#HOW HE CLUTCHES HER HAND ON HER HEART AAA

[arcanegifs]

Stromae, Pomme - “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video]

[a-hermit-pining]

A Reflection of Him

AN: Plot bunny bunny comes to life! Warning- I bawled my eyes writing this.

Pairing: Sylus x fem reader

Genre: fluff and so much comfort

Summary: "Is that not the best thing to wish for? That the people you care for were loved, even before you came into their life?"

(I do not own these characters)

"Happy Father's Day, Dada!" Raul shrieks, launching himself into Sylus' lap.

Your husband barely has time to react before he’s tackled—first by the dogs, then by Mephisto, and finally by the twins, who have long since lost any fear of rebuke. Not after witnessing their fearsome boss being carried out of the delivery room at the mere sight of birth.

A flurry of limbs, paws, and claws moves before your eyes, a chaotic mess of yips, shrieks, and laughter. And your heart blooms at the sight.

Some pluck love like petals. Some treasure it like pearls. And some...some deserve to be smothered by it.

Then, your eldest walks in.

She stands beside you, clutching your hand, trepidation flickering in her eyes. For a moment, she is once again the little girl you let go of at the kindergarten gates.

With a gentle pat on her head, you smile, then lovingly shove her into the crowd of limbs.

He had hit his head when he first found himself on your couch. He didn’t remember much...just funny colors, static noises... Probably a concussion.

How embarrassing.

Sylus lay there, eyes rolling back as he groaned at the thrumming pain in his skull.

"Say aaa," a small voice rang in his ear before something plastic was shoved into his mouth.

Squinting his eyes open, he found a pair of familiar eyes staring back at him.

Yours, only on a smaller, plumper face.

"You have a fever," the little voice chirped, inspecting the plastic thermometer now thoroughly drenched in his saliva. "200 degrees. Don't worry, I’ll make you better." Small hands patted his head with absolute confidence.

"Lilia!" You scooped your daughter up with a sigh. "Didn't I put you to bed already?"

"But the doctor says it’s serious," Sylus croaked dramatically. "Who will treat me now?"

"Rein in your horses, mister. Lay down and do not strain yourself," you scolded, shooting him a glare as you set down the glass of water you'd gone to fetch.

"Come, Lilia. Time for bed. Playtime is over." You carried your daughter toward her room, but not before she twisted around to make the most ridiculous faces at Sylus over your shoulder.

That was how he met her.

Your daughter, who, at age four, was the only doctor bold enough to diagnose him with a 200-degree fever.

"He was a… we were in college. It was all so new… we were from the same town," you say, staring at the hazy photos of your college dorm.

"It was easier to tackle Linkon with him. And then he was gone... he couldn't bear it. People weren’t kind to him. He…" You sigh, clutching the photo tighter. "He is no more. You don’t have to seek anyone for vengeance or revenge. But if you ever hurt Lilia, I will kill you."

And Sylus knows, that is the truth.

You would kill him.

But for the first time, he does not wish for it. Not if it means leaving you alone. Not if it means becoming nothing more than a painful photograph in your hands.

"She is all I have, and I am all she has," you murmur, looking up at him. The house stands still, the only sound the slow, rhythmic tick of the clock.

Sylus flips through the album, stopping at a photo where you cradle an infant in your arms.

"I’m glad," he says finally, voice quiet. "Whoever he was, he left you with Lilia. I’m glad you were loved. And that Lilia grew up being loved by you."

He exhales, eyes lingering on the photo.

"Is that not the best thing to wish for? That the people you care for were loved, even before you came into their life?" He smiles taking your hand in his, next to a mountain of toys that Lilia had insisted on showing to him before leaving for school.

Luke and Kieran sit on tiny chairs, sipping water from plastic cups. Seated beside them is the esteemed council of plushies.

"Mr. Luke, do you like the tea?" Lilia beams, dressed in a princess gown and tiara.

Luke nods, his mask off, before turning to his twin, only to find Kieran’s face covered in stickers.

"Yes, Princess Lilia," Kieran says solemnly. "The tea is excellent. You should serve this to Boss once he returns."

It is simply delightful to witness the head of Onichynus joining the council of plushies for an exquisite tea party.

Makes for an excellent photo, too, one they manage to sneak in with Mephisto’s help.

Lilia grins, "Yes! We must! And I will ask, mommy and Mephisto to join. We can have a ball."

"Boss!" Lilia tugs at Sylus' sleeve as he carefully straightens her bow.

"Hm?" he hums, though his heart is beating wildly. Just a few rooms away, you were waiting for him, ready to walk down the aisle.

"Do you want me to sneak photos of Mommy?" Lilia asks, her eyes glimmering with mischief. "Am I not your best woman? I should do it, right?"

Standing tall on the stool, his best man is doing an excellent job of keeping his nerves in check.

Sylus exhales a laugh, shaking his head. "How much did your mother bribe you to sneak a photo of me to her?"

Distantly, he makes a note to have a word with the twins, after the wedding. They were definitely behind this. He and you had worked way too hard to get Lilia to stop calling him Boss, only for it to come right back at the worst possible time.

The room stills when your daughter hands him the papers.

You quietly pull Raul into your lap as Sylus takes them, his hands trembling.

"Happy Father's Day," your daughter says, standing before him as he reads frantically.

"People say we're both equally stubborn," she continues, her voice steady but thick with emotion. She clutches his hand. "That we're both sore losers. That we both love anything shiny..."

Sylus looks up at her, his tears unrelenting, just like hers.

"But they don’t know," she says, voice breaking, "that all of this comes from you. From the years, the months, the weeks, the days, the hours, the minutes, down to the very seconds, you have spent looking after me."

She swallows.

"It’s because... how could I not want to be like you?"

Sylus' breath catches.

"From four to sixteen, you've been here for so long... and I don’t want to call you Sylus. I want to call you Dad. I want you to be my dad"

Beside them, you sniff quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of Raul’s head as he watches, wide-eyed and troubled by the sight of both his sister and his Dada in tears.

"Will you be my dad?" she asks, sinking to her knees.

And Sylus, your husband, your love—falls.

He pulls her into his arms, holding her as if letting go would break the world.

"A thousand times over," he whispers. "In every lifetime, in every form. I hope to have you as my daughter."

Tags

@perla-drg, @codedove, @crazy-ink-artist, @desiree-archive @softiepeachess @otome-addictionproblem

[harleehazbinfics]

Home is where my heart is.

Chapter 4: Family Table of Contents | Profile

Word Count: 2000+ A/N: WHERE ALREADY AT CHAPTER FOURRR AAA this concludes the life they had while they were human, but we'll still have a few flashbacks to see cuz plot. also thank you for over 1,000+ of likes and reblogs that means so much to me that you enjoy my works. i think y'all really liked the devout one lol, i'll just say now that i have plans to make it about lucifer so if you're into that please expect more and hit follow, really helps when peeps comment on stuff <33 much love, enjoy!

there were so many errors bro LMAO also I added a few paragraphs to this, so pls enjoy my scuff (edited as of Feb 20)

“I’m home~,” my husband’s voice calls out from the doorway.

Wiping my hands on my apron, I greeted him coming from the kitchen, “Al! Welcome back. How was your day?”

“Same as always. It’s gotten quite dusty out, I wouldn’t recommend you and the lil’ munchkin to go out for a while. I’ll take a shower first,” he responded dusting himself off briefly by the door before removing his shoes and coat. Heading towards the bathroom past me, but not before giving me smooch on the cheek and a gentle rub on my swollen belly.

Yes. Miledy got pregnant with Alastor’s child. He slowly warmed up to the idea when he saw her babysitting the neighbor’s toddler and when they both visited an orphanage, albeit to Al’s hesitance, where he saw her dote on the children, as she was also a kid that grew up in an orphanage feeling great empathy towards them. If Alastor didn’t stop her, she would have adopted all of them. At the end of the day, he concluded that you would be the best mom possible out there and gave her wish. Making him very sentimental and missing his late mother, which she often comforted him about.

I sighed happily and rubbed my stomach. I stared at the cradle with much longing, I couldn't wait to see our baby. Above the cradle was a mobile, it was a string of ornaments that were meant to be a toy for them, it was decorated with shells, dolphins, rabbits and a deer—as requested by Al.

I picked up a music box that had our favorite music. Alastor had this requested as a gift for your child, I was surprised when he presented it to me. I didn't think he'd be attached to them as much as I was, but I guess he adores them in his own way. Making a family does make it seem more real.

It makes me think back all those lives we've taken just to protect our family. I wonder if those people had family too? Did they look for them?

I was pulled from my thoughts when Alastor stood beside me, gazing at the cradle as I was.

“And how have the two of you been, my love,” Alastor asked, his hair still wet and changed clothes.

The both of us walked towards the couch, him making me sit on his lap as always after work, where he would rub my stomach and lower back, and even sometimes my chest whenever they get too heavy.

“Been kicking and moving around so much lately. I’m so sore all over,” I moaned as I leaned my back on his chest, letting him massage my lower back.

“Don’t worry, darling. I’ll give them a good talking to,” he joked poking around my stomach.

Giggling and squirming in his hold I cried, feeling fluttery inside when the baby kicked in response, “Al, that tickles! Haha!”

“What?~ I’m just disciplining our child,” he explains himself in a light tone.

“You’re such a loser,” I rolled my eyes playfully at him.

“Oh, please,” he scoffs, “I’m anything but a loser. Have you seen my wife? The most sought out singer in all of Louisiana? You must have heard of her surely.”

“I have indeed,” I giggled, “but I heard she unfortunately got knocked up by some random radio broadcast guy that does his shows in a basement.”

Alastor gasps dramatically clutching his hand over his chest and exclaims, “You did not! One, I own a studio in the city where I do my shows, thank you very much. Two, how dare you say unfortunately, I’m the most highly paid broadcaster. Any person would drop on their knees to even get to be in the same room as me.”

I chuckled at his haughtiness and conceded lying on his chest once more, “You’re right, you’re right, your royal highness.”

He lets out a hum similar to a purr contently embracing us.

(3 years later)

“Abigail!”

A little squeal sounded down the halls along with little pitter patters of her tiny feet as she tried to get away from me.

“Come here, Sunshine. You need to get changed. Don’t you wanna go and see Dad?” I asked her walking to her slowly.

She excitedly jumps from behind the couch and yells, “Dad! Dad! I wan’ta see Dad!”

“Alright, alright. Come’re,” I called her to come closer to put on her little yellow sundress. I took my bag that had all our necessities while Abby tried to put on her shoes that she immediately showed off when she did it all by herself.

“Well done, Abby! Dad will be happy that you can put on your shoes by yourself now. Do you want to tell him yourself?” I asked putting on her hat.

“Mhm! I’ll tell him myself!” she answered cheerfully holding my hand after I shut the door and locked it.

“Alright then. You ready?” I asked her again with a doting smile.

“Yes! Let’s go meet up with Dad!” she replied excitedly trying to drag me with her.

After we arrived at his studio, we went to his office and waited for him to finish with his morning show so we could take Abby to the park and eat at a restaurant for lunch after. She was on the floor playing with her toy doll and stuffed bunny, playing pretend by herself.

“Hello there, darlings,” Alastor greeted with a smile. Arms already open for his daughter to dive in.

“Dad!” She yelled excitedly jumping into his arms, “Are you done with work?”

“Yup. You excited to go to the park today?” he asked booping her nose playfully.

She laughed delightedly making both Al and I’s hearts to melt.

“Yeah! I wanna go now please!” she requested politely hugging her father’s neck.

“Okay, Sunshine,” he replied petting her back.

Hand in hand, the three of us spent the day together happily on our family outing. Of course, it couldn’t be helped that we would be stopped a few times, but we immediately excused ourselves from them to enjoy as much time as we could while we were together, not letting all the disturbances get in the way for our plans today.

Reaching home with a tired Abigail in my arms. Alastor carried all our bags and toys that we bought for our daughter along with a balloon with a smiley face on it tied around his wrist. As he was opening the door for us, he stopped suddenly, making me look up to him alert.

I clutched Abby closer getting ready to run. Alastor fully opened the door and dodged a swing from a brass knuckle to his head.

“Run!” he yelled as he fended off the intruder from getting to us. Abigail waking up from the shout of his father, she trembled in fear as she saw him fight another man.

“Mom? What going on?” she asked, confused and afraid grip tightening around me.

“Shh, I’m sorry but mom’s gonna ask you to stay quiet, okay? Just-just close your eyes, honey.” I requested seriously making her tuck her head in my neck.

I ran as fast I could, reaching our other house that was used for emergencies. We entered together and pushed her inside a bunker in the bedroom.

“Baby, you need to listen to me. I need you to be quiet for me, okay? No matter what, don’t open this door if it isn’t me or Dad, got it?” I ordered her with a serious face making her nod despite being afraid out of her skin. I swiped the tears under her eyes and gave a kiss on her forehead saying, “I love you so much, Abby.”

I left her after locking the door and pushed the vanity on top of the door. Holding my gun close to me and creeping my way out the bedroom to check for any of followers, as I was rounding a corner someone tugged at my hair making me throw my head back.

I whacked him with my gun up on his chin making him back up from me, taking this opportunity to shoot him in the chest twice. I aimed my gun to the window when I saw a sliver of light catch the corner of my eye, shooting when he jumps in through the window stopping him from letting him move further in.

I turned my gun to the door when I heard it open, only to feel relieved when I saw the familiar tuft of brown hair styled in a certain way that I could immediately recognize. I run towards him for an embrace that he returned.

“Where’s Abby?” he asked looking around the room.

“She’s in the bunker. Did anyone follow you?” I asked placing my hands back to my sides.

“None. I had 4 people outside, you?” he said rushing into the room making sure Abby’s safe.

“Just 2,” I sighed rubbing my face frustratedly. “I’m sorry. It must’ve been Alex’s men. They’re getting pretty fucking desperate if they’re attacking from our house,” I snarled.

“It’s fine, darling. That’s why we prepared this to make sure Abby stays safe,” he said assuring me, and giving me a quick peck on the head. Then helping him push the vanity off the door and took our daughter out.

“Let’s stay in the cabin for a while, we aren’t safe here,” Alastor suggested which I agreed to.

Morning come; Abby woke up confused, she then realized she was in her father’s cabin seeing his prized hunting gun on wall. Her eyes scanned the room for her parents and found none of them there, so she slowly opened the door and was greeted by the smell of cooked meat. She found her father in the kitchen cleaning while you were knitting on the sofa. Hearing the door creak, both the adults turned their heads to their daughter’s little round head.

“Good morning, Sunshine~,” Alastor greeted waving his spatula.

I got off the sofa, leaving my knitting materials and scooped her up into my arms, “Hello, bunny. Did you have a good sleep? It’s already 10pm.”

“Mhmm, but I had a bad dream. Mom and Dad where fighting some bad guys and I was so scared that you got hurt,” she mumbled making my face ridden with guilt.

I never wanted my baby to experience this, I never knew that Alex’s obsession would ever get this deep.

To briefly explain what happened over the years, I sang in a private bar where some very important people were having a meeting. Unfortunately for me, one of people there was interested in me. So, I explained to him that I had a husband, but he refused to leave me alone until Alastor came with the owner of the establishment to diffuse the situation. However, it didn’t stop there, he insistently showered me with gifts and letters that I had to refuse each time. I confronted him saying that I would never be with him as long as I lived, so in retaliation his obsession turned sinister, believing that if he couldn't have me then I was better off dead.

Alastor, fueled with irritation, confronted him almost successfully killing him in the process if it weren’t for Alex’s group to look for him and warded Al off. And to this day he’s eager to hurt our family.

“I’m sorry, honey,” I replied eyebrows furrowed kissing her head, “it’s just a bad dream don’t be scared.”

“Exactly, nothing to be worried about. Why don’t you have some breakfast first? Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day, Sunshine,” Alastor spoke up after setting the plates, taking Abby into his arms, and placing her on her chair.

At the end of the day, when Abby passes out from exhaustion from playing in the meadow all day. Alastor takes his gun off the wall making me stand up in worry.

