I reread your canon-divergence story for Expired where Charlie and Alastor get summoned and I was thinking about how different it would be if it happened in double entry. With Alastor in heaven, he could be the one to calm down Lucifer.
Honestly, I daydreamed a whole mother-verse idea Alastor and Lucifer come down together because Lilith got summoned with Charlie, and Alastor looks at them and is like "Darlings, that circle prevents demons from leaving or entering. You, Charlie, were born to an angel and a human, and Lilith, you literally never died. Neither of you are demons. You can step right out of that circle."
And this Angel Alastor has spent like 10,000 years being bored in Heaven so while he DOES prevent Lucifer and Michael from slaughtering a guy on live TV, he would be like "punish him in a way that feels like a nightmare to him, but for outsiders watching, looks like entertainment. Give the kids at home a show!"
And Lucifer, dressed as a literal circus ringmaster, is like "OH I know EXACTLY what to do!" And just reality bends everything so that they're now in a circus tent, the cultists are dressed up like circus performers, their masks are gone, and the hostages are sitting down in nice seats watching the show as Lucifer begins announcing the performance. Gabriel getting behind the cameras like oh I gotta make this a cinematic masterpiece, this looks like it's gonna be FUN.
Lucifer picks up head cultist Vox by the ankle and flies up into the sky, and is like "Alright folks, for our opening act! Watch, as I guide my not-so-lovely and unwilling volunteer, blindfolded through three dangerous trials! First, the path of snakes! Presenting a path teeming with some of the most venomous animals known to the living, such as the Black Mamba, the Boomslang, the King Viper, and more!"
"Second, the den of jaguars! Now, I know lions are a classic, folks, but do keep in mind that jaguars have the strongest bite force of any wild cat on earth! Not only that, unlike lions, they're solitary and independent hunters— I imagine they're not too thrilled to be stuck together in the same cage! All my volunteer needs to do is walk in, feed each individual jaguar, and walk out!"
"And lastly, our final trial is simple! I'm sure you've all hear of this one before— the tightrope! Forty feet high, no safety net, and blindfolded, my volunteer will need to hold a pole with two filled water buckets on either end, and walk from one end of the rope to the other without spilling! Here's hoping he can keep his balance!"
My daydream ended with Vox falling on the third trial, and when he hit the ground, the ground transformed into basically a bounce house floor and he just sort of bounced a couple times while screaming his head off. Confetti popping into the air the second he met the ground.
I was just enamored with the idea of Lucifer punishing these murderous cultists on live television for the world to see (in a child-friendly way because the first man asked him to,) and it's just a genuinely fun and exciting circus performance for the people watching, while being a genuine psychological nightmare for the cultists.
I love this. This is absolutely what would happen, Alastor and Lilith and Charlie and Emily and Sera and Adam and Cain and Abel and Eve (yeah, Cain is in heaven in motherverse and so is Eve because that's the good timeline okay I don't make the rules Alastor saved them all from themselves) and Michael and the other Seraphim bar Gabriel who is broadcasting the whole thing and also the Exorcists who have never been to a circus before and they are eating popcorn and peanuts and drinking sodas and so is Jonah cause Alastor found them and got there in time to save him because no dead kids in my fics and they're having a great time.
The cultists are not having a great time but nobody cares about them.
Lucifer swings between being the ringmaster torturing Vox and the cultists and being the magician with the sexy assistant (Lilith) who calls for an audience member (Alastor) and they flirt wildly with him as they cut Vox in half, and then they go back to the circus acts. Alastor and Emily and Charlie get to pet the jaguars, and with Alastor there they are able to have Jonah pet them too.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 6/?
