#I believed I was stupid cause I couldn’t read and other kids could

[hellcatsworld]

TELL YOUR KIDS

I swear to god

Not telling your kid they have a learning disability, chronic illness, mental illness etc. so they can “feel normal” actually does the opposite. They will not feel normal if they do not have the context to understand that their normal will be different from that of their peers.

[nats-revival]

ditto — e. williams

!! PLEASE READ BEFORE INTERACTING !! - Its still imperative that you do anything you can to support Palestine. You can help by doing your daily click, or reviewing this masterlist. You can also help by not buying TLOU, and here’s why.

aestras notes: WOOOOO GUESS WHO FINALLY DROPPED??? THIS GUY!!!!!! 😝😝😝 tried something new for the banner this time, i think it looks okay. 🙂‍↕️ anyways!!! everyone thank @softlysunrays for encouraging me yawp yawp!!!!

tags: loser!ellie, theatre kid!dina agenda, modern au sorta?, i suck at tagging a year later, ellie is a nervous wreck, italics indicate internal monologue (most of the time), fluff(?), one small use of y/n, okay that’s it i think

Ellie might’ve had a little thing for you — probably more than just a little thing, because you’d occupy most of the space in her brain 99% of the time. And she was, unceremoniously, an incredibly big loser. She never speaks to you directly, instead stealing glances at you during passing periods or watching you from afar whenever you’d been hanging out with your other friends. 

The hallways always seemed to be cramped and crowded, but not crowded enough that she couldn’t see you. Something about you made her always recognize it was you. 

Standing at her locker, she’d been joined by Dina as she’d been grabbing some things from her backpack. The hallways were bustling with chatter and bodies, but it seemed to only be them right now.

Dina looks at Ellie as her locker shuts with a small smirk. “I saw you staring at her again.” She teases. “You’ve got it bad!” Dina pokes her softly. She sings a cheesy love song, to which Ellie groans and puts a hand on her forehead. “You’re gonna make me die of embarrassment.” She mumbles.

Dina laughs at her, putting an arm over her shoulders. “Look at you, all grown up and having a little crush.” She says theatrically, wiping fake tears. Ellie chuckles to herself as she looks down at her canvas sneakers. 

“Yknow, I could introduce you to her.” Dina mentions without much thought. If Ellie had water in her mouth, she would’ve spit it out dramatically. She stands as stiff as a board as she turns to look at Dina. “Really? I mean — you’re serious? Like 100%?” Ellie seemed excited, but god was she nervous at the thought. 

“Yeah, totally! You can sprinkle your little loser dust on her in hopes that you absolutely woo her.” Dina throws her head back dramatically with the back of her hand on her forehead. The pair chuckle slightly at Dina’s antics.

Ellie still couldn’t believe that Dina knew her. Like, a majorly pretty girl? “Pinch me.” Ellie says, clearly in some state of disbelief. “I think I’m dreaming.” Dina pinches her on the cheek and she smiles. “You’re awake, Ellie! It’s me — Dina in the flesh!” Dina smiles at her.

“Dina, I’ve been like, dreaming of this since school started. I will come to your house later. Just please don’t be lying about this.” Ellie did dream about you a lot, and she always wished she didn’t wake up before the good parts. But she always did, so she woke up sulking all morning.

Even when the passing period had ended, she couldn’t stop creating scenarios about the two of you in her head. Well, the two of you and Dina. Cause she’d be there too. Ellie would feel bad to leave her out.

She knew that this was super cliche but she liked how cliche it was in some odd way. 

She was staring out of a window with her earphone in, tapping her gnawed up pencil against a wooden desk as she listened to songs that reminded her of you.

Which was, obviously, most of the music she’d ever listen to now because she was just that in love with you. She had it bad. Super bad. Actually, no word could describe it.

Once she started dreaming about you, she knew she was doomed. Even more so now that she’ll actually talk to you.

The anxiety of meeting a pretty girl like you sets in. What if she thinks I’m too weird? But she’s friends with Dina.. maybe it’ll be okay. This is so stupid. God, just focus on her! Her internal monologue was a flurry of ‘you got this’ and ‘don’t be a total loser’.

All of that literally goes out the window the second she makes it to Dina’s house.

As usual, Dina’s home was cluttered but homey, and the walls were covered with Dina in various grades performing in school musicals. Ride The Cyclone, Heathers, all that kinda stuff that she has little to no knowledge of.

“She’s waiting in my room — and stand up straight or something. Body language is important.” Dina says, leading her up the creaky stairs. Ellie almost didn’t hear what Dina was saying as they got closer to her room.

She’s in there! Right there! She thought, a smile creeping onto her face. The door of Dina’s room swings open and there you were, sitting on the edge of her bed.

“This is who I was telling you about! Y/N, this is Ellie. Ellie, Y/N.” Dina smiles at both of you brightly. “Hi!” Ellie blurts out, her voice cracking slightly. She instantly feels embarrassed and clears her throat. “Hello. How are you?” She attempts to reapproach the conversation, but when she saw that you’d been already chuckling and smiling, all her affirmations were lost to her.

“I’m fine. And you?” You asked, smiling at her. “I’m.. I’m good. Totally chilling right now, yeah.” Ellie rambles nervously. 

She kinda just stands there awkwardly until she thinks about another question. “How’d you uh, meet Dina?” She asks, rocking back and forth awkwardly on her heels. “We’re in the same theater class. And you,” 

You point at her. “You’ve known her since like, forever, right?” She says to Dina, eliciting a soft hum from the girl. You smile at Dina. “I’ll leave you two alone for a while.” 

Upon hearing that, Ellie snaps her head around to look at Dina. Her eyes scream “don’t leave me here”. Dina smiles remorsefully before leaving the room.

So now it was just Ellie and you. Staring at eachother while birds chirped softly in the distance. Ellie smiles awkwardly. You chuckle at her. “Are you usually this nervous?” You ask, tilting your head to the side slightly.

“..Yes, but not really?” Ellie would never in a million years admit the big fat crush she had on you, not now that you were sitting infront of her. “Well, I’m not gonna like, eat you or anything. You don’t have to be so nervous.”

“That’s easier said than done when you’re that pretty.” Ellie mumbled to herself. “What was that you said? You think I’m pretty?” You ask, smiling brightly. When she realizes you’d heard that part, she becomes incredibly flustered. She smashes her face into the palms of her hands as her cheeks become flushed. 

“I’m truly flattered! It means a lot coming from another pretty girl.” Ellie stood breathing for a moment. She thinks I’m pretty? She thinks I’m pretty?! She truly wants to jump for joy but she doesn’t. Instead she just stares at you.

Once you stand up and start walking towards her, she gets even more nervous because you smell like heaven. “I think we should get to know eachother more.” You suggest as you look at her. “I’ll give you my number.”

“Your number?” She blurts, excitement underlying her tone. “Yeah! It’s no biggie.” You say as you reach for your phone that was previously on the charger.

When you both eventually exchanged numbers, Ellie was staring at your contact in awe. Maybe you were talking to her but she was in her own little world.

She’d finally done it — talked to the girl she’d had a crush on literally all year. And somehow pulled it off enough to get her number.

Has Ellie wooed you? She didn’t know. Were you definitely looking forward to talking to her? Hell yeah you were.

“So I guess I’ll talk to you very soon then?” You raise an eyebrow at her with a smile on your face. Very soon? That could mean tonight! “Yeah, yeah totally. Call me whenever. I’m always free, yknow, never busy.” Ellie said, forming an awkward smile.

I basically just told her I have no hobbies or many friends! How charming is that? Way to go, Ellie. She internally cringes at herself. “Good to know. Bye Ellie.” You wave at her before leaving Dina’s room.

