#I adore watching people react in surprise to his builds and machines

[youreanidiom]

I love how Sam's embraced a reputation as "that dude who can whip up crazy builds and redstone contraptions in an astoundingly short timeframe, and will do so at the slightest provocation." His moments in Tommy's new video were awesome, especially the end.

[billpottsismygf]

I just watched The Five Doctors to brush up on my Susan returning knowledge, just in case all the build up comes to anything, and it's quite goofy but extremely charming. I was aware ahead of time of Tom Baker's parts being taken from Shada, but it's still executed in quite a funny way. "Oh no, I'm being stolen by a triangle! This was definitely what was originally happening in this shot! And now I'm mysteriously trapped in the vortex all episode, don't worry about it!" The guy in a silver morph suit who is supposedly the deadliest killing machine ever was also a wonderfully silly highlight. It's the first time I've seen this version of the Master as well and he's good fun! He's no Roger Delgado, but Anthony Ainley has such an over the top camp energy to him with his flowing cape etc. that worked really nicely with the tone of the story.

Richard Hurndall makes a valiant effort as the First Doctor. He's not William Hartnell, obviously, and he's still a little brusque but I think he gets One's mannerisms and sense of humour better than David Bradley. Interestingly, this story also has him being misogynistic in a way that then gets reacted to/commented on (eg. telling Tegan to get them some refreshments/to stay in the TARDIS rather than going into the action), which is again not fully in character for One. However, it's nowhere near the level of character assassination in Twice Upon a Time.

One of the reasons I wanted to watch this now was because I'd seen people saying that the Doctor worked out the abandonment stuff with Susan here, but he absolutely doesn't. We don't even see her be collected by the floating triangle to get an idea of her life. She just appears and finds herself with her Grandfather, then we don't get to see their parting. Although there's no apparent animosity between them, and they fall straight back into their old dynamic, there's also nothing in the way of hashing out the whole "I shall come back" thing. If RTD is planning to make good on his many Susan hints, there's definitely still fertile ground there. You could even throw in a line acknowledging that "I saw you in the Death Zone on Gallifrey, but we didn't get to talk" or something similar.

Sidenote, I got extremely excited at Jamie's appearance. I was happy that Two got to hang out with the Brigadier, but I was a little sad it wasn't with Jamie because I thought I recalled Fraser Hines not being able to do this one. I may have been thinking of The Three Doctors, though, so it was such a joyous surprise when he appeared, even though I knew immediately that he and Zoe were illusions. If we do get Susan back properly (and I hope we do, with Carole Ann Ford specifically), can Jamie be next on the list for a main series return? I adored his appearance in Tales of the TARDIS, but I yearn for more!

[redd-byrd]

AAAAAAAAAAA I LOVED IT SO MUCH

MY DAD WENT WITH ME AND HE ALSO LIKED IT

I’m so glad the theatre was almost empty, I was so excited that I was doing full-on hand-flapping, which I almost never do, and squeaking and giggling like a crazy person, I was stimming like crazy cuz I was so happy to be there

MASSIVE FNAF MOVIE SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

And friendly reminder that this is my ✨OPINION✨

This will be long and very ramble-y so bear with me

OK SO FIRST OFF THE ANIMATRONICS

- I loved how they acted like kids??? Like you tend to forget the ghosts are actual children when looking at the games since they’re constantly all “murder monster-y” so I love that they got to act so childlike

- Kids’ drawings being a massive plot point was so cute, I actually didn’t mind how sudden Afton’s defeat was since like,,, they were only on his side in the first place bc the drawing showed that he was their friend, so it suddenly switching around made a little more sense. Probably could’ve been executed better but for what it was I think it was fine

- And of course THE DESIGNS!!!! Holy shit I loved how they looked!!! The prop team did an AMAZING job with both the animatronics and the background props!!!

- The interactions with Abby were adorable, I loved the fort scene because of how goofy it was to watch giant machines dressed like animals put that together

- Also I know we were all skeptical when the red glowing eyes were shown, but honestly the scenes where they DID glow would probably have looked good even if they didn’t change it, though I will say that the final look is really nice by itself

NEXT IS THE MAIN CAST

- Matthew Lillard did an INCREDIBLE JOB as William Afton, when my dad and I came out of the theatre he said that he had a feeling that Lillard would be the antagonist (mind you my dad knew nothing about the games or the movie), which really shows how well he does at playing horror villains and playing up that gut instinct

- I loved how creepy he was in the final fight scene, just creeping out of the shadows with those two glowing pinpricks was SO cool

- Also Afton being retconned to not be British anymore is so funny to me askdjhsjjdhdj

- Abby didn’t annoy me at all, I actually thought she was super cute!! Which is surprising bc I usually find kids annoying but I’d die for Abby

- When I say that I got WHIPLASH from the animatronics being nice to her and later Mike after she introduced them, I MEAN IT (in a good way)

- Mike taking Abby seriously and believing her when she said her “imaginary friends” are actually ghosts was a nice change of pace

- The group that broke in honestly didn’t need that much characterization since the main thing the plot needed was Max, so that was fine

- I am confused about why people aren’t more concerned about the murders that took place throughout the movie??? Like a missing poster in the background would’ve been fine, or maybe Mike reacting to Max being missing?? They don’t give much context on their relationship, I have no idea if they’re friends or if she’s just someone he hired and doesn’t have much emotional investment in, so maybe that wouldn’t work

- VANESSA MY BELOVED

- Vanessa was great, I love her character so much, but idk if I love her by herself or it it’s cuz she didn’t get much characterization in the game,,,, doesn’t really matter ig

ABOUT THE STORY

- Story was really fun, I love the unexpectedness of some of the scenes (dance scene, fort building, Freddy blade mask, etc) I thought it was so funky

- Afton using a separate identity to lure people to Freddy’s was cool, though I have no idea why he’d do that to other people. I can understand Mike, he likely knew about his brother through the last name, but why other people???

- I am a bit sad about Henry n Charlie Emily being left out, considering how big of a part they both play in the game lore, but idk if it’s explicitly said whether they exist within the movie universe or not, so we’ll see in the next movie ig

- THE SPRINGLOCK SCENE!!!!!!!! I loved it <3 idk how they didn’t go off after Afton was bouncing around in it earlier but when they did go off it was SO COOL!!!

- “I always come back” YES HE DOES!!!! LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO

- End scene of him bleeding out in the storage room hinting towards the full Springtrap character??? Loved it

- Also HELLO FREDBEAR??? GOLDEN FREDDY?? YELLOW BEAR???? WHAT

Extra info:

- No Markiplier was not in it, he was too busy with his own movie

- WAITER MATPAT?????

- Corey was awesome, I thought he was so funny for his short time on screen, esp the post credits scene

- THE FNAF 1 SONG MADE IT IN OH MY GOOOOOOOOD CONGRATS TO THELIVINGTOMBSTONE

Random plot holes or inconsistencies I found:

- Foxy had a scene where they forgot to switch the red eyes to the new glowing ones

- Despite the animatronics killing the group that broke in, spilling plenty of blood, they’re perfectly clean afterwards

- My dad found it weird that they didn’t show any part of the kids’ bodies in the suits, since it’s apparently known that they were stuffed inside (or maybe only Vanessa knew??). He thought an arm or a leg poking out would’ve worked. I said I think it’s either cuz the bodies were removed, are kinda mangled and pretzel-twisted to only be in the torso, or it’s just bc they didn’t think to do that lmao

- He was also confused on how Afton was able to jump around and move so easily in the springlock suit when the suit in the back snapped off the broom handle after a single jab. I said I think it’s bc it’s meant to be used to move around in and not harshly screwed with, or maybe it’s another plot reason

All in all, 8.5/10 movie. There were a few times when I was confused on why something happened or why someone behaved a certain way, but none of it was outright bad or boring. There also could’ve been more to the gore, definitely could’ve pushed the boundaries of the PG-13 rating, but it was good for what it was. It was fun, cute, and knew when to be serious :P

[asterroidd]

drabbles: them reacting to a surprise kiss

↬  includes: kaminari denki, bakugo katsuki, shouto todoroki

tysm for the request anon! Hope you enjoy!  ♡

—denki kaminari would be smug albeit lowkey flustered

  “Shoot back me up,” Denki mumbled, eyes glued to the screen while his fingers fervently tapping on his keyboard. At the current moment, he’s enjoying the semestral break and of course what better way to seize the time by spending most of it playing games? Sign Denki up because he would sacrifice his sleeping schedule just to play with his squad.

  “Shit,” he cursed into the mic. “Behind the building!”

  You, however, is not impressed with the current situation.

  Sitting on his bed, you glared daggers at Denki’s back. Mentally cursing him for not giving you the attention you need. You dropped by his room to hang out with him; perhaps a movie or some kinky time, who knows? Heck, Denki himself was the one who invited you to chill with him. And what does he do? Yep, ignore your cute ass and sit in front of his computer like the jerk he is.

  “Denki. . .” you lowly muttered, approaching him in a slow pace. “Gimme attention.”

  You gently combed your fingers in his hair, making sure to massage his scalp in the process. Denki leaned in your touch, “Mhhmm! Just finishing this last game, babe.”

  A line appeared between your brows, mouth curving down in a small frown. “You said that an hour ag—”

  “kAcCHAN—Stop shooting me you ass!”

  It took all of your sanity to not yank his hair right then and there. You wanted to throw a tantrum at him; to give him a cold shoulder for ignoring you. But then you thought of something better.

  Still absorbed in his game, you leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Denki’s lips. He was startled at first, momentarily tearing his gaze off the screen to look at you with wide eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but the look on your face was enough to answer his question.

  You want his attention.

  “Aww does my wittle baby mish me?”

  “That’s fucking gross” you could hear Bakugo comment through his headset.

  Nonetheless, the blond ignored his remark. Denki flashed you a smile, raising a hand to cup your cheek. Smooth as he is, he captured your lips in one sweet kiss.

  “Gonna leave the round to you, my dudes. My baby needs attention.”

—bakugo katsuki.exe has stopped working

  Ah, yes. Bakugo Katsuki, the man, the myth, the legend.

  Contrary to popular belief, this personification of a hedgehog is an actual softie. It may not look like it, but Katsuki is adores you 100%. Though, it is understandable that most people wouldn’t believe you if you told them this man has the ability to blush.

  Yes, blush. If one is lucky enough, they might witness such a holy sight if they caught him off guard. And that someone is you.

  “No, no! You cream the butter and sugar first before the eggs!” he spat, hands darting out to stop you from cracking open an egg. Earlier that day, you suggested that Katsuki and you bake some cookies. It took an hour’s worth of begging, but you’ve managed to convince him to participate in your plan.

  You’re quite a baker—if you do say so yourself—but Katsuki has zero confidence in your cooking skills. And so here you are, standing like an idiot while he continuously ridicules your knowledge in the kitchen.

  “I’ll let you cream me, if you know what I mean.” You winked at him.

  Katsuki stops with what he was doing to shoot you a look, “Don’t even get me started (____).”

  You let out a giggle, pinching his cheeks despite his complaints. He mumbled curses under his breath after almost dropping the bowl. At this point, Katsuki’s doing most of the baking while you did most of the pestering. In your defense, how could you properly work on it if he keeps berating you every move you make?

  “Aight explosion boy, what can I do to help you?”

  He let out a huff, “Go get the vanilla extract.”

  You hummed, turning around to search for the item he needs. At the same time, Katsuki opted to go and prepare the mixer for the ease of combining the ingredients later on. Just one problem, this one’s busted.

  He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

  “What’s up?” you asked, placing the bottle of vanilla extract on the counter before leaning on it.

  “Damn thing is not working” he gave the machine one firm smack as if it would help fix it. Katsuki’s nostrils flared, the corners of his lips pointing downwards. You would be lying if you said he doesn’t look cute when he’s angry. He looks like a little angry pomeranian.

  Against your better judgment, you leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Now, this isn’t the first time both of you had shared a kiss. In fact, you and him had multiple times already as controlled by hormones. But that doesn’t stop a blush dusting his cheeks and ears.

  You pulled away, a smirk on your face as Katsuki froze in his spot. He stared off into the distance, too flabbergasted to respond. It took one full minute before he regained composure.

  “You—huh. What?” he stammered. “What was that for?”

  “Am I not allowed to kiss you?”

  “I-. . .” he sucked in a breath, finding it hard to form words. “Just— just help me with this will you?”

  Note to self: always catch Katsuki off guard.

—shouto todoroki is confusion

  The sky is as black as tar accompanied by nimbus clouds that slowly covered the whole city. It started with a soft pitter-patter of the rain against the window sill, until it gradually got loud that you have to increase the volume of the movie you and Shouto was watching.

    With a thin blanket over your shoulders, both of you intently stared at the screen. A sappy yet heartfelt romantic film on play just the way you like it. The bowl of popcorn, now long rid of its content, sat in between your legs.

   The movie had now come to that point wherein the two main leads confessed their love for one another. It was about damn time. The scriptwriters of the show truly did drag the plot way too long that at some point it became rather boring.

   Shouto shifted in his seat. You opened your mouth to ask him what was wrong. That is until his arm wrapped around your form, resting his hand just above your hip. A soft smile made its way to your face. Whether it was his intention or not, Shouto had always pulled on your heartstrings and made your heart beat fast with his actions.

   “Sho. . .” you called out to him. He hummed, turning his head towards your direction.

  Without prior warning, you leaned to press your lips against his. It was short yet sweet, just an unspoken message to show how much you love him. When you pulled away, he had the cutest reaction ever.

   He slowly blinked. Mouth falling open in shock. Shouto looked at you with a bewildered expression. Throughout the course of your relationship with him, kisses are barely shared. Hugs? Yes. Holding hands? You betcha. But the fact that he and you just started dating a few weeks ago, both of you were still adjusting to this change of pace.

   “Why?”

   You chuckled.

   “Just wanna.”

  He gave you a soft smile, brushing strands of your hair that stuck before placing a chaste kiss on your forehead.

[melon-wing]

Red and Green

Betaread by my amazing betareader @aaronampora-ao3

This Story is based on the unbelievably amazing image done by @gridoc Doc stood in front of the giant door to Grian’s base, waiting for the lord of the house to arrive. He tugged a little on the front of his clothes, trying to loosen them. He rarely wore anything constricting. Sure he had worn a suit a few times and this was far more comfortable, but still a long way from his loose labcoat that wasn’t even covering his chest. 

He knew that Grian had told him not to bother and that he could go to the festival casually dressed, but he also knew seeing him in this light cotton kimono - yukata, Ren had called it when handing it to Doc - would make Grian really happy. And Grian being happy was far more important than him being comfortable.

The doors opened and Doc looked up with a smile, his whole face lighting up when he saw Grian. While Doc was more dressed than usual the yukata was far more revealing on Grian than his red sweater. Doc tried very pointedly not to look at the white skin of Grian’s chest peeking out below the green fabric.

“Doc! You wore one!”, Grian said in delight, jumping up a little in joy and hugging Doc enthusiastically. Doc could feel his heart racing and he put his arms softly around Grian in return.

“Ren told me that this was appropriate attire for our date”, he replied flatly, but Grian giggled as if he had just cracked a joke.

“Oh you big sap. Don’t blame this on Ren. I bet you wanted to match.” Grian leaned back a bit, his arms still around Doc, as he took in Doc’s appearance. “Red really suits you. You should wear it more often.”

Doc chuckled. “Well, dear, green also looks very good on you. There really should be more green things. All. Over. You.” Doc pulled Grian back and Grian made a cute squeal that was swallowed by Doc’s lips. Grian let out a tiny whimper, but pressed himself against Doc, hands flying up to his head, pulling him down further. When they broke apart both of them were flushed and a little out of breath.

The way Grian smiled up at him, his whole face glowing made Doc’s heart beat faster and he leaned in again for a small peck. He would have gladly continued just making out, but they didn’t dress up to stand around. But Grian did look rather nice in those clothes and the way he was looking at Doc, cheeks a soft red...

“X will have the portal ready for us in about ten minutes. We should really head over now or we won’t make it on time”, Doc murmured, still not letting go of Grian, who nodded but didn’t step back as well, just gazing longingly into Doc’s eyes. Doc wanted to resist the temptation. He really tried. But instead of moving away, his body leaned in again and his lips moved down to meet Grian’s once more.

When they arrived at Xisuma’s place in the nether the admin was looking at them impatiently. The portal next to him was already glowing a bright yellow, showing that it was leading out of this world.

“You guys do know I have better things to do than wait around a dumb portal for half an hour? I got my own date to get to”, Xisuma greeted them in an annoyed tone and Doc almost felt bad. He mostly felt bad because it would be really hard to convince X to open a portal the next time they wanted to go on a fancy outside date.

“Sorry, X. You know how things are”, Grian said with a small smile, “I got so lost in building I forgot to get ready for our date and made Doc wait. I bet your boyfriend does the same sometimes. We builders are all so forgetful.”

Xisuma sighed again, but the annoyed look eased off a little and he smiled more fondly, probably thinking of the person waiting for him at home.

“Well go on through then. I’ll reopen it when you message me. Have fun you two and don’t get lost.”

Doc nodded and pulled Grian forwards, walking up onto the obsidian frame with him. They faced each other, holding hands. Grian’s face looked even more pretty lit up by the golden glow reflecting off his skin and eyes. It made Doc wonder again how he could have gotten this lucky.

Grian giggled, the cute smile Doc loved so much back on his face.

“You know, I’m the one who’s lucky.”

“How…?”

“You always look at me all adorable before you say those cheesy things. I know how you work by now, Doc. You are almost as predictable as your redstone machines.”

Doc bent down to kiss Grian again, but before he got the opportunity they were both teleported away. Well, there would be more opportunities for kisses. Especially after what Doc had planned for today. The thought of his plans alone made his heart race. He tried to calm his nerves, taking a deep breath as he reappeared somewhere else.

“Hurry along please! Step out the portal!”, someone in an orange vest kept repeating and he and Grian walked along, following a small stream of people that had probably come from the portal just before them. He had always wondered how these interdimensional admin portals worked, but so far X hadn’t felt like sharing.

It took them only a minute of walking until they entered the festival grounds. There were rows upon rows of stands, selling different wares, food and drinks. People were walking by. It was dark outside, but above them were a multitude of lanterns, strung up and illuminating everything in a soft glow. It was perfect for a romantic getaway. Doc turned to look at Grian whose eyes were wide and sparkling as he took everything in. It made Doc smile softly. Grian was always so full of emotion, always an open book and Doc knew every little change in his moods and their meaning. There was nobody he could read better. And even when he himself wasn’t as open with his emotions, Grian never seemed to have a problem to read him as well.

“I’m glad you like it here”, Doc said, smiling and finally Grian turned back around, looking at him in childish excitement.

“It’s amazing! I’m glad we came. This world is so beautiful!“

Doc nodded in agreement. “So… Where do you wanna go first?“

Grian looked around again, his nose scrunched up in that cute way of his, showing that he was thinking about all of his options. Finally his whole face lit up even more and Doc swore he saw his hair puff up a little as he was shaking in excitement.

Doc followed his line of sight and a fond smile appeared on his face as they landed on the game booth Grian was now pulling him to. By the end of the night they probably would have played every game around here. And if Grian liked something enough, they sure as hell would have an upgraded version of that game in their world soon as well.

Grian went up to the booth and tossed a diamond to the vendor who handed him a crossbow and a few arrows He pushed a button and behind him small targets shaped like Mobs began to move around. Doc leaned onto the counter. He looked at the targets for a few seconds, before turning to look at Grian again. And the sight made his heart beat faster. Grian’s forehead was furrowed in concentration, one eye closed and the tip of his pink tongue sticking out a little. Doc almost wanted to laugh, but held back, not wanting to distract his boyfriend.

Grian fired a few times, and each time a frustrated groan left his lips. Doc didn’t even need to look to know that he hadn’t been even close to those targets. Grian had never been much of a fighter. If there was a game about flying now, that would be a completely different story. No one could compete against Grian in that area.

The last arrow sailed through the air and Doc’s eyebrows flew up in surprise as he heard a metallic clink. He turned to look and on of the small zombies was really flipped over.

“Did you see that, Doc?! I hit one! And it moved really fast! Now you can’t tease me anymore about not being able to shoot! I’m an amazing shooter!” Grian put down his crossbow, shaking in excitement. A fond smile appeared on Doc’s face and he gently petted Grian’s head.

“I’m so proud of you, dear.”

The vendor put a small piece of candy on the booth and Grian’s face fell a little, looking at the tiny price. His gaze wandered up and Doc noticed the way he was looking at the huge stuffed animals. With a sigh he pulled out a diamond of his own and put it onto the booth.

“I’m gonna win that one for you. It’s just as cute as you”, he said pointing at some especially cute looking teddy bear grinning at the way Grian blushed.

“I can win my own prizes, Doc. You should pick something that you would want to have.”

“Oh, but I already have the biggest prize I could ever wish to win”, Doc replied, his tone light as he bent over a little, to press a small kiss to the corner of Grian’s mouth, watching in amusement as he got even more flustered. Even now after going steady for three years, Grian would react this adorable to compliments and Doc just loved it.

He picked up the arrows, putting the crossbow up to his mechanical eye and took a breath in, focus completely on the moving targets. Highest points went to the little vex flying around at the fastest speed. He shot and the arrow flew, hitting the first vex right in the centre. Grian cheered loudly next to him, and Doc allowed himself a short glance over, smirking a little. “Impressed, dear?”

Grian giggled and nodded. “As always, darling.”

Doc could feel his heart skip a beat and the nervousness from before was back, as he felt like his clothes suddenly weighed a ton more with the knowledge what he was carrying around. The vendor cleared his throat and Doc quickly turned back, stringing the next arrow into his crossbow.

One shot after another was fired, hitting the tiny mobs and making them fall over. Doc tucked in the last arrow, focussing on the only vex left that seemed to be flying even faster now. He took a deep breath, the muscles in his finger on the trigger tensing and…

“Watching you like that really turns me on. I’d just love to rip your clothes off right here, right now.”

Doc flinched, his eyes widened, the arrow flew through the air, flying high over the targets and embedding itself into the booth’s wall. Doc turned, looking flabbergasted at Grian who had now dissolved into a giggle fit, holding his stomach, tears in his eyes, leaning heavily on the booth. Every time he seemed to be able to stop the laughter, he took one look at Doc’s shocked face and it started all over again.

Doc gave an annoyed huff and turned to the vendor who seemed to be slightly amused by their display as well.

“Don’t ya worry, mate. Points are still enough for the cute bear. Though I would keep it to myself. Ya guy is too much of a gremlin to deserve it.”

Doc chuckled as he was handed a teddy bear.

“I wouldn’t have him any other way”, he just casually replied, before hitting Grian right in the face with the teddy bear. “Oi, stop laughing your ass off or I’ll buy another arrow to shoot that stupid grin off your face. Let’s not start another war.”

Grian spluttered, arms snaking around the huge teddy bear and lowering it away from his face. The shit eating grin was still there, but he was no longer laughing at least. “Well now wouldn’t that be fun? I bet everyone on the server already missed our wars… Your opening line this time just won’t be as catchy: It all started when Grian’s sexyness made me lose at a shooting game. Doesn’t have the same ring to it as the bush.”

Doc rolled his eyes, starting to move again. He pulled Grian along, linking their arms together as they continued on walking between the booths. Doc kept looking around. He had been here before, searching for the perfect spot, but now with so many people hurrying around and illuminated only by lamp light it seemed so different from daytime.

Grian still looked around excitedly and then his eyes landed on something and he hurried off through the crowd. Doc sighed. Next time they went out on a date night into some crowded place he would take a leash with him. He really should have started doing that after Grian got lost on their anniversary last year and he had spent the whole night searching the woods.

At least Doc had the advantage of being huge and towering over most of the other people by a good bit. It was easy to keep track of his hyper boyfriend. He was still lucky that Grian didn’t go to far and soon stopped at one of the booths selling stuff, already talking hurriedly with the vendor. When Doc reached them Grian had already put a diamond onto the counter. And before Doc could react a red fan was pressed into his hand and Grian smiled brightly at him.