“Where are you going?” I asked, holding his arm.

“To finish this once and for all. I don’t want Abby to be in danger anymore. Most of all, I don’t want you to live in fear that we’re going to lose Abby, neither do I,” he reason placing his hand on your cheek.

“Just please... please be careful, Al,” I pleaded him covering his hand over mine.

He gave me a smug smile and replied, “I’ve never lost before, darling. I’ll be back before sunrise. I promise.”

I nodded as he gave me a kiss, as much as I was worried about him, I knew Al could take care of himself.

“Stay safe,” I said staying by the door frame while he waves goodbye, painfully unaware how devasted I would be when he never returned the following day.

[the-possum-writes]

♡ 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬 ♡

♡ “you’re all i’ll ever want.”

Character: Marshall Lee

Tags: SFW, Gen!neutral reader, harmless pranks, one sided pinning, reprociated feelings, Marshall being a little shit

A/n: Alright Marshall simps, come get your food.

[original prompt list]

Taglist: @watchingfromthefloorboards @foxpearlwilder

It's grocery shopping time. Fionna and Cake usually invite you to dungeon crawls and sleepovers, but this time, you asked them to go shopping. To your surprise, Marshall Lee came along as well. Either because he's plotting something against the three of you, or because he's genuinely bored. Fionna is on her way to exchange her dungeon treasures for whatever random junk he has on display while you carry produce goods. So you and Marshall Lee are strolling through the market place, picking up the last few items on your grocery list when you notice vendors tying heart-shaped balloons to wooden posts and hanging signs for gift wrapping.

"Wow, February has only just begun, and they've already decorated the entire marketplace." You make your observation with a healthy dose of surprise and excitement, but Marshall doesn't appear to share your enthusiasm.

"Ugh, I hate Valentine's Day," he says, sticking out his tongue.

You raise a brow at him. "What's so bad about Valentine's Day?"

You two come to a halt, with Marshall Lee still floating and clutching his umbrella. "For starters, everything is all pink and cutesy, it's like the candy kingdom took over," the vampire king explains with a scrunched up nose. "It's stupid, I swear it's the lamest holiday out of them all, and only fools would celebrate it. I'll be spending the day alone, or possibly destroying it..."

You, on the other hand, take his claim personally; on a normal day, you enjoy arguing with him about trivial matters, but this time you're also upset because you're a hopeless romantic who has had a crush on this guy for quite some time. So handing him a present to make your feelings known today would probably have him laugh at you.

"Oh come on, don't be such a sour puss!" you joke lightly. "There's gotta be someone you like enough to go out of your way to give them a gift."

He audibly groans. “Eughhh, you’re getting on my nerves with all of these valentine's day questions. So, how about you and I work together to destroy valentine's day?~ How 'bout it~”

On one side you're against the idea, but then again, the thought of spending time with Marshall Lee is nothing but tempting. As long as you're not the target of his schemes that is.

"Alright, deal!"

"What are you two talking about?" Fionna approaches the two of you, she's carrying some sort of impracticable armor but if previous experience taught you anything, it's that you avoid bringing it up. Your gaze went to Marshall Lee floating behind Fionna who did a 'zip your mouth' kind of move, prompting you to hide your mischievous plans from Aaa's heroine. "Nothing, just finishing up my grocery list!" you exclaim.

You spent the next few days hanging out with Marshall Lee, making everyone else's lives harder by stealing sweets from strangers leaving supermarkets, releasing locusts at flower shops, prank calling restaurants and making reservations you'll never attend, and so on. Maybe there's a part of you that feels bad about screwing people over, but the time you've spent with Marshall Lee has been well worth it; you two weren't particularly close to begin with, but this has been a tremendous bonding experience that you wouldn't have shared with anyone else. You came to learn something new about him, he's not an actively evil dude but rather he gets a kick out of messing with people.

It's the night of valentine’s day and the two of you are howling in laughter after guiding a pack of wolves into an outdoor cinema, Marshall is carrying you by the shoulders while he flies over the scrambling couples running away. "Pfthaha, look at them. Told ya this is better than exchanging chocolates."

You've been keeping your real opinions to yourself during this time, but you still let one small bit escape. "Yeah for sure, though I wouldn't mind one right now..." you sigh.

"You're still hung up on that?" Marshall notices this with a brief cackle, flipping your over so you're left resting your weight on his chest. "We still have the stuff we stole from the people shopping from the supermarkets, an all you can eat buffet if you're upset about that."

You try to keep yourself steady on his floating body, sounding as nonchalant as possible without giving your crush away. "Meh It's not the same as having someone give it to you."

Marshall pouts momentarily. "Just admit it, valentine's day was created by companies to make the idiots buy their overprized valentines gifts.” He taunts you, wrapping his arms around you and keeping you pressed to his body.

"Is that why you're so hung up on Valentines day? Cause it's expensive." you laugh at his face, earning an annoyed hiss from the vampire.

"You really wanna know why I hate Valentines day huh? Let's say I do like someone and even if I get them “chocolate” or some stupid cliche lovey dovey stuff, they'll probably still reject me. It's a waste of time."

You hum thoughtfully at his explication before answering him with the same amount of snark as he's been giving you earlier. "That's a shame, cause I actually got you something."

This catches his attention, raising his eyebrows in curiosity as he reconsiders his recent statement. "What is it?"

You shove your hand in your pocket and retrieve a small box, Marshall Lee opens it to see its a new guitar pick with detailed engravings in it. This has him speechless, you're internally bitting your nails as Marshall looks at you and back at the gift before chucking the thing behind him and tightening his hold around you while giving you a sly expression.

"So that's why you didn't think twice about hanging out with me~?" Marshall Lee smiles to himself, giving you those demon eyes but it does the opposite of scaring you. Scaroused even. "I don't want anything. You're all I'll ever want~"

[lollytea]

I don't know if anyone has said this before, or who came up with the idea but Hunter would absolutely be the kind of person to doodle himself and willow as wolves and in love whilst kicking his feet and giggling (as soon as someone else walks in though he would be throwing the entire book out the window)

It's so funny because Hunter has a tendency to talk to himself. He's very loud. But I think he'd be drawing his little wolfsonas and getting so giddy and overwhelmed by the thought of it that he is rendered incapable of even articulating what he's feeling but he still has to make some noise.

He's so embarrassed that he's doing this and also he's so PUMPED by how much fun he's having and he's jittery with how smitten he is with his little self indulgent wolf au and he's getting a thrill from it because there's nobody around to stop him and nobody will ever know. He is cringe but he is free. So he's overstimulated, he's kicking, he's giggling, he's squealing a little, he's trying to make words but all that's coming out like "WHAT IF-!!" *scribbles a green streak in wolf!Willow's fur* "SO COOL!! IT'S--JUST GOTTA--AAA!!! TEETH!!!" *makes wolf!Hunter's teeth sharper* "YES!! YESSS!!!!!"

Like he's trying to be low-key about it cuz this is supposed to be a secret but the whole fucking house can hear him. They're politely ignoring the racket he's causing.

He's like a little mad scientist bringing his creation to life. Except his creation happens to be his drawings of him and the girl he likes as wolves nuzzling together.

That's the kicker here that's making him go fucking bonkers. Hunter draws wolves all the time and he shoves them in the face of everybody who will look but drawing himself and Willow being affectionate wolves is a HUGELY personal thing. Hunter's equivalent of pouring his heart out in a love letter or whatever.

And God if Willow happened to catch him in the act and he's got nowhere to throw it, he might be inclined to eat the fucking sketchbook. He was SO in the zone and SO gushy that Willow sneaking up on him spooked out a full blown scream of terror. His whole face is set fucking ablaze. All he can really do with the sketchbook is drop it, fucking lunge after it and clumsily scrabble to make a grab for it before it hits the floor and clutch the stupid thing close against his chest like it's his first born, still heaving as he recovers from his fright.

Willow hadn't meant to scare him, she just wanted to see what he was doing. He was usually excited to show her his little drawings. He'd also blush really bad when she complimented them, which was super cute, so Willow usually sought out stuff to praise him for. Wasn't hard. He WAS the coolest dude ever.

Willow can absolutely tell he's embarrassed and she assumes it's because he doesn't think his latest drawing is very good. He often points out when he messes up proportions or other errors, so it's not unlike him to be shy about showing others art he's not proud of.

"Can I see your drawing?" She asks with a soft smile. She has no intention of pushing it if he says no, but she's always curious to see the stuff he makes.

But a detail Willow hasn't entirely grasped yet (she gets the basics) is that the softer her voice gets, the harder it is for Hunter to tell her no. He can clearly tell she's not pressuring him into anything. He can tell she's giving him plenty of an option to keep this to himself. She's always just SO nice to him and ugghhhh!!!!

Completely mute, eyed locked on the floor, ears scalding, Hunter ends up handing her the sketchbook.

And Willow goes completely fucking batshit insane.

"Is this us??" She demands, pumped as hell. "Is this us as beasts??? That's so fucking cool!!! Look at sharp your teeth are, look how awesome my hair looks!!!" She catches him by the face and squeezes his cheeks "You are SO talented!!!"

Willow praises him RELENTLESSLY and Hunter's just there like

He really does gobble her attention up. He really does. Gets him all floaty and smiley for hours afterwards. Nerd.

Anyway Willow is obviously aware he has a bit of a thing for her but she doesn't know a lot about wolves. So the specifics of their little affectionate touches in the doodles completely fly over her head.

"Are our wolf selves friends?" She asks "Is that why we're hugging like that?"

Hunter's ears light up like poppies and, knowing full well that he added those gestures of affection with the idea in mind that their wolfsonas were mated for life, decides to choke out "Um. Yeah. We're friends."

Its not technically a lie. They're just very good friends.

Anyway Hunter nearly fucking faints later that day when Willow tucks her head in the crook of his neck, nuzzles into it then smiles up at him and says "It's just like we're wolves :D 💕"

[kuroos-babie]

falling in love with a single mom hcs

INCLUDES: nishinoya, tsukishima, yaku

you spent a good part of your childhood with nishinoya, chasing away the dogs that had a penchant of scaring your best friend shitless, climbing trees and playing treasure hunt

it was funny, to say the least, seeing how he grew from such a scaredy-cat to the energetic and confident noya everyone knows

throughout highschool you watched him chase girl after girl and he watched you turn down guy after guy

the dynamic you two had was that of a feral gremlin child and its chill owner holding the leash and everyone, including you two, thought you would always be together

everyday was fun with nishinoya's energy hanging around you, no doubt

but when he asked you to travel the world with him right after graduation, he was met with a hesitant refusal

"i'm planning to go to college, yuu"

"it'll be fun, y/n! like going on an adventure!!"

"visit me once in a while"

his heart clenched at the way you smiled at him with teary eyes, "i can't change your mind can i?"

with a soft shake of your head, he sighed

he leaves in three days

the first few months of him being away were filled with calls and pictures of his trips, smile seemingly wider and brighter than before and a part of you regretted not coming with him

but college starts in a week, and with that came missed calls and ignored messages

at some point, neither of you just remembered to hit the other up, caught up with the stresses of your own life and before either of you knew it, 5 years have passed

he came to visit home for the first time in years, no longer the boyish noya you knew but he still had that warm aura around him

you were the first thought to come to mind the moment he step foot in town, his whole body buzzing with excitement at the mere thought of seeing you again

so of course he went straight to your house, feet taking step after memorized step and hands clutching bags of things he got from his travels

"Y/N!!!!!", he calls out as he enters your house which was answered with a harsh shushing

turning a corner he saw you in the living room, lovely as ever-- he thought, and with a baby sleeping soundly in your arms, "the baby's sleeping, yuu"

"whose...?"

you laughed at the cracking in his voice, "mine, who else's?"

man, he looked like he was about to cry

he quietly approached you, careful as to not wake the baby

"for you", he mumbled while handing you the bag of snacks and stuff

the room was filled with silence after you hummed a short thanks

he was looking at the child's face, it looked like you, he thinks

he asked when you got married, "you didn't tell me, didn't even invite your best friend to your wedding", he whined

"i didn't, i'm not married"

his eyes were wide as they looked at you

you told him about getting pregnant shortly after college graduation and getting ditched

he thought of himself selfish as he heaved a sigh of relief

"it's fine though, my parents are helping me a lot", he notes how you looked at your baby with such fond eyes and his heart swelled, he felt like crying

you chuckled at the look on his face, "hey don't look so sorry for me, can't be happier to have her"

"what's her name?"

you looked at your daughter's face and pet at her cheek with a finger, "yui"

nishinoya couldn't hold it in anymore and so he let himself cry and pulled you close

and for the nth time since the day of your college graduation he asked you again, "come with me, y/n, let's travel the world" but you have a child "i'll stay with you here until she's old enough", he said while kissing the tears that slipped down your cheeks

"then we can all go travel the world together"

he liked working at the museum, he really does

at least that's what he tries to tell himself as he led the group of preschoolers through the sendai museum

they were cute, yeah, but also very chatty

especially this one little boy with the frog hat

"what's this called?"

"it's a fossilized remain of--"

"how about this one?"

"it's--", and before he could answer, the child was already running to the other side of the exhibit

he just sighs

the tour ended and he was getting ready for his lunch break, proceeding to the cafe by the entrance as he always does

his eyes almost caught the flurry of green that passed beside him but he chose to ignore it

but of course it wasn't long after he sat down with his order when he heard a familiar bubbly voice

"mama that's the dinosaur guy!", he heard the little boy whisper loudly, "he's so tall, like a brachiosaurus!"

he couldn't supress the chuckle at the child's remark and he turned in his seat, "so you were listening, i thought you were just bouncing all around the place"

"oh sorry, did he give you a hard time?"

your voice drew his attention and he smiled at the sight of your worried face, something that surprised even him, "not really, no"

he invited you two to sit and eat with him and he listened to your son ramble all about dinosaurs and prehistoric animals

"a smart one, i like him"

your son really liked him too and asked you to take him to the museum again and see tsukishima

and so it became a habit for you to visit the museum every friday with the little boy, waiting for the tall blonde to get off work so you three could grab something to eat

and every time he sees you in the little cafe by the entrancne with your son, tsukishima couldn't help but smile a little and pat at his chest to calm the subtle fluttering as he push the door open

it was a weird feeling he never knew would come so naturally at the mere sight of you two

he bought your son picture books and and figurines and copies of the "walking with dinosaurs" documentary

"we should watch it this weekend..." his eyebrows shot up for a moment at your meek suggestion

of course the little boy was elated, excited to have him over at your house "yes! let's go now! i wanna watch it with tsukki now!!!"

tsukishima returned his gaze on you, "if it's not too much trouble then i'd love to go now"

and so the rest of the friday night was spent on your couch with all the lights turned off and a narration of al the allosaurus' life

you looked over at the other side of the couch to see your son laying on tsukishima, eyes fluttering shut with the man passed out and lightly snoring

he must've been tired

you draped a blanket over the two of them and waited for sleep to visit you too and it soon did

morning came and you woke up to the smell of coffee

"i borrowed your coffee maker, i hope you don't mind", his voice was still low, trying not to wake the little boy

"yeah, sorry i didn't wake you up last night... you looked tired"

he chuckled as you walked over to the kitchen to take out two mugs and prepared some toast, "i don't mind, it was the best sleep i've gotten in a while. i hope it wasn't too much of a bother for you though"

you leaned on the kitchen counter as you took in his appearance; hair ruffled and eyes puffy with sleep, "i don't mind it one bit"

he huffed a laugh and looked over to the sofa where your son still laid

"he likes you a lot"

"so it seems, i hope you do too", his face was smug but you didn't miss the red that tinted his cheeks when you told him "of course i do, in fact i was thinking maybe we should do this more often"

his smirk grew, "just say you want to wake up everyday to the sight of me and leave it at that"

you rolled your eyes at his comment but smiled nonetheless, "oh shut up"

he had just come back from the nekoma volleyball team reunion, head lightly buzzing from the few bottles of alcohol kuroo forced down his throat

making his way through the carpeted hotel hall, he could barely make out the sound of little feet hurriedly padding on the floor and quiet sniffles

taking out the keycard to his room with the blissful thoughts of finally sinking into the soft mattress was interrupted by a soft bump on his thigh, a muffled thud and a small "ow..."

it took a few moments before the sight of the little boy on the hotel floor registered properly in his brain

it was well past 2 am... why the hell is there a child running around the halls

"uh... hi?"

big bright eyes looked up at him and he can't help but sigh at the sniffles increasingly growing louder

"where's your mama, little guy?", yaku crouched to the little boy's level, careful to keep his balance as the booze and exhaustion was catching up to him

however, at the mention of his mother, the little boy's eye filled up with more tears and was ready to burst anytime, "mama..."