The door shuts and Dina runs up the stairs. “Oh she’s definitely into you.” She exclaims, holding Ellie’s hands. “I’m proud of you for putting your big girl pants on.” Ellie looks at Dina with a stupid smile. “She’s into me.” She mumbled with a starstruck expression. “She’s into me!” She repeats, smiling. I really hope that’s true. She thinks excitedly, squeezing Dina’s hands while looking at her.

[michiiyann]

Joongdok Random AU Ideas

Joongdok shenanigans

Colorblind

Imagine both kdj and yjh are red-green color blind and one day hsy tries to put bright red lipstick on kdj and he’s like

“BUT I DONT WANT BROWN LIPS” and everyone is just like

“wut?” And he gets really confused.

Then Ysa is like

“Dokja-ssi, the lipstick is red…” and kdj is like

“no it’s not” and jhw is like

“wait, are you colorblind?” And kdj is like “No?”

And then yjh walks in and is like

“what’s wrong?” Cause everyone is just silently pondering kdj’s color blindness. Then kdj says

“Yoo Junghyuk-ah, Han Sooyeong’s lipstick is brown right?” And yjh is like

“yeah?” And all of Kimcom (the name for kdj’s group) is internally like “OMFG THEY’RE BOTH COLORBLINDDDD”

Read more ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Squid and Sunfish

Once upon a time, there was a little squid. The squid had no purpose in life, so it just drifted along with the current.

Until one day, it came across a sunfish. Strange, thought the squid. Usually sunfish don’t come down this deep.

He asked the sunfish what it was doing in the deep ocean. To which the sunfish replied

“I’m looking for a companion.”

The squid was confused. The only one this deep for miles was him.

He looked the sunfish up and down. Surely this guy wasn’t looking for him?

“Well there’s nobody else here but me,” said the squid.

“That’s fine,” said the sunfish.

The squid blinked. Did this stupid sunfish really not get it? He was a loser with no life! Why would this guys want /him/ as a companion.

The sunfish noticed the squid’s distress.

“If you don’t want a companion, there’s nothing I can do,” He said flatly.

As the sunfish swan away, the squid felt an aching in its heart. He realized, he didn’t want the sunfish to leave!

“Wait,” said the squid. The sunfish stopped.

“If you really aren’t bothered, I’ll be your companion.”

The squid couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. Him someone’s companion? Really? The sunfish turned around and smirked.

That annoying way sunfish do. “Knew it.” He said. And from then on. They lived as companions.

The end.

Department story YJH

What if Joongdok AU where Yoo Junghyuk works at A department store and Kim Dokja comes in as a single dad who has to fix his door handle. Except he has no clue how and has no mechanical knowledge.

When Yjh saw a man walk in with a little girl holding his hand he thought--nothing of it. People bring their kids places all the time. But when the man seemingly walked through every isle in a lost manner for what felt like hours, Yjh thought it might be time to step in.

Usually he’d let one of his coworkers handle helping costumers since he-- hated when people went to department stores not knowing what they needed.

Alas, it was a busy day and all of the other employees were helping equally lost customers.

Yjh approached the man when he heard the little girl say

“daddy, why don’t you just ask for help?”--To which the man replied,

“don’t worry sweetie daddy knows what he’s doing…” and went back to looking at shelves that clearly didn’t house what he needed.

“Can I help you with anything?” Said Yjh almost startling the man.

He noticed the small girl staring at her father clearly--waiting to see his response.

“Ah, yes… well… could you point me in the direction of the doorknobs?” Said the man.

Yjh had to hold in his sigh. Only because he had seen the man pass the doorknobs twice in his search.

“Right this way.” He said in the most polite voice he could--muster. He lead the man a couple of isles down.

“Thank you.” Said the man gratefully.

Yjh simply nodded and went back to walking around.

20 minutes later he happened to walk by the isle again, and to his complete and utter shock, the man was still standing there. Yjh walked up--to the man and asked him what the problem was.

“Oh haha, it’s just that… I don’t seem to know what doorknob I need….” The man let out an embarrassed chuckle.

Yjh had just about had it with him. Really, the amount of stress this man was causing him was unnatural.

Yjh tried asking him which model he currently had or if he needed a knew one. The man said he just needed to fix his old one but beyond that he just pretended to ponder. Yjh asked if he had a picture of his old one to which the man said

“ohhhh that’s what I forgot!” At that--Yjh snapped.

He quickly offered to buy one of each kind of doorknob for the man and personally come to his house and instal the one he needed. The man simply seemed taken aback by the offer and the forwardness.

Of course, who wouldn’t with an offer like that. They exchanged--numbers and the man introduced himself as Kim Dokja. Once he finally left, Yjh’s shift was over.

Yjh realized this man had been in the store for a total of 2 hours. As well as that, he had only been looking for a doorknob. A DOORKNOB FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Yjh took an angry shower and went straight to bed.

The next morning he went into work and after his shift bought exactly what he said he would. When his coworker Hsy asked what he was doing he ranted about the situation to her.

“Wow, you’re down bad” she joked to which Yjh replied to by walking--to his car and driving away.

He texted Kdj and got his address. When he arrived he rang the doorbell. For a while nobody answered. He was getting annoyed because Kdj had told him he was home over text. Then he heard a door open from the back and the sound of rickety wood.

He-turned towards the sound to see Kdj with a tree beach in his hair.

“Hey, sorry about that. The front doorknob is the one that’s broken so we can’t get in and out of it,” he explained.

Yjh felt a pang of pity for this poor man. Kdj gave him permission to forcefully pull-the door open to fix the knob. He did so without much of a struggle. When he saw the state the doorknob was in he wondered how Kdj could’ve let it get this bad.

He wondered how many times he had jammed the door in and out before it got so bad he just couldn’t anymore.

He fixed the doorknob, and when he went to leave Kdj stopped him.

“You know, you could stay and have dinner. It’s the least we can do for all the help you’ve given us.” He paused. “Even if it was out of spite,” he added.

Yjh’s ears went red. Had his reaction really been so obviously out--of frustration?

“You don’t have to though,” said Kdj when he saw Yjh’s hesitation. “No, I accept,” said Yjh curtly.

When he sat down and tried the food, safe to say, he was thoroughly disappointed. Along with knowing nothing of mechanics, he also could barely cook? Yjh’s pea-sized brain saw this as an obvious cry for help and he offered to cook for Kdj every weekend. Kdj at first said know but Yjh was very adamant about it.

Finally Kdj agreed out of the guise that he wanted his daughter Byoo to have better food. In reality he was touched that Yjh-would want to help so bad.

Fast forward a couple months and Yjh asks Kdj to go out.

Somehow, unknown to even Yjh himself, he had fallen for the man who he had met lost in a department store. Kdj agreed and they became boyfriends.

End

Shoe on the other foot

Joongdok Idea that Kdj has really Small feet and Yjh has normal/large feet and as a scenario penalty they have to swap shoes.

So while they’re fighting Kdj has to deal with big boots that keep slipping off and he keeps tripping and falling.

And on the other hand Yjh can’t feel his toes but at the same time is in constant pain.

Not to mention Kdj wears dress shoes so Yjh is having even more fun.

By the end of it Yjh just gets tired of Kdj faking so he just Carries him.

Pillows

What if Joongdok crack au where Kdj keeps buying decorative pillows and Yjh is losing his sitting spots

Yjh tries to sit on the couch but falls to the ground because there’s too many pillows on the couch.

Kdj: oh sorry let me move those^^

He throws them on an already humongous pile of other decorative pillows.

Yjh: why do you need so many??

