and today in sometimes i write shit that fucks me up for weeks: time travel au steve & trees

Steve gets up. Goes into his room — not his room at all, it’s not his home, it’s not his — knowing Hopper won’t follow him, locks the door knowing El will unlock it if she needs him, and crawls under the blanket. He doesn’t cry, just curls up and lies there in numb misery of feeling too much, thinking too much, knowing too much, and not having the right words to express anything.

The air under the blanket gets too warm to really be comfortable, but he doesn’t want to move. He’s turned into a tree again, as El would put it. Another pang of guilt and misery runs through him, because he doesn’t want to be fucked up like that, fucked up enough for a child to call him a tree because he loses his reality a lot; but then the thought of being a tree almost feels so relieving it makes him want to cry.

Because trees don’t think about their friends dying. Killed. Murdered. By forces greater than this world’s imagination. Trees don’t watch the blood seeping from them over and over again until they lose their minds and go into shock that this world doesn’t support, instead tugging him back and forth until all there is is nothingness, because there is no time to think or feel or process, and once there is time, there is too much to even start. And no one to talk to about it. No one to listen.

If he could turn into a tree and never have a single thought again, he would without hesitation.

But he can’t, so he thinks, and the thinks until he falls asleep and the thoughts turn into memories morphed with fears until it’s Steve who kills them. Steve who fails. And Steve who does it over and over again. In the Upside Down, in Eddie’s trailer, at school, in Mike’s basement.

It’s Steve. Like it was Billy.

[…]

Walking on legs that haven’t quite accommodated to being upright yet, stiff and heavy in the dark of night, Steve makes his way through the forest, tumbling and stumbling, but never enough to make him stop. He’s heaving breaths now, willing the cold air into his lungs to stop everything from feeling so wrong, to break through the haze and the fog and the cotton, to pierce his insides with little pinpricks of ice as December is fast approaching. It only serves to make him more dizzy, his head spinning, glowing spots of black and white appearing in his field of vision until he leans against a tree, catching his breath and holding it.

Holding onto it with whimpers and wheezes and pathetic little groans that make him want to scream. He punches the tree, his hand numb with pain upon impact, his knuckles stiff and scraped up; bloody, even in the pitch black darkness.

Bloody. His hands are always bloody. It stains them, has seeped into his skin, like a reverse tattoo that only he can see. This, though… This is real. It’s his blood.

And so he punches again. And again, until his breath has evened out, and the pain has moved from his arm and his side over to his hand. Over to something real.

He flexes his fingers and watches them, can barely make out their shape, and focuses on the pull of his skin, the scrapes making it feel too tight — but in a real way. In a way that… he’s not going crazy. It’s real. It’s all real. And it’s burning, sizzling along with all of that anger, the grief, the confusion, the complete and utter fucking lostness. The loneliness.

Steve punches the tree one more time, then turns around to put more distance between him and familiar walls and stale air and worried glances so heavy they slowly scrape away the scar tissue growing over all those rawest of feelings.

He walks and walks without direction or destination, simply placing one foot in front of the other as his racing heart calms down and he is overcome with an absolute, all-consuming kind of exhaustion that makes him sway the very second he stops. His eyes are getting heavy, like his body is slowly coming to the realisation that his beside clock said 3:38 a.m. and that he hasn’t slept through the night for some days now, or maybe weeks, always awoken by nightmares — on days that he even dared to fall asleep.

No one should have to feel this kind of exhaustion, Steve thinks. Even after the Russians, after torture and fighting and more torture, followed by running and more running and almost dying in a car crash and then in a fire… Even after all that, he wasn’t as exhausted as he feels right now.

Probably because back then, he had Robin. Robin who would hold his hand, Robin who would share a glance with him and resuscitate everything that died inside of him with just one brave little smile.

God, she was so brave.

Steve leans against a tree, closing his eyes for just one second as he pictures Robin — alive and smiling and determined. Robin, in the passenger seat of his car at ass o’clock in the morning, grumpy and tired, leaning in to give him a hug hello and a hug goodbye. Robin, who would roll her eyes at his antics, his insecurities and his worries — Robin, who would explain hours later, her hand in his, that he had no reason to doubt or worry. That he was fine. That he was perfect. That everything else would slot into place soon and be perfect for him, too. Payback, she’d called it.

Payback, he thinks now as he heaves another breath, willing it through his constricted throat, and just barely keeping himself from screaming. Payback, because he failed. Payback, because he watched her die and nothing, nothing good will ever come out of that.

As much as he will try to save her, she will always have died. As much as he can try to keep her safe this time around, he will always have failed her.

That’s nothing he can take back. Ever. Nothing he can fix. Nothing he can make un-happen.

It’s the cruellest constant.

One that won’t leave him alone. One that won’t let him sleep at night, one that won’t leave his head even for a minute, flooding his consciousness with memories of blood and failure, weighing down his conscience until he can’t fucking breathe, and—

A sob escapes his throat even as he stumbles forward, continuing on his nonexistent path that feels a lot like running, fleeing from this new life, as though he could magically make his way back to the old one. Because they have died. They’re dead. He watched them. This new world won’t fix that. Won’t fix him. And he doesn’t deserve fixing anyway.

So he runs.

If I Should Stay

Part 1 | . . . | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14

After sandwiches, Nancy turns to El. “Could you look for Barb again?”

El sets her mouth and nods. She glances at Steve, who also nods and moves to set up the living room again.

Eddie follows him in and picks up the blindfold. Steve doesn’t try to hide his smirk. “You’ve got questions, I’m guessing?”

Eddie shrugs, leans against the couch. Watches the fabric as he pulls it through his fingers. Right hand, left hand. Right, left. “Mostly thinking I was wrong about you. Even more than I initially thought.”

Steve smiles. “We never got to have this conversation in the future, but I do know what your bandana means.” He stops for a second, watches Eddie’s hands. Right, left. “I’m offering… not an olive branch, per se, but…”

“An invitation?” Right, left.

“Exactly.” He shrugs. “If there’s anything you want to know…” he trails off, lets it hang in the air.

Eddie smiles. “Just one thing.” He holds it up in his left hand. “Who d’you use it on?”

Steve grins and turns away, looking for the remote. “Myself.” His smile falls. “Or- I did. You heard about the Russians, right?”

Eddie steps up beside him. Offers him the blindfold. “Yeah. Makes sense.”

Steve shrugs. “I’d say if I could go back in time, but…” he gestures around with a grin, letting it widen when Eddie chuckles. “Turns out going back in time does nothing for the memories I already have.”

Eddie frowns. “Kinda fucked up, isn’t it? Your body reverted back to its sixteen-year-old self, but your brain is still twenty.”

“I mean, imagine me coming to school one day looking like this, and the next I come in with scars, looking half a decade older. People would talk.”

Eddie hums. “You’re probably right. Still, it can’t be easy, having those mental reminders with none of the physical.”

Steve grins at him. “Did you miss the part where I don’t have concussions?”

Eddie snorts. “Fair enough. Still, I bet the scars looked badass.”

“Very metal,” Steve agrees. “Y’know, if you’d survived? We woulda had matching scars.” He trails a hand down his side. “The bats ripped us both open. Woulda gotten me if you, Robin and Nance hadn’t gotten there when you did. You took on a bat with nothing but an oar from a rowboat.” He turns to look at Eddie. “You told me once, how you’re a coward. How you run.” He shakes his head, looks away. “You didn’t. Not when it mattered. And you won’t this time.”

“Maybe this time we’ll have matching not-scars,” Eddie says, then points at Steve. “And no concussions.”

“And no concussions,” Steve parrots, laughing. “If we have to deal with the Russians again, though? I’m definitely doing something different.”

“We,” Eddie murmurs, shrugging when Steve looks at him. “We’ll do something different. You think any of these kids are gonna leave you alone after this? You think Eleven will leave you alone?”

“I hope not,” Steve answers honestly. “And you? You’re staying?”

Eddie shrugs again. “You said I didn’t run when it mattered. Who’s to say this doesn’t matter just as much? I’m not running.”

Steve smiles softly at him. “You’re a good man, Eddie Munson.”

Eddie levels him with a look. “I sell weed, Steve.”

Steve snorts. “I’m well aware, dude, I’ve bought from you before. If all goes well, I’m planning on buying another.”

Eddie laughs. “Hell, man, if it all goes well, I’ll give it to you, free of charge.”

Steve winks. “I’ll hold you to it,” he says, then leaves Eddie to process while he goes to get El.

Of course wherever El goes, Mike’s not far behind, which means he, Dustin and Lucas follow, and of course Nancy follows, and since everyone else is already in there, Jonathan and Robin follow too, so they all end up crammed in the living room again, with bated breaths and tightly-held hands, as El settles in front of the TV and puts the blindfold on.

Finally, she speaks. “I see her. She is alive.”

Nancy slumps into the couch and lets out a breath.

Then El speaks again. “She does not have very long.”

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Okay, we all know being a demigod is a shit position. Its scary and gets you killed in really nasty ways. But I feel like being a Big Three Kid has to be the shitiest position in all the shit positions.

Like, imagine being Thalia Grace. Your dad is king of the gods, lord of the skies. Led a war to get rid of a tyrant. And the only thing you get is his scorned wife AND brother, who both try to kill you (with one technically succeeding), a drunk of a mother, and brother who you thought was dead. Oh, wait, he’s not dead! No instead he was used as an offering to appease your dad’s wife and help fight in a war and prevent mass destruction.

Or maybe you can imagine being Percy. Son of the sea god, the stormbringer, the earthshaker. You get to live with a disgusting, abusive man for around 6 years. Who smells like literal shit. All because your scent as a demigod is too strong, BECAUSE of who your father is. You see things that you aren’t supposed to see and do things that people can’t do and go years thinking something is wrong with you. That your the problem. Then you get to the one place where you’re supposed to be save. But! Here is the kicker! You’re not! Your uncles hate you and you’ve been accused of stealing a symbol of power. A series of events that will kick off a war, and guess what. You’re a center point for it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.

Mhm, but then there’s Hazel. Daughter Pluto, god of the underworld and riches. But that doesn’t really change anything does it? She’s still living in 1930s America, in a red state. One where confederate flags still hang if you go deep enough into the city. She go to a school where the kids are supposed to be just like her! They still don’t like her tho. She’s got no idea who your father is, only that he left her with a parting gift. Only it’s not really a gift. Sure, she can pull rubies and diamonds from the earth, all worth millions. But anyone who’s ever gonna touch it will die. She lives with her mother, a woman gone so mad with greed it kills her. And Hazel, by the way. Laying dead Alaska, inhaling oil. But it doesn’t end there! She can’t have her mother suffering for eternity, can she? The answer is no. Hazel gets to spend the next 70 years in the Fields of Asphodel. It still doesn’t end! Because when she’s brought back to life, she gets to fight in a war against giants, her sad story seemingly never ending.

Nico’s a son of one of the Big Three, one of the most ancient and most powerful. But most people look at him as something bad, something not worth taking a second glance at. Something too look away from, mostly. He’s from the 30s, spent years in a magical time casino with only his sister at his side. She doesn’t stay for long though, she dies soon after they discover their heritage. And he doesn’t remember his mother much, a name without a face. A face without a name. He survived an attempted assassination at 2, though it wouldn’t be the only time his was life was threatened. He clings to his sister, even though she’s dead. He’s the son of the god of the underworld, is he not? There had to be a way, and there is. Only she won’t talk to him, she seems more concerned with communicating with the guy who got her killed instead. She chooses rebirth, and he decides to lay it to rest. She’s not coming back, and he has a war to fight in. (He gets stuck in a jar and forcibly outed a few years later, but that’s a lot to get into for now.)

Jason Grace is a pillar of New Rome, their golden boy, their American boy. He’s a son of Jupiter, a natural born leader. He’s been at camp for as long as he can remember, he wants to be praetor soon. He’s had a rocky start, but maybe he’ll be one of the lucky ones. Retire a veteran and live a long life with Reyna in New Rome. Only that never happened. He has no idea where he is, there’s a girl holding his hand, and she’s cute but it feels wrong. They get attacked and people come in and call him a Greek demigod, familiar, yes, but still wrong. It doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t put things into perspective the way it does for Piper and Leo. He’s goes to a quest to rescue Hera, the name sounds wrong. He nearly dies but at least he remembers who he is. He spends the next 6 months trying to get back home, even though he isn’t too sure on where or what home is. He gets there, eventually, but it doesn’t stop there. He’s dragged on quests and battles and fights in the war but at least he survives it, he’s still there. Apollo needs help, he and Piper give him aid. He gets dumped. He doesn’t get to he a veteran in New Rome. Not with Reyna, not with Piper, not with anybody. He doesn’t get kids or grandkids. No, he gets shot down, another demigod buried.

You could be any one of them, really. Pick your poison, but I guarantee you won’t like any of them. Spending years trying to find a place where you belong, where you feel safe. Only for it to never come.

Percy, who, if you really look at the books, isn’t really all that well liked until he’s at least 2 years into camp. Only to then be sidelined because the courages, brave, fearless daughter of Zeus is back from the dead. Nico, the son of one of the most feared and hated gods. Who has death written all over him, who excludes it so much animals can smell it and humans can sense it, who’s been ostracized and pushed off to the side since he was 10. Hazel, who was treated like disease as soon as she stepped foot on camp soil. Who’s gone her whole life looked as something that’s cursed, that will only bring misfortune, a bad omen.

Shit positions, all of them.

starving creatures | chapter two 🖤

pairing: xu minghao x reader // jun x reader (mainly lol)

description: starving creatures have arrived at your homeland in forks. little do you know, they not only intend to drain the blood out of you... they'll also to break your heart in two.

genres: slowburn (please bare with me), fluff, angst, vampire!au

warnings: blood drinking, lot of blood related themes, repressed emotions, family issues, miscommunication, kinda toxic friendship with cheol? blood and smut will be mixed. emotionally and physically starved vampires oops. did i mentioned blood?

minors dni!!!

Check out the fic’s playlist 🖤

CHAPTER 2

Not even two days were necessary for your neighbors to become a sensation at the school hallways. Rumors are quick travelers, as you told Joshua before. But you forgot to warn him about how easily they tend to blend with the truth. Especially when they linger around people with such an enigmatic aura, like Jun and Minghao. How maddening it is to know that they have so many adventurous stories to tell, but neither of them dares to share a word about them! How unfair to admire their beauty from afar, since they won’t come close enough for one to scrutinize their eyes. Locals get upset with strangers who refuse to comply with their requests...

That’s when fantasy starts to play its game.

Who are they? Orphans of neglectful parents. Why did they leave California? A girl accused Jun of leaving her pregnant but he’s actually not the father and she ruined his reputation and his life. Some people even say their parents kill themselves, but there’s no way of knowing the truth. So, what are they doing in Forks? Protecting each other. Trying to heal from generational trauma. Finding refuge. Surviving. And it is a heart-rending story. Minghao would do anything to protect his younger brother and the only reason why you’d find them separated from each other would be because of school… where Jun sits next to you.

And who are you? Of course, Cheol's friend, but they've never seen you around that much. That is probably because you used to miss the majority of your classes and now you don't because Jun is here, so you must be a gold digger. A freshman asserts he heard you and Cheol get into a fight because of Jun the other day. Another one is saying that your aunt is sick. But one of your classmates bets that, actually, she's a witch. So maybe you are one too. Who lives in the middle of the woods in plain XXI century anyway?

You never liked the attention. You neither want it, nor need it. It’s impractical in a town like Forks. So, during history class, you decide to confront your seatmate about it.

“I would like to know how you handle all this stuff, because it’s driving me crazy.” You say, assuming he will know exactly what you’re talking about. Most of the time, he does.

“Ignore them,” he advises. “They will find someone else.”

