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heli0s-writes · 5 years

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V. The damn truth

Summary: What is the damn truth?? AKA time to get those feelings out and stop being weird y'all. Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes A/N: So I thought this was the last chapter, but it looks like we got one more, kiddos. More Cincy adventures and another further away. And more Steve time.

Foot in Mouth Syndrome Masterpost

In the morning, you brew coffee and pour it into one mug set out next to two others. You’re surprisingly the first up, senses dulled and head lightly rickety with a loosened brain from last night’s whiskey. Venturing to the garden, you sit cross-legged on a chair and watch Buckeye roam across the grass, rubbing his back over the silky blades still damp with morning dew.

It’s all green and lush under the summer sun as your eyes trail over to the steps leading down, disappearing into the glass sliding door of the lower living room. The tablet tucked under your arm gets propped up on the glass table and you begin to work. Even in summer, it never ends.

I’m a way, you’re glad for it because it keeps you busy and tethered to something resembling a schedule. Would you rather lie in bed with Buckeye eating pretzels watching Netflix? Yeah. But your therapist keeps telling you its not healthy .. so…

Your fingers are clicking away, focused on one window, typing notes into another when the rattling doorknob draws your attention to Steve exiting the house with a mug in his hand, blowing gently on the surface.

“Hey.” He calls, looking up, then greets Buckeye with a scratch on his wet rump.

You give him a smile because you don’t quite know what to say, choosing instead to watch your dog pad off again, as if him sniffing the same spot in the yard is more interesting.

Steve sits down in the bench next to your chair, freshly showered in jeans and a grey t-shirt-- too small, as always. You’re fresh, too, changed into a pale blue jersey romper. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Mhm,” You reply, but can’t help the way your eyes return to his chest where you rested your head just five hours before.

Last night ended on a solemn note. The two of them went back to their room and you and Buckeye upstairs, all heavy-hearted and tired of reality. You remember dancing, and crying, and kissing. You remember feeling so shredded, thinking about them. You remember Steve’s warm lap and Bucky’s beard rubbing against your palm.

“C’mere,” Steve calls softly, reaching his hand over and tugging on the waistband of your outfit. You comply, carefully balancing the cup in your hand and sit down in his lap again. Your tummy is flipping, because Steve Rogers nuzzles his nose into the back of your neck and wraps his arm around your waist. The denim of his jeans rubs against your thighs as he shifts and sets your coffee cup down.

Change flutters all around you now, after taking flight last night. It hovers and clings, seeping into your skin like the humidity of morning. You’re not sure where or how to begin talking about this strange relationship, because you’ve never entertained the possibility of its arrival.

Yes, Captain America is a thicc ass bitch and you’re hot for him, but Steve Rogers is your friend and you care for him more than you want to see if he’s actually a smooth-crotched Ken Doll. You can’t even start to think about Bucky right now, or else you might cry again.

And certainly, to probe the intricacies of their relationship in order to carve a space for yourself is something so unbearably selfish you would never dream of doing it.

“What—um, what is—” You pause because the rest of this sentence could push your friendship in any way and you’re fearful of every way.

“Don’t think about it too much.” Steve comments as you tense inside of his grasp, “We try not to.” Then, he laughs, “I suppose that doesn’t help you feel better, huh.”

Your arms wrap around yourself and they come to rest on his forearms. “I like what we have. I don’t want to get between what the two of you have. It’s… a massive, wonderful thing-- deep, and—”

Steve shushes you, “Buck and I really do like you. You’re not intruding on anything.” And then, he turns you so that he’s facing your side and not your back. One hand slides up your face and then his mouth is on yours … and is it too stupid to say that when Captain America kisses you, fireworks pop off in your brain and some patriotic tune starts blasting itself in the background?

He tastes like coffee and freedom. Breath warm and sweet like a breeze on the 4th of July— saltwater taffy and the outdoors. There’s an eagle screeching proudly in the distant void of your mind.

Suddenly, Steve pulls away and you’re sure your face is stuck in some tragically half-frozen mask of sheer dumbstruck.

“Are you humming America the Beautiful right now?” He asks, incredulous.

“Huh.” You respond, dazed, “I thought that was just in my head.”

He tilts back laughing and takes you along with him, your shoulder crashing into his chest and your head knocking into his as you flail, trying to catch yourself. Steve holds on tightly, fingers digging into your arm and thigh—and when the hell did he get fresh and put his hand there? Sly fuck.

“Wanted to do this for a while now.” He grins as he pulls your face down onto his once more. It is a shock to you that Captain America, the Star-Spangled sunofabitch, can kiss like it’s his damn job. His tongue is in your mouth. Your heart feels like a gerbil spinning wildly on a wheel and might burst out of your chest any moment until—

The rattling of the doorknob for a second time this morning catches you off guard. You yank back, fearfully aware that Steve’s spit is glistening on your lips. And goddamn, it is hot.

Bucky joins with a mug of coffee in hand and slides the door shut. He steps past the doormat and plops down on your old seat, crosses his left ankle on his other knee and stares off into the yard as if he’s there alone. As if you’re not pitched over and crushed against his partner’s chest while one of his hands is so high up your thigh it’s practically on your ass.

“Morning,” he grunts, taking a sip of coffee.

“Mornin, Buck.” Steve replies breezily, and you can feel his mouth twist into a smile against your collarbone. “How’s your coffee?”

Bucky takes another sip impassively, “Pretty good. A little burnt. How’s your lap?”

You shoot up and nearly knock the whole table over as you brush your clothes off with a nervous laugh, “Well! I’m going to… Jesus. Christ. Uh. Let’s uh. Meet me at the car in fifteen minutes and we can go get breakfast. Or church. Fuck me with a broom.” Your brain is a bag of ferrets thrown into a dumpster fire.

The door slams shut as you nearly break the entire frame running inside and Steve sends Bucky a shit-eating grin before patting the thigh you were just on top of.

“You gonna come take her place over here, or what?”

—

Breakfast is weird. It’s weird like The Twilight Zone is weird.

You’ve opted to leave your hair down for today, letting as much of it cover your face as possible because if either one of them looks at you, you think you might just combust. You’re ready to go back to being a bastard at any time now, but your nerves are wringing themselves into knots. Another pancake gets cut into a triangle by your fork.

And then Steve steals it right off your plate.

“You candy-ass mother-!” You yelp defensively.

“There she is!” He replies, stuffing it in his mouth and pointing at you with the prongs. Bucky only raises his eyebrow behind a glass of water. “I thought we were past this.” Steve urges.

No, making out on the patio is not equivalent to a conversation about joining a relationship as the fucking third partner, you think. Your eyes say as much as you glare at your plate and then up to Bucky, pleading with him to help you.

“Don’t look at me,” Bucky shrugs, “I wasn’t the one playing tongue hockey with ya.” The fork in your hand clatters as you shove your face in your palms with a groan. Absolute filthy bastard. He’s chomping on hashbrowns open-mouthed as he looks at you expressionlessly. Could anyone be more annoying? Probably not.

“Well, she did tell you she loved you twice.” Steve points out, “So maybe I’m not the one who should be playing tongue hockey with her.” Never mind, apparently Steve can be more annoying. Figures.

The neckline of your romper is now pulled completely over your face until only your hairline is visible. Inside of your albeit thin, but somewhat safe space, you groan as your entire body rises to sweltering degrees.

“You guys are bullies.” You complain.

“What’s that, hon?” Steve asks— and you can just hear him smiling. “Didja say somethin’?”

“I think she called us bullies, Stevie.”

“Bullies?! Sweetheart, you made us listen to Sad n Sexy Santa for two hours on the drive here and would not stop screaming until we let you sing along.”

You’d never imagine Steve Rogers as someone who would so easily distribute pet names like this, but apparently once you cross the bridge of sucking on each other’s face, they don’t stop coming.

Your stomach is fluttering unbearably, but you snark back anyway, “Sad n Sexy Santa is a true effort of musical talent,” you proclaim, still glaring at the darkness under your romper. “Christmas songs sung in a minor key changes both the tune and the connotation of their lyrical content. Have you ever thought that “All I Want For Christmas Is You” could be so unsettling? Didn’t think so!”

A sharp tug is all it takes for your head to return to the world and Bucky’s arm fixes the wide collar so that your bralette isn’t exposed for the entire café to see. “Stop being a baby.” He scolds.

“You !! Baby !” Nice.

They both sit back against the opposite booth, arms crossed, smirking, as you pretend to enjoy your meal under their scrutiny. Oh, how the tables have turned, you lament. This is just divine punishment, after two months of being the most infuriating person to them, now they’re giving you a double dose of your own medicine.

“I love eating breakfast by myself.” You announce out loud, reaching over to take some of Steve’s bacon, “Love getting three plates just for me.”

Bucky’s laugh makes your ears go bright pink the same time your teeth crush the sliver of meat in your hand.

The Cincinnati Zoo returns you to sweeter childhood memories of elementary field trips where the kids went ballistic and the adults spent most of their time counting heads. Your parents never partook in chaperoning, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t enjoy it.

Today, the weather is overcast, and upon the first drop of rain, Steve goes inside a merchandise store to buy two umbrellas. He returns just a bit too late and there is already a huge downpour, soaking half of Bucky’s arm who’s standing over you, acting as a shield when the awning of the building across the store isn’t enough.

“Get over here!” You’re yelling, tugging on Bucky’s sleeve and stomping your foot, “What’s the point of you getting wet just so I don’t get wet? You’re so stupid!”

Steve watches him relent with a smile as he opens his umbrella and tosses the second one to Bucky. Then, the three of you trek through puddles and make your way to the covered exhibits.

Fiona the hippo is asleep in a little alcove of her aquarium, head tucked away. You explain to them the majesty of Fiona’s sonogram, birth, and her subsequent celebrity, but they don’t understand her like you do. They can’t even see the damn creature, Bucky scoffs, but you glare at him and he rolls his eyes away.

You coo and tut, waggling your finger when her tail flops side-to-side and her back legs kick. When she has a bowel movement in her sleep and it disperses into the very water she’s resting in, you back up and gag, pushing Steve and Bucky away.

“Alright, let’s go look at some other chonkers.” You proclaim as you lead them to the manatees.

Three enormous, alabaster, and smooth-skinned sea cows float serenely in the murky blue. Two of them have green heads of lettuce clenched between their flippers and are chomping away, bits of leaves floating around their heads like vegetable halos.

You press your hand against the glass and sigh. Steve and Bucky step closer, looking down curiously when you wipe at the corner of your eye. “Look at these giant fuckers.” You whisper, “I haven’t known peace like that since I was a fetus.”

Bucky rolls his eyes, “God, you’re dramatic.”

It’s quiet in the chamber with only the faint splashing of the rain falling on the water outside and plunking drips from your umbrella onto the concrete floor. Between a family’s departure and before the next one’s arrival, Bucky pushes you up against the glass and kisses you in front of an audience of marine mammals and Steve Rogers’ smirk.

“How’s that for peace?” He mutters, mouth still pressed against yours. Your heart is thumping in your ears like a battle-drum. Bucky snags your bottom lip with his teeth and licks the sting away.

“I think you—” you gulp, feeling your bottom lip snap back into place and giving it a slow suck just to see if it’s still there, “maybe need to consult a dictionary. But—you know, good try...”

They are relentless.

In the café while eating greasy cheese and ham sandwiches and cold vegetables, they take turns knocking their knees into yours, grazing your thighs and legs.

Between the big cats and the painted dogs, Steve squeezes your waist and rests his hand there until you shuffle away.

Under the shelter of a tree by the elephants, Bucky blows on your ear and laughs when you shriek in surprise. Good God Almighty. There are goosebumps all over your skin even though you are burning.

Bucky drives home after deftly fishing the keys out of your bag. He could have thrown a grenade in there and you wouldn’t have noticed, being too distracted by the big and daunting reality of being… whatever it is you are now.

Currently, Steve rides shotgun, glancing back to you once or twice every few minutes as you gaze out the window. The rain only let up a couple of minutes ago as all three of you exhausted every open exhibit at the zoo. Your feet are blistered from the repeated chafing of your toes against the wet front of your sandals, and the bottom of them hurt like the devil.

A tiny buzz alerts you to the phone tucked away in your pocket.

Natasha: So, you guys fucking yet?

Your heart leaps into your mouth.

You: What the fuck!!!! Did you plan this? You have cursed me, Natasha. I am broiling in the deepest layer of hell and they are feasting on my bones you asshole!

Natasha:That’s too kinky even for me. Enjoy being feasted upon. Later.

Steve twists his head around like a goddamn owl and looks at you, “Everything okay?”

You refuse to meet his gaze, “Uh-huh.”

Bucky finds your eyes closed tightly the rear view. “Are you actually shy ?” He ponders, grin tugging at the edge of his mouth. When you say nothing, he continues, “I would have never guessed if I hadn’t seen it first-hand. Today.”

“Be quiet.” You groan.

“Don’t be like that, princess,” he chides, pulling into the driveway. “You’re a pretty good liar.”

“You’re a pretty good liar! Heh!” You sneer back, imitating the way his voice might sound if he inhaled a lungful of helium. When the car stops and Bucky shuts off the engine, he turns around through the middle console and sends you a fanged grin, reminiscent of the way he snarled at you the first time he came to your apartment.

Then he’s out the door, closing it with a quiet bang. Steve whistles lowly and looks over his shoulder, “You’re in for it now.”

Bucky throws you into the pool.

He at least has the decency to take your phone out of your pocket before he chucks you in like a dead fish. Since it’s drizzled all day, the water is cold as all fuck and when it hits your back the shock stifles the scream wrenched from your throat.

You resurface with a shriek, teeth chattering as you break the water and try to swim to the edge. You can barely get your hair out of your face before an enormous splash creates a wave that slams itself on the top of your head. Another cannonball goes into the blue and by the time your eyes are dry enough to see what the fuck is going on, you’re sandwiched between them and the cold slips right out of your skin.

Steve’s hands have faithfully returned to your legs where the opening of your romper floats around in the chilling water. The tips of your toes are pointed, and your mouth is barely above the splashes of chlorine licking at your chin. Bucky and Steve are standing flat on their feet, barely wet at their collarbones.

“Better hold on, ‘less you’re interested in drownin’.” Bucky teases. A mouthful gets spit out onto his neck and for a second you think maybe that point is worth it until Steve picks you up by the waist and dumps you two inches left and the water goes right over your head.

You scramble and splash, regretting not taking those swimming classes seriously because all you can do is (sort of) float on your back and doggy paddle for about three minutes. Bucky chuckles when you finally relent and wrap your arms around his neck, burying your burning face into his sopping hair.

“Is this your idea of getting me wet.” You mumble as your cheeks scorch against him. Steve is behind you, kissing your nape until you lean back onto his shoulder too, both inflamed and anxious by their rapt attention.

“Is it working?” Steve asks, and your silence is enough of an answer all on its own. You feel as if you might be brave enough to look up into Bucky’s eyes, maybe kiss him again, but a third and final cannonball crashes into the tranquil waves and then Buckeye breaks the water with a series of grunts and pants.

His fat head bobs up and down as he paddles about, tongue hanging limply from his jaw. As he makes his way past the three of you staring blankly at him, Buckeye gives Steve’s face a long, slow lick.

You swear you can hear Captain America faintly call your dog a “goddamn cockblock”.

Steve is in the shower when you snuggle up with Buckeye on the couch. A thick wool blanket covers your bare legs as you lean over, placing your head on your dog’s coiled body. He’s still a little damp from pool water, and the velvet grey of his coat is speckled with dark splotches. From downstairs, Bucky arrives, wet hair behind his ears and quietly lifts your dog up and places him on the sofa couch across from the coffee table. He smells like peppermint body wash.

The sudden thought of him wearing red and white and kissing you under a mistletoe wriggles into your brain and you could scream. Instead, you steel yourself, scold the fantasy until it leaves.

Your head lays on Buckeye’s former seat, dampening the leather, staring up into the ceiling.

Bucky wordlessly smooths the blanket over your legs, sits down on the floor, and props his head up on his arms until he’s looking into your eyes. “Hey,” he says, biting on the tiniest bit of his bottom lip in a way uncharacteristic of him—nervous, careful. “Y’know, if this is too much—say somethin’—I’d rather be your friend than nothing at all.”

A smirk tugs the corner of your lip and he huffs at the sight of it, waiting for a comment but still, he feels uneasy. You’re not looking at him, not yet, at least. It’s still up in the air if you’ll laugh or cry; your emotions have become overwrought when thinking of them. The quips here and there have been tiny little bandages over the aching wound.

“C’mon,” Bucky whispers, “Thought you were gonna be bastard about it.”

“Sorry…” You mutter, turning to face him. A single tear drops out and rolls over your nose bridge, plunking down onto the leather. “I think I am... feeling both overwhelmed and…” You close your eyes, trying to find your words. “I think I’m also feeling inadequate.”

Bucky’s brow furrows, creating fine creases on his forehead.

“I guess as a normal person, now faced with something … very serious-- two entire lives that have started way before me and will last long after me, I’m just wondering how exactly I will fit? It’s certainly selfish... ”

“It’s not.”

A jerk of your mouth catches his gaze, “I can’t stop thinking about you.” You laugh, knowing fully well that the statement sounds silly because he’s right in front of you now, as he’s been for the past few days. And your comment makes it seem like he’s leagues away. “I want you to be happy. I think you‘ve spent so long not being, I just want you to be happy.”

Against your better judgement, you turn until your entire body is facing him and brush your fingers along his chin, then trail up until you are holding onto the side of his neck, thumb under his ear. Bucky smiles that lopsided boyish smile at you, set in the angular, firm face of a man, and closes his eyes.

“Thanks.”

He opens them, letting the gray-blue dance over your features. You feel brave again, because Bucky Barnes is inches away, looking at you like you could be part of his world. Leaning forward, you press your lips to his softly. He is already a part of your world, more ingrained than you ever thought could be in the short time you’ve known him.

You kiss him again. For good measure. And then again, for luck, maybe. “You know I meant it, last night.” You sigh against his mouth, “I do love you two.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Bucky dismisses it playfully as he lifts himself up just a little more to hover over your face, turning so that his mouth slants on yours just right. “No time to talk now, darlin’.”

He scrubs his beard against your neck, and you start giggling uncontrollably at the way it tickles. His nose brushes against your ear and his tongue traces your jaw before he peppers kisses up to your mouth. His fingers tap a staccato of morse code up and down your sides as you squeal.

Who knew The Winter Soldier could be so... cute?

“I’m ready for a nap!” Steve calls from the hallway, stopping short of interrupting the moment. “Think all of us can fit on the bed?”

“Steve, man, it’s like evening time.” Your voice is muffled against Bucky’s face once more as he takes the opportunity to kiss you again.

“I’m trying to find an excuse to lie down,” Steve grumbles. You hear his footsteps stop behind Bucky as he peers over his shoulder and into your upside-down face. “Will ya come to bed or not?”

Rolling your eyes with a smile, you hide behind Bucky’s hair. “Well, fuckin’ twist my arm...”

Steve sleeps like the dead. It’s comical how he sprawls out and snores softly, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. And maybe he doesn’t, now that he’s retired.

You and Bucky have moved to one side where he lies with one arm tucked behind his head and the other one under yours. He tells you Steve usually isn’t so ridiculous, sleeping very lightly and wakes up at the slightest noise, but now there’s a conversation being carried centimeters away from his face and he’s not stirred at all.

Bucky smiles at this, says thank god, he needs it.

“He’s gonna be up at three bouncing off the walls.” You warn.

“Yeah, it’s fine. He’ll sprint fifty miles and go to bed.”

“Jesus, why?”

“Super serum bullshit, and because he’s a show-offy asshole.”

“Aren’t you... also serum-ed?”

“Yeah, but I also love my bed.”

At that, you whistle, “Man after my own heart.”

His face lights up as he turns to peer at you resting on the crook of his arm, leaning so that the top of your head is barely on his chest. “Oh yeah?” The silly conversation takes a turn when Bucky tucks a strand of hair behind your ear, finding excuse to let his fingers roam along the edge of your eyebrow, trailing down until he’s past your cheek, further down to your shoulder.

It’s his left hand that’s touching you, the cold metal of the appendage sending shivers down your back. You can’t help but gaze at the way it reflects the setting sun slipping through the cracks of your blinds.

The hand under your head is shifted until he’s propping himself up on it.

Your mouth goes drier each time he squeezes your arm, closing your eyes to concentrate on the contradicting sensations—your warm body, his cold hand, quickly losing its chill. He travels down, down, until his palm is on your hip, then your thigh, then, ghosting between your legs.

Against your back is Steve, sighing softly.

“I feel like I’m living out the thirst tweet ‘bout your arm.” You mutter, eyes closing with a tremulous shudder. Bucky laughs, fingers diving between your thighs, hand wrapping over one.

“You got a thing for getting choked, too?” It’s a joke, but he pinches your flesh and when your tummy flutters, you suddenly grow a bit afraid of your own desires.

Behind you, Steve stirs. “Don’t let him do it.” His gravelly voice pipes up, muffled by the pillow his cheek is pressed against, “He toes the line of erotic asphyxiation too closely.” Then, he turns, spooning you, and falls back asleep.

Why the fuck does Captain America know anything about erotic asphyxiation.

Bucky is laughing again, pulling you to his chest before he stills. “I wouldn’t. Unless you really wanted it.”

“Jesus would you stop.” You mumble, but peek up at him anyway, lips parting in anticipation. He gives it to you, curling his hand around the back of your neck and murmuring nonsense into your mouth. Witticisms that you quickly bite off with a teasing snap of teeth. Bucky pulls away with a sound of surprise.

“Oh, kitten. You got claws, huh?”

You show him your canines. “Always had ‘em, bee-itch.” He doesn’t know how a person can make the word bitch into two annoying—maybe endearing— syllables, but you’ve done it.

Bucky laughs joyfully, smothers his face into the pillow like he doesn’t want you to see, because Bucky Barnes’ reputation as a stone-cold motherfucker has been completely ripped to shreds in your hands and he is trying desperately to retain some semblance of it.

You grab his face, grinning, eager to see that winsome smile of his.

“Fuck, I like you.” He says with a chuckle.

“Aw, don’t be a bee-itch, Buck.” Steve calls from your back, apparently not asleep after all. “Tell ‘er the damn truth!” Your spine picks up the humidity of his breath, shivers running all the way up to your neck when he kisses your shoulder blade with sloppy presses of his mouth.

In the sunset glow, Bucky groans dramatically as you and Steve wait, smirks shared between two utter bastards, he thinks. He groans and groans and when he’s out of one long breath he picks up another.

“Fine, fine.” He relents finally, letting you bask in the glory of that gorgeous wide mouth, stretched so sweetly. He laughs.

“I love you too. Twist my fuckin’ arm.”

#marvel #mcu #bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers x reader #stucky x reader #reader insert #fanfiction #steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes #FiMS

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sad-boy-mono · 4 years

Text

High School Casualties

Chapter 3/?

Word Count- 1,719

Master Post with Ao3 link

After Shayne quickly re-filled his water bottle at a water fountain outside the bathroom, the two boys made their way to the nurses office. Shayne glancing to Damien every so often to make sure he wouldn’t pass out again.

“So, how’re you feeling?” Shayne asked not to long into their walk.

“Kinda better, I don’t think I’m gonna take another spill just yet.”

Ok good. I mean he looks fine. Well not exactly fine. I don’t think he’s looked fine all day, but getting shit sleep will do that to you.

“Well I guess I do look kinda rough but damn dude!” Damien exclaimed with faux offense. “I mean you’re not wrong, but damn!”

Shayne’s face contorted into a look of shock and confusion. “W-what are you talking about?”

“Did you not just speak?” Damien laughed, thinking that Shayne was messing with him.

“No... I didn’t...” Shayne stuttered, shaking his head no.

“Strange, I could’ve sworn you said something!” Damien insisted.

“But I didn’t. At least not aloud.” Shayne said, mumbling his last sentence.

“What was that last part? You kinda trailed off at the end.”

“What? Oh nothing, don’t worry about it.”

“Ok then...”

They two continued their walk in silence. Shayne glancing at Damien now with confusion added to the concern.

Can Damien read minds? No, no I’m just thinking to much into this. You probably just said it aloud without realizing it. But wait didn’t something like this happen earlier? It happened a few times- No, Shayne chill the fuck out. It’s all in your head. You probably said it out loud and didn’t realize it. Maybe you need to get more sleep too.

How did I- I could’ve sworn I heard him say something! Heh, maybe those jokes about me being psychic are true! HAH if only. That would be cool. Being psychic. But how did I hear Shayne! He’s messing with me, he HAS to be! Shayne is one hell of an actor after all so that could’ve be-

“-amien we’re here.” Shayne said, causing Damien to jump. “Woah, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you there.” Shayne chuckled.

“Naha it’s fine,” Damien laughed along. “Let’s head in.”

Shayne opened up the door for his friend, giving an exaggerated bow as he did so. Damien snorted and bowed back at his friend before walking in.

