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bunnys-beetlejuice-blog · 3 years ago

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bangs pots and pans together loudly FIC UPDATE COME GET YALL SOME JUICE

Apparently the vital, missing component to enjoying school was having a friend there. Go figure.

He and Kevin only have that first period class together, but they make the most of it, passing notes back and forth between the two of them, the teacher too tired that early in the morning to notice, or care. Lunch isn’t depressing anymore. They sit together under the shade tree, and Kevin does seem to also appreciate the view. “Can you even imagine working up a sweat, on purpose?” Betelgeuse pats his gut. “You know I can’t.”

“I can’t believe how little the track shorts are. That’s obscene. You think I’d look good in them?” “You join track and I’ll come to every meet, an’ it won’t be for th’ love of th’ sport.” He doesn’t think normal friends talk to each other like this, but he doesn’t actually know. Does everyone flirt with their friends? Are friends just cool people you wanna fuck but haven’t yet? Is it demon hormone bullshit, making him read into everything? Unclear.

It’s all going so good, until it isn’t, suddenly.

One lunch, two months into being there, Kevin pulls a huge and impressive old book from his backpack. “Look what I goooot,” he sing songs, waving it in Betelgeuse’s face, and he sneezes in response. “Smells old.” Emily and Lydia would love it. “It is. It’s very old,” Kevin confirms, and he moves so he’s sitting next to Betelgeuse, shoulder to shoulder, both their backs to the shade tree. “It’s about demons.”

Betelgeuse loses interest immediately, and focuses on not going pink at their shoulders touching, instead. “Z’at so?” he grunts. Kevin doesn’t seem to pick up on his moodiness, though. “It talks about all these ancient beings,” he explains, flipping pages. “Their summoning circles, their aspects,” he gives Betelgeuse a nudge at that, “all the things they can do for you, and the boons they grant.” He feels uncomfortable. “What’s with this? You obsessed with me, or somethin’?” He tries to play it as a joke, but that glint in Kevin’s eyes is back, and he doesn’t like it. “Of course, who wouldn’t be obsessed if they learned all this shit is actually true? It’s like there’s a whole secret world behind a locked door, and I’ve got the key.” Kevin looks back up at him.

He gets the feeling he’s the key. It’s not a good feeling.

“Where’d you even get this fuckin’ thing?” he lifts a finger, and the book slams closed in Kevin’s lap. His friend huffs. “Internet, of course.” “No, I mean… why were you lookin’ for somethin’ like this?” “I want to learn more. Don’t you?” Kev presses, and reopens the book. “I mean, what if there’s something amazing you can do, and you just don’t know, cause you’re not bothering to try?”

“So I’ll never know, so what?” Betelgeuse feels like this is a losing argument, but he tries anyways. “What’s so great about bein’ weird? You’re lucky you’re human.” “Dude, don’t even start with that. You can fly.” “So can humans,” he points out. “Wh- A plane and fucking levitating for fun are not the same, and you know it, BeetleJerk.” Kevin honestly can’t understand why he’s not excited over this. “I just mean… I’d rather be human, than this.” He blinks at his own words, because he’s never expressed that out loud before, ever. But it doesn’t feel untrue. “You’re out of your mind, more so than usual. Every human alive wants to feel special, and do the stuff you can do. Why are you acting like it’s so miserable all of a sudden? You use your powers all the time, I’ve seen you literally teleport five feet because you’re too lazy to walk.”

“You don’t get it.” He’s feeling sullen now, and he wiggles a little away from Kevin, and crosses his arms. “BJ, come on-” Betelgeuse teleports away to under the bleachers, and he eats his lunch there, until the bell rings.

He’s waiting for Emily after school, not feeling particularly friendly, when Kevin approaches. They stand there awkwardly. It feels tense, and weird, and he waits to see what the breather does. “Don’t be mad,” Kevin says, finally. “M’not mad.” “You sound mad.” “You know what mad on me looks like,” he finally turns to look at his friend, amber eyes burning with irritation. “First hand.”

Kevin looks down, and kicks at a rock that might not actually be there. “I thought you’d be excited. BJ, come on, I don’t wanna.. Not be friends over this.”

Betelgeuse signs, and scratches at the scruff on his chin. “It’s not like that,” he relents after a moment. “I just, I don’t care about that stuff. An’ I don’t wanna sit around, focusin’ on it. I don’t exactly like feelin’ different. Yeah, I do tricks an’ use my magic an’ stuff, but it’s hard to control. I lose my temper once an’ I could seriously destroy somethin’, or hurt my family. It doesn’t exactly feel good, knowin’ that. No one else my age can stand me, cause they can tell I’m weird. Before you, it was fuckin’ lonely, Kev.”

He feels a familiar pressure, because Kevin has taken his hand, and the human gives it a squeeze. He accepts it, melting a little against the other boy. “Still friends?” Kevin asks, and Betelgeuse purrs in response, resting his head on Kevin’s shoulder.

It’s not till later, at home, that he realizes Kevin never actually apologized.

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It’s like that, for a while. He knows Kevin still has the book. He knows he’s reading it, and sometimes Kevin will bring up demon stuff, but Betelgeuse has almost exactly a minute and a half of patience for answering questions or hearing about it. Still, Kev doesn’t stop. He might feel angrier if the breather wasn’t so god damn cute.

The air is starting to go cold, and leaves are beginning to fall. October is settling in, getting comfortable, and mom’s starting to break out the Halloween décor. It’s the middle of a kind of gloomy, Autumn day, when things get weird.

Kevin has the book open, much to Betelgeuse’s annoyance, and he’s blabbing away about a demon that supposedly grants wealth- “Do you think you could do that?” -when Betelgeuse looks down at the book, and sees Juno looking back at him. It’s not really her, it’s an illustration, but he’d recognize the bitch anywhere. She’s ink, glaring up from the page, those same age lines etched into her face, confirming his private theory that she’d been an old hag even when she was young. The slit neck is prominent, and as he stares, he sees smoke billow out of it. Oh, fuck no.

He grabs the book and slams it shut, startling Kevin, and then he teleports it directly under them, a mile down in the rock of the earth. Kev blinks for a moment, confused, before looking at his friend. “Wh.. Dude, WHAT?”

“Possessed book,” he croaks out, feeling tense, because he can smell cigarette smoke. “And you’re afraid of it? Why? You are also a literal fucking demon!” “That’s why I’m not messin’ with it!” Betelgeuse stands up, uneasy. The ground around the tree feels weird, now. He doesn’t like it here anymore. “Cause I actually understand why it’s a bad fuckin’ idea! God, you should have instincts that tell you not to mess with this stuff! You’re deficient, Kev, seriously.”

“Me deficient? Seriously?” Kev snaps, which hurts in a new, unexpected way. “Whatever, asshole. Give me my book back.” Kevin stands up, too, but he’s not uneasy, he’s angry.

“It’s better off where it is.”

“Which is where?”

Betelgeuse glances down. The grass around the tree is starting to wither. Kevin follows his gaze, but doesn’t seem to notice the dying vegetation. “You buried it? Come on!”

“Leave it, Kev.”

“This isn’t just your cool secret, anymore, it’s mine too!” Kevin glares at him. “You can’t keep me out of it, BJ. That’s not fair. God, at this point, I know more than you! You should be listening to me!”

He feels his volatile temper flare.

“Ex-fuckin’-scuze me?”

He waits for Kevin to take it back. Instead, his friend doubles down. “Demons have to listen to humans,” Kevin crosses his arms. “If they’re summoned. It’s in the book.” “Nobody summoned me,” Betelgeuse snarls, letting his real snake eyes show, an intimidation tactic that works for about half a second. Kevin’s too used to him, at this point. “I’m up here on a deal.” “Bet I could do it. I bet I could summon you. Then you’d have to listen to me.” “Yeah? Well, good luck without your stupid book!” He storms off, leaving Kevin standing there.

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The rest of the day sucks. He’s moody all day, annoyed in the car, grumpy in his room. He cranks metal and wishes he’d learned to play a guitar instead of his rinky, happy sounding ukulele. The instrument isn’t going to produce the noise he wants to express himself, right now. He throws it across the room, into a wall, where it smashes, and reforms a minute later, because… it’s still his favorite, after all. Even if it’s no good for expressing his teenage angst.

He can hear shuffling, and talking, outside his room, though he can’t make out what’s being said over the music. After a moment, though, there’s a knock at his door. “Hey, Bug?” Emily calls. “Can you come give me a hand with something?” He wants to tell her to piss off, go away, to leave him the hell alone, but.. It’s Emily. The CD player lets out a strangled choke and suddenly stops, and the door swings open, all without him moving from his flopped position on the bed. “Sup, ma?” he grunts. Emily peaks her head into the room, and smiles when she sees him, the expression radiating warmth and adoration and.. Oh, God/Satan, bless his sunbeam of a mother. “Just wondering if you’re free to do a little decorating?” She reaches behind her and grabs a fake severed bloody limb from the box he assumes she’s dragged into the hallway from the attic. “Don’t you worry it takes away from the “wow factor” to do Halloween twice a year?” He asks, standing and stretching, before apparating in the hallway behind her, and giving the decor box a nudge with his boot. “What? No way, there’s never enough Halloween!” Emily grins. “Get that, please.” The box floats along behind him as they head downstairs. They pause in the entryway, as Emily thinks out loud. “So, maybe the kitchen should be-” “Functional as a kitchen, please,” Charles calls from the living room. Emily rolls her eyes. “Okay, fine! Spoilsport! We’ll focus on the entryway for now,” she decides. “You wanna put up cobwebs in the rafters?” She gets on tiptoes to reach into the floating box, and he lowers it a bit for her, as she grabs the fake webbing. “I could just instantly decorate the whole room,” He takes to floating next to the box. “Could make sure it’s all normal human stuff, too,” He adds, before she can respond. “I know you can… But I like decorating,” Emily says brightly. “It’s not about getting it done quickly. It’s about, you know, doing it together.” “So why are dad and Lydia slacking?” Her smile doesn’t falter, but becomes softer. “It kinda felt like you needed some mom time, today,” She says simply. God, she can read him easier than Kev can read his stupid book. “We got in a fight,” he admits. She hums at that, because he only has one friend. It’s not hard to guess who he could possibly mean. “I’m sorry, Bug. What over?” He hesitates. So far he’s not let any of his family in on this book business. He’s been sort of hoping it could just go away on it’s own, and not be a thing. Kevin’s made it into a thing, though, and not telling even his mom feels… bad.

“He’s really into demons. Like, really, really into em,” He rasps, floating up and beginning to put up the spiderwebs, as his mother takes down the usual, sort of spooky wall hangings and trades them for her very intentionally spooky Halloween ones. “He’s got this book, an’ it’s all about demons an’ like, how to summon them, an’ their powers, an’ stuff… Sometimes th’ way he talks, it’s like.. Are we friends cause we’re friends, or friends cause you think I’m gonna be... useful?”

Maybe that doesn't make any sense, but that’s how it’s been feeling, like there’s an invisible shoe hanging midair, and it’s about to drop. His mother waits until he’s finished before looking up at him. “And you fought over that?” She prods. “Not exactly.” How the fuck can she even tell that, though? Damn her mom powers. He really, really didn’t want to talk about this, not to her, but… “I saw Juno. In th’ book,'' He lowers back down to the floor, and digs through the box, pulling out fake body parts. Back up he goes, to stick these in the fake webbing. “It was just a drawing of her, but it started like.. Billowing smoke-”

“From the neck,” His mother remembers, suppressing a shudder.

“Yeah. I could smell the smoke. So I got rid of the book, buried it in th’ school yard, but Kev got all pissy about it. He thinks he’s an expert on this shit, an’ he’s gonna mess with somethin’ big if he keeps this up.” “I’m sure you’ve told him that.” “He doesn’t listen. He gets this look in his eye, like it’s a game, or like… I dunno. Feels sometimes like he thinks he’s…” He searches for the words. “Like he thinks he oughta be the boss a’me, or somethin’.”

He rubs absentmindedly at the moss on his nose. It clings, stubborn as ever, same with the patches by his hairline, and he’s found it’s easier to just add another little layer to his glamour than try to do anything about it.

Maybe that’s indicative of a bigger problem. It’s easier to do a bit of magic and make everything look better than to actually fix the underlying problem. Ugh, introspection, how absolutely miserable. He wants to keep thoughts like that locked away tight, but they have a habit of slipping past his mental defenses and making him feel worse. Absolutely no one can make him feel shittier than he himself can. He sinks to the ground, going purple, and he’s instantly wrapped in his mother’s arms. “It’s okay, Beetlejuice,” Emily has both her hands on the back of his head, and he pushes his face into the crook of her neck. “I just.. I’ve only got the one friend,” he groans. “I don’t wanna stop bein’ his friend, but.. Fuck, ma.”

“I know.” Her voice is a soothing balm. She works her hands through the mess of purple hair at the back of his head. “I know, sweetheart. I know it’s lonely at school, but school isn’t forever,” she tries to assure him. “If your friend is treating you this way, well.. He’s not a very good friend. Do you want to be around someone who makes you feel this bad? Does it feel worth it, to you?”

He knows the correct answer is, “No,” but he’s not sure if his self esteem is high enough for that.

“I like him a lot,” He grumbles, and she hums again. “He’s handsome,” She says, and then pulls back far enough to pinch his nose. “But not as handsome as my son, of course,” and it’s silly enough to help knock away his mood, so that’s something, at least. “What should I do?” He doesn’t pull away from her, just soaks up the mom energy for as long as he can. “I think you need to have a talk,” Emily tells him. “Lay out how you’re feeling. Try to get his side of things, and make sure he hears your side, too. Then, at least you both tried, you know?”

It’s such a mom type answer. He groans again.

“I was worried you’d say some shit like that.” She fuzzes his hair, and he feels the tingle in his scalp that means it’s changed colors. Back to green, he assumes. “You know your moss changes color along with your hair? And your creepo-stache?” “Leave the stache alone, it’s tryin’ it’s best,” He pretends to be defensive.

“It makes you look like the founder of a forum for people who marry their cars,” Lydia offers, from the bottom step of the staircase, where she has apparently been just chilling and listening.

“Wh-! Mom, it’s not that bad, right?” Emily tilts her head to the side and gives what can only be described as a condescending smile. “Oh, you’re both in for it now.” He brings the various decor items to life to terrorize them, and then Charles joins his side, sympathizing with his son vis-à-vis bad teenage facial hair, and by the time the whole squabble is over, hardly any decorating has gotten done… But he does feel better. His family’s good like that.

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Monday rolls around, same as it always does, but there’s a weird feeling in the air. Halloween is a week away, barely missing getting a weekend date, but there’s some big Halloween bash the school is apparently throwing. There’s fliers for it everywhere, plastered all over lockers and bulletin boards. He’s not much of a participator, though, and his reaction to his locker being plastered over with invites to a party he doesn't care about is to snap his fingers. All the fliers on all the lockers up and down the hall, all instantly fall loose at once, littering the floor. A few students jump back, but no one looks his way, because why would they?

He’s grabbing his history textbook when he feels a tap on the shoulder, and when he turns, it’s a girl he recognizes, but her name is absolutely lost on him.

“You’re BJ, right?” Miffy askes, and he nods. “Yeah, s’right,” and Margo seems to wince at how gruff his voice is, before continuing. “Um, you and that guy Kevin, you’re like…” Milicent trails off, waiting for him to finish her thought, but sorry, baby, he can barely finish his own. “Like…?” He says, with his gravel voice copying her tone and inflection, and she huffs. “Together?” Marge asks, “Like, all of the time?”

He cocks his head, and squints at her, hands t-rexing at his sides, as Lydia likes to say.\

“Usually,” He concedes, and he gets the feeling he’s dragging this out much, much more than Mango clearly wants, because he spies a group of girls a little ways off, waiting for her. One of them is staring intently, more focused on him, but he pushes that thought aside.

“Look, okay, he’s gonna be out for a few days, and I’m just trying to see if you can take him his homework,” McGrubber has grown tired of having to stand here, talking to the chubby goth loser, apparently. “I’m a student aid in the office and they’re trying to make me do it, but I have track practice!” Thaaaat’s where he knows her from. She looks different, not bouncing and sweating and also not half a football field away. “Sure, fine, I’ll make sure Kev gets his work. Wouldn’t want you to miss out on running in a fuckin’ circle, Maria.” Her face sours. “It’s Blair.” So close. “Who fuckin’ cares,” He replies, and turns back to his locker. He can hear her rejoin her friend group, all of them fawning over her harrowing experience of having to speak to him in public. The last thing he hears from Blair is, “He’s just so goddamn weird,” and then the group rounds the corner.

He closes his locker harder than he maybe needs to.

Kevin isn’t in class that day, or the next, or even the one after. The shade tree has withered and died completely, it’s color sapped and gone, and even walking near it makes him feel uneasy. His new lonely lunch spot is under the bleachers, which feels even more voyeuristic of a spot to watch the track team, but even that activity feels tainted, somehow. He’s back to being lonely.

He can’t stand being lonely.

It gets so bad he contemplates sitting, wait for it, on the bleachers, and maybe even trying to strike up a conversation, but he’s too chicken shit. He’s been going to school with these kids for the past three years, and no one’s wanted to talk to him or chat with him in all that time. He can’t imagine that’s about to change.

Still, on Thursday, miserable and lonely, he gives it a try.

Sitting up here sucks. It’s just a hard metal seat on a gloomy day, and when he’d ventured up and sat down, other people had slowly moved away from him, until he was sitting by himself, all the breathers huddled in a different area, away from him. He'd tried talking, but hardly had a "Hey, how ya doin'?" grated out before the migration began.

Figures.

He finishes eating and lies on his back, resting his hands on his chest, eyes closed, and after a while he feels someone standing over him, and something laid over his hands. He opens his eyes. There’s the most beautiful girl staring down at him. She’s got long, bleach blonde hair, darker at the roots, which is hanging down in a halo around her face, and the biggest, clearest blue eyes he’s ever seen. He glances down, to see she’s placed a daisy over his hand. He looks back up at her, amber eyes questioning.

“You looked so still,” She smiles. Her voice is like music. He thinks he can hear harps. “With your hands folded like that. Kind of like an open casket.” He’d been forgetting to breathe, apparently, which happens sometimes. She thought he looked like a corpse, and she placed a flower over him.

