#// i had separate tags for 'em despite being the Same Person

[brokentoys]

Puzzler would refer to the other crime bosses / families as his "children" - even when he was only in his 20s. This is intended to be belittling, as he's referring to himself as the Father who's wiser, and has to "take care" of the "kids."

Despite always wearing nice suits - Puzzler loves Gotham, and the dirty bits of it. He grows bored of being a wealthy elite who's invited to all the pristine, parties full of other fake people. Puzzler, as I've said before, has an extreme issue with not finding passion in anything. That includes both life, and people. It's why there's only three people he genuinely cares about. (His husband, False Face, and Eddie.) Everyone else also just bores him, he has a hard time connecting with people. (Also why he can easily kill anyone - which is also why he does it, as he finds "excitement" in it) Gotham is exciting because it's not safe, because it's unpredictable, it's full of wild people you'd never meet anywhere else.

When he moved to England after giving up the Puzzler persona, he was bored out of his mind. He left to escape prison, but also felt like he threw himself in another prison. He eventually ended up causing quite a few unsolved murder mysteries within the country - never telling his husband about it. (Although, his husband had suspicion.)

[grimm-writings]

imagine an event where… (part 1?)

…ft! wanderer, baizhu x gn! reader

…tags! some angst, honestly just word vomit, i love these two so bad, mentioned traveller as a separate character from the reader, reader has baizhu's illness

…wc! 580

…notes! i daydream a lot about hypothetical events with a reader like this sooooo… here’s one of em!!!!! if you’d like more do let me knowwww <3

Imagine an event where Wanderer, hearing of a certain doctor’s pursuit of immortality, meets with him in desperation.

Initially, Baizhu was sceptical.  Storming his pharmacy, demanding his presence, and nearly scaring the undead life out of his little Qiqi is absolutely not the ideal way to make a first impression, but Wanderer doesn’t seem to care much for appearances.

Before he can even enquire what this impetuous stranger needs, Baizhu is given the blunt question upfront.

“What do you know about making someone immortal?”

Baizhu called on the traveller’s presence hastily through Qiqi.  He needs a reliable witness to make sure this stays under wraps.  He doesn’t exactly trust this vagrant in Inazuman wear to not open his mouth.  He’s had enough visits from authorities.  This is just another thing he can sweep under the rug with adequate help.

Wanderer, on the other hand, is trying to stop his lid from blowing off.  As he tries to interrogate the doctor opposite him, he keeps directing the conversation somewhere else.  The traveller with their floating friend stand to the side, watching the back-and-forth.

“You don’t get it.  You won’t even hear me out!”

“I’m ever so sorry, but this sort of request is not something I can so easily provide.”

On and on it goes, Paimon even murmurs about nothing coming out of this, and it would continue that way until another person arrives at the entrance of the pharmacy.  Heaving breaths from a person spent catches Wanderer’s attention, whipping his head around at an alarming speed.  It takes Baizhu by surprise when he’s immediately at your side– and he’s so gentle when handling you.

It clicks in his mind, and he circles the desk to reach you.  In his ear, Changsheng hisses a question of what in Teyvat he’s thinking, but she gets no clear answer.

Wanderer keeps talking to you as you catch your breath, coughing occasionally in heavy intakes of breath.  The green-haired doctor picks up a vial and walks over to your pair, and gives you the medicine.

He says a word or two, something Wanderer couldn’t quite catch.  Doctor-speak.  However you look up at Baizhu and nod.  He smiles, calm and empathetic.  “I see.  I have the same condition myself…”

You feel Wanderer’s grip on your arm tighten when Baizhu asks your companion if you could stay with him for a bit for a check-up.  Even if protective of you, once given a promise that his request could be fulfilled, he relents.

This event would be one where the Wanderer becomes paranoid realising his companion’s mortal life might be taken away from him faster than he wishes.  Baizhu, in empathy, feels for said companion upon taking them into his care.  A study on grief, and one with characters you wouldn’t normally associate together interacting.

The traveller would help out with small tasks for Baizhu, creating different concoctions.  Each time, we see Baizhu’s empathy turn into determination to include you in his pursuit for immortality, but the traveller will have to help Baizhu realise that he can’t just save everyone at once.

The traveller would also see Wanderer and his increasing paranoia grow, not trusting in Baizhu’s studies.  The traveller, with probably some aid from Qiqi, will help Wanderer view mortal life as a treasure to keep with him once it passes despite his fear of being left again.

A story of healing, grief, and love.  Immortality from different perspectives, and what exactly immortality will grant oneself.

[luxios-chaotic-fucking-pokemon]

Hey there trainers! I’m Luxio! Yes, I know I’m named after the Pokémon, don’t even say it.

I was a big Pokémon trainer as a kid—although you can probably guess since I have an Eternatus on my team. I wouldn’t say I’m old now, I mean, I’m 22—but the whole “gotta catch ‘em all” thing has kinda slowed down for me.

Now I own a Pokémon Café! Maybe stop by sometime? And if you see a Pokémon you like there, you can adopt it! Aside from the Café, though, I do art as a sort of side-gig. What can I say, it’s fun!

Now, you might’ve noticed Spook doesn’t look like most gengar would. That’s because he’s an albino gengar! They’re very rare in the wild, but there’s always a chance you’ll find one! Albino gengar are notorious for their unique fur patterns, which are invisible on regular and shiny gengar. Spook is also a mini Pokémon! So he’s fun sized!

Oh, and don’t mind Creampuff, they’re a sweetheart! In fact, they wouldn’t hurt a Pidgey! They actually have the more timid personality, so they’re usually a lot more scared of you than you are of it. Creampuff definitely has separation anxiety as well, which I’ve been trying to work on.

(Under the cut is some OOC stuff)

Here’s Luxio’s and Spook’s reference sheets!

And also Luxio’s motorcycle

And I’ll give some information about the other Pokémon (that aren’t Creampuff and Spook): Momma was found mourning the loss of her deceased baby, which had apparently been killed by either a careless trainer or… well, not a nice person. Luxio soothed her and brought her home, introducing her to Nico.

Nico had previously been found in the café’s dumpster, trying to find anything edible. That’s when one of the employees caught him and brought him to Luxio, who took him in.

Momma, after being introduced to Nico, immediately decided to adopt him and take him as her own. Nico was, quite frankly, ecstatic to have an adopted mother. This improved both of their mental healths significantly.

Spaghetti-o’s was found in a dark cave, and Luxio promptly caught it. It’s very fond of alphabet soup and anything that’s shaped like its own kind. It’s very sensitive to light and usually prefers to stay within its Pokéball unless the environment is nice and dark, damp, and cool.

Grilled Cheese The Third (or Cheese, for short) has been with Luxio since she started out. Luxio had thought the name was funny when Cheese was just a little Houndour. Cheese, despite being older now, is still just as energetic as she was when she was a puppy. She also really likes instigating and bothering the less-social Pokémon. Cheese has also tried to eat a few Joltik, but that didn’t end well in her favor (she got zapped, lmfao).

Now, here’s some info about the owner of this account!

My main blog is @autistic-gay-men-kissing and my art blog is @gothys-art-n-stuff. I’m also on ArtFight 👀

I go by he/him, I’m genderfluid, pansexual, and polyamorous (basically the same as Luxio LMFAO). I’m also a Hellenic Pagan, so there’s a fun fact for you <3 hope you guys like this blog and my OC’s story!!

tagging @realpokemon

Also, EVERYTHING IS ON!! Yippee!!

and for those on ArtFight, here’s Luxio!! Spook is on there too

hey I also do comms

[hargrove-mayfields]

the tags on your football Billy story about autistic kids not being allowed to play sports, gave me the idea of Steve with autism not being allowed on the basketball team and how Billy and maybe Tommy if you want since you write kegboys sometimes would react

It doesn’t take Billy long to notice him, the benchwarmer boy who sits on the sidelines, never getting his shot in a single game, just riding the bench with a smile on his face.

At first he sort of pegs it to mean the kid is just really not good, maybe riding the tails of his daddy’s sportsmanship legacy, but then Billy realizes something, that this kid doesn’t even get to play at practice.

He shows up and he sits there like being excluded is the happiest he’s ever been, and the only time he ever has the ball in his hands at all is if it’s to toss it to one of the boys on the court when it rolls to him.

Despite this though, he has his very own jersey. Number zero. Harrington.

Billy asks Tommy after practice once who this mysterious jersey kid is, and he smiles sort of tight, like maybe Billy shouldn’t have asked him that, and tells him, “I’ll introduce you.”

Tommy walks over to the kid and tells him something that makes him light up, jump to his feet and follow Tommy back over, “Billy, this is my best friend, Steve Harrington.”

Steve just sort of waves, so Billy jumps straight into it. This kid intrigues him and he wants to know more, “There a reason you don’t play, Harrington?”

In response he shrugs his shoulders, hands stuffed in the pockets of his way too big basketball shorts, “I’m not allowed.”

“Why not? You fail some test or something?” Billy tries to ask lightly, not noticing the way Tommy’s face scrunches up before Steve drops a bombshell on him instead, “They don’t let special ed kids on the basketball team.”

And if that’s not bad enough, Tommy then adds, though significantly more bitter than even Steve is, “Or on any team for that matter, whether it’s sports or clubs or debate, you name it. School board denies every last application.”

“Oh.” Billy frowns, totally dumbfounded, his school in California never had any issues with that, “Oh that- that’s bullshit.”

“I know.” They say at the same time, prompting Billy to ask, “They don’t even have like, a separate team?”

“Not enough kids would do it.” Tommy says, and he gets a sharp look from Steve, who corrects him quickly, “Not enough kids could get permission to do it.”

“But that’s such bullshit.” Billy repeats, not very helpfully.

“Nothing we can do about it. We’ve tried everything. Not even momma Harrington could convince the school board, and let me tell you, that woman is scary.”

Steve elbows Tommy for that one, and Tommy laughs softly, throws an arm around his shoulder, but Billy is thinking, biting the corner of his nail in concentration, “Why don’t we start our own team?”

“I don’t know.” Steve’s face scrunches up, and he turns to Tommy, like he doesn’t trust what Billy says, so Billy continues, “No, I’m serious. School says you can’t play for them, so fuck ‘em. There’s courts in the park, I have a ball, and I’m out there half the time watching my little sister anyways. Let’s start our own team.”

Tommy answers for him, “Practice takes up too much time. We’re not gonna be much of a team unless we’re going to be playing at night or in the winter.”

“Then we quit the tigers.” Billy shrugs, like it’s obvious.

Instantly Tommy narrows his eyes, “Very funny, man.”

On the other hand though, Steve looks at him with awe written all over his face, eyes wide and spelling, “You’d really quit for me?”

And Billy, he plays it off like that look doesn’t make his heart melt, claiming, “For you and for Max who’s been talking my ear off about how much she wants to play soccer and whose heart is going to break when she finds out she can’t.”

Convinced, Tommy looks over at Steve, “If you’re in Stevie, I’m in too.”

Steve seems like he’s considering his options, drumming his fingers on the outside of his thigh, occasionally humming softly in thought, and it’s making Billy impatient.

“So?” He asks, to which Steve nods a confirmation to his offer, his hair bouncing with his enthusiasm.

Tommy cracks a crooked smile, holds out a hand for Billy to shake, seal the deal, “You’ve got yourself a team, Hargrove.”

They decide not to give their little team a name, the idea of being called something feels too exclusive, which was the reason they’d all quit the school's team in the first place. Billy had gotten in big trouble when his dad found out he quit for wasting their time and money on basketball, but that was all bullshit anyways, games were only usually a half hour long and were free to get into for the players family, and the school paid for the uniforms.

But that was what he said and what he’d been going to punish Billy for until they found out about the reasoning behind quitting, after which Susan was flattered he cared so much about his little sister, and he got his permission to freely go down to the park and play with the “special” kid.

Neil of course didn’t care about him doing it for Max, he was just concerned with Billy’s public image. Playing ball with the richest family in town's dopey son did nothing but good things for the way their neighbors saw him, so he’d allow it.

A few weeks into their games though, which are mostly just playing HORSE or teaching Steve how to do trickier shots since no coach ever would, Billy has to bring Max along because nobody was going to be home and she wasn’t allowed to be by herself. It’s a dreary day so there aren’t many people around at all, so he decides he’s going to loosen her leash, and walks her over to the playground (that they can see clearly from the courts, he’s not that irresponsible.)

He teasingly offers to push Max on the swings or lift her up to the monkey bars, making her roll her eyes and proudly declare that she’s not a baby anymore, so he chuckles and leaves her be, walking back to the basketball hoops.

Tommy and Steve are just sitting on the old wooden bench just off to the side of the court, waiting for Billy to get back because he’s their little impromptu coach and they can’t start without him, but he notices that they’re sitting awful close together, and between them, Tommy’s hand sits slightly on top of Steve’s, pinky fingers linked together.

Now he knows these two are affectionate, he couldn’t even count how many times Tommy picked Steve up after he made a good shot or ruffled his hair and smiled at him when he messed up, but that was all just friendly affection.

This was different though, he could tell it was from the way Tommy’s eyes snap up and he pulls his hand away, the both of them looking away from each other guiltily.

He feels a little something like jealousy in his chest, or maybe it was just anxiety at the fact that they’d been so obviously holding hands in the public park, but either way, he just kind of freezes up, looking between their two terrified faces until Tommy’s turns angry, standing from the bench so fast the old rusty things creaks loudly and Steve has to cover his ears.

He grabs the front of the baggy jersey Billy wears from his old school's team, the bears, and gets right up in his face, sneering, “You gonna say something, Hargrove?”

And Billy’s not afraid of Tommy, he might be mean, but he’s on his toes to threaten him, and he’s pretty sure they both know Billy would win the fight anyways. He’s not going to fight him though, and he makes that clear, putting his hands up as a clear sign of not going to sock Tommy for yelling at him, “Secrets safe with me, dudes. You go down, I’m going down with you.”

Tommy doesn’t get it though, because he growls, “Right. ‘Cause all that matters is what will happen to your reputation after giving up your precious sport just to hang with a couple of fags, right?”

“Tom.” Steve snaps, but he gets ignored, Billy arguing over him, “Actually, no. You know all that talk about queer kids flocking together without even knowing? That doesn’t come from nothing. I out you, it’s putting a target on my back, and from there it won’t be not long before a little birdie tells the wrong person the right rumor and we’re all dead.”

“Oh.” Tommy says softly, his face falling.

Billy nods sarcastically in response, “Yeah, oh. So let go of my damn shirt before I find a reason to punch you in the face.”

“Can we just play basketball?” Comes a timid request from behind them, so Tommy lets go, wipes his hands on his shorts, and answers him, “‘Course we can, Stevie.”

It doesn’t take long for them to get bored though, none of them are really in the mood to play after that. They play a small game that’s pretty much just Tommy blocking Billy the whole time, but after he shoots the ball they all just let it roll, none of them caring enough to keep the play going. So instead, Tommy offers up his place to hang out there.

It sounds at least better than this, so Billy drops Max off back at home, making her promise not to do anything stupid to get them in trouble until he gets back later that night, and heads straight to Tommy’s like they planned.

The whole drive he’s worrying that they’re gonna pissed at him and beating himself up for not just pretending like he didn’t notice, to the point where he almost just drives right past, but Steve waves at his car from the front window, and he can’t do all this petty angry shit to him.

Tommy’s house is empty for the night, so that means two things, that they’re free to drink as much as they want, (smoking’s a no go though, the smell is too strong and makes Steve upset), and that Steve sits right on Tommy’s lap like it’s nothing.

Which, it is nothing. Billy just told them he was gay too, and now they don’t have to hide from their best friend, so it’s common sense that they wouldn’t.

But Billy, well, he wouldn’t say he’s jealous watching the two of them together, it just makes his chest burn every time they touch or laugh at some joke and whisper amongst themselves like he isn’t even there, or when Steve kisses Tommy’s cheek.

Yeah no, there’s no pretending, Billy is totally jealous. He’s had a thing for Tommy since like, day one of practice when he bounced a basketball back in his own face trying to show off, and Steve for just as long, yearning to know more about the pretty faced mystery kid who turned out to be a total sweetheart and won him over. It’s tearing him to shreds watching them just being happy together without being a part of that.

He wonders if these small town boys have ever even heard of having more than one partner other than like, mormons, and if they haven’t, how is he supposed to bring it up without sounding like a total weirdo. Maybe he could claim that he was just trying not to be left out since they were probably the only queer kids in Hawkins. Or maybe not and Tommy would try to kick his ass again for even trying.

He doesn’t have to do much wondering though, because as pointedly as he’s trying to ignore them, Steve keeps getting closer to Billy on the couch until he’s sitting in his lap, and Billy has to ask, blue eyes going a little wide, cheeks flushing red in a way that had nothing to do with the sunburn he’d gotten at the park earlier, “What’re you doing Steve?”

“You included me. Now I’m including you.” Steve hums and leans his head on Billy’s shoulder, holding eye contact with Tommy.

To say that Billy is flustered and doesn’t know what to do with himself is more than an understatement. He'd like to say he’s not the most inexperienced one here, but it’s not looking good, because he’s flushed as red as a tomato, and the only thing he can think to say is just, “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” Tommy says and smiles that big goofy smile of his, a playful imitation of their little argument from before, “And I’d much rather you kiss me than punch me.”

[theres-an-impulstor-among-us]

Among Us: Crewmate Impulse getting an imposter voted out on a hunch, except this time the "hunch" is actually just Ghost Tango somehow yelling at him from the dead loud enough to influence his subconscious/code (this idea brought to you by: rewatching vods from before Tango got his compressor lol)

yeaaaa so this one is gonna have a LOT of caps in it lol i hope that’s okay. i’ll put a cw in the tags as well just in case

also i want to share the fact that this google doc is labelled “Tangy yell” lmfao

…

Impulse is standing at the upload panel when Tango enters admin to do his card swipe. The two exchange “hey”s at the entrance, before Tango heads over to stand at the admin table.

The last thing he sees before his vision goes black is the image of a figure popping out of the vent in the corner.

Tango sits bolt upright with a gasp. “Gaah! Skizz, what the hell?! That was the stupidest thing ever! Impulse is-!”

He breaks off as he spots Impulse turning away and leaving the upload panel without even turning to check the rest of the room.

“Hey,” says Joker, floating through the wall to join Tango in admin. “How’s it-.”

“Are you KIDDING me, Impulse?!”

Joker winces and covers his ears. “God, man… You need a compressor.”

“Impulse was RIGHT there!” Tango bellows, flinging his arms out towards his dead body over and over again. “He was standing FIVE FEET away from me! How did he not even notice I DIED?!”

“Tango!” Astro, who has just entered the room through the wall, yelps. “Inside voices, please!”

Crossing his arms, Tango floats furiously in the middle of the room, his upper half sticking out of the admin table, steaming so hard that he can almost feel actual steam rising off his transparent ghosty body.

“And I thought I was bad at noticing bodies,” grumbles Tango. “‘Least I’ve never had someone die five feet behind me and just left without checking if the person behind me two seconds ago is still alive. Stupid Impulse and stupid Skizz with his stupid face. I hate ‘em. I hate their stupid faces.”

“You might feel a bit better if you decided to do some tasks,” Astro says pointedly, finishing his upload. “So, you know, we have a chance of winning?”

