#Ben Marten

[beardedmrbean]

[iamdangerace]

C.O.F.F.I.N., Cecelia (with guest guitars by Dec Marten) from their self-titled album (2020).

[liliumaa]

conifer’s trash adventure

[biking-around-the-world]

My kind of boys band.

[pelova4president]

That stupid smile of hers I

Esmee Brugts x nedwnt!R

II of that stupid smile of hers

summary~ In which y/n gets to go to the World Cup and falls in love with the girl with that stupid not so stupid smile.

I play for Arsenal but have been benched for most of the season. So when I got called up for national duty I was surprised, to say the least. But after all that happiness and surprise came the nervousness. How could I, y/n y/l/n who turned 18, just weeks ago get a call up for the Oranje Leeuwinnen. Sure, I’ve been the topscorer for the u23’s euros and Vivianne Miedema has torn her ACL, I’ve seen her stuggle, cry and achieve big milestones along the way. But she wasn’t going to make the world cup and everyone knew it.

The Netherlands needed another top scorer, they needed y/n. And that’s exactly what her coach, Andries Jonker told her.

A few days later the list of names that would go to the world cup was posted on the Oranje Leeuwinnen socials.

(pretend that you’re Vivianne Miedema)

y/n_y/ln, OranjeLeeuwinnen, AWF

liked by victoriapelova and 12.598 others

y/n y/l/n has been called up for her national team and will attend the world cup.

comments

leahwilliamsonn congrats, you deserve it!! ❤️

viviannemiedema trots op je 🥰

victoriapelova 😍😍

esmeebrugtsfan1 can’t wait to see her play

y/nballer69 so well deserved 🪄⚽️

I know a few of the girls. Well okay, I know all of them but did they know me?

I’ve played with Vicky in England, both of us playing for Arsenal and befriending almost immediately. Viv was the first one to welcome and introduce me to the whole Arsenal squad. Her and Beth took me in, just like they did with Vic and that’s just how I found myself playing fifa with Vic till morning. It was safe to say that I liked her company.

I knew a few of the other dutch girls playing in England, chatting with them when they played against us. Viv and Vic told me stories about camp life and the Olympics, about how vic won almost every table tennis game and was annoyingly good in chess, about Daan and her pranks and about Esmee Brugts, the annoyingly good footballer.

I’ve watched her, making the goal that got us to the world cup. I’ve watched her play for PSV back in The Netherlands. The goals she made, the way she just plays past everyone like it’s nothing, god it’s annoying. How could you be that good and so humble. And those stupid smiles she gives the camera after she scores, it’s so annoyingly cute.

So yeah, I had asked Vic and Viv about Esmee and they somehow got suspicious of how much I wanted to know about her. “Oh, ik ben gewoon geïnteresseerd. Ik moet iedereen toch een beetje kennen voordat we twee maanden in Australië zitten” (Oh, i’m just interested. I have to know everyone a bit before we go to Australia for two months) Viv and Vic just looked at each other and broke out into laughter.

Vic and I went to Zeist, to camp. It wasn’t that long of a flight but it felt like hours. Vic could feel the nervousness radiate off of me and put her hand on my leg that was tapping away annoyingly. “Oh mijn god y/n! Wat is er aan de hand man?” (Oh my god y/n! What’s going on mate?) Vic asked me. I just waved away the question and stared out of the window since I kind of sabotaged Vic to get the window seat.

We were greeted by someone from the staff that drove us to our camp. And just like every national teams socials does, the players got photographed at their arrival.

(pretend that you’re Jill Roord)

OranjeLeeuwinnen

liked by viviannemiedema and 9.484 others

one arrival you’ve all been waiting for 🥁

comments

lynnwilms_ the cold never bothered me anyway 🎶❄️

brugtsfan33 can’t wait to see the y/l/n and brugts linkup

↳ y/l/nballer5 me neither, this world cup’s gonna be amazing

Walking into the big hall, Vic behind me, I was starstruck. Everyone was already there, Roord, Van de Donk, Martens and even Brugts.

Vic pushed me and whispered in my ear “Kom op, je hebt nog twee maanden de tijd om naar dr te staren” (Come on, you have the next two months to stare at her) I started to get red and looked around checking if anyone heard us. Seeing this, Vic just started to laugh even harder. I pushed her and walked over to Kerstin who I knew from matches against City.

Kerstin was kind enough to introduce me to everyone. Shanice who played at Liverpool came launching at me, ready to pick me up. “Klein monster, je bent er!” (Little monster, you’re here!) she yelled and picked me up while hugging me tightly. I congratulated her with the announcement of her girlfriend’s pregnancy and went on to greet everyone.

And to my surprise, there’s still was someone I hadn’t met yet. Esmee Brugts. Before I could even walk towards her Andries started to speak.

He thanked everyone for coming, got into his very serious speech and ended with who would room with who. “… Vic en Merel, Jill en Shanice en last but not least y/n en Esmee” (… Vic and Merel, Jill and Shanice and last but not least, y/n and Esmee).

I was hoping to be roomed with Vic, having spend the last few months with her in Viv and Beth’s house. That was too much to ask apparently, but Esmee, now the universe is just trying to get back at me.

I awkwardly looked up in search for Esmee. When i found her she was staring at me already. She gave me one of those dumb smiles she gives the cameras. I gave her a tight smile back before i turned to Vic who was sitting next to me. “Dit lijkt wel een realityshow, veel succes sukkeltje” (This is almost a realityshow, good luck loser) and with that she walked away to grab her suitcase and went settle in with her roomie.

When i saw Esmee talking to Lieke i saw my chance and went to our room. It was like all the other rooms i’ve stayed in for national duty but definitely bigger. I wanted to take a look at the bathroom which was way bigger than I expected. The rainshower being the best part of it all.

Walking back into the bedroom Esmee was already getting settled on the bed by the door.

“Hi” she said sheepishly. “Hey” i smiled back, god why was i already getting red in the face. “Ik heb fifa meegenomen, wil je spelen?” (I brought fifa with me, do you wanna play?) she asked me opening her backpack to get something out. “Ja, alleen als je tegen je verlies kan. Ik ben fifa kampioen in Engeland” (Yes, only if you’re not a sore loser. I’m the fifa champion in England) I told her. She laughed at me and got the game out.

A few games of fifa and a whole lot of laughing further and it was time for dinner already. Jackie was the one knocking at our door and yelling for us to come.

Esmee had won multiple times after i won the first round but i’ll never admit that to anyone. “Rematch after dinner.” I told her and she just nodded and went to sit at the table with Daphne, Jackie, Kerstin, Daan and Damaris. I sat between Vic and Jill. Vic gave me one of her smug smiles and i just rolled my eyes at her.

“Dus y/n, hoe vind je het tot nu toe?” (So y/n, how do you like it so far?) Merel asks me. “Het is goed, ik ben blij met m’n nieuwe roomie, gelukkig niet zo’n slechte verliezer als jij” (It’s good, i’m happy with my new roomie, luckily not such a sore loser like you). Merel huffed “Ja tuurlijk alsof jij hebt gewonnen, ik check dat later nog wel” (Yeah sure as if you’ve won, i’ll check that later)

esmeebrugts

When iopened instagram this wasn’t what i expected. I ran up to my room and saw Esmee watching some Netflix show on her bed. When she saw my face she bursted out laughing. “Als blikken konden doden..” (If looks could kill..) she said. I walked straight to her bed, jumped on her and started tickling her. “Dat is wat je krijgt, ik moet mn fifa imago hoog houden!” (That’s what you get, i got to keep my fifa image high!) I yelled. “Oke oke! Ik zal het nooit meer doen pinky zweer!” (Okay Okay! I will never do it again pinky promise!) she told me with that stupid smile of her. I stopped and looked down at her, how is she even this pretty like come on.. Esmee looked me in the eyes, at my lips and then away. I got nervous and backed up.