Kdj: They make the house look nice

Yjh takes a look around the room and there’s piles and piles of pillows everywhere.

He gives Kdj a look of exasperation.

Kdj: well maybe we can put some in storage?

(I imagine this is on some kind of reality tv show and there’s a camera)

The camera cuts to Yjh gesturing violently to the tons of pillows in storage already.

Kdj: huh…

Then the scene switches to their bedroom and Yjh’s side of the bed is covered in pillows.

The camera cuts to one of those interview scenes

Yjh: I have 10% bed space left… I did the math

By the end of it they get Kdj help and he agrees to get rid of most of the pillows, begrudgingly. And Yjh can finally sit in his own house again.

The end scene is Yjh sitting in a couch and just smiling.

Pizza Hut vs Domnioes

Pizza Hut vs Domino’s but make it Joongdok

Also hsy is sys sister cause I need an adult

When lgy and sys decided to make the Domino’s and Pizza Hut in their local town call each other, they weren’t expecting it to blow up this much.

Or even in fact, kickstart a relationship It started as any other harmless little prank by kids would.

They grabbed two phones and had dialed the the two stores on them.

They snickered uncontrollably as the phones rang.

“Shhhhh- haha, shhhhhhhh” said lgy trying to contain his laughter.

“I know, I know,” sys was having an even harder time.

Brrrrr brrrrr brrrr.

“Hello? This is Pizza Hut what can I do for you?”

And

“Hello this is Dominos, what would you like”

Two men’s voices could be heard from the phones.

“What?” They both said in unison.

“This is dominos, you wanted to order a pizza?” Said the deeper gruffer voice.

“If I ordered something from you it definitely wouldn’t be pizza, heck, I’d be weary of a soda from you guys!” Said the other voice.

The other phone went silent. Then,

“Well that’s too bad cause that means you’re stuck with the stuff you people make… yeesh.”The other voice let out an obviously exaggerated gasp.

“How dare you? You know what, where’s your store??”

“123 west rd, and what’s /yours/“

Sys and lgy were dying laughing at this point, they had to go to the corner of the room.

“246 North st!” The other voice said harshly.

“You know what?” It continued, “meet me at 135 south blvd, I dare you!”

“We’ll get ready to be defeated!” Announced the other.

Then both calls hung up. Sys and lgy were silent for a momen before running into the other room.

“HSY!! CAN YOU DRIVE US TI 135 BLVD?? WE WANT TO SEE TWO GROWN MEN FIGHT!!” They said, in unison to the author who was trying to get her work done, now unsuccessfuly. Hsy looked at them seemingly to debate the pros and cons of granting their request.

However it wasn’t long before she gave in to her need to see grown men being idiots and she found herself driving. When they got there the pulled into a parking lot.

Nobody was there at first but then two men showed up.

One was a very plain looking man in a black button up and a Pizza Hut apron.

The other a very handsome man in a Dominos Apron.

“So you’re the apparently handsome man who thinks Domino’s sells pizza!” Shouted the plain looking one from about 20 ft away from the other.

“What do you mean, ‘sells pizza’ THATS WHAT WERE KNOWN FOR!” Bellowed the other from the same distance. “I wouldn’t call what you’re known for /pizza/!” The scrawny man taunted.

The handsomer man opened his mouth to reply but then paused.

“You- wait did you call me handsome earlier?” He asked befuddled.

The latter’s face went beet red. “W-well, yeah! Who wouldn’t,” he stuttered.”

The taller man seemed the think for a moment before stating,

“If you come to Domino’s we… /I/ could treat you a lot better than those guys at Pizza Hut.”

The other man seemed to short circuit for a moment. “B-but nobody out pizzas the Hut!” He said in a last ditch attempt to save his already fleeting dignity.

“Bet,” responded the other who then smirked devilishly.

Meanwhile lgy and sys were fighting over the left back window of the car for better view than the other. Hsy was simply enjoying the scene from the driver’s seat. They had their windows cracked slightly as to hear what was being said.

“10 bucks says they go out,” announced Hsy suddenly.

“I’ll take that bet! No way they’d go out!” Said Lgy. “Yeah! If you heard them on the phones you’d know!” Boasted Sys.

“We’ll just see,” mused Hsy.

Meanwhile in the parking lot, the men were at a standstill.

“What’s your name?” Said the skinnier man.

“Yjh, and yours?”

“Kdj”

“Well Kdj, you wanna come to the better pizza store and earn a date with me?” Said Yjh confidently.

Kdj let out a small “sure” and walked away.

Unfortunately he was so far away Yjh didn’t hear him.

“Well?!” He shouted

“I SAID SURE!” Kdj shouted back.

“GREAT! SEE YOU AT THE DOMINO’S BUILDING THIS SATURDAY”

“SEE YOU THEN!”

And just like that Lgy and Sys had orchestrated one of the best and most entertaining events of their little town.

[so-many-fandoms-here]

(English isn’t my first language so feel free to correct any mistake you notice.)

• Characters: Levi Ackerman, fem!Reader

• Genre: fluff, a bit of angst

• Warnings: describing birthing (not super detailed)

Daughter

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*

-Levi’s Pov-

I was already up and preparing breakfast when (Y/n) stepped into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes tired and yawning loudly. „Good morning Levi“, she mumbled and sat down at the table.

I supported myself on the kitchen sideboards, limped over to my pregnant wife and placed a kiss on her head. „Good morning you two.“

She hummed with closed eyes and rubbed her big belly. „Baby kicks just like you.“ I couldn’t help but chuckle. „It’s my baby after all.“ I placed my hand that wasn’t supporting my weight softly on her belly.

„Out of all qualities it could have gotten from you I really hoped it wouldn’t be your kicks“, she sighs dramatically and leans further back in the chair. I grabbed one of the other chairs that stood around the table and sat down in front of (Y/n) who had her eyes closed again, obviously exhausted from the long night.

„You’re not even born yet and already causing mommy sleepless nights?“ I spoke as I leaned further down until my face was in front of her belly. „Believe me, she’s way more pleasant when she slept well.“

For that I’ve earned a light slap on the head, causing another chuckle to leave my lips. Then I leaned up again and placed a kiss on my wife’s lips.

The amount of love I felt for this little rascal that wasn’t even born yet was overwhelming and sometimes left me scared.

„What if they don’t like me?“, I mumbled one of my many concerns against (Y/n)s soft lips. „Don’t be stupid“, she responded. „Our child is going to love you.“ And then placed another reassuring kiss on my lips.

But I wasn’t convinced. „I never had a father, I don’t even know how that works.“ (Y/n) wanted to say something but I just continued. „What if they’re scared of my scars? What if I can’t show my love enough? What if“ (Y/n) shut me up with a loud Shhhh and placed her hands on my cheeks. „Our baby is going to love you“, she repeated, not leaving any room for complaints.

„It’s time we talk about a potential godfather or godmother, don’t you think?“, she switched the topic while she stood up and grabbed herself a cup to pour some tea in it. I responded with a nod and said: „I nominate Armin.“

I could basically hear how her (e/c) eyes rolled. „It’s not a voting Levi“, she answered with a chuckle. „I know. I’m just messing with you“, I responded with a slight smirk. „Still Armin.“

(Y/n) nodded in agreement, her face decorated with the biggest, warmest smile that she always had when we planned anything related to the baby. „I thought about him too. He is so gentle and responsible. I’m pretty sure he will be so happy.“

„He’s least likely to drop the baby.“

The noise that came from my wife was made from the cup which she placed loudly on the cupboard again. „Levi!“

„I’m just saying what we both were thinking. They’re all just big ass kids, no way I’m leaving a fragile little human in their sweaty meathooks.“ I didn’t see the towel coming that flew in my direction and landed right on my face. While I pouted, acting like I was pissed, (Y/n) knew I was messing with her again and started to laugh so loud and long that I almost thought she would choke on her own voice.

