#tosp

Despite having so much to talk about between the two of you…nothing was said on the way to the phone store. Neither of you spoke a word, not knowing what to say or where to begin. Years had been lost all because of a batshit person who would stop at nothing for money. Neither of you knew how to start making up for it - there was just too much. 

Emotions were high, that much you could tell. It was as if the two of you could explode at any moment. Both of you are ready to burst into tears of disbelief at any moment. Once the two of you slept, you were sure a lot of that tension would dissolve. It was mostly both of you feeling like this was a dream. Once you slept on it and realized everything was real, everything would settle down.

Even on the way back from the phone store, neither of you said much. You were just enjoying each other’s company. That, and you were working on setting your new phone up. 

Killer takes you to your penthouse. Part of you kind of wanted to see his place and where they were living, but you knew that the penthouse was best right now since you were still in recovery. You’ve had enough overwhelming surprises today. Familiarity was something you wanted right now. You didn’t want to deal with new surroundings. 

Now that the two of you were at each other’s sides again, there was plenty of time to go and visit. Or maybe…the two of you would move in together again. You shook those thoughts away. That was way too far in the future. You didn’t even know where the two of you stood right now. Maybe he had emotionally moved on? You used to be so sure but you didn’t know anymore. You didn’t want him to feel obligated.

Your downward spiral of thinking was stopped as you arrived at your destination. Killer helped you out of the truck and into the building, into your penthouse. You slowly make your way to the dining table where you continue to mess with your phone while Killer slowly looks around your apartment, taking in his surroundings.

The moment you had your phone transferred over and everything was settled, it was going off. You immediately silenced it and flipped it over, letting the messages flood in. You knew it would be a while before it settled down, so you weren’t going to even bother trying to look at anything right now. 

Your eyes fall on Killer who is slowly making his way around the penthouse, taking in everything. All the decorations and knick knacks the four of you have collected. It looked like a perfect blend of the four of you - it also helped that you all had relatively the same taste as well.

At that moment, a question popped into your head. 

“How did you know it was me?” 

You were referring to that time in the conference room. Where he cornered you and demanded you to take off your mask. Where he had said your name. If he was so convinced that you were dead, why did he say your name?

You didn’t even need to elaborate either because Killer knew exactly what you were talking about. He shook his head, making his way over to you.

“When I first met you in your getup, there was an air around you that was familiar - way too fuckin’ familiar. The way you carried yourself, the cadence of your speech - all of it sounded like you. At first, I thought this was the universe’s way to be cruel. To send someone that was exactly like you just to torture me.” He sighed, sitting at the table next to you.

“Even though I had been convinced you were…well…you know…” He couldn’t even bring himself to speak it into existence. “Everything screamed it was you and one day I had just had it, I needed this person to confirm that it wasn’t you and it was all in my head. That I was just still in grief.” He ran a hand through his hair, leaning back in his chair. 

“You had spit that ‘who is that’ gesture so fuckin’ fast without even hesitating that it was confirmation enough for me that I was just absolutely losing it.” 

You couldn’t help but feel more guilty. You could’ve ended everything right there. You could’ve had him back in your life with everyone else, but…what about everything else? Doflamingo would still be in charge, probably killing all of you and replacing you. Just replace all of you or move onto the next thing to keep his place. 

This way, he’s going away for a long time, Corazon is free, Law is safe, and everyone is reunited. As painful as it was, this was the best outcome. By sheer fucking luck and almost losing your life as well.

Now, it was Killer’s turn to ask a question. 

“How come you’re on stage now?” Ah, you knew this one was coming. Before you were adamant not to go on stage. You were too frightened at the thought of being in front of people talking let alone singing. Kid had asked you for years and you always said no.

You shift uncomfortably. It was your turn to sigh. “Well, when you’re blind with anger and revenge, you can do anything,” you mumbled. “I wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine. To make it even bigger than you were to prove that we didn’t need you…”

You folded your arms and avoided eye contact with him for a moment. “Besides, seeing you suck faces with that woman sparked a rage in me that lasted for a really long time.”

Killer immediately groaned, covering his face and sinking into his chair. “Don’t remind meeee,” he grumbled, utterly embarrassed. He started to mumble apologies but you stopped him.

“Kili, you thought I was dead. Of course I don’t hold that against you now. I would rather you move on if I actually did die. Find love again…besides…I don’t really want to think about it or I will get upset again. So let’s treat it like our first kiss and just completely forget about it.”

“I’d honestly rather remember our cringy first kiss than that woman.” 

The two of you laughed, agreeing to never speak of it again. There were several factors as to why it happened. You were willing to overlook it. The man thought you were fucking dead. He was grieving. Though, if you did die, you would want him to move on. You wouldn’t mind if he found love again. You knew he’d always love you the most, but you wouldn’t keep that from him. However, you also knew that he would probably never settle again. Maybe sleep around here and there but ultimately wouldn’t be able to get over you.

Mostly because that’s exactly what had happened.

After a moment of silence, Killer spoke up, “I know I can’t make you fall in love again. But would you let me try?”

You blinked, confused. “What do you mean?” Then it hit you. This was the ‘what are we’ conversation. You chuckled, shaking your head.

“Killer, no matter how much I…how angry I got. I never stopped loving you. You were the only one for me. It was you or nothing.” You smiled, grabbing his hand and kissing his hand. 

“Really?” Tears pricked his eyes and you shook your head again. “Don’t go and drain those big blue eyes, now.”

After that, the two of you fell into just…conversation. You caught each other up on what happened within the last two years. You caught him up on all of your friends' accomplishments, pulling up pictures and showing them to him. He told you about different celebrities he met and pulled those up as well. 

You kept talking, knowing you should sleep. A small feeling was still scratching the back of your brain. One that said this all wasn’t real and that you were going to lose this. Lose him. You were afraid to sleep, you didn’t want this to be some sleep psychosis. Or maybe it’s one of those last moments before you die; your brain making up some kind of utopia. Perfect life before you died. Maybe it was lights out after this.

