My One Of A Kind DJ (Pete White x Fem!Reader *Preview*)
AN: Thought I’d post a little preview to my newest little fic. Slowburn with a ton of fluff, this is all set around Operation P.R.O.M. - Check out the full fic on AO3 (rmorningstar21). This one is completed on there, and I may crosspost to my Wattpad (rmorningstar21). Haven’t decided on that yet. I’ve also debated MAYBE a bonus chapter around the time that all the escorts mutate, but I’m not sure on that yet.
Fandom: Venture Bros
Pairing: Pete White x Fem!Reader
Word Count: 11854 (Full Fic); 648 (Preview)
Through the steam, you could hear the incessant ringing reverberating through the room. Probably another client, you thought to yourself with disdain, pushing through the foggy bathroom, towel in hand as you grabbed the cellular device with your free hand. Flicking it up to your ear, you allowed an aggravated huff to escape your lips before forcing a smile upon your face. Pressing the accept button, your voice was a bit of a cheerful robot as you said, “Propetural Progressed; we make your miracles a reality. You have Y/N. How may I help you?”
“Propetural Progressed, huh?” you could hear a familiar voice on the other line say. “If you make miracles a reality, just maybe you’ll be able to help me.”
Though the voice seemed so teasing, almost like a prank call. You dried yourself off as you listened, finding your lips curling upwards at the taunt. As there had only been one person to sound like that, and tease you so much, you could not help your assumptions. Playing wryly, you said in a playful tone, “What miracle may I make a reality for you today, sir?”
“Well, I’m looking for, ya know, this one of a kind DJ,” he replied in a teasing tone, immediately solidifying what you had been thinking. “She used to be a co-host of mine, and I was wondering if she’d like to DJ for old times sake.”
“Didn’t you get into the super science field as well, Pete?” you questioned with a quirked brow as you tried to stifle your laughter. As you spoke, you pulled on your outfit for the day, your grin never leaving your lips. “Last I heard, you founded your own company as well.”
“Ah, jeez, where do you get your intel?” he said with a chuckle. “Conjectural Technologies, but that ain’t the point. I’m doing a little side gig for, you remember Rust?”
You rolled your eyes at his words, but you could not help your perked interest as you exited the bathroom, fully clothed. “I’m not sure I could forget,” you said with a giggle, remembering how much he used to harass your roommate, to the point that she would not hang around the group. “Where exactly is this event being held, ever-popular Pete?”
“Colorado Springs, Colorado,” he said enthusiastically. “It’s nothing special, but I thought maybe we’d have fun, for old time sake. Rusty’s kids are getting a home-school prom.”
“Aw, that actually sounds kind of cute,” you said with a giggle, before walking up to your calendar to check your schedule. Skimming your hand against the page, all you saw was work, work, and more work. It had been like that for you ever since you formed your business, and it was not like you normally got a break from the action. “When is it?”
“In a couple days, but it would be nice if you could come over beforehand to work on the set,” he replied, almost in a hopeful tone. “If you’re busy, ya know, it’s no pressure. I just-.”
“Can’t do it without your lovely cohost?” you jested, a smirk against your lips as you spoke. “Don’t worry, Pete, you’re actually doing me a favor. I’ve needed a little time off for who knows how long.” Pausing, you glanced down at your formal attire, frowning as you realized you’d have to change out of what you just had changed into. “It’ll take me roughly 6 hours to get there, but if you could send me your home address, it would be nice to know where I’m heading to.”
“Six hours!” Pete exclaimed with a shocked tone. “Where are you living now?”
“You really didn’t do research before you called me, did you?” you replied with a giggle. “I’m in New York City now. Luckily, a short Venture actually owes me a favor, so I’ll be flying first class.”
Cross Posted on Ao3 and Wattpad under rmorningstar21.
AN: I previously wrote a short One Shot of this months ago, and upon reviewing it, I decided to go through and rewrite it. Part 1 is under the old entry of it on both Wattpad and Ao3, while the other two parts are under new entries. I’m happy about this one, so I thought I’d share it on here as well. Feel free to check out my full collection either on Ao3 or Wattpad! I’m hoping to get back into writing for the fandom more often once more.
Funerals had never been your cup of tea, and yet, the moment you were informed of your buddy Mike Sorayama’s passing, you booked the next flight. Work was placed down, a sense of morbid nostalgia around the idea of attending the funeral for the man. Though you had been Leslie’s roommate in college, and close with the boys, you drifted after Rusty had left for his father’s funeral. Nothing had been the same between the group with himself and his freshman roommate gone, and you had only had Leslie for quite some time. No matter how many times you had passed red eyes in the hallway, or caught a glimpse of the snubbish brunette with the man slave, you could not recall another word spoken to anyone from the original group.
As one of the first people in the church, you sat on the right side of the pews, silently in your funeral garb to pay your respect. The room had been silent at first, a simple nod from the funeral director as you entered and took your seat. You clasped your hands together patiently, your gaze shifting from the picture of your old colleague to your own hands. In your own little world, you practically jumped as you felt a gentle hand tap your shoulder. Y/e/c orbs shifting upwards, for a moment your breath hitched in your throat.
