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baroquebucky · 4 years

Text

chemistry

part 5

a/n: thank you guys so much for 700 !! I don’t know why y’all follow me but thank you all sm <33333 this one is a long one so get ready !!! if you guys have any requests let me know !! okay enough talking hehe enjoy! (Sorry for any typos !)

part 4

Some time passed after you and peter almost kissing and you tried to push it to the back of your mind, not wanting to think too much of it. Esmeralda continued to talk to you about peter during lunch, telling you about things that had ‘happened’ during morning rehearsal. You however took things with a grain of salt considering what peter had told you that night.

Your orchestra concert was quickly approaching, only two days until the concert and until you played your solo. You were nervous, partly because you always got nervous for concerts- mostly because you knew peter was going to be there. You had heard peter play during football games when they played the part of the show with his solo in it. He had never heard you play, and during FaceTime calls when he heard you talk about the pass offs you had to do, he encouraged you to practice for him, but you never took him up on the offer.

You walked into English with a smile on your face as you waved hi to peter and sat in your seat across from him, pulling out whatever work you had done last night, ready to half pay attention on how to write the essay, you would end up winging it anyway. You snuck glances at peter, blushing when you would make eye contact with him. As you listened to the announcements, your ears perked up at the announcement of homecoming spirit week, deciding you would participate in one day, your favorite musician or band.

You pulled your phone out and messaged sami a grin on your face as you typed out your brilliant thought.

im wearing my one direction hoodie Thursday and you can’t stop me

You giggled as you saw that she read the message, immediately replying with a facepalm emoji and an “yeah i figured that much.” You looked back up from your phone and saw peter looking at you, a look on his face, some would even say jealousy. You furrowed your brows at him as a way to ask what was wrong. He shook his head and turned back to the screen at the front of the class, half listening to the news, mostly thinking about what made you so happy.

As you both walked out of class making conversation, you smiled at the curly headed boy, blushing slightly as your hands brushed while the two of you walked down the hall, pushing through the other students. As you approached your history you quickly realized that he had passed his classroom a while ago. “Pete your class is back there, you’re gonna be late!” You told him, glancing up at the clock, smiling as the boy rolled his eyes at you.

“oh cmon it’s right down the hall, she won’t count it against me” he smiled at you. Shaking your head you waved him off, saying a small bye and rushing into class, you could see peter bolting for his class as the bell rang. A blush settled onto your cheeks, a smile plastered on your face, you bit your lip as an attempt to hide the smile on your face, especially because Esmeralda would surely be there to question why you were so happy.

“hey y/n! how are you?” the girl spoke from besides you and you gave her a small smile. “Pretty good actually, how bout you?” You glanced at her, you could tell she was judging you but you didn’t really know why. “im good” she replied curtly, focusing back on the work before her. There wasn’t much conversation after that.

As the bell rang you gathered your things, smiling at your other friends in the class as they said bye to you. Quickly you swung your backpack over your shoulder and headed towards the stairs, not thinking twice to look to your side.

“y/n wait up!” you whipped your head around, smiling brightly as you saw peter jogging towards you, running down the stairs slightly to get next to you. “hey parker” you smiled, keeping your eyes focused on the stairs so you wouldn’t trip.

“what class are you going to?” he asked, moving closer to you as to not bump shoulders with the other people as they rushed past the two of you. “uh PE right now, i really hope she gives us a study hall” you sighed, looking up at the fluorescent lights above you before looking at peter. “isn’t your class like all the way over there?” you questioned, your eyes narrowing at the now flustered boy.

“well yes but i just wanted to talk to you! how do you where my class is anyway?” he spoke, smirking as you began to grow red, he heard your heart rate pick up, your steps got faster before saying a rushed ‘bye!’ he smiled and turned on his heel, walking fast and weaving through everyone to avoid being late again, but it was worth seeing you any chance possible.

Much to your dismay there was no study hall, you walked into the locker room and quickly changed into your gym clothes, going to sit with the two friends you had made in this class.

Class seemed to go by quickly the rest of the day, and finally you saw peter again during chemistry. You checked yourself out in a window while you walked to chem, trying to make sure you looked good. You entered class smiling, at your teacher and sitting in your seat next to peter.

“long time no see” peter spoke up, a smile on his face and you rolled your eyes, turning to face him. “much too long for my liking, miss me much?” You joked, your heart beating out of your chest as he laughed. You both stopped talking when you heard the intercom come on, interrupting everyone’s small talk.

“good evening students and teachers, today we will be doing an earthquake drill, teachers please play the video we have emailed you, we will come back on when the drill is over”

You and peter shared a look, a small smile playing at both of your lips before you faced the projector and watched some elementary students stuff themselves under desks.

“how would we fit under desks? they’re like 3 feet tall!” You heard charles snicker from across the room, causing everyone to laugh and mumble an agreement. “You won’t be going under the desks, you guys can go under the lab tables and hide there” Ms. Patrick spoke up and you all went to the back, squishing you against each other. Of course peter made sure he was right next to you.

You hugged your knees, smiling at the curly haired boy next to you. “all this gum under here is so gross” you spoke, your nose scrunching up as peter looked up. “yeah it is, but look at all the writing under here” he smiled as he pointed at one that read: stan + beck = <3

You smiled slightly, wondering who they were and what they were doing now. “That’s kind of endearing, they left their mark on the school” you smiled, looking at peter who looked like he just uncovered all of the galaxies truths. “let’s leave our mark then yeah?” he smiled as he took your pencil from your hands, wiggling so he could write on the table, looking up and twisting his arm so the writing was legible.

y/n + peter = epic

Your face flushed at the small writing, wondering who would see that in a couple of years. “absolutely perfect” you smiled, your neck hurting a little from looking at the top of the table you were all under. Peter smiled at you, whispering a small “yeah.”

Soon the announcement came on and class continued as usual. “are you wearing different Halloween socks?” Peter questioned as you packed up. You looked down at your feet, ghosts and black cats covered your ankles. You smiled at him, “of course i am! It’s October 7th, so close but yet so far” you sighed dramatically. Peter laughed at you and you blushed, seeing him jump slightly at the bell like he does during English.

“see you around parker” you smiled, swinging your bag over your shoulder and falling into step with sami. “don’t think i didn’t see that whole under the table thing” she spoke, keeping her eyes in front of her and a smirk on her face. You blushed and shoved her slightly. “oh please it was nothing” you smiled, even you didn’t believe what you were saying.

“if you’re so confident bet me the $500! he’s gonna ask you before Christmas break i just know it” you both turned the corner and went down the steps to orchestra, peter and Ned opting to take the elevator as usual. “oh shut up, he won’t” you protested, slapping her hand away from you, a smile on your face.

The orchestra concert was tomorrow, Thursday and you were slightly terrified, you wondered if peter would still go, he said he would so what would stop him right? You smiled at the thought of him sitting in the audience and cheering you on like you did during his band performance. You had yet to tell him that you had done color guard during the summer your freshman year at your old high school.

As you practiced your solo in a practice room your phone dinged and you got a message from your best friend back home, Ximena.

there’s this white boy in my class that has a crush on me but i don’t know if i like him help

You giggled at her message quickly replying with something along the lines of ‘just wait it out and see what happens’ not wanting to give her too much advice that could backfire. Five minutes before class ended you trudged back to the orchestra room, packing up and deciding to catch a ride home with sami.

Ximena had messaged you asking you to FaceTime the moment you got home which you happily agreed to. You set your bag down in your room, saying hi to your mom as she cooked, telling you your dad would be working late tonight. You gm gave her a quick hug before going back to your room and calling your best friend.

“tell me everything right now” you spoke up, a smile on your face as you pulled out all the homework you had to do tonight.

“so i told him i don’t know what im feeling right now and get this- he said he’s willing to wait however long for me!” she squealed and you were so happy for her, she deserved someone nice and caring. “xime that’s so good! get to know him better and see what happens after that!” You beamed at her through the phone and she nodded, quickly asking about you and peter and you updated her, trying your best to water down everything because you didn’t want to over romanticize anything.

“who knows honestly, i mean like you said just go with the flow and see where it takes you” she smiled at you and you nodded, telling her a quick goodbye as your mom finished cooking.

Soon after the two of you finished dinner you went back to your room to finish your homework. You were humming along to your music when you got a notification from peter.

this time tomorrow my ears will be blessed by the screeching of the orchestra

You smiled at his message, quickly putting your pencil down and typing out a quick response.

ah yes, the sounds of angels themselves, not to b confused with the odd blaring of whatever the hell a metal twisted noodle is

Peter rolled his eyes, smiling brightly as he read your text, he knew you loved the band.

oh please, if you didn’t like the bad you would go to football games

I’ll have you know i actually like football

please you don’t even believe it urself

no balls ?

no balls

your heart rate picked up as you pressed the FaceTime button, keeping a complete straight face as peter answered, a giant smile on his face.

“i actually do enjoy football” you spoke, not being able to keep a straight face when you saw peter purse his lips and shake his head at you. “y/n you know i can see you during games right? you only look up when the horn blares announcing we made a touchdown” you opened your mouth then closed it. “checkmate” peter spoke, smirking at you.

“i actually have a lot of homework to get through and i would appreciate you not interrupting my studies” you spoke, a smile on your face as you grabbed your phone to hang up. “OKAY I’m sorry!” He squealed, not wanting you to hang up yet. You giggled and set your phone back down, making small talk and enjoying the company of the two do you doing your homework together.

“I’m gonna go now, Ned said he would come over to help with the millennium falcon tonight” he spoke, a blush rising to his cheeks, he faceplamed himself. Why would he say that?

“huh I’ve never actually watched Star Wars now that I think of it, have fun with ned!” You spoke and peter was shocked, okay maybe you had one flaw. Peter swore to himself he would get you to watch all the Star Wars movies no matter what.

As you hung up you quickly finished your homework and texted ximena, readinf screenshots she had sent you of conversation between her and jonny. You felt something was off about him but you chose to ignore it, not wanting to upset her.

After watching tv with your parents you decided to go to sleep, you had been texting peter all night and you sent him a quick goodnight text to which he replied with a ‘goodnight sweet dreams’ adorned with many emojis. You smiled and changed, washing your face and drifting off the sleep.

When you woke up for school the next day you were filled excitement and nervousness, your orchestra concert was today and peter would be in the audience watching you. You quickly made it to school, meeting up with sami in the cafeteria and eating your breakfast together, the two of you talking about a show she has found while scrolling through her feed.

“I heard there’s gonna be a fire drill today during 1st, maybe you can get some flirt in with your boy” she smirked at you, causing the wrapper from your breakfast bar to weakly hit her arm. “I’m just saying as cute as the football games are, you gotta get some real contact time in you feel?” she winked at you and you snorted.

“what the hell am i supposed to do?” You looked at her, an amused look on your face. “i don’t knkw touch his hands or something” she shrugged and you shook your head in disbelief. “how do I do that? Play sticks with him?” You laughed, the bell causing you both to stand up and say goodbye quickly, heading in opposite directions to class.

You say in class, waiting for the alarms to go off. You weren’t gonna play sticks with peter, he’d think you were 7. How else could you flirt, you were so deep in thought you jumped when the alarms went off, quickly following the rest of your classmates out the door and into the cold October air.

Peter wiggles through the high schoolers and stood next to you at the front of the school, watching everyone pour out of the building. “I wish they’d give a warning or something, those alarms make my head hurt” he spoke up next to you and you nodded. “I just think they’re annoying.”

You stood there for a while, looking down at your shoes before looking up at peter. “wanna play sticks?” You smiled shyly and he blushed, nodding as he extended his hands out and the two of yo began to play.

“okay no that’s cheating” you began shaking your head and you hit peters fingers a little harder than usual. “I’m not cheating you just really suck at this game” peter laughed and you shoved him slightly, putting your hands in the pocket of your hoodie. “I hate this game” you huffed and he laughed, “maybe next time choose a game you’re good at- i mean if there is any” he spoke, and you looked at him in shock.

“quite the trash talker for someone who can’t beat me at cup pong” you retorted, a smirk on your lips and peter opened his mouth in shock. You noted all the students starting to go back in the school and you turned to peter, “shit talking is a two way lane buddy, learn how to drive first” you smiled at him, patting his shoulder and walking into the school, leaving him flustered and way more attracted to you than before.

You felt your hands shake slightly as you walked away, a nervous smile on your face as you looked at the ground, you pulled your phone out to text sami, upset that her plan worked but happy that it actually did work.

The rest of class flew by and soon you found yourself walking with peter to your next class, and then the next, and the next, and the next. By the time chemistry arrived peter had walked you to most of your classes, except for your small animal class which was outside. He did however send you the walking emoji and said “pretend this is me.”

The two of you didn’t talk much during class, mostly because you had a test and so you were pretty focused on your work, you hoped that peter had understood all the work that he had always asked your help for. Everytime he would call for help on the homework, the two of you ended up goofing off and laughing.

As the bell rang sami and ned walked together, laughing at something he said and you walked next to peter, listening to him as he explained to you why you should watch Star Wars with him.

“how do you think you did on the test?” you asked after he finished his argument, looking at him with a small smile. He looked at you confused for a second, “i think i did pretty good why?” You furrowed your brows and laughed. “I mean you made me help you all week with the work! I didn’t know if you understood it or not.” His eyes went wide, he understood the material the moment it was presented, he had called you for ‘help’ all week just to have an excuse to call you. “Oh yeah! Well duh I understood it thanks to you” he smiled, nudging you with his shoulder and you blushed.

“I’ll see you at your concert later yeah?” He spoke, turning the corner into the band hall with ned. You nodded your head, “don’t you dare be late!” Sami snickered as the two of you waved goodbye to each other. “I still think by Christmas break, maybe even thanksgiving break.”

Before you knew it, you were sitting in the audience of the auditorium, watching the freshman orchestra play. You sat next to sami, making jokes here and there and searching the audience for your parents. “Have you seen peter?” You asked her and she looked around, shaking her head. You shrugged it off, you guys played last anyway so it’s okay.

Peter ducked as the robber swung at him, making some lame joke as a way to stop himself from freaking out. He quickly checked the time on the wall of the store, he was already late to your concert. The robber swung at him again, landing a hit on his face causing peter to wince. He quickly webbed his hands to the counter, returning the stolen goods to the store owner and running out the moment he saw the police arrive. He landed in the all good familiar alley, changing into his school clothes once more and spraying cologne all over himself.

The JV orchestra just finished their second piece and there was no sign of peter. You felt your heart fall as you realized he probably didn’t care enough to come. You were so stupid to think he actually cared about you that much. You grew lost in your thoughts and before you knew it you were going up on stage, setting up your stand and flipping to the right sheet of music. You looked out into the audience once mkre and saw the doors swung open, revealing a very flustered and out of breath peter. A giant smile spread across your face and you quickly took your seat.

You saw peter take a seat near the middle of the auditorium and give you a thumbs up. You quickly looked at your teacher as you all began playing the first piece. As you finished playing the first and second piece your teacher moved towards the mic stand to announce how you had a solo in this piece and the usual ‘she’s worked so hard and I’m so proud of her.’ You saw your parents holding up their phones recording and you saw peter looking at you with the biggest grin on his face.

As the song began, you mentally prepared yourself, putting in every ounce of emotion you had as you began your solo. You didn’t notice peters mouth falling open and a gasp leaving his lips. You didn’t see how he looked at you in awe. You didn’t notice how he fumbled to pull his phone out and record a snippet to post later.

As the song finished you stood up and bowed slightly like your teacher had told you, looking at you parents and waving slightly. They cheered you on and gave you a thumbs up, a giant smile across both of their faces.

As everyone finished packing up and taking their instruments back to the orchestra room, you saw peter waiting for you in the hall down the orchestra room. You rushed over to him a smile on your face.

“you came!” You spoke, looking at him with joy. “I told you i wouldn’t miss it for the world” he spoke, shoving you slightly. “You did amazing! This whole time you’ve been holding out on me” he pouted slightly. You rolled your eyes, your face red at his compliment. “It was okay i guess” you shrugged your shoulders, biting your lip to hold back a smile but you failed.

“it was way mkre than okay! you’re smart and talented? what else are you hiding from me” he joked narrowing his eyes at you. You laughed and shook your head looking at him for a second. The two of you held eye contact, not knowing what to say. Your mind was screaming at you to lean in a kiss him, risk it all right now. His mind was screaming at him to lean in and kiss you, risk it all for you.

You let out a soft cough, tearing your eyes away from his and looking at the clock on the opposite wall. “I’m gonna go ahead and uh go, my parents are waiting to me” you spoke up, smiling at the boy softly. “oh no yeah! Go ahead i was about to go myself, good job again with your solo!” He spoke as you smiled at him, waving goodbye as you walked past him to go meet your parents.

Peter stayed in the same spot for a couple seconds, scrunching his face up and squeezing his eyes shut, cursing himself over and over again for not shooting his shot. Again. He turned on his heels and walked towards the exit, ready to go home and sleep.

It wasn’t until much later that you got home from dinner with your parents that you scrolled through Instagram and saw that peter had posted on his story. You quickly pressed on it and saw yourself playing on the stage. In small text under where you were was an“i know her >:)” and a Star Wars gif.

You slid up and typed out a response.

“I think i know you too, also I’m still not watching Star Wars.” You sent it, locking your phone and heading to go shower and change for the night.

By the time you had gotten out of the shower you were beyond tired and just wanted to sleep. You replied to sami’s message and texted Ximena back, she had decided today that she liked jonny and was gonna tell him tomorrow. You still had a bad feeling but continued to push it aside. You replied to peters text and told him you were gonna go to sleep, he replied in a few seconds with ‘sweet dreams’ and cute emojis. Your head hit your pillow as soon as you plugged your phone in and you were out.

There was a football game today and you of course you were going. It took sami a bit of convincing but she finally agreed, mumbling about how she wouldn’t mind seeing Ned while you and peter flirted up a storm under the bleachers.

As the day passed things with peter seemed to fall in routine. Pass notes during first, walk you to class almost every period, text whenever you could, and talk most of chemistry. It was nice, knowing that you always had peter there, and of course it didn’t hurt that you had the biggest crush on him. You knew he didn’t feel the same, considering he had friend zoned you before but you couldn’t stop liking him all of a sudden. You kept trying to stop yourself but it was t working, so you decided to just go with the flow instead.

So as you say next to the boy of your dreams in chemistry, he turned to you with a smile on his face. “are you going to the game tonight? I think we can win this one” you giggled softly and looked over at sami who winked at you. “uh yeah i may make an appearance to support our courageous football team.” He smiled at you and nodded “cool cool cool” you looked at him confused, “i started watching this show, he says that a lot” he spoke, flustered.

By the time class ended you and peter had made a truce, you would only watch Star Wars if he watched game of thrones. He immediately agreed, sayinf he would go to any length necessary to get you into the best franchise possible.

The bell rang signaling the end of the day and you decided to go to sami’s place to kill time before the game started. You said hi to her mom and chatted for a bit before her dog, Hazel attacked you with love.

“well if it isn’t my favorite girl!” You cooed at the dog, picking her up and petting her. “okay ouch” sami spoke, hanging you a sandwich and a water bottle. “oh please, you didn’t think I actually prefer your dog over you? because if you do, you are absolutely correct!” Hazel barked at sami causing you to burst out laughing.

“anything new with Esmeralda?” Sami spoke between bites. You groaned and slouched into the couch. “She’s always brining up peter. ‘Peter and In this ‘peter and i’ that. Like i don’t give a flying fuck! Peter already told me they have nothing and i trust him so i don’t know why she’s so obsessed with him” you ranted, biting into your sandwich.

“God she’s so annoying, there’s something off about her, I can’t quite place what though” Sami state’s, scrunching her face up in thought before ignoring it and finishing her sandwich. “You ready to go?” She asked, glancing at the clock, not realizing how much time had already passed. You nodded and finished the rest of your sandwich, downing the water bottle and thanking her as you recycled your bottle. Her mom quickly came out of her room and grabbed the keys, making a comment about one of you needing to learn to drive soon.

As the two of you settled on the bleachers you hugged your windbreaker closer to you, a feeble attempt to stop yourself from freezing. Your eyes scanned the sea of band kids, immediately landing on your favorite curly haired brunette boy. You both smiled at each other waving before you pulled your phone out to record him, zooming in on him as he gave you a thumbs up.

everyone’s fave band nerd >:)

you quickly posted it and put your phone in your pocket, pulling your sleeves over your hands. You and sami made fake commentary on the game, acting as if the two of you were ESPN commentators, the two of you breaking into fits of laughter when you had no idea what you were talking about.

Esmeralda stood on the stands, taking note of your friendship with sami, she hated seeing you happy. She deserved peter not you. He would see that soon enough.

You and sami were so caught up laughing and enjoying yourself you didn’t realize the band was about to preform. You quickly searched the field to find peter, giving him two thumbs up as he waved at you.

As the preformance began you smiled watching him march, a blush spreading across your face as you thought of him teaching you to march if the two of you ever dated. You quickly pushed the thought away, you were only friends.

You cheered loudly with the rest of the stadium as they finished their performance, smiling at peter as he took off his shako, shaking his head and fixing his hair. God he looked so good in his uniform, his hair was messy and his nose was slightly red from the cold, his curly unruly and a grin on his face as his gaze met yours.

“sami im in deep, i have to get over him now” you pleaded, turning to your friend as she snorted. “you aren’t serious are you?” you looked at her confused. “dude he so likes you!” You rolled your eyes and she groaned. “fine whatever i guess I’ll help you, but let the record show i am very opposed to this.” You glared at her and she shook her head. The two of you sat out the rest of the football game, considering your team was winning and it was a very rare occurrence when that happened.