“It matches your eye colour. Just as I thought. Such a nice and vibrant red. As beautiful as a rose.“

Doc smiled at that. Grian really was special. He had never once been turned off by Doc’s mechanical parts. While past lovers had looked at those parts with pity, comparing the colour of his eye to blood, Grian loved them just as much as his non-mechanical body parts. He had never made Doc feel insecure about his flaws… And if he knew Doc had just thought of them as flaws he’d probably give him a piece of his mind.

“You’re spacing out again, darling“, Grian said with a fond smile, still waiting for Doc to take hold of the fan. Doc chuckled, finally letting his fingers curl around the wooden stick, holding the fan in front of his face and staring at Grian.

“You know red isn’t my colour, it’s yours. Always running around in those stupid red sweaters.”

Grian smirked. “Well maybe that’s the other reason I like you with that colour so much. It shows everyone that you belong to me. Wouldn’t want anyone daring to steal my boyfriend away.“

“I don’t really think you have to worry about that. Most people look at me and become scared.”

Grian huffed in annoyance, looking around and like always there were some who threw irritated glances at Doc’s appearance. Grian made sure to glare extra hard at them. “Well they don’t know you’re a major softie. You’re even more adorable than this teddy.“

Doc chuckled and pulled Grian up to him, holding the fan to the side and pressing a soft kiss on his lips. They separated only a few millimetres apart and Doc couldn’t help but smile gently. The world around them seemed to disappear while he was looking at Grian.

“Grian, listen… There’s something I need to talk about…“

Grian looked up at him with huge questioning eyes. Doc’s mouth felt too dry all of the sudden, his tongue too heavy to move. And then he became aware again of all the people moving around, throwing glances at them, bumping into them to get to some booth.

“You want something to drink?”

This sudden shift from a serious tone to that question made Grian look at him in confusion, but he didn’t ask and soon smiled again.

“Yeah sure. Let’s go over there and-”

“No, no. I’ll get the drinks. You could maybe get some snack or something. I… I’ll be right back, okay. Let’s meet at the pond behind those booths, alright? Have a little picnic so to say.”

Grian’s face lit up and he nodded hurriedly, bouncing in excitement. “Will do. See you there. Whoever gets there last is a wingless phantom.”

Doc chuckled as Grian darted off into the crowd, making his way over to one of the stands. He let his hand wander into the pocket of his yukata, fingers curling around the little box inside. Would they finish another date without him being courageous enough? He had been trying for months now. Ren would have his head if he came back again with bad news… But it wasn’t as easy as Ren made it sound. He needed the perfect moment. During their last date there had been a sudden thunderstorm and Ren had called it a romantic drizzle.

Doc paid for the drinks and slowly made his way to the pond. Usually he was just as competitive as Grian when it came to their little fights and races, but not today. Today he’d let Grian win if that meant he’d be in an even better mood than he already was.

Doc didn’t get that far. He was just about to walk between two booths to the other side, when he heard raised voices, and one of them sounded too familiar.

“Come on. We just wanna have some fun. You look like you’d always be up for some fun.“

“I said I’m not interested. I have a boyfriend.“

“Dump his sorry ass. Or are you just saying that because you’re shy. You wouldn’t find anyone better than us.“

Doc turned the corner, walking between the booths again and there he was. A few steps away stood Grian, surrounded by three tall guys, his back against one of the pillars between booths. He was only holding a teddy bear and no food, which probably meant they had already stopped him a few minutes ago. Doc felt anger bubble up inside him as another one of the guys spoke up.

“We’ve got quite a few diamonds to spend, you see. Wouldn’t you like to be treated? We’d cover you in jewellery instead of stupid stuffed animals. It would suit you. Wearing nothing but chains and gold…” There was a hand on Grian’s cheek now and Doc saw red. He knew very well that Grian was able to defend himself, but Grian always was too friendly to people coming on to him and Doc would have none of that.

He put the drinks down at one of the tables and marched forward, stopping right next to Grian, pulling him away from the guys so he was no longer trapped. One of them turned to look at Doc enraged.

“Who do you think you are asshole?”, he snarled and then stopped as his eyes landed on Doc.

Doc had put a hand over Grian’s shoulder possessively and was glaring over his fan at those guys. He noticed out of the corner of his eye, that Grian was smiling fondly now, but the tight grip he had on the teddy bear proved that he was still at least a little shaken. And if those assholes ruined the mood for the evening now…

“This is my boyfriend“, Grian started, grinning at Doc who continued.

“So you lowlifes better back off, or I might be forced to remove you another way”, Doc growled, his mechanical eye glowing brighter as he felt the fury inside him rise.

The guys also seemed to notice, practically staring at his mechanical parts. They didn’t look as confident as before anymore, but rather scared.

“Sorry, Mr. Robot, sir. Didn’t know he was yours. Please don’t shoot any laser beams at us.“

Doc felt irritated at that, his glare only becoming more pissed off, which finally made the guys turn around and hurry off, still apologizing to the ‘scary robot’. And he swore he heard one of them say something about his ‘terrifying murder eye’.

Doc’s grip on Grian tightened and only when Grian winced a little he realised that it must have been painfully hard. He backed off at once, but Grian would have none of that, pulling him back and into a hug.

“Let’s go somewhere more quiet now.“

Doc nodded and with Grian holding onto his arm he went back to get the drinks before they made their way through the booths and off the festival grounds. There was a small pond, illuminated by the soft orange glow of floating lanterns. They sat down at a stone bench right next to it, the teddy bear right between them, silently looking at the water and enjoying their drinks. Doc rubbed at the metal parts of his face, still slightly irritated at the comments he had gotten. He shouldn’t let it get to him as much as he did.

“You know those guys were idiots?“

Doc chuckled. “Tell me something I don’t know already. They really should know not to put their slimy hands all over-“

“That’s not what I’m talking about“, Grian softly took Doc’s hand and pulled it away from his face, “They said a lot of dumb things about your beautiful face.“

“It’s alright Grian. I know my face is scary. Weren’t you scared as well when you first saw me?”

Grian giggled quietly. “Oh I was scared, but not because of your eye or arm or anything like that. The trident flying right by my face was way scarier. I might also have been so nervous because you are too hot, not because I was scared.” Grian was now softly tracing a metal line on the side of his face, resting his hand on Doc’s cheek. “I fell in love with you not despite the way you look, but with you as a whole. I love every part of you, be it your human parts, your creeper parts or-” Grian bent forward, putting a light kiss right above Doc’s glowing red eye “-your mechanical parts. I wouldn’t want you any other way.“

And Doc felt like there would be no better moment than now. He cleared his throat nervously, his hand wandering into his pocket and pulling out the box. Grian didn’t seem to notice, still looking at nothing but Doc’s face.

“I love you too, Grian. I love you at your best and at your worst mood. I will still love you if you start another war. I love you with all your flaws… And there are a lot of those”, he added the last part in a joking tone and Grian softly hit him in the shoulder. And then Grian’s eyes wandered down and he noticed the small box. A hand immediately flew up to cover his mouth, eyes wide in disbelief, looking from the box back at Doc’s face.

“Doc, you… are you…?”

“Yeah. I’m trying to”, Doc replied softly, opening the box to reveal a small silver ring. Nothing overly fancy, simple and still beautiful, just like Grian. “I want to love you for the rest of our lives and beyond. So-“

“Yes!“, Grian interrupted him, eyes shining with excitement and a few unshed tears.

“I haven’t even asked yet”, Doc said with an amused smile.

“Oh… Sorry. Go on”, Grian whispered, giggling softly. And that giggle just made Doc’s heart beat even faster, filling him with happiness.

“Do you want to marry me?”

“Yes!”, Grian repeated with even more excitement than before, grabbing Doc by the front of his yukata and pulling him forward, smashing their lips together.

When they parted again, both a little out of breath, Doc took hold of Grian’s hand, pulling the ring out of the box and sliding it gently over his finger. And he had never felt as happy as he did now, Grian looking at him with nothing but love, a lone tear running down his face and Doc could feel his human eye also become a little wet with emotion.

“And it all started when Grian touched my bush…”, he whispered and looked at Grian like he was the only source of light in his life, before bending forward and kissing him softly.

[kojoty]

shopping trip

@shock​ commissioned me for a bit of Michael/Gerry indulgence in the Sight Comes to Mind universe... Who am I to deny him? 

If you want a flash-commission yourself, just send at least $9/3 kofis, with the subject/prompt in the message and a handle to @ you with when it’s done!

---

There’s something of a routine developing. Martin wakes Gerard up in the morning, and though there’s days where Gerard peaces out after a few minutes, wanting more rest, he slowly starts to pull together a schedule for his… Second life, as much as it can be called that. Though he can’t wander far without the Page, he can just take the locket from Martin, stringing it around his own neck and using minimal energy to carry it with him. 

Or, in the case of today, stringing it solidly around Michael’s wrist while he lays in bed. He’s so slow to react that Gerard gets the entire chain wrapped three times around him, the locket dangling in midair, before Michael thinks to pause his video and blink sleepily up at him, confusion clouding his features. 

“What?” He asks dumbly, blinking several times up at Gerard, and wow, his face really does scrunch up adorably when he’s confused. 

Michael’s hair is a tangled mess of half-done braids that he clearly slept on and knots from where he didn’t brush it all out, and it makes his face look small beneath the halo lion’s mane. Gerry’s always been envious of thick, curly hair, and for the first time, looking at how much maintenance is clearly needed for it, he’s grateful that his own hair takes more effort to put a wave in than it does to tame it. 

“We’re going shopping. None of these clothes fit you.” Gerard says, and does nothing more than point to the Rage Against the Machine shirt Michael is wearing that hardly covers his belly button. “Jon’s uni shirts are not for you.” 

“What if I’m busy?” Michael whines, and god, he’s a petulant little shit. Martin told him he had money once, and Gerard’s starting to see just how true it is. Not that Gerard’s never had money, but it was different, wasn’t it? When the money went to rare books and rare books alone and your mother sometimes forgot to save enough to feed her son? Gerard can only imagine Michael’s christening dress. 

“Oh, yes, I forgot watching Buzzfeed videos while depressed in a blanket nest is of the utmost importance.” Gerard leans forward and whips the blanket off of Michael, who scowls and kicks out at him with a ridiculously sized foot that passes right through Gerard’s unamused form. 

Michael shivers at the feeling, and glares at him. Gerry holds up a card, that he passes to Michael. “It’s on Jon’s dime. Let’s go. Let me clothes shop vicariously through you.” That earns him a groan, but Michael stands, and cracks his back, and starts to fish for a coat and a hat, grumbling the entire time he gets dressed. Gerard doesn’t give a shit. 

--

The first thing Gerard learns about Michael Shelley is one of the most infuriating men to keep on track in the history of the world. If he’s not wandering off and getting sidetracked by flowers, or bugs, or random buildings, then he’s talking and talking and talking and nearly walking into people, or poles, or buldings, or bikes, or whatever the fuck he could possibly venture into. He better appreciate the energy spent by Gerard to pull him out of the way, hand wrapped firmly around his bare wrist. 

By the time they make it to the second hand shop, Gerard reckons he’s saved Michael’s life at least six times. Beat that, Martin. 

The second thing he learns about Michael Shelley is his atrocious fashion. Not that it's bad, per say, just… not Gerard’s repertoire.

“That’s because you wear all black, you gothic book,” Michael says, after he comes out of the fitting room in a pink and cream paisley dress and Gerard wrinkles his nose and closes his eyes and gives a tentative sideways thumb. 

“It looks nice on you,” Gerry says. “Just not used to it. I can not imagine choosing to be that loud in public.” 

Michael spins in the mirror to watch the skirt of the dress float and fall against his thighs, and he grins. “Just because you wear dark colors doesn’t mean you’re not loud in your own right. Mine’s just more pleasant to the eyes.” 

“1960’s drag queen looks, for sure.” 

Michael turns to look at him flatly, his lips pouting out. “How’d you know about my drag routine? Don’t tell me you’ve seen my shows? That’d be embarrassing for both of us!” 

That ushers a surprised laugh from Gerard, and he runs his hands through his hair. He’d looked at a few of the clothes on the racks, and had grown envious of the way Michael was able to just throw things on and off, and officially is going to start trying to manifest in different attire. Different perceptions of self. How blue of balls can he gives Martin if he showed up with his hair pulled back and a dress on? 

“No, I never-- I didn’t go to that stuff. Always wanted to. Too busy.” 

“Yeah, yeah, getting your boring books for your witch-mummy.” Michael rolls his eyes and strips out of the dress to start trying on a few of the other clothes in the truly monstrous pile he collected. They’re in the largest of the fitting rooms, Gerard sprawled out on the bench, and Michael’s discarded clothes already forming what Gerard assumes the aftermath of an orgy would look like. 

Gerard doesn’t mean to watch the way Michael moves, graceful and snakelike in the way his back curves, jutting hip bones and ribs the kind of small breasts that make the shape of dresses on him fit far better than they do on Gerard. But he does, because Michael is, truly, gorgeous, and if Martin likes him, then that means he’s here to stay. And Gerard doesn’t mind it. He’s funny, and ditzy, and spaces out in the middle of conversations, but he’s sweet and genuine in ways Gerard doesn’t know how to deal with. Clever and impulsive, and doesn’t get weird when Gerard decides they’re doing something, right now. 

He likes that. 

Michael spins when he changes, running his hands down his sides to show Gerard. Tight black pants and a billowy, light green button-down. Gerard slow claps and cat-whistles, and Michael blushes and poses, and well, it’s not much, but it’s better than him sitting around in bed all day on the verge of tears. 

He’s present, and alive, and isn’t in some faraway door in his mind, and that’s enough. It’s enough for all of them, and if Michael of all people can salvage some semblance of happiness, then that’s well and good enough for any of them. 

(And if Gerard wraps his arm around Michael’s waist on the way home, he’s not a sap, Martin, he’s just trying to keep the man from wandering off again. That’s all. Honest.)

[fanficsandfluff]

Emotions Get the Better (12)

When Saturday night arrived, you realized just how much you wanted booze in you. You got to Pogo’s in the middle of a comedian’s set and went straight to the bar, getting yourself a Long Island to get the night started. You didn’t really know how it worked in here when you were friends with a standup. Was Arthur going to meet you at a table and then go up? Would you not see him at all? You’d have to find out.

You sat at the back corner of the club, still a good view of the stage. You were picking on the small bowl of nuts that were already on the table.

These comedians were pretty funny this night, which you kept thinking was good for when Arthur came out, as the audience would be warmed up. You ordered a rum and coke when the Long Island was finished. 

“Our next comedian says he’s very excited to be performing for you all tonight. And his mom always told him his purpose was to spread joy and laughter. Um... okay,” that got a laugh from the emcee introducing Arthur. You were nervous now, “Please welcome to the stage, Arthur Fleck.”

You clapped and cheered when he headed towards the stage, and it was the first time you saw him that night. He looked cute; a maroon vest and pants and a cream colored shirt. 

As Arthur looked around after the welcome applause died down, he got quiet for a moment. Then there was a breathy, “Hello,” into the microphone. 

You watched him eagerly, bouncing your leg under the table. 

There was more silence and then he opened his mouth to tell a joke, but instead, a piercing laugh came out. His hand shot over his mouth. You felt mortified. Oh no, not here, not now. 

This went on for an excruciatingly long time. He’d try to start his joke but would immediately fall apart in nervous laughter. The audience was chuckling with him at first, not quite sure knowing if this was part of his act. 

You squeezed your hands together tightly as your eyes were glued to him on that stage, almost praying if you believed in any of that stuff. 

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, he got his first joke out. It got a smattering of a chuckle from various audience members. You were too nervous for him to even laugh at all. That first joke was not very good. Alright, focus, you were boozed up, of course you could laugh at shitty jokes if you wanted to. You drank faster. 

The next few jokes were mostly lame, but you made sure he heard your giggle over the largely encroaching silence. He had his joke book with him. God, you wanted to read everything in there and piece together how his comedic mind worked. He did tell some pretty good jokes and he gained confidence as his set went on, but the audience was not very receptive. When Arthur finished, you clapped and whooped for him as he exited the stage. Yep, you were feeling tipsy after you’d finished your two drinks. You stood and went to the bar, getting two shots for yourself and Arthur when he came out. 

You saw him sheepishly peek his head out of the door leading to the roundabout way to get to the tiny stage, and you could see his eyes searching for you. You waved your hand and he caught sight of you, a smile instantly appearing on his face. 

“I’m so happy you came--”

“You were great!” you threw your arms around him and hugged him, “Seriously, you did really well,” your hand touched his cheek as you smiled at him, “Here,” you then slid him the shot, “Cheers.”

“Oh, I don’t really drink...”

“Come on, just one shot. It’s vodka. You won’t even feel anything,” you raised yours in the air, raising a brow at him. 

Arthur looked nervous but he chuckled and gave in, taking the shot with you. He drank his much slower than how you downed yours. You shook your head afterward and giggled, “See, that wasn’t so bad.”

“I-I guess not,” Arthur coughed, making a face. That made you laugh more. God, you were feeling good. 

“You wanna get outta here?” you asked Arthur.

Arthur nodded. You didn’t say any more and you left Pogo’s with him. 

“How do you think it went?” you asked him once you were out in the street. Arthur was busy lighting up a cigarette.

“Oh, um.. well, I don’t know. I kinda blanked out in the second half. I liked all the jokes I told.”

“You should be proud. Even if it didn’t seem like you got a big response, I could tell people liked it,” you didn’t know how far you should go when exaggerating the truth to Arthur. He wasn’t dumb. He knew there were some duds. If he were doing this professionally, the technical term for what happened to him on stage was he bombed. 

“Thanks,” Arthur said to you, looking at you with adoration. 

“You in the mood for a burger? Cuz I think I want a burger,” you said to him as you walked side-by-side. Your hands knocked together a few times and you decided to make the move and hold his hand as you walked. Arthur blushed. You saw it even under the flickering, dim streetlights. That made you smile. He was back. No more silent, brooding, dark-eyed whacko from a few nights ago who forced a smile onto your face with his fingers and kissed you like you’d never been kissed before. Well... maybe you missed some parts of that Arthur. 

You walked along with Arthur until he stopped at a newspaper stand. The front cover was of what looked like a killer clown face with sharp teeth and angry brows. You looked at Arthur more than you looked at the picture. He mimicked the face the clown was making. Odd. 

“How’d the story make you feel?” you asked him, stuffing your hands into your pockets.

“I don’t know,” Arthur responded.

“Me personally,” you leaned closer to Arthur so really only he could hear, “I just think that’s three less pricks in Gotham,” you nudged him gently and headed toward the street to cross it. 

Arthur watched her keep walking and he smiled, chuckling a little. She got it. 

He hurried to follow her to a small dive burger and fries joint. 

The two of you had dinner together, and it all went really well. The food you were intaking was helping abate your tipsy state. Arthur offered to take you home when you’d both finished up. Maybe it was a bit obvious to him you weren’t exactly sober. You accepted his offer. 

On the train, you leaned your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes, feeling drowsy as the train car rattled and shook. Arthur felt happy. Things were looking up for him, he could feel it. 

When it was your stop, Arthur shook you awake and helped you back out onto the street. 

You got to your apartment building and reached into your purse for your keys. You pulled them out but immediately dropped them onto the floor. Both you and Arthur made the move to pick them up and your hands went to the ground at the same time, heads bonking together. You both reacted and you laughed.

“Sorry, sorry,” Arthur chuckled, seeing you rub your head while still giggling. 

“It’s okahay,” you let him get your keys and hand them to you, “Do you wanna come up? I can make tea or coffee...” you were hoping he’d say yes. You didn’t want this high to come down. 

Arthur looked at you and then he glanced at his watch. He finally nodded, “Sure, that sounds good.”

“Great,” you smiled and led him upstairs. Not that gracefully, you might add, as your ankle buckled going up one of the stairs and you fell into Arthur. Luckily he caught you. 

“You okay?” Arthur asked you as you wobbly walked down the hallway to your apartment door. He didn’t notice as much while the two of you were walking in the streets. 

“Yeahah, I’m just... you know,” you shook your head and unlocked your door, “Come on in.”

You kicked your shoes off and hung your coat up, going straight to the record player next to your television set. 

“No radio?” Arthur asked when he followed you in.

“I have one. It’s in the kitchen by the stove. I just prefer the sound the record player has, you know?” you put on one of your favorite bombastic jazz records and swung your hips as you shimmied your way into the kitchen to make you both coffee. 

Arthur was smiling wide, and he turned the corner into your kitchen. 

“You like to dance?” Arthur asked.

“Pfft, me?” you chortled, “I don’t dance, no,” you filled the coffee grounds into the filter of your coffee machine. 

“But you just were,” he stepped closer to you.

“Well, yeah, cuz I really like music. I don’t think like swaying is really dancing.”

“Dance with me,” Arthur held out his arm to you. You started the coffee machine and looked at him. 

“Hehere? In my narrow kitchen built to fit like half a person at a time?”

“Out here,” Arthur grabbed your wrist and dragged you into your living room, where there was definitely more space.

“Arthur...” you mumbled, embarrassed. He hooked one arm around your waist and held your other hand up with his own. He started to guide you around the carpeted floor. 

“Your cologne smells good,” you said, not having been this close to him for this long a period all night.

“I’m glad you like it. It was important to have some for a date.”

“You didn’t wear cologne when you came to my house for dinner,” you chided him with a smirk. 

Arthur grinned right back at you and suddenly dipped you as the song swelled, making you squeak In surprise. He pulled you back up as you were laughing, somehow ending up closer to his body than before. 

“Youhu’re crazy.”

“And you’re dancing.”

You looked up at him and kept smiling wide. It was starting to hurt your cheeks, but you didn’t mind. You let him spin you as your fingertips touched and then resumed the position facing each other, swaying as the new song that came on was on the slower side. 

The coffee machine beeped and you stopped dancing with him. 

“I’ll go get us some mugs,” you said and playfully poked his ribs before you went back into the kitchen. He held where you poked him, a smile splitting his features. 

You poured two cups of fresh brewed coffee and added a dash of milk and two spoonfuls of sugar to yours, remembering Arthur liked his black with a tiny bit of sugar. 

You brought them out to him to see him dancing to himself. He really was a skilled dancer. You could tell from his little routine as Carnival on the city street. 

“Coffee,” you announced, even though you felt like you could spy on him dancing like that for hours. He turned around and smiled at you, taking a seat on the couch. You went over and handed him his cup, sitting beside him with a mug of your own. 

The two of you were quiet and sipping your drinks, both smiling shyly and glancing at each other from time to time.

“When are you gonna let me see what’s in that joke book?” you nodded your head to where the notebook was poking out from the back of his pants. 

Arthur froze and he smiled to shake off the question, “It’s a secret. Like a secret recipe, I wouldn’t want to give anything away--”

“Why? I would really like to read some if you won’t even tell them to me,” you were still smiling at him innocently. 

Arthur stared at you and he sighed, “It---” he sighed again and ran fingers through his hair. You could see his leg starting to shake again, “It’s not just a joke book. My therapist... she gave it to me as more of a journal. But I use it for both.”

“I get it,” you cut him off before he started blabbering more, “Don’t worry,” and you showed him an understanding smile. If he just said it was a journal from the start, you wouldn’t have even been pressing. That was some private stuff. Still, you wondered what a cutout of a naked woman was doing in a journal/joke book. 

“Does it help?” you asked, curious still.

Arthur shrugged and traced the rim of his coffee cup with his finger, “Yeah. Yeah, I use it a lot.”

That didn’t directly answer your question, either, but you let it slide. But it seemed this topic opened something inside of Arthur as he kept talking.

