schedule is packed. Thanks though.

He texted back right away: Tomorrow night you’re coming for dinner then. And then, Odds they kill each other?

You smirked and replied with, 100% How long are they gone?

“I have to be gone for at least a week,” Bucky said coming back into the room. “Maybe more.”

You frowned. “Where are you going?”

“Didn’t say,” he pulled a takeout container from the cupboard for his dinner. “He’s picking me up in five and he’ll fill me in. He said to pack for the cold, whatever that means.”

You sighed. “Ok so I’ll make sure my next ultrasound is scheduled for when you get back.”

He shook his head, walking towards the bedroom. You followed. “Don’t skip one because I’m not here. We need to make sure they’re doing okay.”

You knew he was right, but for him to miss it...

You sat on the bed as you watched him pack, “Please don’t get into any fights with Steve while you’re out there.”

He rolled his eyes scooping clothes into his bag, “It’s not me you have to worry about.”

You pursed your lips, you weren’t so sure about that.

He saw your worried expression and came over to peck your lips. “It’ll all be fine, I promise. We’ll go, and when I get back, we’ll paint the babies rooms and you’ll have your baby shower,” he brushed a strand of hair behind your ear. “And everything will be fine.”

You weren’t too worried about the mission. Him and Steve killing each other was another story.

You still forced a smile into your face and kissed him properly. Both arms wrapping around his neck, kissing him like you needed it to breathe.

He chuckled, breaking free, “I can feel my phone buzzing, Steve’s here.”

You groaned but still followed him out the door. Steve was parked outside and raised a hand to wave as you walked out.

Bucky put his bag in the trunk and wrapped his arms around you, “A week.”

You nodded, “One week.”

He kissed you again, “You take care of my babies.”

You smiled, “Stay safe baby. I love you.”

He nodded, kissing you one more time. With so much fire and passion you wanted to take him back to bed. But you just kissed back harder and when he broke it, you let him go.

The window was open as he climbed into the car, you leaned forward, looking Steve dead in the eye as you said, “I don’t care if you two have issues, you take care of each other and you both come home safe.”

Because the reality was, it didn’t matter if they hated or loved each other. All you cared about was that they came home safe.

Tags (are open!)

@booktease21 @sexyvixen7 @just-the-hiddles @fading-mentality-bouquet @a--1--1--3 @broco8 @yougottalovefandoms @hailqueenconquer @tazzi-baby @imaginebeinlovedbyme @amiets2 @prettyblueskylark

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marvelsbetch · 4 years

Text

Peter Parker’s ultimate Bithrday gift.

Pairings: Tony/Pepper, Peter/Harley

Warning: Metions of death and sad boi Peter.

-Peter POV-

Today is the day. My 16th birthday, my first birthday with no family. My parents died when I was 6, Uncle was killed when I was 14 and Aunt May a few weeks ago. I have no biological family to celebrate with, granted I lived at Avengers tower (Mr Stark was 'fostering' me so I didn't have to go to a home) but none of them knew my birthday. I feel tears threaten to fall as I think back to my birthdays of previous years, parties, zoo trips, presents and think about how I won't get any of that this year.

I sit for a minute, trying to get my self together, before leaving my bedroom and prepare to pretend nothing is wrong. This'll be interesting.

-Tony's POV-

"Sir, it seems Mr. Parker is in slight distress." F.R.I.D.A.Y announced as I was in my workshop preparing the project me and Peter were gonna start.

"Why?" I asked putting the blue prints on his desk.

"I believe it is his birthday today." F.R.I.D.A.Y informed making me drop the pen in my hand.

It's the kids birthday? Why didn't I know about that? What do I get him?

A lightbulb went off in my head as I thought of the perfect present. It was something I had been meaning to do for a while but never found the right chance to give it to him. Now's the perfect time.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y make reservations at the Thai place Peter likes for everyone. Then inform everyone to be there for 7:00pm but keep it a secret from the kid." I instructed frantically searching for the present.

"Who do you mean by everyone?" F.R.I.D.A.Y asked with slight sass. Can an A.I have sass?

"Me, Peter, Steve, Pepper, Bucky, Rhody, Clint, Nat, Happy, Bruce, Wanda, Pietro, Thor, Loki, Sam, Harley, Morgan, Scott, Hope, Cassie, Strange, Shuri, T'Challa, the guardians, Danvers, Clint's family, Ned and MJ." I listed off hoping I didn't forget anyone.

"Done sir. Everyone has been invited and told not to tell Mr. Parker." F.R.I.D.A.Y told me. Yay, this could work.

After a few seconds I started to make my way up to the main living area where I knew most people would be. Peter was eating a bowl of cereal with Morgan on the couch, Steve was drawing in his sketch book, Pepper was just behind the door yelling down the phone at someone (I'd hate to be them), Nat was punching Clint for Hod knows what, Loki was sat in the corner reading a book near the window, Thor was trying to get someone to play an outdoor game with him, Harley was in the process of trying to remove cremated toast from the toaster without hurting himself and Bruce was on his tablet looking over Chemical formulas. Normal morning for the most part.

"Daddy!" Morgan yelled putting her cereal down and running towards me. I swiftly picked her up in my arms and cuddled her for a moment.

"Hey Kiddo, go finish your breakfast then I need your help with something." I told her before putting her back on the couch to finish her cereal.

"Hey dad, what've you got planned today?" Harley asked putting two more pieces of bread in the toaster.

"Nothing much but I need you in the lab after breakfast. You and Morgan need to help me with a decision." I told him.

The decision was what else to get Peter from him and Morgan, I didn't want my gift to be the only one he got but from the looks of everyone else they were preparing to go out for the day. Probably to buy Peter a gift, we all work best last minute anyway.

"Cool, what decision?" Harley asked.

"I'll tell you later. Top secret stuff and all that, make sure to check your phone." I reminded him before forcing the toast back up to stop burning.

"Coolio." He spoke and started to butter his toast.

"Hey Tony, we're gonna go out for the day. Don't know when we'll be back." I heard Steve inform.

I turned around and saw him, Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Clint, Nat and Pietro stood with jackets and bags on.

"Cool, don't cause too much damage." I told them receiving a few laughs before they headed towards the elevator and leaving.

A few seconds later I received a text message from Sam asking, 'What does a super human want on their 16th birthday?'. I smirked a little before responding with 'something sciencey or spider themed'.

"Hey Pete, you got anything planned for the day?" I asked as he walked into the kitchen to clean his now empty bowl.

"Nope, probably just hanging in my room or the lab if that's okay." He spoke.

"Course it is, why don't you get your daily training session in now and we can spend the rest of the day in the lab." I told him trying to buy myself some time with Harley and Morgan.

"Cool, I'll go now then. See you in about 2 hours." He said before walking off to his room to get ready.

"Okay kids, what do we get Peter for his birthday, we're gonna have to be quick so we can get it in time." I informed and dragged Harley to the living room to speak with Morgan as well.

"Well, I'll get him a card and some cheesy boyfriend thing, make sense for me. Why don't I take Morgan out with me and we can buy it out." Harley offered.

"You're a genius, I knew there was a reason I liked you. Morgan, go ask Mommy to get you dressed and ready to go out with Harley. Harley, take a shower, you smell like teenage angst." I complained while taking Morgan's empty bowl to the kitchen.

"Come on Morgan lets get ready. Also, Tony, are you giving Peter the thing tonight and do you want to get him anything else?" Pepper asked picking Morgan up.

"Yeah, a car but we probably won't be able to get him one on such short notice." I realised.

"I'll see what I can do while these are out. Make sure you respond to people's messaged otherwise this won't go as planned." Pepper warned before leaving the room closely followed by Harley. This left me with Thor, Loki and Bruce.

"Is the Man of Spider's birthday today? Why were none of us informed?" Thor asked.

"Because none of us knew until today. Anyway, we're going out for a meal tonight at 7:00 so if you want to buy him something then I'd advise going now to get something good. Also, do not tell him anything, he doesn't know that we know." I warned Thor knowing he's not the best secret keeper.

"Why not?" He asked offended.

"Because its a surprise to buffoon. Now, let's go and buy him a present. What to misguardians want for their birthdays?" Loki asked putting his book back on the shelf.

"Just get him a card and and some funny small things, not weaponry or armour." I informed the two gods before they disappeared.

"I'm gonna head off to. Might get him some stuff for the lab or his car since you're getting him one. See you later Tony." Bruce spoke before putting his shoes and jacket on.

"Bye Bruce, you're by far the one I trust the most." I told him as he left.

-At 5:00pm-

Me and Peter had been in the lab all day with out any hiccups. Well, he was wondering as to why my phone was constantly going off with texts from everyone we knew. Everyone who I invited informed me that they were able to make it and planned to be at the restaurant for 6:50 so when we got there at 7:00 he was truly surprised by his whole family.

"Hey kid, why don't you go and put something fancy on. We're going out for a meal." I told him putting my tools down to look at another photo sent by Thor. He was really excited to buy things for his 'Misguard Nephew'.