You tried to ignore peter but you couldn’t, continuing to wave at him and have some form of communication. The two of you giggling and smiling at one another like love sick puppies.

As the game ended you said bye to peter and motioned for him to text you, sami pulled you away before you could keep the conversation going.

“getting over him huh?” She laughed as the two of you walked out of the stadium and searched for her moms car. “okay in my defense it would’ve been rude to ignore him” you shot back, crossing your arms over your chest. She smiled at you and shook her head, she wasn’t gonna try that hard to get your crush to cease, she had a good feeling about this one.

The weekend rushed by, much to your dismay. Before you knew it you were seated in English, smiling at peter as you threw a piece of paper his way, effectively hitting his face causing you and your friend next to you to laugh. As the bell rang class settled down and your teacher walked in, dressed as none other than Snow White. It was homecoming week, today’s theme being dress as your favorite fairy tale character.

You and Peter shared a look, keeping in your laughter in as she taught as if nothing. Class went on as usual and you and Peter kept stealing glances at one another and blushing. He was wearing a black hoodie and light blue jeans, even though it was simple he looked so good in it.

Your face flushed and your heart rate picked up as he flashed a smile at you. He could hear your heart rate beating faster than usual and he felt himself get more confident, he loved knowing he had that effect on you.

As the bell rang he followed you out the door, smiling at you and asking you why you hadn’t dressed up. You smiled back at him, “why didn't you dress up as a prince?” his eyes went wide and you flushed as you realized what you said. “so you think I look like a prince?” you opened your mouth to say something before you looked away from him. “oh! there’s my class I have to go bye!” you rushed away from him, leaving him with a smile as he turned on his heel and headed to his class.

Class passed pretty quickly, you had a study hall so you decided to get ahead on your homework, not wanting to have to do it at home when you could be doing anything else. You dreaded seeing Peter during passing period considering you had basically called him a prince. Your walked out of the gym and were greeted by a happy peter. “how was class?” he asked, stopping his stride and starting again so that you took the same step. You smiled at this and looked up at him, “pretty good, we got a study hall, and yours?” He shrugged his shoulders, “same old same old.” It was quiet for a while before the two of you spoke up at the same time. You both turned red, he motioned for you to speak first. “are you excited for homecoming?” he looked at you and fiddled with his fingers, “eh, not really I don’t plan on going” he shrugged his shoulders and you nodded. “I was gonna say did you do the chem work, I forgot it was due today” oh yeah I just finished it, I’ll send you a picture of it, don’t worry” you smiled at him before saying goodbye and entering your classroom.

The day seemed to fly by, Esmeralda seemed distant today, you didn’t mind though considering she had been getting on your nerves lately.Chemistry came and went, you spent the class period copying notes from Peter because you kept drifting off.

The week continued on like this, it was the same routine as always, you would facetime Ximena when you got home, she seemed less interested in your days and only talked about jonny, you pushed it aside listening to her talk about how sweet he was being. She updated you on all your friends back home and you made a mental note to text them to see how they were doing.

At school you and Peter would hang out during passing periods and talk during class when you had the chance.Before you knew it, Thursday arrived and you slipped on your old one direction hoodie, smiling as Sami’s eyes widened when you sat across from her in the morning. You smiled at her, bursting into laughter as she sat there speechless.

“I can’s believe you actually wore it” she smiled, sinking back into her seat and eating her breakfast bar. “I told you I would, these are my boys” you smiled proudly, looking down at your hoodie. “hehe, five directions” she laughed and you rolled your eyes, throwing a napkin at her.

You had a test in English so you couldn’t really tell what Peter’s reaction was, or if he even noticed the sweater, either way you were nervous to see what he said. He didn't walk you to class today considering he had been late all of last week and May scolded him for it, he had texted you after hoping you would side with him but of course you didn’t.

By the time chemistry rolled around Peter was already in his seat and his face brightened up when he saw you. “no way, you like them too?” he spoke, excitement lacing his voice. Your face lit up, “yeah, wait do you?” you smiled at him as he nodded his head, could he get any better? “whats your favorite song from Made in the AM?” you paused for a second, “I really like Wolves, what about you?” he looked at you for second. “I love walking in the wind” you smiled at him nodding your head.

“ah a man of taste I see” you joked and he laughed. “Do you like any of their solo music?” You looked at him and he nodded. Before the two of you could continue the bell rang and class started.

You continued talking here and there about the band, you both listened to all of their solo music and you so excited to know you had simliar music taste beside one direction too. When class ended you both walked out, almost forgetting about your best friends, Bed and Sami hadn’t noticed though, too caught up talking about who knows what.

“So when are you starting Star Wars?” Peter looked at you, a small smirk on his face. “When are you starting Game of Thrones?” You retorted, and he nodded his head, “touché.”

As the two of you went down the stairs towards the fine arts hall you turned to him. “Saturday?” He smiled at you, nodding his head. “I’ll start watching season one today I guess” he spoke, faking disgust, you shoved him and he smiled at you, pushing you a little back.

As the day ended, you headed home, you opened your window for a little bit, taking in the cool air for a bit before closing it once more. It felt nice outside so you decided to take a walk, you didn’t have homework and you decided you had nothing to lose. You quickly popped in your headphone and headed out the door, choosing a playlist as the elevator dinged and you headed out your apartment complex.

You walked around the neighborhood aimlessly, taking roads you never knew existed and getting lost for a second before finding your way back to a road you knew. As you continued to walk you found a small park, one you never saw before, it was getting dark so you made a note in your phone as to where it was and headed back. You looked around for any sign of your spandex wearing friend but he was nowhere to be found, it had been a while since you had talked to him.

As if on cue you heard a small thump behind you and you turned around. A smile on your face, “spidey!” You smiled, running over to hug him. “long time no see y/n” he spoke, peter cringed as he heard himself speak.

“how have you been? anything intense lately?” He shook his head and you smiled at him, thankful he hadn’t gotten hurt. “how about you, how’s your boy problem?” You smiled at him, explaining your situation with peter.

“I mean i take everything with a grain of salt of course” you ended and he cocked his head to the side. “it seems like he’s really into you though” you shook your head. “nah, he friendzoned me a while ago so” you shrugged your shoulders and turned the corner, ending up in front of your complex.

“I missed talking with you spider-man” you said, giving him one more hug before saying goodbye, before you could enter the building he grabbed your wrist and pulled you back towards him. You looked at him confused as he pulled you away from your building.

“I think he really does like you, just give him some time, maybe he’s just building up the courage to ask you out” he began, mumbling nervously. You looked at him confused, why was he so on peters side all the time?

Your feeling of him being Peter resurfaced, you pulled your phone out, about to click on Peters contact to call him when Spider-Man’s head whipped up. “I have to go, there’s a robbery in progress, I’ll see you soon yeah? Give peter a couple more weeks!” He spoke before swinging off. You stood there in shock. Had you told him peters name before? You couldn’t remember, you looked down at your phone, texting peter.

hi :~)

You locked your phone and headed back inside, making your way back to your apartment to go to sleep. Tomorrow was the homecoming game and sami told you to not miss out, it was the only other game that got packed besides the first game of the season. You didn’t protest, anything to see Peter in his band uniform.

As you drifted off to sleep you got a bad feeling about tomorrow, something was feeling off. You didn’t know what, but you suddenly felt less excited about the game.

taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added!) :

@savedbystark @hphmincorrectquotes @squirtsquirtjigglejiggle @sonicisnotsober @qrangr @ghostiinparker @acenright @ksmy-99 @mutuallynotmutual @holland-tingz @martinafigoli @jackiehollanderr @hemoglobin-s @tyemmamarvel @Mia-mayels @nochillsavv @frenchfrostpudding @vlogsquad-wannabe @sapphireorchid @laurel-not-lorel @abitofeverythinggg @spaghetittiesbcimgay @teenageeggsneckpasta @broken-hearted-barnes

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker one shot #peter parker fluff #soft!peter parker #flirty!peter parker #marching band!peter parker #peter parker angst #peter parker x you #chemistry #baroquebucky

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minijenn · 4 years

Text

Universe Falls Chapter 76

AN: Heyoooo kudos to me for writing a chapter with a hella short turnaround time of only 3 days. That’s pretty solid on my part if you ask me, as is this chapter as a whole. Anyway, here it is, enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/190860819859/universe-falls-chapter-75

***

Chapter 76: The New Stan

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“For your consideration…” Steven began, his tone authoritative as he paced before the trio sitting in front of him in the shack’s den. “The koala, a marsupial from the forests of Australia. And the sloth, hailing from the forest of South America. Who should be crowned king of the ‘Hanging Around and Doing Nothing’ mammals?”

At the proposal of such a seemingly trivial question, a beat of silence passed between Dipper, Mabel, and Connie, at least until the lattermost of the three spoke up to it. “I read once that sloths eat their own droppings.”

“Aw, gross!” Mabel exclaimed as Dipper likewise cringed.

“...Well, that’s definitely going to affect the rankings,” Steven noted thoughtfully.

“Um… why are we talking about this again?” Dipper asked, raising a confused eyebrow.

“Uh, because it's only the most important question ever,” Mabel said with an eager grin. “Koalas vs. sloths; the battle of the century. One of them has to come out on top as to who's the laziest. And who gives the best sleepy hugs! The fate of the world depends on this decision!”

“See? Mabel gets it,” Steven nodded in agreement.

“Um, guys, no offense, but... do you think that this ‘important’ conversation might be stemming from the fact that we’re all kind of… bored?” Connie asked, finally pointing out the obvious.

“What? No,” Steven scoffed. “We’re not-”

“We’re totally bored,” Dipper interjected flatly. “Guess it was inevitable seeing as how we’ve sorted out most of our major problems this summer. Defeating Gideon, finding out who the author is, stopping the Cluster and Malachite. Everything’s pretty much over, except-”

“Oh, honestly, Stanley! Would you just act your age for a change?!”

“Yeah, sure I will, Ford, just as soon as you get over yourself and that planet-sized ego of yours!”

“...Except that…” Dipper finished, frowning.

The kids all turned towards the room’s entrance just as Stan and Ford entered, their bitter argument continuing all the while. “Look, Stan, it's not like I’m even asking that much of you,” the author said, trying his best to remain calm, even if his expression alone told that he was clearly frustrated. “All I want is for you to keep all of your clearly illegal activity as far away from my house as humanly possible.”

“Illegal activity?” Stan scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, sixer, but I’ve never done anything illegal. Well, at least not around here.”

“Oh really?” Ford raised a dubious eyebrow. “Then why did I find this bag under the kitchen sink earlier today that’s clearly labeled ‘illegally imported cat fur’?”

“Uh, ‘cause somebody’s framing me, duh,” the conman rebuffed, crossing his arms. “Also if anyone asks, that fur was obtained in a perfectly humane manner. That may or may not have involved shaving.”

“For crying out loud, Stanley...” Ford pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated.

“Hey, don’t act all high and mighty,” Stan countered, pointing an accusatory finger at his brother. “It’s not like you’ve never acted under the law either, Mr. ‘I’m Gonna Build A Secret Space Portal Fueled By Toxic Chemical Waste In My Basement’.”

“That’s completely different,” Ford glowered. “First of all, my portal was--at least on my end of things--for science.”

“Oh yeah? And how did that whole ‘science’ thing go for ya, huh, Ford?”

“Stanley!”

“Whoa, hey!” Steven exclaimed, the first and only one of the kids to interject as he hurried to stand between the quarrelling brothers. “Why are you guys spending time fighting when you could be spending time hugging?”

“Yeah, like koalas and sloths!” Mabel chimed in from her spot on the couch.

“Tch, kid, would you butt outta this?” Stan scowled down at the young Gem. “We’re sort of in the middle of something here.”

“Correction, Stanley, you’re in the middle of getting this unlawful cat fur out of my house!” Ford huffed, shoving the bag of contraband into the conman’s hands.

“Geez, fine,” Stan groaned, heading to the door to do just that. “Remind me to never let you find my illegal stashes of albino goat fur and bearded dragon scales. Those are the big money makers right there. And the ones most likely to warrant a full-on police raid if anybody ever found out about ‘em.”

“Your what?” Ford asked, baffled as he hurried after his brother, aptly alarmed by this information. “Stanley, wait!”

“Y-yeah, wait!” Steven called after the pair as they headed out of the shack. “Don’t you guys wanna stay and hang out, maybe catch up, talk through your problems with each other-”

“No!” both Stan and Ford adamantly shouted just shy of the shack’s door slamming shut.

“Wow, why isn’t that surprising?” Dipper remarked with an exasperated huff in light of the pair’s hostile exit.

“Well, at least they can agree on one thing,” Connie said. “The fact that they can’t get along at all…”

��Which is so sad, you guys!” Steven exclaimed, genuinely upset. “That trip to Emerald City was supposed to help Mr. Pines and Mr. Ford get along and be a family again-”

“And it didn’t work…” Mabel said with a glum sigh.

“But that doesn’t mean we should give up,” the young Gem urged intently. “There’s gotta be something we can do to-”

“Steven…” Dipper interjected with a fretful sigh. “I know you mean well, but what can we really do at this point? Stan and Ford have already made up their minds. It’s just like Connie said; the only thing those two have in common is that they can’t stand each other.”

“But that’s just how they act,” Steven pointed out. “Deep down, I bet they really do care about each other and love each other, just like family should! Right, Mabel?”

While normally, Mabel would have eagerly agreed with such warm and hopeful sentiments, this time she said nothing, her brows furrowed anxiously as she borrowed her face into the collar of her sweater, forlorn. Yet even despite this relative lack of support, Steven wasn’t about to give up so easily. “C’mon, you guys,” he encouraged with a bright smile. “Like you said, Dipper, we’ve solved every problem that’s come our way this summer except for this one. So between the four of us, I’m sure we can come up with something and-”

“And then it’ll turn into a big deal and things will inevitably go awry, and we’ll all learn some deep lesson while things between Stan and Ford remain exactly the same,” Dipper finished knowingly. “Been there, done that, several times over now. Don’t you think that story’s starting to get just a little bit stale?”

“I can’t help but agree,” Connie nodded, frowning. “We’ve tried taking a more active approach here, and it… hasn’t gotten us very far. Maybe we should just let Mr. Pines and Mr. Ford patch things up on their own.”

Steven was more than prepared to protest this, knowing that waiting for something to happen hadn’t done much for any of them--particularly for Stan and Ford--either. And yet, as he took in the mix of doubtful, dejected, and dismal faces before him, he realized that, despite his best efforts, he was ultimately alone in altruistic intentions to help the bitter brothers. “Yeah…” the young Gem finally sighed, disappointed. Yet even so, some small, yet substantial part of him wasn’t so willing to let the matter go. Even if his friends had made it quite clear that they already had. “I guess you’re right…”

“Great! So let’s get back to something way more fun and less depressing!” Mabel chimed in, quickly perking back up. “Like the age-old question… koalas or sloths? Someone’s gotta win here, people!”

As Dipper and Connie merely laughed the downright trivial question off, Steven hardly paid it much mind. Instead, his focus was still on the door Stan and Ford had just walked out of, his thoughts on them and largely nothing else. He knew that something had to be done to right the decades-old wrongs between the pair, to bring them back to being the close-knit brothers they apparently used to be. But as for exactly what could be done, the young Gem admittedly, regretfully had no ideas. And maybe, he wondered and slightly even feared, such an idea might not ever even come at all. But even if it that brilliant, much-needed idea didn’t come and even if his friends wouldn’t stand by his side on this, Steven was still resolved to do something to bridge the far-too long-standing gap between the brothers. To fix that final problem, once and for all.

In fact, the young Gem was so caught up in his thoughts about the brothers that carried them home with him later that evening, incomplete plans and unformed ideas swirling around in his mind, all of them centered on what could possibly work to finally repair Stan and Ford’s broken bond. And yet, even as Steven went to bed that night, he still didn’t have much to show for his efforts, much to his frustration. Which was why the young Gem’s sleep was restless as he tossed and turned in bed, fitfully muttering softly all the while.

His dreams didn’t seem to offer him much peace either, for Steven barely even noticed as they landed him in a strange, dark sort of void. In fact, as he floated aimlessly through that void, his thoughts were still focused on Stan and Ford, to the point that he wasn’t even surprised when he spotted the pair of brothers also floating afar in the darkness much like he was.

“Mr. Pines! Mr. Ford!” the young Gem exclaimed, reaching out to the brothers even though their backs were turned away from him as they floated apart from each other. “Why can’t you guys just see things eye-to-eye and get along like brothers should? I wish I could show youuuuu-AH!”

Steven broke into an alarmed cry as he suddenly started speeding across the void completely against his own volition. Panicked as he was, he tried taking some control and direction of his rapid motion, especially as he haphazardly flew towards the twins. And as he did, his frightened cry finally seemed to reach at least one of them as Stan briefly began to turn just as Steven was involuntarily pushed toward him in particular as a result of his rapidly flailing arms and legs. Until, in a moment far too stark and sudden for the young Gem to even process, he collided right into the conman right as everything suddenly slammed to black.

“Ah!” Steven shouted, abruptly darting up in bed, though not without an odd ache coursing through his lower back as he did. In fact, nearly everything about his body seemed strangely… stiffer, not that he really had an immediate change to figure out why as he realized something was covering his face--a magazine filled with, of all things, pictures of older ladies dressed in expensive coats. Peculiar as that was, the young Gem quickly tossed it away, only to find that the space he found himself in now was a far cry from the one he’d fallen asleep in last night.

“Huh…?” Steven muttered, frowning as he got a better look around. The room was musty and messy, with only sparse morning light filtering in from the dawn shutters to reveal clothes and other various objects strewn across the floor. Even so, there was something of an air of familiarity about it all the same, one that the young Gem couldn’t quite place as he shook his head in confusion. “This isn’t the temple-” He gasped, his eyes wide as he realized just how deep and gruffly the statement had come out, paired with an even more alarming revelation that his hand was larger and calloused than he was used to it being. “T-this isn’t my voice or my hand or-WHAAAAAT?!”

Steven’s bewilderment reached its peak as he caught a glimpse at the mirror propped up against the wall alongside the bed he was sitting in. A mirror that didn’t show his own reflection at all, but rather the reflection of a certain conman instead. “No way…” he muttered, leaning into the mirror to make sure that, sure enough, his current face wasn’t really his. “I’m… Mr. Pines?!”

As shocking as this realization was, the young Gem was shaken up even more as he happened to lean just a bit too far, only to end up falling off the bed entirely. He landed onto the floor with a loud crash, disoriented for a moment only to realize that the body he was currently somehow inhabiting was only barely dressed. “Gah! A-and I’m in boxes!” he cried, flustered as he shielded his eyes while awkwardly stumbling to stand. “I-I must have jumped into Mr. Pines’ mind, l-like I did with that Watermelon Steven!” The young Gem tried his best to rationalize, knowing that his odd powers and his relative lack of control over them were really the only explanation he had for something so unprecedented. Still, even if he had no idea exactly how or why his powers had inexplicably landed him in control of Stan’s body, he properly stood, glancing around for anything he could use to cover the conman’s sparsely-clothed body.

“I-I guess while I’m in here,” the young Gem began, thankfully finding Stan’s usual suit coat and tie. “I’d better do my best to respect Mr. Pines’ body…” Steven frowned as he held up a pair of pants he found on the floor. “And his privacy. Oh, wait!” he exclaimed brightly, stars in his eyes as he looked to the mirror once again. “Dipper and Mabel have got to see this. They’ll love this!”

With an excited grin, Steven rushed to dress up in Stan’s usual attire, fez and all, before bursting out of his room and into the rest of the shack with verve and gusto. As he sauntered down the hall, he was more than happy to declare the strange, yet interesting state of affairs to himself as he got used to his new voice and new body all the while.

“I’m Mr. Pines!” he chuckled, playfully flicking the tassel of the conman’s fez around. “I’m Mr. Pines, I’m Mr.--ohoho! I guess I could also say… I’m Stan! Right, Waddles?” He asked the pig, who was blankly sitting in the hall as he passed him by. Waddles simply tilted his head, slightly confused by ‘Stan’s’ chipper attitude, but Steven simply took it in stride all the same as he began walking backwards and continuing excitable declaration of his current identity.

“I’m Stan for the day, I’m Mr. Pines, I’m-oh!” Steven stopped short as he happened to accidentally bump into something from behind. Or rather someone.

“Ugh, Stanley…” Ford grumbled, turning to his ‘brother’ with a dry, annoyed expression. “What in the multiverse are you doing? Aside from not watching where you’re going, that is.”

“Oh! I’m so sorry, Mr. Fooooo--or I-I mean, just Ford,” Steven attempted to play himself off with a small laugh, not quite prepared to reveal the truth to the author just yet. “How’s your morning going?”

“Um… fine?” Ford raised a confused eyebrow, especially as he took note of the ‘conman’s’ wide, warm smile. “Are you… feeling alright, Stanley?”

“Yeah, never better!” the young Gem grinned, quite amused by the fact that he had even the author himself so very fooled. “Why do you ask?”

“...No reason,” Ford said stiffly, still somewhat suspicious as he continued on his way past the ‘conman’.

“Ok, bye, ‘bro’!” Steven called after him with a cheerful wave. The young Gem couldn’t help but let out another small, somewhat devious giggle in spite of himself, impressed by just how well his own mind-changing power seemed to work. Which was why he couldn’t wait to see how Dipper and Mabel would react as he hurried up the stairs toward the attic as fast as he could.