“Sorry, if that’s weird. You’re.. BJ?” She asks, and he picks up the daisy, sits up, and nods. “Yeah, you’re…” “Barbara,” she fills him in. “You’re not so good with names.” “Mmm. Buffy tell you that?” He recognizes her now, from that group of girls. Barbara sits next to him, which makes zero sense. “It’s Blair,” she corrects him gently, but not without a giggle in her voice. “Oh, right.” Her name could be fuckin’ Moonpie and it’d make the same amount of difference to him, but he’d agree with anything Barbara said, if it meant she kept sitting there, talking to him. “Are you going to the Halloween party?” She asks. “Supposed to be pretty killer. It kind of seems like your scene.” “I’m not exactly a social butterfly,” which is the understatement of the god damn century, honestly, but she laughs and nudges her shoulder with his. “Well, I think you should come. I bet you’d have the coolest costume. Maybe think about it?”

“I guess, maybe..” He says lamely, because his brain is short circuiting from that small touch.

“Barb, come on!” someone calls to her from a ways away, on the track. Lunch is nearly over. She stands, and smooths down the long skirt she’s wearing, which is modest but flattering. “Later, BJ,” she smiles, and just like that, she’s gone, like an angel going back up to heaven in a beam of light, off to rejoin her friends. He can hear what she says to them, though. “You guys are mean, he’s not so bad. Just shy.”

He keeps the daisy in a little glass of water on his dresser, and strums love songs on his ukulele.

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Thinking about Barbara and her smile and the way she nudged him is a fun distraction, at least for a little while, but when it’s Saturday, and he still hasn’t heard from Kevin, he decides it’s time to demon up and see what the fuck is happening with him. He’s been just teleporting Kev’s homework inside his room, and he’s sure it’s falling into a pile on the floor each time and startling him, but no one ever said how he had to deliver it. Today though, emboldened by the pretty girl on the bleachers, he appears at Kevin’s front door instead, holding Friday’s work, and he knocks. It takes a moment, but Mr. Loh answers.

Betelgeuse hasn’t had much chance to interact with Kev’s dad. He looks like a normal, tired dad, wholly unimpressive, and kinda short. Chuck could wrestle this guy to the mat, no problem.

“Oh, BJ,” Mr. Loh says, and then glances at what’s in his hands. “Kevin’s homework? Thank you. He’s holed up in his room… won’t come out.. Maybe,” and he suddenly looks hopeful. “You two are friends. Maybe you can try talking to him?”

Well, that’s what he was there to do anyways, so sure. “I gotcha, Mr. L,” he nods, stepping inside, and heading up the stairs and down the hall to Kevin’s room. The closer he gets to the door, though, the weirder he feels. Something stinks, figuratively and literally. It smells like… It smells like the waiting room. It’s that same, veil is thin type air that he can smell on Halloween night, but how the fuck is he smelling it here? He bangs on Kevin’s door. “Hey, Kev, it’s the B-Man,” he calls, trying to keep his tone playful, but he feels like he’s doing a poor job. What the hell is going on? “Come on, man, open up!” He tries again, when he receives no response. He thinks he can hear a shuffle behind the door. “Dude, I will bust this fuckin’ door down,” He growls, all the play gone from his tone. “You know I will. Better yet-”

He appears inside the bedroom, just in time for Kevin to slam shut the closet door. Kevin turns to look at him, back pressed to the wood. There’s a beat, both teens staring at each other, wide eyed, Betelgeuse in that weird way he does, and Kevin looking frazzled. “What,” the demon grates out, “the fuck, are you getting up to in here? It smells like the netherworld, Kev.” Unfortunately, that makes Kevin’s face light up. “It does? Oh my god, that’s perfect! It must be starting to work!” He crosses the bedroom, going to his desk, where an old book is sitting open. It’s not the same one he took from his friend, it can’t be, that book is still a mile down in presumably solid rock. “Another musty ass tome, great,” he growls, but Kevin ignores him, flipping through the book.

He hates feeling ignored.

A black and white striped arm sprouts from Kevin’s desk, and slams the book shut, which makes the breather turn and glare at him. “Get out of my room, BJ,” is all Kevin says, and Betelgeuse ignores that, instead crossing the floor to get a look at that book. “Where th’ hell do you keep finding these fuckin’ things?”

“This one I bought from a one armed man living out of a 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale,” Kevin recites. Betelgeuse squints at him, top teeth over bottom lip. “You’re too gay to know what that means,” he says, plainly, and Kevin shrugs. “He wouldn’t stop talking about his stupid car. I now know more about that antique than I know about geography.” It feels fun, for a second, like this drama isn’t happening, and they’re just having a conversation. It doesn’t last, though. He can’t let Kev off the hook.

“So you bought a second cursed book, this time from some amputee homeless guy, and you’re just, doing the rituals inside of it? And this seems like a super good idea to you?”

“I’m practicing,” Kevin replies.

“So what’s in the closet, Kevin?”

“Get out of my room, Betelgeuse.”

The way Kevin says his name is weird. It doesn’t feel like how it normally feels when a breather says the full thing. He shakes it off, and gives his friend a defiant look, before waving a hand and throwing open the closet door. There’s a cleared spot, in the middle of the closet floor, and a fucking summoning circle in what smells like, “Pig’s blood? Couldn’t get human?” He turns to look at Kevin, who is glaring at him intently. He matches the look.

“Betelgeuse Shoggoth, get out of my room.”

That gets his attention. It feels like an invisible hand is pushing him, and he stumbles back out of the room, confused. “W-what?” Kevin is just standing there, staring at him, and Betelgeuse stares back, eyes wild. “You motherfucker,” he hisses, eyes in snake slits, teeth sharp, claws extended. “You wanna do that “real name” bullshit with me? That the choice you’re makin’ here, Kev?”

Kevin doesn’t even look phased. “I’m working on gaining a bit more control, but looks like that works, for now.”

“You’re cracked!” Betelgeuse growls, absolutely furious. “You’re really tryin’ to summon me? Are you out of your head!?”

“You’re wasting your powers,” Kevin storms forward. “You’re a supernatural being, and you go to school and play your stupid ukulele, and don’t even try to do anything bigger. You could be stepping on everyone under you,” his former friend is going red in the face. “You could be leading, you could be ruling, but you just jerk off in your room and play pretend at being human. But someone might as well profit, here. Why not me?”

“I thought.. I thought we were friends,” is all the demon can say, lamely, and Kevin’s smile is the meanest thing he’s ever seen on a breather. “Once you’re fully listening to me, we can be friends again. Betelgeuse Shoggoth, get out of my house.”

He feels that same invisible pull, and he thinks maybe if he was stronger he could resist it, but a demon’s true name is like a lead on a dog, meant to control them, and unfortunately, Kevin has a tight hand on his leash. He makes it to the front door, and stumbles out, covering his face until he can calm himself enough to reapply his glamour.

Shit, he thinks, straightening up, and staring up at Kevin’s bedroom window. He is so fucked. ``````````````````````````````````````````````` Posted this chapter and another over at Ao3. You can read it right here

#beetlejuice fanfiction #beetlejuice broadway #lydia deetz #emily deetz #beetlejuice fic #beetlejuice the musical

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littlekatleaf · 4 years ago

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The shape that I'm in now

(It's 1 am, I must be posting Roadrat snz fic. This takes place in the same 'verse as 'Buried in a burning flame' and 'My heart as spent as ashes, but takes place before them. Not that it's necessary for the story, just to orient.)

Whatever here that’s left of me Is yours just as it was ~ Hozier, As It Was

Junkrat rolled over, trying to ease the ache in his hip, but it didn’t help. Sheets scratchy on oversensitive skin. Eyes hot, dryer than the fuckin’ desert, nose running like to make up for it. Flipped the pillow, but both sides were already too warm. Everything hurt, from toenails to eyelids. Even his fucking missing limbs hurt, however the hell that worked. What sucked the most, though was the silence. It pulsed against his eardrums, buzzed in his head.

Had told Roadhog to go. No choice about it. Bones’d been aching with impending fever, head felt packed with sand. Knew what was coming and didn’t want Roadhog to see. Didn’t want to be seen. Not when felt like his skin was peeled back, leaving all of his quivering insides bare. Being sick was being vulnerable. In Junkertown being vulnerable meant you was good as dead.

Felt Roadhog watching him from the first handful of sneezes. “Nobody fuckin’ cleans this shithole,” Junkrat had grumbled, trying to play it off. Roadhog said nothing.

Didn’t say a word when Junkrat blamed the spices in the stir fry for the second fit.

Unfortunately the third handful of sneezes seemed to have blown all thoughts from his brain and he was still trying to recover when Roadhog asked, “All right, Rat?”

“‘M fine. If you want to get in my pants just say so.” Might have intended it to sound flirty but it came off pissy.

Roadhog crossed his arms over his chest. “Ain’t like that. You just look…” “Ain’t neither of us winning a beauty pageant, Hog. Mind your business.” Least that time sounded like maybe he could be joking, even with the edge in his voice.

Tried to bite the sneezes back after that. Pinch them off. Smother them in his sleeve. But every single time he felt Roadhog’s eyes on him, watching. Made the hairs raise at his nape and finally he snapped, shouting at Roadhog to get the fuck out and leave him alone.

Roadie had, and he was fine with it. Just perfectly fuckin’ apples, mate. Went to bed, tried to sleep it off. But couldn’t. Now he tossed back the sheets, pushed himself up, buckled on his prosthetics. Make himself tea. Caffeine might dull the headache. Heat’d feel good on his throat.

You wanted to be by yourself... teasing whisper of her voice through the buzzing. You told him to go. You should be happy - here all alone with your disease. Could practically feel her breath at his ear and he swayed for a minute, dizzy. He doesn’t want to be anywhere near you.

“Shows what you know. Roadhog likes it when I sneeze.” Hated how defensive it sounded. Proof that he was only good for one thing.

Perhaps, but this is beyond even his depravity. Look at yourself, Jamison.

Without really meaning to, his gaze flicked over to the mirror that hung above the washbasin, then away again. Not before he’d seen himself though - scarecrow hair, singed in more places than he’d realized, skin and bones, dark circles around his eyes, nose red, lips cracked from breathing through his mouth. Expression going blank as the need to sneeze came over him. “Huh-R’iiishh! Isshew! R’iishew!” Managed to catch them in a tissue at the last minute, but it was a close thing.

Disgusting. And weak. I absolutely cannot fathom why he has not left you behind yet. Ill so often. Missing half your limbs. In need of protection. What kind of man are you?

“Shut it,” he said. Much as hated to admit it, she was right. Knew full well all the ways he was lacking. Rubbed his dripping nose on a handful of tissues.

Perhaps he just enjoys toying with you. Drawing things out before he takes your treasure and returns to the Queen. Her tone is a purr. A predator does love to tease its prey.

“Roadhog ain’t the Queen’s. Not anymore.”

No? He told you that, did he?

“Yes.” Sort of. What had Roadhog said when they met? Freelance? What did that mean? He wouldn’t… would he? If he got pissed off enough? If Junkrat was enough of a pain in the ass? A sudden chill whipped through him and he shivered. Grabbed a windcheater off the hook on the back of the door and yanked it over his head. Roadie’s, he realized as the soft cotton engulfed him. At least he was warm. Tugged the hood up over his head. Maybe that would block out her voice.

Pathetic… The whisper echoed in his ears, then faded - taking his energy with it. Giving up on the tea plan he curled up in a corner of the couch. Pulled in his knees, tugged the windcheater down over him and tried to disappear. Just needed to get smaller. Smaller.

A sneeze jag shook him awake. Took him a second to catch his breath and open his eyes. There was Roadie, holding out a tissue. Didn’t want to take it, but the alternative was worse. And messier. “Thanks,” he said, stuffiness blurring the consonants. Blowing his nose helped, but only a little.

Roadhog didn’t say anything, just turned on his heel and disappeared into the kitchen. Kettle rattled, water hit the basin. Click snap of the flame catching on the stove. Clink of spoon against mug.

Apologize, Jamison. Unless you want to test his patience even further.

Don’t need your input, he said, but only in his head. Always weirded Roadhog out when he answered aloud. Cleared his throat, attempted to pitch his voice loud enough to carry, even though felt like he’d been swallowing sandpaper in his sleep. “Oi, Roadie?”

Nothing. Sighing to himself, Junkrat untangled his limbs, ignoring the shivering. Maybe Roadhog wouldn’t notice. Managed to reach the kitchen this time. Roadhog’s back was turned, head slightly bent over whatever he was doing.

Rat hesitated in the doorway. While his mouth usually moved faster than his brain, at the moment neither seemed to be online. He leaned against the jamb, waiting for inspiration to strike. Instead he sneezed, catching them in his sleeve, then coughing after. “Ugh, fuck. I’ll wash this I swear.”

“...” The skepticism was clear even without words.

“Ain’t gonna forget this time.”

“...”

Junkrat coughed a laugh. “Yeah, you’re right I probably will.” Rubbed the back of his neck where it ached. “Roadie, I’m…” sorry he was going to say but Roadhog turned, offering a steaming mug.

“I know. Drink.”

Couldn’t smell anything through his clogged nose so he sipped warily. Then sighed, relief and gratitude. “Where the hell’d you find Lemsip?”

“Bobby had some.”

“An’ he just gave it to you?” Meds were hard to come by, even stupid shit like cold medicine.

Roadhog shrugged. “He owed me somewhat.”

The steam made his nose run and tickle and he sniffled a little. Which only served to trigger another round of sneezes and he slopped hot liquid over his hand. “Ow, god fucking dammit.”

“Here, let me…” Roadhog reached for his hand, but he stepped back.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Rat. I said let me.”

The darkness of his tone sent a shiver down Rat’s spine. The command in it was as unmistakable as the warmth. Junkrat stopped, pinned, barely breathing. Roadhog wiped his hand, carefully, like the burn could have been serious. Then he laid a palm over Rat’s forehead, fingers pleasantly cool. Junkrat leaned into the touch.

“Really got a fever, don’t you.”

It wasn’t a question, exactly but Junkrat nodded anyway. “Feelin’ shit, to be honest.” A hot flush chased the chills. Had to tell Roadie the truth, but didn’t make it any easier.

“You hurting?”

Rat shrugged, nodded again.

“Come on,” Roadhog put an arm around him, led him back into the bedroom. “Lie down.”

“Ain’t tired,” he tried. Not quite enough energy to be a proper brat.

“Not planning on sleep. Lie down.”

Junkrat did as he was told, but closed his eyes as the bed dipped and Roadhog sat down beside him. With gentle fingers he disconnected Junkrat’s prosthetics and set them aside. Even though he’d only been wearing them a short time, they’d already rubbed sore spots on his skin. Roadhog knew to avoid those places as he began to massage the muscles in Rat’s forearm, kneading until the knots loosened, then moved on to Rat’s thigh.

As the tension drained away, Rat sighed so deep was almost a groan. “God, that’s good.” Roadhog let go of him, but didn’t move away. There was the soft sound of a jar being opened and a teasing scent of menthol that Rat could smell even through the congestion. Vicks, of course. “For the cough,” he asked, smirking.

“It’ll help,” Roadhog said, but this time Rat knew it was a question. Making sure he was okay with it.

“It will,” Rat agreed. Put him back on easier footing. Hog gave him a little care, he’d get Hog off. Fair and square.

Roadie slid his hands up under the windcheater and goosebumps rose in the wake of his touch. Junkrat’s back arched, “Oh,” he breathed. “It’s so… Itchew! Huh-Itchh! Itchhuh!” Luckily he’d pulled the sleeves over his hand because he covered just with his hand before realizing.

“Bless you,” Roadhog said, without pausing from the massage.

“Th...thank y-Ihchuuh! Ah’tchh! Chh!” The sensations together were almost overwhelming. Felt like he was tingling along every nerve, shivering with both chills and desire, surprised to find himself going hard, even as he kept sneezing.

“You blushing, or is that the fever?” Roadhog’s voice a rumble in his ear and even that made a shudder run through him.

“Both,” he sighed. Nothing he could do about it, body betraying him with every sneeze.

Roadie chuckles. “You do that so well.”

“Wh… Huhitch!... Itch! Ishhew! … what?"

“Lose control.” An answer but also a command as he tugged Rat’s boxers down and slid inside, surprisingly gently.

“Oh…” Words gone. Thoughts gone. Only feeling left. Heat, fever, want, like fire in his blood. Waves of trembling over him. Hog deep inside, moving with a gentle but implacable rhythm, driving him higher, stoking the flames. He clenched his mech hand in the sheets, clung to Hog with his flesh hand, fingers tightening convulsively. And as the flames built so, too, did the need to sneeze. Little panting breath, interrupted by sniffles and teasing hitches.

“Lose it, Rat,” Roadhog said.

“Ah’Rrrishhah! Ushhew! Isshah!” The flames engulfed him, he shook with release. For a long, long moment he could only blink blearily at the ceiling, utterly spent. “Holy shit,” he managed, finally.

At some point Roadie’d gotten a cool washcloth and he wiped it carefully over Rat, washing away sweat and the vaporub. Just when the cold was about to set him shivering, Roadhog pulled a blanket over him, then leaned down and kissed his forehead. “You did good, Rat.”

A burst of warmth flowered in his chest and tears sprang up. Rat blinked them back, scrubbed his face with his hand. “‘M a fucking mess,” he said.

“...”

“I mean, sure we have fun. But look at me.” Waved a hand over himself. “Missing a piece or two. Fuckin’ sick all the time. Maybe we should just… go our own ways.”

“...”

“Got enough of a haul to make up for the fight in the bar. Enough to make this bodyguard gig thing worthwhile. We should maybe quit while we’re ahead.” Before you get tired of me, he didn’t say, but it was there on his tongue.

“Rat.” Clink of buckles as Roadhog took off his mask.

Junkrat resisted the urge to look at him. Didn’t want to read the truth of his feelings in his eyes.

“Look at me.”

He does, for a second, then away again.

“You see the scars. All of them. You think they make me ugly?”

“No!” Surprise had him actually meeting Roadhog’s gaze. Caught, he couldn't look away. “Just part of who ya are.” He reached up and traced one from the corner of Roadie’s eye, curving down and along his jaw. No, the scars had surprised him at first, but never bothered him.

“Need the hogdrogen. The mask. So I’m weak?”

“Course not.” First person to mistake Hog for weak wouldn’t live to regret it.

“This place tried to kill us. In so many ways. But it fucking hasn’t. Don’t let it win, Jamie. Don’t let it.”

Junkrat swallowed hard. Nobody called him that, not for years and years. “I won’t,” he said.