“You ignored them, they found me, how do you fix that?” you say. “They say I’m a witch.”

He chuckles. His usually petrified gesture gives up and breaks into a wide smile. You start laughing too, given the ridiculousness of the situation. Rumors are so dumb.

“Mr. Wen,” Professor Moon calls. “As you are so distended in my class, I’ll assume you know by heart all of the themes we’re talking about in this lesson. Please, enlighten us with your knowledge. Let’s go back to World War I. Maybe you can tell us why it was initiated.”

“That’s a tricky question, professor,” Jun answers, still cheerful. “But if you want a concrete answer, I’d go with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.”

“Place and date?”

“Sarajevo. 1914.”

“You said a concrete answer. Let’s go with the wider one.”

“I’ll have to ask you to be more specific about it. What do you want me to talk about? The alliance system? Economic factors? Nationalism? I can go on all day.”

Well, well, well… If someone had told you Jun would’ve been so thrilled about playing trivia with Professor Moon, you wouldn’t believe them.

“That’s enough, kid.”

After that, he comes back to your conversation.

“You could be a witch, you know?”

“Sorry?”

Before he can say anything, Jun stops himself.

“Nothing,” he answers. “It’s a compliment.”

•••

Minghao avoids discussing the details about the night he got turned. As for most of his kind, it’s a sensitive topic; no one wants to remember the moment they lost their right to die.

He hardly discusses the topic with Jun. Primarly because his brother was the sole reason he ventured into this sick lifestyle.

After a century of consumption, it would be easy to believe that Minghao would have grown accustomed to replacing his bitter coffee with morning packs of blood, but that isn’t the truth. The heavy liquid turns his stomach the same as the first time he tasted it. However, after all these years, the feeling comes hand in hand with the pleasure of satiety and the twisted desire for it not to come from an animal, but from a palpitating neck.

An unthinkable notion that no one dares to speak out loud, leaving Minghao feeling horrible about it.

Joshua tries to reassure him. He says that, in terms of nutrients and structure, pig blood is the most similar to human blood. They’ll have to endure it for a couple of months, at least until Vernon gains the trust of the hospital staff and it becomes easier to sneak out some bags of human blood.

Minghao envies Josh’s lack of interest in human nourishment. Many times he tried to free himself from his appetite, but his instincts won every battle, obliging him to succumb to hospital blood. His instincts are stronger and also wiser than he is. Nevertheless, he tries to suppress them every chance he gets. He does so by exercising, or perhaps painting. He no longer dances because he found movement is a catalyst that, sooner or later, will make his needs erupt like a volcano. So he replaced it with painting, meditation and pottery.

Given the circumstances, his knowledge as a nurse is only a remote memory.

“Hi.”

He’s grown accustomed to suffocating his desires to the point where he completely forgot how to experience them. You, on the other hand, aren’t quite as skilled at concealing your emotions.

“You’re Minghao, right?”

Minghao answers without ceasing his task. With his upper body unclothed, you find him outside his house, leaning over his pottery wheel, his clay-stained arms embracing the wet piece as if it were a long-awaited lover. A wave of heat quickly flushes your cheeks. Your neighbor stares at you, likely curious about the reason for your interruption. He’s used to being interrupted while working. Encountering a nearly naked man in the middle of the forest isn't something you can claim to be accustomed to, on the other hand.

“Sorry for interrupting. Have you seen a white cat?” You ask, with a jar of sardines in your hand.

“Cotton ball-like fluffy, with a black spot on his left eye…”

“Sorry, I’m afraid not,” Minghao answers. “What’s his name?”

“Cat,” You say, a bit embarrassed of your thirteen years old self. “Just cat.”

“I’ll let you know if I find Cat then.”

“Great! I’ll keep looking. Thanks.”

As much as you’d love to continue chatting with Minghao about anything —truly anything— else, your lack of creativity doesn’t stop at your difficulty to name your pet. He continues working on the edges of his raw ceramic vase; fingers sticky from the wet paste he tries to stick the handles with. You don’t have the heart —nor the ideas— to interrupt him once again. And that’s when your seatmate comes to save the day.

“You’re not going anywhere, y/n,” Jun says, appearing next to you like a magician mesmerizing everyone with the trick of teleportation. “I mean… not alone. Especially with a storm coming. Where are your manners, brother?”

“Shouldn’t you be studying or something?”

“Get your ass off that wheel and help us look for the pet. One cup less isn’t gonna hurt anyone.”

“It’s a vase.”

“Honestly, I couldn’t care less.”

You thought he’d be harder to convince, but as soon as Jun orders it, his brother stops the wheel and puts on the t-shirt he was sitting on. Minghao's resistance to the cold weather impresses you. His muscles don’t even flinch at the freezing breeze coming from the north.

“A penny for your thoughts?” your neighbor teases.

“You’re so annoying.”

•••

It was a huge mistake not to get rid of that mirror the moment they got it.

There was no use for it in the middle of the living room. But there was also no reason to keep it in the basement, as Vernon had insisted. It usually wasn’t pleasant to get into a discussion with his friend. So, as he attended his interview to get a job at the town’s hospital, Joshua found himself following his orders and carrying the furniture down the stairs and to the basement.

The material it was made of felt unbelievably heavy, even for a human-fed vampire. Like Sisyphus, Joshua repeated the same routine until he reached the cellar; going down two steps, stopping abruptly, and trying to catch his breath before continuing.

When he finally reaches the ground, he understands the reason behind Seungkwan’s little present. And he’s grateful that Vernon is not there to see it.

In front of him, he finds his own image. First young, like he hadn’t seen it in more than a hundred years, and then gradually rotting until his skin starts to detach from his cheeks. So that’s the infamous Life Mirror. There are very few in the world, and Joshua never thought he’d get to see himself in one. The more you mesmerize yourself at your young image, the more crudely it’s going to show you the reality of your soul. Joshua used to believe it was just a myth from the vampire folklore. But he should’ve known better. Myths tend to be history for the immortals.

“Son of a bitch.”

That's the last straw. Joshua doesn't care about Vernon's instructions when the Boo Family's welcome was, in fact, a declaration of war—a war they're not ready to fight, nor would they be even if they wanted to. Years of weakened minds and bodies are not so easy to recover, not even with a gallon of fresh blood.

He needs to destroy that mirror before his friend comes home. But his knuckles aren’t strong enough to do it, and the hammer is near Minghao’s workspace, who’s most definitely going to be curious about the reason behind his urgency. As a temporary measure, he decides to throw an old blanket over the structure.

He needs air.

Outside, the ground shakes with the wind. Minghao is no longer at his station, yet the piece he was working on lies unfinished over the wheel. Rain will catch it any second, converting it into a liquid vestige of what could’ve been a beautiful plant vase. That’s an odd behavior from him. Where could he possibly be?

His question is quickly answered by laughter emanating from behind the lodge. Joshua follows his senses until he finds Jun and you jumping like crazy to reach one of the thickest branches of a tree.

“Stop! You’re scaring him.” You tell Jun, who insists on being the one to bring the cat back to the ground.

“Scared? No! He rubbed his head on my wrist.” Jun complains. He sounds very determined.

“Jun, Y/n is right. It’ll be better to bring a ladder. He doesn’t know you.”

“I got…I got him!”

“Wait! He’s gonna…”

Blood. Lots of it pouring from your hand. Maybe trimming your cat’s nails would’ve been a wise decision to make before throwing yourself in the territory of four very thirsty vampires. Your scent is strong, like cold pennies resting on the palm of your sweaty hands, but it is also sweet. Pig’s blood could never be that sweet. The thought of it makes Jun’s fangs start showing without him being able to notice. Minghao notices and quickly grabs your wrist. He turns you around to face him, leaving a trace of dry clay over the spot your blood flowed.

Clay and blood, intertwined.

Your heart races. Minghao's touch is both frightening and tender. He worked hard on his self-control just to be able to handle these types of situations. If you saw Jun in that state, it would be over for them.

“Are you okay?”

But now that he thinks about it, your blood smells like candy taken out of its wrapper. And it running so fast due to your nervousness releases a scent he never sensed before. One that has him dying to let go of his virtues and succumb to sin.

And Joshua notices.

“T/n! Come here, let me see.”

He rips you out of Minghao’s clutcht to check at your wound and you head inside together.

“Guys, grab the cat and come inside before it rains. T/n, does it hurt too much?”

In another scenario, you might have noticed he was trying to distract you. But right now, the spot where Minghao's hand was grabbing still feels hot and throbbing when Joshua touches your hand. It’s hard to concentrate. He gestures for you to sit on the sofa, and you comply. Not even two seconds later, he returns with a first aid kit. You can't help but contrast Minghao's firm grasp with the compassionate way Joshua is holding you while disinfecting your cut.

“You must think I’m a terrible mother,” you say, watching Joshua shake his head as he kneels in front of you to examine your hand more closely. “He’s not usually like this. I don’t know why he got so scared.”

Animals rely on their intuition. They detect danger and protect the people who love them and take good care of them. Joshua knows you’re not a terrible mother. It was Jun’s hand your cat was trying to sever.

“Don’t punish yourself,” he says. “He’s lucky to have you. It was Jun who drove him crazy.”

“He was so nice though, trying to help me,” you hiss at the strong liquid Joshua pours over your skin. “Do you think Hao is okay? His eyes went all weird when he looked at the scratch.”

“What do you mean, weird?”

“I don’t know, dark? I think it disgusted him.”

Thank goodness you think that, among all the things Minghao’s look could have made you think.

“Oh… Yes. Hao can’t stand blood. There’s no wonder he refuses to become a doctor.”

“He doesn’t need to. He’s so talented in ceramics.”

“He is. He will appreciate it if you tell him. Do you see all of the pots and vessels in the house? They’re all his work. Minghao is an artist, he’s always been.”

He truly is. The fact that the piece he was working on has already lost its shape due to the rain makes you feel sad and guilty about interrupting him. You're amazed at how your neighbor achieved most of the patterns and textures. They highlight the house, once yours, with the sparkle you thought it would never regain after your uncle’s death. It’s fascinating to realize that Minghao’s mind is so vibrant with colors.

“You don’t stay behind,” you say to Joshua, as he bandages your now disinfected hand. “Suddenly it doesn’t even hurt.”

“You are too kind,” he answers, smiling shyly while he stands on his feet. “I appreciate the compliment. But I hope I never have to display my skills on you again.”

“Sorry. I’ll pay you next time.”

It’s heartwarming to make him laugh. Before making the comment, you had a hunch that Joshua would crack a smile if you told him something along those lines. His smile is not only kind, but also genuine. It makes you wonder how many of the ones you were given before might have been only half as sincere.

“God, no, t/n,” he answers. “Please just take care of yourself.”

After a few minutes of watching the storm shake the trees, a soaking wet Jun opens the door for his brother, who enters with your cat purring in his arms. You wonder if your eyes are deceiving you. Cat is an animal of strong character and delicate temper. Yet, he sleeps like a baby in your neighbor's embrace, as if he has been charmed into tranquility.

“He liked Hao best,” Jun explains, with his hands on his waist. “I don’t care. I’m not a cat person anyways… Now, who’s making dinner?”

⋆˚☆˖°⋆｡° ✮˖ ࣪ ⊹⋆.˚ ⋆˚☆˖°⋆｡° ✮˖ ࣪ ⊹⋆.˚ ⋆˚☆˖°⋆｡° ✮˖ ࣪ ⊹⋆.˚

Heyyyyyy let’s play a game. I write and you tell me how many taylor’s songs possible references you find ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ (there’ll be many lol)

Taglist: @90s-belladonna @milopenne @angel-ishere @cheiyoma @hipsdofangirl

⋆˚☆˖°⋆｡° ✮˖ ࣪ ⊹⋆.˚ ⋆˚☆˖°⋆｡° ✮˖ ࣪ ⊹⋆.˚ ⋆˚☆˖°⋆｡° ✮˖ ࣪ ⊹⋆.˚

masterlist | next chapter (soon)

Proposing My Best Friend (Kuroo Tetsurou x Reader)

Matching : Kuroo Tetsurou x female!reader

Word Count: 1500+

TW: marriage proposal, best friend, many fluffs, talking about future, mention future children

©noonajoe (Published on 4 April 2023 - 19:55 Bangkok Time) this story is not going to be sold, modified, or translated in any manner.

“Y/N, what do you think about having a family?” he asked.

“Oh? Why a sudden question, Kuroo-kun?” you asked while walking beside him.

“Looking at that kid who’s being hugged by her mom earlier makes me think a lot, I mean we’re 25 so it’s normal to daydream about the future, yea?”

“Hmm. Yeah, if you said that so…” you answer him.

You enter the cafe and find empty tables. You sat down alongside him, picking foods and drinks from the menu. While waiting for the food, Tetsu continues your current conversation.

He looks beside him, staring at people walking from the window, “From my sight, all I think about having kids is like continuous KPI (Key Performance Indicator), and the numbers and changes will be changed, their education needs, their emotional needs, everything. Somehow I look at having a kid as having many tremendous challenges, unpredictability, prepared to be hurt and cry.” he sighed.

You smiled, fascinated by how this conversation turned into an interesting topic to discuss, “Hmm, I think you forgot one most important indicator, Kuroo-kun”

“What is it?” he titled his head, asking you.

“Happiness”

“Huh?” he frowns.

“Kuroo-kun, you’re so funny. A scene that you looked at earlier is a mother who gives their kids comforts and affection, it’s a form of happiness too, you know?”

“Hm, yeah. But I don’t know, for me, raising kids is also a new fear to deal with,” he said.

You stared at him, “I don’t know about kids, either, they are tiring and unpredictable, but I know there are a lot of happiness possibilities in having a family. Kids may be a drag but their parents have to be happy through the process of raising their kid.”

“Hmm, I agree about that then. So, what kind of mom would you like to be, Y/N? Like, a mom who prefers to stay at home, or something else?” he asked.

“Well I think being a wife and a mom must be linear in roles. Well, first I want to discuss this with my husband, the future father of my children when we can settle on co-parenting tasks for our children, for example maybe I make them food every day and my husband has to play with them after work. I don’t know whether I can survive being a full-time mom, but when my kids grew big enough for childcare. If I could, I want to work again.”

“Whoa, so even after you gave birth, you still thinking about working after that, heh?” he smirked. 

You gave him a real answer because of his playful expression, “Well, we have to be realistic about our future needs, right? It is possible that our family expenses increased year by year. And if I stayed as a full-time mom for 20 years, I’m afraid I can’t take my kid to a proper school-”

“Yeah. But Y/N san, you won’t ever know who will be your husband, right? Of course, he has to support his family financially” he asked, looking at the table.

You stopped your answer, staring at him with a blank expression, “Ah… right hehe. Maybe I’m focused too much on my side as a future mom. Yeah, but of course, I will discuss that with my future husband. Who knows the decision will be different?”

“Yeah yeah,” he said. 

“Well, how about you, Kuroo-kun?” you asked him.

“Hmm… I can’t put it in detail. But rather than focus on having children, regardless of happiness or not, I want to make my future wife happy first. I mean, if she is happy about having a kid maybe I will agree to it. My mother left me when I was little because of fights with my dad. That reason is the cause I never focused on having a kid, I want to focus on giving happiness and memories to my future wife, first”

“Hmmm, is that so”

“What if your husband somehow doesn’t want to have kids, Y/N?”

“Hm? Do you mean, I will not have any kids ever? Adopted or biological” you asked him. 

“Uh-huh. What do you think about that?”

“I don’t know Kuroo-kun, again, it depends on who will be my husband. Egoistically, of course, I want them. But if there is a reason that my husband can explain well to me, I can think over it again. To be truthful, I can’t imagine raising my kid without a father figure, especially when they’re still teenagers. So, of course, if I’m that ambitious about having a kid, I have to select a proper father for my kids. However, as I said, I want a significant role as a wife and a mother equally. In short, I want to be happy in both roles, not just being a mom, but also as a wife”

“So, you don’t know too huh?”

