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#the gift that came in the basket was awesome though
desolateddreamur · 1 year
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First Date with Pip Headcanon
This was requested by my friend IRL at our sleepover (Thank youuuuu!!)
Gender neutral reader!
Requested? Yes!
When it came to you, Pip was a mess. Everyone knew he was fucking terrified of you, everyone ripped on him about it. (Even though they're just as scared of you.)
But when the school's 'scary dog' student suddenly just asks you on a date? He was too afraid to say no.
You were thrilled!! From afar you had admired the boy. It took a lot of courage to go to him and ask him out so the yes made you sooooo happy.
You never called him Pip, only Phillip, after you heard he's called that when they hate him.
Pip sighed, opening his locker and letting all of the junk Cartman had shoved into it fall onto him. Snickers rang behind him as he gathered it up neatly into a trash bag he stored in his pocket.
This wasn't new to him. It was often... When it was all gathered up, he tied the bag and put it in his locker to throw out after school. He pulled his books out and shut the door to his locker in a soft way so it wouldn't slam.
You leaned on the locker next to it, having waited patiently on him to ask. A hand sat in your jacket pocket where you had a little gift for him in. Never once had you decided to rip on the British boy like the others you always verbally bashed.
To you he looked cute, his accent was hot, he was polite and kind to everyone- you were head over heels.
Pip gasped sharply when he saw you, grasping the strap to his bag. Your eyes lit up knowing you could finally talk to him.
"Hey, Phillip... I was.. Well, ah- I want to give you this and wondered if you wanted to go out some time...?" You pull your hand from your pocket and place a little keychain of two f/a snuggling around a heart into his hands.
He gaped in silence and then shakily nodded, not knowing what else to do. He saw your s/c cheeks flush and a very gentle smile on your lips. It was a little cute.
"Awesome! Cool! I'll uh- pick you up at seven Friday night!" You kiss him on the cheek. It was so gentle he almost didn't even realize it was the most feared student in all the high school he was talking to, "Bye Phillip~!"
He was bugged by everyone the entire rest of the day, bombarded by questions on how the fuck he "domesticated the scary dog" as Cartman put it.
Pip was just as clueless.
For the rest of the week you showed a lot of kindness to him to help prove the date would be worth it.
Walked him to class, scared off his bullies, ate lunch with him, gave him tons of compliments, and even made him some treats!
When Friday rolled around, he was anxiously pacing the closer it got to seven. Pip was told to just dress comfortably and to not wear a hat so he did as told. A simple button-up and slacks were what he chose.
The ride was fascinating to him since he never rode on a motorcycle before.
You had arrived in a cute, comfy outfit on a motorcycle and took him on a ride up to the outskirts of town.
The date? A cute picnic under fairy lights that were strung between trees. He was in awe at your efforts.
When he found all the things you made; British foods and American foods, he finally realized you weren't actually pulling his leg. You really did research British foods just for him and went to the lengths of making them.
The night was spent talking and laughing, getting to fully know one another and admiring the view.
When you decided it was time to go the food was mostly finished off and he was about to fall asleep. You cleaned up everything into the picnic basket and had him hold it behind you while you drove.
Dropping him off on the porch, Pip mustered up to admit he'd like to go on another date and to be your boyfriend if you'd let him or preferred to wait for a few more dates to call him that.
You were ecstatic! Pulled a very happy little dance and peppered his face in kisses before telling him yes and to text the details on the next date.
He was definitely turned into a stuttering pile of putty in your hands.
As you drove off Pip knew he was gonna get his ass bugged a shitton at school for details. But for now, he was just going to admire the fact he finally had someone who cared about him and loved him. Let alone a s/o.
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blog-of-hubris · 2 years
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Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 187 - The Battle Junkie Collision
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“One of those chapters that remind you why Gege is so awesome..”
Legitimately I am always floored when Gege decides to go all in on a fight and not because of the typical “meathead” - for lack of better term- reasoning. This chapter was Gege showing off his ability to complicate his power system , within the battle without it feeling a forced moment of complexity to the power scaling (i.e Kashimo’s cursed energy having electrical properties). Don’t get me wrong, I hate power scaling - with a burning passion, like Jogo’s meteor burning. 
However, this is a battle shonen and a top tier battle shonen will always have power scaling at its core. The very fundamental of it derives from a character (usually) trying to attain a goal that requires them be powerful, the strongest even. Jujutsu Kaisen is no exception- if anything it is an example of how the power scaling leads to such intriguing discussion, which sometimes cannot be fully explored without involving (accurate) lore; void of headcanon or bias. I say all that to say that the culling game has taken jujutsu kaisen to the core of this concept, making the fights we see become a form of character development, (the real meaning of development, as in learning about a character and how they tick - not character growth which is the evolution of a character’s mental disposition, actions etc) - while also entertaining the reader, even causing some to miss those little details that make jjk characters so good, but more on that in later sections.
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Basically this chapter, without a doubt was one of those chapters that remind you why gege is so awesome, the sheer amount of raw action with meaningful nuance fuels this manga. The narration that Kashimo received the information for Hakari’s domain faster than he could activate Hollow Wicker basket, as well as the information that his activation is even faster than Mahito’s in Shibuya - it puts a lot of things into perspective. First - the fact that this version of simple domain was confirmed to be able to be used by Reggie and Kashimo has me wondering what exactly caused the creation of simple domain. Since Hollow Wicker Basket is a prototype or original form of simple domain, it really makes me want to see how Simple Domain’s founder (forgot his name too lazy to look up) created it and why he felt it had to be kept within his own clan. 
See? I’m talking about an entirely different lore piece and that all came from Gege simply adding that narration - and not to mention the confirmation of Hakari’s activation speed.. absolutely insane on top of his other buffs.. I get why Yuta said what he said! 
“To Kill an Immortal is to be...”
I love Kashimo for the simple fact that he reminds me of a story about a man who wants to become God. It sounds like I’m making a Black Star reference now that I think about it, but really thats the exact vibe I get from Kashimo. He’s talented, ruthless and clearly gifted with his cursed energy property - however what really grips me about Kashimo is his ruthless fighting style combined with his confidence. He's a scary guy, in a way that I think even Gojo would appreciate (even though he’d get obliterated by Gojo and would do so happily). I think thats what makes post gojo sealing such a phenomenal “era” for this manga, it makes characters like Kashimo feel more like a threat because we know Gojo can’t just come and show him up or guide the students to win.
It was perfect to use Charles as a means to introduce Hakari’s technique/domain then transitioning to the action packed fight - skipping out on the needed explanation for a complex ability like Hakari’s. Its really fucking cool how Gege does that so seamlessly.. I know some people hate to hear it but Gege really took Togashi’s writing style and ran with it. I love it though, he gave it his own modern and more meathead spin while keeping the core of the writing there and thats impressive. 
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Back to Kashimo, he really was a warrior in his day and we didn’t need to see the scene at the end of the chapter to know that. The fact he is completely unphased by this powered up Hakari is WILD. He is going toe to toe with him no problem, and in my opinion has the upper hand. The only thing (it looks like) Hakari has going for him is the immortality - but apparently that doesn't mean anything to our lightning man cause he wants to kill an immortal. To me, to kill an immortal is to be a God, thats why I get the vibe that Kashimo is really chasing God-hood. Do I mean that in a literal sense.. sure(?), but really I mean it in the spiritual sense. We know that back in the day jujutsu sorcerers were a lot more connected to the spiritual aspects of cursed energy. Just the idea of them accepting their souls being brought back hundreds of years later requires a level of spiritual awareness that I think modern sorcerers lack a bit - but to me that means Kashimo is fighting so hard because is in his spirit, he has the soul of a warrior so he consistently stayed in battle, always fighting until his body couldn’t keep up anymore. I’m head canon ranting I know, but seeing old man Kashimo really honed in to me that these sorcerers who come back are (probably) chasing after a spiritual fulfillment. I may do a different Meta on that entirely but to me Kashimo is chasing Godhood, as Ryu was chasing “fulfillment “ and Uro chasing “Recognition”. Not to mention chasing after the “King of Curses” to fight and prove who is stronger just sounds like a story out of a folk tale or mythological story of a man chasing “God”. Could be just me though-
The only thing that can confirm my head canon would be more insight on Kashimo as he is fighting Hakari, or a small flashback at the end of the battle, maybe even both. I will say, I am nervous for Hakari a bit!! (but then again not really).
“Hakari is a violent manga fan..” 
All of Gojo’s students are crazy. Inumkai might be the only sane one. Maki committed genocide (in self defense, thats important), Panda is a comical Panda with multiple souls, Yuji is Yuji (need we say more?), Megumi is a psycho- the best kind of psycho, Yuta is a psychotic romantic, and Hakari is a violent manga-head. I love every single one of them and I just need one arc with them all together under Gojo.. please Gege.. I'm begging.. pleading.. I’ll pay--!!!
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I mean really though, Hakari’s whole approach to fighting being based around using his luck in a skillful manner, then getting on a jackpot roll then becoming immortal while a song plays for 4 minutes and 11 seconds is hilarious. However, what it is more than hilarious is intriguing. One thing I feel like I haven’t seen anyone talk about is the core to jujutsu kaisen and thats the soul, body and cursed techniques. That has been the key things that have kept this series so interesting and adding twists and turns to what we know about the world. What I mean by saying this is that I feel like people haven’t discussed how insane it is that Hakari’s technique is a romcom manga that exists in real life combined with a pachinko game. His technique revolves around his domain activation just like Higaruma (also, notice how gege introduced the concept of rule-type domain expansions, then introduces higaruma, then shows us hakari’s domain - a character who could do it before the culling game unlike higaruma) and as explained with Higaruma he learned the concept of domain expansion and how it works due to his technique. It wouldn’t be far fetched to assume Hakari was the same! 
Lets take it one step further - we know that Higaruma’s technique revolved around the motif of a suspect, judge, lawyer and executioner. This was obviously to play on his personality and occupation as a lawyer so what does it say about Hakari whose domain is a pachinko game using a romance manga as the motif? I’ll let you come up with your own personal conclusions on that but I will say, to me it makes him fucking awesome. He’s a cultured dude bro. Hakari is a warrior, he loves battle but also he’s a softy for love and romance to a large enough degree that its engrained in his body & soul, and I say that because of what Mahito and Kenjaku showed us about the body, soul and cursed techniques. Hakari is really special.. he’s a gambling addicted manga fan who likes violence at his core. I love him and seeing him confidently go at Kashimo gave me CHILLS. I hope he shows out in the next chapter , but who knows how long Gege wants this fight to last. I do hope we get to see a lot more of the action break down in the paneling like we did for this chapter, it was really cool and seeing the shirtless Hakari panel breaks were the best part. Dude is just Todo x5. 
“Kenny is the cockiest bastard..”
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I aspire to be the level of confident Kenjaku is. I mean truly Kenny is the cockiest bastard on earth, I think he rivals Sukuna in that regard honestly. Having the confidence to jump multiple eras and change bodies, tap into different souls and personalities, Kenjaku really is doing his absolute to accomplish his goal. He casually approached Kashimo who had just finished slaughtering people, and calmly shrugs off a taunt from Kashimo. He really is confident in himself, what if Kashimo just attacked? Kenjaku claimed the body he had wasn’t built for fighting, so what does that mean?? He is clearly a powerful barrier user, so why pick a body he couldn’t utilize his strength? A lot of questions I have for him and his motives. 
 What also stood out to me is the similarity with all the people Kenjaku has taken over. I might be over analyzing (per usual) but hasn't all of Kenjaku’s bodies shared the same features? Aside from just the black hair, its something about all of them that seem very very similar, kind of like victimology in profiling. What is it about the victims that caused the suspect to attack them? I feel like there is a profile to be dissected through Kenjaku’s choices for hosts as well has his movements throughout the series - can you tell I been binging Criminal Minds? Seriously though, Kenjaku seems to be showing his true nature through the scenes Gege has been choosing to show us since Shibuya ended, and I love every second of it. Give me more Gege, expose the crevices of Kenny’s mind bit by bit until his real backstory comes to life. 
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Random thought i had while typing - since Kenjaku has been around so long its like he is the direct foil to Tengen who was hiding and living “immortal” while Kenjaku was on the other side of the fence living for years “immortal” by jumping bodies and searching for his “truth” - the “potential” of cursed energy. Kenjaku is for sure a very very interesting character and I can’t wait to see more.
“A true Jujutsu Sorcerer ..”
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I just want to point out that Kenjaku said Ryu had the most output of cursed energy during Kashimo’s era and we just seen Yuta take him head on.. with two other enemies at once and defeating someone they couldn't beat prior.. he’s a menace. A true jujutsu sorcerer.. and so is Kashimo, but maybe even more so because he has no care for others, only what he is interested in. He only cares about getting stronger and facing off against the strongest - im assuming because he simply loves the thrill of battle. This to me exemplifies what Uro was talking about to Yuta in regards to the strongest sorcerers being like calamities. That was what Uro witnessed, and Kashimo fits that perfectly. And honestly.. so does Hakari! Thats what makes this such an amazing match up because we are seeing true jujutsu sorcery! These battle junkies are going all out to wipe each other out and its that wild battle style that makes jujutsu Kaisen my favorite battle manga to follow fight wise (aside from hxh), 
We’ll see how this battle unfolds but no matter what happens you can tell it will take both them to go all out and have no regrets to come out on top! 
FIGHT CLUB FIGHT CLUB FIGHT CLUB!
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achitka · 1 year
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Hope for the Worst
Chapter 25: Hope For the Worst
Summary:
So it's day 25 - thanks for coming along so far... Think of the worst case scenario and try to make it happen.
Chapter Text
“First, an announcement,” Abuela said as she glowered at Mirabel. “I’ve spoken to the Guzmáns about Mariano’s proposal to Isabela.” Abuela came up behind her then and Isabela cringed inside as she turned her head as Abuela cupped her chin to have her face her. Keep smiling…keep smiling…
“Dolores, do we have a date?” Abuela asked and Isa could hear the happy anticipation that made her want to cry all the while thinking…please say no…please say no…
“Tonight. He wants five babies.” Dolores said in a flat emotionless tone.
Isa felt a moment of terror…FIVE?…Isa felt the flowers sprout but she forced herself to replaster that fake smile on her face.
“Wonderful!” Abuela said excitedly, but Isa noted that her Abuela plucked out the white daisy, casting it aside as she said, “Such a fine young man,” She absently straightened Isabela’s posture and continued,” with our perfect Isabela will bring a new generation of magical blessings and make both of our families stronger.”
Isa held the pose just a little longer and turned to make sure Abuela had moved away, only to notice Camilo had shifted into Mariano. Being the jerk that he is, he was making kissing gestures at her. Strangling him with vines would probably not be the best response so she flipped her hand using her gift to stuff his mouth with flower petals. That at least shut him up.
“Okay. Our community is counting on us,” Abuela said then intoned, “La Familia Madrigal!”
Everyone responded in kind, and Isa was no exception. She got up from the table lost in her private hell when Mirabel, not paying attention and moving too quickly smacked right into her.
“Sorry,” Mirabel said moving past her.
“What is your problem?” Isa asked angrily but realized Mirabel likely did not hear her as she ran from the patio after Luisa shouting, “Hey! Luisa, hold up!”
Stupid Mirabel, she just gets to leave and I have to stay here and do dishes. She moved around the table taking half eaten plates of food and dumping them into a pail. Looks like the pigs are gonna have an awesome breakfast she thought. Dolores was watching her with sad eyes and though Isa wanted to find out what was bothering her, she and her prima had not been on good terms since Abuela announced her intention of having Isabela marry Mariano. She thought then of her half-forgotten promise to stay away from Mariano…but they were only ten at the time and Mariano was an even bigger dork than he was now. Isa stopped in her thoughts; she probably shouldn’t be thinking of her future husband that way.
Her husband…the thought made her cringe and she accidentally knocked over a juice glass. The contents flowed into Dolores’s lap, before Isa could apologize, her prima got up then and left the table. Isa righted the glass and took the armload of dishes to the kitchen.
Her mother was there packing up the last of the food she’d spent several hours prior to breakfast preparing. She looked up and cocked her head seeing Isa’s not happy expression. Isabela realized she was frowning and smiled, it was hard to hold on to though.
“You okay?” her mother asked covering one of her baskets.
Isabela could only muster a nod as she placed the dishes in the wash water. Her mother picked up an apron and came around the table to her. Isa was staring out the window when her mother turned her toward her and asked again as she put the apron over Isa head, “You okay, mi vida?”
In that moment Isa desperately wanted ask her if she had to do this. Tell her mother she did not want to get married, did not love Mariano, did not want five babies…but most of all she did not want to be shut out like Mirabel. But instead, she said, “I’m okay, Mamá. Just a little nervous about tonight.”
Her mother sighed and nodded, Isa was hoping she wouldn’t believe her, but she’d done too good of a job making her mother believe otherwise. Too good a job making Abuela think she wanted this to turn back now. She was trapped. She would always be trapped while Mirabel would be free. She wondered if it were possible to lose her Gift, then she could be free too.
“I can stay and help for a bit,” her mother said, but Isa shook her head.
“No, I’m fine, just preproposal jitters,” Isa said with a small nervous laugh. She was not sure why she kept repeating that lie. Her mother reached around and gathered the apron strings, tying them gently.
“Okay, Isabee, I’ll see you when I get home.” Her mother picked up the two baskets she prepared and left the kitchen.
Isa turned back toward the sink and started washing. Casita flipped a tile and she looked at it. The tile was one that she and Mirabel had made before her gift ceremony. The tiny plaque said Isabee loves Hum and there was a picture of a pair of bees on a daisy. A small smile crept onto her face. There was only one thing standing between her and potential oblivion. Abuela would want tonight to be perfect, but with Mira there, there was no chance of that happening. Since her sister was already acting even more chaotic than usual, she would just need to tell Mirabel not to say anything, not a sound. And on that hopeful thought Isa decided she could face the upcoming dinner, and hope for the worst.  
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notveryshrugemoji · 3 years
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It dawned on me thay this basket was from my ex-boyfriend’s mom and the basket had a (high school) graduation gift in it. I don’t know why the basket has made it through numerous moves, a cross country move, my entire next relationship + marriage and through every purging of stuff I’ve ever done.
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patt-writes-stuff · 3 years
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Violetgrass (Xiao x f!reader)
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Pairing: Yan!Xiao x f!reader
Word count: 6.7K+
Warnings: not the most canon complaint cuz the timeline for the archon War is a little blurry? Angst with no happy ending, major and repeated character death, semi-detailed descriptions of blood, injuries, and violence. Unhealthy and toxic relationships, yandere themes, mentions of stalking, controlling behavior, mentions of kid-napping, forced captivity. Unhealthy mindsets and generally xiao’s kinda slowly losing his sanity. Some delusions. Allusions of starvation/dehydration (it’s like one sentence). Pleas do not read this if any of the previously mentioned topics trigger you in any way.
Genre: Angst and Yandere
Tags/Aus: Mythology Au, Reincarnation Au
Summary: You and Xiao were lovers during the Archon War. You were his paradise, his bliss, and, unfortunately, a fragile mortal who was taken away far too soon. However Celestina was kind enough, or perhaps cruel enough, to bring you back to Xiao, only to rip you out of his loving embrace once more. This happens again and again, each time far more painfully than the last. Even an Adeptus such as Xiao can only take so much before he snaps though. This time, he’s gonna make sure that no one, not even you, can take his bliss away.
A/N: This is my piece for the Attack on Academia Mythology Au Collab!! Be sure to check the rest of them, they’re all super awesome and made by amazing writers!
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You’ve heard the myth about the Vigilant Yaksha and the violetgrass maiden, haven’t you?
It’s said that the two are eternally intertwined, destined to love each other, only to be ripped apart by both her mortality and the cruelty of the gods. The tale itself goes like this…
The first time the Adeptus and his mortal lover met was back when the Archon War was still roaring. The smell of blood and misery filled the air and Rex Lapis had yet to claim his title as the Geo Archon. Despite this, some managed to find joy and serenity in these troubling periods.
The maiden was one of those people. She found joy in frolicking through the fields and climbing the highest mountains to collect qingxin flowers and, her personal favorite, violetgrass, whenever she had the time. Though climbing up the steep mountains and jagged peaks of Liyue was indeed dangerous, the damsel had become quite skilled at climbing, her hold rarely ever slipping, no falls or cuts of any sort.
Until one day, the maiden was climbing up a particular mountain. It was a troublesome one, for there were no proper footholds or protruding stones to grab on to. Still, the pretty violetgrass that was just a foot or two away from her, swaying gently with the wind, was far too tempting to not collect. It would look so lovely in a flower crown, or maybe a vase, perhaps she could flatten it out to make a bookmark or-
A piercing shriek escaped the mortal. Whilst her thoughts had been elsewhere, she’d stopped on a small ledge that was far too fragile to support her weight, the rock beneath the maiden gave away to nothing before she could react.
She shut their eyes tightly, bracing herself for an impact that would surely leave her battered and bruised, if not dead.
However, it never came.
Instead, she was caught mid-air by a pair of strong arms that secured their hold under the mortal woman’s knees and neck. She didn’t open her eyes right away, for fear that she would still fall, choosing instead to catch their breath. Once her savior landed safely on the ground, something she was able to detect due to the thud of shoes against the earth, she slowly opened her eyes.
Upon opening them, her eyes met with the piercing amber eyes of a young man with dark hair (the color of the ocean at night, she thought dreamily) with pretty teal bangs framing his even prettier face. His brows were furrowed slightly, thin lips twisted into what seemed to be a permanent frown. In her still dazed state, she couldn’t help but think that he was far too handsome to look so dreadfully serious.
After an intense moment of eye contact, perhaps too intense for two strangers that had met only seconds prior, he let her go in a rather unceremonious manner, causing her to squawk in surprise, knees buckling under the unexpected weight. She had not yet had a chance to gather her bearings after such a terrifying event.
Instead of asking if she was alright, the young man simply said, in a rather crude and callous manner, “You should be more careful, mortal. If I hadn’t been there to catch you, you would’ve surely broken your neck.”
She gawked at him. Mortal? Why would he refer to her in such an… odd way?
The maiden looked at him up and down, as if trying to understand just what was wrong with this poor man. Suddenly, it struck her. She’d been an absolute idiot to not have noticed sooner. From the tattoo that adorned his right arm to the way he held himself, it had been so obvious.
Her savior was an Adeptus.
He wasn’t just an Adeptus, no. He was much more than that. He was one of the Adepti who served under Rex Lapis. He was one of the five Yakshas who kept her and the people of Liyue safe if the mask tied to his belt was any indication. And instead of killing demons or evil gods, he’d taken the time to save her.
Before she could muster an adequate thank you, he, who she’d now realized was Adeptus Xiao, was already leaving, uttering a quick “Please be careful,” on his way.
Quickly, and without really thinking, she grabbed onto his wrist, blabbering out the words, “Wait, don’t go! You must allow me to repay you for your generous actions!”
The amber-eyed Adeptus opened his mouth, ready to declare that it was unnecessary, but before he could, the damsel spoke up, “I could cook you something in return. How about almond tofu?” with a small giggle she added, “I assure you it’s sweeter than those dreams you eat.”
To both of their surprises, Xiao uttered a quiet, almost shy, “Yes.”
The Adeptus didn’t know what had come over him. All he knew is that there was something about the way her eyes sparkled and her lips moved, her soothing, melodious voice. It made his heart pound in a way it never had before.
And so, she cooked him some almond tofu, and they- well, she- talked as he ate the mouthwatering sweet.
He came back the day after that one and the one after that, followed on by the one after that, and so on. Xiao hadn’t meant to, really he hadn’t. But there was something about the maiden that just brought him a peace he had never experienced before. Her warm embrace and soft, gentle words were all he needed to keep fighting, to keep living, even. She was his paradise, his bliss. It wasn’t long until they were mutually infatuated with one another, deeply in love.
Every time he would visit her home, he would always bring her the flowers she so adored. Glaze lilies, silk flowers, and of course, violetgrass. Xiao had even gifted her a small broach, one made of the finest noctilucous jade, shaped like the downturned purple flower.
Unfortunately, everything is temporary for those punished with immortality.
The first time Xiao lost his maiden was, as he remembers, a rainy day. Despite the dreary weather, she had decided to go violetgrass picking since they’re always best picked after the rain.
But, dear Archons, what a dreadful idea that had been.
While the purple flower is indeed best picked after it rains, it is also the time when rocks are most… slippery.
So, as the maiden was climbing up the steep mountains of Juyen Karst, her right hand’s hold on the rock slipped, causing her palm to be cut open by a particularly jagged piece of stone. She hissed in, watching as blood began to ooze out. Panic started to seep in, there was no ledge for her to tend to her wound, and the cut was far too big for her to continue to climb up or down.
Dread began to fill her to her very core, she felt burning hot with unchecked anxiety, fear begging to settle into her gut in the most uncomfortable of manners. She should have waited for Xiao as he had asked of her. Ever since they had first met, a year ago to the day, he’d been so adamant on wanting to go with her to ensure her safety. She’d only wanted to surprise him with some when he returned home. The maiden was so sure it would’ve been a romantic anniversary gift, seeing as they were the cause of their meeting…
She’d been such a fool.
The violetgrass maiden attempted to climb down but Celestia seemed to laugh at her feeble attempts. She stretched her leg, trying to find the foothold she had used previously. However, her foot slipped and before she knew it, she was falling, just as she had been a year ago.
Horror filled her lungs, making it hard for her to breathe, her life flashed before her eyes, and then suddenly she remembered some words her lover had uttered to her one night under the glow of the moonlight when it was but the two of them in each other’s arms:
“If you awake to a knife at your throat, if monsters dig their claws into you, if death comes knocking at your door, call out my name, Adeptus Xiao. I will be here when you call.”
And so she called, at the top of her lungs, as loud as she could muster. The seconds seemed to turn to hours as she shut her eyes and waited to feel the strong arms of her lover, to hear the safety of his heartbeat.
But it never came.
Or rather, it came too late.
By the time Xiao had finished up the demonic creatures that threatening Liyue, by the time he’d answered her call, he was already too late.
Upon manifesting in the air out of nothing, he was greeted by the side of his love’s pitiful, mortal body. Her garments were bloody, the basket she carried her flowers in laid a few feet away from her body,her neck bent in a painfully awkward way.
Xiao felt so helpless. He was so helpless.
He could do no more than hold back the tears stinging his eyes and attempting to shake her awake.
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The second time Xiao met the maiden was no more than a century after the first time. The Archon War was not yet over and sickness plagued every nook and cranny, taking the lives of hundreds upon thousands.
The two star-crossed lovers were reunited one clear summer night when the maiden was wandering aimlessly through the fields of Lingju Pass. She knew it was dangerous during these times, especially with how ill she had been feeling as of late. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to care. She’d already spent hours tossing and turning in her bed. Sleep, however, refused to come. Instead, she felt the overwhelming urge to leave the safety of her bed and go there. It was as if someone had tied a rope around her waist and was tugging at it persistently, insisting she follows.
And so she followed.
