#Except when he threw a snowball at him

[killuaisaprincess]

no thorns

Warm…

Everything feels a little fuzzy, so he stumbles forward and leans into Gon’s chest.

Warmer…

Killua nuzzles his head against Gon’s chest, and Gon stares down as Killua mumbles.

“…just let me stay like this…”

Gon smiles softly and nods.

“Alright.”

[sergeantbarnessdoll]

Snowball Fight Taken Too Far » Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier

Week of December 8th-14th

Pairings: Boyfriend!Bucky Barnes x Girlfriend!Reader

Summary: Bucky accidentally takes a snowball fight a too far.

Warnings: none except Fluff

Prompt: Playing in the snow from @buck-star’s Fluffy Winter Event

Written on my phone. My apologies for any mistakes.

Header made by @buck-star

Divider made by me

GIF IS NOT MINE! Gif credit goes to the creator.

“The snow looks so beautiful.” You say, admiring the way the snow looks covering everything in the park.

“Not as beautiful as you.” Bucky says.

You couldn’t help but giggle at your boyfriend’s cheesiness.

You and Bucky were walking hand in hand in the park. You grinned to yourself when you got an idea. Bucky looked down at you at the same time the grin appeared on your face. He knows that grin all too well. It’s the grin you have on your face when you’re about to do something mischievous.

“Doll…” He warns.

“I’m not doing anything, Bucky.” You giggled.

You let go of Bucky’s hand and bent down to pick up some snow, packing it into a ball. Bucky watched your every move.

“You better not.” He warns again.

You continued to grin and threw the snowball at him, hitting his shoulder. Bucky chuckles lowly.

“You just started a war, doll face.” Bucky says.

“Bring it on, Sergeant.” You grinned.

Bucky picked up some snow and threw it at you. You managed to dodge it.

“You should know I have cat like reflexes!” You say.

You squeaked when he threw another snowball at you, hitting your arm.

“What were you saying about cat like reflexes, doll?” Bucky chuckles.

You playfully narrowed your eyes at the ex assassin. You picked up snow and threw it at him. Bucky shielded himself with his vibranium arm.

“That’s not fair!” You stomped your foot like a child. “You can’t use your vibranium arm as a shield! That’s cheating!” You whined.

Bucky chuckles at your whiny words. Both of you picked up snow at the same time. This time, Bucky threw the snowball with his vibranium hand. The snowball hit you in the face, making you yelp and drop your snowball. You covered your face with your hands. Bucky’s heart dropped and his eyes widened when he realized what he just did.

“I am so sorry, babydoll!” Bucky quickly apologizes. “I didn’t mean to throw it that hard.” He says.

“It’s ok, Bucky.” You say, your voice muffled by your hands.

Bucky gently pulled your hands away from your face. Your face was red from the impact of the snowball.

“I’m sorry.” He apologizes again.

“It’s ok.” You said, your teeth chattering slightly. “Can we go home please?” You asked softly.

Bucky nodded and wrapped his arms around you, holding you close to him as you two walked home. He felt bad for how hard he threw the snowball at you. He didn’t mean to throw it that hard. He just wanted to have fun with you.

When you two got home, you two changed into dry and comfortable clothes. You sat down on the couch and flipped through the channels on the TV for a Christmas movie to watch. Bucky joined you a couple minutes later and sat down next to you.

“Are you mad at me?” Bucky asks.

“Why would I be mad at you, baby?” You asked.

“I threw a snowball at your face.” He says with guilt in his voice.

“It was an accident, Bucky.” You say.

“But I hurt you.” He says, feeling disappointed in himself.

You put the remote on the coffee table and maneuvered yourself so you were facing him.

“Baby boy, listen to me.” You began, holding his hands. “It was an accident. I know you didn’t mean to.” You almost whispered. “I also I know you didn’t mean to throw it that hard.” You say.

Bucky looked down at your hands and rubbed his thumbs against the backs of them.

“You always know the right things to say, doll.” Bucky smiles.

“That’s why you love me.” You smiled back.

Bucky leans in and kissed you softly and sweetly.

“I love you, babydoll.” Bucky murmurs softly.

“I love you too, baby.” You murmured. “How about you make us hot chocolate and I’ll find us a Christmas movie to watch.” You suggested softly.

“That sounds amazing to me, doll.” He smiles, kissing you once more before making you two hot chocolate.

-Bucky’s Doll

[ceilidho]

How do you think coworker Johnny would react to reader having found a new retail job and turning in their 2 weeks notice?

He finds out through a coworker obviously. You’re smart enough not to just tell him. Like you’re perceptive enough and you’ve worked with Johnny long enough to know that he, at best, has a work crush on you, and, at worst, has a debilitating obsession with you that crosses far beyond the boundaries of work and threatens to escalate if you don’t get out and move jobs quick.

You don’t see his reaction first hand, but you see the aftermath of it. A hole in the wall in the break room where he supposedly picked up a chair and threw it across the room. You heard he got sent home for the day after that (surprising - management doesn’t usually make him take accountability for his actions since he’s their favourite employee).

It’s a toss up whether he’d do something like follow you to your next job or somehow sabotage your new job. Maybe slashes your tires on the morning of your first shift so you’re forced to take the bus, which makes you over an hour late. That terrible first impression snowballs the rest of your first week as well and you’re eventually let go, forced to go crying back to your previous employer and beg for your job back. Except they already backfilled your position, so your old role is no longer available. But oh look, Johnny, their model employee (maybe their new floor supervisor if he just got promoted), was just so fond of you back when you worked at the store that he’s asked if he could take you on as an assistant.

They don’t usually give supervisors assistants, but management just loves Johnny so they’re happy to do him this favour. And he’s ecstatic to see you again when you come in for your first shift back, practically beaming from ear to ear, eyes almost a little shiny like he might cry, and he drags you into a big hug, arms wrapping around you and dragging you into his chest. Even nuzzles his face into your hair (like a coworker absolutely shouldn’t, never mind your now boss) and whispers into your ear how much he missed you. And how he’s not going to pussyfoot around anymore now that you’re back.

[hey-august]

Putting Buggy in my favorite tired old romcom trope and imagining him trying to set up a „perfect“ date where he tries his best to come across as a well mannered, bright, conventionally handsome gentleman, because he thinks that’s what YOU would want him to be. He knows he scored this date out of pity, but once he’s done with this evening, you’ll see him as more than a joke of a man, he can do it!

Cue slapstick scenarios en masse, causing him to loose his temper at least once, trying to impress you with a fact that YOU correct him on and that’s just so obviously wrong and an accident that leaves him with only half an eyebrow, singed tips and the wax nose (ESSENTIAL TO HIS PLAN! If he could get rid of that eyesore in the middle of his face he may have had at least a snowball chance in hell with you) to finally abandon ship and melt right of his face.

And you’re enjoying yourself tremendously. You had your doubts when Buggy came in looking so unlike himself, trying to be something he’s not, but now? After all that chaos and one candle accident later? Now that you’re sharing the bottle of wine he snagged before hauling out of the fancy place he tried to wine and dine you at, sitting on the beach laughing about everything and nothing? Perfect date. Would do again. You absolutely love that clown shit.

ADORABLE. PRECIOUS. LOVELY.

LET'S EXPLORE THIS CONCEPT SOME MORE, ANON.

WC: ~800 Warnings: buggy x GN!reader, some profanity, drinking, that's about it

Of course it’s a pity date - that’s the only reason you agreed so readily. It’s definitely not because Buggy blurted out the question before you had a chance to ask him on a date. And the way you choked on your drink? That had to be because you thought it was a joke. Not because you were surprised and excited.

Let’s not talk about everything leading up to the date itself. Like how all his “good” shirts were dirty or wrinkled. One smelled like old hot dogs. So he had to borrow a shirt and it was fine. Kind of plain, though. Not flashy. Plain white cotton, but at least it fit.

And his hair. A low ponytail would suit the occasion. Hopefully you wouldn’t notice his greasy roots. Buggy ran out of time to wash his hair because of everything else he was working on. Mainly the nose. He sculpted it out of wax and it looked… It would probably look alright during a candlelit dinner.

Buggy just needed to get through the dinner, prove himself as a decent guy, score a second date, maybe a kiss or two, and that’s all. Not too much to ask for, right?

Well…he forgot to bring you flowers. He showed up empty handed (except for the sweat collecting in his palms). You didn’t say anything, but he’s certain you noticed and were adding it to The List of Failures. And that’s only the start of his panicking.

Next, Buggy demanded a table. That table. Yeah, the one that is already occupied. Fine, okay, this table is alright. He wanted the darker corner since it was more intimate (not so he could hide his nose or the sweat stains in his pits), but whatever. 

Then he demanded the good wine. The real shit, not that cheap boxed shit. And he can tell the difference! Which is true, Buggy is a boxed wine connoisseur. Well…here’s the thing. Smell and taste are tied together, and that wax nose was more decorational than practical. Some words were had over the wine, before the sommelier brought over a dusty unopened bottle for Buggy to inspect and give gruff approval for.

You tried to interrupt and say the other wine was just as good (and far less expensive), but Buggy was too eager to please and too nervous to back down. 

The rest happened in a blur. Buggy doesn’t remember much. He might have talked over the waiter explaining the day’s specials. He definitely kicked the table a few times while trying to sit comfortably. Maybe he laughed a little too loudly and another table told him to be quiet. And maybe he threw a bread roll at that table.

Buggy definitely remembers knocking over your glass of water, though. It was an accident. He was reaching for your hand for some dumb reason and your drink got in the way. Of course he wanted to help, so he leapt out of his chair, kicking the table yet again, and pretty much threw his napkin at you.

And in this chaos, he must have leaned over the table too long. Over the tealight. Even though it was a small candle, and it was only a few seconds, his glob of wax was ready to make a grand exit. It was already barely clinging to his sweaty oily skin, and this was the right time to just -PLOP- right into a puddle of water on the table.

But here’s the thing that you’ll take to your grave. Seeing Buggy hunched over the messed up tablescape, hands over his face, and looking downright mortified and murderous - well, it made your heart pitter-patter.