“Yeah, I guess so. But again, everything could be changed. At least I have based principles on my own, about the decision of having kids I believe married couples have to intensively discuss that. But if both individuals can’t have a solution or negotiation, it hurts, and separation is a possible solution.”

“So, the core must be fixed first, right?” he asked with a little laugh.

“Yeah, again, Kuroo-kun, but if you talk about step by step, I want to settle first as a wife.”

Finally, our food arrives, and when we have full of our orders, he suddenly told me not to eat first. He grabbed both of my hands and told me he want to confess something. 

“What if you marry with me?” he suddenly asked.

“Hah? Kuroo-kun what-” Your face suddenly went red. Even though you have a 10-year friendship with him you understand this is a romantic proposal. You can’t help but answer him with a stammered tone. 

“You know all of my weaknesses for the past 10 years of friendship, do you think I will fit as a father and husband?”

“Well if it’s about that, in father’s roles I think you’ll fit to be one, Kuroo-kun. We saw how you can lead your juniors at Karasuno. In terms of leadership, I think you’re a perfect fit for a father because you can put love and wisdom equally. For a husband, hm… I don’t know, somehow you never date anyone, so I don’t know..” you answer him while tilting your head to another side, unable to look at him.

“I believe that’s the general answer. what I asked is, am I worthy to be your future children’s father?”

“Huh?! Come again?” you were startled, and finally your eyes met his. 

“Am I suitable for being your husband and future father in your family?” he said with a smiling face. You hate when Tetsu’s confidence never weakens.

“No!… I mean, I don’t know, Kuroo-kun” you answer him.

“Is that so… So you don’t know or you don’t want to?” he frowns, wishing you said yes, yet you are still confused by his sudden confession. 

“We-well, you talk about future family, and currently I’m not dating anyone. I don’t know, the proper standards of a husband, to be honest…Kuroo-kun”

“I will get straight to the point then,” he said, grabbing your hand tightly.

He told you to look at his face, “I want to marry you, Y/N.”

“What? How? Why me? We’ve been best friends for a decade…”

“I believe there’s a proverb said you have to be best friends when you marry your wife. In my case, I have a best friend who I loved for a long time and I want her to be my wife.”

“This is not serious, isn’t it?” you laugh, looking beside you whether there’s a camera on, somehow hoping this is a joke that Tetsu always does in pranks.

“Y/N, When it comes to serious discussion, I never joked about it, you know me so well” he answers you.

“What do you see me as a potential wife then, Kuroo-kun?” you asked, hoping he gave up on his pranks.

“You took care me for almost 10 years as a best friend, I could say my loneliness from losing my mom was reduced intensively when you asked me to accompany you to the bookstore, grocery stores, and many other activities. Hmm, also kinda hurts when you have a boyfriend at that time, but you still replying to my messages, even saying to introduce me to your ex-boyfriend. Your talent and potential in professional also encourage me more that you’re going to be a lovely partner or even a mother”. Okay, his answer shows that he’s not playing around anymore. 

Somehow it turns silent, and both of you haven’t touched the food yet, “I’m not hurrying you about marriage terms.”

“If you want to date first, I’m okay with it. But my end goal with you is marriage, so I’ll wait for your answer no matter how long it is” You tilted your head up. He said that with a genuine heart. You know Tetsu so well, you just denying him for being serious this time. He’s not the same playful Tetsu that always played with you when you were little.

You bury your head in the table, sighing “I hate you when you’re serious like this… Damn you Tetsurou…”

“So, when will you give me your answer? If you ask about rings and money, I have it already, you know me, Y/N” He smirked.

“Stop it, Tetsu!” you smack his hand with your bag.

“I can’t wait to tell this story to our future kids”

“Dear God… help me” You cover your face with your hands, unable to see his smirking face.

In the end, you give your life and soul by marrying your best friend, you knew from the start he’ll be a great husband and father to your children. He still calls you “best friend and best wife” every time he wakes up.

on seonghwa

this is just 800 words of me rambling about seonghwa (and a little hongjoong) in the answer so feel free to ignore or read for a glimpse into his noggin but there are... minor ??? spoilers lol i don't really think they're spoilers which is why im fine sharing them but ANYWAYS yeah beware ig ...

and shoutout bffie @mintsang this is for you don't yell at me when you read it <333333

ANYWAYS:

listen. seonghwa is so devoted to hongjoong because he feels responsible for him. when they first met seonghwa thought hongjoong was just some poor kid being beat by his parents and he decided that he would make sure that hongjoong didn’t die or go to jail or flunk out of school as long as they were friends. and at first of course hongjoong was quite… tame… w his personality shall we say so seonghwa really had no idea what the fuck he was getting into w him. and anyways by the time he put two and two together and realized that, ‘oh, maybe hongjoong is the problem!’ it was waaaayyyyy too late. like… he feels almost responsible for everything getting out of hand bc he definitely could’ve stopped him at some point but didn’t because he couldn’t bear hongjoong telling him to go or not wanting him at his side anymore so he just kept his mouth shut even as things got worse and worse. 

like seonghwa was a very normal and rational person before hongjoong got his talons into him. and this still haunts him. seonghwa really does mourn the loss of his innocence but… at the same time… he wouldn’t go back to change anything if he could. because he loves hongjoong. even knowing that hongjoong has only ever used him for his own gain and even knowing that hongjoong is like a textbook abuser he can’t make himself regret anything that he’s ever done for him. because he will always remember what it felt like to be that 14 year old boy watching his friend be rejected by everyone else and the feeling that he was the only one that could care enough to stay w him. and seonghwa knows its stupid but he’s scared that one day everything will fall apart for hongjoong and if he’s not there for it hongjoong simply won’t survive. 

so even though he knows hongjoong only wants him for selfish reasons he’s okay w that so long as hongjoong wants him somehow. and this is where our dear mc comes in. on one hand seonghwa is obviously jealous that hongjoong suddenly has someone else to give his freaky ass microscopic focus to. and on the other he’s pissed that she won’t just give hongjoong want he wants (even if what hongjoong wants is the opposite of what he wants). and on the other he’s scared FOR her bc no matter how strong she seems he’s sure that she’ll break to him eventually and seonghwa really doesn’t want to see what happened to himself happen again in another person. and on the other (4 hands is the normal amount idk what you’re talking about) he’s confusingly into her and he can’t understand why or how but he suspects its the fact that she’s also being subjected to the same. essentially torture. that is hongjoong’s desire/manipulation/whatever and he feels oddly connected to her…

so i wouldn’t say seonghwa hates mc nor does he really care about her he just is very conflicted about her and doesn’t know whether to be cold for his own sake or if he should be trying to get closer w her because this is really his first opportunity to have someone that understands hongjoong with him.

and anyways yeah even if seonghwa wanted to leave (he doesn’t) he wouldn’t because he feels responsible for hongjoong’s wellbeing (even though he knows this is foolish). and yeah maybe this is a bombshell or whatever but seonghwa couldn’t care less about the cult shit he’s just happy that hongjoong is happy and safe and not out in the real world wreaking havoc where he could get his ass caught a million times faster. so seonghwa deals with it to keep the situation somewhat under control for hongjoong’s sake. and while he’s not a fan of the crimes and the murder he also doesn’t particularly care either because he would do anything to keep hongjoong safe and he already thinks of himself as a lost cause anyhow. 

and this might be bold but here’s a little something on hongjoong too. hongjoong… is attached to seonghwa shall we say. like he never meant to be and he hates that he cares even a little bit so he keeps that shit on LOCK. as we’ve discussed he doesn’t love seonghwa bc he straight up cannot but if seonghwa decided to pack his shit and leave hongjoong WOULD be affected and he’d try to stop him duh but would he actually be able to kill him. probably not. so ANYWAYS hongjoong is a freak about mc for so many reasons but part of it is that he’s horrified (more so pissed) by the fact that he suddenly cares about someone and is desperate to prove to himself that he can control someone at a personal level without getting attached to them. which. we’ll see. LOL

SO YEAH THAT’S SEONGHWA! i could probably write an entire ass prequel about hongjoong and seonghwa and damn maybe i will but lol a lot of this will be clarified/expanded on in interims in the future but i litcherally cannot stop thinking about this rn so TAKE IT !!

Heat of the Moment (Part Three)

summary: ‘Adopted daughter to police chief Jim Hopper, Shea has a hard enough time fitting in at Hawkins high, throw in monsters, meddling kids, and alternate dimensions into the mix and she’s not sure how she’ll survive.’

content warning: some angst, character deaths, period-typical racism, period-typical sexism, canon-typical violence, possible smut later on??? (honestly we’ll see), cussing, mutual pining, found family, drug use, this is a reader insert but I hate using y/n so your nickname is ‘Shea’

a/n: Whole lotta dialogue in this chapter, next one will have more action I promise!

Previous Chapter//Next Chapter

The Kids Are Not Alright

Slamming the door behind her Shea huffed as she tried her anger to subside 

Stupid Steve Harrington and his big ass mouth.

Shaking her head she steeled herself and went back to the task at hand. Calling her sister to make sure she was alright.

Dialing the number the phone rang four times with no answer. She could feel in the pit of her stomach that something wasn’t right and just as she was about to hang up, grab her keys, and drive her happy ass down there herself a sleepy voice answered the phone.

“ Hello?” They said

“Jonathan?” Shea asked, she knew his voice anywhere, besides Robin and Eddie he had been one of her only friends in high school.

“Yea hey, Shea what’s up?” He sounded a little high but that was normal for him nowadays.

“Is El there I-uh I wanted to talk to her, make sure she’s alright” Shea didn’t wanna sound like that it was urgent, even though it was, just in case like Steve said the situation wasn’t about the upside down. She really didn’t want to get El involved in any more shit than she had to be in. 

“Oh I’m sorry she went out with Mike and Will a while ago, they went to the roller rink or something like that,” he said with a yawn

“That’s fine c-can you tell her I called though,” she said rubbing the back of her neck anxiously as she stood on her heels..

“Sure man, is everything ok? You sound kinda upset” he asked sounding genuinely concerned.

“Yeah just- yeah I miss her is all. How’s she doing?” she sniffed

“I don’t really know. She says she’s fine but you know how El is.”

“Yeah I know, stubborn just like Dad.”

“That she most definitely is.”

“Between you and me I think she might be getting bullied,” Jonathan said as he lowered his voice as if just speaking about it would conjure up the young teen.

“What?” Shea almost shouted.

“She won’t really tell us anything about it but Will notices things and I don’t think she gets it”

“Who the hell is it Jonathan? Is it someone from her class? Do I need to come up there?” Shea said trying her best to keep her anger in check but failing miserably. 

“Whoa slow down there Rambo! I don’t think your dad would be too happy with you beating up a kid in another state even if it is for your sister” Jonathan reasoned trying to get her to calm down

“Yeah well, they should know better than to be messing with her.”

“I’m sure they will, El just has to stick up for herself”

“Does she even know how? She’s never had to before, not like this” Shea said still agitated 

“She’s capable Shea, you gotta give her a chance”

“I know she is but-“

“I get it big sister genes are kicking in”

“Yeah… she’s all I got Jonathan” Shea said as she wiped at the tears that threatened to spill from the corner of her eyes.

“I know and besides us here you’re all she’s got so stop stressing yourself out so much.”

“I’ll try” Shea chuckled 

“Argyle is here I gotta get going” Oh right Jonathan’s cute stoner friend she met last Christmas

Oooh, tell him I said heeey.”

“Don’t be gross, I’ll talk to you later” Jonathan laughed with a snort 

“Yeah, you too.”

Bursting through the door, Dustin and Max raced up to the front counter of the video store.

“Steve!” Dustin cried sounding almost desperate

“Henderson, you see this shit?” Steve asked pointing to the news on tv. 

“How many phones do you have?” Dustin asked completely ignoring the question.

“Someone was murdered,” Steve said incredulously, sometimes Dustin could be so insensitive 

“How many phones do you have?” Dustin repeated 

“Two, technically three of you count Keith’s in the back but Shea is using it why?” Robin

“Three works,” Max said looking back between Dustin and Robin's face as serious as ever. 

“Dude! What is going on?!” Steve shouted as Dustin knocked down tapes as they hopped the counter. 

I’m setting up a base of operations!” Dustin explains as he sets himself up at the rental store computer, tapping away at the keys as he goes.

“Base of operations? For what?!”

“Eddie’s friends’ phone numbers!”

“Oh yeah, your new best friend Eddie who you think is cooler because he plays your nerdy game. Seriously, what is it with everyone and that guy!” Steve said, sounding almost as if he was jealous. Ok, he was a little bit jealous but so what!

“Guys seriously were a little busy right now, Shea’s in the back probably still upset, can’t this wait” Robin asked already tired of Steve and his antics, if he wanted to argue with Dustin he needed to do it somewhere else because she was done with him today.

“Shea’s here?” Max asked sounding surprised

“Yeah she came in here crying about him earlier, she’s looking for that freak too” Steve rolled his eyes

“She wasn’t crying but she probably is now thanks to you” Robin fired back with her arms crossed

“I said I was sorry!” Steve shouted back.

“Yeah well you can shove you’re sorry ina sack and get f-“ Shea said as she reappeared from the back she was cut off by Dustin who put his hands up in the air clearly fed up with whatever was going on between her and Steve already.

“Look whatever’s going on with you two I need you to squash it like yesterday!”

“Max, can you fill them in while I do this?” Dustin asked ignoring how the two young adults looked down at the ground like they were being scolded by a parent and went back to typing away on the computer.

“Fill us in on what?” Shea asked, finally looking up to meet Max’s concerned gaze.

“This is gonna sound crazy but I think something happened at Eddie’s trailer last night” she started 

“Yeah no shit it’s all over the news” Steve interrupted again.

“I mean like upside down crazy shit. I saw him and Chrissy Cunningham go into his trailer last night then all the lights and shit in the whole park flickered and I saw him hightailing it outta there in his van!” She said as she remembered all the lights flickering around her and how it had all reminded her of the mall and Billy and… Max swallowed hard trying not to get lost in her own thoughts, they needed her here and focused. 

“Chrissy Cunningham?” Steve questioned incredulously as if anyone like Chrissy would be caught dead hanging around someone like Eddie.

“Oh shit”

“I told you!” Shea shouted matter-of-factly poking Steve right in his broad chest.

Steve shoved her hand off before flipping her the bird which she returned as the four of them spent the next hour calling around asking if any of Eddie’s friends had seen or heard from him while Steve continued to work and flirt with customers but to their chagrin no one had. One person Max spoke with suggested they call Reefer Rick, he was Eddie’s supplier and he often crashed there when he didn’t want to be at home but no one knew his address or his real name to look up.

“I think I might have a lead,” Max said as she hung up the phone turning towards the others as she spoke.

“Seriously?” Shea asked from her spot on the floor, phone between her crossed legs.

“Yeah so apparently Eddie gets drugs from some guy named Reefer Rick, and sometimes Eddie crashes there,” she said crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned on the counter behind her

“Great! So where’s he live?” Robin asked as she hopped up from her spot beside Shea stretching as she stood ready to head out.

“That’s the thing no one knows, he kinda like a legend” Max finished explaining with a long sigh.

“Well, what about a last name?” Dustin asked hopping off the counter he was sitting on and jumping back up to the computer

“Bet the cops know” Steve threw in his two cents

“Really Steve?” Shea asked ready to punch him by now, he hadn't helped them look for shit and now here he was bringing up Eddie and his friends being criminals again.

