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ranmanjuu · 3 years

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Hey there how are you? This literally just came to my mind how will the warlords react to an mc who sees ghosts / spirits and talks with them?

i’m doing fine, thanks for asking! honestly, this is a concept that i’m very interested in (in fact, i had an idea something along these lines, though not quite, that was one of the factors why i made this blog in the first place) cause of the three ikeseries games i know, ikesen is the one who handles death the most (at least in terms of many lives lost, with war and whatnot.)

and i wish i can expand more but also! i’m Lazy

(disclaimer that the uses of sixth senses and how spirits/spiritual “energy” works here are of my own creation, cause in all honesty i don’t know shit abt them)

—nobunaga:

the ability to see the spirits of the dead, in the modern times, was. . .interesting, to sum it up.

living with it since you were a child, you’ve a lot of experiences that range from dread and scary, to extremely fascinating. in the world of constant normality, to a fault even, it’s a sort of (sometimes morbid) curiosity to interact with those who have passed.

however,,, not many times did you tap into scenarios where you got that close to how that person died.

occasional car crashes, although the ones you were bystander to were strangers to you. those you know who did, never you got to see die in front of your eyes. and frankly, you didn’t want to see it,

however, now,,, the world seems to have different plans for you.

out of all the periods, you were flung back to a war-stricken one. even worst, being practically taken in by who’s known as the ruthless unifier of japan.

it all started from the second day, the first battle you were dragged into. while you tried to block out the death you saw around you,,, the way nobunaga slashed the enemy commander would never leave your mind.

doesn’t help that later on you already saw the fire-like spirit, one that would resemble the man standing near the burning castle. reality set in for you at that moment; you’ll be seeing a lot of these.

each battlefield you were dragged into, you could see the spirits that would wander around, in agony, anger or otherwise. either while the flames of battle were swishing, or afterwards when you patched up the injured soldiers.

and almost each time you sense that anger was the thing that tied their spirit to the physical world (from the enemies, of course), somehow, in any way, nobunaga was a part of it.

and you can see why. you’ve heard stories, from the dead and alive, of the supposed atrocities he’s committed, and if you were honest, it created much more a distance.

perhaps it was because you knew much more clearer, the wishes the passed enemy soldiers would curse him for laying upon whatever damage he had. perhaps that was what would always haunt you, how they described his actions, that made you as tense as you were each time you visited the tenshu.

yet,, you always showed a level of care for him, that was clear the first night you went up to his tenshu to thank him for saving your life.

and slowly, you begin to see the truth of his actions. maybe there was more to him, you thought.

it made you believe much more in non-violence, which was why when the lord presented you with a gun or a sword to take his or your life,

you refused both outcomes.

you wanted to live, a burning desire to survive just like everyone else. but it goes without saying that you don’t want nobunaga to die either. not only rooted in the strong feelings you’ve grown regarding violence, but also. . .

“i don’t think i could bear to see your spirit lingering. i - i just don’t want—”

you let out a shuddering breath as the weigh of the wishes, regrets, stories, anger of the dead wash over you. so many lives have been lost—you feel like you’re simply a bearer, a messenger, for those who have passed.

you can’t even begin to imagine the ghost of nobunaga, whatever weigh he held even after death, and especially if you were the one to take his life.

“. . .what do you mean by that?”

you snap back as you look up at him, and realize that you’ve never really told him of your sixth sense. with a heaving breath, you look down to the gun and katana as you begin to explain.

explaining how you’re able to see soldiers, citizens, everyone, who was caught in the crossfire. both enemies and allies. stories of those who they’d lost, or those who’d lose them. unsaid goodbyes, sworn revenge, all of which were burnt into your mind.

their families, friends, who’ve waited for them, all of those haunt your mind until you feel like you live to tell the tale of the passed. countless nights, as you wonder if you’ll ever meet any of them, and if you’ll ever tell them how they’d felt. all the unsaid words.

slowly, he begins to understand clearer. your want for peace, your absolute disdain for death. the clear suffering you heaved, to honor each spirit.

and maybe, it’d lead to a change in him.

—kenshin:

you always found something. . .interesting about kenshin. you’d learn later that he’s the god of war, the ruthless dragon of echigo that took thrill in the most dangerous battles, but. . .something more to it.

it started when you two where alone in the field, where the fireflies rose as if the stars itself descended down to your presences. such was a sight to behold, kenshin standing amidst it all, having a thousand mile stare, to something lost. no words were said, you were all too mesmerized by the sight.

until, just as the luminescent bugs seem to flicker for just a moment, you see it. someone beside him, faded and clouded, and just as you blinked with a slight gasp, it disappears.

kenshin looks at you, the slight glow shining on his face, the moonlight and fireflies clashing together, “what is it?”

you look into his eyes, solemn and stern. “nothing.” you say, and so, it passes. but it wouldn’t be the last time.

it’s never happened when others are around, you took note. the next time was the night he put you in prison, your distraught was caught off guard last minute.

you see the flickers of a figure again, and this time, it lingers longer. you can see it clearer now. a girl, at around a teenager’s age with long hair. wordlessly, she looks at you with vacant, yet sad eyes, and walks away in the direction of kenshin.

you lean forward against the bars to look more, but. . .she’s gone.

and you keep seeing her, mainly whenever you and kenshin were alone together. hell, you’ve tried to talk to her when the man went away and she lingered, but. . .not even a single word was ever uttered.

as you grew closer and closer to the bunny lord, you’d see clearer his,, overbearing nature towards you, to an extreme needless to say. and soon, you’d learn why.

you listened to the tale and story from shingen, and silently, all the things clicked. that girl,,, it must be isehime then.

returning back to kenshin’s room, once you set eyes, you immediately notice the ghostly figure sitting in the middle. you take a breath, and step in. despite it not facing you, you know it can see you.

“. . .isehime, isn’t it?” you ask, and her head turns to you. with eyes delicately shining, you’d almost see them as if they were alive.

“so you’ve heard.” she answers, a soft whisper.

your eyes land on the ground, thinking, before they rise up to meet hers again, “. . .what is it that bounds your spirit to the living world?” such was a question you’d ask before, and you figured, now that you knew the story, you’ll get an answer.

she gazes at you with deep thought, then turns her eyes to the floor, “i just want to see him move on from what happened that day.”

everything was silent apart from her soft, echo-ish voice. “i know he’d eventually move on from the crush had i lived. and i too, i no longer like him when i was alive. however,” she looks at the clan crest with the same look kenshin had on the night of the fireflies field, “it hurts to see that it haunts him to this day. it hurts—and i can do nothing but watch. he holds a weigh of trauma, and i just—”

her head turns to you, “i just want him to move on. from the pain, the past, all of it.”

and the way she looks at you,,, it’s a look you’re familiar with. as you feel your own weight sink onto your shoulders, you knew, she’s relying on you.

and so it leads us here, now, by a small isolated place in the middle of the woods. you had this night, this one night, to convince kenshin to stop his war against the oda caused by an incident inflicted on you.

in the end, you do. with a promise that you’d stay by his side no matter how dark the road becomes, along with a ripped kimono. . .you hope for a better future for him, with you accompanying him on the rough journey.

through the trees, the faint figure of isehime begins to fade, and with a soft smile on her face, a melancholic look, she whispers to the night, “thank you. i’ll leave him in your hands.”

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galaxina-the-pyro · 3 years

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How would you improve the episode AYA?

...wait...you’re asking me?

I...I didn’t expect this...

The thing is is that I don’t think I could possibly come up with ideas for this better than, say, @authenticcadence18 or @springsfordays because their ideas are just too good (seriously, check them out, they have the literal best ideas for a rewrite of AYA, holy crap).

But if I were to rewrite it...hm...let’s make a checklist for stuff about AYA that just miffed me:

1. Plot B is fine. Plot B was probably the best part of AYA - Doof’s dilemma made sense for his character (and is hilarious), tied in with the name of the episode, and involved fun little shenanigans. My only gripe is that they didn’t go MONDO insane with it at the end, and said ending felt really abrupt.

(I also wish that, somehow, even Doof was involved with that “everyone knew” bit, but we’re gonna be scrapping that joke for this story - that joke is FUNNY, but it’s also degrading to Phineas, and is sorta a nice way of saying “yeah, you’re stupid for not noticing her feelings even though she’s not entitled to them - you’re the problem. It’s not like the episode is trying to hint at you two having switched roles, no, you’re the only one who was being oblivious and stupid.”)

2. We cut out Plot C entirely. Everyone trying to get Phineas and Isabella together was just...ugh. Why? And they had the audacity to compare what they were doing to all the AMAZING things they did when they were younger, like, guys - you set up some tables, decorations, and cooked them what I can assume to be a run-of-the-mill restaurant dinner - that has NOTHING on a rollercoaster through downtown. And their applause at that sweet but ultimately lackluster confession? Hurt. So much. Now that I think about it, it felt condescending, it unintentionally emphasized HOW uninspired this confession (as much as I love it) was, and it felt like they were taking credit for something they didn’t do.

And if we’re NOT gonna cut out Plot C...have Plot C be about FERB? Leaving for COLLEGE? Out of COUNTRY? Cuz I have a hard time believing that Phineas and Ferb are just OKAY with separating at such a long distance - heck, in “Candace Gets Busted”, FERB is the one who assumes that one day he and his brother are gonna own their own place together. It should at least be BROUGHT UP, don’t you think? (I’m conflicted on whether or not I’d keep Montessa in the ring or at least SHOW US how Ferbnessa happened, because I think what’s weirding people out is that they’re assuming that Vanessa literally waited for Ferb to turn 18 to start dating him - when I think it’s more likely that they kinda JUST started dating during the beginning of Summer? But I think stuff like that really SHOULD be explained because even though I don’t think it’s that weird, I understand why OTHER PEOPLE wouldn’t like the idea)

3. I kinda feel like this should have had more songs? I dunno why, I feel like this all could have been improved if we got a fullblown musical out of this (and...this may be me wanting a “What Might Have Been” reprise, lol) - like, make fun of HSM or something, you can’t tell me you wouldn’t have.

4. I kinda wanted to see more of the “where are they now”. Like, Jeremy, Stacey, Little Suzie Johnson, even that one couple with the lady who’s always like “what did you think, an anniversary dinner was just going to fall from the sky?” - I like stuff like that, it’s so much fun to think about. Also...I legit have so much anxiety over Perry never interacting with him owners ONCE in that episode, and even more anxiety over Pinky never making an appearance at all. Heck, if there was a good time to show us what the HECK happened to Django, now would be a great time.

5. I would have given the episode a unique intro, ala “Night of the Living Pharmacists” and “Last Day of Summer” - like, AYA is as much of a status quo shifter as those two episodes, why was it given the “Phineas and Ferb Get Busted” treatment?

6. Here’s a brilliant thought - NO ONE tells Phineas about Isabella’s crush? How about instead Phineas goes and wants to check in on her, because he really misses her and doesn’t understand why they don’t talk anymore (and he’s tried before, and they’ve nearly had conversations, but Isabella’s just too busy) - did he do something wrong? Is Isabella just too busy now? He needs to know. That should have been his priority, none of this “FrIeNd ZoNe” nonsense.

7. I would have made this into a near movie-length special. With all the topics that this episode brought up, particularly the whole “manipulating the situation” thing, I feel like a longer episode would have given them more time to talk about how stuff like that is...not okay.

[READ THE ACTUAL REWRITE OF THE EPISODE (well, my take at least) UNDER THE CUT!]

Okay, with those out of the way, how I would have written Phinabella the Movie...I mean...Act Your Age (I warn you, it’s not gonna be as good as @authenticcadence18′s or @springsfordays‘s ideas, so if you want quality stuff and not just mushy fanfiction fodder I’d check their stuff out):

I would have sorta made this entire thing take place during the “What Might Have Been” song - what that means is that it’s a collage of memories. How Isabella and Phineas met, how Isabella first got her “crush” (if you can really call it that, girl was full out in love lol), them building stuff with the gang during their canon ages, them going into highschool, Isabella ultimately choosing to give up her crush to maintain her friendship with Phineas (because her choosing to not be as close to Phineas because of a crush isn’t an option), Isabella’s first boyfriend (which probably’s gonna hurt a lot of fans, cuz I envision that to NOT be Phineas; but it’s Phinabella endgame, so relax); the episode just centers on the gang (mainly Isabella since it’s from her perspective) growing up.

Like, yes, all of the memories are gonna be Phinabella centered, but we gotta have SOME side-stories and junk, like maybe how Baljeet gets together with Ginger (and...how they break up...please don’t kill me), what ultimately leads Ferb to want to go back to England for studies (maybe it’s him wanting to be his own person and not wanting people to think he and his brother are just “a pair”), Buford...uh...something with Buford definitely, because I love him and he deserves it. Heck, maybe even the Fireside Girls can have their own arc with a graduation ceremony for their ranks (...what? I’m not linking stuff to the best fanfic ever, noooooo...why would-why would I do that?).

And maybe in this case Plot B SHOULD be different - maybe it should focus on how Doofenshmirtz first got to America, how he first met Charlene, what exactly led him to being evil in the first place, all that good stuff. Though, ultimately, that might be a little angsty - maybe there’s a reason why we don’t see exactly HOW Doof and Charlene divorced, because that could very well be the saddest scene ever, and it’s hard to put that kinda comedic spin on something so tragic (I mean, obviously there are comedies CENTERED on divorce, but like...they always SKIP the divorce part from what I’ve seen). Not to mention that this is a kid’s show, so...I doubt they’d actually show HOW it happened. This is just my thoughts. X’D

Back to the Phinabella.

Phineas and Isabella would have their confession during THIS part of the special rather than the very end (so, like...they’re still in highschool, and Isabella’s already broken up with that other dude in the story, and maybe Phineas had a girlfriend he just wasn’t happy with) - Phineas tries to do something big for Isabella, but it ultimately falls through because of Perry’s current nemesis (we never see who that is, lol), so he settles for something simple (at first he’s scared about it not “being enough” for someone like Isabella, but Ferb’s able to slap that nonsense out of him pretty quickly). He and Isabella spend the ENTIRE DAY together alone, leading to Phineas eventually singing a song he wrote for her to her, and the two have a cute little duet as a result (that has the opposite energy of “What Might Have Been”, so it’s important that somewhere in this episode that “What Might Have Been” is still a thing, it just doesn’t involve Phineas being aware of Isabella’s feelings, and it doesn’t involve Isabella trying to leave somewhere without saying goodbye, this would be more about Isabella, after trying to get over her crush, realizing that she still LIKES Phineas that way). They almost kiss, but they’re ultimately interrupted by Buford being Buford or something, but it implies that Phineas and Isabella are now a couple onwards from here.