"Why? What's the occasion?" Peter asked tensing up a little.

"Nothing much, just thought it was time we all went out somewhere, as a family. Me, You, Pepper, Harley and Morgan." I told him smiling.

"Okay then, what time are we leaving?" He asked putting his tools away, the kids so neat.

"6:30 so I'd get a move on if I was you." I informed.

"Kay, see you in a bit." He said and ran off upstairs to shower.

Just as he left the room I got a call from Pepper.

"Hey Pep, did you get it?" I asked referring to the Mercedes-Benz we had decided to get him.

"Yeah I did, it's in the garage now, are we driving it to the restaurant or not? I need to know if we need to hide it." Pepper asked.

"Now, we'll take the limo and give him the cars in the restaurant. Don't bother hiding it, I'm sure he won't notice." I informed her as I started to make my way upstairs to get dressed for the night.

"Okay. Bye, Love you." She said making me smile.

"Love you to." I said before hanging up.

-6:30pm-

We were all ready and waiting in the garage for Happy to come and pick us up, he had also gone and bought Peter a birthday gift with Harley and Morgan. Me, Pepper, Peter and Harley were in suits while Morgan was in one of her 'princess dresses'.

Happy soon pulled up in the Limo and opened the door for us all to get in. I had given Steve the presents and cards off us so Peter didn't question what why we had a massive back with us and realise why we were going out.

-Outside the restaurant-

Once we pulled up to the restaurant we got out of the car and Harley put his hands over Peter's eyes so he couldn't see everyone in the restaurant. This is supposed to be a surprise after all.

We slowly made our way in as everyone got ready to yell at Peter. As soon as Harley removed his hands from Peter's eyes we all screamed 'surprise' and Peter got all red and his eyes started to water.

-Peter POV-

When everyone yelled surprise at me I got a little overwhelmed and embarrassed from all the attention. Everyone's eyes were on me but after a second or two I realised everyone was here and started to get a little chocked up.

"Oh Baby, come 'ere." Harley cooed and pulled me into his chest for a hug as tears started falling down my face. Soon Tony and Morgan were joining the hug and everyone was concerned.

"Pete, what's wrong?" Tony asked pulling away.

"I didn't thing I would be celebrating my birthday this year because I've not got a family. How did you all even know?" I asked as tears continued to fall down my face.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y told me this morning. That's why they were all out, they were getting everything ready for this and buying gifts. And you do have a family, we all love you so much and will support you through everything thing. We're you're family Pete." Tony told me pulling me into a solo hug before giving me back to Harley.

"LETS FEAST!" Thor yelled diffusing the emotional moment by making everyone laugh.

"Birthday Boy goes first." Harley announced and pushed me towards a massive buffet of all my favourite foods, most things on the menu to be honest. I hope the cooks got a bit tip for preparing all of this.

After food and pleasantries I was placed in a chair and faced with a mountain of presents ranging from too big to fit on the table to so small I could barley see them.

Most people were fighting to get me to open their presents first which amused me before an order was decided.

After almost an hour of opening presents and cards I was almost all the way through the pile with only Harley, Morgan's and Tony's left. Here's what everyone got me:

Steve- A pair of spider man high tops

Bucky- A silly string gun set

Clint (and family)- Fart bombs and bottles of liquid ass. (Tony confiscated them immediately)

Pietro- A new gym bag and clothes for working out

Wanda- School supplies (I always loose them, no matter what I'm doing)

Scott, Hope and Cassie- A FREAKING DRONE!!!

Rhodey- Beats headphones

Sam- A photography camera

Shuri and T'Challa- A vibranium bow staff (again, confiscated immediately)

Guardians- Vinyls of my three favourite almbums

Thor- a Spider key chain and joke spiders to put around the penthouse (the joke spiders were confiscated as well as Tony and Pepper despise them)

Loki- A vinyl player (upon hearing of the guardians presents) and a spell book (also confiscated)

Nat- Spy glasses that record everything and check to see if people have weapons (I will never take those off)

Bruce- Some car fresheners and a steering wheel cover, designed with a spider web (don't know why, I have no car)

Carol- Some cool alien things from various planets (will be studying those for a while)

Ned- The millennium falcon and three funko! Pop characters (Rick, Morty and Mr. Meeseeks)

MJ- A what do you meme party game

Happy- An Eiffel Tower Lego set.

"Oh my god guys, this is all amazing. How did you manage to get this stuff on such short notice?" I asked baffled as Happy started to load the car with the presents.

"It's New York and we had the whole day. Some of us also had access to other planets." Rhodey explained.

"You're not finished yet anyway. Here's Morgan's present and card, she picked them both out herself." Tony spoke handing me a rather large present wrapped in iron man wrapping paper. Wonder who did that.

The card was a big brother card making me smile widely as I started opening the present. Inside was a Star Wars pin set, a doctor who blanket and a tardis hoodie in XL. The size was probably chosen by Harley, I love oversized sweaters.

"Thanks Morgan. I love it." I told her giving her a big hug as Harley put the blanket around me, he knows me too well.

"Open mine." Harley demanded and shoved two gifts infront of me along with a card.

The card was a bit inappropriate, it started on the front 'Happy Birthday, scratch bellow to see your gift'. I scratch where it told me to and underneath it stated b**wjob. Tony glared as Harley smirked and I just went red.

"Just open the gifts now." Harley told me and placed the card face down on the table.

"After the card I don't think I want to." I spoke making me laugh a little bit still shove the boxes in my face. "Fine, Fine, just give me some space." I said pushing them away from my face.

In the first box was a supernatural backpack with patches on it, three pin sets (one of Spider-Man, one of iron man and one of supernatural), a pair of Sam and Dean sneakers and a Castiel Key chain. In the second box was a doctor who mug, a pair of rainbow heat high-top sneakers, a chord bracelet that says 'gay' in morse code, another bracket that says 'f*ck off' in morse code, a panic! At the disco long sleeve shirt, a high hopes tank top and finally, a panic! At the disco hoodie in XL.

"Aside from the card, I love it all. Thanks so much." I told him smiling before pulling him in for a quick kiss.

"Hey, no PDA in front of Morgan, how many times do I have to tell you. And you still have two more presents. Here's one." Tony announced handing me a small box from his pocket.

I opened it and inside were keys. Car keys. Car keys to a Mercedes-benz. Holy shit balls.

"Pepper went out today and bought you your very first car, we'll get you lessons soon but at least you don't have to worry about a car." Tony explained.

"Oh my god. That must've been so expensive. Thank you so so so so much Tony. And Pepper." I thanked and hugged them both.

"No problem kid. Now, one last thing." Tony informed handing me an envelope.

I opened it to find a small pack of papers inside with one word sticking out. They were Adoption papers.

"Now that you're 16 you'll also need to sign the papers so me and Pepper can officially adopt you. I've had those papers forever but I just never found the right time to give them to you. I hope you're okay with this, I would never try to re-" Tony started but I cut his off swiftly by pulling him into a bone crushing hug. He went silent and just hugged back as tears started to flow from my eyes.

"Thanks Dad, so much." I cried into his shoulder.

"No problem Kid, you're practically my son anyway, this just makes it official and easier in the long run." Tony explained as I pulled away to hug Pepper.

"Does this mean Peter are now Harley are brothers?" Cassie asked.

"Technically but as long as it's not biological then they're okay." Tony explained as I pulled away from Pepper and went back to Harley's arms.

"Now, ITS TIME TO PARTY!" Thor once again yelled.

"Will you shut your trap for once. Not everyone is deaf." Loki complained making everyone laugh at the two.

"Come on everyone, we're heading back to the tower to party and celebrate." Tony announced. "Ted, AJ you can come in the limo if you want. Also, your parents agreed to let you stay the night and dropped off clothes for you." Tony explained.

"Ned and MJ." I corrected earning a few laughs.

"Potato, poahto." Tony brushed off as we all left the restaurant and headed to our card to head back to the tower.

Safe to say, this was the best birthday in the history of birthdays.

#avengers #peter parker #tony stark #morgan stark #pepper stark #harley keener #birthday #peter x harley #tony x pepper #superfamily #adopted peter parker #oneshot #avengers fluff #family moments #gay love

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orangebatsanctuary · 7 years

Photo

The first story of Inaho x Slaine anthology has launched!

天が落ちたとき

Story by CountLestanna

Art by Ayuki

The Kimi no Na wa x AZ by CountLestanna, what a perfect match paro for our beloved 2 world boys, Mars & Earth vs. (secret)

Read on OrangeBat Sanctuary website: http://www.orangebat-sanctuary.com/countlestanna

or click ‘Keep reading’ below.

Enjoy reading!

Love,

Rosiel

*Friendly reminder, the live game will be played in February 2017, so read well and go strong to win the book & grand prize!

Once in a while when I wake up, I find myself crying. The dream I must have had that I can never recall

But…..

