#I know if I were to counter protest I would physically attack someone. probably the first person to provoke me. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lonely-lost-soul · 3 years

Text

Under the Floorboards Part: X

(C!Technoblade x Reader)

First Part: Pt. I

Fanart for this chapter made by the wonderful @theoneandonlyyeti please show them love!

Content Warning: Itty Bitty Spice Ahead! Please be wary I will let you know when it stops and starts so you can skip!

~~~

You never thought you would want kids of your own, adopting already children was completely fine but when it came to having your own you weren't too sure. However, you do know what it might be like to have a baby, that is to say, your injured husband was basically an overgrown baby. Ultimately it was your fault, the man kept pulling his stitches trying to do anything, which made both you and Ranboo frustrated as hell. Technoblade just couldn't sit still and it was driving you mad, you'd scold him and much like a child he'd pout and tell you no. After the fourth time pulling the stitches while he was trying to tame a polar bear, you had bound him to the bed. Not physically, of course, but if you saw him out of bed you'd usher him back in with whatever bribes that were needed to convince. Technoblade was understandably not happy with this development, but the brides always seemed to work, if they didn't you'd pull out the big guns. Appealing to the voices always seemed to work without fail, whether it be only referring to them or ignoring him completely they always got him to shut up and sit down. At the end of the third week, he seemed to be so used to your constant attention and nurse-like tenderness that whenever you weren't fully tending to him he had a tantrum. You tried to be patient, especially because it was partially your fault he was injured in the first place, but you couldn't help but get annoyed at his clinginess.

"Techno. Baby, you have to let go of me." His arms were wrapped securely around your waist, you both were sitting on a small cot by the fire. You allowed him to get out of bed sometimes okay, you weren't a monster; so long as he wasn't out fighting monsters and blowing up nations. He let out a deep purr and buried his head in your chest,

"No, I don't think I will," He mused a smirk evident in his voice although you couldn't see his face. You tsked softly, running your fingers through his hair,

"Tech?"

"Hm."

"Let go of me or I will take a pair of scissors to your hair." His hands immediately released their hold on you, he pulled away from your warm body, a pout etched across his features. "Thank you, my love," You kissed his forehead and he relaxed just slightly. "You think you can make it to the kitchen on your own for some lunch?" You gave a tilt to your head and Technoblade smiled softly,

"I'll head there in a few minutes, I wanna try and clean up on my own first, I feel gross." Technoblade sat up with a wince his bandages needed cleaning, he gave his neck a crack to shake away any residual pain. He stood up letting the blankets slide down his body; his hair had been perpetually tied up in a messy bun; his stubble was also slightly overgrown. He needed a makeover desperately, the voices were very much in agreement when he caught a glimpse of himself in a nearby mirror. Steve, the polar bear Techno adopted, grunted as he felt Technoblade move. Technoblade watched you coo at the bear and kissed the top of his fuzzy head, for someone who was so mad he adopted him. You sure acted like the bear was your new best friend, especially considering you let the bear sleep in the bed with the both of you.

"Alright, any lunch requests?"

"Anything you desire," He gently rubbed his chin against your cheek and your nose scrunched up at the feeling.

"You're prickly."

"Good or bad?"

"Well, you're hot with the stubble. So I guess a little beard is a good thing," You scratched under his chin and he purred loudly.

'We are never shaving again are we in agreement on that? Yes, obviously. Anything for her.'

"Now shoo," You ushered him towards the bathroom he slid inside with a dopey smile. He heard you call Steve over to you making sure he was just as fed like any other person in your band of misfits. Once you were officially in the kitchen was when Technoblade got a good look at himself for the first time in weeks. He was right in assuming his facial hair definitely needed at least a trim, his hair probably could use one as well now that he thought about it. He undid the bun and let his hair fall over his shoulders, at this point, it reached his mid-back. It was a bit tangled and didn't feel as soft as it usually did, he was sick of it. Technoblade picked up his trusty bathroom sword and held it in his hands, he turned the sharp blade over in his hands a few times in contemplation. Technoblade moved and placed it on the edge of the sink, he moved his hair to the front of his chest, taking the sword in another hand and slicing through his pink locks. They fluttered to the floor and his eyes drifted back over to the mirror, his hair now came down just below his shoulders. He ran his fingers through his freshly cut hair, ruffling it up just a little, he liked the new look. Technoblade tossed his loose shirt on the floor and gently removed his bandages, he didn't even bother looking at his wound, it was just another scar to add to the hundreds littering his body. However, this one he was okay acquiring, he got it protecting you, the women he loved, from Dream. He smiled softly as the smell of food wafted through the house from downstairs.

He'd never truly get used to your domesticity.

Technoblade's pants were next as he turned on the shower, he slid into the water once it warmed up to the appropriate temperature. He let the water cascade down his face, it stung his fresh wound but it felt good to finally feel clean and fresh. The shower went much faster than usual now that he didn't have all that hair to wash. After the shower he wrapped a towel around his waist, it hung low on his hips as he shook out his wet hair much like a dog. He decided to stick a little braid in his hair just so he could add a little flair, a knock sounded on the door and he met his own eyes in the mirror. The door opened with a soft creak and you were standing in the doorway with a smile. He flushed when you let out a low whistle,

"Didn't mean to disturb you, hot stuff." You winked and he gave you a sharp look to cover up his embarrassment. "What's that for? We literally have seen one another naked like a million times," You snickered your smile turning fond as you drank in his body.

"Hey. My eyes are up here Princess," He mused grabbing your chin to make you look in his eyes. Now it was your turn to flush and he smirked devilishly, "I'm glad you like what you see." You reached up and ran your fingers through his hair playing with the freshly cut ends,

"You cut your hair." You murmured still mesmerized by Technoblade's red eyes, he hummed softly staring at your beautiful features. "It looks amazing, I love it, and I love you," You spoke tenderly hands running down his chest.

"I love you too Princess," Technoblade murmured trying to ignore the roaring voices in the back of his mind. They were pleading with him to kiss her, mark her up and go feral on his wife. He took in a shaky breath and you frowned, "the voices," he let out a deep chuckle, "they love you."

SPICE

"I love them too. So listen to them and kiss me already." You yanked him close using the top of his towel, he made an embarrassing noise when his towel began to slip, he felt like praying when it stayed up by some grace of God. Your lips crashed together and he let out a breathy sigh relaxing into your blistering kiss, his hands landed on your hips and he squeezed them tightly. Technoblade nipped at your mouth, his tusks brushing against your upper lip, and you made a soft sound in the back of your throat when you felt them make contact. It made Techno and the voices preen in delight as he pushed you against the wall of your bathroom, his big hands sliding up the bottom of your shirt. He felt your hands tug at the hair by his scalp and he let out a deep groan,

'Neck. Bite her neck. Leave a mark, leave many! We don't care, do something. Please Technoblade listen to us!'

Technoblade growled under his breath as he attacked your neck, you let your head fall back against the wall. You let out a little sound of your own, and he purred deeply pleased by your reactivity.

'She'd make such a good mother.'

SPICE OVER

Technoblade's eyes snapped open and he pulled away from your neck, you let out a deep whine of protest. You reached out to him, hands falling on the back of his neck, chest heaving deeply. That thought intermixed with the wishes of the voices, you a mother? Him a father? The thought shook him to the very core no matter how much his body liked the thought.

"Bubs...?" You asked drearily, eyes blinking as you came down from your mini-high, "You okay?"

"Fine." Technoblade cleared his throat, his ears red and he refused to meet his wife's eyes, you frowned in concern.

"Too much?"

"Sorry," Technoblade murmured sheepishly and you shook your head, pinching the warrior's cheek.

"Don't apologize for that, I'm a big girl." You laughed softly kissing the tip of his nose, "I wanted to tell you lunch was ready before you rudely interrupted me."

"Eh? Rudely?" He huffed as you moved away from the wall, a teasing grin on your lips, he watched you walk away with a swing of your hips and he groaned in distress. Technoblade gathered himself together and got changed, as he came down the ladder to see you wearing a little apron and had lunch set up on the counter. His heart stopped in his chest, you were just too cute and domestic, "meat and potatoes?" He piped up sniffing the air as he sat down at the table you nodded happily.

"I know it's your favorite. I thought you deserved it after everything," You hummed softly cupping his cheek before sitting down across from him. Technoblade raised a hard eyebrow and clicked his tongue,

"It was nothing, just a flesh wound." Technoblade waved you off digging into his meal, "I meant it when I said I'd kill for you."

"I know you would, and believe me that is so hot. Even so, I'd be lost without you, so I just want to thank you." You bit your lip fiddling with the lace of your apron, "I'll never be able to repay you."

Technoblade put his fork down and huffed, "Stop talking nonsense Princess, got that? You're my wife now you don't need to repay me for anything." You looked at your lap and smiled shyly, "I love you."

"I love you more."

He scoffed with a fond eye roll but didn't argue with you, instead choosing to focus on his meal. Technoblade looked up at you as you finished up your food, with a soft hum he tilted his head to the side, "Princess?"

"What's up bubs?"

"We should do some trading in the Nether, before you say no, it's an easy enough adventure where I won't get hurt. We just wear some gold, and we'll be in and out." He watched your eyebrow twitch, "I will go with or without you. Just so you know." You flicked some potato at him which he scoffed at with an eye roll,

"Fine. We can go, but no fighting anything got that," You pointed a stern finger at him, Technoblade scoffed but agreed nonetheless. You both got adorned in your finest gold and Technoblade couldn't help but grab your neck, tilting your head upwards to swallow your lips with a kiss. You giggled softly as you both walked towards the Nether, his tail was wrapped around your waist as he glared at anything with a pulse. When you wore gold, his piglin protectiveness won over his usual aloof self. He couldn't stop glancing at the gold wedding band on your hand as you entered the portal, the piglin's heads already were paying attention to the newcomers. Techno let out a low growl underneath his breath and at least some of them seemed to get the picture, Techno split his gold bricks with you and the two of you parted. Oddly enough, Technoblade was having difficulty finding anyone to trade with him, they'd huff and tell him to get lost in piglin and that rubbed him the wrong way. He only ended up getting a few pearls and some soul sand, Technoblade moved to find his wife only to see you surrounded by a horde of his brethren. His jaw tensed as he saw you flush as a piglin desperately handed you some netherite, you thanked them softly and their squeals increased happily. They were complimenting you in piglin not that you would understand them, gushing about how pretty you were and how good you looked dripping in gold. Technoblade and the voices weren't amused. His brow furrowed as the voices demanded blood, he tried to march over but he was practically shoved out of the way when they saw him trying to get closer to you. Technoblade snarled at their advancements, his hand twitching at his sword just itching to grab at it and spill their blood, but he couldn't risk hurting you in the process.

Couldn't they smell him all over you? Did they just not care that you were his?

Before the Blade could do anything too rash you picked up your head and locked eyes with him, a beaming smile coming across your features.

"Technoblade!" You called throwing your hand in the air and waving it frantically, "Come here! They're being super kind!" The piglin's all turned their heads to face Technoblade, out of reflex his shifted into his pig form and walked over to you. This time, his brethren cleared a path for him to get through, He pulled you against his chest protectively, he buried his nose in your neck glaring at anyone who dared come close to his wife. Much to Techno's relief they all looked unhappy with the development and walked away from you, to which you pouted at, "You scared them away you big grump."

"Good I don't like them touching what's mine," he spoke calmly which caused you to flush red,

"We were just trading Tech," You spoke shyly motioning to all the valuables you collected. He nodded against your neck about to say something else but he growled deep in his throat instead and tightened his grip on your waist. A baby piglin, with a shining red eye, was holding up a gold ingot towards your person, you cooed fondly. The baby seemed unperturbed by Technoblade's looming appearance and attitude, "Hi baby! Do you want to trade?" The piglin nodded rapidly puffing out their little cheeks, your heart melted in your chest. "Tech let me go," You whined, "I wanna trade with the baby."

"No." He huffed, grumbling in his throat, "Don't want you to." The baby glared at him, stomping his little hoof, holding out the ingot higher. "Get out of here before I punt you, kid," He bared his teeth. The brave kid once more wasn't fazed instead he glared right back at Technoblade making a small snarl of his own. He had his own pair of tusks that were just starting to appear on his bottom lip and you gave a little squeal and Technoblade glared at you, "Don't coo at it!"

"He's so cute though!" You argued, finally squirming out of his hold, you knelt in front of the excited piglin, he handed you the gold ingot excitedly, you examined it carefully. Technoblade huffed at you entertaining the young piglin, you pocketed the gold and handed the piglin a poppy. His single eye widened considerably as he took the flower from your hands, you figured you'd give him something from the overworld. He looked shell shocked as he oinked happily wrapping you in a little hug, "Aw you're so welcome buddy!" You giggled fondly brushing the tufts of fur on his head, you plucked the poppy from his hands and placed it behind his ear. The piglin touched the flower lightly before scurrying down a nearby cobblestone pathway, "Bye little guy!" You called out a sad smile appearing on your face, Technoblade narrowed his eyes. He knew that look, you had the look when you'd look at the other children on the server.

"Don't even think about it."

"Think about what?" You blinked looking up at him, "do you mean- oh Jesus Technoblade I'm not going to kidnap a child."

"Or adopt it! It could be an orphan. We know how I feel about those," He pointed a finger in your direction, you rolled your eyes dramatically.

"Babe we're both orphans-"

"Sorry is that a Ghast? I can't hear you gotta fight it to protect you."

"You piece of shit." You scoffed as Technoblade picked up his bag from his last location and walked off, in the direction of said Ghast. "No fighting Ghasts! You promised!" You chased after him once you came to that realization, "Technoblade!"

Eventually, you caught up with your husband and scolded him for his recklessness, he only snickered at your mother henning. As the both of you stepped back through the portal Technoblade shifted back to his regular form, he took your hand and led you back to your little cabin. Normally Technoblade would use his trident trick to get home, but you were with him and wanted to walk by your side, considering you didn't have a trident...yet. He noticed his mailbox had footprints in front of the box, his brows furrowed, who was in his domain.

"Head inside Princess, I'll join you in a minute." Technoblade kissed your cheek softly, you gave a little nod. As Technoblade walked over to the mailbox and opened it, inside was a deep scarlet letter with a seal on the front. His nose scrunched up in distaste, he grabbed a small knife from his pocket and tore the letter open. The letter inside the envelope was a lighter shade of red, the note was from BadBoyHalo saying he had some business he'd like to discuss with himself and his wife. That immediately didn't sit right with Techno, it set off a ton of red alarms in his head. What did BadBoyHalo need to talk to you about? Technoblade kissed his teeth, he supposed this meeting would be alright so long as he was with you and could protect you and your mind from whatever the demon man was planning. What stirred him out of his thoughts was a slight movement in his bag, his entire body stilled and he slipped his bag off, tossing it into the snow. His bag squealed in distress and he pulled his sword off his body and aimed it at the bag. Technoblade must've been so distracted by you, and the letter in the mailbox, he must've missed the little movements in his bag. He gritted his teeth and snarled deeply, the first thing he noticed was bright pink piglin ears, popping out of his bag, then a bright red poppy. It was the baby piglin who had taken a liking to you earlier, his sword lowered a little bit as his eyes looked up and locked with Technoblades.

It reminded him of how Phil found Technoblade when he was a kid.

His Piglin was a bit rusty, especially his piglin for young kids but he tried his best to communicate with the young boy as he sat upon his knees. He was shivering a little not used to the drastic temperature change.

"What are you doing here kid?" He asked in rough piglin, which to anyone listening would just sound like grunts and squeals. The boy marveled at Techno and that he could speak his language it seemed,

"I want to be with the nice lady."

Technoblade furrowed his brows, a frown etching across his features, "You can't stay here." The kid didn't like that as he glared up at the taller hybrid, "You have a family in the Nether?"

"No." He huffed out with a rapid shake of his head, Technoblade inwardly cursed before picking up the Piglin by the scruff of his neck. He let out a few grunts of protest trying to attack Technoblade's hand as he dragged him into your shared home.

"(Y/n)! Get in here!" He shouted a small clip evident in his voice showing his frustration in his tone. You slid down the ladder in one fell swoop, Steve was by your side growling ferociously at the intruder in Technoblade's hands.

Good to know he could trust Steve to protect you.

"What's wrong? Where's the fire?" You already asked, ready for a fight, Technoblade almost swooned, almost. "Um...bubs is that a child?"

"It's not a child! It's the child!" He held him up higher to show off the poppy in his fur behind his ear, "Look what you did now it's attached to you!"

"Don't be mean!" You scolded your lover taking the kid from his hand, he automatically buried his head in the side of your neck. "Hey, buddy, what's going on huh?"

"He said he didn't have a family. He's attached to you now, therefore making him your problem." He watched you side-eyed him, giving him a very clear dirty look, "He doesn't have a name either." You ran your fingers through the top of the young boy's fur, rolling your lip between your bottom teeth in thought.

"Let's call him Aether." You looked over at Technoblade a teasing smile appearing on your face, "we'll build him a little secret room to keep him safe."

"Aether...Like the god of light and the sky? Isn't that ironic- wait...HEH, what do you mean his own room?" Technoblade blinked rapidly as you slid down the ladder into the basement, "Princess, get back here this conversation is not over!" He chased after you, and with a huff, Steve began to follow the both of you, too curious to just ignore the baby in your arms.

"We can re-purpose Tommy's old room! Fix it up after someone blew it up." You gushed as the piglin squealed in your arms approvingly, "we'll decorate it just how you like it, I'll even paint the walls."

"He's NOT our son (Y/N)-"

"Maybe not our son but he's MY son."

Why did that make Technoblade feel a million times worse? Is this how Phil's wife felt when she was alive when Phil tried to take him in from the Nether.

"I'm not leaving him to fend for himself, especially because he sought us out," You whispered tenderly, "It doesn't sit right with me Tech...please." Technoblade watched you look up at him through big sad eyes, "you don't have to be a parental figure if you don't want to, I won't force that role on you. But I want to take care of Aether, least till he's old enough to officially fend for himself."

Technoblade chose not to correct you that he was already capable of fighting his own battles.

"Fine." He relented with a loud sigh, "just don't get him killed. I don't want to deal with you being upset over a dumb orphan."

"Not dumb." You huffed nudging him in the side, "but thank you." He felt your lips brush the corner of his mouth and he visibly relaxed. "I promise I won't bother you with him either, he'll be my responsibility." You assured Aether grunted in your hold almost like he was in agreement with that plan. Technoblade glared at the child and huffed,

"He better not be," Technoblade said as if to promise himself that he would not get attached to the piglin in your arms that looked so much like your son it filled him with warmth. Steam exited his nose in frustration, and you gave him a gentle pat on the cheek, "I'll talk to Phil about getting him some warmer clothes, but that doesn't mean I like him." The smile on your face was almost worth discussing this child with Phil, but only almost, you gently placed Aether on a spare bed by Bob.

"For now," You ruffled his pink fur "You'll stay down here. If you need anything just call me okay? We'll get you a walkie-talkie you can decorate with some stickers." Technoblade groaned from behind you, he had to gather materials for another radio, for a baby. Aether nodded excitedly and snuggled against the soft covers of the bed, you kissed the top of his eye socket. Steve nuzzled Aether's hand and he gently rubbed the top of the polar bear's head, Steve seemed to dub the Piglin acceptable and rested his face on the edge of his bed. "Good boy Steve, watch out for my boy." You headed back up the ladder Technoblade followed behind you wearily, Phil was going to make fun of him for this, the old man was going to call him soft.

Marriage has made him soft and a shameful part of him liked that feeling of domesticity. He swallowed thickly glancing over at your bright smile, you turned towards him and figured the letter in his pocket could wait a few more days.

"I'm going to send a letter to Phil, so he can grab clothes for the orphan on his way back." Technoblade sighed softly rubbing the bridge of his nose, which caused the smile to slip off of your face.

'Apologize to her right now. It's a kid how hard can it really be? You can handle it, he makes her happy. But it's an orphan and it smells. Yeah, like the Nether and smoke. So does Technoblade.'

He huffed at the voices mentally flipping them off, before lifting his hand and placing it on the top of your head. He watched you look up at him through long lashes and (e/c) eyes, "I guess it's not that big of a deal you nerd. So don't get all frowny at me, okay? We'll keep the kid safe." The smile reappeared and he let out a sigh of relief he didn't realize he was holding in,

"You do care," you cooed fondly and his heart squeezed in his chest. "You're gonna be Aether's dad just you wait."

"Yeah, maybe when pigs fly."

"Tech-"

"Don't say anything," his face turned red, "you know what I meant." You giggled and kissed his cheek, he walked over to the window and sent a crow out for Phil. He jolted feeling your hands on his back running up and down, you slid in front of him.

"Thank you, for all you do for me." Your soft lips traveled across his cheek and onto his lips, "Let me repay you." He felt the tips of your fingers grab at his chin, his eyes dropped closed, tail wrapping around your waist to pull you flush.

"Oh?"

"Hmhm," You purred out as you pressed your foreheads together, you both screamed however when a loud slam sounded against the door. It was thrown open moments after Phil was standing in the doorway, wings ruffled and crows screaming behind him.

"What the FUCK do you mean you have a child! (Y/n) was pregnant?! Since when?! What the fuck!"

"Miscommunication!" Technoblade shouted flush coming across his face, "The crows twisted my words! Last time I rely on them to relay a message!" You burst into hysterical laughter falling against Technoblade's chest,

"This is not funny!" Both Phil and Technoblade said simultaneously, both equally confused and flustered. Phil got here so fast it was ridiculous and judging by the bag on his back he came fully prepared with clothing and all.

"I adopted a piglin from the Nether, he hid in my stuff, you thought I was pregnant?" You were cackling holding your stomach, "Phil what the fuck!"

"What?" He sputtered flabbergasted, "it's not like you both aren't fucking! You smell like him constantly, you can't blame me for jumping to conclusions."

"You saw me yesterday! You have a son!"

"Shut the fuck up! I panicked!" Phil threw the bag at you and you caught it in your arms, still snickering. Meanwhile, Technoblade was still recovering from Phil's scare, "I just...got some of Wilbur's old clothes. Some old toys as well, whatever I could find."

"Thank you, grandpa," You teased to which he turned slightly red, Technoblade glared in your direction.

"He's not grandpa."

"I can be," Phil added raising his finger in the air, Technoblade gaped at him,

"Don't encourage her!" You laughed tossing the bag in Technoblade's general direction, his fast reflexes allowed him to catch the bag. "What are you expecting me to do with this?"

"Go give it to him," He watched you smirk and wanted to wrap his hands around your neck. "You both need to bond,"

"You said earlier I didn't have to!"

"I lied." You bared your teeth in a big smile, chills went down his spine staring at your face, "You have to at least get along with Aether. Plus, Phil and I need to talk."

"We do?"

"We do."

"I'm being lied to." Technoblade growled, "I can't believe this betrayal. Let's all lie to Technoblade, I'm such a victim, having to tend to an orphan my wife adopted." You flipped Technoblade off as he slid down the ladder into the basement. Aether was still asleep on the bed when he came down, the bag across his shoulder felt heavy as nervousness seeped into his skin.

He literally killed people and blew up an entire nation, why was this child making him nervous.

'Throw the bag at it. Have it fend for itself. Don't do that (Y/n) will be upset with you! So, not my problem. It will be our problem if Technoblade gets divorced! DIVORCED?! SHE'D NEVER! E. But she could, do we really want to deal with that. That's a lot of work to clean up.'

The bed shifted, stirring Technoblade out of his racing thoughts, he swallowed thickly before taking a deep breath.

"Hey, kid, wake up." Technoblade gruffly scoffed, tossing the bag on the bed and kissing his teeth. The piglin made a distressed noise jolting up in the bed and pulling the covers over his little body. "Calm down it's just me, Technoblade," He spoke back in Piglin to the child who seemed to ease up a little bit. "(Y/n) and Phil got you some stuff so open the bag and check so I can leave."

Aether eyed him wearily as he opened the soft yellow bag, he began to pull the items out with slight awe. Despite his tough exterior, Technoblade was oddly curious as he walked a bit closer to look inside the bag. Aether pulled out a soft yellow and black striped sweater and rubbed it against his cheeks, it seemed to be amazed at the softness of the material. Technoblade couldn't help but laugh a little, once again he thought of the first time he was introduced to the same material. A pair of overalls was next, they were covered in colorful patches and Aether's eyes lit up excitedly. He watched him scramble back into the bag as a few more things were pulled out, like a coloring book, a few colorful pens, an old busted walkie-talkie, and a small stuffed crow. Phil just had to shove that in there, he couldn't believe that the old man's first thought when he thought (y/n) was having a baby was to find a little stuffed crow, biased little shit.

"Thank you," Aether spoke softly in Piglin towards Technoblade, he blinked a little rapidly.

"Thank your grandpa Phil," Technoblade grunted before coughing, "No not grandpa-"

"Grandpa!" He beamed brightly, his little tail wagging rapidly behind him, Technoblade rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Just go get changed kid," He grumbled, "So you can show (Y/n)." Aether slid off the bed, sweater, and clothes in hand and stumbled into a nearby bathroom. He came out a few moments later clad in his new outfit, in the meantime, Technoblade sat on the edge of his bed. Aether did a little twirl placing his hands on his hips, Techno held out a weak thumbs up and he seemed satisfied with that answer. Aether flopped back on the bed next to Technoblade and leaned against the pillows, an awkward silence stretched between the both of them. "Anyway...I guess I'll head back upstairs." Technoblade raised his hand and motioned to the ladder, his body tensed and it took all his willpower not to kick the child across the room as his instincts screamed at him to do. He blinked a few times and noticed Aether grabbed at his hands in order to get a closer look at the gold adorning his fingers. Aether began to run his hands over his gold rings,

ah, that made more sense.

"You like my rings?" Technoblade questioned watching him nod eagerly as he wiggled his fingers, "yeah I like 'em too. Got some for my Princess too, that's (Y/n)."

"Princess?"

"Hmhm, she looks beautiful in them," Technoblade hummed softly, an adoring look appearing on his face. Aether looked like he was holding onto every word, "We treat (Y/n) with respect she deserves understand? I see you messing with her. I mess with you back, got that kid?" Aether nodded,

"Same to you."

Technoblade barked out a small laugh and ruffled the fluff on top of Aether's head, "Off to a good start kid." Aether smiled shyly before going back to examining his jewelry, Technoblade shifted to get a little more comfortable as Aether settled in his lap. He continued to examine and twirl Technoblade's rings around until he glanced up and caught sight of his golden crown on top of his head. He desperately reached up for it and Technoblad leaned away from his grubby little hands, "Sorry, the crowns off-limits kids." Aether huffed puffing out his cheeks and Technoblade grumbled reluctantly placing the crown on his head, it was far too big for his little skull as it slipped past his forehead. He made some happy sounds and readjusted the crown, he leaned back against Technoblade relishing in not only the gold but also the attention.

Technoblade huffed out a laugh, maybe having a kid around wouldn't be so bad after all.

He looked back down at Aether and noticed the kid was asleep on his chest, his body locked up completely frozen in terror. Now, what was he going to do? He was trapped underneath a sleeping child, he awkwardly tried to maneuver Aether off himself but the kid had a strong grip on his chest. Technoblade cursed under his breath and figured he might as well get comfortable if he was trapped, he felt warm beneath the piglin and eventually drifted off to light sleep.

Philza and you quietly descended the ladder down into the basement, Technoblade hadn't come back up and the both of you were growing suspicious. You had to cover your mouth to stop an excited squeal from leaving your mouth, both your boys were cuddling on the bed, Technoblade's crown was slipping off Aether's head. You looked excitedly over at Phil whose face was soft and fond,

"Go on, take a picture." Phil glanced over at you motioning to the boys in bed before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a disposable camera.

"Thanks, Phil," You whispered snapping a quick picture of the bed, the click of the camera caused Technoblade's ears to twitch. The photograph came spitting out of the camera and you shook it waiting for it to develop, you were so hanging this picture up where everyone could see it. From across the room Technoblade's eyes cracked open, Phil nudged you forward,

"I'll head out, go spend time with your family." He ruffled the top of your head and flew up the ladder swiftly,

"Hm...was that Phil?" Technoblade grumbled under his breath, voice still deep with the hint of sleep.

"Yeah bubs," You whispered tenderly walking over to the edge of the bed, "he figured it was time to head out." You brushed strands of pink hair out of his eyes and he leaned into your touch, "make some room big guy." With an annoyed grumble, Technoblade moved over so you could lay down beside him and Aether, you gently brushed your thumb across the fur on the baby's cheeks. Just like your big warrior husband he snuggled against your hand. "So, I take it he's grown on you?"

"Shut up and go to sleep." Technoblade grumbled reaching over Aether to rest his big hand on your head, "hm tired." He closed his eyes and ignored your giggles, you pulled the blankets over the three of you and you drifted off into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, underneath L'manburg the egg began to breathe and pulsate with life, it yearned to have the couple once again in the palm of its hand just like it did decades prior. Sir Billiam and Lady (Y/n) were their names if it remembered correctly, they'd follow in the eggs wishes again, that it knew for certain. Meeting them again was going to be fun.