Buggy looked like himself, for the first time that night. That “nose” was not really your preference, so hiding the middle of his face from view reminded you of how much you were crushing on the cute clown.

Dinner was over at this point. Staff was walking over, the table with an extra roll was also shouting for Buggy to be ejected, there was broken glass on the table. It was time to go.

Ending the night on the seashore was a much better way to spend your first date with Buggy. He had pulled out his red nose from a pocket so he could actually enjoy the wine. Surprise, surprise, it didn’t taste any better and he lamented not throwing it at the sommelier before leaving.

You’re glad he didn’t though. Because then you wouldn’t get to watch him drink from the bottle under the moonlight. His adam’s apple bobbing with each gulp. Drops of liquid escaping from the corners of his lips and starting a journey down. That white shirt was now unbuttoned (so his armpits to dry out) and rolled at the sleeves. 

And, well - damn.

Buggy was definitely getting a second date and a few kisses. Maybe something a little extra for dessert.

[queenbee298]

For your ppt AU, can I request that the toys witnessing snow for the first time and while most of the toys are having a fun time, Doey has slight PTSD from the doctor’s traps, but y/n calms them down and doesn’t force him to go outside if he doesn’t want to?

I like this Request. Request #9. Sorry if I haven’t posted your request. But I will get to them soon. Now let’s get to the story.

It’s was winter time. Snow was falling from the sky and the mini critters were looking out the window.

Craftycorn: “It’s snowing!”

Bobby Bearhug: “It’s so beautiful!”

Dogday: “Can we go play outside?”

Hoppy Hopscotch: “Can we? Please?”

Y/n: “Of course! But, you’ll all need some winter clothes before you go outside.”

You took out some winter clothes you bought for the toys when you went shopping. It’s wasn’t hard finding clothes for the toys.

Kissy could wear normal winter clothes like you, the mini critters could wear pet clothes, Poppy could wear a doll winter outfit, Yarnaby, should be fine with his mane and you bought him some gloves for his paws.

Everyone was ready to go outside except Doey. You look over to see him sulking. He didn’t want to play outside, he was too afraid he’ll freeze again.

Doey: “Uh… Mom/Dad, do I have to come outside?”

Y/n: “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’ll stay with you too so you don’t get lonely.”

Doey: “Thanks, mama/papa.”

Y/n: “No problem, baby. Poppy, Kissy. Can I trust you two to watch to others?”

Poppy: “You can count on us!”

Kissy nodded her head.

As they headed outside. You sat with Doey. He looked sad and couldn’t look you in the eye.

Y/n: “Doey, is something bothering you?”

Doey: “…”

Y/n: “Is it the cold? Are you afraid you’ll freeze up again?”

Doey: “It’s not only that. Everyone else gets to enjoy the snow, but I can’t! I remember me and my friends used to play in the snow together. Or with mommy and daddy. But now I can’t play in the snow, I’ll just freeze again!”

Y/n: “…Maybe not.”

Doey: “Huh? What do you mean?”

Y/n: “When I was shopping a while ago, I bought some clothes and coats for you guys. I found some winter stuff in your size, maybe you can wear it and see if the cold bothers you.”

Doey: “Hmm…”

Y/n: “It’s fine if you don’t want to do this.”

Doey looked out the window to see his friends playing in the snow.

Doey: “Let’s do it!”

You and Doey got dressed in your winter coat, sweatpants, hats, gloves, scarves, and boats. The both of you headed for the door. Doey looked like a giant snowman and you thought it was super adorable.

Y/n: “Are you ready?”

Doey: “Yea!”

You opened the door, seeing the toys having a snowball fight.

Y/n: “Hey, guys!”

The toys looked to see you and Doey outside. They were shocked and rushed over to him.

Poppy: “Doey!? What are you doing in the snow!?

Y/n: “He felt lonely and wanted to join you guys.

Catnap: “But won’t he freeze?”

Y/n: “Well, how do you feel, Doey?”

Doey was silent. He wasn’t freezing or cold. The clothes helped him stay warm and he could play with his friends.

Doey: “I’m not cold. I’m not cold!”

Y/n: “That’s great!”

Kickin Chicken: “Now you can play with us!”

Bubba bubbaphant: “C’mon!”

Now that Doey wasn’t bothered by the cold he could play in the snow.

You and the mini critters started to build a snow Doey. You thought of an idea to start a little trouble. As the mini critters were building the snow Doey, you went over to Kissy, Yarnaby and Poppy.

Bobby Bearhug: “Hey, Doey! Come check this out!”

Doey came over to see the snow Doey.

Doey: “Uh… Is that me?”

Hoppy Hopscotch: “Yea! You look just like Frosty the snowman.”

Doey: “Umm… That’s…”

Before Doey could answer, he was hit with a snowball.

Doey: “Hey! Who threw that!?”

Poppy: “Is something wrong, Doey?”

Doey looked over to see who threw the snowball. All he saw were you, Kissy, Yarnaby, and Poppy making angels. Or Yarnaby rolling around in the snow.

Doey: “Nope…”

He looked back at the critters, but he was hit with another snowball.

Doey: “Okay, who is throwing snowballs about me!?”

You couldn’t hold back your laughter and you, Poppy, and Kissy broke out laughing.

Doey: “So it’s like that, huh?”

Doey grab handfuls of snow and threw them at you.

Y/n: “ Oh Sugar, Honey, Ice, Tea!”

Poppy: “Hey don’t gang up on mom/dad!”

Kissy picked up Poppy and began to fight back Doey.

Doey: “They started it!”

Dogday: “Don’t worry, Doey! We’ll help you! Critters, attack!”

You all spend to the snow day fighting in a snowy battle. Poppy was leading your team to attack Doey and the critters. Yarnaby couldn’t throw snowball, so he ran to the other team, jumping in the snow as a way to attack. You couldn’t think of a better way to spend a snow day.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️I hope you all enjoyed this story. School is starting to stress me out and I’m getting tired, but I will get to your request. See you next time <3.

[loonyloopylupin96]

Prompt: Snow | @moonwater-microfic | Words: 839

As they broke apart from a fleeting hug, Remus felt a warmth inside him that really had nothing to do with the many layers he was wearing. He felt so loved, so enraptured, so- taken aback by the sudden look of disgust on Regulus' face.

"What's wrong?" He asked, brow furrowing as a dozen fears circled through his mind - each more worrisome than the last.

"You've got-" Regulus appeared to pause, and cleared his throat. "Dandruff."

He felt his eyes widen in response. Needless to say, that hadn't made it onto Remus' list of things to worry about. Heck, he'd washed his hair that very morning.

Remus removed a glove from his hand, and ran his fingers through his hair. When he surveyed his palm, his skin was damp and glistening.

"That's just snow," he said with a small laugh, fixing his gaze back on Regulus.

Regulus' expression remained uncertain. "Snow?"

"Yeah…" he replied slowly, "The white stuff that falls from the sky-"

"I know what snow is," he grumbled, frowning petulantly. Regulus hated being made to feel like a fool, but Remus hadn't been able to help himself.

"Are you sure?" Remus asked in return, no longer laughing. The trace of a smile still adorned his face, but it had given way to a look of intrigue. "Have you seen it before?"

Regulus paused, and Remus suspected he was waiting to figure out if Remus was making fun of him again, before he shook his head. "I mean, I've seen it on the ground after waking up. Or when it's turned to ice. But never… nothing like- Hey, what are you doing?" He was distracted by Remus suddenly grasping his hand and pulling him in the direction of the main entrance. "Remus, stop. Get off me, someone's going to see-"

Remus obliged, letting go of his hand once he was sure Regulus was still following him at pace, and the pair stopped only once they were both outside. A fresh layer of snow coated the ground, where students had walked only minutes before - a testament to how fast the snow was falling.

Looking out, Regulus couldn't see too far in front of him for the snow was coming down so suddenly, and yet he couldn't really feel it hitting him though he was sure it must be. Everything around him, except for the whomping willow which stood out in quite a contrast, was sheathed in white.

Remus, who would have been appreciating the snow too on just about any other occasion, watched the wonder and awe on Regulus' face; his heart leapt at the gentle 'O' Regulus' lips made as he looked about him in surprise.

"It's marvellous," he said, quietly, though Remus heard him quite clearly.

"It's-" but whatever else it was, Regulus didn't get to find out. A ball of snow had hit Remus squarely in the face.

"Gotcha!" a familiar voice cheered, followed by Sirius' unmistakable cry of 'nice one, James'.

"I guess I should be going," Regulus said, watching as his brother and James shared a high five before bending over to collect more snow.

"Don't be daft," Remus disputed, once he was done shaking the snow off himself. "Here-" he threw what little snow he'd managed to collect, at Regulus. "You've got to be on my team - you can't leave me now! Come on. Your brother won't know what hit him."

"Well,  I suspect it'll be snow-" Regulus disputed dryly, but he allowed himself to be led away from the main door and into the midst of what appeared to be a very intense snowball fight.

Two hours later, they, along with the other students who'd been involved, were laughing as they made their way back towards the castle. Regulus' hair, soaked, clung to the sides of his face and his hands were pink with cold. His wet gloves sat defeated in one of Remus' pockets.

"So, your first snowfall - and snowball fight - at Hogwarts. Did you have fun?" Remus asked him kindly.

"I did," he agreed, drawing to a stop once the castle doors came into view. "Thank you," he said, leaning towards Remus. Their cold lips met, though not before they'd both shivered as cold noses met flushed cheeks.

As they pulled away, Regulus gaze fell upon something over Remus' shoulder.

"What's-" But he didn't get to ask. A ball of snow hit Remus squarely on the back of the head.

"And that," Sirius' approaching voice proclaimed as he threw an arm over Remus and Regulus' respective shoulders and began walking them forwards, "Is for defiling my brother where I can see."

"I'll be sure to take him into an empty classroom next time," Remus retorted under his breath.

Sirius', who apparently chose now to hear Remus mumbling to himself clearly, looked positively scandalised. It was mirrored by Regulus' look of horror.

Needless to say, Remus could expect to be reprimanded by both brothers before the day was out.

At least they'd had a memorable day.

