#when you ship two rarepairs you may as well let them all hold hands about it and just live deliciously
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#when you ship two rarepairs you may as well let them all hold hands about it and just live deliciously#mash 4077#m*a*s*h#blue's post#hawkeye and pierce#charles emerson winchester iii#donna marie parker#ot3: blueberry french toast#scientists politely remind fandom renewable polyamory technology is ready to go whenever#mash#charlie memerson
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Uppast's Cats Tour Comments: Act 1
note: i'm referring to the cats by their show names, however I may use the actor's name for a specific comment!
Overture
They did this SO well! I definitely missed seeing the cast in the aisles, but they projected the green eyes onto the stage, and it was the perfect amount of creepy/weird/hypnotizing.
I absolutely love the lights slowly being raised while shining all the spotlights, it sets the vibe PERFECTLY
also saying this now: the orchestra was incredible!
Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats
right off the bat, we’ve a super sweet Demestrap moment, with Munkustrap checking on Demeter after the car! It was adorable!
Devon's voice is SO good for Munkustrap, also the man is TALL OH MY GOD
Tugger didn't get his "can you say of your bite that it's worse than your bark" line, which I was a little disappointed about. However, Zach as Bill Bailey is absolutely 10/10.
Brianna… the babiest Sillabub… so precious... so small...
There were some Victor and Gus moments, with them either standing near each other or sharing looks/touches, so if anyone ships them, y'all got your rarepair moment!
THE BOOT WAS SO LOUD LMAO
They use the set so well!
The Naming of Cats
creepy, wonderful, everything I want from this number
A handful of the cats got right to the edge of the stage where the lighting was, so they were all glowing, and it was the BEST vibe.
Taylor was staring into my soul during the last verse so now I can say I've been vibe-checked by Coricopat.
Invitation to the Jellicle Ball
Hyla is the PERFECT Victoria!!!!! She's so incredibly graceful, she had the sweetest expression on her face, and ugh it was flawless.
Paul is also just an amazing Mistoffelees.
Munkustrap had literally the sweetest moment with Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer and I almost started crying. Right before Jennyanydots' song, when everyone's getting into place, Mungo and Rumple immediately went to Munkustrap and were cuddling his legs, and he gave them pets, and just oh my god T_T
Gumbie Cat
OKAY SO I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE KITTEN SQUAD SO MUCH MY HEART
When everyone's setting up for Jennyanydots' song, after the nuzzles, the lights start to switch, and the kitten squad was trying to catch the lights on the ground while Munkustrap was looking at them with the fondest expression and i swear i cried a little bit over how cute they were.
SKIMBLE LOVES HIS WIFE SO MUCH AND WAS HELPING HER GET THE KITTENS INTO THEIR MICE COSTUMES
Plato, Alonzo, and Mungojerrie were great cockroaches, 10/10
The Gumbie Trio was so good! Their voices sounded amazing together, and they were all just having so much fun!
SO MUCH MAMA JELLY AND SON TUMBLE I FEEL SO HAPPY
I'm going to go more in-depth in my Kitten Squad post!
Rum Tum Tugger
The way Zach said "Who will it be?" was absolutely amazing, i loved it, 10/10 character introduction.
Jennyanydots stomped off when he interrupted her accolades, she was very upset.
Zach and Devon nailed Tugger and Munkustrap's sibling dynamic PERFECTLY, Devon was the best Tired Older Brother Munkus.
Yeah, this number pretty much confirmed Zach as my favorite Tugger.
Mistoffelees and Cassandra did some lounging together in the background on the car.
Chelsea's Bomba is absolutely *chef's kiss*, I adore her
Obviously Tugger and Mistoffelees did their little dance, and it was wonderful. I'm not sure if other shows had Mistoffelees do this, but he went between Tugger's legs at the end of his little solo and Tugger was just vibing.
MY FAVORITE MOMENT THOUGH had to be near the end of the song, Munkustrap was 100% getting into it, and Tugger went over to him and was teasing him, poking him, and it was the cutest brother interaction.
They did have the camera! Zach did some very Tugger poses, and it was great.
Grizabella the Glamour Cat
haha Tugger went to hide behind the metal bars on the furthest side of the stage away from Grizabella, I'm in ✨pain✨
Sillabub goes to touch Grizabella, Grandpa Skimble pulls her back and starts scolding her, I want to hug the baby.
No, but I did really love that moment. It's off to the side, but you can see him giving her a talking to, and she's trying to say something back, but he's very firm.
Mungojerrie egged George on to scratch Grizabella, George sweetie don't be mean.
Taylor has such a perfect voice for Grizabella, and I loved her look!
OKAY SO LAUREN AND CHELSEA'S VOICES
Lauren's voice is so smooth and suave, and Chelsea's voice has a little growl that almost made me pass out, like ma'am i'm in love? But their voices mixed together, as well as how slightly different they are was such a great choice, and I kind of hope that other future productions take note and have two actresses with vastly different vocals for Demeter and Bombalurina.
Bustopher Jones
Mistoffelees and Victoria go to great Bustopher together and it was the cutest thing, they were so excited to see him!
Munkustrap immediately grabbing Mungo and Rumple by the necks and steering the gremlins away from the Very Important Cat.
Tugger was keeping watch so Munkustrap could be silly with everyone else during Bustopher's number, and that's not something I'm forgetting. Usually, obviously, Munkustrap's sort of in the background, standing, watching, and not really interacting. But Tugger switched places, and was up on the scaffolding watching, and it was CUTE!
My Tuggandra crumbs, thank you Zach and Lexy, I'm indebted to you both.
Tugger literally was just lounging on the car during the end of Bustopher's song, just waving his arms around, and I love him.
Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer
Elana (Teazer for this show) had the PERFECT Rumple giggle!
They're so silly, I love them
They made the best facial expressions, especially when Mungo "stole" Rumple's pearls.
Very dramatic gremlin twins, jumping all over the place, not caring about anything!
They were so confident at the end of their song when they went to walk off, and immediately went into "oh shit" mode when Munkus, Plato, and Alonzo came out.
Run through the legs of Munkus! See Munkus, this is why you need to not stand with your legs apart when you're attempting to control kittens.
Old Deuteronomy
Saying it again, Devon and Zach are SUCH a good Munkustrap and Tugger.
The babies were so excited to see Old Deut! They could barely contain themselves, and then got cuddles! (Also Tanto was with the kittens and i love that for her, let her be a kitten!! I definitely got "big brother Cori/little sister Tanto" vibes)
Everyone's getting Deut nuzzles!!
Tugger did a VERY dramatic shimmy at his dad, and Deut laughed, and I cried.
Tugger and Munkustrap standing on either side of their dad!!!! He's so proud of them!!
Jellicle Ball
Sillabub was hiding on top of the oven before the Ball, sweet baby T_T
George got to sing with Old Deut!! Happy boy!!
TUMBLE FLIPS TUMBLE FLIPS TUMBLE FLIPS
Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks being the Supervisors!!
There was a really sweet Jellylorum and Alonzo moment (def going to talk more about it in the Alonzo post), but my "Jellylorum is Alonzo, Tumble, and Pounce's Mom" hc is feeling SO VALIDATED TONIGHT
I've said this so many times, but I adore that Plato and Victoria get their own little solo before their Big Solo. It's so sweet, and Hyla and Adam have wonderful chemistry!
Tugger chases Bomba offstage before The Moment, and I love that for them
CUDDLE PILE!!!
Munkustrap and Demeter cuddled together in the corner away from the pile and I want to sob because they were just so sweet, her head was on his shoulder, and he was holding her, and literally everyone in this show has such good chemistry with each other.
Tugger looks up with the psychic twins during Grizabella's reveal, once again making me think that Tugger and Munkustrap have magic like their brother.
OH AND TUGGER DID THE STUPIDEST LITTLE DANCE WHERE HE WAS SHAKING HIS BUTT AND HAVING FUN AND MUNGOJERRIE LAUGHED AT HIM AND THEY HAD A MOMENT AND IT WAS GREAT
Memory
ouch ouch ouch
Jennyanydots blocks the stairs up to Deut's tire so Grizabella can't go to Deut, my heart
steering the babies away from Grizabella even though Silla wants to give her a hug.
Taylor you hurt me in the best way possible
I always get emotional over Grizabella's dance before her song, it's such a telling moment, but unfortunately I don't think everyone understands that it's supposed to be a serious moment and not funny.
Deut sits on his tire the entire song and it's HEARTBREAKING
At the very end, Grizabella does the reaching back, and Deut reaches forward, and if you're sitting in the right spot it looks like they're touching and i'm NOT OKAY
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Get You (Fluff-ish)
Pairing: Bryce Lahela x Aurora Emery
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: A little flirting and swearing, dassit.
Summary: Bryce and Aurora get to know one another, which pushes our boy into unknown, cavity-inducing territory.
A/N: My number one rarepair that no one else ships. I wrote this because I was bullied by @thecapturedafrique into writing something. I haven't written anything for choices in quite some time, so this is... that something.
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To Be Alone (Part One)
Bryce always believed that fawning--real, genuine, starry-eyed awe--was goofy. He could count on one hand the number of times a partner left him speechless, which was quite a feat. It wasn’t that he believed he was above it; he could never quite understand the position someone would have to be in to feel that way about someone else. But that damn Aurora Emery and her silent but deadly studious stare could bring any man to his knees. He told her as much. Multiple times, in fact. She’d laugh it off as just a huge joke, but Bryce needed her to know that he was being legit. It was important to him that she knew that about herself. Maybe she could reel it in and let him have control over himself for once.
There wasn’t a name for what they were--a fact that Bryce was okay with. At least he thought. Right now they were just comfortable in one another’s company. It’s not that he didn’t want more...the question crossed his mind more than once. But Aurora never once hinted at the fact that she was looking for anything more than companionship. She was blunt. If she wanted something serious, she definitely would’ve said so. Unfortunately, Edenbrook was filled to the brim with nosy fucks. And though he wasn’t necessarily one for hiding his attraction, he knew for a fact that the attention made Aurora uncomfortable. On more than one occasion, he had to tell people to back off when they made comments about “thawing the ice princess.” He would do anything in his power to protect her, if he could. He spent two months of Fridays with her, a ritual that just kind of happened without much planning. They’d talk for hours, and more than once he’d woken up in her bed, with his arms wrapped around her and her head on his chest.
So when Aurora texted him that Friday afternoon about a change of plans, curiosity plagued him.
Bryce: Change of plans, huh? What’s up?
Three bubbles popped up. And then:
Aurora: I wanted to do something different. Same meeting place?
Bryce: Always.
Bryce: Am I allowed to know what that something different is? Or is it a surprise?
Aurora: It wasn’t a surprise.
Aurora: But now I think it is.
Bryce: You’re killin me. Do you know what you do to me, Rory?
There was a long pause as she typed. And then stopped. And then typed again.
Aurora: Where have I heard that before? ;)
And there it was. That boldness that seemed to show up at the most inopportune times and sent a rushing wave of warmth through him. It climbed up the back of his neck and made him huff out a sigh in the middle of the cafeteria.
Bryce: Careful, I might have to take you for a ride in the parking lot. Again.
Aurora: Don’t make threats you can’t follow through with, daddy.
Despite the bravado, Bryce was clearly flustered. He didn’t know it was possible for someone to out-Bryce him. But here he was: red faced and shifty-eyed in the middle of a crowded room. He placed his phone face-down and took a long sip from his water bottle, willing his blood to return to his brain and away from his head. When he was sure that he could resume the conversation without hunting Aurora down for sport, he picked the phone back up.
Bryce: Alright, Miss Emery. I’ll play your games. See you later?
Aurora: xxoo
It was all so corny, he thought to himself. Reading and re-reading her texts, or scrolling through her Instagram to see her even when she wasn’t around...these were actions that he had NEVER considered remotely Bryce-like. Yet there he was, spending his free time thinking about what he’d say to her when he saw her at the end of the day. Thoughts of her were interrupted only when he needed all of his attention to keep people’s organs in place. Or when he needed to write a report. But when all was said and done, his thoughts drifted right back to her. He blinked, and it was the end of the day. He felt his hands shake, and wondered what the fuck he had to be nervous about.
They’d spent so much time together. They were practically together. Weren’t they?
“God damn it,” he muttered to himself, as he ran his fingers through his hair and stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. It always looked good, but for some reason--today of all days--it wouldn’t cooperate, “You are Bryce Fucking Lahela. You don’t get flustered. Jesus.”
He shook his arms out, rolled his shoulders, and took a deep breath.
“Alright,” he sighed, “Let’s go see our woman.”
Aurora looked amazing leaning against the hood of his car. She was dressed in black jeans and a simple tee shirt, with her hair in a bun. But he wanted to kiss her right there in front of everyone, PDA be damned. Her face lit up when she noticed him, and he nearly tripped over his feet as he walked across the parking lot, causing him to pause his steps. Her brows furrowed in concern.
God she was so cute.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking in an attempt to save face. Because of course he did.
“Are you alright, Lahela?” She asked, raising a hand to his forehead, “You’re clammy.” Bryce gently grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it absentmindedly, resulting in a slow grin gracing her pretty features.
“I’m good. I just showered, so my hair is a little wet,” her fingers intertwined with his, and his voice caught in his chest. He cleared his throat, “I-uh...I didn’t want to smell like...well you know.”
“Yeah, I know.”
She bit her lower lip and glanced over his shoulder before leaning up to place a small peck on his lips. It’d been something she’d done numerous times before. But today it felt different. He couldn’t place what the difference was, but as she pulled back from him, he leaned forward to kiss her again. She smiled against his lips, and placed a hand on his chest.
“Down boy,” she laughed, “save some of that energy for later on.”
His first thought was to say “fuck later on” and take her on the hood of his car. The louder second thought reminded him that she wasn’t going anywhere. That this was different. And he nodded, taking a mental step back.
“So what’s the surprise?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”
His hands snaked around her and he rested his forehead on her shoulder. The action was surprisingly intimate, all things considered, “I hate when people say that.”
“You’d think it’d make you ask the question less, then.”
“Hardy-har, smartass.” When she reached up to scratch the back of his head with her nails, he groaned involuntarily and squeezed her, lifting his head to look up at her, “We need to get out of here, and fast.”
Something flashed across her features, and she raised a brow.
“Alright.”
The drive to this supposed secret was a long one. Using Aurora’s GPS directions, the trip led them down numerous winding roads, across a bridge, and through some trees. If he didn’t know any better, he’d guess she was leading him to his own demise. Maybe she was softening up by holding his hand while he steered. And badly singing along to some 90s pop song was just a plot to let his guard down. It was working. She could brandish a knife, and he wouldn’t even notice.
The final destination was a large clearing filled with parked cars, and a large screen projecting some early 00s movie trailers. People milled around, drinking and eating large buckets of popcorn.
“Well shit,” Bryce grinned as he pulled up to an empty spot between two standing speakers, “You brought me to a drive-in?”
Aurora was already unbuckling her seatbelt, “You said you never got to have a normal high school experience. So, I figured we’d make up for lost time. Only if you want to. If you think this is corny, we can do something else.” She paused and turned to him with wide eyes, “You don’t think this is lame, do you?”
Bryce cupped her face in his hands and pressed a loud smack of a kiss on her lips, “Rory, this is perfect.”
As they stood in line waiting to order movie snacks, he looked over at Aurora to find her deep in thought. Her brows were furrowed as she read the menu, and her lips were slightly pursed just begging to be kissed. She muttered something about the prices staying the same for 10 years, completely unaware of the effect she had on him just by existing. Knowing he had a preference for slashers, Aurora brought him to see a double-feature of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer which were both favorites of his. He was surprisingly touched that she remembered. He assumed that she may have forgotten those throwaway comments he made. After all, he wasn’t used to people remembering the small details of his life, and he didn’t mention them often. He’d been working so hard for her trust that he didn’t even realize she’d been working to earn his as well, in her own Emery kind of way.
“Caramel corn?” She suddenly said, and he blinked at her in confusion.
“What?”
“Do you want caramel corn? Or kettle corn? I know you like mixing the salty and the sweet. So I’ll get cheddar,” she pointed at the menu, “And you can get the caramel. And we’ll just…” She made a weird gesture, insinuating mixing the two in a bucket. He randomly felt a pang in his stomach and he had to stop himself from doubling over.
Oh.
“Caramel is perfect,” Bryce said, throwing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer, “We can do whatever you want.”
Oh no.
She threw him a funny look, but shook her head and chuckled softly, “Okay then.”