“Sorry, I’ll be with you in one second kiddos!” exclaimed a voice coming from behind the large desk on the other side of the room. “A picture frame fell of my desk and broke so I gotta clean up the glass real quick.”

“Ok yeah, no problem.” Damien called back with a thumbs up.

“She can’t see the thumbs up, I don’t know why I did that.” Damien mumbled just loud enough that Shayne could hear, making him let out a wheezy laugh.

“You’re so stupid.” Shayne whispered through his laugh.

“Alright boys, sorry about that.” The nurse said coming out from behind the desk. “What can I do for you?”

“Uh yeah, my friend here-” Shayne pointed over to a now very anxious looking Damien, “-hasn’t really been feeling well today. He almost passed out in the halls.”

“Oh dear! Well, why don’t you- what’s your name hun?” The woman asked sweetly.

“Oh um, Damien.” Damien answered, fidgeting with the cuff of his hoodie.

“Alright Damien, why don’t you go lay down in that room right down there.”She pointed to a small hallway with 6 rooms, 3 on each side. “First door on your right, no way you can miss it!”

Damien mumbled a quick thanks to her as he slowly made his way to the room, glancing at Shayne before he went in.

“Ok and now for you...”

“Shayne.”

“Ok and now for you Shayne, let’s get you a hall pass written up so your teacher will know you weren’t skipping class.” The nurse dug through her desk and pulled out a small slip of yellow paper. “Which teacher do you have next?”

“Mr. Moss for PE.”

“Oh well please tell him I say hi! David such a nice guy. He’s so fun. Oh but I’m rambling-” She handed Shayne the hall pass, “-here you go hun, have a nice day!”

“Thanks, you too.” Shayne took the slip and walked out of the room with a wave.

===

Damien had taken one more glance at Shayne before he walked into the room.

He never really like going to the nurse. It just made him uneasy. He never had a bad experience really, other than dealing with a rude nurse that obviously hated children and teenagers despite the fact that they chose to work with children and teenagers. But he had no real reason other than that.

Damien sat down on the bright red-orange sofa-like bed in the room. It wasn’t very comfortable and your skin would stick to it when it was hot. And it made a deep groan anytime there was any sort of movement, but it beats laying on a shitty cot.

He looked around the beige room. It had what you’d expect there to be in a nurses office plus some more stuff. Some basic first aid kits on the wall, a desk, a sink with a stack of small paper cups next to it, and a small freezer for ice packs. Then there were cupboards that lined the wall that were littered with photos of children and drawings made most likely by said children. It put his mind at ease, no one would have a child if they hated children.

“Alright dear-” Damien, once deep in though, jumped at the nurses sudden appearance, “-ope sorry dear didn’t mean to scare ya! Probably should’ve knocked first.” The nurse laughed sitting down at the desk.

“Oh i-it’s fine.” Damien said through a forced chuckle.

“Alright but anyways, what seems to be the problem dear?” The nurse pulled out a piece of paper along with a pen from the desk. “Your friends told me that you almost fainted? Do you know what might of caused that?”

“Um well, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night so I’ve been pretty tired all day.” Damien rambled, fidgeting with the, weirdly sharp, corner of the bed.

“Hmm, ok anything else that you can think of?” The nurse asked, standing up to grab smomething from the cupboard.

“I didn’t have time to eat breakfast this morning, was in a bit of a rush.” The nurse nodded, and grabbed another thing from the cupboard.

“Alright, Damien I’m just gonna take your temp real quick. It’s just gonna roll over your forehead. It’s cleaner that way.” she took the thermometer and had the ball at the end roll across Damien’s forehead, exactly like she said.

The nurse took a close look at the screen before writing something down on the paper she grabbed.

“Alright Damien, you don’t seem to have any sort of fever. So if you want you can rest hear until your next class and we can see how you feel then, or I can call one of your parents to come pick you up now if you think that’s gonna be a better option.”

Damien spent a few moment debating his options.

Going home would be nice, but mom and dad are at work. Well she could just call up my sister instead. But if you go home, then you’d have worked on you essay all night for nothing! Ugh ok

“I’ll just stay here and rest for a bit.” Damien concluded.

“Ok that totally works! In the mean time you have these,” she said and handed Damien a few packets of crackers, “and if you need to there’s cups for water by the sink, you can go ahead and grab some if you need it! I’ll just email your teacher, let them know where you are and you can rest up a bit!” The nurse grabbed the piece of paper on her desk and began to walk out of the room before quickly coming to a stop.

“Shoot, I should probably get the name of your teacher shouldn’t I? Who’s your teacher for this period?”

“Oh uh Mr. Ovenshire for physical science.”

“All righty, and what’s your last name hun?”

“Haas, H-A-A-S.”

“Ok perfect, have a nice rest kiddo!” The nurse said, closing the door so it was only open a crack.

Damien laid down onto the bed to face the wall. He opened on of the packets of crackers and ate them.

Well that didn’t go so bad! You got some crackers, there’s water and you get to sleep. I should tell Shayne I’m not dead. Damien though to himself, grabbing his phone from his pocket.

Damien

Not dead gonna nap :) See you at lunch probably

Damien slid his phone back into his pocket and closed his eyes. Within seconds, he fell asleep.

===

How?

How did that happen?

Oh god what did I do?

FUCK

I didn’t think that would happen!

How the fuck did that happen?!

Oh god is he bleeding?

He was so far away from the wall!

How did he-

I didn’t even throw the ball that hard!

Oh god he’s gonna hate me.

Everyone’s gonna hate me!

But it was an accident!

I SWEAR

FUCK

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!

===

The sound of the bell yanked Damien from his, somewhat peaceful, sleep.

Was that a dream? That felt to real to be a dream. And who was speaking? It sounded like Shayne? Damien thought to himself, before being interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Hey hun, just checking in on ya. How are you feeling?” The nurse asked, peeking her head in through the door.

“Much better actually, thanks.”

“Oh it’s just my job! If you’re feeling better, feel free to head to your next class and have a nice day!”

“Thanks, you too.” Damien said, grabbing his bag off the floor and walked out of the office, waving to the nurse when he walked out the door.

Gotta find Shayne. Shit no you should call him first.

Damien pulled his phone out of his pocket and ducked into the nearest bathroom as he dialed up Shayne’s number

“Come on, pick up baby boy.” Damien whispered impatiently as his phone rang, waiting for the other line to pick up.

===

A/N- Surprise! I got this out much quicker than expected! But y'all deserve it since chapter 2 took so long for me to get out! Also if you're thinking "Wow that nurse is really over the top," good cuz that's how I pictured her to be! Kinda based on the nurse at my old school but like times 10. Anyways stay tuned for the next chapter and thanks for reading :D

#Smosh #Smosh Damien #Damien Haas #Shayne Topp #Courtney Miller #super power au #superheros #Highschool Casualties #High School #My Smosh Fic

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raineydaywrites · 3 years

Text

Nesting Chapter 11

Chapter Summary: We're getting closer to canon, y'all. So have a surprise Barry appearance! Things are starting to move fast around here.

Okay. Maybe they should have waited a little longer to buy some of this stuff. Taako's room was hard to navigate now with all the baby stuff all over the place. Besides which, all of it was a constant reminder of his situation- one that was proving to be quite unwelcome.

Taako hadn't expected that. It wasn't like he could forget what was going on, whether or not there was a bunch of visual reminders all over the place. But it seemed that he'd managed to block it out at least sometimes, given how much more aware of it he was now.

The fact that he was showing probably didn't help with that either. No matter what Lup said, Taako could tell that he was showing. And it was only getting more and more obvious as time went on. Maybe not enough for any stranger on the street to tell, but it was getting there.

His clothes didn't fit like they were supposed to anymore. It was incredibly frustrating, because Taako liked to look good, and he'd collected his stash of clothing because it looked good, and now, suddenly, it didn't look good anymore.

Some of it was still fine, obviously, but his wardrobe felt like it had suddenly shrunk down to a fraction of its previous size, and there was nothing he could do about it. It was only going to get worse over the next several months.

The nausea was starting to pass- fucking finally- but it hadn't disappeared completely, and it was hardly the only annoying thing about this whole experience. He felt like he was constantly starving or exhausted, and his body hurt, and sometimes he couldn't seem to think at all.

One day after class, a professor asked to speak with him, and he knew it was about the sudden decline in the quality of his work. He had been forgetting stuff a lot recently, making dumb, careless mistakes, and it was costing him, especially considering that he was too tired to catch those mistakes a lot of the time.

She did surprise him with how she asked it though.

"Mr. Taako, is there anything going on in your personal life that may be impacting your ability to keep up with the work? I am very open to making arrangements and accommodations to help my students in these situations," she said, voice soft and careful.

Taako figured that it wouldn't hurt anything to tell her. He'd be unable to hide it soon enough anyway, and if it could buy him some pity points so he could have an easier time with his classwork, then he wasn't afraid to play on her sympathy.

"Yeah, so, I'm pregnant," he said, the words coming out with more difficulty than he'd anticipated, but whatever. It was said. "The whole thing has been rough and I'm having trouble with some things I wasn't before."

The professor began to make sympathetic noises as soon as Taako started explaining, a look on her face that suggested that she wasn't all that surprised, and Taako added another tally to his mental "told you so, Lup" checklist.

"I understand. I had two difficult pregnancies myself," she said. "We do have resources for our student parents, if you need them. Accommodations can be made to ensure you can keep up with your work and your learning. And I for one, am very willing to meet with you to help ensure that you are able to complete my course."

"Yeah, chill, that'd be great," Taako nodded.

"Why don't you come by my office hours sometime this week, and I'll help connect you with the office that handles these things, and we can work out a plan for this course. In the meantime, and for your other classes, is there anyone in your life who can help with these things? A friend or family that could look over your work for simple errors and such would be a boon in itself. Pregnancy brain is no joke," she laughed despite the words.

"Got a sister, yeah. And a friend," Taako shrugged, because he couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of that before. Of course Lup would help with this shit.

He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought about all the sympathy points he could get from this pregnancy situation before now. He was doing something fucking hard, and he deserved those sympathy points. Lup wasn't going to begrudge him lazing around on the couch like this, and it was plain common courtesy to offer pregnant people stuff like seats on public transit and whatever the fuck, he didn't usually pay that much attention.

Yeah, no, he was cashing in on that for sure.

When Taako and Lup entered their magic theory classroom, there was someone other than their professor standing behind the podium.

"Creesh, who's that?" Lup hissed, leaning forward to whisper the question to Lucretia.

"Dr. Bluejeans," she whispered back.

"Okay, and why is he here?" Taako asked.

"I don't know. I know nothing about him," Lucretia shrugged.

"You knew his name, though," Taako pointed out.

Lucretia turned to face them at that, specifically so that they could watch as she raised her eyebrows at them incredulously.

"It's written on the board," she said.

Oh. Yeah, sure enough, "Guest Speaker Dr. Bluejeans" was written in the prof's handwriting on the board. Taako was just glad Lup didn't notice either, so that he wasn't alone in that bit of obliviousness.

Though, really, if Lup had noticed, he could have just chalked it up to pregnancy brain. That was an excuse that he already knew he was going to miss when he couldn't use it anymore. Instant understanding was less forthcoming when your excuse was "I have ADHD" or "I'm just a dumbass," the other primary excuses he had on the table for these situations.

Dr. Bluejeans looked a tiny bit uncomfortable standing in front of the crowd of students, fidgeting with his papers and rocking back and forth on his heels as he waited for class to officially begin.

Lup craned her head, trying to get a look at- yep, he was in fact, wearing blue jeans, and she grinned to herself. God, she couldn't decide which was better: if he had been born with that name, meaning there was a whole Bluejeans clan out there in the world somehow, or if he had, like, full out changed his name because of his love for this particular sartorial choice.

The minute the clock ticked over to the start of class, their prof began to speak, moving from one of the front row seats to stand beside the guest speaker.

"Class, this is my colleague, Dr. Barry Bluejeans," he introduced.

God, the full name was even better. Lup fought to not let her face split into a ridiculous grin, but upon exchanging a look of amusement with Taako, knew that she was failing. She shouldn't have let herself look at Taako, because shit was always funnier when she was sharing it with him.

She shoved the grin down and tried to focus.

"I have asked him to speak with you today as he is this Institute's premiere expert on bond magic, a pioneering field that you should all expect to hear much more about in the upcoming years. I expect you all to treat him with the same respect you would show me."

"Not exactly difficult to clear that bar," Taako whispered to Lup, and she snorted, before elbowing him in the side.

"Shush! Poor nerd already looks terrified," she said, tilting her head toward the guest lecturer.

He must not teach many classes, or at least, not big lectures if he was this awkward and nervous about speaking with all of them. But if his field was so new and specialized, as prof had implied, that might make sense. Probably he was more used to doing his research and maybe teaching some smaller, high-level classes.

"Hello, everyone," Dr. Bluejeans greeted, offering them a sweet smile. "As Professor Dillon said-"

"Okay, I like him," Taako said to her, gesturing to where their prof was making a sour face at the title Bluejeans had used for him.

Bluejeans seemed oblivious to it, but Lup knew exactly what the face was for. Professor Dillweed had gone on a rant a time or two before about the fact that "doctor" was his preferred title over "professor" and how it was 'disrespectful' to not use it.

Nobody really listened to that, with even some of the fresh-out-of-high-school and suck-up students switching it out occasionally. Lup and Taako only ever used "professor", if they were even that nice about it.

The lecture was actually really fascinating, and Lup found herself leaning forward in excitement as Bluejeans talked about his work.

Lucretia was rapidly taking notes, and Lup for sure planned to ask her to look it over later, because she wanted a record of this stuff. It was really interesting.

Even Taako was pulled out of his 'too cool' attitude by the lecture a bit, and Lup saw some of the nerdier facets of her brother's personality peek out a bit. He never liked to admit to that, but Taako was a total nerd for cool magic shit, and Lup could see how much the new topic was drawing him in.

It helped that Bluejeans was so obviously invested in his work himself. He clearly loved the topic, and it made it a whole lot more interesting to listen to than Dillon's droning on about the different types and properties of magic.

"If you would like to learn more about bond magic, I teach a specialized course on the subject- MAS 375- which will be offered next semester. We'll be discussing the properties of bond magic and its usage in everything from everyday spellwork to advanced technology. There's actually a very fascinating project ongoing to utilize bond magic to power an engine- I can't speak too much on the matter now, but it's very exciting," Bluejeans explained. "Oh! And I also teach in the necromancy department!"

He seemed like he was about to go off on another tangent about that, when he noticed the clock tick over to end the class.

"Looks like we're out of time, everybody. Thanks for your time!" Bluejeans said, waving cheerily at everyone as he began to pack up his bag.

A number of students had started moving to the front of the class to speak to the guy, and Taako watched as Lup's eyes flickered over to him curiously as well.

"I gotta talk to Dillon about some shit," Taako said. "Go ahead and bother the nerd."

"I'd like to thank Dr. Bluejeans for the lecture. We can talk to him together," Lucretia offered, turning to Lup and smiling nervously.

Taako fought the urge to roll his eyes, gathering his stuff as Lup and Lucretia headed off to do that.

The classroom emptied out pretty quickly, which Taako appreciated. He didn't love the idea of talking about this where anyone could overhear, but he had to do it, and he didn't want to spend any more time around Dillon than he needed, which meant not making an appointment or anything.

By the time Taako made his way over to Dillon, Lup and Lucretia were speaking with Bluejeans, and most everyone else had left. There were a few students lingering to add in to whatever conversation was happening over there, but most everyone, especially the non-majors had left.

"Hey, Professor Dillon?" Taako asked, trying to keep it relatively professional without actually being respectful, since he was about to ask this guy to do something for him and all.

"Yes, Mr. Taako?" Dillon asked, and Taako did not love the way that he looked at him, all condescending-like.

"I'm pregnant. Got some accommodations for it. Here's the info," Taako said, reaching into his bag to pull out the very official looking and very crumbled form he'd been given to share with his professors.

Dillon took it, wrinkling his nose, and Taako could just tell that the guy was judging him, and he would say something if the dude wasn't, like, in charge of his grades and shit.

"I see. Well, I'm not exactly sure what you expect me to do for you, but-"

Bluejeans walked over at that moment, interrupting Dillon to say, "Oh, Wyatt, if you'd like, I can provide some of my notes on how to alter a lesson plan for accommodations like these! It can be a little complicated, I know, but I'm happy to help. The Office for Student Health has some great resources too. It's really awesome how committed the Institute is to supporting our students, isn't it?"

Taako glanced back toward Lup and Lucretia, wondering if they'd caught all that too, only to find them watching Bluejeans with surprised and pleased expressions. From how they were standing, it kind of looked like Bluejeans had walked over in the middle of the conversation to say that, and Taako tried to keep his expression neutral, instead of the smug look he wanted to give.

"Yes, you're right, of course. I would be so glad to receive those notes, Barry," Dillon said, through somewhat gritted teeth and a forced smile. Taako was pretty sure the usage of the guy's name was intended to sound disrespectful, knowing dickheads as well as he did, but it was pretty weak considering that Bluejeans had used Dillon's name first.

"Wonderful. I'll send them over right away. We'll set up a meeting to talk it over, yeah?" Bluejeans said, smiling and looking for all the world like a friendly colleague instead of the asshole he clearly was.

Not like Taako minded though. He was being an asshole on his behalf, after all, and Taako's favorite people all tended to be assholes, so he was mostly just amused.

"So, we're done here, yeah?" Taako asked Dillon, because if he didn't get out of this conversation, he was going to laugh in the guy's face, and that wasn't gonna earn him any favors, he knew.

"Yes, I do believe so," Dillon said, turning away and picking up his own bags to walk out of the lecture hall.

"I, uh, hope you don't mind me interrupting like that," Bluejeans said, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, suddenly looking a bit nervous.

"Nah, dude, that was great," Taako said, waving off the apology before the guy could even finish saying it.

"Nice! Dillon's such an ass, amiright?" Lup said, throwing one hand up for a high five, which Bluejeans quickly but nervously reciprocated.

"Listen, I don't want to pry, but if he's being a dick or anything about all this, you can contact the department and they'll sort it out. Dillon is an old-fashioned sort, but he has tenure, so he feels comfortable being shitty. But there's still lines he can't cross," Bluejeans explained, before digging in his pocket and pulling out his wallet. "In fact, here's my card. Got my number, my office, all that good shit. If he does anything, tell me and we can figure it out."

Taako took the card, because like hell was he gonna turn down free help. The guy seemed pretty genuine in his desire to help too, and Taako appreciated the offer, even if he wasn't sure if he'd ever feel a need to take it.

"Thanks, man," Taako said, before turning back to Lup. "So we good to go now, or?"

"I think so, yeah." Lup agreed, turning to Lucretia, "See ya, Luce!" She also offered a beaming smile and a wave at Bluejeans as they left. "You're great! We'll talk later, yeah?"

Bluejeans didn't seem to know quite what to say to that, just nodding and waving as Taako and Lup made their escape.

#taz balance #taako adventurezone #lup adventurezone #lucretia adventurezone #barry bluejeans #taako taaco #lup taaco #taz lucretia #trans taako #kidfic #my writing

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angelicdestieldemon · 5 years

Text

A Camping Trip

This is the sequel to School Secret.

I hope you enjoy

"A camping trip? I don't 'camp'." Alexander said to his his husband who merely smirked.

"Really? I think you're very camp." Thomas snarked back.

"Hardy-har jackass, very funny." Alexander deadpanned.

Thomas merely grinned and replied with, "you know you love me."

Alexander rolled his eyes before collapsing on the couch between Thomas's legs and leaned back against his partners chest.

"Why do we need to go camping?"

"The student government are trying to raise money for a charity. A sponsored camping trip for the weekend is their idea, something about people wanting to see Angelica and Lafayette go a few days without hair dryers will make more people sponsor them," Thomas explained. "And as we are in charge of the student government we have to take part, 'team effort' I believe is the phrase Peggy used."

Alexander groaned, "I hate camping!"

Thomas chuckled, running his hands through Alexander's hair and pressing a kiss to his temple.

-XOX-

"Does everyone remember the plan?" Hercules asked his friends for the seventh time that morning.

The group groaned.

"For the millionth time- yes! Stop worrying, everything is going to go just fine. Now chill." Angelica replied.

"Please never say 'chill' again, just no." John said, cringing slightly.

Angelica glared at him while Peggy, Eliza and Lafayette laughed.

The group of six walked up to the mini van where Mr Hamilton and Mr Jefferson pretended to act like they didn't want to be anywhere near each other. However after catching their teachers kissing at the museum, the students knew it was all an act.

The three sisters proceeded to distract the teachers while the boys removed one of the tents from the boot of the mini van. With one less tent, the teachers would have to share a tent and just maybe they might slip up and reveal the depth of their relationship to their students. It is a long shot but it's worth it.

As soon as the boys have hidden the tent from sight they climb in the minivan.

"Did you boys make sure everything was put in the boot?" Mr Jefferson asks.

"Yes, sir." John replies while grinning.

"What's so funny, Laurens?" Mr Hamilton asks.

John laughs before replying with a smirk on his face.

"I just can't wait to see how long it takes Peggy to go insane without Internet access."

"Wait, there's no internet?" Peggy exclaims.

The teachers laugh before Mr Jefferson starts the engine and tells everyone to put their seat belts on.

-XOX-

They drive in the country for about and hour and a half before they park the mini van along a wooded path and grab all the gear from the boot.

Alexander looks at the stuff everyone is carrying and feels like something isn't quite right but just shrugs it off and blames it on his reluctance to be there.

They begin to trek through the woods for another few hours until they reach a little clearing. Everyone had begun to un-pack the camping gear and pitch the tents when Thomas took a second to take in the image in front of him.

Lafayette was helping Peggy with her tent, Angelica and Eliza were managing fine with their own. John and Hercules were tangled in the strings of their own which was extremely amusing and Alexander was sitting by his own tent looking at it like if he sat and stared at it long enough it would pitch itself. He smiled to himself at his husband and looked for his own tent to pitch. Only he couldn't find it.

"Laurens!" Thomas shouted.

John jumped as if startled and untangled himself from his tent and made his way over to his history teacher.

"Sir?" John questioned.

"Remember when I asked you if we had everything packed in the boot and you said that we did?" John nodded his head. "Good, I'm glad you remember that conversation. It'll make the next question easier to answer. Where's my tent?"

John visibly gulped and his face reddened.

"Is it not here, sir?" John asks.

"No Mr Laurens, it isn't."

"I swear, sir. I thought we had packed everything in the boot."

Thomas pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing.

"It's fine, I'm sure I'll manage. Just go pitch your tent." Thomas said.

-XOX-

John wondered back over to his friends. All of whom were trying not to out right laugh.

"You looked like you were about to piss yourself." Hercules laughed.

"What? Dude can be intimidating when he wants to be." John replied, his cheeks still red.

The group watched Mr Jefferson walk over to Mr Hamilton and begin to help him pitch the tent they would now have to share.

"Looks like everything is going to plan- so far." Laf said with a smile.

The group smile.

-XOX-

"What do I get the feeling there is some meddling going on here?" Thomas asked his husband as they put down the flooring of their tent, hidden from watching (teenage) eyes.

"What do you mean, love?" Alexander turns to look at Thomas.

"You watched me put my tent in the boot, didn't you?"

Alexander nodded, Thomas and he were the first to get to school-for once- and therefore packed their tents in the boot first.

"It seems as though my tent is now no longer there." Thomas finished.

Alexander looked confused for a second, which didn't happen often and Thomas found his confused face absolutely adorable, before catching on.

"They're trying to get us 'together' by making us share a tent for a few days."

"My thoughts exactly." Thomas replied, beginning to realise how much work this camping trip was going to be after all.

The two finished pitching their tent and and dragged their stuff inside. Just as they were about to leave, Alexander grabs Thomas's hand and pulls him back to him. Drawing Thomas into a kiss with a hand around his neck. Leaning their foreheads together they share a final kiss before parting with frowns on their faces to make it look like they hate each other.

They emerge from the tent and find their students not at all subtly watching them.

"See, it's not that hard to pitch a tent." Thomas says, trying to start an argument with his husband.

"Yeah well at least I brought a tent." Alexander argued back.

The two glared at each other before turning back towards their students.

"How about a walk and then dinner?" Thomas asked the group.

The group nodded and zipped up their tents. The walk was nice and quiet, so far away from the noise and bustle of the city. They had only been walking for about half an hour when Laf spoke up.

"Mr Jefferson?"

"Thomas." The teacher corrected.

"Sorry?" The Frenchman asked, confused.

"We're not in school, you may as well use our first names."

The students nodded and turned the English teacher.

"Alexander." He supplied.

"What were you going to ask Laf?" Thomas asked.

"Why do you you and Mr Ha- Alexander hate each other?" The Frenchman asked innocently.

The two teachers glanced at each other before Alexander answered.

"Because Thomas here is an arrogant prat."

