#Cat Spray Red Surprising Useful Ideas

[hazbn-oneshots]

Bathtime Headcanons

Just a few headcanons for sharing a bubble bath with the main characters. Enjoy!

Charlie:

oddly enough Charlie doesn’t partake in full baths as much as she favors showers.

She’s busy dealing with the hotel and along with ruling as the Princess of Hell so she much prefers a quick warm spray.

On the occasion, however, she finds herself tired enough that you might just be able to convince her to indulge with you. 

You make a point of dredging up any kind of bubble bath, bath bomb, lotion, anything you can find to ensure that you can provide the best bubble bath possible.

Music plays softly over a small speaker, but it’s drowned out the hushed whispers of words of love as you meticulously wash and condition her hair.

Conditioning is your favorite step. Charlie didn’t need it often as her hair somehow stayed so silky, so every now and then when you got to run a soft brush through her hair, twisting it gently to pin atop her head.

She tries to wash you in return but you always push her hand away, insisting on pampering her after a hard day.

Usually ends with you drying her off and carrying her to bed when she inevitably passes out.

Vaggie:

Vaggie loves baths but she’s hard pressed to admit it. Nothing feels better on sore muscles than a nice soak, ideally with lavender. She loves lavender.

The two of you had been dating for about 6 months before she even entertained the idea of going to you with such a request. 

She was too embarrassed to ask.

-in the end, how she broaches the subject is by surprising you one night when you return home. A few candles lined the edge of the bathtub that was filled nearly to the brim with bubbles.

”I just thought it would be nice, you’ve been gone all day” And you know better to react calmly should you risk spooking the flustered angel with the scarlet red face.

She’s the one that drags it out in the end. She’d wrap her arms just a little tighter around your waist and mutter about how the water would stay warm for just a little longer.

Vaggie gives sweet towel hugs.

Alastor:

Listen, Alastor takes pride in his hygiene. He takes the utmost care to keep himself and his dress in immaculate condition. 

He’ll invest in facial creams, hair creams, body creams, oils, lotions, you name it and he’s used it. 

But baths? No. Absolutely not.

You’ve only attempted to convince Alastor to take a bath with you and neither occasion ended particularly well. The radio demon wouldn’t speak to you for a week after the first failed attempt and had all but removed himself from your life with the second so you couldn’t say you were in any hurry for a third.

However, the two of you have come to a happy compromise. Whenever you found yourself in the mood to draw a bath you would sometimes find Alastor pulling a chair up next to the tub with a book tucked under his arm. So would begin a lovely tradition between the both of you.

More than once you’ve found yourself dozing to the soft static of the Alastor’s voice, and in response the demon would lightly tap his cane against the edge of the tub to rouse you.

Don’t fall asleep though, three strikes and he’ll leave you in the tub. No he doesn’t.

Husk:

Not. A. Fan. Considering his entire being consists of fur and feathers, Husk can and will do everything within his power to avoid bathing if he can. Look, it’s just not his idea of a fun night to sit down with a hairdryer and attempt to wring himself out as best he can.

Inevitably he’d miss a spot and end up with stale wet cat smell and no one likes that, especially not our resident grump.

He won’t make a fuss if you want to bathe with him though. What he will do is laugh while patting your shoulder. “I’ll wait for ya in the room”

The more comfortable he gets, however, you’ll start to see that eventually Husk begins to find reasons just to ‘wander’ into the bathroom with you. He misses you, you know it, but it’s still sweet to see him making the excuse of looking for his lucky pair of boxers.

”The water’s always warm darlin”

You better get the blow dryer ready, the only way you can convince him is if you’ll deal with it. You don’t mind though, the purrs are worth it

Angel Dust:

You and Angel take turns picking which bath bombs and bubble baths that you’ll throw into whichever potion you’ll be brewing up tonight.

Bathtime with Angel was always a favorite for you, you couldn’t think of anything better than getting to curl up with your cuddle bug in your arms. Although things never really stay that way for long.

It’s hard not to tease while washing each other. A slip of the hand here, just a little rough touch of loofah there, just a sweet little taste of what could be but the restraint comes easy in the relaxed atmosphere. Just in times like these Angel will be patient enough to wait until you can actually make it to the bed. 

Angel won’t let you wash his hair. You don’t know why he’s so particular about it but if you interrupt his routine of products then his entire night is ruined so you choose the peaceful route and leave the man be. That doesn’t mean he won’t wash your hair for you if you ask though, those four hands of his do wonders at massaging the scalp.

Angel will 10/10 let you towel dry him every single time and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t use it as an opportunity to make a show at bending this way and that, making sure to get every inch of him.

He looks like a fluffy mess afterwards but hey, he’s your fluffy mess.

Requests open!!

[howdoesagrapewrites]

what wld lovesick pav and gaya be like w a s/o who tries to be like, healthy in their relationship? like they're not the "i wanna get away bc this is unhealthy" type, but the "i will actively tie you both down and make you communicate your feelings and wants in a healthy way until we can all reach a mutual agreement" way

like the two reach the stage where they don't want their love to leave the house at all- but they kinda quickly shut that down and are like "nuh uh. i have a life, so either we talk it out and find something that works for me and you two or i stay out five minutes past the curfew you set just to make you squirm"

𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩

Cw: poly!reader x lovesick! Pavitr Prabhakar x lovesick!Gayatri Singh, explicit talk about mental health

Notes: all I can think about is the reader spraying then with a water bottle like a poorly behaved cat

>You went out of the apartment to get the grocery shopping done, your partners had been behaving oddly, they were always very affectionate and loved being around you, but lately you feel like they have been neglecting their personal life in order to be together

>You left the house when they were taking a nap, you didn't feel like you were sneaking out, just that you were doing chores while they slept

>You think about this as you examine the red apples deciding if you should buy them or not

>Your phone vibrates and you answer to a preoccupied Pavitr, you apologize for not telling them, but you didn't want to disturb them, when you're about to hang up, he hits you with "just wait, we're on our way"

>You're a little confused and annoyed by having to wait for them at the market without being able to continue the list of home necessities, but you tried to be understanding, and thought that maybe when you got home, you could start a conversation about what you've been thinking the whole afternoon

>When they arrived, the outing went smoothly, and happily, like you're used to

>After you finished organizing everything on the shelves and pantry, you started the conversation in a pretty straight forward manner, you didn't want to dance around the subject and talk about issues like they're anything aside a from a completely normal part of every relationship

>You said you wanted to talk, and they were visibly nervous, however, complied

>"So I've been noticing that you don't want to leave the house, and that you get really upset when I do leave, and it concerns me, I won't force you, but I'm your partner too, I'm here for both of you."

>I think these two would be one of the easiest characters to pull into therapy and get them to work through their issues, something that's surprising considering they would never accept this if you were dating individually

>The challenge here is definitely Pavitr, because like I've said a million times already, he's extremely delusional

>So it'll be hard to even make him realize there's an issue with his obsession, also you'll need to reassure him that you're not rejecting his feelings, but rather just want to work through a more positive and healthy way of expressing and processing those feelings

>"But I love you, why don't you love me too?"

>"Of course I do, Pav, but love isn't supposed to hurt"

>Gayatri has a more clear vision of where these issues stem from and will be more cooperative with communication with time

>At first she's closed to the idea, but when she sees how much you care and that you genuinely want to help her, she lets her guard down

>If you respond positively and don't show signs of fear or disgust when she tells you about her feelings, you get to hear, the most gruesome parts, but far from scared, you're proud she feels safe to verbalize and recognize toxic behavior

>I think Pavitr would use mindfulness as a coping strategy for the yandere tendencies, and Gayatri would turn to writing

>Some of Gayatri's pieces are morbid, sure, but it's better than having her do it, you praise the effort

>Sometimes they still relapse and snap at you or get too possessive, but you're having none of it

>You set clear boundaries and as hard as that is, they understand that they'll lose your trust and love if they are unwilling to be better

>I think there's a solid 8/10 chance of fixing them

[karahofthedawn]

Like many others, so happy to have found you and your writing. I just finished binging all your writings on the twins. I love that Fred got the “I love you” but could we have a story for George receiving the sentiment? He is, of course, the more sensitive twin. We all seem to love fluff and smut together. Maybe he took us on a romantic date when he gets one in one time. Thanks for your time and talent! 🧡

I ended up making this so sweet that I couldn't add the smut LOL..

This is all fluff. 💜

Words: 2.4k

No

"Blimey," George mumbles, particles of the muffin he had just bitten spray out onto the table. "And you just said it like that?"

Fred scrunches his face with annoyance at his brother's lack of table manners. Though that feeling could only last so long under the current circumstances. "Just like that."

George shakes his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you of all people actually said that you lo-" he coughs as Fred's elbow connects to his ribs. "What's that all about?'" He scowls and wipes the crumbs from his lips.

Fred huffs with his arms tight against his chest.

He gets the hint - nobody else is to overhear.

George rolls his eyes. Just when he thought his brother was finally getting in touch with his softer side, he is sorely reminded how he'd rather die than admit it to anyone else. Always gotta keep up that snarky front, he guesses. Although since he's met y/n things have changed. For both of them.

The rest of the Gryffindor table is chattering away amongst themselves. Early Monday mornings always brought a surge of excitement for classes to start. That is, if you liked the ones you're signed up for. For the Weasley twins, it had been a long time since they felt that Hogwarts brought them anything worth caring about.

That is, until you were placed right on their lap.

Just as that thought crosses George's mind, you stride into the room with a few books tucked under your arms. He watches you with a tightness in his chest as you practically float to the Hufflepuff table.

Fred leans forward and whispers, "do you feel that way about her?"

George half shrugs, he holds a fresh ruby red apple loosely in his hand. You glance over your shoulder and immediately make eye contact with the two boys. A smile curls on the edge of your lips and you give a little wave before sitting down.

They both beam and give a nod in unison back at you.

"That's something for me to know," George laughs and gets to his feet. He leans over his brother's shoulder and says quietly, "and something for her to find out." With a wink and bite of the apple he heads off to plan his best idea yet.

—---------------Two Days Later------------------------

The cool breeze rustles the treeline in front of you. A bright full moon illuminates the field and the trail that you're following. The wide leaves on branches shadow over the entrance to the Forbidden Forest. You swear that you can hear a trail of footsteps crunching. Someone- something must be lurking just beyond your vision. Even with George's comforting arm around your shoulders, the unknown beyond makes your heels finally dig into the dirt.

"You can't be serious. In there?" You gesture to the looming forest with an outstretched arm.

"Oh, don't worry. Nothing will happen to us," George says calmly.

You rub your arm and frown. As much as you trust him, some things can happen that are completely out of anyone's control.

"Really," he urges you forward gently by sliding his hand to your waist. "Don't start being a scaredy cat now."

You glare at him from the corner of your eyes and huff. "I just don't see why this surprise needs to be somewhere so.. creepy."

George sighs and takes your hand in his. It's a comforting gesture, although the idea of walking in those woods still didn't feel any more safer than it had.

He gives his biggest and cheesiest smile and confidently says, "I promise, it'll be worth it."

You take a deep breath and give in, stepping forward towards the forest edge. The wind blows harder and the branches creak and whine as you cautiously step over the threshold. George has been tight lipped about this entire thing since he invited you out earlier today. Even with all of your might, you haven’t been able to get one single clue out of him. At this rate, you wonder if it’s even a good kind of surprise. Just because you’re dating, doesn’t mean you’re not a target of the twins’ pranks after all. You found that out the hard way.

“Are you alright?” George asks. You turn your head and only see his silhouette staring back at you.

“I don’t know. How do you even see where we’re going?” You ask as you blindly walk ahead. “And why can’t I use my wand?”

“Because,” he sighs. “You’ll just have to trust me. It’s only a bit further, try and relax. I know this path like the back of my hand.”

You tighten your arm around his as the safety of the exit to the forest grows further and further behind. There are stories told about these parts of giant spiders and angry centaurs. Who’s to say you won’t both go missing? Or you won’t get eaten or seriously harmed?

Your mind is still reeling when you feel George come to a complete stop. It’s silent, but you can hear his soft breathing to the right of you. He shuffles a bit and you reluctantly let go of his arm as he pulls away.

“George?” You call him nervously.

“Y/N, it’s okay. I promise.” His voice is still close, and that partially comforts you.

“What is this? I can’t see anything.” Your heart is racing and you consider just booking it back the way you came. It was a straight shot, but the risk of getting lost just isn’t worth it.

George takes one of your shaking hands in his and steps close to you. With the flick of his wand he says, “lumos!”

A bright and dazzling light appears from the end of his wand. The only thing that can be seen within the dark is both of your faces; yours being confused and worried, while he remains stoic and self assured. You are about to ask what the point of this was, when one by one small tiny lights begin flickering in the trees.

You turn and see that they’re all around you. Dozens.. Hundreds.. No, thousands of tiny lights floating motionless. George lifts his wand, and even more appear. Soon there are so many the area is properly illuminated. This was a clearing in the middle of the forest, where tall wild grass and flowers of all colors grew. One of the small orbs float towards you, landing on your sleeve. You bring it up to your face and realize that it’s a bug of some sort. Its body was tiny but it illuminated the brightest light from its core.

“Aren’t they neat?” George asks, letting the curious bug crawl on his pointer finger. It glowed again before extending its wings and gliding off silently.

You are in awe as you take in your surroundings. “What are they?”

“Well, some call them fireflies, others lightning bugs. But these are specifically bred by wizards, we call them Beacon Light Beetles.” He smiles down at you, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “They have a little bit of magic in them, and if you know how to use them you just..” He flicks his wand again and they begin spinning around the perimeter, moving as one.

You’re speechless as you watch this unfold. It was as if thousands of Christmas lights became sentient, or a flock of birds that were flying south. Always in sync. Always one with another.

“It’s beautiful,” you exclaim. You turn to him and grab his hand tightly. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

George smiles warmly down at you, the small lights of orbs reflecting in his irises. “We are just getting started,” he says.

Your brows raise, and so does his wand again. A shadow floats out of the forest and sets itself down against a tree. A few of the Beacons swarm the new guest, revealing it to be a rather old looking cello. The bow appears from behind it, the hair expertly lands on the strings and glides forward. A very high note expels from the instrument, sending the small orbs moving frantically.

George laughs out and grabs you by the waist. “Get ready!” He yells out as the bow strikes again.

Before you can even question it, the dated cello begins to play a beautiful melody ‘Ave Maria’. He pulls you close to his chest and stares down at you with a look you just couldn’t read. With his hand on your waist and his other lacing with yours, he begins to dance with you. It starts off slow, with both of you locking eyes and swaying along to the music.

The Beacon Light Beetles must have gotten the memo too as they float up and down, side to side in a circular motion around you and George. You smile brightly as he hums along to the song.

“You know,” he says finally, pulling your waist close to his. “I didn’t know you could dance this well.”

You throw your head back and laugh. “I didn’t know you could either!”

He guides you into a slow spin, catching you as your body faces him again. “Well, I had lots of practice these last few days.” His warm hand against your back pulls you in again.

“All for this?” You ask and he nods. “But why?”

Just as he’s going to reply, the song picks up - as do the light beetles, swarming rapidly and forming different shapes and patterns as they go. It’s as if they are part of the music themselves. He whisks you off your feet and he spins you while close to his torso, then dips you down. Your gaze is locked with his as your heart fills to the brim with happiness and joy. This was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for you by far. You’re beyond mesmerized as he continues to dance with you, the cello dwindles its pace as it gets to the end of the song.

“Y/N,” George says sweetly, practically cooing as he says your name.

Your eyes search his face for what’s going to happen next. “Yes?”

His fingers gently caress your face as he beams down at you. “From the moment I met you, I knew that we’d end up together.”

