#self insert writing

Zhongli was seated to her right, a square cup as his goblet of preference but containing the same substance balanced in his own elegantly gloved grasp. He’d opted to don one of his more traditional robes rather than his typical suit this morning, likely because he knew he’d be spending the day in leisure with his partners rather than turning up in the harbor for work. After the joint New Years and birthday celebration from the night before he didn’t mind the reprieve, and Director Hu had been quite insistent when she’d sent them all home with plenty of goodies and an additional warning to not even bother trying to make some attempt to circumvent her orders, because it would all only prove to be in vain. The retired Archon of Geo sipped his tea with a smile, reveling in the peace and potential this bright new day was already brimming with.

To Nova’s left the esteemed Iudex of Fontaine, Neuvillette, adjusted his gloves as well before raising the silver chalice before him to his eager lips. While his companions were partial to a bit of additional flavor in their morning beverage, Neuvillette enjoyed the simple and refined flavors of an untainted drink of warm water instead. Something about the way the natural taste of the water was affected by and transformed with the heat, and even over the cooling process, convinced him that nothing could ever turn him against the majesty of water in its purest form. He was as contented by the calm nature of their shared morning as his partners seemed to be, appreciating the warmth wafting off his drink as he focused on the stillness of the moment, and the soothing ambiance of nature that only enhanced the sensation.

Here in Qioaying Village where the unlikely trio made their home they could be as authentic as they wished, safe in the lowlands of the remote rural mountains that formed Chenyu Vale, accepted and welcomed even in their less than human presentation. The star dyed and lovesick feline situated between her beloved dragons just couldn’t seem to help admiring the way Zhongli’s dark brown and gold draconic traits contrasted with the white, iridescent, frilled quality of Neuvillette’s. Despite the largely aquatic nature of his features, Neuvillette’s ears were still white, fluffy, and pointed in a manner not dissimilar to Zhongli’s, and not dissimilar to the otters with whom he shared a large part of his humanoid color scheme. Whether it turned out to be a true coincidence or not was anyone’s guess. But the frills and fins that accented the edges of his hydro-resistant fur and the dark blue scale lined tail that ended in a flourish of dazzling iridescent fins were indicative of his Leviathan nature; they were as much a part of him as anything else. And he was learning how to embrace that, especially now that he had Nova and Zhongli to help.

Nova sipped her drink in an attempt to keep her hands to herself, fighting the alluring enticement of Zhongli’s grand horns that parted his long, dark locks with branches of gleaming gold as they curved up into the sky, contrasting beautifully with the way Neuvillette’s smooth dark blue fins followed the downward flow of his cascading cloud white locks. She reached out to impulsively give both of their silky mane’s a long stroke, from the crown of their heads to the ends, which she found to be impressively and carefully groomed. She’d come to expect nothing less of her sophisticated husbands, and she only hoped she could project even a mote of the kind of poise and grace they managed to conduct themselves with.

They’d come a long way since the existence they’d known only as ancient dragons; life had become about more than just survival and strength. Than rules and conquering. Even as harrowing memories of the past crept out when they least expected, seizing their hearts and minds in the most inopportune moments when all they really wanted was to move on. To heal. To accept the terrifying reality of change. And here, now, seated at this modest table set in a scene straight out of a fairy tale, or perhaps just a pleasant dream, they all had hope that maybe such seemingly insurmountable hurdles weren’t so out of reach if they reached for them together.

A/N: I suddenly got in the mood to write a little something about the day Kepler was assigned as Brea's padawan because I don't think I've talked very much about how everything started! No warnings for this one, just a short drabble and some dialogue to sort of establish their relationship dynamic at the beginning to set the stage. Maybe I'll add onto it and include their first mission, maybe not, but for now here it is! (Divider cred. @/cafekitsune)

Brea’s foot tapped anxiously against the spotless floor of the temple as she wrote out the report on her last mission, her boots leaving slight scuffs on the pristine marble in the process. She'd developed the nervous habit over time after suddenly finding herself in the position of Commander, less than a week after becoming a Jedi Knight to begin with.

She had no battalion to command. When she was deployed on missions, it was usually either as backup for a Jedi General who'd gotten in a bit over their heads as they attempted to push back Separatist droids with their clones, or she went out solo. Using her skills to scout out potential threats, in which case she was solely responsible for the outcome of such missions…and for all the paperwork. Her least favorite part of the job.

Getting shot at by droves of nasally-voiced droids was somehow preferable to this. Her eyes strained against the walls of text on the datapad before her, a headache beginning to form from blue light exposure. Her focus started to wane as she wondered how a droid could have a nasally voice anyhow? What kind of person would program them with that particular kind of voice box? Was their intention to annoy the Grand Army of the Republic to death?

“Speak with you, may I, Young Callisto?” An unmistakable voice and speech pattern shook her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, Master Yoda! How can I help you?” She said, lowering her datapad to reveal the short, green Jedi before her.