“Y/N?” the white haired male questioned, a little shock in his tone as he glanced down upon you. A gentle, half smile tugged at his lips as he moved to take a seat beside you, taking the edge of the pew as he did. “I’m shocked to see you here.” His voice had been merely a whisper as he spoke, though it caused your heart to race the same childish way that it had back in college.
You merely nodded, hoping the blush that heated your cheeks hadn’t been visible as your gaze shifted back to the picture of your old friend. “I could say the same,” you whispered in reply, biting your lip as you spoke. Your heart held a mix of melancholy, atop a strange feeling that swirled in your gut as you sat beside the albino that you used to laugh and joke with. Though your voice had been soft, it had remained with an err of professionalism you never thought you’d speak to the male in.
“I, uh, well, it’s nice to see you,” he said, trying to force his lips upwards as his hand rested upon your folded hands for a moment, catching your attention once more. The touch had been brief, though the crimson in your cheeks darkened as your y/e/c gaze only met his red stare for a moment. “Under different circumstances would have been nicer.”
You allowed a hollow chuckle to escape your lips, though they did not turn upwards as you kept your gaze averted. “Yeah,” you replied, “funerals aren’t the best reunions, but it couldn’t be helped.” With that, you shrugged, your y/e/c orbs moving back to his red eyes as you forced your lips to curl upwards the slightest bit. “I…” Pausing for a moment, you tried to form your words around that sinking feeling in your chest. “It’s nice to see you again, too, Pete.”
His lips curled upwards the slightest bit at your words, though any words he thought to speak were quickly quelled by the more obnoxious entrance of two boys and two men. For a moment, you hadn’t even recognized the balded male as he practically threw his hands up in the air upon his gaze meeting your face. “Y/N, is that really you?!” he exclaimed, a little too loudly for a funeral. “God, how long has it been-? You look great. Oh, and you’re here too, White.”
You couldn’t help cringing at his loud words, Pete shooting a glare in his direction. Though his looks hadn’t sparked any sort of memory for you, the moment he opened his mouth, you knew exactly who it was. “I-uh,” you started uncomfortably, as the male had already moved to sit beside you, his sons sitting behind the three of you. Your voice had been a whisper, though your slight cringe had been evident by your facial expression. “Hey, Rust. Yeah, it’s been a while.”
As they had all finally sat down, the two sons of Rusty moving around much too frequently in the pews behind the four of you, the funeral director began his speech. Practically feeling the heat radiating off of Rusty, you shifted yourself to sit the slightest bit closer to Pete, unaware of the gentle upturn of his lips as you did. Allowing a soft, silent sigh to slip past your lips, your eyes had been fixated upon the picture of Mike as the funeral director spoke.
Behind you, you could already hear one of the boys speak in a shaken tone, “Funerals are creepy,” causing you to stiffen your lips the slightest bit.
“What’s the big deal?” the other replied nonchalantly. “You see dead guys all the time.”
“When?” the other exclaimed.
“Dude, just last week Brock killed two dervishes with a pillowcase full of cokes right in our own bedroom!” the other replied, perking your ears up the slightest bit.
You hadn’t originally recognized the other male who had journeyed in with Rusty, but now you were confirmed that the sense of familiarity had been from the fact that it was actually him. It was almost alarming, being so close to the old group, and yet melancholic that it had been at one of their funerals. It could have been any of us, you thought with a heavy heart, but I’m still shocked they all came.
“He just knocked them out,” the other boy replied, clearly a little shocked as he spoke.
The other allowed an aggravated exclamation to escape his lips as you could feel the gentle breeze of his hands going up to his head. “Oh, sing yourself another lullaby, baby Dean,” the boy exclaimed. “The police took them away in body bags!”
“Sleeping bags!” the one who was called Dean exclaimed, practically in your ear. “They were sleeping bags!”
As the boys continued, you visibly drew into yourself the slightest bit, irritation, yet melancholy against your features. You could feel the gentle hand of Pete against your thigh, causing your gaze to glance over to him for a moment. Meeting his sympathetic gaze, you sighed softly to yourself. Though it had only been a soft comfort, your cheeks began to heat once more with blush, no matter how much you attempted to suppress it.
“Hey pop,” the blonde said, leaning over to where you had to practically move yourself closer to Pete so he wouldn’t have been on top of you. “Are we like related to this guy? I mean, am I supposed to be all sad and stuff?”
“No, Hank,” Rusty said in reply, glancing back upon his son. “He’s someone your father knows from college.”
“Wow,” Dean replied, “Is that back when you had hair?”
Rusty sighed, turning back to face the front as his brows knit the slightest bit. “Yes, I had hair then, Dean,” he replied exhaustedly. Raising his eyebrow, his lips curled into the slightest smirk as he began to recall an old time back when he was in college, continuing in almost a dream-like tone. “Some say, too much.”