“Uhh ja d-dus ik ga nu dus ik ga even iets uhh ja ik ga gewoon oke..” (Uhh yeah s- so im gonna get like some uhh yeah i’m just gonna go okay..) I mumbled and ran away bumping into Daan who was walking to her room.

Before we knew it we were off to Sydney, Australia. Vic forced me out of my window seat but slept before the plane was off the ground, what a waste of that window seat.. This was gonna be the most boring and long 24 hours of my life.

I was so tired when we landed, only getting a few hours of sleep. We were welcomed by a few staff members from fifa and went into the coach who would bring us to our basecamp.

I chose the best window seat i could find and expected a certain Arsenal player to sit next to me but Esmee beat her to it.

We talked about what we wanted to do in Australia, our opponents and family. When Esmee asked me about life in the wsl i was already fast asleep, my head resting on her shoulder.

Esmee looked down at y/n and started smiling. Vic saw the interaction and tapped Daan on her shoulder. They gave each other knowing looks and started giggling away. Esmee looked up and saw the duo staring at her, she went red at the idea of being caught staring at y/n. She turned her head quickly and stared out of the window, falling asleep not long after.

When i woke up i heard giggling and saw Vicky and Daan looking at Daans phone. I chose to ignore it and went on to look at my instagram feed.

daniellevddonk

“Danielle van de Donk, Victoria Pelova. Het maakt me niet uit hoe klein jullie zijn ik maak je dood” (Daniëlle van de Donk, Victoria Pelova. I don’t care how small you are i’ll kill you) I yelled maybe a little too hard because Esmee woke up. “Hey wat is er aan de hand?” (Hey what’s going on) she asked me, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. I showed her Daan’s story and she just shrugged “Awh zo erg is dat toch niet, je ziet er schattig uit” (Awh it’s not that bad, you look cute). I don’t know what came over me but i just started to blush and looked away making Vic and Daan laugh even harder.

The rest of the camp went smoother than i thought. I was roomed with Esmee and we did almost everything together. We played fifa, boardgames, sat at the same table and if it wasn’t that we were out exploring together. Most of the time we just got lost but that’s when google maps comes in handy.

We ended first in our group. Esmee making those two beautiful goals against Vietnam and I made my debut and debut goal.

When Andries announced that i was starting against Vietnam i was over the moon. The game started good with Lieke making the first goal in the 8th minute and Katja the second in the 11th. Esmee saw her chance and took a shot. Everyone knew it was in when the ball went off her foot. I was the first one to jump on her to celebrate, hugging her tightly. “Es! Es, je hebt het gedaan!” (Es! Es, you did it!) I yelled

My goal was much less spectacular. Jill hit the post and the ball landed at my feet, I tapped it in through the legs of the keeper and to the back of the net. I couldn’t even do a celebration because everyone was already on me. It’s not like celebrations are a nedwnt thing anyway.

When Esmee scored her second goal i was on the bench but that didn’t stop me from celebrating just as hard.

The game ended and i ran straight to Esmee, congratulating her on those two rockets.

(pretend that you’re Lieke Martens)

y/n_y/l/n

liked by esmeebrugts and 8.975 others

honoured to have made my World Cup debut and thankfull for every one of you ❤️ ps. Esmee, i love your right foot 🪄

comments

jackie_groenen_14 😍😍

viviannemiedema zo enorm trots op jou ❤️

esmeebrugts only my right foot? 🙄

esmeefan56 has anyone else seen esmee’s comment 😭

y/nbrugts1 their hug was so wholesome

As the days went by Es and i only got closer, everyone started to notice it, even the fans.

OranjeLeeuwinnen

liked by y/n_y/l/n and 23.893 others

exploring Sydney with the team 🗺️

comments

y/l/nfanxx isn’t that y/n and esmee??

↳ brugtsfan1 i think so, they’re so cute

↳ woso23 i ship them so hard 🫶

After our win against South Africa we had to play against Spain in the quarterfinals. This was our most difficult game and everyone knew it. But we all knew that if we were gonna win the World Cup, we should be able to beat every team.

It was the night before the game and surprise surprise, i couldn’t sleep. I don’t even know why, there was no chance that i would even play so who am i so nervous for?

after going from side to side i couldn’t take it anymore and just got out of bed and went on a walk. I walked to the pitch and started shooting and taking corners. I ran a few laps around the pitch and sat down. Australia is actually unreal. The weather is perfect and the sky is so clear you can even see stars (or planes that look like stars but whatever).

I heard footsteps walking towards me and groaned. “Hey waarom lig je niet in bed?” (Hey why are you not in bed?) Esmee asked as she sat next to me. “Ik kan niet slapen en jij?” (I can’t sleep and you?). Me neither she told me. This time around the silence wasn’t as awkward, it felt kinda nice to be honest.

Esmee wrapped her arms around me and layed my head on her shoulder. I don’t think i actually hate that stupid smile of hers or anything about her really. I quite love everything about her, especially her stupid smile.

“Y/n, ze hebben me bij Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City en een paar uhh.. andere clubs een contract aangeboden” (Y/n, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and uhh a few.. other clubs have have offered me a contract) she told me. “Es dat is geweldig, dan spelen we samen in de wsl” (Es that’s amazing, we’ll play in the wsl together) I cried. She gave me a nod and a hum.

Esmee turned her head and i looked up at her. “Ik hou meer van je dan alleen je rechter voet weet je” (I love you more than just your right foot you know) i told her looking down at my lap. She just chuckled and took my face into her hand. “Je hebt geluk dat ik ook van fifa verliezers hou” (you’re lucky i love fifa losers too), i fake angry pushed her away and she let out a laugh. “En jij hebt geluk dat ik je mag” (And you’re lucky that i like you) i told her. She looked at my eyes and then at my lips. I leaned forward and kissed her. Luckily she kissed me back.

We walked back to our room and fell asleep in her bed, her legs entwined with mine and my head in the crook of her neck.

When i woke up Es was already awake, getting ready in the bathroom. I walked up to her brushing her teeth and kissed her on cheek “good morning” I told her “Ik kan niet wachten tot je straks ook in Engeland speelt en we elke dag zo wakker kunnen worden” (Can’t wait until you’ll play in England too and we’ll wake up like this every morning) She gave me a lopsided smile and i started to get ready too.

I started on the bench and Esmee was starting. The game was tight, Spain scored in the 81th minute through a penalty. In extra time we scored. We still had a chance. And just like that, our dream was crushed. Spain scored in the 111th minute and we were out.

Esmee sank to the floor and covered her face with her hands. The spanish players were celebrating while our dream was gone.

I walked to Esmee and sat infront of her. “Es, je hebt gedaan wat je kon.” (Es, you did what you could) I told her and gave her a hug.

“Y/n ik ga naar Barça” (Y/n i’m going to Barça) she told me.

