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incorrectly-quoted-queers · 4 years

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A Room Full of Vampires

A Drawfee Fanfiction

John’s sister was the lamest best friend he ever had.

They had planned to go to the movies for a week now, after months of John begging her to go with him. She only caved because this double feature landed on his birthday, and he promised she’d get out of buying him a gift if she went.

Cheapskate she was, Ava readily agreed.

For the past few days, he’d been so excited about it. He planned on going all out at the snack bar, he’d bring a blanket, the works. It would be like when they were kids and they used to watch movies in blanket forts when their parents went on dates.

Considering John’s birthday last year was the worst thing that happened to him, he deserved to have some serious nostalgic fun on this one.

But that morning, when he woke up to only one text, all it said was a weak apology that she couldn’t make it because her boyfriend had a work event. Then about twenty minutes later she added a proper, “Happy Birthday”.

Cool. First birthday single in ten years and not even his sister wanted to spend the day with him. It was fine.

Totally fine.

However, when it was 7 pm and John hadn’t left his house and had totally demolished a pint of red velvet ice cream, he concluded that maybe it wasn’t fine.

By the time the first movie of his fantasized double feature was almost over, John was pretty damn sick of staring down the liter of Mountain Dew and feeling sorry for himself. He looked in the mirror. Sure his hair was a mess and he still was wearing yesterday’s clothes, but he was a perfectly capable 26-year-old man. If he wanted to go to the movies on his birthday, he could go all by himself, dammit.

Feeling a surge of self-confidence (possibly fueled by his energy drink overdose) he vibed with the electricity running under his skin. That’s right. He was an averagely attractive, somewhat active, not dead human. He could go out and do anything!

Granted, he couldn’t fly. He caught himself a taxi the second he got outside. He wasn’t an animal.

When he reached the theater, the box office was derelict, save an arguing couple buying tickets. In the dark night, the platinum blonde, with arguably fabulous long hair, glistened under the bright lights. The duo looked a lot fancier than him, but sometimes people cosplayed to the theaters, so that’s what he figured was going on. Since the second feature was Cats, maybe they just really liked musicals and wanted to get their Phantom of the Opera on. He just sorta shrugged it off and waited for them to be done.

But their bickering was pretty interesting. “Bertrand, we were supposed to go to an elaborate dinner tonight. But instead, you stayed at work late, missed our reservations, and you’re trying to make it up to me by taking me to a half-finished theater event? I’m not a dog, your scraps aren’t enough for me.”

“Bastian, I am trying to make it up to you. You love Cats. You’ve always loved Cats. You loved Cats before it even was on Broadway. This should be a fun substitute.”

“Well, maybe I wanted to see Sonic the Hedgedog, too.”

“It’s hedgehog, love.”

“Whatever.” The blonde, named Bastian, crossed his arms and stared at the movie posters, waiting for Bertrand to finish paying.

While John loved himself a good drama, the awkwardness of hearing a couple argue also made him want to shrivel up inside and die. On a normal day, that would’ve been enough to make him go home.

But not today.

Today was his birthday and he was going to see a movie, dammit.

After the way-too-fashionable men walked away, John walked up to the dead-eyed teenager. “One for the double feature.”

“What is up with you people, coming half-way through the show?”

He didn’t mean to, but John bristled from the inside out. Caffeine rage was no joke. “I am an adult and I live my life in a way that makes me happy. I look like a happy man, don’t I?”

“I don’t think I wanna answer that.” Handing over his tickets, the teen grimaced. “Enjoy the show, dude.”

John didn’t mean to get so rattled, so he gave the guy an awkward wave and hoped that he never met him again.

Okay, all the chaos had to be over now. He was going to walk into that theater, enjoy this damned movie, and prove that he was perfectly fine on his own. He didn’t need Ava or Stacy or anyone to make his birthday a good one. He was a 26-year-old man and--

Just as John pushed the doors to the theater open, he saw the couple from before standing in front of all the aisles, accompanied by two other oddly dressed men, four children, a bat, and a dog with...Wings?

Though John had been pumping his arms pretty intently, a man on a mission, he stopped dead.

All the way down the aisles, Bertrand said, “So that’s why I knew this double feature was happening.”

Behind the kids, the guy with a big cloak threw open his arms and yelled, “Boo!” They all jumped and squealed, but then threw themselves into his arms.

By all accounts, that should’ve been more than enough for John to leave. There was also a fair shot that, unless he was absolutely losing his mind, he might’ve just walked into a roomful of vampires. Or vampire cosplayers, at the very least, which wouldn’t be the strangest thing he walked in on. After all, nothing would ever beat Stacy getting bent over by a guy in a Teletubby costume.

He still had no clue what the guy’s face even looked like.

Cringing, John instead focused on watching the bizarre, but obviously happy family banter, hug, and bicker. Even the angry couple still obviously was very much in love with each other. Though he could hear Bastian’s petty comments all the way up the stairs, the guy kept making sure Bertrand never stepped on his own cloak. It was horribly sweet, even if it made him feel so much more alone.

