#(live g reaction to ons losing the first set)

[russellius]

WIMBLEDON : Day 10; July 12, 2023; LONDON | © Karwai Tang

[mrsbarnesblog]

Stay quiet for me

masterlist ko-fi ao3

Summary: Bucky fucks you while your parents sleep in the next room

Words count: 1.6k

Warnings: modern setting, established relationship, smut, kinda somnophillia?, everything is consensual, quiet sex, dirty talk, fingering, unprotected sex, creampie, cockwarming.

Author’s note: thanks for everyone’s support. enjoy❤️‍🔥

Your parents had been staying at yours and Bucky's apartment for four days, and even though he loved them, he was kind of missing having you only for him.

Bucky wasn’t the type of person who would show too much affection and feelings in front of other people, but when you were alone, he always had his hands on you. Causally slapping your ass, kissing your neck, or just bending you over the closet flat surface was his favorite thing to do, and, unfortunately, he couldn't do it while your mom or dad were sitting in the same room.

He didn’t want to be dramatic, but it was torture. Obviously, you two didn’t have sex during these days because you were too afraid that your parents might hear, and at first Bucky understood, but with every cute little outfit, every smile towards him, and every innocent touch of your hand, he was losing it. 

And now he had been lying wide awake for the past thirty minutes while you were peacefully sleeping next to him. Your back was pressing firmly against Bucky’s chest; his left hand was under your pillow, and the right one was on your waist. He was just enjoying whatever he could get, inhaling your sweet perfume and rubbing the soft skin of your stomach with his thumb. That was until you, still fully asleep, moved your ass right towards his crotch.

The reaction was instant. Bucky’s body tensed near you; his eyes got closed, and his cock became painfully hard. The only layers that were between you were his boxers and your cotton panties, because you liked to sleep only in one of Bucky’s t-shirts. And the fact that you continued to move in your sleep didn’t help at all.

“Baby…” Bucky whispered into your neck, trying to stop your hips, but it didn't help. “Doll, stop—” That was it; he couldn’t even think straight with your ass firmly pressed against him.

Fuck it, you can be quiet, right? Bucky hesitated for a few seconds, but then his right hand slipped from your belly right into your underwear. Two fingers ran across your folds, pressing on your clit.

“Bucky…” You would’ve moaned out loud if Bucky hadn’t covered your mouth with his free hand. 

“Sh-h, baby.” He started slowly moving his fingers in circular motions, and you unconsciously moved your legs wider to give your boyfriend better access. 

“We can’t do that right now.” You mumbled against the palm of his hand. “My parents are sleeping in the nest ro—” You didn’t finish your sentence because two fingers suddenly slipped inside of you.

You were already wet enough for Bucky to easily move his hand, brushing your G-spot with every thrust. The rational part of your brain wanted to stop him, but your body was too weak; it was already addicted to Bucky’s touch, and you both knew that.

“Stay quiet for me, baby, ‘kay?” The hot breath on your neck sent goosebumps all over your body, and you couldn’t help but silently nod. 

It felt too good. Maybe you tried being cool about it, but you missed sex with Bucky as much as he did. Yes, it was just four days, but after living together for two years, you already got used to the fact that Bucky was kind of obsessed with you and couldn’t live without touching you at every possible moment.

So right now, when Bucky’s fingers were slowly moving in and out of you while the palm of his hand was so perfectly brushing against your clit, and his hips were moving with the same pace against your ass, you forgot about everything else except the two of you.

Your orgasm was creeping in slowly but heavily. The knot in your stomach was already almost painful; you were so close to your release, pulsing on his fingers. You needed just a few moments, and...

And Bucky completely pulled his fingers out of you, making you whine in despair. His left hand covered your mouth again because it was a little bit too loud for the dead silence in the house. But still, you felt disappointment as the last signs of your building orgasm slipped out of your body, and you were lying there wet, hot, and a little bit mad that your boyfriend didn’t let you finish.

“I told you to shut up, baby. I’m gonna take care of ‘ya. Just wanna feel your tight little pussy cumming on my cock, ‘kay?” You nodded again when Bucky started to kiss the back of your neck and shoulders, at the same time sliding your underwear down your legs. “Lift your leg a little bit, doll.” 

You did as he told you, even though it was hard because your whole body was trembling from excitement and fear of getting caught. It felt like you were just teenagers who were trying to fuck without anyone knowing, and this thought made you even wetter. There were, in fact, chances that everything you did could be heard in the other rooms. 

You were distracted from your thoughts when Bucky took his cock out of the boxers, gave himself a few pumps, and then rubbed it against you to cover himself in your slick. The tip pressed into your entrance, slipping inside easily, until his full length was buried deep into your dripping cunt.

Your eyes rolled back into your head, and you didn’t even notice that you bit the palm of Bucky’s hand in order not to scream out loud. He buried his face in your neck, taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down a little bit.

“Feelin’ so good, sweetheart. Can’t imagine how much I’ve missed this pussy.” His right hand slipped under your thigh and moved your leg higher above your bed. The soft cover completely fell off your body, leaving your hot body exposed to the cold air of the room. It seems like he slipped even deeper, stretching and filling you up so well. 

Bucky started to move slowly in and out of you, trying to make as few noises as possible and thrusting into you in a steady rhythm. You felt so fucking good wrapped around him that it was hard to behave well and not fuck you right into the mattress as he always liked to do. If you two were alone, he would've probably already put you ass up on the bed with your face in the pillows, making you scream his name and moan non-stop.

“M-m-m.” You couldn’t do anything but silently whine into his hand at every movement of his thick cock sliding inside of you. You didn’t know what to do with your hands or what to grab to distract yourself from the hot pleasure that was filling your whole body. 

“Don’t– Don’t say a fucking word, baby. You don’t want your parents to find out that you’re just a slut for my cock, right?” Bucky’s deep whisper in your ear made you squeeze around him even harder. “So tight, so wet for me. I swear, you won’t be able to walk for a few days when we finally are alone, you hear me? Already so dumb for my cock, and it’s been almost for days.” His teeth playfully bit your earlobe, before moving lower to suck on the soft skin of your neck.

Your orgasm started to build again, with every movement bringing you closer and closer to the finish line. You wanted to cry or scream—you didn’t even know—but the tears blurred your vision when the hand under your leg moved further and Bucky pressed his fingers on your swollen clit. Your body twitched from the overstimulation, but your boyfriend just pressed harder, so you had no other choice but to let yourself fall into the abyss of pleasure.

“Cum for me, doll. I got ‘ya. Cum on my cock, I feel how you’re squeezing me.” Your head fell backwards, and your back arched as your orgasm filled every corner of your body.

The white noise in your ears and dots behind your closed eyes completely distracted you from the things that Bucky mumbled in your neck while he was trying to reach his own high. With a few last, not-so-steady movements, he grabbed your thigh and bit your neck while his body was trembling, emptying his hot seed deep inside of you. 

“Good girl.” Bucky didn’t stop, gently thrusting into you to prolong your orgasms a little bit. “Good fuckin’ girl, take it all.” You whined when your overstimulated body started trembling under his touch, until Bucky finally stopped moving, still buried in you with his load dripping around his cock. “You did so good, doll.”

“W-what if they heard us?” You whispered into the darkness of your room, which was filled with the musky smell of sex, and you couldn’t deny that the adrenaline in your body felt so good. 

“They’re sleeping, and we should too.” Bucky brought your warm body closer to himself, wrapping his hand over you and not making any movement to pull out. “Wanna stay inside of you for tonight, ‘kay? Love you so much, baby.” 

“Love you too, Buck.” You relaxed under his touch and closed your eyes, drifting back to sleep, finally feeling so full and satisfied. 

You didn’t know if it was true or if your overthinking brain was just playing some bad jokes with you, but it seemed to you that your mom gave you a weird smile when you came down to the kitchen the next morning. 

[sonic-fan-01]

Probably not a hot take from me, but...

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is one of the best family films of 2024.

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

It's not a perfect adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2 by any means, but it cleans up a lot of the unessary stuff from the game.

Especially in regards to Maria and the ARK.

I LOVE that the Space Colony ARK doesn't exist in this movie. Because the movie knows it doesn't need it. All it needs to adapt is the research facility where Maria dies and the Eclipse Cannon.

Gerald Robotnik is an interesting character in the film for sure. He still has the same hatred he harbored for humanity in SA2, but with the added bonus of resentment for his grandson, Ivo because, in his own words...

"You're no Maria."

Gerald definitely is playing favorites, and I think it's abundantly clear why. He sees himself in Ivo, and it disgusts him. Whereas with Maria, he can only remember her innocence.

Speaking of Ivo, man, he's great. I mean, he's just all over the place in this film. He's good, he'd bad... and he sure as hell is funny. He and Stone are great, and I love how he finally admits his true thoughts about him during his sacrifice. Stone deserved to be validated for all the shit Ivo put him through over the years.

Now, I wanna move on to our meat and potatoes. Sonic and Shadow. They're phenomenal. Sonic is pretty much the same as he was in Sonic 2, with a little bit of added angst, which is due entirely to the film's themes about family, morality, and loss. Shadow is... jesus... he was amazing. He was everything I wanted him to be. Cool, dark, yet understanding. That being said, I wish they spent more time on Shadow dealing with the issue of what Maria wanted VS getting revenge on GUN with Gerald. I think extending Shadow's conversation with Gerald about their plan and Maria's wish would have done this perfectly and, in turn, better set up his switch to the good side so it's not as "oh yeah I guess we're doing this now."

"Live and Learn."

Okay, time for me to gush about Crush 40.

First of all, SEGA needs to pay Johnny G. what he's owed. Second...

HOLY FUCK

Live and Learn is everywhere in this thing. It's basically Shadow's theme for this film, playing in moments where he's either doing cool shit, or turning further to the light.

And when it played when Sonic and Shadow went Super on the fucking moon?! Oh my god, I would've screamed if it weren't for the fact I was in a public movie theater. You do NOT understand what this means for the next few films. We might actually get songs like "What I'm Made Of" or "His World" adapted for these movies if they keep doing well.

And I don't need a masters degree in Sonic-The-Hedgehogology to tell you how COOL that would be.

Speaking of Sonic, I wanna turn it back to talk about him and Tom. Dude. I love how Tom is immediately ready to join Sonic on his adventures. He loves this kid and wants to support him in any way he can, and I bet Sonic's so happy Tom wants to Hero with him.

"What did you do."

Tom's injury towards the end actually hurt me a bit. I didn't realize how much I cared about him until they played with the possibility of his death in this film. Also, I love what it meant to Sonic. We've seen in Sonic 2 that Sonic has some pent-up aggression for the echidna that killed Longclaw, that he never really properly expresses. The possibility of losing Tom, his best friend and father figure, the first person he connected with after years of isolation, it drives Sonic into a dark mindset. And. I. Love it.

This is what modern Sonic stories need. To give Sonic a wide variety of emotions, for him to act rashly if his closest friends and family are hurt, because it gives him more personality and shows us just how much he cares.

"What was his name...? Tom...?"

I loved everything about the scenes where Tom is hinted at being dead. I love how Shadow sees Sonic's reaction to Tom's potential death, and he has a small realization that he's become just like who he hated. I love watching Sonic panicking because he might be losing his best friend and father. I love how Maddie tries to keep a hold of herself for the sake of Team Sonic. I love the argument between Knuckles and Sonic about the use of the Master Emerald. I love the fight between Super Shadow and Super Sonic. I love how Shadow criticizes Sonic for letting his blind rage take over. I love how he wants Sonic to finish the job, and Sonic realizes what he's doing.

"The light shines, even though the star is gone..."

Sonic and Shadow's brief conversation on the moon is actually really sweet. They share a connection through their losses, and Sonic is able to guide Shadow to the light, by simply telling him to make the right choice. I think it's great because up until now, I think Shadow believed what he was doing WAS the right thing. But after seeing himself become like the GUN agents who ended up killing Maria... He starts to doubt himself. He goes to Gerald, who reassures him that what they're doing is justified, but Shadow doesn't believe that. Note how in that scene he asks if "this is what Maria would have wanted." Gerald responds by basically ignoring his question, saying that destroying earth is what deserves to happen to it. Gerald's own attitude led to his downfall. It's what caused Shadow to realize that he's on the wrong side of the fight by the time Sonic and him are on the moon, sulking.

"There are no winners with revenge."

I love this line from Sonic. It says so much about his past experiences from the last 2 films. He's seen revenge constantly ruin his life. So to be the one delivering it...? It goes against everything he's stood for, crosses a line he doesn't want to cross, and most importantly, sets him up for failure.

"Don't tell me you have a catchphrase.."

I like the comradery between Sonic and Shadow in the Super Hogs v GUN drones fight. They have a newfound understanding for each other that I think would have been able to make them better friends had it not been for Shadow's sacrifice, which will probably lead to the amnesia plot lines from Heroes and Shadow 05, which means it'll probably make Shadow a Sonic hater again. But then again, these movies keep surprising me, so who knows, maybe we won't go that route?

"What..? Who are you?"

Speaking of surprises.

FUCKING. METALIX.

And AMY MOTHERFUCKING ROSE.

Holy fuck. You all have no idea how hype this is. Unfortunately, I can say much in terms of predictions, but I think we'll be in for a treat come 2027.

[drarryspecificrecsdaily]

2024.10.25

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. My Turn! by Ace_Phoenix [E, 2k]

Harry wasn't thinking when he angrily stormed into the eighth-year showers after losing to Malfoy because of some cheap tricks, and was thinking even less when he approached Malfoy after his own shower, set on putting Malfoy in his place as he should have done years ago. He hadn't expected Malfoy to like it, though.

2. tears will fall, dear by @thisisformyfanfiction [E, 1k]

Harry starts crying during sex, and Draco’s reaction is not what he would have expected.

3. We've Been Here Before by @lilyflxwers [G, 2k]

He had one request when he’d joined the Aurors straight after the war. Freshly eighteen and supposedly single-handledly saving the wizarding world – a load of rubbish, he had joined up with one request. He was the boy that lived, the boy that saved the world, and he had bled with only one request; He would not hunt Draco Malfoy, no one would.

---

Fest/Exchange

1. taken for another spin by Anonymous [G, 2k]

They met again, for the first time after all that ugliness, on this very train. They have been meeting here since. On their train, where nothing else is real. Outside of this—the train and the invitations and the drinks—they don't exist. ★ 2024 H/D Muggle Fair | @hd-fan-fair

[misstalwyn]

making a massive sonic movie 3 spoiler post to get all my insane thoughts out in a place with 1) no character limit and 2) functional tags + tools lol

don't look unless youve seen it! or if you're ready to lose a measurable amount of respect for me!!

if you had told tiny little 12 year old me that someday people would not only NOT flame Amy simply for existing in this cast, but that she would have people screaming and clapping for her in public?? she wouldve called you a cruel liar! but youre not! and its finally her time!!!

I'M SO HAPPY IT WAS HER I'M NOT EVEN MAD MY SILVER PREDICTION WAS WRONG LOL (tho i did think silver wouldve been waaaaaay too much too soon and i'm glad they agreed thank god)

i had her with me ofc bc she came with the set and its like they knew they had to complete it and now i want to CRY

i dont even know if i can expand on the fact that SHE saved SONIC???? will that flip the script?? is metal her rival rather than his at first??? and why on earth did they show half of that scene in the TRAILERS????

anyways, i'm so glad they let Shadow be SILLY! even SXSG shied away from the stuff they had him do here! that boy was towing Maria around the labs and having movie marathons and making snow angels and its like every little piece of domestic fanart I've seen of them came to life and it was perfect

its still sooo fucking funny to me that they really went all-in on "50 years ago is now the 70's" bc that aesthetic worked like a charm and i can't imagine anything else now. it is kinda jarring that theyre not on the ARK and Maria isn't sick but ofc the narrative still works without those facts. people are gonna be a bit upset about that one, but out of allll the plot holes this movie has (they NEVER explain how tf Gerald is still alive btw), that's one that's pretty easy to step over

there was one part with Gerald yelling "KIDS!" and both of them turn around and it just GOT me right thru the heart like yes!! he was a kid, too!! in between all the tests and labwork, he was learning how to live and they took it all away from him right when he was starting to figure it out :(((((

their first meeting here might be so good it deserves to be canon, i'm just saying. i think that'll make me cry on the rewatch for sure

i wonder if he's just gonna chill in that random field in oklahoma like when he landed the first time lol. he deserves some peace and quiet now especially since they went with the angle that he FELT all 50 years passing?? just lived the worst moment of his life over and over and over??? holy fuck

it did kinda fuck me up in the beginning bc they kinda-sorta imply that the accident was SHADOW'S fault, then they make you wait till then end for the full flashback, where not-commander-tower actually tried to save them but the solider fired anyway

they might have fucked around and accidentally made the most tragic/angry version of Shadow bc he not only got to stew on his anger for decades, but they literally gave him a Superman origin and Gerald was just the scientist assigned to figure out wtf he was actually lol. so you just KNOW they have a "press in case of BLACK ARMS INVASION" button ready to go for another movie so he can have another identity crisis when he finds out he's literally a herald of destruction!!!!!!!!

oh yeah this movie was supposed to be about sonic actually huh

i think i agree with the general reaction that his character is really great here! the first 20 minutes are basically every trailer we've seen in sequence, so his jokes & one-liners feel top-heavy and then they even out, esp as the later acts kick in and there's no more time for games lol. those trailers are doing him a bit of a disservice now bc compared to the eggmen, sonic is hardly that obnoxious in the full film, but the marketing doesnt care ofc

The Scene that mirrors Shadow's last moment with Maria is SO GOOD, i'm kinda shocked they didn't have him turn right there (but i'm glad that it was Sonic that made him turn, and that he got to throw some of his rage right back at him in process)

Kinda goddamn wild that for a moment it seemed like Shadow had fully killed a human, onscreen, in front of god and everybody. I actually wondered if he could still come back from that, for a minute.

it seems to be a common opinion that they went a bit too far with the jim carrey-isms, and i agree. i generally felt like it was an ok balance for awhile, then they cut into LIVE & LEARN with gerald spanking ivo and i actually sighed and cringed. you dont cut into live & learn for anything, but especially that!!!!

god, i need that orchestral remix like yesterday, its already bad enough we have to wait till christmas for SXSG soundtrack! GIVE IT UP ALREADY

best jim carrey scene was the doomed yaoi speech, oh my god

RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU HEARD "I AM THE EGGMAN" ON HIS PHONE AND SCREAMED, TOO

losing it at how they literally assigned shadow to hangout with stone and he was just like "ok" and they watched tv together lol

Stone was fucking awesome when he actually had scenes to himself holy fuck Lee get that bag!!