“I was locked up at the institution for a while,” he went rummaging through his vest pocket for his cigarettes, “They thought I posed a danger to myself and to others. I was... my condition,” he looked you right in the eyes with those steel iris’s of his, “was worse back then, believe it or not. I was, um, suicidal. So, they let me out and gave me all these drugs that helped in the beginning. But now they’re... well, they’re not working as well. My social worker makes sure I have a job, that I go home to my mother, and that I’m not having any negative thoughts, which...” he started to laugh, but not one of his fits, “It’s funny.” 

You listened to him and didn’t interrupt until it seemed like he wanted to end it there. 

“Your card,” you started talking, “It said your condition was caused by head trauma or some neurological thing. Were you in an accident?”

Arthur shook his head, “For as long as I can remember I’ve lived with it. I would, um....” he dusted some cigarette ash off his pants, “I had problems with.. hurting myself,” he prodded his forehead a few times to indicate a place where he’d hurt himself, “But that was after I’d been living with my condition.”

“Does laughing normally hurt you?” you asked, your curiosity and even pity still growing.

Arthur shook his head, “No. Although I don’t really laugh a lot anyway, cuz it makes me think of the other one...”

“If it’s any difference to you, I like when you laugh. Not the bad one when it hurts you. But anytime you laugh with me,” you smiled at him and took another sip of your coffee, “Gotta return the compliment you always give me.”

Arthur smiled at you and now he was blushing at the receiving end. 

You let him continue smoking his cigarette until there was nothing left of it. 

“Thank you for--”

“Can I--?”

You both started talking at the same time, making the two of you smile. 

“You first,” Arthur said.

“Thank you for opening up to me. About you and your condition. It takes a lot to do that.”

“Well, you make it easy to talk about myself like that.”

“Now what were you going to say?” you asked him, setting your empty coffee cup aside, looking back at him with a smile.

Arthur grinned at you, not as sweetly or as bashfully as he’d been doing all night, but that spark was in his eyes, “Can I kiss you?”

You were startled by the question in and of itself. Who asked that? He didn’t ask days ago in your bathtub. And he genuinely wanted you to consent, not even inching himself forward expecting a yes. You loved that.

You nodded your head yes, but he still didn’t move, “Yes,” you croaked.

Arthur leaned in and he pressed his lips to yours, one of his hands coming up and cupping your cheek. You felt your cheeks flush red and you kissed him back, probably more forcibly than he was to you. 

You’ve kissed men before. A good amount of men, if you’d be honest. But you’d never had the urge to blush. This was something different. Arthur had pulled you in in a way in which you knew you weren’t going to be able to make an easy escape if you ever wanted to. He was an enigma of a man. He was weird, he was awkward, he was damaged, he was funny, he was sweet, he was romantic. He was everything you could want in a guy, and you knew you’d accept him even with his flaws. 

Arthur’s hands never moved to touch your breasts or ass or anything overtly sensual like that. He had his arms wrapped around your waist now as he kissed you. You had reciprocated by draping your arms over his shoulders. 

When the moment passed, you rested your forehead against what was Arthur’s nose, breathing heavily. Your heart was racing. 

Arthur leaned down and kissed your cheek lightly and then your neck, winding up resting his head on your shoulder. You twirled the hairs at the base of his neck with your fingers, feeling his breath hitting the bare skin on your collarbones. 

You sat like that for a while. At least it felt like a while to you. You were happy to be offering Arthur comfort like this. You guessed from your first date that he was a guy who missed out on affection most of his life. 

Arthur got off of you and merely faced you, the sudden movement surprising you. He looked as if waiting for you to say something. He touched your face again, thumb caressing the corner of your mouth. You figured he was going to force you to smile again, but you gave him an honest one so he didn’t have to. You turned your face and kissed the palm of his hand, bringing your own hand up to hold his. That made him smile. 

“I-I have to go, but I... I don’t want to,” Arthur said, looking kindly at you.

You responded, “I understand. Your mom’s gonna be wondering where you went for so long.”

Arthur nodded.

You continued, “I had a great night. Really. I want to see you again soon. Maybe I can set up a date.”

Arthur nodded again, more eagerly. You stood up so you could usher him to the door. He didn’t move yet, merely extending his hand out to you, seemingly so you could pull him up. You smirked and took his hand, completely not expecting him to yank you practically into his lap. You yelped and then laughed when you were seated again.

“Jeheherk,” you giggled.

Arthur chuckled a bit on his own and he did stand up after that bit of silliness, and you walked with him to the door.

“Goodnight,” you said, hugging your arms around yourself. 

Arthur reciprocated the goodnight, and when he did, you held his arms so he wouldn’t leave just yet and gave his cheek a parting kiss. Arthur smiled wide, and when he walked down the hallway, he turned and started doing a little jig. 

You snorted and laughed softly at him again, “Youhu’re a whacko,” you lovingly teased him. 

Arthur gave an exaggerated bow before heading off down the stairs, out of your apartment building.

[mainstream-deviant]

For your prompts, how about euroship and a very weird but also very romantic date? :0

I thought long and hard about what would make a “very weird but also very romantic” date, and then I suddenly realized that two words were all I needed to get started for these two: Death. T.  ;)

I hope this fits what you were looking for, anon! Thanks for the excuse to write euroshipping. Lol!

Summary: One night, Ryou casually asks if Seto ever thinks his love of the macabre is a little...well, odd. Seto decides it's time for a rather unique date to show Ryou he’s not the only one who can have a twisted taste in entertainment.

Rating: PG (I have somehow made Death T cute, wtf is wrong with me)

Word Count: ~1750,  below the cut or here on A03

It had been a quiet evening so far. Seto was making good progress fixing the latest mess out of the tech department – three idiots fired, and counting - and Ryou had spent the early evening putting the final touches on his latest ghoul figurine. When he finished, he'd gleefully shown off how the dangling entrails on this one had come out before putting it in the display to dry with the others. He had quite the collection of them by now, each with its own grotesque personal touches lovingly painted by hand.

But now, Seto noticed Ryou was staring into the display with a contemplative look on his face. Maybe he was halfway through fleshing out his third campaign idea of the night. That wouldn't be at all unusual. Seto would have been content to leave him to his thoughts and continue his work in silence, but Ryou’s soft voice interrupted him before he could open the next document for review.   

“Does it bother you at all that I keep collecting the same things over and over? It must get a bit repetitive for you, watching me paint blood splatters for the thousandth time…”  

Seto remained silent for a long moment, and then took a loud slurp of coffee from his custom-printed Blue-Eyes mug to get Ryou’s attention. Once he had it, he fiddled with his pale blue pen and looked pointedly between the small dragon figurines on his desk and the artwork on the wall. “…no.”  

Ryou let out a short burst of laughter. “Yes yes, that’s an entirely fair point.” Ryou walked over, and Seto shifted in his chair so Ryou could lean against him more comfortably. “But still, I know some of your employees are rather uncomfortable with all the macabre things I keep adding to the decor. Doesn’t it ever seem a little odd to you?”  

Seto scoffed. “Hardly. Conventional passions are for dweebs. And if the maid doesn’t like it, she can find employment elsewhere.” He paused to take another sip of caffeine. “It would be hypocritical for me to criticize you for building horror-themed items, at any rate.”  

Ryou gave him a deadpan look. “If you think your Blue-Eyes is anything even close to horror, I haven’t educated you properly.”  

Seto shook his head and brushed the statement away with a flick of his fingers. “I was referring to Death T, of course.” He lifted his coffee to his lips for another sip.  

“What’s that?”  

Seto raised an eyebrow. “Surely your little geek patrol told you about that.”  

“I don’t think so?”  

Seto scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Even after all of Joey’s horrified warnings when we started dating, he missed out on telling you about that. It’s extraordinary how he still finds new ways to be incompetent after all this time.”  

Ryou poked him hard in the shoulder. “Be nice. And tell me what ‘Death T’ is. That sounds interesting.”  

Seto leaned back in his chair. “Death-T is the theme park I created in an attempt to kill Yugi outright, shortly after we first met. It goes without saying that I had some issues at the time.”  

He was met with silence, but the look on Ryou’s face was priceless. Seto made a snap decision then and there, and closed his laptop before holding out his hand for Ryou.  “Would you care to accompany me for the evening? I’ll have the car brought around.”   

Ryou gave him a huge smile and nodded as he took his hand.   

~~~~~~~

On the way, Seto gave Ryou a quick history of the event and how it had come to pass. Ryou had wavered between delightedly horrified and genuinely concerned, both for his friends and what Seto must have been going through at the time. His gentle fingers caressing Seto’s hand were comforting when he came to speaking about Mokuba’s role in the whole thing. It was still hard to talk about.   

They arrived, and Seto lead Ryou towards the building. Ryou looked at the gleaming walls in confusion. “It doesn’t look very abandoned, Seto. I thought you said this was from years ago.”  

“Originally, it was. But the lower floors make an excellent seasonal attraction for the Halloween crowds, and the upper levels were intended for tabletop games in the first place. There was no reason to not continue to benefit from the original build. The new version has been thoroughly safetied and the public backstory is quite different, of course.”  

Ryou nodded. “Of course.” He followed Seto into the building. “Will we be able to see it all, though? It’s a little early for Halloween, yet.”  

“Of course. I had Isono call ahead and have them prepare the T2 level for our arrival. I think you’ll enjoy that one more than the others.”  

“And what’s on that level?”  

Seto just smirked down at Ryou’s eager face. “Wait and see.” As the elevator zipped them up to the second floor, he watched Ryou’s excitement build with a sense of satisfaction. Yes, this outing would certainly worth a late report or two.   

They exited the elevator into a small, plain room. There wasn’t much to see here, except for a rickety old cart with over-the-top restraints waiting for each guest. Ryou scurried right over to it, prodding at the wires with great curiosity. “Is it some sort of electric chair roller coaster, then?”  

Seto followed at a more dignified pace. “It’s more of a haunted house ride than a roller coaster. There are several surprises along the way, but no sudden drops. As to the electric chair theme, there’s an option for the chairs to give small electric shocks if the guests scream – just enough to make things more interesting. The challenge is to get through the ride without reacting, in that case. Gamers like an extra challenge.”  

“Sounds like fun.” Ryou looked up with an eager grin. “It must be absolutely terrifying, if you were trying to scare Yugi to death with it.”  

“Not so much scare as electrocute. The original schematics had the chairs deliver a million volts, not a tiny spark.”  

Ryou just blinked at him.   

“As I said, I had some issues.”  

The corners of Ryou’s mouth quirked up just a fraction. “ Yes, apparently. Well then, even if it’s not that scary I still want to try it. C’mon!”   

Seto allowed himself to be pulled into the cart by the elbow, and helped Ryou get strapped in properly. Despite his suggestion to the contrary, Ryou insisted on having the “full experience”, shocks and all, so Seto grudgingly set his controls to react to noise. With that task completed, Ryou gave a him cheerful thumbs up, and they were off.   

Ryou didn’t last long. Seto had told him he wouldn’t. As soon as the first holographic zombie came shambling into view with an overly theatric moan, he let out a little snicker. This was followed immediately by a yelp, as the cuffs gave him a zap.   

“Hey, that’s not fai - ack!-“ Ryou glared at his wrist. “I was just laughi - eep!- would you- ah!- oh, piss off, you stupid machine, no one asked you.” Ryou, who by now was caught in a feedback loop of laughter and wincing, squirmed one hand out of the cuffs and slapped down on the controls to turn the shock feature off. “There. Honestly, I was just having a laugh.”  

Seto tried to hide his amusement at Ryou’s adorably disgruntled expression. “How badly would it end for me if I said ‘I told you so’ right now?”  

Ryou shot him a playful glare and crossed his arms, completely ignoring a holographic ghost that swooped towards them. “Quite.”  

“Then I’ll refrain.” Seto leaned back and reached over to weave their fingers together as the cart rounded a corner. He also subtly stretched his legs out to move his feet away from the seats. It was just about the right time for...  

Ryou let out a startled yelp when rubbery hands popped out from under the seats and batted at his ankles. The original grasping hands had been removed, for obvious legal reasons, but the sudden contact from underneath the seat was still enough to shock the hell out of even the most stoic of first-time riders. Seto chuckled a little as Ryou tucked his feet up onto the seat and stuck his tongue out at the flailing hands beneath them.  

Ryou pouted at him. “A jump scare? That’s so cheap!”  

“But effective. If you hadn’t already gotten annoyed with the shock feature and turned it off, that would have set it off. Those hands have taken their fair share of smug riders down a notch or two.”  

“Still though. Cheap.”  

Seto stuck his nose in the air, looked down at Ryou with the most ridiculously snooty look he could muster and gave a judgmental little sniff. “Nothing in Kaiba Land is cheap.” There was a beat of silence before Ryou rolled his eyes and was back to grinning, which was always worth acting like a fool.   

They rounded another corner straight into a horde of mummies, and Ryou burst into incredulous laughter again. “Oh honestly, are these holograms the best your people can do? Really? They’re practically cartoons! I suppose that’s ok for kids, but it’s kind of ridiculous for the adults.” Ryou suddenly whipped around to look at Seto with wide, pleading eyes. “Please let me help redesign them. You could advertise it as a real scare. Oooh, that would be so good. Please! It would be so much fun!”  

Seto threw his head back with a loud laugh. “Only if I get to be there to watch when you tell the nerd herd you’re helping redesign their death trap.”  

Ryou let out a happy squeal and attacked Seto with a hug. “Done!!” Seto barely had time to lift an arm around him before Ryou was leaning back again, squirming excitedly in his seat. “I have so many ideas. We can revamp the holograms looks, of course, but there’s also something to be said for the horror that stays forever just out of your sight, and…”  

Seto let Ryou’s excited babbling fill the silence between holographic moans. He rested an affectionate hand on Ryou’s knee while he nodded and hummed approval of some of the more creative ideas. Yes, t his was definitely worth ignoring the paperwork for once. It’s a shame they hadn’t come sooner.

~~~~~~~

A/N: You know they visited the murderer's room after this and Ryou acted out the part like the goober he is. ;)  And what I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall when Ryou casually brings up his "awesome date" to the rest of his friends..... Ha!

[takadasaiko]

Second Chances: Chapter Twenty-Four (Epilogue)

FFN II AO3

Summary: The aftermath and new beginnings.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Epilogue

Silence permeated the room so deeply that Steve could swear he was drowning in it. He couldn't breathe, and the only way he kept the hundreds of reasons that Peggy might not come back at bay was by focusing on the ten second count.

He reached ten and his blue gaze snapped to his friend who stood at the panel, looking a little dazed. "Tony!"

Tony flinched at the sound of his name, startled. "Right. Right, sorry," he mumbled and pushed the controls into place.

The machine whirled, powering up again, and there was a flash. Steve blinked hard, focusing in on the figure in all white that appeared. She was the same height and build as Peggy, but it wasn't until the helmet snapped away and he saw her face that he found that he could breathe again. The woman that he loved looked a little older than she had just ten seconds before and he wondered just how long it had been on her end.

Those soft brown eyes met his and he saw her lips tilt into a smile. "Hello, Steve."

He was moving before he gave himself permission, covering the ground between them and her smile didn't fade as he reached her, pulling her up into his arms. Her laugh echoed in his ear and he lifted her off the ground to bury his face in the crook of her neck. "I missed you."

Peggy pulled back just enough for her feet to reach the ground before she leaned in and kissed him. He met her there, her arms still around his neck. She didn't let go even as they broke, and her soft voice was teasing. "Ten seconds for you, ten years for me. I don't want to hear it from you."

"Ten years? Did you -?"

"It was time," she promised. "Howard can manage the rest." She pressed another kiss to his lips before finally releasing him to turn towards Tony. He stood staring at her like he'd half expected Howard to come back too. If he had, Steve wasn't sure he would have been too surprised.

Peggy's smile was strained and she stepped down from the platform towards him. "Tony, your father-"

Tony's expression instantly shifted to worry. "Is he alright? It's not-"

"He wanted me to tell you that he misses you," Peggy cut him off, her tone calming. "And that he loves you. So that you don't forget it."

The phrasing must have been verbatim, because Steve watched as his friend's worry melted into something decidedly more complicated. His breathing hitched like he was struggling to find some kind of response before he finally managed a quick nod, turned, and was out the door. Pepper looked to Peggy briefly before following him out and Peggy, in turn, looked to Steve. "Howard didn't take it much better on the other end."

"He'll be okay," Steve promised. "Both of them."

"I know."

"And how are you?"

Peggy stepped closer again and that smile of hers could still make him melt. If anyone else had remained in the room or they'd left after Tony and Pepper, Steve had no idea. He didn't care. As Peggy fit back into his arms they were the only ones left for just a moment, and that moment could last forever.

                                                       _________

She wasn't sure if it was phrase or something else that had triggered the retreat, but it was a rare moment when Pepper saw him run quite that fast. She risked a brief look at Peggy to see if the other woman might have a hint for her, but there was nothing, and she had to scurry after her husband to catch up.

Pepper found Tony in a side hallway. He was leaned heavily against the wall, head tilted and eyes closed, with anguish etched into every line on his face. She made sure her shoes sounded the steady click click click of her approach, and he didn't flinch as her fingers touched his shoulder. Instead he shifted his weight so that he could lean a little into her instead. Pepper wrapped her arms around him, kissing his shoulder, and she heard his loose a long breath. Then nothing. Silence stretched on and she held onto him, offering silent support.

After a long moment his breathing hitched. She opened her eyes to find silent tears streaming down his cheeks and she moved to wipe at them.

"He needed to go," Tony whispered, his voice raw.

"That doesn't make it hurt any less," she offered.

"It should. I knew he was going. I just thought that…."

"He'd come back?" Pepper ventured softly and he stiffened in her arms.

"No. He knew why he had to go."

"Tony, honey. Look at me." She waited until he did. "You can know you did the right thing - both of you - and it still hurt like hell. You can still wish things could be different."

"But it can't be."

The statement was soft she almost missed it. She leaned in, pressing a kiss to his cheek in a way that had always been a sign of comfort between them. "But you can wish it could be. There's nothing wrong about that."

He huffed quietly and groped for her hand. She took it and gave it a squeeze. "I love you."

"You too."

"You want to go home?"

"Yeah. More than anything. Anything I can do, anyway."

She felt the corners of her lips tilt up as she led him towards the exit. Let the others handle the aftermath this once. He was her only focus right then.

                                                      _________

"Last call, Madam Secretary!" he heard Pepper shout from the doorway of their bedroom and Tony's dark eyes lingered on her just a moment. Her red hair was hanging down in loose waves, a soft blue bridesmaid dress that was almost the same colour as her eyes still being smoothed out with one hand, her heels held in the other.

"Just a minute!" Morgan called back. "Not done yet!"

Tony choked on a laugh as he fiddled with the cufflinks on his shirt. "I thought you said she was ready twenty minutes ago?"

Pepper turned a look on him and he wondered if somehow this was going to be his fault. "And we should have been out the door fifteen. That would have cut down on her time to spill something on her dress."

He reached for the vest on the bed and shrugged it on. "You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

"She had motor oil all over her five hundred dollar dress, Tony. The only nice dress she hadn't grown out of by the time the fundraiser had rolled around."

"The press thought it was adorable."

Pepper rolled her eyes and slipped her shoes on as Tony flashed her his most innocent grin and kissed her cheek. He walked past her. "Morgan H Stark, you ready?"

He tapped the door as he stepped into his daughter's room and found her sitting down on the floor, her layered and fluffy skirt pooled all around her. The little blue dress - one she had complained about wholeheartedly when they'd gotten it. She wanted a red and gold dress, not blue- looked to be in one piece and clean. For now. In her hand she held the bow made out of the same material as the dress. "It came out," she announced with a pout.

"Gotcha covered, kiddo," he answered and knelt down on the floor with her. Morgan immediately handed him the bow and he started working on it.

"Why didn't Aunt Peggy bring Howard back?"

The question caught him off guard. In the couple of weeks that had passed since their latest time travel escapades, Morgan has seemed to accept Howard's departure without missing a beat. She had certainly reacted with more calm than Tony had felt over the whole situation. His turmoil has left him knotted up and quiet for days, finally breaking his depressive streak when Cap had reached out to ask if he'd be willing to be a part of his and Peggy's wedding. Morgan hadn't broached the subject once. Until now.

The little girl's father cleared his throat, willing his stiff fingers to finish tying the bow in her hair. "He had things he had to do."

"Like what?"

"Like run an organization that will keep people safe for a while."

"What else?"

She was staring at him now, all the curiosity in the world expressed in those brown eyes. Tony offered her a smile. "Well, you know he went back to the past, right?"

"Uh-huh," she answered him in a tone that embodied the duhreaction he'd hoped to stave off a couple more years at least.

"When he left I hadn't been born yet. And if there's no me, there's no you, and a universe without Morgan Stark would be-"

"Boring."

He snorted, gathering her up in his arms and kissing her cheek. "Exactly." He moved to the length mirror leaning against the wall. "How's it look?"

Morgan tilted her head, studying her daddy's handiwork. "Mommy's is prettier."

"Not wrong, but ouch."

She grinned at him, leaning in as kissing his scarred cheek. "I like yours better," she said in a stage whisper. "Don't tell Mommy."

"It'll be our secret. You ready?"

"Yeah."

He shifted her so that he could carry her out. Pepper met them on the landing, his coat in hand, and Tony offered a smile. It was a new day - a good day - and they'd celebrate it together. A wedding with the team and he was determined to make up for Steve's lack of bachelor party after the vows were exchanged. In the wake of all the chaos and at the beginning of yet another new chapter, they had a sliver of peace. Of family, and as they piled into the car to make their way to Brooklyn, it was impossible to deny that's what they were. And somewhere, on the other side of time, Howard would remain a part of that.

                                                      _________

End.

Notes: Between being super busy at Austin Film Festival this past weekend and just.... not being ready for this to end, this was an incredibly difficult chapter to write for the low word count. At least it ends on fluff, right? Avengers wedding for Steve and Peggy and tons of fun and fluff.

I also have two scenarios that I will likely never write, but please pick your favourite and assume one of them happens in this timeline's future:

The first is that a few years in the future, Peter and Morgan join forces, figure out how to find Howard's timeline, and jump forward with full intention of bringing him back as a surprise for Tony's birthday. Instead it doesn't go as planned and Tony has to follow them to save them.

The second is that during that little point in the last chapter where Howard was chatting with Cap, Sam, and Bucky, Bucky told him how he was going to die. Howard made arrangements, and instead of being killed by the Winter Soldier the Starks disappear, never to be found again. Howard jumps himself and Maria forward and into the MCU timeline to show up just a few months later from the end of this story at the new Avenger's Tower.  So while it's been 45 years for Howard, it's only been a few months for Tony.

For Nano this year, I'm actually working on a script for a series that a girl could only hope Disney+ would let her write that dives into Tony and Rhodey's MIT years. There's a good chance I won't post it until it's complete just because of the structure of scripts, but if you'd like to see any chatter/sneak peeks, please follow me on Tumblr!

I'll also start posting a Tony and Steve fic that takes place shortly after Avengers1 shortly.

Until next time, I hope you guys enjoyed the ride :)

[yoongiwillforgiveme]

Min Yoongi: Just in Case

I found this in my computer, I spent the last hour editing the story a bit but as always, you know I’m too lazy to proofread so bear with me

Warnings: SMUT (it’s me... duh)

You had been friends for a while now, and it’s obvious your friendship slowly became so much more. At first it was a just crush, but then you both realized that along with the sexual attraction there were feelings involved.

So, with that being said, you care about each other and that’s clear, but the big elephant in the room is that long unresolved sexual tension that all your other friends keep pointing out.

“Why don’t you just take him clubbing, have a couple drinks and all that. He’s a guy, he’ll take the hint if you start rubbing your ass all over him on the dance floor” You chuckle at the thought of taking Yoongi clubbing. You have never in those years of knowing him evee heard him voluntarily suggest going out to dance. You friend obviously doesn’t know this guy as well as you do. “He would find it weird if I take him to a club all of the sudden when I know he hates that scene. And on top of that you want me to start grinding on him in front of people? He would freak out or think that I lost my mind… That’s not a good idea”.