However, you couldn’t fight it, falling asleep right there at the table mid conversation.

--

The next morning you woke up in your bed. You were groggy, trying to figure out where you were and what happened. You felt incredibly stiff but that didn’t matter once your brain caught up with you. Before you could freak out and see if Killer was still with you, you felt arms tighten around you. Question answered.

You look over seeing Killer looking at you with one of the most tender gazes you’ve ever seen. It was exactly how he looked at you before. Your heart started racing and your stomach immediately filled with butterflies. It was like you were falling in love all over again.

“I figured you might freak out if I wasn’t with you when you woke up. And…it’s been a while since I’ve been able to sleep with you, I wanted to revel in it. I missed the noises you make in your sleep.” Your face went white hot.

He must’ve carried you to bed. You feel flustered like you were a teenager all over again. You were also relieved that it wasn’t some last of life psychosis or a dream. Everything was real and Killer was with you again. 

Then it hit you. You felt really rested despite what you had gone through. This was probably the best sleep you’ve had since he left. Probably because he was back where he was supposed to be. Everything was falling back into its place as it should be; as it had been. Your body was finally able to relax after all these years. 

Sure, you were still sore and achey. You did almost die after all, but you felt replenished and like you could take on the world.

You felt his arms tighten around you, pulling you out of your thoughts and you giggled. You open your mouth to say something when your stomach rumbles so loud both of you hear it loud and clear.

“You wash up and I’ll make breakfast,” he said, kissing your forehead and hopping out of bed. 

You lay there for a moment more, watching him leave the room. You were still in disbelief. You couldn’t believe this was real and actually happened. You were absolutely over the moon. You covered yourself with the blanket, giggling and kicking your feet. You felt so light…so happy. Though, one thing still nagged at you. You still needed to talk to your cousin. 

You knew he was avoiding you. Hell, he might still be asleep right now, but you knew he was avoiding you. Probably trying to figure out what the hell to do. Probably didn’t even believe you were you. Going from losing all of your family to suddenly having your last family member back could take a toll on anyone. 

Before you could let yourself spiral, you climbed out of bed and headed to wash up.

--

Once you were out of the shower, the smell of delicious food wafted into the bathroom the moment you opened the door. Your stomach growled again, your mouth salivated. You haven’t had Killer’s food in so long and you were so excited.

You practically skipped into the kitchen, seeing that he was cooking your favorite breakfast. You sauntered over, wrapping your arms around his waist from behind and hugging him tightly. You still couldn’t believe he was here. Your Killer. Your love.

You let him go and grab a couple of plates before heading to the table to set the silverware and such up. 

He brought the food to the table, the two of you chatting as you started eating. 

About halfway through, the doorbell rang. Your heart stopped and you looked at Killer. Was that Kid? Was he finally ready to come and see you? After a moment, you stood up, heading to the door.

Opening it, you find your manager, Corazon. There is a ping of disappointment but you are also relieved to see that he is well.

“Expecting someone else?” he teased. Of course he noticed the split second of disappointment. Nothing went unnoticed by him. He noticed everything even if he pretended not to. He was much sharper than he led on.

You let him in, Killer getting up to make Corazon a plate after asking if he’d like some. Your manager said yes without hesitation. You had no idea how long he was at the police station figuring things out - he was probably famished. Even if he hadn’t been at the police station, you knew he could be just like you; working hard and forgetting to eat.

All three of you settled back down to eat. After a few minutes of idle chatter, Corazon finally brings up why he’s here: to let you know what’s going on.

“So, Doffy is going to be in prison for a long time. He’ll still have a trial and such. I’m going to have to testify. You definitely will too. It’s probably going to be a whole thing, but we’ll take care of it. I’m going to be taking over DQE: effective today.” You congratulated him. He had always wanted his own label and now he was going to have one. Though, you could only imagine how much work was ahead of him.

“Which means you’re going to need a new manager. Doflamingo fucked up a lot of shit and I have a lot of cleaning up to do. I have a long road ahead of me and I’m afraid I won’t be able to be around as much.” He frowned.

You smiled and shook your head. “It’s fine. I can-”

“No.” The firm answer came from Corazon and Killer. You pursed your lips together and deflated. You don’t know why you even tried.

“Fine,” you grumbled, folding your arms across your chest. You thought about it for a moment. “How about Emma? She’s been with us for a while now, helping with lives and such. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind being a manager.”

Corazon blinked, thinking about it before nodding. “If it’s something she wants to do. I’ll still be around obviously and she can always ask me anything if she needs help. I won’t leave you guys completely stranded.”

“I ran our group just fine before you came along, we got this. You just focus on DQE and we’ll take care of our side.”

Your former manager sighs and nods, he could stop you from being manager, but he couldn’t stop you from helping; not when his plate was full. “Okay, okay. Fair enough. Now, they’ve also taken in Law’s manager Vertigo, so they have a new manager as well. Clione. He’s also been working with them for a while next to Vertigo but he had no knowledge of the whole ‘Vertigo killing Law at any moment’. That he claims, so I’ll keep an eye on him but all my research thus far is proving that Law is safe with him.”

You were sure Law wanted to do what you had tried to do; manage his own band. He was probably turned down in the same manner as well.

Corazon continues, “Diamante was also taken into custody as he was right next to Doffy the entire time he was here. So, Killer, you guys will also need a new manager.” 

Killer thought for a moment. “I’m sure one of our other friends would love to do it.” He looked at you and you nodded. Most of your friends worked in showbiz in one way or another.

“I’m sure Gig would love to. Or literally anyone else. We all have lost time to make up for after all.” You shrugged. “Again, we’ll figure it out in time.”

Corazon nodded, folding his arms across his chest. “Whomever you decide on, send them to me so we can get contracts drawn up and talk shit through, yeah?” Killer nodded.

Before any other discussion could be had, the doorbell goes off again. This time it has to be Kid. Who else would it be? All your friends had keys. The entire friend group. So, it had to be him.

Killer and Corazon look at each other for a moment before standing up and excusing themselves. They headed towards the balcony with their food. They decided they’d give you space and finish their breakfast out there.