But…

The sensation that I’ve lost something lingers for a long time after I wake up.

I’m always searching

For something

For someone

This feeling has possessed me, I think from that day

That day when the stars came falling

It was almost as if it were a scene from a dream

Nothing more, nothing less

Than a beautiful dream

☆彡

“Slaine…” someone that he barely recognized whispered.

“Bat….”

“Don’t you….remember me?” the person asked, surprised as though he was expecting him to know them. They were on a crowded train, the person glanced around, looking hurt almost as if his heart had been shattered. Forcing a smile, the stranger who knew his name turned to move towards the exit. Slaine, not knowing what else to say, suddenly shouted, earning stares from the crowd but all he could see was him….. The strange person that he had just met,

“W-wait! W-what’s your name!”

“Inaho….Kaizuka Inaho”he smiled a genuine smile that stunned Slaine completely.

He reached out as the person called Kaizuka Inaho hands him a bracelet with an orange fruit charm and disappears.

Somewhere in the distance, Slaine heard sounds of something vibrating and woke up with a start, breathing fast, his eyes wide.

It was just….a dream.

I should make breakfast …wait where am I?

Slaine looked around at his surroundings that appeared extremely….unfamiliar. A hamster was running around on its wheel in a tank, Tatami mats and traditional paper sliding doors commonly found in old Japanese homes. There was a calendar nearby and his room was….very neat. Something was off. He looked down, only to see….egg-patterned pajamas. Since when did he wear egg-patterned pajamas?

BAM!

The door slid open loudly all of a sudden. Slaine jolted up in surprise, shivers running down his back.

“Nao-kun~ for ONCE I caught you falling asleep later than usual~ Hurry up and get out of bed! I made breakfast.”

Standing at the door was a tall lady with straight black hair all geared up in what looked like office attire? And smugly looking at him with a proud smile on her face.

“Eh? Nao? Me?” Slaine said pointing at himself. Her eyes narrowed slightly before widening in surprise.

“UWOO Nao kun! ARE YOU BLUSHING? You sure are acting strange this morning! Of course not that I’m complaining~ my little brother must finally be growing up! What a happy day! Maybe he’ll finally get a girlfriend. Well get ready! You’re already late Nao hahaa~” Slamming the door closed this time, she skipped off humming to herself happily while Slaine stared, still utterly confused and shocked.

Who was he?

Where was he?

What was he doing here?

How was this possible?

Was he still dreaming?

So many questions flooded his mind as he slowly stood up, staggered a little and moved towards the mirror. Looking at the mirror, he screamed with terror, or rather a young man with red eyes and chestnut brown hair screamed for the very first time, completely scaring his sister out of her wits and making her dash into his room once again, her eyes showing a great amount of concern. And so, Slaine’s day began in the craziest of ways, in a way he had definitely not expected, being stuck in a body not his own.

☆彡

“Good morning Nao kuuunn,” Yuki yawned and rubbed her eyes as she stumbled into the kitchen of their small traditional house barely awake and seated herself in front of the low table with a breakfast of rice and vegetables.

“Morning Yuki nee, would you prefer scrambled or rolled omelet?”

“Scrambled, I suppose.”

“Well that’s too bad, today it’s rolled omelette” Inaho deadpanned as he transferred them onto the empty plate set before her from the pan, piping hot and looking absolutely delicious. In the background, a reporter on the news channel was explaining about the rare phenomenon of the Tiamat Comet passing by the Earth atmosphere very soon.

“Mmm looks delicious as usual Nao kun!” She exclaimed happily, unlocking her phone only to catch her first glimpse of the time this morning.

“Eeeeehhh nao-kun! Why didn’t you wake me uupp??!! I’m late for work…again. At this rate I will get fired once more and we’ll NEVER move to Tokyo!” Yuki complained, her hands piling her bowl with rice so that she could stuff her mouth, rushing to finish her breakfast.

“Careful Yuki nee, if you don’t chew slowly you might choke. “ He calmly advised as he moved to the sink to wash his dishes.

Looking very much like a hamster with its cheeks full of nuts, Yuki turned to look at Inaho and spoke, or at least tried to, “Ywou sheem nwormal tfoday Nao.” swallowing her rice as she finished her sentence.

“Normal?” Inaho raised his eyebrows slightly

“Yeah! You were nuts yesterday! Seemed like you were possessed by a spirit or something.” She answered as she stuffed down another mouthful of food, quickly finishing her meal.

“That is illogical.” He said as he picked up his bag, and slipped on his shoes, sliding the door closed before opening it once again as a thought occurred to him.

“You’d be able to make it to work on time if you left in about five minutes Yuki-Nee. See you later.” he stated as he shut the door once more and left the house, tapping away at his phone.

Back home, Yuki mumbled about how her brother was back to his jerk self and continued complaining about being late as she ran around the house getting ready. She was definitely going to be late. Maybe she should start looking for new jobs…

☆彡

Inaho walked down the road towards the high school, which was on the other side of the little lake town that he lived in, looking through sales advertisements and coupon offers.

Ah egg sale tomorrow…

He locked his tablet after saving the time of the sale on his schedule.

I’ll have to wake earlier than usual tomorrow then…I will need to get food for pancake soon too..

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of a bicycle followed by a high pitched voice calling him from behind

“Inaho!” Inko called, waving from the back of the bicycle while Calm pedaled forward.

“Oh…Morning Inko, Calm.”

“Good Morning~” Inko chirped, leaning over Calm who didn’t look very pleased about that as he shrugged and looked at her.

“Will you get off already?” he complained while Inko pouted, folding her arms before saying, “Why? Meanie hmph.”

“You’re heavy!!” he bit back, sulking to which Inko said,

“That’s really rude!” annoyed.

Meanwhile, Inaho had tuned out of the conversation and had walked quite a distance ahead of them.

Noticing this, Calm and Inko shouted, “OI INAHO WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING!” both still in quite a bit of a bad mood after their little bicker.

Inaho merely continued walking as Inko got off the bicycle and ran forward to catch up with him.

“Your hair seems alright today Nao” she remarked trying to catch her breath.

“It is combed neatly as usual, why?” Inaho asked.

Calm having caught up with them added in, “Yeah! Did your sister properly exorcise you?”

“My sister is too lazy to do such things.” He replied quietly.

“Haaah? You were totally possessed yesterday you know?!” Calm continued as he cycled slowly beside them as they crossed a bridge above a stream.

“Oh Calm just cut it out already. Nao was probably just stressed right?” She turned to Inaho expecting an answer.

“What-“is all she got from him.

Calm bent over looking at him surprised, “You really don’t remember do you?”

☆彡

The sound of pens scratching paper echoed through the room as the teacher wrote on the chalkboard and circled important characters before turning around. Inaho took out his notebook and flipped open the pages as she turned around to explain the characters written on the board.

“Tasokare means ‘Who is that?’ and is the origin of the word Tasokare Doki. Twilight, the time when it is neither night nor day. When the world blurs and one might encounter something not human. Older expressions include ‘Karetaso Doki’ or ‘Kawatare doki’ “

Half listening, he looked at the page with ‘Who are you?’ written in large lettering that covered the whole page. He looked at it slightly annoyed. This was an anomaly in his very neatly written notes. Tearing the page off, he crumpled it, and started to write on a new page.

“Excuse me? Is it not ‘Kataware Doki’?” one of his classmates asked.

“Kataware Doki? Kataware Doki is local dialect don’t you think? I heard Itomori’s elderly still use the classic language.” She replied pointedly.

“Alright next, Kaizuka-san” She called.

Placing his pen down, he stood up answering,

“Yes.”

“So you remember your name today Kaizuka-san.” She said, slightly amused.

The class broke into laughter to which Inaho tilted his head, slightly confused. He thought this was indeed strange.

☆彡

“You don’t remember? Inko asked baffled as she sat down on the wooden chair, opening her lunchbox. Their little spot in the field overlooked the lake before them, the water calm and glistening under the sunlight.

“Yesterday you forgot where your own locker and table were!” she explained as she took a bite of her sausage.

“Your hair was sticking up in all directions and you had forgotten your phone!” Inko stated seriously.

“That is highly unlikely. Maybe you were imagining things.” Inaho replied still refusing to believe Inko.

My memory is uncharacteristically hazy however. Maybe she has a point …for once.

“It was like you had amnesia you know?” Inko continued as Calm quietly listened as he read a magazine on the table his legs dangling freely.

“Strange..it was just a dream though. My memory is unclear.” He mumbled to himself.

“Aha! I got it! That was…,” Calm paused as he flipped open the pages to his magazine excitedly and practically shoved it in Inaho’s face.

” Your previous life! Or maybe your subconscious was linked to the Everett multiverse!” he said loudly, almost falling off of the table he was sitting on. Inaho merely blinked and took another bite from his milk bread.

“Stay out of this! Nothing you say makes sense anyway Calm.” Inko said, pushing the magazine, away from Inaho.