He was not alone, however. A young boy stood awkwardly just a few inches behind him. His small frame was emphasized by his posture, shoulders slightly hunched as he looked nervously between her and the back of Yoda's head. Though his robes were disheveled and seemed to be just a bit too big for him and his signature braid was done rather sloppily, he was obviously a padawan. Seemed the right age, probably between 12 and 13 years old. He wore thick goggles that obscured most of his face, but behind them his brow was furrowed, and he had slight wrinkles under his eyes that he was definitely too young for.

She didn't have to use the Force to know that this was a kid who didn't want to be here. That begged the question, why was he? She looked back towards Yoda for answers.

His large ears twitched as he leaned against his cane, always taking such a long time to say what he was going to say. She tried to remind herself that she was in the presence of someone much older and wiser than her and to not get impatient.

“Young Callisto, a very important task for you, I have. As you know, spread thin across the galaxy are the Jedi. Yes. Very thin.” He started pacing slowly, his cane tapping against the floor as he did so. “As many hands as possible, we will need to win this war.”

Finally, he gestured to the boy. “Introduce yourself, young one.”

He seemed unprepared, as he suddenly snapped upright and his hands fumbled to clumsily grip at his robes. “O-oh, me do it? Ok, uhm…my name is Kepler Quinn, Master Jedi!” He punctuated this with a quick and shallow bow, more akin to a nod than anything else. His small voice had an extremely distinct squeak to it, as though it couldn't decide whether the pitch wanted to settle up or down.

“Well, it's uh, nice to meet you, Kepler!” She smiled invitingly to try and set him more at ease, “Heh, so polite. Thank you, but I'm not a Master.” wait…

Brea began to piece together just what Yoda was suggesting and was stunned into silence for the briefest of moments. Not long ago, Anakin had told her about how a padawan was suddenly sprung onto him without so much as a warning, and in the middle of a battle no less. Sure, she had thought about perhaps someday in the future taking on a padawan learner herself, but she always thought it would be a long time from now and that it would be her own choice. And with the war going on, she just didn't have the time.

“Master Yoda, I- I- don't know…how good of an idea this is. I mean, I've only been a Knight for how long?” She stammered, not wanting to sound like she was just outright rejecting the kid when he was standing within earshot. “Do you really want me to be a master?”

Yoda hummed thoughtfully, stroking his chin “a strange and unusual time this is for us all, Young Callisto. Do things the way we have in the past, we cannot. Learn to adapt, we must. And learn from you this youngling will!” He pointed at her with his cane for emphasis.

“In need of help, General Skywalker and his men are. You and Young Quinn will go to the front lines and assist them. Yes, that is your task.”

Brea perked up just a bit upon hearing this. Ever since seeing Anakin on Geonosis what seemed like only yesterday, the two were as thick as they had been as younglings, but with how the war was going they hardly had any time to spend together. They usually ended up posted in totally separate star systems and always seemed to be running off to a new mission. This would be a good opportunity to catch up with him, once she was done saving his butt, of course.

She breathed in deeply through her nose, and out through her mouth, resting her free hand on her hip. This was classic Yoda. He wasn't allowing her a lot of time to consider it, if Anakin needed her help, then she would never be the one to keep him waiting. “Well, Kep. What do you say?”

“I guess I don't really have a choice, so…” He replied with a hint of bitterness, his eyes not meeting her gaze. This gave her a bit of pause.

“Hmm, decided then, it is.” Yoda glanced up at her knowingly. She hated when he did that, like he had some sort of trick up his sleeve in order to teach her a lesson. “If unsure you still are when you return, another master we will find for the youngling. There is no time to waste. Leave immediately, you must!”

“Yes, Master Yoda.” Brea said in unison with the boy, as they watched the ancient one shuffle down the temple hall and out of sight. There really was no arguing with him in the end, and at least for now, it seemed Brea had a padawan of her own.

—--------------------------

That was how she found herself where she was now. Her ship was roomy enough to comfortably house two people, but she had been so used to riding alone that she couldn't help but feel a sort of…weight in the Force around them. She sat arms crossed in the pilot's seat and watched the lines of blue and white light streak past through the cockpit window. There were few places as good to strike up conversation in than hyperspace.

She looked over at Kepler, who sat stiffly and silently in the co-pilot's seat, as though he was afraid to move even a muscle for some reason.

“So, this is your first time off-world, isn't it? it's exciting, huh?”

“I dunno. I feel more nauseous than anything.”

“Eh, that's normal! It'll go away after a while.” She said with a wave of her hand, a deceptively blasé gesture to hide the fact that she was actually floundering just a bit. She'd been trying to break the ice between them for a little while now, but had only managed to get similarly dry responses from him thus far. She was normally so good with younglings. When she visited the initiates when they had a break from their studies to play in the courtyards, they had lots of fun. But this one was so different. Most children raised in the Jedi Temple never see anything else until they reach padawanship, the little guy should be ecstatic right now!