Sitting down, he accepted that his night couldn’t get any weirder, so he might as well accept it.

The parents of the kids walked over to Bertrand and Bastian. The one who looked like he got hair tips from Doc Brown was patting Bertrand on the head. “So happy to have my older brother show up to our family outing!”

“It wasn’t on purpose, Victor.”

The shorter, more cartoonish guy shrugged. “Either way, Valentino and I are happy to see you. And so are the kids! Desdemona has been dying to see her “shiny-headed uncle”.”

“Balding is a completely natural part of the male aging process. I just unfortunately got stuck in the middle of it.”

Just as Victor opened his mouth, the lights dimmed. “Ooh! Time for the movie to start. Sit with us!”

Bastian patted Bertrand’s shoulder and he did this deep sigh, but he did it with such ease that it must be muscle memory from years of annoyance. John remembered when he and Ava used to have tics like that. They texted every other day, but the last time he saw her in person had to be months ago.

He didn’t even know what color her hair was right now. Knowing her, it probably changed a few times since the purple he saw last.

Even though Cats started up, and the CGI was a disturbing kind of mesmerizing, John couldn’t keep his eyes off the family in the first few rows. The way Bastian and Bertrand held each other’s sleeves was endearing. The little girl next to Bertrand kept leaning over and asking him questions, but no matter how tense he looked, it seemed like he always answered them. And while he didn’t quite understand what was happening, the one named Valentino held the tiny bat like it was a sweet, sleepy toddler.

His chest started to hurt, looking at them, but he also couldn’t look away. Vampire cosplayers or whatever, they were family. It made his own fingers feel so cold, so empty and killed his Mountain Dew buzz completely.

John looked to his own left and right and wondered how long it’d been since he got used to being alone. Those last few months with Stacy weren’t the best, and Ava drifted when--

Looking down at Victor and Valentino giggling and covering their kids’ eyes when the Cats were a little too sensual, he knew what the answer was: Ava had been distant since they lost their own version of those two.

When Ava and John’s parents died, it had been so sudden. Before that, they spent so much time together. Ava was his best friend, over at his apartment every few days for ramen or advice or to make him try out some new recipe she had. Mom and Dad would take them to farmer’s markets and book drives, supporting their dreams in their own, weird ways. And they all used to really love mini golf, no matter how dumb that was.

He couldn't remember the last time Ava stopped by his book store, even just to say hi.

Maybe he had a lot more going on than just being lonely; maybe Ava did, too.

Before John could really register what was going on, the lights were coming up and it felt like his heart was being torn out of his chest. His cheeks got wet and his lungs got so full of loneliness that they didn’t know they were a pair. He didn’t want it to end. He wanted to stay in this dark theater, living vicariously through this vampire family a little longer.

But crying in a near-empty movie theater doesn’t go unnoticed for long. “Um, sir? Are you okay?” The one named Victor was suddenly in front of him, touching his shoulder, with these kind, however dark and kinda creepy, eyes.

If this was a normal day, John would smile and play it off.

But today was his birthday, dammit.

Shaking his head, John said, ‘No.”

Behind him, the entire vampire family had pooled, all looking at him with their own dark, kinda creepy eyes. John wasn’t really in a place to judge, though, considering his were probably all puffy.

Victor asked, “Mind if I ask what it’s about?”

“You all are just a really beautiful family.” John sniffled and tried to rub away as many tears as he could. While the honesty felt nice, there was only so much shamelessness his very embarrassing soul could handle. “I think I got a little jealous.”

“Well, if you want, you can come join us for midnight mini-golf. The night has just started for us, and it’s our little girl’s birthday. The more the merrier.”

John couldn’t help but laugh. “Mine, too.”

“Even better!” Victor stood up and offered John a hand. He took it.

As they passed the rest of the group, Valentino was rounding up the kids, Bastian was knuckling away a tear, and Bertrand was frowning. But it was the kind of way someone frowned when they knew they were about to be forced to enjoy something that they totally would enjoy, but hated to admit it.

With a knowing smirk, Victor asked, “Coming to mini-golf, Bertrand? It’s Desi and this young man’s birthday, after all.”

Bastian added, “I won’t be so completely annoyed with you anymore if we do.”

Bertrand scoffed in defeat. “Fine.”

And then John followed the roomful of vampires to mini-golf, and chose to actively ignore the fact none of their reflections showed up in any of the water features and the liquid in their water bottles was red. It was easier to focus on the way they all smiled together under the moonlight.

Tonight was his birthday, and he was going to enjoy it with a real, live family (sort of).

He’d call Ava in the morning. They had a lot to talk about.

#Drawfee #Drawfee fanfiction #A Room Full of Vampires #fanfiction #I'm sorry #family angst

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cloudycrystalkpop · 6 years

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Salt Water

pairing: siren!Yugyeom x reader (feat. cabin boy!Jisung + NCT)

sumery: she could hear it, that distant melody. it called to her, cared for her, looked out for her when no one else would.

warnings: impiled sexual harassment and assault, teenie bit of language. not even kinda historically acturate, but that’s why it’s called an AU kiddies.