Eventually it leads to a small party in the middle of Summer with the gang, with them playing some games and talking about how by the end of Summer, they won’t be seeing each other as much anymore because of college and stuff. They all remanence about the simple times - with Isabella eventually leaving (saying it’s because she needs to check on something, but really it’s because she’s sad that things are ending so quickly and she’s gonna miss everyone especially Phineas), and Phineas going after her to see if she’s alright (he’s oblivious, but he’s always been able to tell if she’s sad for the most part, save for maybe a few instances - but he’s older now, so he’s probably better at telling).

The two go for a stroll outside, and discuss the changes and stuff, how he and Isabella are ultimately going to have to work on a long-distance relationship and how Phineas is going to miss Ferb when he leaves the country, and how he’s gonna miss Isabella. And then they both realize that everything is gonna be okay, because they’ve literally dealt with worse situations and came out stronger for it - Isabella nor Phineas have any doubts in their minds that their relationship with each other or anyone else is going to sever just because of long distance.

Time moves onward, and there are a lot of changes (mainly talking about couples and other stuff - if it were me, there’d be endgame Buford/Gretchen and Ferb/Ginger of all people, and of course Candace and Jeremy would be married by this time). Phineas and Isabella are about to go into their last year of college, and decide to spend one more day together before they, once again, go their separate ways. The gang surprises Isabella by having made an ACTUALLY GOOD AND CREATIVE BACKYARD DINNER for the two per Phineas’ planning (the idea wasn’t bad, the execution was just lame imo), and long story short, Phineas proposes to Isabella. She obviously accepts, and everyone cheers for them as Isabella inner monologues about how change can be scary but it’s okay some mushy stuff about loved ones being there for you when you need them or something.

And finally, we cut to many years later, with Isabella as an adult now, looking out at the backyard of her current home, drinking some tea - this whole movie/special has taken place in this Isabella’s memories (if that makes sense), as she thinks on how she got there. The story ends with a child (we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl) calling to her and calling her “mom”, and Isabella leaving to check on her kid.

And...that’s how I would have written “Act Your Age”. Again, I recommend this and this over my idea (because again, their takes on this episode are perfect, I don’t think anyone can top them), but if you like it then great. This was still fun to write out and stuff, and I hope you enjoyed it regardless. ^^;

#phineas and ferb #pnf #act your age #phinabella #act your age rant #episode rewrite #galaxina rants #not as good of a rewrite as others but i think it's decent at the very least #but i dunno #what do ya'll think #lol

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queerdisagreeable · 3 years

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hi. this is super random but i know that you write. and i also write. but i've been feeling really stuck in my novel lately. i have inspiration, TONS of it, and i've written it all down so my brian doesn't decide to be an asshole and forget everything. but i just can't seem to put the right words on the paper and i was wondering if you had any advice on that! thanks in advance (p.s your poetry is literally *chef's kiss*)

hey there friend! first off, hell yeah writers!!! and thank you so much also :”) you’re doing a great job getting the ideas down; that’s the first step to anything! there are a few bits of advice I’d like to give, which I use myself when I feel like I’m grinding to a halt :) 1 - Get it out! You’ve said you’re having trouble finding the right words, yeah? Well, uh, politely, fuck the right words! If you can’t get em right now, just get down a rough outline, then get down the beats, then get down scenes, anything and everything you can. The words themselves can be edited later. You can take, “Marley sat down with a sigh” to “Marley sank into the chair, a bone-deep ache relaxing as they did.” later.

If you’re going for perfection on the first draft, you will always run up against that first wall of “this isn’t the right word.” Get the ideas out, get the details down, and come back for the right words when it’s time to edit it <3

2 - Write it backwards! Start with ending scenes, middle scenes, absolutely whatever scene you feel like. Just cause the story’s gonna be read in one direction, doesn’t mean you have to write it that way!

Additionally, start with the scenes that excite you! Why are you writing this novel, what’s that one scene that plays on loop in your head, that you can’t wait to write? Start with that one, what’s the point in waiting for it to come up? Again, when it comes to editing, you can take these scenes and scrap them or rewrite them entirely to fit. No matter what, it’s still practice writing and that can never be wasted.

3 - Set achievable goals! This one will vary from person to person, but recently I’m trying to use the system one of my lecturers suggested for essays. That’s the SMART technique: Specific - Have an actual idea in mind, rather than a ghost of one. Instead of saying, “I’m going to write today.”, work on saying something like, “I want to write X scene today.”

Measurable - Similarly, make sure it’s something you can measure in the sense of, “Wow, I achieved X today.” Maybe that’s just, “Wow, I planned out X today!” So long as you can see what you’ve done!

Action-oriented - I won’t lie, I forget what my lecturer said this one means, but I take it to mean you need to know how you’re going to achieve things, so: “I’m going to write X scene this week. That means plotting it, working out the main beats, and then writing it.”

Realistic - It’s great to have high goals, but if you’re stressing about them more than getting them done, it’s a vicious cycle. Sit down with yourself and work out what you can feasibly get done consistently. If that needs to change now and then, that’s fine too! Personally, my reoccuring goal is to write 250 words a day, but sometimes I won’t reach that exactly. That’s okay, though, ‘cause it’s still motivating me to write every day!

Time-bound - Don’t set yourself goals with vague time limits! You can set long ones, but don’t make em indefinite, or... You might end up like me, and never actively pursue them.

4 - Take a break! You have inspiration, and that’s great, but maybe you’ve been looking at what you’re working on too long. Give yourself a week or so to rest your brain entirely, or at least from that current project. Come back with fresh eyes and see how your work has changed in that time. It’s like fermenting wine. (cheese??? you ferment one of those I forget which lol)

I hope these pointers help some! Feel free to ask more if you think I can help any more, and let me know how your novel goes if you wanna! :)

#writing #writeblr #traveller #senseless ramblings #aaa :) i'm so happy you came to me for advice :)#<3 #Anonymous

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lovemissmini · 3 years

Text

I Found you

Synopsis: We all need a friend. Sometimes you have to find one to gain one. Especially in this post-apocalyptic world.

Pairing: Taehyung X Reader

Warnings: Post-apocalypse, reader might not be 100% sane, hints of death, not much action. PG13

Length: ~2k

A/N: I would go crazy if I was all alone for 6 months, no questions asked.

All works here are purely fiction. Everything I write is my intellectual property and therefore belongs to me. Lovemissmini © . Do not copy, rewrite, repost without my permission. That is illegal and you are stealing no matter if you give credit or not.

“If it weren’t for you, Tae, I would have gone crazy a loooong time ago. Hmm?” You spare a glance towards your companion before you continued your babbling. “It’s just, six year, who wouldn’t go insane in that amount of time. All alone. No one to talk to.”

You nod to yourself, sinking deeper into the worn-out armchair, letting the cheap cushioning quickly engulfing your thin form. Human interaction had become a strange topic for you, just like the concept of keeping track of time. Did it really matter what day of the week it was? It’s not like you had a job or anything. So, what did it matter if you woke up at 1 in the afternoon or ate during the deadly hours of dawn? Hell, why do you even care about the number of times the sun rose before it ultimately set to make the end of the day. One day or six years, tomato tomato.

You should stop. Your mind was wandering off on a tangent even whilst you continued to hold a conversation on a separate matter, yet again. Your thoughts always did that, wander off, that is, into an incoherent multitude of ideas. That’s just how your brain worked. Or maybe that’s your insanity talking.

“But I’m lucky to have found you, yeah?”

You look out of the window of your new living room, into the streets and the cars that haphazardly littered the cracked roads and pavement. Room, that’s quite an interesting word choice. It might be too generous a word for the space where you were seated as of now. A room would imply an enclosed area with a roof above your head and at least three connected walls and some form of a door or partition. Right?

But your choice of temporary lodging was, to be honest, not quite the conventional image you would associate with that word. The best you could truly say about said room was that it was once a room. All that was left was remnants of a living room; the lone standing section of the street facing wall decorated with a broken window frame, piles of brick from the other less fortunate walls scattering the surrounding chaos, broken scraps of furniture thrown around you in a disordered arrangement.

At least it had a mostly intact armchair and couch. Right? Yeah, so who care. Life is good.

“I mean, you’re lucky I found you. Hella lucky at that.”

The lack of a roof let the evening sun beamed down on you from the sky, heating up your skin and leaving a warm tingle as your fingers played with the loose threads of the chair, twirling them around your finger absentmindedly.

“Hey, are you just gonna keep ignoring me? I said I was sorry for nearly leaving you behind last time. I even got you a new shirt to make up for it.” You huff in frustration, glaring at said shirt that fitted around your partner; a black and white abstract collage of spikey leaves artistically decorating the thin material, beautifully trimmed into what was now button up shirt that sported a deliciously deep v neckline. It was slightly revealing but not quite, just enough to give a hint of what was underneath but leave you wanting more.

“That shirt is in so much better condition than anything I’m wearing right now.” A scowl pulled at your lips as you regard the tattered t-shirt that clung to your skin, dirt discolouring the once yellow fabric into a murky brown and the pair of barely held together ripped jeans, denim threatened to fall off your thin waist even after being tied tightly by a belt.

You abruptly get up, palms slamming down on the arms of your chair, sudden movement causing ancient dusk to explode from deep within the fibres and into a thick cloud that surrounded you. You push past the brown haze of floating particles- ignoring the need to cough from the putrid smell- and close the distance between you and your companion.

“Listen here you ungrateful piece of shit! You don’t get to ignore me. I found you so I make the rules. I can leave you when and if I want. Capish?” Your voice breaks through the otherwise silent atmosphere before dissipating into the distance. Your eyes were hard with anger, veins bulging in your neck from the strain, as you glared at the unseeing eyes of your companion.

You blink, veins running cold as you realise your sudden outburst. It was uncalled for. Regret slowly filtered into your system, weighing you down like lead. You take deep slow breaths, trying to calm your racing heart and the roar pulsing in your ears.

“I’m sorry.” You voice is barely a whisper when you come through, a slight quiver at the last syllable and thick with guilt. The crimson in your cheeks fading as you settle down next to your companion on the couch, eyes shifting to gauge their reaction- or lack of one in this case.

“I’ll forgive you if you forgive me.” You joke, a small chuckle trying to defuse the tension that hung heavy in the air. Your hands betray the cheerfulness mask you donned, thumb rubbing the barcode inked into the skin of your left wrist, in a nervous habit that first formed in the lab. “I- uh- well, I forgive you too. Just because I like how handsome you and your stupidly symmetrical face are.”

There was no response. At least none out loud. In fact, there never was a reply out loud from your companion since you found them five years ago, and never would be. The only replies you earned were ones spoken to back of your mind, a deep voice echoing your subliminal thoughts back to you, answering your conscious questions. You companion, the top half of a male mannequin, would never grow a set of vocal cords to voice the replies you longed to actually hear.

If someone were to ever talk to you, question who it was you were talking to, you would have simply stated it was to yourself. Because that would mean you were never alone to begin with, never needing to talk to a humanoid piece of plastic. Right?

But there was no one else.

There no one left, no one ever since that happened six years ago.

“Anyway, let’s go. I want to see what that blinking light was from last night.” You announce as you get up from the two-seater, tossing on your backpack as you stand waiting for your partner to get up with you. You roll your eyes at the lack of movement in your peripheral view, head turning to throw a glare at its plastic form still seated on the couch. “Get up you lazy ass. Get up or I’ll carry you.”

You stand there for a moment longer, waiting for its plastic muscles to twitch under the heavy weight of your gaze. But your effects are yet again fruitless, the only signs of motion par your breathing was the dust dancing weightlessly in the air, illuminated by the setting sun as the specks float carelessly around you.

You sigh, giving up your side of the stalemate and pick up the oversized plastic excuse of a friend. The weak muscles of your arms ache under the burden, straining to produce a strong grip as you walk out onto the streets.

As you venture further into the deserted mass of torn buildings, further into the what could barely be recognised as Seoul, you reach the glass doors of a seemingly intact corporate building. The name of the facility standing tall and proud on the metal door frame, as if in celebration of its survival, almost unscathed par from the broken glass and a missing letter, the skyscraper was rather untouched.

“B-um-Bigit. HA. Sounds a lot like bigot, doesn’t it, Tae?” You muse, as you shift the plastic deadweight in your arms to a more comfortable position.

After exploring the bottom floors of building, going through countless office draws and lab cabinets, you filled up the most of your backpack with expired food items and multiple water bottles. Still, you had yet to find the source of the blinking lights you had seen last night.

“Maybe its further up?” You question out loud.

“Yeah, you’re right Tae, it must be one of the top floors. How else would I have seen it amongst the other buildings?” A grin splits your dry lips, tongue darting out to wet the cracked skin- ignoring the lingering taste of dirt.

“You’re so smart, bud, what would I do without you?”

You continue your journey up, scavenging through every nook and cranny of each floor before arriving at the top landing. A gasp leaves you lips, eyes widening as you look out from the doorway of the staircase and into the concrete floorplan. A glint of excitement sparked in your eyes, much like it did when you found a can of peaches.

The 16th floor was so different to the lower levels, barren like a construction site but shielded under large planes of glass and metal frames in a greenhouse-like roof. Moonlight filtered through the clear glass, illuminating the area in a milky wash of pale white and harsh shadows.

The grey concrete floor was littered with giant solar panels, all scattered methodically around three capsules that laid in the middle of everything. Walking forward, you trotted down the empty path that connected the doorway directly to the capsules, careful not to touch the electronics barricading you on either side.

The capsules were large, large enough to fit a person, you note to yourself as you walk past the first two. Or maybe a giant alligator, you never know.