How stupid could i be, falling in love with someone i knew for a few months. How fucking stupid could i be, expecting her to come to England for me.

Just when i thought today couldn’t get worse... The tears rolled down my cheeks again and i walked away towards the tunnel, Vic screaming my name but i just ignored her.

A/N this is my first fic, english is not my first language so i’m sorry if i made mistakes!! might make a part 2?!

[don-daygamerz]

Ben Barnes x reader who's in her 20s and Ben likes her one day he couldn't control himself and says it like "I know I'm older but I still love you" idk something like this?!?

Hi sorry for the delay, I'm on break from taking requests but I'm not going to abandon your request. So here's a taste of the dynamic between Ben and (Name) as I figure out what to put together. Just some headcanons whilst I work on your story.

- (Name) being a Young millennial/Millennial Z.

- I can imagine reader being an Actress and a singer herself rising through the ranks due to her unique talent.

- Ben and (Name) first met through mutual friends.

- In fact, they met at the Troubadour where Ben was actually performing that night.

- (Name) was also invited to perform as well.

- My girl did Rock music. And did she have some serious pipes.

- Ben could not look away from her performance. He thought she looked so ethereal but at the same time so enticing under the blue and dim lighting of the stage.

- The way she strummed her guitar to impossible notes made her look like a Metal Goddess.

- When the show was over Ben had the chance to introduce himself through a friend of his who conveniently knew her as well.

- He felt shy to approach such an intimidating but captivating young woman.

- He found her to be very attractive and quite adorable actually. With her highlighted hair, smokey eyeshadow with glitter, dressed in a black sheer lace top with a dark bra underneath and a pair of dark jeans and laced doc marten boots.

- Immediately fast friends when they started exchanging dirty jokes (Ben can be a hound dog for sure).

- Ben enjoys to cook and share with his friends and after getting to know (Name), he's insistent that she joins him for dinner (with some friends, of course...it wasn't a date...not yet).

- When she first came to dinner she brought over some special dessert from her culture (Whatever ethnic background she is; I'd imagine it being Flan/Basbousa/Avocado ice cream/Ube cake...etc. could be any)

- Ben loved her dessert. Made it official that she introduces more ethnic desserts to his colonizer palate.

- Ben saw something unique in (Name): she was so funny, eccentric, talented, free spirited, and crazy but in a good way.

- It wasn't long before they'd coincidentally worked together staring in the Marvel series 'The Punisher'.

- I'd imagine (Name)'s character being the sister to Frank Castle and there is some sort of chemistry between her and Billy Russo.

- (Name) doesn't know this but Ben has actually watched her films and series.

- After meeting her for the first time, he grew curious about her work and explored her films and music, and immediately became enamored by her method of acting and her lyrics.

- Her first time to explore London, Ben is there as well and offers to show her around.

- When he took her to the Harry Potter store (Name) couldn't help but mention how he would've been perfect for a Harry Potter film:

"Ha ha not you too."

"Yes, me too. I've seen your old pictures and you would've been the perfect Sirius Black. Ugh what a wasted opportunity but too late, you're...oooold." She'd exaggeratingly say the last bit in a grim voice.

"I am not old you just happened to be born really late."

"That's what an old person would say."

- His contact name on her phone would be 'Shadow Daddy' (She just had to since his character, General Kirigan, was trending like crazy)

- It was a slow start between the two. Starting off as friends but then things between the two became serious.

-Serious how?

Having dinner together with just each other.

Visiting each other's designated trailers.

Going to London's famous bookstores and exploring great literature.

Ben and (Name) would even do a music sesh or duet some songs together.

She even got to meet his family.

He met her family as well.

- I can imagine (Name) being well versed in technology.

- Young Millennial Zs are just good to adapting to new technologies and constructing their own system units. So it's only natural that she's good at it as well.

- She's also a pro at video games. Like really good that she makes misogynistic, fascist pigs cry like little bitches.

- Like the chick has her own customized mug/tumbler that reads 'FASCIST TEARS'.

- A total badass in Call of Duty (Warzone), Overwatch, Dead by Daylight, Dying Light, Friday the 13th, League of Legends, etc. Don't mess with her.

- Ben one time heard her lay down some serious trash talk and come backs at a bunch of sexist, misogynistic 'men'. (He had spare keys to her place and found her preoccupied in her gaming room)

"Woah! Are you a gamer girl?! Send me some titty pics, bitch"

"You can't handle my melons, bitch. If you're looking for some titty action go back to sucking your mama's. Annoying ass brat."

"This game ain't for girrrllls! Go back to the kitchen and make me a fucking sandwich!"

*Soon after he said that (Name) would constantly headshot his lame ass character barely even touching her or landing a shot at her*

"What the fuck?!Nah Nah, fucking bitch is cheating!"

"Ha ha ha! You fucking suck man. I don't think this game is for you so how 'bout you go to the kitchen and make my fucking sandwich."

- Oh yeah, (Name) is a major savage when ripping into those assholes.

- She was surprised Ben found her like that and felt embarrassed. She was worried he would find it appalling with spoke... Ben was such a composed fella and her... she was basically the devil incarnate ready to erupt and drink the blood of her enemies.

- But her worries went away when Ben chuckled at the scene he had witnessed and asked if she was okay (in a nice way) She'd later explained about how she was being insulted online and it made Ben worried.

- She told him not to worry and that she handled well by kicking their ass.

- Ben's not a gamer (I think) but he was really impressed with how she put down those sexist assholes.

- He found it kind of hot.

"Well that was an...interesting reaction, ha ha ha!"

"Stop laughing! I feel so embarassed that you had to see me that way!"

"I have to admit I found it quite cute how you swore at the screen. Ha ha, you looked like an angry chihuahua. Ha ha ha!"

"Ha Ha very funny"

"Alright, I'm just teasing you. I just hope you won't get into trouble"

"Nonsense. Besides...they only try and get my account reported for 'cheating'. It's not my fault they deliberately suck at playing."

"You are really good... It almost feels unfair."

"You say that because you've never beaten me at Mario Kart to this day."

"I've been practicing whilst I was away filming. So I'd like to think now I'm close to beating you."

"Ooh ho ho. Big talk eh. I'd like to see you try. Prepare to lose...again!"

- The two also enjoyed teasing one another that it gave everyone the impression that they were couple. Heck even their parents thought there was something more between the two.

- Ben laughed it off when his parents told him and he denied saying that he was too old for her. But they thought differently.

- (Name)'s mom was rooting for them (aww bless her) and her dad well...He didn't mind Ben but that was his sweet baby girl. To him, Ben was corrupting his sweet, innocent, little 'angel' baby (Ahahaha he can't see it clearly that his daughter is basically the devil who thrives on Cyberbullying fascist gamers... Yeaahh, an 'angel' for sure but there's nothing wrong with putting down toxic gamers. The girl is basically considered a saint in the gamer girl community)

- Sure there was a bit of a large age gap between the two but his parents had no qualms against whom he dated as long they treated him well. And they believed (Name) was the right fit for him.

- Ben would also invite her to one of his recording sessions and let her listen to him sing and play his piano.

- She would also invite to him to her recording studio to witness her play and come up with new songs.

- She'd be in awe of his talent and it would not go unnoticed by Ben which just bolstered his ego and made him flustered at the same time.

"Enjoy the show?"

"You were amazing! I mean... You all were amazing." She included the rest of the musicians who played by his side.