The point you had been involved in the first flashback, you and Pete had been turning the corner, almost walking into Rusty’s room. Rusty had been going on and on about how robots would be a dying field - simply a fad - to Mike Sorayama. Your ears had picked up about him talking about how Mike had been doing Leslie’s homework shortly as you were walking into the room, Pete by your side. Pete said, without couth, of course, “That’s cause he’s got a tiny chiney chubby for her!” As the two of you walked in, Pete raised his hand to wave, a smile against his braced teeth. “Hey fellas!”
You found yourself giggling at Pete’s words, though you held your own hand up as you rolled your eyes at his words. “Hey guys,” you said in greeting, before shoving Pete gently at the arm and glaring at him. Glancing over to Mike, you said with a smirk against your lips. “I could always just talk to her for you, Mikey, unless you want to do all her homework until graduation.”
“You were there too, Mr. White?” Dean said in shock. “And you, um…”
“Oh, yeah,” Pete replied quickly, a smile against his face. “I was the DJ for the college radio station.” He moved to wrap his arm right around you, taking you by surprise as you felt yourself pulled close to his lithe frame. “And Y/N here was my cohost.”
Though his arm did not stay on you for long, you felt blush rise in your cheeks at his words, your y/e/c gaze shifting to Pete for a moment as a brief smile slipped across your lips.
Unfortunately your moment was quickly trumped by the blond Venture asking, "What's a tiny Chiney chubby?"
"So, you, pop, and this dead guy were all, like, roommates?" Dean asked.
"No, no," Rusty replied hastily. "They just hung out in my room a lot. Y/N, too. My roommate was…" He went into another story, talking about how White, you, and Rusty were all in the room as you talked about the roommate that Rusty had a freshman as a roommate.
You could remember your college days as if they were merely yesterday, and yet they were so far from you. Lying back on Rusty’s bed, you stared up at the top bunk as you were beside Pete, whom had been sitting up straight. Neither of you said a word as you listened to Rusty walking around venting about the roommate that the university had assigned him.
“A freshman!” Rusty exclaimed, throwing his hands down as he stood, closer to Pete than yourself. You could practically hear his hand motions as he spoke, though you had to bite your lip to stop yourself from laughing. “Can you believe that? That’s all I need, some kid tagging along, all wanting me to show him the ropes. It’s totally going to harsh the vibe of Casa de Venture.”
The point that he finished speaking, you moved to sit up beside Pete, practically leaning on him as you glanced over to Rusty. “I bet he’s a total spaz-case,” you hummed out, chuckling softly. “Hopefully he just has a different schedule than you.”
“So, Is he a spaz or what?” Pete chimed in, a smile brimming on his own features. “I’m sure Y/N would scare him off for ya if ya want.”
You glared at Pete, though you playfully pouted as well. “Yeah, I’m totally people-repellent,” you replied sarcastically.
“I don’t even know,” Rusty replied exhaustedly, motioning to the bags in the corner of the room. “He moved his stuff in when I wasn’t here. But, dig, his name is Brock Samson. Can you imagine? Ten bucks says he’s a fat kid.”
"Wait, you lived with Brock?" Hank asked excitedly. "That is so unbelievably cool."
"No wonder you guys are such super pals!" Dean chimed in, causing you to roll your eyes.
"Actually, back then we didn't see much of each other," Rusty explained to his boys. "We had very different schedules, always coming and going at different times."
You remember how the two of them actually interacted for the most part, especially since despite Brock being younger than all of you, he was definitely considered a jock. Despite you, the rest of them were beneath him. When he realized that he couldn't take you to bed in school, you were beneath him as well.
"Tell them who really won the roommate lottery that year," Pete said, causing you to laugh.
"Oh, god, don't remind me," Rusty said with a chuckle.
"Okay, so the university sticks me with this exchange student," Pete started, telling the boys the story.
You were sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Pete’s chair as Mike and Rusty were both sitting upon Rusty’s bed, listening to Pete talking about Verner, specifically about his new manservant. “You know what he got?” Pete exclaimed. “A personal slave! The poor guy sleeps in my closet.” Pausing, all attention was turned to the doorway as Verner was walking past. “Oh, speak of the dickweed. Hey, Verner!”
"Baron Underbheit!" Dean exclaimed quickly, interrupting Pete's flashback.
"Yeah," Pete said, deflated. "You told them?"
"No!" Dean exclaimed. "Baron Underbheit is right there!"
“Holy crap!” Hank exclaimed. “Brock, kick his butt!”
As the boy pointed, everyone's attention was brought to the broad shouldered, armor clad man as he walked to sit on the other side of the pews. You kind of spaced out as the boys were telling Brock to kick his ass, as you felt Pete unconsciously lean a little closer to you as he looked. Why after all these years you still felt the same effect you did back in college was beyond you, but in a sense, Pete was your first...and really, only love.
“Relax boys,” Brock replied in an exhausted tone. “He’s not going to do anything. It’s hallowed ground.”
"So, what was he like in the olden days?" Hank suddenly asked, causing your attention to be brought back to reality.
"Well, except for the metal jaw, pretty much the same total dick," Pete said quickly.
You scoffed with a smile, saying, "I swear that's an understatement."