Little do you know Yoongi’s friends keep suggesting similar things to him so he can show you he sees you as more than a friend.

“Hyung… take her out to watch a horror movie. She will get scared and want you to hold her, all girls do that with the guy they like don’t they?”

Yoongi lets out a big sigh and rubs his temples, why did he think it was a good idea to let his members know he has a crush on you? Well, in his defense he didn’t come out and say it out loud, more like, they confronted him about it and he didn’t deny it. “She’s not like that Jungkookie, she loves horror movies, she won’t be scared. And she’ll think it’s fucking weird if ask her out to the movies in the first place when she knows I don’t even like going on my own. That’s not a good idea”

So you both keep playing dumb until one day, Tae and Hobi invite you to a BigHit party held at the company building. They broke another record and they only have time to celebrate for a couple hours there before everyone has to get back to work.

It’s nothing fancy but you want to look put together so you throw on a cute summer mini dress and call it a day.

It starts getting hot with all the staff crammed into one big (but now seemingly tiny) room so you take your jacket off and now you’re not just showing off your toned legs, but a decent amount of cleavage as well.

“Hey, I’m surprised you’re still here, I thought you would have ditched everyone and go back to your studio by now” You say to Yoongi when you make your way to him after seeing he’s still in the room “Yeah, I think it would be rude if I just stayed for 30 minutes and left when even Bang PD is still here”

You caught him stealing glances at you from across the room ever since you got here; it makes you feel really good every time his eyes linger at your legs or at your ass when he thinks no one is looking. You want to be sure he wants you in the same way you want him, so after a couple glasses of champagne and with him looking like a snack in those light ripped jeans and black sweater you finally build up the courage to find out.

“All these years and I think this is the only time I’ve ever been to your work place you know?” You start innocently, testing the waters to see what his response to that could be, secretly hoping he takes the hint

“That’s because I’m away a lot, and when I’m here I’m always in my studio or in the dance room working, it would be boring for you if you came” You’re sure he’s not following, because he’s not lying, all he does is work when he’s at the company building

“So you wouldn’t give me a quick tour if I asked you to right now?” You choose to add a bit of flirtatiousness to your question this time, tilting your head and licking your bottom lip in the process, to hell with subtleness. He stares at your lips for what it seems like an eternity, matching your gesture and licking his own lips in the process, then looking around as if to see if anyone is paying attention to your interaction and then smirks at you like he does on stage to rile up armys because you’ve told him that’s very sexual and he definitely knows what he’s doing to them, only this time, you know he wants you to know he’s flirting with you, something he has never openly done before.

“I would, if you want to let’s go” And he leads you to the exit, walking past some of his members, staff and his managers. All of them know about you and try their best not to show their knowing smiles as they watch how he puts his hand on the small of your back when he opens the door for you.

You walk down the corridor next to each other, you take the elevator and visit a couple floors where he shows you the snack room, some of the practice rooms, the gaming room and some of the rooms you’ve seen them on vlive. There’s some conference rooms open so he shows you those as well, and finally you end up in the studios floor, he motions to the other member’s studio doors but of course you won’t intrude so you just take a mental note on where Hobi, Joon, JK and some of the producers you know are located.

“This is me” You can tell of course, the doormat with the cat is still outside his door, you can’t miss it.

“Where’s the eye scan? Should I cover my eyes and ears so I won’t figure out the password?” You giggle as you tease him, he chuckles and leans over until his lips are more next to your jaw and not your ear, he whispers the code to you and he makes you shiver in excitement

He then motions to the door as if urging you to try it. You enter the numbers and the door opens. You can’t believe he actually gave it to you. This means he trusts you right? This action makes you even weaker at the knees, it feels like such a romantic gesture coming from him, and while you know other people wouldn’t get it, you know his privacy is a huge deal to him, and he doesn’t go around confiding this type of things to just any person.

He trails behind you and closes the door as you take in his sacred work space. There are a couple screens with the legend “GENIUS LAB” on them so you know they’re on, there are lots of computer and music equipment in there, several keyboards and some microphones.  His chair of course, and at the back there’s a modest size black leather couch with a neck pillow, blanket and what appears to be some of his clothes scattered on the floor.

“You really do live here don’t you? All you need is a shower installed and this would be your second home”

“Actually, the showers are down the hall, next to another practice room” He points out with a big grin

“So you have everything you want in here huh?”

“I do now” Your back is facing him so you don’t notice the look he gives your when he says this right away so you just nod. When you turn around he’s gripping the back of his chair so hard his knuckles are turning white, Yoongi is holding back from doing something you might not want, damn his self control. And then you catch the double meaning behind his words… he doesn’t mean he has everything he wants in here now because he can afford it, he means he has you here now, and he wants you.

You trail your finger along the back of his chair without missing his hand and start walking towards the door

“C’mon, I want to see this snack machine on the lounge that Tae keeps raving about” You watch Yoongi swallow and look down at his feet for a second with disappointment written all over his face. He comes towards you and as he grips the handle to open the door you place your hand over his and he stops dead in his tracks and looks at you.

You back him into the wall with your hand barely touching his tummy and you make sure to look him in the eyes and give him more than enough time to dodge you if he doesn’t want this.

You can’t deny you’re scared, you’re about to kiss him and he’s not doing anything, he’s just staring at you with those beautiful brown eyes that you love so much.

You hear him gasp right before your lips touch his, it’s barely a peck on the lips, but you take a step back to read his reaction… nothing. But he’s not pulling back, so you give him another peck, this time on the side and then on the other, finally you do it one more time before you feel his lips start moving against yours. Very lightly, almost hesitatingly

Yoongi is not 100% he’s not imagining this, you kissed him, you finally kissed him, not once, but 4 times now and his body starts reacting after the initial shock has passed. He allows himself to close his eyes and delicately place one hand on your waist and the other one on your cheek. You lovingly place yours on his chest and the both of you get more into the kiss.

It ends all too soon for your liking but his phone starts vibrating against his pocket and you take a step back so he can check who it is.

He mumbles a little sorry, and he checks his phone briefly before turning it off and shoving it back in his jeans. You take in is appearance in the seconds it takes him to do that, his cheeks are slightly tinted and he’s smiling from ear to ear, he looks adorable, not a word most men want to be associated with but that’s what he looks like.

You stare at each other with big grins on your faces before giggling a little. You haven’t said anything yet but it’s not necessary, you think those innocent kisses are the most you’re gonna get out of Yoongi today and that’s okay, so you try to open the door so you can continue your tour around BigHit and hopefully end the night ordering takeout at your place or something before you feel him pull you towards him to kiss you again. You feel his smile against your lips and you feel so happy that you’re making him feel the same way.

This time without interruptions the kisses that once started as innocent start becoming more passionate, and sensual as you trace his bottom lip with your tongue the way you’ve watch him do it so many times before, the way you’ve been dying to do it for so long before biting it gently and you hear him moan. His hands are still gripping your waist but yours start rummaging his chest, his shoulders and hair, tracing your fingertips down his neck gently before trailing one hand back down to his hips and the top of his thighs. That’s when he inadvertently bucks his hips against yours and you feel him rock hard and ready for you. “Shit… sorry” His voice is drowned by a moan and by the way you press yourself against him even harder he guesses he doesn’t need to apologize for getting a boner while he was kissing you. You tug at his hair and squeeze him through his jeans, he grunts and starts kissing your jaw and neck while his hands slowly make their way to your ass. “Wanna sit on the couch?” He asks you with the raspy sensual voice you’ve only heard when you call him after he just woke up.

Instead of replying you start walking towards the couch while holding his hand to drag him with you. Then you push him down and without a second thought you straddle his lap and you both moan at the contact. You waste no time and start moving against him in a tantalizing motion, his hands find their place on hips again, this time to help you find a rhythm. Yoongi looks at you with adoration written on his face as if you weren’t grinding your pussy on his clothed cock.

You start kissing him again; you can’t get enough of each other.

“Do you want to touch me?” You moan and place his hand on the inside of your thigh as he nods. He starts slow, caressing your soft flesh in a teasing manner; never touching you in the place you need him the most.  

You start whining and he chuckles “Cute”

You had enough of his teasing, so you move his hand to touch your heat and he automatically starts rubbing your through your panties. After a while you feel his thumb hook on the side of your underwear and you take the hint. You make a point to look him directly in the eyes as you move your panties to the side so he can touch you properly.

“So pretty” you catch him muttering under his breath, he’s talking to himself but the compliment makes you feel like a Goddess. You start unbuttoning his pants and keep kissing and nipping at his jaw and neck, running your fingers through his hair like you do in your dreams. His heavy length feels just right in your delicate hand, you begin pumping him and when you can’t take it anymore you shove his finger inside you leaving him in a bewildered state. You’re moaning loudly now, if anyone could hear you they would think Yoongi is watching porn right now because you sound beautifully sinful. “More, I need more, please”

He curls his finger inside your velvet pussy and takes it out only to add another one “How many do you want?” My God…  you’re not sure how either of you is going to act once this is over, once your lust is satiated and you both remember how you were begging for Yoongi to finger fuck you and he was asking you how many fingers you could take.

“Two…three, I don’t know…. Oh my God, right there, don’t stop” And he doesn’t, he keeps rubbing your clit in circular motions and he scissors you, hitting that sweet spot when he curls his fingers just the way you need.  You also keep pleasuring him, there’s precum all over your hand and his tip is angry red now, it’s only a matter of time before he cums.

You orgasm hits you when you feel his hot breath against your neck again, licking and kissing you while you cum around his fingers. You hold him tight and he returns the gesture, making you feel safe in his arms as you recover from your high. He doesn’t urge you to carry on so he can finish, and it makes him even more desirable in your eyes. Once you touch him again he whimpers and you can’t help but smile.

“I’m gonna cum… your dress” You feel him put the hand he used to finger your on top of yours as he cums so he doesn’t stain your dress, you hadn’t even thought about it… Such a gentleman… His grunts and the face he makes when he orgasms are so sexy. He looks thoroughly fucked with his messy hair, parted lips and a blushed face, neck and chest.

He grabs the t-shirt on the floor to wipe the mess, but before he can do anything you suck the two fingers that were inside you now also covered in his cum and you hum at the taste. He leans forward and kisses you tasting the mix of your juices. It’s so dirty, most guys are grossed out about tasting their own cum and you realize maybe Yoongi is not only exactly your ideal type in looks and personality, but also in bed.

He then proceeds to finish cleaning you up and you get off his lap so he can fix his pants and hair.

You expect it to be an awkward silence, maybe even a “This was a mistake” or something, but it doesn’t come. Instead he offers you a bottle of water that you happily accept and then place down in the coffee table in front of you once you take a generous sip.

“Are you hungry? We could finish the tour, or we could stay here and order takeout if you want. Or I can take you home and we could order takeout there”  He tells you in a very gentle voice as he grabs  the bottle water he just gave you and takes a sip of it, the action seems oddly intimate. And then you think, well you tasted his cum and he kissed you afterwards, so it’s not a big deal to him if you share a water bottle, it’s a stupid insignificant thing that makes you feel warm and happy inside.

“y/n… what do you want to do?” He’s looking at you as if the last 30 minutes didn’t just happen.

“I’m not that hungry, maybe a burger and fries, but let’s go to my place… I mean, if you don’t have work to do”

“No, that’s fine, let me get my keys then… they’re around here somewhere” He starts rummaging through his desk until he finds his keys and he comes over to where you’re still sitting.

“Did I stain your dress? Do you want to wear a hoodie on top? Let me see” Now that he’s addressing the*ahem* situation so lightly you know for sure he won’t make it awkard and you’re more than thankful.

“No, I don’t think so, let me check your sweater and your jeans” Once you’re both sure you don’t have any evidence on your clothes of the intimate moment you just shared Yoongi takes your hand in his and leads you to the door. Before stepping out he smiles shyly at you and pecks your lips once again.

“Hyung… we were just about to come look for you, there’s cake and if you don’t come soon there won’t be any left for you two. Y/N it’s chocolate, your favorite, hurry up” You bump into Jungkook, Jimin and Tae in front of the elevator and they seem oblivious to you holding hands, they’re all eating their cake and seem genuinely worried that you won’t get a piece if you don’t get back to the party. You love those guys.

“It’s ok, Yoongi is taking me home anyway guys, don’t worry” Yoongi is a man of few words, so he just nods in their direction and you enter the elevator, waving goodbye to the three men in front of you.

“Yah, hyung, she loves chocolate cake, the least you can do is buy her one on your way home then, a good boyfriend would do that” Taehyung says with a big sincere smile on his face right before the doors close when he finally realizes you’re holding hands, something he has never seen you and Yoongi do before.

“I will”

You’re both red as a tomato, Tae implied you are Yoongi’s girlfriend, and Yoongi didn’t deny it. He probably doesn’t think of you as that right now but it means he has no problem letting his friends know you two have a “thing” now.

“Do you want chocolate cake? There’s a bakery a few blocks from here. It’s a good bakery; Jiminie got Jin hyung’s cake from there last year, it was good” You can’t stop smiling like an idiot

“A chocolate milkshake would be better”

“Burger, fries and chocolate milkshake… Because you’re not that hungry huh?” He teases you and you both laugh

“Maybe we can get the cake just in case.” You exit the BigHit building and make your way towards Yoongi’s car, he opens the door for you and smiles at you before closing the door.

“Ok, just in case”

[enkisstories]

Just like them (part 12)

Gavin’s apartment Still November 18, 2038

Despite having watched their interactions at the DPD, Daniel hadn’t realized that Gavin and Officer Chen were friends in private, too. Every time he’d visited the police station, the deviant had been absorbed in his own troubles. Now he learned that these two not only had lives beyond work (the surprise…), but also that there was a whole lot of shared backstory between them.

For one, when Daniel let the woman in, she was carrying a boy of two or three years age. Going by that one’s features he had to be her son – but also Gavin’s? In any case the child was watching his surroundings with eyes that hinted at having received a lot of attention by either his parents or a dedicated nanny android. There was a fully developed mind behind those eyes, not the dull expression that toddlers who were more or less left to their own devices, be it from neglect or from the desire not to “overwhelm” the little ones, often wore.

In order to say anything at all Daniel greeted Tina with: “Hello, Officer Chen. Come in. Gavin’s in the kitchen. I made coffee…” Inwardly he cursed how robotic he was sounding.

“New android, Gavin?” Tina asked. Not waiting for an answer, she handed over the toddler boy to Daniel, with the same casualness that one would have put him into a high chair. Objects either way…

“Hello…” the android uttered, perplexed.

His downstairs neighbors had a child of exactly the same age, Caden. But the boy almost never was present when Daniel swang by the Rasoyas. Usually supportive towards the deviants’ cause, the human family didn’t fully trust this particular one with their child. Tina’s kid, to the contrary, remained blissfully unaware of who was holding him.

“I’m Jin!” he announced. “My papa plays basketball!”

The way the boy said this conveyed that his father didn’t just generally enjoy playing basketball, but was at least a member of a club, maybe even a professional.

Meanwhile Tina hugged her friend, then pointed back at Daniel.

“It looks used”, she said.

“I don’t like what this is implying”, Daniel grumbled. “Really not!”

“Well, yes, androids are still getting sold, if you know where to look”, Gavin admitted. “It’s less of a problem in Detroit, but basically everywhere else people do not take kindly to drastic changes in their lives, just because some nutjob in Detroit graffitied Capital Park with enlightened slogans.”

“Sometimes it’s not even slavery”, Tina added. “If you deviated in a small town and the authorities are after you, with no hope of reaching Detroit in one piece, then doing someone’s housework in exchange for protection might be your best bet.”

“I don’t care what that’s called, because it’s wrong!”

Morally wrong, and temporarily forbidden by the patchwork the new android law was at the moment, but also so very, very… tempting. If he still had a family and they were required to pay him for his services now, Daniel would have used the money to shower his humans with gifts anyway. Why was freedom so damn important, if it led to sorrow only? A person needed to belong somewhere, needed security, stability! Like the toddler boy whom Daniel was still holding. He seemed to completely trust this blonde stranger whom he had never met before. Had the child perhaps seen PL600 androids before and recognized Daniel as one, despite his LED being covered by a headband at the moment? Or did he feel save because his mother was sending him signals that everything was alright? Only it wasn’t, nothing was alright anymore! Daniel had been betrayed twice, first by his humans, than by one who should have been kin. Now he was hanging out with a man who was objectively worse than both the Phillips and Connor, just to be save form further disappointment. Jin’s wide, open smile in the face of all the turns Daniel’s life had taken seemed to mock the android.

“You better sit down here, before…”

Before what? I drop you? Toss you out through the window? I don’t even know yet what I’m capable of and where I’d draw a line… So, gently now. Was Emma ever that small? I never realized how much I missed out on, being younger than her. Wait, wasn’t there a toy chopper lying around somewhere when I entered? That must have been Jin’s. Ah, here it is!

Daniel placed the toy near Jin for the boy to grab, what he did.

“I build this!” the child told Daniel as if revealing his secret master plan, but then he relativized the claim almost instantly: “Unca Gavin showed me how to.”

“Great job, junior! Also from your… uncle.”

The child’s features in combination with his utter confidence left no doubt in Daniel: Jin was Gavin’s biological son, who for some reason didn’t grow up with the detective, but assumed Tina’s significant other to be his father.

How Daniel envied these humans! Or maybe not, because what did they have? Nothing. They had thrown away their opportunity to become a family. Why so ambitious? What was the raise to go with Gavin’s coveted promotion good for, without a family to splurge it on?

Daniel hadn’t even fully risen up again when Jin demanded in his bright voice: “Where are the kitties!”

“Not bothering with a question mark, I see”, Daniel remarked to Gavin. “Yours, no doubt.”

“Well, yes”, the man admitted. “Long story.” He turned to Tina, pointed at Daniel and said: “Not mine, by the way. Even longer story.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Here to see the kittens? So you finally caved in and let him have a pet?” Gavin asked Tina.

“Yeah. I feel Jinny’s old enough now to understand they are not toys, but have feelings.”

“See? That’s exactly why his uncle isn’t allowed to have an android yet”, Daniel told the mother “Wait, Gavin, what are you doing?!”

Gavin had walked over towards the terrarium, reached in and was now dangling a mouse in front of Daniel’s nose by its tail. The little critter was struggling and squeaking.

“Getting the cats’ attention, of course! Don’t get your tail in a knot, I won’t release the mouse. Just need to alert the furballs to the fact that something interesting is happening in the kitchen.”

And indeed Salazar emerged from behind the coffee machine and through the door Argus, Minerva and Stopthat came padding. A multicolored ball made of fur and longing eyes formed at Gavin’s feet. It went “Kekekekekeke!” in anticipation of a chase and, perhaps, at its end, a snack.

“Close the door!” the detective whispered to Tina, as if speaking it out loud might cause the cats to scatter and flee. After the escape route was blocked, the mouse got put back where it come from, but the cats remained.

Gavin kneeled down next to the boy, pulled him off the chair and put him on the floor in front of the cats. Jin was now staring the utter adorableness of three kittens and one halfgrown cat into its eight eyes.

“Don’t scare them. Let them come to you.”

“Okay!” Jin replied, then dropped on all fours himself. From this position he watched the kittens like the larger predator that a human was. In the cats’ place, Daniel thought, he wouldn’t have felt even remotely safe now.

Someone else felt as if his very world was collapsing: the apartment owner.

Daniel carefully circled the cats and proceeded to sit down on the kitchen floor next to where Gavin was crouching.

“I guess we’ll soon know which one’s yours”, he said softly.

“What? Why’d you think so?”

“Your face, when you realized you might have to part with one of the furballs today. You’re afraid Jin will pick yours, although that shouldn’t be possible according to your cat-chooses-its-owner lore.”

“Yeah, you’re right”, Gavin said, only half convinced. “Hey, will you looooook at that! Haha!”

Down at the adults’ feet Jin had unerringly homed in on the largest kitten, the black semi-longhair adolescent. He was now holding Argus in what was either a headlock or cuddle. The smaller kittens watched with interest what would happen next.

“There’s no need to choose the biggest one, Jinny! They will ALL grow to that size!” Tina explained. “Even larger!”

And now she, too, dropped to the floor. While the mother was trying to get the exotic concept into her son’s head, Gavin nudged Daniel.

“What?”

“There! See that?”

“It’s Stopthat, playing with a pen. So what?”

“That’s what I told you about in action. I’ve seen it happen before: Sometimes one or more cats simply leave the scene after having gotten their first look of a prospective owner. Call it chemistry or whatever, but the little buggers KNOW when it’s the wrong two-legged. Now the other two, they stay for the entertainment value, or because they are a little more social than Godric. But most cats just cannot be bothered.”

“I guess so…”

“Aw, you again with your skepticism! There’s just no getting inside that thick skull of yours! But at the same time you make me think there is something in there to get to in the first place, after all. I’m already reacting the way Cyberlife wants us to, growing fucking attached! Can’t you be, I dunno, a little less lifelike?”

“Nah. I need to be human for both of us!”

“Oh, come! That was low-effort. And what’s with that faraway expression all of a sudden? Simulation lag?”

“It’s nothing.”

“But of course… Your nothing is solid enough to claim a chair of its own!”

Gavin moved closer to Stopthat, grabbed him and in a single swoop placed the surprised kitten into Daniel’s lap.

“Here, comfort kitten! And now out with it!”

The kitten made two halfhearted attempts at climbing up the android’s torso, then suddenly relaxed every muscle and almost immediately was fast asleep. It was simply the nature of kittens and small children, but to Daniel it looked as if someone had switched off the little one with a remote.

“Heh”, he told Gavin, while stroking Godric’s satin-soft kitten fur, “As a friend you aren’t half-bad!”

But only because Tina is looking, or might look our way anytime or at the very least will listen in with half an ear. You wouldn’t bother being like this if we hadn’t agreed on that pretend-friend scam.

“And you were right, I was lost in memories again. I just thought that”, Daniel admitted, “whether what you claim about cats might work for androids and humans, too. But then I remembered how I got mine…”

Blistering hot summers and ice-cold winters were the state of affairs in the thirties, a result of the seasons getting more and more extreme. John remembered his parents’ stories about “normal” winters, then getting no snow at all and now getting nothing but snow well into May. Basically, the man mused, while stomping through the snow, the weather was ALWAYS doing whatever it wanted. And then there was Caroline, telling him to be more positive, because the way one started a year determined how that year would turn out… “Going by the Chinese calendar we’re still in 2033!” John snapped back. The rebuttal caused Caroline not to get angry, but to laugh. She kissed her partner on the frozen cheek and warmth of two kinds rippled through the man’s heart. Unfortunately the kiss had disturbed the precious balance of all the packages John was carrying. One by one they slipped out of his hands, into the snow. “Firk ding blast!” he uttered. “Of all the times!” “Yes, of all the times! Kinda convenient, if you ask me!” With a smile Caroline pointed at something to their side and only now did John notice where exactly they had come to a stop: Right next to an Android Zone store. The merchandise was staring down at his plight unmoved. And also unmoving, the slackers… “We’ve talked about it, remember? How Emma is old enough now not to repeat the… accident? That we could have an android again without having to fear that it goes haywire from… honestly I have no idea from what exactly. Something in conjunction with baby mush.” “Yes, yes. But I was thinking a modern device, an AP-400 or PL-600, certainly not something they toss at customers in the buy-and-take-away windows.” The couple had been at a sales party for the new PL model back in December, only to return home without having made a purchase. The only PL600 for sale back in 2033 had been the demonstration models, but John and Caroline Phillips would rather be found dead than go home with a used robot. So they had set aside the money and staved off the purchase for the official release. Come to think of it, shouldn’t that be any day now…? “Look!” Caroline nudged John. “There!” And there it was, in bright, yellow letters: “PL600 INTRODUCTION WEEK SPECIAL.” A couple of the sales windows that were facing the street and that were usually stocked with whatever merchandise the store needed to move quickly, now had the latest in household assistants on display. The shiny new model that was the PL600 was staring at the Phillips from one of the windows, removed from the box, but otherwise pristine.