~~~

@iamsuchasimp @victory-is-here @pastelmoonwitche @ignat1usaquar1us @v10dw4lk3r

599 notes · View notes

4dtk · 3 years

Text

NCT DREAM: s/o likes using expletives/sounds while doing mundane tasks

anon: “hello! Can i ask an nct dream reaction to their s/o making lil sounds. I have a habit of making sounds when moving, for example when i scoot over to someone i’ll make a sound like “chukuchuku” and when i jump off a couch i’ll say “pong!” or “weee!” tysm!!” hi anon!!! so glad you decided to request! haven’t written for nct dream for a hot minute so i hope it’s okay!!

i used a lot of laugh/laughter/smile in this one LOL SORRY ABOUT THAT ;; i’ll put it under a cut bc it’s really long!

→ MARK honestly i think mark would just giggle. definitely. that man’s giggle machine never runs out wtf. anyway, without fail he usually breaks into giggles at the sounds that you make. when he becomes used to it, he’ll just smile to himself and continues to do what he’s doing, knowing that you heard his noise of mild amusement. mark’s made it clear that he loves it, but sometimes he laughs a lot that you’re conscious of it. when you do get insecure about it he doesn’t hesitate to let you know that it’s one of his favourite quirks of you!!! i also can honestly see him taking inspiration from ur sounds to include as adlibs to his songs ngl LMAO.

“yo… can you say that again?” mark says enthusiastically, bringing in his portable recording mic so he could take down your unique sound. you roll your eyes with a smile, pushing out a few more sounds that mimicked the one before the click on mic goes off. your jaw drops, “you didn’t tell me you were already recording!” that prompted you to smack him, causing the endless fit of a laugh-fest you always caught yourself in when you’re with mark.

→ RENJUN fond smile fond smile fond smile!!! renjun loves it when you exclaim out when you leave the couch or have to manoeuvre around something to get somewhere. he likes showing affection to you no matter where you phrase you exclaim, although it’s not that showy. if you happen to do your sound at the dining table some of the members will know for sure that renjun will take your hand under the table or wear a lovesick smile that all of them know too well. renjun has the sweetest words for days too looooord, only if you’re alone tho and wants to know more about your habit and how it came to be??? if that make sense!

the familiar grasp of his hand doesn’t faze you, shooting the man a sheepish smile over the table as you feel his thumb graze over your skin. “renjun, bro, i’m happy for you and all, but i think they can’t eat if their dominant hand is being held,” you hear haechan call out, making the table erupt into light laughter. renjun ignores him but fails to ignore the blush on his cheeks, threatening hyuck with a raised hand as a joke. he doesn’t care about the others, though, when he sees the wide smile on your face and feels the squeeze of his hand in yours.

→ JENO you know how he like has that “hhmnnnmh?” sound. idk how to explain it but the thing that he always does whenever one of the dream members do or say some weird shit. yea he’d do that. the first few times were out of genuine confusion, but as jeno became more used to your sounds and exclamations, he hummed out mostly as a reply to it. the atmosphere would go silent a little as he stares at you with his big, deer-caught-in-the-headlight eyes, and he holds that stare with you for a good 15 seconds LOL. def challenges you by wiggling his head around and then ending up tackling you to the couch or bed. if you’re sitting at a table the most he’d do is to probably land a kiss on your face after teasing you. mans just looking for an excuse to kiss you tbh.

“hhm?” jeno perks up to look to you, head tilted at an angle as you move closer to him at the dining table. his feigned surprise expression switches into a smile as he inches closer to you, ignoring your protests until there’s no more space left. jeno lets out a raspy laugh, lips coming into contact with your temple as the playful nature subsides.

→ HAECHAN the first time you do it, he lets out a dramatic gasp: hand to his mouth, jaw dropped etc. he’s a drama mama but you brush it off with a shove to his shoulder. hyuck def matches your energy like jaemin does but it’s mostly at the expense of his usual whines and pouts. you do it one time and the man does it ten times over. in no time he’s already cuddled up way too close to you with an arm around your waist and his head snuggled into your neck. he loves it when you say your phrases bc then he can exclaim something on his part like “very cute! but i’m cuter!” and you’d have to smack him or something. he dissolves into a fit of giggles along with the usual teasing, but other than that he likes communicate his fondness of your habit through physical touch.

moving around the project you had just bought wasn’t difficult but you couldn’t help the phrase that came naturally each time. “can you make that sound too when you’re riding-“ you don’t waste any time to land a mild slap on his forearm, gaining a laugh from your boyfriend who casually stated it during your movie night. your glare speaks tons, but haechan doesn’t care as he’s all smiles into your hair before continuing the movie. you, too, relax, knowing it was all fun banter that made your time with him all the more enjoyable.

→ JAEMIN oh my god jaem would match your energy 100%, even if the energy isn’t that high as he usually portrays himself in nct videos. with you, he’s a bit more reserved and kept to himself, but he likes it and you like it, too. when you’re moving past someone and make a noise he echoes you in the same manner you said it. and then the smile that comes after? omg 10/10!! beautiful smile!! jaemin just melts at your silly habit and the widest smile spreads across his face tbh. if you’re saying it while you’re alone with him i can see him just laughing and giggling at the words you manage to exclaim, cooing over how cute you are in his arms. jaem best boy

the ring of jaemin’s laughter fills your ears as your butt scoots closer to him, engaging him in the same fun sounds that you frequently make. jaemin repeats it in an exaggerated way, shooting you the biggest grin before pecking your forehead, “ah… why are you so cute (y/n)…” you easily nuzzle into his embrace, relishing in the warmth of his natural body heat and the arm around your waist.

→ CHENLE would counter your sound with a weird sound of his own. i know jaemin makes weird sounds but this man is on a whole other level PLSS. if you’re feeling playful you would reply and this feud of some sort would just continue until one of the other members ask you two to shut up, which would of course result in chenle’s recognisable dolphin laugh. even if you’re a little tired, i feel like the energy would still be up a little, so expect some prodding at your cheek or sides and kiss attacks from the mans. he would definitely coo, but not in the cheesy, cutesy way jaemin would. chenle has a more teasing and outgoing nature to him. it’s relentless and you’d have to stop him at some point but he’s making you laugh and having such a good time so you admire him instead.

the shrill sound fills your ears, responding to your phrase with one of his own. when you reply, he does it too, which prompts you to sigh in resignation at his endless energy. chenle catches on, but doesn’t press on further, instead entertaining you by giving you endless pecks on your forehead, your nose, your cheeks, your lips. you name it. the laugh he had, now, was more muted, liking the way your sounds of mixed protest and joy meant the opposite, “hey stop! baobei, you’re messing up my hair!”

→ JISUNG the poor boy would jump a little, but he finds himself being able to connect your actions to the sound you would make. i think the only time he would be really started was if you exclaimed a new phrase or if the action itself takes him off guard. like almost colliding with him in a hallway or popping up behind the fridge. jisung would have the littlest hint of a smile on his face, although he tries not to show it that much. i feel like he also would chuckle to himself quietly. he likes the quirk a lot that he finds himself thinking about it from time to time and even picking it up for fun one day. it felt so natural to do it that he just started to do it, too. maybe not as often as you do though! he usually cringes at it tho LMAO he doesn’t know how you make it sound so endearing. his reaction would be also just be a moment of “omg that was so cute, i love them so much”

as you land on the sofa with a sound spilling from your lips, you don’t miss jisung’s flinch at your appearance. “that one’s new,” his eyes are wide, but it eventually melts into a smile. he naturally leans back as he accepts the defeat shown on the television screen, but you don’t miss a beat to snatch the controller from him, going ahead to play the game in his stead. as you curl up by his side, you quickly beat your boyfriend at the level as his arm curls around your torso cautiously. jisung can only smile in the moment, finding that it was reaching his ears when you tease him again about the easy level.

258 notes · View notes

anna-justice · 3 years

Text

Crash My Party - Upstead

Summary: Hailey receives some terrible news and suffers a severe panic attack, and like always, Jay is there for her. (Pre-Established Upstead/8x03 never happened)

Warnings: fluff, swearing, maybe mentions of violence

Requested: Yes! #66, “I can’t do this alone anymore.”

…

The walk up the stairs to his apartment building seemed longer than normal. Her hands shook as she fiddled with her keys, the clinking creating white noise that echoed through the stairwell. She pushed the door at the top open and made her way down the hall, subconsciously reading the numbers on every door as she passed.

When she reached his door, she took a deep breath, running her hand through her blonde hair that - for once - was falling over her shoulders. She raised her hand to knock, but held it there for a second. Something about this didn’t seem right, her showing up unannounced with a million things to drop on him. Even though they had both done it a thousand times, there was always a voice in the back of her head that told her that it wasn’t his problem.

She fought the feelings and knocked on the door, shifting on her heels as she waited. She stared at the ground and squinted hard, pushing the possible tears back down. The door swung open a few seconds later, revealing a smiley and very shocked Jay. Hailey watched as his face contorted from a big grin to confused, and then to concern. She wished the floor would just swallow her up. “Hailey?”

“Hey.” She said quietly. She knew she should have called or texted, or maybe even stayed home to face it alone, but she always felt better after a drink with him. After the day she had, she just needed to be close to him.

Jay stepped slightly in front of the door, closing it partly behind him. It was then Hailey realized he probably wasn’t alone. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He asked, genuinely.

Hailey blinked back tears for the upteenth time that day, the thought of Jay spending his Friday night with any other girl but her cut deep. She knew she was jumping to conclusions, but right now, he heart couldn’t take it.“Yeah, yeah, I-”

“Jay!” Someone called from inside the apartment, “What’s taking you so long to get a pizza?” Jay’s cheeks heated up and Hailey let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Kevin.

“Oh, sorry.” Hailey said, fighting the urge to smile (an action that hadn’t crossed her mind in hours). He had company, and she didn’t want to interrupt, but every part of her was extremely relieved that it was just their friends hiding behind the door. “I didn’t realize you were busy. I’ll just go.” She turned to walk away, but Jay placed a hand on her shoulder, stepping out of the doorway.

He shook his head, “I’m not. It’s just the guys. What’s up?”

Hailey was opening her mouth to protest when she was interrupted again. “Jay, quit flirting with the delivery guy and get back in here. You’re missing the game.” Another voice yelled, which Hailey assumed was Severide.

Jay held up his hand, motioning for her to give him a second. He leaned his head back in the apartment, “Give me a second.” He shouted.

“Jay, really, it’s fine. I’ll see you later.” She said, trying (and failing) to give him a reassuring smile.

Jay cocked an eyebrow at her, “You sure?” Hailey nodded, even though she wasn’t. Even though hers was long gone, she didn’t want to ruin his night.

She was about to leave again when they heard footsteps behind them, “Okay, I need to see what this girl looks like-” The door swung open to reveal Will, who stopped dead in his tracks. “Hailey, hi.” He said, a lot louder than he needed too. Hailey blushed and Jay rolled his eyes. Will glanced between the two of them, a tiny smirk showing on his face. He looked at Jay, “Take your time.” Before either of them could say a thing, he shut the door.

Jay chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. “Uh, sorry about him. They thought you were the delivery guy.”

Hailey nodded, “Yeah, I got that.”

He took her in, noticing the fading tear marks on her cheeks and the half smile on her face. She wasn’t okay, and he knew that. “You wanna come in? We have beer and a hockey game.” He asked, gesturing at the door.

Hailey shook her head, glancing at the ground. “That’s okay. You guys have a good night.”

“Yeah, you too.” They both retreated to where they came from, Jay shutting the door and leaning against it. He couldn’t shake the sad look in her eyes. He made his way back to his couch, surprised to see the three grown men already there watching him expectantly. “What?”

“How’s Hailey?” Will asked, smirking again.

Jay sighed, “I don’t really know, she looked upset.” He glanced between the three of them. “I think I need to…” He said, looking back at the door.

“Of course, man, we get it.” Kevin said, taking a swig of his beer.

“Yeah,” Kelly agreed, “We’ll just sit here, drink your beer and eat your food.”

“And miss you.” Will added and Jay rolled his eyes, “Seriously, it’s Hailey, go.”

Jay smiled at his friends, “Thanks guys.” He grabs his coat and his keys and was out the door in a matter of seconds.

They heard the door close behind him and Kelly shook his head, taking a sip of his drink. He nodded his head in the direction that Jay left. “He’s so whipped.”

Kevin and Will both laughed, nodding in agreement. “So…” Will said.

“It’s honestly kind of sad.”

…

By the time Hailey made it inside of her apartment, she was pulling hard on her fingers. She could feel her pulse picking up, and the pain of squeezing her anxious hands was keeping her grounded. It felt like it was a hundred degrees inside and she aggressively pushed off her coat, throwing it over a chair. She crossed the room, gripping the edge of her counter while trying to focus on her breathing.

Her chest felt tight and her knuckles were white from her tight grip. She clamped her eyes shut, pushing herself away from the counter and squeezing her hands in a fist at her sides. She stood in the center of the room, looking up at the ceiling as she blinked back tears. She wouldn’t cry again, no, she couldn’t cry again. That didn't stop her though, the salty liquid began to trickle down her face.

Hailey let out a frustrated groan - the distraught noise coming out very un-Hailey-like - and gasped for air, finding her way back to the counter. She refused to give in, it had been so long since this had happened, and she was going to fight like hell to make sure it didn’t follow through. She thought she was past it, she thought she was old enough to deal with things correctly.

However, her mind and her body had a different idea. Her chest burned and her throat felt like sandpaper, she almost didn’t even notice her phone buzzing on the counter. She absently reached out and picked it up, letting out a sob as she read the caller ID. A second later, her phone hit the wall next to her, shattering and falling to the floor along with any sense of calm she had left.

She heaved, she felt almost like she was floating. The only thing keeping in place was the counter in front of her. She finally let herself slip, she stopped fighting the pain and let it consume her.

Jay was almost to her door when he heard the crash inside, “Hailey!” He yelled, immediately kicking the door in (not even bothering to see if it was open).

Everything happened so fast. The commotion behind her caused Hailey to look up from her fixed gaze on the granite and the sudden movement sent her head spinning. Jay watched it all happen, catching her just before she hit the floor. “Hailey, Hailey.” He said, panicking. She slumped against her chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Jay held her to him on instinct, noticing her trembling body. “Hailey breathe, please.” He said, trying to sit her up as she heaved.

“I can’t, I can’t,” She choked out, clutching her chest. Her crying continued as Jay wracked his brain for what to do. He was sure she was having a panic attack, he had had quite a few of his own, but he was in shock. His calm - put together - force to be reckoned with - Hailey was nowhere to be found.

He shifted so that he was in front of her, hands braced on her upper arms to keep her upright. “Look at me Hailey, deep breaths. It’s okay, everything is going to be okay.”

She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. “Make it stop,” She gasped, “Please Jay, make it stop. It hurts.”

Jay felt his heart clench in his chest, he absolutely hated seeing her like this. And it was probably good that he had no idea what was going on, because otherwise he would be planning a murder in his mind. “Hailey,” He said, but she was lost somewhere. “Hailey, look at me.” His words were gentle, but firm, and it grabbed her attention. Her head snapped up and her teary blue eyes met his. He cracked a smile, letting his hand slide up to her shoulder. “Good, now try to match my breathing.” She nodded, fixing her eyes on his chest and watching it rise and fall.

They sat on the floor together for at least fifteen minutes. Hailey watching Jay breath steadily and trying to match it. She was hyper focused, she didn’t dare let her mind wander. It had proven to be dangerous territory. Jay though, he felt like his brain was going to explode.

When Hailey finally felt like she could control herself, she slid onto her bottom, leaning her back against the kitchen counter. She ran her hands on her eyes and pulled her knees to her chest, partly to collect herself, partly because she was absolutely mortified. She sniffled, taking a few deep breaths on her own.

Jay relaxed as well, sitting back on his heels and keeping his distance. His eyes never left her, like if he looked away she would fall apart again. She looked so sad, so scared and it made him feel physically ill. “I think I broke your door.”

Hailey laughed out loud at his bad excuse for lightening the mood, “It’s okay.” She said quietly, running a hand under her nose. They sat there for a moment, just looking at each other. Hailey felt a strange sense of calm, one that she only felt around him, and it was a nice contrast to the past hour of pure panic.

“Are you okay?” He asked, giving her a pointed look.

It felt like such a loaded question, and honestly it was one. Jay had asked her that a million times, but there was no doubt that this time was different, she couldn’t backtrack this, not after what just happened. And as easy and safe to brush it off her shoulder and tell him that she was fine, she couldn’t, and she didn’t want to. Hailey’s gaze shifted down and she shook her head slowly.

Jay sat in front of her, legs crossed and a somber expression on his face. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Hailey sniffled again, shaking her head. She rested it in her hand and took him in, something about him sitting on her kitchen floor felt so right. So right that she didn’t want to ruin it with how wrong everything in her life was. She didn’t want to tell him that her mom called her for the first time in years to tell her that her father was dying - and not only that - but that she wanted Hailey to come see him and possibly donate a piece of her major organ to him. She didn’t want to admit that she couldn’t do it, that she couldn’t bring herself to save him. She didn’t want to tell him that despite all the terrible things her father had done, she still felt sadness over his possible passing. She didn’t want him to know that a mere phone call had sent her into such a tailspin. She didn’t want him to know anything.

But here he was, looking at her the way no one else ever had, caring in a way no one else ever had. What was she supposed to do with that? “I can’t do this alone anymore.” It came out quiet, and neither of them were sure that she was actually talking to him. It felt more like a realization than anything.

“Hailey,” Jay said, taking the hand that was resting on her knee on her own. “You don’t have to, you never had to.”

The look on her face when he said those words was something Jay would never forget, the utter shock that showed so clearly. It pained him at how surprised she looked to hear something that had never been a second thought to him. She was his rock, his compass, at this point, maybe his entire life. How did she not see it?

“I thought it would be easier, to ignore it all.” She said, eyes glassing over again. She leaned her head against the wall, sighing. “I just can’t run fast enough to escape it.” Jay gave her a soft, but pointed look, urging her to continue. “My dad, um, he’s sick. Really sick, and, my mom, she called me to tell me. And she asked if I would come see him and if I would -” She laughed cynically “- if I would consider giving him a piece of my liver.”

“What?” Jay said, the word sort of just tumbling out of his mouth.

Hailey nodded her head, giving him a fake, tight lipped smile, “Yep.” She took a breath, “I don’t know, it was like years and years of suppressed pain just all came flooding back at once. So I went to your place, but you were busy and…” She gestured to them, implying that that is why they ended up where they were. “I’m sorry, that you had to see me like that.”

“Don’t apologize, I’m glad I was here.” Jay said, brushing his thumb over the back of her hand that was still in his. “I always want to be here, you just have to let me in.”

The genuine and vulnerable look in his eye was too much for Hailey to handle, so she avoided his gaze. “I don’t know, you seem to be pretty good at getting in on your own. You did break my door.”

Jay laughed, knowing that the joke was meant to offset the realness of the moment. He didn’t blame her, he was scared too. “I’m serious Hailey, this is where I want to be. All the time, with you.”

Her breath caught in her throat. Here he was: her beautiful, emotionally stunted, action first partner laying his heart on the floor in front of her. “I want you here.”

“Good,” He said, “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each of them lost in their own thoughts. There was so much more that needed to be said, so much more that needed to be clarified, but at that moment it didn't matter. They were just them. “Is it bad that I don’t want to help him, does that make me a terrible person?” Hailey asked, breaking the silence.

“No,” Jay said immediately, “Not at all. It means you are strong.” She nodded, but Jay could tell that she didn't really believe him. “Hailey you are the strongest person I know, you make me stronger, you make me better. He doesn’t deserve your help, especially if you don’t want to give it.” He stood up, holding out a hand to her and pulling her up off the floor. “He doesn’t deserve your forgiveness.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to forgive him.” She confessed.

