#I mean I probably should have been using my phone flashlight but also I refuse to take responsibility

[thatoneluckybee]

just ran into a fraeki ng wal

[fairestwriting]

title: a treasure hunt of sorts

word count: 2696

summary: Malleus had been gifting Ellis gems, recently, so many that they were piling up and he wouldn't know what to do with them even if he actually understood the meaning behind the gift. After some "careful consideration", he decides to give something back.

commissioned by @nymphgrotto​ , also available on ao3 here ! tysm for the commission, i hope you enjoy it!

my guidelines for commissions are here, in case anyone else is interested

Everything in the Ramshackle dorm building creaks, floorboards and doors and ceiling threatening to collapse in a way that Ellis somehow had just grown used to. Door shut behind him, he walks noisy steps towards the lounge, leaving the beautiful night outside, and placing a red gem the size of his palm on the coffee table.

Another one. The fifth one he’d gotten this week, and they were only halfway through it.

The gems gather on top of the surface like freshly picked fruits, full of color and life and almost glaring at him in their little shiny pile. He slides the blazer off, tossing it somewhere — Grim was asleep at this point, it’s fine if he wasn’t being the best influence — and lets himself collapse on the plush stuffing of the couch.

The gems were a gift from Malleus Draconia — A name that strikes fear into many students’ hearts, for reasons Ellis just couldn’t see. They had met by chance outside Ramshackle, Malleus was taking a nightly stroll and they just ended up chatting for a reason or another. He found out bits and pieces of information every time they saw each other. That he liked abandoned buildings and the night sky, that he was very knowledgeable about gargoyles and owned a tamagotchi, then his name that he had been refusing to actually tell. They hit it off and became friends. Malleus was a person Ellis liked to be around.

And a person he had an exponentially growing crush on, he admits, but just to himself for now. He sighs again, head in his hands. His crush, putting a different precious gem in his hand every night. It should have been a dream scenario, but he just doesn’t get it. The way Malleus does it is so unaffected, they couldn’t be heartfelt gifts at all. It looked like he was lending him money.

Maybe that’s what’s happening, he thinks tiredly, looking around the inside of the building. He had been cleaning up for most of the semester, it managed to look decent now, if only a little like somewhere a grandmother would live, but that was cozy in its own way. The outside was still screwed up, though, so maybe Malleus trying to help him with repairs? Ellis stares at the pile of gems, they stare back. With the amount all of them were worth, they were probably enough to cover all the costs needed to polish Ramshackle’s outside, so maybe…

...he really didn’t want his crush, a guy so lofty and admirable, to think he just couldn’t do something like that by himself, though. The very thought of it makes him uneasy.

He sighs. Maybe he should talk it out with someone, he was burning up his brain cells just thinking by himself like this. He scrolls through names in his contact list before stopping on Cater’s. Cater had mentioned talking to Malleus before, right? And he didn’t seem scared. Plus he may have been aware of Ellis’ crush, even half so — Though that’s sort of embarrassing, it’s not like he’d been trying to hide.

But it’s okay, the phone makes its dialing noise. “Hey, Cater?”

“Ellis! Hi hi.” Cater chimes from the other side of the line. Ellis could hear ruffling even through the phone, maybe he just moved around on his bed. “What’s up!”

“Malleus.” Ellis starts, leaning back against the couch. Thank god it was so comfy, right. “Has he ever brought you, um… gems and stuff? Like really expensive looking things?”

There’s silence.

“Uh, no?” Cater responds mid a confused laugh. “...why are you asking that? We don’t really talk.”

“I don’t know.” Ellis admits, shaking his head in defeat. “He’s been giving me gems all week and I don’t get it. I thought maybe you knew something since you’ve talked to him...once? That’s more than most people here, anyways.”

Cater hums, a short pause. “Well, I really can’t tell what that means.”

Another sigh, another feeling of defeat. Ellis sinks on the couch.

“Ugh. Do you think he feels bad about the state of the dorm or something? I like gifts as much as everyone else, but…” He sighs. “I just wanna know what’s going on in his head.”

“Y’know, they’re still gems, I don’t get why you’re complaining. And you’re so curious about him too.”

“I just wanna know.” He huffs, face feeling hot. “I feel bad I’m not giving him anything back, is all. Gifts are nice but this is too much.”

“Ehh, you wanna one up Malleus?” He asks, voice incredulous. Do I wanna do that? Ellis finds himself wondering. Is that what this is about?

“I mean, I might as well try, right.” He says. He thinks of it as a joke, but it might not really be one. Looking up to Malleus all the time felt… kind of lame, sometimes, Ellis wanted him to look up to him too. His heart feels heavy thinking about it — But he does.

“Okay, that’s just crazy.” Cater laughs from the other side of the line, mixing with the ruffling sound again.

“Yeah, yeah. Maybe.” He laughs back, but, again, he’s actually thinking about it. He can’t help but think about it. What if he actually impressed Malleus this time? He wonders how he’d look.

They say their goodbyes after more idle chatter and Ellis has his flushed cheeks on his hands, pulling his knees closer to his body. He’s tried doing something impressive before, though it usually just ends up going humorously wrong… but, but, maybe this time it’d work. He stares at the gems on the coffee table. These could be the clue he needed.

A wide-eyed Malleus comes to mind. If things went like that, maybe the messages he’d been wanting to send with all the casual affection would get through. Even if Malleus didn’t like him back — That was a scary thought, but he knew it wouldn’t ruin their friendship, Malleus wasn’t like anyone else — he’d been wanting to tell him in a way where he could actually understand, visualize how deep his feelings had been running. This seemed like the perfect chance.

He dreams of emeralds in a treasure room that night.

. . .

He knew that this, at least, was something Malleus would like — Ellis can’t help but giggle in excitement while he drags him around the woods, clutching at his hand, hearing the crunching of leaves under their shoes and the subtle howling of the wind.

“So, tonight,” He introduces, voice chimy and full of energy. Malleus is standing right behind him in his towering glory. His stare is mostly blank, but Ellis somewhat knows how to decode it, and he can see a glint of curiosity there. They stop in front of an assortment of rocks that made up something looking like a gate. “I was thinking we could go looking for gems in this little cave? I heard from some guys that it has a lot of interesting stuff inside!”

Some guys was a chain of information that started with Rook, who had been doing god knows what in the cave, but what mattered now is that Ellis would go there, and he would find something that would blow Malleus away.

“A cave,” Malleus repeats, blinking. His long hair sways with the wind, lime green glow emitted from his eyes — He did things to his heart, honestly, even just being there — as he looks at Ellis with amusement. “Is that… a common outing for your culture, Child of Man?”

“I mean, not really? But I like collecting things.” He says, a bit sheepish as they begin to walk inside. It’s dark, but that’s an issue easily solved by flicking his flashlight on. “And I thought you might like this.”

Malleus chuckles, and that does more to his heart than him just standing here. “I see,” He says, the amusement visible. Ellis can’t help the excited smile beginning to show up on his face. This was it. “I do think it could be interesting.”

“Yeah!” He chimes. Shining the light forwards, he inspects the path in front of them as they walk further away from the entrance — It was safe, right? A lot of people seemed to have been there, plus it wasn’t exactly hard to move inside, the ground wasn’t as rocky as the walls “I heard they have gems deeper inside? Uh, it might be a little creepy for a bit, though.”

Malleus hums. The glow of his eyes shows up more at every step they take towards the inner parts of the cave, shrouded in darkness. Looks magical, Ellis’ brain unhelpfully reminds him, majestic, beautiful.

(He needed to get that confession out already, and yet…)

“I’m not displeased with this place, though.” Malleus’ voice makes a light echo. “It reminds me of home in a way.”

“Home? Like in the Valley of Thorns?” He asks, wincing when he steps against what seemed to be a tree branch, cracking it into two. How do things like that end up here, anyway?

“It’s a very rocky scenery. Tall mountains and thorn bushes, dark almost all year long.” Malleus explains. “I remember seeing it through my room’s window.”

“You know, that’s kind of cool in a way, I’ve never been somewhere like that.” He comments, thumb resting over the flashlight’s switch. He feels fidgety trying to visualize the Valley of Thorns in his mind, then briefly entertaining the thought of actually being there, with him too… “Is the palace all dark too?”

“Darkness is associated with royalty, so naturally it is.” He speaks. There’s a hint of nostalgia in his voice, almost. It’s strangely warm thinking of a smaller Malleus walking around a big, imposing dark castle, and still making all those sweet childhood memories there. It’s a testament to Malleus himself, maybe. The contrast between the imposing exterior and the softer interior. “It's tall, built in black bricks a long time ago, surrounded by thorn bushes…”

“You should bring me there one day.” Ellis suggests. His voice comes out sweet, it always does — And he hopes Malleus can notice why, he wants him to. But he doesn’t expect it at this point.

(Because if there’s one thing about Malleus’ he’s learned, it’s that genius or not, everything just flew right over his head, and flirting with him was a battle you lost before you even started fighting.)

“Perhaps that wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.” Malleus says mid a chuckle, and his heart flutters. Oh to have a tour around Malleus’ hometown. Maybe there wasn’t much more to see at the place than thorn bushes, but Ellis thought about it insistently anyways. The things that made it unique, and the things about it that Malleus carried over. It’s insistent curiosity and his equally insistent crushing.

He glances forward as he smiles, recalling what he’d been told about the cave. They should be getting to the part with the cool rocks (Cater’s words, not his, maybe not even Cater’s either, since he got that from Ace who got it from someone else… you know how it is) now, Ellis is excited. He’s read up a little bit on gems before doing this. Surely Malleus would be caught off guard by that too, if he was interested in them, then they could choose one to bring home, and it’d be like jewelry shopping, kind of, maybe…

But jewelry stores don’t have swarms of bats in it, and caves do — And in they come, screechy noises and motion blur, and Ellis wasn’t thinking about the presence of bats at all, so he completely flips out, jumping in shock with a yelp and dropping the flashlight.

Dropping himself, actually, tripping on a damned rock and almost falling on top of Malleus as he hears the crack of his light falling, rolling somewhere he couldn’t see.

“Careful, Child of Man—”

Ellis blinks, looking around to try and find that light, but it’s nowhere to be seen — Not that he could see anything, the place was shrouded in darkness now — and his breath quickens with panic, damn it this wasn’t what…

“The flashlight?” Ellis asks, voice frantic. “Damn it, I can’t see it, I…”

Malleus’ eyes are still glowing green.

“I’m guessing you can’t see in the dark?”

“No?” He sputters. What, now he could see in the dark too? Malleus’ abilities are usually interesting to hear about, but now… “Ugh, the flashlight…”

“It’s not anywhere near us.” He informs unhelpfully. “Fallen from a drop. Perhaps I should guide us back.”

He sighs, heavy and tired. Great, there went his plans, everything down the drain again. Usually he could just laugh something like this off, but…

Maybe he had higher hopes for tonight.

“Yeah, I guess.” Ellis mumbles. “Sorry, in the end we couldn’t really do anything cool.”

“We still have time for a stroll near the woods, don’t we?” He can’t see Malleus’ face, exactly, just the outline of his eyes dotting the black dye, but with the way they move he guesses he may have tilted his head. “And I’ve actually enjoyed visiting this cave, short as our outing was.”

“...yeah, b-but I wanted to impress you.” His face feels hot, mostly with shame, the stutter comes with the blurting out of the words. He hates being upset like this, and yet— “You’re always the one doing cool things, disappearing in thin air and leaving fireflies behind, bringing me all that stuff… I wanted to do it too, I guess, especially with you bringing me all those gems for reasons I still don’t know why. I wanted you to… l-like me more, I guess, because I really like you.”

Too many words. He feels his core burn, but they’d been spinning around in his mind for so long now, at some point it was meant to come out. At least, even if Malleus hated that, he wouldn’t…

“Child of Man,” He speaks, voice clear and blank after a pause. There it comes, Ellis thinks dejectedly, though he doesn’t know exactly what bad thing he’s expecting. “Ellis.”

But that’s his name. His agape mouth closes. Was it that bad? One might worry his heartbeat would start echoing into the empty cave.

“...I believe there may have been a misunderstanding here.”

He shakes his head, heart twisting. “N-No, it’s okay, I get that you don’t…”

“Are you not aware of dragon courting traditions?”

Ellis feels his heart both drop the ground and soar at the same time.

“...the gifting of gems. I’d been trying to tell you about… how I feel, I suppose, for a while.” He says, and his voice sounds different. Quieter. Guilty? Ellis can’t put his finger on what it is exactly, but he wonders if Malleus is blushing.

And the image of it in his mind makes him want to look away, even as he can’t.

“There’s been a misunderstanding after all.” Malleus sighs. Yeah, his voice is different. Airy, light, something to it that has Ellis’ face burning. “If you’ve been thinking you could make me like you any more than I already do.”

It feels like an impossible dream to have something like this happen, in this damn cave of all places too, but the smile makes its way into his lips and doesn’t leave, lopsided or not. The laughter starts bubbling up. And on his first snicker, he has Malleus’ confusion too.

“Are you laughing at my confession?” He asks when the snickers turn into a full on laugh, one that has him wiping tears off his eyes with his sleeves.

“G-God, no way, I’m just laughing ‘cause we’re both so stupid…” Ellis shakes his head. Who would have known, huh. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. Then we can go for that walk you wanted. I think it’d be nice.”

“As you wish, then.” He replies, and Ellis feels his hand on his, warmth spreading across him. It’s really a dream— “Would that mean we are… dating, now?”

Oh to see the great Malleus asking him all these dorky questions. “Maybe. Let’s get out of here first.”

The light from the entrance shines back onto them soon.

[lunatens]

scaredy cats

-

requested by bea (🌱✨anon) tysm bby!! i’m sorry this took so long, i made it a lil longer to make up for it :> 

prompt: “uh...did the power just go out?”

*part of my 2 years with luna event!

word count: 2.2k

genre: fluff, high school au, childhood friends to lovers 

pairing: lee chan x gn reader

warnings: there’s a thunderstorm and the power goes out!

[you: channieeeee pls come over~]

[chan: y??]

[you: do u rlly need a reason lmao i just wanna see my bestie]

[chan: it’s raining thoooooo]

[you: so? use an umbrella it ain’t a far walk]

[chan: okok i’ll come hang out]

[chan: i’m gonna kick ur ass at super mario party tho]

[you: in your dreams ;) see u soon bby!!]

slipping your phone into your pocket, you roll off your bed and excitedly rush to your front window, pulling the blinds aside so you can have a better view of the street outside. chan wasn’t kidding, it’s raining alright—heavy torrents of rain pour from the sky, and the clouds look a bit too dark for your liking. you bite your lip guiltily, feeling a little bad that chan’s walking here in this weather. at least he only lives a block over, you think to make yourself feel better. 

chan’s been your best friend ever since he accidentally hit you in the face with a frisbee way back when you were just ten years old. your nose started bleeding, and chan panicked and tried to comfort you as he went with you to get cleaned up. even when the school nurse tried to send him back outside, he refused to leave until he knew you were okay. you tease him about this all the time, laughing at how overdramatic he was (”it was just a little nose bleed, chan” “okay but you were crying!!”) but you’re grateful for it, as you probably wouldn’t have become friends otherwise. 

you smile to yourself as you think back fondly on the memories of your childhood with chan; it won’t be long till you’re both graduating high school, and it’s hard to believe it’s been so many years since that fateful frisbee incident. you can’t help but nervously wonder what the future will bring for you and chan, but you push those thoughts aside when you see a figure running down the street trying to cover his head as he sprints through the puddles. he slows down as he reaches your house, jogging up to your front door. not even giving him the chance to knock, you open the door for chan and usher him inside quickly. 

“it’s a little wet out there,” he comments sarcastically, and a distant clap of thunder echoes through the sky as if to emphasize his point. you quickly shut the door and lock it, as if that’ll do something to keep the storm at bay. 

“yeah, no kidding, you’re dripping all over the floor,” you comment. chan pulls of his drenched shoes and opens his mouth to say something but you cut him off before he can start.

“i’ll go get you some dry clothes, stay here so you don’t get the entire house wet,” you tell him as you rush to your room to search for something chan can wear. you find a couple of his sweaters lying around, one he forgot here just last week and the other one from god knows when. you decide to keep the more recent one and give chan the older one along with a pair of your sweatpants and some warm socks.

“here, catch,” you say as you throw the clothes towards chan, who’s now standing in a large puddle in your doorway. he’s caught off guard, and the clothes hit him square in the face. 

“hey!!! i come all the way over here through a thunderstorm to see you just because you’re bored, and this is the thanks i get?” chan complains as he makes his way to your room to get changed.

“oh come on, i know you were just as bored as i was,” you tease, and chan can’t help but smile when you call him out. 

“you got me,” he responds before slipping into your room and closing the door behind him. you proceed to hook up your nintendo switch to the tv, preparing for a night of video games and maybe a movie or two. as you connect the cables, you hear your bedroom door open and chan’s soft footsteps as he goes to throw his clothes in the dryer. he returns to the living room, flopping onto the couch and grabbing a controller.

“what do you want for dinner? my parents are away for the weekend so there’s frozen pizza or….some sort of leftovers i think?” you ask chan, making your way to the kitchen.

“you’re not gonna cook for me?” chan teases, knowing you sometimes struggle to make toast. you give him a look before digging the pizza out of the freezer. you preheat the oven and place the pizza on a tray. 

“don’t forget to take the plastic off!” chan calls from the couch.

“i know, chan,” you say, but you’re glad he reminded you; that was a close one. 

-

two hours and a slightly overcooked frozen pizza later, you and chan are yelling at the screen as your characters pummel each other in a heated round of super smash bros. it’s still heavily raining, but the sounds of the tv drown out the steady drumming on the roof and the increasingly loud and frequent thunder. the two of you hardly notice the flashes of lightning in the now-dark sky as you focus on the tv. you’re just about to smash chan’s character to oblivion when all of a sudden everything is pitch black and a blanket of dead silence washes over the house, save for the rain on the roof.

“uh...did the power just go out?” chan asks, the two of you sitting frozen on the couch. you turn your head to look at him, although there’s really no point--you can’t see anything.

“hm, yeah i think it did,” you say. you’re trying to tease him, but you can’t hide the fear wavering in your voice. 

“where are you?” chan asks, voice equally fearful, and you reach out to feel for his outstretched hands in the dark. you find them, and the two of you grab onto each other and pull each other close. the room feels so empty without the bright lights from the tv and the chaotic yelling over the sounds of the game onscreen. now, there’s only the rain, louder than ever, although you swear you can hear your heartbeat out loud. 

“i think we have some candles in the basement,” you whisper.

“noooooope, you’re crazy if you think i’m going down there; it’s scary even when the lights are on,” chan replies and you feel him shake his head. “what about that scented candle i gave you for your birthday?”

“ooh, good call! it’s in my room,” you remember. “let’s go,” you say, pulling out your phone to use as a flashlight. lightning outside lights up the room for a moment, and not too long after there’s a loud clap of thunder. both you and chan let out a small shriek, feeling your grips on each other tighten. now, is your heart beating from fear of the dark and stormy night? or from the way chan holds onto you for dear life? probably a mix of both, but you choose not to think about that right now. 

“ok we’ll go on three, ready?” you say, waiting for chan’s response. you’re met with silence. “chan?”

“oh sorry, i forgot you can’t see me nodding. on three,” he confirms

“okay, one, two...three!” you count. on three, you pull chan off the couch and the two of you race hand in hand to your bedroom, guided by the bright light of your phone flashlight. you hesitantly let go of chan’s hand as you search for your candle and some matches. it doesn’t take too long to find them, and soon enough a flickering orange flame casts a faint flow around your room. you and chan climb onto your bed, you sitting up against the headboard and chan lying with his head in your lap. there’s enough light that you can now see each other’s silhouettes at least, and you look down to watch as the flame casts shadows that seem to dance across chan’s face. when did he grow up so much? you find yourself thinking, feeling like it was just yesterday the two of you were a couple of snot-nosed kids running around at recess. your fingers absentmindedly play with his hair as you’re lost in thought.

“this is kind of spooky, we should tell ghost stories!” chan suggests.

“or we could just talk and not scare ourselves into staying awake all night,” you reply.

“good idea,” he agrees, but neither of you say anything. you lie there in silence for a moment; the rain sounds a bit less violent from inside your room, and now that you can see a bit you find it’s quite a peaceful sound.

“mingyu asked me out today,” you tell chan. you’re not quite sure what possessed you to just tell him that out of the blue; you weren’t even planning on telling chan at all, but now you’ve gone and said it and you can’t take it back.

“really?? that’s great, y/n! when’s the date?”

you’re a bit disheartened at chan’s reaction; he seems genuinely excited for you, unless the shock is just masking his true feelings for now, 

“i said no.”

“what?? why??? i thought you liked him?” chan sits up at this, his head now even with yours as he looks at you in shock.

“not anymore,” you say with a shrug. your voice is quiet, unsure of where this conversation will head. 

“oh,” is all chan says. “is there...any particular reason?” he asks after a beat of silence. there’s something more in his voice now that wasn’t there before.

“i just don’t think he’s really my type,” you explain without elaborating. 

“well, what is your type if not mingyu? he’s kind, smart, beautiful, tall...he’s got it all! i mean, you’ve had a crush on him for like, a year, and he finally asked you out and you said no?” chan says in mild disbelief. 

“don’t get me wrong, mingyu’s a great guy and all, but i just-i think i realized i have feelings for someone else,” you say, voice trailing off to barely a whisper. 

“really?? who is it?” chan asks all-too-eagerly, and you start to feel doubtful he likes you back.

“it’s no one.”

“awe y/n, don’t be like that! at least give me hints?” chan asks. 

“fine,” you sigh, knowing he won’t leave it alone. “first of all, he’s annoying and loud,”

“that doesn’t sound like a crus-”

“do you want me to give you hints or not?”

“...yes please,”

“ok then shh. he’s annoying and loud, but it’s perfect because i am too so we get along really well. he’s also the most caring person i’ve ever met; i know he’d do anything for me if i asked him,” you continue, not sure how much you want to give away.

“wow, he sounds really great!” chan comments. to any other person, he’d sound excited for you, but you know him well enough to pick up on the slight disappointment in his voice, and it’s just the boost you need to keep going.

“he is; he’d even go out in a thunderstorm for me just because i said i’m bored,” you say and you turn to look at chan now. it’s too dark to read his expression, but you can see how he leans ever so closer to you. 

“now that’s some dedication, i mean he sounds flawless,” chan teases. you can hear the smile in his voice, which makes the butterflies in your stomach go wild.

“the only problem is i’m not sure if he likes me back,” you whisper, your nose brushing the tip of chan’s, and before you know it his lips are on yours in a passionate yet gentle kiss. how you’ve gone so long without kissing chan you don’t know; the years of secret feelings all finally set free in this one kiss. 

you didn’t lie about liking mingyu--you had actually thought you might’ve finally gotten over your feelings for chan and found someone else. for a couple of months it worked, and you found yourself distracted with thoughts of the tall boy instead of your best friend. but it all came crashing down when you caught the common cold the other week, and chan looked after you while you were sick--he even skipped class one day to make sure you weren’t lonely. all of your true feelings came rushing back to you, and you knew there were no hopes of losing them.