"oh no no no no"

yaku's too tired for this

so with a sigh and a groan, he took the boy in his arms and entered his room

"let's look for her in the morning, okay? i think i still have some cookies in my room, would like some?"

the little boy nods his head, earning a relieved sigh from yaku

the rest of the night was spent with cartoons playing on the large hotel room tv, yaku leaning against the headboard with the little boy snoozing away while being tucked in his arm, cookie on his hand and crumbs all around

morning came and panic surged through your body the moment you realized your 3 year-old son was nowhere inside your hotel room

your hurried to the security desk to report and hopefully make an announcement, head reeling and aching with the sudden rush of adrenaline first thing in the morning

with your head in your hands, you let out a groan while trying not to cry at all the possibilites flashing through your mind

your wallowing was cut short with an "excuse me, i found this child last night"

turning your head back to the security desk, you see a man in his pajamas and slippers, hair ruffled from sleep and a sleepy little boy laying on his shoulder

"oh my god"

the whole conlict ended when you came up to them and introduced yourself, the little boy quickly recognizing your voice and whipped his head over to you, "mama!"

your son reached out for you and yaku couldn't help but notice how pretty your glossy eyes were despite how disheveled you looked

"mama, yakkun gave me cookies and we watched cartoons aaaaall night!"

yaku's eyes widened at the little boy's words and let out a nervous chuckle, "you make me sound so suspicious"

he turned to you and explained how your son bumped into him at 2 am and he was just too tired to bring him down to the security desk

"my tired tipsy brain thought it was a better idea to just let him sleep in my room and look for mama in the morning", he ended with the tips of his ears tinged red

you laughed at his nervousness, "well we can talk more about it over breakfast, what do you say yakkun? my treat"

with the way you were smiling at him, how could he even refuse?

the rest of the morning was spent with coffee and waffles, juice and fruits and chatter

he learned you and your son were in town for a few days, "i wanted to go see the fishies in the aquarium!", the little boy quips

with the new volleyball season just around the corner, yaku knew he'd have practices but he offered to tour you two around tokyo

he wanted to see you two again

briefly taking care of the toddler last night and having breakfast with you, he realized, were very much a welcomed change of pace in his hectic pro volleyball life

"are you my dad? mama told me daddy was working in tokyo" he remembered your son quietly mumbling last night, "i haven't seen him though, not ever"

the rest of your stay in tokyo was spent hanging out with yaku, your son growing more and more attached to him and slept over at his room every night

as promised, he took you and your son on a tokyo tour and even brought you to practice, introducing you to the national team and teaching your child receives

of course your trip eventually reached its end, promises of meeting again drowned in the little boy's tears as he tried to reach out to yaku

"we'll meet again, little guy", he says while ruffling the boy's hair, "i'll even go visit you and we'll play lots, okay?

of course he made a point of contacting you frequently, often video chatting during meal times and bedtime and a few more hours after, relishing in the time he could spend talking alone with you

"i can't wait to see you two again", he always says right after "good night"

taglist: @churochuu @bakarinnie @faithieeee @strawberriimilkshake @paulazockt @pattys-got-cakes @hidden-otaku-stuff @haikyuubabie @sachirou-senpai @your-local-abyss @stcrryskies @toosaltyforacookie @mrs-kuroojinguji @shawkneecaps @miyastrology @galacticstxrdust @wakaushi @boosyboo9206 @sugawara-sweetheart @threeconsecutivefs @chichibia @diyosku @curiouslilbeast @cowbeboppy @tsukkaria @yyvveess @kirakirasaku

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[s4kasaki]

HI it's me again <3 i loved your keito hc, may i ask you again a playfull and affectionate s/o with Shu who's a crush one each other as well please ?🥺 thank you for your work, take care <3

AAA! My first Shu request, who told u I was a shuP? be honest >:0!! I was so excited to write for him!!! >U<. I wasn't quite clear on the request, so it's sort of dating him and him having a crush on you! But I wanted to try something new and add a bit of “writing”. MAYBE A BIT TOO MUCH WRITING. even tho I can't write Shu for shit— FOR NOW

♡︎ — shu having a crush on an affectionate & playful reader !

‣ cws/tws: slight dehumanization ( he considers you as a doll ? )

‣ reader: gender neutral - they/them pronouns.

‣ author's note: sleepy...

first off, GOOD LUCK???

Shu has a lot of problems on his own as it is, so this feeling added up to him concluding; it was a problem. Yet even if he dislikes some people, he finds warmth with you.

He doesn’t really believe he’s in love with someone just yet. It was absurd, him? falling in love? Maybe after a long contemplation of whether he is or not with Mademoiselle, he’ll truly believe it, but what else could explain the rush he gets in his heart when he sees you?

He is somehow flattered how you took a liking to watch him sew amazing gowns, scarfs, etc. Sometimes meeting his gaze when you compliment how amazing his creations are, his scrutinizing look always happens to deceive you that you said something wrong. It's not that you said anything wrong, but it's that he’s a perfectionist— he won't accept anything but the best and won't accept “pity” ( compliments ) for something that's not even near perfection yet. Do not let that mislead you though! His heart is skipping a beat even if you praise his currently “imperfect” work whether he says it or not. ( ꈍᴗꈍ) had you been anyone else tho, he’d be complaining about all the reasons it's not anything you complimented it for. But, he takes it a little bit easier on you than he does with others. Your compliments even makes him feel like it is perfection and that there’s nothing more to do to it.

Sometimes he will ask you to help model his designs for him, which is extremely rare. But, he takes you as the expectation. He thinks you look like the perfect doll to model for them! You look so pretty just by yourself... but, in a loving flowing gown made by him? You’d look even lovelier! He's clutching at his heart to see you in something hand made by him~ “Don’t they look simply wonderful, Mademoiselle!” He smiled ever so slightly at the sight of you in a T-Pose, the sight made him fall more and more in love with you. He wanted to see you in more of his creations.

So he started to make you scarfs, clothes, and any tiny knickknacks that would look so stunning on you, those were made by hand just for you! The way his heart skips beats when he sees you wearing something he made you or something he gifted you? It's enough to send Mademoiselle angels’ flying around his head!

He doesn’t find your playfulness annoying, or unprofessional. But he definitely isn't used to it— or used to the boops he randomly gets on his nose. It puts him on guard.

“What about a vintage gown, Mademoiselle? No, that's not right—”

Eventually, it grows on him over how affectionate you are. If you continue your charade of affectionate. there's no way he could resist you! After a while, he would begin to enjoy it far more than he once did before. Maybe even crave it without acknowledgment.

I hope you like French Pastries! Because he leaves you some on your work desk often, macaroons, the whole five yards! He may not leave any notes that he was the one to give them to you but you can tell who it is by now!

Unlike others he associates with, you get the benefits to be with Mademoiselle and take care of her! When you notice you're the only one who can do so, he only says it because you're the only one who's worthy enough to take care of his precious Mademoiselle ( tsundereish much? ), but he really does loves your bond with her and how adorable it is to see the two of you get along so well.

After so long, Mika would begin to notice something's up with Shu. Everytime he looks at you— you can see a slight smile... that's so unlike Shu! What have you done to him?! So he'd keep a close eye on you to make sure you're not doing anything to his beloved oshi-san!

But he too eventually acknowledges he has a crush on you, and by how playful and even more energetic you seem to be towards the strawberry headed man you seemed to like him as well.

Yes it'll take him ages to confess to you, because of how anxious he is about how you might reject him, and not to mention how he has a whole plan set if you reject him that he's gone over head-to-top with Mademoiselle.

But he eventually does it! It may be a struggle for him at first but as soon as he blurts out the words “ I love you ” with a face as pink as his hair? That's all you needed to know <3 (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

[frombeyondtheblackhole]

Hermit DSMP Swap AU: Part 9

Foolish flinched. Qackity’s shouting stopped abruptly. It was warmer (Las Nevadas was surprisingly cold). Foolish slowly opened his eyes. An open grave stood at his feet. His heart jumped into his throat and he stumbled backwards, falling on his back. He stared dumbfounded as a bee flew out from the grave and landed on his knee for a moment before flying away. Quackity was nowhere to be seen. 

His breathing slowed and he looked around. He was in a graveyard next to a church. Was he dead? Was this limbo? What had happened? He wasn’t supposed to die… but he had died before. But if he had died just now he still should have had his third life, he should have respawned… maybe he had. Maybe he was still alive… That made more sense. No, wait, he still had all of his stuff, if he had died his inventory should have been empty… Foolish held his head in his hands and stared at the ground.

“You ok there, friend?” 

Foolish’s head snapped up. A man with neon green hair stood on the other side of the stone wall surrounding the graveyard. Foolish quickly picked himself up and brushed himself off. “Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine… um- this may seem like an odd question, but, am I dead?”

The man laughed, “I don’t know, are you? I mean, I assume you're not dead, cause I’m not dead, unless you’re un-dead, if you know what I mean.” 

Foolish let out a deep breath he didn’t know he had been holding. “Alright, I’m alive, i'm not dead,” He muttered, staring at the sky.

“You sure you’re fine?” The man asked again, putting air quotes around the ‘fine’. “Cause, you don’t seem fine…” 

Foolish shook his head “No, really, don’t worry about me, I was just a bit disoriented, that’s all.”

The man pursed his lips and raised a brow “You asked me if you were dead… not if you had died. Which means you knew there was a chance you might get stuck in a respawn glitch. Have you been messing with server magic?” 

“You make that sound like a bad thing.” Foolish scowled and crossed his arms looking down at the man. He wasn’t in his twenty-three foot form but even in this form he stood almost a foot taller than the other man.  

The man shook his head “It’s not necessarily a bad thing, just dangerous. I mean, I would be a bit of a hypocrite if I condemned people for messing with server magic.”

Foolish didn’t look impressed. “It’s only dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing.” 

“I mean, I guess.” The man said rubbing the back of his neck as he contemplated Foolish’s words “But no one is stupid enough to mess around long enough to get the practice...” He trailed off as he looked up to see Foolish looking at him with an incredulous look, “Oh.” 

Foolish finally relented and his expression softened, “Maybe you're right, I mean, my name is Foolish after all,”

The man chuckled, “Maybe we're both a bit crazy. I’m Joe, Joe Hills. Nice to meet you,” He said, climbing over the low stone wall and reaching out his hand. Foolish smiled and shook it. Joe had a firm grip.

“So you said you have experience with server magic, what can you do?” Foolish asked as the two of them walked out of the graveyard and over to the church. This church was much nicer than church prime. As a builder Foolish could appreciate the detail put into the architecture.   

Joe shrugged as he sat down on the steps and leaned back on his elbows looking up at the sky, “I can see better in the dark If I want to. Honestly, I don’t really mess with it much anymore.” 

“Why not?” Foolish asked, leaning against the wall. 

Joe shrugged but Foolish noticed his grip tighten into a ball. “It wasn’t worth it. A friend of mine got hurt and almost didn’t respawn. Actually, she should be around here somewhere, I wonder where she went?” 

---

Cleo stood on a concrete road getting yelled at by an angry man with a scar through his left eye and a blue beanie.

 “Who the fuck are you? What the fuck did you do to Foolish? Where is Foolish.” 

“Aaa, Foolish is a Zombie!” another man wearing glasses and green suspenders yelled. 

Cleo staggered backwards and summoned a sword from her inventory, “Who am I, what about who are you?”   

“You better tell me, right fucking now, what the hell you did to Foolish or I’ll-”

“You’ll do what? Don’t try me, I’ll put this sword through your skull I will,” Cleo bluffed. 

The man with the scar summoned an axe.  “Charlie, go get Purpled, tell him we have an intruder in Las Nevadas.” 

The man in green, presumably Charlie, looked at him perplexed “But, Quackity from Las Nevadas, why are we attacking Zombie Foolish?” 

“Damn it Charlie, Just get Purpl-” 

Cleo didn’t let him finish. A yell ripped from her lungs as she charged him, sword swinging. Quackity startled and blocked with the shaft of his axe. He shoved her off and she staggered back. Cleo dug her heels in swinging the sword like a club. There was a burst of pain, or more like cold (Pain felt different ever since the undeath) as his axe cut into her shoulder. But he was bleeding too. His axe returned to his inventory as he clutched his arm and staggered back. Cleo gripped her sword tighter, breathing hard, her eyes locked on him. 

She felt the impact and another burst of cold as an arrow hit her in the chest. Her head snapped up, there was a kid in purple firing arrows from a crossbow as he ran towards them. He was wearing full netheriet.

Cleo turned and ran.

“Stop her, she fucking did something to Foolish!” Quackity shouted. She didn’t stop running as arrows landed about her feet. Down the road through a tunnel and past a stone fortress. Cleo scrambled off the road, over a hill. She could hear them still behind her. Dodging through the hills she was able to shake them by looping back around behind them as they continued on. 

Once they were gone she slowed down. She touched a hand to her shoulder. It was throbbing with a dull ache and it felt cold, a deep cold like ice in her veins. She looked down. The arrow was still in her chest. She needed to do something about that. 

She was back at the fortress. Cleo slid down the hill, climbing behind the wall and slumped against the stone. She gritted her teeth and pulled the arrow from her chest with a grunt, dropping it in the grass. A golden apple appeared in her hand and she took a bite, the juice tingling in her mouth as the regen and absorption began to take effect. 

The throbbing eased a little and the wounds began to close. She looked up and froze. An enderman stared back at her with mismatched eyes. No wait, not an enderman, at least not quite. Half of his face was white. 

“Hey Tubbo, I think I found out what Quackity was shouting about.” The half-enderman kid called over his shoulder. 

Cleo staggered to her feet, her sword out. “I won't hesitate to-” 

The half-enderman backed up and raised his empty hands “Oh no, we're not with Quackity,” He explained. 

Cleo scowled but lowered her sword. “Well isn’t that lovely, someone who doesn’t want to stab me.”  

He looked alarmed, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that- I mean, I definitely don’t want to do that.” Now that she got a better look at him he looked kind of young, he was tall but in the lanky teenager kind of way. He looked to be 18 or 19, maybe 17. His suit probably made him look older.  

“Oh hey, so what was Big Q so mad about?” Another kid said as he came around the building. He stopped short when he saw Cleo. “Oh…” He was much shorter than the ender-kid. Two horns curled up out of his brown hair and almost every inch of exposed skin was covered in burn scars. Cleo let her sword return to her inventory. 

“Big man, why is there a funny looking zombie in our base?” the goat kid said 

Cleo bristled, “I’m still a person, thank you.”

The goat kid looked back at Cleo  “Ooooh- oops.”

“Now look what you’ve done, you’ve gone and insulted her.”

“I didn’t meeean to, how was I supposed to know?” The goat kid wined. 

The two bickered like a married couple. Cleo coughed “Um- would either of you two be able to explain what is going on,”

“Haven’t got a fucking clue,” The goat kid chirped, a little to cheerfully. 

Cleo pursed her lips, “Well, could you at least tell me where I am?” 

“Um… The road between Las Nevadas and Spawn. Or do you mean here-here. This is our cookie shop.”  The ender-kid explained.

Cleo blinked.

“I think she means the server big man,” The goat kid said, “This is the Dream SMP.”

Cleo blinked again. So not Hermitcraft. Shit. 

---

The goat kid introduced himself as Tubbo and the ender-kid as Ranboo. Cleo explained what had happened, which made Tubbo laugh. It turned out that the cookie outpost and Las Nevadas were in conflict and Tubbo liked the idea of doing something that would, in his words “Piss off Big Q.” 