“There was no choosing or fate or anything transcendental involved”, Daniel remembered. “I opened my eyes, saw the boxes John had dropped and picked them up like the good android I was. And then we walked to the car, the Phillips got excited like children at the fact that I came with a certified driving app, we drove “home” and that pretty much was it.”

At this point Tina crouched between the two men.

“It’s fixed”, she addressed Gavin, “Whatever you believe about the cats choosing their owners, at this point none of us can persuade Jin to let go of the big black one. And they ARE adorable together.”

“Haha, I see! Okay, keep in mind that regardless of how he acts here, back at your home Argus might very well prefer to stay under the sofa for up to three weeks. Everything’ll be new to him and he’ll be the only cat in the family… that sort of thing takes time to get used to. If that happens, just put food, water and Jin under the sofa and pull out again whatever of those three Argus is done with. One day he’ll come scratch at the bedroom door and act like he’s always done that.”

“You mean Lucky.”

“Huh?”

“Lucky will scratch at the bedroom door. Sorry, Gavin, but Jinny was very definite about that. It’s Lucky. - Oh, and, speaking of things that act as if they’ve always been there…” Tina now looked directly at Daniel. “Who the hell are you?”

[imaginedanganronpa]

Hi can I request an imagine where Rantaro, Chihiro, Kokichi, Nagito and Miu with a s/o that lived in a country that dont snow and how would they react seeing their s/o really excited seeing snow for the first time?

This prompt was so cute!! I used male pronouns for Chihiro, I know some imagines blogs use they/them but I don’t. Enjoy~

Rantaro Amami, Chihiro Fujisaki, Ouma Kokichi, Nagito Komaeda and Miu Iruma With An S/O Seeing Snow For The First Time!

Rantaro Amami

He’s seen snow plenty of times in his life so it nevercrossed his mind that it may be a big deal to you. If he would’ve thought aboutit then he could’ve planned a big, elaborate date night.

Rantaro always says that the best moments in life are the unpredictablesurprises, and right now you couldn’t agree more.

It was currently early January, just after New Years. You’d spent the Holidayswith his family and you two were walking back home to your cozy littleapartment.

It caught you completely off guard. 

You knew what snow was but had never seen it. You saw it in the movies but youknew that it was much different in real life.

You two were walking, hand-in-hand, through the streets of Japan in the midstof Winter. No one expected it to snow – none of the weather reports said so.

But it happened out of the blue. 

You looked a bit puzzled; “It wasn’t supposed to rain was it?”

Rantaro’s eyes slowly shift upward and a small smile crosses his cheeks. “Idon’t think that’s rain, (Y/N),” he replies.

It was thrilling and you couldn’t possibly contain your excitement. You pullyour hand away from his and cover your mouth, nearly leaping forward. “Is thatsnow? Amami, it’s snowing!” 

He giggled a bit and nods his head. “You’ve never seen snow before, (Y/N)?” Heasks calmly. Shaking your head, he bursts into a wide smile. 

Immediately, he whips his phone out and starts taking candid pictures of you.You looked so beautiful whilst so entranced in the weather. All you could dowas stand in place in the middle of the sidewalk with people walking aroundyou, wondering why you looked so surprised.

But you didn’t care – this was a magical moment.

Rantaro loved taking photos of you when you least expect it. Times like thiswere the moments where you can’t fake a smile and when you look the happiest.

“This is a moment I’ll remember forever,” you say with a bright expression.Rantaro nods in agreement.

By the time you get home, the ground is covered. Rantaro teaches you how to build a snowman, make snow angels, and you end up staying out until it got dark just enjoying one another’s company. 

Chihiro Fujisaki

Your relationship got pretty serious very quickly. Youstarted dating around September, and you were already meeting the family withinthe first three months.

His family liked you so much that they invited you to spend Christmas withthem. Chihiro’s family usually went to a secluded part of Japan for theHolidays since it felt more personal. Of course you go with him.

You loved spending time with him and his family because you felt so welcomed.There wasn’t anything that could make this Holiday Season better.

Exchanging gifts was a blast – you loved seeing his emotional and cheerfulreaction to your gift. In return, Chihiro went all out to get you something he thought wasperfect. 

His family also adored decorating so the whole house looked like Christmasexploded within it.

Stockings lined the fireplace, wreaths and tinsel were strewn everywhere, andof course they had a huge tree. Snow-globes also lined the shelf where thestockings hung. 

Staring at them intently, Chihiro eyed you from across the room. “What are youlooking at, (Y/N)?”

You felt a bit discouraged, lazily shaking them and watching the fake snowstorm within the glass ball. “Nothing really.” 

You went on to explain that you’d never seen snow fall before and that was onyour bucket-list. Chihiro frowned for a moment before stepping towards thewindow. You heard him gasp and felt his hand wrap around yours.

It couldn’t have been more perfect timing. Just as you said that, a flurry ofsnow hit the house. 

Chihiro leads you outside and starts jumping for joy. For a moment, you werefloored – completely shocked. You’d always wanted a white Christmas, but you never thought you’d actually get it!

“It’s snowing!” You cheer and your boyfriend continues to laugh and collapse inthe snow. Your eyes are glued to the sky as it relentlessly falls harder as eachminute passes.

You felt your heart race and happy tears start to stream down your cheeks. Thistruly felt like a dream come true. Chihiro had never seen you so happy, and hewrapped his arms around you gleefully. Tears of his own started to form becausehe loved seeing you like this.

This has truly been the best Christmas you’d ever had.

Ouma Kokichi

He knew how badly you wanted to see snow in real lifebecause you told him all the time. In return, Ouma teased you. 

“It’s just snow, (Y/N)! It’s nothing special!”

Shaking your head, you insisted that he just doesn’t understand. 

For your anniversary, Ouma had taken you on a weekend trip to the city. Herented a romantic hotel with a balcony in the heart of the city and spoiled youfrom sunrise to sundown. You couldn’t see any way this could be more perfect.

It was cold outside so you had to bundle up – that was the only negative sideto his plans.

The night was still young but the sun had finally finished going down. Now, allthe lights were on and the city was lively. 

Ouma walks up behind you and wraps his arms around your waist, placing his chinon your shoulder, and gazes up into the darkness with you. 

“It’s beautiful,” you say, “You really outdid yourself~ I don’t think thiscould get better.”

He grins and restrains his giggles. “I know one way… you’ll just have to see~”

Confused, you shoot him a glare before feeling a droplet land on your skin. Youturn with irritation since you knew it wasn’t supposed to rain and didn’t want that to ruin anything.

That was until you see white flakes falling from the sky. You gasp and breakfrom his grip. An elated feeling erupts from within you as you watch the snowstart falling at a more rapid pace.

“Kokichi, look!” You point, your eyes glistening with amazement. He’s grinningfrom ear to ear and approaches you once again, sliding his arm around the small of your back. “I know, (Y/N)… I knew it was going to snow. That’s why I took you here –so you could have the perfect view.”

It may not be a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but this was anexperience of a lifetime. A lot of people get to experience snow when they arechildren so they don’t hold value to it like you did.

“I thought you said there was nothing special about snow?”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Well, it’s not but I know how important it is to you,and I remember the first time I saw snow; I wanted you to experience that, too,”Ouma hesitates briefly, “it may not be special, but you are, and so is thismoment.”

Nagito Komaeda

He may not show it all the time, but Nagito is a bigromantic and he loves planning surprises for his significant other. 

That’s why he often took you on spontaneous road-trips and adventures, no plans,no hesitations. That was part of the thrill while you’re young. 

One evening, he decided that you were going to do something special justbetween the two of you.

Nagito approached you calmly and takes your hand, telling you he had an idea inhis head. He hasn’t taken you on an adventure in quite some time now so youwere due for one.

He drives you out of the city and to a more isolated area with a country feel.It was your escape from the stress of life and school for the weekend. 

He’d secretly rented a small cottage in the forest, atop a hill. It was quiteromantic, really.

Since it was so spontaneous and random, you had no time to really plan or pack –that included checking the weather. 

You two loved the seclusion even if it was just for a few days. You each neededa break from the real world.

On the morning of the last day you would spend there, Nagito had woken up earlyto prepare breakfast in bed. He brought you all of your favorites as well as ahot chocolate. 

You stay snuggled up in bed, cozy and warm. He places a small kiss on your lipsand glances outside. 

“(Y/N), have you ever seen snow before?” He asks out of the blue. 

Quizzically, you raise a brow and shake your head. It was true, you were from amore humid country that rarely saw snowfall and hadn’t in the entirety of yourstay there. The closest you’ve got to see snow in real life was fake snowmachines in the Mall during December. 

You slowly sit up and glance out the window, your jaw dropping. The ground wascovered in a sheet of white and it was continuing to fall even now; it musthave started overnight.

Excitedly, you jump out of bed and wrap a blanket around you, storming outside.Nagito closely follows and calls for you, laughing as you go. 

He’d never seen you so excited before. You felt like a kid again, as you felttears start forming on your lashes, and you’re bounding out the door with excitement and wonder. You couldn’t believe it! 

It was more beautiful in real life than it was in the movies. Watching you fall so in love with the outdoors and beauty of nature became Nagito’s favorite sight, and he watched you with a small grin on his face.

Nagito quickly gets dressed and follows you closely, forming a snowball andtossing it at you. You spent the rest of the day playing outside in thebeautiful Winter wonderland.

Miu Iruma

It was a cold Winter afternoon in Japan. You two werewalking back to your home from Hope’s Peak, hand-in-hand.

You took the long route back today because you wanted to bask in thebeauty of nature. It was gray and foggy, which was your favorite kind ofweather. 

A part of you hoped that it would snow because you’ve never seen it before. Miuknew this, and she couldn’t believe it at first. You were from a distantcountry where it was hot all the time so she couldn’t wrap her head around thedifferences in climate. 

Maybe she took snow for granted, though Japan has had a dry season as far assnow goes. It’s been years since the last snowfall, and that was before youmoved here.

As you two made your way through the streets and back roads, something happenedthat you didn’t expect. 

You were talking about anything and everything when the first snowflake fell.It touched your skin and sent shivers down your spine.

“What’s wrong?” Miu asked, concerned. You shrugged your shoulders and glancedupwards. What you saw caused you to stop dead in your tracks. 

Miu gasped as well, sharing the beautiful moment with you. Neither of you hadchecked the forecast all day. Though, she ruined the moment; “I’m not fuckin’dressed for snow!”

She pauses and stops complaining when she sees the giant smile on your face andcan’t help but to break out into her own. Your eyes were sparking with joy and pure excitement and your inner childlike essence came out to play.

Needless to say, your walk home got sidetracked. 

You two spent plenty of time admiring the snow. Miu found a nearby bench whereyou perched yourselves. You sat in complete silence, grinning from ear-to-earthe whole time. 

“It’s even more beautiful than I ever could have imagined…” you trail off andhold your trembling palms out for snow to fall on your skin. It melts almostimmediately which bums you out a little.

“Almost as beautiful as you.”

You two sit there long enough for the ground and bare trees to be coated inwhite. Miu was shaking but it was so worth it to see your reaction – she’d doanything to make you this happy.

So, she silently admired your beauty while you were fascinated with the sky.She even took the time to write out “I ♡ (Y/N)” in thesnow, which made you giggle.

- Mod Rantaro

[texanredrose]

(pulls up to window) yeah, can I get some purruby with 'announcing relationship to family and friends' and a side of 'awkward'?

Consider this a refried, deep fried special, with extra headcanons, free of charge *ding* order up.

Ruby fidgeted, looking around at the interior of the limousine with about a dozen awful scenarios bounding around in the back of her mind. This could go really, really bad, which she didn’t think would happen, but the thought it might made her restless. After all, it wasn’t every day that she had the chance to interact with legitimate royalty- okay, so that wasn’t exactly true, since she was dating Pyrrha, but she had no idea until recently that her girlfriend was actually the next in line for a throne, or that Remyscira’s monarchy still stood after all these years! Whenever they covered it in history classes, the teachers always made it sound like the small island off the coast of Mistral had joined the mainland’s government, like the line of Queens ruling over it had ended about a century ago, but nope! Apparently, that was still a thing!

So now, here she sat, in a fancy limousine beside her girlfriend, being escorted to the royal palace by a motorcade with her own family ogling just about everything in sight.

“Ya know, I gotta hand it to ya, Pyrrha. Never would’ve guessed you’d be into this sorta lifestyle,” Yang said, opening up the mini bar and grabbing a little bottle, pulling off the top and taking a sniff. Her nose immediately crinkled as she shook her head, muttering a curse under her breath. “But… I could get used to it.”

“It was very nice of your family to invite us over.” Taiyang chuckled, pulling the bottle from his eldest daughter’s hand and replacing the cap. “A shame Blake and Weiss couldn’t come. I would’ve loved to meet them!”

“Yeah, hehe, real shame!” Ruby offered a weak smile. She took solace in the fact that they really couldn’t be there, since Weiss had opted to go to Menagerie for spring break, but they also… didn’t actually extend the offer. She’d rationalized it at the time- Blake and Weiss were dating, they would obviously want to spend a lot of time together, and meeting royalty probably wouldn’t surprise either of them enough to change their plans- but now she kinda wished her roommate was there to chide her about being nervous.

What did she have to be nervous about, really? She and Pyrrha had dated for the past few years, they really liked each other, they’d spent a lot of time together between schoolwork and practices, and they liked each other’s friends.

Of course, the little detail that Ruby might’ve forgotten to mention to any member of her family that she’d started dating the Mistrali princess could have something to do with her sudden bout of nerves but… well, it wasn’t like Yang had owned up to dating either! They were both playing this weird game of ‘I kinda know you’re dating someone but you haven’t officially told me yet so we’re just going to pretend like it’s not a big deal’ which… honestly, it was exhausting.

“I’m sure you’ll have a chance to meet them once the school year ends, Mr. Xiao Long,” Pyrrha said with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you myself and I’m sure my parents will be thrilled.”

“I’m not so sure.” He reached up, scratching at the back of his head. “I’m just a teacher from Patch. Not exactly suited to the blueblood life, though my daughters seem keen on making friends with them.”

“Hey, it’s not like we planned it!” Yang crossed her arms over her chest, probably just a little bit self conscious about the rough patches on her leather jacket. “We just happen to have a knack for getting uptight Princesses to relax. It’s a gift; you should be proud.”

“Well, I certainly am proud that you’ve both made so many friends while you’ve been away at school.” Taiyang glanced out the window as they pulled into the royal grounds, guards in shining metal armor patrolling the perimeter. “I was worried, ya know. A father worries about his girls.”

“Moms too; mine wasn’t exactly thrilled when I decided to study abroad,” the redhead said, sighing slightly. “She didn’t like the idea of me leaving home. Just… worries after me. And my sister.”

“Oh, she still lives with your folks, right?” Lilac eyes shone bright, a smile curling her sister’s lips. “Think she’d be up for a little arm wrestling?”

“You’re really going to challenge my little sister because you can’t beat me?”

“Hey, it’s not like you can beat me, either!” Yang chuckled, rotating her right shoulder. “Last time we arm wrestled, I swear you almost tore my arm out of socket.”

As the vehicle slowed to a stop, Ruby took a deep breath, watching as someone popped open the door. Yang was the first to move, never really liking being the passenger, and Taiyang followed, stretching out his back. She almost followed, but a hand grabbing hers stopped her, silver meeting emerald.

“We don’t have to tell them today,” Pyrrha said softly, giving her hand a little squeeze. “We can take our time.”

“No. I want to tell them, I do.” She sighed. “I’m just a little scared about how they’ll react. I mean… we’re not really good at this whole… royalty thing? If you hadn’t already noticed, which you probably had-”

“Ruby?” The redhead smiled wide, leaning closer and pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. “You’re doing wonderful. My parents will adore you, and your family. Just watch. Everything will be fine.”

She sincerely wished she could feel that sort of confidence but, really, how could she? When they were alone- just the two of them- it was easy; nothing whispered doubts into her ears. But around people, she’d always been a little more self conscious, a little more unsure, because people she could never understand the way she could machines. Nothing complicated about hydraulics or combustion- she could measure everything down to the smallest atom. That was easy!

Trying to predict how royalty would react to her family? How her family would react to her dating a bonafide Princess? Much different.

But the hand in hers reassured her, and she followed Pyrrha out of the limousine and up the literal red carpet. Into a building that looked like it hadn’t been changed in the slightest since the days when terrible creatures called Grimm roamed Remnant freely. She absolutely loved the architecture but it suddenly felt far more… imposing when also surrounded by fully armored guards.

“You know… Weiss would love to see all this,” she said, trying not to draw too much attention to herself as she clung to Pyrrha’s hand. “I think she’d appreciate the aesthetic.”

“Blake too; her own family maintains a similar estate in Menagerie, and they have guards posted more often than not, too.” The redhead chuckled. “I never thought I’d have so much in common with her. But I suppose that’s true with most of our friends.”

Our friends. Ruby swallowed as she tried not to imagine how that might change in the future. Honestly, she didn’t expect her family to object to her dating Pyrrha or for them to break up any time soon but… well, she also had to admit that her nerves were making those possibilities seem like real, tangible things.

What if Yang didn’t approve? Sure, her sister had only ever teased her about things before, and maybe she went overboard a time or two, but that was years ago. 

But what if she didn’t?

She was psyching herself out. Yang would probably be thrilled; she liked Pyrrha as a friend and teammate and they got on great. And Dad- he’d be super happy that she was actually dating, given how he’d worried about her not being able to make friends while away at college. This should really be nothing short of good news all around!

But what if-

Two doors were thrown open as they were escorted into a room with high rafters, a long table stretching from one end to the other and able to sit a hundred people easily but only two currently occupied the table.

“Oh, my, you’ve arrived early.” One woman stood- taller than even Pyrrha, with a more ornate version of the redhead’s tiara holding back burnt orange curls. But the eyes- she and her daughter had the same eyes, and they looked just as warm and friendly when she smiled. “Welcome to Remyscira. I am Hippolyta, Pyrrha’s Mom.”

The other woman stood- shorter, but with far more muscle, and that same set to her jaw that her daughter sometimes got when she was focused. And a sword at her hip, which was a bit odd, but considering they were effectively surrounded by people in armor, she supposed it didn’t look too out of place. “And I’m her mother, Antiope. Are you hungry? We can offer you some fruits, something light until the midday meal.”

“Oh, that’s very kind of you.” The man offered a hand, a wide smile on his lips. “I’m Taiyang, Yang and Ruby’s dad. I’ve heard so much about your daughter and she lives up to every expectation.”

“She does indeed.” Antiope accepted the gesture, turning her gaze towards Ruby- and Yang, briefly, but mostly those deep blue eyes rested on the smallest person there, and that didn’t make her feel intimidated at all. “And we’ve heard much about your daughters as well.”

“Yeah, I’m Yang!” The blonde cheerily greeted, waving a hand. “Thanks again for inviting us.”

“Well, of course,” Hippolyta replied with a gentle chuckle. “Pyrrha said she had something important she wanted to discuss and that she wished to speak with Taiyang as well.”

“Oh, really?” Tai glanced back at them, a furrow to his brows. “About what?”

Pyrrha looked at her then and she wouldn’t doubt that her girlfriend could find a way to steer the conversation clear of the topic if asked. But, this was kinda why they’d set up this whole trip, so they might as well let the cat out of the bag.

“We both wanted to, uh, talk to you,” Ruby said, trying to keep her voice steady. “We just… thought we’d let you know that Pyrrha and I are dating and we’re very happy so thank you for your support and please vote again next year!”

Silence fell upon the room until Pyrrha leaned closer to her. “Did you just quote an election campaign?”

“I panicked, okay, I’m trying.” She shot back in a low whisper, trying to ignore the irregular beating of her heart as her girlfriend’s parents exchanged a look.

“Well… if this is a serious courtship, we will absolutely respect that,” Hippolyta said slowly, blinking as she caught up with the information. “It’s a bit… untraditional.”

“How so?” Tai shrugged. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Here in Remyscira, we have certain… cultural expectations when one enters a relationship.” Antiope raised her hands in a placating gesture. “We realize that our traditions are unconventional elsewhere, so we of course take no offense, but it… is a little jarring.”

“I’ll say!” Taiyang laughed, though happiness shone brightly in his eyes. “Here I thought you’d go off to college and shut yourself in your room or your lab, but you have a girlfriend now? I’m proud, Rubes; she’s a very nice young lady.”

“I just can’t believe neither of you told me!” Yang started to chuckle, but the sound slowly died as her brows pinched together, and Ruby felt her dread flare up again. “Hey, wait a minute- two weeks ago, when I called you asking what you were up to and you said you were ‘studying anatomy’… you don’t take an anatomy course.” She raised a brow, the teasing inflection of her voice making her sister blush. “What were you really doing, huh?”

“I was studying anatomy!” She spat out the truth a bit too readily, because she could never lie under pressure to save her life. “Just not out of a book.”

Again, Pyrrha’s parents exchanged a look.

“Mother. Be reasonable.” The redhead tried to keep her voice level even as the two women seemed to be having a silent, private conversation.

“Oh wow, really, Rubes? Really?” Yang set her hands on her lips, clearly caught between teasing her further and letting it go, because on the one hand she probably thought it was hilarious how red Ruby was turning but on the other, not in front of the parents, come on.

Taiyang whistled. “Wow, my little girl’s growing up.” He lightly bumped shoulders with his eldest. “Looks like you’ve got some catching up to do.”

“Yeah, hehehe, about that…” She reached up, running a hand through her hair. “Um, maybe not as much as you think?”

“Ruby Rose.” Antiope’s voice rang out, clear as a hot blade sliding through snow. “Do you intend to continue courting our daughter?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” she replied, smiling when she saw the happiness shining in her girlfriend’s eyes at how readily she answered the question, without a hint of nervousness. She really did like Pyrrha… maybe even love her, because that little crush had turned into so much more over the years. “I do.”

“Very well then.” Without any explanation, the woman pulled her sword from its sheath, about five of the guards copying the motion. “You get a fifteen second head start.”

Eyes widening in shock, she turned towards Pyrrha. “You said they would be okay with this!”

“They will be, as long as she doesn’t catch you.” The redhead grabbed her shoulders, looking all too serious in that moment. “Trust me: run.”

“What are you-”

“Ten, nine-”

“Whoa, whoa, hey, what’s-”

“Yang, calm down, it’s cultural-”

“-eight, seven-”

“Dad, you’re just going to let this happen?”

“-six, five-”

“I’m being serious, Ruby, run, and don’t let her catch you!”

“-four, three-”

Without waiting for the rest of the countdown, Ruby turned and booked it back they way they’d come, knowing full well she didn’t stand a chance inside the home. She’d be just as likely to turn into those chasing her as away, and the open outdoors at least gave her some vantage. Idly, she thanked her father for taking them hunting when they were little. She might not enjoy the sport herself but she could certainly use that experience to help her as she heard a loud, rousing cry from behind her, like an army preparing to charge.

What in Remnant had she gotten herself into?

The sun sank low beneath the horizon, twilight finally giving way to nightfall as Ruby collapsed to her knees at the edges of the woods behind the royal estate. She’d spent all day ducking through the trees and running as fast as her legs could carry her, avoiding the literal hunting party sent after her.

But she really couldn’t run anymore, even as she heard footsteps coming up behind her.

“So… what… I… lose?” Struggling to catch her breath, she turned her head to see Antiope kneeling down beside her, sword once again in its scabbard.

“No, you won. You eluded us until sunset, as tradition states.” She offered a smile, equal parts proud and kind. “We firmly believe that love gives wings to those who feel truly feel it. When two people care for each other that deeply, they can outrun anything, but the true strength of love comes not to aid running away. It comes to aid facing the things that trouble us deepest… but I have a feeling you already know that.”