[kroommii]

If I Say I Love You

characters: Xavier x y/n genre: fluff

It all began last year’s Winter-Fest. It was yet the biggest celebration Xavier had ever seen and of course he would be helping his town to make it successful. The preparation was grueling, stressful with many revisions and re-checks but it was all worth it. Because of the preparation, the town’s income from the Winter-Fest would double last year’s according to the town’s treasurer and that’s great news to Xavier and the townsfolk.

Winter-Fest is a week-long celebration so the townsfolk would take turns in supervising the celebration, especially the town’s snowball field which is an absolute warzone. Tourists and townsfolk alike take part in the exhilarating snowball fight, where nobody is an ally and everyone’s open to fire. On this particular day, Xavier got the short end of the stick and was in charge of keeping the area injury-free.

Amidst the chaos of flying snowballs (and getting hit with some snowball himself), his attention falls onto a particular person. A young woman around his age, with mesmerizing eyes and flawless beauty. Instantly his attention zeroed in on you. It was like his mind was pulled towards you, ridding anything unimportant (everything but you) and filling his brain with you, you, you.

In that moment, he couldn’t feel anything but his beating heart, his fogging breath and your soft voice. Your cheerful face, the bounce on your step as you evade and run away from your friends who were throwing snowballs at you. Your bright laughter as you yourself throw snowballs at them. It was a scene he had seen countless times, but it just felt different when he saw you doing those gestures. It looks like a scene straight out of a fairy tale. A tale in which an angel from heaven (you) went down to earth and graced him with your ethereal presence.

He was so mesmerised that he didn’t pay attention to his surroundings when a ‘thud’ hit his face right on his cheek and it instantly froze him and brought him back from cloud nine.

“Hey bunny boy! Whatcha thinkin about that got you so out of it, huh?” Grandpa Howard’s voice shouted some meter away from him. He was probably the one who threw the snowball towards him.

“Oh Howard, don’t bother the poor boy. He’s already worked enough to be handling your noisy nose!” Grandma Julie, Grandpa Howard’s wife scolds him. “Xavier, darling, don’t pay him any attention. I’m sure you’ve had a hard time with us oldies, why don’t you go have some fun yourself, we’ll watch the crowd for you.”

Grandma Julie is always so kind to the youngsters around her. Xavier smiles, “No need Grandma Julie. I was just a bit distracted. I can go have fun later. Now, why don’t you and Grandpa Howard have fun? I see the others are waiting for you,” Xavier points out to the other seniors who’re looking at them.

“Oh such a sweet boy you are. Good luck on your job and don’t hesitate to tell us when you’re tired of it, don’t want you going down on us now would we, Howard?” Grandma Julie nudges Grandpa Howard.

“Sure, sure. Keep up the good work bunny boy!” He hollered to Xavier.

Watching the couple go back to their friends, Xavier had momentarily forgotten about you, the girl he fell head over heels with. Whipping around his face, his eyes frantically search for your figure. Alas, you have gone away, presumably with your friends, to continue your busy agenda in Winter-Fest. Xavier could only sigh as he already misses you, his eyes dropping and the cheer that was in his face diminished just a tad bit. He guessed he could see you more in the following days of Winter-Fest. It wasn’t a big town and it was just the second day of the celebration, you two would definitely meet again.

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

Except you didn’t.

Somehow, in the small area of Xavier’s town, he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of you at all. It didn’t make sense to him. In what chance would the world have for you two to not meet again for the rest of the week? Xavier already visited each stand everyday, loitering around the town when he’s not on duty and yet he still didn’t see even a strand of your hair. It was truly a slap from reality for Xavier. He knew you were not from around here (he had some info gathering) and you could leave any day, but when it was the end of the week and he hadn't met you at all, it really felt like a wake up call to him who wished too much (you).

Now, under the spring sky and the spring breeze dancin around his face, he couldn’t help but be gloomy about the circumstances of his love life. His hands unmotivated arranged the season’s flower into a pretty arrangement, but not as pretty as he would usually do. Usually, all the stems would be cut to a precision and the leaves are systematically cut and presented, but now the stems are cut neatly, not as precise and the leaves are more free and wild than what he usually presented. He was on a new low energy no doubt.

“If you’re keeping that up better for you to mess around in the garden rather than the station,” A warm voice and hand took the arrangement from his hands and distanced it from him.

“Ah… Jeremiah, welcome to the shop,” Xavier answered with the most bored voice ever.

“Seriously, what is wrong with you right now?” He nudges Xavier’s forehead with his index finger, causing Xavier to stumble back a bit. “You’ve been off since the Winter-Fest. Any news I’m supposed to hear about?”

Xavier huffs, “No. No news you need to be aware of.”

“Cut the crap. You’re clearly down from something and it’s dragging your performance down too. I need my assistant to be in tip top shape, so speak up, what got your heart all tangled up?” Jeremiah impatiently claps his hand and busy it with another arrangement.

Xavier huffs again and rests his arm on the counter to hold his head. He really doesn't want to share his little heartbreak-crush with his boss. Sure Jeremiah is his friend but he’s his boss right now and it makes him feel very weird about sharing his love life with his boss.

“You know I’ll wait here all day if you don’t spit it out soon. The sooner the better xavi. Also I’m sure you’re just itching to arrange another bouquet, don’t think I don’t see your hand playing with the scissor.” Jeremiah chipped in while focusing on his own arrangement.

“Fineeeee. I’ll tell you about my little thing, but just so you know it’s really weird to be talking about it with your boss.”

“Nothing’s weird. I’m your friend first and foremost. Being your boss is just a bonus so I can tell you to do things I don’t want to,” He smiles.

Xavier could only groan to the confession of his friend-boss. Still, he couldn’t hide the smile blooming on his face. His fondness for his friend-boss Jeremiah. A friend who had been there since they were little boys and a caring boss who teaches him everything he needs to know.

“If you’re really that curious, I just saw this pretty girl last Winter-Fest and couldn’t even introduce myself to her.”

And with that, the snipping that was rhythmic from Jeremiah stops. A couple of seconds later he chipped in, “So… you met a pretty girl and didn’t introduce yourself?” He said confused.

“No, no, no, it’s worse,” Xavier now fully hides his head behind his arms. “I just saw her. Didn’t even interact with her at all!”

While Xavier is lamenting his poor love life, Jeremiah was stifling a laughter behind the big flowers he’s arranging.

“Are you seriously laughing right now? I am heartbroken here. I couldn’t speak to the love of my life! It’s tragic Jeremiah! Not comedic!”

Jeremiah laughs more louder. “It’s just- it’s just so stupid!” He turned his head down, having trouble with containing his laughter. “You just saw her and didn’t say anything?”

“It’s not that I didn’t say anything. I saw her while I was on duty and before I could talk to her I was handling something and the next thing I know I couldn’t find her at all over Winter-Fest!” Xavier is now more animated than before, feeling strangely offended at Jeremiah laughing at his predicament.

“Oh, my man. You are a comedic genius, truly.” Jeremiah patted Xavier’s shoulder after calming himself down which was returned with a glare.

“Sure you weren’t able to talk to her then and couldn’t find her for the rest of the week, but you are really falling hard for this mysterious pretty girl aren’t you.”

“She is the love of my life, you don’t understand. She’s not from here and the only reason she was here was because her friend who was interested in Winter-Fest. She’s from the big city and there’s just no guarantee I would ever see her again in my entire life! It was a one in a million chance and I let it go.” he sulked.

Jeremiah groaned, “You can’t be serious Xav. You met her, what? One time and suddenly you’re soulmates? Honestly I thought you were more logical than romantic.”

“But she is my soulmate! I’m telling you, I have to find her again or I will never be able to live with myself ever again!”

“Then find her.”

The sudden statement snapped Xavier up from his rant. He looked at Jeremiah with big eyes and a confused look. “I will go to the city to find her?”

“No you dumbass,” Jeremiah sighed, hands itching to pinch the boy’s cheek. “She was here for the Winter-Fest right? Then wait until it’s Winter-Fest again and then try to find her.”

“But what if she’s not coming!? Again, she’s not from here and the only reason she was here was because of her friend.”

“Then hope she comes again.” Jeremiah concluded, before looking at Xavier. “Look Xavi, I’m really glad you finally have a crush, but it can’t derail you from your life. How about this, next Winter-Fest you won’t be a staff member? You’ll be a normal person enjoying the Winter-Fest just like her. That way, you can try to find her for a full week without any interruption, that good?”

Xavier stares at Jeremiah with hopeful eyes, “You promise that? But what about the labour? I know you can’t handle them all, even with the elders' help.”

Then, Jeremiah flashed a smirk, “That’s what the kids are for. I’ve been waiting for a chance to work them out. They’re too energetic for their own good. I mean, they were destroying all of my flowers all year round! Don’t think they can get away scot free from me.”

With that, Xavier relaxed his stance, his mind no longer running a thousand miles per hour. He can finally think clearly with the crashness of Jeremiah and he finally doesn’t feel like he’s running out of time to find you. “Thank you Jeremiah, you’re a real good friend.”

“That I am,” Jeremiah nodded. “But now, we have a shop to run, orders to process, and flowers to trim, so get your game in loverboy before I take back my words.”

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

Days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months. Within a blink of an eye, it’s once again Winter-Fest and the town is flocked with visitors from the pasts and new ones.

All the time away from you had given Xavier all kinds of ideas in his mind on how to approach you when you meet again. From flower arranging to making a full on song, Xavier had done it all. However, it was never the perfect gift from his perspective. You were his one in a million and he wouldn’t be content with giving you such normal gifts when you finally come back to him. The song he made was the best he could think of giving you and although he put a lot of time and all his efforts into it, he put it as plan b if he doesn’t come up with a better idea.

With Winter-Fest around the corner, he had no more time to think and he already ran out of ideas. Pacing around the shop, he brainstorms for another ten minute before Jeremiah shooing him out of the store. In his words, ‘Better be out there to see her than miss her in here. I do not need a year of your heartbreak’.

Amidst the white and blue hues of the snow, Jeremiah’s flower shop stands out with vibrant colourful flowers lining the front. Purple, yellow and pink are dominant as they are the freshest flowers in season. He gently cradles the flower heads, feeling their soft cold petals on his fingertips, caressing them as his mind was taken off from the anxiety of an imperfect first meeting.

