#But besides from watching the anime it's impossible to get your hands on the extra content (manga‚ novels‚ dramas‚ stage plays‚ fanbooks)

[kyouka-supremacy]

( •_• )

[pixelchills]

I have some thoughts that aren’t really deserving of their own ask but I thought, hey, it’d be nice to ask anyway and they can pick and choose which ones to answer, why not send them in one big ask? So here they are! Also numbered for your convenience.

In one of the other asks you said wealthy people sometimes have animutants as pets-What are they like? Like designer versions of normal animals, or something more creative?

Do Sunrise and Solar’s petals have any use besides being cute? Like how some animals have similar features to help regulate their temperature or camouflage? Is Solar secretly a dilophosaurous?

Is acne at all a thing animutants get? While most acne is from bacteria, some is from normal dust and other particles in the air.

Considering it’s hard to control how someone’s teeth come in with genetics alone, are things like braces at all common with animutants(That one is mostly because I have this mental image of Solar and Sunrise as siblings, with Solar teasing Sun about his cute little braces X3)?

This one is mostly a joke but how do they kiss without the other’s nose jabbing them in the eye? (Inspired by the Christmas art)

Are there other similar uses for the type of genetics work that made Sun and Moon? It’d be nice to hear genetic diseases have some progress behind them

Has anyone tried to Jurassic Park? Is Solar secretly a dilophosaurous?

What happens to ‘defective’ animutants?

How much does the average animutant know about in terms of their own conception? Or what they’re made of, rather. (You joked Moon had some cat in him-Would he know that?)

Do they have access to the internet or books? How much are they allowed to freely access?

Do they ever get to watch tv? What kind of shows do they like?

Does Moon climb outside of his security job?(He must have THE BEST hiding spots)

Does Sun have any features Moon doesn’t?(Like Moon‘s night vision or climbing, not his petals)

How much do the Glams like working with each other? Obviously Freddy likes everyone but who’s the most annoying to work with and who’s the most pleasant to work with?

Are amputations for stylistic reasons common(such as with Foxy)?

Answer whichever ones you want at your leisure :D

Ohhohhoh, a lot of interesting little questions you've got there! I'll try to answer them the best I can!

The pet animutants are really just whatever people wish and order them to be. Can be a mix of two or more animals, or other living beings like flowers etc. I don't think there is a limit to what they could be, the only thing to consider is that the mutants are always quite big, even the non-sentient ones. The shortest-ever mutants are like 5'9 or 5'10.

Their petals are actually capable of photosynthesis! It gives them personally a little bit more energy and they give extra oxygen to the air around them! (If you get locked into a room without oxygen with Sun or Solar, you might survive a bit longer-) This feature actually causes Sunrise to stim and fiddle so much; he has too much energy in his body but he also has anxiety so he lets the energy out through physical stims, like shaking his hands or fiddling with things or bopping and swaying his body when seated. For Solar, the extra energy goes straight to his brain... He is awfully smart and aware of everything because he uses the extra energy to think so much.

I don't think acne is an animutant problem really.

I was actually debating between braces and the chipped tooth when I was designing Sunrise. I think he'd be adorable with braces. If I ever decide to write the alternative timeline where Sun was just created to help Solar instead of replacing him, I could give him braces instead (Maybe him eating the candy in the labs caused his still-soft teeth to get wonky or something.) So yeah, braces or glasses are not very common, but not impossible. I think Freddy or Chica might be getting glasses in the Alternative timeline because I think it would suit them tbh XD Moondrop actually wears reading glasses in my Sims game (slice-of-life mod caused him to have a funky vision.)

The nose is literally my biggest struggle when drawing them kissing. I've generally tried to smaller their noses in my art actually. simply because of this issue XD I think they might need to twist their heads a bit further, or their noses are generally quite soft and just press nicely to the other's cheek (like I've drawn it).

Idk why but I don't completely understand this question, sorry ;_;

My husband is a massive dinosaur nerd and he had to immediately correct that the dilophosaurus seen in JP movies is a very inaccurate presentation of the actual dinosaur but I kinda like the frill idea hahaha (no, Solar is not a dilophosaurus.)

Depends. If it's bad, they just get killed. If it's nothing too serious, they might be sold to the owners at a lower price, or sold in the market for other people to purchase with a discount.

Not much. They know their species and the overall concept of creating an animutant (the process, everyone is an adult, incubator time etc.) but they actually don't know the DNA and material used in them, so no, Moon doesn't know he has some feline DNA in him.

At least the Faz. co mutants do not have access to the WWW. They have access to streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, and can ask for certain books or video games they hear about from the kids or human staff to purchase. So yeah, they don't really have much knowledge of the outside world online.

They don't have access to normal TV (fazbears doesn't want them to see ads for other companies XD) but they can stream shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime! Here are some headcanons of what their favourite shows/genres might be (only mentioning series I've seen myself lol): Sunrise: He likes cartoons, and enjoys shows such as Gravity Falls, MLP, and the Cuphead Show. Probably enjoys anime and comedic shows as well. Moondrop: Horror and mystery shows, such as The Haunting of Hill House & Bly Manor, Stranger Things (I think Sun like this show too but closes his eyes for scary parts XD), and American Horror Story. Freddy: I think Freddy enjoys dramas, either comedic like the Office, or historical like The Crown. Bonnie: Sports and shonen anime :D Probably watches just whatever is on the screen and is able to get hooked on it. His favourite genre might be action, but his favourite show is Orange is the New Black. And Q-Force. Chica: She likes romantic dramas and comedies, but also idol animes like Love Live! :D Foxy: Historical dramas and documentary series, especially those that have something to do with the sea or pirates lol. Monty: Likes action, similar to Bonnie. His favourite show is OITNB as well. Arrow & The 100. Roxy: Action-horror, such as Squid Game and Sweet Home, but enjoys watching OITNB too (Chill's note: have I mentioned it is my favourite series on Netflix). Solar: True crime and science/nature documentaries.

I'm not sure if you mean like... outside the building? Because his microchip is still connected to the security system he can't really leave the building. But he found this attic room/storage area on top of the building which had a pretty big skylight, and he brought Sunrise there for a romantic date to see fireworks on New Year's eve.

Kinda answered this earlier, but yeah, it is the petals XD I think he also has generally better vision in bright places and he is more sensitive to temperature changes. (See him shiver? The temperature must be under 66°F (19°C), see him sweat? It gotta be over 86°F (30°C).) However, he handles warmth better than cold.

Foxy is kind of a lone wolf and prefers to work alone, or with Freddy or Chica only. Monty obviously is annoyed by Freddy because he is 'too soft', but likes to work with Chica and Bonnie. Roxy likes working with Chica the most but gets a bit distracted sometimes, so she prefers to work with Freddy, who is a bit of a doormat to work with sometimes XD She doesn't really like working with Monty, because he is messy and loud. Chica is quite good at working with everyone because she genuinely likes everyone a lot! though she might be distracted by Roxy, but makes a very good duo with Bonnie. Bonnie works the best with Freddy, they're "the duo" as seen as them being able to work and discuss a lot of things even in a tough situation. Bonnie isn't probably the best pair to go with Foxy or Roxy, because Roxy is a bit too bossy for his liking, and Foxy and him just genuinely bicker constantly like siblings.

For long-term show-business mutants, sometimes. Foxy was designed to be a pirate, so his hand was amputated just for stylistic reasons.

I hope I answered your questions somewhat efficiently! Thanks for them and all the other inspiring questions you've sent so far! I genuinely love answering them <3

[viillaincoded]

danny pudi. thirty-seven. demi man. he/they. ┊┊ SETH AMIN, better known as agent CHIRON has been with cerberus corp as an eo since 2021 and is LEVEL II. A JOUSTING ACCIDENT has gifted them ANIMAL SHIFTING, though HE CAN ONLY SHIFT PARTS OF HIM AT A TIME has also been noted. when they aren’t protecting the tri-state area, they are fond of LARPING and are never seen without A BRAIDED BRACELET. civilians think they are ASPIRING & BOLD, but some of the other agents see them as DORKY & OBNOXIOUS. cerberus corp should consider the fact that their last mission status was MOSTLY SUCCESSFUL when giving out the next one. ┊┊ connor. he/they. 24. cst. he/him.

001.  GENERAL

name  seth aminnicknames  n/a age  thirty-seven date of birth  march 10 zodiac  pisces place of birth  tulsa, oklahoma current residence  manhattan, new york gender  demi man pronouns  he/they sexuality  bisexual occupation  history tutor / cerberus agent, level ii

faceclaim  danny pudi height  six foottattoos  nonepiercings  none distinguishing features  constant grin, thin features positive traits  aspiring, outgoing, bold, curious, tenacious negative traits  dorky, obnoxious, stubborn, snarky labels / tropes  good samaritan, horseback heroism likes  live-action roleplay, fantasy, sci fi, horses, attention dislikes  rude people, being bored, ignorance fears  failing to meet his goals, death hobbies  larping, table top games, board games, karaoke, cosplay, watching documentaries habits  talking to himself, pacing, tapping out the song stuck in his head ( he will get it stuck in your head too )

002.  EXTRA ORDINARY

near death experience… 

2013. seth had been an active member of the renaissance faire for years. a lover of history, he fit it easily, and truly felt he had found his place in the jousting scene. they had grown up riding horses, and were an attentive student, always wanting to know more. a few months in, he was eager to try the wooden lances. it was hard to deny someone so eager, who had come so far. it happened so fast, when everything that could go wrong did. the lance shattered, a fluke in of itself. a large, six inch piece found it's self through a gap in his armor, impossible if it weren't for seth's own eagerness to get started. he managed to stay on the horse, finding her presence reassuring as it became harder and harder to breathe. lend me your strength was his thought as he leaned against his horse's neck, the world slipping away from him.

power… 

seth is an animal shifter, meaning he is able to transform into all different kinds of animals. while he is unable to transform his complete body, he is able to transform up to fifty-five percent of his body at a time, which is a skill that has been cultivated the course of a decade. when seth first developed his power, he could only transform a hand or foot at time. when transformed, he is able to do all that animal can do ( or rather, the part of the animal can do ). this process is not at all difficult for him, and seth is well practiced in using it on the fly. he constantly works to see if he can transform more completely, though has hit a plateau for the past year.

drawbacks / vulnerabilities… 

the biggest drawback is the fact that seth cannot transform completely, forty-five percent of him has to stay in an unaltered human form. besides that, while it is not strenuous for him to transform, it is energy intensive. he normally eats around seven to ten thousand calories per day to accommodate the changes. as well, there is a limitation when it comes to size. he cannot transform into any species that is greater than a ton, or a species that weighs less than two hundred pounds.

cerberus corp… 

seth only joined cerberus in 2021, despite having obtained his powers in 2013. in the beginning, his powers were so lacking that when he auditioned, he was quietly rejected. he would audition four more times before he was finally accepted. he wanted to be a hero, like all those he had read about growing up. part of a small minority who has such incredible powers, he feels an obligation to use them for good. since joining three years ago, seth has thrived at cerberus. the training at cerberus has improved his power usage, and he enjoys working towards goals with his colleagues. emphasis on the working with other people, since he rarely works alone. he's well aware of his own limitations, and prefers to partner up to make up for them. it helps him in check too, prone to rashness when left alone. one of the reasons he's stuck as a level ii agent. between the announcement at andersen's gala, and cerberus' rebuttal, seth hasn't been able to make heads or tails of it. a small, unspoken part of him would be almost grateful if someone had given him this power, for he feels more complete with it.

codename… 

before joining cerberus, seth was a middle school history teacher living in houston, texas. he would frequently transform into a centaur halloween, earning him the nickname. naturally, he adopted it for his codename.

003.  EXTRA

headcanons

holy good childhood, batman! seth is an only child, who grew up in tulsa. very close with his grandfather, he taught seth to ride horses when he was a child. ( they're a horse girl )

down to clown always, will talk to Anyone.

uhhh more to come

more to come!

[clovers-n-claws]

Reunion

So I realized about halfway through writing for kinktober that the buildup was way too fucking long so I made it into a little introductory story for the character I'm using for week 2!

lovestruck!Fairy x Fem!Reader (sfw!)

warnings/general summary: memory loss, minor scrapes and bruises, Eden is a tad obsessed, whatever applies to 'being stalked by a vulture/fairy's guard dog/father figure', childhood friends to lovers, mention of repeated night terrors

Ever since you were young, your parents, relatives, friends’ parents, hell, even neighbors told you to stay out of those woods. That there were dangerous things lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to steal away pretty things such as yourself. You never believed old wive’s tales like those, though. Not until you came back, years later.

After your parents moved to the states, there was nobody to take care of your beloved childhood home. By the time you finished college and decided to move back into your family’s old estate, it should have fallen in disrepair, but…it was spotless, as if you had never left. The bookshelves you had filled completely with fairytales, fantasy novels, and animal-themed encyclopedias hadn’t even collected dust. You’d have been worried that maybe someone had broken in, but that wouldn’t make any sense. Who would break into a house to keep it tidy? Nothing was missing- nothing substantial, that is, you noticed a couple of your books weren’t where you left them- so it wasn’t any kind of robbery. Eventually, you chalked it up to bad memory and good luck, or maybe a friendly yet eccentric neighbor.

In the weeks that followed, you settled in well, finally getting the electricity working again and getting someone to help you get wifi, but something was off. Nothing bad, not like the kind of thing you’d see in a shitty horror movie, but strange things seemed to follow you like a dog on a lead. Petals seemed to dance through the air when you’d take walks outside, and you could never seem to find where they came from. The wildlife was bolder than you remembered, too. You were reading on the porch one morning when a fawn walked right up to you and rested its little head by your feet. On at least three separate occasions, songbirds had landed outside your window and woken you up with their little serenades, the melodies were almost familiar to you, even. Of course, what prompted your fateful journey into the forest wasn’t a couple of over-socialized animals and delusions of becoming the next Snow White. No, what broke you down, made the forest impossible to live besides without investigating, was that damn vulture. You noticed it the day you moved in, but thought nothing of it. Ignored it, as day in and day out it watched you from its perch, a huge tree on the border between the forest and your home. At some point, something in the back of your mind resurfaced, something that chilled you to the core. You recognised this vulture. Missing an eye, an extra toe on its left foot, a bird that haunted your childhood nightmares stood watch outside your house, all these years later. You told yourself it couldn’t be, that black vultures had a lifespan of ten years and this one didn’t even look weary, but soon, your dreams came back to confirm what you had already known.

Everything was just like when you were little— right down to the sleepless nights, and waking up shaking from terrors when you were too tired to resist sleep’s embrace. Your waking world wasn’t ripped from a horror movie, but your nightmares bore a resemblance to eldritch horrors that would drive hunters and woodsmen in your family mad. A horned creature, something too unnatural and obscured by fog to make out more than a silhouette and those gleaming red eyes, calling you. It wasn’t saying anything, but you felt it pull you, reaching a clawed hand out to you and inviting you into its home.

Finally, one night, you’d had enough. Waking up drenched in your own sweat and teary-eyed again, you decided to cut your problem at the root. Not even bothering to put something over your white pajamas, you slipped on a pair of socks and sneakers, grabbed a flashlight, and walked out of your house, into the woods. The vulture followed, of course, but that only made you trudge through the thorns, branches and vines faster. At some point, you realized your flashlight wasn’t needed, because you looked around and saw a path illuminated by fireflies. Cautiously, you let the insects lead you, hand now gripping the flashlight not as a tool but as a weapon, just in case. What you found at the end of this path was far from what you were expecting— what you thought you’d find ranged anywhere from a serial killer with an astonishing talent for training animals to the creature you’d seen in your nightmares, now made a reality by whatever uncaring god might be out there.

You weren’t expecting to see a man— and a beautiful one at that— around your age, dressed in flowing silk and chiffon (somehow unscathed by the forest, unlike your now destroyed pajamas), having a friendly conversation with that vulture, a fawn resting in his lap. He had horns that curled back and near-white hair that framed a delicate face, pulled back into a low bun and decorated with flowers, ones with petals you’d only seen near these woods, fluttering mysteriously over you. 

When he took notice of you, his rose-tinted eyes lit up with excitement. As if sensing that he was about to jump up, the fawn opted to skitter out of his lap before it was launched. You barely had time to flinch as he ran to you, somehow not tripping on roots or tearing his ornate clothing, and took your hands in his. 

“You’re here,” he said, as if he had been expecting you, “I was so worried you wouldn’t come, that you’d forgotten our promise—”

He was cut off by a low voice, another man where the vulture once stood, ears morphed into black feathers, left hand with six fingers ending in razor-sharp talons, dressed in attire befitting an ancient warrior, though modified for daily wear.

“She has, young master. I had to chase her just so she’d even consider going into the forest.”

“Oh,” he sighed.

You blinked, completely taken aback by this entire situation, “Excuse me, what? You and the bird—” 

“Harpy, if you would. I don’t particularly enjoy being compared to those uncivilized things.” 

“Sorry, harpy, said I forgot something? A promise?”

The light-haired man nodded, sighing yet again. “Yes, you have. Here, I'll explain it to you somewhere more comfortable— oh, your poor legs are covered in scratches.” He shot a glare at his guard.

“Did you have to chase her, Val? She looks terrified. All cut up and bruised, poor thing.”

The harpy nodded. “Like I said, she wasn’t going on her own. Would’ve taken her forever to stumble back here.”

“I’m so sorry about him,” he said, “had I known, I would’ve gotten you myself. Now, you must be exhausted. Come, I’ll bring you home.” Again, before you had a chance to react, he swept you off your feet and carried you in his arms, surprisingly strong for how gentle he looked. The look that Val gave you told you there was no use in fighting him, so you relaxed, almost falling asleep with your head against his chest before you arrived in front of a huge tree, one that had been turned into some kind of cottage. Once you were inside, he set you down in a nest of sorts, of soft blankets and pillows that you recognised as being from your house. He had Val make you both a cup of tea and carefully explained what he and his guard meant by a promise you’d forgotten. First by introducing himself as Eden Lathurna, a prince of forest fairies. He explained that fairies didn’t have royalty in the way humans did, but that it was the best way to explain who he was without confusing you or going into a long lecture about their history.

As a child, it turns out, you often explored the woods. You had to be warned to stay away so often because you kept going back. Eden, apparently, also had a habit of slipping out of his guardian’s sight and wandering the vast forest. Your paths first crossed when you found him caught in a trap your father had set out for raccoons, and you freed him without a second of hesitation. Of course, he’d never met a human before, and he was already scared, so your first interaction was short-lived as he ran off, back into the deep forest. You ran into each other again, then again, and again, and formed a bond, to the point that the forest itself seemed to claim you as its own, branches and vines moving out of your way as you ran and played with your dear friend. One summer in seventh grade, though, you and your family decided to stay with some family members in New York, and when you returned, you found Eden distraught. He thought you had abandoned him, left him behind without even a goodbye. Between your numerous apologies and his sniffling, wiping back tears, a promise was made.

“Promise me,” he said, “swear that whatever happens, you’ll come back to me.”

Eden let out a soft laugh before taking a sip of his sweet, flowery-smelling drink, “It was so long ago, and you forgot, but here you are, just like you promised. Maybe a part of you still remembers even after all these years.”

“Sorry,” you mumbled, “I don’t know how I could’ve forgotten something like that. I really don’t take promises lightly, I wouldn’t have-” 

Seeing you tensing up and beginning to spiral, Eden moved to hold your face in his hands.

“Hey,” he said, “it’s okay. We can worry about that later, but you’re here now and you need to rest, my love. I’ll be here with you in the morning.”

Under normal circumstances you would have questioned the use of that affectionate nickname, but you were really tired. Too tired to ask any more questions tonight. As you curled up in the pillows and blankets, drifting into a calm sleep, you felt Eden join you, arms pulling you close against him, as if he were scared that if he let go he would lose you again.

[animeomegas]

MY FELLOW ANON ARE VIOLATING MY EMOTIONS TODAY 😂 god I’m acc crying. Your writing is amazing. I’m gonna combat the sadness with a wholesome thing of them finding a pup in a bin (or something) a few months after the loss of the first pup (Neji is currently shut down entirely) is like “lol gimme”. Proceeds to take the pup home, put it in his nest scent the lil bean (gender is your choice) and just be like “yeah this mine now”. Any nay sayers are ignored bc it’s still his baby (maybe almost like his pup reincarnated 👀👀) regardless of how baby was obtained. Idk I just think my guy needs some positivity after life kicking the ever loving shit out of him

This is beautiful and you’re right, Neji deserves the world, but I’ll settle with a quiet life and some happiness for my boy!

Okay, so things haven’t been…good with Neji since you had to let your pup die to save him.

It has been two months and still he lays in his nest every day, sometimes crying, sometimes whining, but mostly just staring at nothing. He had incorporated a bunch of baby stuff (blankets, toys etc.) into his nest before he went to the hospital, in order to make his pup feel more at home in the nest when he was supposed to bring them back. You had tried to take them out to stop him having to be confronted with what happened in his safe space, but Neji almost attacked you for doing so, so you let him keep them.

But it’s very concerning when he spends hours at a time just stroking the pup's blankets and staring at nothing.

So, you decide to take Neji on a walk to get him out of the house. It would be his first time leaving the house since the funeral.

You go at night time, because Neji is still refusing any contact with anyone he knows and this way he’s less likely to be confronted when he isn’t ready for it. To make extra sure that you can be alone, you decide to walk around the edge of the woods around one of the quieter training grounds.

Neji doesn’t speak much, but he doesn’t whine or cry either, and the night air brings a little colour to his cheeks, and you’re so happy at the small improvements. It doesn’t matter how long it ends up taking him to feel better, you’ll be here with him the whole way.

…

“I was thinking about cooking something special next week,” you make idle conversation, not expecting Neji to reply. “It’s our anniversary after all, do you have any preference?”

Neji stops walking suddenly. His shoulders are tense.

“Neji?”

He hushes you harshly.

“I can hear…”

Without another word of warning, Neji makes his way a little further into the trees. You follow him, confused and worried.

“Byakugan!” he calls, scanning the area. He gasps as he scans over a nearby bush and immediately he drops to his knees beside it.

“Neji?” you ask, now more than a little concerned. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

You watch as Neji pulls something out of the bush. He turns around with a bundle in his arms.

“It’s a pup,” Neji says, obviously shocked. You can’t blame him, you’re feeling more than a little shocked yourself. What on earth was a pup doing out here? “They’re freezing. Give me your jacket.”

Without hesitance, you quickly slip your jacket of and hand it to Neji who promptly bundles up the pup in it and brings them to his chest. The pup is making small whimpering noises that had been almost impossible to hear over the wind. Neji must have hear them, thank goodness.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” Neji coos to the pup. “You’re safe now, I'll take you home and make it better, I promise.”

“We need to get them to the hospital asap," you say, shaking your head. "They must be freezing and they look underweight as well. We’re not mednin, Neji.”

“Our home is closer.”

“Neji…”

“We need to make sure they’re warm,” he argues. “We can bring them home and alert a medic to make a home visit.”