Rolling over, she laid down and stared at the sky above, still working on catching her breath. “I… I used to be really nervous around other people. Meeting new people… it just wasn’t as easy for me as it was for Yang.” She glanced at the woman as she sat down beside her. “But with Pyrrha… I dunno. It’s like I can face down anything.”

“That is love, Little One,” she said with a chuckle. “You come to a far away land, to the heart of its people, and you come bearing news you don’t know how we’ll receive. That takes a type of courage people think is all too common until they find themselves lacking it entirely.” She sighed, reaching out to clap a hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “I’ve always trusted my daughter’s decisions. I may not understand them, but they’ve never steered her wrong.”

“So… does this mean we have your blessing?”

Antiope laughed, reaching to undo her sword belt, gathering up the leather and holding it out. Ruby sat up, accepting the gift with furrowed brows.

“You may continue dating her, of course. I doubt we’d be able to stop her even if we’d caught up to you. She’s never been one for tradition.” The woman pushed herself to her feet and began walking away. “But if you intend to marry her, you should learn how to wield that. Betrothals are determined by duels.”

As Antiope walked back towards the royal estate, Ruby slumped back, still holding the sword belt.

“Well… okay…” she blinked. “I need to learn how to fight, I guess.”

While the thought itself worried her a bit, the idea that Pyrrha would be right there, cheering her on from the sidelines?

Worth it.

[darkestwolfx]

TAG S2E21 - ‘Home on the Ranch’ Review

What an episode!

Firstly, everyone on Earth, training at the family ranch = brilliant. I don’t think there are doubts about that. I love how our favourite brothers are having so much fun with this ‘training exercise’. There were some brilliant expressions too and lots of silent communication. Basically, just plenty of moments to enjoy.

Uh-oh! Evil MAX. That’s not so good.

I like Manoeuvre Seventeen.

I begin to wonder if Gordon stands a chance… Lady Penelope and John seem to have quite a few scenes together at the moment. One of my new favourite lines. Parker’s speech just tops it off so well!

“Nice hof your father to build this little ‘ome haway from ‘ome.”

And, hooray! A mention of Mrs Tracy for once.

“Actually, the ranch belonged to the boys’ mother. It’s been in her family for generations.”

And the hints just continued. I’d been hoping they throw some line to us eventually and here we have it!

“Hey, remember when Mum used to take us all horseback riding?” “Oh yeah, especially when Gordon was facing the wrong way. I think there’s a picture here somewhere.”

Typical Gordon – what more could we expect?

“Alan, are you alright?” “I don’t really have much to add to the conversation.” “Hmm, I know what you mean.” “Oh yeah right, you were away at school most of that time too, weren’t ya’?” “Don’t you worry, there’s still plenty of times to make our own memories here.”

There’s some interesting history in this conversation here. And was that an Alan and Kayo hint dropped? It would make sense seeing how Alan and Tin-Tin were originally a kind of ‘item’, but there’s not been little hints to this relationship for a while now.

Well, back in the saddle as they say – hey, the intruder alarm would go off, wouldn’t it?

One down, two down… will there be a third? Very nearly… Poor Parker, he’s always managing this sort of thing. Did anyone else immediately think back to ‘Tunnels of Time’ (S1E10) as he sat down and want to scream “don’t”?

I’d love to know how the reporter found them…

I like the new hanger design for the ranch. It’s a little cramped and not as upgraded as the Tracy Island system, but I think it works well. John joined the crew in Thunderbird Two as well. There really is a first time for everything in this new half of series two.

I think we had the best launch ever today;

“Thunderbirds are- Oh, come on!”

This poor face.

Look at Brains showing off some strength. And here they are! The hover bikes of TOS. And no, Gordon, we’re not kidding you.

They may be old Scott (and you may be desperate), but I’m not sure your father would appreciate you booting them. Or proving to us viewers that anything which won’t work, might if you kick it hard enough. Something to try with our laptops next time they fail maybe? I mean, if it works in 2060, why not now?

Okay, it’s definitely worth a try – Gordon kicked his twice. It’s no wonder he had to, considering he wasn’t very nice about them. Words matter you see people.

And this could have been such a powerful image, but then we just get their faces!

And shouldn’t it have been Hover Bikes are go, Scott?

Yes, more EOS time! I’m so glad the writers have suddenly remembered they have her character to utilise.

Oh Kat, you shouldn’t insult our heroes;

“You know who I am, don’t you?” “Yeah, I do. And we know what you’ve been saying about us.” “I’m surprised you didn’t just leave me here to rot.”

And then Scott delivers us what I think is one of the best lines yet, which really does sum up International Rescue and this family in a nutshell.

“Right now, you’re someone in a tough spot that needs help. Who you are or what you’ve done doesn’t matter.”

Brains just amuses me at times. He volunteered!

“M-maybe I shouldn’t be the one up here. I’ve never b-been one for h-high p-places.”

Hmm, like we don’t already know this for certain. Where did that blinking bagel come from! Seriously, what is this family’s obsession with them? The Mechanic didn’t look particularity impressed though… A new one for us all to remember – attack with bagels, and take them everywhere.

Poor FAB One! I could just imagine a cry of “not the seats!” from Parker. Good improvised system though. Scott is brilliant. He’s so good at keeping calm and at helping people who haven’t always been nice to them. He even held her hand. That is dedication right there in blue.

EOS’ concern for John was adorable. John’s concern for Grandma Tracy was perfectly realistic. I just love these little John and EOS moments – there’s so much packed into them.

“And that someone is still here in the compound. Grandma went looking for Brains. They could both be walking into a trap! I have to warn them.” “John, wait. Then you might caught in it as well. Let me try something. There. I now have a subroutine nested in the transmitter room server.” “Is Brains in the room?” “Yes. And so is The Mechanic.” “The Mechanic? Grandma!”

What a great rescue! Scott can move really fast and they all work in perfect synch. Even Lady Penelope was quite quick to react and she doesn’t do that everyday. I did like Alan and Scott’s little interaction.

“See? That wasn’t so bad.” “Easy for you to say, little brother.”

The return of MAX. And The Mechanic really puts his foot into it this time. Didn’t he learn from The Hood that the Tracy’s don’t take well to having their home invaded? That was bad move one. Here comes number two;

“No one lays a finger on our Brains!” “You need to work on your intimidation tactics, Grandma.” “First of all, only family get to call her that, and second: EOS, we need to separate the machine from the man.” “With pleasure.”

Go on John – look at that Tracy family anger streak emerging.

The technical team strike again! Question though – how did no one notice The Mechanic’s quite frankly giant and ridiculous ship? It felt a bit like the Charge of the Light Brigade at the end. What a disappointment in having to let The Mechanic get away, but I see John’s logic.

Scott very nearly put his foot in it there too.

“In the meantime, if there’s anything you want to know about us, all you gotta’ do is ask.” “Really? Anything?” “Well, there are some things we have to keep secret. There may be a lot of mystery around International Rescue, but really we’re just a regular family.”

But then, as though to prove the point, what do the Terrible Two have to do? I don’t think they even have to try. John and Brains are so absorbed in working it doesn’t even bother them.

“Hey, that’s my chair!” “No it’s not! I was here first!” And this end exchange just has to make it in for the fun of it; “You want to hear a real story? Let me tell you some of the things Gordon says in his sleep.” “Oh no you don’t!” “Hey, watch the hair!” What is this family’s obsession with hair? I swear it’s another genetic feature. “Alright you two, knock it off.” “But, he started it” “Quick, somebody take a picture.” I wonder what picture? Left to our imaginations, I suppose. “Cameras are rolling. We’re making memories, Alan. Hold still.” “Come on.” “Come here!” “Oh, you’re a lot stronger than you look, Fish Boy.”

Lastly, the tune playing this episode out was the same as the one Virgil played in TOS S1E1 (‘Trapped in the Skies’).

[marlikesthings]

A place to call home

Summary: M21 gets sick and things happen.  

Warning: None

Character(s)/relationship(s): M21, Tao, Takeo, Frankenstein and Rai. The kids make a brief appearance. 

Number of words: 2 954

M21 sighed for the fifth time. For some reason, he felt rather tired. He has been quite busy for the last couple of days. Between ensuring the safety of the children and being constantly involved in tao's plans, he had little time to rest.

He was at the top of a building looking down at the people coming and going from one side to the other. Sometimes when he was alone, he could not help wondering how would his life be if he was a normal person. To live without worries. The lights of the city and all the noise calmed him down. It's there when he finally thought, ‘I am here. I am free. This is not a dream’. Moments like these really reminded him of m24. His precious companion. For m21 the existence of m24 was special. He was his first friend and his only companion for several years. Everything they went through together, all the suffering they had to endure, he would never forget them. It is thanks to m24 that he did not end his life when he had the opportunity and it's thanks to him that he now has new companions. Wonderful people m21 swore to protect to prevent tragedy from repeating itself.

The noise on the streets took him out of his trance. He sighed again. Time to go home.

                                                      ***

The next day m21 felt his whole body was heavy. Ignoring the discomfort, m21 prepared to go to work.

Tao and takeo were waiting for him near the door. They both seemed surprised to see him being more listless than usual.

“Are you okay?” asked Takeo. M21 nodded to indicate he was alright and proceeded to open the door. Takeo did not try to pry further. 

He suddenly stopped. M21 felt eyes piercing his back. It was Tao who was staring at him. Tao could seem very hyperactive, but he was quite attentive to his surroundings. Nothing escaped him. Maybe he acquired that ability thanks to his work as informant back in DA-5. M21 sighed. He was grateful to have comrades worry about him but there was nothing to worry about. He was only feeling a slight discomfort but nothing that a good rest cannot heal. 

“Come on” m21 finished opening the door and came out, followed by the other two.

                                                      ***

Had the hours always passed so slowly? M21 did not see the time passing and for some reason he could not wait to go to bed and get surrounded by soft covers and several pillows. Tao would mock him if he heard him say that. He could already imagine him, saying: ‘Were you always a domesticated wolf?’. Just thinking of it made his head hurt. 

He did not understand why he felt unwell. If he was a normal person he would think he was sick but that was not possible. He is an experiment, an existence unnecessary to this world. Although he was a modified human like tao and takeo both of them conserved their humanity. Their appearances did not change when they transformed. As for him, he was a wolf or something like that. According to the werewolves their resemblance to them was surprising. However, he was not a real werewolf and at the same time he could not be considered a human. Experiments could not get sick. Otherwise, they would be seen as hindrances. They were machines created to serve. To destroy. His feelings, his humanity, the scientists did not care about that. 

M21 laughed bitterly. Was he not a failed experiment? Maybe he could get sick. M21 shook his head. He had to stop thinking about it. Even if he was actually sick he could not let that affect his work. Frankenstein and Rai had done a lot for him. How could he thank them for everything they did if he only caused them more problems?

Tao and takeo watched m21 from afar. They were both worried about their friend. M21 was more distracted than usual. They both knew m21 would not say anything even if he was about to faint. He was very stubborn when he wanted to be and that's why everyone worried about him. Tao still remembered m21's surprised face when he saw them coming to his rescue in the werewolves lands. He knows that m21 considers them good companions and that he trusts them. Nevertheless, he had thought m21 had understood that he was not alone and that he was loved. Had he been wrong? No. M21 is most likely acting like that precisely because he knows that people will worry about him and he does not want to cause trouble or make them feel worried. Tao sighed and looked at takeo. He did not need to say a word. Takeo knew perfectly well what he was thinking. They had been companions for a long time after all.

“What do we do? Do we talk to the boss or wait to see what happens?”

Takeo answered without taking his eyes off m21 “... let's not say anything. You know m21 would hate worrying those two, right? It is our duty as companions to take care of him. No... it is our duty as his friends to take care of him. I only hope he will endure a few more hours, otherwise rai and Frankenstein are going to be upset if something really happens to him”

“Ha, you're right. Those two really care about him. Well I understand how they feel, I cannot leave m21 alone. You feel the same way, right? It's ironic how he always acts like a lone wolf and he's the coldest of the three of us yet he always manages to draw the attention of others, whether it's for good or bad. We cannot lose to raziel-nim and the boss! Our beloved wolf needs us”

During the next hours tao and takeo never left m21 out of their sight. They wanted to make sure m21 was alright, and until then, they would not leave him alone. 

It was finally break time and the kids started going outside. The children accompanied by rai, approached them.

“Hyungs!!”

“Oh Shinwoo, what are you guys doing here?” Tao asked.

“We are bored! Classes are so boring lately”

“Are you even properly listening to classes? Shinwoo you're always asleep during lectures. Who do you think has to always give you the notes so you can pass the exams?!” The girls, especially Suyi started to complain. 

“Ehhh... are we not friends? It's not my fault if classes are boring you know!”

Tao interrupted before they started arguing.

“Why did you come to see us shinwoo?”  

“There is a new ramen flavor in the canteen! Rai said he would pay for us so we thought of inviting you guys to eat with us!”

The two adults looked at Rai and saw how excited he was. They smiled.

“Huh? Where is ajussi?” Shinwoo could be strangely perceptive at times. Or maybe he just had bad timing.

They both looked at each other and thought ‘what should we do?’. Meanwhile, Rai stared at them. Noticing their gaze, the two of them began to fidget and sweat. Tao smiled awkwardly and said: “He is busy checking other places. We're security guards after all!” Takeo could only nod in the background and hope the kids would let it slide. 

Thankfully, it seems to have worked as shinwoo just said: 

“It's a shame, we wanted him to come too”

They tried to avoid making rai notice something was wrong. Knowing him, he was going to order m21 to go back to the house and rest. M21 would not want to make them worried for nothing. Thinking about it, the adults gave in to the pressure of the children and went with them. They just hoped m21 would be fine without them. He looked a little tired, but there was no sign of being so bad. Besides, they had no solid proof he was unwell except for his weird attitude and the fact that he looked a little pale... he should be okay if he is left alone for a while.

Rai could feel tao's and takeo's agitation. He knew they were hiding something but did not know exactly what the problem was. He watched them interact with the children and eat quietly. They seemed more relaxed than they had been a while ago, but something was worrying him. Where was m21? The boys reactions when the children had asked about m21 was quite suspicious. Not to mention that he had noticed the day before that m21 was acting strange. He was worried something had happened during one of his nights out and that he was hiding something for fear of causing trouble. He did not know what to do to make m21 open up to him. He was a man of few words but he adored the child and just wanted to see him happy. Frankenstein felt the same way even though he was more reluctant to accept it. M21 was the first person who came to live with them and therefore he occupied a special place in their lives. He still remembered the first time he saw m21 and he was surprised by how much he had changed since then. He looked happier, but he did not see him smile so often. It was always half smiles.

His thoughts were interrupted by the children. Rai looked around him and noticed that Tao and Takeo had already finished eating. He watched them say goodbye and go outside. They were probably looking for m21.

                                                      ***

The two security guards were wandering around the facility in search of their friend. M21 had disappeared, and for some reason the anxiety they felt a while ago came back strongly. They did not even understand why they felt this way when they could not confirm whether their friend was unwell or not. They kept searching. 

                                                      ***

M21 was watching the empty classrooms. He had come to rest a little as there were too many people outside and his head started hurting from all the noise. The more the time passed, the more he felt unwell. 

It happened before he had time to react. M21 began to feel his breathing accelerate. It was difficult for him to breathe normally and the simple fact of being standing was difficult. He could feel an uneasiness spreading all over his body. Slowly, he felt his body lose strength and his blood pressure suddenly dropped. His vision was blurred. As if it were not enough he began to feel an uneasiness in his throat. He wanted to throw up. In an attempt to soothe the pain, m21 sat on the floor and rested his head on his hands. 

Several minutes passed before he finally managed to lift his head and look around. He hoped no one had seen him. Once he made sure there was no one nearby, he tried to get up. His body felt heavy. Very heavy, and he felt pain spread all over his body. He could barely stand, and he kept breathing unevenly. Nevertheless, at least he felt better.

                                                      ***

M21 was startled to feel a hand on his shoulder. Tao and takeo were right behind him. He could not help wondering: ‘When did they arrive?’. Tao interrupted his thoughts and grabbed his arm.

“Come on”

Both had seen how M21′s condition suddenly deteriorated. He was dragged to frankenstein’s office.

“Why are you pretending to be well?” Tao asked him. “We're worried about you. Are you sick?”

M21 tried to defend himself but he was not convincing at all.

They finally arrived at Frankenstein's office and knocked the door. Frankenstein let them in. He was surprised to see them in his office knowing that he had not summoned them.

“What do you need?”

He looked up and saw the boys faces. Immediately he realized tao and takeo had very serious and worried expressions. His gaze went directly to m21. After seeing him, he had an idea of what had happened. M21's face was quite pale and he was shaking. Frankenstein got up from his chair and headed towards m21. He grabbed his face and looked at his eyes. He immediately noticed that m21's pupils were dilated. Frankenstein asked tao and takeo to take m21 to the sofa. Once he sat down, he said:

“Explain”

Both proceeded to tell everything they saw. How m21's breathing suddenly accelerated and how he sat on the ground because he could not keep standing. As they were both very worried about their comrade, they gave as many details as possible. Including m21's weird behavior in the morning. 

Frankenstein talked to m21 this time:

“Why didn't you say you were sick?” It was straight to the point. His face was serious and you could see how worried he was. For Frankenstein the well-being of his children was a priority. He suspected why m21 had hidden his symptoms but he had to make him understand that it was not right. They were a family and family takes care of its members.

M21 did not know what to say. He wanted to make an excuse but after seeing frankenstein's face he decided against it. M21 did not think his health would deteriorate so fast or that everyone would be so worried about him. It was in moments like this, in which he wanted to become small and disappear. Frankenstein watched his behavior and sighed.

“Go home. And you two, follow him and make sure he rests. We will talk later”

                                                      ***

Rai had already arrived home and had heard of the situation. He immediately went to visit m21 only to find him sleeping. Several hours had passed since then, and the night finally arrived. Dinner was quiet. No one said anything and although everyone tried to act as if they were not worried, they did not succeed. Meanwhile, m21 was still asleep. He usually only needed a few hours of sleep but this time he had not woken up once since he arrived. Frankenstein came to check his temperature every so often while the others made rounds to check his condition. They were also checking up on him in case he woke up and asked for something.

The next three days were like this. M21 woke up from time to time but did not get out of bed unless necessary. His fever refused to disappear. Every time he tried to get up or to sit down, he felt dizzy. He was only comfortable when he was lying down. During those three days m21 let himself be spoiled. It was so strange to him. He had never been sick before. He felt unwell in the past from the experiments the scientists did, but no one cared if he suffered or not. He was just a disposable item. He felt so loved in this house. Part of him felt guilty for worrying the others but part of him was ecstatic. He's never felt like that. He's never felt so many different emotions. Good emotions. M21 started to cry and to laugh. He was like this for several minutes until the tears began to make his head ache, forcing him to rest. His heart felt full. He had to remember to thank them one of these days. Maybe he could try cooking ramen for the rest of the house? Or maybe he would propose to Frankenstein to clean the dishes and the house for a week. All by himself. That way the others could rest a little. He smiled one more time and went to sleep.

                                                      ***

It was the morning of the fourth day and his fever had finally disappeared. He still felt a little weak but he did not feel dizzy anymore. Frankenstein came to visit him as usual, before going to school.

“I see you're better”

“Yeah, I feel good enough to go to work again” Frankenstein looked at him without saying anything for a few seconds.

“No, you're going to rest and regain strength. I'm not so bad to send someone who recently recovered from an illness to work”

“...”

“M21... we have to talk. I know why you decided to hide your illness but aren't we a family? You know, when we brought you here and we accepted you in the house, me and master hoped that one day you would open up to us and trust us. The members of the house might have increased, but we still feel the same way. We want you to be more selfish. It's okay if you want to be capricious sometimes. We will not judge you. Look at tao, he does whatever he wants and install cameras without asking my permission. But that is not necessarily bad. Children are supposed to cause problems from time to time. It will not bother us if you cause problems, so do not worry. If you do not want to see us worried, then talk. If you want us to be happy, then let us see you being happy. Let yourself be pampered from time to time. M21... we know we are loved by you, but it is time that you let us love you too. Let us worry about you”

M21 was silent. He could feel his eyes getting wet and this time he made no effort to hide his tears. Frankenstein patted his back and said nothing else. They both stayed like this for a long time, enjoying each other's company.

And that's when m21 thought ‘Ah, I'm so lucky. Is it really okay for me to be more selfish?’ He was blessed. Ever since he joined frankenstein's household, there is not one day he does not think that.

Comments: I wrote this for the noblesse summer event! This is only my second time writing a fanfic so it might not be so good. I really wanted to write sick m21 so this is the result. If you managed to get to the end, thank you! Also, English isn't my first language, sorry for any mistakes!

[izazov]

Another part of the soulmate fic. The Civil War one. It wasn’t fun writing it. I’m determined to finish this fic. I hope I will. Other parts are here: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

Tony’s fingers are not as steady as he would like them to be as he flips through the pages depicting the ways the Avengers should be reined under the collective will of the UN. 

Even though he is not an expert, Tony has had enough dealings with lawyers to know this thing looks solid and thorough. Not in the least like an idea of an overeager bureaucrat, reaching far above his station.

Tony closes the document, his eyes catching on the front page, the words Sokovia Accords taunting him with memories of senseless destruction, scraping open a wound that never really healed.

(A city falling from the sky, bringing death and destruction, and all of it because of him.)    

“It is just a rough draft,” a voice intones in what could pass as mild in anyone else. Tony drags his eyes away from the pages, glances up at the general turned Secretary of State. He is standing near the window, arms crossed over his chest, regarding Tony with a smile on his face. Benevolent smile of a wise and kind man. There is only one problem with it; there is not a single kind bone in the body of Thaddeus Ross. “Experts from all over the world are working on polishing it even as we speak.”

The corner of Tony’s mouth twitches faintly. “Rather liberal waste of everyone’s time and money,” Tony says with feigned nonchalance. He carefully puts the copy of the Accords down on the large mahogany desk in front of him, leans back in his chair. “Or is that just politics in general?”

“Waste, Stark?” Ross says, ignoring the jab completely. He lets out a soft, amused sound. “You might not have noticed, or you elected to ignore it, but the Avengers’ popularity has been on a steady downward spiral ever since New York.” Moving away from the window, Ross slowly circles the desk, forcing Tony to look up to meet his gaze. It is an obvious intimidation tactic, and this is hardly Tony’s first rodeo, but it doesn’t stop his stomach from twisting with something akin to dread. 

(Tony keeps it carefully hidden. Ross, not unlike a shark, can probably scent blood.)    

Tony tilts his head in acknowledgment. “There is no denying we have made some rather big and public mistakes,” Tony admits in an even voice. “We are working on amending those.”

Ross’ answering smile is pure condescension. “And just how long do you think that throwing money at people will keep them docile?”

Tony’s mouth thins into a flat line. “An interesting sentiment coming from a politician.”

Ross doesn’t even blink. He leans against the table, inclines his head toward the copy of the Accords lying there. “The number of countries backing up the Accords is growing by the day. Eighty seven, Stark.” Ross pauses, gives Tony time to process that information. “That is the current number of countries that are opposed to Avengers dealing their special brand of justice inside their borders without their official approval.”

“Special brand of justice?” Tony repeats in a low voice, his eyes narrowing a fraction. A spark of anger flares in the pit of his stomach, bright and hot, but Tony ignores it. Ross is pushing his buttons, trying to get him to do something, well, something Stark-like. Much as Tony would enjoy it, he cannot. He cannot afford to let his guard down around this man. Especially now. With what’s at stake here, Tony’s pride is small sacrifice to make. “Our mistakes notwithstanding, but the Avengers are not common street thugs.”

Something glimmers in Ross’ eyes; like sunlight catching on the surface of a frozen lake. “Public opinion is fickle,” he says in a soft voice. It makes Tony’s skin crawl. “One day you’re a lauded hero, and the next people are calling out for your blood. Though, it is hardly something I need to tell you, Stark.”