In fact, he barely managed to suppress an excited grin as he briefly peeked into the attic to find the pair of younger twins getting dressed and ready for the day. Wanting to put on something of a playful act, Steven put on the usual stern and grumpy demeanor he knew Stan to usually have as he knocked on the door, not even waiting for either of the twins to invite him in.

The instant he burst the door open, that gruff act quickly fell the moment he caught sight of his pair of friends, both of whom were quite surprised by the sudden intrusion. “Uh, Grunkle Stan?” Dipper began, quite confused as the ‘conman’ broke into an uncharacteristically elated smile.

“Yep! It’s me! Your Grunkle Stan!” Steven exclaimed, barely managing to hold back another amused snicker. “How’s my favorite niece and nephew on this beautiful morning?”

“Aw, we’re doing great, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel chimed, clearly charmed by the ‘conman’s’ high spirits.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Dipper asked, crossing his arms. “What, did you finally win one of those ‘win a thousand bucks every week’ sweepstakes you’re always entering?”

“Nope, even better,” Steven shook his head. “I’ve got a secret.”

“Ooo, a secret?” Mabel asked, instantly intrigued. “Oh! Wait! I think I know! Grunkle Stan…” Her smile widened into a coy, knowing smirk. “Do you have a girlfriend?!”

“Um… no,” Steven said plainly. “The secret I have is even better than that!”

“Might it have anything to do with why you’re acting so… weird?” Dipper ventured, raising a perplexed eyebrow at the ‘conman’. “Because no offense, Grunkle Stan, but you don’t really seem like… well, you.”

“That’s because… I’m not!” Steven winked, catching both of the twins off guard.

“Uh… what do you mean?” Mabel frowned, not following.

“I mean… I’m not actually Mr. Pines!” Steven finally revealed. “I’m--oh, wait! This’ll be more fun if you guess who I really am!”

“Easy,” Mabel snapped her fingers. “You’re Amethyst! ‘Cause she can and has shapeshifted into Stan a bunch of times before. Mostly to play pranks on people, but joke’s on you Amethyst, cause we’re too smart to fall for it this time!”

“Uh, one problem with that theory of yours, Mabel,” Dipper pointed out. “Amethyst is usually, you know, purple when she shapeshifts into people? And I doubt even her Stan impression is that good.”

“Dipper’s right, I’m not Amethyst,” Steven grinned proudly as he crossed his arms. “I’m actually… drumroll, please!” Mabel readily offered that drumroll with a pair of pencil’s against the nightstand, even though Dipper didn’t join in on the excitement as he simply kept a cautious eye on ‘Stan’. At least until he finally revealed who he really was. “Steven! Ta da!”

“Whaaaat?!” both twins exclaimed in equally dumbfounded surprise.

“No way,” Dipper shook his head, immediately doubtful.

“Whoa, Steven!” Mabel, on the other hand, readily believed it. “Did you shapeshift into Grunkle Stan?”

“Not exactly,” Steven chuckled. “You guys know how I was able to go into the minds of one of those Watermelon Stevens a while back? I think I can do that with people now too! That’s how I woke up this morning with my mind in Mr. Pines’ body! Pretty cool, huh?”

“Oh my gosh! Heck yeah it is!” Mabel exclaimed, absolutely amazed. “What’s being a super old man like? Are you all stiff and crinkly because of the arthritis setting in?”

“A little, yeah, but I’m getting used to it,” Steven said, stretching out the best he could. “What do you think, Dipper?”

“Isn’t Steven-Stan the coolest?” Mabel added, sharing the young Gem’s eager smile.

Dipper, however, refused to adopt that smile himself, the shared levity completely lost on him as he instead looked to Steven, stern disapproval clear on his face. Especially as he thought of exactly what this bizarre turn of events, of what someone completely taking over the body of someone else, reminded him so very much of. “...I don’t like this,” he said plainly, deciding not to go any further into why. At least not right now.

“Aw, why not?” Steven frowned, confused.

“C’mon, don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud, bro-bro,” Mabel huffed petulantly. “Even you’ve gotta admit this is the most amazing thing to ever happen. Or… at least to happen this week; a lot of really crazy things happen to us after all.”

Dipper said nothing, instead crossing his arms as he glared away from the pair almost bitterly. While his discomfort was somewhat lost on Mabel, Steven did take note of it. And even if he didn’t quite understand exactly why Dipper seemed to be so upset, that didn’t mean the young Gem wasn’t still quite concerned all the same. “Dipper?” he ventured, starting to reach a hand out toward him. “Are you-”

“Oh my gosh, Steven!” Mabel suddenly interjected, breaking through with an excited gasp. “You know we have to tell Grunkle Ford about this. He’ll totally flip when he gets a load of the ‘new Stan’, if ya know what I mean.”

“Oh, well, actually I already ran into Mr. Ford on the way up here,” Steven said, picking up a small smile once more. “And he was completely fooled! He really thought I was Mr. Pines! Isn’t that crazy?”

“The craziest!” Mabel readily agreed.

“In fact, I even--wait,” the young Gem stopped short, his eyes widening as a sudden idea came to him. One that could very well accomplish what nothing else so far really had. “You guys… what if… we use this as a way to help Mr. Pines and Mr. Ford finally make up?”

“Oh?” Mabel asked, curious. “Whatcha got in mind, ‘Mr. Pines’?”

“I can go talk to Mr. Ford,” Steven began. “And he’ll think I’m Mr. Pines. That way I can finally get him to open up and talk about he really feels about his brother-”

“Oh! And then you can go into Grunkle Ford’s body and do the same thing with Stan!” Mabel finished. “And then they’ll finally make up and be best friends again without even realizing it! Steven, that’s a brilliant idea!”

“No, that’s a horrible idea,” Dipper interjected, looking between the pair in absolute disbelief that they’d both be so on board with such an underhanded scheme. “Steven, even if this plan of yours does somehow work, then it won’t be Stan and Ford making up; it’ll be you doing it for them. Isn’t that just a little bit--or should I say really--manipulative?”

“...Yeah, maybe it is...” Steven frowned, rubbing his, or rather the conman’s, arm apprehensively.

“But nothing else has worked so far!” Mabel countered. “The camping trip, Emerald City, they’ve all been big huge busts! We need to face it, Dipper; if nothing is going to get those two talking on their own, then maybe it’s time for somebody else, somebody in disguise like Steven here, to step in to help give them a tiny little… nudge in the right direction.”

“That’s true too,” Steven noted thoughtfully. “Sure, it may not be the best way of doing things, but it is a way, one that might actually work too. And as long as it ends up with Mr. Pines and Mr. Ford getting along again, then that’s all that really matters, right?”

“Right!” Mabel nodded, assured that this idea could succeed. Dipper, on the other hand, was still absolutely, adamantly against it.

“I can’t believe you guys,” he said, shaking his head disdainfully. “Steven, you should just… get out Stan’s body and back into your own and forget this whole ridiculous plan before it can all come crashing down. Because trust me, it’s not going to work.”

“Aw, says you,” Mabel rebuffed with a wave of her hand. “You never think our ideas are any good, Dipper, just admit it.”

“Well even if I don’t, at least I usually try to help you guys make them work,” Dipper countered crossly. “But this one? I’m sorry, but I refuse to have any parts of this. You guys are on your own.”

“Dipper…” Steven said softly, faltering with an uneasy, fretful frown. And yet, Mabel was much more openly frustrated and annoyed by her brother’s seemingly stubborn refusal to lend them a helping hand.

“Fine! We’ll just get someone else to help us,” she huffed petulantly turning on her heel to leave. “Then we’ll see just how ‘horrible’ this plan is after Stan and Ford have finally hugged everything out like they should have done a long time ago! C’mon, Steven, let’s get started.”

As Mabel coldly headed out, Steven turned to join her, though not before looking back toward Dipper one last time. By now, he’d completely turned away from the pair, his arms tightly crossed as he refused to so much as even acknowledge their exit. Briefly, the young Gem considered making things right with him first, but at the same time, he knew he was quite ill-suited to, especially since he’d already largely made up his mind about the course of action they were going to go through with. And besides, Steven figured, there would always be time to smooth things over with Dipper later; now was the time to finally, finally sort things out between Stan and Ford instead.

At the same time, Dipper remained still, refusing to budge on his stance against assisting in such an asinine plan. All the while, however, he was still trying to shake the sinking dread, the perpetual reminder of an all-too-painful point in the past that he couldn’t help but recall every time he so much as thought about the fact that Steven could so easily enter and take over the body of someone else without even really trying at all. The Watermelon Steven had been one thing, but with Stan, it was as though everything had changed. And as he stood there, he hoped with practically everything he had that in light of such a change, his instant misgivings over the the young Gem’s peculiar new power wouldn’t be proven right after all.

“Wait, I’m… confused,” Connie shook her head, trying to process everything Mabel and ‘Stan’ had just relayed to her. “So… you’re not Mr. Pines… you’re… Steven?”

“Well… yeah!” Steven grinned. “But I am in Mr. Pines’ body, so… I technically I am Mr. Pines while being Steven. Oof, I can’t say I blame you for being confused, Connie. This is tricky for even me to wrap my head around…”

“...Steven, this is really weird,” Connie said, point blank, looking to the ‘conman’ incredulously.

“Weird and cool!” Mabel interjected brightly. “And it’s about to be exactly what we need to finally help Stan and Ford be the ‘Best Bros Forever” that they’re supposed to be! Mostly ‘cause Steven is way better at getting people to like him than Stan is, no offense to him.”

“What are you talking about, Mabel?” Steven frowned. “Tons of people like Mr. Pines! Like us, and Soos, and Amethyst, and… uh… um… hm…”

“Um… guys?” Connie spoke up apprehensively. “Don’t you think this whole plan of yours to help Mr. Pines and Mr. Ford out, while good-intentioned, might just be a little… morally ambiguous? And shady?”

“Aw, now you’re sounding like Dipper,” Mabel huffed, exasperated. “Just think of it like one of those means to an end sort of dealies, where it doesn’t super matter how we get there, just as long as we get there. It’s like Grunkle Stan himself always says: ‘sometimes ya gotta break a few bones to make an omelet’.”

“I think you mean eggs, not bones,” Connie said, deadpan.

“Nah, pretty sure Stan said ‘bones’...” Mabel mused before letting out a sharp gasp upon spotting Ford emerge from the shack, not too far away from their current meeting space outside it. “There’s Grunkle Ford! Go on, Steven, put your relationship-repairing skills into action! And don’t forget, you’ve really gotta sell the whole ‘you’re Stan’ thing, ok?”

“Already way ahead of you on that,” Steven winked, raising himself to a confident posture to match his brazen grin. “‘Stan’s the name, and relationship-repairing is my game!’ How’s that?”

“Uh… maybe a bit too on the nose,” Connie frowned.

“Eh, you’ll figure something out,” Mabel said, unconcerned as she began pushing the young Gem forward. “Now go on out there and glue those two broken teacups back together again!”

Steven nodded, ready to do just that as he left the girls behind to watch whatever happened next from a safe distance away. “So… what should we do when this eventually ends up going wrong?” Connie asked, worried.

“Nothing, cause it’s totally not gonna go wrong,” Mabel grinned calmly. “Just watch and see.”

“H-heya, Mr.--I-I mean--Hi, Ford!” Steven greeted with a cheery smile as he walked up to the author, who was in the midst of checking over some sort of odd handheld beeping device. “Whatcha up to?”

“Oh, simply checking the house’s perimeter for an infestation of termants,” Ford explained dully. “A highly destructive ant-termite hybrid indigenous to Gravity Falls. Not that it’s any of your concern, Stanley, seeing as how you probably never even bothered to think about checking for them over the past 30 years.”

“Huh,” Steven frowned, unsure of what to really say. “Well… I-I’m sure if I had known about them, then I would have. But if you say they’re dangerous, then I’ll keep a close eye out for them. Thanks for the heads up!”

“...You’re welcome?” Ford raised a confused eyebrow as he looked over at his ‘brother’. “Still acting as strange as you were earlier, I see. Is there any… particular reason for your bizarrely… upbeat attitude today?”

“W-well, I just thought I’d have a much better day if I got through it with a smile instead of a grumpy old frown all the time,” Steven shrugged, hoping Ford would buy this. Though of course, he didn’t.

“Pfft, please,” the author scoffed with something that almost sounded like a laugh. “Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!” the young Gem exclaimed, panicking that Ford might have already seen through his ruse. “I am your brother! T-totally not somebody else going around pretending to be him; that’d be just silly.”

“...Stanley, I was being sarcastic,” Ford remarked flatly. “Though… now that you mention it, you are acting noticeably… un-Stan-like…. Could it be that you’re not really who you claim to be after all…?”

“N-no!” Steven took in a sharp, anxious breath. “I-I really am Stan, I promise! I-I can prove it too! I like money, and uh… joy rides...” he listed, getting most of his ammo from Mabel as he glanced back at his shoulder at her, following the prompts she was signing to him. “And… watching TV and… prison?” he finished, offering the author a hopeful smile, one that Ford hardly returned.

Instead, the author kept up his skeptical scowl as he looked past the ‘conman’ over to Mabel standing in the distance behind him. “Mabel, what exactly are you doing back there?” he asked, interrupting her continued attempts at pantomiming for Steven’s sake.

“Oh!” Mabel gasped, caught off guard. “Uh… n-nothing suspicious! I-I… I’m just playing a friendly round of charades with my good friend Connie here!”

“Please don’t drag me into this,” Connie said stiffly, knowing that the situation had already far passed the line past ridiculous by this point.

“Mm hmm…” Ford nodded dubiously as he turned back to his ‘brother’. “Stanley, I don’t know what kind of game you and the children are playing here, but I’d much prefer if you left me out of it. Thank you very much.”

And with that, the author turned to leave to continue his termant inspection, leaving Steven behind to realize that his plan was very quickly starting to fall apart. “W-wait! I-” the young Gem stopped short, letting out a disappointed sigh as the author walked out of earshot without even so much as thinking about looking back whatsoever. “...You’re welcome…”

“So, again I ask, since that the plan more or less has failed,” Connie began as Steven paced around the gift shop before her and Mabel. “What do we do now?”

“That’s a… good question,” Steven admitted with a small sigh.

“I wouldn’t say the plan ‘failed’,” Mabel corrected as she leaned against the counter. “It’s just… hit a teeny tiny roadbump. But that doesn’t mean we should give up so easily! What we really need to do is find a way to get you and Ford to talk things out without any distractions getting in the way. And being a little more convincing with your whole Stan impression might not hurt either.”

“Yeah, I know…” Steven scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “I guess it doesn’t matter that I’m using his body; I’m still more Steven than I’ll ever be Stan…”

“Yeah, that’s… kind of obvious,” Connie noted, frowning. “But look at the bright side; your Stan act is pretty convincing in every way outside of, you know, the whole ‘acting’ part.”

The young Gem sighed tiredly as he lay his head down on the counter, clearly at a complete loss as to what to do from here. “This is a mess…”

“Uh, it better not be a mess. Especially not after we spent the entire shop from top to bottom like you told us to last night,” Wendy remarked as she and Soos stepped into the gift shop, returning from their break.

“Oh, hey, you guys!” Steven greeted the pair with a friendly wave despite Mabel and Connie’s shared alarm over their arrival and just how candid Steven seemed to be over it, given the circumstances. “Sorry, I… wasn’t really talking about the shop. But just for the record, it looks great! You two really did an awesome job cleaning it!”

Clearly, both Soos and Wendy were caught off guard by such a kind remark, especially since such sentiments were usually so hard to come by when it came to ‘Stan’. “G-gee, thanks, Mr. Pines!” the handyman smiled warmly. “By the way, are you ok? Somethin’ seems a little… different about you…”

“Oh!” Steven gasped, remembering the ruse he was supposed to be keeping up. “Uh, n-no, everything’s fine. Stan--w-who is me--is A-ok! T-thanks for asking.”

“Mm… no, something totally up with you…” Wendy noted, narrowing her eyes at the ‘conman’ before turning to Mabel and Connie. “You guys got any idea as to what?”

“N-nope, not us!” Mabel said with a forced grin, one that Connie shared as she shrugged innocently. “Everything’s totally normal around here! A-and especially with Grunkle Stan here who’s just started out on his new Foolproof Path To Becoming a Nicer Person, a plan created by yours truly. Right, ‘Grunkle Stan’?”

For a moment, Steven simply looked down at Mabel, absolutely confused until she gave him a knowing wink that silently instructed him to agree. “Oh, uh, y-yeah, that’s absolutely right! N-no more, uh, ‘Sour Stan’ for me! F-from now on, you can just call me… ‘Sweet Stan’! Yeah…”

“Oh, ok!” Soos grinned, readily believing this. “Whatever you say, ‘Sweet Stan’! Huh, really has a nice ring to it.”

“Hm…” Wendy frowned, not buying this herself as she looked to the ‘conman’ doubtfully. “Alright, then let’s put this whole, ugh, ‘Sweet Stan’ thing to the test. Mr. Pines, can I have a raise?”

“Are you kidding? Of course you can!” Steven instantly exclaimed with an eager smile. “Hanging out with you is one of my favorite things about being at the Mystery Shack, Wendy! Same to you, Soos! In fact, you can both have raises! My treat.”

“Whoa, really?” Soos asked, amazed.

“...Eh, you know what? As weird as this whole thing is, I think I’ll take it,” Wendy shrugged, aptly satisfied by her raise as she ventured pushing the limit just a bit further. “Do you think maybe we could have the rest of the day off too? Just for the heck of it?”

“I don’t see why not,” the young Gem grinned, hands on his hips. “It’s such a nice day outside, so why stay cooped up in here for it? Go on out and have some fun!”

“Wow! Thanks a ton, Mr. Pines!” Soos exclaimed, waving to ‘Stan’ and the girls as he began to head off, completely oblivious.

“I still don’t know what’s going on around here but… eh, what do I care?” Wendy grinned, following the handyman out. “Free day off, here I come!”

The moment both Soos and Wendy left, Steven, Mabel, and Connie alike all let out a collective sigh of relief, glad that their cover hadn’t been entirely blown even if it had been seen through. “That was way too close…” the young Gem muttered, allayed, though only for a moment as an all new-problem made herself apparent.

“What was too close?”

“Ah!” Steven gasped, stumbling backward as a certain purple Gem dropped down from her spot in the rafters. “A-Amethyst! What are you doing here?”

“Oh, ya know,” the purple Gem casually plopped down to take a seat on the counter. “Just hanging around.”

“Oh, would you say you hang out more like koalas or sloths?” Steven asked before quickly catching himself. “Uh… I-I’m asking for Steven.”

“...What?” Amethyst asked, confused.

“Aha! D-don’t mind Mr. Pines, Amethyst,” Connie interjected with an awkward chuckle. “He’s not exactly… feeling himself today.”

“Boy, tell me about it,” Amethyst remarked, eyeing the ‘conman’ warily. “What’s all this I hear about you going all ‘soft’ and ‘sweet’, Stan? That’s not how you roll, never has been, never will be. And don’t you two go acting all innocent either,” she said to Mabel and Connie. “I know you’re both in on whatever dirty little secret Stan’s got up his sleeve here, so… spill it.”

“Uh… it’s… actually not that dirty,” Steven said, not seeing much harm in letting the purple Gem know. “Would you believe me if I told you I actually wasn’t Stan but I was really Steven and that I used my powers to accidentally send my mind into his body?”

For a moment or two, Amethyst stared at the young Gem blankly, as if baffled by this information before she simply shrugged in calm acceptance of it. “Eh yeah, I guess I would,” she said plainly. “I mean, it’s not like none of us have noticed that your powers can do some… pretty wacky stuff, Steven. Er, uh… Stan? Stanven?”

“Ooo, if you and Grunkle Stan ever fused, Steven, Stanven would be a perfect fusion name for you guys!” Mabel pointed out, making sure to write the name down for future reference.

“Sooo even if this whole thing was an ‘accident’,” Amethyst began, leaning toward the ‘conman’ curiously. “What exactly is your whole endgame here, Stevo?”

“Endgame?”

“Yeah, what’s the point of hijacking Stan’s body if you’re not gonna use it to have some fun?” the purple Gem grinned deviously. “You could drive his car around, crash it into a tree, use his credit card to buy a whole bunch of dumb stuff, the sky’s the limit! And the best part is, whenever you guys switch back or however that happens, then we’ll all get to see the look on his face when he realizes what happened, it’ll be hilarious!”

“Um, actually, Amethyst,” Steven interjected. “We were actually hoping to use this as an opportunity to patch things up between Mr. Pines and Mr. Ford…”

“Ew, seriously?” Amethyst groaned. “That’s so boring! And pointless. Those two old dorks hate each other. What makes you think you running around pretending to be Stan is gonna change that?”

“Well… we’ll never know until we try,” Steven shrugged, hopeful. “And maybe you might be able to help us, Amethyst! You’ve known both Mr. Pines and Mr. Ford for a long time, so maybe you could give us some advice? Especially when it comes to Mr. Pines. Let’s just say my impression of him… isn’t the best…”

“Yeah, no duh, you’re way too nice to make a good Stan,” Amethyst chuckled, somewhat amused. “And that’s ok. But while nice may be Steven’s thing, it sure as heck isn’t Stan’s.”