Bryce followed her back to the car like a lost puppy, carrying the popcorn while she carried the slurpees, and he felt the pang in his stomach turn into a dull flutter. Seeing Aurora out of her element was something he had to learn to get used to. Within the walls of Edenbrook, she was perpetually serious. You’d be hard pressed to find her laughing or shaking from nerves. She remained calm and level-headed, always logical, and rarely sentimental unless she was with a patient. The first time he saw Aurora lighten up was when she was among their friend group. Though she seemed partially guarded, in hindsight, it was the first time Bryce saw her fully smile. He recognized that she was beautiful, even then. But there was something about the way that she had a smile reserved especially for him that made that smile pale in comparison. There, in the car, she shook the popcorn in a bag vigorously with the dorkiest grin on her face. He wondered if anyone else ever had the chance to see her like this, and he hoped to God they hadn’t.
“You’re gonna tear the bag, Rory,” he said, laughing along with her, “I’ve never seen someone so violent with popcorn. You should’ve just let me do it. With these arms,” he flexed and she rolled her eyes, “It would’ve taken a lot less time.”
“There’s a method to this,” she shook it one last time for good measure, “You don’t want a pile of one flavor at the bottom. It has to be evenly distributed, come on. You should know this.”
She unrolled the bag opening and tilted it in his direction, “See. I know what I’m doing.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re the genius here.”
“Thank you.” She popped a piece of caramel corn in her mouth.
One thing Aurora failed to share with him was that she was afraid of slashers. She clung to his arm during the tense scenes, hiding her face in his shoulder and jumping when people were killed. During the low moments, Bryce would pull her close and whisper film facts to her, hoping that the realism would make the movies a little more palatable. As the time passed, she relaxed, leaning back into the seat and only slightly jumping when someone died. Her hand slipped into his, and he could feel her pulse race. By the time I Know What You Did Last Summer was over, and Scream was about to begin, half of the popcorn was on the floor from Aurora constantly jumping.
“Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t like these? We could’ve seen something else, Aurora,” Bryce asked.
She shrugged, scooping small handfuls of popcorn and throwing them out of the open window, “I work in a hospital. I thought I could handle it. Plus, I know you like them...I just wanted to do something fun.”
“I don’t think watching you freak out over a killer in a fishing village is fun,” Bryce half-joked, “Even though I did like having you curled up under me. That was a plus.”
She playfully hit him on his arm.
“I’m serious though,” Bryce said, turning to her, “next time, we can do something we both like.”
“I promise, it’s not that serious,” she shrugged, “I did this all the time in high school. It’s par for the course.”
He felt the uncharacteristic sting of minor jealousy, but quickly pushed the feeling away.
“So you just brought cute guys to the drive-in all the time? I didn’t know teen Aurora was such a player.”
She snorted and shook her head, taking a large sip from her slurpee, “Never that. I was in the science club and boys scared me. I came here with my friends. Maybe my parents.” There was a moment of pause and she swirled the straw around in her cup, “You’re the first guy I’ve ever been here with. So I guess this is like a high school redo for me, too. So...thanks for coming here with me.”
Her voice sounded so soft, and he realized she was sharing more about herself without him having to reassure her that it was safe to do it. Without thinking, Bryce leaned across the passenger seat and kissed her, pulling a soft gasp from her lips. His large hand cupped her chin, and she walked her fingers around the back of his neck. She tasted like Blue Raspberry syrup and smelled like sweet coconut and vanilla shampoo. When she pulled away and rested her forehead against his, she smiled at him and pushed some loose hair away from his face.
“What was that for?”
“I just felt like it. I don’t know. I…” he swallowed hard and shut his eyes, “I think…”
Fuck.
He opened his eyes to see her watching him with a concerned expression on her face, “You think…? Did I do something--”
“I think I love you, Aurora.”
#playchoices#bryce lahela#aurora emery#bryce x aurora#naja writes#get into it (yuh) or whatever Doja said
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Day 1 of rarepair week: first date (and love confession! So apologize if this is long to read I'm just a big fan of this ship)
Word count: 2000
Blueberry Pie was just going through one of the shelves of the archives organizing the books and tomes that were on there. It was one of the things that were part of her mundane routines: Wake up, eat breakfast, watch over archives, organize, eat dinner, sleep, and repeat. It has been like that for many countless years that she was used to it, when you're trapped in the many rows of the Wizard's archives you begin to grow used to the isolation. Though this was her job she always looked after the place she sometimes wished for a new change of scenery or even more, someone to talk to.
That is until she met Blackberry Cookie.
It was just a few weeks ago when she first met Blackberry. Blueberry Pie was just fixing one of the scrolls like usual till she heard the sound of tapping on the hard marble floor coming from the other side of the room, when she opened the door she saw a light of a illuminated candle all to behold a cookie in black walking around. Blueberry Pie asked who was this cookie and why were they here when Blackberry responded with a introduction for who she was and an apology for the intrusion, she was here because she senses her employer was here and was looking for him. Blueberry Pie offered to help her since it's not safe for someone to get lost here. They both began to search for the employer through the many rows while getting to know as well, with Blueberry Pie explaining to Blackberry her duties to this place then listening to Blackberry's job as a maid and how she needs to keep a watchful eye on her employer and his needs for exploring. Blueberry asked her if whenever he leaves does she ever get lonely to which she answered with "on a rare occasion." Finding her venturous employer has plays a part in her routine that she had grown to accept it so the feeling of loneliness will sometimes come now and then whenever he leaves, Blackberry then asked how did she even got use to being here and Blueberry Pie replied saying that even if she's stuck here forever her wishes will someday come true. They manage to find her employer who was about to read one of the tomes to which they both stopped him from doing so. As both Blackberry and her employer were about to she thanked Blueberry Pie for helping her find him, telling her she'll maybe see her again. Blueberry Pie welcomed her and went back to fixing scroll she left off, thinking that her promise will go empty.
She was proven wrong.
Whenever she hears a knock on the doors she open it to her surprise, seeing Blackberry again, asking if she needs anything help with cleaning the place to which Blueberry allowed her to. She wasn't like she was new to this type of change she just really wasn't expecting for someone to come back to visit, and so it was like it when the maid cookie comes by; she comes to the place to help her organize and clean and when that's done they both have small talk with each other with Blackberry telling Blueberry Pie about the outside world and the stories she had in store, sometimes letting that small talk become more long and meaningful. She didn't want to admit it but Blueberry Pie couldn't help but feel comfortable around Blackberry's presence to a point where she's fonding over meeting her again whenever she leaves. Maybe she was shutting these feelings down but her heart always skips a beat when she hears the soft voice of Blackberry, how her face turns a soft shade of red when she looks at her. Was this a feeling of a "crush?" Who knows. But all that matters that her feeling of loneliness wasn't bothering her anymore.
So when she heard a knock on the doors she couldn't help but run up to the doors and immediately open it to she Blackberry again but something was different this time. Blackberry was holding a basket filled with food and some juice.
"Well good evening Blackberry Cookie, came by again to help with cleaning?" Blueberry Pie asked as she let the maid cookie in then closed the doors. "Good evening to you as well Blueberry Pie Cookie but I didn't came here for that, I thought it would be okay if we had a small picnic with each other. Since you can't leave the archives I thought it would be a good idea to have it here." She explained as walked in the she putted the basket down to light up here candle. "Ah…. A picnic?" "Indeed, I felt like it would be good if we just spent time together and just talk. Wouldn't that be lovely?" Blackberry asked her as she picked up the basket with her arm and holding the candle in the other hand.
The Archivist didn't know what to say, on one hand she was happy that she get to experience a picnic for the first time but on the other hand her chest tightened as Blackberry told her that she wanted to spent time together. She pushed her glasses up and averted her gaze as she felt her face growing red again. "...I… that would be lovely Blackberry.. but I don't think there is much space here for a picnic." "I know, but I think that we can make the most of the open space here." Blackberry suggested looking around for some place it to sit at. "Well… there is one place in the archives that is available, but I never let anyone see it." Blueberry Pie said to Blackberry, holding her tome close to her. "Oh? Well then lead the way Blueberry Pie." Blueberry Pie nodded and gestured the maid to follow her through the many rows and rows of shelves till they reached a closed door, she opens the door to reveal a passageway. Blueberry Pie looked a bit nervous to go down since it was way too dark for her vision but then she felt hand land on her shoulder then turn to see Blackberry giving her a look of reassurance and comfort.
She felt flattered by the comforting gesture and felt her heart skip more faster, this feeling was getting hard to control. She decided to place her tome under her left arm and offered Blackberry her free hand to hold to which the maid holded. They both walked down the flight of stairs with Blackberry using her candle to light the way till they made it down just to see an open space with grass and the windows revealing the many stars and the bright moon. Blackberry let go of the archivist's hand gasped in shock by the strange place and looked at Blueberry Pie in awe. "This place is beautiful, why haven't you told anyone about this?" She asked to which she walked to the space of grass and sat down. "I like to keep this place much of a secret, I trust you enough to show you." Blueberry Pie answered. Blackberry made her way to Blueberry Pie and sat next to her taking out the food that in the basket and passed it along to Blueberry Pie to share, as they were eating Blackberry told Blueberry Pie about her and Adventurer's adventure in the spider mansion and how they've met Truffle Cookie.
Though it may looked like Blueberry Pie was listening she was very much lost in her own thoughts, this feeling inside of her was too much to handle and her heart was yearning to tell her how she feels. Her thoughts were gone when Blackberry asked her "Blueberry Pie are you alright? You seem lost." She let out a small eep and collected herself to calm her nerves and let out a small sign, it was now or never. "...Blackberry.. may I ask you a question?" She asked looking at her as she holded her tome up to her chest. "Hm? Of course, what is it?" "You always come here to see me just to help out with cleaning but after that you stay longer than expected. I assumed you stay to look for employer again but you don't, why is that?"
" ….That's kinda funny when you ask that, I never stay longer just to find him. I stay longer just so I can be with you." "Y..You wanted to be with me?" "Indeed, it's like when I'm with you I feel… good.. like I can trust being myself with you." Blackberry admitted. "...Like the kind of trust that makes you feel… all bubbly? Like you feel good around them that your chest starts to tighten?" "....Yes. That feeling is what I'm feeling.. I'm really glad I get to see you Blueberry Pie." "I'm grateful as well, I feel that I can know you on a personal level of loneliness." "I understand that.." The two didn't speak a word, they were both too nervous and flustered of what to say next. Blackberry then felt a presence next to her and glanced to see the archivist sitting next to her, holding her hand and blushed. "Blackberry, I must confess something to you." "What is it?" "I have felt something for you, I don't know how to describe it but I just can't help but feel so many lovely things about you. How you always help me clean up the archives and to how you talk about the outside world, you've given me so much that I can't help but feel guilty for not returning the favor." As Blueberry Pie confessed Blackberry looked at her with shock as her blush begin to grow redder. Out of impulse she hugged her which taken Blueberry Pie out of surprise. "Blackber-" "Blueberry… you have no idea how long I felt about you. When everyone time I come home from my visits I feel the need to come back again to stay much more longer, when I asked Adventurer about these feelings he told me that I might be in love. At first I thought it wasn't like that but as well gotten more close that feeling kept on growing so big that I had to shut them down." She then pull away from the hug and look at Blueberry Pie. "So what you said about those feelings for me is the same feelings I have for you? You are in love with me just as I'm in love with you?"
Blueberry Pie looked at Blackberry with shock as her heart skipped much faster. She couldn't hold it in much longer. It was all too much. "Yes...yes yes yes yes! Yes I do feel that way about you, I really do!" Blueberry Pie then hugged Blackberry to which she hugged back. "So.. if we're both in love with each other, what does that make us now?" "It would mean we're lovers." Blackberry answered still embracing her. "Do we want to be lovers now?" "... Let's still be lovers, but we need to take it slow. I'm not much an expert in relationships." "Neither am I, but I'm willing to give this a chance." They both pulled away from their embrace but never taking their eyes off each other as their blush was still on their faces. They turned to look at the moon when Blackberry decided to rest her head on Blueberry Pie's shoulder. "Do we count this picnic as our first date?" Blueberry Pie asked her "Mmm… you could say that. And if we going with this relationship, would you like to do this again sometime?" Blueberry Pie looked at her with a soft smile and nuzzled her head on top of her. "That would be grand."
As they both looked at the night sky, all they can both think about is each other and how much this lovely night was worth it.
@cookie-run-rarepair-week I hope you enjoy it
#cookie run: ovenbreak#cookie run#blueberry pie cookie#blackberry cookie#rarepair#cookie run rarepair week#day 1: first date#blackberry x blueberry pie
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Always Falling Down, part I
This was part of a rarepair gift exchange. mricj and I got matched because sometimes u CAN manifest what u want for urself~~~
This is Rosawatts for sure, but also very poly, very id-ficcy and very long (just under 7k....).
with a small part 2 pending because WE BUILT THIS SHIP WE SAIL IT HOWEVER WE WANT
oh and a playlist (click plz~)
PS: the plotbunny emerged from "i thought you (loved me)" by livj707. One of my top 10 TTM fics and the rest of them are in there too!
AO3
FF.net
or keep reading
(Part II here)
~~~~~
~We hold on to the good times and the right now and the long nights~
Can you hear when I say "I have never felt this way"? (I can't see you and me and her without each other)
Roxie
You were 8 or 9 when you realized that you responded to people’s emotions in an unusual way. Your mom’s anger made you feel like there was a small fire in your belly, no matter the amount or what the anger was directed at. Her joy when hummingbirds visited the garden you both made to attract them made you feel invincible. When she felt sad, everything looked gray.
So what, you thought. She was your mother; of course you’d be attuned to her mood. The same with the rest of your family. But there was a slight wrinkle in that logic— you sensed the emotions of your friends at school, and that affected you similarly, if with less intensity.
Soon after realizing that, though, came the realization that even friends of friends, even complete strangers, had emotional signals that you picked up without trying. You brought this up with one of your dad’s sisters (one of your favorite family members, were you ever pressed to admit it), because you couldn’t quite stomach having your mom worry about you. You were pretty sure what happened to you wasn’t normal.
Your aunt introduced you to the term empath, said her wife had the same ability that you did. She taught you ways to handle the side effects (as she put it), how to channel and control it, to some extent. Even with this, though, things got more complicated as you grew older. People’s emotions got louder.
The maelstrom this caused in you was nigh unbearable and (luckily?) manifested itself as stereotypical moody teenage behavior, when you weren’t wrestling with the attendant physical ailments. That led you to what’s turned out to be a lifelong interest in astronomy and stargazing. Or more accurately, it increased your at-the-time budding interest exponentially. Others’ emotions couldn’t sink their hooks into you, not when your mind was buried in a book or when you were alone outside on a clear warm night. Stargazing served as meditation, too, and slowly you gained a better grasp on this whole empath thing.
That was how you met Neil. He lived in another school district; somehow both of you claimed a little park in town as a prime stargazing spot. He said his gramps took him gazing every summer, and Neil found he wanted to do it more often than that. You didn’t know much about him besides that and some shows and video games he was into, but that was hardly a deterrent to your talking a blue streak in the rare times when both of you were done watching the sky. You talked about your hobbies, how school went, how your little brother was doing, what music you were obsessing over. You told him everything except your biggest secret, and even though he didn’t always acknowledge it all, you could feel he took it all in. He was the first person who had ever done that.
Then he moved away with hardly a goodbye, and that was that. You remember feeling hurt and sad for longer than a day, maybe a week or two, but time has worn away the memories of how you felt. College, of course, was the next big chapter in your life, when your present-day reputation for being bubbly and carefree developed. That had always been with you; college life simply made you turn it up to eleven, a coping mechanism of sorts in navigating the world as an empath.
Strange how the peace you found back then has led you right back to that feelings maelstrom, into the difficulty of parsing what belongs to you and what doesn’t.
You didn’t see Neil until you got to SigCorp, at which point all the moments he was in your periphery during training slapped you across the face, along with hazy childhood memories.
“You’re Roxie, right?”
And all the years without him collapsed together. Maybe you didn’t see much of each other, but your friendship still easily restarted, helped along by your shared sphere of work.
You’d say he’s your best friend, if you were asked.
Meeting Eva was a different kind of slap.
You could count the number of crushes you had on one hand, your relationships on six fingers. You hadn’t felt love yet.
You fell fast and hard for Eva. Then you got back up, and cut that off quicker than breathing, because no way would someone as cool, collected and straight-laced as her would ever be interested in you. (Plus, you had no idea if she was queer and that’s not something to ask someone you just met.)
And then there was Neil.
The two of them had capital-h History, obvious from the moment you saw them together. If anyone knew how much time you spend thinking about your friends’ relationship, the effort you put into trying to push them together, how much time recently you’ve invested in worry (especially over Eva, but Neil too) you’d get therapist recommendations at the very least—
It’s not just wishful thinking. Your empathy gives you a sixth sense as to which people are meant for each other, and/or are dealing with feelings towards each other (which also gave you a leg up in office gossip). And Neil and Eva fit so well; that’s why they were paired together, why you convinced Rob they should be a team, despite how much you liked working with her. Not that he needed convincing. That’s how obvious their compatibility was. And yes, this was despite their bickering (and Neil’s pranks on his partner).