You tell them it’s okay and they don’t need to leave but Corazon pipes up, “I need to talk to Killer anyway.” He looks at him pointedly and Killer shudders. They disappear outside.

A small sigh escapes you, there goes backup.

You make your way to the door and open it up.

Kid jumped as it opened, his eyes going wide as he just stared at you. He was in disbelief. Tears welled up in his eyes and suddenly, he looked like he did back when your mom passed. That middle schooler who was trying to keep his shit together but ultimately falling apart.

“It really is you,” he said softly, his voice strained. He didn’t even sound like himself. He wasn’t loud and boisterous like usual. He sounded the complete opposite, full of emotion. 

He pulled you into a tight hug and you lost it. Tears fell from your eyes as well. You couldn’t believe this was your little cousin - all grown up. He might’ve towered you but he was still your little cousin and always would be.

It was just like when you embraced Killer. With the way his body was shaking, you could tell he was crying pretty hard too. He was quiet about it, however. And you were crying too, so you weren’t going to give him any shit.

After a few moments, you pulled away from each other. You reached up, taking his head in your hands and wiping his tears. “Look at you, all grown up.” Your voice was soft.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes and sniffling. “Oh shut up,” he mumbled, a grin spreading across his face.

The two of you were quiet for a moment, not sure what to say next. The two of you were never deep, not one to be tacky with sentiments. 

It wouldn’t last too long though.

“Y/N!!!” Two voices yelled, pushing their way inside and tackling you into a hug. Heat and Wire. You laughed, hugging them back.

“We thought you were gone,” Heat cried dramatically. 

More sentiments were shared, Kid yelled at them. Just like that - everything was back to normal.

--

“What do you mean the tour was cancelled?” 

Both your band and Kid’s band were currently in Corazon’s new office. He didn’t want to take over Doflamingo’s office because of all the bad energy in there. He was planning on renovating it into something else, but he did give himself a large office now.

You and your band no longer wore masks around the building anymore since you didn’t have to conceal your identities any longer. You were still debating whether or not to keep them for concerts. The four of you were kind of attached to the idea, enjoying being able to go out without them and not be recognized. 

You thought, since there had been so many reporters at your hospital, that your real identity was revealed, but it wasn’t. They had just known you were rushed to the hospital and could tell which room you were because Bubblegum and Dive were outside of it. So, you all were still safe.

“Just as I said, y/n. The tour was cancelled. Refunds were issued.”

“Why was it cancelled?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe cause you almost died?”

You went quiet, pouting slightly. 

“The tour was half ass put together anyway - a cash grab. From what I’m looking at, a lot of the venues he had chosen were not going to be good for what was planned. Too small of venues and too many tickets sold. And we’re lucky most of the fans were understanding. Since the whole debacle was livestreamed and now it’s been clipped and reposted all over the internet, everyone knows what happened. They know you almost died and everything else. A lot of them were expecting this.” Corazon shook his head.

“My plan is to give you guys some rest. I know you have a lot of time to make up for. I know that you all have been worked to the bone. The tour dates Doffy had were also way too close together. You would’ve had no downtime, so we need to replan all of that too.”

“Are we still touring together?” Kid piped up.

Corazon looked at him and nodded. “Yes. Your two groups will tour together. Probably six months from now.”

“SIX MONTHS?” All of you exclaimed.

“Yes. I want to give you all plenty of time to rest and catch up. I also need time to weed out the bad eggs from Doffy’s group and clean up a lot of other shit he left behind. Then we will gather back up in six months and start the tour.”

You collapsed in your seat, letting out a long sigh. Six months? What the fuck were you going to do?

“I know it seems like a long time, but it’s what you need. Both groups. All of you have been going nonstop. All of you have been through a lot. Don’t worry, y/n. Your friends that helped with the tour - their efforts will not be in vain. We will keep everything they have thus far. Everything will be relatively the same, just pushed back or on pause. You guys can come back and work on it in a nonrushed way. But for now, I need time on my end to sort some shit out before I start with a tour with two of the biggest groups. I even put Law’s group on hold too. Some of the smaller bands will still be doing shows here and there, but they’re easier to manage and none of them are doing massive tours, so they don’t require too much attention.”

You nodded, mulling it over. “Okay…okay. I guess that makes sense. I can only imagine how much of a mess you’re cleaning up. I suppose it’s good the tour never started when this all went down or it would be a massive letdown.”

After that, all of you were dismissed. You all agreed to head back to the penthouse to talk about things further.

--

“So…what are we gonna do?” Bubblegum asked, plopping down on the couch once you all arrived at the apartment.

“What if we go visit our hometown?” Dive piped up.

Hop had a mischievous smile on her face. “You know what I wanna see?” Everyone turned and looked at her.

“I wanna see this gravesite of y/n.”

The four boys’ faces turned bright red with embarrassment. “I-It was probably torn down,” Heat said, averting his gaze.

“No, no. I wanna see it too,” you said with a shiteating grin as you sat on the arm of the couch. Killer stood next to you, his arm around your shoulder. He always makes physical contact with you when he can.

“I suppose we can go check things out. It would be interesting to see how our tiny town changed.” You knew he was hoping that seeing their old town and getting a wave of nostalgia, you all would forget about the gravesite. But you wouldn’t, you didn’t say that though.

“Where are we going to stay though?” Dive frowned deeply. “Y/n sold their house, and the house we had been staying in before we left was a rental. The hotels there kinda suck ass too and no one has an airbnb.”

Killer squirmed slightly. “Yeah…about that. It won’t be an issue.” You looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

“When we were there and had seen your house for sale, I bought it. I couldn’t stand the thought of someone else owning our home. It was my last token of you.” Your eyes widened as you stared at him, tears welling in your eyes. 

“You did what?” Your voice was shaking, full of emotion. 

“Yeah. Even if he didn’t end up buying it - I would’ve. It shoulda went to me anyway. I don’t know why it immediately went up for sale. Probably also that slimy fuck’s doing,” Kid said with a shake of his head and a hard scoff. “That shit stays in the family. It’s not for anyone else.” 