Thud, a snowball came for Xavier’s head before crumbling onto his coat. He turned his head onto the source and found kids, teenagers, and adults playing in the snow field, specifically the ‘war area’. Every year the town would dedicate an area for snowball fights where all kinds of covers — battalions and base — are available. Xavier skimmed over the faces present in the field, all faces of joy. Some smiling, some grinning, some laughing maniacally as they hit another person right on their face, and some grimacing at the impact of the cleverly thrown snowball. Snowball fight might just be the most distinct part

“Hey you idiots! Don’t throw the snowballs here dammit! Stay in the war area for that!” Jeremiah’s booming voice called out to the kids in the war area who had thrown the snowball towards Xavier. His shouts were met with giggling from kids and some apologies from their guardians.

Reaching for the yellow flower that he was holding, he poked Jeremiah, “Hey, can I get some of these flowers.”

“Huh? Well you can buy it, sure.”

“How much do i need to be able to win a girl?”

“That,, why the hell are you asking me that???”

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

It took Xavier a couple of tries but thankfully he managed to do it before all his flowers were used. Xavier holds in his hands three snowballs that are just bigger than your normal ones. He sits on a bench away from the hectic festival life with discarded flower stems scattered around him on the bench. Also around him are crumbling snowballs and half made snowballs with a ruined yellow flower in them. He stares sadly at the ruined flower-snowball before gathering them to throw to the side of the road.

Now, the only thing he needs to do is to find you. His perfect gifts for the perfect first encounter is already in his hands, cradled carefully from the roughness of the world. He began his walk slowly to a more crowded area while also carefully maintaining his distance from other people in favour of protecting the snowballs filled with flowers he painstakingly made.

A couple of roads and areas later, he had not found you yet. He sadly had apparently lost one of the special snowballs when someone bumped into him and made him drop one of them. He started to think that maybe his thinking was just a delusion. You were an uptown girl, you went here once, why would you come here again. His spirits are truly in the down low now. He drags his feet as he circles around the war area, trying his best keeping his snowballs safe.

Just as he is ready to let you go and discard the special snowballs, he heard it. Your laughter, your voice, your magical spirit that just lights him up in an instant. He can see you now, more clearly than before thanks to your bright voice. There you are, standing in the war area, laughing while dodging snowballs and creating your own snowballs from the abundant snow around the area. You who are so happy throwing snowballs at each other with what he assumes are your friends, unaware of the boy who had yearned for her for the last year.

In an instant, without any thinking, he steps into the war area. His body doing its own thinking, moving his legs faster than he would normally, running through the area in hopes to get to you. His senses were like on fire, suddenly aware of everything around him, the coldness of the winter wind hitting his face, the soft snow under his boots slowly sinking under his weights, the whizzing air that follows after a snowball is thrown. His two hands tried their best at keeping the special snowballs intact.

Suddenly, he moves like a track and field athlete, cleverly dodging snowballs, leaping over fallen kids and makeshift barriers, ducking over an outstretched arm that is reaching or blocking a snowball from hitting their body. In the end, he is breathless, realising he doesn’t usually do much cardio while working in the flower shop. He is painfully aware of how pathetic he looks, hair and clothes messy because of his recklessness in crossing over the war zone, his hands that are now just holding one of his special snowball, the other one had been lost somewhere when he was rushing over, his erratic breaths trying to get oxygen in his lungs.

You now notice him, Xavier standing at arms-length from you. Your eyes wash over him like a blessing, lifting him spirits the more you see him. He knows this is far from the perfect first encounter he imagined but at this point he will take anything the world (you) will give him. Slowly, his hands stretch to show you the snowball. He slowly and carefully nudged the snow little by little until the petals of the yellow petal peek over the snow it was buried over. The yellow is like a splash of colour before the monochromatic cold tone around him. He smiles and your hand goes to receive the flower.

He opens his mouth to introduce himself…

[end.]

[hoonvrs]

‘TIS THE SEASONS

PAIRING enha × gnr

DESC. how you’d spend christmas with enha

GENRE est. relationship, fluff

WARNING swearing, play fighting

W. COUNT 0.8k

S. NOTES falalalalaaaalalalalaa

LEE HEESEUNG

( ice skating )

people often forget how good hee is good at ice skating with a professional ice skater in his group

but when he found out you were okay at best, insisted you had to go together 

i think he’d prefer to be holding hands skating together instead of teaching you from square one

would feel his heart fluttering from seeing you so happy on the ice

insists on holding your hand ‘just in case’

does it so he can have you close the whole time

regrets it instantly when you slip and pull him down with you

somehow still finds it romantic that you both now have matching bruises 

PARK JONGSEONG

( cuddling/hot chocolate galore )

as much as he loves cooking, he’d prefer to order in on christmas 

but of course, that doesn’t mean he’s not in the kitchen at all

saw a tiktok of different hot chocolate recipes and got hooked

convinced you that you guys needed to try them all for your movie date

got a different hot chocolate to have with a different movie

tried to theme it but tried too hard and messed up the designs 

best hot chocolate of your life but best believe you could barely finish the fourth one

anything to make jay happy, and he repaid by cuddling under heaps of blankets the whole night

SIM JAEYUN

( baking/decorating gingerbread )

jake doesn’t have a single baking bone in his body

don’t know what possessed him to think he could make gingerbread from scratch

gingerbread tastes like ass, good thing you already bought ready-made dough

everything becomes a competition between you two and this was no exception

challenged who can make the best gingerbread men and house

by the end, you have jellies, sprinkles, and other sweets all over the floor and table

somehow also ends up on the christmas tree???

turns out jake also can’t decorate so his house looked like a hot mess that you keep for display on the mantle next to yours

PARK SUNGHOON

( christmas market date )

begged you to go to the market on charismas day

both wearing your biggest scarves and fluffiest gloves cause its cold as fuck outside

practically dragged you the second he saw a churro stand

refuses to leave until you both tried nearly all the stands

walks along the river with a steaming hot drink in your hands

stay to admire the lights 

would put your hands in his pockets if you say you’re cold

refuses to let you spend a single penny cause he’s the best boyfriend ever

KIM SUNWOO

( cooking together )

sunoo has always wanted to cook with his s/o finding the intimacy cute

what better occasion than a christmas dinner

gets recipes and a few practice classes from his jay hyung a few days before so he’s prepared for you

you walk in on all the ingredients and bowls laid out with a smiley sunoo in the middle

could never refuse him anything when he asked to cook together so cutely 

went in overestimating both of your cooking abilities in making two dishes never mind five

three hours later you finally have your meal ready

actually wasn’t bad, so worth it seeing how proud he was renouncing himself as ‘enhypens new cook’ but don’t tell jay

YANG JUNGWON

( playing/fighting in the snow )

your date with jungwon didn’t mean to end in the snow

started when you threw a snowball at him after your little restaurant date

as much as he loves you, he also loves winning

thus, commencing the biggest snow fight of your life

talking rapid fire shots -- no survivors 

would stop when he hits you in the face by accident and goes to check up on you

worried thinking he hurt you until you flip last second and throw one back square in the face

ends with you guys making snow angels before going home both cold and wet

NISHIMURA RIKI

( tree decorating )

you almost had an aneurism when you saw the tree was still bare and it was already the 25th

screw all your plans’ you guys were going to decorate the tree instead

take a little trip to the closest shop to get a few missing decorations

can’t do anything with your boyfriend without a few playful arguments

ends with the tree having three different tinsel colours that clash cause neither of you would back down

every other bulb was a printed meme because riki doesn’t believe in separating decoration and humour

of course, lifts you up by the waist to put the star on the top because you’re his star

perm taglist @mesopret @whoschr ​@haknom @shinsou-rii @redm4ri @lacimolela @llama-lyna @boyfhee @lazysmushi @flwoie @kocokookie @kyexvly @seongclb @dammit-jjk @flwrshee @produmads ​@teddywonss @aleiouvre @dneltrise @aleiouvre @nyxvrse @yohanabanana @whois-alexis @tinyegg @sserafimez @satsuri3su @yuemvi @chirokookie @idk-tbh777 @s00buwu @ynsvnte @isawritesss

[cntoesussie]

Mercs in the snow (team snowfort 2)

Scout:

goes out in shorts

regrets everything

comes back within 5 seconds

cries when he finds out there's no hot cocoa

Soldier:

my guy's making a snowman

then 2

then 5

then 50

and then a snow raccoon

despite his destructive nature, he's really good at building snowpeople

oh and now he's killing them all

except for the raccoon

Pyro

does not like the snow

water is their only weakness

stays inside and watches with a camera

they're uploading it to youtube

Demoman:

left a couple bottles outside last night for this very occasion

making snowmen with Soldier except they get progressively worse because he's drinking the snow scrumpy

passes out in the snow

wAIT HE'S GONNA FREEZE-

they almost forget about him and bring him back inside nearly 30 minutes after they first went in

Heavy:

nothing special to him

he does what needs to be done (like shoveling the driveway)

but SOMEONE does the unthinkable and hits him with a snowball

oh man they messed up

he's going to pelt them with snowballs relentlessly

Engineer:

building the best snow fort known to man

hehe team snowfort 2

it has all the works (including heating somehow)

he's drinking hot cocoa in there and chilling

when Scout finds out he's gonna be pissed

Medic:

testing how long he can survive in the snow with nothing but long undies on him

he finds out that it's not very long

goes into the team snowfort 2 with Engie to warm up and think about his life decisions

Sniper:

he's not used to snow being in the early months of the year

so this is odd to him

he's been hitting people with snow from afar

he's literally jamming one of his low-quality rifles with snow and shooting people with it

god bless

Spy:

he somehow disguised himself as a snowball and threw himself at Heavy

After getting absolutely decimated, he decided to grab an icicle and sneak into team snowfort 2

1 dead (Spy)

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

I’m highly curious to see what everyone's reaction to seeing snow and or playing with it is like. Snow ball fights, building snow man, drinking hot coco, etc.