What drew you to Rob, as a colleague and as a person, and helped you decide to permanently partner with him, is how quiet his emotions are. He’s hardly unfeeling, despite what others (like Neil) might say. No, it’s just that his emotions are blissfully subtle. Sometimes when you feel them flare up it’s like a gift.
His emotions toward you aren’t subtle, not these days. And sometimes you feel terrible for relying on him as much as you do. But that’s another thing.
Eva
The cases that go wrong from the beginning are always easier on you than the ones that go wrong when you’re so close to closing them out. Talking to loved ones afterwards is the common denominator, the same intensity of pain no matter what went wrong when. But you’ve grown used to that pain, used to letting it glance off your skin because this is your job, and perfection is impossible.
You thought you had, anyway. The case you failed barely twenty minutes ago, the one from which you’re walking to the car with Neil now, found a chink in your armor. A stupid rookie-level mistake that both of you believed you’d fixed came back to bite you; you almost didn’t log out of the machine before your client flatlined. You owned up to it, the client’s brother took a swing at Neil and tried at you, and the only reason you’re both out of there alive is the brother’s wife calming him down.
There’s still paperwork to finish. You did the bare minimum before getting the hell away from that place. And Neil has one whopper of a black eye that he’s too bullheaded to do anything about, because he had a spare pair of glasses and that makes everything just fine.
In the car, the practically-visible wall between you and Neil is even more unbearable given the post-case mood, and it makes you feel sick. This is far from the first case you’ve failed, with or without him. Hell, it’s not even the first case involving bodily harm directed at either of you. It still feels like the last straw. But you’re not going to quit, you tell yourself. Someone has to keep fighting.
Neil may have stopped trying, but there’s nothing stopping you from fighting enough for you both.
Robert
For the most part, you’re an analytical person. You’re able to compartmentalize your thoughts from your emotions, and often able to see past others' emotions to what might be eliciting them. And that’s why your work at Sigmund fits you so well, why you chose memory traversal over being a tech, as much as machines in general and Sigmund’s in specific interest you.
Your personality and Roxie’s make you an excellent team. Even though her default mode is happy-go-lucky, you’ve been partners long enough to know that she’s the kind of person who can feel everything, all at once, and weather it. That talent must have always been there, under the surface; it’s probably what drew you to her in the first place.
Being able to compartmentalize, however, only gets you so far. You’re hardly immune to base emotions, yours or others’. You get frustrated when you know something is wrong, someone’s having a problem, and that your clear-headed distance from the situation isn’t helping fix it.
Watts and Rosalene, one of your best teams, one of the best you’ve ever seen since you joined Sigmund, have been backsliding for some time. Their ratio of completed cases to failed ones is still good (and they’ve had some brilliant successes), but their previous case was a failure and the mood leading up to their next one is not promising, to say the least. They’ve had innumerable rough patches, no question, but even you can tell there’s a good bit of the personal getting muddled with the professional in this patch. You’re in the unenviable position of having to monitor them, getting closer to explaining to the higher-ups why they are still viable.
Viable. What a cold word. Makes you clammy to think of it in reference to your colleagues. Your almost-friends. It’s... bothersome, to see them fracturing, or whatever less-ominous thing might be happening.
On top of that, there’s something off about Roxie. A dimming of her natural light. The only other time that’s happened is when her brother got sick; he’d been in dire straits before he recovered, and the recovery had been hard.
You know this because Roxie told you. You seem to be good at listening. If only you weren’t abysmal at asking. Not that Watts— Neil— would divulge anything, and Rosalene— Eva— seems even less likely to.
You’d ask Roxie but with her, you’re terrified of not knowing what to say.
Neil
You could’ve decked that guy. Definitely could have. For once it isn’t braggadocio— the things he said about you and Eva made you see red. He telegraphed really badly too, so you could sidestep him (he was like two feet taller than you and you aren’t a total idiot), but taking a swing at Eva?! Good thing the guy’s wife stepped in or things would’ve gotten even more fucked. Because of you and for you.
Of course, with the adrenaline gone, your mutual antisocial...ness, toward each other (what? You can’t word when you’re tired) rushes in to fill the vacuum. It’s frigid out too, which is great. And your face kind of—
“Ah, fuck me,” you mutter as your piece-of-crap company car decides to break down in the middle of an empty road.
Eva sighs epically. Her breath clouds. “Shit.”
Ha, she legit swore.
Your momentary amusement is bulldozed by the inconvenient need to talk. The second you’re alone alone with her, in lulls before or after cases, in downtime at the office, the words bubble up in your throat, more insistent every time. And every time you try to open your mouth, they disappear. It’s been like this for weeks, ever since The Incident.
She found the not-from-Sigmund company letter. She found the (other) pills. Unlocked door or not, you haven’t forgiven her for the breach of privacy. She hasn’t forgiven you for keeping (those kinds of) secrets from her. And here you are now.
You don’t know how much more you can take.
Eva speaks before you can get your voice working. “I’m calling Roxie.”
“How?” Flipping open your phone, you glare at it. “No reception out here.”
“We passed a payphone on the way here. Shouldn’t be more than a 5 minute walk.”
You just gape at her while she bundles up in her scarf and hood. “It’s minus fifty!”
Her eyes meet yours for half a second. “Don’t exaggerate, Neil. Not tonight.”
And, predictably useless, you watch her get out of the car and start walking, snowflakes shining around her in the dimming headlights.
Roxie
One of the things about being an empath is, it’s easier to tell when someone’s romantically interested in you. (Too bad there’s no one-night-stand-interest sensor.) That feeling has a certain color to it, distinguishing it from friendship or dislike. And it’s the reason why you haven’t dated much. Every time you’ve felt it, it’s been like a flipped switch, a lightning bolt, leaving you unprepared and uncomfortable every time. Sometimes it’s been because you don’t return their feelings, sometimes because you need a few days to adjust to the idea. Even with one of the ones you liked back (a post-college roommate, because you may be an empath but that doesn’t exempt you from so-called clichés), it petered out eventually when you didn’t fit together anymore.
With Rob, it’s different. So subtle you don’t realize right away. And so soft it’s easy to lean into and pretend you don’t quite know how he feels, keep your already intimate friendship separate from that other kind of intimacy.
You like him. Want to like him as more than a friend, the way he likes you. If you could only let go of your ridiculous double crush.
There’s only so much room a heart should have, anyway.
Eva
The incongruity of using payphones hits whenever you have to use one, which thankfully is extremely rare. You’ve learned the hard way to keep a small stash of quarters within easy reach on cases, whether they’re located in the boonies or not. Even with gloves on, your hands are so cold that there’s a lot of fumbling involved in getting them into the machine, more fumbling while you pull up Roxie’s contact info on your phone. Not that you need to; you’ve got it memorized. She’s picked you up more than once.
It hits you square between the eyes this time, so you can’t ignore it: Roxie’s been like emotional glue, from back when you were a greenhorn changing partners every couple of weeks to now. She was the constant for you back then, and then became your tech specialist for a hefty amount of cases until you got paired with Neil. She’s patched things up several times when you wanted to strangle him, by talking you down, or being a mediator, or just listening to you rant. And since tonight is turning into one giant negative thought spiral, you get stuck on how much emotional support you’ve taken from her without giving anything back, alike or different. After this, well, you have to come up with something. A restaurant gift card? Ice cream from that new place down the road from yours? Why is food the only thing you can think of? True, food has meaning, but you sh—
“Hello?”
“Roxie. It’s me. Eva.”
“Hey! What’s up?”
“Hope I didn’t wake you,” you say on automatic. Nope, she’s probably—
“Nah, binging a few Shadow Junction episodes before hitting the hay,” she replies with a giggle.
Over this line, the brief silence is crackly. “I need a favor. Our car died on us…”
“Oh my god wait, you just finished a case!” There’s some scuffling and a small thump; when she speaks again her voice is closer. She must have taken you off speaker. “Where are you? I’ll pick you up ASAP.”
You give her a handful of landmarks, the compass direction. With the dark, the gathering snow, your barely-held-back exhaustion, you're starting to think you might be back in the simulation.
Your hands hurt. At least they still have feeling.
“There’s a storm coming, isn't there? Are you okay?”
“Tired. Cold. But, yeah, okay.”
“Hey, Eva?” Hearing your name wakes you up a little; the weight in Roxie’s tone wakes you up more. “I’ll call a tow for you on the way, but do me a favor and don’t hang up.”
“Sure,” you whisper.
She chatters about the latest plot developments on Shadow Junction for a few minutes; you feel like you're absorbing some of the energy in her voice. Then she says, “I’m getting on the highway now,” and then she says, slightly more subdued, “Do you want to tell me about your case?”
Nope. “It went badly, that’s all.”
More crackly silence. Then: “I know I’m repeating myself, Eva, but… are you okay?”
I’m fine.
I’ll be fine when I’m back home.
I’m used to this. It’s fine.
You say, “I think I’m losing Neil.”
The metal of the phone booth bites into your hand even through the glove. “I… found some things I shouldn’t have.” Roxie can keep secrets, contrary to her reputation. This one shouldn’t be her burden, and so you don’t share what you found. “He’s been conflicted about what we do for a while. I think he might be trying to leave Sigmund. And that’s his prerogative, but I just—”
You trained together, joined Sigmund together, starting planning to join Sigmund together. It’s been an enormous part of both your lives, and now you’ve been a team almost as long as your dream to be a part of this company existed. If Neil walks away, what will you have left?
Roxie. Robert. The McMillans. Eddie, Lisa, Logan. You won’t be alone, and you still have your purpose to guide you. But...
You were so certain you’d see that purpose through with Neil at your side, you don’t see how it would possibly be the same. How you could be the same. Sure puts a dent in your faith that you’re your own person.
You can’t simply ask him to stay. Some small irrational part of your brain thinks bringing up the subject at all will make it come to pass. And those pills. If he does leave, if Sigmund is part of his will too, what if—
You wipe at your wet cheeks and nose. “He’s my partner. I need to fix this, and I don’t— I don’t fucking know how.”
Your voice doesn’t sound nearly as broken as you feel.
Robert
It’s another night of Roxie on your couch, eating takeout from your favorite place and watching a movie together. Neither of you have defined your relationship. You’re fine with that, and you think she is too. And yet...
“Roxanne, I—” You love her, have for a long time now. But you’ve seen how she looks at Eva, and at Neil, and you know she doesn’t have room for you right now, don’t know if she ever will.
You had a chance. You realized your feelings for her well before she fell in love with them (or at least before she began to show signs). The obstacles were too many: she’s half your age, you work together but are sort-of kind-of boss and subordinate. All true. All excuses, too, because you weren’t brave (stupid) enough to take that chance.
But she’s come to you for comfort, and you aren’t an asshole; you won’t deny her that because she has a different measure of your relationship. You love her. You would care for her even without that.
Then she kisses you, and she says, “I’m sorry,” and curls up against you.
Roxie
You’re making a mistake, and you don’t care.
You needed that kiss. It soothed these pangs, this hollowness that’s grown over the past few weeks from whatever is going on between Eva and Neil. And the way Rob’s emotions have started to swirl feels dangerous. Addictive. You want more of that, the power to make his emotions dance with one touch.
It’s getting harder to ignore the voice calling you an awful person.
“I’m sorry,” you mumble into his chest. “I know, in every rule book ever made, that I’m leading you on. But I’m not trying to! I’m so sorry. I…” You swallow, sudden clarity hurting your throat. “I think I want to be with you. But, Neil and Eva…”
Saying their names brings fog back over you, reddened by wine. “I can’t explain it,” you whisper, arms around his shoulders. “I can’t... decide.”
You can’t give Rob what he deserves, what you finally know you want to give him, if you can’t make your mind up.
“We’ll figure it out.”
Despite the uncertainty you can practically taste, it feels like a promise. He holds you tighter, and you let yourself sink into him.
Neil
You’re tired, exhausted, and that makes your brain go all overdramatic, but even with that you’re pretty sure this is the shittiest night of your life. You can’t talk to Eva, and she won’t talk to you, and now you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere trying not to freeze to death, watching her freeze to death while she waits for Roxie to rescue both of you from freezing to death. The least you could do is stand by Eva and suffer with her. Then again, maybe she’d rather turn into an Evasicle in peace right now.
You resent how much this case haunts you. You resent even more your inability to walk away from Sigmund and from Eva. They wouldn’t care, but she (probably) would. Does. You wish that didn’t matter so much to you. It shouldn’t anymore, after what she did. The one time you don’t lock your office door. Like a goddamn house of cards. If she’d told you right after instead of sitting on it for a few days, making you wonder what the hell was wrong with her…
You’re such a hypocrite, with all the secrets you’ve kept and keep.
Everything feels gray. Heavy. Tunnel vision, maybe, from the cold and your lack of sleep. Stepping out into the wind chill would probably help you stay awake at this point, except you’re not so far gone as to actually follow through on that.
Eva’s left the phone booth and is standing in the snow, hood blown off from the wind, and she’s too bullheaded to pull it back up. You stare at her hair streaming out, your eyes grow blurry from snowflakes, and your thoughts drift back to distant nights spent with a talkative girl who shared your love of stars.
Roxie
You’re up late at home, watching the Shadow Junction episodes in your queue, when Eva calls you, voice tinny over a payphone. You can’t sense emotions tangibly without being in person, but her and Neil’s voices have a similar effect on you regardless, by now.
You talk with her until you’re on the road.
Something’s wrong besides their dead car, and Eva reveals the tip of the iceberg. You’re relieved. Your instinct hasn’t yet devolved into paranoia.
“He’s my partner. I need to fix this, and I don’t— I don’t fucking know how.”
The turnoff to where they are is coming up. “I can’t imagine how that must feel,” you say into your head mic. A white (gray?) lie. Her pain is making it hard for you to breathe. “But I’m getting you back to the office, and we’ll go from there. One step at a time. Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
You call the tow place as soon as you end her call. After that, things blur together until your car meets theirs.
The snow hasn’t stuck; it’s the light, fluffy kind that would be nice in another time and place. You can see Eva and Neil hunkered down in their seats.
You can’t get out of your car fast enough.
Eva’s first to get out once you reach them. She hugs you, and, yeah, you could probably die happy now. You’re such a mess.
“Thank god for you, Rox. Seriously.”
You’re such a mess. Neil’s relief nearly makes your knees crumple with its warmth, but there are... layers to it. Those layers and the ever-present knot of worry in your stomach keep you alert. Besides, it’s not (won’t ever be) the time or place to let them know everything you’re feeling. So you smile past your shivers and wave off his comment. “No problem. Of course I’ll bail you guys out of this weather!” Then you force your offer of a ride back out of lungs tightened with the fear that they’ll know what lies behind it. “Brought you some cider. Blankets too. To thaw you out for the paperwork, y’know.”
They accept. Of course they do; they don’t have a choice. If either of them suspect anything they aren’t showing it and dear god you are so overthinking this. “Tow truck should be here any minute, if you don’t mind waiting a bit longer.”
“You have heat in your car. That’s all I care about,” says Neil, and Eva says, “A few minutes more doesn’t matter.”
Then she puts her hand on his elbow as they walk the short way to your car, and all your stupid mushy probably-touch-starved brain can think is, there’s hope.
They settle in the back instead of splitting up over the passenger seat, and dumb hope unfurls further in your chest. You waste no time in unfolding blankets and handing them each a thermos. Eva acknowledges with a grateful smile, and you pretend not to notice how Neil flinches when you drape the blanket over him. You ignore the flashing burn when your hands meet their bodies, ignore how fast your heart is beating.
You have a plan, even though it’s a selfish one.
Eva
Roxie still believes her bright shiny mask is impenetrable, but you know her better than she thinks you do; something is worrying her. A lot. And here she is, practically saving both of your lives, and trying to hide it so you don’t feel any worse—
You’re faced with the sudden urge to kiss her.
She’s been a shoulder to lean on, a friend, a good friend. Why did this feeling burst through now? Did the weight of what you and Neil failed to do, the weight of what you know and what he’s not telling you, crack and cause this shift?
(What would she think if you tried?)
You push the urge away, but feel it beaming through when you take your first sip of cider.
Maybe in another life.
Robert
Roxie’s on the verge of breaking, and you can’t do one thing to help.
She stands by you, thermos in hand, while she waits for Eva and Neil to tie up some legalities and gather what they need. At this hour, the offices are silent to the point of suffocation. Having these three around is reminiscent of oxygen. Even so:
"I was really scared, you know?" she says, smiling, eyes painfully bright. "All I knew was I had to get them. So I did. They’ve been dealing with something tough and I couldn't ask them even though I wanted to and they were nearly hypothermic, Rob!" The noise that comes out of her is a shrill mockery of laughter. "So after they're done here, we're going back to my place. All of us. I don't want them to sleep alone. I'll hogtie Neil if I have to, I swear to god.”