“The tape was on the floor for a reason, Peter,” Verner fumed, the two of you standing in Rusty’s doorway as the man spoke. “Your things belong on your side of the room, and don’t think I haven’t noticed that you moved it to make your area larger! If you can’t obey the simplest of rules-”
“Let me stop you right there, buddy,” you chimed in, a smirk forming against your lips as your arms were folded over your chest. “I don’t know how things work in your far away, magical land, but you can’t impose your own stupid rules on him. Your not the prince of SU- here, you’re just a selfish bastard.”
“Yeah, you don’t make the rules, fella!” Pete said defiantly, standing beside you. “You may be a big-shot in your country, but over here you’re just the kid with the weirdest smelling lunch.”
Verner held his arms above him as he let out what seemed to be a roar, before his gaze shifted back to the two of you. Eyes narrowing upon you two, he spoke in a snippy tone. “Very well,” he said, drawing closer to Pete as he practically was on top of him. “Then you leave me no choice but to take this up to the R.A. at the next floor meeting.”
“Good luck,” you said rolling your eyes, before pulling Pete by the arm back into Rusty’s room, your eyes shifting to glare at Verner.
The last thing that Verner had said to the two of you, his eyes narrowed upon you, was, "Keep your albino slave on a tighter leash."
"How many times do I have to tell you, fella, I'm not a slave," Pete said, clearly aggravated by the accusation.
You simply placed your hand on Pete's shoulder, giving him a soft smile as you did. "No, you're not, but you can't let that dick get to you," you said soothingly as the two of you walked further into Rusty's dorm room, finally shutting the door on Verner.
“Who cuts his hair?” Rusty said laughing. “The incredible hulk?”
“What, did he walk into the barber shop and say what can you do to make me look more like Pete Rose?” Pete joked, his spirits the slightest bit lifted as he spoke.
You rolled your eyes, chuckling, as you said, “I’m sure he just asked to make sure he never got laid.”
“Hey!” Mike chimed in, a frown against his lips. “What’s wrong with his hair? I have like the same haircut.”
“Yeah, but you’re chinese,” Rusty replied, leaning over the back of his chair. “You people can’t be blamed for what your hair does.”
“I’m japanese, jerk-off,” Mike replied sharply, before shrugging. “But, yeah, so true. At least I don’t have his eyebrows.”
“You want to see eyebrows?” Rusty started, bringing up the Monarch in creative writing as an example.
"Okay, this is getting nuts," you heard Hank say quickly as the story came to its conclusion. "You are not going to tell me you went to college with the Monarch, too."
"He even hit on me in creative writing class," you said with a shudder, followed by a chuckle.
"Where did you guys go, super crazy, no way school?" Hank said, exasperated.
"It was Michael's last wish that he be escorted to his eternal resting place by those who were closest to him in life," the funeral director finally said. "T.S. Venture, Peter White, Y/N L/N, Verner Underbheit, Brock Sampson, if you would, please."
Lining up for the coffin carrying, you were positioned closer to Pete, with Verner behind you. Though it had initially been a struggle for the front to keep their side up, Rusty basically dropped the casket for the two of you to struggle to keep the rest of the front up for a moment. As the three of you managed to get the casket sturdied once more in the front, it took mere moments for the chains to extend from the casket itself. As the metal clamped down upon your wrist, a purple fume instantly made your vision go black.
***
As you woke from your comatose state, you could feel a strong, metal collar wrapped around your neck. The world became visible once more, and you realized you were seated beside Pete, with Verner on the other side of you. Across the room, Brock and Rusty were seated. "Well, this is not the kind of kinky I'm into," you muttered under your breath, trying to use humor to feel a little better about the whole situation. Frowning, you glanced over to Pete, before your attention was taken back quickly by Brock.
In a growl, Brock began standing as he practically lept towards Verner, exclaiming, "You did this. You did this, didn't you?"
As he fought against the restraints, Rusty was taken against the wall with his own restraints, choking as he gripped at the choker. Desperately, he attempted to be set free, all to no avail, as he flailed around. This had taken both yours and Pete’s attention for a few moments, until you were suddenly pulled back towards the wall sharply.
"As usual, your detective skills are impeccable, Sampson," Verner said, pulling the chain that the three of you were tied to as he stood. "You've succeeded in exposing my sinister plan to lock myself in a dungeon, chained to an albino and his puny master."
The cold stone hit your back hard as the metal collar tightened against your neck. In this moment, you could not even glance over to check on Pete, nor focus upon anything despite the tightening of your own restraint. Flailing yourself, you found yourself lacking breath and gasping for air.
As Brock realized what was going on, he returned back to his seat, Verner doing the same. Landing with a thud, you found yourself gasping for air as you glanced over to Pete to check on him as well. Rubbing your neck with your hand, you turned back to Verner with a glare. “Pete and I haven’t even spoken since college, Verner,” you spat venomously. “Could you give up the master and slave stiq?”
When Rusty was recovering, he spat to Brock as he rubbed his own neck, “Great, way to bodyguard,” sarcastically as he frowned. “Got any more super theories about who did this to us?”