You don’t bother inspecting two pods, both dark and most likely damaged as a large piece of metal beam speared the centre of one, a thick layer of dried green mould covered the cracked glass panels of the other, obscuring the view of what you assumed was the face of whoever it coffined. Not that you cared.

They were not of interest to you. Especially not when the last capsule vibrating with a low electronic hum. Small lights that were attached to the surface of pod pulsing, bright reds and whites flickers in the darkness as if demanding attention. And attention if caught.

You place Tae on the floor, hands steadying its plastic frame whilst your eyes were still glued to the flashing lights. “Wait here, Tae.” You tiptoed closer to the pod like a moth to fire, neck shifting as you crane you head to see above the capsule before you carefully approached it.

A yellow screen blinked on and off at the centre of the capsule. Bold black lettering fizzing from sparking pixels. You narrow your eyes, brows furrowing in concentration as you focused on trying to decipher the message. After a handful of seconds, you make out the warning.

Emergency- press red button for capsule ejection. Subject -

A hand moves to lift a clear plastic cap, hovering over the large obnoxiously red button, hesitant to push it as instructed.

Instead, you hand reaches to swipe off the sheet of debris covering the glass face panel. Eyes sweeping the sleeping form of the person trapped in the metal pod. The moonlight casting soft lighting against their prominent features. Their eyes were closed, long eyelashes fanning high cheekbones, thick brows tucked under gently tousled hair. Corking your head to the side, you continued to admire the pillowy shape of their plush lips, imagining the way the heart shaped flesh would move as it talked.

“Kim Taehyung.” The name from the screen rolling off your tongue seamlessly. Your lips twitching into a soft smile, your friend of five years long forgotten in the mass of solar panels. “I found you. Will you be my friend?”

#kim taehyung #taehyung x reader #btsfanfic #bts #taehyung imagine #taehyung scenarios #taehyung fanfic #kpop fanfic

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risingfire17-the-weeb-trash · 4 years

Text

The Ones Who Walk Away- Ch 4- Homework

Seven’s point of view. Seven helps Yoosung with his homework, and ends up revealing a side of himself he never planned to! They reference a short story called “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin, a story about a “perfect” society where the happiness of everyone depends on the absolute misery of one child, who is locked away. The others all know about it, and have to choose: save the child or save their own happiness. Most choose their happiness. A few choose to leave for the scary unknown world beyond Omelas. No one tries to rescue the child. Seven sees himself and his brother in this child, and he’s certain his story cannot be rewritten. Will Yoosung help him rewrite the story, or will he become trapped in a fate of his own? That’s going to be the central question of this fic.

He was not sneaky at all, so I had plenty of time to hide the computer screens before he opened the door. I still mentally cursed having to work with an outsider around. Talk about security breach risk!

“Ever hear of knocking?”

“It’s not your office.”

“Not yours either.” Not wanting to look at the kid’s crestfallen face for too long, I asked, “What’s up?”

He held up an envelope. “It’s your payment. Rika left it with me.” Payment? More like my next instructions. My payment was, and always will be, his safety. Not that the kid needed to know that.

“Just leave it by the door. I’ll grab it on my way out.”

I expected him to leave. What I didn’t expect was for him to linger in the doorway, twiddling his thumbs and looking at the floor. I just couldn’t catch a break. “What is it?”

“Well…I was wondering if you could help me.” He pulled what looked like a schoolbook out of his pocket. “I have to read this for English class, but there’s this word I don’t understand, and the back part of my English-Korean dictionary got ruined a while back, and you said you were a genius so I thought maybe you’d know English…” Kid’s face was red. Like red. He would not look me in the eyes. It was honestly adorable, in such an infuriating way! Couldn’t he just leave him alone?

“You ever think of just looking it up on your phone?”

“I tried, but I can’t get internet for some reason.” Oh. That made sense. With the work I was doing, it was no surprise other devices in the house might have an unstable connection. And damn, he looked so pitiful. All over one homework assignment. What a life, huh?

“Oh, hell, you’re just lucky I have some updates to wait on before I can continue this.” That was true. Not that I needed to admit that to him. What the hell was I doing? “Lemme see.”

I cannot remember the last time I saw a smile as bright as his as he rushed toward me. Yeah, no way he was getting that close to the computers. Instead I guided him toward the couch. “Yeah, yeah, quit groveling and let me see the word. Oh, that’s pronounced yoo-tow-pee-uh. It’s like…a perfect place, where no one suffers, like a paradise.” I had a whole history lesson, complete with commentary, on the idea of utopia, but that was probably a bit more information than he needed for his homework.

“Oh thank you! That word was all over the review questions and I couldn’t figure it out! English is hard!” So this is how normal kids learn, huh? I wouldn’t know. I’d learned three languages in two years, and had started two more. The agency needed me to learn a lot of languages so I could hack into international databases. And the agency had a way of making sure their agents understood the importance of learning quickly.

Luckily for me, I absorbed knowledge like a sponge. Both useful things like languages and codes, and useless things like the rise and inevitable fall of “Utopian” societies.

Unfortunately for me, I sometimes lacked the ability to keep my damn mouth shut. Like now. “So, what’re you reading?”

“Oh, uh, it’s called ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.’ It’s American.” Well, now that he’d gone and mentioned one of my favorite foreign short stories, I would certainly have a hard time keeping my mouth shut!

“Ah! I can see why you’d need the word ‘utopia,’ then! Omelas is definitely utopia; it’s clean and bright and everyone is happy, and they get to have festivals all the time! It’s perfect, right?”

“I guess, but what about the kid who has to suffer for all that to exist? And everyone just lets it happen! Even the ones who say they care just leave instead of trying to stop it! Isn’t it horrible?” His lip was quivering. Damn, normal people had such weak stomachs. Couldn’t face the truth.

I didn’t bother to ask him what he would do if he was a resident of Omelas. I knew what he would say, that he would pull some heroic bullshit and rescue the kid, to hell with the fabric of their society. I also knew what he would actually do, had he been raised there. He’d be a good boy and do what his elders told him. He would cry a bit and then forget the manner entirely to protect his own sanity. He was only human, after all, and there was only so much that normal humans untouched by darkness could understand.

But something in me raged when I thought about good boy Yoosung Kim turning a blind eye to the suffering of children like that one, like me, like…him. Children of darkness. My stomach started to twist. All I wanted was for this boy to stay innocent and away from the darkness, so why now did I feel a burning desire to force him to see its ugly face?

“Hey. What would you do if you were the kid?” I leaned in, eager to see what answer he could come up with. When he could give nothing but incoherent stuttering, the dark urge that had suddenly took over me flared up even more.

“Aw, c’mon, think about it! You’re locked up, living in filth and darkness, fed just enough rotten scraps to keep you alive, and everyone who knows about you looks the other way, afraid your suffering is a disease they can catch! Heh. You’re a disease they can catch. Every time someone sees you, you hope they’ll be the one to make it stop, but every time your hope is crushed!”

“What would you do if everyone around you was a terrible person that pushed you into darkness?” I held my breath waiting for his answer.

“Well, I think I’d…I don’t know, try to talk to them? They’re not cruel, they’re just…scared. But if I could promise them I’d look out for them if they look out for me, then they wouldn’t have to be afraid, even if the world did change.” Huh. They were scared, huh? Should’ve tried to comfort them, huh? As they tried to kill me. Pathetic. What did I expect, though? It’s not like the kid’s logic could ever work in my world. There, kids like him got erased.

“And who teaches you to be nice? In fact, who teaches you to talk at all? No one talks to you, down there in the darkness. If you’re going to teach them to be nice to you, you’ve got to learn to be nice first, right? How do you learn to be nice if you’re never shown niceness?” That’s right. No one had taught met to be nice. That’s why I couldn’t be nice to him. He should stay away.

He was trembling under my gaze now, and his eyes were filled with tears. I wondered how long it had been since I had last worn such an expression. Years, at least. Of course, back then, I had actually lived in darkness. This kid was about to break just hearing about it.

“Wh-what would you do?”

“Me?” Wrong question to ask, cutie pie. “I’d become just as evil as my tormentors. No. Not just as evil. More evil. I would watch everything they do and learn to do it far better than they ever could. That’s the only way to take care of yourself in a world like that. Don’t you think?”

His head hung. “I…I couldn’t.”

“Even if everyone let you suffer? Even if no one cared?” He nodded. I was getting angry now. Stop acting like this, kid! Stop saying it’s okay for others to hurt you! Stop being a good boy! Stop acting like him!

He looked into my eyes, and I realized a few things: first, that I had gone way too far. And second, that I had stopped the strict monitoring I always had of my facial expressions. This kid just saw beneath a mask that has fooled criminal masterminds. Why had I let him?

Was it because he reminded me of him?

Before I could turn the whole thing into a sick joke, the boy collapsed in my arms, tears dampening my shirt. All my training and I had no idea how to confront this. The sweet boy that should be protected had fallen apart by my own hand, yet he was still hanging onto me. Why?

He pushed himself up just enough to look at me with his teary eyes. He was way too close, but I’d forgotten how to move. Through his tears, he asked me in a quivering voice, “is that what you did?”

My heart stopped.

He saw me.

He fucking saw me.

Is that what he would ask if he could see me now?

His once perfectly groomed brown hair had started to fall into his face. I reached down and tucked them back. It was all I could do, because I could not yet speak, or even move away. He was so close. His shaky breath on my face was my only air as I drowned in a sea of his violet tears.

Is this what I would do if he confronted me?

No. I couldn’t compare this guy to my brother anymore. Not when he made my breath quicken like this. Not when he made my blood boil like this. Not when I wanted, so terribly…

…to kiss him.

He’d stopped crying. He was staring up at me, waiting for me to make my move. His eyes were so trusting, like he would accept whatever I did. God, how could I have ever wanted to hurt him? How could I want to do anything but protect him?

I was still moving closer, and he was still letting me….

And then there was screeching. What? Oh, right. My computer. The updates were done. That’s right. Rika’s computer. I had a job to do. A dirty job. One that should be kept as far away from innocent guys like Yoosung Kim as humanly possible.

Oh God, what the hell had I just done? Shit, damage control, damage control….

And then my jokester face was back on, my mask once again hiding everything. And with that, my feelings retreated back to whatever realm of hell they had escaped from. I was calm.

“And that’s our English lesson for today! Now run along, kiddo, I’ve got work to do!” I hightailed it out of his face and plopped back down at the desk, my back to him. Poor kid. He was probably so confused. Better that than anything else, though.

“You didn’t answer me. Did you become…evil…to escape evil?” His voice was a terrified whisper. No. We weren’t going there. I was not going to traumatize this poor child anymore.

“Ehhh? C’mon, man, we were just having a hypothetical discussion about utopia! Isn’t that what your teacher wanted? I read those review questions, you know!” Goofy smile, remember to crinkle the eyes. Singsong voice. Dramatic arm flourishes. Perfect.

“It seemed…a bit more….” Nope. It wasn’t. It can’t be.

“Listen kid, you asked for help on your homework. I delivered. That’s all. Sorry if you can’t tell the difference between that and some sort of…I dunno, bonding experience with some guy you just met.” Poor guy would probably take that to heart and beat himself up for it, but it was better this way. He’d hurt far more if he tried to get close to me.

“Oh. I see. Um, thanks. And…I’m sorry for making it weird.” And then he ran from the room, leaving me to finish my work in peace. Thank goodness it was so easy to lose myself in. See, this kind of work is just a series of puzzles, and puzzles follow certain rules. I know all the rules, so no puzzle could keep me stumped for long. But when there’s a good puzzle in front of me, like the one on this computer, I could dedicate myself, body and soul, to the pursuit of victory. And drown out everything else for a while. Like people.

People followed rules too, but there was a lot more variance to account for with people. It’s funny, my safety depends on reducing people to a set of predictable variables, but if I’m honest with myself, a lot of my “predicting” people is educated guesswork, prayer, and waiting for my inevitable failure, and with it, my demise.

When I finished, I put everything back in place like I’d never been here. I picked up the envelope on my way out of the room. Usually I waited until I was home to read these assignments, but annoying thoughts of Yoosung Kim were wandering into my mind, and I really needed my next puzzle to drown those out. I was almost out the back door when I read the contents of the envelope, just one simple sentence, in Rika’s handwriting:

“Keep an eye on him.”

I froze. “Keep an eye” on whom? Surely, she couldn’t mean…

But this job hadn’t involved anyone else for me to “keep an eye on.” And that would explain why she had suddenly left him here with me. But why now? Hadn’t she kept him away from scum like me all these years? Why was she changing all that? What the hell was she playing at?

And if she had chosen to get him involved, what did she plan to do with him?

But I didn’t have the luxury of thinking like that. This was a job. And that job kept my brother safe. I would just have to suck up whatever strange feelings this boy had dragged out of me and do it. I turned away from the back door. I’d go out the front, past that table where I knew he was. Studying like a good boy.

His eyes darted up when he saw me. They followed me as I walked into the room and stood over him. They widened as I made an offer he wouldn’t refuse.

“I’ll tell you my name.”

“R-really?” Immediately his face lit up, as if I hadn’t terrified him a short while ago.

“Yeah. Consider it a peace offering. I can take my jokes too far sometimes, and I’m sorry.”

“Oh, um, I forgive you!” A terrible idea, really.

“I’d…like to forget it and start over. So hear me out. I’ll tell you my name, if you promise never to mention that sick little joke of mine again.” I gave him my brightest smile and held out my hand for him to shake. “What do you say?”

“I, yes! Deal!” He took my hand eagerly, as I figured he would. I gripped his hand so he could not pull away, and before he could protest, I knelt down to whisper in his ear:

“My name is Luciel. I’ll see you around, Yoosung.”