“Don’t patronise me, Zoan.”

Just as Tango turns away, his dead body is finally reported. At the meeting, Tango has to just sit silently and watch as everyone discusses where they saw him last.

“I saw him in admin a minute or so ago,” Impulse reports. “But he was alive when I left.”

Astro winces, already knowing what’s coming.

“ARE YOU MOTHERFRICKING KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW, IMPULSE?!”

Sure enough, Tango’s subsequent roar shatters the ghosts’ eardrums.

“YOU ONLY THINK I WAS ALIVE WHEN YOU LEFT BECAUSE YOU WERE- YOU DIDN’T- OH MY GOD, IMPULSE!” Tango face is as red as a tomato, the blood vessels sticking out of his neck despite being dead. “HOW CAN ONE PERSON BE SO UNOBSERVANT?! SKIZZ LITERALLY VENTED! INTO THE ROOM! AND KILLED ME! THEN VENTED OUT AGAIN! UNDER YOUR MOTHERFRICKING NOSE! AND YOU DIDN’T EVEN CHECK ON ME BEFORE YOU LEF-!”

Tango’s voice cracks and he breaks into a fit of coughing.

“Oh my GOD, Tango, you need to take it down like a billion notches!” Joker rubs his ears in pain. “Or get a compressor or something, dude! You’re giving me a headache and I’m DEAD.”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” Tango lets out a prolonged funny noise, unable to do much else with his now sore throat. “Hate. Hate you all.”

“Stop talking before you lose your voice completely,” Astro says in a dad-like way. “You can get some water when we’re back in the lobby. Just take a moment to-.”

“Oh my god, guys, listen to the meeting,” interrupts Joker suddenly. “Listen!”

“-can’t explain why,” Impulse is saying. “I just think it’s Skizz. I mean, not only does he not have an alibi but also he says he just went into navigation, which has a vent leading from admin outside it.”

“Oh c’mon, that’s circumstantial,” retorts Skizz.

“I feel it in my bones, dude. I just have a hunch that it’s you.”

Astro turns to Tango with an impressed expression. “Dude, I think you yelled at him so loudly that your voice crossed the border between life and death.”

“Good,” croaks Tango hoarsely. “I hate him.”

“You know what, I’ll buy that,” Brody says in response to Impulse’s accusations. “I haven’t seen Skizz all game and he hasn’t really tried to be helpful at all lately, so I’ll vote him off, sure.”

“Oh come on!” Skizz snaps. “Really?”

Impulse nods. “Yup, cuz I know you’re the imposter.”

“As Tango would say: negative!”

“You said he only says that when he’s imposter.”

Skizz opens his mouth but apparently can’t find anything to say back to that.

Tango watches with a certain amount of satisfaction as Skizz is voted off the ship. With the sheriffing of Endless earlier in the game, the round ends and everyone is sent back to the lobby.

Tango immediately storms up to Skizz and glares at him. Skizz gives a chuckle as he gets up off the seat. “Hey, buddy. That was a really good kill, you gotta admit.”

All Tango can do in reply is glare at him.

“Tango lost his voice from screaming at you guys,” Astro explains with a grin.

“Wait, he can’t talk?” Skizz snorts. “That’s hilarious.”

His face twisted in a furious expression, Tango makes a wringing-neck hand movement at Skizz, who laughs and takes a step back. “Oh man, you’re REALLY mad.”

Nodding firmly, Tango turns to Impulse. He jabs his finger at his best friend, then draws it across his neck.

“Why’s he mad at ME?!” yelps Impulse.

“Because I vented into admin, killed him, and vented out again right under your nose,”Skizz snickers.

Impulse’s eyes widen. “No way…!”

“And you left the room without checking on him so you thought he was still alive when you left,” adds Astro. “As he kept saying. Or yelling, rather. Many times.”

“Ohhhhhhh noooooooo…!” Impulse gives his best friend an apologetic grimace. “I’m so sorry, Tango! I had no idea, man.”

Clearly still furious, Tango jabs his finger at him, then makes the same neck-wringing gesture at Impulse, before finally throwing his hands up in frustration.

“I, uh… I think we might need to take a break and get Tango some water,” Impulse says sheepishly.

Tango opens his mouth and dissolves into another fit of coughing.

“...and some cough drops.”

“I’m gonna have permanent hearing loss after that,” grumbles Joker, still rubbing his ears. “I swear to god, I’m not playing with you again until you get a compressor.”

Tango gives him an apologetic and slightly sheepish look.

“So wait, what exactly happened there?” asks Etho suddenly. “Impulse, you had no information and then suddenly you were saying it was Skizz. What happened there?”

“I literally heard Tango’s voice in my ear,” Impulse explains. “It sounded like he was yelling and I didn’t hear full sentences, only bits and pieces. I heard “Skizz”, “kill”, and “vent”. So I put two and two together.”

“Your voice was so strong that it broke through the beyond and reached the realm of the living,” Skizz snickers. “I can’t even be mad about that; that’s pretty awesome. But bro. Joker’s right; you desperately need a compressor.”

Tango rolls his eyes, wishing his friends would stop saying that.

“Anyway, let’s take five and meet back here after,” says Impulse. “Tango, let’s get you some water.”

Etho watches the two of them leave the lobby together, before sitting down on the floor and leaning his head back against the wall. He doesn’t know how it’s possible that Tango managed to get through to Impulse despite being separated by death, but he does know that this can’t be good. There’s a reason the living can’t hear the dead.

Or maybe he’s just thinking too hard about it. If there’s anyone out there who can yell loud enough to make someone who shouldn’t be able to hear him hear him, it’s TangoTek.

Maybe they really do need to get him that compressor.

[tomsrebeleyebrow]

Can u do a dad boxer!tom holland x mom reader were they have a 2 month old baby girl and she suprises him at his boxing match and he gets kind of upset because she doesn’t want the baby there for safety and the environment. And he opponent says some disrespectful stuff about the baby and reader and long story short Tom gets kicked out the ring . Angst but a happy ending 

ouuh yes! thanks for giving me some boxer!tom with dad!tom as a bonus darling 💞

slight angst, language and fighting under the cut

｡･ﾟﾟ･ clearing my inbox… slowly ･ﾟﾟ･｡

During his successful boxing journey, Tom finally reached his goal at being the youngest participant in his category thanks to all these endless hours spent at the gym. It finally paid off. Nonetheless he wouldn’t be here without you, his best supporter, who never got scared about his quite peculiar job and the first to treat his wounds after a match. You, the mother of his child, a two-month healthy baby girl. The thought of being a dad never crossed Tom’s mind but you gifted him with something he never thought he deserved. And here he was now, living from his passion next to the ones he loved the most because he wanted to give his family the best.

And tonight was the night. But he was really stressed.

Alone in the locker room, Tom sat on a bench while keeping his head between his hands, his boxing gloves resting on his thighs. It became his ritual before every match to get mentally prepared by himself, to get “in the zone” as he always said. Once done he stood to bandage his hands before putting his gloves on when he heard three knocks on the door before it opened.

“Ready, Tom?” asked his coach fully appearing at the door, hands in his jeans pockets.

Tom nodded, a slight frown on his face showing he was indeed ready. “Yes, coach.”

“Good. But before that, your little fanclub wants to see ya.”

The words from the coach confused Tom for a second, just like the grin he gave him right before slightly moving to the side, letting a very familiar figure make its way in the room. Tom’s face lightened up at the sight of you – as beautiful as ever with that candid and gorgeous smile of yours – and he got ready to take you in his arms to welcome the good luck charm kiss you always gave him before his matches.

“Babe! You made it–”

But he suddenly stopped, the words blocked in his throat, as he saw another presence he was not expecting to see at all. His smile instantly vanished to be replaced with one of confusion.

“What is Maya doing here?”

Maya, your two-month daughter. His little bubble of joy and pride. The baby was nicely wrapped around a white fluffy blanket to block the cold air from the place, a cute pink beanie poking out of it while she was peacefully sleeping in your arms.

You softly kissed your baby’s forehead then looked up at your partner, smiling. “Lily wasn’t able to babysit her tonight, so I just decided to bring Maya with me so she will cheer for you too. I also saw your mum in the bleachers, she kept a spot for us and–”

“Maya has nothing to do here, (Y/N)!”

Tom’s voice startled you, he never raised his voice at you. “B-But I thought you’ll be happy? I-I didn’t know you would be this upset–” You blinked a few times, slightly confused but before you could add anything else, Tom spoke again.

“That’s not a place for a baby, of course I’m upset!”

Again you got startled by his voice. Tom’s coach was still standing at the doorframe of the room, clearly uneasy at the scene going on in front of him, but decided to not say a single word since he had no right to interfere in his protégé’s private life. Still, a sudden tension rose and was obvious in the lockers.

You brought Maya closer to your chest, eyeing her down hoping she didn’t wake up. You thought you acted with good intentions, never thinking a second about upsetting your lover right before the most important match of his career. Your eyes diverted from Tom’s, looking down at your feet as your entire frame started trembling, trying your best to not cry by biting your bottom lip hard because it was not the time to make a scene.

“Fuck,” whispered Tom, finally back to his senses when he saw you shut yourself away like you often did during stressful situations. “I’m sorry, love, I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you.”

He approached you with big steps, his arms gently embracing you and his daughter against his strong frame and proceeded to kiss your temples to soothe you. “Shhh, it’s alright, baby. I’m not mad at you at all, I love y–”

“Well well well, would ya look at ‘dis!”

Fuck, not him.

A baritone voice echoed in the hallway behind you, the sarcastic tone making Tom’s body tense as his look automatically fell onto the one person he didn’t want to see right now. Or at least before the actual match. His tonight’s opponent. Tom’s coach clicked his tongue while arranging his cap, hoping desperately that nothing would go wrong.

You turned your head towards the voice, Tom making sure to keep you and your daughter as close to him as possible, his hands tightening around your hips as he took a step back, bringing you with him.

“Tommy brought his lil’ family here!” the opponent said with a dirty smirk painted on his face. A simple glance at him brought shivers down your spine, applying a slight pressure of Maya’s face to hide her against your chest. You swallowed with some difficulties, your mouth now dry as you also felt tension invading your lover’s body. “Thought it was a friendly family show, boy? Want ‘em to watch how much I’m gonna destroy ya not even your lady will recognize ya?”

Tom’s jaw tensed and his coach had the good reflex to somehow peacefully step between them both, also trying to take you away from being in the middle.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give ‘er a go once I’m done with ya, loser. Gonna shag ‘er good like real men do–”

You were brought to the side with Maya by the coach just in time before Tom stomped his way on his opponent, almost jumping on his throat as he succeeded at punching him in the face the way he deserved it. Tom was seeing red, adrenalin invaded his body and boiling in his veins at such inappropriate comments made to you, the love of his life.

Before this could go even further, Tom’s coach and his opponent one quickly stepped in to separate and calm the two men. Insults were of course thrown at each other, Tom still badly determined to give one or two more punches to this despiteful human being but thankfully, his coach succeeded at holding him down.

Once all the chaos died in the locker room, Tom also calmed down then quickly came back at you, his body in desperate search for you and his daughter. He muttered so many “sorry”’s in your ears, his face nestled in your neck while embracing you against him. All you could do was hug him back, the harsh words from that rude man still resonating in the back of your head as a sob broke from your lips. Tom gently rocked you side to side, hoping to also soothe his little Maya who just started to whine lightly in her blanket. You stayed like this, the three of you engulfed in each other’s warmth until they called him to join the boxing ring, you and your lover exchanging words of love and encouragement in soft whispers.

But tonight, Tom lost the final.

All the stress he accumulated before the match didn't help for sure, but it was never your fault. He admitted it himself when his coach was treating and stitching some of his wounds back in the locker room. His opponent was definitely stronger than he was. Nonetheless the match promoted Tom in another way, still giving him good publicity as one of the best new talents in the boxing field.

After he took a shower, Tom wrapped a towel around his hips and got back to his locker to get fresh clothes when he saw you sitting on the bench. Aware of his presence you stood up, a worried look on your face and decided to wait for him to walk to you. You must have left Maya to his mum since he saw no stroller in the room. He opened his arms as he approached you then welcomed you back in his embrace, your arms wrapping themselves around his waist and still careful to not apply too much pressure to the spot he got hit on.

He let out a long sigh, this time more relaxed, and pressed a few kisses on the crown of your head. You looked back up at him, chin resting on his torso as one hand gently rested on his cheek to caress the bruise slowly darkening on his cheekbone. Your eyes locked with his in silence.

“I lost, I’m sorry,” Tom whispered before leaving another feather-like kiss on your forehead.

“I’m the one who should be sorry.” Your soft eyes appeased him, just like your big innocent eyes did. “I never intended to upset you, a-and I’m sure that’s why you lost tonight–” Once again your lips pressed tightly in a thin line to stop any sob to leave. “A-And you also got injured, I’m so sorry Tom, I–”

Tom interrupted you with a deep kiss – at first he wanted to give you a soft one but your distressed look pained him too much. He cupped your face in his still moist hands from the shower, making sure to not let you go. When you finally parted to catch your breath, your lips stayed close to one another, still bruising and sharing the same air.

“It was not your fault, baby,” Tom said while gently caressing your cheeks. “It’s my stupid ass to blame here. I got carried away by too many things but the worst was I almost made you cry, when I promised I would never. You and Maya are the most precious things in my life that I should protect at all cost and even if I lost the match tonight, at least I gave this asshole some good well-placed punches in his face.”

You slightly giggled at Tom’s cheeky comment, clearly to caml the atmosphere. He pecked your lips once again before you nuzzled your face against his still naked torso, the natural scent of his skin relaxing you.

“No one messes with my family, or death is what’s waiting for them.”

… I should write more angst 😂

Tagging some mutuals and cuties✨ @allegra-writes @queencharry @tom-holland-is-spiderman @parkerpeter24 @thollandss @worldoftom @spideyspeaches @chaoticpete @tetralea @londonspidey

[fe-semi-decent-scenarios]

oooh could you do protective headcanons for the golden deer too??🥺

{I most certainly can. Y’all know I love these tropes so keep ‘em coming. Hope it’s to your liking! :3}

Claude: 

6/10

Neutral, with just a tad bit of nerves. 

Look. Claude has bigger fish to fry than what you’re gallivanting on about during the day. The man has a dream to catch with literally a country and 1/3 (woot woot alliance) on his shoulders. 

First, the future. Then, you. Can’t have a life together if there is no place for it to be had, yeah? 

This doesn’t mean that he never worries about you. Quite the contrary, if he begins then he can’t stop. So he doesn’t tinker the thought. 

Instead he has his most trusted allies at your back. During the Academy days you were left under Hilda’s watchful eye, and during the war you are always nearby (courtesy of matchmaker Prof.Byleth) 

Once he puts a ring on it you’ll have guards. No problem. 

He also trusts your own capabilities. One doesn’t train every day to walk out with nothing  

Also

You make me laugh if you think Claude believes you’ll ever cheat on him 

Not that he’s cocky okay, maybe a bit  but no one would dare put the moves on “The Master Tactician’s” s/o

Any suitor coming your way is peasant fodder. If not to him, than to your own personal retaliation. 

Yupp, nothing to worry about. You’ve got it covered. He’ll only step in if you physically come ask him 

and with a bit of teasing he’ll comply 

However, Claude is very sensitive to illness for obvious reasons. This is why he’s listed at a six. He always insists on tasting your food

It was a gimmick at first, and in the beginning he’d make banter to sneak a bite while you remain all unknowing of his true intentions 

He’ll be damned if someone ever poisons you. They won’t ever get the chance

Ignatz: 

9/10

Let us face it. Iggy is a worry-wart.

He freaks out over the most minuscule of situations. The poor lad nearly gets a heart attack at least once a day 

And no, i’m not just referring to his pre-timeskip self. Ignatz may have grown a head taller, got a backbone, fancy harem artist pants--but no, he did not lose his inner anxious zealot. That trait will cling until the day he dies sadly 

Having you at his side only makes things worse (in a good way. The trouble is worth it to him) 

Especially if you’re more of the risky sort. Expect him to mother hen if you cause ruckus around the monastery. He can and will lecture you to death (only to apologize and hide away after)

Now not only does he worry about his own issues, but also yours. I swear Ignatz acts like you are his second being. If someone scolds you, hurts you, etc. he acts like they did it to him 

Can be a bit dramatic, not gonna lie. He gets so worked up that his ears go red. Like, you can just t e l l he’s holding so much back because he doesn’t want to go too far

Don’t even get me started on if someone tries to make a move on you 

He becomes t o r n. It isn’t his place to tell you who to hang around, but ohmygodwhatifyourealizeheisn’tgoodenough 

iggy no, bad iggy. don’t think like that

He feels threatened so easily and not many would peg him the jealous type. He is, but hides it very well. 

If need be he will talk out his feelings with you. That’s something noteworthy of Ignatz: he uses his words. He may find communicating such thoughts aloud difficult, but if he truly is concerned then he will be honest with you.  

Raphael: 

10/10

Raphael believes in trust. He expects you to be honest and to not keep anything important secret. In return he’ll do the same. 

This is why he doesn’t care if someone is flirting. He could give less of a thought on gossip, rumors, or anything really. That effort can go towards training 

He truly, honest to Sothis, trusts you with all his heart. There isn’t any time to spend doing otherwise. Raph just wants to live happily and that means having you by his side 

Nor does he feel intimidated by anyone else either. I’m not saying that he reeks of resolved confidence, but Raph believes that you love him. Love topples any mindless flirting that other people throw your way 

but let’s get one thing straight 

If anybody, and I mean ANYBODY, tries to hurt you 

This guy’s having them for b r e a k f a s t. Pounded, sliced, and Smoked. The same way he liked his bacon. 

You are his family. Raphael protects his family, and those he cares about. 

You will never be alone. Goddess if you cry and someone else is the cause then he will take action. One fault of Raph is that while he’s a sweetie, he doesn’t think before acting a lot. Similar to Caspar, he just goes for it 

It takes a lot to get underneath Raph’s skin. 

In short: do not f*ck with his loved ones. He would take on Nemisis himself mono-e-mono if it meant protecting them 

Lorenz: 

8/10

Y’all going to sit there and try to convince me that Lorenz Hellman Gloucester doesn’t try to establish dominance? 

Key word: try

He’s quickly shut down

“Lorenz if you tell one more person that we’re betrothed, I swear that I’ll shave off your eyebrows” - You, one month post-confession 

Saying that you’re his perfect match is no excuse. Considering all the preaching he does on noble humility, you’d think he would want your private affairs off the notice board? 

It doesn’t take long for your peers to start complaining. Claude finds his behavior entertaining, but not a day goes by that someone doesn’t beg you to make him shut up 

Lorenz is also a bit old fashioned. He doesn’t like the idea of you fighting more than necessary

Once again, shut down 

Best way to deal with Lorenz is to let him think he has his way, then just do whatever. He gets upset, pouts, spouts his normal lecture, but then relents. All in due process with him 

Never thought I’d say this, but perhaps requesting not to be in the same troop together is the best option? You’d think he would fight better with an S tier relationship at his side? Nahhh. HE TAKES YOUR KILLS IT IS NOT FAIR 

He gives too much attention to what you’re doing, and not the enemy. Best if you stay separated

Ugh pray no one hits on you in front of him. Just... *screams* I don’t think anyone will, just to avoid him getting defensive. I swear the other deer take extensive preventative measures to avoid it.  