"Oh hey, guys," you could hear Mike's voice say, "It's really you. I'm so glad you all made it. Son of a gun, you really surprised me. I didn't think you'd all show up to my funeral - especially Y/N. And now I get to return the favor." The five of you watched the screen with what looked like a healthy Mike Soryama. His voice nearly had humor to it, and yet deep inside of it was the true darkness, possibly of someone crazed from years of obsession. As he spoke your name, though, a shiver sent down your spine, something nearly twisted about it.
Before he was able to say anything else, the dungeon door opened with a loud thud. As it had, female robots began filing in, holding trays of what you could barely recognize as the old college meals you would get at SU. Each robot, totaling in 5, brought trays and set them beside each of you.
“Eat up, guys,” Mike said over the television once more, something almost sadistic about his words. “This is your last meal. I had it brought in special from the State University dining hall.”
“Mike, it’s nice to see you not dead and all,” Rusty started, after taking a glance to his food, and back to the screen before continuing, “but are you going to tell us why you’ve got us chained up in a dungeon?”
“Yeah, Pally, what the hell?” Pete chimed in.
Crossing your arms against your chest, you raised an eyebrow to the screen as you said, “Don’t tell me this is about her.”
The robots all said, “Enjoy,” in synchronization, before standing erect, getting ready to leave.
“Thank you, ladies,” Mike said, ignoring everyone’s comments.
“You’re welcome, Mike,” the robots replied. “We love you, Mike.”
As the robots left the room, Mike smiled as he spoke. “Aren’t my robots beautiful?” he said, almost dreamily, before his voice turned serious. “Notice anything familiar about them?”
“Yeah, I had that issue with heavy metal, too,” Rusty replied in a bored tone. “Now, will you quit screwing around, Mike, and tell us what this is all about?”
“They are what this is all about,” Mike replied. “Look closely at their faces.”
“Why don’t you just call her like a normal person?” you spat coldly, your glare apparent on your face. “Instead of chaining us up over a woman with her own free will? I offered you, how many times, that I could go and talk to her myself for you?”
“Wait, you made Leslie Cohen robots?” Brock chimed in, finally realizing exactly what the robots looked like.
“Yeah, I think I did a pretty good job,” Mike replied smugly. “And Y/N, that’s a lot coming from you.” A laugh escaped his lips as his gaze turned to you, a smirk stretching across his lips. “I loved her, and you should know more than anyone in this room how necessary this is!”
“I mean, I’d never go saw on my friends,” you replied adamantly. “Despite your little get together, I’ve put college behind me. You could let us all go and do the same.”
“No!” he exclaimed in frustration. “I need to make you all pay for what you did to me!”
“What did we do to you?” Verner replied in frustration.
“Funny you should ask, Verner,” Mike replied darkly. “I have a list, and you’re first.”
In the flashback, you had been the one to fake the oregano bit first. Taking a drag of the fake weed in the bong, you pretended as if you had been getting a high from it, laying your head on Pete’s lap as you handed the fake weed to Mike. You had the slightest bit of blush against your cheeks as you laid there, your eyes shifting over to Mike as the four of you watched him inhale a hit of the oregano.
“You like it?” Verner asked after a few moments, after Mike took his inhale. “Pure Underlandian sesame.”
“You’re right, Underbheit,” Mike said with a smile, glancing back at you who had already been pretending to relax after your supposed hit, before glancing at Verner. “This is some good stuff.”
It was hard to keep yourself from laughing, though you rolled your eyes as you glanced up to Pete, a smirk tugging at the corner of your lips as you did. Your gaze met his red eyes for a moment, and you could feel your breath practically hitched in your throat. “You’re cute from this angle,” you smirked in jest, winking as you did. Though it hadn’t been a lie, any sort of compliment towards the albino had always been in jest, your own nerves not allowing yourself to admit your attraction.
“That must be that Underlandian sesame,” Pete jested in return, rolling his eyes as he glanced back over to the group.
“Hey, that rhymes-,” Mike continued, a smile still prominent against his lips. “Right, Underbheit.” It took mere seconds for Mike to start laughing, practically curled into a ball on the floor as he laughed. His laughter was long, uncontrollable, as he began rolling back and forth.
You moved to sit up, before the four of you all hovered over top of Mike. In unison, you exclaimed, “Psych!”
Verner quickly added in, “It’s oregano,” before the four of you started laughing. “You’ve been smoking a lie, you tiny fool.”
Mike began to cough as he was still curled up on the floor, causing Pete to chime in once more. “Come on, Mike,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You’re not high. Give it up.”
“Uh, Mike?” you questioned, quirking a brow as you leaned down to get a better look as he turned over. Your eyes immediately landed on his puffed out cheeks, something that had clearly been an allergic reaction.
“Allergic...oregano,” Mike confirmed as he was still holding himself tightly on the floor.
“It wasn’t funny,” Mike spoke seriously in real time. “I could have died, Verner. More importantly, I had to cancel my study date with Leslie.”
“That’s it!” Verner exclaimed in aggravation. “I will tolerate no more of this madness!” As he spoke, you felt your heart drop into your stomach, watching the male’s metal jaw fly off of his face, attempting to hit one of the Leslie bots. Within seconds, he had already been standing, the two of you gasping for air as he pulled the chain. It only took a few more seconds for him to be shocked by a Leslie bot, set back upon his ass as the two of you gasped for breath.