There’s nothing you can say, so you just nod. And then you realize: there is something you can do.
You want Roxie to yourself, of course; most one-sided relationships are likely that selfish. You want her to be happy even more than that. So you excuse yourself to the bathroom, and then double back to the offices and poke through Eva’s ajar door, knocking on the jamb.
They’re both in there, which makes it easier for you. Neil’s already got a file folder stuffed with papers in his arms (which he nearly drops upon seeing you). You also notice the overnight bag next to him, and that Eva’s looking over hers.
(Of course. The weekend’s coming up. You should get your bag too.) That’ll make it easier for Roxie.
You’re also worried about them, so this isn’t only for Roxie’s sake. Eva looks like a shell of herself, and Neil’s posture seems to indicate he’s in pain.
“What’s up, Bob?” Neil plops the file folder into his bag. “We taking too long or something?”
You shake your head. “Take the time you need. I heard from Roxie tonight’s case didn't end well, so I thought I should check in.”
“We’re as all right as we can be,” Eva says, zipping up her bag. “And anyway, we’re done here.”
She stops when you don’t move from the doorway.
“She’s really worried about you two. I don’t know any details, but… go easy on her. She means well even when she’s overbearing.”
You turn and head back to the lobby, feeling overheated.
Neil
Roxie seems like a supernova in the frozen night (and if you weren’t half-frozen you'd be slapping yourself for your dumb metaphorical thoughts), and that light is enough, combined with Eva’s presence, to propel you into Roxie’s car.
You flinch because, somehow, her brief touch feels like it unlocks all your secrets. Ridiculous, because Eva got there first and you really hardly know Roxie.
The paperwork is second nature. You and Eva go to your respective offices; you squint as if that’ll make your handwriting look any less blurry (okay, guess your glasses need cleaning); at the last second you grab your overnight bag, and instead of heading back to the lobby you gravitate to Eva’s office and stand there like a dumbass while she finishes up.
You thump your bag on the floor. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she says without turning around.
You busy yourself with organizing your papers. But every so often you glance at her, and when you see she’s going through her overnight bag the urge to ask if she wants to stay at your place, or if you can stay at hers, is overpowering. Don’t ask, don’t— “Do you—”
There’s a knock, and of all people Rob’s standing there, as if tonight isn’t freaky enough. Still. Saved by the Bobert bell.
What he says, along with the sheer incongruity of his presence, knocks you out of your numbness for a few minutes. “Jeez,” you say once he leaves as fast as he came by, “he’s really got it bad for her, doesn’t he?”
A barely-heard whisper in your mind hisses, You should know.
She’s wearing an indecipherable expression. “I suppose so.”
It all makes slightly more sense when you get back to the lobby. Before you or Eva can open your mouths, Roxie’s talking.
“It’s been a really bad night for you two. I’ve been there, you don’t have to tell me anything, and... I won’t ask. But I’ve got a spare room and a couch at my place and you should take advantage of that for the night. I’ve already convinced Rob, and I won’t bother any of you, a-a-and I really think it’s for the best so, so please…”
As exposed as you’re feeling, you can see the appeal of staying at her place. It’s closer than yours, and yeah, okay, your brain cannot handle the logistics of dropping off and heading home. Besides, it’s pretty uncomfortable how upset she seems (even if it’s just about her sinking ship, har), and if this makes her feel better, well. You don’t know what’s going on, feel like you haven’t for hours, but you’re with people you know and who know you, even though they don’t know everything. There’s something to be said for having friends in the same line of work.
This rift between you and Eva hurts far more than you can admit to yourself, never mind anyone else. And even though Roxanne and Rob have no idea what’s happened, happening, between you two, them being with you feels like a bulwark holding back any further damage.
Maybe they might even help fix what’s broken.
Roxie could, maybesomehowsomeway. She seems like that kind of person, the kind who wants to fix people’s issues and is good at it, though who the hell knows where you got that impression. She’s standing closer, an arm’s length— a fact you only realize when she reaches up and takes off your glasses.
Roxie
You didn’t notice how close you’d gotten to Neil and Eva while you were talking, or that you’d been moving at all, until a shadow near Neil’s eyebrow catches your attention. At that instant, your accidental proximity doesn’t matter. Your heart stops for a split second. “Neil, your eye!”
“What about my—”
You remove his glasses. Eva gasps, like it’s A Bad Thing you just did (and okay, you can’t remember ever seeing his eyes before), and you can even sense Rob standing protectively close behind you. “Holy schnikes, Neil!” His right eye is nearly swollen shut, the bruise radiating nearly to his temple on that side and nearly across his nose on the other. “What happened?”
A tidal wave of guilt from Eva makes the room wobble, but Rob catches you.
“Sorry, more tired than I thought,” you say to their combined are you okays. Your nervous smile lands on Rob, who doesn’t look convinced. Still, he helps you upright silently.
Neil squints at you with his good eye. “What do you mean ‘what happened?’”
How can he not know? “It’s totally black??” You look from Neil to Eva and back, panic surfacing slowly. “It’s barely open??? Doesn’t it hurt?????”
Eva sighs, pulls a hand mirror from her bag, and holds it in front of him.
A pause.
“Huh,” he finally says. “Guess that explains why it’s a little harder to see.”
“Our client’s brother punched him.” Eva rubs at the bridge of her nose.
“He did not—”
“He said he was fine, but I thought he was just shrugging it off. I didn’t know he didn’t know! Don’t you remember your glasses broke?”
“He was huge! I dodged him easy! I…” Neil digs through his pockets indignantly for a few moments, then stops. “I don’t have my spare pair. Which… means that those…”
“Are your spare pair,” you finish gently, handing them back to him. “Neil, I think you might have a concussion.”
“Well, shit,” he says, at the same time Eva says, “That’s what I’m worried about.”
“That settles it.” You step back a couple paces, reluctantly. “You’re definitely coming back with me. I have ice and I have some bruise cream that’s pure magic, I swear.”
Neil huffs. “I already said I would.”
“You only thought it because I didn’t hear you.” You eke out a grin. “I’m not a mind-reader, you know!”
“Okay, well, this is my official yes let’s crash at your pad agreement.”
“Heard and acknowledged!”
Putting her bag over her shoulder, Eva says, “Then let’s go,” and leads the way to the elevators.
She and Neil take the backseat again, leaving Rob to sit in the passenger seat. Now that you’ve executed your plan, you seem to have lost whatever energy you had left.
The silence that falls, though, feels comforting instead of stifling.
~~~
The first step through your front door pulls a deep sigh out of you. Rob, Eva, and Neil’s various flavors of tension decrease slightly.
“I’m just gonna… stop for a minute.” So saying, Neil plops onto the floor in front of your stupid-huge couch.
“Sit wherever you like,” you say as you go to the kitchen for an ice pack.
You’re glad you turned the room into something slightly more presentable, even when you weren’t expecting three people to come by— cleaned up junky desserts from the coffee table, put pillows back, et cetera. You wrap a hand towel around the ice pack and bring it back to Neil, telling him to use light pressure. “I’ll go get the supplies.”
As soon as you flick on your bathroom light and see yourself in the mirror, your throat tightens with the need to cry. A few gasping sobs come out of you but, “Okay okay okay,” you whimper, clutching the sink rim, they’re here, you got them, you’ve made them safe now. “Get it together. Snap the hell out of it. You’ve got a job to do.”
You gather everything you think you need and then go back over it: disposable gloves, the arnica bruise cream, antiseptic wipes, washcloth, cup of warm water, 8-hour painkiller/swelling reducer. Then you splash off and dry your face, finagle all of it into your arms, and get back out there.
Neil’s made it onto your couch, probably because Eva’s sitting there now. She’s on his left. There’s space for you between them.
You’re friends. Colleagues. You’ve all been through highs and lows working at Sigmund, in parallel with each other. They can’t read your mind.
You unload your supplies onto the coffee table and take the seat.
Eva lets out a breath.
“Sorry for grabbing your glasses,” you say to Neil as you put on the gloves.
“Eh. Extenuating circumstances.” He shrugs. Takes them off. “‘Kay, do your worst.”
“I’ll be as careful as I can. First, these.” You hold up the wipe pack. “Your skin’s not broken so it shouldn’t sting, but I’ll make sure any excess is gone anyway. Oh—” You grab the pain pills. “Take these first, actually. I can get you water.”
“I have my own… water,” he mumbles, digging through his bag and retrieving a bottle. “Thanks.”
Once he’s taken the pills, you run the wipe all around the bruise, holding your breath while you dab at his closed eye. “Don’t move.” You wet the washcloth then and apply that, making sure no residue stays to get into his eye. That would suck.
“Okay, move if you need to. Magic cream’s the last thing!” You hold it up with a flourish. “Never had to use it on something this, uh,” you fumble for the word, “extensive, but I promise it’ll help.”
“Who died and made you Florence Nightingale?” he said with a chuckle.
You pause in the middle of daubing cream on your finger. “Who?”
“It’s an old reference. Really old. Like, my gramps knew the history, that’s how old.”
“Early 20th century nurse, I believe,” Rob says in a musing tone. “Founded the profession.”
“You’re almost as old as him, so you don’t count.”
“She opened the first nursing school, too,” says Eva.
“And you’re a nerd so you also don’t count.”
“She sounds pretty cool,” you say quietly; you’re close to Neil’s face again, applying the cream from the outside of the bruise in. “Glad someone’s remembering her, still.”
You don’t even notice the silence fall, you’re concentrating so hard.
Neil holds his breath this time when you put the tiniest amount of cream on and around his eyelids, using the barest pressure to rub it in and still wincing in his place.
You’re very close to him. Your hand tingles. Whatever’s charging the atmosphere is impossible to analyze.
“Um. All done.” You pull your hand away, look away, throw the glove into the little trash can under the table.
“Rox?”
You look back at him and try to breathe evenly.
“Just… thanks. For all this. And…” He leans forward to catch Eva’s gaze. “...sorry I got my head bashed in and forgot about it.”
“We should get that checked out tomorrow.” Her voice is worn, but her eyes are soft.
Your worry changes form in that instant, from low-key constancy in your veins to the choking kind of worry that comes from realizing you love them, are in love with them, your best friends who are in love with each other and either don’t know or can’t admit it. They certainly don’t have the room to accept your feelings.
You’ve known this for long enough; it’s hardly a revelation. But something about tonight has crystallized your feelings, made them impossible to bury. Now you know the origin of the physical ache that’s been dogging you for weeks, to the point of becoming a second skin, and you desperately wish you could do anything to ease Neil and Eva’s pain as much for yourself as for them. You just squeeze Neil’s hand, pretend Eva taking yours doesn’t stop your heart, and stare at Robert who graciously doesn’t stare back.
You nod, because you don’t trust your voice. But then you speak anyway. “We’re a team. Mismatched as we may be. We gotta stick together, you know?”
Looking at them both, you see Eva smile, and even Neil has a tiny flash of one when he says, “The four musketeers, or something?”
“Close enough.” Robert, soft, as he eases onto the couch next to Eva.
“No, exactly. One for all, and…” You swallow, looking at Neil, wishing so hard for Eva’s sake. “And all for one.”
Your hands left Eva’s and Neil’s to settle on the couch minutes ago, but now, almost synchronized, their hands cover yours again.
Every ounce of tension rushes out of you, in spite of the fact that your brain is in red alert mode, your heart’s beating fast enough it hurts, and heat’s flashing through you from head to toe.
Maybe one day you’ll tell Neil and Eva everything you feel. Maybe one day you’ll share your biggest secret with all three of them. But for now, all that matters is that you’re all together, safe for tonight, warm and dry. All that matters is the others’ emotions are blending into a shared, soft calm, that you’re almost, just about, being held by them. All that matters is that you all have each other.
For once in a long while, your mind is quiet.
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Some KyouKin because I swear I am the ONLY one who has ever written this ship and I think it's an adorable rarepair!
Gonna go ahead and do... this!
[NSFW]
Because... well, do you blame me? These boys are cute!
Words: 1,420
There is fluff, of course, and there's some non-explicit smut. Makeouts and rough sex... Do you need anything more?
(I mean, if you do, feel free to drop me a request or an ask, I've never had an ask before!)
LOVE THEM PLS
Enjoy...!
-
Oh, what the hell, Kindaichi thought, as he slumped down next to Kyoutani on their too-plush couch. It wasn't like he did it every day, slumming it with cheap fast food and a cheeky beer and watching crappy TV with his boyfriend. He was allowed a day off, as Kyoutani had very gruffly reminded him.
It was worth it, when Kyoutani roughly tugged his arm to cut out his 'separate side of the settee' bullshit. Well, it wasn't Kindaichi who had complained about stupidly long legs awkwardly tangling in his, after all. He was just trying to be courteous. Apparently Kyoutani didn't care about that today, while he made sure Kindaichi was comfortably nestled against him, head in the crook of his neck.
It was somewhat of an awkwardly close distance to eat and drink at, greasy food chewed lazily and beer all but poured down their gullets. Kindaichi knew what was coming, as Kyoutani decided to change the channel to some cheesy teen drama Kindaichi was quite sure Kyoutani actually kind of enjoyed. The idea was there, though, when Kyoutani could pretend not to be interested, just so he could turn his attention elsewhere.
Like the remnants of grease Kindaichi would've appreciated a napkin to clean up. It wasn't quite in his mind when Kyoutani wordlessly began licking them, however, and he couldn't even stop him.
Kyoutani wasn't like this often; calm, content, happy, so watching his eyes so cooly stare at his own, Kindaichi didn't say a word in protest. His lips were too busy afterwards, anyway, as Kyoutani got his answer and made his move. From comfortably snuggled up to each other, Kyoutani quickly maneuvered Kindaichi down, pinned him with his body and kissed him softly.
Neither of them were all that great with words. Communication worked purely on actions, how Kyoutani paused to give him ample time to push him back.
Kindaichi didn't, of course. He was far too interested now, his cheeks heated from alcohol and stomach warm and full with food. Kyoutani knew too well how to seduce him while keeping him comfortable, and this was exactly that. A warm grin spread across the blonde's usually taut features at the hand sliding up his back, urging him on. It was beautiful, the rarest of smiles Kindaichi was honoured to be the only one to see, as it brightened his eyes and painted a glorious blush over his already tinted cheeks.
"I… don't think you got it all…" Kindaichi mumbled, holding his hand up shakily. True or not, Kyoutani slid fingers around his wrist and took fingers into his mouth, sucking each one obscenely, lavishing attention with his powerful tongue. Kindaichi watched with wide eyes, so enraptured by the pink muscle and his puffy lips simply shining with spit puckered around his digits. Kyoutani's own eyes caught his, then, hint of amusement behind the dark lust. Kindaichi only caught a quick glimpse before he diverted back to his mouth, shoving his tongue in roughly.
Riled up so easily, Kyoutani didn't slow with sloppy kisses Kindaichi couldn't help but let him take, his mouth tasting of salty chicken, tongue and teeth clashing against his. Kindaichi's wet fingers slid around Kyoutani's nape while his other curled fingers in his shirt between his shoulder blades.
Kyoutani was feral, how he pulled back to trail wet lips over his chin and jaw to latch on to his neck and suck hard, suddenly rocking his body into Kindaichi's own with a groan resembling a growl. Kindaichi's body went rigid as their crotches pressed together and his grip tightened, curling toward him to chase him. "You're surprisingly horny tonight." Kyoutani said gruffly, wrecked voice so low and rough and sensual it sent a shiver down Kindaichi's spine from the vibrations against abused flesh. He was always one for being painfully direct.
"You're surprisingly horny too…" Kindaichi countered weakly, biting his lip as Kyoutani bit down on the bruise he just made, tongue flicking lightly over the reddened flesh. He whimpered softly, tipping his head back to give him more room.
"I don't see you complainin'." Kyoutani replied amusedly, breath huffed from his nose tickling Kindaichi's neck, giving few licks to the dented pattern of teeth. "You're smart. You saw this coming…" Kyoutani started, pulling back to watch Kindaichi's face, eyes darting over his features from his slack lips to his blown eyes and back down again.
Turning his head away, Kindaichi panted softly, heat searing his cheeks. "I- Um… May… Maybe…" Kyoutani ran a finger over his cheek, prompting him to look back up. He was nervous, they were both nervous, even with their light-headedness from lack of oxygen and the alcohol like poison in their blood.
"You never relax, so I thought I could help you out. You're… pent-up, aren't you?" Kyoutani asked, breathy and impatient, a rumbling in his throat Kindaichi thought way too much about. Under his hard scrutiny, both his eyes and… well, his dick, Kindaichi ducked bashfully.