You look at the earnest look on his face and know that he won’t back down, and now isn’t a time for arguments anyway.

“Okay,” you swallow nervously. “We’ll bring them home.”

…

You bring the pup back to your home and before you can protest, Neji brings them into his nest with a mumbled ‘they’ll be warm in there’.

Neji bundles himself and the pup up in the corner of the nest, turning on a little heater beside him, and tucking the pup into his shirt to share body warmth.

“We’ll get you nice and warm, it’s okay, you’re safe, I won’t let anyone harm you,” he whispers while stroking their cheek with a finger. The pup wriggles around, already looking more energetic, and starts mouthing at Neji’s chest.

“Are you hungry?” Neji laughs softly before turning to you. “Go and heat up a bottle for the pup, all the supplies are in the… the nursery.”

You nod dumbly and do as you’re asked, astounded at how much life is in Neji’s eyes. It’s the most life you’ve seen from him in months. But you can’t help but worry. What if Neji gets attached and you can’t keep the pup? Of course, you want nothing more than to keep the baby, it almost seems too good to be true that she literally fell into both your lives at this trying time, but what if it is too good to be true? What if they’re sick? Or their parents are looking for them? Or… something else. Neji doesn’t deserve another heartbreak, and you don’t want to destroy the small amount of progress he’s made in the last month.

But for now, all you can do is heat up the bottle.

…

“Here, it’s a good temperature, I already checked,” you pass Neji the bottle. He checks it again anyway and you can’t help but smile at how overprotective and parental he's being. It's so bittersweet to see him like this.

“Here you go sweetheart, just for you,” Neji smiles, cradling the pup as they latch onto the bottle with fervour. “Shh, shh, shh, slow down, it’s not going anywhere.”

Neji feeds the pup and then burps them, and you pretend you can’t see him smiling when he notices that they are starting to smell like him. You need to know you can keep her before you let him get even more attached.

“I’m going to send a clone for a medic, now.”

The room became tense all at once.

“They’re fine, I’m looking after them,” Neji protests.

“I know, and you’re doing a good job, but we still need a medic, Neji.”

Neji holds the pup more tightly to his chest, tucking an extra blanket around them. He's using the special blanket you had got commissioned for your pup. You can feel your heart break at the sight. He's already attached. Now you just have to hope you can keep them. For his sake.

“I don’t want them to take the pup away like last time,” Neji admits softly. "I can look after them, I won't let anything happen like last time, I promise. They'll be safe, we don't need a medic."

“We need to know their primary and secondary gender, omega, and we need to make sure they aren’t sick after being left in the woods…”

Neji hesitates but nods his consent in the end after you explain that your pup could become ill if left untreated. You don’t tell him that you are also sending a clone to the Hokage. Naruto will be able to grant you and Neji the right to keep the pup, and you hope that as Neji’s friend, he’ll be able to see how much he needs this.

…

You have to move Neji and the pup downstairs to wait for the medic, because Neji would not appreciate someone unknown seeing his nest he made for his pup. He’s not expecting Naruto to show up as well so you go to the door to intercept and prep them both.

“Thank you so much for coming, Naruto, I can’t tell you how much this means to me and Neji,” you say, hugging him as he walks through the door.

“I’m going to do everything I can,” he promises. “If the medic finds signs of long-term neglect, I can take the parental rights away from the biological parents straight away, even if I don't know who they are, and transfer you the rights.”

Your face visibly brightens, but Naruto continues.

“But if the only injuries are from laying in the forest for a few hours, I’ll have to try and find the parents first, because the child may have been taken from them by force, when the pup was otherwise a healthy baby being looked after sufficiently. In that circumstance, I’ll have to take the child back with me and put them in foster care until a three-month window has passed. And if the parents are found…”

“I know,” you sigh. “Let’s just get this done as soon as possible.”

The three of you walk into the living to see Neji cradling the pup tightly against his chest.

“Hey Neji,” Naruto greets softly with a sad smile. “I haven’t seen you around for a while.”

Neji tenses upon seeing Naruto.

“Naruto? Why are you here?” Neji clearly misinterprets the situation, holding the pup even more tightly and turning accusatory eyes against you. “Why did you bring him here?”

“I’m here to determine whether the pup was abandoned or kidnapped to the best of my abilities, once we have that done, we can decide how things are going to happen, okay?”

“How do you decide that?” Neji asks with distrustful eyes.

“The medic will give them a check-up, completely routine, I promise,” Naruto speaks with a soft voice like he’s talking to a cornered animal. Well, you look at Neji for a moment who is coiled as tightly as spring, he’s not far off.

It takes about five minutes for you to convince Neji to let go of the pup and hand them to the mednin, and then the next fifteen minutes involve you holding him in your arms to stop him wrestling the pup back from the mednin.

And then, rather ominously, the mednin pulls Naruto aside to talk.

Neji is shaking in your arms.

“It’s okay, calm down, Neji,” you try to comfort him.

“I can’t-“ Neji chokes, hands fisting in your shirt. “He has our pup, you let them take our pup.”

You don’t bother to correct him on his use of ‘our’, knowing it would only upset him more.

“I know baby, but they need to see that they’re healthy, nothing’s wrong, just breathe.”

Neji doesn’t take your advice.

"Last time they took them-"

"This isn't like last time, omega. Come one, try and settle down a little, that's it."

...

Naruto eventually walks back in, holding the pup securely, the mednin nowhere to be seen.

“So,” Naruto says seriously. And then his face breaks out into a wide grin. “Am I right in thinking you want to adopt?”

You can almost feel your relief in the air. Thanking every power that be for this stroke of luck. Losing this pup could have easily meant losing your mate, and the gravity of the situation all comes crashing down at once. Neji looks as though he is feeling much the same.

“Give me them,” he orders, arms out.

“Her,” Naruto corrects. “The mednin said she’s a female alpha.”

Tears start welling up in Neji’s eyes as he takes her. Their bio pup was a female alpha, too.

“Thank you,” he whispers to no one, holding his new pup as tightly as he dared. “I’ve got you now, you’re safe and sound with me, I won’t let anything hurt you ever again.”

Naruto slips out of the house without a fuss, dropping the mednin’s recommendations for feeding the underweight pup on the coffee table.

...

You and Neji take your new pup upstairs and bundle her back into the nest. Neji lays down with her, stroking her cheek as he watches her sleep.

“You need to get some rest too, omega,” you suggest, running a hand down Neji’s back.

“Guard?” he asks in response.

“Yes," you smile at his protective instincts. "I’ll guard the nest while you sleep, I promise.”

“Okay, alpha…” Neji settles down, still with one hand resting on the pup. “But if I don’t wake up when she cries, wake me… I want to be the one to feed her.”

You laugh gently, “Of course, now get some sleep. I’ll guard you both.”

[just-a-ff-writer]

Summary: This is for the Secret Santa Event hosted by @mizunetzu​ 

Omega!Bakugou Katsuki x Alpha!Reader.

@bunny9girl I do apologize that it’s a little late, but I do hope you enjoy this post! 

Lowkey thinking about making a second part, but idk.

It has been a week since Katsuki has spoken to you. You two, including a few others from your class, were working an internship at a nearby Hero Agency so it shouldn’t be impossible to not see or speak to him at all. But somehow, he did. Whenever you would try to find him, he was nowhere to be found, or he would blatantly avoid you or respond with only a few words. You were starting to get worried. What if something happened and he won't tell you about it? What if he didn’t want you to be his Alpha anymore? You needed to find out what was wrong before you snapped. 

You entered the common room of the agency to see a familiar redhead preparing to leave for home.

“Yo, Kirishima.” He looked towards you as he took off his faceguard.

“Oh, hey, (L/n)! What’s up?”

“Have you seen Bakugou? I’ve been trying to find him for the past week so we could finish our report, but I couldn’t find him anywhere and he isn’t answering my calls. Did I do something to upset him? Do you know?”

He hummed softly as he looked through his locker. “He still hasn’t told you?” You lifted an eyebrow. He moved closer to you, lowering his voice. “His heat is coming up and he’s freaking out again.”

“His heat?” You felt like smacking your forehead. Of course! You noticed that his natural scent - a light mixture between caramel and cinnamon, and something intoxicating that you couldn’t pinpoint - was a bit off the last few days. When you would question him about it, he would tell you to mind your business (“Fuck off, will ya?” in his words). At most, you would get, “Stop worrying! It just this fucking internship. It’s stressin’ me out.” You sighed and shook your head. “Of course, yeah. Thanks, Kiri.” You opened your locker and grabbed your belongings. 

“I was thinking about going to check on him. I know he likes to be left alone, but-”

You couldn’t help the growl that grew from the back of your throat as you snapped at him. “I’ll do it.” You looked at Kirishima and saw him staring at you with wide eyes. 

“R… right. Uh, you just let me know how he is. I’m worried about him too.” He closed his locker and threw his bag over his shoulder. “See you around, (L/n).” 

You sighed and closed your locker before making your way out of the building. Fuck. You hadn’t meant to snap at your friend like that, but thinking about how another Alpha wanted to check on your Omega rubbed you the wrong way. You have been dating the fiery blonde for a little over a year, but he has yet to let you help him during his nesting period or his heat. He wouldn’t even bother to let you know whenever it would be happening. You understood that he was never exactly emotionally there, but that had never stopped you from staying by his side. You knew he showed his appreciation in his own, unique, way.

You reached his apartment and took a deep breath. Before attempting to make yourself known to being outside of his place, you decided to make another phone call. Your call was left unanswered and you sighed. You knocked on the door and brought your ear closer to hear if he was inside or not. No answer.

You remembered Katsuki telling you about a spare emergency key he had once. Unfortunately, he had only told you about it once and you never found a reason to use it. Until now. You began looking around the small decorations he had around his door - the plant, the mat, the small statue, etc.

After roaming around his front door, and earning strange looks from his neighbors, you finally found the key and proceeded to unlock the door and make your way inside. The only obvious sign that your boyfriend was home were his shoes in front of the door and his workout bag sitting beside them.

You carefully crept through the hallway to his bedroom, noticing how his scent was getting stronger the closer you got. He was definitely home. You stopped in front of his bedroom door and carefully pressed your ear against it. Faint sounds of griping and small movements could be heard. You gently knocked on the door, noticing how the sounds hesitated for a moment before continuing.

You rapped your fingers on the door as you slowly opened it enough to allow a crack to speak through. “Hey, baby?” You heard a low growl. “I heard from Kirishima. Are you alright? Do you want me to get you anything?”

He was silent now aside from the small shifts of movement.

“Katsuki?”

No answer. He was probably ignoring you. The thought made you frown. Maybe he still wasn’t ready for this step in your relationship. Before you could decide to leave, thinking that he still didn’t think it was time for you to see him in that state, you heard him shift from the other side of the door. “Can… can you make me something?”

You felt yourself smile at the request. “Of course, Katsuki. I’ll go make you something right now.” You moved to leave and close his door.

“Wait!”

You froze. "Yeah?"

He responded with low mumbles and before you could ask him to repeat himself, something hit the wall in front of your face, making you flinch. You looked down at where the item fell and saw a teddy bear. It took a moment for it to click, but when it had, you had to bite back a laugh from how cute it was. He had wanted you to scent it. You carefully picked up the bear and began to scent it, feeling a low purr emit from the back of your throat. After you felt that you had scented it enough, you carefully placed the stuffed animal back where your boyfriend had thrown it. “There you go, baby.” 

You closed the door and immediately made your way into the kitchen. You began looking through the fridge and his cabinets to see what you could make that was both quick and satisfying. Settling to make some ramen, you began to gather the ingredients to start making his food. You tried your best to make the ramen for him, adding spices for his taste. It was not only one of his favorites, but you knew it was filling enough to settle him down a bit before his heat.

As you tried to focus on not fucking up his meal, you heard faint sounds of whimpers and whining coming from his room. You had to hold yourself back, but it hurt your chest and your inner Alpha was screaming at you to check on your Omega, to make sure he was okay. You forced yourself to stay in place. You had to finish making the ramen at least.

As fast as you could, you put his bowl together. You knew that he had a mini-fridge in his room which was probably stocked with snacks and drinks for him, but you grabbed an extra bottle of water for him just in case. You quickly put everything together and placed it on a tray for him and went back to his room. You knocked on his door again. “Katsuki, I have your food.” He grumbled. “Can… can I come in?”

There was a pause before you heard shuffling again that was then followed by silence once more. After a moment, you heard him gruffly say, “Yeah, come in.”

You pushed the door open with your foot and as you slowly made your way into his room, you noticed how there was a pillow fort-like structure in the corner. It was always there before, but now it seemed to be more picked up and now was obviously his corner that he chose to nest in. You placed the tray down on the ground and sat yourself down next to it to keep your distance from your boyfriend. 

You heard him switch between annoyed mumblings and whines which irked your heart, but you continued to sit and wait patiently for him.

After a brief moment, a part of the nest, which you assumed was the entrance, moved to reveal the familiar color of red irises. You smiled softly at him. “Hi, Suki.” You nudged the tray towards him. “I made you some ramen.” 

His eyes flickered towards the tray before looking back at you. He hid back in his nest for a moment which made your heart drop. It was silent once again. He began to shuffle inside once again and then he slowly popped out. He sat in front of the entrance, holding his knees to his chest, watching you.

You picked up the tray and placed it in front of him. “There you go. I hope you like it.”

His gaze never wavered from yours. You noticed his cheeks tint pink before he decided to move and begin eating. “It’s good,” he told you after eating a few scoops. 

“Thanks.” After a moment, you carefully and slowly moved towards him and made yourself comfortable next to him. You watched for his reactions as you inched closer to him. His gaze was fixed to the floor, only glancing at you every so often. You began to run your fingers through his hair and watched as he ate. You had to hold back from cooing at him whenever he would unconsciously nuzzle closer to you as you did this. Instead, you pressed a kiss to his temple. You let your hands roam a bit as you pressed small kisses to his face, neck, and shoulders - his face tinting pink as you did so.

As you ran your hand over his shoulders, you noticed something. He was shaking.

"Katsuki?" He looked at you from the corner of his eye. You watched carefully as he shook under your gaze. “Am… Am I making you uncomfortable?”

He shifted in his spot. “No,” he whispered.

“Then what’s wrong, baby boy?”

His face flushed a darker red at the name. He sputtered for a moment before looking away from you. You noticed that his scent changed from sweet to bitter. He was stressed.

“If it’s about your nest or your second gender, you know I would never think any less of you, Katsuki. You’re no different now than how you are when you’re kicking ass”

You heard a low growl come from him. "Don't lie to me."

"I would never." You pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, feeling the sting of the spices he had just eaten. You felt his lip quiver against yours. “I wouldn’t lie to you or hurt you, Katsuki. You know that.” You pressed another kiss to his lips, this time earning a small mewl. You stayed close to him, pressing your foreheads together. "Can I come in with you?" You asked in a soft whisper, gesturing towards his nest. “If not, I’ll just wait out here if you need anything.”

A soft look flashed across his face. “Yeah…you can.” He caught himself. “But if you fuck up anything I’ll beat your ass and kick you out!”

You smiled. “Of course.”

He huffed and quickly disappeared into his nest. After moving the tray away from the bed, you carefully climbed into his nest. Katsuki was adjusting some of the pillows he had, occasionally shoving one into your lap, silently telling you to scent them, which you had done without a complaint.

You looked around and took note of the items he had and how he had arranged them. You trailed your fingers against the wall where he had hung fairy lights to keep some light in the cramped space. “It’s small,” you commented.

He shuffled into his spot across from you with a huff. “I like it that way.”

You watched him for a moment. “What are you doing over there?” You patted your lap. "Come here, baby." You told him, arms outstretched for him. He clicked his tongue and turned away, cheeks turning red. “Don’t be shy. It’s just us here.”

He hesitated but crawled into your lap and you were quick to hold him close. You gently tucked his head into the nape of your neck. You began to purr and adjusted your scent to try to calm him down. You could smell how stressed he was. You began to stroke his back and you felt him melt against you. You pressed a kiss to his head. "That's right, Suki, just relax and let your Alpha take care of you.”

He mumbled in ‘protest,’ but nuzzled closer to you. You pulled a blanket closer to you and wrapped his shoulders to keep him warm and comfortable. You kissed his head and asked him in a low voice, "Why are you so stressed? Your nest looks nice, is it missing something? Do you want me to get it for you?" 

He didn’t answer. Instead, he took a deep breath and began to nip at the base of your neck. You smiled and tilted your head to allow him to do as he pleased. You sighed in bliss as his fangs lightly dragged against your neck. He leaned forward, pressing his chest against yours, and nibbled at your earlobe. "You."

You raised your eyebrows. "Huh?"

"It's missing you." He pulled away and looked down with his eyebrows furrowed. “I…”

He never finished, but he didn’t need to for you to know what he wanted to say.

"Aw~" You cooed at him. "Does the strong Bakugou Katsuki - the DynaMight - want his Alpha to stay?" He glared at you, but his furious blush didn't let you take him seriously. You gave him a small peck on his pout. “I’ll stay as long as you want me to.”

A small whine sounded from the back of his throat and he hid himself back into your shoulder.

You smiled and pressed a kiss to his temple. “You’re my pretty little Omega, huh?” You ran your fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp, earning a meek chirp from him. He pressed his face deeper into your shoulder and you heard a mumble from him, but couldn’t exactly make out what he said.

"Huh?"

He shifted in your lap. "I am…"

You felt yourself become giddy. "Yeah? You're what?"

"Your… pretty Omega…"

You chirped at his words and nuzzled closer to him, scenting him. "That's right."

“Don’t get too happy, ya dumbass.”

“I can’t help it. You’re just too cute.”

He made a sound of annoyance. “Oi! I told you not to call me that.”

“Eh? But you are.”

He pulled back to be nose to nose with you. His eyebrows were furrowed. “No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are.” You pressed your lips to his before he could respond. “Besides, how are you gonna get mad at being called ‘cute,’ but not at ‘pretty?’”

“Hah? Because-”

You didn’t let him respond. You kissed him instead, relishing in the mewl that slipped from him. He would try to pull away and speak again, but every time he went to rebut that he wasn’t ‘cute,’ you would press your lips to his. 

You pulled away and smiled at him. “I am just the luckiest Alpha to be yours, you know that, Suki?”

He averted his gaze from yours, face glowing. “Y-yeah. You are… so stop pissing me off or-” he looked at you and pursed his lips together, his pretty blush still evident. “Or…”

“Or what, Suki?” You leaned forward and pressed your nose against his scent glands inhaling his sweet scent.

“Or I’ll-” He gave a gasping breath as you gently nibbled and lapped at his neck. He tangled his hands in your hair and pulled you impossibly closer, pressing your nose deeper into his neck. You began to leave love bites around the area and watched as Katsuki covered his mouth to keep any unwanted noises from sounding too loudly. You listened to his shaky breaths as you trailed your tongue up to his jaw. After leaving another small hickey, you pulled back to look at his face. His face was still warm and his eyes were lidded with a glossy look and the gentle light from the small lights he had hit his glowing skin just right. He was undeniably beautiful. You cupped his cheek, gently soothing the hot skin with your thumb earning a small chirp. “You tired, baby?”

He looked at your face before looking back down and nodding.

You giggled at the scene. You held onto him and slowly laid the both of you down to get more comfortable for him. “There you go. Just rest up, okay?”

“Okay.” 

You adjusted him onto your chest to hold him, knowing how much he enjoyed being the little spoon no matter how much he denied it. You froze after a moment, hearing an unfamiliar sound. When you realized what it was, a warmth of happiness filled your chest. Bakugou Katsuki was purring. Purring! Not once has he done that so willingly.

You pressed a few happy kisses to his face, purring along with him before leaving him to snuggle into your chest on his own accord. "You got everything you need?" You ask quietly. He nods. “Do you want any snacks?” He shook his head. “Any water?” Once again, no. “Okay, baby. You just let me know if you need anything, yeah?”

There was a pause for a moment before he answered with a small, “Yeah.”

You closed your eyes and enjoyed the moment. You knew it was a special moment for an Omega to let their Alpha in their nest, so it made you happy that he agreed. Speaking of Alphas, you thought back to Kirishima. He did say to tell him how Katsuki was doing.

“Oh, Kirishima is worried about you too, you know. You wanna call him really quick so he won’t freak out?”

There was no response. You looked down and smiled at the scene before you. Katsuki was nuzzling into your chest, his legs intertwined with yours and his fists gently balling up the material of your shirt to keep himself close to you. You two had cuddled before, but it was never like this. He was soft, relaxed, ethereal even. God, if you thought you couldn’t love him any more. His breaths were slow now, occasionally becoming large and shuddery after every other minute. He was just as cute, probably even more so, whenever he slept. Maybe it was because you knew it was vulnerable of him to let you see him like that or maybe because you knew he was your Omega.

You played with his hair and occasionally pressed small kisses to his head, making his purring get louder for a moment before returning to its normal volume. As you trailed your fingertips along his back, tracing random patterns, you noticed that there was a small change in his scent. It was sweeter, yet muskier. You held your breath as you tried to loosen Katsuki’s hands. You didn’t want to force him to have you there for his heat. You two have had sex before, but this was different. You knew that to Katsuki, it meant something much more. 

You pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m gonna go now, Suki,” you whispered. “You just let me know if you need me to get you anything and I’ll get it for you in a heartbeat, okay?” There was no response from him, but you didn’t expect one. You tried to push yourself up and away from him slowly, but froze when he whimpered. “Katsuki, don’t worry, I’m gonna-”

“Please…” His grip tightened around you. “Don’t leave me.” He looked up at you with his eyes bleary and soft. 

You hesitated. “But-”

“Please, Alpha.”

Your eyes widened for a moment and you smiled. You laid back down next to him and held him close again. You pressed a kiss to his forehead. “You know I would never leave you, baby. I love you too much. I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”

He pressed himself closer as you recognized the sound of a chirp coming from him. You felt him press his nose to your neck taking in a deep breath. “I love you too,” he mumbled. You closed your eyes and enjoyed the moment you had with your boyfriend. The loud purring emitting from you both had lulled you both to sleep. The beginning of saving your energy for the next few days where you knew you both would need it.