The students mouths dropped open at the answer, having not expected such a reply.

"Like you can talk, the reason I can't stand Alexander is that he is an obnoxious, self righteous prick." Thomas replied, fighting a smile.

When he first met Alexander, Thomas hated him and used that very same reason for hating him. However all it took was a make out session at a staff night out and he became quite taken with the shorter man. He also began to realise that he didn't hate him after all. Just found him mildly annoying at points.

During the walk back the students held back a little behind the teachers to make sure the could talk without being overheard.

"If I didn't know they were already together, I'd believe that they hated each other." Eliza said, the group nodded in agreement.

-XOX-

Dinner went smoothly. The six students made sure to make the two teachers sit next to each other and one by one they headed to bed, exhausted by the long day of traveling and walking, leaving the two teachers on their own.

The students stayed awake, leaving their tent doors open just enough to be able to see their teachers but not enough to be noticeable.

They only had to wait 10 minutes before Hamilton seated himself in his husbands lap.

"They might still be awake." Thomas warned, but made no move to dislodge his husband.

"I don't care. I'm cold, you're warm." Hamilton replied burrowing his face into Thomas's neck.

Thomas smiled. Wrapping his arms around his husband drawing him further into his lap. The students watched the display with smiles on their faces. Their teachers were pretty cute.

"Bed?" Thomas asks and Hamilton mumbles something that sounds like a yes.

Thomas stood from his camping chair with Hamilton wrapped around him like a large Puerto Rican Koala Bear and carried him into their shared tent.

-XOX-

Laying Hamilton down on top of his sleeping bag, Thomas proceeds to undo his laces and pulls his jeans off, leaving him in boxers and a t-shirt. He does the same to his tired partner and then tucks them both inside the sleeping bags he joined earlier.

He wraps his arms around the smaller man and pulls him flush against his body. Hamilton twists around in his grip and presses kisses into Thomas's neck. Thomas lets out a quiet moan before tilting Alexanders head up and capturing his lips in a kiss. They don't go any further, other than wandering hands trailing up and down each other's torsos. They fall asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

-XOX-

The six students woke up before their teachers the next morning. Quietly getting dressed they all sneaked over to the teachers tent and peered inside, keeping as quiet as they could.

They ginned when they saw their teachers cuddling up in the joined up sleeping bags with little smiles on their faces.

They watched as Alexander awoke from his sleep and caught sight of his students with massive grins on their faces. He tried to pull out of Thomas's embrace only to be pulled back into his husbands chest, who was still asleep.

"Can't stand each other, ey?"

"You know y'all are a bunch of pervs, right?" Alexander said.

They merely grinned in response. Alexander sighed.

"Go start the fire, we'll be out in a minute."

The students left to go start a fire, meanwhile Alexander turned to his husband.

"Thomas, come on wake up love." He said running his hand through his partners hair.

Thomas opened his eyes, still cloudy with sleep.

"They know about us." Alexander told him.

Thomas's eyes widened for a second before relaxing again.

"Does that mean that I can hold you hand, hug and kiss you without worrying about getting caught." Thomas asked, his voice rough from sleep.

Alexander smiled and nodded. Thomas smiled back and leaned in to kiss his husband. They broke apart after a minute leaned their foreheads together.

"It also means we can wear our rings properly for a few days." Thomas said.

They both climbed out of their sleeping bag and got changed. Taking their wedding rings from the necklaces around their necks they put them on before emerging from their tent.

Their students were sitting around the fire looking smug. Thomas sat in a chair and Alexander sat in his lap, no longer having to keep up any pretense.

"Before we answer any questions, we have a few for you lot. Number one, what happened to my tent?" Thomas asked the students.

"We hid it while you were speaking to Schuylers 1, 2 and 3 just before we left." John supplied.

"Fucking knew it!" Thomas mumbled under his breath making Alex snort with laughter.

"Why did you guys hide Thomas's tent?"

"We uh, saw you guys at the museum the other week." Peggy answered.

"You knew? For a fortnight and you're only just mentioning it now?" Alexander questioned.

"What were we supposed to do? Waltz up to you guys and go: 'we caught you guys making out against a wall like two teenagers at the museum, also can we go on a camping trap to raise money?" Angelica argued.

Thomas's face was faintly red which Laf and Hercules found hilarious.

"You can't tell anyone." Thomas finally said to the group.

"Fine, but why?" Eliza asked.

"We're happy keeping our relationship to ourselves, we don't see why the entire school should be privy to our relationship just because we work there. You guys well, you know us best anyway, you would have realised it eventually even if you hadn't happened upon us." Alexander stated.

The students nodded in understanding. Hercules and Peggy made breakfast and after everyone had eaten they decided to go fishing in the nearby lake.

Thomas and Alexander led the group, their fingers intertwined, both with soft looks on their faces. Angelica, Eliza and Peggy found them absolutely adorable.

The girls held back, letting the boys walk in front of them, and whispered quietly to one another.

"I want something like that one day." Peggy said, looking at her sisters they both nodded in agreement.

#Hamilton #hamilton musical #alexander hamilton #Thomas Jefferson x Alexander Hamilton #Thomas jefferson #Thomas x alexander #Hamilton x jefferson #lin-manuel miranda #daveed diggs #fanfiction #fanfic #Hamilton fanfiction #Hamilton fanfic #Angelica schuyler #eliza schuyler #Peggy schulyer #hercules mulligan #marquis de lafayette #john laurens

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andrewmoocow · 6 years

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Gravity Soul chapter 2: The Stans Head to Shore, Return of an Old Foe? (originally posted on December 24, 2017)

AN: Oh hello, almost didn't see you there! Anyway, welcome back to Gravity Soul. In today's chapter, Stan and Ford return to Gravity Falls and meet the twins' new friends but something is wrong with Stan. Something...demonic. Can the kids save him before it's too late? Now let us begin.

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After many months of searching for anomalies and women, Stanley and Stanford Pines have returned home finally accomplishing their childhood dream. When they were young boys living in Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey, they roamed their home's local beach in search of adventure when they got the idea of sailing across the world. They worked on a boat they found in a cave all the way up to their teenage years where an accident separated Stan from his family and forced him to try & make money.

Now decades later after they destroyed Bill Cipher and ending Weirdmageddon, the brothers finally made amends and sailed out to sea on a new boat dubbed the Stan 'o War II to the Arctic Circle. We now pick up where the story left off as they headed to shore. "Alright Stanley, prepare for shore!" Ford exclaimed pointing onward while their great-nephew and niece waited excitedly on the dock.

Finally dropping anchor, they were welcomed with open arms by their loved ones. "STAN, FORD!" the twins cried tossing themselves into Stan's arms. "Kids, I'm so glad to see you again!" the con-artist said hugging them tight. "Feels like forever since we last saw you." Ford added with a smile. "MR. PINES, YOU'RE BACK!" Soos exclaimed joining their hug. "I've hugging people to practice for your return." Then Wendy joined in. "The Shack just wasn't the same without you!"

"Okay then, I love y'all too." Stan affirmed as they all let go. "Oh hey, you're that Melody girl. How's your relationship with Soos goin'?" he asked Melody. "Great actually! We've already gotten engaged." she replied showing off her ring. Stan just looked back at his former handyman and just said "That's my boy." Then he finally turned to notice Maka and friends following close behind. "Now who are these wackos?"

"My name is Maka Albarn Mr. Pines, and these are all my friends." Maka introduced herself to the Stans. "Okay, lemme see if I got this right." the ex-con stated as he pointed to the rest of her group. "Sharkbait, Ninja Man, Ponytail, Stripes, the Twins, Pinky, Holy Cross and Frankenstein." he listed off everyone. "Well he's not half-wrong." Stein snarked.

"Who are you calling Ninja Man old fart? I'm the man who's gonna transcend God!" Black Star boasted getting all up in the great-uncle's face. "Well if you claim to be so, then can you walk on water?" challenged Stan. "Okay then, I'm a wagering guy." the arrogant ninja accepted Stan's offer and rushed onto the water. "See, I can walk on water! Who's laughing n-" He suddenly fell into the water and struggled to escape. "Someone, help me! Damn my lack of proper swimming skills!"

"Oh my gosh Black Star! Somebody help him!" Tsubaki cried. "Don't worry Tsubaki, I was a lifeguard for like a few days last summer." Wendy calmed her down before jumping in and swimming after Black Star. Finally grabbing a hold of him, she pulled him back to shore and laid him out. "Dipper, you know CPR, give it to him!" she ordered Dipper, who was reluctant to do so after last time but eventually gave in before Mabel took a picture. "Haha, more blackmail!" she chuckled.

Black Star immediately bolted right back up gasping before glaring at Stan. "YOU! Do you realize what you've just done?!" he shouted. "It was just a joke kid, no need to get so wound up about it." the grunkle said. "Oh okay, sorry about nearly getting you drowned." he apologized. "Apology accepted, but of course you realize this means war."

"Okay, settle down everyone." said Ford as he split up the two. "I think we should all head back to the Shack. Besides, we got tons of stories from our adventures to tell." The others agreed before all walking back to the house. "Hey Mabel, do you think something might be wrong with Stan?" Dipper whispered to Mabel. "I don't know. He may be kind of a jerk but he would never leave someone to drown." she replied. "I think we may need to investigate. Mystery Twins?" he suggested holding out his fist for a fist bump. "Mystery Twins." She returned the fist bump and they continued on their way.

"And then the Green-Eyed People of San Lorenzo told us about how a football-headed child and his friends saved the adults of their people from a sleeping sickness!" Ford finished telling a story of an adventure he and Stan had in Argentina. "Wow, that La Sombra guy had it coming to him!" Patty giggled sipping her cocoa. "And there was also this giant baby we found in the Arctic!" Stan followed up. "How big was it?" Death the Kid wondered. "Like ginormous! It was the second biggest baby I've ever seen!"

"Who was the first one?" Spirit asked. "My ex-wife Marilyn." Stan answered before bursting into laughter. "But in all seriousness, then it started looking at me like it really hates me or something." he added with a look of dread on his face. "But that was probably my imagination."

"So Maka, how did you defeat this Kishin Asura guy?" Dipper asked Maka. "I simply punched him with the power of courage." she replied. "Wait, a courage punch? That sounds like something out of one of those terrible My Miniature Equine fanfics." Mabel commented. "Oh, my, God! You watch that show too?!" Patty shouted getting incredibly excited. "Heck yeah I do! Surprise Party best horse for life!" The two of them high-fived while Dipper and Liz just watched sardonically. "Oh great, now we got two hyperactive sisters to deal with." he said. "Tell me about it."

"So Crona, tell us your story." Soos said to Crona. He didn't say anything. "Shy little dude, aren't ya? No wait, you're definitely a girl." he wondered. "Wrong?"

Crona quivered a bit before he finally spoke up. "O-okay then. I was born a weapon for my mother Medusa, who implanted Black Blood in my body to create Ragnarok." he explained pulling out a piece of paper from out of nowhere and drawing a picture of a young blonde woman dressed in all black with black dotted tattoos on her arms. "That's your mom? I don't see the family resemblance." Melody commented. "She tormented me for most of my life until she sent me to Italy, where I first met the girl that would become my only friend, Maka."

"Aw, that's really sweet." Wendy was touched by Crona's story. "Wow, you had a pretty terrible life dawg. At least you had a parent that was actually around." Soos stated. "My mom died when I was a little kid and then my dad just up and left after that, the only way he talked to me was with postcards he sent to me on my birthday. But don't worry Crona, we'll all be a better family for you." He then hugged the former minion of Medusa. "Oh uh, thank you." he said before Melody hugged him as well, followed by the twins, Maka and everyone else.

"Well, I'm getting' tired. Might as well hit the hay." Stan said leaving the room and going upstairs. "But where are we gonna sleep for the night?" Soul asked. "You can room with us if you want." Mabel implored. "You kids can go upstairs, I'm staying down here." Spirit said plopping down on the chair and instantly falling asleep.

Soon everybody left the living room until Dipper heard a noise, like a snake was hissing. He simply shrugged it off and followed the others. Little did he know that a snake did indeed infiltrate the Mystery Shack, with arrows covering its scales.

In the attic that Dipper and Mabel had made into their bedroom, everybody was already getting ready for bed. "I expected something a bit cleaner and more symmetrical." Kid commented on the space. "Well if you want I can try to rearrange all the mold on the ceiling, like Daryl for example." Mabel replied picking up a duffel bag. "Okay Soul, where do you want this?" she asked Soul. "How about right over there?"

She dragged it to the spot Soul pointed to before hearing a meow coming from the bag. Zipping it open, a black cat wearing a witch hat popped its head out of it. "Aw, it's a cute little kitty cat! And it's got a little hat too!" Mabel cooed picking up the feline and snuggling it. "Wait, how did she get in?!" Maka exclaimed with her eyes widening. The cat turned its head to Soul and squealed in delight.

"OH SOUL!" She jumped out of Mabel's arms, transforming into a beautiful woman with purple hair and yellow eyes, and pounced on Soul smothering her chest in his face. "What're you doing here?!" Soul cried as he was trapped in marshmallow hell. "I couldn't bare to be left alone without you back in Death City, plus I always wanted to get in on the action." the cat woman replied before Soul was Maka-chopped.

"Friend of yours?" Dipper snarked getting into his bed before Stan barged in with a broom. "Hey, what's all the racket goin' on here?!" he demanded before laying his eyes on a beautiful woman sprawled all over Soul. "Not even gonna ask." He finally closed the door. "Anyway, my name's Blair! What's your names?" Blair said introducing herself. "My name's Dipper and this is Mabel. Now can we sleep?" Dipper replied. "All right then, see you in the morning everyone." Maka said as everyone closed their eyes and finally fell asleep. "Laters." Black Star added snuggling into his sleeping bag.

Meanwhile with Stan, he was tossing and turning in his bed. His glasses rested on the sidetable near him. Suddenly his eyes burst open, finding himself in a blank white void. He examine his surroundings, not knowing where he is or how he got there until he discovered a familiar figure standing away from him. That yellow jacket, brown fedora and robust, stern stature was unmistakable. It was his father Filbrick Pines.

"Wait, dad?!" Stan shouted rubbing his eyes in sheer disbelief. The last time he heard his voice was when after he faked his own death and opened the Mystery Shack, but seeing him here now was a complete surprise. "I thought you bit the dust ages ago! What're you doing here?!" he asked his deceased father, who simply turned to him and smiled, something he would never expect from him.

"Stanley, I have to say I'm quite impressed." Filbrick said. "Impressed that you would survive being taken over by me for this long!" His voice suddenly raised an obnoxious cadence as he tore off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of golden peepers with black slits for pupils. He let out a psychotic cackle as his form contorted into a triangular shape while the void started falling apart, revealing none other than Bill Cipher disguised as his father.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe you actually fell for that!" the dream demon laughed. "Did you really think ol' Filbrick actually said that to you?!"

"Bill! I thought I smashed you into tiny pieces!" Stan exclaimed furiously. "Not quite Fezhead, there's still a little bit of my essence wandering through your mind just waiting for me to take it back!" Bill said pointing to the old man's noggin, continuing to chortle. "Well you can forget it Cipher, Dipper, Mabel and Ford will find a way to stop you just like last time!" Stan declared. "But how can you get them to stop me if you're not even in your body!"

Stan was immediately forced away by Bill out of his own mind, appearing as a projection of himself while he watched as the triangle woke up in his elderly form. "Good grief, this body smells! Have you even showered?!" the deal-maker wondered sniffing Stan's body odor before he was suddenly tackled by his victim.

"Gimme back my body you three-sided freak!" he shouted wrestling Bill for control. "Fat chance, I can't wait to see the looks on your family's faces when they learn their beloved uncle is gone!" the lying, snappily dressed monster cried punching Stan in the face with his own fist. "I swear to God, if you lay a finger on my family you're done for! They made some friends that will most definitely waste your golden posterior!"

"Mr. Pines, what's wrong!" Soos called rushing into his bedroom wielding a golf club with Melody by his side. "Oh it's nothing Soos, just some old man pains! Say, have you lost weight since last I saw ya?" Bill commented. "Soos, Melody, you gotta wake up the kids and Ford! Bill's back and he's trying to take over my body!" Stan cried trying to get their help. "Wait, you're telling me your pet gopher got a girlfriend? I'm impressed, all this time I was convinced he would've died alone!"

"You take that back Bill!" Soos roared smacking his boss in the face with his golf club. "Oh that felt good! Come on, hit me!" The former handyman hit him again, to which Bill shouted "Hit me!" He continued smacking his boss with the club while the demon continued chanting "Hit me!" while laughing like a madman. "Don't do it again Soos, you're gonna make him want more!" Melody urged her fiancee. "I know Melody, but I gotta save Stan!"

"Don't listen to her chubby, hit me again!" Bill demanded. Suddenly Stan took control once more. "Just leave you two, we can take care of him in the morning." Just then Dipper and Mabel walked in looking very tired. "Hey, what's all the racket going on?" the brace-faced sister wondered. "Dudes, you won't believe this but Bill is back and took over Mr. Pines's body!"

"Soos, it's like two in the morning. Have you been eating paste and green beans after dark again?" Dipper wondered. "Yeah kids, just go back to sleep." Bill said trying to imitate their grunkle as best as he can. "Stan's right, let's just go." Melody stated and they all left Stan's bedroom.

When the door finally closed, Stan got up and stood in front of a mirror, taking in all the bruises he received from his closest confidant and former employee. He also discovered his right eye now resembled that of Bill and his left started to show some blood. "Welp, good thing I have some spare eyepatches for situations like this." He reached into his sidetable drawer and pulled out an eyepatch, putting it on his head and hiding his Bill-eye. "That should do it."

"I don't think so Stanley!" Bill chuckled, now appearing in his reflection. "It won't be long before your kids catch up to our current situation and try to stop me. But then again, they probably won't be alive to foil my plans!" In a blind rage, Stan broke the mirror with a single punch, his knuckles bleeding. "Oh yeah almost forgot. I made a special friend who was put in the same problem as I and let's say, we made a symbiotic connection." the dream demon's voice echoed in his mind. "But all beings need their rest, all that struggling made me beat!"

The next morning, Dipper and Soul were sitting in the living room watching an episode of Ducktective. "By George Ducktective, this man is not an actual man at all!" the constable on the television gasped. "He's...a grasshopper creature!" The program's titular mallard started quacking while subtitles reading "Yes, but where could the rest of his people be hiding?"

"Of all the animals in the world, they picked a duck to be their main character?" Soul asked. "The creator actually based this off his own childhood when he would play detective with his own pet duck." Dipper explained. "That makes sense, but who would really watch crazy stuff like this?"

"Hey kids, anything you want for breakfast? I got toast, fried eggs, muffins and Stancakes!" Stan said walking in. "They're kinda like pancakes, but they probably have some of my hair in them."

"Pass." Dipper deadpanned. "Ditto." Soul replied. "Good morning everyone." Maka greeted coming downstairs. "I've been hearing noises in Mr. Pines's room last night, what was going on?" she wondered. "Oh yeah, Stan was just having a little 'episode' where he thought his body was being controlled." the boy replied, which caused Stan's patch-covered eye to act up again. "Oh sure, it was just an old man spazzing out, nothing about demons taking over his body." Stan added, his voice sounding oddly familiar to him.

"HEYA GUYS!" Black Star shouted slamming open the door. "Been working out in the forest bench-pressing some boulders and I'm starving! What's to eat wrinkles?" he asked. "Oh nothing much kid, but I'll give ya something in exchange for your soul!" Stan replied becoming more menacing. "Whoa. I know you think I'm annoying, but taking my soul? No thanks!"

"Um, I'd like something to eat please." Crona squeaked coming downstairs. "Do you happen to have any waffles?" he asked. "Sure I do, got a few frozen ones left after a bunch of handsome young men dug through my kitchen and ate them all." Stan said taking the Demon Swordsman to the kitchen. "And whatever you do, don't ask."

Sitting the little one down and sticking some frozen waffles in the microwave, the twins sat down alongside Crona. "Oh boy, waffles!" Mabel beamed. "Finally, some good grub!" Ragnarok added bursting from his meister's back. "Okay kids, they're ready!" Stan called setting down some plates with their breakfast on them. "Eat up now, I gotta go do some things later."

"Hey, anyone seen Dad or Dr. Stein anywhere?" Maka wondered walking into the kitchen. "Knowing your father, he's probably out drinking." Kid snarked. "Well, why don't we go look for him after we're all done eating?" Mabel suggested her mouth full of waffles. "Speaking of which, how's your waffles Crona?"

"I haven't eaten them yet. I don't know how to deal with this." Crona winced. "Just try 'em, I'm sure you'll like them." Dipper said. The child of Medusa just stared at his breakfast before picking one up with the fork and sticking it in his mouth, slowly chewing it before swallowing. "So, how is it?" Dipper asked. "I love it!" Crona cheered before chowing down on all his waffles. "Can I have some more Mr. Pines?"

"Sorry Pinky those were my last. But hey, least you're full right?" Stan said. "Well let's go then! You coming broseph?" Mabel said to her brother. "I think I'll pass today. Ford wants me down in the basement for something." Dipper replied. "Okay then, let's go everybody!"

Mabel led Maka, Black Star, Kid, the Thompsons and Crona out the front door as they went on their merry way into town. "Why aren't you going with them Soul?" the boy asked Soul. "Just wanna see what your other great uncle gets up to." the Demon Scythe replied.

The two left the kitchen leaving Stan all by himself. "They're onto us Wrinkles, better play it cool while you still can." Bill commanded from within his subconscious. "Fine, I'll play along Bill but you can't harm the kids while you're jacking my body. Understand?" the great uncle offered. "Okay then, geez! Y'know, it's people like you that are the easiest to manipulate."

The mid-morning summer sun dangled over the group as they walked into the town. The locals were just walking around minding their own business while Mabel searched for Spirit and Stein. "Now if I were Dad, where would I be?" Maka mused thinking about where her father could've gone to. "Maybe he ran off over there?" Black Star suggested pointing to an establishment with a neon sign saying "Skull Fracture" over the entrance guarded by a man with multiple tattoos on his body.

"Are you really sure friends? That place looks quite filthy." Kid commented. "Hey dudes, morning!" Wendy greeted them all riding up from behind on her bike. "Good to see you too Wendy. You seen a guy with red hair walk into that place?" Liz asked her. "Yeah, my dad frequents that place with all the other manly guys in town." the teen replied. "No, we're not looking for your dad. We're looking for my dad and Professor Stein." Maka corrected her. "Right, sorry about that."

"Don't worry guys, Liz and I have walked into places like this before so we can handle this!" Patty stated.

"Sorry, still don't allow miners here." the bouncer said to a miner, who just shouted "Dadgumit, not again!" and stormed off. Just then Mabel and company walked up to him. "Hello there my good sir, any room for Lady Mabelton and company?" she asked before they all pulled out fake IDs. "Whatever." the bouncer said letting in them in.

They were all greeted by the sight of several manly men inhabiting the bar, many of which were weeping while cradling their broken arms. "Looks awfully violent." Crona commented. "Oh geez, I don't wanna know what happened here." Black Star commented before he spotted a large man with a scarlet beard dressed as a lumberjack. "Yo Wendy, would that guy happen to be your dad?"

"Oh my gosh, Dad!" Wendy exclaimed rushing toward her father. "Wendy, what're you doing here? You know they don't allow minors here, but then again their ID policy isn't very good." the lumberjack said. "We're just looking for my father Mr. Corduroy. He's about yay high, red hair, blue eyes, probably accompanied by someone with a giant screw in his head?" Maka said. Just then, Stein walked out of the bathroom looking the same as always aside from a few red bumps on his hands. "Whatever you do, do not go in the bathroom. There are entire colonies of wasps living in the urinals."

"So tell me dad, what the heck happened?" Wendy asked trying to console Manly Dan. "This guy just waltzed in and challenged us all to an arm-wrestling contest, and he's winning too!" Dan explained pointing to a tall, muscular man with pointy ears, black and white striped pants, a tank-top and a distinctive red glow in his left eye.

'What, he's here?!' Kid thought panicking. "Hey, doesn't that guy look a little familiar?" Tsubaki commented. "Yeah, he looks kinda like that wolfman who worked for Medusa." Maka added. "That's because it is that wolfman! How could you not recognize him?!" the young Shinigami exclaimed. They all heard the other Skull Fracture patrons chant his name as the man took down another unlucky opponent. "So, anyone else wanna take on Free?!"

"I'll take you on!" Black Star declared glaring daggers at him. "So, the little God wannabe wants a shot?" Free wondered putting up his arm on the table. "If I win, you'll have to return home in eternal shame! But if you win, you'll get this!" He pulled a burgundy colored book with a monocle within its pages and a golden six-fingered hand with the number 3 on its cover. Mabel and Wendy knew that item all too well.