Upon reaching a clearing, she froze. In front of her very eyes was a sitting Stonehide Lawachurl, the type even the fiercest warriors in your village struggled with. The maiden quickly started backing away, praying to the Lord of Geo that it wouldn’t sense her presence. Her prayers were in vain, however, for as soon as the thought escaped her, she stepped on a twig, making it snap and effectively alerting the fearsome monster of her presence.
She shook in terror as parts of the Lawachurl’s rocky exterior began to glow with geo elemental energy. She hadn’t expected anything of the sort to happen so she hadn’t brought her sword, meaning she couldn’t exactly fight it, definitely not without a vision at least. Running wasn’t much of an option considering her body’s weak and ill state. She could try to outrun it, sure, but it wouldn’t be long before she was driven to a coughing fit because of it.
Before life had a chance to flash before her eyes, a masked young man appeared. Distantly, she recognized him as one of the adepti and watched him easily defeat the Stonehide Lawachurl with a series of short, consecutive plunges. She couldn’t help but watch him, mouth agape in an expression of pure, unadulterated awe. The Adeptus didn’t even need a claymore to break through the creature’s thick, hard exterior. As bad as she felt for not assisting him, she knew she weren’t exactly in any position to lend a hand. Not that she needed to, though, for soon enough the monster crumbled into nothing but red and black smoke.
After a second of panting over the remains of what was left of the creature, polearm in hand, Xiao turned to her and felt his blood run cold.
It was her.
How could it be her? She had died long ago. He knew she had, he’d cradled her cold body as tears streamed down his face. He’d taken her lifeless body back to her family. He’d left flowers at her grave.
This had to be some sort of sick joke, he thought, perhaps the karmic debt was finally getting to him, just like it had his fellow Yakshas.
Suddenly, his amber eyes zeroed in on a broach she had pinned to her dress. A Violetgrass broach, to be exact. Made of noctilucous jade, just like the one he had given her. The one he’d made for her with his own hands. There was no denying it was the very one. Only, how could that be? He had ensured it had been buried with you…
But it was an indisputable fact. That broach was the one he had made for his love and the woman before him was her. It was her from her wide eyes, fixated on him with the same wonder they had always had when they looked at him. Her hair was the same color and texture, and it framed her face in the same way. It was her.
The beginnings of tears stung at his eyes. Perhaps Celestia had brought you back? Perhaps they’d finally realized, just as he had always known, that her death was cruel and unfair. That it wasn’t meant to be. That she was meant to be in his arms, happy and safe.
“Uhm- excuse me, Adeptus Xiao, are you alright?” She inquired worriedly, eyes solely on him, filled to the brim with concern.
‘Oh Archons’, he couldn’t help but think distantly, ‘I’ve missed her voice.’
Instead of running up to her and crushing him in his loving embrace, he stayed where he was, took off his mask, nodded briskly, swallowing as if to avoid the tightness in his throat. She didn’t seem to remember him yet, so there was no use in frightening her.
Before he could muster up the courage to speak to her, his love began to cough furiously, though she attempted to cover it up. She didn’t want to be rude to her savior, after all.
“Ha, pardon me, sir, I’ve just been feeling a bit under the weather is all,” she told him feebly.
He nodded brusquely, before uttering, “I shall return you home safely.”
“Oh no, I assure you, you’ve done more than enough for me. I can’t ask that of you,” she fumbled hurriedly, though his words were more of a statement than a question.
Xiao had never been one for unnecessary- or at least what he thought were unnecessary- words, so instead of saying anything, the Adeptus simply grabbed her by the waist and teleported you home, after asking where home was, of course.
The next day, the Yaksha visited the maiden’s home, a bushel of violetgrass flowers in hand. She’d been understandably surprised, yet thrilled that the dark-haired man was visiting her. She hadn’t expected someone as busy as him to make time for a regular person such as herself, especially not during these times.
“These are my favorite flowers, y’know? They’re just so beautiful,” the maiden exclaimed gleefully.
He did know. That had been one of the reasons he had brought them to her. The second reason was because of what happened last time, in her previous life, he supposed. Celestia had been kind enough to gift him a second chance with his love, and he was going to ensure that it did not go to waste.
And so, every day he would visit her. Some days he would bring silk flowers, or glaze lilies, while other days he would bring her loach pearls and core lapis. Not a day went by where he would not appear in front of the damsel’s house, a gift in hand, ready to hear her ramble about whatever that beautiful brain of hers desired to prattle on about.
“You’re simply too generous Xiao,” she’d told him playfully while she laid in her bed, as she was still unwell, the Adeptus seated in a plush chair next to it. “There has to be something I can give you in return for everything. I won’t take no for an answer.”
He thought for a moment, before asking, tentatively, “Do you know how to make almond tofu?”
He’d never forget her dazzling smile that day, as she shakily got out of her bed, latching onto the support he offered while she gathered her bearings, and marched to her kitchen, enthusiastically preparing the sweet treat as she talked about a book she’d been reading, one that’d been gifted to her by a friend, titled Moonlit Bamboo Forest.
The lovers did this every day for months. Xiao brought her some medicinal tea that Rex Lapis himself said could cure her ailments. They did indeed begin to see improvement in her health and Xiao couldn’t help but feel immense relief. This time, he wouldn’t lose her for certain.
Until the plagues reached her village.
She’d been one of the first to catch it since the village doctor came to check on her so often, he’d spread it to her. The plague, coupled with her previous illness, weakened her body in a manner of days. One day, Xiao went to get some medicine his fellow adepti had guaranteed would help the maiden feel better.
When he returned later that day, however, he found her body in the bed, cold and without a pulse, the stench of death and sickness thick in the air.
That was the second time he had lost her.
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The third time the star-crossed lovers met was long after the archon war. Liyue was now its own nation with its own name, the great center of wealth and commerce. The Yakshas were now a thing of the past, having succumbed to their karmic debt. Eventually, they all fell in one way or another.
All but Xiao, who remained a constant throughout it all.
Over the past decade or so, Xiao had taken to staying at the Wangshu Inn when he wasn’t slaying monsters. The people were nice enough, though he had long given up on attempting to form emotional connections with others. It would only lead to grief, just like it had when he’d lost his love or his fellow Yakshas, and there was only so much grief anyone, mortal or not, could take before their thread of sanity snapped in half. And with his Karmic Debt being as bad as it was…
As Xiao sat at the edge of the balcony of the Wangshu Inn, legs dangling below, he couldn’t help but think of her, his maiden. He wondered if, perhaps, Celestia would give him a third chance and bring her back to him. Honestly, the Adeptus wasn’t sure he wanted a third chance with her. While he did miss the sound of her heartbeat and the sweet words she’d utter to him and only him, he doubted he could bear the pain of having her ripped away from him once again.
It’s as if Celestia was taunting Xiao. As if the Archons above were bored and found some sick amusement in his pain as if his emotions were nothing but a game to them. What other explanations were there for what happened next?
“Um- excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?” An angelic voice he knew far too well, missed far too much, spoke.
Xiao looked up and lo and behold, it was her. Same hair, same eyes, same violetgrass broach.
She stood behind him clutching a plate of something, though the angle wouldn’t allow him to make up what it was. Her face adorned that same anxious smile of hers and he could feel himself falling in love with the maiden all over again. He knew he should say no. He shouldn’t allow her back in, not when he’s already lost her so many times before, not when they’d both suffered so much just by being together.
He nodded before looking away.
He shouldn’t but he would.
“I hope you don’t mind me intruding on your quiet time,” she said softly once she had settled beside him. When he made no indication of answering, she continued, “To be honest, you just seemed so… sad, melancholic even. Something about it, even if I don’t really know you, doesn’t sit right with me. It makes my heart feel heavy.”
The violetgrass maiden received no response, except for a soft grunt of acknowledgment, so small she wasn’t sure she hadn’t imagined it. Still, it was all she needed to perk up and stretch her arms out, offering him the plate she’d been holding.
“Here, I got this for you,” she told him, “word around the streets is you’ve got quite an appetite for it! Though this is my first time staying at the Inn, so I’m not sure if it’s any good here.”
Xiao looked at her, amber eyes filled with love. He was glad to know that, despite living through many lives now, she was still the girl he’d met back then, as sweet as he’d remembered her, just as caring.
He shouldn’t have but he took the plate from her hands and began to eat.
Instead of saying anything, she simply watched him as he ate, a silly little smile making its way to her face. The look on his lady’s face had him growing hot and turning beet red
“So,” he coughed out, embarrassed, “where’d you get a broach like that?”
“Oh, this one?” She inquired, pointing at the shiny violetgrass broach, “I found it lying on the ground one day when I was out picking lotus heads for dinner. I asked just about everyone in Liyue Harbor if it was theirs, but no luck. I eventually decided to just keep it for myself. It is a shame though, whoever lost it must truly be upset over losing such a beautiful piece of jewelry. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
He nodded along, thinking that, well, the broach actually was with its owner.
“It’s as if it were fate though,” she prattled on happily, watching the stars as she talked, “Violeygrass is my very favorite, always has been really. Though, I’ve always been too scared to climb up for them myself. You see, ever since I was little, I’ve had this recurring nightmare where I fell to my death while collecting some.”
The Adeptus stilled for a second, tense. She hadn’t ever brought up dreams about her past life. Maybe this time was different, maybe she’d remember what he did!
“Oh my Archons,” she exclaimed, face warm with embarrassment, scratching the back of her head sheepishly, “I’ve been going on and on! I’m so sorry, something about you feels so familiar. It makes me feel like I can tell you just about everything. Is that weird?”
His heart was racing like it hadn’t in years, decades even.
“You can tell me whatever you want,” he answered shortly, “I don’t mind listening. You have a nice voice.”
The maiden covered her hands with her face, flustered, and Xiao let out a rare smile, soft and gentle. This time would be different. He’d make sure of it.
After that day, the maiden began to visit the Wangshu Inn often, whenever she could spare time away from her job. Unbeknownst to her, however, Xiao followed at a distance when she wasn’t visiting him, to ensure her safety. He knew it wasn’t right, truly, but he had no other choice. He had to, or else he’d risk losing her to an accident such as last time, fall ill again, attacked by monsters or, Celestia forbid, be kidnapped by a group of treasure hoarders.
He’d have to get rid of any and all threats.
So, Xiao continued to follow his maiden from a distance, he made sure she was in tip-top shape, and ruthlessly slaughtering all enemies that he deemed a threat to her, until he was certain nothing would take her away from him again.
Except for one threat. Himself.
The third time he’d lost her was on a beautiful night, not that Xiao could remember it well. His love had insisted on the two of them taking a walk. She’d reasoned that the cool night air would help him regain control. His karmic debt had been weighing on him an awful lot recently and she simply couldn’t bear to see him in such excruciating pain.
The walk had started off rather pleasantly, as far as Xiao could remember. He could remember nudging his hand against hers, wanting to hold it but being far too shy to do so. With a laugh and a teasing remark, the maiden interlaced their fingers, bringing up their hands to place a gentle kiss on his, making the tips of his ears redden in bashfulness. They’d walked a little further until they encountered a group of hilichurls accompanied by a pyro abyss mage. Without skipping a beat, Xiao stepped in front of his lover, polearm appearing in his hand.
And then…
Everything went dark. Xiao’s mind was nothing but a void, pain exploded in every inch of his body as his karmic debt returned in full force to punish him for the slaughtering he’d committed.
When he came to, his mind was hazy, unsure of what had occurred. The Yaksha sat up, ignoring the way his muscles protested against it, and looked around, trying to make sense of what had happened and where he was.
Xiao froze when his eyes locked onto her pitiful body laying a few feet ahead of him in the grass surrounded by arrowheads and broken hilichurl masks, blood turning ice-cold. If he ignored the gashes across her body, the ones that were unmistakably made by the bloody spear he was clutching and not some hilichurl club or bow and arrow, and the blood that stained her pretty garments, he could almost fool himself into thinking she was asleep.
This had been his doing.
After a few beats of stunned silence, the dark-haired Adeptus lurched forward grabbing onto her cold body and shaking ruthlessly, calling out her name frantically, as if it would make his love wake up, make her cradle his face lovingly and ask why he’d been crying.
Xiao looked up onto the sky scornfully, looking up at Celestia with nothing short of pure, unadulterated loathing. He was willing to bet they were all mocking him right now, laughing at how weak and pathetic he was, at how time after time, he’d failed to love her enough, to keep her alive. They did this on purpose he was sure of it, those bastards. Well, if they could play dirty like this, so could he. He’d get her back, he’d keep her alive by his side.
And just like that, Xiao’s thread of sanity snapped.
“You can’t take her away from me anymore,” he spoke to the sky nonsensically, “I won’t let you. I don’t care what I have to do, who I have to kill, you won’t take my bliss away from me again.”
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“That story was quite depressing,” Chongyun stated, ceasing his footsteps to look to his friend, Xingqiu.
“Ah yes, it is indeed, my liege,” the navy blue-haired gentleman agreed, “However, I’m glad this book included the whole myth, instead of making me wait for the next volume like the last one.”
The light blue-haired boy rolled his eyes before saying, “As much as I appreciated you reading the book aloud, I don’t see how this aids us in our search for (Y/N).”
The reason the boys had been searching across all of Liyue, was because their aforementioned friend had mysteriously gone missing. Everything had been as it normally was until one day, (Y/N) didn’t show up at her job in the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, something that was incredibly unusual of her, especially without a warning to her boss or coworkers. This led Hu Tao, with the insistence of Zhongli, to ask Chongyun and Xingqiu, two of (Y/N)’s friends, for help in the search for her. They had also contacted the milelith, but they had told them that she’d not been missing for long enough to warrant a search party. The two had, of course, been quick to help, though Xingqiu had been rather enraptured in a book of Liyue Myths, simply insisting he’d have to take it with him so he could read while he searched for her.
“But my liege,” Xingqiu exclaimed playfully, golden eyes shining with mirth, “this story is of utmost importance in our search for our beloved friend. Why, for all we know, (Y/N) might’ve been kidnapped by the Vigilant Yaksha himself! She has always had a habit of climbing mountains to pick violetgrass like the maiden in the book”
“Do not be so ridiculous,” Chongyun said, rolling his eyes, “I doubt an Adeptus such as himself would ever commit such an atrocity of that degree against a citizen of Liyue. Besides, that myth is incredibly old and there’s very little evidence that proves its validity. It’s more likely that (Y/N) was taken by a demon. That is why I asked you to accompany me to Wuwang Hill.”
“I was simply joking Chongyun,” he said with a laugh before turning solemn, “However, regretfully I feel as though it is time for the two of us to return to Liyue Harbor for the day. You’ve just about run out of popsicles and with this heat, I have no doubt you’ll overheat if we keep going.”
“I’m afraid you’re right,” The blue-eyed boy admitted. “I hope (Y/N) is alright wherever she is.”
“I do as well,” Xingqiu agreed, “Perhaps Hu Tao and Zhongli have had more luck.”
Chongyun nodded, “Xiangling also said she’d ask her customers if they’d seen her.”
With that, the two boys made their way back to Lihue Harbor, oblivious to just how true Xingqiu’s joke had been.
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Xiao sighed as he climbed up the stairs of Wangshu Inn up to his room. Of course, he did not need sleep, it was a mortal need in and of itself, or a room for that matter but Verr Goldet had insisted that he should have his own space, somewhere he could rest after long days of slaughtering demons such as this one.
The Adeptus turned the door handle, opening the door of an empty, pristine room. While the room had all of the furniture the other Inn rooms had, it still felt unnervingly empty, without any clothes or trinkets laying around. The only personal object of Xiao’s in the room was an orange teapot that rested on the nightstand.
Quickly, Xiao opened the tea pot’s lid, and within seconds he was standing in front of a Liyue style mansion, surrounded by mountains that he crafted to look like the ones from when the two of you had met all those centuries ago. Eager to see you, Xiao ignored Tubby’s greetings and opened the front door, making quick work of taking off his shoes before climbing the stairs to the second floor, where your room was.
He opened the door to find you sat atop your bed, alert and glaring at him fiercely. The Adeptus rolled his amber eyes, it seemed you were still trying to act out and be defiant. Looking around your room, mostly to make sure you hadn’t tried to smash the windows with the desk chair like last time (you seemed to not comprehend the fact that there was no escaping the serenetea pot, since it was a world Xiao himself had created), his eyes settled on the plate of bamboo shoot soup he’d left for you this morning, along with a still filled to the brim cup of water. He narrowed his eyes at that. It simply wouldn’t do. You’d been here for about a week now and you still refused to eat or drink anything he brought you, except for a few nibbles and sips he’d managed to threaten coax out of you. Xiao, admittedly, didn’t know very much about humans, but he did know they needed to eat and drink to stay alive. He’d learned that the hard way on his last few tries.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Xiao inquired before adding, “If you don’t like this food you should come out and say it. I can ask Smiley Yanxiao for something that suits your taste more.”
You let out a poorly suppressed scoff. This nut-job didn’t seem to get that out of all the things wrong in this situation, the last thing you were concerned about was the food. Dear Archons, just what is wrong with this man? First, he had the gall of taking you captive one evening when you were going home from work and now he had the audacity to expect you to act like a complacent little toy and go along with this insanity?
And to think that when you’d first met him whilst accompanying the Traveler and Paimon, who had been commissioned by Director Hu Tao to gather some cor lapis for a client’s ceremony, you’d been absolutely smitten with the awkward and stoic Adeptus. Everything from his pretty black hair to his captivating bright eyes had your knees weak. So much so that you’d ignored all of the red flags, like how he’d stare at you in such an intense manner, with eyes fixated on you and only you, how he seemed to distrust Aether, a trusted friend of his, when it came to him accompanying you, or how as soon as you’d met you had the horrible sensation of being watched at all times of the day. Just thinking back to all the warning signs you’d missed made your skin crawl. Perhaps if you hadn’t been such a lovesick idiot you’d be at home right now or eating dinner with Chongyun and Xingqiu, trying out one of Xianglings crazy concoctions containing slime condensate or whopper flower nectar.
Instead, you were trapped in an artificial world, in a room that looked horrifyingly similar to your own back home.
You were snapped out of your reverie by Xiao moving closer to your bed.
“Let me go home,” you said, hating how your voice cracked at the end. You felt so pathetic, you always prided yourself on being a headstrong independent person, and here you were, cowering at his closeness and avoiding all eye contact, as if looking at his pain filled eyes would ruin you.
“You are home,” he retorted, his voice bordering on delusion, “This is your home. This is where you're safe. Where you stay alive and I get to keep you forever.”
Xiao stretched out his arm, as if to cradle your cheek in his hand but before he got to you flinched away, backing away from him as far as you could, back hitting the headboard. You looked away, trying to ignore how guilty the pain that flashed through his eyes made you feel. You shouldn’t be the one feeling guilty.  He should be. He’s the one that stole you away from your home. He’s the one that ruined your life.
You look down at the violetgrass broach clasped onto your blouse in nothing short of complete and utter loathing. You’d been so captivated by it when you’d first found it at the antique shop while window shopping with Mr. Zhongli.
It had been exactly six months since you’d moved away from your home in the sleepy Qingce Village in exchange for a job at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor and a quaint apparently in the bustling city of Liyue Harbor. To celebrate, your coworker (and the person you had been shadowing in order to learn the ropes of the funeral business) Mr. Zhongli had insisted on going to Third-Round Knockout for some dinner. You’d been a bit hesitant at first, mostly because you knew well of the elegant gentleman’s habit of forgetting his wallet, but you enjoyed hearing his stories far too much to say no. Something about his retellings of stories about the Adepti just enraptured you.
Afterward, the two of you had decided to walk around the city and look at the displays in shops, since you had decided that your hard work warranted splurging a little as a reward of sorts. You had of course asked Mr. Zhongli to join you since he had such exquisite taste and an eye for the authentic, you valued his opinion greatly.
That’s how the two of you ended up at Xigu Antiques, browsing the display case. All of a sudden, your eyes zeroed in on a broach that resembles a little violetgrass plant, its downturned leaves made up of what you could only guess was noctilucous jade. It was, for lack of a better word, stunning.
“Mr. Zhongli,” you exclaimed, tugging at his sleeve to call his attention away from a porcelain teapot with gold little geo symbols as decoration, “what do you think of this one? It’s quite beautiful isn’t it?”
The dark-haired man looked at the broach you were pointing at before going tense, a small gasp escaping him as his beautiful amber eyes widened slightly. You looked at him in concern, you’d never seen the man come this close to losing his composure.
“Oh,” he said, clearing his throat, “is this the one you’re thinking of purchasing? I’d advise against it. Even by just a mere glance, I can tell it is not made of real noctilucous jade.”
Strangely, you felt as though he wasn’t being truthful with you.
“Well, that’s alright. I don’t really care about the authenticity and it’s pretty cheap. If it is a fake, I don’t really have much to lose. Plus, I’ve always loved violetgrass. This broach could be like a little homage to that!” You answered, letting out a little giggle.
“You’ve heard of the Vigilant Yaksha and the violetgrass maiden, am I correct?” He asked.
“Oh, yes I have! My Gran used to tell it to me and the rest of the village children back when I was young. It always made me so sad, how they can never be together. It was pretty silly now that I think about it, but I would bawl my eyes out every time. The rest of the kids would tease me a bit but I just couldn’t control it,” you reminisced.
“I- well, yes in any case, they say that anyone who possesses that broach will be cursed to meet the same fate,” Zhongli added, trying his best to dissuade you from buying the old broach, dread creeping into his stomach as he thought of what might happen to you- to the both of you.
“Of course you’d believe old supersticiones, Mr. Zhongli,” you said, letting out a lighthearted laugh that could make any heart, even one of stone, melt, “it’s very on brand! However, I’m sure there’s no need to be worried, after all, it’s nothing but an old myth! And even if it is real, you yourself said that it’s not made of the real stuff.”
Before Zhongli could figure a way to change the unchangeable, you had already purchased the broach. As you kept on leading the funeral consultant around the streets of Liyue Harbor, bag in hand, prattling on about anything and everything, he couldn’t help but feel his heart sink. A single thought, the same one you would later have, crossed his mind.
If only you hadn’t bought that goddamned broach.
In a fit of anger and desperation, you ripped the detested broach off of your shirt, throwing it at Xiao. You hoped it would somehow break into millions of tiny pieces.
After a beat of silence, Xiao spoke, “Eat.”
“No,” you yelled, before breaking down into a fit of angry sob, “I hate you!”
As soon as the words left your mouth, Xiao lurched forward so close your noses were almost touching, and for a second you think he’s gonna hit you but instead, he simply rests his forehead on yours and closes his eyes. When he pulls away, your sobs have waned into hiccups. Without saying so much as a word Xiao clasps the violetgrass broach onto your shirt, where it belongs.
“Eat,” is all he says, placing the now lukewarm soup into your hands.
Scared, tired, and sad, you do as he said, taking small sips of the admittedly tasty dish. He does nothing more than stare at her with those intense amber eyes of his for a few minutes before turning around and heading towards the door.
Before he leaves he turns his head back to look at her and says, “I don’t care if you don’t like me. Hate me for all I care. As long as you stay alive I don’t care.”
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Cult Girl: Doctorate (Hannibal x Pregnant!Female!Reader) pt. 12
Cult girl deals with an unexpected and unwelcome guest.
@wisesandwichshark @pearlstiare
Trigger warnings: pregnancy, emotional manipulation, emotional abuse, infidelity, threats of violence
Step three: kill Anna
So maybe there was an understanding that the pregnancy was to be kept secret from Anna.
The withdrawal of Archie and Max from the picture left a hole in the plan. Just when it looked like you had secured that much-needed victory, it shriveled up and died right before your eyes. That much was certain. Everything else was a big question mark.
Ever since he felt the baby kicking, Hannibal became even more hopelessly enamored with the idea of being a father. He never mentioned it, of course, but it was there. It was there in the way he cooed at your stomach and how his hand lingered after he felt a kick. He was in heaven.
For a few days, it looked like the downward trajectory was beginning to flatten. Then you remembered your favorite line from Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool:
"Life is an endless series of trainwrecks with only brief, commercial-like breaks of happiness." You repeated to yourself as your phone flashed Theresa's call icon.
It took you a minute to remember that Theresa in your phone was actually Anna, because you hadn't bothered to change it. In a way, it was symbolic. Theresa was the head you cut off, and Anna sprouted up in her place. All in the pursuit of making your life unbearable.
You pulled the toothbrush from your mouth and placed it next to the sink. Lazily, you brought the phone to your ear. "What?"
"Hey pretty girl!" Anna said, using her most transparently fake cheery voice. "How's it going?"
Then it clicked. You felt kind of stupid that you didn't see it coming. In the world of cults, this was known as 'lovebombing'; a manipulation tactic in which the cult leader showers their target with affection, compliments, validation or anything that would make them associate good feelings with the group. In any other context, it would be called 'ass-kissing'.
You narrowed your eyes in skepticism. "What do you want?"
"Jeez, who crapped in your corn flakes?" She scoffed. "Can't a girl just call her little sister to say hi?"
It would have been one thing to say 'cousin', which, despite your bad blood, would have been technically accurate. But 'sister' was crossing a line. The blood that binded you and Anna together was thinner than water.
"We're not sisters, Anna." You corrected. "Why are you calling?"
"I just wanted to let you know that all is forgiven." She said, slipping back into that phony cheerful tone. "That little fiasco at the funeral, it's water under the bridge."
What Anna didn't know was that the water under the bridge was never water, but gasoline. Every drop that flowed under that bridge only created a more dangerous blaze for when you finally burned it down.
"Awesome." You said, flatly.
"I also wanted to say, 'may the best woman win'." She jeered. "I don't want to alarm you, but Liam and I have been fucking like bunnies."
You gagged. "I'm not alarmed but I certainly didn't need to know that."
"I've been keeping track of my ovulation," She disregarded your objection and continued the conversation she wanted to have. "And I even put child locks on the computer so Liam can't watch porn. Can't spare even a drop, y'know. It's too crucial."
"I will literally let you have the entire inheritance if you please just shut up right now." You said through gritted teeth.
"Oh?" She perked up. "Come on, don't give up. Don't make it too easy. Winning is just more fun when someone else loses."
She was growing into her Theresa shoes quite well.
"Seriously, though," You raised your eyebrows. "If it means I never have to see you again, by all means. Take the damn money."
"You know I love you, right?" Anna blurted out, pretending to be offended. "You may not think so, but I love you like a sister."
Again, you fought the urge to feel bad for her. Her model of sisterly love was Theresa. She could use the word to invoke sympathy, but would never know what it meant. It hit your ear exactly the same as when fundamentalist christian strangers said they loved you and that's why they were harassing you. Just an empty annoyance.
You rolled your eyes. "Goodbye, Anna."
"Wait!" She shouted as if she was about to die.
You threw your head back in exasperation. "What?!"
"I wanted to give you a little good-luck gift." She said.
You were slightly interested. "Oh?"
"Yes." She answered. "Can I swing by and drop it off later?"
You sighed. "Whatever. As long as you make it fast."
You were most certainly noticeably pregnant, but a fluffy robe obscured any misplaced curves just enough. You just hoped she wouldn't ask why you were wearing a fluffy robe in July. Anna arrived at the house, with Liam, who was holding a small basket of colorful jars and bottles.