Hilda:

6/10

C’mon. This is Hilda we’re talking about 

You two most likely grew closer because she “asks” you for help so often 

Just like Claude, she has bigger fish to fry. The last type of person she wants to be is Holst (she loves him though don’t misinterpret that)

She does worry though 

Not enough to make her take the front lines, but a smidgen. Just to where you’ll get periodic check in’s 

Nothing obvious. A simple “what’s going on?”  as she inquired about your well-being 

A precarious scan-over as she checks for any new scars

She does get jealous though. There’s an entire castle full of available people and someone chooses to flirt with you? 

That just doesn’t make sense. Perhaps the “once something is taken it becomes more desirable,” saying has some truth 

She’s quite the clinger. You’ll just be walking and suddenly, BOOM, bubble-gum pink arm-candy in the corner of your vision

Once you two bypass the ‘puppy-love’ early stages, she changes. 

Despite her negligence beforehand, she does become overprotective   

Will fight if needed. Say you have a paralogue? Just so happens she was nearby and wants to tag along 

She also has to protect you from Holst. My dear, you cannot do that yourself. Brotherly wrath beseeches you, my god. Run dude run 

Marianne: 

3/10

A possessive streak is nonexistent in her blood. Such thing is a personal fear of her’s. Marianne refuses to conform to the stereotypes associated with her crest 

However, she does believe that one day you may leave her side. Marianne isn’t the most confident person. She...doubts 

Often does she wonder if you’re there solely to make her hurt. To love her and then one day disappear without a trace 

Anxieties like so will not go away overnight. She will not seek reassurance, which makes her more uncommunicative than most partners 

but no one is perfect. Neither are you. All you personally can do is politely decline any advances, and do your best to let Marianne know that you love her 

She isn’t particularly protective in any other sense either. She’ll heal you if needed, but special attention isn’t there

Marianne treats being a healer like how an ER doctor operates. On the field, everyone is equal. She is needed everywhere and cannot stay by your side. Otherwise lives will be lost, and that won’t be good for her conscience.

The same goes for all other aspects. If you’re gone, then you’re gone. If you’re sick, then you’re sick. She cannot give you special attention and acts in accordance to severity of the situation. Patients cannot be weighed in value via personal bias 

She has a surprisingly strong sense of self control, let me tell ya.

Lysithea:

7/10

She...does not have much time. Entering a romantic relationship was not a possibility that crossed her mind once before you 

Why bother when the ending is certain? Why leave someone brokenhearted, or a widow? Why give herself that extra stress when she’s already under so much as it is?

You can’t blame her for being extra cautious. While her life may be hanging on a string, that doesn’t mean yours has to end 

After some time she develops a resolve. If needed she would gladly lay her life down if it meant you could live another day 

A problematic conclusion. You two will argue often over how she cannot trade a ‘life for a life,’ just because of her special circumstances. Her mind always enforces that it’s the logical decision, and has trouble recognizing her own value

I suppose that comes with being a know-it-all, huh? Once her mind is set then there is no changing it 

Despite her brain sending all the signals that acting on jealousy is wrong...well, we know Lysithea 

She won’t come out and say she gets protective for your sake. Apparently anyone flirting with you already had business with her

Business that miraculously unfolds once you leave. Then suddenly they no longer have an interest? 

What’d she do? Threaten to shove a thoron up their rectum? No one knows 

Leonie: 

9/10 

She is the mom who’d create a strict morning routine for her kids to follow before school 

Or a thorough itinerary on a vacation 

Not a moment or bullion to be wasted! 

Cannot express enough how much this girl cares. She can become annoying from all the interference, but you’ll never become a bum with her in your life 

You might want to ask her to butt out. Remind her that you’re not one of the kids from her village, and that you can handle yourself 

Sometimes you’ll joke and say “yes mom,” because she gets b o s s y 

Which will earn you either: a) a glare, or b) her playing along and confusing everyone else 

So in a sense, yeah she’s protective. Overbearing in her own Leonie way 

Not the jealous type. Leonie doesn’t look at what other people have, and instead focuses on her own life. If someone wants to shamelessly throw themselves at your feet then that’s their issue. You know better than to cheat on her 

I can see her complaining to the captain or to Byleth though. Why waste time when the issue can easily be solved? Obviously someone with the time to flirt has time to do training drills  

Bonus! Cyril: (because during my first play-through I kept expecting GD to take him under their wing. They did not, and Nintendo missed out.) 

5/10

He personally hates being treated like a child. When someone doesn’t take him seriously Cyril’s self restraint goes b o o m 

So he won’t do that to you. You’re a capable individual and that’s that. Nothing more for him to interfere with 

His only protective streak lies when you’re incapable of doing things yourself. Aka: injured, ill, resting, etc. 

He’ll nag you for not being careful, but it’s not hard to miss the tears pricking his eyes 

He’s also very perceptive towards break-in’s. Many people have tried to kidnap/assassinate people of higher standing. He’s witnessed many attempts towards lady Rhea. I see him taking night shifts for patrol often, and after the war the habit sticks with him.

He takes a lot onto his shoulders often. It’s not bad. Being dedicated is an admirable trait, yet if you’re down someone will have to stop him from picking up the slack. 

He’s no healer, and leaves that job to the professionals. However he doesn’t want anyone to disturb you with the work your missing. So he’ll do it in your stead 

Manuela lets him stay in the infirmary past visitation hours. Mostly because he’s so busy during the day that he can’t come by 

He won’t return to his room those nights. He prefers to be by your side, just in case. 

Other than this type of situation- no, he’s not protective in the slightest.  

[solastia]

The Dragon’s Lair | 6

- Riddle Me This -

Pairing: Dragon Hybrid Namjoon x Reader

Word Count: 5,094

Notes: It feels like so much has happened and this has been going on for so long, right? But this is actually the very beginning of my long and complicated outline lmao. Anyway, it’s time to meet our Sphinx! I wonder who this could be *insert lenny face here*  And if you’re wondering if there will ever be an end to me adding other kpop fandoms: no, no there will not be. We’re catchin em all. 

The winter storms were slowly giving into the spring rains. Of course, this made everything horribly humid and muddy, but at least you weren’t snowed in for days on end anymore. 

As soon as you were able, you scheduled contractors that specialized in hybrid-friendly rooms to help get one prepared, as you fully planned on starting the adoption process for Mark when it was done. You had to make sure it had its own heating and cooling system separate from the rest of the house, insulation for winter, and UV lighting, among other things. Needless to say, it was not going to be a quick process, but Mark was safe at the shelter with Heechul’s near-constant vigilance. 

You’d also begun to clear out the barn that you’ve only been using for storage since your grandparents had adopted out all of their animals. You weren’t quite sure how serious you were yet about getting some animals in there again, but for now, it gave you something to do while construction was going on inside your home. 

You spent a lot of time throwing out or giving away anything unusable, sweeping out stalls, and scrubbing everything down until it shone like it hadn’t in years. Thankfully you still kept in touch with a lot of the people that had worked with your family over the years and it was easy to have fresh supplies brought in, half of which you weren’t even sure you’d ever use, but everyone was happy to hear that the farm was going back to work in a sense. 

Despite all these other changes, your relationship with Namjoon was settled into a comfortable path. Not to say that things were unexciting - the man never failed to find some new way to make your heart flutter - but it felt secure and steady now. Like the two of you being a forever thing was assured. It continually surprised you when you remembered that you actually hadn’t been together for very long. He felt like he’d always been there. 

Most days were simply routine. You’d both wake up at the same time and shower - together more often than not -, have breakfast and then he’d head to the shelter while you’d work in your office. At least three times a week you’d meet up to have lunch together, thankful that both of you had lenient bosses that wouldn’t freak out when an hour-long lunch turned into two or three. Once he was home for the day, the two of you usually just spent your time together. You’d watch a movie or read while you cuddled on the couch, oftentimes ignoring the screen to simply listen to him talk. The way he viewed the world was beautiful and you never grew tired of listening. 

Namjoon had put his foot down and declared date night mandatory. So every single Saturday without fail he’d drag you into town for some event or into the mountains for a hike, always doing his best to create the most romantic day possible. You’d tried to convince him that he didn’t need to do all this, that simply walking with him in the forest near your home was romantic as long as he was there, but he claimed he was still “courting” you so it wasn’t something he could just stop. You assumed that meant it was something to do with his Dragon side and let him do as he pleased. 

Once a week you’d usually tag along and go to the shelter, spending most of your time in the playrooms. According to one of the volunteers, Heechul’s shelter held an average of one hundred and fifty hybrids at any given time, which seemed an astronomical amount if one didn’t know about the secret wings and the fact that you were pretty sure he’d borrowed the whole ‘bigger on the inside’ concept. 

You tried to spend as much time as you could with all the hybrids, but as you were only one person there was only so much you could do. Still, you did have your - as Heechul called them - “cub club.” There have been many arguments in the little group about the name - starting with you wondering why they needed a name at all - since they were composed of all different species, but they gave in after Heechul’s continuous use of it and the fact that it apparently was cute, according to Namjoon. 

Basically, it was a group of hybrids that seemed to have singled you out as a clear favorite and would follow you around the moment you stepped into the building. The unspoken leader of the group was your little Mark, who was always waiting by the front door of the building when you would come in. Usually right next to him was Felix, who seemed to split his time between your cubs and Namjoon’s fan club fairly equally. Some newer friends of yours were a teen tiger hybrid named Seonghwa, and wolf pup siblings Changkyun and Jooheon. There were a few others that came and went, but these were your regular crew. 

Today was one of your shelter days, and you were once again surrounded in the playrooms. Mark was sitting next to you with his raccoon hybrid friend Donghyuck, who was an honorary member of Star’s Cubs at this point with how often he was attached to Mark. They were both coloring a picture of their dream bedroom - a sneaky idea you’d gotten so that you could have Mark’s room ready and decorated when the adoption finalized. 

Felix was having a Namjoon day, so after he’d run up to hug you when you’d first arrived, he’d gone right back to the class that Namjoon was currently teaching. You’d probably see him again at lunch, and then he’d talk a mile a minute about everything Namjoon was teaching him and demand cuddles. 

Changkyun and Jooheon were currently wrestling around on the floor near your feet. They were a complicated pair. They had both been found in the wild several months ago, seemingly without any sort of parents or guardians whatsoever. The boys themselves weren’t sure, but you judged them to be around nine or ten. They were smart kids but had obviously been living on their own for quite some time. They mentioned a “her” a few times, speaking of someone from their memories that would make certain foods or clean them, but they couldn’t remember who she was. Their mother, you assumed. 

Needless to say, they were perhaps not the most well-mannered children, but they were sweet and eager to please. To you, at least. The other volunteers usually tried to interact with them as little as possible after a few too many bites and temper tantrums, often referring to them as feral monsters. You had, of course,  taken that up with Heechul, but the damage had already been done and they were labeled as such by everyone. From the day Jooheon had met you, however, he’d decided you “smelled nice” and would bring you scraps from their dinners (that they apparently hoarded - bad habits left from living in the wild). It had taken Changkyun a little longer to warm up to you, but one day he’d just walked up and pushed Felix out of your lap and took his place. You’d scolded him and made him apologize, but you’d let him stay, deciding it had probably been a very long time since he’d been hugged by anyone besides his brother. They’d gotten better about waiting their turn and learning to ask first, but you still went out of your way to cuddle them as much as they’d let you. 

Seonghwa sat nearby doing his homework. He was...interesting. It was the nicest thing you could think of to say about that whole situation. The thing was, he was a nice kid. Almost seventeen, had been here for a few years. Definitely beautiful, no denying that. You didn’t know too much about his past yet, as you hadn’t wanted to pry and he didn’t volunteer much information. He helped you with the younger kids a lot though, asked you about your work, was genuinely sweet, and fun to talk to when he was just chill. The issue was...you were apparently his “first love.” 

He wasn’t creepy about it or anything. He really was super sweet. He would bring you flowers and treats, help you carry anything heavy, and was just really attentive. Unfortunately, then he’d start walking around you in circles, staring intently with his tail flicking around in the air as he sang to you. He had a sweet voice, but they were of course all highly inappropriate love songs to be singing to an older woman. And according to Namjoon, the circling and singing thing was a tiger courting ritual, so you took great care not to acknowledge it. You’d tried letting him down as gently as possible, but somehow he seemed to just consider it more of a challenge, and you really didn’t want to be mean and be his first heartbreak as well. Namjoon surprisingly - or not since he could be a brat himself - thought it was hilarious. He’d often ask how your tiger cub was doing, laughing when you’d swat him. Of course, he was still a territorial dragon, so he would occasionally go out of his way to kiss you with a bit too much tongue or pinch your butt where everyone could see to get the message of your status across. 

Things at the shelter have been fairly quiet and routine, as far as such a big place could be. That’s why you were awfully surprised when Heechul storms into the playroom looking distraught and frazzled. He brightens slightly when he spots you, rushing over and placing his hands on his hips. 

“You’d be perfect, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that earlier!” 

You frown, thoroughly confused. “Thanks, I think. For what?” 

He clucks and shakes his head. 

“We have an exotic on his way here. He was one of mine that I raised until he was ten, and then he was adopted by this lovely couple. Unfortunately, they were a bit too old even then, but they adored Seokjin so I let him go.” He sighs wearily and flops into a nearby recliner. “They passed away last year and left him everything. He’d been living on his own just fine until someone tried to rob the place and he ended up hurt. Then the police of course had to see his medical records and - surprise! - a hybrid had been running around owning a house and living free for an entire year and they don’t like that. They were going to send him to a state-run hybrid institution, which essentially means death if you’re not a baby or usable on the black market. So, he called me in a panic and I have it all settled with the police that he’s officially one of ours and they don’t have to worry about him anymore. But he’s too used to independence to stuff him back into regular hybrid life, so I was thinking maybe you could foster him? Just like, let him hang out at your place until we figure out some way he can go back to living how he likes?” 

“I mean, I have to check in with Namjoon, but I don’t see why not. What kind of hybrid is he?” 

“Sphinx,” Heechul answered, his deadpan voice at odds with his amused eyes. 

“A what now?” 

“Sphinx. You know, part bird, lion and man. Likes riddles. Has big statues.” 

“Sure, why not,” you sigh. This place really made your brain hurt. 

Heechul chuckled and reached out to pat your shoulder. 

“Thanks. I know it’s a lot to deal with right now, with your new romance and getting ready for Mark, but Seokjin deserves a chance. I think you’ll like him.” 

“You know, it’s really creepy when you do that. At least let me tell you with words what I’m planning about Mark.” 

“I didn’t even need to use magic to see that’s where it was headed. He’s basically already yours,” he scoffs, standing up with a light groan. 

“When is this Seokjin going to be here?” 

“He’s on his way to the shelter now. I figured he could just come here first, meet you and have dinner with everyone, then head home with you guys after. If that’s okay.” 

“Again, just have to check with Joon, but it should be fine. Sphinx and dragons aren’t like, mortal enemies or anything, are they?” 

Heechul grins, “Hardly. In fact, I remember they were actually pretty good friends when they were little. Jin was older and would tolerate Joonie like a big brother. Not sure how well Namjoon remembers him, though.” 

“Alright, I guess. Joon’s class is over in a few minutes. I’ll go talk to him now.” 

“Thanks, Star!” 

You shake your head as he flounces away, wondering when he’d started using that name too. At this point, that was basically your official name. 

“Does that mean you’re going to have to stay home all the time? To take care of a new hybrid?” 

A little sniffle came from your right as you registered the fact that your cubs had just been quietly listening to your conversation with Heechul. Mark’s eyes were beginning to glisten with unshed tears and you quickly snatched the boy up and cuddled him close. 

“Of course not, sweetheart. By the sounds of it, he’s older than both me and Joon, so he’s not going to need much looking after. He basically just needs a place to crash until he figures out what to do.” 

“Oh,” he sniffles again, and you try not to laugh about the fact that it’s not helping, as his nose is starting to water too. “So you’ll still come to see me?” 

“Of course! And as soon as the farm is cleaned up you can come to visit me too. How does that sound?” 

“Really? And Felix? And Hyuckie? And...and…”

“Yes,” you interrupt, knowing the boy will try to name literally everyone he’s ever talked to. “Anyone that wants to visit will be able to. I just wanted to make sure it’s safe first, so no one gets sick.” 

“Okay!” Mark squeezes you clumsily but is quickly back to being a ray of sunshine and crawling off of you to go back to his picture. 

“Seonghwa,” you call, snorting inwardly as the tiger practically jumps to attention, “Watch the kids for a bit, okay? I’m going to see Namjoon.” 

He nods quietly and sets his books down, smiling softly as he watches you leave the room. 

*** 

As you’d expected, Namjoon was more than agreeable to the idea of helping his childhood friend but was understandably concerned over how his dragon instincts would react to another creature in his new den with his new...well, mate. (Although he insists that you aren’t official mates yet. And he blushes and refuses to answer whenever you ask what makes you official).

“It’s just, like, I don’t want to stress him out even more, you know? If he’s already going through all this, then I don’t want to be growling and snapping at him,��� Namjoon sighed as he stood with you in the lobby, grasping your hand tightly as you both waited for Seokjin to show up. 

“I know, but Heechul told me that Seokjin is the only one of his kind as well so if anyone were to understand that this is a learning situation and not blame you for it, it would be someone like him, right?” 

Namjoon shrugs, “I guess. From what I remember, Jin hyung was really outspoken too, so I think he’d be sure to let me know if I do something to offend him.” 

“And if all else fails, you can just take him behind the house and piss on him,” you try to hide your grin as you tease him. 

He growls playfully, leaning down to tug your hair. “Watch it. I’ll mark you next.” 

“I thought you already did,” you quirk an eyebrow as you refer to certain activities that had taken place before he’d let you leave your bed that morning. 

“Hey, let's keep the rating down in my presence, please,” Heechul sighs wearily from the other side of you. 

The two of you fight valiantly to keep your giggles under control, only able to stop fully once a taxi pulls up in front of the building and nerves once again take over. 

The man that steps out takes even your breath away - quite a feat considering how whipped you were for your own boyfriend. He’s tall, nearly as tall as Namjoon, and has a regal bearing. He has a face that many would pay millions for, with full lips and wide expressive eyes. His hair and lion ears were the same mahogany brown shade, as was the fluffy tip of his long tail. It seemed he had no trouble showing off his lion side. You weren’t sure if that’s all there was to his transformation though, considering he was a Sphinx, not just a lion. 

He turned to pay the driver, who was actually smiling and laughing like the two of them were old friends. Seokjin reached out and shook the man’s hand heartily and shoved what was apparently too much money towards him if the way the man tried to argue about it was any indication. You supposed this meant Seokjin was the friendly sort, which boded well. 

You were a little confused by the fact that the hybrid was only carrying a single suitcase. Perhaps he had left the rest behind to be picked up later? From what Heechul had told you, the hybrid had grown up in a fairly wealthy household, spoiled and doted on. You would think he would be walking in here with twenty name brand suitcases, and yet here he was with only a small rolling suitcase meant for a child with Mario on it. Something about that felt wrong. 