“hey, do you hear that?” (y/n) looked over to the only other woman on the ship.

“i... i’m not sure.” (y/n) replied. Mai rolled her eyes.

“come on, you either hear it, or you don’t.” she patronized the younger woman.

“what are you two jabbering about? get back to work.” called the first mate. the two women glared over their sholders. (y/n) went back to mopping while Mai dissapeared below deck. acording to the captian and first mate, the two women had nothing to complain about. after all, it was bad luck to bring a woman on ship, so they were incredibly lucky. all the sexual comments, advances, and inappropriate behavior towards the two was simply swept under the rug. even the assaults.

in some ways, it could be worse for Mai. no one but (y/n) knew why she was really sailing to the new world. her lover waited for her. her lover, being another woman. if any of the men on ship heard or even guessed this, she was done for. as far as (y/n), well, she was still young. young, and without a husband, or betrothed. she was ether labeled a whore, or considered a prune. (y/n) had gotten used to this however. even though it still disgusted her.

the sun began to dip below the horizon. (y/n) continued to mop, the only other person on deck being the little cabin boy, Jisung. he was barely fifteen, and quite a sweet boy. (y/n) was increadably fond of him, as he was the only male on the ship who didn’t look at her like a peace of meat.

“Jisung?” the young boy purked up, looking over to her. she smiled at him. “i can finish the mopping, you go get some rest.” his eyes widdened.

“but... captian told me to help! and you’ve been here all day...” he countered quietly.

“yes, and you’ve been tying nots till your fingers bleed. please little one, go get some sleep okay? for noona?” she ruffled his hair affectionately, causing him to blush at the attention. he nodded shyly. bidding her goodnight, before dissapearing below deck.

while (y/n) was looking out for the kid, she also wanted some time alone. just her, the salt water air, and the moonshine. this was the one thing that made it all bearable. she closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. she could feel it. the energy of the wind, the power of the moon, the harmony and chaos of the sea. it was... addicting.

that was when she heard it. it was hard to define... a melody. it was beautiful and intrancing. she looked out over the water, in the far distance she saw... something. what... what is that? she squinted, but still couldn’t make it out. it was then, she senced it. danger. something, she couldn’t make out, deep at sea, could be something that could shipwreak them. she scambled quickly to fetch the first mate.

he shoved her off as some ‘delusional woman’, but by the time he realized she was right, it was to late. shouting and running, but the damage was done. it was a small island, to small to actually land on, more of a random peace of earth putruding from the waves. it sliced the ship nearly in half. (y/n) truly got an upclose and personal look at the chaos of the sea.

“Noona!” shouted Jisung. she grabbed the younger boy, and held him tightly. he was shaking slightly in fear. “noona... are-are we all going to die...?” she ruffled his hair again.

“maybe little one, maybe not.” she tryed to offer him a hopful smile.

it was then her attention was pulled away for a split second. there it was again, that melody...

it ended up, there was another side to that island. a side that was big enough to hold life. most of the sailors drowned, but there were a few who survived. (y/n) had pulled Jisung along on a peace of drift wood onto the island, where they found the first mate, Mai, and three other sailors.

they met up on the beach, and tryed to come up with a plan. acording to the first mate, he, Mai, and two of the sailors would stay at the beach and work on brainstorming a way off the island. he instrucked (y/n), Jisung, and the other sailor, whom (y/n) learned was called Lee, to explore the island and see if they could find supplies.

Lee desided that he would head the ‘mission’, because he was ‘the man’. on his word, the three set off. the island was small, but bigger then they had first guessed. when they were in a deeper part of the tropical jungle, (y/n) was pulled away by the melody again.

her curiosity was running away with her, and she decided to follow it. Jisung noticed she was wandering off the path Lee was blazing, and desided he trusted his life with (y/n) more, so he followed her.

(y/n) continued to wander the junlge, till she found a small cave. she carfully climbed down, and entered the salt water cave. salt was crystalized on the walls and roof of the cave, and water trickaled in the distanced. she continued carfully, following the melody again.

she found a large pool in the middle of an opening. moonlight shined in from many small holes in the ceiling. she was in awe at the way the moonlight reflected off the salt. it was then, she heard a small splash.

she looked over, to see a pair of dark eyes staring at her just above the water level. (y/n)’s heartbeat quickened, as the creature rose slowly. he lifted his head and shoulders out of the water. he was... exquisite.

before her was the head and shoulders of a young man, who looked not much older then (y/n) herself. his hair was a dark black to rivel the depths of the sea, his eyes a curious murky brown. his features were chiseled and shaped perfectly. he was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen.

the young man tilted his head, observing her curiously. (y/n) realized she had been holding her breath, and let out a small sigh before taking in another deep breath. he blinked, and copied her action. he straitned his head, and smiled at her. his smile was breathtaking.

it was then he opened his mouth, the intracning melody she had heard falling from his lips. he was what she had been following. she felt as though, in the song, in that melody, he was calling to her. begging her to come closer. she carfully inched closer. he did the same, swimming untill he was at the edge of the pool.

he rose out of the water more, revealing his chest and abdomen. he blinked up at her with that same curiosity, and reached out his hand. between his fingers there was webbing, like that of a fish. but yet, he was still so absolutely exquisite.