“Oh! I have an idea!” Mabel raised her hand enthusiastically. “Amethyst, you could Steven a lesson on how to be Stan so that he’ll be more convincing the next time he talks to Grunkle Ford. After all, I can’t really think of anybody who would know him better than you!”

“Tch, for better or worse,” Amethyst remarked sardonically, though ultimately she folded upon meeting the pleading expressions the kids were offering her. “But… fine. I guess I can hook you guys up. But only if we get to pull off a whole bunch of pranks using Stan’s body after this whole thing with Ford is over.”

“Um, Amethyst, I don’t know if that’s such a good-”

“Deal!” Mabel interrupted Connie, readily agreeing to such worrisome terms.

“Thanks so much, Amethyst!” Steven cheered, not hesitating to show his gratefulness by embracing the purple Gem.

“Ah ah ah! Stan lesson numero uno,” Amethyst pushed away from him. “Stan is absolutely not a hugger.”

“Ah, right…” Steven frowned, backing off apprehensively. “...This is gonna be harder than I thought…”

The young Gem took in an anxious breath as him, Mabel, Connie, and Amethyst all rode the elevator down to Ford’s private study, hoping that their scheme would end in success this time. For the past hour or so, the purple Gem had drilled him in every tic and trait she knew Stan to have, essentially teaching him how to talk, walk, and overall act exactly as the conman would. And yet, even with those lessons in grumpy gruffness in mind, Steven was still resolved to be a bit softer in his approach than Stan likely would have been, all in the hopes of finally reaching Ford so they could begin finally bridging the broken gap between the brothers once and for all.

Or at least, get halfway there for now.

As soon as the elevator reached the basement’s second floor, the group split up, Amethyst, Mabel, and Connie taking to concealing themselves along the sides of the study so they could watch the encounter that was about to unfold. Steven, however, continued forward, steadying his resolve as he quietly approached Ford, who was so engrossed in writing in his journal that he didn’t even notice the young Gem’s arrival. At least until he spoke up to greet him.

“Uh, hey, Mr. Fo--oh, right! I mean, heya, ‘sixer’,” Steven began, remembering Amethyst’s pointers on how Stan would address Ford in particular. “How’s it, um… hanging?”

Ford stood upright with a start at this, spinning around to face his ‘brother’ in appalled shock. “Wha--Stanley?!” he exclaimed in disbelief. “W-where--how did you--what are you doing down here?! How did you even find out about this room? It’s a secret study for a reason, you know.”

“Oh, um… Amethyst told me about it?” Steven ventured, getting the excuse from the purple Gem herself as he looked over his shoulder at her as she remained in hiding alongside the girls.

“Ugh, of course she did…” Ford groaned, exasperated. “Well, since you’re down here, what is that you want? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m very busy.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Steven readily apologized, only for Amethyst to clear her throat to catch his attention. The purple Gem shook her head disapprovingly, reminding him once again that ‘Stan’ needed to drop the manners than Steven always made sure to mind so carefully. “Uh, I-I mean… What, you’re busy working on your, uh, ‘nerd books’ again?” he asked, trying his hardest to carry an air of dry sarcasm in his tone.

“Stanley, how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling my important research ‘nerd books’!” Ford snapped, not even noticing as the ‘conman’ flinched back, startled by his harsh tone. “Now, if you’ll please state your business down here then be on your way, that would be-”

“I-I wanted to hang out with you!” Steven exclaimed, completely forgetting what Amethyst had told him in an attempt at salvaging this before it was too late.

“You what?” Ford asked, baffled.

“You know… hang out?” the young Gem tried again with a small smile, ignoring the disgruntled look the purple Gem was sending his way all the while. “Like I guess we probably always used to do when we were kids? I just, I mnea… w-wouldn’t it be nice if you guys--er, if we finally started getting along again? Just like old times…?”

For a moment, Ford’s expression almost seemed to soften at this, though it quickly grew harsh once more as he drew in a sharp, almost offended breath as he shoved away the hand Steven was offering to him. “What kind of fool do you take me for?” he asked, his voice low and undoubtedly angry.

“W-what do you mean?”

“It’s it obvious?!” the author exclaimed harshly. “You keep pretending like we can move on and act like nothing ever happened, but we can’t Stanley! I missed out on my dream school, I spent 30 years straggling between countless dimensions, barely surviving, all because of you! And yet you want to just forget about all of that without even admitting that you were wrong? Without even saying that you’re sorry?!”

“W-well, then I am sorry!” Steven said frantically, hoping to give the author what he wanted to hear in the hopes that it would work. But of course, it didn’t.

“But I don’t believe you!” Ford exclaimed incredulously, both fury and the first inklings of what almost sounded like grief starting to leak into his tone. “You never act like you’re sorry! You just want to act like it’s all over and done but it’s not! You’re always off living in your own little fantasy world, just like you used to do when we were kids! It’s like… it’s like you don’t even care…”

The young Gem froze, genuinely shocked as he noticed tears starting to well up in the author’s eyes. Tears that he rushed to wipe away but tears all the same. “H-hey…” he reached a shaking hand out in an attempt to comfort him. “Don’t be sad… I-”

“Don’t patronize me, Stanley,” Ford huffed bitterly, pushing his hand away once more. “After all, we both know you’re only doing this for your own gain, just like everything else you’ve ever done!”

“That’s not true!” Steven tried once more but it was very clear by now that Ford was having none of it as he outright pushed his ‘brother’ away.

“I’ve had enough, Stanley,” Ford sighed tiredly. “Every time I so much as think about making amends with you, you always manage to remind me just how much of a mistake that would really be and I’m done. Now get out.”

“B-but wait!” Steven protested as the author continued pushing him back toward the elevator. “I-I just wanted to fix everything!”

“You only ever try to fix anything when it’s convenient for you!” Ford shot back fiercely.

“Y-you don’t understand-” the young Gem tried to counter, but once again the author sharply cut him off.

“No, Stanley, I understand perfectly,” Ford finally stopped just shy of the elevator. “You want me to thank you, to need you; you always have, but I don’t. I never have! I’ve been just fine without you for well over 30 years now and I’ll be even better after we finally part ways. And I, for one, can’t wait until we finally do. Now GOODBYE, Stan!”

With that, the author shoved his ‘brother’ into the elevator, pressing the button that would send him back up to the shack’s upper levels. However, right before he could, Steven took in a sudden breath, his regret and and guilt having built up to unbearable levels as he finally decided to reveal the truth before it was too late. “I’m NOT Stan!” he shouted just as the elevator doors closed on him.

Taken aback, Ford was quick to call the elevator back down to the study, curiosity getting the better of him. When the elevator doors opened again, they revealed ‘Stan’ still standing there, tears streaming down his cheeks and his expression awash in genuine remorse. A sight that was more than enough to surprise the author even more. “What…?” he asked, looking over the ‘conman’ cautiously.

“I’m actually… Steven,” the young Gem confessed with a sad sigh. “I accidentally used my powers to send my mind into Mr. Pines’ body a-and then we thought we use this to help you guys make up but… it didn’t work, obviously…”

“...We?” Ford raised an eyebrow, still unsure of what to really think about such a strange story as a whole.

“Yeah… we…” Mabel spoke up, stepping out into the open alongside Connie and Amethyst.

“Mabel? Connie? Amethyst?” Ford turned to the trio, even more confused than before. “What are you three doing down here? Actually, you know what? Forget that. Let’s focus back on the part about Steven’s mind supposedly being in Stan’s body…”

“I just wanted to help you guys,” Steven frowned earnestly, wiping some of his tears away. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings like this, Mr. Ford! I’m so sorry!”

“...Alright, so maybe you actually are Steven…” Ford noted, his doubt starting to dissipate somewhat. “Stanley would never apologize to me, after all.”

“That’s what I tried telling him,” Amethyst remarked, crossing her arms. “But did he listen to me or any of my ‘What Would Stan Do’ lessons? Nooooo, ‘course not. He had to get all soft and sweet. Tch, if the real Stan was here, he’d totally be gagging all over the place right now.”

“Speaking of Stanley…” Ford began thoughtfully. “I’m assuming you somehow entered his mindscape, Steven. But that begs the question… is Stan inside of yours?”

“Wait, do you mean Mr. Pines’ mind could be inside of Steven’s body?” Connie asked, bewildered.

“I’m… not sure,” the author frowned, turning back to Steven in the hopes that he’d know more about his mysterious powers than anyone else would. “Would he?”

“...I don’t know,” Steven said starkly, having not even considered the possibility until now.

“You don’t know?!” Ford exclaimed, aptly alarmed.

“Maybe we should check?” Mabel ventured, feeling the rising panic in the room.

“Uh, ya think?!” Amethyst exclaimed, rushing to the elevator first. The others all quickly piled onto it, frantically pressing the button until it took them to the shack’s main floor. From there, they all rushed out of the building altogether, knowing that the temple would be the best place to check for the young Gem’s body. If it wasn’t there, then there would be no telling where it might be.

However just as the group burst out of the shack, Soos’ truck just so happened to be pulling up with both of the shack’s employees in tow. “Thanks again for the ride, Soos,” Wendy said, stepping out of the vehicle.

“No problem, dude,” Soos said, grinning as he tipped his hat to her.

“Can’t believe I forgot my jacket here again,” the cashier rolled her eyes. “Better hurry in and go get it before Stan changes his mind about our day off.”

“Oh hey, speaking of Stan, there he is!” Soos pointed out the group ran past them toward the temple.

“Huh, wonder where they’re going in such a hurry,” Wendy said with a curious frown.

“Wanna find out?”

“Not really-”

“Too late! We’re emotionally invested now!” the handyman exclaimed, running to catch up with the others. Even if she wasn’t too keen on going herself, Wendy ultimately let out a sigh of defeat as she joined in the chase too, albeit at a much slower, more lax pace.

At the same time, Steven, Ford, Connie, Mabel, and Amethyst all reached the temple, dashing up the porch stairs only for the young Gem to find another obstacle barring their path. “I-It’s locked!” he cried, trying his hardest to push against the screen door to get it open. As he tried rushing for it, he ultimately bounced right off and rolled back, leaving them with no way in. At least, not until Ford easily managed to kick the door down without much effort at all.

“Whoa, breaking and entering into Steven’s house?” Wendy asked as she and Soos watched this as they continued their way up toward the temple. “This suddenly got a lot more interesting.”

“I’ll say!” Soos eagerly agreed. “But um… doesn’t Amethyst already live there?”

“Hey, man, nobody ever said you can’t sneak into your own place,” Wendy shrugged with a grin. “I do it all the time.”

As the larger group rushed into the house, they wasted no time looking around for the young Gem’s body, Connie spotting it first as it lay listlessly on the bed upon on the loft. “Steven! There you are!” she called, pointing the young Gem’s way back to his own body. The others all ran after him, taking just the briefest of moments to take in the sight of Steven’s real body, still sleeping soundly before them, with no signs of Stan inhabiting it really apparently.

“H-how do you switch back?” Mabel looked to Steven, or ‘Stan’ as it were, anxiously.

“I-I don’t know!” Steven shook his head, gripping his slumbering body by the shirt and shaking him roughly. “Come on! Wake up!”

“Whoa, what’s going on?” Soos asked as he and Wendy stepped through the house’s broken-down door.

“I have no idea but I gotta say,” the cashier placed her hands on her hips. “This was not what I was expecting to see on my day off.”

By now, Steven had gotten desperate, and aside from shaking his sleeping self up, he’d also taken to lightly tapping him on the face in a hectic attempt at rousing himself, one that didn’t seem to be working. “Augh! Wake UP!” Frustrated, the young Gem finally lashed out, finally slapping himself hard enough to finally, and miraculously do the trick.

In an instant, Steven found himself back in his own body, his own eyes flying open as he bolted upright in bed. However, he barely even had time to settle back into his own skin before he noticed the body he’d just been in starting to sway. Stan seemed to be only barely conscious, his eyes rolling back into his head as he began to fall towards the edge of the loft, nearly falling off of it entirely until Ford happened to catch him by his suit coat. As the author pulled him back it, the conman’s rather rough fall to the floor was finally enough to snap him fully back into his own mind, even if he still did so rather sluggishly.

“Ugh… I feel like I just got hit by a truck… and I should know because I have been hit by a truck…” Stan muttered, shaking his aching head to clear it before he properly took stock of his surroundings. “Uh… how the heck did I get here? And what’s everybody doing here? Is there a party or somethin’?”

“Uh… not exactly…” Connie said with a worried frown.

“Grunkle Stan, don’t get mad…” Mabel began just as apprehensively.

“Mad about what?” the conman raised an eyebrow as he picked himself up to stand.

“Steven really didn’t mean to-” Mabel continued, though once again, Stan cut her off.

“Mean to what?” he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously as he turned to the young Gem.

For his part, Steven let out a tight, anxious laugh to try and ease the growing tension. Even so, he ultimately did admit the truth, knowing there was no use in trying to hide it. “I… might have… spent the day… with my mind… in your body…”

Stan’s initial reaction to this news was quite apt, shock overtaking his expression, though strangely he was quick to replace it with a look of stoic acceptance. “Yeah, that sounds about right,” he said stiffly, not really giving too much of a reaction at all outside of that.

“Y-you’re not… upset?” Steven ventured, gripping his bed’s blanket tightly.

“Oh, no, I’m furious,” Stan said with a surprisingly steady smile. “In fact, it’s taking just about every inch of self control I have to stay calm right now and believe me, it’s not easy.”

“Stanley, please don’t make a scene,” Ford huffed, already anticipating his brother’s known temper’s tipping point.

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Stan assured. “At least not in here.” With that, the conman turned on his heel, heading down the loft and passing by Soos and Wendy on the way out. “What are you two doing here?!” he asked them with a harsh scowl. “Get back to work!”

“B-but what about our day off?” Soos asked, frowning.

“Day off?” Stan scoffed incredulously. “Give me a break! You heard what I said: back to work, now!”

“Ugh, I knew it was too good to be true,” Wendy sighed as the conman left.

At the same time, Amethyst eagerly hopped down from the loft, hoping to catch up with the conman as she let out an amused laugh. “Aw man, here comes the freakout I’ve been waiting for,” she grinned, rushing to join Stan right outside. “This is something I don’t wanna miss.”

And sure enough, she didn’t for as soon as Stan stepped outside onto the porch, he finally let his anger out in the form of a single large, loud scream. A scream that Steven simply flinched at the sound of, knowing that once again, another plan to bring the bickering brothers together again had fallen through completely. And this time he only really had himself to blame.

Steven stopped just shy of the gift shop’s entrance, letting out a fretful sigh before finally deciding to enter, hoping that he’d be able to make amends for what happened the previous day. Fortunately, it seemed as though he’d get that chance for sure enough Stan was sitting at the counter, boredly tallying up his profits for the day. He didn’t so much as even look up as the young Gem entered or even as he approached the counter, but all the same, Steven offered him a friendly, if not somewhat awkward greeting all the same.

“Uh… h-hey, Mr. Pines,” he said with a small smile, though Stan said nothing in response, his expression remaining cold as he kept his eyes on his cash. Even so, Steven continued. “Um… I’m really sorry about yesterday. I know it’s not much, but… I got you a card.” His smile picked up a bit as he slid said card, one that read ‘hang in there!’, onto the counter. “It’s got a koala and a sloth.”

Stan finally glanced up at this, first at the card before looking to Steven himself. And try as he might to remain silent and stoic, he couldn’t help but crack a small smile upon noticing just how genuine the young Gem’s apology really was. “Ugh, kid, put that pout of yours away,” the conman sighed tiredly. “I’m not mad, at least not anymore. By now, I’ve come to expect weird stuff like this happening around here, especially whenever you and the Gems are involved. But what I can’t figure out is why you did it in the first place…”

“Well, it was an accident at first…” Steven admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “But then I kept it going because I thought… I thought maybe while I was in your body, I could finally help you and Mr. Ford get along again.”

Stan let out something of a sharp, almost bitter snicker at this, shaking his head incredulously. “That’s what you were trying to do, kid? If you ask me, then you tried way too hard to fix something that’s been way too broken to even try to fix for years now.”

“W-what do you mean?” Steven asked with a worried frown.

The conman’s sardonic grin faded at this, his expression turning more serious as he looked away. “Er… f-forget it,” he said dismissively, not wanting to think on the matter any more than that right now. “Still, your heart was in the right place, so I guess I can’t fault you too much for basically hijacking my body for a day. Just as long as you promise to never do that to me again.”

“I think I can do that,” Steven chuckled, allayed that there were no hard feelings.

Stan smiled once more at this, fondly ruffling the young Gem’s hair and eliciting another warm laugh from him in the process. “Ya know, Steven,” he began thoughtfully, kindly even. “You’re a good kid. But… you might wanna ease up a bit on your approach to helping people. You tend to come on… just a little too strong sometimes, if you know what I mean.”

“Ease up…” the young Gem repeated, not entirely sure what this advice meant, though he still valued it all the same. “I’ll make sure to remember that. Thanks, Mr. Pines.”

“No, thank you, kid,” Stan remarked with something of a wry smirk. “Knowing Amethyst, she probably tried to rope you into using my body for some of her nutso pranks, so thanks for not following through on any of that.”

“No problem,” Steven laughed brightly, a bout of levity that Stan soon joined in on. And yet, as that laughter eventually died down, the young Gem couldn’t help but steal a glance between the conman and the vending machine on the far side of the shack, behind which lay the elevator that led to the study that Ford was certainly working within, alone as he usually was. And as he did, Steven finally started to understand exactly what Stan’s advice truly meant. For maybe his approach, his plan had been wrong all along. Maybe, instead of trying to find ways to push and prod the brothers along to reach common ground, that ground was a place they’d have to find on their own. Maybe, just maybe, the only ones who really could repair what had been broken between Stan and Ford for so long now… were none other than Stan and Ford themselves.

And yet, as Steven took solace in the hope that they someday would, he didn’t happen to see who was discreetly peeking in from the den to watch the whole exchange. Dipper let out a small sigh as he pressed back against the wall, closing his eyes as he absently rubbed his left shoulder, a shoulder that had once been heavily injured, nearly gravely so, all while somebody else had been in control of his body. All while he’d lost control of everything that was rightfully his own, all because someone else had decided to take it for a cruel and callous joy ride instead.

And as much as Dipper didn’t want to suspect Steven, of all people, of such a thing, he couldn’t help but wonder, perhaps even fear, just how far that power, so very similar to a power someone else possessed, could really go.

#jen writes #universe falls #gravity falls #steven universe #crossover #au #steven #stan #mabel #connie #dipper #soos #wendy #ford #amethyst #keyword is mindhopping #again dont read these chapters on here because they aint formatted #read em on ao3 or ff.net please #oy

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mushroommouth · 4 years

Text

The Good Mourning Part III

A/N: Haha, guess who’s not dead?

Anyway, happy we’re-done-with-January! Sorry this chapter is somewhat dialogue-heavy. There was a lot of resolution that had to be done and not much action to go along with it.

Additionally, there are some scenes missing/ things that weren’t addressed quite just yet. Some of them were removed for for flow purposes, and others. Well. We’ll get there when we get there.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy the finale of TGM!

-Skye (👻)

“Easy, easy—”

Aaron laughed and nudged his boss’s hand off his arm.

“I’m burned not busted. Besides, you’re the one a billion years old.” Aaron smirked and readjusted the icing bag. “I should be worrying over you, if anything.”

“Very funny. I’ll fire you any day now, I swear.” Aaron’s boss rolled his eyes and leaned on the counter. “Besides, you got burned on your dominant hand. Look at this frosting work. It’s- actually, It’s fine. But you’ve certainly done a lot better.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s just kind of hard to get a good grip. I’ll get the hang of it.”

“And your leg?”

“Again, I said I’m fine. What the hell is your problem? It’s been almost three months.” Aaron rolled his shoulder and sighed before setting down the icing bag. “Also, I can’t work when you’re looking at me like that. Just…really. What is going on with you, Stanley?”

Stanley sighed and rubbed his face before nervously scratching at his beard.

“I…I don’t know. I guess I never really had a family and– c’mon, you little shit. Don’t make me say it.”

“Aww, boss. You never told me you had a heart deep beneath that gross crusty old man act.” Aaron laughed.

“Yeah, yeah. Real cute. See if I sign your check next time, much less open up.” Stanley stormed across the kitchen to wash his hands. “You’re real charming, kid.”

“Oh don’t be like that.” Aaron picked up the icing bag and started gently swirling frosting onto each cupcake. “You know what I mean. When I was out, there’s no one else I woulda trusted to watch Tom ‘n the kittens…’n…I don’t know. If I could have my cat in here, with you guys and baking and all… I don’t think I’d ever leave.”

Aaron smiled slightly.

“Besides, you were there for me when I had no one and you hired me as a cashier, and then you gave me the chance at…this.”

Aaron froze before bursting out in laughter.

“Stan, are you-are you crying?”

“I’m just thinking about how terrible of a cashier you were.” Stanley sniffled and wiped at his eyes in the crook of his elbow. “You were friggin terrible. Got to me is all.”

He put gloves on and walked to stand next to Aaron.

“We lost almost as much money from you doing math bad as when you were out.” Stan grabbed a tray of red velvet and got started icing them. “We needed ya here. We were hit pretty hard without you. I…should have really kept my promise and made the big guy pay for it.”

“You mean Dan? I mean, they were hit pretty hard, too.” Aaron sighed. “I mean, literally, sure. He’s been in and out of the hospital since. I can’t imagine what his copay is, and if he didn’t step in front of it for me, I’d been finished for, I’m sure. But also… I dunno. I don’t really have a family either, but when I do it’s this.”