[mashiraostail]

Hiiii, i was wondering if i could request some vlad king and gang orca taking care of their s/o pets. Like if the reader was out of town and asked them to take care of their dogs👉👈 i feel like vlad is such a good doggy dad that the dogs play together and i feel like gang orca would be lost but doing his best and if he was taking care of a cat i like to think it would love being around him because cats love fish and he would just always have his s/o cat cuddling on his lap. Im sorry for ranting lol i love your work you're doing great💕

awwehehe this is so cute since you mentioned dogs for vlad and cats for kugo that's what i went with! also indulged myself and included kugo/ jiro/shoji content bc that seems like such a GOOD FUNNY AND WHOLESOME trio and i wanted more content than we got smh 

Sekijiro Kan/Vlad King: "Hey Sek, I need a huge favor.” You look up from your phone at the taller man who is currently scrunched into the corner of his couch scrutinizing a piece of paper with really terrible handwriting on it.  “Sounds dangerous.” He replies without looking up and you snort dropping to the cushion beside him.  “Only a little, but I think you’re good for it.”  “Alright then, so what’s the favor?” His eyes flick up to you. “I need to go visit a friend out of town.” You sigh, “she had a baby last month, I used to work with her husband and she asked if I wanted to spend some time back home with her for her birthday next week, I should be about five days.” You rest your hands on his knees, “so while I’m out there..would you mind watching Kilo for me? I hate to leave him behind but It’d be a pain to travel so far with him I know he hates trains.”  “That’s a huge favor?” He raises an eyebrow at you, “sure I can watch him. I bet they’ll get along fine.” He glances at his own dog curled up under a chair.  “But only If you can figure out what the hell Monoma tried to write here.”  For all intents and purposes, Kilo was a good dog, a little stupid, but a good dog nonetheless. To be honest, he’s really honored you trust him with the task, you’re the only person he’s met that seems to love your own dog as much as he loves his. Plus it also meant that Kilo had to like him a fair bit which was also a relief, as a dog owner he knew any potential partner was only as compatible with him as they were with his dog, and his dog loved you, he was sure you felt the same way, any partner that Kilo didn’t get along with would be impossible for you to get along with, he found it more than a little reassuring that Kilo seemed to enjoy his company. Past all that, and maybe even most important this was a perfect opportunity to introduce the two dogs. He was sure it was no secret to you but this wasn’t exactly a casual fling, with the way things were going it felt pretty inevitable that he’d ask if you wanted to move in together; but if the two didn’t get along well then..that’d be an issue. Though he was sure if things got tested out now you’d have some time to at least try to get the dogs to be comfortable with each other or hopefully think of some sort of workaround. In his eyes, this was a blessing for him as much as it was a favor to you.  “Are you sure you don’t mind keeping Kilo at your place?” Sekijiro is slightly embarrassed to say how early he arrived at this park, he wanted to tire his own dog out before introducing the pair, he’d advised you to do the same so you were walking to the park, you'd called him on your way.  “Of course I don’t mind babe.” He tosses a ball from his seat on the bench and watches his pudgy bulldog trot over to it, “it’ll be easier this way, right?”  “Yeah that’s true, I just don’t want Kilo wrecking any of your stuff, he always means well but he gets into trouble sometimes-”  “Don’t worry about it, he’ll be a model student by the time you get back.” He hears you laugh into the receiver at that. “I don’t doubt that, I’m almost there, I’ll see you in a few okay?”  “Yeah sure thing, can’t wait.” You huff out another laugh at him before hanging up.  “Sekijiro!” You chirp brightly at the sight of the man, he’s too busy taking you in to respond. Kilo’s trotting a foot or so in front of you on his leash, that old joke about dogs looking reminiscent of their owners was certainly true in your case, you both looked delighted to see him and beyond that, you were practically glowing... Maybe he just had a thing for people who were good with animals.  “Hey Sek?” You lean down in front of him.  “Hey! He welcomes Kilo between his knees, the mixed breed was a bit larger than his dog who was currently bounding back to him with a ball and sufficient slobber hanging from his mouth, the size difference in mind though Kilo was a hell of a lot less bulky, he was practically streamlined, Sekijiro had seen how fast the dog could run with his own eyes. He could see why you took so much pride in the dog, he was definitely beautiful his coat was long, wavy, and shiny and he had big blue eyes and admittedly the cutest pink nose and spotted tongue Sekijiro had ever seen.  “Thanks so much again for doing this I really-” An excited bark pulls your attention downwards, “look who it is!” You sing, crouching down to pet the panting dog, “you sure look tired. Sekijiro is working you too hard.” You frown at him as he hops up to rest his front paws on your thighs. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Sekijiro laughs, “but he is worn out, I guess Kilo is too though.” Kilo’s head is on his knee, the larger dog is panting too.  They seem to notice each other, and approach with a lazy curiosity. They sniff around each other for a bit but after that return to their respective activities, seemingly unbothered by each other and the proximity of the other dog to their owner. Kilo didn’t mind your cooing at Vlad’s dog who didn’t seem to mind Kilo’s head in his owner's lap. With that little bit of reassurance, you hand him Kilo’s leash and a bag of his stuff; food dish, some toys and treats and the like, and then you part ways after promising to call him when you get to your home town safely.  All in all the coming days are pretty uneventful, Kilo joins them on their daily walks, eats at the same time with no trouble, finds a comfortable place to sleep each night.  “Is Kilo alright?” Your voice is nervous in the receiver.  “He’s better than babe, seriously they’re getting along great.”  “God that’s such a relief.” You sigh, “the pictures you’ve sent are cute..gosh I miss him.” You pout a little. “Gee I miss you too babe.” He mutters it with a playful edge to his voice and you gasp,  “I was going to say I miss you too but forget it!”  “don’t be mean!” He complains back, “I was kidding! And anyway I miss you. How’s it been out there?”  You go off on your usual tangents before ending up back at square one.  “Oh! I called you for a reason actually!” You remember, “I’ll be a little bit late getting back on Sunday, one of the trains is going to be down so I’m taking a later one, I should be back around midnight now would you mind-”  “Of course not babe, I’ll get you from the station so-”  “No no! It’s okay you’ve already done so much that’s not what I was going to ask! I just wanted to be sure you wouldn’t mind keeping Kilo around for the extra time...I can get a taxi, seriously don’t wait up for me!”  “Well just come to my place when you get back right?”  “I wouldn’t wanna wake you up-”  “It’s been way too long since I saw you last, so I don’t mind, if you won’t let me pick you up from the station at least come right here.”  “You’re convincing.” You laugh a little, embarrassment heating up your face, “I guess that’s fine with me then...” A distant sounding voice pulls you away from the receiver, “Sek I have to go, I’ll call you again soon though!”  “Don’t worry about anything babe.” He reassures you as you hang up.  There is one minor spat over a rope toy but it’s resolved easily enough and the pair seem to get on swimmingly after that, even sharing a couch cushion and occasionally resting their heads on each other, they become incredibly fast friends, which is probably the biggest relief on the planet to Sekijiro. Watching the two of them play tug of war in his living room or witnessing their schemes to get leftovers off the counter on Thursday night essentially cement his vision of a future with you.  If you were being totally honest it was embarrassing how attractive you found Sekijiro getting along with your dog to be, you’d never got the obsession of handsome guys holding cute babies but seeing some of the photos he’d sent to you over the almost 6 days you were gone made butterflies crop up in your stomach the likes of which you’d only felt when he was actively trying to fluster you...but this seemed totally unintentional. To say you were incredibly eager to go home and see him (jump his bones) felt like an understatement. It’s past midnight when you get back and the place is mostly dark, you see a vaguely bulldog shaped blob partially under a blanket on the couch, but the snoring it emits gives away it’s identity easily. You leave your bag at the door and venture into the apartment, poking your nose into the bedroom.  Of course, Sekijiro is there, dead asleep on his back, and who’s with him but Kilo, his head resting on the blood hero’s chest one of his hands resting on top of it.  “Oh Vlad-” You coo, you practically sing it at him.  “Wha-whatsitwhat-” He rubs his face as he picks his head up, “oh, hey welcome back ‘s good to see you, missed you-”  “You’re so sweet-” You’re already at the side of his bed, leaning down and kissing him.  “What’s-” Sekijiro takes a minute to process everything before he realizes it’s Kilo’s head on his chest making you act like this.  “Oh no way, he’s been a total angel-”  “I’m so glad he likes you so much-” You murmur it between kisses, to his lips and various other spots on his cheeks and jaw, “you guys are adorable together.”  “I’m glad you think so-” He cuts himself off with a yawn and turns into your lips, kissing you again before speaking, “you weren’t kidding about that late train huh? It’s almost 1 AM, you must be exhausted, there’s plenty of room for you in here so come on.” 

Kugo Sakamata/Gang Orca: “Hey, Kugo...” You approach him from behind and wrap your arms around his shoulders, leaning against the back of the chair he’s sat in.  “Yes?” One hand comes up to cover your forearm the other stays dutifully at work.  “You love me, right?” You rest your head against his and he pricks up at the inquisition.  “Of course I do, why would you ask a question like that? Is something wrong?”  The way his hand subtly squeezes your arm isn’t lost on you.  “Hmm..no nothing's wrong.” You lean into him and close your eyes as he sighs good-naturedly. “Then what? Did you just want to hear me say it?” He leans back into you, “I guess I could entertain that...” His thumb swipes a long stroke over the skin of your forearm, “I love you, dear.” He can feel you prickle up at that behind him. “I love you too Kugo.” You squeeze him tighter and he huffs out a quiet laugh. “I’m glad to hear it. Now is that all you needed?” He puts his pen down to bring his other hand up to your arms, “I’m a bit busy. You’re welcome to stay there if you like though I just need to finish some paperwork and make a few phone calls. After that, we can do whatever you like for the night.”  “Well, now that you mention it there was just one more thing. I’ll be fast I promise.” Your hand slides underneath his lapel and into his jacket.  “Don’t worry I can make a bit of time for you then, what’s the matter?” You make eye contact with him through his darkened computer screen.  “My boss invited me to this big conference next week, it’s a pretty great opportunity and I could meet some important people..” You explain, biting your lip, “it could be really good for me to branch out even she thinks so, and getting some more experience will be great, and it’s pretty close to my hometown so I figured I'd stop in and see some old friends after I got done..It’d be about 5 or so days and I’d really like to go.” You sigh and he seems more than a little confused based on his reflection.   “That does sound like a great opportunity for you, you’re right..what’s the problem then? Do you need advice about something?” His confusion doesn’t quell even as you kiss his temple. “I probably will later but for now the problem is Luna.” “Your cat?” Kugo piques, “why is she a problem?”  You sigh, “if I’m not around no one will be there to feed her and make sure she stays out of trouble.”  “Oh is that it? That’s no problem at all dear, I can look after her for you. Is that what you were going to ask me?”  “You don’t mind?” You perk up, “I don’t want to trouble you...and I know I could just as easily leave a key under my mat and have a neighbor do it but I trust you so much more and-”  “It’s no trouble, really.” Kugo laughs a little, "I pass by your apartment all the time on patrols, I’m sure the interns won't mind if I make a stop and head up to check on her every now and again.”  “Oh! You can totally bring them up if they like cats!” He laughs at that too.  “Was that all?”  “Mhm.” You nod and use the motion to nestle into him a bit, “Thank you Kugo.”  ”It’s really my pleasure. Leave it to me, alright?”  All things considered, Kugo’s also pretty honored to be trusted with the task of watching your pet cat, he knows how much you love and worry about her, you dote on her all the time, and if the copious amount of photos you send him of her say anything she’s definitely your pride and joy. For the most part, you spent the bulk of your time with Kugo at his own home, due largely to the fact that he was larger than average and he existed a fair bit more comfortably there, but he paid you visits in your apartment from time to time and had met the cat, she seemed to like him plenty which was a relief as well.  You stop at Kugo’s before you leave and give him a list of things to double-check when he stops in, though you reassure him that there shouldn’t be any problems, Luna was pretty independent and mellow she didn’t like going outside so he didn’t have to worry about her escaping or anything like that. He tries to stop in at least 3 times a day, before, during, and after patrols, he knows that’s probably overkill, you spend all day at work and have never had an issue but he hates the idea of something happening to the feline on his watch. Plus even if he wouldn’t readily admit it he saw this as a perfect time to get on the cat's good side, you said she already loved him but he wasn’t convinced. He knew how much you loved her and any vision of your future that he had always featured the mellow feline so in his mind it was imperative they got on well. On top of that, he was glad you trusted him with something as small and delicate as Luna, she fits pretty comfortably in his hand and was as fragile as she was petit, but you never seemed off-put by the idea of him holding her or petting her, in fact, you encouraged it. The way you even wanted him near her when you weren’t around to supervise put him at ease about his strength and size, he always worried about breaking delicate things, but that wasn’t a worry you seemed to echo.  “Is something going on in that building?”  Shoji looks up at your complex as he pauses by it, “you’re stopping here a lot since yesterday.”  “Huh? Oh. Actually no... well nothing of importance to you. I’m...catsitting.” Jiro holds her breath the hold in the laugh, “Catsitting?”   “Yes...my partner is away at a work conference, the cat in question is theirs.” Kugo nods, “if you like cats you can come up and meet her, she’s actually quite friendly.”   Kugo was pretty used to Luna at this juncture, but whenever other people met her it was easy to see why you were so proud of her, she was quite the stunning cat, a long dark grey and black coat with big green eyes and a swishing tail, her paws were colored as if she was wearing boots.  “Wow...she’s really pretty, I’ve never seen a cat like this.” Jiro was crouched on the ground, stroking her neck.  “I was surprised too.” Kugo confesses, “they found her in a box on the side of the road about a year before we met. She was only a kitten then. Her name’s Luna.”  She seemed to like the pair equally alternating between them, rubbing against their legs and shuffling her head into their palms.  “She is very friendly.” Shoji remarks as she purrs at him, attempting to climb into his lap.  “She’s good at getting into trouble, but she usually means well. You can stay with her for a minute.” He sets off to double-check the usual; food, water, litterbox, the loose window that she’s always wiggling open despite having no desire to climb out of it, he waters a few plants and straightens up anything she knocked over as well. When he returns she's overturned on Shoji’s lap.  “You’re getting along well.” He swipes a pillow she’d knocked over up and replaces it on the couch.  “She’s really sweet!” Jiro is scratching her stomach. “I’m glad to hear it.”   “Hey..sorry if this is too personal or whatever but I didn’t know you were.. dating someone... We didn’t snoop or anything though!” She swears, holding both hands up, the cat looks disgruntled at the loss of attention.  “It’s alright I trust you.” Kugo waves her off, “Luna looks too comfortable anyways, you’ve clearly been petting her this whole time.” He adds with a small chuckle. At the sound of her name, she rolls over and winds around his feet, circling through his ankles and pawing at his pants until he lifts her up.  “To answer you though yes I am seeing someone.” He holds Luna with one hand, his ring and middle finger scratching the patch of grey fur on her chest.  “Are they a hero too?” She wonders, straightening up.  “No...no they’re not, I’m not very public about this sort of thing.”  Shoji contemplates that, “they have a nice apartment.”  “That is true, it’s a good job, and they do have a pretty keen eye for decorating” He agrees, looking around amicably.  “Have you guys been together for a long time?” Jiro blurts out before feeling color float up to her cheeks, “sorry I don’t mean to be rude... I just never pictured you like this I guess I’m curious-”  “It’s okay, most people don’t, and yes, we’ve been together a while now.” Kugo raises a hand to calm her, “but like I said before I’m not very public about things like this which is why you wouldn’t have heard..though either way, even when we do go out together... most people don’t assume I do that sort of thing, and to be frank, we aren’t the most...visually compatible pair..” He says that with a distinct fondness in his voice and then continues, “like you said, you don’t really picture me in this sort of light, most people don’t so hero gossip tabloids tend to leave me alone for the most part, I get a fair bit of freedom when it comes to this sort of thing because of that. There are probably plenty of photos of us together out there, though people usually assume they’re my manager or a secretary or just a friend.” Luna is purring loudly in his hand, her body largely slack against his chest. He walks her over to the couch and sets her down, which she warbles angrily at, “to be honest though I prefer it this way. I’m a private person.”  “That makes sense...well, their cat sure likes you.” Shoji points and Kugo chuckles.  “I’m fond of her myself.” Kugo admits, “everything is as it should be here so we can head out again, sorry for the tangent.” He scratches Luna’s neck and sighs, “as for you I’ll be back tonight. So try to behave until then, for my sake alright?”  Jiro tries not to laugh at the sight. “I didn’t think you’d actually bring them up! Did they like her?”  You sound delighted about it over the phone that night.  “I may have knocked a few intimidation points off of myself, but yes they thought she was cute.” He was sitting with her, contemplating staying the night here. He was embarrassed to say it but this was the longest you’d spent apart in a while and despite any appearances, he had gone soft and was starting to miss you, being around your stuff was nice even if he didn’t fit too well in your bed.  “I don’t think you’re very intimidating at all.” You peep back thoughtlessly. “Well, I’d sure hope not.” He chuckles and leans against the couch, “she’s been good too I was,..expecting her to break more.”  Truthfully Kugo wasn’t sure what he was expecting, he never had pets growing up and hero work didn’t give much free time to consider one, it took a day to get comfortable with her, and even now he was watching his every step for her. “I’m glad to hear that!” You laugh, “she’s a pretty great cat isn't she?”  “I have to agree..” Kugo wouldn’t mind having her around all the time, the longer he sat on your couch and contemplated it the more he realized he wouldn't mind having the both of you around all the time. Was this some sort of emotional sign to ask you to stay with him? He’d give that more thought at a later date.  “Kugo are you listening?” “Of course I am.” He was not. You don’t seem perturbed though, chuckling and then sighing fondly, “I’m gonna go shower then call it a night, I miss you two though.”  Kugo looks down at the cat on his lap and he nods, “we miss you too. I’ll be up for a bit longer so call or text me if you need anything.”  “You shouldn’t stay up so late Kugo it’s bad for you-”  “I know, I know, I’ll turn over a new leaf when you get back.”  “Sure you will.” You snort, “I love you Kugo.”  “I love you too, I’ll see you soon.”  You wanted to see Kugo first thing when you got back but you were so exhausted that you can’t help sulking to your own place, things had gone well enough but all the commotion and travel really drained you. You were sure it wasn’t anything spending some time or even a night with Kugo couldn’t fix though. When you shoulder your door open though there’s Kugo, sitting on your couch.  “Kugo, you’re here?” He’s holding some papers in one hand, the other is holding Luna’s back, keeping her against his chest.  “I was just checking in on her but every time I tried to leave she started..making a weird noise.”  “Weird like how?” You chuckle, suddenly feeling much better.  “Sort of like screaming. But cat-like. I sat down and she clawed her way up here, then fell asleep and almost fell off, but I caught her and she hasn’t moved since.”  “And... how long ago was that?”  “What time is it?” “Half-past 6.”  “2 hours ago. I didn’t want to wake her.”  “Kugo.” You laugh and sit beside him, “you’re so sweet.” You wrap both of your arms around one of his and lean into his shoulder, “I missed you so much.”  “I missed you too.” Kugo sets the papers down on the pile by the arm of the couch, “It's sort of embarrassing but I even stayed here a few nights because of it. I can’t remember the last time I went even 2 days without seeing you.” He appreciates the way you seem to melt into him at that.  “That’s not embarrassing it’s sweet, you’re so cute Kugo...” You lean up and kiss him, “such a big softie aren’t you?”  A soft hum is his reply as you pull away, “was she any trouble? Be honest.” “I was worried at first that I’d screw it up somehow but it went fine.” He confesses as he lifts the cat off his chest and she’s sleepy and limp in his big hand, purring contentedly.  “She was acting up the 2nd day but I think she was just confused about not seeing you. Then she got used to me and was alright.”  “That’s cute..” You yawn and clamber onto his lap, “god all that traveling tired me out...you’ve been stuck here for 2 hours but I might have to trap you a little longer to take a catnap of my own. I think Luna’s onto something...” You nestle into his shoulder, grateful to feel his arms come around you.  “Don’t worry about me.” He hums as Luna curls up in the sliver of space between your bodies, “I just want to finish reading over some things. Then I'll bring you both to bed.”  “You’ll stay tonight?” You yawn again and he hums, you can tell he’s smiling even though you can’t see him. “Would you like me to?”  You nod into his shoulder, “yeah, I would...”  “Alright then I will. Now go to sleep, you need it.” 

[imomomi]

Extra: 

Atsumu wasn’t sure what he was expecting when Y/N said she was bringing her friends. Hell, if he was being honest, he’d never even expected her and Suna to get along as well as they did. But, the two girls that arrived were vaguely familiar and leveled him with glares so deadly, he instantly worried that he’d rejected them at some point. Y/N was oblivious to the stare off, searching the ground for the spot with the most grass. Atsumu rolled his eyes and tossed her his blazer. She didn’t say thank you and he didn’t really care to hear it.

Her friends tossed their things onto the ground as Y/N made a blanket out of his blazer and sat down. Iwanuma and Ota greeted him, bitingly adding that they were cheerleaders and that they hoped that Inarizaki would make it farther along this year.

“It’s not like you’d have anything else to cheer for if we don’t,” he said and then winced. Y/N frowned and raised a brow. Her eyebrows were usually the best indication of what kind of doom would follow. Once and only once, when he’d spilled a whole bottle of Pocari Sweat on her after winning a game in middle school, had her brows gone so high that he feared for his life.

“I’m here because no one else could stand to be in your presence, so shut up,” Y/N said. He rolled his eyes and stuffed the last of his onigiri into his mouth. The rice was bland in his mouth.

“Oh, no worries! We know he’s just joking,” said Ota with a cheery grin on her face. “Besides we never cheer for Atsumu-senpai.”

Atsumu blinked, head lolling to the side. He shook his head and laughed lightly. Guess Y/N had found more friends. The thought rung hollowly in his chest. It’s not like he cared much or needed that kind of shit anyway. He had Osamu, his teammates—even though some of them hated him—and volleyball. His brow furrowed and he fell strangely quiet, not noticing the three girls exchanging glances.

“Eat,” said Y/N and shoved a melon-pan into his hands. “It’s creepy if you’re watching us.” Her bento was freakishly neat, something Ota took delight in photographing.

“It’s always creepy. He has a pervert’s face,” said Iwanuma.

“Osamu has this face,” he defended. Y/N laughed sharply and shook her head. A tiny grin played at the corners of her mouth; eyes wrinkled at the corners.

“He wears it better,” she said, “I wish one of you had kept the black hair. It was nicer.”

“I look good! Everyone thinks so.”

“Who is everyone? The fangirls only want you because they think you’re going to be rich,” Y/N paused, turning to him with sharp eyes, “They haven’t heard you speak yet.”

“That’s not fair,” he whined, “I’m the older twin. I’m better looking. Come on, admit it.”

“What does being older have to do with looks? Won’t you just die faster?” asked Ota.

“That’s not the point,” he cried. The girls laughed together, the sound neither mocking nor scornful, but warm. Atsumu risked a glance at Y/N surprised to see that she was smiling freely. Though she wore her mask less often than she had in middle school, her face always carried an eerie calm that made it impossible to determine what she was feeling. Maybe it was because he’d know her for so long and spent summer’s figuring out what each twitch meant, but there was something comforting in being able to read her face.

They settled into light conversation, talking about school and their classes. They touched briefly on entrance exams, attempting to skim past the conversation when Ota voiced her displeasure at being the younger of the group. Atsumu knew that Y/N had her heart set on Tokyo, but he’s surprised to learn that it was because of her cousins.

“Volleyball,” he answered when they turn to him.

“Any team?” Iwanuma asked.

“The Jackals.”

“Holy shit,” Ota exclaimed and immediately covered her mouth with her hands. “You’re like good good.”