"Thanks, I'm happy to hear that."

"I heard that you're putting a lot of focus into your music since you didn't have the time to do so?"

"Yeah. I've put it off for a while since I wasn't so sure at the time but..."

"You're doing great and I'm not just saying that as a friend. It may seem late but you've put in a lot of work and creativity into it. I'd say all these years you just had some pent up creativity storming through that head of yours."

"Thanks that means a lot. I appreciate it."

"Happy to help. Ooh now that you're a rising musician does that mean I can be one of your groupies?!"

"Ha ha ha you can be so ridiculous!"

"That's what you love about me."

"You have no idea."

- Ben doesn't understand it yet but he always looked forward to (Name)'s words of encouragement and unwavering support as he trekked through the world of music.

- Despite the age difference the two shared their worlds and experience with one another and it brought them closer and closer.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[ineffabildaddy]

on-repeat tag game

🎶when you get this, put 5 songs you actually listen to, then publish. Send this ask to 10 of your followers (positivity is cool) 🎶

not doing the ask thing bc that's long sorry, just tagging u all here insteaddd

thank u for tagging me @celestialcrowley and @brainwormcity!!! i love seeing everyone's music tastes<3

i'm just gonna mention the first 5 songs on my on repeat playlist!!!

if you're too shy (let me know) - the 1975

how it should be (sha sha) - ben kweller

this must be the place (naive melody) - talking heads (stop making sense version)

tribulations - lcd soundsystem

acid tooth - billie marten

no pressure tags: @sad-chaos-goblin @raining-stars-somewhere-else @omens-for-ophelia @crowleyslvt @voluptatiscausa @foolishlovers @crowleys-bentley-and-plants @sabotage-on-mercury @fearandhatred @ironriots

[azeywashere]

First post ey!

So it has been running around in my head for a while...

I just realized we never ever learned why Hobie cared about the Miles that much. You know, blocking his way on the way of meeting with Miguel, giving him little tips, constantly trying to keep him away from that talk about how Miles' father suppose to die for the canon timeline. I mean, it kinda happens to all of the Spiders right? Why specifically care about Miles' dad. Plus he is a cop and I can see Hobie fidgeting with his ACAB pin at the corner while the talk happens.

And when I look at his blue shoe laces, (which they represent the owner of the laces had killed a cop. for more information I highly recommend searching Doc Martens lace code. Yes guys, it's still a thing among the punks. Not as serious as before but still a thing) I kinda only can imagine Hobart Brown killed Jefferson Davis in his own universe.

So it may be as some kind of accident, or it may be just classic 'good guy get killed in the arms of the spider' scene. But you know, Spider-punk is not our ordinary the Friendly Neighbourhood Spider™. His life style is different, fight style is different, and since the majority of spider's timeline starts with bad choices (like hurting the innocent in the name of revenge of Uncle Ben etc.) maybe Hobie's bad choice was slightly different. Maybe his bad choice was killing the cop.

And I can only imagine the young, angry Spider-punk who thinks cops are only on his way and only way to get rid of them is treating them like villains. And who can blame him, really

[auradons-trash-heap]

Beast!Ben gets a detailed character drawing bc while god may not choose favorites I sure do

My color scheme for AU Ben is neutrals; primarily army-green, grays, and denim blues. Bc when you’re not trying to draw any additional attention to yourself bold Blue and Yellow just isn’t the way to go.

Primary inspiration for this one comes from Balmain’s motorcycle jeans and Philipp Plein Fall 2015, with the shoes being inspired by New Rocks & the Rick Owens Doc Martens collab

[tomorrowillbeyou]

I forgot I could trick or treat on people's blogs...trick or treat ryan ilyyyyy

TREAT BEN !!! LOVE ^_^

pine marten 4 u!!!!

[scratchandplaster]

FEBUWHUMP DAY 15 - "Who did this to you?"

CW: love bombing, conditioned Whumpee, planned recapture

Previous | [Masterlist] | Next

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

As Bens first day home slowly came to an end, so did his usual limitless energy. After cleaning up, he and Shawn spend the rest of residual sunlight squabbling in the grass. Leftover specks of glitter from his hair were caught in the blades, freeing him of his thoughtless decisions.  

It was a struggle to get Ben washed and primed for his bedtime, even as Shepard finally got his son to his shared tent, he didn't want this day to stop.  

A single kiss on the forehead and his hand firmly against the small of his neck, the priorly abandoned father felt unsure about sending him off. Beneath soft words and gentle touches, a lingering state of trance shoved itself to the forefront of Ben's mind. Through the gentle haze, his father's words were more command than plea: "Stay with us."

A faithful nod convinced Shepard to finally let his son go for the night.

"Sleep well, starshine."

"Good night, Dad!"

The tent entrance closed behind him, Shawn and the triplets. Suddenly, it was Ben who felt abandoned. Tomorrow, they would all be united again, he had to be patient.

His sleeping space was just as tidy as he had left it, two square meters of mat per child, with his nightshirt and blanket properly folded atop. Brushing any crumbs and dust away, he finally laid down in the dark.

One triplet, impossible to say who, shyly crawled over to Ben and placed their head on his chest: "I watched Trunks while you were gone."

The well-loved abomination made from old corduroy and too many eyeballs stared at him: "Thank you, kiddo. I bet she had a lot of fun with you."

Their siblings, along with Shawn, gathered around Ben in a cozy circle. An arm around his neck here, a leg on his stomach there: one by one snuggled up to him. Safe and loved, surrounded by the people he missed so much, he closed his eyes for a final time today.

Everything was alright, Ben had found his way back home.

--------

Lukas was surely on the alert by now, another reason to quickly figure out his location. Shepard achieved so much in a single day: all the success still left him unsatisfied.

Silently, Otis trudged behind him and took a pensive look back at the camp: "Sometimes you scare me, Shepard."

"Only sometimes?" came the smug answer, "I'm beginning to slack off, it seems."

"He's too old for the children's tent." 

"I noticed. But you got your nanny back, so quit whining until I sort it out."

With a quiet growl, Otis let himself rest on a camp chair, overseeing the whole pasture. Guard duty was no exciting business. Until he was ready to take turns, it was nothing but watching and waiting out here. 

One way or another, Shepard wouldn't sleep tonight. 

"Want to fetch the other one too?"

"Without question."

"Mhh," was all Otis said in return. Shepard knew how he thought of Luke, but as long as he didn't intend to put his boys on the fields, Otis should keep his little opinions to himself. He wasn't in the mood to discuss parenting with his right hand's right hand.

Shepard fought himself through the grass up to a tiny log cabin at the settlement's entry. The surrounding fence was new, another change he surely had to break to Reuben gently. Martens were a good explanation, maybe honey badgers if he felt bold with his flowery hyperbole. 

Inside the cabin that served as his office, front desk, and roost in one, somebody was waiting impatiently. The solar-powered desk lamp was already switched on, illuminating a more than pissed-off face on Shepard's cot. 

Sam didn't look too happy altogether: "I've been sitting here…for HOURS!"

"I offered you to join us for dinner earlier." Would've certainly stuck out like a sore thumb, he mused.

"I'm good." They remained determined but visibly nervous underneath, "Fulfill your part of the deal."

"I'm truly thankful for your help. But I'm going to return the favor tomorrow, Sam. This day wrung me out."