Fandom: Naruto (Anime & Manga), Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Nara Shikako (Dreaming of Sunshine) & Nara Shikamaru, Nara Shikako (Dreaming of Sunshine) & Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura & Nara Shikako (Dreaming of Sunshine) & Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikako (Dreaming of Sunshine) & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi & Nara Shikako (Dreaming of Sunshine), Nara Shikako (Dreaming of Sunshine) & Uzumaki Naruto
Characters: Nara Shikako (Dreaming of Sunshine), Nara Shikamaru, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikaku, Nara Yoshino, Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama, Hatake Kakashi, Gaara (Naruto), Temari (Naruto), Haku (Naruto), ANBU Bat, ANBU Hawk, Sanbi | Three-tails | Isobu, Tsunade (Naruto), Jiraiya (Naruto)
Additional Tags: Growing Up Together, Team as Family, Protective Siblings, Wartime, Fluff and Angst, Complicated Relationships, Action/Adventure, Some worldbuilding, Original Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Some Humor, Chakra Theory (Naruto), Shinobi Politics (Naruto), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Loyalty Tested, still choosing each other, Nara Clan Lore (Naruto), Canon-Typical Violence, Non-Linear Narrative, Shinobi Slice of Life (Naruto), Banter, Family Dynamics, POV Multiple, Nara Clan (Naruto), Canon Divergence - Dreaming of Sunshine, Summons (Naruto)
Summary:
Shikako's lab is a secret. Her ANBU missions are a secret. The explosives she's synthesizing are definitely a secret.
But the war isn't. And Team 7 is running out of time to become strong enough to survive it.
-----------------------------------------------
Alone, each of them has the potential to reach S-rank by sixteen. Together, they might have the strength to upend the world—if it doesn’t break them first.
Me, seeing one of the fanfics-of-fanfics-of-Naruto-Fanfic in one of my "Naruto - Trolling" ao3 searches: fine, i'll bite
Me, four days later after binging all 150+ chapters and then 35 pages of the heliocentrism collection and planning to reread all 150+ chapters again: ...welp. Kakashi was right. Praise be to the great goddess Shikabane-hime i guess. god damn. (special thanks to JohnBurtonLee who enticed me into this with Shikabane-hime, the Kakashi remix)
Lol, congratulations on joining the team. Trolling is definitely a theme of many of these recursives.
~Silver Queen
(one of us, one of us, one of us, one of us - jacksgreyson)
Hello so earlier I had a Thought which haunted me regarding @nartothelar’s Reverse Mafia AU so I banged this out in...however long it’s been since I was reblogging a bunch of Reverse Mafia stuff XD
*
Shouta cracked his neck and tried not to sigh. It had been a long day. But not as long as any day from before he’d hired Hizashi. His eyes slid over to his secretary.
“What’s next?”
“Mm.” Hizashi consulted his clipboard. “‘Vault, question mark’?” He read.
Shouta scowled. “Pain in my ass,” he muttered. He nodded and turned to set off for his office.
“Now is this a literal vault I never noticed?”
Shouta shook his head. “That trophy case in the office.”
“That collection’s pretty eclectic. I thought you were just eccentric,” Hizashi teased.
Shouta scoffed. “I haven’t added to it since I took over. The previous head contributed a fair bit.”
“So why’s it on the schedule?”
“Have to make sure no one’s been desperate enough to try something stupid. Some of it’s junk, but some of it’s not.” He finished delicately, his eyes sliding over to him.
He hummed. “That necklace on the second shelf...glass, or...?”
“No, pearls.” Shouta looked over at Hizashi, a half-step behind him but keeping pace. He spared a thought to be impressed, given both his height and his heels. An idea began to percolate at the back of his brain. He frowned - he wasn’t sure it was a good idea. His eyes returned to their path. “There are two on the top shelf that are fake, though.”
Hizashi hummed and they fell into silence as they made it to the car. Hizashi slid in after him, making quiet notes on his clipboard.
“I like what you’ve done with your hair today.” He turned to look out the window, forcing his cheeks to stay cool. He felt Hizashi smile at the back of his head, though.
“Thank you! Felt like shaking things up. It hasn’t come loose at all, has it?” Shouta looked back to find Hizashi angling his head so he could see the back.
“Doesn’t look it.” He reached forward carefully, feeling for the color-matched bobby pins at the base of his bun. He gently pushed the ones that he found further into place. “Good?”
“Thanks, Shouta!” His smile was blinding. Shouta quickly looked back out the window. He ignored Hizashi’s quiet chuckle and pulled out his phone to scroll through the Bakery’s instagram feed of cute strays. Before long, they were back at the base. Hizashi fell into step just behind him again. They’d barely got in the front hall before Cannoli got underfoot. Shouta nearly tripped over him, and he flopped to the ground and stared up at him, betrayed. Shouta rolled his eyes fondly.
“Maybe he should’ve been Mr. Podstava.”
“How many languages do you even speak?”
“A fair few.” Hizashi’s eyes sparkled, but he didn’t elaborate further. Shouta hoisted Cannoli into his arms and they continued to the office.