But she wasn't sensing any sort of joy from him right now. Not a hint of excitement. He sat disgruntled and the slightest bit on edge like he was waiting for something terrible to happen at any moment.

“I hope you're not worried about it being your first mission, too. I promise, it won't be that ba-”

“You don't have to keep trying to talk to me, you know.” He said suddenly, cutting off her train of thought.

She quirked an eyebrow, eyeing him from the side as she idly flipped a switch here and there on the control panel to keep the hyperspace jump running smoothly. “I want to talk to you. It seems like we're gonna be spending quite some time with each other from now on, right?”

“Sure. If you say so…” He said under his breath, but just loud enough that Brea heard it over the hum of the ship's engines.

If she says so? That was more than a little concerning to say the least.

“Well, did anyone say otherwise? Come on, we're in this together now.”

He stayed quiet, retreating into himself both physically and emotionally. That wasn't good, she needed to get him to elaborate more so she could finally figure this kid out. What would her Master have done if she needed her to open up to her…?

“Well, this reminds me of my first mission as a Padawan. My Master Yora Tos was a very powerful Jedi, and she had such a kind soul. But she was also such a chatterbox. There we were, it's my first time entering hyperspace, I'm trying to focus be amazed by it and she just would not stop yammering on and on and on and on and on-”

She heard him heave a rather large sigh. Bingo.

“Alright, I'm sorry, it's just…I don't have. A very good track record with this sort of thing.”

“What, with hyperspace?”

“No, with my Masters.”

Masters…plural? It wasn't necessarily unheard of for a padawan to be reassigned once in a while. Sometimes the matchup just didn't work out for one reason or another. It seemed like what was bothering him ran a little deeper than that, though.

“How many…Masters have you had?” She pried carefully, not wanting him to clam up again. She was worried she'd made a mistake by asking when he didn't reply right away, but after a few moments and another large sigh, he did.

“Three.”

She blinked. Three previous Masters? Ok, now that actually was a little bit unheard of. Now she was starting to understand him a little bit. She only ever had one, so maybe this wasn't a matter she could relate to personally, but she felt that she could at least try to sympathize with him.

“Jeez, that's rough, buddy. Why did you drop them? You didn't like em?”

He turned away from her, leaning against the arm of the seat and resting his chin on his hand. “I didn't. They dropped me. Because I'm, well… I'm not really cut out to be a Jedi.”

Her head swiveled towards him, “Hey, don't say that! I'm sure it's not true.”

“Well, I mean? I kinda tend to fall behind, someone is always having to wait for me to catch up. My saber technique needs work. I can barely move a pebble with the Force. And on top of that I'm always getting sick.” He emphasized this with a wet-sounding sniffle and wiped his nose with the sleeve of his robe. “I'm not exactly a star pupil.”

Brea exhaled through her nose as she pondered this. All of that stuff had always come so easily to her, she couldn't imagine how frustrating it must be to struggle so much with it.

“Well, everybody has stuff they're not so good with. It just takes time. And the right guidance! Who were your previous Masters anyway?”

“Well, there was Master Tiin, and Master Koth, and I guess most recently Master Windu.”

“Whew! Well I can hardly blame you, kid.” She said raucously, “That one definitely wasn't your fault.”

He tilted his head to the side as he turned towards her, suddenly seemingly interested for the first time since they met. “What do you mean?”

“Listen, Master Windu has always been bit of a hardass.” She began, leaning back in her chair. Surprisingly enough, this got what she thought was actually a snort out of him. It was almost laughter. Not quite, but close enough. “Ha, that's probably why he's on the Council now, so I doubt much has changed since I was a youngling. His standards are so high you couldn't reach them if you were at the highest point of Cloud City.”

“Yeah…” He turned away, his expression starting to fall again.

Shoot. She dared to reach over and tried to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch ever so slightly. She retreated a bit, but suddenly it seemed like a new resolve had settled in her mind. Somehow she wasn't convinced that this kid was the problem here.

“Listen…if becoming a Jedi was easy, then everyone would do it, right? If you're here then it means you have every right to be.”

He said nothing, merely humming a noncommittal reply in return before looking ahead through the cockpit window. Her eyes turned in the same direction. The star streaks that had been shooting past them at impossible speeds suddenly slowing until they stopped entirely and returned to their natural shape as points of light in the far distance. The whole ship shook slightly as they were finally dropped out of hyperspace.

Brea sighed and rolled her neck to pop her upper vertebrae before turning her attention to the control panel, switching the ship from autopilot to manual controls again.

“Alright. Let's get down there and save Skywalker's skin!” they began their descent and soon they would be breaking the atmosphere. “In my experience, hands-on learning is way more useful than anything you can learn from silly old books anyway!”