“what about now?” chan asks as he pulls away just enough to talk.

“i’m still not sure, he might have to kiss me again to convince me,” you say, unable to contain your smile. chan kisses you again, and it’s just as magical as the first time. a loud crack of thunder startles you, and you gasp as you latch onto chan, burying your face in his shoulder.

“you’re such a scaredy-cat,” he says, bringing his arms up to pull you closer.

“shut up so are you, i can hear your heart racing,” your voice is muffled by his sweater.

“maybe that’s just because of you,” he comments, stroking your hair. 

“ew,” you reply, but your heart’s not in it; you can pretend to hate how cheesy chan is all you want, but internally you love it just as much as you love every other aspect of him.

[gospelofme]

57 Thoughts I Had While Watching Part 2 of The Bad Batch Season Finale (Spoilers ahead!!)

I do like how Part 2 picks right up where Part 1 left off. I prefer that method since it makes it feel like one connected piece. Like how Rogue One ended where A New Hope kicks off.

Ya know, I wouldn’t mind the thunderstorms.

Okay the explosions are beautifully animated. The blues, the sparks, the orange flames. And I like how they’re realistically placed. So many shows with explosions don’t have them right close to the characters, even if they’re supposed to be all around them.

This episode is kinda darkly lit. Not like Battle of Winterfell in Game of Thrones.

Okay yeah, that clone reporting the destruction…thats some sadness there.

That inner alarm has me thinking “oh shit my flight has changed gates again hasn’t it!!”

Damn, imagine being unconscious and wake up in a flooding compartment with a droid and that one kid who took your place.

Okay how strong is that knife. I kinda expect it to break in half. Wrecker would

probably try to trade with Hunter after that.

The shot of the burning buildings on the water is so beautiful too. The reflections were well done.

About AZ being like “oh hey homie, you survived being blown up but now you’re drowning. And I’m watching while this literal child tries to move metal debris off of you.”

Okay Omega using her bow like that is genius. But please wee baby don’t hit Crosshair by accident. And the way the bolts underwater were animated. 🤌🏻🤌🏻

And Crosshair being all “wtf?!”

Dang Omega is so take charge here.

Okay the sprays of water from the door is so well done. And omg they just pop outta there lmao!!!! About how Omega is caught and they just let Crosshair slide on the floor.

Haha Crosshair being like “Hunter, you fucker did you break something?!”

I really wish it wasn’t so darkly lit, but it does bring a sense of realism. The power is out, so what we’re able to see is what the characters are able to see with flashlights. Plus I’m sure this would look different on my TV than iPad.

The music is so pretty, so emotional. Oh damn poor AZ.

Oh never mind. He’s good.

Crosshair quit being a poop and follow them please.

Echo and that smell lmao.

“Blind allegiance makes you a pawn. A real leader protects his squad.”

Huh. Interesting. But isn’t blind allegiance what the clones had in the Republic? Isn’t that what Clone Force 99 had in the Republic? At least mostly. Some clones didn’t have that obviously, like Cut.

Ooohh Crosshair’s expression when Hunter knocked his shoulder. That seemed like surprise. There is something to that.

Hmmmmmm I’m with Crosshair on that. Going through a glass tunnel with cracks in it hundreds of feet below the surface would be a no from me. Also, what about water pressure? Is that not a thing there? Like wouldn’t you get a massive headache traveling through that? Or maybe not….idk.

Oh fuck Wrecker letting Crosshair know what’s what. I do like that he’s finally expressing how he feels. I’ve always thought there was more of a brotherly relationship between Wrecker and Crosshair than Crosshair had with the others. And Wrecker has a point, Crosshair didn’t even try to come back to them. Of course that really isn’t a fair statement either I guess. Wrecker should remember how he couldn’t control what he did when his chip kicked on.

And Tech jumping in and saying that Crosshair has always been “severe and unyielding” is a good way to let us know a bit more of what’s normal behavior for Crosshair. I like how he’s reminded Wrecker that some things Crosshair can’t help due to just how he is (likely a byproduct of the enhancement experiments).

“Understanding you does not mean I agree with you.” Ugh if only more people had this mindset. Also, the whole “why are you defending me?” sounds like Tech doesn’t usually leap to Crosshair’s defense (even though that’s not what he’s doing here). Which further makes me think that the brotherly relationship that usually exists between team members (like Domino squad eventually, Rex/Echo/Fives/Kix/Jesse/Hardcase/Tup) doesn’t exist here between all the guys. It’s more sporadic. Crosshair seems to get along better with Wrecker (in their own way, teasing and their droid death counts) than he does with Tech.

Also perhaps they should not stop so often…ya know, just in case the tunnel implodes.

Oh nope nope nope. No underwater tubes and sea monsters for Bethany.

AZ is so peppy. Like he sounds so positive when relaying bad news. He sounds like the kinda droid that would be like “good news is you have great cholesterol, bad news is you have cancer. But yay no diabetes!”

Oh yeah I kinda forgot Hunter wasn’t with them they first got to the private lab. And oh damn, Omega is technically older than them. The whole accelerated aging thing is just so unfair.

Well we really couldn’t expect a glass tunnel to fully survive aerial bombardment. Better start swimming fuckers!!

Damn, someone find AZ a charger! I bet Tech has one for his datapad that boy is attached too. He seems like the type to never be without a phone charger. He also seems like the type to not want to share it because no one else in the squad treats their charge cords with respect.

Dad gum Crosshair, I didn’t hear you spouting off any bright ideas. Geez, who peed in your wheaties?!

Hunter takes things too personally?! Weren’t you being all Salty McSourpus over Hunter leaving your ass on Kamino for shooting at him and the others? Were you not taking that too personally? But kudos to Hunter for reminding him the Empire peaced the fuck out and left him to die on Kamino. Although…Crosshair does sound like he’s trying not to care about that. Like it does bother him but he’s acting like he don’t give a fuck.

“The Empire will control the entire Galaxy. And I’m going to be a part of it.” Uhm, sir…you’re currently in a secret lab at the bottom of the ocean with no means of escape right now. How do you plan to be a part of the Empire from down here? Like, are you going to establish the underwater branch of the Empire and assert the Emperor’s control over the sea critters?

Ugh Omega trying so hard to bond with Crosshair. Like the parallel between this scene and the holding cell scene. And her thinking she was wrong about the chip making him behave like a dick. Oh sweet baby, you’re not wrong. He still has that thing. But he has always been a dick per Tech’s words earlier. But she’s trying so hard to show him the similarities between them.

I’ve noticed Crosshair does a lot of pushing people away. Like he’s been doing that with Hunter and Omega this whole season. Speaking harshly to them both (although I think some of the things he says to Hunter, he’s always wanted to say). But I think it’s more that he wants to avoid disappointing them, so he shoves them away to prevent that feeling. Like perhaps he thinks he isn’t worthy to be around them, that they’ll be better off without him around.

Oh fuck, look at you contributing now Mr. I Am Going To Complain About Other People’s Ideas.

Did they have to draw straws to see who got their own pod and who had to team up with who? Like,

Hunter: “Someone has to go with Tech.”

Crosshair, Wrecker: “Not it!”

Echo: “not it, fuck I wasn’t fast enough.”

Oh the wee child is getting her own pod. Okay then.

Of course Hunter and Crosshair get doubled up. I bet they argue the whole time.

Crosshair: “stop breathing all the air!!”

Hunter: “stop standing on my foot!!”

Crosshair: “well it’s not my fault you have Sasquatch feet!”

Oh damn. Well bye Omega. It was nice knowing you. Crosshair probably has your eulogy already written.

Hm, so Tech never shared his datapad charge cord with AZ. Bummer.

Awww poor AZ. He was a good droid. We’ll remember how he OMG OMEGA WHAT THE FUCK?!!???

Again is water pressure not a thing in Star Wars?

Sweetie. He’s metal. You won’t be strong enough to pull him along with you.

Oh fuck Crosshair! Oh damn the look on his face is like “Hunter, get you ugly ass face out of my shot.” Oh damn, boy has got some good eyesight, I want a piece of that.

Bruh, that’s gotta hurt. You just saved the kid they all love and they got you at blaster point. Buuuuuut at the same time you haven’t expressed the most positive attitude towards said kid either. So maybe they have a good reason to think you’d shoot her? Still. Damn. That’s gotta hurt, since if it had been the good ol’ days they’d be like “nice shot buddy!”

Hunter looks more wary than upset honestly. Like he isn’t sure why Crosshair did that, but he’s not sure if Crosshair would want him expressing gratitude either. Hunter doesn’t seem to know how to treat him any more. Crosshair belittles him and speaks harshly to him, but then saves Omega. It’s almost like old Crosshair is still in there, knowing how attached the team is to Omega. Even if he does think she’s not in the safest environment with them.

Oh…omg what is this?! I just noticed, no rain on Kamino….AND SUNSHINE?! Like is that a fucking sunrise??!!?? Oh shit you guys there is symbolism here!!! Like a new start or something impossible has happened. Like there has never been sunshine on Kamino, it’s always stormed. Always. Always and forever it has done that. But after the destruction of Tipoca City, the rains cease and the sunshine comes out. Like….omg guys. It’s pretty!!

Interesting. Omega seems sad that a place she didn’t want to ever return to is gone. But I guess that’s probably the notion that she’s essentially homeless setting in. That the only home she’s had (before Clone Force 99) is gone.

Also, I have this theory that Ghost Fives probably travels with Echo, and he’d likely be like “good! Fuck that place. Killing Tup there and all. Bitches.”

Echo: “stfu Fives, she’s sad okay.”

Honestly I’m not surprised Crosshair refused their offer to come with them. He has his pride and I feel like he doesn’t want to admit aligning with the Empire was a mistake. That he was wrong and Hunter was right. Especially after being all Pro-Empire and talking about how they’re going to be what the Galaxy needs.

“Consider us even.” GIRL he admits it! He was saving YOU!! YOU! Not the dumb droid, YOU!!!!

His face says it all when they pull away. Like he regrets not going with them, but he can’t bring himself to stay with them. He’s really conflicted right now. He has programming in his head telling him one thing and another portion of his mind reminding him that Tech, Wrecker, Hunter, and even Echo care about him. That they’re a team. He even wanted them to join the Empire so they could all get back together. He does want to be with them, but it’s going to take time to get passed the war in his head.

Oh damn, Nala Se and some Commando buddies. Yeah there’s something up with her. She seems to have gained a lot out of this. Making herself more important than Lama Su and likely more important than the other scientists from Kamino. I wonder if this was her plan all along. It’s so hard to tell what Kaminoans are thinking because they don’t express emotions facially or even vocally.

I read a post somewhere about Nala Se doing childish science experiments. Like the baking soda/vinegar volcano. And now I can’t get the image out of my head of her teaching like a high school chemistry class where you get to do those classic science fair experiments. Things exploding, clones accidentally gassing each other at a table. Someone betting someone else 5 credits to drink a solution.

@leias-left-hair-bun @halzore @escapedthesarlacc @eyecandyeoz

[fictionalmenmistress]

Shadow From The Window (Leonardo)

Imagine your scared of the dark and alone, but your sexy hero-in-the-half-shell comes to sleep at your side, after a long partol. Exausted, he forgets how easy you startle, and comforts you.

(SFW but blushy, leaning Fem!Reader/ but also gender-neutral, Bayverse Leo, no swearing, FLUFF, a lil spooky at the start but all sweet and completely handle-able. Its safe 💙)

(So, this is my first official post here and I'm so excited! First of all, HI EVERYONE! I'm so happy to have found my peoples and to be here uwu, I love you all. Hopefully, this brings you comfort to rest before bed, or in the middle of the night. Want me to do one for all the boys? Lemme know!💙)

I am writing this at 2-3 am, after imagining this scenario to comfort myself, settling down to rest. The thought of Leo hiding in the dark, makes the dark a lot less scary. (Tho I decided to write it instead of resting lol) LETS GET IT!

Its 3 am in your studio apartment.

You've been living in New York city for a while now, but its always been a hassle to fall asleep in your own place. That's been the hardest adjustment after leaving home... how scary it can be on your own. Truth be told, you're 'scared of the dark'. Not nescessarily scared of the darkness itself, but the shadows in the corner of the room... the random noises and things that go bump in the night... the mere thought in the back of your mind that something, as ridiculous as it sounds to others, will come and get you once your guard is down.

There you lied, stiff as a board on your back. The covers, pulled up to your neck, as you breathed in and out as silently as you could. Why did you still feel like you had to hide from monsters or bad guys in your own home? "Dang it, y/n..." you sighed, wiping the nervous cold sweat from your forehead, overheating internally from the anxiety.

"WHY... why did I have to watch that horror movie with Donnie?" You thought, internally shouting at yourself. "He said its not scary, that its 'too absurd to be plausible, and thus won't trigger a reaction of fear'. So much for a slow and steady introduction to the genre!"

You should have known when Raph said "Nope, I'm out." Donnie sat there the whole time, laughing at the movie at the scariest and most ill-timed moments... and you recall just glaring at him, teeth chattering, whispering to yourself:

"Yeah, he's cracked alright."

Just because something isn't scientifically proven, doesn't mean it can't happen... or hasn't happened, right?

"Ugh..." you groaned, curling your lips into a gremace, scared your groan was too loud amongst the unsettling silence. "I can't sleep with the lights on again..."

Glancing toward your phone, you noticed a blue light illuminate the screen, informing you that you got a new text. But that blue light... it instantly made you think of the blue-loving turtle you so dearly loved. The light of your life.

'Leo would protect me.'

Ah, that comforting reminder that you would feel so safe in your boyfriend's arms... if only he were here with you.

But... he wasn't. He was probably out on patrol, far away, and unable to come any time soon, even if he could.

"That's it." You said, taking and deep breath and mustering up all of your courage, throwing the covers off and dashing to the light switch.

*flick!* And... everything in the room was normal. It was comforting, but you scolded yourself for not accepting that everything was already secure, and nothing was lurking in the dark.

Everything was still, as you closed your curtains and lied back down in bed.

"Light on it is." You sighed, before the light suddenly flickered by itself.

"Oh crap-" you muttered, taking a gulp, as the power went out. "OH CRAP, ITS JUST LIKE THE MOVIE-"

Now, you felt screwed. You lied as still as possible, for what felt like forever, refusing to close your eyes. Dang it... DANG it!

Grabbing your phone light, you quickly tip-toed to the bathroom, trying to pee as fast as you could, so you could get back to your warm bed where it feels semi-safe.

As soon as you opened the bathroom door, you noticed your curtains flowing and twirling in the night wind. Street sounds from the never-sleeping city below echoed faintly through your widely-opened window.

"My window... is open?" You thought in horrified shock, examining your surroundings in the dark carefully.

You froze in your tracks, as your phone light turned itself off.

BATTERY TOO LOW TO USE FLASHLIGHT, PLEASE CHARGE.

A chill went down your spine, as you stood there in the center of everything, slowly backing to a corner, where you planned to crouch in the fetal position, so you could see all angles of the room for the rest of the night.

You took another step back, and another, before you bumped into a large mass, standing behind you.

'Not the wall...' your brain registered, feeling the heat of whomever or whatever this tall thing was, radiating against your back.

"Hello, beautiful~" A deep voice chuckled, startling you.

Jolting around, you saw a dark, tall shadow, looming before you.

The fear disoriented you, quickly rushing adrenaline through your body, as your fight or flight reacted. You quickly let out a shriek, chucking your dying phone at the shadow and darting quickly toward the window.

The shadow caught the phone instantly, with lightning fast reflex, as a large hand suddenly wrapped around your wrist, gently yet firmly pulling you back into the room before you crawled out onto the fire escape.

"WHOA, hey hey! Y/N easy! Its okay." A gentle, farmiliar voice assured, gently pulling you around to face him. "Its just me!"

"L-let go!" You whimpered, still not realizing who it was. "P-please..."

"Hey, its me..." he softly whispered, as your breath began to steady, blinking a couple of times as his identity fully set in. "Shh, sh sh sh." He lulled.

"L-Leo?" You squeaked in disbelief.

The figure slowly leaned into the moonlight, casting over you from the open window, revealing his GORGEOUS, icy blue eyes. Those intense-yet-soft eyes... that you knew and loved more than anyone else's. That comforting, strong, lovingly soft gaze, that instantly reassured you that you were safe.

"Your aim is getting better," he softly chuckled, smirking with his adorable grin. Leo slowly slid your phone before you, onto the moonlit sheets, barely revealing his outstretched, chiseled, manly hands. "I'm so sorry I scared you, love. I didn't mean to... I would never on purpose..."

Leo's voice sounded composed, but also ashamed and regretful, as he became more serious to apologise. He always spoke so softly to you...

"Leo, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I-" you desparately assured, bursting into tears. "I-"

"Hey hey, I should have knocked, or called. I'm sorry I scared you, sweetheart. I thought I would suprise you in a good way, not startle you." He murmured, reaching his large hands out to gently grasp you, holding you in his arms.

"Oh... I'm so happy to see you!" You sighed, falling against him.

"Donnie felt bad about that scary movie, he told me about how scared you were and begged me to check on you." He whispered, with that composed, reassuring voice.

"Oh Leo... you really came." You whispered, sniffling back your tears.

"Of course, my love... I came straight here after patrol. I would have come sooner, but Raph was getting his shell handed to him by this big..." he hesitated, biting his lip.

"Leo?" You asked, wondering why he stopped.

"-You know what? It doesn't matter." He gently corrected, changing the subject.

"What? What was it?" You innocently asked, curling up against his warm, sculpted chest.

You could feel Leo's skin grow warmer with a blush, as he slowly and sweetly welcomed your embrace, holding you close.

"I'll tell you during daylight. Just... sweetie, I'll never let anything bad happen to you, as long as I live. You're safe, whether I'm near or far. Okay, sweetheart?" Leo promised with his deep innocent voice, planting a soft kiss against your forehead.

Suddenly, you heard a generator power on through your front door, and the power flicked back on.

You could at last see him. See his muscled arms around you, and the tails of his worn out blue mask resting against his chest, along side you. His plastron... rising and falling as he took in slow breaths.

Leo was so careful holding you in his arms... like you were this precious, tiny thing, that he adored with his entire existance.

"Hey, you... you there?" He muttered, growing increasingly bashful in his tension.

"I'm here." You gently assured with a smile, before pulling away to examine his handsome face.

Leonardo. Sexy, handsome, justly-confident, fierce leader. This fearless, giant turtle mutant, who was unlike anyone else in the world. His jaw clenched from sudden bashful nervousness, as his gaze shyed away from your eyes. Your stare always overwhelmed him... it was such an intimate thing to meet his eyes.

Leo cleared his throat, as he slowly reached out to your face, ever-so-carefully wiping away a tear from your cheek, watching intently and focusing as he did so.

Over cautiously gentle so he wouldn't risk hurting you with his strength.

"There we go..." he softly whispered in satisfaction, sighing with a relieved smirk.

"Can you..." you began, with every ounce of security and confidence you could muster. "Can you... stay? With me, all of tonight?"

You felt your cheeks blush intensely, blooming red, as Leo bit on his bottom lip. His eyes widened, as he fully realized your question.

"Y-yeah, o-of course I can..." Leo answered, all of a sudden a thousand times more innocent and adorable, intensely flattered and touched that you wanted him to stay at your side. "Uh... I'll... uh-" he began, moving back from kneeling on your bed before you, aimlessly pacing into your tiny kitchen.

Leo usually was so bold and certain, organized and authoritative, when he was on the move.

You recalled how you had seen first-hand how he can lay out the strategy of attack for the boys. He could be flipping into action, or running through the rooftops as he did it, with perfect coordination in his speech and movements. But with you and only you, Leo wasn't able to get the words out when he was this nervous or bashful.

He had a tendancy to overthink things.

Leo wandered into the cupboard, beginning to steep some tea on the stove as his tongue caught up with his brain.

"Do you want... tea?" He gently asked, clearing his throat.

Such husband material...

"Ah, sure." You grinned, sweetly answering.

You realized how safe and secure you felt now, with him in the studio. You weren't alone anymore.

Leo didn't say much while he prepared the tea. He hyper-focused to distract himself from the nervousness of staying at your place, ALONE with you for the night. He paced around without speaking... doing little thoughtful things, like closing the window and locking it for you, shutting the closet and bathroom door, and picking out the perfect cups for the two of you, from your DC glass cup collection.

(Leo liked the Nightwing one since it was blue, and he always gave you the batgirl one, because you loved purple. He loved it when you would geek out and tell him how those heroes were the perfect couple... it reminded him of the both of you, and hoped that you gushed about him like that when he wasn't around.)

Leo brought the cups over, moving carefully with his eyes on the glass, gently placing one in your hand, and his own at your bedside.

"I"ll sleep right here, beside you." He thought out loud, examining the hardwood floor panels.

"Ah, Leo, you're not sleeping on the ground." You ordered, taking a long drink from your cup.

"Its no trouble," he assured, unlatching and taking off his belt and sword straps, placing them on your countertop. Leo sat down across from your bed, and began taking off his customized traditional ninja footwear, so all that remained were his pants and mask.

Why did this make you blush and get so flustered, the way he lifted those muscular arms over his head? Its not like he's taking anything revealing off...

"Modest like Leo... modest like Leo..." you whispered under your breath, recomposing your wandering thoughts.

He slowly walked up to you, lying you back and pulling your covers over you. Leo gently placed his hand against your cheek, staring deep into your eyes, as a soft smile rested over his lips.

He slowly nuzzled his nose beside yours, cherishing every small movement, before planting a soft kiss on your forehead. Then, he pulled away.

You felt your arms involuntarily reach out to him, taking his face into your hands. You both stared innocently into one another's eyes, before you made a bold move, planting your lips against his. You gently kissed Leo's lips, and he kissed you back, in the most respectful, admirable, and sentimental way possible.

Kissing Leo always felt so intimate and special... even as soft and innocent as it was. Leo made the tiny gestures special to you again.

"Leo, would you please... hold me?" You whispered, tightly closing your eyes and resting your forehead against his. "Please, sleep with me tonight."

"S-sleep with-" he panicked, turning vibrant red. For the first time that night, he realized that you were wearing blue pj's... and you looked gorgeous in them. Suddenly his heart began to pound through his chest, as his posture stiffened. "Sleep... together? Like... m-make love together?"

"Ah not like that!" You bashfully assured, unable to hide your shy grin. "Just... sleep together, at least for tonight."

He took a deep breath in, that sounded shaky, like the remenants of your kiss and closeness gave him the chills. The thought of you being together in the most close and intimate form made him overwhelmed, causing him to slightly tremble. Leo invoulintarily giggled, pecking a kiss against your nose, before he pulled his mask off.

"Alright." He grinned, suddenly much more eager and confident, leaning close to you as he set his mask on your night stand, switching off the light switch with a mere stretch.

Suddenly, it was dark again. But, a peaceful dark.

"Will you, Leo?" You muttered.