#mystic messenger #mystic messenger fanfiction #yoosung kim #luciel choi #yooseven #yoosung x seven #seven loves dystopian fiction #the ones who walk away from omelas #ursula k le guin #dystopia #dystopian fiction #utopia #high school au

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ispiderdudei · 5 years

Text

Only-part four

prologue part one part two part three part four

dad! Tom Holland x OC

only masterlist

my masterlist

Summary: Tom was living his dream as a rising star in Hollywood for the past six years. Even though it was everything he ever wanted he missed everything that he left behind. His family back in London. His best friend who’s career had also taken off and though they were roomates they never had time for one another. His first love that was torn apart by a dumbass decision. He wished he could take it all back. All the stupid decisions he made in the past that could have been the other way around if he choose the right choice. What happens when he wakes up one day in the life he should have chosen?

warnings: more confusion, a little bit of anger, angst, sad Blythe, blood, mentions of cancer and death, mentions of cheating, a small implication of mental illness but nothing major, overwhelmed Tom (I mean that isn't exactly new)

word count: 4690

authors note: This chapter is long over due and I'm sorry. I’ve spent so long writing and rewriting it. When it comes to things like writing I have to experiment and think about how I want to get to a certain point. This is what took me so long and I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy it and please don’t be afraid to send me an ask. As an author and a blog on Tumblr I want to interact more with my followers. Also, if you want to be added to the taglist let me know.

Tom keeping his word was word about letting the moment lasted as quickly as it came deteriorating due to Harrison who was giving him a hard stare throughout breakfast. Tom guessed he thought it would make him give away he wasn’t who they thought he was. Secrets have never been Tom’s strong suit. Marvel could hardly trust him with spoilers so why should he trust himself with this.

Xio noticed Harrison’s behavior. She stood up clearing her throat, “Babe.”

Harrison made his look soften when making eye contact with his wife,“Yeah.”

She gave him a fake smile, “Can I talk with you for a moment.”

Harrison nodded standing up and following her into the other room. He looked back at Tom nervously before walking into the room, closing the door behind him. Tom’s heart pounded as he stared at the door as if a bomb was about to go off inside of it and it quite literally might with a now pregnant Xiomara.

“Daddy?”

Tom jumped a little taking his focus away from the door and down to the little girl sitting next to him. “Hmm,” he hummed.

“Are you going to eat your strawberries?” She looked up at him with pleading eyes.

Lennon let out a little laugh, “You can have mine. It’s your father’s birthday you can at least let him eat his favorite fruit.” She passed the bowl of fruit to her daughter, “Avoid the blueberries though.”

Tom scrunched his eyebrows at the last part of Lennon’s comment before quickly brushing it off, “No it’s fine. I don’t mind anyways.” He took his spoon scooping the berries onto Blythe plate looking every so often at the door Xiomara and Harrison were behind wondered if she figured something out or not.

“I don’t think staring at it will make their conversation go any faster,” Lennon said as she gave Elian a spoon full of baby rice whipping his face off with a napkin to catch the excess food.

Tom but his lips slightly trying to make conversation less awkward but didn’t help with him cursing himself for not knowing what to say. Instead he just watched her as she helped her son, their son, eat. When she gave him one last spoon full of the rice she placed the bowl down catching eye contact with Tom. He could tell that she knew he felt uneasy about something. Hell, who could blame her, he's been a mess all morning.

“Why have you been acting so weird,” she asked bluntly raising her eyebrows waiting for him to answer.

He made sure not to looked shocked before answering, “I- uh- I-I.” The door clicked making the both of them snap their head towards the couple. Harrison had a look of relief and regret on his face fooled by Xio who looked at Tom widening her eyes a little making him look straight at Harrison. He knew that Harrison fucked up, but that meant that he had to hope she wouldn’t tell her best friend. But the words that came out Xiomara’s mouth were definitely unexpected, “I think that it would be a great idea if Tom and I had a little bonding on the way to Nikki and Dom’s. You know godfather things.”

Lennon’s face scrunched up in confusion and looked in between the three adults before looking back at her best friend, “Just last week you told me the only reason you were just now on decently tolerable terms with him. Now it doesn’t mean not being able to stand being in the room with just the two of you I don’t know what does.”

“Okay, one,” Xiomara held up her finger, “That’s not what I meant your a writer you should know what I mean by saying that.” Lennon only gave her a more confused look and Xio pressed her lips together, “And two…” she trailed off looking at Tom with her face screaming what the hell.

“Xio thought it’d be good if I ride with Blythe and Elian. You know because they can’t get enough of Uncle Haz,” Harrison explained walking over to Blythe crouching down beside her smiling making her let out a giggle.

“Why can’t you just go with Tom and I go with Xio?” Lennon looked overwhelmed slightly by the sudden awkwardness throughout the room. Tom knew Lennon was bound to figure something out sooner or later. She was just too damn smart and it was like that when they were younger too. Tom has made some pretty bad decisions in his life and covering them up wasn’t really his forte. He wants to tell her everything not having to live with the consequences but this wasn’t a perfect world and his normal self isn’t exactly as great as the Tom she knows.

“Lennon, just agree with the new plan and talk to your husband about it later we really don’t have time for this,” Xio said acting annoyed giving Tom a hurry your ass up look.

Lennon picked up Elian from his high chair and watched her friend brought her dishes from the table scrapping access food into the trash can. She looked at Tom and Harrison for answers but only to see them both shrug. “Xio, what do you expect me to do when you throw it on me last minute.”

“You’ll figure it out. Haz isn’t that bad, right bud?” Xiomara asked as she washed the plates off before putting them in the dishwasher.

“Better than you,” he replied jokingly as he picked up the leftovers from the table putting them in glass containers and placing them into the fridge.

The Latina let out an annoyed huff as if she was irritated with her husband making Lennon and Tom laugh exchanging glances. Lennon just shook her head rolling her eyes, “I guess he’s not wrong.”

“Hey, you’re supposed to be my best friend,” Xiomara said raising an eyebrow putting the last dish in the dishwasher.

The brunette shrugged at her friend, “I am, but sometimes you tend to be a witch.”

Tom snorted at his wife’s cover up to calling her friend one thing but really meaning something entirely different. Harrison elbowed him making Tom looks over at him with an oh-come-on look.

“Well let me go get some flying monkeys while I’m at,” Xio commented throwing her hands up as she continued clearing the table. She walked passed Tom whispering, “Got any ruby slippers.”

“Okay,” Harrison said picking up Blythe after putting the last of the leftovers in the fridge, “I think it’s time to head to the Holland’s. What do you say Blythe?”

Blythe shrugged before brushing her fly away curls out of her face, “Only if I get to listen to Trolls.”

“You mean if we listen to trolls,” Harrison asked raising his eyebrows tickling a spot behind her left ear making Blythe burst into a little squill and bursting into another giggle. She continued her childish laugh through the house as harrison carried her out the door and it quickly fading after he opened the door to his front yard.

Blythe followed after him with Elian chewing on a teething toy. She turned glanced back at the both of them shaking her head smiling softly and then continued to head through the door. When it shut Tom looked at Xiomara who had a devilish smirk on her face. It was one you would see on a sibling before they were about to do some to get you in trouble.

Tom gulped, hard, and didn’t try to hide his fear of the woman standing in front of him because he knew she didn’t take bullshit from anyone. His heartbeat was a little too fast due to where his ears were pouding and he had a little bit of a headache. The tension seemed nonexistent to her and that’s what scared him even more so he tried to be the icebreaker to his own edge, “So, um... we should go before the cake is gone.”

She rolled her eyes, “You’re the birthday boy Holland. Now you and I have quit the drive ahead of us.”

Xio was right, the drive was excruciatingly long. It consisted of her rambling in both english and spanish asking more questions than Harrison did about the whole ordeal. He was surprised she didn’t burst into labor from the amount of energy she was using just to talk to him. “So you’re telling me that you just up and left her without even going back.”

“That’s what leaving a significant other tends to mean.” Tom’s said that rather bluntly and it didn’t look like she liked it. “I can tell you know what that’s like. I remember you were about to be engaged… Nora.”

Xio pressed her lips together, “Close, Nara.”

“You don’t have to tell me you know,” he paused, ”It’s hard as it is seeing Lennon again and talking about her was even worse after we broke things off.”

She shook her head shifting in her seat a little bit gripping the wheel a little tighter, “No, it’s fine.”

“So, what happened,” he asked calmly and trying not to make her feel pressured into telling him something as personal as how she ended things with her ex-partner.

“We,” she cleared her throat, “broke things off a year after Lennon and… Tom number one.”

Tom laughed, “Tom number one?”

“Look asshole you're the one who wanted to hear the story,” she stated clearly annoyed.

Tom sighed apologetics, “Sorry, go on.”

“Well, we decided to break things off because our relationship took a down fall when her mother and father separated,” she took a long pause, “Her father was cheating on her mother for ten years with his PA. I suggested we’d take a break. I loved her but she didn’t need me. Yes, most people would say that they should have been there but I knew that she needed time to heal and her mental health was slowly decreasing after she found out. It was hard to see her fall apart so quickly.” Xio’s breath hitched and she bit her lip looking at Tom when she came to a stop at the intersection, “She was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer not long after that which is the worst one. It was hard because she had already gone through so much pain and then she had to take on even more. She was in stage three when she found out and she died six months later.” Tom looked at her sympathetically . A tear rolled down her cheek but she wiped it away quickly, “Lennon had Blythe and you to worry about and she was still there for me when I needed her. Harrison was stubborn enough not to leave me alone and you can guess what happened in the years that followed.”

“Yeah, I never thought you two would get together,” Tom said, letting out a laugh, “I Harrison would have never settled down if I’m being honest.”

“Neither of you expected it when we told you two,” she said looking at him again smiling dreamily. Tom can admit she was very different than what he could remember despite the fact she is pregnant. She was more genuine and seemed more laid back. She had more of a happier persona, a positive attitude you would say. She was generally happy and that made Tom see be happy for his best friend. She didn’t have to tell him that Harrison changed her because everything Tom knew about Xio and his best friend was they were both better people because of each other.

It made Tom wonder what else was affected by him coming back to Lennon. It made him question whether or not that his family was the same. Were his brothers affected by his decision? Was anything he did during his career different?

The thought made him wonder and slightly anxious to get to the planned party for him. He noticed that Xiomara pulled into the same street he grew up on making Tom feel a little more confident about making it through the party. Having something as familiar as his childhood home. It made him happy that his family was still close to him and that was something he lacked before. His brothers and him went their separate ways. They still kept in contact, of course, but they weren’t able to make time for each other.

“Okay moviestar,” she said snapping tom out of his thoughts as she was pulling into the driveway that had cars parked down the block for his party. He was happy because it wasn’t a surprise party and even if his health was at its peak he would have a heart attack or die of shock. She put the car into park, “I think it’s time to celebrate your birthday.”He nodded clicking his seat belt off opening the door taking in the two story townhouse that was active with life and had people coming in and out of the front door. He shut the door on and Xiomara passed by him swiftly, “We are already late and we don’t more attention as is Tom two.”

He trailed behind her like a lost puppy as she opened the front door.

Walking in he was met with the scent of lemon probably from his mother's dust cleaners that she used earlier that day mixed in with the floral smell of the glade sprayer sitting on the dresser. The sound of music from the speaker in the backyard filled the house with base. Tom was hit with nostalgia, but it was nothing new because thats what happened every time he came to his parents’ house.

The music got louder as they both approached the backyard. Tom could see Lennon with a cup in her hand talking to sam who had shorter hair than the sam he knew and had raven haired girl standing next to him. Tom’s gaze shifted towards the girls left hand that was holding her beer bottle that had a simple engagement ring on it. They didn’t see him walk through the door but he heard the familiar voice of his mother, “Tom, darling, what took you so long. Lennon told me that you road here with Xiomara.” She looked back at Harrison’s wife as she walked, more like wabbled, over to her husband.

Tom tensed up slightly. Lying to his mother was a hard thing to do, especially when she could read him, because after all she did raise him. He straightened his posture a little before clearing his throat, “I had to run by Lennon and I’s place really quick and Harrison offered to help her with Blythe and Elian.”

She looked at him tilting her head a little at Tom using his son’s first name making him panic a little. Nikki quickly brushed it off though, “Well, we have waiting for you all to show up and it’s hard to have a birthday party without the guest of honor.” She walked into the house probably getting some sort of appetizer she had in the oven leaving Tom standing by himself yet again.

He put his hands in his pockets approaching his wife and Sam earning a smirk from him, “Well look what the cat dragged in.” “Very funny Sam,” Tom said rolling his eyes, “Too bad you didn’t follow in dad’s footsteps.”

“Bugger, you're right I missed a major opportunity,” He took a sip of his beer, “Speaking of comedy Lennon was just telling us that you are all going to california for Spiderman. Any big plans?”

Tom pressed his lips together tilting his head to side narrowing his eyes while nodding. He looked at Lennon then back to his brother and his fiancé. He shrugged, “You know just the usual. Press and maybe going to the beach.”

“Blythe doesn’t know this yet but we are going to Disneyland for her birthday. Way to hide surprise I’m proud,” Lennon said as she wrapped her arms around his making him flinch a little bit.

“It’s not like its easy for him or anything,” Sam’s girl said. She was american, southern sort of, and her ethnicity was something of asian decent. He wasn’t going to say she wasn’t pretty because she was. It made him want to ask so many questions about the two of them but he couldn’t for obvious reasons.

“Awe, come on Rey give him a break he hasn’t told us what’s going to happen in Spiderman,” Sam's voice was laced with reassurance to tom smiling slightly, “You’ve gotten better big brother.”

Rey hummed, “Don’t worry Tom I won’t be as harsh because it’s your birthday.”

Tom let out a fake laugh, “Okay get it out of your system now. You might want to tell Harry that too.”

“Tell me what,” a deep voice asked from behind Tom making him turn around seeing his other younger brother with his usual camera around his neck.

He walked up next to Tom, “It’s because I’m the only one that doesn’t have a girlfriend.” Rey laughed, “Harry your the only one that hasn’t had a girlfriend.”

“Says the girl who’s dated one other person other than Sam,” Harry shoot back jokingly.

“I’ve dated two more than you have,” she said taking another sip of her beer.

“Okay, you know what Tom and I are going to check on Nikki,” Lennon said gripping Tom’s arm a little bit more than before and trailing her hand down his arm causing Tom to take his hand out of his pocket and intertwined his fingers with hers. The jester made Tom’s stomach form butterflies like he was an awkward teen again. It was more romantic than anything else and it made him feel like he was in a dream more than ever.