Your cheeks start to burn pink and your heart pounds. “Y-you did?”

He nods and then dips you down low again. When he brings you back up his hands tangle in your hair. He quietly replies with, “I did.”

Your heart beats against your chest and you stare up at him, all words you have in your head catch right in your throat.

George weaves his fingers into your hair and his forehead meets yours. “Y/N, I am very much in love with you.” His hands travel to the back of your neck, leaving a chill down your spine. He moves his head back and tilts his head. “And I just really needed you to know that.”

You nod, completely dumbfounded by this moment all together. After a moment of silence, you finally get the courage to respond with, “George, I love you too.”

He beams brighter than ever and wraps his arms around your torso. His cheek is resting on your hair as he continues to sway with you. A part of him had been made whole when you reciprocated in such a way that he could never fully explain. He leaves a soft kiss on your forehead then releases you with one of his arms so he can retrieve his wand.

The bright orbs rise as George points his wand to the sky, and they begin forming into two different masses. He focuses all of his energy, molding the bugs in the darkness. It doesn’t take for his masterpiece to shine through. It was as if he painted a picture of you and him in the sky. The two figures embrace, kiss - then the beetles scatter off immediately.

“How did you-” You look at him with tears welling in your eyes.

George shrugs, like he’s done this a hundred times. Which was his main goal over the last few days as well, so he technically had. You didn’t need to know that though, he thought to himself.

“Love can make anything happen,” George says. And a lot of practice and reading, he notes to himself.

You take his warm freckled face in your palms and lead him down into a gentle kiss. He hums as your lips meet and he bends down to feel you deeper. You remain locked into that kiss for what feels like eternity. Tears fall down your face from the overwhelming knowledge of just how much this man loves you.

He finally breaks the kiss and says, “thank Merlin you love me back, otherwise this would have been very awkward.”

You laugh and nuzzle your face in the crook of George’s neck. “Or if I was afraid of bugs.”

He slaps his forehead and practically yells, “I didn’t even consider that!”

“Well, thankfully I’m not.” You giggle as his arms snake around your shoulders.

He laughs with you. “I can see it now, you’d be a screaming mess as I’d be trying to dance with you.”

“And I’d run off and get lost in the woods.”

George continues, “then I’d go after you and get lost as well.”

Then in unison you both say, “Fred would make fun of us so badly.”

You both start laughing hysterically in unison. He pulls back and moves a strand of hair from your face. “Then I’d have to plan something else that’s ridiculously romantic.”

You beam up at him and give him a small kiss on the cheek. “Well, at least it all went according to plan.”

George playfully wipes his forehead and says, “thank Merlin for that!”

A few of the Beacon Light Beetles could be seen floating away in the trees. He takes your hand as you both watch the final few depart. You rest your head on his shoulder and shiver as the wind picks back up.

He nudges you and says, “Come on, let’s go back to the castle.”

You nod and clasp his hand tightly. Just like that, you were leaving one of the best moments of your life. After you reach the exit of the forest, you look back one last time. A small orb of light can be seen in the distance. This is something you will never forget.

“Watch your step now,” George instructs and helps you over a fallen branch.

With that, you head back to the castle with your head in the clouds. Life truly could not get better than this.

[i-used-to-wear-the-fedora]

Stranger Things Demon AU, Another Brick in the Wall

"What the fuck?"

"Come on Eddie, you can't be too surprised. You really think I was just going to hang out in your gross room all day?" Eddie entered Hawkins Highschool with the demon practically hovering over his shoulder.

"Seriously? What are you going to do when the teachers ask about you? Pretty sure they'll notice a brand new student."

"Think you're forgetting about the whole "all powerful demon" thing." Steve grinned while Eddie tried to shrink in on himself. The students were curiously eyeing the new boy hanging off Eddie's side. Especially the girls. Almost all of them eyeing Steve as he walked past them.

"You using the all powerful demon thing to make them look at you like that too?"

"Nah, that's just the Harrington charm." Eddie blinked.

"Harrington? Is that your last name?"

"What, you think I didn't have a last name?"

"No. Just realized you didn't mention it before." Steve laughed, looking back at one of the girls he knew was staring and winked at them. Eddie rolled his eyes and pulled the demon along.

"Come on, can't I have a little fun?"

"Not with Tammy Thompson. I don't want to have you two come back to my trailer and then I have to listen to you have sex while she moans in her muppet ass voice."

"That's. Weirdly specific."

"You haven't heard her sing." Eddie made his way over to his locker. Steve noticed it was covered in sharpied on insults. Steve wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer but he knew it was probably related to the Jason guy. "Huh. You'd think with his much these guys hate you, they'd get a little more creative with the insults."

"You're asking a lot for a couple of backwater hicks who's highlight of their life is their highschool basketball trophies." Eddie pulled a spray bottle out of the bottom shelf and used his handkerchief to wipe off the slurs. "Unless it's freak, fag or queer, it's probably not in their dictionary." Taking his backpack out, Eddie noticed Steve staring across the hallway. Following his gaze to see him looking at Nancy Wheeler leaning on the wall talking to one of her friends. "Don't even think about it."

"Wh-what?" Steve snapped out of his stupor. Eddie slammed his locker door shut as minute warning bell rang. "No idea what you're talking about."

"That's Nancy Wheeler. She's already got a boyfriend."

"Well shit. Guess I'm stuck with you. So what class do we have first?"

"Mrs. McDonnell. She teaches reading and composition. Failed me two years in a row. Gunning for three."

Eddie led Steve down the halls to a classroom. Students were still filtering in when the bell rang again and the older woman sat at the desk laid her crossword puzzle book down to stare down the long haired boy.

"Mr. Munson. I see you decided to actually arrive on time today." As she talked, Steve noticed the woman's desk was covered in framed photos of her cats. "And who's your little friend?" She asked, eyeing Steve in a way similar to the girls from the hallway. Eddie made a disgusted noise as he took a seat near the back of the class. Steve noticed too, taking the woman's hand and grin in at her.

"Steve Harrington." He kissed her hand in over exaggerated manner, eyeing the metalhead as he did so. Even worse was the noise the woman made as her face flushed red. "My family just moved here. I should be on your attendance sheet." A strange look crossed the English teacher's face as she nodded along to his suggestion.

"Right, of course. Take a seat anywhere." Steve had a stupid grin on his face as he sat in the desk next to Eddie in the corner of the class. Where he sat exclusively to stay away from everyone else. God this was going to be a long day.

~~

"So ugh....who's the new guy?" Kevin asked as he and the rest of the Hellfire club sat around the lunch table. Everyone staring at their new table member sat on the bench next to the metalhead. Everyone save Dustin was confused by the new student's presence. Compared to everyone else at the table, the guy who looked like he stepped out of an Abercrombie and Fitch ad was incredibly out of place. "Is he like," Kevin leaned in and whispered into Eddie's ear, "your boyfriend?"

"God why does everyone keep asking me that? No. He's just some weird exchange student staying at my house." This fooled no one at the table.

"Right. Well ugh, we still performing at The Hideout tonight?"

"Shit that's tonight?" Eddie had been so busy dealing with the white Steve situation he'd completely forgot the gig they booked.

"The Hideout? Sounds fancy." Eddie grinned, his face in his hands propped up on the table by his elbows. Jeff laughed.

"Hardly. Last time we played to a crowd of about five drunks."

"And one of them was pretty vocal about what he thought about our music." Gareth added. "But a gig's a gig. Better than playing Billy Joel at my little cousin's Bat Mitzvah."

"What's wrong with Billy Joel?" Steve protested. Gareth and Jeff shared a look as they laughed.

"Of course you'd like Billy Joel. None of his music is even that good."

"Excuse you but Moving Out is one of the best songs ever made-" Eddie watched as Steve got in a very heated music debate with his band mates when he noticed Dustin signaling for the older boy to follow. Eddie making sure that Steve didn't notice them slipping out into the hallway. The metalhead turning to Dustin as the boy fished out some of the torn pages from the book out.

"Whatcha got for me kid?"

"Okay, me and Max were able to find something that could help." Dustin pointed at the illustration of a red moon on top of one of the papers. "It says that the only way to break the summoning bond is that on the next blood moon at midnight you'll need to perform the breaking ritual in the same place you called for him."

"Okay sounds easy enough. When's the next red moon?"

"This Friday night."

"I guess that sounds easy enough."

"But it has to be this blood moon or you're going to be stuck with him for the rest of your life...and your soul will also be damned for an eternity."

"Oh is that all?" Until a few days ago Eddie was perfectly content not thinking God and all that other shit was real but now he was terrified with the white threat of eternal damnation in hell. Looking through the lunchroom doors back at Steve taking with his friends, Eddie frowned. Steve looked happy. All things considered. Was he really going to take this away from him just to send him back to hell?

[bwoahtastic]

so idrk this is a little snippet for the maxiel divorce i guess cause i couldn‘t get it out my head and my break at work was long, so a lil smth about charles going with max, dan, lando and the pups to an amusment park and it‘s sorta the beginning of things? anyway sry i just need to write it down jgkdn

Charles watches with a soft smile as Max lifts his little daughter up and then down, and how she giggles loudly in her momma‘s arms, the bright eyes she got from Max sparkling all the way over to where Charles is standing a bit further away to give Max and Dan and their pups a bit of space. He thinks that the poor kids must probably be confused by all of these changes and new people in their life.

When Max asked Charles to come with him today, he didn‘t think of it as a good idea, but throughout the afternoon he could see why Max so desperately wanted him to be there — Dan and Lando were practically attached by the hips, constantly touching in some way, sharing an ice-cream and already a few inside jokes. Which is fine, really, they aren’t over the top but clearly fresh in love, and Charles can imagine how awful it must feel for Max to see Daniel so happy after their divorce. Hell, Charles himself feels like he is intruding something just by watching them from the sidelines, more or less. So he has been trailing along all day, unsure of what it is that he is really supposed to do but hey, he gets to spend time with Max which is always a win for him, even if it is a bit weird. George would tell him that Charles‘s choices are very poor but luckily, Charles doesn’t have any intentions of telling his friend about that.

Alright, who is he kidding — he will probably end up telling George all about this anyway.

He suddenly realizes that Lando has stood himself next to him, and judging by the expectant look in the smaller omega’s eyes, he must‘ve asked Charles something.

Charles blinks, still distracted by Max‘s familiar laugh in the back. „What?“ he asks hurriedly. „Sorry, I was just—“

„Busy staring at Max?“ Lando interrupts him with a grin, eyebrows raised. „Yeah, i noticed.“

Charles ducks his head and chuckles sheepishly, hoping that he can write off the red on his cheeks from the sun that‘s been out all day. Lando‘s a bit of a brat, Charles has noticed, which isn’t really anything he‘d be into, but Daniel apparently very much is. Charles prefers Max‘s quick-wittedness over the snarky remarks, but then again Charles prefers anything Max does over other omegas.

Lando‘s cat-like grin fades out into more of a smile while he’s leaning himself against the wall next to Charles. „I said that I‘m glad Max has you.“

Those words surprise Charles so much that he finally rips his stare away from Max completely. He was probably starting to be creepy anyway. „What?“ he asks again.

Lando shrugs his shoulder‘s a bit, kicking at a pebble with his foot. He seems more serious now, compared to how energetic and sarcastic he has been the whole afternoon. „Dan worries about him, you know? That he isn‘t taking this thing with us very well and, like, locks himself away the whole day or something. They text a lot—which i don‘t have a problem with! But yeah, Dan worries. And Max didn‘t even want to come to our last few meet-ups with the kids — but he looks happier with you, today. So, you know, I‘m happy for him too.“

For a moment, Charles is too perplexed to say anything. He knew that Daniel still worries about Max, Max himself had told Charles about that but out of omega‘s mouth it was more something along the lines of he thinks i need a fucking babysitter, but Charles did get the message. He remembers how Daniel looked at him today after they climbed out of one of the rides they took — it was just some water slide that was friendly for kids, and Max laughed when the water hit him square in the face after a fast slide downwards, and clung to Charles‘ arm like it would have saved him from the cold sprays. It was the first time Charles heard him laugh so wholeheartedly ever since the whole divorce situation, and judging Daniel‘s reaction, he noticed it too. Charles got a quick smile and nod from the older alpha when he helped Max climb out of the round boat afterwards—and Charles knows he probably shouldn’t have, but he felt a flare of pride at that swelling up in his chest.

Lando rips him from his thoughts once again.

„I was hoping we could be friends, like all of us. I don‘t want to keep Max from his pups or from Dan, i don‘t mind that.“ Lando sounds sad, looking up to Charles with somewhat hopeful eyes. „Does Max hate me? Has he said anything? Because I‘ve been trying to talk to him and be nice and all but I don‘t know—I don‘t think he likes me being around.“

„No!“ Charles blurts out too quickly. „I mean— I don‘t think Max hates you. This is just…hard? Max is really sweet. Just, uhm, give him time?“

Lando‘s smile is hesitant, looking unsure of himself for the first time and Charles thinks that maybe he should mention this to Max— who is walking up to them in that very moment, with Daniel and the kids trailing behind.

Charles quickly digs the small spoon into his cup of ice-cream to take a bite and seem less suspicious, though he isn‘t really sure of what, but the sun has melted the ice-cream completely making it more a liquid than anything—and promptly, the cream runs down the spoon and drops onto Charles‘ shirt.

He curses, trying to wipe it off with his finger. Max snorts at that, having reached them and, yeah, Charles really has a habit of making himself look stupid in front of Max.

„Lovely, Leclerc, on a white shirt too,“ Max says drily but he smiles at Charles, fishing himself a napkin and stepping closer in front of the Alpha, starting to dab at the mess of ice-cream on Charles‘ chest. Charles goes still. He hopes it’s not as noticeable as he thinks it is when he sucks in a breath of Max‘s scent, warm and rich and familiar, yet Charles always feels like he smells it for the first time each time again.

When he looks over Max‘s shoulder, he sees Daniel looking at him again, a small smile on the older alpha‘s lips. When he notices Charles looking back at him, he makes a very obvious I‘m watching you motion with his eyes and fingers.

Max doesn‘t notice any of it as he steps back, throwing the now dirty napkin away. He smoothes his hand across Charles‘s chest over to his shoulder, leaving a warmth in the Alpha‘s heart.

„Here you go, needs to be washed but eh, should be gone after.“ Max says, blue eyes squinted into a smile that Charles returns instantly. He gently brushes a hand over Max‘s rosy cheek before he can stop himself, before he can think of the fact that he is only here to act as a support to Max—and not to act on the feelings he has been having for Max since he met him and always felt guilty about when Max and Dan were still together. It would be unfair of Charles to act on them now. Max deserves a friend he can lean on, not an Alpha trying to chase after him.

PLSSS I LOVE THESE DRABBLES APPEARING IN MY INBOX AND AKSKS THEY!!!!!!!

Max and Dan still being close and just want what's best for their kiddos🥺 but pllss Max being so insecure even if he wants to be happy for Dan and Lando! And nnggg himbo bestie Charles just being so in love but wanting to help Max instead of pushing his own agenda BABY! I love how clumsy he is but h3 makes Max smiles and qaahh Dan being a bit stern to him ksksks

I love this so much and I love this little mismatched family!! Thank you🥺🥺🥺

[supercorpbb]

Are you a fan of SuperCorp or a fandom creator? Want to see more art and fics like this or take part in this kind of collaboration where artists inspire writers? Follow us! Sign ups begin soon. Everyone is welcome! Now, enjoy the story.

(Thanks @iwishicoulddrawheatherforaliving for the art and @emiliarowan for the story !)

It wasn’t entirely unusual for Kara to visit Lena at work.