Cleo tried to return to Hermitcraft but was met with an error message. Tubbo and Ranboo offered to let her stay in Snowchester till she figured things out. They had no idea how she got there but they didn’t seem too concerned about it.

Snowchester was surprisingly far away from what the kids were calling a cookie shop. To Cleo it looked suspiciously like a military outpost but who was she to judge? 

Snowchester was a quaint little walled in town, overlooked by a massive mansion worthy of any Hermitcraft base. There was a tower, docs, and a little wheat field mixed in with little log and stone houses.  The air was crisp and cold, light snow fell around them landing on her hair and bare arms. Untouched snow coated the steps to most of the houses and closely shuttered windows looked back at her. The ocean lapped against the shore and the sound of a boat bumping against the pier carried up through the town. A single seagull landed on a stone wall. It looked at Cleo and cawed.  

Ranboo and Tubbo lead Cleo around a strangely industrial building on a hill in the middle of the town with “Danger, keep out” signs on the doors. 

“So what’s in there,” Cleo asked, nodding towards the industrial building. 

Ranboo raised his brows and looked at Tubbo. Tubbo pursed his lips “Oh nothing much, that’s just where we do equipment testing. You’re not allowed in there,” he added. There was finality to his tone. Cleo wondered what he was hiding and if it was worth snooping around to find out, but there was a dark conviction in the way that the kid with too many scars said it. The way the ender-kid hovered at his side anxiously watching everything. Maybe she should be careful not to make more enemies.  

They lead her to a little house behind the industrial building. “This used to be Foolish’s but he moved out so you can stay here for now,” Tubbo explained opening the door and letting them inside. 

“Foolish… the guy who Quackity thinks I kidnaped? You’re giving me his house?” Cleo scoffed looking around. A square table and chairs stood off to one side, a counter with a furnace and cabinets lined the back wall and a cactus in a pot sat by the front door.    

“Well, it’s not really his house anymore, he hasn’t lived here for months,” Tubbo shrugged. 

Cleo sighed, “So long as he won’t mind. Goodness this whole situation is a mess.” 

Ranboo gave her a sympathetic smile.  

“Welp,” Tubbo clapped his hands. “We’ll let you get settled in. Just don’t go snooping around in people’s homes, we are pretty private people here.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Cleo said absently, still looking around the room.

Tubbo and Ranboo left, closing the door behind them. 

There was a silence and then Cleo jumped at the sound of someone drinking milk. She spun around summoning her sword, freezing as the invisibility melted away to reveal Etho standing in the corner. 

“Finally, I thought they were never going to leave,” Etho muttered.

“Etho! What are you doing here?” Cleo bristled. 

Etho looked sheepishly off to the side as he rubbed the back of his head. “We’ll, I might have been following you. If you mean here on this server, we don’t really know. Oh yeah, TFC’s here too. We’ve been stuck on this server for about two weeks now. Least, I’ve been, TFC showed up about a week ago.”

“So wait, You're telling me you have been stuck on this server for two weeks?”

Etho nodded “Yup. Come on let's get out of here before they come back. We can talk at my secret base.” 

Cleo pulled away “Wait, wait. Why? Why were you sneaking around? Why are we avoiding those kids? I would like a good reason before I turn down their hospitality.”

“This server isn’t what it seems to be. It’s seriously glitched out. Haven’t you noticed how many scars everyone has here, how many hybrids there are.” 

Now that Cleo thought about it, even the ender-kid, Ranboo, had scars that looked like tears running down his face. Scars only happened when there was a glitch during respawn so they were pretty rare, the fact that three of the five people she had seen so far had obvious scars was concerning, especially with how bad the scars on that Tubbo kid were. On top of that, Quackity looked like he might be some kind of bird hybrid, with small golden wings, while Tubbo was a goat and Cleo had no idea what Ranboo really was. Hybrids were the result of pretty strong server glitches, and from what Etho was saying those guys weren’t the only ones. 

“So the server is glitchy, that doesn't make them bad people,”  

“There are places on this server that have been blown up all the way down to bedrock. Those kids who seemed so nice, they have nukes in that building right outside. There is a prison that everyone here is terrified of, seemingly for good reason. The Warden that guards it almost killed me while chasing me and TFC away, and said something about hunting us down and killing us till we were completely dead.”  

Cleo blanched “Completely dead… like, they have a way of reliably preventing respawning here.” She remembered what it felt like being stuck in the void unable to respawn. For Joe it had only been a couple of minutes, for her it had felt like hours.

“I don’t know,” Etho shrugged. “I just think it would be best if we all kept a low profile till we can find a way out of here.” 

“I… I trust you, Etho. But I don’t want to leave without letting those kids know that I won’t be staying here. They seem like nice kids, I’d rather not just disappear on them.” 

Etho hesitated, then nodded “Alright, Just be careful, and take this,” He said handing her two invis pots. “You can find me in the sewers under their shopping district, there is a community center in the middle of a lake, the entrance to the tunnels is underneath it.”

Cleo took the potions and smiled reassuringly, “Don’t worry, I got this. I’ll be fiiine.”

“Ok,” Etho nodded and pulled his facemask down. He drank an invis potion before leaving the building.

Cleo sighed. Perma-death hum, would that even work on her? Seeing as she already kinda died before. She didn’t want to have to find out.

[dralf0yy]

Wedding Bells || 2 || F.W x Reader

A/N: I AM SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO GET THIS UP BUT ITS FINALLY HERE AAAA!! If i’m being honest, I’m not a big fan of the way I ended this bc it felt rlly unfinished but I felt the need to get it up as soon as I could. I hope you guys enjoy and sorry for the long ass wait 🥺

Word count: 1.6K (aaa she’s a bit sh0rt)

Part 1

Fred landed at the beach just outside his aunt’s old cottage.

The place he proposed to you

The weather was unironically cloudy and cold—identical to the way he felt.

Chills ran up Fred’s spine as he wandered around the beach, taking in the beautiful, calming scene around him. It reminded him of you. More specifically the way you were always remarkably gorgeous without effort, even in your darkest moments, and the way you soothed him with your embrace and kind, loving words.

It made Fred hate himself for abandoning you. You were fragile and even the smallest inconveniences would chip away parts of you that made you happy and whole. Everyone,especially Fred, knew this. He knew that you had cracked when the war broke out and he almost died. And he knew that this time, you had completely shattered, and it was all his fault.

He made his way up the sandy hills, marching through some of the long grass that had sprouted up and halted when he had reached the top. His eyes fluttered closed as he inhaled the salty scent of the ocean, thinking of the day he proposed

One year ago

“Fred where are you taking me?” You giggled as you trailed behind Fred with your hand intertwined with his.

The two of you, and George, had been helping Bill and Fleur fix up their aunt’s old cottage. It had been a long, hard day of redecorating and repainting and the sun was almost completely set

“You’ll see soon enough my love. We’re almost there.. Okay now close your eyes and wait here for a few seconds”

You nodded in response and heard Fred’s soft footsteps shuffling around in the sand. You shifted your weight back and forth between your left and right foot and giggled when you heard your boyfriend curse at the sand under his breath

After a few more seconds of shuffling, you heard Fred whisper

“You can open your eyes now, love”

Your eyes fluttered open slowly and you expected to see his face inches from yours but much to your surprise, he was on one knee clutching a small, black velvet box that fit perfectly in the palm of his hand with a heart shape dug into the sand surrounding the two of you. Fred steadied himself and gazed up into your eyes

“Y/n, these past 6 years with you have been unbelievably amazing. You have shown me what love and true happiness feels like and I will be forever grateful for that. There is no one else I would rather have by my side for the rest of my life, besides George of course,” He joked as a tear cascaded down your cheek

“no one else that I would rather give my love to, wake up next to every morning, have lots of little Weasleys with, and no one else that I would rather marry than you. And the war last year made me realise that I didn’t wanna wait any longer for this. So, Y/n Y/m/n Y/l/n.. Will you marry me?”

Tears of joy were now uncontrollably streaming down both your cheeks as you chuckled and silently—but enthusiastically— nodded your head

“Yes! A million times yes!” You exclaimed and pulled Fred up, bringing your hands around the back of his neck and pulling him in for a kiss that was so full of love and passion that it made his head spin

Present

Fred let out a loud, broken sob and collapsed onto his knees remembering the memory that had once made him so ecstatic. He stayed there with his face buried in his hands for what seemed like hours while mumbling ‘I’m so sorry’ repeatedly to the empty space in front of him

Fred lifted his head back up and the sun was barely visible on the horizon.The sky had slightly cleared in the few hours that he had been there and it became a flurry of yellow, orange, purple and pink streaks.

It was a beautiful image. It was one that you wished you could share with your dearest loved ones when things were bad. It gave Fred the a sense of calmness that he needed to clear his head

“I’m gonna make this right” He stated and disapparated back to the Burrow

***

“Here Y/n/n, have some cake, love” George offered to you. A grateful grin appeared on your face as you took the small, fragile plate with a slice of cake on it from him carefully and snuggled into his side. You sighed tiredly as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders

“Something on your mind?”

“Well.. I’m just worried Georgie. What if he’s done something reckless and got hurt or can’t get back to us—?”

“Don’t worry, love I’m right here” Both your heads turned towards the front door, and there, stood the one and only, Fred Weasley

You immediately sprung off the couch and out of George’s embrace, dropping the plate of cake in the process, and ran towards Fred. You jumped on him, wrapping your legs around his waist, and buried your face in the crook of his neck.

“Oh my Godric! You’re okay” You squeaked and hugged him tighter. He let out a quiet chuckle and gave you a kiss on the top of your head before setting you back down on the ground. He looked at you with a faint smile on his face, looking as if he was trying not to break again

He didn’t manage to keep the facade up for very long. He pulled you into his chest and burst into tears. Through his fit of sobs, you could hear him choke out an apology

“Shh it’s okay, Fred. We don’t have to talk about this right now..” You cooed soothingly—but slightly muffled— into his chest. You pulled away to look up at his face

“How about you head up for tonight? We can talk in the morning” Fred nodded and started to trail off towards the stairs with your hand wrapped inside his but stopped when he realised you weren’t moving

“A- Are you not coming up with me?” he hiccuped. You opened your mouth to answer but George beat you to it

“Actually Y/n, I think you better head off to bed. I need to talk to Fred”

Too tired to protest, you muttered an ‘okay’ and tread up the creaky stairs of the Burrow leaving the twins alone to talk.

Fred awkwardly stood in the room and rocked back and forth on his feet looking anywhere but at George who was patiently waiting for you to be out of earshot

“I’ll get straight to the point,” He snapped, “I hope you’ve acknowledged that you messed up, Fred. Y/n spent the last 5 hours crying and worrying about you, wondering what she could’ve done wrong for you to walk out on her like that—”

“She didn’t—”

“I KNOW SHE DIDN’T,” George sighed in frustration, “I’ve tried to mend her as much as I could, but the rest is up to you. She’s like a sister to me and I don’t wanna lose her because of something stupid that you did to hurt her. Now go up there and make it up to her and don’t ever take an amazing person like her for granted— because we both know that Y/n won’t give you a 3rd chance”

Fred nodded and trailed up the stairs towards his childhood bedroom, not knowing how to respond as it was a little unusual to see George so serious and worked up about something.

Fred quietly pushed the door open, expecting you to be asleep and not wanting to wake you. He stepped in and felt his heart ache at the sight of you curled up in George’s bed with tears streaming down your face, with muffled hiccups coming from you and clutching onto one of Fred’s christmas sweaters, staring at the floor

You peered up towards the doorway where Fred was standing. Your teary gaze shifted back to the floor next to a small mound of clothing. Your hushed hiccups ceased and the room was filled with deafening silence

Fred’s shoes came into your line of sight and his hand made contact with your shoulder.

“D’you wanna move over to my bed, love?” He whispered gently. You lazily nodded your head and sat up. You made your way over to Fred’s bed and hesitantly lied down on the edge of the mattress. A deep sigh left Fred’s lips as mattress dipped next to you

You unhurriedly shifted around and stared into Fred’s cinnamon coloured eyes with your own Y/e/c orbs. You noticed that they were bloodshot and slightly puffy, but nevertheless, they were still as enchanting as always.

You cast your gaze down towards the pillow, taking a deep and shaky breath. “Be honest,” You said in a voice that was barely a whisper, “Did I do something wrong?”

“No!” Fred exclaimed suddenly, making you jump, “Sorry I- No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just—I was being a git and I was just doubting everything, you know? I was.. I was anxious that you didn’t really wanna marry me or that I wasn’t actually ready” he said in a quieter voice.

You nodded and sighed, succumbing to the warmth of Fred’s chest and absorbed what he just confessed.

You decided to leave a lot of things unsaid. Knowing that he was willing to come back and make things right again was enough for you to give him another chance—though you knew you would no matter what he had done anyway.

The familiar sound of Fred’s heartbeat reminded you that he was there, and there for good, along with the feeling of his arms tightening around your frame and your entangling legs. Things were at a fair balance once again, and the two of you couldn’t be more content with your journey of love

***

Main Taglist: @paigeyisme @slytherinlovesgryffindor @cleopatera @accio-rogers @beacosta27 @anyasthoughts

Wedding Bells Taglist: @wand3ringr0s3 @angel-of-blue @stuckindilemma @angstywhore @imdixonsangel @girl22334 @gredandforges @dorothyofcosta @drvcopotter

Fred & George Taglist: @thisuserlovesyouandyouandyou

[lizbotw]

HELPLESS | SUGAWARA

request: aaa for the character and song suga and helpless from hamilton please-? also I HIT THE UNFOLLOW BUTTON INSTEAD OF ASK IM SORRY HHHH I LOVE YOUR WORK

you have me in my hamilton feels now, good job. AND OMG IT’S OKAY LMAO tysm for the support omg ur so cute and sweet, ilysm wtf :( ♡ making me cry

“What do you think of him?”

You stopped dribbling the basketball and turned to face Kiyoko—her hair tied up into a ponytail, the school gym uniform on—confused.

You didn’t get what she meant (or rather you did, but...). “What?”

“What?” Her face was set dead serious.

You scowled. “What do you mean what? You’re the one who asked the question.”

There was a stare-off between you two before giggles erupted out of her and she hid them behind her hand, eyes squeezing closed. You huffed and turned your attention back to rolling the ball between your two palms, feeling the ridges of its outline. She was laughing at your expense but you couldn’t fault her because you had done the same to her countless times. You also knew that she was onto you, no matter how well you tried to hide it.

“You know who I mean.”

“No I don’t.”

“Suga.”

Your jaw clenched at the words, trying to maintain a hard exterior, but on the inside your heart was beating rapidly at the mere mention of his name. “I don’t know.”

Heads over heels in love is what you wanted to say.

Wanting the conversation to end, you readied the basketball in your hands, bent your knees and jumped a little to shoot for the net high up by the backboard.

Miss. The ball bounced on the rim and came to roll right by your feet. You planted one foot on top of it to stop the momentum and out of the corner of your eye saw Kiyoko looking at you. “I never said I was good.”

She was back to smiling and you knew you could never be mad at her. “You know that’s not what I’m thinking about.” You wished she was just talking about your sucky basketball skills and not the boy of your infatuations.

The coach’s whistle rang out through the area—gym class was over. You scoped up the ball from below your feet and followed behind Kiyoko to the exit of the gym to the connected locker room, eyes roaming over the space as you watched the other students abandon the activities they’d been doing as well.

“Whatever.”

“You forgot this.”

You jolted, accidentally kicking your desk and causing it to move with a screech that echoed through the classroom. Eyes wide, you turned to see who had snuck up on you. Brown eyes were the first thing you were drawn to, then the shock of silver hair, and finally the worried expression and the badly concealed smile that was slowly overtaking it.

“Did I startle you?” A small laugh spilled out of him. “Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, it’s just— that was cute.” You could tell he wasn’t sorry.

You tried to ignore the burn of his words in your chest and the flips your stomach was doing. “What are you even doing here?”