He looked at her smiling before nodding and looked back at his brothers and Rey, “Sounds good.”

They both walked off with Lennon leading Tom inside the house to the kitchen area where Nikki was. She had a casserole dish on the stove and was mixing some non alcoholic punch. She looked up and smiled at the two of them, “Well, I’m glad you two found each other.”

“You know he couldn’t get away from me even if he tried,” Lennon said placing her free hand on his forearm.

“Now why on earth would I do that, darling.” The sentence came out a little too naturally for Tom and he shocked himself. He won’t leave her it’s one hundred percent true, but didn’t know if he could prevent it from happening. He loved her still and he didn’t want to go back.

She smiled again kissing his cheek making his face heat up slightly. She let go of his hand walking over to Nikki and Tom could feel the warmth leave. “Is there anything you need us to do?”

“Well, you can save me the trip of bringing the dish on the stove out and get the plates as well,” Nikking grabbed the pitcher of punch patting Lennon on the back.

“Of course we can do that,” she said as Nikki walked past her and Tom to the front porch.

“Thomas dear,” Nikki turned and Tom let out a hum, “Could you cut up the kiwis and put them on the fruit tray that's in the icebox?”

“Of course mum,” he answered, turning his head. He turned back to Lennon who was grabbing the paper plates from the top cabinet. Tom went to the fridge grabbing the container that held the kiwi and placing it on the counter. He grabbed the cutting board and knife hearing Lennon taking the wrapper off of the plates. He turned looking at her then went back to his task. He soon after felt two arms wrap around his waist and he froze.

“You don’t have to stop Tommy,” she said laughing. She kissed his shoulder making him gulp and a guilty feeling forming in his stomach. Even though Tom still loved her he didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. It made him panic but he hid it trying to not give in biting his bottom lip while he put the knife down letting out a deep breath. She shifted over to his side with her arm resting on his lower back turning him to face her.

She smiled up at him resting her hand on his cheek, “You know, I never gave you a kiss today.”

He gulped again, “Well, uh… I’ve had a lot on my mind today.”

“Oh really,” Lennon tilted her head, “‘bout what exactly.” She bit her lip slightly leaning in, well up, making the gap between them a little shorter.

“A-a lot of things,” Tom managed to stutter out as his heart pounded a little more.

“Well,” she breathed leaning in a little more, “Maybe I can take some of those… things off of your mind.” Tom’s breath hitched more and a bit of fear came over him. He couldn’t pull away or turn her down. His mind went to acting like he was teasing her by not kissing her, which made him feel even worse because that was basically another lie. He could also act like a sudden wave of sickness went over him making him have to retreat to the bathroom for a panic attack that was going to happen then and there. The room became hot and Tom could feel the anxiety bubble up inside of him.

All of this happened within a blissful moment of him staring at Lennon, the lost love of his life. He could act like it was normal for him and not think that she was something that came back into his life earlier that morning. He could shake the thought of him maybe waking up to the same life he lived all those years without her the next morning. The air was stiff and the tension wasn’t the sexual or comfortable time. She was probably reading his movements and posture completely different because she still didn’t know anything and that’s what killed Tom the most. The way her big brown eyes stared at him with the love he didn’t deserve and the familiarity mixed with comfort of knowing him, the other him, for so long. The way her eyelashes fluttered reading more than a sweet kiss. More than a gesture of romantic bliss that leads to something much more intimate. It was something Tom thought he wouldn’t have to deal with until later that night.

The moment felt like hours to Tom but it was only a mere twenty seconds in all. His arm slowly wrapped around her waist resting on her hip gently breathing in her scent that was mixed with baby powder and the floral perfume she wore when he knew her, you know before he was a dick to her and broke her heart.

That’s what scared him the most, telling her the truth. About how her completely ditch her after the fight not even giving her a phone call, or sending a text. That’s what made it so hard to stand in front of her right now acting like he didn't do anything to her, but he did and he regretted every fleeting moment he was around her since the moment he woke up realizing he was giving a chance to be with her again.

The speed his thoughts were going was almost too much for him to keep his composer. It was going to be just a kiss, nothing more, nothing less. Just a kiss. A kiss shared with the love of his life and someone he thought about often. Someone that he was lying to. Someone who loved him equally as much if not more. Someone he’s known forever and has been the reason for so much happiness in his life.

Just as he was about to lean in and finally kiss her. Just as he was about to do something he was going to regret. Just as he was going to lean in and put his lips on his the universe sent a sign, well, it sent Blyth. The voice of Blythe. Letting out a cry running into the house. Her face had a little scratch and there were tears streaming down her face. As soon as Tom heard her cry, “Mummy!”

His whole mood changed. The air became more comfortable and the distance between him and Lennon were further apart. It made his panic nonexistent and his anxiety dile down tremendously. Tom let out a deep breath of air as Lennon turned toward the curly hair five-year-old who was crying a little louder than when she walked through the door, “What wrong bird, what happened?” She went down to the little girls eye level taking a cloth from the counter whipping away the tears mixed with very snot and sweat.

Blyth whimpered and her breath was uneven, “I-I-I-I was playing with Tes...” She let out another sniff and Lennon hummed as the girl continued, “A-and I-I tripped…” She let out another cry holding out her leg lifting her skirt showing her mother the cut right below her knee that had blood dripping down her leg, “A-a-and-d I-I f-fell on t-to the rock-k-s-s. A-an-nd-d I-”

She burst into more tears.

Tom gave the girl and Lennon a sympathetic look slightly wishing the universe didn’t help him like this. It alarmed him slightly how much Blythe was crying about a cute and it made him have a sense of protectiveness. He felt awkward just staring at the two of them and he squatted down next to Lennon lifting his hand brushing the curls that had fallen in front of her face.

“You wait here with her I’m gonna go get the first aid kit,” Lennon said standing back up putting the cloth down walking away from Tom and Blythe.

Tom let out another sigh looking back at the little girl in front of him who was a little more calm. She let out another small cry, “It hurts.”

“I know, but next time you need to be more careful, yeah,” he raised his eyebrows and she nodded in response looking down avoiding eye contact. What was he supposed to say. His first instinct was to comfort her and that wasn’t exactly something he knew how to do. In fact he had no idea how to act. He knew he couldn’t curse or do anything that would hurt her more which made him feel even more stupid for thinking of that because it was a given. All he could think of to do was just reassure her saying things like, “it’s gonna be okay,” to “you have nothing to worry about.”

Lennon came back moments later with the kit in one hand and a hydrogen peroxide bottle in the other. She sat in front of the girl again, “Can you lift your skirt a little Blythe so I can see how bad it is?” The young girl nodded bunching up the green fabric and pulling it up a little above her knee revealing the source of the blood. Lennon let out a sigh of relief, “It’s on her shin that’s why it bleeding so much. Don’t worry little bird you're going to be okay.”

As Tom watched Lennon tend to Blythe the moment they shared before never left his mind. He wanted it to happen again, yes, but he never wanted to feel the way his chest clenched from the guilt and fear that was bubbling up inside of him. Thought made him hope it could happen when he wasn’t lying to her face and making her think he was someone he wasn’t. All he wanted was for her to forgive him and accept the mistakes he made. It made the thought of the rest of the day go through his mind and he told himself to take on one challenge at a time. Not wanting to lie to himself and think that there was nothing to panic about because thats all he could think about, what was going to happen next.

taglist: @let-me-luve-you @lemondropirwin @afterglowparker @mybitchborky @theamuz @underoos-shield

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yurtletheturtlehenderson · 5 years

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S.T REWRITE - S1:E6; Chapter Six, The Monster - [Pt. 3 - FINAL PART]

A Will Byers x Reader Series

With Eleven gone, Y/n struggles to keep the party together. Elsewhere, Hopper and Joyce uncover the truth about the lab’s many experiments.