"No, that can't be!" Mabel exclaimed. "I thought we tossed all three of them down in the Bottomless Pit!" Wendy added. "Wait, what are you guys talking about?" Patti said. "That's a creepy book Dipper found last summer written by our great-uncle Ford decades ago." Mabel explained. "So did he use this to document the oddities of this town?" Stein asked. "Exactly Doc!" Wendy replied. "And speaking of oddities, I think I found your father Maka."

Spirit was currently lying asleep on the countertop surrounded by numerous shot glasses stacked on top one another while the bartender just stood there with a neutral expression on his face. "'Scuse me, is he with you guys?" he politely asked the group. "Yes, yes he is sir." Maka groaned trying to wake up her dad. "C'mon dad, you've been here for who knows how long!"

"I'm sorry Maka, even I don't know how to wake him up." Stein stated turning his screw. "Well, I do now." the Scythe Meister proclaimed Maka-chopping her father, finally awakening him from his drunken slumber. "What? Where am I, what happened last night?!" Spirit exclaimed jumping down from the counter to see his daughter standing before him. "MAKA! What are you doing here, you know this isn't a place for people like my precious baby girl!"

"Dad, you're embarrassing me in front of all these men." Maka said. "Don't worry Mr. Albarn, my brother and I came here before and the ID rules here are pretty lax." Mabel assured him grinning. "Yeah, this seems like my kinda place!" Ragnarok added bursting out of his Meister's back.

"So if you're all here, where are Black Star and Soul?" Maka's father wondered. "I'm pretty sure Soul stayed behind at the Mystery Shack and Black Star on the other hand..." He gestured toward the young ninja in the heat of his arm-wrestling battle with Free. "Don't get too cocky brat, I got more muscles than you can ever dream of!" the wolfman bragged. "Oh yeah? Well if I'm gonna transcend God, I'm gonna need to take down some sinners!"

"This ain't gonna end well." Manly Dan mused watching the fight. "Hey Stripes, you look pretty rich. You wanna pay everyone's hospital bills?" he asked Kid. "Not right now sir. Black Star may be a nuisance, but he's got a real fighting spirit within him that is just itching to break out." the OCD-obsessed Death God proclaimed. The fight continued on with all the patrons spectating and cheering on both combatants, Maka's group supporting their friends and the barflys chanting Free's name once more when suddenly, Black Star slammed Free's hand on the table, breaking it. The building went deathly silent as the man who would transcend God towered over his fallen opponent, huffing in exhaustion.

The silence was finally broken when Mabel beamed in delight before chanting Black Star's name and everyone else joined in. "Fine, you win squirt. Take the damn book." Free admitted defeat handing the journal over to the victor. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go wallow in my own loss." He glumly walked away as Black Star was being celebrated. "You did great there Black Star!" Tsubaki cried hugging her partner. "Yeah, you got some killer ninja skills there dude." Wendy added high-fiving him.

"Thanks everyone, guess I don't know my own strength." the blue-haired assassin thanked, his face reddening. "Well, we all got what we came here for, among other things, so I suppose we should head back home." Kid announced beginning to take his leave. "C'mon gang, why don't you stay a while? Drinks are on the champ here!" the bartender exclaimed pointing to Black Star. "Ah what the hell! Let's all have a toast for the champion!" The other patrons cheered in agreement and the party began.

Free was now in the bathroom, mourning the loss of his winning streak with the colonies of wasps living in the urinals as his only company. He wept over his fractured arm before he started gritting his teeth with a look of pure anger on his face. "With God as my witness, I will have my revenge on that ninja brat." he declared when suddenly, his ears perked up at the squeaking of mice. A group of rodents scampered up to his feet before suddenly turning into five child-sized individuals with short pink hair, buck teeth and hats resembling that of mice. "Oh, the Mizunes! Then that must mean..."

A small frog hopped into the bathroom when she stopped at one of the Mizunes and turned into a young woman with silvery hair, black circles at both ends of her mouth and an orange hat with the face of a frog on it looking very cross. "So you lost an arm-wrestling match to one of those Academy students and gave him the book we were supposed to hand to the boss?" she chastised him. "Look Eruka, I was just too engrossed in my own hype! Please forgive me for this!"

"Forgive you for what?" a voice rang out from within the lavatory. Everything suddenly turned monochrome, signifying the appearance of none other than Kishin Cipher, looking just as mad as Eruka. "So tell me gang, which one of you idiots lost the journal?!" he roared at Medusa's former minions whimpering in fear before they all pointed to Free.

"It was you wasn't it?! Guess I should've thought twice before picking out minions to carry out my master plan." he said grabbing the werewolf by the neck. "I am terribly sorry Lord Cipher, I promise it won't happen again!" he protested. "Sorry ain't gonna cut it jailbird. Maybe you should change your name to Dead Meat."

He was about to murder Free in cold blood before he got distracted by a ringing noise. "Hang on a sec, gotta take this." he said dropping the werewolf to the ground and shifting his hand into a phone. "Yello?" he said. "Master, my partner and I have finally reached the town and are delivering the journal we found as we speak." the caller announced. "Good for you Pointy but there's gonna be a change of plans. The big furry moron just cost me Journal 3 after stupidly giving it away in an arm-wrestling match." Kishin Cipher replied. "Seriously?! Free may be incompetent, but at least he has some class unlike someone I know! Isn't that right Giriko?"

"Hey lay off me old man!" another man from the other end of the line shouted. "Simmer down, both of you!" he commanded. "Listen, I got a new assignment for you guys. Take out the Pines family, they were detrimental to my plans before and I don't want it to happen again. Understand?" The two men he was calling gulped in obedience and he finally hanged up. "Well gotta jet now! Plan on meeting up with some of my other minions so you aren't of any use to me anymore."

"Wait, why?!" Eruka cried. "I dunno, just wanted to watch over some smarter goons. Until we meet again, NOSTRADAMUS WAS A HACK, THE MOON LANDING WAS ACTUALLY A FAKE, WE ALL FLOAT DOWN HERE, BYE!" He finally vanished from the room, leaving Eruka, Free and the Mizunes utterly stunned. "So he basically just fired us? I kind of expected it to be more bloody." Free wondered. One of the Mizunes chittered in agreement. "Doesn't matter now. What we should do is find these Pines ourselves and terminate them. Hopefully that should put us back in Kishin Cipher's good graces."

Speaking of the Pines, Dipper and Soul were just wandering through Ford's underground laboratory, taking in all of the machinery created to monitor the weirdness of Gravity Falls. "So this is what your great-uncle gets up to?" Soul wondered examining the various computer systems. "Yes, and he's been at it for decades. Speaking of which, there he is." Dipper replied pointing to his great-uncle sitting under a ceiling light dangled over him. "Ah Dipper, just the man I wanted to see." Ford greeted his nephew turning his chair to face them. "And I see Soul's come along too."

"Hey Mr. Pines, good to properly meet ya." Soul greeted him. "Nice to meet you too kid." Ford replied shaking his hand. "Now Dipper, do you know why I've called you down here?" he asked his would've-been apprentice. "Was it about last night with Stan?" the boy responded. "Exactly. I've been told that he may have been possessed by an old enemy of ours. That enemy being none other than Bill Cipher."

"Wait, Bill who now?" the Demon Scythe questioned with a raise of his brow. "Bill Cipher was a dream demon that menaced our family last summer after he was summoned by a business rival of Grunkle Stan's." Dipper explained. "Years ago he made Ford build a portal to other universes that would allow him to bring about the end of the world, but thankfully we all came together to destroy him once and for all!"

"But there's one problem with that. Due to recent events, we may have beliefs that Bill has returned and he's taken over Stanley's body." Ford added. "Plus I think it may be connected to the giant baby we found in the Arctic during our journeys." As he spoke, he pulled out a journal with a golden hand and the number 4 on it. "Wait, you made another journal?!" Dipper exclaimed. "Yes, but this one I made to catalogue the things Stan and I found on our voyage." He flipped to a page depicting a gigantic infant frozen in ice.

"This was the first anomaly we spotted on our trip. For some reason it just kept glaring at Stan from its sub-zero tomb and it just wouldn't stop." the genius stated. "Huh, I think Mabel and I saw something like that last summer." Dipper commented, much to the others' confusion. "Long story, but let's say it involved Soos's birthday."

"So would Bill be like some kind of evil soul or something?" Soul asked. "No, I fear he may be even worse than that Asura fellow you encountered. That's why we must remain vigilant in case this turns out to be true." Ford said boldly before they heard something upstairs. "That must be Stan! We gotta do something!" Dipper shouted rushing back to the elevator. "Right, see ya later Ford!" Soul replied running after him.

Returning upstairs, the two boys tried to locate the source of the commotion until they came across Soos's grandma. "Oh hey Abuelita. What's up?" Soul asked. "Mr. Pines just burned himself on the stove while laughing like crazy. Overall, pretty normal." the old woman calmly said to them before walking away. "That can't be good." Dipper fretted. "Soul, you stay here. I'll take care of Stan."

Creeping into the kitchen, the boy spotted his great uncle sitting calmly at the table with a mug of coffee in his hand. "Hey there kiddo, off doing nerd things with ol' Sixer?" he greeted. "Y-yeah Grunkle Stan. Are you feeling okay?" Dipper asked him. "Oh I'm fine Pine Tree." He got up from the table to face his great-nephew and took off his eyepatch, revealing that his eye was now yellow with a black slit for a pupil. "Just fine."

"B-b-b-b-b-BILL?!" Dipper whimpered stepping backwards. "Oh come on Pines, aren't you happy to see me?! Been so long too!" Bill commented. "Now come on, give me a welcome back hug!" The boy replied by smacking him in the face with a nearby frying pan. "Oh-ho my that felt good!" he cried feeling incredibly euphoric from the pain. "Come on brat, give me another one!"

Dipper smacked him across the face a second time. "Soos has good arm strength and a great throw, but's he nothing compared to you!" the demon cackled. "Give back my uncle or else!" Dipper shouted before Soul came back with Ford, Soos and Melody in tow. "We were runnin' some errands when Soul told us what happened!" Soos exclaimed. "Guess I was right dudes."

"You guys get something to hold him down! Dipper, get away from him! I'll handle it myself." Ford gave out orders while marching towards his possessed brother. "Well well well well well well well well well! Good to see you again after so long Fordsy!" Bill greeted the very peeved genius. "Now listen here Cipher, give my brother his body back or I swear I'll-"

"You'll what IQ? Whip out that ol' memory gun on me again?" Bill interrupted him. "Well actually, it's kinda broken now." Ford replied. "Ooooh my, you just love making yourself look like a complete idiot don'tcha?!" Stanford just replied by socking square in the face, toppling him over.

"Don't think you can keep me tied down forever filthy mortals!" Bill bragged as he was tied to Stan's chair by Soos and Melody while Dipper lit nine candles around him. "Okay, is there anything we can do to stop this guy? Cause I'm just a girl from Portland who previously skewered meat which probably has nothing to do with stopping evil triangles!" Melody wondered. As if she spoke of the devil, the door opened and in walked Mabel with Wendy, Maka, Crona, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, the Thompsons, Spirit and Stein. "Hey guys, we're home!" Mabel said walking into the living room to find her great uncle tied to a chair. "Hark, is that Shooting Star and Ice Bag I see? It's almost like the whole Zodiac is coming to welcome me back!"

"Wait, what's going on here?" she wondered. "Listen Mabel, Bill's returned and he's taken over Grunkle Stan's body! We gotta stop him before he does something terrible!" Dipper cried. "Oh yeah, speaking of which when we were looking for Mr. Albarn and Dr. Stein when we found...this." She pulled the journal they retrieved from behind and handed it to her brother, who was just gaping in utter shock. "T-the journals?! But we tossed them all into the Bottomless Pit!" he stuttered. "That's sort of exactly what Wendy said!" Black Star replied. "By the way, I won it from some wolf guy and everyone had drinks on me."

"Is there anything in the book that can allow us to find him?" Maka asked. "There actually is Maka." Ford responded taking the codex out of his great-nephew's hands and skimming through it to a section about Bill. "If we recite this chant, we can be able to go into Stan's mind and hunt him down! Now everybody put your hands on his head." They all complied placing their hands on his head before he shook them all off. "Okay, that might need some work."

"Do not worry, I got this covered." Stein announced pulling out a syringe labeled "Lullaby" as he put it to Stan's neck. "Wait, what is that?" Bill quivered with his voice full of dread. "Don't worry this'll only sting a bit." the doctor calmed him with a sadistic grin on his face as he injected the serum into Stan's body, finally putting him to sleep. "Thank you Stein for the help. Now then, hands on his head everyone."

Everybody put their hands on Stan's head again, this time while he's still asleep. "Melody, I'm gonna need you to hold down the fort while we're gone." Ford said. "You got it Mr. Pines!" Melody exclaimed leaving the room. "Okay guys, there's no turning back now. Any last words?" Dipper said. "I got some," Tsubaki replied. "how did you beat this Bill guy anyway?"

"Oh yeah, we actually beat him a few times last summer!" Wendy explained. "There was the first time Bill invaded Stan's mind and this other time where I saved Dipper from being possessed by tickling him!" Mabel said. "Tickling may have kicked him out, but the mental pain is eternal." Dipper responded before turning back to Ford. "Alright Ford, go for it."

"With pleasure!" He started reading from the incantation on the journal. "Videntus omnium. Magister mentium. Magnesium ad hominem. Magnum opus." As he continued chanting, everyone's eyes glowed blue and the candles went out. "Habeas corpus! Inceptus Nolanus overratus! Magister mentium! Magister mentium! MAGISTER MENTIUM!"

Everything suddenly went blue and then, they all fell asleep.

"Ugh, my head." Dipper groaned waking up and rubbing his head. Rising from the ground, he noticed everything was grayscale sans him and the others. This was it, their great-uncle's mindscape. "So this is what the mindscape looks like?" Liz wondered. "The mindscape usually varies from person to person, but Stan's centers on the Mystery Shack." Ford explained as he led the group onward. "Now come along gang."

They all took in the monochrome scenery, everything was completely black and white from the trees, to the sky and even a nearby swing set that looked seriously dilapidated. Finally, they came across a mental recreation of the tourist trap which looked like an earthquake ran through it. "Whoa, what happened here?" Patty gasped. "Seems like deep down, Stan is still recovering from having his memory wiped last summer." Soos said. "Okay, be on the lookout everyone. Bill could catch us at any moment, so we should be vigilant." Dipper said.

Just as he warned them, the triangle himself appeared before him just as psychotic as ever. "Yeah, remain vigilant even though you're gonna die soon!" he chortled. "Bill!" they all shouted taking up arms. "This is just rich, most of the entire cast together! Pine Tree, Shooting Star, Six Fingered Hand, Ice Bag and Question Mark!" He pointed at the three Pines, Soos and Wendy.

"And I see you've brought me some fresh blood too! Scythe, Piano Keys, Shuriken, Skull, Twin Pistols, Holy Cross, Cigarette and-" He started pointing at Maka and her companions before suddenly stopping at Crona and wheezing in utter surprise. "Crona, it's been too long! It's me, your uncle Bill!"

"Wait, you know this guy?" Stein exclaimed. "Of course I know Crona doc, the two of us go way back!" Bill explained putting an arm around the child who simply tried to escape. "Yeah, and I'm still pissed off about what you did to him!" Ragnarok shouted putting up his dukes. "And ol' Ragny's here as well! If your mom and aunts were still alive, it'd be a big family reunion!"

"Seriously Cipher, how do you know Crona?" Maka demanded answers from the shape. "Oh, so you want some backstory Scythe? Allow me to demonstrate."

"This is your target Crona. Now destroy it." Medusa Gorgon, the mother of Crona, commanded with her amber eyes gazing down on her son. Crona was pitted against a black dragon that glared at him with smoke puffing out of his nose. The boy was reluctant to kill it and turned to his mother. "I can't do it. I don't know how to deal with something like this." he weeped. Medusa simply replied by taking him into a dark room. "You are a bad child and I want you out of my sight. As punishment, you'll be locked in here for a long time until you can think about obeying me."

As she closed the door, Crona begged to not be punished. "No, please pick another punishment! I promise I can do better, just don't close the door! It's super scary in here when it gets dark!" But sadly, his words went unheard when Medusa finally shut the door. "It's so dark in here. I don't know how to deal with darkness like this." he quietly sobbed before Ragnarok materialized sounding very aggravated. "Damn it Crona, you screwed up big time!" he shouted. "No Ragnarok!" He started teasing her which lasted long into the night.

The next day, Medusa opened the door once again to find her son with tears covering his face. "So then, are you ready?" she asked before he rushed up to her and hugged her leg. "Ragnarok is just so mean! He keeps beating me up and I don't like it! Please just stop him already." he sobbed.

"Come now little one, we have work to do. You will eliminate it this time." Medusa ordered leading him out of the room. "There's no way, I can't do it." he muttered twiddling with his fingers. "I still don't know how to deal with this." With a glare, Medusa just said "Vector Plate." and sent him flying back into the room. "You can stay out of my sight a little longer."

"Ugh, I don't know how to deal with a child like Crona." the witch moaned walking into her study. "If only I can find a way to make him more violent, less of a pushover." He buried her face in her hands before suddenly falling asleep.

When she woke up, she found herself in an utter hellhole of a world with buildings burning, people running for cover and a figure hovering high above everyone, laughing madly. "What is this place?" she wondered. "Why, your mindscape of course!" an obnoxious high-pitched voice answered. Turning around, she discovered a golden triangle dressed in nothing but a black bow tie and top hat taking in the chaos around him.

"What's up babe, name's Bill Cipher!" the creature introduced himself with a mocking bow. "And I suppose you must be some kinda punk rock wannabe! I'm kidding, I know who you are Medusa!" he stated pointing at her. "Who are you monster, how do you know my name?!" Medusa exclaimed. "Oh I know lots of things Snakebite. LOTS OF THINGS." his tone suddenly dropped as his form displayed images of a trio of eyes, mosquitoes, a golem and a world similar to the apocalypse they were in. "Wanna see what I can do?!" He brought forth a man on the verge of death and burned him alive, only leaving behind a still beating heart. "Here, a heart for you lady. Don't mind if it's still living, it's just what I do."

"Agh, you're insane!" Medusa cried dropping the heart to the ground. "I know I am, but what're you?" Bill snapped back snickering. "So, heard you have a problem child on your hands am I right?" he wondered pulling up a chair out of trash and seating her in it. "Yes, my little boy Crona refuses to obey my commands and I have very big plans for him." the witch explained. "Small world, I have big plans myself!" Bill exclaimed. "Hey, how's about we make a deal? I'll whip your brat into shape and you can help me with something I've been working on." he offered lighting his hand in a blue inferno. "It's a deal."

The two of them shook hands sealing the deal. "We can work out the details later but until we meet again, THE MEANING OF LIFE IS 42, UNCLE WALT IS STILL OUT THERE, ALWAYS TAKE THE SHOT BYYYEEE!"

As soon as Bill vanished, Medusa awoken from her slumber. Looking around her room, she discovered a note on her desk saying "Been nice meeting ya Gorgon! You're really quite my type. Say, you got any siblings to hook me up with?" She simply grinned manically looking it over before deciding to turn in for the night.

Meanwhile with Bill, he had found himself hovering in a bright blue sky. "Hm, kind of expected something more tormented. Eh, it'll do." he snarked before beginning to search for Crona. "Now where could that little brat be?" he wondering searching high and low for the child until he came across an orb covered in sand resembling a beach or a desert and its only inhabitant being a youth with pink hair wearing all black. "Jackpot!" Bill exclaimed soaring down to the boy.

Crona was sitting all by his lonesome on the sand with his shadow as his only companion. "So, how are you doing?" the shadow asked him. "O-okay I guess. Mommy locked me in the room again and Ragnarok just kept bullying me." the child replied. "So how are you doing?" he asked the shadow before it suddenly took on a different form. "Just fine squirt! I got a question for you. What's my name?"

Crona simply jumped back in fear, stepping backwards until he bumped into a mysterious figure. Turning around, he found Bill Cipher standing before him. "What's up kid?" he greeted the Demon Swordsman. "W-who are you?! What a-are you d-doing here?!" he stuttered crawling away from him before Bill grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him to his eye. "Easy there brat! Apologies for being so rude," he said. "my name's Bill Cipher and I'm here because your mother made a deal with me."

"Wait, you mean her?!" Crona teared up in horror. "Yeah, she wanted me to beef you up, prepare you for a bright future ahead of ya!" As he continued speaking to the child, he summoned a projection of the moon. "Looks beautiful doesn't it?" he asked. "Well it's about to get even more beautiful!"

Dragging the moon closer with a wave of his hand, the two of them watched as an older Crona absorbing a grey-skinned humanoid creature and a young man in a plaid cap with a torrent of liquid blacker than night. "See this kid, this is what your mom wants you to be! The next Kishin, the embodiment of fear! And if you don't man up, well, her plan is gonna go all boop-boop!"

"Wait, she wants me to become what?!" Crona exclaimed trembling at the thought of this possible future. "Speaking of which, what's even under those clothes anyway?! I've been told you're a boy, but you seem more like a girl to me!" Bill exclaimed rubbing his hands. "Let's see what's hidin' there!" He grabbed the hem of the child's dress and prepared to lift it up before his hands were slapped away. "Okay sheesh, best to keep things 'private'!" He giggled at his own terrible pun. "Well then Crona, I best be off! Got some other things to take care of. But until I see you again, I'll always be watching you!"

He tapped Crona on the forehead and sent himself off with a cackle, while the child began to grow a mad grin on his face.

Once again, Medusa opened the door the next day. "So, are you ready?" she asked him while his head was down. When he raised it to look at her, he was wearing that same sadistic smile and had some black blood leaking out of his nose. "Did you know my blood is black?"

"And that's the whole story!" Bill finally finished telling his history with Crona. "Though it seems one of you may have averted that prophecy by punching the Kishin in the face. But let's face it, he was kind of a weenie anyway!" He let out another crazy snicker before finally letting go of Crona.

"Well we now know the story Bill, but what does my brother have to do with this?!" Ford shouted. "Oh yeah, kinda forgot about that!" the demon responded. "Ever since he punched me into pieces, your grunkle had a bit of my essence nestled deep within his wrinkly noggin. Once I get my hands on it, I can return to my full strength." he explained. "But since you're all here, might as well kill you all so you don't interfere with my plans!" He fired a giant laser blast from his finger to terminate the gang before it was suddenly deflected by Ragnarok, who had transformed into a large broadsword with a pair of lips on the blade. "You leave my friends alone Bill!" Crona shouted preparing to fight him.

"Oh goodness would you look at the time," Bill panicked. "I gotta go...to the bathroom!" He zoomed away inside the Shack obviously just wanting to retrieve his essence and escape. "He's ran into the shack, after him everyone!"

They all ran inside the building to discover various doors all leading to Stan's memories. "Okay dudes, the twins and I have been through this place before which is how we first met Bill, so maybe we know this place like the back of our hands." Soos explained. "I say we all form into teams." Ford suggested. "Dipper, Liz & Patty go this way, Wendy, Kid & Stein go that way. Mabel, Black Star & Soul go over there, Spirit, Tsubaki & Soos can move thataway, etc."

"BREAK!" Maka exclaimed before they all split up into their assigned groups, with Crona accompanying Ford and Maka.

"Bill's essence, come out wherever you are!" Patty called as she, her sister and Dipper traversed through the old man's consciousness. "Good God, how big is Mr. Pines's head?" Liz inquired with a hint of snark in her voice. "I don't know yet, but wherever Bill is searching for his essence, we gotta get to it before him." Dipper determinedly said. "By the way, I got a question for you. What were your lives like before meeting Kid?"

"That's a funny story," the younger Thompson sister replied grinning. "we were once the Brooklyn Devils after our mother abandoned us and became serious criminals before we met Kid, who helped us see the light!" Liz on the other hand told him a more realistic version of their story. "Long before we met Kid, we were the twin daughters of the most beautiful whore in Brooklyn when she ditched us for some reason. We never knew who our father was and became more dependent on each other. Then we tried to mug Kid, who saw the good in us mostly because we were so symmetrical. And that's how we wound up here today."

"Wow, kinda reminds me of Stan and Ford's relationship," Dipper said. "Only they weren't criminals from birth and couldn't turn into guns." He then turned to a nearby door. "Hey, you think this might be one of Stan's memories?" Patty wondered opening it to happen upon a projection of Stan playing with his stomach in the bathroom. "Hey Mr. Tummy!" he greeted. "Hey Mr. Stan!" he made his gut reply before Patty abruptly shut the door. "Well, I know what I'm puttin' in my eyes tonight!"

Meanwhile with Ford, Maka and Crona, they were searching their part of the mindscape. They were in a hallway of doors all relating to Stan's past. "That part of Bill could be anywhere! We've got to find it before he does." Maka declared. "Simmer down Maka. We'll find it soon," Ford said. "but right now one of these doors could lead us to him."