“You’re a good guy, Aaron.”

Aaron snorted. “You’re just saying that to make me feel good about myself.”

“Yeah, you’re kind of a jackass.”

Aaron laughed. “Yeah. No worries about losing the money though. People have been trailing in here non-stop because they thought we closed for a bit because something happened to you. Y’know, in your fragile, elderly state.”

“Yeah, yeah. You know, it’s a shame the fire didn’t burn your hair off. You look like a frickin’ hippy.”

Aaron laughed harder. “Maybe for your birthday. You’ve only got so many left, after all.”

“Shame it didn’t burn your mouth off, too.”

They iced in silence for a moment before Stanley spoke up again.

“Hey, once we’re in the clear again and have enough money saved up, I think you gave me an idea for our next spot, Aaron.”

—

Cody cautiously opened the door.

“Hey Milo?” He asked. “Dad and Miranda want to know if you would rather have sparkling red grape juice or sparkling…red grape juice?”

Milo looked up from his project.

“…What?”

“We’re out of white, but the red are different brands.” Cody said.

“I… got that. I meant why, I guess.”

“Oh! Dad and Miranda, uh. Do this dinner thing on special occasions. They get Italian takeout and wine, light a bunch of candles and pretend it’s all fancy. They started getting the grape juice, so I feel included and junk.”

“Huh.” Milo picked up the duck tape. “Sorry, I…uh. Does this look right to you?”

Cody stepped into the room and flicked on the light.

“It looks like…holy cow, are you done?”

Milo held Jake’s guitar close, fidgeting with the neck.

“Almost, I think! The top part needs a little more tape and junk.” Milo set the guitar down gently on the bed. “How does it look?”

The guitar was, truthfully, an amalgamation of glue and tape, but it was the first time Cody had seen it in one piece in months. All the strings were fixed, the paint that could be reapplied was, and it seemed finally whole. Cody walked up and smiled, taking in the details of the guitar.

As soon as he looked up, though, the smile fell in an instant.

“Milo?”

“Hmm?”

“When was the last time you slept?”

“Last night.”

“For more than two hours?”

“…That’s not fair.” Milo rubbed his eyes as if trying to wipe away the bags. “’Sides, look how far I got!”

“Milo, that’s cool and all, but—”

“Cody, you know this is important to me.”

“Yes, but at our age we need ten-to-twelve hours of sleep.” Cody sighed. “Milo…I’m worried about you. You’re all pale, and…you look like you’re starting to get sick. Sleep is–”

“I can’t sleep, okay?!” Milo balled his fists. “I tried. I really, really tried. I know it’s important. I just…can’t.”

Cody grabbed some tissues and sat down on the other side of the bed, trying not to jostle the guitar. He reached over and handed a tissue to Milo, who immediately began wiping away the rapidly-beading tears.

“Not like I can tell Dad, right?” Milo laughed dryly.

Cody forced a smile.

“Well, you can soon, right? That’s what we’re celebrating. Dan is finally getting his wires out. He’ll be able to eat for real soon and his teeth were all fixed and the surgery went well-he’s in the clear! It’s your last night with us with Dan hurt. Everything’s going back to normal.”

“‘Cept it won’t.” Milo muttered. “One of my dads is still gone and hasn’t made even a little bit of a sign to say he’s out there. And I saw the other- Cody, I don’t ever want to see Dan like that again. I…”

“Daniel Fuller, sit down!”

Dan whipped his head around from beside his hospital bed, looking dazedly at the IVs he ripped out and back up at Reese.

“Whhh…” Dan’s mouth felt like it was full of cotton. That felt correct given the circumstances, but he couldn’t remember exactly why.

Reese sighed and began walking across the room to guide him back to the hospital bed.

She forced a slight smile as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“…Welcome back to the world of the living.”

Finally, it clicked as Reese began putting back in the IVs. If Reese was here, then he was at the hospital. And if he was at the hospital…

“Whirrrrrr…is Ja’e?” Dan asked. “Mi’o?”

Reese frowned and looked to the other member of the room. Milo was looking back at Dan with wide, puffy eyes. His cheeks were streaked and stained with tears. He was holding something up with his sweatshirt, keeping it tight to his chest.

Milo stood up, taking a step toward Dan, wanting nothing more than to lunge at his dad and cry for hours. However, the movement seemed to remind Milo about what he was holding onto and he tensed up again.

Dan looked at Milo worriedly. He moved to to get up again, but Reese gave him a stern look.

“That’s enough, Mr. Fuller.” She watched him as he hesitantly scooted back into the bed. “You were concussed something fierce, not to mention the broken jaw and fractured cheekbone. You are going to stay still until at least the swelling goes down so we can do surgery.”

That was right. He and Aaron went to Donna’s old house. The rest was kind of fuzzy, but Dan was pretty sure Jake ended up being there. Milo was left with Cody. And now Dan and Milo were both at the hospital.

“It’s weird treating you and not Milo. You’re usually the safe one,” Reese forced a faint smile. She looked at Milo for a moment and back to Dan. “I have to go do rounds, but I’ll be right back. Just- please. Stay still. There’s the call button if you need me.”

Dan absentmindedly touched the bandage around his face while looking over Milo carefully. Milo seemed beyond upset, but not physically hurt. Dan sighed in relief and sank back into the hospital bed. He closed his eyes without realizing it, and jerked back awake from the movement on the other side of the room.

“Dad.” Milo sniffled, holding on to what was in his sweatshirt in one hand and wiping tears and snot off his face with the other. “Dad, Dad, I’m so sorry. I couldn’t-“

Milo was cut off by Dan wordlessly cupping a hand (the free one, the other was resting with the IVs) on the side of his face, silently wiping some of Milo’s tears away.

“Mi’o.” Dan said again, this time quieter but equally as desperate. He looked at his son intensely, desperate to say more and comfort him but not about to test the waters with Reese any further.

They looked at each other for a moment before Milo ripped his gaze away. Without another word, he dumped the splinters of Jake’s guitar onto Dan’s bed.

To Dan’s credit, he didn’t scream or wail like Milo feared he might—or like what Milo felt like doing. In fact, other than a faint gasp, Dan was so quiet that Milo had to force himself to turn around from the comfort of looking at the wall.

Dan was holding part of the neck, eyes wide. Tears were pooling up and spilling down his cheeks, but he didn’t seem to realize it. He gently nudged one of the pieces aside, looking at the scope of the damage.

The only response from the anchor- the thing keeping Jake with them- was a pitiful and faint cyan glow before fading out entirely.

Dan tightened his grip on the piece he was holding and began to tremble.

He didn’t scream or wail. Instead he cried quietly, holding the remaining pieces of his best friend. Milo wasn’t sure how long he watched Dan cry. Milo cried too, sure, but it felt strange. Dan, Dan Milo’s father, Dan the strong, Dan the one who had to keep it together so long for both Jake and Milo.

Neither talked much except occasional choked off apologies or reassurances. After awhile, it seemed to wear Dan out significantly. He fell asleep holding Milo’s hand in one hand and the same piece of the guitar in the other. Milo gathered up most of the pieces with his free hand, trying not to wake Dan up.

And when Reese came back, she didn’t comment on the broken guitar in the bed or report Milo staying past visiting hours, sleeping by Dan’s side.

And when Milo woke up with an additional blanket on his shoulders, his father fast and deep asleep still from painkillers, he didn’t say anything, either. But neither forgot.

“-ilo? Milo?”

“Hm?” Milo shook his head of the memory, trying to clear it like an Etch-a-sketch.

“I lost you for a second.” Cody offered more tissues, and Milo was shocked to realize how many tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“Sorry, I thought I was done with…all this.” Milo scrubbed at his eyes and wiped his nose

They sat in silence for a moment. The only sounds were Milo’s stifled sniffling and the gentle hum of the heater.

“It’s…okay to be upset. It was scary.” Cody sighed. “But you can always talk about it, ya know? It’s been fun with you being here more– though the situation isn’t great– and I just wish… I don’t know.”

Cody scratched the back of his neck and looked away.

“Make sure to take care of yourself too, Milo.”

Milo was silent for a moment before picking up the tape again and pulling the guitar into his lap. He ripped off a piece of duck tape and firmly wrapped it around the neck of the guitar.

“I know.” He finally responded quietly. “‘Sides, even if I didn’t, I think you would- I don’t know.”

“Post a ‘Milo cringe compilation everyday until Milo eats like a human?’”

“I dunno, I’d have to be embarrassed first for it to be cringe.” Milo laughed. “I wasn’t eating like a human before, anyway.”

“What about a ‘Cody snitches and tells Tegan, who won’t leave it alone’ kind of thing?’”

Milo gasped dramatically. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Nah, that’d be low. Even for me.” Cody leaned back before grinning. “Maybe…summoning an ancient god to hex you for your hubris until you get a full night’s sleep?”

“Actually, that’s your closest yet.” Milo smiled back. “But where’ll you get the tome?”

“Ah. Rats.” Cody snapped his fingers. “You got me there. For now.”

“You’ll find a way.” Milo yawned. “Always do.”

“Heh.”

The two sat in quiet for a moment as Cody watched Milo tinker with the guitar.

“I…think it’s finally sturdy.”

Milo gently handed the guitar for Cody to look over. Cody ran his fingers along the cracks and seems, before holding it as if to play. He then looked at it again before beaming at Milo.

“Milo, you did it!” Cody handed it back. “It looks great.”

“Thanks!” He took the guitar back and began gently picking at a piece of glue that obtruded above the crack it fixed. “All that’s left is tuning it, I think. I think.”

“Now would be a good time to take a break.” Cody got up from the bed. “Dinner’s been here and ready. I just came up here to ask about the grape juice.”

“I…either’s fine? I guess?”

“Does that mean you’ll come down?”

Milo looked away and held the guitar close.

“Milo-“

“I just need to tune it. I already found tutorials online.” Milo smiled tiredly. “I’ll come down when I’m done, okay? And that’s it.”

“…Promise?”

“I promise.”

Cody sighed and stood up. He hugged Milo briefly before heading to the door.

“…Your plate will be in the fridge.”

Cody stepped out of the room and headed to the kitchen. Cody couldn’t bring himself to meet Dom’s hopeful eyes.

“Milo’s not coming.”

—-

“-Then let’s hear how it sounds all together! If you don’t have a pick, for a gentler sound, strum your guitar using your thumb like this!” The grainy figure adjusted their camera slightly before demonstrating a simple thumb. “My dad taught me this trick when I was-“

“Yeuch.” Milo shut his phone off before the tutorial could finish and flopped back onto the bed.

He rubbed his eyes, wishing he shut the light back off when Cody left. He lay like that for a moment and counting his breath, hands gently pressed into his eyes until he saw the slightest bursts of stars.

Finally, Milo shot up and began flapping his arm nervously, trying to calm down.

“Okay, okay. Okay.” He took a deep breath and grabbed the guitar. “Dad, I dunno if you can hear me, but if this doesn’t work- if this doesn’t work, I’m going to take a break for a bit, okay? I’ll come back, but I’m beginning to think Cody’s right, and- okay.”

Milo held the guitar like how he saw in the video and took deep breaths in and out.

“Okay. On the count of three.”

“One-“ Milo lifted his hand shakily and held it just above the chords.

“Two.” He took a quick shallow breath, meaning to do the exact opposite.

“Three.”

Milo strummed the guitar. There was the sound of glass breaking and a bright cyan light engulfed his vision.

—-

The guitar was ripped away before Milo could realize what was happening.

It floated to the middle of the room, where it hovered before a figure formed around it. The figure, entirely blank other than vaguely humanoid, hesitated before quickly taking on their features. First was a neat burial suit, followed by tired eyes and a shock of blonde hair.

In a matter of seconds, there was Jake.

Jake collapsed to the floor, holding on to the guitar strapped to his chest like a lifeline, and took a deep and unnecessary breath. His hand moved from the guitar to grab at his unmoving chest. He gasped again before starting to get up.

“Dad?” Milo tried to blink some of the blotches out of his eyes.

“Milo-“ Jake started, but Milo had already jumped off the bed and bounded toward him.

Jake instinctively raised his arms to hold Milo in the embrace, but they phased right through Milo. The guitar stopped Milo from going through him entirely, which caused Milo to gently lay a hand on it as be began breathing faster and faster.

“Sorry,” Jake started. He cringed slightly at the echo effect of his voice. “I don’t think I’m all the way back yet-“

“Dad, I’m so sorry for fighting with you and saying you’re not my dad, and for making you feel like you can’t tell me stuff, and I’m sorry for taking so long to fix this and for the haunted house and for talking back to you and-“

“Breathe.” Jake smiled softly and got as close as he could to wrapping his arms around Milo. Milo shuddered for a second at the cold sensation rather than the feeling of touch. “Milo, you did so, so great.”

“But I- but I…” Milo trailed off and burst into tears.

The two stood in the mock hug for a moment, Milo’s hand not leaving the guitar. Jake waited until Milo’s breathing evened out somewhat into a quiet hiccup.

“You brought me back.” Jake reached up and held his hand as if he were cupping Milo’s cheek. “You put back together the guitar—that’s incredible! You’re incredible, Milo.”

“Yeah.” Milo sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Yeah! Take that, Cody! Sleep is for the weak!”

Jake chuckled.

“I don’t know about that.“ He cleared his throat. “Im fact, I think sleep might be up there in the whole ‘human needs’ thing. When’s the last time you slept?”

He sighed in relief as the echo effect dissipated, pulling back slightly to take in Milo’s expression.

“Boo, not you too.” Milo pouted. “Cody and Dad have been getting on my case nonstop already.”

“Well, they’re right. I…” Jake looked away. “How…is Dan doing, by the way?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is he okay?”

“He’s getting his stitches out today!” Milo smiled for a moment before his expression fell into confusion. “That’s why I’m at Cody’s. Uh, here at Cody’s. I guess.”

“Uh-“ Jake blinked in surprise.

“Did…you really were gone, huh?”

Jake scratched the back of his neck and looked at the floor, still somewhat surprised by the realization he wasn’t in their house.

“Not gone. It was like-“ He shook his head. “I don’t know how to describe it, but not gone. And just now, Milo, you made the door to bring me back here.”

Jake held up the guitar and smiled.

“I could feel you, though. Whenever you touched this, Milo, I knew it was you. And Cody sometimes. But Dan…” He trailed off and the smile vanished entirely.

“I think he’s been having trouble.”

“Oh.”

“He missed you a lot.”

Jake laughed dryly and looked away again.

“Well, I missed him too. I missed all of you so much.”

Overcome with the need to ease the tension to the point he was nearly vibrating, Milo quickly replied.

“Not as much as Cody’s gonna miss his window!”

“What? Oh- oh my god.”

Jake stood up quickly to get a better look at the blown-out window.

“Did I do that? Or did you do that?”

“Definitely you. You know, this time.” Milo followed suit and peered around Jake to take in the scene. “You exploded before you came back. There was a bright light and boom, you knocked out the window. It’s…weird no one came up to check on the noise.”

“I will definitely make sure that gets fixed.” Jake walked over to sit on the bed. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before absentmindedly fiddling with the tuning pegs of the guitar.

Milo hesitated before sitting on the bed beside him.

“…Was I close to doing it right?”

“You were really close. It just needs a little more tweaking, but I can’t say it enough-the fact you fixed this without me teaching you about the parts of a guitar, the way you fixed all the pieces together- you’re incredible, Milo. And I’m so, so proud of you.”

“Thanks.” Milo yawned. “I think it’s dumb that you can sit on furniture but you can’t hug me after being gone for like three months.”

“It has to do with affecting the environment versus affecting a person.”

“Hmm.”

“Environment comes first.”

“You sound a lot like Cody.” Milo scooted back so his back was to the wall.

“He taught me everything I know. Which is pretty ironic if you think about it.” Jake stopped tuning and looked out of the corner of his eye at Milo. “You never answered my question. When’s the last time you slept?”

“Last night, technically.”

“I can’t say it enough how proud I am of you for this and being brave,” Jake fully turned to get a better look at his son. Milo turned away. “But that’s not the answer I was hoping to hear.”

“I know. I just haven’t been able to with, you know, everything going on.”

They sat quietly before Jake grinned.

“When you were little-really little, you’d fall asleep right away if I played for you.” Jake turned his gaze back to the guitar. “You’d always sneak out of bed and say you were going to get a snack, or use the bathroom, or get a glass of water, but instead you’d go play with your toys.”

Jake looked around the room and locked eyes with a video game ghost plush in the corner. “Now, you sneak out of bed and come here if you can’t sleep.”

“What can I say? I’m a sucker for tradition.”

Jake laughed and Milo cracked a tired grin back.

“You should play.” Milo said. “If you want.”

Jake hesitated before adjusting the guitar slightly as if to play it. He got his fingers over the chord and before stopping jerkily.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Milo quickly added.

Jake nodded and played a few chords, expression falling to that of focus as he tried to get the feel again. After some more nitpicking with the tuning pegs, he began to tentatively pluck out more notes.

He looked back over at Milo and the bags under his eyes.

“You’re sure it’s not going to make you fall asleep?”

“I promise it’s not. I’m fourteen, remember?”

Jake’s grin came back with full force.

“Oh, of course.”

Without another word, he began plucking out a lullaby from a decade prior. The room was silent save for the gentle music, the house almost seeming to have emptied itself to make room for the sound itself.

Learning an effective lullaby after the much louder and angrier Problem Sons was tricky. However, it was nowhere as tricky as an energetic toddler—or, beyond that, losing Milo Sr.

Once Jake was comfortable enough repeating the chords of the chorus, he began to sing. His voice soft and hoarse from disuse and his eyes never left the guitar as the melody played.

By the time he was finished, he took a breath and turned slightly to gauge Milo’s reaction.

Of course, it was an unnecessary measure. Jake chuckled and stood up, slinging the guitar around to his back.

“You shouldn’t make promises you don’t think you can keep.” Jake whispered to Milo’s sleeping form.

He gently brushed the hair out of Milo’s face and kissed his forehead.

“Goodnight, Milo.”

The young woman shuffled in the room holding two mugs, still shaking slightly from the events that unfolded months prior. She offered a cup to her guest and took the other before sitting on the couch.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know who else to call,” she said. She took a long drink from the coffee and took a deep breath.

“You’re quite alright.” The guest fiddled with an unlit cigar. “You’ve been such a help for us. I’d love to return the favor any way I can, though I can’t say the same for your husband.”

“I know, but you’ll do it for me, right?” The woman looked up hopefully, holding her breath for the response.

“Ghosts are typically not something the Church helps with. Demons, sure-but ghosts?”

The priest set down the coffee mug and stood up, walking around the room and looking at the pictures that hung the walls. He stopped at the painted portrait of the Virgin Mary and sighed.

“Even if it was something we normally helped with, it’s been months.”

“I know.” The woman sniffled and set down her coffee mug to grab a fistful of tissues. “It’s just- I haven’t been able to sleep. I’m still scared of it coming back-it used this fire, and while it didn’t burn anything inside, it still was bright blue and real and- did you know the house that used to be here burned down? What if it was the ghost? We can’t afford to move again-what if it comes after us this time?”

“Calm down. Take a deep breath. I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it.”

The woman obeyed, taking in a lungful of air and holding it until the priest spoke again.

“Your family has been in our church for decades. I cannot emphasize this enough- this is not something we can normally do. But-“ He sighed and scratched at the stubble on his cheek. “I will do it for you, just for you, and just because it’s you.”

“Oh, thank you-“

The priest interrupted.

“I fully believe the ghost is no longer within this building. However, for your ease of mind, I promise I will track it down if it’s still on this plane and send it to its rightful place.”

He stuck the cigar in his mouth, chewing a bit at the mouthpiece while thinking. “Therefore, we need to know more about it. You said this place burned down before?”

“Yes. It was completely destroyed. The owner sold the property immediately after. We bought it from her and built the new house.”

“She might know something; I’d be happy to reach out to her and get this started. Do you happen to have her name?”

“I took out the house information as soon as I heard you were coming.” The woman responded.

She went to the dining room before returning with a handful of papers. She dug through them before coming across the deed.

“Oh! Here we go. That’s right.” She looked up and smiled at the priest, waving the sheet of paper.

“It was Ms. Donna Pierly.”

#ASJFKLSDHFLSADHGLSADKFLKSDAHGASBFKDSAKLFHSITESABFJLVFSSAIUFALSBJFKLSAJFHSDAHFLSDFJsd #ITS HERE #ITS HERE AND MY HEART HURTS NOW THANK U SO MUCH #I LOVE THIS AND I LOVE YOU AND I M SCREAMIN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA #WHAT A GOOD STORY DUDE LIKE...SERIOUSLY #but also how dare you end it like that you MONSTER #friend art #fics #ghost jake #submission

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pokemagines · 5 years

Text

JAPAN TRIP 2k19 with Mod Elesa (1/?)

hey n’yall it’s mod elesa, lemme tell u bout my japan trip! u can find some of the photos of these events on my instagram @atel2er! i didn’t want to flood this post with pictures hehe ,,

GENERAL STUFF

went for school, study abroad trip to study visualization and simulation of “serious games” that businesses buy and use (but i dont feel like talking abt it since this is the FUN POST

may 10-26

the flight was 11 hours, p easy, i didn’t know anybody going into the trip because i didn’t go to any of the meetings HAHhaHEHA

whatever. everyone on the trip initially came off as if they had yellow fever and i was like ... i’m really not trying to interact with FETISHIZERS

turns out they were all really cool! only this one kid was a real weeaboo who was greasy and tall and a neckbeard who kept talking about being “culturally insensitive” and speaking japanese constantly to the teacher and the TA like ... ok patrick we get it you flex

i stayed in a hotel in shinjuku! everything is so small and i used the bidets for the first time and WOO chile that shit feels FUNKY on your asshole

i visited shinjuku major (kabukicho aka red light district, couple other places!), ikebukuro (THE MEGA POKEMON CENTER), mt fuji, fuji q highland, akihabara, hamamatsucho (area where tokyo tower is), HARAJUKU, and the emperor’s palace! i’m probably forgetting some places since we went to a lot of temples and shrines that were cool ...

the public transportation in japan is scarily on time.. like, by the second. they apologize if they’re one minute early and will wait until the scheduled time before they move omg

the subway stations have their own jingles! they kind of act as an alarm system because a lot of people sleep on the subway (which is why people generally don’t talk on it) and will recognize the jingle for their stop!

the crowded hours on the subway are noon and 6-8pm... like, its insane. it’s actually packed like sardines in there.