Roadhog lay next to him and Junkrat curled into him. Roadhog pulled him closer, carded his fingers through Rat’s hair. “Sleep, Jamie.”

I’m yours, he thought as he drifted away. Whatever’s left of me.

#snezfic #oversnez #constitutionally incapable of writing shortfic #did not go the way I expected

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vs-redemption · 3 years ago

Note

I love Soft Saturday/Sunday! :3 I remember you posted a selfship of yourself and I wanted to try one for me lol so, here goes! It was a bit hard/weird because I don't think any of these wonderful guys would be with me ^^U It was still fun to do though!

1.) Belle x Todoroki, Shouto (Bellouto? Shoutelle? Belloroki?)

- I'd probably be very distant with Todoroki at first because of his cold demeanor. It would have to be Midoriya who would get us together.

- We would end up sitting together at the same lunch table, chatting with our group of friends. Eventually our love for noodles would bring us closer. I would buy him some different types of cold soba or even show him unique recipes to try out. If I ever see anything soba related, I'd text him and say "Look! I thought of you! It's your fave ^^"

- Once he opens up about his past, I'd probably get teary eyed and give him a big hug. I'd thank him for trusting me enough with his childhood memories and I'd also eventually open up to him about my own hardships.

- I would give him all my love without smothering him. I'd just want to show him the love and care he deserves especially since he didn't have much of it growing up.

- I think it's the little things that might make Todoroki fall for me. Things like bringing him tea when he's studying late, if he fell asleep before setting up his alarm, I'd put one on his phone and on my own just to make sure he'd wake up on time, praising/acknowledging all of his big and small accomplishments, getting his favorite food when he's sad/had a rough day, sending him cute text messages like "Good morning, handsome!" or even doing something like this:

Me and Todoroki: *studying intensely*

Me: *gasps loudly* OMG

Todoroki: What? O_O

Me: I love you. (´,,•ω•,,)♡

🙈

2.) Belle x Miya, Atsumu (Bellumu? Biya? Atsubelle?)

- I'd have to have known him for a long time before we'd date. Kind of like childhood friends to lovers? If I met him at an older age, I might think he was a jerk and wouldn't want to go out with him.

- I wouldn't be afraid to call him out. Like when Atsumu is having his "if you can't hit my toss then you shouldn't be on the team" moment, I'd probably punch his arm and scold him.

- I'd have to turn it around and tell him "what if someone told you that?" or "treat others the way you want to be treated". I think he'd like that I don't treat him any different or baby him.

- Since we're childhood friends, we're already comfortable with each other. We've also seen, heard, and been through a lot together. We'd know silly small things about each other like "Atsumu always listens to this song right before a game" or "His right eye always twitches 3 times before he sneezes"

- He's seen me go through some relationships and has seen how I've acted/treated the person I'm dating. Atsumu would see that I put in a lot of effort and the stuff I'd do for my previous boyfriends. I think that would eventually make him want to ask me out. It'd be something that he might want to experience, too. Like how it would feel to hold my hand or share a loving embrace.

- When we'd get angry at each other, it could get a bit loud, but we would resolve things quickly.

- Our relationship would also be fun and full of silliness and lovely surprises. He'd do something like honk the horn right when I'm passing in front of his car to get to the passenger side. Atsumu would also surprise me with a gift that I've been eyeing or even a spontaneous trip to somewhere!

3.) Belle x Kageyama, Tobio (Bellayama? Tobelle? Kagelle?)

- We met at a mutual friend's party in college. We'd probably talk about how we were basically dragged there.

-I love to party/hang out, but when I have something to do/ a goal, I strive hard to accomplish it. (ugh, getting some PTSD from nursing school lol)

-We would end up talking about our ambitions and what we hope to end up doing in our lives. After becoming friends for a while, we'd get on the topic of relationships. We'd both want someone who is patient and understands that when we're busy, we're not ignoring them. We're studying/practicing.

-I think that is what convinces both of us to start a relationship.

-We're both busy and can get stressed out easily, but we'd know what to do to ease the stress a little. Like giving Kageyama different flavored milk cartons.

-It would look like we don't spend much time together/don't really act like a couple, but when we have free time, we'd be spending it with each other.

-We'd get our nails done together. （〃・ω・〃）

-We'd both have to think about how great it would be when we get settled with our careers and that we'd have more time to spend together. Planning future adventures/vacations is our motivation.

-Even though I'd miss Kageyama dearly, I totally understand how it feels like when you have other obligations. I'd never want to get in the way of his goal so I would do my best to support him and show my love in any way that I can and that would be something he might love about me.

First off, all three of these amazing boys would love you to pieces! You are so thoughtful and kind and they'd be foolish not to fall for you! I accept no arguments about this. 😊 This got way out of hand so... gonna put my rambling below a cut.

Send me some soft headcanons

Let's talk Todoroki! Gonna be honest... I don't know if I trust Midoriya to play cupid 😂 Of course, meeting Todoroki through him makes sense, but you know who zeros in on how cute you two look together immediately? Yes, it's Mina! Thankfully she's not obnoxious about it, but she does have your back. She expertly manipulates every situation to give you and Todoroki a chance to interact. Somehow, thanks to her, he always ends up sitting/standing right next to you in class, at lunch, in training, on the bus, on the sofa in the common room... EVERYWHERE.

Poor boy would be so confused at first by your attention. Like, of course he doesn't mind being your friend, but nobody else texts or talks to him about his interests outside of hero stuff. He didn't even know anyone noticed he liked soba that much. And all the little things you do for him like bringing him tea or setting an alarm, he's not used to it. He doesn't hate it though. Actually, he kind of likes it. And I just want you to prepare yourself for the day when he takes the initiative and your phones lights up with a message from him for the first time with a picture of some random thing that made him think of you. *my heart would explode*

It's all downhill after that because he really likes the way you respond when he reciprocates your kindness. The flustered look on your face when he brings you some of his sister's homemade soba noodles for lunch, the cute emojis you use in your texts when he messages you first in the morning, and the shy smile you give him when he finds the courage to compliment you. He's never wanted to take care of someone the way he wants to take care of you before.

ATSUMU. You're totally right. I'm the same as you in that I would not trust this little shit for a while after meeting him. Childhood friends to lovers is nice because you there's no way you wouldn't know the real Atsumu. The idea of you knowing little personal things about each other is so cute too. Atsumu takes advantage of this and always gives the best gifts for birthdays and holidays. And he's always so excited to watch you open what he got because he KNOWS you'll love it because he knows YOU.

I'd like to say that he'd be into the fact that you treat him normally like anyone else, but something tells me he would actually expect special treatment since you two are close friends. It would surprise him a little every time you reprimand him for being rude to his teammates or fighting with his brother. He respects you more than anyone else in his life though, so he always straightens up his act just as soon as you give him that look. He hates when you're angry or annoyed at him, so of course he'll be on his best behavior for you. Honestly, he'd do anything to get positive attention from you. (He's already such a simp for you and he doesn't even realize)

He thinks he's just being a protective friend when he criticizes all your previous boyfriends. None of them are even that terrible but in his eyes, nobody treats you the way you should be treated and nobody would ever be good enough. He puts you on a pedestal to be honest. And yes, once you're together it would be full of teasing and giggles and he would absolutely take it too far and overdo it sometimes and get himself into trouble, but it's okay because you know he never means to upset you. He's just so excited and in love with you.

Kageyama's turn. Oh my god! This boy would be so awkward at a college party. He'd probably just be all tall and weird standing in the corner like 😳 what's happening? Thank goodness for you, coming over to talk to him ... but wait... you're so cute... WHY are you talking to him? Now he's flustered for a different reason and he tries his best to have a normal casual conversation with you but he stumbles over his words a bit but bless your heart, you pretend not to notice and continue smiling at him. He thinks you are SO PRETTY!! omg😭

A huge weight lifts off his chest when you start talking about your goals. He knows about goals. That's easy. The look on his face is kind of scary at first because it looks like he's scowling, but he is just listening very intently to you and absorbing every single word. He almost seems like a different person when you let him talk to you about volleyball. His whole face lights up and he's talking very enthusiastically with his hands. He apologizes for ranting at you afterwards, but is also amazed that you'd stayed and let him talk so long.

Being around you IS a huge stress relief. At first he's worried about not spending enough time with you or making you think he's not interested because of his awkward mannerisms. But you're always super understanding and patient with him. Plus, you're just as busy working towards your own dreams. He supports you as much as he can just as you do for him and falling into a relationship is just really easy and natural for the two of you.

Kageyama doesn't really know how to do big extravagant dates, so just being able to take walks with you, or do activities like doing your nails together is enough to make him happy. He WANTS to do more for you though. He would never admit to this, but he actually has a small list of things he plans to do once you both have more time. He pays attention to what you might even consider silly throwaway comments like "One day we should...." or "Sometime I'd like to...." He writes it all down because even if they aren't career goals, those are still things you want which makes them very important to him.

#belle💖#best moot squad #sorry I kinda... went crazy with this #Shoto Todoroki #Atsumu Miya #Tobio Kageyama

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marvelousstevetony · 5 years ago

Text

That’s What Friends Are For

Set in a world where all the Avengers live happily together in Avengers Tower. Everyone gets along, no friendship-threatening arguments (Civil War who?). Pre-slash stevtony, the Avengers are good friends.

This will (hopefully) have multiple parts :)

Part 1:

————————

Spring in New York city is slowly setting in. The weather is getting warmer, the trees are coming into leaf, the flowers are blooming, and the birds are tweeting and chirping like their lives depend on it, so loud that you can hear it in spite of the noisy traffic in the busy city. Couples are going on walks and picnics in Central Park, children are eating ice cream, and people are wearing shorts and t-shirts, even though it is still slightly too chilly whenever the light breeze catches on.

Even the Avengers love the transition from the cold and frosty winter, to the sunny and joyful spring-time.

All things considered, spring is lovely, and most of if not the entire team would argue that it is the best time of the year to spend in New York.

Well, that excludes Steve. Steve was not having any of it.

“ehhTIISH’oo! Ugh.”

Because, for Steve, spring-time meant allergy-season. And Steve absolutely hated allergy-season.

Growing up, Steve probably had even possible seasonal allergy, and he had hoped they’d faded away as he got the serum. But just like Dr. Erskine had said. The serum amplifies everything that’s inside. Good becomes great. Bad becomes worse.

Steve hadn’t considered that would also apply to his allergies. At least his asthma isn’t as bad, which he doesn’t quite understand why, but definitely doesn’t complain about. The allergies, though? Well, they don’t appear as frequent as they used to, at least not for longer time periods, but when do hit him. Oh God, that’s a whole different story.

“uh-huhTSCHusshh! SNFF! h’UHh… uhhISCHIEW!”

He sneezes off to the side, his hair falling into his eyes as his waist snaps in half. Rubbing at his itchy eyes, he lets out a stuffy sigh and leans back in his chair.

He’s waiting for the rest of the team to turn up for the mandatory post-operation debrief and, as usual, Steve’s the first to show. Somehow, even when voluntarily coordinating search and rescue, he always manages to escape medical and get ready to close up for the day. Maybe it’s because he hates procrastinating, or maybe he’s just too exhausted and beat up to keep his head clear for long. Today, it’s definitely the latter.

He wants nothing more than to just go to bed, but he has an important work meeting afterwards. As if fighting off an army of robotic aliens wasn’t enough for one day.

“SnffSNF! huhh- hutschhuh! he-uhh…” He brings up an arm, aiming the sneeze at his elbow, keeping it up as he feels another one coming on, but it’s stuck. Great, he thinks to himself and lets out a congested grunt.

“You hangin’ in there, Stevie?”

Looking up with bleary eyes, Steve sees Bucky emerging from the door. He’s leaning against the door frame, his hair still damp from sweat and kept in a bun, a teasing smirk playing on his lips.

“uhh… yeeh- yeah, I’m fine. snf! Just wanna get this over with.”

“That makes two of us,” Bucky moves to sit down next to Steve, wincing slightly when he rolls his shoulder.

“Your arm okay?” Steve frowns a little, concern clear on his face. He knows not to worry too much, but he can’t help it.

“It’ll be okay,” Bucky shrugs. “Stark’s going to take a look at it after debrief. If he and the rest of them could speed the fuck up and actually get here,” he quips with a grin.

Steve huffs a laugh and gives a nod. “Yeah. Should be here soon enough, I hope. I have to be somewhere after this.”

Bucky cocks an eyebrow at him. “Yeah, in bed after a long shower. That’s where you should be. You look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks, Buck. Always so supportive,” Steve jokes, lightly nudging Bucky good shoulder. “Wish I could be going to bed, though. Have a meeting, can’t miss it.”

“Y’know, this is the worst time for you. You literally spent hours outside today. Pollen count’s ridiculous. You’re going to be a mess — a bigger mess — by tonight.”

“I know,” Steve sighs heavily and harshly scrubs at his face. Just hearing someone say the word pollen makes his face prickle and his nose twitch uncontrollably. Steve sniffles quickly, and Bucky notices it immediately and quickly grabs a tissue from the side table and hands it to Steve, who thankfully accepts it.

“Bless ya, punk,” Bucky says preemptively, smiling sympathetically.

Steve gives him a displeased glare before burying his face in the soft material. “tiisshh! ish! heIIiishh! Guhh.” He sniffles thickly, and groans annoyedly. He’s gotten to the point where the sneezes do nothing apart from making him even more sniffly. Ridding the itch, it definitely does not.

“Those didn’t sound helpful at all,” Bucky murmurs and gives Steve’s shoulder a squeeze.

Steve just shakes his head and worries at his nose with the tissue. “They weren’t.”

Bucky glances over his shoulder, hoping that the rest of the team will enter soon enough, but it seems unlikely. He grunts as he stands and walks towards the door. “I’ll go tell them to get their shit together and hurry.”

Steve doesn’t get to object before Bucky has left the room, and, somehow, everyone is gathered in the room less than five minutes later. (How Bucky did that is a mystery to Steve. He’ll have to ask him how to do that later.)

***

About halfway through the debrief, Steve is ready to die. He’s kept fairly composed so far; frequent sniffles and teary eyes, but no sneezing yet. They are just about to discuss the damage and decide how to clean up to city after the numerous destructions when Steve’s nose starts tickling.

“Casualties?” he hears someone ask, but he’s too busy trying to fight off the itch, rubbing his nostrils with his knuckles, to perceive who asked.

“Still unclear… 300 confirmed so far. Could be more,” Fury answers seriously. “We’ll hopefully have exact numbers once the city’s cleared.”

Steve tries to focus, he really does, but the tickle is growing stronger and his breath starts catching in small, desperate gasps. He turns to stifle a quick double into his shoulder, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to him.

“hehNGXTt! hii’YINgch!”

Bucky could recognize that withheld sound anywhere, but he knows Steve wouldn’t want everyone’s eyes staring at him so he refrains from blessing him. Natasha, who everyone knows is extremely observant, also seems to notice as she eyes Steve when his body jerks slightly. She catches Bucky’s eyes as they’re both watch their miserable friend, and the look they share doesn’t need any words.

Steve doesn’t even get a chance to breathe before the tingling sensation comes back, more powerful than before, and Steve knows it’s a loosing battle.

“huh- HhhehISHhoo!”

As expected, the group turns to look at him and mumbles a chorus of blessings.

“Bless ya,” he hears Bucky mumble quietly, and Clint offers a gesundheit, which seems to be his standard reaction to anyone who sneezes. Natasha discretely reaches for a tissue, presses it into his hands under the table and nods demandingly at it.

As he subtly wipes his nose with it, it seems to bring the tickle back and Steve cups his face and lets the sneezes slip out.

“h’tSCHHoo! Hih! Eh’hrushhoo!”

He sighs defeatedly and nods his thanks when a few people bless him.

Tony, who’s been uncharacteristically quiet, narrows his eyes at Steve. He’s spent the better half of the debrief doing anything but pay attention to what Fury was saying, impatiently waiting for the meeting to finish. Noticing Steve’s bleary eyes and his pink nostrils, Tony figures Steve wants Fury to shut up even more than he does, which in itself in an accomplishment.

As if Tony looking at him makes Steve’s nose twitch, Steve’s eyes flutter and his nose scrunches up.

“tishh! ehhIIiishh’oo! heihhUushiew!” The fit is ticklish, makes his throat scratchy and Steve can feel the congestion pressing behind his eyes and sinuses.

Tony is now on the verge of snapping, telling Fury to shut it and round up so Steve doesn’t have to suffer any more than he already is. The guy seriously needs something to help him breathe. Tony wonders if Claritin is strong enough or if he’s going to have to spend the entire night figuring out some kind of super-soldier-allergy-shot, because he just couldn’t take another look at Steve literally sneezing his brains out. So he figures he has to stop Fury before Steve’s going to die on them. Well, dying might be an exaggeration, but judging from Steve’s expression it’s not too far off. (If anyone asks, though, it’s because Steve’s constant sniffling is annoying as hell, but in reality, Tony can’t help but feel sympathetic for his friend. Nobody can know that. Tony doesn’t do sympathy.)

He considers making JARVIS send out some sort of emergency alarm to stop the meeting, but he figures getting on Fury’s wrong side is a bad call, so he bites tongue, and impressively so. He is Tony Stark, after all, and he’s not exactly known for keeping his mouth shut. Especially when he should. But this time, he does. He makes a mental note to tell that to Pepper. She would be so proud.

***

When the debrief is finally over, Steve is half asleep, his head resting on his hand. The ten minutes of nearly constant sniffling and sneezing in the middle of the meeting exhausted him deeply, even his nose seemed too tired to itch anymore.

He doesn’t even recall the debrief ending before Bucky nudges him and he jerks awake, sitting up straight. People are shuffling out of the room as he blinks the confusion away.

Nat and Bucky are already standing up when he’s back to consciousness, both smiling solicitously at him.

“You really should be going to bed, punk,” Bucky frowns a little and Steve responds with a shrug.

“I might actually agree with Barnes on this one. You look wiped out. I think you’ve earned some well deserved rest after today, soldier,” Natasha winks kindly.

“Yeah, well, you tell Fury that,” Steve sighs. “Don’t worry ‘bout me, though. I’ll be going straight to sleep when I’m finished.”

Natasha playfully ruffles his hair, Bucky gives him an affectionate pat on the arm, and with that, the two of them flees the room.

Steve still hasn’t raised himself from the chair. His body feels heavy and drained, and for once, he might actually consider procrastinate going to the meeting. Pinching the bridge of his nose as he squeezes his eyes shut, he takes another moment to mentally prepare dealing with Fury, once again.