“Duh, he got called up to Youth Japan,” hissed Iwanuma, “What did you think? He’s dramatic, but it’s not without anything to back it up.”

“Dramatic?” asked Atsumu. He leaned back and rested on his elbows, grass digging into his white button down. Y/N made a noise between a squeak and a hiccup as he did and lurched forward. He swatted her away, smiling at the scowl that instantly formed on her face.

“THE SERVE ROUTINE,” Ota shouted. She stood up instantly and backed away a few paces. He groaned as she took four steps forward and thrust a fist in the air.

“No, no,” said Y/N to his surprise. His eyes widened as she stood too. What alternate universe had he walked into? Y/N mimicked his actions perfectly, down to the way he walked, and when Iwanuma started laughing, she leveled a heavy glare at her that was all too familiar. Atsumu choked and laughed so hard, tears sprung to his yes.

“Oi, sit down,” he ordered, “You’re all a bunch of scrubs.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” asked Ota.

“Doesn’t matter. Just don’t try that on M-1, you’re awful,” he shook his head. Ota jumped on Y/N’s back, pressing a sloppy kiss to her cheek that was immediately wiped off.

When they’re done eating, he helped them clean up their stuff, not because he wanted to, but it felt like something Kita might have done and he’s all about channeling his ex-captain these days. Y/N lingered in the hall, letting her friends run off before her. Iwanuma dragged away a shouting Ota, who screeched the names of some boybands down the hall until she was no longer in sight.

“Where’d you meet those two clowns?” he asked. His blazer is tucked her arm with a promise to be washed and returned.

“Haru went to middle school with us,” she rolled her eyes at the look of confusion that crossed his face, “I tutored Mirai when she was a freshman.”

“You know, you’re kinda cute around them. A total tsundere.”

“Oh, shut up,” she huffed, cheeks turning a light pink, “I don’t need your inane flirting-“

“So, you admit it’s flirting. That seems like a step in the right direction.”

“Atsumu.”

“Y/N,” he mocked. She sighed and ran a hand over her face, staring at him with deeply ingrained exhaustion.

“We have practice later?”

“You can skip if you want. I’m pretty sure they deserve a break from their demon manager.”

“Your sets to Riseki need work. You’re the same height, but you keep tossing too high. He’s not playing on a trampoline; he can’t jump the way you want him to. Also, I think Osam-”

“Stop using your brain for a second. It’s stressing me out,” he breathed in deeply, putting a hand on her shoulder to force her to do the same, “Put it on paper and give it to me later. I’ll look at it.”

“Can you even read? You got a 10 on your last Japanese Literature exam.”

“I swear to god,” said Atsumu and inhaled sharply, “I’m this close to kissing you.”

“You demented pervert! This is why I don’t speak to you,” she shoved him away in an instant. The scent of her peach shampoo filed the air as she turned on her heel and stomped away. It was way too easy to rile her up, but somehow the thrill he got from doing it hadn’t gone away. Instead, he found himself looking for new reactions: little blushes, the way she ignored certain texts for hours, but would respond to others right away, sometimes he’d push just the right button and she’d throw something at him, usually her books, but once she’d pulled off a shoe and tossed it with a enough force to have given him a concussion had he not caught it.  

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[sapphicsandscience]

Growing Pains - Susan & Kerry ER fanfiction (1/1)

When Susan needs a little help, Kerry is the unlikely one who steps up. However, the two women struggle to get past their fractious relationship.

(read below the cut or on AO3)

Patients filled the hospital corridors from top to bottom. A group of intoxicated wedding goers from the previous night and the sweltering temperatures had blessed County with a dose of chaos. No one seemed to be moving anywhere apart from into each other, including Kerry who had returned from examining a patient to find it somehow worse than fifteen minutes previously.

“Sir, take a seat. Someone will see you when it’s your turn,” she said, strategically maneuvering her crutch between herself and a man in a fancy suit drunkenly stumbling around. The last thing she wanted was his bloody nose spilling all over her clothes.

Her white coat was an object of desire to the frustrated and uncomfortable patients as she attempted to move through the hoards of people. Her petite frame made it impossible to see the admit desk, her target destination, over what seemed like hundreds of heads. However, the sound of an infant crying from that direction managed to pierce through all the noise. Using the cries as a guide and her crutch to give some individuals a ‘gentle nudge’, Kerry finally managed to break through to the admit desk.

She was greeted by an upset-looking little Susie in the hands of a wired-looking Randi. The baby girl was all but being thrown around reception in the clerk’s arms as she answered phones and Susie evidently was no longer enjoying the ride.

“Where are all our doctors?” Kerry said with a brash tone. She immediately switched her demeanor as she leaned in closer to little Susie and stroked her damp cheek, which momentarily distracted Susie from her wailing. “There is no room to swing a cat out there.”

Randi stopped searching through the pile of charts in front of her and looked at Kerry. “That would be animal abuse,” she deadpanned.

“It’s a figure of speech.”

Randi tried to contain her smirk. “Mark is in CT with a patient and I don’t know where Doug is.”

“It’s unprofessional for an ER to be in such a state, never mind dangerous.” Kerry increased the volume of her voice as Susie began to cry again. “What about Susan? I’ve barely seen her all morning.”

“She had to take a phone call,” Randi said, preoccupied trying to soothe Susie by dangling around a small blanket in her face, the only thing she had been able to pull out of the diaper bag quickly. “Something about some lawyer I think.”

“No, I just saw her going to take a nap in exam four,” Connie interrupted as she walked over to the admit desk. “What are you doing to the poor girl?” Her brows raised as she watched Randi’s method of comforting the baby.

“You’re kidding! I can’t look after her all day!” Randi threw the blanket onto the desk in frustration. “She said she would be back in ten minutes.”

Kerry sighed. As much as it displeased her to see a doctor's personal life interfering with their work (and the running of the department), she couldn't help but have some sympathy for Susan. It hadn’t exactly been her choice to wind up looking after her sister's child. The majority of Kerry’s frustration with Susan came from the fact that Kerry hated seeing a doctor with such talent and potential distracted by things out of her control.

But it wasn’t just a distraction. It was a baby. Little Susie was her family.  

Family. Something Kerry did have much left of anymore.

Deciding not to go and wake Susan up, Kerry glanced up at the clock. It was nearing twelve and the morning hadn’t made much of a dent in the crowd that was in chairs. However, she was due a break and none of the cases appeared particularly emergent. Mark and Doug could take care of it when they decided to return to the trenches she thought.

“I’ll take her for a bit,” Kerry offered, reaching out her arm towards Susie.

Randi and Connie simultaneously looked up at Kerry, disbelief written on their faces.

Kerry rolled her eyes back. “What? I don’t bite, no matter what rumors you have heard.”

The phone began to ring and Randi gratefully passed Susie to Kerry, ignoring the fact that Susan probably wasn’t going to like this. “Just take her, please. I'm pretty sure she needs to be changed.”

Kerry expertly maneuvered the infant up against her chest with one arm, so the girl's rosy cheeks gently rested on her shoulder. “I think Randi is right, isn't she little Susie?” Kerry felt the heavy diaper as she rested Susie on her arm.

“You look like you have done that before.” Connie pried not so subtly, watching as the young girl almost immediately calmed against Kerry’s touch, Susie’s wet eyes wide as she gauged this new person holding her.

The personal life of Kerry Weaver was, of course, under the scrutiny of the gossip mill. And while none exactly saw her as the maternal type, Connie wanted to see her reaction.

But she got none.

“Is this her diaper bag?” Kerry indicated to the bag on the desk.

“Yep, all her stuff is in there.”  

Kerry scooped up the various baby paraphernalia into the bag and hung it over the handle of her crutch for the short journey. “Connie, I’ll be in one of the exam rooms if anyone needs me,” she called back as she walked away.

Avoiding the crowds, Kerry carried Susie into a nearby exam room. She switched on the overhead lights but Susie brought her little fists up to her face in discomfort. Apologizing to her, Kerry quickly turned them off again and instead turned on a less intense lamp that provided enough light for her to do the job.

“It’s okay, here we are. Nice and quiet here,” she rocked the girl on her hip. “Away from all those yucky sick people.”

Kerry walked over to the bed, collecting a sterile sheet before placing Susie down on her back. Susie was sporting a cute one-piece ensemble, with a matching sun hat and socks. The diaper was very full and wet and Kerry checked for any leakages before sliding the girl’s clothes off. Satisfied that there were none, Kerry opened the bag that was sitting beside Susie with her free hand and collected the required items to change her.  

“I can see why Susan is so attached to you,” Kerry patted Susie's little stomach as the baby happily squirmed on her back, enjoying her new clean diaper. “You’re a gorgeous girl aren’t you? You must have your aunt’s genes hey,” she said and Susie babbled back in agreement, a cheeky smile falling on her face. Kerry leaned down closer and shook her head excitedly. “Yes, you are.”

It took a while for Susan to regain full control of her limbs as she clawed herself out of the sleep-deprived coma that she had entered in exam four. Her call with her now ex-lawyer had left her wishing she could just disappear from existence for a bit.

__

Not quite ready to lift herself up, Susan stretched out with a yawn as she studied the ceiling. Little Susie had been up every couple of hours the last few nights, the young girl perhaps feeling the unrest that was in her aunt's life at the moment. Between that, work, and the amount of stress she was under, Susan couldn't remember the last time she had a moment to herself.

Though this moment to her herself had not left her feeling particularly rested or rejuvenated. Instead, she awoke from her ‘short nap’ uncomfortable. Everything was hot and cloudy and she felt like she had awfully overslept.

Which was odd, considering Susan could swear she had only been in here for 10 minutes. 20 Max.

Reaching over to the side table she picked up her watch and squinted.

“Crap,” she muttered. It had been at least an hour.

The realization that she had left Susie with Randi along with a certain chief resident's voice in the back of her head berating her for missing work, sprung Susan into action and she quickly collected her stethoscope and pager before running out of the exam room.

“Randi, I’m so sorry!” she called out, fixing her hair and clipping on her pager to her lab coat as she made her way towards the admin desk. “I just thought I’d close my eyes for a few minutes and then -” her apology ended abruptly as she looked up and noticed something was wrong. “Where’s Susie?” her voice went cold.

Randi frowned in confusion as she tried to decipher Susan’s questions while simultaneously trying to control the rowdy crowd that had somehow spilled into the admit area. “Oh the baby, Dr. Weaver took her,” she replied.

“Took her?” Susan tried to quell any panic and come to a logical conclusion. “Like to the daycare?”

She struggled to fathom any reason as to why Kerry had taken Susie. But perhaps Kerry had grown tired of Susie’s cries and shipped her upstairs to prevent any further distraction in the department.

But why had no one come to wake her first?  

“I’m not sure...” Preoccupied, Randi brushed her off and resumed yelling at the man that was opposite the desk. “Sir, you need to sit down. Otherwise, I’ll turf you out of here myself!”

“Lady, you can’t talk to me like that!”

“I’ll talk how I like,” Randi spat out and smiled as she watched the man retreat back. “I think she is still down here though. She said something about an exam room,” Randi focused her attention back on Susan and answered calmly.

But Susan was gone before Randi had even finished her sentence.

“Move please!” Susan pushed herself through the crowded ER corridors, not bothering with any pleasantries.

It had been over an hour since she had left Susie to go and make her phone call. Over an hour that little Susie had been left alone with a stranger. Left alone with Kerry Weaver of all people. Randi would have been better passing her off to the LOL in curtain three, Susan thought.

With every empty exam room she found, Susan’s heart rate climbed. And with every extra beat, Susan’s mind became less sound.

What if they had left the hospital? Susie could be anywhere.

“Mark! Thank god,” Susan burst into the suture room.

“I’m a little busy right now,” he replied, getting ready to begin a suture on a passed-out patient, presumably another victim of last night's wedding party.

“No, it’s Weaver you have to -” she continued breathlessly.

Mark let out an exasperated sigh and swung around on his stool. “Susan, I thought we had been through this. You two need to learn how -”

“Weaver has abducted little Susie!”

Bewildered, Mark and Malik stared at Susan.  

“Umm...Malik, wash this wound out again, will you? I’ll be back shortly,” he took off his gloves and stood up, leaving a curious-looking Malik behind him.

“What on earth are you talking about?” he ushered Susan into the corridor.

Susan raised her hands to her forehead. “I went to take a break...Susie...she was with Randi and then she wasn’t...I -” she rambled, running her shaking fingers through her hair.

“Slow down. What does Kerry have to do with any of this?”

“Randi said that Kerry took her and I can’t find them anywhere.”

Mark frowned. “I’m sure there is an explanation,” he comforted, as the pair walked to somewhere more private where they could talk.

“Mark, I don’t care if there is an explanation,” she said, as they entered the doctor’s lounge. “I don’t want her near little Susie!”

Susan’s words ricocheted through the doctor’s lounge, clearly making themselves heard to the occupants. Kerry and Connie were both seated on the couch along with Susie who was happily perched upon Kerry’s lap. The young girl smiled as she stole both of the women’s complete attention. That was until Mark and Susan had arrived. An awkward air swept through the room as they all stared at each other.

“Good Susan, you’re here.” Kerry was the first to break the silence and she stood up, ready to pass the baby over to Susan. “I think she is getting a little hungry, but I wasn’t sure what formula she takes.”

Kerry quickly gave the baby to Susan, which was slightly hindered by the fact that Susie had a firm fist wrapped around one of Kerry’s fingers. Kerry managed to pry her tiny fingers from her own and Susie was then in her aunt's arms, which immediately allowed Susan to breathe again.

“There is already some made up in the fridge,” Susan said offhandedly, the events of the last fifteen or so minutes washing over her as she stroked her niece's cheek. Susie was fine. “The formula.”

Kerry shuffled on her feet for a few seconds before committing and turning around to go and collect the bottle. Susan sighed as she took a seat at the table. She hadn’t meant for Kerry to go and get the formula. Truly she wished they all would leave. Kerry especially. Only so she didn’t have to look at her in the face after what she had just said.

Mark laid a hand on her shoulder. “If everything is alright here, I have to get back,”

“I should be getting back to work as well,” Connie lifted herself up from the couch. “Bye-bye, little Susie,”

Further tension spilled into the lounge as the two buffers departed. Susan glanced over to Kerry who had located the bottle and was warming it up. Kerry’s movements were deliberate and slow as if she was trying to extend the time she could have her back to the other woman in the room.

Susan swallowed. “Kerry I-”

“Randi was getting swept under, so I offered to take her for a bit.” the redhead interjected. Her voice was shrill, though not in its usual acerbic manner. More as if the voice was hitched in the chest and its owner was desperately trying to mask it.

Susan nodded, watching as Kerry collected the bottle from the microwave and tested the temperature of the milk on the inside of her wrist.

“I should have said something. Left a note.” Kerry continued as she turned back around. “Here,” she smiled, placing the bottle on the table.

Susie’s eyes immediately lit up and she reached out for her meal. She couldn’t quite hold her own bottle up yet, but that wasn’t going to deter her from trying.

“Thanks,” Susan replied and picked up the bottle. Susie grumbled as her milk was delayed when Susan splashed some of the milk onto her own wrist.

“Oh, I already did that,” Kerry pointed out, the intonation falling at the end of her sentence as she realized Susan wanted to check for herself. “Nevermind.”

Kerry uncuffed her crutch from her arm and gently rested it against the table before sitting down. Both women smiled as Susie latched on to her bottle and drank feverishly. Susie was something for them to focus on rather than themselves. And it was working. The mood lifted.

“She is a good little drinker,” Kerry commented.

“Kerry...I’m sorry,” Susan said.

Kerry stretched her neck from side to side as Susan waited for a response. Apologizing to Kerry Weaver was not something Susan had ever planned to do. Yet, here she was. Apologizing. Giving Kerry the upper hand.

However, the chief resident was as good at accepting apologies as she was offering them and she ignored the crumb of a peace offering that had been placed in front of her.

Susan pressed her lips together and looked down at little Susie, who was contently enjoying her milk, to quench the anger she could feel rising inside.

Kerry couldn’t even acknowledge it. Which made apologizing in the first place feel even worse.

Despite her apparent inability to make things easier for herself and Susan, Kerry didn’t show any signs of leaving and leaned forward. “I think you are doing a very admirable thing. Looking after your niece,” she said softly, but Susan couldn’t help but hear it in a condescending tone.  

“It probably won’t be for much longer,” she replied bitterly.

Susie chose this moment to start making some ominous gurgling sounds and Susan reached towards the bag to find a blanket. The last thing she needed today was another shirt decorated with baby spit-up. Her laundry pile was growing and little Susie was ‘customizing’ them faster than she could wash them.  

Kerry quickly went to help her, unzipping the bag further and making it easier for Susan to pull the blanket out with her free hand. “Randi said you were speaking to a lawyer?”

“Chloe wants to play mom again and apparently me being the only constant fixture in this girl's life for the last few months means nothing,” Susan lifted the girl up onto her blanket-covered shoulder and gently burped the baby. “I have a meeting with another one tonight. But I can’t bring Susie along.”

“Can’t your parents help?”

“They don’t want to get involved,” Susan replied, eyes downcast. “And maybe, I shouldn’t either. Just let Chloe get what she wants. She is her real mother after all.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Biology doesn’t dictate love, Susan. Not like that.”

Susan shook her head. “I’m no better than Chloe. My first response was to get rid of her. Adopt her out. You don’t do that if you love someone. You don’t do that to your child.” her words were less of a statement and more of a sad pleading question. She knew the answers. That nothing was as black and white as that. That people give away children they love all the time. She knew she was holding herself to a higher standard than she would anyone else.

But she just wanted someone to tell her what to do. Tell her what was the right thing.

And deep down. Tell her she could be a mother.

A good mother.

She wanted it so badly that she’d even take it from Kerry Weaver.

Or maybe Kerry Weaver’s opinion meant more to her than she was willing to accept.

Kerry remained silent for a few moments, fiddling with a ring on her finger. Susan furrowed her brows, she could see the light reflecting in Kerry’s damp eyes. Her words had evidently had some sort of emotional effect on Kerry.

Since when was Kerry Weaver so invested in my personal life?

Kerry cleared her throat. “Susan, I’m sure, whatever happens, it will work out,” she sat up straighter, regaining an air of authority. “But still, I think you should go tonight.”

“How?”

Kerry looked down nervously. “I...I can be with her,” she offered quietly.

“Kerry-“

“I’m serious. I’ll watch over her for an hour or so, while you go and meet this new lawyer,” she said. “It will be fine, me and Susie have already gotten to know each other haven’t we?” Kerry lent forward and rubbed Susie's back.

“Kerry,” Susan sighed, leaning back further against the chair and away from Kerry. “It’s nothing personal, but I don’t like the idea of leaving her with someone we don’t know.”

“It’s okay Susan, I understand.” she nodded with a pained smile and Susan could see how her face had fallen ever so slightly. “It was just a suggestion.” Kerry stood up and collected her crutch. No further words were exchanged between the pair as Kerry walked to the door.

“Wait Kerry,” Susan called out with a regretful grimace. She couldn’t believe she was doing this. She picked up a stray piece of paper from the table and started writing. “Umm...this is my apartment address, come by at 6:30 and I’ll go through what she needs?”

__

Susan gently inserted her key into the lock and turned the mechanism, careful to make as little noise as possible. With Susie being so difficult to settle these past few weeks, she doubted that Kerry would have had much success putting her down for the night. But on the off chance that she had, Susan didn’t want to wake her as she arrived home.

She was eager to get inside and see Susie, still not entirely comfortable with the idea of Kerry in her apartment and taking care of her. Logically she knew she didn’t have many reasons to be overly concerned. Kerry was a responsible adult and a doctor. And much to her shock, quite good at dealing with young children. However, the difficult relationship between them didn’t do a lot to settle her nerves.

She wasn’t exactly sure what she expected when she walked into her apartment, but to her surprise, everything felt overwhelmingly normal. The sheer presence of Kerry Weaver hadn’t turned the place into a cold and disturbed environment.

Not that Susan thought that of course.

It still felt like home.

She found herself smiling as she closed the door behind her and unwrapped the scarf around her neck. There wasn’t much to smile about, she thought; her life was still in shambles and she was going to have to deal with what was likely going to be another awkward Weaver interaction before she could even think about her head hitting the pillow. However, the day hadn’t been a total disaster.

There was a light on in the kitchen but the lounge area was dimly lit. A single lamp illuminated Kerry who was seated on the couch and absorbed in the book she was reading. Susan bounced up onto her tiptoes as she hung her scarf up. Raising her chin up she could just make out a peaceful Susie sleeping in her bassinet over the other side of the room and she let out a breath of air.

“Susan,” Kerry stirred and placed her book onto the coffee table. “How was it?”

“It was good,” She replied.

In fact, the meeting with this lawyer had gone far better than expected. Though Susan wasn’t keen to elaborate further right now. She had opened up herself enough to Kerry for one day. Arguably enough for a lifetime.

But this lawyer was ready to fight. The only question left was, if she was.

“I’m glad,” Kerry smiled.

Susan wandered over to the bassinet, the innate need to see her niece overpowering the fact that the girl was already settled and asleep. She placed a gentle hand on Susie’s front and stroked her cheek lightly with a finger. Susan had grown to hate missing bedtimes with Susie. The girl moved on her back ever so slightly, a little hand coming up to Susan’s that was now resting on her cheek. Susan stilled as her breath hitched in her throat.

Of course, she was going to come home and wake the baby in front of Kerry.

But Susie’s face remained content as she continued to sleep and her arm fell back down.

“She had been like that for the past hour or so,”

Susan jumped as she heard Kerry’s voice over her shoulder, not having noticed the redhead come up behind her. The women had a way of creeping up on you. Figuratively and literally.

“Took me long enough,” Kerry continued with a smile. “But she hasn’t woken since, so fingers crossed, she might sleep through for you.”

“I can’t tell you how much of a relief that is,” Susan let herself relax. “Thank you, Kerry.”

Kerry nodded stiffly before turning back and using the various pieces of furniture to balance as she returned to her crutch that had been resting against the back of the couch. Susan instinctively looked away, not having realized until that point that she wasn’t using her crutch. She never really thought about it, Kerry’s leg, but seeing her grimace as she walked across the apartment made her internally cringe as she remembered the incident in the lounge.

How she had managed to create such a complex relationship with Kerry she didn’t know.

Never in her life had Susan had so many painful interactions with the same person. And the worst of it all was that she didn’t actually dislike Kerry. Sure, the woman could drive her up the wall on a daily basis but she didn’t hate her. There had been far worse bosses in her life. And yet, the two could never seem to have a normal conversation. Sometimes they’d laugh together, Kerry would feel like one of them, one of the team. And then it was like she was an alien from another planet, sent here to obsessively pick over their every move.

And Susan let Kerry get to her, more than anyone else.

“I guess I better be going then,” Kerry fluffed up the cushions where she had been sitting and picked up her bag. “Umm...there is also some takeout for you in the fridge.”