(y/n) inched forwards towards him again, reaching out her hand to his. he continued to sing, calling her to him. her fingers bearly brushed his, when suddenly,

“NOONA!” (y/n) snapped her head in the direction of Jisung’s voice. only a split second later did she hear a splash, and when she turned back, the young man was gone.

“(y/n)-noona! what are you doing with a siren?!”

“i had only heard of sirens being female?” inquired Mai. the small group had congregated at a small cliff over looking the sea.

“as had i.” stated the first mate, deep in thought.

“please, sirens don’t exist. they’re just some old wives tale.” said Lee, the other sailors nodding in agreement. Jisung clung to (y/n)’s side, fearful that if she wandered away, he would never see her again.

“we don’t know that he was a siren.” staited (y/n), but even Jisung could tell she was not convinced.

“then what was he? a human boy who grew webbed fingers? or maybe he was just a figment of your imagination.” argued one of the sailors. “honestly woman, you’re just selfish. even with the attention from the men on ship, you had to dream up some dream boy. can no one please you? you probably talked the kid into seeing the same hallucination too. he follows you like a puppy after all.”

(y/n) stood protectivaly infront of Jisung, glaring at the sailor. Mai was next to speek.

“either way there is a something fishy about this island.” the first mate nodded.

“i agree. we need to get out of here as soon as...” he stailed off, and they all knew why. just as the first mate was talking, they all heard the sounds of singing. slowly they all inched to look over the cliff’s edge, and they saw... sirens.

five female figures poked out from the waves. they each had lushus hair and exquisite features. they all harmonized, looking up at the humans on the cliff. one of them giggled adorably, and reached out her delicate hand. it was then (y/n) had had enough. she grabbed Jisung’s wrist and ran, leaving the others intranced. one of the salers had already jumped to his fate, and it seemed the others were not far behind.

(y/n) and Jisung ran though the jungle. they continued untill they couldn’t hear the sirens songs anymore, nor the sound of the sailor’s screams. they both stopped outside the cave Jisung had found (y/n) in earlier.

she looked over the boy to make sure he hadn’t hurt himself while they were running, when she heard... him. he was singing again, her siren. the sound sent chills down her spine.

“n-noona...?” spoke Jisung woriedly. (y/n) looked from the entrance to the cave, back to the young boy before her. this... this was madness, but it was their only chance.

“come on Jisung, we’ve got to go to him.” she said, pulling him towards the entrance to the cave.

“but he’ll kill and eat us!” protested Jisung in fear.

“then why did he warn me about the shipwreak? it was because of him i knew we were going to sink. if only that idiot of a first mate listened, we wouldn’t be on this island.” (y/n) countered. Jisung whimpered in fear, but followed her into the cave.

they wandered the cave, till they came to that same pool. her breath was taken away when she saw him again. he lay on his back, floating with his eyes closed, just singing. she could see his full torso now. just beneath his hip bones, his human looking body morphed. there instead of the rest of a man’s body, was a beautiful serpent like tail. it glisend iridescent in the moonlight.

he opened his eyes. he looked over to see her, and smiled. he swam over to the edge of the pool again, pulling himself up as far out of the water as he could. it was then he noticed, Jisung.

the boy cowered behind (y/n), cluching to her shirt for dear life. the man moved his head to look at the boy, making eye contact. Jisung tryed to square his shoulders, and look the creature in the eye. upon seeing his little desplay of fake confidence, the man smiled. he chuckled, and waved to Jisung. it was then, Jisung saw, that he was not to be feared. he had no intrest in harming them, he was simply... curious.

(y/n) cleared her thought. both males looked to her.

“we need your help.” she staited. the young man cocked his head to the side, blinking at her.

“...help...” he repeated, trying the word on his tongue. after a moment, he seemed to undertand it’s meaning. “help.” he repeated, looking at her this time with consern. she nodded. he looked down, seeming to be thinking for a moment. he then brightend up a bit. he held out his hand to (y/n), and his other one to Jisung. “help.” he repeated, beconing them to take his hand.

Jisung looked to (y/n). she smiled, and nodded at the younger boy. she then took the young man’s hand, and Jisung followed.

“if you don’t wake up soon little one, you’re going to be late.” Jisung opened his eyes to see (y/n). she smiled. “good morning!” she greated him. he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“good morning noona...” he mumbled. once every year, on the exact same night, Jisung had that dream. always so vivid and real, untill he awoke. he’d told his friends about it a few times, only to be met with laughter.

“haha, our little Jisung has such an imagination!” laughed Haechan, patting him on the back. there were only three who seemed to actually listen. Mark, who primaraly seemed conserned for Jisung. Taeyong, who had worked very hard to prove to (y/n) that Jisung would be safe with his group, and as such kept a carful eye on him and the other younger ones. and lastly, Johnny. Johnny, whom had actually asked (y/n) for her hand in marriage quite some time ago. (y/n) had been flattered, but politely turned him down, saying that she wasn’t the marrying type.