The hybrid seemed fine, however, breezing through the front door with a wide smile like all was right in the world. He stopped right in front of Heechul and stared at him a moment, cocking his head. 

“You haven’t changed a bit, hyung. You don’t have a single new wrinkle. Are you trying to compete with me?” 

Heechul huffs and reaches out to hug the man. Seokjin laughs quietly, pulling Heechul into a bear hug so fierce Heechul squeaks a little. He releases him and pats him on the shoulder before he turns to Namjoon. 

“Don’t tell me you’re little Joon bug? You can’t be anyone else, with those dimples. I used to swear I could use them as cereal bowls if we ever ran out.” 

Namjoon shyly looks down and kicks his foot, but he’s smiling. “Hi, Seokjin-ssi. It’s nice to see you again.” 

The hybrid waves his hand carelessly, “Just call me hyung, Namjoon. Or even just Jin.  We don’t need honorifics with our kind.” 

Namjoon nods and pulls you closer, drawing the Sphinx’s attention. His thick brow raises your way as his smile quirks mischievously. 

“And this must be Miss Star, the one I’ve been hearing so much about,” he raises up his hand like he’s going to shake yours, but the moment you grasp it he holds on tightly. His face suddenly settles into serious lines as he looks down into your eyes. 

“Answer me this. As small as your thumb, I am light in the air. You may hear me before you see me, but trust that I’m here.” 

You hadn’t been prepared for this, for some reason. Duh, Sphinx’s whole thing was about riddles. 

You bite your lip and give it some thought for a moment. “A hummingbird?” 

His smile brightens back up and he releases your hand before he slaps Namjoon’s back. 

“Hey, she’s smart. You got a good one” 

“Yeah…” Namjoon answers dreamily, staring down at you with a dopey grin. You blush and grab his hand. 

Jin’s arm was back to flailing around again, and you were wondering if he was in control of his limbs or if it was the other way around. 

“Hey, listen, want to hear a joke about construction?” he asks. You’re not sure if he really expects an answer, but you squeak out a somewhat genuine sounding “Sure,” anyway. 

“I'm still working on it,” he answers, before cackling loudly, his laughter practically shaking the glass windows as he slaps his leg in amusement. 

You decide, if nothing else, he seems easy to keep entertained. 

You politely laugh and wait for him to finish before taking the chance to steer the conversation in another direction. 

“Are you hungry? We thought we’d stay and have dinner here before we went home. Only if you’re comfortable with that, though.” 

“I’m famished,” Jin answered, slapping his flat and obviously in-shape stomach like it was the opposite. “I wouldn’t mind sticking around. Kyungsoo still the cook here?” 

“Yup. And Wendy is making dessert,” Heechul tells him as he grabs the little suitcase. 

“Sounds great.” 

It hadn’t escaped your notice that no one brought up his past owners or any difficult subjects. You sigh quietly as you walk behind everyone as they went to the dining room, knowing that it was probably going to be all up to you. 

***

Dinner had gone as it usually did, with only the occasional fights to break up between over-enthusiastic kids. You used the time to observe Seokjin, trying to see what you could pick up about him in a group setting like this. He was polite and charming, yes, but very quick to steer the conversation away from himself. You supposed he wasn’t ready to talk about his problems, which was fine. You had time. 

He was also an enthusiastic eater and at one point seemed to have an almost mini-competition going on with the elephant hybrid over who could eat the most. You’d decided to break it up before anyone found out since the elephant was only seven and didn’t need to compete with a grown man. 

Seokjin and Namjoon seemed to get on perfectly well, thank goodness. Jin treated him like a little brother - making sure his bowl was full, teasing him every time he stared at you, telling him at least five jokes about giants. 

The man didn’t seem to have a shred of animosity in him at all, which would normally be a good thing. If one didn’t take into account what had happened to him. He should be upset and crying, or at least mad. Irritated. But he seemed more like he was just visiting some dear old friends, with nothing to fret about. That worried you more than anything because the poor man was probably just really good at covering it up then, and you hoped you’d be able to help him. Or that he’d even let you. 

These thoughts plagued you the whole way home, as you occasionally peeked into the rear view mirror to see Jin sitting quietly with his tiny suitcase that you still hadn’t been able to bring yourself to ask about. 

At least he was here with the two of you, somewhere he could be safe and have people looking out for him. That was the best you could do for now. 

After you show him to a spare bedroom, he thanks you quietly, smiling with his lips but not his eyes. The door closes and you sigh, retreating to your own room to wrap yourself in Namjoon’s arms. It haunts you that something like this could happen to him if anything were to happen to you. That he would get sent back to the shelter with nothing, despite the fact that you wanted to give him the entire world. You’ll have to ask Heechul what you can do to make sure he’s safe. 

***

When you wake up the next morning, it’s to the smell of meat cooking. Normally, this would be a dream come true. Unfortunately, you’ve been living with Namjoon for far too long and your mind now associated unsupervised cooking with near-death experiences, so instead your first reaction is terror. 

You jump out of bed, unmindful of your state of near-undress, and run to the kitchen. Your ears are hyper tuned to every sound, waiting for bellows of pain, but so far you simply hear the slap of your bare feet against wood and sizzling from a pan. 

You round the corner and grab the wall, catching your breath as you stare into the kitchen. Namjoon is sitting at the bar eating a heaping plateful of scrambled eggs and cheese, giggling as Seokjin preforms some a dirty gesture involving sausages and eggs. The Sphinx is standing over the stove with your bright pink apron, confidently cooking away, and both men are fine. You breathe a sigh of relief, slumping slightly as the tension leaves your body. Both men turn at the sound, smiling in greeting. 

“Morning, baby. Jin’s making breakfast. He’s a good cook!” 

“I see that. Morning, everyone,” you reply, walking in and trying not to let on how nervous you’d been. You peck Namjoon’s cheek and peek over the bar at the stove. 

Jin meets your eye and smiles mischievously like he knows what you were concerned about. 

“And here is one for you, madame,” he says with a flourish, setting a plate in front of you piled high with food and even garnished with a couple of tiny flowers from the garden. 

“Wow,” you blurt, honestly astounded by his skill. Everything looked perfect and you couldn’t wait to dig in. 

“What’s with that look?” He says loudly, quirking an eyebrow at you. “You just fell for me, didn’t you? Ah, I’m too charming.” 

You laugh and take a bite, nervously peeking at Namjoon to see if he’d taken the joke too seriously. Seokjin must have magic in his food because you doubted the dragon had even heard since he was too busy shoveling food in his mouth like you’d been starving him for months. 

“Slow down,” you cluck and tap his shoulder. He turns and grins at you with a disgustingly full mouth.

“Isth good,” he mumbles, and you laugh despite your disgust. 

“I can see that.” 

You swirl your fork around as you watch Jin settle in with his own plate, letting him get a few bites in before you strike. 

“So, Joonie and I both took the day off to help you get settled in. We figured you might need to do some shopping or something. I know the bedroom is pretty bare since we were focusing on another room right now.” 

Jin glances up and for a moment his gaze is troubling. You’d seen the brief flash of melancholy before he’d covered it up with a charming smile. 

“I could use a few things to tide me over until I’m out of your hair, I suppose. I do have my own money, but most places around here won’t let you shop without a license.” 

“That was nice of them to leave you money, They must have been good owners.” 

His eyes cloud over and he glances away from you, staring at one of the windows. 

“They were amazing parents. But the money that they left for me got taken away. I believe everything went to my Mom’s cousin - someone she didn’t even really know.”

“I thought you said you had money?” 

“I...uhh...had some stashed away. My dad never liked banks - didn’t trust them. He always had a rule that whenever you used your card, you should take out some cash and squirrel it away just in case. So we’d always take a little out and stash it in this fake book. From the outside it looks like Crime And Punishment, and who reads that willingly?” he snorts, peeking over at Namjoon. “Besides this kid, obviously.” 

Namjoon just shrugs, unbothered with the truth. 

“But...Jin hyung, you mean they kept everything?” 

The Sphinx sighs wearily and drops his fork, reaching up to rub his forehead. 

“Everything. The cousin’s lawyer grabbed my old suitcase from storage and told me I could keep anything I could fit in there as long as he approved of it. I got some clothes, my mom’s recipe book, my dad’s favorite fishing lures, and the stash of cash because he thought it was just another book,” Jin shrugs like he’s just telling a story, never mind that the sound of your heart breaking was probably audible at this point. 

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” you murmur, struggling to stay calm for his sake. 

He shrugs. “No big. I’m a hybrid. Should have expected it.” 

“No, you should not have. People treat actual animals better than they do hybrids and it’s disgusting. I’m so very sorry. I know nothing I say can erase what’s been done to you. Just know that you are safe here and welcome in my home for as long as you like.” 

Jin opens his mouth to say something but snaps it shut again like he can’t figure out what to say. Namjoon grins proudly at you and slaps Jin’s shoulder. 

“Told you, hyung. She’s the best. And she’s right. You are welcome here and I can assure you that I feel no urge to fry you to a crisp.” 

“I...was not aware that was a potential issue. Thanks for not ruining my beautiful face, I guess,” Seokjin says, obviously done with the serious talk and choosing to fall back into humor. 

“And with that settled, I should probably go put on some pants. Thanks for the breakfast! We’ll meet up and go shopping in an hour, yeah?” 

You grin at them both and leave the room, the smile dropping the moment you were sure they couldn’t see. 

Poor Seokjin. 

He had grown up loved and cared for by those people, and just because he was a hybrid he’d lost everything. The fact that this could easily be Namjoon’s story if you were to kick it tomorrow didn’t sit well with you, either. You needed to figure something out that could stop this from happening. Or at least figure out somewhere hybrids could go besides back into shelters. It seems like an impossible task, but one that needs doing, obviously. 

As laughter filters towards you from the kitchen, you smile. One thing is for sure, your first task is going to be convincing Seokjin that he’s already home. 

[hydroponicjj]

pinky promise

pairing: jj maybank x reader

word count: 3.1k (i’ve never written anything this long before lmao)

warnings: swearing

summary: your birthday takes place over quarantine and because you can’t have an actual birthday party, the pogues host a netflix party for you but an unexpected guest joins which ruins the mood. jj decides to cheer you up from a distance.

a/n: hello!! i know i’ve been a little m.i.a. but, i promise that i’m back. send me some outer banks requests and i’ll be happy to do them (no smut pls) also, if you’ve sent a request recently, i’m working on em :) gif credit goes to hvitstark!!!

y/n/n “your nickname”

                      「 ₊˚.༄ 」

When summer first began, you as well as the rest of the pogues were overwhelmed with excitement. You didn't have to do homework, get stressed with school, take exams. Nothing.

The plans weren't set in stone but all of you had a general idea of what you’d do from day to day. From surfing to eating at The Wreck, there was nothing that could stop you and your friends from having the best summer ever.

All of you had seen news articles, talking about a deadly virus entering the United States. It first appeared in Washington, then slowly started to spread around the vicinity. But no one in the Outer Banks of North Carolina was concerned.

So, the beginning of summer break started with absolutely no delay.

After the first couple of weeks of the virus spreading across the country, slowly but surely, you watched as people started to get worried. It got to the point were you mother was cautioning you before going to hang out with the rest of the pogues.

“I pinky promise that I’ll be safe!” You’d tease before going outside and hopping into John B’s Volkswagen.

When you hopped into the back of the van, you noticed the disappointed looks on everyone’s faces while Pope was rambling (like he usually does).

“I really think that we should start to prepare because I think that this virus is very similar to the Black Death.” He finished, taking a deep breath.

“What’s up?” You greeted, raised eyebrows in confusion.

Pope smiled enthusiastically and gave you a warm welcome while the others groaned like a walker from The Walking Dead.

“What are you babbling on about today, Mr.Heyward?” You questioned.

“He literally won’t shut up about this stupid virus!” Kiara answered for him, resting her head on the window as she sat in the front seat.

“Neither will my mom. She’s all worked about this and telling me to ‘be safe’ before leaving the house.” You explained.

“It’s not like we know anyone that’s sick.” John B shrugged, starting the van.

Seconds later, JJ started to have a coughing attack. He literally couldn’t stop, even after he had multiple sips of water.

Both you and Pope moved to the corner farthest away from him, you were laughing because you knew JJ and his personality while Pope was terrified.

“Holy shit, he has it.” He whispered in your ear, eyes as big as a Watermelon.

“He’s about to cough up a lung.” Kie commented, turning around to see the blonde flopping around like a fish.

After a few more seconds, JJ recovered from his coughing attack and sat up, a huge smile plastered on his face.

“Not funny!” Pope screamed, kicking the bottom of his foot.

“You should have seen your face, it was priceless.” He chuckled.

You crawled over to JJ and rested your head in his lap, arms crossed over your stomach as you cackled, “Oh my gosh, that was hilarious.” You raised your hand and gave him a high five, intertwining for fingers and bringing it back down to your chest.

“I only did it because Pope needs a reality check. In a couple weeks everything will be fine.” He sighed, using his other hand to take the lighter out of his pocket and light the blunt between his teeth.

Before he could, you held out your left hand which was your way of asking him to place the items in your palm because no one was interested in getting a contact high at 2 pm.

Usually the rest of the pogues would snatch it from him but you were different. You didn’t feel comfortable being rough with him because you knew about his life at home and you didn’t want to set him off.

That was one of the many things that JJ appreciated about you. You were gentle with him and always took your time, not wanting to him to feel rushed. So, he always complied when you asked.

“Fuck it, I’m taking all the toilet paper.” Pope commented out of context, causing everyone to laugh.

                      「 ₊˚.༄ 」

Fast forward one week later and your entire life has flipped upside down.

Covid-19 shut down absolutely everything. Kie and her family were forced to close down The Wreck because they couldn't take the risk of hurting any customers or members of the staff.

All of your friends were separated, except for JJ and John B because they quarantined together, not wanting to be alone during this time.

To be honest, you missed everyone, especially JJ because the two of you always gravitated towards each other so it was pretty hard to be separate from him.

To stay connected with each other, you all texted in the shared group chat and had group facetime’s and netflix parties almost every single night.

John B insisted on inviting Sarah and you didn’t know how to feel about it. Sarah and Kie did squash their beef but, she told you all of the things that happened and it really rubbed you the wrong way. But, you wanted John B to be happy, no matter who it was with.

“Holy shit, y/n/n your birthday is in 2 days!” JJ noticed while the two of you were on facetime. John B was busy talking to Sarah so, he called you to pass the time.

“Yeah.” You replied, unenthusiasticlly.

“I know it sucks that we’re in quarantine but, I promise we’ll have a group facetime and you can pick the movie.” He smiled, you didn’t even have to elaborate on why you were sad because he knew you that well.

“Wait for real?” You laughed.

Listen, everyone has different taste when it comes to movies so, every time that you’re doing a netflix party, it’s really hard to decide on a movie that all of the pogues can enjoy.

“Okay, now I’m excited. This is going to be so fun!” You screeched, clapping your hands together.

“Shit, John B’s calling me. I’ve gotta go but, keep that same enthusiasm, okay?” He replied, smiling into the camera.

“Pinky promise.” You gave him the biggest grin known to man before hanging up.

                      「 ₊˚.༄ 」

Exactly two days later, you woke up to your mom towering over you with a cake in her hands, “Happy 17th birthday, y/n/n!” She took JJ’s lighter that was sitting on your nightstand and lit the ‘17’ on the cake.

“Woah!” You said, rubbing your eyes. It was still pretty early in the morning and you couldn’t fully comprehend what was going on.

“Thank you so much.” You sat up in your bed, making room for your mother to sit.

“Make a wish.” She encouraged, taking out her phone to capture the moment.

“I wish that I have the best day ever, despite not being about to see my friends.” and with that, you blew out the candles, smiling up at your mom.

“Awe were you recording that?” You smiled, covering your face.

“I was gonna send it to your friends,” She paused, “Speaking of them, are you gonna uh... party on neflix tonight?” She squinted.

You chuckled, your mom really wasn’t as aquatinted with technology as other parents, “Yeah, the 5 of us are gonna watch a movie on facetime. I promise to keep it down.”

“Thank you. I’m gonna go start on breakfast. I’ll call you when it’s finished.” She left your room, leaving the door cracked slightly.

After a few seconds of staring off into space, you checked your phone like you always do when you wake up and your phone was filled with notifications.

Your smiled from ear to ear. Unlike the average kook, you weren’t very popular but that didn’t matter because you had 4 of the best people on planet earth as your best friends.

The first thing that you checked was Instagram. You tapped through the stories that you were tagged in and were met with some of the best memories that were caught on camera.

From the time you accidentally set off the sprinklers at The Wreck, getting all of the customers wet as they were leaving to the time that you got stuck at the top of the monkey bars at your old elementary school and JJ had to come and save you.

You almost started crying because you hadn’t been apart from any of your friends for more that 12 hours and even though it’s only been a week, it felt like forvever.

Before you responded to the countless amount of texts from your aunts and uncles, you texted the group chat and gushed to them about how thankful you were that they all posted something in honor of your birthday.

They all politely told you to and I quote, “shut the fuck up.” because it was a given that they’d praise you for your special day.

You rolled your eyes with a smile on your face and threw your phone on the charger, heading to the kitchen to eat breakfast with your mother.

                      「 ₊˚.༄ 」

The sound of your phone ringing tore you away from the piece of cake that you were chewing.

“And the guest of honor has arrived!” John B gushed, JJ was sitting next to him and it looked like they were on the couch.

“Get any presents?” Kie asked, positioning her phone upwards so that she could be seen.

“Nah, unless you count cake.” You chuckled, showing them the piece that you were currently devouring.

“That looks so good.” Pope commented, he was staring into the camera, hypnotized by the sweet treat that you had just showcased.

“Snap out of it!” JJ started clapping his hands in the camera causing Pope to fidget slightly taking his face out of the camera.

You spent the first 30 minutes of the facetime call catching up about the stupid quarantine habits that you all picked up. 

Kiara had given herself a few dolphin stick & pokes, Pope had started online shopping, like a lot. He had at least 30 new t-shirts in his closet. John B calls Sarah while JJ spends most of his time talking to you.

“Wait, wait, wait guys,” You paused, trying to get their attention because they were all screaming at each other, “Are y’all ready to watch the movie?” You questioned, opening a new tab on your computer.

“Yeah, yeah. Wait a second.” John B put himself on paused, you could hear JJ sigh because he does that at least once every time that you all are on a group call.

After a few seconds, you heard everyone's phone ding as well as your own. You all had gotten a group e-mail to join a netflix party. At first you were confused because JJ said that he talked to everyone and they agreed to letting you chose the movie.

A few more seconds passed and you saw another square begin to connect to the facetime call. It was a number that no one recognized so, everyone was pretty stunned (except for john b).

The mystery person finally connected and it was revealed to be Sarah Cameron. 

You looked at everyone's little square and saw how wide their eyes were. JJ seemed furious but, he didn’t want to make a scene because after all, it was still your birthday.

Kie and Pope looked shocked that John B would add her without asking if you were okay with it first.

“Hey guys! Happy birthday, y/n.” Sarah greeted, smiling.

“Thank you.” You croaked back a response, going on your computer and opening the e-mail that was sent, clicking the netflix party link.

After taking a second to load, you saw that you were watching the 4th season of Riverdale. (yikes)

You rolled your eyes, praying that it went unnoticed.