What was unusual, however, was Supergirl barreling headfirst through a plate glass window into the conference room while Lena was personally welcoming the newest group of L-Corp interns.

Lena stood at the front of the conference room, heart thundering in her chest, as Kara rolled around on the floor for a long moment before standing and whipping her cape over her head.

“Whoopsie-daisy!” Supergirl exclaimed in a sing-song voice not entirely appropriate for the amount of destruction she had just caused. She looked around the room with wide eyes before her gaze landed on her wife. “Lena!”

“K— Supergirl,” Lena huffed as the Kryptonian hugged her, squeezing just a bit too tightly for Lena’s human rib cage. “Are you alright?”

“Just peachy,” Kara replied. “You smell nice.”

“Supergirl,” Lena muttered as Kara inhaled deeply into Lena’s hair. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Kara said innocently. “Ooo, what’s that?”

Lena looked up and realized that she had squeezed the laser pointer in her hand, and the small red dot was moving across the screen behind her. Kara released her from her hug and backed up, sticking her tongue out and furrowing her brow in concentration before launching herself at the wall. Lena’s wrist flicked in surprise, sending the little red dot across the wall and onto the ceiling. Kara, unrestrained by the laws of gravity, took off after the dot, and in doing so sent the projector screen to the floor with a loud crash.

“Miss Luthor?”

Lena looked away from the chaotic Kryptonian as her assistant poked her head into the room. “Jess, I’m not sure now is the time…”

“Agent Danvers is on Line One,” Jess told her, but she was watching as Kara chased the laser pointer into a corner, knocking over a potted plant in the process.

“Right,” Lena replied. She looked back at the dozen interns currently watching National City’s heroine pouncing on a red dot. “Okay, I think everyone should head to lunch a bit early. Orientation will resume at one thirty with your department heads.”

The young scientists didn’t even grumble as they shuffled out of the room.

“Here, keep her occupied,” Lena instructed, handing over the laser pointer to Jess as she stepped into the lobby to take the phone call. “Alex?”

“Heeeeey, Lena,” Alex answered, raising Lena’s suspicions. “I don’t want to alarm you, but, um, have you seen…?”

“Have I seen my wife? Yes, she crashed through the window into my conference room about three minutes ago, and now Jess is… entertaining her,” Lena replied, peering into the next room. In fact, Jess might’ve been having a bit too much fun leading Kara around the room using the laser pointer. Lena sighed and focused her attention back to the phone call.

“Oh, good, good,” Alex replied. “Does she seem a little… off?”

“If by off you mean high as a kite, then yes, I’d say she’s a little off,” Lena told her. “Care to explain?”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line and Lena could practically hear Alex trying to formulate her response. “Well, the team got a call from the NC Botanical Gardens about this plant that somebody donated that they couldn’t identify and it turned out to be alien and while they were inspecting it, the plant shot some kind of pollen in their faces.”

“Some kind of pollen?” Lena interrupted. “Is it dangerous?”

“I don’t think so,” Alex replied. “It affected them all differently. J’onn passed out immediately— he’s fine, he’s sleeping it off in the infirmary. Brainy is acting like he’s had fifteen shots of espresso— he’s currently reprogramming the Roomba for combat. It didn’t affect Nia at all, probably because she’s half human. Kara flew off before I could really get an idea of how it was affecting her, but you say she’s… high? How so?”

Lena looked back into the other room to see that Kara was lying on her back beneath the broken potted palm, slapping playfully at the fronds and giggling. She really only had one comparison she could make.

When she was seven years old, Lionel had brought home a kitten as a pet. A little black and white fluff ball with a flat face, Lena had named her Duchess. Lena had doted on the cat until Lillian sent her away to boarding school, and she wasn’t entirely sure what became of it after that. One distinct memory of the cat came to mind now. She had given Duchess a catnip-stuffed toy, and the normally refined feline had spent hours rolling around on the toy, carrying it from room to room, pupils dilated, completely relaxed, stoned out of her mind.

That was exactly what Kara looked like now.

“Are you telling me my sister is—“

“Basically a human-shaped cat at the moment? Mmhmm,” Lena confirmed.

Alex let out a long-suffering sigh on the other end of the phone. “Okay, we need to get her someplace safe where she can’t do any damage until the chemicals get out of her system.”

“If I can get her home, I can turn on the red sun lamps in the bedroom,” Lena replied.

“Every time I try to forget that you had those installed, you just have to remind me,” Alex grumbled. “But yeah, good idea. Take her home, make her shower to get any excess pollen off, and then just lock her in the bedroom until it wears off.”

“Okay, I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.”

Lena made her way back to the conference room where Kara was hiding behind the edge of the table, eyeing the laser pointer on the wall yet again, and Jess was smiling gleefully as she slowly moved the light in circles around on the wall.

“Okay, I hate to break up the fun, but hand over the laser pointer,” Lena said, holding her hand out expectantly.

“Awwwww,” Jess groused.

“Jessica,” Lena warned.

Jess sighed and gave her the device. “Fine.”

“Thank you,” Lena told her. “I’m gonna need you to—“

“Cancel your meetings for the rest of the day and have facilities come clean up this mess and replace the window?” Jess supplied. “On it, boss.”

“Now I remember why I hired you,” Lena said with a grin. “Come on, Kara, darling, we’re going home.”

“But—“ Kara began to argue, only to stop when Lena aimed the laser pointer at the door.

Lena managed to get the pouncing Kryptonian into the elevator, downstairs, and through the lobby with minimal incident and only one bent elevator panel of destruction. What Lena hadn’t realized, however, was that once they were outside, the bright midday sunlight made the laser pointer’s dot near-impossible to see, even for Kryptonian eyes. The city itself, however, offered plenty of things to distract Kara away from the town car on the curb.

“Ooo, look, Lena!” Kara exclaimed. “Kebabs!”

Lena grabbed Kara’s cape in an attempt to stop her, but that only resulted in her being dragged across the sidewalk towards a falafel stand. Once they were at the front of the line, Lena bought several servings of kebabs and grabbed them all up before Kara could get hold of them.

“Nuh-uh,” Lena chastised. “You only get kebabs if you get in the car. Deal?”

Kara pouted, but she reluctantly cooperated. Once they were in the car, Lena instructed George to take them to her penthouse. When they reached the apartment building, however, there was an ice cream truck serendipitously stationed on the corner, and Kara pointedly refused to enter the building without getting ice cream. Lena couldn’t help but scowl as she paid for a heaping cone of Kara’s favorite chocolate swirl. Her dour mood couldn’t last, however, with Kara happily lapping at her ice cream cone as the elevator made its way to the top floor.

Once inside their apartment, it wasn’t difficult to get Kara into the bedroom, and once she was there Lena immediately hit the button that switched on the red sun lamps and locked down all of the windows and doors. The room was awash in a coppery glow, and Kara immediately sank down on the foot of the bed.

“Whoa!” she exclaimed woozily.

“You okay?” Lena asked, immediately concerned.

“Yeah, just really sleepy all of a sudden,” Kara replied, and then she yawned in further confirmation. She stretched her arms high over her head, the remainder of her ice cream cone tipping precariously.

“Easy there,” Lena warned, pulling the offending dessert back down to face-level. “Why don’t you finish that up while I get the shower going, and then after that you can take a nap. Sound good?”

“Will you nap with me?” Kara asked pitifully

“Of course,” Lena replied. After the last half hour, she certainly felt like she needed a nap herself.

Kara finished the ice cream quickly, as Lena collected towels and pajamas. She managed to get Kara out of her super suit and into the shower without using the laser pointer or bribing her with food. For a moment Lena felt quite successful— until Kara reached out and yanked Lena, fully clothed, under the spray.

“Kara!” Lena sputtered.

Kara just giggled, eyes fixated south of Lena’s face as her white blouse became more and more transparent. “Hehe… tiddies.”

Lena put her fingers underneath Kara’s chin and pushed her face up until she met her gaze. “Eyes up here, Danvers.”

By the time she got Kara out of the shower her wife was practically falling asleep standing up. Lena managed to get Kara’s blonde hair mostly dried and forced her into a t-shirt and pajama shorts before she staggered to the bed.

“Just gonna close my eyes for a bit,” Kara murmured as she cuddled into a pillow.

“You do that, darling,” Lena chuckled. Then she made her way back to the bathroom. She cleaned up the puddles of water, dried her hair, and put on her own pajamas before returning to the bedroom.

She blinked at the sight that greeted her. In the ten minutes she had taken in the bathroom, Kara had raided their closet for all of the pillows, blankets, and extra comforters, and had used those to construct a round fort on their king-size bed.

“Kara?” Lena called hesitantly, and a blonde head appeared over the top of the nest.

“Lena!” Kara exclaimed, reaching toward her with grabby hands.

Lena went willingly, climbing carefully over the blankets and into the red-tinted pillow fort Kara had created. Once she was inside, Kara tucked a blanket over her and then curled into her body, resting practically on top of her as her head found Lena’s chest for a pillow.

“Mmm, this okay?” Kara asked.

Lena sighed, moving a bit until her body fit even better against Kara’s. “This is good.”

“Yeah,” Kara sighed. “You’re so soft. Love you.”

Lena stroked her hair and let out a sigh of her own. “Love you, too.”

[symphonicmetal101]

MC Struggles With Obsessive/Compulsive Behaviour

Ok, just to be clear.

I haven't been diagnosed with anything, which is why I refrain from writing "OCD" in the title. I've always known I'm a perfectionist- please be aware that there are some major differences between OCD and perfectionism, (despite what Youtube videos may say)- however I have had instances in which I have taken it too far and paid the price physically, mentally, and emotionally. Please be aware that these are all very real things that not only myself, but other people go through. I haven't had one of them in a long time, but my current circumstances make me feel like I might soon, so bear with me while I write another self-indulgent thing.

Or don't.🤷‍♀️

TW: compulsive/obsessive behaviour, a little self-deprecation as seasoning👌

Lucifer

At first, he's very happy to see that you are very organized and neat

One less thing for him to worry about

However, one day he walked past your room and saw you organizing your desk

He respected that, and continued on

The next day he passed by around the same time and saw you organizing your desk again

Odd, but perhaps one of his brothers had interfered and interrupted you, meaning you hadn't finished yesterday

It had been five days now, surely you weren't still cleaning your desk??

"MC, if my brothers bother you, you should close the door. Perhaps then you would be able to finish cleaning your desk properly. Unless you would like some direction in time management instead?"

Lucifer glanced behind you. To his surprise, your desk looked immaculate. He then saw your blushing face.

"Ah... well that's very kind of you Lucifer, however I'm afraid it's not an issue of time management or your brothers. Well, sometimes Mammon comes in and moves the pens around, so then I have to start over..."

"Start over?"

"Y-yeah." You explain your process to him, how you completely clear off your desk, to the type of cleaner you use, how many sprays, to how you like to stack your paper, to how you always have to have three paperclips to your right, and how the black pen is always in between the blue and the red.

"And when Mammon moves the pens...you start over?"

"Yeah. I do."

Lucifer has sympathy for you, put also struggles because it seems like a waste of time if he were to do it.

But he doesn't do it, and it seems to make you calm, so instead he buys you proper gloves for cleaning and a few more bottles of your cleaner

Mammon

"Come on MC, I wanna show ya something in my room."

Oh no

Nononono

You could feel yourself panicking a bit. Mammon's room was messy

Not messier than Levi's but still

But he looked really excited, so you reluctantly followed him

"TA-DA!!!"

Oh wow. His room was spotless!

"I-uh, noticed ya only seem to be comfortable in yours or Lucifer's room. It-it took a while for me to figure out why, but...whaddya think? Will it work for ya?"

He smiled at you and you could see a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

"It looks great! You even picked up the water bottles that were by your bed!!"

He instantly became more confident, his smile growing wider and his cheeks slightly flushed.

"Of course it looks great! Why wouldn't it?"

You gave him a withering stare

"Uh..yeah. Y'know, if ya had just told me ya didn't like it being so messy I woulda tidied up sooner. J-just make sure ya let me know if it gets too messy again. I want ya to be comfortable in more places than just your room, so my room seemed like a good idea."

His face was incredibly flushed

"Thank you Mammon. It really means a lot.

Levi

You had only been in Levi's room twice

But dear god

You really really really wanted to tidy things up for him

But you also knew what it was like to be very particular and have things "just-so"

Aksjsjshdgjak

"Hey Levi, can I make you deal?"

He took off one of his headphones to listen

"What's up?"

"This might be kinda weird. Can I take pictures of your stuff so I can reorganize and clean your room? That way if you don't like it, I'll put everything back?"

You could see confusion and slight panic that crossed his features.

"I'm sorry, I know it's weird, you don't have to say yes I-"

"Um, what exactly would you be doing?"

"Uhhh.."

He stopped his game to sit and talk with you for a bit.

"O-ok. Just that shelf is off-limits. And I'll stay in here to let you know if something isn't ok with me."

He watched in awe as you carefully rearranged his figurines by rarity as well as colour.

You crawled under his desk with velcro ties and made all the cords under there much more organized

You rearranged the pillows on his couch so that they were symmetrical on both sides, fluffing them and squishing them as you saw fit.

His manga was pretty organized, so you just straightened out the pile.

You organized his games in alphabetical order

The whole time you had been dusting stuff off as well

"There. That's better....what do you think Levi?"

"WOOOAAHH!!! I love it!! It looks really good MC!"

"Thanks for letting me do that."

"No problem...but w-why did you want to do it?"

You shrugged. "It calms me down? No, that's not quite it....I don't really now. As it is, I need to cut myself off otherwise I'll clean until I can't stand. Mind if I join you for a bit?"

He nods at you and hands you a control. As the game boots up he says, "Y-you're welcome to do that again if you need to...but that shelf is still off-limits."

You nod, grateful for his understanding.

Satan

He said he had a surprise date for you

So you followed him

To the Cat Cafe

Now, you love cats

And you love food

But the two of them together don't sit well with you

But Satan looked so eager and happy that you didn't hesitate much to go inside.

Everything was going really well until Satan asked if you wanted something to eat or drink.

You politely declined his offer, but he insisted on getting you something

You reluctantly chose a hot drink.

But as you watched the worker prepare your drink, you were horrified to see them carry a cat out from behind the counter, and then without washing their hands, snap the lid on your cup.

"Satan..I need to step outside for a bit."

He watched you in mild concern as you walked out the door and he waited for your and his order to be complete

You were pacing outside, trying to calm down.

Why did that upset me? I haven't even touched it yet. Besides, normal people don't usually care about stuff like that. And I can clean it??? Or grab another lid?? Fuck! Why am I like this?

Your train of thought was broken as Satan tapped on your shoulder, concern and curiosity apparent in his eyes.

"Are you alright? I noticed the worker didn't wash their hands after handling the cat, so I grabbed a couple lids on my way out. I was going to put it on for you, but I believe it would be best for all parties if you did it on your own."

You almost started crying as he handed you a paper towel with two lids in it.

"Why are there two?"

"Although it never particularly bothered me, I thought you may have wanted some solidarity. I can understand where you're coming from." He smiled sympathetically at you.

From that day forward, he paid extra attention to things while you were around to make sure you wohld feel comfortable. You two also managed to tackle the daunting task of properly organizing Satan's books so that you could spend more time in his otherwise clean room.

Asmo

"Darling, you look wonderful in that outfit!! And it's so hot outside, it's perfect!! I was just about to head out, do you want to join me?"

"That depends. Where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm just gonna do a little shopping. There was a cute top on sale at the mall yesterday, I just want to see if it's still there."

You told him you'd be right back.

When you got to your room you threw on a sweater, and then made sure you had your wallet and your phone.

You walked out of your bedroom, checking again, wallet, phone

As you approached Asmo, you checked again. Wallet, phone

"Are you ready to go?" You nodded and followed him out the door.

