Brainrot so bad I started writing fanfic again

The three of you were roused awake all at once by the shrill sound of crying over the monitor on the bedside table. Deep inhales, quiet grunts, and rustling could be heard in the dark room. You were the first to sit up, checking the time on the clock- 12:34am- and moving to climb over Stanley to get to the bedroom door. He put his arm out to stop you. 

“I’ll get her.” He said, sitting himself up, running a hand through his hair before standing.

“She’s probably hungry,” you reply, “I need to get her.” You moved once again to get out of bed before Stanley stopped you, gently pushing you down.

“If that’s what she needs, then I’ll bring her to you. Just rest, baby.” Reluctantly, you laid back down as he walked out of the room, grabbing the monitor off the night stand to watch your daughter. Her cries pull at you, and you wanted nothing more than to run in there and help calm her down. You watch Stanley’s figure come into frame, leaning over her crib and lifting her out. The monitor was quickly snatched away from you.

“I believe Stanley told you to rest, darling.” Xeno’s voice was sleepy, and a little grumpy- he did not respond as well to being woken up as you and Stan did. He muted the monitor and set it on the table on his side of the bed. “You always jump at the first sign of distress with her, let Stan handle it this time.” He reached his arms out, pulling you into him. 

“I know, I just can’t help it,” you said, fighting off a yawn. You curled into Xeno’s hold, but your eyes remained wide open. 

“I understand, darling. A mother’s instincts are a strong force. However, so is sleep deprivation. She is our daughter, too, and you are our wife. Let us take care of you both.” He pressed a kiss to the top of your head, running his fingers through your hair. You nodded, too tired to continue the back and forth. And, he was right. 

From the moment you told them you were pregnant, both Stan and Xeno had been model fathers. They both were able to fill in their roles perfectly. Stanley was the one to build the crib, paint the nursery, and take on any other high labor task you couldn’t do around the house while pregnant. Xeno made sure to keep track of all the doctor’s appointments, your nutritional intake, anything to do with your wellbeing. Since the very beginning of your relationship, your boys have given you the princess treatment. During your pregnancy, they treated you like a queen- never having to lift a finger if you did not want to. 

That didn’t change once your daughter was born. You just struggled with being away from her. She had lived and grown in the safety of your body for nine months. Without that feeling of security, the anxieties of becoming a parent hit you all at once. Stanley and Xeno were nothing short of perfect with the both of you. They would take turns contact napping with her when she wouldn’t go down so you could get some sleep, they ran all the errands, fixed the meals, everything they could to help ease your stress while they were on leave. Even so, even after 7 months of having your daughter, you still were the first to run to her when she started crying. It wasn’t that you didn’t want them to help, it’s just that you knew you could. The sound of her crying or fussing flipped a switch in you, something pulling at your gut telling you that you needed to get to her as fast as you could. A habit Stanley and Xeno were currently trying to break in you, as you hadn’t been getting much, if any, sleep. 

Even now, her cries from the nursery had lessened, and you knew Stanley had her, but you were wide awake still. It had been several minutes since he had left the room, and you could  tell Xeno had already fallen back asleep- his breaths deep and even, and his grip loosening on you. You knew you were tired, exhausted even, and you knew your daughter was safe and cared for with her father, but something in your brain told you that you needed to see her before you could rest again. 

Carefully, as slowly and quietly as you could, you snuck your way out of bed. Silently, you made the short journey down the hall to the nursery. The door was partially open, and you could hear a soft voice inside. You leaned against the door frame, taking in the sight in front of you. 

“I never thought through love we'd be

Making one as lovely as she

But isn't she lovely, made from love”

 The soft sound of Stanley singing filled the room, and in the dim glow of the nightlight, you could see him- cradling her in his arms, rocking her gently, quiet steps shuffling around the room. Your heart swelled. It didn’t matter how many times you had seen this sight and ones similar, seeing your boys like this always filled you with warmth. It was always beautiful- to see the two men you loved the most, the ones that the rest of the world perceived to be cold, cruel, and calculating, doing something so gentle. Something so full of love. 

In his quiet shuffling around the room, Stanley spotted you in the door frame. His singing quieted, and he smiled at you, still rocking your baby. You walked up to him, wrapping an arm around his waist, your other hand going under his to also cradle her, you leaned your head on his arms. 

“You’re supposed to be sleeping,” He whispered, his voice nearly silent. 

“Sorry,” you whispered back, “Xen fell back asleep so there was no one to hold me back.” You could feel him stifle a laugh. “Plus, I’ll never pass up an opportunity to see this.”

He kissed the top of your head, and you both looked down at the sleeping girl in your arms.

“God, she’s so perfect.” He said, and you nodded.

“It’s because she looks like me.” Stanley had to hold back another laugh. It was true- when you found out you were pregnant, the three of you were all curious to see if you would be able to tell who the biological father was when the baby was born. Not that it mattered to any of you, and you certainly weren’t going to get it tested. Still, it was a natural curiosity, and you were all anxiously awaiting getting to see what your little bundle of joy would look like. Cue the surprise when your daughter came out with H/C hair, E/C eyes, and your nose. The comedy of it was never lost on the three of you. 

You both stood in comfortable silence, watching her fall deeper into sleep. When you heard the loud, deep SIGH, Stan broke away from you. 

“She’s out.” He whispered, and moved back to her crib, laying her down. He walked back over to you, placing a hand on the small of your back to lead you out of the room. Shutting the door softly behind you, he grabbed you by the hips and placed a soft kiss on your lips. 

“You need to get to bed, doll.” He said, his voice raising just above a whisper.

“Yeah, yeah.” You muttered, breaking away from his hold. You both quietly walked back into your bedroom, expecting to find a sleeping Xeno. Instead, he was sitting up- his white hair dishelved, pieces of it falling in his face- holding the monitor, watching your daughter. He looked up as the two of you entered.