“I mean, if he’s a drug dealer then he had to have been busted at some point so he’s probably in the system”

“The cops? Seriously” Dustin was talking Shea’s side on this one.

“Just ignore him that’s what I’ve been doing,” Shea said as she turned her back to Steve turning her attention back to Dustin on the computer.

“Just say what you want to say, Steve, you think Eddie’s guilty don’t you?” Dustin rolled his eyes at his friend

“Whoa, I believe in innocent until proven guilty, all that constitutional shit I just, yknow, I don’t think we should rule anything out is all I’m saying,” Steve said as he leaned over the counter trying to act cool.

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to do here Steve” Max was now starting to get agitated too

“And maybe we’d have a little bit more luck if you spent less time trying to find a girlfriend-“ Dustin started loudly

“I wasn’t-“ Steve tried to interrupt but Dustin continued

“ and more time helping us try to find Eddie!” he finished with a huff as he turned back towards to computer as if the answer would just pop up on the screen with a frustrated groan he dropped his head down onto the counter with a thud. 

“I have an idea!” Robin says hopping up from the floor and over to the computer

“What are you doing?” Max asks

“Maybe we don’t need a last name,” Robin said as she started to look up every customer they've rented out to named Rick.

“See twelve Ricks already have accounts here,” She said pointing to the screen as the rest of the group crowded around her.

“That's a lot of Ricks,” Shea said with a sigh

“So let's narrow it down,” she said beginning to click through each of Rick’s rentals, trying to decide whose past rentals would match a would-be drug dealer. 

“Rick Alderman’s latest rentals are Annie and Dumbo, what are the chances our Rick has a family?” she asked

“Not likely” Dustin answers

“Ok, so how about Rick Conroy? Sixteen Candles, Teen Wolf, and Romancing the Stone?”

“No” everyone including Steve agreed at once

“Rick Joiner. Mask, Footloose, and Grease."

“Nah,” Shea said 

“Rick Lipton, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie, Cheech & Chong’s Nice Dream, Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke.”

“Bingo.” Max chuckled lightly

“Lipton?” Steve asked as if the name sounded familiar to him.

“Spelled like the tea. Looks like the address is 2121 Holland Rd.”

“That’s out by Shea’s place by Lover’s Lake,” Dustin said as Robin pulled up the address on the screen

“Yeah the middle of nowhere” Steve agreed

“The perfect place to hide.”

tag list: @imatrisk @spoonflix @elitesanjisimp @sadbitchfangirl

for the first time in.. checks watch.. A WHILE! We’re getting some monason for your feed thank you

It was 10pm. The sun was clearly gone from the sky. Midnight was on the corner of Moni’s bed, sleeping soundly.

But she couldn’t get any sleep. Maybe it was her horrible insomnia, maybe it was because her mind was too active.

She knew Noel was still awake, his body wouldn’t force him to sleep until 2am, but she didn’t wanna go talk to him. He was boring at night.

So she found her phone and called Mason, not expecting him to pick up.

But he did. “Moni? What are you doing awake at this time?”

She saw that he was clearly just woken up, his hair was wild and his eyes were unfocused. She bit her lip.

“Sorry, I just can’t sleep.”

Mason rubbed his eyes. “Moni. It’s 10:32. Sleep.”

Moni frowned. “Mason. I can’t. My body is wired. It won’t clock out until 12:15 in the morning.”

Mason grumbled to himself and sat up. “So, what am I gonna do? Wait here until you finally sleep?”

Moni shrugged. “I wouldn’t have woken you up if I didn’t need to talk to someone. Then again, I figured someone who works every spare minute of his life would be awake by 10.”

Mason yawned. “I was at the nursing home all day visiting my grandmother. And we have school tomorrow so I need to sleep early. You being an owl who survives off Red Bull and coffee should not have to ruin my sleep.”

Moni rolled her eyes. “You’re no fun. And it’s not my fault. I just got used to sleeping really really late.”

Mason paused. “It was them, wasn’t it?”

Moni didn’t respond. Mason didn’t expect her to.

“You know it’s in the past, right? They can’t hurt you anymore, Moni.”

Moni still didn’t answer. She knew exactly who he was talking about. She still had nightmares. They still haunt her.

“Hey, you know what?”

Moni turned to her phone. “What?”

She saw Mason get out of his bed. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

He hung up the phone and Moni blinked. What was that supposed to mean?

So she scrolled on her phone for a while until she got a text saying:

If you’d rather me not break your window with a decent sized rock, open the door downstairs

Moni stared at the text, but went downstairs. She opened the door and blinked.

“Mason?”

He grinned. “Told you I’d be here.”

Moni hugged him. “You know my brother’s awake right? And my mom is passed out on the couch.”

Mason paused. He didn’t think this through.

“We’ll take our chances.”

They both found their way to Moni’s bedroom, only getting caught by Noel asking for a charger.

“Oh, hey, Mason. I wouldn’t suggest doing anything stupid, Mom wakes up pretty quickly.”

Moni gave him a spare charger and shoved him out of the room. She sat on her bed.

“So what are you even here for anyway?”

Mason scoffed.

“Isn’t it obvious? To help you sleep.”

Moni stared at him. “Mason Lovett. You drove ten minute to my house in your pajamas and sweater to help me sleep?”

Mason nodded. “You fall asleep easier with support, so that’s what I’m here for.”

Moni nodded slowly. “Okay. Nice.”

She gently removed Midnight from her bed, but he woke up and hissed at her angrily.

“Shut up,” she said, but Mason patted his head and he calmed back down.

Moni placed her head on Mason’s chest. “You know, I’m actually glad you’re here.”

She felt his hand in her hair. Nowadays it was less menacing and more comforting.

“I am too, Monini. Now actually try to get some sleep.”

She tried. And was successful, they both slept peacefully through the night.

Until the alarm rang at 6 am and Noel opened up her hatch screaming “Wake up, lovebirds, we got shit to do!”

Arkhelios University

“What are you thinking, you metal plated piece of -”

“Elaine! Screaming isn’t going to solve this. Maybe, if we all sit down and talk about this, we can still have a wedding. Lots of people get cold feet before a wedding.”

Roman tried to hold back his future mother in law, but she was surprisingly strong for an older woman. It was taking all of his strength just to keep her from launching herself at the former servo.

“You had better not do this to me when you get married,” Elaine hissed, briefly taking her focus off of Ironman to give Roman a look that sent chills down his spine. “You or Abe. I will end either one of you if you make a spectacle like this one in front of the world. I will end you both and raise Theo myself to teach him some respect.”

“That won’t happen,” Roman replied nervously, shooting a desperate glance at Ironman. “Abe and I won’t get cold feet., Trust me, we are highly motivated to get married.”

Surprisingly, you’re not the scariest person demanding a wedding from us. Somehow I don’t think the demon sovereign would be understanding if we suddenly decided to not get married.

“I told you that I didn’t want to make this a big deal, you promised me,“ Elaine continued, once again focusing her anger on Ironman. “You promised me that I wouldn’t be embarrassed! Now I have a stupid wedding arch on my front yard and no wedding. People are going to talk!”

“Elaine, are you honestly more upset about throwing a doomed party than the feelings of a paternal figure who has been in your life since you were born?” Roman asked, only to get a dismissive noise in response. “Maybe we can talk this out.”

“I can’t go through with this, it’s too much,” Ironman protested. “I thought it would be romantic to become human and then join myself to Nikolai, but it’s too much. How do I know that I even want to be with him? What if I should have fought for Oriana instead? It’s probably too late to ask her out again, right?’

“Oh for god’s sake!”

Elaine threw her hands in the air and stormed off, but not before shooting Roman another chilling glare.

Maybe I would rather take my chances with the demon sovereign after all. I might have a better chance at survival with her instead of Elaine.

“Roman, I can’t do this. Tell me what to do, I don’t know what to do.”

Roman sighed, and rubbed his aching temple.

“Look, no one has to get married today. Why don’t we all just sit down and- Theo get away from that cake or you can spend the rest of the month without your tv time!”

Roman turned around just in time to see his son trail a finger in the elegant yellow icing he’d spent all morning finishing.

“Where is your father? Why isn’t he watching you?” Roman demanded, pushing his son away from the cake and trying to smooth over the new gap in the icing with a knife.

“He’s busy,” Theo answered glumly. “Luci flushed one of Grandma’s rings down the toilet and he’s calling a plumber. Can I have cake now? Grandma said everything was ruined anyway, so we don’t need a cake anymore. That’s what she said!”

“How did Luciana get a ring? And no, you can’t have the cake!”

While Roman lectured his son, Ironman heard the doorbell ring. He was no longer programmed to answer the door when a guest arrived, but he still felt compelled to answer it all the same.

“Dad! I brought someone to meet you!”

Nickolas burst through the door with a smiling young woman at his side.

“Dad, this is Tiana, she’s my girlfriend. I met her at school. Tiana, this is my dad.”

Ironman blinked with confusion. Nickolas had never referred to him as his father, aside from the brief time Oriana had let him as a toddler who was learning to speak. He had spent more time with the boy than Abraham had spent with any of his children, but it still felt odd to usurp Abraham’s title. He felt a fatherly affection for all of Abraham’s children and grandchildren, but no one had ever made it official by addressing him as such. He had to assume that Nickolas was using the term for the benefit of the young lady beside him.

“She’s gorgeous,” Ironman finally managed to choke out, baffled by his body’s reaction to the young woman. He smiled lecherously at Tiana, making a gesture he’d seen teenagers make towards their crushes. It didn’t seem to impress her and Ironman again felt anxiety overwhelm his senses. He had only been a human for mere hours, and already he had ruined everything.

“Um, yeah, my Dad’s a little off today,” Nickolas stammered, looking around for a friendly face. “Oh, my mom is over there, she’ll want to say hello for sure.”

Nickolas waved at his mother, who declined to wave back. Her naive husband did however, so Nickolas felt safe to approach them.

“Mom, Benvolio, this is Tiana,” Nickolas said, gesturing to his date. “Tiana, this is my mother and my step father.”

Oriana looked confused to see the young man and was lost as to why he was calling her mom. Her young daughter barely did, and she saw Juliet every day. Oriana was certain that Abraham’s son was too old to address her as mom, though she had lost count of the years since he’d been taken from them. She’d never had a mother of her own, so the term felt alien to her.

“Hi Nikolai,” she quickly said, missing the disappointment in her son’s eyes as he tried to laugh off her comment.

“It’s Nickolas,” he replied, trying to hide his embarrassment from his date. “Remember Nikolai is the groom today, and I’m Nickolas, your son.”

“Oh there isn’t a groom today after all,” Oriana said pleasantly, as if they were discussing the weather and not the possible end of a relationship. “Ironman called it off. You know those Helios men and commitment. I have money on Abe running away down the aisle whenever those two decide to try a ceremony.”

“Benvolio is betting against her,” Benvolio declared with a cheerful smile. “Benvolio believes in the power of love overcoming adversity.”

“Mom, I’m a Helios, remember? Not all of us are like Dad,” Nickolas stressed, looking over his shoulder at the confused woman beside him. “Some of us love commitment.”

“Theodosius, I swear to god, if you don’t get away from that cake-”

“You can’t call me that, the demon queen said you can’t! I’m going to tell on you unless I get to lick the frosting!”

“No, I’ve been on hold for twenty minutes now, I need a plumber, and I need one before my mother does an inventory of her jewelry box. You don’t understand what she’ll do to me if she-”

“Do you know how hard it is to lead this family? Of all the pain and embarrassment that I endure daily because of my children, and the choices they make? My father would die a second time seeing how you’ve disgraced us here today. What am I going to tell people when they ask how the wedding was? What am I supposed to say?”

In all the commotion, Nickolas sank down to one knee and presented Tiana with a small box.

“Tiana, I would be the happiest guy on campus if you said that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with me,” he began, trying to talk over the shouting around him. “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Now that you’ve met my mom and dad, and you already know Nathan and Lucy and Abe, do you want to marry me and join the Helios family?”

Even against the noise of the Helios household, Nickolas heard her answer loud and clear.

“Yes.”

An odd oneshot request

Riley has a breaking point to the point where she’s just done ( maybe Mortimer and her get in a fight where he says something to her that he regrets but can’t take back)

She leaves the studio but is living alone and just depressed. She’s not herself and is losing her mind.

Riley's breaking point

My first time writing hurt/no comfort, so probably not the best, but hope you still get some angst feels. Also very sorry this took some time, but I was sick last week plus had some tiresome school assignments. This one-shot is canon adjacent/compliant

Request - 983 words TW: Verbal argument, punishment (unfair? maybe, never specified), crying, mentions of kidnapping, running away, self-hate

Summary: Even the murderous scientist lady has her breaking points.

----

“Somehow I expected this to happen.”

Mortimer looked at her with disdain, making her flinch back.

Riley wouldn’t say it was her fault that it happened, a lot of different factors had played into this outcome. And yet, her mistake was the one pointed out.

She remembered once how Nick had called her “the golden child”, but if this is what it meant, she rather wouldn’t be.

“I tried my best-“

“Then why is your best never enough? I can’t believe it, Riley, how could you let this happen.”

She felt tears well up in her eyes, blinking them back furiously. She couldn’t answer, couldn’t explain herself, it was all way too much.

“As far punishment for this little blunder of yours-”

“Wait, no, please.”

Her attempts to plead for her innocence fell on deaf ears, as Mortimer’s eyes landed on Rosco.

“Rosco is going to stay somewhere else for a long while, until you learn not to get distracted and fail with such important tasks.”

Riley could feel her heart drop, quickly moving over to the giant dog in a vain attempt to shield him from her boss.

“You won’t kill him. Please, you can’t do that.”

“Nonsense, he won’t die. He is too valuable of an asset,” he signaled for Rosco to leave the room with him, and the giant dog had no choice but to obey.

“You, however, I’m reconsidering how valuable it is to keep around.”

The door locked behind them, and Riley stood there alone, tears not yet falling, but so close.

No no no no no no, how could this happen?

Walking in a daze through the room, she came up to her desk, leaning heavily on it. Seeing the failed experiment on it, part of the reason everything felt awful now, she brushed it off the table, seeing bits of it fall into the giant saw on the side.

What was she supposed to do now? She tried taking slow breaths, trying to self-regulate, but it became more and more difficult as she choked up with tears.

“It’s not fair.”

She repeated that mantra a couple of times, the next one with more anger than the last. Finally, she slammed her fists on the table, winching in pain, and that’s when a few tears fell, and then it was difficult to stop.

Riley placed her head in her hands, shielding herself from the world as she sobbed. It hurt, it really did. And who could tell when she was allowed to even see her dear Rosco again? Mortimer hadn’t even said who would be taking care of him!

She once again tried to breathe slowly, but now anger clouded her mind.

“You don’t want me to fuck things over for you, Mortimer? Fine. I won’t fuck things over if I’m not even here.”

A voice in the back of her head pleaded with her that it was a stupid idea, and just to wait the punishment out. She shut it down. This had been the straw that broke the camel's back.

Grabbing her little “survival kit”, the things she always carried with her when she left the studio to kidnap more hosts, she unlocked the lab door, and quietly stepped through.

Riley wanted so badly to find out where Rosco was, but she didn't want to risk meeting Mortimer. Passing a couple of doors, and hearing Nick and Daisy talk behind one of them, she wanted to stop, but she continued. She wouldn't leave through the soundstage, that was stupid, Mortimer would know if she did that.

She knew other ways out of this hellhole. Of course she had to know, she was practically the only one in this godforsaken building that ever left it, or did any actual work for that matter. Maybe she had made a tiny mistake, but how would the others manage without her? Poorly, they hardly knew how to switch hosts for themselves, she had to do it.