You looked at him, the tears falling. “You guyssss.”

“Since we’re confessing to old shit,” Hop started, looking at Bubblegum and Dive.

“We might’ve kept everything you told us to throw away.” Your head whipped to them next.

“What?” You were reeling right now.

“There were so many memories with everything and you were mostly just mad. We didn’t want you to end up regretting it, so we figured we’d keep it until you were more level headed about it. We’ve been renting a few storage sheds this whole time and kept everything there. Kinda forgot about it until now.”

You were in disbelief. All the things you had thrown out in a rage - it was all still close to you. You didn’t lose anything. All those memories that you had with Killer, Kid, Heat, and Wire. You still had them. 

You started crying harder. You had no idea what you did to deserve such good people. 

“We kept the house empty too, so we can move everything back into the house,” Killer said, rubbing your back, letting you get it all out. “Then you guys don’t have to pay for those storage sheds anymore.” Hop nodded and grinned.

“Once we get everything all moved in, we can have a party with everyone over. Just like old times!” Heat grinned widely, bouncing in his seat at the thought.

“We can also invite Law’s crew as well,” Hop said with a grin. “They’re all on forced vacation now as well, I’m sure they’ll be bored.” She snorted.

You nodded, sniffling and wiping your eyes as you recovered from your sobbing episode. You were glad your friends never dwelled and switched topics and tones quickly, so you didn’t have time to really be overwhelmed with things.

“I think that’s a good idea,” you said, taking a deep breath. “Celebrate our reunion and new friends. We can make sure there’s plenty of places to sleep. I’m sure it’ll be a multiday rager.” You chuckled, shaking your head.

“Also my parents moved and left me their house, so we can use that one too,” Killer said.

You widened your eyes. “Your parents moved?”

Killer nodded. “Since everyone else moved, they wanted to have a change of scenery too. Went and moved somewhere on the coast, left me the house. We can set it up and make it a guest house.”

“Ooh! We can tear down the fence and make one massive backyard!” Dive’s face lit up with excitement. “It’ll make going from house to house easier!” And since your friend group was growing with Law’s friends, it was good to have more room.

Killer nodded again. “Good idea. This way there is plenty of room for people to do whatever the hell they want too.”

Talks of how the party was going to play out kept going as you watched everyone fall into discussion. You and your friends were always incredibly serious about parties. Lots of planning always went into it. Especially now since everyone had their own lives, but you were sure everyone would make time for this - even if it was just for a day.

It was probably going to be like old times. The houses will be open to all. You would probably have to make keys for everyone since you guys won’t be living in the houses all year round, but if everyone has keys, they can crash anytime. 

Things were falling into place and going back to normal. Everything felt right again. Everything was better. Who knew what the future held. Maybe one day you’d converge the two bands. Maybe some solo albums would drop. More features. More tours. The possibilities were endless now. Even more so with Killer back at your side.

“What are you thinking about, my little tangerine?” Killer said softly, turning your face gently to face him.

You laughed softly at the old nickname he used for you in high school. “Just the future.”

“Well, I hope I’m a part of that future,” he teased. “And I’m hoping for sun in the afternoon.” He winked.

You rolled your eyes. “Of course you are, dingus. We’ve spent enough time apart and now you’re stuck with me forever.”

Killer grinned. “I don’t have a problem with that.” 

The two of you fell quiet, the conversations around you fading into the background. He leaned down, kissing you softly and you returned the kiss. It felt like color was returned to your world. True love  - what a beautiful shitstorm.

“C’MON Y/N. NO ONE WANTS TO SEE ALLAT!” Kid’s voice ripped through and the two of you parted, laughing. 

“Then don’t look!” You stuck your tongue out at him before pulling Killer back in for another kiss, flipping Kid off in the process as he cried out in protest, everyone else laughing.

As you pulled up to your house, loud music was playing from the closed garage; as it always did. You climbed out of your car, stretching a bit before heading inside. Once inside, you headed down the hallway to the door leading into the garage. You couldn’t open the large door as things were hanging on it and it wasn’t like there was any room to park in there anyway. It was more of a large hangout space than a place to park your vehicle. Besides, you had plenty of driveway to park in.

As you opened the door, the music grew tenfold. You didn’t mind, however. It was something you were used to at this point. Kid had done exactly what he had set his heart on all those years ago. He formed his band with your friends once everyone reached their teens. He was the vocalist, sometimes playing the guitar. Heat was the lead guitarist and backup vocals. Wire was the bassist, sometimes playing the keyboard. Killer played the drums, also helping write a lot of the lyrics and composing the music.

They also were pretty good. They traveled to nearby cities and towns, playing in all kinds of places. Maybe you were biased, but you just knew they were going to be signed any day now.

The moment the door opened, Killer looked back at you, a large smile forming on his face as he kept playing. The others hadn’t noticed you as they were facing away and too lost in playing to really notice, but Killer always could tell when you walked in. It was the deep connection the two of you shared. At least that’s what you told yourself. He was your boyfriend after all, even after all these years.

You walked over to him with a large smile, leaning down and kissing him softly. He didn’t miss a beat, still playing his drums as he kissed you. The two of you knew better than to interrupt practice, Kid had yelled at you plenty of times for it. So, Killer became very skilled at multitasking. Well, at least in the form of kissing you while he played.

You pulled away, smiling at him for a moment, him returning the smile. You kissed him one more time before letting him be. You had homework and he needed to focus. When you turned, you noticed Hop sitting on the couch, reading with a sleeping Dive slung across her lap. You snorted at the sight, settling in on the other side of the couch.

Hop looked at you, waving. You returned the wave before diving into your homework, wanting to finish it before practice ended. You couldn’t exactly talk when the music was as loud as it was. 

During the duration of their practice, people came and went. Gig and Pomp stopped by, dropping off some snacks before heading off to their afternoon classes. Hip and Bubblegum popped by, sitting and chilling for a while before heading back out as well. 