“I’ve been made aware that there was a party of sorts in our daughters room, and I was the only one not invited?” You both laughed at his dramatics. 

“Snooze you lose, babe.” Stanley said, earning an exaggerated eye roll from Xeno. You climbed into bed, curling up against Xeno’s side, your head resting on his shoulder. Stanley followed after you, draping his arm around the shoulders of both of you. You watched the monitor, watching your sweet girl shifting in her sleep. 

“God, she’s so cute. I just wanna climb in there with her and stare at her all night.” You said, getting a short laugh out of both boys. 

“Darling, the last thing you need is another reason not to sleep.” Xeno said, pressing a kiss to your temple. He set the monitor aside, out of view. You groaned in feigned annoyance and laid down, tucking the covers up under your chin. You turned to lay on your side, facing Xeno. Both men wrapped their arms around you, and you could very quickly feel yourself falling back to sleep. 

“Next wake up, it’s on you, Xen. So she can’t escape this time.” Stanley said. You were too tired to fire back with any kind of response, but you could hear Xeno chuckling. 

“With pleasure, my dear.” Xeno responded, a yawn breaking through his words, “Now, please, we all need to get back to sleep.” 

You could feel the pillows shift as Stanley nodded, “G’night, you two. Love you both.” He mumbled, sleep washing him over fast. 

“I love you both, as well.” Xeno responded. You let out a hum, and a sound that in no way could have been perceived as words, but they both understood the intent. Once again, sleep managed to wash over the three of you.

At 4 in the morning, shrill cries once again sounded through the monitor. And, again, the sounds of sharp inhales, soft grunts, and rustling could be heard in your bedroom as the three of you stirred. You started to sit up, before a pair of strong arms wrapped around you, pulling you back down to the bed. 

“You’re up, Xen.” Stanley’s tired morning voice spoke, volume hardly above a whisper.

“I’m already on my way, dear.” Xeno stood as he replied, quietly making his way out of the room. You craned your neck up to try and catch a peak at the monitor before Stanely flipped you over to face him.

“C’mon, doll. Or do I need to sing you a lullaby, too?” Stanley teased, a hand finding its way to play with your hair.

“Well, it couldn’t hurt.” You shot back, your smirk hidden by the dark in your room, but practically audible in your words. 

Stanley scoffed, “Just go to sleep.” You nodded and buried your face in his chest, trying to block out the sound of cries that made your heart race so bad. Stanley hummed quietly, fingers stroking through your hair. Soon, your daughter’s cries died down, along with the racing in your mind. You were still half awake when Xeno came back into the room several minutes later. Once you could feel his warmth in the bed, and the room once again filled with the steady, even breaths of your husbands, you found yourself finally able to fully doze back to sleep. 

A/N: Bro I love author's notes. I love forcing you guys to either read or scroll past my yapping. What a time to be alive. But anyway, I am slowly.... but surely working on the next part of Opposite Sides of the War. I need to figure out what route I want to take here, because I thought I knew and then I started writing it and then I didn't know :') Until then, I'm probably just going to be writing this trio as parents bc it's what my brain is stuck on. Okay see you love you byeeee

You and Xeno both piled into Stanley’s car. You hucked your backpack into the back seat as you climbed into the front- accidentally hitting Xeno with it. You snorted, trying to hold back your laugh. Stanley saw the event in the rearview, bursting out into full blown laughter. 

“Sorry, Xen.” Stanley’s outburst turned your held back laugh into a fit of giggles as Xeno rubbed his temple where your bag hit him.

“It’s alright, dear. Lucky for me, there weren’t any textbooks in there. Not planning on doing much studying this weekend, hm?” He settled himself in his seat, raising a curious brow at you. 

“Hell no I’m not. Not when we get to go to Stanley’s house.” You leaned back over your seat towards Xeno, loudly whispering the end of the sentence like you were telling a secret. You turned back around in your seat and turned your face to Stan, who was dramatically rolling his eyes at your teasing. 

“Trust me,” Stan started, “you don’t want to be there any other day.” You hummed in agreement. Stanley’s parents were out of town this weekend for a funeral- and he had managed to talk his way out of going. You and Xeno had both met Stan’s parents before. You liked his mom, but his dad… You had no desire to ever be in the same building as that man again. With the house to himself for the weekend, Stanley had invited you and Xeno over. You were excited! You spent most of your time outside of school with the two, they were your best friends, but it was rare that you ever got time with no parents around. 

At Stanley’s, you sat on the floor rummaging through the Snyder’s small DVD collection. Stanley was in the next room ordering pizzas. Xeno was sat on the couch, switching between his book and watching your hunt for something to watch. 

“Finding anything good down there, dear?” Xeno asked, looking up to you from the textbook in his lap. 

“Fucking no,” you pulled disc cases out from the cabinet, “You can tell this is all his parents’. Top Gun, The Sound of Music, Fried Green Tomatoes…” You started to put everything back into the cabinet and shut it. You stood up and sat on the couch next to Xeno.

“Check what’s free on pay per view,” you pointed across him at the remote sitting on the couch, “it’s gotta be better than what’s in there.” Xeno nodded, putting his textbook aside and turning on the TV. He changed the channel to check out the on demand selection. Stanley walked back into the room.

“Food’ll be here in 20,” He flopped down on the couch next to you, “What are we watching?”

“Dunno yet,” you said, grabbing the blanket that was draped on the back of the couch and wrapping yourself in it, “your entertainment selection sucks, Snyder.”

He laughed, “Yeah I don’t really spend much time out here, or here in general. Everything in there is my mom and dad’s.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” You curled up into your spot, making yourself comfortable, watching Xeno flip through the movie options.

“Ooh! Ooh! Iron Man!” You moved your arm out from under the blanket, pointing at the screen. “I haven’t seen that one yet. Turn it on, Xen.” You knew very well that both boys would be perfectly fine with whatever you decided to turn on. Xeno selected the movie and set the remote down, picking his textbook back up. 