REVENGE GUAC!!!!!!!!!!!!

putting my tinfoil hat on and claiming the novela scenes and guac bit as an acknowledgment of Shadow's loyalty to the latinas, as a latina myself this is within my power

as a whole, bits like the novela and team knuckles are soooo much stronger and natural than the mandatory dance scenes and branding shoutouts, god i hope that sticks in whatever comes next!!

i understand no one liked the wedding scene in 2 but i LOVED it and was kinda sad that special agent derek morgan was just a disguise here but the way they used him was great, so i guess i'm just glad they kept him around

director rockwell just kinda? came outta nowhere and then disappeared to nowhere?? oh well her character was just kinda filler huh. and here i had a crackpot theory that she was rouge in disguise lmao

am i stupid or have we NEVER gotten a super sonic vs super shadow before?? i cant remember every detail of things like sonic x, but of mainline stuff??? they mightve given us a first?!

MAKING THE POSE™️ SUPER WAS A+++ THO GOOD FUCKIN JOB

Keanu was sooooo good god i cannot wait until modders just splice his lines from here into the dlc and then it'll be perfect

i am realizing now that i love how they leaned more into Shadow's POV esp in Sonic becoming angrier and driven and just like him (almost like goddamn SCOURGE of all things), but it works very well and makes this feel more like a different kind of SA2 rather than SA2: the Movie, if that makes sense lol

i can't wait until they get halfway thru the next movie, walk into one of Stone's bustling new chain of coffee shops, and Shadow is just there chillin

soundtrack as a whole was SO strong! lot more familiar melodies and in total everything felt suited to the tone. the eggmen dance scene had a good song choice, even if i didnt like the scene itself lol

Maria had her own little theme and thinking about now is just gonna make me cry oh god

feels weird to realize now but i think they only called shadow the ultimate lifeform ONCE, in total. ig it wasn't really important but it's more apparent compared to SXSG where they say it every 2 seconds

What are the fucking odds that the same day a new Superman is revealed, Shadow is given a Superman origin?? COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT

am i done? will probably throw more up after my second watch lol look out

VAYA CON DIOS, SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG

SHE'S READY FOR 2027

[nice-and-accurate-ramblings]

⚠️WARNING: GOOD OMENS 2 EPISODE 1&2 SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!!⚠️

I need to get my live reactions out because I am LOSING IT. Do not read beyond this point if you don’t want spoilers for the first two episodes!!!

I am going insane after the prime premiere so here are my insane ramblings externalized:

THE COLD OPEN IN EPISODE 1 KILLED ME IN MY SEAT INSTANTLY

THE NEBULA. ANGEL CROWLEY (whose name we don’t get, ofc, that made me laugh). HE WAS SO EXCITED AND AZIRAPHALE’S “I WOULD HATE TO SEE YOU GET INTO TROUBLE” AND THE W I N G.

The fjuckin. WING. I AM UNWELL. I AM GOING INSANE JUST THINKING ABOUT IT

AAAAAAAAAA

And then the title music played and I apologized to my friend that I dragged to the premiere for being Extremely Not Normal. And then told her it Would Get Worse.

GOOD OLD FASHIONED LOVER BOY, IM-

Maggie: Oh nooooo, we’re locked in the coffee shop together,,, what will we doooooo (every fanfic author in the room just got so many ideas.)

Hm. Lindsey, huh? Hmmmmm.

That’s uh. Not a normal amount of texts. That seems a bit Not Great. I’m watching you Lindsey. I haven’t seen you yet but I am watching

THE APOLOGY DANCE AHSHDJFJF!!! Stan Pines and Crowley have something in common apparently. Also. Aziraphale what do you mean you had to do it in 1941. what were those other times. Where did this come from. I need EXPLANATIONS.

There’s no way their two-halves-make-a-whole miracle is what set off alarms in heaven. Gabriel Absolutely Did Something.

There are too many flies in the book shop for this to NOT come back to Beelzebub somehow

Re: Beelzebub- why ask Crowley to keep them in the loop if Shax already asked him that? Are they just not communicating, or is this somehow connected to Beelzebub???

My heart fuckin stopped when Gabriel started singing Everyday.

Crowley. Crowley I need you to repeat that bit about Jane Austen. CROWLEY YOU CAN’T JUST DROP THAT, I-

Good to know that scene overlooking the ocean was in fact as emotionally intense as expected. aaaAAAAAA

Re: Job minisode- “I’m a demon. I lied.” Gives a whole new fuckin context to the “Would I lie to you” “You’re a demon” from season 1. AaaAAAA

Another one from that minisode: Aziraphale thinking that heaven could be convinced to not destroy the earth if they just understood properly in season 1… aziraphale being disgusted by human food and drinks until he was tempted to try it and understood… Mr Gaiman I am in your walls for this

Anthony J “You can’t kill kids” Crowley strikes again. And we still don’t get clarification on what kind of kids he meant, which is incredible honestly. Plus, the goats were adorable :)

How is the jukebox doing the same thing as the Bentley. Is this a “every record eventually turns into Everyday in the same way music left in a car too long turns into Best of Queen” or is this a Pointed Thing

Have I mentioned that I would die for Muriel? I would die for Muriel. It has been two episodes and I simply adore the low ranking sunshine angel.

They are so fucking married

“OUR CAR” “OUR BOOKSHOP” they are so fucking married. Crowley why are you sleeping in your car, pls it’s OUR bookshop 😭😭😭

Aziraphale took drivers tests before they were cool (aka mandatory) 🙄 come on Crowley keep up

Aziraphale driving the Bentley is something I didn’t know I needed and yET-

First the “naked man friend” comment and then a random guy stealing the seat across from Aziraphale in the pub… rip crowley

Gabriel with the Terry Pratchett paperback… Gabriel reading off the first line of Good Omens… wait the book exists in the world of the show- Aziraphale owns the book in the world of the show- what

Never thought “Archangels don’t know where babies come from” would be a plot point and yet. Here we are.

Pausing one more time to go absolutely feral over the ending of the Job minisode because that played my heartstrings like a FIDDLE. “I’m like you now” “I’m a fallen Angel” and “I’m not here to take you to hell, don’t think you’d like it”; “I’m on my own side” “Sounds lonely” and “I’m a demon. I lied.”; how heckin PRETTY THE WHOLE SCENE WAS

someone please send help because idk how I’m going to be normal after this.

Okay, scheduling this for a little after the episodes drop and spoiler tagging like crazy! SOON, THE REST!!!

[catlokis-blog]

Do you think Gman is a lovey-dovey softer type of partner who likes to praise and be touchy? Or colder and more withdrawn who won't initiate anything first but will respond mockingly but still loves his partner? Whats the Gubby dynamic,,

Neither. He loves in a very unique way, special to him and probably paralleling with the autistic experience to a notable degree because let's be honest, what is gman if not autistic

Venture with me beyond the read more my friend and I will tell you EXACTLY how this evolved throughout the relationship (and before that!)

At first gman wasn't really "cold" with how he expressed it, but it was definitely withdrawn. It's not like he really knew love - he knew of the concept, he knew he experienced it, but it was never something he expressed. Not romantically, at least.

When you're in the kind of position gman is in, everything has to be carefully crafted to ensure the persona you're setting up for yourself doesn't crumble, lest you lose any of the "power" you hold over others. Even with supernatural power, social power plays a VERY important role.

So, when he found himself expressing his softer side ... At first he just didn't, really. He would act nicer to Bubby during interactions and subtly encourage it - nearly speaking in code out of old habits, which Bubby honestly struggled to pick up on. It was a difficult communication barrier!

Eventually, he decided to do what he does best and observe a bit. How do people express their love in relationships? When wanting one? Turns out the answer was extremely varied. Love is complex, and so are the ways it is processed.

If he learned one thing in common after all the observing, though, it was that the thing he was doing earlier - concealing it to the degree where you could barely tell if it was receptive or just politely "letting him talk and moving on" - well, it wasn't going to get him far.

That's when he reached out to Dr. Coomer. Talking to someone on how to approach this seemed like a good idea and frankly he wasn't really huge on going to any of the others for advice. Gordon and Benrey both seemed to express it in ways that gman found downright crass and he didn't want to have his son sort out any of his problems for him. It's a parents job to take care of their children, after all, not vice versa.

Besides, Coomer was roughly the same age as Bubby, and he was a generally enjoyable to person to be around. Gman didn't really ask about the love advice beforehand, though. He just ended up showing up in Coomers living room while Bubby was out of the house to ask for some help

And with Coomers help he did make progress!! Instead of mirroring the people around him, which he initially planned to do, Coomer helped him learn how to express love in his own way, and make it a little clearer to Bubby that, yes, gman was also into him, and wasn't just listening to the flirting because he couldn't be bothered to shut it down.

That's when he would start weaving some compliments and gentle encouragements into the passive receiving of bubbys relentless flirting efforts and the two actually ended up going somewhere. Bubby stopped using flirts that were kind of jokey "hey sexy you come around here often?" to, like, his equivalent of a genuine attempt. Which was basically the same as before, but touchy and delivered more genuinely

He did mirror things that he noticed Bubby liked, such as gently grabbing onto his arm and smiling in his direction a little more often, but that was because he liked the reactions he got. Bubby would usually shut his trap or deflect with agreement when he got flustered and gman found that very, very endearing

This was the most that gman would do publically, since because of the stuff stated before he wasn't huge on PDA (he has a reputation to uphold for reasons other than personal pride, after all. the sake of his job, and therefore everyone around him and their universes, are on the line) but that wouldn't stop him from trying to get more reactions out of bubby in private!

After a couple months gman really enjoyed the experience of "pampering" bubby and stepping his game up just a bit, bringing in kisses and just generally taking the reins a little more in conversations. But that's a private thing that noone else but the two of them have to know about

[blazenka]

Forthcoming

Returning to Mystic Falls for a visit, Elena awakes to find she's been sent unwillingly into the past. Not only does she have to avoid changing past events; she must also deal with a cold and detached Damon who is the only one who knows she's there.

Original source: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7073903/1/Forthcoming

Chapters: 17

Published: June 12, 2011 - December 31, 2011

Words: 41434

Rated: Fiction M - Language: English - Genre: Romance/Supernatural - Characters: Elena G., Damon S. - Reviews: 117 - Favs: 132 - Follows: 95

Exported with the assistance of FicHub.net

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9 

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Epilogue

Chapter 16

~Ѱ~

After explaining things to Bonnie, the group gathered in the living room to prepare the spell. Bonnie organized the supplies she needed and then took out her trusted grimoire before flipping to the right page.

"So, from what, er… Damon has told me - for us to start the spell Elena needs to be in the place she was when she first arrived here," Bonnie informed the group as she looked over her grimoire.

"Well, I was here at the Boarding House…"

"In Stefan's room?"

Elena tried not to visibly wince in front of her best friend, "Does it need to be that specific?"

Bonnie just nodded, "So where were you when this all went down?"

Elena glanced around to everyone's faces - Stefan and Bonnie were obviously curious while the past Elena wouldn't meet her eyes and both of the Damon… Elena wasn't sure but they seemed to be holding their breath. This was the drama she remembered. All was needed was Caroline's bouncy personality and the rest of the gang there. Letting out a sigh, Elena moved closer to her Damon so she could place her hand in his.

"I was sleeping in Damon's room and I woke there - but in this time instead."

As expected, Stefan and Bonnie's faces were full of shock and confusion. Elena didn't even need to look at her younger self's expression to know what she was thinking. However, Elena was surprised when she looked at the two Damon-s faces. They both were taken aback but it wasn't shock as much adoration and pride reflecting in their blue eyes. Damon's hand gripped hers tighter as they turned back to the group, waiting for someone to speak.

"You and Damon… in the future… together?" Bonnie spoke up after she managed to keep her grimoire from falling out of her hands and hitting the floor.

Elena nodded; a strange smile appeared on her lips as she waited anxiously for her friends' reactions. Bonnie calmly set down her grimoire, and made her way to Elena. Damon released her hand as Bonnie stood in front of her friend.

"Is this why I… I mean, my future self sent you here, back into the past?"

Elena gave her friend a simple nod since she had been expecting a conniption from her friend instead.

"At first I felt like you were acting out of hate or even selfishly when making the choices for me but after spending some time thinking… I think I know why your future self did it. She did it for the same reason you left after your grandmother died. You don't want to lose me or Caroline or anyone else."

Bonnie nodded, tears brimming in her eyes, "I thought I was going to lose you after your parents died as well. It always seems like when things start to return to normal, something goes wrong."

Elena smiled before pulling Bonnie into a hug, "Things are never normal but trust me when I say even though we've lost people we love… we've managed to be happy."

Bonnie smiled, thankful the little information Elena could spare. She gave her one more hug before collecting her grimoire.

Elena turned to Stefan, waiting his reaction but his eyes were dead set upon future Damon. "Can you honestly tell me you love her?"

Damon wanted so much to roll his eyes - even at this point in history it was kind of obvious to everyone, except Stefan it seemed but still…"I came for her, didn't I?"

Elena playfully bumped against his arm and then he sighed, answering seriously, "I love her as much, maybe even more, than I loved our mother, Stefan. I would do anything for her."

Stefan's eyes went wide before he gave a nervous smile and nodded in understanding.

"Listen, Stefan, Bonnie I… I feel like I should explain…"

"Elena, there's really no need," future Damon began to reassure her, but she cut him off.

"Damon, I want to. Whatever happens when we get to our future I want them to know now how I feel and what happened over all these years."

"But it is really not necessary," he informed her again, glancing at the old grandfather clock before back to her, "We should be focusing on the spell right now."

"Damon, I get the feeling you're not telling me something -  again ."

He really hated when she did that, never truly seeing he had her best interests at his heart.

'Most of the time,' he added as an afterthought while Elena stared him down, "Listen, Elena. I know you want to be informed of everything but please believe me when I'm say I'm trying to protect you."

"Damon, we've dealt with so much - what could you possibly need to protect me from?"

"Yourself."

Bewildered, Elena stared straight at Damon with her brown doe eyes, some worry and fear evident in his blue ones as they drifted from her now and again to over the room.

"Damon, what is it?"

Elena's eyes fought to tear themselves away from his, turning to scan the noiseless room. Stefan, Bonnie and past Elena and Damon seemed to have vanished from the room. "Damon…"

Damon took her hand into his, drawing her back to him, "Listen to me, focus on us and the now, alright, Elena? And don't worry about what happen to the others."

"But what happened? Is this part of the spell?"

"Yea, sort of…" he sighed, rubbing her arms reassuringly in a futile attempt to keep her calm, "Its complicated and I'm not sure we have the time right now…"

Elena seemed to shake out her fearful shock to glare at him, "Then make time, Damon."

Damon sighed, ran his hand through his arm as he tried to explain something to his girlfriend he didn't completely understand himself. "As simple as I can put it, which I can't, you kind of not exactly in 2010."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Exactly what I said to Bonnie when she tried to explain the spell to me. It's a powerful and overly complicated one that deals with solely affecting you rather than your past to teach you some sort of misguided lesson."

"So, does that mean this doesn't affect our future?"

Gently, Damon placed his palm against Elena cheek as a reminder they were both there before he answered her, "Only if you allow it too."

Damon halted her before she could begin asking questions, "The thing is… I didn't tell you because Bonnie suggested that if this 'reality' is based around you and if your conscience somehow changed…"

"We might be stuck here or something like that?"

"Or it falls apart and we are never seen or heard from again."

Elena gave a disgruntle sigh as she nestled her cheek into her boyfriend's aforementioned hand, "Thanks for not sugar coating it."

"We'll be fine…" Damon reassured her as he glanced quickly around the room, "But safe to say, the sooner might be for the better."

"So… it's a big deal you came after me?" Elena asked her final question.

"Elena, seriously… I'll always going to come after you if you need me," pulling her close as reassuringly rubbed her back and placed a light kiss on the crown of her head.

'Past' Damon made his reappearance down the stairs with downcast eyes, trying not to look directly at the couple, especially not Elena.

"The spell's ready," was all he said before he turned back up the stairs to his room.

Bonnie stood in the middle of the room awkwardly while waiting for Damon to retrieve Damon and Elena. Looking around, she tried not to imagine the events that had probably taken place in that room or all the bodies taken out. Yet, Damon and Elena soon entered followed by the other, a more somber, Damon.

Bonnie directed them where to stand as she opened her grimoire, preparing to chant before an idea struck through her. "Um, would you guys like to… maybe resolve things?"

Elena looked puzzled for a moment, "I thought we already explained everything to you and-"

Bonnie cut her off, "I mean, would you guys like to say goodbye?" she clarified, bobbing her head in Damon's direction.

Elena nodded in answer as Bonnie made her way back towards the door, "Okay, I'll give you guys a minute," before exiting, shutting the door behind her so the odd threesome could have a moment of privacy.

"Damon… I just want to begin by saying - thanks for everything, you've done to help me, I mean."

Damon stalked closer to the two with a mixed expression clear on his face, "Thanking me… I thought you would just want to forget all of this - especially the way I acted towards you."

Elena left Damon's side to stand in front of the past version, taking his hand in hers just like the future version had done moments before, "You'll have to wait till I mature, figure things out… and just grow up."

Damon took a moment to make sure he said what he meant, "If I waited 150 years for Katherine, then I can wait for you, Elena."

She smiled at his words yet Damon gave himself a strange look.

"I was trying to be sentimental…" 'past' Damon informed you but his older self just smirked, "Doesn't suite you."

"Would you two stop I just…" Elena stepped in, "I hope I don't make you wait too long…"

"No, it's alright. I have something to look forward to now, something I'll stick around this town and live for. And maybe I'll even try to be a better man along the way…"

"Oh you'll definitely screw up along the way, that's for sure," Damon intervened, receiving a glare and disapproving but amusing shake of the head.

"If I screw up so much then how could Elena ever forgive me?" Damon pondered but dropped his smirk when he saw the uneasiness in his counterpart.

"You're worth it… both of you are."

Damon smiled again, "I won't forget this…"

Again, his counterpart scoffed, "You will - part of the spell."

Elena rolled her eyes and cut the two off again, "Bye Damon," she decided to finish with a short kiss before stepping back to 'future', her, Damon.