—

Even though we planned everything thoroughly, the day the baby came still felt somehow chaotic. (Y/n) was a mess, I was a mess, everything was a mess.

It was morning when the water broke. I was reading the newspaper and watched the people through the window going to work, taking a walk, whatever normal people do, when suddenly (Y/n) started to whine. It was like a howl, painful and scared. My head turned and I saw her supporting herself on the doorframe to our bathroom in which she went seconds before.

I stood up and got to her as fast as I could, not paying attention to my crutch leaning against the table. It would only get in my way (like always).

„(Y/n)!“, I yelled, clueless what I could do instead. When I was beside her I could see the puddle on the floor. I hoped my fight or flight response would activate itself, like it did on the battlefield, but it didn’t. Instead I stood there with a horrified expression and looked at her. After a few seconds of brain-loss I caught myself again and wrapped my arms around her waist, which was kind of useless when I look back at it. „Come on, let’s get you in the bedroom.“

I had to let go of her immediately since I was no help for her with my broken leg, which I despised even more in this moment, and walked slowly behind her through the hallway into our bedroom.

The thick bedsheets that our midwife gave us where placed next to the bed, waiting for their time. I quickly spread them on the mattress on which (Y/n) sat down right after.

„Breath“, I reminded her (more myself to be honest) and took her hands in mine. For a second the world went quiet.

It’s happening. I am going to be a father very soon.

I quickly got rid of my sentimental thought and limped to the window, which I opened quickly and started to scan the streets, hoping I would see one of the brats.

„Oi!“ I yelled and immediately Armins head popped out of nowhere.

„Yes sir?“ I saw how his hand twitched, still tempted to salute. I‘m starting to believe he will never get used to not saluting.

„Get the nurse!“ I yell and a mix of horror and happiness appears on Armins face. „It’s time?“, he asks to which I nod. „Obviously!“ I yell even louder and watch him with an expecting look.

He took way too long for my liking to find out of his shock, but eventually he started to run to get the nurse while yelling „The baby‘s coming! The baby’s coming!“

I turned back around to face (Y/n) and watched how she shifts in bed to lie on her back. I walked up to her and sat next to her on the mattress.

„She‘ll be here any moment“, I reassured her while taking her hand in mine and waiting for the sound of the front door opening. After what felt like hours, but were probably not even minutes, the door swung open and our midwife, happy as ever, stepped inside the room.

„Well look at that!“, she calls out. „Looks like baby’s ready to see the world her parents made.“

She often told us how honored she was to work with us and she often tended to exaggerate a bit.

She made her way around the bed and asked (Y/N) to help her take off her underwear. She handed me the wet panty, which I quickly discarded on the floor, no way would I crawl away from my wife to tidy up right now.

The nightgown was pushed up over (Y/N)s thighs while the midwife took a look between her legs. „Yep, baby is in a hurry. I can already see the head.“

(Y/N) squeezed my hand tighter. „I’m scared“, she mumbled. I let go of her hand so I could wrap my arm around her. „Me too“, I whispered when she lied in my arms, grabbing my other hand.

„You ready to push momma?“, the nurse asked to which (Y/N) laughed a forced laugh. „I don’t have that much of a choice now, do I?“

A few hours of screaming and crying passed until a different cry cut through the air.

A light, but strong scream.

„There she is“, the nurse announced and took a towel in which she wrapped our child after cutting the umbilical cord. „A beautiful little girl.“

(Y/N) stretched out her arms, silently demanding the woman to give her the tiny being. Once she held our daughter in her arms she fell exhausted against my chest again.

Too stunned to speak I looked at the little human in her arms, looking just as exhausted as her mother.

(Y/N)s struggles weren’t over yet, since the placenta had to come out too, but after that was managed, the nurse gave us some time to ourselves while she would prepare some tea and something to eat.

Thankful for both, the peace and the fact that she would make something for us I nodded and watched how she closed the door behind her.

„She’s beautiful“, (Y/N) whispered. „Yeah“, I answered. „Just like her mother.“

I earned a tired smile from my wife and felt how she rested her head against my shoulder. „Do you want to hold her?“, she asked after a while.

„Of course!“ I said way too excited but got hesitant right after my statement. „But what if I do something wrong?“

„You won’t“, (Y/N) reassured me. „Take off you shirt.“ She giggled at my confused look. „Skin to skin“, she simply said and I remembered what the nurse told us. It’ll help bonding.

So I quickly got rid of my T-Shirt and then took my daughter as gently as possible into my hands. Her head was supported by my biceps and her little hand reached out and touched my chest lightly.

In awe I studied her face. The tiny eyes, the even tinier nose, her sweet cheeks and her lips that I just knew would carry the most warming smile the world would ever see.

(Y/N)s hand sneaked on our daughters stomach, not ready to give up every last bit of skin contact.

Suddenly my eyes filled with tears and my heart felt like it was about to burst from this immense and intense love I felt when I looked at my baby.

„If this is what the war was for“, I whispered with a shaky voice. „Then I would do it all again.“ The tears that at first just lingered in my eyes now streamed down my face. „Every last bit of it. I would do it all again for her.“

I glanced at (Y/N) and saw how she nodded, knowing exactly what I meant and knowing she would do the same.

„You still like the name Mary?“ I asked her to which I earned another nod. „Yes. But to be honest, she looks more like a Mary Isabel, don’t you think?“

My already endless stream of tears just got worse. Mary Isabel. (Y/N)s tears fell on my shoulder while we stood silent in agreement.

„Mary Isabel Ackerman“, I mumble after a while, my chest filled with love and pride. „My daughter.“

And suddenly I knew what peace felt like.

[gaybananabread]

•• @hexalianrebel-blackfeathers #19 (Secret), How about a very funny secret identity reveal? >w< Miles gets some tickles from one or both of his parents, and through a folly of your choice (a minor injury, noticing his costume, or god forbid, him losing control of his powers) they realize that he's Spiderman. ••

TickleTober Day 19 - Secret

~OOOO THAT’S A GOOD IDEA!! All of Panda’s reqs have got my brain juices flowing in the best ways. I’ve got a feeling Jeff’s gonna seem a little nonexistent here; I did my best 🫡. This is mostly plot (read: angst/comfort) with some tickles, though I did try to work as many in as possible; I just had so many internal dialogue ideas. Thank you for requesting, and I hope you Enjoy! Happy spooky season!~

Lee: Miles Morales

Lers: Rio and Jeff Morales

Summary: Exhausted from a tough night of crime fighting, Miles wakes up looking less than alive. His parents sit him down for a little cheer-up session, but it quickly morphs into something much more serious.

Warnings: none! This is a tickle fic, so if you don’t like that, scroll away!!

Miles groaned as he hauled himself out of bed, feeling the muscles in his shoulders and lower back scream in protest. Spot had been causing problems the night before, requiring the gang to go down and deliver his weekly ass-kicking. The spotted man had been getting more creative, he’d give him that.

Unfortunately for Miles, that meant he’d had to work twice as hard to bring the slippery jerk. He’d avoided the cops again, but the teen had recovered all the stolen tech. While it felt gratifying to protect the city, his body was wondering if it was worth it. It was, obviously, but still.

The exhausted spider barely noticed his parents in the living room, zombie-shuffling into the kitchen to grab a Pop-Tart and a Monster. Not the healthiest breakfast, sure, but he needed a quick boost before he started on his homework. Uuuuugh, World History essays…

Rio, of course, snatched the can from his grip before he could poison himself with all the caffeine on an empty stomach. “What do you think you're doing?”