The cold, fall air hit her as she exited one of the few doors of the building still intact. Closing it behind her quietly, she could feel her host shiver but forced it to continue.

Where was she going? She wasn't sure, not really, but she needed a quiet walk. The studio was too stuffy, it reeked of death, and somehow was even colder than the world outside.

As usual, she ended up doing one of her normal routes. Mortimer might not find her useful, but she could look for new hosts anyway. Not that she found any. She wouldn't be surprised if this whole area was vacant out of fear that they would next disappear.

Close to the end of this particular route was an abandoned house, vines covering the walls, and a broken window here and there, but otherwise in good condition. Usually, she could find one or more homeless people using the house as a shelter, but today it was empty.

Darkness was falling, and Riley Ruckus was standing in a dusty and broken hallway far away from home. Moving further into the house, she entered the living room, sitting the host down on the broken couch.

"What was I thinking?"

Letting out a groan, she held her head in her hands, watching the dust dance in the little sunlight still shining through the broken window to her right.

It was hopeless really. Sooner or later she would go back to the studio. But right now? She desperately needed the alone time that the studio would never give her.

Useless. That's what she was. Maybe Mortimer was right. Maybe she should go back now, and beg and plead to get her beloved Rosco back, to ease the punishment.

Or maybe she should just stay here, and let everyone back at the studio rot, just like she would here.

Riley let out a broken laugh, that soon turned it sobs as her mind went spiraling.

Useless, useless, useless.

----

Another request done :) Hope you enjoyed, even if this was more angsty than my previous ones, tried challenging myself to do no comfort

Life Without Hope - Chapter 7.1

Draco stares at the hedges in the garden. This used to be one of his favourite places at the Manor. Especially at the beginning of Autumn, when the leaves on the trees would start to change colours and mushrooms would pop up at random places.

Pansy sits next to him on the stone bench. She’s been quiet all day. Draco doesn’t blame her. He doesn’t feel like talking either. He remembers the parties they used to have in the Slytherin dorm each year. The first birthday of the school year. Blaise the centre of attention. Always proud he was the oldest of the entire year. It’s strange that he’s gone now. He will never turn twenty. In about nine months Draco will be older than him. For Pansy, that day comes even sooner. Both will go on knowing the best of them is gone forever.

Draco doesn’t know how much more he can take of this. Good people keep dying, while the monsters seem to survive everything. And what does that say about Draco? He’s still alive, even though he should have died years ago. Is he one of the monsters? Was the Order right when they decided he was beyond saving?

“The Dark Lord wants me to brew something old,” Draco says. It’s the wrong time, but ever since the request came this morning he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it. “Something not used for over decades.”

Pansy plays with a loose tread on her glove. The tops are open, showing off her red fingernails. “I don’t care, Draco,” she says. Her voice is a void. It lacks all the power it once used to hold.

“I need to talk to someone,” Draco says. “Please come back to me.”

“I can’t,” Pansy answers.

Draco closes his eyes briefly. This is the worst. It’s bad enough that Blaise is dead. Only Draco didn’t just lose his best friend that day, he also lost Pansy. Blaise came to the Manor to tell Draco something about Harry. That’s why he’s dead. And Pansy can’t forgive Draco for that. Draco doesn’t blame her. He can’t forgive himself either.

Draco will have to bear this alone. He will start work on the potion and hope it’s not for anyone he loves. It’s a crime to do something like that to a person. To force a child when one isn’t created in the normal way. Draco looks at Pansy’s hands again. She should have been with child by now. Everyone knows it. It’s what their marriage was for. To ensure that the Malfoy line would continue, that new Pure Bloods would come to strengthen their position in the world. Will the Dark Lord force this on them? On Pansy?

“What is it?” Pansy asks.

Draco looks at the trees in front of them. Watches how the leaves blow around in the chilly wind. One falls from the tree and flies away. To never be seen again. Draco wants to follow it. Fall away into darkness. Away from this world.

“You know of the old stories, about women who wouldn’t conceive?” Draco asks.

Pansy swallows. “Yes,” she whispers.

“I can not brew it,” Draco says. He can’t do this to Pansy. She doesn’t want a child. And especially not with Draco. She’s not ready to be a mother. Merlin’s beard, they are only nineteen, way too young to raise a child. And who would want to bring a child into this world? Where all good people die too soon, and where evil reigns.

“He will kill your mother,” Pansy answers.

“If it brings you back to me, I will refuse,” Draco tells her. The scary part is, that he means it. He will sacrifice Narcissa for his friendship with Pansy. He’s got nobody else left. His hallucinations aren’t enough to keep him sane. And isn’t that the understatement of the year? Maybe he already lost it, if he needs hallucinations to keep him going. Sane people don’t need hallucinations.

Pansy stands up and walks to the other side of the path. “It won’t,” she says before she walks away, back to the warmth of the Manor.

Draco stares after her. Watches as his only friend walks away from him. A single tear escapes his eye. If only he could remember what was so important. How hard can it be to figure out what Harry told him all those years ago that will help stop the Dark Lord? Not that it will change anything with Pansy. She will hate Draco until the day she dies. He’s the reason Blaise is gone. The reason she’s trapped here at the Manor. And he will be the one to create a potion to force a pregnancy onto her.

“It’s not your fault,” Harry says.

Draco shakes his head. “Don’t lie to me,” he says.

“I’ve never seen these gardens,” Harry says. He sits down next to Draco on the bench. “They are beautiful.”

“They are neglected,” Draco retorts.

“I like them,” Harry says.

Draco closes his eyes. “Good for you,” he says.

“I had to tend the garden of my aunt and uncle when I was at their house. I hated it,” Harry continues.

They had this conversation before. One night on the Astronomy Tower. Harry was solid then. His fingers ghosting next to Draco’s. Hope building in Draco’s chest for a better future.

Hope that is long gone now.

“He’s going to force us to have a child,” Draco says. “A child whose life will depend on our loyalty towards the Dark Lord.”

Harry curses and stands up. “He can’t,” he almost shouts.

Draco laughs. “He can and he will. And I will be the one to create the potion for it. The one that will trap Pansy in this darkness with me.” Unless I escape it before it gets that far.

“Don’t you dare think about it,” Harry says. “You can’t die. I need you to stay alive.”

“What for?” Draco asks. “So I can suffer even more? What good does it do this world that I’m alive?”

Harry kneels in front of Draco. His eyes beg Draco to listen. “Because I’m not dead.”

Draco looks away. He can’t stand the words. They are lies. Harry died. He fell from his broom and never got up again.

“Blaise died trying to tell you,” Harry says. “He believed you would fight harder if you knew I was still in reach.”

Draco pushes against Harry’s chest. His arms fly through him. “Fuck you,” he shouts. “If you are alive it’s even worse. Because then you left me on purpose. You broke all your promises and left me here to rot.”

Harry falls on his buttocks. He blinks and silent tears roll over his cheeks. “Don’t you think I don’t know that? I tried. You have to believe I’ve tried. You’re not the only one who’s trapped.”

Draco shakes his head. “Go away,” he says. He doesn’t know what to believe anymore. What if Harry is telling the truth? What if he’s still alive? But why hasn’t he forced the order to rescue Draco? Why would he leave Draco? He can’t love Draco if he’s still alive? It was all a silly crush. Something quickly forgotten when Draco killed Dumbledore.

But no, Harry can’t be alive. Granger and Weasel were heartbroken. There must have been something else Blaise came to tell Draco. Something that would help stop the Dark Lord. Something Harry knew when he was still alive.

“I’m sorry,” Harry says. “I’ll try harder. Find a way to prove that I still love you and that I’ve never given up on us.”

The wind howls. Big droplets fall on the ground. Draco sits in the rain alone. He stares at the gravel in front of his feet. Harry is gone. Blaise is gone. Pansy is lost to him. Luna is out of reach. Narcissa is the only one left to keep fighting for. Just for a little longer. Draco can keep going for her. One day at a time.

MASTERLIST

Cat Naps

Also on AO3

“You have to stop taking hits.” Alya’s direct, straightforward. Marinette could be back any minute, and this is a discussion that needs to be done by then. Marinette has enough to worry about without worrying over Chat Noir’s increased risk taking. 

“I’m not going to stop protecting my lady.” Chat Noir is stubborn. 

Alya is even more so. “You’ve been dying against nearly every akuma for the past three weeks. You can’t tell me those were all to protect Ladybug.” He probably would, actually, so she forestalls him before he tries. “Ladybug’s more capable than that.” 

There’s a hesitation, and she knows she’s got him. He won’t do anything to imply Ladybug is anything less than capable and brilliant.

He shrugs instead. “Ladybug always brings me back.” There’s something dark under his tone. 

Alya’s survival instincts tell her to back off. Her reporter instincts tell her to push. She chooses the latter. “What if she can’t?” 

He shrugs again. “My catnap turns into a long sleep.” His smile is wide and bright. It doesn’t feel fake, but it still puts a shiver down her spine. 

She wants to keep pushing, figure out why that answer unsettles her, but Ladybug returns and she has to drop it. 

***

It’s in her room that night when she finally figures it out - Chat Noir called being dead a catnap. Like it’s something relaxing. Like it’s something he looks forward to, can take as a break. 

What’s happening to Ladybug’s partner that being dead is a break? 

Alya needs to talk about this with someone, but Marinette already has enough stress on her plate. She’s got school, superheroing, her increasingly futile crush on Adrien, designing, and being the Guardian. She doesn’t need to be worrying about Chat Noir on top of all that. Alya can handle this without her. 

With that option out, she goes to the next best one: Nino. 

It takes some planning to figure out how to say it without giving away any secrets, but once she’s got it down, she texts him to meet up for ice cream, adding that she wants to tell him something. 

They don’t go to Andre’s. It’s not that kind of conversation.

She puts down her ice cream (a cup, not a cone, so she can talk without it melting all over her hands) and begins, “I have a friend-“ 

“Wait, a friend, or a,” he adds emphasis, gesturing towards her, “friend.”

“Real friend,” she assures him. “He’s a real friend, and he’s been doing something dangerous, that hurts him. I told him to stop, but he doesn’t seem to care, even if it gets him,” she forces the word out, “killed.” It already has, more than once, but she can’t tell Nino that. She probably shouldn’t be telling him any of this, but she can’t keep it to herself any longer. “I don’t know how to make him stop.” Her voice is breaking, and she looks down at her melting ice cream. The chocolate and berry are bleeding together into a dark red. It feels like an omen. 

Nino’s hands land on her shoulders, and she looks up from her blood-red sundae to meet his wide, horrified eyes. “Alya,” he asks, voice choked, and she hasn’t heard him sound this terrified since Zombiezou, “is it Adrien?” 

“No!” She responds without thought, then it sinks in, and she repeats it, “No, Nino, it’s not Adrien.” Their sunshine boy would never do that. 

Except, she realises the next moment, Nino thought he might. “Why would it be Adrien?” 

Nino’s hands drop off her shoulders, and she grabs them, squeezing them tight. “Dude’s been weird recently. His dad still sucks, and his dad’s assistant is weird, but I think there’s something else he won’t talk about. Something that’s really got him upset.” 

“And you think he’d do something to hurt himself?” 

“I really hope not.” Nino sighs. “He hides a lot, Alya. I don’t know if even I’ve ever seen the real Adrien.” 

Alya’s first instinct is to scoff, because Adrien and Nino are nearly as close as her and Marinette. If anyone knows the real Adrien, Nino does. 

Then she realises that just gives credence to Nino’s worries. If anyone would know if Adrien’s hurting himself, Nino would. She talked about a friend about to get themselves killed, and his first thought was Adrien. That has to mean something. 

She shuffles closer to him, their melted ice cream cups lying forgotten. “What do you think’s happened to him?” 

“I don’t know, babe.” He puts an arm around her shoulders and she leans into his side, comforted by the cotton of his t-shirt against her cheek. “But I think it might be about this online friend he role-plays with.” 

Alya rolls her eyes fondly. Even in this, Adrien is such a dork. If only Marinette would see this side of him. 

“She was his friend before he came to school, and I think he might,” he draws the word out, “have a crush on her. But something happened.” 

“What happened?” It’s strange to think of their Adrien having a whole other life and other friends, safe behind a computer screen. She wants to know more.

“I don’t know, he won’t tell me.” 

***

She marches up to Adrien. “I know your secret.” 

His face drains of all colour. 

“It’s okay! I won’t tell anyone,” she hastily reassures him, because she’s seriously worried he’s going to faint. Nino must be thinking the same, because he’s now standing beside and slightly behind Adrien, one hand on his shoulder, close enough to catch him if he falls. 

“Really, dude, it’s cool. There’s nothing wrong with roleplaying.” 

“Roleplaying,” Adrien says blankly, and Alya’s starting to feel like she’s missing something. Is ‘role play’ like ‘Super Penguino’? 

Then Adrien comes back to himself, giving her an uncertain smile. “Sorry, I didn’t think Nino had told you about that.” 

This still feels slightly off, but Adrien’s often like that. “He just told me. And now I have questions, sunshine!” She gives him a joking nudge to the ribs, and his smile becomes a little more firm. 

“It’s superhero role-play. Mostly me and this one girl, but sometimes she invites others as well.” 

“A girl, huh?” She grins at him, pushing away the feeling she’s being disloyal to Marinette. If this girl hurt Adrien, and someone definitely has, that’s top priority. Marinette would agree. 

“Yeah. She’s amazing. She’s beautiful, and sweet, and smart, and always so dedicated, no matter what. I’ve never met anyone like her.” His eyes soften, but then cloud over. “She doesn’t feel the same way, though. We started out as partners, but now she’s started relying on someone else. Someone who knows her. The real her.” 

Nino rubs his back. “I’m sorry, dude. Long-distance has got to be hard.” 

Adrien lets out a wet snort. “It’s not long-distance. She lives in Paris. She just doesn’t want to meet me.” 

“What?” 

“She says it’s too dangerous.” 

That sounds ridiculous to Alya, but it’s clearly killing Adrien, maybe literally. “Then maybe you should take a break.” 

“What?” Adrien looks totally confused. 

“Take a break! Get off your computer, and let her play with someone else. If she can’t see how special you are, she doesn’t deserve you.” She squeezes his hand. 

He shakes his head. “We’re partners. We have a responsibility to the people.” His eyes widen. “On the servers! The people on the server! We moderate it.” 

Alya shrugs. Obviously Adrien’s invested in this, but maybe it’s time for some tough love. “Do you think your girl could do this without you?” 

His shoulders slump. In a small voice, he answers, “She has before.” 

“Then let her. It doesn’t have to be forever,” she adds in response to his clear panic, although seeing how much it’s hurting him she really hopes it is, “but you have friends who would love to spend more time with you. Let her and her new friends handle things for a while.” 

“Think of all the gaming nights we can have, dude,” Nino chimes in. “I would love to hang out with you more.” 

Adrien looks tempted, but then his expression firms. “I can’t. Even if she doesn’t need me, we started this together. I can’t give up on us.” 

“Us?” Alya and Nino chorus. 

A furious blush rises on Adrien’s face. “I’m in love with her,” he confesses. 

“Nice, dude!” Nino slaps him on the back. 

Alya glares at him, doing her best to wordlessly convey that, no, this is not nice, this is terrible, and not only because Marinette will be devastated. This girl is making him miserable. “Does she love you back?” 

She almost regrets asking when Adrien’s hesitant smile at Nino’s congratulations abruptly drops. “No. She loves someone else.” 

“Then it sounds like you should give up on you and her.” Adrien looks like he might protest, so she steamrollers on. The tough love isn’t finished yet. “She’s not in love with you, she’s in love with someone else. She’s not your partner, she’s found someone else. You’re her co-moderator, but she can do that by herself, or she’s got her new partner to help her. So why are you there?” It hurts, watching Adrien’s face fall further and further, until by her final question he looks like he’s been stabbed, but she has to do this. He’s Nino’s best friend, her friend, and this is hurting him. This girl is treating him so badly Nino thinks he might hurt himself. She’s being cruel to be kind, because Adrien is too kind to know when he’s being treated cruelly. 