"Yes." He whispered, so softly and so intimately, gazing bravely into your eyes. "Yes, Y/N."

You beamed with joy, resituating to the side of your bed, curling up and watching Leo with an adorable, excited expression. Leo broke out a nervous, adorable chuckle, as he hesitantly sat down on your bed, realizing how massive he was on the size of it. He downed his tea like a shot, (wanting to finish it as fast as possible, so he could do this soft and intimate thing with you) and clearing his throat. Blushing, he slowly lied down on his back, slowly turning to his side that faced you, and hesitantly placing his hand over your shoulder, unsure of what was too much touch.

You giggled, sliding his hand on your waist, so you could sit up and pull the covers over him. "O-oh..." Leo murmured, stiffening up from his shyness.

This was very overwhelming to him, since he really liked taking things slow and was inexperienced to everything involving romance before you. But... you loved that. It was like everything was new to you again too. It endeared you beyond belief.

You lied on your side, examining his face one last time, as he examined yours, trailing your fingertip across his sharp jawline.

"I really love you..." he whispered, meaning every word.

"I really love you too, Leo." You softly agreed, as you continued to smile.

You and Leo talked quietly for a bit, sweet whispers between soulmates, as you scratched his shell and caressed his shoulders to help relieve his stress and tension. He would slowly drift off more and more, talking less and less, gifting you with tiny, soft, slow kisses, all over your face instead.

You both drifted off to sleep, and slept wonderfully side by side, as safe and sweet as can be, just the two of you.

And, as you found out in the morning, Leo was a total, clingy cuddler in his sleep. Throughout the night, he had nuzzled closer and closer, wrapping his arms around you and cradling you, until you were cozy against his body, sharing the same warmth.

💙 Sweet dreams.💙

[imaginetonyandbucky]

(Give Me A) Reason to Live

A/N: By popular demand, here is a sequel to Keeping Me Alive.

Summary: After fleeing Hydra, James and Tony found a fragile peace, living together and striking at Hydra from the shadows. Until the news that Captain America has been found forces them out of hiding to face their fears head-on. 

by @dracusfyre

Also on AO3

Tony winced as he straightened, suddenly feeling every hour he’d been sitting at his computer. His back ached, his neck was stiff, and his eyes burned; when he stood, his back popped like bubble wrap.  He reached for his coffee cup only to find it empty, and so was his bottle of water, so he reluctantly climbed the stairs towards the kitchen.

Only to pause when he saw James asleep on the couch. He’d have to go around him to get to the kitchen but startling the Winter Soldier from sleep was always a bad idea, considering the number of weapons that were stashed around the house. He knew some people look relaxed and peaceful while sleeping, but not James; he didn’t look like he ever relaxed, not even while unconscious, mouth set in a stern line.

“Why are you watching me?” James said suddenly without opening his eyes, making Tony jump.

“I thought you were asleep,” Tony said, scowling as he went around the couch to get to the kitchen for food and something to drink.

“Heard you coming up the stairs. Find us a new target yet?”

“Some. There’s a cluster pretty close together near Kansas City, I think we could hit them all in one night,” Tony said as he studied the contents of the refrigerator, wondering if any of the sandwich meat was still good. He sniffed it and decided not.

“You know where there’s a big cluster?”

“Where?”

“DC.”

Tony growled and slammed the fridge door shut. They needed more food, but the closest real grocery store was an hour away, and if he didn’t think he could handle gas station convenience store food one more time. “We’re not going to DC.”

“Why not?”

“It’s too dangerous.” Tony grabbed a pack of crackers and a can of tuna from the pantry instead; he was so goddamn sick of eating from cans and jars and boxes, he wanted to go to a restaurant so badly he could almost cry.

“So instead we are going to keep hiding out in the woods and nibbling around the edges of Hydra? That’s your grand plan?”

“My plan is erode Hydra’s power base and critical infrastructure until it collapses under its own weight,” Tony snapped back. “It’s not like we’re the only people working on this.”

“Right. Your inside man.” James said sarcastically. “Let me know when there’s real work to do, I’m tired of this petty bullshit.”

Tony’s hand tightened on the bottle of water and the cheap plastic crinkled in his hand but he didn’t say anything. He knew they were both tired of being stuck in this house with only each other for company for months now, almost a year, with the only breaks in the boredom being the periodic excursions to break into and occasionally destroy Hydra front companies and bases. He pressed a knuckle to the spot between his eyes, trying to forestall the headache he could feel building. “I found another chair,” he said into the tense silence as he opened the bottle of water and chugged it. “And a bioweapons lab. These targets aren’t petty.” He knew he’d won that round when James was silent for a moment.

“Have you noticed that each target we hit is harder than the last?” James said eventually. “I get what you’re doing, but it’s just making them more prepared for us.”

“If we kill Pierce and the others and don’t destroy the organization, new scum will just rise to the top. We’ve-“ Tony bit off his words and sighed. He put some tuna on a cracker and shoved it in his mouth, chewing tiredly. “We’ve talked about this before,” he said when he finally swallowed. “We’re not ready to take on the entire organization yet.”

He heard a deep sigh from the direction of the couch. “Yeah. You’re right. I just…”

“I know. I want it to be over, too.” Tony steadily ate the tuna and crackers with the dutiful determination of a man doing an unpleasant task, then swept the crackers off the table and looked out the window. The sky was starting to deepen to a beautiful deep blue twilight, promising a clear night, and the weather was brisk and pleasant. “Want to go for a walk?” he offered. “We haven’t checked your traps in while.”

“Sure,” James said after a beat, recognizing the offer for the olive branch that it was. Tony set JARVIS on sentinel mode and picked up his phone, night vision glasses, and a red-light flashlight for the walk. Over the past year, while Tony had been obsessively improving his suit and putting together a high value target list, James had taken up landscaping; he’d been steadily redesigning the forest around the cabin to funnel anyone approaching onto a handful of paths, then booby-trapping the hell out of these paths with cameras and tripwires attached to landmines and sentry guns.

“Nice night,” Tony commented as James cleared out some brush and limbs that had obscured one of the traps.

“Yep,” James grunted as he checked the magazine and barrel of one of the sentry guns. Tony pulled out his phone and tested the control mechanisms for the gun, moving it left and right and up and down to make sure everything was working.

“You know, as much as I obviously don’t want us to be found, I kind of would like to see these traps in action. You’ve put so much work into them,” Tony said. He followed James through the woods, careful to only walk where he was walking. “What else do you want to do?”

Tony could feel the irritable mood lightening for both of them as James answered Tony’s question, pointing out places where he planned to dig out and deepen ravines, move fallen trees, and replant bushes to make sure the unwary would walk right into the traps. It was full night when they reached the far edge of their property line to make sure that the NO TRESPASSING signs were frequently posted and fully visible so no hikers or hunters accidentally got blown to hell. They cut through the woods to the dirt road that led to the cabin and were admiring the stars when Tony got an alert from JARVIS on his phone.

“Something big just came across the comms,” Tony said, showing the screen to James. James nodded and the stroll became a fast walk back to the cabin. The walk had been a good idea; just getting out of the house and getting fresh air had done a lot for Tony’s headache and James sounded like he was in a much better mood as they went back inside. He claimed the shower while Tony polished off the bottle of water and went downstairs to see what the alert was all about. When he pulled up the message, he read it once, then again, then stared at the wall for a moment before reading it a third time, which was when it really sank in. “James!” He shouted, then cursed when he remembered he was in the shower. He almost tripped as he ran up the stairs, then pounded on the bathroom door before barreling in.

“What the fu-”

“They found Captain America,” Tony said. “Up near Greenland or something. They found the Valkyrie and he was still inside and they think he’s still alive.”

For a long moment there was only the sound of water running, then James finally said, “Who found him?”

“Hydra. I mean SHIELD,” Tony corrected. “But you know. Hydra knows.”

“Fuck.” James turned off the water and slid the shower curtain back as he reached for the towel on the back of the toilet. Tony felt the back of his neck get hot and kept his eyes firmly on James’ face, trying and failing to not feel like a creeper for how hard it was to not appreciate the view. Finally James put the towel around his waist, which helped only a little bit because now James was raking his wet hair back and water was running down his chest and had Tony mentioned that they’d been stuck alone in this cabin for almost a year? “Wait, what do you mean they think he’s still alive?”

“Apparently he’s been frozen all this time, but they found a heartbeat. They are trying to extract him so they can thaw him out in a medical facility.” Tony met James and saw something in the man’s eyes that he’d never seen before; it was the kind of hope that made you afraid, because you wanted it so badly to be true that it might destroy you if it wasn’t. The look made Tony’s heart twist and his stomach drop but he refused to think about that because there was more important things to think about.

“So what do you think we should do?” Tony asked. He finally backed out of the bathroom which, he just now realized, he probably should have done as soon as James started to get out of the shower.

“Isn’t it obvious?” James said. “We gotta steal Steve.”

[teenwolffan-with-nolife]

The Witch and The Wolf Pt.32

Word Count: 1,839

Characters: Derek Hale, Chris Argent, Isaac Lahey, Cora Hale, OC Character, Reader

Pairings: Eventual Derek Hale x Witch!Reader

Warnings: angst, cliffhanger

A/N: ------

Masterlist          Series Masterlist

You laid on your bed, gripping your pillow tightly as you wrapped yourself around it, holding it tightly. It had been 3 days.

“(Y/N),” Isaac sat next to you, laying down.

You didn't reply, laying there as your tears fell down your face.

“Come here,” he wrapped his arms around you as he rubbed your back.

You stayed laying, not moving like you were numb, paralyzed.

“Cora’s on her way here,” he said softly.

“What?” you jumped up as you wiped your face.

“Good to know you can hear me. Cora’s on her way,” he shrugged.

“You told her?” you said softly.

“Yeah, of course, I did. She’s your best friend,” Isaac replied.

“Isaac, Derek’s her brother. Why did you tell her?” you sniffled, burying your head in your arms.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Cora and Derek are all each other have left. Just because something happened doesn't mean that their relationship should be ruined,” you started as you closed your eyes, laying on your bed once again.

“You’re joking, right? He cheated on you, (Y/N). Why are you still trying to defend him?” Isaac said, standing in front of you.

You just shrugged, laying down in your bed.

Because it was my fault

You knew you kept pushing him, you kept starting fights for no reason, you couldn't even tell him you loved him. It was only a matter of time before something happened.

“Just don’t tell anyone else, please,” your voice was low as tears slipped down your face.

Your heart was in pain like it had been for the last few days. Everything was just one bad thing on top of another. You laid there as you thought back to Deucalion’s words. What did he mean by not yet?

“Okay, I won’t. I promise,” he said softly.

“(Y/N)?” you heard Cora’s voice as she entered your apartment, laying down next to you. You could hear her and Isaac whispering to each other while you turned your back to them.

“My brother's an idiot,” she said, sitting next to you while she wrapped her arms around you.

“I know,” you whispered, holding onto her tightly.

---

You could hear your phone ringing multiple times, as you ignored it, laying in bed. It looked like Isaac went out somewhere, while you stayed alone. You needed a break from him anyway, you loved him but he refused to leave your side for days. 

It must be Stiles

You turned your phone off, closing your eyes as you sniffled.

A few minutes later, you jumped up, hearing knocking at your door.

You wanted to ignore it, but you chose against it as you sat up, walking to the door.

“Argent?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You know, I’ve been calling you nonstop…. are you okay?” he asked, looking at you worriedly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What is it?” you wiped your face as you sniffled.

“If you’re sick, I’ll leave,” he said, still looking at you cautiously.

“I’m fine, witches don't get sick. What happened?” you asked.

“I’ve been tracking the patterns of where bodies were taken from, and where they were dumped,” he explained.

“What did you find?” you asked.

“It’s easier to just show you,” he said.

You nodded your head as you grabbed you walked into your apartment, grabbing your phone, wallet, and jacket as you walked out with Chris.

---

“Okay, so,” he looked around nervously as the two of you walked into his office.

You gave him a look.

As you opened your mouth to speak, he pushed you into his office quickly, closing the door while you glared, hearing voices from outside. You heard a door close before Chris walked into his office, turning the lights on.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Allison?” you asked.

“Yeah, I don't want to tell her. I’m trying to keep her out of all this,” he said.

“I understand,” you nodded your head.

“Which also means, you can not tell this to anyone. Not even Derek,” he warned.

You felt a pang in your chest as you shook your head.

“I won’t. Just tell me what you found,” you said.

He nodded, grabbing a UV flashlight from his drawer, turning it on.

“You’re really hiding this, aren’t you?” you replied.

“I told you I don't want Allison to know about this,” he said.

He flashed the light over the map on his desk, which had circles and x’s on it.

“Okay, the circle represents where someone has been abducted from. The X’s represent where the bodies were found,” he explained. 

You leaned against the table, looking at the map while he explained.

“How much do you know about telluric currents?” he asked.

“Like the energy that runs through the Earth, right?” you asked.

“Yeah, and you working believe how much energy is in this town itself. So, I tracked the patterns, and look,” he pointed, showing you.

“This is where a body was taken. This is where it was dumped. That’s right on the current,” he said.

“That’s… so what about the people who are being sacrificed? How are they being picked?” you asked, looking up at him.

“I… I’m still trying to figure it out. All I know is that they sacrifice in groups of three. Started with virgins and moving forward,” he said.

Before you could reply, you heard the door open, as you sat up, crossing your arms while Allison walked in.

Chris put a book on the map, covering it.

“Hey, Dad…. oh (Y/N), how are you?” I-I didn’t know you were here,” she said.

“Hey,” you waved, giving her an awkward smile.

“Is something wrong?” Chris asked Allison.

“I was just gonna go pick up some food,” she said.

“Oh, okay. See you in a bit,” he smiled.

“Yeah… bye,” she walked out, looking at the two of you.

“Well, anyways, add the supernatural to that list,” you sighed.

“How do you know?” he asked you.

“They almost got to us, in that motel in California,” you explained.

“What? I didn't know about that? What happened? Are you okay?” he immediately bombarded you with questions.

Your mind drifted off to the events from the past couple of days while you tried to stay calm.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” you inhaled deeply.

“You don’t have to lie,” he replied, putting his hand on your shoulder.

Your eyes watered as you smiled at him.

“I'm not… I’m okay, Chris,” you said.

He wrapped his arms around you tightly, while you closed your eyes, feeling a tear fall.

“Derek and I broke up,” you whispered.

“What happened?” he asked softly, looking at you while he wiped your tears.

You took a deep breath, deciding whether or not to tell him the truth. You didn't even know if you could bring yourself to say it.

“H-He…” your voice broke as you began speaking.

You buried yourself in his arms, closing your eyes while he stroked your head softly.

---

Maybe he just needs to explain himself

You ran your fingers through your hair as you trudged back to your apartment. Chris wanted to drive you but you needed time to just clear your head.

Just go talk to him

You tried fighting yourself. You should stay away from him. 

But you needed to know why and what happened. Before you could make up your mind, you found yourself standing in front of his building.

You could feel chills on your neck, immediately feeling something behind you.

“Revelare,” you turned around, your eyes purple as you looked cautiously.

Nothing was there. Probably some leaves. You rubbed your head, taking a deep breath. You should go, but you wanted to stay. You wanted to see him. You wanted to talk to him.

You wiped your face, taking a deep breath as you walked in.

---

You could feel your heart racing as you opened the door, taking a step in.

“(Y/N)? What are you doing here?” Derek asked, crossing his arms as he walked to you.

“I… I need to know why,” you said softly, wrapping your arms around yourself.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said softly.

“Just…why, Derek?” you asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

He sighed, looking down at you.

“We were never gonna last, (Y/N),” he said.

“What do you mean?” you asked softly.

“Think about it. We got together right after Kate tortured us. We were scared, we were sad and lonely,” your eyes watered as he spoke.

“We loved each other,” your voice squeaked.

“No, we didn’t. We were just alone, (Y/N),” you could feel your body burning, just barely holding yourself together.

“You’re wrong,” you shook your head, looking down.

“I’m not wrong. You know that too. It’s been fun, we’re too off and on. We fight so much. That’s not healthy,” he said.

“W-We…” you tried to defend your relationship but found yourself at a loss for words.

Should've never come here

You felt a tear fall to the ground.

“I-I’ll see you around, I guess,” you sniffled as you turned your back on him, holding in your sobs while you ran away, running to your apartment.

---

You threw your wallet and phone to the side, slamming your door shut.

You gasped for breath as you cried. Your body was aching, along with your head.

You heard a knock on your door, as it opened. You forgot to lock the door.

Your eyes were bloodshot as you turned around, inhaling shakily.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” you screamed, seeing your dad standing behind you.

“(Y/N), I…” he took a step in, closing the door behind him as he locked it.

“I had to apologize,” he said.

“No! You don't get another fucking chance! After months! Stay away from me!” you screamed, feeling your head aching as you stumbled backward.

“I don’t know what was wrong with me. You didn't deserve that,” he said.

“I’ve been in town for some time, and I just needed to see you. It was never the right time, I tried to say something before, but,” he stopped, rubbing his head.

“So you’ve been following me? I made a dumb mistake of trusting you the first time, and what did you do? You tried to kill me, again!” you yelled.

“(Y/N), just calm down, please. I’m sorry,” he said.

You could feel your head pounding, as you turned your back to him, falling to your knees while you held your head tightly. It felt like it was gonna explode.

You gasped for air, as your eyes glowed purple.

“(Y/N),” you heard your dad’s voice.

“Stay away from me! Leave me alone!” you screamed, gripping your head tightly as you screamed out in pain.

“(Y/N),” he said, frowning as he ran to you.

“I said go away!” you screamed as your eyes glowed purple, hearing something shatter from behind you.

You exhaled slowly, feeling your headache going away, hearing silence.

You stood up shakily, turning around.

“Dad?”

[thefanficmonster]

Late Nights

Andrew (The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope) x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Fluff, a bit of Angst

Summary: Late nights are famously accompanied by deep conversations. The type to keep you up like a full dose of caffeine. Those are the best, most relaxing and freeing conversations you’ll ever experience. Good thing Andrew and Y/N are the perfect company for each other when it comes to those exact talks.

Requested by Anon. Hello! I’m sorry there is no specifications on your request. You requested for some Andrew x Reader fluff and this idea immediately dawned on me haha. I hope you like it and I’m so terribly sorry for the wait. Hopefully the final product makes it worth your while. Looking forward to hearing your feedback and receiving any other requests you may have! Love, Vy ❤

A random notification sounds from my phone, scaring me out of my peaceful, dreamless slumber. Oh wait, I’m not in my bed. I’m sitting at my desk, surrounded with sheets of paper with notes I’m supposed to memorize by my 8 AM exam. Speaking of that exam, it’s in less than five hours. I’ve been studying for what feels like days, but my head still feels as empty as it was at the start of the semester. The way I see it, I have two options: I can either die from a caffeine overdose or from the heart attack this exam will cause me. No in-between and no other options. Just death. Maybe not in the literal sense, but if you ask me, burn-out should be considered death and that’s exactly what I feel right now. And the fucking exam hasn’t even happened yet, for fuck’s sake! 

I lift my head to look at the clock on the wall and instantly get dizzy. Thankfully, I’m still seated. Damn, this calls for more caffeine.

“Hey T, can you -“ I look behind me in search of my roommate who’s supposed to be pulling this all-nighter with me. Needless to say, she has perished. 

I already have an idea of where she might be, but the sticky note she has left on my dresser confirms it.

~ Daniel has more notes. Come to the floor lounge 

Oh, hell no. I am not that committed to passing this exam. I am not about to be a third-wheel for five hours and feel miserable afterwards. Correction: More miserable than I’m already going to feel. Good thing there are two staircases on either side of the floor so I don’t have to pass through the lounge in order to get to the dining hall. That’s the only place I could obtain coffee and if I don’t I might just die right here on this desk.

I put my slippers on, throwing a jacket over my pajamas as well. It’s January and the dorms could not be colder. I swear to God, they are trying to build our immunity and resistance to cold one freezing night at a time. The heating doesn’t do much even if it’s on, which is a rare occurrence considering it’s faulty and doesn’t work 80% of the time.  I leave the dorm, quietly shutting and locking the door behind me before taking the right hallway instead of the left. I wander around the dimly lit hallways, some of which don’t have lighting at all, my arms folded over my chest in a pointless attempt to bring myself more warmth than the jacket is able to provide me. No matter what I do, I can’t get rid of the intense shaking that started from my torso and has now spread as far as my bottom jaw.

I navigate the halls, mumbling curse words to myself while doing so. Having taken the long way, I have an extra two minutes or so of freezing before I can find myself in the warm and cozy dorm. Taylor and I bought a small heater for Christmas cause we were not having it with the shitty heating system. Must say, that’s a better investment than all the money I threw to be here.

The dining hall is dark as usual. The only lights are the exit sign and some small lights on the vending machines. And the glorious coffee machine! I can just imagine myself turning into a heart-eyed emoji looking at it. 

“All-nighter?“

The voice is so sudden and so out of place, it startles me to the point of letting out a half-scream and immediately backing away towards the entrance of the dining hall. 

“Hey, it’s ok. It’s me.“ A light appears at one of the tables, illuminating the person holding it.

I sigh in relief when I finally get a good look at the person opposite me. It’s Andrew - a classmate and friend of mine. We have creative writing together and a few other classes. We’re in the same friend group as well. I started hanging out with him more through Taylor’s boyfriend Daniel who’s roommates with him. I’m glad I met them both, they are really fun to be around. However, recently, Andrew hasn’t been himself. It might be a stretch, but I think it’s because of the upcoming field trip our creative writing professor John has organized. I have tried asking him what has been bothering him but he always brushes off my concerns by claiming nothing’s wrong.

“Jeez, Andrew. You scared me half to death.“ I place a hand over my racing heart, taking a deep breath to calm myself down, “You’re lucky I didn’t chuck anything at you.“

He has the audacity to laugh. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.” He puts his phone on the table, flashlight facing up at the ceiling, “What are you doing here, anyway?”

I return to my previous task, “Getting coffee, can’t do without it. What about you? Do you just hang out here, waiting for student-zombies to scare?” I get my four cups of coffee, balancing them in a very risky way to where he’s sitting. “Want one?”

His eyes widen, “These are all for you?” I nod, “And they are all just straight espressos?” I nod again, “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

I scoff, “That’s plan B. For now, I’m just trying to stay awake.” I knock back one of the cups, trying hard not to cringe at the unpleasant flavor due to the lack of sugar. “You didn’t answer my question.” I say after getting over the initial battle to get the coffee down without puking.

He hesitates, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the tabletop. I can tell he has spaced out, leaving me unsure of weather I should nudge him again or let him return to reality at his own time.

“I, uh....I had a nightmare.“ He says despite his eyes still carrying that thousand yard stare. “Daniel wasn’t there, and I didn’t want to stay alone in the dorm, so I came here. A lot more open. Not so suffocating.“

I frown, “What was the nightmare like?” I don’t try to hide my concern, there is no reason to do so. I want him to know I care, that I am and I always will be there for him. Even if it’s just as a friend, I will take what I can get. This is not the time to be thinking of anything more than being a good friend and helping Andrew.