“Uuuuh…gettin’ breakfast?” He showed her the strawberry toaster pastry in his hand, hoping it’d get him out of the inevitable scolding. Why couldn’t his mom’s true crime show have been on to distract her?

“¡No en mi casa, Miles! You’re eating real food and drinking something other than this battery acid,” Rio huffed, trading the energy drink for a glass of milk and leftover tostones with eggs. She heated the food up and guided him to the table, placing a fork in his hand before he could process anything.

“Eat. After that, we’re talking.” Without giving him a moment to complain or speak, she went back to the couch, settling against her husband’s side.

Apparently, his mom's show was on; he could hear the gorey details, as well as his dad’s groans in response to some of the messier descriptions. Rio had left her favorite trash TV show to come and scold him. Not good…

Once he’d finished his reheated heaven, Miles slunk over to the couch. Maybe if he was slick enough about it, his mom would just let him cuddle up beside her and avoid conversation.

“Miles, sit. Your Dad and I need to talk to you.” Shiiiiiiiit. She was using the tone – the one kids and teens everywhere knew feared.

“Sure. What’s up?” Miles tried to play it cool, sitting languidly as he watched his parents’ faces.

“You’ve been really tired lately, Miles. It’s not like you.” Jeff spoke, giving Miles the “I’m here for you, but I know you’re hiding something” look. He really didn’t like how that look made his stomach twist; he felt bad enough about lying without his Dad’s skepticism.

“AP classes are kicking my butt, not anything new. More homework means less sleep.” That felt pretty believable. Of all Miles’s horrible lies, that one might’ve ranked in the top-ten.

“Come on, mijo; we aren’t stupid. You get most of your homework done at school, and we both know it.” Rio’s firm words shattered that little beam in his chest. He really needed to get better at lying…

“C’mon…” Miles sighed, grasping at straws. What could he tell them? Obviously not the truth – they’d be furious if they learned he’d been lying to them for over a year. He couldn’t think of any good lies, though, just sighing. “I dunno. It’s…it’s complicated, I guess. Don’t really wanna get into it.”

His parents seemed to take the angsty answer as a clear boundary, giving each other the parental “we’ll scheme later” look before addressing their son. Jeff leaned over Rio, patting the boy’s shoulder.

“Alright, Miles. We’ll leave it for now, but you gotta give us something. Why’re you so slow today?”

That was an easy answer: he was sore as all hell, fighting every muscle in his body with each subtle movement. Had to be an easier way to say that… “A few guys and I were playin’ ball down by my old school. I got a few in, but my arms are sore.”

They seemed to believe that one, his father’s hand switching to a gentle squeeze. “Hey, no pain, no gain. Gotta get those noodle arms conditioned.”

If only he knew how strong Miles truly was…best not to think about it. He still got to complain about physical activity with his facade anyway.

“Hey, hey! Leave the poor noodles outta this!” Miles hugged his arms to his chest, feeling a bit of playfulness rise in his chest. He was exhausted, sure, but people he was close to and having fun with tended to recharge his battery.

Rio picked up on the mood shift, her mom brain running through a few ideas on how to cheer him up. He was obviously still upset and facing something, but they couldn’t force him to tell them anything. It seemed, for that day at least, like perking him up was the best course of action.

Miles squeaked as he felt a poke on his side, narrowing his eyes at his mom. Rio chuckled knowingly, already moving to do it again. Miles tried to jump off the couch, but his dad’s squeezing hand quickly became a vice-like grip.

“Hey- noho! C’mon, Mohohom! Dahad!” Miles could’ve easily ripped himself out of his father’s grip, but that would reveal his secret to them; that definitely wasn’t happening until he was ready, or maybe ever. He wasn’t sure, honestly. All he was sure of was that his mom’s tickling was getting more insistent.

“Nope. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen my baby boy really laugh. This is long overdue.” Rio moved her wiggling fingers higher, curling them around his ribcage. As expected, he folded like a lawn chair, trying to curl in on himself while also suppressing his spider strength.

“Jeff, mi amor, little help?”

Jeff smiled before hooking his hands beneath Miles’s arms, dragging him across Rio’s lap, and pinning said arms above his head. It wasn’t a very good spot for Miles to be stuck, but his parents seemed utterly amused.

“D-Dahahahad! Youhu trahaitor! Ihi’ll remehehember- NYAHAHAHAHOHO! M-MAHAHAMI!” Miles thrashed like a worm on a hook as he suddenly felt his mom’s nails on the bottoms of his socked feet, wiggling evilly as they made him lose his mind. Of all the places she could’ve chosen to target, why did it have to be his feet?

“But I’m having so much fun! What about you, Jeff’?”

“Absolutely. He’s kinda cute like this, all giggly smiles. I could get used to it.” Jeff obviously shared her sentiments, gently scratching a finger against his son’s wrists. He usually left the overly physical affections to his wife, but he was enjoying himself.

Miles didn’t know what to feel.

First off, his parents, plural, were tickling him to pieces. His friends were the only ones who’d done that within the last few years, save for Miguel and Peter B. Secondly, it freaking tickled! Like, a lot! His mind was taken back to much earlier days of his mom making him shriek for lying, refusing to eat his vegetables, and when he…asked. Oh shit.

Mom knows I like this.

That single thought alone was enough to break his brain; when he felt his mom’s nails glide up to his armpits, it was all over.

“GYAAAHAHAHA! MOHOHOHOM!” With a shriek of laughter, Miles suddenly disappeared.

Rio yelped, while Jeff sputtered some less-than-appropriate phrases. They could both still feel their son on top of them, but…he was hidden from sight.

Just like Spider-Man.

“Me cago en Dios…” Rio felt her heart pump double-time in her chest, a feeling of cold shock and realization settling over her. Her son, her sweet boy, was Spider-Man. Worse, he’d felt the need to lie to her. For a year.

Miles would’ve loved to stay invisible, but his body followed it’s usual “fuck you, I do what I want” routine; he popped back into their sights, a look of pure terror on his face. What would they think? What would they do? Would his dad react like Gwen’s initially did?

Jeff was much less calm than his wife with his reactions. He dropped Miles’s wrists in a hurry, staring right into his son’s eyes. He’d been right there, right in the danger with him, shoved him out of the way to take hits way too heavy for a teenager. When it came time to actually speak, the man could only force two words past his heavy lips.

“Miles…why?”

Shit. That was so much worse than anger.

“I-I can explain! I was- it wasn’t on purpose. Well, a-all the Spider-Man stuff was, but not getting there! I got bit by somethin’, just like the original dude, and it gave me powers. I couldn’t not help people, ya know? Dad? Mom?”

Miles rushed the words out as he looked between their stunned faces, unable to move off their laps. Well, he wanted to, but his body was too shocked and afraid to do much, aside from twist his fingers and occasionally shake.

“Please say something?”

“Why did you hide this?” Rio was the first to say a complete sentence, though it followed the basis of her husband’s two words of dismay. She didn’t look as horrified as his father did, but she definitely wasn’t humming a tune and giggling.

“I…had to. To keep you safe. I wasn’t… I didn’t have everything figured out. By the time I did, it was already kinda too late.”

“You didn’t have to! You could’a told me! I could’a helped you with half the crazy assholes you’ve fought!” There was Jeff, expressing his emotions by shouting. He felt his son flinch from the volume, immediately adjusting himself. “I never would’ve let you face off against some’a those fuckers…”

“That’s the problem, Dad. I’ve got a responsibility, just like you. I can’t just abandon New York because a bad guy could whoop me! Sure, I get banged up sometimes, but I’ve got a healing factor. I can fix a broken rib in a week.”