“Is this what you wanted to watch, y/n? I thought you hated Riverdale?” Pope asked, still a little confused on the whole situation.

“Nope.” You stated dryly, shrugging you shoulders and falling back onto your bed.

“Oh, it was my idea.” Sarah chimed in, her bubble got bigger because she had said something, “You don’t mind, right y/n/n?”

“I kind of wanted to watch Back to the Future.” You revealed.

At this point, everyone was shocked, even you. You didn’t hate Sarah, she was currently being really nice but you wanted to spend your birthday talking to your best friends and she didn’t fit into that category yet.

“I don’t really like that movie.” John B commented, earning a slap on the back of the head from JJ.

“Actually,” You paused, contemplating if you even wanted to continue the sentence. You had two options, make a scene or leave peacefully.

“I’m not feeling to well. I think I’m going to go but, have fun watching Riverdale.” Before anyone could protest, you hung up.

Option two it is.

“Fuck birthday’s.” You concluded, turning off your light. You didn’t have the energy to argue with anyone so, you decided to go to bed and deal with it in the morning.

JJ muted the phone so that no one else could hear the conversation that was about to ensue, “Dude, what the fuck?!” He yelled at John B, who was very confused.

“You invited the girl you’ve been mackin’ on for a month to y/n’s birthday party. Did you even ask her?” He stood up, towering over his friend.

“Woah, woah, calm down. I didn’t think that she’d care.” He defended himself.

Pope and Kie were texting you while Sarah was too busy watching the cringe unfold on Riverdale that they didn’t notice that John B and JJ were arguing.

“All she wanted was a good birthday and you fucking ruined it.” He accused, poking at his chest.

“I didn’t ruin it. She was tired and had to go!”

“It’s literally 9:30 pm. You think she’d go to bed this early? We’re in quarantine! Everyone stays up till like, 5!”

The look on JJ’s face conveyed that he was seconds away from punching John B in the face but he had to remember that you wouldn’t want them fighting because of you.

The blonde took a deep breath that lasted at least 5 minutes, “I need to go check on her.” He stated, going into the guest room that he was currently residing in and grabbed a big basket but with how fast he was walking, it’d be impossible to make out the contents inside.

“You can’t go see her, we’re in quarantine.” John B protested but JJ didn’t seem to care.

                      「 ₊˚.༄ 」

The sun started peaking through your window at around 6 am. The heat of the sun beamed on your face, causing you to wake up earlier that you anticipated.

Groaning, you trudged to the one and only bathroom in your house, thankful that your mom was off to work. She works for Mr.Heyward and they’re currently trying to deliver supplies to as many people as possible.

After getting ready for the day in the restroom, you headed towards the kitchen. In your peripheral vision, you saw a big basket sitting on your front porch.

Peaking your interest, you opened your front door and grabbed the basket with two hands. It wasn’t that heavy but it appeared to be filled to the brim.

Perched on the very top of the basket was a ripped sheet of blank paper covered with medium sized writing. The penmanship was sloppy and certain words had been written over and over again, most likely because the marker was running out of ink.

Based on the lack of punctuation, you already knew who hand delivered this package.

On the inside was 3 of JJ’s shirts (without the sleeves ofc), a half empty bottle of cologne that he’d only wear on special occasions, a torn 2 dollar bill, and a hydroponic blunt.

If any other pogue was receiving this as a gift, they’d probably be really disappointed but, not you. You knew that JJ wasn’t well acquainted with showing and or receiving love so, this was a huge gesture.

Running back into your house, you grabbed your phone, ignoring all of the apology texts from John B, you facetimed JJ.

After a few seconds of it ringing, he answered, “What time is it?” He groaned.

“When did you deliver this?” You asked, ignoring his question.

“What are you talking about?” He didn’t falter, standing his ground.

“Don’t play dumb with me, JJ. What time did you put this on my doorstep?” You persisted, showing the poorly wrapped package that rested on your dining table.

“I genuinely don’t know what you’re talking about.” He chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

You squinted your eyes into the camera and waited a few seconds and sure enough, he creaked, “Fine, fine! I may or may not have decided to play mail man last night.”

“What the heck-?” You paused, attempting to take in what he had just said, “Wait, why?”

“Well, after Sarah crashed your birthday party, I thought you might want to wake up to something, uh, nice.” He grinned, awkwardly.

“You should’ve called me! I would’ve come outside to see you.” You replied, disappointed. He was mere feet away from you last night and you weren’t aware.

“Social distancing, y/n.” He teased. We all know that JJ is the pogue that’s most likely to accidentally break one of the rules during quarantine.

“JJ,” You took a deep breath, “Why did you all of this. I mean, it’s such an amazing birthday gift. A blunt and a 2 dollar bill, what more could a girl ask for?”

“IT’S BECAUSE HE LOOOOVES YOU!!” You heard John B scream from farther into the house.

JJ dropped the phone on the bed and put himself on mute, you shook your head, knowing he was most likely scolding John B.

“I’m sorry, he’s been spending to much time with Sarah.” He returned, “Also, I stole that bill from Kie, don’t tell her though.”

“I really really really miss you, JJ.” You sighed, frowning.

“I really really really miss you, y/n.” He mocked, of course he could not be 100% serious, even when he wanted too.

“Can you promise me something?”

He raised his eyebrows, face plastered with curiousness, “Uhhh, maybe.” He chuckled.

“Promise me that you’ll ask me out once quarantine is over?” You deadpanned. It was clear that it caught him by surprise because his face wasn’t covered with confusion anymore but shear terror instead.

“W-What was that John B???!!! You fell in the toilet! Awe shit, y/n, I’ve gotta go.” He replied, hanging up the phone.

Usually, you’d be a little offended but, you knew he was just messing around with you, especially because he was so used to making the first move when it came to getting girls.

Your phone was on silent so, you didn’t notice it a first but you had a new text message from JJ.

“pinky promise.”

[earlysunsetsoverambrose]

Fool For You (2/4)

Lester Sinclair x f!Reader 

Warnings: Cursing

A/N: Part 2 of a request for @mynameisliterallycash!

When Lester said he was getting dog food, you figured he meant one or two small bags. Instead, you watched as he hefted two huge bulk bags of food over his shoulder. They each had to weigh around fifty pounds and he carried them like they were nothing. Your eyes widened as your jaw dropped, awestruck by the casual display of muscle.

Dazed still, you trailed after him to the checkout. While he made idle chatter with the clerk, he was completely unaware you were wrapped up in an entirely different check out of your own. Heat rose to your cheeks, allured by Lester’s physical strength as daydreams of him literally sweeping you off your feet flooded your thoughts. He turned around, snapping you back to reality as you tried to wipe the dopey expression off your face.

“Alright then, ya ready to –” Lester stopped short, sending you a puzzled look, “Hey are ya okay?”

“What? Of course, I am. Why are you asking?” you responded rapidly, embarrassed you’d been caught staring a third time.

“Ya sure? Ya look a little red. Ya ain’t gettin’ sick or nothin’, are ya?” Lester said concerned. He reached out his free hand and pressed its back against your forehead, “Don’t feel like ya got a fever.”

“N-no, I’m fine,” you stuttered, his hand against your head sending static through your brain as you tried to come up with an excuse, “It’s just from the cold air today, I think.”  

“Okay, if ya say so.” Lester shrugged as he gestured for you to follow him out the door. You cleared your throat, thankful for the gust of wind that cooled the fire trapped in your face.  

“You sure you don’t need help with those?” you asked.  

“These? Nah, they ain’t so bad,” Lester responded, “You oughta see some of the bucks I gotta haul ‘round. Damn things weigh a ton! Nearly threw out my back once tryin’ to throw one on the truck.”

“Never knew you were a regular strongman. I guess it never occurred to me the deer can’t carry their own dead weight.” You said with growing admiration.

“That’s what I’m there for!” Lester said gleefully as he tossed the bags in the back. He closed the bed and rested against the truck as he crossed his arms.

“Well, thanks for taking me along for the ride, anyway.” You said, leaning next to him.

“Sure thing! I love bringin’ ya ‘long like this,” Lester told you, affectionately nudging you with his elbow, “I’ll tell ya, havin’ someone to talk to wouldn’t hurt during my day job neither. Might go a long way makin’ some of the time go by. Gets a little too quiet drivin’ ‘round all day all by myself.”

“Well, would you mind if I tagged along once in a while?” you proposed, looking up at him.

“Ya’d do that? I mean, ya’d really want to?” Lester asked excitedly, “It can get kinda gnarly.”

“Sure. Why not? Can’t be any gnarlier than Bo on a bad day. It’s got to be better than sitting around getting old in Ambrose.” You said, smiling back at him.

“Ya really don’t have to, if ya don’t want.” He said, giving you the option changing your mind.

“I know I don’t, but I would really like to go with you. That is, if you don’t mind.” You could practically see him vibrating with joy.

“Mind? Course I don’t mind! We’re gonna have so much fun together, I promise! Thanks, Y/N! You’re the best!” he exclaimed, elated. He jumped up from the truck and wrapped you up in a tight hug, swinging you back and forth. You couldn’t contain you laughter, even if you couldn’t breathe with the way he was squeezing you.

Lester set you back down, leaving you with only a ghost of the feeling of his warm embrace. You lingered in place trying to memorize the sensation while he went ahead to open the passenger door for you without a second thought. Once you were seated, he closed the door and got back in beside you. He threw you a carefree smile as you took off once again.

The two of you made lighthearted conversation on the way back to Lester’s cabin. You started going back and forth about the art of catching various animals that try to make a home in your garbage. Well, it was mostly Lester walking you through the process, breaking it down by species. You listened to how he had basically mastered the art of pest wrangling without killing them. Your heart swelled hearing how insistent he was that killing them wasn’t necessary. He never wanted to hurt anyone or anything if he could help it.

You were just about to ask him a question, when he abruptly hit the brakes. You both lurched forward before falling back into your seats. You glanced around, collecting yourself from the sudden stop.

“Is everything okay? Why’d you stop?” He didn’t answer, as he began to carefully scan your surroundings, “What are you looking for? Lester?”  

“There she is!” Lester shouted, pressing his face up against his window, totally distracted from your questions. He smiled back at you over his shoulder, “Follow me!” He threw his door open without another word and jumped out, anxiously waiting for you to join him.

“Follow you where? Wait for me!” you called after him. You swiftly slid out of the car and onto the ground, clueless as to why you stopped here of all places. Lester darted ahead, chasing something you couldn’t see. You did your best to follow close, but he ducked down into the grass. You jogged to where he disappeared to find him on his knees, reveling in an assault of kisses from a delighted stray dog. Surprise took over your features, thrilled to be meeting a new friend.

“I missed ya too, girl!” Lester gasped through his uncontrollable laughter, echoing through the woods, “Ya been good a doggy? I bet ya have! Hope ya ain’t been too lonely out here!”

“Who’s this, Lester?” you asked in gentle voice, immediately enamored with the dog before you. She was about Jonesy’s size, with a blonde shaggy coat. She looked young with energy and enthusiasm that gave Lester a run for his money.

“Oh, Y/N! I’d like ya to meet Buttercup!” Lester said as he separated himself from the dog’s abundance of affection, “Buttercup, this is my friend Y/N!”

“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Buttercup.” You said as you got down to offer your hand for a sniff. Buttercup took a few whiffs before deciding you were in fact a friend. Her tail wagged back and forth as she allowed you to pet her as well, “She’s so cute, Lester!”

“I know! Ain’t she the sweetest?” Lester concurred, “I found her snoozin’ in a patch of buttercups, so that’s what I started callin’ her!”

“How long has she been here?” you asked, scratching Buttercup behind the ears as she jumped up to rest her front paws on Lester’s shoulders, licking his face once more.

“A while now, I see a few strays runnin’ ‘round while I’m workin’. So, I try and visit with ‘em, if I can. But I left some bowls to fill when I’m on my route, case they get hungry.” Lester managed to gesture to an empty bowl a few feet away from you despite being smothered by more kisses. That explained the industrial sized bags of food. “Speaking of which – you hungry, Buttercup?” she barked in response.

Lester grabbed the bowl and jogged back to the truck to fill it with Buttercup in tow. Your eyes followed after him, the dopey look returning to your face. He conversed with Buttercup like an old friend as he scooped out her food. He was so attentive and kind, listening to her response and matching her excitement. They made their way back to you, thick as thieves. Lester set the bowl down when he made it back next to you, petting Buttercup while she dug into her meal, “Now, don’t eat so fast ya get sick, there’s plenty where that came from. Ole Lester’s got ya covered.”

You let out a deep sigh, endeared by the scene before you. Lester treated every person and creature with such consideration and care; and he never asked for anything in return. He had so much love in his heart and he was willing to share it with anyone who wanted it. With as much as he gives to everyone else, you wondered if anyone had ever told him how much they care about him or appreciate his presence in their life. He deserved to have someone who could give him back all the love he put into the world.

You wanted to be the one. You would finally treat him right. He all but stole your heart and he deserved to hear it from you, even if he might not feel the same. The consequences suddenly didn’t seem to matter so much in this moment. You wanted him to know how important he really was to you, because everyone deserves to know they are loved. You needed to tell him now while you were brave enough.

“Lester, there’s something I need to tell you.” You started, heartbeat racing in your ears, drowning out all the doubt and second thoughts. He perked up, listening close.

“Ya can tell me anythin’, Y/N. Ya know that.” Lester said softly, that warm smile pulling at your heartstrings again.

“Lester…I lo–” a deafening crack of thunder cut you off. With that, Buttercup hightailed it back into hiding. You gasped as you stood, starting after her, worried she may get lost or hurt in the impending storm. You moved to run after her, “Oh no, Buttercup, wait!”

“Hold up, Y/N! Ya can’t catch her, believe me, I tried.” Lester called to stop you, “I tried gettin’ her in the truck a few times to go to a shelter, but she don’t like it. If she ain’t ready to go, we can’t make her. She’ll come ‘round when she’s ready.”

“But we can’t just leave her out here.” You said, searching the area for any sign of her.

“Don’t worry ‘bout her too much, she’s a survivor.” Lester said, putting a comforting hand on your shoulder. “’Sides she’s got a little hideout not far from here. I found her there a couple times and left a few blankets after makin’ sure it wouldn’t cave in on her. It’ll keep her nice and dry ‘til this blows over. Alright? She’ll be safe, I promise.”

“Are you sure?” You asked, almost tearing up at the thought of her shivering somewhere all by herself.

“Sure as my name is Lester Sinclair. We can even come check on her tomorrow, if ya like.” Lester offered, “But we really oughta get outta here ‘fore the rain starts.”

“Okay,” you said hesitantly, “Promise we can check on her?”

“Yes ma’am, I swear. Cross my heart.” Lester assured you, drawing an X over his chest.

You both started toward the truck once more. You silently cursed the weather for interrupting your confession. The moment had passed and the doubts had returned to their work. Despite this, the affection swelling in your chest still pulled you to act on some part of it.

Without thinking too hard for once, you took Lester’s hand in yours. He glanced down to your linked hands and then back at you.

“Are ya scared of thunder storms?” He asked curiously.

“No. Why?” You responded, confused where he got that idea.

“Ya just look a little nervous is all. Thought ya might not like thunder or somethin’.” Lester explained, “I know storms used to scare the hell outta me when I was a kid. Never used to like ‘em one bit, ‘specially if I was by myself.”

“No, I kind of like storms.” You told him.

“Oh, then are your hands cold or somethin’?” Lester asked, gesturing with your connected hands, trying to understand the reason for the spontaneous handholding.

“Uh, well, not exac–”

“Cause ya look a little rosy again. Just makin’ sure ya ain’t gettin’ frostbite or nothin’.” He interjected.

“No, I’m okay.” You told him with your hundredth sigh of the day.

“Well, just in case. Take this.” He said as he released your hand and took off his hat to pull it over your eyes with a chuckle. He readjusted it on your head, revealing the way he was beaming at you. You rarely got to see him without his trusty hat. Even with his hair being a little sweaty and sticking every which way, it was still ridiculously tempting to run your fingers through. The energy radiating from him was so wholesome and pure. Looking at him, you could swear the clouds lifted and the sun was shining all of a sudden. He squeezed your cheeks in his hands, with a laugh, “There, now ain’t that better! Nice and toasty.”

“T-thanks, Les.” You stuttered, reaching up to feel the soft fabric of his hat, the heat in your cheeks only growing more intense under his hold on your face.

 “My pleasure! I gotta say ya look mighty cute right now. Helluva lot better than I ever looked.” He told you, releasing your face and patting you on the back, “Now, let’s make like Buttercup and get to shelter!”

You made it back to the truck right before the heavy rain started pouring down. Lester took off down the road again, toward his cabin. You watched through the window as the storm raged on outside, matching the storm in your mind. The time had felt so right to tell Lester everything, but now you weren’t sure. What you were sure of, however, is that you needed to tell him soon. You thought you might actually burst if you didn’t. You couldn’t keep living like this.      

[good-things-do-happen-dean]

I am actually terrible at prompts but for you I will try: Dean and Cas teach at the same school but no one knows they’re married because Cas was just hired a few months ago, and they don’t want people to think that’s the only reason he got the job; cue Benny incessantly flirting with Cas and trying to ask him out until Dean is forced to step in. The ending is up to you (;

[casually writes this one hundred years later] i love this prompt so much em, thank you for sending it 💖also, it’s me, so i think you can probably guess where the ending goes hahaha enjoy!!!

sweet like honey, sweet like molasses

“Mornin’, sunshine,” somebody drawls across the teachers’ lounge.

Dean doesn’t look up from the copier, until he hears Cas say “Good morning, Benny,” back to the somebody, and he nearly puts a crick in his neck from looking up so quickly because what the hell, that’s Dean’s line.

The somebody in question, Benny, apparently, is leaning back against the counter with the coffee maker, sipping from a steaming mug that says “Mornings suck” in red over a cartoon vampire. He’s a big guy, or, maybe he’s not actually. He’s shorter than Cas, but broad-shouldered and barrel-chested, with a neatly trimmed beard and bright blue eyes.

Dean turns his ring around his finger with his thumb, looking back at the growing stack of copies without really seeing them. They chat about Benny’s AP class maybe coming by the library next week to review research strategies for their upcoming project. Benny says something that makes Cas laugh, rich and low. And Dean finds he suddenly needs a fresh cup.

“Hey there,” he says, squeezing between Cas and Benny to get to the coffee pot. “Morning, Cas.” He doesn’t miss Cas rolling his eyes at him ever so briefly. “Don’t think we’ve had the pleasure,” he says to Benny, reaching out a hand. “I’m Dean Winchester, ninth and tenth grade English.”

Benny grins, and it spreads across his face all slow like honey, or molasses maybe, with that accent. Okay, Dean decides. Fine, he’s hot. Whatever.

“Benjamin Lafitte,” he says, shaking Dean’s hand. “But you can call me Benny. I’m the new Miss Kline while she’s on maternity leave.”

“I see you’ve met Mr. Novak, here,” Dean says, clapping Cas on the shoulder.

“Practically the first thing I did when I was hired.” Benny winks at Cas across Dean, who gives Cas’s shoulder a little squeeze. Only because he’s friendly, and definitely not because he’s possessive or jealous of this guy. Also definitely not to show off the simple silver band on his ring finger that wouldn’t mean anything to Benny anyway.