You waited a minute to see if she would just leave the basket on the porch, but she didn't. You resignedly opened the door.
"[F/N]!" She shouted with that hyper-enthusiastic smile. You cringed, trying not to let her presence trigger your morning sickness.
The smile disappeared from her face. "Jesus H, you look like hell."
You desperately wanted to inform her that it was the strain of growing a human inside your body, but you held your tongue and thought of an excuse.
"I'm hungover." You said. Yeah, that would work.
"The usual, I see." Anna snipped at you under her breath.
You eyed the basket. You didn't even bother to mask your disappointment when you realized it wasn't food. "What's this?"
"Oh, this?" Anna said as if she were starting a sales pitch. "This is my olive branch. My exclusive DoTERRA fertility rejuvenation kit."
Your brain refused to process that Anna had been sucked in to an MLM, as it was really only a matter of time. You just didn't think it would take this long.
"Dude, you're twenty-nine and I'm twenty-six." You narrowed your eyes at her. "What on earth are we rejuvenating?"
She pointed to a collection of little bottles. "So these are for the initial cleanse. Put a few drops of this in your food, and some of this in your bathwater-"
She rattled on with practiced certainty about the fictitious health benefits of thyme and geranium oils, how they promote fertility and whatnot.
"Thanks, Anna." You cut her off, reaching for the gift basket. You didn't intend to use any of it, but you could pawn it off on some struggling hunbot for less than they would buy it new.
Anna pulled the basket out of your reach. "Oh. I wasn't giving it to you."
Nothing surprised you anymore, and this was no exception. "I thought you said it was a gift?"
"Oh, god no." She shook her head. "This whole kit costs, like, five hundred dollars."
You grimaced. "So you came here to show me your snake oil collection?"
"I came here to tell you in person about this amazing business opportunity." She said, returning to her fake smile. "For just $1000, you can be part of this amazing company-"
"Anna, what am I studying right now?" You cut her off.
She looked at you with round, clueless eyes. She looked back at Liam for help. He tapped his head to give her a hint.
"I want to say..." her voice trailed off. "...brain surgery?"
You shook your head. "No. Liam?"
"Clinical psychology with a specialization in cults." He answered. "You want to be the next Steven Hassan."
Anna didn't deserve Liam.
"So you're saying you're too smart for me?" Anna said, crossing her arms. "You're too busy going to your fancy college, living with your fancy boyfriend to support your own sister's hustle?"
"I'm saying you're in a cult." You countered. "A pretty obvious one, at that."
"Oh, when your only solution is a hammer every problem looks like a nail." She scoffed. "You think everything is a cult. Why can't you just be happy for me?"
"I'll be happy for you when you accomplish something that isn't built off the backs of people you fucked over." You said, allowing yourself to finally snap.
Anna's jaw hung open. "Do I even need to gesture to this house? Those clothes? That degree? All paid for by your rich boyfriend."
It's time.
You stepped on to the porch and shut the door behind you. "Liam. I have something to tell you."
Liam handed the basket off to Anna and approached. "Alright."
"No she doesn't, Liam." Anna objected. "Don't listen to her. You know she's a liar."
"Liam." You said, looking into his eyes. "Do you remember Nathan Sparks?"
"Anna's ex from college?" Liam folded his arms and looked at his wife. "Vaguely."
Anna gritted her teeth at you. "I swear to fucking god, [F/N]-"
"Anna, stop." Liam cut her off. "Let her speak."
"Anna continued to see him for two years after you got together." You smirked.
Liam's dial-up internet brain sputtered to life.
"Oh my god." His mouth hung open. "...is he 'pineapple'?!"
"Nope." You said. "You are."
"Is this true, Anna?" Liam said, in the overlap between denial and anger. "Did you keep seeing Nathan after we got together?"
Anna threw the basket on the ground, jars shattering, releasing a noxious cloud of concentrated snake oil. She was too busy glaring daggers at you to answer her husband.
"Fine. Don't tell me." He spat, turning back to you. "I'll hear it from you, [F/N]. You're the only one in this family who's been honest with me."
"She only wanted to get with you because your uncle is CEO of that publishing house." You added. You felt bad for essentially rubbing salt in the wound, but he was right to assume he wouldn't hear it from anyone else.
He placed his hand over his head as if to nurse a migrane. "How could I be so stupid..."
"Liam-" Anna said, her voice jumping a few octaves.
Liam put up his hand. "I don't want to hear it."
"I'm sorry, Lee." You offered. Even though you loved seeing Anna caught, you felt bad for every person she victimized along the way. Liam was no exception.
He dropped his shoulders and sighed. "Thank you, [F/N]. I'll be out of your way, now. Anna--"
He stopped himself, presumably to avoid saying something he would regret. "...find your own way home."
He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away, leaving Anna with you.
"Thanks for coming." You sneered at her, feeling around behind you for the door handle. "I'd call an uber if I were you."
"You twisted bitch." She scowled, hands hovering in your direction. "You just get off on ruining people's lives, don't you?"
"Oof, that's some serious projection, Anna." You said, unconsciously untying the belt of your robe and pulling it off your shoulders.
"You're-" She sputtered, her eyes growing to the size of personal pizzas. "You're fucking pregnant?!"
Shit. You thought, cycling through whatever braincells you had left for an idea of how to play this off as if you meant to do it.
"Surprise." You shrugged. Yeah, that would work.
"That's impossible!" She stammered. "You're- you're not even married!"
"Grandma never said anything about marriage." You grinned.
Anna struggled to find her words. "That is unfair!"
"So now that you're not winning, the game is unfair?" You raised an eyebrow.
She pursed her lips and pointed at you. "You aren't going to get away with this."
"Just like you didn't get away with cheating on your husband?" You taunted.
"I'm serious, [F/N]." Anna said, backing down the porch steps. "I will destroy everything you love just like you did to me."
For a half a second, the voice in your head told you to beware, that the threat should be taken seriously. Upon remembering it was coming from Anna, you pushed the thought from your mind.
You shouldn't have.
104 notes · View notes
realcube · 3 years
Text
class 1-A’s love languages headcanons 💕
tw// swearing, crying, she/her reader
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Yuuga Aoyama
his love language is words of affirmation
like tell him that he looks fabulous but he is also a talented hero 
and. he. will. die. 
of happiness ofc 🥰
and whenever you are feelin’ insecure he’ll do a pretend fashion show with you to boost you spirits (o゜▽゜)o☆
Mina Ashido
her love language is physical touch
but not in a *holds your hand 🥺* *kithes🥰* sorta way
but rather in a
“YOU’RE SO FKN CUTE, (Y/N)!!!” *aggressively pinches your cheeks*
and whenever she kisses/hugs you, it’s always a surprise attack form behind
she is also 159cm in height (almost 5″3)
so if you are shorter than her, she’ll sprint up to you and before you have time to react, she’ll engulf you in her arms
if you are around the same height as her, she’ll sneak up to you and try to jump onto your back, peppering you in neck kisses
and if you are taller than her, she’ll grab your hand and place a kiss on the back of it 
Tsuyu Asui
i think her love language is gift giving 
but not typically gifts from the store
it’s usually cute flowers or any sort of pretty flora that she finds on her walks 
and she’ll sometimes come to your room just before lights-out and hand you a shiny rock or a colourful flower like “hi, (y/n). i found this flower in the park a nd it reminded me of you. so here, i hope you like it.”
then you cry (❤´艸`❤) it’s too precious
also when she visits your dorm, she notices that you have a jar filled with all the flowers she’s every gave you and shE BRAIDS THEM INTO YOUR HAIR
and if you don’t have hair, she makes you a flower crown out of them
Tenya Iida
the king of gifts periodt ✋
to him, gift giving is kinda like a sport and if it was, he’d definitely be winning
he’ll be out getting groceries or sumn then he’ll pass the candy aisle and just *flashback to 3 months ago when y’all were studying together and you randomly said you were craving sour patch kids*
then he buys two packs of sour patch kids (❤ ω ❤)
so obviously excels during holidays like christmas, valentines day or your birthday 
and if you make it explicitly clear that you need something (ex. water, medication, cutlery, soap etc.) and you will go get it in x amount of day(s)
expect it to be in your hands within 1-9 hours 
“Iida, you didn’t have to rush out to get me Ibuprofen - I was going to go get some in a few days anyway.”
“Yes, but as a hero in training, you must agree that seeing your partner potentially suffer to due a preventable cause would be inhumane.”
“I-..”
Ochaco Uraraka
her love language is probably quality time
OR words of affirmation BUT ONLY ONLINE
like irl she loves going on lil’ picnic dates with you or dates to go watch the sunset or star-gazing..or literally anything where she gets to spend as much time in your presence as possible
you could literally take her on a date inside the sewers and she’d be like 🥰
in the moment (during the date) she just looks at you and wants to tell you how beautiful you are but she is way too nervous
but as soon you leave she texts you sumn like ‘OMG >< YOU ARE SO GORGEOUS 😍 AND I WANTED TO TELL YOU SO BAD BUT I COULDN’T 😩’ 
also, hypothetically, if she had a phone which supported social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat 
she would definitely be the sort of girl to post cute candid pics of you on any special occasion and i mean ANY
like she doesn’t want to just random post pics of you bc she thinks that’d be weird so she looks for any excuse she can
deadass she’d post a beach pic of you and her on her insta with a caption like, ‘happy pancake day to @y/n.l/n 🥰💖 on our first date we shared a stack of pancakes so this is a really special day for us 💓 i’m so blessed to have a stunning, smart, amazing gal like her by my side always 💕’
Mashirao Ojiro 
he’s a physical touch kinda guy
sometimes he’ll randomly drape his tail over your shoulder to pull you close
or he’ll pat your head with either his hand or tail when ever you do anything remotely impressive
“ooh, i’ve apparently taken 17k steps so far today, ojiro.” 
then he’d be like “that’s good” *pat pat* 
he also gets butterflies whenever you hug his arm or tail while he is talking to someone
AND HE WILL KISS YOUR WOUND BETTER IF YOU GET A PAPER CUT OR SUMN
Denki Kaminari 
bb is blushing profusely when you hand him a pikachu plushie , saying it reminded you of him
before that, he was probably a physical touch sorta guy but once he realised how awesome and special that simple action made him feel, he became a gift-giver 
however, 99.9% the gift is a plushie and the other 0.1% it’s a doll
(he literally bought a whole fkn barbie bc you owned a dress similar to the one the doll was wearing)
“it looks exactly like you!” 
“i don’t think so..” “it literally does!”
anyway, whether he is at the mall, in the town, in a gift shop or at the carnival, if he sees something that he knows you’d like or that reminds him of you, he’ll stop at nothing to get his hands on it
flashback to that one time at the carnival, there was a stall that had a huge fkn Kuromi plushie up for grabs 
so he asked the lady running the stall if he could have it and she said it was all his, if he could get a ball into the basket 3 times in a row
-- my man was sTANDING THERE DESPERATELY TRYING FOR 30 MINUTES STRAIGHT 😭
and once he figured he couldn’t do it on his own, he got the bakusquad to help him out 
(bakugo was all like ‘i’m not helping you, dumbass’ but kirishima convinces him to give it a shot and as soon as he misses on the third shot, he is livid.)
(”YOUR STUPID PARTY GAME MUST BE BROKEN, LADY!”)
anyway, after an hour of holding up the line, the lady just gave the plush to kaminari for ¥1000 
but it was all worth it after he saw how thrilled you were 🥺
he came round to your dorm one day and noticed every plushie he had ever given you, sitting on your bed 
you told him that they help you sleep and he just..died..
IT MADE HIM SO FKN HAPPY TO THINK THAT YOU TREASURE HIS GIFTS SO MUCH (≧▽≦*)
Eijirou Kirishima
his love language is words of affirmation imo but with a sprinkle of physical touch 
like whenever he sees you looking nice or sumn..he’ll just tell you
he has no shame and why should he? he’s just telling the truth
if you walk into the room looking ✨immaculate✨ he will tell you 
he’s just like ‘if nobody else is going to say it then I will.’
when your face lights up after he has just told you that you’re beautiful or that you’re one of the most likeable people he’s ever met; it makes his day every. single. time.
the sprinkle of physical touch is because he tells  you what he is thinking all the time
and he thinks you’re stunning even when you are lounging around the dorm complex in casual wear and no makeup
so he’s aware that he might’ve watered down his compliments a bit by saying them too often 
(even though he’s telling the truth every time)
so he likes to give you hugs and kisses to express his affection without  seeming like he’s buttering you up
Kouji Kouda
honestly, idek which category he falls under bc he does so many different things to show his love
like, he’ll use his quirk to get a butterfly to land on your head so you can take the perfect photo for instagram
he always holds your hand in crowded areas so y’all don’t lose each other
(he would end up crying in the corner of a Hot Topic or sumn if he couldn’t find you tbh)
he writes mini-love notes v. late at night and uses his quirk to get an insect or bird to carry it up to your room
religiously takes you out on dates to the park
or library/study dates (p≧w≦q)
Rikidou Satou
acts of service but mostly to do with baking
if his s/o doesn’t like sweet treats then..it just..can’t work
he’s very good at noticing when you are down and what he bakes depends on the severity of the situation
like, if you’re just a bit bummed because you got a bad mark on a test, he’ll bake cupcakes and leave a few outside your dorm
obvs accompanied by a cute lil note abt how proud you make him and how you’re the most diligent person he’s met so he knows that you’ll succeed if you just persevere
and as soon as you come to him with your improved mark, he’ll bake you a cake with ‘congratulations, (Y/N).’ written on it
Mezou Shouji
acts of service. but like..service service
he treats you like royalty-
he is the kind of bf to give you his jacket if you’re cold
he can and will use his quirk to form more arms just so he can hold your bags along with his own
if you enter is dorm and he doesn’t offer to take your jacket immediately then i’m sorry to inform you but that is not shouji..that is toga in disguise 
you’ll never have to open a door if you are walking next to him and don’t you dare even try to 
just an overall gentleman tbh 
sometimes you try to get him to stop being so kind bc you’re afraid ppl will think you treat him like a butler 
so he’ll be like “sure ..
i’ll hold just your gym bag rather than your gym bag and school bag.”
“don’t hold any bags, shouji..”
Kyouka Jirou
her love language is definitely quality time
there is nothing she loves more than vibing with you in her room - whether y’all are studying, cuddling, playing videos games or something else - while chill music plays in the background, either from a playlist or from her playing it herself on one of her instruments 
and sometimes when she’s feeling especially comfortable, she might hum a tune or sing some lyrics to match the mood
she asks you for suggestions for music to put on bc she loves introducing herself to new music
but when you’re concentrated,  she doesn’t want to disturb you so she just puts on a playlist she made prior 
she doesn’t create a new playlist each time you hang out but there is at least 10 new songs added to it every day 
the playlist is called ‘lazy days w/ (y/n) 💕’
anyway, she just loves hanging out with you bc you’re one of the very few people who don’t annoy tf out of her 
also - she’d never say it aloud but - she thinks you’ve got a very comforting presence and you make her feel so exhilarated whenever you laugh (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)
Hanta Sero
Sero loves spending as much time with you as possible - hence, he’s a quality time sorta person
but i also think he’s barely a quality time guy bc he expresses his affection in so many different ways
he’s like a mix of 4
( not gift-giving, whenever it comes time to get you gift for whatever occasion, he’s always stumped and ends up asking someone for help)
he preforms acts of service in a sense that if you are both cuddling on the couch and you are cold - even if he seriously can’t be assed to move - he’ll force himself to get up and bring you a blanket
he is really good at compliments bc he barely has a filter so if he sees you looking good, he’ll straight up tell you
plus, he loves seeing your reaction - especially when you get all flustered
and physical touch bc..cuddles :)
to him, there is just something reassuring about having you in his arms
Fumikage Tokoyami 
a quality time man mwah
he doesn’t play music on speakers when y’all hang out though, he just likes to sit with you and either mindlessly chatter or chill in comfortable silence 
he also doesn’t put in earbuds bc he thinks it’s rude 
(you assure him that you don’t mind if he puts his earbuds in but he is always like..no..)
he just loves your company bc he seriously can’t think of somebody he’d rather spend his time with 
also he is convinced that he does things 10 times better with you around
when he’s not with you though, he misses you- like- seriously
sometimes he’s just out with his friends or watching a movie with his family and he is just like ‘this’d be more fun if (Y/N) was here-’
and you said that you missed him too when y’all weren’t together 
so he did the reasonable thing and made you a playlist for you to listen to whenever you missed him ( •̀ ω •́ )
he sent you the link and your heart stopped bc it was literally called ‘i love you 🖤’ AND THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME HE’S EVER TOLD YOU THAT AAAAA
‘you’re so sweet, tokoyami 🥺 i love you tooooo’
and good thing that was over text bc otherwise you would’ve seen him blushing profusely (= ╯▽╰ = )
as for the contents of the playlist; it’s probably quite diverse
some alt pop, some indie, a bit of R&B, pop rock and a lot of Metal/Rock 
Shouto Todoroki
his love language is acts of service
most of them are school related though
he can easily tell if you’re struggling with the coursework and asks you if you want go on a lil study date at the library or in his dorm 
he also helps you with homework or explains the material to you if you don’t understand it
and he’s the best teacher since he’s extremely patient and well-spoken
if you’re feeling under the weather, he’ll head to your dorm to fetch your notebook so he can write the class notes for you 
and he’ll put in the effort to make them as similar to your other notes as he can
so he flicks through the pages and (for example) if you have a highlighting code, he’ll look for the legend and highlight the notes he took accordingly 
once school is over for the day, he goes to your dorm to drop off the notebook, putting it back in the respective part of your bag
and the next day when you open your notebook to check the notes, you notice that he wrote a little note for you;
‘get well soon 💛’ 
it was a simple, kind gesture but the small details like how he coloured in the heart with a glittery yellow highlighter he must’ve took from your bag had you blushing (^///^)
also, whenever you’ve scheduled a study date at his dorm, there is no way in hell you’ll walk into his room and there isn’t 2 bowls of fresh soba sitting on the desk
no way. impossible.
(or if you don’t like noodles, then two bowls of rice.) 
Tooru Hagakure
physical touch bb
she just likes you to know that she is there 
also she loves how soft your skin is ^^
she really likes surprise hugging you from behind and you’d think that she’d be very good at that considering that she is.. invisible.. but she’s really not
she has very unique and recognisable voice 
and whenever she creeps up behind you, she’s always snickering quite loudly 
but you like seeing her happy when she thinks she surprised you so you just think to yourself ‘get ready to pretend to be shocked’ 
so as soon as she wraps her arms around you and goes ‘boo!’, you jump and always say the same stupid line you wish you would   stop using but it just comes out naturally
“ope, didn’t see you there, tooru.”
but it makes her laugh every time so maybe it’s not such a bad habit
Katsuki Bakugo
he’s definitely a physical touch kinda guy but tries to be an acts of service man..y’know?
he doesn’t want you thinking that he likes hugging, cuddling, kisses or any of that none-sense bc..he is a big macho king explosion murder 
and he knows that if he gets to comfortable with showing affection through physical touch, it’d become a habit then he might do it in public and the last thing he wanted was a rumour coming out that ‘king explosion murder is actually a huge cuddle-bug dork!’
so he hides it the best he can and expresses his love by like letting you wear his hoodie and not cussing you out when you do something stupid
but the fact is, nothing makes him feel better than holding you in his arms - under a blanket or not -  with your face buried into his chest and your arm lazing draped over his shoulder
he usually does a good job at resisting his urge to randomly kiss you or take your hand in public
but there was that one time
luckily, it was on a date rather than on a school outing so it was only you who knows about it 
it was probably around 6 months after y’all first started dating and he took you on a date to the carnival
there was a gang of boys who looked around a few years older than y’all and they were chatting amongst themselves until they approached the line you and Bakugo were waiting in (to get onto a ride at the carnival) and the group of boys stood behind you in line
at first everything was alright; they were just chatting while you were raving on about the ride to bakugo but he kinda tuned you out after he heard one of the guys say something along the lines of
“she’s kinda hot- a bit young but so fit. i think she’s from the UA too.”
that comment was enough to make his blood boil but a separate comment from one of the other guys tipped him over the edge,
“yeah and look at the guy she’s with. he’s the feral guy that needed to be put in chains at the sports festival - how embarassing.” he snickered, which was genuinely one of the most annoying noises bakugo has ever heard
his voice was low, in a whisper so they probably didn’t expect bakugo to hear it over the background noise of the carnival along with the girl yapping in his ear
but he did
and when i tell you this man was livid 
in that moment he seriously considered just turning around and burning each and every one of those guys into a crisp
but the law-abiding citizen and hero inside him said no 
instead, he fiercely snaked his arms around your hips to pull you into his chest and looked over his shoulders to shoot literal daggers at the guys
he led you out of the line for the ride in silence and you followed him without question - having heard the things those guys said but choosing to pretend as if you didn’t 
“What was that about?” You finally asked as he brought you over to a bench, pulling you onto his lap
“Nothing.” He said, oddly calm as he stared into the void
“Okay.” You rolled your eyes, deciding not to pry as you obviously already knew what provoked him to do that. “I’m gonna go get some cotton candy then. Do you want some?”
“No.” He replied monotonously, allowing you to hop off his knee but immediately grabbing your hand, preventing you from going any farther than arms length from him.
“you needy cow.” you giggled, playfully kicking his shin, “I’m so hungry - let me go!” 
“No.” He replied in the same monotone voice. “I can’t be assed to move.”
You leaned back, pulling your whole weight backwards to try get Bakugo to release his grip on your hand and eventually he gave in and got up, sluggishly following you to go get cotton candy 
you gleefully popped some of the delectable fluff into your mouth before sneaking some into bakugo’s mouth too.
 “are you gonna let go of my hand any time soon?” you asked, wanting to hold the bag of cotton candy for yourself but instead having one hand interlocked with his and the other being used to rip small pieces off as Bakugo held the bag in his spare hand 
“No.”
[(a/n): not the over-used jealousy trope 🙊]
Izuku Midoriya 
definitely a words of affirmation kinda guy
bc he knows what it’s like to have to go through life with barely anyone besides your mother telling you that your great and that you’re worthy. it’s depressing and traumatic and he wouldn’t wish that misery on his worst enemy 
so he’s like your personal hypeman :)
making sure that you always feel appreciated, confident and loved 
during the sports festival or anything similar, he’s always louder than the cheerleaders when it comes to your turn to shine
“GO, (Y/N)! YOU’RE SO POWERFUL, YOU CAN DO THIS! I BELIEVE IN YOU! REMEMBER TO BREATHE!”
slightly embarrassing for him but when he sees you smile confidently back at him, every ounce of embarrassment melts away and he is just filled with joy
he gets really emotional sometimes as well 
but not like ‘you just faced an opponent and won bc one all your hard work and training - i am so proud of you’ sorta emotional
but like ‘omg you walked into his dorm wearing a new dress and you look really beautiful and you smiled at him so emotions wash over him and he just cries bc he realises how lucky he is to have you.’
he loves to receive words of admiration from you too though
one time you wrote him a birthday card and signed it off as ‘the future wife of the #1 pro-hero’
and as badly as you wanted to just sign it as ‘from the future pro-hero 😘’
you didn’t bc you knew how happy the other option would make him
Minoru Mineta
idk perversion ig?
wait no his love language is titties and/or ass
Momo Yaoyorozu
gift. giving. 
like you have no idea how much serotonin she gets when she sees you overjoyed at gift she gives you
bc in her mind she knows that it was her that made you that happy and no amount of trophies will ever compare to how accomplished she feels for being the reason behind your smile 
she’s a QUEEN 👑 UGH 😩💓
284 notes · View notes
existslikepristin · 3 years
Text
What A... Bummer
Desc: The fic that (sort of) started it all. Sorry for the funky formatting, as this was mostly just copy/pasted from Discord, where I ran the polls. You may also find it here if you prefer AFF: https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1462191/what-a-bummer-aka-i-m-so-sorry
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Tags: TheLounge, Gfriend, Eunha, Yerin, maleOC"you", mostly butt things, angry bunny, vote story, backlog story
~~~~~
You knock on the dressing room door. Just inside is your Gfriend... as in "good friend" Eunha. Today is a very exciting day, and it's been a long time coming. She released her first solo album at midnight and she was at the first show where she would perform it live in front of a camera.
The two of you have been close... "good friends," as they say, for a while now. And you managed to convince security to let you in so you could give her a gift before she goes on stage. After all, you're proud of her accomplishment!
You hear shuffling inside the room and know she's on her way over. You really hope she likes the present!
What was the present again?
Options: 1. Champagne, baby! You got the expensive stuff! 2. A basket of healthy fruits! You're wholesome as fuck! 3. Your buddy Yerin! Can't celebrate without a good laugh! 4. (Picked:) A buttplug?! Who the fuck do you think you are?
~~~~~
You hold the box behind yourself as the door opens. Just inside is your buddy Eunha, all by herself. Not a surprise since you saw her manager downstairs earlier.
And she looks awesome. Her hair is cut short again, just to her jawline, but instead of curling in like her normal bob, it flares out at the bottom. She's got on a white shirt, cut low enough to just tease at her cleavage (even though you happen to know she's hardly got any cleavage without the pushup). Below she's wearing a super short black skirt, with a slit on one side that nearly reaches her hip bone, but her safety shorts hide the real goods. You know she has some tall black heels for this outfit since you were there when her stylist picked them out, but she's barefoot for now, nails on her fingers and toes painted all black.
She shouts happily and jumps up to wrap her arms around you as soon as she sees you. You barely manage to keep her from dragging you down to the floor, putting your arms around her too. "You came!"
"Of course I did!" you shout, "Congratulations!"
The top of her head barely reaches your chin while she's on her toes. She nuzzles her head into your neck. Her hair dresser would flip her shit, but it's okay if it's just for a second, right?
She suddenly grabs the box from your hand. The sly little idol.
"Yerin told me you were bringing me a present. I thought she might be lying, but..."
Eunha tears the wrapping off the box. You'd be a little offended, but you did the same thing to the last birthday gift she got you.
"Now... what am I supposed to do with this thing?"
Eunha holds up the butt plug. You grin, recognizing the excellence of the thing. Stainless steel, polished like a mirror, a bright red gemstone embedded into it (and yeah, you got a real gem for it), and big. Real big.
Options: 1. (Picked:) "You keep it inside you, once I help put it there." 2. "WOAH. That's not what I thought it was, I swear! Yerin tricked me!" 3. "How the fuck should I know?"
~~~~~
"What are you supposed to do with it?" you ask as you take a couple steps forward.
"You keep it inside you, once I help put it there."
Eunha puts the butt plug up to her mouth. "Like this?" She licks it and puts it in her mouth, as far as she can at least. She looks up into your eyes, looking as innocent as she can. You would almost buy the stupid act too, but you know she's got somewhere to be.
You grab her by the shoulders and spin her around. Then you drop to your knees so your face is directly next to her ass. It takes up your whole field of vision. But still, there's no time to waste. You grab the sides of her safety shorts and yank down. As expected, there's nothing underneath and you can instantly spread her glorious cheeks to be greeted by...