“Well...” He rubbed the back of his neck and that’s when you noticed two brown paper bags clutched in his hand. “You forgot your lunch in my class when you came to see Daichi this morning. Thought you might be looking for it.”

The lunch period had only just started, so you didn’t even have time to miss your lunch before Suga had brought it. He must’ve rushed over here to give it to you as soon as class was dismissed, although you chose not to point that out.

“Can I sit here?” He was pointing to the empty chair next to you where Kiyoko had just been sitting. Wait—where was Kiyoko? Knowing her she must’ve ran off as soon as she saw him coming in order to give you guys some “alone time.” You cursed her in your mind, although the reminder of his question and the way his gaze was so fully focused on you made you forgive her instantly.

You looked again at the two bags he held, recognizing yours where you’d scribbled your name on the front this morning, and understanding at once that the other was his—he’d planned this.

You smiled. “I’d like that.”

Time: 1:35 A.M.

From Suga: Are you up?

From (Y/N): No.

From Suga: Haha, very funny. Anyway look outside your window.

From (Y/N): So it was YOU who kept throwing rocks at it when I was trying to sleep. I can’t believe this.

From Suga: I confess to nothing. Now are you coming or not? These meat buns are going to get cold so maybe I should just eat them all myself—

From (Y/N): CLIMBING OUT THE WINDOW RN

“Where’d you get that?” Kiyoko thumbed the smooth pendent that hung from a silver chain around your neck. Your last initial and “S” were carved into it. It was painfully obvious what it stood for.

“Nowhere.” You didn’t look her in the eye, but she understood.

“When?”

“Saturday.”

Her lips curled up into a smile and you were thoroughly embarrassed. “I’m expecting to hear the whole story later.” How had you gotten so lucky to be best friends with someone who was willing to listen to your constant lovesick rants?

“And then he—”

You heard her out of breath, laughing on the other end of the phone. “Okay, okay, I get it,” she managed out, “he’s perfect and charming and—”

“No, no, he’s so much more than that, you see.” You were giddy with excitement, rolling around on your bed as you squealed over the phone with her, the grin stretching across your face starting to hurt your cheekbones, although you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

There was a hum of contemplation on the other side. “You know, I don’t think I quite see. Why don’t you explain it more to me?” Her teasing tone was like music to your ears and was one of the last things she managed to get in before you launched into another night-long tangent about him.

“You think this’ll work?”

“Of course it’ll work, this is what they do in movies all the time.”

Suga narrowed his eyes. “I’m serious, Daichi, I don’t want to mess this up.”

Daichi sighed, crossing his arms. “How many times have we had this conversation already?”

“Five times,” Asahi provided helpfully from next to him.

“Thank you, Asahi. And how many times have you almost said, ‘I love you,’ Suga?”

Suga looked away, lips pressed into a line. He knew Daichi was right. “More than five times,” he mumbled.

“Exactly. This is getting out of hand.” Noticing Suga’s worried expression though, he clapped a reassuring hand on his back. “You’ve never been worried about things like this before, get it together.” And with that, he turned to go, Asahi falling into step with him. “Go get ‘em, tiger,” Daichi called back, looking like he was enjoying this a little too much.

“We’ll be waiting on the bleachers if you need us,” Asahi reminded him.

And then he was alone.

Suga stared down at the box in his hand. This time it was a bracelet. Funny how you’d gotten matching necklaces on a whim before either of you had made it official—then again, you both knew what it was that you had. There was no one else he’d rather be stuck with at 2 A.M. on top of a hill, watching the quiet pull of the lake below, your words spilling out of you and filling the space and your laughter lighting up the night sky.

You still deserved for him to seal the deal though.

It was strange, but he found himself missing you even though it had only been a day. But right now he was alone and overthinking this whole thing—what if he had misunderstood how you felt?

Wait— no— not alone. The sound of footsteps nearby clued him in on someone’s arrival. You were here. You peeked your head around the corner before he had a chance to prepare himself and he quickly hid the box behind his back out of surprise.

“Suga?”

“You’re here.” He almost face palmed for stating the obvious, but was thankful when you didn’t point it out.

Instead you said, “You look like you saw a ghost.”

More like an angel. The fact that even those few words had his face burning with the desire to be closer to you reminded him how completely at your mercy he was.

Looking at the way your gaze softened and you stepped closer to him, he remembered how you’d done the same thing so many times before and now there was no question in his mind that you felt the same way—from the second you saw each other you were both helpless. Perhaps now it was time to completely surrender control.

[sunseteyes]

HAIKYUU BOYS AS LANG LEAV POEMS (MEMORIES VERSION)

| love & misadventure | lullabies | memories | the universe of us |

character/s: tetsurou kuroo, toru oikawa

taglist: @kacchanori @chickynn @todominika @brinthie @sparkleswriting @bitchtrynafck @patricia-ceballos @giyuus-wife (send a dm/ask to be added!)

rv: lang leav said that this book’s intention was to be kept as a keepsake or be given to someone you love. thus, this is a dedication to the lovely person that really guided me through this fandom; @kuroolongtea ilysm jin you don’t know how much you helped me in general i’m so grateful of you. you’re one of my closest friends here in tumblr and this one, i dedicate to you. (even if it hurts aaa because you’re so good at hurting people with your angsts too!!)

TETSUROU KUROO

part 1 here and now — the rose

     “Have you ever loved a rose, and watched her slowly bloom; and as her petals would unfold, you grew drunk on her perfume.      Have you ever seen her dance, her leaves all wet with dew; and quivered with a new romance— the wind, he loved her too.      Have you ever longed for her, on nights that go on and on; for now, her face is all a blur, like a memory kept too long.      Have you ever loved a rose, and bled against her thorns; and swear each night to let her go, then love her more by dawn.”

—tetsurou could sense it; hear your heart breaking in two, see your eyes glisten as they were on the brink of the tears, feel the weight of the atmosphere weighing on his and your shoulders, like a boulder suddenly dropping on both of your bodies. he grips on the stem of the bouquet he had on his hand, feeling the thorns of the roses slightly pricking him through the paper that separates his palm and the stem. 

his own chest clenches and his jaw tenses. because even if you were two different people and his own pain is from a different reason, he feels the same. he knows he feels the same. you don’t. 

he turns around, bearing the unbearable as the sight of you being clutched under the arms of another man replays on his mind, the memory forever glued there with a difficulty of ever erasing it completely. 

because even if he tries to tell himself to let you go, he knows he couldn’t. first love will always be the strongest, and he’s doomed before he even got another chance to love again. 

TORU OIKAWA

part 2 remember when — my heart

     “Perhaps I never loved enough, If only I’d loved much more; I would not nearly had so much, left waiting, for you in store.      If I had given away my heart— to those who came before; it would be safer left in parts— but now you have it all.”

—you wondered what you did wrong. you wondered if loving toru oikawa was the greatest mistake of your life as you let yourself be engulfed in an embrace that you know that wasn’t held with the same kind of emotions that you ever harbored on the man. 

you gave him everything. you devoted yourself to him, all of the seven years of your life, you loved him. you truly did. the only difference was, he never loved you back. in his sight, you were just a precious friend that he will always treasure despite the growing crack between the two of you, broken by an earthquake that was your feelings for him. 

“you deserve so much more, (y/n).” toru whispers by your ear. and unknown to you, he was eyeing at the man peeking by the wall. that despite being well-hidden, he knows well enough that it was tetsurou’s figure, and he was waiting for you, just as how you were waiting for toru. 

and it was all a cruel play of fate—as if it was cupid’s way of ruining the hearts of the innocents by striking them with an arrow that will hunt the back of their minds for the rest of their lives. 

toru knows of regret. but he doesn’t know if he’d regret loving you or letting you go. 

[dracosearlgreytea]

indelicate marks (11)

indelicate marks: chapter eleven - the accusation 

A/N: aaa okay so heres the next chapter! ive been lowkey stressed about posting this chapter as it took a lot to write, but i hope you enjoy it.. thank you so so so much for the increased support from everyone, if i havent replied to a comment dw i do read them! they literally transform my day no matter how i feel, so yeah just thank you. lotsa love - ivy 

warnings: language, strong descriptions of ptsd/reliving bad memories, graphic descriptions of deep cuts and bleeding

lovely tags: @h-annahayy @okaydraco @fanficflaneuse @thatoneasrastan @biinspiration @honeymelon22

indelicate marks index 

January and February, after the first meeting of the year, passed by quiet. Draco's state was getting worse. Every time you'd see him, even when you'd met twice a week, something about him was growing... darker. Sometimes it wasn't just the bags under his eyes, or the sharpness of his cheekbones. Sometimes it was the way his tone never lifted out of the monotonous state he tended to abandon around you. Sometimes it was the way he could hardly hold a conversation, or the anxiety would overwhelm him and you'd have to sit with him tucked into your chest, praying that his breathing would settle soon. But, somehow, within the misery that hung over the two of you, you also managed to find the friend you had waited so long for. Draco was funny. Dry, and witty, and frustratingly funny. The things that he'd say as a passing comment could make you double over in laughter. You'd always find his lips shooting up into that wicked grin you'd grown to adore. That smile was something you'd find few and far between, and its rarity only settled it closer to your heart. He was smart, too - a lot less stupid that he made himself out to be. Draco could easily give Granger a run for her money, if he wanted to. He had a secret passion for Muggle literature. Something, which you found out totally by mistake  - and continued to bring up at any given opportunity just to annoy him. To your utter shock, Draco also played piano. He'd described an organ, back in Malfoy Manor. His parents would usually enchant to play by itself - but, his mother had still taken it upon herself to teach him how to play it when he was a child. The insights he offered you into his life were quite frankly fascinating. It was still odd. The dynamic between you was never quite settled; impermanent. There were little things you found yourself holding onto. Like his smile, or the way he frowned when he listened to you talk, as though he was really focusing on your words.   Since your realisation at the beginning of the year, your affections for Draco had only grown. Most of the time, you'd manage to ignore it, only swallowing back the flutters in your chest. Because there was no way you could fancy Draco Malfoy. There was no way he would ever reciprocate, and there was no way it could ever work between you even if he did. And, it was nice. Being friends with someone. You could cope with the darkness he carried. You could cope with pushing away any indication of your developing attachment to him. Having someone to talk to, to even just be around - complicated or not - was a privilege you had never had. But, as much as you attempted to ignore it, the tension at Hogwarts was also getting a lot worse. Trying not to think about what would happen when you had to return home at the end of the year was difficult. Even the idea of having that mark on your arm was sickening. You didn't even want to acknowledge the fact that to take it, you would have to expose the mark that already sat on your forearm. Most likely, to the Dark Lord himself. The glares got worse. The comments got more threatening. Walking the corridors was not safe for you. Not when your parents had killed so many families of the students around you. It hadn't exactly been before, but now, with that suffocating atmosphere, it had only gotten worse. Keeping a firm grip on your wand at all times was second nature, at this point. You had been on your way to a meeting with Draco when your fears became too real. The feeling of someone following you had been tugging at your conscious for most of the day. But then, most people were watching you, anyway, eyes lingering on you in every hall or classroom you passed through. So, you'd only shrugged it off as your paranoia overreacting. It was still light. With winter beginning to pass, the nights were growing shorter. Weekly trips to the classroom were no longer spent in the dark, much to your appreciation. Just as you reached the last staircase leading to the third floor, it jumped into action. It swung away from your destination, and you ground your teeth, hanging onto the railings. Again, you only passed your mistake off as a busy mind - until you glanced behind you. The previous staircase had also moved. A distinct dread began to poison your gut. With the piece of staircase behind you gone, your only choice was to progress onto wherever this one would take you. You swallowed, staring up as the stairs docked. It lead onto a one-way corridor, a piece of the castle that was rarely used, and a quiver ran over your hand as you wrapped your fingers around your wand. Slipping it from your back pocket, you finally shifted. Someone wanted you in that corridor. Someone wanted you cornered. The second you stepped off of the stairs, it jolted away from you, only confirming your assumption. Stranded in the corridor, the lack of windows cast an eerie shadow down its length. There was only two classrooms coming off the sides, and one at the end - most likely locked, with a spell more powerful than 'alohamora' would fix. Edging forwards, you flung your eyes around you. Your heart was thudding dangerously in your chest - it was currently dinner. No one would be around to help if something happened, assuming anyone would help you. Draco was unlikely to come searching for you if you turned up late, waiting on the opposite side of the moving staircases. You only hoped you could reach the stairs before something bad could happen to you. Pausing, your eyes met the end doorway. It was ajar. You pressed yourself against the wall as you shifted closer - the opening only offered to show you a slice of darkness within. Someone could be, however, waiting for you inside. Hoping your curiosity would get the better of you. Preparing to jump you. Setting your wand upright and poised, you lifted your hand, before shoving the door open. Only, before you could get a glimpse inside, it had slammed shut in your face. You stumbled back a couple steps, true panic setting in. "Was it you?" A voice came from behind you. You'd walked straight into a trap. Taking in a shuddering breath, you spun to face the voice. A flicker of your brow, and you stared at the figure blocking the end of the corridor. "Potter?" He had emerged from one of the classrooms either side of you, wand clenched in his fist and eyes hard. Stupid, you're so stupid, you should have checked. "Was it you, Y/N?" Harry repeated, watching you with an unpredictable atmosphere to him. "Did you curse the necklace?" It took a second for any words to form on your lips. Your mind was going to into overdrive. Harry would not hurt you intentionally, you knew that much - he wasn't that type of person. But what he could do unintentionally... "I don't know what you're talking about." You said. Attempting to appeal to whatever friendship you'd had last year, you kept your voice as clear and honest as you could. Harry, however, did not shift. "It was you, or Malfoy." His voice lilted with questioning, and your jaw tightened. You had to remind yourself to keep breathing, act natural, even at the mention of Draco. Shit, what the fuck has Draco been doing? I know it's bad - it's the Dark Lord - but Merlin, if Harry is involved... "I said," You forced an eyebrow up at Harry in emphasis. "I don't know what you're talking about." Voice gruff, relief flooded through you. You'd managed to keep your composition. There was a million scenarios involving Draco running through your mind, and you bit back a shudder. "Then prove you're not one of them." Shit. Harry had gestured to your arm with his wand. You grew rigid in terror, a shaking whisper falling from your lips before you could swallow it back. "What?" "Show me your arm, and prove to me you're not a Deatheater." Harry said, voice a lot more forceful than before. No, no. No, this can't be happening - he wouldn't - he can't - "I don't have to prove anything to you, Potter." You spat - but there was no denying the quiver in your words. Sickness curling in the pit of your stomach, you clutched your wand, scrutinising Harry's every little movement. He shifted. It was so, so slight. Maybe he was moving towards you, maybe he was only adjusting his stance. It didn't matter, because before you could think, you raised your wand and shouted the first thing that came to mind. "Stupify-" "Expelliarmus!" You could only watch in utter horror as your wand flew through the air and clattered to the ground. All the way at the other end of the corridor. Behind Harry. No, no, no- You couldn't move. Frozen. It was as though you were in that cupboard again. Crushed against the wall, watching as two boys enchanted a blade and laughed at the way you choked for breath. "It's okay, Deatheater. You're going to get your mark soon." Harry was moving towards you now. You stumbled, falling back against the door, hands coming to press down on the handle. Locked. No escape. Breathing frantic, you could only stare at Harry with wide, angry eyes. You didn't speak as he grabbed your left arm, pulling it out in front of you. No, you didn't even struggle. You were still in that fucking broom cupboard. Harry's fingers burnt horribly against your skin, pushing up your sleeve. His eyes lingered on you as he did so, long enough to make your skin crawl. Then, he looked down. It burnt. Burnt, as though Harry had struck a match and put it to your flesh. He came to stare at you again, falling a few strides away from you as you snatched your arm back to your chest. You wanted to shout - no, scream at him, but you could do nothing but hold in the gasps of pain. Harry hadn't seen the blood. He hadn't seen the way the cuts had began to tear open, slowly. Excruciatingly. "Get the fuck away from me." It was hardly a whisper - more some inhuman, animalistic snarl. It was all you could manage. The flames were growing hotter and hotter and you'd forgotten how to breath. My wand. I need my wand. "Y/N - I'm so sorry - I-" "Go!" Something in Harry managed to click, seeing your contorted expression. With one last, horrified look, he turned and rushed away, the stairs swinging back to greet him as he did. The second he was out of sight, you let out a shuddering breath, daring a glance down to the state of your arm. Blood was already spilling down your fingers. It seeped into the fabric of your shirt, like the sea lapping at the shore - but bloodier, and a lot more sickening. "How does it feel to bleed, Deatheater? I bet you're fucking enjoying it, you sicko, just like your parents did." An involuntary whimper escaped you, unable to contain it with your mind so hazy from panic and pain. Agony was lacing its way up your arm and through your entire body, and you had to remind yourself - your wand. I need my wand. Staggering forward, you focused your gaze on your wand at the end of the corridor. Blood was spilling steadily onto floor, staining your shirt, but you refused to acknowledge it. Groans escaped your throat, scalding pain cutting deeper and deeper into your skin. Feeling the liquid thick on your hands, you, almost instinctively, gave it another look. Your entire sleeve was coated in red. An overwhelming nausea hit your gut. Falling against the wall, you desperately attempted to get your breath, but it only came in short pants. You'd barely made it halfway down the corridor. Harry had taken too long to leave, given the cuts too much time to reopen before the worst kicked in. Last time, with Draco, the reaction had been quick and easy. This time, you were alone, and wandless. Head spinning, you attempted to choke down a deep breath, and pushed forward. Everything was starting to blur a little, your head a spinning mess of thoughts. You couldn't focus. Tired. You felt so tired. You were close. You were so close to grabbing your wand, hands slick with blood as you stretched out your arm, shaking. Another step - a stumble. Your entire body crashed to floor. There was a terrible, harsh blow to the side of your head. Your ears filled with a high buzzing, sight wavering as you stared from your wand only inches away from you, to your left arm. Ten letters, red and clear. Tears rolled down your cheeks, but you didn't recognise them. It hurt, it hurt so bad, you couldn't think, couldn't breath. It was all a blur, really. A blur of torments and whispers. A blur of blade against skin. "Deatheater." "Y/N? Y/N-"