"Hell no, I didn't make myself complicit in a kidnapping just to be pushed aside. We're doing this right now!" Restless fingers hammered on his desk.

„Good grief. Calm down, no need to be upset,“ Shepard demanded, looking at the angry red spots on their neck matching their hair. He was fully expecting them to huff and puff every tent away. "Take a deep breath in."

Their face said "Don't tell me what to do, old man!", yet their body followed nevertheless.

"And out." A bit of hostility left with the exhalation. Tolerable, for starters.

"You helped me to locate my missing son and get him home after one too many drinks. Does that sound like a kidnapping to you?"

"He didn't look overjoyed to me." Unsuccessful in finding any documents that could prove any degree of kinship, Sam was even less proud of yesterday's stunt. They scoffed wordlessly.

"Why don't you ask him in the morning? I requested Birdie to make us waffles for breakfast."

"Fine. We're still doing the interview now, anyway!"

"Yes, we are. But please don't scream at me, Sam." With a patient smile, Shepard took a seat in his swivel chair. Now and then, bad press was precisely what it claimed to be and everyone already had enough trouble for the day, so a few more white lies seemed necessary. 

"Okay, alright." With a final huff, Sam fished out a notepad and started recording on their phone. Double the precautions; so much distrust seemed unhealthy.

Half an hour, tops, he couldn't afford to waste any more time on the requests of his decoy.

"I hope your friends from the World Wide Web won't be disappointed with my old tales," he mumbled and rubbed his eyes, "remind me of the main subject again, please."

Modern cult structures.

"Alternative lifestyles," Sam claimed instead.

The last thing they needed was an angry guru inciting the masses. At worse, the calculated twenty-minute drive to their motel would get enough distance between them to cool off a bad temper; better to stay bedfellows with redneck mites than sleeping in a tent nobody can hear them scream in. Stuck at the end of the world, they watched Shepard interlace his fingers expectantly.

"Okey-dokey. Shoot!"

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

Thanks for reading 🤍 [Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist]

@febuwhump

[daydreamtofiction]

Playlist #3 // Thou Shalt Not Covet

Listen Here | Read Here

1: Providence

GOLDWING - Billie Eilish

My Boy Builds Coffins - Florence + The Machine

2: Temptation

Tongues - Marika Hackman

Rivers In Your Mouth - Ben Howard

3: Faith

Lost Cause - Billie Eilish

Gina’s World - Marika Hackman

Fresh Laundry - Allie X

4: Sacrilege

Mara - Genevieve Stokes

Toothpaste Kisses - The Maccabees

notre dame - Paris Paloma

5: Sacrifice

Middle of the Bed - Lucy Rose

Seven Devils - Florence + The Machine

Oxytocin - Billie Eilish

6 & 7: Credence/Divinity

Why Does it Always Rain on Me? - Travis

soleil soleil - Pomme

Big God - Florence + The Machine

Undone, Undress - Marika Hackman

Churchyard - AURORA

Burn it Down - Daughter

Sun Bleached Flies - Ethel Cain

8: Penance

mary magdalene - FKA twigs

9: Sin

Sweat - ALASKALASKA

Family Tree - Ethel Cain

Cherry - Lana Del Rey

10: Baptism

new skin - VERITÉ

Claude's Girl - Marika Hackman

No Kind Words - The Maccabees

11: Communion

Various Storms & Saints - Florence + The Machine

Home - Daughter

Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema Club

Heaven is Here - Florence + The Machine

12: Mercy

Habits - Genevieve Stokes

Tonight I Feel Like Kafka - Jealous of the Birds

You Keep Me Crawling - AURORA

13: Heaven

Bedroom Hymns - Florence & the Machine

Spiracle - Flower Face

14: Rebirth

Simple As This - Jake Bugg

Time Comes In Roses - Bess Atwell

Corpses - Saint Sister

No Face - Haley Heynderickx

15: Blessed

Say Yes To Heaven - Lana Del Rey

Unpunishable - Ethel Cain

You Come Down - Marika Hackman

16: Sanctuary

Did You See the Words - Animal Collective

She's Leaving Home - The Beatles

Sweet Thing - Van Morrison

A Car Crash For Two - Gia Ford

Lilies - Ethel Cain, Mercy Necromancy

17. Hell

Drown - Marika Hackman

Ocean - Alice Phoebe Lou

Panic Attack - Liza Anne

Family Tree (Intro) - Ethel Cain

Some things Cosmic - Angel Olsen

18. Ghost

Mice - Billie Marten

It Happened Quiet - AURORA

The End of Love - Florence + The Machine

Interlude: Body

Show You a Body - Haley Heyndrickx

19. Spirit

Nothing Ever Happens - Del Amitri

Seven Names (Errai) - TesseracT

Soft Currents - Alexandra Savior

Je te laisserai des mots - Patrick Watson

Make Up Your Mind - Florence + The Machine

End Of The Affair - Ben Howard

20. Resurrection

Blackbird - The Beatles

The Fold - Wickerbird

Seed of a Seed - Haley Heyndrickx

St. Jude - Florence + The Machine

Whispers in the Dark - Mumford & Sons

Epilogue

Towers - Bon Iver

Clementine - Megan Washington

Untitled God Song - Haley Heyndrickx

[fictional-malewife-tournament]

Here’s our line up guys. 👍

Here is the list right now, there is a lot so they’ll be seperated into 8 groups and then we will go through all of those 8 groups to get to the end.

group 1:

Rom vs Puss in boots 

Alex (stardew) vs Jim Kirk

Roulx Kaard vs Jin Zixuan

Caleb wittebane vs 2bdamned

David Kostyk vs Mirabel’s dad

Kanji tatsumi vs Papyrus

Bob vs weyoun

Donkey vs Duster

Gren vs Janus the silverdeath

Lloyd vs Hannibal lector

Todoroki vs Gajeel redfox

David (lilo) vs link (botw)

Sugawara vs Pixel-Mess

M!Robin vs Stanley pines

Ben Chang vs Quirrel

Saul Goodman vs Will graham

Group 2: 

Kiryu vs Hero

The medic vs Ron

Percy Jackson vs professor Layton 

Neelix vs Iggy frome

King Harrow vs Lucas (Runs factory five)

Yu Narakami vs Elliot (stardew)

Jakob vs Aoi kurashiki 

Sokka vs Moxie

Nightwing vs tatsu

Archer (emiya) vs Master splinter (2018)

Barius vs Forrest

Ryuuji vs Jay walker 

Sanji vs Garmadon

Quark vs Kaito

Fox mulder vs tenma tsukasa

Leon (Pokémon) vs Delbert Doppler

group 3:

Berdly vs Marten Reed

Kai (ninjago) vs James 

Usui vs Gobber

Charlie vs Steve Harrington

Alec lightwood vs kronk

Paper vs Dr octopus

Discord vs Dedue

Arven vs Harvey Dent

Hunter vs Christopher Pike

Narciso vs Kermit

Cletus Jones vs Gomez Addams

Tom vs The king

Klavier Gavin vs Greg Universe

Kamado Tanjiro vs Brock (unikitty)

Ashe vs Louis Moriarty

Sisko vs dale lee

Group 4: 