EVERYONE THERE IS SO SHORT.... i was taller than a lot of the grown men there (i’m 5′4″ or 162 cm for reference) and most people were around 5 feet tall... the only people taller than me were some kids around my age and this gaggle of japanese schoolgirls who were like 5′7+ and i was like. sis you’re 13, why are you that tall

pokemon is EXTREMELY prevalent in japan wherever you go. there’s pikachu stickers on taxis, pikachu is on ads on the subway and at the AIRPORT, pokemon go is widely played by a lot of people and so many of the people in my group played it so i got conned into playing again. i leveled up 5 times within 3 days and honestly? i’m god

anime is very normal there... i know that sounds all “weeby” but a lot of normal shops had animated mascots and there were ads for anime all over the place.

literally gacha machines everywhere i spent a lot of coins on gacha machines plz kill me

the homies in japan loooove crepes. they sold so many crepes. everywhere. just crepes. also spaghetti carbonara! and corndogs HAHAHA

the food there is so cheap but SOOO GOOD. sushi isn’t all that expensive at all?? like a set of 16 pieces is 1080Y... meanwhile that cost in america is like. $6000 HAHAHAHAH.

very humid? at all times? also the RAIN is debilitating if u make one wrong step you will slip and die (like i did! i stepped on a tile and fucking fell into a puddle! i have bruises still!)

SHINJUKU (detective pikachu day, may 10)

i went to go see detective pikachu on its release day in shinjuku! before that, i went to a couple sega buildings--

the sega buildings are 4 story buildings FILLED with claw machines holding stuffed animals, figurines, candy, all kinds of stuff. when i went, there was a lot of detective pikachu-related stuff. i saw this detective pikachu hat in one of the machines and spent 1000Y (about $10) or 10 attempts at the claw machine ... i still can’t believe i got it ... nobody was there to see it besides me and i YELLED when it dropped

i wore the hat that entire day around shinjuku because i honestly felt like god. people would point at me and go like “ah! meitantei pikachu!” and smile at me. i was a celebrity. i wore the hat into the movie theatre, i wore it through the entire movie, and when i was walking out, someone tapped on my shoulder and asked for my picture. she was all nervous about her english and was like “i love your hat. may i take a picture?” and i was like omG YES U CAN... sweet bab... so that’s the first photo of me that ended up on some random person’s phone

we waited around for the mass of people to exit the theatre and then left, and we ran into her again! she asked me more questions about the hat: “did you make it?” “no, i got it in a claw machine in the sega building.” she looked dumbfounded. “in shinjuku?” “yes.” “in the sega building? over there?” “yeees.” “in a claw machine?!” “yes!” “ah! i thought you made it! it’s so cute! i’m going to get one for myself.” “lol ok have fun”

i learned that its customary to stay until the very end of the credits before leaving a movie out of respect for the people who made it! meanwhile in america we walk out when the credits roll FHDSKFJS OOPIES

SHINJUKU (visit #2)

we went in the night time to go see the red light district aka kabuki-cho because thats where a lot of the bars are

i don’t drink so i didn’t join the people who went to the bars to get CRUNK, so i dragged two other guys with me and we walked around the red light district

I SAW SO MANY HOST CLUBS. so many maid cafes. so many bars. i saw a love hotel too... i was like... i wanna go inside... Blease... and my friends were like “you’re so weird KHEDJFSk” and im like “I WAS GOOGLING THESE IN CLASS TODAY, I DIDN’T THINK THEY WERE REAL”

my friend sean (he’s from taipei, cool guy, could read a lot of the kanji so we used him to navigate the subway HAHA) was walking with me that night and we saw this hole in the wall that had stairs going down to a peep show ... homegirl had her whole ass out on the sign... tiddies covered with caution tape ... i said MAAM?

one of the signs in kabuki-cho had a woman doing straight up ahegao with (what i’m pretty sure was) nut on her face. it was a small sign and i was the only one who saw it. i lost my shit. it was the funniest thing ever

kabuki-cho is really really dirty... like people straight up litter all the time bc there’s no trashcans around? so people throw their shit on the ground? and everyone steps on it... very seedy area, very gross, but i was absolutely enthralled with the nightlife and the blatant sexual vibes half the places had!

some dude stopped me and started speaking english saying “do you like karaoke? you should come drink with me for two hours, it’s a great price if you drink a lot” and i was like “no... i have to go home” and he’s like “come onnnn it’s a good price” and i was like. i’m not very assertive with men so i started panicking and my friend sean (A GOD AMONG MEN) started speaking chinese to him and he backed off ... i love you sean you’re so fucking COOL

IKEBUKURO (pokemon mega center)

so there’s this huge mall. i forgot the name, but it’s got like a lot of floors and they’re MASSIVE

on the 2rd floor is the MEGA POKEMON CENTER!!! i was so HYPED to go in there!!! it was teeming with people but there was just... so much stuff. all kinds of merch. they had plushies of the original 151, a shitton of really cool tshirts, a whole block for detective pikachu-themed merch (pins, socks, canvas bags, shirts, patches, hats, etc), and sooo much more. there’s a giant charizard statue when you walk in, as well as a statue of a pokestop HAHA. i was so excited and i wanted to buy so many things when i was in there bc they had stuff for all the legendaries (LATIOS AND LATIAS STUFF WERE THERE I WAS SO HAPPY)!!! literally anything you can think of, they had in some kind of pokemon print. including underwear. yeah i said it. here’s a really good article that showcases some of the stuff they sold there!

for reference, 100 yen is about 1 usd. a lot of things there were 480 yen ($4.80) or 3000Y ($30) and it was just... beautiful.

when i was there, yen didn’t feel like it had monetary value since it’s not the currency i’m used to, so i sPENT WAY TOO MUCH AHFJKDFD

they had themed cash registers with each of the starters... i cried :’)

i actually went there a second time but it was packed for a different reason. some idol group was performing on the ground floor and a shitton of girls were screaming fanchants while their jpop boys danced LOLLL. now i know how people see kpop stans ...

AKIHABARA (i went like 8 times)

this is what i like to call my birthplace

we went to the maid cafe. of course we fucking did. i got a dreamland passport and some cat ears. THE MAIDS ALL LOVED HATSUNE MIKU

SPEAKING OF HATSUNE MIKU AKA MY GODDESS, she was pretty popular in akihabara! she was also on some posters in the subway stations (across tokyo, not just in akihabara) and was apparently having some magical mirai concert???

there’s this giant tower called radio kaikan thats right outside the akihabara station that’s filled with all sorts of anime shit. i spent so much money in there. Good God. there was a furret plush for 5400Y and i was so STINGY that day i shouldve BOUGHT IT.... it was a longboi and i was like... sis!!!!

remember how i said my brain didn’t register that yen had monetary value? yeah i spent hundreds of dollars here no cap ...

i went to a kaguya-sama cafe as well on another day bc my friend joe (one of the figureine-collecting weebs) wanted to go and get a chika coaster

i went into a three floor sex shop and gave no fucks, the bottom floor was filled with bdsm shit and LEATHER SCHOOLGIRL OUTFITS and it was WILD. and these two old men were just casually browsing this shit like we weren’t both looking at whips and buttplugs in Public you know

i wasn’t fazed by a lot of the stuff there bc i read Funky fanfiction but the people i went in there with were major uncomfy ... i was like PRUDES HAJKFDAHDS i almost bought something don’t tell anybody

OKAY SO. there’s this place called super potato that has a floor dedicated to old games and consoles. they had so many gameboy advances and gamecubes and old consoles (famicom, dreamcast etc) for CHEAP. they had a gameboy color for 4900Y and a gamecube for 5600Y. a bitch almost cried. they had every old pokemon game under the sun (the original red, blue, yellow, gold and silver) and i ,,, they were 480Y. they were 480Y. that’s five fucking dollars. do you know how much collectors pay for that shit on ebay? HUNDREDS. i could’ve mass bought those and sold them and made so much cash but I DIDN’T.

that store had an original unopened copy of super smash bros melee and pokemon colosseum and i was like... wait if i cop a gamecube i could play pokemon collosseum like a true g... ((i didn’t cop))

but anyways there were a lot of games that didn’t make it to america (including mother 3! which my friend connor bought! as well as the console to play it!) and just... so many old things i grew up with ...

whenever i walked out of the super potato we’d end up in an alley where all the girls who work at cafes were advertising their stuff

i always took the flyers from the girls bc they spoke their cute english to me and i was like... i’d die for you, yknow that?

ALL KINDS OF CAFES. regular maid cafe, pirate cafe, ninja cafe (you could do that thing where you karate chop a wooden block in half), sailor cafe (as in actual ship captains), shrine maiden cafe, vampire cafe, prince cafe (for the ladies ;3), catgirl cafe, bunny girl cafe... i took all of the goddamn flYERS THEY WERE ALL SO CUTE :( i wanted to go so bad...

FUJI Q HIGHLAND (also known as the time i flipped my shit and went on rollercoasters)

when i found out about fuji-q, i told my group that we HAD to go. i didn’t want to go to an onsen. i wanted to go to fuji-q. i had to. i love rollercoasters, it’s my passion, my driving fORCE IN LIFE

so fuji-q is home to 4 record-breaking rollercoasters! u got fast boi aka jojo reference do-dodonpa; EXTREME TALL BOI fujiyama; superior to x2 at six flags eejanaika; and the steepest rollercoaster in the world TAKABISHA ... i got to ride fujiyama, eejanaika, and takabisha! the scariest one was probably fujiyama despite it being very cut and dry up for... ever ... 79 meters ... oh god ... i lost my shit on the way down ladies let me TELL YOU

FUJIYAMA ALSO HAS A VIEW OF MT FUJI AND I WAS LIK E”YO GUYS ITS MT FUJI” and then we went down and i screamed

please watch the pov videos for these rides they’re very good but they don’t convey the absurd amount of excitement i had going on these rides

anyways the fuji-q park was having a sword art online collaboration when i visited, so they played SAO music and had cardboard cutouts for them across the park... kirito’s ride was fujiyama (aka the king of them all). i forgot the other ones but those alicization kiddos were there but ion care about ALICE OR EUGEO

the first ride i went on was eejanaika which is a 4d rollercoaster, pretty epic, total Baby Ride though

i went on as a single rider so i ended up getting put in this group with these college kids! the guy i was sitting next to spoke to me in english and asked basic questions: “where are you from?”, “is this [ride] easy for you?”, “how old are you?”, basic stuff. he asked why i was in japan and i told him i was studying at waseda university, and he immediately perked up and went “I GO TO WASEDA!!! WASEDA YEAH!!!” and fist bumped me ... his friends were giggling and kept asking him to ask me questions and it was just. so wholesome.

when we were abt to get on the ride he looks at me and says “my name is soichiro. call me so-chan ok??” and i was like... “so-chan” and his friENDS ALL STARTED GIGGLIGN AND I WAS LIKE U///W///U

while we were going up on the ride, he kept yelling “JESUS FUCK YOU JESUS CHRIST” and my favorite: “JESUS CHRIST WHAT THE FUCK YOU” because apparently fuck cannot be standalone! “what the fuck you” is my new fave insult (i miss you so-chan)

afterwards he kept coughing and was like. dead. his soul left his body. so i asked in him japanese like,,, “daijobu ka?” and he was like “nai.” and i just laughed at him bc BA B Y SO-CHAN CANT HANDLE SOME SPINS

i bought a corndog at fuji-q at this place called arirang hotdog which is a korean style hotdog place??? BRUH that shit is so good but i shat myself for a good minute afterwards ... damn i want those corndogs

sadly i did not get to go on do-dodonpa because nobody wanted to ride with me and i didn’t want to go by myself >:/// still mad abt that bc that was the FAST BOI ...

also. takabisha. the guiness world record with the 121 degree drop. not even scary. BUT they do hang you there for like 3 seconds before making you go down and i was like “YALL FUCKIN WITH ME” really loud when they hung us there ... PLS watch a pov video you’ll see what i mean ...

HARAJUKU (i totally forgot abt this place OH lord)

i bought ... clothes here ...

they have all those clothes with the random english words on them so OF COURSE i had to buy one AS WELL AS a hat to match!

i also bought one of those ear hats where u press the paws and the ears move ... bts inspired that one

so many people in harajuku absolutely DECKED OUT in fashion. what a bunch of legends.

apparently wearing shirts that say “babygirl” are popular here i have no clue why ,,,, also im pretty sure i remember seeing a shirt that said “call me daddy” and i’m like. Ok Japan

half the shit in english made ZERO SENSE or was SPELLED WRONG and that was common all across japan, not just on harajuku fashion pieces LMAOOOO

deadass i went to a couple businesses (fuji xerox, nissan factory, etc) and they had spelling errors all over the place... nissan really had a placard that said “Prease do not touch” AND I CACKLED hfDSKLJF ilove u nissan

#mod elesa goes to japan #mod elesa speaks #not an imagine #long post #elesa in japan 2k19

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uas-fics · 5 years

Text

Title: Who Needs Sleep Anyway?

Summary: Kenny's been working long hours, so a Saturday date is just what he needs to relax.

Ships: Stenny

Rating: T

Request from spaceboi.craig on instagram

~~~~

Four and a half hours at City Wok, eight and a half hours at school, two hours rushing through homework, that's fifteen hours, not counting morning grooming and travel time.

Fifteen hour days all week.

Kenny had never been so thankful for a weekend. A weekend with a Saturday date on top of that almost made not spending the day sleeping worth it.

He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. Even so, he was still tired. Slapping his cheeks might wake him up. Didn't he watch a Mythbusters episode on that once?

As he prepared to smack his cheeks, a voice called out his name.

A hand slammed firmly between his shoulder blades, nearly toppling him over.

“Oh, shit, dude, ” Stan gasped and grabbed his forearm, “are you ok?”

Kenny flashed a smile and a peace sign.

“I'm fine, Stan, my man, but you shouldn't go attacking people like that. Your jock strength is dangerous, ” Kenny teased.

Stan did not look amused. He fixed Kenny with a hard, probing look.

“When did you last sleep?” He demanded.

Kenny held himself firm with a deadpan expression.

“I got seven hours last night, ” he replied. That wasn't a lie, but it wasn't what Stan wanted to hear.

Kenny continued on, “I got plenty of sleep all week. Mr. Kim has been letting me work on my homework at City Wok when there is a lull, so I don't need to do it at home.”

That was a lie, but it pacified Stan enough that he backed off the subject, much to Kenny’s relief.

He would rather not start their date once again reminding Stan that Mr. Kim wasn't all that bad and if he hadn't let Kenny work under the table for the last few years, Kenny’s family would have starved.

Throwing an arm around Stan's shoulders, Kenny asked, “So, what's this date plan of yours and does it involve me driving Sweet Rig?”

Stan snorted a laugh.

“Sweet Rig” was Cartman's sarcastically given name to Stan's car, which all of Stan's friends lovingly adopted.

Sweet Rig was actually Stan's grandpa's car, handed down to him on his sixteenth birthday. The brakes squealed. The back passenger side door only opened from the outside. The whole vehicle shook when the speedometer needle was over fifty-five. It smelled like mold and cat urine and dust, guzzled gas like none other, and Stan coddled it like a newborn baby.

The tank never fell below a forth. He didn't allow food or drink inside. A trash bag waited under the back seat for muddy shoes, and every seventh, like clockwork, Stan checked the fluids.

Kenny batted his eyelashes and Stan pushed him away.

“Nope.”

“Damn, well, worth a try.” Kenny shrugged. “So what are we doing really?” He cast a glance around him.

The morning sun glinted off Stark's Pond. Little rivers of melted snow snaked across the dirt paths. The trees extended into the distance.

Stan puffed out his chest. “Hiking, ” he proclaimed.

Kenny couldn't help but wince.

“Hiking?” He repeated. Stan had to be joking.

Stan nodded. “Yeah, hiking.” For emphasis he turned the backpack Kenny just noticed he had towards his front.

“You see, ” he said as he began to unzip the pack, “the weather is supposed to be gross and windy next week, so I thought it would be a good idea to enjoy nature before then.”

For a moment, Kenny wondered if this was a test. Was Stan doing this to make Kenny fess up to being dog tired? If he did, would Stan give up the charade then drive them to the movies?

The admission sat on his tongue for a best, ready to come out, when Kenny remembered that this was not the first time Stan had done a date idea like this.

He did it before when he and Wendy were still together. It had been the first time he put his hand up a girl's shirt. Stan bragged about it for weeks afterward, earning the respect of his fellows.

Oh, I get it. Stan wants to get down and dirty in the woods, Kenny thought.

Out loud, he said, “oh, that sounds great. I'm game for some outdoor activities.”

If Stan noticed the inflection in Kenny's voice, he didn't show it. Instead, he nodded, pulling out a pair of worn hiking boots.

“Here, ” he set them in Kenny’s hands, “they'll work better than what you have.”

Kenny lifted his right shoe. The sole near his big toe came loose on Wednesday. He'd wrapped some duct tape around it, but when he got home, Kenny would have to super glue it.

Stan set a hand on his elbow and led him to the bench by the pond.

Kenny pulled out a boot’s tongue with a frown.

“Stan, I'm a size nine, this is an eleven,” Kenny told him.

Stan set his bag on the bench to dig around.

“I know, so I picked up some socks. Two pairs should work, you think? The pack has three, I think if two doesn't work.”

Kenny perked up from the bench seat as he untied his shoes.

‘Picked up’ had become something of a code word meaning ‘you can keep these afterward’ that Stan started using in an attempt to save Kenny some pride when he bought him a necessity.

Kenny didn't complain though. He could always use new socks, with how fast he wore out his.

“Oh, cool, thanks.” Kenny set his shoes on the bench beside him. As he did, he stole a glance into Stan's bag.

Gatorade bottles, granola bars, beef jerky sticks, but Kenny didn't see anything particularly useful for adult recreation. Maybe it was in another pocket.

“Damn it, ” Stan swore. “I forgot the socks in Sweet Rig. Do you mind waiting?”

Kenny shook his head. “‘Course not. Take your time, but, ” here he winked, “don't take too long, lover boy.”

Kenny took great pleasure in seeing Stan's cheeks turn pink.

“Um, yeah, be back.” Stan pointed towards the parking lot before jogging towards it.

Kenny snickered, then leaned back against the bench.

The sun warmed the wood, leaving it pleasent against him. The birds tweeted a lovely song. Ducks occasionally splashed in the pond.

He shut his eyes.

“Just for a moment, ” he muttered to himself.

If the weather really did get gross and windy as Stan claimed, then making a pleasant memory such as this was the best course of action.

After a few moments, his chin lowered to his chest, his breathing deepened, and Kenny dozed off.

~~~~~

On some level, Kenny knew he was dreaming. Somehow he always knew when he was dreaming.

But lucidity of the dream soon faded as the dream solidified into a scene.

He was on a nice couch, in a house he knew he owned— not rented, owned. The walls had posters of scantily clad people in many different poses that showed off their exposed skin.

On the shelves were knick-knacks and pictures of his family. Karen and Kevin were happy and his parents were sober.

This was his dream future.

When he was younger, the room would be filled with the people from his posters, but with age, the people had dwindled to one person laying under him.

He had his lips pressed to Stan's neck and Stan had his hands running up and down his back.

Sounds more wanton than anything Stan had made in real life escaped his mouth.

Kenny pulled back, admiring the string of hickies he’d left along Stan’s neck and collarbone. Stan’s hands stayed planted firmly on his lower back as he scooted to a sitting position.

He hugged Kenny, hurrying his face in his stomach.

“Good...Love you...” He murmured. Stan was sappy and clingy when they made out and Kenny loved it.

He raised his hand to stroke his boyfriend’s hair when a sharp pain resonated from his back.

Throwing back his head, Kenny let out a gasping scream as sharp claws dug into his flesh.

When he looked back down, Stan was gone, replaced by a thick, sinewy claw wrapped around him.

Its nails dug deeper into him as the claw rose up.

Soon Kenny found himself face to face with a creature of nightmares and madness.

Cthulhu’s skin stretched across his face like wet leather. His eyes burned with an orange, unworldly flame.

All around them strange architectures sprung up as did disfigure, unnatural monsters buzzing by like grotesque flies.

Cthulhu squeezed and Kenny bit down on his tongue to hold back another scream.

This creature was his nightmare and, in a sense, his equal. This was one of the few beings that could kill him forever —

His heart froze in his chest. His limbs felt like lead.