Susan looked over surprised and walked into the kitchen. Though before she made it into the fridge, she noticed that the kitchen had obviously been cleaned and she immediately felt embarrassed. She had made sure that the apartment was in somewhat of a presentable state before Kerry arrived. However, it was now clear that Kerry hadn’t thought so.

But still, Susan tried to focus on how it was nice of her.

“It’s Chinese. I’ve seen you eat it at work. Not that I watch you eat or anything. I just knew that it was something you liked. Anyway...” she stammered.  

“Kerry, you shouldn’t have.”

“Oh, it was nothing really.”

Susan was about to thank her again when something caught her eye in her bedroom. There were three freshly washed and folded piles of clothing sitting at the end of her bed.

“You...you washed my clothes?”

There it was, Susan thought. Kerry Weaver could not help herself. Had to go and interfere in her life once again. And now she was micromanaging her in her own home. The thought of Kerry seeing her baby vomit-covered shirts and god knows what else sent Susan into overdrive. This was too much of a personal infringement for her.

Not picking up on the sudden change in Susan’s mood, Kerry continued as she put on her coat. “Susie was a bit grizzly and I thought a trip to the laundry room may help. She surprisingly likes it down there.”

“I didn’t say you could do my laundry!”

Kerry stilled, her face palling at the sudden acidity in Susan’s voice. “I just thought you might appreciate the extra help.”

“I don't want your help, Kerry! Not at work and definitely not in my own home.” she spat out. “I’m not useless you know?”

Susan lent heavily against the kitchen counter with her arms forward and closed her eyes. She needed Kerry to leave now.

Kerry, however, walked over to her with a look of concern in her eyes.

“Susan, I don’t think you are useless.” She reached out to place a hand on Susan’s forearm. But, Susan dramatically flinched away from her and Kerry stumbled back.

The redhead visibly tensed and straightened into her usual demanding posture. “I overstepped. It won’t happen again.”

“Kerry-” Susan began as Kerry began to walk to the door but she was distracted by the sudden cries from Susie who had awoken with the commotion. Quickly she rushed over to her, picking her up and rocking her against her chest. “Shhh, I’m sorry, it’s okay Susie.”

But Susie continued to cry.

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow. Don’t be late,” Kerry said as she was leaving. “It..it has been happening far too frequently of late. It doesn’t look good for your application for Chief Resident.”

Susan’s apartment did feel cold that night.

[alccaddsccup]

sickly sweet (part 2)

this is a continuation of my fic sickly sweet

( apologies for the wait, but i promise it’s worth it ❤️ )

ina x mc

warnings: fluff and a bit of steaminess

tag list: @ikingsley @swimmingshoebakerydreamer @kaitlynliaofanxx @kwaj115 @barnibumblr

lmk if you want to be added to the tag list!!

—————————

Ina was sat at her desk, marking essays with bleary eyes and a mountain of tissues beside her when someone knocked on her door

“Come in” Ina croaked. The door opened and in walked… a teddy bear???

No wait, it was just Bea carrying in a huge stuffed bear and a bunch of flowers

“Heeeeey professor, I thought I’d stop by and give you these” Bea deposited the oversized bear into one of the chairs and handed Ina the flowers with a bow

“Milady” Ina chuckled at Bea’s gentlemanly impersonation and took the flowers with a huge smile. For a second their fingers brushed but the moment was interrupted by Ina reaching for yet another tissue and sneezing quietly

“Your sneezes are real cute, y’know. You sound like a kitten or something” Ina pouted at Bea which only made her even more cute. Bea gazed at her adoringly and stroked her cheek with her thumb

“How are you holding up?” Bea asked

“Not too bad actually. You made such a great fuss when you were ill that I feared the worst for myself” Bea swatted her arm playfully

“Hey, I was really sick!”

“Hmm, of course you were” Ina grinned knowingly as she leant closer to Bea, who was leaning against her desk

“I’m sure it had nothing to do with you wanting me to take care of you”

“I didn’t ask you to come over”

“But you wanted me to” Ina challenged and Bea didn’t back down. The pair gazed at each other for a tense moment before Bea leaned down to kiss Ina slowly. The kiss was cut short, however, as Ina pulled away

“I don’t want you to get sick again”

“I won’t, I’m like 99 percent sure that I gave this bug to you in the first place”

“Ah yes, how generous of you”

“I’m real sorry about that Ina. That’s kinda why I bought you these flowers and Mr cuddles” Bea rubbed her neck gingerly as she gestured to the gigantic bear

“He’s called Mr cuddles? and he’s for me?” Ina got up and went over to where the bear was seated and snuggled into it. A childlike smile lit up her face as she sunk further into the stuffed animal

“Goodbye Bea, I won’t be needing you anymore”

“That’s no fair! Mr cuddles is here because I bought him” Bea joined Ina by the bear and playfully tried to tug her away from it. Ina didn’t resist and all of a sudden the pair were virtually nose to nose (despite ina’s short stature)

“hey”

“hey yourself” Ina replied as she draped her arms around Bea’s neck and rubbed noses with her

“Mr cuddles better not replace me, you know I’m the best at snuggling”

“Hmm, I don’t know Bea. You’ve got some pretty stiff competition” Bea pouted in feigned hurt and Ina chuckled as she kissed her cheek

“Look on the bright side, at least Mr cuddles frees you up for doing other things” Bea arched an eyebrow

“What kinds of other things?”

“Things…like…this” each word was accentuated by Ina kissing up Bea’s neck and placing a final kiss just below her earlobe before nibbling gently

“Hmm, I guess that’s not so bad” Bea turned her head to kiss Ina on her full lips and she eagerly returned the kiss.

The kiss quickly grew more intense as Bea traced Ina’s lower lip with her tongue. Ina opened her eager mouth to allow Bea entry, and the pair’s tongues twisted together. Bea trailed her hands down the professor’s back and pulled her impossibly closer. Ina moaned gently as she felt Bea knead the soft flesh of her backside but they separated after a few moments to allow Ina to catch her breath

“Thank you Bea, for all of this”

“It’s the least I could do” Bea offered Ina a bright smile before kissing her forehead

“Now I just need to figure out how to get Mr cuddles home!”

“C’mon, I’ll walk you to your car” Bea had already picked up the giant bear, the flowers and Ina’s briefcase. Ina tried not to swoon at how effortlessly Bea carried everything

“If you insist” Ina wrung her hands together, as if she wasn’t used to being empty handed, before opening her office door to allow Bea to exit.

The pair made their way to Ina’s car, chatting all the way about everything and nothing, until they finally reached their newest obstacle (how does one fit a giant bear into a tiny car???)

“Well, how are we going to do this?” Ina asked with an amused smile as she unlocked her car

“Here, hold this” Bea handed the flowers and the briefcase to her as she opened the backseat door and attempted to shove the bear into the back

“Be careful with him! Mr Cuddles is delicate” Bea grinned at Ina’s protectiveness over the stuffed animal before bending into the car to push the bear all the way in (more gently this time.) However, she failed to realise that she’d just given Ina a spectacular view of her backside who tried to pull her eyes away from the magnificent sight before her. As Bea straightened up, Ina averted her gaze and cleared her throat

“Thank you for your help Bea. I’ll make sure to drive home extra safe”

“I’m sure you will” Bea opened the driver’s side door for Ina with a pensive look on her face

“Ina?”

“Yes Bea?”

“What would you say if I offered to accompany you home and make you dinner?” Bea avoided Ina’s eyes as she asked, afraid that she would say no. The pause seemed to last forever as Ina weighed the pros and cons of Bea’s offer. She placed her hand onto Bea’s hand, which was still resting on the door, and rubbed small circles with her thumb

“I’d say that’s a wonderful idea” Bea couldn’t contain the happiness she felt and a wide grin broke out across her face

“Alright, awesome”

Bea closed Ina’s door once she was inside the car before getting into the passenger side and the pair made their way home

——————————————————————

“Bea, that was delicious!” Ina exclaimed as she placed down her fork on her completely empty plate

“What did you say that was again?”

“It was just spaghetti bolognese. Pasta, sauce and ground beef” Bea chuckled at Ina’s amazed expression before standing to clear their plates. Ina placed a hand on Bea’s arm

“No, please, allow me. You’ve already done so much” before Bea could protest, Ina had already taken the dishes from her and was loading them into the dishwasher

“Okay fine, I’m gonna pick a movie for us.”

“I thought you just wanted to make me dinner?” Bea was already flicking through the TV stations and getting comfortable on Ina’s sofa, with Mr cuddles sat besides her

“Too late!” she exclaimed gleefully, a cheeky grin on her face. Ina chuckled quietly at Bea; to have someone desire her company as much as Bea made her feel special. She joined her on the sofa, slotting herself between Bea and the bear. The pair weren’t quite touching, but even from this distance, they could both feel the warmth radiating from each other

“Ooooh, Shrek 2!” Ina laughed loudly at Bea’s childish choice

“We are not watching an animated children’s movie”

“But it’s the best of all the Shrek movies” Bea pouted at Ina and gave her the best puppy dog eyes she could muster. It seemed to do the trick as Ina rolled her eyes and relented

“Fine, we can watch it” Bea leaned in suddenly and kissed Ina gently on the cheek before turning to face the TV with wide eyes

“You’re the best” Ina smiled at Bea’s delight and made a mental note to watch all of the Shrek movies to see if the second one was truly the best (purely for research purposes, of course.)

She turned to watch the cartoon ogre and not even a few seconds into watching, she felt a hand rest on her thigh. She looked down at Bea’s hand then looked at her face, but Bea was completely transfixed by the movie. So she placed her own hand atop Bea’s and squeezed gently, Bea squeezed back but didn’t dare to take her eyes off the screen. She placed a tender kiss on Bea’s cheek before snuggling up to Bea and resting her head on her shoulder (Mr cuddles was snuggling Ina on the other side.) She struggled to keep herself awake as Bea was far too comfy and Ina was far too tired. After a few moments, she drifted off into a comfortable sleep, the sound of the movie fading into the background…

[some-dr-writings]

v3 girls x SHSL Toy Maker

Kaede Akamatsu:

·       Your girlfriend loved your toys. She’d always gush over them and would so happily watch as you worked away on any project without a care in the world. Her favorites though were the wooden ones, just seeing how you chiseled, sanded and worked with the wood was just so interesting to her.

·       Obviously, you gave her a toy piano for her birthday once, and it immediately was her most cherished possession. It was tiny, just big enough to be played with one hand, so Kaede took it wherever she went, keeping it close as a reminder of you and her most favorite thing in the world. It actually took her quite a bit of time to get used to it, but once she had mastered it, she’d play it whenever she wanted should there not be a piano around.

·       “Hey, how’s my pianist do- oh?” As you entered the dressing room you found Kaede playing you little toy piano. “Ah, Y/N! I thought no one aside from the performers were allowed backstage.” “Yeah… but who ever said I wouldn’t break the rules. I just had to come see you before the recital!” You eagerly sat beside her, just needing to get closer to that entrancing smile. “Getting in some extra practice before the big performance?” “Actually, no.” “Hmm?” She sheepishly laughed, holding your little piano close. “Just calming my nerves. Since I thought I couldn’t have you by my side, I started playing your piano. It’s helped a lot.” It became a tradition for Kaede to play you piano before any performance. It was able to calm her no matter what song she played on it.

·       Whenever it was out of tune, even just a little she’d immediately take it to you for repairs. It was usually a quick fix, but she still loved watching you work away on repairing it.

·       You also began making little music boxes for yourself. Though not pianos, you placed in Kaede’s favorite songs and before going to sleep, would wind one and have it play should the pair of you be apart. Sometime you’d even send her one so she’d know you were thinking of her.

    Kirumi Tojo:

·       Like for everyone else, she wanted to be our maid and assist you in whatever way she could and help you become even greater than you already were. “Oh, uh… Sorry, but I don’t need anything. I won’t want much either. I’ve heard how people you work for become amazing and stuff, but… I’m happy with my simply life. I don’t want it to get any greater than this. Honestly, only reason I came to Hope’s Peak is so I’d have an excuse to make more toys without my guardians telling me to study more. I’d be happy to be your friend though! Are there any toys you liked as a kid, I know I could make a nice one for you!” On occasion you’d amuse Kirumi and accept her assistance, but for the most part you’d simply decline and ask if you could make anything for her.

·       Kirumi truly just enjoyed helping others, there was nothing else she wanted so it seemed no toy would be of satisfaction to her, only after getting together did you finally come up with something. “A doll?” “Yeah! If somehow you can’t find anything to do for anyone, you can serve the doll. Its pockets are filled with requests for you to do for it, and if this doesn’t feel like real requests to do for you, I request that you care for the doll when you have nothing else to take care of!” “I will do my utmost to fulfill your wish.” You didn’t think Kirumi would actually play with the doll, but the smile on her face at finally receiving a request from you was enough to make you know it was worth it.

·       Surprisingly on occasion you would see Kirumi entertaining the doll, whether it be it be having tea parties, or one of the many other requests you had written down. You eventually found out that no matter where Kirumi went, she took the doll with her in case she had a moment of free time she could dedicate to it. You were her partner after all, though she did so for everyone, for you especially she wanted to complete your requests to the best of her abilities. And thought it never came up in conversation, she always had it around because she liked having something you had placed so much time and effort into just for her nearby.

   Himiko Yumeno:

·       Both being entertainers of sorts you both immediately clicked, you both loved making others smile and bringing joy to them through your work.

·       Not only did you and Himiko become romantic partners but business partners as well, you making and selling various toys based off of Himiko, her magic, and of her ‘familiar’ as well. They were a big hit with both children and adults. Sometimes you and Himiko would have long discussions bouncing ideas off one another about what toys to make next. An action figure? A wand? Perhaps some stuffies or a magic broom stick? On occasion one of you would start to go more abstract like suggest something like a pinball machine or soundboard, maybe even a skateboard. Sometimes it became a sort of competition for who could come up with the most outlandish, yet realistic and feasible items to make and sell.

·       Often you’d spend your time whittling away making toys for Himiko, she rather enjoyed them, no matter what they may be. She also liked watching you make them. You were so skilled with those fingers and many other things like woodworking, sewing, painting, and other such things. Sometimes she’d toy with the idea of you being her assistant.

·       You always had Himiko test your toys to make sure they worked properly if they were more electronic in nature or some such.

·       You both liked doing whatever you could to support one another through your own pursuits, you were simply great partners for one another.

   Maki Harukawa:

·       Being with you always felt… nostalgic to her, especially when you made toys for younger children. How you were so tender, kind, and respectful to them, you reminded her of how many of the older kids at the orphanage acted when they weren’t tired and annoyed at having to be babysitters all the time.

·       You had taken to making and donating toys to orphanages, mostly to the one Maki was from though. You were only one person so you couldn’t make many too quickly, but what you did make was durable and could last for several generations while still being fun and not needing too much maintenance.

·       You also gave Maki toys on occasion and would play with them with her. Since she had to spend most of her childhood training you wanted to give her a little something to let her indulge in just being carefree for a time. She cherished these gifts and moments almost more than anything else. Being with you was always just so nice and peaceful.

·       You taught Maki a few things like how to sew. It took a long time, there were many failed attempts and bleeding fingers, but she eventually got the hang of it. She’d sometimes help you with your projects or even repair some of the kids’ clothes, it started with simple things like you asking her to connect two basic pieces or her adding a patch to some pants, eventually though she was able to do more complicated things. She made a doll for you and a few for the kids. In return for all that you had taught her, Maki would teach you self-defense. Though unlikely it was not impossible for a person to attack you one day so she wanted you to be safe. In her line of work, she couldn’t be attached to anyone, but now you and Kaito and Shuichi and others were in your life, she had connections to people she wanted to be around, so even if it wasn’t much, even if it wasn’t enough to save you should you become an assassin’s target, you could at least not be too troubled by our average crook.

·       You were her irreplaceable partner, she adored you, and for as long as she could, she’d keep you as close as she could, just making little toys with you.

   Tenko Chabashira:

·       She adored everything you made, gushing over how adorable it all was. And she showed every last toy off, much to your embarrassment at times. She was rather loud with her affection, making it so that the whole world knew. Even complete strangers would know the pair of you were partners and that according to your girlfriend, you made the best toys the world had ever known.

·       Often Tenko would drag Himiko into testing your latest creations in order to make sure they worked correctly.

·       Tenko insisted that you teach her how to make toys and she teach you Neo Akkido. She’d say that learning her form of Akkido would help you be a better toy maker, and her learning how to make toys would help her improve her Neo Akkido.  You had no idea how in the world this could work, but just about any excuse to spend more time with your girlfriend was a good excuse in your book, so you eagerly agreed…

·       The training was much more than you expected. She didn’t teach you anything and just went straight to fighting you full force, and you just had to make up your own form to keep up and avoid getting too injured, but you did learn how to fight so her training did work.

·       You were much more gentle when it came to teaching her though her energy and enthusiasm could cause problems at times like accidentally knocking over items and the like. At least it was still fun.

·       Being together could be rather chaotic at times, but it was well worth it.

   Tsumugi Shirogane:

·       Your friendship began with a bet and through it a more romantic relationship bloomed. Tsumugi was showing off a very expensive, limited edition figure she had just gotten in the mail. “Wait, how expensive? But it’s so cheap! You should get your money back, or at least at a discounted price.” Obviously, this comment ticked off the girl, and a bet was made, if you could make a figure of the same character of higher quality that could simultaneously be less expensive from the cost of materials, you prove your point, if not you’d have to apologize to Tsumugi.

·       Not only did you win the bet, Tsumugi absolutely loving your figure, but you had also accidentally won her heart in the process.

·       Tsumugi still bought merchandise of her favorite anime and you always made such things for her despite that, though she did teach you why the official merchandise was so important to her. Often you’d end up analyzing the items whether they still be in the package or not, differing what it’s true price would be without the brand association. If it didn’t match you’d make your own version for Tsumugi which happened more often than not, but the few times you deemed the product worth the price it was a pleasant surprise.

·       Being deft at sewing and many other skills you often assisted Tsumugi in making her cosplays! She even convinced you to indulge in her passion as well. You much preferred making them, and seeing others wear them, but play-acting as the characters could be fun.

·       Sometimes when Tsumugi was at cons or other such similar events, she’d send you toy she found that you might like or might inspire your work. She’d also send you materials for your work, maybe even have you keep some for her own work.

·       Sometimes you’d watch whatever anime Tsumugi was most recently obsessed with when she was away. It was something to remind you of her in particularly lonely moments. Tsumugi would do something similar, play with the toys you had given her.

·       Though things could be rocky on occasion, you were able to work things out and you couldn’t want for another partner.

   Angie Yonaga:

·       “Oh my, how divine! I’m sure Atua has blessed you for such wondrous art!”

·       Angie completely adored and whole heartedly loved your toys, always calling them your art. Whenever she found you working, she always left you be as to not distract you, knowing she’d want you to do the same if she were working on her art. She’d even go out of her way to get more materials for you if she had noticed if you were starting to run low or if you were using one particular material a lot for a time. If any of your tools broke or needed repair, she already knew just the place to get another one of high quality.

·       As one ‘blessed by Atua’ you were the only person she allowed to be in the same room with her as she worked, as long as you were working as well. This was for two reasons, one, to not distract her and two, so that Atua may take possession of you too and help make your creations even more wonderful!

·       Though she never needed inspiration, because she had Atua, she would go walking around town with you to do whatever, giving you a new change of pace, which would hopefully help you get out of your rut and be filled with new creativity to create more!

·       Even with her colorful background, she understood you more than most others ever could when it came to your work. She would do anything to assist you, because aside from her god, you were the person she loved most.

   Miu Iruma:

·       “Hey, you’re the toy maker, right?” “Yes?” “You can make adult toys, right?” “What do you take me for!?... Of course I can!” “Oh ho ho, This’ll be fun!”

·       Miu was certainly an interesting client turned partner. Whatever you made, she wanted to add improvements to it, no matter how off the wall it may be. She was in inventor after all so tinkering with toys likely just came naturally to her.

·       What you did find surprising though is that she never wanted you to make anything sexual for her. She never admitted it directly, but she always just wanted normal toys. Model train sets, bouncy balls, remote control cars, simple things like those. Often, she’d end up ‘enhancing’ them in her own way, yet still, she wouldn’t ask for anything else. For as lewd and crude as she could be there was something about her that was also young at heart in a way, in fact that could be why she was so loud and overconfident much of the time. But then you’d remember that you’re teenagers and you were sounding like an older person with this line of thinking and would stop yourself.

·       Miu would insist on working in her lab so she could make tweaks to your designs as you were making them. Things usually got out of hand like making a toy robot that could turn into a cannon and shoot fireworks, or it’d have rocket fists powerful enough to knock out a full grown, healthy adult. Not long after making such items Kokichi would pop up, asking to borrow your toys, and who were you to deny him, toys were meant to be played with, and inevitably not long later you’d hear of Kokichi’s latest prank involving whatever toy Kokichi had borrowed from you and Miu, often getting a laugh out of her.

·       Things usually got out of hand rather quickly when you were with one another, but it was a fun, calm sort of chaos

[blackmissfrizzle]

No One Has to Know

Pairing: Angel Reyes x black!reader

Summary: Since there isn’t a lot of angel Reyes x black reader imagines going on here I was wondering if u can write a request for me that. You and angel are in a secret relationship because y’all are ten years apart and your mom( who’s mayor) finds out?? Requested by @briannab1234​

Warnings: None for this part

A/N: This was going one way and then it went another, but I hope you all enjoy!

It was a hot ass day in Santo Padre, so it was no surprise that Adrian’s raspa shop was full. Today you were accompanied with your fake group of friends (except for Bryce) aka the group of friends your mom approved of.

When your pickle raspa with chamoy and lucas was finished, you searched for an empty table, only for you to find the one table you didn’t want to sit at because of who sat next to it. The Mayans. Or more specifically Angel Reyes, your secret boyfriend. The argument from last night replayed in your head as you stared at the table.

“Why not?” You yelled, throwing down your bag.

“Because its not smart Y/N.” Angel stared at you through a cloud of cigarette smoke while you paced back and forth.

Sitting in his lap you took his cigarette and put it out. Cradling his face, you kissed him. “What’s stupid about wanting my boyfriend to be my date at my graduation party?”

Angel scrubbed his face in frustration. This argument between the two of you was becoming more frequent. You wanted to make your relationship public, but he didn’t. He didn’t want everyone else to confirm what he already thought. He didn’t want them to say he was a low life and no good for the mayor’s daughter or that he was too old for you (his 34 to your 24).

“Listen, querida we can go public another time. Just take that loser Rob and make sure he keeps his hands to himself.” Angel kissed the top of your head to end the argument.

You hit him in the chest and pushed off him. “Fuck you, Angel! If you just want me to be your little fucktoy and not your girlfriend just say so.” Before he could stop you, you were already out the door. Once again, his insecurities fucked him over.

“Hey, yo, Y/N over here!” Coco’s voice pulled you out of your head. He was pointing to the table next to him. No way you could pretend that you didn’t see the table now.

Starting your way over there Eileen grabbed your wrist to stop you. “How about we just eat them to go?” Her green eyes wide with fear.