Trip vs Brady

Franky (one piece) vs Tom Wambsgans

Shinra vs Jaskier

Your father vs Banquo

Silver the hedgehog vs Troy Barnes

Archer vs Space Boyfriend

Donald Duck vs Mr clean

Ren vs Nandor the relentless

Cove Holden vs Magnus Burnside

Bail organa vs Hiccup

Riker vs Corpus

yoo joonghyuck vs Kazuki

Fan vs kunikida doppo

Lazlo cravensworth vs loid forger

Peter b Parker vs Ken

Ryunosuke Naruhodo vs venti

group 5:

Prince Fluff vs Sarek

Nagito vs Zagreus

Macbeth vs Lucas (mother 3)

Stede vs Anakin skywalker

Tack vs Felix Madrigal

Jason mendoza vs N (murder drones)

Ren (oxenfree) vs Soren

Saru vs Kaveh

Castiel vs Yarne

Ivor vs King furgus

Kuboyasu Aren vs James Wilson

Yeza Brenatto vs Kristoff

Makoto Naegi vs Stoick

Tomohisa Kaname vs hunk

Peeta vs Jadzia

Kim Gonja vs Henry clerval

Group 6: 

Ron delite vs wang pangzi

Sam (Sam and max) vs Emmett

Kazuha vs serizawa katsuya

Jayce talis vs Asmodeus (iruma-kun)

Kai satou vs Professor Saguaro

Steve cob vs Minato Namikaze 

Dean Winchester vs Chakotay

Eugene Fitzherbert vs Chat noir

Spitelout vs Spock

Matt hooper vs Childe 

Siegblut vs Worf 

Edric Blight vs Yanki

Control (from southern reach) vs Tuco Salamanca

Seteth vs Louis de pointe du lac

Maes hughes vs Kazuma Asogi

Dr Watson vs Thoma

Group 7: 

Tennisball vs Barry bluejeans 

Luigi vs Hatsuharu

Snotlout vs howl

Jay (ghosts) vs dj Octavio

Gregory house vs Elliot Spencer

The mad hatter vs Joe tazuna

Basil hallward vs Harvey (Stardew)

Ethan winters vs olruggio

Albedo vs pleakly 

The heavy vs Jake English

Bruce Wayne vs Shen wei 

Naven NukNuk vs Dante (mystreet)

Phillip vs bow

Anji Mito vs Fishlegs

Stanford vs Speedwagon

Bariel vs Jesse Pinkman

Group 8: 

Ralsei vs Goofy

Sam (stardew) vs Seymour (little shop of horrors)

Ethari vs Cecil

Fix it Felix vs Kaoru hakaze

Ignus scientia vs Lukas

Majima vs Hercules

Magolor vs Calcelmo

Fred vs Randy Hapukurk

Kurogiri vs The riddler

Declan lynch vs Philza

Jaune vs Sergeant Schultz

Reiji Sakamaki vs Q

Luo Binghe vs King of hearts

Thatcher Davis vs Jonathan buyers

[bophtelophti]

Furry AU for men's professional road cycling

Devised by me and @wintersoldierfell Insects: Michael Motthews Giulio Ciccada Juan Bee Lopez

Fish: Fincenzo Nibbly Herring Bargill Yves Lamprey Felix Greatwhitesharkner Cod Christian Eiking Dylan Tuna Olav Koi

Amphibians: Primož Frogleg Tad-Polgačar Tiesj Benewt

Reptiles: Richard Carapace Ben O'guana Robert Geskink

Birds: Jonas Flamingego Filippo Gannet Neilson Owlets Tom Peacock

Carnivoran mammals: Eddy Minkx Manx Catvendish Mathieu van der Polecat Romane Pardet Wolf van Aerf Mikel Panda Guillaume Marten Magnus "Hork!" Sealsen Valentin Pawret-Panther Antonio Tigeri Barkley Waggins Mathis Le Bear Lions de Puss

Ungulates: Ramco Ovinepoel David Kudu Yaksper Philipsen Nathan Van Hooydonckey Clip-clop LaHorse Amanuel GrevysZebra Giraffał Majka Michael Moocow Sepp Moose Primates: Louis Monkeys Clément Chimpoussin

Other mammals: Julian Elephantlippe Enric Mouse

...And they all race in the Critterium du Dolphiné, with commentary by Animal McCrossing and Nico Roach.

[unhingedlesbear]

In celebration of pride month, celebrating the gayest movie. The thing 1982. Celebrating it by making furry redraws of it. Wonderful.

Gonna list the species of each character in the furry au lmao:

MacReady - African civet

Childs - Pine marten

Windows - Raccoon

Nauls - Cacomistle

Gary - Springhare

Blair - Honey badger

Palmer - Rat

Clark - Capybara

Norris - Chinchilla

Bennings - Lemming

Fuchs - Mink

Copper - Beaver

[hauntedjpegcollection]

black hole

wc: 3490 au: college au ch: benny, maran

I told you so, sits very comfortably on Benny’s tongue, just as Maran’s heel sits on his knee. He has to chew the inside of his cheek to not say anything—no matter how justified it would be—fingers feeling fat as they peel open a large, square bandage.

He has to flick his hand to the side to get the plastic backing free. It flutters away and falls like a feather, discarded beside the other wrapper in his already very messy room. Maran fidgets, because Maran is always fidgeting in some way or another. His hands wind into Benny’s hair to keep himself steady, as he stands in front of the bed on one foot. Benny sits, focused on the easy task at hand, even though those fingers do get distracting.

He smooths the bandaid around Maran’s angry red ankle, fingers pressing at the edges to make sure it sticks. He knows from experience how sweat can make a bandage curl up and begin to peel away.

“There,” he concludes, hand wrapping around Maran’s bare calf. He glances up with raised brows.

“Oh, just say it, Ben. Know you want to.” Maran’s teeth indent his plush lower lip, creating a spot of white Benny feels compelled to suddenly kiss. He resists that urge, in favor of giving in to another potentially more sinister one.

“Well,” Benny grins as his hand pulls Maran’s leg closer. The boy stumbles forward, his hands roaming from hair to Benny’s shoulders. He glowers, but it’s an adorable and brattish expression, nothing serious. Pale, inked hands wander over Maran’s muscular leg. His body hair is coarse and short, making him delightfully fuzzy. It wouldn’t be the first time Benny’s caved and simply enjoyed rubbing his face against him.

“I did tell you to be careful.”

“Come off it,” Maran huffs, expression still petulantly cute. Benny kisses the top of a freckled knee, eyes big and triumphant. “Alright, yeah, I’ll stick to my converses today.”

—

After they’re dressed, Benny spares a glance at the cause of Maran’s bloody, blistered heels. Brand new white Doc Martens sit beside the front door to the apartment. There’s a bit of blood on the inside of one of them that Benny will sit down and clean out when they get home.

They’d been a present. One of those ‘just because’ presents. Just because Maran deserved gifts. Just because Benny was a sentimentalsap and he knew something about seeing Maran kicking around in big blocky boots would be so fucking adorable. Just because he loved Maran. Even if he didn’t say it out loud, he thought he could say it like this.

“You have to wear t-two pairs of socks,” Benny says as they cross the wintery parking lot of the shitty apartment complex. He wraps arms around Maran’s waist and swings him around and over a spot of black ice, his boyfriend squirming and barking a laugh as he does. “And keep the bandaids on wh-when you wear them next.” They cross a desolate street, no traffic this early in the morning. Benny can practically feel the headache forming, the caffeine dependency making him twitchy.