(y/n) was a well know marine biologist, and studied all kinds of sea life. she had taken up the job and tital after her and Jisung returned to the new world. they were the only survivers from the shipwreak, and clamed to be bother and sister, who’s parents had been killed. Jisung had joyed a group of other young men and boys who were revolutionaries. (y/n) supported their efforts when she could, but had to keep a low profile.

she was consitered quite odd by most of the towns folk. she hosted those young men often, as her brother was a member, and the fact that Johnny had proposed to her had leaked, so many found it odd she spent to much time with those young men, if she had no intrest in the older ones. however, (y/n) had found that Jisung had supressed the memories of what really happened on that island, and how they had really come to the new world. but perhaps that was for the better.

(y/n) had built a house, right on top of a salt water cave. she often when into the celler, as it was her work space. there was a dark pool, the only way into the cave was the celler, or to swim in from deep in the ocean. that, was how he visited her.

she had taught him how to speek, and he had taught her how to sing. the songs of the sea, the melodies of the moon, and the harmony of his heart. the first thing he told her when he learned how to speek, was,

“i love you.” and she retuned his affections. it was a pure kind of love, nomatter their species, or the foodchain, they still adored one another.

“Yugyeom?” she called his name, as she entered the cave. he quickly emerged from the water.

“hello (y/n)~” he sung, resting his head on his arms and looking up at her. she giggled, and ran her fingers though his wet hair. he hummed happily at the affection.

“my love, what are you doing here so early today?” she asked. he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

“i came to see you.” he replied inocently. she smiled down at him. he grabbed a hold of her hand, and pulled it into the water. “come swim with me?” it was the same thing he asked everyday, and everyday, she rufused him. she knew that as soon as he lead her into the depths, she would never return.

“not today, Yugyeom.” she shook her head. he fround.

“please? there are so many things i want to show you...” he begged, pulling her arm into the salt water, sinking so only his eyes poked out of the pool. she bit her lip.

“how will i breath Yugyeom? i’ll drown.” she tryed to reason. he floated up again, a small smirk playing on his lips.

“that’s what i’m for.” he replied cheekly. he pulled himself out of the water, till he was eye level with her. she blinked at how close he was, bearly a breath away.

he cupped her cheek with his damp hand, pulling face towards him and the water. she followed him, till most of his face was submerged just below the water level. he pulled her down, till their lips conected softly. it was a sweet kiss at first, but after a moment, she felt him begin leading her again. the kiss became needy and possesive as he lead her till her face was under the water.

he licked and bit at her lips begging her for entrence, but she refused, not wanting the salt water in her mouth. after quite a bit, (y/n) felt her lungs desire for air. she tryed to pull away from him, but he held her still. she pulled away again, but he just pulled her back harder. (y/n)’s body teeterd on the edge of the pool, trying to pull her upper body out of the water, but Yugyeom was much stronger then her.

with one powerfull push of his tail, (y/n) fell into the pool. her limbs flaled, lungers burning, and panic running though her mind. Yugyeom pulled her deeper into the water, still keeping them conected by the mouth. he continued to lick and nip at her lips, his arms holding her close to his chest. fear flooded (y/n). did he realize she was going to drown? she had to get back to the top and breath air.

her struggling grew weak, till all she could do was hold onto him. he felt her cluching onto his neck and sholders, and moved to brush him palms agest her cheeks. his kiss turned sweet again. (y/n) knew he would never kill her on purpose, so what had come over him? either way, she was going to drown. at least it would be in his arms, in his kiss.

her lungs burned. she knew it was over. she would open her mouth and the salt water would fill her lungs, and that’s be it.

finaly, she couldn’t stand it anymore. she gasped, parting her lips, but no water fulled her lungs. only air. her eyes flew open and she pulled away from him. he held her at arms lenths, smirking at her. goddamn was she thick. he pulled her back agenst him, tangling his tail around her legs, and nusling his face in her neck. she felt him hum happily.

she felt vibrtiouns in the water. he was speeking to her.

‘i told you, i’ll take care of you. always.’ he smiled at her again, before leading her into the depths.

notes: in case you’re not a dreamer, here’s a gif of this sweety with his lil bun fren (Jisung our lil cabin boy aka my smol soft son)

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dyde21 · 7 years

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Arcade

Hi! I shouldn’t have written this, I have actual work to be doing and Zelda to be playing. But I did. This is based off this answer from the amazing @schnee-dust-co and their answer HERE Basically their headcanons about JNPR in an arcade. I kinda couldn’t resist. If you enjoy this, give their post and blog some love as well. They seem pretty sweet and have pretty fun headcanons. Enjoy!