Pete moved his hand to your shoulder, causing your attention to shift back to him as you were still the slightest bit dizzy from being choked. “How are ya holding up?” he whispered to you, his red eyes filled with concern as his lips had been turned downward. His hand hadn’t moved from your shoulder as his eyes shifted to your collar, which had already made a noticeable red mark against your skin the last time you were brought upwards in the choke.
A pained chuckle escaped your lips as you forced them upwards into a half smile. “I’m fine, Pete, thanks,” you replied softly, a clear lie, but you couldn’t bring yourself to tell the truth. You felt dizzy, pain clear in your throat, and you were chained down in a basement full of nostalgia. “Are you?”
Pete finally moved his hand from your shoulder, but instead of taking it back for himself, he moved to grab your hand in a comforting manner. Forcing a half smile upon his own face, he nodded, though his grip had been tight. He clearly was pulling for some sort of comfort out of you, while attempting to do the same for you, causing your heart to tighten in your chest.
Next on Mike’s list was Pete, and the memory he brought to life was the last day the two of you were hosting The White Room back in SU. You sat on Pete’s right side as the red light came on, signaling that the two of you had been on the air. Watching as his face read of excitement, you couldn’t help the smile against your own lips.
“You’re listening to the White Room,” he spoke into the intercom enthusiastically. “I’m your host, the ever popular Pete White, with my radiant cohost Y/N L/N.”
“Pete, smooth as always,” you jested, sending a wink in his direction as your cheeks heat up with the slightest tint of blush. “It looks like we have a cute submission today. Would you care to read it?”
“I would be delighted,” he replied, barely able to contain his laughter as you slipped him the card that he had written. For a second, he bit his lip to attempt to calm himself, glancing over to you with a smirk upon his face. “This next one’s a dedication to Leslie Cohen from her little buddy Mike Sorayama.” By this point, his lips were curled upwards so much, it had been hard for him to keep his composure, but you had your hand already clasped over your face to prevent yourself from laughing as your eyes watched Pete. “And he writes, Leslie, I masturbate furiously to your picture every night. Please notice me, Love, Mike.”
At the point that he finished that one, he quickly changed the station to some music as the two of you broke down laughing in the studio room. Though it hadn’t taken long for the campus security to burst into your studio and kick the two of you off of the air, the two of you laughed while it had lasted, grinning at one another as you did. As you remembered, being kicked off the air had been quite a kick to the two of your spirits.
“Hey, we got kicked off the air for that!” Pete snapped at Mike quickly. “Isn’t that enough?”
“Not by a long shot, Pete,” Mike replied darkly as Rusty had been laughing through the whole ordeal. “And you, Y/N, you could have stopped him. You encouraged him, and then you were laughing it up in your dorm room with Leslie afterwards.”
You huffed, rolling your eyes as your lips tightened. “Leslie was laughing about it,” you said sternly. “That in itself should be a good reason to let us off. She knew it was a joke, and she knew that it was something that we set up. We didn’t do anything bad.”
“But you, Y/N,” Mike replied darkly. “You taunted me for the same thing you couldn’t do, and then you left us all. You were the biggest hypocrite of them all.”
“Surely,” you replied with an eye roll. “But I wanted you to have what I couldn’t. Isn’t that what a friend is supposed to do?”
“What, you wanted Leslie, too?” Rusty said, now in a full burst of laughter. “I never pegged you for her type.”
“No, she didn’t want Leslie,” Mike said with a dark laugh. “And you’re next on my list, so shall we recall your blunder?”
“Oh, please don’t,” you said with a cringe, retracting your hand from Pete as you sunk further into your seat, your eyes closed.
“I’m sorry, Mike,” Leslie said uncomfortably as she stood beside you. “I have to postpone. This is important.”
“I-it’s okay, Leslie,” Mike replied, clearly disheartened as he shot a glare your way, watching the two of you retreating into your dorms. Though the two of you thought that he had left, he stood outside of the dorm room, his ear cupped to the door. He listened as the two of you shifted to sit upon the bed, his eyes widened.
Leslie was the first one to speak, sitting beside you with a concerned smile against her lips. “Y/N, you have to just tell him,” she said in a soft, sweet manner as her eyes glanced to you. “I’m not sure you have any real competition, but you can’t keep doing this to yourself. I see the way you look at him, and the way you look when you talk about him. Y/N, you love him.”
“I-,” you started, before you could already feel yourself starting to tear up. Your voice quickly turned more hesitant as tears stained your face. “If I do, I could lose him, Leslie. He just sees me as one of the guys. That’s all I’ll ever be.”
“Hey, no, no,” Leslie said in a comforting manner, placing her arm around your shoulder as she did. “You and I both know that you’re awesome. I don’t hang out with you guys. From the outside looking in, the two of you make a great couple.”
“It’s not that easy, Les,” you replied softly, wiping your eyes as the tears kept flowing. “If I tell him, I could ruin everything. I highly doubt you want me just chilling around you as I hide from the boys after embarrassing myself so much.”