He shrugs, his eyes slowly lifting to meet mine. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last cause he shakes his head, breaking eye-contact again, “You’ll think it’s ridiculous.“

I put my hand on top of his, stopping the repetitive tapping of his fingers. This causes him to reconnect our gazes. After a two second confirmation that he won’t look away, I speak up, “You could tell me elves chased you around with axes and I still wouldn’t say that, Andrew. Come on, talk to me.”

He sighs, nodding his head. I take this as a positive sign and give him an encouraging smile. Instinctively, I start withdrawing my hand as I lean back in my seat. To my surprise, he turns his hand, taking a hold of mine when he begins to speak.

“They started a week ago, when John told us about the trip to Little Hope.“ he still hesitates, but I still consider it progress. “It’s always one of two nightmares - it’s either a housefire which non of us survive or...I can’t even explain the other one.“

I give his hand a comforting squeeze, “Take your time. I know it’s tough.”

“Um, we are at this ruin of a house and we, well, you guys get attacked by these deformed, demonic monstrosities. I can’t get to you. I can’t save you. Darkness takes over my brain and all I hear is horrified screams and calls for help. And then I wake up. Terrified.“ 

I am terrified just picturing it, let alone experiencing it. I’d probably sob like a baby and refuse to go to sleep ever again. “That’s horrible, Andrew. I’m so sorry you have to go through that.” I pause for a second, “Little Hope is a place with terrible history, I can’t blame you for being so hesitant about going. I’m a sucker for these types of places, but I completely understand your angle.”

He chuckles, “Yeah, I believe I overheard you saying you’d like to visit Centralia.“

I can’t help but smile, “Oh, I’d love to.”

Suddenly, completely out of the blue, he gets a spark in his eye. He becomes livelier, almost like new life was breathed into him. Pushing back his chair, he stands up and takes the remainder of coffee cups. “Well, that’s not gonna happen if you kill yourself.” Without batting an eye at my baffled expression, he throws the cups in the trashcan near by. “Let me help you with the studying. Two work better than one, after all. I’m sure you’ll grasp everything better if you have an actual person explaining it to you. Also, I’d like to make up for the time you wasted here with me.”

I get up as well, “No need, seriously. I can figure it out. Apart from feeling so energized I could run a marathon, my brain is working a lot better now. You go try to catch some z’s.” I wave my hand dismissively but he catches it mid-motion, mumbling a quick ‘come on’ before leading me out of the dining hall and towards the staircase I took earlier.

                                                           *  *  *

It’s been about two days since that night and history is over here repeating itself. I am, once again, pulling an all-nighter, this time alone because no one else from my friend group shares this class with me. You’d think I would have learned my lesson and would start studying at a reasonable time, granting myself both peace of mind and a better functioning brain, but NOPE. Actually, I’m beginning to think I can’t study at any other time of day. The late nights/early mornings give me the best atmosphere. Those hours before dawn are the quietest I’ve ever had the chance to experience - for studying and just chilling on the roof of the dorms. The dining hall is still a place I frequent. I can’t help but hope to run into Andrew every time I walk in that big, eerie room. I haven’t been so lucky, though. We got the results of our last exam today and I was, and still am overjoyed for the grade I got. Not only was it a passing one, it was a SOLID passing one. I can swear, if it wasn’t for Andrew’s help, I would’ve failed it with the lowest score in the class.

“How does this work...?“ I mumble in frustration, reading through the poorly written notes I’ve made. Full disclosure - this is my nap class. This is the class I spend spacing out and - as its title suggests - taking naps. I am surprised I have as many notes as I do. 

Taylor, being the great friend she is, refused to budge from our dorm, determined to help me in any way she could. I appreciate the gesture, don’t get me wrong, but having another person would defeat the purpose of being up this late, so I talked her into sticking to her original plan - hanging out with Andrew and Daniel at their dorm while I fry my brain cells.

Just as I’m about to take a sip of my third coffee for the night, my phone starts ringing. I look at the phone screen that’s displaying Andrew’s name and straighten up in my chair, ready to launch myself out the door in case he needs my help. Screw the exam.

“Hello? You ok? What’s wrong?“ I blabber into the phone after picking up the call

“Hey, sorry for bothering you. Hope I didn’t wake you up. Um, I had another nightmare....never mind. Sorry for calling.“ His voice is shaky and hesitant, almost as if he’s speaking with zero air in his lungs.

My concern shoots through the roof, “Don’t you ‘never mind’ me! And don’t apologize! Meet me in the dining hall in five minutes.” I jump to my feet, pulling my jacket on with my unoccupied arm.

He sighs, “I’m already there.“

I nod distractedly, momentarily forgetting that he can’t see me, before leaving the dorm. I power walk the familiar hallways, the only reason I’m not running being the late hour and the trouble I’d get in for the noise.

I stop right outside the dining hall doors, giving myself five seconds to compose myself so I won’t look absolutely unhinged when I walk in. I get that it’s pointless, considering I have massive bags under my soulless eyes, but a girl can try.

Pushing the door open, I am met with small, flickering dots of light hovering over one of the tables. The outline of Andrew’s silhouette is also visible, but nothing more. It takes me a second to realize the lights I was looking at were three small candles.

“Andrew?“ I whisper-call his name while I’m still at a distance of about ten feet, cautious not to freak him out by approaching without making my presence known.

As I near the table, the candle-light illuminates his face enough for me to be able to see that he doesn’t look at all like what he sounded like over the phone. Something about his gaze when his eyes meet mine screams ‘I’m so glad you’re here’, but then again, that might be wishful thinking. Apart from that, he looks rather normal - not like someone who just had the most horrific of nightmares. Actually, I think I can see a hint of a smile forming at the corners of his lips.

“Hey Y/N.“ He greets me, “Ready to study?“ He points to the several notebooks and sheets of paper neatly stacked on the table. Next to that pile is a similar one of snacks. 

My eyes widen, “Wait, what? What is this?“ I narrow my eyes at him, “Is this your way of dealing with the nightmares or something? It’s completely ok if it is, don’t get me wrong...“

He shakes his head, the smile now fully formed on his face, “No, Y/N. I actually haven’t had a nightmare since that night you found me here. This...” he motions to the table, “...is several things. First of all, a celebration for your passed exam. Second, a thank you - cause I believe you’re the reason the nightmares stopped. I just needed to talk to someone about them and you were the only person I could do that with properly. And third, I know you have an exam in a few hours, so I wanted to help. We make great study-buddies, don’t you agree?”

I’m honestly speechless, “You schemer.” I’m smiling and blushing like crazy and I couldn’t be happier to be surrounded by darkness at this moment. “How did you even get these notes? You’re not in that class.”

He gives me a conspiring smirk, “That’s classified info.” He hands me a coke can, “No more coffee for you tonight.”

“You interrupted me on my third cup, but better late than never I guess.“ I giggle taking the handed soda and taking a seat on the chair opposite him. “Thank you so much, Andrew. Really, it means a lot to me. How am I supposed to repay you for this?“ I can tell he’s about to protest so I hurry to stop him, “No, no, no. You can’t change my mind on that.“

He sighs in defeat I can only guess is fake, taking the smirk on his face into consideration. He contemplates whatever’s on his mind for a second, buying himself time while he opens a soda can for himself. I copy his action, opening mine as well. “Um, well, there is one way I can think of....” he trails off, avoiding eye-contact. The brief moment I manage to catch his gaze I give him a nod, encouraging him to go on. “How about calling this a date?”

I am shocked. No, ‘pleasantly surprised’ is a better term to use. ‘Overjoyed’ an even better one. 

The blush I thought couldn’t get any darker or more wide-spread just proved me wrong. Despite the chilliness of the dining hall, my face, neck and ears are on fire. Once again, a big thank you goes to the darkness that surrounds us.

Instead of showing off how surprised and happy I am, I lift my soda can in the air, “It’s a date then.”

His smirk turns into a relieved smile as he takes his can, clinking it against mine, “It’s a date.”

@sparrow-gg  @artlovingbre  @chairtiger

[htownsmash]

Shiggy Horror AU

Part One: Gragoja Island

Part Two

AN: Hey everybody, thank you for taking the time to check out my second collab fic! This will be seperated in a few parts- this is Part One. If you have Interactive Fic extension, replace MC with your name! 💕

NSFW. Warning: Character Death.

To say that you were a horror fanatic was an overstatement. Sure, you usually liked to indulge in spooky stories, horror movies and even weird conspiracy theories every now and then... but you weren’t obsessed. You just enjoyed them.

So when you dragged Kaminari, Tokoyami, Kirishima, Sero and Shinso along with you to help you win the winning ticket to Gragoja Island, they weren’t surprised at all. After an entire afternoon of binging on the required snacks needed, everyone gave you the tickets they had found and cheered when you won! You were beyond excited! And why wouldn’t you be? You just won a round trip to the spookiest island in the country!

In the end, only Tokoyami and Shinso could go and keep you company. The trip there was chaotic thanks to you, but you only laughed and told them to count themselves lucky they had made it there in one piece. “Come on, guys, this is a one in a lifetime opportunity!” You claimed as you took video of the shoreline. You couldn’t help but be fascinated by the state of the abandoned ruins left behind… Why did people leave? How could such a huge place become abandoned?

“Something tragic must have taken place here; the souls of the unsettled gathered together frozen in time like the buildings that surround that place.” Tokoyami pondered out loud as he leaned against the rails of the ship. “How unfortunate that they have to deal with the living invading their private space for entertainment.”

“I think it’s cool,” Shinso broke the silence with a shrug of his shoulders as he closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of the ship rock in the waters. “In a historical kind of way. Maybe it was just population decline or maybe the island couldn’t support them anymore.”

You grinned at Shinso, elbowing him, “of course you’d see it that way.”

“It’s realistic.”

“How long until we get there?” Tokoyami asked, doing his best to mask his excitement.

“Two more hours and then we have to join the first tour.” You answered as you opened your phone. At the top corner you noticed that your phone signal began to weaken the closer you got to the island.

“Is the hotel haunted, too?” Shinso joked, earning a dirty look from both you and Tokoyami.

“- so what we see here is the Shopping District closed down in 1928.” The guide clambered on as your eyes focused on the area they had mentioned. “When the district reopened in 2003 it brought about an economic boom for the island. It became a popular tourist attraction over the next three years until the earthquake of 2007 struck. The city's infrastructure became unstable and again it was closed down the following year.”

You felt a cold draft brush past your neck as your group passed by the end of the district and you did a double take behind you but there was nothing there. Instead you found a doorway slightly ajar and as you grew closer you noticed that it led to a stone staircase. It looked as if it led under the store and down towards a lower section of the district. Before you decided to follow it, Tokoyami tapped your shoulder to catch your attention. “Where do you think you’re going?” He asked you, knowing very well what you had been planning to do and you gave him a sheepish grin. “We should get back before we lose the group.”

“Do you think we could come back later and take a look around?” You asked as you followed him back. “I mean, they have to let us have some free time while we’re here.”

“Perhaps they allow the guests to roam around, but don’t you dare think about coming back here. You heard what the guide said.” Tokoyami crossed his arms. “You have no idea what could be down there anyway. It’s not safe.”

You patted his shoulder, hanging off him, “but that’s why we’re here, isn’t it? Come on, Fumi, aren’t you curious, too?” You asked him with a slight shake of his shoulders.

He hated to admit that he was, otherwise he never would have joined you on the trip, but there was no way he would allow himself to leave his room after dark. Despite his years of training at U.A. High School, there were moments where Dark Shadow was unpredictable. He shook his head. “You’re not going to convince me so easily.”

The next morning during breakfast you had gathered up with a few strangers at a nearby table. You laughed along with them as you prodded more information about the island and any history that the guide had forgotten or left off. So far your schmoozing had been for nothing and when you saw Shinso enter the dining hall you excused yourself.

“Who were you talking to?” He asked with a yawn as he joined you at their own table, eyeing the menu left on his side.

“I was just being friendly.” You answered absently as you adjusted the settings on your phone, doing your best to test the connection. Two and a half bars. It wasn’t much but it was better than nothing. “Hey, let’s take a selfie.” You suggested, coming up with a thousand excuses or ideas to get him to join your little expedition. If Tokoyami refused to go, you knew Shinso would be your man.

The first night had been uneventful. The most satisfying moment would have been finding out what was at the bottom of the stairs, like an escape room, a mass of tunnels or even a skeleton! Nothing, it had just been a part of a flooded basement. The disappointment alone sent you and Shinso back.

Your luck was going to change! Tonight was going to be different! You could feel it. You turned to Shinso as he crouched behind you, taking a moment to look behind him before you went on ahead.

The window to a nearby shop had been already smashed and carefully you two made your way inside. You took Shinso’s hand as you made sure he wouldn’t hurt himself on the jagged glass. ”It’s pretty dusty in here.” He commented, pinching his nose at the strange smell that surrounded the room. “Do you smell that?”

“Smell what?” You asked curiously, taking a moment to sniff the air around you. “It’s probably mold or something.”

“No…” Shinso tried to place it. “It smells like something decaying.”

You took another sniff but didn’t smell anything. You pulled out your phone and turned on the flashlight. “Could be an animal or maybe dead rats? There were a couple of restaurants here.”

“What are you even looking for?” He asked as he followed behind. He felt uneasy as they made their way through the various shops.

“We can’t go home without a souvenir,” you replied with a cheeky grin. “Besides, I want to bring something back to show Kaminari.”

Shinso sighed, “just bring him that winebottle and tell him it’s haunted.” He pointed to the destroyed shelf behind the bar.

“Don’t be a partypooper.” You teased as you made your way across the creaky wooden floorboards. Suddenly, you heard a snap and cried out as the floor gave out from under you. You landed on your side, effectively breaking your phone in the process and you cursed and whined as pain shot through your arm.

“MC!” Shinso carefully peered down the hole. “Are you alright? I’m coming down there!” He said as he readied himself to jump down the hole.

You looked up at him and noticed a shadow right next to him also peering down at you. You lied there frozen as it’s red eyes glinted in the darkness and when you blinked, it was gone.

Shinso grunted as he landed on his feet, “shit… I’m gonna feel that in the morning.” He mumbled to himself as he bent down beside you. “Let me see.”

“Did you see that?” You asked him.

“What?”

“It was right next to you!” You gripped the front of his shirt. “We have to get out of here.”

Check out the rest of the masterlist! 💕

[aspiring-ginger]

Thunderstorms Ch. 2 (Fellowship x Reader)

Summary: Reader gets the Fellowship ready for bed, how the heck is she going to have room for everyone?

Warnings: Language

Word count: 2,496

Pairing(s): Platonic Fellowship of the ring x fem!reader, eventual romantic interest (Lord of the Rings)

Who do you want Reader to end up with? Vote here!

A/N: This one was fun to write! Reader is going to have some nice moments with each member of the Fellowship before the final romantic pairing is decided, so this chapter has a bit of Legolas! I am keeping a tally of who you guys want the reader to end up with, so go ahead and put your votes in lol 

Comments and feedback are always appreciated! Let me know if you want more!

Taglist: @thunderdog8​ @kathieycarrerarosshley​ @sleep-deprived-things​ @nabercnm​ @agenerallynicegirl @sammy201d​ @thefoxskinwalker​ @minimxno​ 

(If your name has a strike-through in it, I couldn’t tag you! Let me know if I spelled anything wrong, or check your settings so I can tag you in future parts!)

Masterlist I Previous 

You left the fellowship standing around your kitchen table while you went looking for candles and flashlights. It did cross your mind that the majority of the fellowship wasn’t even human so they might be able to see better in the dark, but you needed the light and using just your phone wasn’t going to cut it. It was probably for the best that you needed to grab these anyway, so you could use this time to process what the actual fuck was going on. 

No matter how many times you pinched yourself, the fellowship was still standing in your kitchen. It was fucking bonkers and you knew it. Hopefully you would be able to put them all to bed quickly so you could sleep and when you woke up it was all a dream and there weren’t eight strange men in your house. God, you hoped it really was a dream. 

You managed to find a few scented candles that you currently balanced in your arms as you returned to the kitchen. The hobbits were still seated at the table, busy whispering to each other with wide eyes. Aragorn and Legolas seemed to be discussing something in Elvish. They both seemed tense so it could actually be an argument, but honestly you had no idea. Boromir saw you struggling with the candles, so he strode over and took several from your hands. You tried to protest but he simply waved it off saying it was the least he could do for your generous hospitality. He helped you spread the candles throughout your house and watched curiously as you lit them using a lighter. You caught the hobbits’ attention as well when you put the last candle down in the middle of the table. 

“What’s that, there? You tryn’ to use some sort of a weapon on us?” Sam asked, eyeing the lighter in your hands.

You shook your head. “No, no. I’m just lighting the candle, see?” You clicked the lighter so the small flame would come out of the tip, then lit the candle.

“Is that some sort of magic?” Pippin asked.

“Why are you lighting the candles now? Don’t you have any torches or candles already lit?” Merry chimed in.

You handed the lighter over to Pippin so he could get a closer look. Wait shit, was that really the best idea to give it to him, of all people? Well, it was too late now as he was already twirling it around in his hands and fiddling with the trigger to try and light it. It was only a tiny lighter anyway, it wasn’t like he could actually set anything on fire….you hoped.

“Hm? Oh, it’s dark because the power’s out.” Merry gave you a blank stare so you clarified, “Our lights run on electricity, not fire. The storm must’ve hit a generator or something, so the power’s not on. I can’t turn any lights on without it.”

“Does this normally happen, lass?” Gimli piped up from his spot in the corner.

“No, we haven’t had a storm this bad in a long time, and if the power ever does go out it’s usually only for a couple seconds.”

“Well, the candles smell wonderful.” Boromir added with a smile. You smiled back and excused yourself to get them towels. Seriously, they were making puddles on your floor. You saw the lights flicker back on in your office as you grabbed them. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

“Alright, the power’s back on now, but I’m not gonna turn on a ton of lights because it’s late and it’ll be bright.” You explained as you handed out the towels. 

Tackling one problem at a time- the power was back on, and the fellowship was drying off. Now you had to figure out where everyone could sleep. This was going to be a real challenge. Two could fit in your parent’s bed, two in the guest bed. One on the loveseat, and either one or two on the couch. You had a small pullout couch underneath your loft bed you had since childhood, but that would mean one of them would have to sleep with you in your room. That might not sit well with them wanting to preserve your honor and hospitality. They had their sleeping packs with them and you had a sleeping bag as well, but you didn’t want them to have to sleep on the floor. Especially since you had no idea how long they would be staying and they’d been on the road for so long it felt wrong to make one of them sleep on the floor. You supposed you could clean off the couch that was downstairs in the family room, but it was sort of dirty. Sighing, you explained this to them, which they all assured you it would be no problem should some of them need their bedrolls. 

“I’ll give you a tour of the house, and then you all can decide where you want to sleep.” They all nodded in agreement. “So, you’re standing in my kitchen. Do you have any questions?” You asked as you flipped on the light.

“Will you show us how to use your equipment?” Sam asked, “We’d hate to have you cooking all by yourself. And I’d like to learn to help, if I could.”

“Sure, but we can worry about that in the morning. I think we could all use some sleep first.”

You led them throughout your house turning the lights on as you went. They didn’t have any questions, but you figured that all this was overwhelming so you didn’t launch into any explanations unprompted. 

After some discussion among themselves they came to a decision- Frodo and Sam would sleep in the guest bed downstairs, Aragorn on the couch also downstairs (he wanted to stay close to Frodo in case anything happened), Gimli took the loveseat and Boromir the couch in the living room. Merry and Pippin would sleep in your parents’ bed upstairs. Legolas insisted he lay out his bedroll down with Gimli and Boromir, he refused to sleep in your room.

“Please, Legolas. You’ve been through so much, just take the pull out couch,” you pleaded, “We wouldn’t be sleeping in the same bed or anything. I promise, it’s fine.”

“No, I could not. Elves do not sleep the way Men do, you need not worry. I will be alright.” 

“If you don’t need as much sleep as humans, then it would be alright if you slept on the couch! We wouldn’t disturb each other, and you don’t have to stay in there once you wake up. I just want you all to be comfortable. Please, it’s the least I could do.”

“Would it not be improper, my lady? What would your husband think?” Boromir cut in.

“What? No no, I’m not married. Nooo way. It’s just me in the house, my parents are out of town and won’t be home for a long time. Besides this is a...weird situation, but you’re my guests so everything here is yours. I would give up my bed if I needed to, but I have a feeling you guys wouldn’t like that.” They shook their heads. “There’s nothing wrong with a friend sleeping in the same room and hey it’s 2020 so it doesn’t matter what gender. At least for tonight. If you want to move tomorrow I promise I won’t be offended.” You offered a final plea. 

Legolas caved. “As long as it is what the Lady wishes.”

You held up your hand “Okay let me just get this straight- I’m not a lady. Just call me (Y/n), I don’t have a title. I’m not nobility or super rich or anything so you’re not offending my honor or whatever by calling me by my name.”

They nodded in response, but you weren’t sure if they would actually listen.

“Okay, you all can start setting up your stuff and getting ready for bed. I’ll bring pillows and blankets, and I can dry any of your clothes. I’ll get you all some stuff you can wear tomorrow.” 

You set everything up, the fellowship trailing behind you until their respective ‘beds’ were made. Just Legolas was left, so you told him to get ready however he needed and you would change in the bathroom. Oh shit. The bathroom. You would have to explain that to them. You called them back upstairs and quickly gave them a run down of the bathroom, water in the kitchen should they need it, and whoever was the first to wake would come wake you up as well. Racking your brain, there wasn’t anything else you could think of.

You set up the couch for Legolas, then climbed up into your bed. You weren’t sure if you should say goodnight. Honestly, why did you push so hard to have this elf sleeping in your goddamn room? You laid there contemplating if you really should say something, if it would be more awkward to say something or not say anything at all, it was taking too long to decide so if you spoke up now it might be weird-

“Thank you for the bed. Sleep well, (Y/n).” Legolas softly called up to you, breaking you out of your thoughts.

“It’s really no problem. Goodnight.”

You rolled over and tried to sleep. Minutes ticked by but you just could not fall asleep. Your thoughts were racing far too quickly. What if you said something while you were sleeping? Moved around too much? Made too much noise? Oh god, what if you farted? Why, why, why did you push so hard for him to stay with you? There was an elven prince sleeping underneath you. A real, actual elven prince. You flopped around in your bed to try and get a more comfortable position. Every time you did, you paused and winced realizing that your huffing and rustling around could keep Legolas up, too. Seriously, why did you think this was a good idea? By the time you finally began to drift off, you had no idea if Legolas was actually asleep. He hadn’t made a single sound since he bid you goodnight. Well, you could just apologize tomorrow for keeping him up.

---

You woke the next morning to a soothing voice calling your name. You groaned as you looked around, who would be waking you up this early? Rolling over, your eyes met with soft blue ones. Oh. Legolas was still here, in your bedroom. It wasn’t a dream after all.