"Bye Elena and… thank you."

With those final goodbyes, Bonnie reentered the room, open her grimoire, and began to chant. Candles grew bright and the air sizzled as Damon and Elena faded, eventually vanishing hopefully to their own time. Concluding her spell, Bonnie closed up her books, blew out the candles and gave Damon an approving nod and onetime only smile.

But Damon's eyes were still glued to the spot they had been till he felt a reassuring hand pat his back along with Bonnie informing him, "They've gone home, Damon but I'm sure they won't forget about you anytime soon."

'How could she when she had a constant reminder by her side?' he questioned, but instead chose some snarky comeback for the young witch.

Except Bonnie seemed to have vanished when Damon turned around. He could have been confused but a feeling of sheer exhaustion soon came over him, managing to get over to his bed before flopping down on the soft comforter. The room soon faded from his vision, almost as if it was dissolving around him. But his eyes continued to grow heavy and finally shut as Damon drifted off into a deep sleep.

Elena fell back against the bed but she could not remember falling and now it felt like everything was spinning.

"Elena?" she heard various voices call out, so many that sounded all too familiar.

Placing her cool hand against her forehead, she answered, "Not so loud please."

Yet suddenly she was being propped up by strong arms, looking behind her to see a smiling face with dark hair and clear blue eyes.

"Hey there, have a nice trip?"

Elena gave a humorless laugh before looking over group before her, smiled in relief at all the comforting memorable faces.

Bonnie stepped forward, "How are you feeling?" concern and quilt soaking through her voice.

"Could be better but I think I'll be fine now."

"Listen, Elena I should explain…"

Bonnie opened her lips but nothing came forth until Damon stepped forward, "Why don't you three girls chit-chat while us guys go downstairs. I'm sure you three have some catching up to do," he said ushering the rest of the group from the room.

"Listen, Bonnie - it's okay, you don't have to explain anything since I kind of understand. And anyway, I'm… we're home now. Thanks for making sure we got here safely."

Bonnie smiled after an encouraging nudge from Caroline, "For everything I did, I'm really sorry, Elena. But it's great to have both of you back…"

~Ѱ~

Thanks for reading!

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[hoesplay]

Hii! Can i request nagi seishiro with a s/o who talks alot but then gets quiet for a while because his s/o thinks that their voice is weird and annoying? Thank you!!

ℕ𝕒𝕘𝕚 𝕊𝕖𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕠 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕒 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕤/𝕠

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘨𝘪 <3 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

ｗｏｒｄ ｃｏｕｎｔ： １７６１ ｇｅｎｒｅ： ａｎｇｓｔ ｗｉｔｈ ａ ｈａｐｐｙ ｅｎｄｉｎｇ (correct me if I’m wrong)

ᴛᴡ: ᴍɪꜱꜱᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴄᴜꜱꜱɪɴɢ

It wasn’t intentional when it happened. It was a day like any other. A routine Nagi was comfortable with, where at the end of the day, you would drop by to enjoy each other’s company. He even gave you a spare key, so that he wouldn’t be bothered to get up to open the door, since you are always welcome anyway.

You already knew the drill, so as usual, you got in and made your way to the couch, where you found him playing his game. After a quick greetings exchange, you set yourself next to him, looking over his shoulder to the brightly colored screen, before losing interest in it. Small talk was never Nagi’s area of expertise, so when asked how his day was, he didn’t have much to answer beside a “fine”. You are used to this, you know he is sincere and doesn’t mean anything bad by it. Therefore, keeping the conversation lively is a task reserved solely for you.

It's the dynamic the two of you have sported. You love to talk, and he loves to listen, so you never questioned it, until today. You started talking about your day, describing it in detail, like usual, accompanied by small nods and hums of agreement from his part. It’s not like he’s disinterested, but right then he was more concentrated on the mission at hand. You started feeling out of place the moment he shook his head while you were in the middle of a sentence. After hesitating a bit, you continued your chatter, occasionally glancing at his face to check for any sign of irritation. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. The room echoed with the sound of your voice and the rapid tap of his fingers on the controls.

The discomfort you felt was growing, until you couldn’t help but ask if there was anything bothering him. You didn’t get to finish the question when he tsked with a frown on his face. He didn’t catch the betrayed look you displayed; he was too caught in the game. For a moment, he didn’t even realize that it was a little too quiet for too long. After the screen showed the “Mission Completed” animation, Nagi saved his progress, setting the device on the coffee table, and splaying himself over you, head resting in your lap while his arms circled your waist. The atmosphere could’ve been serene, relaxing, but the silence was a little too loud and you looked at him with a sour expression.

“Is everything alright?” an ice-breaker from the boy.

“Yes.” A plain answer that didn’t sit well with him. Your lack of words was unusual. He didn’t think much of it at first, because he half-listened to your chatter back then and you didn’t seem to have had a bad day.

He proceeded with the usual routine. After cuddling himself by your side, he opened the TV so the two of you can watch something. He usually fights with you for the remote, but you didn’t seem to show any opposition. He asked for your preference, but you only shrugged. Maybe you needed some quite time? He chose the show you two have started a while ago, one of those terrible comedies that make people doubt the existence of human intelligence. You love commenting on those, maybe that would cheer you up.

Not even 30 minutes into the show, he glanced at you. You were dead quite, so he thought you might have fallen asleep, but you were wide awake looking unamused. He started poking your side in hopes of getting a reaction. When you let out a breathy laugh, his eyes lit up, but soon darkened, when you slapped a hand over your mouth, keeping it shut.

“Why did you do that?” his curiosity was genuine, he couldn’t understand what ruined your mood that night. He trusted that if you ever had a problem, you would just say it. The question left a bitter taste in your mouth, so you got up from the couch.

“I’m not feeling that well, I’m sorry.” You said on your way to the door. “I’m going home.”

Nagi went to where you were putting your shoes on. “You don’t have to leave. It’s late.”

You opened the door without saying anything. “It’s a hassle, but I’ll walk you home.” He took his sneakers in one hand before you stopped him. “I’m fine, you really don’t have to.” To say he was stunned was an understatement. His eyes were wide, as if he couldn’t process what you just said. He couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling of letting you all alone on the dark streets, while he’s in the comfort of his home. On the other hand, he trusted your judgement enough to know you wouldn’t put yourself in dangerous situations. “Text me when you get back then.” He kissed the crown of your head before you left. Something was wrong, but Nagi couldn’t put his finger on it. He was restless until he received a goodnight text from you. You usually never refuse a sleepover. Most of the times, when he took a bathroom break, he found you already changed in pajamas that consisted of his shirt and boxers, waiting for him to go to bed.

“Maybe she just needs some alone time…”

The idea didn’t sit well with him, and it all got worse the next day. It was the weekend, which meant that Reo would come and drag him out of his shelter to hang out somewhere that isn’t football related. And where there was Nagi, there was you. Mikage was used to being the third wheel. You had a strange relationship with him, as if he was your little brother that you bicker with all day. Taunts and remarks aren’t new between you since you both keep them within boundaries. Going out for coffee in the morning after a sleepless night wasn’t your idea of hanging out. You couldn’t close an eye the previous day. Different thoughts kept swarming in your mind, making you believe that you are immature for getting mad at Nagi for indirectly telling you that you were annoying him. You had a fair amount of people telling you to shut up, that your voice is overbearing and that you should learn to breathe in between sentences. Your boyfriend never told you this and he never seemed bothered by it until that moment.

You tried to play it cool, meeting the guys at the coffee shop down the street. At the sight of your boyfriend, you averted your gaze, before rethinking your decision. You didn’t want to make things awkward for your childish thoughts, so you neared Nagi and hugged him with a little sigh. Everything was like usual, if we exclude the tense atmosphere that was floating. You were sitting on a park bench, coffee in hand, enjoying the quite Saturday. That is until Mikage started teasing you about the dark circles under your eyes and how disheveled you looked. You gave in to his provocation, voice progressively raising as the argument progressed.

“Your arguments suck, you talk so much without even making a point. Don’t you know when to shut up?” Reo said jokingly. It was supposed to be the usual bicker, but in that moment you lost it. You fell quite turning your head to the side to avoid their gaze. You were dying of embarrassment, tears pricking at your eyes. Nagi looked at you in concern while Mikage seemed confused. “I’m sorry to inconvenience you then.” You said before getting up and heading home. The moment you arrived, you leaned on the door, letting all the tears run down your cheeks accompanied by uncontrollable sobs. It didn’t last long until you heard a knock on your door. “(Y/N), can we talk?”

It was Nagi. You didn’t answer though. He leaned his forehead against the door with a sigh. “I don’t want you to shut up.” You know he wouldn’t lie; his remark had the intention to cheer you up, but you let your insecurity get the best of you.

You stood up, wiping your tears and opening the door. You had no self-control in that moment, no matter how much you didn’t want to lash out at him. “Then why, Seishiro? Why did you look so irritated last night? Is my voice that annoying? Is it weird? What is it? You knew from the start how much I talk why did you even decide to date me if it was so unbearable?”

At your words, Nagi froze. “What are you talking about?” that triggered you further. “What do you mean? I’m not that dumb. If you have any problem with the way I talk you should just say it, not scoff and stay irritated until I take a hint.” At this point you couldn’t control your tears. You felt betrayed and lied to and he kept denying his actions towards you. “I really have no idea what you are talking about.” He looked upwards, probably meditating over last night’s events. That’s when it clicked.

“I think I might have a reason, but you might get angrier at me.” You stayed silent waiting for him to explain himself. “Quite honestly, I only half-listened to you. I was in the middle of a fight.” That’s when it downed on you. He probably wasn’t even reacting to your chatting, just getting frustrated at the game. You let him in the house, embarrassed at your mistake. “Don’t do that, I’ll get the wrong idea.” You pinched his cheek in annoyance, before cupping it. You didn’t know how to feel. He took your wrist before placing a small kiss on it, looking deeply into your eyes. You rested your head on his chest in defeat. You couldn’t stay mad at him for long. He wrapped his arms around your form, holding you in a comforting embrace. “I knew something was off. Next time just say it.” You nodded, feeling somewhat relieved that it wasn’t you he was bothered with. A soft laugh escaped your lips realizing how immature you acted.

You spent the rest of the day at your place, watching that dumb show, commenting on the silly situations and the annoying characters. When you went to sleep, Nagi crept closer to you. “Your voice is really comforting”, he whispered in your ear. That night, you lulled him to sleep with your chatter, even though you were ranting about how you are going to murder Reo the next time you see him.

��ʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴏʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ! ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ꜰᴇᴇᴅʙᴀᴄᴋ ꜱᴏ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ɪᴍᴘʀᴏᴠᴇ :)

[inukag-archive]

Hi archive,

I love fanfics that take place in the 'normal storyline', like in a chapter of the manga or between the chapters, just some extra stuff to the original story/ some fluff for InuKag. Anything will do :) Have you got a list of these or maybe some recommendations for me?

Thanks in advance :)

Hi, anon! We've got a few fics here for you that fit your in-canon requirements. Happy reading! ❤

To Pacify a High School Entrance Exam by @hanmajoerin (G)

With Kagome’s high school entrance exams around the corner and news about her powers, even the stars were overwhelming to look at. When InuYasha joins her, though, it doesn’t seem so bad. InuKag. Takes place between volumes 52-53.

--

A Rude Awakening by @born-for-eachother (T)

Inuyasha's reaction as he walks in on Akitoki Hojo trying to kiss a sleeping Kagome. Based off of episodes 137-138 of the anime.

--

Catching Feelings (Chapter 9: Choice) by @dyaz-stories (T)

Inuyasha struggles with feelings he had tried to bury and is able to make a decision that takes them into account.

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Puppy Kisses (Chapter 12: Clean Slate) by @superpixie42 (M)

An alternate ending to Episode 52 “The Demon’s True Nature” /Ch 187

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Beautiful by Aryndiel (T)

Inuyasha feels horrible and a little curious about his transformations into his youkai self. Set in the Stone Oni episode of the anime, after Inuyasha transforms back and Kagome faints. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

--

Sorting Things Out by @artistefish (K)

Inuyasha and Kagome have a little heart-to-heart regarding ardent ancestors, family scrolls, and memories from a castle beyond a mirror. Takes place directly after episodes 137-140.

--

Almost Lost by @lostinfantasyworlds (T)

An additional scene for episode #107 Inuyasha Shows His Tears for the First Time. Inuyasha and Kagome share an emotional talk after he almost loses her forever. Takes place right after the scene with Koga.

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His Hands by Quickening (T)

Thunderstorms are inconvenient most times, but the rare opportunity to closely study a grouchy hanyou is too good to pass up ... especially when said hanyou insists on sleeping on you. Fair's fair, right?

--

I Don't Deserve Happiness by @fawn-eyed-girl, @neutronstarchild & @ruddcatha (G)

It shouldn’t have taken goddamned Kaō for Inuyasha to understand the blackness of his grief over failing Kikyō. He had almost succumbed, almost let that dipshit take him, almost… forgotten. He had failed to protect Kikyō. He didn’t deserve happiness. He deserved to follow her in death. Then he heard Kagome’s voice once more, calling him back from the abyss, reminding him that he deserved to live. (A missing scene of the night after the Inutachi defeated Kaō.)

--

All of Your Pieces by @mustardyellowsunshine (G)

She learned to love him slowly, cherishing each new piece of him.

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Loving Him was Red by @born-for-eachother (T)

For her hands will heal him, protect him, shield him from all adversity.

Or, Kagome comforting Inuyasha following the events that took place after he transformed.

Chapters 185-187 in the manga, episode 52 in the anime.

--

During the Rain by Dea_Luna_Leigh (G)

Seeking shelter from a sudden storm, Kagome and Inuyasha find themselves separated from the rest of the group and take shelter in a cave. Just a small one-shot of these two having a small bonding moment.

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Show and Tell by @clearwillow (T)

The morning after the new moon at Togenkyo, Kagome has some choice words for Inuyasha. He does too, but he's less inclined to say them.

--

Just One of Those Things by @mamabearcat (T)

For some reason today, everything felt twice as difficult. She’d woken up with a headache, and she felt like she was swimming against the tide, her movements clumsy and awkward. She didn’t feel ill exactly, but definitely not well – her stomach felt a little off and the area below it felt weird, like she’d overstretched some muscles maybe.

She’d almost caught up with Inuyasha when a sudden warm trickling feeling between her legs made her halt and freeze.

Oh. Oh no. Oh no no no. This couldn’t be happening. Not out here.

--

Now What? by Merith (K)

A bit of fluff after episode 79. Kagome sees Inuyasha as never before!

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Silver and Gold by @splendentgoddess (E)

Christmas Eve is a time to celebrate family, love, and togetherness. Not something Kagome gets a lot of while trying to stop Naraku. But everyone deserves the occasional night off, right? Takes place during manga chapter 512.

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Slow and Gentle by @mamabearcat (G)

A small canon moment in time where absolutely nothing momentous happens, but is precious all the same. Sometimes it's those slow and gentle moments that help a budding relationship to grow.

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InuKag Week 2021 (Chapter 2: Take Your Bets) by @kstewdeux (G)

June 7th, 2021 - Battle Couple. Originally Posted On Tumblr.

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The Taste of Sunlight by @serial-doubters-club (G)

After Inuyasha and Kagome witness Souta confess his feelings to Hitomi, will they be inspired to make confessions of their own?

Based on that InuKag moment in Episode 90: Souta's Brave Confession of Love. You know the one.

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Weight Watcher by @clearwillow (T)

All it takes is one comment to completely wreck a girl's self-image. Sometimes it can take years to shake that comment and move on. For Kagome, help comes in the form of a foul-mouthed hanyou who tells it like it is... in about five minutes. Slight InuKag fluff. Set after episode 140.

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Plastic Heart by @lavendertwilight89 (T)

Takes place during and after episode 89 Nursing Battle of the Rival Lovers--Inuyasha realizes he's taken Kagome for granted and it dawns on him he needs to do better

[lnlywar-god]

so...here i have a few suggestions. headcanons for zhonli, albedo, venti, xiao and a queen of your choice (sagau or not - your pick) - they tricked their beloved/best friend!reader into thinking that they are dead bc they had some grand scheme in mind (you know, zhongli style), but now reader finds out that they are alive before they can explain everything. what would they reaction be? how would they feel?

THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD

Not sagau for this one again ^^ aaa sorry that this took a while, i was working on some other fics. Queen for the picking is Ningguang :P hope you enjoyed!

includes : zhongli, albedo, venti, xiao, ningguang

cw : just angsty, not much comfort

sypnosis : you thought they were dead, yet here they are. well and alive without one single scratch all for the sake of one large scheme they hadn't bothered to at least warn you about. so, what next for them?

work under the cut!

ZHONGLI

Considering this isn’t his first time doing this because he is the blueprint for grand schemes in faking one’s death, he’s definitely going to be remorseful.

That look on your face clearly says everything. You thought he was dead, how are you supposed to react when he finds you in front of him with eyes blown wide in shock? He would tell himself at first that it’s for the greater good but that look just breaks him.

Kneejerk reaction would be to reach out to you, try to explain everything. It eventually fails because the archon fails to realize that you wouldn’t want to listen to him in such a state.

Yeah, he’s going to stay “dead” unless you want to find him. He’s not gonna approach you at all after that encounter and will wallow in regret.

Man has lost way too many people in his life. The fact that he’s losing one more and it didn’t spare him the pain that they were still walking around, avoiding him, knowing that he’s alive.

ALBEDO

I feel out of everybody he’d be the least attached. Well, he makes himself out to be the least attached. In reality, he feels super guilty that he had to do that.

Took him every ounce of his body to not apologize to you, to just tell you everything and stop you from leaving.

To his credit, he does try to take a step towards your form, still betrayed. He stops himself, he keeps trying to tell himself it’s essential, but could it really be more essential than his best friend?

Sigh, Albedo just packs it up and leaves you, but doesn’t realize how guilty he does feel and sets all that aside.

He doesn’t want to lose anyone in his life, yet you lost him in your life because of that.

VENTI

Regretful, doesn’t even try to hide it.

He’s not going to chase after you. Unlike the blockhead, Morax, he knows chasing you isn’t going to do him any good nor will it help his situation at all.

He just watches you rush off. He was fine with it. He didn’t want to see how betrayed you look like or he might just crumble and give up with whatever large scheme he’s planning.

He’s probably going to isolate himself. Forget anything and everything, just hole up and regret what he did to everybody by fooling his death.