Miles hoped that would be enough to soothe the hurt and fear on his father’s face. It wasn’t even close to enough, but it did give him some information.

“But you shouldn’t have to know that! You’re 15! You should be worryin’ about girls and puberty and drivin’, not saving the whole damn city!”

Miles felt that it was a bad time to mention that he saved the whole damn state, not just Brooklyn, so he kept his mouth shut.

“Mi precioso niño… You could’ve told us. We could’ve been there. We’re your parents, Miles!” Rio grabbed his arm, bringing it down from above his head to really examine the skin there. Sure, enough, she found scars; faint, thanks to the healing factor, but she traced each one with reverence. “Sentías que no podías confiar en nosotros...”

“I didn’t not wanna trust you! I just… It’s hard. I didn’t wanna put you in harm's way, and I didn’t know what you’d do if I told you.” Miles’s voice finally betrayed him, wobbling as he forced back tears. He preferred anger. Anger was reciprocated, easy, mindless. But the fear and hurt? Those were killing him.

Miles felt his mom brush away a tear he didn’t even realize he’d shed. Rio looked over at her husband, the two having a silent conversation before she spoke. “We’re not mad, Miles. Well, I really wish you hadn’t hidden this, but we’re not gonna get angry. We love you, baby, and we’re here for you.”

“For whatever you need, hear me? We love you, Miles; more than anything on this damn planet No more hiding. You tell us everything.” His father’s voice cut in as well, a little shaky, but still firm. Still there, not kicking him away or shunning him for his misdeed. They were supporting him…

A jolt of warmth shot right into his heart, followed by the crushing weight of all he’d been keeping from them. Tears started flowing as he curled on his side, hiding his face in the closest abdomen – his father’s. Jeff sighed, gently petting his son’s head as he sobbed.

Rio carefully rubbed Miles’s legs, feeling hidden muscles as she tried to soothe him. He was in so much trouble later, but…the knowledge was hurting him, too. The burden of living the life he was apparently just tossed into. She knew what that felt like, and she wasn’t about to get mad at her son for it.

With a shaky sigh, Rio leaned her head on Jeff’s shoulder, her hazel eyes met his. Both parents knew one thing: they’d do anything for their son.

Even if it meant raising a superhero in a crime-ridden, super-powered city. They were not going to abandon their boy, no matter what. They loved him, and that was never changing.

[juniorfor2]

I keep seeing people, even those supporting Team Black, say that Rhaenyra really shouldn’t have had bastards, because it would “disrupt the realm and will cause problems,” and it’s irritating me, because it is ignorant of GRRM’s ENTIRE POINT about the Velaryon boys.

It NEVER mattered whether or not Jace, Luke, or Joff were bastards. They could have been as true born as any true born could be, from the best and most noble family, and it wouldn’t have mattered. They would ALWAYS be called bastards. Whether Rhaenyra married Daemon or Laenor or Harwin or Jason Lannister or Cregan Stark, they would be called such in every scenario.

If Rhaenyra had married Daemon, guess what, they would be bastards because Daemon was married to Rhea before and who cares about annulments or whatever, or they MUST have been conceived out of wedlock, or they’d be as cruel as Maegor and couldn’t be allowed to rule. Oh, but what if she married Laenor and had true born kids with silver hair and a darker skin color? Guess what, she actually had them with Corlys because Laenor couldn’t get it up - OR, they are Laenor’s kids but that means they’ll also be gay and turn the Keep into a brothel, which obviously can’t be allowed to happen. She marries Harwin? They don’t look Targaryen, and are actually Strongs by name, and really Rhaenyra probably invited other men into their bed and had their children, can’t allow them to take over. She marries Cregan Stark? Same thing, and having a king who keeps to Northern gods would be blasphemy - and the kids aren’t true born because the marriage vows weren’t by the Faith, and what if they keep to the northern gods as well??? No way. She marries Jason Lannister? Once again, should be Lannisters, don’t look like Targaryens, and can’t allow such a power-hungry man to take over. Even if she had married GWAYNE FUCKING HIGHTOWER, the narrative would still be that Rhaenyra is such a whore that she must have tried to go behind his back and have bastards.

Do you see how no matter who she marries, you could still accuse Jace, Luke, and Joff of being bastards, or non-Targaryens by their looks and mother? Do you see how you can cast any narrative you want if you try hard enough, regardless of the truth? DO YOU SEE WHAT GRRM’S POINT IS NOW????? DO YOU SEE THAT IT NEVER MATTERED WHETHER THEY WERE TRUEBORN OR BASTARDS IN TRUTH, BECAUSE THE GREENS WOULD CALL THEM BASTARDS NO MATTER WHAT?

Even if the Velaryon boys were bastards, what problems would it cause if the ENTIRE REALM believes they’re legitimate? What then? What happens when no one cares about the truth, because Rhaenyra, Laenor, Coryls, Rhaenys, and Viserys ALL said the kids were legitimate? What happens when the boys are so diplomatic and good that the lords don’t have a reason to revolt against them specifically? What happens when Rhaenyra and Daemon and Laena raise their children so well that they love each other without animosity or belief that they should usurp one another? What happens then?

I’m about to give you the most shocking answer of your life, so please bear with me -

It’s nothing.

Nothing happens.

I know right, none of ya’ll can believe it. Too shocking to be true.

Yet somehow, if we all just read the fucking book, it becomes pretty obvious that this is exactly what happened. Rhaenyra had 53 houses to Aegon’s 28, which clearly meant her being a woman or having bastards didn’t affect much. In fact, Alicent and Otto failed so badly at convincing everyone of their story, that Criston Cole, one of their biggest supporters, couldn’t even keep it straight (although I suppose that’s not saying much, considering how stupid all of them were).

And somehow, somehow, Aegon is never once even mentioned hating his elder brothers and wishing to start a succession crisis. Because it’s almost like he loved his family, and was so traumatized and depressed by losing them that he never recovered. Crazy how that works. Crazy how families can actually love each other.

The Velaryon boys being bastards never mattered. They didn’t give Rhaenyra a single problem, because they never were a problem. GRRM’s point wasn’t “bastardy matters and we should all make decisions and opinions based on it,” it was “bastardy is a social construct that anyone can be labeled with if you try hard enough, so maybe we shouldn’t be making decisions based on such a flimsy, thrown around label.” There’s a bit more to it if you then relate the message to Rhaenyra and the patriarchy, but that’s the main essence of it.

Does that it explain it enough? Is the message finally through? Cause it seemed pretty clear from GRRM, yet somehow almost nobody got it, and I’ll never know how.

[thelaughtercafe]

Edward and Alphonse finding out you like being tickled

Tea Type: Rose Boba

Potential Triggers: Invasion of privacy in Ed's, please don't actually steal/read anyone's diary unless they're explicitly cool with it, even if you're partners! Just so this is clear both Edward and Alphonse are of age here and been in a relationship for a while! Also this is post '03, not Brotherhood!

Pairing: Edward/F! Reader, Alphonse/F! Reader

Length: 983

Summary: N/A

Edward Elric:

“W-What?!”

Edward could hardly believe what he’d just read, eyes wide with disbelief. 

It was meant to be a joke; a harmless prank as you banged frantically on the door, a whine on your lips.

“Ed I swear if you’re touching something you shouldn’t be-”

He quickly schooled his expression save for the barely there glint of mischief in his eyes and closed your diary before making himself comfortable on your bed. 

He raised an uncaring eyebrow as you burst in and glared at him. 

“What’s the big panic? You’re such a drama queen; I just wanted to mess with you!”

He pouted at you from your bed, all casual innocence; and when you stormed over with a pout of your own and leaned over him-

BAM!