XxXxXxXxX

The hammering of Nora's fingers on the buttons was getting progressively angrier and angrier, causing the arcade owner to watch nervously from behind the gift counter. The old man usually enjoyed seeing the young students of Beacon go into his arcade. They brought plenty of Lien, and spare energy to burn. Nora however, he had learned to keep an eye on. She had a habit of being a little rough with the machines, but usually her partner Ren could keep her behaved. At the moment though, he seemed to be in a trance. They were side-by-side, dueling in Kingdom Fighter II Turbo. Nora's button mashes were quick, and a slew of inputs flooded the poor machine as it tried to keep up. Ren on the other hand, had hardly a wasted input. His character would perfectly respond to every move Nora made, beating her slowly but surely.

Their best-of-7 tournament was finally coming a close, 3 to 1 so far. With one final combo, Ren ensured his victory. Calmly Ren took his hands off the joystick, letting out a deep breath as the screen flashed victor. Nora on the other hand, stomped her foot angrily. She couldn't even accuse him of cheating, Ren would never cheat.

Unwilling to give up, she immediately dragged him over to her best chance of winning. Pinball. Random chance seemed to love Nora and she got pretty lucky in it. Putting in their change in side-by-side identical machines, the pair began.

Once again the arcade was filled with an unequal cacophonous roar of button mashing. One on hand, Nora seemed to think if she pressed the bumpers on the side fast enough, she might generate enough wind to push the ball more. Ren however, patiently waited and timed each press to send the ball exactly where he wanted it.

Nora's chaos was proving to be a fair match for his careful planning though. They were both down to their last ball, and Nora was in the lead by a solid 15,000. If Ren wasn't careful he would lose for the first time that day.

Never one to choke though, Ren focused properly. With some carefully timed bumpers, he activated triple ball. Nora's jaw drop as she saw Ren earn the bonus, his machine becoming a flurry of pin balls bouncing around as his score sailed past hers. She tried her best to stay in the game, but soon enough her machine read her final score. It was the second highest on the machine. Nora barely even flinched when she saw the number one spot read “REN”. Grudgingly she typed in her name for number two. “NOR”. It killed her every time she had to do that. Not because she once again lost to Ren, but because her name wouldn't fit! Why wouldn't it fit? Did all machines on Remnant have to only allow three characters? Was that party of the treat that ended the Great War?

Looking over, she saw Ren take the number one position on the machine, bumping her old top score to number two. The machines were new so they hadn't had a proper chance to lay claim on them, like the pair had every other machine in the building.

Ren and Nora had spent a lot of time stopping by arcades while growing up. They weren't able to afford much due to being orphans, but arcades were always a source of cheap entertainment, and most major cities had one. It was always a way to cheer up the pair as they wandered around. It had also been the birth of their rivalry in games and the legend of “REN and NOR” that every arcade seemed to have a record of.

Seriously. Why couldn't Nora fit? She had tried to come up with something cooler. ORA sounded like she was just yelling. NOA made her sound like a dude. NRA had it's own problems.

Vale's arcade had been quick to fall to Nora and Ren's conquest.

Jaune and Pyrrha had been skeptical when Nora and Ren insisted on bringing them to the arcade, but they were in awe when they saw the skills the pair possessed.

Soon though, Nora and Ren were the ones in awe. Their leader may have lacked in a few different fields; romantic insight, confidence, fighting experience. One thing he did not suffer from however, was a lack of dancing ability. This seemingly translated to Dance Dance Revolution.

Now Ren was practically divine when he played the game. It was always his favorite game, and he had most songs memorized. He made the steps look like a practical routine.

Jaune however, wasn't far behind. His movements were fluid, and practiced. He didn't make as many unnecessary flairs as Ren tended to, but his feet moved as fast as they needed to. Jaune had explained that his sisters all had enjoyed the game to some extent. They also enjoyed playing with their brother, which meant he would always have to run the gauntlet when he ended up at an arcade with his sisters. That lead him being very experienced in the game, and finding ways to conserve his stamina for the long haul.

Pyrrha happened to find her partner strangely attractive when she saw his focused face as his body moved gracefully through the fast techno song. His smile had set her heart fluttering, and she had struggled to find a proper excuse when he had asked her between rounds why her face was as red as his was from effort.

Speaking of Jaune and Pyrrha, they were currently off in the opposite side of the arcade.

Jaune had made the startling discovery that Pyrrha had never spent any proper time in an arcade. Upon reflection, it made sense. After all, training for tournaments her whole life, excelling in school, and being forced to keep herself “proper” meant that she couldn't afford to spend time in places like these. No, arcades had always remained a loud, noisy, yet inviting mystery she would pass by on the street.

Now however, she relished in the chance to go to one. The fact she was with her close friends only made her happier.

Her joy however didn't make up for the lack of understanding she had in them. Now Pyrrha was smart, but when it came to having a “game sense” she severely struggled.

They had started simple, ski ball. Not a difficult concept to understand. Jaune had explained it well. Just roll the little ball up the ramp, and try to get it into the cup with the faded numbers on it. He had demonstrated for her, earning a small sum of points.