“You getting attached to the chair there, Rudolph?” Tony teases with a perky smile as he walks towards Steve, who is surprised by the sudden voice. He hadn’t even noticed he wasn’t alone.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess so,” he chuckles lightly. “I have to be somewhere I definitely don’t want to be.”

“Meeting?”

Steve nods despairingly and Tony clicks his tongue.

“That sucks… You sound like someone who needs some time to relax. And to find some medicine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this. I mean, God, you’re pathetic,” Tony jokes and the corners of Steve’s mouth quirk upwards.

“You probably haven’t. I can’t even remember the laahhst time I-I snf! felt like thiiihs. Huhh- huEEIishh’oo!” Steve says through hitchy breaths and rushes to finish the sentence before catching a quick single in the tissue he still has in his hand.

“Bless you.”

“Tha- thaahuhISHH! Sorry, thanks,” he snuffled into the crumpled piece of fabric. “h’ESHhihh! Oh, Lord have mercy on me.”

Tony hands him a fresh tissue and Steve gratefully accepts it, giving a quick, ineffective blow. By this point, he’s basically unable to breathe through his nose, but he doesn’t want to gross Tony out any more than he already is.

Tony, however, doesn’t seem to mind. “Damn, Rogers, you’re on a roll, huh? Look. I can probably pull a few strings, get you out of whatever torture they’re sending you into.”

“Are you- really?”

“Sure,” Tony shrugs.

“That- that would actually be really nice,” Steve admits shyly. He’s normally not one to ask for help, but Lord knows he needs it right now. “I owe you one.”

“Nah, don’t worry ‘bout it,” Tony waves a hand. “You’ll just have to make me breakfast for the next three months, get me coffee whenever I want, babysit Clint-“

Steve laughs and elbows him.

“No, really. It’s nothing, Cap,” he says as he stands up and offers Steve a hand, which the soldier grabs and pulls himself to his feet. They exit the room together walking towards the elevator.

“Do you normally sneeze this much, by the way? I mean, you’ve probably sneezed, like, 30 times in he last hour.”

“huUShh’oo! Uhh, I-I don’t think so. I gue-. Tony?” Steve interrupts himself as Tony stopped in his tracks.

“That was so weird. Did you just sneeze on command. Like, literally just as I said the word?”

“I think there’s just a pretty good chance of me sneezing at any second, Tony.” He chuckles and shakes his head fondly.

Tony follows up and the two of them walk in silence until they reach the elevator.

“So. You go take a shower, and I’ll see to get you some meds after talking to Fury… If I’m not there in an hour or less, send out a search team, just in case Fury actually kills me,” Tony jokes.

Steve smiles tiredly at Tony as he presses the ‘up’ button on the elevator. “Thanks again, Tony. I really appreciate it.”

***

“Stark!”

Tony sighs at the sound of the recognizable voice and turns on his heels. He had to face it sooner or later.

“Nick! Always a pleasure,” Tony smiles overly wide at Fury, who rolls his eyes over someone using his first name, but ultimately decides to ignore it. It’s been a long day already, and Fury is not in the mood to deal with Tony and his sharp-witted tongue right now.

“Where’s Rogers?”

“Rogers? You mean Steve? Oh, um about that… He’s in his room,” Tony says innocently.

“In his—? I hope he’s aware of the fact that we’re having a meeting in less than five minutes?” Fury cocked an eyebrow.

“Yeah, so… He’s not going to be there. Sorry. He’s having some… trouble. You know, you saw him at debrief, I don’t think he’d be able to—“

“God damnit, Rogers,” Fury mutters under his breath, then scowls. “I’ll let this one slide. But only this once. It’s been a long day, anyways.”

Huh. That went a lot smoother than Tony had anticipated. Fury actually wasn’t completely heartless.

“I’ll be sure to pass on the message. Good talk, Director,” Tony claps Fury on the shoulder and is immediately out. As he walks, he gives his body a shake. He seriously hated biting his tongue, acting nice and actively trying to avoid pissing anyone off, and even a five sentence conversation with Fury was a stretch, but he thinks he did okay, all things considered. He makes another mental note to tell that to Pepper as well. She’d be even prouder.

***

“Knock knock.” Tony calls. “Cap?”

“In heeh-here! Hur’ESHH!”

Strolling towards the bedroom where the response came from, Tony tries to balance all the remedies he’d picked up on his way. The door in ajar, and Tony pushes it open with his shoulder, both hands and arms occupied. As soon as he enters the room, he suddenly drops about half of the things he’d been carrying on the floor.

In front of him stands Steve. His hair is damp from the shower and falling into his eyes. He’s wearing a pair of oversized joggers that would look ridiculous if they were worn by anyone but Steve. His cheeks are flushed pink from the heat from the shower and his nose a similar shade but probably for entirely different reason. That, and he’s not wearing a shirt.

He’s not wearing a shirt, Tony repeats in his mind. Damn. Tony has seen Steve shirtless before, but this is usually after a battle when Steve’s covered in blood and sweat, and definitely not coming straight out of a warm shower with glowing and clean skin.

And then he realizes that he’d just dropped everything on the floor and bends down to start picking the things up. “Would it have hurt to put on a shirt?” Tony mumbles lowly.

“Sorry, I was just getting dressed,” Steve smiles sheepishly as he helps Tony fetch the things. “You really went to town with the remedies, huh?”

Tony shrugs. “You know me. Why choose one when you can have them all?”

“Because it’s unnecessary?” Steve teases. “Seriously, though, the tissues had been just fine.”

“Ugh, are you always this unappreciative? God, how rude of you, Rogers.”

Steve laughs and shakes his head fondly. “That’s not what I meant. I really do appreciate it, but you shouldn’t have gone out of your way to all get this.”

“Aaand he’s back to being good, old, righteous Captain America… should have known. I didn’t, by the way. I ran into Nat and Barnes. They were on their way to provide you with all of these different supplies and medicines. If I’m being honest, which, obviously, I always am, I don’t even know what half of these things are.”

“Probably won’t work on me anyways. Medicine usually doesn’t with my metabolism,” Steve says as he reaches for the box of tissues Tony had dropped.

“Hm… You seem better, though?” Tony asks and Steve nods in agreement.

“Yeah, I think the shower did me good. I was probably covered in whatever is bothering m-me, huh— huhhISH’iew! Maybe not entirely, though” Steve comments after a sudden, strong sneeze crept up on him.

With a wry smile, Tony stands up and puts the stuff on Steve’s bedside table. He turns on the night light as Steve grabs the shirt he had laid out on the bed and pulls it over his head.

“So.”

“So,” Steve echoes.

“I’ll get going, and you, big guy, are heading straight to sleep,” Tony commands, eyeing the perfectly made bed, because of course Steve’s bed would be flawlessly made. Everything just has to be in order when it comes to Steve. He really is a hundred years old, Tony thinks.

Steve chuckles and obeys, his bare feet making soft and quiet noises as he pads across the hard wood floor.

“Yessir,” Steve says, shuffling to get under the duvet. “Oh, and thanks again, Tony.”

“That’s what friends are for. See you tomorrow, Winghead,” Tony smiles and shuts off the ceiling light. The bedside lamp illuminates Steve’s face with golden beams. His expression is tired and gentle and thankful.

“See you tomorrow, Shellhead,” Steve returns.

And with that, Tony closes the door to Steve’s bedroom. He stays outside for a few seconds until the weak light that shines through the key hole goes out and smiles satisfied.

***

#steve rogers #mcu #tony stark #natasha romanoff #bucky barnes #allergies #snz #the avengers are good friends #stevetony #pre-slash #my fic

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shirtlesssammy · 5 years ago

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15x10: The Heroes’ Journey

Then:

Heroes

Now:

Monster Fight Club! RAWR. In one corner we have wolf-man and in the other, we have wraith-woman. I felt like I was watching a Sci-fi channel show or another show on the CW with this opening scene. I have to give it up to the music and cinema of the sequence though. It’s quite lovely, even as the wolf-man gets stabbed to (near) death.

Meanwhile, in tiny Lebanon, Kansas, Dean’s picking up essentials (plus pie magazines) at his local Kwik Trip.

I have many things to say about this. First, who knew Lebanon had such tall buildings in it? And I’ve read many a comment about Bobo getting his name on something, and while YES, that’s technically true, this Kwik Trip (a real regional chain of gas stations/convenience stores in Wisconsin) is also named after the comedian behind The Manitowoc Minute, Charlie Berens. The Open sign missing the ‘n’ is a reference to it as well. Bless Jerry Wanek and his love for his home state. Anyway, Dean’s credit card is declined, his fight or flight instinct kicks in when faced with the store attendant's psoriasis, he gets a toothache, AND he gets a parking ticket.

Sam Fucking I Don’t Need Hotpads Winchester royally messes up dinner by burning the food, dropping the pasta all over the food, and breaking all the plates.

The weirdness continues once Dean gets home. Sam trips when running to greet him and he’s getting a cold.

Dean gets a call from Garth who needs some help. On the road, they discuss their Very Bad Day. Dean thinks they’re cursed. Sam’s too busy sneezing to contribute. I’m surprised Dean didn’t make him sit in the backseat. (Did Dean seem sarcastically unhappy about Cas seeking out angel help? #missinghusbandhour). Then the ultimate travesty happens: Baby breaks down.

They have to walk the last ten miles to Garth’s. When they make it, he welcomes them with open arms (Sam declines the hug but Dean gets one and a compliment -- “You smell so good.”)

Garth was previously feeding his twin baby boys, and he takes them to meet his children. He has a daughter, Gertie, and twin boys, Sam (named after Sam) and...Castiel. Dean is confused and disappointed. I love how there’s no explanation as to why Dean didn’t get a namesake. Natasha wrote a thing though.

Garth then takes them to see why he called. Bess’s cousin is unconscious on Gertie’s bed. He has wraith cuts all over his body.

Dean, the candy eating monster that he is, nabs some candy beans from Gertie’s dresser and Garth notices his pained reaction to eating them. Dean makes note of how nice Garth’s home and life are. (SOFT) Sam sneezes again and Bess tells him she has something to help.

Beth hands Sam her family concoction for helping the common cold. Sam downs it in one go --and instantly has regrets. It’s mostly cayenne pepper. Wherps. Sidenote: Gertie’s little wolf stuffy. All the hearts!

Poor Sam really goes through something --and it is a sight to see. Little Sam and Little Cas are sympathy crying with him and he tries to reassure them that “Big Sam’s okay.” He’s really not.

Garth asks about Dean’s teeth and Dean confesses they’ve hurt since the previous day.

Garth takes Dean to his basement dentist office. It seems he finished getting his dental degree and is now a dentist for other werewolves. “Fang maintenance is a B.” He assesses Dean’s mouth and finds 17 cavities!

He rolls out the nitrous oxide and gets to work. We get to stay with Dean though, AND GOOD FUCKING CHUCK ON A CRACKER.

I can’t explain what I witnessed with my own two eyes. I really, really can’t. @neven-ebrez had a great thread on Twitter that I fully love.

In any event, Dean tap dances to Cole Porter’s Let’s Misbehave. Garth starts showing him the ropes, but then he takes over on his own and starts dancing with a light stick LAMP. He blows a kiss at the lamp and ascends a stairway to heaven the top of the map table and finishes his dance. They dedicated almost 2 minutes to this scene. I --I just. can’t. Also, Dean going for the lamp is timed to line up with the “lovebirds” lyric? I’m so very tired.

Anyway, Dean comes to with a mouth full of gauze, and presumably no cavities.

Everyone reconvenes in the Fitzgerald’s living room. Garth wants to know what’s happening. Sam tells him that they’re kind of on the outs with God. Garth realizes that they’ve been the heroes of Chuck’s stories, and wonders, “what’s that make me? A supporting character? A special guest star?” Garth's happy being the guest star. Being the hero is the worst. Their lives are going to suck until the end. Also, little vanilla couple Garth and Bess apparently love 50 Shades. Lol. Garth points out that the hero never sweats the small stuff because that stuff ruins the story. They’re normal now. (Dean suggests cursed, which, like, lol bud, normal people's lives just suck.)

Bess’s cousin calls for her and they all rush to his side. He doesn’t want to talk to hunters. Sam turns on the ol’ puppy dog eyes and….it does nothing. In fact, Brad can hardly believe that that shtick works at all. Ooof. Bummer, Sammy. Bess digs into the wraith wound to get some answers. And ugh. That was squishy grossness. Brad starts talking about the monster fights though. He tells them where to find the place.

The Winchesters bid Garth farewell. Garth is VERY WORRIED about them. “The old Sam and Dean” could handle a whole warehouse of monsters but the Supernormally Normal boys don’t stand a chance. Dean’s resolute. Fighting monsters, righting wrongs? That’s just who they are. Dean implores Garth to stay home with his wife and kids, and the Winchesters head off.

They arrive at midday outside the arena. Dean polishes off his SEVENTH grilled cheese sandwich and they gather weaponry to storm the place. Sam’s concerned that Garth’s theory that the Winchesters are normal is correct, and they need to take precautions. They gather extra ammo, dead man’s blood, and Dean pulls out his beloved precious weapon.

Upon entering, Sam immediately trips noisily over a bucket and Dean’s grilled cheese extravaganza decides to throw a party right back into his mouth. Dean races for a bathroom, leaving Sam to peruse the room holding the main fight cage.

While Dean is throwing up in the toilet, I desperately try to pretend this isn’t happening. I’m FINE with entrails but upchuck is a hard no, apparently. The bathroom stall opens and one of the monsters from the cold open’s fight night stands there, training Dean’s grenade launcher on him.

Sam and Dean end up locked in the cage-match cage (not to be confused with the CAGE cage). The monster, Cutty, owns the fight club. “Man? Monster? They’re at their best, their most pure, in the heat of competition.” Pardon me while I fake cough “Purgatory” for twenty-five minutes.

Cutty introduces them to their new friend, Maul, a huge monster who grimaces gloomily and flexes his muscles. He wants the Winchesters to fight Maul (together) in the cage match that evening.

Dean tries to tell a story to get out of the situation and I HAVE NEVER BEEN PROUDER. He draws on their legends - the mighty creatures they’ve taken down - and questions whether any MERE monster should even think about trying to attack them. Nobody’s buying what he’s selling.

A short commercial for the upcoming cage match plays. It’s….

AMAZING

All the monsters are gathered around, ready to watch the two mighty cage matches. KILLER WRAITH versus JAMAICA DJINN and MIGHTY MAUL versus THE WINCHESTERS!!!

It’s battle royale time, motherfuckers. When the first fight begins, Dean and Sam are locked up in cells just outside of the ring. “Just how I wanted to die,” Dean grouses. “With a freakin’ audience.” We shall not speak of the 200+ times we have witnessed Dean die on this show.

Dean pulls a nail from the ceiling and proceeds to try to pick the lock. He…fails. Miserably. Sam gives it a try on his lock and neither of them can pick it.

“Could we ever actually pick locks?” Sam asks, frustrated. I’m with others in guessing that both their natural and learned skills have been hugely demoted through Chuck’s interference and this downturn won’t last. But this is a great way to make them doubt themselves. This is the black moment in the hero’s journey - at least for this episode. They’ve never doubted themselves more! Dean delivers a stirring speech anyway. “We’re the best in the world. I say we go out there. We kick some ass.”

Cutty returns to fetch the Winchesters. “Shirts off,” he demands on the way. EYEBALLS EMOJI. But Sam and Dean are gone, the cage doors wide open! The episode rewinds, this time with another point of view. Who’s that lanky man in the floppy-eared hat walking through the crowd? It’s everyone’s favorite werewolf hero, that’s who. Garth frees them by just…BUSTING off the lock.

Outside, Sam and Dean are ready to flee. But Garth has other plans. He whips out a detonator and we get a quick clip show of Garth planting C4 around the club. The club is DECIMATED by fire. Maul survives, however, and strides out of the burning building. Garth goes up against him, but Maul knocks him out. Sam and Dean stand and face Maul, despite their low, low expectations of themselves. Like real damn heroes!

What follows is a HIGHLY comical fight. Sam and Dean do their absolute, precious best, but fortunately the fight seems to be operating on some modified Looney Toons rules.

Garth saves them with a machete through Maul’s head. “You got Garthed!”

Back at Garth’s home, Dean and Sam cradle the babies. “This Cas keeps looking at me weird,” Dean notes. “So kinda like the real Cas,” Sam says. OH SAM. OH SHOW. How we are blessed!

They head out, Dean clutching a bag of grilled cheese sandwiches from Bess. Sam and Dean thank Garth for saving them and call him a hero. Excuse me while I CRY FOR FIVE MINUTES this is so soft. “I guess I learned from the best,” Garth returns. Garth gives them a tip - a place in Alaska where you can go when your luck’s run bad. “There’s always a catch,” Garth warns.

They hug!

“You don’t smell so bad yourself,” Dean notes when he hugs Garth. “It’s Hai Karate,” Garth says. Guys. I love them.

Werewolves of London plays us out. Garth and Bess dance together through the window as the Winchesters get into the Impala. It’s. So. Precious. And. Warm.

“I always thought I could be a good dancer if I wanted to be,” Dean muses. Sam admits that Dean’s good at the Macarena. Ah, yes. My generation!

Dean and Sam reflect on their situation. Their lives are far from normal, so being “normal” is dangerous by its very nature. They need as many advantages as possible, so it’s time for a road trip to Alaska!

The music mounts dramatically! Triumphantly! It’s time to ride into the sunset!

Baby sputters out. “Son of a bitch!” Dean shouts as the screen fades to black.

Natasha: I can tell you IMMEDIATELY and WITHOUT RESERVATION that this episode is going to be on my short list of comfort rewatches for all eternity. <3

Werewolves of Quotedom:

Seriously?

Still a hugger, huh?

You smell so good!

You’re very strong

Fang maintenance is a B

Mommy, the giant’s crying!

I wanna be the guest star. Being the hero sucks.

You need a colonoscopy STAT

Just because God yanked the magic horseshoe out of our ass, doesn’t mean we’re gonna give up

I’m a growing boy!

I think you might be lactose intolerant now

You keep all your friends in a cage?