That’s when he pounced, lunging forward and flipping you so you were underneath him before ruthlessly digging into your sides. 

His pout melted into a shit-eating grin as you burst out into laughter and tried to weakly swat him off. 

It didn’t do anything of course. 

“I cannot believe you kept this from me! You look so fuckin cute like this! It’s a crime I didn’t know about it till now!" 

Your eyes widened comically wide and you squealed; voice going high-pitched as you responded. Of course, he chose to go for one of your worst spots at that moment to make your flustered state all the more obvious. 

He could admit it. He took pleasure in your suffering. 

"You know!?! A-Aren’t you weirded out?!”

He snickered at that, his smirk making you lightheaded with embarrassment. 

“Oh darling. C'mon now. I’ve always liked making you into a mess…now? I just have an excuse to do it as much as I want. Why don’t you beg me for more like a good girl hm?”

“You’re so mhehehehehean!!”

“And you wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, less talking more begging or I bring out some tools~”

He stuck his tongue out playfully and you couldn’t deny the fullness of your heart despite the blush in your cheeks if you tried. 

Alphonse Elric:

Alphonse and you play fighting was nothing uncommon. 

He was eager to use his new fully functioning body and see what it was capable of and had no qualms about messing with you to reach that goal. 

The fights were always short but you seemed to enjoy them anyway even though you always ended up underneath him panting and red faced. 

His typical reward for winning was tickling you. Your laughter was just so damn infectious and after not hearing it all throughout his journey with Ed, he was all too ready to make up for lost time. 

He can be dense at the best of times so he didn’t realize you liked it till you told him, some time into your relationship.  

"Wah?! Really?”

Turns bright red. 

He suddenly grins wide, even if his blush is still obvious and hops in place a little. 

All excited exuberance.

Asks a bunch of rapidfire questions like he’s a giddy kid again. 

“How long have you known? Do you have a favorite spot? Aw I can’t believe I didn’t know about this earlier!!" 

His pout made you giggle. 

"I’ve known for a good while, not really, and I didn’t want to freak you out. You’re taking this better than I thought you would, honestly. When I asked Ed how he thought you’d take a sex conversation he seemed sure you’d freak. He tried to get what I was talking about specifically to tell you with him there but I told him it was private.”

Your giggles turned to laughter. 

“He yelled at me for "corrupting you”. Clearly he had nothing to worry about.“

Alphonse grumbled and blushed darker at the information. 

"Stupid brother…I’m not a kid anymore! Of course I know about sex stuff. Just cause I’m not a playboy like him-”

“I am not a playboy!”

It was your turn to blush apparently as Ed’s voice shouted from the other side of the door, making you storm over to open it and glare at him properly.

“You were eavesdropping!? You little-”

“I needed to make sure you weren’t taking advantage of-”

“He can take care of himself first off, and you have to know I’d never do that! Honestly, Ed, sometimes your protectiveness goes too far.”

You sighed and rubbed your temples bur before you could continue bantering Alphonse got between both of you, frowning disapprovingly at his brother.

“Not cool Ed! I don’t eavesdrop on you and Winry and you shouldn’t do it with us! She told you she wanted it to be private. I’m not a little kid anymore, I can make my own decisions!”

“Al…”

The two stared each other down a moment before Ed cracked and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. 

“Fine, fine.”

He raised his eyes to yours. 

“I’m sorry. I just…worry. I’m not used to having someone else to share the burden of looking out for him. Truce?”

He held out his hand and you quickly shook it, a faint smile on your lips. 

“Truce. Oh and Ed?”

You squeezed his hand tight enough to make him hiss in pain. 

“Forget what you heard. If that gets out I’m coming for you.”

You released his hand and he looked faintly amused a moment as his eyes flashed, and a cheeky grin twitched onto his lips. 

“You can’t even say the word, can you?”

“Ugh, get out! Stupid brat-!”

You shoved him out as he laughed the whole way, and you turned to look up at Al as he hovered over you while you leaned against the door. 

“Thanks for standing up for us.”

Sincerity shone in your eyes as you leaned up and kissed him, arms circling around his neck. As you both headed towards the bed, you pulled back to giggle against his lips as he squeezed your sides, mischief shining in his eyes. 

“I’m ready to try it out if you are~”

[girl-next-door-writes]

You Matter To Me

Characters: Steve Harington x reader

Summary: A shared moment before heading into the Upside Down where you and Steve both reflect on what is important.

Word Count: 1000 words

Prompt: You Matter To Me

A/N: I have been going through some ‘real world’ stuff recently and this song showed up on my radar again and despite the million fics I have to write I felt this needed to be written. It isn’t perfect, I couldn’t find all the words, but if you are reading this then I want you to know that you matter.

Nobody should have this much pressure placed on them, and yet he had taken it almost willingly. The role of leader, of protector, it weighed heavy on his shoulders, and although he hid it well, there were flashes of the truth hidden in those beautiful, soulful eyes; eyes you could happily get lost in, even on the worst days, perhaps especially on the worst days. Their warm richness comforting, even though the slivers of profound sadness swam in their depths. Each horror he had witnessed haunted him, words left unsaid and yet screaming as the two of you looked at each other. Insecurity, doubt, the fragility of his carefully crafted self-confident persona swam in those sad eyes, shattering your heart into a million pieces.

There were no words. The painful realization that nothing said could make things any better, caused a deep ache in your soul. Taking a seat beside him, you simply shuffled closer, tucking yourself into his side and slipping your hand into his. Interlacing your fingers, you looked down at your hands, silently vowing to stay right there by his side for as long as he would let you.

This beautiful boy had gotten under your skin, and although your emotions for him were largely undefined, he mattered to you. He was important. He was…irrevocably connected to you. How do you even begin to tell someone that? It isn’t as simple as those three overused words, and it was deeper than a romantic desire. You saw him, just as he truly was, and knew that he was enough, that your life was infinitely improved by his existence. Did he know that? Was he aware of how he touched everyone’s life? You felt an almost overwhelming desire to grip him by the shoulders and shake him until he understood that he was so much more than he believed; that he truly did matter. But instead, the two of you sat in silence, holding hands and watching the others preparing.

Steve stole a glance at you, allowing himself a moment to just be a nineteen-year-old boy, sitting holding hands with someone he cared about. It was a little addictive spending time with you. There was just something about the way you listened to him, like you heard all the parts he didn’t say out loud, and you didn’t think he was stupid or broken.

He had a close friendship with Robin, he adored his best friend, and then there were the ‘kids’, and Nancy; well, the Nancy thing was complicated. Now he also had Eddie… All these people depending on him, needing him to step up and take the lead. There was a part of him that wanted to run, to just get in his car and drive away from this hellhole and start over. If he’d gone to college then he wouldn’t be here for this shit, this would be someone else’s problem. The guilt of that thought gnawed at him and he subconsciously squeezed your hand. He was scared, but he knew he couldn’t turn his back, he would never forgive himself.

There was something different about this fight, a shadow in the back of his mind that said they might not all make it. Looking around at his friends, he felt his heart clench. They all mattered. Dustin would probably go on to cure some deadly disease or figure out a way for everyone to live on the moon or some shit. Lucas, he had a shot at becoming a pro athlete, if he focused. Nancy had a bright future as a journalist maybe, blowing the lid off government corruption and saving people… Each and every one of them had such potential to make a real difference in the world. The only person he could even consider disposable in the grand scheme of things, was himself. This might be the one thing, the moment where he might be of some importance, making sure the rest of them got through.

He was brought out of his thoughts by your head resting on his shoulder. It was such a small gesture but it grounded him, and he found himself leaning down, his cheek pressing against your hair as he closed his eyes.