Venti’s seen many people come and go, but he hasn’t seen them come and go like this and because of his bad decisions.

XIAO

Similar to Albedo in the sense that he knows this is for the greater good, but he can’t help the sting when he sees you looking at him with wide eyes. He’s trying just to not apologize to you on the spot.

He might reach out to you, through some friends maybe, but never directly. He probably watches over you when you think he isn’t there.

He still can’t help but have his expression turn into a frown whenever you pass by Wangshu Inn and you stop, stare at it and then just leave.

He’s going to be doing a lot more patrolling nowadays. Anything to ease the karmic debt and the sadness.

He’ll live with it. Just as he’s lived with his karmic debt. There isn’t a day that passes that he doesn’t regret it though.

NINGGUANG

Ningguang steels herself, she’s still convincing herself that, yes, this is for the greater good. It’s her that avoids you at all costs, so she doesn’t see that look of betrayal when you find out from someone else.

She only asks other people to check up on you, but she never goes herself. Wouldn’t make you feel any better if you saw her, right?

She’s only heading to the Jade Chamber to pick up some documents when she passes by you kneeling at her grave. She’ll linger for a bit and keep quiet, but the guilt eats her up and she leaves before you turn around and see her there.

It’s just work, work, work and forget for Ningguang. A harsh routine but a functional one if it meant going on with this great scheme.

One day, it’s going to eat her up. We may never know when is it because this woman is bullheaded. Her patience is outstanding and we never really know when she does stop.

[dikanamai]

“In our darkest moment”, an Encanto fic

Some days ago, I was talking a bit about Bruno's backstory in this post, and how it would've been better if the movie had focused on his own struggles, instead on reduce his departure to "I hid to protect Mirabel". I like to think he hid to protect the whole family, because his last vision could have triggered the destruction of Casita (as it does indeed in the movie). There's more, of course; with these fics I've been writing lately, I've tried to set up a more complex scenario for that fateful night of Mirabel's ceremony and fleshed out the family's problems, while also respecting the canon. In this one about this turning point in Casa Madrigal, there’s no big arguments, just fear and tension, and Alma begging for a vision. But you know how the opening scene of the movie is a light version of Dos Oruguitas? Well, this is the dos oruguitas version of Bruno’s flashback in the movie 8D

I've put a lot of love in it, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

Title: In our darkest moment Characters: the triplets, Alma, and the whole family. Word Count: 12.572 Rating: G Warnings/Spoilers: none, if you've watched the movie. This one ties with my previous ones, so you can find them here, if you don't know them and want to check them first. Since this night was actually one of the darkest moments of the family, this fic is SAD, you're warned. Summary: The triplets knew perfectly the story of the miracle's origin. But even so, Bruno had wondered many times how would it be to live through something so extreme. Losing everything in a blink, turning around and discovering your life had radically changed forever in a matter of seconds. It was something that had given him nightmares when he was younger, and he had concluded he didn't want to fully understand it. It was too much. The night Mirabel didn't get her gift, however, he had no choice but to finally understand.

(Friendly reminder that English is not my mother tongue, and I'm not used to write fiction in this language. So this text is probably closer to Spanglish. Anyway, I hope it's readable enough and you can enjoy it. Thanks for your time!)

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"What gift do you think she'll get, tío?"

Luisa's voice was barely a whisper, almost muffled by the rumor of the waiting crowd gathered around them in Casita's courtyard. But she was leaning her back on his chest while Bruno hugged her from behind, his arms around her shoulders, so he could hear her clearly. His middle niece was almost as tall as Isa already, and he just needed to bow slightly to rest his chin on her head.

"I have no idea," he answered, with a soft smile. "But knowing Mira, it'll probably be something spectacular. Maybe her gift is setting things on fire."

At his side, Félix coughed to cover a chuckle. "Abuela would love it."

"She doesn't need a gift to do that," Isa joked playfully, "just to be left alone in the kitchen for five minutes. Ah, Milo?"

The little boy, held by his mother, growled and complained, and made them all laugh with his reaction. But there was something else in their voices, especially in the adult's ones but also perceptible in the tone of the older girls: anticipation. Tense, eager anticipation.

It couldn't be helped, now that the day had finally reached its climax, after all the stress and preparations. In fact, it was the climax of a situation that had been stretching for months. All of them were hoping desperately a happy outcome for Mirabel's ceremony, something that could ease once and for all abuela's distress and let things back to normal— whatever that 'normal' meant. Isa and Dolores, clung to each other in a side hug, seemed to believe that good news tonight could erase some of their own pains somehow, and Bruno hadn't had the guts to remind them that the pains of growing up would never disappear. Pepa, Félix and he, however, knew better; they were just longing for another truce, to mamá to calm down and put her worries to rest at last, till the girls became adults and she could start fretting again about her great-grandkids' gifts. It wasn't perfect, but it would certainly be a relief after all those months of troubled instability. Two gift ceremonies so close to each other had been something too stressful, and this year was already feeling longer than ever.

So yes, all of them hoped, all of them remained expectant. The only one young enough to be immune to all that was Camilo, God bless him.

"I think she will fly!" he exclaimed, and then put his hands on his head with an exaggerate gasp, eyes wide open. "Oh, wait, wait! She will move things with her mind!"

"That would be awesome!" Isabela agreed.

"Great guess, mi vida," Pepa chuckled, nuzzling her little boy's cheek and pressing a loud kiss on it that made him giggle.

"I think she will be able to read people's minds," Dolores declared quietly, and the three adults exchanged an alarmed look and a tense smile.

"I reeeally hope she doesn't get that one," Bruno tittered nervously. "It would be too… traumatic."

"She's always humming," Isabela added, excited, "maybe her gift is making people sing randomly when she talks with them. That would be funny!"

"What a nonsense!" Camilo rolled his eyes dramatically, and Bruno had to bite back a wide smile when Pepa shot him a meaningful look. Lately, his nephew had started copying a lot of his exaggerate mannerisms for unknown reasons, and his sister used to feign that got on her nerves— though both triplets found it absolutely hilarious. "Singing is useless. She should spit fire!"

Félix cracked up laughing. "Camilo, mijo, you should relax."

"I just want her to get her room." Camilo rested his head on Pepa's shoulder, cuddling her mother lovingly. "Mami, can I sleep with Mira when she gets her room?"

"Of course you can, mi amor, she would love it. Oh! What about a sleepover night with all the cousins as celebration? That will be fun! Tía Juli, tío Bruno and I used to do it veeery often, you know?"

"Really?"

"¡Sí! They would come to my room all the time when we were little."

"And when you were teens," Isabela chuckled, giving her tía an amused smile. "Mami told me."

"Actually," Bruno raised a finger, "we kept doing it every now and then until they got married and kicked me out of the bed. Tragic."

Pepa rolled her eyes. "We stopped doing it because your awful room is the only one available now and we can't sleep there together," she grumbled, but he ignored her remark, adopting a dramatic pose for his niblings, who were already giggling.

"Abandoned by my sisters. How heartbreaking. Now I always have to sleep all alone. I miss the company."

"Get yourself a wife, bro," Félix joked, elbowing him.

"I don't miss the company that much," he retorted, and his brother-in-law let out a belly laugh.

All of them laughed, actually; and relaxed by the chatter and jokes, the kids kept talking cheerfully about Mirabel's hypothetical room and hypothetical gift. Bruno suppressed a sigh and smiled, glad to see them a bit less anxious, even if he still felt unable to calm down completely. He would never say it out loud, but he was feeling terrible since morning, and he couldn't tell if it was just because of the nerves or if it was an actual foreboding. More than once along that day, he had found himself turning to look at his back, not sure of what he was expecting, or staring into the void, suddenly paralyzed for no reason. He could feel something odd in the house too, filling the air, like the smell of rain before a storm. The nameless glowing door in the upper corridor seemed more ominous than ever. It was something so unsettling, so unnerving, but also so unexplainable, that Julieta had caught him standing like a statue before papá's painting after meal, and he hadn't had time to conceal his concern.

"You can feel it too, right?" she had whispered, hugging him from behind and burying her face on his shoulder. "I've got a bad feeling, hermano."

Bruno had patted her arms softly, trying to be comforting but strangled by the lump in his throat. "Don't worry, Juli. We'll be fine."

But not even he had believed his own words, and both had stayed there, looking into papá's eyes, till Julieta sighed quietly, "Help us, papi".

Right now, she and Agustín were already upstairs, beside Mirabel's door, hugging each other and talking in whispers. Bruno glanced at them, gulped and then turned his gaze to Pepa, who had just done exactly the same. When his eyes met his sister's, he knew it was also taking her a great deal to show a light mood.

Luisa shifted in his arms and Bruno came back to reality, realizing she hadn't said a word during the whole chat. Looking down at her, he gave her a little smile and mumbled, "Nervous?"

Luisa let out an abrupt, weak laugh, as if she had been holding her breath. "Yeah, hm, I think so. I'm more nervous than the night I got my gift. I'm dumb."

"You're not dumb. You just care about your lil sis."

"I've been thinking it would be…" Her words faded, and she glanced at her parents too.

"It would be…?" he repeated, encouraging her to finish.

Luisa took a deep breath and look up at him with an embarrassed, apologetic smile. "It would be great if we could work together as a team, right?"

Bruno felt his smile wavering, but made an effort to keep it in place for her. "Sí, hormiguita. It would be great. I'm sure you'd be an awesome team."

Luisa's smile grew wider and she snuggled a bit more in his embrace. "Mira's really eager to make the family proud. I bet Casita will give her a very special gift. I wish she could move things with her mind, as Camilo said; it'd be amazing." She chuckled, though a sad shadow tinted her expression and she lowered her voice even more to add, "My gift is— My gift is very different from the others, don't you think, tío? It's a— It feels a bit lonely, sometimes. Is it wrong to wish Mira's gift could be more similar to mine?"

Her words made his heart sink. He had been so worried about Isabela and Dolores, already walking the path that leaded them away from childhood, that he hadn't paid enough attention to the growing pressure Luisa had started to feel too. He had thought they would have more time before this. She was only nine, after all. But she was right: her gift was different and probably the most demanding of the whole family. It was awful she had had to find it out so soon.

"Of course not, Luisa," he answered softly. "I feel you. There's nothing wrong in that wish. But remember it doesn't matter what gift Mirabel gets tonight, you don't have to feel lonely. We all are here to lend a hand. And maybe we can't lift a building, but— we still can hold you!" And he squeezed her tightly, till Luisa burst out giggling cheerfully, her mood lightening up almost right away. Bruno smiled in relief and rested a cheek on her head, glad that she was still young enough to be reassured with a simple hug. "Just stop growing up so quickly," he joked then. "Two years more at this pace and you'll be taller than me. How would I hug you then?"

Luisa laughed again. "You can keep hugging even if I'm taller! You know I love hugs."

"Oh, yeah? Won't you be ashamed of you super short uncle?"

"Nah, never!"

"Thank goodness, because I love your hugs too."

With a soft chuckle, his niece looked up again, now giving him a warm, grateful smile. "Thanks, tío Bruno."

"Anytime, hormiguita."

Isabela, Dolores, now also Luisa… Bruno suppressed a sigh. Things were getting more and more complicated, too quickly for his taste. When they were little, they hadn't been able to afford obliviousness, but they had wished it for their children, a chance to growing up without being crushed by the heavy weight of the Madrigals duty. Were they protecting their kids properly? Were they failing spectacularly without even notice, after all? Even if they tried and tried, it never seemed to be enough.

Of course they had put their hopes on tonight. The whole family needed something good to happen, some good omen to be revealed.

A few minutes later, mamá finally stepped into the courtyard holding the magic candle, her long, private chat with Mirabel concluded. She walked the path the crowd had cleared, reached the curved stairs that leaded to the new door and stopped halfway to the top to face them all and deliver her usual speech, as she had always done since Isabela's ceremony.

"Almost forty years ago, in our darkest moment, this candle blessed us with a miracle…"

All of them stared and waited. Even Camilo had gone still, his big eyes fixed on his grandma. Félix put an arm around Pepa's waist and the other around the girls' shoulders. He felt Luisa grabbing his arms to snuggle against him again, holding her breath. And, when mamá finished, the crowd cheered, the curtain opened and Mirabel stood under the spotlights.

The little girl made her way to the stairs slowly, twisting her hands nervously. When she passed before them, Luisa gave her a thumbs-up gesture, Isa whispered an encouraging 'go, go, sis!' clenching a fist, Dolores smiled reassuringly and Camilo waved an arm with a muffled squeak of excitement. Mirabel looked at them with shiny eyes and covered her mouth to hide a soft chuckle.

Bruno would treasure that moment for years, after this night. Because it was the last time he could see his youngest niece smiling, face to face.

Mamá had told them the story of the miracle many times. As some sort of fairytale, when they were little. The rawer version, when they got old enough to hear it. The triplets knew perfectly what had happened at the river, and before that. But even so, Bruno had wondered many times how would it be to live through something so extreme. One minute, you're standing in your house, surrounded by your loved ones, making plans for your future; and the next one, you're on the road, running away with nothing but the clothes on your back. He couldn't grasp the notion of losing everything in a blink, or turning around and discovering your life had radically changed forever in a matter of seconds. It was something that had given him shivers and nightmares and a suffocating anxiety when he was younger, and he had concluded he didn't want to fully understand it. It was too much.

This night, however, he understood.

He finally started to understand when Mirabel's door vanished before their eyes and everything seemed to freeze for a heartbeat.

There was a moment of dreadful quietness. Then, Mirabel turned to mamá, shocked, and she just could look back at her, even more shocked. The candle's flame wavered. A collective gasp shook the crowd. Everybody stopped breathing and stared, petrified. And, in the sudden, dense silence, Camilo's tiny voice sounded like a shot.

"Where's her door? Mami! Where's her door?!"

The chaos was released right away.

"Everybody, please, calm down!" mamá exclaimed from the gallery, facing the crowd again.

But her voice had wavered too, and everyone freaked out, talking, asking, moving. Someone bumped into Bruno's back, and that made them all react at last. Isabela and Luisa looked at each other with wide eyes, and then bolted to the side stairs, followed by Dolores. Camilo shifted in Pepa's arms till she put him down on the floor, and the kid ran after his sister and cousins. And Bruno had to thank Pepa for grabbing his wrist and dragging him to the stairs too, because his mind was so blank he could barely think.

When they reached the gallery, Julieta and Agustín was squatted beside Mirabel, trying to calm down the stunned girl. Isabela slid to a stop at their side and kneeled at her sister's feet to cup her face on her hands. Luisa joined them immediately, Camilo almost jumped to them too, and suddenly the lil Mira was trapped in a group hug. Then, she finally reacted too. And she cracked up crying.

It was a terrible scene to witness. Mamá was talking to the town's people, but he couldn't understand a word, he could just hear his niece bawling. Dolores stepped back, covering her ears, and Félix wrapped her in his arms protectively. Pepa was talking frantically with Julieta in whispers, both of them waving their hands and looking strained. And he could do nothing. He just stood there like a dummy, paralyzed, staring at them but feeling worlds away, unable to wrap his head around what had just happened.

Was the floor trembling or it was just him?

"Bruno!" someone hissed, and he jumped and turned to mamá, who was looking at him intently from the stairs. "Don't slip away. We need to talk."

He gulped and nodded, rubbing his arm nervously, and saw her handing the candle to Julieta and rushing downstairs to join Arturo, Margarita and the rest of the town's leaders. Isabela took Mirabel in her arms and strode to the nursery, followed by all the children, while Julieta headed to mamá's room to leave the candle there before joining them and Pepa trotted downstairs too to deal with the guests. In a blink, they took the reins of the situation; and he knew he had to help them, he had to, but he couldn't manage the unexpected, he couldn't manage the stress, he couldn't, he was useless, he was on the verge of a panic and he really felt like slipping away. And he had probably done it if his brothers-in-law hadn't lunged at him suddenly to drag him to a quite side of the gallery and corner him there.

"What's happening?!" they hissed in unison.

"W-what?" he gasped, raising his hands. "I-I don't know! W-why would— H-how could I know? I don't know, don't look at me like that! My gift is clairvoyance, not omniscience!"

"This is not the best time for your jokes!" Agustín complained.

"I'm not joking! W-why— w-why everyone's always assuming I'm joking?! Do I look like joking? I'm panicking right now, ok?!"

"Easy there, bro!" Félix grabbed one of his shoulders and shook him slightly to bring him to his senses. "Don't shit your pants and pull yourself together, we need some answers here."

"Has this happened before?"

"No! O-of course not, this is not— t-this is… I-I don't know how…" Bruno trailed off, looking at the magic doors beyond the worried faces of his brothers-in-law. Was their glow… twinkling? He almost choked and blinked frantically, wondering if he was about to faint or something.

"Bruno?" Félix took his arm to keep him steady, and only then Bruno noticed he was wobbling.

He looked at his sister's husband, eyes wide open. "I think I'm gonna puke up dinner."

But Agustín had pretty worse worries, of course.

"Bruno, por amor de Dios," he growled, sliding his fingers under his glasses to press them against his eyes. "Could you focus on the matter at hand? Mirabel's life has been revolving around this moment since she can remember. The life of the whole family revolves around your gifts! What's gonna happen now? What am I gonna tell my daughter?"

He looked really desperate. Bruno held his gaze, trembling, and bit by bit, with every heartbeat, he fought to recompose himself. Because this was his job, wasn't it? This was the reason people asked him for help, to soothe their worries. Even if his visions were a mess, even if he was a mess. For his family, he was still the wise uncle, the wise brother, with his wise words. He could do it. He had been doing it his entire life.

So he gulped, gritted his teeth and put a hand on Agustín's shoulder. "Agus, just— A-are you hearing yourself? Calm down. You're like some… super papá or something. You don't need to ask me what are you gonna say to your daughter, you already know perfectly what you have to say, don't you?"

Agustín looked at him intently, and Bruno could see how he was recomposing himself too. "Yes. Yes, yes, yes, this is— this is not a punishment. It's not her fault. She's not broken. She's just as wonderful as ever. She is a Madrigal, she's loved, she has nothing to prove. This changes nothing."

Bruno nodded. "This changes nothing. We all are here to support her. Whatever this means, we— w-we will figure it out. We'll be fine."

"We'll be fine," Agustín repeated, like a prayer. "We'll be fine, we'll be fine, we'll be fine." He turned to run to the nursery, but stopped abruptly halfway, almost slipping, and came back to pat his shoulder in gratitude. "Thank you, brother."