"Y-Yeah…"
Kindaichi could never articulate, I want you so far up my ass I can feel you in my throat, so he settled on that simple word, curling a long leg behind one of Kyoutani's to reinforce it. "You're so straight-forward, Yuu." Kyoutani grunted, pushing his hips against him again to hear him moan abashedly at the friction it caused.
"J-Just… If you don't want to… to watch your favourite show, O-Of course." Kindaichi stuttered, growing deeper red when the TV shut off almost instantly and Kyoutani pressed down onto him, a hard, long lean line of muscle against him.
"You'll be my entertainment." Kyoutani growled, pressing his searing hot mouth back against Kindaichi's until he was melted against the sofa and gasping Ken, Ken, Ken over and over and over.
It was what Kindaichi intended to be, really, body as much of a meal as the chicken and as much of a show as the TV, that Kyoutani made good on his promise to help him relax. He got used to being boneless and helpless as Kyoutani ravished him, leaving him with tingling hickeys and aching finger-shaped bruises littered over his lean body.
It was a good a night as Kindaichi could have hoped for, floating in bliss while cruelly edged to the point of sobbing, hands twisted above him in the fabric of the couch to hold on against the delicious brutality of Kyoutani's tongue, his onslaught of fingers and eventually his stupidly large girth fucking him into next Sunday. He cursed and moaned and cried a mess of beautiful sounds that urged Kyoutani on as he kept telling him to be louder, Yuu, I don't think next door can hear you yet. It may have been sarcastic, but damn if it didn't turn Kindaichi on even more.
And when they finished, curled up in a liquid mess, languid limbs grabbing each other as if still so desperate for touch, Kindaichi kissed Kyoutani, soft and chaste and loving, Kyoutani was moved to tears, burying his head before they would even show glossed over his eyes. "You didn't hurt me, Ken." He said, running a hand through Kyoutani's short hair. "Well… you did but I… You know I… I really like that. When you go all…"
The word was left in the air while Kyoutani kissed teeth marks on Kindaichi's collarbone. He wasn't violent in any sense of the word, but he needed someone like this, like Kindaichi. Sure, he had said Kindaichi was the pent-up one but he was too, and Kindaichi would give everything to him and more importantly… take everything from him. He'd had no-one like that in his childhood until he met the bumbling mess of a beanpole that cared not for his brooding expression and rough playstyle. "You're scarily tolerant of me."
"You aren't… all that scary…" Kindaichi mused, trailing fingers over Kyoutani's back scratched red-raw and watching him shiver. Yeah… Was a probably a good idea to keep my hands away after all… "You're kinda cute, too." Kindaichi admitted with a blush. Against his chest, he could feel Kyoutani blush, too, and he couldn't help but give a watery smile to the ceiling.
"Not cute." Kyoutani protested, poking Kindaichi's stomach with a wet finger. "You're cute."
Too comfortable on the sofa, the two ended up with their lips locked together in somewhat of a fight to one-up each other on who loved who the most? until they were too exhausted to carry on, drifting off slowly while still high on each other.
#kyoutani kentarou#kindaichi yuutarou#kyoukin#that is their ship name#at least#it has to be because I made it because noone else ships them :)))#kyoutani x kindaichi#rarepair
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Ships I love and I think need more attention
First and foremost, one of my longest ships: Spotchie.
Okay, sure, not exactly a very liked ship, but consider: Spot, big, tough Spot, with his boyfriend (who is only an inch or so taller than he), a very kind and loving person that is all smiles, but also very strong. Crutchie is a determined person and doesn't want to rely on anyone and I, personally, think Spot would understand that and would respect it (though he does get worried for his boyfriend from time to time).
Then there's Spot, a person who isn't that smiley, but damnit if he won't do anything to make his boyfriend smile. Crutchie understands that Spot doesn't like being touched even though Crutchie is a very cuddly, snuggly person, he respects his boyfriend's wishes an only does what he knows Spot's comfortable with (ex.: Holding pinkies, soft kisses, kisses on the cheek).
No one knows how or when they got together, but everyone is happy for them.
Spalbert (I apologise for how long this one is. I'm very passionate about this ship as you will see)
I know it's getting bigger, but please enjoy this as I paint it out for you: Spot and Albert are both boys who I feel grew up in very toxic masculine and very, very Catholic homes. Albert with his dad and two brothers and Spot with his uncle (even after he was adopted by Medda I feel like he wouldn't change much). Albert's a hockey, baseball, and basketball player and Spot is a football and baseball player. They already knew one another thanks to their very large friend group, so them having baseball together made them closer.
Both still weren't really into terms with their sexualities (Albert being a Homoromantic Asexual and Spot being gay), so they tried to ignore any feelings they got around each other as something that wasn't important.
Everyone kind of knew since they would get closer to one another and the small smiles they would get if they heard the other be mentioned or how if someone was talking terribly about the other they were more than willing to fight whoever it was that started the shit.
Spot didn't technically come to terms with his sexuality until he got drunk and came out to his brother, Jack, in tears.
Albert didn't come to terms with his until JoJo came out as Asexual and Albert asked him about it. JoJo started explaining it and mentioned the term 'Homoromantic' which stuck out to Albert so when he got home he looked it up.
Once they both came to terms they liked one another, they were pining much more than before. They didn't come out to one another until Albert invited Spot over so they could smoke a blunt together and just enjoy each other's company.
They may or may not have kissed.
Spelmer
L i s t e n: Spot and Elmer were friends way before either became a Newsie. They already knew the other was gay, Elmer knew because he knows Spot well enough and Spot knew because Elmer told him when they were kids that he didn't seem to like girls.
When Spot ran away from his mom he stayed the night at Elmer's, crying because of how scared he was.
Elmer held him through the night.
When Spot left in he morning Elmer gave Spot one of his dad's old tank tops; a red and black striped one. It was the best that Elmer could give him since his dad didn't own many sleeved shirts. The ones he did own, he took.
Spot visited a month later, no longer called Sean except by Elmer. He sported the tank top and some pink suspenders, claiming he wore those on special occasions.
About a year later Elmer's mom died. Spot brought him in and told the current King of Brooklyn of the time, Ace, that he'd help him out and that he'd pay for Elmer's bunk for the night.
A little after, Spot turned fourteen, now the leader of Brooklyn. He sent Elmer to Manhattan because Elmer had started shit with someone from Queens and he wasn't going to let Elmer get hurt for his stupidity.
Spot would go check on him from time to time, making sure he was okay.
During the strike, Elmer had heard rumors that his best friend had taken on six guys at once and won, which put some form of fear in him. So when Jack called for Brooklyn he looked down.
After the Bulls attacked he went to Brooklyn and had Spot patch him up.
Spot held Elmer that night as Elmer cried.
Relmer, second longest rarepair. Courtesy to @be-more-chill-evan-hansen of course for introducing me to this adorable ship.
You fools really be ignoring my boys. Okay so these two? Super affectionate. They love touching. They're always holding hands or kissing or cuddling and making jokes and cheesy pick up lines to one another.
They met thanks to Spot. Spot and Elmer were best friends when they both lived in Brooklyn and both ended up moving to Manhattan (Elmer moved there first, then two years later Spot was adopted by Medda). Spot brought Elmer over after school one day and both went upstairs to his and Jack's room, where Race and Jack were.
These two fools, of course, hit it off right away. Seeing who could burp the loudest, see who could blush first, who could make the other laugh. Simple stuff.
Race asked Elmer out (about a month after meeting) since he has a little more balls to do stupid shit when he's drunk or high (which he was both). Elmer said yes, obviously.
#newsies#spot conlon#racetrack higgins#race higgins#albert dasilva#crutchie morris#elmer sagloo#elmer kasprzak#i had almer and meddahannah but i cant thinknof any rn smahghqkw#spotchie#spelmer#spalbert#relmer
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Impromptu Nursing
VRAINS Rarepair Weeks 2018-2019 - Day 12: Pets/Sickfic
Summary: Kiku and Takeru have planned on seeing each other after weeks and months of not doing so because of the distance. There is, however, kind of a knack with it: he doesn't show up at their meeting point. Instead, she goes to his place and decides that he needs to be taken care of instead of apologizing to her.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Ships: Entrustshipping (Takeru/Kiku)
Wordcount: 1.9K words
Notes: Justice for Shoichi, the best wingman ever.
YOOOOOO BEST PROMPT IS HERE
You gotta have to thank Michevalier for the sudden Entrust inspiration. I'm writing almost the opposite as she does (with my floof and all), so make sure to check her fic too, xoxo, Fly.
It's very fluffy for once, considering I slapped a thing from a Cardcaptor Sakura special manga chapter on there for good measure.
Event hosted by @vrainsrarepairweeks
AO3 version available here.
Winter break’s cold winds blows through Den City as Kiku steps down from her train. Still very little used to the city’s busier atmosphere compared to her countryside hometown, she made sure to plan where she had to meet up with Takeru: a park downtown, in front of a hotdog truck named Café Nagi. He also accompanied the explanation with a picture of some of his friends from the city: on it, Takeru was smiling, arm wrapped around the shoulder of a blue-haired boy around their age named Yusaku. Right behind them was an older, purple-haired man named Kusanagi who couldn’t be that much older than them.
Takeru has almost insisted for her to meet them and not just with him. He has told her countless stories about them, how they had all met. His eyes were shimmering whenever he talked about Aoi’s exploits, how they saved Miyu, how Yusaku was a great friend to have, how Kusanagi’s advice was either fantastic or hilariously terrible, and then there was this little guy in his Duel Disk that’d say something witty and she’d giggle. He was so excited for it, how could she not be as excited herself?
And then it turns out he wasn’t at their meeting point.
She does see Yusaku eating a hotdog and Kusanagi asking what she wants to get for herself, but there is no Takeru to be seen. She has to apologize: she’s sorry, she isn’t here to order anything. At first, the man looks confused, and she wonders if she hasn’t stumbled upon very coincidental identical people. That would be very unfortunate, because she’d have bothered people who have nothing to do with whomever she is searching for. Soon after, however, he remembers what Takeru has told him and greets her with a great smile.
“Oh, you’re Takeru’s childhood friend, ain’t ya? Sorry to tell ya this, but he isn’t here today!”
The astonishment is full on her part.
“Ex… Excuse me?”
“Yeah, he just… didn’t come here, for some reason… He isn’t responding to neither Yusaku or me.”
“Oh, I see…”
Kusanagi seems down from having to tell her this as her mind starts racing. If Takeru isn’t here, it may be because he’s slipping back into his shut-un lifestyle, and she doesn’t want that to happen again. This is bad…
She’s starting to panic when the hotdog seller’s voice breaks her away from her thoughts and brings her back to reality.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea! Why don’t you go pay him a visit? I’m sure he’d be very happy to see ya!”
“Ah, I’d love to, but I don’t know where Takeru lives here. He hasn’t given me his address…”
“That’s nothing! Gimme two sec’, I’m gonna grab ya a piece of paper and write it there, you can use your phone’s GPS to get there! Don’t forget to give us some news when you’ll be there, okay?”
Kusanagi doesn’t fail to deliver. Barely minutes later, she’s back on her feet, phone in one and the piece of paper in the other in case her map app bugs on her and she has to input the address again. What a resourceful man… She can perfectly see why Takeru was so happy to introduce him to her. Yusaku didn’t say much, but his little thumb-up to her was very charming to see anyway. They do seem like very nice people, she’s glad Takeru is their friend, that he can count on them when he’d be otherwise isolated in a busy, bustling city. It means he has people to rely on whenever he needs help.
On the other hand, Kiku feels a great deal of anxiety when she notices Takeru still isn’t responding to her text messages. She has attempted to call him several times since arriving in Den City, sometimes even if just to ask where to go (and have an excuse to hear his voice yet again, goodness she loves hearing his voice so much), but he has never picked up either. At first, she thought he was busy with his friends at the café, and considering how forgetful he was, it was totally plausible. However, knowing he wasn’t there and has never been, she felt shivers going down her spine. It sounds like an ominous recipe for disaster, if you ask her.
She clutches her phone in her hands whenever she isn’t looking at map instructions, hoping it’s just because he’s too busy and is late, but the worried glance Yusaku and Kusanagi exchanged earlier didn’t indicate it was any better than that. Maybe he’ll call her back or respond to her message, so she keeps the vibrator turned on.
Please be alright, Takeru, she often finds herself whispering under her breath as to feel less alone.
After feels like too much time spent in unknown streets, she finally finds the apartment complex where Takeru lives. Her phone not being able to track his exact position down, she instead relies on instincts and following number logic. His mailbox seems to indicate a floor and a flat number: that hads to be where she’s headed. Even climbing the stairs, as the elevator is broken and out of commission as a result, doesn’t feel like a chore and more like a time loss. She senses that something’s wrong, a feeling that is fogging her mind to the point all she can think about is reaching his flat and know what was wrong. Once facing the door, which she almost misses because her attention has been hindered, her hit isn’t a miss: his name is indeed on the small nameplate next to the door and right over the ringbill.
There is no immediate response, and she’s very much tempted to ring again, until the door opens and she gets faced by her precious Takeru and his… sickly appearance, to say the least.
She has known him for long enough to know it when his skin is paler, and even then, it’s obvious enough for anyone to see it. A thick red hue covers his otherwise cadaveric face, his glasses are covered in fog (she’s surprised he’s even wearing those…) and there are deep dark rings under his eyes. Sweat is pearling down his temples and his half-opened pyjama top can only mean he’s feeling very hot in early spring.
“Ah, h-hi, Kiku…” he exhales as he realizes it’s her, a tiny smile appearing on his face.
“Takeru, are you okay?” she immediately asks, not waiting for any answer. “You look terrible!”
He looks on the side, embarrassed, and coughs in his elbow.
“C’mon in… Sorry, I slept through my alarm and…”
“It’s all fine, don’t worry, let’s get you to bed again,” she puts her hands on his shoulders and tries to get him to his room by relying on her instincts alone, but in the end, he still indicates her where to go. The flat itself is small, truly sized for one person, so it doesn’t take her more than a few coughs from him too much to find the bedroom.
Once she has made sure Takeru was back in bed and propped against pillows, she noticed a little red creature rising from his Duel Disk. It soon disappears back into it, however, and she is left wondering if it was her or it was real. Oh well, it’s not important.
“Have you eaten something yet?” she asks as she mentally makes a list of what she could have to be going out to buy.
“Well, not really, I just got out of bed… And Flame can’t make breakfast…”
Oh, so this was probably the little guy inside his Duel Disk! Takeru has described Flame as before!
“I’ll make you something with what you have then, okay? Your grandparents once told me about what they’d make for you when you were sick!”
She ran to the kitchen, which seems to be a hybrid with the theorical dining room, and takes a look through the fridge and other places to find a way to make something quickly. She settles for a cup of honey milk, not too big in case he isn’t hungry and warm enough to feel good on the throat, and a moderate bowl of oatmeal. She doesn’t really know why he had this in here, but she’s grateful for it: it’ll be just fine for her sick friend. There is no proper tray to put these on: instead, she just uses something similar found nearby. She isn’t sure what it is, but it can hold a bowl, a mug and the pills she found in his pharmacy.
Takeru gives her a smile as she puts it on his lap, making sure it isn’t burning to hold.
“Thank you very much, but you really didn’t have to…” he tells her, but she dismisses it quickly.
“Who else was going to take care of you? Your friends had no idea you were missing because you were sick… You should tell them, so they can take care of you when I’ll be back in our hometown…”
He looks at the red mug with blue stripes, holds it in his hands and, after taking a sip, looks back at her and smiles again.
“You remember this mug, Kiku?”
“Of course I do! It’s the one I gave you before you left for Den City!”
Ah, she’s so proud of him too for moving on from the Incident and rebuilding himself!
This is only for her to get restless again.
“Wait, Takeru, I don’t think you have medicine…”
“I don’t think it’s much more than a cold… Plus, I’m not gonna make you pay for this, seriously, Kiku…”
“I was only able to find fever reducers, but maybe you want cough pills?”
“I’ll be fine, I promise…”
She stares at him with the intensity of a thousand doctors and the legendary force of a hundred grandma’s remedies.
“You’re really sure about that? I saw a convenience store and a pharmacy around the corner, they’re not too far for me to get there…”
The little laugh she hears from Takeru, slightly soured down by his congested throat but still adorable to hear, almost innocent. She puts a hand on his forehead meanwhile, and sure enough, he has a fever running. It doesn’t seem to bad, however, so she just quickly grabs a washcloth in his bathroom (which is right next to the bedroom, how convenient). Once filled with cold water, she can go back to the bedroom and put it on his forehead.
“Ah, that’s annoying… I’ll have to pay you back again for this too…”
She giggles.
“You don’t owe me anything, silly! I’m glad to make sure you’ll be fine!”
“Can I ask you a last favour, Kiku…?”
His voice sounds more hesitant. Is there something wrong?