“Xeno, it’s movie night. Put the book away.” You gently kicked his lap from your spot.

“I am perfectly capable of doing both at once,” he said, gesturing to the screen, “I’m just finishing up this chapter for my exam on Monday, and then I’ll be done. Promise.” You sighed, and turned your attention back to the screen.

“Stupid super genius, don’t you already know all that stuff?” you muttered, getting a short laugh out of Stanley.

The sun had fully set by the time the movie- which Xeno continuously interjected into to point out scientific falsehoods- was over. Stanley got up and walked to the kitchen. You stuck your arm out of the blanket to reach towards the coffee table, where the two half-empty boxes of pizza laid, grabbing another slice. 

“Anyone want something to drink?” Stanley came back into the room, a case of beer in one hand, and gripping a bottle of whiskey and a bottle of vodka in the other, a mischievous grin on his face. 

“Aren’t you gonna get in trouble for that?” You asked, swallowing your bite. 

“This does not seem like one of your most elegant ideas, Stanley.” Xeno said, shifting in his seat. 

“I promise you, my dad has so much shit in there that he won’t realize anything is gone. His drunk ass will just think he drank too much and forgot about it. Come on,” he set the items down on the coffee table, taking out a bottle of beer- opening it, and handing it to you. You shrugged and took it, taking a sip. Stanley did the same. He cocked an eyebrow at you.

“You drank before, Y/N?” He asked, sipping on his own drink.

“My parents let me at family parties and stuff, but nothing crazy.” You replied. You turned to Xeno, “want one?” Xeno frowned, eyes flicking between you and Stan.

“The three of us have certainly had our share of risky decisions, but really? Are we really going to start the habit of substance abuse this early in our lives?” He replied.

“Oh come onnnnn, Xen. Loosen up a little, you’re being dramatic.” You laughed as you pushed, testing the waters of his limits. Stanley was already grabbing another bottle, opening it, and handing it out to Xeno. 

Xeno sighed, “I believe this is the peer pressure I’ve always been warned about.” He grabbed the bottle from Stanley, hesitantly taking a sip. His lip curled up in disgust at the taste. You and Stanley both laughed. 

“If that’s how easily you give into peer pressure, we need to keep a close eye on you, Xen. That was pretty pathetic.” You laughed again, taking another drink. “Here, give me that,” You reached forward and grabbed the beer from Xeno, “I’ll finish it.” 

Stanley got up and walked back into the kitchen. You could hear him rummaging around in the fridge, and then the cabinet, before he came back out holding a glass of lemonade. He opened the bottle of vodka, pouring a generous amount into the glass, handing it to Xeno. 

“There, you’ll like that better.” He said, and went back to his own drink. You both watched Xeno take a sip of his new drink, and then another one. 

“This is much more palatable. Thank you, Stanley.” He said.

By midnight, the three of you had migrated into Stanley’s room. Originally, you had gone back there to change into your pajamas, but the two of them had followed soon after you. The three of you were drunk. You were laying on Stan’s bed, head pressed to Xeno’s lap, but not quite on it, your legs hanging off the side of the bed. You had a severe case of the giggles as you listened to Xeno yammer on about some astronomy stuff you didn’t quite understand. You had the, now nearly empty, bottle of whisky clutched in your hand, occasionally sitting up just enough to take another sip. 

Stanley returned back to the room, having left for a few minutes to take a quick shower. He came back with nothing but boxers on, the red flush of alcohol still very much present on his cheeks. Your eyes drifted over to him, and with the way Xeno suddenly shut up, you assumed his had, too. You both watched as he dug through his dresser to find something to sleep in. He noticed the silence and turned to the two of you, raising an eyebrow. 

“Like what you see?” He asked, teasing and slipping a shirt on. You felt your cheeks heat up, more than they already were from the drinks. You started giggling again as you got more flustered. 

“And if we do?” Xeno asked. Your mouth fell open at his boldness. The drinks were really working on him. Was he flirting right now?

You watched Stanley’s lips curl into a devious smirk. He grabbed the bottle of beer he had left on his dresser before and took a long drink, finishing it off. Setting the bottle down, he walked over to the bed and practically crawled his way from the foot of it to the headboard that Xeno was sitting against until he was hovering over him. And, due to your proximity, hovering over you. 

“Well, I would have to do something about it,” Stanley replied, his lips mere centimeters away from Xeno’s.

What the hell was going on? Was this really happening right now? Sure, the three of you certainly had tension. Any pair of you was commonly mistaken as a couple. Even when you were kids, your parents would tease you about which one of the two you were going to pick one day. Since starting high school together, the three of you became acutely aware that something was brewing between all of you, but it was never addressed. Until now. 

“Then, do something about it.” Xeno said. You bit your lip as you watched the scene play out before you. Stanley didn’t hesitate to close the gap between the two. The kiss was about as sloppy as one would expect with both of them drunk off their asses but you loved it. You moved yourself from your laying position to sit on your knees next to them, honestly unsure if they would even notice you. You could feel the pit of jealousy forming in your stomach- they didn’t have much longer before you would force them to include you. Clocking your movement, Stanley pulled away from Xeno, turning to you. 

“Don’t think I forgot about you, doll.” He moved to sit on the bed, gently grabbing your face in his hands and pulling you in. His lips met yours and the mixing taste of beer and whiskey immediately hit your tongue. Your brain turned to complete fuzz- the adrenaline of the moment combined with the alcohol to nearly black you out. You acted on instinct, trying to match his movements despite not having any experience yourself. 

Eventually, you pulled back from Stan and turned your attention to Xeno, who was happily watching and waiting his turn. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into you, lips crashing together. You could taste the sourness from his drinks on his tongue. You deepend the kiss, moving your lower half to climb into his lap, his hands finding purchase on your hips. 