“I love her.” His voice is so small. Her words were boulders, crashing through his model of happiness until now she too can see how much this is hurting him. “She’s the best part of my day. I need her, even if-“ his voice breaks, “-she doesn’t need me.” 

“Dude.” Nino’s voice is choked. He pulls Adrien into a tight hug. “You totally deserve better than that.” He turns fierce, a look Alya rarely sees on him. “I’m gonna give you the best day you’ve ever had, and you’ll see you don’t need her.” He’s still holding Adrien tightly. From the way his eyes have closed, and he’s practically melted in Nino’s arms, Adrien doesn’t seem to mind. 

He looks safe, and happy, and loved, and Alya’s worry for him, which has been kicking at the corner of her mind since Nino first asked if he was the friend she meant, is finally soothed. Nino can handle it from here. Adrien will get away from the girl he loves who is making him miserable, and she’ll do everything she can to help him get over her, but first, there’s another blond boy who has been keeping her up at night - Chat Noir. 

***

That night, Chat doesn’t show up for patrol. 

It has happened before, Ladybug assures her. Heroes though they are, they aren’t immune to sicknesses and family emergencies, and Ladybug herself has cancelled more than one patrol for that. Chat Noir never has, but, as Ladybug says with a smile that doesn’t look like it convinces her any more than it does Alya, that just means it’s his turn. 

They still do the patrol, though they cut it shorter than usual. Chat Noir’s absence is a cloud hanging over them, dampening their enthusiasm. Before long, Alya is back on her own balcony, tucking her necklace back into her shirt and offering Trixx a small piece of banana. 

“Do you know why Chat Noir wasn’t out tonight?” She asks, mindful of her family asleep inside. 

Trixx zooms around in the air, entirely unbothered. “Plagg’s lazy. And hungry. Maybe he ate too much and can’t move?” The kwami giggles, rolling over and over. 

Alya laughs a little as well, picturing a Chat Noir with a stomach like he swallowed a balloon. She holds onto that thought, using it as a shield against images of Chat Noir dying or injured lurking in the shadows of her mind. 

He’s probably fine. 

Unbidden, the memory returns to her of Chat Noir’s nonchalant tone in reference to his own death. He doesn’t care if he dies. He hasn’t cared about the temporary deaths, and he wasn’t phased at the idea of a permanent one. He’s still taking unnecessary risks, putting his life on the line. 

Chat Noir is not fine, and she knows it. 

Alya hasn’t wanted to bring it up to Marinette, conscious of how much Marinette already has on her plate, but she’s running out of options. Talking to Chat hadn’t worked. Neither had trying to stop him, or trying to finish the aura before he arrived. She only had one idea left - the only person she knew with experience in this situation. 

Nino. 

She had tried it earlier, but she’d been too secretive about it and Nino had thought she meant Adrien. Clearly, she needed to be more obvious. If Marinette would give her the turtle miraculous, that would make it easier, but she didn’t think it was likely, and after what happened last time she’d taken it there was no way she would take it herself. It wasn’t that important, anyway. She didn’t need his shield - she needed his heart. 

***

It takes two more nights of Chat not showing up before she finds a time to talk to Nino. Just like before, she texts him to meet her, but this time, on the roof of her building. It’s a little more private, and she thinks they’ll need that. 

She barely waits until they get up there before she can’t hold it in any longer. “That friend I was talking about last time? The one that’s not Adrien?” She waits for Nino’s nod. “It’s Chat Noir.” 

Nino’s jaw drops. 

“He’s been jumping in front of akumas even when he hasn’t needed to, and when I talked to him he didn’t care if Ladybug’s cure didn’t bring him back someday. He talked about being dead like it was a nap!” Alya’s voice has been steadily rising, and it’s only now she’s realising just how much this has been weighing on her. She likes Chat, even though it’s been rough recently, wants to call him a friend, and it hurts her that he’s taking every possible opportunity to exit his life for a while. What’s the rest of his life like, that it’s worth that? 

“Breathe, Al.” Nino’s arm is around her shoulders, and he’s taking deep, deliberate breaths. “I’m right here, just breathe.” 

It feels like hours, but eventually Alya’s breathing steadies, and she no longer feels like the ground is collapsing under her. “You’re good at that,” she says, because investigating unknowns makes her feel more like herself, and that’s what she needs right now. 

Nino rubs the back of his head, a gesture he and Adrien share, though she’s not sure who picked it up from who. “I looked it up to help Adrien.” 

“Adrien gets panic attacks?” She knows what just happened. She’s helped Marinette through enough of them. 

Nino relaxes when that’s her only comment, and she wonders if he was worried she’d judge him, or Adrien. “Nah, it’s not panic. More like his brain leaves his body on autopilot. It takes him a while to come back sometimes.” 

Alya has no idea what that means, or how she could have missed it. She’s known Adrien for months now. Between this, and Nino’s worry about Adrien harming himself, what else has she been missing about her favourite sunshine boy? “Is he doing better? You know, about the girl?” 

“Yeah, we’ve been gaming the last few nights so he’s distracted. I think it’s helped. But Al, don’t tell Marinette about Adrien’s autopilot thing, alright? He doesn’t want her to know.” 

She’s immediately defensive at the idea of hiding things from her best friend, who has already trusted her with so many secrets. “Why not?” 

“He thinks she’ll be more scared of him.” 

“More scared?” 

Nino nods. “My dude thinks she stutters because she’s scared of him, or his dad.” 

They exchange disbelieving eye rolls, and Alya groans loudly, head falling against Nino’s chest. “Babe, you have got to be kidding me. He’s never going to figure it out!” 

“Hey, he’s tried! Once he asked her if she had a crush on him.” 

Alya raised her head slightly. 

“She said no.” 

Alya drops her head again, groaning even louder. 

She takes a deep breath. This is not the time to despair over Marinette’s inability to function around Adrien. It’s not even the time for her increasing concern over Adrien’s mental health, although she’s thinking the time for that will have to be soon. This time is for her other favourite blond, and she’s avoided it for long enough already. She raises her head to look at Nino. “Okay. We need to talk about Chat Noir.” 

Nino easily accepts the change in topic. “You’re worried about him.” 

She laughs, but there’s nothing funny in it. “He’s been throwing himself at akumas to die and get a break from his life. Of course I’m worried about him!” 

“What’s Ladybug said?” 

That makes Alya pause. Has Marinette said anything? Alya’s been trying not to worry her with what Chat said, but surely she’s noticed something is wrong with him? She racked her brain, trying to remember anything Marinette might have said, with or without the mask, but she can’t think of anything. 

Her shoulders slump. She leaned into Nino’s support, needing his strength. “She hasn’t said anything.” Her voice drops to a whisper, unable to speak this secret any louder. “I don’t think she’s noticed.” 

Marinette loves her kitty, Alya knows that. Not the way he loved her (although Alya had her doubts on that score), but she talked about him often, worried over him every time he was struck by an alumna, and he could make her smile like no one else. Half of her tips for Scarabella were about him! But for all that, she hadn’t noticed his self-sacrificial tendencies slipping into something more dangerous. After all, it’s not a sacrifice if you don’t value it.

“Then we should tell her.” 

It sounds so simple. If anyone can talk some sense into Chat Noir, it’s Ladybug. But Alya has seen the tension between the two of them since she’s joined the team, and she knows Chat can see how close she and Ladybug are. She also knows just how much stress Marinette has been under. If she finds out that her partnership with Chat Noir, something that’s always been strong and steady, is now cracking, will that be the straw that breaks her? “She’s already stressed enough, being the Guardian. Isn’t there anything we can do?” If they can solve this before it ever gets to Marinette, surely that’s better for everyone? 

“We don’t know who Chat Noir is, or what his life is like.” 

“Neither does Ladybug.” 

“Yeah, but she’s known him longer.” 

“She’s known him as a superhero longer, yes. But I’ve been the Ladyblogger since the beginning. If anyone knows Chat Noir nearly as well as Ladybug, it’s me!” Filled with a burst of confidence, she pulls out her phone, logging in to the Ladyblog and pulling up the Chat Noir tag.

There’s not a lot there; at least, not compared to the Ladybug tag. She has video of all the akuma attacks, mostly shot by herself but some submitted by others, and those are all tagged with both of them. There’s a couple of theories, but most of those are either about Ladybug or about the miraculous in general, like theorising other miraculous holders through history. Mostly, what she has of just Chat Noir are photos. He’s out much more than Ladybug, leaping around the city. Most of them are night shots, though there’s a few day ones, and in nearly every one he looks absolutely exhilarated. Looking at them, it’s hard to believe there’s anything to be worried about. 

Then she gets to a section she hasn’t noticed before. All submissions to the Ladyblog require her approval before she puts them up as posts, but she pays less attention to the forums. She’d initially added it for akuma alerts, but it had quickly spread beyond any hope of her keeping track of it, with new users constantly adding photos, theories, and videos about Paris’ heroes. A while back she’d asked Markov to moderate the forums to keep any hate away, but beyond that, she hadn’t been there in a long time. 

It turns out, there’s a whole fan base out there who love to talk about Chat Noir. Some of it is hilarious (Is Chat Noir secretly a cat turned human?), some terrifying (What would happen if Cataclysm hit a person?), and some of she really needs to check out later for the main blog (the whole thread arguing what exactly Cataclysm does is way above her science knowledge, but would make an amazing post - maybe Max or Adrien could help her?). 

“Babe, what did you find?” 

Nino’s question distracts her from her half-formed plans. “Nothing yet.” She refocuses on the threads, determinedly ignoring anything that’s not about either Chat’s identity or his self-sacrificial tendencies. They have to find some way to convince Chat Noir not to keep throwing himself at akuma. 

“Why can’t we just talk to him?” Nino groans, flopping back against the concrete. “Tell him hey, you’re scaring Ladybug.” 

“Tried that,” Alya says, still scrolling. She hasn’t found anything useful yet, just the same theorising and half-baked ideas she’s seen and considered a thousand times. 

“Tell him he’s scaring me!” 

Alya pauses. She…actually hadn’t thought of that. “Would that work?” 

Nino props himself up on his elbows. “I was joking, babe.” 

“But maybe it would work! If he knew more heroes cared about him than just Ladybug, maybe that would help!” 

“Well, Ladybug and you.” 

Alya winces. “I didn’t exactly tell him I cared.” She’d been too concerned with giving Marinette one less thing to stress about, she hadn’t really thought about how Chat Noir might be feeling. Not until much later, and by then it was too late. She hasn’t seen him since. 

“But he’s got to know, right? Everyone loves Chat Noir. He’s, like, the second most popular hero in Paris. He’s got to know he’s our bro.” 

“I don’t think so, babe.” Had any of them ever told him that? Had she? She’d laughed and joked with him, sure, but had she ever told him how much she admired him, not just Ladybug? Had she ever told him that she appreciated his humour and his friendliness, or that she was grateful he’d been Marinette’s partner and strongest support when Alya hadn’t known that Marinette even needed one? Even on her own Ladyblog, it was overwhelmingly about Ladybug, not her partner. 

Nino was silent. “You know what we should do? A Chat Noir party.” 

“Babe, I don’t think a party is really going to help here.” 

“We need him to know people care about him, right? So a whole party, just for him, with all his friends - what’s not to love? We could even ask Ladybug if she could bring out the other heroes for it! Everyone can show Chat Noir just how awesome he is!” 

Alya opened her mouth, ready to argue - but it wasn’t like she had a better idea. And besides, maybe this could serve a double purpose. “Alright, but we’re getting Adrien to help us.” If she can’t help Chat Noir, at least she can help Adrien.  

Symbols - Chapter 22

Warnings: This whole chapter is angst with a fluffy end. So uh, let the grocery list of warnings begin! Mentions of nightmares, slight description is past abuse, mentions of physical abuse, mentions of trauma, swearing and mentions of mental abuse Word count: 2089

Masterlist

Chapter 21 | Chapter 23

3rd Person POV

All boys shot awake at the sound of a scream, a certain blue eyed setter was alright awake from a specific girl tossing and turning beside him. He lulled her back to sleep after stirring half awake once or twice but none of them had seen her have a nightmare in a long time. The four boys were immediately on high alert, Bokuto and Akaashi had both seen this a few times when they were kids and in middle school, the girl would wake up screaming if she had a particularly bad nightmare. Kenma and Kuroo however, they only experienced this a time or two in middle school and it was never to this level. Kaara shot up hyperventilating, knuckles white as she gripped the fabric of the bedding.

The door swung open, a tired mama Mei standing there with a baseball bat, relaxing when she saw it was Kaara having a nightmare. She gave her son a look, the silent question of 'is she alright' to which he nodded and took a deep breath. All but Kenma could feel the waves of fear and anxiety rolling off of her. She leaned back but jumped when she felt a chest there, Akaashi's chest.

"Kou, can you turn on the lamp?" The smooth voice behind her asked. "Cover your eyes, it's gonna be bright." She nodded but didn't react, the memories were playing back in her head, flooding all her thoughts. She didn't react when the light came on, completely lighting up the large bedroom.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was weak and shaking, eyes filled to the brim with water.

"It's okay, bumble bee." She took an even shakier breath at the youngest boys words.

"I- I'm sorry." Her voice broke this time. "I didn't, I didn't mean to, I promise. I promise, I'm sorry." Everyone froze at her words, now knowing that it was not just a dream. This was a side of Kaara none of them had ever seen. She was begging for remorse, begging for mercy. Now the question remained. What was she begging for mercy from?

Kaara's POV

I sat as still as I could, everything in my mind set off my survival instincts. I knew they wouldn't hurt me, deep down I did, but it's like a switch had been flipped and I was back at my mothers all over again. My whole body tingled as I struggled to breathe, my face surely soaked judging by the blurry damp spot beneath my face on the sheets.

"Kaara." The softest voice in the room spoke, I hated this feeling of all eyes on me. "You have nothing to apologize for. Do you need your medication?" On instinct I nodded but tensed.

"Yes please." I tried to choke out and barely managed to. Next thing I saw was shins laying down in front of me. A bottle of water and a colorful capsule entered my field of vision. Slowly, I took them both and swallowed the pill. "Thank you." I whispered and we all waited for the meds to kick in, that way I would at least be a little more responsive and coherent.

We sat in silence for five minutes. Three minutes for the medication to work and the other two, nobody wanted to open the can of worms. For the last five minutes, I sat plagued by thoughts and memories. I had such a good day. Why couldn't these nightmares just leave me alone for one day?

"Bubbles, please talk to us. What happened?" I curled my knees to my chest at Tetsurou's words, as though my legs could put up an iron wall between us and his question would deflect off of it.

"Just a nightmare." I glanced up at the older Nekoma boy and regretted it. His hazel eyes stared into mine intently, he went to speak but froze with his mouth hanging open. Everyone looked behind me now, at Akaashi.

"Bumble bee, I want to ask you something and I want you to be honest please. I won't push for more answers after it but I want to know, does it have to do with your mom? It wasn't just a nightmare, it was a flashback from when you lived with your mom." The room was tense and silent, nobody daring to break it. My silence gave them their answer, and it opened the door for a million more questions.