“Of course you can.”
“Can you stay with me for the day? Flame is a nice company to have, but you’re even better to have around…”
Her heart skips a beat and her cheeks heat up.
“I’ll stay here as long as I can then!”
As if synchronized, they take each other’s hand in theirs, fingers sometimes detaching so they can do other stuff on the side, like daling with the tray. They, however, enlace each other almost right afterwards, and she cannot help but feel like a guardian angel at the moment.
Takeru’s grandparents have told her before she was his guardian angel, after all, but never had she pictured that idea so much than now.
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Cindy and Crowe for the ship ask thing?
WELL WELL
AIN’T THIS AN INTERESTING SHIP, AAAH!
Let’s see what I can do! :3
[[I’ll add a Keep Reading at some point]]
Cindy/Crowe
Who’s the first to wake up in the morning:
It’s a 50/50. Both ladies have to usually be up for work, so that sets their natural clocks for relatively early. Sometimes Cindy wakes up first, sometimes it’s Crowe, it depends mostly in the amount of work they had the previous day, hence how tired they went to bed.
Who’s the one to make breakfast:
50/50 as well, deends on the mood or who wakes up first, but it’s usually Cindy. Despite her energy and great hand at cooking, Crowe is the laziest thing in the morning, so if Cindy could please do the favor instead, that would be great.
Who’s the one to serve the other breakfast in bed:
50/50, but, once more,it’s usually Cindy. Because of the extreme morning laziness that hits Crowe each day, it’s more tempting that she stays in bed and Cindy brings her breakfast. The first time that happened, Crowe laughed but was a bit shy and asked Cindy to not spoil her because if she barely makes it out of bed, being served breakfast in bed will make it worse and she’ll live in bed eternally. All that Cindy replied was that then they both could stay forever in bed.
Who would suggest a quickie in the morning before work:
Crowe. She knows discipline is important and everything, what with being part of the Glaives, but she likes to take it easy. Crowe thinks it’s useless being early to work if you’ll be stressed all through the day, because “stress will lead to frustration which will lea to you making a very poor job”, and Crowe doesn’t want to be a bad Glaive and Cindy doesn’t want to be a bad mechanic, right? It’s best to lost 5 minutes then be badass for 8 hours than be a useless idiot for 8 hours!
Cindy doesn’t even need all that explanation, but she likes to hear Crowe and, in some way, she shares the philosophy.
Guess who are the best at their jobs because they arrive fresh and happy every morning kasjdsahf.
Who suggests they both ditch work to lay around all day:
Crowe. While Crowe is the best mage Glaive and a very hard working soldier, she also knows when to take it easy. Cindy doesn’t; she can’t stop her hands from coming and going everywhere, she’s always working. Hence, a stressed Crowe reaching her limits, suggesting they skip one day to go back refreshed the following day (we don’t want to be useless idiot, do we? HAsdjkahf, these two dorks).
Who chooses the movies:
Both. Both look at the available titles together, one reads a title, the other says yes or not, the other agrees, and they move on until the other disagrees, they shortly talk about why they should or not watch that one, and finally decide together.
Who initiates kissing during the moving, thus distracting the other from the movie all together:
Crowe. She thinks that Cindy is absolutely adorable when she’s so attentive so a movie or cartoon, likes the way Cindy smiles and how her eyes look all shiny. It starts because Crowe got distracted with her eyes, until she wants to reach close to kiss her cheek. She usually tries to leave it there, but if she wants more, she’ll take a popcorn, tell Cindy to open wide, and when Cindy takes a bite of the popcorn Crowe will get close to kiss her on the lips.
From that point on it’s difficult to get Crowe off her. Even more difficult to want to.
Who orders lunch:
Crowe. Mostly when she gets tired or feels too lazy to cook by herself. She’ll always ask Cindy if she’s fine with it, and she usually is.
Truth be told, Cindy had troubles adapting to the greasy food (she’s more into fresh veggies and fruit, as compared to Crowe’s spicy and hot stuff), but eventually both found something in between to share. They’re nerds for ordering sushi.
Who steals food from the other’s plate without asking:
Cindy. She’s super, extra, hyper curious about everything, and this includes food.
Because she and Crowe have different tastes when it comes to food, they may usually have different dishes, mostly when they go to eat out or with friends, and Cindy gets super curious about what she’s eating. Mostly because, if they go out, with friends or not, Crowe usually asks for a traditional from Galahd (it’s Nyx and Libertus’ fault she’s so into it), the spicy and greasy sort of food, where Cindy has her average/more veggie-based dish.
So, curious grease.monkey unable to control the curiosity will always stare and stare and stare and before she knows it she’s snatching something from Crowe’s dish.
“I just want to taste”, Crowe has lost count of how many times Cindy has said this. It takes Crowe a bit off guard when Cindy steals something from her dish, but she finds it funny and laughs. She’s taken up to sometimes fork-feed Cindy when she catches her staring.
Who curls up next to the other and falls asleep due to a full tummy:
Cindy. Crowe is the kind to eat and not get sleepy at all (only a few times here and there), but Cindy sure gets sleepy after a good meal. Normally, if it’s a free day or if they have time, Crowe will sit on the couch and Cindy will lie there, her head on the Glaive’s lap, while Crowe either reads something or watches TV while caressing Cindy’s hair.
Who distracts the other from trying to work at home:
Crowe. Once more, she’s responsible and hard working, but knows when to take it easy. Besides, there are some days that for her work stays at work and as soon as the shift is over she’s OUT, sometimes she doesn’t want to know more of her job.
Curious overworking Cindy, however, she never knows when to quit. She could spend a whole entire shift without even noticing how late it’s gotten, so you can tell that she sometimes finds some work at home too.
As soon as Cindy wants to fix or upgrade something, she’s gone for the rest of the day, you can’t take her mind or hands off that thing, so Crowe’s learned to distract her from it before she starts. As soon as she sees Cindy lie eyes on something with that curious gleam of hers, Crowe will find a way.
Being a mage has its perks, too. Like when Crowe can bomb the bed and scream calling for Cindy just to distract her from the washing machine she’s about to upgrade into an airship or something.
Who asks to go get ice cream like a five year old:
It’s both, actually. They don’t ask for it like a five year old, but they feel the excitement of a five year old. Usually, they’ll just share a glance if there’s ice-crema nearby, and holding hands both will go running there. Or when one makes the suggestion, the other will for sure leave whatever she’s doing and agree and both will leave for their ice-cream.
Who takes pictures of their partner eating ice cream:
Crowe. She thinks Cindy is the most adorable and charming thing on Eos even above Molbol-kun (but much cuter), and Crowe’s up to take photos of Cindy for herself, or to share in social medias. There’s plenty selfies of them both up on her Kupogram and Libertus is always faving those.
Who makes a sexual joke about the dripping ice cream on their partner’s face:
Depends on the mood, the joke can come from either of them, but it’s slightly more frequent that it’s on Crowe’s end. Because she’s staring at Cindy or taking the photo, she’ll sometimes catch glimpse of the dripping ice cream on her mouth. Cindy’s nowhere behind, though; Crowe can get a bit messier when it comes to eating anything (she NYOMS AND CHOMS like she hasn’t eaten in weeks), so it’s even more frequent that Crowe gets the dripping ice-cream on herself.
The joke usually sends both into laughter; no one turns shy.
Who cooks dinner:
It’s 50/50. It depends highly on who’s home first, or who’s less tired. Sometimes they’ll team up for it because both are very tired and they have no other option.
Who cleans up the kitchen afterwards:
It’s usually both. Crowe has tried to convince Cindy to leave it for tomorrow morning, but Cindy really can’t get her hands off the mess. Crowe will just sihg, roll the eyes, smile, kiss her cheek and whisper “You, workaholic” and will join into helping with the kitchen.
Who stays up until 2 reading:
That’s not frequent in this house because both women are usually wrecked after a working day, and they sleep all through the night. However, if it’s happened before, it’s Cindy; just like Ignis comes up with new recipes, Cindy is often coming up with new upgrades or machines or things to do, and she’s sometimes woken up at 1, grabbed a book or looked for some blueprints or opened her laptop to look for info that she needs to complete her mental maps.
Crowe usually groans into the pillow loud enough to annoy Cindy on purpose until she comes back to bed.
Who stares at their partner while their sleeping:
Usually Crowe, when she can. Their sleeping schedules are not too different, so she mostly sleeps when Cindy does too, but sometimes the mechanic naps during the day, or sometimes Crowe’s given late shifts or missions that make her arrive too late, and finds Cindy asleep. Crowe doesn’t stare much because she doesn’t want to bother Cindy, but she does take a bit to look at her, admire her messy hair, and see that precious face sleeping in their bed or somewhere in their house.
Who kisses their partner while they sleep:
Sometimes, while Crowe’s staring, she’ll also lean in for a kiss, but she doesn’t dare to too often because she fears to wake Cindy up. Who kisses the other while they sleep is mostly Cindy; she sometimes wakes up during the night, and always kisses Crowe somewhere almost as if it was necessary to fall back asleep. It’s mostly a 50/50, depending on the situation.
My, this was enjoyable!!
I had heard of rarepairs, but this may as well takethe prize! I had heard of Luna and Crowe or Cindy and Luna, or things involving Aranea, but I never thought about Crowe and Cindy! What a pair they would make, huh!? ♡ ～('▽^人)
I hope I could make this some justice! There’s not much we know about Crowe, and really not THAT much for Cindy either, but I tried my best and I hope that you like it.Thank you for dropping this in! ( ´ ▽ ` )
#crowe/cindy#cindy x crowe#the bike gals B|#honestly it would be cute#crowe the bike addict and cindy the mechanic#i want this akjsldfklfdaj lkjlskj#coonheadcanons#coonanswers
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title: the wind at your back pushing you forward
ship: dazai osamu/edogawa ranpo
rating: G
AO3 link: here!
day one of bsd rarepair week -- prompt : memories / letting go.
Dazai disappears often. This is not a surprise to anyone in the agency, as he isn’t exactly subtle about it. More accurately, whenever he disappears, no one gives a damn and assumes he’s off trying to commit suicide as per usual, is stuck somewhere, or arrested. No one really seems to be bothered by it outside of his new subordinate who is all too kind, all too considerate, as well as the occasional Tanizaki. This all being said, when Atsushi brings up the fact Dazai is missing again with a concerned furrow of his brows, no one bats an eyelash. Kunikida is still typing away at his computer, Kenji is pinching at the leaves of a potted plant he kidnapped from its perch on the windowsill, and Ranpo is playing a video game on his lavender PSP.
“Didn’t you receive a case this morning?” Kunikida asks, looking away from his keyboard to give a long stare at Atsushi. “It’s pointless worrying about that oaf. If he doesn’t want to be found, you won’t find him.”
“But-”
“You’ve been here long enough to know you don’t need him at your side for every case.”
“That’s true, but...”
Ranpo groans dramatically, tossing his PSP onto his desk as he stands to his feet. The noise is loud enough to startle Atsushi ever so lightly. “I’ll go get him. Would that make you happy?”
“Eh... Ranpo-san knows where he is?”
The detective scoffs, raising his chin as if looking down on the teenager. “Who do you think I am, Atsushi? There’s nothing I don’t know, nothing I can’t figure out. Besides, even if you’re an idiot who can’t tell, Dazai is actually a man of habit more than you realize.”
Kunikida scoffs next, hunching over his computer, typing with what sounds like even more force on the keys. “If only those habits included doing his work instead of running off whenever he feels like it.”
“Don’t get too neurotic so early in the day, Kunikida.” Ranpo teases as he walks around his desk, stopping behind the blond to pat him on the shoulder and give a reassuring smile. “I’ll take care of him, so you focus on what you do best, yeah?”
Kunikida relaxes under the detective’s touch. He only hesitates for a few seconds before heaving a sigh, nodding his head politely. “You’re right. Thank you, Ranpo-san. As always, we can count on you when we need it the most.”
Ranpo grins in response, and without another word on the subject, he turns to make his way towards the main entrance of the agency with a cheerful hum. He keeps up this act up until he's out the door and has closed it behind him, then and only then does he let his expression relax while descending the stairs to reach the bottom floor.
Dazai’s disappearing acts, huh...
He pauses upon reaching the end of the doorway to the agency’s building. Across the street, a sweets shop has a stand out front in pastel pink and blue. It’s only on Fridays every first of the month they’ll put it out, and it’s on the first Friday of the month Dazai goes missing around this time. Like that sweets shop, he is a man of routine, and the place where he thinks is well hidden is in plain sight.
Of course, a man of his intelligence knows that many would expect him to hide instead of sitting out in the open.
With a pensive hum, Ranpo tucks his hands into his pockets, pivoting on a heel to begin walking down the sidewalk. It’s a bit unlike him, to be focused on the cracks in the sidewalk compared to studying his surroundings, the people, the sights - but they would distract him, he knows. He’s fickle at times, but when it came to things he felt the need to be serious about, Ranpo was completely capable of focusing on the matter.
He doesn't need to be serious with Dazai, per se, but things are different when they're alone. The air is different, Dazai’s voice is softer, his gaze is down instead of meeting those bold green eyes that maybe, just a little, he's afraid of.
(Those eyes that see into everyone and everything, delving into all of Dazai’s secrets he keeps under lock and key and a charming smile -)
“Ohh? Strange to see you out and about by yourself, Ranpo-san.”
Ranpo lifts his gaze, meeting the dark, gentle brown eyes of Dazai Osamu. He's standing there on the sidewalk with his hands in the pockets of his coat, shoulders relaxed, and an innocent tilt to his head. Ranpo can tell that it's fabricated innocence in some attempt to hide the underlying weight present on his shoulders.
“... Your visit to the cemetery was rather short this time, huh?” Ranpo answers, not hesitating to cut to the chase.
Dazai sighs, hanging his head and shaking it with a smile. “As always, I can't hide anything from you, Ranpo-san.” he acquiesces. “Though usually it would be Atsushi-kun to come hunt me down... Are you worried about little me?”
There he goes again, giving that perfect smile, but it's as hollow as the mask he wears on his face. It's so fragile, can be so easily broken to pieces, yet no one was selfish enough or concerned enough to do it.
No... perhaps they were, but the Japanese were always the type to not get involved in others business. Ranpo knows this all too well.
“Yeah. I probably am.” Ranpo answers at last, stepping closer as he casually reaches into his pocket to procure a lollipop, unwrapping it before popping it into the brunet’s mouth.
Dazai doesn't fight it, if only because he's so startled by the honesty of the detective’s words. “H-huh?” he stutters, blinking as he turns to give Ranpo a confused blink when he begins to walk past.
“Am I not allowed to worry?”
“That-...”
I wish you wouldn't - that is what Dazai’s troubled furrow of his brow says. His troubles are his alone, what he must always shoulder independently, and Ranpo understands the sentiment more than he'd like but... At the same time, he's selfish.
“I don't feel like going back to the agency yet,” Ranpo continues casually, letting his head fall back to study the clouds passing overhead. “Take me out to lunch as an apology for worrying your senpai.”
“Ehhhh, do I have to?”
“Well - do you wanna go back to working yet?”
A moment of silence.
“Lunch it is! Do you have any preference, Ranpo-san?”
Figured as much. Ranpo gives a wide, amused smile. “Not really. Surprise me! If you can~”
“That’s asking for a bit too much...” Dazai laughs lightly, hitching his shoulders up in a shrug. “But I might have a place or two in mind. I just hope the one I choose will suffice.”
Of course, the place Dazai ends up taking Ranpo to is to a small gelato shop just outside Cosmoworld, a place to view Cosmo Clock 21 while they lean against a pier railing side by side. Ranpo’s gelato is a bright pink, strawberry flavored of course. Dazai’s is matcha tea flavored, and a bright green. For a warm spring day like this, gelato is a good choice, Ranpo thinks.
“- So how was it?”
Dazai hums, looking at Ranpo as he takes a spoonful of his gelato into his mouth. “How was what?”
A smile, this one holding no intent to tease. “Your visit to Oda Sakunosuke’s grave.”
There's a moment of lingering silence, the two of them merely keeping each other's gaze. Eventually, Dazai turns his head away to look down at his gelato and stir the contents idly. “That reminds me - It's been on my mind for a while, but... you always say his name so fondly, Ranpo-san. It doesn't quite feel as if it's out of politeness towards my relationship with him.”
Surely it would seem strange, for someone you didn't know to have known your closest friend speak his name so fondly. Dazai probably doesn't like it.
“We've met before. Though it was brief and might have not meant much to him, it did to me.”
“Hmmm~ How long ago?”
Ranpo taps his lips with his plastic spoon, expression thoughtful. “Twelve years ago now, I'd say.”
“Twelve...”
“Ehh? What, what, are you jealous?” Ranpo snickers, nudging Dazai playfully.