“Ah, good morning, (Y/n). I believe I heard some of my friends beginning to stir downstairs. I woke you so you might have time to dress before the hobbits bust down your door,” he chuckled, “They can get quite hungry in the morning, and I’m sure seeing a fully equipped kitchen has only made their hunger worse.”

“Oh, thank you.” You instinctively pulled your blanket closer to your chest. “Did you sleep alright last night? I’m sorry if I kept you up.”

Legolas’s laughter was bright and clear. “You needn’t worry. The dwarf snores far louder than your tossing and turning. I was still able to dream. If you like, I shall step out into the hall so you may prepare for the day in private.”

You hummed in thought. If the fellowship really was stuck with you now, they would eventually see you in your pajamas. It might be better if it was sooner than later so they could get used to it.

“Oh no, it’s alright. I’ll just use the bathroom, you don’t have to leave.” You climbed down your ladder and scooped up a bra and a brush, sticking them under your arm in an attempt to hide the fact you were carrying your undergarments. 

You went through your usual morning routine, double checking to put on deodorant and a little perfume. The non-humans had sharper senses right? You didn’t want to smell bad, ugh that would be embarrassing. As you exited the bathroom you heard loud snoring from downstairs. That must’ve been what Legolas was talking about. When you came back into your room, you found Legolas examining your things. His attention seemed to be on your bookshelf.

He had taken off his outer tunic and bracers leaving just his blue undershirt and trousers. His boots and socks were neatly placed beside the end table next to the couch. His weapons leaned against it as well, the string removed from his bow.

“Would you like some tea or coffee? Wait, do you guys even have coffee?”

“Coffee is not a common drink with the elves, but the halflings might enjoy it. Everyone enjoys tea.” 

“Cool. You can pick out what kind.”

Legolas followed you downstairs and into the kitchen. It was still early, the sun was barely poking over the tops of the trees. Gimli and Boromir were still asleep and Aragorn appeared to be waking up. There was no sign of the hobbits just yet. You pulled out your rather large selection of tea for Legolas to look through while you started on breakfast. Who doesn’t like waking up to the smell of food, right?

You didn’t have that much in your fridge so nothing too fancy, but you did have eggs and bacon. You took what little vegetables you had left and added it to the scrambled eggs- a few mushrooms, some spinach, a little onion, and some cheese. You put some bread in the toaster for good measure. Aragorn came up to join you, taking a seat across from Legolas. He launched into a conversation with him in elvish after saying good morning. Eventually, Legolas handed you a box of regular green tea and you put the kettle on. 

The others began to shuffle into the kitchen when breakfast was closer to being ready. Aragorn, Boromir, and Legolas all offered to help, so you put them to work setting the dining room table and bringing kitchen chairs in to make room for everyone. You were quite pleased with what you were able to come up with, but now you definitely had to go to the store. Which meant leaving them home alone. Maaaybe not such a great idea. 

The hobbits seemed particularly happy with what you made, the mushrooms especially. Everyone happily sipped their tea and enjoyed their meals, making light conversation. Legolas and Aragorn were speaking to each other in elvish again, much to your annoyance, while Merry and Pippin described the dreams they had that night. Boromir and Gimli laughed on and added their dreams for good measure. It was easy to see how well everyone got along with each other, and the hobbits were kind enough to bring you into the discussion as well. This isn’t exactly how you thought your spring was going to go, but it sure was going to be lots of fun.

Taglist is open!

[homebody-nobody]

touch me someone

HIIIII it’s your favorite fic writer back from the dead with TWO whole fics real close together maybe I’ll finally become a consistent publisher?!? we can dream. Anyway. JJ and Kiara are my new Bellamy and Clarke I guess so enjoy this VERY angsty smutty hurt/comforty poetic nonsense the idea for which would not leave my brain til I wrote it. Please for the love of god read this bc I actually kind of love it and need validation or concrit or literally any feedback at all bc my none of my irl friends like this show so pls interact/comment 

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ao3

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He pulls away from her, and his eyes are wide but dry as his chest heaves. He looks wild, uncaged and raw, the moonlight turning his blond hair white and his blue eyes into pools of silver. Tragedy and shock have destroyed him, the chains he’d wrapped around his brash, heedless, unending want twisted into shards by an explosion of hurt and grief. He has always been the victim, the boy left behind in empty rooms with nothing but loss and bloody fragments, told to piece himself back together. Finally, they’ve taken the last thing. When he told John B they had nothing to lose, they still had each other. And now, he doesn’t even have that.

But she’s still here.

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Touch me someone 

I’m too young to feel so

numb, numb, numb, numb 

You could be the one to 

Make me feel somethin, somethin. 

The Phantom went down around 8:30 PM. Or maybe 10:30. Kiara doesn’t remember. She only knows that the hours between then and now have felt like a lifetime and also no time at all. Like she’ll turn and John B will be there, behind her shoulder, laughing at something JJ said, Sarah hanging off his arm; but also like the world is dark and will be dark and has been dark forever. Like the sun will never rise after this. Like the storm took the light and heat from the world just like it took her best friend. 

Later, she’ll learn that John B’s official time of death is listed as 8:34 PM, when they stopped trying to establish radio contact with him and Sarah. Later, she’ll watch news stories about the manhunt for Rafe Cameron and the scandal of Ward Cameron’s property being left to his second wife, rather than his remaining daughter. Later, she’ll get an email from an internet cafe in Bermuda and her whole world will flip upside down one more time. 

But now, she is laying in her four-poster bed, watching the ceiling fan lazily trawl the same, tired circle, listening to the pull-chain tap not-quite-silently against the glass fixture. Now, her hair still damp from the shower that her mother made her take, eyes stinging from sharp wind and tears not yet shed, the inside of her mouth shredded and sore from the hours she spent chewing on her lips, the world is too quiet, too peaceful. The crickets outside sing soft and gentle, just like they have every night her whole life, and the texture of her comforter, the quiet harmony of the night, the soft click and whoosh of the fan -- it all feels so chokingly familiar, like spiralling back down to earth after spending weeks dipping in and out of orbit. 

She wants to scream until her throat is raw, sob and fight and unleash herself on every single adult that hurt John B, that brushed him off or refused to help or wouldn’t listen to him. She wants to gut Ward Cameron for ripping everything away from John B, first his father, and then the gold that was his by right. The gold that was theirs. She wants to rip off Rafe’s skin piece by piece until he’s in shreds at her feet. She wants to eviscerate his father with the same gaff hook he used to rip apart those two mainlanders and ruin John B’s life. She’s so full of hurt and grief and anger that her fists keep clenching white-knuckled in her blankets and she wants to bring down the sky itself. But at the same time, she’s haunted by that same emptiness that followed her after Sarah’s childish betrayal, like she’s watching it all from the outside. 

She can’t sleep. She won’t. Sleep is just an escape, a place to forget, and she’ll have to wake up and remember what happened all over again, remember the rush of hope and the hours of adrenaline and apprehension that ended in a tragedy none of them could have ever predicted. What child foretells death? 

Rolling over, she presses her face into her pillow, smothering herself until her lungs force her to turn her head for air. She opens her eyes, no less heavier than they were hours ago. Her throat tightens like tears are about to well up, to spill over and stain her sheets, but they don’t come. Itchy and claustrophobic, she throws back the sheets and paces over the smooth boards of her room, bare feet making soft noises over the lacquered wood. She has to get out, to make sure that she didn’t dream up the whole goddamn thing. 

She dresses quickly, throwing on denim cutoffs and an old drug rug that cycled its way through at least two of the boys’ wardrobes before landing in hers. She doesn’t know where she’s going, doesn’t know what she needs, but she throws her wallet, her charger, a flashlight, and her water bottle in her beat up backpack, and, on second thought, a toothbrush and some deodorant. She picks up her keds and tiptoes down the stairs, avoiding the creaky eighth stair. 

The key rack is empty, and, chastising herself for believing her parents would leave the car keys out after everything she’d pulled in the last few days, she rocks on her heels, assessing her options. The most prudent one is probably just to go back to bed, given the usual risks of going out at night as a teenage girl, the massive punishment that looms in her future, and, now, the lack of a vehicle. But the thought of returning to her stale room, skin crawling and mind racing at a standstill, makes the decision for her. She slips out the back door, making sure to catch the screen door before it slams, and digs out her bike from next to the garage. The tires could use air and the gears are misaligned, but it still rides, and it’ll get her… somewhere else. 

Her original intention is to go to Pope’s house, mostly because it’s closest, but then she thinks about how she kissed him earlier that afternoon -- and God, was that just this afternoon? There’d be implications, now. Showing up in the middle of the night, throwing pebbles at his window -- it would mean something. So she stands up on the pedals and pushes past his street, floating like jetsam through the night. 

She ends up heading for the chateau, which is where she was going all along. After her family moved to the outskirts of figure eight just before high school, it was the only place that felt like home anymore. She cruises deep into the cut, where even the smell of the air changes, from freshly mowed grass and chlorinated in-ground pools to gasoline and oil, rotting seaweed and the salt marsh. 

The little house sits in the reeds, ramshackle and welcoming as ever, tired and reaching under the moon. It’s empty and forlorn, alone on the edge of the edge, out past the main cluster of the cut, pushed past the tideline, separated from the rest of the flotsam by a freak wave. The Routledge boys never fit in, even with the outcasts, and they made their home like they knew it. Skidding to a stop in the gravel driveway, the sting of tiny rocks against her bare ankles is the only thing she’s really felt in hours. Her heart picks up, skipping over itself as her memory stumbles over all the years seeping out of the wind-weathered boards and the sinking foundation. 

Again, it feels like this would be a moment for tears, like the sight of John B’s house, the memory of Big John’s booming laugh and all the bonfire-scented nights on that sagging porch should mean enough to make something in her crack, to finally shatter the glass walls of shock and let the grief come pouring in. But it doesn’t. She just stares up at the chateau, one part of her aching for the ease of a found family she’ll never get back, the other dreading the fate of the little house. 

The breeze changes directions as she stares up at the rickety shutters and holey screens, bringing with it the tinny sound of music played out of a cell phone in a solo cup, a noise she knows well. Her stomach drops to the hard-packed dirt, crashing there with her bicycle and sending up a cloud of dust. Maybe John B survived. Maybe he made it back to shore, and he’s laying low, doing that stupid, chivalrous thing he does, trying to protect them by not letting them know. Maybe he’s out by the shed in that old metal lawn chair, Sarah in his lap, exhausted and defeated and alive. But as she gets closer, the moonlight glints off tawny waves crusted with sweat and salt, and the momentary, wild hope crashes and ebbs away from the shore. 

JJ hears her, of course, sitting up in the hammock and turning toward the sound of her flat-soled sneakers slapping the dirt. “Hey,” he says, his expressive face, for once, inscrutable. 

“Hey,” she says, slightly out of breath from the sprint. “I thought you were…” she trails off, because he knows. Because he’s the only one in the whole world who can look at her and understand the cathedral dreams and vaulted memories crashing down in her chest. 

“I’m not,” he says, an answer that belies more than either of them knows. JJ gets this look, when he’s seconds away from doing something particularly concerning (and usually criminal). Manic energy lights up in his blue eyes, burning anywhere from mischief to stubborn determination to full-tilt rage. The well-developed muscles in his shoulders and arms refuse to relax, and his hands get so fidgety they lose the coordination it takes to flip the zippo lighter between long, practiced fingers. His face fights with itself, half already spitting with well-steeped anger, the other tired, and broken, and grieving. 

“I noticed,” she responds.  She drops her bag on one of the metal folding chairs, dooming it to a coating of flaky, faded paint. Crossing the grass, hoping her broad strides will disguise the rattling breath in her chest, the shake in her hands, she moves to sit next to him in the hammock, and he shifts his weight to allow her. 

There’s no verbal communication, no squabble about personal space or indignant demands she find her own seat. There never is, not with her boys. The Pogues. It seems so silly now, hiding behind that name for themselves, a name she’d never really belonged to, anyway. He’s holding a lit joint in one hand, a bottle dangling from the other, and he offers her one while swigging from the other. The old favorites of a Maybank in crisis. She takes it. 

He falls back next to her, sending the hammock swinging as he gazes up at the stars. Sarah had known the most about constellations, of the five of them, but JJ knows a fair amount, too, some of the only memories of his mother the nights when she would hold him under the stars, tracing the designs across the sky, her hand wrapped around his tiny one. His eyes keep drifting off the sky and landing on Kiara, eyes distant, bathed in moonlight. 

“He’s not dead,” JJ says, surprising himself as much as her. He sits up, and she follows. He stares at his feet for a while, and she thinks about putting her arms around him.  “I --” he picks his head up to look at her and stops, voice stolen by the hope in her eyes. “I’d feel it,” he finishes lamely, and watches the spark die. 

“The first stage of grief is denial,” she says, and it’s supposed to be at least slightly lighthearted, but it falls cruelly to the crabgrass. 

“You sound like Pope,” he counters, and there’s too much weight to that name to throw it around for long. They’re both thinking of Kiara kissing him, and the memory is pleasant to neither. 

She doesn’t really know why she did that. Maybe it’s because he’s everything she’s supposed to want, intelligence and ambition and ingenuity, everything she tells herself is important in a guy. Maybe because he’s in love with her. Maybe because she’s definitely in love with one of her best friends, and he’s the one who makes sense. She takes another hit and hands the blunt back to JJ. 

“I’d know,” he repeats, and she knows it’s not her he’s trying to convince. He lays back in the hammock, putting the blunt between his lips and dragging deep before tilting his head back and blowing the smoke into the tumultuous night. She looks back over her shoulder, watching his jaw and the movement of his throat as he exhales. Laying back next to him, she tries not to think about the warmth of his skin against hers, the strength of the body pressed to her side. It’s only JJ, the same reckless, stupid asshole who carried that damn pistol everywhere all summer and has a talent for getting into trouble. He’s not giving her butterflies with his proximity, and she’s not thinking about reaching down and lacing her fingers through his. 

Eventually, JJ flicks the roach into the darkness and stands as quickly as he can without tipping Kiara out of the hammock. She starts, not realizing she was dozing on his shoulder until it’s gone. “It’s late,” he says. 

She stands as well, tucking her hands into the pocket of her sweatshirt as he kicks at the dirt. “I don’t --” she starts, and the hesitation makes him stop his nervous movement, meeting her eyes. “I don’t want to go home.” He opens his mouth to say something, but she interrupts him. “I can’t go home.” 

“Okay,” he says, after a second. He doesn’t want to be alone, either. She nods, and walks past him, picking up her bag. He follows her up to the house, and they stop at the foot of the stairs to the porch, staring at the buzzing light. JJ takes a stuttering inhale Kiara pretends not to hear, and he goes up the stairs first, wrapping a shaking hand the handle to the screen door. He pauses before going in, frozen, and it isn’t until she lays her hand on his shoulder that he summons the courage to push the door open. 

They knew the place was going to be tossed, but it still hurts Kiara and kills JJ, to see the overturned table and scattered papers, the couch cushions scattered on the floor and the coffee table flipped. He tries to shuffle backwards, to run from the sharp, fresh grief and the deep, familiar ache of loss and violation, but Kie is in the way, and when he turns to escape she catches him, her arms around his shoulders, his clutched around her waist. “I can’t --” he chokes, his face pressed to her neck, “It’s not --” his breath speeds up, his shoulders shaking. “They --” 

“I know,” she says, swallowing down tears, herself, in that same small voice from the night in the hot tub. She knew JJ was broken, on that deep, fundamental level that, intellectually, she could conceptualize, but she could never feel. But that night, seeing the bruises on his ribs, damning as fingerprints, the ghost of his pain, the whisper of breath knocked out and the brush of betrayal, turned her chest inside out. This feels the same way, watching him lose the last shred of some semblance of home to the same kind of mindless anger and selfish authority that claimed the first one. “I know.” 

He pulls away from her, and his eyes are wide but dry as his chest heaves. He looks wild, uncaged and raw, the moonlight turning his blond hair white and his blue eyes into pools of silver. Tragedy and shock have destroyed him, the chains he’d wrapped around his brash, heedless, unending want twisted into shards by an explosion of hurt and grief. He has always been the victim, the boy left behind in empty rooms with nothing but loss and bloody fragments, told to piece himself back together. Finally, they’ve taken the last thing. When he told John B they had nothing to lose, they still had each other. And now, he doesn’t even have that. 

But she’s still here. “Kie…” he breathes. She opens her mouth to reassure him again, but then his hands are on her face and he’s kissing her, deep and rough and desperate. She bursts into flame underneath him, paralysis broken, stupefaction overcome, as the glass walls she’s been watching through crack and shatter at her feet. JJ’s hands wrap around the back of her neck and spread across the small of her back, pushing her up against the door, and she twists her hands into his shaggy, sun-streaked hair. Every desperate question is met with his touch, and she chases it, even as he pulls away in horrified shock. 

“Fuck,” he gasps. “Fuck, Kie, I’m so sorry --” He tries to shove himself away from her at the instant she curls her fists in his shirt, and it almost rips as she pulls and he slams back into her. Teeth clash and noses bump and it’s not perfect or soft or loving, but passion born from desperation and terror of what it would mean to stop. Putting his hands on the door on either side of her face, he pushes himself off of her, even as she tries to yank him back. “What are we doing?” he asks, in a voice that won’t like the answer. 

“JJ,” she gasps, pushing her fingers back up to tangle in blond, salt-sticky waves. “Shut up.” Pulling his mouth back down on top of hers, she gasps into him as his hands come down and frame her ribs, one of his arms sliding around her waist and the other pushing back up into her hair. 

“Don’t you think --” he tries, even as he leans over her, their breathing ragged, his knuckles white in her impossibly soft curls. His forehead is pushed to hers and he can’t pull away any farther, sucked into her gravitational field, helpless to it. 

“I don’t want to think,” she insists. “I want this, I need this,” This momentary pause is already too long, and if he stops kissing her, stops touching her, the tears she’s been holding back will crash over her and they won’t stop. The dark room is loud with heavy breathing as she catches the scent of him, salt and sweat and smoke. “I need you.” 

His grip falters and the momentary relaxation has her pressing herself against him. “Are you sure?” he asks, and this is a choice, now. This isn’t something that either of them can pawn off as a mistake made in the heat of a desperate moment. He wants this, has wanted it, ever since he met her, but he won’t be a decision half-made, won’t take advantage of vulnerability only to become a regret. He’s giving her a way out, knows her pragmatic nature and her anxious need for well-thought plans. He wants her to think, even if she’s desperate not to. 

He’s right, when he almost never is, but she knows that if she waits too long or lets in the doubt that expects her, she will break. “JJ,” she gasps, “Please.” His name, she knows, he can’t resist, not when paired with urgent pleading, and in this way, she makes her choice. He surrenders to her. 

They fall onto the creaky pullout, still set up from JJ’s most recent stay, not minding the sheets and blankets wrought asunder by the angry police search. He can’t let go of her, his hands pushing up her sweatshirt, dragging over her sides and up her thighs, tangling in her hair like he’s drinking her in with his touch, intoxicated with the smell of peach in her hair and the taste of sweat on her skin. Kiara lets herself get lost in him, ride the wave of desire pushing through her, moans and gasps when he hits the right spots and closes her eyes as he lifts her shirt over her head and attaches his lips to her neck, his hands finally coming up to cover her tits, and the long careful fingers she’d spent so many afternoons watching prove adept at twisting and pinching her nipples and leaving her begging for him. 

She almost rips his t-shirt off, pulling his bare chest against her own and letting the feeling of skin on skin light her up, setting fireworks off behind her eyelids. Wrapping one hand around the arm holding him up, she can feel his teeth on her neck, and she knows he’s leaving marks, and, for once, it doesn’t feel like she’s being claimed. She knows what it is -- proof this is happening, that they’re alive and feeling and crashing together again and again. She sinks her nails into his bicep as his fingers skim below the waistband of her shorts, and feels him smirk against her lips. 

“Yeah?” he asks, and the teasing in his voice is tortuous and reminiscent of his old, humorous self, just enough to make her sad for a moment, and when she nods quickly in return, it’s a bid to forget that sadness. His fingers flick open the button of her shorts and as his fingers dip lower, the only thing she can think about, the only thing she can feel, is his touch, his all-consuming presence, radiating heat. The bastard takes his time, her only gratification the press of him against her hip, hot and hard. He teases her through her underwear, and she can’t say she doesn’t enjoy it, arcing into his touch, shocks of pleasure building in incredible anticipation, but he’s going too slow, and he’s wearing too many clothes, still, and the intense want gnawing at her has too much potential to turn into grief. 

“Would you just --” she grunts against his mouth, cut off on a moan as he presses his fingers against her clit. “Fucking -- ah,” he works slow, hard, circles, enjoying himself as she tries to form sentences with his hands on her. “Fuck me already!” Because even this can’t be easy, not between the two of them. Because she’ll always be fighting with him, even with her bare chest pressed against his and his hand down her pants. 

JJ grins, scraping his teeth over her ear. “What,” he says, still teasing, still bittersweet, as he finally pushes his hand into her underwear, “aren’t you enjoying this?” Slowly, much too slowly, his fingers part the lips of her cunt, pressing down over her clit before finding the wetness further down. JJ practically growls as his middle finger dips between her folds and he finds her soaked, dropping his forehead against the forearm braced above her head. “Fuck, Kie,” he moans, and he can’t disguise the wasted crack in his voice. “God, you’re so fucking wet.” He’s already drunk on her, every new sensation dragging him deeper.  

“Your fault,” she stutters as he puts his hands, lean and strong and practiced, to good use, dragging slick fingertips back up to her clit and teasing small circles, rough, calloused skin creating delicious friction. And this -- this is what she was so desperate for, to feel only his touch and the way he pushes her higher, closer to an edge far away from the bleak grief of their every day world. He moans, too, as he dips his middle finger into her and she keens into his mouth, and she’s not thinking anymore, only chasing heat and skin and pleasure, the rest of the night foggy and distant, moonlit and blurred. 

She doesn’t even know how much time passes before he’s kissing his way down her body, only that he’s fucked her so well with his hands he has three fingers inside her and she’s asking for more. He pulls his hand away and she lets out an embarrassingly high-pitched noise at the loss of contact, only to end on a gasp when she opens her eyes to see that he has his fingers curled around the waistband of her shorts and his face is hovering near her hips, pupils blown wide as he looks up at her. He asks her something, but blood rushes in her ears as her heart pounds and her chest heaves and it isn’t until his tongue darts out to wet his lips that she realizes what he’s saying. 

“Fuck, yes, please,” she whines, and it feels like less than instant before her shorts are on the floor and his head is between her legs, his tongue on her clit, and she screams, pushing her hands into his hair as his mouth launches her higher and keeps her there, wave upon wave crashing over her until her legs are shaking, and when she feels the pull deep in her stomach and he takes half a second to breathe, she has enough presence of mind to yank him back up, slamming his lips down onto hers, tasting herself there. 

“Inside me,” she gasps, ragged and raw and scraping. “Now.” 

“But you haven’t --” he breathes, and she reaches down, shoving past the waistband of the shorts he’s still wearing, her hand on his cock stopping him dead. 