“You might want to grab a chair, this’ll probably be a second.” Shouta dug around in his desk drawer for the paperwork for the Vault. In a fairly simple code, it listed all the quirks in each object. Scratches that would be difficult to reproduce or easily forgotten, descriptions of chipped sections, assertions that some objects were in perfect condition. Hizashi had grabbed his own desk chair from the anteroom instead of having the cheek to try and take Shouta’s, which he’d half-expected. He didn’t sit just yet, though, pulling up to Shouta’s side and looking at the assorted items in the case.
“Trophies, hm? Seems risky. Good way to get killed back.”
“I agree. Like I said, the previous head was the last to add to it,” he remarked, pulling out their oldest item and getting to work. “I think whoever grabbed that one did get shot for their trouble,” he said absently. Hizashi seemed pensive. Shouta left him to it. He did eventually roll his chair closer and sit. Cannoli took advantage of the prime real estate of his lap. The idea that had started percolating earlier brewed stronger. It was a dumb idea, though. Everything between them so far had been so...careful? To give him something from the Vault screamed commitment, at least, if not proposal, and he wasn’t quite there yet, he didn’t think. But down on the bottom shelf, tucked away in a box, was something that would be just perfect for Hizashi. They’d match his eyes so nicely.
He tried to put it out of his mind, but that only worked until he actually reached said box. It was always tossed haphazardly into the case. His father had never liked the tangible reminder of his disobedience, but he’d been dedicated to the trophy system. Shotua had, unfortunately, picked up the less-than-delicate handling watching his father do this inventory. At least it was a good box and there had never been any apparent damage to the earrings inside, especially since they seemed to be genuine rubies. The nagging idea of giving the jewelry to Hizashi made him pull it out more carefully than usual. He opened the box to begin his examination and swore he could feel Hizashi frown. He looked up to see him craning his neck.
“That’s a nice red.”
“They’re rubies, apparently.”
Hizashi’s frown deepened. The changing energy made Cannoli restless, and he hopped to the floor and made for his bed under Shouta’s desk.
“Ruby earrings.”
“I think it was the only time Dad ever regretted the trophy system,” Shouta admitted, unsure of why. Hizashi’s tone seemed flat. He didn’t like it. “He didn’t really like looking at my left hand, either.”
“So that -” Hizashi seemed to lose his voice. It was so unlike him that Shouta frowned and closed the box to give him his full attention. That didn’t seem to make things any better. Hizashi seemed more tense, if anything. “Those. Those are -” Again, he lost his words.
“Hizashi?” That earned him a stare. He couldn’t read Hizashi’s expression. He stood up. He reached for his left hand with an odd gentleness. Shouta let it happen, his cheeks heating as Hizashi cradled his hand between his own. Abruptly, though, Hizashi dropped his hand and put several steps between them. He pulled out his phone. Maybe Shouta should’ve been worried, after finally showing him the Vault, after his reaction to the earrings, that Hizashi was a spy only here to get to the Vault in the first place. He might be worried. It felt like there was a sea of emotion passing over him. He didn’t bother to identify anything yet, just waiting and watching and hoping he was wrong that the best thing in his life might not have been real.
“Mom.” Hizashi’s voice was tight, and his free hand was clenched around his elbow, his knuckles white. “When you said you didn’t know who -” Hizashi swallowed. “That was a lie, wasn’t it?”
For a moment, there was silence on the other end of the line. Then his mother replied, but Shouta couldn’t make it out. Hizashi’s face grew stormy.
“It’s a yes or no question.”
Another hesitation, and Shouta caught the sibilant in the word. He suspected he should know what was going on. His pinky prickled with phantom pain and he ignored the urge to rub at it.
“Okay. Another yes or no question. Was it -” Hizashi hesitated, his eyes flickering to Shouta. His face did something complicated. “Was it the Aizawas?”
She replied with a question of her own. It was Hizashi’s turn to hesitate, and he released his free hand only to bury his face into it.
“They have - I never thought I’d see Dad’s pair again.” The bottom fell out of Shouta’s stomach.
Sequel fic to “The Witch and the Green Knight” (on Ao3)
Warnings: undeserved redemption arc, graphic imagery and bad behavior. And once again, violence against an apparent minor. There’s a line to slap him, don’t be surprised.