Oh damn, she's already got a plug in.
Eunha giggles above you. "Don't worry. I like yours better. Help me swap them and you can keep that one."
Not a bad solution.
The plug takes a little work to get out. Eunha half-moans, half-laughs as you wiggle it back and forth to get it moving. She reaches back to spread her ass cheeks to give you better access and a fantastic view.
And eventually, with a little pop, the plug comes out. It's much smaller than the one you brought, made of silicon, and much more boring.
You stand and hold it in front of Eunha. She instantly sticks her tongue out to lick off the lube.
"It's almost like you've done this before, isn't it?" you ask with a smirk.
"It's almost like you know that personally," she says over her shoulder.
You take the brand new butt plug out of her hand and get back on your knees. Eunha instinctively spreads her ass again. You can still see some of the glistening of the lube that was there for the last plug, so it's probably at least safe to put the new one in without anything extra. Then again, the new butt plug is pretty big...
1. (Picked:) Stick it in rough. This might mess up her performance, getting you a punishment later. 2. Give her a good lube up with your tongue first. You know from experience that she loves this, and you'll be well rewarded later.
~~~~~
You know, you and Eunha have been good friends for quite a while now. How bad would it really be if you messed up her performance just this once... And besides, her cute, tiny little asshole just needs a real good stretch sometimes right?
Right.
Eunha waves her ass from side to side, bent over a bit, mostly for the presentation. "I'm ready for it. What are you waiting for?"
Well, she said it! You line up the top of the plug at her lube-short hole, earning you a sultry giggle from the idol. You give it a slow twist to one side, the other side, brace your elbow, and shove like you've never shoved before.
You're not quite sure whether or not you were successful. It seems like time slowed down... You felt the tension of her ass resisting the plug up to the widest part, followed by it giving way as it tapered back down. But that only took a second or so, and Eunha didn't react. The dressing room is dead silent.
Then, Eunha falls to the floor. To her knees, then onto her hands. You're more than a little worried, so you move to her side to see her face. Her mouth is open like she's screaming, but there's still no sound, until she whispers, "What... the f-f-fuck... is wrong with you?"
Her eyes slowly turn in your direction so you give her your biggest, winning smile. But there's fire in her eyes. You're suddenly feeling like you may have made a bad choice.
There's a knock on the door and a voice comes through, "Eunha? We'll be starting your stage in five minut--"
"I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" Eunha screams. You hear the PA muttering as they walk away.
You open your mouth to say something, but you forget what it was when you get smacked in the jaw. Eunha is still holding herself with one hand, but the other is floating menacingly next to your face, nails looking beautiful but also ready to tear you apart.
Clearly trying to compose herself, Eunha lowers her head and whispers again, "Go find Yerin... and wait for the stage... now."
It's probably best not to argue. You get up and and make your way to the door. You turn back to look at her though. She hasn't really moved, and you get a great look at her thicc ass sticking into the air with your plug poking out from between her cheeks.
You know for sure you're going to get punished later, but you think maybe you should say something?
Options: 1. Apologize. You can admit, you fucked up. You'll still get punished, but maybe she'll go easy on you? 2. (Picked:) Never mind, say nothing. You'll obviously just make it worse. 3. Just laugh. Eunha doesn't have connections to any hitmen, does she?
~~~~~
For the sake of your personal safety, you think it's probably best to just go. You slip through the door quickly so nobody can see through the door and make your way to the stage.
Yerin is pretty easy to pick out of the crowd for you, as she's wearing her usual thick sweatshirt, plain jeans, tennis shoes, hat, facemask, and glasses that make it impossible for her to be recognized in public. She's in the back of the crowd, holding a gigantic sign that says "I LOVE YOU EUNHA I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABIES" as a joke. You remember the first time she said that was when Eunha was fucking her with a strap on. It looks like everyone in the crowd is too busy practicing their fanchant to really notice the overtly sexual (and nonsense) sign.
"Yo slut," you casually say as you walk up next to her.
"About time you got here whore," she says back, clearly grinning mischievously behind the mask. You smirk back.
"So, did she like her gift?"
Your smirk fades, "Uuuh. You know, she will probably have to tell you that herself."
"Mmm, I will. And then I'll take it out of her, put it back in and lick all around it... ugh, I'm so wound up. Hey. If I masturbated while we watch the stage, would you keep an eye out so I don't get caught?"
Options: 1. "Of course! I've always got your back my dude." 2. (Picked:) "You want to do it yourself? But I'm right here." 3. "Woah, Yerin. Don't be so weird. Just enjoy the show like a normal person. Sheesh."
~~~~~
You give Yerin a smirk and move behind her. She points at her eyes and swings her hand in a circle, her nerdy way of telling you to keep watch. You get the feeling she'll enjoy what you have in mind.
After a couple of minutes go by, the fans scream as the stage hands walk off and the lights go dim. You and Yerin join them in the cheer, welcoming your hot little buddy into the spotlight. Yerin holds her sign high and shouts her support.
As the lights come back up, you see Eunha, cool and calm like the professional she is, with her backup dancers. You're a little surprised (and slightly disappointed) at her exceptional composure.
The first note of the song hits and the crowd instantly shuts up, ready to fanchant like hell. That's when you seize the chance to shove your hand down the back of Yerin's jeans and pop the still-lubed butt plug (the one you took out of Eunha earlier and never did get rid of) into Yerin's ass. It slides in like butt...er.
Eunha jumps into her dance and Yerin jumps up and down with the music with no regard for your hand down her pants. You feel like you might get a rash. But either way, you soldier on and reach in further, until you can touch her clit.
There's one move in Eunha's dance that draws a big gasp from the crowd, where she bends over and presents her ass. Her safety shorts hide the butt plug... for anyone who isn't paying close attention. They aren't especially good at hiding how deep the crack of her ass is, and there's just one very slightly bulged out part.
Yerin moans back at you, "Holy shit, she is so fucking hot up there," as she grinds herself down against your hand, drowning your fingers in her juices. "I just want to sit on her face, pull her legs back and pump a dildo into her helpless butt."
You smile at the thought. Maybe Yerin will be on your side if Eunha is still angry when you meet back up, considering that she also wants to destroy Eunha's asshole.
Yerin doesn't quite cum before the song is over. You take your hand out of her pants just in time not to be seen by all of the fans turning around to leave. She groans in frustration.
"Let's run to the dressing room and see if she can finish me off. I was so close!"
Options: 1. "Hey wait. She might be a little mad. I may have done something a little mean..." 2. (Picked:) "Yeah, definitely! Let's go get those shorts off her!"
~~~~~
You confidently walk through the halls next to Yerin. The whole time, Yerin bounces up and down, distracting you with the constant thought of ass. A couple times she even turns her head, sees you staring, winks, and spanks herself. You forget entirely about the confession you considered making.
Once at the dressing room, you see that the door is already open. Weird?
Yerin jumps through the door and shouts "YEAH EUNHA!"
The display of enthusiasm is met with silence. Yerin scratches her head and walks further into the room. "Maybe her mic got stuck in her hair?" she ponders.
You walk in too. You're about to comment, but there's a sudden sharp pain in the back of your neck. You attempt to put your hand up to slap at whatever bug got in here, but your hand just falls limp. So do your legs. And your vision goes dark as you vaguely feel yourself falling to the floor.
* * *
"He's waking up," you hear a garbled voice say. All you can see are blurry shapes as you open your eyes, but they come into focus very slowly.
"Don't stop!" another garbled voice shouts, making you suddenly feel a pounding in your head. Did you go too hard on some vodka?
The voices (or just one voice really) start clearing up. You hear Yerin moaning, turning slowly into a scream. And eventually your eyes confirm it.
About ten feet in front of you, Yerin's face and torso are pressed against a bed, with her butt held up against Eunha's face. Her legs are trembling wildly. Eunha's hands are gripping Yerin's hips tight, her eyes are closed, and her legs are folded underneath her. They're both entirely naked, and you have a side view of it all.
It would be a little more exciting if you weren't chained by the legs and wrists to a wooden chair.
And you look down to see that you're naked too, other than some kind of device locked very uncomfortably around your dick.
There's a thud as Eunha drops Yerin onto the bed. Yerin is apparently exhausted by the orgasm she just had, because she's not moving.
Eunha shakes her head to refluff her hair that was being pressed against her cheeks and looks at you.
"Good morning," she says blandly.
You try to respond but your tongue feels weird and doesn't move properly so you kind of just blubber.
Eunha slides off the bed and takes a few steps to stand right in front of you. A tiny drop of her cum falls from her pussy onto your knee. Damn, they must have been at this for a while.
Her entire body is bare in front of you, practically on top of you, and it's so incredibly sexy. Under normal circumstances, this is when she would sit down and ride you for hours. But she isn't sitting down, and your dick is being painfully stopped from getting hard by the contraption it's in.
"So... do you have anything to say now?"
Options: 1. Yup. Apologize. 2. (Picked:) Yeah, you enjoyed her solo debut! 3. Nope. Nothing to say. 4. Yes.. BeGONE, THOT
~~~~~
You smirk, ever so slightly unsure of yourself, or if what you're saying is a good idea. The corner of your mouth trembles as you say, "Yeah, I really liked your solo debut. You did great up there."
Eunha leans over, putting her hands on the back of the chair you're tied to. It would be a great chance to stare at her perky little titties up close if her threatening gaze wasn't holding your eyes. Her face comes in closer. You can feel her fuming hot nose breaths on your forehead. Your own breath is caught in your throat, and your lungs start to burn with how long she stares you down.
"Be glad I'm a professional. And thanks," she says, very flatly.
As she stands back up and turns away from you, and you release a huge sigh of relief.
"Yerin, over here please. I'm going to need your tongue in my ass."
With a groan, Yerin rolls off the bed and crawls to Eunha, kneeling between her and you. Eunha leans forward, putting her hands on the bed for support. If there was any question about what your punishment was before now, it was pretty clear now.
Eunha spreads her ass, her perfectly painted black nails creating a frame for the asshole you love so much. It's only a few feet away from you. You can feel your dick trying to harden but the cage just makes it... well it doesn't hurt, but it's extremely uncomfortable.
And then Yerin's head appears between you and that beautiful butt. Her hands grip onto the backs of Eunha's thighs, squeezing the flawless flesh as if she were trying to hold herself up on the edge of a cliff. You know the exact moment when Yerin's tongue meets Eunha's ass. The shorty has a very characteristic half-squeal-half-moan that comes out of her every time something wet touches it. You might have thought you could look away to stop the discomfort in your cock, but that sound brings back too many memories of your entire face being buried in those cheeks.
"Oh... Oh yes. Good girl."
You watch as Eunha slowly pushes back against Yerin's face, over and over. It lasts for hours? Days? You could never tell. Her squeals and encouragement get louder, more urgent. You can't help but let out a quiet groan of your own.
But like the rabbit she is, Eunha heard. She twists her upper body to look at you without disturbing Yerin. "What was that? Do you want to fuck this ass? Do you-- fuck..."
Her eyes screw shut as a brief shiver of pleasure runs through her body. You can see her legs quaking for a moment. She's close.
"Do you want Yerin's pretty little mouth to dip up and down on your cock to lube you up for-- fffuck!"
Again, a shiver. It's longer this time, and Eunha almost falls, her feet sliding a few inches farther apart before she catches herself. There's a loud slurping noise as Yerin moves to accomodate the change and gets a much needed breath of air.
One of Eunha's hands shoots to her inner thigh and you can barely see past Yerin's shoulder that she's squeezing herself tight. She would often remind you about how she would do that to make her orgasms more intense, so now you know exactly what (or rather, who) is coming.
Even so, she manages to gasp out nearly a full sentence, "You want my ass clenching around your cock when--" The last word melts into one long squeal and trails off from there into a silent scream. Her whole body shakes violently except where Yerin is holding her down tight.
You could swear it lasts for a whole minute. Agonizing for you and Eunha in different ways. But when she collapses face first onto the bed, her knees hitting the floor softly as Yerin guides her down, it's over. Except for the few extra twitches when Yerin gives her ass a couple of licks. You release a long breath that you didn't even realize you were holding.
Yerin climbs up to cuddle Eunha from behind, kissing her neck, shoulders, and back. The two of them giggle lightly at the gentle touches, making no move to point their beautiful, still-wet asses away from you.
"Time for your fanmeet?" Yerin asks softly after a minute or two.
Eunha sighs and pulls herself away from Yerin. "Yes, I guess we should get going."
As you expected, you're not getting any. At least not soon. You casually watch the members making their way around the room, collecting their clothes and getting dressed back up.
And notably, not untying you.
"That sure was amazing," you say, suddenly nervous, "Maybe I should help set up the chairs for the fanmeet?"
Yerin chuckles, "They're already set up, man."
"But... the audio right? You know? Do some mic checks?"
Eunha stands in front of a mirror, brushing her hair to get it back to looking presentable. "Oh that's fine. Manager's taken care of it."
You struggle to think of something else to say, or to think of what's about to happen.
"But don't worry," Eunha struts over to you and pats your knee, "SinB will be coming in after the fanmeet to let you go."
You groan. SinB rejects you any time she thinks it would be funny, which is literally every time. She probably won't even unlock the cage on your dick.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Eunha smooches your forehead like you're a pet she's leaving home for the day, and then drops a key down her shirt and into her bra. It's not hard to guess what the key is for. "And when I do, I'll have cheered up, and I'll bounce on your cock harder than you can imagine."
Yerin draws in a sharp breath somewhere behind you. She's probably planning on being around whenever that happens. You can't help but look forward to it, though it sounds like twenty-four hours of torture for you until then.
The lovely ladies zip out of the room before you can get in another word, leaving you to the inevitable humiliation SinB will have for you... in an hour or two.
THE END
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13uswntimagines · 3 years
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McFiance (Sam x Reader)
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Requested by @hales548​  : R is a basketball player (who is taller than Sam by a few inches). They are also teammates with Sue Bird on Team USA. The USWNT have a day off on the day of the gold medal match for the basketball team. Sam suggests that the team goes to support the women's basketball team during their game. Reader surprises Sam after receiving their medal by proposing in front of both their teams and the world. Lots of fluffy happy moments.
Author’s Note: First and Foremost Happy Birthday my dude! I hope you have an awesome Day!! @literaryhedgehog​ and I had a lot of fun writing this (and it gave us an idea for another one...) so i really hope you enjoy it!
“So are we just going to pretend that you didn’t drag us here to watch Mchottie shoot baskets?” 
Sam almost missed Sonnett’s comment, watching as her girlfriend did a layup, her eyes following the ink that accentuated her bicep. and tricep. General arm area. God, her girlfriend’s arms were amazing. Delectable. Heaven‘s gift to her…? She didn’t care if that was overkill, the fact was her girlfriend had some beautiful arm muscles perfectly outlined by the tattoos Sam loved to trace with her fingers whenever she had the opportunity. 
“Sonnett if you keep talking during the game you’ll miss something. I’m not explaining why someone’s doing a free throw if you miss the foul again.” Megan said, elbowing the blond defender and glaring in her direction. You had spent months planning this, and the blinds complaining wasn’t about to mess this up. 
“You’re just pouting cause Mcsexie came off after the half,” Emily huffed, rubbing her arm. 
“This isn’t a fucking Grey’s anatomy episode, every player doesn’t need a nickname with a mick,” Tobin laughed, shaking her head at Sam, who still hadn’t looked away from you. She was glad the tall blond had found love like she had found Christen. Sam lit up when she was around you and vice versa, you completed each other and made a hella cute couple (and took amazing couples photos helped by your 3 inches over Sam). 
“And I would actually appreciate it if you didn’t nickname my fiance ‘Mcsexie.’” Megan said, offhandedly. “For starters it’s demeaning, but also, I mean come on. You know Sue and Y/n, you’ve met their teammates, you can’t just call them the stupid nicknames you give literally every other girl to annoy your girlfriend.” 
“SWOOSH” several people in the crowd said interrupting the conversation. Emily jumped, not expecting 
“Fuck yeah, that’s my Mchottie,” Sam yelled, standing from her seat as you got a 3 pointer in seconds before the buzzer went off. Then the ref blew their whistle and the two coaches ran across the court. 
“Why can Sam call her Mchottie and I can’t?” Emily whined, missing the worried looks Megan was sending Sam’s way when you didn’t pop back up. 
“Not the time babe, Y/n just got fouled,” Lindsey said softly, leaning close to her girlfriend so she could hear, placing a hand on the defender’s thigh to calm down her boisterousness slightly. 
One of your teammates gave you a hand up and you stood in a group of your teammates, waiting to hear the call. You were pretty sure you knew what it was going to be, considering the defender had smacked you in the face as they tried to get the ball. You had still gotten the points, and fallen back just like you trained to do (so you didn’t accidentally foul your defender back) but they could have decided it was accidental. It probably was accidental- you did have several inches on the girl defending you. Still, it was unnecessary contact and you grinned as the ref beckoned you to take your place at the free-throw line.
“That was a world-class flop, I bet she took lessons from you, Pino,” Tobin snorted as you stepped up to the line. 
“Nah, she got it from Sue. I do a bit more rolling to really get my point across,” Megan shrugged, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. 
“She’s got the best stats in the league, there’s no way that she’s going to miss these,” Sam mumbled, more to herself than the rest of the group. You worked your ass off to be the best, spent hours taking shots from the line for moments just like that. You were the best for a reason, and now you just had to show it off. 
Emily rolled her eyes. Your team was up by 16, so there was no way you were going to lose no matter what the outcome of these next three shots were (an opinion she thought better to not voice considering the death grip Sam had on her seat). 
She looked around to see rows of people in the audience raising their hands in the air as you lined up to take your first shot. 
“SWOOSH!”
*****
Your grin was blinding as you bent to accept your metal, your eyes glued to your girlfriend rather than the commissioner placing the gold around your neck. It was only now that you felt the butterflies bloom in your belly, fluttering excitedly. You had been dead calm about the game but terrified of what you had planned for after. 
What if she said no? Everyone, you knew assured you she wouldn’t, but what if it was too soon? You had both talked about the future as though there would be one, and while you hadn’t specifically said ‘hey Sam, I want to marry you’ you were pretty sure she knew. Unless she didn’t.
“You better take a deep breath before you pass out kid,” Sue’s voice broke through your internal ramble, her warm hand on your shoulder grounding you back in reality. You blinked at the veteran’s kind eyes, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. 
“Good, now I think you’ll need this yeah?” She smiled, passing you the tiny ring box. You clutched it tightly, running your thumb over the velvet. Some people said it was corny, but you wanted everything to be perfect. To fulfill the dream your girlfriend had in her head since she was a little girl. 
You took another deep breath, squaring your shoulders and swaggering over to the group of soccer players staring at you from the sidelines. 
“Hey superstar,” You smiled, engulfing your girlfriend in a very sweaty hug, ignoring the gagging noises from the blond defender behind her. 
“Hi goldie,” Sam said, giggling. “Or do you prefer just plain ‘winner’?”
“Hmm, you can call me anything you like baby,” You said, pulling back, suddenly feeling all the bravado and swagger you had on the court fill you. “as long as you let me call you my wife,” You finished, dropping to one knee and pulling out the ring. 
“Oh my god,” Sam breathed, looking down at you. 
You gulped, your mouth suddenly feeling very dry.“I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to do this, but I really fucking love you. You’re my first thought in the morning, and at night and like a billion times in between. Every time anything happens, you’re the one I want to tell.  I want to share everything with you. Every experience, every moment, every win, and every loss with you for the rest of my life. So, will you marry me?” 
You blinked up at the woman in earnest, waiting with bated breath for her answer. Sam opened and closed her mouth a few times, and just as you thought she was going to respond, Emily gasped. “I thought it was supposed to be a ring pop?”
“Sonnet!” Megan and Sam said at the same time, both turning to glare at her 
“What?” Emily said, “you always joked that diamond rings were overrated and that a ring pop...” going quiet at Lindsey’s “just shut up” look. 
“Well,” you said, clearing your throat as you drew the attention back to yourself, “as you can see it’s not a ring pop. Or a diamond. It’s a very pretty green onyx ring that I would like to give my girlfriend/fiance…”
“Just shut up and kiss me,” Sam said, cutting off your rambling, grabbing the front of your jersey, and pulling you into a kiss. 
“Is this a yes?” You mumbled against her lips, your neck bent at an awkward angle and unsure what to do with your hands considering you still had the open ring box in your left and you didn’t want to drop the ring. 
“It’s a definitely,” she said, holding out her hand so you could slip the ring onto her finger. 
“Cool,” you said, grinning as you took just long enough to get the ring on her finger before she pulled you into another kiss, her fingers tango long in the baby hairs at the back of your neck, and your hands firmly grabbing her hips. 
You were so engrossed in your fiancé (and how great it felt to call her that) that you almost missed Emily asking “So like, they’re McFiances now right?” 
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amintyworld · 3 years
Text
The Return - Dream SMP 12 Years AU
A/N: Hey guys! Welcome to another introduction to a AU idea I had with a lotta fluff and angst. May write more with this AU because I have a lot of ideas for it. Hope you enjoy and as always, if you have any questions about this AU at all, my ask box is always open, I'd love to talk about this.
By the way, for the enderman text I used this translator that my friend @griffintail uses in her work as well. It was really helpful and you guys should totally check out her work on her blog, she's awesome. - Minty
Summary: 12 years after the Bench Trio, Wilbur, Sam and Sapnap kill Dream for good and burn the revive book, the masked man returns on a plan for revenge.
TW: Blood/gore, kidnapping, torture, attempted murder, murder, implied character death, running away, denial, cursing, sympathetic dream? (He's a ghost). (Tell me if I need to tag anything else!) (Also, shippers get off my lawn please and thank you.)
----------------------------------------
Michael’s eyes narrowed as someone, a stranger he couldn’t recognize slowly approached the house. That bright green hoodie and weird mask made his instincts flare, sensing danger. He jumped down, getting out his sword as he slowly walked to greet the intruder. His Dads and Uncle Technoblade trained him well enough that a plan was already forming in his head, going over the stock he had on him in his mind, prepared for whatever the stranger was planning to do.
A golden ax hung from the masked man’s back, a smile peeking out from under that smooth porcelain-like surface that the zombie piglin couldn’t tell if it was friendly or sinister. Finally, they were about five feet apart, facing each other. Michael pulled the cloak around him slightly more as a cold wind blew through the field. “Who are you? What are you doing on Snowchester Property?”
The man just stared at him, looking at him up and down.
“Answer me, dammit!”
“Michael, right?” The masked man walked toward him casually. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met.”
“Not another step!” Michael shouted, pointing his enchanted netherite sword threateningly at the stranger, who looked almost amused at this action, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “How do you know my name?!”
“Oh, your parents didn’t tell you? We’re family.”
“...family?”
“Not by blood, of course. I’m more like... a friend. A family friend. Your parents and I were very close back in the day, I just came by for a visit.”
“A visit…? If you’re so close with my parents how come you haven’t visited before?”
“You know how adventuring can be - it takes up a lot of time, you know.” The masked man smiled and made Michael’s gut churn uncomfortably. “I’ve heard so much about you, Michael.” The stranger kept walking towards the teenager, his hands up casually. “It’s been so long, we should really spend some time and catch up-”
“NO! No. Stay… stay right there. Don’t… don’t you dare fucking move, you got that?!” The man stopped around three feet away from him now. “Now you either tell me your name or I’m putting this blade through your teeth.”
The man sighed. “Pity. I was really hoping to get to talk with you peacefully, Michael. You seem like a nice kid.”
“What?”
Quickly and flawlessly, the masked intruder pulled out his ax and Michael quickly readied his sword, ready for a fight. What he didn’t expect was for the intruder to get some air and run up the wall of the mansion, landing down the blow with a lot more force than the zombie piglin expected, and he dug his hooves into the snow, somehow keeping himself from getting knocked over completely. Using all of his strength he pushed the intruder off, scrambling for a strength potion as the man tackled him to the ground. “Nuh-uh, that’s cheating.” Michael was quick to grab his sword and defend, moving to strike against his neck. The masked man moved to dodge, the black string of his mask getting nicked by Michael’s blade, making it begin to fall to start to reveal blonde hair and cold green eyes that were somewhat familiar to Michael, though he couldn’t figure out from where. As he hesitated, the man’s eyes flared with anger. Within seconds he’d pulled Michael’s arm against his back toward his shoulder blade, making the piglin feel like his arm was going to snap. He grunted in pain, reaching to grab his sword that got knocked into the snow when he felt the press of an ax against his neck, enough pressure to feel the sharpness of the blade. The zombie piglin could hear his heartbeat in his ears, swallowing his fear.
“I’m Dream, though I think you already know who I am.” Dream huffed against the piglin’s desperate struggle, the familiar adrenaline rushing through his veins from a victory. Of course, Michael knew the stories - his Dads and Uncle Tommy defeated that psychopath 12 years ago. They killed him, how the fuck was he alive?! The blade pressed harder against Michael’s neck as it began to draw a bit of blood. “Stop struggling.” Dream relished how much he’d missed all this, how much he’d missed being in control. “You and I are gonna have a little chat.”
----------------------------------------------
Ranboo hauled his basket of carrots and potatoes beside him as he reached down to grab some of the new harvests. A snowstorm was coming in soon, and they needed to stock up for the coming colder months. Their farms grew so big that a few of them set up shop in front of the old decommissioned prison, Pandora’s Box. Twelve years ago Ranboo, Tubbo, and Tommy had faced that prison head-on, fighting their old allies turned foes, death at nearly every turn they took. They succeeded with a little help, burying the body a little outside of the prison walls and never looking back. The three of them faced many more trials after that, growing close as years passed and the server became peaceful as it used to be back in the beginning. The children grew up, their parents giving them the world and more, protecting them from harm, and making sure they had better than their parents ever did. Now, throwing another bright orange carrot in his basket, Ranboo couldn’t help but smile across the way at his husband, teetering up the ladder in a straw sun hat, gathering honey from their bee farm. He’d gifted the ladder a few years prior - “A little short help for my shortie”. Tubbo threatened a villain arc at the note, making everyone around the table laugh as Ranboo walked over to embrace him, his chin resting on Tubbo’s head gently as the shorter had crossed his arms with a huff. Ranboo’s heart warmed at the fond memory.
He felt happy.
FoolishG whispered to you: Ranboo he’s back.
You whisper to FoolishG: What do you mean?
You whisper to FoolishG: Who?
FoolishG whispered to you: He’s going after you first.
FoolishG whispered to you: Is Michael with you?
You whisper to FoolishG: No.
You whisper to FoolishG: You didn’t answer my question, Foolish.
FoolishG whispered to you: Michael’s in danger, you need to get to him now.
FoolishG whispered to you: Dream’s alive, Ranboo.
You whisper to FoolishG: If this is some kind of joke this isn’t funny.
You whisper to FoolishG: This isn’t funny
You whisper to FoolishG: You know how he messed with me, stop it
You whisper to FoolishG: Don’t joke about that, Foolish.
You whisper to FoolishG: Foolish answer me
You whisper to FoolishG: Foolish?