“Now,” she repeats. And then, leans up to kiss him, slightly softer than before, as if in apology for being so rough, but more as a distraction as her hands unbutton his shorts and shove them down his thighs, her hands finding him again and stroking his cock until he’s gasping into her mouth. “Unless,” she says between short kisses, trying to keep her tone light, even as her cunt aches for him. “You changed your mind?” 

He scrambles out of his shorts and boxers so fast it’s almost funny, but the laugh falls out of her chest as he braces his forearms on either side of her face, pushing her hair back from her forehead and looking at her so carefully it almost hurts. “I don’t have a condom,” he says, uncharacteristic worry trembling in his voice. 

“I’m clean,” she says, her hands reaching up to tangle in his hair once more, to ground her, and disguise their shaking. “You?” 

He nods. “What about --” 

“I have an IUD,” she says, more grateful than ever for her liberal mother and her own presence of mind. 

He licks his lips again, eyes dropping to her mouth before flicking back up to her eyes. “Last chance,” he says, like she’s going to change her mind and push him off of her, run off into the night and leave him here, disgraced and embarrassed. “Still sure?” he asks, like he’s expecting her to say no. She nods without hesitation, caught in his blue eyes, turned cobalt in the half-light. He kisses her one more time, and it’s laden with years of things he hasn’t said, and she surges up with urgency, not ready for the tenderness in his touch. JJ tries to slow her down again, to revel in the moment of bare skin and vulnerability, no matter how guarded it may be, but she reaches down, wrapping her hand around his dick, guiding him closer to her, and he’s falling into her touch, into her orbit, helpless. 

She draws him inside her, his forehead dropping to her shoulder with a forsaken, heavy breath. It’s too soft, this moment before he moves, too easy to break, every sense on fire. The air is too close to her skin, too tight around her arms, like she could rip the fabric of it with the barest movement. She wants to be lost in him again, to feel separate, far away and floating above herself, not so torturously in her body, JJ trembling and present above her. “JJ,” she says, opening her eyes to find his, a split-second mistake, the next word hitching on its way out of her chest. “Move.” 

He does, mercifully lowering his face to press against her neck, the eye contact too substantial, too burdensome to hold. The bubble surrounding them expands as he works her up to that blissful edge with ease, his mouth letting out a stream of filthy words about how good she feels surrounding him. Closing her eyes, she tilts her head back, letting her hands have free reign over his back, his shoulders, his arms and up into his hair, every place she wants to touch him when she watches his ridiculous muscles ripple under his young, tan skin. He shifts his weight, hooking her knee over his hip so his cock hits exactly the right spot with every thrust, and she cries out, racing higher. 

She should have expected that JJ likes to run his mouth -- she only catches parts of what he’s saying, things like ‘so fucking hot’ and ‘sound so fucking good’ and ‘so fucking wet for me’ and as her moans increase in pitch and volume, he growls “c’mon, Kie, cum for me,” and she falls apart. He fucks her through the aftermath and she barely knows what noises are coming out of her mouth, her nails digging angry welts in his back. Just when she thinks she can’t take anymore, he tenses and spills inside her on a half-broken sigh. 

Her vision sharpens as he rolls off of her, collapsing on the squeaky bedsprings, and the house is too quiet all of a sudden, the air once again too close. Her breath slows, the sweat cooling on her skin in the soft breeze pushing through the wooden walls, the still-open front door. Neither of them says anything, and Kiara can feel him looking at her, his blown out smile too loud in the fallout. She sits up, almost flinching at the light touch of his fingers on his spine when he picks up a strand of her hair. “I’m gonna pee,” she says, finding her underwear and pulling them on, and then, after half a moment, pulling his discarded t-shirt over her head. 

Her head echoes as she steps over the scattered mess to get to the bathroom, like she’s walking through a tunnel. Her legs ache and tremble, and she wraps her arms around herself, numb and falling. She fights tears as she washes her hands. The bathroom is, as always, a deplorable mess, products everywhere and hair all over the sink. Her green bikini top is still on the floor from when she’d forgotten it just the other day, and that girl feels impossibly far from the one staring at herself in the mirror, wearing her best friend’s shirt while he’s naked in the next room. There’d be shame, and guilt, too, if the smell of John B’s deodorant didn’t choke her with overwhelming loss. Bracing her hands on either side of the sink, she can’t hold it back anymore, and sobs spill out of her, harsh and echoing in the small space. 

JJ is behind her an instant, half-dressed in basketball shorts and drawing her into his arms, tucking her close to him, her tears hot on his skin. “He’s gone,” she whimpers. “He’s really gone.” He doesn’t say anything, just guides her back to the pullout and straightens the blankets enough for her to fall in. She curls up on her side, crying so hard she can’t breathe, and he climbs in across from her, pushing one arm under her neck and using the other to pull her against him, his lips pressed to her forehead. 

Tears leak out of his own eyes, silent and soft to her earth-shattering grief. “It’s gonna be okay,” he reassures her, fighting the quiver in his own voice, his chin shaking with the effort of it. He stares into the empty darkness above her head, every jerk of her prone body another crack in his breaking heart. “He’s coming back,” he says, more to himself than her. “He’s coming back to us.” 

When she finally quiets down, the betrayal of dawn is beginning to lighten the sky, the moon fading, and the idea of this night being over feels impossible. For a short while, they breathe each other in, her forehead pressed to his collarbones, his hand trailing up and down her spine. Her head aches and her eyelids fall heavy over gritty, exhausted eyes, but she still fights sleep, stubbornly resisting another day, the beginning of a life without John B and Sarah. “I can’t stay here,” she says, finally, pushing back from him. “I should go home.” 

He reaches up to catch her chin as she watches her hands curled close to his chest, reluctant to go. “Kie,” he murmurs, lifting her gaze to meet his. He moves forward to kiss her, and she flattens her palms against his skin, stopping him even as her eyes fall to his lips. 

“JJ,” she says, an exhale more than his name. “We -- I mean, I --” 

“Shit,” he sighs, and it almost sounds like a laugh, formed from expectations he wished hadn’t come true. “Okay.” His eyes flutter close, and she watches him draw back into himself, close all the doors, like he wants to turn off the lights and pretend he’s not even here. But then, he looks at her again, gently smoothing a curl behind her ear. “It’s just --” he starts, and inhales again, wetting his lips as he struggles to keep his eyes on her deep brown ones. “Can we go back to normal tomorrow?” Her eyebrows push together a fraction of an inch, and he focuses on the wrinkle there, a thousand times easier than holding her gaze. “Please,” he says when she inhales to say something. “I don’t want to be alone.” 

It’s the first time either of them have been completely honest all night, and the most he’s said in hours. “Yeah,” she says, agreeing without thinking. Making it about him instead of admitting to herself that she wants to stay, that she doesn’t want to be alone either. “Yeah, okay.” She allows herself to be kissed, to be held and kept softly. JJ twists his fingers in her curls, skims his lips over her hairline before pressing his forehead against hers. 

He tucks his hand against the side of her neck, his fingers spanning from her ear to the juncture of her neck and shoulder. “It’s gonna be alright,” he promises, and they both pretend he’s saying it to her. She’s seen JJ cheerful and stubborn, breaking and angry, seen him a thousand different ways. But never like this, kind and soft, quiet in the grey, grieving dawn. Eventually, she falls asleep under his touch and reassuring whispers. 

The morning is just as sticky and unforgiving as every other that summer, and she wakes up damp and sticky with sweat. JJ is stretched out on his stomach, arms tucked under his head, mouth slack and hair falling over his eyes. Her head still hurts, and now so do her back and thighs, and she stretches her hand out across the rumpled sheets, tracing the red lines she’d left down his back. He blinks awake, closing his mouth and freezing when he feels her touch on his skin. 

“Hey,” she murmurs. 

“Hey,” he replies.

She waits for him to say something, but he just watches her, his clear blue eyes unflinching. She bites her lip. “I should get home,” she says, keeping her eyes on the knuckle tracing over his back, his gaze too heavy to hold. 

“Yeah,” he says, “okay.” Neither of them move. The world waits on a hair trigger, and JJ’s more familiar with this kind of silence than she is. She wants him to break it first, to be the impulsive hothead he always is, to make the choice for both of them. But he doesn’t, and the moment crumbles, and she sits up and goes in search of her clothes. 

He doesn’t say anything until she stoops to pick up her bag, sweatshirt in hand, ready to shove it into the biggest pocket. “Kie,” he says, and she stops dead, looking up at him. She doesn’t know what she wants him to say, but she deflates anyway when he just asks “my shirt?” 

She’d forgotten she was wearing it. Pulling it off, she feels his hungry eyes trace up her bare chest as she untangles the drug rug before pulling it down and arranging it around her hips. She tosses him the shirt, and he holds her gaze as he flips it right side out and tugs it on. They stand on either side of the disheveled living room, daring the other person to say something, move, do anything first. He knows what he wants, what he can’t have, what he’s convinced himself he never will. She remembers the line she drew, the boundary she’d very clearly set. He chooses to respect it while she waits for him to break the rules.

Birds sing in the unflinching morning, and a breeze stirs the hair around her face. She slings her backpack over her shoulder. The sun blazes as gulls call and waves lap against the dock. He tilts his chin back, like he always does just before a fight. She turns to go.

[kissjane]

AFRAID OF THE DARK / Short(ish) fic

#50 from this prompt list.

I’m scared but won’t admit it so you take my hand

It doesn’t matter how often he denies it, Lucas is afraid of the dark. And as if winter isn’t bad enough – cold, snow, ice, and happy families celebrating the holidays, reminding him he doesn’t have a happy family to celebrate with – it also comes with darkness. It is dark when he leaves his flat in the morning, and dark when he comes home again in the evening. Even if he leaves a small lamp on in the living room, he hates arriving at a dark house. He hates walking through the murky alleys. He hates climbing the dark stairway in which the lightbulbs are broken by kids playing soccer faster than the janitor can replace them. He hates everything about it.

And so when, after a particularly gruesome day at work – okay, he’ll be the first to admit he did make a small mistake, but it had in no way been bad enough to warrant the insults his boss had thrown his way –, he opens his front door and clicks the light switch, only to be met with a spark, a hiss, and the telltale click of all electrical appliances shutting off, he nearly sinks down against the door and cries.

He has candles somewhere, and flashlights, and his phone, but it is not enough. The December dark is too big to be chased away with some tiny flames and a flickering flashlight. This calls for drastic measures.

And so Lucas turns around, locks the door again, and braves the cold and the dark again to go over to Eliott’s – whose flat, when Lucas gets there, is brightly lit and toasty warm. Not that Lucas is surprised, because Eliott is the sun personified.

But Lucas’ luck has well and truly run out, it seems, because when Eliott opens the door for him, he is bundled up in a coat and a scarf and a hat, ready to go out.

“Hey, Lucas,” he says, surprise evident on his pretty face, “did I forget you were coming by?”

And suddenly Lucas is painfully aware that he should have called first. They are friends, Eliott and he, but they’re not at the ‘coming-by-whenever-unannounced’ level. And here Lucas is, standing on the doorstep, with this vague plan of asking Eliott if he can stay, because his electricity is not working. Stupid, he scolds himself silently.

“Uh, no, sorry,” he stammers out loud, “I just thought we could hang out, but you obviously have plans, so…”

He lets his sentence trail off. He always feels a bit intimidated by Eliott, who is so confident and charming. He wonders why Eliott would even want to be friends with Lucas, who is – well, just Lucas.

“Or you could just come with!”, Eliott exclaims, full of exuberance and enthusiasm. “I was gonna take a walk to check out the Christmas lights everywhere.”

Ugh. Lucas doesn’t really think voluntarily going out into the cold and the dark sounds like fun, and Christmas is just a commercial thing anyway, right? But Eliott is bouncing with hardly contained joy, and the alternative is a dark flat which may be warmer than the Paris streets, but has no Eliott. Lucas quickly balances his options against each other, and with a last look at Eliott, who has stars in his eyes and a wide grin on his face, he gives in.

And Lucas has to admit, wandering through the crisp winter air with Eliott, watching the Christmas displays, might not be the worst way to spend a December evening.

But then Eliott suddenly starts fumbling with a small, rusty gate, and he beckons Lucas to follow him. Lucas does so, after only a flash minute of deliberation – because well, it beats staying behind alone, right? But Eliott has moved way ahead, and Lucas doesn’t know where they are, and it is so dark. He hears noises he can’t interpret, and when he feels something against his arm – which, rationally, he knows is probably a branch moving with the wind – he can’t help but let out a high yelp.

Embarrassed, he claps his hand in front of his mouth, but Eliott must have heard anyway, because he retreats his steps hastily.

“Lucas? Everything okay?”

Lucas feels his cheeks burn, but he hopes Eliott won’t be able to see.

“You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?”, Eliott says, a teasing lilt in his voice, and shrugs.

“And if I was?”, he retorts with a clear challenge in the words.

“Then I would do this,” Eliott replies after a few beats, softly, and before Lucas realizes what is going on, Eliott has grabbed Lucas’ hand and holds it tightly.

“Come on,” he continues. Lucas wonders if he imagines the slight tremor in his friend’s voice. “It’s not far.”

They continue, and maybe Lucas’ eyes get used to the dark, or maybe it’s Eliott’s fingers intertwining themselves with Lucas’, but it doesn’t seem so frightening anymore. Lucas tries to make out Eliott’s face, but it is too dark to see anything but shadows. He lets his thoughts wander. He thinks about the day he met Eliott in the library, the older boy sitting across Lucas with an apologetic smile, mumbling something about no free tables. About how Eliott had come up to him in the park a few days later, ignored Lucas’ confused smile, and greeted him with a cheery “Hey, study buddy” as if they are long lost friends. About how after the fourth or fifth time Eliott had waved at him from across the hallway, he’d asked Lucas for his name, so he wouldn’t have to call him study buddy any longer. How Eliott had started following Lucas on Instagram a few days after that. He runs their whole short acquaintance through his mind, and then Eliott stops and opens his arms wide, as if to present something awesome to Lucas.

It is an old concrete tunnel, and Lucas shivers. It will be dark and cold and damp and he really doesn’t want to crawl in there, but in the dim light, he can see how excited Eliott is.

And then Eliott crouches down, opens his backpack, and starts placing tealights all over the place, lighting them one by one.

Lucas cannot help but stare, mesmerized, at the sea of light Eliott is creating. It drives away all the eerie shadows and is enough to illuminate even the furthest corners and crevasses. It is beautiful, all these tiny lights coming together in this warm glow. And when Eliott lights the last one and looks up at Lucas from his crouched position, his smile wide and his eyes sparkling, Lucas feels like another lightbulb suddenly flicks on above his head.

Because Eliott is beautiful. Lucas knew this, obviously, but it hits him like a sledgehammer all of a sudden – not just a quick, objective, passing appreciation of conventional beauty, but rather all the unique parts that make up Eliott and that etch themselves onto Lucas’ heart with a wistful ache. The flames reflect in his big eyes, and Lucas realizes that they are the warmest shade of grey he has ever witnessed, with blue swirls and green flacks like some sort of impressionist painting. Lucas closes his eyes for a second, blinded by the intensity of Eliott’s, and when he opens them again, Eliott has stood up, and the moment seems lost – but Lucas knows he will never look at Eliott the same again.

“Let’s sit,” Eliott says, and Lucas cannot refuse, and so they sit, leaning against the wall, surrounded by candlelight, and Lucas’ head swims with sudden realization.

It all makes so much sense now – why he wanted to go to Eliott when he needed light and warmth, when he needed to feel safe. Why he would follow Eliott into the dark without hesitation. Why Eliott’s hand soothes his fears.

And when Eliott looks at him with impossible soft eyes, Lucas feels like his heart might explode, and so he blurts out the first thing he can think of.

“I’ve always hated Christmas.”

Eliott startles, but then settles against the wall again, and his hand creeps closer to Lucas’. They almost touch, and the phantom sensation makes Lucas shiver.

“Are you cold?”, Eliott asks, and without waiting for Lucas’ answer, he pulls Lucas into a hug.

One heart-stopping moment, Lucas freezes, but then he settles into it, moulding his figure to Eliott’s, his head on Eliott’s shoulder. He closes his eyes, and wills himself to be calm. Breathe.

“I love it,” Eliott then says, and Lucas thinks Eliott means their new position, but he continues, “it’s so beautiful, with all the lights everywhere, and the decoration, and people celebrating together. The Christmas songs. The food. People trying to find each other the perfect gifts.”

Lucas shrugs, but doesn’t speak.

“Why do you hate it?”

And maybe it is because Eliott cannot see his face right now, or because of the strange intimacy in the candlelit tunnel, or because of his new-found feelings for Eliott, but either way, Lucas starts speaking, his voice low, but honest.

“It was never a cause for celebration when I was a kid. My family definitely wasn’t trying to find each other the perfect gift. My dad would be off from work, and he would fight with my mom all the time… And when I got older, my mom got worse, and my dad would just leave the house for days on end. And he became more and more disappointed in me – for not being in any sports team, or some other inane reason… He’d yell at me, yell at my mom. And then he left, and my mom was so depressed she couldn’t even leave her bed most of the time. It was so hard, taking care of her. I was just a child myself. And then she had to be hospitalized, and I lived on my own for a while, and things were tough. And at Christmas it just became even harder, watching everybody else be happy and cosy together…”

His voice trails off, and he laughs, small, self-deprecative.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be such a downer. I promise I’m not so gloomy usually. It’s just, well, I’m probably spending the holidays alone again this year, because Yann is going to celebrate with his family, so I’m not looking forward to it. But enough about that. Let’s talk about something else.”

Eliott is silent for a while, and Lucas regrets opening his mouth. Eliott brought him here to this magical place, and Lucas had to spoil it all by being such a negative Nancy. He is panicking, trying frantically to lighten the mood, to take back what he said, when Eliott’s voice suddenly reverberates through the tunnel.

“You could spend the holidays with me, if you want.”

Lucas lifts his head and stares at Eliott.

“What?”, he asks, certain he misheard. “Why?”

Eliott shrugs. Lucas looks at him, at his expressive face – is that uncertainty he sees in those grey eyes?

“Why not? I want to spend more time with you.”

“But we’ve only known each other for a few months… We’re not even all that close,” Lucas hears himself say, even though he wants to accept so badly. “Isn’t Christmas something to be celebrated with family?”

Eliott looks away, and his voice is low, but it echoes through the tunnel.

“We could become closer. I wouldn’t mind that at all.”

Lucas sits very still. Eliott’s arm is still around him, and he feels Eliott still after he speaks.

Lucas’ mind goes back to what he was pondering about earlier, as they walked hand in hand through the dark. About how Eliott had sought out Lucas time after time. About how he smiles at Lucas sometimes, as if Lucas holds all the secrets of the universe. About how he held Lucas’ hand when Lucas was afraid of the dark, and sheltered Lucas from the cold, and now offers to protect Lucas from his own bad memories and a lonely Christmas.

And Lucas forgets about December. Eliott is July – is warmth and sunshine and freshly made lemonade and the smell of cut grass and vanilla ice cream.

And when Eliott finally turns to face Lucas again, Lucas’ smile is wide and open.

“How close?”, he says, moving into Eliott’s space. He can feel Eliott’s breath on his lips, and his smile grows impossibly bigger.

And Eliott’s eyes are full of stars when he leans in, and shows Lucas exactly how close without words.

[aswallowssong]

Whumptober (Whump...tember?) Day 12 - Strep Throat

I know it’s been a million years but it’s my birthday month and I’m gonna write, damn it.

SCRC AU

Read on AO3

-----

"Colghain."

"In theory, how much does your throat have to hurt to warrant a strep test?"

It was nine forty-eight, and Kit was already in her glasses and sweats, and she didn't really recognize the voice on the other end of the receiver. It was scratchy, and sort of going in and out. Female, but beyond that, hard to recognize.

"Um?" She said, pulling the phone back to check the number. "JJ?"

"Yeah, I know, it's late-"

"You sound terrible," Kit interrupted, sitting up from where she'd been laying on the couch, letting her brain wander and spin now that she was showered and not in her scrubs anymore. "How long have you sounded like that?"

The BAU team had been without her in Albuquerque since Monday, and she knew they’d gotten back that afternoon after she’d already gone home from her Thursday clinic shift. She could have waited for them, but it was a rare Thursday that they weren’t playing a set at the bar, and she had planned on going to sleep by ten.

Clearly, no longer her plan.

"Tuesday night. It's probably nothing, but Spence told me I should call you-"

"Reid told you to call me?"

"-but it's late. He and Hotch are probably overreacting."

Kit pinched at the bridge of her nose.

These fucking people.

"I'll be over in an hour, if I can catch the ten-fifteen train."

"Oh, Kit, no-"

"Shut up," Kit said, rolling her eyes though JJ couldn't see. "Just don't make fun of my glasses."

JJ’s apartment was dim, but cute, though that didn’t help Kit as she tried to use a flashlight to peer in the back of JJ’s throat.

“What the hell kind of lighting is this?" She mumbled, adjusting the grip so she could shine farther down JJ's throat.

"It's-"

"Shh, rhetorical. Okay. I think I can- Ah!" She cut herself off as she turned the light in a good position. “Oh, Críost, Jay. No wonder your lymphs are so swollen."

"What?"

"Stop, shh," Kit warned, digging in her bag and pulling out an ear thermometer. JJ raised an eyebrow. "Aren't those for children?"

"I have never done a round in peds, thanks. Oral thermometers bother loads of people, and this is way easier than waiting forever and the positioning being wrong."

She gestured for JJ to turn her head, and the blonde rolled her eyes before she complied. It beeped quickly, and Kit tisked at the number before starting to put her thermometer and light back in her bag.

JJ sat up taller on the couch. "I've never seen you be a nurse before," she rasped, and Kit shot her a look.

"Please stop talking. You're doing more damage." She felt her eyebrows furrow as she realized what JJ had said. "Wait, also, yes you have."

"No," JJ insisted, ignoring Kit's warning. "I've seen you do some field medic stuff, and give lectures-"

"Meetings."

"But I've never really been down in the clinic. Not while you're there."

Kit shook her head, pushing her sliding glasses back up her nose. "Believe me when I say that this isn't the same me that lives in the clinic. I hardly ever sass my patients in the clinic."

JJ smirked and stood, wobbling a little before she started the short trek to the kitchen. "Just me?"

"Well, it's not often I have any of my friends come in. It's mostly academy cadets and the occasional stiff being sent down by their supervisor.” She finished putting her things back in order and leaned back on the coffee table. She’d been hunched over JJ’s throat for longer than she would have liked, and her back was starting to rebel. “Where are you going?”

JJ mumbled something unintelligible before making the journey back. She was holding two water bottles, and Kit took the one she was offered, mumbling a thanks before sipping at it. JJ sat back down on the couch, shivering just so as she reached for a throw blanket. “So, what do I do?”

Kit sighed and sat forward again, thinking her directions through. “Well, I’m benching you. I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you.”

“Not really.”

“And I need you to actually come into the clinic in the morning. I can’t do a swab test here, obviously. But if we’re being honest, you have strep. There’s no way you don’t.”