He made idle gossip with you until he noticed you were looking a little pale

"Oh my goodness, love are you alright? You should take this sweater off, you'll get much too hot!"

"I can't!" You panicked a bit, and he was caught off guard by your reaction.

"I- I'm sorry. But I use the sleeves to open doors and hold bags and stuff. I don't like touching that stuff. Even groceries are hard for me to touch, so I wash the groceries before I put them away when I get home. I enjoy shopping with you though, because you always know what kind of stuff I like just by looking at it, or feeling it for me. It's the same thing I explained before, where it's difficult for me to model the clothes for you until after they've been washed."

"Aww honey, I'm sorry. Next time I'll see if Mammon or Beel can come and help with your bags, m'kay? But you cannot stay in this sweater in weather like this. What about gloves? Would you be ok wearing gloves? I know a place where there's some really cute ones!! And I'll handle the doors for now, ok?"

You took off your sweater and tied it around your waist.

"Huh. I actually do feel a little better....thanks Asmo."

You two laughed lightly as he held open the door for the next shop.

Beel

You had waited for Beel to get out of one of his extracurriculars to walk home with him

You two were planning to eat together

However when you walked into the kitchen, you were greeted with a sink overflowing with dishes, and a sleeping Belphie on the island.

"Oh, uh, before I eat Beel, I'm going to clean that up. You go ahead though."

Belphie piped up, "Just throw what you can in the dishwasher....I'll do the rest later."

Beel looked concerned. "We were late getting home. Are you sure you're not hungry?"

"Oh...uh" you contemplated lying when your stomach gave you away.

"Just eat. I'll take care of the dishes. It's my turn anyways. I'll get to it soon."

"It's not a big deal Belphie, I'll just do them."

"But you're hungry, aren't you? Just eat first? Or did I do something? Is it something I can fix? I can go if it makes you more comfortable-" Beel looked disappointed. Of course it wasn't his fault.

You shook your head. "It's not you. It's me. I just- I don't know- ugh." You felt close to tears.

How the fuck were you supposed to explain yourself?

Beel pulled you into a hug. "Hey, it's ok. You don't have to tell us what's going on, but if you do it'll make it easier for us to help you."

He let go of you enough for you to step back and wipe tears from your eyes.

"I-I don't know what it is! But whenever I know there's something to be done, especially if I can see it, I have to do it before I do anything for myself. That includes eating, getting a glass of water, even going to the bathroom! And if I find another thing to do half way through he first thing, I'll just continue to postpone the thing I need to do for myself until I'm done or I forget about it..."

Silence settled across the kitchen.

"We'll help you do the dishes so it gets done faster, then you have to eat, ok?"

You smile and nod graciously as the twins helped you feel more comfortable

Belphie

"Come cuddle with meeee."

"Belphie, I need to study, please."

Belphie pouted. He was going to cuddle with you one way or another, even if he had to annoy you into it

Only what he didn't realize what he saw as "mildly annoying" was actually triggering for you

So he started messing with the postion of things on your desk.

"Stop it Belphie, I need to study."

"Yeah? Don't let me stop you, I'm just playing with your pen jar."

"But I asked you. To. Stop."

He huffed and put the pen jar down

But then he started to mess with your three pencils you had laid out, smallest to tallest.

"Why do you need three pencils?"

"Because. Now leave them alone."

He grinned.

"Because is hardly an answer and you know it. What would happen if I just took this one?"

"BELPHIE NO!" Your voice sounded between laughter and tears, butbhe figured it was just your way of begging.

"Belphie, please? I need that!"

He just grinned as he shifted into his demon form and passed the pencil to his tail and lazily flicked it back and forth.

Until he saw your face.

"Whatever. Do what you want, I'm done dealing with you." You walked out of your room, angry tears filling your eyes.

"W-wait! Shit! No, come back! I didn't-ugh." He groaned as he picked himself up to go after you, finding you on the outside steps of HOL.

"Hey, why're you crying? It was just a pencil. I put it back."

You pulled your head out of your hands.

"Yeah, but did you put it back right?"

Belphie looked at you perplexed...right? What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

"Look, I'm sorry for using that tone with you. It's really hard for me to focus unless I have things a certain way. It may seem ridiculous to you, but that's just how I am. I don't know what causes it, I just know that it's a part of me. I'm working on it, but if I say stop, I need you to stop. Please."

"....okay. I'm sorry."

Masterlist

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Gang of Secrets

Well... I'll give this episode one thing. It's better than what we got from both “Truth” and “Lies”, and it did do one of the things I hoped the writers would tackle this season. That's not saying much, but I'll take what I can get.

Let's get into the fourth (chronologically the third) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Gang of Secrets

We start off right after an Akuma battle, and while Cat Noir is eager for their victory fist bump, Ladybug seems to be on edge, insisting that they go on patrol. Cat Noir thinks of a place that they can relax at without talking... and he chooses to take Ladybug to see a romantic comedy.

We're not even a minute in, people, and it already looks like Ladybug is considering using her authority as Guardian to take away Cat Noir's Miraculous.

Ladybug goes on a brief tangent summarizing what happened with Luka (which conveniently happens to reflect the events of the movie), and naturally isn't happy with the movie. Gee, it's almost like Cat Noir's plan was a bad idea. He seriously tries the whole “pretend to yawn as an excuse to put his arm around Ladybug” trick, so you can't tell me he didn't have romantic intentions here.

Why Kagami couldn't accept Adrien's “true self” is beyond me.

After storming out of the movie theater, Cat Noir tries to emphasize with Ladybug (key word being “tries”) by going on about how “he knows what a broken heart is like”. At least he didn't ask if she was single now. Ladybug decides to go for a swim, but we cut back to Marinette's house, with Ladybug in her aqua form, implying she went to the pool while still transformed. And here's a big problem with the episode. In theory, I like the idea of Marinette stressing over her new responsibilities, as it could lead to some interesting plotlines. The problem is that when we get something like that in this episode, it's played entirely for laughs. At one point, Alya mentions hearing Marinette crying in the bathroom because of the stress she's been going through. And instead of being a dramatic scene, she just runs out in some Groucho Marx glasses for some reason, because according to the writers, we're supposed to laugh at Marinette suffering from a potential mental breakdown.

This just raises several questions about the way we're supposed to treat Marinette's behavior in this episode. Are we supposed to take this seriously? Not completely, because of how a lot of the “jokes” in the first act of the episode revolve around Marinette's anxiety being driven up to eleven. Are we supposed to see all of this as a joke? Not completely, because the end of the episode is when the writers decide to take Marinette's inner demons seriously. It leads to a very conflicting picture the episode is trying to paint with the way Marintte's conflict is portrayed.

We then cut to what seems to be the only thing the writers like to do with this character now, Alya acting like has control over Marinette's love life.

Of course those are the only pictures Alya got of Marinette.

Uh... Alya? Honey? Have you even considered the fact that maybe Marinette didn't tell you about Luka because that's none of your damn business??? What gives you the right to know every single detail about your friend's life? I understand that you're a hardcore Adrienette shipper (and an unintentional metaphor for how obsessed the writers are with the Love Square), but why would Marinette be obligated to tell you about Luka?

I know that I asked Marinette if she told Alya about Luka in my “Truth” review, but that was because she continued to force the belief that Marinette still liked Adrien onto her. Yeah, I'm still confused as to why Marinette didn't tell Alya, but the difference is that I was more confused at her not explaining it, and felt it would have made the conflict in the New York special a lot easier. I don't think Marinette has to tell Alya, I just think it would make some things easier between them with how much Alya wants Adrienette to be canon. Marinette has no obligation to tell Alya anything about who she's dating. What goes on in someone's love life is a private matter, and we'll see that Alya has no regards for privacy.

Alya, along with Juleka, Rose, Mylene, and Alix, devises a plan to give Marinette a friendship bracelet to show their support for her. And as usual, Alix has the simple idea to talk to Marinette about what's going on with her, and of course, she's ignored. Sorry, Alix, but this is an Alya episode, where smart choices don't fly here.

We cut back to Marinette's room where we get a pretty good scene where Marinette confides to Tikki about how she knows she has no chance of having a love life. She points out how she had to end things with Luka because of her secrets, and knows that even if she worked up the courage to talk to Adrien, she couldn't do anything because of the same secrets. She can't tell her parents or friends about her secrets and is forced to lie to everyone all the time. The voice actress gives a good performance, and the animators did a good job rendering the red eyes Marinette gets from crying.

And then we get back to the stupid stuff, where Marinette decides to transform into Ladybug and demands Hawkmoth (even though he's Shadowmoth at this point) show himself. This is really just an excuse for the Girl Squad to barge into Marinette's room, where Rose sees the dollhouse Marinette uses to hide the Miracle Ball. Marinette quickly runs back in and tries to hide the the Miracle Ball from her friends, who confront her about her “problem”.

No, real friends respect boundaries and don't demand to know every single detail about someone's life. They understand that there are secrets they don't have the right to know about. If Alya found out that Alix still needs to sleep with a nightlight and told everyone, would you really be surprised if she got mad at Alya for exposing this secret of hers? Right now, Marinette is clearly uncomfortable about telling her friends about a secret she has, and rather than understand she doesn't want to, they just keep pressing on, and don't care how unhappy she looks.

Unsurprisingly, Marinette tells them all to get out, saying she doesn't want them as friends anymore. Okay, so we're in every salt fic ever written now. Again, we get a good scene where Marinette feels remorseful for what she said (as understandable as it was), while the girls leave with their heads down.

Shadowmoth sends out an Akuma for the friendship bracelet, and because the object had personal meaning to all of them, Alya, Juleka, Rose, Mylene, and Alix all get akumatized into their previous Akuma forms, Lady Wifi, Reflekta (yet again), Princess Fragrance, Horrificator, and Timebreaker respectively. Shadowmoth calls them the “Gang of Secrets”. But they were akumatized because of secrets. Wouldn't a more accurate name be something like “The Honesty Brigate” or “Truth Troop?”

When I reviewed “Felix”, I had talked about how the motivations for the three Punishers weren't didn't reflect their Akuma forms, which were twisted versions of what they were feeling like at the time. While the same thing applies here (as well as “Heroes' Day”, now that I think about it, though I always thought it was like a drawback to Scarletmoth's powers), the titular Gang of Secrets is actually a pretty good lineup.

I think my main problem in “Felix” is that we didn't get to see the three Akumas working together much because the writers were trying to prioritize Felix as the primary threat of the episode and failed miserably. Here, we get to see a lot of interesting combos and strategies I never really thought about. Lady Wifi uses her powers to freeze some civilians while Timebreaker skates by and absorbs their energy for her skates. Reflekta zaps some other civilians while Princess Fragrance sprays them with her perfume to brainwash them into looking for Marinette, even if it’s the only time this episode that we get to hear “At your service, Princess Fragrance~!”. Horrificator intentionally goes around scaring people while growing in size, acting as the muscle (even though she doesn't do anything in this episode). They all work surprisingly well together, acting like Ladybug and Cat Noir's own Sinister Six.

After making a new safe to hide the Miracle Ball, Lady Wifi breaks into Marinette's room again, so Trixx, the Fox Kwami, uses his power to create a mirage to distract her. But like when Plagg used his Cataclysm in “Style Queen”, it has a little drawback.

The funny thing is that this doesn't even crack the top 5 in terms of weirdest things to happen to the Eiffel Tower in this show.

We cut to Adrien's room so the show can remind the audience he exists before he transforms into Cat Noir. The two don't meet up in person, but Ladybug tells Cat Noir to keep Timebreaker busy so she doesn't travel back in time while Ladybug goes after Lady Wifi. Of course, she doesn't have the friendship bracelet, but that wasn't Ladybug's plan in the first place.

Her actual plan is talking to Lady Wifi in an attempt to get Alya to break free of Shadowmoth's control. It's short, but it's a nice scene, with Ladybug explaining to Alya that even though they can't know everything about each other, they're still friends. So against all odds, Alya manages to reject the bond with Shadowmoth.

Oh yeah, it's not like we saw Chloe reject an Akuma in “Miraculer”, right? And Chrismaster giving up his akumatized object for Ladybug to purify? That didn't count either. Alya is clearly the first person to ever do this, and this is why you should immediately accept what happens later on.

Alya tells Ladybug where the Akuma is, and in response, Ladybug gives Alya the Fox Miraculous, which she uses to transform into Rena Rouge... even though she was already benched in “Feast” for endangering herself by uploading a video about the history of the Guardians to the internet, just like how Queen Bee and Ryuko were benched earlier for similar reasons, and the latter only appeared again because Ladybug wanted to get Kagami away from Adrien. Because I guess we're just going to ignore one of the biggest plotpoints of “Miracle Queen” now.

The other Akumas have Cat Noir at their mercy, so Rena Rouge uses her Mirage to create an illusion of Marinette to distract them. Timebreaker goes off to chase the illusion, and while Horrificator, Princess Fragrance, and Reflekta are about to take Ladybug's Miraculous, Rena Rouge and Cat Noir are the ones to break the object. Overall, a really clever climax to the episode.

So after Alya returns her Miraculous to Ladybug, we cut back to Marinette apologizing to her friends, who never apologize for invading her privacy. And while she mentions Luka, Marinette suddenly talks about how hard is to confess her feelings for Adrien, something that was never mentioned in this episode, because the writers are desperately trying to encourage the audience to ship the Love Square again brutally shooting down Lukanette and Adrigami. And after all this, Alya goes back up after everyone else leaves because she can just tell Marinette has another secret. How does she know this?

Okay, fine, Alya can be supportive of Marinette, and even her worst moments like the New York special were motivated by what she thought would make Marinette happy. A little misguided, and yeah, her teasing can be annoying at times, but she's ultimately there to help push Marinette to be honest with her feelings. “Reporter” is stretching it a little. No matter what the show likes to say, Alya isn't a good reporter. She barely verifies her sources and just posts things online. I'm sorry, but the Ladyblog is basically the superhero equivalent to TMZ. Alya probably doesn't even know who Joseph Pulitzer or Edward R. Murrow are, because rather than reporting the news to the public, she just wants to find things that will get her clicks on her website. Alya's biggest flaw as a character is that she is incredibly impulsive, but like everything else in the show, this flaw is never acknowledged, and is basically rewarded. Why do I say that? Well...

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this scene. On the one hand, it's very well acted, and the interaction genuinely highlights Marinette and Alya's friendship. Before she tells Alya, Marinette is just opening her heart out to her friend, and the grievances are played completely seriously. Even the reaction Alya gives when she finds out is very subdued, simply showing her shocked face before she gives Marinette a hug, with no dialogue. It's a very profound moment, and it's arguably one of the best in the entire series. Even the ending card doesn't show an action scene, but rather, it continues to focus on the hug while the Kwamis watch.

And thankfully, the episode doesn't end with the standard upbeat “Duh dun dun dun dunnnn, DA DA DA DA~!” track that almost every episode, no matter how depressing, usually ends with. It's just a really great moment, and a good way to end the episode... on its own.

When you think about previous episodes, like what I've mentioned with Alya, it's just strange that despite all the times she has shown herself to be bad at keeping secrets (like the aforementioned scene in “Feast”, posting a picture of her and Cat Noir kissing on the Ladyblog without her consent, and invading her privacy in this very episode, demanding to know her secrets), Marinette suddenly decides to give Alya a chance. Even worse, she had just said that she wasn't going to force her to tell her anything, which seemed like a strong character moment for her, but then the writers go back on the lesson and have Marinette do what Alya was trying to do the whole episode and tell her she's Ladybug.