Sorry for taking so long to respond! Anyways, here's how all the rescued toys would react to seeing snow for the first time:

First things first! They're rescued when it's still autumn, so when snow arrives, Angel is still living with them on the small house, and not the future farm.

Catnap and Dogday were talking outside the house, during the early hours of the night, when they noticed something white falling from the sky. They were really young when they last saw snow, so they both panicked and called Angel. They came outside, holding Bunzo, and said "oh, it's the first snow of the year".

Almost all the toys tried to eat snow at first before Angel asked them to NOT do that. They watched as everyone went outside to see it.

Bunzo was fascinated. Jumping non-stop while pointing at it and going "it's raining white!". Delight explained to him what that was, but she was very distracted staring at the skies as well.

In a way, this was a sign of hope and real change for the kids, just like experiencing rain for the first time was. Delight cried a bit as the realness of the situation sunk in.

The following day, Angel took the toys outside. And, oooh, boy.

Bunzo, the mini wuggies and critters, Huggy, PJ and Boxy Boo were screaming and jumping non-stop. Other smaller toys joined them, rolling in the snow in excitement.

Dogday likes digging snow. He thinks it's relaxing, despite Kickin annoying him about it. And speaking of which, Kickin was still on his "I'm not going to show any feelings" phase, so he tried to pretend he wasn't mesmerized by the snow.

Bubba and Delight were looking at snowflakes to see if they really weren't equal to each other. Marie and Kickin ended up joining them out of curiosity.

Catnap spent some time trying to make sense of the snow, until Angel showed him how to build a snowman. Picky, Bobby and Crafty joined them, making little snow sculptures.

Poppy never actually liked snow all that much, but at this point in time she's absolutely thriving. REALLY wants to go ice skating as soon as possible, but for now she's making snow angels... And then decides to get Kissy to hit Huggy with a snowball.

Hoppy, who was watching over the younger ones, immediately saw this and, as the responsible one, threw a snowball at Poppy. The situation became an all-out war between everyone, with Hoppy being the main culprit into getting others to join them.

Somehow, no one could defeat Angel. Truly a king.

After that, Angel made everyone hot cocoa. They do NOT like the cold, mind you, but the kids seem so happy, they can't complain.

The following year, when everyone is at the farmhouse and it starts snowing, they keep on making family-wide snowball fights. No one is safe from Hoppy and Kickin. Except Angel because, again, they're pretty good at dodging things, and Long Legs, girl is a MONSTER, but outside of her NO ONE is safe.

Dogday helps Angel a lot to make sure the house is protected from the cold, but then Kickin and Hoppy drag him away so he can have "fun".

(he has so much fun hiding things in the snow for others to find)

The Prototype is also there by that point. He's indifferent to the cold, but he likes making snow sculptures. As time goes by and his relationship with the family gets better, he ends up joining the snowball fights. He always ends up on the floor while everyone swarms him.

Angel ALWAYS forces everyone to wear way more jackets than what they need. They may be from Brazil's south region but they do not TOLERATE snow-level temperatures. Unfortunately this means that two/three years post-rescue, the Prototype becomes Angel go-to guy when everyone is outside because he's surprisingly warm on his fleshy area. Angel just stays next to him trembling and is like "God I fucking hate this weather", and Proto is just "then go inside...?", only for Angel to eye him. They are NOT missing the chance to see the kids happy, okay?

[joels-shitty-puns]

Melt With You

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Reader

Summary: Based on this request! "Just a soft and romantic winter night besides the fireplace with kisses and long talks..."

Warnings: Fluff, kisses, cursing.

Word count: 1k

_____

You climbed into the passenger seat of Pedro's car, throwing the shopping bags in the back seat with a groan. Pedro turned the key in the ignition and immediately you clicked the AC on full blast, only to be met with hot air. “UGHHHH,” you grumbled angrily. “WHY IS IT SO FUCKING HOT!?!” You clipped your seatbelt in a rage.

The two of you had just gone holiday shopping in the middle of December, not that you could tell based on the weather. If someone didn't know the date, they'd think it was June. The midday heat was baking your skin, the thermometer in your boyfriend’s car reading 80° Fahrenheit. California had some exceptional views and often nice weather, making for some great beach days... But when it's December and all you hear on the radio are songs like “Let it Snow” and “Winter Wonderland,” it was hard to feel wintery when the outside didn't reflect that at all.

“I know, baby. It doesn't really feel like the holidays when we're out here melting,” he settled his hand on your thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze.

The air conditioning had finally started to cool, along with your anger, and you gave a sigh. “I just want to sit by a fire with you and watch the snow fall outside the window,” you leaned your face into your palm, resting against the window. “It just doesn't really feel like the holidays right now.” Pedro turned his face away from the road to look at you briefly, reaching to take your other hand from your lap.

“Baby, I have an idea,” he answered you, kissing your knuckles.

_____

Two days later, you were packing a bag full of warm clothes, getting ready for a cozy weekend away in the California mountains. The drive was a couple hours long, but you were so excited to spend a relaxing weekend away with Pedro that you couldn't stop smiling. The radio buzzed away, playing holiday music, and before long, the station lost service through the mountain road.

“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening..” Pedro began, singing just above hearing volume into the now silent car.

“In the lane, snow is glistening…” you smiled at him, singing the next response.

“A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight,” he squeezed your hand, “Walkin' in a winter wonderland,” you harmonized.

Finally the two of you reached the house, a quaint little cabin off the main road, next to the forest. It was surrounded by thick pine trees freshly dusted with snow, and the flakes were starting to come down heavier now. Your grin spread across your face as you jumped out of the car like a child at the playground and instantly scooped up a snowball.

SMACK, you hit Pedro on his back with the fluffy ball, watching it explode into a mess of frost on his shirt. Pedro, who was unloading the bags from the trunk, turned in offense. “You did not just throw a snowball at me when I'm pulling your suitcase out of the trunk,” he laughed, immediately reaching down to scoop one up in defense. “And in the back, no less!” He threw the snowball directly at your chest, with a thump. “Like a coward,” he smirked, throwing a second snowball he had formed at the same time as the first.

You gasped in shock, “oh now you're gonna GET IT!!!” You quickly bent down to create another frosty weapon, but when you looked up, he had started to run away through the snow.

“And I'm the coward!?” You bellowed, your voice echoing through the mountain air.

You began to toss another ball, but before the perfectly aimed shot hit him again, he dove to the side in the snow, dodging it narrowly and hiding behind a tree trunk.

He let out an evil cackle. “Good luck getting me now, baby!” You saw him peek around the tree before bending down to scoop some ammo.

While he wasn't looking, you snuck closer, hiding behind a shed and running around to the other side for a sneak attack.

“Babe? Where'd you go?” Pedro asked loudly.

Jumping out from your hiding place, you charged him, throwing four snowballs at him, one after the other.

He screamed, snow in his mouth, his hair, his shirt, his pants. 

“You DEVIL!” He laughed before jumping up and chasing after you, tackling you into the fluffy powder below.

The snow at your back was freezing through your coat and pants, but with his warm body on top, pressed into you, you felt nice and toasty. It quickly lit a fire into you, and you pulled the collar of his thick jacket down towards you, pulling him into a deep kiss. 

“I love you,” you smiled, breaking the kiss.

“I love you too, sweetheart.” He pecked your lips gently. “Even if you do play dirty.”

“It's not my fault you suck at snowball wars,” you grinned, your teeth beginning to chatter as the snow seeped through your clothing.

“Let's go inside,” he rolled over, grabbing your arm and pulling you up with him.

You walked into the cabin, taking off your wet clothes and quickly changing into some sweats and a hoodie.

Pedro changed as well, throwing on a flannel and gray sweatpants. You stared, eyeing him from head to toe as he grabbed some logs and a lighter before starting a fire. The fireplace was next to the plush loveseat, a fluffy rug on the floor in front of it. The chimney was made of gray rock and was easily one of the most gorgeous fireplaces you had ever seen. With the fire finally roaring, you sat on the couch, grabbing a large, thick blanket. Pedro settled in beside you, leaning back and pulling you into his chest before tucking the blanket gently around your bodies. 

“Thank you for this,” you sighed, tilting your head back to kiss his lips before leaning against his shoulders.

“I needed this too,” he replied with a smile, wrapping his arms around your body. 

With the fire crackling a few feet away and your boyfriend snuggled tightly against you, you felt your temperature warming. But unlike the other day, this heat felt right. The two of you chatted and cuddled, kisses sprinkled throughout, before eventually falling asleep in each other's arms.

[volturiprincess]

Day 12: Twelve Drummers Drumming

Alec Volturi x fem vamp reader

Warnings: Angst no comfort, a little hallucination

Word Count: 1654

(Moodboard here)

Christmas was my most anticipated time of the year, the queens and I would try to add some festivity into the castle by some simple decor. The masters along with the queens would walk around the snowy grounds on Christmas morning while Felix and I threw endless snowballs at each other like children. It was that simple for centuries, but even in that time I yearned for a companion. Sure Felix is a great friend who makes this immortal life enjoyable but yet when I see the queens with their respective partners, I wish I could have that. And so when I finally did find my mate, my life took a turn in the wrong direction. Things at first were fine, I gave him his space, not wanting to overwhelm him with this bond since at the time he was a newborn. 

I told him if he ever needed help controlling his thirst or if his sister needed anything I would gladly be of assistance to him. But he never came to me, he only went to Felix but Jane did come to me. We bonded quite nicely, even if she was hesitant I gave her space and time as I did with her brother. As that much anticipated time came around, Jane joined me and the queens in decorating the castle. And once again I felt a little more joyful than usual thinking this would be my first Christmas with my mate, I had a plan planned out already. I would ask him if he would like to take a walk with me in the Gardens to enjoy the snow, that would give us an opportunity to get to know one another and maybe build up our bond. 

But oh was I so naive to think it would be that simple. As I made my way around the castle to find Alec, I spotted him by the doors that lead outside with Felix. They were talking as they usually do, Alec’s back was facing me while Felix was leaning against the open door. I was about to approach them when I heard Alec’s voice

“Are mates really a grand thing?”

Felix answered immediately. “They are, your mate is your everything, your reason for being, your better half you can say also. Without them you will always feel like you can never feel complete.”