Jay shrugged, “That’s okay.”

Hailey looked up at him, complete adoration in her eyes. He smiled down at her and even though she had doubted it before, she didn’t now. Something was different, something had shifted, he felt the same way she did and it was dulling the ache inside her. “Jay-” She started.

“I know.” He said, his grin growing a bit. “Me too. But we don’t have to talk about any of that right now. Let’s just get some sleep.”

Hailey hesitated, the thought of being alone terrifying her. “Will you be here when I wake up?” She asked, fixing her gaze on the floor in between them.

“Hailey,” Jay said, taking a step forward and cupping her cheek with his hand, “I promise, I’m not going anywhere.”

…

A/N: This was so fun to write, also, I’m alive haha. Sorry I haven’t posted in forever, I am so ridiculously busy, but I’m hoping that within the next month I can start posting regularly again. Thanks for reading! <3

#jay halstead #hailey upton #upstead #hailey upton x jay halstead #chicago pd #one chicago #will halstead #kelly severide #kevin atwater

105 notes · View notes

missskzbiased · 3 years

Text

I Hate That I’m Afraid to Love You (17)

Genre: Romance, Friendship, Angst, Hurt /Confort , Suggestive, Fluff, College Au, Enemies to Friends to Lovers Au, REALLY Slow burn, Love Square (?)

Pairing: Hyunjin X Fem!Reader X Han X OC

WC: ~ 7,5,K

[Previous] [Chap] [Next]

Masterlist

Warnings (general*): Language, Mentions of (Physical abuse, Death/ Loss of Loved One, Child Abandonment/Neglect, Divorce, Toxic Parents, Cancer, Mental disorder, Anxiety Attack, Alcohol, Food), Suggestiveness

Notes: It’s Hyunjin’s Pov. I got to finish chapter 18 today. Probably gonna try to write some of 19 later. I’m posting earlier just because I’m really tired and I’m afraid I might be too sleepy later LOL

Updates: Tuesdays

////

HYUNJIN’S POV

You were being ridiculous.

You crossed your legs, sighing as you stared at both cups in your hands in wonder. Why would you be sitting on a bench on a Monday morning with two cups of coffee ─ well, actually one cup of black coffee and one of iced Americano ─ if not to wait for someone? It was so painfully obvious that for a second you thought about throwing them away in the trash and acting as if you weren’t a… You didn’t even know how you should be calling yourself now.

You scowled, getting up from the bench and heading to the closest trash bin, settled in assuming your usual fuckboy façade to try to approach Y/N. Why would you act differently now? It wasn’t like you loved her or something… Maybe you were a little bit infatuated by the fact that she could listen and understand you better than anyone else –

See? That kind of awfully awful thought… You should be ashamed.

You kinda were.

“Hey” Yeah… Of course, she would see and talk to you at the exact same moment you were about to throw coffee away for absolutely no reason. You exhaled slowly, closing your eyes to recompose yourself before turning around with a smug smile.

“Hey” You offered back in a husky tone.

“Did you scratch your throat or something?” She asked in confusion, frowning as she stared at your neck “You sound… I don’t know… Kinda different?” She said unsurely, hands trailing to her own throat and massaging it mindlessly.

Great… Exactly the reaction you wanted.

“Oh, no!” You cleared your throat, massaging it as well “I bought these drinks and I drank yours by mistake” You explained, handing her the cup. She narrowed her eyes at you, studying you closely before reaching for it.

“Thanks…” She said warily “What’s the occasion?” She asked, tilting her head, eyes wandering around your face before she sipped the coffee, humming in appreciation “This is really good!” She raised her brows in surprise, shifting her gaze to the cup.

“Well, I stopped by a café to buy some for me on my way here, and… Well, I remembered you have an exam today, right?” You smiled at her, knowing far too well that what you just said was bullshit “I thought you could use some real coffee today” You shrugged.

“I don’t have an exam today…” She frowned, holding the cup with both hands as she thought about it.

You fought back a smile, watching as she scrunched her nose and tried to figure out what was going on; lips slightly projected forward in something close to a pout but not quite. The way she held the cup with both hands made her look smaller than usual, and for some reason, you found it incredibly endearing. There was something soft spreading in your chest, some kind of warmth that made you want to wrap her in your arms and squeeze her but you ignored it.

Y/N wasn’t the cute little type… She would hit you for sure if you tried to do anything similar to this. You were yet to understand how she didn’t just kill you after the fake kiss at the stairs… You were lucky as fuck. She raised her eyes to you in question, making you gulp down. You had those eyes so close to yours… That nose brushing against yours… Those lips…

“You don’t? I must have heard it wrong then” You lied, sipping your drink mindlessly. Or at least, you hoped she thought all of it was natural and unplanned “Well, you like coffee anyway…” You shrugged, glancing at her as you walked together towards the stairs “Consider it a friendship treat” She hummed, nodding in mock acknowledgment.

“Why does it sound like a poor excuse to buy me something?” She laughed, nudging your side “It’s awesome to have two rich friends to pay for my stuff” She joked, taking another gulp of her coffee “I guess this one is pretty good because it doesn’t even feel like grumpy o’clock anymore” You laughed at this, smirking at her.

“Maybe it’s not the coffee but my company” You said suggestively, wiggling your brows at her, making her chuckle, “Or it could be the sugar” You said playfully, grinning when she took the bait.

“Not really, those from the stands are usually really sweet… This one is actually way more bitter than I’m used to” She admitted ��But it’s g—“ You didn’t even let her finish.

“Oh? So you’re saying you prefer sweet things?” You could tell she knew you were about to make some silly input just by the way she arched her brow in expectation “If you want some more sugar, I can be your Sugar Daddy, you know?” You joked, fighting back your laughter as she grimaced at you, huffing.

“Really?” She couldn’t help but chuckle “That must have been the worst pick up line you have said in your whole life” She pointed out, grimace dissolving into a playful expression “You’re too young to be my sugar daddy, though” She reminded you, shaking her head in amusement.

“I can be your honey, then” You chortled when she choked on her coffee, pushing your shoulder lightly as she looked at you astonished.

“Oh my God… You’re a compulsive flirter, what the hell!” She whined, wiping her mouth “How can you come and show your face when you’re like this?!” She asked dumbfounded, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Did you look at my face? There is nothing to be ashamed of here” You joked, and she grimaced again in mocking disgust “Come on! You love me just like this” You said in a singsong “You said so yourself” You reminded her, making her snort.

“I do love you just like this” She agreed, offering you a small smile that made your heart flutter for a second “The amount of self-esteem oozing out of your ass is going to be my thesis’ theme, so I have to love it” You rolled your eyes when her small smile dissolved into a mocking one “I may even get a prize… I don’t think someone ever saw something as big as this” She joked, making you snort.

You opened your mouth to retort her but she beat you to it.

“Please… No comments about your dick and your hook-ups” She pleaded, furrowing her brows at you in disgust.

“Hey, I wasn’t going to say something like this!” You protested, even though it did cross your mind “I was going to smoothly change the subject to the book I couldn’t finish reading because I had to save Han’s ass that day” You threw her your best condescending smile, getting a knowing mumble as an answer.

“ I see… So you want the juicy gossip” She mocked, making you roll your eyes “I have the book back if that’s what you want… But the coffee and that not so smooth change of the subject make me think that you want to know more” She smirked.

“Not really” You shrugged, though you really wanted to know, “I just want the book back so I can finally finish it” You lied, and she nodded, clearly not buying your words “I mean it” You tried to emphasize your fake intentions but she just rolled her eyes.

“What do you wanna know?” She asked bluntly, stopping to rummage through her bag before handing you the book “We’re okay now… He needs more time and I’m okay with it” She summarized, zipping her bag close “Everything is fine and I’m late for my classes” She chuckled, hoisting the bag over her shoulder.

“So… He talked to you like an actual human being?” You sneered, and she threw you a look before sighing.

“Yes… He made a good point, to be honest” She giggled, remembering something from their conversation “He was afraid to talk to me about needing more time because he knew I’d go and try to convince him otherwise” She seemed to find it funny “Anyway… He has a lot to deal with right now, and I can wait for him to act normal again” She shrugged.

“I see…” You pursed your lips, patting the book’s cover distractedly “And what about Paris? She told me she kinda confessed to him…” You cleared your throat, trying to change the subject again.

She narrowed her eyes at you, suspicious of your question.

////

The book was good but that wasn’t the only reason for you to be here.

You looked around the library, trying to find an inner excuse to be here apart from returning the book to Y/N, but finding nothing interesting enough. You leaned on the counter, waiting for her to show up as you mindlessly flipped through the pages, clearing your throat to see if you could catch her attention on the back. As much as you felt ridiculous doing things like this, there you were acting like a needy crushing boy…

What goes around comes around.

Would you even imagine that one day you would be trying to catch someone’s attention instead of simply having it on your own terms? No. You wouldn’t. You could just return the book to her tomorrow ─ when you would see her in class anyway ─ but you choose to come to the library on a Thursday afternoon just to do it… Someone should be stopping you from being… A Han or something.

Ugh.

“Oh!” She blurted when she came back to the counter, looking at you with curious eyes “What are you doing here?” She asked interested, suddenly frowning and seeming to think deeply “Shouldn’t you wait like… I don’t know some weeks to break up yet?” She seemed genuinely confused by your presence, and you found it too amusing.

“Can’t I come here to visit a friend?” You teased, arching your brow as you failed to fight back your smile.

“I mean- Well, yeah…” She floundered, clearing her throat “It’s kinda unexpected” She admitted, chuckling “Not even Chan comes to visit me in here and he actually likes to read” She joked, and you leaned on her way, resting your chin on your palm as you smirked at her.

“Well, maybe you should pick me instead” You suggested, looking into her eyes with your best alluring look but the girl seemed to be built to ignore all your charms.

“You wish” She snorted “At least, Chan doesn’t jokingly flirt with me all the time!” She rolled her eyes, bumping your nose playfully before organizing some books on a desk behind her.

“Neither do I” You said sincerely but she laughed dismissively.

Well, you weren’t jokingly flirting with her… She was just too dense.

“Anyway!” You shrugged off, placing the book on the counter with a thud “I’m here to give it back to you” You smiled at her as she glanced over her shoulders “I’ve finished it and I hate to admit it but you were right… It’s really good” And you weren’t just saying it.

“Oh? Better than your drama?” She taunted, grinning mischievously.

“You’re getting ahead of yourself” You grimaced at her, making her giggle “But I was wondering… Do you have any more indications? I may have liked it enough to read some more…” You muttered, and she smiled knowingly at you.

“I always have some good indications!” She chirped “I knew you would like it! We have a section here that is filled with books that might be of your liking… Do you want to check them out?” She asked excitedly, and you had to fight back the urge to coo at her.

She was too cute for her own good.

“Well… Why not?” You shrugged as if you weren’t interested at all “I can help you out with those” You gestured to the books pile behind her “And then you can show me this section… Maybe I’ll find something I like” She smiled at you, picking up the books and placing them on the counter for you to have access to them.

“Sounds great!” She said, studying you from head to toes “And kinda suspicious too…” She narrowed her eyes, a grin plastering on her face “First you buy me coffee and then you help me out with my work? Spill the beans” She said teasingly, and you looked at her with unimpressed eyes.

“If Chan was the one doing it… Would you find it suspicious?” You asked, arching your brow at her “You’ve been saying I’m too flirty and all that… But I’m beginning to think that you like to think I’m flirting with you, Y/N” You smiled condescendingly at her, tilting your head in a silent mockery.

“I didn’t say you were flirting with me now” She pointed out, grimacing at you judgingly “I said you were being suspicious” She reiterated “Maybe you’re the one who likes to think I want you to flirt with me, Hyunjin” She sneered, making you scoff as you looked away.

She was a too attentive piece of shit…

How could she be so perfect?

For Lord’s sake… You were wasted.

////

You were lucky enough to not be soaked to the bones.

You walked into the classroom, fingers running through your wet hair in a slow-motion that wasn’t really intended but also not completely unplanned. You didn’t mean to make it an event but what could you do? You knew what people wanted to see. You stopped in front of the board, fixing your hair as you looked at Y/N, licking the drop of water that reached the corner of your lips.

You lifted your chin just a little bit, half-lidded eyes fixing on your friends as you stretch your neck, letting the drops slid down your throat to your covered collarbone. You could hear some gasps around, and the quiet admiration fueled your ego as you shook your head to get rid of some of the water in it. You licked your lips, biting them before making your way to your seat.

You felt Y/N’s eyes on you, lighting up your smugness.

“Morning” You smirked, tilting your head as you threw her a look, eyebrows millimetrically positioned to give off the confident and sexy vibe you were aiming for “How are you today, ladies?” You asked jokingly, taking off your coat.

“Cold” Y/N answered mindlessly, studying you from head to toes.

You chuckled at her ─ making sure your voice sounded husky enough to enhance your attempt to look desirable ─ dusting off your shirt that was half-way opened. You noticed how she fixed her gaze on your bare chest for a second, though you couldn’t really tell what was going through her mind, and you smirked at her as she did. You opened your mouth, ready to tease her about it. The ‘Like what you see?’ almost slipping from your lips.

“Aren’t you feeling cold like this?” She asked in utter confusion “It’s freezing outside…” She added, tilting her head and looking at you as if you had three heads “Didn’t you see it was going to rain today? Do you need a coat? I can ask Chan to pick up something in my room” She offered, and you had to fight all your instincts not to scowl at her.

I can ask Chan to pick up something in my room… Tsk.

Unbelievable.

You glared at Paris as she snorted, looking at you filled with amusement. You grimaced, pretending to laugh along with her before sulking and sitting down. She pinched her nose’s bridge, trying to concentrate enough to not laugh straight to your face. You were surrounded by great friends… You scoffed, shaking your head in disbelief as you buttoned up your shirt.

“What are you talking about, Y/N?” Paris asked playfully “Can’t you see that he’s too hot to be cold?” She mocked you, giving you a teasing look that quickly turned out in a pained one as you stepped on her foot.

“I don’t think that’s how it works” Y/N chuckled, resting her cheek on her palm and leaning forward on her seat to look at both of you.

“Don’t you think he’s hot enough for heating up the room?” She continued her teasing, and you had to breathe deeply not to slap the back of her head.

“You guys are so funny… Ha!Ha!Ha!” You rolled your eyes, huffing.

////

You should thank God for not being a spy.

You couldn’t really say you were doing a good job at hiding your newfound feelings ─ though feelings might be too strong of a word ─ from your friends. It was more than obvious that Chan would find suspicious the fact that you just fucking snapped your head to the mere mention of her name on the phone. So right now ─ as you sat on the couch, back straightened unnaturally ─, his eyes seemed to shoot a hole in your head to search for something in your soul.

“What?” You spat annoyed, trying to cover up for your slip-up with some fed-up manners that were bound to make him go away if you were lucky.

You weren’t.

“What?” He repeated fascinated “I’m the one who should be asking it” He chortled “You almost broke your neck just to pry into my call” He pointed out, brow arching up in suspicion. You pretended not to notice his narrowed eyes and musing; humming before he finally asked it “Hyunjin… Are you into Y/N?” the amusement under his tone was heavy enough to hit you like a brick.

“Please… What is there to like about her?” You scoffed, but Chan didn’t buy it at all. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning his back on the counter as he studied you with attentive eyes. You cleared your throat, averting your eyes from him before connecting them again.

“Well… You tell me” He sneered “I wasn’t the one who got hard because she was on my lap” He reminded you; the teasing mixing with contempt as he huffed “I also wasn’t the one who spent weeks fucking random chicks trying to get the idea of fucking her out of my system” You paled at this, the cold sweat getting to your palms.

“I wasn’t trying to –” He interrupted you with a scoff.

“With all due respect… I have known you for years, Hyunjin” He rolled his eyes “You have never once fucked so many girls in a short amount of time like this… And just after you had a boner like a bloody teenager?” He snickered, grimacing at you knowingly “It sounds like someone was trying to prove something to themselves and failed” He tilted his head, challenging you to say otherwise.

“To be fair, I didn’t fail…” You muttered grumpily “It was all good until she talked with me…” You were fully aware that you weren’t making any sense, grumbling like a kid that had just been separated from their toy.

“Care to enlighten me?” He smirked.

Yes, I do! Fuck off…

This is none of your business!

What do you have to do with it? Are you her boyfriend?

“There isn’t much to tell…” You answered instead, shrugging at him “I realized that we have more in common than I thought… And it felt good to be listened to and have someone who understands me…” You cleared your throat “I was pretty much convinced that it was just a thirsty episode after…” You hummed, trying to search for a good word “That week…” You trailed off.

“So you actually fucked her out of your mind” He chuckled, finding it funny the way you tried to be polite about it now.

“Yeah…” You agreed embarrassed “And then she started to go after Han and it got me really mad because… Well, you know” You rolled your eyes “She was trying to make it all better and he was treating her like shit and…” You glanced at him uncertain but as his smirk dissolved into a serious expression, you knew he had understood it “Yeah” You concluded warily.

“It doesn’t answer my question” He pointed out, and you sighed.

Would he be less attentive someday?

“So I kinda pretended to kiss her to throw him off…” You mumbled, and you never saw Chan straightening his back so fast before “But I had my thumb over her lips!” You blurted, eyes widening as he uncrossed his arms.

“You did what?!” He sounded more surprised than mad, brows arched in utter disbelief “And it didn’t cross your mind to tell me this?!” He chortled “Didn’t she punch you or something? She definitely can take you down in a blink of an eye” He mused, looking for any bruises on you.

“She didn’t” You admitted, still finding it strange “I guess I was too hurt and she saw right through me… She knew that there was something wrong and she wanted to listen to me… So we talked it through and…” You played with your hands, glancing at Chan in expectation “Well, I don’t know what else to say” You shrugged.

“Just say you like her” He suggested, chuckling at you.

And that was exactly the thought you were trying to avoid all this time.

What was it to like someone? You had asked yourself thousands of times already. Was it about what you wanted them to see in you? Was it about what you wanted from them? Was it about how you felt when you were with them? Was it about the understanding between each other? Was it about wanting to be with them?

You wanted her to see you as the best one out there.

Although you found this urge silly and embarrassing, you kept acting like a fool every single time you were around her. You thought that trying to make someone like you, acting differently around them, and trying to convince them that you were the best version of yourself… It was definitely liking.

The problem was that as much as you wanted her to notice you and see you under a whole new light, you knew that there was no need to hide anything… She knew the deepest and darkest parts of you and didn’t run away. So, yeah! Maybe you were putting too much effort ─ even if you weren’t planning to do so ─ into impressing her but you knew that it didn’t matter in the end.

She liked you just the way you were.

For you, liking someone meant to be obsessed with things that shouldn’t matter at all. You didn’t expect her to do anything special… You didn’t expect her to say sweet things to you, or take care of you, or run her fingers through your hair… Well, you kinda wanted it but it didn’t really matter. As long as you had her smiling and sharing things with you… As long as she could tease you and laugh with you when you guys stumbled over each other around the campus…

You didn’t want her to go out of her way for you.

You wanted to be on her way.

You couldn’t remember a time when you felt genuinely happy with a girl… You could remember being smug as you walked around with them as if they were your new trophy. You could remember being playful and teasing and thirsty… Well, you could definitely remember being thirsty a lot of times. Yet, you couldn’t remember feeling so… At home? You didn’t even know if you could actually say something like that.

It was like she could understand all of you and still welcome you at the end of her day. It was like she could set you on fire and give you some kind of light and warmth that you didn’t feel for ages. It was like being with her was an adventure and still, you didn’t fear anything when you were beside her.

It was humiliating to feel like this.

And you probably were a hell of a masochist because you loved it.

You had to be stupid to think that all that had come from a simple talk on a Friday afternoon. You knew it was much more than that. It came from years of being disgusted with each other… Hiding and searching for the greatest weakness you could find. It came from being vulnerable enough to open up and redeem yourselves… It came from accepting each other… It came from listening, sharing, teasing, healing…

You scoffed, nodding at Chan as you met his eyes.

“Yeah… Maybe I like her” You agreed, lowering your gaze to the floor.

The problem was that Friday didn’t show you how you liked her… It showed you every single thing you were trying to ignore until now. It showed you how much you have gone through and how much both of you were connected to some extent.

It showed you that liking wasn’t quite the word you were looking for.

////

The first step was to acknowledge your feelings.

Bullshit.

The first step should be you burying your feet into Chan and Paris’ heads so they could stop being so painfully obvious about all of it. Was it just in your head or were they actually working together to humiliate you right now? Maybe they were just too excited… To be fair, you couldn’t understand what was going on inside their heads anymore.

It wasn’t like knowing your friend’s favorite dish was a crime, right?

Apparently, to the two holy detectives that watched every single step of yours, it was the worst of the crimes; worthy of knowing looks and teasing kicks. What a great way to live your life. You deadpanned as you looked at them, arching your brows to see Paris giggling as she retreated her leg and Chan smirking in your way. You let a hint of disgust show on your face as you wandered your eyes between both of them, wondering why ordering Y/N’s favorite dish should be an event now.

So what that you wanted to please her?

“Isn’t that like your favorite dish, Y/N?” Paris decided to play innocent. The way you had to hold back to not kick her under the table ─ just like she had been doing with you every two minutes ─ was worthy of mention on Guinness Books.

“Won’t you go to the kitchen to cook it?” Chan arched his brow playfully, and you closed your eyes to breathe deeply, trying to stay composed. You opened your eyes to stare at him, lips quivering as you held back a grimace and laughed it off sarcastically.

Of course, Y/N laughed about it as well.

So maybe on Saturday ─ when you finally acknowledge your feelings to Chan after he invited her over for lunch ─ you had let it all go to your head and tried to pretend you were a good cooker… But did he need to expose you like that? What a great friend you had! You kinda expected Chan to tease you about your feelings but you also thought it would be something more… Private, to say the least.

So, I made it for you… You had said to her and as soon as those words came out of your mouth, Chan chortled, almost choking on his food, throwing you an amused look.

You meant made the order, right? He laughed, and Y/N giggled along with him, pushing your shoulder.

“Fucking hilarious” You snickered, scrunching your nose “You should drop Med school and try to be a comedian or something… You’re so talented” You added, utterly done with them.

“You make it too easy” Y/N mocked you, grinning as she rested her cheeks on her hands, leaning on the table “No, but seriously now!” She said, grinning dissolving to an attentive frown “Even though roasting Hyunjin is one of my favorites hobbies” You scoffed, rolling your eyes “Paris and I actually wanted to invite you guys to a party” You frowned at her conclusion, tilting your head, intrigued.

“A party?” You decided to make sure, suspicious of it.

“Yeah” Paris intervened, smiling at you “Minho got into a team!” She said excitedly, and you couldn’t help but snort, grimacing at her as if she had just told you the best joke ever.

“So what? We don’t even talk to him” You pointed out, getting a nod from Chan, who also seemed curious about their suggestion “I mean… Congratulations to him! But why would I go to a party because of this?” You questioned, narrowing your eyes at Paris.

“Well… Han—“ You chortled, poking your cheek with your tongue.

“Really?” You sneered “So Han suddenly have the time and the urge to speak to you again?” You rolled your eyes “Unbelievable…” You darted your eyes at both of them, frowning “And both of you are going to go?” You gestured between them, arching your brow.

“And hopefully you and Chan!” Paris chirped, trying to keep the mood at the table “Come on… He was having a hard time figuring everything out and finally, something worked for him!” She pleaded, offering you big doe eyes that didn’t make you flinch a bit “Come on, Hyunjin! Do it for the team!” She forced a smile, and you sighed, shoulders dropping as you did.

“What in the hell makes you think that we would agree to go to his party?” You asked tiredly “You know far too well that I don’t like him… He hates me, he punched me, he hurt Y/N… I don’t have a single reason to talk to him” You enumerated, pulling one finger at a time as you did.

“He’s our friend, Hyunjin” Y/N reminded you “We’ll keep talking and walking with him and if you both keep hating on each other it’ll make everything awkward” You scowled at her “Just saying!” She shrugged “You don’t need to come but Paris and I really want you and Chan to get along with him at some point” You tried to hold her gaze but ended up averting your eyes anyway, tsking.

“Well… I don’t have anything against him” Chan shrugged “I don’t need to go to a party to hang out with him… I hung out with Paris wanting to choke her every once in a while for all this time!” He added, chuckling as she tried to slap his arm.