That’s the plan, after all, to keep their marriage private at school. They live out of the district, so it’s unlikely they’ll run into any students in line at the grocery store or the movie theater. Same for coworkers.

As far as almost everyone knows, the Winchester-Novaks are just Mr. Winchester and Mr. Novak, work friends who hit it off pretty much immediately after Mr. Novak was hired. They get to work at the same time, but they drive separately.They have lunch together, but they eat in the teacher’s lounge instead of in Cas’s tiny office at the back of the library. Dean normally stops by the library at the end of his planning during fourth period, but that’s because he teaches English and the library is, well, where the books are. It’s not because he’s a sap who misses his husband an hour and a half after they’ve just eaten lunch together. Or, okay, it is that, but nobody else knows it.

“Would you look at the time,” Dean says at the sound of the first bell. He rinses out his mug, setting it upside down in the drying rack, before heading to the door. “Gotta beat the thundering hordes to the stairs.”

“Actually,” Benny says, “I’ve got planning first period. Mind if I swing by to pick your brain about that project, Cas?”

Dean turns to stare daggers into Benny’s broad back with one hand on the doorknob. It isn’t that he doesn’t trust Cas, of course he does, but there’s something about this Benny character that rubs him the wrong way.

“Dean?” Cas calls after him, just like he would at home from the garden or the kitchen to where Dean is working in the garage. Dean very nearly says, yeah, babe? but he catches himself just in time. “Your copies.”

Right.

***

Things continue on like that. Benny starts showing up at the same time as them, somehow casually overtaking them so he can hold the door open. He joins them in the teacher’s lounge before school for a cup of coffee and a chat. He sits with them at lunch. He pops his head into the library at the end of the day (when Dean is there during his planning) with a cheery “see ya tomorrow!” and a wink.

Benny asks them about places to go in town. Which coffee shop has the best cold brew, which one has the best atmosphere for getting work done, which one attracts the least students. Where’s the nearest place to fish, or would it be better to drive farther up the highway. What’s the deal with the weird owner of that bookstore on Main.

In the evenings, when Cas and Dean are stretched out on the couch, Cas with his legs draped over Dean’s lap while he reads, Dean using said legs as a slightly lopsided table to grade on., they talk about it, a little.

“He’s harmless,” Cas says. “And besides,” he folds himself up to sitting and presses a kiss to Dean’s temple. “I love you.”

Dean’s ninth graders may or may not get their essays back a day late after one such evening when the stack of papers he’s working on are unceremoniously dropped on the floor, and Dean hauls Cas up and fully into his lap for a while before they fall asleep curled together on the couch.

Soon enough, Dean even starts to maybe like the guy. A little. Not that they’re friends, or anything, but he doesn’t mind Benny so much, doesn’t mind the three of them being the three of them so much. Sure, he doesn’t love Benny staring at Cas over his mug like he hung the moon, or the gifts he starts bringing (“Made it outta that Metatron guy’s bookstore alive. Have you read this? I think you’d like it,” one day, a hearty loaf of homemade bread the next week), but it’s fine. They get along despite the shameless flirting.

Until all of a sudden, it’s been four and a half months and Miss Kline is due back next week. They’re sitting in the teacher’s lounge before school on a Friday at their usual table. Charlie, the computer skills teacher, Dean’s work wife, and the only person on staff besides Principal Singer who knows the truth, just popped in to show them pictures of the baby, little Jack, with his tuft of blond hair sticking straight up and his chubby cheeks.

“Well,” Benny says, leaning back in his chair. “End of the road.”

“We’ll miss you,” Cas says sincerely, reaching across the table to pat his arm.

“Don’t suppose,” Benny starts, looking right at Cas. “You’d wanna get a drink?”

“Okay,” Dean says because he’s finally had enough of this guy. “Look, dude, he’s taken.”

Benny looks at him and cocks his head like he doesn’t understand.

“A ring, I mean, come on, Cas is wearing a ring. A wedding ring.” Dean knows he’s almost definitely getting too loud because Cas’s other hand squeezes his thigh.

“Dean,” Cas says.

“And another thing -” Dean starts, but then he’s the one who doesn’t understand because Benny’s tipping his head back and laughing, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Cher,” Benny says, and Dean bristles at the pet name. A pet name, for his husband. The nerve of this guy. “You think I don’t know you two are together?”

Wait.

“You think,” Benny says, and leans forward in his chair, making direct eye contact with Dean. “I was only flirting with Mr. Novak here?”

“Uh,” Dean says, eloquently.

Benny raises an eyebrow, that same molasses grin spreading across his face. And then Cas is laughing, and Benny joins in, and, eventually, after he finishes thinking through the last four and a half months in a different light, so does Dean.

***

The other history teacher, Mildred, retires at the end of the school year. There’s a retirement party in the teacher’s lounge that’s also a welcome back Mr. Lafitte party.

When they come back in August, as far as almost everyone knows, the three of them are just Mr. Winchester, Mr. Novak, and Mr. Lafitte, work friends who really hit it off last spring when Ms. Kline was out. They used to drive separately, but now they carpool. They sometimes eat lunch in the teachers’ lounge with Charlie, but mostly they eat together crowded around the tiny desk in the tiny office at the back of the library. It works out that Benny and Dean have the same planning period, so they normally end up in the library at the end of the day, co-planning an interdisciplinary English and history unit with all sorts of supplementary materials that Cas helps them find.

And in the evenings, when they’re stretch out on the couch, Cas reading with his legs in Dean’s lap, his head against Benny’s shoulder, Dean and Benny grading on the matching lap desks Cas bought them at the beginning of the school year, they’ll catch each other’s eye over Cas’s head and grin, slow and sweet.

tagging: @joharvele | @contemplativepancakes | @fluffiestlou | @never-forever-more | @emblue-sparks | @tearsofgrace | @prayedtoyou | @chaoticdean let me know if you’d like to be added to/removed from my tag list 💖[or if you would only like to be tagged for certain things!]

[rosemarypasta]

self portrait ♡

➤  pairing : tsukishima kei x yamaguchi tadashi

➤  warnings : the tiniest amount of angst

➤ tags: college roommates!AU, art student yamaguchi, business student tsukishima, unrequited love

➤  summary : Tsukishima Kei was forced to move in with his best friend and long time crush, Yamaguchi, so he could attend the univesity he wanted in Tokyo. He thought he could surpass his feelings and live his life normally just like in high school but what he didn’t know was that living with the person you’re in love with, makes falling much more easily. Especially if that person is Yamaguchi.

➤ word count : 4863

♡ masterpost ♡

“That should be the last of em’!” Yamaguchi finally announced as he set the seventh cardboard box down in the middle of the barren living room. He stretched his arms out and sighed in relief, turning suddenly with a grin flashed across his cheeks towards his new roommate as a celebration.

Tsukishima grumpily set the box he had in his arms down, proceeding to massage his back with the heel of his palm, “We still haven’t unpacked, Yamaguchi, isn’t it a bit early for a celebration?”. His best friend pouted at the reality check he was just given and collapsed onto the still bubble-wrapped couch out of exhaustion.

Tsukishima Kei and Yamaguchi Tadashi were childhood friends who met in primary school. They then proceeded to go to the same middle schools and high schools together. They practically spent the majority of their lives together. They played in the same volleyball teams, went to school together, walked back home together, and grew up beside each other. Though they cared a lot for each other, surely they would go their separate ways eventually right? Finally having such distinct differences in the majors they wanted to take, everyone in Tsukishima’s and Yamaguchi’s lives thought that university would be the wedge that finally separates the two. Well...everyone except their mothers.

“What do you mean I can’t go to Tokyo?” Tsukishima’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer his mother gave him. He approached his mother with the topic of moving out to Tokyo so he could attend the university he wanted. He addressed the topic as if he was asking for permission but he thought it would just be a formality.

“What? Why not? I managed to get a scholarship that’ll give me an allowance for my living costs so it’ll cost you nothing! Besides, Akiteru moved out for university so why can’t I do the same?” Tsukishima spoke rapidly, his fists were balled up tight but he still attempted his best to keep his composure, not wanting to create even more awkward tension in front of his guests. 

“C-calm down, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi stammered, looking as shocked as his own mother at his out of character outburst. The two coincidentally were interested in universities in Tokyo. Though they would be attending different schools, their universities were within walking distance. Yamaguchi was unsure how his mother would react to his only son moving out so Tsukishima came up with the idea to tell their parents together to hopefully soften the blow of Yamaguchi’s mother’s outrage however, reality seems to turn out the opposite to their predictions. Yamaguchi’s mother, who was predicted to freak out instead, was so moved by her only son’s decision to be independent that she started crying tears of joy after the two announced their planned departure. On the other hand, Tsukishima’s mother who was supposed to be playing the supporting role and calming down Yamaguchi’s mother turned out to be the one in need to calm down. 

“You’re pretty much still a child! I will not approve!” Tsukishima’s mother scowled at her youngest child. “What do you mean?! Akiteru moved out the same exact age as me!” He argued back. The two blondes bickered back and forth in their dining room, leaving their two green-haired guests exchanging glances and clueless on what to do. 

“I-If you’re so worried about Kei-kun being alone, Tsukishima-san, why not have the boys move in together? Surely it would be better, no?” Yamaguchi’s mother, being the conflict-avoiding woman she has always been, suggested to her friend in an attempt to cut the tense air in the Tsukishima household. The blonde mother looked at the green-haired mother’s soft expression with a baffled one on her face.

Though, despite the prior opposition, Tsukishima did get to attend the university he wanted with the help of the Yamaguchi family, to which he will always be grateful for, however, he wasn’t sure if the conditions he had to agree to was something to be thankful for. 

“Ah! That should be the pizza. I’ll get it!” Yamaguchi’s head shot up from the couch as the doorbell echoed throughout the cluttered apartment. He got up in an instant and twirled towards the door to tend to the delivery man, finally leaving Tsukishima alone with his thoughts for the first time that day. Tsukishima sank onto the floor and buried his face into his knees, his pale hands covering his beet red ears. He was more than thankful that he was able to go to the university he wanted which coincidentally happened to be in the same area with the university his childhood best friend was attending but there was just a slight problem.

He was madly in love with him.

Tsukishima wondered how long it had been. Ten? Five years? He didn’t know exactly when he started liking Yamaguchi but he was sure that he realized his feelings during his first year of high school. It was the time Yamaguchi was brought in as a pinch server in one of their volleyball matches. He attempted the jump float serve he has been working so hard on and succeeded, breaking the gloom atmosphere the Karasuno volleyball club had around on their shoulders. Everyone’s eyes lit up as a point was added to Karasuno’s scoreboard but none of their eyes lit up as bright as Yamaguchi’s. His brown eyes glistened under the gym lights and his lips were pressed to the biggest smile Tsukishima has ever seen. Everyone on the court rushed to pat and praise Yamaguchi but in order to keep his overexcited heart in between his ribs, all Tsukishima could say at that moment was “Give us another one.”

“Tsukki, you okay?” Yamaguchi’s soft voice startled him. “Yeah i’m fine, just got a bit dizzy.” Tsukishima murmured before rising up and taking a seat beside his best friend on the unwrapped couch before shortly taking a slice of pepperoni pizza, hoping his complexion no longer showed the embarrassing and unwanted red hue.

In the midst of their well-deserved lunch, Tsukishima caught his eyes constantly wavering towards Yamaguchi, watching him stuff his freckled cheeks with food, his eyes glimmering with satisfaction. Tsukishima tried his best to get rid of his worries. Besides, they have been friends for so long and pretty much spent every waking hour together and everything has been alright up to then. Surely, it would be fine living under the same roof as him right?

But oh boy, was he wrong.

Shortly, the semester starts for the roommates. Being drowned in responsibility and exhaustion from his new surroundings, Tsukishima was impressed with his brain’s capability to still think about Yamaguchi despite his busy schedule. Even when he was in class, cramming for a test, around his new friends, Yamaguchi still occupied his mind. Though, he didn’t blame his brain for doing so since the blame fell onto someone else’s hands.

“I’m home.” The blond business major sighed as he wiggled his shoes off before stepping onto his shared hallway. “Ah! Tsukki, welcome back!” Yamaguchi’s head popped out, his pristine smile on his face as always. Tsukishima’s head shot down, attempting to hide his flushed cheeks. It has been a couple of months since they moved in together but Tsukishima can’t bring himself to get used to the warm welcome his roommate keeps giving every time he comes back home. Tsukishima being a business major, he constantly has group projects and on a daily basis has to meet up with his teammates to discuss the assignments after class so Yamaguchi was always home first which means his signature “Welcome back!” Was inevitable to the blond.

“I made curry so help yourself.” Yamaguchi hummed, pointing to the kitchen counter before residing back to the living room corner which was reserved just for him. Tsukishima tossed his bags on his bed, walked back to the kitchen to pick up a spoon and dug into the bowl filled with rice, not bothering to heat it up. He viewed as Yamaguchi went over to pick up the messy palette and paintbrush he just set aside to greet his roommate and sat back down on his stool, facing the easel. 

Tsukishima examined the half-done canvas from the kitchen whilst spooning his dinner in his mouth. It wasn’t fully finished but Tsukishima could make out what his crush was trying to express. It was a figure of a boy in mid air, his back arched and his hand was on the same level as his head, parallel to the tri-colored ball which was the centerpiece of the canvas. Tsukishima was no art snob but he could assume it was a painting of Yamaguchi himself. 

“A new assignment?” Tsukishima started, shuffling behind his friend who had his back hunched towards the easel. “Yeah, the professor told us to create a work that showed our most important memory of our high school life so...I picked volleyball!” He enthusiastically answered though his face never left the canvas. His fingers were wrapped around a dainty detail brush. He shakily brushed it up and down, trying to add detail to the hair of the subject. 

The blond studied the painting with deeper interest, impressing himself as he paid more attention to the minor details of the painting with his half eaten curry still in his hands. Tsukishima knew Yamaguchi always liked drawing. His notebooks were always covered with doodles and he remembered Yamaguchi was always drawing whenever Tsukishima dropped by his house to play when they were still young. 

“You’re really good.” Tsukishima unconsciously mumbled, his mind still deep in thought with the painting upfront. “You think so? I think I got pretty rusty ever since we entered high school.” Yamaguchi casually replied to his comment to which Tsukishima flinched at. He didn’t realize he was speaking his thoughts out loud.

Tsukishima disagreed with Yamaguchi’s opinion. He always knew Yamaguchi liked art but he never knew he was this talented and passionate about it until the last year of high school when Hinata randomly brought up the topic of university after practice. There Yamaguchi confessed he wanted to take up fine arts after high school. His eyes always shined when he talked about art. Tsukishima admired the passionate part Yamaguchi had. He envied that he had something he liked so much unlike himself, who took up business just because his father suggested it to him. He didn’t even feel a big drive to continue volleyball after highschool so he abandoned the thought of pursuing anything related to it despite having spent half his life playing the sport. 

Tsukishima was about to turn and take a shower but a certain figure on the left side of the painting caught his eye. He couldn’t believe he missed it after staring at the painting for more than ten minutes. On the corner of the canvas stood another figure aside from Yamaguchi’s, standing. The figure had his hands together as if it was clapping. The figure was painted in similar colors to the background, it’s blond hair almost seamlessly blending into the warm background but thankfully, the figure had a pair of black glasses on which made it noticeable.

His heart skipped a beat as he realized that his best friend had incorporated him into a painting that supposedly portrayed his most important moment of his high school years. Tsukishima rushed into the shower in a hurry. He shut the door behind him and let himself melt onto the ground, rationalizing his thoughts. He was Yamaguchi’s best friend so naturally, he was a part of his high school years and he was also in the same volleyball team. But so was Hinata and Kageyama, who he had grown close to and they were much more encouraging to him on court so why weren't they there too? He remembered that his painting was only half done and Yamaguchi will surely add them in right?

Days passed and Yamaguchi didn’t add Hinata and Kageyama into the painting. Though, it seems like his deadline was being unreasonable so he rushed to complete it to the best of his ability. Tsukishima didn’t know whether to be comforted or bothered by the possibility of his first assumption so he pushed his complicated feelings away. 

“Nice work, Megane-kun! See you in class.” The rooster-haired upperclassmen yelled out after Tsukishima had already begun to walk away from the cafe he just spent three hours in for yet again, another group project. He began to walk home under the navy blue sky with a half empty to-go-cup of coffee. He was exhausted. Every limb on his body ached and his eyes feel strained from working on his laptop for so long. All he wanted to do was go back home and embrace Yamaguchi so his exhaustion could just melt away but he guessed that would be impossible to do so he settled on just looking forward to looking at him. He let his eyes wander off to watch the various shop fronts he passed by, in an attempt to find a bakery or some sort to buy desserts from in the future when he was going through rough days such as this one but his eyes unexpectedly spotted his green-haired roommate he was so looking forward to meeting back home.

Tsukishima rubbed his eyes from under his glasses and examined the bustling crowd his roommate was a part of. It was no mistake, it was Yamaguchi. Tsukishima was about to approach him before the crowd of shoppers dispersed and revealed the person Yamaguchi was walking side by side with. Tsukishima’s eyes widened as he recognized the short blonde girl his crush was walking with. “Y-Yachi?” He said in disbelief under his breath. He watched as the pair of his high school friends laughed and talked together from across the street. Naturally, if he were Kageyama or Hinata, the logical choice after seeing his two close friends out on the streets was to catch up with them and greet them but Tsukishima’s eyes watched as Yamaguchi giggled at the blonde. He was smiling a bit too much and his cheeks were flushed red. 

Tsukishima rushed home with gritted teeth. He was upset. But he didn’t know if he had the right to be. What was he so upset about? Yamaguchi hanging out with Yachi? It wasn’t like Tsukishima was dating him, he didn’t belong to Tsukishima. He doesn’t deserve to be jealous. Tsukishima opened the door to the empty apartment. Some part of him hoped that he saw wrong and whoever he saw on the street wasn’t Yamaguchi but alas, the stool Yamaguchi always sat in the corner of the living room was empty and the lights were all off. Tsukishima dropped his bags on the corner of the hallway and staggered over to the couch, collapsing with heavy breaths, exhausted from running back home.

And as Tsukishima dreaded, the front door clicked open after a handful of minutes, shortly followed by a bright “I’m home” from Yamaguchi. Tsukishima watched as Yamaguchi walked into the living room, hung his coat and scarf on the coat hanger and plopped down right beside Tsukishima without a care in the world, oblivious to his mentally deteriorating roommate. “Why were you late?” Tsukishima managed to say, his thoughts still in a jumble. “Oh, I stayed back in the studio to work on my sculpture assignment,” He answered, stretching his arms sideway, “I know you hate the smell of clay so…” So was he about to forget mentioning who he was with? Tsukishima knew Yachi went to the same art university as Yamaguchi but he was sure she belonged to a different major than Yamaguchi. Besides, a graphic design student like her wouldn’t deal with sculptures so why would she be together with him in the sculpting studio that was specialized for fine art students? Tsukishima sighed and accepted reality. It was silly to begin with to have a crush on Yamaguchi anyway.