Managed to pause it at the right time

||3rd Person POV|| "She was part of some study in college." Becky, who had now properly introduced herself to the duo, was sitting at the kitchen table with Joyce and Hopper with her sister Terry still in the adjoining room. "MK Ultra?" Hopper had remembered the name popping up several times on the many newspaper clippings and articles they had at their disposal. "Yeah, that's the one." Becky said bleakly, taking a puff of her cigarette and then quickly exhaled. "Was, uh, started in the '50s. By the time Terry got involved, it was supposed to be ramping down, but the drugs just got crazier. Messed her up good." Hopper remained leaning back in his chair, a concentrated frown stuck in his features. "This was the CIA that ran this?" Becky smiled and softly chucked, motion to the man slightly. "You and Terry would've gotten along. 'The Man,' with a big capital 'M'. They'd pay... you know, a couple hundred bucks to people like my sister, give 'em drugs, psychedelics. LSD, mostly." As Becky spoke, Hopper and Joyce shared an equally concerned look. "And then they'd strip her naked and put her in these isolation tanks." Joyce frowned. "Isolation tanks?" "Yeah. These big bathtubs, basically, filled with salt water, so you can float around in there." She made subtle swaying motions with her hand as she spoke. "You lose any sense of, uh... sense and feel nothing, see nothing. They wanted to expand the boundaries of the mind. Real hippie crap." Joyce was still hanging onto every word with a genuine look of concern. "I... I mean, it's not like they were forcing her to do any of this stuff. The thing is, though, is that she didn't know she was pregnant at the time." "Jane." Joyce said in immediate understanding. Becky nodded and took another puff of her cigarette. Joyce sighed in amazement, before asking. "Do you have any pictures of her?" Becky gave the two an odd look. "I don't think you guys understand. Terry miscarried in the third trimester." +++ "She keeps all of this up. Been doing it for 12 years." Becky had just led the two into the untouched baby room at the end of the hallway. She took a seat on the arm of the chair in the corner of the room as Joyce and Hopper came in and examined the room in curiosity. "Terry, uh, pretends like Jane is real," Hopper approaches the hanging mobile and gives it a light touch sending it spinning slowly and triggering the mechanics so now it plays a haunting lullaby. "like she's gonna come home someday." The mobile continues playing the lullaby as Becky speaks, giving the atmosphere a chilling tone. "Says she special. Born with 'abilities'" 《•••》 Eleven stood to her feet and before they could close the steel door, she threw the door open along with one of the men straight into the tile wall. He fell to the floor, leaving a large hole in the tile 《•••》 "Abilities?" Joyce contorted her face in confusion and surprise. Becky looked to Joyce as she exhaled the smoke that previously resided in her lungs. 《•••》 The second man spared a second to look before turning to her to try and restrain her. Before he could even step foot in the room, he was dead on floor, his neck snapped. All with the flick of her head. 《•••》 "You read any Stephen King?" Becky quipped. 《•••》 The cat began snarling, and it quickly turned to whimpers of pain. Eleven was freely crying now as she looked between the frightened cat and Papa. She gave one final look at the cat before yanking the wires off her head in defeat. 《•••》 Hopper shifted uncomfortably and looked to Joyce who looked equally unsettled. Becky chuckles. "You guys look scared, actually." She laughed once more before shaking her head slightly. "I mean, it's all make-believe" Joyce clears her throat uncomfortably, trying to regain her composure. "What... what kind of abilities?" Becky stares off into space as she recalls the claims made by her sister and begins listing them off casually. "Telepathy, telekinesis..." 《•••》 A shrill shriek erupts from Eleven's throat and Lucas Sinclair is thrown back several feet in the air. His body slides a few feet on the ground until it crashes into a nearby piece scrap metal knocking him unconscious. 《•••》 "You know, shit you can do with your mind. That's why the big, bad Man stole Jane away." 《•••》 "Papa!" She screamed her throat raw as the men dragged her away, yet as always Papa did nothing. 《•••》 "Her baby's a weapon, off fighting the commies. You know, the doctor's all day it's a coping mechanism. You know, to deal with the guilt. Hell, she even believes that she still could have done something. Shortly before she got, you know pretty bad, she started muttering about, uh, something about how there was more she could have done." Becky frowned as she recalled the memory and seeing her sister so frantic. Hopper frowned at this, silently encouraging her to continue. Becky shrugged. "According to Terry, there was another woman like her. You know, who was pregnant during all the experiments. I don't know what happened, or if it was even true, but she seemed pretty convinced. Said this woman had her baby and even got her out somehow." Hopper perked up at this, recalling the many mentions of the "missing experiment" and wondered if there was any connection. "Are you saying there was another kid?" "According to Terry. You couldn't convince her otherwise if you had tried." A sympathetic smile crossed Becky's face as she recalled the memory. "She would go on about all the whispers she'd claimed to have heard. Apparently, the woman had her baby but got away before they could take 'em, and only the child supposedly survived. This baby by the way, who was supposed to have some sorta" Becky's face scrunched up in distaste as she told the made up stories of her sister, clearly uncomfortable with the idea and she made big gestures with her hands. "'untapped potential for the greater good'. Some real messed up pseudoscience shit and when she supposedly 'got away' the big, bad Man did not like it and killed the woman and they were comin' for Jane next. And the rest, well" she shrugged her shoulders. "Well, do you think there is any chance she could have been telling the truth?" Becky only gave her a look. "About having had Jane, at least. Or even the other woman?" Joyce stammered. "Well, as for the possibility of another woman being pregnant during all that isn't exactly impossible given it happened to Terry so I never really ruled that possibility out I guess, but as far as Jane? There is no birth certificate, nothing from the hospital. Doctors and nurses all confirm that she miscarried." Hopper who had very seriously been contemplating all this finely spoke up. "Yeah, but that could've been covered up. Right?" Becky smiled and shook her head. "Like I said, you and Terry would've gotten along." ||Reader's POV|| "El!" "Eleven!" "Eleven!" "El!" "El!" The boys and I had been wandering around the woods by Mirkwood for almost a half an hour now. My fingers were beginning to hurt from the brisk icy air. I was clutching the handles of my bike as I walked it through the woods. "El?" I called desperately. No answer, of course. I stiffen when I hear a twig snap in the distance. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one who heard it. "Hey, stop. Do you hear that?" Mike said lowering his voice. "What?" Dustin asked quietly. We were all standing still until Mike began turning around, attempting to protect his voice as far as he could. "El!" Nothing. "El?" "Shit." I began backing away on instinct when I see the all too familiar pair of bullies quickly approaching us. They looked mad. Troy, specifically. He had his hood over his head as he charged up the small hill into view. "Hey, there, Frogface. Toothless. And who could forget little miss bitch." Troy hissed, whipping out his pocket knife. "Shit! Run, guys, run!" Dustin shouted, throwing his bike to the ground. "Run! Come on!" I quickly followed suit and the three of us dashed off into the woods. I was going as fast as my legs could possibly carry me. Never stopping, I spared a glance behind me only to lock eyes with Troy. The look in his eyes terrified me. "You're dead Henderson!" I whipped my head forward and I put everything I had into going faster. "Run, [Y/N], come on!" Dustin yelled. Soon enough, I felt my legs turn to led and my lungs were bone dry. Mike was now in lead. We made it to the quarry when Dustin began slowing down and let out a gasp of pain. "Cramp!" He exclaimed, clutching his side. "Just keep going!" Mike called over his shoulder. He continued running but he let out a groan. "Keep going!" Troy was right on our heels, just when we thought we might lose him we saw his goon around the corner in front us. This is it. We're trapped. We all shared the same thought and picked up the closest thing to ourselves and held them up as weapons. Dustin grabbed a rather sharp stick and Mike grabbed a large stone. With little to no options left I decided to take a page out of Dustin's book. Only there were no more sticks so I grabbed a nearby tree branch. It was thin and relatively small for a tree branch but it would have to work none the less. Instinctively, I grab it by both hands and snap it half using my leg. Casting aside the weaker piece, left me with a now very sharp make shift spear. I grasped the "spear" with both hands and held it out in front of myself protectively, blowing a few strands of loose hair from my face. "Stay back." Troy didn't listen and stepped closer. "I SAID STAY BACK!" I roar. I saw him flinch. I smiled very slightly to myself, proud that I had intimated him for once. They began circling us like vultures. "Don't come any closer!" Mike yelled. I had an eye on Troy who was just as focused on me. I didn't trust him enough to look away. Yet, upon hearing a grunt and the clatter of the stone, I was worried Mike or Dustin got hurt and out of instinct I looked. "Nice throw, numbnuts." Mike had thrown the stone but mis- I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and I collapsed to the ground. "[Y/N]!?" I groaned and I tried sitting up but my vision was blurry and moving seemed like an impossible feat. I groan in pained and I seemed to drift in and out of consciousness, unable to do anything. I thought I heard my name called a few times and I could have sworn that I felt a pair of hands trying to shake me awake. I only groaned and put all my energy into opening my eyes but then I saw it. The rock that hit me. It was slightly larger than my fist and it was it had a few splatters of blood. The sight weakened me and I groaned and rolled over on my side. My left arm became a pillow for my bleeding head. The next thing I heard was yelling. I could tell it was from Dustin. "YOU SON OF BITCH!" He then let out and a fierce scream and then I heard the sound of scuffling. I wanted to do something, but I was still too dizzy. "Get off! Get off me! Don't hurt her!" I gathered all the strength I could muster and look up to my brother. That bastard. He had my brother. He was holding my brother hostage with his knife to my brother. "G-Get away from-!" I began to stand up only for my knees to buckle and I tripped over my own two feet and stumbled to the ground once more. This time I could feel the sting of the gravel digging into my palms and all the blood rush to my head. It was too much for me and I couldn't stop myself from slipping into unconsciousness. +++ "Dentist's office opens in five!" 'What?' My limbs felt like they were made of less once more, even my eyelids were heavy, they felt impossible to open. I made out distorted shouts. "Four!" 'Whatever is happening I know it's bad.' "Three!" 'Come on, wake up!' "Two!" My eyes began to go flutter open. "Mike!" I made out Mike's figuring standing on a ledge. Why was he looking like he was gonna- Shit. 'What the hell? No! No, you idiot, no!' Putting everything I had I sat up, my vision slowly but surely returning as well as my strength. "Mike-" I said weakly. "One!" But it was too late. In one swift motion he stepped off the ledge and disappeared. "Mike!" I cried out. Three boys looked shocked and ran to the ledge. 'No. No! No, he- No! What the hell happened?! How did everything go so wrong so quickly?' I choked on a sob, which made my head throb. But I didn't care. Now I really felt nauseous. I placed both my hands over my mouth and silent tears fell down my cheeks. "Holy shit." Dustin said. I sniffled and looked to the boys. Why weren't they freaking out more? That's when I heard it. It was Mike. It was distant, but it was Mike. I wanted to say something but I was still in shock. I didn't know where to begin. 'Is it Mike? Is he okay? Why did he jump? Why aren't you guys freaking out?' I wanted to say all those things but nothing came out. My heart leaped when I heard him shriek and for a second I thought he might be falling again but then... "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" I couldn't believe what happened next. But sure enough there he was. Floating upside down, up over the cliff and landed safely on the ground behind me. I stared in shock. We all did. "Am I still unconscious?" Thought out loud. Naturally, Mike was just as confused as we were, he wore the same expression as I did when he made eye contact with me. But then all my questions were answered when Mike's gaze shifting behind me. There she was in all her glory. El. She had abandoned the wig but remained in the same old dress and jacket Mike had given her. Only now they were covered in dirt, as was her face. Her head was tilted down and she stormed up the group. A huge grin found it's a way onto my face and an excited and relieved laugh left my mouth as she approached us. James and Troy began stomping towards her when suddenly, without warning James was knocked back with incredible force. I looked to El knowing it was her doing, then suddenly she flicked her head to the side and I heard a rather disgusting snap followed by Troy crying out in pain. He clutched his right arm and dropped his knife in the process. I felt an arm extend itself to me, it was Dustin, who was helping me stand up. I gladly took his arm and wobbled to my feet. "She broke my arm! My arm!" "Serves you right asshole." I spit. Quite literally in fact. I spit in his direction making sure he caught the gesture. He was too busy being afraid to retaliate and he looked to El, cowering. "Go." She stated threateningly. "Let's get out of here! Let's go!" Troy screamed. James was quick to follow. "Go!" Dustin left my side and chased after them, taking the opportunity to taunt them which I rather enjoyed seeing. "Yeah, that's right! You better run!" Me and Mike look gleefully at one another. "She's our friend and she's crazy! You come back here and she'll kill you! You hear me? She'll kill you, you sons of bitches! She'll kill you, you hear me?" I looked to El happily when I noticed she looked rather pale. Suddenly she collapsed. We all surrounded her, worriedly. "El, you alright?" I asked. "El?" She made eye contact with Mike and began sobbing. "Mike... I'm sorry." "Sorry? What are you sorry for?" She choked back another sob. I frowned and hissed in pain slightly. My hand went to the back of my head, silently inspecting the wound as I listening to El. "The gate... I opened it. I'm the monster." My hand left my wound, and I felt another wave of dizziness wash over me and I knelt down on the ground. Not wanting to interrupt her but also avoiding the possibility of falling over. "No. No, El, you're not the monster. You saved me. Do you understand? You saved me." Mike pulled her up and into a hug. I smiled at the sight and leaned in joining hug. Normally I would let them have their moment but given that Mike was almost just killed and things could have been a lot worse, I didn't care and went in for it. Dustin apparently had the same idea and I felt his arms wrap around me and Mike and El. And we stayed like that for as long as we could. At that moment we were just four friends who were lucky enough to have found each other. And thank God we did. +++ Eventually, of course, we got up and decided to grab our bikes and to the gate. Hopefully, find Lucas and convince him to help. I feel awful for letting him go alone. Once again, Dustin helped me to my feet to which I thanked him for. I gave a reassuring smile to my brother. But his face contorted in shock and worry as he looked at me. "What?" "[Y/N], your face. You've got... you're- Dude your face is covered in- veins? What the hell? [Y/N], are you sure you're okay? You got hit pretty hard and you were pretty out of it." I frowned, tracing my fingers around my cheeks in confusion. "I'll be fine. I'll have to be, finding Will and getting Lucas back is more important. Which is why we need to get moving. Come on, we better hurry if we want to get s head start. We still have to get our bikes back." I said, leading the way back from where we were chased. I didn't want to show them how uncomfortable I was. I didn't want to show weakness so I trek on. Despite the tingling sensation I felt throughout my entire body and the sense of dizziness that had made its return once more. 'I'm not and an idiot. I know that weird, unexplainable things have been happening to me but I honestly have no idea how to process all this so for now, all I can afford to worry about is Will.’ That's all that matters now. +++ We eventually found out bikes and were currently returning from the woods through one of the park fences. We were all walking our bikes across the patch of grass, save for El of course, when I the familiar sense of being watched returned for the second time today. Only this time, it put me on edge and left me paranoid. At the risk of worrying the group, I kept this to myself. Oh, what a mistake that was.

+++

Tag List: @fuckwaad @aimee-lucass

DM me if you want to be added!

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getallemeralds · 5 years

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Fix-it Leo: Katie / KG

welcome to something im tenatively calling “fix-it leo”, where i take my really old OCs and try to make sense of them! i’ve previously done this with Shadowy, which you can read here. seeing as im redrawing & “bringing back” a few other old ocs i figured id make this a series of talking about things! unlike the Shadowy one this doesnt have pictures beyond the initial ref bc i dont want to murder my hand and im also not sure how to draw some of this

today’s subject: Katie! also known as KG.

KG’s from 2010-ish, so some time after Shadowy but before the Shattered Worlds rework. to be as specific as possible, he’s from a RP setting that people that have known me closely have at least heard mentioned, if not seen snippets of it outright: KL, the massive crossover including any character and setting me & my friends wanted to RP.

as a self-insert character in crossover hell, Katie is VERY weird.

it was really hard for me to find info on Katie, because i actually had a bunch of OCs using that name that were my direct self-inserts for RP & story purposes both in and outside of KL. the unifying idea was that he was kinda just Me but in a fictional universe... and, apparently according to what info i DID find, all of the various Katies were. actually the same person, just in various conflicting situations with various conflicting backstories? so me stitching it all together got kinda weird. i did find a starting point though, so, uh... here we go!

as a general overview, Katie is pretty much just me. autistic, ADHD, likes videogames and art, bad social anxiety conflicting with desperately needing validation from everyone around him. he also has a very short temper and no volume control, which was usually a comedy thing but could also lead to him lashing out and doing/saying things he regrets, mostly hurting his friends. as a result he was kinda unpopular in his hometown... except for a small handful of friends he went to school with.

one night, he decides to go camp out with his friends to watch a meteor shower cause hes pretty fascinated by comets & shit like that. one of his friends, Elson, was acting pretty weird about it but Katie’s too excited to take much note of it up until the meteor shower “starts early” and Elson runs off into the woods. confused and startled, he gives chase. then, uh, the fucking apocalypse happens.

a lot of plot happens that im skipping over bc this is gonna be long enough as it is, but it gets revealed that Elson is actually an incognito alien named Elohim and an alien invasion is happening and wiping out civilization, and Katie is just. running out of sanity. being a main character SUCKS. he has a tragic backstory now, his friend (who he kind of had a crush on?) is an alien and is partially responsible for his tragic backstory, they join a rebellion after confirming “yeah your family’s dead as hell” and go to space, and finally find out that the leader of the aliens got a case of “jewelry makes you evil”.

they save the day obvs, with the help of some other people they ran into, and Katie has a moment of “well, fuck” bc his hometown is still extremely exploded and his family is still extremely dead and he’s like .5 miliseconds away from a mental breakdown. he then has a conversation that goes roughly like this:

person that helped them bust out of alien jail: hey, i think i know someplace you can stay katie: my house exploded person: cmon trust me

and then it turns out that that guy is actually Ninten and he’d just helped save the world with a fictional character, and before he has any opportunity to go “wait, what” he gets pulled through a portal by him and ends up somewhere totally different. more specifically, he’s now in the Earthbound universe, and his brain is going “[dial up noises]” a whole lot bc its not like his life was weird ENOUGH now he’s just... ditched his home reality??? with Ninten’s help??? and Ninten’s taking all of it in stride and ends up explaining the multiverse to him and that he’s one of the guys who ended up with the ability to worldhop and had stopped by Katie’s universe because he knew the possessed alien guy. he’s also apparently used to having to help people acclimate to massive paradigm shifts caused by multiversal fuckery.

so Katie’s just kinda trying to wrap his head around this, but takes Ninten up on his offer to go get to meet people and he goes to the Nowhere Islands! which was like, basically the hub location of KL. and then things get EXTRA surreal for Katie, because like... he used to write fanfic, and come up with story ideas that he daydreamed about a lot before everything exploded, and he bumps into Kurousu who is his OC. and there’s a lot of “UHHHH”-ing but he plays it off and befriends her, and its finally starting to sink in that yeah, he’s hanging out in this super weird crossover reality now, and he tries to make the most of it!

then some... weird things start happening. Tank, Joseph, and Vince make a jump to the Persona universe to do some plot stuff and run into Katie there, where he’s apparently joined SEES? except the last time they’d seen him, he’d been acting as a lackey to one of the arc villains because of a FMian from the Megaman universe screwing with him and taking advantage of his trauma to create a “new” Gemini Spark. and they start to write it off as “well i guess he’s like Tails where there’s some AUs of him running around” except... he recognizes them each time? but looks different and has different backstories and nothing really adds up. the next time a protagonist sees him, it’s Artemis post-getting turned into a Nobody finding Katie’s Nobody, Teixak, who apparently was very excited about getting to meet Roxas... despite, according to himself, having been living in Twilight Town for as long as he could remember. while also being very aware and very confused that that contradicts everything else about him.

teixak: eeee you mean i get to meet roxas?! he’s my favourite kingdom hearts character!! >w< rasemtix: ...you do realize you just told me youre from this universe, right? you were just explaining to me about how you lived here with leixand until the shadows attacked you two and stole your hearts. teixak: eh..? hm. ............Hm. but.... hm.