You finally pulled back to catch your breath. As you leaned back, you found yourself hitting Stan’s chest, who was waiting behind you. He wrapped an arm around your waist, effectively sandwiching you between the two. You learned your head back, looking up at him. He looked down at you and smiled. 

“We’re drunk.” He said, matter-of-factly.

“Extremetly.” You said in agreement, turning your gaze to Xeno, whose eyes looked drunk off of more than just liquor. 

He smiled softly at both of you, “perhaps we should get some sleep. We can explore this dynamic further when we’re all thinking straight.”

You and Stan both nodded, Stan moving his arm from around you. He got up to turn off the lights, as you and Xeno both got comfortable under the covers. 

“Oh, yeah, just help yourselves to my bed. It’s not like I set sleeping bags up for the two of you or anything,” Stanley teased as he turned off the light.

“You are not about to get us drunk, make out with us, and then make us sleep on the floor, Stanley.” You said, trying hard not to slur your words. You heard chuckling, and felt the bed dip next to you as he laid down. Xeno wrapped his arms around you from behind, and you curled into Stan, who wormed his arms around you, his top hand resting on Xeno’s waist. You could hear Xeno muttering something, but it was muffled by your back, and the slurring of his words. It didn’t take long for the three of you to fall asleep. 

In the morning, you awoke in pretty much the same position. This time, your head was laying on Stanley’s chest, with Xeno’s arms still firmly wrapped around your middle. You took in the configuration the three of you had found yourselves in, memories from the night before coming back to you. Your head was absolutely pounding, and your stomach felt like a black hole. You could feel Stanley stirring under you. You turned your head up just enough to meet the eyes that were already looking down at you. You could hear Xeno’s deep breaths behind you- he was still sound asleep. 

“Mornin’, doll,” Stanley said, moving his free hand to brush your hair out of your face. 

You gave him a sleepy smile, “Good morning.”

“How do you feel?” His voice was soft, not wanting to wake the man still sleeping next to you.

“Like I got hit by a truck,” you huffed out a short laugh, “You?”

He nodded in agreement, “Same.” He moved his hand to your waist, wrapping it around you as much as he could, “You still okay with this?” The question was casual, but you could tell he asked it in earnest.

You nodded, moving your head to bury it in his chest, trying to block out the light from the sun poking through the windows, “Very much so.” You moved one of your hands down to entangle it in one of Xeno’s wrapped around you, and used your other hand to move Stan’s hand off your waist and to his side so you could hold it as well. 

You felt him press a kiss to the top of your head, and both of you drifted back off to sleep. 

The memory hit you like a flash as you leaned against the railing of the Persues. You took a sip of your drink, and pondered over Gen’s question: how did the three of you even start dating?

“Well, the short answer is this,” You chuckled, and lifted up your stein of beer, “we were 16 and drunk.”

Gen laughed, “a classic recipe for disaster.”

You smiled and nodded, taking another drink, “I suppose. But, it worked out in the end. It always would have ended up this way- the drinks just gave us the courage we needed to make it happen sooner.” Gen placed a hand on your shoulder as he started to walk away to join the rest of the crew at the bar. 

“It seems the courage from that night never left you, dear Y/N. You’ll have them back soon.” His hand left your shoulder as he walked away. You smiled sadly, looking out towards the ocean. You could only hold onto the hope that he was right. 

One more week until you dropped anchor in San Francisco. 

A/N: I had something else to tell you guys, but I can't remember what it was. It's been literally 30 seconds since I wrote the last author's note and I already forgot. Dear God.

I hope you all enjoyed! Like I said, the next part is like... pretty much done? But I said that in the last part and then it took me two weeks to post this so... Don't hold your breath. I really want to write more, but I am STUPID busy all of the damn time. I have a couple other WIPs outside of this series that I really want to finish- plus writing this so... idk we'll just see.

Okay I'll stfu. Love you byeeee <3

There was a sharp chill in the night air, the feeling of late fall. You had wandered away from the settlement, everyone else having turned in for the night, and had settled in a clearing atop a small hill- looking up at the night sky, out on the expansive forest, and the tents and buildings of the Kingdom of Science. You had just returned from Treasure Island. The trip was a whirlwind, and terrifying at times, but you had secured the platinum you had gone looking for. Everything was in full swing to prepare for your voyage to America- the Persues was to set sail in the morning. You had fully invested yourself in every part of this project, in your journey to the island, and in preparations for the next leg of your voyage- eager to help in any way you could. Eager to continue to be a pillar of strength and wisdom for the (mostly) adolescent crew.

In the silence, your mind wandered. You thought about what would happen next. You knew where the ship was heading. Soon, you would be heading to America. You would be heading back home. It had been two years since you had broken out of the stone. So much had happened since then, you had changed so much. And yet, your end goal never altered. Your stomach tied itself in knots thinking of the possibilities. What was it like there? Was there any semblance of truth in Senku and Gen’s bluff against the Tsukasa Empire? Would America be back up and running already? If so, how long would it have been like that?

You had everything to lose there. You were terrified of what you would find. Or, what scared you the most, what you wouldn’t find. With the negative thoughts flooding your head, you, for the very first time since being revived in the stone world, let yourself cry. Away from curious eyes, eyes that depended on your strength, you let the fear and emotions escape from you. Your mind wandered back. Back to the last morning you had with your husbands- a morning 3,722 years ago. 

You struggled against Stanley’s iron grip holding you firmly on his lap on the couch. You were stuck in a burst of giggles, trying to pry his arms from around your waist. 

“Stan,” You struggled to get his name out through your laughter, “Stan, please. I need to leave. If I miss my flight because of you I swear-” His grip on you loosened, and you finally thought you had broken free. Just as you were getting up, he changed his hold on you, turning you around to straddle his lap. You groaned in feigned annoyance as he pulled you in and attempted to press kisses all over your face. You blocked his attempts with a hand on his forehead. 