“So how come you don't have one, shouldn't you be searching for them unless you already found them”

Felix this time smiled sheepishly. “Well you see mates don't just appear out of the blue, well in y/n case it kind of did since we would never suspect you and her would be mates”

Alec’s next words stung a bit. “Please don't say that, I'm not her mate, whatever Master Marcus has said is not true, I don't even feel anything towards her”

Felix's gaze turned hard after Alec’s words but when he met my gaze his eyes widened. I turned away quickly and vanished, I could never have others see me in such a vulnerable state. After that day, which marked December 25, right on Christmas day, I hardly left my chambers. That whole winter I never stepped foot outside, I had no motivation or desire to go out there. I would only be hit with the delusion I could have had with Alec. 

Time went by and today marks exactly a year since that day. Today is Christmas, yet I feel like it's any other day. I didn't help the queens or Jane this year to decorate, I didn't do the annual epic snowball fight with Felix. I didn't even touch my new winter cloak that Master Caius gifted me this year, it's just hanging in my closet waiting for me to put it on and run outside. This year I’m spending my time alone, away from everyone, in my chambers by the fireplace. It's the only physical warmth I get nowadays, Felix has frequently come to try to convince me to go out but my stubbornness always wins. 

Jane has also come to see me but I treat her the same as I do with Felix, everyone else has come to get me out of this gloomy aura except him. I'm not surprised though, why would he come and check on me? He himself said he does not feel anything for me. But today out of all the days this could ever happen to me, I felt something in me snap, almost like if I was physically slapped with reality. I got up and dressed myself properly, I even decided to wear the new cloak and I headed outside. I went to this lookout that oversees the ocean. I used to come here quite often until I eventually stopped coming all together.

The detailed railing was covered in icicles and a thin layer of snow, it was beautiful as always. I stood there looking over the ocean with no thoughts in mind, just the gentle feeling of the breeze hitting my face and the salty smell of the ocean meeting my nose. The sun was already setting and the stars were starting to come out to cover the sky like a blanket. It was a comforting environment, nobody was around which helped me maintain my thoughtless brain, empty. I closed my eyes as I leaned into the railing, I don't know why but my eyes started to burn in a way, was I crying? It should be impossible to do such a thing. I opened my eyes again to try to blink them away when I saw Alec standing in front of me. 

I have never had the opportunity to see him up close without him turning away the minute our eyes meet. To be able to do that now is almost like a joke. He was so dreamy, I felt as if I were in a dream, a dream that I wish could have happened that day. He studied me, as if I were a foreign thing to him, an unknown, in other words he was looking at me with uncertainty. He reached a hand to my cheek slowly, he is acting as if I were to bite his hand off. Once his hand made contact with my cheek and it just rested there I almost wanted to gasp out loud, his hand sent little shockwaves through my body, it gave me life for a moment. 

He turned back to meet my eyes again, and oh what a site, the stars were in his eyes at that moment, his burgundy eyes were so unique and beautiful. I never seen such a shade before but they suit him perfectly. He seemed so surreal, this moment here cannot be real. I must be dreaming for sure. I wanted to tell him so many things, try to salvage what can be and try to seal our bond, I still had hope. He leaned in a bit. Is he going to kiss me? Is he finally willingly accepting our bond? 

He seemed like he was about too but he mumbled a quick “I can't” and then he was gone, I was left there, still being able to feel his hand on my cheek. Still being able to feel that tingly feeling he gave me when he made contact. I wanted to break down, I wanted to scream, I wanted to rip someone's head off, I wanted to go on a rampage of subduing my thirst that had suddenly crept up on me. I…wanted to go after him and pull him into my arms and actually be wrapped in his arms like I have envisioned to happen if I ever had a mate.

I went back to my room ignoring  Felix's surprise gasp, ignoring all of the voices that were heard all around the castle, ignoring how my mind started to be clouded with the worst of thoughts to mankind, ignoring the feeling of heartbreak. I was right back to the beginning, back in my room with the cloak discarded somewhere in my room, my shoes were off before I could even take three steps into my room, my hair was once again a mess, my dress was ripped off so I was left in my white slit. I went to my floor length window to be met with my reflection, my mess of a reflection, a being who used to feel so much joy and had high hopes for their immortal life was gone.

I blinked once and the reflection changed. Instead of me it was Alec, but his clothes were different. He was dressed quite elegantly, he looked like a prince from those books I used to read with the queens. I reached a hand out to the window while he mimicked my movement, our hands finally touching, it looked like my hand could fit perfectly into his. I met his gaze as he was already looking at me, this time he was not starting with confusion, no he was looking at me with..love, his face was soft and relaxed. A small smile was starting to form on his handsome face as I myself felt one spreading onto mine.

I wanted to intertwine my hand with his when I am met with my hands clawing glass, I am met with reality. I remember this is not real, I remember he's not actually there, i remember he's no prince charming, I remember that I have a power to create illusions, I remembered I used my own ability just now to create a reality I so desperately want, I remembered that my own mate does not want me and he turned away from me again. I remembered that my last Christmas was the one where my perspective on mates changed, not all mates want theirs or accepted them gladly. 

[sorinethemastermind]

Fluffcember 2024: Snow Man | Rayllum & Sorvus Callum is determined to ask Rayla to be his girlfriend this Winter Break. But if he can't even start a fire, how is he supposed to create the perfect moment? Soren has decided to stay on campus this Christmas, but with Rayla and Callum as his only company, he's starting to feel like a third wheel. Except maybe it's not just the three of them left on campus after all...

 "Callum!" 

 "Mmf- What?" Callum rolled over, pulling the pillow onto his face. Wasn't the whole point of Winter Break that you didn't have to get up first thing in the morning? That you could take a break?

 "Callum! It's snowing!" Soren called through the door, banging on it with his fist.

 "So?"

 "So your girlfriend is standing outside with snow in her hair, waiting for you!"

 Callum tumbled out of his bed, hitting the floor hard, legs still tangled in his blanket.

 "I'll be right out!" he shouted. "Also, she's not my girlfriend!"

 Yet, he added.

 "Yeah, sure, whatever. We're going to go make snowmen!" Soren called, voice already receding down the hall.

 Callum hurriedly pulled on some clothes and threw on a jacket. He was halfway down the hall when he realized he hadn't brushed his teeth, swiveled, and bolted back the way he'd come. Catching sight of himself in the mirror, he decided to grab a hat and scarf on his way back out the door.

 When he stepped outside his feet sank into nearly a foot of snow, his socks soaking through instantly.

 "Oh, come on." he groaned, attempting to shake off his sneakers.

 "Callum!"

 Cold toes and wet socks forgotten, he glanced up to see Rayla standing a few feet away, beanie half fallen off her head and hair fluffy around her face. It was filled with snow, the little flecks barely lighter than her white-blond hair. He smiled at her, feeling his face warm. He knew he must have looked a fool, but couldn't care less. Not when she was so...

 The snowball hit him square in the face.

 "Aha! Gotchu!" Soren shouted victoriously, jumping up from behind a nearby hedge. Callum shook the snow out of his hair, shivering as some of it melted and ran down his neck.

 He stooped, scooping up a snowy handful of his own, and was about to retaliate when-

 "Ahh! Cold!" 

 Callum glanced up - packing the snow together even as he did - to find Rayla laughing. She'd snuck up behind Soren on those silent feet of hers and dumped a handful of snow down the back of his jacket.

 "Alright, alright." Soren shivered, taking his jacket off and shaking the snow out of it. "Truce."

 Rayla winked at Callum as she replied. "Truce."

 Callum grinned, crossing the field to stand beside them both. Rayla leaned over and whispered into his ear; "For now."

 "You know," Callum played with the snowball in his hand. "this snow would be perfect for snowmen."

 "Yes!" Rayla's eyes lit up. "Callum, that's a great idea." 

 "I propose a contest." Soren said, holding up a finger. "The best snow creation gets, uhhh, no. The loser gets pelted with snowballs!"

 "You two are going down." Rayla said, dropping to the ground. Her arms were already full of snow, and by the time Calum had chosen a spot to build his own snow creation, she had a base made.

 "How are you doing that so quickly?" he asked, packing snow as quickly as he could, hands already freezing. 

 "My Dads and I do this every year." Rayla told him. "Ethari is really good at it. I might have picked up a few tricks."

 Callum glanced at his own, thinking distinctly that he had not picked up any tricks and that he was in desperate need of them. His only consolation was that Soren's looked worse.

 "Soren, what is that?" Rayla asked, leaning around her quickly accumulating mountain of snow to peer at the strange formation taking shape in front of Soren.

 "It's a snow dragon." he told them both, continuing to pack snow onto it. It was already rather large.

 "It looks more like a snow hippo." Callum told him.

 "Well, maybe it can be that too."

 Soren sat back to survey the lump of snow (and more than a little mud) in front of him. "Hm."

 "Just accept defeat, the both of you." Rayla said, stepping back to gesture at her somehow perfect snowman. "All I'm missing are the details."

 "Mine is unique." Soren said, haughtily.

 "Uniquely awful." Rayla corrected him, and Callum chuckled.

 "You just wait." Soren said, getting up. Callum continued packing snow onto his, muttering under his breath as some of it fell away.

 How did they do that so quickly?

 "Race you to the kitchens!" Rayla shouted, taking off. Soren ran after her, leaving Callum to continue throwing snow at his oddly shaped lump of... of...

 He was making a snow hippopotamus, Callum decided. That was why it looked like that. By the time Rayla got back, he was almost done adding it’s legs.

 "Oh, Callum, that looks good!" she said, dropping back down beside her own creation. She snapped the carrot she was holding in half, sticking the different parts onto the top of it's head.

 "Thanks." he said, tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth in concentration. He just hoped it didn't freeze that way.

 Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rayla take a bottle of olives from her pocket and he paused, blinking, to sit up and watch what she was doing.

 She stuck several onto it's face, and then a few down the snowman's front. 

 "The kitchen didn't have cole for some reason." she explained.

 "Can I have a few?"