She glanced over at him and saw how his eyes widened as he watched the planet's surface slowly approach them. His lips pulled tightly in a sort of grimace as he was no doubt imagining what sort of scene awaited the both of them there. So, he was a bit nervous about his first mission. In an ideal world, it wouldn't have been under these circumstances, but at least one thing was clear to her. She wasn't gonna let anything happen to him.

“Remember, I got your back out there, kiddo.”

He swallowed harshly and turned, throwing her a thumbs up and some semblance of an awkward smile, revealing that he had a gap between his two front teeth. Something she hadn't noticed before now.

Superman's arms were around him before he could fall.

Axel had felt the rusted edges of the railings begin to grow close to snapping. He would be lying if he said that he didn't purposefully lean in a little harder when staring across the bridge, admiring the way the sunset shimmered off of the subtle ripples of the river below. Half of him hoped that, when the railing did break, he would be allowed to plummet down into the water.

Would the impact kill him? How hard would he hit the surface?

The loose memories of water tension in science class trickled in Axel's mind. They were soon forgotten as the brittle metal snapped finally beneath him, and he was flung forward. He felt immune to the gasps of terror and shock that surrounded tourists near him.

And then firm arms clung to his torso, blunt nails scraping on the skin under his shirt. Axel inhaled sharply, a gasp leaving his lips as the wind flew from his breath. The whirlwind stopped after a few seconds, enough for him to register the fact that Superman was indeed holding him tight in his arms, concern furrowing his handsome brow as he gazed at him.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, and Axel could hear the attempt at even neutrality as he floated back to the safety of the bridge's concrete surface. Once Axel's feet made contact with the ground, all he did was shake his head no and offer a quiet 'thanks' as he nodded at the other. Superman, hesitant for only a moment, reached outwards. A single brush of a thumb to Axel's cheek was offered as he pursed his lips and leaned in so only they could share in the whispers of safety:

"Call Bruce, Axel. I'll be watching."

"Ominous," Axel snorted with a chuckle, "Okay neighborhood watch."

"I'm serious." Was the final (and stern) warning he was gifted before Superman took off, leaving behind a crowd to rush at Axel's side and ask if everything was okay. What happened. If he needed an ambulance called for him.

After assuring strangers with a polite, plastic smile and an assurance that it was just a metal railing failing, he finally managed to wiggle out of the crowd.

Bruce had already texted by the time Axel pulled his phone out of his pocket and observed the front screen. The rule was 'no do not disturb unless its a movie' nowadays, and the sight of Bruce's small cat icon complete with obnoxious ribbons framing the contact name of 'Bruce <3' was a jarring contrast to his one message:

'Clark told me about just now. I'm coming to pick you up.'

There was no arguing with his lack of emojis this time, so Axel sighed:

'Alright. I'm off the bridge and just waiting near a bench by the riverside.'

No response, but it was read. Bruce was likely speeding down the city infrastructure far too fast to be legal, not that he'd be arrested either. There would be a statement the next day in the paper. He could see it now: 'Bruce Wayne pulls funding for something or another in the city building and puts it towards infrastructure development instead.' Just out of spite for the decaying buildings that might have taken Axel from him.

The sound of tires screaming to a halt startled him out of his thoughts, and sure enough Bruce's sleek designer car was at the curb. Though the windows were tinted, Axel could practically see the glare of frustration he was threatening him with through it. He exhaled and stood up, ignoring the eyes of people driving by. Instead he slid into the passenger's seat and let the automatic door fall shut behind him.

Bruce said nothing. He only waited for Axel to put his seatbelt on before speeding off into the traffic. Axel's stomach lurched at the sudden impact of speed, reaching out to grip the side doors with an iron clad hold. Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, Bruce begrudgingly slowed down to an acceptable speed limit.

"What were you thinking?" Bruce's words were stinging, strained tight in a whispery tone, "If you just moved off- If - you could have just moved. If Clark wasn't there you-"

"Clark was there, though," Axel returned as he leaned his head back on the seat, exhaling softly, "Clark's always there. Why worry?"

"It's self preservation," Bruce returned, equally as soft, "Your relying on him is...losing it."

"You think I had it to begin with. Cute." Axel's words of bitter truth were out of his mouth before he could register that they were even said. A cold chill ran down his spine and he felt his throat go dry. Shifting his eyes, he tried to catch a small glimpse out of the corner to Bruce.

He kept driving, eyes forward on the road. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel but his eyes were....sad. Melancholy. He realized what Bruce was thinking about when empathy swept him up. He had lost a lot of people he cared about. It was...kind of his thing, wasn't it?

"Bruce I'm...sorry." The words ached out of his lips as he shuddered, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like-."

"I know." Bruce returned, "I know..."

They drove in silence once more, returning to the manor in a longer amount of time it would have taken than if Bruce had sped up.

There was a sad, guilty sort of silence between the both of them as they entered the Wayne Manor. Alfred's eyes followed both of them with a raise of a worried brow. He did intervene, however, as he watched Bruce shift slightly down one hall and Axel make a move towards their bedroom.