Sure, Ladybug told Alya she was the Guardian and to keep it a secret earlier, but this lesson in keeping secrets should have stuck when she first became Rena Rouge in Season 2. I don't have a problem with Alya being Marinette's confidant (lord knows she needs one at this point), but I just don't think Alya is ready for this. It's the same thing with what happened with Adrien in “Syren”, by saying him immaturely threatening to quit being Cat Noir because of Ladybug's secrets was meant to show how he was ready to meet Master Fu even though it showed how selfish he was and was anything but ready. How is an episode where Alya tries to force Marinette into telling her everything she's keeping a secret meant to show she's ready to learn Ladybug's identity. Maybe if this episode kickstarted a character arc for Alya where she learned about why people keep secrets and that getting the truth isn't the right thing to do, culminating in a later episode where Alya learns Ladybug's identity, I'd be fine with that. As it is, this just had some poor timing and was the result of the writers not really thinking this through.

I guess I'm still interested to see where this goes, and how Marinette and Alya's friendship will change as a result of this. Maybe Alya can help Marinette get away to transform, or worry about her safety after an Akuma fight. Although the worst case scenario is that if Cat Noir finds out about this, he'll use it as an excuse to bitch and moan about how Ladybug is still keeping secrets from him and of course, she'll be blamed for whatever happens as a result of that.

Though I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting to mention something. Wasn't there someone else who wanted to know the truth about Marinette?

OH YEAH, I FORGOT ABOUT HIM JUST LIKE THE WRITERS DID.

This is what really kills the episode for me, just how it goes back on everything established in “Truth”. The whole reason Marinette broke up with Luka in the first place (which motivated the conflict of this episode) was because she realized keeping secrets from him wouldn't lead to a healthy relationship. As much as it pained her, it was a necessary evil Marinette had to do in order to protect her identity.

But now you're telling me that it's okay for Marinette to tell Alya her secret? WHY? How is this any different from what happened with Luka? Like Alya, Luka also wanted to known the truth, but the only difference was the way he confronted Marinette. He calmly asked her about what she was hiding, and even though she couldn't tell him, he respected her boundaries, and they both managed to end things on good terms.

Alya, who has a history of exposing secrets to the public, who barged into Marinette's room and demanded she tell her all of her secrets, is more trustworthy than Luka? This is why I don't buy the writers making Alya Marinette's confidant. I get that they want to give her some more story presence after how she had mostly faded into the background in Season 3, but this just isn't the way to do it.

Barring that, what did I think of the episode?

Yeah, it's just... it's just okay at best, mediocre at worst. There were a handful of decent moments in the episode, and some creative action scenes. Even stuff like Cat Noir's forced movie date and Alya violating Marinette's privacy isn't anything new, and unlike other episodes, the latter actually seems to apologize for that. The problem, as I already stated, was the ending. I think maybe the ending could have worked if Alya had found out Marinette's identity, but decided to keep it a secret. That way, it would make for an interesting dynamic, with Alya learning to be more responsible while secretly helping come up with ways for Marinette to get away to transform.

But as it stands, the episode is alright, but mostly forgettable if not for the ridiculous ending.

[im-not-looking-for-forgiveness]

Hm wow okay so I've been binge reading all of your works as you know and I really want to request something. However it's really hard for me to even come up with an idea that you haven't already done? All I can really think about is something with protective Tommy. Like say he and the reader aren't necessarily together yet? But hes very protective of her and she like I dont know maybe gets kidnapped? Or maybe she just gets attacked in an alley and Tommy saves her. And then it can be kinda calming and romantic because I live for that. I think its a bit choppy but I tried 😅

Importance - Thomas Shelby x Reader

Possible TW: Kidnapping, violence

A/N: My first official request in 2021! Thank you, Oak!

Taglist: @sweetiekokkiri @haphazardhufflepuff @tarafaithe @mrsstevenbuchananstark @imagine-richards @hxnky-cat @tranquility-or-chaos @captivatedbycillianmurphy

*****

Being alone in London at night and as a woman, was not a good idea. Intrusive thoughts of being mugged or attacked kept circulating your mind despite trying to stay calm. You only had a few blocks to go before you could enter the safe haven of a Peaky Blinders run club.

Those few blocks could make all the difference to life or death.

"Hey!" a voice called behind you, and you instinctively spun around. Oh, n-

Before you could turn back to flee, a gun was cocked and aimed at your head. The man holding it had his hat pulled so low that the moonlight cast his face entirely in shadow.

Your chest tightened and your stomach twisted into knots.

"Turn around slowly. I need you alive but if you run I'll have no choice," he warned, accent throwing you off for a moment. He was American.

"What do you want?" you demanded, focusing on the fact that he wasn't going to kill you. You wished you had taken Tommy's advice to carry a gun with you. He had trained you personally to fire such a weapon, but couldn't convince you to keep it on you.

"It's not you we want. It's your boy, Tommy," he scoffed, stepping closer. You took a step back in response.

You called back, "You've made a mistake, then. We're not together. I'm not important to him. Using me as bait won't work."

"We'll see about that!" he snapped, lunging forward and grabbing your arm. The cold metal of the gun against your temple made you gasp.

Panic was rising in your chest as the man began to drag you from the alley. Thomas and you had flirted for some time, but that didn't warrant saving. He probably wouldn't care to come find you wherever the hell this man was taking you, and that broke your heart.

Knowing you'd never be seen again if you let him take you, you began to weep. In despair, you hit him as hard as you could with your purse then wrenched your arm free.

Sprinting towards the street, you cried out as a bullet ricocheted off the wall and flew past your head. The surprise made you trip, and you tried you best to stop your fall with your hands and knees. Scrapes and bruises would cover your skin tomorrow if you lived that long.

Luckily for you, your plan worked. Someone heard the gunshot.

"Y/N!" the voice of a saint called out your name.

"Tommy?" you wondered, eyes blurry with tears.

"There he is," came your attacker.

"Here I am," Thomas agreed, stalking toward the man. You knew that tone well enough to know what Tommy was about to do. His voice turned to steel whenever he was angry.

You wiped your eyes just in time to watch Tommy knock the man's gun aside and punch him across the jaw. Quick as lion finding the throat of its prey, Thomas took the man's head in his hands and slammed it into the alley wall. Blood sprayed instantly, covering you, Thomas, and the walls with red droplets.

Unable to take your eyes off Tommy, you watched him land punch after punch to the other man's face.

Satisfied he wasn't fighting back, Thomas let the unconscious man fall to the ground. He took your attacker's gun and tucked it into his belt. Then, he came to you.

"I'm so glad to see you," you got out, voice thick with relief.

"Are you alright?" Tommy asked, helping you up. He cupped your face with his clean hand. His eyes had never seemed so blue than this exact moment.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. A bit banged up, but fine," you told him, nodding.

"Why are you here?" he wondered gently, wiping your tears away with his thumb. You bet his other hand was hurting pretty fiercely.

"Why are you here?" you retorted with laugh.

You both answered in unison, "To find you."

Tommy snorted in amusement. He asked, "What was he going to do?"

"Kidnap me to use as bait. I kept telling him he was grabbing the wrong woman," you explained, sighing.

After a few moments of silence he said, "It would have worked. I would have come for you,"

You were shocked, "You would?"

He nodded and kissed your cheek. Tommy then continued, "Will you carry a gun now? For me."

You pulled him in for a hug. Fresh tears pricked your eyes. You had gotten it into your head that Tommy didn't care for you, and it blinded you to the truth. You were as important to him as he was to you.

"I'll always come for you," he murmured, and kissed the top of your head.

[kazewhara]

IM UP AND AWAKE BEWARE, and ive beought with me a suitcase full of cat stuff.. just- let me,,

Kitty Xiao does thta needing thing but with claws(just like Winter, my cat.. i do wonder if she does love me or not bc sometimes im awake and on a holiday so i try to grind on genshin but when in co-op she just loves to do the needing thing to my thighs and she’s standing and i cant see and poor Xiao gets killed😭 does she hate Xiao or smth??) ANYWAY we all know that Xiao uses his claws, but what about little Qiqi? Well.. she doenst do that, not bc she doesnt love you nono, but because she prefers to express her live through napping with or beside you. And by rubbing her little head against your leg with little meows of content and jwhsuwqjsqidjswidjwskdj definitely isnt a tactic she uses to get extra food :D

ALSO YES cat Xiao, like i said, is your little cat protecter. And he watches you from atop his cat tower for sure. mhmhm yes yes. And then there is Qiqi who just joins him up there for a sleep. Kitty Qiqi is just a tired feline. Has Kitty Xiao ever thrown any of your stuff before? Yes. Many times on during the days of his first stay at your home. Luckily it was all non-important and easily replaceable..

Kittie Qiqi and Xiao who come over to comfort you when your crying or sad, Qiqi’d rub her head on your arm or side, while Xiao would just stay still and sit beside you. Idk i just.. i like it when my cat does that..

OH OH AND AND ANNNNDDDDDDD- Lets say Cat Xiao can like turn into a human form of sorts, yea? okay cool. Now use your imagination and imagine.. Cat Xiao when human still has cat ears that match his hair, the weird green/teal stripes on his cat form become tattoos. Does he have control ove rthis power? yes.. no.. yesnt, sometimes when your petting him he probably lets out a rare purr snd poof suddenly he’s a human male with cat ears and a content, soft closed-eyes smile on his face. When he realizes his face turns red and he’d be back to a cat and avoids you for the rest of the day. :) He has clothes on, obviously.

Its always such a surprise when he turns back to humand and though he’s stayed at your house for awhile, you always jump or yelp when the loud Poof happens

Can Qiqi do that? Ehhhh probably no.. she’d probably just be a normal cat

-🦫 behold, my brainrot. Oh and, i remember that cat-human Xiao drawing someone sent. Imagine that.

suddenly reminded of the grumpy kitty!xiao drawing... i never did think about the idea of him switching back to a human form BUT THE KITTY EARSSKSJDNSJD 🥺🥺

god the thought of xiao pushing shit off of shelves out of spite¥#&@*#,#*# imagine spraying a demon disguised as a fucking cat with a water bottle. like that's killing me rn; he wants to look like a cat then he gets treated like one, STOP PUSHING PLANTS OVER-

and qiqi.. maybe she does have a human form but she doesn't like it much -- either way, she's often sleeping ☝🏾 also since she's good at retrieving herbs, can you imagine qiqi helping you make herb mixtures ... carrying plants in her tiny mouth BYEEYESHD

[cheesydoesitstevie]

Unlikely Trio

Summary: Reader ends up on an Elevator with Bucky and Sam. 

Warnings: none really. Maybe a little violence. Not sure what I was going for with this. Was inspired by an Asian ad. 

Something inside you was dying for some excitement, anything to break up this mundane routine you had fallen into. The bell dinged as the elevator stopped prematurely a few floors before the lobby. Calm classical sounding music played softly throughout the gold decorated elevator. The doors slides open and two large men stepped in. Both of them were dressed pretty casually yet they looked as if they were headed somewhere important. They seemed familiar, you weren’t quite sure where you had seen them before. They definitely weren’t movie stars. You needed a better look but didn’t want to be caught staring.

One quick glance wouldn’t hurt, study as much as you could within a few seconds. Your eyes lit up and something snapped in your brain. They were the Avengers. Well what was left. You remembered something about Sam Wilson aka the Falcon taking over as Captain America and his partner was Bucky more well known as The winter soldier. Sam nods at you and smiles awkwardly. You bit your lip turning to look down at the floor before a crazy thought pops into your head. You pull your hood up over your hair. Unsure of why this was essential to your idea. Timidly you turn towards Bucky, he looks you up and down while Sam’s face contorts displaying his confusion in his eyebrows.

“Can I join you guys?”

“Sure. Just follow my lead.” Bucky replied facing back towards the doors.

“Wait. No! Absolutely not!” Sam looks at Bucky like a parent silently scolding a child.

“What?” Bucky asks with a shrug his tone indicating that he doesn’t see what the big deal is.

“C’mon man. She’s a civilian.”

“I have pepper spray and a knife.” You hold out the knife as the pepper spray dangles from a keychain that’s wrapped around your wrist.

“See Sam, she has a knife.” Bucky holds his gloved hands out as if he’s showing off the knife in a showcase.

Sam quickly becomes more annoyed, not sure why Bucky is humoring this clearly insane young woman. He looks her over before shaking his head and trying to ignore his idiot partner. Through gritted teeth Sam tries to speak so that only Bucky hears him.

“Dude, we’re after Zemo right now. It’s not the time to play adopt a civilian.” Bucky pretended to ignore everything Sam said.

You hold the knife and various ways that you had seen on Tv, Bucky only encourages you more. He pulls out his own knife and begins to twirl it around. You watch in awe as he flips it up with his right hand before catching it in his left.

A gruff sigh of disapproval leaves Sam’s mouth as you and Bucky compare knives. He tries to teach the same twirling technique he just showed you. You drop the knife a few times, each time Bucky caught it mid air just before it hit the ground. The elevator slows and the number lights up. This is where the guys are getting off. Sam shoots Bucky one last warning glare before moving to exit the lift.

“It was nice to meet you...”

“Y/N.” You say extending your hand to Sam. He shakes it politely and then turns to leave.

You feel little pang of sadness strike your heart as you watch Bucky’s frame move through the doorway. Soon the doors will close and the most exciting moment in your life will be over. Bucky looks back and nods his head towards the hallway. The feeling of butterflies shoot through you. You struggle to contain the excitement that is surging through your veins.

“Stay behind me.” Bucky whispers pushing you gently behind him.

Sam walks a few feet a head. They’re closing in on the target. The hallway is long and with cheaply painted white walls. A few large windows cast a natural light on the eerily silent and empty hall. Its the middle of the day but suddenly the feeling of a dark and creepy abandoned building starts to creep up over skin. Pebbling it in goosebumps as the hair on the back of your neck starts to stand. You weren’t sure when Bucky had grabbed your hand, now that you were aware of it made you feel a little better. Your fingers lightly squeezed his hand feeling your own heart beat thump in your chest as the sound of blood rushed through your ears.

Bucky turned to side slightly glancing at you through his peripherals. He nodded and pulled you closer to his back. He used his other hand to put one finger over his lips. You understood the message and nodded. Swallowing quietly in anticipation about what was going to unravel here.

Sam paused outside of a door that read 201. He looked up signaling for Bucky to take the same position on the other side of the door. Sam made eye contact with you and his face flushed with anger. He cursed Bucky under his breath. Bucky seemed to be un-phased by anything going on with Sam.

Everyone grew quiet listening for life on the other side of the door. The news could be heard softly playing in the background. A mans voice muffled through the television murmured on about events going on in New York City. A clanking of dishes let Bucky know that Zemo was definitely home.

He nodded to Sam, letting go of your hand and slipping his gun from the back of his pants. Sam turned like he was about to kick the door in. You drastically yet silently shook your head no and both men paused to see what the problem was. Bucky was curious while Sam grew more and more impatient with whole charade.

Pulling yourself up on Tiptoes you whispered into Bucky’s ear. Bucky nodded agreeing that was a better idea. He waved the gun towards Sam indicating he wanted Sam to go back to his previous position. To everyone’s surprise Sam did and waited for his cue.

Bang. Bang.

The room behind the door fell silent and everyone seemed to hold their breath listening waiting for a response.

“Maintenance.” Bucky yelled through the door. There was a moment of silence everyone seemed to be holding their breath. 

“I didn’t call for anything.” A mans voice echoed from the other side of the door. He was close enough to be heard but not close enough to touch the door. Sam considered he might be armed and waiting for them to kick the door down.

“We’re checking all the units. Some of the pipes burst.” Bucky called out again. They were met with another long silence before the door lock clicked and slid out of place. Zemo peeked out behind the chain lock of the door.