[sp00kworm]

Aaa okay so I saw this on tiktok, where each time you get your heart broken a heart appears on your face/body, and if one appears on your lips you’re silenced until true love’s kiss. Would you mind writing smth about reader pining after 1A’s big three/Kirishima (you pick idc) and getting heartbroken since the boy goes on dates w other people and not them and eventually has the heart appear in their lips? Tysm I’m sorry 🥺👉🏼👈🏼

[Cont]:  Would Amajiki be okay? Or Fathum. I’m sure I’ll love it either way! Your writing style is just really nice. 🥰

A/N: And now my Boomer ways will be shown. Thank you for the compliment though anon! I hope this lives up to your expectations? Also it was hard to choose here to I went for Tamaki, but rest assured I will write Fatgum soon because I absolutely adore Fatgum. 

Pairing: Amajiki Tamaki/Suneater x Reader

---

Cupid’s Bow Lips

There was a common folklore all around the globe, one about heartbreak, and how the heart would appear on an individual’s skin, looking like odd freckles, small and perfectly formed until their soulmate broke their heart and sealed their lips with a blood red heart. Never had you believed in it, not until you met UA’s Big Three. The three top students in their final year of highschool. To see little Tamaki Amajiki as part of that trio was amazing in your eyes. His quirk was wonderful though. It was no wonder he was so highly ranked within the school. Yet the stark realism showed you that power and numbers would always be apart of your hero lives. Suneater. The hero to consume even the brightest of stars. You could not wait to see how great of a hero Tamaki would become once you all graduated. You’d known him since the first year, Mirio happily bounding over to introduce his recluse of a friend to everyone in the class, bubbly and extremely people fond. In contrast, Tamaki had stood and shivered, offering only a wave before he jumped and was dragged to the next desk with a friend group clustered around. You’d only spoken to him fully once when he needed to borrow a pencil and was too quiet to ask you without vaguely gesturing to your pencil in your own hand during mathematics.

 Mirio had poked his hand through the back of your chair to get you to even notice the floundering dark haired boy.

“C-Can I…borrow a pencil?” Mirio had given him a bright smile and a thumbs-up, ever supportive as you blinked for a moment.

“Oh..Uh…Sure.” You fumbled in your pencil case before offering him a cherry stamped pencil, “You can keep it.” You offered as you went back to following what Ectoplasm was chattering about on the chalk board.

Tamaki blushed at the girly red cherry pencil but nodded his head, “Thank you.” Before looking back at the board, feeling Mirio’s bright smile on his back before a foot poked him in the back. He shuddered in embarrassment, teeth clenched as he tried and failed to follow whatever the hell the equation was Ectoplasm was yammering about.

“FIRST TO THE ANSWER GETS TO LEAVE EARLY.” The pro-hero announced, flicking the chalk rubber in his hand as he settled behind the desk, satisfied with the complexity of the problem for his third years.

 It was easier talking after that. Amajiki wasn’t the most easy to get involved in a conversation, but it was very easy to get him to listen. His grades were good as well, so often you found yourself leaning over to ask him about Ectoplasm’s impossible equations. That was the start of you feeling something different for your classmate. Often Mirio would lean over and poke you in the back, fingers permeating your chair, scaring you half to death during class so Tamaki could ask you something. It got even scarier when Mirio popped his head through your door and invited you down to eat with them. Tamaki was a lot chattier in the company of Mirio and Nejire, two people he trusted completely, and you found yourself enamoured with their little group, although many did not like you tagging along with their famous trio. That became apparent the day you watched Tamaki get approached by a group of girls. Mirio was luckily there to disrupt the flow a little, talking loudly and brashly to let Amajiki hide a little behind his form, yet some were persistent, crowding the boy with requests of things.

 “Amajiki-senpai, how about you go out with Hiroko? She really wants to speak to you about your manifest quirk! She has a similar thing but with mushrooms and I think you would be adorable together.” The girl cheered next to him. You could see the boy shutting down, shivering behind Mirio like a cowering kitten.

The blond gasped and shook his friend, “Come on Tamaki! I think it would be great!” He cheered before nodding, “Of course he’ll go chat to her! His quirk control is amazing.” Dense as ever Mirio encouraged him until the boy nodded and rushed away, seeking anyone to find refuge with away from the screeching crowd of girls. You felt your heart ache as you saw his blushed face and panicked expression.

 Amajiki looked to your locker and panicked when you weren’t there, the door left open as though you had rushed away in a panic. Maybe the girls had gotten to you too? He looked down the corridor shyly, hiding behind the door of your locker before he peered inside. Your textbooks were there and practice uniform, even your school bag. He chewed his cheek as he looked at the pinned-up picture. It was his last birthday party. You were both passed out on top of Mirio’s stomach as he laughed. Nejire had taken the photo for you all before one of herself, peace signing with Mirio’s cheeky smile. Somehow, as he closed your locker door, your bag in hand, he felt like he had done something terribly wrong. Still, he needed to find you, to try and weasel his way out of whatever scary date Mirio had just accidentally set him up on.

 He scoured the school before returning to the dorms. You room was locked.

Cautiously, he knocked, “(Y/N)? You…You left your bag.” There was no reply, “I’ll leave it outside.” He uttered, barely audible behind the door. He considered wiggling a tentacle under the door and letting himself in before shaking and chickening out too quickly. Gently, he placed your backpack against your door and left, sighing and grumbling to himself nervously as he tried to think of a way to avoid going out on a very unwanted date. With a sniffle, you dared to look at the mirror again and the burning, blood red heart that covered your lips. It sealed your mouth shut, the skin hot to the touch and sore. The curves moved over your cupids bow and the tip sat underneath your bottom lip, the skin held tight whenever you tried to speak. You could open to breathe and to eat, but to speak, the skin burned as though stuck together with super glue. The folk tale was true, and you were stuck, cursed to never speak to someone again if Tamaki found his love in this girl. Your heart ached as you looked at the littering of heart shaped freckles over your skin. Your chest was laced with them. You felt tears burn in your eyes as you started to cry again, bawling silently into your pillow, the mirror tossed on the floor.

 You didn’t come to class the next day. Mirio frowned at your seat and at the gloomy looking Amajiki sat in front of him, hair flat and unbrushed as though he hadn’t slept.

“Are they unwell?” Mirio leaned over to ask him at lunch as they stood from their desks.

Tamaki shrugged but didn’t say a word, teeth gritted behind his quivering lips.

“Are you sure you want to go out with Hiroko, Tamaki?” Mirio asked, a large hand resting on his best friend’s shoulder.

In a sudden deep intake of breath, Amajiki span around to face him, “There’s nothing that would upset me more than having to go on a date with that girl.” He covered his mouth soon after and watched Mirio howl with laughter, the blond leaning back against his desk to try and steady himself as tears escaped his eyes.

“Oh…Oh my.” He wheezed, “That’s…Gosh. Here.” He pushed himself upright, “You go and check in on (Y/N), okay? I’ll go and make an excuse for you not to go out, deal?” Mirio smiled mischievously, but Tamaki nodded and fled the classroom faster than he ever had done before.

 The dorms were silent. Everyone was out at lunch. He knew you had to be in your dorm room on the third floor. Only your next-door neighbour has seen you last night. You’d snuck out for a shower very late. Tamaki stood outside your door with a grimace, his fist held close to the wood as he listened to your silent room.

“(Y/N)?” He asked softly, knocking quietly, looking at his feet, “Everyone thinks you’re ill…Are y-you okay?” There wasn’t a reply. He sucked in a breath and summoned the digesting Takoyaki, the octopus tentacle squirming to life on his finger before he reached to the bottom of the door and squirmed it underneath, groping upwards until he could find the lock and handle, flicking the lock open with a clunk before he recalled his finger and opened the door, peering inside nervously in case he saw something untoward, “(Y/N)?” He asked again, looking at the lump laid under the covers of your bed. He dared to come a little closer, hand clutching the covers, giving it a little tug, “Everyone i-is worried…”

Silence. You clutched the covers tight before a tentacle squirmed under the covers, suckers locking tight before Tamaki wrenched the covers away from your face.

 The sight scared him, so much so that he let out a squeak at the sight of your face, tear streaked and lips burning with a red love heart.

“Did…Did someone do this to you?” He asked with a shadow on his face as he dared to look at the sore skin again, fingers twitching as he reached for you before falling short.

You shook your head, a tear dripping down your cheek as Tamaki finally dared to cup your cheek and assess the damage.

His voice shook, “Is…This that… t-that myth about.” He gasped quietly before reaching his other hand to your other cheek, “Do you truly like me that way? I-I didn’t.” Too many thoughts swirled in his head, “I didn’t go out with Hiroko. I don’t like her…not like I like you.” He confessed, thumbs nervously stroking the apples of your cheeks before he took a breath, stealing his nerves before he leaned forwards quickly and kissed your lips, eyes closed tightly in case you should reject him.

 A shocked noise escaped you before you felt the soreness of your lips ease, the heart fading and your lips parting to let you push back against Tamaki. The man gasped when your fingers gripped his shoulders, tugging him closer. The kiss healed your lips. The soreness escaped and your lips were healed. You pulled away from the kiss with a smile and pushed your fingers against your lips.

“I love you.” You wrangled Tamaki close, nuzzling his hair as you clutched the pointed tips of his ears.

The blue haired male gasped before blushing, “Are you…b-better now?” He asked gently, hands clasping your face with concern, teeth gritted awkwardly.

“Better than ever…Thanks to you.” You confessed.

“Then…Would you like to come and get lunch?” Tamaki asked, fingers playing with your shirt.

“I would like nothing more.”

Tamaki stood before reaching for your hand, “I…I-I…” He took a breath, “I love you t-too.” He stuttered out before tugging you along behind him, face blushing red and hands quaking as you clutched him tighter and followed him for lunch.

[cancercrew-filth]

“I love you.” (Joji)

Anon Request: Joji with a childhood best friend who he's in love with but she has a boyfriend. The only thing that's stopped him is the fear of rejection.

Joji’s POV

I sat at the edge of the front porch steps chewing on my fingernails, a nervous habit I tried to quit multiple times but had no success in doing so. I couldn’t sit still, I couldn’t think…I could barely bring myself to eat this morning. I don’t really wanna do this, right? I thought to myself. No, I can’t. This back and forth battle between my brain and my heart was starting to make more sick to my stomach than I already was. If I leave right now, she’d never know I was here…now’s my chance to just forget this and go home. She hasn’t even responded to my text yet. I thought about going for a walk since the weather was meant for one. Not a cute little small walk, but one of those long hikes that take your mind off of something that by the time you notice you’re lost, you no longer are thinking about why you started walking in the first place.

I exhaled heavily and stood up with my back towards the door and the stairs. I took one step forward and began to walk away from the apartment complex slower than I thought I would, almost as if I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t make it very far until I heard a soft voice from behind me, “Joji?”

My heart came to a halt as I froze in place. Turning around quickly, I tried to wipe the worried look I had on my face and replaced it with a toothy smile, “Y/N! Hey…” I beamed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t read your message right away.” she heaved as I made my way over to her, “I was driving and there was a shit ton of traffic, but I had a feeling you were gonna be here so I came as fast as I could.”

I took ahold of her large duffel bag as she walked up the steps to the door and unlocked it in a rush. I held the door for her to walk in ahead of me and I shuffled into the foyer quickly behind her while the heavy door shut behind us. 

“How are you?” she asked smiling at me as we entered the elevator.

“Um…” I cleared my throat, “Pretty good…can’t really complain.”

I avoided her gaze and looked either at my feet or straight ahead, awkwardly.

“You sure?” she questioned, hugging herself due to the sudden coldness in the elevator.

“Yeah.” I chuckled, “I’m great.”

We reached her floor with a sudden jolt followed by a loud dinging sound. Y/N was brief to get out of the elevator, squeezing through the doors before they even had a chance to fully open. I trailed behind her light steps as she swayed flawlessly down the hall as she jingled her keys. We finally reached the end of the hall and were face to face with her door. Entering her large apartment, I set the duffel bag down on the couch as I shut the door behind me. 

“Thank you for carrying my bag.” she giggled, “I found it kinda heavy.”

“Yeah, it is a little heavy.” I admitted.

“Yeah, I stayed over at Kevin’s for a few days.” she spoke from the kitchen, as she was getting us some water, “His parents were in town and since he lives nearly on the other side of the city, he somehow convinced me to stay for a few days so I didn’t have to constantly go back and forth.”

The sick feeling washed over me again. Kevin. I looked at the picture she had of her with him on nearly side table, polaroids she posted of the two of them on her walls, pictures of them on her TV stand. I sat on the couch and tilted my head back, licking my dry lips as I shut my eyes tightly, I felt the room spinning.

“Here you go.” she practically whispered.

I jumped at the sound of her soft voice. I opened my eyes to see her holding a glass of water in front of my face. I lightly grabbed the glass and mumbled a quiet ‘thank you’. I took slow, small sips and placed the glass on the coffee table in front of me once the glass was half empty. Y/N sat next to me on the couch, her back against the armrest as she sat with her legs crossed, cradling her glass of water with the palms of her hands in between her crossed legs.

“Hey,” she searched for my gaze, “What’s going on? I know you said you were good, but you can’t really lie to me. You’re my best friend, I know you.”

For the first time in a little over two weeks, I looked into her eyes and took her features all in. She was fresh faced dressed in her cuffed overalls, her messy hair reminding me of the first time I had ever met her:

We were eight; I had just moved into the small suburban area that became my new home from Japan. I sat on my front steps squinting at the sunlight, trying to take in my new surroundings. Without noticing the frisbee that was being thrown at me to my right due to the sudden blindness of the sun, I was hit on the side of the head by the flying disk.

“Im sorry!” she shouted from the lawn next to mine, her small feet whisking through the uncut grass as she made her way over to me.

“Ow…” I mumbled as I picked up the frisbee that crash-landed next to my foot.

“Hi…I’m sorry…I wanted to be nosy and make it go over there but it hit you…I’m sorry.” she admitted, blushing from the embarrassment as she pointed to an area on my front lawn.