Ranboo dropped his messenger in fear as the reality of the situation began to set in, his breaths beginning to panic. No, no no no no… they killed him. They killed him, they got rid of him for good. He’s supposed to be dead, he’s supposed to be gone-!
“Ranboo?” Tubbo looked over at him with concern as he packed up the jars of honey from their bee farm. Ranboo’s silence did not help his unease. “Ranboo, what’s wrong?”
FoolishG whispered to you: Hurry, Ranboo. I don’t know how long he’ll last.
Tubbo was kneeling in front of him now, grounding him with his hands on his husband’s shoulders. “Breathe. Breathe, Ranboo. Deep breaths, you’ve got it…”
As Ranboo tried in vain to even his breaths, he held Tubbo’s hand in fear. “Dream’s back... He’s...he… he’s alive and he has Michael.”
“What?” Tubbo’s eyebrows furrowed. “But… but we burned the revive book. We killed him, I saw his body-!”
“Michael… fuck, he has Michael…” Ranboo cursed on his breath. “This is all my fault, I should’ve known-!”
“No. None of that. You can’t blame yourself for this.” Tubbo dismissed, getting up and holding his hand out toward the enderman. “We’ve killed him before, we’ll just kill him again, right? We’ll save Michael and put a stop to this for good.” As Tubbo helped Ranboo back to his feet, he moved under a tree to place the purple glowing black box that greeted the two like an old friend. An enderchest. They hadn’t needed to use it for so long. They hadn’t needed what was inside. Tubbo pulled out a familiar enchanted sword that used to plague Ranboo’s dreams. His sword. The goat hybrid took off his straw hat and with one last glance placed it inside the enderchest, his eyes focused and thinking. He felt the new weight of the sword in his hand, getting used to the weapon again. “It’ll work this time. It has to.”
“It will.” Ranboo echoed.
Will it?
Tubbo’s eyebrows furrowed in thought, looking somber, numb. When they finally killed Dream they thought it would be the last time, the last war to fight. All three of them strived and hoped for peace, for all of it to be over, to get their own happy endings. He moved to the side, pulling out his communicator from his pocket. “Grab your stuff. I’ve got to warn Tommy.”
As Ranboo grabbed his own enchanted sword and his old armor from the chest, he couldn’t help but wonder, a single thought that nagged him and wouldn’t seem to leave his mind, making his stomach sink to the floor in dread…
...What if they never killed him in the first place?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Phil closed his eyes as he sat in his chair, feeling something wrong, off in the air, something he couldn’t quite place. The room around him is silent but Phil can feel the world yelling for him, screaming for him. It’s trying to tell him something. Phil’s been alive for a long time. He’s seen the earth burst with new life, and slaughtered bodies fall to the floor, smelling nothing but the cold press of death. He’s seen it, heard it, felt it so many times it was a familiar, somewhat comforting feeling for him. It was calming, it was constant, it was natural.
So why did it…?
Phil’s eyes opened slowly, looking out the window in thought as Technoblade walked in from the snowstorm outside, a chill running through the cabin. The piglin dropped his bag of loot on the floor and began to shoulder off his snow gear to hang by the fire to dry. As Techno walked past him, moving in front of the fire to undo his braids, damp from the snow.
“Techno, something’s happening.”
“Heh?” The piglin’s ears perked up from the break in the somewhat comfortable silence they usually shared. “What… what do you mean?”
“Something’s wrong. It feels… unnatural.” Phil said, closing his eyes briefly again to focus on the feeling. “Did you see anything off while you were out?”
“Not really, the snow’s coming down so hard you can barely see a thing out there.” The piglin shrugged, the concern on his friend’s face only making a pit form in his stomach he tried to ignore. “...what’s wrong?”
“Something’s moving… breathing… it shouldn’t be.”
“Zombies, maybe?” Techno suggested. “I did see a few while I was out.”
“Maybe.” Phil agreed. “Part of me feels like something’s off, something dangerous. Like when you… you were almost…” Phil sighed. “I guess I’m just worrying over nothing again.”
“I wouldn’t say nothing - you have good instincts, Phil.”
“Battle instincts. Instincts I don’t need anymore. And here I thought you’d have a harder time adjusting to all this.” Phil scoffed.
“A lot’s been changing. With everything that happened, I don’t blame you for being a little tense, Phil. I am too.” Technoblade admitted. “Just to be safe, we can double-check when the storm passes, that way we won’t get any interference with the communicators.”
“I’d like that.” Phil smiled, moving to sit next to his friend by the fireplace. “Thanks, Techno.”
Technoblade scoffed, his mouth breaking into a smile. “Hey, don’t mention it.” The piglin ran his hands through his hair, going through a few knots before grabbing a brush. Taking a deep breath to calm the knots in his stomach, Phil moved to set the kettle on the furnace, grabbing a match to light it.
Miles away from the icy tundra, Foolish walked through the Temple of the Undying, a small teenager in their arms. He was silent as he marched, tears going down his cheeks full of emotion the god held back. His arm gently cradled the child’s head close to his chest. His heart weighed heavy with guilt, words and memories echoing in his mind of failure, of how he failed his son.
Foolish could feel presences, he could feel others watching from the shadows and corners. Every single statue and totem memorial against the wall seemed to have their gazes fixed on him as if waiting for what the god would do next. For once, Foolish didn’t know what to do.
He hadn’t even told anyone the news yet. How could he? His son was dead and it was all his fault. All because he wasn’t careful. Dream was back, he was standing there next to his son and for once he couldn’t control his anger, his panic. He tried to strike him down, but…
He still remembered every detail, how Dream had just… smiled. He wasn’t afraid. He was staring down a god, and he wasn’t afraid. Somehow, he was always one step ahead.
Lightening still sparked and clung to Foolish Jr.’s body. Foolish couldn’t help but think about how much pain he must’ve been in, how much pain he must’ve put him through. He fell to his knees in the center of the temple, gently laying his son on the floor, the beacon lighting him in a bright glow. His hands shaking, Foolish brushed a bit of hair out of Junior’s eyes, bowing his head toward the ground.
“I’m sorry…” His soft whispers echoed through the temple. “I’m so so sorry, Ra forgive me for what I’ve done…” Tears dripped down to the floor. “My little totemling…” Foolish’s eyes snapped toward the walls as the totem statue’s eyes began to softly glow, bathing the two in green light. The totem god’s eyes still wet with tears as he looked into the green eyes, a silent question on his mind. Whispers filled his ears that he couldn’t quite decipher. Suddenly, he felt it.
A pinprick in the middle of his chest, expanding throughout his body, the pain pulsing like a heartbeat. His breath hitched as drowsiness overtook him, making him feel dizzy. An essence was being slowly pulled from his body, glowing like some kind of enchantment on a weapon. Sweat built on Foolish’s brow as he struggled to keep his breaths even. Then… a stinging slice across his middle left him in a silent scream. His hand slowly reached up toward his chest, his eyes widening when he found it covered in crimson. The pain was overwhelming - it felt as if his body was torn apart and stitched back together in a matter of seconds. He scrambled to grab a health potion, downing it all and wincing at the terrible aftertaste but thankfully finally getting some relief. His eyes focused on the essence as it hung up into the air above the two, and slowly was lowered, expanding around Foolish Junior’s body.
As the green light faded, Foolish heard faint chanting, looking around for where it was coming from, trying desperately to piece together what was happening. Before Foolish had time to figure out exactly what the chanting was saying, the body shooting upwards from the ground, gasping for breath quickly grabbed his attention.
----------------------------------------------------
Michael didn’t know how long it was. How many hours had passed since he’d been tied to the chair? He didn’t even know if it was night or day. He sat in the middle of his parent’s bedroom, feet and hands tied expertly - he was completely and utterly trapped. With every time he struggled and strained against the bonds they cut against his skin and irritated it enough to make them bleed, almost training the piglin to try to stay as still as possible, to avoid any pain.
Dream stalked around the bedroom like a thief, searching through the closet and drawers for something or other. He’d pick up a potion, a diamond, even an ingot or two, holding them up toward the light as if to inspect them before dropping them in his bag. His gaze fell upon a picture of the family from their beach vacation a few years ago - Ranboo fell asleep with a seagull perched on his stomach. Michael remembered how much he and his father had tried to hold back their laughter enough for a selfie, only for Ranboo to wake up and scare the seagull away halfway through taking the picture. They looked so happy together.
Dream seemed unfazed by the photo, almost studying it in a sense. The gaze seemed oddly calculated, making the teen feel uneasy.
“Michael you’re a good kid, you know.” Michael’s glare bore into Dream’s mask as sticky drips of crimson spilled over his hands. “You always want to do the right thing, want to protect everyone. You shouldn’t have to be the one to fight your parent’s battles, should you?”
Michael remained silent.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Michael. I really don’t. Despite what your parents might have told you, I’m not a monster. It brings me no satisfaction to bring you pain. After all, you’ve done nothing to me.”
“So?”
“So I’m giving you some free advice - take the easy way out, for both of us. All you need to do is tell me where that armor is hidden, and I’ll let you go.”
“Bullshit.” Michael spat. “I know that’s not what you want, my parents told me more than that you’re just some scary monster. You’re a power hungry lunatic.”
A smile spread across Dream’s face at Michael’s words. “A lunatic, huh?”
“You manipulated Uncle Wilbur, you tortured Uncle Tommy… you betrayed my father all because you want power! You want control over people, freeing me would have you lose the only shred of control you have left on this server, so why would you?”
“You’re a smart kid, you know that?” Dream said casually, rolling up his sleeves. “So smart…” He reached into his bag, grabbing a pair of shears that looked worn. There were initials on the leather cover that Michael couldn’t strain his eyes to see. Dream uncovered the shears, walking over toward the piglin and resting an arm on the teenager’s right side, trapping him.
Something churned in the piglin’s stomach. “What… what are you…?”
“Tell me, smart kid, do you know what it feels like to die? To feel nothing but neverending agony? To choke on your own blood as you beg for relief and warmth only to find yourself becoming colder and colder, not being able to move or even scream?”
Michael couldn’t help the fear that traveled up his spine. “I…I-”
“I wonder… would you like to find out?” The sharp end of the scissors was quickly set near the bottom of the piglin’s neck. It freaked Michael out - how calm Dream was about it all, how serious he sounded. Was he really going to kill him? The question sent his mind racing, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he felt like a trapped sheep in a wolf’s grasp. He wanted to run but he couldn’t.
“I...I just-”
“Do you know what canon lives are, Michael?” Dream asked smoothly, as if he was telling the teenager about the terrible weather. The words seemed familiar to the piglin but for some reason he was so stressed it was hard to remember anything specific. His parents never really talked about it much and usually tried to avoid the topic.
Michael thickly swallowed, acutely aware of the sharp blade against his skin. “No… no I don’t think-”
Of all the things he expected to happen in his situation, he certainly didn’t expect for the masked man to go into a small laughing fit over his answer. Michael struggled to find what exactly was funny, and a small pit of rage began to boil in his stomach, temporarily distracting the zombie piglin from the fear that the green blob seemed to pull out of him. So what if he didn’t know what those are?! Why does he care?! “Oh, I knew they couldn’t have told you everything…”
“What… what do you mean?”
“You see Michael, when someone dies they use up a canon life and respawn, until… well… they can’t anymore. Everyone has three, but a few have been used up over the years, at least when I was around.” Michael could see the beginnings of a smirk poke out from underneath Dream’s mask. “You’ve never respawned, have you?! All three lives, no deaths… oh, this could be fun…”
What… what the fuck was he suggesting?!
“Your choice - Tell me where the armor is now, or I’m going to kill you.”
The zombie piglin nervously looked around for any kind of out, something to stall. He couldn’t give up the location - Dad told him explicitly that he couldn’t reveal the location to anyone, no matter the circumstances.
Tubbo held Michael’s hands firmly in his own. “It’s evil, Michael. It used to belong to a very bad person, and he hurt a lot of people. We have to contain that evil here, for everyone’s sake. If this got into the wrong hands…” His father trailed off, not bothering to finish.
“I promise, Dad. I won’t let you down.”
Tubbo looked up at his son proudly, moving to cup his cheek with his hand fondly. “I know you won’t. You’re old enough and you’ve trained enough, you’ve earned my trust.”
He couldn’t let his father down, but…
“Five… four… three…” Dream huffed, getting impatient.
“You… you can’t just-!”
“Wrong answer.”
Michael’s memory was fuzzy after that - maybe it was because of the pain, or maybe it because he didn’t want to remember. He remembered… he remembered how his body trembled as Dream swiftly stabbed him in the chest with the shears, he remembered the tears going down his face as Dream tried to wedge the weapon deeper in the wound. And the pain… the pain was indescribable. Of course Michael had gotten hurt before - but arrows and zombie bites and broken bones could never compare to this, not by a long shot. Words left his lips so freely that he forgot exactly what he said, but when Dream twisted the scissors he whimpered.
He was mad at himself for crying and losing himself in front of his tormentor - he was giving him exactly what he wanted! Why did he just cry so easily?! Why was he being so… so weak?! He didn’t know exactly how or when the chair he was tied to flipped over, but he did remember shouting that seemed distant. He hit his head when he fell, adding to the throbbing dizziness in his skull. The pain hurt so much he wanted it to stop, please just let it stop...
He hadn’t even noticed the masked green blob left the room until a pair of dark purple eyes stared at him from the doorway. He felt himself tremble as the figure moved closer, and Michael squeezed his eyes shut, not willing to watch whatever that thing wanted to do to him next. After a tense moment of silence the piglin felt arms wrapped around him, pulling him close and his body relaxed into the touch, the familiar hum radiating throughout the stranger’s chest that always helped calm him. A hand reached up to scratch at his ears fondly, and Michael worked up the courage to open his eyes.
Two purple glowing eyes looked down at him, smiling and purring. The hair, the clothes… “Dad…?” Michael weakly croaked. The purple-eyed Ranboo smiled at him as he fondly patted his head. A loud noise erupted from his mouth, making Michael tense up in fear.
“⏚⏃⏚⊬.”
Upon seeing Michael’s distress, purple-eyed Ranboo quickly went back to sending calming purrs, holding his son’s head in his hands. Michael was so confused - what was that noise? More importantly, was his Dad okay? Ranboo’s hands drifted above the zombie piglin’s chest wound, a slight noise of discomfort coming from the back of his throat. He grit his teeth through the pain as he struggled to speak. “Dad, look, you… you gotta listen - Dream’s here, he’s gonna be back any second…”
The Ranboo-not-Ranboo’s head whipped toward the doorway at a loud crash, his grip increasing on the teenager slightly. Had his Dad even heard him? More strange noise erupted from his mouth, only increasing Michael’s concern. What was going on?
“⎅⏃⋏☌⟒⍀.”
Before Michael could ask what exactly that meant, with a ‘vwoop’ the purple-eyed Ranboo disappeared. Though Michael missed the warm comfort for his pulsing pain, part of him was glad. That means his Dad must’ve heard him, he was gonna warn the others and Dream wouldn’t hurt him, that was all that mattered. The other part felt like he was six years old again trapped in his own personal nightmare, begging for his father to come back and save him and hold him and tell him everything was going to be alright. Static began to fill his ears as a slow deep sleepiness began to take over. Tears pricked at the edges of Michael’s eyes, the pulsing, burning pain becoming too much.
Just let me rest...
The door slammed open. A scream echoed.
“MICHAEL!”
-------------------------------------
Foolish had never seen his son so scared in his entire life. He shot up, grasping for some kind of lifeline, and Foolish didn’t hesitate to pull him close. “Dad…”
“Shh, it’s okay little totemling. Dad’s right here.” His heart felt full as he hugged his son tightly, afraid that if he let go it would all just be a dream. His son, his son was alive and breathing, his son was right here in his arms, he was okay, it was all okay-! Wet tears slipped down his face before he had the time to notice them. The totem god’s gaze shifted up towards the totem statue. The statue glared down at him, expressionless, as if nothing else needed to be said.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
“There was… there were shadows everywhere,” Junior sobbed. “It was cold and so, so scary and I didn’t know where you were, and-!”
“I’m right here, Foolish. I’m right here. It…” Foolish hesitated. How could he explain this to him? How could he tell his son that he failed him? How could he face his son and tell him the truth, that his own father had killed him? Maybe some things were better left unsaid, some truths untold. Foolish couldn’t tell you whether he avoided it to spare his son’s emotions or his own, simply that he found that he just couldn’t. “It was all just a bad dream, don’t worry. I was just waiting for you to respawn.”
Maybe he was a coward. Maybe he’d tell him the truth later, but he couldn’t face it right now. He just couldn’t. Either way, what did it matter? He got a second chance, and this time he wasn’t going to mess up. Not again.
“Wait, where’s Dream?”
Foolish couldn’t help but tense hearing those words. “...What?”
“Where’s Dream? He just came back, I can’t leave him. He’s probably somewhere scared and alone, he probably thinks I died! I’m his only friend, I gotta-!” Junior shifted, moving to get out of his father’s grip.
“Foolish. Foolish, no.” The totem god said firmly. “Dream’s dangerous. He’s done horrible things, he’s hurt so many people back when he was alive, and I won’t have you be next.” Not again.
“But… but it’s been so long, maybe he’s changed! Maybe…”
“Foolish.”
“When Wilbur came back he changed, he became a good guy again! Dream’s been dead longer than him, he’s my friend he can’t… he’s not…”
“Dream used you against me when you stepped in front to protect him. Maybe his ghost was different, but… but he’s not a ghost anymore.”
Junior pulled away from his father’s embrace. “No, no that’s not true! You were the first one to attack him, he was just standing there, Dad! He just came back, he hadn’t done anything wrong, you assumed he did. You attacked for no reason.”
“Foolish you don’t understand, the things Dream’s done-”
“He’s been dead for 12 years, Dad! 12 years, and you don’t think he’s changed?! I thought you always believed in second chances, that everyone deserves a chance to do the right thing.” Junior stated. “You didn’t even give him a chance.”
“He’s killed countless people in cold blood-”
“Haven’t you?!”
Foolish’s face fell as he looked over his hands. Static filled his ears as his mind remembered every single detail, and for a moment he swore he could feel the warm, thick blood coating his hands. No, no no no… not now… He quickly clenched his hands tightly into fists, closing his eyes, trying to block it out before it flooded back, before…
He felt arms around his neck, a warm embrace. “It’s okay, it’s okay… I’m so sorry, I’m sorry-!”
As the feeling slowly faded, he opened his eyes, finding his son’s face red and puffy from crying. He mustered a small smile, both their anger long forgotten. “Hey, hey it’s okay… I told you I’m not going anywhere, right?”
“You were… you were turning into the… I’m so sorry…” Junior’s voice was soft and quiet.
“You don’t need to be, it’s not your fault…” Foolish reassured. “You’re right. You’re right, I’ve… I’ve done horrible things too. I just don’t want him to hurt you. I want to protect you, you know that right?”
“I know.”
Junior yawned, and Foolish smiled warmly.
“Come, my little totemling. You look tired.” Foolish said, scooping up the young teenager in his arms and walking toward his son’s room. Junior tiredly smiled.
“I love you, Dad.”
Foolish leaned down and gave his son a small forehead kiss. “I love you too, Foolish. No matter what.”
------------------------------------------
“Shit, shit shit shit shit…” Tubbo mumbled, his hands shaking as he rushed over to his son, noticing the large gash in his chest. He fumbled for his bag, desperately trying to find a potion of harming.
Regen, healing, strength, swiftness…
“Fuck.” Tubbo cursed under his breath, throwing aside his satchel and rushing over toward the drawers, pulling them open, throwing things to the ground in reckless abandon. What happened to the potions?! They always had extra, then extra for the extra! He and Ranboo were always prepared, they knew how hard harming potions were to make, so where was it?!
A loud crash ripped through the halls as Enderwalk Ranboo crashed through the wooden wall of the room, wooden splinters flying everywhere. Enderwalk huffed as he staggered trying to get to his feet, letting out a loud hiss as Dream walked through the new hole in the wall, his sword out, red staining his green hoodie. He looked over the scene, catching his breath.
“Oh, you guys wanted to pull one over on me, huh?! Throw the enderman freak on me, grab Michael and leave?”
Tubbo moved to be closer to Michael, pulling out his own sword protectively as Enderwalk moved in front of both, ignoring his own slashes and blood dripping to the floor. Enderwalk Ranboo screeched, almost daring the masked man to come toward his family. Tubbo’s gaze was focused on Dream, looking him over. “Yeah, something like that. Great plan, isn’t it?”
“Actually,” Dream let out a small cough, smirking. “Actually it’s pretty stupid.”
“I’d disagree, since we have Michael, and from the looks of it, you don’t have your precious armor.”
“Oh Tubbo, all these years and you’ve learned nothing… I always have other plans.”
Tubbo’s eyes narrowed. “What do you-?”
“Looking for this?” Dream smiled, holding up a glimmering potion of harming. Enderwalk was ready to pounce, looking over at Tubbo who stood up, sword raised. “Nuh-uh-uh. Try to take it from me and I’ll smash it on the floor. All of them.” Dream moved to open the flap of his bag slightly to reveal more potions of harming. Tubbo’s face fell - all the extras, everything…
Enderwalk looked back at Tubbo, head tilted in confusion as Tubbo signaled for him to stand down. Tubbo took a deep breath - he hated this. He hated that once again, he hadn’t thought everything through, he hated that once again he failed, and most of all he hated that fact that as of this moment, his son’s life was in that green psycho's hands. Enderwalk turned to hold Michael close once again, nuzzling him and getting worried and sad when he didn’t respond. “What do you want for it?”
“You know what I want.” Dream said coldly. “I’d hurry if I were you, or it’ll be Michael’s first cannon life.”
Tubbo promised himself he wouldn’t ever subject his son to that kind of pain, that he’d protect him no matter what. He let out a defeated sigh. “Second portrait on the left in the entryway. It’s behind the painting.” Tubbo held out his hand. “Now give me the potion.”
“Tubbo, Tubbo, Tubbo… never change. Once an idiot, always an idiot, isn’t it?” Dream tossed the potion bottle over, which Tubbo quickly caught as the masked man turned and walked out of the room. Tubbo quickly rushed over toward his son, putting the potion bottle to his lips. They didn’t have much time.
Of course, it wouldn’t heal much, but it certainly was better than nothing. He looked over toward Enderwalk, gears turning in his head trying to make sure he spoke clearly enough to be understood. “⟒⋏⎅⟒⍀, ☌⟒⏁ ⏚⏃⋏⎅⏃☌⟒⌇.”
Enderwalk nodded, rushing over toward the drawers, grabbing some bandages and handing them over to Tubbo, who set down the empty potion bottle. Enderwalk looked down at Michael as Tubbo worked, focused. “⏚⏃⏚⊬ ⏃⌇⌰⟒⟒⌿. ⏚⏃⏚⊬ ⍜☍⏃⊬?”
“⌿⏃⟟⋏ ⊑⎍⍀⏁ ⏁⍜⍜ ⋔⎍☊⊑. ⌿⍜⏁⟟⍜⋏ ⊑⟒⌰⌿⟒⎅.”
Enderwalk reached to scratch and pat behind Michael’s ears. Tubbo tightened the bandages as Michael stirred. “...Dad…?”
“Michael, thank gods you’re alright!” Tubbo moved to hug his son, Enderwalk joining in, purring happily at the reunion.
“What… what happened? Where’s Dream?”
No time. “Busy. Michael, can you move..?”
Michael shifted to sit, feeling sore, tired. Small pulses of pain still wracked his body that he ignored. He moved his leg slightly, testing the waters. “I… I think so…?”
“Good. Okay.” Tubbo got up, holding out his hand and helping his son stand on shaky hooves. “I need you to run. Run toward Uncle Tommy’s.”
“Wait, what? N-no, I’m not leaving you!”
“This isn’t a choice, Michael. You have to go. Now. Before he comes back.”
“But-”
Tubbo’s hands gently squeezed his son’s. “No matter what you hear or what happens, don’t stop. Don’t stop until you’re at Uncle Tommy’s and you’re safe, okay?”
“But what about you and Dad? What about Dream?”
“Don’t worry, we’ve held our own this long. We’ll meet you at Uncle Tommy’s soon, but you have to get there and get safe, okay? Don’t look back, just get there. You can do that for me, right?” Tubbo’s forehead gently bonked Michael’s. “Remember the time we got caught in the forest just as the sun was coming down?”
“Yeah. I was so scared I couldn’t move. It was my first time out at night.”
“Remember, I took your hand like this…” Tubbo slowly rubbed circles into the back of Michael’s palm. “And told you that you didn’t have to be scared, that I was gonna be right there with you. All the scary monsters, you didn’t need to be afraid because as long as you kept running, nothing could get you.”
“Dad, I don’t know if I-”
“Yes you can. I know you can, Michael. Run as fast as your hooves can carry you, I know you can do it. I know you can be brave.” Tubbo encouraged. “Get there, your father and I will be right behind you. I promise.”
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, Michael.”
“⏚⏃⏚⊬ ⍜☍⏃⊬! ⍙⊑⊬ ⏚⏃⏚⊬ ⌇⏃⎅?”
Enderwalk nuzzled with Michael as a few tears spilled down the piglin’s cheeks, and he laughed, smiling. “I love you too, Dad!”
Quickly, giving his parents one last look, Michael dashed into the hallway, heading toward the balcony and jumping down into the courtyard, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he ran through the trees toward the icy tundra. Tubbo wiped away his tears as he looked over toward his purple-eyed husband.
“⏚⏃⏚⊬...?”
Tubbo cupped Enderwalk’s cheek as the enderman snuggled into the embrace. “⋔⟟☊⊑⏃⟒⌰ ⋏⍜⏁ ⌇⏃⎎⟒ ⊑⟒⍀⟒. ☌⍜⟟⋏☌ ⏁⍜ ⌇⏃⎎⟒ ⌿⌰⏃☊⟒.”
Enderwalk looked into Tubbo’s eyes and nodded in understanding. He moved to hold Tubbo’s face in his hands as Tubbo stilled, confused for a moment before Enderwalk pulled him down to the floor in a tight hug. Surprised at first, Tubbo returned the gesture. A loud crash erupted from below the two, followed by loud angry yells that sent shivers up Enderwalk’s spine and made him tense up.
“WHERE IS IT?!”
------------------------------------------------
“The flowers are really pretty today.” Ghostie smiled as he kneeled down in the daisy flower field, callused and rough hands moving to gently caress a flower.
“Yeah, spring’s coming.” Junior smiled, sitting down next to his friend.
“Spring…?”
“You… wait a minute, you’ve never seen spring before?!”
The ghost considered his friend's words for a moment, searching his own memory. “No, I… I don’t think I remember spring.” He smiled excitedly, a childlike curiosity in his eyes. “What’s it like?”
Junior settled down next to his friend, moving to pluck a flower. “Well, it’s warm, like… like hot chocolate, and flowers come back… it’s like the entire world comes alive again.” As Junior spoke, Ghostie pushed his green hood back and looked up towards the bright blue sky, noticing a small butterfly float past. His heart felt light, it was perfectly warm and bright, and something about everything around him made a smile appear on his face. “It’s perfect.”