If Cthulhu killed him, he wouldn't come back. It would be The End. No rewind. No reboot. No return after the commercial break.

Just The End.

His cries fell quiet in his throat.

Another squeeze and he heard bones crack.

“...no...please...” He whimpered. “I'm happy. You can't do this to me when I'm finally happy.”

Kenny wanted to cry, to scream, to plead that it wasn't fair, that he was scared, that he didn't want this.

He shut his eyes, trying to calm his shaking.

The afterlife stopped scaring Kenny a long time ago, but having all he worked for taken away from him, leaving his love and family alone? That scared him stiff.

He waited for antagonizing moments for the great old one to squish him like a bug, but instead of killing him, Cthulhu turned his claw around and dropped Kenny.

Not once did he open his eyes to see the ground rushing towards him. His body went lax, like Kenny long ago taught it to do when it was one a collision course with a hard object.

The collision never happened.

A pair of arms wrapped around him. His head slumped against a chest. The sound of a strong, steady heart calmed his own.

Kenny had dreams of carrying quite, though he didn't know why. At least they were always a comforting dream.

Usually in his dream, either his mom or dad carried him. This time, the scent of cigarettes and beer didn't fill his nose. The scent of body spray, grass, and dog hair did.

Stan, he realized groggily.

If Kenny had more conscious control over his dreams, he might have wondered when Stan became so involved in his happiest fantasies, but he didn't, so instead, he wrapped his arms around Stan and snuggled close without ever opening his eyes. Curling up against Stan, Kenny let himself slip back to his earlier dream of the house and of a happy future.

~~~~~

Someone shuffling around under him woke Kenny up.

He blinked looking around.

The interior of Sweet Rig was all around him.

“Oh, shit, sorry, did i wake you up?” Stan yawned, stretching out. He too blinked the sleep from his eyes.

“What's going on? Did we go hiking?” Kenny readjusted himself more comfortably on Stan's lap, his feet hung over the center console of the front seat. He was still only in his ratty socks. Where did his shoes end up? Stan probably set them in the shoe trashbag.

“Nah, you passed out on a bench. I carried you to the car.” Stan explained. “I was going to take you home, but then you hugged me in your sleep.” He smirked. “It’s was pretty cute, dude.”

Kenny pressed his shoulder against Stan’s chest and smiled slyly. “Cute enough for a drive?”

“No.” Stan purposefully took the keys from the ignition and put them in his jacket pocket.

“Worth a try,” Kenny sighed dramatically. He continued, “So, how long was I out? An hour?”

The sun still shone outside, so at least he didn't sleep the day away.

“Try four,” Stan took an open Gatorade bottle from the drink holder.

“Four?!” Kenny gasped, twisting onto his stomach. “You let me sleep the whole fucking day? How can we go hiking if I’m asleep?” His hand grasped the door handle when Stan set a hand on his wrist.

“Dude, dude, dude, it’s fine. You needed it anyway.” Stan shook his head with a smile.

Kenny deflated before rolling back over. His shoulder blades pressed against the car door. The window handle stabbed into his back.

“But...the date...second base and all...” He trailed off, his mind going to the start of his dream.

“Second base?” Stan furrowed his brows. “What?”

“That’s why you wanted to go into the woods. Like you did with Wendy? To fool around?” Kenny’s shoulders slumped. “We could go now, but it’s afternoon, so there will be more people.”

Stan’s face went red. He shook his head. “N-no, no, that’s not my plan.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’d forgotten about that, actually.”

Kenny bolted straight, scraping his back against the door. “You forgot about the first time you groped boob?!” He was almost offended. How could anyone forget such an important milestone?

Stan hummed. “About that, I, uh, didn’t. Not completely.” Kenny fixed him with a confused look, so he went on, “She let me stick a hand up her shirt, but the second I touched her bra strap, I panicked and, um, didn’t go any farther.” He laughed nervously. “Don’t tell anyone, though.”

Kenny’s lips quivered. Snorts escaped his nose. He tried to hold it back, but the wave of laughter escaped nonetheless.

“Really? Really? Holy shit, dude! You went in for the long con on that lie. Remember how Clyde and I begged you to give an in-depth detail on how it felt? Did you just make all that up?” Kenny doubled over, holding his stomach. “Shut up, or were breaking up,” Stan threatened, shoving his hand over Kenny’s mouth. Even his ears were red now.

Kenny pushed Stan’s hand anyway. “Phew, ok, ok, I’m done.” He wiped away a tear. “Back on track, I really am sorry I fell asleep on you.”

Stan raised a shoulder. “It’s cool. You talk in your sleep by the way. Something about being happy and dying?”

Kenny pressed his lips into a line. He didn’t dare tell Stan about this dream in full. Years of dealing with his curse caused him to learn to appreciate it for what it was, a weird, unnatural secret that no one else needed to burden themselves with.

“Nightmare, I think.” Kenny shrugged back. “But it ended on a good note.” He pressed a kiss to Stan’s cheek. Stan wrapped an arm around his waist and hugged him.

Part of him wanted to stay in the front seat and keep snuggling the rest of the day, but the afternoon was so lovely, it would have been a crime to do so.

“I think,” Kenny said, reaching for the door, “I do what to go on that hike now”

#stenny #stan marsh #kenny mccormick #fanfiction #one-shot #south park

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a-pretty-nerd · 6 years

Text

Trick or Treat

Request: "Wassup fam, how about a halloween fic where the losers are trick or treating and (y/n) is an older sibling and has to go with them, and she steps in when they get into trouble with the bowers gang? " ~ Anonymous

Ohh! This is fun! 🎃

A/N: Not much to say, a new moodboard for a working series coming soon! Your requests, and feedback as the best! ✌❤

Warnings: None really, maybe slight violence?

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You couldn't believe you were doing this. Shuffling around with your little sister and her dumb friends. You can't believe you were put on tricker treat duty, and had to babysit seven kids. It was not your first pick to spend your Halloween. But you couldn't get out of it.

So instead of going to a party, or hanging out with friends. You walked around in your shitty homemade cat costume, making sure these children weren't getting into any trouble. But to be fair, Bev was just as unhappy as you were. She didn't like that your father made you go with her to keep her out of trouble. It was mostly because the friend group was all boys.

Bev, walking around in her impromptu mouse costume, tried not to even look at you for the entire night. Going from house to house, you barley spoke to her or her friends. Every now and then Richie, dressed as pirate, and Eddie, dressed as a king, would turn back to look at you. Only to snap their heads back when you stared down at them, and start giggling.

The boy named Mike, dressed as a superhero of unknown relevance lead the trouo through the neighorhoods in search of candy. Hoping to fill their pillow cases to the top.

"Hey Bev, give me a kit-kit." You ordered from behind, she didn't answer, so you reached around her shoulder and began digging through her pillow case.

"Stooop! Get your own!" She cried, annoyed with you. You laughed at you a little before just grabbing a fist full of miscellaneous treats.

"What dumb fuck gave you guys tooth brushes!?" You laughed as you pulled it from your hand and dropped it back into her bag.

"M-Mr Whitestone on Avery st." Bill stuttered.

"Gross." You commented as you sorted your hand, finding the goods, and dropping the rest. You threw a piece of chocolate in your mouth, and handed another to Beverly. "Here."

"Thanks." She took it from your hand. You and Beverly didn't always get along. Especially as you got older. When she was really little, she was your world. But that all changed when your father turned to you. When your mother found out, she left you and Beverly behind. For the longest time you thought he just liked you, Bev never said anything. You found out the hard way. When he stopped paying as much attention to you as you got older. The sick fuck.

You felt bad for Beverly. But the damage had been done, and now you were trying to pick the pieces of your relationship back up.

"I hear Mrs. Kilmere hands out fukl candy bars!" Stan announced to the group.

"Wheres that?" Richie asked excitedly.

"Oh, the Kilmeres live on the other side of the bridge." Mike noted.

"Then lets go!"

"No no no. We're not going across the bridge!" You told them.

"Shut up Y/N!" Bev scolded you.

"Hey! I'm here to make sure you shit heads don't get yourselves killed tonight,okay? And going across that bridge at this time of night, is NOT a good idea."

"Aww c'mon Y/N! It'll be fine!" Richie whined.

"No."

"Its, I-Its okay. If we see anything iffy we'll ju-just just turn around." Bill reassured you.

"Fuck...fine...but if anything happens-"

"Nothings gonna happen! It's fine!" Richie cheered. But oh, was he wrong. As soon as you turned the corner to the bridge, you knew it was bad news. You watched at the shadows intensley as you approached the underpass of the bridge. The whole group froze as maniacal laughter filled the air. Like a haunted house attraction.

"Was that you?" Ben turned and asked you. You scrunched your brow and shook your head. "Then what-"

"Well well well," Henry Bowers called as he came out of a shadow and walked into the moonlight. Dressed in his normal clothes with a cheap halloween mask over his face. The plastic Frankenstein starred at you. You cursed under your breath.

"Aw fuck, okay kids, see? I was right, now lets just go." You turned, and almost let out a scream with you found a tall Belch standing directly behind you wearing a Werewolf mask. You backed up, and held your arms up and back to protect the kids. To your left came a lanky Patrick with a Dracula mask, and your left a Victor with a Mummy.

"You've gotten you and your litter into some trouble Ms. Pussy cat." Henry cooed from behind.

"Oh gross! Fuck off!" You yelled at him. The group chuckled.

"You're trapped, you're not going anywhere." He slithered over the kids who huddled together in front of you.

"Piss of Henry. Don't you have anything better to do than pick on kids? Like getting drunk or high or...doing litterally anything else?" You mocked. He looked up at you.

"You think your funny Y/N?" He asked.

"Yeaah I do."

"Get her." He ordered. You felt two large hands on your hips before you could move. You panicked and snatched the pillow case from your sisters hand. You swung it to your side, knocking Belch in the face making him back away to address the pain. That bag was heavy. Patrick grabbed your arm but not before a solid slam of halloween candy in the side. He leg out a grunt and moved but didn't let go. So you threw the bag over you head and began swinging it. It hit him in the side of head, and threw him down. Vic ducked and ran. He wrapped his arms and pressed his face into your chest as he knocked you to the ground.

On the bridge, he tried to hold you down and stratle you. Only to be beaten by seven children with more heavy pillow cases. He struggled to get away. They all did. Henry looked on in shock and aw as his minions scurried to him.

"Fall back !" Belch yelled as he made a mad dash to the underpass.

"We gotta get out of here! Theres too many!" Vic decread.

"Crazy bitch!" Patrick spat at you as you swung another case at him, and hit his arms as he blocked himself before running. Henry followed behind them in panic. You sent them crying to their mothers.

"You better run you bitches!" You laughed after them. The kids cheered triumphantly. You turned back to them. "Everyonr okay?" You asked, panting and smiling.

"Yeah! Because if you!" Ben announced. You shrugged, and shuffled them back to the neighborhood. And you went on tricker treating. At one point, Beverly turned over her shouldet and flashed you a smile.

"Thanks." She said. You smiled back and shrugged.

"Don't mention it."

#it fanfic #the losers club #the bowers gang #henry bowers #patrick hockstetter #belch huggins #vicc criss #beverly marsh #richie tozier #ben #eddie #bill #stan #mike

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book-pirate · 6 years

Text

Goblet of Fireeeeeeeee

- I was never really clear as to how pettigrew and voldy hooked up but w/e not a question that needs answering i guess - Fuck I wish they’d put in that scene where Dudley’s tongue grows like thirty feet - Gang’s hair on point! - Ah Edward Cullen. Yes. The vampire. - Arthur Weasley taking care of Harry YET AGAIN - Fun fact: I am wearing a 422nd Quidditch World Cup shirt! - Long and luscious locks galore - Reason #9 why harry isn’t a ravenclaw? he though all them weasleys could cram into one little tent - Harry and the Gang are actually supposed to be in the Minister’s box too but w/e continuity has just been decimated by this point - Aww Ronny’s in love - I can’t believe the Doctor is a death eater - The French are pretentious af - Look at those Pirates - Today in Unnecessarily Character Design Changes, with an extra side of Unnecessary Gendering: Beauxbatons and Durmstrang! - Krum is a good man and I hope he finds happiness - Wow. Moody really did That™ - It’s sad watching all these movies knowing my sons Fred and George only have a few more years together - Ooooo Hermione getting those Looks from Krum - Yeah let’s be MANLY MEN and PUNCH EACH OTHER IN THE FUCKING CHEST - Three guesses whose name that is - You best learn you can never have a normal year Harry m’boy - HARRY DID YAH PUT YAH NAME IN DA GOBLET OF FIAH fucking hate this movie - Lol Harry’s face is all ‘fuck me’ like same - I stan one (1) teacher and her name is Minerva ‘Bad Ass Mother Fucker’ McGonagall - Ron not believing in Harry is so sad and so 14 - Rita Skeeter can fuck right off. #ProtectMyChildren1994 - Side note: All Hogwarts Students are my children - Harry hanging out with the owls is so Pure - Megan and I just had an argument about Ron so that shows you how serious (ha) I am about how much I love him - Speaking of Sirius, that is not how floo powder works - “no one stops being a death eater” um my son, Draco Malfoy (although I guess he wasn’t really a death eater by choice) - Hermione doesn’t dress like she’s 14 but I support it - Ginny, on the other hand, does - “you might like to try the same thing now and again” damn hagrid alright - MY FORGOTTEN SON, CHARLIE WEASLEY, IS MENTIONED - I would wear a Potter Stinks badge tbh, and I think Harry should wear one too, you know, subvert the trope - Edward The Vampire, a true hufflepuff - GO OFF HARRY DAMN - Lmao ferret Draco - Ooh in the pants I had forgotten that - “we never use transfiguration as a punishment”, well maybe you should - I have never related to Harry more. I would wing it too - Rita Skeeter can eat a bag of dicks - Oh Krum, he’s my favorite - I think Harry keeps his mini dragon. I hope he does anyway - Reason #10 why Harry’s not a ravenclaw, he keeps forgetting his wand EVEN THOUGH IT’S IN HIS GODDAMN HAND - You’d think they’d have better safety measures in place than JUST A FLIPPING CHAIN - I would definitely get motion sickness - Rubeus Hagrid, A+ Dad - The Patel twins are in the same house and it irks me - “i suppose i was a bit distraught” MY HEART - HARRY IS SO AWKWARD I LOVE IT - “bulgarian bon bon” amazing - man gryffindor is tiny - oh god minnie you need to cool it with the metaphors - NEVILLE MY SON - gross gross gross Hagrid and Olympe need to stop - KRUM SERVING LOOKS - “you’re a girl” oh my godddddd - the one (1) moment I like snape - “i like it when they walk” oh ron oooohhhhhh ron - oh hermioneeee my little girl all grown up - RON IS JEALOUSSSS - you know what filch and his cat are cute - FLITWICK CROWD SURFING. AMAZING - who the fuck would want that as their tombstone - Myrtle’s thirst is real - man they did Dobby dirty too - BE NICE TO MY SON NEVILLE - “I’VE KILLED HARRY POTTER” well you’re off to a better start than voldemort for sure - Reason #11 WHERE’S YOUR FUCKING WAND - “outstanding moral fiber” what kind of phrasing - they about to find a dead body - THEY FOUND IT - you know they could’ve at least tried to find an actor that looked a LITTLE like the OG dumbledore - What kind of medieval cage is Igor in - Hello mother, here i am, a death eater, i was the doctor, and now i’m not, da da dada da dada da da da - i don’t understand why draco stans krum if he’s dating hermione - LAST TIME AMOS IS GOING TO SEE EDWARD - GET A FUCKING MOVE ON - why is krum’s wand bent this is bothering me - Fleur is struggling big surprise - where’s the flipping sphinx - DUN DUN DUN surprise portkey! - Voldy baby! - Alas poor Edward, I knew thee somewhat - Did it have to be a whole hand? I feel like it could’ve been a finger or some shit - oh this is so gross - you know it’s always bugged me voldy doesn’t have red eyes - #LetMyBabyBoyRest1994 - my poor baby. look at him. he’s got ptsd. - Reason #12 clearly that is not someone you want to trust harry like seriously - surprise doctor! - you know it’s really considerate that voldy waits for the end of the school year to pull shit - “i set them on fire in my fourth year” sir you were in slytherin we know stop the lies

Movie: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

#sofieliveblogsHP

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askpolylosersclub · 6 years

Note

do you have any bad habits?

OKAY SO GET FUCKING READY FOR THIS, ANON. I know that I probably have so many that the list would just go on forever, so...I’m gonna do everyone else...and then...I challenge someone else to do me, okay? Here goes.

Ben:

Says ‘sorry’ way too much (AND SAYS ‘YES’ TO BASICALLY ANYTHING YOU ASK HIM TO DO. HE’S TOO NICE)

Doesn’t listen to you when you’re talking if he’s reading a book

Buys his clothes way too big (and YES this counts as a habit and it’s annoying)

Tells me horrible facts about stuff that I’m eating or drinking, like I care that it’s bad for me. It’s annoying enough when Eddie does it, thanks

Leaves books lying around the house, even in other people’s bedrooms, the bathroom, the kitchen etc.

Bev:

Cuts her own hair over the sink and doesn’t wash it out properly, so there are always little ginger hairs that get stuck to you when you’re washing your hands and stuff (it’s bad enough that I get those from the CAT)

Bites her nails A LOT and picks at nail polish. Seriously. Whenever she paints her nails it’s gonna last, like, five minutes, tops

Leaves little bits of thread around the house from her sewing. Like, do I really have to go to work with little strands of bright pink cotton all over my black trousers AGAIN?

Going back to the sewing thing, she carries pins and needles and stuff around in HER MOUTH. IN HER MOUTH. C’MON, BEV

She always puts tampons in my bag or my pockets without telling me because she doesn’t wanna bring a purse somewhere...and I don’t know about it and then when I take something else out of my bag the TAMPONS FALL OUT AND EVERYONE LOOKS AT ME WEIRD

Mike:

Gets up really early and does stuff in the kitchen really loud. Like...we’re talking 6/7am and turning on machines and stuff. Just stop. Please

Hums/sings/talks to himself while he’s cooking and stuff. It’s not really annoying (unless you’re trying to watch TV and he’s doing it loud), but I always think that he’s talking to me and go in to see what he wants...and he was just mumbling to himself

Looks in the mirror at himself A LOT. Like...it’s funny the first time, and cute, because he’s obviously confident with himself and he’s so positive and stuff...but like...can we please go out the door? Because we’re gonna be late

Works on his truck, gets covered in oil, and then gets it on stuff inside the house

Sits down REALLY HARD next to you on the couch and the impact nearly throws you off

Bill:

Could he clear his throat any fucking louder??? I DON’T FUCKING THINK THAT HE COULD. And he does it so much that sometimes I wanna punch him in the face. Like...it’s gross...and that’s coming from me

Touches his hair WAY too fucking much. Like...it’s not any different from the last time you fixed it...FIVE FUCKING SECONDS AGO

Chews on pencils and paintbrushes and stuff while he’s concentrating

Literally, I don’t think Bill ever directly looks into someone’s eyes while he’s talking to them. Maybe it’s just like...and anxiety thing, I don’t know...but it’s really annoying. Please look at me while I’m talking to you. He’s like...the opposite of a painting whose eyes follow you around the room

I’m not gonna mention his stutter, because...it’s not really a habit. I know he can’t help it. But he doesn’t finish his fucking sentences. Like...he gets irritated that he can’t get a word out...and just STOPS. I KNOW WHAT THE END OF THE SENTENCE WAS GONNA BE. I JUST WANNA FUCKING HEAR YOU SAY IT

Stan:

Corrects everyone’s grammar way too fucking much. It never ‘becomes’ annoying after a while...it’s annoying right from the start. STOP IT

Also...similarly to Bill’s stutter...I know that he has OCD...but trying to sleep in a room with him when he has to turn the fucking lights on and off three times before he can get into bed is a fucking chore, let me tell you

Overspending. UH. YEAH. HE HAS, LIKE, SIX CREDIT CARDS. IT’S NOT HEALTHY

Complaining. About anything and everything (but especially me). Like...if a day...NO, an HOUR went by without Stan complaining about something I would fucking die of shock

Obsessively. Folding. Everything. I’m not kidding, guys. He folds his underwear...he folds the dirty laundry that he puts into his basket, he folds his socks instead of rolling them into a ball (WHO DOES THAT?). His bed is like something you’d see in a hospital

I’m ready for the backlash I’m gonna get from whoever takes up the challenge of listing mine. Come at me, bro.

- Rich

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thegreatwhiteferret · 6 years

Text

87 Random Questions

I was tagged by @edwardtheloser because JJ just wants the world to burn. 💖💖💖

1. Where do you live? I currently live in Delaware...yeah, the tiny ass state everyone forgets about.

2. One cool item you own? I’m trying to think of something really deep and meaningful...I have a Texas charm with golden star on it that I wear with a cross on a chain around my neck and never take off.

3. Moon or stars? The stars (High key one of the things I miss most about Texas)!

4. Places you’d like to travel to? Either to London or to Disney...both are related to Peter Pan for reasons.

5. Favorite song? I cannot possibly pick just one song...music is everything. Praying by Kesha has me all sorts of in the feels right now.

6. Do you have any fears? I am afraid of so many things. I am afraid of the dark, germs, going into anaphylaxis, letting people down, not being good enough...I should stop now, right?

7. Do you feel different than you did last year? I mean I guess. The past year has been really bad for me, but I’ve just recently started feeling really hopeful about the future.

8. What is your race? I am white as white can be. I’m 75% Canadian (25-British, 25-Irish, and 25-French with a bit of Native American mixed in) and then 25% mystery that is most likely German or Dutch.