Examining the various entryways, some of them were slightly ajar showing various parts of the Stan twins' lives from discovering a boat in a cave to Ford winning a science fair project. "Ah yes, I remember those days." the scientist reminisced. "Back when Stanley and I were around your ages but kind of older, I built a perpetual motion machine for our school's science fair that would've won me a scholarship to one of the most prestigious universities in the country. But Stan broke it because he didn't want us to be separated and was kicked out by our dad as a result."

As he finished, another door opened showing that fateful night where the Stan twins' father threw him out of their home. "You ignoramus! Your brother was gonna be our ticket out of this dump! All you ever do is lie and cheat right on your brother's coattails." he scolded quite harshly. "Well this time you cost our family potential millions! And until you make us a fortune, you aren't welcome in this household." The three watched this memory play out, Ford just looking away in resignation, Maka covering her mouth in shock but Crona just backed away before running off with tears in his eyes. "This is so much like Medusa!"

"Wait Crona, come back!" Maka called for her friend before racing after him and Ford following suit.

"Here Bill's essence, I totally got a human sacrifice for you!" Soos called, which echoed throughout the hallway. "Uh Soos, I don't think it can hear us." Tsubaki commented. "I mean, it's just an itty bit of some bigger monstrosity." Spirit replied. Suddenly they all heard a crying noise which came from Crona who came running up to them in tears.

"Hey, you all right there little dude?" Soos wondered wiping a tear from the swordsman's face. "Mr. Pines, Maka and I were looking through memories and I found one of Mr. Pines' dad tossing Stan out of their house, and it was just so horrible!" he bawled into the manchild's arms. "Sh sh sh, it's okay Crona. It's okay."

"Yes, our father may have been a bit rough but at least he didn't use Stan and I to further his own evil plots." Ford tried to lighten the mood before Bill suddenly appeared before them with a cackle. "Oh isn't this just precious? Someone actually caring about Crona for once!" he chortled cruelly. "Listen Bill, this is where we end this! Leave my brother's mind immediately or I swear I'm going to end you in the most painful way a dream demon can feel pain!" the polydactyl exclaimed. "That's what you think, cause I've already made a new friend during my time in the void. Say hello Asura!"

He motioned for his partner to make himself known. The Kishin Asura appeared seemingly from out of nowhere looking down upon the group with a smug grin on his visage. "Well well well little humans, it seems we finally meet again." he said. "Wait, you teamed up with HIM?!" Maka screamed in shock at the dream demon. "Oh course we did Scythe, turns out he and I had a lot in common."

"Beings of extreme power with unusual eyes," Asura said. "hatred for children, dreams of conquering the universe! It's like we're twin brothers!" Bill exclaimed. "Only difference is I make three sides look good." he added with a shake of one of his points, much to the gang's disgust. "Now then, allow us to show you what we've got now!" The pair soon began to align and finally fuse into Kishin Cipher, still retaining his manic grin. "They can fuse now?!"

"And now to destroy you once and for all!" Kishin Cipher exclaimed bringing forth Mabel, Black Star & Soul, Dipper & the Thompsons and Wendy, Kid & Stein. "Oh my God, what is that thing?!" Black Star howled. "Guys, what's going on?!" Mabel shouted to her brother. "It turns out Bill teamed up and actually fused with this Asura guy to kill us all!" Soos explained fearfully.

"Now then, which one do we start with?" Kishin Cipher wondered glaring at everyone. "How about...YOU?!" He fired a laser blast from his finger at Maka only for it to be deflected by Crona carrying Ragnarok. "Come on Ragnarok, Scream Resonance." Ragnarok let out an ear-piercing shriek from his lips and his Meister threw a mighty slash at the fusion, slicing his arm off. "AGH, what was that for?!" he cried reeling in pain. "Now's out chance! Weapons everyone!" Maka ordered as Soul turned into her scythe, Tsubaki into Black Star's shadow weapon, Liz & Patty in Kid's twin pistols and Spirit into Stein's own scythe.

All the Meisters lept forward and dealt serious damage to Cipher. "What do you suppose we can do?" Wendy asked. "This is the mindscape, meaning we can imagine pretty much anything to help us out here!" Dipper responded before firing lasers from his eyes. "Likes turning your fists into kittens!" Mabel added transforming her hands into cat heads and fired rainbows from them. "Soos Love Stomach Beam Stare!" Soos exclaimed launching a question mark shaped energy beam from his stomach. "Anything, eh?" Ford wondered before spawning a staff with a golden hand on the tip. "Let's finish this!"

Kishin Cipher was not doing fine here. Scythe & Piano Keys slashed him in the face, Shuriken blinding him with smoke bombs, Skull & Twin Pistols kept shooting him in the eyes, Black Blood had already sliced his arm off and Holy Cross & Cigarette were doing the same as Scythe. "ENOUGH!" he screamed, finally fed up with their futile attempts at fighting back. "This has gone on for far too long, so now it's time to get rid of you and conquer everything there ever was!" He hovered high above the group with his hands clasped together and between a pair of circles. "WEIRD VAJRA!"

A giant laser beam shot down from above aimed towards the heroes. "Well dudes, guess this is goodbye!" Soos began to say his prayers and bid his friends farewell. "What are we going to do?! He's going to kill us and completely take over Stan's mind!" Dipper fretted. "We're not completely hopeless!" Stein declared pulling something out of his pocket, that something being a small yellow triangle that fit in the palm of his hand. "Bill's essence? But how?!" Mabel cried. "We managed to retrieve it from one of Mr. Pines's memories. Maybe we can use it to get Bill and Asura to leave." Kid suggested.

"Are you nuts, this is Bill's essence! If he gets his hands on it, he'll regain his full power!" Ford shouted. "Hey guys, can we just give it to him because that giant laser beam is getting awfully close." Wendy said. "How long has it been since he fired it anyway?" Spirit wondered. Stein boldly stepped forward to the monstrosity and held out the triangle. "Here's your essence. Now leave here." he simply ordered him. "Good choice Stein." the villain commended him disappating the laser. "Now just give it to me and I'll be on my way!"

"Sorry, changed my mind." Stein snarked, crushing the small triangle in his hands. "NO! NO NO NO NO NO!" Kishin screamed trying to piece it back together with what little pieces remained. "Okay, I'll leave your great uncle alone!" he regained his composure. "You're all quite worthy opponents, especially the fat one."

"I still think he's talking to you." Soos whispered to Mabel. "I'll see you again soon, BUT KNOW THIS! When madness takes over and inner strength fails, the only sound left will be your wails!" he declared summoning a circle that surrounded him. Ten symbols circled him and ten more were outside of those. "Until then I'll be watching you! I'll be watching you!" With that, everything finally disappeared.

"Did we win?" Dipper asked groggily as everyone woke up. "Yeah, we saved Stan!" Mabel cheered just as Stan woke up. "What just happened? And why am I tied to my chair?" the old man asked. "You would not believe what happened Mr. Pines! You were taken over by Bill and we had to go inside your mind again to stop him!" Soos exclaimed. "Yeah yeah, more of your weird mystery stuff. Now can someone untie me? I'm starving!"

"I knew somebody would say that!" Blair called walking into the living room wearing nothing but an apron. "So then, what does everyone want for dinner?" she asked everyone while Soul fell down all bloody-nosed. "Good grief madame, put some clothes on!" Ford said covering the twins' eyes. "Yeah, I'm getting' hungry anyway." Mabel said when everybody walked to the kitchen. All except Crona. "Aren't you coming Crona?" Maka asked her friend. "I'll catch up with you later, I want to talk with Mr. Pines."

The room was now completely empty except for the swordsman and the con-artist. "So, what did you want to talk to me for?" Stan asked Crona sitting him down on his lap. "C'mon, tell me." he beckoned him. "I just want to ask you. Was your dad that mean to you?" Crona asked sheepishly. "Kinda. He may've been hard to impress and kind of a jerk, but deep down he still loved me and Ford." the great-uncle replied. "This is about your mom isn't it?"

"Yeah, when me and my friends were in your mind I came across this memory of your dad tossing you out of your house, it just reminded me too much of Medusa." Crona explained shedding a tear. "Hey, wipe those tears Pinky. At least neither of our parents used us as tools!" Stan laughed before the boy started to chuckle as well. "Listen, if you need someone to talk to other than Maka or any of the others, just come to me."

"T-thank you Mr. Pi-" Crona thanked him before being interrupted by Stan hugging him. "Please, just call me Grunkle Stan." he corrected. "Okay. Thank you Grunkle Stan." He returned the hug.

"You idiot! Do you realize how much our plans have been screwed up?!" Bill screamed at Asura from within Kishin Cipher's body. "Not only did we lose the journal and my essence, I lost a way to break back into the physical realm!"

"Oh be quiet you three-sided twit!" Asura snapped back at him. "If it wasn't for your arrogance, we would've succeeded!" Bill was quite honestly angered by his partner's comment. "Now listen here Pasty, I'm not the one to blame here! You're just thinking I'm the cause of our failure just because you're a complete coward!" he shouted turning his back on him. "Some embodiment of fear you are."

Asura finally snapped and the two prepared to fight before Bill suddenly stopped them both. "WAIT! Just because we lost two parts of our plan doesn't mean we still have the others." He created an image of a brown-haired young man with metal piercings & a pair of gloves reaching up to his elbows and a miniature senior citizen dressed in all black with a pointy nose carrying a book with a golden hand & a number 2 on it. "Time for Plan B."

And that's Chapter 2 everyone! What secrets will our heroes uncover? Can Bill and Asura be stopped from accomplishing their goals of world domination? Who will be a good parent figure for Crona?! Find out on the next chapter of Gravity Soul! Until we meet again, merry Christmas and happy holidays!

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lovelylunarwriting · 7 years

Text

Ravenclaw!Wonwoo x Hufflepuff!Reader

It's a day like no other; you're just chilling in Care of Magical Creatures when all of a sudden you see Hufflepuff!Seungkwan running full force at you from across the grounds.

And you're like 1.) Is something chasing you that I should be concerned about, and 2.) Shouldn't you have already been here?? You're in this class??

Seungkwan explains (once he reaches you, winded af) and is like, “one of the librarians wanted a student to make a replica out of books in the library, to celebrate the anniversary of Hogwarts, so I said I would do it”

You're thinking, “this explains literally nothing. I don't understand how that connects to you flailing at 60 mph directly towards me”

Seungkwan just keeps going though, saying “I had to run all the way here because I lost track of time working on the replica! I don't know why I said I'd do it, I didn't realize how clumsy I am, l mean I keep knocking books over and it's a mess and I'm a mess. And the librarian only gave me a week! I really need your help”

You're agree immediately because it’s creative and sounds like fun, and you'll be working on it together so that'll make it even more enjoyable. Also- who wouldn’t want to hang out with Boo Seungkwan??

After your classes for that day and after dinner, you and Seungkwan meet in the library and it’s like 9 pm but y'all are determined af to make this the coolest book sculpture ever.

You: “Seungkwan, what shape do you want it in?? Like what is the sculpture supposed to be”

Seungkwan: “it's supposed to be a replica of Hogwarts”

You: “it's just… a pile of books so far…”

Seungkwan: “I toLd yOu I neeDeD hELp”

First, you go and find a picture of Hogwarts because Seungkwan did not think to get a reference photo, his plan was to ‘wing it as I do literally everything else’

Next, you and Seungkwan get to work, and a few hours later, you have something that resembles the base of Hogwarts.

You two agree that it’s too late at night to work on this any more, and that you'll meet up the next few nights to finish the Hogwarts book replica thing.

The next day goes on normally, until you meet Seungkwan back at the library that night. You walk in and hear a piercing shriek that you just know has to be Seungkwan.

You rush in and are like “Seungkwan are you okay!?”, but he's just standing there in front of your incomplete replica, completely unharmed.

Seungkwan: “Y/N, someone took a book”

You: “of course they took a book, this is a library”

Seungkwan: “no no, they took it from the middle of the freaking base of the replica”

You: “Well… Someone probably needed that particular book for a class”

After you calm down Seungkwan’s overly dramatic outrage, you make your way to go find a book that will fit in that particular gap. It takes you almost 20 minutes of trial and error, having to find the perfect sized book to fit in that section, but you eventually find one and slide it in, completing the base of the sculpture again.

As the two of you keep working on the sculpture, by the end of this night, you’ve managed to get some of the walls of book-Hogwarts built up.

The both of you keep coming back after dinner every night to get this replica finished.

And every single night you come back, a book or two are missing. In the most inconvenient spots, too, like who the hell would be able to reach these?? You and Seungkwan backtrack at least an hour every night trying to find a replacement book that’s the correct width, length, and depth that could fit in those particular spots, and then having to place the book in the gap without knocking the entire replica over.

Basically, it sucks and you guys still don’t know who the heck is doing it.

Seungkwan is getting increasingly frustrated with the “Book Snatcher”, as he likes the call the culprit, and you’re getting more and more tired of having to go back and put so much effort into fixing the holes being created.

Five days into this project, you and Seungkwan conclude that trying the replace the handful of books that go missing every day is taking up too much time, seeing as you only have two days left to finish the replica.

You're like “Boo, don't worry, I've got this”, and you go into the library at like six in the morning the next day, which happens to be a Saturday (which means no classes, turn up), planning to stay all day and catch the culprit.

You’re sitting at a table far away enough from the replica to not be suspicious, but still be able to clearly see anything that happens near it. The only fault in your plan is you didn’t anticipate how boring it is to just. s i t t h e r e. And have to pay attention to what’s directly in front of you, for hours and hours.

Basically, you fell asleep in your seat, with your face pressed against the table you were sitting at.

Someone shoves you awake some time later and you’re thinking “Where am I?? What year is it?? W h a t t h e h e c k”

You jolt up to see a very concerned Seungkwan, who first asks if you’re okay, then if you realize how big a mark you have on your forehead, and lastly, if you found the culprit.

You: “Ahah funny story, really…”

Seungkwan: “You’ve been asleep this whole time, haven’t you”

You: “I’m sorry” T-T

Seungkwan is like “alright let’s just both go tomorrow, and hopefully at least one of us will stay awake”

So that��s exactly what the both of you do the next morning. You’re dressed normally, and even brought a few books over to the table you’re at, so you blend in well. Seungkwan is another story.

Seungkwan struts into the library with sunglasses on, and three family sized bags of Doritos in his arms. He gracefully slides into the seat next to you, handing you a bag of chips.

You’re like “Seungkwan wtf is all this for”

He explains his logic to you, which is that if he wears sunglasses, no one will know he’s staring at them (he’s gotta keep an eye out for the book snatcher), and that if you two are going to be in the library all day, you need to have snacks.

You decide it’s not worth it to try and explain to Seungkwan that he’s drawing more attention to himself by wearing sunglasses indoors.

So you’re like “Seungkwan there’s no food permitted in the library, at least stash the chips in my bag”, to which he gratefully complies, not wanting his chips to be confiscated my one of the meaner librarians.

This ‘steakout’ (if you can even call it that), is basically the two of you just playing cards, chatting, and not really remembering why the two of you were there in the first place.

That is until you happen to glance over to the replica, and see a tall Ravenclaw boy standing right in front of it, his body facing the replica, back to you.

You give him the benefit of the doubt, thinking that he might just be admiring the almost-complete replica.

That is until you see his slender fingers wrap around one of the books making up the walls of your sculpture

You nudge Seungkwan and point frantically at the boy, which apparently was bad idea because Seungkwan jolts up so fast, he knocks over his chair, and screams (in this otherwise dead silent library), “HEY, YOU BOOK SNATCHER!”

This seemed to startle the Ravenclaw boy (but let’s be real, who the fuck wouldn’t that startle), who hadn’t completely removed the book from the replica. With the book only halfway out, the Ravenclaw boy flinched so hard at Seungkwan’s battle cry, that the whole replica went tumbling down.

The boy immediately dropped the book, and his hands flew to cover his mouth, obviously horrified that he just ruined someone’s hard work.

Seungkwan marched straight up to this kid, you following less aggressively behind him, and spun him around so hard you’d think he’d have gotten whiplash cough cough nct 127... sorry I’ll leave

Seungkwan: *pulls down sunglasses* “Oh. It’s just Wonwoo”

You step out from behind Seungkwan to get a better look at this Book Snatcher/Wonwoo, and to put it bluntly, you are s h o o k.

Like how the heck does someone manage to be that good looking?? His pretty face is one of the 7 wonders of the world. Like who the heck has cheekbones that sharp, they look like they could cut diamonds. (or the hearts of carats… honestly idk how you Wonwoo stans live when he’s that attractive like fr how are you not deceased)

But you snap out of it like “oh yeah he #wrecked our freaking replica and we only have one day left to finish it”

Before any of you can say anything, a librarian kicks the three of you out of the library for being “loud and disruptive to your peers”

After getting kicked out, Wonwoo is pouring out apologies to Seungkwan, who cuts him off and is like “You should apologize to Y/N, they’re the one who’s been working the hardest on this replica”

Wonwoo only then seems to notice that you’re even there, but when he does, it seems like his gorgeous eyes pierce right into your soul. He then starts pleading to you that he’s really sorry, and if there’s anything he can do to help.

Seungkwan butts in and is like “um heck yes you’re helping now, meet us tonight after dinner in the library so we can try and complete it by morning”

So after dinner, you make your way over to the library, which is only lit by a few scattered lights and candles, seeing as no one is usually in there around this time of night. You spot Wonwoo, who’s sitting criss-cross in front of what is now just a giant messy pile of books, smiling to himself while reading a book.

You silently go and sit down next to him and ask what he’s reading.

At first he’s like “holy hell” because he did nOT see you there, he was so into his book.

But then he goes on and explains what book he’s reading, and all the things he really likes about what the author has written, and basically goes on the cutest rant about why he really loves this book so far.

You don’t even realize you’re smiling so hard until he glances over to you and is like “why do you seem so happy??”

“Because you’re cute, that’s all”

If it weren’t so dark in the library, you would’ve seen his face turn bright pink so fast.

“But why were you taking books from the replica?”

Wonwoo looks away from you, like a kid getting in trouble with their parents, and he explains that some of the books you used were ones that he really wanted to read, and that he wasn’t trying to sabotage your replica or anything.

You heart just melts, because all this sweet boy wanted to do was read these books, he wasn’t being malicious at all.

Seungkwan suddenly barges in and is like “if Wonwoo isn’t here I stg I will-”, but then he sees the way that Wonwoo is lowkey blushing and looking at you, completely entranced, and Seungkwan kind of just backs out of the library and leaves. Because he also remembered how flustered you were when you met Wonwoo earlier and he was thinking… maybe they’re catching feelings ;D

Seungkwan, getting back to the Hufflepuff dorms: “I’m the worst project partner but the best match maker”

Soonyoung: “Yup, sounds about right to me”

Joshua: “What the heck have you done now”

Anyway, you start to get worried after Seungkwan doesn’t show up (neither of you actually noticed him briefly enter the library earlier), and it’s obvious, with you checking the door every couple of minutes to see if he’s there.

Wonwoo: “Maybe he forgot?”

You: “I guess so…. Either way, we need to get to work on this”

After about an hour straight of rebuilding this replica, Wonwoo can see that it’s stressing you out, so he tries to cheer you up in the way he knows best.

Wonwoo: “Hey, Y/N”

You: “Yeah?”

Wonwoo: “Two windmills are in a field. One asks the other ‘what kind of music do you like?’. The other windmill says “well, I’m a big metal fan”

With all of your heart, you did not expect this boy whose expression has been mostly a cold, deadpan stare, to be cracking stupid jokes. You laugh so hard you almost end up knocking down a wall yourself.

Meanwhile Wonwoo’s all smug, like “heck yes, this cute person thinks I’m funny. Mingyu never laughs at my jokes”

So you two repeat this pattern of you getting a little overwhelmed, Wonwoo noticing, and telling you dumb jokes to cheer you up.

Most of the time he ends up laughing at you laughing, and you notice that when he laughs, he scrunches his nose up and it’s just so adorable.

It’s dawn when the two of you finally finish the replica, and tbh it looks a lot better than the one you and Seungkwan made.

You both are about to part ways, go to breakfast, and then your classes, when Wonwoo timidly grabs your hand to keep you from leaving.

You look up to him and are like “Yes?? Are you okay?”

He’s looking at his feet and says quietly, “I… know that this was my fault, for taking books and knocking it over… but I had a lot of fun spending time with you. And I was just wondering if you ever maybe have free time, if you’d like to meet up with me and go to Hogsmeade together?”

You’re like “assdfjghkl yes, of course”, and pull him down a little, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, before bolting out of the library.

Wonwoo just stands there for a moment, completely frozen by shock, before he grins really wide, and makes his way out of the library and to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast.

Jeonghan: “Why do you look so happy this morning?”

Wonwoo: “Ahh, it’s nothing…”

DK: “That means it’s something. You haVe tO teLL uS”

Wonwoo: “plz let me liVE”

So in the end, even though pulling all-nighters usually are awful, when you’re with the right person, they can end up being worth it.

#wonwoo #seventeen wonwoo #seventeen #wonwoo scenarios #seventeen scenarios #seventeen hc #seventeen imagines #wonwoo hc #wonwoo imagines #wonwoo fanfic #seventeen fanfic #jeon wonwoo #seventeen x reader #wonwoo x reader #jeon wonwoo x reader

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atomicshrimp · 7 years

Text

For pretty red flowers

Another Spandy Fanfic… Warning: Contains smut, don't worry that's not until the near end so you guys can read this and be safe, if you don't like the smut, just read until you see the strike through Italics.

Spongebob stood at Sandy's picnic table, his hands gripped into the sides as he watched his friend place folded clothes in a duffle bag; there were at least three other bags leaning against the table.

Tears fell from his eyes, "Oh, why can't I come with you?" he asked her, Sandy sighed, "I already explained it to ya a hundred times! I can't take ya with me, you'd cry too much." she shook her head, "I would not! I love camping just as much as the next guy, come on Sandy, you go camping every summer, please, why can't I go with you just once?" he asked.

"The wild is no place for kids like y'all." she said as she pushed down on her clothes to close the bag but the zipper wouldn't budge, having Spongebob come around and zip it for her, "I am not a kid, Sandy!" he protested, she rolls her eyes, picking up two of her bags to carry it to her bronco outside.

"Please, Spongebob, yer far from being any man." she said as she threw her bags in the back before going back inside to gather her other bags, Spongebob stopped her before she could reach her bags, "but, I am a man!" he cried out, "Outta my way." she ordered, Spongebob shook his head, "No, you have to take me, what if you get hurt and need help?" he asked her, "and what, like you'd be any help, besides, if I did let ya tag along you'd tell Pat, and then I'd have to take him too, and I am not-" "I won't tell him, it can just be me, and you, that's all I want!"

"Sandy, this is the only time of year where you don't work for two entire weeks, and you go to spend them off alone, camping, then you come back and there is no time for us, Sandy, I miss us, I just want to spend time with you!" he began to cry even more.

Sandy stood back, shocked at what he had said, he cried looking away, wiping his nose, "I'm sorry, I just-"

Sandy sighed, "Ok, ok, fine! Y'all can come!" she raised her voice, Spongebob turned around to walk away, his head dropped, but when her words filtered through his ears he stopped, gasping, he rushed back over to her, "Y, you mean I can go?" he asked her, Sandy rolled her eyes, "Yeah, go get packed for tomorrow, we're leaving as soon as tha sun comes up, and don't bring Patrick, and leave your childish self at home." she said before she picked up her bags.

"Oh, lemme get that!" Spongebob insisted as he picked up one of her bags, but of course, he failed, pulling his arms off, "Oh, wow, what do you got in that thing?" he asked her, "Stuff."

All she wanted to do was get away, get away from everything, and that included him, all she wanted was a nice, quiet drive, with no singing, no laughing, just, her, her bronco, and Kenny Chesney, but instead, she looks to her right and sees Spongebob, sitting in the passenger seat next to her, playing his ukulele, singing a cute song he'd made up about camping with her, it was a really cute song but it was a different when he had been singing the same song for hours.

They pulled up to a convenience store, "Do ya gotta use tha bathroom?" Sandy asked as she unbuckled her seatbelt, she turned to Spongebob who his legs crossed and his hands covering his bladder, without a word he sprang out of the truck and ran into the building.

Sandy stood at the gas pump, clearly annoyed, what was wrong with wanting to be alone? Spongebob walked up to her after exiting the store, he threw her a bag of peanuts, "Here, I thought you'd be hungry." he said as he stood by the door, leaning up against the side of the truck, "Thanks, but you didn't have to."

"Read the front." he pointed to the bag, Sandy picked it up to read it, a little heart made out of peanuts decorated the front, in big white letters read, "I'm nuts for you." Sandy smiled at the thought, even blushing a bit, "Awe, how sweet." she said before looking up at him, but he was already on his side of the vehicle.

It was a risky purchase, but, at least she liked it, she didn't think much of it, and he was almost glad for that, he glanced at her, she was putting the gas nozzle in the holder before turning around to twist the tap.