Chapter 1: In which Rowan has Unexpected House Guests
Chapter 2: In Which They Try to Figure Out What the Hell is Going On
Chapter 3: In Which Remus and Rowan’s Stupidity Escalates to Treason (sort of)
Chapter 4: In Which Life is Difficult
Chapter 5: In Which Remus has an Argument with A Cat and Rowan makes some Charms
Chapter 6: In Which Love is Bullshit.
>-<>-< ——————-<>——————- >-<>-<
Chapter 7: in which Commitment and Love are Put to the Test
>-<>-< ——————-<>——————- >-<>-<
It was properly summer now and Rowan was glad for it. The smell of hot grass, the long sunlit days, the profusion of plants everywhere. All of it made her feel content even as her guest grumbled about the heat in the attic loft and moved to spend his days in the library room instead.
Remus was gone as often as he was there, working on his house to make it nice enough for DN. Personally Rowan doubted the little fae would ever be content in a wild fae's home, no matter how luxurious he made it.
Remus had visited for a few days, snatching raw meat from the barbecue tray, teasing Rowan's sister much more gently than he did Rowan and soaking in attention. He had to go back, he'd made a deal with a fae craftsman and needed to pick up something.
“Here.” Rowan held out a music box and headphones. “I made you a couple of mixes so you can listen to them instead of your own head. It helps me sometimes.”
Remus hooked his arm around her and squished her.
“Aw, you like me.”
“Whatever gives you that impression. Must be all the affection.” her eyes rolled but she smiled, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You'll need to come back and charge it every few days."
"Oooooh music treat and reminder of the passage of time, you're a wicked one."
“Do you not want to borrow the camera?” she asked wiggling the small blue box in her other hand. “I thought you wanted to show me your house.”
“Ooh ohh gimmie!” he made grabby hands at it. “It’s looking so good! The moss is in all the right places and the wood’s all polished on the inside.”
"It sounds nice." She admitted. I can't wait to see."
"Sometime I'll bring you to see it.” He said in a way that sounded like a promise, fiddling with the camera. “I should get a phone.”
“That’ll be fun.” Rowan snorted, picturing him walking into the wireless store. "Would it even work?"
"Oh yeah, probably. The spider and honey and cream use theirs underhill after all. Think no-thank-you daddy long legs is playing antenna."
Rowan considered that.
"Well, it is just waves of energy, and magic can be described that way."
"Neat." Reaching out he fluffed her bangs, and grinned at Danger Noodle who was catching a breeze with a glass of lemonade on the porch and certainly wasn't there to see Remus off. He had, after all, made it clear he didn't care either way. “Should I bring you anything?”
“Properly made food would be good.” he said, sounding bored. “I’d ask for a change of clothes but I don’t trust your fashion choices.”
“Just wait and see!” Remus said brightly, and bounded off into the woods like a hyperactive deer.
“... I’m glad to see him happy.” Rowan commented.
“Hmf.”
“He was very sad when I met him.” she continued. “Not that it was easy to tell of course. On account of the batshit crazy.”
“He was like that when I met him.”
“I’m sure.”
(Rowan’s Break up List for Passive Aggressive Witches)
Three days later, Remus reappeared, singing ‘New Rules’ by Dua Lipa and carrying a bundle and a basket. He handed over both the camera and mp3 player to Rowan, kissed her mother on the cheek while getting a cookie, and moved into the library where Danger Noodle was reading in a window seat. He looked up as Remus entered.
“Well that wasn’t any faster than usual.”
“Would have been back yesterday, but I was getting something.” Remus said, plopping down on the floor next to the window seat. Rowan had followed him in, apparently she had also been reading, in an armchair instead, if the glass of sweet tea he brought in and the book she picked up were any clues.
Remus handed the basket to D.N. Inside he found a veritable picnic of fairy food that could be eaten cold, and kept fairly well. Danger Noodle had mainly been joking, while the preparation was different, and some things were procured by magic, food was food. Though he could be absolutely sure that these hadn’t been touched by steel, let alone iron. He put a tiny meat pie in his mouth and let it dissolve a bit rather than chewing, savoring the flavors.
“Also this.” He opened the bundle and produced some fabric, a jacket, a pair of pants, some fine stockings and gloves. They looked a little bit too big for D.N. “I remembered what you said, but these looked like things you’d worn before, so I thought it might be okay?”