JJ sighed and rubbed at her eyes. “That’s what Spence said.”

"Reid, like always, is right," Kit said with mild annoyance. Reid thought he knew everything, and unfortunately for her, it felt like he did. "But because he's right, you need to be on antibiotics." She stopped, her eyebrows pulling together. "Wait, Reid said you had strep? On what grounds?"

"He looked down my throat?" JJ croaked, leading Kit to groan loudly and put her face in her hands.

"In ainm Dhia," she mumbled to herself, continuing in unintelligible Irish. JJ sat forward a bit, visibly bracing herself on the couch. "What? What's wrong with that?"

"Please stop talking," Kit said half-heartedly. "I know I keep asking questions so I'm not doing my job either, but the grating is killing me and your throat has to be raw."

"But-"

"What's wrong with it," she said quickly, hoping to stop JJ in her tracks by answering her question, "Is that Reid has the immune system of a very sickly child.”

“He-”

“He’s been sick twice this month, and if he gets strep, he can’t have the antibiotic for it. He’d literally die, and I refuse to play back the whole incident in March. One hospital scare a career, please.”

JJ laughed, though it sounded more like a bark than anything. “Not in this job,” she rasped. “No way.”

“That’s sort of what I was afraid of when Hotch first told me I was going to be in the field.”

Kit knew it was far too late, and people said things that were too true after midnight, but she kept going. “I’ve been in the field before this job. A few times, just in the district. I love it, but Monty and Ari hate it. The last time I went as just a nurse I ended up, um,” she looked over at JJ before sighing and shaking her head. “I almost got shot. In the chest, but I was wearing a vest, so it was fine. Bruised really bad, and they made me go to the ER and have it checked out, but I was fine. It really scared my cúpla though.”

JJ looked at her for a moment, her eyebrows pulled together. She was confused. 

“Not me,” Kit said quickly, the answer to her almost-spoken question. “It was my fault, and I should have seen it coming. The guy wasn’t supposed to have a gun, it was supposed to be white collar, but things don't always go your way, you know?”

JJ’s eyes looked almost hollow for just a moment before she looked back up at Kit and nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

They were quiet for too long before Kit took a breath and said, “I worked in an ER for a while, and I really don’t like to be on the other side. So, stay away from the boy wonder for a few days? Until the antibiotics start working?”

JJ nodded, giving a tired looking smile and a shiver. Kit nodded towards the door.

“I should let you go to sleep, and sleep myself. Promise me you’ll come to the clinic in the morning? I’ll do it myself if you can get there before 7:30. I try to be in the bullpen by then.”

“And if I don’t want to wake up at the ass crack of dawn?” JJ quipped, sounding far too certain in her tease for someone running a fever of 101 degrees. Kit shrugged. “Monty’s working a double. And trust me, we may be identical, but she’s way rougher with a swab.”

JJ’s eyes widened just enough to make Kit laugh, standing and pressing a hand to JJ’s forehead before shouldering her backpack.

“Get some sleep, Jayje.”

She was almost at the door before JJ called after her. 

“Kit?” The redhead turned towards the source of the raspy noise and raised an eyebrow. “Please stop talking.”

“Thank you for coming.”

There was a moment before Kit simply nodded, tightening her grip on her backpack straps and meaning every word of her reply.

“Always.”

[love-and-monsters]

Moth Fae Boyfriend

Male moth fae X gender neutral human

Word count: 2931

The trees rustled above you as you walked through the chilly forest. You hadn’t really expected it to get so cold. When it was day, the sun had warmed you adequately, but now, wrapped only in a thin sweatshirt and jeans, you were starting to freeze.

It shouldn’t have been that much of a problem, but unfortunately, you were also completely and totally lost.

You had never been good with directions, making you almost completely dependent on your phone’s GPS whenever you went for a hike. Usually, that was fine. You just made sure you were always in range of a cell tower and had your portable charger.

But somehow, your portable charger had been missed when you packed and you hadn’t noticed until your phone was almost dead. You’d done your best to follow what you could remember of the directions, but it had been twenty minutes past when you were supposed to arrive at your car and you couldn’t even see any familiar landmarks.

You stumbled to a stop as the wind picked up again, piercing you to your core. After some fumbling, you pulled your phone out of your pocket and poked desperately at the screen, hoping it had a tiny scrap of power left and you could at least ascertain your location and the next direction to travel in. But the screen remained stubbornly and firmly black. No dice. You crammed it back into your pocket and looked around.

The last few rays of the sun still offered you a little light, but within thirty minutes, the forest would be pitch black. Even with your flashlight, you weren’t sure how much luck you’d have navigating a pitch black forest.

Panic and despair welled in your chest. Your breath started to come in shallow gasps as you sank to the ground, your back pressed to the rough trunk of the tree. Tears stung at your eyes. You knew, logically, that if you just kept walking, you would eventually get somewhere you could at least charge your phone, but panic at being stranded in the woods at night was overwhelming you.

Just before you could completely give into your terror and sob like a baby, you heard something rustling. Your head snapped up. Wolves? Did wolves live around your home? A mountain lion, maybe? A fox? A bear?

What you actually saw was not any of those things. Not even close, really. Instead, you saw something strange crouched several feet away from you.

It was humanoid in shape, but not human in any way. It had enormous wings, like a lunar moth, attached to its back and antennae pointing back from its head. The dim light of the forest let you see that the shape was glowing faintly in the dark.

It was strange and startling enough that you stopped panicking and just stared. Your first thought was that you were having some sort of strange, terror-induced hallucination. Your second thought was that you were encountering some form of cryptid. You could see it watching you, antennae twitching as it half-crouched in the leaf litter. Then it started to move toward you.

You squeaked and pressed your back firmly against the tree, legs scrambling uselessly in the leaf litter. The creature stopped moving. It blinked at you with large, silver flecked eyes. For several moments, you just stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

Finally, the creature opened its enormous wings. They were a pale shade of green and they glowed in the dark. Two enormous eyespots decorated the tops of the wings, surrounded by little circling lines. Your eyes were drawn to them like magnets. The spots were hypnotic. Everything outside of them faded to a sort of swirling black while you stared into the fathomless, swirling eyes.

And then they snapped shut. You blinked your eyes rapidly, your head clearing, and realized that the moth thing had moved. Now it was less than a foot in front of you.

Up close, you could see that the creature was covered in an exoskeleton that caught any light in an iridescent glow. Thick, white fur covered its neck like a ruff and covered the top of its head in soft curls. It had four arms, with four long, black fingers on each hand. Its expression, despite a set of mandibles covering its mouth and large, black eyes, was almost readable. It looked curious.

“Hello.” Its voice was male, but there was an odd trill to it.

“Hi,” you answered automatically. His expression crinkled in a way that made him look like he was smiling.

“Are you lost?” he asked. “You look scared.”

“Uh.” Was it a good idea to tell this mysterious moth man that you were lost? What if he thought you were an easy target and led you astray. “No?”

The creature tilted his head back and forth, staring with his large eyes. Their silver flecks were quite pretty, especially when they caught the light shining off his wings. “You must be lost,” he said. “Otherwise, how did you summon me?”

You pressed yourself more firmly against the tree and tried to take stock of any weapons you might have on your person. There was your pocket knife, but it was in your backpack and probably buried under the rest of your supplies. You couldn’t think of a way to get it out without alerting him that’s what you were doing. “I didn’t summon you,” you said, trying to stall for time.

“You did,” he insisted, antennae twitching. “You are lost at night, crying in the woods. You called for a guide.” He spread all four of his arms. “I can guide you.”

“I wasn’t crying,” you said. He said nothing, just blinked at you. “Where are you going to guide me to?”

“Wherever you desire to be,” he said. He considered you for a moment. “I mean you no harm.” He stretched out a long hand. “Do you accept the offer?”

You stood, carefully bending back so you didn’t brush against him. “I think I’m good. You can go back to wherever you came from.” You seized your bag and took off into the woods at a brisk walk.

It took only a few moments to realize he was following you.

He moved almost silently through the forest, but it would have been impossible to miss, thanks to his subtle-but-present glow. Eventually, you turned around to glare at him. “I don’t need your help. I’m not lost.”

He seemed both curious and confused at that statement, from the little of his expression you could make out. “You are lying.”

“I am not!” You started to pull out your phone and paused. Right, no battery. And meeting up with a giant moth had completely trashed any sense of where you were in relation to your car.

“My name is Willow,” he offered, approaching you. “Who are you?”

“None of your business,” you said. Willow’s antennae drooped and he gave you a look you could only associate with a kicked puppy. A flicker of guilt stirred in your stomach. “Look, I’m okay, so maybe you should just go home?”

He stared. “You are still lying.”

“How do you know?” you snapped.

He clicked his mandibles and smiled. “It is obvious. You are lost.” He said the phrase like he was trying to poke fun at you this time, instead of stating a fact. “I cannot leave until you have returned home. Or wherever it is you won’t feel lost anymore.”

You weighed your options. On one hand, you could refuse his help, keep wandering the forest and get increasingly lost while he followed you, or give in and let him lead you somewhere, possibly home. “Fine. I want to get to my car.”

He gave his odd, rather hidden smile and turned around in a full circle, antennae twitching wildly. After a few moments, the antennae stopped twitching and pointed together in a single direction. He started walking that way and you had no choice but to follow him.

“So,” you said, trotting up so you were right next to him. He was at least a foot taller than you. “What are you exactly?”

“I am fae,” he said. He tilted his head so he was staring at you with one of his eyes. His antennae kept pointing in the same direction. “A forest guide spirit. I used to guide people through this forest in the old days with my glow.” He shifted his wings, glow flickering over the area around him. “But I haven’t been able to help anyone for a long time. That’s why I presented myself to you.”

“Yeah, that’ll be modern technology.” You waved your phone at him. “I wouldn’t have needed your help if my phone hadn’t died.”

“I’m glad your phone died,” he said.

You raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re happy I’m lost?”

He looked at you uncomprehendingly. “That is not what I meant.”

“No, I know- I was joking.” His expression didn’t change. “Uh, never mind.”

“Can I see what a phone is?” he asked. You hesitated, but you couldn’t imagine him taking off into the forest with a phone. What did a fae even want with a phone? You held it out to him and he delicately took it. His sharp fingertips grazed your palm.

He clumsily poked at the buttons and rotated it in his hands. You winced when he tapped his sharp claw against the screen. “It seems useless,” he said.

“Yeah, because it’s out of power,” you said, taking it back and examining the screen. There were no new scratches, thank god. “I need to charge it. But when it works, it can give me directions.”

“That is interesting,” he said, though he didn’t look like he was actually all that interested. His antennae twitched and he readjusted his course. “Can your phone-”

You never learned what he was going to say next because one of your feet caught on a branch and you tumbled head over heels down the slope you were on. Willow let out a cry of surprise as you rolled down the hill, thudding on rocks that jutted up from the leaf litter. You came to a sharp stop when your back hit a tree, thankfully not hard enough to damage anything.

Willow skidded to a stop next to you. “Are you all right?” He looked ruffled. His mane was fluffed up, his wings were half extended and his antennae were pointing down at you.

“Ow.” You sat up slowly, feeling the ache of multiple bruises on your body. “That sucked.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Willow asked, all four of his hands hovering awkwardly over your body.

“Technically, I am hurt everywhere,” you said, standing up. “But not that bad. I’m just banged up.”

Willow’s antennae rotated back in the direction of your car. “Maybe you shouldn’t try walking in the dark anymore,” he suggested.

“What else are we supposed to do?” you asked.

Willow offered you his four arms. “I can fly and I could carry you, if you desired.”

You regarded him suspiciously. Not only did that seem like an ideal strategy if he wanted to kidnap you, but there was also the very real fact that he could drop you. “Uh.”

“I promise I will not drop you,” he said. He gave one of his slightly strange smiles and you found it hard to say no. You couldn’t stand to hurt his feelings.

If he was trying to kidnap you, he was amazingly effective at it. Had any other kidnappers attempted to weaponize their cuteness? It was apparently a good strategy.

“Fine. Carry me back to my car, then.” Before you could even try to prepare, he grabbed you in all four of his arms, bridal style, and took off.

His wings worked to carry the pair of you higher and higher into the sky. Within seconds, you had cleared the tops of the trees and were heading up toward the full moon.

It was quite a beautiful night. The moon was large in the sky and the stars were mirrored by the little lights on the ground. Up above the trees, you could see Willow’s glow even more clearly. It was a perfect pale green, soft against the darkness without being harsh.

He was fuzzy too, which you hadn’t really thought about. But the ruff around his neck was soft and warm and you were pretty happy that your position let you press your cheek into it.

You had been expecting flying to be sort of terrifying. After all, you were flying in the arms of a fae with nothing to protect you if you fell. But it was oddly peaceful in the sky. There was only the wind whistling by and the gentle flapping of Willow’s wings.

“It’s nice up here,” you observed. You leaned over, trying to get a better look at the ground. Willow’s hands tightened around you.

“Try not to move,” he said. “I really don’t want to drop you.” He considered for a moment. “I would be able to catch you, of course, but I don’t want to have to do that.”

“Right,” you agreed. “That would be bad.” You wrapped your arms around his neck, just in case. He didn’t seem to mind all that much. His arms tightened around you gently.

It only took you a few minutes of flying over the forest to reach your car. Willow circled for a moment before dropping down next to it. His wings gave a few extra flutters, then he placed you in the ground. You wobbled for a moment, Willow keeping one of his upper hands on your back in order to steady you. “Here is your car!” he said cheerfully. “We made it!”

“Oh, thank god,” you said, slumping across the hood of your car. “Oh, I have never been happier to see this stupid gas guzzler.”

His antennae twitched and he gave one of his soft little smiles. “I’m glad that my services were appreciated.” He dipped his torso in a little bow. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

You hesitated. “I don’t think so. I know my way home from here, so I guess we can part ways now.” You turned fully to face him. “Thank you, by the way. I don’t know if I said that already.”

“You didn’t. I appreciate it.” Willow smiled, eyes shining in the moonlight. His wings opened and he took a step back. “Perhaps we will see each other again someday.”

“Maybe,” you said. His wings fluttered and he retreated into the woods. Within a few seconds, his faint glow had vanished.

You stared after him for a few seconds, until you were sure he was really gone, then you turned and got into your car. Your headlights flared to life, illuminating the darkness, and you drove into the night.

A few weeks later, you returned to the forest. It was midday when you hiked back up to the spot you’d met Willow in. Or, at least, where you thought it was. Maybe it was a good thing if you couldn’t fine it? Might draw him out sooner.

There was a rustling from behind you. You whirled around in time to see Willow stepping out from behind a tree. He peered at you curiously, antennae twitching. “Hello. What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you,” you said. He tilted his head at you. His wings fluttered.

“Why? Are you lost again?” He stepped closer to you, gaze curious.

“Uh. Not exactly. I just wanted to see you.”

Willow blinked at you. After a moment, he smiled, though it was still a little confused. “Why would you want to see me if you aren’t lost?”

You gave a shy grin. “Because the last time we met was nice and I wanted to see you again.”

His antennae twitched rapidly and his wings fluttered. His glow, faint as it was in the sunlight, deepened slightly. You wondered if that was his form of blushing. “You just wanted to see me?”

“Yeah. I’ve never net a fae before. I thought it would be cool to see you again. And, uh, I thought you might like to see this.” You pulled your phone out of your pocket and held it out to him. “I charged it, so I thought you might like to see it, if you wanted.”

“Really?” His antennae poked straight up and he held out his hands. You tilted your phone into it and watched his eyes widen as the screen lit up. “Oh… It’s beautiful!”

“You haven’t done anything with it yet,” you said. He just stared into the phone screen, glossy eyes reflecting its light.

“The light is so pretty,” he mumbled, eyes widening more than you thought was possible. You couldn’t help but giggle at his ridiculously entranced expression. Gently, you took the phone from him. He blinked a few times, shaking himself out of his trance.

“But that still doesn’t explain how you were able to summon me,” he said. “Usually only people who are lost can bring me out.”

You grinned, feeling a blush touch your cheeks. “I guess I just felt lost without you, then.”

 He stared at you with eyes almost as wide as when he’d looked into your phone screen. Then he leaned forward and pressed his forehead gently to yours. His soft hair tickled your skin. You grinned, holding him close. You no longer felt lost.

[blurry-fics]

Chapter Six

Where Did We Go | Series Masterlist

Warnings: Alcohol-induced shenanigans

Word Count: 1944

Author’s Note: I think this might be one of my favorite chapters. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :) (picture credit)

“She’s the tear in my heart, I’m alive! She’s the tear in my heart, I’m on fire! She’s the te-”

“Ty, love, can you please stop yelling?” Y/N asked. “I’m trying to drive and that’s very distracting.”

I sighed and dramatically leaned further back into my seat. Thanks to a couple more drinks before we left the wedding, I was feeling the drunkest that I had in quite some time. This, of course, also meant that Y/N was having to put up with all of my antics.

“I just wanted to serenade you,” I mumbled. “Do you not like it?”

“I do like it.” Y/N reached over and grabbed one of my hands. “It’s just a little loud.”

“She’s the tear in my heart, take me higher than I’ve ever been,” I finished, quieter than before.

“Thank you.”

Y/N slowly pulled into the driveway of our house, making my body bounce around as she drove over the pavement. As soon as she came to a stop, I practically fell out of the car, barely landing on my feet.

“Ty? Are you ok?”

“Yeah, just a little wiggly.”

“Ok,” she laughed.

With some help from Y/N, I finally managed to get myself upstairs and into our bedroom. I immediately collapsed down in the middle of the bed, spreading my arms out as far as they would go. Y/N laughed as she took off her bracelet.

“Hey, hey,” I said, waving one of my arms in her direction.

“Yes, love?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Really?”

Y/N turned and looked at me over her shoulder, “Yes, really.”

“You love me?”

“Yes, Ty, I love you.”

“Wow. That’s awesome.”

“Yes, it is,” she laughed quietly.

I watched as Y/N set her jewelry down on the dresser and then crossed the room to the bathroom.

“Where are you going?” I frowned.

“I have to get ready for bed.”

“But I want you to come cuddle with me.”

“I can come cuddle once I’m in pajamas.”

“No,” I whined. “I want to cuddle with you now.”

Y/N crossed her arms as she leaned against the doorframe, watching me carefully. I hardly even noticed, I was too busy admiring how beautiful she looked.

“Wow, look at you,” I said, propping myself up on my elbows so that I could get a better look at her. “Are you sure that you’re my girlfriend and not a celebrity? There’s no way that I could score someone as stunning as you.”

Her stern expression softened into a smile, making me smile right back at her.

“Ty, you are a celebrity.”

“Oh right.”

“I’m going to go get ready for bed now. I suggest you do the same.”

With that, Y/N shut the bathroom door. I sighed and laid back onto the bed again, deciding I might as well start to get undressed. After taking off my tie and tossing it aside, I slowly started to undo the buttons of my shirt. The sides slowly started to fall open until I undid the last button, revealing the entirety of my chest. That seemed like enough progress for now.

“Y/N!” I called. “Are you almost done?”

“Why?”

“I miss you.”

“I just have to brush my teeth and then I’m done. Are you undressed yet?”

I looked down at my bare chest, “Yeah!”

“Ok, I can bring you some pajamas. Do you want sweatpants?”

“Yes, please.”

“And a shirt?”

“No shirt. It’s too hot.”

“Ok.”

I quietly sang Screen to myself while I waited for Y/N to come back with my pajamas. The effects of the alcohol were slowly starting to wear off, but I was definitely still more than a little tipsy.

The bathroom door swung open, revealing Y/N wearing an oversized t-shirt and holding a pair of my sweatpants. Disappointment crossed her face when she realized that I hadn’t exactly told the truth about being undressed.

“Ty, unbuttoning your shirt doesn’t count as getting undressed.”

“Sure it does. Look, you can see my skin!”

“Doesn’t count,” she said.

“Does.”

“Doesn’t.”

“Does.”

“Tyler.”

“Y/N.”

“Can you finish getting undressed?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Not until you kiss me,” I grinned.

Y/N sighed deeply, considering my offer. After a few seconds, she walked over to me and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. I, not wanting to let her go just yet, took this opportunity to wrap my arms around her waist and pull her down onto the bed with me. She squealed at first, but quickly began to laugh once she realized what had happened.

“That’s not fair,” she said. Her nose was a few inches away from mine.

“Yes it is.”

She didn’t seem convinced, but she also didn’t press the subject any further. That was probably for the best, because I had already become distracted by admiring her again.

“Did you know that you have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen?” I asked, noticing how nicely they were shining in the moonlight. “I’ve never seen anyone with eyes that are quite the color of yours.”

“Stop,” she smiled.

“No,” I returned her smile, bringing my face even closer to hers. “You’re too amazing for me to ever stop complimenting you. Like your laugh, it’s the best thing I’ve ever heard. And your smile makes me smile every time. It’s infectious. I really do love every last thing about you, Y/N.”

“You’re just trying to distract me from getting undressed,” she said.

I shook my head, “I just wanted to tell you.”

“I love you too, Ty.”

She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.

“You taste like toothpaste,” I laughed.

“And you taste like alcohol.”

I wrinkled my nose, “Gross.”

“Now will you please get undressed? I want to cuddle with you, but I can’t do that when you’re still in a suit.”

“Sure you can.”

I shifted forward so that I was laying on top of Y/N with my arms wound around her. She started to poke and prod at my sides.

“Ty!” she laughed. “Get off!”

“No, we’re cuddling.”

“Ty-ler!”

“Ok, ok, I’m getting up.”

I finally sat up so that I would be able to pull off the sleeves of my shirt, which took some help from Y/N to get the buttons around my wrists undone. Thankfully, I was able to manage getting my pants on and off by myself. She was also nice enough to sit on the bathroom counter while I went through my nightly routine, since I refused to be more than five feet away from her at any given moment.

“Did you know that I’m the luckiest guy in the world?” I asked once I was finally crawling under the covers.

“Are you?”

“Yes. I have the most perfect girlfriend in the world, I’m in a band with my best friend, and I get to travel the world with both of them. What more could a guy ask for?”

“You’ve got it all, Ty.”

“Hey, Y/N?”

“Hm?”

I turned to look at Y/N. She was still sitting up, having just been looking at her phone a few minutes before. There was a hint of a smile on her face as she turned to look at me.

“You still love me, right?”

She reached out and ran a hand through my hair, “Of course I do, more than anything.”

A smile quickly overtook my face. “Good, because I love you too.”

“I know, you’ve made that very clear tonight.”

“Have I?”

“Mhmm.”

“You deserve to hear it.”

Y/N turned off her bedside lamp before getting comfortable laying down. I watched her as she did so, unable to pull my eyes away. Even when doing the simplest things, she was the most beautiful person in the world.

“You should try to drink more water before you go to bed, Ty.”

“Is that bottle still on my bedside table?” I asked, rolling over to check. “Yes it is.”

“Just be careful not to spill.”

“I won’t spill.”