"Kaara." I looked away as the man with a bad case of bed head looked at me. He shuffled close to me, not even a full foot away, our knees close to touching. "Let me try something, please." I turned my head back but didn't dare look up. I watched as his hand slowly came towards my cheek. I flinched upon contact and hated how it made me feel to have him be affectionate like this. I loved it but I hated it, it scared me. Part of me wanted to melt into his touch as he started rubbing my cheekbone. "Interesting." A few questions floated in the background but for this one moment, it felt like it was just the two of us. "Do you want to tell them or should I?" I shook my head and wanted to curl up and shield myself. My face burned from embarrassment now and I wanted it to stop. He's just being an ass, so why am I reacting like this? "I'll tell them later." His hand left my face and he scooted back a bit. "What happened?"

"What happened when?" His face dead panned and I curled in on myself more.

"What happened in the flashback? At your moms in general? Anything you're comfortable with saying. We wanna know everything but we aren't gonna force it out of you. I'm sure we each have our own theory but I'm worried, we all are Kaara." I rocked back and forth a bit as I thought, freezing when I felt a hand grab mine.

"You were scratching."

I didn't even realize.

I nodded at Keiji's words, yet he didn't let go of my hand.

"In the nightmare, uh, it was one of the times where she hit me." The tense atmosphere returned. "I was in middle school at the time, the school called home saying they were concerned about my grades and my lack of energy." I could feel the Nekoma boys eyes on me, they remember the day I was talking about. "Apparently, one of the girls in the locker room caught a glimpse of my bruises because my shirt flew up for a second and she reported it to the teacher. My mom lied and said it was from playing volleyball outside of school. When I got home, I already knew I was in a lot of trouble. She uh, slapped me around a bit and then gr-grabbed a belt." The silence was deafening, half way through Akaashi started rubbing my back but his hand froze in place. Kenma sat in Koutarou's lap, the two of them frozen with wide eyes and Kuroo looked as though he was about to cry.

"You still went to school the next day." My attention shot to Kenma at his words. "You were almost late but you still showed up, you had a limp but you said you tripped and that you were fine." I solemnly nodded. "Why not tell your dad? Or anyone? Why did you try and hide it?" His tone wasn't angry, but rather pained.

"I tried telling him. The second I started complaining he would say I shouldn't complain about my mom being strict because that's how she was raised too or it was because she had 'one too many'. He didn't petition to get me out of there permanently until I came home crying saying I hated her. She had me convinced, for years I was convinced that nobody would believe me. Her boyfriends either didn't believe me or joined in. And I didn't want to risk it with you guys. I couldn't have you say the words. I couldn't risk it. I finally told my dad and he almost tried to defend her until I cut him off." They all turned visibly upset at this new found knowledge, yet I could tell it wasn't directed at me.

"Did Komini trigger this? The nightmares?" I turned to Tetsurou and nodded.

"I wasn't completely honest the other day. I talked to his mom, Arise, afterwards. Apparently his mom was in an abusive relationship and he has anger issues and stuff. So she apologized for him lying and said she would talk to him and thinks he might have been doing it to get a rise out of me since I don't like being touched that much." They all grew angrier as I explained Arise and I's conversation.

"So he purposely did that? To get a rise out of you and maybe see why you were flinching?" I slowly nodded my head at Koutarou's words, confusion evident in his tone. "He's such an ass!" We all laughed to some extent at these words.

"Right! Plus, he got more upset about me hanging out with five guys then you four did and you're my soulmates! Shouldn't it be the other way around?" We all fell silent at my words, that was the first time I had called them 'my soulmates' with out putting a deterring word in front or after. I couldn't see Keiji's face but Kuroo was smirking, Kou was smiling widely and Kenma had the tiniest of smiles on his face. "I need to talk to you guys about something."

"What's going through your head, little atom?" I fumbled with my words as I realized what I just did to myself.

"I- shit, uh I've been thinking about uh, I don't know maybe opening up Kenma and I's bond." The room fell silent once more but this time, out of pure shock. "I-If not that's okay, I know there's some concerns behind it."

"Do you want to?" I looked at Kenma, who already stared at me with his cat like eyes. I simply shrugged and everyone watched closely, perplexed at what was happening. "I've missed your thigh pillows." He rolled out of Koutarou's lap and stopped in front of me, silently asking for permission one last time. Dramatically, I sighed and acted as though I was thinking.

"Sure, but once you lay down I know you won't move again. So we're gonna have to figure out a new sleeping arrangement first." Everyone agreed and we all shifted down. Kenma laid against the wall, I sat next to him, Akaashi on my right then Bokuto and Kuroo on the end, who mostly laid on Bo.

Kenma gave me one last glance before poking me, knowing we all would need a minute to adjust. A major rush flooded my senses, the tingling present and starting at the game controller but now things almost felt calmer. Like I could breathe for more than half a second without feeling like I was drowning again. My eyes only watered a little this time around, I was prepared for this. The surplus of emotions still caught me off guard but it was manageable. The strength of emotions faded after a minute and everyone looked to me expectantly.

"I-I'm okay." And I was, for the moment at least.

Kenma laid down, head curled on my thighs with his face towards the TV at our feet. Kou handed me the remote and told me to put on whatever so I flicked through the channels. My spare hand rested in Kenken's hair, playing with his long, bleached locs and undercut. Carding my fingers through it until I felt his body relax. My own body did too, shoulders slouching, one of Keiji's legs tossed over my own in the owl boys freakishly large bed. Until I felt it. In Kenma's half awake state and trying to get comfortable, his left hand came and rested on my thigh, palm connecting directly with his symbol. My eyes widened and breath hitched, the tingles shooting through my body was unfamiliar. My face flared red at the new surplus of emotions that I felt.

Yep. This is fine.

I can’t pick one so-

Monsters ball, Toy soldiers, We have heard (all or pick one, up to you)

*deep sigh* answered below the cut, because succinct answers are, as always, beyond me. (To be clear, Anon, the sigh is directed at myself for not being able to stop talking, not at you.)

Monsters Ball:

Jon is still mostly in what the hell mode when he realizes that this bizarre nonentity has a human guest in tow.

She’s short, with light skin and long, dark brown hair, and young—distressingly young. Without his powers informing him (unasked, naturally) that she’s twenty-two, Jon couldn’t swear to her being out of her teens.

Of course, the fear in her darting eyes, the nervous tapping of her fingers against the outside of her leg, her gaunt frame, and the hungry set of her jaw probably aren’t helping in that department.

“I asked you a question,” Elias hisses in Jon’s ear.

“Right.” Jon reaches out, feeling even more rotten. That woman is more than likely in the same position he is.

He shakes it off. She’s not his responsibility. His team are.

The London Monsters Ball is an annual social and diplomatic event in the British paranormal community, and you never know who’s going to show up. One year, a long-established London vampire and a recent arrival from Transylvania both show up to the ball, both with their half-turned fledglings in tow. Jon and Mina are in no position to do anything but silently commiserate, but they don’t forget.

At the Monsters Ball the year after that, the two meet again as full vampires, both having killed their sires (with some help from their human partners and their friends, human and otherwise), both hoping to find the other and help them, if they can. Instead, they decide to work together on defusing the pervasive legacies of dark magic and cursed places their respective sires left on the world.

Or, the urban fantasy TMA/Dracula crossover no one asked for.

Toy Soldiers:

“Michael Crew?” Harriet asked.

Michael frowned. “Who are you?”

“Harriet Fairchild. May I come in?” She smiled politely at him.

A flicker of recognition crossed Michael’s face at her last name, and he carefully schooled his face back to neutral before smiling back, thin and tight. If Harriet didn’t miss her guess, Michael wasn’t sure why she was here and was trying to remain prepared for any possibility, from a friendly overture to an attempt to eliminate a competitor. Smart.

“I’m sorry,” Michael said after a pause that had stretched on a bit too long, in a polite, friendly tone clearly intended to be disarming. “Where are my manners?” He backed up a few steps. “Come on in. And you can call me Mike, by the way.”

Jailbreak Mike and Harriet’s first meeting (which, fun fact, I wrote just before I even got the idea for A World of His Own, and one of the major contributors to the creation of the Jailbreak verse was just how deeply and immediately I fell in love with their dynamic. Even if at this point they’re both still half-expecting the other to start trying to kill them at any moment). Harriet’s here as a representative of the Fairchild family, offering Mike a chance to join. Mike is going to need a little (okay, a lot) more information, and some convincing. Overcoming Mike’s hesitation at the idea of connecting himself to other people in any way not strictly necessary won’t be easy, but luckily, Harriet’s up to the task.

We Have Heard:

For anyone who’s read what I’ve posted so far of De Humani Corporis Fabrica… remember this paragraph?

[Angela] hoped she wasn’t about to listen to [Mike] die a horrible death. Not that she objected to horrible deaths on principle, but she was rather fond of this short, scrawny, hunted teenager. From what he’d told her, he’d survived experimenting with at least two Leitners, managed to track her down with only a vague knowledge of the effects of Powers and some clues in a newspaper, and knocked on her door to ask questions very shortly after finding what was left of one of her victims. While in her home, he’d cheerfully joined her in assembling a jigsaw puzzle after she’d told him what it did, watched in awed fascination rather than horror as she operated her meat grinder, calmly helped her prepare meat pies from her own severed arm with a finger tucked in each and invite some poor sap in for dinner, happily eaten his pie along with her while they’d waited in a hum of delighted anticipation for their guest to bite down on bone and realize what he was eating, and laughed nearly as loudly as she had when the fool had blanched, looked in horror from her to Mike and back again, jumped up from the table, and fled with a panicked cry.

This is that fic. I don’t think I need to say anything else.

(And yes, the title is a really, really bad pun on the title of a Christmas carol. Angels We Have Heard on High, if you’re wondering. Told you it was bad.)

Thank you for the ask, anonymous friend! Best!

survey #038

“she wants it & that’s fine; so it was, and so it will always be”