 Rayla dumped a couple of olives into his hand, the brine they were floating in cold and sticky. Calllum placed them in the eye sockets of his hipp-snow (as he'd dubbed it), then shook the sticky liquid off his hand as quickly as possible. It was already starting to freeze. Along with his hands.

 "Where's Soren? "Callum asked, standing up to survey the field. As fun as this had been, he wanted to get to the judging, pelt Soren with snowballs, and go inside to warm up. He needed his fingers for drawing.

 "He said he had to get one more thing." Rayla said, walking over to stand beside him. "Your, uh-"

 "Hipp-snow." Callum supplied.

 Rayla snorted. "Yes. Your hipp-snow looks very nice."

 "Thank you." Callum smiled at her, walking around to see the front of her creation. 

 "I really like your snowman." his eyes lingered on it's head. "What are the carrots for? Isn't it supposed to be the nose?"

 "It's a snow elf." Rayla told him, slipping her hand into his as she stood beside him. She was cold too, but somehow her touch still filled him with warmth.

 "Oh. Are those the ears?"

 "Horns." she corrected.

 "Elves don't have horns."

 "You don't know that!" Rayal said, reaching out to reposition one of them. 

 Just then Soren arrived, dragging a familiar face behind him. 

 "Oh, hey, Corvus!" Callum raised a hand in greeting. "Come to join the contest?"

 "Corvus is going to be our judge." Soren said, arms filled with carrots. He used them to lay spikes down the back of his dragon. "Since we're all gonna be biased, he offered to do it."

 "Apparently." Corvus said, looking a little lost, as though maybe offered wasn’t quite the right word. Convinced might have fit better.

 "Well, what are the judging criteria?" he asked after a moment. 

 "Originality." Soren said.

 "Craftsmanship." Rayla added.

 "Level of detail." Callum offered.

 "Alright. Well," Corvus walked in a slow loop around all of their snow creations. He stopped in front of Soren's.

 "What is this?"

 "It's a dragon." Soren told him proudly.

 "Uh huh." Corvus walked a few more paces to stop in front of Callum's. "And this?"

 "A hippo-snow."

 Corvus took a moment, then nodded. "I see. Sort of."

 He completed his second loop in front of Rayla's.

 "And this?"

 "It's a snow elf."

 "This one wins." he said, pointing at it. 

 "Yes!" Rayla punched the air. 

 "What!?" Callum and Soren both exclaimed, walking over to stare at her snowy creation.

 "It's the only one I could tell what it was." Corvus explained.

 "Elves don't have horns." Soren said, gesturing at it.

 "You don't know that. And second place..." He walked a few more paces, stopping in front of Callum's. "Is this one."

 Callum high fived Rayla, then they both began grabbing as much snow as their arms could carry.

 "Will you at least tell me why I’ve been sentenced to snowy annihilation?" Soren asked, walking up to stand beside Corvus. 

 "Originality." Corvus said with a small smile. "I'm afraid your own category beat you. It's a hipp-snow."

 The first snowball grazed Corvus' nose as he finished, and Soren ran, calling back over his shoulder.

 "I suggest you run unless you want to share my fate!”

 "Raaa!" Rayla charged past Callum, another snowball already in hand. 

 Corvus ducked out of the way, nearly falling backwards into the snow. Callum walked over and offered him a hand up.

 “How about a coffee?” he asked him.

 Corvus nodded. “Yes. That sounds good. Will he be…”

 He trailed off, and both their gazes followed Soren as he ran and hid behind a hedge, snowballs filling the air around him. Callum shrugged.

 “He’ll be fine. This is just what they’re like.”

 “Alright.” Corvus led the way to the coffee shop.

[vesperspivoine]

Hogwarts Under Snow

Pairing: Platonic!Marauders x GN!Reader

Content Warning: None

Word Count: 736

Summary: It is the first time in their life that y/n is seeing snow in their life and they, along with their friends, mess around in the snow.

It was the first year that y/n was seeing snow in their life. Y/n and their friends, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew ran down the hallways of Hogwarts to play in the snow. They were bundled up in their winter clothes; gloves, hats, scarves and such.

When they reached the entrance of the castle, everything they saw was covered in snow, white and gleaming like pearls. The trees had lost their leaves but snow hung onto their branches.

Snow was falling softly on the ground and some landed on y/n’s clothes. They marveled at the beauty of the tiny snowflakes landing gently on their clothes and evaporating from the heat of their body. They held out their hand to have some land there.

“Look at me,” Sirius said. Once everyone’s attention was on him, he stuck his tongue out to catch some snowflakes on his tongue.

Y/n laughed at Sirius’s stupid move, but when James and Peter joined in, they joined in too.

“You all are going to freeze your tongues,” Remus said.

“Joihn uhs,” y/n said, with their tongue still sticking out.

Remus sighed and after a moment, joined them.

“I chnt cach ani,” Peter complained, spinning around in place.

“Catch this,” Sirius yelled and threw a fist-full of snow at Peter, who shrieked.

Everyone scrambled from their trance of trying to catch snowflakes on their tongue.

“Bloody hell mate, there’s snow inside my clothes ‘cas of you!” Peter whined.

James snickered. He bent down and gathered some snow and shaped it into the shape of a sphere.

“Y/n!” James yelled and threw it at y/n. It struck them, square on the face. Everyone except James stared in silence as y/n wiped the snow off their face.

Y/n started at James and said, calmly, “I declare war.” They ran after James who laughed and sprinted away.

They all ran after James, who yelled that he was a one-man army and didn’t need anyone on his team.  And then he tripped. A thin layer of ice coated some places of the snow and James had run right onto it and had fallen face-first into the snow.

Y/n gasped and carefully made their way to help James up. When y/n reached him, instead of helping him up, they threw a huge snowball at him. Peter shrieked in delight and Sirius whistled. Remus helped a grumpy James up and told him, “This is what you get for messing with people, James.”

Before y/n heard James’ response, they saw Sirius on the snow besides them.

“What are you DOING Sirius,” y/n asked. Sirius gave them a wonky grin and said, “Snow angel!”

Y/n gasped as Sirius flailed his arms and legs and made a perfect snow angel. “Join me?”

Sirius asked and y/n gave a toothy smile and joined him on the snow.

Y/n laughed as James and Peter tried to bury them under the snow as ‘revenge’. Y/n shook their head and got up, leaving a messy snow angel in comparison to Sirius’ perfect one.

They played in the snow for some more time, feeling joyous. Right when they were about to go in, Remus decided to write something on the snow.

Marauders

Y/n read it and their brows furrowed. “Is that what you’re calling yourself?” they asked.

“Yep,” James said, joining them, placing a hand on y/n’s shoulder and leaning on them. “We are the marauders.”

“What are you going to raid?” “Your chocolate frogs stash, loser,” James replied. Y/n took a sharp step away from him and watched James flail his arms to regain his balance.

“I hate you,” James said in a mock anger.

“Race to the kitchen,” Sirius yelled and sprinted towards the castle.

Y/n shook their head and followed Sirius, James behind them, followed by Peter trying his best to catch up with them. Remus was walking slowly with his hands in his pockets, making sure to not trip.

After getting food, they all made their way to the common room, where they sang Christmas songs at the top of their lungs, earning glares from those studying.

With their throat raw, y/n glanced out at the early setting sun and marvelled at the beauty of Hogwarts under the snow.

Y/n sipped on some hot chocolate and watched the sun set completely, a warm fuzzy feeling inside them as they heard their friends joke and laugh around.  

They finally felt content.

[zombieefish]

oh by the way here is an excuse to write

if you want a prompt uhhhh

WINTER. SNOW. HEAVY SNOW.

hmhmhmh... this reminds me of something i wrote last year in december.. rewrite time!!

except it's not silverbrush anymore and it's a different ship.. i do like silverbrush but they'll get something else on christmas eve maybe

★ ★ ★

Snowflakes gracefully pranced around the sky, twirling with elegance as they soon hit the ground, coating the landscape in a blanket of pure white – all around was the laughter from the others who were inhabitants at Hotel OJ [or should I say Hotel HOOT? I've got no clue. ], enjoying the winter season and what it had to offer.

Fan would be bundled up in his winter coat and what not, scarf covering his face almost completely – as his glasses slowly began to fog up from where he stood.

He didn't mind the snowy weather, not at all – but the cold wasn't exactly his favourite thing in the word, that's one thing for certain. But he didn't let it ruin the mood around him, as that would be a silly thing to do.

Paintbrush would walk up to the other, giving him a brief once-over, their brow raised.

"You're all geared up, huh?" They moved to cross their arms, holding a sled under their arm while looking at the redhead, who was bound to overheat at this rate.

"Geez.. no need to point out the obvious," Fan would awkwardly reply, shuffling back and forth to gather more warmth – as he was somehow managing to freeze, despite being in so many layers.

Usually, snow was linked to the jolly holiday, known as Christmas. So, what exactly does Christmas mean for Fan?

If you asked, he'd reply with presents. Sometimes he would say Christmas carols, but it really depended on how his brain decided to work that day.

Fan would wipe his glasses, his eyes glancing down to the sled beneath his partners arm, and then back to their face – a sled, huh?

Gosh.. sledding always seemed so cool in the TV shows and movies, yet he had such little expectations for real life. They didn't have much of a hill to go down near the hotel.. and if there was one, it was mediocre at best.

"Are you going sledding?" He'd ask, peering behind them briefly – seeing a few of his friends making a snowman.

"Yeah, you wanna come? Lightbulb and Mic are tagging along, if you're interested. Think they're already at the place." Paintbrush stretched out a hand, offering it to Fan.

He didnt understand how his spouse was wearing fingerless gloves in this weather. Were they not freezing? Maybe they had warm blood, or whatever the term was nowadays.

The redhead nodded eagerly, taking their hand – letting his gloved fingers curl around their.. non-gloved ones. He liked holding hands with Paintbrush, because it always sent a small electric shock of joy through his system.

It sounded nerdy, he knew that – but he didn't really care.

The pair began to walk to a small hill nearby, Fan looking at his surroundings with awe. He just loved the way the island looked when covered in snow, especially in December. It made the Christmas movies he'd seen feel like a dream come true.