Bruno took a deep breath as he watched him go and then faced Félix. "I-I hope you don't need some parenting advices from the single uncle too."

Félix chuckled, with a hint of sad irony very unusual in him. "Don't worry. I'm very sorry for poor Mira, but she won't be the only one affected by this. There will be consequences for the whole family. I know Camilo's gonna feel miserable because of this, as it happens, and that's what we'll have to handle."

"This is not his fault either. It's not like— I-it's not like if he has wasted all the magic of the miracle or ruined the candle or something like that."

"I know. But he has spent months hearing his gift is a joke, Bruno. He was really hopping something better for Mira, and the kid's just five, it's insane. And now this happens. How didn't you see it coming?"

"Y-you know that's not how my gift works, Félix."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But what are we gonna do with this?"

I have no idea, he wanted to answer, but he gulped again and forced himself to repeat, "W-we'll be fine."

"Will we?" Félix shook his head and patted his brother-in-law's back. "I'll go to help Pepi with the guests; she's probably drizzling by now."

"Félix," Bruno grabbed his arm to stop him before leaving, "please, help her— h-help her to let it out, ok? Mamá wants to talk, and I suppose— I-I suppose we'll have a family reunion in a while, the three of us with mamá, and… I-I don't want mamá to vent on her or whatever if she's anxious and thundering and— you know."

Félix nodded and, with a last pat, trotted downstairs too to find his wife.

The gallery went silent. Bruno stayed there, slouched in the shadows of that quiet corner between the courtyard's side stairs and the stairs of his tower, pressing his knuckles to his mouth and holding back the urge to bite them. From the balcony at his left, he could hear the rumor of the people talking outside, a tint of deep concern in their voices. Sometimes, he could tell apart mamá's voice, though she was far enough to not get any of her words. He didn't want to know what she was saying to the town, anyway. He could hear the distant, muffled crying of Mirabel too, and he couldn't tell if his niece was still in tears or her voice had kept stuck to his brain.

How didn't you see it coming?

That was scratching his mind. Of course he could've never known, how on earth he would be able to predict something like this, there was no way he could… But he knew something was coming, right? He had felt it. He had been feeling it for months, trying to convince himself it was just his exhaustion playing with his perception. He had kept quiet, he had tried to brush it under the rug, telling everyone —even himself— that they were fine, they would be fine. But they weren't. They hadn't been fine for a long time, and he had failed them. He had failed them all, he had failed everybody again, he—

He was quivering. But it wasn't him, it was the house.

Bruno held his breath and looked down. He could feel it under his feet; a soft tremor was making the floor vibrate. Was it an earthquake? Right now? Alarmed, he looked around, but no one came out from the nursery, no one screamed in the patio, no one else seemed to notice. He was there alone and he was the only one that felt, saw and heard Casita shuddering.

The first CRACK sounded so loud he almost screamed.

Bruno rushed to the gallery, almost tripping, and leaned over its railing to see the courtyard's floor cracking like glass. The fissures were born from the very core of the house, as if its heart was breaking, and spread all along the floor, splintering, reaching the walls, climbing them up like a spider web. He ran along the gallery, his eyes fixed in them, following their path, till they gathered around mamá's window, where the candle was burning. And then, its flame dimmed again.

He gasped, breathless. He stared, overwhelmed by that paralyzing dread, for a lapse of time that could be minutes or hours. He lost track of time so hard that he jumped when he heard voices at his back. Bruno turned sharply and saw Pepa and mamá climbing the front stairs to the gallery. Away from the town folks at last, the strong Madrigal matriarch could barely stand on her feet. Pepa was holding her to keep her steady, and that was so scary, so shocking, that his panic blew up and he had to muffle a yelp before running towards them, his heart beating frantically in his chest.

"¡Mamá!"

She was panting and looked at him with her poised mask totally broken, her forehead wrinkled in distress. She stretched out an arm to him and he took it immediately, gripping her hand and helping his sister to hold their mother.

"Come on," mamá mumbled huskily. "Come on, I— I need to sit down."

Bruno tried to speak, scream, ask, all at once. He had to warn her about the cracks; but when he looked back at her window, there was nothing in the walls or the floor. There was nothing anywhere, and he froze and went mute. What had all that been? Some hallucination induced by the stress? Some unrequired prophecy creeping into his brain while he was still awake? Sometimes, his mind would do strange things, especially after the reckless use he made of his gift when he was young, but this was—

"JULIETA!" Pepa shouted, and he jumped again and mamá flinched as if she had been hit.

"Pepa, por Dios…"

"S-sorry, sorry," she stuttered quickly, her nerves betrayed by her high pitched tone. "S-sorry, I-I didn't mean to— I-I'm a bit—"

"Go call your sister," mamá interrupted her. "Check on Mirabel, poor thing. What a disaster. What a…"

Her voice faded and she staggered again. Bruno nodded at Pepa and she flew to the nursery while he took mamá to her room. His mother kept her eyes wide open fixed on the candle as they approached it, her free hand gripping her black shawl, and he was glad she wasn't able to pay attention to anything else, because that gave him some room to shake his head and pull himself together as much as he could. He was surely looking anything but reassuring right now, and he didn't want to worsen mamá's turmoil even more. Though focusing in what was happening and getting rid of the image of the cracks took him a massive effort.

Pepa and Julieta joined them when they were reaching the glowing door, and the four of them rushed into mamá's room, as if desperate to find some shelter. It had always been like that when they were younger, every time any uncertain danger seemed to hover over the family. Like an instinctive mechanism of defense. All of them felt safer there, near the candle, in that magic space that mirrored the original house they had lost so many years ago. No one else in the family felt that deep necessity of gather together to steel themselves for a blow, not like they did; no one else could fully understand but no one would ever question it either. It was just their thing, even if they were already grownups almost in their forties and their mother was an elder.

None of them could breathe again till they reached the upper floor of mamá's room and met the candle. Only then, mamá let his hand go —Bruno felt it numb— and rushed to the window to check on it. They stared intently, holding their breath. No one dared to move a muscle, fearing its light could go out any moment. But seconds passed, and nothing happened. The flame, the whole candle, looked like always.

"What on earth has happened?" mamá mumbled absently. "Why— What has happened?"

Unconsciously, the triplets drew closer to each other. Bruno gulped once again, but he hadn't recovered his voice yet, so he couldn't say a word. Pepa was as rigid as a board, sweating and trembling, biting her lip and stroking her braid to not lose control. Julieta was the only one able to step forward, but even her hands were shaking and her voice quavered.

"Mamá, you should— y-you should sit down."

But mamá didn't sit down, as if suddenly she considered she wasn't allowed to. She started pacing up and down, slightly slouched and still gripping her shawl so tightly she almost looked like trying to enfold herself in it.

"Why— W-what's the meaning of this?" she kept mumbling under her breath. "What's the meaning of this? We have— We have dedicated our lives to— I-I don't understand. Have we failed? Have we done something wrong? Are we— Are we not doing enough for the Encanto?"

The triplets inhaled abruptly and exchanged alarmed glances, and Bruno knew his sisters were thinking exactly the same as him. Not doing enough? Quite the opposite. But mamá didn't notice their reaction; her eyes were still fixed on the candle.

"Is… is our miracle… dying?" Her voice cracked at the word and she covered her mouth with a shaking hand. "Ay, Pedro…"

Mamá staggered again and they moved immediately, as performing a choreography they knew by heart. Bruno ran to hold her, Julieta grabbed a chair and Pepa leaded her to sit down on it. She didn't refuse or protest, and seeing her so helpless, so lost, was terrifying. It was so terrifying that the smell of rain filled the room and a dark cloud started to form over their heads.

Mamá looked up. "Pepa…"

"I-I know, I know!" she screeched, trying to step back. "I-I'm sorry, I'm—"

But she couldn't finish. Mamá gripped her hand and pulled her closer with such a force that Pepa stumbled and kneeled at her side, suddenly wrapped on her arm. Bruno felt the pull on his own hand even before processing what was happening and, in a blink, he found himself also kneeling beside mamá, with her arm around him, as shocked as his sister. Mamá reached for Julieta and she joined them right away. And then she hugged them tightly, so, so tightly that they snuggled together like the petals of a closed flower bud.

She was holding them to her chest as she had held them almost forty years ago, in their darkest moment, to keep them safe and sound by the river. Bruno knew it, but the simple thought of it made him feel like crying. Pepa's chin was trembling and she buried her face on mamá's shoulder. Julieta sniffed, touched. And he just shut his eyes and melted in their arms, while all of them tightened their grip on each other. There was so much pain in that embrace, so much fear and desperation, that it felt suffocating but also warm, because they were together after all, holding each other. It hurt and comforted at the same time. It was terribly bittersweet. But they could breathe together, matching their rhythm, until their pulse calmed down and their nerves were soothed.

He wished that moment had lasted forever.

"Don't worry, mijos," mamá whispered after a while. "Don't worry, I'm here. I will— I will protect you all at any cost, I'll do anything, whatever is needed, I… I will…"

She trailed off, and Bruno couldn't help a shudder, struck by the feeling that she had forgotten they weren't her newborn triplets anymore. The grip they shared loosened up and they straightened up to look at their mother, his sisters as stunned as him. But mamá was staring blankly at the candle, her moisty eyes wide open, as if she was seeing something they couldn't see.

"We need to move," she added in a quavering mumble. "We need to move and get ready, we have to warn the children and… and…"

"Mamá," Pepa babbled, "what are you— Getting ready for what?"

She faced them and seemed surprised for a second, as if she couldn't recognize them. Bruno froze, but Julieta put a hand on her shoulder and said softly, "Mamá, nothing's coming. Don't worry. Loli said there's nothing beyond our mountains, not a single peep. There's nothing off in town either. Nothing's coming. We're safe."

Mamá held her gaze for what it felt like an eternity, and then turned again to the window, looking as if she was expecting to find the Encanto already set on fire. Bruno pressed his lips together. The expression on her face was heartbreaking.

But, an instant later, she blinked and finally seemed to be brought to her senses. She took a deep breath, straightening up too, and it was like witnessed a transformation, as she pushed her vulnerability deep down inside, put on her matriarch mask again and clenched her jaw in determination.

"We're not safe," she declared. "This ceremony has been a failure. Everybody was counting on us, and Mirabel hasn't been given a gift. Something's threatening our miracle, and we have to find out what it is and fix it, or we all are doomed. The whole Encanto will be doomed."

Julieta hesitated at her words and leaned back slightly to sit on her ankles, looking helpless too for the first time. Pepa glanced at her with her lips pursed and then met Bruno's eyes in a knowing look. Julieta had always been the strongest, the most stable and reliable of the triplets. She had been the perfect daughter since they were children, the one that never disappointed mamá and always managed to success in whatever she set out to; and that was a heavy responsibility, but also the reason she wasn't used to fail, unlike them both. Bruno and Pepa were a mess. If any of them messed things up, nobody would be too surprised. If Camilo had been the one who remained giftless, probably no one would've been so shocked. It was a bitter thought, but that didn't make it any less true. Now, however, the perfect Juli with her perfect older daughters was the one facing the biggest family failure of the last forty years, and he had the feeling it hadn't totally sunk in her yet. She seemed clueless about what to do. Seeing her baby girl going through something like this had had to be the hardest blow ever.

"M-maybe this isn't— m-maybe this isn't a big deal, after all?" Pepa suggested, sitting on the floor too, and she started twisting her braid when mamá looked at her, aghast. "I-I mean, Mira didn't get a gift, so what? We've freaked out because it was unexpected, but everything else seems normal, maybe— m-maybe she just wasn't meant to get a gift and that's all."

"What are you talking about?" mamá gasped. "Why on earth would something like this ever happen?"

"I-I don't know, mamá! Sometimes things just happen and that doesn't mean—"

"It has no sense." Mamá shook her head stubbornly. "The miracle created this refuge for all of us to be safe, and it chose our family to protect it. This is our duty, for the sake of the entire community. The whole town relies on us; the more gifts we have to help, the better. Why would the miracle deny us another gift now?"

"There's no new gift, ok, but we still have our own gifts and—"

"The miracle is as strong as the flame of the candle, Pepa," mamá cut her off, recovering her sternness every second. "It could be getting weaker. If it fades, all the gifts will fade with it. The magic that protects us all would be gone, ¿entiendes? It has no sense that suddenly one of us doesn't get a gift without any reason, it has to mean something, something is wrong, the miracle is trying to say us something."

It's telling us to stop, Bruno thought right away, and the sight of the fissures spread all over the walls hit him hard again. It's telling us to stop and open our eyes and change our route, or all of us will crack and crumble and there'll be nothing left of the Madrigal family but debris. He saw it crystal clear. He knew it. That was the answer: no more truces, no more patches. A change in their lives and mindset was mandatory. But he wasn't going to say it out loud, he couldn't say it out loud, not now, with everyone on edge. He had to keep quiet, think about it and figure out the best way to make them understand. He had to shut up.

It would've been easier if he hadn't remained still, staring into the void with round eyes full of dread. Before he could conceal the effects of his sudden realization, three pairs of eyes were fixed on him, as sharp as daggers. Bruno shifted at their scrutiny, sweating. "W-what— What?" He tried to speak, only to discover he could barely utter the words. "W-w-why are you looking at me like that?"

"Do you have anything to say?" mamá asked carefully. He shook his head with more energy than necessary, like a child caught red-handed. But it didn't work, anyway; mamá could see perfectly through him, and Bruno noticed how the look on her eyes hardened. "Ok. Let's go, then."

She tried to get on her feet and the triplets leaped up, rushing to stop her.

"Whoa, whoa, waitwaitwait," he stuttered in trepidation. "W-what? Where?"

"To the cave, of course," mamá answered plainly, and she sounded frustrated at their attempts to slow her down and at her own weakness. "You have to look into the future and see what this means."

He felt a horrified scream creeping up his throat and tried to swallow it in desperation. "T-that's— t-that's not a good idea."

"What do you mean?" Mamá frowned at him, confused. "We need to. We have to know what's happening, Bruno. Isn't this exactly the meaning of your gift? Isn't it meant to warn us about any danger? We need it now more than ever, we need to know, we need to get ready."

He wished he could be able to explain her that getting ready was very different from getting paranoid, but he couldn't. He just could shake his head and hands vigorously in a gesture of utter refusal. "N-no way, I-I'm not gonna do a vision about this, we just—"

"Bruno," mamá's frown deepened, "the town, the family, needs your help, are you—"

"And since when does my gift help the family?" he snapped abruptly.

It was the wrong thing to say. He knew it, he shouldn't have said it, he should have bit it back. But he was unable to. He could feel the anxiety crawling under his skin, swirling in his chest, gripping his throat. It got worse when he saw their faces, especially mamá's and Julieta's, looking at him with wide eyes and lips parted, as if he had just slapped them. He could barely hold the urge to press his knuckles to his mouth to shut up forever, so he stepped back and crossed his arms instead, digging his hands under his elbows to hide his fingers tightly crossed.

"Bruno…" Julieta's weak whisper made him feel sick. "You know I've always— I've always supported you, but I… I don't think this is the right time for this. We're talking about my daughter's safety."

"Isabela's your daughter too and we all know what happened when I looked into her future."

Could the words just stop leaving his mouth? No, they couldn't. He was too nervous, too nervous. He was shaking again, feeling cornered.

"It's not the same at all—"

"This is not just about Mirabel," mamá interrupted Julieta, looking dumbfounded at his reaction. "This is about the miracle itself, it's about the safety of our home. The home of all of us. We can't just sit here and wait for this menace to destroy everything we've worked so hard for—"

"There's no menace knocking at the door, mamá," Bruno cut her off quickly, as he tried to shake off the certainty that the menace was already there, inside them. "We need time to process all this before doing something we could regret later and—"

"We will regret not doing anything if something bad—"

"A vision won't help right now, we're too upset to think clearly, I know you'll just assume the—"

"Are you seriously refusing to use your gift in a moment like—"

"I'm not gonna do anything till we calm down and—"

"We're fine!"

"WE'RE NOT FINE, MAMÁ!" he finally exploded, and his shout petrified them in pure shock. Bruno bit his lips, covered his mouth with his fists, tried very, very hard to stop talking. But he couldn't restrain himself anymore. "We're not fine, that's the point! Are you kidding? Am I the only one that noticed we all just had a breakdown five minutes ago?! Look at us, look at yourself! Pepa seems about to faint, Juli is barely holding the tears, I'm panicking! And you— y-you're pale and sweating, and I-I'm still afraid you'll have a heart attack any moment! What if this is too much, what if this overcomes you? You're not a machine, we're not machines, so don't tell me we're fine, because we're freaking out, and I'm not gonna do any vision right now to worsen it all even more!"

A deep silence fell over them, filling the room. He felt deaf for a moment, only able to hear his agitated breath and his frantic heartbeats rumbling on his own ears. Those had been too many words, too many, released after so much self-imposed silence that now he felt hollow. He was so scared he could barely recall what the hell he had just said. Had he gone too far? His stomach twisted, and he had to grit his teeth to hold a wave of nausea. He needed to touch wood, he needed it, his hands were aching to touch wood, but the only wooden thing near enough to knock on was mamá's chair, and he couldn't get closer to her, not now, not while she was looking at him with that expression, totally thunderstruck. So he just crossed his fingers again at his back till they hurt and waited and waited and waited.

Then, Pepa spoke, tearing him out of that awful spiral of fretting.

"M-mamá, Bruno's right," she said, and he almost collapsed in relief at her backup. "He's right, t-this isn't the best time to— t-to make big decisions. It's been a crazy night, you're exhausted, I-I'm worried about you too. We need to calm down to handle this properly. W-we should take some rest a-and talk it out tomorrow, right?" She gave him a tense look, eyes almost as round as Dolores', and Bruno nodded desperately.

"Tomorrow," he agreed, though he really wished all this was a simple nightmare that could be vanished by morning. "W-we'll talk it out tomorrow."

Mamá looked at them, still speechless, and then faced Julieta. Bruno glanced at her too, holding his breath. But she remained quiet for a while, staring at her feet, and it was obvious she was feeling torn. Of course Julieta had to know perfectly that relying on Bruno's gift right now was a terrible idea; whatever the vision was, mamá would assume the worst anyway. That wasn't going to help anyone. But Mira was her daughter, and of course Juli needed to know if she was in danger, if something bad was happening to her. She was so worried she probably wouldn't sleep a wink, and the guilt crushed him. But she took a deep breath and looked up, her hands clenched in fists grabbing her skirt.