“Well, I’m sure Mike wouldn’t be happy about that,” she replied with a laugh, “but you know, if it actually came down to that, I’m here for you. You know that. I still say the two of you would be cute together. Weird tastes, sure, but if you love him, you can’t keep yourself in the dark.”
“Leslie cancelled on me to talk to you, Y/N, and you never even did it, did you?” Mike said darkly, glancing over at you in a rage. “I listened to it all, you sitting there pouring your heart out to my Leslie and taking her time away from me.”
“I,” you started, your y/e/c eyes glaring at the screen as you sunk in your seat as far as you could without actually pulling the chains. “Yeah, okay, I was a coward, fantastic. You caught me. I wasted time, but so did you. You could have just approached her like a normal human being. It’s not like you were too close and were going to make things awkward by confessing to her.”
“Wait, who are you guys talking about?” Rusty said curiously, shifting his eyes between Y/N and the screen that held Mike’s image. “Y/N didn’t date anyone in college.”
“Actually, I did,” you replied softly, your arms crossed once more. “After I finally gave up the ghost, I dated a few assholes.”
“But no one was the same,” Mike said with a laugh. “You couldn’t get over him then, and ha, you aren’t even over him now, are you?”
“No, but if you’re done embarrassing me-,” you started, your eyes fixated darkly to your lap as your lips tightened.
Mike’s laughter was dark, nearly evil as you felt your heart sink into your stomach. “No, no, I’m not,” he said in a sadistic tone. “Tell him, now.”
“Wait, one of us?” Rusty chimed in with confusion.
Verner was the one to speak next, a slight chuckle to his tone. “Isn’t it obvious?” he said, motioning to Y/N as he spoke. “It was obvious in college, and it’s pretty obvious even today.”
“Y/N,” Pete said, quirking a brow as he moved to place a hand against your shoulder to get your attention. “I’m sure any of us would’a killed to date you in college. Who’s he talking about?”
Verner started laughing as you found your cheeks heated with blush, though your heart had sunk down to your stomach. Letting out a hard sigh, your y/e/c orbs glanced into red eyes. Forcing the words from your mouth, your lips were still turned downwards as you spoke. “It was you, Pete,” you said, barely above a whisper. “I didn’t want to lose what we had, and well, I did anyways, but I could never tell you.”
Before the two of you could even talk about it, your heart shattering all over again as you moved yourself back to your own space, Mike Sorayama had moved onto Rusty. Though he had moved to Rusty, there was not even enough time for him to get into a flashback before Brock had made his way to find Mike and end the nightmare the five of you had delved right into. Silence was simply filled with bloodshed as your eyes closed, simply listening to Brock taking out whomever and whatever had been outside of the dungeon.
***
You were not even sure how long the three of you had been chained to the wall without help, before someone finally managed to rescue the three of you. As you had been chained, you had been silent, reserved as you were chained to the man you loved and the asshole you loathed in college. Through time, you had even fallen asleep against the albino male, though you felt no words coming from your mouth to explain yourself. The two of you had simply been a mess of chain and exhaustion, his head against your head as you rested against his shoulder. At the point that the two of you realized your shackles had been broken, you practically fell to the floor, no longer restrained by Verner and half awake.
Rubbing your eyes, your hand immediately moved up to your throat, rubbing the spot that still held a red marking, already beginning to bruise. Everything about this situation had been melancholic, your y/e/c eyes shifting to Pete, who had still been asleep against the wall. A frown stretched your face as you reached hesitantly out to him, before retracting your hand. It was back in college, Y/N, you tried to convince yourself as your eyes trailed the handsome figure as he quietly slept. Nearly twenty years later, and you’re still just as pathetic as you were.
Sucking in a deep breath, you moved to Pete, knowing you could not simply carry his slumbering figure out of the dungeon on your own. Verner had already been gone, and you were not even sure how long the two of you had been free of your restraints by this point. The smell of blood in the next room caused your body to retract, death being something you wished to free yourself of by this point. You lived a normal life, yet this, this was not something you were familiar with at all.
“Hey, Pete,” you finally mustered to say, your voice gentle and timid despite your own discomfort. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Hu-,” he started, his hand moving to his face as he rubbed his red eyes, before blinking hard. “How are you free?” As he questioned it, he moved his hand to his own previous restraint, realizing that the collar had no longer been around his neck either. His lips had yet to curl upwards, but he had managed to stand to his feet as he glanced around. “Those jerks left us!”
You found yourself chuckling softly, though the scent of blood in your nostrils still reminded you that the two of you had not been completely free as of yet. Motioning to the open cell door, you said, “I’m sure they wanted to get out of here, and I’m shocked Verner even took off our collars.” Starting to walk towards the dungeon opening, you glanced back with melancholy in your eyes. “Let’s go figure out where we are, and get you home.”
He followed behind you, though he had a touch of concern in his own red eyes. No matter how much he wished to talk about what had happened in the dungeon, all the words that had been said, he found this to be the worst place to begin. “It smells like death in here,” he openly said, placing his hand over his face as he walked behind you.