“Will it hurt you to go to a party, Chan?” Y/N nagged, rolling her eyes and getting a chortle out of all of you “I’m counting on your Daddy vibes to keep Hyunjin under your wing and prevent them from fighting” She pouted, trying to convince him.

Ridiculous and yet cute… What the hell.

“I don’t even go to parties to have fun… Why would I ever go to babysit them?” He grimaced, arching his brow “Moreover… Pouting doesn’t work with me, Sweety” He smirked, patting her hand over the table “You’ll have to try a little bit harder” He sneered, and she kicked him under the table, smiling obnoxiously at him.

“Was that hard enough?” She taunted.

“What about a deal?” Paris interrupted, trying to negotiate “If we convince one of you to go by the end of the day, then both of you will come with us” She smirked, throwing you a smug look that made you scoff, tilting your head.

“Deal” You shook her hand.

There was no way that Chan would agree to go.

////

So you had a party on Saturday.

“How the hell did you convince him?” You whined, looking at Paris in a devasted way as you sauntered through the campus, trying to find a bench to sit down. She chuckled, nudging you and taking a look at your face before grinning mischievously, shrugging her shoulders.

“I have my ways…” She answered mysteriously, making you roll your eyes.

“You’re working together to play matchmaker, aren’t you?” She stuck her lower lip out, tilting her head in a mocking way that said ‘who knows?’ and making you shake your head in disbelief “You’re sly as hell” You whined, getting a chortle from her.

“Come on! You clearly need it!” She insisted “You’re being way too obvious, Hyunjin! Paying attention to her likings? Buying her coffee? Ordering food and pretending to cook it?” She snorted, grimacing at you playfully “Trying to seduce her with a half-opened shirt?” She broke into a fit of giggles, probably picturing the humiliating scene.

“Look, I wasn’t thinking straight at the time” You scowled at her, pouting as you thought about it “If it really was that obvious, she would have said something by now” You pointed out, and Paris snickered, giving you a thumb up in mockery.

“Yeah! Because Han was so subtle and she totally figured him out” She sneered, and you couldn’t bring yourself to disagree. In fact, Y/N was blind to any kind of romantic feelings. You could come with a bouquet and a love letter… She would still find a way to see it as a great gesture of friendship.

You were too naïve for your own good.

“It’ll be so cute to see the two of you dating!” She chirped, eyes twinkling as she clasped her hands together, finally sitting down on a bench. She looked straight at you, waiting for you to say something, but you couldn’t bring yourself to answer her at first.

Dating? Who said anything about dating? You didn’t want to date her… You frowned as you looked at Paris, unsure of what to say to her as you cleared your throat, wondering how you should put it. Yes, you might be in love with her but… Dating? You snorted. A relationship demanded too much from you… Were you ready to attach to someone like this?

You didn’t think so.

“What is it?” She narrowed her eyes at you, suspicious of your behavior “Why do you look like…” She studied you from head to toes before settling her gaze on your face “…This?” She floundered her hand around, gesturing at you with a disgusted frown.

“What do you mean?” You tried to play dumb, sitting down beside her.

“You know far too well what I’m talking about” She accused, eyes narrowing once again “Hyunjin, by any means are you thinking about playing with Y/N as you do to the other girls?” She asked cautiously, searching for any sign on your eyes that confirmed her assumption.

“Never” You reassured her, hand going to squeeze her knee “It’s just… I mean, I don’t think I’m ready to go all in, you know? Yeah, I like her and all this… She’s my dear friend and I may or may not be in…” You gulped down, eyes darting at her as you cleared your throat “…to her” You finished, afraid to speak your real feelings out loud.

“In…To her?” She snorted, looking away for a second before throwing you a look “You’re in love with her, that’s what you are” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief “You never did anything like this before, Hyunjin… You’re the type of guy who has people throwing themselves at your feet” She acknowledges, and you shrugged smugly, a playful smirk playing on your lips “Tell me one time you tried so hard to get someone’s attention” She requested, crossing her arms and leaning back on the bench in a silent challenge.

Romantically?

Not even once.

“Exactly” She grimaced, looking at you as if she could read your mind “If you don’t want to date her, why are you trying so damn hard? What is your point?” She asked skeptically, tilting her head as you opened your mouth to answer her.

Just to close it again in wonder.

She was right… Why were you trying to impress her so much if you had no intentions of actually getting into a relationship or something? It was more than obvious that Y/N wouldn’t be the kind to hook up with you and then just go with it… As far as you could tell, she had no experience in love. None. At all. There was no way she was going to just go with the flow and… And what? What were you expecting from all this?

“Hey, Hyunjin” The husky voice got you out of your thoughts, making you realize that someone was standing right in front of you. Not only someone. You remembered her from… Maybe a month ago? You couldn’t even remember last time you got laid “I haven’t heard from you for a while…” She continued; tone still sexy enough to turn your smug façade on “New catch?” She asked, studying Paris for a second, a subtle smirk on her lips.

“We’re just friends” Paris voiced your thoughts before you could, jolting her leg for you to let go of her knee. The girl chuckled, tilting her head as she seemed to eat Paris with her eyes, licking her lips before averting her eyes to you.

“Yeah… I’ve been his friend a couple of times too” She joked, winking at you “If you guys are up to more friends…” She let her sentence hang in the air, shifting her gaze in a suggestive way that made you flustered. Good Lord… She was asking Paris to join your… Oh my God.

“No need!” You blurted out, getting up abruptly “I mean- Do you want to be her friend?” You looked at Paris startled at the thought, getting furrowed brows that answered you right away “We don’t need any more friends, thank you!” You rushed to say, getting a blank stare before she averted her eyes to Paris, landing them on her for a few seconds.

“I see…” She hummed, smiling at both of you mysteriously before throwing a few glances over her shoulder as she walked away.

For some reason, it didn’t settle too well on your stomach.

////

You snorted, rolling your eyes as you smirked at Paris.

“I’m telling you!” She insisted, leaning forwards to slap Minho softly on the knee “The girl just came out of nowhere and suggested a threesome with me!” She laughed, leaning back on the chair as Minho huffed in disbelief.

“There’s no way” He looked at you in awe “I’ve heard your reputation but… I mean- Where can I sign in?” He joked, arching his brows playfully as he chuckled. He crossed his arms, letting his body relax on the chair as he looked at you in amusement, tilting his head as he seemed to ponder something.

It turned out that Minho wasn’t as unbearable as you thought.

“You’re not really my type” You fought back a smile as he scowled, nagging at you as he gestured mindlessly for you to get off of his tail “I guess you have to be born with a pretty face like me” You joked, and he groaned in answer, throwing his head back.

“Is that what you need to get girls now? Have an obnoxious attitude like this?” He scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief as he connected his gaze to you again, trying to hide his smile “You’re not really my type either, baby boy” He scorned, grimacing at you sarcastically.

“Who said he gets all the girls?” Paris teased, looking at you with grinning eyes that twinkled devilishly “A little bird told me that Hyunjin has a crush on someone and I haven’t seen him getting laid recently” You glared at her; lips quivering as you tried to hold back your frown.

“Wait” Y/N slowly raised her eyes from her beer, snapping them at you in surprise “You’re crushing on someone and everybody knows except me?” You paled, clearing your throat as you stared blankly at her, trying to think of an answer.

That’s how blind you are…

It’s not my fault you have such busybody friends!

Yep! Because that’s you.

“Aren’t you too interested in my love life?” You asked instead, trying to maintain a smug façade as you smirked at her, arching your eyebrow questioningly. She narrowed her eyes at you, seeing right through your attempt to change the subject. You hated when she did that… Yet, it was kinda endearing to know that she could figure you out like this.

“I won’t even begin to talk about how you’re always meddling in my life” She raised her hand as if to tell you to stop with your bullshit “You’re a fuckboy and you’re not getting laid! How can I not be curious about this?” She scoffed, making you chortle.

“I see… So you’re interested in my sex life” You corrected yourself, and she rolled her eyes “You can’t just live your sex life through me, sweetheart” You teased, pouting at her as she glared at you, clearly done with your teasing “You should have your own experiences… Actually having some sex instead of trying to stick your nose into my business” You chuckled as she huffed, poking her cheek with her tongue.

“Who said I didn’t?” She arched her brow in a challenge.

“What?” You asked, tilting your head in confusion as she gulped down her beer.

“Who said I didn’t get laid?” She repeated, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at you “I may not be like you but I had a share of affairs as well” She shrugged nonchalantly, and you could swear your jaw was on the ground by now.

“You’re not a virgin?!” You blurted out in utter surprise hand snapping to your mouth as soon as the question slipped from your lips “Sorry! I didn’t mean to ask that” You rushed to say but she just snorted.

“I always thought you were a virgin” Minho added anyway, sounding surprised as he frowned at you “You’re always working and eating hot dog… When the hell did you have the time to bang?” He asked in wonder, tilting his head “I can’t be the only one who’s not getting some here” He nagged, making you chortle.

“You guys are too naïve” Paris chuckled “Y/N was clearly the cool mysterious kid that had a bunch of people over her feet!” She reasoned, gesturing to Y/N to make her point “It’s obvious that she got laid at some point of her life! Just look at her” She stated matter-of-factly, giving you all a know-it-all look.

“Not really” Y/N chortled “I just got laid because I ended up hooking up with Chan—“ You could have choked to death right at that moment but as soon as you opened your mouth to gasp, Chan’s voice reached your ears, startling you to the point that your choking died on your throat.

“Hey, Sweety!” He called, interrupting her “Can you come over here?” He gestured for her to get closer, and she frowned at him, suspicious of his behavior “I wanna talk to you” He added, making her sigh in surrender.

You watched her making the way to Chan, attentive eyes glued on his figure as you tried to process what she had just said. So Chan and Y/N hooked up in the past? And they had sex?! You were kinda suspicious of them lately… You wouldn’t lie. The sheets all messed up in the morning? His comment on how she was like a beast? The way he inquired you about your feelings on that night? The way he held to the bulge incident? The way he spent over a week at her place?

They had to have something going on…

You clicked your tongue as you thought about it, furrowing your brows as she finally got to his side, being guided ─ and you didn’t fail to notice his hand on the small of her back ─ to somewhere more private. The thing that didn’t make any sense was that Chan was actually trying to help you out to get your feelings out of your chest… Why would he do that if he liked her? But again… Who said anything about liking? They could be just banging.

“Wow” Minho said as soon as she left, looking at you and Paris “So the rumors are true? They’re together?” He arched his brows in awe. As soon as he arched his, you frowned yours, confused by his question. What rumors?

“What are you talking about?” Paris asked, as lost as you.

“Haven’t you guys heard about it? I’ve heard Chan has been visiting her at the library and there are even some rumors talking about how he spent the night at her dorm” He explained, trying to find any signs on both of you that confirmed those rumors “Chan is quite popular, so I guess people just tend to pay attention to it… He also called her sweety right now, didn’t he?” You scoffed, poking your cheek.

“People talk too much” You reassured him “There is no way they’re dating… One of them would tell us” You looked into Minho’s eyes, shrugging “Never heard them fucking either” You added, shifting your gaze to Paris, looking for something that gave them away “So I guess those are just rumors…” You chuckled, trying to act nonchalantly.

You weren’t so sure yourself though.

////

Obviously I had to forget something LOL

Tag List: Guys, If you wish to get notifications to this fanfic, please go here

84 notes · View notes

currantlee · 3 years

Link

Language: English Rating: General Audiences (G) / P6 Warnings: - Fandom: Kingdom Hearts Genre: Slice of Life Characters: Roxas, Kairi Relationships: Roxas & Kairi Words: 5,118 Chapter: 1/1 Beta: No beta, I’ll die like Ven (didn’t in KHUX) Notes: I apologize if there are any vocab / grammar errors as English is not my first language. I hope you enjoy it regardless 😊

Roxas blocked the strike just in time. He had thought Kairi was aiming for his hands in order to knock the struggle bat out of his hand, but as it turned out, she had aimed for his legs instead.

He staggered backwards. Her strikes weren’t exactly powerful – she wasn’t the strongest fighter in general, neither on offense nor on defense. A single well-placed hit could render her incapable of going on in a serious fight. But Kairi was quick enough to avoid most if not all of these, and her impossibly high stamina was giving Roxas a hard time actually securing any kind of hit in their current sparring session. He knew he was running out of strength, and the hot, humid air of Destiny Islands wasn’t doing him any favor either. If he didn’t manage to land a hit soon…

Another strike followed swiftly, but this time, he didn’t manage to block it – she hit his arm full-force. Which, considering that it was Kairi, wasn’t much. But even with just a Struggle bat as a weapon, it was enough for Roxas to drop one of his bats.

She didn’t give him any chance to recover, let alone counter. At least Roxas was able to block the next strike this time, even though he already missed the bat he’d dropped. He really was better off dual-wielding.

Kairi aimed for his legs once more – no, wait, she was aiming for his flank! He managed to jump out of the way just on time, but still…

Roxas gritted his teeth. He needed to get back on the offense.

Another strike almost hit his other arm. She knew she had her chance, and she wasn’t going to miss out on it. knew that it was only a matter of time until she secured her victory in this match. He hadn’t been quick enough landing his hits on her – if she didn’t get cocky and gave him another opening, this was a loss.

Maybe he could…

Roxas smirked and took a small step forward, despite the fact that she was obviously going for another attack.

Kairi stopped her attack and withdrew immediately. She changed into a more defensive stance, obviously thinking that she had given him an opening, and prepared to block his incoming strike – one that would not come yet. Kairi lowered her bat in confusion.

There was his chance.

She let out a yelp of surprise as she staggered backwards. She obviously hadn’t taken the possibility of a bluff into account. Then again, Roxas didn’t use the tactic very often.

But Kairi wasn’t finished yet.

Just as Roxas wanted to take this opportunity and go for another strike, she dropped her bat and charged towards him, tackling him with her entire weight. He yelped as he dropped his other bat, both in surprise and an attempt to catch her, lost his balance and fell onto his back. Good thing the sand of the beach was so soft.

Kairi, who was slumped right across his upper body, rested her head on her hands and grinned at him over her shoulder. “Do I win?”

He might have lost both of his bats and Kairi had more stamina than him, but that didn’t mean Roxas wasn’t able to fight anymore. She let out a squeak when he suddenly flipped their positions. Now she had her back on the ground, and he was on top.

Roxas grinned. “Not so fast.”

“Aw, come on,” Kairi protested with a fake pout. “I had you!”

“Had,” he countered. “Because now I have you.”

She smirked. “You sure about that?”

Roxas could tell she was up to something. She always had that mischievous smirk on her face whenever she was about to make a rather dark-natured joke or planning something. She probably had another surprise move in stock… Should he put a little more of his weight onto her? He didn’t want to hu-…

Something started tickling on his flank.

“Hey, that’s unfair!”, he yelped. He couldn’t help but start giggling immediately afterwards though. He pressed his eyes shut out of a reflex. He had to laugh so hard that he could barely breathe, and it was hard to control the rest of his body.

“I thought the bad guys don’t care about honor and rules,” Kairi said, and Roxas could almost hear the smirk in her voice. “So why should I?”

“Stop!”, Roxas laughed instead.

“Only if you admit that I win.”

“Never!”

“Hm. That’s truly unfortunate.” Kairi managed to sit up somehow, even though she push him off her entirely. She smiled mischievously. “I guess I have to keep tickling you until you finally admit to your loss…”

In moments like these, Roxas wondered whether she truly was a Princess of Heart. Weren’t they supposed to be pure light and good? Well, Kairi surely had a devilish streak. “Fine! Let’s call it a draw,” he giggled. He knew that despite her claims, she wouldn’t keep this up forever, but he didn’t know whether he could hold out until then.

“… Okay.”

And finally, the tickling stopped. Roxas took a deep, relieved breath.

“A draw it is then,” Kairi smiled.

For a moment, time seemed to stop. Suddenly, he could hear the chirping of the insects, the birds singing, the roaring of the sea and the waves crashing at the shore – all those things that had been there all the time, but he seemed to have forgotten or simply not perceived them.

Then, he realized he was laying right on Kairi’s lap.

If he could have, Roxas would have blushed now. He could almost feel his vascular liquid flowing into his cheeks, and the characteristic cackling of a slightly embarrassed Nobody escaped his throat.

“You know,” Kairi smiled, “it’s a real shame you can’t blush. I bet it would look cute on you.”

“I could put some rouge on if you want to see what it would look like on me,” Roxas offered. It wouldn’t be the first time he did this, although he had to admit that the thought of wearing it because Kairi wanted to see how a blush would look like on him was much more pleasant than wearing it in order to hide that he was a Nobody. Not all worlds were as accepting of them as Destiny Islands and Radiant Garden were.

“Aw, that’s sweet! You don’t have to though,” Kairi quickly dismissed the offer. Maybe she thought that he minded wearing makeup – which Roxas did, but it was more because he minded having to hide who he was than the makeup itself. Therefore he was glad that he didn’t have to do that in most worlds.

“You’d like it though,” Roxas pointed out.

The always-present peach flush on Kairi’s cheeks intensified – she was blushing. Heh. He had caught her. Roxas smirked. “Well, look who’s blushing now.” It made her look very cute.

Kairi giggled softly. “Okay, you win this round.”

It was like someone had wiped all of the mischief off of her. If Roxas hadn’t known her as well as he did, he wouldn’t have believed that the girl who had tickled him until he admitted that he hadn’t won their sparring match earlier and this girl who giggled while admitting that he got her were the same person. But they were one and the same person. It was incredible how Kairi could be impossibly cute in one second and incredibly mischievous in the other, and one of the many things he liked about her.

Kairi was just overall a very likable person, Roxas thought. She was a great friend who always looked out for others, even though she could be mischievous at times. She was always so patient and never got annoyed with his or Naminé’s incompetence when it came to everyday stuff, instead trying to understand their situation as best as she could. She was dedicated to whatever she set her mind on, something that Roxas found admirable, especially when it came to fighting. It clearly wasn’t her strongest suit, but despite that, she kept trying her best at over and over again.

“I gotta say though, you are improving,” Roxas smiled while sitting up. “When it comes to sparring I mean.” He didn’t think anyone could match her when it came to wits – or at least Roxas hadn’t met anyone yet.

“You think so?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I really had a hard time against you today.”

She blushed again, and even turned away. “I got lucky,” she tried to brush it off.

Roxas shook his head. If she had just gotten lucky this once, he wouldn’t have struggled as much against her. “There’s always a little bit of luck involved in a fight,” he argued. “But I don’t think it’s just that, Kairi.” There was no reason for her to be humble about her growing skill, so he wouldn’t accept it.

“Are you sure about that?”

Roxas smiled and nodded. “You still aren’t the best fighter, that’s true.” He wanted to be honest with her. “But you don’t have to be. You have other qualities that are far more important than that.”

Kairi smiled. “Thank you for saying that, Roxas.” She was still averting her gaze. “You’re so sweet.”

Another cackle escaped him at that. He didn’t want to address it any further though, so he just shrugged while he stood up and patted the sand off his swimming trunks. They were at the beach, so he had figured it would be a good opportunity to finally wear them, even if he didn’t go into the water. “I’m just telling you how I see it, that’s all.” He held out his hand to her in order to help her up. “Wanna go for another round?”

“Maybe later,” Kairi answered as she gently took his hand and stood up as well. Roxas noticed that she was trying to do most of the work by herself. “I could really use some cooling off right now, and you look like you could too.”

She was right. He was still sweaty, and while the climate on Destiny Islands wasn’t searingly hot, it was fairly humid. Roxas didn’t hate it, in fact he even liked being on Destiny Islands, but he preferred Radiant Garden when it came to the climate, especially when it came to physically demanding activities like sparring.

“Would you mind if we go into the water for a bit?”, she asked.

Roxas gulped. Yes. Yes, he did. To be fair, he should have known that training on the beach would lead to that sooner or later, but…

The warm feeling of Kairi’s hand on his shoulder interrupted any more incoming thoughts. She looked at him with a concerned and slightly serious expression. “It’s okay if you don’t want to,” she said. “I know even the thought of setting a foot into the water scares you. But the sea is quite calm today. It’s completely save.”

It didn’t look that way to him. The sea looked dark and deep – how deep, he had no idea. Maybe Kairi knew. Besides, the water was moving. Sure, the waves weren’t as strong as they were on most other days he had seen, but they were still there. Could the force of a single one be enough to knock him over?

Roxas sighed. He knew that he couldn’t avoid any water that wasn’t rain, from a shower, in the sink or for drinking forever. Besides, Kairi was here. She had saved him once already. If he was save near water with anyone, it was her. He had to start somewhere.

So he nodded. “I’ll try.” His voice came out a lot more quiet and squeaky than usually.

A wide smile spread across Kairi’s face. “Okay. Shall I go up ahead?”

“That would be fine with me,” he said. “Just… Don’t go too far away, please?” Roxas felt silly saying this, but he also didn’t want to be alone out there.

“Alright.”

She didn’t waste a single second. While Roxas still fiddled with his shirt, admittedly dawdling, she already made her way to the shore and walked into the waves. She was wearing one of those water shirts alongside her bikini panties, and had already discarded her shorts before they started sparring.

Roxas sighed again after he had finally pulled his t-shirt over his head, and bashfully scratched his arm. He felt so stupid… Like he was overreacting. Rationally, Roxas knew that back when he had almost drowned, it had been because he had been wearing a heavy, black coat and been thrown into the water by complete surprise, without even knowing that he would have to keep himself afloat. Rationally he knew that now, this wasn’t the case. But it didn’t feel that way. It still felt dangerous and like something he’d rather not do because he wanted to live a while longer. And while Roxas knew by now that emotions and rational thinking didn’t work in the same way, it still confused him whenever his heart and mind weren’t just slightly off-tune, but directly opposing each other.

Well, there was no way around this anymore – he had already agreed to going into the water with her. Roxas sighed once more and finally followed her slowly. He absolutely didn’t feel like running towards the shore, it was not like he was looking forward to this. Sure, he was sweating as well, but still…

He stopped. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea at all.

A rather large wave came and reached his feet. It wettened the sand underneath his soles, and washed around his feet. Roxas was surprised to find that it was cooler than the humid air around him, but not unpleasantly cold. Maybe he should go in, just a little bit? But then again, what if the water pulled him downwards again, under its surface? If he couldn’t breathe again? Then he would…

Roxas gritted his teeth and pressed his eyes shut. ‘Maybe as long as my feet stay on the ground, I should be safe.’ The last time, his feet hadn’t been on the ground… It had been too deep down for him to stand. But as long as he could, everything should be okay, right?

He took a few steps forward, until the water reached his ankles. The sand beneath his feet was surprisingly soft, and not hot like on the beach at all. Maybe it was the water since it was cooler. He took another step. This really wasn’t so bad…

Roxas opened his eyes, only to see Kairi floating in the water with her face up and her eyes closed.

No… No, no, no, no, no! This wasn’t good… This couldn’t be good! Was she unconscious? Had something happened to her? Why had this to happen now? What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t swim!

“Kairi!”

She wasn’t too far away from him. Roxas remembered the promise they had made to each other, that if one of them were to come into a life-threatening situation, the other was not going to sacrifice themselves. But he had to try and do something! Maybe his feet would still reach the ground where she was now…

Disregarding the fact that he was in the water, Roxas walked over to her as fast as he could. It made every single step harder, and not just because he felt like he was risking his life. It slowed him down significantly, as if it was pushing against him. The waves didn’t help either.

He didn’t want another person who was important to him to die… He had lost too many of them already. Losing her too… He couldn’t bear the thought of it. Fortunately, Kairi was drifting not too far off.

Surprisingly, the water wasn’t too deep – it barely reached his hips when a wave rolled around, so it had to be shallow enough for her to be able to stand without problems as well. What had happened?

It didn’t matter now. He needed to get her out of the danger first… If he could. Roxas tried to remember how Kairi had done it back when she had rescued him from drowning, but the memory was foggy. He knew that she had pulled one of his arms onto his back, was he supposed to do that too? Wouldn’t that hurt her? He knew his arm, especially the wrist, had stung afterwards, although a simple healing spell had quickly fixed that.

He decided to go for the option that seemed like the most comfortable one to him: to simply grab her under the arms and try to pull her out of the water.

Kairi let out a tiny scream. With a movement that was a lot swifter than Roxas would have predicted, especially considering how much harder the water had made reaching her, she was back on her feet and turned around. Roxas almost expected her to summon her Keyblade as well – if she wasn’t who she was, she probably would have, judging by her expression. Fighting was usually Kairi’s last resort if everything else failed.