meanwhile on Katie’s end of things, he gets his heart stuffed back in his body and he reconciles with his externalized FMian-induced evil side and various other things from various other worlds, but everything feels weird and disjointed. he remembers attending school at Gekkougan, but also remembers living in Echo Ridge, but also remembers Twilight Town, but also remembers living in a boring world that got invaded by aliens where also all of this was just videogames and books and animes and OCs. and then things start getting weirder for him. he makes a joke to Artemis about “hey, remember when we got in a big fight cause i hit you with a sign?” and he doesn’t remember it. he teases Ninten about something personal and Ninten freezes up and asks him how he knows that, and Katie gets confused because he told him. he has an even more personal talk with T1, and then has the same talk later but with slightly different words. and it’s starting to look like it’s not just “various Katies”, it’s Katie also dealing with various... varieties of everyone else, and he’s pretty much spinning a wheel on “what version of events am i in today?”

he finally gets an answer after a while-- something went really weird and really wrong when Ninten first brought him into the KL multiverse. the Katie that told Gomess about the Andromeda Key is the same Katie that joined SEES is the same Katie that got his heart stolen is the same Katie that got rescued from an apocalypse, but he’s sort of... existing simultaneously in different realities with slight “adjustments” to his personal history depending on what universe he’s encountered in. he also exists “outside of canon”, so some of the weirder memories he has are from rewrites or scrapped plotlines or noncanon moments that sometimes clip into canon when theyre not supposed to. apocalypse!Katie is the “primary”/original Katie, and that’s where all his weird meta knowledge comes from.

it’s... really confusing, and nobody really “gets” it, least of all Katie himself. he just knows that he’s ended up with a bunch of cool powers, although he’s not really sure what he’s doing and has been a villain at least two universes. he also has a severe case of main character-itis (hence getting a Persona, getting his heart stolen, etc), and still isnt sure how to tell if he’s interacting with the “canon” versions of everybody or not. he’s at least unable to cause weird bizarre paradoxes by interacting with himself; trying to visit one of the universes he has an “echo” in just causes a perspective switch to the resident Katie. Katie also has access to all of his abilities as long as he’s not in a universe with a resident Katie; apocalypse!Katie has no abilities at all, starforce!Katie only has his FMian transformation, kh!Katie can only use his Keyblade, etc. this only starts being a thing after he “clicks” with his new existence.

he also has various outfits and aesthetics depending on universe, with the one i drew being his “outside canon“/default one. he gets cat ears! and Outsider eyes. Katie also has a bad habit of stealing things from universes he visits, and as a result has a collection of random things that he really shouldnt.

#txt #leo chirps #leos ocs #fixit leo #oc: KG

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chasholidays · 6 years

Note

White Christmas AU with Bellarke being Bob and Betty and Linctavia being Phil and Judy!! Thanks!!

Bellamy didn’t like the Hollywood idea from the beginning.

He gets why it was appealing to Octavia, of course; Octavia’s always had big dreams and ambitions, always talked about making enough money to leave Arcadia and her family home behind. And it wasn’t as if he didn’t understand. Octavia barely knew her father, never got much of an education on the importance of the family estate. Not that Bellamy remembers it that well either, but he liked Octavia’s father, and he loves the house.

But Octavia’s selling it off to some heartless Hollywood producer, and getting married to another one. She’s set, clearly. She doesn’t need him. And he doesn’t need her.

Miller meets him at Penn Station, takes one look at him, and says, “So, booze?”

Bellamy snorts. “Nice to see you too.”

Miller grew up in Arcadia, but unlike Bellamy, he left after high school. The two of them have stayed close, though, and while Miller always said come to New York any time you want, Bellamy knows he wasn’t really expecting it to happen with so little notice.

“You texted me to say you were leaving Arcadia effective immediately and needed a place to crash,” Miller says, confirming his suspicions. “Clearly some shit went down.”

He rubs his face. “Yeah, you know what? Booze sounds great.”

They end up at some dive bar near Miller’s place, and Miller lets him get two drinks in before he says, “So, let me guess, something happened with your sister.”

“She found out about some TV show doing location scouting, looking for a place like ours. They weren’t actually going to look out here, but O called in a favor with–” He waves his hand. He understands the nitty gritty details of how his sister got Indra to get in touch with Lincoln, but it’s not that relevant, to tell the truth. “Some producers. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. She got them up to look at the house and–” He swallows hard. “I thought they liked it. They seemed, uh–they seemed good.”

“Dude,” says Miller, and Bellamy flips him off.

“Yeah, shut up. One of them, Clarke–” He sighs. “We hit it off. I thought she got it, you know? She studied art history, she loved the property, it seemed like she was really into it, by the end.”

“By the end?”

In spite of himself, Bellamy smiles. “You know me. I never get along with anyone I didn’t kind of want to murder at first.”

“Yeah, that sounds right. So, you fell for some Hollywood producer and she screwed you over? Come on, you must have seen that one coming.”

He scrubs his face again. “Yeah, it sounds obvious now. I wasn’t planning to, but–she was cool. I liked her. And O liked Lincoln, and I thought–it seemed like it was going to be good. Like shit was finally going our way, for once.”

“But she screwed you over.”

“She told us she wanted to use the house for the show, and then I heard her on the phone talking about all the changes she needed to make. The exterior isn’t period-appropriate, the servant quarters are–something, I don’t know. They’re planning to redo the whole place, and O is fucking engaged, so–whatever. I’m happy for all of them. It worked out for everyone but me.”

“So you caught a bus to New York without telling anyone where you were going?”

“Who says I didn’t tell anyone?”

“Your sister has my number, she was texting me. Apparently, they’re worried.”

“They’ll be fine,” he says, poking the ice in his cocktail with his straw with more force than is really warranted. “She’s been telling me for years I need to get a life of my own, she should be happy. She finally pushed me out of hers.”

“Come on,” says Miller, mild. “I don’t know what happened, but I know that’s not right. Maybe your sister’s done with the house, I’m not sure, but she doesn’t want you to never talk to you again. She’s worried. You should talk to her.”

He’s been ignoring his sister’s texts, which is admittedly petty, but he’s pissed.

The thing is, the Blake House is Octavia’s. When his mother married her father, Bellamy got the man’s last name, and even his affection, but he was never a part of the family. He left the house to Octavia, and just because Bellamy loved it more than she ever did, that didn’t make it his. And she always seemed to feel like that was a reason he shouldn’t help, that she was imposing on him.

It’s hard to not feel resentful that she just decided to give the place up, without even asking him. To say nothing of Clarke, who said all the right things about how much she loved the house, how perfect it was, lied right to his fucking face as he was starting to–

He keeps on ignoring Clarke’s texts, but he does open up the messages from his sister.

Octavia: Hey where r u??You’re missing the partySeriously are you okay???What the fuck BellYou left a NOTEWHO RAISED YOUWHY ARE YOU LIKE THISOVERDRAMATIC ASSHOLETEXT ME BACKfucking NEW YORK

It shouldn’t make him smile, but it does. He is kind of an overdramatic asshole, even if he feels justified, in this particular case. He did still leave for New York without telling anyone, in the middle of his sister’s engagement party.

It might not have been his finest moment.

Me: new phone who dis

Octavia: BELLAMY BRADBURY BLAKE

Me: Sorry OI know it was a dick moveBut it’s your life, and you’ve got it sorted outI’m really happy or youBut I need to do my own thing

Octavia: WHY

Me: You’re selling the house, so it’s not like I have anything to do thereI’m not saying I’m going to stay in New York for the rest of my lifeBut I couldn’t be thereI really am sorry

Octavia: Someday they will write a definite history of dumbassesAnd you will get an entire chapter to yourselfBellamy Blake: Peak Dumbass

Me: ThanksAlways love getting kicked when I’m downHope the TV thing goes wellDon’t tell me what they do to the house

He turns off the phone and looks back at Miller; he doesn’t know exactly what his expression looks like, but all Miller does is wordlessly slide him another drink, so it must be pretty bad.

“Thanks,” he says, and Miller shrugs.

“Any time.”

He doesn’t really want to live on Miller’s couch for the rest of his life, so he is, at some point, going to have to come up with a plan, a real one, beyond just “get the fuck out of dodge.” He hadn’t trusted his self control if he’d stayed there, but he also can acknowledge he was kind of a diva.

And, okay, storming out on his sister’s engagement party was, to put it mildly, a dick move.

But that just makes it harder to think about going back. He’d be returning to Arcadia with his tail between his legs, admitting he had overreacted, and trying to be an adult about the whole thing.

Which wouldn’t be the worst life choice, but it’s not a choice he’s planning to make. He’s regrouping here and possibly never going back until he’s rich and successful and over it.

Or a better plan that he comes up with in a few days, when he’s feeling a little less righteously indignant.

He’s doing pretty well with wallowing, imposing on Miller’s hospitality, and failing to come up with a clear life plan when Octavia shows up. Which, in retrospect, he should have seen coming. She knew Miller’s address, and she’s pissed at him.

What he wasn’t expecting was for her to have Clarke with her.

“I don’t know what the fuck you think happened,” says Octavia, “but we’re going to figure it out.”

Clarke’s looking awkward and uncomfortable, and he feels a vicious stab of triumph. She should feel bad. She lied to him.

“What’s to figure out? You guys made a deal. Clarke gets to do whatever she wants with the house, and you get to marry Lincoln and stop worrying about it. It’s not our responsibility anymore, right? Just like you wanted.”

“That’s not what happened at all. Holy shit, Bell, I’m not selling, and Clarke’s not doing anything to the site.”

“You sure about that?”

Clarke’s jaw works, but just for a second. He can actually see her working to get her temper under control, and then she says, “Of course she’s sure. What I don’t understand is why you think I’m suddenly the enemy.”

“Because I heard you! I heard you on the phone with whoever your boss is, talking about how the exteriors wouldn’t work and the location was fine but everything else needed to be scrapped. I got it, okay? Loud and clear.”

Clarke opens and closes her mouth a few times, but it’s Octavia who regains her voice first. “Is that true, Clarke?”

“I did say all those things,” she says, slowly. “But not how you think.”

“How many ways are there to say that?”

“I love the house so much we’re changing the show. My boss was trying to tell me it would work, but the period’s wrong. We need to make changes. It’s not hard, at this point, changing the script, moving the time period back a couple decades. But we’re not scrapping the house. The house is perfect.”

It’s always hard, when righteous, justified indignation deflates, and he feels it happening as he watches Clarke.

“You’re rewriting the show to keep the house?” he finally asks.

“It’s a great house.”

“It is.”

“I had no idea you were listening.”

“I wasn’t doing it on purpose. Just passing through and heard you talking.”

Her smile is all fond exasperation. “And you couldn’t have asked me?”

“I thought everything you’d ever said to me was a lie,” he shoots back. “I didn’t really want to hang around so you could lie to me more.”

“If you just come back, I can show you the contracts,” she says. “I’ll be the onsite producer, and you’ll be there to okay everything. Octavia’s putting you in charge.”

“I know you love that house more than I do,” Octavia adds. “And it’s not like I care about staying there. I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out you could take the house and I could be the one to leave, but I thought it was my responsibility.”

“It’s ours,” he says. “But yeah. You can trust me to take care of it.” He swallows hard. “So you’re telling me if I’d waited around for a couple hours, I would have found out I was getting everything I wanted.”

“Like I said, your own chapter in the book of dumbasses.”

“You’re the one who asked Lincoln to fake an engagement because you thought it would set a good example for Bellamy,” Clarke shoots back, and his sister goes red.

“Jesus Christ, O, what?”

“You should be settling down!”

He rubs his face. “How about we both just stop worrying about what the other one is doing and just live our own lives, okay? That sounds a lot easier.”

“Okay. But your life is in Arcadia, right? You’ll come back and stop eating Miller out of house and home?”

“I’m not eating Miller out of anything.” He steals a glance at Clarke, sees she’s smiling a little. “But yeah, I’ll come back.”

“So, uh, I’m not ready to propose or anything,” Bellamy tells Clarke, the next time they’re alone. He’s been practicing the speech in his head since they left New York, and it doesn’t exactly feel good, but he’s ready to get it over with. “But I wanted to make sure you knew that you staying here, that’s part of everything I wanted. You still in my life. I didn’t need a role model to know that.”

Her smile is the softest one he’s ever seen from her. “I was pretty sure, yeah. I’m also pretty sure your sister and Lincoln are going to be engaged again in less than a year.”

“Yeah? And what about us?”

She tugs him down for a kiss, soft and sweet. “I think we should see how it goes.”

It’s a year and a half for them, nine months longer than O and Lincoln, but that doesn’t bother Bellamy.

After all, he’s still getting everything he’s ever wanted. The timeline isn’t really that big a deal.

#thejoyfulginger

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emphasisonem · 7 years

Text

I Need Coffee in an I.V.

Summary

Bucky points at the counter, pouting. “They took my coffee maker.”

Steve looks like he wants to laugh, but Bucky thinks he does an admirable job of biting it back.

“Good god, how ever will you survive?” Steve asks, and Bucky usually kind of adores that sassy mouth of Steve’s, but he doesn’t fuck around when it comes to his coffee.

In which the office coffee maker breaks and Bucky is forced to rely on the kindness of an unknown coworker.

You can also read it here.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me right now.”

Bucky stands in the office kitchen, staring at the now-empty counter space where the coffee maker was just a day prior. It had been there, all gleaming, stainless steel and clean glass pots filled with the bitter nectar that gets Bucky through each day.

And now all Bucky sees it white tiles and a blue wall and no fucking coffee.

This has to be some kind of violation of his Constitutional rights or something. How can they possibly expect him to do his job without caffeine?

“Good morning, James,” Natasha breezes into the kitchen with her mug in hand, stopping short when she notices the distinct lack of a coffee maker.

“Nothin’ good about it,” Bucky practically growls as he fixes his gaze on his friend, then gestures to the countertop. “As you can clearly see.”

Natasha sighs and rolls her eyes, grabbing a tea bag from one of the airtight canisters where they’re kept, and dropping it into her mug.

“Don’t be so melodramatic, Barnes,” Natasha says as she strides to a nearby corner of the kitchen and adds hot water from the dispenser to her cup. “It’s just coffee, for god’s sake. Make yourself a cup of tea or grab a soda from the vending machine.”

“Just coffee?” Bucky asks, voice incredulous as his brows inch toward his hairline. “Natasha, please don’t insult me. You know I need at least two cups to start the day, and I only ever have time for one at home.”