“Did you write that in my notebook? I can only think of one person who does such….unnecessary things.” Inaho stared at Calm.

Looking confused, he said, “Eh??? What notebook?”

“Hmm nevermind. Must’ve been some other brainless person.” Inaho mumbled to himself.

“Are you calling me BRAINLESS?” Calm exclaimed mortified.

“But Nao-kun you were really weird yesterday. Are you feeling alright?” Inko asked, concerned, ignoring Calm completely.

“I am quite sure that I am alright Inko.” Inaho said pointedly.

“Could be stress you know? Finals are coming up.” She pointed out.

“Ugh don’t remind me.” Calm complained grimacing.

Sighing, in unison they complained, “I can’t stand this town anymore.”

“It’s too small and close-knit. I want to graduate and go to Tokyo already” Inko grumbled.

“I don’t really blame you. There’s really nothing in this town huh...” Calm sighed.

“Trains come only every two hours.” She said, waving her hands, as they passed by the rail tracks of their town.

“The convenience store closes at 9pm!” Calm complained as they passed by the convenience store.

“No bookstore. No dentist.” Inko shook her head disapprovingly.

“But 2 pubs for some reason.” She added exasperatedly.

“No Jobs. No brides. Not to mention short daylight hours.” Calm sighed face palming as he rolled his bicycle, walking beside Inaho and Inko.

Inaho looked at them and said, “If you two are going to complain excessively, I’ll be heading home first. Bye.”

He left them with their mouths gaping wide.

“He really needs to work on his social skills.” Calm said half-jokingly knowing that that would probably never happen.

☆彡

As night time fell, Inaho took out his constellation book and stepped of the house, and into their back garden that was surrounded by unkempt rose bushes that were slowly dying. They had never managed to actually maintain them for a long time. Inaho had tried, but gardening was the one thing he wasn’t good at despite the amount of books that he had read about it. Meanwhile,. Yuki was still out working for the mayor of the town, Miss Magbaredge.

Their father had abandoned their family the moment their mother had died, only a day after having given birth to him. Which meant that theyThey had had to live with only Inko and Calm’s family dropping bycoming to help them until Yuki was old enough to work. There were multiple times he had had to comfort his sister whenever he had found her crying as she looked at an old photo album.. Rarely, he thought of how it would have been if their parents had stayed, but he shook the thought away immediately as it wasn’t going to help him in the present. And so, he moved forward only thinking of the future, even though it could still get tiring for him.

He knew that Yuki nee would go out and about looking for signs of where their father could be, but always came home disappointed every night. Laying their picnic mat on the grass, he threw on his jacket and sat himself down, picking out the constellations one by one and drawing the charts, sometimes referring to his phone for additional information. It had become a ritual for him ever since he found it hard to sleep whenever Yuki nee wasn’t home yet. This was the only reason that made him wish he could move to the city with his sister. They needed a change in their lives, a change that would let her move on from their parents leaving. But for now they’d have to make do in this small town.

Unable to stay awake any longer, he yawned and fell asleep, wrapped in a picnic blanket in the backyard.

☆彡

Inaho awoke to the sun shining its rays mercilessly on his face. Squinting, he sat up yawning as his eyes got used to being awake once more. That’s strange, he remembered falling asleep under the stars, so why was he in….an apartment? Simple things like a fan, desk and cupboard were situated within the small space. Taking in his surroundings, he took note of how messy the room was with clothes strewn all over the place and its complete disarray of furniture.

“Meow~” he heard as a black cat walked to the bed and lay down on his lap. He froze, afraid, his eyes widening, expecting to begin sneezing uncontrollably, except that it never came. Hesitantly, he reached down and began petting the cat.

This is admittedly nice…What a strange dream…..

Gently, he coaxed the cat into moving off of his lap and shifted to the edge of the bed. He continued taking note of his surroundings as the cat walked towards its food bowl and began meowing incessantly.

It seemed that only the desk and ironing table were free of items. There was a uniform hanging on the cupboard handle all nicely ironed and ready to be worn.

Having taken in his surroundings, he looked at his hands, wait…those were not his hands. They were definitely paler and somewhat bigger. Planting his feet down on the floor and getting off of the bed, he walked over to the mirror and looked into the most beautiful teal eyes that he had ever seen; something about them reminded him of shattered glass marbles.

He moved his hand up to touch the unfamiliar blonde hair, when a blue phone vibrated from the tidy desk and alerted him of its presence. Something black caught his eye.

Oh a bat keychain

Meanwhile, the cat began pawing at him, breaking him out of his trance. He went to pick up the phone and saw five messages from a ‘Harklight’. He checked the date, it was exactly the day after he fell asleep under the stars. This was definitely not any regular dream. His dreams usually consisted of eggs, not beautiful foreign men and cats that he miraculously weren’t allergic to..

Reading through the messages, he realized this person must be late for their class, whoever they were. A quick inspection of the uniform revealed an emblem that read ‘Vers International High School’ in tiny lettering below the acronym ‘V.I.H.S’. Above the right pocket, a badge with the name ‘Slaine Troyard’ on it had been engraved with a student council title situated below it.

“Quite a miracle for someone so messy to be student council.” he muttered to himself, noticing that Troyard’s voice was much more melodic and softer compared to his own.

Picking up a towel from one of the messy piles, he went to the bathroom to get ready for Troyard’s day. The cat followed behind only to be shut out. It hissed in annoyance and went back to its comfy bed.

Having stripped down, Inaho couldn’t help but notice a few things.

Troyard sure is….well-endowed.

Feeling his back he felt a few deep running scars.

It seems that he wasn’t treated well.

Stepping out of the shower all fresh and clean, he wrapped himself in the towel and dried himself before dressing in the very elaborate uniform. It even had a beret for some reason.

How troublesome….

Inaho thought. After 10 minutes of fiddling with the beret he put it away in Troyard’s bag and decided to forgo it. It was an extremely hot day anyway. He didn’t want to boil like an egg.

Ah…I need breakfast…

Inaho peeked into the fridge only to be majorly disappointed with the complete lack of eggs. It seemed that Troyard didn’t even have a frying pan, but for some reason, had frozen meat in the fridge that probably was past its expiry date. He found a bag of cat food hidden at the top of the cabinet and refilled the cat’s bowl before he continued to forage the kitchenette for food. Finally, he came across a cabinet stashed with can after can of red bull and millions of cup noodles. Inaho felt himself die inside and decided that he wouldl have to eat out somewhere, and at the same time, throw out all this trash.

“Right, I haven’t figured out where this is….”

With a last ditch attempt to tame Troyard’s hair, Inaho stepped out of the apartment and was met with the sight of a huge city with tall buildings, the Tokyo tower not far from sight. His eyes widened; this was the place that he had wanted to move to for a long time along with his sister, if only for Yuki-nee to have a fresh start. Inaho took the lift down to the first floor and began looking for a route to the high school that Troyard went to via the phone. Having memorized it, he put the phone away and began his journey, the beret sticking out of the bag.

He reached the school thirty minutes later than he had expected and took out his phone once more, walking past classrooms as he looked through the camera roll trying to find a picture of a timetable and came up with none. Many of the other students were strolling out of class. Looking at the time, he realized that it must be the lunch break now. Perhaps he should text that ‘Harklight’ person. Just as the thought crossed his mind, someone swung their hand over his shoulder.

“Why didn’t you answer any of my messages Slaine?” A raven haired guy asked concerned, the beret on his head a little lopsided. Inaho blankly stared back and asked, “Harklight?”

“Are you sure you’re alright Slaine? Catching a fever perhaps? Where is your beret?” Harklight continued bombarding Troyard with questions as another friend of his came wheeling over by the looks of it, while he conveniently blanked out, looking far into space. Troyard’s friend in a wheelchair looked at him with a raised eyebrow,kicked him lightly on the leg and caught his attention.

“Oh! Slaine, you’re very late you know. The teacher was quite upset to not see you there. Are you feeling alright?”

The blue-eyed girl looked at him expectantly.

Troyard must talk a lot….

Looking at the both of them blankly, he replied curtly, “I overslept.”

Sighing, Harklight glanced at Slaine disapprovingly and said,

“Did those all-nighters finally get to you? Didn’t we tell you that we would help you if you needed it?”

“I suppose that I have forgotten.”

The blue-eyed girl with pink hair began poking at him.

“You seem a little off today still. How about we go to the café later? That always cheers you up!” She said happily.

“No thanks. There is a grocery sale later today. You are welcome to join me.”

Harklight and the girl looked at him, confused, their faces showing utter bafflement.

“Groceries? Slaine? But you never buy groceries….all you do is stock up on cup noodles and cat food.” She asked, her eyes squinting slightly in suspicion.

“We’ll follow you anyway, Slaine! Right Lemrina?” Harklight looked over at her with a smile.

Sighing she waved her hands and said,s, “Alright, alright , I’ll follow you two as long as one of you drops me off at home later.”