Bucky gave minimal effort in kicking the door in. The chain snapped as if it were made of paper, pieces exploded everywhere as the door slammed Zemo backwards into the wall. His nose and head were bleeding now. He still tried to run but Sam was on him quickly knocking him to the ground.

You watched from the busted door frame as Sam pinned the man down. Bucky slapped some high tech looking cuffs on the man and pulled him to his feet. As they passed by Zemo gave you a quizzical look. It wasn’t out of place. You were the one in a situation you should of never been in. Unsure of what to do you followed them as they moved Zemo down the stairs.

They went down past the lobby and headed towards the floor that led to the parking garage. The car was red and fast, leaving minimal space in the back seat. Bucky stood holding onto Zemo looking at you and then at the back seat. Sam rolled his eyes gesturing that the obvious answer was to ditch you. Bucky figured out his own plan and unlocked the car. clicking the trunk open. Zemo tried to resist but Bucky easily shoved him into the trunk. 

Zemo’s complaints were muffled through the car yet the still echoed in the concrete garage. Bucky escorted you to the back seat while Sam gave him the death glare. 

“What the hell are you doing?” 

“Waiting to leave.” Bucky shrugged tossing Sam the keys before ducking into the drivers seat. 

“Where do you live?” Sam asked being done with the whole situation he was eager to get rid of you, so he could go home and be alone. 

“Oh, I live-” 

“She’s coming with us.” Bucky intervened knowing that you lived in the building that they had just plucked Zemo from. Sam let out a big sigh pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“You live on the upper floor of this apartment complex don’t you?” You said nothing and remained seated in the back.

“Fuck it!” Sam said throwing his hands in the air before he started the car and slid into reverse. 

“She’s your responsibility.” Sam warned Bucky he was not going to be liable for anything that happened to you. 

“She’s not a cat.” 

“Well you sure are treating her like one.”

“It’s just us at the Avengers complex we could use another person there.” 

“I kind of wish I was the only one there.” Sam and Bucky continued to fight like a married couple. You watched amused from the back having more fun than you thought you would going on this little adventure. 

The drive was long as you went from one side of New York out to the more rural part of New York. At some point you had dozed off in the back seat. You woke to Bucky gently shaking you awake from the open door. 

“We’re here doll.” You clumsily stepped out of the car, taking the hand that Bucky had offered you. 

The place was more stunning than you could have ever imagined. Never in your life had you seen such a high tech and expensive place. The design of the whole building was unique with the large Avengers symbol in front and a huge helicopter pad to your right. 

“We have to take Zemo somewhere. we will be back.” Bucky lead you into the building.

Bucky started to head back out. Thats when you realized you were standing in the middle of the Avenger’s living room. You sat down on the couch taking a deep breath in. How many times had they all sat here, laughing and talking. Did they watch movies or shows together? What is a show they would of all agreed on?

Silence filled the air and the place seemed unbelievably large. It would definitely be easy to get lost. You thought about how sad it might be for Bucky and Sam. Everyone they used to live with her was now gone. You heard the stories about Captain America, Ironman and Black widow. The thought of them all not being here now set a deepness in your heart.

You wondered where Wanda was, it would of made sense if she stayed here with them. Either way you wanted to take full advantage of being a guest here while it lasted. You decided to explore respectfully. Setting up simple rules for yourself. No searching any bedrooms and don’t touch anything in the labs, just look. That is if you could get in most places.

You had so many questions yet you didn’t want to bring up anything that would be a sensitive subject for Bucky or Sam.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Chizuru Town (Part 1)

In the game you wake up on the beach in Chizuru with NO IDEA how you got there.

I have a little fun with it. Enjoy!

“MC!”

The children’s voices were happy and oddly squeaky. They draw you out of unconsciousness. Your body feels a bit cold, and you shiver. 

“MC!” They keep calling you. You’re lying face up but their hands are pressed against your back. They keep pushing you from below.

You take a breath and feel the cold shock of water up your nose. The choking sensation makes you want to bolt upright but something is holding you up on the surface of the water. You catch a glimpse of silver grey, rubbery skin. A thin slit in that skin opens and sprays a mist with a sharp whoosh. The children’s voices are replaced by the squealing and whistling of dolphins.

Dolphins! Their sharp pointed fins are cutting through the water. You can see their bright eyes turn to look up at you. The way their mouths curve in their snouts gives them a smile. But they were powerful, insistent creatures. The moment you tried to swim on your own, they pushed you out of the water again.

The salt water in your mouth, the frigid breeze against your sun warmed skin told you this wasn’t a dream. You’d heard stories of dolphins rescuing people before, but you’d never actually thought you’d get to experience being carried on these muscular bodies. 

There were more surrounding you. Their sparkling backs broke the surface, no doubt watching. One eventually peeled off and another replaced them and you realized they were taking turns carrying you along. The sun was about halfway across the sky now and you could see the sparkling white sand of a small beach. The beach was only a few yards wide before it hit the seawall. You could climb up the seawall by what looked like stairs that led to a main street.

You gather your arms about yourself. What little clothing had survived the ghost tooth dragon vipers was torn away by the water and water-born debris. You were completely naked. You already were in the country illegally. You couldn’t imagine what would happen if you just showed up completely exposed like this. But how would you get any clothing?

The dolphins didn’t care about this at all. They pressed forward. If they knew anything about humans, it was that humans belonged on land and, for whatever reason, they had made it their mission to get you to the land as soon as possible. They pushed you with their snouts so hard you thought you might bruise and swam so quickly, you formed a wake in the water. You were already weak from fatigue and dehydration. There was no way you could fight them.

So you are pushed like a buoy towards the shore. When the water got too shallow the dolphins were forced to turn back or risk beaching themselves. Still, they swam a close distance away. Your body was shaking at a steady constant rate and the warm sand was irresistible. You lay down and sigh.

After a bit of rest, you pick a shadier spot against the wall, out of the sun and hopefully out of the prying eyes of people walking by. The dolphins follow you, spy hopping and watching. This was all so surreal.

You were supposed to be dead.

Again.

When you were younger, you read a book about a world where there was almost no difference between heaven, hell, and the living world. People died and woke up again to a place they found familiar and only vaguely strange. The book was deliberately unsettling, meant to blur the line between reality and dreams. The protagonist wasn’t sure if he was still alive, in heaven, or in hell, and the reader was not to know either until the end.

You’re feeling this way now. You thought you had died in the Arctic ocean, only to be thrown into a chaotic dragonslaying academy. Now you thought you died, only to wake up to a school of dolphins after nearly getting eaten by a dragon.

How are you alive after all that has happened? Maybe you weren’t alive. Maybe this was hell and you were suffering multiple deaths. The dolphins chattered brightly ahead of you, but now their sounds seemed more like they were mocking you, naked, on the sand alone, alive again with no friends.

There was no sign of Lu Mingfei, Chu Zihang or Caesar Gattuso. Were they saved by dolphins too? Or left to drown and be eaten? Was God only with you and not with them? Your mind starts to form an idea. You can test out this theory. Worst case scenario was that you died for real and you’d long since gotten over that fear.

You stand up and brush the sand off your bare bottom. You would take your time to rest and hide out until night fell and then use the dark to your advantage. 

Fatigue made you sleep longer than you wanted. Darkness has truly fallen when you wake up, stiff and achy. A greyish mat of sand has stuck to your whole body. You look back towards the ocean, but the dolphins are gone. You waddle out on wobbly legs and wash the sand away. After so much time in the water, the feel of it on your skin was suddenly abhorrent and you would be happy if you never spent another day in the ocean as long as you lived.

The theory that you’re actually dead and none of this was real was again challenged by how hard it was to make it up the stairs. You were so exhausted, starving and dehydrated that you swayed. You’d give anything for a bowl of hot ramen, served up fresh with a bit of egg floating on top.

You heard a voice cry out. A young couple was out for a stroll and had spotted you. You must look like a monster, hair long and matted and no clothes at all. Sure enough, they back away moaning with trembling voices before turning to run off, screaming something you can’t understand. Further up towards the street, you see bright lights. The smell of vendors cooking street food makes your stomach rumble. You couldn’t be out in the open, but maybe if you got close enough, you could dumpster dive and find some clothes. You sneak behind the back of the nearest building, a stucco box with a small front yard. The young man of the couple returns with a few other people. He’s speaking breathlessly, pointing towards the ocean. Poor guy. No doubt he thought he’d seen some ghost girl come from the ocean. This is probably something that would traumatize him for life.

You hear a small noise next to you. A little black cat is pawing at you. You could barely see it in the shadows. It didn’t care that you weren’t wearing clothes. Its fur was soft and warm and its purrs were comforting. You run your hand over its head and ears and it crawls into your lap. You would have liked to own a cat someday. You always liked them. They were funny and cute and very affectionate like this one. When you raise your eyes, your heart leaps. There are clothes hanging on a clothesline from a house not too far away!

You scramble quickly towards it, careful not to step on anything that might make noise. You check every gap to make sure that no one can see you. Then as soon as you reach the clothing, you carefully yank it off the line. It was just one of the local school uniforms. The white button down top was a bit small, but the wine-colored skirt fits you just fine around the waist. You were only a bit older than Renata when she died so this was probably the outfit of a highschool student.

Your eyes fall on the back door of the house. That’s right, Japanese don’t wear shoes in the house. These shoes were laid out neatly on the rack. You glance around and carefully approach, snatching what you hope will fit you. They’re just the right size, much to your shock. This surprise is enough to send a jolt of happiness through you. Now clothed, you return to the cat and pick it up in your arms and walk out on the street. The first thing you saw was a sign that said, Chizuru.

Before arriving in Japan, Norma, the school AI had told you about a place called Chizuru being a safe haven and to find an Internet Cafe there if you ever got into trouble. The hairs rose on the back of your arms. How could this be possible that dolphins not only save your life, but take you directly to the place that you needed to be? You sang the song that said ‘God is with you’ but it was supposed to be a metaphor right? 

You approach a man on the street who looks at you with a stunned expression. “I… excuse…”

Before you can ask anything, he shakes his head again and again and flees from you. “Wait! I need…”

You try again, this time of one of the vendors, an old craggy-faced man who stares at you with a black expression until you give up.

Burned, you just decide to wander around until you see something that looks like an internet cafe. It wouldn’t be in a neighborhood. More likely closer to the city center, on a main street. You head that way, away from the beach and the houses. The city center seems much quieter than you would expect it to be. You stop.

A group of people are standing on the street, five men in black leather jackets displaying flaming Oni masks. One had a wild looking tall mohawk dyed red. His black jeans reached down to black leather boots studded with silver spikes. It was as if the black dragon that tried to eat you had turned human and walked on land.

He turned his head and spotted you. It was too late to hide. His eyes ran up and down the length of you and he grinned, and made a slow whistling noise. You may have been raised in an orphanage but you weren’t that naive to not know what that smile meant. You’d seen it before on some of the staff who liked to take advantage of the older girls there. 

So you didn’t need to know the vulgar words coming out of their mouth.  You set the kitten down on a nearby trash can and pat it on the head, quietly telling it to stay in Russian. The cat obliged, and started to clean its paws.

In the orphanage, you were taught hand to hand basics until you were strong enough to actually use it in a fight. The trainings were very light against each other and you weren’t allowed to cause injury, but there was no gender splitting. You were only hybrids. Whether you were male or female, it didn’t matter so long as you had dragonblood in your veins.

Because of your background, you didn’t show the same innocent fear that these men may have been accustomed to from someone your age, in that clothing. You stared them straight in the eyes, your arms at your side, not moving forward or back. This nonchalant attitude made them stand there in brief bewilderment. The one with the mohawk was clearly the bolder of the five and he shouted something at you that you don’t understand. You just shake your head.

“I need to find the Internet Café…” You make a gesture with your hands to pantomime typing at a computer. They started to laugh, elbowing each other and nodding. You sigh. You’re so tired and it showed on your face.

Your lack of Japanese and your weary expression was an invitation to attack and they approached you now.

In the orphanage, no one would approach you like this in such a joking manner. Especially not on the training grounds. The Mohawk’s hands were relaxed. He was confident. He wasn’t watching your hands ball into fists as tight as stones and he wasn’t watching the sudden shift in your feet as you moved into a sturdy stance. He reached out with his hand to your elbow. So he was unable to block or dodge your fist that struck him like lightning.

He didn’t just feel pain or stagger back. The man felt flat to his side, straight to the pavement, and he didn’t get up. The eyes of his four friends followed him down with a stunned feeling. You knew that feeling. Like they suddenly found themselves in a fantasy world where a high school girl in a school uniform could knock out a gangster with a single hit? 

Maybe this was a fantasy world and you were a fantasy high schooler. After all, you were carrying a cat!

They all turned to you in unison and you attacked the next one, levering back on one leg and slamming him with a kick to the solar plexus. He staggered back, wheezing, curling in on himself, once or twice.. 

The next one now had the wherewithal to produce a switchblade. He swung it wildly at where your heart should have been, but the blouse was a bit open where it was too tight and he caught a glimpse of the fact that you’re not wearing anything underneath. Your hand caught his wrist and you pulled hard, driving your knee directly into his crotch.

His grip on the knife released as he slowly sank to the ground and you swiped it easily. You give it a toss and catch it by the handle. Now the smile is on your face and there’s no pleasure in it as you stare down the final two gangsters.

One gives up and turns to run, arms pinwheeling comically as his oni mask jacket flapped in the breeze created by his own flight.

The last one was backing away, stumbling over his feet, crawling back upright. And when he does get up, you see something in his hand, shiny and black.

A gun. You hadn’t seen one in a while and you stopped. You couldn’t do anything about this. He just needed to pull the trigger and you were gone. But this was a world where you couldn’t die… right?

A man in a white shirt and black slacks leaped out from behind a car and a bright metal arc gave off sparks as it neatly cut the gun in half. Chu Zihang’s sword then rested its edge on the man’s throat

The man stared at his severed gun in silence a moment before he noticed the blade.

“Senpai!” You joyfully run forward and wrap your arms around Zihang.

Zihang looks bewildered, unsure of what to do. His free hand hovers over your shoulder… head… and then he settles on patting you on the back.

The man at his mercy is trembling in terror at the discovery that this warrior girl in a school uniform somehow has a ‘Senpai’ at all. His companions are already staggering away, one of them limping and bowlegged as he flees. 

Chu Zihang raised his hand and rubbed his thumb and fingers together in the universal sign for ‘money’. You stick his tongue out at him.

The man was quick to oblige, tossing him his wallet.  Chu Zihang lowered his sword. After examining the contents, he picked out a few bills and handed the man his wallet back but he was already running away.

“Were you just going to let him shoot you?” He asked.

You opened your mouth. “Yes… but!” You raise a finger to halt objections. “I knew something would happen to keep me from dying!”

Chu Zihang shook his head slowly. “Where’s Lu Mingfei and Caesar?”

Your expression sobers. “I don’t know. I was looking for the Internet Cafe…”

He walks over to a vending machine and puts in the money to buy you something to eat. You return to where the cat is resting on the trash can. “What a good kitty!” You whisper, ,gathering it up in your arms.

“You shouldn’t keep that.” The Machine is pouring out noodles with soup broth base. Your stomach rumbles and the cat meows.

“Is there something for Kitty?” You ask.

Chu Zihang sighs again. The man gave the whole wallet, after all. Chu Zihang orders some dried squid for the cat.

In a few moments both you and Kitty are sitting against the building. You’re so hungry that you scald your mouth on the soup, but you don't care. Chu Zihang is silent, still standing guard and watching. With your hunger sated, you look up at him. “You’re the team lead right?”

“Only if I find out Caesar is dead.”

“You think he’s alive? Do you want me to call you boss?”

“No.”

“Okay boss.”