“Oh, by the way, I’ve got something for you.” Foolish Junior smiled, reaching into his bag and pulling out a small piece of different colors of braided thread - a lime green and two different shades of blue with a small white shell at the bottom. He held it out to Ghostie. “Now we’re officially best friends!”
“What is it…?” Ghostie asked, staring down at the foreign object laid in his palm.
“It’s a friendship bracelet!” Junior beamed, pulling out a similar yellow with the same two shades of blue. When his ghost friend didn’t respond or understand when he pointed it out, just staring up at him confused, he moved to explain. “You wear it on your wrist to show that we’re friends. See? It matches mine.” The twelve year old held up his own bracelet to show his ghost friend.
“Were… were we not friends before…?”
“Of course we were, Ghostie!” Foolish Junior exclaimed. “You’re my best ghost friend in the world, after all.” He reassured his friend. “I just wanted to make it for you because I thought you’d like it. Tubbo was telling me this story the other day about these special compasses, and… and I wanted to make sure that even if we’re not always together, we’ll still have a part of each other, you know?”
“It’s pretty. Like the flowers.” Ghostie smiled. “I love it.”
“Here, let me show you how to put it on…”
Foolish Junior heard talking just beyond his room as he packed, hearing his Uncle Eret downstairs. For a second, his mind wandered to what they could possibly be talking about. After all, it was just a simple respawn. He wasn’t that hurt, Ghostie got brought back… everything was perfect! Everything was supposed to be absolutely perfect.
So why wasn’t it? The whispers and hushed tones, the way his father looked at him, clung to him in a vice grip… it wasn’t right. He wasn’t right. He knew his father wasn’t right about Ghostie, or… or was he Dream now…? Dream. It didn’t sound right, it didn’t fit him as well as ‘Ghostie’ did. The name felt so foreign on his tongue. But, if that’s what his friend wanted…
The teenager stilled as his gaze settled on the abandoned green and blue friendship bracelet left on his nightstand. He remembered how Ghostie held it with the utmost care when he handed it to him to take - “Make sure to give it back once the ritual’s all done. I don’t wanna get it dirty.” Junior remembered so clearly how Ghostie looked at him when he wasn’t transparent anymore.he called out for him with a smile, and his best friend simply turned around without saying a single word, looking around the forest.
After a moment of hesitation, he slid on Ghostie’s bracelet next to his own. He’ll give it back, he’ll reunite with Ghostie and introduce him to everyone and they’d understand. Then, they’d finally get to go swimming together like they always wanted to. They’d be together again.
All he had to do was find him.
You whisper to Dream: Meet me by the flower field tonight once the sun goes down. Be safe. We’ve gotta talk.
---------------------------------------------
As his husband held his head in agony, Tubbo was quick to steady him, resting his head against his shoulder. He gently held him, adapting as he shifted every now and then. Worried thoughts filled Tubbo's head as he couldn’t help but think of the worst - it had after all been years since Ranboo had forced himself to go into that state. He was the one who pushed him, all for his plan, his 'big' plan. Eventually, Tubbo found the voice to speak. “You there, Boo?”
“I... forgot how dizzying it is…” Ranboo let out a pained chuckle against his husband’s shoulder. “How’d I do?”
“Amazing,” Tubbo smiled, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. A few tears slid down his cheeks as he softly laughed. “Absolutely amazing.”
“Michael okay?”
“Dream roughed him up a little badly,” Tubbo sniffed, moving his hand up to wipe away his tears. “I patched him up, gave him a potion and sent him on his way toward Tommy’s.”
“That’s good.” Ranboo moved to sit up fully, holding Tubbo’s hand in his to comfort him. His smile never left his face. “So, what’s the plan now?”
“Well, Dream always told us what would happen if we crossed him.” Tubbo looked up at Ranboo. “Do you wanna come with me and find out?”
The enderman smirked playfully. “Aw, don’t tell me you tricked the poor thing…?”
“I do learn from the best.” Tubbo smiled. The door slammed open once more to reveal a very angry and pissed off Dream. Slowly, he walked over toward the couple, a golden axe drawn.
“Tubbo.” He growled.
"Dream." Tubbo smiled. "Did you find the armor?" A pair of netherite boots fell to the floor with a 'clang', the noise like thunder in the silent tense room.
“Where’s the rest of it?!”
“What, don't you like the boots?”
Dream pounced, tackling Tubbo to the ground and slowly pushing the axe blade up toward Tubbo’s neck. “Start talking you little shit.”
“Did you honestly think we’d hide all your precious armor and weapons in one spot?! Do you think after twelve years we’d still be that stupid?!” With Tubbo’s words, Dream looked like he was slapped, anger only building and rising the more he thought it over, the more he realized his mistake.
A mistake. He didn't make mistakes.
“We’ve buried them and hid the locations all around the SMP, just in case someone like you ever showed up again and tried to take us down.” Tubbo explained. “Good luck on finding the others, going through everyone on the SMP, digging through all that dirt… not to mention that as we speak Michael’s running to warn the others about you.” Tubbo’s eyes narrowed. “You’re trapped.”
He didn't make mistakes. He didn't get trapped. He was always smarter, always faster, always in control. Why wasn't he in control?!
“Checkmate, Dream.” Tubbo spat.
The words sparked a flame within Dream’s stomach, igniting his anger and destructive spirit. Choked breathing filled the room as Dream wrapped his hands around Tubbo’s throat and squeezed. How dare he… HOW DARE HE TRICK HIM?! He saw red as he slammed Tubbo’s head back down against the wooden floor, staining it crimson. Ranboo yelled and screamed in the background until Tubbo was still as a stone, unconscious.
“Get away from him!” Ranboo yelled, grabbing his sword and moving to strike. A quick slash of Dream’s yellow axe sent him to the floor as well. Struggling to keep awake, Ranboo crawled, each movement feeling like fire as it combined with his older injuries, his blood dripping to the floor. Dream watched Ranboo a moment, relishing in his struggle, the blood bringing him a deep satisfaction. Slowly, ever so slowly, he begins to walk over toward the enderman, his golden axe dripping with blood.
“I’ll admit, I didn’t expect you guys to be so sharp after all these years… but you’re still making the same mistakes.” Dream said with an oddly calm and cold tone. “You three always underestimate me. You underestimated me then, and you’re still doing it now to make yourselves feel better, to feel like you’ve won. But you haven’t.” Dream kneeled down in front of the enderman, grabbing a fistful of his hair and pulling his face to look at his. “I’m going to win eventually. After all, I waited a hundred and forty-four years to get out of that hell hole you three put me in. If you think a small slip up is all it takes to stop me and the plans I have…" The last thing that rang in Ranboo's head before he passed out was Dream's crazed laughter.
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General Writing Taglist (Tell me if you'd like to be added or removed):
@bonesposts
(Also, I believe @yellowhearthero wanted some protective enderboo, so here you go! :D)
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petri808 · 3 years
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Inukag AU
More and more the déjà vu moments started coming to Kagome, mostly smaller memories, but they were adding up. She’d taken the doctor’s advice and kept a small notebook in her purse in case a new one popped up. For example, she knew Inuyasha’s favorite food was ramen because she’d been told as much, but one day as she shopped in the supermarket and saw one of the brands on the shelf, her hand immediately reached out for it. Kagome placed it in her basket without a second thought until two aisles away it finally hit her— it wasn’t a flavor she liked. Sure enough, when she saw Inuyasha that afternoon he confirmed it was the brand and flavor he always bought.
Speaking of recall, Kagome had met Ms. Tanaka at a small cafe one Saturday and they sat at a table for four hours chatting. Kagome had been nervous about going. What would she say since she couldn’t remember anything about the job or company, but Ms. Tanaka was such a bubbly feisty person those anxieties had melted away within the first few minutes. She was brought up to speed on how the company was doing… along with the gossip or drama one might find in a close knit office like they had. So, and so just started dating, bought a new car, complaining about in-laws, news about children, etc. Kagome recognized the name of one child mentioned from when the coworker had taken maternity leave. It felt weird to now be told the child had started preschool, but she was just happy to have remembered the person at all. It was a good day with more to come because Ms. Tanaka invited her to a birthday party the following week at the office for one of their closest co-workers. Apparently, they were nicknamed the trio at work because they always took their lunches together. Their cubicles were next to each other so day in and day out they���d became each other’s family away from home.
“Hi, everyone.” Kagome smiled and waved even though her nerves were on edge. Ms. Tanaka wanted it to be a surprise, so she had no idea what the reaction would be… and it certainly wasn’t this!
A loud scream came from the other side of the room that left her startled. At first Kagome couldn’t see who or where it had come from over all the cubicles, but the next thing she knew she’d almost been tackled to the ground by a hug. It was the birthday girl, Ms. Fukuda.
“Oh, my Kami you came!” Fukuda pulled back her hands still gripped to Kagome’s shoulders. “Why didn’t anyone tell me you were coming??”
“Tanaka wanted it be a surprise,” Kagome squeaked back.
“Well, this is definitely the best birthday gift I could’ve received!— Even if you don’t remember me.”
Kagome flinched a little, her cheeks heating up. “I’m sorry, I don’t, but I’m hoping being here will stimulate something.”
“No need to be sorry,” the woman hugged her again. “I can’t even imagine what you’re going through, but let’s see if we can’t jog those memories!” Ms. Fukuda took Kagome’s hand and started dragging her deeper into the crowd. “Everyone! Look who’s here!”
Kagome stayed close to Tanaka and Fukuda throughout the visit, though the longer she stayed the more comfortable she became. There was tons of food to eat and desserts that left her full. People joked around, teasing Fukuda over a few gag gifts, but all in good fun. Kagome couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so hard. Everyone was so nice and accommodating, never making her feel bad that she couldn’t remember them. Quite the contrary. The office staff talked and talked, bringing up story after story from the last few years. They seemed determined to play a role in helping Kagome to redeem her lost memories. Most of the staff were there when she’d started and so they had a lot of tales to tell.
“You had such a hard time with the ten-key machine,” Ms. Fukuda laughed. “I remember thinking oh kami, this young girl is gonna give me gray hair!”
Kagome chuckled. “And you weren’t quiet about pointing it out to me. Said I’ll have to cover the cost of hair dye if it did.”
The room full of laughter suddenly went silent as everyone turned to Kagome. Only a few gasps breaking the stillness to leave her utterly concerned. “Did I say something wrong?” Kagome questioned.
Ms. Fukuda broke the silence. “Y-You really remember that?”
“Remember…” Kagome repeated in confusion. All she did was comment— “Oh! Yeah, I guess I did…”
Fukuda squealed as she hugged onto Kagome. “Oh, my Kami! You remembered!”
“I-I remembered!” Tears began to stream down Kagome’s cheeks at how naturally the memories came back to her. “It took me a couple of months, but I got it down.”
“You did,” Ms. Fukuda whose own tears made their way to the scene, and Ms. Tanaka had joined in the hug. “And now you’re faster than me,” she snorted a laugh.
“Y-Yeah,” Kagome hiccupped a laugh too.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as everyone watched the friends sharing in such a beautiful moment. As the trio pulled apart, wiping away their tear stained faces, with the biggest smiles planted on them. Ms. Fukuda took Kagome’s hand a final time before letting go. “This truly was the best birthday gift, and I can’t wait for you come back to work.”
“Me, too.”
The party went on for a couple more hours, and by 4pm that afternoon it was winding down. Some office workers were tidying up, packing up leftovers or cleaning up any messes, while others went back to finishing up any company business that needed to be completed that day. A few core individuals such as the trio stayed chatting quietly around the cubicles. There was more than one conversation taking place, so Kagome ever eager to learn what she could did her best to stay engaged. Listening here and chiming in there. But then a name two cubicles away caught her attention.
‘Yura?’ Kagome wondered, who was this person and why was the name stirring up such a wave of anger and pain inside of her? The conversation she overheard seemed meaningless, just something about they were glad the person wasn’t there anymore. Okay, so that meant Yura was a former employee of the company. One person commented that they’d seen her at a new job in a department store selling makeup and the other responded with a scoffing sound, that it was a good fit for such a two-faced bitch. Well, obviously she wasn’t the only person who’d had an issue with this Yura woman. But who was she to her??
In order to figure it out, Kagome tapped on Ms. Tanaka’s shoulder to gain her attention. She whispered her question. “Who is Yura? Mr. Yoshida and Mr. Miyahira are talking about her.”
“Oh…” Ms. Tanaka looked warily at Ms. Fukuda before addressing Kagome’s question. “Are you sure you want to know? It, um… won’t be a very good memory.”
So, Yura was attached to an unhappy event in her life after all and her friends reaction’s just confirmed the initial feelings she’d felt. Kagome swallowed hard, would it be worth dredging up an unhappy memory or should she leave it buried away. It wasn’t the easiest decision to make, but if the woman’s name had triggered such a strong reaction, it must’ve played a significant role.
“J-Just tell me a little bit about her, maybe about when she’d worked here.”
Ms. Tanaka went first. “Okay. Well, um, she was here for about a year, and no one really liked her because she was rude and thought she was better than everyone else… but, when it came to you, Yura just had a real fixation on making your life miserable.”
“We didn’t know the real reason behind it all until the end,” added Ms. Fukuda. “At first, it was petty, childish things like stealing your lunch from the break room or leaving mean notes on your desk. But then it started to escalate and after several complaints to management, they finally fired her— You basically told the manager if they didn’t then you’d quit.”
“They chose you, and that’s what’s important.” Tanaka finished.
“But what do you mean the real reason behind it? Behind what?” Kagome asked.
Kagome’s question must’ve gave her two friends a real dilemma because they grew silent and hesitant to answer it. “Please? We’ve come this far you might as well just tell me.”
“It turned out that Yura was acting that way towards you because, she’s close friends with Inuyasha’s ex…”
“Oh…” Kagome’s eyes widened. “That’s right…” she sat back as the emotions took control. Kikyo was still a vague concept for her with only the bits and pieces she’d been able to put together, but the mention of the woman in conjunction with Yura brought on a flashback. “The cafe. They’d confronted me at a cafe on my lunch break…” Tears had welled up in Kagome’s eyes, but a sensation of anger was making her body tremble at the memory. “That’s what made me give management an ultimatum because it was just going to far.”
As the tears broke free, Kagome’s friends pulled together into a hug. Don’t cry! It’s okay! It was the past! Oh, please don’t be sad Kagome! She’s gone now, it’s gonna be okay! Once she was able to get the tears under control and convince them she’d be okay, they dropped the subject. But despite cheering Kagome up, the bitter feelings just wouldn’t go away. They sat in her gut stirring and brooding, knowing there was more to the story that she just couldn’t remember and that alone was frustrating. According to her friend’s, this incident happened just eight months before her accident, so it wasn’t ancient history. Had it contributed to the fight? It wasn’t beyond belief to think it had or at least added to the frustrations that led up to it.
When Inuyasha picked Kagome up from her workplace, he tried to make small talk. How’d it go? Did you have fun? She answered them in order, how it started out great and everyone was so nice and supportive, telling her stories and answering questions. Then she told him about blurting out a comment because she’d remembered the event.
“That’s awesome, babe!” Inuyasha squeezed her shoulder. “Your memories are coming back faster now!”
“Yeah, about that…” Kagome quieted as she fiddled with her fingers in her lap. “There was something else that was triggered, a… not so great memory.”
“Oh?” He turned briefly to check on her before returning his eyes to the road. “Are you okay? Do you wanna talk about it?”
“Um… well there was a woman that used to work there that I didn’t get along with…”
“That’s surprising.”
“Yeah, she um— Her name was Yura. But the reason we didn’t get along was because she’s a friend of your ex-girlfriend.”
Kagome instantly saw Inuyasha’s grip tighten on the steering wheel and the whites of his knuckles glaringly apparent. Clearly just the mention of Kikyo was enough to trigger an intense reaction.
She cleared her drying throat. “The company fired Yura about 8 months before the accident after she and Kikyo harassed me at a cafe during my lunch break.”
“You never told me about that. Kagome, why—”Inuyasha stopped mid-sentence as he felt his anger rise. He took a deep breath then lowered his tone. “Why didn’t you tell me about something that bad?”
“I’m not surprised…” she mumbled under her breath. She’d had an inkling that she’d never told him. “I think it was because I didn’t think you’d listen.”
“Of course, I would have listened! They were harassing you!”
“Look, Inuyasha, I don’t remember everything, but clearly there was a reason I didn’t tell you and based on everything you’ve told me yourself you weren’t listening! So, how can you even tell me you would have, when obviously you weren’t back then! You have no right to hold it against me now!”
“Kagome this is different, it affected your job and there were witnesses—”
“Oh?! So, because you’d believe the witnesses you would have believed me?! I don’t remember, but maybe there were other times there were witnesses and you didn’t listen— I DON’T KNOW THAT!”
“That’s not what I meant! I would have listened to you if you’d told me! You should have told me!”
“You know, I really thought you’d be different but if you still can’t admit about what drove me to leave that night, then I… I don’t know anymore…”
“That’s not fair…”
“J-just get me home! I-I just wanna go home Inuyasha! I can’t talk to you right now! There’s so much I can’t remember and since you admitted you hadn’t listened before, there’s nothing more to say.”
“Please Kagome—”
“Just stop. I’m done talking.” She’d had enough.
Her mind was spinning from all the gaps she couldn’t fill and the anger at his words. How could he deny it now when that’s one of the things he’d admitted to from the beginning. The last few minutes of the drive went by in silence and as soon as they reached the Higurashi residence, Kagome got out without a second look. All their months of hard work were now left behind with the slam of a car door and she had no idea how to salvage it.
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redbeansoups · 4 years
Text
Time
Kirishima Eijirou x Reader
In which you and Kirishima have one last week together.
*
It is Monday morning when you buy the ticket. You request to be put on the last train.
The conductor eyes you suspiciously when you ask. He doesn’t seem to be much older than you are, though you don’t miss the near-fatherly concern in his look. “You’re sure?” he says, thumb flicking over the mouse. His cursor hovers over the available seats on the monitor; it’s an odd time to travel, it seems, because most of them appear to be unoccupied. “It’s quite a late journey–”
“I'm sure,” you affirm; he hums in response, but doesn’t question it again. The ticket is secured and printed in a matter of moments, and he slides the slip over to you. It’s printed on a slick, waterproof material, and it squeaks against your skin as your fingers take hold of it. “Thank you,” you say, giving him a curt bow.
“Of course,” the man says, and mirrors your actions as you move away.
You have until Sunday night.
*
It is Tuesday night when you come home to a warm hug. Kirishima’s arms are strong and wrap firmly around you, pulling your head towards his chest. He smells of something warm and cool all at once; like a winter night in the woods.
“I’m home,” you manage to mutter, your lips hardly moving against his chest. He pulls you closer and laughs at the muffled protests you make; the noise rumbles against you.
When he releases you, he’s grinning, teeth bared all at once. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” he says; you can tell he’s trying to restrain his excitement, because although his voice is low and casual, there’s something in his eyes that is positively glimmering.
“Really?” you say, playing along. “What could it be, I wonder?”
He chuckles, and his fingers entwine with yours. “I’ll show you!” he exclaims. In an instant, your bags are on the ground, your shoes lying long-forgotten by the door. He pulls you through the hallways and into the living room.
The lights are off; the room is lit only by a huddle of mismatched candles at the centre, each of them smelling vaguely of something sweet and spiced–cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg. The couch is littered in pillows, the majority of them stolen from the bedroom; a large, fluffy blanket sits at the center of it all, already unfurled.
On the coffee table is a bottle of wine and a collection of DVDs, each of them an old childhood favorite.
“I figured you’d need a break,” he says offhandedly, not waiting for your reaction. He beams at the setup, lips upturned at the sight. Then, his face falls into a pout. “I was gonna make a blanket fort, but Katsuki told me it’d be a fire hazard with the candles, which sucks, because that would’ve been awesome..”
You watch his expression contort in a mock disappointment, and laugh.
“It’s perfect,” you say, tiptoeing to press a kiss to his chin.
There’s a lopsided smirk on his face that you want to remember forever.
*
It is Wednesday afternoon when he brings you out on a date.
He says to keep it casual, and you do; since he does the same, you opt for something light and airy. You’re shocked, though, when he brings his bike out from the hallway closet. It’s an older model, its paint a deep maroon shade with a metal basket fastened at the front of it; it’s been quite some time since you’ve last seen it.
When he notices the way your jaw goes slack in confusion, he offers a sheepish grin. “Thought it’d be fun,” he tells you. “Like when we were little.” He clambers onto the seat, and pats the spot behind him.
The action is all-too familiar. You seat yourself behind him, and wrap your arms around his waist. The nighttime breeze blows through your hair as he begins to pedal, the bike shifting and building up to a solid pace.
Your face is warm against his back.
After some time, the bike comes to a gentle halt.
You don’t recognize your surroundings at first; you glance around, disoriented. You seem to be in a small neighborhood; the houses around you are on the older side, quaint with overgrown gardens. There’s a large red postbox by the corner with a tabby cat curled up atop it.
It’s only when you catch sight of the cafe down the road that your face lights up. “We’re near school,” you say, and he smiles. He parks the bike, and leads you inside.
The elderly woman by the counter lights up as you two enter, the bell chime ringing familiarly in your ears. “I haven’t seen you two in forever,” she says, the crows’ feet by her eyes crinkling upward as she welcomes you two with a smile. The two of you bow deeply to her, exchanging old greetings. She brings you to the table farthest from the door, the one just by the little windowsill. “The usual?”
“Yes, please,” Kirishima pipes, and the woman smiles, staggering away.
She emerges again with two plates in hand; she sets down a portion of curry for the both of you. “It’s good to see you two,” she says, before moving back to sit behind the counter.
The cafe is empty save for you both.
“Just like highschool,” Kirishima says, grinning.
Just like highschool, butterflies and all.
*
It is Thursday morning when you emerge from the closet with a stack of collapsed cardboard boxes cradled against your chest.
“Already, huh?” Kirishima says, watching as you lay them out onto the kitchen table and begin folding them one by one. He pulls out the chair beside you and seats himself, grabbing one to work on for himself; they smell faintly of something old and wet, and his nose crinkles.
“Yeah,” you say, somewhat wistfully. When you finish folding one, you throw it into a pile with the others; there’s a growing pool by the dining table that is threatening to spill into the living room. “The movers will be here in the morning.”
Kirishima lets out a sigh, long and drawn-out. It’s a rare sound for him; you’re used to hearty laughter and cheery snickers. He’s looking around your shared flat, as if to take in every detail; the potted plants by the windowsill, the books on the shelves, your framed paintings and pictures on the walls.
“Last-minute, huh?” he teases, though you can’t find it in yourself to meet his eyes.
“Nothing new,” you tell him, and continue working.
That night, as you pack away everything you’ve known, you can’t help but sigh along with him.
The flat looks to have lost its soul.
*
It is Friday night when Kirishima invites all your friends over for dinner. Bakugo, his self-declared best mate, is the first to arrive. He hangs his coat up on the stand by the door.
“Heard about the promotion,” is the first thing he says by way of greeting, voice gruff as per usual. “Quite a job,” he says, and you figure he’s congratulating you, so you thank him with a smile.
Jirou arrives next, dragging a shivering Kaminari along behind her. “He forgot his coat,” she explains easily, her fingers moving to unbutton her own. The man in question is pale-faced, but he offers you the best of a greeting he can, teeth chattering all the while; Kirishima bursts out laughing at the sight.
Sero and Ashido are the last to appear, the two of them donning matching suits. “Fashionably late,” Ashido tells you, flashing you her signature grin. She’s brought a bottle of something–you think it’s champagne.
“Fashionably stupid,” is Bakugo’s retort. It’s a poor comeback, but everyone laughs nonetheless.
You usher them all inside, and soon dinner is served. The champagne bottle is popped open.
It is only after dinner that Jirou pops the question.
“You two will be alright, won’t you?”
Kirishima’s eyes flit to yours. You give him a weak smile. “Yeah,” he tells her.
She doesn't look convinced, but lets the conversation drop.
*
It is Saturday morning when he wakes you up with a kiss to your forehead. The sun has still barely risen, the warm yellow just beginning to break through the horizon.
The room smells of something sweet; Kirishima has a tray in his arms.
“French toast,” he says, smiling as you slowly arise from your slumber and sit groggily up. He sets the tray down at the foot of the bed, and crawls gently in, so that he can sit cross-legged beside you.
He’s brought two plates in, with a glass of cold milk each. The french toast—a thick slice on each plate, just as he likes it–is perfectly square and golden-brown, the syrup poured delicately over the top. With each serving comes a handful of freshly-washed strawberries, their skin bright red and glistening.
You’re sure your grin looks crooked and dumb, but you can’t find it in yourself to care.
“You’re the best,” you tell him. He looks proudly down at you.
“You know it,” he says, and presses another kiss to your forehead. “There’s more where that came from, too. Wait until you see what’s for lunch.”
“Pasta?” you say, eyes shining up at him. You’ve already started to eat; the french toast is fluffy and soft and sweet, and you can’t help but let out a sigh.
He chuckles. “You’ll see.”
That day, you savor every bite of his cooking.
*
It is Sunday night when you bite back a sob at the platform.
He’s pressed a letter and a small box into your hands. “The box first,” he whispers, moving your fingers so that they close around them, “and the letter last.” You nod and bring the gifts to your coat pocket, careful not to let your tears fall around them.
And then his hand is on your face, thumb stroking your cheeks gently. He wipes away the tears that fall, rubbing them into your skin. You want to stay there, and take it all in; his callouses, the dips between his fingers, the way he slides over your cheekbones, the lingering smell of warm wood–
There’s a ring, followed by an automated message.
The train will depart soon.
“You’ll be okay, won’t you?” you manage to say.
“Yeah,” he croaks. He doesn’t make any attempt to hide the wince that follows.
“Eiji..”
Before you can speak again, he raises his chin, eyes looking straight into yours. You don’t fail to notice the liquid pooling in his eyes. “I’ll be okay,” he says, firmer this time.
You don’t believe him, but, after a moment, you nod anyway.
“Okay,” you breathe, allowing your hand to fall to your side. He presses one last kiss to your lips, and then does the same.
All too quickly, the warmth of his skin vanishes.
You board the train, and watch as he blurs into a splatter of red.
*
When the tears no longer blur your vision, you pull out the contents of your pocket, and lay them out onto your lap.
The box is a deep crimson, shiny and smooth to the touch. You lift its lid gingerly.
There’s a silver necklace within it; you lift it up, the thin metal chain cool against your skin. A small hourglass hangs at the end of it. You fasten it around your neck, shivering as it slides over your nape.
You open the letter next, sliding the cardstock out of the envelope. It’s a little thing, and far from the obnoxious cards he usually sends; you’ve long become accustomed to his cheesy, slapstick greeting cards. This, though, is something else entirely; plain and simple, an off-white, creamy toned paper.
His handwriting is neat, constrained.
I wish we’d had more time.
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schrijverr · 3 years
Text
'Till Death Do Us Part
Part 6 out of 13
When Alex has to bring Philip to work, he and Thomas discover that they both have something in common: they lost their love. They form an unexpected bond and connection about this that grows into something more.