“And y-you need to walk with your weight on your heels more,” Benny continues, palm slipping into Maran’s. “Like a penguin.” Their hands tangle more together and Maran swings them back and forth. The wind is cutting and cold, but it’s not that bad out, considering it’s supposed to be winter. Snow lingers, dirty and slushy in the gutters and the trees are barren and dead. The world is sapped of color, grays and cool blues. Maran’s cheeks are bright red underneath the chill. Benny peppers them in kisses before they enter the dinner.

“Hey, Ben,” the girl at the counter calls out, weaving between cooks behind her. She holds up a full pot of coffee, dances toward people to refill mugs. “Maran!” She calls out happily, giving a wave that he enthusiastically returns. “Sit yourselves!”

So they do. They find a regular spot, a nice table that can only fit them, next to the window. It’s not necessarily scenic, especially with dreary beginning winter weather outside, but Benny feels comfortable next to windows. He doesn’t like feeling boxed in—and Maran likes it because the pastry display is directly on the other side of them, so he can begin planning what overly sugared monstrosity he’ll end up getting.

Their feet bump together under the table, Benny’s old, broken in combat boots and Maran’s scuffed up white converses.

“They’re kind of busy,” Maran comments, elbow to the table, chin to his palm. The red in his cheeks has faded mostly. It lingers on the bridge of his nose, on the tips of his ears. He fiddles with a sugar packet idly. Benny sits slumped with his hands in his jacket pockets, a sneeze building behind his nose.

“Whoa. Hi, Benny.”

The sneeze rips out of him, louder than he means it to, making his entire body rock forward. He’d barely been able to catch it in the crook of his elbow. More than a few turn to stare at him, but once Benny wrenches his face free from his arm, all he can look up at is Kel’s golden face.

They’re doing something new with their hair. Or, was it new? Benny can’t even remember the last time he’d seen them. Surely it’s been over a year—and even then, it’d been a passing accident at a party, where Kel had offered to get him a beer from the cooler they stood beside and Benny had told them he was trying to cut back. Kel had laughed, but Benny couldn’t remember if it was a condescending one, or if they’d just been awkward. Kel was awkward; they were a bit strange and eclectic and why the fuck were they working at Henry Street Diner, where Benny came to eat breakfast with Maran nearly three times a week?

Kel tucks a strand of their maybe new, long black hair behind an ear.

“Long time no see,” they say.

“Uh,” Benny replies.

“This is weird,” Maran comments, looking sweet in his own confused smile. He also looks apprehensive and Benny is reminded that Maran has psychic feelers attached to his entire fucking body; he can just absorb waves of emotion and sort them into categories and know what someone feels. Benny loved Maran for it, because it made it easier when he was struggling to even put a word to what he was feeling, but in that exact moment, it made him sort of nauseas.

“Uh,” Benny repeats, hands flattening on the diner table.

“So weird,” Kel laughs, pulling a notepad from the apron cinched at their trim waist. “Not every day your ex boyfriend sits in your section.”

Maran’s sneaker lands in Benny’s lap. It makes him grunt a bit, reach down to readjust so the flat heel is against his thigh instead of sitting on his aching knee. All the pink has drained out of Maran’s face now, and he stares at Kel.

“Could ask to switch with someone else,” Maran finally says and his smile is anything but friendly. Maybe to a stranger, it would be—Maran is the sort of pretty where every expression he makes seems somehow inviting. His cheeks are round and his jawline is cuttingly handsome and his eyes are big and full lashed. But he tilts his head, chin still cupped in his jaw and there is something resembling cold snow in his stare. Benny is only a little surprised.

They could both do better about jealousy. Benny could probably stop slapping drinks out of peoples hands as they try and give them to Maran as a come on—Maran could probably stop shoving himself literally in front of Benny when people came to approach him for flirty conversation (not that Benny minded that, because it usually planted Maran’s ass directly in his lap and he very much liked that ass). But Maran didn’t usually act so snippy so quickly.

“I’m not trading a two top for a family of six,” Kel replies, with a thumb over their shoulder to the rowdy group behind him. Sure enough a child is throwing pancakes onto the floor with reckless abandon and neither of the parents seem to care. Benny’s eyes switch from the child to Kel, and he realizes they have a name tag then. Benny slowly pushes the heels of his palms into his eyes.

Because he’s definitely talked about his first college relationship with Maran. Not with any details other than ‘well, they broke my fucking heart’, desperately moving on to another conversation instead. That was enough for Maran, who was, if nothing else, a very fierce defender of Benny’s heart.

“How h-have you been?” Benny finally asks, in a sort of pathetic attempt to make temporary peace. The tension doesn’t seem to have affected Kel at all, who uses their teeth to uncap their pen.

“Well, I have a second job now, so could be better. Could be worse!” Kel has the same spiky smile that had made Benny approach them; it was a dual sided snide and friendly, cocky and a little self conscious. Their brows knit together. “You’ve graduated by now, right? Is it Dr. Benson yet?”

Bennny’s stomach sinks and he’s surprised at the grief that fills him. At the cold feeling that wraps around his heart and squeezes and the angry wasps that swarm around inside his head at the realization that Kel thinks more time has passed than it has. Or truly can’t remember what year he’d been in when they’d started dating. He swallows and rubs a hand down his throat, but before he can answer, Maran does for him.

“Didn’t you guys date, like a year and a half ago?” He laughs. “You started your program around the same time. What, time flies when you’re broken up with?” The comments more overtly mean than Maran usually is. Benny’s hand sinks below the table and wraps around the man’s ankle, holding it. Maran really only has eyes for Kel, who blinks down at him. They look incredibly unsure, hazel stare flickering between the two men.

“This is my boyfriend, Maran,” Benny says.

“I like your jacket.” Kel points with his pen at Maran, who looks down at it and then smiles wider.

“It’s Ben’s, actually.”

There’s a beat of silence and then Benny clears his throat and points at Marissa, the girl behind the counter. She holds up a fresh pot of coffee, smiling and oblivious to the incredibly surreal and weird scenario that they’ve landed in.

“Coffee?”

“Jesus, true.” Kel slaps their notebook against the table and starts to turn. “You were the worst coffee addict I’ve ever dated.”

Maran looks positively stormy about it, his expression not to dissimilar to earlier, when Benny had been smoothing bandaids over his blistered heels. The heel of his converses is getting the top of Benny’s jean clad thigh wet, but he doesn’t mind. Having a bit of Maran to hold onto is nice. Strings of his blond hair fall around his face as he leans forward. Benny folds his arms on the diner table top.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” Maran replies, pouting.

“Want to split an entire pie?” Benny asks, pointing to the bakery display, where warm, fresh apple pie sits. Specialty of the diner, hand made sort of shit that Benny didn’t necessarily care for, but knew Maran went wild about. His boyfriend’s face splits into more of a smile then, especially since he damn well knows Benny is going to eat two bites and then leave the rest for Maran.

Which is exactly what ends up happening.

—

Maran is lacing his converses, furiously, for the second time that day. He’s muttering under his breath. He stumbles a bit and shoulders the wall for balance so he can get the second one on. A classic X-Files poster is crinkled by Maran’s hand on the wall. I WANT TO BELIEVE. It’s survived all the way from Benny’s pathetic high school days. Maran’s tongue sits between his teeth, pink and cute and bitten for concentration.