That’s the way your house worked nowadays. Your mother passed a couple years ago, leaving you the house and a good enough inheritance to keep you comfortable. Kid had always lived with you and your mother, so of course he was always at the house. Killer had stayed with you most of the time after your mother passed, knowing how close the two of you were. It had been rough of you. He had also been close with her, of course. He eventually just…never left. He had a spare key since your teens, so he was already a part of the household basically.

Your friend group had grown so much and with everyone having crazy schedules, it wasn’t like you could just…hang out in a big group like you used to. Sure, sometimes the stars aligned and you were able to have some kind of get together with everyone, but this more casual way was easier for everyone. People came and went, hanging out for as long as they liked or as little as they liked. The fridge and cabinets were always full of snacks and food that people brought. There were different game consoles, tv screens, the likes spread throughout all the rooms. It was just one giant hangout spot and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

You left the backdoor unlocked at all times. You had a fenced in backyard, but there was always someone you trusted at the house at all times so you didn’t have to worry otherwise. Besides, you’d been in this neighborhood for so long, you knew everyone.

You suddenly felt strong arms wrap around you and lift you up. You slowly woke up, not even realizing you had fallen asleep. “Didn’t mean to wake you,” Killer’s voice was low as he pressed a kiss to your temple. You yawned, shaking your head. “It’s alright. I didn’t even realize I fell asleep. How long was I out?” You snorted, looking up at him and kissing him.

“Not too long. We just finished up.”

“How was practice?” You looked over, seeing that Hop and Dive had left. It was just you and the four who were just playing.

“It went good as usual, but there’s something missing,” Kid said, drawing your attention. You immediately rolled your eyes, knowing exactly where this was going.

“Tungsten, I’ve already told you. I’m not joining.”

Kid groaned loudly. “But why not! Your soft vocals would provide the coolest dynamic!” He flopped into the recliner across from you, slightly pouting.

“You know why.” You rolled your eyes, folding your arms. “Singing and all that in front of you guys and our friends is one thing, but it’s completely different going on stage in front of tons and tons of strangers.” You shook your head. “The pressure is too much.”

“Laaaaaame.” He huffed, cracking open a beer and drinking it.

“You guys are doing just fine without me.” You shook your head.

“We’d do better with you,” Kid was definitely pouting at this point. It was like he was still a child sometimes. Always pouting when he didn’t get his way. He decided to switch topics, talking to Wire about something or another, you stopped paying attention as you rested against your boyfriend.

“I love it when the light sits on you just right,” Killer randomly mused. You looked at him, confused by his words. He always said the most random things, but they always ended up being really sweet.

“What are you saying right now?” 

He handed you his phone and you slowly took it, still unsure what he was getting at. The lockscreen woke up as you held it and it was a picture of you. He had clearly just taken in as you were wearing exactly what you did in the picture. You were also asleep. He was right - the light that came through the highset windows in the garage hit you just right, illuminating you in a way that made you look like a sleeping angel.

You immediately felt your face heat up and he spoke again, “Good picture, isn’t it?” He was right. It was a good picture. It was almost unbelievable that it was you. A lazy smile stretched across his face. “Still doesn’t compare to the real thing, though.”

“That’s it! I’m not watching this!” Kid stood up, flinging his hands in the air and heading inside. “I’m seeing if anyone happened to make some cabbage rolls.”

“I was gonna make some tonight!” you called as he left. You weren’t even sure if he heard you. You snorted, shaking your head.

“Oh, by the way. Be ready on Friday.” You looked to Killer with a confused expression once more. He was really pulling things out of thin air today. He was just hitting you left and right today. “What’s Friday?”

“We’re gonna have a date night. It’s been a couple weeks and I can’t remember the last time we went out - just us.” 

He was right. Usually when you went out, someone was always tagging along. You were typically always accompanied by one or more of your friends.  You didn’t hate it, but sometimes you just wanted it to be just the two of you. “I have some news to share, too.”

You immediately perked up. “What news?” You searched his face as if it were written on him somewhere.

“I’ll tell you Friday.” He shrugged, a smirk on his face and you groaned. “Killi, that’s not fair. That’s three days away! You’re killing me!” You flopped against him, folding your arms and pouting.

You might not have been much better than Kid sometimes. It seemed some things ran in the family.

“Oh, you’ll be just fine.” He pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “I figured we could go to a movie then go to that new smoothie place you’ve been wanting to try.” 

Your face brightened as you sat up, turning to face him. “Really?” A new smoothie place had opened up downtown and you’d been dying to try it. You wanted to try it with Killer because you always tried new places together, but Kid had been hounding on practice even more as of late, so you didn’t get to see Killer as much.

Killer chuckled softly, nodding. “Yes, really. We can go to the movies right after you get out of class. Or we can go to the smoothie place first then go to the movies.”

“I like that plan better. A smoothie after a long week of school work sounds like a good treat.” You grinned, wrapping your arms around his neck and relaxing against him.

He grinned right back. “It’s a date then.” Then he kissed you, leaving you all sorts of excited for Friday.

“We should form a rock band when we’re old enough.” Kid suddenly sat up from where he had been laying down, struck with a sudden and brilliant idea.

A group of kids from the neighborhood were currently laying in the grass at the park after a long day of playing - this included you.

“Oh yeah? What’s with the sudden idea?” Wire asked, also sitting up to look at Kid. He crossed his legs, tilting his head to the side. He lived across from you.

“Well, I think we’d be good at it. And it would be fun. And we could all hang out all the time!”

“We already do hang out all the time,” Heat said, sitting up as well to join in on the conversation. He also lived across from you, next to Wire.

“Yeah, but I mean when we’re adults. This will be a sure fire way to make sure we’re always together!” Kid rolled his eyes as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I’m in as long as I get to marry y/n.” Killer sat up now, pulling you with him. He lived next to you.

You smiled widely. Sure, you two might have only been eleven right now, but you’ve been convinced you were going to marry this boy since you met him when you were seven. Even moreso when the two of you were sitting in the classroom at the ripe age of ten, holding hands when he officially asked you out.