You simply nodded, before practically pulling him to the exit that you had your eyes fixated upon. As you saw the brightness of the outdoors, you quickly slipped off your coat, handing it to him. “I’m sure you don’t have an umbrella on you, so take this,” you said uncomfortably, trying to force a smile against your lips as you did. “I know it’s not much, but I doubt we’re far from the church.”
He quickly took it, placing it over himself to block the sun with a smile against his lips. “Thanks, Y/N,” he said softly, though he could feel a tightness in his heart from the way you had been acting. After you had been so quick to open up to him again, the moment that you confessed in front of him, you closed right back off. It wasn’t hard for him to notice your hesitation, nor the pain against your features as the two of you barely spoke.
Once the two of you managed to get to the church, he chuckled sheepishly as he realized that his ride had likely left him as well. “Uh, Y/N,” he said with an uncomfortable laugh. “I could buy ya coffee if ya drive me home.”
Unlocking your car, you chuckled in a hollow way as you nodded. “Not necessary, but I can drive you home,” you said as you motioned for him to get in. You sat uncomfortably as you started your vehicle, simply glancing once to see that Pete had entered your car and buckled himself up before you began driving. “Where do you live now, anyways?”
“Over by Rusty’s lab,” he replied uncomfortably. “I really think we should, you know, talk, Y/N.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” you replied, biting your lip gently as you drove. “Mike made a fool out of me, and once I drop you off, we can both go back to our lives.”
“Y/N,” he started, before you quickly cut him off.
“Pete, we aren’t in college anymore,” you replied in a strained tone. “Just because seeing you brings it back, we’ve been out of college for what, twenty, twenty five years. What do you want out of it, an apology? I wasn’t going to tell you.”
“Why weren’t ya going to tell me, Y/N?” Pete questioned, his arms moving to press his point as his voice had exasperation laced in it. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Because we were so close, Pete,” you replied, your knuckles white from your grip on the steering wheel. “Because I didn’t want to lose you. I already did, and we already moved on with our own lives since college. Even so, it wasn’t easy to tell you. I’d rather have been the one to break down and say it than let Mike’s horror movie get too far.”
“Did you move on, Y/N?” he questioned, a quirked brow as he gazed upon you.
You bit your lip hard as you attempted not to cry, the feeling nearly overwhelming as you drove and drove. For a while, you didn’t even answer him, simply driving as you worked to get him back home. Through the time that you drove, though you had not answered his question, or simply refused to answer his question, he gave you little directions here and there to get him back home. It did not take too long of uncomfortable silence for you to end up outside of a trailer in the middle of nowhere.
As he silently went to leave the car, you finally whispered your answer. “I didn’t,” you said, your voice cracked as you spoke. You could feel your whole body shaking, but you attempted to keep yourself as calm as possible. “Just, so you know, I guess. Goodbye, Pete.”
At your words, Pete froze, though he removed his hand from the door. “Turn off the car, Y/N,” he said, his own voice cracked as he found himself biting his own lip. “Come inside with me.”
Though you had the easy option that you could have just forced him out of your car and driven off far, far away from him, never to see him again, you allowed a huff to escape your lips. Moving one of your sore knuckles to the key, you turned it off and obliged his request. “Why?” you asked as you moved to get out of your own car, walking up to the trailer with him. “I’m sure I’ve made enough of a fool of myself already, Pete.”
Once the door closed, he discarded the jacket that he was using to protect himself from the sun, and his red eyes met yours. It had been silent in the trailer, and he stared as you refused to meet his gaze. A slender hand moved underneath your chin, forcing you to glance up at him. “Stop being an idiot, Y/N,” he said with an eye roll, before he pressed his lips to your own.
The action took you aback, frozen in place as you felt your eyes wet with the tears that desperately wished to break the floodgates of your y/e/c orbs. Closing them, one or two escaped as you moved your lips in sync with his own, the flavor of morning breath and something that was simply his own tantalizing your senses. You were not even sure the point that your arms wrapped around his neck, sinking into his embrace as you kissed him.
One of his slender arms slipped around your waist as he pulled you flush to him, kissing you passionately as if this would be the first and last time you would ever connect. The ferocity of the kiss was astounding, though a little untrained as you both learned one another. After a while, you could feel your lungs burning with the need for oxygen, panted breaths as the two of you separated.
“I, um,” you started, a little bewildered as your y/e/c orbs were wide, staring up helplessly at the man you still loved so deeply.
“I love you, too,” Pete said, his lips curling upwards into a smile as he held you tighter, his red eyes gazing down upon you. “I don’t just want ya, ya know, running back out of my life.” A soft chuckle escaped his lips as his thumb moved to caress your cheek. “I never told you in college, either, and then you stopped hanging around.”
You found your lips curling upwards as you held him tightly, a warmth filling you as you heard his words. “See, now I wish I didn’t wait twenty some years,” you said with a laugh, “but I’m glad.”
“I bet Mike would be pissed if he knew that weird saw set up actually got us together,” Pete laughed as he rested his head against your own. “If you have some time, I could make us some coffee.”
“We’ve been in a dungeon for who knows how long, Pete,” you said with an eye roll, a smirk playing against your lips. “I have all the time in the world.”