"They… they're right, mamá," she finally said, though her voice sounded so dull Bruno gulped. "I don't think there's anything we can do for now. Mira's ceremony is over and what has happened can't be changed, as far as we know. If there's something wrong with the miracle, we'll find out, but… it doesn't have to be now. It can wait. Maybe tomorrow we'll be able to see this with… new eyes."

Mamá's mouth twitched, but the very proof of her own exhaustion was she didn't insist. She just lowered her gaze, brow frown, and nodded slowly. "Alright. Tomorrow."

Bruno exhaled deeply, but Julieta glanced at him and the shadow he saw in her eyes made his heart dropped.

"I have to go," she mumbled. "Agustín and the kids are with Mira, but I want to be with her too, she's my priority now. She's heartbroken." Julieta avoided their eyes in a very unusual way, and Bruno wished he could say something to comfort her, even if he had no idea of what. "Mamá, are you ok? Want me to bring you something to eat or drink? You should—"

"Don't worry, mija." Mamá shook her head, without looking her in the eye either. "Go take care of your daughter, she needs you."

Julieta nodded briefly, glanced one last time at her siblings and at the candle and turned to go back down. Pepa watched her go with her hands over her heart and, when they heard the room's door closing, she faced Bruno with lips pressed and eyes full of worry. The guilt scratched his insides again. He gulped, moved round mamá and joined his sister, anxious to get to her side and feel some more contact to steady himself. Pepa noticed, because she fumbled for his hand once he reached her and they intertwined their fingers so tightly it almost hurt. That was enough; enough to calm his nerves and to thank her, as always. It was a childish habit, perhaps, but he would have never been able to handle this by his own without ending it up in a catastrophe, so any gesture of support was vastly appreciated.

"Are you sure you don't need anything else, mami?" Pepa asked softly, as afraid of breaking that sudden quietness. Mamá just shook her head again, and Pepa stepped backwards, dragging him with her. "Y-you should rest. If you need us anytime, just—"

"Bruno," mamá whispered. "Please, stay."

They froze. Pepa looked down at him and he looked up at her. With a last squeeze he hoped to be reassuring, Bruno let her hand go and Pepa bit her lip, glancing at mamá.

"I— I'll go to check on the kids too," she muttered, before giving him her 'we'll talk later' look and leave the room, reluctantly.

Bruno inhaled and turned to mamá, trying to steel himself for whatever could come now. But she remained still, sit there like a forgotten ragdoll, her gaze as lost as herself in her thoughts. The silence grew so thick it got almost suffocating.

"M-mamá," he began, awkwardly, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't— I didn't mean to—"

She raised a hand and he stopped. Then, she beckoned to him tiredly and Bruno rushed to her side, taking her arm to help her stand up. Together, they went back to the window, near the candle. Its glow glimmered in her moisty eyes. Holding her, he could feel her quivering slightly.

"I never thought this could happen," she admitted in a voice so tiny it almost didn't sound as herself. "I've done everything I could, and still…" Her words faded and she sighed. "What does this mean, Bruno?"

He tensed up again. "I-I don't know, I told you, I don't know, tomorrow we'll see what—"

"I'm not asking the fortuneteller," mamá said, finally meeting his eyes. "I'm asking my son. What do you think?"

His shoulders dropped and he held her gaze, crumbling at that unexpected sign of trust. He shook his head, still undecided, but let his guard down and answered, "I… I-I'm not sure. I don't think we're exactly in danger. At least, not a physical danger, I suppose. But there's something… there's something off that I can't explain…" He paused and pressed his lips together in a last attempt to keep quiet, but then sighed and confessed, "Tonight, I-I… I saw cracks in the house." Mamá took a sharp breath and gritted her teeth; but otherwise she didn't even blink, and Bruno gaped at her, stunned. "W-wait, did you already know? Have you seen them too?"

To his surprise, she nodded. "I've seen them in my dreams. Sometimes, when I'm walking across the hallway, I can hear that snap in the walls, as if they're breaking apart. But when I turn around, I see nothing." She made a pause, her lips trembling, and her voice lowered even more. "I'm getting old, mijo. And I'm afraid. I want to know you all will be safe when I'm not here anymore. I need to know the miracle will keep burning, protecting our home. I put my hopes on Mirabel, thinking her gift would stabilize this, but… There's something wrong with our Casita, and I don't know what it is. I can feel it, as if our magic was… rotting."

It was a shocking word to choose. Rotting, like a corpse. It made him think of death, and Bruno felt suddenly strangled by that blurred imagine of papá standing in the middle of the river that he had tried to picture a thousand times. Mamá had to be thinking the same, because her legs wavered and she gasped, "The chair, please."

Bruno reacted immediately and drew it towards them. She sat down again beside the window, with a deep sigh. And, for a while, neither of them could say anything.

"Bruno," she began then, her voice firmer but also full of… something he couldn't identify, "I know you hate your gift. I'm your mother, I'm not blind. I've tried to make you understand that you weren't given this gift as a punishment, but I suppose… it hasn't been enough. So if you think you're not helping the family, if you rather step aside, I… I won't stop you."

It looked like those words were like acid on her tongue, and Bruno stared at her with wide eyes, paralyzed. He had spent many months, many years, yearning for a break, but now— why did it sound as if she was giving up on him?

"What… what do you mean?"

But she just shook her head again. "All I ask you for is this last favor. I beg you. Don't leave us on tenterhooks, give us some answer."

"M-mamá, what— D-do you think I am the problem?" He felt breathless. "Do you think the magic is dying because I'm frustrated with my gift? Because I'm tired?"

"No," she groaned, but buried her face on her hands for a moment and he saw her shoulders shaking. "I don't know what the problem is. I don't know. That's why I need your help." She looked up at him, eyes full of distress. "Help me understand what's wrong. Please, mijo. I beg you to look into the future to see what this means. And then, if you don't want to do visions anymore, just… do as you wish. If that brings you peace, maybe it brings peace for all of us as well."

His mind was racing, overwhelmed. There were so many words crowding in his mouth, fighting to leave it all at once, and he tried to swallow them and looked at the candle to remain focused. But it didn't work, and finally he found himself babbling, "M-mamá, you should know my visions aren't the problem, you— I-I don't hate my gift, that's not true, I just— I just don't know how to—" He stopped and pressed a palm against his forehead, counting to ten. "You know better than anyone why I swore to not look into the future of any member of the family. I can't hurt our family. I couldn't bare it."

"Your father gave his life to protect us and that's the most hurtful thing I've had to endure ever." He froze at her remark and stood there stiffly, as she watched the candle with a blank expression. When she kept talking, her voice sounded absent. "Sometimes I wonder if you all can grasp how much we sacrificed to get here. You don't understand how many dangers surround our paradise and how vulnerable we actually are. I'm not complaining, I'm glad you can't understand; this is what we wanted for you. Your father and I. A safe place where you all could grow up and have a good life and be happy, without worries. But I know what's out there, threatening us. I know we must never take our safety for granted. We must keep moving, we can't stop. If we stop, we could lose everything again." She blinked, like waking up, and took a deep breath. "Protecting this place requires sacrifices; you're old enough to understand that much at least. You don't want to have a vision that could hurt the family, but in this case the family could get even hurter if you don't do it. It's up to you to decide what sacrifice you prefer."

What could he answer to that? There was no possible answer. He saw now clearer than ever that mamá wasn't actually there. Her body was there, of course, but not her mind. Her heart was still on the road, her soul was still on the run. She had never stopped fleeing, not for a second, over the last forty years. She had kept moving forward without looking back, feeling chased, dragging the whole family, the whole town, with her for decades, as she had carried her three babies in the past, holding them tightly to keep them safe. She was firmly convinced she was doing the right thing, she would make whatever sacrifice was needed and she would never stop.

And he had no idea of how to fight that.

He felt utterly useless.

"Mamá, I…" Bruno tried, but his voice vanished, muffled by the sadness and that burning feeling of helplessness.

She closed her eyes and sighed again. "Go take some sleep, mijo. We'll talk tomorrow."

Perhaps he should have insisted. Perhaps everything could've been different if he had stayed and spoken up and tried to explain himself. But he felt totally overcome, and when Bruno felt overcome, there was only one possible reaction.

He fled.

The gallery felt almost chilly when he left mamá's room and a shudder shook him from head to toe. He stumbled, as disoriented as if his brain had got stuck, and strode blindly to his tower, feeling on the verge of another panic.

"Bruno!"

The hissed call was about to make him shriek, and he tripped to a stop and turned to see Pepa running towards him from the opposite corner of the gallery, as if she had been pacing around since she left.

"What happened?" she whispered frantically, when she was almost over him. "What did she say?"

Bruno staggered and kept stepping backwards, to the safety of the dark corner that leaded to his room and away from mamá's window. "What else? She wanted me to understand how important is to do that damn vision!"

"You have to refuse!"

He choked on a hysteric titter. "Are you insane? I can't refuse!"

"But you must!" Pepa hissed again, looking at him so intensely he could barely hold her gaze. "Remember our last talk, ah? About mamá fumbling in the dark to find her answers, instead of looking at us? About what she really needs? You can't have a vision about this, she's gonna lose her mind no matter what you see! It'll be a nightmare!"

"And you think I don't know? B-but I can't— I-I just can't—" He was stuttering so much that the words tangled in his mouth and he had to stop with a desperate groan, gesturing to mamá's room. "S-she's there, looking as— looking as if all her worst fears had come true tonight, Pepa. She looks like— She looks so desperate, s-she thinks the miracle is dying, she thinks papá is dying again!"

Those words seemed to take her aback and she tensed up and hesitated for a second, before shaking her head again and frowning. "And how would a vision help to calm her down? What if you look into Mira's future and see something as horrible as always?" Bruno whimpered in frustration, pressing his palms to his forehead, and she seemed to fret. "As it always seems," she corrected herself quickly. "Seems, Bruno. You know how mamá is!"

"B-but what if— what if Mira's actually in danger or— What about Juli?" He couldn't breathe, dammit, he couldn't breathe. "I can't let her down, she looked so disappointed in me—"

"She's not disappointed in you, por Dios, she's just worried! We'll talk with her and—"

"What if this is—"

"Listen to me! We have to talk with Juli and calm her down first, and then the three of us can go to—"

"Could you just—"

"We must stick together to face mamá tomorrow and I'm sure she—"

"COULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?"

Pepa jolted and gaped at him, goggle-eyed, and Bruno himself felt startled by his own loud outburst. That wasn't what he wanted to say, that wasn't what he should have said, but she had been talking and talking, and the headache was killing him, and now she was frowning, and then he panicked and raised his hands, stuttering again. "S-sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry, I didn't mean— I-I just n-need to be alone to think, ok? I need space, I need…"

Pepa's expression told him what he actually needed was to shut up.

"You need space," she spat bitterly, her lips trembling. "This is one of our darkest moments, we should be together comforting the kids, comforting our sister, figuring this out, but you… y-you need space. Ok, take all the space!"

She turned to leave, and he reached out to grab her arm. "Pepa, wait, I—"

"You're always like this, Bruno!" she exclaimed quietly through gritted teeth, facing him sharply again and shrugging off his hand. "What's wrong with you? Do you think Julieta and I aren't tired or scared or worried? Do you think we don't need space sometimes? We do, but we're here dealing with this mess, because it's what we have to do! We have always dealt with problems together, the three of us, remember?! But lately you just shut yourself in your room and stay away from us! What the hell are you doing? You don't care anymore or what? Is that so?"

"No!" he cried, aghast. "Of course not! I just… I just…"

He couldn't find the words, and Pepa's mouth twitched in a hurt grimace. "Ya, of course. Go hide with your rats and enjoy your space!"

"P-Pepa, p-please…"

But she was gone, walking away furiously while the strong smell of rain filled the courtyard one more time.

He should have gone after her. Everything would've been different if he had gone after her and talk with his sisters and explain himself once and for all. He knew it, and he would have plenty of time to regret it. But in that very moment, he was feeling overcome. And when Bruno felt overcome…

He staggered to the stairs and tripped at least twice climbing to his room, almost hyperventilating, grabbing tightly the wooden handrail (knock, knock, knock). He threw himself to the door and closed it at his back (knock, knock, knock). He fumbled for the wardrobe (knock, knock), the shelves (knock, knock), the chair (knock, knock), the desk (knock, knock, knock, knock). He felt around for his bowls, in a shelf hung over the desk, and took a pinch from each one to throw it over his shoulder, first salt (one, two, three), then sugar (one, two, three). He repeated everything again, losing the count of how many times, pacing up and down stumbling, while his mind raced faster than ever in his life.

What was wrong with him?

Yeah, what?

What the hell was he doing?

Yeah, what?

What if it was true, after all? What if he had something to do with that debacle somehow? Always complaining about the drawbacks of his gift, always frustrated and tired, always trying to shun his responsibilities with the town, always letting everybody down. He had failed so many times, too many. If work and dedication were what kept the miracle burning, with how much work and dedication had he contributed? How many sacrifices had he actually done? His sisters were more and more burnt out every day, he knew it, and nevertheless they kept going. But he was too weak. He had always been too weak, hiding behind Juli and Pepa and trusting them to resolve everything, while he stayed in the shadows, unable to deal with people, unable to confront mamá, unable to do anything right. What if his weakness was some kind of infection that had been affecting the miracle? What if he had been ruining everything encouraging the others to slow down too, and being a bad example for his nieces, and projecting his issues on them, and—

He felt like throwing up.

Bruno bent over the desk, pressing his hands against the wood till the wave of nausea eased off. He focused just on breathing in and breathing out for a long moment, trying to soothe his nerves. But his brain was aching so much it was almost blinding. He knew what that meant; the vision was already there, knocking at the back of his mind. He needed to know, too, and that necessity was so strong that holding it back would just overcome his senses, and it would take over his mind, and would vomit on his brain a chaos of senseless, useless images of the future. Panting, he squinted at the sand clock door, his sight already starting to blur. He needed to know now, before anyone else, to get ready. He needed it. So he headed to the cave.

There was a rumor filling the tower, making the stone vibrate, as if responding one more time to his emotions. The sound of a mechanism forced to the extreme of almost breaking. Bruno could hear the flow of sand louder than ever, sliding slowly inside the walls in its never-ending cycle, like the sand of an actual hourglass. It hit him with an ominous feeling, but he strode to the stairs anyway, and touched the rock to use his shortcut, and his room took him to the top with a low screech that sounded like a cry of pain. He crossed the bridge, now visible, all the tricks and jokes melted by the heat of his worry. The hall was already lit by the clay lanterns lined along the stone benches, and the candlelight twinkled as he passed, projecting dancing shadows in the walls. The rats raised their heads and watch him, but whatever they felt around him was enough to make them slip away, as if they were fleeing from a sinking boat. And when Bruno reached the chamber's door and knock on it before stepping in, the sound echoed around the whole cave. As the slam of the door closing after him.

Mamá was wrong. He didn't hate his gift; not really, when he could use it on his own terms to look into what he chose, free to analyze his predictions without pushy visitors demanding answers or making misguided assumptions. Having visions for others forced him to make the ritual with them; but when he could do it all alone, it was soothing and pleasant, like applying cold to a fever. He was caught by the memorized steps, setting the fire, smashing the herbs, measuring the oil, focusing on the textures, the scents and the silence to empty his mind and calm his heart. Sometimes, he just set the logs on fire and sat there for minutes, hours, watching the flames till they got consumed and his frame of mind was the best possible.

That was what he did that night. He sat, breathed and waited. So, when he finally used his power to summon the sand whirlwind, he had completely lost track of time.

Bruno had dared to hope, as always. He had hoped their fears were unfounded, and everything was just as simple as Pepa had said, and there was nothing wrong with the house or the magic or the family. But, also as always, his hopes got crushed under the destruction displayed in his sight. He saw the candle falling, the Encanto cracking, the mountains breaking apart. Breathless, he saw his family running and screaming in fear. He turned around, searching frantically in the sand. And then their house, their home, took form before him and cracked, just as the cracked walls he had seen in the courtyard after the failed ceremony.

"No," Bruno gasped. "No, no, please…"

He pushed his power a bit more, desperate, and a flash of light created another shape of sand: a girl with the curls and glasses of his youngest niece. Mirabel stood upright before the house, and the cracks started pulsing like a heartbeat, opening and closing. Bruno frowned, but the anxiety was bubbling inside him again, too distracting, and he felt the heat that preceded the end of the vision. The imagen glowed and turned into light, and he raised his hands to take the green plate as it turned solid. And, when the swirl dissolved and the sand fell, he stayed there, holding the vision so tightly that his hands shook slightly.

From one angle, Mirabel was standing before a broken house.

From the other, the house behind her was safe and sound.

Miércoles.

Bruno looked up at the dome and bit his lip to suppress a groan. Variables! Always, always variables! Of course! That future was too complex to be sealed, anything was possible. But undecided futures were the most difficult to explain. People always wanted concrete answers, most of them didn't understand there was a wide range of possibilities. When they were indeed presented with a wide range of possibilities, they usually chose to focus on the worst.

And he was holding a vision of his niece with Casita destroyed behind her.

He started pacing around, trembling. "Ok," he mumbled to himself, "ok, ok, ok, calm down, calm down, let's think… W-what does this mean, what, what…"

But the more he thought about it, the more he understood it didn't matter what it meant. Mirabel could be both the cause of Casita's destruction or reconstruction, both in a direct or an indirect way, she could be both an angel of doom or salvation, and it didn't matter in the slightest, because she was there with the crumbling house, and everyone was just going to assume the worst.

Mamá was going to assume the worst.

Something really, really cold twisted inside him, making him feel sick. Mamá couldn't see that vision, he couldn't show her that vision under any circumstance. But she wanted to know. She had begged him. And she would never accept a refusal, she would keep pushing, she would want to be present during the ritual and see it with her own eyes, and she would climb all the stairs up to there on foot if necessary, because she was Alma Madrigal, and she never stopped, she always did whatever was needed to protect the Encanto. There was no way he could avoid it.

But he couldn't show her. Bruno was old and experienced enough to know perfectly what a self-fulfilling prophecy was. If mamá saw Casita crumbling, her reaction would inevitably lead to the destruction of the house. He knew it, he didn't need to use his gift for that. That plate was a picture of her worst fears actually confirmed. The situation they had been dragging along would blow up if she saw it, and she would lose her mind, she would blame the poor child, she would quarrel with Juli and Agustín, and the family would break apart as well as the house. And then what? What would all of them do? What would he do, after destroying everything he loved with one of his damn visions?