You know them. You don’t like them. The WINCHESTERS

You are SO STRONG

C4, a hunter’s best friend

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn recap #spn 15x10 #the heroes journey #dean winchester #sam winchester #garth #supernatural season 15

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wordsysayswords · 5 years ago

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After picking Wash up on Sidewinder, it's going to take everyone a while to get used to the new living arrangements. Especially Wash, who's a bit directionless now that he's finally free of the Project. Tucker doesn't care for Blue Team's new leader. But he can't help noticing some of the man's odd habits and wondering what caused them.

Part 2: Sleeping Habits

It hits Tucker that violently shaking the sleeping Freelancer out of a nightmare might be an exceptionally stupid idea at the exact same time Washington headbutts him in the nose.

Or, Wash wakes up swinging.

Washington is ten different kinds of weird.

First of all, after he was done being unconscious from blood loss following the shit show on Sidewinder, the man didn’t sleep for three days. Tucker knows because he didn’t sleep for two. At the time, Tucker wasn’t confident Washington wasn’t going to murder them in their beds. But the knowledge that Wash was healing from a fuck load of broken ribs and other injuries—forcing him to move around the base in a distinctly painful-looking shuffle—made Tucker feel a bit safer. That and keeping his sword under his pillow while he slept.

Then there’s the fact that Washington might be the lightest sleeper Tucker’s ever encountered. A few days after Wash starts actually sleeping, Tucker is sitting awake in his room reading. He sneezes, and ten seconds later, Wash is standing in the doorway like the creepy omen of death he is.

Tucker startles so hard he almost falls off the bed.

“Jesus shit!” Tucker hisses, grabbing his chest. “Have you ever heard of knocking? Or, I don’t know, breathing?”

“I heard something,” Wash says dully, not moving from where he stands in the shadows of the hall. Hunched and pale from his injuries, the man looks like a fucking wraith.

“I sneezed,” Tucker tells him. “You come all the way here to say ‘bless you?’” Washington’s room is at the opposite end of the hallway.

“Oh,” Wash says quietly. “Okay.”

With that, the man turns and fades back into the darkness. A few moments later Tucker hears Wash’s door click shut.

“Fuckin’ weirdo,” Tucker mutters and goes back to reading.

A week into the new sleeping arrangements, Tucker wakes up to a figure standing over his bed.

Tucker lets out an embarrassingly high-pitched shriek, clawing at the blankets. He’s surprised it took Wash a full seven days to want to strangle him with his own bedsheets. For most people, it only takes about twenty-four hours—

“Tucker,” Caboose shushes. “It’s me.”

“Caboose,” Tucker growls, trying to get his heart rate back under control. He heaves a breath. “I swear to god, I’m gonna count to three, and the mustard better be back in the fridge.”

“I am not doing...that thing I did not do that time...this time,” Caboose says. “It’s Church.”

“Church?” Tucker blinks a few times before scowling. “You mean Agent Washington.”

“It’s Agent Washington.” Caboose corrects, deflating slightly. His hands wring the front of his t-shirt. “He is making noises.”

Tucker rolls over, cocooning himself in the blankets. “Then tell him to keep it down.”

Caboose prods at his back. “Nooo, Tucker. They are not good noises.” He pauses. “I think Agent Washington is not very okay.”

Tucker grits his teeth. He doesn’t give a flying fuck how “not very okay” Wash is. But Tucker should at least make sure those noises aren’t the Freelancer loading a pistol to shoot them all.

“Fine,” Tucker grumbles, tossing the covers aside. “Where’s he at?”

“His room.”

That’s unusual. It’s after three in the morning, and Wash is usually up wandering the base by now with a lost look on his face.

“Go back to bed,” Tucker tells Caboose. He stashes his energy sword in the pocket of his pajama pants and heads for the door. “I’ll take care of it.”

Caboose nods and shuffles off to his own room, while Tucker heads for Washington’s.

Halfway down the hall, Tucker hears it. Whimpering.

The sound stops Tucker in his tracks. He strains his ears because he’s gotta be hearing things but no, there it is again. A dragged out whine followed by a strangled gasp.

Tucker rocks back and forth on his heels. He’s got half a mind to turn around and go back to bed—maybe close Caboose’s door on the way so the noises don’t carry and wake him again.

“I didn’t sign up for this,” Tucker mumbles. He eyes the door at the end of the dark hall.

Tucker hadn’t thought this far ahead when he’d agreed to let Wash come home with them. In Tucker’s defense, he’d been really fucking tired at the time. It had been a long, shitty day, and he was sore, and his fingers were numb with cold, and he just wanted Caboose to stop talking (“Can we keep him? Please, Tucker? Can we? Please, please, please?”).

A high keening sound, louder than before, floats down the hall. Tucker winces, eyeing the door at the end of the hall.

Washington isn’t his friend. They’re hardly acquaintances. Wash barely speaks when spoken to, relying mostly on noncommittal shrugs to communicate. Okay, sure, Tucker hasn’t exactly been putting effort into becoming besties with the guy, but he’s a weird, spacey murderer. Who would jump to make friends with him? Well, Caboose, but that’s not the point. The point is, Tucker really doesn’t want to deal with whatever the hell Wash has got going on.

So, why’s he opening the door to Washington’s room?

Wash, Tucker thinks, sleeps like a dead person.

He’s flat on his back, and his arms and legs are pulled in tight like he’s lying in a coffin, one hand tight against his chest while the other snakes under his pillow. Even in the dim light, Tucker can see Washington’s stiff as a board. He’s on top of the covers despite the chill of the room, and every inch of him is tense and trembling so hard Tucker’s muscles ache in sympathy. Wash tosses his head against the pillow, a low whine escaping his throat. Tucker finally remembers how to speak.

“...Hey, uh,” Tucker whispers. He clears his throat and tries again louder, “Washington?”

His face screws up in pain, sweat-damp hair sticking all directions. He lets loose a long, shuddering gasp that echoes off the bare cement walls. No wonder Caboose woke up.

Tucker edged towards the bed. “Dude, are you, like, fucking dying? Cause that’d kind of suck…”

Tucker can hear his teeth grinding as the man clenches his jaw and shudders away from something unseen. His hands claw at the blankets. He’s shaking head to toe. It’s like something out of an exorcism movie—even before Wash throws back his head and screams.

Tucker jumps back. “Holy mother—fuck! ”

But Wash keeps on howling like he’s being burned alive, raising the hair on the back of Tucker’s neck.

“Hey, fuck, Washington—come on!” Tucker shouts. He fumbles for Wash’s shoulder. “You need to cut it—”

It hits Tucker that violently shaking the sleeping Freelancer out of a nightmare might be an exceptionally stupid idea at the exact same time Washington headbutts him in the nose.

Pain explodes through Tucker’s face, blinding him. Something slams into his chest so hard the air is ripped from his lungs and his feet leave the floor. He crashes to the concrete on his ass. The back of his head hits the floor, rattling his teeth.

Maybe Tucker blacks out for a second or maybe he just blinks, but the next thing he knows Agent Washington his kneeling on his chest with a hand to his throat.

“Fuck—” Tucker gasps but is quickly cut off when Washington presses down on his windpipe.

“Washin...” Tucker chokes, “dude—get off. It’s me…”

Tucker paws at Freelancer’s wrist, but the man doesn’t flinch. Washington’s eyes are unfocused, staring straight through his teammate and sending cold crawling up Tucker’s spine. Washington might be awake, but nobody’s home. His face is expressionless even as his chest heaving with every breath. Wash’s hand grips Tucker’s throat—not enough to cut off his air, just enough to keep him down. Where’s his other hand—oh fuck.

Tucker almost shits himself right then and there because Washington has a fucking knife raised above his head.

Tucker’s hand flies to his pocket, grabbing for his sword. It’s out of reach.

He squeezes his eyes shut. Where’s Wash going to land the blade? His face? His chest? Oh, god, make it quick. Caboose and Junior will be so upset.

One second. Two seconds. Tucker sneaks a peek up at the Freelancer. Wash is frozen in place, knife still raised above his head, but Tucker can see the hand shaking.

“Washing—” Tucker tries, but the hand at his throat twitches, and he shuts up. Tucker’s pulse pounds in his ears. Those hazy eyes aren’t getting any clearer, still panicked and unseeing.

Tucker swallows hard. He’s not stupid enough to think he can win a fight with Wash—especially pinned down without his sword.

Slowly, with shaking hands, he lets go of Washington’s wrist and lays his hands back against the floor. A gesture of surrender.

“Wash,” Tucker breathes. Wash shudders ever so slightly but doesn’t tighten his grip so Tucker keeps going. “Wash. It’s me. Tucker. It’s...okay. You’re okay.”

Washington sucks in a breath. It’s almost impossible to see in the dark room, but Tucker thinks there is a flicker of life in those blank eyes. Tucker keeps perfectly still, stomach-churning. He suddenly becomes aware of the blood oozing from his nose and streaming down either side of his face.

“I need,” Tucker whispers, “you to. Drop. The. Knife.”

Wash is trembling from head to toe now, gaze locked on Tucker’s throat. Tucker can’t breathe, and it has nothing to do with Wash’s grip on his windpipe.

“Wash, wake up.” Tucker’s murmurs turning into pleads. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Tucker? Church?”

Wash’s head shoots up. His eyes fly to the door as Caboose creaks the bedroom door open. Tucker makes his move.

Oh, please don’t kill me, Tucker thinks wildly as he raises a fist and brings it down on the back of Wash’s neck—hard.

It was something that kept coming up when Doc was piecing the Freelancer back together after the fight with the Meta. No one touches the back of Wash’s neck. Doc only made that mistake once, and if Wash hadn’t been suffering from a pretty serious concussion, the Freelancer probably would have snapped the medic’s wrist clean in half. The whole area is a mess of neat surgical scars, jagged scar tissue, and frightening looking metal implants that look a lot more...experimental than the tidy ones the sim troopers are outfitted with. It hurts like hell to look at.

And Tucker’s betting it feels a lot worse to have someone bury their fist in it.

The effect is instant. Wash seizes up and crumples. Tucker kicks his legs, catching the man in the stomach, and hurls him off of him.

Tucker scrambles to his feet and collides with Caboose on his way to the door.

“Fucking Christ,” he wheezes. Tucker clutches at the hulking soldier’s shirt to keep his shaking legs from giving out. “Christ fuck…”

Caboose’s eyes are wide, looking down at Tucker and then across the room.

“...Church?” He asks, voice too small for such a hulking soldier.

Tucker follows his gaze.

Washington is hunched on hands and knees with one white-knuckled hand gripping the back of his neck. His forehead is pressed to the floor as ragged gasps are dragged out of him—like he was the one that almost got fucking choked out.

“What the fuck?” Tucker wheezes, wiping at his nose and smearing blood across his face.

Washington jolts violently and scrambles away from them, pressing his back to the wall. He blinks around the room as if he’s just woken up, his eyes landing on Tucker and Caboose, and his breath catches for a moment. Then his eyes flicker down to the knife on the floor at his feet.

“O-oh, god” he breathes, voice hoarse from screaming. His arms curl around his head, and his knees are pulled to his chest. “W-what-t did I-I-I…”

“What the fuck?” Tucker says again, louder this time, and Wash flinches, pressing back against the wall like he’s trying to disappear.

“G-get…” Washington studders. He sucks in a long breath, and then,

“Get out!” Wash shouts.

“What the hell is wrong with you, you crazy fuck?” Tucker snarls back, happy to replace the fear bubbling in his chest with anger.

“Go away!” Wash screams, curling even tighter into a ball. “Get away from me!”

Tucker grabs Caboose by the arm and drags him from the room. He slams the door shut behind them, sending a tremor rattling through the base.

“Psycho freak!” Tucker yells, and he shoves Caboose down the hall to his room.

Behind them, Wash’s lock clicks into place.

#red vs blue #rvb #agent washington #lavernius tucker #michael j caboose #fanfic #fan fic #fanfiction #fan fiction #angst #hurt/comfort #wordsywriteswords #wordsy writes words

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finnofamerica · 5 years ago

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Getting Stuck at the Mall - Oliver Wood x Reader

A/N: Okay so this is the first installment of 12DOC and oof, I smell a challenge.

|| Masterlist ||

You were overloaded with bags, each with the perfect gift for each of your siblings. And your parents. And Old Mr. Harris who lived down the street. And Jake who you used to babysit. You just wandered, or rather hunted, for your next gift. Cousin Mandy was always the hardest person in the world to shop for; especially with her ever-changing hyper fixations. There was one thing she’d never turn down, however. Comfort. Items. Blankets, pillows, stuffed animals; you name it!

It only made sense that you found yourself wandering into the Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Why this mall had one, you had no idea but considered yourself lucky all the same.

Christmas was your favorite time of year, commercialized or not. There was something about the warmth that clung to the air despite the intricate flakes of ice that decorated eyelashes and cheeks. It seemed like wherever you went, the warmth was always there, but only at Christmas.

In front of you, a little boy was struggling to reach a stuffed toy on the shelf. His mother, chattering away on the phone, didn’t seem to notice his plight.

“Do you need help?” You crouched to be eye level with the boy, giving him a soft smile.

“The dragon. I can’t reach.” He reached his arms out as if to prove his point. You held in a giggle, standing at full height to pluck the dragon off the shelf.

“Here you go, be extra nice to your mom, okay?”

“Okay miss.”

He smiled so big, showing the dragon to his mother. You walked away with a smile on your face.

Yes, Christmas was your favorite holiday. Not for the gifts you received, but the goodness you could give to others.

After hours of shopping, you felt the fatigue getting to you. Either that or you were finally crashing after three cups of coffee. Those display beds were looking real enticing after about 20 minutes of looking at pillows.

“What the hell,” You muttered to yourself with a shrug, telling yourself that a five-minute test wouldn’t hurt anything.

Big.

Mistake.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

You groaned, rolling over, the sound of paper rustling around you. You probably fell asleep wrapping gifts again.

“Oh wake up already!” A voice huffed will annoyance, giving you a rough shove on the shoulder. You rose up so fast that you knocked heads with the man in front of you, causing you both to wince at the sting.

“What’d you do that for?” You rubbed your forehead.

“Well maybe if you weren’t sleeping on the display beds like a homeless person!” He accused.

Right.

Ooops?

Your eyes finally adjusted so you could see him in the dim lights. He was handsome - in almost a boyish way if not for the scruff decorating his chin. Your throat felt thick and dry as you quickly diverted your eyes, focusing on the dark shadows of the shelves around you. To say you were embarrassed would be a gross understatement. You were mortified. You not only fell asleep in public, but you slept long enough for a guard to find you after hours.

“I’m sorry.” You scratched your neck awkwardly, collecting your bags. “I’ll, uh, I’ll find my way out.”

You furrowed your brows as you glanced around in the dark, wishing that the shadows hadn’t turned the aisles into mazes. Still, you stood as tall and proudly as you could manage - only barely tripping over the weight of your bags.

The guard left out a heavy sigh.

“Wait,” He pulled off his cap running his hands through a mess of hair, you couldn’t quite make out the color in the dark. “Look, I’ll walk ya out. We wouldn’t want ya setting off any alarms.”

You gave him a smile, though still uneasy.

“Thank you but I-”

“Can’t refuse otherwise you’ll set off the alarms. What side did you park on? I don’t want you walking around outside this late, less some shady stuff goes on in the parking lots.” He finally gave you a smile, trying to ease your worries, the lilt of his voice catching your attention.

“Thank you.”

It was silent between the two of you as he guided you through the mall, nothing but a few scattered Christmas decorations and his flashlight to light your way.

“Why were you sleeping on the display beds anyway?” He finally broke the silence.

“I was just giving them a test at first!” You defended, adding sheepishly, “I guess I’ve been working myself harder than I thought.”

He let out a little chuckle, deep in the back of his throat. “Workaholic. I know how that it.”

“Do they... Do they make you work through the Holidays?”

“Yeah, but I don’t mind. I don’t have much to spend it with anyways.”

“I’m Y/n.” You introduced yourself, “I would try to handshake you but..”

You gestured vaguely to the bags you were carrying.

“Oliver.” He held the entrance to the mall open for you. A cold breeze welcomed itself into the warmth of the building, bringing a faction of flurries along with it. The sudden change in temperature stung your nose, making it itch and itch until you let out a sneeze that echoed through the empty mall.

“Bless me,” You softly stated. God, this night was not going as planned and even worse you kept embarrassing yourself in front of the cute security guard.

“C’mon then, let’s get you to your car.” He grabbed your arm gently, guiding you out into the snow.

It was almost romantic if not for the context of the situation.

“Thank you,” You interrupted the silence. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Made my night.” Oliver shrugged.

“Look, you said you didn’t have anyone to spend the holidays with, so um, let me give you my number and you can think about having dinner with my family on Christmas?”

“Yeah, I’ll, um, I’ll think about it.” He gave you a soft smile, taking the card you handed him.

“Nobody deserves to be alone on Christmas right?”

“What if I’m Jewish?”

“Then happy Hanukkah, tell me what you can’t eat.”