“Not exactly suitable for my current situation.” He sniffed, looking at the soft embossed leather of the coat over. Despite that, he looked slightly pleased. “You really go out of the way to find things I’ve asked for.”
“Yep!” Remus grinned, looking happy. “I want you to be as happy as possible.”
“Anything I ask?”
“Pretty much.” He was pulling more clothing out of the bundle, grinning to himself.
“And what if I asked you to kill her?”
The smile disappeared as Remus’s eyes went wide and his head came up like he’d been physically struck.
“Please don’t ask me that.”
“I need to know.”
“Please.” his voice was a thin whine.
“It’s okay.” Rowan said quietly, calling attention to herself. “Take my body somewhere it won’t be found.”
“What?”
“He needs to know you love him more than me. So.” She opened her arms, as if inviting a blow or a hug. “Painless would be good too.”
Remus looked back at D.N. who sighed theatrically.
“I’m not actually asking.” he said “She’s right, annoyingly. Also annoyingly more useful alive.”
“Careful.” She picked her book up again. “Someone might think you’re starting to like me.”
“I don’t think that’s terribly likely.”
Remus stood up, suddenly enough that they both turned to stare at him.
“I’m going.” he said, and headed out the back door. “I’ll be back.” the door slammed.
“I think you upset him.” Rowan said quietly.
“Oh, and your reaction had nothing to do with it.” he curled his lip. “Would you really have let him kill you?”
“What about our interactions makes you think that I value my life?” Rowan retorted.
“You aren’t dead yet. It’s not something I’d recommended, personally.”
“Well the people I piss off generally can’t curse me.”
“You’re not too old to change.”
“Again, with your odd brand of compliments.” she snorted and took a sip of her tea. “I could wish you hadn’t chased him away when he just got back.”
“He’ll be fine. Thinking big thoughts takes him time.” He began sorting through the clothes in the bundle.
“Giving him a philosophical dilemma about his emotions is just unkind.”
“So am I.” He held up a shirt in dove gray and frowned at it. “Do be quiet if you’re going to be in the same room with me. I’m not Remus, I don’t like your peculiar brand of humor and your key-dead voice.”
Rowan huffed and picked up her book and glass.
“Fine. I’m going to keep watch for him, in case he needs a hug when he gets back.”
“You do that.”
“And who knows. Maybe he’ll realize he deserves better.”
“He hasn’t in a hundred years.”
Rowan glanced back at him, not quite sure what he meant, not wanting to know what he meant.
(illustration, Danger Noodle and New Clothes)
The rest of the afternoon was fairly quiet, and the moon was just rising when Remus let himself back in. The rest of Rowan’s family had gone off to see a movie, and Rowan had stayed behind because she was waiting for Remus, and not really interested in the movie. Remus looked like he’d been in a fight, and the winner was uncertain. His knuckle were bloodied and there were sticks and bits of leaves in his hair. Danger Noodle had taken over the table in the library- possibly his favorite room because once the fire tools had been moved out, there was no cast iron in it- and was prodding at the clothing, muttering to himself and drinking something that was the color of moonstone that had been in the basket. He looked up as Remus entered. The green knight shifted on his feet.
“I’ve decided.” Remus said slowly. “That the answer would be no.”
“What?”
“I love you.” he said it simply, like an absolute truth. “And I always will. I will protect you. But I am not going to help you hurt me anymore.” this Remus said like it hurt. D.N. just looked confused, but Rowan immediately hugged Remus, flinging her arms around his neck and pressing their cheeks together.
“Don’t get too excited, little tree.” Remus mumbled, even as he supported her weight “It’s true now, but who knows how long it will be.”
“I’m still so proud of you.” she retorted. “That had to have been hard to decide.” She kept holding onto him, so she wouldn't have to look at the baffled, terrified expression that haunted the edges of D.N.’s eyes. It was so much easier just to think of him as a one note villain.
Even if she held onto the hope he could change, if only for Remus’s sake.
It’s been a bit of hard time since I last wrote. Finals and life have been kicking my behind, thankfully I survived them but with Headaches and Migraines galore. Today friend found out that I worked my way up to a fever, fun. I’m laying on him as I type this, friends make thebest pillows; he says ’Hi’ btw.
So yeah, here’s a little self-indulgent thingy.🐙
Tw: headache, sleep deprivation
Wc: 1,730
—–
Why me?