Sandy jumped into the driver's seat, closing the door, she started the truck up again, getting a loud gasp from her friend, she looks at him, "What?" she asked, "Sandy, put your seatbelt on! Do you know how dangerous it is to not have it on? We can get in wreck and-"

"Oh, don't get yer panties in a wad." she rolled her eyes as she reached for the belt, *click* "Are ya happy now?" she asked, Spongebob smiled, "yes." he stopped smiling, looking at her annoyed face, "I'm sorry, Sandy, I just don't want anything bad to happen to you, I'd hate it if you got hurt, I don't even think I'd even forgive myself if something happened."

Sandy looked at him, smiling, "I appreciate it." Spongebob smiled back before turning to look out the window, "Oh wow, look at that sun set." Spongebob pointed out at the orange sun, the sky was red with purple-pink clouds, he glances at Sandy who isn't paying attention, "Well, I'd have to admit, the sky had nothing on you." he spoke up, she looks at him and for a second the meet eyes until he looks away finally deciding to be quite.

Finally, they had reached their destination, the sun was still up, giving them enough time to set up camp, they were in a remote area, a river stream was in the distance, an old campfire was set in the middle of a dirt circle, "This is my special place, I like ta come here every year round this time." she said as she tossed a match on the burning pile.

Spongebob walked over to the single log after he had pitched his tent, the sun had finally went down, the moon was starting to appear, "Thanks for bringing me along." Spongebob spoke up, Sandy smiled, "Well, I can't say that this sucks, it's nice ta have company, though I don't understand why y'all had ta draw a huge circle 'round our camp." she said, "It's to keep the sea bears out, we don't want one of those to come in the middle of the night while we're sleeping do ya?" Spongebob asked.

"Sea Bear? What in the world, Spongebob, Sea Bears don't exist." Sandy shook her head, Spongebob shrugs, "That's what Squidward said before he was attacked by one, we tried to tell em, but he didn't listen, you can ask him about it, he might scream and slam the door in your face." Spongebob says. Spongebob looked toward the fire.

"Sorry." he spoke up, his voice was soft, "I, I know you probably wanted some alone time, and didn't want me to come, I didn't mean to make you upset at me." he said as he looked further away, he played with a stick.

Sandy put a hand on his shoulder, "Awe, don't worry bout it, y'all were right, be barely have any time for us anymore, I guess ya thought we were driftin apart, huh?" Spongebob looked at her, the truth was in his eyes, "Awe, Spongebob, I don't mean ta hold ya off, I really don't, it's just that work, and then y'all always work."

"Thank you, Sandy." he smiled before he stood up, he sighed, "I'm tired, I'm going to bed." he said before he walked off to his tent leaving her alone.

Sandy stirred in her sleeping bag, her eyes opened wide when her stomach made a loud growl, at first she had thought it was a huge sea bear, but when her stomach growled again she was relieved, her nose then picked up the sweet aroma of breakfast, that was one thing that made her glad that she had brought him along.

"Oh, morning, Sandy." Spongebob waved his spatula, "I hope you like pancakes, I found some berries off over there, would you like some, trust me, they're safe." Spongebob assure as he threw one in the air and caught it with his mouth.

Sandy sits down on the log, waiting for Spongebob to finish cooking, he hands her a paper plate with pancakes, "Would you like some milk, or juice?" Spongebob asked as he opened his cooler and pulled out two cartons.

"Mm, Spongebob, y'all sure know how ta cook a mean pancake, desh are shoo good." she moaned with each bite, Spongebob shrugged and blushed, "Awe, it's the least that I can do, I mean you let me come along, and drove all the way out here, I'm just glad you enjoy them." he smiled as he sat down next to her.

"Mm, So, what are we gonna do today?" Spongebob asked, "are we gonna go hiking? Climb trees? Swim? Play tag?" Spongebob asked, "I dunno, a hike sound pretty nice, we're gonna wanna walk this junk off after we're done." she shrugged, Spongebob nodded, "Great! I'm gonna go get ready!" he said jumping to his feet, already having finished his breakfast.

Sandy brought her glass of orange juice to her lips but not before looking at Spongebob, laughing, "Wh, what are ya wearing?" she asked him, he was wearing tight pants and a shirt, "Dontcha think ya should put on something, i dunno, lose? An' less showy?" she questioned, Spongebob glanced down at his wear, seeing a lump in his pants, he didn't think much of it, but if Sandy insisted.

"This better?" he asked her as he came out with a pair of sweatpants and a wind jacket, Sandy smiled, "Better than whatcha had on before." she answered, "well, hold on, lemme get dressed, sit down an relax." she said as she stood up and went to her tent.

The hike was a long, sweat filled journey, but on the bright side, it was pretty sweet, there were huge pine trees that provided them shade when they needed to take a break.

They sat under one of the trees, a snack break sounded pretty good right about now, Sandy handed him a bottle of water, "Mm, thanks." he gladly took the cool bottle from her hands, "Wanna snack?" he asked as he showed her a bag of chips causing her stomach to growl.

Spongebob laughed, "When we get back, I can fix us up some lunch," he said, Sandy smiles, "I like the sound of that." she said as she took the bag of chips and then sat down next to him. Spongebob looked at her, "Thanks again, for bringing me, so far, todays been a blast, thanks to you, so uh, what are we gonna do tomorrow?" Spongebob asked as he nudged her.

"Dunno, maybe we can go kayaking, it'll be fun." she answered, "Kayaking, sweet, we can go see how where the river goes, I can't wait." he cheered, Sandy laughed before she went to her bag of chips.

"Oh. My. Gosh!" Spongebob whispered before he elbowed Sandy almost making her drop her bag,"Spon-MMph!" Spongebob covered her mouth, "Shh, Sandy, you'll scare em away, look." Spongebob pointed to the bushes where a little scallop sat on one of the branches, singing a beautiful little song.

Sandy looked at it, it was a cute little thing, and it was looking at her, "Pst, I think it wants one of your cheeze puffs." Spongebob pointed to the bag, Sandy cocked her eyebrow, "Are you sure?" she asks, Spongebob nods, "Here, watch this, give me one." Spongebob ordered as he held out his hand, "Um-" "Come on Sandy, don't tell me you're afraid of a little scallop, just, give me one, you've got plenty of them." he said.

Spongebob holds out his hand to the scallop, a little cheese ball in his hand, "Come on lil guy, I won't hurtcha." he said as he wiggled the snack, the scallop turned to him, seeing the orange snack, it flew over, first investigating the piece of junk, and then smelling it, taking it and then flying off.

Spongebob looked at Sandy with a grin, "See, he likes it." he says, "Oh, look he wants some more Sandy, give him more." Spongebob nodded, and so she does just that, but instead of it flying away, it purs, rubbing up against her for a hug and kisses her cheek before flying away for good.

Spongebob holds his hand out to her, helping her up to her feet, "I think we should head back now, don't you?" he suggested, Sandy nodded, "I could go for that 'lunch' y'all mentioned." she winked, Spongebob giggles and blushes a bit, "You know I'll cook anything for you." he smiled that cute smile as he kicks a stone.

Sandy smiles at him, he was so sweet, and he wasn't even trying. There was something there, something about him that made her heart skip a beat, but she didn't know what, she looks away, kicking the stone that he had previously kicked.

Spongebob scratched the side of his head, always, did he always have to keep making things so damn awkward for them two? Spongebob glances off to the side, his eye then catches on something, a little red flower stood in the sun, soaking up the rays, it was just, beautiful! Spongebob looks up at Sandy, and he couldn't help but to think about how much Sandy needed that flower, she would love him for it!

Spongebob approached the little plant, it was up until this moment he realized that getting the flower was a lot easier said than done. It was dangerous, way too risky, sitting at the very edge of the raging river, Spongebob shook his head, he couldn't get it, surely Sandy would understand, right?

Spongebob turned his head to look at Sandy who was already ahead of him, she hadn't even noticed that he had stopped, he looked back down at the flower, this flower would make her really happy, oh, he would do anything for her, it was just one measly flower, and it was just right there waving at him, he could get it, he would get it, he just had to be extra.. Careful.

"Spongebob!" Sandy shouted over her lungs, "Get away from there!" Sandy ordered, "That river will swallow you whole! Get away!" she kept shouting, all her shouting startled the sponge, he looked at her, and not paying attention the ground beneath him, as you all saw this coming, the weak earth below him began to crumble, throwing him straight into the river.

"Sandy!" Spongebob cries for help as he claws at the patch of dirt, Sandy gasps running as soon as he can to get to him before he is taken. Sandy drops to her knees, "Quick, take my hand!" she says, Spongebob reaches for her, and just as they are about to touch the rest of the ground he was in breaks away and he is swept down the river.

The flow was so strong, it was almost impossible to keep his head up, Larry's swimming lessons didn't prepare him for this! He fought for his life, desperately trying to keep his head above the water, but with each gasp he would get a mouth full of water. Spongebob could barely see her with the water in his eyes, his vision was blurred but he could see her blurred figure running along the side, looking for a way to save him.

The wind was knocked out of him as he came crashing into a bolder, hitting his head with some force to knock him out. His eyes fell heavy and he went to sleep, sinking into the water. Sandy stopped at the side where he had disappeared, where could he be? Tears fell from her eyes, he was gone, she fell to her knees, "Spongebob!" she screamed out.

A few minutes passed, she looked down the river to see a little yellow dot. Spongebob was caught up against a fallen tree, he was on his back, Sandy was able to dive into the water, holding onto the tree for support she swam back to the shore, as soon as she got on the land the huge tree had broken off the side and went under the water and back up a few hundred feet down the stream.

His body was thrown onto the hard ground, Sandy rushed to him, "C, come on! Don't play this stupid trick with me." she shook her head as she shook him, he was a pale grey color, he wasn't faking it, Sandy leaned down, plugging his nose and began to perform CPR.

After a few long minutes the sponge began to cough, spitting up all the water that he had in his lungs/gills. Spongebob panted, holding his hand over his chest, he looked all around him, "Wh, where am I? What happened?" he asked before looking at Sandy who was crying with relief, he was ok!

"Sandy?" Spongebob called her name, she wipes away her tears before she jumps in a hug, "Sp, Spongebob, I'm so glad yer ok! Ya had me worried sick!" she cried into him, Spongebob rubbed her back, confused, what had just happened?

Spongebob pushes her back by her shoulders to look her in the face, "Sandy?" he looks into her eyes with a concerned face, "Sandy, why are you crying?" he asked her, Sandy shook her head, wiping away endless tears. Spongebob wiped away her tears, looking at the crystal clear tear drop on his finger, "Sandy." he brings her in a hug, rubbing her back, he wasn't sure why she was crying, but it must've been serious.

"A, Are you hurt?" he asked her, "Did you trip, or, step on a thorn, or-" Sandy looked up at him, he was so stupid, it was as if he'd already forgotten bout him almost drowning. The way he looked at her, he'd do anything for her including, he looked down at his hand, in his hand was wilted flower, he smiled, "I, I got this for you, sorry it got crushed." he shrugged, a little ashamed of himself.

Sandy looked at the little red daisy flower, she took it in her hand, a small smile crossed her lips, but this flower wasn't worth his life, the gift of him breathing was even better, "Spongebob." she cried again bringing him in for a close hug, he was so confused, one minute she was smiling and then the next, she was crying into him, soaking his shirt.

Sandy slid her face around to him, she cups his cheeks, "Sandy?" sandy shakes her head, putting her finger on his lips, she hesitates before she closes the distance.

"Mmph, hn, San-" Spongebob moaned as she kissed him, taking this by surprise, this was the last thing he was expecting. On and off he could feel himself being pulled into her, kissing her, but he would stop when he would realize what was happening before he would get caught in it again, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, this was, good, amazing actually, it was as if he had taken a bite of the sweetest fruit in the ocean, she tasted good.

To the heck with it, she wasn't going anywhere by the looks of it, he should enjoy this moment for while it was happening, and with that he gladly returned the kiss, Sandy pulled him in closer, her hands sliding around his neck, he pulled her hips into him as he slipped her his tongue.

"Ha, sponge!" She moaned as she gasped for air before returning to him. His hands roamed around her slim figure, she felt so full and warm, her fur was even softer than he'd remembered.

Sandy tilted her head to the side to give him more access to her neck, she held the back of his head as he began to kids down her neck, moaning and rolling her eyes with pleasure.

Spongebob pushed her back a little, becoming the dominant male that he never showed, oh, and he was good, he forced her back into a warm wet kiss, pulling her face in closer to his, he sucked on her tongue before attacking her again, "Hnn, San-dy." he moaned as he couldn't get enough of her.

"Gah, Sandy!" Spongebob yelped as she shoved him off of her, he rubbed his head, what just happened? Spongebob looked up at her, she had her back turned to him, she was covering her mouth, what were they doing?

Spongebob pushed himself back up, leaning over Sandy's shoulder to get a look of her face, "Sandy." but she just turned around and pushed him away, "Sandy, what, what happened?" he asked, Sandy looks at him, "N, nothing happened." she shook her head, Spongebob cocked his eyebrow, "Nothing? What do you mean, Nothing?" Spongebob asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder to have her slap him away, "Don't touch me!" she shouted, causing Spongebob just jump back.

"We should really head back." she said as she turned to leave, leaving him behind, Spongebob rubbed the back of his head, what just happened? Spongebob shook his head and began to follow her.

"Marshmallow?" Spongebob asked as he offered her the bag, the sun had gone to sleep, and the moon was out, Sandy waved the bag away, "Nah, I got a hotdog, an y'all shouldn't eat all that sugar before bed, did ya even eat anythin besides them marshmallows?" Sandy asked as she glared at the bag.

Spongebob nods, "I had a Krabby Patty." he answers, "I asked if you wanted one but you said you didn't want one." he shrugs, and she doesn't say anything else. Sandy looks at him, he's panicking, screaming at the flaming treat, he blows it out, "don't worry, the fire is out, a little crispy but, on the bright side, mm, er derishus." He said with a full mouth, she shakes her head in disgust.

Sandy looks back to the fire, the heat from the flames filled her with pleasurable warmth, and then while looking into the fire images of him drowning flood through her head, him calling her name, reaching out for her.

Sandy shook her head, tears filled her eyes as she remembered dragging him out and when he wouldn't open his eyes, at how much she wished it was all just a joke, but when she realized it wasn't, her tears began to fall down her cheeks, and it was all for a pretty red flower.

Spongebob turns his attention to her, hearing her sniffle, like someone usually did when they were crying, "Sandy." Spongebob softly says her name, she shakes her head, "Why did you have ta fall in that damn river." she asked before looking at him, "what are you talking about?" he questioned, "Y'all know what I'm talking bout! Y'all act like none of it ever happened, sittin here, laughin and eatin burnt marshmallows." she glanced at his marshmallow stick, Spongebob cocks his head, "You say that like you think I meant to fall in." Spongebob said.

"Well, what were ya doin so darn close?" she asked, raising her voice, Spongebob glances at the fire, "I, I was trying to get you that flower." he answered, "Did I ask ya to get me a flower?" she asked, Spongebob shook his head, "My bad, I thought you'd like it, so I wanted to get it for you." he glanced to her.

"And what good did that do ya?" she asked as she showed him the wilted flower, "at least I got it." he crossed his arms, he watched as she threw it in the fire, he still looked at the fire, at the flower as it turned to ash, unknown tears filled his eyes, he looked back at her.

"How could you!" he glared at her, "after all the trouble I went through getting it-"

"Trouble?" Sandy interrupted him, "Y'all think y'all went through trouble, I was the one that had ta jump in and save yer yeller behind!" she pointed his his face having him swat her, "Yeah, well, I didn't ask you to, now did I." he questioned, Sandy glared back, "Y'all would've been dead, if I didn't pull ya out when I did." she said as she pounded her fist on the log.

Spongebob looks away, "Don't you think it would've been better just to let me die? That way you would have had to kiss me, that way, we wouldn't even have this argument." he says before he stands up, "What are you talking about, Spongebob!" Sandy raised her voice, her angry tone was taken by concern. Spongebob sighs, shaking his head, "Nothing, I'm going to bed." he says under his breath before he leaves to his tent.

Sandy laid in her tent, her arms under her head, she stared at the top of her tent, she sighed turning on her side, pulling her blankets further up to her face, and finally closing her eyes. A few minutes passed, with the wind blowing, and the trees shaking, she couldn't get to sleep, it wasn't the weather that kept her awake, it was him.

She hadn't seen him all night since their argument, it wasn't like him to stay mad for more than an hour, he couldn't be sleeping, if she couldn't sleep, then surely he couldn't. Was she wrong to yell at him like that? To ignore him like he wasn't there? It wasn't his fault, sure he was the one that fell into the damn river in the first place, but he wasn't the one who asked her to kiss him.

Was that one kiss the main reason why they weren't talking? What was she thinking, that wasn't just a kiss, that was something else, they actually, made out, like wild animals, she was just so happy that he was ok, and he, he just enjoyed it.

Sandy sighed kicking her blankets off, she had to fix this somehow. It was pretty windy out, and a little chilly not to mention it; she rubbed her arms before she headed for the orange tent on the other side of the camp circle.

She zipped the zipper of the tent closed, it was much warmer in here then out there, and wow, he really was sleeping, half of his body was in and out of his thick fluffy comforter blankets, and he just snored away, he looked so warm, and comfortable. Sandy pulled the blankets up to get under them with him.

She threw her leg over him, and her hand on his chest, squeezing him awake. Spongebob groaned groggily, "Hmm?" he was still asleep, didn't know what was going on, "Hmm, Sandy?" he softly said her name, he squinted to get a better look at her.

"H, hey Spongebob." she whispered, Spongebob leaned over to his side to turn on the lantern next to him, "Wh, what are you?" He asked as she leaned in to kiss him.

Sandy pulled out of the kiss, Spongebob sat back shocked, he looked around him, was this some sort of sweet sick dream?

"S, Sandy." He looked at her he gripped onto her wrist, she took a minute to look away from his lips, looking back up at his face, "I, I don't wanna fight anymore." she shook her head, "I almost lost ya once, and, I don't want that ta happen again."

She looked away, feeling ashamed, "I hurt ya today, and I know I can't take it back, and I'm sorry, really, Spongebob, I am." she looked back, Spongebob glanced up and down her, "You had been very unfair lately." he pointed at her, she nodded, "I, I know."

"All I ever wanted, was to be with you, to be able to see you, and talk to you, make you laugh, and smile, but it was too much for you, you treated me like, like you never even wanted me around, that I was just a burden." he shook his head, and she listened, "You made me feel unwanted, but I didn't say anything because I was just glad you allowed me to come along, and, you know that I'd do anything for you, anything at all, and that included getting you that flower that you threw in the fire." he said as he swept his hand off to the side as if to imitate her throwing away the daisy.

Sandy wiped away another tear, "I, I'm sorry, I, I know what I did was wrong, and all I can do is say that I'm sorry." she began to wipe away more tears, Spongebob sighed, bringing her in a comforting hug, his arms wrapped around her.

"I'll do anything for you, and that includes forgiving you." he said, Sandy picked her head up, looking up at him, "Wh, what?" she asked, Spongebob put on a small loving smile, "I can't stay mad at you, I mean, if you had done the same thing, I would be angry too, you have every right to be mad at me, I worried you, scared you to death, sure, I didn't mean to, but, I did." he shrugged.

Sandy hugged him again, crying even more, "I thought I had lost ya." She shook her head, "I was so scared, I didn't know what ta do, y'all were goin so fast, I couldn't keep up, y'all out ta me, askin me ta save ya, gave me a heart attack is whatcha did." She shook her head, "an' when I pulled ya out, I thought it was too late but I couldn't give up on ya, Spongebob, I, I don't know what I'd do if something ever happened to ya." She now stared him in the eye.

Spongebob stared her back, tears filled his eyes, he felt so bad, he then smiled, "at least now I know you care." Sandy pushed him, causing him to laugh "i've always cared." She said as she went to push him again but he ended up catching her instead.

Sandy tried to pull her arm back, or at least she pretended to struggle. She stared him in the eye, maybe they could try again. Sandy brushed her nose against his, smiling, he tilted his head slightly to get a better access, his hand slowly ran up her arm before finally reaching her cheek.

Spongebob made eye contact, waiting for her to make the next move, he wouldn't touch her anymore then he was unless she wanted him to, she just had to make the next move. Sandy pulled him closer, her breath was hot on his lips, he looked down at her lips, they were wet and looked soft, they were puckered slightly, he bit his bottom lip, he just might have to make the next move after all.

A/N: Smut is beyond this point, if you don't mind it then forget about this A/N and go on and enjoy yourselves ~ NikoNet

Sandy moaned as he brought his lips on hers, soft and loving at first, he pushed the kiss in further to get her to kiss back. They quickly became needy of one another, tongues now lashed out at each other, hands roamed and gripped at the others body.

Spongebob looked down at Sandy's hands that unbuttoned the last button of his shirt, she ran her hands up his chest to slide the shirt off, her eyes stayed glued to his chest, he wasn't even bad, Sandy ran her eyes down his body, unbelievable, "ar, are these real?" she asked as she pointed to his body.

Spongebob looked down, "i'd like to think so." He said before he took her hand and placed it on his chest, she could come right now if she wanted to; her hand traveled down his chest to his little stomach, no abs, but that was ok.

Sandy stopped when she got closer to the band of his night shorts, a clearly visible bulge laid off to the side, was that his, she looked up at him, he was looking to the ground behind him, his face was red, "I, it happens when i'm you know.. Excited." He scratched the side of his head.

Sandy glanced back down, and he was excited, reached to for the bottom of her shirt and lifted it over her head and tossed it to the side. Spongebob stared at her, she had nothing supporting them, not like they needed it. They were firm and perky, perfectly round, her nipples that had been poking through her shirt like an erection were clearly visible.

"well, don't ya wanna touch em?" She asked as she lifted them up with her hands. Was it hot in here, or what? How could he refuse? Spongebob scooted even closer, he looked back at her, "a, are you sure you're ok with this? I don't want to hurt you, or touch you unless-" she kissed him while taking his hand to her breast.

Spongebob let's out a whimper as he began to rub her breasts, pinching her nipples between his fingers as he rubbed them together, Sandy moans as Spongebob presses his erection against her, "Hnn, Sponge-" she cries his name as he sucks her breasts, he stares up at her before he pushes her on her back, he stares her down as he lifts her bottom half up to pull of her pants.

Sandy squirms beneath him as he delivers sweet kisses all down her body as his fingers circle her clit. Spongebob jumps below, Sandy is panting, waiting for him to do something else, he inserts his thumb to open her, her juices flow out and it is a mess to be cleaned up, it was a good thing he was a sponge.

Spongebob sits up on his knees wiping the side of his lip clean before sucking on his fingers, he stares at her as he cleans himself of her fluids. Spongebob glances down to his erection before looking back at her, he maintained eye contact as he pulled his night shorts down, Sandy sits up and pushes his hands away from his briefs; she glances up at him, he nods and she turns to the band of his underwear, time for the big reveal.

He stares up at her as she climbs over his lap, he was laying back down, this was all going so fast,Spongebob wrapped his fingers around her hips, he closed his eyes as she started to grind on him, she was so wet and warm, it felt good, he could do this all night if he could, but this was only the beginning. He had dreamt of this moment for most of his adult life, but it was just a dream, he never thought that this would actually happen, and now that it was finally happening, this felt ten times better than any ol' dream he had with her in it, it had been so long since he'd actually touched a woman and he was afraid that he had forgotten how to please them, he really wanted to please her, to show her that he wasn't a mistake.

Spongebob held his member still as she leaned back on her legs to get him in, slowly leaning forward allowing an inch in at a time, she dropped her jaw, gasping as he stretched her, it was a little painful after not having any sexual relationships since she moved down here, and not to mention, he was a tad bigger, and growing.

Spongebob pushed in a little further to get her to move, after she got used to the pleasureable invader she began to move, Spongebob threw his head back as she slowly picked up the speed, she was so wet and warm, "Gah, Hnn, Y, you're so tight." he grunted as he thrusted his hips into her, Sandy yelled, her back aching, "Hnn, i, it's because hmm, you're so, hah big." she said as she gropped at her breasts.

Spongebob sat up, pulling her closer, thrusting in a little faster as he started sucking on her breasts, one of his hands rubbed her clit, she pulled at the back of his head, "Hnn, Sponge-" she cried. Spongebob shoved her off of him, now standing between her legs, he rubbed himself, biting, and licking his lips while Sandy watched and played with herself.

Sandy crawled on her hands and knees, she stared up at him as she took him in her hands, Spongebob bit his lips as she began to rub him, she lowered her head down to kiss the tip, he whimpered as she started to lick up his shaft while she squeezed his soft jewels, "Hmm, Sa, Sandy." he panted, wiping away sweat, he ran his hands through her fur, tugging at her ears, Spongebob yelped out, curling his toes and his fingers dug into her head as he released.

Sandy sat up, she took a minute before she swallowed his seed, Spongebob panted looking down at her, he smiled bringing her in a kiss, "Ha, I love you." he said before he laid her down, he pushed through her legs, pressing his member into her again before inserting himself. Sandy clawed at the sheets as he began to work his magic, her legs wrapped around his hips, and her hands raked down his back.