“Ah, Tsuk-“ Yamaguchi started but got shortly cut by the blond, “I’m taking the shower first.” Tsukishima stood up abruptly, power walking towards their shared bathroom with a lump in his throat. Tsukishima slammed the door behind him, leaving his roommate in utter confusion. 

“Never mind I guess.” Yamaguchi mumbled to himself.

Yamaguchi knew Tsukishima wasn’t the warmest person, at least on a surface level. He was always known to be salty and unapproachable to everyone but he knew he never meant it to be malicious or anything so Yamaguchi had grown accustomed to his personality but the following week was something unlike anything he has ever experienced. 

Everyday, Tsukishima would come home and go straight to his room. No snarky comments on Yamaguchi’s paintings and no complaining about his day while lounging on the couch, which he claimed to be more comfortable than his own bed. And at meal times, he just sat and ate his food in silence, always a frown present on his face. And at times when it was Yamaguchi’s turn to cook, he didn’t say anything, even though he always had something to say before, whether it was a good job or not. Watching his own best friend act like that didn’t sit right at all with Yamaguchi so he only had one thing to do left.

Spoil the hell out of him.

Attempt number one, museum tickets.

“Tsukki! Look, I got museum tickets! Lets go this weekend.” Yamaguchi brust in Tsukishima’s room. “Where’d you get it?” Tsukishima’s expression is still as cold as ever. “Er, Akaashi-senpai gave them to me!” Yamaguchi lied. He had sacrificed his allowance money from buying new paint brushes to buy the tickets. He knew if he told Tsukishima that he bought it with his own money he risked him calling it dumb, even though he liked museums, or Tsukishima feeling even more down that Yamaguchi had to spend his frugal university student money on the tickets. 

“What ever.” He said but went along anyway. Though Yamaguchi was proud of himself of dragging Tsukishima out to the museum at first, Tsukishima’s mood unexpectedly didn’t improve much during the visit. His eyes occasionally lit up when he examined the dinosaur exhibits but they were only momentary and disappeared in a split second everytime Yamaguchi initiated a conversation. 

Yamaguchi went home in defeat.

Attempt number two, curing his possible homesickness.

“Tsukki! Look who came to visit!” Yamaguchi’s voice bounced off the walls in excitement as he opened the door one Friday of a three-day weekend. “Pardon the intrusion.” Kageyama and Hinata said as they shook their shoes off prior to entering the apartment. Tsukishima’s head peeked out to the hallway and his eyes widened at the sight of his two friends from high school. Yamaguchi watched as the usual wrinkle in between Tsukishima’s eyebrows disappeared when he recognized his two friends. Yamaguchi knew though Tsukishima doesn’t show it at all, he was very fond of being around Hinata and Kageyama so surely it would improve his mood which he was right about. Tsukishima had, for the first time a week, finally spent time outside his own room aside from mealtimes. The apartment finally filled with laughter and bickering. Colors seemed to be restored when the oddball duo graced their presence and Yamaguchi was about to give himself a pat on his back before the last guest arrived.

Tsukishima, who was in the middle of laughing at Hinata’s story, froze immediately as he saw the former club manager walk into the living room as the rest of the guest cheered at her arrival. Though his behaviour for the latter half of the day seemed normal to the rest of his friends, Yamaguchi knew his attempt had once again failed.

Yamaguchi sighed as he walked home from a five hour studio session. His hands felt grimy and dry from touching clay too much, which didn’t help soothe his mind from thinking about his depressed roommate. 

He was about to turn to the street where his apartment was at but the bright lights of a certain shop caught his attention. Yamaguchi cursed at himself for not thinking of this plan ages ago. Without skipping a beat, Yamaguchi crossed the road in glee, excited with the plan he just came up with.

“Tsukki! Look what I got!” Yamaguchi gushed with excitement as soon as he opened the front door, not bothering to do his usual greeting. He kicked his shoes off in millisecond and almost tripped on his way to the kitchen, to where Tsukishima was standing, confused, with a glass of water in his hand. “What?” Yamaguchi took a second to catch his breath, having just run the whole way home from the bakery. 

“I got…” Yamaguchi struggled to start, his breath still short, “cake!” Yamaguchi exclaimed with the biggest smile he could make but it was too early to celebrate. 

Yamaguchi’s eyes roamed Tsukishima’s face, studying every movement his features made. And after holding his breath a bit too hard for ten seconds, he sighed the hardest he has ever done in relief as he watched Tsukishima’s eyes softened up and the crooks his lips angled up ever so slightly. 

“Alright! I’ll go set them on a plate!” Yamaguchi squealed, setting the box of cake on the kitchen counter but before he could even reach the cabinet that stored the plates, his excitement made him trip on his own foot. 

“Yamaguchi? Watch ou-“

Yamaguchi closed his eyes tight, expecting to feel a sharp pain in the coming seconds but instead, his head was created by a soft thud instead of the cold kitchen tile. Yamaguchi’s eyes fluttered open to be greeted with a very close up view of a pastel green fabric that seemed like it was part of the hoodie Tsukishima was just wearing. Yamaguchi’s brown eyes trailed up to see Tsukishima’s face wincing, his hand rubbing the back of his back, which was inches from the floor. Yamaguchi’s eyes trailed back down to see his very own hand on Tsukishima’s chest. Embarrassed from just falling and the inappropriate placement of his hand, He hurriedly retracted his hand and body from Tsukishima. 

“T-Tsukki! I am so sorry!” Yamaguchi stammered, expecting Tsukishima to be furious but instead, Tsukishima’s face was bright red. Confused and worried, Yamaguchi brought his hand up towards the blond’s forehead, “Tsukki? Do you have a fever?”

Tsukishima slapped Yamaguchi’s hand instinctively, his cheeks only getting redder and redder as seconds went by. “D-Don’t touch me.” He breathed, he could feel his ears burning. Tsukishima watched as Yamaguchi’s face contorted to a mix of emotions. Confusion, pain, and embarrassment. Tsukishima knew he had literally nothing to lose then. He had gotten rid of whatever was left of Yamaguchi’s kindness when he hit his hand away so it was all or nothing.

“S-stop being so nice to me,” He began, his voice cracking, “or I’ll fall in love with you even more.” His voice was weak though he braced for the end of his friendship with his childhood best friend. Yamaguchi’s eyes widened in surprise. Tsukishima wasn’t sure if it were just plain shock or disgust but he felt like it was definite that it was a mix of the two. Tsukishima bit his lip, trying to suppress his tears from falling, and got up. “I know it’s disgusting right? A man falling in love with you, especially because you have a girlfriend but I understand if you don’t want to live with me anymore. I-I’ll grab my things.” He forced himself to say, his voice cracking all over the place. Tsukishima didn’t blame Yamaguchi. It was his fault after all. He should’ve never lived with him and listened to his mother rather than pursuing his selfish wishes to study in Tokyo. It was a natural reaction to be disgusted anyway.

“W-Wait! What are you talking about? It’s not disgusting!” Yamaguchi’s frail voice finally shouted out, just in time before Tsukishima left the kitchen. Tsukishima’s head whipped back to stare at the boy on the ground with wide eyes.

 “What?” He breathed.

 Yamaguchi pulled his body up, gripping the kitchen counter hard. “I said...” His voice gradually grew stronger as he staggered closer to the baffled blond. “It's not disgusting!” The usually timid green haired boy yelled before launching himself onto his taller friend, impulsively planting his lips onto the other’s lips.

Yamaguchi’s leap caused Tsukishima and him to fall over once again but Yamaguchi slipped his hand behind Tsukishima’s head right on time before the blond’s head hit the floor. His hand stung upon the forced contact with the floor but at that moment, he felt no pain as his heart was being filled with content. 

The kiss wasn’t deep or sensual, rather, it was long and sweet, which perfectly mirrored the relationship the two shared. Though, the more realistic reason why neither of the two have slipped their tongue in was because of the lack of experience both parties had. Though he did not want to, Yamaguchi pulled out from the kiss, gasping for air, to which his partner did the same. 

Realizing their mistake, Yamaguchi burst into fits of laughter to which Tsukishima raised an eyebrow at, still out of breath. Yamaguchi rested his forehead on Tsukishima’s chest, “We forgot to breathe huh?” He giggled, his cheeks beet red, just like the boy he was on top of.

That night, the two childhood friends snuggled up under a blanket and talked to their heart's content with plates of cake in their hands. Having isolated himself in his room for extended periods of time, Tsukishima forgot how much he missed talking to Yamaguchi. But not only can he now talk to Yamaguchi, he can do it without fearing falling in love with him since now, he was allowed to. A warm smile crept onto Tsukishima’s face as he watched Yamaguchi take his final bite from the strawberry shortcake slice he bought earlier.

“Wait, so that’s why you thought I was dating Yachi-san? And that’s also why you started avoiding me?” Yamaguchi managed to say without letting a single laugh slip in between his lips, trying not to make Tsukishima more flustered as he is since he wanted to catch up on everything he had been missing from. “Y-Yeah.” The blond pouted, bundling the blanket tighter around his body. Yamaguchi’s eyes widened at the sight. He loved the way every time Tsukishima got flustered he always pouts and lowers his head down slightly. Of course, it only happens once in a blue moon and Yamaguchi has only seen him like that for a whopping total of three times for the whole time they’ve been friends, and he was like that for all three times so he was sure it was a habit of his. 

“God! Tsukki, you’re the cutest!” Yamaguchi squealed, throwing his body at the blond’s, causing the two to collapse on Yamaguchi’s bed. 

He had to explain what actually happened to Tsukishima, which was he really did coincidentally bump into Yachi on the way home from the studio. He also confessed that he was blushing madly that day with Yachi because he was talking about Tsukishima. 

Yamaguchi never knew Tsukkishima was the type to get jealous easily. He found it very much endearing. 

“So since when were you in love with me?” Yamaguchi enquired the blond, he took his time teasing his roommate while he was in a vulnerable moment since he knew how rare it was for Tsukishima to be like that.

“Three years maybe? It was around inter-highs.” The blond answered with a pout. “What about you?” 

“W-what?”

Yamaguchi’s teasing demeanor vanished immediately. He wiped his smug face off and buried his face into the shared blanket. “Hmm? now someone’s being shy huh?” Yamaguchi hated how fast it took for the roles to reverse. 

“Shnczezaeymedu” He soft whispers muffled from the blanket he covered his mouth with.

“Hmm? Come again? I didn’t catch that.” Tsukishima’s voice as condescending as ever, poking the sides of Yamaguchi’s waist with his index finger through the thick blanket.

“S-Since the day I first met you!” Yamaguchi yelled out of embarrassment, his face was so red that his freckles were barely noticeable. Tsukishima’s eyes widened in surprise. He always thought he was the first to catch feelings and he knew how hard it was to keep a crush a secret. How have Yamaguchi kept his feelings hushed down for all these years?

Tsukkishima had a lot of questions and he was sure they could last a lifetime. He had a lot of emotions running through his veins but he was sure a big majority was joy. And he could not contain it for much longer. 

Tsukishima shot up and pounced his boyfriend, planting a kiss on his lips and throwing all his composure out the window. He didn’t care how stupid or love struck he looked. He had his everything in his arms and that’s all that matters to him now.

“I love you, Tadashi.” Tsukishima managed to say, trying to not make his voice crack as tears well up in the corners of his eyes.

“I love you too, Kei.”

[canonconspiracy]

Who Needs Food When You Have Love? (Memori x Fem!Reader)

Fandom: The 100

Fanfiction By: @rmorningstar21 

Pairing: Emori x Fem!Reader x John Murphy

This will be cross-posted between my AO3 and Wattpad (rmorningstar21).

Warnings: Poly, a little swearing, needles

WC: 1890

“I bear the burden so that they don’t have to,” you murmured to yourself as you stared down upon Emori’s beautiful, sedated face, before glancing to the needle in your hand once more.  You, much like Octavia, had been the girl from underneath the floorboards.  You were an outcast upon the Ark, and it was only natural that you managed to fall for the two largest outcasts you had met down on Earth.  

A hand gently caressed Emori’s cheek, a sad smile against your lips as you moved to inject yourself with the black blood marrow experiment, feeling the foregein sensation taking over your body.  It had started with the pain simply from the injection, but your body had to process the new marrow as it began to course through you.  New cells formed in your body slowly, and yet, you knew you did the right thing.  Your voice rang out strong, true, as you called out to the rest of the group.  

“You’ll be testing it on me,” you said firmly.  

Clarke’s eyes widened, and yet she nodded with a tear in her eyes.  “You’ll be okay,” she lied to you, moving to guide you to the other medical bed to allow Emori to wake on her own.  “You’re strong, Y/N.”

“She’s your sister, Clarke,” Abby, your mother, gasped out with wide eyes.  Even so, she knew it needed to be done.  Abby had not been daft to the feelings she could see from your y/e/c orbs towards the two in question.  Though she had not understood exactly how you could love two people, two people like them, she knew it was why you had done it.  “Y/N, what if you die?”

“What if Emori did?” you shot back while crossing your arms against your chest.  “Just like the last test subject, she wasn’t a willing subject.  She knew that she would be the guinea pig, and that’s why she saved her own skin the first time.”

“But, Y/N,” Abby tried to counter, placing a hand upon your shoulder as tears welled in her eyes.  “We need you.”

“And I need them,” you spat back acidically, your y/e/c orbs shifted to a glare as you glanced over upon your mother.  “We will do the testing on me, and if it fails, you did everything to prevent the human race from going extinct.”

“Fine,” Abby said, her voice tight as she glanced away, moving over to distract herself with anything.  The waiting would be agonizing, impossible as she awaited to place her own daughter in the tube.  If it had been her first daughter, though, if it had been Clarke, surely she would have stopped it.  

Emori stirred, her face immediately drifting to panic as she glanced over at everyone.  Her voice was about to exert panic, but she could see the sadness against everyone’s faces...everyone except your own.  As the only person in the room despite John that she trusted, she hurried over to you, placing a hand against your shoulder as her eyes scanned your features.  “Did you let them inject me?” she questioned, worry clearly in her tone.  

“No, Em, I didn’t,” you said, forcing a smile against your lips as your gaze met her beautiful brown eyes.  “You should know by now I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

Emori’s brown eyes widened as she stared you down, her hand moving to meet your face for a moment.  Her thumb trailed your cheekbone as her lips dropped to a distressed frown.  Swallowing hard, she whispered her next words as she removed her hand and backed away.  “You didn’t…” her tone shook with each word.

“What didn’t she do?” John asked as he had finally made his way back over to the group, Clarke being the one to set him free of the restraints that held him to the ship.  He glanced from you to Emori, noticing the terror against her face.  “What’s wrong?”

“She did,” Clarke chimed in.  “But, it has to work.  She’s making the sacrifice so that we can all live.”

“And you’re okay with this?” John spat back, before moving over to your side, motioning with his eyes for Emori to join him.  “You’re okay with playing God on your own sister?”

“I made the choice,” you replied sheepishly, moving your hand to touch his arm gently to get his attention.  “I know how much the two of you mean to one another.  You need each other.”

“We need you, too,” Emori chimed in.  

You moved to press a kiss against Emori’s cheek, before John’s, a sad smile against your lips as you stood to your feet.  Not sure how two hours had already passed, you knew you were ready to test the black blood in your system.  Your eyes shifted to your mother, your sister, and then to Jackson as your tone was firm.  “I’m ready,” you said.  As much as you wanted to tell the two that you loved them, that you needed them as well, you knew it would just make everything hurt so much more.  Tears welled in your eyes as you moved over to the machine, opening it and lying down inside of the tube.  

Jackson was the one to place the EMR tags upon your skin to monitor your vitals as you would go in.  You could hear the faint tears of Emori as she stood beside John, but you dared not look in their direction as you closed your eyes.  Though anxiety filled your chest, you forced yourself to believe you were ready for exposure.  As you took the burden so that Emori would live, you had to believe that what you were doing was to make all of humanity live.  

When the tube had closed, you were unable to hear anything outside of it.  Each time that Jackson cranked the radiation, you were unaware, though you knew it had been happening.  With each tear that fell, each worried strain as the radiation rose, your heart-rate stood intact.  It seemed to be forever that you were in that tube, until your mother had been the one pulling you from the experiment.  

"It…" Abby breathed out as she checked over your body, checking for any sort of lesion.  "...worked!  As she moved to pull you into a bone-crushing hug, she continued.  "Don't you ever scare me like that again." 

Clarke had been the next to have dibs upon hugging you, though the two that you loved waited impatiently as you reunited with your Commander of Death sister.  Tears still shed from her blue eyes as she embraced you, though you knew as well as any that she would have lived with you dying in that tube.  It had been for the greater good, to save everyone, and you had simply gotten lucky that you were the second test subject.   

Emori was on your left, John on your right as the two of them practically squished you in embrace.  Holding you tightly to them, neither of them dared wish to let you go.  The two who would do anything to survive would have been lost without you, and yet, neither knew how to say it aloud.  

Emori still had fresh tears upon her face as the three of you separated, her eyes frantically searching your face for any sort of problem, anything that the radiation had done.  Finally, she breathed out, "You're okay!"  

It took mere moments for the black to begin to drip from your nose as you quickly separated from the woman.  Your hand moved to your face as you turned away, beginning to cough.  Black blood dripped from your hand to the floor as gasps sounded around you.  Lesions formed against your face and neck from the delay to the exposure as your world was spiraling to blackness.  As you fell, you were not even sure who's arms managed to catch you, or if you hit the cold tile.  

Waking had been like a dream, though you could feel strength as your y/e/c orbs opened once more.  As your gaze fixated above you, you found two sets of eyes staring down upon you.  Both your hands were held in a comforting manner, one by a strong hand while another by a more lithe one.  

"Y/N!" They both gasped, nearly at the same time as they noticed you waking.  A mix of relief and worry was present in both tones as they spoke, though your mind had yet to process the upturn of John's lips, or the softness in Emori's brown eyes.  The comfort of both of their hands would have made you blush if you had been more awake for it.  

In a groggy voice, you said, "I'm not dead, right?" 

"No, but you missed a lot," John said with a laugh.  "I guess I'm not the only cockroach after all." 

"John," Emori warned sharply before moving to squeeze your hand gently.  "How are you feeling, Y/N?" 

Though you did not want to move out of the comfort of both hands that held you, you pushed yourself up to a seated position, smiling at her softly.  "Honestly, great," you said with a soft chuckle.  "It helps that my two favorite people actually give a shit.  The treatment worked, though.  That means, depending on how long we have, we may have just saved the world." 

"It's a little late for that," John chimed in with an eye roll.  "There's a conclave in Polis over who gets a bunker, and even if we win, there isn't enough time to get there." 

"So, my mother and Clarke…" you began to question, glancing between the two of them.  

"In Polis," Emori confirmed, causing your heart to drop.  "John and I stayed back with you." 

"You remember that bunker we were stuck in for 84 days?" John mentioned snarkily, a smirk making its way to his face.  "We were thinking waiting out the end of the world in there." 

"How could I forget?" You replied with a chuckle.  "I- I wish you guys could have gotten someplace safer, though.  I'm so glad that the two of you cared enough to stick back, but what about survival?"   You raised an eyebrow at the two.  

"We can take supplies and food from the house," Emori suggested slyly, a smile against her lips. 