Folding her arms she waited, probably expecting Harklight to push her.

“You know that you can move around yourself for now right? You don’t look tired Lemrina~” Harklight teased.

Pouting, she followed them back to class on her own.

☆彡

Tokyo was as busy in the evening as it was in the day, Inaho realized as he walked through the bustling streets with Lemrina and Harklight. This time, Harklight was pushing Lemrina’s wheelchair as she dozed off every few minutes and awoke again.

It sure was easier to get past crowds and see further as Slaine, he noticed. Slaine was indeed much taller than he was, and Inaho found the view from above quite refreshing. However, it would be harder for him to get to the front with the egg sales going on.

“You’re very silent today Slaine. Did something happen?” Harklight asked, looking at him as he wheeled Lemrina along.

“Nothing of interest…Ah we are here.” Inaho replied, Slaine’s voice coming out instead. He had to admit it was still quite strange to hear someone else’s voice come out instead of his own.

Picking up a basket, he strolled into the already crowded supermarket and went straight to the meat and poultry section where he picked up a few eggs and some fresh meat. After grabbing a few more items, he went to the cashier to pay and waited on the other side for Harklight, who had gotten some things for himself,to finish as well. Lemrina was boredly examining her nails.

“Are we finally done? This has got to be the most normal thing you have done Slaine, I have to admit.” Lemrina remarked with an air of disinterest.

“I will be leaving first. There is much to do.” Inaho said, somewhat quietly.

“Slaine did someone bully you into acting like a robot? You’ve been sounding like one all day.” Harklight asked, very concerned.

“Maybe it’s a fever,” he mumbled, hoping that they got the message that he wanted to be left alone. Harklight sighed and stepped back.

“I have to drop Lemrina and go to work now Slaine, but if you have anything you need, please call us okay?” Harklight said as he placed a hand on Slaine’s shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. He left pushing a somewhat cranky Lemrina out of the supermarket. Inaho decided to go home immediately; he had a cat to feed after all.

Having trudged through the dark, lamp-lit streets to Slaine’s apartment, Inaho shook off his shoes and went straight to the kitchenette, placing the newly bought kitchen utensils and cooking items in their respective drawers and refrigerator compartments. He threw away whatever was unhealthy, like the red bull and the cup noodles, leaving behind only a few of the cup noodles stashed away for emergencies. The cat came and walked past him curiously before going back to sleep in its bed.

I still need to figure out its name….

Clearing his thoughts, he set to preparing bentos for the week ahead. He didn’t care who this person was, or if they were a stranger, as long as he was within this body he was not going to settle with junk food or a breakfast without eggs.

After preparing the food for the week, he wrote down the expenses used on a notepad on the desk and a few other points with an orange ink pen.

Hello Bat,

I’ve thrown away most of the cup noodles and all of the red bull,

There are Bentos in the fridge that should last a whole week.

Please eat a nutritious breakfast every day.

Signed, Kaizuka Inaho

Tired from all the cooking, Inaho fell asleep on the desk, which was going to give Slaine a very bad neck in the morning.

☆彡

Bzzzttt Bzzztt

Slaine slowly opened his eyes to the sound of vibrating coming from somewhere. He stretched and looked out the window. It was still somewhat dark outside, yet, he felt well rested for the first time in his one year of living in Japan. His cat, Tharsis, jumped up onto his lap and purred nudging him with her nose lovingly. He looked down at her and smiled, petting her gently. “Morning Tharsis, you won’t believe the dream I had while I was asleep.” He murmured to her softly.

Tharsis meowed back, happy to finally receive proper attention.

What a strange dream that was… Slaine thought as he picked up his vibrating phone and switched off the alarm. He checked the time: ‘6:30a.m’. Looking carefully, he could have sworn that it was only the 15th of April when he had went to sleep the previous day.

Then why is it showing the date to be 17th April? Did I really sleep for 2 days? That’s not possible. Perhaps I should close my eyes for a little.

Tharsis meowed at him again, nudging him to continue petting her. Absentmindedly he did so as he closed his eyes and placed the phone down, trying to recall a day that seemed to have already passed, yet one that he couldn’t quite remember.

Frowning, he opened his eyes once more and looked at the table, moving his head closer to it to stare at a piece of paper with handwriting that was more serious looking than his own. Picking it up, he skimmed through the sentences of the little note, his face scrunching up in disbelief as he let out a shout, startling his cat off of his lap.

“What?!”

He took off out of his chair and ran to the cabinets of his kitchenette and almost shrieked as he saw all his cup noodles and red bull bottles gone.

“No no no no this can’t be happening.” He muttered to himself crazily as he realized what was going on. The realization hit him like a bomb.

That Orange and I are exchanging bodies without a doubt! But how? And why?

Lying down on bed, he began wailing over his loss of convenient cheap food and also realized that he had missed his work shift the previous day and rolled over. Looking through his phone once again, he noticed a missed call from Asseylum senpai and his boss Cruhteo. He shivered at the thought of meeting his boss today.

Oh my boss is going to kill me…. At least I have food I guess.

He got out of bed and sadly cooked himself eggs for the first time in ages and ended up burning them. He ate them anyway and stuffed down some bread and milk.

Refilling Tharsis’ bowl, he went to shower, noticing another difference. There was an orange scented shower gel sitting right beside his strawberry scented shower gel.

How much money did that Orange spend seriously…? I was saving up for a gift for Asseylum senpai!

Annoyed he took the orange soap and placed it elsewhere, away from his sight and began cleaning himself, feeling much better after a comfortable and warm strawberry scented shower.

Humming to himself, he put on his uniform and beret, and stepped out of the house with his bag slung over his shoulder. For once he felt better that he left his apartment early enough to journey to school slowly. He tried not to think of what would happen later at work. Hopefully, Kaizuka that idiot hadn’t been too strange with Harklight and Lemrina.

He reached the school earlier than expected and ended up wandering around before setting foot in his classroom. That was when he realized, that he had no time to finish his homework considering that he was busy living Kaizuka’s life in the beautiful, small town the other day.

He couldn’t possibly tell the class teacher, ‘Sorry my assignments aren’t done because I was busy living someone else’s life!’ Even the ‘my dog ate my homework’ excuse seemed more reasonable compared to that. He frantically searched his bag and pulled out his assignment file to see if he could finish rushing his work in what little time he had before class. Opening his physics assignment, he looked at it in disbelief, his mouth gaping wide open. There were little post-it notes with tips written here and there that were extremely useful. Slaine had always struggled with physics but that guy had managed to make it understandable for him. To sum it up, he was impressed by Kaizuka’s knowledge in the subject. He managed to finish the assignment for his first class in less than thirty minutes thanks to the help that the post-it notes provided. He sighed with relief as Harklight and Lemrina entered the classroom and waved at him.

“Slaine! Good morning~ I hope that you are feeling better today? And my oh my are you early today.” Lemrina asked, poking him again and eliciting quite the reaction from him. He squirmed sideways on his seat as she poked him once more.

“Harklight! Look he’s back to normal!”

“Seriously asking though, why were you acting like a robot yesterday? It was amazing how you could go without blushing for a whole day.” Lemrina asked excitedly, as she practically jumped up and down her wheelchair, clasping her hands together.

“U-uhm I don’t know? Ah! Stop poking me Lemrinaaaaa.”

Slaine protested as he wiggled away from her while blushing and backed away straight into Harklight’s arms.

“Did you have breakfast Slaine?” Harklight asked, smiling cheerfully.

“Yeah I did. I had some eggs…even though I burnt them.” He mumbled out the last few words but Harklight caught them anyway and shook his head at Slaine.

“Slaine you shouldn’t eat burnt food . You know it is not good for you.” Harklight said as he pulled out a sandwich for Slaine.

“Here, Lemrina prepared that for you because she knew that despite having gone grocery shopping to get healthier food, you were probably too lazy to actually have a proper breakfast.” He chided as Lemrina snickered beside him.

Slaine merely scratched the back of his head and smiled, taking the offered sandwich from Harklight.

“Haha sorry Harklight, I’ll try to eat properly tomorrow. Thank you for the breakfast Lemrina!” he said as he opened the Ziploc bag and began eating it.

“Don’t expect sandwiches from me every day Slaine. Today is special.” Lemrina replied as she folded her arms and looked at him smugly, her blue eyes shining.

“You better eat fast Slaine, we have ten more minutes before our first class.” Harklight reminded him.

Slaine looked at Harklight and laughed, “Are you my mom, Harklight~?” he asked playfully while tilting his head to the side.

“N-no, but I care for you very much!” He half-shouted,his cheeks flushing.

Lemrina pulled at Harklight’s sleeve to make him lower his head. She whispered in his ear, ‘you like him, don’t you~’ and smirked, watching him turn absolutely beet red.

“W-what? What did you tell him Lemrina?” Slaine asked, very confused.

“Nothing,” she replied innocently and hummed, wheeling away to her seat in the classroom.