The key was Mirabel. Maybe she was meant to do something big in the future to fix that mess once and for all. Maybe she hadn't been given a gift for a reason, to make the family open their eyes. She looked like a teenager in the plate, maybe she just needed time to grow up and… and…

And she wouldn't have any time if he was there.

That realization stroke him like a lightning, and Bruno froze, standing in the middle of his chamber as still as a rock. All paths leaded to the same conclusion, and his pulse speeded up, strangling him.

He couldn't be there. He had to go.

"No," he choked, shaking his head desperately. "N-no, no, no way, t-there has to be another…"

But there wasn't. He kept shaking his head till his neck hurt, but there wasn't any other solution. If he stayed, he would trigger the fracture of the family one way or another. Nothing would be the same anymore. That was a turning point for the Madrigals and he had to choose, move, do anything. He had to. What would've papá done?

Sacrificing himself.

Bruno bit his lips, bending over in an attempt to hold himself together. A sacrifice, that was what papá would've done, that was what papá had done, hadn't he? At the river. Sacrificing himself to buy them some time and keep them safe. Wasn't that exactly what the family needed now again?

Protecting this place requires sacrifices. It's up to you to decide what sacrifice you prefer.

He whimpered helplessly, but his mind kept racing. He had to go, he had to go now, right now, before anyone could stop him, and stay away and protect them from his own prophecies. He had to go, but his mind got flooded with all his plans and worries and projects, and what about his niblings? They were struggling with a lot of things, they needed him, he needed to be there for them, he needed— he needed them, he needed to be needed, but they didn't need him that much, right? If he wasn't there, everything would be fine anyway, it didn't matter, because he was the dispensable one, he had always been and he knew it, and they would be fine, they would, because Isabela, Luisa and Mirabel had their caring parents and Juli and Agustín would keep them safe and loved, and Félix would take care of Pepa and their kids, and Pepa would protect Camilo at any cost, and… a-and… and what about his Loli? What about his girl?

He could barely hold back a sob.

What about his sisters?

What about him?

He was nothing without them. He hadn't spent a single day in his whole damn life away from Juli and Pepa, he couldn't live without them, even if Juli was disappointed, even if Pepa was angry. They had been through a lot together, they had always existed together. It was supposed to be always the three of them. Always.

"I can't do it," he babbled, his voice quavering in the silence of the chamber. "Please, I can't do this…"

But papá had kissed them goodbye and faced death for them. He had loved them so much he had sacrificed everything, leaving his heart behind with his wife and children. And Bruno loved his family as much as him, they were his everything. He was sick of being weak. He was tired of failing.

He wasn't going to fail them now.

He would do anything for them.

A loud rumble shook the chamber and its stone walls cracked and dislocated, growing rawer rocks, distorting its round, smooth shape. Like a core that was getting squeezed. Bruno could feel the tremor inside his own chest, and he knew his heart had already made his decision before his head could catch up. So he gritted his teeth till his jaw hurt, looked at the green plate one last time and dropped it. It crashed against the stones, shattering, and the sand seemed to swallow its pieces, like a pond of quicksand.

Hide it. Hide it forever. No one must see it.

The rumble increased, around the cave and inside his skull. As Bruno headed to the door with wide strides, the sand followed him, swirling at his feet. A wild whirlwind slammed the door open to clear his way, and swept the lanterns of the hall as he passed, and suddenly there was nothing there but the noise of broken clay, darkness and cold. The moonlight coming from the tower's window lit his way when he crossed the arched entrance to the hall, and then he saw all his room was shaking in pain, as well as his soul. It seemed about to crumble as much as he. So he ran mindlessly.

Hide it, hide it, hide it, hide it.

Bruno crossed the bridge running and heard it cracking at his back, falling apart, destroying the platform that Isa had covered with flowers not so long ago. He punched the wall to activate his shortcut and the stairs tried to get him down, but everything was already malfunctioning. The stone steps jerked and threw him forwards in a crazy descent that almost stopped his heart. They spun along the tower's walls so fast that some wooden posts of the roped railing were ripped away by the force of the movement. At a sharp curve, he was literally ejected into the air and, for a dreadful second, Bruno thought everything was really over for him.

But his room roared. A massive wave of sand rose, as huge as a dune, to catch him in his fall. And he rolled and rolled down, curling up to protect his head and holding his breathe, till his body hit hard the floor and he lay there, sore, coughing sand. With a horrible screech, the whole tower sank several meters into the ground and rumbled again, and the walls waved and turned rougher, like the raw flesh of an open wound. For a few seconds, all was chaos, sand falling, rocks crumbling. And then, suddenly, a deep silence.

Bruno sat up slowly, panting heavily, blinded by the shock. His heart seemed about to escape his chest. There was a loud buzz filling his ears, from both his frantic pulse and the crash of the place that had been his refuge and his prison for the last thirty five years. He looked around with wide eyes, unable to process it. It looked so… wrong. So lifeless and wild. Like a broken hourglass, full of leaks that bled sand. Like a broken heart, rugged and jagged. A ruined room, now uninhabitable, pushing him away.

Something deep inside him broke in that moment. The last thread that connected him with his gift, with his miracle. He felt so hollow, so empty, so lost. There was nothing in his future but dense darkness. Trying to breathe and failing miserably, he started trembling again.

Bruno had wondered many times how would it be to live through something as extreme as mamá did. Losing everything in a blink; turning around and discovering your life had radically changed forever in a matter of seconds and would never be the same. He hadn't wanted to understand. He had hoped and prayed to never find himself forced to understand.

But now, he understood. Sitting on the sand, surrounded by the debris of his whole life and looking into the eyes of his darkest moment, he fully understood.

And then, he cried.

[broadwayandnetflix]

Overprotective, Much? - Bill Hader x Reader

Theme: Fluff + Angst

Warnings: Sexual Terms, Language 

Summary: You and Bill have been secretly dating for two years now, only to complicate things one night when you partake in a very risque sketch unbeknownst to him?

Word Count: 2.8k

A/N: Ahhh Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! This was a request sent in by @berkmansbabe​ I really hope you enjoy it! And it somehow fits what you were asking for! Have a good rest of your year everyone, hopefully 2021 is better? 

It was nearly four in the morning the last time that you checked, and you were almost half asleep over your laptop. Squinting one eye open, you gazed around the room to find a selection of your coworkers staring at you with little smirks.

"You're drooling, Y/N," one voice calls out; it had to be Mulaney's.

"Okay, you didn't have to tell her that!" another one chimes out, Jost?

Furiously you wipe the drool that was currently dangling from your chin and give the two the meanest glare that you could possibly muster.

At four in the morning, Tuesday's were the worst. Okay, well, technically, it's Wednesday now.

Mulaney only smirked before sliding a post-it note your way. You grimace, reading the details of the message scrawled out in what appeared to be Jost's messy script.

P. G. A. D, weekend update, orgasms onstage.

You practically gape at the note in awe; you were a writer, weren't you the one who was supposed to write this shit? Not perform it.

"Um, I'm not complaining, but isn't this more up Kristen's alley?" you protest, trying not to sound whiny.

"She's on vacation this week, and honestly we think you'd be perfect for it." Jost says matter of factly, giving you a small smile.

"Fine," you sigh before flopping back onto the table to get some more sleep. Earning another chuckle from the boys.

-

It ate at you all week, but I mean, you had the potential. If anyone would understand your feelings, it'd be Hader. His anxiety always got the best of him, and it hurt you to still see the man so stressed and uncomfortable.

Often, you'd be the one to find him after a sketch, rubbing soothing circles into his back. While he stares off rigidly into the curtain, he was fantastic at his job; it just didn't sit well with his anxiety. Although you knew it followed him home, into the late hours of the night, disappointment settling in.

It wasn't public, but the two of you had managed to make things work for the past two years. You had met Bill back when he had first arrived at 30 Rock, as you had gotten hired the same year Mulaney did.

Seth, who was practically your best friend at this point, could tell within an instant that you harbored a small crush for Hader. Often picking at you with little side comments that'd make you stammer and feel your body heat up in embarrassment.

For some time, you didn't even realize that Bill had reciprocated your feelings until he asked you on a date. The two of you curled up back at his place while he showed you some of his favorite movies, it was nice, and the rest was history.

The only problem was, it was safer not letting the rest of the group know about this advancement. God knows what they would do to Bill onstage with sketches...you didn't wanna know.

Alongside the fact that the two of you had quite a bit of an age gap, it wasn't that big, but you knew that Bill often internalized the seven-year gap between the two of you. You were only twenty when you had started at 30 Rock while Bill was twenty-seven. You loved him nonetheless, but you could tell it made him stress a little.

So you both kept it a secret, although you were pretty sure that Meyers and Mulaney knew at this point. While Jost continued to remain oblivious towards your little endeavor.

For this sketch in particular, maybe it was best to keep this one secret as well. Rarely did you ever perform on the show, and you wanted Bill to be proud.

-

Seth, who had been motivating you all week, motioned you into his office early Thursday morning.

"Okay, just spoke to Lorne about this, we're gonna fit you into one more sketch due to Kristen's absence." you nod apprehensively.  

"It's the easiest thing ever, all you have to do is sit there with Franco, and Hader, and read the cue cards about environmental issues. Keenan will cut you off, and you should be good." Seth explains before giving you a quick thumbs-up, causing you to smile slightly.

"God I am so nervous, is that normal?" you admit as Seth sits back into his seat.

"Oh my god yeah, it is not always easy going up onstage like that, but trust me you have the talent and potential. Lorne hired you for a reason, I'm sure if you brought this up to Bill he could give you a few tips on how to release stress." Seth replied as he gave you a warm smile.

You nodded, thanked him for the advice, and began heading back towards the writer's room to help the rest cut the left-over sketches that you all had mulled over during that week. Only to run straight into someone, their hands instantly going out to hold your shoulders steady. 

"Oh I'm so sorry I didn't even see where I was going!" you yelp, only to look up and see Bill trying to hold in a laugh. Only causing you to laugh slightly as well at the situation the two of you were in. 

"You okay?" he asks sweetly after taking in your somewhat frazzled state; without a second thought, you shook your head and went into his arms.

"I'm just stressed," you murmured into his chest as he quickly reciprocated the hug and wrapped his arms tightly around your waist. 

"About what?" he replied softly, his hold growing just a little bit stronger, that is until the two of you heard nearby footsteps and quickly broke away. 

A random production assistant walks past while you and Bill clear your throats awkwardly. 

"Uhm, I am actually going on a sketch this week, you're gonna be in the same one actually. It's with Keenan, I just barely ever go on, since I am a writer, you know?" you exhale softly, only to look back up to Bill. Who is nodding furiously in agreement.

"Oh my god, I mean, you know me," he stops to chuckle, "Y/N, I am a literal mess, I mean don't act like I am totally oblivious to you and John changing the cue cards before Stefon sketches." Bill exclaims as you find yourself beginning to smile.

"I mean, it's really cute seeing you break babe," he fake gasps. "I mean you just make it look so easy sometimes even when I know you're stressing out." Bill sighs slightly before meeting your gaze.

"It's not easy, it never is. It's just you learn how to cope over time, if you want I'll meet you at the end of the sketch. Does that sound okay? Just like you always do for me, which I can never thank you enough for." he says, grinning as you slowly nod in agreement. 

Giving you a quick peck on the forehead, he explains he has to go back to his costume fittings and that he'll see you later in the night. 

He always knew how to help. 

-

You watched anxiously while Seth said the cue that would lead you on stage. Letting yourself take a deep breath, you allowed yourself to block out the situation's overwhelmingness.

 Also, was it always this hot up here? 

With the cue cards coming into focus, you delved into the script, finding yourself ease into it over time. It was comforting to hear the audience laugh at your delivery, often seeing Seth trying to hold back a grin. 

Especially upon the time, you began to describe what made your character Tamara Parks go into orgasms from her specific condition, of Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder. 

"With the help of my physician I was able to find treatment, and today I can say that I am fully-" you let out a moan, trying not to break as you look down. Only to continue on the moaning and the appearance of discomfort as the script goes on. Seth progressively tries not to laugh as well.  

It almost was shocking that you were pretending to be aroused on live national television. Still, clearly, you were doing something right given the reactions that had been intended. 

You began to find yourself grateful for the ability to look down and away from the audience to compose yourself against the fake orgasms you were portraying. Seth's hand leaning to rest upon your shoulder, setting your character's orgasms off even more until the sketch was nearing its finish. The crowd applauded as Seth called you offstage. 

-

You had let out a breath that you didn't even know that you had been holding the minute you had left the stage. Clearly, you had done the job just as Meyers and Mulaney had anticipated, the crowd going wild, it felt nice, but you also felt like you needed a nap. Many of your coworkers had come up to congratulate you, but all you wanted was just to see Bill.

 Except, Bill and Fred were going up to another sketch for Weekend Update, you had asked a production assistant for some water as you took a seat in a nearby corner. It wasn't long before you had spotted Mulaney from out of the corner of your eye, within seconds; his eyes met yours, and he rather awkwardly stumbled over.

You had to stifle your laughter at how ridiculous he appeared in that moment, his rather tall figure colliding with the floor as he slid down beside you. 

"You did fantastic out there! See, I knew you could do it!" he whispered enthusiastically while nudging you playfully in the side.

The two of you commented on the show's progress and or which sketch that you had written was your favorite. Until your stage manager had motioned for you to go on for your second sketch of the night. John gave you a reassuring smile before giving you a little push off into the side wing you were supposed to enter on. 

-

The sketch was going well, that is until you felt an intense stare out of your peripheral vision coming from Bill, who was sitting beside you. Instead, it felt more dominant and tense than comfortable and safe as his thigh began to press up against yours. You gulped slightly before Keenan made his way over to you, feeling Bill's thigh against yours, almost making you lose control. 

The skit's premise was that Keenan's character would never let the guests speak, which was probably a good thing as soon as the cameras went off of you; you had to stifle a moan of your own, a real one. 

You were flustered beyond belief, and you couldn't tell why for the life of you that Bill was screwing with you on live television, but he was, and it was working. Of course, you appreciated the man's dominance but now was clearly not the time, except all you could feel was the heat pooling at the pit of your stomach. 

While you were slightly annoyed with him, something about that leather jacket he was wearing was really turning you on. Or the way he did all of this was genuine ease like he wasn't putting you in complete arousal right now was so intimidatingly hot. 

The crowd's cheering almost caught you off-guard as you realized the sketch was over, and Bill and Franco were getting up to leave the stage. You almost had to steady yourself as your legs felt wobbly and out of place, but you managed to maneuver yourself off the stage with as much grace as you could possibly muster. 

It didn't take long for you to feel Bill's hand slip under yours and tug you along to a back room, his taller figure looming over yours with a side of him that you had never seen before. His lips practically hovering over yours as you inhaled deeply and ultimately tried to compose yourself only to stammer your words a little bit.

"Um, heh, what did you do that for?" you murmured quietly so that only he could hear you.

"You really think I would let you get away so quickly with that sketch, I simply had to remind you that you're mine babe, mine." he growled as he leaned down close to your height, whispering the words in your ear. 

Your breath hitching at the contact, goosebumps spreading directly across your skin, and your heart skipping a beat. Except, you were in public, for crying out loud; why couldn't he have waited to save this for the bedroom later tonight?

"I-um, Bill did you forget that this is sorta a live show?" you retort back, stepping away from his slight hold. It finally hits you all at once, "Wait, Bill, are you jealous of my sketch with Seth?" you quickly ask, his eyes widening before quickly denying it.

"What? No of course not since when do I get jealous Y/N?" he says defensively, only to see you start to form a small grin.

"Oh my god you totally are!" you practically yelp, his eyes staring daggers at you.

"Hader, quick change happening for Daveheart in four minutes!" Bobby calls as he walks past the two of you unbeknownst to the little debacle going on. 

Bill's eyes darting between yours and the dressing room, you sigh and motion for him to go-on for how you would somehow resolve this later. After the door closes behind him, you allow yourself to slide down against the wall once again, trying to compose yourself after everything that had just happened.

-

It doesn't take long for him to find you, this time in a Scottish get-up, you were assuming, and still painfully as ever, you still couldn't help but think that he looked hot, even with his long brown wig. 

He sits down beside you, looking at you with a hesitant look in his eyes. 

"Okay, so maybe I am jealous okay?" he admits quietly, completely catching you off guard. "It's just sometimes I wish we didn't have to have this weird age gap, or have to worry about judgement from others or the press. I guess, just seeing you like that today, it just really made me jealous. Proud of course, I mean babe you killed it out there, I didn't even notice that you were anxious. It's just hearing you moan like that, god that was so hot, the things you do to me." he says, no longer making eye contact as he goes into his little tangent. 

God, you loved him. 

You sigh before wrapping your hands around his, before slowly pushing forward to envelop him in a kiss. He hesitates for a split second before going in at once, his hands reaching up to cup your face deepening the kiss.

It was like a breath of fresh air whenever the two of you had kissed, whether in the late nights after shows and you can see the sunrise. Or in walks home from work, fingers entwined, and quick glances before sneaking a quick kiss, or even just whenever Bill can spare one. 

The two of you pull away, only to catch your breath for a second. Bill's wig now tousled, and his eyes staring at you with admiration that you couldn't help but melt under. 

"You know Bill, I wouldn't change a thing about us. I love you just the way that you are." you say softly, sneaking in a little kiss before pulling away to finish your statement, a small pout grazing his lips. 

"Just maybe not during a live sketch, please?" you giggle softly, his eyes never leaving yours. 

"Hey, Y/N, I just wanted to say that you killed it out there-woah, what's going on here?" Seth calls out, startling the two of you; you moving to jump away before Bill quickly stops you.

"We're dating!" you blurt out randomly, "we have been for the past two years, and its time that we probably tell others about it."

 You clamp your mouth shut, ignoring Bill's jaw-dropping, and focusing on Seth entirely.

"Oh my god I knew it! Mulaney get your ass over here, we've been right this entire time! Hader and Y/L/N have been boning for two years." Seth yells over to John, who was busy cleaning up the cue cards as the show was coming to an end for the night. 

You practically groan, digging your head into Hader's chest in pure embarrassment as Mulaney comes bounding over to cheerfully laugh at your combined misery.