“It’s okay.” I said as I handed her the frisbee once she was stood in front of me.

She was beautiful, dressed in cuffed overalls and tennis shoes. She slightly squinted as she looked at me, her hand shielding her eyes.

“I’m Y/N.” she introduced herself, “We’re neighbors, I live right there. I’ve never seen you around before.” she pointed to the house right next to mine “…Do you wanna come over and play? I have an older brother so he’s probably into the cool stuff that boys are into.”

“Uh…okay…I have to ask my mom first, though.” I said confused, I wasn’t used to people being so open and friendly.

“Okay!” she smiled, “I’ll wait here.”

I opened my front door and prepared myself to go in before she asked, “Wait! What’s your name?”

“George.” I answered.

“Okay, nice to meet you George.” she smiled.

By the time we were sixteen we were inseparable. Movie nights were nearly every night, I used to hear our moms talk about us growing up and getting married and complain when we wouldn’t “give in” and date each other. At eighteen, newly graduated from high school, we decided to go on a road trip since we wanted to leave the dumbass suburb we were in. We made it a little over forty-five minutes out of town and the car broke down in the middle of the highway. I pulled off to the side of the road, not being able to see with the smoke coming from the from of the car. I looked over at her in the passenger seat and she looked at me wide eyed before clenching her lips together and bursting into a fit of laughs.

“I know I should not be laughing right now but I think we’re cursed.” she giggled, “We’re meant to be in the suburbs. This would happen to us.”

I let my head hit the headrest and laughed along with her. After a few minutes, I tried to get a hold of AAA but I had no service, and neither did Y/N, so we weren’t able to come into contact with anyone for the time being.

“We are literally being assfucked right now.” she groaned as she got out of the car and slamming the door behind her, “Come on, Joji.”

“We’re walking it?” I asked her.

“Well, duh.” she smiled, “We’ll be fine. I know where we are and once we get service, we can call our parents and tell them what happened. And we can get ahold of AAA.”

I got out of the car and followed her lead, staying as far away from the road as possible.

“How long are we walking for?” I asked.

“About an hour and a half, give or take.” she sighed as she kicked a couple of rocks out of her, “Depends on how fast we walk, slowpoke.” she joked, looking at me and smiling.

“I’m sorry.” I apologized.

“For what?” she laughed, “It’s just not our time to leave town yet, I guess. Plus, we’re getting a daily dose of exercise. We’ll be fine.” she shrugged it off.

An hour into our walk, the air smelled of rain and I felt a drop of water hit my forehead, “Shit.” I whispered.

“What’s up?” she questioned, looking over at me.

“It’s gonna rain.” I said before the drops became frequent and heavier.

Y/N grabbed my hand once she heard thunder roaring and we ran the rest of the way home through, what seemed to be, some sort of tropical storm. We reached my front steps and stood there panting for a couple of minutes before she burst out laughing once again. I looked over at her like she was crazy, but I saw her rose-colored glass view: shit like this would happen to us. She was drenched in water, her hair sticking to her face and her clothes dripping water. She took her shoes off as I unlocked the door, we bumped into each other, thinking we would fit through the doorframe together as we tried to get through.

We both took a step back, but we were still close enough that our fingertips slightly touched. I looked at her wet face and I moved strands of her damp hair out of the way and behind her ear, my heart felt like it was skipping beats as I felt a fluttering feeling in my stomach. She looked into my eyes, and without even realizing until the last minute, I noticed myself slowly moving in, our noses almost touching. Suddenly I took another step back and stuttered after I cleared my throat, “You-you can go on ahead first.”

What if she didn’t kiss me back? Or what if she stopped me? I can’t ruin our friendship due to my selfishness.. 

The fire in the fireplace was blazing slowly as Y/N and I sat in front of the warm flame huddled under a large fuzzy blanket together. I had lent her some clothes to change into so she didn’t have to sit in her wet clothes or get sick from being in her wet clothes too long. With her eyes glued to the fire and her small hands clutching some of the blanket, I looked at her somewhat frizzy hair, the strands glowing from the firelight. Her lashes were curled perfectly without the need of mascara, her eyes shining underneath them. She turned her head to look at me.

I swallowed hard, not knowing what to do. I had gone years without telling her I was in love with her for the sake of our friendship, yet here I was staring at her like it was the only thing keeping me alive. My eyes went from her mouth, back to her eyes. Again, I noticed myself getting closer to her like an absolute idiot. I shot up to my feet quickly, “I’m gonna go make tea.” I blurted out as I ran to the kitchen leaving her with the rest of the blanket.

“George?” her voice broke me out of my thoughts, “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know…” I breathed out.

“Is it that new girl you’re seeing?” she asked, confused.

“No. I stopped seeing her two months ago.” I answered, “I need to tell you something…and you don’t need to say anything or respond to it, but it’s been bothering me and I won’t stop hating myself until I let you know.”

She’s happy with Kevin, he makes her happy and that should be enough for me to see her content, and I know she will never feel the same and it frightens me to think that way but for the sake of preserving my mind, I need to tell her.

“Wh-“ she stopped herself, “Joji? What’s going on.”

I buried my face in my hands and rubbed my tired eyes before I turned my body to face her. Y/N had worry in her eyes, she seemed scared, and I knew that she would go from worried to disappointed if I told her.

“The last thing I ever want to do in this world is lose you.” I began, “You’re happy, and you have no idea how thrilled it makes me knowing that you have someone in your life that cares for you, but Y/N…I…I’m in love with you.”

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I wanted to give my soul just to get them back. Y/N outstretched her arm to put her glass on the coffee table but she missed by a centimeter and the glass shattered on the hardwood floor. She looked like she was going to be sick.

“What?” she whispered, ignoring the mess on the floor.

“I have been in love with you…for years.” I whispered in a breathy voice. The lump in my throat returned and the feeling of nausea washed over me, but somehow I was feeling a weight being lifted off of my chest, “I thought that seeing other girls would take my mind off of me thinking like this but it did nothing…they’re not you. They’re not who I want to see first thing in the morning, they’re not who I want to spend days talking to…I can’t eat, I can’t sleep because my thoughts are keeping me awake and it’s not your fault…it’s mine for feeling this way but I can’t help falling more in love with you every time I see you. I search for you in every girl I meet and I fail to realize they’re not you, nor will they ever be you. I spent years hiding it from you, scared that you would reject me but I’m losing my mind keeping it a secret. I try to distance myself from you in hopes that I won’t love you anymore for the sake of our friendship but it doesn’t fucking work. Nothing works. What fucks me up more is that you’re happy with someone else, and I’m beyond happy for you, and I feel like I shouldn’t tell you because you’re happy and I don’t want to ruin our friendship, but I can’t…I can’t just keep this to myself anymore. I didn’t choose to fall in love with you, Y/N, it just happened.”

I felt a single tear slide down my face and I quickly wiped it with the back of my hand and sniffled as I got up off of the couch. I looked down at Y/N and she was stuck staring at the spot that I had just gotten up from, she had tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry.” I apologized softly.

“I…I just need some time.” she whispered, wiping her face with her hands.

I took it as my cue to leave. I drove home while my mind and heart battled each other, part of me regretted telling her but the other half felt relieved…but at what cost knowing that I lost my best friend.

Y/N’s POV (one month later)

I knocked on the newly painted front door with shaky hands, immediately mentally cursing myself at what I was doing. I tugged on the hem of my oversized jacket as I examined the eggshell colored door, I missed the light periwinkle color the Millers had before on their door. The paint before was beyond chipped from Joji and I peeling the paint off as kids, and what sucked more was that they discontinued the color at Home Depot so they had to settle for this somewhat crappy color. I heard shuffling footsteps approach the door, it was too late to run back next door now. I took a deep breath as I heard the doorknob twist. The door slowly opened and I was met with George’s mother, “Hi, Mrs.Miller.” I nervously smiled.

“He’s upstairs in his room.” she smiled warmly as she took me in for a tight hug.

“How’s he doing?” I asked in a low voice as I shut the door behind me, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets.

“Better…sort of. He doesn’t leave the room unless no one’s home or if we’re asleep. I’ll hear the door sometimes in the middle of the night but that’s about it.” she informed as she lead me to the stairs with her hand on my back.

She told me she was going next door to talk with my mother and I just gave her a slight smile and a nod. Going up the stairs made me want to throw up, the thought of seeing Joji after so long made me nervous and extremely embarrassed. I hadn’t called him or texted him in a month. I was angry, hurt, and confused. Why wouldn’t he tell me how he felt? We told each other everything, no matter how bad it was, but for the same reason I didn’t tell him how I felt. I was hurt for him as well…how could I have not known? If anything, I thought he didn’t like me. I tried making moves on him before and I felt like he’d rejected me on several occasions, or maybe if we had just communicated things without fear, we’d probably be okay, but it’s easier said than done. I’ve always loved Joji…but I thought it would never happen, and so I moved on.or tried to… I broke up with Kevin the week after George came to visit me. I had love for Kevin but I wasn’t in love with him, we would have arguments nearly everyday and he just wasn’t George. I didn’t know what to do…I was contemplating on calling Joji and I didn’t, I was scared and I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to be alone and have time to myself so I could think. So I went to the only place where I knew I would be left alone and away from everyone for some time: my parent’s house. Little did I know, Joji was next door doing the exact same thing.

I reached the top step and made my way down the hall cautiously. I felt like the hallway stretched out for miles as I walked towards Joji’s door. My breathing quickened, my heart nearly falling out of my chest as I finally stood in front of his door. I held my breath as I knocked. There was no answer. I sighed and placed my hand on the doorknob and entered his room. He was sat on his bed looking out his window with a notebook next to him. The walls were decorated the same: posters of artists, pictures of us and his family members, a couple post-it notes still lingered on the walls told me that they haven’t lost their stick. His room hadn’t changed one bit.

“Hey.” I said, trying to catch his attention as I tenderly closed the door behind me.

He turned around quickly, his eyes looking into mine. That’s when I felt it all over again: the butterflies. His hair was wet and I could smell his shampoo from across the room. He wore a gray long-sleeved shirt and a pair of sweats with some fuzzy mismatched socks to complete his ‘homebody’ look.

“I see you’re still a mama’s boy.” I lightly chuckled as I sat down in his comfy desk chair, “I can’t really blame you, I went home to my mom too.”

“Yeah…I know you did.” he said quietly, as he began moving to the edge of the bed, slowly, so that he sat across from me, “I could hear you crying most nights from my window.”

“Yeah…” I sighed in embarrassment, “I was doing some digging the other day while I was cleaning my old room…and I found some stuff.”

I reached into my jacket pockets, not taking my eyes off of his face. I was happy to see him well rested, but the ashtray full of cigarette butts told me he was stressed out of his mind. He stared at the carpeted floor blankly as I searched my pockets.

“Do you remember this?” I asked coyly, retrieving a gold locket from my pocket,”You gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday once everyone left my party.”

“I drove hours for that thing.” he chuckled softly, “You told me you always wanted one but the good legit ones were impossible to find.”

“Do you remember what you put in it?” I asked.

“A picture of us from when we were ten.” he answered.

“I’m a complete dumbass.” I spoke in an unsteady voice as I pulled out a small note from the same pocket with shaking hands, “I couldn’t get the locket to open the other night…I like looking in it when I’m sad but I couldn’t get it open ‘cause it was stuck. It’s an antique so it’s normal for it to get stuck sometimes, and every time it gets stuck, I’d open it cautiously. Well, I tried opening it the other night, and I broke my nail, so I got angry at the damn thing and I threw it at the wall…the picture fell out…and so did this.” I held up the note and I read it, “‘I choose to love you in silence…For in silence I find no rejection, I choose to love you in loneliness…For in loneliness no one owns you but me, I choose to adore you from a distance…For distance will shield me from pain, I choose to kiss you in the wind…For the wind is gentler than my lips, I choose to hold you in my dreams…’“

“For in my dreams, you have no end.” he finished the poem.

“Rumi…” I said, shocked that he remembered my favorite poet from the one time I told him when we were sixteen.

“I didn’t want you to find it, but part of me wanted you to. So I hid it behind the one thing that meant the most to me, inside something that was special to you.” he explained, “It was the only way I felt safe and comfortable telling you how I felt…even if you never got a chance to read it. People say that some things are better left unsaid, and I believed them, but I went crazy when I thought about how I’d have to live with feeling this way forever and not having you know, I just didn’t think I’d lose you in the process…but I can’t lose what was never mine.”

I took a deep, hesitating breath before I spoke, “I fell in love with you when we were sixteen, and every time I ran to you crying about a boy breaking my heart or hurting my feelings was because they didn’t treat me like how you did…they didn’t make me laugh like you did, they didn’t take care of me like you did…they weren’t you, George. I thought about how there were times that I almost told you how I felt…but my fear stopped me. And I can’t begin to imagine how you felt, and I’m sorry for that. Being older now means looking back at all the times we shared when we were younger…and I know that there were times were I felt like you were going to kiss me but you didn’t…but I know now why you didn’t…”

Joji looked down at his hands before he looked back up at me.

“But I really wish you did.” I admitted, “I found love in places where it shouldn’t have thought to grow because I was upset with the thought of being in love with someone who I thought didn’t feel the same way…I know that feeling of being rejected or feeling like you’ll be rejected, George, that fear.” I wiped my tears with the sleeves of my jacket.

I got up from the chair and put it back under the desk before I decided to face him again. I was slightly alerted when I saw he was standing now in front of me. He pulled me in for a tight hug and I gladly hugged back. To feel his warmth, his presence, just to feel him hugging me again after not seeing him for a long time made everything feel right again. I buried my face in his chest, taking in his scent as he rested his chin on my head before he kissed my cheek and hid his face in my neck. We were stood there for what seemed to be hours embracing each other. I rubbed his back softly and I finally whispered, “I’m still in love with you…I never stopped.”

Joji pulled away from the hug and smiled at me, “I love you.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on the tips of my toes so I would be able to reach his lips. I stared at his lips as I bit mine thinking about how I’d been waiting to kiss him for the longest time.

“Are you gonna kiss me or what?” he smirked nudging me gently.

“Shut up.” I laughed.

He dried my wet eyes lightly with the sleeves of his shirt, holding my face in his hands, he leaned in and kissed me softly. It felt right and more than anything I felt safe and home.

[youridvlovesupply]

Could I request a scenario with reader who realizes she falled in love with Eli but feel guilty about it because she knows he had a fiance (I think I read something about it in his story), how would he react to hearing them talking about it with other survivor? TvT Luv your writing btw!! 💕

Aaa thank you anon!! ;w;) In this one I don't think I write enough interactions between reader and Eli;; so if you want a continue of this, just tell me okay? ^^ I hope you enjoy this regardless!

The Things about Him That You Loved

Pairing: Eli Clark x Reader

Words: 888 words

“I don’t understand.. why don’t you just tell him?”, the Geisha tilted hee head to the side as you heave a heavy sigh and sips the warm tea from your hand, your eyes not meeting her’s.

“You’re missing the point here Michiko.. he’s engaged to someone else”, your eyes turned to the garden before you two, “Someone else that is not me”.

“And?”, her question came out more simple and relaxed than your confused heart, you turned to her, eyebrows furrowed and your face turns into a pout, she noticed this and giggled as you heave another sigh, staring into your reflection on the tea cup.

“She obviously knows his more than I do, I mean, they’re engaged. He loved her. I don’t stand a chance”, your fingers fiddle with each other while holding the cup, your face looks sad, disappointed, and heartbroken to Michiko as her eyes soften, empathy was written all over her face.

She looked into her own reflection in her teacup, she have seen that expression before, the exact same expression plastered on her face. The sadness, knowing that the feeling she hold for the man she loved will never be accepted by society. She turned to your, her lips curled into a soft small.

“(Y/N), do you mind me asking you a question?”, you let out a quizzical expression as you nod anyway, hands fiddling with the handle of the teacup.

“Why do you love Mr. Clark?”, at her question, you nearly choked on air as you almost dropped your teacup, you looked up at her, face flushed as you try to think of an answer.