Are you still in touch with your best friend from high school? No. Well wait, I do know I considered Summer one of my best friends in this period, and we still talk, just not regularly. Have you ever visited any celebrity gravesites? No. Any animals whose behaviors you find particularly interesting? Bro I LOVE seeing animals, especially social ones, exhibit behaviors that are in any way like us humans. It's humbling as hell, a reminder of where we came from, and that we are truly still animals ourselves. But anyway, to answer the question and to no surprise I'm sure, meerkats top my list of animals I just can't get enough of observing. They can be so goddamn violent and treacherous and brutal, and then in the next second they're dropping their lives to protect their family, are playing and grooming one another so peacefully, and god, are they curious. I just wanna meet a meerkat one day, okay. Would you have a big cat (like a tiger) for a pet if you could? Even IF I had the space and resources, no. They are too easily capable of ripping me to shreds if I just move funny and I'm not fucking with that. They deserve to be wild and free or at least in a very well-suited home with a very educated human if they can't survive in the wild. What is your favorite thing to do on The Sims? I don't play it. Do you think you could ever be in an open relationship? No. I have no moral objections to it for others so long as everyone involved is consenting and aware of what's going on, but it wouldn't work for me. I want my own partner that I'm not "sharing" and probably CONSTANTLY comparing myself to. Can your mom and/or dad play any instruments, or how about anyone else in your family? I'm quite sure Mom's never played anything, and I don't think Dad seriously has either, but I do remember he used to mess around a bit on Ashley's acoustic guitar now and again out on the hammock in our back yard. My older sister played the clarinet in school band. Can you crack crab legs without a tool? Never tried, but I know I fucking hate crab legs, so won't be finding out. What is your father’s middle name? John. Where did your last kiss take place? My kitchen. If you could get backstage tickets to ANY concert - which would you pick? hmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMM I FUCKIN WONDER Who was the last person in your house who isn’t family? My boyfriend. Can you remember the last song you listened to? I actually just turned "Angst" on by Rammstein. Do you have any exes you can’t stand anymore? Her reaching out to me solely to share an immensely hateful and "haha u fucked up :)"-style message kicked her from "eh she's not for me but all's well" from "yeah, I can't fucking stand her" to be quite honest. Realistically I'm probably gonna chill out with how strongly I feel about her rn with time, but. What happened to cause you to feel that way about them? Oh, got ahead of myself, lol. I'm not sharing the contents of the message, that's my and her business, but it was just in no way a PM I asked for when I made it abundantly clear I didn't want to hear from her. Are you more of a phone or a computer person? Computer. Have you ever been to a professional sports game? Yeah, with my dad. I never cared much for hockey itself, but regardless it was a bonding thing for Dad and me. Has your town ever flooded? I don't know JUST how bad this specific area got hit, but this city got pretty fuckin' pounded by Hurricane Floyd. Have you ever played at the McDonald’s play place? Yeah, growing up. And now all I can do is think of JUST how filthy all that shit had to be, all those kids' hands everywhere and stuff... Have you ever taken a picture of snow? Yeah. Do people ever mistake you for being a different race? No, I think I'm pretty obviously Caucasian. Do you hate the last person you kissed? Girt is like... the LEAST hateable person you could ever meet, so strong no. Who was the last person you were in a car with? My mom. What’s the biggest promise someone’s ever made to you? Did they keep it? That they'd always be there, and no he didn't; I haven't spoken with him in five years. Nowadays I'm not really a big fan of people even MAKING that promise, though, because people just simply change, and that's not always bad. Do you own any jerseys? No. Do you like going to baby showers? Do you go only for the cake? I feel... weird... going to baby showers, I have to admit. Trauma shit, what-I-want-in-life confusion shit, blah, blah. Thankfully they're not exactly something I go to very often, and I'm definitely not expecting to soon. My older sister is supposedly done having kids and my younger sis isn't even in a relationship, and I don't really have close friends around here that might have a baby, so I don't see one in my upcoming future. What color are the headphones you have at this moment in time? They're just blue earplugs. Y'all would not BELIEVE how quickly I fly through these fucking things so I've seen a rainbow of 'em, lol. Do you eat more vegetables or fruits? What’s your favorite fruit/veggie? Fruits; strawberry for fruit, broccoli for vegetable. Last thing that made you cry? Following some medicine change talk the other day, I got VERY upset at the idea of my weight loss possibly slowing down. Two medications were interfering with my thyroid function, blood tests showed, so some things had to be done to get it back in its proper place and I am TERRIFIED this whole "I don't want to eat" episode is going to end and suddenly I'm hungry again. Last person you took a walk with? Sara. Who was the last person to actually pick you up in the air? DAAAAAAAAAAMN BITCH I AIN'T LIGHT, idfk lmfao Can you keep a secret? Well, despite spilling the biggest secret someone ever told me (I swear for the good of everyone involved), I honest to god AM very loyal to my promises of keeping secrets. Sara's case was just simply dangerous. Do you get your hair cut every month? It's usually around every three months. Current relationship in detail. In a very healthy and happy relationship with absolutely one of my biggest fans. I am actually ordering the stuff I need to make my anniversary gift for him soon. :') Is there a sport/hobby you keep thinking about taking up, but that you’ve never quite gotten around to starting? Well, there's herping, but not so much because I just haven't chosen to yet; I PHYSICALLY can't. I am in an urban area and I can barely walk down my own fucking hallway without my legs wanting to just give out. I'd need to most importantly fix that and be able to walk awhile/traverse uneven land, and I'd probably need a car and license because I can't imagine Mom wanting to flip logs to find a snake with me, lmao. Do you think “sleeve tattoos” are a good idea? Sleeve tattoos are HOT and I will hear no arguments. Do you ever actually read the “Terms and Services” when you sign up for websites and such? heh heh no Ever had to take an inkblot test? I have, for this psychological exam I had done. Is there anyone you know who’s in any way paralyzed? Maybe, but I'm not sure. For you, do you commonly feel more jealousy or envy? Definitely envy. Have you had two friends that absolutely hated each other? No, that's too strong of a descriptor. Do you like Laffy Taffy? Maaaan I could go for one of those. Are your biceps at all noticeable? God no. From inside of your house, how many doors lead outside? Two. Is there a secret you’ve never told your parents? Yes. Does anyone hate you? She made that pretty clear. If you’re not religious, would you ever pray as a last resort? If you are religious, do you often pray for other people? Sure wouldn't. Is there anything that your mom is really known for as to how she is as a person? That woman will treat you just like her own unless you give her a DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN good reason not to. Everyone who knows my mom knows she is friendly as hell and is an inhumanly dedicated, hard worker. She gets shit done that needs to be done. Who was the best kisser out of all the people you have kissed? *VERY UNCOMF LAUGHTER* When you listen to music, do you generally sing along, or just listen? I pretty much always just listen. Do you have any of your exes as friends on Facebook? Not anymore, no. Who was your first love? Do you ever miss that person? Jason, and... I finally think the answer is no? I mean that as in I don't think about and want him anymore; like there are times I think it'd be nice to see him somewhere in public and just catch up, but at the same time, I don't know if saying I "MISS" him is accurate anymore. Fucking wild. Do you prefer water to be ice cold or at room temperature? Anything above ice fucking cold is gross. Do you know anyone who has gone missing? If so, were they ever found? Well, *I* didn't know her, but there was recently a massive upset in my school and dance friendship groups over Facebook of someone my sister knew going missing after a tragic accident and being found dead a few days later. Not gonna really give details because the accident was pretty specific and probably easy to track the location of if I gave them. What was the spiciest thing you’ve ever eaten? Wings with a certain level of hot sauce at BWW. Jason was of course hyping me up all the while *I* thought I was gonna fuckin die, haha. Do you need to talk to someone? I'm fine rn, thanks. What’s your best friend’s pet’s name(s)? He has a pit bull/shepherd mix named Charlie, he's the sweetest. :') Both times I've been over his sister has been present as well with her own dog Onyx, also clearly some kind of pit. It's so cute, Charlie LOVES Onyx and apparently pesters the shit outta her whenever she's over, lol. Witnessed it. Who’s your favorite Disney character? You can't.............. ASK me that okay there's too many goodies Have you ever deliberately tried to get someone drunk? What the FUCK, no. When was the last time you used a pay phone and who were you calling? I never have. Do you like being kissed on the neck? Bitch you better not kiss me on the fuckin neck unless our minds are in the same place, don't try me lmfao Have you ever had sex with someone you weren’t dating (but had feelings for) in the hopes that they would ask you out later? No. Name a song you’ve listened to today? Well now I have "Amerika" by Rammstein playing. Gotta love satires of this piece of rancid shit country. :^) Do you have a Sonic near you? If so, what’s your favorite drink from there? Yes, coincidentally just had it a couple days ago! And well, after trying their new Sour Patch Kids Slush Float thing, THAT. It's going to ruin my life, I see it already, lmfao. Will you be voting in the presidential elections next time around? Yes, I've passed my "well idk so ig do nothiing" phase, I talk enough about people getting up and acting so I'm doing it, too. What was the last musical instrument played in your presence? Oh jeez, idk man. Do you know how to do the moon walk? Never tried, but I KNOW I couldn't, I'm far too clumsy. I'd fall on my ass so fast, lmao. Onion rings or french fries? The latter, by a MASSIVE long shot. Has anybody ever described you as a heart breaker? No. Has anybody ever told you that you talk too fast? When I'm excited, yes. To make it worse, I ALSO talk too loud when I'm in the same mood, so I know I'm A LOT when I'm like that, and my mom is literally trying to (gently) teach me to, you know, chill, lol. It was a big problem when I was manic. What’s the largest amount that you can juggle at one time? I can't juggle at all, boo. As kids, were there any toys that you & your sibling(s) used to fight over? Hmmm... I don't THINK so. We had pretty individual interests OR each our own of one specific kind of toy. Do you have any idea when you’ll next attend a wedding? Whose will it be? Nope. I do know there's an online/childhood friend of mine that really does want me to shoot her wedding (this woman literally wants to pay for the flight and I just al;skdjfa;lwje) that I THINK is set in stone for next year, but I still don't know with certainty if that's going to work out for a number of reasons. As a kid, did you own any items of clothing with a Disney character on them? Oh yes, especially Finding Nemo stuff, I remember. ^Do you own any such items as an adult? I do, but they're shirts I kinda have to shrink back into. Do you enjoy any songs by Phil Collins? Well DUH, you either admit he's got absolute bangers or you're just............. wrong lol. Have you ever used a walkie-talkie? Yep. Do you own any bath bombs? What scent(s)? No. Do you take lessons for anything? No. If you wear makeup, what colors do you usually wear? Always black, IF I wear makeup at all, which happens probably like once or twice a year, lol. If you have more than one pet, do they ever get jealous of each other? Oh good LORD, if Roman is getting attention and Cookie sees it, she will pester the shit outta you 'til you give her attention too, lol. Venus is, y'know, a snake, so I can pretty confidently say she doesn't feel jealousy, haha. Is there a room in your house that you don’t like going in? No. Do you remember the last question you were asked? What did you answer? Ha ha yeah, so I sent Girt a picture of a mother boa with her newborns, and many of them were stretched upwards getting their first breaths after breaking their sacs (boas don't lay eggs), and he asked if that many eggs for snakes was normal. So now he's learning that not all snakes even lay eggs and he's so fascinated and alskdjfl;awej I love his receptiveness to learning about all animals. Have you ever seen fireflies? Yes, I sometimes forget that they're native here and (I'm pretty sure) no other continent, and it at least makes me feel a SLIGHT warmth for this place, lol. Do you tell your parents where you are going? I mean I live with my mother, I think it's just respectful to let her know where I'm at... Would you ever be your school’s mascot who wears that costume? No. I actually knew the dude who did that in high school, though. My then-best friend dated him. Would you ever be a tornado chaser? I would rather eat my own fucking finger, I am TERRIFIED of tornadoes, I am going NOWHERE near that bitch. What is your favorite thing to eat with BBQ sauce, if you even like that stuff? I hate BBQ sauce on absolutely anything. Have you ever had to do a class in summer school? No. Do you get nervous when you go to the doctor? About what? I've never gotten immensely nervous at the doctor's office, but if I recently had blood work done, THEN I get nervous because I thoroughly expect to hear I'm diabetic. Been waiting for years and I AM pre-diabetic, so... Have you ever had a dream where you killed someone? I, uh, think so. My nightmares are fucking merciless in the content matter, and in a lot of them, I'm VERY violent. Have you ever solved a Rubik’s Cube? Ha, no. Do you have a favourite metal band or do you not like metal? Hahaha, that's my genre, baby. Ozzy & Rammstein. Who are your favorite bands? ^ Have you ever sewn something? No. Have you seen all of the Jaws movies? No, I've only seen the first one with Tyler. I think I liked it? I don't think I saw the entire thing. Did you often read for fun when you were a kid? Oh absolutely, I was a TOTAL bookworm.

encountering a ‘pick me’ girl

character(s) : kirishima eijirou, todoroki shouto, bakugou katsuki (bnha)

warning : PICK ME GIRL, misogyny (?) pick me girl makes an off handed comment about your body but it’s not detailed at all

PART TWO — PART THREE

legend : [Y/N = your name] afab! reader, but they/them pronouns used, quirk not mentioned

headcanon type : fluff, angst if you squint

note(s) : i made 2 versions of this post so,, if you’re reading this— then i probably decided that i liked this one more than the other one i made,, anyways, i used real life examples 💀

»»————-　♡　————-««

kirishima eijirou

i’d imagine that eijirou would have an idea of what a pick me girl is— i mean, there were probably 2 of those girls in middle school

but has he experienced it first hand? nahh.

though, eijirou didn’t think he’d encounter one when he was already in a healthy and committed relationship!

eijirou is practically friends with everyone— and yeah, even the most unexpected. so, he’s bound to accidentally befriend a pick me girl

him, being the nicest one out of all of the characters in this list, will still be nice to said pick me girl, despite wanting to snob them to the core

because really— you can’t really fight fire with fire in some cases

but, he can be everything but lenient when the pick me girl starts insulting you for doing certain things, and for absurd reasons too

like,, how you laugh, and how you take care of yourself (for example— if you wear makeup, or how you style your hair)

which is odd! everything about you is everything but the things the pick me girl has stated so.. he cannot stand by.

SCENARIO

the girl giggles to herself after that snide comment leaves her lip gloss coated lips. eijirou shifts uncomfortably— honestly taken aback by the anything but subtle insult that was thrown at you

“like.. seriously! it’s honestly quite superficial if you look at it like that. who the hell would put that much effort infront of your boyfriend? i’d assume they’d see everything AND everything but.. i guess not.”

you blink. superficial? now that’s a new one. the girl infront of you has been babbling insults sugarcoated in boasts the entire time, and you’re just wondering if it’s about time you guys leave but—

“well that’s unfair,” your boyfriend laughs, “i put the same amount of effort as this cutie right here,” eijirou pokes at your cheek, earning a quick laugh from you— which he can only thank the heavens for that

“but that’s different. it actually looks put together when you’re doing it, eiji.” the certain glint in her smile makes you want to wipe it right off with a dirty mop, “it’s impossible to look put together with expensive clothes, but being built like a—”

the sound of the sliding of a chair is quicker than your actions, and it easily cuts her off.

“i’m sorry, but we gotta go, it’s totally not cool of you to say those things about Y/N!”

“what? but i mean.. it’s true, right? i’m looking out for them! they’re literally out here l—”

“bye!” eijirou waves her goodbye with your hand, dismissing the sour expression on her face— as he dashes off with you

you’d question how he’s just so nice to people like that, but when he turns around, you could see the distaste in his eyes

“so that’s what a pick me girl’s like,” shaking his head, his expression lights up with such a quick manner “i’ll never make friends that are like that again!”

safe to say, eijirou’s friend list has been a a person shorter ever since that incident

bakugou katsuki

oh, so that girl’s bold bold.

if she thinks she could get away with being a not so subtle pick me girl infront of bakugou katsuki, then she couldn’t be more wrong.

it’s absolutely revolting— i mean, he hasn’t displayed any romantic feelings towards ANYONE that isn’t you.

also, they’re quite gutsy if you ask me. so congrats for having guts??

i don’t think he’d be friends with a pick me girl. he’s very selective of who he’s befriending, so it’s probably your friend that’s the pick me girl in this case

he wouldn’t know what a pick me girl would be, but he’d probably know the description of one.

over some time, he’d grow some resistance to insults directed at him, but when someone insults his s/o

oh boy. that’s not good. remember when i said that katsuki was almost like your scary and intimidating dog

this is what i mean

knows he can’t make a scene, so his first option is to be dismissive asf— but if said pick me girl literally can’t get it, he won’t be afraid of shoving some explosions into her face

because his hands are rated e for everyone

SCENARIO

“so you wanna be picked or something, is that it?” he hates how you literally have the resistance of a rock— which is something he always liked, but in this case hated. if it weren’t for you— he would’ve blasted explosions into her sorry excuse of a face until it’s beyond recognition (that wouldn’t be hero like, is what you’ve said in the past, but he disagrees.)

but seriously? ugh. he just wants to leave this horrid place, and make some dinner with you in the comfort of his home. why are you even friends with her anyway? she’s not even trying to be slick at this point.

“p-picked? i’m not understanding, katsu.”

“it’s bakugou.”

“right,” her laughter is like nails on chalkboard, “i’m just watching out for Y/N, y’know? there’s no point in wearing all of that.. on their face.” and she’s obviously referring to your obviously very well done makeup

“it’ll make your skin terrible in the long run! and really— i couldn’t really understand on why someone would wear that much, when you could survive with i dunno.. lip gloss at most?”

you would’ve actually said something as a rebuttal, but your boyfriend is quicker, and a lot more direct than anyone else in the area.

“just say you can’t do makeup and fucking scram,” katsuki’s ice cold glare finally breaks out of the act he’s been trying to hold together for you

“their makeup is fucking bomb as hell, compared to your ridiculous spider lashes, lady. come back when you’ve watched james charles’ entire fucking channel.” he harshly states in similar bakugou fashion, despite the lack of screaming.

and if you squinted hard enough, you could see tears welling up in her eyes. but katsuki tugs your hand before anything else could be said

“let’s fucking go, you need better friends.”

he makes you cut ties with all of them, and he practically scolds your terrible choice of friends— but he goes quiet when you tell him that you’ve been friends with her since middle school

“good fucking riddance. next time, i’ll punch them as soon as they say something outta line, got that?” and next time (hopefully, there won’t be a next time) you’ll actually lash out— or maybe,, you’ll let him loose for once.

todoroki shouto

now shouto might be,, socially unaware sometimes. but he can tell whenever someone’s trying to insult his s/o

like,, right away.

now— you both run into this person after a pleasant date, and she eagerly presented herself as your friend

so, her attitude catches him off guard because who’d have anything rude to say about you and towards shouto’s face? especially when it’s about something normal.

like,, wasn’t she your friend?? why is she even like this?

his hostility is very well known, so they should be scared.

he gets detached from the conversation, and he’ll immediately go cold— and shouto would probably go as far as walking away with your hand in his

doesn’t matter if he properly says goodbye or not— if a girl’s being rude to his s/o, they obviously don’t deserve his usually polite attitude. nope, that’s a luxury.

oh— and what more when they’re seeking for his validation. newsflash! said pick me girl won’t be get any from him.

SCENARIO

shouto couldn’t stop the bitterness bleeding into his mouth, when the girl in front of him continued to babble and take up the valuable time he had left with his s/o

initially, she presented herself as your friend from middle school— but as of now? she seems to be more interested in him more than you, despite knowing you first.

she’d ask him a string of obvious questions with very obvious answers, like ‘is she treating you well?’ ‘is she acting correctly?’ and questions of the sort

“oh, sorry! i’d hate to cut this conversation short, but—” you finally decide that it was about time to leave, while shouto looks pretty,, deadpanned right now, you could tell that he was gradually starting to get irritated by your friend’s words.

“wait. thats.. kind of controlling, don’t you think? do you ever let shou make decisions?”

“uh.. controlling? since when??” you question at the accusation. this girl knows nothing about your relationship dynamic, and she’s already jumping the gun and making conclusions.

your gaze snaps back to shouto, who looks just as surprised as he could possibly be.

“yeah! it clearly looks like he still wants to talk” which is an obvious lie, shouto just wants it out of here “i wonder how you managed to snag such a guy like him,” she comments with a smile that looked anything above suspicion (yet, it makes your stomach churn)

you could see the way her hand gets gradually closer to him— and frankly, you’re not sure about what she was planning to do next, “you wouldn’t need to dress all expensive and fancy, if you’re with a girl with an already classy appear—”

“i think this conversation is over,” shouto grip is firm on the wrist that was attempting to grab his shoulder, shouto makes no attempt to even look at the girl infront of him “i don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not humorous. at all.”

“what?” she stammers, drawing her hand back “i-it’s obvious they don’t know how to take a joke! this is why there are barely any good w—”

shouto’s next actions knocks her speechless, his hand rests at the small of your back, before gently guiding you forward— “love, what movie are we watching later?” he says, making an effort to press a quick, yet intense kiss on your lips

“oh,” you breathe out, surprised by this action. “don’t be so tense, love.” shouto comments on how tense your shoulders have looked, ever since she started running her mouth, “now.. what movie do you want to watch tonight? comedy? thriller?”

“you pick,” you laugh at the quick shift of topic. and when you look behind you, you could see shame and defeat welling up on her face. shouto finally feels like he could smile again, the bitterness dissipating from his mouth

after shouto questions you if that was what a pick me girl was, he makes sure that you guys won’t ever encounter such thing again

“you.. don’t have more friends like that, right? if you do— we could always do another friend list cleansing.” this statement makes you laugh but shouto is anything but joking

but being reminded of his reaction to that ‘pick me’ girl does puts a smile on your face.

»»————-　♡　————-««

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