“Ugh. Gross. But as long as you join my band then fine!” 

“You’re literally seven, how do you know you’re still gonna wanna be a rockstar?” You looked over at Kid who narrowed his eyes at you. “Says the one who is literally eleven and convinced they already know who they’re gonna marry.”

You guffawed at him, pouting and folding your arms. “You don’t understand, you’re too little!”

“I’m seven! I understand plenty!” He shook his head, scoffing.

“Nuh uh!”

“Uh huh!”

You felt Killer put a hand on your thigh and you groaned, folding your arms and rolling your eyes. “Whatever. You’ll understand when you meet your special someone. When you’re older.”

“You’re literally eleven, Bigs,” he said again, rolling his eyes at you. Arguing with Kid like this was frequent. He was your cousin and lived with you, after all. He had moved in a couple of years ago when an unfortunate accident happened to his parents - your aunt and uncle. He was pretty much like a little brother to you at this point; he sure was annoying like one.

“Whatever.” You huff, rolling your eyes again and standing up. You dust yourself off, stretching.

“You guys have fun in your little rockband. I’ll support from the stands.”

“Nuh uh!” You look to Kid who was standing now, confused at his sudden change of tune. “You’re gonna be in the band with us!” Just like true sibling fashion, going from arguing to begging to hang out in two seconds.

You shook your head, making a face. You folded your arms across your chest. “No. I don’t like people.”

“You’re around us all the time.”

“That’s different.”

“Maybe y/n can be our manager,” Killer chimed, trying to prevent another argument between the two of you. He slowly stood up as well, slowly holding your hand and pulling you away from Kid. Just to be safe. Things didn’t really get physical between you two, but keeping distance helped arguments stay deescalated. 

“I don’t know about all that,” you mumbled, shaking your head. Sure, it was mostly the whole getting on stage thing that made you nervous. Maybe you could be their manager. Though, people still made you nervous. You didn’t know the first thing about managing anything. You were eleven.

“Well, you have plenty of time to think about it.” Killer smiled at you and you felt your heart flutter. Sure, you were a kid, but these feelings were real. You couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. You were sure you found the love of your life and he seemed to feel the same - always content at your side. 

Besides, he’s the one that asked you out, after all.

“You’re right. We have plenty of time to think about it.” You smiled back at Killer as he reached for your hand. You took his, squeezing it softly.

“Blegh!” Kid stuck out his tongue and shook his head, causing everyone to laugh.

You looked over to your cousin. “What would you even name your band?” He seemed to mull it over for a moment before deciding. “Victoria Punk!”

You blinked, tilting your head to the side. “Like that one girl you had a crush on?”

Kid nodded, grinning widely. You remembered him mentioning he had a crush on a girl named Victoria back in his old neighborhood. He also mentioned that she had also passed, but never gave any specifics and you weren’t one to pry with things like that.

“Well, I think you have to decide that with the others. You can’t just decide it yourself.”

Kid pouted, folding his arms. “I’m the leader! I get to make the decisions!”

“Who said you were leader?”

“I did!” He huffed, glaring at you.

You rolled your eyes, placing a hand on your hip. “You can’t decide that for yourself!”

Kid looked at the others. “What do you think?”

“I don’t particularly care,” Wire said with a shrug. Heat nodded in agreement. “Being in a band sounds fun, but I don’t want the responsibility of leader.”

Killer also shrugged. “I’m just along for the ride. You know what I want.” He looked at you from the corner of his eye and smiled, making your face warm up. He was so sweet!

“Who is gonna do what?” Wire asked, standing up now. Heat followed suit and now all of you were standing.

“Well, I have to be the lead singer since I’m the leader.” Kid nodded as if agreeing with himself. “Other than that…I don’t know.”

“You have plenty of time to figure it out,” you said, using Killer’s words from earlier. He grinned at you and you giggled.

Kid groaned loudly and rolled his eyes. “You two are the worst!” He stomped off, leaving you all in fits of laughter.

White. Blinding white light is the first thing you see when you open your eyes - it hurts. You close them again, focusing on other things. Everything fucking hurts. Your head was throbbing; throat felt like you had swallowed a bunch of sandpaper; body felt like it was made of lead. Everything was positively awful.

It takes a moment, but you eventually open your eyes all the way, making out your surroundings. You can’t move or speak for a few moments, leaving you to just listen and piece things together slowly. A hospital - you were in a hospital. Why? Then it all came flooding back.

You needed to find Killer.

You sit up quickly - too quickly. Vertigo hits you and a wave of nausea washes over you. A trashbin is held up next to your face and you unleash inside of it. 

After thoroughly cleaning out your stomach, you hear a voice come from next to you.

“Are you alright?” Hop. You somewhat expected her to be there. You would’ve been incredibly worried if she hadn’t been.

You opened your mouth to ask a question when you realized there was a lot of noise and commotion outside. You look over to the windows. The curtains were drawn, but there was flashing. Then a loud voice, you were pretty sure it was Dive, ring out. “For fucks’ sake they’re in the hospital! They are not taking questions!” Questions for what? Who-

“So scram!” Bubblegum chimed in. 

You turn to Hop who lets out a soft sigh. “You remember how Pomp said he had something extra to do to your mask?”

“Yeah, but he had to tweak it. He wouldn’t tell me…” What did that have to do with the commotion outside? You weren’t connecting the dots. Maybe it was because you were still recovering.

“Well, it now has a livestream feature.” A livestream feature?

You look at her with knitted eyebrows, trying to piece together what that could’ve meant. Then it hit you and your eyes went wide. When you knocked over your mask, it turned on the livestream feature. “Did…”

Hop nodded. “It caught everything. That slimy fuck is going away for a long time.” She grinned a lopsided grin, folding her arms across her chest.

You leaned back into your pillows with a long sigh. He confessed everything. Even tried to kill you - wait.

“Why am I not dead right now?” He wouldn’t have just…stopped. He would’ve followed through. Doflamingo wasn’t above killing people, so why were you alive right now?