Perhaps too eagerly, Pyrrha quickly paid for a round and tried it herself. Only, she found her ball had slammed into the back of the machine with a loud thud before it dropped and rolled into the bottom hole. Her face flushed as she glanced over at Jaune.

To his credit, he was trying to be considerate. He was biting his lip and looking away attempting to hold back his laughter. He knew she struggled at times with more “ordinary” tasks that her childhood had been devoid of so he certainly didn't want to tease her about it. But that didn't mean he didn't find it any less amusing, or adorable.

Never one to give up, Pyrrha quickly tried again. This time the ball failed to make it up the ramp before rolling back to her.

Glancing over, she saw Jaune hunched over, biting his fist as he waved a hand in apology as he snickered uncontrollably against his wishes.

Taking a deep breath, Pyrrha couldn't help but smile. She was having fun after all. The next try was solid though. She felt a rush of excitement as she saw the score slowly tick up. Glancing at Jaune like a child, she only saw his approving and friendly gaze.

Soon they were off to the races. Jaune won through sheer experience, but Pyrrha was starting to get a hang of it and her normal skills were starting to kick in.

Attempting to avoid falling behind, Jaune suggested a new game. However, as Pyrrha was walking off, he stopped her before pointing down. Her eyes widened as she saw tickets piling out of her machine. She just stared at them, before eagerly pooling them up neatly. She held them close as she looked at him with a beaming expression. She looked like a child on Christmas.

Jaune just gave her his lopsided grin, quickly stuffing his slightly larger stack of tickets into his hoodie. She didn't need to be aware of the difference in their earnings at the moment, not that she was one to compare her good fortune with others jealously.

They had tried a flurry of games next. They tried the whirlwind, where you press the button to stop the light rotating around a circle, attempting to land on a high-score. Pyrrha claimed that the interval was consistent and that it wasn't fair. Jaune hadn't fared much better, so he couldn't exactly argue.

They tried a racing game, which they both came in the two last positions because they were too busy laughing to finish playing. Apparently, neither Jaune nor Pyrrha should ever step behind a wheel. They were a hazard to all living creatures, buildings, and trees within a mile radius of them.

Air-hockey had been perhaps a little too intense for their casual outing.

Jaune's years of experience was soon matched up against Pyrrha's impressive hand eye coordination. Luckily the pucks were plastic to keep the field even. But their hands were a blur as the puck rocketed back and forth across the table, the score stopping at 2/2 as neither one was letting anything past their guard. However, Nora suddenly slamming her hands on the nearby air hockey table when she had lost cause Jaune to jump, letting Pyrrha score.

Their battle resumed, until another outburst a little later about “IS FOUR LETTERS REALLY SO DIFFICULT?” distracted Pyrrha who let her guard down as Jaune scored.

The final point went on for minutes as the puck ricochet like crazy. Perhaps a little too crazy.

A slightly too enthusiastic hit from Pyrrha send it flying off the table. Ren happened to be walking by, and his hand shot out like a snake, catching it as he tossed it back to them.

Pyrrha raised a hand awkwardly. “I'm sorry!”

Ren just smiled. “It happens more than you think. Do not worry.”

Jaune ended up winning that round, Pyrrha feeling too embarrassed to properly focus.

One game Jaune couldn't hold a candle to her though was a shooting game. Luckily it was cooperative, so they wont together but clearly Pyrrha's experience with her rifle transferred perfectly. Jaune's experience couldn't keep up.

They bounced around to various dexterity-based challenge games. Pyrrha was slowly getting the hang of how to work with these games with their unique lag and slight deviations from typical actions.

Jaune had never seen her laugh so much and he hoped he could see it more.

As the day was winding down, Pyrrha paused as they passed a machine. It was a claw machine.

She was staring at a particular plush in it.

“Try it.” Jaune offered.

Pyrrha's eyes widened. “How does this work?” She asked, not quite understanding how the strange buttons pointing up and right worked.

Jaune just smiled, still finding her innocence adorable.

“Okay. See you put some coins in here, and you get once chance. You hold the button to go right, when you let it go it stops and you can't press it again. Then you hold up until it's over the toy you want. You can't press it again once you let go though. Then the claw comes down and tries to grab a toy.” He explained.

Pyrrha stared at the machine with a new level of determination. She would have that plush. She would spend all her savings if needed.

Her first attempt hadn't gone so well. She had let go too early, failing to judge the distance back properly. Her second attempt had gone better, but it barely reached a foot. Her third attempt couldn't get a good grip. Her fourth one slipped out after it reached the top. Similar stories happened the following 6 times as well. Pyrrha rested her head against the glass with a defeated sigh.

“Maybe you should try for something else.”

“No.” Pyrrha said in a steely voice as she stared at her nemesis. Putting in one last try she aimed it perfectly. As it was raising up, she saw it start to slip.

Jaune had almost missed it, but he saw a faint black glow around the claw machine as the grip closed tighter.

“Pyrrha!” He accused.

Pyrrha's eyes widened, having used her semblance completely unthinkingly. The glow faded and as the claw swung back to normal grip the toy slipped and dropped down.