“Roxas? Sheesh, don’t give me a scare like that…”

He raised his hands in defense. “Sorry,” he murmured. “It’s just… You were drifting motionlessly and I thought…”

‘I thought I was going to lose you too.’ He didn’t want to say it. He didn’t want to even think about it. That meant thinking about the people whom he had lost already. Thinking about that time he almost lost his own life. Thinking about the possibility that it might happen again. Thinking about how he didn’t want to lose her in particular… And forgetting about the bliss that was not thinking too much.

“Oh.” Kairi bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I should have considered that…”

Roxas shook his head. “It’s fine,” he said. “You can’t take everything into account. Besides, you just gave me a scare, that’s all.” He was pretty sure that wouldn’t happen again. Next time, she’d probably warn him or something – that was just how Kairi was. Snarky and mischievous, yes, but also kind and considerate.

“Oh, okay. I guess we’re even then.” She sighed in relief and let herself fall onto her back again. Roxas was surprised to see that she stayed on the surface of the water – despite her feet not touching the ground.

There was a strange beauty to Kairi floating in the water like this, he thought. Her hair was open today, and right now, it flowed around her head like gravity wasn’t a thing anymore. Her entire being seemed to be weightless, but especially her hair. It was long, and floated around her head in three-dimensional waves and swirls, creating unique and fleeting patterns. It was actually darker than its usual maroon whenever it was wet – Roxas liked to compare the color to chili chocolate. But when the sun was shining on it, the red came out even more. But the water seemed to distort some of the light, and those distorted reflexes just added even more depth to those patterns.

She seemed to be completely in her element, and she made it look so easy… But he knew the dangers of the water. He had almost fallen victim to them himself before. Seeing Kairi float like this, even when he was right there and had already overreacted… It made him feel even more uneasy than he already was.

Roxas swallowed. “Why are you doing this?”

She opened her eyes a bit. “Because I find it relaxing,” she replied. “Trust me, the water isn’t as scary once you know how to move and to keep yourself afloat properly. It can even be your friend.”

That sounded like the complete opposite of Roxas’ experience with this element – the last time his feet hadn’t touched the ground of a stretch of water, he had felt like something was pulling him under the surface of the water constantly, and he hadn’t been able to breathe, let alone cry for help.

“I can show you what I mean if you want to.”

He had to admit, he was curious.

“Does it involve going into the water any deeper or… You know…” He took a deep breath. It was getting ridiculous at this point – he couldn’t even say one single word. Roxas gulped. “D-Diving?”

Kairi shook her head. “Nothing like that,” she said. “I just thought about carrying you around a bit.”

“You mean a piggyback ride?” They had done that before, although he had been the one carrying her. Roxas wondered how that was supposed to show him that water wasn’t scary.

“I mean bridal style.”

Oh. So she was talking about carrying him in front of her, in her arms. Roxas had to admit that he kinda liked the idea, but at the same time he couldn’t help but think about how she was going to manage that. The one time he had carried Kairi before had been extremely exhausting, and he was probably a bit heavier than her. Plus, even though Roxas admired her seemingly limitless stamina, she wasn’t exactly physically strong.

Besides, there was the issue with the water. It had pulled him down last time, why should this time be any different? Could she really withstand that pull downwards?

“I don’t know…”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Kairi said. “It’s just a suggestion.”

“I might be too heavy for you,” Roxas pointed out. “No offense, Kairi, but… You aren’t exactly the strongest…”

“True,” she nodded. “The water will carry a lot of your weight for me though.”

That sounded like the opposite of Roxas’ previous experiences with water… But he also knew Kairi wouldn’t suggest this if she wasn’t absolutely sure. If he had to entrust his existence – his life – to somebody, it would be her. It wasn’t like she hadn’t already saved him from drowning once, and Roxas had no doubt that she would do it again if she had to.

He didn’t want to bring her into the situation again, but the fact was just… She knew better than him with his fear of deeper stretches of water and little life experience. If she deemed it safe, then perhaps it was a lot safer than he thought.

Roxas slowly took a few more steps into the water, closing the distance between them. By the time he stood in front of her, he was deep enough for the waves to cover the scar on his abdomen.

Kairi waited for him patiently. Since she was smaller than him, the water reached up to her ribcage.

Roxas swallowed. “How do you suggest we do this?”

Kairi smiled, hearing that he really wanted to do this. “However you feel the most comfortable,” she said warmly, and that alone made Roxas feel a little bit more secure. “We can go a bit closer to the shore if you feel more comfortable with that, or…”

“Can I just hold on to you?”, he interrupted her. He didn’t know where that came from – he just felt a lot safer with her.

Kairi shrugged. “Whatever you feel most comfortable with.”

If she wanted to carry him bridal style, he couldn’t just hug her, Roxas realized. So he put his arms around her neck instead.

Kairi wrapped one of her arms around his torso. “Ready when you are.”

Roxas nodded. “Okay.”

He actually didn’t like the thought of his feet leaving the sandy ground of the ocean at all, even with Kairi holding him… Didn’t that mean he brought her into danger too? Since he couldn’t swim… What if he panicked in her arms? Would she be able to handle that?

Roxas didn’t remember that time when he almost drowned too well. He only remembered not being able to breathe and the feeling of being dragged down. The way Donald and Goofy had described it in their retelling of the events however, it sounded like he had been panicking back then too though. Kairi had been able to save him despite that. She knew what she was doing… But also, Roxas didn’t want to bring her into this situation again.

… Fine. He just had to not panic then.

Roxas lifted one of his feet up. He immediately felt the waves stronger than before, like they were trying to push him off balance – would he fall? Was this it? He pressed his eyes shut and gasped for air. Maybe he could…

“Easy,” Kairi said, and he felt her other arm in his kneecap, realizing that she kept him from sinking. “One step at a time.”

He opened his eyes again. Kairi looked completely calm – not scared in the slightest. Somehow, that made him feel a bit calmer as well.

Roxas knew from experience that fear rarely got better from waiting too long. If he left his other foot on the ground for too long, it would eventually take over once more, and they would get nowhere from there… And he had come this far. Roxas grit his teeth as he took another breath, then pushed himself off the ground.

There was the fear again.

He gasped for air once more.

‘Don’t panic.’

Now that both of his feet weren’t on the ground anymore, he just waited for the water to pull him downwards once more.

‘Don’t panic!’

Or a for a wave to wash both him and Kairi away. He just hoped she would be able to come out of this unharmed…

‘Don’t panic!!!’

This had definitely been a bad idea… A thousand things could go wrong…

But nothing happened.

Roxas opened his eyes again – he hadn’t even noticed that he has pressed them shut this time around.

The first thing he saw was Kairi’s face. She was smiling at him, with a sense of pride in her expression. “You did it.”

For a short, weird moment, Roxas wanted to argue. He hadn’t really done anything, except successfully suppressing a panic attack, but before he could say that, he realized something way more important: he wasn’t sinking. Despite the fact that his feet didn’t touch the ground anymore, the water didn’t pull him under the surface. Sure, Kairi was there holding him too, but for some reason, Roxas didn’t get the feeling that she was fighting to keep him afloat. It was almost as if she didn’t have to carry the entirety of his weight – as if the water was helping her.

“How are you doing that?”, Roxas asked. “Are you using magic or…”

Kairi laughed. “Actually, I’m not doing much,” she confessed. “The water keeps you afloat on its own. It’s just what it does.”

“But…” The last time it hadn’t done that. “How?”

Kairi laughed. “I don’t know if I’m good at explaining this, but it’s basically because water is part of what your body is made of.”

That couldn’t be right. Ansem had explained Roxas how a body worked in detail when he had first nursed him back to health after…

“It’s made of cells,” he corrected her. “And I think those are made of various carbon compounds, not water.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Kairi shrugged. “Still, your body contains lots of water too, but a lot less salt than the sea does. Salty water is heavier than sweet water is, so you float on the surface.”

Huh. That sounded logical. Still… “The water was salty too last time though.”

“But you weren’t wearing swimming trunks back then,” Kairi pointed out. “Clothes tend to drag you down when they get wet.”

That made sense to him as well. “Fair point,” Roxas admitted. Maybe this was a lot safer than he had initially thought… He even relaxed a little.

Up until now, Roxas hadn’t realized how tense he had been – he had been clinging to Kairi’s neck like his life depended on it. To be honest, that was how he had felt. But after all, it didn’t feel all that dangerous. Even if Kairi wasn’t able to hold him anymore, he could simply put his feet back onto the floor of the ocean.

“Hey, would you mind if I go in a little deeper?”, Kairi asked. “I think that would make it a bit easier for me to carry you.”

Roxas didn’t know how he felt about that… Did deeper water mean greater danger?

Kairi smirked in that mischievous way she always did whenever she was up to something. “I promise I will never let you drown.”

Somehow, the joke did its job – it managed to get a small, albeit nervous laugh out of him. “Good one!”

Roxas knew that Kairi would never expose him to danger on purpose. He trusted her. Besides, if it was too much, he could always back out. She would never force him to face his fears, even though she sometimes gave him the motivation he desperately needed. Besides, he really wasn’t a good judge when it came to water.

So he nodded. “Alright.”

Kairi smiled. “Tell me when to stop, okay?”

“Okay.” He didn’t plan to though. He wanted to push his own limits a bit, and how to do this better than together with someone he trusted, who also knew the thing he was afraid of a lot better than he did?

It was still good to know that he had the option though – even if he didn’t plan on using it now.

Kairi walked deeper into the water slowly. To Roxas’ surprise, he barely noticed it. Either Kairi was lifting him up higher by herself, or the water was – most likely a bit of both though.

She stopped once the water reached her chest. “Is this okay?”

Roxas nodded. “It’s fine.”

He relaxed some more, this time his entire body. Now that he did, he suddenly felt how tired his muscles were, and not just from the training earlier. A general wave of sleepiness washed across him. Must be the adrenaline rush wearing off…

Roxas leaned back so the back of his head was against the water. For some reason, he didn’t mind the water flowing into his ears anymore, nor did he mind the muffling of all the sounds he had heard before. Instead, he could hear a light, quiet crackling. Kairi was right… He had done it. And he would do the rest that it took to learn how to swim as well… Maybe not today, but this was certainly a beginning. But he couldn’t have done this without her.

He lifted his head a bit and smiled at her. “Thank you.”

Kairi smiled back. “You’re welcome, I’m glad I could help a bit.”

Roxas sighed as he leaned back once more. “You know, Kairi… As long as you’re with me, I know I’m safe.”

#Fanwork #Fanfiction #Kingdom Hearts #KH Fanfiction #Roxiri #Roxiri Week #Roxiri Week 2021 #Roxas #Kairi #KH Fanwork #Currantlee writing #Currantlee completed Story #Currantlee completed KH-Fanwork #Currantlee completed KH-Fanfic

8 notes · View notes

crows-murder · 4 years

Text

Twinyards

it’s 2am and i hate myself and im literally dead on my feet but i cant fucking sleep so here i am instead

as far as most sibling relationships go, the twins have a....unique bond

they hate each other

but they don’t

it took nicky some time to understand that yes, the twins did care for him and each other

in their own way

at first glance, no one would see it-- not even nicky. through longer exposure, it would be hard to discern, but nicky did, somehow

he really first noticed after Andrew had almost killed the four guys attacking nicky

after that, nicky started picking up the small things

when aaron went to the local starbucks on days they woke up early but didn’t want to make breakfast, he knew andrew and nicky’s orders by heart

when andrew convinced nicky to buy ice cream despite nicky protesting that they should be mindful of their money, andrew always got nicky’s favorite flavor as well

on rough days when nicky was just drowning in the stress of holding a job and paying for the bills, the twins would stay in their room, to let nicky pick himself back up, before ordering pizza and turning on the tv

they never talked about it. if someone brought it up, an argument very often followed up

the twins have a strange way of showing affection, but that’s because they never learned to show proper affection

aaron was always quick to get angry and andrew was indifferent to the point of aggravation and pure frustration

it was their ways of coping

andrew by not caring and aaron by being angry at anyone for no reason

their first meeting could have gone a lot worse, but they both in a subconscious way saw the other as a survivor of their circumstances

and andrew did care. so did aaron

aaron reached out to his brother, filled for the first time with the hope that someone out there cares about him. he hopes and hopes that it will work out.

it doesn’t. aaron’s heart just breaks and his hope is shredded when andrew tells him to fuck off.

andrew wanted a brother, too. he wanted to have at least one good thing, one thing that life wouldn’t fuck up for him

but andrew couldn’t even have that. he couldn’t let his brother, his twin, go through what he was going through. so he pushed him away, made sure he’d be safe from his life.

when andrew learns that despite trying to protect his brother, he had still failed, he was angry. he was so angry. he was protecting someone who was being hurt by his mother. by their mother. who’d been so hurt, he would get high just to forget the hurt

deep down, aaron always knew his mother never truly cared. deep down he understood why andrew killed her. but he refused to admit it. he refused to believe his mother deserved it.

the twins weren’t subtle, but they didn’t know how they felt towards each other. it was hard to describe, and not one word really could.

andrew was first fiercely stubborn and loyal to aaron, trying to protect him the way he’d never been able to protect himself, and it slowly shifted onto nicky

aaron did care about andrew. he reached out. he wanted a brother. he wanted a twin. but he wasn’t expecting andrew. and it muddled the feelings, and when Tilda died, it just became worse, because of course aaron was angry and sad, and andrew couldn’t understand. and aaron didn’t understand how andrew could feel so little sympathy for their mother. andrew didn’t see how aaron could mourn the person who’d ruined him. who’d ruined them both, really.

nicky did try his best to get them to get along. but he didn’t really understand the issues and the layers of caution and hurt. he was pushing, but not in the right direction

and it’s not like either of the twins really tried either

in another life, they might’ve. in different circumstances, they might’ve. but Tilda was dead, and aaron and andrew had so many miscommunications to get through.

it wasn’t until Neil, and the early Thanksgiving at the Hemmicks that it changed

neil was different

he coaxed more out of andrew than aaron ever did. it’s one of the reasons why aaron hated him. how could he, practically a stranger who’d known them for half a year, could know more about andrew than aaron had learned in three years? some of it felt unfair to aaron, but he felt like he half deserved not knowing his brother. it wasn’t like he’d tried his hardest to get to know him.

and it was how quickly neil had puzzled together the mess that was andrew and aaron

not even they could piece it together. it felt so thoroughly messed up and convoluted that they never though any of it was salvageable anymore

when neil brough up Tilda’s death, right after aaron had killed drake, aaron had felt angry, pissed off, borderline furious

but the thought stayed. and nagged.

and when andrew left for Easthaven, without even waiting for aaron to get back to columbia, it hurt more than he’d anticipated

aaron thought about it a lot. and he hated that neil’s statement had made so much sense

after that it was slow going

so slow no one really noticed at first. not even neil. but then neil started picking up one or two things, and then progressively, so did nicky

aaron started

the twins never really verbally apologized for hurting each other, either physically or with words. they’d just spit hurtful words at each other until one of them (usually aaron) stormed out. then, usually a few hours later, one of them called out the answer of a particularly hard homework question for the other and the whole thing was forgotten

it was just how they worked

maybe it was the way they were brought up, or maybe it was just the way they operated, but neither twin needed the other to physically say the words “i’m sorry”. it was usually implied through action, as were most things with them.

and aaron found it easier to forgive andrew for killing Tilda that he thought

one morning in the Columbia house, andrew walked in the kitchen and aaron was there drinking coffee, waiting for his toast to pop out of the toaster, and handed andrew a cup of hot chocolate

andrew simply raised an eyebrow, but took it anyway.

after that, it remained slow.

when andrew went to the store, he’d sometimes buy aaron’s favorite ice cream flavor

and it goes back and forth for a while

they don’t mention it. aaron never brings up the fact that study sheets occasionally appear on his desk the day before a test. andrew never mentions the newly stocked cocoa powder in the kitchen, stacked next to the coffee and tea.

its such small things its only noticeable to the twins and sometimes neil

and it stays at that, but it’s progress, and that’s never happened before, and when neil (and later nicky) notice, they just smile a little, because no matter how little, progress is progress, and it’s a big step for andrew and aaron.

they’re far from talking through their issues, and it occurs to neither of them, but they’re content to go slow

once, aaron had a bad nightmare that woke him up at an ungodly hour of the night. he knew sleep wouldn’t come, not with the way he was shaking and sweating, so he decided coffee and a movie would distract him

he’s surprised to find andrew sitting on the countertop eating m&m’s aaron had bought just a day prior

they don’t speak at all. aaron just makes his tea and sits on the couch, and andrew stays on the counter, scrolling through his phone

aaron turns on the tv and puts on an animated series at low volume

at one point andrew turns his attention to the tv before sliding off the counter and going back to bed. aaron falls asleep on the couch

a couple of nights later, same thing happens again-- nightmares aren’t uncommon for the twins, or anyone really. if the twins cross path in the kitchen, one would just go back to their room

this time the kitchen is empty so aaron pulls out the ice cream and turns on the tv

andrew, being a light sleeper, wakes up. he knows who it is and debates getting up. he does, and this time directly goes to the living room and sits in an armchair, staring blankly at the tv. he only goes back to his room when aaron falls asleep, leaving the tv on.

andrew manages his nightmares better, but some still rattle him every so often, and enough that he usually stays up the rest of the night or finds neil and stays with him.

it’s one of the worse nights, and andrew wakes up in a panic, shivering and angrily wiping his wet face clean. he leaves his room, intent on finding neil before he realises it’s not neil he wants to be with

it annoys him, and he doesn’t like it, or even understand why, but he goes to aaron’s room anyways. he opens the door and settles in aaron’s desk, refusing to wake his twin up.

aaron finds him the next morning, snoring softly in his chair, his head resting in his crossed arms. (he’s really confused, and considers waking him, but decides against it and instead makes him hot chocolate for when he wakes up)

they still don’t talk much about it, but now they don’t act as tense around each other, and usually leave it at insulting the other.

nicky, having dealt with the twins, notices this and almost cries and nearly hugs both of them. he cares too much about graduating with all his limbs to do it, however

he mentions it to neil later, who had noticed the smaller gestures, and shares in nicky’s delight. yes, neil has a certain dislike for aaron, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want andrew and aaron to have a healthy relationship with each other they clearly deserve.

to anyone else, this might be slightly ridiculous, not meaning anything, and probably not even noticeable, but for both of them, it was a huge step forward.

aaron manages to find a spare mattress that he fits under his bed for andrew. andrew doesn’t put a mattress or explicitly tells aaron he can come in his room, so aaron opts instead for tv and snacks. sometimes andrew shows up, sometimes he doesn’t, and aaron finds he doesn’t mind.

one of those nights, aaron finds andrew already watching something on the tv when he shows up. it’s not a cartoon, but aaron grabs the leftover pizza from last night and watches with andrew

later, he looks up the series and ends up watching it. he catches up to the episode andrew was watching, and a couple nights later turns on the show

andrew is surprised that aaron wanted to catch up, and was invested in the show. he settles for telling aaron he’s a couple episodes ahead. aaron shrugs and replies that they can watch until he catches up. it’s their way of agreeing to watch it together at 4 in the morning

one wednesday, a couple months into the twins’ tentative healing, they mentions to Bee what’s been happening. and Bee smiles. she’s just happy that the twins are getting better, and striving to fix things a little.

the Upperclassmen catch up much later

probably because andrew still calls out insults his brother during practice and aaron retaliates

and yes sometimes andrew purposefully deflects balls in such a way that they hit aaron’s back or legs just to annoy him

but andrew tolerates katelyn

and aaron still doesn’t know what andrew sees in neil josten but doesn’t mind his relationship

andrew tells aaron one wednesday he hates being touched, and it doesn’t take a genius to know why. aaron has the urge to go find all of andrew’s abusers and bash their brains in like drake

aaron and andrew never really had people to care for them, so their sense of family is a little extreme, but it’s there

and it’s proof they can get better over time

they’re both in their own way protective of each other. and it’s a silent pact that anyone who hurts nicky will have to face two very pissed off blonds

movie nights at four am become a regular at the Columbia house, and sometimes (though they both have less nightmares over the years) during the week, so they get used to the extra key specifically for each other’s dorms.

one morning matt walks in and see aaron and andrew asleep on oppsoite ends of the couch while sharing a blanket, and takes a picture that he sends to everyone.

dan frames it and hangs it on the wall in the Foxhole Court (next to the one of Andrew and Neil at the airport)

the twins find out and wear practically identical “i am going to murder whoever did this” scowls

andrew thinks birthdays are a waste of time, but neil convinces him to spend time with aaron

so andrew drags aaron to the roof after raiding the liquor cabinet and get drunk on the roof

the twins have a lot of things they never mention

it’s a maze that’s hard to navigate, but the twins know how the system works

there are things and moments and people they never bring up, and there are gestures and little things that are not worth mentioning. both twins don’t know how to really communicate with each other, and sometimes with other people

they don’t know how to express things verbally

so between them its almost and unspoken agreement that phrases like “i love you” or “i’m sorry” are meaningless and dumb.

its one of the reasons why it’s hard to see that the twins are closer than they ever were, because they don’t communicate with words. they’re better at showing what they mean than actually saying it

they get more comfortable around each other, and by the time their senior year rolls in they make jokes (it’s hard to classify them as jokes when it mainly consists of one of the twins pointing at a random object and going “that’s you” with a blank expression while the other scowls)

nicky’s already back in germany and as graduation comes near, both twins find that they don’t want to get away from each other

andrew who doesn’t give a shit about aaron and hates him, texts him pictures of the cats or neil being idiots every once in a while

aaron doesn’t text often, because he doesnt really know what to text

but sometimes andrew will receive a picture of an empty store shelf with a single can of soup on it and the caption “is this u?”

and its so fucking random that andrew can’t help laughing

and aaron begins sending birthday cards to andrew (andrew calls him just to say fuck off and then hangs up immediately, but aaron just smiles and keeps doing it anyway)

(and andrew does start texting aaron happy birthday when it comes around)

one christmas nicky invites both twins and their significant others to germany and andrew gets aaron one of those stupid mugs with a science joke on it

aaron scowls because he knows andrew is blatantly mocking him. he knows.

but its fine because aaron got andrew a black sweater reading “dumber twin” (he had it custom made in rainbow font)

andrew doesn’t even try to act pleasant and says fuck you to aaron’s face

after that christmas, aaron always drinks from the cup andrew got him and andrew wears aaron’s dumb sweater

(katelyn and neil sneakily take pictures and send it to each other because “they’re bonding”)

it takes a long time for the twins to really get around their issues, and they’re both still healing, but at least whatever tilda severed when she separated them is healing too

it might never be perfect, and there’s a lot of healing, and it might never be okay, and it might take them their whole life to properly heal, but the steps they take are forward, and together

and their relationship is still complicated and messy and not the best

but theyre both trying

they both want this

#enjoy whatever this is #i tried okay #i tried my best to english well enough #its 2am and im mentally checked out #twinyards #andrew minyard #aaron minyard #nicky hemmick #aftg #all for the game #aftg katelyn #andreil #sir fat cat mccatterson #king fluffkins #tw abuse #tw rape

231 notes · View notes

ophiexb · 3 years

Text

Defensive

Based off a prompt from @jatpficprompts from this Prompt Here.

“While the boys are alive, Luke is always the one to get sent to the principal’s office, in school. He’s not actually a bad kid, though. He just gets really angry when people are mean to Alex or Reggie and has gotten into more than a few fights with the bully. He even once broke a boy’s jaw (who ended up having to get it wired shut) for calling Alex some not so nice terms for being gay.”

-------------------

Luke...probably had the worst record out of all of them, and by probably he did. Between his grades and his disciplinary record there was no way the other was going to graduate without some serious intervention that he did not want. Better grades meant cutting way more back on practices and music, it meant less time to write, and less time to work on the things that actually mattered. This place was equivalent to a prison in his mind.

“It’s not that serious.” Alex said shutting his locker once all his books were packed up. “Bobby, Reggie and I all manage to keep up our grades and balance the band-and yes before you say anything I know you write the songs but Luke. They're not going anywhere.” Alex hummed. “The music is going anywhere, we aren’t going anywhere. You’ve got to graduate next year man.”

“None of that’s going to matter! No ones going to care about any kind of diploma if they're famous! My music speaks for itself.” Luke countered. “And our band speaks even more and we’re going places.” He gestured dramatically as they waited for their other two band members. “And we’d be even better if school wasn’t in the way.”