Axel had slipped into the shared space of Bruce's room, sliding under satin black sheets and pulling out his phone as he exhaled and opened one of the at least six video scroll apps he had on it. The sound of idle, nonsensical brain rot soothed him into a spacey lull that quelled the guilty loathing he was drowning in. The type that he melted against. The ones he kept hidden from Bruce because he didn't want to make him angrier. He swallowed down a huffy breath that might have turned into a sob.

Time passed, but there was no clue how long, until a knock on the door echoed. Axel found himself pausing the video and sitting up on his arms, twisting to squint through half bleary eyes at the door. "Y...eah?" He finally called out just loud enough.

The door opened then, and Bruce came slinking into the darkness of the space with a gaze cast at the other. A bowl in his hand, he waited for Axel to sit up before sitting on the edge of the bed and offering the bowl. It was chocolate cereal. It crackled with nostalgia.

He took it and, after a second, brought the spoon to his lips. The crunch of the cereal soothed something in his mind, a good sound that lulled his nerves. The food filled his stomach and eased his nerves as he ate. Bruce watched in silence.

"...I am sorry." Axel finally murmured after a couple final bites of cereal. He put the bowl at the side table, "I didn't mean for it to...I was just having a hard time."

"Then you should talk with me," Bruce whispered, "Or Clark."

A hand touched Axel's thigh, tentative and cold. Goosebumps rushed on his side as he looked down at Bruce's feather grip. Reaching out in return, he put his hand on top of the Batman's and smiled weakly. "I sometimes forget I have you both now. I guess each time I still expect no one to come for me."

"You think that?"

Axel looked up past Bruce, who didn't seem surprised as Clark entered the room, arms crossed at the doorframe with a rather serious expression on his chiseled face. The man of steel had returned to his normal clothes, but he sported no glasses that would disguise him as Clark Kent. He really did rush.

Clark didn't look angry so much as serious. Like this subject was something he took without any joking tones. It wasn't lighthearted, but weighed as heavy as the blackout curtains over the windows.

He took a spot on the other side of the bed, forcing Axel to sit up and cross his legs, leaning on the headboard as he fiddled with the sheets. He rubbed the fabric between his thumb and finger, chewing at the chapped flakes of skin on his lips while the group sat in silence.

"I'm sorry," Axel whispered again, and this time the choked heat of tears warmed the edges of his gaze as he began to sob. The stuttering, stilting choke of air in his throat was painful as he reached up to cover his face in the palm of his hands, hiding his ugly crying face from the two men watching with a softness to their features.

"It's-It's just how I feel. It's always be-been true...And I'm just this...This worthless, singular human in an entire world you need to protect and-."

"Hey."

Bruce reached out now, removing one of his hands gently before holding one of Axel's wet cheek in his palm. His thumb rubbed the side of his face as he leaned into it and winced. Bruce's cool fingers were a godsend on the other's hot skin, and he relished in it before another strong hand gave his thigh a firm squeeze.

Looking over, he saw Clark smile softly at him, reaching out to bring Axel closer to him this time.

The kiss he offered was slow. Gentle. It felt reassuring and warm, liquid honey melting into his mouth and flowing down his throat. Clark drowned him in a string of reassurance that lasted some time before pulling away with a sigh and another brush of his thumb on Axel's cheek.

"I'm sorry people haven't protected you in the past," Clark murmured, "But now is different. Now you have us."

As if to add the conversation, Bruce reached out and gave Axel's arm a loving, firm squeeze.

For a moment he wasn't sure if he believed them. Hell, Clark could say the same thing with Diana's lasso around him and Axel still wouldn't be sure. But then his head turned, and he met Bruce's eyes. They swam with the effort of conveying something he was not good at. Poorer with words than Clark ever was, he only licked his lip for a moment before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Axel's temple, a barely there brush of skin.

"I'd never let anything happen to you." The words were murmured near his ear, a confession meant only for him before Bruce pulled away. Both knew Clark could hear it. It was clear in the way his smile quirked the edge of his lips as he watched the exchange.

So Axel decided to do something he wasn't sure if he had ever really done before.

"Alright," He relented with a shaky exhale, "I...love you both. I'm sorry I'm...like this. I want to try, I really do...I'm just not good at it."

"It takes time," Clark smiled, "And that's okay. We're patient."

"Sometimes." Bruce murmured with what was the closes thing he normally came to amusement as he shot a playful glance at Clark, who huffed indignantly at the implication. The exchange brought a small chuckle to Axel's lips, a sound both superheroes seemed to be proud of as they leaned in and pulled their lover into a hug, their bodies on either side of him. Sandwiched between the warmth's, Axel could hear their dual heart beats surrounding him.

He shut his eyes and reached out, clutching Clark as he let Axel rest his forehead in his chest and sigh. Behind him, Bruce leaned against his back and nuzzled his neck.

Axel hid his smile in Clark, the tears tickling the edges of his eyes not falling but filled with relief.