"And who needs food when you have love?" John added slyly, moving to press his lips against your own quite suddenly.  Though it was a chaste kiss, you had been stunned, barely having the chance to enjoy it, let alone kiss back.  Still, as your lips connected, you felt blush rise in your cheeks.  

To add to your shock, Emori moved to do the same, pressing her lips against your own rather suddenly.  As she did, you could feel John's hand tighten reassuringly upon your own.  It had been Emori that broke into laughter at the absolutely stunned look on your face.  

"I- I- um," you started, trying to think of a way to redeem yourself, though you fell short.  

"If it wasn't obvious, we both love you," John said with a smirk.  "The end of the world wasn't really when we wanted to admit it, but when isn't it the end of the world around here?" 

[yodawgiherd]

Too Close For Comfort pt.1

>>>Read on AO3<<<

I wanted to take a short break from writing canonverse, and luckily I had an idea to write. In most EM fics, Eren and Mikasa get together as adults (if at all ;( ) and the story usually ends with them realizing their love. So I thought, what if they were better at talking and were together for a looooong time? What if they weren't two lonely souls but the annoying couple that is pissing everyone off by being so in love with one another? Well... :D This first part is mostly world-building to establish the AU setting, the second part will be focused on the perils of their friends who have to deal with Eren and Mikasa being hopelessly in love since childhood. Hopefully you'll like it :)

Mikasa and Eren are nine years old when they first confess their love to each other.

Each confession is for a different reason, as the two lifetime neighbors both experienced an event that made them reconsider what they felt towards their childhood friend.

Eren was teased by Jean again, and when the guy said that he had “A hundred girlfriends already.”, he was flabbergasted.

“Where did you get them?”, Eren asked, but all Jean did was a smirk.

“As if I would ever tell a virgin like you.”

Which presented a new problem, because Eren had no idea what a virgin is. He knew that his mother used virgin oil sometimes, but the logical part of his brain argued that Jean was hardly talking about that. So, he asked the smartest guy he knew. Armin explained that a virgin is a person who didn’t have sex yet, but that didn’t help.

“What is sex?”, Eren wanted to know.

“N-Nothing important.”, Armin stuttered, “Don’t worry about it.”

Telling Eren Yeager not to worry about something is practically beginning him to search for it. So, he asked the second smartest person he knew. Grisha spat out the coffee he was drinking when Eren asked, telling him to ask his mother. Carla went white in the face and demanded to know where Eren heard it. Not about to snitch on Armin, he lied that he heard it in school, so Carla frowned and said: “We will tell you when you get older.”

Nuh-uh.

It was risky, but Eren managed to google sex during a computer class, and what he found made his eyes go wide. It also greatly increased his respect towards Jean, if he was able to do it with a hundred girls already he must be quite a specimen. The respect was tainted by a large dose of jealousy. If Jean was able to get a hundred girls, why couldn’t Eren get even one? That wasn’t fair.

And thinking about it, about a girl he would like to be close to, Mikasa was an obvious answer.

Mikasa’s confession was fueled by a movie. It was R-rated, and she watched it in secret so her parents wouldn’t know. There was a lot of blood and death, but what traumatized her was the romance between the main cast. The girl was forced to kill her lover in the end, saving the world but dooming their love in the process. Mikasa cried her eyes out at that, so sad about the tragic and unfair world, and it got her thinking too. Who was a guy that she would never like to kill? Someone that she cared for a lot and would like to be more than friends with? The answer was easy.

When they met the next day, both had a confession ready, so they went to sit under the tree where they often played, staring anywhere but at each other.

“I... I need to tell you something.”, Eren finally pushed out.

“Me too. Uhm, do you want to go first?”

“No, let’s do it at the same time, okay?”

“Okay…”

3.2.1..

“I love you Mi-…”

“Eren, I love y-…”

Now they were staring at each other, cheeks flushed. Talk about a coincidence. They spent a lot of time together as always, and when Eren came home, he puffed out his chest and walked to his parents.

“I have a girlfriend now.”

Zeke, who was visiting from college, laughed and high-fived him, Grisha’s eyebrows rode so high that they disappeared into his hairline, and Carla was worried sick until Eren told them that it’s Mikasa.

“Oh good.”, she reached down, ruffling his hair, “I’m happy for you, sweetie.”

Mikasa had a much colder time at home because Levi threatened to kill that guy, her father was silent and her mother rubbed her pregnant belly, sighing.

“Are you sure that you want to get into this business so young?”, she asked.

But Mikasa wouldn’t budge, and her parents knew better than to try and convince her. Even Levi backed down because Mikasa said that if he harms Eren she will never talk to him again.

And just like that, they were dating.

It didn’t change much at first. Eren announced it out loud at school to Jean, who frowned and said whatever.

“She looks weird anyway.”, he scoffed, “Her eyes are slanted and her skin too pale, my girlfriends are much prettier.”

That was enough to make Eren jump him in defense of Mikasa’s honor, and the teacher had to separate them. Eren got a bleeding nose and a written notice to his parents, but he couldn’t care less. In his vicinity, not Mikasa slander would be tolerated.

Years went by.

They shared their first kiss at eleven, but it was strange and not very enjoyable.

“Are we doing it the right way?”, Eren wondered, unsure why would the adults ever bother with it.

“I think so, it looked like this in all the movies.”, Mikasa said, somewhat disappointed.

“Maybe it will get better when we are older.”, Eren offered, “We can just stick to hand-holding till then, you like that, right?”

Mikasa blushed and nodded, so he grabbed her hand and they headed to Armin’s house, kiss almost forgotten.

It took two years before they started the whole kissing thing again, and Eren was right. It did get better with age. It was also around that time when he started noticing things. He knew that Mikasa is pretty, but as she was growing up he had to reconsider that statement. Mikasa was much more than pretty, she was beautiful. At the age of thirteen, it didn’t mean much, only that he was more and more proud of his girlfriend.

Another two years passed, and things were starting to get heated.

Mikasa got into the whole goth thing, wearing black and whatnot, she even tried getting Eren into it. Unsuccessfully, but he always allowed her to try her make-up on him, or dressed as she wanted sometimes to appease her. He did like how she looked though, the dark makeup and black lipstick suited her, not even mentioning that fishnets and chokers were hot as fuck

She got her cartilages pierced and added piercings to her earrings, another thing that Eren was too scared to try. They would get a tattoo together, he promised, but had to wait till eighteen because Carla was strictly against it.

The kissing got even better, and now Eren’s hands were roaming all over her body while he was doing it. Mikasa also did her part of groping, and the young couple was slowly but surely edging towards the one thing all parents fear. Intimacy.

More and more often, Eren was coming home with face covered in black lipstick smudges. A lot of love bites bloomed on Mikasa’s pale neck and trying to hide it with her red scarf didn’t help. Their parents noticed, and they did not like what they saw.

Grisha tried to have “the talk” with Eren while taking him on a fishing trip, but Zeke tagged along and was ruining it with his goofy faces and bad-timed laughter. In the end, when Grisha got the message across to the red-faced Eren, Zeke pulled out a pack of condoms and threw them at his brother.

“It’s dangerous to go alone.”, he said dramatically, “Take this.”

Grisha hit him over the head for that, but to Zeke, it was totally worth it.

Mikasa got the talk too, first from her mother and then from Levi, who sat on her bed and described in detail all the ways he’s going to kill Eren if he ever does anything inappropriate to her. She threw him out of her room, slammed the door and that was it.

Despite all the good-natured warnings, and Levi’s threats, they began easing into it at sixteen. Mikasa sneaked into Eren’s room, because she could climb the tree next to his window without breaking a sweat, and their classic make-out session was interrupted when Eren’s hand slipped under her black panties.

“Can I…?”, he asked in a weak voice, but Mikasa found herself wanting it.

She watched so many romantic movies, Twilight being one of her favorites, and the physical romance was always glossed over. She wanted to experience it herself. And honestly? It was pretty good, being touched by Eren. Just like that, the gates sprang open and warnings of parents were forgotten.

They experimented at first. Hands touched, mouths kissed, tongued swiped over. Internet was a great teacher because for once Eren didn’t feel like asking Armin about the stuff. And they found their way.

Mikasa and Eren had sex for the first time at the age of seventeen, tipsy from Jean’s house party but not too drunk to not know what they are doing. It was okay but not as mind-blowing as Mikasa wanted it, and Eren promised that they would get better at this.

And they did, both eager to do so. Eren now had black lipstick not only on his face, but around his crotch too, and Mikasa’s love bites spread from her neck to her thighs.

On a nice day, when the sun was out and the neighbors got together for a small party, Grisha was manning the grill alongside Mr. Ackerman, the two of them having a beer and overall a nice time. Eren and Mikasa were doing their usual thing, which meant sitting in a corner with her on his lap, sharing kisses and giggles, and overall just ignoring the rest of the world. Next to them, Armin was with the rest of the kids, the whole group doing their best to not be weirded out. Then again, they kinda got used to it at this point. Seeing it all, Grisha couldn’t help but wonder out loud to his neighbor and friend.

“Do you think that our children are having sex?”

Taking a swig of his beer, Mikasa’s father wanted to deny it, but deep in his heart knew that he could not.

“I just hope that Levi won’t find out.”, he said, making Grisha laugh.

When eighteen and college hit, Eren fulfilled his promise and they got a matching tattoo together, wings on their backs. Going to the same college, of course, they rented an apartment because being separated by dorms was too much of a pain for the pair. Everything was great, everything was perfect, and the couple couldn’t be happier.

But did their friends feel the same way?

[thominho-incorrectquotes]

Thomas could only worry about Minho

Characters: Thomas x Minho

667 words

Tags: Canon-compliant, Established relationship, Comfort, takes place in The Maze Runner book

Summary:  My version of the "Thomas could only worry about Minho" moment

Disclaimer:  In other to place this fic in the context of the canon story, I took some part from the book. Everything in italic is taken from the book and belongs to James Dashner.

You can also read it on AO3 and ff.net

_______________________________

A lone shape was sprinting across the countryard of the Glade toward the exit throught which Gally had just been taken.

Despite the poor light, Thomas realized who it was immediately. He screamed – yelled at him to stop – but it was too late.

Minho, running full speed, disappeared into the Maze.

Panic ran through his whole body. He ignored Newt's unconscious body on the bed. He ignored the chaos that was currently reigning in the Glade. He ignored everything.

Getting out of the Homestead, he ran towards the door. He had to get Minho back. What if the Grievers took him too? Why did Minho go after them? He couldn't lose him. He held back his tears, he needed to see clearly.

He heard Newt calling for him, telling him to stop. But he couldn't. He couldn't stop. He had to go in the Maze.

"Minho went out there!" he yelled back at his blond friend who was holding what looked like a towel on his injured head.

"I know, I saw him" he replied, groaning from pain. "Shuck, that hurt. Minho must've gone crazy. But there's something more important right now."

Thomas couldn't care at all. He could only worry about Minho. "I'm going after him."

"Okay, I know you love your boyfriend, but goin' into the Maze right now is really not the best thing to do shank."

Thomas felt the tears coming back once again. "I don't care I have to go." The longer he stayed there talking, the harder it would be for him to find the Keeper. He turned to the door, about to run towards it once again when he saw someone turning the corner. Minho. Minho!

A wave of relief crashed over Thomas who couldn't hold back his tears any longer. Minho was alive. He hadn't been taken by the Grievers.

He ran to him, eager to have him in his arms. To have him safe.

"Minho!" he screamed, trying to get the boy's attention.

Once close enough to the Keeper, he latched onto him and started sobbing on the muscular chest. He had been so scared of losing Minho, he couldn't control himself. They may have only been together for a short period of time, but in this world, this world where he had no memories, Minho was is anchor. The only person that matter. He needed him to be alive, because without him, it meant nothing.

Thomas separated slightly from his boyfriend, to make sure he was okay. Besides being out of breath, he seemed to have no injuries, which was a relief. But that only meant he was now free to scold the Runner for all he wanted.

"What. Were. You. Thinking. You idiot!" he yelled, punctuating every words with a hit on the boy's chest. "You're the one with a dead wish!"

"Hey, I'm okay, I'm okay, nothing happen" the older boy said, trying to reassure his lover while wiping away the tears. "I just wanted to see if they were going to the Grievers Hole."

"But they could have taken you too!" Thomas argued. He couldn't believe Minho went into the Maze at night while he was supposed to be the reckless one. Well, okay, he couldn't really blame him, he would have done the same… But he had been so scared. "Please don't do that again" he continued, feeling choked up. "I-I can't lose you…"

Minho smiled sadly, "I know, I'm sorry." He kissed him gently on the lips. "I won't do it again." Another kiss. "I promise."

The Keeper kept pressing comforting kisses on his boyfriend's lips, hoping to calm him down. This was really a hell of a night.

As Minho was about to once again press his lips to Thomas's, they got interrupted by Newt who finally caught up with them. "Now's really not the time lover boys" he said, sounding as annoyed as he could. "Somebody burned the Map trunks. Every last one of 'em."

___________________________

Hope you liked it! It's short, but thank you for reading!

[creativia10]

Third Wip: Remy in Emile's antics (Pet Shelter volunteer)

Summary: Remy once again finds himself dragged into doing something he would not previously have seen himself doing, because he can't resist his adorable best friend.

Notes: Sometimes, I just want to share the fluff, you know? Also, I based this shelter off of the one where I got my dog from. I haven't actually volunteered there myself though. Pseudo sequel to Remy Clause

Pairing: Remy and Emile

Word count: 1375

@tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors

Remy thought he knew the kind of person he was. Cool, suave, careless at times, living for coffee, sass, and fun. Yet, for some reason, he has a hard time saying no when Emile wanted to do something that was so not something Remy would opt for on his own. Maybe he was soft. Yet even though he grumbled about it, he still went for it every time. Emile just shined. It was so cute to see how excited his friend would get. It was like an innocent excitement to spend time with Remy, not what Remy would expect. It was fun being around Emile when he was so enthusiastic about something. That was how Remy one time ended up as a mall Santa for a day. That would not be the only situation Remy would find himself in.

-

Yet this was how he ended up here, somehow.

Don’t get him wrong, he did not have anything against animals. It was just not something he saw himself volunteering for. Emile was clearly excited though.

Emile squealed before they even entered the shelter, just staring through the window at the animals that could be seen there.

Remy winced and exaggeratedly twisted his finger in his ear.

“Ow, Em. That was my ear.”

Emile covered his mouth and giggled.

“Sorry. I’m just excited.”

“Gurl, I swear, its like you combust anytime you’re around cute things. How do you manage to stay professional in your office with all your cute stuffed critters around?”

Emile rolled his eyes with a smile and entered the shelter. This particular location was in a mall, so at least it wasn’t dingy like Remy had pictured. Right away Remy noted how the area seemed to be sectioned off into different areas. Forward and to their sides at different angles volunteers could be seen setting up circle playpen areas, for possible adopters to later get a chance to see the cute puppies in play, and possibly interact with them themselves.

There were some other sectioned off areas, one of which was separated by a see-through wall.

Emile was practically vibrating as he sprung forward. Remy followed behind, attempting to maintain some sway as he came through. The volunteers setting up glanced at them before continuing. Some were tending to something in the back out of their vision.

Emile almost bounced in place as he stopped in front of the desk.

“Hello there! Its our first day volunteering.”

The woman behind the counter smiled at them.

“Thank you for coming. Just sign in here, grab a name tag, and them go wait in the back behind the curtain for volunteers and workers. Someone should come to help show you what to do.”

Emile nodded vigorously and went to signing in and did as she instructed. Remy followed after him, although with less hyperness. He couldn’t help but pause for a moment to look at his friend fondly before he joined him in the back.

For their first day volunteering, it did not seem like it would be much. The place was not huge, so Remy supposed it made sense the tasks would not be laboring. They were mainly just meant to keep track of things and get to know some of the ways they could interact with the animals. They were brought to an area not for buyers, but to let the dogs run around some more, since there was less space in the inner mall area. They were pretty much getting a tour first, so the first day should not be so bad. Although, Emile had not said yet how often he planned to do this. Remy went with Emile through the play area. A bunch of little fuzzball puppies surrounded them, barking, and trying to play or be affectionate with them. Emile, of course, bust into giggles. He could not seem to help himself but to bend down and pay attention to them, which of course just made them more excitable.

When Remy found the fur balls all around where he would have stepped, he paused and just stared down at them not really knowing what to do. Remy did not have anything against the pups, but he did not know what he was supposed to do. He glanced around.

Someone reassured that playing with the animals was part of their tasks, and it was okay to have some fun to feel things out as it was their first day. Said informée clearly seemed to be fighting some sort of amusement. Whether it was to Emile’s cuteness or Remy’s awkwardness, he wasn’t sure.

Remy did not do anything with the puppies, although he jumped a little when one jumped a bit high and latched onto his pant leg.

“Whoa!”

A different volunteer immediately came over and detached the puppy from Remy’s person, getting the rest of their attention.

Remy tried to outwardly compose himself as he looked back over to Emile and the volunteer who was going back to showing them around. As they continued to walk through, Remy apparently was not paying attention to his surroundings, and found himself barreled over by a large fluffy dog.

Emile gasped.

“Oh my gosh! Remy, are you ok?” He asked.

Remy laid there in shock for a moment, almost not able to see if he was hurt, as the creature that barreled him over was still a weight on him, and licking his face. Remy made a face.

“Ugh, yeah, I guess. Just, can someone get this thing off of me?”

A few volunteers helped pull the dog off of him.

“Sorry about that. She is still pretty young and hyper, despite her size, and one of our newer volunteers lost grip on her.”

Remy huffed.

“It’s fine. Can I go wash my face though?”

They nodded. Remy went to the small bathroom near the back, Emile standing off behind him.

“Rem…are you okay doing this? I know you weren’t as excited as I was, and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

Remy glanced at him in the mirror, and Emile was looking away. He looked like he felt guilty. Remy sighed. After he cleaned up some, he spun around.

“Look, hun. I am not one to give up easily, you know that. I said I would try this with you, and I’m gonna stick with it. Giant furry cretins aren’t going to keep me down, not on day one.”

Emile smiled a little at that.

“You’re sure?”

Remy slung an arm around him.

“Yeah. I can bare the adorable monsters if it means I get this time with my Em.”

Emile giggled at that.

“Do you even like animals?”

Remy shrugged.

“I guess we’ll see.”

Emile should his head, and they went back.

They were shown the activities that would be done, such as how they go about walking, feeding, and giving the animals water. They were shown schedules and ways to keep track of who still needed to be taken care of. Apparently, there would be times when a pet in the process of being adopted would be brought out to see if they got along with the other pet, but it was usually the more experienced volunteers and workers who took  care of that. Remy and Emile were mainly tasked with getting to know things, organizing and keeping track.

There were kennels along the walls. Remy noted it was mainly the puppies who were brought out to be played with in the playpens.

They did not know the pets well enough to be caregivers for specific ones, but they were allowed to sit in the pens with a more experienced volunteer to see things out. Remy was slightly relieved that the puppy one he sat in on did not have the same excitable puppies they saw earlier. Not that they were scary or anything.

The other volunteer sat in a chair in the middle. Remy sat on the floor. Some puppies came over to him, despite him not seeking them out. He hesitantly reached forward and started to pet one. The pup barked and started wagging his tail, getting into it. They must like new people, because Remy literally did nothing for these pups to come over to him.