“You might not have any interest; but at least let us graduate.” Alex protested leaning against the wall of lockers as the people spilled into the halls and moved around. He could see them coming down and smiled waving the duo over. “I’m serious Luke, I actually really care about my grades.” He huffed.

“Man; Ms.Hart assigned another paper. At this rate my hands are going to fall off.” Reggie groaned holding his hands up dramatically. “My wrists can only take so much more it’s going to impact my bass.” He added pitifully and Alex rolled his eyes with a gentle laugh.

“Come on enough enough the papers can wait its Friday!” Luke beamed Friday meant band practice, it meant no homework and no studying that could wait for Sunday. He was radiant, gesturing for Bobby and tossing his arm around the other to pull his close.

“Alright alright-“ Bobby groaned, moving Luke off of him almost instantly to get to his locker. “I already told my Mom you guys were staying over and she's going to pick us up.” He laughed, the four of them heading out together with the rest of the school.

Monday found Luke back in the office, his arms crossed over his chest and staring at the window with a blank expression on his face. “Lucas.” The man said slowly fiddling with his file. “This is the third fight this month.”

“It’s Luke.” He countered, finally giving the man some attention. His lip was split on the other side but overall he didn’t have any outward damage. “So what am I supposed to do Sir. I told you last week that these guys keep hassling Reggie when he’s coming out of gym. Pushing him around and taunting him. I’m supposed to stand there? Just watch them?”

“Well of course not, but violence isn’t the answer. You could go and get a teacher-Mr.Dennis was right in the locker rooms with the other boys….Mr.Patterson we’ve talked about this last time as well.” Luke could only roll his eyes.

“With all due respect sir; Mr.Dennis is useless. He lets them do whatever they want! He knows they’ve been coming after Reggie and he just tells them to stop and turns his back. I’m not going to let some punks keep hurting my friend.” He countered his fingers curling against the arms of the chair. He wanted to say a whole lot more but he was in enough trouble as it was, and the main anger had left him after the fight.

“Well I don’t know about all that, but this is your third fight this month Lucas, and don’t make me count up this year. You're treading a thin line to getting kicked out. I don’t want to see a bright future like yours ruined for something so simple such as using your words, and getting another teacher to help.” Luke’s mouth tightened into a thin line and he turned to stare back out the window again. “Your mothers here to pick you up. You can return Wednesday.” He sighed, climbing up to grab his bag tossing it over his shoulder and walking right past her to the car.

It gave him more time to write songs anyway. What did he care? Though-now the nagging feeling in the pits of his stomach came the entire time he was home. Because that was the downside to fighting. He couldn’t protect his friends anymore from home. No one would be there to stand up for them. It sure made it hard to focus on his songs until Alex called him after school to update him on the day.

Luke got better at hiding it after that, his attacks were more subtle and more calculated. He couldn’t get suspended because then who would protect the guys? Who would make sure no one messed with his friends if he was out? So he got better. He got smart about how he defended the moment, and sought his revenge later. The rumors were more than enough that much of the bullying and teasing had come to a halt for fear of Luke’s wrath. They were smooth sailing and Luke hadn’t had to have that stupid make better choice meeting in weeks.

Of course it didn’t last long; it never did for him. Something always had to happen and so damn close to their winter break. They were almost there and someone had to go and start something. At first it wasn’t a big deal, nothing serious. Until he started hearing the whispers. His mind zeroed in on the words from the other students before he was quickly moving through the halls. Ignoring their looks until he found them, laid eyes on them and that they were okay. Well physically okay. Alex was curled up, his fingers curled in his blond hair almost painfully. Reggie whispering softly to him and gently trying to unpry his hands from hurting himself. Bobby sat quietly to the side just rubbing soft circles on the drummers back.

“How’d they find out?” He demanded his voice sharp and Alex flinched slightly, and his anger left in a swoop. It wasn’t at Alex. It wasn’t at them and they didn’t deserve this side of him. “Lex…” He said softer moving to kneel in front of the other. “We can just-We can deny it. No one has any proof…”

“They do.” Bobby said softly looking down for a moment and Luke’s brows furrowed looking at him and back at Alex. “A picture. Half the class has seen it.” By the end of the day they all knew the whole school would know.

Alex's breathing hitched and Luke shook off the trail of thoughts, his fingers gentle with Bobby’s to rub over the others shoulder a little. “Come on…” He whispered. “Deep breath Lex. We’ve got you.” He soothed, and Reggie finally got his hands to let go of his hair, and Luke quickly caught them before they could fly anywhere else. Before he could hurt himself. Pressing the others palm hard against his chest as they coached him slowly down.

They’d already missed more than half the day by the time Alex calmed enough to talk. His head laying on Bobby’s shoulder and face red. He looked worn, exhausted. “It was Tyler. From Science.” He whispered. “We’ve been lab partners since the start of the semester and he-“ He hesitated but Luke already knew.

“The guy you liked.” He supplied softly. “The one who...who you thought liked you to.”

“He asked to meet up after school yesterday.” Alex whispered his hands fidgeting but Reggie caught them curling his hands around his. “I said yes, foolishly. I should've known better, we were in his room and he asked me if I liked him. And I said yes.” His voice cracked. “He had his stupid baseball buddies in the closet.” He whined. “Luke my parents are going to find out there are friends with Tyler’s parents.” He rambled edging on the hysterics again. “Everyone’s going to find out-“ Which...was not great. Sure no one wanted for Alex to have to pretend and fake day in and out. But...but it was just a fact. A fact of life right now that being gay was dangerous.

“I’m gonna kill him.” Luke hissed almost growled standing up abruptly.

“Luke.” Alex protested quickly, his watery blue eyes looking at the other. “He’s not worth it. The damage is done already-It’s...you get in another fight there going to expel you it’s not worth it.” He shifted trying to untangle himself from the guys, but Luke could see. See the absolute distress and misery on the other face and knew he wasn’t going to let it go. For now he would. Only for now.

They got Alex to the studio, figuring the day was wasted anyway they’d take the detentions for missing a day and deal with it all later. Right now the focus was their friend, and his comfort making sure he didn’t see anyone else and he could fully calm down before going home. To come out. Because this whole ordeal jump started any plans or ideas Alex had for telling his parents he was gay. It had to come from him. Not some rumor-which mean right now….

Luke was going to kill Tyler Moore.

It really didn’t take much to set him off all over again. Coming into school the next day to see Alex. Trying to keep his crumbling life together because of this one asshole. It’s not a prank, it’s not funny. In Luke’s mind all he can think is this asshole has put Alexs life in danger. They watch the news, they see the media. It’s not funny-it’s real life and he’s pissed.

Apparently the anger rolling off him is not enough to deter the other teen from approaching them in the hall. They’d been gathered around Alex trying to get an idea of how his coming out went, how he was doing when he heard the others' voices.

“Luke.” Alex was already protesting.

Luke was already moving, his eyes set on that smug face. With his letterman jacket and his group of friends behind him acting like they were better than the world around them. Like they weren’t slowly destroying an entire person. Not a care in the world for laughs right? Not on Luke’s watch.

“What you got feelings-“ Tyler didn’t even finish his sentence Luke was punching him hard across the jaw. Hard enough he felt the crack, saw the blood and he wasn’t done jumping onto the other and hitting him again. His group wasn’t behind him anymore-people like that aren’t real friends. All of them fled the moment Luke was on him. It took two teachers to pry him off the other boy, and Luke was yanking his bag up off the floor, shoving their hands off him.

“I’m going I’m going.” He snapped his eyes moving over to his friends. The wonder and amazement on Alex's face, on Reggie and Bobby’s face. Despite their protest Luke knew they appreciated it. That they could never tell him for fear of encouraging him getting in trouble. But having someone defend you to the lengths Luke went? It was pretty special.

It’s also how he ended up expelled the day before winter break. The catalyst to his relationship with his Mom finally dissolving and crumbling away. But his focus was pinpointed. It was zeroed in on his band, and his friends. He didn’t need anything else.

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #Reggie Peters #luke patterson #Alex Mercer #bobby wilson #Jatp fic

19 notes · View notes

not-close-to-straight · 4 years

Text

100% Professional (Six)

MASTERLIST

*******************

“So what, he flaked out on your date?” Gwen took a loud swallow from her over sized coffee thermos and smacked her lips. “Why are you so bent out of shape, you’ve never had someone cancel a date before?”

“No.” Peter said shortly. “I’ve never had someone cancel a date before. People like dating me, they always show up.”

“Mmm. Bite me.” Gwen retorted. “Well, welcome to the club of rejection, it happens to all of us, even blonde haired stunners like myself.”

“Your hair is pink right now.” Peter pointed out and Gwen replied, “Which is the only reason why my own date got canceled last week.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t because you showed up with a stack of flyers to hand out about the evils of Hammer Tech?”

“I might have come on a little strong.” the pretty girl agreed. “I suppose protesting mega corporations isn’t everybody’s idea of a good time.”

“No, probably not.” Peter slumped into his chair and propped his feet up onto the table. “What am I going to do, Gwen?”

“Oh my god, you’re really upset about this!” Gwen’s eyes widened in surprise. “Pete! I thought you were just cranky cos you didn’t get laid! You really like this guy, don’t you?”

“I told you that.”

“Well yeah, but you like everyone.” she said flatly. “Plus, he’s a client so when you said you liked him and that his muscles made you cream a little---”

“GWEN!”

“--I assumed you were just talking from a professionally horny standpoint, not from a real interest standpoint!” she cried. “I mean, damn Pete! You can’t date clients! If word gets out that you’re that kinda massage therapist, I dunno if you’ll lose your current clients or gain a whole bunch of very sketchy new ones, but either way? You definitely crossed a line.”

“I know.” he muttered. “Couldn’t help myself.”

“I’m pretty sure you could have helped yourself.” She countered. “All you had to do was be professional, Pete. Work with the guy, take his money and leave again. How difficult is that? You could have definitely not tried to get in his pants.”

“Gwen--”

“No, listen.” Gwen put her coffee down and pinned Peter with a look. “I heard what you said before about how you didn’t expect the attraction and how it’s so easy to be with him and how you guys sorta fell into each other and how you text all the time and he makes you laugh and all that. But tell me something. Have you stopped and thought for one second how hard this is on him?”

“I--”

“You tell me how easy it is for you and that’s why you want to pursue it.” She interrupted. “But your shocking lack of professionalism aside, have you even considered how difficult this is for Wade. Just once?”

“Um.” Peter hesitated. “...no? He said he felt it too so I thought it was okay.”

“You told me Wade has to live up high because traffic noise gives him panic attacks.” Gwen recounted and Peter’s face fell. “That he had to get raging drunk just to get through the first massage and then had an actual breakdown when you gave him that weighted blanket. Does that sound like a person who could dress up and stroll downtown for a date with you? Just because Wade's comfortable in his own space and over text messages doesn’t mean he can do it all outside, you know.”

“I didn’t think about that.”

“For all you know, he’s NOT comfortable in his own space.” she continued. “He could be pretending so it’s not weird for you. Do you know what he does right after you leave? Does he have to take a shower, have to meditate or medicate? Is he basically paralyzed for a few hours until his anxiety settles down?”

“...things are tough with Flash.” Peter realized. “That’s why you’re so in tune to everything right now.”

Gwen nodded miserably, her jaw clenching, and Peter whispered, “I should stop by and see him.”

“Flash doesn’t want you to stop by and see him.” She denied. “He doesn't even want me to come by. My fiancee came home from over deployment and can’t even be in the same room as me most days because I remind him of how good things used to be and how different it all is now. Remember how we were going to get married when he came home? The first time I tried to kiss him hello, Flash panicked and didn’t come out of his room for like, three days.”

“I remember.” Peter’s lips pulled down into a frown. Flash had been so hoo-rah about going and being a hero and now he was nothing like he’d used to be, shutting out the love of his life Gwen, his oldest friends Harry and MJ and even Peter, who had been his roommate through all four years of boarding school and their first year of college. “I-- I remember.”

“So you know what I did?” Gwen shrugged as if it still didn’t break her heart. “I decided to be Flash's friend because that's the only way I’m able to be part of his life. I try to take on disgusting billionaires, try to date to fend off the loneliness but end up scaring them away because let’s face it, I’m intense, and then I spend as much time with Flash as I can. Sometimes that means we talk, sometimes that means I sit clear on the other side of the couch and watch him watch a movie. I'm his friend."

“You’re trying to tell me I need to be content with being Wade’s friend." Peter blew out a deep breath. "Like if I want to stay a part of his life, I have to respect the boundaries he has, even if they are boundaries that seem like they come out of no where."

“Don’t make everything about you, Pete, I’m trying to tell you that if I don’t get laid soon I’ll actually die.” Gwen retorted and smacked Peter’s feet off the table. “But also yeah, if you want to be around Wade, you’re going to have to settle for friends. Obviously you both thought Wade was ready for more, and obviously he isn't. Back off, bud. Be his friend or leave him alone. Quit complaining about your hurt feelings and try to realize Wade probably hates himself right now for what he considers a failure. Not going on a date with you? He probably thinks its a failure. Stop bitching and have some compassion.”

“I hate your advice.” Peter reached over and took Gwen’s hand, smiling when she squeezed at it. “But I'm pretty sure I needed to hear it, so thank you. And I’m sorry about Flash. I’m sorry that the reason you know all this is cos you’re living through it.”

“I'm sorry about Flash too.” Gwen cleared her throat and blinked away a few tears. “And this therapy session will cost you one bagel and another cup of coffee, so get to it. I don’t hand out all this advice for free, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Peter pulled out his wallet and headed towards the front of the coffee shop. “Love you, Gwen.”

“Yeah.” she said absentmindedly, going right back to her book. “I'm real swell."

***************

Benefits of group therapy. Wade typed into the search bar on his computer. Local group therapy for veterans. How long until therapy starts working? How long after trauma is therapy useless?

He took a gulp of a drink that was way more whiskey than it was Coke and searched, What qualifies as trauma? How long will I have panic attacks?

And then with his breath catching and vision blurring with tears: How long before I feel normal again? Do people with PTSD ever date again?

His phone buzzed and Wade picked it up without thinking, swiped the screen without looking, sure it was going to be a reminder of meds or a confirmation text from tomorrow’s physical therapy appointment.

From Peter: I’m not going anywhere, Wade. I’m not going to bother you, but if you need me, I’m here and if you want to talk or need some of my Grade A humour to distract you for a minute, I’m here for that too.

From Peter: I’ll let you make the first move though, I don’t want to intrude or push like… boundaries? I don’t expect anything from you, but know that I’ll be happy to hear from you all the same.

Wade blinked down at the message, then up at the current screen on his computer, scrolling down until he found an article he’d only skimmed earlier: How to be there for someone with PTSD. Tip one was to reassure the person that you were there but didn’t expect anything, that you would respect their boundaries and needs but also would grant them their distance.

Peter had obviously read a similar article or pamphlet and even though the text read a little stiff, it was clear Peter was trying and it made Wade’s heart hurt in a very real way that even after everything, Peter was still trying.

He didn’t text Peter back though.

Instead Wade put his phone away and went back to looking up group therapy locations and reading anonymous reviews about different therapists.

He’d gone to therapy after his injury, he’d even gone to a psychiatrist, he’d gone to a hypnotist for the nightmares and about every other ‘-ist’ out there but it apparently wasn’t working, he apparently needed something more because living like this wasn’t working anymore.

There was a group specifically for injured veterans, former soldiers whose entire lives had been changed by a moment overseas, and Wade clicked through that website to until he found a time and a location and the suggestion that he “click the attending box partly so Sam knows how many cupcakes to bring, partly to set it as a personal goal for yourself!”

“I’m doing this for the cupcakes.” Wade muttered as he checked the box. “Only for the cupcakes.”

….and with one more glance at his phone, “And maybe for Pete.”

*******************

SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHAPTER!

*******************

@ships-galore @ceealaina @izziebladez @cwar1864 @hausoffro @tonystarkisanangel @multishippinglife @girlnic @iam93percentstardust @paranormalmoonlight5 @igotloki @moosette05 @wayward-student-philosopher @kaz-brekkers-gloves @atomicfandombomb @1fuckingshitup69 @agentlokii @livewire28 @tulipsnbigcats @kimstark @alex-stark-rogers @bibbarnes @heeeyitskay @goindownshipping @quietgayguy @nanita90a @justaniche

@chiby-chan @thanossucks @i-am-worth-it-25 @dan4thefam

#ncts fics #spideypool

93 notes · View notes

beanst0ck · 4 years

Note

“you’re so cute when your half asleep like this” with Giyuu? :D

oHMYGOSSH IM SOOO SORRY ANON I TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE THIS!!

but i would bust a major uwu if someone ever told me that 🥺👉👈

pairing: giyuu x reader

unedited

word count: 998

Your crow had made an unexpected visit at your house, telling you to survey the area for any possible demons. The area you lived in had been peaceful lately, so you doubted there could've been a demon lurking around.

Oh you were so wrong.

Treading out into the cold environment you planned to make this mission quick. Once you found the demon you unsheathed your sword, planning to take him down with one strike. You had underestimated the low ranked demon. Even though he wasn't apart of the twelve moons, his blood art technique was on point, even you were impressed. Luckily, with you being a pillar, you managed to strike him down after a few attacks. That didn't mean you weren't exhausted though.

You aren't the most athletic pillar compared to the others, but you always find ways to defeat your opponents in battle by out smarting them. This particular demon was fast and light on its feet, giving you very little time to think about how to counter it's attacks. It left you mentally and physically exhausted.

At least that's the excuse you'd like to use when people asked how you stumbled upon the water pillar's home.

Giyuu Tomioka was a quiet man, thinking he was disliked by his fellow pillars. At first you thought he was prideful jerk that couldn't bother getting off his high horse to interact with his coworkers, but when you saw how sad his blue eyes were you knew you were dead wrong. Overtime you had grown to admire his strengths and you even got close to him. Well, as close as he would allow you to get.

Imagine his surprise when he sees you stumbling in through his front door.

" (Y/n?) " He stood up from his seat and walked on over to you.

You thought your ears were deceiving you when you heard Giyuu's soothing voice. You took a step forward but your leg wasn't able to support your weight, not in its current almost frozen state. You stumbled forward, ready to embrace the harsh floor. Instead you were met with someone's warm embrace, a complete contrast to the freezing cold weather beyond the door.

You unconsciously gripped onto the person's clothes, feeling your eyelids become heavy by the minute. " Tired... " you mumbled out before drifting off into sleep.

Giyuu stood in the middle of the room, confused with you sleeping peacefully in his arms. A quick examination of your pale face told him that you'd been out in the snow for quite some time. As careful as he could, he placed his arm behind your knees and the other behind your back. Your head rested on his shoulder and you snuggled closer to him, trying to warm yourself up.

Giyuu was glad you were asleep. That way you couldn't notice the blush that covered his cheeks and ears.

Giyuu didn't have experience taking care of someone.

That's why when you walked into his home almost freezing to death not exactly he panicked. He placed you on his bed and contemplated calling Shinobu over. Problem was, she didn't know where he lived. In fact, no one did. Which is why he was so confused as to how you managed to find his home. His estate was far away from any town and people since he wasn't the best at interacting with them. By the time he rushed over to someone's estate then rushed back you'd probably be dead.

Looking back, Giyuu was over exaggerating by a lot. He thought that you'd been out in the cold for almost a day when in reality it was only a few hours. The reason you looked so pale was because one, you were exhausted and two, it was cold. You had your demon slayer uniform along with your haori so it wasn't like you were running butt naked in the snow.

But Giyuu cared deeply for you; despite not showing it. He didn't want to lose you. So, he covered you in a mountain of blankets, making sure that you'd stay warm and toasty. He breathed out a sigh of relief when he noticed the color beginning to return to your cheeks. Your eyes would occasionally open a tiny bit while you mumbled something along the lines of " warm " and " hungry "

Giyuu chuckled, reaching over and placing a stand of your hair behind your ear. You felt Giyuu's hand brush against your cheek and subconsciously leaned into his hand. A small smile graced his lips, " You're so cute when you're half asleep like this.. "

The words left his mouth before he even realized what he had said. He quickly pulled his hand back and covered his mouth, still in shock that he let those words slip. You groggily sat up when the warmth on your cheek disappeared, rubbing your eyes begrudgingly. " What happened?... "

Giyuu tried to keep a straight face in hopes that you wouldn't notice the red hue on his cheeks, " You walked into my home freezing cold. How long were you out there? "

You thought for a moment before shrugging. You grabbed Giyuu's arms and before he could protest against it you wrapped your arms tightly around his torso, " Take a nap with me.. " you buried your face into his chest.

As much as he wanted to accept your offer and cuddle you until the both of you fell asleep, he didn't know how to. Awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around you and hoped to any divine being out there that he wouldn't ruin this moment.

While Giyuu was internally struggling with the thought of hugging you improperly, you were hiding your red face in Giyuu's chest because you swore you heard him call you cute just a few minutes ago.

#giyuu x reader #giyuu tomioka x reader #tomioka giyuu #kimetsu no yaiba giyuu #demon slayer #someone give giyuu a hug please #kimitsu no yaiba #kny fluff #kny x reader #giyuu needs affection please someone give it to him #demon slayer tomioka #demon slayer giyuu tomioka #bean writes

233 notes · View notes

jadethe2nd · 3 years

Text

Prison Break

“Goodnight, Camera One.”

The Doctor steps back into her cell with a sigh. It’s been a hard day. A hard week. A hard… however long it’s been.

She looks at the marks she’s made on the wall. Normally she’d be able to count them in half a second and convert to whatever units of measurement she fancied without even thinking about it.

Today she can’t be bothered. Today it’s just… lots.

“Hello sweetie,” says a voice behind her.

The Doctor whirls around in shock, her hearts suddenly hammering in her chest so fast she’s certain that it’s actually possible they’re going to explode.

River Song is sat lounging against the wall in the corner, wearing a red prison jumpsuit and a grin the Doctor had been sure she would never see again.

She gasps, utterly speechless.

River’s grin widens. “Nice to see you too.” She stands, sauntering over in a way that makes the Doctor weak at the knees. “You’re looking good. Shorter than me, that’s an interesting change.” She raises an eyebrow. “Could be fun.”

“River,” the Doctor manages, finally.

“Miss me?”

“So much,” the Doctor confesses, launching herself into River’s arms and hugging her close. She feels real, solid, and her hair tickles the Doctor’s cheek. The Doctor makes a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob; even she herself isn’t sure which.

“Doctor…” The grin is gone from River’s voice, replaced by concern.

“Sorry,” she chokes, trying to get a grip on herself. “It’s just…” She gulps. “Oh, you’re a sight for sore eyes.” She pulls back, looking up – up! – into River’s eyes. River’s beautiful eyes. Beautiful River’s beautiful eyes.

River looks down at the Doctor’s fingers, digging into River’s upper arms perhaps, she realises belatedly, a little too vigorously. “Sweetie.” She removes one of the Doctor’s hands, squeezing it in hers. “Come on, let’s sit down.”

The Doctor allows River to guide her to the bed and sit beside her on the mattress. She squeezes her hand – probably too hard, again – and doesn’t take her eyes off her wife for even a second. She is going to drink in every moment of this, she promises herself. Every microsecond.

River gestures at the walls. “What’s all this?”

The Doctor shrugs. “Marking time.”

“Why?”

Another shrug; she can’t find it in herself to care very much right now about anything other than the presence of River Song next to her. “Not much else to do.”

“No, Doctor, I mean, why are you still here? I know this is a high-security prison and everything, but I’ve been here a day and I’ve already managed to hack into the central computer, find out that you’re here, get myself reassigned to the cell next to yours, and create a secret doorway between the two using components from the sanitation system. I have several possible escape plans at a promising stage of development. You’ve been here a lot longer than that and, while I am extremely adept at prison breaks, so are you. So. Why are you still here?”

Frowning, the Doctor looks again at the walls. “I had some thoughts, I just... they haven’t come together.”

River’s expression has turned very serious when the Doctor looks at her again. She would much rather have the grin back.

“Doctor, what’s happened?”

“I don’t know.” She breaks eye contact. She doesn’t know if she wants to talk about this.

“Doctor. Tell me.”