You broke out of what she thought was an iron grip. “Its over 100 degrees outside. Trust me they won’t bite, unless,” you leaned in closer to her and dropped your voice lower. “you want them to.”

Leaving Eileen in all her white woman shock, Bryce followed you to the empty table. Both of you greeted the men at the table besides you. You barely gave any energy to Angel while Bryce gave Gilly all her attention due to her crush on him.

Eventually, your friends joined you, still wary of the Mayans. Rob sat next to you and wrapped his arm behind your seat. Angel wanted to break that arm in half.

This midday delight was less enjoyable than you wanted it to be. It was tense and not just because you weren’t talking to Angel. Your friends made it a point to ignore your Mayan friends and while the Mayans did their best to make your snotty friends uncomfortable by making the most vulgar jokes (which were hilarious by the way).

Most of the time, Bryce and you talked to the Mayans. They were by far better conversationalists. Plus, you and Coco had a lot to talk about since you were Letty’s mentor at school.

In the middle of listening to EZ tell an embarrassing story about Angel, Rob saw Angel staring at you a little too long. So, slightly he tilted your chin towards him and kissed you.

You scrambled to end the kiss. In no way shape or form you led Rob to believe you were in a relationship. Even though he was your escort to the party, you explicitly told him that y’all were going nowhere.

When the kiss ended, Angel was nowhere to be found. A great part of you wanted to dump the raspa on Rob, but you didn’t want to make a mess in Adrian’s place. Instead you punched him in the face and left the shop with a bunch of cackling Mayans and Bryce.

It didn’t take you long to find Angel. He was a couple of blocks away at his dad’s carniceria. “Angel, I-”

He held his hand up to stop you. Flicking his cigarette down, he stomped it out. “Done with your ivy league boyfriend?”

“Don’t do that. I wasn’t expecting him to kiss me.”

Stepping down from the stoop, Angel got somewhat eye level with you. “You definitely let him kiss you longer than necessary.”

A black escalade rolled up, revealing up, revealing your mom behind the window. “Y/N, dear we need to get ready for the party.”

“Hi, Ms. Mayor.” Angel waved at your mom and in return she gave him a curt nod.

Patting you on your arm, Angel gave you his congratulations and returned to his father’s shop.

Once inside the car, the tirade started. ‘What did I tell you about those Mayans? Have your fun with them in private not in public.’ ‘Stay away from that Reyes boy. I don’t like how he looks at you.’ ‘You could’ve at least been hanging out with the smart one.’ ‘You should be focused on your career and Rob.’

Every line you heard before and just like every other time you were ignoring each word. Her nor Angel was going to ruin this relationship.

--

“I don’t know, Pops. Maybe I should wait til she gets home, and we can celebrate together. Just the two of us.”

Felipe fixed his son’s tie. “Nonsense, Angel. You’re going to your girlfriend’s graduation party. She wants you there, son.”

“What if I embarrass her?”

“You won’t,” EZ quietly entered the room, dressed up as well. “We’ll make sure of it.”

“We?”

EZ pulled back the curtains to reveal the Mayans all in suits on their bikes. “We got your back, bro.”

Angel squeezed his brother into a tight hug. “Thanks, mano.”

“Let’s go get your girl.” EZ clapped Angel on his back.

--

This had to be the most extra party ever, but extra was your mom’s middle name. All you wanted was a simple bbq, good music, drinks, and your friends. But nope this turned into an extravaganza and networking opportunity for your mom.

“You can’t be here!” You heard your mother’s voice despite her trying to keep her voice down.

Your eyes followed her voice and the sight you saw left you breathless. Angel in a dark striped suit strutting towards you with the rest of the mc in suits as well, trailing behind him.

“What are they doing here?” Rob asked with a mix of fear and disgust. He was truly a horrible person; you didn’t know how you put up with him for so long.

“He came,” you happily whispered. You shoved your champagne flute in Rob’s hands not caring that it was spilling on him. Your only goal was to get to Angel.

The dress you were wearing didn’t allow you to jump Angel like you wanted to. He could see the conflict on your face, so instead he twirled you around to fully admire the way the dress clung to your body and how it brightened the aura around you.

After your 360 turn, Angel twirled you inside his arms, grabbed the sides of your face and leaned down to kiss you. “You look beautiful, querida.” He whispered against your lips, his hand running up and down your leg exposed by the hip high slit.

“Not as good as you,” You bit your lip at the sight of Angel in a suit. His jet-black hair perfectly gelled back, his suit clinging to his body.

“Impossible. Now introduce everyone to your boyfriend.” The slap to your ass didn’t bothered you, in fact you laughed it off and began introducing Angel as the love of your life. The shocked gasps of the stuck-up residents of Santo Padre as you made the introductions did not go unnoticed by you, but you also didn’t give one flying fuck.

On the other side of the room you could not hear the most objected protest of them all. “Get him off my daughter!” The mayor ordered the president of the Mayans.

“No can do, Izzie,” Bishop smirked. Whenever he could he’d like to stick it to the mayor.

“Its Isadora,” she corrected him. “I will not allow my daughter make the same mistakes I did.”

The holier than thou act was grinding Bishop’s gears. There was a time when the mayor wasn’t a stuck-up bitch. “Watch it, Ms. Mayor. If it wasn’t for my fucked up feelings for you, I’d shoot you where you stand.”

“Obispo, please.” Her tone softer, reminiscent of the times she writhed under him. “She has a future. She has a future outside of Santo Padre. Don’t let my daughter-”

“Our daughter.” It was his turn to correct her.

Isadora sputtered. There was only one other person she told the truth to and that because she was caught, and he promised to never to tell anybody. “How did- how did you know?”

“I always suspected, but you kept her in LA with her ‘dad’ most of the time, so I couldn’t confirm until she kept popping up at the club. Easy enough to get DNA for a test.”

In all her being, Isadora wanted to slap the man. “You had no right.”

“And you had no right to keep her from me!” Bishop was upset at all the missed opportunities. You were a lovely young woman and he missed out on the chance to watch you grow up, but now he refused to stay away from you anymore.

Your yelling tore the two away. The unexpected guest getting all the attention now.

“Daddy!” Your arms encircled around the older man. His appearance was a welcomed surprise.

When he got done spinning you around, you introduced him to Angel. The three of you engaging in an animated conversation.

Isadora and Bishop watched off in the corner. Isadora in shock and Bishop in jealously.

“Tell her or I will.” Bishop threatened his old flame before he left heartbroken from seeing his daughter call another man dad.

A/N 2: Were yall ready for that surprise?

Tags: @angrythingstarlight​ @starrynite7114​ @briannab1234​ @chaneajoyyy​ @titty-teetee​ @thickemadame​ @brownsugarcoffy​ @ifoundmyhappythought​ @marvelmaree​ @browngirldominion​

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Queen of Masks ~ Alfie Solomons

Life as a woman, in any country really, isn’t the best, unless you score a jackpot with the most gentle, sweetest man and you become his housewife and agree to be some kind of baby factory and a maid, should he not have enough to provide for one, and a chef, nonetheless.

However, there are enough ambitious women who have enough spite in their veins to trample over anyone standing in their path of success, and would spit on graves and crush cadavers under their heeled boots that they wear with much pride and conviction.

That is exactly the case of Y/N, a gorgeous woman who won against all odds and became a Veterinary Physician in London, Camden, to be precise, and had to work under an older man who had a clinic - But it was fine, she got to learn loads, and interacting with animals on a daily basis was enough to keep her going and not to answer to any provocation from her male colleague who was far inferior to her, intellectually and intuitively speaking.

And one day, after tending to a gorgeous black race stallion, a tall and broad man walked in with a Bullmastiff boy who, upon seeing her, managed to snatch away his chain leash and jumped on her, trampling her to the ground and licking her all over her face.

The man jumped in shock, trying to pry away his pet from the poor woman, only to notice she was laughing and that he face was bright like the sun, as she tried to wipe away all the slobber from her face.

“I’m so sorry, aye, he’s never done somethin’ like this before. Here, let me help you up, right.” the man extended his hand for her to take, helping raise her up, then reprimanded his dog. “Don’t worry, mister, it’s quite alright. I kinda like when animals act so affectionate, it makes it feel as if I’m doing something right. What’s your name, darling? Let’s get you up on the table...Arghh...What a heavy baby...You’re gonna break every bone in my body...” the woman sweet talked the dog, struggling to hold him in her arms like a baby so she could put in on the table to examine. “He’s name’s Cyril, I got him last year. ‘S just a routine check up, but I think there’s a bump on his neck, yeah, right here.” the man explained, letting the girl palpate his dog and continuing to sweet talk him to calm him down. “Thyroid Carcinoma.” the male doctor spoke, which made the girl whip her head to him with a disturbed look. “Thyroid Cancer? Surely, you must be joking. Have you even been to Vet school?!” Y/N protested, shaking her head in protest at his sudden diagnosis. “What else could a bump in the thyroid area mean? Don’t play smart, just be humble and accept when you’re wrong.” the man rolled his eyes, not lifting his head from his papers. “First of all, even if it IS a tumour, it doesn’t HAVE to be cancer, it can still be completely harmless, thus, benign. Secondly, out of all tumours a dog can have, thyroid cancer is the least common one, the percentage going to maximum 2%. Therefore, NOT cancer! Besides, it could be hyperthyroidism, if you want to go over the top, but again, it could just be something the owner felt because something got stuck in his neck and-....Oh.” the girl then carefully touched the neck area, and smiled widely, looking down, nodding to herself. “What? You shut up ‘cause you finally realised I was right, despite your useless statistics?” the doctor grumbled in annoyance, not caring, obviously. “Wanna bet 100 pounds that it’s not cancer?” she asked, kissing Cyril’s head and playing with his floppy ears, action which made the dog bark playfully. “Ah, sorry, mister, I didn’t ask for your name and whether you find it insensitive or not for us to bet on a diagnosis.” she smiled awkwardly, extending her hand towards the bearded man who was watching the interaction carefully. “Alfie Solomons, lass, but call me just Alfie, right? So, yeah, ‘s fine, bet all you want, just make my boy better, eh?” Alfie shook the girl’s hand, seeing her cunningly going to the other doctor and spitting in her hand to shake and make the bet go through.  “Okay, Alfie, you might want to step to the side a bit...If you value your shoes, that it. They look pretty new.” she chuckled softly, signing him with her head to move to the side, and so he did, as she made the dog vomit, and thus, revealing a small ball. “Oi, I can’t believe it! You stupid dog, Cyril, aye, how could you manage to swallow your own toy, yeah?!” Alfie gasped, his brows furrowing from shock. “Weirdly enough, dogs, especially big ones, are prone to swallowing little things, just like human babies are. It was small enough to just make him cough, but it’s a good thing you got him here in time.” the girl started quickly cleaning up the floor as she explained everything, as the Jew was still staring in shock at the idiocy of some animals. “Well, lass, thank you for solving the mystery, yeah, of whatever the hell this was, right. So, then, tell me how much I have to pay you for this consult, aye.” Alfie asked, which made her snap her head upwards, looking up at him, her eyes wide in shock. “No, God, no, nothing, it’s on me! I mean, if it weren’t for you...” Y/N smirked, reminding Alfie of a vixen, as she twirled around and went to snatch away the hundred pounds banknotes from her employer’s hand, who was looking at her with anger and bitterness. “I wouldn’t have been paid more than I’m paid in 3 months in just one day! It’s the least I can do to thank you...And to also see Cyril again, because I think it’s a connection. Right, Cyril? You’re such a sweet baby boy-....ARGH, GODS, NO-...!” but before the girl could compose herself, Cyril jumped on her torso, knocking her down again, coating her face in yet another sleek coat of drool from the lickings. “Damn it, Cyril, you’re impossible! Let the poor lass live, eh? I know, I know, she’s pretty, but leave her alone, alright?” after he finally managed to pry away the canine, he helped the girl up, who, once again, was laughing. “Let me make it up to you, yeah, for all the trouble this prankster’s been giving you, right. I’ve this bakery, y’know, the one nearby, so, anything you want, yeah, anything, you ask for it, you say my name, right, you say Alfie owes you a favour, and it’s all on the house, eh. How’s that.” he spoke, and he could see that her overly confident and extra demeanour shattered in an instant, making her look down, her beautiful, long hair hiding her features, as she was most likely blushing and smiling. “O-Oh, then, if that’s your bakery, means I’ve heard of you, you’re THE Alfie Solomons. Yeah, I’d love that, if you’d have me, but I told you, you don’t have to. I used you to get money worth of about 3 months, or more, so really, I should be thanking you somehow, but I don’t really have anything else to offer, other than to pay for the consult myself.” her serious, boastful voice turned very soft and shy, as fast as the flick of her fingers, as she walked him out of the clinic, so only he would hear. “Your boss there...He seemed kinda...Angry, eh. Are you gonna be fine dealing with him, lass?” he asked, bending down a bit, speaking to her tone level. “I guess. What’s the worst he can do, anyway. Besides, I care more about this conversation right now, and...About this.” she smirked softly, showing off the rolled pounds from her coat’s chest pocket. “So, Mr. Gangster, is there any specific time you’d be okay with me coming by the bakery? Maybe...Under the pretext of yet another regular check up on Cyril? Or...The smell of freshly baked cookies just captured me enough to find myself senselessly walking into the place?” she asked, diving her hands into her pockets, waiting for an answer, too timid to look him in the eye. “Ahhh, I see you’ve heard of me. Well, lass, I guess I can’t pretend to be some ordinary man, right, but maybe we can still enjoy a nice chat once in a while, eh, it would be nice, right?” the corner of Alfie’s mouth turned upwards, extending his hand for her to shake. “Y/N L/N, it’s great meeting you, Alfie. And yeah, it would be great. I’ll be seeing you around, alright? Hope I’ll see you soon and maybe we can have a nice cup of tea and anything that you’ve baked. I’m looking forward to that.” she shook his hand, smiling brightly at him, gesture which he turned. “And I’ll be seeing you as well, sweetheart.” with that, she kissed Cyril’s head once again, before waving Alfie goodbye and walking back into the clinic. “And I’ll be seeing you too...Y/N.” the gangster muttered, grinning at his dog and praising him with a few pats on his head. “Cyril, my boy, you’re my lucky charm.”

A week passed, and Y/N walked into the bakery - However, it wasn’t the front up, the bakery shop that smelled heavenly - It meant the gangster warehouse where Alfie would usually conduct his business meetings. And, of course, it was shocking to him when heard the click of heels and saw a beautiful, slender woman, dressed in high-waisted pants, with a black turtleneck tucked in her pants, beautiful brown leather boots with heels and a black trench coat that elegantly, yet imposingly hung from her shoulders, as if she was some kind of mafia Queen - Elegant, but deadly.

“Hello, Alfie. I heard you have a job around this place. Not sure what it is...Medic? Secretary? Dog-walker? Maybe you could fill me in.” she asked, her hands in her pants, fidgeting in her spot. “Where’ve you heard about this...Supposed job, eh, lass? And why’d you quit your job from the clinic, eh?” he asked, his fingers intertwining as he leaned forward, elbows rested on his desk. “Ah, well...Y’know...I got my medical license pulled, so I need a way to make money, and you’re the only one that I trusted not to treat me like garbage, so here I am. I know there’s no job, but I had to try my luck and be comedic in a way. It’s probably about the only thing I’m good at, sort of. It’s fine if you don’t want to give me a job, I mean, you can’t trust me with your business info after just speaking to me once, I can imagine, and - “ she kept on ranting, until Alfie raised both his hands in the air to calm her down and stop her speaking, before he raised to his feet, getting in front of the desk and leaning back on it. “Well, I did owe you a favour, right, so, sure, you’re hired, right, I’ll find you something. While we’re at it, can you, yeah, can you fire a gun?” he asked, with a mix of seriousness and playfulness in his voice. “Is it...In the job requirements?” she asked, looking around the place with a fake kind of curiosity. “There’s no job seeking, yeah, so, therefore, no job requirements. I was just being curious, alright, y’know, I have to know what everyone around is capable of, okay.” he explained, which made her smirk and turn on her heel to look at him. “That’s only fair. After all, now that you know that I’m particularly incapable of defending myself against people in general, you’ll just have to be extra careful to keep me safe, right, Alfie? We wouldn’t want Cyril to grieve over me, would we?” she chuckled, extending her arms to her side in a dramatic manner. “Haha, yes, lass, I s’ppose you’re right. Can you handle more than one job, eh? I can hire you as a physician, right, but we don’t always have wounded men, yeah, so, you’re a smart woman, alright, I’m sure you are very capable of reading, writing, doing calculus and other stuff that involves using your head, right, so, I don’t know what name will this job have, but, maybe an assistant of sort, eh? Ollie here helps me out a lot, yeah, but he can’t do everything, he ain’t some God, y’know.” Alfie gesticulated, pointing towards Ollie, then tried to explain to her that things are serious, and not to be taken lightly. “Guess this is gonna be the thrill of my life, huh? I’m in, Alfie. At least I can get along with you without fearing having my license pulled-...Oh, wait, I have nothing to fear about anymore.” she chuckled in a self-deprecating way, making Alfie cross his arms to his chest. “You never told me what happened. Go on, tell me. I’m sure you didn’t kill a dog, or somethin’, you’re too smart a doctor to fuck up.” his curiosity got the better of him, as he saw her turning to look at him, her eyes wide, her mouth slightly agape, and he could almost see her brain gears moving, trying to think of a witty answer. “Didn’t you say something about freshly baked goodies and tea? I bet that’s gonna be a much more...Hospitable way of chatting with your new employee, wouldn’t it? Or better said, friendlier? I mean, this place is so...Ugly and humid...Only good for gangster business. The echo here, if you shout, can intimidate anyone, I’m sure. Come on, show me the actual bakery...And you better have a gramophone. I like music.” she smiled up at him, hooking her arm to his, pulling him in a random direction to urge him to guide her to the bakery, where the beautiful smell of bread and cookies mesmerised her, and she playfully swooned in her chair. “I see you’re enjoying this place very much, eh. Well, can’t say I expected you coming today, so I didn’t bake them myself, yeah, but I’ll make it up to you. Sure you want tea and not rum or somethin’?” Alfie asked, a bit awkward staying at the cute little table, with a cute, little cup of tea in his bear-like hands. “Yes, I’m quite sure, Alfie. But it’s fine, you don’t have to drink what I’m drinking, I won’t think of you any differently. In your home, you do as you please.” she chuckled at him, watching as he nodded solemnly, only to down that tea in one go, small droplets of liquid embedding themselves in his beard. “Right, right, I understand, y’er a people pleaser, you want everyone to like you, unless it goes against whatever scheme you have. You’re smart, alright. Very smart, and you’ve sharp eyes, and are cunning. I need someone like you around, yeah. But tell me, how’d you manage to lose your dream job in a week?” Alfie asked, extending his hand to gently grab her chin, pulling it so he could peer right into her gorgeous, vixen-like eyes. “Remember the bet I did when you came around with Cyril? Well, apparently that jerk got mad at me for, to quote, steal his money, so he filed a malpractice lawsuit to get his money back, 5 times more, and pulled away my license, to get revenge on me for humiliating him in front of a customer...Allegedly. Very petty, I know, but, as they say...C’est la vie. Not much to do about it, really. Now I’m seen as a con-artist thief who kills animals, so I have no way of getting a job anywhere anymore, hence why I’m here. Lovely, innit?” she snorted as she took a bit of the cookie, closing her eyes to savour it’s flavour. “And now, I think I died and went to heaven, ‘cause this is the best thing I’ve eaten in my life.” “You’re so hired, lass. Did ya pay the 500 pounds?” he asked, propping his jaw on his hand. “Yeah, thankfully. And by that, I mean I to sell my apartment so now I’m using my saving to stay at a cheap hotel, but, y’know, life’s life. At least I know I won and I was right. Maybe if I had the right connections, I could have won 10 times what I lost...But what do I know. I don’t really know how non-legal things go by.” she chuckled softly, scratching the back of her head in a playfully guilty manner. “Y’know, Y/N...I think we can solve that fairly quick, yeah. Tell me the name, and I’ll make sure things are sold. In the meantime, I’ve a nice, warm room where you can stay, right, and surely, Cyril’s gonna love your company.” Alfie smiled at her, signaling for her to follow him.

At that time, she had no idea this was actually his home, but when she did find out, she was more than grateful, if not, a bit awkward, for  having to rely so much on his kindness. However, just as he promised, Alfie managed to get that jerk of a doctor to pay her 10 times the money she paid him, and thus, she would have been able to get a very modern and luxurious place, only for herself, and even buy a dog, a cat, or hell, more of them.

But she refused, and asked to continue staying with him, if she wasn’t too much of a burden, since she really enjoyed spending time with him, and she had no idea, other than working 200% of her capabilities for her job, whatever that was, at the moment, and, of course, she would have missed Cyril too much.

It didn’t take long for Alfie’s people to realise the obvious chemistry between the two, and Ollie kept trying to convince him to ask her out, but things are always so difficult, aren’t they? Business and logics are much easier than subjective emotions.

It became sort of a routine for everyone around to see their boss writing and reading documents at his desk, while Y/N would sit on the desk, her legs resting on his chair’s back rest, as she would write on her clipboard whatever relevant things she thought were worth noting down, and would occasionally express her opinions regarding ideas that Alfie had, or some businesses that he was dealing with at the moment - All that, with, of course, the frequent witty comments they would exchange - And it was never anything hurtful, or reproachful jabs, only playful and domestic comments that always made her laugh.