You look up at him and he’s scowling at you, not in the mood for your jokes, or your kitten. “How did you survive?”

“You’re not going to believe this. A pod of dolphins brought me all the way here.”

Much to your surprise he believes you. “That’s true. The dolphins here are very friendly to the locals. In fact there was a story I read about that...”

There was a sudden cacophony of roaring engines. Chu Zihang grabs you and together you duck behind the parked cars. Motorcycles, dozens of them, are all roaring off in one direction, their lights streaming towards a single destination. Among them were vans filled with people with automatic weapons. Right after that, all the lights go out in Chizuru. From the tallest building, to the smallest house, even the lights illuminating the advertisements go dark. 

Chu Zihang sighed deep in his chest. “I have a bad feeling Caesar is that way.”

[txtdreamss]

you’ve gotta be kitten me// [n.l.] prologue

summary: Neville decides to be a good friend, and finds himself volunteering to petsit Hermione’s cat while her and Ron go on their honeymoon. After Crookshanks manages to get into Neville’s greenhouse, he finds himself searching for a veterinarian to help the poor kitty with tummy problems. {Muggle!Reader}

warnings: sick kitty, mentions of animal hospital setting, fem!reader

word count: 700+

A/N: Okay so this definitely took way longer than I hoped it would. I live in Texas, so we have been roughing it the last week because of the storm. Hopefully ya’ll enjoy this intro to what I am hoping will be a 2-3 part series coming soon. I’m not sure when the next part will come, but I promise I will try my best to make it worth the wait. :)

“Neville, if you need anything at all just call us using the hotel number on the fridge or call Molly and she can help you figure out what to do. Oh, and the normal cat-sitter’s number is on the fridge if you have anything come up at work or-”

“Hermione, Crookshanks and I will be fine! I can tell he is willing to be a perfectly behaved chap for his favorite Uncle!” Crookshanks let out a less than enthusiastic meow at Neville’s assumption, clearly unhappy with whatever the man was implying.

Hermione let out a groan but was not able to say much more as Ron was pulling her towards the fireplace so they could floo to their honeymoon destination.

“ ’Mione, sweetheart, the cat will be fine with Neville. Now, let’s go before you start experiencing withdrawal over the damn thing!” Ron let out a forced smile, threw the powder into the fireplace, and pulled his bride forward. They disappeared in a cloud of smoke, causing Neville to let out a cough.

“Well, I guess it’s just me and you now, eh?” The cat blinked once, twice, then let out a hiss and strutted away. “Woah bud, don’t get too attached to me, now...”

*****

For the last 24 hours, Neville felt as if he had been walking on eggshells; If he sipped his tea too loudly, the cat would hiss. If he sneezed, two piercing yellowish eyes were trained on him. The only relief he had obtained came from his 8 hours spent at work which were now, to the brunette’s disappointment, coming to an end.

“Crookshanks? Ya still alive mate?” Neville dropped his keys into the tray next to his apartment door and slipped off his loafers.

When he rounded the corner, he felt his heart and lungs drop into his stomach. There lay Crookshanks, sprawled out on the carpet and seemingly having what one could only compare to as a total acid trip. The poor kitten’s eyes were big as saucers, drool was spilling onto the carpet, and his stubby little legs kept rubbing across the floor as if to recreate human touch.

“Bloody’ell, why’s it always gotta be me?” Neville slipped his loafers back on, and quietly managed to pull the cat carrier Hermione left behind from within his closet. “C’mere bud, I promise it’ll be a short ride-”

MREOW.

Long red scratches littered Neville’s left hand, and a surprisingly high whimper left his mouth. “So, I am guessin’ you aren’t taking it easy on me today?”

*****

After a long battle to convince Crookshanks to enter the cat carrier (during which Neville managed to use an entire bottle of catnip spray), Crookshanks was finally contained. Neville had decided against calling Hermione and instead called their usual cat-sitter to ask what vet to bring the loopy cat to.

“Well, I’ve never taken him to Hermione’s vet before, but I can text you the number. Her clinic is down the road from the Diggory’s house, so it shouldn’t be hard to find.”

“Thanks so much, Anna, I’ll be sure to call you if I need anything else!” 

The clearly unamused teen hung up, and Neville decided it was time to move the carrier into the car. Neville, having never owned a cat, had no idea how to put the carrier into the vehicle safely; As a result, the carrier had been heavily covered in 2 seatbelts that were all but knotted around it.

Throughout the whole drive, Crookshanks meowed nonstop. The cat clearly wasn’t a fan of cars (of course, it may have just been that the car belonged to Neville). When he finally pulled up to the vet, he was surprised at how a place he usually thought of as a location for goodbyes looked so peaceful. An elderly woman holding a small chihuahua sat next to the glass door, and a box of treats labeled “take 1 :)” sat on a small stool nearby. As he stepped through the door with the cat in tow, a woman in scrubs behind the counter turned to greet him.

“Hi sir, how may I help you today?”

Neville’s heart leapt into his chest, and he stammered complete nonsense before settling on the words “the cat ate one of my houseplants”.

“Okay sir, fill out these forms and I will bring you into the exam room shortly.” A warm smile was the cause of Neville’s immediate destruction, as he went red in the face and nodded dumbly.

How in Merlin’s name am I gonna get through this?

[rune-writes]

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Fandom: Persona 5

Word count: 2323

Rating: T

Summary: Set in the third semester, after everyone's false realities break, Ren finds Shiho back at the underground mall.

Note: commission for @thalassatides. Thank you for commissioning me ^^ this was fun to work on!

Read on AO3.

~*~*~*~*~

To fall in love with a dream…

Never had Ren entertained such thoughts—never thought it was possible—until that afternoon he accompanied Shiho on another one of her excursions in the Shibuya Underground Mall. A laugh here, a smile there—the way she looked as she perused store after store from the sports equipment to the sundries shops: calm and… cheerful. Bereft of any sorrow and pain she’d felt under Kamoshida’s reign. He had never seen her so happy before.

“Look, Ren! Isn’t it cute?”

Shiho called his attention to a pair of plush charms—a mascot of some TV show he knew in passing. But it wasn’t the charms he had his eyes on. A brilliant beam graced Shiho’s lips, and it was all he could do to stop his heart from skipping a beat.

“We used to watch this show a lot—Ann and me.” Her voice was soft. She returned her gaze to the charm, distant and nostalgic. “Ann used to admire the villain a lot. I wonder if they have… Ah, here it is! Maybe I should buy one and show her the next time we meet.”

Smiling to herself, then, with a nod, she set off to the cashier to buy the charm of a woman in a red suit. Ren watched her ponytail bobbed and swayed in rhythm with her step, trying and failing to ignore the pang in his chest. Maruki’s reality—that was all this was: a figment of whoever’s imagination following Ann’s dream shattering that reminded him the false utopia still lived.

He’d found her a couple weeks back, browsing the shelves of the sport equipment stores here in the underground mall. The sight of her had shaken him to the core that, for a good long second, he had stood frozen, until Morgana peeked out of his bag and climbed onto his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” the cat had asked.

Wordlessly, Ren had pointed at Shiho’s petite figure, only for Morgana to see nothing but thin air amongst the stacks of cold spray. Ren couldn’t believe the cat, gave him an incredulous look, only to receive a quizzical gaze in return.

“There!” he’d said again. “Right there picking up a can of—”

Morgana had disappeared from his shoulder when Ren turned his head. He couldn’t find him, no matter where he’d looked. And just as he’d thought the cat must have slipped away somehow—which, if Ren was honest, had been absurd since he had neither heard him plop to the floor nor felt the soft touch of his paws down his back—a familiar voice had called his name.

“Ren?”

Ren blinked. Shiho now stood in front of him, peering up his face through the unkempt hair he called his bangs. The sudden proximity—or, more like, the sudden materialization of the girl he’d been recalling—jolted him in surprise, pushing him to take a step back.

“You okay? You seem rather out of it.”

“I’m fine.” Ren cleared his throat. “Anyway, where to next?”

“Well, this is supposed to be date—”

Curse the flutter in his heart.

“—maybe somewhere date-like, I guess? Movies? Diner? Now that I think about it, I have no idea what people do on dates.” She flashed a sheepish grin at him. “Sorry, I guess we’ve just been going along with my whims.”

“I quite enjoyed your whims, actually.”

His words made her pause, and for a split moment, he wondered if he’d said something wrong. But then her smile grew, just a little around the edges, with a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks.

He remembered that look. When they had passed by the florist and the owner had called him aside, she’d asked him if he was on a date. Their vehement denials had only prompted her to giggle and say it was a shame. “You look good together,” she’d said. It had sounded like a tease, but the kindness in her eyes had seemed to speak otherwise. And apparently Shiho had thought the same, because her denials had stopped short, followed by a momentary pause in which her cheeks had grown red. Her smile had come soon after, slow but sure—a small thing. One would have thought Shiho was shy.

She’d turned to him then, and with that smile remaining on her face, said, “It seems we look good together.”

Never had Ren felt a powerful urge to draw someone into his arms and never let go.

***

They went outside, where winter was well on its way and dark clouds gathered in the sky. The weather report from early that morning said it would snow later today—which should be soon. He wondered if he could watch the snowfall with Shiho.

In Central Street, Shiho noted how everything looked different, even though nothing had changed. An effect of Maruki’s reality, perhaps? Or simply the fact that she had been gone for almost a year.

“There’s the crepe stall we used to queue on weekends,” she said. “Ann loved asking me out to the diner, too. Oh, I remember going to that karaoke place during middle school—” She stopped, then glanced at him. Another one of those sheepish smiles. “Sorry, it’s not a very date-like topic, is it?”

“No, no, please continue. I enjoy hearing about them.”

Again, that pause, but this time Ren was conscious enough to realize he’d made her blush. He should stop doing that! Because her blush would make him blush, and her smile would make him smile. But this was only a dream that would shatter once he defeated Maruki and returned the world to the way it was. If he let his heart flutter anymore than this, he’d never be able to let her go.

“Hey.” She tugged at his sleeve. “Wanna go to the arcade?”

***

Arcade games might not be the best to judge one’s physical prowess, but watching Shiho winning the basketball game was a sight to behold.

“You’re losing on purpose!”

Shiho laughed as she landed another perfect score inside the basket. Within the allotted time, she had already achieved 25 points, whereas Ren was still sitting on a measly 14.

“No, I’m not.” Ren offered his own chuckle. “You’re just better at sports than I am.”

Time ran out; the number “27” flashed across the screen of Shiho’s machine. Shiho grinned from ear to ear.

“Tired?” she asked.

“Not in the least.”

“Well, I am. Guess I’m still a bit out of it.” Shiho rolled her shoulders, and it seemed like their basketball game had really taken a toll on her. “Let’s get something to drink.”

Ren intercepted her before she could move. “Let me. I’ll make a quick run to the store; you stay here.”

Shiho’s protests fell on deaf ears as Ren rushed to the double sliding doors before she could stop him. The frigid wind stung his face the moment he stepped out. Pulling his coat tighter around himself, he hurried to the store next door, where he bought two cups of hot coffee and threw in a bag of chips. He thanked the cashier, then made his way out. He had barely left the store when a voice called him from behind:

“Amamiya-kun.”

Ren froze. A few aisles down, behind one of the shelves, Maruki stood in a sweater and coat, his unkempt brown hair falling over his eyes. For a split second, Ren was back in that white office, sitting on those brown sofas and being offered candies and food in return for helping with his research. For that split second, Maruki was not the maniac who’d fancied himself a savior.

“Relax,” his former teacher said when Ren put up his guard. He moved out of his aisle with both hands raised. “I’ve come in peace.”

“Peace offerings rarely involve skulking behind someone’s back.”

Maruki smiled thinly. “Care to take this outside? You wouldn’t want an audience overhearing our conversation.”

While Ren would rather not agree, he nodded, then let Maruki walk in front of him.

The former counselor led him to an empty spot between the store and arcade. Above him, the sky looked ominous. The heat was slowly seeping away from his coffee. He’d have to finish this conversation soon.

“What do you want?” Ren asked. They still had a few days before the deadline.

“I came to check on you. Your countenance, for one, looks much better than I had expected. Brighter, I’d say. Softer.”

Ren narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“Why. this reality, of course. The effect of having Shiho Suzui by your side.”

Shiho?

At his stricken silence, Maruki blinked in surprise. “You haven’t figured it out.”

“What haven’t I figured out exactly?” Ren asked through gritted teeth. “I know she’s part of your world. I know she’s not real. None of my friends can see her. Why? Some kind of effect from your reality, no doubt. It’s like you’re playing with my head, conjuring a lifelike apparition that only I can see to convince me to—”

“I didn’t conjure her.” Maruki’s interruption was quiet but firm. His eyes behind those spectacles showed sympathy instead of scorn. “You conjured her yourself.”

“No, I didn’t—”

No—wait. A memory surfaced to his mind of a brief talk they had one afternoon after school. Among the regrets he’d had during this entire ordeal, Shiho was close to the top. The girl who’d shown him kindness when all others had shown contempt, content with believing baseless rumors and calling him a problem kid. Her bright smile had been his sole respite, an oasis in a desert of abhorrence.

But then she jumped.

“You wanted to save her,” Maruki went on. “You said you wished you could’ve prevented that incident from ever happening.”

He did, and so did Ann. Who was it who broke her reality when Shiho could’ve lived happily there? A hypocrite—that’s what he was—for wanting to preserve this moment when his friends had sacrificed theirs.

Ren clenched his hands. “This isn’t what I wanted.”

“Not quite, yes, but an alternate reality nonetheless in which the girl you love never had to experience those things. Would you not give her that?”

He would. Which was why he would not have blamed his friends had they chosen to stay within their dreams. Who was he to deny them of their desires? But they had chosen to break free. They had chosen to help him. Whatever honeyed words Maruki said, however perfect this new reality seemed to be, in the end, it would only be an illusion, and like every illusion, it would eventually shatter.

His lips tugged into a quiet smile even as his heart began to break. “Thank you for bringing me back to my senses, Doc,” he said. He bowed his head. “I’ll see you at the Palace.”

He bid Maruki goodbye, then headed back inside the arcade, stopping short just as the doors slid open because his coffee had gotten cold and he should buy another. He had just climbed down the steps when the arcade doors slid open again. A familiar pair of footsteps stopped behind him.

“There you are!” Shiho was scowling, though her eyes were more worried than angry. “What took you so long?”

The crack echoed in his ears. He felt the tears sting his eyes before his throat closed in a quiet sob. Noticing the change, Shiho tilted her head to the side. “Ren?” she called his name. Her voice was so soft and gentle and warm. No longer would it ring in his ears.

He cupped her cheek, then felt her jump, felt her eyes try to meet his. But his gaze was trained on the prominence of her cheekbones, where a bruise used to color it purple but now only a pale white remained. She relaxed into his touch.

“I’ve got to go,” she said, “haven't I?”

Ren looked at her with a start. A small, knowing smile spread across her lips.

“You knew?”

“Always.”

“How?”

Shiho shrugged. “Just that, the memories I know to be true would often contradict the visions I would have in my mind.”

Was it because of him? His inability to accept this new reality prompted him to conjure an imperfect apparition of the one thing his heart desired most. His lips trembled; the tears he’d held at bay slowly rolled down his face.

“I’m sorry.”

But Shiho shook her head, and she enveloped his hand with hers. “Don’t be, Ren. For what it is worth, I am happy.”

Her smile reached her eyes, and Ren burned that image into his mind.

“Ah! Before I forget.” She reached into her pockets, then withdrew a small silver charm. A flower. “Iris,” she said. “I found it at the accessory shop.” She dropped the charm on Ren’s open palm. It weighed as heavy as the torrent raging inside him.