“Stanley Snyder,” you said, your tone firm, but a dopey grin plastered on your face, “if you get that lipstick all over me right before I’m about to leave, you are going to be down one spouse.” He laughed, and pulled himself back. 

“Is it really so awful to want to love on my doll before they go on a big long trip?” He brought his hands to your face, gently cupping your cheeks.

“It’s not so awful,” you leaned forward, pressing a firm kiss to his lips, “but, I do have to go.” You frowned, “You have to get your ass to work, too, babe.” He gave you another kiss, grip still firm around your waist. Xeno stepped out of your shared bedroom, dressed for work with a coffee cup in hand. He walked up to you and Stanely, wrapping an arm around your shoulders with his free hand. He placed a kiss to the top of your head. 

“Stanley, dear, contain yourself. Our darling has an important flight to catch.” Xeno mused. Stanley groaned, and finally dropped his hold on you. Xeno offered his hand to help you stand. You smiled and grabbed his chin, gently pulling him in for a kiss. You felt your phone buzz in your pocket. You pulled it out and frowned. 

“Okay, boys. My car is pulling up. I really do have to go,” you gave Xeno another kiss, and turned to Stanley as he stood up, placing a kiss on his lips as well, “I love you both. Behave while I’m gone,” you pointed at both of them, getting a chuckle out of them both.

“No promises,” Stanley said. He grabbed your bags from in front of the door, “I’ll walk you out.”

“I will do my best to keep him in line, darling,” Xeno teased. “Safe travels, my dear, we will see you in a week. I love you.”

Stanley opened the front door for you, and you both walked out. Your ride pulled up as you stepped off the front porch. He loaded your bags in the back of the car and opened the back door for you. He stopped you with a hand on your shoulder before you climbed into the car. 

“Stay safe, baby. Keep us updated as much as you can.”

You nodded in response, “I will, Stan. I’ll be home soon. Don’t worry about me too much, drama queen.” You teased and placed another kiss to his lips, and climbed into the car.

“Love you, doll.”

“I love you, too, Stan. See you soon.”

With that, he shut the door and the car drove off. 

That was the last memory you had of your husbands. “See you soon” had turned into millenia. Tears fell freely down your face the more you thought about it. Your chest ached with the feeling of missing them, of longing to be in your house with them again. You would give anything to be trapped in Stan’s arms again, to have him leaving purple lipstick marks all over your face. You would give anything to feel Xeno’s gentle touch, his kind and adoring kisses, to listen to him talk through his work at you while you fixed dinner. 

Through your sniffles, and lost in your thoughts, you didn’t hear the footsteps of the person sitting down next to you.

“Now, what brings you all the way out here on this fine night, hm, dear Y/N?” You could see Gen settling down next to you. Fuck, you thought to yourself, there’s no getting out of this one. 

“Just enjoying the peace and quiet. It’s a beautiful night.” You managed to get the words out with minimal shaking in your voice. You tried to wipe the tears streaming down your cheeks away as subtly as possible, hoping the darkness of the night would cover for you. 

From the moment you arrived, Gen had gladly seated himself right in your business. In the beginning, he acted as your translator as you slowly started to learn Japanese (and even teach a little English to the Kingdom of Science). Now, he acted as the pain in your ass. You meant that with the most love in the world. Despite the near decade age gap between you two, you had formed quite the friendship with the young mentalist. But, damn, you could not keep a secret around him. Which included right now. He chucked as you spoke. 

“I thought you would have figured it out by now- but, you can’t lie to me, Y/N. Especially not after two years of ostively-pay delightful friendship.” He teased, but you could hear the care in his tone. He turned his head to look at you, seeing the reflection of tears on your face in the moonlight.

“Now tell me, dear Y/N, what’s troubling you?” His voice softened. You felt like his gaze was boring holes into you. You thought for a moment about if you really wanted to get into this now. And, then, you thought that you didn’t really have a choice. Gen could, to your dismay, read you like a book. You knew he already had it figured out, he just wanted you to say it. 

“I’m scared, Gen. Really scared.” Your voice quivered as you spoke, a fresh wave of tears threatening to spill from your eyes. 

He hummed in response. “About the voyage? About going back to the States?” You nodded. “I had a feeling that was it. This is an important and exciting journey for the rest of us, but it’s very personal to you.” He watched your face, reading your expression. He wanted you to talk about it, to get your feelings out, but he didn’t want to overstep. When your face remained unchanging, he continued, “You were married in the old world, right?” 

You closed your eyes, those tears from before freely flowing down your face. You nodded again. “I was. My husbands and I lived in California at the time of the petrification. All I can think about is if their statues are still intact. God, I hope I can find them.”

There was a pause before Gen spoke up, “I’m sorry, did you say husbands? As in, more than one?” There was genuine surprise in his voice, but no judgement. You hadn't spoken about your personal life in the old world much since depetrifying. There was no time, and it pained you to think about it too hard. Gen’s question did break a short laugh out of you. 

“Yes, I had two.” You wiped the tears from your cheeks. “Well, legally, I had one husband. But a marriage certificate really isn’t anything but a piece of paper. We only got legally married because he was in the military. He was, uhm, very high ranking, and was often sent on deployments. So, we figured it would be smart to have the legal safety net. Survivor’s benefits, you know. Just in case…” You trailed off, realizing you had begun to ramble. “But, yes, to answer your question. Two husbands.”

Gen nodded, “So, a wildlife biologist, a soldier… What did your other husband do?”

“He’s a scientist, too. Aerospace engineering. He worked for NASA.” You brought your knees up to your chest, resting your head on them, still looking out into the distance. “I hope I’ll get the opportunity to introduce Senku to him.” you stare at the stars, a small smile on your lips. “They have… Conflicting views on science, to say the least.” You laugh, “But, I know those two would talk each other’s ears off for hours. I think Senku could teach my husband just as much as he could teach Senku.”