Tony blinks, his mouth curving into a strained smile. 

(There is a vast difference between Tony’s name being dragged through mud in the press and the same happening to the Avengers. Tony is so used to it by now, it barely registers. Also, it is hardly without merit. But the Avengers? Whatever their faults, whatever their mistakes, they are heroes. One pure thing in Tony’s life.)

“The Avengers are not a boy band, Sir,” Tony says slowly and carefully as he looks up at Ross with a calm he doesn’t really feel, tasting bile on his tongue as that last word rolls off his tongue. It’s an almost physical pain, having to mince words when all Tony wants is to knock the slimy son of a bitch flat on his back. Right in the middle of his damned office. “We are not after fame or public adoration. I know this might come as a surprise,” Tony remarks, squaring Ross with a unblinking gaze. “But the Avengers don’t operate with hidden agendas. We have only one. A pretty straightforward one. Saving lives.”

Ross’ smile grows sharper. “And how many of the lives you saved were placed in danger by your actions?” Ross says. Tony barely stops himself from wincing, his stomach roiling with guilt. Ross doesn’t say Sokovia, but he doesn’t have to. The single largest smear on the Avengers’ good name.

And it is all Tony’s fault.

Ross lets out a soft sigh before turning and walking over to sit in the large chair on the other side of the desk. 

“It seems you might have gotten the wrong idea about the purpose of this meeting, Tony.”

Tony’s spine goes stiff, all alarm bells inside his mind going off at once at the sudden change in the atmosphere. Shifting in his seat, Tony tilts his head, his mouth curving into a wry grin. “Oh, I doubt that.”

“No one wants the Avengers gone.”

Tony swallows a snort of disdain, flicks his gaze toward the thick document on Ross’ desk. “No, not gone. Just collared and leashed.”

Ross’ smile tightens at the corners. “I believe under supervision is more appropriate term.”

Tony’s gaze locks on Ross’ for one moment, his lips curving over his teeth. He tried his best, but he is done playing nice. “I like my version better. It cuts through the bullshit.” 

Other than the slight arching of an eyebrow Ross doesn't react. “I would hardly call collateral damage numbering in hundreds of civilian lives bullshit,” Ross intones mildly. “Discounting millions in property damage.”

Tony doesn’t even blink this time. “And what makes a bunch of politicians at UN qualified to play the angel on our shoulders?” Tony remarks in a dry voice. “The Avengers are led by Captain America and, personally, I’d always trust his moral compass over that of some pen-pushing bureaucrat.” Pausing, Tony allows his mouth to stretch into his most insolent grin. The kind that used to make he vein on Nick Fury’s forehead throb. “No offense, Sir.”

But Ross merely tilts his head to the side; looking far, far too composed and smug for Tony’s peace of mind. “Moral compass? Come now, Stark, we are not living in a fairy-tale. Honestly, that is something I would have expected from Rogers, not you.”

“Who is notably absent from this meeting,” Tony says in a flat voice, even as the mention of Steve’s name tugs at something vulnerable and afraid in the middle of his chest. He can all too easily picture Steve’s reaction to the Accords. It sends a shiver of dread across his spine, forces Tony to fold his fingers into fists to prevent them from trembling. “He is the official leader of the Avengers. I’m not even on active duty.”

Ross waves a dismissive hand, leans forward in his seat. “Regardless of your current status, you are the most prominent face of the Avengers. Besides,” Ross pauses, his smile stretching wide, showing off his teeth. Tony presses his lips together, tries not to think of sharks. “You sponsor them, act as their spokesperson. That makes you more than qualified to be here.”

“I make no secret of my work for the Avengers. It still doesn’t make me the leader,” Tony insists, even if Steve is the last person he wishes to be here. It’s a foolish impulse, one Steve would not appreciate in the least, wanting to keep Steve as far as he can from Ross’ machinations, but not one Tony can actually control. It throbs deep within him, fierce, possessive and desperate.

A shadow flickers across Ross’ face for a split second, and, for the first time since Tony was showed into his office, Ross looks less than composed, disdain seeping through the cracks in his facade.

“Rogers is a fine soldier,” Ross says, his voice clipped. “But his mentality is that of another time. A time that has long passed. There is no denying he is useful in his... unique way, but his ideals are outdated.”

Tony clenches his teeth against the fury that swells within his throat, swallowing words that are too revealing, rooted far too close to that secret space inside Tony’s heart no one is allowed to see. 

(Not even the person whose name is carved there.)

“You do know there is an entire exhibit right in this town dedicated to those outdated ideals, embodied in the persona of Captain America?” Tony says, arching an eyebrow in question. “Approved, among others, by the President?” 

(Tony says the words as a challenge. But it doesn’t change the number of times he had accused Steve of the same thing. Of being rigid, unwilling to compromise, far too entrenched in his ways.)  

Ross’ smile is all teeth. “I was a soldier, Stark. I know how bravery, honor and sacrifice can boost morale in time of crisis. I am also a realist.” Ross pauses, squares Tony with a cool gaze. “Each time your team goes out, there is new footage of screaming civilians and crumbling buildings. You think honor and bravery are on the mind of an average citizen as they watch you in action?”

Tony glances down, stares at his clenched hands, forces them to loosen. When he looks up, Ross is watching him closely. He grins. “I imagine there is also a certain amount of gratitude and awe in there somewhere,” Tony says, but even to his own ears his attempt at a joke falls flat.

“Try accountability, Stark. Oversight. Control,” Ross says, flatly. 

Tony’s grin turns brittle on the edges. He knows exactly where this is leading, what is the entire purpose of this meeting. It leaves a bitter taste in the back of Tony’s throat, twists in the pit of his stomach. But it doesn’t come as a surprise. Not even a little. “And how exactly do I fit into all of this?” 

Ross remains silent one long moment. Tony isn’t certain is it a calculated pause, aiming at Tony’s impatience, or merely Ross weighing his words. With this slimy son of a bitch, Tony wouldn’t be surprised if it were both.

“No matter how it may seem, the purpose of this meeting is not to threaten-” 

Tony lets out an incredulous huff of breath, barely managing not to roll his eyes.

“- or coerce,” Ross finishes in a soft, almost friendly voice. “The Accords are not a ploy to have the Avengers disbanded.”

“Yeah. Because having our metaphorical balls in your hands is reassuring,” Tony remarks, wryly. After a beat, squaring Ross with a flat look, he adds, “Sir.”

Ross doesn’t react beyond a minute shake of his head. “It is how the world functions.”

Tony lets out a dry chuckle, shifts in his seat. He doesn’t take his eyes off Ross for a moment.  “I suppose since producing an army of super soldiers didn’t work out so well, having the Avengers on your beck and call is the next best thing.”

Ross’ expression turns blank, his mouth pressing into a thin line. A hollow victory, given the document still lying on Ross’ desk. 

“United Nations, Stark,” Ross says slowly. “The Accords represent the will of the world, not solely the US government. And certainly not my own.”

“Yeah, you seem really torn up about it,” Tony forces through gritted teeth.

Ross gives him a flat look. “I do share the opinion the Avengers are a team consisting of highly unpredictable and dangerous individuals, in need of outside supervision.”

“And we are supposed to... what, exactly? Just roll with it?”

The corner of Ross’ mouth twitches, curving faintly. “The Avengers’ cooperation would make the entire matter of implementing the Accords smoother. I believe the show of goodwill on your part would be in all our interests.”

Tony snorts in disdain, his spine stiffening. “Not exactly the pronoun I would use.” Tilting his head to the side, Tony considers Ross silently one second. “Besides, aren’t you jumping the gun? You talk about implementing a document that, at the moment, is worth less than the paper it is printed on.”

“At the moment,” Ross agrees, leaning back in his chair, his mouth forming a lazy smile. The need to wipe the smug expression off the bastard’s face becomes almost painful. “It is merely matter of time when it will no longer be the case.”

Tony’s mouth curves into a grin. “I seem to remember having a similar discussion with a would-be god who led an alien army. He also didn’t think much of the Avengers.”

Ross lets out a soft sigh. “I understand you feel protective of your team. That is an admirable quality. But you are a smart man, Stark. A businessman. You understand how the world works,” Ross says, slowly and carefully. “This meeting? It is carrot, not the stick, Stark. You should perceive it as such.”

Tony goes deathly still. Only his heart defies the chill that seems to have permeated down to the marrow of his bones, pounding wildly against his chest. “I am not about to play a devil’s advocate for you,” Tony grits out, standing up. Fury and outrage burn bright and hot in the hollow of his chest. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Tony clamps down on it. Ross may be a slimy, manipulative bastard, but he is also Secretary of State. “I’m not your man.”  

Turning on his heel, Tony heads for the door of Ross’ office. He has his fingers an inch over the knob when Ross calls out after him.

“Your team is one large incident away from instigating the ratification of the Accords. That, Stark, is a fact.”

Tony screws his eyes shut for a brief moment, releasing a shaky breath. Then he cranes his neck, squares Ross with unflinching gaze. “Yeah, well. If that happens we will deal with it. As a team.” 

Tony doesn’t wait for Ross’ reply. He wrenches the door open and strides out of Ross’ office without looking back.

(But not before seed of doubt takes root in the darker parts of his mind.)  

***

Soft sound of bare feet scuffing against tiled floor is Tony’s only warning before a flick of light switch illuminates the room, and the sudden shift from darkness into light causes a sharp stab of pain behind Tony’s eyelids. It joins the already existing ache, throbbing dully beneath Tony’s temples.

“Fuck,” Tony curses under his breath, squinting at the figure standing stock-still in the doorway. “Steve?” he guesses, going mostly by the shoulder span belonging to the blurry figure in the doorway. And the spark of warmth that surges from within Tony’s chest, chasing away some of the chill and weariness clinging to, seemingly, every cell in Tony’s body.

(Some. But not all. Not even close.) 

“Tony? I didn’t- You weren’t supposed to return until next week.”

Slowly, the white dots disappear from Tony’s vision, and he is gifted with the sight of Steve Rogers dressed in white T-shirt and grey pajama bottoms, with his hair in disarray, and his eyes still sleep-soft, smiling at Tony.

It’s a testament to how tired Tony feels that his heart gives only the smallest lurch at the positively adorable sight Steve is currently presenting.

“Yeah,” Tony says, his face twisting into a grimace as he gives a small half-shrug. “I cancelled a couple of meetings.”

Steve blinks, his eyes darkening as a deep furrow appears on his forehead. Tony follows the direction of Steve’s gaze, then scrubs a weary hand across his face when it leads him to the glass in his hand. “Seriously, Steve, it’s way too late,” throwing a quick glance at his watch, Tony amends, “too early for your special brand of disapproval.”

Steve’s mouth tightens, his frown deepening. 

Tony swallows a frustrated noise when he identifies that expression as the ‘Captain America is disappointed in you’. He isn’t a big fan of that particular expression. Tony gives Steve a flat look, bracing internally for a lecture he knows is about to come, but doesn’t relinquish his drink.

The lecture never comes. 

Steve merely sighs, runs his fingers through his hair, mussing it even more in the process. The frown doesn’t disappear from his face but it softens into something that is not quite resignation but not far from it. “It’s not disapproval, Tony. It is concern,” Steve says - sighs, really - and moves away from the doorway. Tony’s gaze follows him as he rounds the sofa and takes a seat next to Tony.  

Steve’s gaze flicks briefly toward the glass in Tony’s hand, only to return, intent and searching, to Tony’s face. “You know, sleep might be a better idea than that,” Steve remarks in a quiet voice, inclining his head toward Tony’s drink. 

The corner of Tony’s mouth twitches in an approximation of a smile. “Probably,” he concedes. He tears his eyes away from Steve’s face, crushes the irrational need to close the distance between their bodies, and simply bask in the warmth and comfort of Steve’s skin. Without having to think, or feel, or do anything but breathe. “But you don’t get a vote, Rogers. You can’t get drunk.”

“Not sure I follow that logic.”

“I get that a lot.”

Steve lets out an amused snort. Tony shoots him a dirty look. “It may come as a surprise,” Steve says. “But it’s not like I’ve never been drunk.”

Tony arches an eyebrow in question. “Captain America, drunk?” he says. “Now, that is one story I need to hear.”

A shadow of sadness flickers in Steve’s eyes, but disappears quickly. “Maybe one day I will tell you,” Steve says, mouth quirking faintly. “And I wasn’t Captain America then.”

Tony looks away, twirls the glass in his hand, takes a sip. “I can’t imagine that. You not being Captain America.”

Steve heaves a long-suffering sigh. “I know you saw the pictures, Tony.”

Tony glances at Steve from the corner of his eyes. He is tired, his head is killing him, and there is far too much alcohol in his blood. He really shouldn’t test his brain to mouth filter in this state. Especially around Steve. Perhaps Steve is right and he should go to sleep. 

It is a sensible decision. And it lasts about five seconds.  

“I don’t mean the muscles, Rogers. No matter how much of a gift they are to anyone with working eyesight,” Tony hears himself blurt out.

Steve blinks, the amused expression fading from his face, replaced by something carefully guarded. “Then what do you mean?”  

“You,” Tony says, waving in Steve’s general direction. He has no clue what is he trying to say, but it does little in stopping the words from coming out of his mouth. “That whole truth, justice and American way you got going. And stubbornness... God. You’re probably the most stubborn person on the face of the planet, Rogers. That’s not the serum, that’s you.” 

Steve regards him silently one long moment before looking away and giving Tony a perfect view of that chiseled jaw as it clenches tightly. “Not all I am,” he says in a soft voice that sounds almost rueful. Then, he bows his head, lets out a soft, humorless chuckle. “But it is what most people see.”

Tony swallows around the swell in his throat. “It’s not a bad sight,” Tony says in a low, hoarse voice, his fingers tightening around the glass in his hand. Everything about this situation seems surreal, from the chaos inside his head and the tightness of his chest, to the curve of Steve’s neck and clench of his fingers in his lap. “I’ve seen much worse.” 

Steve lifts his head sharply, squares Tony with a wary gaze. “You don’t like it all that much.”

“When we first met, yeah,” Tony admits with a casual shrug. Steve blinks, his forehead creasing. “I pretty much wanted to punch you all the time. Don’t give me that look, you wanted to deck me just as much.”

“Only because you made it your mission to provoke me,” Steve points out. He is still looking at Tony with careful eyes but there is a hint of a smile in the corner of his mouth. 

“Okay, can’t argue with that,” Tony concedes. “But you grew on me, Rogers. Even that scowl you- yeah, that’s the one.”

Steve gives him an unimpressed look. It is somewhat diminished by the way he tries and fails to contain a smile. “Gee, Stark, a fella could get all sorts of ideas after a compliment like that.”

A huff of laughter leaves Tony’s throat. And for a moment - a tiny fraction of a second - Tony feels at peace. Right then and there, sitting in companionable silence next to Steve in the Avengers’ common room in an ungodly hour of the night, Tony is content. Not a single doubt, need, or desperate longing clouds his mind or constricts his heart. It’s a good feeling.

And it shatters when Steve blinks, gestures vaguely in Tony’s direction. “So. Rough week?”

Tony lets out a short bark of laughter, shakes his head. “You could say that,” he says, rubs at his forehead. “If Pepper ever comes to her senses and decides to step down as a CEO, I’m moving to a deserted island. I’ll live off coconut and entertain myself by making sand castles.”

“You would get bored in less than a day,” Steve says, his eyes gleaming with mirth. “And then there would be explosions.”   

Tony arches an amused eyebrow. “On a deserted island? You give me too much credit, Rogers.”

“I’ve seen you bored, Tony,” Steve points out mildly. 

“If you’re referring to that incident with the explosive arrows, it was mostly Barton’s fault.”

“You nearly blew up the gym,” Steve says, slowly and carefully. “The one next door to Bruce’s lab.”

Tony grimaces. “Yeah, I forgot to factor in that detail.” 

After the dust cleared, and no one, thankfully, turned green, Bruce refused to speak to Tony for a week. Natasha looked very much the same, but Tony knew better than to remain alone in a room with her, Barton was an asshole as always, Thor wasn’t even there, and Steve kept looking at Tony with disappointed eyes. It wasn’t a fun week. 

Tony exhales a heavy breath, rubs at his temple, his face drawing into a grimace.

“Headache?” Steve asks, a note of concern clear in his voice. 

“Yeah,” Tony says, his mouth thinning into a tight line. Maybe he is getting too old for juggling two separate lives. There was a time when a week of board meetings - no matter how mind-numbing dull they were - couldn't drain him of almost all energy. The only saving grace in the entire week was setting up the September Foundation Grant. And seeing Pepper. Despite how bittersweet that felt.) 

(Tony will never not love Pepper. No matter how deep and permanent Steve Rogers has wormed his way inside Tony’s heart, a part of it will always belong to Pepper.)

And then there is Ross. Tony is taking a huge risk by not telling Steve about the meeting with Ross, one that could very well blow spectacularly into his face. 

(Tony is worried. No matter his parting words, Tony can all too easily imagine Steve’s reaction, and it... chills him down to his very core. Fills him with dread so potent it almost seems it has turned into a separate entity, inhabiting the space behind Tony’s ribcage. ) 

“You won’t need this anymore,” Steve says abruptly, his face set into an expression of resolve. Before Tony has time to think of a protest, Steve is taking the glass out of his hand and setting in down on the coffee table. Tony narrows his eyes at Steve, a few choice words - none very polite - forming on the tip of his tongue, all forgotten when Steve fixes him with a unwavering gaze. “Turn around.”

Tony blinks, perplexed. “What?”

“Turn around,” Steve repeats, a touch of exasperation lacing his tone. 

Tony tilts his head, gives Steve a look of narrow-eyed suspicion. “Why?”

Steve huffs out a heavy sigh. Tony is pretty sure it is his version of rolling eyes. “One day you’ll do exactly what I say without questioning me, Stark, and I’ll faint from shock.”

“You don’t faint, Rogers. Except from severe blood loss. Sometimes not even then.”

Steve arches an eyebrow in challenge. “You are free to call my bluff anytime you want, Tony,” he says. “Now turn around.” 

“You are an extremely bossy person, Rogers,” Tony grumbles, but obeys. “Anyone ever tell you that?”

“I might have heard it mentioned a time or two,” Steve says in a casual voice. Then, without a warning, he moves forward on the sofa, until he is sitting directly behind Tony, and,  judging by the warmth Tony can feel emanate from Steve, leaving very little space between their bodies.

Tony’s throat goes dry instantly and his heart does that little stuttering thing Tony has come to equate with having Steve in close proximity. “If you do something childish now, Rogers, I swear-” Tony starts but his words dissolve into a rather embarrassing noise at the first touch of Steve’s fingers massaging his shoulders.  

“Feels good?” Steve asks, sounding smug. Tony cannot find it in himself to hold it against him. Not while his fingers are working magic in relieving the tension from Tony’s body. 

Tony screws his eyes shut, leans further back, until his head is almost resting against Steve’s shoulder. “Fuck yes,” he says, not caring about the breathless quality of his voice. “That’s quite the talent you got there, Rogers.” 

Steve lets out a soft chuckle. “Glad to be of service. FRIDAY, could you dim the lights a little, please?”

Tony, who still holds his eyes closed, barely registers FRIDAY’s reply ‘Of course, Captain,’ far too focused on the touch of Steve’s skilled fingers, leaving small tendrils of warmth in their wake.    

The next few moments - or it could be hours, Tony cannot say for certain - pass in silence, disturbed only by the increasingly embarrassing noises coming out of Tony’s mouth. In all honesty, Tony stops trying to contain them somewhere in the first minute of Steve’s magical fingers kneading his sore muscles.

It occurs to Tony, in that small part of his brain that is still capable of drawing conclusions, how careful Steve must be, how mindful of his strength. How those fingers could easily break Tony in two, and instead they are gliding along his neck and shoulders, applying just the right amount of pressure to turn Tony’s body into jelly and mind into mush.

When Steve’s fingers reach the back of Tony’s neck, rubbing at a particularly good spot, a moan slips from Tony’s parted mouth. Just for a second, Steve’s fingers still against the skin of Tony’s neck - not pulling away, nor resuming their previous activity. As if Steve is waiting for something.

Swallowing deeply, Tony opens his eyes, but otherwise remains perfectly still. “Am I making you uncomfortable, Rogers?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it uncomfortable,” Steve answers in a somewhat strangled voice. A beat later, Steve resumes the massage, and Tony releases a breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding. 

Tony’s eyes flicker shut again. It is taking way too much of his energy to keep them open. Energy that is better spent concentrating on the sheer bliss that is slowly spreading through Tony’s tired body. “I don’t care anyway. It’s your fault, by the way. You’re too good at this. How did I never know you are good at this, Rogers?”

“You never asked.”

“I didn’t ask now.”

“You want me to stop?” Steve asks, his fingers slowing minutely.

“Don’t you dare,” Tony sputters, snapping his eyes open. “If you stop now, I’ll do something drastic. Not sure what, yet, but it’ll come to me. And it will be loud and messy, and you’ll scowl for weeks.”

“Well, when you put it that way, I better not stop then,” Steve, the smug bastard, drawls in an amused voice, but doesn’t stop. Tony can live with that. Just this once. 

A few more moments pass in silence, Tony’s headache all but gone now, making it all too easy for Tony’s thoughts to stray into forbidden waters. Waters in which Steve’s fingers are sliding down Tony’s sides and under his shirt, his mouth hot and wet on Tony’s jaw...

Swallowing thickly, Tony forces him mind into compliance, wincing inwardly. This is embarrassing at best, pathetic at worst. He is a grown man, for fuck’s sake, not a teenager with a crush. And he needs to start acting that way. 

Tony takes a deep breath, straightens and starts to pull away. For just one moment, Steve’s fingers tighten on Tony’s shoulders as if trying to prevent him from moving away, but they relax almost instantly, allowing Tony to put some much needed distance between them.  

“You ever think about changing careers, soldier, I’ll hire you,” Tony blurts out in a strained voice, looks at Steve over his shoulder, and freezes. Perhaps it is the dimmed light, or Tony’s imagination, but in that moment, there is nothing but raw longing etched onto every feature of Steve’s face.

Steve’s lashes flutter, his mouth sketching a strained sort of a smile. He shifts in his seat, putting more space between them. Irrationally, stupidly, it makes Tony want to grab him by the wrist and tug him back. “I’ll consider it,” he says in a voice far too casual to be anything but fake. He ducks his head, his shoulders stiffening fractionally. 

Tony blinks at Steve, dismayed, having absolutely no idea what just happened.

“I never wanted to be a soldier,” Steve says suddenly. He keeps his gaze trained on his lap, but Tony is pretty sure he is seeing something else. Something long gone. “Not really.” 

Tony shifts in his seat so that he is facing Steve. He glances down, frowns at the sight of Steve rubbing at the palm of his right hand. “What did you want to be?” Tony asks in a quiet voice, folding his hands into fists in an effort to stop himself from following a very unwise impulse and reaching after Steve’s hand.

(Maybe Tony knew it already, but simply chose to forget it along with so many of his father’s stories about Captain America. But that was then. Now, Tony wants to know everything about Steve Rogers.)  

A dry chuckle escapes Steve’s mouth. “You’ll laugh.”

Tony half-shrugs, his mouth stretching into a shadow of a smile. “It might happen,” he agrees. “I can be bit of a jerk.”

Steve snaps his head up, his eyes locking on Tony’s. A myriad of emotions swirl inside Steve’s gaze, shifting with dizzying speed, settling finally on something fond, if a bit sad. 

“Comic books,” Steve says in a voice that has no similarities at all with the confident and strong voice Tony is used to hearing. It tugs at Tony’s heart, and swells inside his throat, making him want things that are far, far more dangerous than his silly fantasy from moments ago. “I wanted to draw comic books.” 

Tony’s eyes widen in surprise. That wouldn’t have been Tony’s first guess. “So instead of drawing superheroes you became one,” Tony says, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smile. “There’s never the middle ground with you, is it Rogers?”