“No, not really,” Dazai shakes his head. “It's just, at that time-”
“Yeah. He was still an assassin when we met.” Ranpo sighs, almost fondly. “That brilliantly talented Assassin-san killed a man right before my eyes with a bag on his head and hands tied behind his back. I'll never forget that sight.” And then, a grin. “After all, he was an even match for Fukuzawa-san of all people despite being my age and having such a handicap! He was amazing! Well, he still got captured, but my point stands.”
Dazai snorts in amusement. “Well, it's the director, after all. Though, someone like him during those days wouldn't kill in broad daylight, nor allow himself to get caught. Something’s wrong with that statement, isn't there?”
“Clever as always, Dazai,” Ranpo confirms. “Yeah, the guy he killed was the guy who hired him. He was told to come to talk details, but was framed for murder of the boss of that place. I cleared his name ‘cause that case was in the way for me at the time. That Assassin-san didn't take well to betrayals and the like - that's why the guy died.”
Didn't take well to betrayals, huh... The brunet’s eyes fall half lidded in thought. “... And? Why is he so important?”
Ranpo takes a gracious spoonful of his gelato, giving a noise of pleasure as he swallows. “‘Cause he repaid me later. I got kidnapped, and they were people he met before. Without him giving the location to Fukuzawa-san, I probably wouldn't be standing here with you right now.” Then, Ranpo smiles, leaning back against the railing. “That guy was the type to save others before he was even aware of it. Though you'll surely never tell me the details, that guy saved you too, didn't he?”
Ranpo doesn't mind that Dazai may never tell him about the intricacies of his relationship with Oda Sakunosuke. It's clear that their relationship was closer and more relevant in comparison to Ranpo and his remembering of every little detail in his life. Just as Ranpo knows he's not obligated to tell Dazai about the details of his life or his parents, Dazai doesn't need to talk about his relationship with Oda. Rather, it's transparent in how he feels about the man in question.
The man Dazai Osamu is now is because of that former assassin.
Dazai seems as if he’s contemplating something, opening his mouth to speak, then closing it. Ranpo sighs out loud, jabbing his spoon into Dazai’s gelato to steal a bite.
“It’s okay to linger on things. It’s okay to not forget about them and keep them in your heart and mind for as long as you want to. But, carrying memories and carrying a ball and chain are two different things. I don’t think Assassin-san would want you to make him out to be a weight on your shoulders as much as he’d want to be the wind at your back to push you forward. He wants you to be happy, find happiness, maybe love - fill that hole in your chest.”
There are a few more seconds of passing silence as Dazai studies Ranpo through his lashes, soon giving a small scoff that sounds almost amused as he returns Ranpo’s gesture to steal a spoonful of his strawberry gelato.
“The amount in which you can understand without me saying a thing is as terrifying as always, Ranpo-san. If there’s such thing as killing a man with words alone, you could surely accomplish it.”
Ranpo puffs his chest. “I’m a master detective, after all! It’s only obvious!”
Of course he’d take pride in such a thing. Dazai smiles, looking up as he takes another spoonful of gelato into his mouth. He seems to hold it for a second too long before swallowing, then turns to Ranpo. “Ranpo-san, let me take you to ride that.” he says almost abruptly, pointing at the Ferris wheel with his spoon.
“Eh? When?”
“Tonight. It’s much more beautiful lit up at night.”
“That sounds like you’re asking me out on a date.”
“That’s right.” the brunet seems a bit cheeky then, looming over Ranpo almost as he leans forward. “I’m asking you out on a date. Am I worthy enough?”
Ranpo puckers his lips childishly in thought, then grins playfully as he points to Dazai with his spoon. “Give me the rest of your gelato, and I suppose I’ll give you the honor.”
“Demanding as always...” Though Dazai acts dejected, he gives up what’s left in his cup over to the detective anyway.
Dazai can’t feel a bit bothered by it when Ranpo’s smile in return as if he’s the happiest person on the planet over something so simple as gelato, over someone as simple as himself.
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‘I’d even ship him with Shuu’ what have you done now I’m actually shipping that (Shuu trying to be his usual romantic, flirtatious self and then realising Urie either doesn’t get it or doesn’t want to get it)
I KNOW IT’S SO SAD
TG’s quality does seem to be going down a bit these last few chapters (I think the real problem started with the Touken romance. I swear I’m not being salty about a ship I don’t particularly like being canon, I just feel like the pacing was a bit bad…Touka’s ‘are you a virgin’ came completely out of the blue, plus Touken has hardly interacted in Re before the recent chapters. It’s been YEARS since they’ve seen each other, wouldn’t things have changed? Neither of them are teenagers anymore. Both of them have grown and changed, but Touka chose not to stay near Kaneki and watch his growth, while Kaneki had no way to see how Touka’s experiences gradually changed her. But Ishida decided to suddenly make it canon and then start focusing on the Touka-Kaneki-Mutsuki triangle to the point where it feels like he’s abandoning his other plot threads… kind of like what Isayama’s been doing lately.).
However, I believe that Ishida is completely capable of making things better if he wants to (remember, he still has the Hide trump card- bring Hide back in a believable way that nobody has predicted and also adds to the story, and I imagine most of the fandom will forgive everything that’s gone wrong in Re so far) so I’ll stick around. Plus, I’ve just gotten too attached to all the characters ;-;
Ugh, y'know, even if it wouldn’t fit very well with all the implied Mutsurie, I wish Ishida would just pull a plot twist and make Ken/Urie or Urie/Saiko canon.
I think I kinda hate centipedes now.
1: Yeah, I don’t think that’s Mutsuki’s hand either (like you said, it looked pretty 'fresh’. Plus, I have no idea how Mutsuki would have gotten one of the limbs Torso cut off). The only reason I mentioned it was because of the parallel with Torso showing Mutsuki their own hand with a wedding ring on it…Ishida loves his symbolism so I thought this might actually matter to the plot.
2: I think it was probably either a stranger or an acquaintance, since she seems slightly surprised and not exactly 'happy’ to see this person, but not afraid or displeased either. I’m scared…why would Ishida not show us who it was if it wasn’t something important? If things went well Yoriko’s probaby just gained some knowledge about what’s going on (perhaps she’s been told where Touka is and why she can’t come to the wedding?), but if not…perhaps a villain’s blackmailing her…idk :(
3: I want to believe that too, but I’m not sure yet. If there’s a reason for Yoriko looking so serious then that might be connected with the mystery character who greeted her when she was out shopping.
Thank you, that really means a lot to me <3 What I’m really worried about right now is that I go to a piano 'hagwon’ (a cram school of sorts, I guess?) and this year they’re going to do a small concert. Everyone who goes to the hagwon has to play a song and I have no idea how I’m going to do this ;-; just trying to look a person in the eyes when I’m talking to them scares me, how am I supposed to get on the stage in front of a crowd (a small crowd, since everyone there to see the concert will be the parents/family of the kids participating, but seriously). Things are just a bit complicated XD
Adorable Shuu. I guess that would just make me tease him even more LOL I’d probably ruin all his dramatic moments.
(Now that I think about it, though, Shuu and I have similar interests: music, fashion, art, literature…though I guess he’s a lot more interested in food than I am haha)
Oh, I’m so glad you liked them! I tried my best ;)
I actually like doing matchup things so that may be why they’re acceptable…if I ever get a tumblr account I think I’d like to make a scenario/hc/matchup blog.
As for Storm in Lover, yep, that was from your 'the names are weird’ message XD after I decided to add Love Live into the headcanons I ended up going on YT to listen to a few of the songs. They were all really cool, but it just felt like Storm in Lover would be Urie’s guilty pleasure song (or maybe that’s just because I ended up likng SiL way more than I was prepared for?)
BLOW US ALL AWAY QUEEN LUNA
I’M GLAD MY HUMBLE HEADCANONS COULD HELP
I WILL WRITE MORE
AS MANY AS YOU NEED TO GET THROUGH NEXT WEEK
(Seriously tho
-since your hair is either 'too long and in a ponytail’ or 'really short and in a ponytail’, Urie is secretly very, very disappointed when you’re wearing it short. He likes playing with your hair when you’re too busy watching TV or reading to notice he’s being cute ok
-short or long, whenever Urie gets a hold of your hair, he WILL style it. Don’t you dare say no to the Captain of the Q squad. A simple ponytail? Unacceptable.
-Saiko approves of this relationship
-So would Sasaki, if Sasaki still existed
-Shirazu approves from beyond the grave
-Mutsuki doesn’t care)
Thanks! <33 And yeah, I think I’m slowly starting to get the hang of it ^^
I find all of those moments very relatable. Golfishes unite! :D
Burr is one of those weirdly shippable characters that almost every fandom seems to have…
And oh, I see! Honestly Tony is still one of my favorite avengers…RDJ really brings him to life. And if you’ve seen Captain America I definitely recommend The Winter Soldier and Civil War (next movies in the series)! So much Bucky angst ;-; Also the Thor movies, because I have a feeling you might like Loki.
Some of the best Loki quotes:
“Well done, you’ve just decaptitated your grandfather!”
“An ant has no quarrel with a boot.”
“Freedom is life’s great lie.”
“Oh dear, is she dead?”
Btw, do you remember the time I said I’d write a Heathers one-shot on the Yoi blog and never did? I think I’m getting over my writer’s block so maybe I can write that one-shot and submit it here?(And if that’s ok, do you maybe have any suggestions for which character I could use? I was going to write it as a Yuuri/reader but that doesn’t seem to fit so well anymore, so I might go with a TG character…I’d also like to use a character you like, since you’ll probably be the only person reading it ^^;;)
Speaking of Heathers though, when you have the time, is it ok if I try to drag you into that fandom again? Along with Dear Evan(s) Hansen. It’ll hurt you very, very badly but it’ll probably be worth it.
Oh dear, even more rarepairs. And I’m the one who ‘invented’ this one. Well, like I’ve said, as long as Urie is happy, I don’t care about whom he’s with.
ISHIDA IS A GHOUL, ONLY HE DOESN’T LIVE OFF OF DEAD HUMANS, HE LIVES OFF OF PEOPLE’S SUFFERING!!!
Honestly, you’ve voiced my thoughts perfectly. I can’t help but get irritated at all the changes that have been happening. For me, it started around the time we found out about Mutsuki’s past. I mean, can’t we have one character who had a nice childhood and isn’t insane deep inside? At this point, basically everything is overdoing it for me. Let them have a break. A nice moment. A single day without a centipede or someone dying.
TG is slowly turning into shoujo manga. A sick, twisted shoujo manga, but a romantic one. That is the one thing I didn’t want from it. It was actually nice to have a manga without pointless crushes which play an important role in the plot, for a change. Guess I was wrong.
Dude, I don’t care who he kills, if Ishida brings Hide back, he is automatically forgiven for everything and anything. Well, I would care if he killed characters like, but other than that, he’s free to kill anyone he wants (like Furuta (or maaaaybe Mutsuki, but I’d like it better if they redeemed themselves (though that might be difficult))).
I just… I want the cookie to be happy. And Mutsuki is definitely not making him happy.
Gaaah, so many questions and symbolisms, it’s making my head hurt. Here’s my theory:
This is a huge setup for everyone to be happy. Mutsuki will run away to New Zealand or something and restart their life, Kaneki and Touka will get married (tho I don’t quite ship it, whatever, as long as they’re happy), Urie will realise he’s loved Saiko all along and she’ll be there waiting for him. Kanae is actually alive and so is Hide. Kanae and Shuu get married. Hide finds himself a nice girlfriend (or boyfriend, not gonna discriminate), opens a pet shop and is happy.
Everyone is happy.
Okay, but imagine this au: ghouls don't exist and there's no reason for so much suffering. Kaneki and Touka are two kids who knew each other from school and now run a coffee shop together. The Q squad went ri the same class and Saiko alway loved Urie. He recently realised it. And so on.
Ah, I definitely know how you feel. I went to music school as well, and we had yearly (or half-yearly, depending on how long you’ve played the piano) recitals. My method of calming down was to imagine I was at home, alone and just practicing. There was no one around me, and it didn’t matter if I messed up. I could always start again. Also, the audience was vegetables, as far as my imagination was concerned. It did help.
I know you can do it (๑و•̀ω•́)و You’re a fighter! The great Evans who can always cheer me up when I’m down. If I’m the queen, then you’re the king! All hail king Evans who’ll kick the recital’s butt!
Oh you would ruin all his moments, and it would be the most amazing thing ever. I’d always laugh at it, cause he’d be denied of all his theatrics.
They’re not ‘acceptable’, they’re absolutely perfect. I seriously can’t thank you enough, because they were very nice cheer-up material after a whole morning of cramming my two least favourite subjects. I’m pretty sure you’d do amazing if you got a blog. You do have amazing talent for writing.
Oh my~ Would you mind then if I listed a few more songs, my favourites?
Yozora wa nandemo shitteru no?
Bokutachi wa Hitotsu no Hikari (there’s a bit of talking in this one, it’s hard to find a version that’s not sped up)
Omoi yo hitotsu ni nare
Mijuku dreamer
Guilty Eyes Fever
soldier game
Thrilling・One Way
Ookay, I’m done ^^
I’m telling you, Idol Hell is very subtle. You won’t even realise you’ve been dragged into it huehuehuehuehuehuehue
Aaand there goes my heart, again. I have no words to thank you enough for writing those, since they help me keep my sanity.
however, we know whom we’d like from TG, but what about other fandoms we share? AoT? YoI? Kuroshitsuji?
Yeah, I’ve been told many times that I’d like Loki, but strictly looks-wise, I must admit I prefer his brother, and I prefer him very much. Idk, I just have a thing for guys with slightly longer hair.
All of that sounds suspiciously like something I’d say…
Of course, feel free to submit anything here!
As for the musicals, I’d be happy to listen to them, but after this week is over, because exams. Then, I’ll listen to both Heathers and Dear Evan(s) Hansen, despite the feels ^^
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Hidden Guardians of Humanity
VRAINS Rarepair Weeks 2018 - Day 7: Other YGO series crossover/Other Fandom AU
Summary: Six teenagers regularly save the world from the misanthropic virus-like AI XANA on a virtual world.
This is their story through one of these missions against humanity's greatest danger yet.
Fandoms: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS/Code Lyoko
Ships: Hireshipping (Ema/Akira), Entrustshipping (Takeru/Kiku), Zinniashipping (Miyu/Aoi)
Wordcount: 3.8K words
Notes: "On ira, on saura, sauver notre existence,
Se donner une chance de tout dépasser.
On ira, on saura, sauver notre existence,
Afin de faire,
Un monde sans danger !"
I was stumbled at first with what to do for today. All the crossover ideas I had weren't very good... until I thought about Code Lyoko and how it was a perfect fit with VRAINS. A virtual world? Check. Keeping stuff secret from other people? Check. A recurring theme of AIs? Check.
I rediscovered CL this year by watching the episodes now all up on YT (I think that's only for the original French dub, though). It's been a big part of my childhood and I surprised myself to like it even more as an adult. It was pretty messed up if you think about it: a bunch of teenagers ranging from 13 to 15 saving the world in secret on a daily basis while risking their lives to do so? That's dark for a kid's show dude. The series wasn't hiding it anyway: I can't count the exact number of ways XANA (a big bad virus-like AI) tried to kill the protagonists in. Anyway.
I changed a few settings. Kadic is supposed to be a middle school (collège), but since it's supposed to be a high school too (funny enough, the school it's based on, the Lycée Lakanal, is where I set a part of my original work), well why not. It fitted much better with the VRAINS cast too.
I also took some liberties with the original 2003 run of the show to provide more modern technology like smartphones.
This story is, in short, a love letter to Code Lyoko and to my VRAINS OTPs. I may have forgotten to put the romance into that fic though.
PS. The quote in the beginning is the chorus to the Code Lyoko opening, "Un Monde Sans Danger" (A World Without Dangers). That song has been burnt into my soul ever since I was a kid.
Event hosted by @vrainsrarepairweeks
AO3 version available here.
It was yet another day of class at Kadic High School, Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine. Nothing out of the ordinary, for once: boring Physics lessons, typical teenage drama, rumours going through the school about teachers and students alike. In that, it made no difference to any other day before it and any other day that would come after it. However, the routine was only a façade in this school near Paris.
Very few knew about the shortcut in the heater room of the dormitory or the one in the school’s park leading the abandoned factory nearby, resting in an island in the Seine. Most people would have just assumed that place was, well, abandoned and empty. The fact was that: that was wrong. That fact was proven untrue by the presence of a bunch of teenagers going there to save the world on a daily basis.
However, today was a tranquil day in class of rumours and drama. There was always Naoki Shima spreading some kind of rumour on his idol, an e-sport player named Playmaker, which was mostly talked about by fangirls of him around the campus. Meanwhile, a little group of six students was gathering in their usual spot: near the coffee machine, on a bench, waiting for bell never to ring the beginning of classes.