"And to think that Jost said that we were lying about the two of them, guys come on we're gonna go tell Colin!" Seth exclaims, beckoning for the two of you to follow to the writer's room down the hall. 

"Might as well join them," Bill whines as he pulls you off the ground and drags you along after them. 

[even-after-a-millennia]

The Freeman's and Firsts

My first fic for @nilefreemanweek2021 and the prompt Nile Freeman + First(s)! You can read it below or over on my ao3 account here. Nile-centric | Rated G | ~1.7k Enjoy!

Nile jerked awake, her eyes opening and lungs heaving.  She forced her body to remain still, to not jolt upright.  She instinctively started taking deeper breaths, trying to calm her racing heart.  After six months of immortality and the dreams that came with being connected to Quynh, she had gotten better at moderating her body’s reactions to her nightmares.

It was her mind that would not calm.

With a sigh, she eased herself out of bed.  Joe and Nicky were sleeping in the bed opposite her, Andy unconscious closer to the wall in Nile’s bed.  The safehouse was small, but it had a balcony, and suddenly that was the only place that Nile wanted to be.

She snuck out of the bedroom and across the living room, doing her best to keep quiet on the creaking floorboards.  The door to the balcony squeaked as she opened it and she winced, stopping it for a moment and listening.

There were no noises that indicated she had woken anyone, so she slipped out the small gap she had created and into the cold night air beyond.

The balcony wasn’t much, but it did boast a few chairs and a rickety table whose screws could probably use a tightening.  Nile sank into one of the chairs and pulled her feet onto the seat with her.  The sun was just an idea on the horizon, barely a faint glow of orange to be seen, and the early morning air was cold against her skin.

She needed that.  Needed the cold to ground her where she was, in a safehouse with her fellow immortals.  Not the heat of Afghanistan, the warmth of the floor under her as her blood soaked into the rug.

She continued to breathe, holding her breath for seven counts before she released it.  Slowly, her body calmed.  And all she suddenly felt was exhaustion.

The sky was slowly brightening, reds bleeding into the black and blue of night.  She tried to catalog the colors, so that she could recreate the moment some time later on canvas.  But her mind pulled her back to her dream no matter how many times she tried to redirect it.

The door squeaked but Nile didn’t turn to see who it was.  Any of her family would be a welcome distraction at the moment, but she felt a pang of guilt at waking any of them.

A blanket settled around her shoulders and a cup of hot coffee materialized before her.

“Two sugars and a splash of milk,” Nicky’s soft voice said.

Just how she liked it.

She turned to him as she took the mug from his hand.  He looked barely awake, his eyes slightly puffy with sleep still.  But he had taken the time to make coffee for her, get a blanket.

She swallowed, slightly undone with affection for him.  “Thank you, Nicky.”

“Prego,” he replied, sinking into the closest chair to hers.

“I hope I didn’t wake you,” she said, cuddling the warm cup close to her.  Between that and the blanket, she was feeling warmer, but luckily, no memories tried to upset the moment.

He shook his head.  “Many nights, I try to wake to check on the room.  Usually, I can drift back off quickly.  But when you were not there, I worried.  We have seen our share of bad nights.  They are easier when not alone.”

Nile sniffed, then reasoned that the steam from her coffee had made her nose run.  She nodded, taking a sip.

“Would you like to talk about it?” he asked, staring at the burgeoning sun.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t looking at her, that she was able to speak.

“When my dad died, I missed school for a few days.  Even when I got back, I wasn’t really there.  My grades suffered and I ended up in my guidance counselor’s office.  She said something to me that I will never forget.  Well, hopefully,” she said drily, remembering the vastness of time available to her.

“She said that after something traumatic happens, like losing a family member, you go through a year of firsts.  Big ones, like the first holidays without them.  Small ones, like the first time you want to call them, only remember they aren’t there to pick up.  A whole year of constantly remembering that your life is irrevocably changed.”

She sipped the coffee and let the warm run down her throat, savoring the feeling of its heat in her stomach.

“That first year was so hard, I wasn’t sure we would all get through it.  But we did.  Even after that year came big moments, though, times I thought my dad would be there for.  Prom, graduation.  Birthdays.  And I realized that it wasn’t just firsts.  It was those moments when all you want is your family surrounding you.  And suddenly, there was this gaping hole where he was supposed to be.  To take pictures of me and my prom date.  To cheer as I walked across the graduate stage.”

Nile pulled the blanket closer around her and surreptitiously wiped her eyes with the corner of it.

The first glimpse of the sun broke over them, illuminating Nicky’s face.  His eyes were more open, more awake now as he looked at her.  His brow was lowered, not in anger but in concentration, as if every word that came out of her mouth had weight and importance.

Like he was trying to understand her more than anything else in that moment.

She smiled a bit at him even as he got blurry behind the tears in her eyes.

“This whole experience reminds me of that.  I am suddenly the gaping hole in my mom and my brother’s lives.  I should be there for birthdays and big moments and small ones.  And I’m here, knowing what that feels like, knowing I’m responsible for them feeling that way, and not fixing it.  I don’t even know if there is a way how.  And it overwhelms me sometimes.”

Nicky nodded, looking back at the sun.  

It was halfway visible now, harder to look at in its brightness.

“Were there good firsts in that year?” Nicky asked.

Nile considered.  That time felt hazy and endless in her mind, a place that she only visited in her darkest moments.  

“A bunch of ladies from our church would make us a hotdish every week, so that we would have guaranteed meals.  I didn’t want to see tater tot hotdish again in my lifetime until I was eighteen.  I finally made us spaghetti one night just to be able to have something different.  It was the first night my mom laughed since my dad’s death, once I explained why I had done it,” she finally said.

Nicky snorted a laugh.  She grinned faintly back at him.

“Miss Temple from down the street came with her son, who was about my age, and he and my brother Jordan played basketball on the sidewalk as she, my mom, and I sat in the grass and she did our nails.  She worked at the salon my mom went to.  It was just before the funeral.  We both had beautiful nails for the service.  I kept looking down at them while people were talking.  They made me want to paint.  It was the first time I had thought about art since we found out he was gone.”

Miss Temple had been adamant about not using black nail polish.  She had painted Nile’s nails blue and her mother’s purple, both so dark they looked black until they hit the light.  Nile remembered using the lights in the church to illuminate the color of her nails, to show herself they weren’t just black.  That there was still color, even as her father was being put into the ground.

“A girl at my school had lost her mom the year before.  Cancer.  She ended up sitting next to me at lunch my first day back.  We hadn’t talked much before, but everyone else was avoiding talking to me.  I was sitting by myself and suddenly, she set down her tray next to me and started talking about what I had missed in the class we shared.  I think she knew that I needed to not talk about my dad,” Nile admitted.  “She made me laugh, catching me up on all the shit that had gone on while I was gone.  Some stupid story, but it was funny enough to get a laugh out of me.  Another first.”

“There’s more, but those stand out.  Little kindnesses.  Little moments.”

Nicky nodded.  “A few centuries into my immortality, it surprised me how many of those little moments were still present in my memories.  The first time Yusuf and I broke bread together without bickering.  The first time I slept through the night without memories haunting me.  The first time a child looked at me and smiled, rather than shrinking away.  They add up in such a way that makes the awful moments fade slightly.  Balance.  I am glad of them.  It would be a much more miserable existence without them.”

It was Nile’s turn to nod.

She let her mind wander back on her life since she had gained immortality.  Yes, there were awful moments of death and violence and loss.  But there was the first time she had disarmed Andy and the proud look in her eyes as Nile whooped in victory.  The first time she and Joe had painted together, music playing in the background as they lost themselves in colors.  The first time that Nicky had made her coffee just how she liked it, though he had never asked.  

So many little moments that added up to so much.

The sun began to warm her as she sat there in silence with Nicky, mind finally settled into the moment filled with coffee, companionship, and, finally, contentment.  There were still many firsts to come, but she knew that she wouldn’t have to face them alone.

[kuripon]

Kuri i am here asking... nay BEGGING!!! For Geralt with glasses and Jaskoer being soft and tender and caring about it. 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Geralt and glasses.

Spurred on by my own recent frustration with my pair of glasses. I think I have a good record with mine. Have never broken a pair, rarely scratch the lenses, kept in very decent condition. But I get so frustrated when I end up cleaning them at least three times a week, sometimes having to do the process twice in a row! My face is just that oily I guess. Still. ><.

Geraskier | 532 words | G | cw: how can you make glasses soft?

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Geralt is constantly losing his glasses. For a being as long-lived as he is, it's not completely surprising that he would have some type of macular degeneration. So when his current physician tells him that the blurriness he's experiencing can only be fixed with glasses, Geralt reacts just as you would expect him to.

Stubborn.

Jaskier knew he would react like this. You don't exist in someone's primary orbit for most of your life and not know their quirks.

At first, he refuses to wear them. Utterly and completely. Claims they're too deep in their equipment bag, getting them would cost time that could be useful to the hunt. Say that he's fine without them, refusing to acknowledge that he can't see the difference between fool's parsley and arenaria. But he gives in, eventually, as everyone does. The appeal of seeing the finer details of life pass by is too big to give up completely.

So Geralt wears his glasses.

As a result, Jaskier decides that he's got to be prepared.

When Geralt loses his glasses, Jaskier has a new pair ready for him at a moment's notice. When Geralt breaks a pair, Jaskier has a quick repair set on hand, ready to put it back together (even if that means just taping it together until their eye doctor can do a more professional repair).

But one thing he wasn't expecting was just how frustrated Geralt gets at needing to have his glasses lenses clean. Geralt knows that his job requires him to have the keenest eyesight, so it drives him nuts when he's unable to see past the smudges and debris that cloud them.

However, Jaskier is prepared for that as well.

When Geralt gets frustrated at the dirtiness, Jaskier cleans them.

When he cleans them, he gently takes them from Geralt's face. He tuts softly, giving Geralt a soft smile. He hums as he goes to get the cleaning supplies: a gently scented cleanser (because the harsh astringent bothers Geralt's nose far more than the light touch of scented oil) and the softest blue cloth.

Leaning against Geralt's shoulder, Jaskier takes his time with each lens, bringing it up to the light several times to make sure that any and all streaks and debris are gone. His humming is just as soft as the light, calming down an agitated Geralt, grounding him. He steps up to Geralt, so close the tips of their noses are touching.

Giving him that same soft smile, Jaskier gently fits the glasses back onto Geralt's face. He strokes the strong bridge of Geralt's nose when the glasses are in place. His fingers then rest on Geralt's cheeks as Geralt grumbles until the glasses feel comfortable again. He watches the focus return to Geralt's eyes, flushing with happiness as the pupils suddenly expand.

Once Geralt has settled, Jaskier guides Geralt's head down so he can place a soft, chaste kiss right in the middle of Geralt's forehead. He misses when Geralt's eyes close at the kiss, unable to hold back his reaction to the overwhelming feeling of comfort and love that runs through his body, but he feels it when a smile overtakes Geralt's lovely face.

[blu-joons]

DATING SEVENTEEN A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Lee Jihoon

A ⇴ AFFECTION

It took a while for Jihoon to get comfortable with affection with you, for a long time he was quite awkward around you, but once he found what you both liked, he would refuse to ever really let you out from his hold.

B ⇴ BEFORE DATING

When you first met Jihoon, you were convinced he hated you as he never spoke to you, however, as the two of you got to know each other better, you realised you’d misunderstood quite a bit about Jihoon after all, and as you learnt more about him, you realised what a nice and kind person he really was.

C ⇴ CONFESSION

Words were his instrument, and so was music, so he combined the two in order to be able to confess to you. Jihoon was far too shy to confess around you, so instead he sent you a demo of a small song that he’d been working on, letting you know that it was dedicated to you. The lyrics were sweet, but as you reached the end of the song and realised that it was a confession, you were straight on the phone to him to give him your reaction.

D ⇴ DATES

Every date with you had to be perfect in Jihoon’s eyes, no matter how big or small your date was, he meticulously planned every detail to ensure that you enjoyed every minute with him. Jihoon was open to trying anything if it was what you enjoyed, he was interested in the things that you were and willing to learn about something new. For him, he enjoyed taking you to concerts or shows, the musician in him never really was put to rest, so he would pay close attention to everything, which often left you in awe of his talents too.

E ⇴ EXPERIENCE

Jihoon had no experience of dating, the most he knew from it was about what he wrote in his songs, which he knew was often exaggerated. He turned to his members a lot for help when it came to dating to try and learn from what they knew. He especially wanted to try and learn from all of their individual charms so that he could put them into practice with you. He so often put himself down that he tried to pick up on so much about his other members, there were times you reminded him to just be himself a bit more.

F ⇴ FIGHTING

He has a very serious mindset, which can often lead to a few small disagreements between the two of you, especially if he’s trying to concentrate on something and you want his attention. Jihoon is always very careful with his words when he does get angry with you though, he knows what not to say to make sure that he doesn’t hurt you, but also say enough so that he can get his point across. Major arguments are terrifying for him, he worries a lot about losing you when things become too heated. He’s incredibly attached to you, and the last thing he wants to do is risk himself losing any of what you have together.

G ⇴ GETTING TO KNOW HIS FAMILY

To begin with, his family were a little apprehensive about Jihoon dating as they didn’t want you to get in the way of all his hard work. However, as they got to know you and witness the routine that the two of you had found yourselves in, they were relieved to see that the two of you had found the perfect balance between the two.

H ⇴ HOME

For a while, Jihoon had been considering his own studio anyway, but as your relationship progressed after a few months, his mind instantly began to think about perhaps a new apartment instead. He knew he saw you in his long-term future, and a forever home seemed like the perfect first home for you both too.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”

Just like his confession, Jihoon never quite knew the way to say, ‘I love you,’ except for in the form of a song. When another demo was sent your way, you were very confused, however, like before, as you sat down and listened to the lyrics, you soon realised exactly what the song, and Jihoon, were trying to say to you.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

There were definitely a few times when Jihoon would get jealous, he knew that some of his other members were louder, funnier, and would definitely be able to capture your attention better than he could. He would try and not let jealousy get the better of him in front of both you and his members too, but you’d usually be able to tell. Jihoon wasn’t the loudest anyway, but when he was feeling jealous, he would almost be silent as he kept an eye on you and made sure that none of his members pushed things too far.

K ⇴ KIDS

The thought of having children excited Jihoon greatly, especially the chance to be able to pass on a few of his musical genes to his offspring. He often dreamt about how his future would be with his son sat by a drum kit and his daughter at a keyboard, teaching them all of the notes and melodies that he used to come up with as a part of the band and helping them to follow all of their dreams just like his parents did.

L ⇴ LAUGHTER

Jihoon knew that he had quite a serious outlook on life, so he’d try hard at times to feel like he needed to justify that he could live carefree and find plenty funny in life. You knew how dedicated he was to his work, and never expected him to be anything that he wasn’t, but he wished sometimes that he could make you laugh as much as some of his other members did. Whilst you hated that he felt that way, you’d always make sure to laugh at his jokes and reassure him whenever he felt like he was being too serious about things and encourage him to relax sometimes and allow himself to smile and just breathe.

M ⇴ MISSING

When he was missing you, his emotions were poured into his music. He could often be found sat in his hotel room with a pad of paper and a pen in hand, scribbling down little things that maybe he could use in songs one day. He doesn’t like for the other members to see him missing you as a weakness, so he prefers to spend a bit of time by himself and cope in his own way. When he finally calls you, he’ll often share the lyrics with you so that you can see how he was feeling, but he’ll also be quick to reassure you that he’s not feeling as bad now as he was when he tried to write down all of the lyrics that came to mind earlier.

N ⇴ NICKNAMES

You tended to just call him ‘woozi,’ as a nickname because you heard so many other people call him by it. It would often take him by surprise when he’d heard his stage name come from you, but he loved to hear it.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

He was obsessed with your words it was very much a love language for Jihoon and helped to him to learn so much about you and your feelings as well.

P ⇴ PDA

Being affectionate in public wasn’t something that Jihoon was greatly passionate about he would never leave you to walk alone, but he also wouldn’t create a huge drama in public about the fact that the two of you were together. As long as you were comfortable both outside, and with him, then that was enough for him.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

He loved to get your opinion on all of the things that he created. Knowing that someone else liked what he wrote or composed and not just him always gave him a great confidence and pride in what he had done.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

Jihoon’s room was a mess of lyrics sheets all composed because of you. It wasn’t just being away from home that gave him the enthusiasm to write, so much about you gave him triggers that inspired him. He loved to talk you through some of the situations that had inspired the lyrics, no matter how embarrassing they were. Jihoon could find inspiration at the most random times, but that was also something you greatly admired about him.

S ⇴ SEX

He was always very careful and understanding of your needs and the things that you liked, you would always be the priority and the focus of all of his attention, no matter how hard you tried to prioritise him instead. Jihoon would also be quite vocal during these moments, not loud, but he’d often whisper sweet words into your ears to remind you that he loved you and compliment how good of a job you were doing.

T ⇴ TEXTS

If he felt like he wasn’t spending enough time with you or wasn’t in contact with you enough then he would text you in an instant. He was terrified of leaving things too long and risking upsetting you by not saying hi sooner.

U ⇴ UNIVERSE

Song writing had always come fairly naturally to Jihoon, but it was only now that he had you in his life, did he feel like he had a focal point for his inspiration. So much of his work revolved around you and your relationship too.

V ⇴ VACATION

Whenever the two of you went on holiday, it was a job in itself for you to try and convince Jihoon to switch off from work and allow himself to relax. He’d still be searching for inspiration and coming up with things, despite your work supposed to be set up so that he could give his brain a rest and focus on something else for a change.

W ⇴ WHINING

Whining really wasn’t Jihoon’s style at all, if he wanted something, he’d just stay, but he’d never kick up too much of a fuss about anything that wasn’t going right.

X ⇴ XXXXX

He loves to cuddle you, and with that, he’ll often trail kisses against any part of your skin that is exposed to him. He relies on kisses a lot to often send you small messages that he’s thinking of you or that he’s still right there with you. Equally, he loves to receive kisses from you too and bask in your embrace and the love that you give him. If you kiss his cheek, you’ll always hit the mark and turn him into a shy mess.

Y ⇴ YOU

You were his muse, the perfect point that everything else focused around.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

He’d always fall asleep as close to you as possible, often humming random melodies behind you as you tried to sleep. His soft tunes were the perfect lullaby for you to fall asleep to and always allowed you to relax beside him.

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Masterlist