#hp 12 days of christmas #12 days of wizards #oliver wood x reader

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bowandbrush · 11 months ago

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guys. I’m so freaking excited for heaven. It’s described as perfect so I don’t even have to worry about it not being nice. The animals won’t have a predator/prey system anymore, meaning lions will literally chill next to zebras, maybe even groom each other. And there won’t be race or gender. Just a bunch of blorbos chilling. (Galatians 3:28) No homework, no taxes, no jobs, no need of a job. And we can sit down around Jesus and he can tell us stories that weren’t recorded in the Bible. Go stroll around in beautiful nature. See our friends and family and be with them forever. Guys. It’s going to be so awesome

#Christianity #heaven #We are going to have an eternal blast my dudes #Also God bless you for the sneeze nobody noticed

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seoftheart · 6 years ago

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100 things i love about johnny

“his english name means “god is gracious” and it’s derived from hebrew words יוֹ (yo) which is the hebrew god and חָנַן (chanan) which means “to be gracious” and i mean,, true

his korean name is written as 英浩 in hanja characters and they can mean “flower, petal, brave, hero” and “great, numerous, vast” - also true

his lisp

his bad puns and pickup lines

how he donated his voice by recording audio guides to aid artists with development disabilities

how much he loves haechan and taeil :((

how much he loves nct in general

his love for yoona

how he never fails to include both female and male fans when he’s talking so nobody gets excluded

his silky hair

the way he furrows his eyebrows and one side of his upper lip goes up when he says something sassy or tries sounding smart

the little, cute wrinkles that appear on the sides of his mouth when he’s smiling

how hard he works on his chinese and tries to communicate with chinese members in their native language grfsregkajeg

the way he discreetly comforted yeri on enana when she was sick

how he noticed that on the vlive commentary function it said “say something nice” and found it really nice

how he’s really humble about the things he does and his qualities, oh my god !!

he thought his selfies weren’t good and asked for advice and didn’t believe jaehyun and doyoung when they told him his selfies are really good indeed, he was so surprised when they told him!!

his wannabe raps LMAO that rap he wrote in high school still haunts me

he stayed in sm for so long, ever since 2008, but he didn’t give up and made it to debut with nct! he had to watch his friends from exo debut before him while he was left behind but that didn’t discourage him one bit ;((

how he always finds a way to play on enana during the commercial break, and it’s usually playing with the cameras, which is really cute

his smile when he’s talking with the fans

how he always does that dance where he swings his arms left to right constantly while doing the same with hips, in sync with the arm swing and embarrasses others but does it anyway

he always thinks of nct’s international fans!! he always adds a sentence of two in english so everybody understands what’s going on

he has a lot of trouble learning japanese but he still tries so hard ;((

his “boku wa johnny desu”

he’s really shy when someone compliments him, but never fails to compliment others

he has such a nice relationship with enana staff members and always helps them and encourages them

“to everyone out there, i just want to say that whoever’s listening to this is absolutely beautiful, and there’s nothing you need to change about your appearance, you’re already as perfect and unique as you are. don’t let anyone tell you differently. if you ever feel like you’re not worth anything, seek help or change your environment, don’t let the bullies get to you. life is long, life is beautiful. don’t stop right here because of these mean people. live for yourself, live happily, and show them you’re stronger than them.”

saying “bless you” when people sneeze a lot of people overlook, but he finds it meaningful

he always encourages either the nct members or complete strangers when they’re speaking english even though they make mistakes and makes them feel confident about their language skills

that one time he started randomly meowing on enana and made jaehyun laugh

ok but on a serious note tho. johnny likes to,,,meow around. idk if it grew into a (weird) habit of his but he just,,,meows. he meows around jaehyun, he meows around mark, he probably meows around everyone in nct. can i pls get this limited-edition cat too

his super broccoli and super corn t-shirts

his singing voice ;–;

how he never hesitates to do aegyo but regrets it straight afterward so he lowers his head and covers his face with his hands

he said he loves running through the rain when it’s raining and it’s so unusual but cute!

lmao he’s such a hopeless romantic tho, i bet he got that running-in-the-rain idea from a romance film or smth

“to do and regret, rather than not to do and regret”

his hobby is photography and he takes really nice photos which he posts on nct’s instagram!!

his signature is really pretty!! it’s one of the most beautiful signatures i’ve seen an idol have tbh

he plays the piano really well and he used to play it together with jaehyun in their room when they were roommates

during the time he shared the room with jaehyun, jaehyun used to always light up scented candles and it sometimes bothered johnny but he never said anything about it so jaehyun wouldn’t feel bad

also,, he sleeps naked?? but like,, he’s so open with it. he’s like oh? clothes? i don’t wear clothes when i sleep lol and taeil is ????? so c o n f u s e d but johnny is just there, with a big grin on his face lmao

he’s a bit clumsy but it makes him adorable ;-;

his laugh!! it goes from a simple giggle to a high pitched laughter and it’s so recognisable and funny to hear, but it never makes you tired of hearing it

the dimples that appear on his face when he’s smiling, #help

he always gives other members the chance to speak in english if they want to or if they’re confident but never forces them if they don’t want to

how he’s so passionate about photography and he uses his camera more to capture the nature and his members than to take pictures of himself

also. that one photo of a smiley face written on a foggy car window (probably?) that he took is so, so, so important.

seriously, i love the style of photography he is going for!!

how he always participates when nct does volunteer work, like how he went to that school and made meals for children or how he went to a p.e. class and taught the kids how to dance

the way he laughs!! he always laughs in little fits, like, it goes hahaha hahahaha hahaha and it’s a d o r a b l e

how he’s secretly a meme king and loves sharing memes with nct members on their gc but they never reply to him and it’s so sad but so cute fsdjkghs

the way he looks at cameras like they’re the most precious things in the world

he never fails to hype a nct member up!!

how much he loves his family. he doesn’t talk about them a lot but when he does you can see it in his eyes how much he misses his parents. also when he cried when they sent him a video message for his birthday during his smrookies days!!

also when he was so surprised and teared up when his mum sent an audio message to enana back in 2018

“love starts with a smile” - johnny, 170327

he always sees beauty in some things that would usually get overlooked or wouldn’t be seen as beautiful and pretty and he never fails to express how he finds them nice!!

his relationship with mark. it’s not only that they’re english speakers so they’re close, you can see just how much johnny cares for mark. mark is like johnny’s little brother

he has a tendency to say things in a tone someone could find sarcastic but he really means it. he uses these phrases that have grown to be seen as sarcastic only to convey his true feelings and i find it so unique and beautiful (like when he said “it’s beautiful, mark” in the first relay vlive when mark, jaemin, winwin and kun were making standees for the sprouts - one would think he’s saying it just so that he wouldn’t hurt mark’s feelings but if you listen closely enough, you can hear the sincerity in his voice)

how he uses “your one and only” when writing to the fans

also the message on a photocard for the regular-irregular album where he wrote “from your one and only to my one and only” i literally blushed okay.

seriously though, the messages he writes on photocards are so thoughtful and cute, for example on the regulate pc he wrote: “simon says... smile!” and like,, i might have cried.

his face with no makeup on!!!

his thighs that are both muscular and soft, you can’t really tell if he’s really fit or a bit chubby and it makes my heart go whoosh whoosh bc!! my bias!!! is chubby!!!!! and i love it!! !!!!

seriously though, the songs he recommends and/or plays on enana

he says he’s a really clumsy person or it’s just his height so he always bumps into things and i find it adorable even though it must hurt him but how can you not love these small things about this giant man shjsjs

how he sleeps with so many plushies and gives them names and always changes the one he’s hugging at night om g

“pandas. OmG PANDAS” - johnny in ikea

have i already said this but he’s so empathic and compassionate and conscientious and always tries to make people around him feel comfortable with his jokes and warm smiles

he’s also so patient and laid-back and doesn’t get angry so easily, like, someone would probably get angry with yuta were it his phone number that was exposed (even by accident) but johnny was just liek,,,yah it’s okay and forgave yuta and sgjdjsh he’s just so nice :(

how he thinks make-up shouldn’t be limited to girls only and doesn’t believe in gender roles!!

in addition to that, he even appeared in an episode of netflix’s bill nye saves the world that touches on the topic of sexuality & identity and it’s such a big thing for an idol, especially a rookie idol to talk about how kpop is changing the traditional ideas of what gender norms are in such a conservative country??

“just be yourself. i feel like that’s a big point” - johnny in bill nye saves the world

*serious, with a smile on his face* “do you have a boyfriend?” *serious* *can’t contain the cringe and laughter* *turns away in an adorable way*

johnny’s fashion evaluation much?? it’s just him giving weird names to nct’s outfits and pretending to be an expert by giving them star ratings but it’s all just random and it’s so funny shjsh

while we’re at being funny! god of humour!! right there!!!! johnny suh invented humour ok i don’t make the rules

like,, his humour is not the normal kind, i saw many people actually say he’s not funny but LMAO joke’s on you, his humour is the galaxy brain type of humour, it’s like,, a bit dry but it’s so funny if you’re on the same page as him

when he went to ikea with jaehyun to buy a lamp but they only ended up looking at plushies and johnny immediately made friends with two snake plushies, fred and jason. “fred, what are you doing here??” “jason, jason! no, he’s my friend, jason. jason, he’s my friend.” - johnny in ikea, after saving jaehyun from jason’s bite. like that’s so random but it’s working because i’ve melted

him wearing hoodies and putting them over his head while taking photos of his members is so precious and soft!!

the way his pinky kind of drifts away from the rest of his fingers when he’s waving or covering his mouth or doing anything with his hand really

his plump lips and the way they curl upwards a bit and it makes them look so c u t e but they’re also a bit sexy???

he has these scars on his face (a lot of them on his chin) that are almost invisible because of the makeup but i think they’re from pimples, perhaps? but they’re so beautiful and precious and i love them when he smiles and they get a different shape and it’s art?? on someone’s face?????

he speaks so confidently in korean even though it’s not his native language! one would think it is by the way he never stutters or has a loss for words but it’s just because of his never-ending friendliness and confidence that’s a part of his personality

remember the rolling paper event during the 127 1st anniversary party? all of johnny’s messages were the longest ones and were so heartfelt and sincere. he really poured his entire heart while writing those and that only shows just how much he loves his members

his role inside the group may seem unimportant but he’s one of the few people holding the group together. there is taeyong as the leader, but johnny is like a leader from the shadows who puts everyone before himself first - and it is not easy to do

he cares for the foreign members so, so much. out of all the nct members, he’s been in sm the longest and as a foreigner he understands and knows what it’s like to suddenly be in a completely new country surrounded by nothing but strangers. he kept on conversing with ten, both in english and in korean, so ten would feel more comfortable and he’s the main reason ten’s korean has gotten so much better. also, he takes so much patience with the chinese members who have language barriers with both him and the rest of nct and never fails to correct them when they say something wrong or when they can’t think of a word/phrase to say. when they were touring seoul, he was always next to lucas and closely listening to how lucas speaks so that he can help him learn better!!

johnny knows how to flirt and seduce but what he doesn’t know is how to act afterwards so the embarrassment that comes after he says something cringy is just the most adorable think ever (take “do you have a boyfriend?” ig video for an example). he’s just so awkward and he can’t compliment someone without blushing ;(

also oh boy, johnny is just so bad at lying like fksjshksh he can’t keep a secret to save a life. were we, nctzens, not so dumb, we’d get so many spoilers he accidentally gave lmao

while we’re at this, he also can’t have a nice phone because he literally doesn’t care about it, hE THREW IT IN THE FLOOR in that one video, isn’t that enough as it IS

also,,,,,,he put a metal fidget spinner on its screen and somehow expected it not to break?????? just how lovable this idiot is.

he’s so,,,,awkward and cute around girls,,,like,,,,,,,help me. him confessing to yoona (kind of?) is the cutest thing ever and it just fills my heart with love and i!! wanna protect!!!!!

the thing i always look at when i watch enana are his ears because he always fiddles with them and touches the earring(s) and it’s cuuuute

but lmAO somehow the earring(s) always fall out when he does touch them and it’s somehow so,,endearing because he’s so cute jfc

he once said he tries using “thank you” and "i love you” a lot because those words are so powerful and he seems to always want to bring smile to other people’s faces..

also!! his parents call him prince as a nickname and,,well. i might be crying because that’s s o f t

do you know that johnny always tries to wear colourful clothes on rainy days so that he breaks the monotony and the nostalgia of rain?? fdkjhsrgahkdsg

“you can overcome everything with laughter”

also,, have you noticed how he always makes a double peace sign when he’s embarrassed? cute.

#johnny #nct #johnny seo #johnny suh #seo youngho #nct 127 #john suh #john seo #happybirthdayjohnny #happyjohnnyday #100 things i love about #my text #mytext #i love this one man and that man is johnny #i put so much thought into this okay ;(((((#i'll post it on twitter too so know that it's not someone stealing!#<333

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keeroo92 · 5 years ago

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Hi! I love your writings so much! I saw your post of wanting some writing prompts. If you still would like some, I have one! Prompt: V and reader are set up on a blind date. Maybe Nero set them up because the 2 are so different from each other (opposites attract type thing). The entire date goes horribly wrong, but despite that, Nero ended up being right and they start falling for each other.

Ahhhh, my first prompt!!! Thank you so much, I had such a blast writing this! I’ll be working on your second one later today :3

Word count: 2,269

__________

Being single and living with Nero and Kyrie was such a pain. You caught them in all manner of compromising situations, from the way they stared at each other to walking in on them in the shower together. It was downright nauseating to see how lovesick they were. You’d been single for a long time, and as you complained about the living situation to Nero one day, he offered an alternative.

“I know a guy, you should meet him.”

He glanced knowingly at Kyrie but she just held up her hands in a classic gesture of “leave me out of it” and left the room. You were instantly on high alert.

“Uh… a guy? Care to be more specific?”

Nero smirked at your hesitance and you pressed a fingernail into the flesh of your palm to keep yourself from smacking the smugness right off his face.

“I’ll set it up. You free Friday?”

And thus on Friday night, you found yourself at a café downtown. You had a casual but flirty skirt on, perfect for the delayed summer heat. Kyrie had even done your hair. It was a weakness of yours, but she turned out to be a lifesaver and arranged a stylish French twist across the backside of your head.

All that work to dress up, and Nero’s “guy” was late.

By twenty minutes.

You stood in the lobby amongst a horde of patrons with the horrible orange bracelet Nero had given you so his friend would know who you were. He had blatantly refused to drop a single clue who you were meeting no matter how hard you prodded him.

You had to give Nero credit; he’d maintained his silence through an entire week. Impressive, considering how you even recruited Nico to needle him. He rarely kept any secrets from her, as her brash attitude tended to get under his skin and break his composure.

You snickered quietly, remembering how the two had bantered over dinner last night, when you heard a shy voice call your name. Your eyes glided up the figure of the man who had spoken with intense curiosity – was this “the guy”?

Oh, please let this be “the guy”…

His elegant appearance dashed every image you had pictured, none of them coming close to his poise. His converse shoes led to a pair of black jeans that fit just right under a dark button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up for the heat.

And he has tattoos…

The stranger leaned closer as he offered a single hand to shake yours, giving you a better view of his face. Raven locks framed his ethereal features and you spotted the edges of the same pattern of lines extended partially up his neck. His eyes were beyond description and you reached out to take his hand with a gracious smile.

And just like that the illusion shattered as his clammy palm grasped yours.

Well, nobody’s perfect.

“Apologies for my lateness. The hours of folly are measured by the clock, as they say.”

He released you quickly, much to your relief. He gestured toward the podium where a hostess stood, clearly struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of people in the lobby.

“It’s alright. Nice to meet you, um… Nero didn’t tell me your name.”

The man looked down and you assumed he chuckled, but with the noise of the crowd you couldn’t be sure. His eyes met yours once more in a piercing stare.

“You can call me V.”

“As in… V for Vendetta?” you asked with a dubious glance.

He stared at you blankly, clearly not comprehending your reference. You brushed it aside; it was a bit of a cult classic, anyway. The hostess waved you forward and you waited patiently as V spoke with her. He returned a moment later with an annoyed grimace, grabbing a thin jacket from the coatrack and gestured you outside before speaking.

“They lost the reservation, and the wait is over an hour.”

You sighed but maintained your cheerful mood despite the mishap. A glance around the area showed several alternate options, though they all appeared equally busy.

“Well, want to try the next block? I think there’s at least a sandwich shop.”

V nodded and waved a hand for you to lead the way. His mannerisms so far reminded you of a Victorian gentleman, and you couldn’t decide if that was a plus or not.

The night is young. Plenty of time to figure that out.

You stepped out from beneath the covered entrance to the café and paused at the lack of change in lighting. You looked at the sky and frowned at the clouds gathering overhead.

Within thirty seconds, it began to rain.

You hid under a small tree, its branches doing a piss-poor job of keeping you dry as you considered your options. A blur of motion made your eyes glace back at V to find him holding out his coat to you bashfully, his hair already damp.

Victorian gentleman is a plus. Definite plus.

You accepted his jacket with a grateful smile, threading your arms through the sleeves and pulling up the hood to discover it draped around you like a circus tent. Still, it was dry. And it smelled amazing. You took a deep breath, enjoying the hint of spiciness and masculinity in the fabric.

“Thank you,” you said, peeking out from behind the collar.

“Of course.”

The pair of you continued walking, silent as you tried to think of something to say. This was the part of first dates that you sucked at – small talk. You hated the tedious mundanity of surface conversation. Still, it was expected of you and you knew how to play the game, if nothing else.

“So how do you know Nero? He told me literally nothing about you.”

V smirked, his lips twisting in an adorable shape.

“We worked on a big job together a few months ago. I would not be exaggerating to say he helped save my life,” he responded slowly, “And you? You live with him, correct? How did you meet?”

The memory made you chuckle..

“A few summers back I was working at an ice cream store near his work and their AC kept going out. He came in at least twice a week and got a huge tub of strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Kinda evolved from there.”

V barked out a laugh, turning the corner beside you as he replied, “That sounds like Nero.”

You could see the sign for the sandwich shop ahead and took another deep whiff of V’s coat in preparation to return it.

This isn’t so bad.

Then you started sneezing.

“Bless you,” V said swiftly. He held the door to the shop open for you as you let out another sneeze.

You hurriedly removed his coat and handed it back to him as your eyes began watering. You knew what this meant.

Ugh. Definitely a potential problem.

“Do you have a cat?”

He looked at you quizzically, taking his coat as he answered in the affirmative.

“I’m allergic…”

He raised his eyebrows and took a step back as you sneezed yet again.

“I’m sorry, I hadn’t thought of that. Would it help if I kept my distance?”

You shook your head. The damage was done; you’d be sneezing like this for a while even if you went straight home.

“I’ll be right back.” You smiled at V again and headed to the bathroom of the sub shop. You blew your nose until nothing came out anymore, then stuffed a few more tissues in your purse for later. While washing your hands you noticed the dampness of your mussed hair and the makeup running from your eyes.

Shit.

You did the best you could to remove the smeared mascara and eyeliner, leaving behind a messy smudge of black on each eyelid. You released your locks and combed through them with your fingers, carefully saving the bobby pins.

Good enough, I guess.

You returned to V near the counter as he pondered his options. He glanced back to you and smiled gently.

“What?”

A light tint colored his cheeks as he replied, “Your hair looks nice that way.”

You sneezed.

Right over the glass covering the meat.

You saw V’s lips twitch with what you assumed was distaste as he took in the fine mist you’d deposited on the transparent glass. You looked at your feet in embarrassment, wishing the floor would swallow you whole.

“What can I make you two? Aw, man… I just cleaned that…”

Oh god, could this get any worse?

You turned away and rummaged in your purse for a heartbeat, handing V a ten dollar bill.

“Order me something with turkey.”

With that, you walked outside, barely able to keep from running.

It was still raining; if anything the pattering drops quickened. You sighed, taking shelter under the miniscule marquee. You wrapped your arms around yourself as the air cooled, fighting off the goosebumps cropping up on your forearms.

The door to the shop swung open beside you and V came out with a small bag. He spotted your posture and shuffled his feet for a moment before speaking.