A medium burn with parental feelings about Philip and flowers.
On AO3.
Ships: Jamilton
Warnings: brief mention of trauma in regards to water.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 6: Garden Daisy Means ‘I Share Your Sentiments’
Alex and Philip played in the park the next day. He pushed Philip on the swings, they tossed a ball back and forth, making Alex feel very stereotypical, so he taught Philip how to make flower crowns from the little daisies in the grass.
Philip was especially excited about making the daisy chains, telling Alex animatedly about making one at school tomorrow: “Yeah, Theo loves flowers, so I’ll make her one, because she is my bestest friend.”
“I’m sure, she’ll appreciate that,” Alex smiled.
“Are you going to make one for Mr. Thomas?” Philip asked.
Alex shook his head: “Probably not, buddy. I don’t think Thomas is much of a flower crown person, but it’s a sweet thought of you.”
“Why?”
“What? I’m going to need more context than that, Pip.”
“Why doesn’t Mr. Thomas want a flower crown?” Philip asked, looking heartbroken about it as he then also asked, “Is a flower crown not a fun gift for your bestest friends?”
“No, no, Pip, it’s a wonderful gift for Theo tomorrow, but are Theo and Thomas really the same?” he tried to do damage control.
Philip thought about it, then said: “No, but they both think my art is the coolest and they like hearing about dinos and Uncle Laf said Mr. Thomas really liked the flowers you gave him and that he was adorable over them, so he must like the flowers. Don’t you think, so Papa?”
“Uncle Laf said what?” Alex was unable to help himself, immediately backtracking, not wanting to involve his kid in that, “Never mind, not important. You make some really good points, Pip,” he had to acknowledge that, but he wasn’t giving Thomas a flower crown.
“I do?” Pip sounded excited about it.
“Yes, you do,” building up self esteem was good, “But Papa is probably not going to do that, because there are no flowers around the office and they will wilt if I make it now,” he wasn’t going to make Philip sad, so hopefully that would be enough.
Philip hummed thoughtfully, then shook off the entire thing: “I suppose you’re right.”
They went home soon after, eating dinner, before Alex read Philip a bedtime story. When Philip had drifted off, he gave him a kiss on the forehead: “Sleep tight, Pip. You’re going places.”
In return Philip snuggled closer into his pillow with a soft sigh. Alex smiled at the sleeping kid, before retreating downstairs, planning to work a bit on his essay about biphobia within the queer community.
He had written a few good paragraphs when his phone buzzed. He picked it up and smiled when he saw it was a message from Thomas: ‘Since you told me that if I wanted to pay so bad, I would have to ask you out and because I said I would, here is me formally asking if you have time next Saturday?
Alex giggled at the wording, before shooting back: ‘dork’
‘me and pip usually hang out on saturdays, but i think hercs free to babysit’
Thomas replied: ‘I was hoping to take you on a picnic, if Philip wants to come and you don’t mind, he’s more than welcome’
That was something Alex hadn’t seen coming. He would love if Thomas and Pip got along and it seemed Thomas was willing to spend time with his son, but he worried that the man had only offered out of guilt.
He took a quick screenshot and send it to Angelic, asking: ‘is this thomas being nice and awkward abt it even though he doesnt mean it?’
After a few seconds, she replied: ‘He wouldn’t lie about shit like that, now reply before he gets anxious about your silence’
‘yes, ma’am’
Alex quickly went back to the chat with Thomas and send: ‘ill ask if he wants to come, but iwould love to take you up on the invitation :D’
‘Good’
‘Talk to you tomorrow?’
‘yeah, see you then’
‘goodnight’
‘Sleep tight, Alex’
Alex sat for a moment smiling dumbly at his phone, looking forwards to tomorrow to see Thomas again as he got up to get ready for bed.
The next day, he quickly put his stuff in his office, before going to the break room, knowing that Thomas would be in soon and meet him there. It always took a few minutes, so Alex busied himself with making coffee, trying not to look at the door.
He was just taking his first sip when Thomas came in. Almost choking he managed to wave as he greeted: “Hi.”
“Hello, be careful there,” Thomas smirked, noticing Alex struggle with the coffee.
“Shove off,” Alex told him, finally swallowing the sip that had betrayed him.
“Nah, don’t wanna,” Thomas shrugged, making himself coffee, “How was your weekend? Did you get terrorized by Lafayette as well?”
“God, he got you too?” Alex asked.
“Naturally,” Thomas replied, “He was at my house first thing in the morning on Saturday, I think he had a notepad.”
“He is such an idiot,” Alex facepalmed.
“You’re telling me,” Thomas laughed.
“But no, my weekend was good,” Alex said after a pause, “I was over at Eliza’s on Saturday, she and Maria were watching Pip and on Sunday me and Pip went to the park. You?”
“Well, on Saturday I hosted Laf, unprepared, but it was alright,” he was not telling Alex he had been draped over the couch, dramatically recounting the entire night like a teenager, “Then on Sunday I read a bit,” and botheredJames about date ideas, which he did not appreciate, before bothering him about what would bea good message to send, which he also didn’t appreciate; he added mentally.
“Are you reading anything interesting?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, I’m reading Frankenstein, just a classic I never got around to,” Thomas answered.
Alex lit up and their conversation went on, discussing the want for bodily autonomy that Mary Shelley as a woman in that era must have had and how that was integrated into the book and how the story of being otheredcould be applied to other minorities today.
The rest of the week sped by like usual. Their lunches together had felt a bit odd at first like it had gained a deeper meaning after the date, but then Thomas had spilled his coffee and Alex had snorted and inhaled a few crumbs, so that had worn off quite quickly.
When Alex had asked Philip if he wanted to come with him and Thomas on a picnic the boy had been beyond excited, which made that easy for Alex.
Now was just the issue of making sure that they had a kite for Pip, the drawing of Mr. Thomas he had made and wanted to give to the man, and sunscreen on as well as a jacket with them, because the weather was mostly good, but there might be winds later on.
Thomas came to pick them up in his car, it was a bit flashy, but the normal amount of flashy for Thomas. Still Alex said: “Hi there, show off.”
“And proud of it,” Thomas just grinned back, before he could say anything more though, Philip came running out of the house, yelling: “Mr. Thomas, Mr. Thomas, do you know how to fly a kite? Will you fly it with me?”
“Wow, calm down, kiddo,” Thomas said to the kid clinging to his waist.
“Sorry, Mr. Thomas.”
“It’s okay, and you can call me Thomas if you want to, you know that, right?”
“But it’s rude to not call people Mister,” Philip frowned.
“Well, it’s okay with me, I am hereby giving you permission to call me Thomas,” Thomas told the kid gently, the whole Mr. Thomas made him feel old.
Philip nodded, then said: “Okay, Uncle Thomas. Do you know how to fly a kite?”
Okay, that was- that was an upgrade that Thomas was unsure of how to deal with, so he just ignored it: “Yeah, I know how to fly a kite. Do you have one?”
“Yes, it’s the bestest one, it gots all the colors of the rainbow on it!” the kid was clearly beyond excited about it.
“Wow, that sounds super awesome, kiddo.”
“What is also super awesome, is car safety,” Alex interrupted them, “I got Pip’s booster seat, do you mind if I put that on the backseat?”
“Of course not, need help?” Thomas answered.
“Nah, I’ve done this before,” Alex grinned.
With Philip’s booster seat firmly in place and the kid buckled in, they got into the car. Thomas holding Alex’s door open with a flourish, making Alex blush as he called him a dork.
“Not a dork, darlin’, just Southern hospitality,” Thomas winked at him, letting his accent coat his words heavily.
And with that he closed Alex’s door and got into the car, driving off in the direction of the nearby park Alex often visited with Pip.
After they arrived Alex got Philip out of the car, while Thomas grabbed Alex’s bag andan actual basket out of the back. When he noticed Alex staring with a raised brow, he shrugged: “You were cliché, so I thought why not.”
“It’s very picturesque.”
“Papa, what is pictuu- pictuu- that word?” Philip asked.
Breaking the eyecontact with Thomas, Alex explained: “Well, sometimes things look just like a picture, they’re put in on purpose to be pretty, like with a drawing. So, we call it picturesque.”
Philip hummed thoughtfully, before he said: “Okay, can I go on the swings?”
“Sure, buddy, but first we go find a spot to sit and maybe eat something, okay?” Alex said, taking Pip’s hand, holding his other out to Thomas with a raised eyebrow.
Thomas took it with a smile, leading them to a spot near the little pond in the park, where a tree provided both shade and an easy marker to find it again if Philip wandered off on his own, which Alex was grateful for.
Out of the basket came a checkered blanket, which made Alex laugh as he and Thomas struggled to lay in down in the wind. But there were also sandwiches, orange juice, brownies, fruit salad and a thermos with coffee.
“Wow, you thought of everything, didn’t you,” Alex whistled.
He got an eye crinkle smile in return as Thomas said: “I try,” before turning to Philip and asking, “What sort of sandwich do you want, kiddo? I got PB and J, ham and cheese and one with chicken and eggplant.”
“May I please have a PB and J sandwich?”
“So, polite,” Thomas commented, handing him the sandwich, “Here you go. Alex?”
“Uhm, can I have one with chicken?”
“Of course, there you are,” Thomas handed him a sandwich, before taking a chicken one as well, nodding a cheers to the others before eating it.
It wasn’t really quiet while they ate, neither Alex nor Philip had a talent for keeping their mouths shut while Thomas was comfortable enough to mix himself into the conversation, either to argue fondly with Alex or to encourage Philip to keep going.
When most of the food was gone, Philip asked: “Can I go on the swings now, Papa?”
Alex checked if the swings were in sight, they were actually quite close and since he was trying to let Pip be more independent, he nodded: “Yeah, just be sure to stay in sight and to come tell me if you’re going somewhere else, okay?”
“Okay, Papa.”
“Can you pinky promise me?” he might be trying to let Pip be more independent, but he still worried about his son.
“Pinky promise,” it was adorable how serious Philip looked while making the pinky promise.
Then Philip skipped off to the swings to play. Alex watched him closely until he got there, then a few moments more just to be sure.
“It’s incredible to see how much you love him,” the comment startled Alex for a moment and he asked: “Wha?”
“Just- you love Philip so much and you can see it every time you two interact,” Thomas explained, “It’s kinda amazing to see. You know, with a big family it wasn’t all that one on one, so seeing how much attention you give him is weird – in the best way of course.”
Alex blushed, no one really every complimented his parenting much, with the trans thing and the single parent and the busy job, most of the PTA moms looked down on him, so it was refreshing to hear: “Oh, uhm, thanks, really means a lot.”
“No problem,” Thomas smiled, “Coffee?”
“Yeah, thanks,” Alex held out his cup and watched it get filled, nodding to Thomas gratefully as he took a sip.
It was quiet for a moment, then a thought popped into Thomas’s head, making him a bit unsure and he asked: “Philip is calling me Uncle Thomas, you okay with that?”
“As long as you are. Pip’s never had a conventional family, I’m not sure he knows exactly what the word is supposed to mean, so he just calls adults he knows well that,” Alex explained, before quickly adding, “If you want him to stop, I can talk to him.”
“Oh, no, I don’t mind – honored, actually – just, you know,checking in.”
“Okay.”
Then it was quiet again. They both stared at the little playground where Philip was now playing tag with a few other kids, obviously done with swinging on the swings.
The sun was out and there were birds in the trees that were chirping, they were sitting on a checkered blanket, nearly completely leaning on one another and Alex was enamored by how picturesque this actually was, even if it had been teasing before.
He remembered Thomas complimenting his date and how relieved and excited that had made him, so he leaned more into Thomas’s side and softly said: “This is pretty amazing, thanks for asking me out again.”
Alex couldn't see it, but Thomas grinned as he replied: “Well, I am glad for inviting you, the company makes it much better.”
“How romantic,” Alex told him, trying, and failing, not to be touched by the comment.
“I try,” Thomas merely replied.
“So,” Alex looked around for something to talk about when he spotted the daisies in the grass and was reminded of his trip to the park with Pip last week, “opinions on flower crowns?”
“What?” Thomas sounded very confused.
He sat up straighter and plucked a few flowers, making a chain and holding it up: “Opinions on flower crowns?”
Thomas laughed for a second, then saw Alex’s face andexclaimed: “Oh my God, you’re being serious.”
Alex laughed too, before schooling his face into a more serious expression: “A trustworthy source told me these are very great gifts.”
“Oh, and who might that source be?” Thomas challenge.
“Well that would be my very own flesh and blood, Philip Hamilton, UncleThomas,” Alex emphasized the title teasingly.
Thomas grinned: “Oh, you should have said so, can’t argue with such an esteemed member of society.”
They both laughed again as Alex plucked more daisies and made a flower crown. It might have been a bit of a joke, but he had never known when to stop and he wasn’t going to start now, so he concentrated on braiding the flowers together while Thomas watched with an amused smile.
“Here, a pretty flower crown, for a pretty boy,” Alex said, handing Thomas the flower crown, taking much delight in how he had a front row seat to a blush blooming over Thomas’s entire face.
Mutely Thomas took the flower crown, mentally trying not to die at Alex’s face and words, which was really hard.
“Well, aren’t you going to put it on?” Alex asked, it was kinda mean to tease at this point, but he couldn't help it when Thomas looked like that.
“Ye- yeah, naturally,” Thomas managed, putting the flower crown on as he regained his bearings, “So, how do I look?” his voice was still a bit squeaky.
“Ah, just like I thought,” Alex smiled, “beautiful.”
“You can’t just say things like that, Alex,” Thomas tried to hide his face.
“Yes, yes, I can. I don’t know if you know this, but I’m kind of known for always speaking my mind and being honest. Can’t help it if it’s true.”
“I hate you.”
“I sure hope that’s not true or this is going to be awkward.”
It was a teasing reply, but both stilled for a moment, before Thomas slowly and softly said: “No, I- I didn’t mean that, you’re- you’re pretty alright.”
“Pretty alright… Hm, I’ll take it,” Alex was smirking, trying to play off the fact that his heart was beating like a marathon runner’s as relief flooded through his veins.
Thomas shoved him over and said: “You’re an idiot.”
“Now that- that I already knew,” Alex grinned, before getting up and looking back to the playground to check in on Philip.
He didn’t have to search much, because the boy was just running their way, yelling: “Papa, Papa, I slayed the dragon.”
“Wow, really buddy? That’s so cool,” Alex caught him as the kid practically tripped into his arms as he gestured wildly while recounting his epic encounter with a dragon and a witch and some fairies who were ‘the coolest, Papa, you should have seen then, they went pow pow and it was so cool.’
Then he spotted Thomas with the flower crown perched on his head and he smiled widely: “Did you give Uncle Thomas a flower crown like I said, Papa?”
“Yeah, I did, Pip. You were right, it was a great gift.”
“I have to agree, you have way better ideas than your Papa,” Thomas budded in.
Philip’s smile widened: “Really? I think so, but Papa is an adult and people always say adults know better.”
“Well, in some instances, adults have more experiences so they can make better decisions, but that doesn’t mean they’re always right,” Thomas said, “Kids can have interesting ideas too. Think of it like painting, experiences are different colors, but you don’t need every color, you can just make a more elaborate picture with more.”
Alex watched as Philip took a moment to think about it, before he nodded in understanding and saying: “So, I may not have all the colors yet, but I can make a good picture?”
“Yeah, exactly,” Thomas was grinning so broadly that Alex was going to loose his mind with how much he adored Thomas and Philip interacting and how fucking cute it was.
Suddenly Philip’s eyes lit up and he said: “Papa, I forgot to give Uncle Thomas his picture.”
“You can give it now, buddy,” Alex told him, reaching over to the bag he brought himself and digging through it.
“My what?” Thomas asked in the background.
“I made you a picture,” Philip was bouncing in place waiting for Alex to find it. When he did, he handed it to Pip, who in turn handed it to Thomas.
“It’s you,” he said, “You’re all purple, because you like purple like me and you have big hair like Uncle Laf and Uncle Herc do, though Uncle Herc’s is smaller and I gave you a book and a laptop ad then I thought planes would be cool, so I added those.”
“Wow, Philip, this is amazing,” Thomas said, “I feel like I should donate it to a museum, but something is missing for that.”
“What?” Philip’s face fell slightly.
“I need it signed, can’t have a masterpiece and forget who made it. What if you get famous? I want to be able to brag that I got an original Philip Hamilton drawing,” he dug around in his pocket and got out the purple pen he used to sign things when he was annoyed at Washington.
Philip took it excitedly, messily scrawling his name at the bottom, before handing it back: “Here, for you.”
“Truly, I’m speechless,” Thomas said, “I’m going to have to frame this.”
“You will?” Philip’s eyes were as big as plates.
“I am a man of my word and I promise,” Thomas told him, holding up a pinky. He had alreadyfigured out that promise meant the most to Philip at this age.
Philip happily interlocked their fingers, before Thomas carefully put the drawing away. Once it was gone, Philip asked: “Can we go kiting now?”
“We first have to put it together if you want to do that, so while I do that why don’t you drink some more juice,” Alex said, already pouring juice in a cup for Pip.
“Thank you, Papa,” Philip started drinking happily.
He struggled with putting the kite together, but luckily Thomas had more experience in putting together kites, citing his big family. So, they had it assembled by the time Philip had finished his juice.
Alex forced Philip to eat a brownie too. It might not be the healthiest, but he wouldn’t let Philip run around on an empty stomach if he could help it.
“I have no clue how to do this,” Alex confessed holding the kite. He had bought it on a whim in the supermarket about twoweeksago. However, he had no childhood memories to draw from on how to do this.
“Fortunately for you, I do,” Thomas said, taking the kite from him, “Here, let me take this.”
Alex gladly gave the task away and watched as Thomas gave Philip the handle of the kite and instructed him on what to do as he threw the kite into the air.
Philip whooped when it stayed up and Thomas cheered as well. Alex took out his phone and sneakily took a picture of the two, before cheering as well.
He flew the kite for half an hour before it went wrong. It was nothing big, just a sudden gust of wind that ripped the kite from Philip’s small hands and carried the kite away from them until it dropped into the water.
They looked at the kite for a second, before Philip turned to Alex with big eyes: “Papa, we have to save the kite.”
Looking at the water, Alex shuddered before he replied: “I’m sorry, Pip, but I can’t retrieve it for you. I think you’re going to have to say goodbye to the kite.”
“I can go get it, please, Papa,” there were tears gathering in Philip’s eyes.
In his mind images of Philip drowning flashed and quite harshly he said: “No!” cringing as Philip startled slightly. In a softer tone, he repeated: “No, Pip. You can’t swim, I’m not letting you in the water, because it’s dangerous and your clothes will get wet.”
“But- but the kite,” Philip argued.
“It was an accident, but we lost the kite,” Alex tried to break the news gently.
They were distracted by Thomas, who said: “I can go get the kite.”
“What?” “Will you do that, Uncle Thomas!”
“No, I can’t ask that of you,” Alex said, “You’ll ruin your clothes and it’s in the water and it might get cold later, it’s too much to ask.”
“I’ll be fine, Alex. Unlike Philip here, I can swim, so it’s fine if I fall. And this isn’t a natural pond anyway,” Thomas explained, “It’s made to trap rainwater so the neighborhood doesn’t get flooded, but because it’s in a kids park, it’s shallower. I don’t think my shorts will get wet.”
“You really don’t have to do this,” Alex pressed again, making sure that Thomas didn’t feel obligated just because Philip would be mildly upset about it.
“I know,” Thomas smiled as he sat down to toe off his shoes and socks.
Before he stepped into the water, he looked at Pip and seriously said: “Can you watch over our spot and your Papa for me while I go rescue the kite?”
Philip nodded, equally serious: “With my life.”
“Good,” Thomas chuckled, then set his first step.
He had been right about the depth of the pond and got to the kite without any difficulties. More onlookers had turned their attention to the water, but Thomas tried to ignore them as he saved the kite.
Returning to the shore he handed it to Philip, who beamed: “Thank you so somuch, Uncle Thomas.”
“No problem, kiddo, though I don’t think we can kite any more with the kite all wet,” he replied.
“That’s okay, I can still swing,” Philip said.
As the kid ran off again to play, Alex turned to Thomas: “Really, thank you, you didn’t have to do it, but thanks.”
“Did you see Philip’s smile? Worth it, really,” Thomas assured him.
Alex smiled, he didn’t think his heart could contain all the affection he had for Thomas in that moment, so he just hugged the man and gave him a peck on the cheek.
Thomas gently touched the spot Alex had kissed before smiling like he was the happiest man on earth, which only made Alex scream more internally.
They returned to their blanket and watched Philip play. After a few minutes of silence, Thomas lightly said: “So, water. Not a fan?”
“Ah, no, not really,” Alex replied, not sure on what to say.
“You don’t have to tell me, just good to keep in mind,” Thomas told him gently.
“Oh, no, it’s okay, just not something I talk about much,” Alex shrugged.
Thomas repeated: “You don’t have to tell me, really.”
“I know,” Alex assured him, “You know how I’m an immigrant, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I come from the Caribbean and uhm- You see, there was this hurricane that hit my island when I was seventeen. It’s- uh, it’s not something I’d recommend living through,” he told Thomas.
“Oh wow, I remember that being on the news,” Thomas felt like he had maneuvered himself into an awkward position. He was bad at comfort, with John he could relate, but here he was way out of his depths.
“It’s okay now, I got over it- mostly,” Alex shrugged, trying to move on, “Just don’t like water or storms that much.”
Thomas nodded, staying quiet. Instead he slung an arm over Alex’s shoulders and let the man snuggle close as he stared off in the direction Philip was in, though Thomas wasn’t sure if he was seeing much, so he kept an eye on the kid just in case.
After a moment, Alex asked: “Do you have one of those brownies left?”
“What? Huh, oh yeah. Here.”
“Thank you, these are amazing.”
“Why thank you, I made them.”
“You did?”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised.”
“I’m not,” a beat, then Alex said, “Well, I am, but it’s more pleasantly surprised than anything else. I didn’t know you baked.”
Thomas was glad for the change in topic and that the atmosphere hadn’t been ruined by his comment. So he replied: “It’s calming, repetitive and you have something nice at the end.”
“Never pegged you to be a stress baker,” Alex commented.
“According to Jemmy it’s one of my more redeeming qualities,” Thomas joked.
Alex laughed: “James is good in pinning people, I’ll take his word.”
“He thought you to be annoying and a dick, so I don’t think you wanna do that,” Thomas raised a brow at him.
“Schematics,” Alex waved his hand, “And in my defense, I was annoying back then, maybe even a bit of a dick, butI just aged like fine wine.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“I thought you were supposed to be on my side.”
“What can I say, I’m a man of many faces.”
“You’re a dork, that’s what you are.”
“Maybe so,” Thomas smirked, before looking over to the playground again. Philip was going down the slide, before running around with another kid. Thomas said: “He looks like he’s having fun.”
“Yeah, yeah, he does,” Alex agreed, snuggling closer into Thomas’s side.
Thomas planted a kiss on the top of his head and Alex was pretty sure he was one day going to melt out of affection.
Philip stopped running for a moment, to turn to them and wave excitedly. Alex waved back and so did Thomas. Alex couldn't stop the smile on his face, this was nice, so much nicer than he ever thought he was going to get after John’s death.
He send a quick look to the sky, slightly wistful, before fully draping himself over Thomas, earning a not-that-offended offended squawk that he ignored in favor of draping even more until Thomas gave in and let them both topple over.
Alex vowed that he was going to try to hold on to this for as long as possible.
I am not a parent btw, I feel like I should have stated that early, also don’t take this fic as parenting advise. I try to write Good Parent!Alex, but that doesn’t mean it will be entirely, bc, again, no experience in this field.
Btw, Philip not understanding Uncle and Auntie and being over at the other’s houses so much is a concept I love, bc it’s a very queer way to raise a kid. Sure, Alex is his primary care giver and dad and stuff, but a village raises a kid and- ugh, I love found family dynamics.
Also this is getting incredibly fluffy, I was worried this was going to be too dark for me with my other fics, but no within a few chapters the angst has made place for this. Love that for me *gay peace sign*
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Plugged
[Lewd!!!!]
Anniversaries, they’re important as hell. You would think after the first one that it would be less important or you don’t have to be as extravagant. That’s really stupid logic, and luckily Oscar wasn’t stupid. However, he was sad. Today marked the three year anniversary with Penny as his girlfriend but she had work tonight. Now he was in his shared apartment watching movies on the couch upside down with Jaune. It wasn’t terrible, but Oscar would much rather be doing his best to show Penny a good time at the beach picnic he’d plan. The moon was full tonight and everything!
The movie soon reached its credits and Jaune looked over at his clearly lovesick roommate. “Wanna watch another movie?”
“I didn’t really want to watch this one, and why am I the only one watching these upside down?”
Jaune tilted his head to see the boy's expression. “Because I was tired of seeing that sad pouty face. Buck up! You rescheduled your date for this weekend. That’s two days away!”
“But it feels less special…” Oscar groaned.
Jaune looked at him in disbelief. “I swear you’re just a male Ruby. She thinks like that.”
“I don’t know how I feel about that coming from you. Are you coming on to me Jaune?” Oscar smirked to make him uncomfortable. “Did you pick me as a roommate because I remind you of your girlfriend? How scandalous.”
Jaune chucked a pillow at Oscar and caused him to fall over on the floor and laugh. Jaune would be mortified but at least Oscar was smiling.
“Do not make those jokes young man! I fully believe Ruby would be down to clown with both of us now that you’re eighteen.”
“Uhh, I’m taken, remember?”
“Do you honestly believe Penny wouldn’t okay it? Ruby set you two up and your girlfriend is nice enough to let Ruby pull a crazy idea like that.”
Oscar’s face turned a little red. Jaune was not wrong. Penny would totally say “sounds neat” then give him a thumbs up. That was the thing about dating her, she was curious about everything the world had to offer. Especially with relationships. Not that he wasn’t, but such an idea was….
“Keep your mind out of the gutter Oscar.” Ozpin chimed in, internally. “Typical, haven’t slept with anyone and yet you fantasize the more advanced things. Oh virgins.”
Oscar’s face got redder.“Shut up! Just because you know I thought about it doesn’t mean you gotta bring it up.”
“Someone has to call you out on it.”
“Then let it be the person who actually pays rent.”
“Oh I’m sorry, who got you your job? Who works the night shifts when you’re sleepy? Maybe I should lock myself away whenever it’s time to pull a double?”
Oscar sucked on his teeth for a minute. “Oz…” he said kindly, “Let’s not fight, or do anything drastic.”
“Look at the tv.” Oz said bluntly.
Oscar looked at it to see his reflection. It crossed its arms and rolled its eyes before returning to normal. Oscar knew he was the only one seeing that but it never stopped being weird. Especially after the marathon of horror movies he did with Penny one time. Oz made sure to use every scare tactic imaginable that night. He just can’t help himself sometimes.
Jaune finally found another to watch but didn’t get the chance to play it. The doorbell rang, causing him to spring up and answer it.