Virgil groans internally, placing a hand to his head for a moment. He grits his teeth and pushes forward through the water, he had somewhere to be after all.
Still, his head was pounding, to the point where he could literally feel the pain pulsing at the bridge of his nose and at the back of his eyes.
He sways slightly as he swims, a little too preoccupied with staying on course to fully commit to a faster streamlined form.
While the meet ups didn’t have a set time, he knew the humans would be around rather early and by that logic, he was already late and wasting time.
Honestly, for once, he didn’t want to go.
Nothing against his humans, not at all. It was just that, at this very moment, the ever present throbbing made him feel like crying.
It hurt to blink.
Of course he still would go, there was no way he could disappoint others by not showing up. That and he worried that if he didn’t show, they wouldn’t come back and he’d be left alone again. No matter how much his head hurt, that, would hurt far worse.
So on he continued.
He didn’t know when exactly the headache started, all he knew was that it had gotten progressively worse. It had started yesterday…or maybe the day before? It didn’t matter, the pain kept him from the one thing he knew that could relieve it, sleep.
He hadn’t been able to even doze for ten minutes without pain pulsing through his temples and his ears ringing.
To make matters worse, that Orca kept going out of her way to annoy him despite the fact that they were in the open ocean. Her shrill squeaks and whistles did nothing for his aching head. It got to the point where he literally couldn’t keep lunging at her because the pain was starting to make him nauseous.
As angry at he was at the entire situation, he knew chasing after her would exhaust him far more than he was up to; a headache on top of that was not something he was willing to deal with.
Unfortunately, retreating didn’t do him much good considering that he was tired, sleepless and the headache was still very much present.
Virgil rose to the surface and frowned.
The beach was now in view and all three of the humans were already there and waiting.
—-
“There you are! We were beginning to think you wouldn’t show!”
The merman winced, face flushing slightly at the mock scolding. Roman’s voice was a little too loud.
The day continued as their meet ups normally would.
Patton and Roman fought over who had the rights to the playlist for the week.
Logan had found an article of interest and was trying to ask the resident Marine Creature what he thought or experienced based on the given information.
Said mer however, tensed up and winced at near every sound produced by the humans.
Virgil closed his eyes, barley biting back a groan of pain. He really shouldn’t have come.
“Virgil? Are you alright?”
—-
Everyone paused at Logan’s question.
Patton and Roman gasped as they actually took a good look at their large aquatic friend.
Virgil kept his teeth grit and his eyes closed. In too much pain to bother hiding it. Logan’s voice was still echoing through his ringing ears. "You can go home if you’re not feeling too well, y'know-“
“It’s fine…I’m fine-”, grumbled Virgil, only to wince right after; the vibrations of his own voice practically rattled through his teeth.
“Sure you are”, deadpans Roman as he crosses his arms, “tell you what big guy, we all know something’s up and if you don’t want to leave then-”
Virgil didn’t get to hear the rest of that sentence before he tensed in panic. All sound was drowned out by the rapid beating of his heart…were they going to make him leave? What if they didn’t wanthim to come back?
Was it because he was late?
What if they didn’t want to meet up with him again?
What if-
“Oh that’s a perfect idea!” Exclaims Patton gleefully. The tiny human was loud enough to shock the mer out of his stupor…well almost.
Still, the biggest smile was on the Barista’s face when he turned to face the giant. “Virge! Virge! Lay down and stay put, I’ll be right back!” With that Patton’s running up the beach.
Virgil blinks, belatedly realizing that he had in fact moved and laid down when Patton had told him to. He hadn’t registered that at all-
“So V, are you ready?”
The mer locks on to Roman, who was smiling all giddily, the human looked like he was ready to follow right after the other.
“Pat gives the best face massages! You're going to love it, trust me” he grins.
“I can attest to that as well, it’s excellent for reliving stress and it makes headaches a bit more bearable,” pipes Logan with a knowing look. The Pharmacist gently pats the giant’s arm. “Let us help? Even if just a little?”
Virgil’s cheeks flushed a nice red.
“F-fine”, he mumbled.
Roman bit his tongue to stifle his giggles, he decided not to tease the poor mer today, not yet at least.
—-
Patton came back with a bottle of lotion.
Virgil was hesitant at first, many human products had a smell he did not like but Patton held up the lotion so he could smell it first.