Harklight who was a stuttering mess by that point stumbled over to his own seat as well, taking out his things as well.

Slaine doodled mindlessly on his notebook until class began. They somehow turned out looking like that town from his dream. He wondered what that person must be doing now.

Probably getting more eggs….

He snickered to himself at the thought. However, he realized that they couldn’t go on as themselves forever like this whenever they switched. Their friends would become suspicious and their lives would be in danger of being changed in ways they did not wish for it to change. He chewed at his pencil thoughtfully and wrote down a few rules and boundaries that he should probably set for that Kaizuka fellow if ever they switched again.

Maybe I could ask him to help me with physics….

As class began, Slaine found himself lost in his thoughts.

☆彡

Slaine waved goodbye to Harklight and Lemrina as he slung his bag over his shoulder, he ran to the bus stop to catch the bus to his workplace. The fancy Italian restaurant which he worked for was quite a while away.

This time he was right on time for his daily shift. Wearing his uniform, he stepped into the kitchen announcing his arrival and quickly got to work taking dishes away, serving them and taking orders. He was silently praying not to come across his boss, but with his luck, his prayers would not be answered. And so, he threw himself into working extra hard that day to make up for not having helped out like he should have had twenty four hours ago. Worst comes to worse, his salary would be docked.

Finally, when the restaurant closed at ten, he began to clean up the place with the other waiters. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he set to cleaning the tables, when he felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned around, coming face to face with Asseylum Senpai. His face turned a bright shade of red as his crush began talking to him.

“Are you quite alright, Slaine? We helped cover for you by telling Mr.Cruhteo that you were sick, but we wanted to make sure with you.”

She explained, her beautiful eyes looking at him with worry. Slaine merely nodded, his tongue which was suddenly unco-operative and gulped.

Patting Slaine on the shoulder, she gave a whispered get well soon and left the restaurant staff area. The rest of the waiters glared at him making him want to shrink away into a corner, never to be seen again. Instead, he calmly went to the staff changing room and changed into his home clothes, consisting of a Batman shirt and comfortable shorts before leaving. He left the building and finally went home. The moment that he stepped into the house, Tharsis walked up to him and walked past his legs rubbing them. He knelt down and picked her up smiling.

“Tharsis at least let me take off my shoes! You sweet little cat.” He laughed. He placed Tharsis on the floor and collapsed on the sofa, taking out his phone. Tharsis decided to settle on his lap once more as he scrolled through his schedule, setting reminders and important things that he would have to do tomorrow, so that in case Kaizuka took over, he would be able to handle it and keep his life going as normal as it could possibly go.

Hopefully…..

He still wanted his cup noodles back. Exhausted, he fell asleep on the couch with Tharsis still on his lap asleep as well.

☆彡

Three days ago

“Nao-kun are you alright? Did something happen? Are you injured?” She began fussing over him, her arms flailing around.

“A-ah y-yes I’m fine. I apologize for startling you.” He replied coming down from his panic.

Sighing with relief, Yuki hugged him and pat him gently before pulling away and staring intently at him,

“Nao-kun, I need to leave for work now. Will you be alright today?”

She asked, looking him straight in the eye.

“I-I think so?” Slaine replied quite hesitantly, still very much confused and somewhat scared, his face giving it away. Whoever this lady was, she was probably a relative of the person whose body he was in at that very moment.

Sister, perhaps?

“If you’re feeling unwell at all tell me, alright Nao-kun? You’re normally not like this.”

“A-alright. I’ll be fine….sister?”

“Hmmmm?? That doesn’t sound quite right.” She moved in closer to look at him, but gave up knowing that she would almost run late for work.

“Call me and I’ll come home early alright? I have to go now, take care! Oh, and breakfast is on the table.” She stood, looking at him one last time and walked out the door, waving her hand.

Still quite stunned from what happened, Slaine stared into blank space.

What was he doing here again?

Once again, the phone with the extremely hideous orange cover beeped, snapping him out of his daze. He picked it up, unlocking it to see an alert that said,

Egg sale ~ be there at 6:30AM

What a strange person, he actually takes note of sales….

Slaine mused as he continued looking through the phone as a text appeared, from a person named Calm which read,

Inaho, aren’t we meeting before heading to school as usual? Where are you? We’ll be late at this rate. 7:30AM

Coupled with a few choice emoji.

He looked at the time, 7:40AM and began panicking once more as he frantically began searching for clothes that looked like a uniform, somewhere within the room. After having thrown clothes around the room everywhere, he found a perfectly ironed uniform that was ready to be worn.

Quickly throwing it on, he grabbed some of the toast and eggs that were on the table and practically ran out of the house with the bag, his hair in disarray.

Wait, where was the school? If I asked around, I’ll seem like an idiot. I am running out of time.

He heard a bicycle bell ring behind him followed by a voice calling him.

“Oh! Found you Inaho! You just left the house didn’t you? Your sister just passed by saying that you overslept. And so,” He placed one foot down on the floor dramatically and grinned, pointing to himself before continuing, and spoke again. “I, Calm Craftman, your lovely hero for today shall get us both to school right on time! Hop on Inaho!” He exclaimed as Slaine thought,

Oh well, what could possibly go wrong….

And hopped onto the back of the cycle, bringing his arms around Calm.

This Inaho person is quite small.

“Alright off we gooooo,” Calm said excitedly and literally sped through the streets on the bicycle, making Slaine cling to Calm tightly.

“Uhm CALM!, watch out!” Slaine shrieked out as a car came in front of them. With no other direction to go, Calm hastily turned to the left, straight down the hill towards the cold lake, both of them screaming, as they plunged into the water. When Slaine resurfaced gasping for breath, taking in his surroundings frantically looking for Calm. Thankfully, he heard a splash close to him. Calm had resurfaced as well. By the look on Calm’s face, he guessed that the bicycle was history.

“Would it have hurt you to at least see where you were going while speed cycling?” Slaine asked Calm, looking quite iIndignant. It was certainly a new expression that Calm had never seen from Inaho before. Shaking his head, Calm forgot what Inaho had said and began swimming to the lake’s shore. Slaine followed, his anger showing on Inaho’s face very clearly as he stepped onto the lakeshore sopping wet, his clothes clinging to him uncomfortably and water in his ears.

Calm shrugged and said gloomily, “ I guess we’re running?”

“Well, after you, oh great Bicycle rider”

Slaine stated, his words dripping with sarcasm, to which, Calm looked at him flabbergasted until he realised they were running out of time and began sprinting in the direction of the school,wi

I am never getting on a bicycle with this guy again.

Slaine thought as he began running after Calm.

“Hmm we’re just on time with five minutes to spare. Let’s go. I think it would be better if we went to the nurse’s office first”

Calm said hesitantly, scratching his head.

☆彡

The second accident he faced that day was in art class; he wasn’t tall enough to reach the supplies situated above and was very frustrated. Everytime he reached out forto the box, it would move further back into the cabinet, which made him huff with annoyance once more.

Calm and Inko observed from the sidelines, never having seen Inaho this bothered before, especially to even draw anything different from constellations or blue prints. Slaine tip-toed once more on the stool and lost his balance, toppling onto the floor, bringing his classmate Rayet who was beside him down as wellwith him. He was now face to face with his very irritated classmate who looked like she was about to punch him.

Blushing intensely, he rolled off of her as fast as he could and stood up, bowing and apologizing repeatedly. She merely raised an eyebrow and looked over at Calm and Inko as she folded her arms.

This day is going horribly, someone save me.

As though reading his mind, his friends dragged him away from the place and off to lunch the moment the bell rang, signaling the end of the class.

Later that day, Slaine offered to treat Rayet to coffee the next day, as an apology., Sshe raised her eyebrows and looked at him with judging eyes once more and, curtly replyingied with an, “I’ll consider it.” And left, leaving Slaine to give out a long sigh of relief and collapsed on the floor, very tired from the ordeal.

Inko found him like this and ended up taking pictures and giggled to herself as Calm, also tired and weirded out over Inaho’s very abnormal behavior that day, carried him back to his own home.

He was hoping this was all just a very strange dream. For the very first time he had witnessed Inaho properly apologizing. It had truly been an eventful day in Calm’s opinion. It seemed Inko had enjoyed seeing Inaho like this as well. He couldn’t help but think how strange today was however…maybe he should sleep as well.

When Slaine awoke next, he heard the sounds of something turning continuously coming from the tank which held the hamster. It was running on the wheel. He peered into the tank where the food was held and saw that there was enough for the hamster to eat.

I wonder what its name is….and wow this guy is a genius, that is an in built hamster feeder by the looks of it. It seems to release the appropriate amount of food into the tank at the appropriate times.

Slaine began examining the contraption curious as to how it worked but came up with nothing. A journal sat beside the tank, labelled, pancake’s growth.

Pancake’s growth? That sounds odd.

He picked it up and began flipping through it. It had so many photos of the orange speckled white hamster with different captions below them. He smiled at some of them.