Maybe he could start trusting them just a bit more.

You are tense in the shoulders, a quaking apprehension as your F/O has both hands upon you. It's a loose gesture, their hands running a worrying thumb down and up the sides of your arms just below the peaks of your shoulders. It's sturdy here like a relief of a wax seal. Wretched cold has sunken pits into your body, your jaw clenched in effort to cease the chattering of your teeth. Wind picks up off and on like applause as if you are part of a grander scheme that is observed by something beyond you. You know, deep down, what this is. You know that pained look of trepidation in another's eye. You've watched it from afar and are no fool to the cascading ripples that knot your belly and strain your diaphragm with hopeful panic. You worry you have misinterpreted what is happening between the two of you, chewing the doubts that have arisen for certainly this cannot possibly be what is unfurling before you. Certainly not. You are not the sort of person that these things happen to. "You do." Your F/O's voice quivers with strain held tight in their throat. You can see the threat of glistening upon their eyes. It catches your breath in your own throat. "You do make me happy. So, so very happy. And," There's that croaking wheeze as they temporarily look over your figure as if searching for something else to anchor themself to. You know then and there that you unmoor them, casting rational thought adrift into the open sea with no compass to guide their helm. They look back to you after you grasp back. Goodness your fingers are frigid to the marrow. Your grasp tethers your F/O back to you but only for a moment. They look at the crisp and snow flecked earth twixt the two of you as if it would hide the translucent droplet that slips down their cheek and into the frozen soil. Your F/O is graceful despite the ache you know they might feel in their own bones. Your F/O is graceful like a well practised move. The idea that it has been rehearsed crosses your mind but is whisked away by another harsh breeze that tousles your hair and messes it in a tangle of wind. When you shake it from your cheeks and eyes your F/O has something small grasped between half gloved fingers and is offering it. Their movements are fluid and yet stiff as if fearful of it being struck from their hands. They hold it like it is something living and breathing. You imagine that it is how you imagine your F/O would hold a hatchling robin, freshly fallen from its nest, afraid and cold. The comparison reflects your F/O in that moment. Cold. Afraid. Vulnerable. Naked. Exposed. "If you would have me, I would love to make you as happy as you make me." The words escape with quivering lips. Their jaw clenches afterwards, a poise ready for backlash. The hand you extend is trembling. You are trembling. The leaves are trembling. The frozen grass is tremble. "Oh. Oh. Yes. Yes." You are sobbing. You cannot feel them on your cheeks but your vision turns into a blurring haze so quickly that it makes you think a little of drowning. "God, yes. Yes, please. I would have you. I would have you if you would have me." And you can feel it more than see it. Your hand feels so paltry by comparison of the warmth and blossoming fruit that erupts like a spring day inside your body. The metal had been warmed by their hands and slips perfectly into place. Your F/O is shedding just as many tears as you, a strained laughter slipping past their lips. You hear the hushed and warm tones of "I love you," escape between the both of you, unabashed and adoring.

"Huh." Was all that she said as she looked at the ad for a plush of sorts. Something for a puppet from a kids show it looked like. One thing that caught her off guard was how it felt familiar somehow. She stared at the buffering ad on the small TV screen for a moment until the TV made a noise that made her jump, almost dropping the DVD player remote. Following the sudden jarring noise the ad vanished, leaving a blank black screen for a second until the cartoon she had put on started back up again. Brown eyes stared at the screen for a moment before she shook her head, bending down to put the remote away. "That was weird…" she muttered before the sound of a door opening made her look up. Just in time to make eye contact with her friend carrying a baby into the room. "You good there Bells?" Dede asked with a tilt of their head, orange hair drifting to the side, catching the attention of the baby in her arms. "Yeah just the TV acting up; some ad about a puppet or something." Belle responded, standing up to take the baby from her friend. She didn't miss the way her friend's green eyes crinkled at the mention of a puppet. "Like Sesame Street puppet or that one old show where they cooked burgers?" Their response was a shrug as the short brunette handed the baby a toy giraffe,which was promptly shaken excitedly. "First one but it wasn't for Sesame Street I don't think," she answered, glancing back at her coworker. "I don't think any of them have a blue pompadour." Dede let out a laugh, disbelief on their face. "You're joking,right?" Belle shrugged once more as she turned to walk further into the room, placing the baby down, a smile growing on her face as he started crawling off towards a singing toy with a coo. "I saw what I saw." She said as she turned in time to see Dede hanging a diaper bag on a coat hook, sparing a glance at the cartoon playing on the TV. "That's weird. Don't think I've heard of that being done before," she paused for a moment before glancing back at Belle, "think it will show up again?" Belle spared a glance at the TV once more, an unknown sinking feeling in her chest. "Honestly, I'm not sure."