They had formed this little group of friends of theirs in unlikely circumstances. It all started when Ema, from the twelfth-grade class majoring in computer sciences, discovered a way to access the abandoned factory in the river easily after a boring day of school. She apparently had to drag with her Akira, her classmate and a friend since middle school, there. Afterwards, they accidentally dragged with them Aoi, Akira’s younger sister in tenth grade, when she followed them to the factory on one day and stuck with them ever since. With Aoi came her own classmates Takeru and Kiku, who followed suit after they themselves found out about the factory by being friendly to the otherwise isolated Aoi.
“Hey, guys,” Takeru opened the conversation as he looked at the other students in the courtyard. “It’s been a while since XANA last attacked… You think he’s going to come back soon?”
“I hope not,” Kiku replied with the most honesty in the world. “He almost killed sent everyone to space last time… We were lucky you were competing in the martial arts tournament that time, Takeru!”
“XANA will always come back until the Supercomputer isn’t turned off, I’m afraid,” Akira stated as he came back with two cups of coffee in his hands.
“Then that means you need to find the program to materialize Miyu soon!” Ema enthusiastically added as she thanked Akira for the cup of coffee. “It’s on me next time.”
“I’m doing what I can, but it’s going to take longer than expected. Last night was a fluke again,” he sighed as he rubbed his eyes with the hand not busy holding a cup. The yawn would be for another day.
“It’s fine, big brother,” Aoi simply said as she looked at him with a tiny smile. “You’re already doing your best, and Miyu has told us that before.”
“Your sister is right, Akira, don’t overexert yourself for that! I don’t want to recover your unconscious body on the floor of your room again and almost get scolded by Jim again for sneaking into the boys’ dorm for that!”
Takeru and Kiku simply giggled at the anecdote despite how many times Ema had already told them about it.
During Maths class, as usual, Ema was on her phone during yet another boring lecture from the teacher. There had to be someone watching over Lyoko when nobody could be at the factory in case an activated tower, XANA’s gateway to their world and all the potential damage that would always bring with it, showed up in the virtual world. That was a nice way to spend time: instead of sitting through a painfully tedious session of mathematics, she could just chat with Miyu and whoever else was online. It was funnier to be there and occasionally see Akira stare at her to be serious during a class for once.
He only didn’t ask her to stop on the spot because she otherwise could refuse to lend him their philosophy lessons whenever he’d simply stop understanding most of it. The confusing words and concepts didn’t work very well with his arithmetic brain. It was a fine compromise, though.
Right when she was about to point out something funny Aoi had said in the chatroom with Miyu, she heard a strange buzzing sound. The neon over their hands started flickering ever so slightly, before the infection spread to the entire ceiling of the classroom.
“You know what this means?” she asked Akira in a whisper.
“A XANA attack. Did Miyu tell you about an activated tower?”
Her eyes immediately darted to the screen, only for a message to confirm their fears. Akira didn’t add anything more.
“Then what excuse do we throw?” she asked again, eyeing the little app she had on her phone she had freshly finished programming in her spare time (or whatever was left of it these days).
Before she could ask anything, the bell rang. Their eyes bolted in different directions, checking for two different parameters: hers to the teacher, his to the hour on his phone. The former didn’t have a watch, the second didn’t match the time class ended at. As everyone was packing their things together to change classrooms, another ring resonated through the corridors: the fire alarm.
“Okay, it’s definitely a XANA attack”, Akira stated the obvious. “Warn everyone to meet together at the factory before we can get spotted by teachers or monitors.”
“Roger that.”
It always took some time to reach the factory and gather everyone. That was why they had this habit of only meeting in the main computer room instead of in front of the factory, giving them more time to fight against whatever XANA had to throw at them on Lyoko. Akira and Ema had arrived first and launched themselves in the elevator to the main rooms before getting joined by Aoi shortly thereafter.
“Takeru and Kiku will be a bit late,” she told them, “I think they had class on a higher floor and had more troubles exiting the school.”
Moments after, the three had taken their respective spots: Akira at the main computer, Ema and Aoi in the cylindrical scans on the floor under the computer room. He had never been a man of actions and was the only one with a real knowledge of how to use the technical beast that was the Supercomputer. Meanwhile, Ema had always loved the thrill of action: fighting creatures on Lyoko was good way for her to exhort her thirst for a way to break away from the real world, even if it was just for a few minutes. Aoi was calmer, but still followed through when she learnt this could help both her brother and the friend she had found in Miyu.
“Are you ready to get virtualized?” he asked them as they set foot in the room, footsteps resonating on the iron floor.
“Of course!” Ema replied with thrill in her voice.
“I am,” Aoi responded more seriously.
“Then let’s get on with it.”
Four scanners presented themselves to the two girls. Each climbing in one, the virtualization process didn’t take more than thirty seconds anymore. They were used to it: getting transferred inside a virtual world wasn’t painful, at best it was dizzying the first few times. Soon enough, Aoi and Ema found themselves in a forest-like environment, all changed up to battle attire. It wasn’t just for show: if Aoi had wings, it was because she could use them to fly. Ema, who hadn’t design herself in her subconscious mind to get those, was kind of envious.
“Miyu should be nearby waiting for backup,” Akira’s voice arrived from the sky of Lyoko’s Forest territory. “Be careful to monsters, XANA has been waiting for us.”
“As usual,” Ema sighed, amused. “Let’s do this, Aoi.”
As they ran to their destination, a tower with a red halo, a girl with long pink hair in pigtails and blue eyes joined them. Aoi’s eyes started to shimmer as soon as they noticed her coming towards them, changing her sprinting direction to directly meet up with their friend. They had a habit of hugging each other as soon as they saw each other too. They had gotten more and more physical when meeting up in Lyoko, to the point of holding each other’s hands nowadays when seeing the others. Ema was certain that, would Miyu know about love like any other girl (despite being a sentient AI that was, frankly, more human than some actual humans she knew), they would already be dating. She remembered overhearing Aoi train herself to declare her love to her friend in her dorm room, after all.
“I’m glad to know you’re alright, Miyu!” Aoi told her as they went back to reaching the tower.
“Thank you for coming so quickly, Aoi, Ema! XANA has sent three Bloks who are guarding the tower, we need to be careful!”
Turning her eyes away from the two friends, Ema noticed one of the Bloks shooting at them.
“Out of the way!!”
Pushing Aoi and Miyu out of the line of fire from the creature sent to them, she took a direct hit to the shoulder from a laser beam, falling to the ground. Trying to shoot back with her own laser arrows at the creature, she was at least relieved to see Aoi and Miyu had made it behind a tree to find a way to shelter themselves from the incoming attacks.
“Ema!!” Aoi’s scream was accompanied by the mirror of Miyu’s mirror reflecting the hit the older girl was about to take, which would have certainly devirtualized her. The Blok took the hit right in its eye, exploding shortly after.
The commotion from this encounter passed, the three girls hid behind the very same tree. There were mock Bloks in the area, almost twice as much as they had first expected. As she watched from behind their little hiding spot, Ema could only notice this would be harder than expected with Miyu virtually unable to fight for herself and herself having taken a hit already.
“That was such a close call!” Miyu sighed in relief. “We really need to be more careful…”
She was holding onto Aoi’s hand as she said so, her sceptre in her other hand. Nobody knew where that weapon came from, really, but they had brushed it off as a mere way to self-defend against XANA’s monsters who, as it turned out, mostly used laser beams with long ranges to attempt ending her own life.
“Let’s be more careful until Takeru and Kiku can get here,” Aoi decided, with the two others nodding in agreement.
“Sorry we’re late…!” Takeru said as he entered the main computer room, breathless.
Akira immediately turned around, his one-ear headphone-microphone still on, a smirk drawing on his face. Backup was finally here.
“Jim tried to prevent us from reaching the factory when we tried to go through the heater room shortcut,” Kiku further explained.
“I see. Ema and Aoi required backup, there’s apparently too many monsters for them to deal with.
She glanced at her childhood friend whose back was against the wall, still not recovering his breath.
“Are you okay, Takeru?” she asked with concern all over her tone, hands on her chest.
“I… I’ll be fine… Let’s get to the scanners quickly, I’m sure Aoi, Ema and Miyu need our help…”
Even if nobody added anything, Akira turning back to the monitor to make sure this wasn’t a burning failure yet, Kiku remained worried. As the elevator went down another floor, she couldn’t get her eyes off Takeru and how flimsy his breathing was. He had never had a pristine health record, and that despite how good he was at martial arts, which made it so she was always concerned in some degree for his condition.
When the doors opened to reveal the scanner room, she handed her friend her help. He gave her a slight smile, a quiet way to tell her not to worry, as they climbed into their own cylinders to get virtualized. There was no time to lose and no time to get concerned for Takeru when there was a tower to deactivate and XANA going on a rampage to make everyone deaf by the end of the day through abusing ringing systems, ringtones and speakers.
The two soon enough ended in the Forest territory of Lyoko, with instructions given by Akira to join back the others. Running on their legs, the virtualization keeping them away from whatever feeling of physical fatigue they’d have felt from that, they soon noticed the group of monsters blocking the way and their friends behind a big tree.
“Oh, looks like XANA did already send a party,” Takeru noticed. “Let’s be sneaky and see if we can end them without Miyu being targeted by them.”
“Agreed.”
“Takeru! Kiku!”
Miyu seemed ecstatic to see them arrive, screaming their names in joy. Only then did she put her hand on her month, remembering XANA’s monsters could hear them. It was easy to make a diversion, but that was it.
“Akira!” Ema yelled to the sky to get their control tower’s attention. “How much enemies are they?”
No response.
“Oh God, that’s bad,” she then spoke to herself. “He must have been knocked away from the main panel.”
“Something happened to my brother?” Aoi panicked immediately thereafter, before clutching Miyu’s hand to keep her calm.
“It may have,” Kiku added as she joined them. “One of us needs to go check.”
They stared at each other, before Ema decided to take the head of things.
“Okay, I’ve got a plan. Aoi, you stay with Miyu to make sure she arrives to the tower in one piece! I’m going with Takeru to face them directly, while Kiku shoots them from the back. I’ve already taken a hit and Takeru has a powerful long-range weapon. Everyone’s good with that?”
“Roger!” Everyone replied in unison as they split in groups.
Ema had in her mind the secret hope of being devirtualized immediately. Takeru had less health point than she did, but she had already taken a hit and was the only one with any knowledge of the Supercomputer outside of Akira who seemed to spend a huge chunk of his nights on it. It was a perfect match for who had to go back to the real world to check on their friends.
She could see Kiku in her white kimono-like robe, braid flowing through the air as she ran and ran, in the corner of her eye running behind Bloks to stab them with her spear in their top eye, jumping on them, braid going up and down, causing their own self-destruction. She was clearly always going for those targeting Takeru, in a nice touch. The boy was himself with her throwing fire at the enemies, either to blind them or critically damage them.
In the corner of her other, Miyu and Aoi ran with their fingers intertwined, the latter with her own weapon out, ready to jump into action if needed. It was a safer solution for them than for Aoi to hold Miyu as she flew over the battlefield just in case she’d get shot in the wings: would that happen, they’d both take considerable fall damage and risk getting devirtualized. The possibility meaning the death of Miyu if it took place, they preferred to stay safe and go a bit slower. Good stuff there.
Because she wasn’t paying all her attention to monsters, Ema quickly found herself to be devirtualized by a second hit in the chest, making her virtual body shatter in pixels before she could resurface in the factory.
Exiting the scanner after getting forcefully devirtualized wasn’t the best feeling in the world, but Ema had no time for dizziness. She ran as fast as possible to the elevator and rushed her hands over the panel to go to the upper floor. They weren’t strangers to XANA using towers to gain access to the real world. In fact, they were even used to Akira getting attacked as to hinder the progress of those on Lyoko. The question was: what had it done to her friend while she was away in the virtual world?
As soon as the door opened, she realized two things: XANA had used a severed electric cable to do its deed, and Akira was unconscious the floor because of it. Her first thought was to rush to his side, to check if he was doing fine. A hand on his wrist, another on his forehead, and her eyes half-focused on the severed cable which now looked as inert as it should be, she let out a sigh of relief when she heard his pulse.
“You scared us again, you idiot,” she muttered under her breath. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to keep an eye on an important mission.”
She gently half-sat Akira against a nearby wall and jumped into the chair facing the screens monitoring everything. Embracing the control tower nature of it all, she picked the headphone and put it on her ear.
“Anyone, you’re receiving me? It’s Ema!”
Everyone or so replied positively.
“Lemme see…” Her eyes deciphered as much information as they possibly could on the monitors. “Takeru, you’re down to 20HP, be careful! One hit and you’re sent back home! Kiku, there should be a Blok behind you! Aoi, Miyu, you’re near the tower, you may be able to fly there…”
She interrupted herself when she saw the cable rise back to life, just as she heard everyone call out for Takeru’s voice. Getting down to her feet, taking a fighting stance, she hoped to be able to fight it back enough to have the time for the boy to reach her room. She knew how to activate the Return to the Past to fix all the damage the buildings around the school must have taken from the excessive sound, if the fact she was able to hear some low-quality rap music from the underground rooms of a factory was any indication, but Takeru didn’t.
Avoiding getting tripped by jumping over the cable’s feet, she was relieved to hear Takeru running towards her. He looked a bit out of breath from running so quickly in so little time, but he took his own fighting stance.
“Ema, get to the computer! I’m sure the others need you there!”
Nodding to him as to confirm his decisions, she jumped back into the chair to see the information: Kiku was close to devritualization with a mere ten HP remaining while Miyu was just about to enter the tower. Trying her hardest to ignore how one-sided Takeru’s fight against the cable was becoming in favour of XANA, she focused on the screens. The boy’s pained scream when his back slammed against the wall didn’t help. Before she could entirely redirect her focus, Kiku had been defeated by a last laser beam.
“Aoi, be careful, Kiku just got eliminated!”
“We know,” the brown-haired girl replied from the other side of the screen. “Miyu is entering the tower now, I’ll try to keep back the last enemies until she can deactivate it!”
“Good, but please make it quick, Akira got stunned and Takeru may be injured from fighting a cable. I’m afraid I’ll be the next, not going to lie there.”
Kiku soon joined the scene, judging from the elevator’s doors opening again and her little steps rushing to Takeru’s side.
“Ki… Kiku…” His weakened voice tried to warn his friend. “Don’t… Come here…”
Without a word, avoiding getting knocked back by the giant cable, she kneeled next to him, her gaze soon fixated on her friend rather than the incoming danger.
“Are you alright, Takeru?!”
“I… I think I’ve broken something against it… But it’s gonna be fine, don’t worry… I’m sure Miyu is about to deactivate the tower…” He gave a timid but warm smile to her.
She gently held him against her, a half-felt one on her lips…
“It’s going to be fine. It’s always going to be fine.”
Judging from Takeru’s weak grip, she knew his hand had been broken in his fight against the machine.
Entering the tower, Miyu made her way as fast as possible to the little panel presented in every tower. As soon as she put her hand on it, the system automatically recognized her, greeting her with the ever same and cold protocol.
MIYU
CODE: LYOKO
The entire tower progressively turned empty as it deactivated. From this little virtual pseudo-cocoon, she could only hope as she looked down everything was fine outside.
Soon enough, the familiar energy wave of the Return to the Past resonated through the virtual world, making her smile as she thought that, once again, everything would be fine and that they had all saved the day.
They were back in the same Maths class, which was still boring, still not interesting. A side effect of using the Return to the Past, obviously. At least, she could safely say that
“Hey, do you remember what happened to you before you got unconscious earlier?” she asked trying to hide her concern.
“I got electricized by a cable, that’s all I can remember. It doesn’t matter much anyway, the Return to the Past cancels every injury we could have sustained.”
“Well, that’s fortunate for Takeru, he broke his hand when fighting the cable.”
Akira suddenly looked very pensive, before having a sort of epiphany flashing on his face.
“That makes me think… I should teach you how to use the Supercomputer, Ema, in case this ever happens again,” he whispered to her.
“I’m not against it. I already know how to use it, as you can see, but you could show me your… special tricks.”
The slight innuendo was enough to make him redden in a moment and look to the side.
“D-don’t phrase it like that…”
She grinned at his embarrassment. He was way too easy to tease, but it was always so much fun.
“Oh, by the way,” she added, “your sister is probably going to get a girlfriend soon, and she won’t even be material unless you come up with your program.”
“E… Excuse me?!”
“Miyu. She’s in love with Miyu and vice-versa. It’s just that you’re never here to see them flirt with each other knowingly or not.”
“Oh. That makes sense, when you precise it that way.”
“I know.”
Now, if she had the same modesty as Aoi, maybe she would have the guts to tell him about her ever-growing crush on him…
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