"Hnn, Sp, Spongebob." she moaned, Spongebob bit down on her neck, "Hnn, Sa, San- I, ha, I'm hnn." was all he could manage out, Sandy nodded, "Hmm, Huh, C, come, in, inside hah, Sponge." she cried as she thrusted her hips up to match his movements, she clenched her jaw tight as he thrusted his final thrust, after a few second he fell on top of her, his head rested between her neck and shoulder.

Sandy panted, she stared at him as he raised up off of her, he looked down at their connecting body parts before he pulled out, she reached out to pet his head, "Y, Ya did good." she said before they kissed again.

The two were blinded by a bright ray of light, they shielded their eyes, they quickly covered themselves as they realized that it was the park ranger, "What are you two crazy kids up to?" he asks, Spongebob and Sandy glance at each other before looking back at the thirty something year old man who wore a big goofy grin.

Hmm, well, um thanks for reading guys, I hope you liked it, eh, I sorta got lazy on the smut parts, sorry, but hell whatcha gonna do bout it?

#spongebob #spongebob squarepants #spongebob and sandy #spongebob x sandy #spongebob fanfiction

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shitfics · 7 years

Text

The Smallest of Deeds (1/8); jongyu; nc-17

Jinki's clan is gone.

Killed by humans, with no trace of a motive, on a night he spent away at Jonghyun's cabin. To save Jinki from his loneliness -- and his desire for revenge -- Jonghyun suggests they journey south to find Taemin.

Their search for a place and purpose sends them to an organization known as the Inquisition, and the dangers they face after joining force Jonghyun and Jinki to confront parts of themselves and their relationship that threaten to break them apart.

[mirror on ao3]

Here it is, as promised! As with the last part of DA au, this work is (near) complete, so I will be posting the updates every other day. Thanks as always to my lovely betas, @jongyued, @yurilikesgirls, and @fleckle. I couldn't have done it without y'all!

This is my first time writing (what I would say) a traditional fantasy-type story with fighting and traveling, so I hope it's enjoyable.

I highly recommend reading As the Sapling Bends and the DA AU drabbles first, especially if you are unfamiliar with the dragon age series, as I introduced a few concepts in the first part. Feel free to message me with any questions/comments you have along the way! I will be posting on AO3, and will keep anon commenting enabled on every story there. I also have some doodles for the fic (mostly of jinki cause he’s gorgeous).

More notes (and the fic) are behind the cut.

For the fellow da nerds: as with the last fic, this should all be reasonably canon-compliant. It begins after the Inquisition has moved to Skyhold and stretches through the mission in the Arbor Wilds up to the end of the game (though onjongtae are elsewhere for those events). There will be no appearances or interactions the Inquisition cast to keep naming consistent/avoid confusion, but I do have headcanons about some interactions that I’ll share if anyone is interested, lol.

Since this fic revolves around the Inquisition more than Jinki's clan/Dalishness, the title is taken from an unknown Canticle of the Chant of Light:

Though the lands suffer a thousand wrongs, The Maker yet notices the smallest of deeds.

Since I tried to position all the characters in this story as background characters -- they don't exactly hold the fate of the world in their hands, or know much about what is going on at the highest point of the Inquisition organization, but the events still affect them, and their work fits into the larger goals of the Inquisition.

***

A storm has battled Ostwick for two days now. Jinki and Jonghyun arrived at the port city on the edge of the Waking Sea just in time to find shelter at a shabby inn. With no ships yet leaving, and the whispers about the obvious apostate and the savage knife-ear biting at them each time they attempt to take their meals in the inn’s tavern, they’ve been trapped inside the small bedroom.

The rain beats loudly against the window with each thrust of wind, and the noise is loud enough to drown out Jonghyun’s surprised gasp when a hot mouth covers his neck. He doesn’t question it at first — because it’s Jinki, and he’ll take anything the man will give him — until he’s pulled forward and over the older elf to sit between his legs.

“Fuck me,” Jinki breathes.

Jonghyun’s heart pounds in his chest.

This isn’t right.

Jinki’s eyes are too desperate, and Jonghyun knows from their months together that this isn’t something Jinki would ask for out of true want.

He steels himself and looks into Jinki’s eyes. “No.”

Jinki flips them over. His next words are nearly a growl. “Then let me fuck you.”

Jonghyun’s pulse races. That idea’s familiar — that’s something they’d done many times before Jinki’s clan was slaughtered, and once after, when Jonghyun had been too relieved to see any sign of life in Jinki to worry he might be taking advantage.

He doesn’t think he did. Jinki had slept then — a truly restful sleep — for the first night in a week.

Jonghyun searches Jinki’s face. He sees the bags under his eyes, the new hollowness in his cheeks, and the tight line of his lips. Jonghyun nods.

His hands are pushed over his head, and Jinki’s legs slip between his. Before, it had been tentative instinct Jinki worked on, where this is entirely feral. His legs are sore from their travel, but he welcomes it when Jinki lifts and spreads them, relaxing himself for the push of a finger against him. A second joins it, then a third, and Jonghyun has to grip at the rough sheets as his body is overwhelmed at being given so much so suddenly.

Even in his rush, Jinki always drags this part on out of fear of causing hurt without it. Jonghyun urges him on by reaching for the oil brought with them and pressing it against the side of Jinki’s hand. The sound of Jinki coating himself in it is quick and wet, and though Jonghyun knows this is more about need and distraction than pleasure, it still brings a warm flush to his cheeks.

The push in is fast, and Jonghyun can only hold on, clutching tighter at Jinki’s shoulders with each thrust until Jinki’s hips go rigid against him. The warm weight of Jinki’s body over his is enough for Jonghyun to finish first, and his release paints the sweat trapped between their stomachs when Jinki pulls back.

The nuzzle at his neck nears an apology and Jonghyun hums at it, letting his fingers smooth through Jinki’s hair until his breathing finally steadies with sleep.

Jonghyun sighs. The dark clouds of the storm have dimmed the sun, but he can still see the tension that has set itself so permanently into Jinki’s brow it remains even in his sleep.

The last time he saw peace in it was weeks ago, after one of the rare times Jinki chose to share his bed for the night. They’d even parted with a long kiss, and Jonghyun had smiled as he left, heart fluttering with the knowledge that Jinki would likely be back in a few days’ time with yet another carved trinket he pretended wasn’t a gift.

Then Jinki had returned only hours later, covered in blood, his hands dirty and full of Dalish-made items.

They’re gone, Jonghyun. All of them.

Jinki hadn’t cried. Only a brief, heart-rending stutter gave away his pain when he repeated to Jonghyun that his clan — his entire clan, because he had counted, and searched — was dead. That had been the start of the numbness.

The rage came next.

Jonghyun hadn’t known how to handle it. He’d been dealing with his own demons — the real and twisted spirits that visited every mage in their sleep when their dreams carried them to the Fade. For the first time in years, they tempted him with offers of power — power large enough to hunt and kill whatever human bastards had killed Jinki’s clan, if only he would let them in.

It took more than all his willpower to turn them down. And he’d had to draw on it again, when the glint of Jinki sharpening his knife in the dead of night had woken him from the Fade.

And he had to argue against revenge, as much as he thought it right. The number of humans it must have taken to wipe out the clan would be too many for Jinki to kill on his own. Jinki hadn’t cared, at first. Even the death of one shem could make the rest fear for their lives, and the clan deserved its justice, he’d said. He only stood down when Jonghyun reminded him that his death would mean the complete erasure of clan Lavellan, which was likely what the humans wanted. Even then, Jinki’s agreement was more a defeat than a resolution to move forward.

The days after that had become a blur.

With no chance of obtaining retribution, Jinki went quiet. Jonghyun knew better than to press him, so he had tried to resume his normal routine in hopes that would give Jinki some comfort. It took him days to drag him out of bed and into the garden, and even then, he could hardly call it normal — there were none of Jinki’s teasings, or the skittish smiles he’d give before stealing a kiss. Only Jinki following him like ghost, the markings of his vallaslin through cutting the growing gauntness of his cheeks.

Out of desperation, he’d suggested heading south, to Ferelden, to see if Taemin was still there.

Jinki had latched onto it like a lifeline.

They’d left the next day, walking from sunrise to sunset, and Jonghyun couldn’t even bring himself to complain about the grueling pace Jinki set. Traveling, at least, seemed to soften the wounded edge of Jinki’s silence.

That Jonghyun had come with him didn’t seem to sink in until they were booking their first room at an inn days later. He remembers the way Jinki had looked at him then, wide-eyed and vulnerable as he sat on the dingy mattress.

Are you...going all the way to Ferelden with me?

Of course. I want to stay by your side.

The words had slipped out without a thought, but he didn’t regret them. He could have deflected with a dozen excuses for coming along: that he was tired of the cabin, that he was curious about the new organization in Ferelden that had brought an end to the war by allying with the mages, that he wanted to see Taemin himself — but he wanted Jinki to know how he felt. He deserved to know that he had someone, even if that someone was a shem and a mage.

It seemed to help, if anything could be said to. That had been the night Jinki had taken him last, a flicker of heat behind the pain in his eyes, and when he’d begun to curl against Jonghyun for warmth when he slept.

With a sigh, Jonghyun fixes the thready blanket tighter around them both to block out the world and bring Jinki closer. If the storm ends, he needs to be up early to find a ship that will take them both and make preparation. They both need all the rest they can take.

***

Sleep leaves him slowly, and the waking hole in Jinki’s chest makes him reluctant to leave its embrace. The mattress is still warm in the empty space next to him, and he shifts into it without opening his eyes. For a long moment, he thinks himself in Jonghyun’s cabin, safe in his bed, until a sharp breeze from the window carries the unfamiliar scent of saltwater into the room.

He grimaces. A wave of nausea rumbles in his empty stomach, reminding him of his location and everything that led him here. He’s in some shem city on the coast, waiting for the storm to clear so they can follow Taemin’s trail south.

What he’ll do when he sees him, he hasn’t the slightest clue — but that isn’t important now. All he needs to think about is getting there.

He stretches out his legs, realizing only after he pulls away the blanket and rises that Jonghyun is still in the room.

“Morning, Jinki.” Jonghyun tries at a smile from the small seat by the window. He picks up the basket on the table at his side. “I went ahead and bought pastries for breakfast so we could get an early start.”

A sweet and buttery smell wafts from the covered basket, drawing a growl from his stomach as Jonghyun brings it close. The collar of Jonghyun’s robes hangs low when he bends to set the food on the bed, and Jinki freezes at the sight.

One side of his neck is mottled with purple spots, dark enough for Jinki to wonder how he didn't realize he’d been making them the night before.

“You should eat something,” Jonghyun says, interrupting his staring. He unwraps the white cloth surrounding the pastries and takes a simple piece of bread for himself. “You don’t know if you’ll suffer from seasickness, and it’ll be hard to keep anything down then.”

“I don’t feel hungry,” Jinki says. Because despite all the weakness of his body and the emptiness of his stomach, it’s true. He hasn’t wanted to eat for days now. When he looks at food, all he can think of is the winter’s worth of stores from the aravels, scattered and wasted across the ground next to Joonmyeon’s body.

Jonghyun pushes a roll beneath his nose. “Please.” Then, more gently, “It has a berry filling.”

One glance at the desperate look in Jonghyun’s eyes makes him feel guilty enough to snatch the roll. He forces himself to take a bite, chewing slowly as he works through every foreign motion of his jaw. The sweetness of the berries feels dull on his tongue, and he only finishes because Jonghyun continues to watch him in worry.

Once he’s finished, Jonghyun smiles and hands him another roll. “You’re welcome to the rest of these. I’m going to prepare our things. I already found a ship that’ll take us this morning.

Jonghyun bustles about the room, thoughts about their plans spilling forth unfiltered as he gathers his belongings. “We’ll sail across to Jader, and from there, it’s only a few days of walking south to Haven. That’s the town Taemin said he was leaving for, and we can ask someone there where he might be now. We both know he sticks out, and he can’t resist chatting up strangers. Any locals are likely to remember him, so his trail should be easy to follow.” He stops to look at Jinki. “Does that sound like a good plan?”

“Sounds fine,” Jinki agrees. He swallows the last crust of his roll, dry throat protesting around the small piece. He didn’t mind letting Jonghyun take the lead on their travels. It's made things easier, since most of the people they had to negotiate with were humans. Only one inn had refused them a room since one of them was an elf, but the rejection had been vehement enough he’d avoided talking with shems since.

Life in the forest with the Dalish had nearly made him forget that most of the world wants elves dead, enslaved, or carving out a servile existence in the slums. The memory of the inn-keeper’s scowl grates him, and he can’t help the twist of his lips when he looks up at Jonghyun. “Do the people you booked passage with know that I’m an elf?”

Jonghyun’s lips tighten. Though Jinki would never ask, he has a feeling the only thing that kept him from chewing the ear off that inn-keeper and burning the place down had been his consideration for Jinki’s wariness of magic.

“Yes, they know you’re an elf.” He closes his pack. “And I made sure they wouldn’t take issue with it.”

Jinki nods, trusting Jonghyun’s assessment, and stands to pack his few things.

He hadn’t been able to bring much from the remnants of his clan’s camp. The killers had looted the valuables and left little else. He has his bow, extra strings, his ironbark armor, one of Joonmyeon’s potion flasks, and Hyoyeon’s sword. The rest of the items important enough to qualify as mementos but worthless to the shems, he had hidden in a small cave that he knew would serve as a nest to snakes later in the season to keep animals from stealing. Hopefully, he can return to them someday.

Grabbing his long belt, he straps Hyoyeon’s sword to his side, letting it hang over the daggers attached to his thigh. Hyoyeon had served as a teacher to him in his first years of freedom, and he feels less trapped by the presence of shems around him with the sword at his side.

It will likely cause him more trouble than it would prevent — he’s heard that elves in Ferelden cities are forbidden by law to carry weapons, and the sword is as long as his arm — but he refuses to try and blend in.

Not that he could, even if he wished to — the markings of their goddess Andruil are plain on his cheeks and forehead, and he knows he’ll stick out amongst the bare-faced elves in the cities.

“Ready to leave?” Jonghyun shoots him an encouraging smile from the door, pack and poorly-disguised staff already fixed to his back.

Jinki nods and joins Jonghyun, not bothering to spare a look for the room behind him. They descend the stairs in silence, and Jonghyun tosses an undeservedly cheerful farewell over his shoulder to the innkeeper before leading them outside to the streets of Ostwick.

The coastal city was built scaffolded to aid its defense from pirates, with high walls to separate each level. The poorer districts were built along the coasts, where they would be easy targets for fireballs from any attacking mages, while the nobles’ mansions perched arrogantly over the top with large glass windows to overlook the city below.

The inn they stayed in is shabby enough that only the elven slums stand between them and the docks, and the overwhelming stench of fish and saltwater, made heavier by the recent storms, hangs over the poorly cobbled streets. As they head towards the gate to the slums, the scent intensifies, and Jinki’s nose crinkles in distaste.

When he sees the poorly-patched houses of rotting wood and stone, he pushes back the hood of his cloak slightly, unable to restrain his curiosity. He’d experienced slavery and the free life of the Dalish, but never seen the more common city life of his kind.

Now, he’s grateful that he hadn’t.

As he’d expected from Taemin’s description, the adults look ill-fed, and the children only slightly better off. The shadowed alleys are dark enough to hide any less than legal professions from the city guard, and Jinki keeps an eye on them for movement, unsure how the inhabitants will react to a human and a Dalish man walking through their territory.

He’d expected glares towards Jonghyun — even his friendly Dalish clan kept an archer hidden in the bushes when humans came close for trade — but every elf they pass lowers their head when Jonghyun nears. Jinki catches a few lingering looks at his own markings, but even the most curious of them skitters away when they spot the staff on Jonghyun’s back.

Jinki grits his teeth and widens his steps until he’s ahead of Jonghyun. He can’t blame them for fearing a mage, but the deference Jonghyun is receiving makes him worry he’ll be mistaken for a servant or worse.

“I wonder if all ports smell this awful,” Jonghyun says when they reach the gates to the docks. His normal inviting smile is replaced with a persistent curl of his lips, and Jinki mirrors it, discomforted by the bustle of the city morning around him. Though Ostwick is nothing like the one he’d called home in Tevinter, the abundance of trade stalls and shouting shems along the docks reminds him too much of Perivantium.

“Where’s the ship we’ll be taking?”

“We’re taking the little boat with the blue sail. They’re Orlesian spice traders, but they allow the occasional passenger.”

Jinki follows Jonghyun’s pointer finger to the boat. The small ship is dwarfed in size by the massive trade and navy vessels, and is marked by the lion crest that Jinki assumes to be the flag of the Orlesian empress. Heavy-booted men and women trod expertly over the wood platforms leading to the ship, barrels and crates and bags hoisted over their shoulders as they load the vessel.

He keeps his eyes on his feet as they walk to the ship. The occasional whisper about his markings makes his ears twitch, and he has to fight the urge to reach for Jonghyun’s hand when he nearly falls after a shem bumps him roughly with the rolled up carpet he was carrying to a stall.

Finally, they stop in front of a broad-shouldered sailor.

“Is it too early for us to board?” Jonghyun asks. “We assumed you’d want us on as quickly as possible.”

“Not too early,” she says. Her eyes travel to Jinki. “This is the elf you said was your companion?”

Jonghyun stiffens. “Yes.”

“Those markings...they’re Dalish, no?” The sailor’s lip curls, eyes flicking from Jinki’s ears to his markings as if she can’t decide which offends her more. “You didn’t mention he was that kind of rabbit.”

Jonghyun’s gaze hardens. “He’s not a rabbit. And him being Dalish is irrelevant. I paid enough coin for the passage of two people. Tattoos don’t change that.”

She narrows his eyes at him, but Jonghyun only lifts his chin in response. The pause carries on long enough that Jinki thinks they’re going to be denied passage, but she surrenders under Jonghyun’s stare with a raise of her hands and a sigh. “Fine. You have a temper to make up for your stature, I see. Go ahead and board. Don’t cause any trouble.”

“Thank you,” Jonghyun says, the bow of his head too courteous for the curtness of his words. He adjusts his pack and makes sure Jinki is with him before stepping on the gangplank.

The black waters beneath him make his stomach clench, and it takes all his willpower to force himself up the rocking plank and onto the ship. Jonghyun seems as disconcerted as him, walking along with his arms almost fully extended to try and maintain his balance. He closes his eyes and sighs in relief when they board, then forces a laugh that’s clearly for Jinki’s sake.

“That was a new experience, wasn’t it? I’ve never been on a ship before — didn’t realize getting on one felt so perilous.”

“Me neither,” Jinki says, disarmed from silence by his nerves. His hands drift to the hilt of Hyoyeon’s sword for comfort as he watches the last of the cargo and sailors board.

There’s not a single pair of pointed ears except his own on the ship. The crew and passengers are entirely shem, and he’ll be stuck with them for the next week with no land to escape to.

The gangplank rises, and dread clenches his heart in his chest. His life is in their hands. There’s little he could do if they suddenly decided the ship would be better off without the lone elf, or if some of them had a penchant for elven features as he’d heard was common in Orlais—

Jonghyun places a gentle hand on his wrist. “Are you alright, Jinki?”

“Fine,” Jinki cuts. He jerks his arm away. There’s a small section of the deck not occupied by ropes or sailors, and he moves there to pace, ignoring the worry in Jonghyun’s eyes and the shrinking coast behind them. If the city had felt confining, this might drive him mad.

A shouted stream of Orlesian from nearby makes him flinch.

“We can try to find our cabin,” Jonghyun says. He points to a door on the end of the main deck. “It might be quiet down there.”

Jinki nods. He follows Jonghyun, dodging sailors and ropes until they’re through the door and descending into the depths of the ship. Thin strips of sunlight from the deck above and lanterns are their only light, and it takes them some time to find a door with a poorly-done carving of guest quarters in the wood.

The two beds inside are small, but nearly fill the cramped room. Jinki tosses his things under the left one and lays himself on it.

A wave rocks the ship, and Jonghyun stumbles to him. His eyes are squeezed shut, fist on the bedframe to balance himself, but his hand is gentle when reaches to brush back Jinki’s hair. “You can rest, if you want. I’ll be awake if you need anything.”

Jinki takes Jonghyun’s hand. He pauses, breathing slow for a moment, then twines their fingers together.

He's never been this far south. Never been this surrounded by humans. Even as a slave, there had always been the barracks, packed at all times of day with elves sleeping or sneaking off from work.

Being here feels like moving backwards, like he’s running again — because he is — but it’s all he can do. There’s no clan for him to go back to. Jonghyun’s cabin is too entwined with the memories of that life and the night he’d had to wash the blood of his friends from his clothes.

He curls his body tighter, until his knees are pressed against Jonghyun’s back, and waits for the images to fade.

***

Jinki wakes when something knocks into the wall near his head. He pushes the blanket that was covering his eyes down, expecting to see Jonghyun fumbling with his belongings, only to find him laying on the other bed with his eyes closed.

His ears twitch at the sound of something rolling away from him and knocking into the wall nearest Jonghyun when the ship leans right. As it rolls back, the rolling repeats, and Jinki reaches down to try and catch whatever was causing the cursed noise.

The instant his fingers close around the object, he recognizes it — he’d carved it, after all.

The miniature crystal grace fits easily in his palm. He stares at the wooden flower, puzzled. It’s a useless trinket. Yet Jonghyun had thought it important enough to bring with him.

Jinki shakes his head and rewraps it in the fabric sack it’d escaped from, then tucks it into a deeper pocket in Jonghyun’s bag quietly and tries to return to sleep before his thoughts can sneak up on him.

He has little luck. Every quiet breath from Jonghyun itches his nerves, and watching him sleep soundly fills him with a mix of guilt and envy. Even resting flat on his back provides him no comfort.

The roof of the cabin is closer than it’d been in Jonghyun’s home, but not as within reach as it had been in the aravels. Just low enough for him to feel trapped, and high enough for him to feel exposed. Restless, he rolls out of bed, bare feet falling quiet to the wooden planks underneath him.

His stomach instantly clenches with hunger, but he ignores it, not wanting to risk exploring the hallways of the ship's cabin to find the kitchen. Instead, he follows the path he remembers from their journey down to the guest room, following the peaks of moonlight and dim lamps until he finds the stairs that leads out of the hull.

He opens the door and steps out onto the damp wood. The bustle of the day is gone, and only the sound of the lapping waves meets his ears. Jinki walks to the rail at the edge of the deck. The dark waves froth into a spray against the sides of the ship that flies up to his toes. Jinki watches it with interest, marveling at the way the dark water breaks into a white foam against the wood.

The experience is so new, it cuts through the haze he’s been in since he left the cabin with Jonghyun. His fear is even gone, for a moment, though he knows there’s a sailor on the higher deck behind him and another on the crow’s nest.

He can’t imagine a world with a night like this is the same as the one he’s been living in.

His ears twitch when he hears the creak of a door and the footfalls of boots, and he turns to see Jonghyun exiting the cabin with a long yawn.

Jonghyun stops beside him, assessing the silence between them before he tries to smile. “You’re faring well, I take it? You don’t seem to be bothered by the waves at all.”

“No.” Jinki rebalances his feet to better cope with the rocking of the boat beneath them. “I suppose I’m lucky.”

“I’m glad for that,” Jonghyun says, tone entirely genuine even as his smile strains. His hand rests over his stomach, and his back is bent with a strained hunch.

Jinki steps back, eyeing Jonghyun with caution. “You don’t look like you’re going to keep down your supper.”

“I didn’t.” Another wave crashes against the stern, and Jonghyun reaches desperately for the rail and pales. “Damn the Maker for creating large bodies of water.”

Jinki raises an eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t believe in the Maker?”

“Of course I don’t.” Jonghyun grimaces. “But handling hardship is easier with someone to blame, isn’t it?”

Jinki’s lips quirk up as he remembers the last time he’d heard Jonghyun invoke the Maker. It hadn’t been hardship, though Jinki was to blame for it, in a sense — it’d been his fingers in Jonghyun, after all, that’d made him breathless and desperate enough to cry out for a deity he didn’t even worship.

He opens his mouth, ready to tease Jonghyun in his usual round-about way, when his throat suddenly tightens as the rest of the memory falls into place.

That might’ve been the night his clan was slaughtered, by a group that left no trace of their motive or allegiance.

His smile fades, stomach churning with guilt as his emotions reel back to him. While he spent the night in the bed of a shem, his clan had been fighting for their lives. And he still took comfort in that shem, kissed him and bedded him like he might die without it.

None of it made sense.

Joonmyeon should have lived. Hyoyeon should have lived. Jungah and her children should have lived.

Before he realizes it, his eyes are stinging, and Jonghyun’s hand is a careful weight on his arm.