Gen groaned dramatically, “You’re telling me there’s a possibility there’s going to be two of them?” He fell backwards, throwing his arms up in the air in mock defeat. You laughed at his showmanship, feeling much of the tension you carried from before falling away. You still felt the pit of anxiety in your stomach. 

“Lucky for you, I think our chances of that happening soon are slim to none. They were in Pinnacles National Park, for an expo that I was actually supposed to be at but you know… Got stuck here with work…” You frowned. You didn’t regret your time with the Kingdom of Science, and you considered them family now. You couldn’t imagine a future where you didn’t know them. But still, the fantasies of being with your beloved husbands during the petrification, of being revived together, and not aging without them lived at the forefront of your mind. 

“Pinnacles is a two hour drive from the nearest beach. Even if we drop anchor there, the logistics of it feel so out of reach. It would take four days, minimum, round trip, and that’s not including the time it might take to find them… If there’s anything left to find.” You sighed, feeling the tears well up in your eyes again. “We have important work to do over there, and we’ll have limited time. I don’t want to risk ruining everything for a selfish endeavor like that. We all have people that we back. I wouldn’t feel right taking the time and resources just for something that only I wanted.”

“Well, they certainly sound like they have desirable skills. I mean, a trained combat expert and a rocket scientist? You do recall that our end goal is a trip to the moon, right? We could use people like them on our team. Even if they wouldn’t be idiculous-ray assets to the team, I think you’ve put in more than enough work to deserve to be a little selfish.” He turned to look at you. You looked back at him and quickly broke your gaze, trying to find anything else to look at. 

“Yeah… I guess that makes sense. Yeah, maybe.” Your voice softened, almost a mutter. 

“You’re trying to avoid it, Y/N. Why?” His tone was curt. Straight to the point. You shifted nervously.

“I’m scared, Gen. Terrified. There are a million possible outcomes, and so many of them are bad. What if their statues are broken and we can’t fix them? What if we can’t find them? What if they’re so buried under almost 4,000 years of geographical change that they’re never found again? I know they stayed conscious- I know it. It was torture for 3,700 years, imagine that for eternity.” Your voice broke as tears once again began to stream down your cheeks. “Or what if the rest of the world never turned to stone, or the rest of the world got back up and running hundreds or thousands of years ago and they grew old and died without me? I don’t want to do the rest of this without them, Gen. I don’t know if I can. We grew up together. For so long, it was just the three of us. We only had each other. They are the loves of my life, my everything. The only thing that’s gotten me through the last two years is the hope that I get to see them again. What if I can’t get them back?”

“You’ll paralyze yourself with indecision if you keep thinking like that, Y/N. You won’t know unless you look for yourself. You need to face this, but you know you don’t have to do it alone, right? You don’t have to carry all the weight by yourself.” He placed a hand on your back, and stood up. “It’s late, Y/N. We should head back and get some rest.”

You shook your head, “I’m going to stay out here a while longer. Thanks for listening to me, Gen.”

He smiled down at you, “Any time, dear Y/N. You give everybody else a great deal of your love and hard work. You deserve that same kind of care in return.” And with that, he was off back towards the settlement. Once again leaving you alone with your thoughts. 

The Perseus was setting sail in the morning. You didn’t have long before you had to face your fears head on. You were terrified, but soon enough, you wouldn’t have a choice. For now, all you could do was hold on to the crumb of hope that you managed to hold on to. 

I hope you enjoyed this part! I personally really love the little flashback I put in, and loved getting the chance to expand on one of the reader's relationships in the KoS :) I luv Gen

Also, every time I was reading through this to edit, the "now, he acted as the pain in your ass" line made me laugh out loud. I think I'm way funnier than I actually am.

Part 4 is pretty much finished, and should be out soon! I also want to keep writing for my little StanXeno series I have going on- so hopefully I'll be able to get that out soon, as well! AND, I need to start working on some requests lol. God help me

Reader's Note: When writing dialogue between characters, I use italics for sentences spoken in Japanese! I use italics for their intended purpose (I.e. emphasis & thoughts) in other spots in this, so hopefully that isn't confusing! Please let me know if that concept translates well, or if I should figure out an alternative! Thank you!!

Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine… Maryland…. Massachu…sett…s….. Mi… Mi…. Michi…

Goddamnit.

No.

Stay. The. Fuck. Awake. Y/N.

How long has it been?

What was I doing?

Oh, right. Where was I?

Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island…

Suddenly, sound infiltrated your ears for the first time in god knows how long. Cracking, rumbling. As quick as the sound appeared, you could see light. You could see the sky, trees, and birds flying overhead. For the first time since the light hit you, you were aware of the stone surrounding your body. You could feel it chipping away. First, your face. You took a deep, gasping breath, your lungs filling with air for the first time since you can remember. Then, your hands. You could feel running water on the finger tips of your right hand. It took you a moment, trying to remember how to get your brain to move your ligaments, but you managed to wiggle your fingers- feeling the cool water run between them. 

Soon enough, your entire body had broken free from the stone. You felt brand new, like someone waking up out of cold sleep. You sat yourself up- you don’t remember lying down- and looked around you. Trees, shrubbery, a flowing creek that definitely was not there when the light hit you, everything looked different. There were no buildings, no cars, no telephone poles, nothing. You looked around. You were surrounded by stone statues. Your heart sank.

What the hell happened?

How long has it been like this?

You looked down at your own body, completely bare. You examined yourself for any signs of harm- curious to see if the petrifying light had hurt you in any way. You found nothing except for a mark on your left hand, two jagged lines going from the tip of your ring finger, wrapping around to the back of your hand, stopping just past your wrist. You inspected it closer. It almost looked like a scar, but it went much deeper. It wasn’t a wound, though. It almost looked like… a crack? Odd. You studied it closer. It wrapped around to the other side of your hand right where your wedding bands used to sit. You frowned at their absence. 