It smelt like the sea, but a bit off…ok a lot off but it wasn’t too bad, he could stand this, unlike that nail polish thing.
Logan was skeptical about placing it on his skin, in fear of a negative reaction. So they settled with placing a bit on his arm to test it. The lotion was cool on his skin, if a bit sticky.
Seeing as it wasn’t doing much in way of absorbing into the thick skin, the Pharmacist thought it best to simply negate the lotion completely.
—-
Virgil had to admit…this was nice.
He exhales slowly, his eyes drooped low, only barley stifling a yawn.
At first he had been skeptical.
Unsure how what ever a ‘massage’ was would help his headache but he honestly couldn’t deny Patton; and with the other two also eager to help, he really couldn’t say no.
Still, right now he was very glad he accepted the “help”.
It was weird initially, what with Patton pressing up the skin on his cheek, but then he pressed down and started rubbing in slow deep circles. The motion was calming, it gave him a feeling similar to the neck scratches but different. Roman was at his other cheek doing the same thing. Because neither Patton or Roman could see each other, likely because of his nose, they weren’t pushing up and down at the same time. The alternating motions caused him to shudder, sending an odd but pleasant tingling feeling all the way up to the back of his neck to the tip of his tail.
He sunk further into the touch.
Currently, Logan was on top of his hair doing similar motions as the others. Laying and leaning down- the mer is certain that the human has a piece of his hair tied around his waist to keep him from falling- Logan presses and rubs at his temples.
Virgil groans in relief, though it comes out as more of a low exhaled rumble instead. Whatever Logan was doing was working. Somehow the human had gotten rid of the pressure on the bridge of his nose, causing the pulsing in his ears and eyes to gradually become muted.
His head still hurt but having all three of his humans helping him lessened that. Each pull; push; rub and press sent him further and further…
Roman was humming something, he’s never heard the song before but…It’s nice…soothing…
Patton gently pulls his eyelid closed.
Shh-ing him with a giggle and gentle mirth.
Slightly startled, the giant couldn’t do anything but chuckle softly. Still, he complies, relaxing further and closing his eyes.
Virgil exhales slowly and evenly; letting all the calming and soothing sensations wash over him like a wave.
——
“…didn’t think he’d snore…”
“…it’s not snoring perse…Ro…more…inhaling…exhaling…gills ..”
“…I think his…cute…”
“…you think…'ery… does…cute Pat…”
Virgil blinks, groggy with sleep still hanging on his eyelids, he attempts to piece together the odd conversation he’s hearing; but he honestly, for the life of him, can’t make any sense of it.
His eyes flutter closed once more.
—–
“Virgil?”
His name is called softly, but he still startles awake.
Eyes snapping open, he blinks to find Patton with a gentle hand placed to his cheek.
Patton smiles at him- Roman and Logan are right behind doing the same.
“Hey buddy, how’re you feeling, headache still bothering ya?”
Virgil shakes his head and yawns.
“…’m ok…headache’s gone”, he rumbles out softly. “That’s good to hear! I’m glad we could help!”
“Mhm”, mumbles the mer. He sits up bracing on an elbow and he rubs his eye-
He pauses, only just realizing that the sun is almost finished setting.
Roman laughs at the expression the giant makes. “A blink and you wake up hours later huh V?
Virgil’s cheeks flush but he nods absently.
—–
Patton and Roman wave as they head carefully to the car, using Roman’s phone as a flashlight. Its not that dark but it’s a precaution.
Logan had stayed behind for a minute or two to speak with his aquatic friend.
“I know it may odd or difficult for you, but if you ever need help or simply don’t feel well, just tell us, ok? I swear to you we will try to do everything in our power to help.”
“Yeah…thanks, Logan”
The human smiles and pats his arm in farewell.
“Any time Virgil”
Virgil smiles back.
End.
——-
Mupp/en: AH this is adorable! 🤩 (Sorry about the headaches and so tho. I hope you’ll feel better soon now with the finals over! :c) Poor Virgil is having such a bad headache and then nearly panicking when he thought they’d make him leave. ;o; Ah the trio are just… so great! Logan with a safety hairline, Patton pulling his eyelid closed, Roman’s snore comment. xD Just their interactions are so precious and wonderful. Gosh I love this! Thank you so much for sharing! 💗