“Would you like to borrow my coat?”

The appeal of the heat was too strong, and you nodded with a grateful smile. He handed you your sandwich and draped his jacket across your shoulders with a smirk. The two of you seated yourselves at one of the plastic tables sheltered from the rain and you unwrapped your meal to dig in, pausing as you saw the meat.

“They were out of turkey, I hope roast beef is alright,” V murmured apologetically.

“It’s fine, thank you.”

You took the first bite and noticed he didn’t have a sandwich of his own. Pointedly, you stared at the empty spot on the table until he awkwardly spoke again.

“I left my wallet at home.”

You sneezed.

Twice.

V cracked a small smile and suddenly the whole situation was utterly ridiculous. Not a single thing tonight had gone as planned. You smiled back, snickering. He chuckled along with you and all the tension shattered as you shared a moment of mirth.

“This really has not been our night,” you commented dryly between laughter. He shook his head with a smirk, agreeing.

As the last few chortles faded away, you carefully split your sandwich in half and handed it to V on a napkin. His eyes widened before he accepted it with a rueful smile.

“Thank you. And I’ve enjoyed it, regardless.”

You flushed as you caught the gleam in his gaze, like you were the only other person in existence. You took another bite and held your breath, swallowing as fast as possible to subdue the next sneeze.

“So have I.”

The two of you spent the following few minutes eating and chatting, getting to know one another better. You found his wit charming, his attention to your every word like a small flame in your chest. He made you laugh, between sneezes. Made you roll your eyes with a line of poetry. Made you cringe as he described his family.

All too soon, the night wound to a close. V walked you back to your car, carefully making sure he walked on the portion of the sidewalk closer to traffic. You enjoyed the deep hum of his voice and indulged in one last sniff of his coat as you reached your vehicle.

“This is me.”

V frowned, glancing at the ground as you removed his jacket and held it out to him. He took it hesitantly, almost hiding behind the gesture as he replied.

“I had a wonderful time. Thank you for your company.”

You sneezed, holding up a hand to cover your mouth and nose as you blushed.

“I did too,” you said once it was safe.

He gave you a nervous look, his anxiety obvious as he leaned forward to close the gap between you and place a light kiss on your cheek. You pulled him closer, wrapping your arms around him in a quick hug before stepping away and unlocking your car. You paused as a thought struck you.

“Hey V… let me give you my number.”

He smiled, brushing his black hair out of his face as he waited patiently for you to find a pen. You didn’t have any paper and ended up writing the digits on his forearm, right along one of the dark lines of his tattoos. He blew on the ink to help it dry before donning his jacket once more.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” he assured you as you started the car. You gave him one last smile as you backed out of the parking spot, waving as you drove away. You couldn’t help but glance at him in the rearview mirror, watching his slim figure shrink with distance. He watched you go, not moving until after you turned the corner.

You sneezed.

Despite the rain, the allergies and all the small hiccups of the evening, you found yourself excited to see V again. You weren’t the type to sit and wait by the phone, but even so it didn’t take long for his first message to appear a mere twenty minutes later. You grinned like an idiot when you heard the soft ding, making Nero smirk knowingly from where he sat on the couch with Kyrie.

#fanfic #one shot #v x reader #blind date #writing prompt #my writing #dmc5 v #dmcv #devil may cry #reader insert

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talesofstyles · 6 years ago

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Okay but like what if you and Harry were in an interview and they ask you if you ever rode a horse or something before and Harry being reallyyy cheeky saying “no but she rode a tiger before” 🙈 you know because if his tiger tattoo😂 I would literally dieee!!! Anyways I hope you had a good day!

sorry i got carried away. this is terrible and honestly i’ve got no idea how to end this but i feel like we need to see this side of harry after seeing him being a cactus in half a heart. hope you like it!

James Corden: I present you, Mr and Mrs Styles, ladies and gentlemen!

Y/N and Harry: Hello!

James Corden: Oh, look at you

Harry: What?

James Corden: No, you’re just so cute it’s disgusting and I’m jealous. But cute.

Y/N and Harry: *snort with laughter*

James Corden: So, before we talk about your new movie, how’s married life?

Y/N: Eh, it’s fine *you shrug playfully*

Harry: Heeey!

Y/N: *cackles* Jokiiiiiing. It’s good, it’s good.

James Corden: You better be. We’ve got a lot of teenagers sitting there *points at the audience* looking at you like they want to eat you alive now.

Y/N: Alright for the sake of my safety, let me just make this clear: being married to Harry is great guys. I love it. I love him, I promise. Peace to all.

Harry: *snorts with laughter*

James Corden: So, *turns to the audience* I was invited to their wedding, and I went. And to this day, I still can’t stop laughing every time I remember that hair tie thing.

Y/N: Oh God *facepalm*

Harry: *burst in laughter*

James Corden: Can you tell them what happened? It’s either you tell them or I will.

Y/N: Fine. This is probably one of those stories where you had to be there for it to be really funny but I’m gonna tell you anyway. So, I’ve always had a hair tie around my wrist. I know that’s not a really good habit but oh well. Actually, he *turns to Harry* already bet ten quids that I would forget to take it off on our wedding. And he was right. I didn’t realise I had my hair tie around my wrist until I was walking down the aisle.

Harry: *shake his head in laughter* I haven’t got my ten quids by the way.

Y/N: *swat Harry’s arm* It was one of my friends who was sat on the pew that brought that to my attention. I was actually quite emotional at the time. I was trying to fight back tears and Harry was already crying. My dad’s eyes were glossy too. But then this friend of mine kept pointing at my arm and when I looked down and I saw the bloody hair tie, I got panicked. I knew it was best just to ignore it but of course when you were panicked you couldn’t think straight. It was quite a struggle to take off because I was holding the flowers, but then I did. And when I did, I wanted to throw it to that said friend, but instead of throwing the bloody hair tie I threw the flowers instead.

Harry: *stifling a snigger* I remember there were a few seconds of silence. Someone caught the flowers, I think it was Ed?

James Corden: Yeah that was Ed Sheeran, I sat two rows behind him. Then he passed it along until you *turn to Y/N* got it again and continued walking *chuckles*

Harry: I’ve never tried that hard not to laugh. I was scared if I laugh, she would just turn around and walked out. So when she got to the end of the aisle, I took the hair tie and shoved it into my pocket.

James Corden: I’ve been to many many weddings and not once I’ve ever saw anything like that *cackles*

Y/N: Did you know about Harry’s shoes?

Harry: Love!

Y/N: What? If I’m going down I’m taking you with me

Harry: Oh, so you’re going down? *smirk*

James Corden: Whoa whoa

Y/N: Harry!

Harry: *burst in laughter*

James Corden: What happened with the shoes?

Harry: I forgot to put on my shoes.

James Corden: WHAT?!

Harry: Yeah, was still in me bloody slippers. I was so nervous and I kept trying to memorise the things that I’d need to do but of course I forgot the essential.

Y/N: I still wonder how nobody realised that. I mean there was like 10 people at the house helping him to get ready. *snorts with laughter*

James Corden: Did you know about that right away or after?

Harry: After of course! She’d whack me in the dick. I told her later that night.

James Corden: Oooh the wedding night. We’ll talk about that too but please continue this shoe story *chuckles* Oh God, who would’ve thought Harry Styles forgot his shoes on his own wedding?

Harry: We were already in the car. I was sat in the backseat with Niall and I remember he sneezed, that’s why he looked down, and that was when he noticed and he was like, “mate, where are your shoes?” and I looked down and I was like, “fuck!”

Y/N: And he’s got massive feet so it was hard to find someone who had the same size

Harry: It was… yeah, it was hard. When we got there, it was like that scene from Cinderella where everyone was trying on the shoes, except there was only one guy, me *points at his chest* trying like a million different shoes. Luckily one fits just right, not too big, not too small. It was Y/N’s friend, I didn’t even know him. Niall found him when he was about to enter the building

Y/N: Niall was literally going around asking every guy their size *cackles* bless him

James Corden: *burst in laughter*

Harry: Too bad I didn’t see it, must be so funny.

James Corden: Oh God it’s funny now but I’m sure it wasn’t

Harry: Oh hell no it wasn’t. I got a right bollocking from m’mum, she wasn’t happy.

James Corden: *cackles* Alright, now can we talk about the wedding night?

Harry: It was great *smirks*

James Corden: That’s it? That’s all we got?

Y/N: *stifling her snigger*

James Corden: Fine. How about the Honeymoon, then?

Harry: We went around Europe for around… a month? *turns to Y/N*

Y/N: Yeah, a month

Harry: ….yeah before going to Jamaica for two weeks.

James Corden: Oh that sounds lovely. Where was your favourite place?

Harry: Well we visited such wonderful places but if I have to choose I think it’s Jamaica and Tuscany.

James Corden: How about you, Y/N?

Y/N: I really loved Ireland and France. We stayed in the castles there and it was gorgeous. Bit creepy, but gorgeous.

James Corden: *chuckles* Ah splendid. So you were like, staying in the countrysides and riding horses through the fields and-

Harry: She *turns to Y/N* also rode tiger every night *smirks*

Y/N: *eyes widen* Harry!

James Corden: ……wh- OH I JUST REMEMBER YOU’VE GOT A TIGER TATTOO ON YOUR THIGH!

Y/N: Oh God *facepalm* can we please talk about the movie now?

Harry and James: *burst in laughter*

James Corden: Nah, we can talk about the movie later, I want to know more about you two. How did you meet again?

Harry: Like a typical meet-cute in films. Seriously, I wonder why nobody has approached us yet about turning that into a film. We met in a brunch place. She just went out from the loo, I saw her first-

Y/N: Okay, wait, I think it’s time you know the truth

Harry: What?!

James Corden: Woohoo

Harry: Should I be scared?

Y/N: Actually, I saw you first. You were still outside but I saw you through the windows. I got so nervous because I didn’t expect to see you and I was like shaking so I went to the loo to throw up.

Harry: Aw, so you threw up when you first saw me? That’s really sweet, love.

Y/N: How is that sweet? You’re such a weirdo

Harry: Y’married me anyway

James Corden: So you literally threw up what you just ate because you saw Harry?

Y/N: Yeah. But eh, the eggs weren’t that good anyway.

James Corden: Was it terrible?

Y/N: Well, not the worst thing I’ve put in my mouth but-

Harry: *turns at Y/N, looking offended* what’s the worst thing you’ve put in your mouth?

James Corden: Whoa whoa

Y/N: *burst in laughter*

#harry styles #harry styles imagines #harry x y/n #harry x reader #harry styles fluff #husband!harry #request are open #requested #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles blurb #harry styles drabbles #harry styles concepts

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whoareurl · 5 years ago

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sweet on you (bagelverse!stucky)

it’s been ages since i wrote anything but it’s steve day! so in honor of my fave tiny moron, here’s a little ficlet set in @strange-capers bagelverse ft. smol steve, allergies, and the aftermath of a dentist visit

“HhhehISHhoo! Oh, Jesus.”

It was official, Steve hated the dentist. He hated the chairs and the smell and the sound of the drills. But most of all he hated the anaesthetic.

“HiyisHhoo! Fu-uh...hN’Gchuh! F-fuck ihh! Hheh’hESHhhoo!”

Okay, fine. So he’d gotten into a fight he knew he couldn’t win and ended up with a chipped tooth for his trouble. And maybe if he’d just listened to Bucky he wouldn’t be in this mess right now, with dental anaesthetic numbing half his face on one of the highest pollen count days of the summer.

“Heh...eh…”

To put it lightly, Steve was fucking miserable.

“Hih’TISHhngh!”

While one side of his nose was itching and twitching with the usual allergy tickles, the other side felt like it had swollen to twice its normal size. As if the summer stuffiness wasn’t bad enough, the entire left side of his face felt like it had been stuffed full of cotton wool, a marked difference to the concrete block of congestion currently inhabiting the right. To make matters worse - read: horrendously embarrassing - the anaesthetic meant he couldn’t tell when his nose was running down his face until he could literally taste it.

Fucking gross.

While Steve’s initial request for time off work had only covered his need to visit the dentist, he’d called to say that, following the dental treatment he’d received, he wouldn’t be fit for work until tomorrow. He’d deliberately kept the message as vague as possible because he didn’t want to outright lie to his colleagues but he also didn’t want to subject them to the embarrassment of saying “oh hey, Steve, don’t know if you noticed but you have snot dripping down your face.” Yeah, no thanks.

So, yeah. Fuck the dentist and fuck those assholes who made an emergency visit necessary.

God, Steve could just imagine Bucky’s exasperated tones in his head right then.

Necessary? he’d say, with his stupid face. It was only “necessary” because you took on three guys twice your size!

Asshole.

“hih’hEHSHhh!”

Steve missed Bucky so much it ached and he’d only been gone since seven o’clock that morning. He’d be back before dinner. But Steve would be damned if he’d let a little thing like logic get in the way of throwing himself a pity party. He’d had a hard day, damnit.

Maybe if he just gave in to the way the drugs were making him feel hopelessly sleepy. The time would certainly pass faster if he was asleep. In his drug-induced exhaustion, he vaguely wondered if it would hurt to poke himself in the cheek. And then, with his drug-inhibited impulse control, he checked -

“Ow,” he muttered softly. “Fuck.”

- before promptly tossing himself onto the unmade bed and pouting.

This sucked.

“This sucks,” he said aloud to nobody.

“I know, honey,” said…

“Bucky!” Steve mumbled, shifting to prop himself up on his elbow so he could blink sleepily at him. Bucky rewarded his efforts by pushing his hand into Steve’s hair. “Y’r home early.”

Bucky grinned. “Sure am, sugar.”

Ugh, Steve thought.

“Ugh,” Steve said. “You gonna make dentist jokes all day?”

Bucky pretended to look thoughtful for a moment which made Steve want to throw a pillow at him. “Not all day,” he said mischievously. “Only until tooth hurty.”

Had it not been for a flurry of sneezes which overtook him out of nowhere, Steve would absolutely have smacked Bucky with the nearest book. But, as things stood, he was a little busy clumsily cupping his hand over his face and ducking down towards the mattress.

“hehCHi’sh! ih’HNGh! hiHNZXGH!”

“Bless you, sugarplum,” Bucky cooed.

“Fuck you,” Steve muttered.

“If you insist,” Bucky replied instinctively as he gently pried Steve’s hand away from his face and wiped under his nose with a handful of tissues.

The movement was so gentle that Steve found himself transfixed. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the soft flutter of Bucky’s long eyelashes, the sharp curve of his cheek, the warmth of his gaze. Seeing Bucky like this, soft and caring and just for him, well- Steve almost wanted to cry. Almost. But then Bucky pressed some fresh tissues into his hand and kissed his forehead and the moment ended, saving Steve from making an utter fool of himself by bawling his eyes out over Bucky’s stupid soft face.

“Love you,” he said anyway.

“Love you too, Stevie,” Bucky said quietly. “You fucking punk.”

#acefic #acefic stucky

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zach-the-fox · 5 years ago

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Furiends Episode 3: A Bad Idea

A new day has come, and the warthog sits with the cat and blue jay at a small table in a small coffee shop by the name “Pawbucks”. The girls, however, are slouched in their chairs, and have their heads leaning against solid objects as flat-mouthed, half-eyed expressions occupy their faces.

“Ugh, I’m so bored!” Navy exclaims. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” responds Emmy. “Thought it would be a good idea to talk about art, but we constantly see each other’s posts on Furbook.”

“Come on, I’m sure there’s something else to do,” Carly adds. “Maybe we can go to the cartoon festival?” The bird and warthog just look at her. “No? How about-”

“Let’s just get out of here,” Emmy interrupts. She gets out of her seat. “Perhaps, it’ll come to us…” The bird and cat follow without another word. The three exit the coffee shop and walk along the sidewalk. As they amble down the street, Navy begins a conversation on her interests with a certain character she conjures up. That’s when the pass a display of books in the window pane.

Emmy takes notice of a book on the shelf through the display, forcing her to enter the store. The other girls follow her as she steps toward her target, pulls the book off the shelf, and examines it. The title reads “The Dark Arts for Dummies,” and having a deformed face on the cover. “Interesting…” Emmy opens the book and scans through its contents briefly. “Very interesting…”

Carly stands behind Emmy, glancing over her shoulder to see inside the book. “That book interests you?”

Navy stands and makes her way beside the warthog. “Ooh, a book on dark magic?”

“Looks like it,” Emmy says. “Says everything about how to summon demons and conjure black magic.”

Navy gasps and smiles at the idea. “Oh, can we do this! Please?”

“I don’t know if we should,” Carly adds. “May have some bad outcomes.”

“Or maybe we can raise our very own demon!” Navy utters. “And perhaps wreak havoc on that wolf for taunting Zach.”

“Not sure if that’ll be the case,” utters Emmy. “But you know what, it probably would be a way to kill boredom. Besides, what could go wrong?”

***

Back at the mall, the three girls wander around in search for their items. They split off in different directions as they look around.

Navy picks up a box labeled “dinner candles” on it, taking it for the first item. “These will do.”

“Miss,” calls out a store associate. “We haven’t stocked those yet!” Navy continues walking up to the counter and prepares to pay, leaving the clerk with a look of dismay.

Emmy searches up and down the row of chalkboards, taking the erasers and chalk from the holders. “This will suit our need of chalk dust.” She picks up one eraser, but barely has a grip on it. “Uh oh!” Upon catching it, she hits the chalk boards on either side of her, emitting dust into the air around her. “Oh no…” Emmy’s mouth begins opening wider until, “Achoo!” The dust enters her nose more, causing an uncontrollable sneeze. “I must… achoo! Get out of- Achoo! Here…”

In the floral shop by the corner, Carly looks around for the last item on the list; black rose water. “Hm… If I were rose water, where would I be?” Her eyes are drawn to the bottle on the top shelf near the entrance. “Of course, it’s up there…” She looks around, yet sees no worker in the store. “And no one’s around to help… Guess I’ll just help myself then…” The cat reaches for the bottle, but her paw is only inches away from it. “Hugck! Come on!” She stands on her tippy-toes. “Come on, Carly! You’ve almost got it!” Her paw stretches out more and wraps around the item. “Got it!” Her weight, however, causes the god to lean forward into the shelf. “Uh oh! Whoa!” Carly is knocked into it, causing it to fall over. As the shelf falls, a vase of flower water tips and spills all over her. Carly gets up and sees the damages she’s caused. “Uh, whoops…” She quickly pulls out some cash and leaves it on the counter. “I’ll just be going!” She leaves the scene. “I was never here…”

The girls regroup in the center of the mall.