“You never told me why you always look down when you interact with people, y’know, and by that, I don’t mean when you’re being some dramatic Queen, but when you’re being yourself. I mean, I haven’t seen women who let their hair so long these days, right, so I was curious about you. You do things much differently than most people, y’know that, don’t you?” Alfie asked, raising his head to look up at her, only to see, once again, trying to think of how to explain things that don’t rely on rational and objective behaviours. “Ah...Well...Uh...Y’know...I’m...My face is very expressive, y’know. So, like...I get embarrassed easily, or...Uhm...When I lie, or something, I tend to grin or laugh. I’m a messy failure who can’t do a pokerface, like, ever, so, since most people are taller than me, if I let my hair cover my face, they won’t see the truth. Or, well, y’know, at least that’s what I hope. I can’t look at them while hiding, so I’ve no way of telling whether it works or not. Contrary to me being flashy and dramatic, I’m kinda shy and terrible around people.” she chuckled awkwardly, looking away from him, bringing up her clipboard to cover half of her face. “Ahhh, I see, I see, so you go to real great lengths, yeah, to get what you want, and so far, you’ve done really well, eh. Is there anything you can’t do, lass? You’ve been doing this job for over a year, and business has improved with...Uh...Lemme see, how much did you say...Ah, yes, here, it says 23%.” he had his glasses on as his eyes scanned the documents on his desk. “I...Can’t socialise, I guess. And I can’t relax. I don’t know how to have fun. Uhm...I can’t human, I guess? I don’t know what to call it, but I think you get what I’m saying. Anyway, we have business work now, so read this paragraph here, I think we have to talk threaten Sabini a bit, he’s over his head now with power, someone has to humble him, give us a better percentage of his business, and -” Y/N tried to quickly redirect the conversation, hating when she had to talk about herself, but obviously, she couldn’t say no to the man who was always so kind and sweet with her, could she? “Nahhh, it’s fine, Y/N, let’s take a little break, right? We’ve been working since early morning, it’s evening now. Ollie, go make tea and bring those treats made today, eh. Now, lass, why don’t you tell me how did you get around to practicing medicine? I’ve always been curious by that, you know, you don’t see many women unafraid of stuff like that, yeah.” he pointed out, letting himself fall down on his chair’s seat, looking up at her. “Y’know, Y/N, you say you can hide your emotions when you hide your face from people taller than you, yeah? But what happens when they look at you from below? Gotta say, Y/N, sometimes, your worried face is rather pretty...Better now, let me look at you when you speak, yeah, we’re equals, when you go all meek on me, you make me feel like some kind o’ merciless boss or somethin’.” he chuckled, raising a bit to put her hair behind her ears, revealing a soft blush coating her cheeks, and god damn, he could feel his heart beating a bit faster. “Uhm...Okay, fine, sure, I owe you that much. Uhm...My dad was a medic too, so it became a family business for a while. And, uhm...Dad was recruited as a war medic, and went with my brother, while I and mum continued to take care of the people and animals from our city. When it was all over, I decided to get to London to practice properly, get more money and provide for my family better. They’re getting old and they need someone to take care of them, somehow.” she explained, but her eyes were darting around, and he could feel she was still hiding something because of her hesitance, but he wasn’t sure what exactly was it that she was trying to hide.

But before either of them could say anything about it anymore, a loud bang echoed through the warehouse, somewhere from the entrance, which made the girl jump in her place with a mouse-like squeak, slapping her hands over her ears.

It’s true, any person would get frightened by a gunshot that resounded so loudly through that place - And yet, this one looked like a panicked, scared fawn in the headlights - And Alfie, of course, noticed that and came to a few conclusions for himself.

However, before he could say anything, a man entered their field of vision, and he could feel Y/N tensing up, her face showing shock and disgust at the person who she clearly recognise. She turned her head to look at Alfie, and with pleading eyes, mouthing a few simple words that may or may not have shocked him.

“Let me kill him” she tried to say, but this mystery man spoke out faster than expected, and it was clear she was getting more and more angry and embarrassed by the moment. “Y/N, darling, what are you doing here? Whoring around with other men, getting into illicit business, thinking you’re superior to men just because you have some over the top ambitions that are completely unreachable, and now you think you can get rich by staying around wealthy old men, huh?” the man kept speaking, igniting an infernal fire into her eyes. “Alfie, I pride myself with my never ending patience, but I swear to God, if you don’t let me kill him...I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” Y/N muttered between her gritted teeth, shocking Alfie since he never saw her as the violent type. “I’m not doing any business with him, alright, do what you feel like doing, Y/N, he’s all yours.” Alfie sat back in his chair, his fingers intertwined over his stomach, watching with interest whatever she was going to do.

Y/N jumped off the desk and slowly prowled around it, her head hanging low, before she snapped it up, glaring lightnings at the man.

“Fuck off. Now. Or you’re dead. Do you understand this simple language, or do I need to put it in words that even a monkey would understand?” she crossed her arms, spitting poison at him. “What, can’t I be angry at my own girlfriend for being a bitch and leaving me alone? I mean, you really fucked up, y’know? You left me when I needed you the most, how tragic is that?!” he yelled at her, but she only rolled her eyes, scoffing. “Yeah, I left you ‘cause you were abusing me. The way I see it, you’re the one who sucks, not me. Now get the hell out of here. Before I do something you will regret.” her voice went an octave lower, threatening him the same way she learnt from Alfie over the time of business making. “Woaw, Y/N, woaw, that’s pathetic, even for you. You’ve never been able to even raise your voice at anyone. You were nothing more than a crybaby who couldn’t step up to anyone, and then you went to war, and what, you think you changed? You didn’t! Underneath this dumb, tough facade that you’re trying to pull in front of everyone else, you’re nothing more than the frightened little girl who needed to have everything in control and grasp a bit of power to feel superior to others after you got beaten up and had a gun pointed at your head by the Germa-” but he couldn’t continue speaking for, in the blink of an eye, she pulled out a gun for her trench coat and shot him in the head, his blood and brains shooting everywhere, all over her, on the walls and floor. “Well...Ask me anything and I will provide you with an answer that is completely honest this time. But, uhm...Take of your shirt, will you?” she had a solemn, pissed off expression as she threw off her coat before hurriedly taking off her shirt, nonchalantly cleaning up her face, then pulling it into a ball, throwing it on the cadaver, then stepped in front of a very shocked, yet impressed Alfie. “Go on, take off your shirt, will you? It’s clean. You promised I’ll never have to shoot a gun, and yet, I did, therefore I need a clean top, right? So, while I tell you the truth, don’t let me stay like this in front of you, okay?” extending her hand in front of her, while her other arm was over her chest, trying to cover her pretty white laced bra, it took a mirthful laugh out of the Jew for him to finally take off his shirt and put it around her, not caring that he was the topless one now. “Will you ever stop impressing and surprising me, lass?” Alfie asked, petting her head as a way to say she did well. “Once I stop shocking myself, sure. Until then...I believe you want to say something, don’t you?” she asked, slowly stepping in front of him, looking up at him as she properly put on his shirt that looked like a dress on her. “Yeah, lass, I think I did.”

With a gentle smile, he cupped her face, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on her lips, one hand stroking his fingers through her beautiful long hair, while the other caressed her soft visage. The tender look in his blue-green eyes felt like the safest, warmest haven she ever felt, and with an impulse decision that her heart made, she leaned forward, her arms slowly snaking around his torso, her head resting on his shoulder, and closing her eyes, she could finally feel her heart calming, for the first time in her life.

“It was you who went to war, wasn’t it?” Alfie muttered in her hair, holding her tightly. “Yeah. I don’t have a brother. It was me who went with my father to war, but he died, so I had to be the backbone of the troops. When I got home, my mum was devastated and she died of grief. I left that place to get rid of memories...And get rid of that fuckass. War left me with traumas, but it also made me strong enough to face up to who I am and stop taking everyone’s shit just because they think I’m lesser than them. Sometimes...When you talk about your time as a captain...I remember my time there...And...I realise how much I respect you...And also, how different you are from all the people I had contact with there.” she explained, her grip tightening around him, her heart quivering from the deep emotions she was feeling. “You’ve been through quite a lot in your life, haven’t you, lass? And you managed to make a life all for yourself, from the scratch, right, so, I think you’ve been doing great. France?” he asked, guiding her to a more private room, much warmer and cozier, while Ollie was to find him another shirt. “Yeah, France. Thing is...You went through all that, and it was worse for you, since you were a Captain, and you must have felt responsible for every death from your troops...And yet...Ever since we met, you’ve been sweeter than anyone has ever been, and that includes my own family. Don’t get me wrong, I loved them, but maybe...Maybe I’m just a bit softer than I let others think. And you managed to hit the right spot, in the good way, I mean. War changes everyone, and yet, you’re...I have no fitting word to describe how much I appreciate you, Alfie, but here...This thing here feels it, and I think you can feel what I’m feeling too.” she explained, resting her head on his shoulder once they sat down on the sofa, as he pulled her closer to his side, kissing her temple lovingly. “You know, Y/N...You’re not wrong. I tried not to think about my time there and the horrors I’ve seen, yeah, so, maybe it doesn’t come off as anything fantastic, and I still don’t think that being a decent person, right, to people who are close to me, is a big deal. But maybe sometimes we take things for granted, don’t we, so, maybe, you’re right. But that guy has no excuse for being a bastard. You’re safe now, Y/N, and when some day, when we’re done with this gangster mess...We can go to Margate and live a normal life there, eh. You, me and Cyril, and the sandy beach and the waves, right, and maybe, if we get bored, we can shoot those damned seagulls, yeah? They’re so annoying, I’m telling ya!” Alfie chuckled, which, in turn, made her grin at him lovingly. “I’d love to go to Margate with you, Alfie, and have seagull shooting contests together, and run barefoot on the shore, and if it’s enough light from the moon, we can swim a bit. Sounds like the perfect life if you ask me.” Y/N kissed his cheek, lovingly caressing his face before hugging his side. “That’s what I like to hear, lass. I’m sure Cyril would bark like a mad dog from happiness if he was hear, right. S’gonna be fun when we get home, eh.”

[llvr-92]

DGM Pairing - LaviLena - Part 2

it takes so much time but here is the second part of why Lavi deserves Lenalee the most & why I think Hoshino sensei setting them up as a couple, I hope you enjoy this post. also, you can find part1 under LaviLena tag in my blog:                     

Part2:Noah's Ark Arc:

· So we started this arc with Lenalee getting sucked by Lero into the “Noah’s Ark”, as everyone falls on top of her she was unconscious the first person to go to her & pick her-up is Lavi, just look how he is protectively\closely holding her. (CH90- EP76).

· As they were fighting Debito & Jedero, Lavi told Allen to protect Lenalee and the other “Chouji” until he found the real key (CH100 – EP82).

· After that the crew leaves Krory behind Lenalee wanted to go back to him, Allen stopped her & kind of share a cute Allena moment but Lavi has to ruin it for them, Lavi is probably jealous of how Allen is holding her & how close his face to Lena face isn’t he?. (CH105-EP83).

· Allen was helping Lenalee to climb the stair he is holding her hand and then Lavi commented that “he wants to switch place with Allen”, Allen reply was “your real motivate is so obvious Lavi, he just wants to hold Lenalee’s hand”, After Lenalee letting her thought out loud, Lavi teased her about never finding a lover if she “didn’t think more sexy thought”, which makes her angry & replied to him “its none of your business Lavi” & Lavi’s answer was “it’s none of my business but…”, Lavi seems so lost to put any other word as he was also blushing & frustrated so he had to change the subject, from the way Hoshino sensei drew this scene I think it will return in the future arc you can see Lenalee noticing Lavi blushing toward her in the below right panel with a “?”, maybe she will have a flashback related to this scene in the future. (CH110 – EP84).

· After receiving the bad news about Kanda & Krory, Lenalee was terrified\worried but Lavi reaches out to her squeezed her hand & told her to get a hold of herself, at this point “I love how Lavi knows her personality & how will she react then he just act accordingly to comfort her. (CH111-EP85).

· Lenalee & Chouji are Locked-up, Lavi is the one to fight to free these two & manly to free Lenalee you can see Lenalee apologizing for Lavi as this fight is on away for her sake. (CH112).

· Lavi is shifted into Road dream world, but what Road exactly used to prepare the worst opponent for Lavi, worst dream by reading his record & peering into his memory, his opponent was his former self “Deak” & an interesting conversation started between the two\bookman, this is the important dialogue stated between the two:

· Deak to Lavi “the place of your heart doesn’t exist in this world, no matter whose heart let you in you can only watch them that’s is your punishment”, after this dialogue Lavi reply “I already know that” which is incorrect he doesn’t know as Deak answered him I wonder? Then it just happens that Lenalee appears in the next panel with this text “your eyes of the past were never lit with that weak light” as if it indicated that “Lenalee is currently Lavi’s light” (CH114-EP86).

§  But let's not forget Road real purpose is to break him mentally & for that she used Lenalee by sending her inside a coffin knowing how Lavi will react, perhaps after reading Lavi memories/record she discovers Lavi feelings for Lenalee which at this point “Lavi himself still doesn’t know his feeling yet”.

§  After he saw Lenalee he jumped & rushed to her side & he holds her closely “just take a look at how Hoshino sensei drew Lavi facial expression, how much he is so terrified”, also didn’t Lavi said a while ago this is just a dream/an illusion created by Road Kamelot yet he reacted this way toward a fake Lenalee “Lavi just can’t think rationally when it’s involving Lena” (CH114-EP86).

·  We had a flashback when Lavi first joined the order & his first meeting with Lenalee, again Hoshino-sensei choice for drawing Lavilena encounter is too beautiful, first, she gives us an overall view from the top just to showcase “there are a lot of people on the area”, but Lavi’s eyes set on Lenalee & on the same time Lenalee look at him while crying. “it’s like this is a girl & a boy encounter by fate, Lavi was so far away, yet they look at each other in the same time.

also regarding his encounter with Lenalee I believe it’s related to an answer which Lavi provided in the discussion room here is the question “Does Lavi have a thing for a cute girl with big breast” Allen answered “he’s a menace”, where Lavi had to stop him and answered “Hey, hold on! People think I only care about looks, but I'm pretty picky about personality too, “sometimes you see a girl and it just hit you” & just after this question Lavi stated that he is interested in Lenalee. 

We also seen Lenalee sitting beside him in the cafeteria, she looks comfortable with him even though he is a newbie she even pats his back.

· After breaking Lavi mentally Deak takes over his body, a fight started with Allen, Lavi was ruthless & powerful as the last hope Allen used “Lenalee is crying” hoping to influence Lavi emotionally & bring him to his sense, but why “Allen used Lenalee name, perhaps he knows that Lavi has a feeling for her, he is weak against her tears? “I will write about this in part 3”, anyway instead of influencing Lavi positively, it seems that “Lenalee name triggered him to punch Allen even harder, “just look at Deak gaze when Allen mentioned Lena name”.

why he seems pissed? This is just an assumption but “as Deak is the one taking over, he was furious because the reason why Lavi is changing is Lenalee, he knows Lavi is falling for her isn’t he? otherwise why using Lenalee as the main person to break his heart on Road dream, why Lenalee is one to appear in the flashback, why he is trying so hard to convince Lavi “she is nothing more than a small piece of history?”, falling for her will interfere with Lavi recording as he stated while Lavi’s holding Lenalee “don’t let your heart distract you & interfere with your record”, meaning whatever Bookman clan trying to achieve is at risk as we saw “Lavi breaking his bookman role multiple time for Lenalee sake on the previous arc, this arc & the upcoming arc as well.

·  Then Road stated something important I do think this will also be used on Lavi’s arc “if we ever reach there hopefully” once he becomes the bookman, which is “bookman are just onlookers for the sake of his record, he just walked alongside you guy” “those are that kid’s true feeling, you notice that Hoshino sensei put the text on Lenalee panel, even the anime version when Road said those words the frames were on Lenalee”

first, you see how these words affected Lenalee just look at how Hoshino-sensei draws Lenalee eyes she looks broken/desperate “Perhaps for the first time Lenalee was terrified from Lavi as a person”. after Lavi burned himself, Lenalee was also desperately hitting her leg wanting to save Lavi but unfortunately she didn’t have her innocence, once Allen & Lavi are out from the petrified fire she goes to “Lavi first”, instead of sharing a touchy moment, she gives him her Iron fist of love, but why Lenalee punch him in the first place I know Lavi was reckless, but it’s the same for Allen he was reckless against Tiki he didn’t get a punch, you may call me a biased but “Lenalee punching Lavi seems an act a girlfriend will do when the boyfriend had done risky thing & it’s a different vibe from when she hits Allen in the next chapter ”.

· Lavi lent his coat to Lenalee as she was revealing to much skin, just look how cute she is on Lavi’s coat, also isn’t Lavi acting like he is the perfect boyfriend, not to forget he showed a proactive side toward Lenalee being in a room with the womanizer Cross he had to rush to her with the other boys. “Lenalee are you sure he didn’t do anything to you?”

·  Personally, this arc was my favorite because I got attached to Lavi’s background & his suffering, I also know on this Arc that Lavi is hopelessly in love with Lenalee & not to mention through the years Lavi changed his name 48 times and all the previous persona are the same but Lavi differ before he was disappointed on the human race, didn’t get attached to anyone, he was only concentrating on recording, but all that changes once he encounters Lenalee, Lenalee changed him, did Lenalee changes Allen persona in any way? I don’t think so, we all know what motivates Allen it’s his promise to mana, so I do hope she gives Lavi a chance, but also Hoshino sensei put some elements which make this ship Impossible to Happen, which make me ship them more  T_T.

· I will be happy to receive any feedback positive or negative are all welcomed, BTW Part three is already finished I just need to do the final revision, but I haven’ really thought that it would be the longest one ^_^, what you all think shall I tried to delete some part or keep it long as it’s, I mean I have put extra thing such as why I support this ship, what I hate about it, my point of view about Hoshino sensei writing, an example from different Manga related to couple-endgame…..ETC.

[tomfreakinghollandneedsaoscar]

Oh No, I think I'm Catching Feelings.

Pairing: JJ Maybank x You

Summary: One day, during your stay in Outer Banks for your dad's business trip, you get inside of JJ's head. His friends are no help.

Word Count: 1367

Note: I dreamt about this last night so of course I had to write it as soon and fast as possible. The title is based on the song Sex by EDEN. I mention it during a scene so you should listen to the song when you read it. I might write a Part 2 that's inspired by the lyrics (giving me feedback will help me make up my mind).I hope you love it!

*not my gif. Credit to the owner!*

For the past two days, the only time your father talks to you is when he reminds you that this isn't a vacation, it's for work. You get stuck to go to brunch with his partner's daughter in the four star you're staying in.

Your mother is quick to judge your outfit. Your favorite and most used pair of shoes, shorts, and a t-shirt. "Y/N you must dress to impress." She pushes you back into the room and starts looking through your suitcase. "I told you to hang this all up."

You jump on the bed and shrug your shoulders. "We're just having breakfast- I mean bunch. I don't understand why this is necessary. Can't we just go to the beach and talk? Let her show me around?"

"Your father says they are one of the richest families on this island. We need them to like us." You roll your eyes, as she gives you a pointed look over her shoulder.

"Change into this and head down to the dinner room. The reservation is under your father's name."

You grab the white knee length dress from her to go change in the bathroom.

────

JJ does a double take when he sees Sarah sitting at a table. He fakes a smile and apologizes for overfilling a glass of water.

He quickly walks away and puts his hands on the back of the chair opposite side of her table and learns in. "You know, it took a big toll on my best friend's mood when you canceled on him."

"I'm meeting my dad's new business partner daughter. Trust me, I'm not happy about it either."

He hums to himself. "That's why you're so dressed up?"

She quotes her mother from earlier. "Dress to impress."

"Are you sure it's not a boy and you're just lying to me?"

Sarah crosses her arms around her chest. "You know I don't like liars, JJ." He nods, understanding how far and deep that means.

Taking a sip of her water, she changes the topic. "Will you get in trouble for talking to me instead of working?"

"I can do both and still get in trouble." He switches the salt and pepper shakers around. She laughs as he turns around quickly to do the same with the nearest table as another bus boy walks up with a girl wearing a white dress following behind him.

Sarah gets up to shake her hand but stops, "is that a mood ring? Oh, my god, I used to have like ten in middle school."

Sarah notices JJ looking over his shoulder when the girl laughs as she sits down.

"I had to buy it after I saw a tiktok about them. Brought back middle school memories for me too. I'm Y/N, by the way."

"Sarah."

"I'm JJ." Sarah gives him a look that says, 'are you serious?'

He smirks as he swings a tablecloth over his shoulder. "Do either of you beautiful ladies need a refill?" His grip on the glass water pitcher tightens when he notices they're both full.

Sarah laughs as she picks hers up and mumbles, "smooth."

You can't help to laugh before saying, "I think we're okay for now, thank you."

He smiles at you and doesn't give Sarah a second glance as he hurries off towards the kitchen's doors.

He kicks them open and gets yelled at for running towards the back room. When he reaches his locker, he grabs his phone and is surprised to see Sarah has already beat him to it. He reads the text.

"I invited her to the party at the boneyard."

Another one comes through.

"She asked if it's made of human or animal bones. I told her you'll more than glad to answer that ;)"

"I hate you. You're a great wingwoman."

───

You watch as the cute bus boy blondie walks away. Sarah catches your eye and you say, "there's no boys that look like that at home."

"You should see his best friend, my boyfriend. You bought up tiktok though, which is my new obsession."

"Mine too. Not to be rude or anything, but I really didn't want to do this stupid brunch idea. So thank you, for seeming to be really cool."

She smiles and says, "There's a party happening tonight at the Boneyard, you should come. Tell your dad I invited you, that should get a yes out of him, right?"

"Most definitely. Can you pick me up? I have no idea where that it is. Is it called the boneyard cause there's animal and human bones there's?"

"No, no. But JJ will be there."

You blush. "Are you his wingwoman?"

"This is the first time being it. How am I doing?"

"You're straight to the point, which is good."

"If you like that, just until later tonight. If JJ gets too much, no one will blame you for yelling at him to shut up. He's used to it. I'm kinda hoping you'll make the impossible happen and make him speechless."

She waves off the waiter. "Do you want hangout until then? Since you're dad payed for this, I can use some of my dad's money for a shopping trip?"

"Can we leave right now? I haven't really gone out and explore-"

"Say no more. Let me just text my friend Kiara, she can join us."

───

Kiara pops her elbow on JJ shoulder, smirking. "I had a lot of fun today, thank you for asking."

He passes her a red solo cup and uses a sweet little voice to ask, "What did you do today, sweetheart?"

"Walked around the town, did some shopping, talked about you with Sarah and Y/N."

Pope laughs as he listens and watches JJ face turn bright red. "Please tell me what you three talked about."

"Maybe later. I'm going to go dance with Y/N."

JJ asks, "Where's your girlfriend?" as soon as John B returns to the table with extra cups.

"Don't you mean Y/N?" He shoves him and mutters, "I hate you all."

Pope gives him a questionable look. "I haven't done anything."

"Yet," JJ adds, glaring at him.

───

"I love this song!" You yell over the music and Sarah has to stop dancing and stand in stillb to remember where it's from. "You mean you love the tiktok tend?"

"That too." Kiara notices you are trying to get the very last of your drink. She points at the refill table and you smile in thanks and tell them you'll be right back. They both share knowing looks as they see that JJ has already noticed you heading towards him.

He pushes his way to stand between and in front of John B and Pope and smirks, "Long time no see."

"I'll like that refill now, please."

Pope rolls his eyes when JJ says, "I'm not working." But isn't too surprised when he still grabs the cup from you. With how he's friend is smiling to himself and how you're looking at him, it finally clicks. "Ah! You most be Y/N. He hasn't stopped talking about you all day."

JJ tints the cup sideways towards Pope's shirt and says, "oops." as the rest of the beer spills over him.

You're still trying not to laugh too hard when JJ asks you if you want to come with him to look for a towel.

As you walk beside him towards the Chateau, JJ flips John B and Pope off when he hears whistling and one of them yelling, "there's beach towels everywhere!"

"I really like your friends."

"Yeah well someone has too. You've been with most of them all day today."

"Maybe you and I can to hangout tomorrow? If you don't have plans or work-"

"How long are you staying here?" He can't help to ask. He has been wondering about it all day.

"I'm surprised your wingwoman didn't tell you. Her dad wants mine to work on more stuff here. Probably will be here for the rest of the week."