Natasha’s eye roll makes a second appearance as she rounds to face him.

“Then start getting up earlier,” Natasha suggests. “Or go buy a coffee. Because I was just talking to that new receptionist - Peter, I think? - and he says the old one broke down and we won’t be getting a new one until next Monday. Something about the company being out of stock.”

Bucky sits heavily on one of the kitchen chairs, head in his hands as he groans, “A week? What the fuck do they expect me to do for a week?”

“Problem here?” a deep voice laced with amusement questions, and Bucky’s eyes dart toward the door. And, of course, there’s Steve Rogers, walking wet dream and object of Bucky’s ludicrous affections, standing there looking chipper and ready to start the day in his dark slacks and a chambray button-up.

The fact that the graphic designer looks like a goddamn catalogue model with his ridiculous shoulders and his perfect face at this hour is both endearing and exhausting, Bucky thinks as he sighs.

Bucky points at the counter, pouting. “They took my coffee maker.”

Steve looks like he wants to laugh, but Bucky thinks he does an admirable job of biting it back.

“Good god, how ever will you survive?” Steve asks, and Bucky usually kind of adores that sassy mouth of Steve’s, but he doesn’t fuck around when it comes to his coffee.

“Rogers, this is like a DEFCON-1 situation here, OK?” Bucky grumbles as he tucks a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “Maybe treat the current circumstances with the respect they deserve. Sam and I have a meeting with a client at nine. It’s a jumbo coffee kind of morning. I need coffee in an I.V.”

“All right, Lorelai, settle down there,” Steve chuckles, and Bucky can’t help smiling.

“Look at you, catching the Gilmore Girls reference, Rogers,” Bucky teases. “Man after my own heart.”

Steve shakes his head and bites his lip, and fuck, without his coffee, Bucky’s not alert enough to keep himself from staring. It’s not until Steve’s bright blue eyes begin to widen that Bucky snaps himself out of it.

“Well, uh,” Steve stammers, a light blush coloring his cheeks, and fuck he definitely noticed Bucky gaping at him. “If you’re that desperate, you can have the Americano that I picked up at Starbucks on the way in.”

Bucky grins and shakes his head. “Thanks for the offer, Steve, but I’m not going to deprive you of your morning caffeine. I’m not a monster.”

Bucky’s meeting that goes better than he expected given the lack of coffee. The Coke he’d grabbed from the vending machine had provided him with enough caffeine and sugar to keep him from losing his shit when the client had asked them to scrap the website design they’d been working on and start over from scratch.

That’s hours of Bucky’s life spent writing lines of code that he’ll never get back, but he smiles and nods as Cal Sanders of Burger Boulevard explains his reasoning.

“My wife and I were looking over the website design while my daughter, Christine, was home over the weekend,” Cal says. “Said she thought the design looked a little too old school and asked if we had any other options.”

At this point Cal turns to Bucky and Sam and smiles apologetically as he says, “I showed her your original design and she said that was the ticket. I’m sorry I didn’t go with it from the beginning. And I understand that this changes the timeline and the pricing, but we want this site to be as good as possible.”

Bucky glances over at Sam, shrugging at the question he sees in the other man’s dark eyes.

“As long as you understand it’ll take some extra time,” Sam grins. “I think we can go back to our original design without too much trouble.”

The meeting ends a few minutes later, and as much as Bucky loves being proven right when it comes to his and Sam’s web design skills, he’s not looking forward to rewriting a bunch of code without a few cups of coffee.

Except it looks like he won’t have to because there’s a Starbucks cup sitting on his desk, and he moans as the smell of espresso hits his nostrils when he picks it up.

“Whoa, settle down there,” Sam laughs as he walks into the office the two of them share. “We’re at work, man, keep it PG.”

Bucky huffs out a laugh and then holds out the cup, “Some kind soul left me coffee, Sam. I think I might cry, I’m so happy. You want some?”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Sam smirks as he settles into his chair and begins tapping away at his keyboard. “Am I gonna be able to concentrate on work, or are you gonna need a moment alone with your cup of joe?”

“You’re an ass,” Bucky smirks, but now that he’s sipping the beverage, he can’t find it in himself to be annoyed about anything.

“Did you buy me a latte so that you wouldn’t have to listen to me whine during lunch?” Bucky asks as he leans against Nat’s desk and crosses his arms.

“Are you kidding?” Natasha snorts. “I was looking forward to teasing you mercilessly. Somebody bought you coffee?”

Bucky blinks, a little surprised. He doesn’t have too many close friends at the office outside of Natasha and Sam. But Sam was in a meeting with him, and Bucky has no reason to suspect that Nat’s lying.

“Yeah,” Bucky answers. “Huh. Wonder who bought it, then.”

Natasha stands from her desk and grabs her purse, and Bucky follows her out of the customer service area of the office.

“Well, half the company was in the kitchen this morning, so anybody could have heard you complaining,” Natasha deadpans. “But I have a pretty good idea of who it might’ve been.”

“Who?” Bucky asks, brow furrowing as his friend smirks up at him. “Come on, tell me.”

“And ruin the fun of watching you try to solve this mystery?” Natasha laughs. “Not a chance, Barnes.”

“Had a feelin’ it might be you,” Sam smirks as he leans back in his chair. Steve’s coming through the door, a cup with a familiar green logo in hand. The blond’s face is tinged pink as he shrugs, then moves forward and leaves it on Bucky’s desk.

“Figured I’d give you some peace today,” Steve explains, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. “You know as well as I do that he’s pretty miserable without his coffee.”

Sam barks out a laugh, shaking his head as he rises. “Right, this is just so I don’t have to put up with grumpy Barnes today. Nothin’ at all to do with the enormous crush you been haborin’ since you started here.”

Steve’s blush deepens, but he smiles as he says, “Hey, two birds, one stone.”

“You’re an idiot, Rogers,” Sam snickers as he grabs his wallet. “Now, let’s go, I’m starvin’.”

“Did you leave this for me?” Bucky asks as Sam enters their office after lunch, holding up a paper cup.

“How would that even make sense?” Sam asks with a grin as he walks over to his desk and sits. “I just came back from lunch. If I was nice enough to bring back a coffee, wouldn’t I have it in my hand now?”

“Oh,” Bucky says, glancing at the now-empty container. “That’s - yeah, that makes sense.”

“God, you really do not function well without you usual intake of caffeine do you?” Sam laughs, eyes scanning his computer as he types.

Bucky slumps forward, head in his hands as he sighs, “I really, really don’t."

Natasha’s sitting on one of the chairs in front of Bucky’s desk the next morning, a client’s file in hand, when she tilts her head to side, green eyes narrowing.

“I’m sorry, but is that a heart on the side of your coffee?” she asks.

Bucky blinks owlishly, then turns the cup. Sure enough, there’s a heart around his name, but it’s not the same color as the ink in which his name is written.

“Man, the barista must have a heck of a crush on whoever keeps bringin’ me coffee,” Bucky chuckles before taking another sip. “Two different inks and everything.”

Natasha levels a disbelieving look at him and Bucky throws his hands up as he sighs, “What?”

“Nothing,” Natasha deadpans. “You’re just even more oblivious than usual when you’re not caffeinated.”

“Guess who I think has a secret admirer,” Natasha sing-songs as the four of them sip beers at a high-top table that evening, ignoring Bucky when he shoves lightly at her shoulder.

Steve watches the two of them and grins. If he didn’t know better, he’d think they were a couple. Hell, that was what he’d thought the first time Sam had invited him out to a happy hour with his office buddies.

“Natasha, shut up,” Bucky huffs, taking a quick sip of his beer. “It’s just someone trying to keep me from killing the rest of you because of caffeine withdrawal. Nothin’ more.”

“Right,” Natasha smirks. “That’s why the person drew a heart around your name. Just bein’ a swell friend to the office at large.”

Steve blanches as Natasha’s green eyes land on him, sparkling with a knowing sort of mischief. He’s glad Bucky’s glaring away from Nat because he has no doubt that his feelings and his fear of being found out are written all over his face.

Steve shakes his head, pleading with his eyes for Natasha to just drop it. Her face softens a little and she smiles, but Steve has a feeling this isn’t over just yet.

He’s proven right when Natasha sidles up beside him at the bar when he’s grabbing them all another round about half an hour later.

“You know,” Natasha drawls as she smiles up at Steve. “I have a feeling you’d be pleasantly surprised if you just asked Bucky out for a coffee date instead of drawing hearts around his name like a middle schooler.”

Steve can’t help but chuckle at Natasha’s very accurate appraisal of the situation.

“We all have our ways of going about wooing people, Romanov,” Steve replies with a smirk. “Is mine a little unorthodox? Sure. But I’m not ready to take the leap yet, and he hardly seems to mind the free drinks.”

“You two are perfect for each other,” Natasha sighs as she grabs two of the four beers Steve’s ordered. “You’re just as dumb as he is.”

It goes on like this for the next couple of days, Starbucks cups showing up on Bucky’s desk throughout the day. It’s sweet and infuriating all at once.

Bucky leans back in his chair, chewing at the end of a pen and thinking. He’s never around to catch the person in the act, so they must have a decent idea of his schedule. Or Sam’s schedule.

And, come to think of it, it’s very strange that Sam hasn’t seen this mystery coworker leaving the coffee or sneaking out of their office. What are the odds that this person has given both of them the slip so many times?

Not that good, Bucky reasons. Odds are, Sam knows exactly who it is. But why hasn’t he told Bucky? They’re friends, aren’t they? Bucky’d tell Sam if somebody at the office liked him enough to bring him free drinks or snacks.

Unless, of course, Bucky thinks, a slow smirk curling across his lips, the person leaving Bucky coffee is also a friend of Sam’s. Maybe even Sam’s best friend.

Bucky glances over at Sam’s empty desk. He’s got the day off - long weekend with his girlfriend’s family or something - and Bucky wonders if maybe this isn’t a golden opportunity. Without Sam here, Bucky might be able to figure this thing out once and for all.

Bucky sends Nat a quick text that he’s going to need to work through lunch today. Then, he slides from his chair to hide beneath his desk.

Juvenile? Maybe. But let it never be said that James Buchanan Barnes isn’t dedicated when he’s got a goal that needs accomplishing.

Steve’s a little nervous about leaving Bucky a coffee when Sam’s not around to run interference, but their shared office is empty when Steve pokes his head in, the only light in the room coming from the windows and the soft blue glow of Bucky’s monitor.

Steve treads quietly anyway, shoes making only the faintest sound as he treads across the carpet. He’s got a pretty good idea of when Bucky and Nat go to lunch by now, but since Sam’s not here, there’s no guarantee that Bucky won’t walk through the door at any moment.

Of course, if Steve were a normal person, he could have just popped in and dropped the first coffee off when Bucky was here. Could have made it a no-big-deal favor between coworkers.

Instead he’s made it A Thing. Hell, he’s heard his other coworkers whispering about who in the office likes Bucky enough to leave him multiple coffees every day with hearts drawn around his name.

The smart money, he’d heard, is on a redhead in accounting named Dot.

Steve shakes the thought (and, if he’s being honest with himself, the jealousy) away, leaning forward to place a latte on Bucky’s desk.

The last thing he’s expecting is Bucky’s head to pop up from below the desk, eyes wide as it registers who he’s looking at and what they’ve got in hand.

Well, what they’d had in hand because Steve is so surprised that he yelps and the coffee goes flying. Mercifully, it lands nowhere near Bucky’s computer.

“So,” Bucky starts, drawing out the word. “You, uh, maybe wanna sit down for a sec and chat? Because, honestly, I’m a little confused about all this, Rogers.”

I am so screwed, Steve thinks as he nods and drops into a chair.

“So, I guess I should say thank you first,” Bucky say, running a hand through his hair. “It was nice of you to bring me coffee this week, secret admirer prank aside.”

Bucky watches Steve’s brow furrow, his bright blue eyes narrowing as he tilts his head.

“Prank?” Steve asks.

“Well, yeah, I,” Bucky stammers, surprised by the intensity in Steve’s gaze. “I mean, you don’t actually have a crush on me, right?”

Bucky waits, but Steve doesn’t say a damn thing, just keeps giving him that inscrutable look, and Bucky’s suddenly a little short of breath.

“Do you?” Bucky asks quietly, heart hammering in his ears as Steve rises from the chair and makes his way around to Bucky’s side of the desk.

And then Steve’s grabbing Bucky by the collar of his shirt and tugging him upward. There’s a hand tangling in Bucky’s shoulder-length hair, blunt fingernails scratching at his scalp in a way the sends a shiver down his spine, and warm breath ghosting across his lips.

I’m going to faint, Bucky thinks. Then Steve’s lips find his.

And while Bucky does go a little weak in the knees, he stays conscious, mostly through sheer force of will. Like hell, is he going to miss his first kiss with Steve Rogers.

Bucky’s lips are a little chapped, but they’re warm and firm against Steve’s own. It takes Bucky a moment to process what’s happening, and Steve can’t help smiling when he feels Bucky begin to respond.

Steve pulls away a few moments later, breathing a little heavy as he looks at Bucky. The other man’s stormy gray eyes are a little dazed, his lips darker than they usually are, and all Steve wants to do is go back to kissing him.

But, it’s the middle of the day at work, and they really should talk about this.

“Clear things up for you?” Steve rasps, grinning at the breathless laugh that leaves Bucky.

“A bit, yeah,” Bucky replies, bringing a hand to Steve’s cheek. “Why didn’t you just say somethin’, Steve?”

“You make me a little nervous, Buck,” Steve chuckles. “And I didn’t wanna make it weird at work if you weren’t interested in me, you know? I mean, I thought you might be with the way you look at me sometimes, but I wasn’t totally sure. Guess I just couldn’t keep it in check anymore.”

“I’m glad,” Bucky smiles, resting his forehead against Steve’s. “Now, how about you let me return the favor and buy you a cup of coffee right now? And then maybe dinner tonight?”

Steve’s heart is soaring as he bites down on his lip, liking the way Bucky’s eyes are drawn to it the same way they were early Monday morning.

“It’s a date.”

#stucky #stucky au #office au #they're both idiots #awkward flirting #secret admirer #first kiss

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