“Well, I suppose it makes sense,” you muttered to yourself, “it’s been long enough that neither my clothes, or any buildings exist anymore…” You thought to yourself, “gold doesn’t degrade… They must have broken off as the landscape changed around me. I wonder how far away I am from where I started?” You started to walk around, exploring the new landscape. None of it felt familiar- everything was different than the last time you saw this place. 

The need for survival soon kicked in, and you eventually fashioned yourself some “clothes”. Nothing incredible- just some leafy vines you managed to tie together enough to resemble something that could’ve been a dress. At least you had managed to partially cover yourself from the sun. The air felt cool. You assumed it was sometime in the fall. But, still, elemental exposure- especially sun exposure- was dangerous any time of year. 

Clothing was acquired, and you could get fresh water from the stream you had woken up next to if you stuck close during your exploration. Food was another story. You had a good idea of the local flora and fauna, but you weren’t exactly a hunter. You didn’t know how to fashion traps or a weapon… But you supposed you would have to figure it out eventually. For now, you subsisted on local flora- fruits and vegetables that you knew would be safe. For your first night, you hunkered down under a large tree, curling into yourself for warmth. You had tried- and failed- to start a fire. It wasn’t freezing… But you certainly weren’t comfortable. Tomorrow, you would look for survivors. 

The dread hit you all at once. Survivors. Even if you found them, could you talk to them? You hardly spoke Japanese. Just enough niceties to get you through your trip. Otherwise, you had a translator with you the whole time. An even deeper dread set in. What if you were the only one? What if you couldn’t find anyone? Could you really survive on your own? If so, how long would you be able to do it? Would anyone else ever show up?

Sleep hit you deep into the night. Leaving you only a couple hours before daylight. 

You woke up at the first sign of sunlight- groggy, absolutely exhausted from the adrenaline crash from the day before. Still, you got yourself up and moving. You continued to follow the stream you woke up by. You didn’t really know what you were doing- you weren’t a survivalist by any means. But, you knew that you wouldn’t get anywhere if you didn’t keep moving. 

You walked through the day and into the night. By the time dusk was falling, you had arrived at a tall hill. The height could give you an advantage, you thought. Using your last bit of daylight, you climbed. When you were at the top, the sun had set completely.

“I don’t know what my plan here was…” You muttered to yourself, realizing that without daylight, your vantage point was essentially useless. You stood there, looking directly up into the sky. The night sky was like nothing you had ever seen. You swore you could see every star in the galaxy.

“Xeno… You would love this.” You felt tears prick at your eyes. You sat down on the grass, imagining what it would be like to have your husbands here with you. You imagined a picnic blanket, the three of you lounging on it. Xeno would be in the middle, excitedly pointing out every constellation and planet he could see. Stanley would be lying with his hands behind his head, likely dozing off. You would be curled up into Xeno’s side, listening intently to his excited rambles. 

You felt the grass to your sides, bare and empty. You wondered where they were. Did they get turned to stone? What happened to them? Had they revived before you did? Were they even still alive? The thoughts made you sick to your stomach. They were interrupted, however, when you caught a glimmer of light out of your peripheral. Quickly standing, you turned towards the light. Below, you could see fires lit, and lights coming out of windows. A village?

Without regard for the nighttime, you started running. You couldn’t gauge how far away the lights were- maybe a mile, or two? You didn’t care. There was civilization here. 

You kept running. For how long, you weren’t sure. An hour or so. Stopping to catch your breath along the way. Before long, you were upon the small village. You approached a suspension bridge that led into the village, stopping when you saw two young men standing in front of it holding spears.

“Stop. You may not enter. Who are you?” The taller one spoke, both of them crossing their spears to stop you from crossing the bridge. You couldn’t understand what he said- only picking up on the word stop. You shook your head at him, eyes wide.

“I don’t speak Japanese,” you said, using one of the only phrases you knew in the language, “Do you speak English?” You asked in your native tongue, hoping that one of them would understand. 

The taller one, with dark hair and glasses, looked at you confused. He said something you didn’t understand to the shorter blond one next to him. The short one ran off across the bridge, and the taller one stepped in front of it, using his body to block you from the entrance. He put his hand out in front of him, in a universal sign for wait here. 

You waited, nervously fidgeting with your hands. You were afraid of this. You found survivors- civilization, even- but you couldn’t communicate with them. How were you supposed to prove you were worthy of their trust when you couldn’t even have a conversation with them?

It wasn’t long before the short one returned, with two other men in tow- one with green and white dual toned hair, the other black and white. The short blond’s loud voice carried to where you were standing as you crossed the bridge- but you didn’t know what he was saying. The taller man standing in front of the bridge moved to the side for them to fully cross, but was still visibly on guard. 

“So you don’t speak Japanese?” The man with the green hair asked you a question. You, speak, and Japanese were the only words you got from it. You shook your head at him.

“English?” You asked, your voice small. You were trying to make yourself seem as little of a threat as possible- not that you looked like much of one to begin with.

“Are you American?” He asked in perfect English, surprise in his voice.

“Yes! I am! Oh my gosh, you can actually understand me,” your tone was dripping in relief. You felt like you had just struck gold.

“Well, this is interesting. I have a lot of questions for you. But, first, are you with Tsukasa?”

Your brows furrowed together, “am I… What? I don’t… No, no. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just… I woke up, or broke out, or whatever out of that stone yesterday. I just saw signs of civilization and ran towards it.”

The man with the black and white hair spoke, “It seems to me that they’re telling the truth, dear Senku. They don’t look familiar, either… I don’t remember seeing their statue in the Tsukasa Empire.” So there were two English speakers. The man with the black and white hair looked familiar to you… You swore you had seen him somewhere before in the old world. 

“Follow me,” the one you now knew as Senku said, turning to walk back over the bridge. He said something to the two guards in Japanese, and they both stood down, moving to the side. You were still nervous, but started to follow over the bridge. The man with black and white hair hung back, noticing your unease and waiting back for you. 