“I don’t know.” She still doesn’t know if she wants to talk about it, but it comes tumbling out anyway. “That’s the thing. I don’t know. I don’t know what happened to a huge part of my life. I don’t even know how huge. I just found out that the beginning of my life wasn’t the beginning, there are huge chunks from before that that are just missing, and I don’t know who I was then, or what I did, and I don’t know who I’m supposed to be and…” And then she realises who she’s talking to.

River nods sympathetically, but there’s a smile slowly returning now. “Huge chunks of your life missing. That sounds familiar.”

“River…” The Doctor’s not sure if she’s starting an apology, or even if she should apologise. She just knows that, as usual, River has just turned everything on its head.

“You don’t know who you’re supposed to be?” River looks at her pointedly. “You’re the Doctor. And I’m River Song. That’s who we are.”

The Doctor sighs. “But who is the Doctor?”

“Whoever you think she should be.”

“But what if I was someone different in the past, someone who did bad things?”

River rolls her eyes. “Someone like Melody Pond? Doctor.” She turns on the bed, clasping both the Doctor’s hands in hers. “Listen to me very carefully. You have always been you. Trust me. I know.”

The Doctor feels like her hearts have just stopped. “You… you know?”

“I know. To be quite honest, I thought you were one of them. How exciting to find that you’re after.”

“But—but you—does that mean—?”

The grin is back. “Spoilers.”

The Doctor almost faints. “I’ve got so many questions—“

“Which I can’t answer, sweetie, so don’t bother.” Her smile softens. “I understand what you’ve been going through. But isolating yourself for thirty-two years is not the answer.”

The Doctor looks around, taking in the walls again, and takes them in properly this time. “…Oh.”

“Come here,” River says, and kisses her.

The Doctor sinks into her like an exhausted woman sinking into her pillows at the end of the day. River feels like home. The Doctor hasn’t felt at home since before she was sentenced to prison.

A thought occurs to her, and she pulls back, a centimetre that feels like a light-year, but curiosity overrides her need to be kissing her wife, at least for a few seconds.

“River,” she says.

“Yes, sweetie?”

“What did you do, to get sent here?”

River has that look in her eye – the look that says she’s been naughty and she knows the Doctor is not quite comfortable with how much she likes that. “I may have stolen the Judoon homeworld and hidden it in a pocket universe for two days. It was just a joke, really.”

“River! Why?”

“They were shooting at me. I had to do something.”

“They? The whole planet of Judoonia was shooting at you?”

“Felt like it.” She shrugs. “I was shooting back, to be fair. I was just a bit outnumbered.”

“Do I want to ask why you and the Judoon were shooting at each other?”

“I didn’t know seducing their empress would cause such a fuss,” River says innocently.

The Doctor stares at her. Of course River would do something like that. It would be shocking if River hadn’t done something like that.

Surprising herself, the Doctor bursts out laughing.

“I’ve missed you,” she tells her again. She thinks the tears trickling down her cheeks are tears of mirth. Probably.

“I always miss you, sweetie.” River pecks her on the lips, and narrows her eyes in speculation. “What do you say to getting out of these matching pyjamas?”

That sets the Doctor off again, and they both laugh quite a lot before they manage to do anything about the jumpsuits at all.

* * *

Lying next to River, her skin pressing against hers, the Doctor feels more alive than she has for a long time. She can’t stop touching her; running her fingers down her arms, planting kisses anywhere she can reach, hooking her leg possessively over River’s waist so she can’t disappear in the night.

“You should get some sleep, sweetie.” River says, amused. “Big day of planning our escape tomorrow.”

“You know I don’t sleep.”

“I know that’s a lie,” River counters.

“How can I possibly sleep knowing that I’ll be missing precious hours with my wife?”

“Ooh, you’re very sentimental in this body. I like it.” River presses a kiss to her hairline, resting a palm on her cheek. “I’ll still be here in the morning.”

“River Song lies,” the Doctor mumbles.

“Not this time.”

“Promise?” the Doctor challenges, trying to sound more light-hearted than she feels.

“Promise.” River pecks her on the lips, then snuggles closer and shuts her eyes. “Now sleep.”

* * *

The Doctor wakes up the next morning to a cold patch on the narrow mattress where River should have been, and panics.

“The food in here is quite good, isn’t it?” River’s voice remarks, and the Doctor rolls over and tries to hide the fact that she’s just almost had a heart attack.

River is sitting cross-legged on the floor, tucking into the Doctor’s breakfast.

“Stormcage could learn a thing or two,” she says, nodding in appreciation as she chews.

“Hey,” the Doctor protests half-heartedly. “That’s mine.”

River reaches for a piece of fruit and holds it out. “Pear?”

“Never mind.”

She pulls a face, and River laughs at her. “Have a croissant,” she offers instead, throwing it across the one metre of space between them.

One metre is really much too far, the Doctor reflects. And that’s definitely the reason why she doesn’t manage to catch the croissant and it lands in the bed after ricocheting off her face. No other reason.

“Still clumsy, I see.” River smirks.

“I am not,” the Doctor insists, grabbing the croissant and taking a bite. “Just because you’re distracting me with your… you,” she finishes with her mouth full.

River sighs. “Flattery will get you everywhere,” she declares. She stands and steps across the one metre gap, sinking down next to the Doctor and pushing the tray towards her. “Eat up. We’re meeting Jack downstairs in a bit.”

The Doctor’s eyes widen. “What?”

River winks. “There’s always a way out.”

* * *

The three of them materialise in the TARDIS, and within seconds the Doctor finds herself locked in a hug with Jack Harkness, not even sure which one of them initiated it.

“Thank you,” she gasps, her head still reeling.

“Good to see you too.” He gestures. “Loving the hers and hers outfits, by the way.”

“I’m glad someone is,” River puts in. “But personally I am going to get changed immediately. There’s a reason I never let them put me in one of these in Stormcage.” She turns to the Doctor. “Care to assist, sweetie?”

The Doctor hesitates for a split second, and Jack physically pushes her towards her wife. “Never turn down an offer like that from River Song,” he says with a wink.

River winks back. “You’re right about that.”

The Doctor snaps out of her funk just a little bit. “Oi! I’m right here!”

Laughing, River grabs her arm. “Good. Now come with me.”

* * *

River is wearing something stunning, as usual. The Doctor has found her normal clothes; she puts them on and turns to show them off.

River looks at her critically. “It’s an improvement on the jumpsuit,” she says eventually.

The Doctor pouts. “You never like what I wear.”

River steps closer, scoffing. “Has that ever mattered? I’m far more interested in what’s underneath.”

The Doctor is half tempted to close the distance and get them both right back out of their clothes, but… “How did you do it?” she asks instead. She realises the question has been burning since yesterday. “How did you take all that uncertainty and hurt and turn it into something so positive? How did you become River Song?”

River nods slowly, taking this change in tone in her stride. “You had faith in me.” She steps closer, resting her hands on the Doctor’s shoulders. “Complete and unerring faith that it was impossible for me to contradict. So I became who you knew I could be all along.” She shrugs, smiling. “Now. Where to?”

The Doctor’s eyes flick to the bed in the corner and back – but that can wait. “Earth,” she says instead, taking her hand. “There are three very special people I’d like you to meet.”

#sorry Jack but #there's someone the Doctor knows who has a significant history of escaping and it's not you #river/thirteen #drfic #my fic #dw spoilers

24 notes · View notes

thatringboy · 4 years

Text

The Way A Soul Lives - TWST

To write some Diasomnia angst has been a goal of mine for a while and seeing the new official book and the Diasomnia boys made me want to finish

I’ve only ever written angst a few times, so this was a nice practice. I hope I didn’t go too OOC here, but I think I’m good. I tried a new writing style here that I’m not that confident in, so feedback is very much appreciated!

Warnings: Magic, self inserted theories about Faes, fight scenes, blood, death and the angst associated with that

Word count: 1,615 (a new record I think!)

Sebek enjoyed the night shift. There was always something invigorating about walking around the Draconia castle when only dim torches and moonlight lit his path. A hand on his sword hilt, he quietly marched up and down halls, sometimes stopping in the Royal Library to glance at a book, and always passed by the rooms of the royal family.

However, his blood turned to ice when the Fae noticed a haphazardly opened window and mud tracked on the floor near it. He turned on his heels and ran back towards the room of his fellow guard, taking into account that the muddy footprints were not those of a humanoid.

~~~

Yuu sat down on the blanket and a frown tugged at their lips. “So why did you drag me all the way out here? It’s freezing!”

Cater laughed and pulled his coat on tighter. “Because there’s a Meteor shower tonight and there’s gonna be some fireworks to celebrate the end of Spring Break! Don’t worry, the others will be here soon and we can take some pics for Magicam.”

Principal Crowley had allowed Yuu Prefect to leave Night Raven College for the week of Spring Break and the magic-less human somehow got dragged to the mountains of Pyroxene where the snow had not yet melted. Yuu spent the week posing for cameras with Cater and Vil and learned how to snowboard thanks to Jack’s tutelage. Grim enjoyed the attention he was receiving during the trip and showed his gratitude by becoming a makeshift hot water bottle inside of Yuu’s thick coat.

Two figures approached the clearing. The shorter one talked with their hands in an annoyed voice. “All I’m saying is that you and the potato could really become a modeling duo! You two have the natural talent and certainly the looks.”

The taller figure grunted and sat down next to Yuu. “Not in a million years will you find me modeling sports clothing. Oh, hey Prefect.”

“Hey Jack.” Yuu sighed and looked up at the stars that were starting to appear. The constellations in Twisted Wonderland were different from those on Earth and they seemed to draw large coherent pictures across the sky. Vil sat down on his own blanket and opened his mouth to argue with Jack some more, but Cater closed his mouth.

“The show’s about to start!”

~~~

Sebek knocked on Silver’s door as quietly as he could. He could hear his fellow guard get out of bed and step to the door. Silver opened the door partially and opened his mouth to protest the rude awakening, but Sebek covered it before the human could make a sound.

“There’s an intruder.” Sebek whispered. “I can take the South stairwell to the young lord’s room if you take the West and go get Master Lilia.”

Silver nodded and grabbed his pen. The two men silently went in their directions, Silver to the west and Sebek to the south, and stepped into hidden passages. Sebek broke into a full sprint and exited the passage to see that Malleus’ door was open. A feeling of dread set into his stomach as he tip-toed near the door. What he saw sent a shiver of terror down his spine.

Standing over the sleeping figure of Malleus was a creature made of flickering and ever-changing shadows. From within itself, it produced an awful looking hand with claws the size of kitchen knives. Sebek moved without thinking and drew his sword as he ran to the side of the bed. He swung his sword in a graceful arc and removed the clawed appendage from the monster. It reeled back and shrieked horrifically, making Sebek cover his ears and making Malleus bolt awake.

The dragon Fae assessed the situation and dove out of bed for his staff, but the monster put itself between the two. The amputated limb shook violently in the air before it seemed to regrow itself. Sebek lunged with his sword and put himself in front of Malleus. “Go! Silver and Master Lilia are on their way! Get to the panic room!”

Malleus nodded and ran from the room. Sebek returned his focus on the monster. He had trained for this very scenario for a good portion of his life and he certainly wasn’t going to back down now.

~~~

The night grew colder, but the fireworks were worth it. Yuu clutched onto Grim’s warmth while Cater and Vil shared a blanket and watched the colorful lights explode in the air. Jack, having a naturally high body temperature, didn’t understand the discomfort of his companions, but thankfully didn’t tease them about it. He was sure that if he brought it up, his tail might receive a wicked pinch.

Cater had his phone up taking as many pictures as he could of the show while Vil had only taken a single selfie. Yuu sat in awe of the entire situation and was suddenly very grateful that the Principle had permitted this vacation.

Ew, was Yuu Prefect grateful for the actions of Crowley? The thought disgusted them and made them shiver more than the cold. Grim looked up at them “How cold are you, you weak human!”

Yuu frowned and hugged Grim tighter. “Very.”

Jack leaned forward from where he was sitting. “Here comes the finale! You’re in for a treat, you two.”

Grim and Yuu looked up to see a firework explode above them. A shower of gold sparks rained down as a second firework went off, sending red and blue streams everywhere.

“Truly beautiful.” Vil whispered. He got his phone out and snapped another picture. Yuu assumed that he would be sending it to Rook. Cater laughed and pointed to another firework that was about to explode. It went off and a brilliant lime green glow filled the night sky. Yuu agreed with Vil - the sight was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen.

When the lights faded, Yuu noticed that the stars were all out, blanketing the sky with billions of small lights. Jack laid down on his back and looked up at the sky. “What do you know, the Draconia Constellation can be seen this early in the year. That’s usually a Summer Constellation.”

Yuu looked up and sure enough, a large portion of the stars formed a dragon in the air. “Draconia, like Malleus’ family?”

Cater sat back as well, taking the shared blanket with him to the distress of Vil. “That’s the one. The longest Fae line in the world.”

Grim looked up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Vil raised his eyebrows. “I keep forgetting that you are not of this world. Let me explain this for you.”

~~~

Sebek could counter the physical attacks of the monster, but he hadn’t expected it to start hurling fireballs at him. He hissed and kicked himself a little bit whenever a fireball set something of Malleus’ ablaze, but he forced himself to keep his head in the fight.

Where is that lazy Silver? He should be here by now!

The monster jumped up and landed on the bed. Sebek pulled out his pen and fired a bolt of magic, but the mass of shadows absorbed the spell and made that horrible screech again. He grimaced and swung again, ducking under another fireball and was surprised that his sword made contact with something solid, but bounced off.

This creature, it’s changing to match my attacks! Come on, Sebek, think!

He grit his teeth and rolled across the bed, diving behind it to use as cover. If he kept the monster focused on him, it wouldn’t make a break for the door.

The door...

Sebek peaked his head up and noticed that the monster was loading another fireball. He ducked to avoid being hit and made a mad dash for the exit, throwing a rather large textbook that probably held ancient spells passed down from the Fairy Queen herself. Sebek hated to see such literature shredded before his eyes, but he decided that in the moment this would be acceptable behavior.

The monster recovered faster than he had anticipated. It’s claw lashed out as Sebek almost crossed the threshold and knocked him aside. His head hit the side of Malleus’ wardrobe and he felt a stinging pain in his right eye, but other than that was uninjured and got back on his feet. It slashed out again, but Sebek narrowly avoided the sharp talons. His energy was drained and even if he could raise his pen, he would possibly overblot from casting a single spell. He could run for the door again and risk impalement or stay in the corner and be burnt alive. Sebek’s mind, despite the chaos around him and his time running out, started to think of his friends at Night Raven College.

What would they do in his situation? Deuce and Jack would rush in head first, Ace would attempt to create a distraction, Grim would just made more fire and Yuu Prefect probably wouldn’t have even gotten themselves into this mess. Not to mention Epel would probably do any of those things based off of his slightly unpredictable personality. There was little doubt that Epel would also charge the monster, but there was no way of knowing for sure.

Sebek tuned back into reality as a fireball narrowly missed his face. The stinging in his eye and blood trickling down from his scalp made it hard to focus, but his adrenaline was still pumping. He was still standing. He was still fighting.

“Sebek!”

Someone called from the door. The guard - and the monster - turned to see a horrified Silver standing there, his pen clutched tightly. Sebek’s heart froze. He wanted to tell Silver to run, but Sebek’s voice became caught in his chest. The creature of shadows began to prepare another fireball, but Sebek’s body reacted quicker. He dropped his sword and tackled the monster. The two clashed until Sebek managed to force it out of Malleus’ window, but the monster held tight and Sebek felt gravity pull him down to the courtyard below.

~~~

“While most stars outside of constellations are celestial spheres of noble gases and other elements, the stars in constellations are actually souls.” Vil sat back on his hands and looked up at the dragon shaped image in the sky.

Cater sat back up, letting Vil snatch back the blanket. “Oh yeah! My mom explained this to me! Every time a fairy dies, they join their family constellation in the stars!”

“Unlike mortal souls that go to the Isles of Lamentation when we pass,” Vil continued. “The Fae’s immortal spirits are placed in the heavens to dance for all of eternity, or so the legend goes. Some stories say that the Fae came to Twisted Wonderland from the stars and so to the stars they return, but I for one just believe that this is a beautiful story.”

Yuu thought for a second. “So then what about shooting stars?”

Jack put his hands behind his head and got comfortable on the ground. “Nope, those are just regular comets or asteroids or whatever you call them.”

“Fascinating.” Yuu whispered. “Where I come from, stars are just flaming balls of gas in space. I shouldn’t be surprised that magic goes as far as constellations, but I am.”

Grim cleared his throat. “Wait, what about wishing stars?”

Vil put a hand to his chin to think. “You know, I’m not entirely sure. It could be that the magic of the fallen fairies could be the ones granting the wishes, but I don’t believe anyone is sure.”

“One of the universe’s many mysteries.” Cater’s voice dropped to be almost inaudible.

Yuu looked back up at the Draconia Line constellation. “There’s a hole in the dragon’s heart except for that one bright star, is that one Maleficent?”

Jack nodded, which was hard because he was on the ground. “The area around her is probably being reserved for her immediate family, so one day in a thousand years, Malleus and Lilia will join her and maybe even Sebek if he wasn’t too stubborn to die.”

Yuu laughed. “Yeah, that’s Sebek.”

~~~

Everything hurt.

Sebek was sure his arms and several ribs were broken, but other than that he landed from the seventh floor quite successfully. He attempted to sit up, but his body ached too much.

The shadow monster laid prone on the stone next to him. Sebek hoped it was finally dead. His inhuman vision let him see Silver and Lilia looking out the window he had tumbled from. Lilia vanished and reappeared next to Sebek, looking down at him with a sad face.

“Forgive my tardiness, young man.” Lilia knelt down next to Sebek and began to mutter a healing spell. A wave of warmth rushed over Sebek as the spell took hold over his body and he felt very tired.

“What is that thing?” Sebek looked at the monster. Lilia glanced back at it and shrugged. “I suppose a demon created to take the life of our young prince. You did well holding up against it for so long, I’m sure there’ll be a medal waiting for you when you wake up that you can show to all your companions at school.”

Sebek liked that idea. He imagined wearing a new medal proudly for a week to boast about to his friends.

“Oh Jack what did you do over the break?”

“I was just snowboarding at home.”

“Well I single-handedly fought off a demon and saved the young lord’s life!”

If it didn’t take so much energy, Sebek would have smiled from the thought.

Lilia finished his spell and offered a hand for Sebek to stand. It took effort, but the taller Fae got to his feet and leaned against his mentor. They began to walk away from the body of the monster, but out of the corner of his ever vigilant eyes, Sebek swore he saw it move.

Time seemed to slow down for Sebek. He shoved Lilia to the ground, earning an angry protest from the older Fae, and turned to face the monster as its claws sunk into his chest, tearing away his armor like it was paper.

The healing spell must have dulled his senses because Sebek didn’t feel any pain from the attack. Instead, he just looked up at the night sky and the Draconia Line constellation looked back down at him. The monster retracted its claw and Sebek slumped to the ground. He wasn’t aware of the pool of blood that was forming around his knees and he wasn’t aware of the blood curdling scream that came from Lilia’s lips, nor was he aware of the beam of magic that ripped the monster in two.