Day 1: Hamster is situated

Day 2: Have named the hamster Pancake

Day 25: Pancake is Overweight. Adjusting food portions

Day 35: Pancake is running all over the room, back up needed.

Day 50: Pancake is on my head. I do not know how to bring him down.

Slaine burst out laughing at the last pic, Kaizuka looked like a deer with headlights. He guessed that perhaps his sister had taken that picture. Slaine decided to snap a picture of his own and printed it, pasting it in the journal.

He wrote down,

‘Troyard’s adventure with Pancake’

Satisfied, he closed the book and lay down in bed, flipping through the phone’s gallery. He came across more pictures of the hamster and a whole album of ‘Yuki’s favourite recipes’

That’s sweet of him. He seems to be the serious type but is an actual sweetheart. How cute.

He pondered as he flipped through, finding random pictures of stars and constellation maps as well as diagrams from library books.

The next day, he awoke in his own body, and the day that had gone by simply became a hazy memory

Looking back, Slaine thought it would be best for him to keep a proper schedule to make sure this person he had not quite met, wouldn’t mess up his life more than it already was a mess. And so, Slaine wrote down his first rule in his phone’s diary.

1. Please stop wasting my money on groceries Kaizuka

Placing the phone away on his desk, he fell into a deep sleep as the city continued buzzing with life down below.

And so their crazy days continued, their lives turning upside down as the world around them continued changing, the day of the comet coming ever closer.

Two days later, Slaine found more groceries and bentos in his kitchenette with another note that said, ‘Please do eat more healthily. Eggs are nutritious and are rich in protein.’

The very next day a complaint came up on Inaho’s phone from Slaine.

‘Why do I have to always wake up so early to cook for your sister! She always just teases by saying that your damn eggs aren’t as TASTY as usual!’

He simply replied with a, ‘Just follow the recipe.’ To which Slaine huffed and muttered angrily to himself sarcastically,

“Very helpful Orange, Very helpful indeed.”

Once again, on the next day, Inaho received yet another complaint from Slaine, this time a voice recording that probably would have made him deaf if he had been wearing his ear piece. “KAIZUKA YOUR ADVANCED PHYSICS CLASS CONFUSES ME” followed by sounds of a paper being crushed were heard.

To this, Inaho countered by stating, “I do not understand the point of this….literature elective you have taken either.”

Listening to this, Slaine muttered to himself about how this emotionless orange will never understand the true beauty of words.

This time, Slaine received a note from Inaho about how he had a coffee date with ‘Seylum-san’. Having read this, Slaine nearly combusted on the spot and tapped furiously onto his phone about how he shouldn’t address his senpai so casually, complete with a million angry emoji.

Once again, he was met with a calm reply,

‘What, she asked me to or at least asked you to.’

He typed back a confused, ‘WHAT’ prompting Inaho to explain further about how he helped sew Asseylum’s ripped skirt like he sewed many of Yuki’s clothes before and at the bottom, added a

‘By the way, you have another coffee date with her.’

Now he was sure Slaine had a crush on her, but this was going too far,

“STOP MESSING WITH MY LOVE LIFE AND STOP WASTING MY MONEY ON GROCERIES. I’m single because I want to be!”

He shouted as he wrote on Inaho’s cheeks the word, “Idiot” with a permanent marker.

That’ll teach him!

Inaho wasn’t fazed at all, he replied within the notes,

‘It is good to have a healthy lifestyle I left a few more bentos for you in the fridge. I shall leave a few recipes next time. Cup noodles are not good for you.’

“Kaizuka don’t touch my cup noodles again, I’ve hidden it somewhere else hah!”

“Nope I found it. It is in the trash now. Your health comes first.”

“You’re ONE TO TALK EGG MAN”

“Why are you throwing around names? Bat boy”

“Sh-shut up don’t bring my batman t-shirts into this”

“How do you say I love you in Scandinavian? Your friends asked the other day. Why are they shocked with my Japanese?”

“DON’T SPEAK IN DIALECT YOU IDIOT. Oh god they asked that again please tell me you didn’t use google translate.”

“I in fact did use Google translate”

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Slaine typed out,

“Don’t you KNOW that google translate is UNRELIABLE Orange?!!!”

“I am aware but it was the only way out of my…..situation.”

“What did they ask?”

“Harklight asked”

“That doesn’t answer my question. Orange, why is Harklight returning a cookbook to me?”

“He likes cooking did u not know? Oh and I heard, you’ll be able to see the comet tonight”

“ORANGE WHY IS HARKLIGHT CONFESSING TO ME? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO.? Eh? What comet..?”

Slaine had expected to spend time as Kaizuka again the next day, but after that day, they never switched again. Dialing the by now familiar number, he called Kaizuka but it never did reach him.

Odd, that he never did see the comet, that Kaizuka spoke of.

He stared at the bracelet he wore, as though it had all the answers to his questions.

I want to get to the bottom of this.

☆彡

And so, Slaine began writing down plans for travelling to this town he only knew from having seen it through Inaho’s eyes. He took a few days off of work and planned endlessly, finally taking all of his research and throwing them within a file. He had decided to leave Tharsis at Lemrina’s house for now. She had been more than happy to take care of her.

He took a deep breath in and let it out. Determined to find Kaizuka Inaho somehow, somewhere, he left the apartment, ready to go--

--Only to bump into someone tall, a certain friend of his, said person’s name being Harklight.

“Where do you think you are going, Slaine?” Harklight questioned with a stern look.

“A-ah uhm? Going to meet a friend?” he replied, stuttering.

“Without someone too, what if that internet friend was some creep.”

Picking up some of Slaine’s belongings, he walked in front of him and stopped as though remembering something,

“Uhm? Which way is it?”

To that, Slaine visibly face palmed and sighed.

“Fine just follow me alright? Don’t get lost Harklight. I know you’re as hopeless as I can be when it comes to directions.”

“Alright alright, Slaine sama~” he chimed as he walked beside Slaine, who was now intently looking at the train map. They bought lunch and got into the train that travelled to an area near the Itomori town that Slaine was very familiar with at this point.

“So..Slaine where is this friend of yours living at?”

“I don’t know. I just know from the scenery of the town.” Slaine responded as he opened up his travel notebook looking through the directions he had written down.

“But that isn’t very useful is it?” Harklight declared thoughtfully, placing his hands on his chin.

“I’ve selected a few locations to search while doing my research on the area. Hopefully, we’ll find the town.”

Harklight peered over Slaine’s shoulder, looking at the directions he had written down.

“Oh it’s by the mountains? Interesting. “He hummed as he opened his lunchbox to eat his Katsudon.

“Mmm this smells good.” He commented before digging in eagerly.

Slaine opened his own lunch box somewhat absentmindedly, thinking about how a phone number possibly couldn’t exist or be unreachable, especially after having used it multiple times himself. It made no sense.

They searched and searched and searched for two days straight, and despite Slaine’s extensive research they hadn’t been able to find it. Slaine was about ready to give up by then, his shoulders slumping as he gloomily walked into a ramen restaurant for lunch. Having ordered, he began discussing with Harklight about plans on returning to the city. That was when he turned his head to the right. His eyes came across a few sketches and drawings of scenery that looked to him as if it were a second home. It was the beautiful town of Itomori. He had finally found a first lead! Excited, he called the shop owner and began asking as to who had drawn those pictures. He pointed to his friend who had been keeping low all this time at the front of the restaurant.

“Oh you mean Marito’s art? He’s from that town in his drawings.” The owner remarked casually.

“Really? Could you tell me where it is? I was trying to find my way there to meet a friend of mine.” Slaine asked excitedly while Harklight observed the drawings and,

“Wait you mean Itomori Town? But it can’t be!” Harklight looked at Slaine as though he had popped out two heads.

The man named Marito turned around and began speaking with a grim look on his face, “Kids these days never read the news, Itomori town was destroyed by meteorite shower three years ago boy. I was one of the few who weren’t in town that night and I lost my whole family. Been living here ever since.”

“N-no way..It can’t be..but!” Slaine breathed out, disbelief etching his face. He thought he was going crazy. Maybe he had finally lost it.

Harklight snapped his fingers before Slaine’s face and caught his attention, looking quite concerned. Slaine snapped out of his anxious thoughts and focussed his mind back to the situation at hand. This time Harklight took over, helping him ask what he could not ask. “Would you mind if you could show us the way there Marito-san?” he requested while Slaine stood by the side quietly, the gears in his mind turning.

It was a silent drive to the town, the moment they reached, Slaine unlocked the door and ran out almost stumbling over a rock and falling. An area that was covered by tape that was now flying in the breeze stood before him. He jumped over the tape and stopped. What was once Itomori town, was now a gigantic lake. Only the school remained somewhat intact. However, it still showed signs of ruin. Broken lamppost pieces lay here and there, with cars smashed. It looked like the apocalypse had occurred.