I carefully unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and lined it up with my mouth so that it wouldn’t get all over the bed. Unfortunately, my calculations weren’t as good as they seemed and water ended up spilling all over the comforter and sheets.

“Tyler,” Y/N frowned.

“I thought it would work!”

“When has it ever worked?”

“A couple times.”

“I’ll go grab a towel.”

“No, look, it’s fine.”

Y/N stopped moving and turned to look at me. I used the comforter to dab off the water that had spilled all over my chest, which only seemed to frustrate her more.

“All you’re doing is making the comforter more wet.”

“Yes, but now my chest is less wet.”

“It doesn’t really work like that,” she giggled.

“Yes it does. Feel.”

“Ty…”

“Come on, Y/N! Feel my chest.”

She sighed and then reached out to lightly touch my chest where there had previously been water all over it.

“See? It’s dry now.”

“Yes, now feel the comforter.”

I grabbed the edge of the comforter where it was completely dry and held it up for Y/N to see.

“Dry,” I smiled.

“I’m just going to go grab a towel,” she smiled.

“But you’re supposed to cuddle with me.”

“You should have thought about that before you spilled water everywhere,” she said as she stepped into the bathroom.

She came back a moment later with a clean towel. I got up and grabbed my phone so that we could use the flashlight to find the really wet spots and dry them up, which seemed to make Y/N happy. In a matter of minutes, we managed to get things dried up so that we could lay back down.

“Sorry I made a mess,” I said when Y/N finally crawled into bed again. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know you didn’t,” she said, scooting closer to me.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I held my arms out so that she could get comfortable against my chest. Although I didn’t feel particularly tired, I was never one to give up an opportunity to cuddle with her. Being close to her was my favorite thing in the world.

“Are you tired?” I asked.

Y/N paused for a moment. “You know, now that I think about it, not really.”

“Me neither,” I laughed. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Y/N started to reach for the remote, but I stopped her. She turned to look at me with furrowed eyebrows.

“What?”

“I just wanted to take one more opportunity to tell you how much you mean to me,” I smiled. “I’m sorry that I’m busy all the time, but I really hope that days like today help make it up to you a little bit. I would give anything in the world just to have a whole week with you. No meetings, no phone calls, just you and me.”

“It’s ok, Ty. I know your job keeps you busy. The most important thing to me is that at the end of the day, you still come home to me.”

“I’ll always come home to you.”

I kissed her again. It was slower and more deliberate this time, less like the kisses I had given her earlier just to annoy her. One of her hands went up to my hair and I was sure that I was going to melt straight into her hand.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you too.”

“Now, what movie should we watch?”

*     *     *     *     *

Taglist

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[heyyyharry]

Chapter 6: Long Night

(from the Flatmate Trilogy: Two Hearts, One Home)

…in which Y/N is sad and Harry just wants to talk.

Warning: poorly written smut and angst that literally nobody asked for.

Word count: 4.7k

Chapter 5: One Month - It’s their anniversary but Harry messes up.

Wattpad link

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When Harry woke up, Y/N wasn't there, her side of the bed was cold, so he assumed she'd been gone for a while. She'd left him breakfast on the kitchen table alongside a note saying she must see Layla for something urgent about the wedding. He wanted to believe that was true, he really did. But after last night, her acting like nothing was wrong only proved otherwise.

With the phone in his hands, Harry began to pace back and forth in their living room while his mind was racing a mile a minute. He'd thought a lot and eventually decided to call her. If something was wrong, then he shouldn't be reluctant. He waited impatiently, biting his nails as if every single beep he heard brought him one second closer to the ending of the world. 

"Hello?" She finally answered, sounding completely fine as if she hadn't been crying last night because he'd left her alone on their anniversary.

"Hey love, uhm...I saw your note, but I just want to know when you'll be back..."

"I don't know, it might take a while. Another bride booked Layla's venue on the same day and now she's fuming. I just...I don't want her to get arrested for murder before her wedding."

Harry chuckled, partly relieved because she'd just cracked a joke which could mean she was in a better mood now. So he gathered his courage to ask, "can you come back early? We still...haven't talked about last night..."

"There's no need to talk about it," her answer caught him off guard, "I forgive you, let's just move on."

"But baby, I don't think we should—"

"Oh, Layla's back. Gotta go."

Just like that, she hung up. There was no "I love you", "I'll see you later", or even a simple "goodbye", that was enough for him to know he had every reason to panic now. And so Harry took a day off and worked from home, just in case Y/N came back early despite what she'd said. He was very determined to have this conversation, for he knew what might happen if they didn't.

When he woke up from a short nap, it was dark and raining outside, but Y/N was home. Her clothes were on her side of the bed and he heard the water running so he assumed she'd just got back. Nervous and tired, he rolled out of bed, rubbed the sleep off his eyes and headed to their bathroom to find her.

Y/N didn't hear her husband come in, she was standing in the shower with her back facing the door. She bathed her skin carefully, humming a familiar song which he'd heard her sing many times before but didn't remember the name of. The water dripped down her hair softly and slowly made its way to her beautiful body that he loved. His lips parted as he inhaled, the sight was a big turn on for him. So he marched forward and pulled the glass door open, causing Y/N to flinch and swiftly cover her bare breasts with her arms as she turned around, eyes and mouth wide opened. Harry's eyes were also bulging, but it was because he didn't expect that reaction from the woman he'd lived with for almost five years. She looked...frightened.

"You should've knocked," Y/N spoke before he could, her voice trembled as her eyes shifted away from his. Harry watched her keeping both arms tightened around her exposed torso, and he couldn't decide which hurt more, this or those words she'd blurted out without a second thought. However, he stayed quiet, muttered an apology, and shut the door before heading back to their bedroom. There he sat on the bed waiting for her to finish her shower, but his heart was thumping and he had never been more scared in his life.

It took Y/N a while to walk out with only a towel wrapped around her body. No word was exchanged between the two as Harry watched his wife calmly blow dry her hair. When she was done, she took the clothes to the bathroom so she didn't have to change in front of him. He thought that would be the last straw, but no, this was.

"Baby, I'm going to Layla's, kay?"

"Why?" He quickly stood up and followed her to the living room. "You just got back."

"I got back a while ago. You were sleeping." Y/N picked up her bag on the couch but he blocked her way before she could take any step further.

"I want to talk," he demanded, taking a deep breath to keep his composure.

"I already told you—"

"I'm serious, Y/N. Talk to me and you can go wherever you want."

"We'll talk when I get back."

To her surprise, he grabbed her wrist as she turned away and held it so tight that she had no other choice but to face him. His eyes were cold and flinty, not warm and loving as they had always been. And for one second, the couple wondered to themselves how this had gone so wrong.

"You keep avoiding me and making excuses to leave whenever I try to have a conversation with you. Do you want to talk about it at all?" Harry huffed, for Y/N's unusual indifference was driving him insane. He couldn't remember the last time she'd made him angry. It was as if they had gone right back to the start when everything they did would only piss off each other, and he hated to feel like that about her again. They were supposed to be in love, not pushing each other's buttons and fighting like cats and dogs.

"Do you..." He stared right at her when she didn't speak, the words were lumps in his throat but he had no other choice but to say them, "do you still...want to fix us?"

"Us needs fixing now?" She furrowed her eyebrows at him, her voice was weak and breathy and the look on her face left him confused. However, he was too scared to even wonder.

"You tell me." He exhaled as his bottom lip trembled. "Because my wife was afraid of me seeing her naked, and now she doesn't even want to talk to me."

"I wasn't...I wasn't afraid." She shook her head while picking at the skin of her arm subconsciously. "I was just surprised when you came in."

He looked at her with dismay, rested both hands on his hips, and shifted his eyes to the floor.

"And now you're lying to me," Harry mumbled, not sure if he was speaking to himself or to Y/N, but he knew what that was the truth because she didn't deny it.

"You know what? Leave. I'm sure Layla's wedding is more important than our marriage."

Y/N scoffed when her husband waved her off so she seized his arm only for him to pull away immediately.

"You don't have the right to give me that attitude, H." She breathed, her eyes watered when he laughed in response.

"I don't? Well, I'm fucking busy and I took a day off to make it up to you but where have you been all day, huh? You went out with your best friend just to avoid talking about last night. You'd rather hold your fucking pride than fucking talk to me. So yeah, go to Layla's and even spend the night there too, I don't fucking care."

"Wow, you sound exactly like that condescending asshole I met years ago."

"I'm sorry you're married to that condescending asshole."

"Oh my God, are you even listening to yourself?" She exhaled sharply and stared at him in shock and disbelief. "Somehow you just had to turn this right back to being about you. I go to bed alone for nearly a month, and now, when you've finally found a little time to squeeze me into your busy schedules, you're complaining about me not spending time with you? I'm sorry but my life doesn't revolve around everything you do."

Just as Y/N finished her last sentence, all the lights in their home went off causing both of them to jump and shout at the same time. Y/N frantically searched for her phone in her bag and turned on the flashlight so they could see.

"A blackout, really?"

"I think the storm caused it." Harry sighed, turning to the window to watch the rain fall even harder now. He hated to admit that he was afraid of the dark, and the torrential downpour outside could only make his fear grow. But now, the thing he worried about the most wasn't them being trapped here for God knew how long, it was the possibility of them coming to an end once this storm had passed.

He sat himself down on the couch, silently watching her speak to Layla on the phone while pacing back and forth. He knew he'd become paranoid when the voices inside his head were all trying to guess what she was saying. Y/N was probably just telling Layla she couldn't come over, yet Harry couldn't help but fear that she might mention fighting with him too.

"Help me set up the candles?" She asked him once she'd finished the call. "We need to save our phones' batteries. Who knows how long this is gonna last?"

He answered with a nod and pushed himself up to follow her into their kitchen. They still had a few candles left from Christmas last year, and so they set them up in the living room where they would wait until the power was back on.

This is gonna be a long night, he thought to himself.

In silence, each sat on one end of the couch and refused to speak to each other, even when they had nothing else to do but fidget with their hands and clothes. Harry wasn't a patient man, at least not when it came to the woman he loved. He lasted for about ten minutes and he couldn't take it anymore. He heaved a sigh, stealing a glimpse at his wife, who seemed to be too deep in thoughts to pay attention to him.

The last time they'd experienced a blackout together was a few years ago when they'd just started dating. He remembered everything as if it was yesterday, how Y/N had kept her distance because she was afraid he might leave once they'd had sex. Now they were put in the same situation and she was, once again, acting distant. But this time it was he who was afraid she might leave.

Harry thought for a while as he studied her expression. The candlelight lit only half of her face but he could tell she was holding back tears, and it broke his heart to know those were because of him.

"Hey," he finally broke the silence, scooting closer to sit right by her side. She didn't react, not even when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. "I don't want us to fight, love. Please talk to me...Is something happening to you? Are you not feeling well or—"

"You're not attracted to me anymore..."

Her answer made his jaw drop and his brows furrow. "No, that's stupid, Y/N."

"Is it?" She finally turned to him, tears shone in her eyes as her face contorted. "We haven't had sex and you seem fine about it...I was fine about it until Stephanie asked—"

"You're listening to Stephanie now?"

"That's not the point, H!" She raised a hand to stop him from interrupting her. "Don't you see? We didn't even notice that something was wrong because we've...we've become the couple who were passionately in love until they got married...and...and if we're that couple, then...you'll be the one to walk away first."

Harry scrunched up his face. "You actually think I'll leave you?"

"You've always been out of my league, you'll realize soon enough." She gulped and quickly wiped away the tears running down her cheeks as if he couldn't see them.  It was only now that Harry discovered why his wife had been acting strange. She was insecure. He hadn't spent much time with her since the day she found out she might never get pregnant. He thought everything was fine, but he guessed he was wrong.

"I dressed up for you last night...for our anniversary which you didn't remember," she blurted, the look she was giving him broke his heart. "Don't get me wrong, I-I support you in your career, but I'm...I'm so scared. Someday I'll become second to everything else and you'll find out you're better off without me...I mean, I can't even be a mother..."

"Hey, look at me. Y/N, look at me." He cupped her face. "I love you, nothing's changed and nothing will. Gosh, you should've said this to me earlier, love. You should've said you felt this way."

"I-I...was embarrassed..." She admitted, kneading her creasing forehead with two fingers. "I didn't want to sound desperate and pathetic...I thought that'd only make you want me less, but every night since I found out that I might never get pregnant, I couldn't stop thinking about it would affect our future, H. If you don't want me anymore, you can tell me so I can fix this."

"Baby, nothing could make me want you less," he muttered, pressing a kiss to the corner of her lips before he continued, "I'm sorry I haven't paid much attention to you."

"I'm just being paranoid as always—"

"No, listen," he asserted, his nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. "I just—I haven't been honest with you."

"What do you mean?"

Her eyes watered as she stared at him in shock, so he had to speak before she assumed the worst. "I lied when I said I didn't want my father's company. I did. I've spent my whole life preparing myself to take over his place, so that I could do things that he never would. Then he asked me to choose between you and this job, so I chose you. I would always choose you over anything. But now that I'm where I want to be, I'm married to you and I'm the CEO of my father's company, I don't know how to balance between the only two things that make me the happiest. But I'll try, yeah? I'll come home early, I'll remember our anniversaries and...and I'll be around when you need me. I'll be a better husband, I promise."

The look in her eyes had softened after hearing his speech, so he sighed in relief, knowing her heart was still with him.

"Everything was much easier when we had nothing to lose," she muttered, reaching for his hands to hold.

"That's not true." Harry shook his head, frowning at her. "Ever since I met you, I've had everything to lose. So believe me when I say my feelings for you will always stay the same. Things might get tougher as we grow older, but I'm never gonna leave you."

"Neither am I." The corners of her lips turned up as he brought her hand to his lips.

"Then from now on, you'll have to talk to me whenever you feel unwell, okay? I get that there are feelings that you aren't comfortable to talk about, but this is me, I'll never judge you."

"I'm so sorry..." Y/N pressed her forehead against his, her eyes fell shut. "I won't be like that again, I'm sorry."

"Good. I was so scared when you told me to knock earlier." He shook with soft laughter that got her smile to grow. "Can't believe you thought I didn't want you anymore when I was literally drooling to see you in the shower. Wait, that makes me sound like a pervert."

She giggled, batting her eyelashes as his hands found her hips to guide her on to his lap. His fingertips pressed into her skin, and he sucked on her tongue as they kissed slowly at first, then gradually with more passion. Her breathing was quick and urgent. She pushed herself into the softness of his body, giving him the sign that she wanted him, and she wanted him now.

"Haven't fucked you in so long. I'm a shit husband, aren't I?"

"You said it, not me."

"Shut up." He chuckled, thrusting his tongue into her mouth while holding her head with his massive hands. He was aroused, his erection strained against her clothed heat. "Feel this?" He asked, licking her bottom lip. "This is how much I want you."

She whimpered into his mouth, her fingers tangled in his curls to deepen the kiss. Now he was hot and hard, their skin was slick with sweat, but he suddenly pulled away, gasping for air.

"W-Why did you stop?" She frantically asked, making Harry smile as he ran his fingertips up and down her bare arms, causing goosebumps to pimple her skin. His voice sounded low and hoarse. "The first time we made love, there was also a blackout and a storm. Do you remember?"

"Hmm." She hummed, playfully nudging the tip of his nose with hers. "I was very nervous."

"And I was terrified." He chuckled at the memories. "I thought I might hurt you."

"You didn't though. You were gentle, made me feel so good."

The way she put a stress on that word got him throbbing in his pants. He had to kiss her again, this time more softly than before as he gripped her bottom and ground his erection into the soft notch between her legs. She tossed her head back so he could graze his lips against her neck before sucking on the skin there, knowing it would drive her insane.

"Make love to me like you did that night," she muttered, holding his gaze.

Harry didn't need to be told twice. He jerked at her skirt, pulled it up and to the side and slightly spanked her ass so she would lift herself up and help him get rid of her panties. One of his fingers found her soft, damp opening and sank in, causing her arms to tighten around his neck as her head dropped on her shoulder. Her voice was strained and shaking. "Want you inside."

"Shh," Harry murmured as he slowly inserted another finger, smiling at how her mouth fell open. "Let's get you ready first, yeah? It's been weeks, I don't want to hurt you, love."

Y/N shuddered but eventually gave in to the pleasure she'd been missing. It didn't take her too long to cum all over his fingers, riding out her first orgasm while gripping his shirt and chanting his name. The way her body reacted to him kept feeding his ego, so he hurriedly took off his pants when she told him she was ready. He was more than ready to fuck into her now, but as soon as her soft hand guided his aching cock to her hot entrance, he remembered one thing and seized her wrist.

"Wait...fuck..." He hissed, squeezing his eyes shut and tossing his head back as if he was in pain. "Are you on the pills? You forgot them when we were on the beach and—"

"I'm...I'm not on the pills."

"Shit, I don't think I can pull out, baby...just...let me get a condom..."

"Do you want to?"

Her question left him in shock. They held each other's stare for two seconds, trying to catch their breaths. It was Y/N who broke the silence, "do you want to...cum inside me?"

"Baby, you might get pregnant, we can't risk it," he mumbled, his thumb pressed to her plum lip, and she opened her mouth to suck on it without breaking eye contact with him. He wanted to devour her instantly, to be reminded of how tight she felt around him, but he needed to think with his other head now, especially in a moment like this.

"I know," she finally said to his surprise, hands wrapped around his neck. "But I won't mind if I do get pregnant."

"What are you saying?"

"I want you to fill me, put a baby in me."

The way she said those dirty words with an innocent look had his cock twitching with anticipation. He wetted his lips, swallowing hard as his brows knitted together. He didn't want to be too happy about it until he was sure she knew what she was talking about.

"You want that? Are you sure?" He gulped, and Y/N nodded her head frantically.

"Only if...if...you want that too," she stuttered, giving him a timid smile.

"I want that too," he confirmed and nodded just as fast.

The sweat had soaked through his shirt, it was boiling in here and he needed to have her now or else his testicles might explode. He wasn't joking, it really felt like that. In the past weeks, whenever he came home, she was already asleep so most of the times he had to jerk himself off in the shower. Now he was about to have her again, he couldn't wait any longer.

Y/N froze as Harry guided the broad head of his penis into her, the pressure caused her to choke on air as her nails dug into his back. From the way she was writhing in his arms, he knew she couldn't adjust to the fullness just yet, so he stroked her back while slowly pushing in.

"How are you still so tight?" He grounded his jaw, lips pressed together as he tried to keep his eyes open to watch the look on her face.

"Go on. I can take it," she told him at last, patting slightly on his shoulder to urge him to move. So he did, slightly rocking his hips back and forth for her muscles to relax, allowing himself to slide deeper into her tight clasp. Her eyes rolled back, she could now only focus on the powerful thrust of his hips and the toe-curling feeling as he hit that spot deep inside of her. His lips pressed against the curve of her jaw, whispering love words, knowing they would get her off even faster than all the filthy things he always said.

Even though Y/N had come once before, she could already feel it again in her stomach. She tried to stop it as she wanted this pleasure to last longer, but it was out of her control. In less than another minute, she screamed with the force of her climax, back arching as her sight blurred and all the sounds were muffled to her ears.

With a deep, harsh growl, he buried his face into her chest, arms tightened around her waist as his thrusts became more urgent. Then he bucked heavily, and she grabbed his face to kiss him hard, sending him over the edge. His eyes were shut, his head was thrown back, and his pink lips formed an 'o' shape as the sound of her name from his lips filled the quiet room. The sight of him alone made her walls clench around him again and again, milking everything out of him.

They clung to each other while catching their breaths as sweat glued them together. Their limbs were numb and heavy, it almost felt like they would have to stay this way forever. His heart was thudding against her breast as he carefully withdrew from her body with as much difficulty as when he had entered. His cum leaked out, dripping onto their thighs, some even got on their shirts which were already soaked with sweat.

"I just took a shower..." Y/N said breathlessly, making Harry laugh. He brushed her damp hair behind her ears, staring at her with hooded eyes.

"Well, you can join me later and save water."

"Hmm, sounds good, but give me a moment to recover first." She giggled, pushing him back so she could lay her chest on his shoulder. Smiling, she said, "do you think I should lie on my back and put my legs up to make sure it goes all in?"

"You're joking, right?" He pulled his head back to look down as she looked up and met his green eyes.

"That's what they said in those articles."

Harry scoffed, raising both eyebrows. "Babe, you've been reading pregnancy articles?"

"What can I say?" She gave him a shrug. "I was very desperate."

They both broke into laughter and leaned in for another sloppy kiss. That was when Y/N's ringtone tore down the silence of the dark room, causing the couple to break apart immediately.

"Don't you dare pick that up."

"Hello, Layla?"

"Fuck!" Harry cursed under his breath, but the look on his wife's face got him confused.

"Layla, slow down. I can't hear you. Are you...driving? In this storm?!"

Harry quickly grabbed the phone and put their friend on speaker.

"Un-fucking-believable!" Layla screamed right before Harry could even ask if she was okay. "I found the bitch who stole my wedding venue."

"It's not even yours, Layla, you didn't book that venue first."

"Harry? Give the phone back to my best friend, you sneaky little shit!"

"We put you on speaker, just ignore him. Have you...uhm...spoken to the other bride?" Y/N asked, exchanging worrying looks with her husband. They could already feel bad news coming their way when Layla had to pause and take a deep breath.

"It's Trix."

Harry suddenly cracked up, causing Y/N to widen her eyes at him. "That's funny," he said into the phone. "But seriously, who is it?"

"You think my dream wedding being sabotaged by someone I considered my friend is funny, asshole?"

Layla's response shut him up at once. He arched an eyebrow in disbelief, turning to Y/N, who seemed just as perplexed as he was.

"You're not joking?"

"Are you stupid, Harry? Why would I be joking right now? She met a guy two months ago and now they're engaged. I fucking told that two-faced bitch when and where I wanted to have my wedding, and she fucking stole my venue. This is not Bride Wars, I can't let her play me like this."

"We're talking about the same Trix, right? The one that giggles all the time?"

"Yeah, Y/N. The same Trix that loves balloons that shaped like animals and dressed like she's Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn. I should've known she's been the Joker all this time. I'm on my way to see her now."

"Hey, you need to calm—Layla? Hello?"

Y/N sighed in frustration as she put down her phone. She sat there and thought for a second before turning back to Harry, who knew exactly what was on her mind before she could even make a sound.

"No, no, no!" He crossed his arms, shaking his head quickly. "I'm not going outside in this weather to stop Niall's crazy bride!"

"Niall's crazy bride is also our friend, and so is Trix, who will probably die tonight if we don't do something."

"Fuck...you're right. Layla is capable of murder..." He muttered under his breath when she put a hand on his neck and gave him one more kiss on the lips.

"C'mon, my beloved sidekick, let's take a shower and then we'll go save the day."

"Just a shower?" He tugged at her arm as she stood up and smiled down at him.

"Be a good boy and I'll let you do anything you want to me when we get back."

"Anything?"

"Anything," Y/N confirmed as she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside, standing fully naked in front of him. That was enough for Harry to nod like a fool and quickly get up to follow her into their bedroom.

He was right. It was going to be a long night.