It had been a couple of hours since she ended her shift, her mind still wandering back to the ad no matter how hard she tried to push it out of her thoughts. A grumble escaped her as she tossed her messenger bag onto her bed, flipping the flap open to grab her sketchbook. 'Maybe if I draw it, I'll get this outta my mind.' She thought to herself as she rummaged through her bag for her pencil case. A sigh escaped her as she flipped open her sketchbook, pencil in hand, searching for a clean page when something caught her eye. A faded piece of printed colorful paper was sticking out of her sketchbook. "What the…" Belle muttered as she reached for it, carefully lifting some pages to free the paper. When she pulled it out, color drained from her face for a moment when her eyes landed on a familiar face and familiar blue pompadour. It wasn't the only puppet on the paper. There were 7 more puppets on the paper, in their own little circle with a number. Looking closer at it, it looked like some type of ad or sticker sheet of some sort related to counting, the names smudged beyond recognition. Any other text was either smudged slightly or completely black blocks or just distorted. Something about the distorted text made its appearance made her stomach sink more. She quickly scrambled for her phone and took a few pictures as if the paper would disappear just as suddenly as it appeared. After looking through the photos to make sure she had at least a few clear ones, Belle got up to put the paper on her desk, eyeing it over for a moment. Sparing it one more glance she backed up to her bed, sinking feeling slowly fading away as she reached for her sketchbook and pencils again. "Today's…..just full of weirdness…" she grumbled as she started sketching, eyes occasionally darting to her desk once in a while. After almost a full hour later, she had finished filling the page up with not only the blue haired puppet but as well as the other puppets she saw on the paper. She let out a huff through her nose as she stared at the filled page, hand smudged with different colors of graphite. She felt like it got rid of the wandering thoughts enough to the point where she finally felt like she could focus on something else. Specifically, sleep. Closing the sketchbook, she let out a yawn as one hand blindly searched for her pencils. Once she put her stuff up on the desk, she gave the paper one last glance before mumbling tiredly, flipping the lights off with a sigh. 'Thank fuck I don't work tomorrow.' Was the last thing Belle thought as she climbed into bed, letting sleep start to grab hold of her.

The sound of birds chirping and wind blowing through leaves is what woke her first. Belle scrunched up her face as she rolled over on her side, trying to block out the sounds for a moment until she slowly started to realize something was wrong. Her hand reached up towards her head, freezing when she felt blades of grass touching her fingers. That's when her eyes bolted open to take in her surroundings. She pushed herself up at the sight of green grass and tree trunks around her instead of her bedroom. Her heart thudded in her chest as she looked around in a panic, before glancing up to the leaves of the trees around her. Belle was caught off guard by the many different colors of the trees surrounding her. Their colors ranged from green to yellow, orange to red and even blue. "What the he-!" She cut herself off when she realized how it sounded like her voice was laced with static, hands covering her mouth as she stared off ahead of her for a second; a million thoughts racing through her head. She pushed herself to her feet while clearing her throat, thinking it could help with how her voice sounded. Hands falling from her mouth to her chest,she glanced around the area with confusion. The trees reminded her of those shows she'd put on for the kids at work somehow, but yet they were… actually there. They didn't seem to be part of a set or a background, they just looked like normal trees with unusually colored leaves. Without knowing what else to do, she started walking. Belle didn't know where she was going or what she expected to find but she figured it would be better than standing around staring at the trees. As she walked she kept making noises and clearing her throat to see how it sounded, confusion growing as she still heard static somehow. After a few minutes she looked up and stopped in her tracks at the sight of a house.