“But…we spoke with each other. It’s all right here in my phone!” Slaine said giving himself hope that just maybe Kaizuka Inaho was alive. Just as he said that, the entries and exchanges they had had with each other began disappearing one by one until they were all gone, leaving nothing but an empty space. He brought down his phone, looking defeated.

It makes no sense at all.

Harklight placed a hand on Slaine’s shoulder and squeezed it, trying to reassure him, but Slaine was no longer with them. He was far gone within his own thoughts.

Marito strode over and gestured for Harklight to get back into the car with Slaine. Slaine was in a daze for most of the ride, still trying to figure out how he had missed this and how they had been communicating this whole time.

They checked in at an Inn near the restaurant and tried to rest. Harklight who was tired from the day was out like a light in five seconds flat. However, Slaine couldn’t sleep at all. Cautiously stepping around Harklight, he padded his way out of their room and went up to the library up above. He scanned the shelves looking for Historical records on Itomori and found the disaster’s death toll. Taking the book off of its shelf, he placed it on the table and flipped through the pages, looking for the kaizukas. And there it was, as clear as day, everyone he had known in that small town, were listed as dead, including Inaho. His shoulders trembled as he choked down a crying sound, tears falling from his eyes and onto the names. The fact that they were dead, finally sinking in.

Harklight peered through the library door and closed it, giving Slaine privacy and some time. He had awoken when he found that it was suspiciously cold on the side he had snuggled up to. He was extremely worried for his best friend. He hadn’t seen him like this ever since that day he witnessed Slaine’s own father give him scars on his back. He wondered about who could have possibly been as important to Slaine to make him cry those tears of pain.

☆彡

Morning came, and Slaine was still a mess, he was starting to forget important things that happened during his switch with Inaho. Little things, however, he did remember one small important point of time. It was time to visit that place at least once before forgetting all about Inaho.

He prepared to leave after telling Harklight to go back to Tokyo early. After having sent his best friend off, he set for his journey up into the mountains near Itomori with some onigiris and other items. He ran into shelter as it began raining heavily. Wishing, he had brought his raincoat, he sat at the small cave to eat while he waited for the downpour to stop. Looking around, he hoped there were no other bugs in there. He quickly left the cave, his backpack slung over his shoulder, the rain having slowed to a drizzle. At this time, the forests looked breath-taking, with water dripping off of leaves slowly catching the evening light and flowers smelling sweeter than ever. The earthy smell of rain hung in the air as the sun began to go down.

It was too bad Slaine couldn’t stop for too long, he had to constantly keep reminding himself of Inaho’s name which was starting to get really hard to remember. He picked up his pace, and finally, reached the ancient wisteria tree that sat at the very top of the mountain.

It was in bloom at this time of the year. It looked as pretty as it did the last time he came as Inaho with its purple flowers swaying gently in the wind, some of them floating down onto the ground. He went to touch a few of the flowers between his hands gently. Below that tree, was a grave covered in many flowers. He had remembered that Inaho and Yuki’s mother was buried here after her unfortunate passing. After paying his respects to her, he sat down below the tree, hoping that somehow he would be able to turn back time, that somehow he could meet that boy he had bickered with so much over the months. He fell asleep below that tree, tired from all the hiking.

He dreamt of Inaho’s past, beginning with his birth. Inaho was a strange baby, he hadn’t cried at all. He saw Inaho’s father leave when he was barely two years old, leaving him with a crying Yuki. He saw how their friends had helped them survive alone together. He witnessed Inaho’s and Yuki’s first picnic under the blooming Wisteria tree. The times Yuki left the house and didn’t come back home early, worrying Inaho out and finally to the time, they began switching, their lives fading together. The very last memory he saw was, Inaho looking straight to the sky as blazing meteorites fell from the sky. The heavens were falling and Inaho hadn’t moved, he had stared somewhat mesmerized as the town blew up before him.

Slaine shouted to no one in particular, to make Inaho run, do something anything.

☆彡

He awoke with a start, except he wasn’t in his own body anymore. He looked at his hands and they were the familiar smaller ones that belonged to Inaho. He almost cried from happiness as he looked at the calendar. He still had time before that comet would fall. He still had time to change everything. It was truly a miracle. Running out of the room, he found Yuki and hugged her, tears streaming down his face. Yuki was to say the least stunned. She looked at him closely and asked,

“Who are you? You’re not Inaho are you?”

This time it was Slaine who was blabbering, as he explained to Yuki what would happen if they didn’t evacuate the town. She hummed to herself and said,

“I’ll try my best to help you. Inaho mentioned that the comet was acting strangely when he was stargazing but you have to come back some day to see us okay? I want to meet his new friend in person! He was in Tokyo yesterday you know.”

Taking in the words carefully, he jogged his memory and found that Inaho had come to see him except they hadn’t known each other yet. It was the most unfortunate meeting they had had. The only thing that had come out from it was the bracelet he wore to this day. He borrowed Calm’s new bicycle from him and cycled off to the mountains, Calm’s bike meeting another unlucky accident as it fell into a ravine. Slaine ran back to the Wisteria tree, hoping and praying Inaho was there and he was.

☆彡

Inaho awoke to the sound of the swaying branches of the wisteria tree. He looked around, blonde hair falling into his eyes. That was odd, only one person he knew had blonde hair like this. He brought his fingers through it and stood up taking in his surroundings. He was familiar with this place, but why was Slaine here?

He stood up and walked to the side of the mountain, his breath hitching as he took in what was a disaster zone. Itomori was gone, completely destroyed.

So the comet’s nucleus had split after all

The sun was setting slowly as the birds of the forest began returning to their homes, the sky was getting darker until he felt someone’s presence behind him.

In a second, they were back in their own bodies and for the first time, they looked into each other’s eyes. Inaho whispered out, ‘Kataware Doki’ to himself .It was indeed twilight, the time where you might meet someone or something not human. Looking at Slaine for the first time had stunned him, he looked absolutely ethereal like a being out of a fantasy.

Slaine smiled at him and said, “You were three years too early you idiot, orange.”

Inaho replied with a smile as well, “Well, it’s not like I knew this would happen Bat.”

They shuffled closer to each other and hugged as Slaine cried tears of happiness.

“I thought I had lost you forever you know.” Slaine sniffled out as Inaho pat him soothingly.

He pulled away and took out a permanent marker telling Inaho that they should write their names on each other’s hands before they forgot. Except when Slaine brought his marker to Inaho’s hand, he disappeared. Twilight had ended. Neither of them were able to write their names down.

Slaine’s life flashed before his eyes as he saw the marker fall. Were they never meant to meet? Who was that guy? Why was he here? He shouted to the sky, “What is your name?” as tears fell from his eyes. He kneeled down onto the ground.

He was found by someone who had been hiking that day, looking lost, he never did remember why he was there but sometimes he knew he was looking for someone. It always felt like he was looking for them. His bracelet was still with him, a constant reminder as to the fact that he had lost someone important to him but didn’t know who it was.

☆彡

Years later, he began looking for jobs and was turned down interview after interview. His friends remarked that maybe it was his suit and tie. They told him he should remove that kiddy bracelet he wore. He didn’t. There were instances where he felt like he had passed by someone he knew but was too afraid to call out to the stranger. And so, their lives went on until one day, he heard familiar voices at a café while having coffee with Asseylum.

“Calm, why are you so gloomy today, here have some cake.” A lady with short black hair spoke as the man named Calm opened his mouth grumpily as she fed him.

Slaine watched as they acted like a couple and shook the feeling of knowing them off and continued talking with Asseylum reassuring her that it was nothing.

Three years had gone by and it was spring once more, when Slaine spotted a brunette on another train who had looked at him with wide eyes. It was a fleeting moment but he knew that that person had to be the one. The one he had been searching for all these years. He dashed out of the train, running out of the station and walked around the neighbourhood.

Inaho had seen that ethereal face before, but he couldn’t quite figure out why he knew that person, he got off at the next stop and ran towards the neighbourhood beside it and there was the person, standing by the stairs, who looked at him and passed by shaking his head before yelling at him, “Hey! Have we met before?”

Inaho smiled, “I thought so too” he said gently.

Both of them asked each other in unison,

“What is your name?”

☆彡

Author’s Note:

I admit this fic was actually really hard to finish writing since I am not used to writing more than a thousand words for every chapter update I normally do. However, thanks to the support of the other authors and the Aldnoah family I was able to make it on time.

I would like to specially thank, Hakumei_Hogosha , Ayuki , Plum and Chloe for helping me edit and beta this and supporting me throughout the writing process.

The addition of Pancake is a special dedication to Ayuki’s pet hamster. I believe this project has truly brought the az family closer.

I would like to thank Ayu for supporting everyone including myself when we were stressing over this fanbook project. I hope that you have enjoyed reading this fic and will join us for the games soon!

Anna

#az anthology #inaho kaizuka #slaine troyard #inaho x slaine #inasureanthology #CountLestanna #Ayuki #天が落ちたとき #orangebat

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