“I thought you bought a charm for Ann.”

“Ah, well…” Shiho chuckled. “I’m not exactly real, so even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to give it to her.”

Ren pursed his lips, enclosing the charm in his fist. For a heartbeat, they stood there, hand in hand, gazing into each other. It was a brief glimpse—the glint he spotted in her gray eyes. Before he knew it, she had risen to her tiptoes and pressed a featherlight kiss to his cheek.

“Have faith, Ren,” came her whisper. “We’ll meet again.”

Like a dream waning into light, her corporeal form faded until only glimmers remained. Something cold and wet landed on his skin, stealing the lingering warmth of Shiho’s kiss. Snow had fallen in soft flurries of crystal and ice. But Shiho was no longer there.

“I’ll come find you.” With breath clouding in front of his face, Ren vowed into the sky. “Once all of this is over, I’ll come find you, and we’ll start anew.”

In his mind, he could see the brilliant beam gracing Shiho’s lips. It lit up her features.

~ END ~

[catharrington]

I'm so in love with your Catboy!Steve pieces! And now because of them I can't get out of my mind the idea of Billy teasing Steve by calling him 'Kitten' and Steve hissing and showing his teeth at him, demanding Billy to stop calling him 'that' so serious and offended that Billy, in fact, stops but. The problem is that. Secretly, Steve loves it. It just make him feel too vulnerable to admit it. But he misses it sooooo much that one day he climbs up Billy's lap, hides his face into the crook of his neck and whispers, so close it's barely audible, "Will you call me Kitten again?" and Billy will basically melt and pet at his ears "Of course I will, Kitten"

I just love so much the idea of Billy calling him all kinds of pet names and Steve secretly loving it 😻😻

Thank you so much for enjoying my cat boy content!!! And yes. Oh my gosh yes you are correct!! Billy so loves to tease:

Pretty cat, the words hang in the air gentle like soft pieces of lint floating through the windows of a sunny morning. Steve doesn’t hate them, lays in the sunlight of those words and lets it soak into his fur a little.

Billy said them with so much authority, so much fondness, that he can’t help but to believe him.

Steve loves those words. In that order. Some others he has mixed feelings about.

It’s been a week since the aforementioned kidnapping, and Steve has taken a habit of burrowing himself into Billy’s sheets and blankets as soon as he gets up to head into work.

Four days out of the week it’s early in the morning, as soon as the sun comes over the horizon. And then late nights bring Billy home in heavy workboots stomping out dusty clouds. On fridays it’s a later start, and he comes home sooner. Just as dirty. Takes a shower, or sometimes a bath.

Steve curls his long fingers around Billy’s pillow. Brings it close to him, nuzzles his nose into the soft with time cotton so just his eyes and pointy ears follow Billy as he paces the room to get ready for work. Collecting his clothes before stepping into the bathroom, winking over his shoulder ain’t gonna expose myself to ya, don’t worry, kitten.

And Steve just thumps his tail with a thoughtful flick, rhythmically hitting onto the comforter. Thinking to himself he wouldn’t mind.

Doesn’t say anything like that, of course, the only words Steve ever mutters is a stilted bye. And this sunshine bright day, he mutters a soft don’t call me that.

Billy’s closing the door behind him, his words almost lost even to himself as he starts to head out. He pops the door back open with almost a perfectly timed three second delay. What did you say? He asks expectantly.

And Steve, who followed him to the living room. Followed him to the kitchen. Lingering by the now empty coffee pot as it had all been poured into Billy’s to go cup. Just smelling what Billy’s breath must taste like during all his rushed good mornings. Maybe his off to work kisses would be bitter as the black coffee.

He turns his head almost absentmindedly. Don’t call me kitten, he repeats quietly.

Billy scoffs, thinks it’s a joke. Says alright, sugar, before closing the door again.

He calls him it again as they are lounging around that Saturday. Billy’s work books parked at the doorway. And his hands busy stirring and stirring a wooden spoon around a tall pot of sauce. Steve flicks across the pages of one of Billy’s books he keeps on a small shelf by his bed. Well loved and broken spines. Steve doesn’t want to read them as much as he wants to see where Billy’s loved them.

He can barely hear the word over the noise of the album playing. Loud crooning of guitars and drums, even louder voices. But he hears that word again. Billy’s voice sounds like a song as he calls how spicy do you like it, kitten? And Steve would love the thoughtful question dearly if it weren’t for that word.

And repeats himself, a little louder, don’t call me kitten.

From the kitchen, Billy turns over his shoulder. Levels Steve with those crystal blue eyes and his half smirk. Says alright, sugar, then he’s back singing again.

Sounds terrible, sounds like music Steve wouldn’t listen to by himself, but he does enjoy the way Billy uses the red saucy wooden spoon as a microphone to sing into. Really enjoys the way his hips sway with the motions of his silly dancing. Steve flicks the page to the next and let’s it slide.

The thrid time Billy’s following him with those heavy boots, that thick cowboy stride, missing everything but the spurs jingling. Not missing his lips rolled over his white teeth in a warning snarl. This apartments not big enough for the both of us. He’s following Steve into the bedroom when he says that word through his snarl.

Steve matches one right back. A sharper one, a whiter one, one with teeth that come to cruel points. Repeats what he said before. Don’t call me kitten, this time seriously.

And Billy seems to finally get it. But he doesn’t stop. Waits at the doorway while Steve shrugs off his jacket. He just got back from walking home from work, the library in town he was lucky enough to get a job at. Some places have no intention of hiring a cat boy at all. Some places had laughed at his face.

And Steve’s tired of it. Throws his jacket with enough force it make it bounce off the soft comforter. His voice comes out a mean dragging hiss, don’t talk to me like that. I’m not some thing for you to order around. I’m here because I want to be. And he turns to glare right at Billy. Meaner even than the night he scratched up his biceps getting tugged into a bath.

Billy doesn’t get it this time, seems to get angrier about it. He throws his hands up and spins. Like he wants to grab at something. Like he wants to wrap his meaty fingers around and choke something. Instead he settles on pounding two angry fists into the doorframe.

You don’t get it, he shouts, pretty kitten like you is a target for guys, okay, they would love to just chew you up and spit you right back out. Take you home and chain you to a fuckin’ wall, do you get it? And he turns from the wall to jab a finger at Steve’s face. To make sure he gets it. To make sure he’s afraid of the men who can take advantage in the night. Like how Billy’s trained himself to be such a light sleeper— because he knows.

But he stops his next words in his throat. Swallows them back down into his gut and lets them burn themselves out.

Because Steve’s face is glossy with tears down his cheek bones. His brows almost touching in an angry, furrowed scowl. His ears pressed flat back across his limp hair. He looks angry, and afraid. All at the same time.

And Billy hates himself more feverishly than he’s ever hated himself before. He chokes out an I’m sorry, hey, I’m so fuckin sorry I didn’t— I’m just worried— but that gets caught too.

Because Steve’s pushing past him with his fists held at his sides, a strong shoulder shoved into Billy’s shoulder so he can get by, and then the bathroom door is slamming closed. Steve spends the whole night in the bathroom.

Spends the night curled in the cold tub with his tail wrapped around his ribs. Taking shallow, wet breaths.

Billy spends the whole night awake looking at the bathroom door. Remembering the way Steve’s old collar looked when he took it off that pretty skin. How it left a branding almost of its cruelty. It’s abuse and, and Billy’s stomach feels a lot like the mold on that old leather.

He doesn’t use the word again.

Presses a soft kiss to Steve’s head when he finally sees him one work shift later. The first thing he does when he gets home. Before he gives him a worn out bottle of pepper spray he had kept stashed in his glove box. Says, I know it ain’t as strong as your nails. Or your teeth. Or you damn bull-headedness. But could you carry this? If just for me?

So Steve takes it. Clips it to the inside of a zipper in his work bag. Tucks it behind the books he’s borrowed from Billy’s shelf to read in the break room.

It wouldn’t be until later, when Steve decides to try letting someone else in. Letting someone close enough to hurt him. To hit him. To love him. That he decides to try reclaiming that word.

There’s plastic gnarland flowing across the living room and right into the kitchen. There’s a vinyl album playing but it isn’t Billy’s. It’s his family’s, he says, surprised the old thing still works, but this is Christmas to me. And the needle scratches along old carols played on a piano. There’s a thin, sparse, half dead tree sitting by the window. Lit up with steady red and green lights. Some pretty ornaments hung with care. A handful of hand wrapped gifts collected under its low branches.

Steve crawls onto Billy’s lap. And his kiss might not taste like black coffee, but it does taste like hot chocolate. And his hands are soft snd clean as they pet through his hair. Pet across his sensitive ears so gently. Steve lays his head down on Billy’s shoulder just to hear the steadiness of his breath.

He gulps. Then he whispers you can call me kitten.

And Billy exhales shaky-like, like he couldn’t believe it. Laughs low in his chest that Steve can feel rumbled over into his own chest. Feels so good. Then Billy whispers back of course I will, kitten.

[thewidowsghost]

The Unknown Muggleborn - Chapter 21

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

"Password?" the Fat Lady asks Harry and Ron as the two Second Years pause, glancing at each other.

"Er -" says Harry.

The two hadn't been able to get the new year's password, not having met a Gryffindor prefect yet, but help comes to the two almost immediately; Harry and Ron hear hurrying feet behind them and turn to see Hermione and (Y?n) dashing towards them.

"There you are! Flying a car!?" Hermione says. "You're surely expelled?"

"Well, we haven't been expelled," Harry assures her.

"You're not telling me you did fly here?" blusters Hermione.

"Skip the lecture," says Ron impatiently, "and tell us the new password."

"It's wattlebird," (Y/n) tells them.

"But that's not the point -" Hermione interupts, but her own words are cut short as the portrait of the Fat Lady swings open and there is a sudden storm of clapping. It looks like the whole of Gryffindor House is still awake, packed into the circular common room, standing on the lopsided tables and squashy arm chairs, waiting for Harry and Ron to arrive. Arms reach through the portrait hole to pull Harry and Ron inside, leaving Hermione to scramble in after them and (Y/n) stepping in right after.

"Brilliant!" yells Lee Jordan and (Y/n) just rolls her eyes, moving across the common room to sit beside Ginny on one of the couches. The younger redhead is reading one of her school books, starting when (Y/n) sits down beside her but then she relaxes, going back to her book.

Ron is scarlet in the face, grinning embarrassedly, but Harry can see one person who doesn't look happy at all. Percy is visble over the heads of some excited first years, and he seems to be trying to get near enough to start telling them off. Harry nudges Ron in the ribs and nods in Percy's direction; Ron gets the point at once.

"Got to get upstairs - bit tired," Ron says, and the two - Harry and Ron - start pushing their way towards the door on the other side of the room, which leads to a spiral staircase and the dormitories.

"Night," Harry calls to (Y/n) and Hermione, Hermione wearing a scowl like Percy's.

The two boys manage to get to the other side of the common room, still having their backs slapped, and gain the peace of the staircase. They hurry up it, right to the top, and at last reach the door of their dormitory, which now has a sign on it saying Second Years.

. . .

(Y/n) meets her sister's gaze across the common room.

"See you," (Y/n) says to Ginny and the girl looks up, as though surprised that (Y/n) is even talking to her, but Ginny waves goodbye.

(Y/n) and Hermione make their way up to their own dormitory.

Marvel greet the two sisters at the door, her paws coming to rest on (Y/n)'s knees.

(Y/n) chuckles, picking up her cat and carrying her to her bed.

. . .

The next day, Harry barely grins once. The four long House tables are laden with tureens of porridge, plates of kippers, mountains of toast, and dishes of eggs and bacon, beneath the enchanted ceiling - today, a dull, cloudy gray. Harry and Ron sit down at the Gryffindor table across from (Y/n) and Hermione. Hermione has her copy of Voyages with Vampires propped open against a milk jug, (Y/n) glaring a hole in the book as she eats her toast, bacon, and eggs.

"Mail's due any minute - I think Gran's sending a few things I forgot," Neville says and (Y/n) grins at the boy beside her.

Harry had just started on his porridge when, sure enough, there is a rushing sound overhead, and a hundred or so owls stream in, circling the hall and dropping letters and packages into the chattering crowd. A big, lumpy package bounces off Neville's head and, a second later, something large and gray falls into Hermione's jug, spraying all of them with milk and feathers.

Hedwig lands on (Y/n)'s shoulder, a letter clasped in her beak. (Y/n) takes the letter from Harry's owl and she grins when she sees the handwriting.

(Y/n) gives Hedwig a piece of bacon and the snowy owl flies off.

(Y/n) zones out of the conversation as she reads the letter.

Hey, Sweetie!

I just was writing to ask how your last month with the Grangers' was, and how your trip to school was.

Everything's alright here, just missin' you a lot.

I've got Pepper to keep me company, but it's just not the same.

(Y/n) looks up from the letter as a loud roar fills the huge hall, shaking dust from the ceiling.

" - STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE -"

Mrs. Weasley's yells, a hundred times louder than usual, make the pates and spoons rattle on the table, and echo deafeningly off the stone walls. People throughout the hall are swiveling around to see who had received the Howler, and Ron sinks so low in his chair that only his crimson forehead can be seen.

" - LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED -"

Harry had been wondering when his name was going to crop up. Harry tries very hard to look as though he can't hear the voice that is making his eardrums throb.

" - ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED - YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."

A ringing silence falls around the hall. The red envelope, which had dropped from Ron's hand, bursts into flames and curls into ashes. Harry and Ron sit stunned, as though a tidal wave had just passed over them. A few people laugh and, gradually, a babble of talk breaks out again.

Hermione closes Voyages with Vampires and looks down at the top of Ron's head.

“Well, I don’t know what you expected, Ron, but you —”

“Don’t tell me I deserved it,” snaps Ron.

Harry pushes his porridge away. His insides are burning with guilt.

But Harry has no time to dwell on this; Professor McGonagall is moving along the Gryffindor table, handing out course schedules. (Y/n) takes hers and realizes that all her classes are basically the same, only that she had Potions with the Fourth Years.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and (Y/n) leave the castle together, cross the vegetable patch, and make for the greenhouses, where the magical plants are kept. At least the Howler had done one good thing: Hermione seems to think that Harry and Ron had been punished enough and is being perfectly friendly again.

As they near the greenhouses, the four see the rest of the class standing outside, waiting for Professor Sprout. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and (Y/n) had only just joined them when she comes striding into view across the lawn, accompanied by Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Oh, hello there!" Lockhart calls, beaming around at the assembled students. "Just been showing Professor Sprout the right way to doctor a Whomping Willow! But I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm better at Herbology than she is!"

"Who would?" (Y/n) asks and Lockhart glances at her before looking away.

"I just happen to have met several of theses exotic plants on my travels . . ." Lockhart ignores (Y/n).

"Greenhouse Three today, chaps!" says Professor Sprout, who is looking distinctly disgruntled, not at all her usual cheerful self.

There is a murmur of interest - the Second Years had never worked in Greenhouse Three before. Professor Sprout takes a large key from her belt and unlocks the door. Harry catches a whiff of damp earth and fertilizer mingling with the heavy perfume of some giant, umbrella-sized flowers dangling form the ceiling. (Y/n) and Harry are about to follow Ron and Hermione inside when Lockhart's hands shoot out.

(Y/n) glares daggers at the man, her eyes flaring silver and Lockhart drops his hand off (Y/n)'s shoulder.

Lockhart looks more interested now as he examines (Y/n), his eyes flicking to the scar on her neck.

"Harry! Miss (L/n)! I've been wanting a word - you don't mind if he's a couple of minutes late, do you, Professor Sprout?"

Word Count: 1460 words

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@big-galaxy-chaos