Hop shifted slightly and you couldn’t quite read the expression on her face. She glanced at the curtain next to your bed that was currently half drawn. It seemed like she was looking at someone.

“Hop?”

She walked over, pulling the curtain to reveal-

“Killer.” Your voice was barely above a whisper. Tears immediately pricked the corner of your eyes as so many feelings started to take over. Doflamingo’s words were currently ringing through your head. They had never left you. They never left your friends. They were forced to stay away, tricked even. All by some sick freak who wanted puppets instead of musicians. It hurt your heart. 

You knew how your friends felt over the years - you could only imagine how they had felt the entire time. Especially since they had been convinced you died. You couldn’t imagine how you would feel if that happened to one of them. You’d be destroyed.

You couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty. You had only tried to visit one time. Perhaps you should’ve tried more, surely you would’ve eventually run into them. It was clear they had visited you several times since your ‘death’. But you haven’t been there in so long - haven’t been back to that house. 

God, you regretted selling it. You wanted nothing more than to move back in with Killer and Kid - to have what you used to. You missed when times were simpler - before the heartbreak. 

Hop excused herself, but the two of you wouldn’t take your eyes off each other. Both of you were afraid if you looked away, the other would disappear. That everything would go back to the harsh reality of being without each other. 

Killer slowly walked to your side, still not taking his eyes off you. Once he was within arms reach, you pulled him into your arms. The warmth of his body heat washed over you. His scent filled your nostrils. He smelled the same - like home. His strong arms wrapped around you, holding you securely, making you feel the safest you had in a long time. Oh, how you just wanted to go home and curl up with him and sleep.

Tears fell down your face in waterfalls as you sobbed. With the way his body shook, you would tell he was crying too. 

The two of you stayed like that for a while, once more afraid the other would disappear if you let go. 

Eventually, you did pull away from each other. He put your face in his hands, wiping away your tears with his thumbs. You reached up, doing the same to him. There were so many things you wanted to say, but you couldn’t find your voice to say them. You didn’t know where to start.

You’d work backwards.

“What happened?” You didn’t exactly specify what in particular. You meant with Doflamingo, but you were somewhat vague since the two of you hadn’t seen each other in years.

Luckily, he still knew you like no one else. 

--

Killer burst into the office just in time to see your eyes roll into the back of your head. 

He moved before he could even think clearly. He punched Doflamingo so hard that he went flying into the wall, knocking him clean out. The element of surprised really played into his favor. His fist and the CEO’s face both covered in blood - broken nose most likely. He didn’t care about that.

He moved quickly, catching you before you slumped onto the floor. His heart is racing and his breaking is shallow as the adrenaline and anxiety run high in his veins. “Y/n? Y/n? Please…” His eyes were tearing up. He couldn’t lose you. Not when he didn’t have you back. He couldn’t lose you again. There was lost time to make up for.

“What the fuck do we do?” Kid is pacing, freaking the fuck out. He hears Doflamingo make a noise like he’s about to get back up and Kid runs over, kicking him as hard as he can in the torso, knocking him out once more.

Corazon enters the office, immediately beelining to your mask. He quickly switches off the livestream before assessing the situation. The first thing he notices is everyone gathered around your limp body. “Alright, alright. Give them space.” He shoos Kid, Heat, and Wire back a little bit. 

He takes off his fluffy coat, handing it to Killer. “Let them lay on that, it’ll be more comfortable.” Killer nods, taking the large piece of clothing and making a makeshift bed out of it.

Your manager looks at Heat and Wire. “You two tie up Doflamingo and stay with him. Make sure he doesn’t do anything fucking stupid or go conscious again. He’s got a silver tongue and he’s clever. The last thing we need is for him to go free. I turned off the livestream so knock him out as many times as you need to. I called the cops when the livestream started getting juicy, so they should be here any moment.”

The two nodded and immediately went to work. Wire took one of the belts from his outfit, easily tying up Doflamingo. Heat pulled out a couple of zip ties from his pocket, offering them to Wire to secure everything.

“Killer, you carry y/n and follow me. Kid, you follow me too. You’re the next of kin, so any major medical decisions will be up to you.” Since you and Killer never had the chance to get married, he wasn’t able to make any medical decisions. In the eyes of the government, he wasn’t family yet. So, those decisions would fall on Kid.

“Do you think-” Kid’s voice was soft. Killer realized he looked much like he did when he was younger. Small, afraid. Someone who had lost his parents, a caretaker, then his last family member. Only to lose them again. He hadn’t seen him this vulnerable in so long, he had forgotten that he could.

“No. I don’t. Not even for a moment. Y/n is stronger than they look. They’ll pull through.” Corazon’s voice was firm and even. He wasn’t about to let doubt creep in. He knew you would make it - he’d make sure of it. He wasn’t about to let his brother claim another life. Not when he could stop it this time.

Corazon also pulled out his phone, calling someone. “Hop? Yeah, I saw it. Hop, Hop. I need you to listen to me and everything will be fine…I need you to come to the building and take care of Diamante and…yeah. Exactly. Thank you.” He hung up, sliding his phone back in his pocket. Hop was your right hand man, so he knew that she’d take care of the rest.

Downstairs, there was already an ambulance waiting, the EMS just hopping out of the truck with the gurney to head in…

--

“And…that’s how we ended up here.” He had his fingers laced with yours, kissing the back of your hand. 

Confusion took over your face. Where was everyone else? Before you could ask, Killer chuckled. It was clear he could still read you like a book.

“Corazon gave specific instructions not to overwhelm you at all. Give you space, let you rest.” He pauses. “You know, he can be really fucking scary.” A shiver ran down his spine and you let out a small snort. You shrugged. You’d never seen the scary side of Corazon.

“I’ve seen him in serious mode, but I wouldn’t say it was scary.”

“Well, he doesn’t hate you. You’re a favorite.”

“True.” You snorted, shaking your head. 