Pyrrha just sighed, pouting. She turned to Jaune, her lower lip quivering slightly. It was obvious to anyone just how disappointed Pyrrha was.

Jaune felt his heart break at seeing her.

“Scoot over.” He offered.

Pyrrha stared at him. “Can you...”

Jaune nodded. “I can.”

Pyrrha stared at him intently. “Jaune Arc, if you get it, I will give you a back massage when we get back.” Jaune's eyes widened. Both team JNPR and RWBY had found out Pyrrha could give amazing back massages early on. After a little while of both teams getting too greedy with requesting one from their friend who could never saw no, she had to stop offering them to her friends aside from special circumstances. She loved helping her friends, but it took quite a bit of time and the bribes were starting to get out of hand. That said, Jaune could usually find a way to get her to agree. But if she was offering one, there was no force in Vale that could stop him.

Pyrrha saw that same laser focus from Dance Dance Revolution in his eyes again. He positioned it perfectly as it grabbed it.

Pyrrha held her breath as she saw it start to slip. However, Jaune had grabbed it carefully so when it slipped, it's over-sized head was caught and it moved over the hole and dropped down.

Jaune grabbed it, holding it out to her with a warm smile. “You don't need to give me anything in return.”

Pyrrha slammed into him, throwing her arms around him tightly. “You're the coolest leader ever! I made a promise, I'll give you one later tonight.” She said with a smirk.

Secretly, part of Pyrrha enjoyed seeing the wonderful mood Jaune was in after her massage, and the fact he subconsciously would hang around her more often after wards

She crushed the plush her to her chest, already treasuring it. It was a little classic knight with a sword and shield. Felt blonde hair stuck out from underneath it's helmet as it stared ahead with a blue-eyed smile. Her little knight, won for her by her real knight.

Across the arcade Nora and Ren had reached a fever-pitch in their battle.

They were back at the Kingdom Fighter II Turbo. This time it was 3 to 3. As they battled, they were both down to one round left. Ren hesitated for just a moment. He knew if he won, it would never end. Nora wouldn't give up. Before he could decide if he wanted to throw the match, Nora had seized the opportunity and finished off Ren's character.

Victory flash for Nora and she let out a massive cheer that dwarfed the sound of the arcade.

Ren just clapped. “Well done.”

Nora grinned, booping his nose.

Walking over, they saw Pyrrha hugging a knight close to her chest.

“Did you buy that with your tickets?” Ren asked with a slight yawn.

“You buy things with your tickets? They aren't trophies?” Pyrrha asked, tilting her head.

Nora, Ren, and Jaune all face palmed. Moving behind Pyrrha and pushing her, Nora spoke. “Over to the counter now, Missy!” She ordered.

Pyrrha jumped, before marching over to the counter. She saw all the options littering the wall.

The old man quickly counted her tickets, giving her a stub.

Pyrrha looked at the options, unsure of what to buy. A lot of it was junk or children toys.

Nora had bought a massive load of candy, and Ren had given his to a little child who was struggling with the machines. Jaune had purchased a figuring set from X-Ray and Vav.

Pyrrha couldn't decide what she wanted until she looked over at Jaune. Realizing she wanted to give him a gift for showing her around the place, she studied the wall carefully. He had already gotten the figurines. After a moment, she had an idea. She wasn't sure how much he'd enjoy it though.

Leaning over the counter, she explained what she wanted to the old man. He nodded, reaching up to grab it and hand it to her.

Jaune smiled, leading them out of the place. “Ready? We should get back.” He offered.

Ren and Nora headed out while Pyrrha stood nervously in place.

“Pyrrha?”

Working up her courage she moved her hand from behind her back, offering the plush to Jaune.

Jaune stared at it in surprise.

It was a plush of a female huntress, that had a sword and shield as well. It sported a long red pony tail and a green-eyed smile. It seemed to be from the same brand as the knight he had won her earlier.

“I know it's not much, but I wanted to get you something. I thought if I had a knight to keep me safe, you should have one too.” She said sheepishly. “Sorry I mi-”

She was cut off as she felt it taken from her hand.

Jaune held it close to his chest, beaming. “I love it Pyrrha!” It was true. The fact she spent her first hard-earned tickets on a gift for him made him swell with happiness. Plus, it looked just like his partner. It was perfect.

He gave her a quick hug, before he raised his hands. After some careful work, he had moved it to his hood so it was rest in his hood, leaning over his shoulder like it was riding on it.

Pyrrha just giggled, before clutching her knight close.

Feeling thankful for the best day in a long time, the pair ran to catch up with Ren and Nora. They would have to bring RWBY next time.

XxXxXxXxX

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this! Please do give the source of this idea some love. This wouldn’t have happened without them.

#rwby #arkos #Renora #team jnpr #pyrrha nikos #Jaune Arc #nora valkyrie #lie ren #I'm so bad at writing Nora and Ren #Their characters just elude me #That's why they dont get much love in my story #I love those two a lot #just trying to write them is a challenge for me #so they dont get many lines

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