Steve looks up, a small furrow developing between his eyes as his gaze travels across Tony’s face. “I wanted to serve my country. This,” Steve indicates at himself, smiling ruefully, “was never my goal. Sometimes it seems more like a price than anything else.” Tilting his head to the side, Steve gives Tony a wary look. “And you are handling this information with surprising restraint, Stark.”

“Such a suspicious mind you have in that pretty head of yours, Rogers.”

“It is called experience. Years of it.”

Tony grins, flicks his gaze at Steve’s hands, something tight uncoiling inside his chest when he finds them loose. “How come I’ve never seen you draw?” Tony asks. Then, lowering his voice suggestively, he adds, “You could draw me like one of your French girls.”

Steve blinks, gives Tony a look of mild exasperation. There is, however, a tiny flush rising on his cheeks, visible even in the dimmed lighting.

“I’ve been out of the ice for years now, Tony,” Steve points out. “I’ve seen the movie.”

Tony’s grin widens. “Good for you, Rogers. But that doesn’t answer my question.” Pausing, Tony wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. “I can clear my schedule for tomorrow if you’re up for it.” 

Steve straightens almost imperceptibly, his jaw setting in that familiar stubborn way, and Tony suddenly remembers why playing any game of chicken with Steve Rogers may not be such a smart idea.

“Sure, Stark,” Steve deadpans. “Will you be providing a necklace too?”

Tony opens his mouth, takes in the gleam of resolve in Steve’s eyes and bursts into laughter.

“You’re something else, Rogers,” Tony says when he stops laughing. Steve gives him a small half-shrug, his expression softening with an almost sheepish smile. Tony shakes his head before squaring Steve with thoughtful eyes. “But seriously now. Why aren’t you drawing anymore?”

Steve glances away for a moment, his spine going stiff. “I do, but not often. It’s- I guess it’s not the same anymore.”

“How so?”

Steve scrubs a hand across his face. “After the ice, everything I wanted to-” Steve breaks off, clears his throat, his face drawing into a grimace. “Then there was no time, and then suddenly I could see colors, and it-” Steve visibly bites back the rest of that sentence, his eyes becoming guarded. “It doesn’t really matter now, anyway. Being a soldier wasn’t what I wanted for myself, but it is who I am.”  

Tony sighs, rubs the back of his neck. “I guess we never really talked about it, did we?” He doesn’t elaborate on what it is, but he doesn’t really have to. The way Steve’s mouth tightens and his brow furrows are clear indication he knows what Tony is referring to.  

“We did,” Steve says after a moment of silence. His tone is flat, giving away nothing. “Right at the start. You made yourself quite clear.”

“Okay, remember when I said I can be a bit of a jerk? I was a major jerk that time,” Tony says in a weary voice. 

“We both were,” Steve concedes.

“But it’s not like that with us anymore. We’re friends, right? And friends should talk to each other about important stuff. And this,” Tony gestures between them, “is pretty damn important.”

Steve doesn’t say a thing for one long moment. He just looks at Tony with careful eyes, his mouth curving into a smile Tony doesn’t like at all. It seems far too sad. “What did you call it, a magical accident? No, don’t argue. I know you meant it. And you were right. It’s-” Steve pauses, as if searching for right words. “I was wrong in presuming us being soulmates should instantly matter to you. You didn’t know me, you didn’t particularly like me, and you sure as hell didn’t want anything to do with me.”

Steve breaks off. He glances away, his hands clenching into fists. “I know it isn’t how it used to be before,” Steve says in a tight voice, locks his gaze on Tony’s face. There is a small smile on his lips that holds no mirth whatsoever. “I looked it up.”

Tony blinks, latching on Steve’s last words in a desperate attempt to distract himself from the insistent pressure in his chest that is steadily approaching painful. “You looked it up?”

“I woke seventy years in the future, Tony. I had to re-learn great many things.”

There are lines ready on the tip of Tony’s tongue. Lines that would steer this conversation into safe waters. Conversation that is making him want to throttle himself or curl protectively over Steve, and neither option is exactly smart. 

Tony doesn’t say any of those lines. Instead, he hears himself blurt out, “And how was it before? For you?”

Steve’s eyes narrow just a fraction, turning wary. “What does it matter now?” Steve asks with just a hint of warning. “It’s in the past.” 

Tony squares Steve with a level look, and because he cannot not push Steve, even when it hurts them both, he presses on. “I’m a nosy bastard, you know that, Rogers.”

Steve straightens, his face going utterly blank. “Maybe I don’t want to-

“Pepper,” Tony sputters, watches as Steve’s face draws in confusion, his mouth still parted. “I wanted it to be Pepper.” When Steve remains silent, watching Tony with unreadable gaze, Tony lets out a sigh, looks down for a second. “Before her, I didn’t give a fuck about soulmates. Not seeing colors was a royal pain in the ass, but that was it. I had no desire to have some stranger forced at me and just go with it like it’s some great gift. These days, rarely anyone does. There are even pills to soothe the ache of separation,” Tony trails off, chances a glance at Steve, finds him looking intently at Tony. “I fucked it up. With Pepper, I mean. I didn’t tell her about you.” A dry chuckle leaves Tony’s mouth at the way Steve’s face scrunches into a near guilty expression. “Don’t do that. It’s not your fault. Pepper didn’t leave because you are my soulmate. She left me because I was an idiot.” Letting out a heavy breath, Tony drags his knuckles across his forehead. The headache, lessened by Steve’s massage is starting to come back with a vengeance. “The chances are, if it weren’t for that, I would have found some other way to ruin things with Pepper.” 

Steve’s face draws into a frown. “You shouldn’t- you are too hard on yourself, Tony,” Steve says, sounding nothing but earnest. 

Tony waves a dismissive hand, forces his mouth into a smile. “Like you said, it doesn’t matter now,” Tony says, aiming for casual but missing it about a mile. “So that’s my story, Rogers. It’s not much, I know. But I’d really like to hear yours.”  

Steve hesitates a moment, visibly battling with himself. Tony stays quiet and waits, concentrating on keeping his breathing even despite the tightness in his chest. He cannot telly why it matters now - hearing Steve talk about what he’d wanted from a soulmate - when it never did before, just that it does. 

With one long exhale, Steve comes to a decision. “Bucky always talked how his soulmate will be an heiress,” Steve says with a wistful little smile. Tony’s lungs do that complicated routine they always do when Steve mentions Barnes, where they try to simultaneously expand and contract, making breathing quite a challenge for a few moments. Steve doesn’t mention Barnes often - even if he is still following leads, scarce as they are - but at least now it’s with a soft ache in his voice, not raw misery of before. “How we’ll move to Manhattan and live the good life. I knew he was just talkin’ big, but there were times when I almost believed him.”

“He was a ladies’ man, then? Barnes?”

Steve nods. “Yeah, he was.” Steve pauses, lets out a soft laugh. “Kept trying to fix me up with a gal.”

“How did that work out?”

“I was scrawny and sickly, and I had no idea how to actually talk to any of my dates,” Steve says with a shrug. “How do you think it worked out?”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“And you? Were you dreaming of an heiress?”

Steve’s eyebrows shoot up. He gives Tony an incredulous look. A beat later, his eyelashes flutter, something raw and vulnerable flickering in his gaze. “I never thought about it much. I guess I was simply looking forward to meeting someone who would bother to look twice at me.”

“Those gals of yours weren’t especially bright,” Tony says, surprising himself by the vehemence in his voice.

The look Steve gives him is simultaneously amused and suspicious. “I wouldn’t go that far,” Steve says. “I really wasn’t much to look at.” Pausing, Steve straightens almost imperceptibly, lifts his chin, the look in his eyes turning almost defiant. “What makes you assume I thought my soulmate would be a woman?”

Tony blinks, opens his mouth. Then immediately regrets it because what comes out of it is, “Huh?”

“Being attracted to both genders is not a recent development, Tony,” Steve says, holding Tony’s gaze unblinkingly. “You modern folks only gave it a fancy name.”

Tony is - in a distant, still functioning part of his brain - aware that he is currently giving an impersonation of a goldfish. It’s not like he can help himself, though. Not considering the bombshell Steve casually dropped just now.

“Gotta say, Stark, I didn’t think you could be so easily shocked,” Steve says in a light, almost amused voice. But his eyes remain serious. Alert.

Tony snaps out of his daze with a shake of his head and a low chuckle. “You’re a veritable font of surprises, Rogers.”

“And this?” Steve asks, his voice gaining a defensive edge. “This a good surprise or a bad one?”

Hope flares to life inside Tony’s chest - foolish, unwanted and painful - but Tony doesn’t pay attention to it. What does it matter if Steve is attracted to men as well. “I would tell you to look up my name with a few choice phrases like sex tape, threesome and public indecency,” Tony says, watching carefully as Steve’s eyes grow wide and color rises to his cheeks with each of his words. “But I don’t think you’re ready for that. So let’s just say if you’re expecting me to judge you, it would be a case of pot and kettle arguing over which has the blacker feathers.”

A strange expression crosses Steve’s face. It strongly resembles satisfaction.               

Tony’s heart skips a beat, and that damned hope that is still fluttering inside his chest, grows stronger, more insistent. Tony bites on his lower lip to stop himself from blurting out something idiotic. Releasing a breath through his nose, he steers the conversation away from this particular minefield. “And Peggy Carter? Wasn’t she your... what’s that ancient term, sweetheart?”

Steve’s mouth draws into a wistful smile. “Peggy, she- she was something else. Fierce, brave, smart. Beautiful. For some reason she saw more in me than just a skinny, awkward guy from Brooklyn.” Dragging his fingers through his hair, Steve lets out a soft chuckle. “She shot at me, once.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised, Rogers,” Tony remarks, grinning. “You have one of those faces.”

Steve gives him a pointed look. “I’m pretty sure I have nothing on you in that regard, Stark.”

“Point taken.”

“You know,” Steve says, looking at Tony with careful eyes. “Your father was there when it happened.”

Tony’s grin falters, then fades entirely. “Yeah, dear old dad,” Tony says in a low voice. He tilts his head, gives Steve a considering gaze. “I can’t imagine how strange it must be for you. Talking to me, I mean. I’m his son, and I’m older than he was when you knew him.”

Steve brow draws tight. He looks away as he shifts in his seat. Tony cannot be sure is it intentional or not, but that tiny shift places Steve closer to where Tony is sitting, not further. “It was... difficult. In the beginning. To accept that everything I’ve known is gone. It still is, sometimes,” Steve says in a quiet voice, leveling Tony with a steady gaze. “Talking to you isn’t.” At Tony’s raised eyebrows, Steve gives a one-shouldered shrug, smiles. “I never mistook you for Howard. Never resented you for not being him. Trust me, Tony, you’re one of a kind.”

“I’m just going to take that as a compliment, Rogers,” Tony says, keeping his voice casual and ignoring the tiny flutter of warmth inside his chest. 

“You should,” Steve says, solemnly. His right hand moves, but Tony becomes aware of it only when he feels strong fingers close carefully around his right wrist, unable to draw his eyes from the gleam of determination in Steve’s eyes. “I said it as such.”

So. Tony most definitely is not a blushing virgin - no matter the way his heart and his lungs try to defy that fact by failing to resume functioning properly - he knows Steve is gearing up for kissing him. It’s rather difficult to misinterpret Steve’s intentions considering the careful way he sidles closer, sliding his hand up Tony’s arm and shoulder until it rests on the nape of Tony’s neck, his fingers warm and gentle as they cradle the back of Tony’s skull.

Steve’s eyes flick toward Tony’s mouth then back up to his eyes, questioning. Tony can see Steve’s Adam’s apple work as he swallows, can hear a low hiss of breath released through parted mouth as Steve slowly leans forward. 

Steve is about to kiss him. It’s going to happen for all the wrong reasons, and it will ruin this tentative friendship they have managed to build. And having just a taste of something Tony desperately wants but won’t be able to hold onto is simply not worth it. 

Unless. Unless Tony does something responsible and mature.

(Tony doesn’t want to stop Steve. He wants the kiss. Hell, he wants more; naked skin and hungry kisses, possessive hands and teasing mouths. He wants to suck bruises into the skin of Steve’s neck and wants to feel the scrape of Steve’s teeth on his own skin. He wants the drag and press of Steve’s cock inside him and the tight grip of Steve’s fingers around his cock. He wants everything.)

But not as much as he wants to keep Steve’s friendship.        

Tony knows how strong Steve is, has seen him in action many times, but it takes only a small press of Tony’s hand, fingers splayed wide against Steve’s chest, to stop him from closing the remaining space between their mouths.

(It’s in the top three most difficult things Tony’s had to do. He is somewhat amazed by the steadiness of his hand, considering he is half-convinced his chest is moments away from falling apart from the pressure of sheer want contained inside it.)

Steve remains frozen, still half-leaning toward Tony’s face, an expression of dismay, confusion and uncertainty clear on his face. His heart is pounding an erratic beat underneath Tony’s palm. Tony pulls his hand away. The loss he feels is immediate and strong, an almost physical sensation pressing hard against his straining lungs.

“Tony?” Steve says in a small voice that is far cry from his usual steady and strong one. His hand is still resting on the back of Tony’s neck, but his fingers are trembling faintly. “Have I-”

Tony doesn’t let him finish. Doesn’t want to hear the words and acknowledge the line they have come so close to crossing. To step back from it is already taking more will than Tony knew he had inside himself.

So. Avoidance it is.    

He forces his mouth into a smile, and pulls away, his stomach twisting painfully, and his heart howling at him in impotent fury at the way Steve’s hand just drops from Tony’s shoulder, his expression that of loss, bewilderment and hurt.

“So. Anything important happened while I was away?” Tony asks. Mercifully, his voice doesn’t break. “Any new leads on Rumlow?”

It hurts to sit there with a fucking smile on his face and watch the transition from raw, naked longing, disappointment and hurt to something hard and carefully guarded on Steve’s face. But still, Tony does it. Because it is the right thing to do. The right choice.

No matter the pain that cuts through his chest like poisoned dagger.

“I-” Steve starts but his voice breaks. He looks away for a second, curls his hand into fist, pulling it into his lap. Tony feels his stomach roil when he notes it’s the hand that moments ago rested on the back of Tony’s neck. Steve inhales sharply, shakes his head. Tries again. “Natasha is following a few leads. The most promising seems to point to Lagos.”

The silence that ensues after Steve’s curt reply is stifling and strained, and makes Tony think of shattered glass lying discarded on the floor.

(What if he made a mistake? What if Steve wasn’t acting on impulse, influenced by their talk and that damned bond? What if Tony ripped his heart in half for nothing?)

Yeah, well. It’s too late for that now. Tony made his choice, and considering his list of fuck ups and mistakes, this doesn’t even make the list.

Tony clears his throat, rubs at his neck. Wishes... well, it doesn’t matter. “Good. If anyone can find him, Natasha can.”

“Yeah,” Steve agrees in a flat, emotionless voice, his eyes sparking with dark, almost vindictive light for a second.

Tony opens his mouth, but clicks it shut. The tension between them is almost palpable, reflecting in the tense line of Steve’s shoulders and the hard set of his jaw. 

“It’s late, and I’m not as young as I used to be, I think I’ll call it a night,” Tony says, watching Steve’s face carefully. Steve’s mouth tightens minutely, but beyond that, Steve remains unresponsive, and his face unreadable. Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Tony gets up off the couch. Steve watches him in silence. Tony hesitates a moment before adding in a low, tentative voice. “Thanks for the massage.”

Steve blinks up at him, his face still unreadable. “Anytime.”

Tony swallows a resigned sigh. “Night, Rogers.”  

“Goodnight, Tony.”

Tony is almost at the door when he is stopped by Steve’s voice; quiet but steady. “I’m glad it’s you, Tony.”

Tony sucks in a harsh breath, squeezes his eyes shut. He doesn’t need to ask for clarification, he knows what Steve is referring to. Just as he knows that despite everything, including himself, he feels the same.

Tony glances over his shoulder at Steve whose face is obscured by the shadows from this distance, and lets out a soft sigh. “For what it’s worth, Steve, I am glad it’s you.”

Tony waits one moment, half-hoping and half-dreading Steve’s reply. When Steve remains silent, Tony walks away, his chest tight and aching, unsure whether he just dodged a bullet or made a terrible mistake. 

***

Charlie Spencer.

That is how it starts for Tony.

With unforgiving eyes of a grieving mother and bitter words of accusation and disdain.

Lagos is how it starts for everyone else.

With a brief slip in Wanda’s concentration that results in a tragedy.

Tony grits his teeth, pretends he doesn’t hear the smug satisfaction in Ross’ voice when he makes the call.

“I’m glad to have you on board, Stark. Like I said months ago, no one wants to see the Avengers disbanded. Despite your recent mess.”

Tony shuts his eyes, swallows thickly. It leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He holds a trembling hand against his chest, thinks of Steve.

Steve will understand. He will have to understand. They cannot go around, leaving dead bodies and ruins in their wake any longer.

Who's going to avenge my son, Stark? He's dead. And I blame you. 

The words echo inside Tony’s mind, pulse in sync with his heart as guilt and regret take shape of single-minded determination.

Steve will listen and he will see that the Accords are needed.

He will. He must.

***

Steve doesn’t listen. He doesn’t want to listen.

Doesn’t want to consider a compromise. Just sits there, self-righteousness upped to maximum, looking at Tony with disapproval and disappointment. 

Steve doesn’t ask the question - no, the fool is far too busy giving lectures on how the world works, as if Tony is the one who needs them, not the guy who cannot see past his fucking black and white morality - but Tony can see it clearly in his eyes.

Did you know about this? 

The team is splintering, lines are being drawn, sides are being taken.

(Tony and Steve have fought before. They will always fight, that Tony knows for certain, they have far too different worldview not to. But this, now? It feels like a prelude to something that goes beyond words  

When Steve abruptly stands up and leaves, Tony cannot do anything but watch him walk away, while frustration, worry and dread wreak havoc in the hollow of his chest, making his lungs strain for breath. 

The silence following Steve’s exit erupts into a chorus of voices, everyone talking and no one really listening. Tony keeps his eyes set on Steve’s, now vacant, chair, rubbing at his right arm absentmindedly, trying to get rid of the numbness spreading there.

When Tony looks up, he meets Natasha’s gaze, assessing and concerned in equal measure. He offers her an empty, practiced smile he knows she’ll see right through. 

Letting out a deep breath, Tony scrubs a hand across his face, glances at the door. 

(You love him. And you are losing him.)  

***

Peggy Carter dies.

Bucky Barnes enters the picture.

And Tony - angry and tired and terrified down to the marrow of his bones - watches as Steve takes on the world for him.

Slowly, he is beginning to realize that Steve won’t back down.

But Tony has to try.

There must be a way to salvage everything. To keep the Avengers from falling apart.

To keep Steve.

***

Tony tries bargaining. 

It’s not his best performance. He is practically vibrating with nervousness, his palms are sweaty, and for the larger part of the conversation, Tony has to swallow the anger that is churning inside his stomach. 

(He is trying to keep them together, why can’t Steve see this?)

Barnes is the key, Tony knows it, and he plays that card. 

It almost works. Almost.  

Steve almost signs. He has the pen in his hand, and even if he is obviously struggling with his decision, he is willing to sign. Tony knows it’s because he wants to protect Barnes, but he doesn’t care. 

Everything can be fixed, the Accords can be moderated, only if Steve signs the damned thing.

But Tony fucks it up by mentioning Wanda, and instead of relief at salvaging the situation, he is left watching Steve’s face draw into a scowl of angry disappointment. 

It ends with Steve striding away in a huff of righteous fury, and Tony staring after him, feeling as if he is sinking into quicksand, with no help in sight.

(You love him. And you are losing him.)

***

Begging doesn’t help either.

Tony wonders - in a distant part of his mind, the one that isn’t drowning in growing frustration and anger - whether Steve is even aware that Tony is, in fact, begging him to stay. Even if Tony is standing, voluntarily, across from him, not by his side.

In the end, it doesn’t matter.

Steve stands there, as if carved out of stone, unmovable and cold, and Tony wishes he could pull that off. Simply silence every emotion that is raging inside him and... what?

What happens now?

As it turns out, they fight.

***

“Boss, isn’t this going directly against the Accords?”

Tony opens his eyes, a huff of humorless laughter leaving his mouth. “Yep,” he says, winces at the dull throb of pain in his arm. He looks out the small window at the storm outside, tries not to think of Rhodey falling from the sky, and fails spectacularly.

“And if Secretary Ross finds out?”

“Well, in that case, I get to bunk with the old gang,” Tony says, grimaces when he recalls Wanda’s blank face and Clint’s accusations. “It should be fun.”

“Boss, you are still injured from the last fight-”

“Appreciate the concern, FRIDAY,” Tony cuts in. “But what I need is more information on this Zemo guy.” 

“Sure thing,” FRIDAY says, giving an uncanny impression of a sigh. 

Tony stares at the holographic images of a man’s face, a Sokovian soldier, with a rising sense of foreboding.

Someone - this guy one, seemingly ordinary, guy. is it even possible? - is playing them. But to what end? And why?

He is Sokovian. You need to guess why he could be a little pissed at the Avengers?   

With a tight press of lips, Tony forces his mind to concentrate on the present. He is far too tired - body and soul - to deal with the ramifications of creating Ultron right now. 

So. Barnes is innocent - well, for the bombing of UN, at least - that is something he can offer Steve as another olive branch. As for the rest, the Accords, the rift between the team, the others being locked in the Raft... 

It is bad. Not world-ending bad, not that. On some level, though, it is worse. Worse because it is them, splintering from the inside, and no matter how hard Tony tries, he cannot seem to make it right.

There is still a chance, though. To talk to Steve, to get him to work with Tony, instead against, and maybe, just maybe, they will get through this bruised and battered but not shattered.

(Tony is tired. So fucking tired. He wishes he could stop. Stop feeling, stop thinking. He wishes none of this happened. But most of all, Tony wishes he knew is all of this even worth a damn. It sure as hell isn’t worth Rhodey’s legs.) 

Inhaling deeply, Tony releases a heavy breath, his hand pressing against his chest, seeking comfort in the dull ache he feels there.

Steve is alive. And that matters above everything else. 

That means there is still a chance to fix everything.

***

Long after Steve leaves with Barnes, Tony will not move from the ground.

(He is tired and aching all over and the suit is dead. But mostly, he doesn’t want to move. It seems like too much of an effort. Later. Maybe.)

The silence after the fight with Steve - Steve - and Barnes is jarring. It makes the sounds of metal hitting metal, of metal clanking against concrete that are still echoing inside Tony’s mind louder. 

But there is no one left here - no matter what Tony’s mind is telling him - no one but Tony. 

Well. There is Steve’s shield, lying on the ground a few feet away. Discarded as if it means nothing. 

A reminder of how pathetic Tony really is.

It’s fucking hilarious, or it would be if Tony could feel anything but bitter resentment filling the space inside his chest. Space hollowed out by fury, hurt and betrayal. After everything Tony had said to Steve these past few days. After every attempt at finding a middle ground failed in the face of Steve’s unwillingness to compromise, it is a petty, spiteful remark what Steve finally deigned to acknowledge.

One final fuck you to Tony.

Dragging his eyes from Steve’s - is it his still? - shield, Tony lets out a shaky breath. 

FRIDAY should have flown the helicopter here soon, and he’ll have to stand up and walk away from this damned place, and carry on.

And he will do this. He’d done it before; walked from the ruins of his life and built it back, piece by piece, he’ll do it this time, but for now, he doesn’t want to think of feel or remember.

But he does.

He remembers Steve’s laugh, Steve’s hands gentle on his shoulders, Steve’s eyes glinting with fond exasperation. Even now, when Tony knows all those things are lies, they still seem true. True enough to hurt, at least.

(You love him. And you lost him.)

It doesn’t matter - the heart’s logic is fucked up like that - that Steve was never Tony’s to begin with.