9. Pet peeves? People being assholes when they disagree with something and people smacking when they eat. (These two just stuck out, there are more, I’m petty as hell)

10. Any siblings? I have 3 sisters.

11. Are you a gamer? Only if The Sims and Dream Daddy count. Hand eye coordination is not there.

12. Sexual orientation? Pansexual Princess

13. Does a broken mirror mean bad luck? I don’t know, but I will steer the fuck clear!

14. What do you feel is your mental age? Depends on the day. Sometimes I feel like I’m sixteen some days I feel like I’m forty. There is no consistency.

15. How old were you when you started dating? My family was super strict, so no dating officially until after I went to college.

16. Where do you do most of your online shopping? Forever21 and Amazon.

17. Favorite animal? Bears

18. What’s one film from the 2000s that you like? Psssssh, so many. School of Rock and Mean Girls were my shit though.

19. What’s your favorite scary movie? IT. I am a scaredy cat, so the fact that I love this movie so much is amazing.

20. Fun fact about yourself? I convinced my 5th grade teacher that I had elaborately schemed to get rid of my baby sister when I was only three years old to avoid actually having to write a serious paper. I won a damn award for my story too.

21. Shoe size? 9.5 or a 10 in Women's.

22. Which fictional character(s) do you relate to the most? Junie B. Jones. She’s a real hero of mine. (JK, Stanley Uris and I are one in the same).

23. Where do you see yourself living in ten years? Philly, Boston, or Chicago. I need some excitement in my life.

24. Ever wore clothes that were just wayyy too tight? I mean I wore a corset around just for the hell of it the either night so....

25. What’s on your mind? How many stories I have in my queue to write and the fact that I am not doing that right now...whoops.

26. Are you religious? I’d still identify as Christian, but I have a lot of questions. I also don’t believe in pushing your religion on people, that’s an asshole move.

27. How tall are you? 5’8″

28. Favorite band? HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO PICK ONE??? Jesus, I’m going to see AJR in a few weeks so let me give them a shoutout.

29. Do you remember 2009? Yes. It sucked.

30. Cats or dogs? DOGS! You can fight me on this one @edwardtheloser they are freaking flawless and amazing.

31. Fruit or vegetables? Por que no los dos??

32. Do you want to get married? Yes. That would be nice.

33. Do you want children? I DO. So so bad. It’s a problem.

34. Flamingos or peacocks? Meh. Birds. (Only difference between me and Stan tbh)

35. What superpower do you wish you had? Telekinesis or Shapeshifting.

36. Are you a germ freak? Yes. I have severe food allergies and I break out when I touch the allergens, so I kind of have to be. Also, people are gross.

37. Did swearing baby, ghost car, or ghost caught on tape scare you as a kid? I don’t know what any of these are...

38. Do you prefer sweet or salty? Por que no los dos?

39. Tea or coffee? Give me all of the non carbonated caffeine.

40. Are you superstitious? Yes. I knock on wood. I won’t walk under ladders or on cracks in the sidewalk. I do counting things as coping mechanisms. I’m so bad.

41. Do you like stripes? Sure, but plaid is better.

42. Favorite shows as a kid? The Big Comfy Couch, Rugrats, The Wiggles, Doug, Arthur, Zoom...I liked TV a lot.

43. Favorite shows growing up? Lizzie McGuire, Boy Meets World, That’s So Raven, Sabrina the Teenage Witch...again, I liked TV a lot.

44. Favorite musical? I LOVE MUSICALS. Hamilton, Hairspray, High School Musical, Rocky Horror, Annie. All of them. RENT is my absolute favorite though, I bawled my eyes out when I saw it live.

45. Favorite movie? Inglorious Basterds, IT, and Goonies.

46. Birthday? October 1st.

47. Are you a grammar Nazi? Yes. It kills me not to correct people.

48. Ever gotten drunk? Hahahahaha. Yes.

49. Do you have a carrier bag? I switch between a small backpack, a big satchel bag and a small hot pink cross body purse. As long as my epi pen and wipes fit, I’m good.

50. What would you do if you were the opposite gender for a day? Some very NSFW things...I’m not sorry.

51. If you were the opposite gender what would you change your name to? Oliver, Ollie for short.

52. What song is stuck in your head? The Kids Aren’t Alright by The Offspring

53. Celebrity crush? Hilary Knight, Taron Egerton, Chris Evans, Hayley Williams, Joe Keery...so many. I love all the people.

54. If you could live in a non-English speaking country, where would it be? Sweden

55. Are you a good dancer? I try...

56. Have any allergies? Gluten and Dairy. Deathly allergic and people think it’s just a diet fad smh...

57. Any bad habits? Procrastinating and shoving my feelings down.

58. Ever broke a bone? Yes. My mom broke my leg when I was three, we fell down the stairs and if she hadn’t pushed me behind her and landed on my leg I would have gone head first into a brick wall. My mommy saved my life. 💖

59. Are you a city or country person? Both. I like the feel of the country with the convenience of the city.

60. Do you like your home country? United States of Go Fuck Yourself

61. Sunflowers or daisies? Sunflowers

62. Tulips or roses? Tulips, they remind me of living in the Netherlands as a kid.

63. Oak or maple? Maple. I’m Canadian, eh.

64. Disney or Nickelodeon? BOTH! I WILL NOT CHOOSE!

65. WYR be obese or anorexic? I’m in recovery for both anorexia and bulimia and have been since I was twelve years old, body dysmorphia since I was seven because I’ve been overweight my entire life, and this question can go fuck itself. Jesus fucking Christ. Those are serious issues not choices. Fuck.

66. WYR be over 6 feet or under 5 feet? Under 5 feet, I hate being tall.

67. Rubies or sapphires? Sapphires

68. Are you stubborn? I am so stubborn that it hurts.

69. Have you been in scouts/Girl Scouts? Yes! And I loved it.

70. What type of music do you listen to? Everything. I love music.

71. Favorite vine? Uhmmmm...I was never into vines...sorry.

72. Beaches or castles? Castles. Real life Disney Princess y’all!

73. Pick the closest book to you, and write the line you opened to:

"I mean, a superhero. My heart almost squeezes to a stop. Blue loves superheroes.” -Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda

74. Anyone in the same room as you right now? Yup. My mama and the dogs. Pip is sleeping on my lap.

75. Which is worse; throwing up or diarrhea? I mean I don’t love either...

76. Butterflies or lady bugs? I don’t like bugs...butterflies qualify as well.

77. Do you say “K” when you’re not mad? I never do this, because I am so cautious of how others will feel from it. You can’t take back hurt feelings.

78. How do you react when purposely scare you? I usually have some form of anxiety attack. My sister has made me cry and panic just from making me watch a YouTube video...I’m easy to scare guys.

79. Most overrated celebrity? Every Kardashian except for Khloe, I love her.

80. Do you have a globe in your room? No, I have a print of the world, but that would be so cool!

81. Do you have a dream catcher in your room? No, this would also be cool.

82. What do you see when you look out your window? Well it’s nighttime now so darkness.

83. Have you been on an airplane? Yes, I’ve been flying since I was a month old.

84. Do you believe in aliens? Yes. It’s stupid to think that we are alone in the universe.

85. Do you believe in ghosts? Absolutely. I don’t fuck with spirits, all respect.

86. Do you believe in God? I believe in a higher power, and I do still have faith in the Christian God, but I do have so many questions.

87. Do you believe in yourself? I’m working on it, y’all. That’s all I can say.

I am tagging randomly because I don’t know who has done this yet... @billbenbev @its-reddie-bitch @not-reddie @theriodiaries @demianhill @dannybriereisaliferuiner @thebroadstreetdarling @milagric and whoever else would like to do this, consider yourselves tagged! 💖💖💖💖💖

#Me #Question Thingy #This is so long #Personal

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paladinspride · 7 years

Photo

The picture will make sense once you read the story. Ha. Anything romantic I would have drawn would have spoiled it. Ha.

Keith’s Proposal

Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender

Pairing: Klance

Rating: T (Some innuendo, I mention that they made love but nothing smutty)

Word Count: 2775

It felt like a story book morning. Keith laid quietly watching dust flicker in the sun beams that peeked through the divide of the curtains and listened to the birds singing, a dog bark in the distance and the light morning traffic zoom by.

He yawned a wide yawn and stretched out like a cat but careful not to disturb the sleeping figure beside him.

He looked at the time.

6:50am.

The alarm was set for 7am. He turned it off. It was Friday and he had the day off and Lance didn’t have class until 10. He decided he’d let his partner sleep a little while longer and wake him up more gently in a few minutes than by the blaring tone of the alarm.

Keith rolled onto his side so he could gaze upon Lance’s sleeping face. It had been 3 years since they returned to Earth and he still couldn’t believe he shared a bed with this man.

Lance’s eye mask had shifted so it was only covering one eye, his retainer caused him to hold his mouth at a weird angle and the clay mask he put on the evening before was cracked and crumbly.

Faint music could be heard from Lance’s cast off headphones. Keith reached over him to turn it off and set the headphones on the night side table.

As Keith nestled back down on his side of the bed, Lance awakened. He pulled off the eye mask, placed his retainer in its dish and turned towards Keith and smiled.

Keith smiled softly back. His eyes filled with affection.

“Good morning, mi amor. What are you thinking about all ready this morning?” Lance asked.

Keith smirked, “That you look absolutely ridiculous in the mornings but I want to wake up next to you for the rest of my life anyways.”

“Ahh, geeze, Keith. Are you proposing to me?” Lance grinned his best cocky grin.

“Wha, waa, no, I was just…”

“Just kidding, Keith, chill your boots. It’s been a long time since I caused panic to flash before your eyes like that,” Lance laughed.

“Argh,” Keith grumbled and turned away from him.

“Aww, babe. Don’t be mad. You know I like to get a rise out of you,” Lance said suggestively as he grazed his hand over Keith’s thigh. Keith brushed it away.

“Fine,” Lance flopped over on to his back.

Keith flipped around and laid his head on Lance’s chest as a silent peace offering.

Lance buried his hand in Keith’s hair and kissed the top of his head.

“You’re gonna get clay in my hair.”

“You’re gonna wash it.”

“I wasn’t planning to today.”

“What do you mean, you weren’t planning to today? You should wash your hair every day.”

“No, you shouldn’t. I read articles. You wouldn’t need fancy shampoos, if you just let your natural oils accumulate.”

“Gross, Keith,” Lance curled his nose, “I am not discussing shampoo practices with an all in one hair and body wash barbarian.”

Keith laughed despite himself.

“We argue like an old married couple,” Lance decided to poke the bear, one more time. He felt Keith’s breathe hitch.

“You know, I always thought I’d be married someday to some hot goddess with a whole bunch of kids and a place near the beach-“

“But instead you got me and an army base apartment in the middle of the desert?” Keith interrupted in a tone that suggested he wasn’t sure if he should be offended or not.

“Yeah, I got you, and I wouldn’t trade you for anything. Not even for all the beaches in Cuba,” Lance rolled out of bed and leaned over Keith. He tucked Keith’s hair behind his ear and kissed him softly on the forehead. “Come on, let’s get up. You can take me out to breakfast before class. Next week, I start practicum and you won’t be able to for a while.”

Keith was silent on their walk to a tiny diner which was located not far from their apartment and on the way to the Garrison where Lance was in Instructor Training.

Keith watched as Lance petted every dog, smiled at every couple and greeted every child on the route. He wished he had half of Lance’s charisma.

When they arrived at the diner, Lance held the door for an elderly couple and then ushered Keith inside. They shuffled into a booth near the window and the waitress took their order. Two breakfast platters. Extra bacon. The usual.

Keith watched Lance’s fingers as he added sugar and cream to his coffee. Keith sipped on his black and half listened as Lance prattled on about his course load and the teaching position he was offered at the Garrison in the fall.

Two men, Keith guessed were in their late forties, and two little girls, who looked to be about 8 and 5 years of age, took the bench across from them. Keith over-heard the men making dinner plans and discussing babysitters, which caused him to notice the men had matching rings. He caught himself staring at their hands.

The eldest girl noticed.

“You draw?” she asked tilting a cup of crayons towards him like she was offering him a smoke.

“Ya,” Keith replied.

“He does! You should see him draw cats. He can draw a mean cat,” Lance smiled.

To Keith’s surprise, the little girls climbed into the booth with them and handed him the cup of crayons. Keith looked at the cup like he was stunned.

“Draw the girls some cats, Dumbass,” Lance teased affectionately.

Keith took a blue and red crayon out of the cup and drew two cats on his white paper placemat.

“Those are cute cats. Why are they red and blue?” The eldest asked.

“Those were the colours of our Lions.” Lance commented, “Have you heard of Voltron?”

The little girls nodded.

“Keith and I were paladins,” Lance whispered.

“Really!” They exclaimed, “Can you draw Voltron?”

“I could try,” Keith replied and did the best he could to draw the giant alien robot with the blunt black crayon he retrieved from the plastic cup.

“You’re pretty,” the littlest girl commented as he drew.

“Thanks?”

“He is pretty, isn’t he?” Lance agreed. “I have to get going to class. You two make sure he finishes his breakfast,” Lance directed. Lance kissed the top of Keith’s head and left him in the booth with half eaten eggs and the two little girls. He gave the two dads a quick nod as he made his way to the door.

“Do you love him?” The eldest girl asked as she watched Keith watch Lance leave the diner.

“Sadie!” One of the dad’s scolded who was watching the scene carefully from their booth.

“Ya,” Keith responded matter of factly and went back to his doodle of Voltron.

“Do you think you’ll marry him?” Sadie continued to pry.

“Sadie! I’m sorry. Invading the personal space and privacy of strangers seems to be her thing,” the other dad tried to wave her back their booth.

“It’s all right,” Keith assured and returned to his drawing. “You think I should ask him to marry me?”

“Ya,” the girl replied in the same tone Keith gave his ‘ya’.

“Then ya, I think I might.”

Keith signed his crayon Voltron and handed it to Sadie.

“It was nice meeting you,” he smiled.

Keith paid for his order and took a long route home. He had some stops to make.

Lance normally got home at 5pm on Fridays so Keith was surprised when he heard the door knob click closer to 4:30pm.

Lance open the door to discover Keith standing on a step ladder, dusting the bookshelf in their living room. He ogled Keith and the way his shirt rode up as when he reached for a moment before looking around the apartment. It was spotless.

“Are you cleaning?” Lance asked incredulously as he dropped his book bag on the entry way table.

“What are you trying to say, Lance? That I don’t clean? I clean!” Keith replied defensively as he stepped off the later.

“You tidy. You don’t clean clean unless you are nervous about something and you need to distract yourself with a task and even then you usually go beat something up at the gym.”

“What? No, I don’t,” Keith denied. “Besides, what would I have to be nervous about? I just, I just, I just thought, you were going to be busy with practicum in the next few weeks and it would nice to come home to a clean house today.”

“Well, it is a nice surprise. And I have to admit, you looked nice up on that ladder,” Lance smirked as he slipped his hand up Keith’s shirt and kissed him along his jaw line.

Keith stepped back so he could talk to him.

“Do you plan on doing anything tonight?” Keith asked.

Lance cocked his eyebrow, “Besides you? Nothing really. Why?”

“I thought maybe we could take the hover craft for a spin and catch a bite to eat at Hunk’s Bistro later, maybe?”

“Sure, sounds like a plan, Stan.”

“Who’s Stan?”

“Really, Keith? No one. It’s a figure of speech. Your plan for the evening sounds like a great idea, but,” Lance took Keith into his arms, “In the meantime, do we have time for my original plan?”

Keith weaved his hands in Lance’s hair, pulled him close and kissed him hard.

They made love with extra tenderness. Each caress and kiss Keith tried to commit to memory. If things didn’t go as he planned tonight, Keith worried it could be the last time and he wanted to savour it.

They laid together for quite some-time afterwards, basking in the bliss of a late afternoon well spent; Lance sprawled out with Keith laying in his arms.

“Mmmmmm. I don’t know what that was about, but I’ll take it.” Lance reflected.

Keith squeezed into him.

“Is Jupiter in retrograde or something, because I feel like you got your sap on real thick today? Lucky, for me I like sappy Keith.”

Lance twirled Keith’s hair in his fingers.

Keith opened his mouth to deny any sappiness, but realized it was futile. He had no case against himself. He was definitely feeling sappy today.

Keith was quiet again as they showered and got ready to go out. He put on his best black pants, his favourite t-shirt and dug out his old red crop jacket.

“Can you even still get that on?” Lance asked as he put on a button up shirt and khakis.

Keith’s jacket was tight in the shoulders and snug in the arms but he wasn’t going to admit it. He swung a brown satchel over his shoulder.

Lance watched out of the corner of his eye as Keith fumbled with his keys, knocked the earphones off the night stand and tapped his hand against his bouncing knee while he waited for Lance to finish getting ready.

Lance started to feel concerned when Keith dropped his keys again after locking the door on the way out.

“Are you alright? Should I drive?” Lance asked.

“No. I’m fine. I’m fine. I just dropped my keys. People drop their keys.”

“Okay,” Lance held up his hands, “but do you though?” Lance muttered under his breath.

Lance noticed Keith was tense when he wrapped his arms around him after taking a seat on the hover bike.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“You’ll see.”

They rode in silence. Normally, this wouldn’t bother Lance, as he was used to Keith being quiet at times but something seemed off. Lance was just about to pry as to why when Keith made a sharp turn that took them off the road and over the rocky terrain of the Roswell desert.

“What the quiznak, Keith! Where are we going?”

“Shut-up and trust me.” Keith replied.

“Last time we were on this thing and you said that, you drove us off a cliff!”

“We made it, didn’t we?”

Keith landed the bike not far from a familiar rock formation.

“Wait? Are we going to where we found Blue?”

Keith didn’t say anything, just took his hand and led him to the opening of the cave.

Once inside, Lance ran his hand over the familiar cave markings and the cave lit up, just like the first time Lance stroked the cave walls.

They stood a moment and admired them.

“Remember the first time you lit up the cave markings like that?” Keith asked.

“How could I forget?”

“I was so jealous. I spent months being drawn to this place, pulled by some unknown force and it was you who lit everything up and unlocked the Blue Lion with a simple touch of your hand.”

“I find it hard to believe you were ever jealous of me.”

“In so many ways, I was, and still am.”

Keith stepped towards Lance and touched his forehead on his before laying a soft kiss on his lips.

“So why did you bring me out here?” Lance was starting to feel suspicious, “You aren’t going on that mission Captain Ross asked about, are you? I thought we discussed this and we decided we were going to try to make the best of our time back on Earth, at least for a bit, until Voltron is needed again. Maybe I am being selfish, but I don’t want you going on any interstellar journeys without me,” Lance pouted.

“Lance! I didn’t take the job. I don’t want to go on any interstellar journeys without you either.”

“Good,” Lance said with his arms crossed.

Keith squeezed at his forearms causing Lance to relax and his posture to open.

“Lance, I want you with me on all my journeys for the rest of my life! That is why I brought you out here. This place, this is where I first noticed you were something special. This is where I learned I was being drawn to you long before I knew it was you I was being drawn too. This cave is where my journey with you began and it was wild and terrifying much of the time, but somewhere along the line you became my home. You not only unlocked the blue lion, you unlocked my purpose and gave me a reason to be a better person. It was here that Blue chose you out of all of us potential paladins, because she saw how wonderful you are and I hope you know I do too. I can’t think of anyone in the whole universe I would rather spend my life with, so I thought this would be the perfect place to ask this-”

Keith took Lance’s hand and a deep breath and knelt down.

Lance’s breath hitched as he caught on to what was happening.

“Lance Charlies Aguado McClain, will you marry me and be my partner for the rest of my life?”

Lance dropped down to the ground too, and grabbed Keith by the collar of his jacket and kissed him, “Of course I will.”

Keith took a long rectangular box out of his satchel.

“I didn’t know what dudes proposed to dudes with, but I, I, got you a watch. I got Coran to tinker with it, this afternoon so it keeps both Earth and Altean time.”

Keith handed him the watch upside down. On the back he had engraved, “Make every tick count.”

Lance smiled and put the watch on his wrist and held it clasp up for Keith to fasten. He admired the watch for moment before he spoke.

“Even after all these years, you still surprise me sometimes, Keith. Would you believe me, if I said I was going to ask you when I graduated? I can’t believe you beat me to this.��

Keith smiled proudly. They took a long route home.

A few Saturday’s after, Keith and Lance happened to be walking by the diner, when they heard the familiar jingle of the diner door charms and a little voice yell, “Keith!”

“Sadie, was it?” Keith asked the girl who stopped in front of them.

“A-huh!” She looked from Keith to Lance and back to Keith with a twinkle in her brown eyes.

“Did you ask him?” she asked.

“I did.”

“Did he say yes?”

“He did.”

“Good,” Sadie grinned a big grin, “I’m helping Nanna make pies, you’ll have to stop in for a slice later and tell me all about it.”

She skipped back inside.

Keith chuckled softly.

Lance’s laugh was boisterous, “Are we going to have to invite that little girl to our wedding?”

“We just might.”

#klance #vld fan fiction #jenni writes #keith's proposal #Keith kogane #lance #I do use Lance McClain in this one just because I needed a last name and it seemed to be accepted fannon but I gave him a Spanish one too #that apparently means lives by the water #jenni imagines stuff #this is fluffy mc fluff fluff

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