“Expecting someone?” Oscar asked.
Jaune looked through the peephole and smiled. “Kinda sorta” he opened the door and Penny jumped inside the room wearing Oscar’s green flannel and ripped blue jean shorts: along with brown snow boots. A picnic basket was on her left shoulder and Ruby around her right.
“Happy Anniversary!!!”
“PENNY!!?” Oscar screamed. He immediately stood up to look less lame and opened his arms to his rapidly approaching girlfriend. He wasn’t expecting her to jump into his arms though. Oscar braced his body for impact but was surprised when she landed in his arms no heavier than a regular girl. 130 pounds at best, which was nothing to him. He could swing her.
“Hey you’re in you’re in your polymer shell. I thought you had work?”
Ruby raised her hand. “I stole her.”
Jaune and Oscar looked at each other highly concerned. They didn’t need Atlas military busting down their door and dragging them to jail. Ruby broke out into a laugh from their expressions.
“Relax, I’m just joking. We begged James. He’s such a softie.”
“I’ve also put in more hours than usual in preparation for this day!” Penny kissed Oscar’s cheek and couldn’t hide her excitement. Not like she ever did. In a way, she was like Ruby but more outgoing. Oscar couldn’t help but think about what Jaune said earlier. Maybe Jaune saw all of us like Ruby. That’s a weird thought.
As happy as he was, Oscar couldn’t help notice the picnic basket.
“Penny, is that for the food?”
“Of course! What else would I use it for?”
Oscar let out a defeated sigh. “I don’t know but we should figure that out because I didn’t cook anything because we rescheduled.”
Penny opened her mouth but nothing came out. She turned to Ruby who was face palming. Jaune clapped his hands together and mimicked Oscar’s sigh.
“Welp! At least you two are together!” Jaune smiled, saving the positive energy in the room.
“Yeah!” Penny tossed the basket on the couch. “Home cooking isn’t the most important thing. Who needs it?”
Ruby went to their fridge and opened it. She couldn’t believe just how food was stuffed in it. Oscar was going all out this time. Ruby closed the fridge and pulled out their pots. “New plan, the two of you cook the food and have dinner here. It would suck for the food to spoil.”
Oscar thought about it. “What about you two?”
“It’s an anniversary, not a double date. We’ll just go to my place.” Ruby answered.
“Why does this sound like an elaborate plan for you to sleep with Jaune?”
“Hahaha! I don’t need a plan for that.” Ruby smiled at Jaune but he squinted at her.
“Just because it’s true doesn’t me you have to say it.” He grabbed his shoes and took his girlfriend by the hand to leave.
Ruby waved her friends goodbye and winked before closing the door. Oscar thought Ruby was a little more gitty than usual. It had been a couple of weeks since her and Jaune were together so something was bound to go down between them. Penny took off her shoes and put her hands on Oscar’s shoulders. She positioned him over the couch and made him sit.
“Ummmm Penny?”
“Since I made the plans derail, I’ll cook and you find something nice to put on for the both of us okay?”
“But that’s kinda unf-”
Penny leaned down and pressed her lips gently against Oscar’s. The kiss felt like it was minutes long but must’ve only been several seconds. Strange, it felt a little warmer than usual. Penny pulled back and smiled her usual beautiful smile, then walked to the kitchen. That kiss scattered Oscar’s thoughts, so he stared at the tv for a minute before remembering to find a movie. If he objected then Penny would simply stun him with another kiss. A nice way to say “shut up”but she’d probably end up burning food if he constantly distracted her.
Oscar grabbed the remote and began scrolling, his reflection in the tv moving on its own again. It paced from side to side while rubbing his chin.
“Don’t you find this a bit odd?” Oz asked.
“Yeah, please stop walking in front of the synopsis.”
“That’s not what I- sorry.” He stepped to the side. “I was referring to your anniversary.”
“What’s so odd about it?”
“You had plans, had to reschedule, then the plans went back to normal unexpectedly, but it’s fine because Ruby already had a solution that works well for everyone. Even Mr. Arc didn’t seem too surprised.”
Oscar shrugged, “You think too much.”
“Gah! So you’re not even going to entertain the idea of something going on? Though I suppose since Penny can’t lie, this could really be coincidence.”
The clicking and presses slowly came to a halt. Now he was rubbing his chin. What Oz said was true. Penny can’t lie because she’ll hiccup however, she didn’t tell him in person. Penny texted him and Ruby can plan tricks as easy as killing grimm. Oz sensed Oscar’s doubt.
“You know I’m right. No way they would just forget that you were in charge of food and had to cook it. I’m sure there’s a harmless explanation but you know, keep your wits about.”
“I could just ask her.”
“Boring but effective. Whatever floats your boat.” Oz finally left the young man alone to his devices. Oscar didn’t appreciate the jab he just took.
“Pfft, you’re boring.” Oscar directed his attention to Penny. She was so focused on preparing the meal that she hadn’t noticed he was looking right at her. He really was lucky to have her. She would probably say Oscar was exaggerating but he genuinely believed that she gave him all the happiest he could ever ask for. Days simply couldn’t be terrible as long as Penny stood by him, even when things got rough. Scheme or no scheme, Oscar didn’t worry. He knew Penny. Good intentions ran through her more than anybody else on Remnant.
xxxx
“Food’s ready!” Penny chanted as she carried two plates with steak, sliced potatoes, and fresh greens over to the small coffee table in front of the tv so they can watch movies while they eat. Oscar never got enough of her smile. It might’ve been because he was a little hungry and he knew her cooking was better than his but right now, Oscar wanted to marry this girl. One day hopefully, on another anniversary.
“Have I ever told you how happy I am to be with you?”
Penny’s face grew a little red. “All the time, and yet it still feels unreal admittedly.” She rubbed the back of her head and laughed sheepishly. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.”
Oscar gave her a quick kiss and smiled. “Happy anniversary. Wait here while I get your gift.”
Her eyes lit up with excitement as she watched him walk off to his room and come out with a small rectangular box. “Aww, you didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Penny, you built me a car last year. I can’t reach that level of awesome but I’m at least going to spoil you every chance I get. It would be a crime if I got you nothing.”
“You make it sound like building a car would be hard. It’s way easier than most of the things Atlas military creates on a daily basis.”
“No matter what you say, you’re not gonna downplay that gift. Anyways…” he handed her the box.
Penny wasted no time unwrapping the paper and opening it.The girl’s eyes got bigger and let out a gasp. “Oscar, is this…” she pulled out a golden chain that had a heart shaped locket on it that had intricate carvings of what looked like branches. Her finger lifted the top up and inside was two gears that spun. One green, and the other orange.
“No matter the inside, you’re as natural as nature itself.” Oscar said. “I’m not the greatest at making things like this but-”
“I love you.”
Her words caught him off guard and made his heart skip a beat. He looked at his girlfriend who had gotten a little teary eyed. She put the locket on and gave a heartfelt smile. “Well, how does it look?”
“Perfect…” that was all Oscar could manage to say. He didn’t know why but he felt so embarrassed. She never failed to make him feel so flustered. That’s love for you, it always made every minute feel extraordinary and uncharted territory.
“So...I guess it’s my turn to explain my present to you.” Penny said, anxiously rubbing her finger across the couch cushion.
“Man, I thought the highlight was the surprise appearance and you cooking dinner. There’s more?”
“Oh yeah.” Penny laughed nervously. “Oscar, you know you always say that you’re perfectly happy with the way things are between us, despite us not necessarily being a normal couple?”
“Yeah, why?” Penny could hear a bit of concern in his voice and started getting frazzled.
“Don’t worry! I feel the same way!” A hiccup came out right as she finished that statement, making her cover her mouth instinctively. Now Oscar looked really concerned.
“Umm, you sure about that?” He asked, pensively.
This conversation was going nowhere fast. Penny tried to do collateral damage as fast as she could.
“No no no, it’s not what you think! Honestly I’m super happy. It’s just….”
Oscar raised his eyebrow and tilted his head. “Just…?”
This was harder to say than Penny thought. The words were there but she couldn’t put them together right. All that information at her disposal and here she was, struggling with simple sentences. Penny took a deep breath and started over.
“Oscar, you love me the way that I am. You’ve had since the beginning. I didn’t have to change a single thing about me but I did anyway so we could enjoy each other’s company better. Like this polymer model so we could do things like go swimming.”
“Yeah, sinking to the bottom of a lake wasn’t the best first date experience.”
They both chuckled at that memory. Time sure did fly.
“Precisely. Then there were other upgrades over time to help me feel more human. Receptors for, taste, eating in general, heat, touch…” her trailed off.
Oscar’s focus was broken for a moment when the sound of Oz’s voice started speaking to him.
“Oscar I’m going to lock myself in your head for awhile so don’t expect any help with anything. Good luck.”
He wasn’t sure what Oz meant by that but he didn’t get the chance to ask before he felt the man’s presence leave. Oscar focused on Penny again who had gotten closer to him on the couch. There was practically no space between them as they sat side by side.
Oscar felt Penny take his hand. Had she always been this warm? Felt this...soft? It was more natural than usual. Maybe she got another upgrade? That was common.
“Oscar, I...I feel so normal around you. Things that usually make me feel out of place, well I don’t get that feeling with you.”
“I feel the same way. As far as I’m concerned, we are a normal couple Penny.”
“Then shouldn’t we be doing normal couple things? The things Ruby and Jaune do?”
That question lingering in the air momentarily for Oscar as his girlfriend stared at him, red blush spread across her face. His own face started to get red the more he acknowledged what Penny had just said. He watched the girl lean closer to him until he had no choice but to prop himself up with his forearm as Penny took the bold move to straddle him. She gently took his hand and placed it on her right boob, squeezing it slightly. Oscar felt like he was about to pass out.
“P-Penny?”
“I didn’t have work today.” She admitted. “With the help of Ceil, Ruby and I managed to get me some upgrades I’ve wanted for a while. Like better touch sensitivity, the way my skin feels, and other...components.”
Both of them were a blushing mess at that last part. Oscar was smart enough to know what she meant. The reason however, that escaped him a little.
“Why go through all this? I mean, I never went into this expecting you to do something like this for me.”
“Because even if you’re happy with me emotionally, I don’t want to rob you of the physical experience a real girl could provide. I know you try and I hide it but you’re still a boy with needs.”
He couldn’t deny that. There were many times he looked at Penny or thought of her in a physical way that made his imagination go a little rampant. He was young after all, and she was so beautiful. Oscar felt a little guilty for not being upfront about it with her and avoided her gaze. Penny reached for his face though and turned it back towards her. She wanted to see those beautiful eyes of his when she confessed.
“ I did it for myself as well. Oscar I want to be close to you, feel connected to you. Doing this, is a thing I put a lot of thought into. I wanna try at least once. So please, will you have sex with me?”
She was nervous, down right terrified of what Oscar might say. Was this too much as once? Would he deny her request? Oscar was just looking up into her eyes silently with no indication on what was going through his mind. Penny was beginning to think this was a terrible mistake and removed his hand. She started to move off of him when Oscar suddenly sat up. His hand wrapped around her waist and Penny yelped as he placed her on his lap. Now they’re face to face, inches away from each other with red tint darker than Ruby’s hair.
“Oscar?” Penny whispered, anxiously waiting for him to speak. The way he leaned in compelled her to do the same.
“Penny, stop saying you’re not a real girl.” Oscar pressed his lips against hers. He could feel them tremble slightly before returning the embrace with more than equal force, rubbing Oscar’s chin at slightly pulling down on it to slide her tongue in. The sudden act gave Oscar shivers and made him pull her in closer. This wasn’t their first kiss like this, but it was definitely the first time it made Oscar this anxious. The tension he felt right now to stop himself from going too far or fast felt like he was playing tug o'war against a Goliath. That feeling went away the moment a small and fleeting warmth hit his face. Oscar broke off the kiss to see Penny teary eyed. The girl let out a giggle and started wiping them away.
“Penny are you okay? Did I-”
“Don’t worry, it’s not you. Well it is you technically.” She lightly giggled again. “I’m just really happy right now, that’s all. Let’s keep going okay?”
Her arms went on either side of his shoulders and wrapped around. Oscar gave the girl what she wanted and went right back to kissing her. She felt warm, very warm. Oscar couldn’t explain it but made him want to touch her more. Before he knew it, Oscar had leaned forward until Penny had no choice but to lay down on the couch and let him hover over him, not that it bothered her one bit. To see him be this into it was exciting to say the least.
The feel of his lips ended again when Oscar had no choice but to catch his breath Penny was ready for him to come back for more but was surprised when his face went past her own. Suddenly her body flinched the moment she felt him kiss and nip at her neck. Now she really didn’t know what to feel! This was something he hadn’t done before but it made her hard to lay still. His teeth gently grazed her until one nip sunk in more than the others.
“Aaa~” a moan finally slipped out from her and Penny quickly covered her mouth while Oscar stopped to look at her, also surprised. He honestly wasn’t sure if that was going to do anything for her. Apparently it did.
“You good?” He smirked.
Penny nodded and uncovered her mouth. “I don’t think I’ve ever made that sound before.”
“Well...today is going to be full of it hopefully.” Oscar grabbed the bottom of his orange shirt and pulled it over his head, freeing him from the stuffy fabric.
Penny only watched from underneath him. It was hard to believe when they first met that he was shorter than her and tiny. Now he was 5’10 and had a physique of an expert huntsman. His shoulders had gotten broad and there was practically no fat on him. His chest widened out and he was cut! Ruby had compared him to a pro swimmer before. His skin had gathered a handful of scars over the years. A couple along his torso and a few more faded ones on his arms. She was pretty sure there was more on his back too. Him and Jaune were almost the same bulk. It made her wonder if Jaune had looked like Oscar at fourteen. That thought was interrupted when the feeling of his fingertips went across her collarbone and down to the first bottom of her shirt. He had kept his gloves on for some reason but honestly, Penny thought it was pretty attractive. Ruby has clearly influenced her taste.
It only took a few seconds for Oscar to unbutton her shirt completely.
“Woah...” Oscar said without thinking.
He hadn’t noticed earlier but she wasn’t wearing a bra like usual, probably so he wouldn’t fumble with it. Today really was planned. That didn’t make seeing Penny’s bare chest any less of a hurdle. They were somewhere in the middle of Weiss and Ruby’s, but perkier. Not to mention her nipples were real pink and a little puffy.
Penny could feel his stare on her and it made her turn her head to the side. Something about it made it really hard to think and breathe a little heavier, which only made Oscar more turned on. It didn’t help that she was technically still in his shirt and the necklace he just gave her dangled around her neck.
“You’re breathtaking…”
His words made her face feel hot and ears red. “Can you not stare too much? It’s embarra-ahhh!”
Oscar’s hands gently grabbed the orbs and massaged them as he bent down and started kissing her stomach, scattered with freckles.
His kisses were slow and deliberate. Causing Penny to moan or gasp anytime his tongue pressed against her before his lips sucked on that spot as he made his way down her now arching body.
“Oscar…” was all she could manage to moan. How was he so good at this? Was he good, or was she a lightweight like Ruby had described to her? She just knew she liked this feeling. It was easy to understand why people talked up sex, why Oscar was so clearly eager despite not telling her directly. Her eyes shut tightly every time his thumbs methodically traced around her nipples, causing her to suck air in through her teeth. The fact this was foreplay only made Penny more excited for the main part.
Finally she was given a moment to relax. Penny propped herself up with one forearm to see Oscar unbuckle her shorts. Penny raised her hips up again for him to pull the fabric off, flinging it on the ground. Despite the flannel, she only had frilly pink panties on now that had become more than a little damp. Oscar thought now would be a good time to remove his own pants. He sat up to undo them but Penny unexpectedly grabbed his wrist. Her face at waist level to him as she was on her hands and knees, while Oscar rested on his knees.
“Let me.” She said in a voice that Oscar couldn’t begin to describe, but it made him gulp. Penny’s nimble fingers made quick work of the button and purposely slow work of the zipper. Oscar lifted one leg up at a time for her to pull his pants off. Now they were more or less in the same boat in terms of nudity. Penny couldn’t help but stare at the bulge in her boyfriend’s dark blue boxers. She reached out to touch it and wasn’t expecting to hear Oscar let out a light groan as it throbbed in her hand. Penny looked up to see Oscar red in the face and avoided eye contact with her.
“Did that...feel good?” She asked, genuinely wondering.
“More than it probably should’ve.” He admitted. “It feels different when...it isn’t me touching it, better.” He added.
“I see, do you...touch yourself often? Penny didn’t know why but asking such questions felt so overwhelming. Her hand gave the clothed shaft a few more gent strokes, earning another groan. Penny didn’t know Oscar’s voice could sound so husky and deep.
“Every so often.” Oscar couldn’t stop his hips from pressing more into Penny’s hand until she hooked his waistband and pulled his boxers down. She let out a little “eep” the moment his manhood sprung out. It was different from textbooks, bigger. Half a foot maybe? It was about as wide though. Penny put her hand around it as much as she could. She wasn’t expecting it to feel so hot, so alive. Her hand started stroking it without even thinking. Again she was rewarded with the sound of Oscar’s voice. Penny really liked that voice. Another personal question came to mind that she couldn’t help but know.
“When you touched yourself, did you think of me?” Her breathing got a little heavy asking that. It was enough to make Oscar twitch and throb even more in her hand.
“Yes!”
Penny had no more questions, nothing else going through her head. Just the reaction to close her eyes and wrap her lips against Oscar’s searing length, gradually sinking her head down it before coming back up to the top, then down again.
“F-Penny!!!” Oscar shouted. He tried his best not to buck his hips but he couldn’t help himself. Penny used her free hand to grab his and rest it on her head. Her tongue slid around his manhood while she picked up the pace. His attempts to stay gentle made her really happy but it was clear to her that Oscar had forgotten something he didn’t have to worry about with her. Penny had a lot of things that made her more human in terms of design, a gag reflex wasn’t one of them.
Every second, Penny could feel him move more and more. All she could taste and smell right now was Oscar and the arousal that leaked out of him. Penny hummed lightly which only Oscar thrust a little harder, turning the hum into more of a moan. It didn’t take long before the sound of Oscar moaning joined the mix of scandalous sounds in the living room.
“Wait Penny, Penny I’m…!!!”
She was too lost in the moment to really register his plea. A couple of moments later and she felt Oscar grip her head especially tight, his body tensing up as he came. The taste from earlier had suddenly gotten a lot more potent. Penny’s eyes widened as ropes of seed were shot into her mouth. Still, she kept sucking just a little longer just to make sure nothing spilled out when she finally removed herself from him. Unsurprisingly, he was still hard. Ruby had told her that it was pretty common for young men to recover in no time at all, especially if they’re pent up.
Penny sat on her knees and looked up at Oscar, who had gotten a little sweaty and was breathing heavy. She was feeling pretty proud of herself right now.
Oscar had a million feelings right now and didn’t know exactly where to start. “That was… really good.” He huffed. “Let me get you a napkin so you can spit-” Oscar saw Penny gulp down his cum right before he could finish his sentence. If he wasn’t hard and blushing before, that would’ve done it.
“Sorry, what were you saying?” Penny said, still chipper about what just happened.
“Nothing, just…that won’t mess anything up internally will it?”
“Oscar if I can eat food then I can swallow.” She said, grabbing her drink on the small table next to them to wash down whatever might’ve remained in her mouth.
It was hard to argue with that logic. Penny wouldn’t do anything that would compromise herself anyways, he hoped. She did like magnets after all.
Penny put the cup back down next to their untouched food and wrapped her arms around Oscar again. She pulled herself back onto his lap to get a kiss that had somehow gotten more feverish than last time. Oscar’s hands went immediately to her soft and plump rear, grasping it firmly before pinning Penny underneath him again. This was good, she really wanted him to take the lead on this one. The way his erection poked at her inner thighs told Penny she didn’t have much of an option to begin with.
Oscar slid his right hand up her leg and under the then layer of fabric she had left to touch her soaked lips directly. The hold she had on him tightened while she gasped into their kiss. He kept trailing up and down his slit until his middle finger barely pierced her entrance. The heat and grip surrounding the digit was enough on its own to make Oscar shiver.
“I wanted to return the favor of going down on you, but I don’t think I can wait.” He groaned, centimeters from her ear.
“I’m perfectly fine with that. I want you inside of me.” Penny lifted her hips again. Her panties came off faster even than her shorts did, Oscar practically tossed them across the room, making her giggle. She liked this side of him. He was still caring but also very assertive in a way that was new to her.
Penny let out another moan as she felt his length rub against her. Oscar locked eyes with her and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
“This way you don’t have to worry about me staring too much.” He joked. “I love you Penny Polendina.”
Her hand gently reached to grab her new necklace, her other and rubbing the side of his face. “I love you too, Oscar Pine.” She returned the chaste kiss, which quickly turned into a passionate one. Penny bent her knees more and spread her legs wider as Oscar began sliding into her hot entrance. She shut her eyes and moaned deeply, his manhood only a few inches in.
“Go slow please!” Penny gasped. Her body felt weird, but also really good. There was also a slight mixture of pressure that gave her a little discomfort as she was slowly being spread open. Penny could still feel pain after all. If you wanted to experience something good then you had to accept the possible flip side. That was good though. Pleasure, pain, good taste, bad taste, having the full range was ideal; it was normal.
Oscar did his best to go slowly. The way she coiled around him with such heat made him want to lose composure so badly, but he fought the urge. It took a minute before he was finally completely inside of her. Oscar took her left hand then interlocked their fingers. He had never seen Penny look winded before. It was...kinda cute.
“Are you okay?”
“Sen...sational” she giggled, out of breath. It had been awhile since she said that. “You can move when you're ready.”
“You sure?”
“Positive”
Oscar kissed her forehead. “I’ll start off slow.”
“Thank you…” Penny felt so weak right now and she didn’t know how to explain it. All she knew was it felt great. Not only that, being with Oscar like this made her happier than she could’ve imagined.
Oscar carefully started to pull out to the very tip before sinking back into Penny’s depth, making both groan all over again, again, and again. It didn’t take too long for Oscar to get to a rhythm of rocking his hips into Penny. Any pain started to subside and leave pleasure in Penny’s wake as she held onto Oscar by having her arms around his body. Oscar could feel Penny dig in a little into his back the more she moaned and got lost in the moment.
“Faster…” She finally moaned. Oscar didn’t delay in giving her what she wanted, what they wanted. His hips picked up the tempo until the couch started to creak from their love making. Any thought about controlling her moans were thrown out the window. Penny couldn’t resist moaning his name with every thrust that struck her deep inside. The only time noise went down was when the two kissed deeply.
Oscar brought her left leg up and around his lower back, while the right one dangled off the couch. This change in position brought Oscar even deeper than before; to the point Penny’s body arched again, rubbing against his.
“Gods Oscar!” She moaned, “You’re so deep” Penny found herself trying to sync up with Oscar’s rhythm, finding it the moment he grazed a new spot within her wall that made the spasm and Oscar bite down on her neck again.
“You’re so tight. So...ahhh! Penny!” Oscar couldn’t think straight. He could only keep rutting into her like a beast in heat. The apartment echoed the sounds of him slamming into her. It was a good thing he had aura, Oscar might’ve gotten a bruise otherwise. They found themselves staying like this for several minutes. Touching, tasting, hearing the intoxicating pleasure the other was making. As if it was the only thing that would sustain them. If it were up to them, this moment would’ve lasted forever, but neither of them could resist the intense urge building inside of them.
Oscar sat up and grabbed Penny’s hips, stabilizing the both of them as he continued to pump into her. He couldn’t help but stare at the womanhood that enveloped his length. The sight of her arousal covering and dripping off of his length only shortened his fuse. Oscar wanted to cum so badly but not alone. His thumb slid closer inward and started grazing her clit every time he thrusted into her. It gave him the results he was looking for. Penny started gripping the couch cushions and her voice started to get even more pleading.
“Oscar~!!! It’s too much!” She whimpered.
His own limits were finally reaching their end. “Cum Penny! Cum whenever you feel like it.” A thin layer of sweat started to coat Oscar as he tried prolonging the inevitable. “Fuck I’m so close!”
The pressure inside Penny just kept building and building like a knot that kept going pulled tighter. Until finally…
“OSCAR!” Penny felt that knot snap. Her walls mercilessly gripped Oscar with a grip that made him cave in at last, erupting rope after rope inside of her. She felt each one and made her shiver. Penny’s face went completely red. She couldn’t imagine the amount Oscar came. It was more than earlier! Oscar’s body finally came down from the adrenaline and he fell right next to her, thoroughly exhausted. Another thing Penny didn’t have to worry much about. Granted she was a little tired, but could easily be active for days on end still.
The girl looked at her tired boyfriend and rubbed his face. “You okay?”
“Happy Anniversary” he chuckled. Penny did the same and kissed his lips quickly.
“I’m gonna get dressed, put the food up for later, and then we can cuddle here?”
“I don’t deserve you. You’re so wonderful.”
“Not as wonderful as you are. Seriously, thanks for accepting me for me, but also still be willing to accept more of me. Letting me grow, change, and try to feel more...you know.”
“I will always support any version of you that you want to become. Forever and always. My other half.”
“My soulmate.” She rubbed her fingers through his hair as he started to doze off a little. Penny happily hummed and got up to clean.
Oscar laid comfortably on the couch. The presence of Ozpin slowly returning before he fell too deep into sleep.
“Good job. Personally I would’ve used the bed conveniently in the other room but hey, things happen fast.”
“Please tell me you weren’t watching all that?” Oscar groaned.
“Of course not, I believe in privacy. It’s not my fault you’re replaying what just happened. It’s kinda unavoidable, sorry.”
“I don’t care, I just can’t believe it went so well”
“I can, muscle memory remember? This might’ve been your first time but you have a massive pool of prior knowledge. Completely blowing it wasn’t gonna happen. I told you good luck for confidence.”
“How’d you know this would happen? Prior knowledge?”
“Oscar, it could be a faunus, human, android, or Salem, certain cues from women just do not change. I saw it coming a mile away.”
Oscar yawned and sunk deeper into the couch. “I guess it pays to be immortal. You know a lot.”
“A blessing and a curse. Like I know for a fact there’s no way Pietro approved or even knows about this scheme, or whatever upgrades she got for this occasion.”
Oscar’s eyes opened back up. There was no way Oz was wrong was wrong about that. If Oscar wasn’t tired, he’d be freaking out. Instead he simply closed his eyes again.
“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”
xxxx
Ruby laid on Jaune’s bare chest in bed as she went through her scroll during the movie they were supposed to be watching. Their clothes were scattered everywhere and they couldn’t be happier.
“Hey, I got a text from Penny. Looks like the plan worked.”
“Good for them.” Jaune said, playing with her hair. “Pietro is gonna murder him for sure.”
“Good thing you boost aura and healing.”
“Oh, so that’s your grand scheme. Hey, I’m happy to serve.”
“Yeah you are.” She puts down her scroll and straddles Jaune. “Think you can serve me at least one more time?” She took the remote away and smiled.
Jaune couldn’t help but smile too and flip her over to be on top. “I’m always up for your schemes” the two kissed and enjoyed their time together.
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