No, all Sebek was aware of were the beautiful stars inviting him to dance with them.

~~~

Yuu could see the stars from their bedroom in Jack’s house. After packing up for the night, Yuu, Grim and Jack said their goodbyes and returned to the log cabin. They had packed their things for their return to school in the morning, but while the cat-like monster slumbered peacefully on the bed they shared, Yuu found themself staring at the stars again.

They also found themself feeling a pit of dread well up in their stomach. It was cold like a clawed hand reaching up and tearing them apart from the inside. There was no reason that Yuu could think of to have this feeling, but it made them wonder if returning to Night Raven College would yield another overblotting upperclassman.

Yuu pushed the window open and a cool breeze ruffled their hair. They looked up at the dragon constellation and squinted before their eyes widened in confusion.

Yuu didn’t know how or why, but the bright star in the heart of the dragon was now joined by a smaller star that shone just as bright.

#this took me so long to write #i'm not that sure about the ending #but i like how the two scenes meshed together #TWST #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland writing #Sebek Zigvolt #Lilia Vanrouge #twisted wonderland Silver #Malleus Draconia #Cater Diamond #Jack Howl #vil schoenheit #Twisted Wonderland Yuu Prefect #Yuu Prefect #twisted wonderland Grim #ThatRingBoy Blue #ThatRingBoy Writing

73 notes · View notes

raineydaywrites · 3 years

Text

Nesting, Chapter 9

link to ao3 in the reblog

Fic Summary: Taako and Lup are determined to kick ass at going to university, even though their childhood education was anything but traditional.Then, Taako finds himself in a situation that threatens to undermine all their hard work.But there's plenty of university students that have kids! Really, this is just another chance to show how much better they are at everything they do- they can definitely manage to graduate and raise a kid at the same time.

Chapter Summary: This chapter has it all! Panic attacks, Magnus cameo, baby clothes, crushes, siblings messing with each other! Also, yeah, this definitely moving into some solid Lupcretia.

Miscarriage. How had that never occurred to him? He should have thought about that.

It wasn't likely, he tried to remind himself. It probably wasn't going to happen.

He should focus on other things instead. Like school work. The rest of his life wasn't going away just because his mind decided to go crazy over something that wasn't even happening.

Despite the rationality of his thoughts, Taako couldn't bring himself to actually follow through on them. His mind kept spiraling. He couldn't stand the thought of losing the thing now. He'd finally let himself actually want it!

He was so deep in thought that he forgot himself and where he was- namely, in public- for a little bit. It took the realization that someone was speaking to him to bring himself back.

"Hey, buddy? You okay?"

Taako startled backwards away from the stranger speaking to him, but he was already in the corner of the tiny booth in the coffee shop, so there wasn't really anywhere to go.

"Fine," he managed, watching the human in front of him carefully.

The guy was about the same height as he was, but he was a lot broader. Clearly more of a physical type of a guy than a magic user or anything else. He had reddish hair and big, worried eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked, as those worried eyes looked Taako over. "You seemed kind of out of it there."

"I'm good, homie." Taako waved a hand dismissively, despite the way that his mind was screaming and his fingers were trembling.

And oh. Great. He wasn't sure if it was the anxiety or the morning sickness or some dreadful combination of both, but his stomach had started churning too.

"Did you come here with anybody? Can I... help you somehow?" the guy asked, looking around worriedly as if someone would pop up to relieve him of this duty he'd taken on himself for no apparent reason.

"Nah, man, you're good," Taako insisted. This guy needed to fuck off before Taako puked on him.

"Hey, just breathe, okay?" the guy said, and oh. When had he started to have trouble with that? Taako wasn't sure, but he was definitely breathing too fast now, the oxygen not quite getting through to his brain like it was supposed to.

He did so, because even if this guy was intruding on his personal shit, he wasn't wrong about the breathing thing.

"You wanna get out of here? Go somewhere quieter?" the guy asked, watching Taako carefully.

Taako nodded, because he did. Started to gather his shit, kept dropping stuff, godsdamn he was too clumsy. He had to get that under control before the baby got here- if he didn't fuck it up first.

The guy leaned over and started to help, holding Taako's things with steady hands.

"Thanks," Taako choked out.

"No problem," the guy smiled. "Is it okay if I touch you? Just to help you get somewhere else."

Taako shrugged, and the guy lifted one arm protectively over Taako's shoulder, but didn't let it drop to actually touch him. He led Taako carefully away from the cafe, finding an empty room and ushering them both inside.

Taako planned to say something, but before he could, his stomach started protesting again, and he was very glad to see that the room had a trash can nearby.

"Ew," the man who'd helped him muttered, seemingly torn between stepping closer to help and leaving.

Taako snorted, amused by the reaction. He seemed a decent guy, but Taako could hardly blame him for being grossed out.

"It's chill, my dude. You don't gotta do anything," Taako said, leaning back against the wall.

"Okay," the guy said, offering a sympathetic smile. "You still gonna try to say you're fine? Cause that must have been a hell of panic attack to make you puke."

"Nah, not really," Taako deflected. "I mean, yeah, unpleasant, but actually, this," he gestured to trash and wrinkled his nose, "was just morning sickness. Not nerves. Thanks, though, for checking and whatever."

"Oh. Uh, are you feeling better now, though? On both fronts? If you need to vent, dude, I'm cool with that. No pressure or anything. Just maybe easier to vent to a stranger, ya know?" the guy asked. "Or I could... get you some... water?" He sounded painfully unsure of what to do, in a way that was endearing, not that Taako would let it show.

It was awful sweet of him to offer, and he might have a point. If it didn't work, not like Taako ever had to see the dude again.

Still, he only shrugged in response, not loving the idea of opening up to a stranger- especially considering the guy had already seen him so vulnerable already.

"I'll get you that water," the guy said, hurrying out of the room.

Taako watched him go, not really expecting him to come back again. The guy had been nice and helped him out, and he'd repaid the kindness by being surly, so he could hardly blame him. Not like it mattered anyway. Taako didn't need some stranger poking his nose in his business.

Still, it was harder to hold off the nerves without the presence of another person. He wished he'd asked the doc more about any signs that anything had gone wrong. Better to know that as soon as it started right? If he noticed fast enough, maybe they could do something to save the thing.

Unless there was no chance of saving it. Then maybe it would be better to live in blissful ignorance for a while.

Taako realized that he'd pulled his knees up to his chest and reminded himself to breathe. This was hormones and senseless worries, nothing more. He was fucking up his bad bitch image by having anxiety and he needed to stop it.

The door opened back up, and the guy came back. He had a bottle of water in his hands, and he handed it to Taako.

"Drink that. And breathe, okay?" he said.

"How do you know what to do?" Taako asked. He’d meant for it to sound more like doubt in the guy’s skills then it did, but he figured the point would still get across.

“My sister gets panic attacks a lot! I help her sometimes!” The guy apparently didn’t get the point, as he spoke with pride and smiled widely at Taako.

Well, it was whatever. If the guy took it as genuine gratitude, more power to him. Didn’t hurt Taako.

He stood up again after a moment, still feeling a little shaky but back to himself for the most part.

“Hey, homie, thanks or whatever, but I’m good and I’m out, ‘kay?” Taako said, gathering his things.

“Uh, yeah, okay,” the guy said, still watching Taako carefully as he left the room. Taako decided to believe that he was watching his ass, instead of admitting that the guy was probably worried something would happen.

Didn’t need to be that honest with himself, after all.

“My name’s Magnus! Magnus Burnsides! I’m-“ the guy called.

“Yeah, uh, hail and well met,” Taako said, closing the door behind him.

He didn’t tell Lup about the incident. Why should he? What good would it do? It happened and it sucked, but she couldn’t do anything about it.

He just had to accept that things were going to suck for a while. He couldn’t do anything to change that at the moment or for the foreseeable future so he just had to deal.

When he got back to the apartment, Lup was there, digging through some bags from the store.

“Groceries?” Taako assumed, glancing into them as he passed by, prepared to help her put them away.

“Yep,” Lup agreed, but she quickly shoved one bag behind her back, refusing to let him see into it.

Taako raised an eyebrow at that, but he didn’t press it. He'd figure out what was in there sooner or later, and it would be better if Lup let her guard down first, instead of just trying to grab it out of her hands. His center of balance had been off lately, and she’d have a definite advantage at keeping shit away from him. Not about to embarrass himself like that.

As they finished up with the groceries, Lup pulled the secret bag back out.

"I was gonna wait to do anything like this, but I saw this and couldn't fucking resist," she said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a small scrap of fabric something- oh. A baby clothing- a onesie or whatever it's called. It read "My Aunt is like my Dad, but Cooler."

"You shouldn't have," Taako started. "Parasite's not gonna go out wearing such an obvious lie."

Lup scoffed, a bit of relief slipping into her expression at the fact that he didn't freak out about it.

"You really think you're gonna be able to keep up with me on the cool factor when you've got a sticky monster crawling on you and keeping you up all night? I'd love to see that," she said, setting the onesie down on the counter, and pulling out some very small socks.

"Oh my gods, those are tiny," Taako said, immediately, momentarily disregarding the first part of her comment in favor of grabbing the socks and staring, because how. How could any person be little enough to need those?

"I know!" Lup shouted. "Get this, apparently a ton of newborns are so small, these are literally too big at first."

"How?" Taako demanded. "Also- the little thing is going to be messy, yeah, but also adorable, natch, so it'll even out."

"Ehhh," Lup made a skeptical face at him. "Maybe when they're bigger, sure. But newborns are kinda ugly, not gonna lie. You can't say it, because it's rude, but they are. All scrunched up and red and shit, and they can't smile or anything either. So as long as it's this little, it's gonna be accurate."

Taako just flipped her off, digging into the bag and seeing a few other pieces of tiny, tiny clothing. Lup hadn't gotten much, and the rest was pretty plain, but it was blowing his mind how little all of it was.

He supposed that they had to be pretty little, to actually get born without killing their parent, but it was still hard to imagine.

He scooped the clothes up into his arms to put them away when it occurred to him that he had no idea where to put any of this.

"We're gonna have to move, aren't we?" He groaned.

"Yeah, probably," Lup agreed. "But that's way too far away too worry about. Just stuff it in your room for now."

Taako grumbled under his breath, but figured she had a point. Their lease wouldn't run out for months and the little guy was even further away. Still wouldn't be fun trying to move later on, because by then he'd probably have a lot more trouble with the whole 'moving around' thing.

He hadn't started to show at all yet, which was apparently normal, even if it seemed kind of weird to him. His whole fucking life had changed since he found out he was pregnant, and yet, there was still nothing to show for it. He didn't mind not being huge and awkward already, but something this big seemed like it should be noticeable.

But once it was noticeable, then he'd have to deal with reactions. Everybody he knew would be able to see it. And they'd have questions, or want to talk about it out of politeness or whatever. And strangers would be able to tell even. And they would think- who even knew what? It was going to be another layer on the bullshit sandwich.

He could handle it though. He could handle a lot of bullshit, and it had to happen for the kid to get here. And when the kid got here, that crap would be over with, and he'd have his baby. And that would be good. Probably. He hoped.

Lucretia figured that it might be best if she kept working with the twins on the paperwork for the child support. Now that she knew that Sebastian didn't plan on skipping out completely, it was less necessary that she play a role in the process, but it still might be the wisest decision. She had a rapport with the twins that Sebastian was lacking, and, despite everything, she actually liked seeing them. So it wouldn't be a hardship to work through this with them and relay the relevant information to her brother later.

Today, for the first time, Lucretia had been invited over to the twins' place. Lup had texted her the address of their apartment, and Lucretia was curiously looking around as she made her way over.

The place wasn't far from where the actual IPRE classes took place, which wasn't surprising. Still, it was an area that Lucretia wasn't very familiar with, and she was careful to keep track of where she was so she wouldn't find herself hopelessly lost.

It was a nice area, if definitely designed for college age kids. Lucretia and Sebastian still lived with their parents, in a completely separate part of town, and that might make it difficult for them to see the baby very often. If Seb even wanted to, and if Taako and Lup even let them.

Lucretia knew that she wanted to, at least. And she thought- hoped- she'd have a decent chance of being allowed that.

It was strange, thinking of her brother as a parent. And Seb's attitude wasn't doing anything to help that. But even if her brother never actually acted as a dad to this child, Lucretia still found herself thinking of them as family. It was irrational, maybe. There was nothing tying them other than blood, and it wasn't even a direct connection. But she couldn't shake it regardless.

The baby was her brother's kid, which meant that they were family. Family- family was important. It wasn't fair to take away the kid's only chance of accessing that part of their family just because Seb was an immature dick. And- it wasn't fair to her, either, that she cared about the baby already and she could have lost any chance of seeing them because of her brother's irresponsibility.

As she got closer to the twins' apartment, Lucretia forced herself to focus on the numbers of each address, rather than let her mind run wild.

She found the right building, and made her way inside and up to the twins' unit quickly, pausing only briefly when she arrived at the door.

It was quickly answered by Lup, who smiled brightly and grabbed Lucretia's hand to pull her inside.

Taako was in the kitchen, cooking something that smelled really good. He waved as Lup pulled Lucretia behind her into the kitchen and shoved her towards a chair, before joining her brother.

"What'd you bring us?" Lup asked, indicating the envelope Lucretia had been fiddling since she'd arrived.

"A gift," Lucretia said, pushing the envelope over.

Both twins looked at the envelope curiously, almost eerie in the similarity of their expressions, but Taako was the one to grab the envelope from the counter.

He opened it, pulling out the money inside.

"My favorite kind of gift," he said, grinning.

"Nice!" Lup agreed, looking over at Taako excitedly.

"What's the occasion?" Taako asked, pocketing the money and resuming his cooking.

"It's from Seb. You could call it the first support payment, I suppose," Lucretia explained.

"Why's he suddenly being nice?" Taako asked, turning to face Lucretia as he spoke. "He doesn't have to fork anything over yet. What's in it for him?"

"This counts for some of the support he owes during the pre-natal period. Seb decided he'd rather make a bunch of small payments than a couple big ones later on," Lucretia said. "Figured it would be easiest for everyone. He doesn't have to save up so much, you guys get cash faster."

"Best for everyone, huh?" Lup said, a little skeptically.

"Yes," Lucretia responded, exasperated. "He's not a monster, you know. If it's good for him and good for you, then he's not going to go out of his way to make things harder just to spite you guys."

Taako and Lup exchanged a quick look at her words, and Lucretia got the feeling that they were having a whole conversation without her.

"Still an ass, though," Lup muttered, finally.

"Never said he wasn't," Lucretia said, a peace offering.

The kitchen fell into silence for a moment- not quite awkward but not entirely comfortable either. Lucretia found herself tapping her fingers against the counter nervously, wishing she had a notebook to doodle in.

"Hey, now that we have more cash, we can go supplies shopping," Lup said, breaking the silence.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Taako immediately perked up at her words, excitement breaking across his features. "Time to make a bombass nursery!"

The juxtaposition of the words made Lucretia grin in amusement. But she was glad that the twins were getting excited about this. She wanted her nibling to have a good family and childhood, and it was something of a relief to see the obvious affection they twins had for them already. She liked Taako and Lup, but they didn't exactly give off mature or parental vibes. Lucretia hadn't been worried about it, exactly, but she liked the reassurance that they cared anyway.

"You know any good baby stores, Luce?" Taako asked.

Lucretia hadn't been expecting the question, but she responded eagerly.

"I do! I actually helped out on a ranking of local baby-centered supplies shops only a few months ago, so I can look over my notes from that and give recommendations."

"Ranking? For what?" Lup asked.

"I'm a writer. I do some work for a local media group. I haven't done many reviews in a while, not since I was a junior writer, but a friend asked for some help on that project," Lucretia explained, sheepish at forgetting to give context.

"Wait, how old are you? If you're already a senior writer, or whatever?" Lup asked, tilting her head curiously.

"I'm not a senior writer, just not a junior writer anymore. I've been working for them since I was sixteen and I'm nineteen now," Lucretia explained, letting a little pride slip into her voice. She was a good writer, and she knew it. She'd gotten the job as part of the youth outreach and education program, but most of the teens employed through that program were temporary hires. She was one of the few who proved herself enough to stay on longer.

"Damn, that's pretty good for a baby!" Taako said, raising a hand for a high five that Lucretia returned with a giggle.

"Thanks. But I'm not a baby, and you probably don't want to call me one," she said.

"You're nineteen. I hadn't lost all my milk teeth by nineteen. You're a baby," Taako said.

"Okay, I guess, but if I'm a baby and my brother is a year younger than me, what does that make you?" Lucretia responded.

Taako and Lup both made disgusted faces at the words, which made Lucretia laugh.

"Okay, shit, you're an adult, just don't ever remind me of that again!" Taako said, mock gagging. "I'm never fucking dating a human again, gods."

"Deal," Lucretia said, still laughing a little.

"And here I was trying to be nice," Taako said, face relaxing out of the disgust. "You're an ass too, huh? Just a sneaky one."

"Takes one to know one," Lucretia said, dry. "How'd you think I had you two figured out so fast?"

"Hey, non-assholes are boring anyway," Lup shrugged. "This way, we can actually be friends."

Lucretia smiled at the suggestion that they were friends. She wasn't a complete loner, but she hadn't made very many friendships here so far. She was glad to have more among that number.

Still, amongst the happiness was the slightest twinge of discomfort at the words. She wasn't quite sure why, and mentally prodded at the feeling, reminding herself that this was a good thing. She liked the twins and she liked spending time with them. Yes, it may be a little awkward and complicated because of the situation with Seb, but overall this was good.

The twins finished cooked, and started to plate their food. Lucretia was surprised when they made up a third plate for her, and took it from Lup gratefully.

"Thank you. This smells wonderful," Lucretia said.

"Natch! We're fucking awesome cooks," Lup boasted, and Lucretia believed it, as she took a bite and had to hold herself back from eating it too quickly.

"You certainly are," Lucretia agreed, between mouthfuls.

Taako and Lup both preened under the praise, but Lucretia only had eyes for Lup's happy expression.

Oh.

Shit.

Lucretia almost choked on her next bite as it hit her. She had a crush on Lup. And she couldn't do anything about it, because she couldn't take the risk of making things awkward with one of her nibling's only family members. Because it would be awkward, because no way would Lup feel the same. Not only was she absolutely gorgeous and amazing, but this whole conversation had proved that Lup saw her as a child and a friend, not a potential partner.

She willed herself to calm down and not react. She didn't need to say or do anything about this. It would pass as long as she reminded herself that it wasn't going anywhere. It would be fine.

"I'll make sure to send you my notes," Lucretia said, turning to Taako and changing the subject. "On the baby stores."

"Nah, actually, you should just come with," Taako responded. "I'm sure you write great and all, but I don't feel like reading all that when you can just tell us."

"I- are you sure?" Lucretia asked. "I don't mind- but it's not my apartment or my baby. I don't want to intrude."

"That's even better. You can be a neutral opinion when me and Lulu start bitching over what to get," Taako said, grinning mischievously at Lup as he said it.

"Then, yes, I suppose I can come," Lucretia agreed, trying not to think about the fact that she was agreeing to spend hours shopping for cute and domestic things with the girl she'd just realized she had a crush on. Taako would be there, and none of this was her stuff, so it would be fine.

"Nice. Me or Lu will text you with the deets, okay?" Taako said, still looking at Lup as he said it. Then- "Ow!" - the look turned into a scowl.

"Whoops! I gotta be more careful where I swing my legs, sorry 'Ko."

#taz balance #taako adventurezone #lup adventurezone #lucretia adventurezone #lupcretia #taako taaco #lup taaco #taz lucretia #the adventure zone #my writing #kidfic #angus mcdonald #eventually

4 notes · View notes

quicklyseverebird · 4 years

Text

Why I became politically activated (agitated), or why I became a Trump supporter.

All the cards on the table, I doubt anyone will read this, especially anyone to whom it might make a difference or change a mind. This is a textual equivalent to shouting into the wind, and at the moment of writing these words, I don’t even know if I will post them anywhere. Yet I find clarity in writing things out, and in light of the state of our country, I want to organize my stream of consciousness to see why and how I got here, to where I stand now, at this point of time.

I used to pride myself on my lack of political involvement. I used to all but sneer when people got all worked up about political issues. Such things were distant and had no seeming impact on my life, though I did my civic duty and voted whenever possible, because that’s what you do in a republic, and you have no right to complain about the results if you did nothing to affect them.

So, when Trump first mentioned that he was running for president, I just rolled my eyes and chuckled like anyone else. He was vain, self-promoting and way too quick on the Twitter finger. He’s no one I would want to have over for dinner, but now I’m glad he won and I hope he wins again. I don’t think anyone else’s ego would have been able to weather the storm we’ve gone through over the past 4 years. Especially not a politician, who survives mainly by going wherever the wind of public opinion blows.

But I’m not a Republican, so I can’t vote in their primaries, so when he rose to the top, I was as surprised as anyone else. So, who was my other option?

Hillary Clinton, the poster child of political corruption and cronyism, whose scandals and crimes make a bigger volume than all the books she’s written explaining(complaining) about her loss.

2016 is when I had my political awakening and started to really look around at what was happening in the culture around me. Perhaps it was because I was a parent to a child on the cusp of adolescence who would soon start to be immersed in it. What I saw terrified me.

America had a rising group of Nazis infiltrating our culture. And I don’t mean the stereotypical skin heads we all revile and view with disgust. And I don’t mean the paltry 10-11k white supremacists in our country of 365 million (per Anti-defamation League data). No one took them all that seriously, because their bigotry was all too obvious, easily exposed, and they were, quite frankly, too few to matter.

No, I mean a real group of extremists who were Nazi’s in all but name. Who actually made a point of labeling anyone who disagreed with them a Nazi, in fact. Who with seeming ignorance of the historical irony of their actions, re-enacted every deed performed by the black and brown shirts of pre-WWII fascist Europe. They worked to shut down free speech (of anyone whose position differed from their own), attacked and intimidated anyone who challenged them with threats physical, verbal, professional and political, advocating literal book burning, public destruction of property, and most sneaky of all, enacting a new form of acceptable racism into a form that some have compared to a state-sponsored cult or religion. I saw the blossom in 2016, and now I am seeing the fruit.

A couple weeks ago, I watched, in horror, live on television as the Krystal Naught was reenacted in my own city and cities across the country. Since then I’ve seen these groups claim territory, terrorize and destroy businesses and residents’ homes. Most often—again in seeming unconscious irony—those belonging to the very people they claimed to be fighting in support of. The term terrorist is apt, as well as zealot. They subvert groups of well-meaning people to their own political ends and rain down terror on anyone who disagrees with them, up to and including actual physical harm, and provoking situations that wind up in death.

They are left wing, just as the Nazi’s were, born from a communist/Marxist foundation with an emphasis on race, instead of class, as their dividing point. It’s not the proletariat and bourgeoisie anymore, it’s <insert minority group> vs white. The irony that most of these individuals are themselves, white, seems—of course—to be lost on them. Fascism is socialism with a nationalistic and racial focus. It was invented by a student of Marx as a way of making socialism feasible. Apart from the nationalistic bent, this group follows the same formula. Anyone who disagrees with them is a Nazi or some kind of “-ist” or “-phobic.” It’s a marvelous rhetorical device. Say you’re not racist, well that that’s proof that you are! Try and bring up a factual point that disagrees with them, and they slap you with a label and claim through intersectionality politics that they don’t have to listen to you or any facts you might have to offer because you are from the “wrong group.” They only have to listen to details or views on an issue from a group appointed and designated by their ideology. No one else could ever offer a differing position. And those from the group in question who DO disagree with them? Well obviously, they are “race traitors” and their views don’t matter either. After all, a person is only a part of the “right group” if they agree with these people. If this took place in Nazi Germany, they would have been called “Jew-lovers.” I’ve literally watched people of color assaulted, abused, called racial slurs, by white people. (yes, there’s that irony again.) I’ve watched POC being told by these individuals, unaware of their actual skin color, to check their white privilege because obviously they have to be white if they disagree with their position. I see this inherent and rampant racism every time I post my own views and watch as people assume I’m a white man because…I hold the “wrong view.” Why would race even matter to whether or not what is being said is true or accurate, unless you're a racist? They have all their groups in neat and tidy boxes, with their assigned positions and “proper,” “permitted” viewpoints and anyone straying from the herd must be culled. I’ve watched them tear down statues of the men who gave them their rights, and statues of the men who freed slaves or died to free them, even black heroes! They’ve torn down statues built to commemorate abolitionists in the name of…racism… They paint a street, claiming that it is free speech, but when someone else paints on the same street, it’s a hate crime.

They are, in fact, the most racist people in our country, and they revel in it because they feel it’s justified. Place any of these people in Nazi Germany and they would be chomping at the bit alongside the Fuhrer at the "outrages" the Jewish race had inflicted on their country and the "privileges" they possessed. Their racism is “justified!” It is “right!” I have no doubt that, if our skin color didn’t already distinguish us from one another, the mobs roaming our cities now would be demanding something akin to pink triangles or stars of David be worn by the designated parties. We can see their racism clearly wherever they find a position of power and are allowed to organize themselves. We watched an utterly self-unaware Chaz/Chop re-institute Jim Crow laws and create race-designated locations, parks, gardens, etc. Whenever they find themselves in power, they organize themselves along racial lines. Given enough time, they would probably have created separate bathrooms and drinking fountains.

Like the Nazi’s of Germany, they thrive on division and fear. It gave the Germans a sense of purpose and pride coming out of the Great Depression following WWI. In today’s world, they never would have risen so far or so fast if not for the economic devastation following Covid-19 and the many frustrated, unemployed, frightened people it left in its wake.

And they do it all in the name of “racial” or “social” justice, and justify their rampant racism that way. They excuse their racism in the name of…racism. It leaves one wondering if these are either the most historically ignorant and self-unaware people in human history, or if they are literally evil. And I don’t use the term evil hyperbolically. I don’t mean mustache-twirling villains in black. No one really evil believes they are evil. The Devil himself thought his actions justified. Evil always justifies itself, masks itself as good, and this allows them to do even greater harm, for no one does more damage than an intellectual fool who believes they are doing the right thing. The only thing greater than mankind’s tendency towards evil is our ability to convince ourselves that it is good. And oh, they lie, and they lie, and they lie. They lie about events where they were the aggressors. They lie and even post videos of the event proving they are lying, boasting about their lies, because they know that they won't be held accountable, and their lie is being spread faster than the truth, and the people in authority will allow this. Far from being counter-cultural, they are now a state-sponsored, state-supported non-theistic religion. The similarities with a cult are creepy.

The truth is, they aren't interested in eliminating racism. In fact, as we can see from these protests, they make racism worse! And they do so deliberately. Why? Because they aren't interested in lives, no matter the color. They aren't interested in actual justice. More black lives alone have been killed by these protests, by actual BLM and Antifa people, than unarmed black men were killed by cops across the country in all of 2019. Perhaps we should defund/disband them. They are militarizing racism the same way the Nazi's did, to gain power. It's not about lives, it's not about actual violence or inequality, it's about the Movement. It's about gaining power and influence in society. And it is working the same way it did back in Germany. When you have literally white, leftist people attacking and calling black people racial slurs because they don't agree with their positions, and then claiming they are against racism....

So, let’s see here. We have an international organization born from the German Communist Party, with localized cells but a unified ideology, cooperative networks, shared finances, a common uniform, trademarked logos and merchandise, who ferment racial tensions to gain political power, create divisions between communities, seek to destroy anyone who would stand in their way through threat of violence and intimidation, destroy history, hide in screens of “useful idiots” seeking to be a part of a cause that they stir into “protests” so they can create further unrest and violence, all so they can gain power for their ideology. And all the while, claiming to be the victims of the people they attack so they can claim the moral high ground. Self-defense in the face of the mob is “racist.” Protecting your property is a sign of “privilege” that must be purged, even as they loot, burn, destroy homes and businesses of the people whose lives they claim to want to protect.

Explain to me how, exactly, they aren’t exactly like the Nazi’s before the rise of Hitler? They are a socialist organization, with a racial element that use intimidation, threats of violence, doxing, actual violence and harm to anyone who disagrees with them or stands in their way to gain political and social power. A literally evil ideology that has caused more death and suffering to mankind than any other in history, that has failed everywhere it was implemented.

And all the while the media propaganda praises them, just as they did Hitler (who himself won Time’s Man of the Year award, recall).

If you want to know if you are one of the good guys, then ask, which side supports freedom of speech? Which supports liberty? Which side doesn't advocate for violence as a means to their ends? Which side are literally attacking their opponents? Are people better off when you are in control, or not? I think we can look at the smoldering ruins of our cities to decide where these extremists stand.

So, why did I become politically activated/agitated? It wasn’t some YouTube channel “radicalizing” me. I am not a MAGA fanatic or Trump fan. What motivated me was seeing the rise of a new, evil authoritarian power in America. They wear a different mask, but their actions speak for themselves. They are the REAL neo-Nazis. It doesn’t matter what they call themselves now. You can change your name, but your deeds remain. Your title doesn’t define you; your actions do. If it quacks like a duck…. The Right didn’t pull me to their side, you on the left drove me here in fear for my life and the future of this country. The fear is only growing now as I see official after official bow (sometimes literally) to these groups. If they gain any more political power, I shudder to think of the world my daughter will inherit. Will she be the new Anne Frank? The Right isn’t the one making threats or calling me names if I disagree with them. You are. They don’t threaten my life or my family’s future. You do. They aren’t the people approaching with devastation in their wake. You are. You activated me. I can only hope enough other people will see you for what you are and be activated as well. God help us all if you ever gain power. Some of them are literally already calling for anyone who disagrees with them to be imprisoned in "re-education" camps. No lie. This cannot happen. Never again.

#antifa #trump #politically activated #america #BLM #fascist #leftist #right

12 notes · View notes