“Jinki — I’m sorry.” He sighs. “I shouldn’t have phrased that the way I did, when you don’t know who—”

“No,” Jinki cuts him off. “You’re right. It would be easier, if I had someone to blame.”

“I know.” Jonghyun’s fingers tighten on him. “I wish we did, too. But if you had been there to see it, you wouldn’t have—” he chokes around the words, and his grip suddenly feels more desperate than assuring. “There wouldn’t be anyone to remember them.”

“Taemin would. They saved him, when we first escaped.”

“That’s true.” Jonghyun runs his hand down his arm slowly, until it rests on his elbow. “But it’s not the same as how you do. I’m not sure he’d paint the picture of them they deserve, considering he’s such a staunch Andrastian himself.”

Jinki looks at the ocean ahead to avoid Jonghyun’s eyes. “You think?”

“I don’t think he gave your clan or the life they lived the respect they deserved, no. Their refusal to live by humans laws and be locked in one part of the city should be admired. No one deserves to be controlled or ruled over just for how they were born.” Jonghyun smiles bitterly. “I like to think I can understand that, considering I’ve ran away from the Circle all these years to avoid being caged for my magic.”

Jinki hums. He has no words, but he finds himself leaning into Jonghyun with a small smile on his lips. Jonghyun had said something similar before, their first night alone, when Jinki had drunkenly asked him why he treated elves as equals. It’d been what drew him to Jonghyun, despite his magic and his humanness.

Though his clan is gone, he isn’t alone.

***

Jonghyun watches the approaching docks of Jader with a smile. He’ll be glad to back on land, and so will his stomach. He pays attention to Jinki and lingers as much as he can without earning a raised brow — the bags under Jinki’s eyes have gotten lighter, and his cheeks have already begun to round back out to their usual fullness.

He doesn’t understand it, but the sea seemed to bring Jinki some comfort. Though he’d avoided being around the humans on deck, he’d slept soundly during the day and come up for the last meal of the day. He’d even managed to have a full conversation with him, guessing what Taemin might have been up to in Ferelden. The adventures they could imagine him getting up to in the infamously laissez-faire country even made Jinki laugh.

Things are turning around. They’ll restock their supplies, rest for a day, have a solid meal that Jonghyun could finally keep down, then continue south to Haven.

But the news they get at the inn cuts through their plans.

“You’re headed to Haven? The Ferelden town the Inquisition used as their base?” The innkeeper frowns in pity and shakes his head. “That place was destroyed months ago.”

Jinki pushes past him to the counter. “Destroyed? What do you mean?”

“Yep. Whole town’s gone. Attacked by some crazed templars after the Inquisition ended the war by allying with the mages.”

Jinki pales. Jonghyun can see the thoughts running through his head — Taemin might be gone, he might have lost everyone — and jumps in.

“The Inquisition isn’t gone, though, is it? There had to have been survivors — I swear I’ve seen some of their scouts in the city. They’re the ones with the eye and sword symbol, aren’t they?”

“Aye, they’re rebuilding from the attack. I’ve heard they found some kind of ancient fortress in the Frostback Mountains and set up there. Hear they’re calling it Skyhold, since it’s so high up. Truly blessed by the Maker, to have found it.”

Jonghyun sighs with relief. “Do you know how we’d get there?”

“Same way as to their old base in Haven — either take the West route along the border of Orlais, or head east through Gherlen's Pass.”

“Thank you,” Jonghyun says. “The information is appreciated.” He places an extra few silver on the counter on top of the payment he’d already set out.

Jinki stares ahead, eyes unfocused. “If Taemin was there when it happened, then...”

“There were survivors.” Jonghyun squeezes Jinki’s arm to assure him. “And Taemin never stays in one place for long, you know him — he might have already left by the time Haven was destroyed. If we head to this fortress, we can ask if anyone knows where he might have gone. We’ll find something.”

Jinki nods stiffly. The agreement is disquieting, and Jinki following in his step when he exits the inn to go purchase supplies more so. Even in the first city they had visited, when humans were bustling about, Jinki had made sure to never follow him. He’d held his head high, as if to show off the dark vallaslin markings that cut across his cheeks.

Jonghyun glances back at Jinki, expecting him to pick up his step or at least flinch at the cacophony of the market around them, only to find Jinki looking past him with the blank stare he’d thought was finally gone.

Of all the things in the world, he knows that losing Taemin would break Jinki.

That night, Jonghyun uses his time dreaming in the Fade to search for some sort of spirit that can assure him Taemin is alive. Though he knows it's unlikely — spirits are rarely interested in those without magic, and there’s no solid way of communicating with most of them — he still tries, rushing through realm after realm in hopes of a hint.

His worries twist the world around him, swirling the mysts until they solidify into the forms of a dozen templars. They draw their swords at him, and Jonghyun tries to summon a spell, but his mind is too focused on the memory of their mage-silencing abilities for him to find his magic.

All he has is his staff, and even that seems to vanish from his hands as the templars loom closer.

He wakes in a sweat. His last memory of the Fade is of him on his knees, begging a passing spirit of Compassion for help.

When he rises, he sees Jinki is watching him from the door, lips an impassive line.

“Are you ready?”

Jonghyun swallows. “I will be in a minute.”

He stands and gathers his things, ignoring the shaking in his hands left from the remnants of his nightmare. His nightmares have been free of templars for months, and he’s never been so fearful that he’s lost his ability to use magic in the Fade.

Both of them are quiet on their way out of the city, lost in their thoughts. Jonghyun purchases another basket of pastries that they share as they walk to the Southern edge of the city. A caravan of dwarven traders invites them to join them for part of their journey south, citing Jinki’s markings and Jonghyun’s staff as sufficient intimidation for any bandits they might encounter along the way. To shave some days off their travel, they agree to come along, and stick with the caravan until they reach the Frostback Mountains, where they split.

As soon as they had reached the mountains, the weather turned to a biting cold. Jonghyun uses some of his coin to purchase them an extra cloak each and a pair of boots for Jinki at the small outpost marking the path up to Skyhold. After a short rest and a quick meal, they begin to hike the well-worn path up the mountains towards the new Inquisition base.

At least the grimace on Jinki’s face is from annoyance now, and not pain. He only says a few of his complaints aloud, but Jonghyun can tell the growing cold is grating on him, and being forced to wear true footwear is as well. An inappropriate giggle sneaks up his throat every time he catches Jinki glaring down at the thick boots as if they were traps clamped around his legs to hinder his movement.

The hazards of snow are new for both of them. It fell on Jonghyun’s cabin in some winters, but never for more than a few days, and never in the amount the mountains seem to hold. Here, there are mounds of it, blown into great drifts and covering all but the tallest rocks. As they round the trail to the west side of one of the mountains, Jonghyun nearly falls for the dozenth time that day when his feet sink into a deep pocket of the fresh white powder, but the curse on his lips is quickly dispelled by the sight before him.

“Wow.”

Jonghyun dusts off his robes, movement slowed by his wonder at the mountains ahead. The setting sun pinkens the snow, and frozen ponds dot glowing orange across the landscape for miles ahead.

He breathes slowly, letting the image sink in. “I never imagined I’d see anything like this — I can almost see how Taemin enjoys traveling.”

Jinki stops next to him. For a moment, Jonghyun realizes he might have said the wrong thing — he probably should have known better than to bring up Taemin, when they still don’t have confirmation he’s alive — but he relaxes when Jinki brushes a hand against his side.

He gives a small exhale (a laugh, maybe? Jonghyun hopes) that leaves a white puff in the air. “It is a pretty view...” His nose wrinkles with a sniff. “Miserably cold, though.”

Jonghyun grimaces. “Very miserable. I can imagine the night will be worse, too.”

Jinki nods. “We should set up our tent for now, and get as far as we can tomorrow. The faster we move, the fewer nights we will need to spend out here.”

“True.” Jonghyun bites his lip as he helps Jinki unload the canvas wrapped in their traveling pack.

Neither of them mention the other reason they wish to hurry.

Jonghyun lights a fire before dark to keep them from freezing as they eat their meager rations, and in the tent, they press together closely, not bothering to even use the second bedroll. The cold snakes too deeply in Jonghyun’s bones, and Jinki seems in need of him again, though Jonghyun knows he’d never admit it.

The slow and beseeching fit of Jinki’s solid body around his is familiar. He half-expects Jinki to take him as he did in the inn, but a hand slips between them, and Jinki only murmurs something about needing warmth before lifting Jonghyun’s robes to press their bare skin together.

Jonghyun closes his eyes, appreciating the heat. He’s not sure if he drifts off, or simply fades into a trance before the morning, but he has no memories of entering the Fade before the light of morning sneaking into their tent wakes him.

The moment he reaches to secure the flap, Jinki peels back the top of their bedroll and makes Jonghyun shiver at the sudden draft of cold air over his body.

“We should go. It’s light out.”

Jonghyun mumbles an agreement. He wonders if Jinki slept at all, but there’s no point in worrying — neither of them will rest soundly until they hear word of Taemin, and that won’t come until they reach the fortress the Inquisition holds.

Once their tent is torn down and back in Jinki’s bag, they begin the hike up the mountain. The pace Jinki sets is twice as brutal as yesterday, and Jonghyun is just about to ask him to slow down when the fog of the morning clears to reveal stone towers in the distance. Each tower is linked by a wall, and over the tops of them, Jonghyun can see the crest of several rooftops and a large flag bearing the Inquistion’s heraldry.

“That must be Skyhold,” Jonghyun says, struggling around the words as he tries to catch his breath. “We’re close.”

Jinki nods, but doesn’t stop to respond. With gritted teeth, Jonghyun hurries after him, willing himself to think of Taemin and not the burning in his lungs.

The sun has already lowered behind the mountains to the west when they reach a stone bridge leading from the end of the trail to the gate of the stronghold. A dozen refugees in tattered clothes file near the entrance, followed by a caravan of what looks to be merchants and a small group of dwarves carting a heavy and tightly-sealed container of what Jonghyun can only guess is lyrium.

At the end of the bridge, guards in Inquisition armor stand on both sides of the fortress’ open gate, spears pointed to the sky. Between them, a small table covered with parchment and ink houses a bearded man that nods sympathetically to each refugee’s story before waving for them to enter.

The door behind him opens, and a robe-clad elf with a surly step joins them for a moment to light the torches on either side before returning to the fortress.

Jonghyun’s breath catches. He’s never seen a fellow mage cast a spell so casually out in the open — he hasn’t even seen magic other than his own in years.

He follows Jinki to reach the line ahead of them. He’d heard of the Inquisition’s alliance with the mages, but a part of him hadn’t believed it. He unfastens his staff to lean on it as they wait, and after a moment’s hesitation, pulls off the worn wrappings around the crystal embedded in the end. He’s expecting a shout or at least a hissed curse, but earns no more attention than a raise of Jinki’s brow and a slight frown from a nearby dwarf.

No one in the line seems to care that he’s a mage. And when they finally reach the record keeper, he only gives his staff a single glance before tapping his quill against the parchment in front of him and adding a new blot of ink to the crowd at the corner of the page. “Are you an a apostate, or a refugee from one of the disbanded Circles?”

“...Apostate,” Jonghyun answers after a pause. “I haven’t lived in a Circle for years.”

The man marks this down on the paper as if it were no more concerning than his hair color, then nods to Jinki.

“You’re Dalish, eh? Are you are a mage as well?”

“I am Dalish,” Jinki says. He lifts his chin, either from pride at having his Dalishness acknowledged as something other than a curse or in defiance to being called a mage. “But I’m not a mage.”

The man’s brows furrow as he looks between them, trying to come up with a reason for a Dalish elf and a human apostate to travel together before shaking his head and asking them outright. “You’re an odd pair. You both refugees, or what?”

“Not quite,” Jonghyun says, taking over to prevent any further questions. “We’re actually looking for information on a friend. We believe he visited Haven, before it was destroyed, and we’re trying to make sure he’s alright. He likely arrived before the Inquisition was formed, or right when it happened, but we were hoping someone might remember him — he tends to stick out.”

“What’s his name?”

“Taemin. He’s an elf — blond hair, probably still long, wears it in a ponytail —”

“Ah — Taemin?” The man’s eyes light up in recognition, and he lets out a bellowing laugh. “Maker, that one’s memorable. I assume you’re lookin’ for the boy that sounds like some kind of crossbreed between an Antivan and a Tevinter?”

Jonghyun nods. His heart clutches tight in his chest when the man pauses, and he can feel Jinki’s arm against him as he leans forward.

“He’s still here — been here since we started, same as me. They have him putting together information and making maps. I see him come in and out of here with scouting parties often.” The man rubs the prickly hairs of his chin. “He’s a strange elf, but well—” he eyes Jinki up and down, then stares right at the vallaslin on his cheeks and grins. “I imagine he isn’t the strangest one we could have here, eh?”

Jinki ignores the teasing and leans forward. “Where can I find him? Will you let us in?”

The man’s expression sobers. “He has his own room in the east tower, on the second floor. And sure, you both can go in — just be sure to speak with the quartermaster before you settle in anywhere. Space is gettin’ a little tight with all the mages we have coming in now that the war’s over and the Circles are all gone.”

Jinki, in the little bit of emotion he allows himself to show, looks like he wants to turn and run. But when the man gestures for them to head through the gates, Jinki walks through them with the same determined square of his shoulder’s he’d been wearing since they first set south.

Jonghyun follows after him. A shout from a nearby soldier makes Jinki flinch mid-step, and Jonghyun reaches out to grab his hand, but stops himself before their fingers touch.

Jinki had never said outright he didn’t want their relationship to be public, but Jonghyun can guess he doesn’t want the first thing the Inquisition learns of him to be his partnership with an apostate, however accepted they might be.

He follows Jinki to the tower. After the all-day hike, the stairs should seem insurmountable, but his eagerness to see Taemin well and alive carries him up the stairs quickly.

Down the winding hall they reach an open door. After a glance inside, Jinki freezes with wide eyes, and Jonghyun stops by his side.

The room is littered with parchment, ink wells, and tools, but Jonghyun only sees a familiar head of blonde hair and a pair of long-pointed ears.

“Whoever you are, I’m busy.” Taemin waves a hand in their direction, not looking up from the parchment in front of him. “And if this is about the broken table in the tavern, that was not related to my dancing on it.”

“You broke a table?” Jonghyun asks.

“Maker, I just said, it wasn’t—” Taemin looks up to them, and the scowl on his lips freezes and falls. His brows knit together, then his eyes go wide, and he looks between them with bewilderment.

“...Jonghyun?” When Jonghyun nods, he stands, focus shifting quickly. “Jinki?”

Jinki steps forward. A grin finally blooms on Taemin’s lips, and he throws his quill to the stone floor and runs to embrace them. “Maker’s balls! What are you two doing here?”

Jinki stiffens in Taemin’s hold, and Jonghyun answers for him. “It’s a long story.”

“I’d expect so!” He pulls back and nods to Jonghyun’s staff. “Though I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised at Jonghyun being here, since we’ve had mages from all over the world join us — but I can’t say I expected it. Never seen you out of that damned clearing before, except those times you hunted with Jinki.”

Jonghyun smiles stiffly. He glances at Jinki, trying to read his expression, but settles on a half-truth when he receives no answer. “Well, you know — I was interested in hearing what happened with the mages.”

“Yeah, they’re allies now — though that’s old news at this point.” Taemin shrugs and turns to Jinki with a raised brow. “But why are you here? There’s no forests for you to frolic through down here, and I can’t imagine you in all your Dalish-righteousness wanting to join an organization so closely tied to the Chantry.”

Jinki looks down and pulls his lip between his teeth. Jonghyun’s fingers itch with the urge to offer a reassuring touch, but he holds back when he sees Jinki draw his breath to speak.

“My clan is gone.” He stops, breath halting as he swallows. “All of them. There were no survivors I could find.”

Taemin gapes. “...Survivors? Then you mean—”

“They were killed,” Jinki says, stone-faced. “I don’t know who did it. I was at Jonghyun’s the night it happened.”

“Maker, I can’t...” Taemin’s hand hovers over Jinki’s shoulder, clearly unsure what to do. “We’d heard of elves being attacked in the Free Marches after they were blamed for a plague, but only in the cities. I had no idea....” Taemin trails off, then clears his throat. “I’m so sorry, Jinki.”

Jinki’s gaze turns sharp. “Who attacked them?”

“It’s a bit complicated, and wrapped up in Inquisition business.” Taemin rubs his nose. “I’m not sure how much the whole story matters.”

“I want to hear everything.”

“Alright, well...” Taemin sighs. “There’s this group called the Venatori that was trying to manipulate all the mages into working for them, in exchange for help in the war.”

“Venatori?” Jinki repeats. He clenches his fist, the knuckles of his shaking hands turning white. “That sounds Tevene.”

“It is. They’re a Tevinter supremacy cult bent on taking over all the lands — typical Tevinter villanry, but worse. We stopped them from getting the mages, but their people are everywhere, it seems — they had their people poison the wells in the city that was close to your clan for some twisted magic experiments, but only the humans ones. And naturally, when the humans got sick, but the elves didn’t, the nobles called it a curse and blamed the elves. So they purged the slums.”

“And my clan.” Jinki swallows. “Are you still fighting them?”

“Of course.” Taemin squeezes Jinki’s shoulder. “That’s our primary mission now — taking down their leader and all their little pockets.”

“Elgar’nan ghilani...” Jinki mumbles. Jonghyun doesn’t have time to recall what god or goddess Jinki invoked before he lifts his chin to look at Taemin directly. “What can I do to help your Inquisition, then?”

“Help...?” Taemin’s eyes widen. “You’d want to join?”

“Yes. If helping you hurts the shems that killed my clan, I will help.”

“Well — we don’t turn away any able warriors...” Taemin glances at Jonghyun for help, but he has none to give. “But are you sure you want to do this? It’s not likely you’ll get to deal with any of the humans responsible for what happened to your clan.”

“Helping you hurts them, doesn’t it?” Jinki says. “And that’s what I want.”

Taemin stares at him, then looks to Jonghyun for something, obviously lost for what to say to Jinki’s sudden determination.

Jonghyun has no help for him — he’s just as shocked.

Jinki crosses his arms and looks down at Taemin. “Do you not want me to join?”

“Of course not — Maker, I know you’re stubborn, and I’m not going to argue with you about it.” Taemin stops, holding back his thoughts for a moment, then continues. “But it’s a bit impulsive. You come here to see me, and now you’re going to join some organization you likely know nothing about—”

“You’re in it, aren’t you? Surely you think good of it.”

“Fine.” Taemin huffs and slumps against the nearest wall. “Speak with the quartermaster first, she’ll find you a place to sleep and an assignment. I can tell you’re in a mood, so I’ll just wait until you’re done and all this has sunk in for us to catch up—” he waves towards the door, but catches Jinki’s eyes with a sympathetic smile before he can turn. “Just know I’m here if you need anything. And I’m sorry for what happened.”

Jinki nods, lips tight, and leaves the room.

Jonghyun watches him leave with a tug in his chest, then smiles apologetically at Taemin. “Sorry, I should—”

“We’ll catch up later.” Taemin assures him with a pat of his shoulder. “Follow him and make sure Jinki doesn’t do anything stupid., if you don’t mind? You’ve seen how he gets when something sets him off.”

Jonghyun dashes out after Jinki, thoughts racing.

Though he hadn’t expected seeing Taemin to fix everything, he’d imagined a happier reunion for the two friends. But Jinki’s relief at finding Taemin alive had been snatched away, replaced with anger at the fresh knowledge that the country responsible for his slavery was behind the death of his clan. And now he’s going to throw himself into danger for whatever revenge he can get.

He’d wanted Jinki to find a purpose, since he’d seemed so listless, but he hadn’t imagined it being this.

On their way to Taemin’s room, he hadn’t noticed the view of the expansive fortress yards from the open windows in the hallway, or the decades of wear in the stone walls, but he doesn’t have time to wonder at them as he runs.

At the last doorway, he finally catches up. Jinki halts when he hears his approach, and Jonghyun skids to a stop beside him, boots slipping in the melted snow on the stone until he balances himself on his staff.

“Jinki, wait,” Jonghyun pants. His stomach churns, and the empty ache in his chest is from more than worry at Jinki’s safety.

Jinki had made the decision to join the Inquisition without even looking to him for an opinion.

He swallows that bitterness down. “Would you want me to join with you?”

Jinki turns to him, expression softer than Jonghyun’s seen in days. “You don’t need to.”

“I know.” Jonghyun runs a finger along one of the gouges in his staff, suddenly embarrassed. “But mages from everywhere are here now, too. It would make sense for me to join.”

“That’s true.”

“I mean, it’s not just that....” He reaches for Jinki’s hand and hooks their fingers together. “I meant what I said, when we first started traveling.”

A flush blooms at the high curve of Jinki’s markings. He stares at Jonghyun, lost for what to say, then clears his throat. “We should, uh, find lodging as Taemin suggested. Before dark.”

Jonghyun nods, and together, they step back into the courtyard of the fortress. He only realizes then that Taemin hadn’t given them directions to the quartermaster, forcing him to look around until he finds someone not wrapped up in their work for directions. By the time they’ve figured out where to head in the vast fortress, several humans and a few elves have gathered on the closest battlement, and Jonghyun can tell from the direction of their fingers that they’re pointing to Jinki’s markings.

He’s not sure if Jinki’s noticed, but he hurries them along to the building before anyone bolder can approach them directly.

The quartermaster’s office is already dark when they arrive, and a straight-nosed woman with the chastising stare of a Chantry priestess eyes them narrowly as they enter. “As many odd characters as I get in here, I can’t say I’ve ever seen any Dalish come through.” Her Ferelden accent is thick and drawling, and there’s a visible pause as she takes in the markings on Jinki’s face. “What might you be looking for?”

Jonghyun answers for them, if only to get her attention off Jinki. “A place to stay, if possible.”

“Hm.” She crosses her arms. “Do you plan on joining the Inquisition?”

Jonghyun watches as she picks up a leather notebook with recruits engraved on the front and opens it.

He’d worked so hard to avoid the war between the mages and templars, and now he’s volunteering for an organization that likely sees just as much fighting.

He swallows. “Yes. We both would like to. I’m Jonghyun, and this is Jinki.”

“Well, I take from the staff at your back that you're a mage.” She tilts her head towards Jonghyun, who nods, then at Jinki with a lifted brow. “And your Dalish friend’s skills are...?”

“I was a hunter for my clan,” Jinki says. “I can use a bow as well as daggers. I’m also a skilled carpenter.”

“Hm.” She raises a brow, seeming to size him up, then jots down his name. “We’ll put you with the other recruits. You’ll start with our training captain tomorrow. Meet him out in the east yards at dawn, and you can stay in the soldiers’ barracks for the night. If the captain decides you’re not a good enough fighter, they’ll put you with the workers.” She flips to a different page marked with the symbol for magic and adds Jonghyun’s name. “The mage can stay in the tower.”

“Does he have to stay there?” Jinki asks, and Jonghyun blinks in surprise. “Or is there a way we can have a room together?”

“Together?” She echoes, eyes wide. She looks between them, putting the pieces together — not many circumstances would allow for a human and an elf to become close friends, let alone partners — and Jonghyun feels his cheeks warm from the inspecting stare.

“Well, that’s...” She stops to clear her throat. That’s a request I can’t fulfill. Guest rooms are for visiting nobility only, so I’d recommend you just go where I told you. But if you’re set on sharing a room, you’re welcome to explore the place — this place is damned big if you haven’t already noticed, and it looks like you already have a bedroll. You might find something for you two.”

After a quick exchange of thanks, Jinki and Jonghyun leave the office behind to search the fortress for somewhere to sleep through the night. Out in the open, there are too many wandering troops and servants for them to set up their tent. They quickly narrow their search to the crannies of the fortress, and the something the quartermaster had suggested turns out to be a small room placed high over the storage barn.

The chill of the mountain is worse than it had been in the courtyard, and Jonghyun thinks with the slightest bit of envy of the heating runes the newly-constructed mage tower must have had built into it already. It at least gives Jinki an excuse to press against him through the whole night, instead of the embrace-and-retreat dance he had been doing since their travels began.

Every breeze that sneaks in makes him shiver. There’s a hole in one of the walls, on his side, and a few dozen in the thatched roof. He manages to pry Jinki off of him long enough to do something about it only when he explains he’s going to cover the source of the draft.

After a moment of searching blindly across the stone floor, he finds the canvas they’d used for their tent and fixes it over the small hole. Satisfied with his work, he crawls back to the bedroll and lifts the top to slip inside, only to jolt at the sudden touch of something on his arm.

He looks down, squinting through the dark until he can discern Jinki’s hand on his wrist.

“Thank you,” he murmurs. “For staying.”

Jonghyun smiles. He pulls his hand away only to lace his fingers with Jinki’s when he joins him fully under the covers. “It’s what I wanted to do. You don’t need to thank me.”

#jongyu #da au #long fic #i love these two soooo much ;-; and i'm p proud of this one #my babies are going thru so much #pls enjoy!!! ^^

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