His face came up to your mind, especially his soft smile that he always gave you in or out of match. You may not be able to see his eyes, but every time he smile, you could feel his eyes would turn soft while his cheek scrunched up a little.

Imagining his smile, your face also turned into one as you finally give your first answer, “His soft smile”, she hummed.

His voice and kindness come next. He was always kind, even to those that seems to act rude towards him either a hunter, or a survivor.

Whenever he risked himself to save you or anyone, your heart would flutter. You are also reminded when he told you some part of the story about Brooke, his owl.

How he saved her and how she seems to have attached herself to him, you can’t blame her, if someone as kind as Eli saved you from the brink of death, you’ll attach yourself to him as well.

So you give your second answer, “His kind hearted spirit”, she hummed again taking a sip of her tea.

Lastly, you imagine his gentle touch. Whether it’d be a nudge to the side, his hand brushing against your skin as he healed you during match, or when he once hold your hand as the two of you ran away from the hunter.

His hands were always warm, with, or without his gloves. You instinctively putting the teacup aside to rub your palm, reimagining what it feels like when his warm hands were grasped around yours, “And his warm gentle touch”.

You went silent for a minute, his smile and voice now clouding your mind again, you let out a sad smile as you clutch your hand, tears threatening to fall off of your face, “I.. I love him.. everything about him..”.

Tears turns into sobs and sobs turn into silent crying as you hugged yourself. Michiko went to stand up and kneeled in front of you as she hugged you tightly while rubbing gentle and assuring pats on your back.

“Have you ever asked him, about how he feel about you?”, she whispered softly as your sobbing come to a halt, “He’s engaged, yes, but you told me yourself that you only overheard those words”, her hugs tightened a bit.

“You need to ask him, dear. You need to hear it from him yourself. You need him to confirm those, to you”, she pulled back, dark eyes staring softly into your now swollen eyes, she wiped the tears away, giving you another smile.

“Loving is hard, and sometimes it’s painful”, her eyes seems to saddened a little as she reminded herself of the man she used to love, “But it’s always, always worth fighting for”.

Hearing reassuring words from her was enough to stopped the tears falling off of your face, that’s right, you only overheard him talking about the engagement. You wiped away your own tears as you beamed a thankful smile towards the Geisha, “Thank you, Michiko”.

She’s right, if you do love Eli, you’ll have to fight to earn his love. Even though his answer might broke your heart into pieces, even though you might lose the fight. But just like what Michiko have told you,

Love is worth fighting for.

As you leave the garden, leaving the Geisha alone, she walked towards one of the tall bushes near where you two had talked, she peeked downwards only to see the seer, hugging his owl tightly, seemingly to prevent Brooke from hooting away their location earlier.

She might not be able to see it clearly, but she saw the hinted pink hiding under his blindfold, she smiled.

“I suppose you know what must do now, Mr. Clark”

“Yes, yes I do”, he looked up at her, possibly looking into her dark eyes, “Thank you, Miss Michiko”.

[shy-violet-soul]

The Itty-Bitty Babysitting Brigade

Title: The Itty-Bitty Babysitting Brigade Characters: Alpha! Bucky Barnes x Omega!F-Reader, Assorted Avengers Summary: A team of experts are ready to help Bucky with the twins. Warnings: fluffity fluffy fluff.  A bad language word. Word count: approx. 2,400 A/N: This merry little band wouldn’t let me rest until I snuck a peak at how they do with the new pups! You don’t have to read part 1 & part 2, but you should.

A/N 2: a very big fluffy thank you to my 2 beta’s, @thesassywallflower​ and @pinknerdpanda​. You ladies are super-fab - bless you for putting up with my text onslaughts!

This is a work of fiction based upon characters owned by the MCU. My work is not to be published elsewhere without my written permission.

Bucky Barnes was a reasonable man. Before you and the twins darkened the apartment doorway on your first day home as a family, he’d created pup care schedules, matrices, and plans that would put Nick Fury to shame. The failure of the infants to follow said schedules, matrices, and plans gave him chest pains.

“Bucky, my love, it’s okay. They were all warm and cozy where it was dark and quieter. Here, it’s noisy and cold and bright. I’m sure they’re a little scared because everything’s so different. Crying is the only way they have to talk to us.” Then, you did it again - hand over his heart, blinking your tired but happy eyes up at him. “They’re so lucky to have a strong, brave daddy to help them feel safe.”

Bucky Barnes was a reasonable man. After eight days of carefully crafted pup care plans being shot straight to hell, the soldier went back to his roots - guerilla warfare. Having spent decades perfecting the art of surveillance, he quickly learned the twins’ little tells that gave away possible maneuvers. Ruth Natalia, for instance, went back to sleep if she just rubbed her eyes with her fist. Rubbing her face into the blanket - imminent nap ceasefire. If Joseph Steven had the hiccups for longer than 3 minutes 18 seconds - prompt conflict escalation. Ever the tactician, Bucky quickly adopted the jarhead motto of ‘improvise, adapt, and overcome’ that allowed him to anticipate and quickly intervene. A swift pacifier tucked into Ruth’s mouth bought him an average 6 minutes extra peace time. Swaying Joey side to side tucked in his arm like a football was always a successful diversion. It’s when they joined forces in joint engagement that left him with palpitations and shortness of breath.

Watching you made it easier. Motherhood looked damn good on you. Even if you were covered in spit up and the clothes from two days ago. You showed him the best swaddle techniques, encouraged him to be unafraid while burping them (“they won’t break, Bucky”), and filled his phone with photos of him and the pups.

Even though Bucky grumbled that it had only been a few weeks, your willing daycare back-up Wanda had to get back to missions. The night before you were supposed to resume daycare duties, the babies engaged in full scale attrition warfare, including deployment of the famous Pincer movement.

Simply put, they ganged up on their mama and daddy.

Bucky’s heart broke when you sagged to the floor between their bouncy seats where they both shrieked like they were being tortured, and cried right along with them. You had nursed, and rocked, and walked, and bounced, and bathed, and sung, and nursed and swaddled and unwrapped and walked and vacuumed and nursed and nothing. Was. WORKING. 

“I don’t - I don’t k-know what to d-do!” you sobbed as you held pacifiers to their mouths. Your red-rimmed eyes shone garishly, skin pinched and pale from pure exhaustion. Your nursing top hung raggedly off one shoulder, and your loose pants were stained from dinner two nights before. Both his omega and his pups were in need before him, an expert warrior and master assassin. He felt like he was gonna throw up.

Bucky Barnes was a reasonable man. And an Avenger, dammit! His alpha snarled and snapped with anxiety - protect! Soothe! Fix! Kneeling down behind you, he wrapped you up in his arms, being careful to avoid your painful breasts, and purred into your neck. You and both babies paused in the moment; you quaked like a leaf against him as the pups snuffled, his calming scent of rosemary and sandalwood pacifying them for a moment. He didn’t know what the hell to do, so he did what any rational person would do. He lied.

“I know what to do. You’re going to go take a shower, and lie down and sleep. The babies and I are going downstairs to be with the daycare pups.” 

Your lack of protest said more than any words as you wiped your nose on your sleeve. “C-can I just lie down here?” you croaked out pitifully. Bucky wavered for an instant before putting just enough alpha in his voice to get you moving.

“No, doll, you’ll wake up all sore. Go shower, go sleep.”

Bucky Barnes was a reasonable man. The fact that he took enough equipment downstairs to satisfy a doomsday prepper wasn’t noteworthy in the slightest. The pups’ reactions, however, was. Parents were abandoned without a backward glance as they ran pell mell towards the occupied bouncy seat/swing contraptions. 

“WAIT!” Heidi/Dimples the omega bellowed, freezing Chad/Lightning Bolt and Jeremy/Steve in their tracks. “Sanitize! Who knows what germs you’ve picked up out there!” she ordered, swiping the pump bottle and doling out globs while Bucky hurriedly took care of sign in. Bucky would later chuckle with you at the militant little omega refusing access to the babies until every pup had been liberally sanitized. The ooo’s and aaa’s, soft touches, and light distracted the babies as Bucky scrambled to get morning snack lined up. Then…

“Look at that! Baby Joey has the hiccups!” giggled Micah/Iron Hulk.

Shit.

“Mr. Barnes, sir? Ruthie keeps rubbing her face in her blankie,” Heidi advised.

Dammit.

Servings of apple juice globbed into sippy cups with no attention to equal servings as Bucky’s heart rate rose along with the volume of the twins’ fussing. When Ruth gave one piercing cry, Bucky ripped open two packs of graham crackers and dropped them on the table, ignoring the crumbling result as he sprinted back to the babies. Elaine/Warrior Princess had already figured out the Stark tech on the swings, but the smooth movements weren’t doing anything to mollify them. Joey joined in his sister’s cries, both little faces screwing up as they hollered. Seven pairs of pup eyes turned to look at Bucky expectantly.

Bucky Barnes was a reasonable man. The fact that he felt like vomiting was irrelevant.

“Hungry. Maybe they’re hungry,” he said more to himself as he stumbled to plug in the bottle warmer.

“Mmmm, I dunno. They don’t sound hungry,” Chad pondered, hands on his hips. 

“How do you know? They’re still fresh out of the wrapper, they don’t know how to cry different.”

Chad scoffed at Elaine. “Because my mama is a baby-makin’ machine, that’s why! She says so all the time, and my dad’s sleeping on the couch till he gets some kinda appointment made. I got two little brothers and one little sister at home.”

Sera studied Ruthi seriously, bobbing along with the baby as she scrutinized. “He’s right, they’re not hungry. See? She’s just lonely.”

Bucky tried not to hyperventilate as he fished out two bottles of breast milk, bobbling one until he slammed it into the warmer. Distantly he saw the pups gather in closer to the babies, heard the murmur of certainty in the ‘ooooh, I see!’ that chattered through the room. While mashing buttons, he chanced a look over his shoulder when Micah declared, 

“I know what to do!” But a mechanical beep of annoyance from the warmer took his attention and sent his pulse hammering in rhythm with the babies’ cries. Failure loomed over him like a towering tidal wave, his throat sticky with stress and hyperventilation. As his vision started to turn white at the edges, Bucky didn’t notice the activity behind him: Micah explaining the plan, Elaine leading Jeremy and Sera to move the big blue chair, Natalie running to the art supplies, and Chad and Heidi leaning over the babies.

Little hands grabbing at his arms knocked Bucky off his pins, the second bottle clattering from his hand. He almost took the blue chair down with him when Elaine and Jeremy tugged him into it, wooden feet groaning an inch or two across the floor in protest. Sera tossed the blankets previously covering the twins across his legs. Natalie appeared at his right, wobbling on a step stool and brandishing a pair of rounded safety scissors while Chad and Heidi clutched the screaming babies against their bodies.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Barnes! This won’t hurt a bit!”

Bucky Barnes was a reasonable man. The fact that there are now ten holes ripped into the arms of the big blue chair is immaterial.

Before Bucky could even free up a brain cell to respond, Micah grabbed the left side of his tshirt and pulled it taut, and Natalie sliced a cut from nipple to nipple like she ninja’d her way through toddler tap dance class. Micah then yanked the gap wide, and Chad and Heidi plunked the babies against his bare chest.

“There!” Micah and Chad chimed out victoriously. Bucky didn’t know what ‘there’ was. Or where. He was thoroughly occupied with maneuvering the two squalling, still very tiny babies against him.

“Son of a bitch!” he ground out.

“MIS-ter Barnes! You can’t use bad language words!” Heidi clapped her hands over the closest baby’s ears, glaring ferociously at him. Deaf to her scolding, Bucky yelped when Ruth’s face slid into his armpit and Joey slipped head-first towards the side.  Sighing with exasperation, Chad climbed up to the left arm and clapped his hands on Bucky’s face.

“Listen. Calm down. You’re giving off all your bad alpha smells and freakin’ ‘em out!”

“Deep breaths, Mr. Barnes!” The little pups started coaching the Avenger, breathing in and out exaggeratedly until he followed their lead. Gradually, he noticed the scent of gunsmoke choking the air, causing more than one wrinkled pup nose. He forced himself to relax, his left arm chinking slightly as the plates shifted.

“I don’t know what to do,” he whispered to himself. Elaine’s head bonked him on the chin as she tugged Joey back into place, the baby flopping like a bobblehead before she climbed down to sit on the floor.

“Nobody knows what to do with kids, Mr. Barnes.”

Finally manuevering Ruth into place, Bucky tried to pay attention. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yup. My mama tells us all the time. ‘What the hell am I gonna do with you?’” Elaine quoted solemnly.

Jeremy nodded in agreement. “My daddy says parenthood is the toughest hood he’s ever been in. But I don’t know about that ‘cuz I never see him wear a hood, he only wears a ball cap.”

Both babies now lay cautiously secured in his hold. Bucky couldn’t take his eyes off them as they still fussed and grizzled unhappily.

“Now what?”

Chad joined the little band crisscrossed-applesauced in front of Bucky. “The two p’s.” The little guy nodded as if to tell him to get busy. Like he wasn’t speaking in a foreign language at all.

“Which two p’s?”

Rolling his eyes and sharing a chagrined look with Elaine, Chad answered, “purr and pat. Bust out that legit purr and pat ‘em on their little hineys.” 

Bucky swallowed hard around the still-pounding pulse in his throat and tried to purr; the sound started croakily at best. But as his alpha settled into the calming action, Bucky felt his muscles relax a hair. His eyes closed as he let himself just be in the moment - the tip-tup dance of their heartbeats against his thrumming warm beneath them, the gentle herby lavender and spiced vanilla of their scents gradually lifting to thread with his rosemary and sandalwood. And gradually realized he nor the babies seemed about to immediately explode.

When he opened his eyes, he blinked at the bright grins waiting for him.

“Good job, Mr. Barnes!” Heidi crowed, clapping happily. Micah offered him a double thumbs up to go with Sera’s chef’s kiss, while the others offered him proud, smiling nods.

“Just need to figure out the pat, and you got this!” Chad encouraged. “They just needed that skin to skin time.”

Jeremy was nodding vehemently. “I helped my mom with that when she was conzausted.”

“What’s conzausted?” Natalie wanted to know.

“It’s when my mom gets really tired.”

“Oh. My dad must get conzausted, too. He says having all us kids is like having a blender with no lid.”

Sera perked up, eyes wide with an epiphany. “That must be why my mom cleans all the time!”

Bucky felt one of his calf muscles cramp up, and tried to relax a little more. Ruth and Joey dozed, happily nuzzling round cheeks and tiny noses into his warmth. Their sleepy little sounds tugged a half-smile onto his face. When Bucky stole his gaze to the daycare pups, Chad gave him a pleased head bob. Unbelievably relieved pride sent more calm into his belly, and Bucky let himself relax even more as the children’s candy-coated happy scents filled him. They whispered and murmured in hushed tones, eager to help with their newest friends and their Sergeant Alpha.

Suddenly, Steve came somersaulting shield first in the craft room window, glass shattering and scattering. Sam splintered open the front door to the tune of pups screaming - all nine of them as the babies were yanked from their nap. Weapons drawn, they both scrambled around the room.

“Bucky! I got your 911 text. Where’s the threat?”

Bucky’s omega is a reasonable woman. The fact that she nailed Sam with a baseball bat was blown entirely out of proportion. The other fact that she kicked Steve in the balls so hard he cried was not.

An hour later, the daycare pups were in the upstairs living quarters, happily munching on popcorn to go with an impromptu ‘Phineas and Ferb’ marathon. Nat and Clint had carted away the incapacitated Captain and Falcon while Tony’s bots worked on door and window replacement. Clint nearly required medical attention himself when he laughed so hard at the ‘conzausted’ Mrs. Barnes’ terrified omega rampage that he fell off the porch. Bucky had taken your scolding shamefacedly, although he truly had no memory of sending the text. Abject panic will do that to you.

As he cuddled the calmed and re-sleeping babies against his bare chest, his omega dozing beside him on the coach, and a pile of pups and pillows before him, Bucky knew he could do this.

He knew they could do this. Even without schedules, matrices, and schedules.