“All right, everyone got everything from the list?” asks Emmy, rubbing her nose with her finger. The cat and bird nod. “Good. Now, we need a place to perform the ritual.”

“Let’s do it at my place,” says Navy. “We can set up there and-” The bird sniffs the cat. “Hey, why do you smell like fresh roses?”

“Please don’t,” Carly utters. “I need a bath once I get home…”

“You can wash later, when we’ve-” Emmy sniffles. “Oh no… Achoo! Ugh…” She sneezes again.

“Bless you,” Navy tells her.

“Security!” someone shouts. “Security! Someone has destroyed the flower shop!” As the spectator yells, the girls rush out the entrance.

***

The gang gathers at Navy’s studio apartment, where they set up for their “special event”. Carly draws along the floor, making a pentagram with a marker. Emmy takes sand and proceeds to encircle the pentagram, touching the points with perfection. Lastly, Navy places candles beside the points and lights them.

Carly looks into the picture in the book before viewing the shape in reality. She crosses her arms with a smile of pleasure. “Looks about right.”

“Yeah,” Navy adds. “And it smells nice, too!”

“Okay, let’s get started.” Emmy picks up the book and holds it in her hooves. “All that’s left is to recite the incantation.”

“Wait!” Carly interrupts. “What if whatever comes out of there tries to kill us?”

“Hm, good point. We should suit up and prepare for the worst.” The three girls rummage around Navy’s place for protective equipment and anything that could be used as a weapon. They manage to find gear and tools, preparing in five minutes. Navy holds a shovel close while donning a knight’s helmet, while Carly protects herself with football helmet, wielding a frying pan for her defense. Emmy’s head is covered with a pumpkin as a baseball bat leans up against her for her weapon. The warthog holds the book up. “Everybody ready?” Navy and Carly stand guard behind Emmy, ready to expect the unexpected. Emmy begins the incantation. “For thou who lives trapped in flame and clay, heed this call, rejoice and pray.” Navy’s wings tremble, shaking the shovel in her grip. “Gather upon thy mortal door.” Carly tightens her grip of her frying pan. “Break the gates, and emerge once more!” The candle flames enlarge, brightening the room as a portal opens within the center of the pentagram. One big, round ball shoots out from the entryway, bouncing off the walls of the apartment. The three girls panic as the frenzy continues.

“Whoa!” Carly dives behind the counters in the kitchen to take cover, lying on the floor. “Jeez! How do you stop this thing?!”

“I don’t know!” Emmy dodges as the flame ball flies past her. “This thing’s out of control! Yipe!” She stumbles onto the ground, avoiding the fire sphere as it nearly collides into her.

“Don’t worry!” Navy holds the shovel firmly. “I’ve got it!” As the ball comes her way, she swings and smacks it away. The sphere of flames smashes through the glass window and outside. “Homerun! Woo!” The orb is last seen barreling down the street, burning lampposts and trees along the way. “Um, uh oh…”

Carly stands and looks out the broken window. “Nice going…”

Emmy is quick to her feet as she heads out the door. “Come on! We have to go after it!”

“Are you crazy?!” the cat utters. Navy is already behind the warthog. “Hey, wait for me!” Carly sprints after them.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Zach, Niji, Eren, and Silus enjoy some time together in the park. The boys each hold ice cream cones in their paws and chat away as they lick their frozen treats.

“Mmm,” Niji spurts after licking his treat. “I love rainbow-flavored ice cream.”

Zach looks to the short deer, who takes a bite out of his swirl. “Eren, thank you very much… You didn’t have to pay for mine… I could’ve just passed on it.”

“No no,” Eren tells him. “It’s fine. Besides, it would’ve been fair if you were left out. You’re our friend after all.”

“Nobody ever thought it was unfair when they left me out of things, the orphanage and Team Rescuers especially…” Zach’s ears start to droop.

“They’re just dumb,” Niji adds in. “The whole town, too. Just because you’re different, doesn’t give them the right to push you out of things. So what if you are the product of some bad animals or have a mental disorder? You look and act normal to us.”

Zach’s eyelids open wide as his ears straighten. “R-really? You think so, Niji?”

“We all do,” Silus implies. “They just don’t know what it’s like to be different. You shouldn’t let people talk you down because they say you have “flaws”. In fact, you shouldn’t assess yourself for your flaws, but of your strengths; the things that make you proud of who you are, no matter what anybody things.”

“Gee, I-” The fox pauses, then turns his head after spotting something glowing in the corner of his eye. “W-what? What is that?” Everyone turns to see where he’s looking. “It looks like a giant-” Zach’s eyelids pull back as far as they can go as he notices a large fireball heading straight for him and his friends. “Holy!” Silus is quick with his reflexes, grabbing the fox, wolf, and deer with his arms and pulling them away to avoid the flames. However, as the ball of flames whooshes past, it manages to touch Zach on his torso, Eren by his shoulder, and Niji on his head, as well as the newt’s arms that grasp the three. The four boys collapse to the ground and scatter as they grudge at their burns, grunting and yelping with pain. The fire sphere then disappears from view, leaving the friends clueless.

Emmy arrives on scene with Navy and Carly beside her. “I think this is where it-” She notices the boys. “Oh my gosh! Niji, Eren, Silus, Zach!” She and the girls aide the four friends to their feet. “You guys okay?!”

“What happened?” asks Carly. “You’ve got burns!”

“Yeah, no kidding!” Niji shouts. “No thanks to that giant fireball that passed by!”

“Wait, you know where the fireball went?!” Navy utters. “Where did it go?!” She searches around frantically. “Is it around here?!”

“Navy, now’s not the time!” Carly calls to her. “We have to help our friends!”

“We don’t even know what’s happening,” grunts Zach. “We were having ice cream when that flaming ball came out of nowhere… Oh, it hurts!”

Eren looks up at the girls. “Um, why are you wearing those outfits?”

“We’ll explain later,” Emmy says. “Why don’t we head back to Navy’s place and get you guys some ice?” The friends agree. The boys stand with ease due to their injuries and follow the girls back. @carlycmarathecat @emmy-the-absolute-goof @pink-unicorn-blood @rainbow-strike @ask-choro-mama

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jlf23tumble · 6 years ago

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Four Hangout: Recap

Oh, man, I know I “owe” this one, so I’m doing it, but I hate it for about 15 different reasons, 14 of those being Ben Winston, which means I’m gonna keep this fairly short. The Four Hangout (lmao, I will never stop laughing at the attempts to team up with Google’s shitty tech) predates my entry into this fandom, so I’m not as on top of every little thing that happened around it (and my god, there were some doozies). I’ve found other posts that do a better job of transcribing some key moments), but I’m sure lots of others are out there, and as ever, I recommend taking 35 minutes to stare at this work of art for yourself.

Whenever I’ve seen gifs from this, the read is that at least two people are coming off a coke bender as we all focus on Ben’s rather ham-fisted attempt to get Louis to admit that he hates people thinking he’s gay. But in rewatching it in full now and knowing more about the context around it, the true vibe is exhaustion mixed with some very real anger/mulishness aimed at management in general and Ben in particular. Because the point of the Four Hangout isn’t to promote Four, the album, but to exonerate the D’s management team, blow smoke up Ben’s ass, and “clear the air” about whatever rumors have been going around that the D’s team doesn’t like, all posed as questions theoretically from the fans, yet weirdly management focused.

I’ve found lots of good blog posts that summarize these 35 or so minutes, but here’s an executive summary of my comments coupled with others I’ve found:

Ben Winston is an insufferable dick

The D is so fucking TIRED at this point, everyone’s low energy, but Louis’s voice is the softest, raspiest, most enchanting thing

They regularly creep on social media and are up on pretty much everything fandom related

There are no rumors they need to dismiss except that they’re currently alive, go on, ask them twice!

Liam is great at delivering the corporate spiel

Harry really did get them sneezes out

The Louis/Ben feud is one thing; the Harry/Ben feud is a whole other

Louis reads fanfic (and has some faves!)

Narry are ride or die WMYB, except for when Harry needs to have a go at Ben

Zayn has somehow made himself look even more godlike

Louis has super cute socks

With that in mind, let’s jump into some key moments, but I’m paraphrasing a lot because it’s so hard to hear over all the cross-talk, asides, and inside jokes. More under the cut!

Shout out to Louis's collarbones and quiff combo...his voice is about to give out, but he’s so OPEN and present for this total shitshow, even when he defiantly refuses to take the path he’s being guided down. Also, please @ god let me play some poker while we enjoy a bacon butty over brunch, his face as Niall introduces Ben as a “very, very good friend of ours” (me as both Ziam and Harry):

One of the most subversive things this band does is effusive praise when they’re pissed off, and never is it clearer than here, when Niall gushes on about all the wonderful work Ben has done for them, and the other boys pick up on it and start whistling and clapping (Louis: “My hero”; Harry: “LOOK AT THOSE TEETH!”) until Ben gets extremely uncomfortable.

We’re off to a good start, with Ben being sure to preface that all of these questions are from the fans, and then Harry asking Ben if he’s wearing makeup (Ben, mildly affronted, “No, I’m not wearing any makeup, but you guys do, you wear a lot of makeup, don't you, Harry” [Harry: “Tons”; Ben: “Well, you need to”]).

The first question is about the difference between this album and their first one, and it’s such a stupid, easy question that I want to answer it for Niall because I can do it in my sleep. Ben then asks Louis if he likes visiting the X Factor, if it reminds him of the old days (you know, four years ago), and AGAIN, this is a dumb-ass question, and Louis’s a pro, so what do you think he’s gonna say? (Of course he likes visiting, it’s lovely to go down and relive it). Is Harry nervous about playing there again tonight? Nope, it’s fun!! He can enjoy it this time around! Simon Cowell doesn’t give him ANY anxiety!!

The next question is about the simplicity of the old days, and my god, does my heart break for Liam saying that they had to work really hard back then, so it’s nice that four years later, they get a few more vacation days. Louis agrees, adding that the first American promo trip was a grind where they did 10 things a day (multiple interviews, signings, radio appearances, rehearsals, and shows)

Ben asks if they ever go back and watch clips of themselves from their early days (this genuinely does seem like a fan ask), and wouldn’t you know, Niall was just chillin’ out last week, rewatching all the video diaries again. Louis admits that his red trousers and braces were loud, but they worked for the time, “Or do you disagree, Ben?” (Ben: “No, I loved it.” Louis: “Thank you.”) And I wish I could travel back in time both so I could kill Hitler AND witness Ben showing up somewhere in a pair of Toms, only to be faced by Louis Tomlinson telling him that he wore that style two years ago, and he wouldn’t anymore, which Ben says cut him down to size (I highly doubt that, but I would have love to see it).

All of this fashion talk is side-winding into a question about who tells them what to wear and whether they have control over their image now. They all note that they wouldn’t have dared to push back in year one, presumably because “experts” were telling them what to do, plus it was all free (which makes all the dragging on their old looks extra fun to watch). Then Ben asks whether they make their own decisions now, and Liam says yeah as Louis smirks, lmaooooo, which morphs into, well, we have much more input than we used to have. I’m here for Harry giving a slow, long-winded answer as a construction project starts up somewhere in the studio, and Louis yells, “Keep it down” into his mic.

Ben, I mean, the fans want to know what piece of advice they’d give the fetus versions of themselves, if they could go back in time, and Louis advises his younger self to have a second glance in the mirror and see if he’s really sure about that particular outfit. (Ben: “Is that…really?” Louis: “No, Ben, I’m just trying to make a joke.”). Liam would fight the haircuts, and Harry would burn the supras (I’m assuming; Louis: “They were outrageous”). Zayn would tell his younger self to have a bit more fun, to try and take it all in and enjoy it more. :(

“The fans” are curious about the negative side of social media, how the D just exploded on YouTube and Twitter after X Factor, and does it ever go too far? Liam channels my inbox and says that people forget there’s a person on the other side of an anon message, that these guys see all the things that are said about them, and they’re self-conscious with cameras and comments, but it’s okay, they put up with it. Louis’s addicted to Twitter, and says that there are negative people there, but you’ll find negative people on every social media platform and in real life, too, it is what it is.

Of course, “the fans” are curious about how all this social media shit affects their girlfriends, and I would kill to hear more about what Narry, the two singles on this couch, keep giggling about in this ridick convo that I’m not even gonna bother to sum up.

Ben’s curious how the fans always manage to leak everything the band does, and yes, Louis, tell us more! How does it make you feel? Liam thinks it’s anticlimactic, Niall’s only beef is when something is leaked a week before it’s out, and everyone else just gets annoyed if it breaks the structure of a rollout, but nobody talks about songs that are leaked that were never meant for official release (cough cough, "Home”), and Harry’s just happy people get a sneak peek and then still buy the album, so all is good. Me as this exchange: Ben, incredulously, “It’s amazing they’re able to constantly do it”; Liam: “Lots of high-tech people out there.”

Probably my favorite part of this is the fanfic discussion, which kicks off with Ben’s “I've noticed, not that I’ve read it, but there's been a lot of fanfiction published about you boys, books published, have you any read it?”

Zayn avoids it at all costs, but Louis’s aware of a fic writer’s book deal (who????) and says that he’s come across some of it on twitter (!!!). He finds some of it utterly bizarre (looking at you, self-inserts), but he’s read some nice little stories, and he’s seen some that go very deep and very, very weird. Liam acknowledges that it’s a whole different world, that he gets the idea of it, of fans putting themselves in situations with them (and Jesus Christ, it kills me that they’ve had to read self-insert wattpad fics), but some of it blows his mind. Niall doesn’t know where to go looking for it, but don’t worry friend, Ben’s gonna hook you up with his favorites! Harry is noticeably quiet during ALL of this.

With a horrible segue, Ben says, “Speaking of things that are made up, what’s the biggest rumor you’ve heard about yourself, this is a question lots of fans are asking” (SURE THING), and Harry never gets enough credit for his dry delivery, such as the way he says, “We’ve all been dead a couple of times.” But Ben can’t let it go, and that’s when Louis does his whole, “No”….dramatic pause (he might be saying “Go,” but the point is, he lets this bit drop where it lands). Zayn jumps in with the rumor that Niall used to be a jockey, and god bless him, honestly.

Ben realizes he’s not getting anywhere with this, so it’s time to move on to the actual album, why is it called Four, etc. It’s not really all that interesting, tbh, nor is the name they didn’t go with as a band (Liam’s dad’s suggestion, which was USP, if you’re curious). Liam figures USP will flourish one day, and this whole section proves how funny Liam actually is. I’m curious about all the One Direction tribute bands they’re mentioning, and I’m totally down to check one out if they’re ever in my area, just fwiw.

Anyway, moving on! What song are they most proud of? Zayn loves “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” and Louis is WAY into “Fireproof,” which Liam’s down with, too. The part that’s interesting gets glossed over because Ben’s an idiot, but they talk about how many songs they’ve written that don’t make it to the album, like, Liam has a tattoo that says “somewhere is a place that nobody knows” from a song we’ll never hear called “Man on a Mission,” and how many others are stored in this vault (23 or 24 were in the final running for this album, where are they)? Harry suggests those songs will be on USP’s first album, and I will absolutely buy it. His story about the Norway bus trip makes me want to dig deep (he was on a party bus in Norway and heard one of their songs, sung by them, that had never been released anywhere, and he was the only one who knew it).

Zayn hints a bit at what happens (voting), and Liam hints at all the meetings, but I would love to know so much more about this process, especially since Niall says that lots of people are in these meetings, with lots of opinions (Simon, label, other managers).

Ben says that another recurring question is about what “Stockholm Syndrome” means, and I love the Alex Turner-esque dodge we get on Harry literally describing what Stockholm Syndrome means, without any real insight into what the song’s about. Still, I live in the awkward that happens right after this drops, with Ben still somehow trying to get them to admit they don’t feel trapped, lmao:

Ben asks about which songs are about specific people, and god, I don’t care because all of this section is lies. Then he tries to get them to talk about songs they don’t like, and they aren’t here for that, like, Liam will say he can’t casually listen to WMYB, but he loves performing it, and the best part of this is Harry saying he’ll crank that song and mouth along, pretending that he’s Niall.

For their favorite songs, Liam goes with “Fireproof,” Louis goes with “Midnight Memories,” Niall goes with “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” Zayn can’t pick one, and Harry says “Best Song Ever.” Ben likes “Through the Dark” because of course he does, and that’s when the needling from Harry starts about “Gotta Be You,” and I don’t understand, but I live for him on the attack, so geddit, son (also, Niall, with his “your boyfriend’s back, and you’re gonna be in trouble,” etc., YES).

Another question Ben kept getting from fans (got it!) is what would be the one thing they’d change in the past four years, and Louis starts with, “Why would you want to? It’s been great, there’s no point.” Liam agrees, and that’s that. Ben’s next question is what moment they’d relive in the past four years, and Niall says he was really nervous at MSG, although Zayn thinks it was a great gig BECAUSE they were nervous. Nothing’s really happening here, so Ben asks Harry what’s going on with his hair (I guess “the fans” want to know?), and Harry just says it tends to grow, that’s what hair does, and he’s letting it all hang out.

Another “fan” question that makes me laugh from Ben: “Who makes the decisions in One Direction? Is it always your call?” And they all say NO, but Liam jumps in with, “It’s totally us, people ask us now, ultimately we call the shots,” and there’s a LOT of back-chatter here, so draw what you see.

Ben tries to push how much they love the “Night Changes,” video, and AGAIN, Harry gets on his case about “Gotta Be You,” and someone else covers it better than I ever could, but this goading by Harry is wonderful. Ben’s creative process for video concepts is fascinating because he basically admits that it’s easy or it’s really hard (read: he steals it or just throws a shitty idea to a wall to see if it sticks).

Ben asks if they get nervous about people liking the album, and Louis says they care if critics like the album or not, but really, he’s out there on twitter searching different song titles to see the fan reaction. This is also when we learn they aren’t on ye olde social meeds that much anymore, but they all enjoy a good old-fashioned creep session (Zayn especially). Harry’s comment about feeling vulnerable when you release something you’ve been working on for a year feels especially poignant—he gets excited and nervous all at once—and I really don’t get this whole controlled leak promo thing they did for Four, but who am I to question Modest or Syco?? All I want to know is what Niall’s talking about on the side.

#recap #four hangout #get them sneezes out

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