He spoke as you walked, “The guards at the bridge are Kinro- the tall one, and his brother Ginro. That,” he pointed to the man walking ahead of you, “is Ishigami Senku. He’s the chief of this village, and a scientist. And I am Asagiri Gen.”

“The mentalist,” You said, the dots connecting in your head, “that’s why you look so familiar.”

“Ah! So you’ve heard of me! Happy to hear that my little stint in the States made a lasting impression.” His voice was almost unnervingly chipper. His happy-go-lucky tone left an uneasy feeling in your stomach, like you were watching someone play a role. 

“Your phony mentalist gig is ten billion percent the least interesting topic among the three of us right now, Gen.” Senku said, annoyance in his voice, as he led you into one of the many huts in the village. 

“Well that’s a good way to hurt my feelings, dear Senku,” Gen retorted, the chipper tone in his voice switching to a painfully fake sounded tone of hurt, “I was just trying to make conversation with our new iend-fray here.” 

Gen had you feeling more nervous than you were before. You could tell his tone was genuine with Senku, even when he was putting on a show. But, when he was talking to you, it felt completely fake. He wanted information from you. You had no intention of hiding anything from these two, not when they were your only chance at survival right now, but it was very apparent that one of them did not trust you. 

The three of you sat on the floor, Senku and Gen both sitting across from you. Gen’s gaze bore into you. You felt like he could see straight into your soul. Senku had an almost bored expression on his face, but his eyes held a glimmer of excitement. 

“So, you can start by telling us your name.” He said.

“Oh, right…” You had gotten so distracted by whatever was going on with Gen that you had forgotten to introduce yourself. 

“I’m Y/N. Y/N Snyder.” You said with a nod, “I’m a wildlife biologist from America. I was here on a work trip when that light appeared.”

“Wildlife biology, huh?” Senku remarked, “that could come in handy. How did you depetrify?”

You shook your head, “Nitric acid, I’m assuming. I woke up with my hand in a stream. I had been sent a report briefing the day before everything happened. I was supposed to be in attendance at an expo for the Department of Defense, but I couldn’t get a flight home in time…” You realized you were rambling, “But, anyway. This briefing contained information from the CDC, showing a strong correlation between brain wave activity and response to nitric acid in the petrified swallows. I didn’t have much time to react in the moment, but I knew it was best to stay conscious and just hope something could save me.”

“Fascinating,” Gen said, with genuine surprise in his voice, “you and Senku had the same reaction to the petrification, for different reasons. The brains of you scientists are too much for me.”

Senku rolled his eyes, “so you stayed conscious, that makes sense. Nitric acid occurs naturally in rain water, enough of it in that stream over 3,700 years definitely could have broken you free.” Your eyes widened. How many years did he say?

“Anyway, how did you manage to get an invitation to a classified event like that? I’m curious about your career.”

You chuckled, “Well, I’ve been studying it for practically my whole life, it’s always been my passion. I’m considered a leading expert in my field. That’s why I was here in the first place- I was speaking at an international conference in Tokyo. On top of that, I do have my connections…” You knew you had already spilled confidential information to these two, but something about your “connections” being your husbands who were also very high ranking in their fields felt embarrassing.

“A world renowned expert in wildlife biology wouldn’t be bad to have around. I can think of about ten billion practical applications for your knowledge. That is, if you had any interest in sticking around here?” Senku leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. 

“Yes, yes, absolutely. I mean, it’s not like I have much of a choice,” you huffed out a laugh, “I’m more than happy to put in my share of work. I do have a few questions for you, though, if I may?” Senku nodded in response. 

“So you’re both, obviously, from the 21st century. Do you have any idea what happened? Did you build this village? And you asked if I was with someone earlier- Tsukasa- who is that?” Your questions came out in rapid fire. You realized this, and stopped yourself. 

“I basically just want to know what your deal is. I’ve been living inside my own head for the last, what did you say? 3,700 years? And, if I’m being completely honest, I am very scared and very confused. I’m a long way from home, and I’m wearing leaves right now.” You laughed, but concern was present on your face.

Gen stood up, “I can help with that last problem. Senku here can catch you up to speed on everything else.” With that, he left. Presumably to find you some real clothes to wear. 

And catch you up, Senku did. He told you everything- about the revival fluid, Ishigami Village and the astronauts, the Tsukasa Empire, the war that was inevitably coming. Your head spun with the information presented to you. You wondered what the hell you had gotten yourself into, if this would even be worth it. But, Senku had a charm, a spark in him that had you hooked. He reminded you so much of your Xeno when you were teenagers- just enamored by science and all the mysteries of our world and the universe. Senku had a passion that you immediately wanted to protect. You had watched the powers that be try and extinguish your husband’s spark innumerable times, try to hold back the progression of science. Exactly what this Tsukasa was trying to do now.

In this new world, you wanted to help Senku. Help this little kingdom of science. You wanted to help him discover things you yourself wanted to know- the secret behind the petrification beam, and the course to reviving all of humanity. And you knew, with Senku’s help, you could create the opportunity to go back home. To find them. 

Stanley, Xeno, I’m coming. I promise.

Part 3 Here!

A/N: Okay, so part 3 is already written- I might add a wee little bit more to it for funsies. The next part takes place like right before they leave for America, so I might add a couple little blurbs of Stone Wars - Treasure Island. Again, for funsies. I want to be able to establish relationships between the reader and the other characters without taking tooooooo long before getting to Stan and Xeno :') Reader lowk is the parent friend of the KoS and will mother all of them :)

Also, here's a reference for how I was describing the reader's petrification marks. It's not that important, but I think the idea is cool as hell and I wanted it to be a little Easter egg for the two wedding rings they would wear in the old world :3 pardon my teeny tiny baby hands they are so stubby