They had apparently sent Killer and Hop specifically. Hop was always by your side - your partner in crime, your best friend. And Killer had always been your safe space. They also all knew you would need a moment to talk and catch up.

You opened your mouth to ask something else when the door opened. The noise outside had disappeared, Dive and Bubblegum must’ve chased everyone off.

“Ah, you are awake. You’re looking much better. I’ll be checking your vitals and giving you a once over before we talk about discharging you. I’m Doctor Marco.” He gives you a warm smile and pulls out a clipboard to start the small check up.

--

Since you hadn’t sustained any bodily injuries, like stabbing or broken bones - something that would take a long time to heal, you were able to be discharged that day. Thank fuck. The less time in the hospital the better. Besides, you and Killer still had a lot to talk about. You had…so many questions.

Killer led you out to the lobby where Hop, Dive, and Bubblegum were waiting. The moment you walk out of those doors, they jump up and run over to you, almost tackling you to the ground. There were sentiments shared very dramatically. “I thought you were dead!”, “I told you to call if something happened!”, “I swear to fucking shit if you do that again, I’ll make sure you die.”

Once they calmed down, you realized that it was just the three of them. Was Kid not here? Did he not want to see you? Or Heat and Wire? Did they hate you? What was going on? Maybe the hospital only allowed so many people to wait? Questions were building in your brain.

Hop noticed the look of confusion on your face and frowned. “No, they're not here. They left earlier.” You look at her with a blink. Yeah, they weren’t here but why?

“I think he got cold feet. It was pacing around like crazy. He was the most stressed I'd ever seen him.” Dive frowned, shaking her head. You’d seen him like that a few times before when your mother was sick. He usually didn’t let things get to him like that, though. But, you were family not waiting to hear how a new song did.

“The moment he heard that you were okay, he just bounced.” Bubblegum sighed, shaking his head. 

You nodded, taking in the information. You knew he was probably overwhelmed as fuck right now. You're suddenly alive to him. He must've been dealing with some pretty fucking big emotions and he was never good at things like that. He probably needs a minute. You didn’t blame him in the slightest and would give him all the time he needed.

“I'm sure he'll come around,” you said with a shrug. Your gaze shifted to Killer. “Just send him my address and he can come over whenever he's ready.” Killer nodded. Both of you knew it wouldn’t take him too long, he’d probably come over tomorrow.

“The other two went with him to just keep an eye on him. Well, Wire went first and Heat is always attached to his hip so…” Bubblegum shrugged. They were always like that. 

You nodded. That took care of them. Now there was only…

“He's still wrapped up at the police station,” Dive said, reading the look on your face. Your friends were so good at reading you it was crazy. Or maybe you just wore your heart on your sleeve, you had no idea.

“Ah, that makes sense.” His brother did just admit to just about every terrible crime ever on livestream. Corazon was going to be wrapped up at the station for a while. You mentally wished him luck, knowing he was probably trying his best not to bash his own skull in. He was a man who was meant to be goofy and whimsical. Not serious and dealing with shit like this.

Part of you wondered what this meant. Was Corazon going to take over the business? Was your tour cancelled? Maybe just pushed back? How were the fans taking everything in? Was your face completely broadcasted now? 

You felt an arm drape around you, bringing you back to the present. Killer had wrapped his arm around you and he was looking at you. “You still overthink like it's going out of style, hm?” There was an amused expression on his face. Time might’ve passed, but some things never changed. You were a chronic overthinker - always had been.

You huffed out at him but before you could say anything, he continued, “I'll fill you in on everything else when we get there. The fans, the plans, all of it.”

“That rhymed!” Dive piped in. 

You smiled, snorting at her interjection. You knew she was over the moon to have him back. Now her ‘parents’ were back together in one room again. All of your friends were probably happy and excited. Actually, there was no probably about it. They absolutely were. Now that everyone knew they hadn’t just left them and ditched them, reunions were in order.

“Besides, Corazon gave me strict orders to keep you from working or thinking about work.” A shiver ran down his spine. “Very strict orders.” He shook his head. “Your manager is terrifying, you know that?”

You just laughed at him. You never really got the scary side of Corazon. Then your laugh stopped. Oh, he was going to be so fucking pissed. You had deliberately disobeyed him and almost gotten killed. Oh man, you survived Doflamingo but it was his brother you needed to worry about. 

You groaned, covering your face. “Ah, shit.”

“I was wondering when you were going to realize,” Hop mused. Bubblegum looked over, grinning. He laughed, Dive joining in. “Oh, you’re so screwed.”

“What?” Killer looked between the lot of you with confusion. 

“Nothing. Just planning my funeral. I lived but Corazon might not let me.” You shook your head as Dive and Bubblegum laughed at you. 

“Well, I'm going home to sleep in my own bed one more time before he kills me.” You're grumbling, folding your arms across your chest. You're feeling weirdly light despite having almost died not even a few hours ago. 

“Oh before you do…” Hop trails off, fishing something out of her pocket. It was your phone. Or what’s left of it. It’s smashed and dead. You take it with a small sigh - that’s annoying. You could only imagine the countless notifications that were waiting for you whenever you started it back up.

You looked at Killer. “Can we go to the phone store on the way?” He nods. 

With that, you all head out of the hospital. You're going to be riding with Killer (of course) to the penthouse. Hop, Bubblegum, and Dive are heading to a hotel. Your friends that had been staying at your place decided to rent some rooms out for everyone to give you space. They all knew their own tendencies and didn’t want to overwhelm or bombard you in any way. You appreciated it.

Your bandmates were going to head to the hotel to catch everyone up on what was going on and give you and Killer some space. 

It was so weird. It still felt so natural having Killer walk by your side. It was as if nothing happened at all. Like the two of you hadn't just been separated all those years. 

“Let's head home, yeah?” Killer said, wrapping his arm around you with a smile. You nodded, leaning into him. Exhaustion was starting to dig its claws into you. You were just ready for some sleep in the comfort of your own bed and with Killer by your side once more.

“Ah, phone store first though,” you said and he nodded with a small chuckle as the two of you hopped into his truck.