"I'll tell her to make her dad change it to two more weeks." You smile at him and he watches as you intertwine your arms together.

"We still need to find a towel for Pope, remember?" You tease and he runs his hands through his hair. "Kiara told me about where you guys hang out. Is that where we're going?"

"Only if you tell me what my friends told you about me."

"Where's the fun in that, Maybank?"

He normally hates it when people call him by his last name. He guesses one of his friends told you that. It doesn't bother him. He normally only bring girls to the Chateau during a party to make out - sometimes to have sex in the guestroom. He notices that he doesn't really want to stop walking next to you and talking. As he guards you both to the longer way to get there, he notices that in one day you are ready friends with his friends. He normally doesn't even think adding someone else to the picture.

He barely hears himself saying, "You're not normal." But he laughs with you when you respond with,"Thank God for that."

"Oh no," he thinks to himself. "I think I'm catching feelings."

[coeurdastronaute]

Essays in Existentialism: Ages

Hey there, in case you're taking prompts right now I would love to see you write something about Clarke & Lexa at different stages in life/ages, from like little kids (first meeting) to adults. Thank you for your time and love your writing!

5

The classroom was colorful and happy, brimming with numbers and letters and pictures of animals on the walls. An entire side had windows that looked out toward the yard and playground for recess and there were tiny desks arranged in little squares, while the back corner had a very nice looking story time circle. 

Nervously, a tiny girl with messy brown hair stood behind her father’s legs and peered out at her new classroom. She could hear the kids screaming and having fun outside, and she wanted to sneak toward the window and see what they were doing, but she had to put her things in a cubby first, and her teacher had to tell her how to get there and where to sit. 

It was all very new, and Lexa wasn’t sure how to handle it all, so she held onto the leg of her father’s uniform. She missed her old house, and her old park, and her old friends and her old city. She didn’t like the moving part, or that her new house had a scary  basement. 

“We are very excited to have Lexa here, and we appreciate you keeping us up to date on your deployment schedule,” the smiling teacher nodded before squatting down lower to Lexa’s level. “I know kindergarten can be kind of scary at first, but soon you’ll look back and say ‘wow, I didn’t have to be scared. I love it here’.” 

Lexa dug into her father’s leg a little more, shying back slightly. He patted her hair before kneeling down as well. 

“Hey, kid, come on. You’re not usually this shy,” he furrowed and held her tiny hands in his large ones. “What’s wrong?” 

At first, Lexa looked around and shifted back and forth in her new sneakers. They lit up. But he waited patiently for a response. 

“I don’t know nobody,” she mumbled. 

“You’re going to meat the class soon,” he promised. “And you’ll make all kinds of great friends.” 

“And now you know me,” Mrs. Gates offered. “Your dad told me you like superheroes.” 

Lexa nodded after looking at her father for confirmation. 

“I put you in a seat next to someone who also likes superheroes. Do you want to see your desk?” 

When she didn’t move, her father decided it was time to do a bit more. 

“I want to see your desk. That’s really cool. You can practice your letters and numbers and reading at your desk, isn’t that right, Mrs. Gates?” 

“We’re going to learn so many things. We even get to do science experiments.” 

“One time, we made a tornado in a bottle,” Lexa offered quickly. “I got to pick the color and I picked blue because I like blue.” 

Slowly, Lexa came out of her shell as she walked toward her desk, her father holding her hand and showing her the name tag on it. She sat there and smiled slightly before looking at her cubby and moving to put her bag there herself. 

The noise outside calmed and moved to the hall a few moments later. 

“I’m going to go back to work now, Lex. But you’re going to stay here and Mom will pick you up after school, okay?” 

“Do you have to?” 

“I do, kid,” he smiled. “What are we?”

“Tough.” 

“And.”

“Brave.”

“And.”

“Kind.”

“That’s right,” he nodded and kissed her forehead. “I’m so proud of you, and I will want to hear all about your day at dinner okay? So have a good time.” 

Lexa nodded and sat at her desk quietly going back into her shell when her father waved at the door and disappeared. 

At nearly the same moment, the class filtered back in, noticing a new person and not knowing what to do with the news. 

“Good afternoon, scientists,” the teacher greeted them. “We have a new friend who is joining us today. Her name is Lexa. Can everyone say hello to Lexa?” 

The chorus rang out, some more energetic than others. 

“Lexa is coming to us from Virginia. Does anyone know anything about Virginia?” 

There was a rumble of no’s. 

“Would you like to tell us something, Lexa?” 

“Um,” she swallowed. “I used to live close to the beach and I got to see a hurricane once.” 

The series of ooh’s and ahh’s made her feel a little braver than the fake level of confidence her father had instilled her with. She pushed at the haphazard hair that fell into her eyes. 

“Wow, that must have been scary.” 

“It was. There was purple lightning.” 

Again the crowd was fascinated. 

“Now I want each of you to take turns meeting Lexa over the next few days and telling her your names and being helpful. Wouldn’t we all want some nice friends if we moved somewhere new?” 

The group nodded along, still eyeing her, but less brutally than before. 

“Okay, loves. To your seats and let’s show Lexa how we behave after recess, okay?” 

With more than enough confidence to spare, a tiny blonde girl marched toward Lexa and sat down beside her. 

“Hi. My name is Clarke Griffin. I am going to show you around. It’s my job.” 

“Oh.” 

“We can be friends if you want.” 

Lexa just nodded and stared at her blue eyes. 

“I like your hair. It reminds me of Tarzan’s or Wonder Woman.” 

Still confused about the little person who sat beside her and said things with such clarity and confidence, Lexa pushed her hair away from her face again and nodded. 

“I like your… eyes. They are like the sky, and the sky is my favorite thing ever.” 

“Ever?” Clarke asked incredulously. 

“Mhm. Did you know there are like a million stars? And clouds are cool.” 

“Yeah, they are,” she nodded and dug into her desk for a notebook. “Have you seen Frozen yet?” Lexa shook her head sadly. “I just got it. You should come watch it. We can build a fort.” 

“I am really good at that.” 

“Me too! Ours will be awesome!” 

From the front of the classroom the teacher smiled to herself, allowing the group extra time to settle as the two new friends talked a little bit. She saw Lexa cover her mouth from laughing and Clarke made some kind of face and shared a pencil. 

By the end of the day, Lexa was certain Clarke was the best person on the planet. She was very nice and she liked good movies and they had the same favorite food of pizza and ice cream and candy. She couldn’t keep quiet when her mom picked her up, and she nervously paced near the front door, looking out the window for her father to come home so she could tell him everything, sparing no detail. 

“Daddy!” Lexa pounces on him from the steps as soon as he makes it into the still packed house in need of organization. 

“Hey kid, I missed you so much,” he hugged her tightly. “How was school?” 

“I made a friend! And it was very fun. We saw pictures of bugs!” 

“Wow, what a day. Do you want to go back tomorrow?” 

“Mhm.” 

“Good. Now tell me everything.” 

10

“You’re still my best friend.” 

The statement came out angry and informative. It was declarative and exact, a fact that could not be argued. It was a law of nature. It was absolute. 

Lexa nodded, agreeing eagerly and quickly. 

“We can talk on the phone and write letters,” Clarke decided. “We can watch movies together, too sometimes. I can ask my mom to use her iPad.”

Again, Lexa nodded. 

“This is stupid and I hate the military and I hate that you have to leave.” 

Nod. 

Clarke had a temper. She liked to yell when she was frustrated, and she’d stomp her foot and clench her fists at her sides, arms straight and her face would get red with a distinct type of rage that Lexa learned to avoid and how to calm her down when needed. Sometimes it was impossible. Clarke said it felt like she was trapped in one of those balls of snow that roll down a hill and get bitter and bigger, and the anger was just rolling around her and she couldn’t escape it. And Lexa could get that, even if she didn’t show it. 

“You’re my best friend,” Clarke finally sighed. “And I don’t want to lose you.” 

Lexa shook her head and hugged her friend quickly, tightly, eagerly. 

“You’re my best friend, too. I don’t care where my dad gets stationed. I wont’ be anyone else’s best friend ever.” 

The pair stood there, clinging to each other, uninterested in separating, even by a few inches. There were not many things more powerful than a friendship of two people who worked well together, already seamlessly filling in each other’s personality points and understanding the other’s moods. There was an innate ease between them that always existed, and even now, when clearly stuck in the midst of intense turmoil, they just hugged each other and tried to be better for the other. 

“When do you have to leave to move?” 

“Next month, right after school ends,” Lexa sighed. 

“So we still have time to do all kinds of hings,” Clarke decided. “Maybe my mom will let you come visit for the summer or for breaks. Or I can come visit you.”

“Yeah,” her friend agreed eagerly. “My grandma and grandpa still live near here, so we will have to come close to see them.” 

“And then we can go away to college together, and live together, like my cousin Chris.” 

“We can?” 

“Oh yeah. In the dorms. We get our own beds and sometimes they can be bunk beds.” 

“Wow,” Lexa mouthed, her eyes wide. 

Even so young, she just enjoyed listening to Clarke talk and tell stories. She bit every single time, and she didn’t care if it was true or not. The only thing that matter was the Clarke knew a lot and Clarke liked to share. 

“You won’t forget about me?” Clarke asked after a moment of looking at her shoes. She looked up at her friend, her bet friend, and she waited nervously. 

“No way,” Lexa swore. “I could never.” 

Clarke held out her little finger and waited for Lexa to shake, completing the promise. 

“And I won’t forget about you, never ever,” Clarke swore. 

The solemn vow complete, neither knew what came next, only that they were already aware of how little time a month was, and now had to fill up every second. 

15

The gymnasium was packed to the brim with people as the tournament drew to a close during the finals match. Cheers and the echo of shouts and coaching practically vibrated the entire arena. Though she wasn’t much of a fan of sports, Clarke Griffin was, in fact, a fan of one basketball player who travelled across the country to play in the girl’s high school national championships. 

Even though Lexa moved nearly five years prior, their solemn vow, that between elementary school chums who were young enough to believe in such things, held strong with them talking every day, and gradually moving up to emails and FaceTime and text. Periodically, over that half decade, they’d even been grated time to see each other, whether it was family trips or one going to stay with the other’s family for a school break. Whenever they were asked where they wanted to go, the answer was always to each other. 

When Lexa texted after they won state, she was over the moon, and Clarke immediately made sure to get tickets so she could see her best friend play, even though she still didn’t particularly understand the rules, no matter how often Lexa explained them. 

“I can’t believe you guys have stayed in touch so long,” Abby smiled as Clarke sat down from cheering and yelling Lexa’s name after she scored. “It seems like just yesterday you were coming home from kindergarten to tell me about your new best friend, Lexa.” 

“It just kind of works,” Clarke shrugged, unable to pinpoint why it did. There wasn’t an easy answer or any real logic to it. Perhaps it was mostly dumb luck. 

“Hard to believe that little girl is playing in a national championship,” Jake agreed. “I’ve been following her stats online. She’s ranked and is set to go to a Division I school.” 

“Lexa’s going to the University of Oregon, just like me.” 

“You’ve changed your mind a hundred times and you’re halfway through your sophomore year.”

“That’s where she wants to go, and it’s where I want to go.” 

“We’ll add it to the list, but don’t think about it too much just yet,” Jake shared a look with his wife. “A lot can happen in a year.” 

Clarke didn’t want to argue. Instead, she clapped and cheered as Lexa was subbed out in the third. She wasn’t particularly invested in the rest of the game without Lexa out there, but Clarke did her best to watch the entire thing and stay involved with what was happening. In the end, Lexa’s team won, and she cheered the loudest of all. She was wearing Lexa’s old jersey. She was a true fan. 

“You did so well, honey,” Jake promised as he hugged Lexa after they cleaned and gotten ready in the lock room. 

It was a long ceremony, to lift the trophy and answer questions, and listen to coaches. Clarke just grew more and more anxious. She hadn’t been able to see much of Lexa because of the game for the past two days, and she only had 2 more to see her. They always knew they had to make the most of it. 

“Congrats!” Clarke cheered as she launched herself at her best friend, hugging her tightly as they met in the lobby of the convention center. “That was amazing. You’re the best basketball player in the nation.” 

“I don’t know about that,” Lexa chuckled and hugged her back, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “Thanks for sticking through it though. I’m sure it wasn’t very fun to watch.” 

“Yeah, well. Best friends, biggest fan and such.” 

They hang on each other, never far apart as the family made their way to a celebratory dinner, facetiming with Lexa’s family to share the good news since they couldn’t make the trip. It was exceedingly normal for Lexa to be taken in my the Griffins; it happened nearly every year in some way, same for Clarke with the Woods. Jake spent dinner going over all of the plays and applauding Lexa’s efforts, amazed that she could do such things. He only took credit for her layup, as they’d spent a good portion of her last visit the previous summer working on it in the driveway after diner. Lexa let him have it. It wasn’t lost on her that he put up a basketball hoop for her and her alone, even though she spent collectively less than three months over the past five years at their house. 

Ice cream was a given. The rest of the team would be back at the hotel, probably drinking their water bottles of vodka. Lexa was the youngest on the team, the only underclassman on varsity, and she was oddly grateful to miss it. Nothing could beat ice cream with Clarke and her parents. Only there, sitting outside in the chilly autumn evening, did she swap cones with Clarke as they had since they were five. Only there, did she let Clarke wear her jacket because she was cold. 

The Griffins had a guest room. They had two, in fact. But after the festivities and still a little giddy from the evening, the two friends climbed to Clarke’s room and tried to settle in for a movie.

Freshly showered, Lexa fiddled with the menu, trying to find something to watch while Clarke took her turn showering and washing the excitement off. She played with her phone, texting back friends home and the team lazily, stretched out in Clarke’s bed. 

It shouldn’t have been as big of a deal when Clarke walked out in her towel, asking about what movie they were going to watch. But it somehow was a big deal and Lexa found herself sitting up slightly against the headboard. She looked at Clarke’s bare shoulders as she slipped underwear on. She stared, wide-eyed and dry-mouthed as the towel dropped, and Clarke slipped on shorts and then an old shirt before toweling her hair. 

“You used all the hot water, and I will not be allowing you to shower first, no matter how many championships you win,” Clarke decided, as she joined her in the bed. 

“That’s fair.” 

Suddenly, Lexa was aware of how close they laid together in bed, and how they shared the blankets, and how they watched part of the movie before falling into their normal quiet talking in the middle of the night. She wasn’t sure how or why or what except she was very comfortable and uncomfortable with how comfortable she was. 

“My dad thinks it’s ridiculous I plan on going to the same school as you.” 

“I haven’t gotten in anywhere,” Lexa reminded her. “Or any actual offers.”

“You will,” Clarke promised. “I’m just keeping my options open. It’d be nice to be near you.”

Lexa smiled to herself in the dark and felt Clarke scoot closer so they were facing each other, their knees touching. 

“We haven’t gotten much time alone this visit,” Lexa sighed. 

“Kind of rude of you to interrupt it with basketball.” 

“But at least I got to visit.” 

“True. I needed this,” Clarke yawned. “It’s been a rough semester.” 

“Because you’re dating a real dumb guy.” 

“But he’s so cute.” 

Lexa couldn’t help groaning and wiggling around in bed. She made a show of rolling over before she felt Clarke pull her back with a chuckle. 

“He’s a moron and you can do a billion times better than Finn.” 

“I know, he’s just… nice. He’s steady and doesn’t take much effort.” 

“Shouldn’t it take some effort?” Lexa ventured, not at all sure about any philosophies about love or relationships. 

“Probably a combination of effortlessness and effort,” Clarke nodded. “How’s your crush? Did she text you after you won?” 

“It’s going good,” she shrugged in the dark. “I don’t know if she knows it’s a crush or not.”

“You have to be daring and bold. You’re already charming and funny and adorable. She has to have a crush on you. Just ask her out when you get back. Or text her right now.” 

“Let me think about it a little more.” 

“Fine,” Clarke finally relents and yawns again. “Do you think being in love with someone is talking in the middle of the night, but like forever?” 

There’s a quiet in the bedroom in the middle of the night as Lexa mulls over the words. Since they were five, Clarke was the sure one, the loud one, the persistent and confident and sure one. 

“I hope love is comfortable. I hope it’s talking all night. I hope it also makes you nervous and excited to see the other person. I hope it’s being someone’s one person that they count on no matter what. I hope being in love is all of those things. It has to be, right?”

“You make it sound like we’re in love. I think you just described our entire friendship.” 

Lexa blushed and cleared her throat.

“But we’re best friends. We can’t be in love.” 

The quiet settled there again until Clarke readjusted and sighed. 

“Exactly.” 

“It’d be nice though,” Lexa sighed as well. “To be in love with my favorite person on the planet.” 

“It would.” 

“Unfortunately, my best friend is painfully straight. Oh darn.” She tried to make her voice sound lighter, like this wasn’t a very confusing hole she’d somehow dug herself into. 

“God, I have to dump Finn.” 

They both chuckled at that, breaking the fog of the layered conversation they found themselves stuck in. And with that it was easy to fall back into talking about everything else until neither could keep their eyes open. 

20

The sorority house on Sorority Row was spilling out onto the yard and into the street with people celebrating the start of spring semester. For a moment, Lexa stood on the sidewalk and looked up at the brightly lit building and took a deep breath. She’d spent most of her free time not practicing or with the team here, in Clarke’s room, or doing something with Clarke. 

It was almost an accident that they ended up at the same school, with Lexa accepting the offer late in the year, well after Clarke had been accepted and decided. And it was the best decision of her life because she got to spend so much time with her best friend, and her best friend was at every home game. And for two years, Lexa watched her best friend date her way through a handful of steadies that all bugged her to no-end. And she knew why. She knew exactly why and yet she could never say. That would ruin everything. 

So Lexa stood there for a moment and prepared herself to survive another night of being in love with her best friend and watching her flirt with someone else. 

Lexa had a fairly good reputation all over campus due to her breakout season on the court and a Division Championship under her belt. She was active in a few clubs, volunteer organizations, and mostly, she was Clarke’s friend. 

“Lexa!” Clarke cheered, hugging her tightly as soon as she found her. “I was wondering when I’d get to see you.” 

“I came as soon as I could, darling. I know you miss me too much if I leave you waiting.” 

“I’m a demanding broad, and you know me well, skipper.” 

“You two are disgusting,” Raven observed. 

Lexa just looked down at Clarke who still clung to her, arms wrapped around her middle and grinning back. They were a rather disgusting pair, especially when they did their loving rendition of a polite couple. 

“You are looking rather cute tonight,” Lexa observed. 

“I’ve been known to look cute from time to time. Shouldn’t be too surprising.” 

Lexa just rolled her eyes and waited for Clarke to tug her hand toward the bar. They were practically a packaged deal, and not many believed they’d been friends since they were children because that just didn’t happen anymore, especially across time and space to such stretched degrees. 

But the night went on as it usually did, with music and dancing, though neither were extremely heavy drinkers that often, they retained a mild buzz that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. Rarely where they far away from the other. Often, Lexa would find herself looking across the room and finding her friend. 

But the party waned, and Lexa let herself be invited to stay instead of trying to traverse her way home across campus. There were enough of her old shirts and workout shorts as part of Clarke’s wardrobe that she always had clothes around anyway. 

Lazily, Lexa lounged on the bed as Clarke finished getting ready for bed. She scrolled on her phone for a little bit and yawned, exhausted by the day and drinks. 

When Clarke walked out of the bathroom, Lexa stared more intently at her phone because her friend was in a bath towel, and that was too much to handle anymore. She didn’t look. For a solid ten seconds. But then the towel disappeared, and she saw the curly hairs at the base of Clarke’s neck, her hair pulled up in a sloppy bun as she slid on a shirt. Lexa watched all of it happen and she couldn’t pretend otherwise. 

“That was a good night, darling. We should have the gang over more often,” Clarke decided with a smile as she turned back toward the bed. 

“That was a small showing. I expected better.”

“I’ll russell up a better gang, I swear.” 

With a chuckle, Clarke flipped off the light and got into bed, careful to crawl over Lexa and find her spot against the wall. Lexa felt all of that and she remained stoic, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the queen and such. 

“I can’t believe we’ve been having sleep overs since we were five,” Clarke whispered. 

“You kind of made me be your friend. Mrs. Gates sat me beside you and that was it.” 

“Do you think she knows what she started?” 

“We should let her know.” 

An arm moved around Lexa’s middle. It grabbed her arm and pulled it around her body so that Clarke was the little spoon. Over the past few months, Clarke had been more affectionate, physically. She’d taken the time to touch Lexa and hug her, though Lexa chalked it up to her own wavering brain looking for something that wasn’t there, and resoling herself to being the best friend anyone could ask for. Best friends were the big spoon sometimes. 

Stuck smelling Clarke’s hair, Lexa closed her eyes and let her arms squeeze her friend, eclipsed by her taller frame. She held her breath for as long as she could. 

“I sleep best when you’re in bed. I’m getting spoiled,” Clarke yawned, wiggling slightly as she found a comfortable spot. 

“I’ll have to train your future husband in how to do it.” 

“I don’t think I want anyone else.” 

“You have your pick of the litter. We’ll find you a squire to court you.” 

“Nah,” she sighed, smiling. “I only want you.” 

“I, um,” Lexa gulped and felt Clarke’s thumb on her wrist, rubbing soothingly as she was known to do. “I only want you, too.” 

“Good.” 

25

It’d been a long day. The world’s longest day. The worst, longest, most exhausting day, and all Lexa wanted to do was sleep. Sleep would wash away the entire week that beat her up, and sleep would save her from dinner with her parents. Sleep was a welcomed reward she was hoping to cash in on so she could escape the stress of breathing. 

Cranky and sore, Lexa tossed her keys on the table by the door and chucked her bag on the chair in the living room, kicking off her shoes as she made her way down the hall toward the kitchen. The house was quiet and empty for a Friday night, and she appreciate that for the time being. 

From the fridge, she dug out a bottle of beer and tossed the cap on the counter before shrugging off her jacket between eager swigs. With heavy feet, she padded upstairs and collapsed into the bed with a grunt, hoping a nap would help her escape the headache that’d been brewing since before lunch. Still with her work clothes on, Lexa fell asleep quickly and without any resistance. 

It wasn’t until she felt the bed dip that Lexa smiled into the bed, a familiar weight settled atop her, squishing her slightly with affection. 

“Long day?” Clarke whispered, kissing her fiancé’s shoulder though her shirt. 

“Long week,” Lexa complained and stretched, enjoying the feeling. 

“Want to order pizza and take a bath?” 

“Very much.” 

“I’ll open the wine.” 

Though she tried to move, Lexa flipped, holding Clarke to her, finally kissing her softly, and then eagerly, and then happily. 

“How was your day, darling?” 

“Not nearly as bad as yours.” 

“Good.” 

Clarke sat up slightly and pushed her messy hair away from her face as it fell in front of her eyes as she tried to kiss her best friend and make her smile. 

“I think being in love might be wine and pizza and a bath,” she grinned, running her thumb along Lexa’s cheek and jaw and then neck before kissing her again. 

“Let’s find out.”