“Maran,” Benny says, sitting on his bed, back to the wall. Pillows prop him up against it. They’d both been there together, cuddling for lack of a better word. Only now Maran was yanking at the jacket he’d all but finally stolen, shoving arms through it. His cheeks are red again, and not from the cold this time. His teeth click together on another muttered sentence. “Maran.”

“What an asshole!” He explodes, a hand waving toward nothing in particular. He stomps his shoe on harder. “Who says that to someone?”

“I dunno. Black holes are cool.” It’s an attempt at a joke, but it only seems to make Maran angrier. His lips thin and his brows knot together and his eyes narrow. He keeps clenching and unclenching his hands—and Benny can understand the frustration. The anger, really. If the roles were reversed, he’s not entirely sure if Maran could stop him either.

“I’m going to go back to that diner and—”

“Kick their ass?”

“Throw them in the street!” Maran yells again, hands thrown in the air. He’s like this, in all conversations. Hands used to emphasize every point. But Benny doesn’t like when he’s so angry he starts tossing them around, when his chest is heaving for air because he’s so furious. Maran doesn’t get angry a lot, not like this anyway. It makes Benny feel guilty, but it also makes him feel…good. Justified, a little, even if that wasn’t the right reaction. And that only makes him feel guiltier.

“Mar, I w-was a bad boyfriend.”

“You probably weren’t. And—and even if you were—that’s no reason to compare someone to a black hole.”

“One of the c-coolest natural phenomenons in existence?”

“You’re a person!” Maran snaps, now gesturing toward him with those frantic hands. Then all at once, his shoulders sag visibly. His face crumples into something pained. Benny glances down at his lap, so he doesn’t have to see it.

Truthfully, Benny hadn’t been a good boyfriend to Kel. Sure, he’d not been bad. He’d not cheated or worse. He’d let Kel move in when they’d only known each other a few weeks. He’d been just as jealously possessive as he was with Maran, and Kel had liked it just as Maran secretly did. They’d gone on dates, most of them fun. They’d slept together in a variety of different positions so nothing ever got boring. Kel had never felt boring—but Benny had always felt static anyway.

He’d never actually let Kel close, is what he’d realized, in dating Maran. He’d never told Kel why he hated Halloween. He’d never admitted, like he had with Maran, that he was self conscious of his hair or his teeth. Kel had never stayed up until morning hours, helping him with index cards and rubbing Benny’s sore shoulders after hours of sitting at a desk. Kel had never asked why Benny didn’t ever mention family. Maybe they’d been sort of shitty to each other in different ways, dating in a way that was superficial and fun but never anything more.

Maybe Kel hadn’t been wrong that Benny had some black hole inside him that was impossible to fill. But…maybe Maran was right that they were a bit of an asshole to say it.

Benny holds up his hands, to indicate silently to Maran that he wanted to hold and be held. It was probably the only thing that would actually stop his boyfriend from storming out, going to the diner and making a scene. And Maran does stop, immediately and cross toward the bed. He crawls up and onto it, knees on either side of Benny’s thighs. His hands cup underneath a pale, stubbly jaw, thumbs brushing. He presses kiss after kiss to Benny’s forehead, so many that his cheeks start to go warm under the affection.

“You’ve got sneakers on my bed,” he mumbles.

“I thought you liked when I wore the sneakers in bed?” Maran says suggestively to Benny’s temple. It surprises him enough to bark out a bashful laugh. He loves being surprised. Maran’s lips move from his temple to his cheekbone, to his nose and then his lips. The kiss is planted firmly, more loving than it is sexual. Benny’s arms wind around Maran’s torso, jerk them closer.

“You are not a black hole,” Maran says.

“Mar—”

“I mean it, Ben.” His dark, pretty eyes are fierce and furious. He shakes Benny’s face, their foreheads touching. “You. Are. Not. A black hole.” They’re silent a moment, their breathing mingled and close. He tries to suppress the rising emotion in his chest; it threatens to prickle behind his eyes. He doesn’t want to remember how much that statement had originally hurt—how it had shaped the way he made friends for a long time after that. How he’d nearly fucked up knowing Xavier and Lark because of it. And he still, sometimes, kept both those men at a distance, because it was easier. Benny swallows, audibly and breathes out and tilts his head back until it touches the wall.

He opens his mouth and Maran leans in close again.

“Don’t argue with me,” he warns. The feeling in Benny’s chest dislodges. He huffs out a wet laugh and then another one, that’s real and warm. He slides his hands across Maran’s lower back.

“God, you’re hot,” Benny groans. “C-Can you say that again, but with your m-mouth on my mouth?”

“Ben,” Maran laughs. His name, a laugh. Benny loves that. Maran rocks a little in his lap.

“Oh yeah, just like that,” Benny continues, smiling nastily. “You wanna sixty-nine?”

“Ben!” The laughing dissolves as he’s wrenched to the side to lay on the bed, and Maran’s laughing is cut off by their mouths coming messily together.

—

Afterward, they’re both spent and laying lazily tangled together. It’s cold in the room, but everywhere their bodies touch is warm, warm, warm. Benny lays on top of Maran, head to the boys chest, ear to his sternum. The steady thump of his heart was hypnotizing; he’d listened to it go from racing to steady. Maran’s fingers card gently through his hair, making a shiver run up and down Benny’s spine occasionally. It almost felt better than the sex, being touched in this gentle, sweet way.

He could have fallen asleep. He was dozing as it was. Benny need only let his eyes fully close and he’d probably pass out, a sweaty mess on top of the other man. He knew from experience that even if it became uncomfortable, Maran would still just lay there. He’d let Benny sleep for however long he needed.

“What’s that one moon you like?” Maran asks. His voice is slightly rough, hoarse from the oral sex. It makes a tingling sensation mingle with the shivering. Benny is effectively spent, but the well of arousal for Maran seems so fucking endless sometimes. He sighs contently, moving to sit up just enough so they can look at each other.

The lights have been switched off, but Maran had put up string lights along the walls. Benny was fond of them now, especially because they made Maran glow softly.

“Titan,” he answers sleepily. Maran’s fingers brush a strand of floppy, pale hair from his face. Benny stifles a yawn straight into Maran’s chest and then raises his head again. “Saturn’s largest.”

Not technically a dwarf planet, but still bigger than any others classified as such. Benny liked Titan, because it was also the first moon he’d ever memorized, and he liked Saturn. The rings. He saw them from the sky once, when he was younger, and his obsession had grown. He doesn’t think Maran is asking for a lecture, though, so he doesn’t continue. He just tucks his face to Maran’s side, nose brusquely close to the mans underarm, where the smell of him is enough to make Benny insane.

“Okay,” Maran says. His fingers draw a path from the nape of Benny’s neck, over his tattooed shoulders. “That’s you, then, alright? To me.”

Benny’s jawline twitches, his teeth grinding together. He tries to swallow down the huffing sound he makes, but it doesn’t work. Instead it comes out a bit strangled and he rolls until he’s on his side, facing away. Maran doesn’t seem to mind—this is a familiar and well loved position. He wraps arms around Benny’s waist, tugging him until his back is to Maran’s chest. A leg slides between his. Benny’s breath catches a few times.

“It’s a cool moon,” Benny says lamely, his throat a little constricted.

“You’re a very cool boyfriend,” Maran replies and it doesn’t sound lame coming from him. It makes Benny snort. It makes him feel so ridiculously loved. And he is.