Paintbrush held his hand, watching Fan's gaze like a hawk, a small smile creeping up onto their face – it was nice to see that he was enjoying himself, even if they hadn't gotten to the main event.

As he was zoned out, a snowball would come flying past the pair of them – making him snap out of loo-loo land, and back to reality. His eyes would move over to the direction it came in, seeing the perpetrator in question.

Well, it was actually perpetrators in this case.

"I thought I'd get them! Guess I need better aim." Lightbulb would huff, sat on Microphone's shoulders, the pair behind a tree, which didn't do very well at hiding them.

"They can see us. I told you the rock was a better idea." Mic looked up, and before she knew it, Lightbulb threw another snowball their way.

This time, the snowball hit the target.

A little too well, I fear – poor Fan got his right in the face, hitting the snow pretty quickly. He felt a little dizzy, and his face was.. cold, to say the least.

"Oops."

Paintbrush glanced down at the other with a frown.

"Goddammit.. should've known they'd do that." They muttered to themselves, kneeling down to check up on their partner on the ground.

"Are we theeere yeeet..?" Fan would garble out, as if there were cartoonish stars spinning around his head at a moderate speed.

Lightbulb and Microphone would soon approach, Lightbulb still on her shoulders – the pair glancing down at poor Fan.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Microphone glanced over at Paintbrush, her brow knitted as she briefly gave Fan a glance, seeing his glasses fog up once more.

"Probably," They'd purse their lips, giving the two a look. Maybe they'd have to put the sledding on hold for now.. until Fan gathered himself.

"So.. no sledding?" Lightbulb would ask the two, her scarf falling off her neck and onto Fan's chest.

"No." They both replied.

I guess it would have to wait.. maybe a few minutes.

★ ★ ★

[fanfictilltheend]

A Trick of the Winter Light (Joel Miller/You)

AO3 Link

Masterlist

A/n: To fill the anon tumblr prompt: "I have a Joel x daddy issues!reader request!! Reader sees how good Joel is with Ellie, and it makes her happy and sad at the same time. She's happy Ellie gets to have an amazing father, but she can't stop thinking about what was wrong with herself that her father couldn't love her the way Joel loves Ellie. This causes a bit of trouble in their little family until Joel and ellie confront reader about why she's being distant. I'd like a happy ending where joel comforts reader too!!!"

Warnings: fluff, hurt/comfort, past abusive father mention, daddy issues, referenced past domestic violence, sarah mention, please take care of yourself!!

Summary: Reader comes from an abusive home and seeing Joel and Ellie's good relationship is heartwarming but also confusing at times. When Joel and Ellie get in a snowball fight reader assumes the worst between the two of them and Joel and Ellie comfort you the best way they know how.

Your dad was an asshole. There was no other way of saying it. You can’t even count the number of times that fucker came after you with a belt. This wasn’t the worst of it though, you think. The worst was that that motherfucker basically ignored you your entire childhood except to criticize or beat you. No playing dolls, no showing up to soccer games, no high-fives if you managed to scrape up an A on your report card. Instead, radio silence except for the slamming of fists or the shouting of harsh words. 

To say this didn’t fuck you up would be a lie. But it didn’t just fuck up how you felt about yourself, that could have filled up a novel, no, it also fucked up how you perceived other people’s relationships. And that’s where Joel and Ellie came in.

When Joel and Ellie moved into Jackson it turned your life upside down in the best possible way. You were an assistant teacher in the Jackson high school and met Ellie first. She charmed her way into her heart and that dark and mysterious Joel Miller was soon to follow with prompting from Ellie. Joel had initially been cold to you as he was to everyone (maybe that’s what drew you to him – another emotionally unavailable older man who actively didn’t give a shit about you), but he warmed up to you quickly when he saw how awesome you could be with Ellie. The rest was history and you moved in with Joel and Ellie soon after.

Most days were amazing! You were so impressed with the way Joel fathered Ellie, always being so kind and considerate to her and the way he looked at her like the sun shone out of her ass always melted your heart. But it was a lot to get used to, seeing a real, mostly-functional father-daughter relationship that you just never had. And then sometimes you were transported into the past against your will.

Take today, for example. It was winter and snow covered Jackson like a Christmas card. School had been canceled for you and Ellie and a construction project Joel had been helping with became a snow hazard so he had off too. You and Joel had been reading contentedly on the couch until Ellie raced inside and threw a live snowball right into Joel’s chest. You died laughing until Joel got up and declared war on Ellie who raced back outside, giggling hysterically. You and Joel grabbed coats and gloves and ran out into the front yard and began lobbing snowballs at Ellie who was screaming with glee from behind a snowbank. Everything was fine until Ellie managed to hit Joel square in the face. Joel stopped what he was doing, wiped the melting snow off his face gruffly, got up from the embankment you two had hidden behind, and marched over to Ellie. Ellie’s eyes widened in fear and she ducked down behind her snowbank. In seconds, Joel was upon her and tackled her to the ground behind the large pile of snow and you simply lost it. You didn’t think Joel would ever be capable of hurting Ellie, but you had seen that ferocious look in his eye – that same look you’d seen in your father’s. 

“Joel!” you yelled urgently, running over. “Get the fuck off of her! How the fuck could you–”

But you cut yourself off the second you realized the two were just laughing, rolling around, and play-fighting in the freezing snow. 

Oh, I am an idiot . You thought to yourself, wiping away the tears that had somehow collected in your eyes.

“Chill out, Y/N–” Ellie giggled, turning over to face you. “Oh my god. Shit. Are you crying!? We were just messing around…” she trailed off, looking over at Joel with worry.

Joel was looking up at you now with concern too. He knew about your past, but you didn’t blame him for not connecting the convoluted dots. 

“Shit, darlin’,” he said gently. “Don’t cry. What’s the matter now?”

“I-I-thought–” you began, but suddenly you were crying. You were always a crier. Every time your dad hurt you verbally or physically, you always cried. Like clockwork. “Thought you were m-mad at Ellie. I-I’m so sorry,” you sobbed pathetically, wiping the tears from your eyes.

Ellie looked up at you again with worry. Then she put two and two together. (Always was a smart kid).

“You…you thought he was really gonna hurt me?” She asked, looking up at Joel from her spot on the ground. 

“Kinda,” you nodded, staring down at the snow-drenched earth.

“Joel’d never ever hurt me like that, Y/N,” Ellie said, getting up and taking your hand. “Don’t you know that?”

“Yeah, is the thing,” you replied, looking over into Joel’s eyes. “I know he never, ever would. You’re so lucky to have that, Ellie. I just knew some people who weren’t like that is all. And I sometimes forget how good people can be.”

Joel stood up too and put a large hand on your shoulder.

“Over my dead body, I’d ever hurt either one of you,” he said meaningfully, looking into your eyes and you knew he was telling the truth. 

And because of that, you burst into tears.

“Ellie, kiddo, why don’t you go over to Dina’s for a little?” Joel suggested gently.

Ellie gave you a kind of awkward side hug and nodded and made her way over to Dina’s house, looking back a little uneasily.

Joel mouthed something to her, but you couldn’t tell what because tears had flooded your vision.

“Hey, I dunno who you’re talking about, Y/N,” Ellie shouted from half-way down the block, cupping her mittens around her mouth. “About those asshole people. But I’ll kick their asses for you!”

“Thanks, Els!” you giggled through the tears. She was always looking out for you like that even though she was only fourteen. “You’re a good kid.”

And with that, Ellie disappeared into town with a last nod.

“Uh, why don’t we head on inside and have something hot to drink,” Joel suggested. 

You nodded your head and Joel took your hand so gently, which was so different than how you’d seen him handle a weapon on patrol that your heart broke a little more, unsure how you got lucky enough to find someone who handled you so tenderly. 

***

You both sat at the kitchen counter with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate as the sun got lower in the winter sky.

“Gonna tell me what that was all about?” Joel asked, putting his hand on yours.

“It’s so fucking stupid,” you replied, taking your hand away.

Joel frowned. 

“Not to me it ain’t,” he responded seriously, his brown eyes meeting yours. “Nothing you say is stupid. Hell, half the time I’ve gotta look up words you just slip into normal conversation.”

You grinned at that. This was Joel after all. You knew you could tell him pretty much anything and he wouldn’t judge you, had probably done fifty times worse. 

“You just…had this angry look in your eye when Ellie threw that snowball at you. It reminded me of how my dad used to look at me before he’d…get physical. In my mind, I know you would never, ever hurt Ellie. But it’s like my body hasn’t caught up to my thoughts and it’s still a little girl, living at home with a terrifying asshole.”

“I get that,” Joel said after a moment. 

“You do?”

“Sure. Sometimes…sometimes my body still feels like it’s holding Sarah the day I lost her even though it’s been twenty years.”

Joel rarely mentioned Sarah so you were honored he felt comfortable enough to bring her up. You put your hand back on his and rubbed his calloused skin tenderly.

“Never’d hurt you or Ellie though. Over my dead body, alright?” Joel continued meaningfully, reaching out a large hand to rub your back. “But your dad? That asshole? Like Ellie said, I’d kick his ass six ways to Sunday.”

You snort into Joel’s flannel-covered shoulder, trying to imagine it. Joel would rip that asshole limb from limb with his bare hands, you were sure of it. You’d heard stories of what he was capable of, had seen glimpses of it on patrols. Ellie would be more than happy to assist. Come to think of it, maybe you’d get a kick or punch in edgewise of your own.

“Can I tell you something?” you asked slowly, your foot tangling with his own. 

“‘Course, doll,” He replied with a kind smile.

“This may not mean a lot coming from me, seeing as I don’t know much better, but I really do think you’re an amazing father.”

“To me, angel, that means the world,” Joel told you with a genuine grin.

He leaned over and kissed you on the top of your forehead and then between your lips. You kissed him back lovingly.

“Your dad didn’t know what the fuck he was missing with someone like you,” Joel murmured low against your ear.

You grinned.

“Love you, Joel,” you told him, pulling him in for a hug.

“Love you too, babygirl. Never gonna let anyone lay a finger on you ever again.”

A/n: Any feedback would be much appreciated! Lmk prompts or suggestions or if you would like to be tagged! Thanks for reading!! ❤️

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