A blue house with an orange roof splattered with paint stood before her. Part of her was relieved to have found some signs of people. Another part of her was intimidated. She didn't know what was going on. Everything felt so weird and wrong, yet she couldn't place her finger on why. Before she could even take a step closer, a voice exclaimed loudly nearby, making her jump. "There they are! I told you we would find them!" A cheerful voice exclaimed, making her try to turn to face the owner. Something was wrong again. Her movements started feeling a bit heavy. Like she was being weighed down slightly, like she was heavy yet hollow - kinda like a-. A hug from her side caught her off guard as she stumbled, knocking her out of the heavy feeling. She shook her head slightly before glancing to her right to see who had hugged her, blinking in surprise at the sight of blonde hair and what looked like small orange and yellow horns. Part of her almost wrote it off as a headband or hair clips until she saw pink…..skin? The girl hugging her looked up at her and gave her a warm smile, giving the brunette a better look at who was hugging her. She definitely had pink on their body, with a round face and a red round nose; their appearance was reminiscent of a puppet…she couldn't remember from where, though. Belle didn't have much time to dwell on that until another voice spoke up. "Oh, thank goodness! I was worried you were still lost in the forest!!" Glancing up, she went tense in the hug again at the sight of a tall orange man running up to her and the blonde haired girl hugging her, a look of concern twisting up his face. A glance over his shoulder revealed a gray person not too far behind him. "I really am sorry! I thought you were right behind me, friend!" The orange man exclaimed in an apologetic tone as the blonde one let go in time for him to reach for Belle and pick her up into a more crushing hug than the previous. "Gah! It's uh- it's okay?? Please, put me down." She quietly asked, confused, wincing when she heard the static in her voice again. "Oop, right, sorry about that friend!" He quickly put her down and straightened her glasses as he gave her a warm smile. "See, F■■■■! This is our new friend J□□□□ and I wanted you to meet!" As he turned to their gray friend, Belle grasped the side of her head at the sound of a dial-up covering up some words, maybe names he said. 'What the hell?' She thought to herself as she shook her head, trying to shake the pain away. She missed the raised brow at her movements before their friend spoke up. "E■■■■, I think we should get them to the store or inside, I think they might be hurt." He spoke up as he approached them, glancing up and down at the short brunette with an exquisite eye. "Oh, you're right! We should get you to H□□□□'s! He should have something that can help! Come along!" The blonde pink lady exclaimed as she grabbed Belle by the hand and dragged her along easily. As Belle was pulled along, she looked around to the sight of more houses and what appeared to be a post office and a store up ahead. A feeling of being watched made her look over her shoulder in time to catch sight of what was the source of the feeling. A red house with a blue roof and…what looked like eyes for windows. Her heart felt like it stopped beating for a second at the sight of the eyes looking directly at her. She had tuned out everything else as she looked at the house longer until she lost sight of it when she was pulled inside a building. She blinked her eyes quickly at the sudden change in lighting before glancing back ahead of her in time to see the orange and gray man going ahead of them to find someone she assumed. One look around the store made her smile lightly. It felt like a nice place.

Belle tried to take another step as she looked around before it felt like her body turned to lead. She almost crumpled to the ground if it wasn't for the blonde and pink lady catching her. "Whoa! Maybe you should sit down for a moment, friend." She said, worried expression on her face as she guided Belle to a seat. Once she was sitting, it felt like her head was spinning for a moment. "Ugh- I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong." Belle apologized, a flush easing onto her face, frustration bringing tears to her eyes hearing the static still there. The pink lady immediately started waving her hands in a dismissive way. "No no it's okay! You're obviously not feeling so well friend! Don't apologize!" She reassured Belle before a look of realization took over her expression. "I forgot to ask, what's your name?" She asked with a tilt of her head. Belle looked up at her as she debated for a second on if she should tell this stranger her name or not. Part of her was yelling at her not to, but she reminded herself that this person has done nothing but helped her, so she pushed that dread away. "Belle, my name's Belle." She responded, not noticing how the static lacing her voice sounded softer this time. The pink lady in front of her clapped her hands together excitedly with a small bounce, the action brought a faint smile to Belle's face. "Well it's great to meet you Belle! I'm gonna go help the others look for H■■■■! You stay put,okay?" She said before skipping off, missing the way Belle winced at the sound of a dial up blocking out a name again. Belle sat there for a moment, staring at her feet, head pounding in her hands. The urge to run away and hide rising in her as seconds passed, the feeling that something was very much wrong making her stomach churn. It was almost overwhelming her to the point of tears until a hand was gently placed on her shoulder- and it just stopped completely.

Belle froze at the sudden change, staring ahead for a second before slowly turning to face the owner of the hand. When she looked up, her stomach dropped, heartbeats ceasing all at once. A familiar yellow fabric face with a lazy smile and tired looking eyes stared back at her. It felt like everything came crashing down all at once, seeing him. It felt like it finally made sense. Why the others looked familiar, why she felt like something was off. This had to be a dream… right? "It's you…" she trailed off, shock settling in when she realized the static was gone, his smile only getting bigger. "Hm?" He tilted his head to the side, almost as if he was feigning being clueless. "You've been through quite a bit so far, haven't you?" He asked, leaning in close to her, making her jump back in response. "What do you want?" Belle asked, feeling like she was swallowing something thick as she spoke. "Why am I here?" Her response was him laughing lightly. "Well, I'm just here to check on you, neighbor. Have to make sure you're adjusting well after all." He admitted, moving to prop his head up with his free hand, leaning on his knee. It felt like he was staring holes through her, like he was taking her apart just by staring into her eyes. "What- I don't understand." She tried to look away, fear rising in her as she realized she couldn't move. "Just let me go." Another laugh. This time, it made dread sink in her soul more. "Aw, I can't do that, we're just starting the fun after all,neighbor!" He exclaimed cheerfully, his grip on her shoulder getting tighter. She felt like her heart was racing as he closed his eyes for a moment, part of her telling her to get up and run, but no matter how hard she tried to will herself to stand,she was just frozen in place. It felt like her heart was in her throat when he opened his eyes again with a sigh. "Too bad we have to cut this meeting short. I was just starting to have fun with you. If only you didn't have to wake up now." He admitted disappointedly as he let go of her. Before she could say anything else, it felt like the floor caved in beneath her, a sudden change to darkness and then-.