“Steve?” Your voice was so quiet that he could easily have imagined that you had spoken.

“Yeah?”

“You matter to me. More than all this. More than most people.” Your words hung in the air between the two of you and he felt a tear roll down his cheek.

“Thanks.”

“I mean it. Don’t go doing anything ‘heroic’, because if something happens to you then I’m just gonna have to make a deal with the devil, or bring you back as a zombie or something, and then you’ll be screwed. You will feel my wrath.”

“Your wrath?” he chuckled, an eyebrow raising in amusement as he opened his eyes again.

“Yes, my wrath. I will be incredibly pissed at you for doing something so stupid, and for leaving me, and then making me learn voodoo so I can bring you back to yell at you.”

“Yeah, that does seem like it might be a bit of a hassle.”

“A major one. So, just promise me you will try your best to see me on the other side of all this because, for some fucked up reason Harrington, you really matter to me.”

“Okay.” He said softly, his fingers playing with yours as he took your words to heart. Turning his head slightly, he placed a gentle kiss to the top of your head and let out a deep sigh. “And, for the record, you matter to me too.”

You didn’t reply, you didn’t have to. It was obvious that the feelings between the two of you were simultaneously infinitely complex and so simple. Hopefully there would be time to explore each and every nuance of what it meant to matter to each other, but for now, Steve was content to just sit beside you and feel.

[wanted-to-be-nosey]

Everything's Fine

I read this prompt a while back and was inspired to write the following fic. wordcount ~6,900 AO3

Tony had known he was in love with Peter since the day the newly turned nineteen-year-old had forced his way into the lab and physically carried him up the stairs and through the penthouse before depositing him in his en-suite – clean towels and a change of clothes folded neatly and waiting for him on the vanity unit – with very succinct instructions to shower and that his pity party about his divorce was over.

The thing was, he hadn’t been having a pity party over the divorce. He and Pepper had called it quits about three months before they made the public announcement. Things hadn’t been working, they both knew it and were both getting too old for the on-again-off-again thing they’d had in their younger days.

So, it wasn’t her leaving that had caused his retreat to the lab.

It was the public reaction to the news of their divorce that had hit the hardest. They’d all followed the one narrative he hadn’t anticipated; and he always tried to plan for all possible outcomes.  

For some forsaken reason, every gossip columnist and “investigative blogger" on the internet assumed it had all come down to Tony cheating. That his infidelity was apparently the only possible reason for their split.

He’d never protested his playboy status in his younger years because he knew it was true. But he had never cheated on anyone. If he was in a relationship, he was true and faithful. Even if his eyes did wander, he’d never dream of acting on it.

Despite growing up in the public spotlight, it still hurt that so many people would believe he was capable of such things. He’d felt the accusatory stares in meetings and in restaurants. He felt more exposed simply walking down the street than what he was used to. Friends and colleagues alike asked how he could do that to Pepper, fully believing what they’d read rather than what they knew of him and ignored him when he tried to explain they’d simply come to a mutual agreement to split after drifting apart. For her part, Pepper had tried to tell others the same, but by then it was too late. People had already made up their mind on what Tony was capable off. In time his reputation would recover, and people would forget, but until then he had to battle the storm.

It hadn’t taken him long to seek the refuge of his lab instead of dealing with the judgemental stares. Something that with Pepper out of the picture and Rhodey deployed overseas, he would be able to do. No one would be there to prevent him from sulking for days. No one cared enough to stop him.

That is until Peter Parker stepped in.

Peter who’s first year at Columbia had filled him with a newfound confidence. A confidence, that try as he might, Tony couldn’t help but find at least a little sexy. They’d been growing closer as friends for years — Peter was one of a few that Tony had let into his inner circle — but he’d never allowed himself to stop and consider that Peter had also felt the same way. That he was also no longer seen as the older mentor, but instead a close friend.

During the months following Peter dragging him from his lab, the kid became a constant in his life. It was the summer break at Columbia, so the kid had a lot of free time. Time he spent in Tony’s lab, doing his internship to help earn some extra credit for the coming academic year. It was the company Tony needed to get him through the worst of the aftermath of his divorce. The companionship that got him over the funk of what the media assumed about him. Eventually he found a new sense of normal and returned to working alongside Pepper, leaving the divorce and all the accompanying fallout behind him.

Finding his new normal was made easier with how close he had grown to Peter.

Tony wasn’t stupid. In fact, he had the IQ tests to prove he was far from it. He knew that Peter could have his choice of any partner, that the kids at Columbia must’ve been throwing themselves at him. Peter had the kindest heart, a massive brain, amazing sense of humour and abs of steel to complete the package. He could have his pick of the litter, which is why Tony was so blown away that he’d somehow chosen him.

Not long after the kid had returned to classes for his second year, he’d stuttered his way through asking for a date – which Tony had readily accepted – and things had progressed from there. Friday movie nights now continued into the bedroom, and they spent their days texting between meetings, classes and patrolling. Now that they’d been together for six months, they were finally taking the next steps, and Peter was moving in with him. May and Happy were helping to pack Peter’s belongings and would drop him off at the penthouse later in the evening, giving them the weekend to unpack and settle in before classes resumed on Monday following the Christmas holidays.

As he waited for them to arrive, Tony found himself nervously tidying behind himself. Wiping down tables and fluffing cushions. Its not like Peter hadn’t been there hundreds of times before, but it was different when his boyfriend was going to be living with him. Other than Pepper, Tony had never lived with a partner. It was a massive step to him, one that showed how serious he was about their relationship, and he knew it was a big deal to Peter as well. He’d never lived away from home before, had managed to stay living with May even while at school.

The elevator dinged to announce their arrival, and interrupted his attempt at moving the lamp in the hallway (for the third time).

“Hey, Tony,” Peter greeted, as he dropped a pile of boxes onto the floor beside the elevator before moving to give him a hug.

“Hey, Pete,” Tony breathed into the younger man’s hair, as he held him close. “You manage to get everything packed okay?”

“Yeah, Happy and May are going to come by with the last of the boxes tomorrow, but I’ve got most of it with me. They didn’t want to intrude on our first night together.”

“Good, good. D’you want to start unpacking while we wait for dinner? I ordered us some pizza earlier. Didn’t want you getting hungry.”

“Sure,” Peter gave him one last squeeze before pulling away and back towards his pile of boxes. “This still feels so surreal. I can’t believe I’m going to be living here with you. It’s just amazing.”

“You’re telling me. I personally can’t wait to wake up to your face each morning. I’m sure you’ll be sick of me in no time.”

Peter chuckled, as they carried the first couple of boxes through to the bedroom, depositing them on the bed to start unpacking.

“I’m not going to get sick of you. You have no idea how long I’ve dreamt about this moment. My fourteen-year-old self would never believe that not only am I dating Tony Stark — I’m living with him.”

Turning from the boxes, Peter wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Tony’s hands found themselves settling on the younger man’s hips, holding him close, as their breathing grew laboured, and their kiss grew heated.

“You said we had time before pizza arrived, right?” Peter asked coyly.

“We certainly do. Shall we leave the unpacking for later?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following weekend found them up at the compound for the Avengers monthly training session. Things were still strained between the team, the fight in Germany and Siberia leaving lasting scars that no amount of time would ever completely remove, but they still tried to put their differences aside for the greater good.

Hence, the regular training.

Tony’s only saving grace was that Rhodey had returned from overseas and so had made it along. He was glad to have him on his team, especially given Peter had been appointed to a team with Steve and Sam for the weekend. He and Peter weren’t big fans of PDA, neither wanted to be known as the couple that were always all over each other, but Tony still thought they would have had some more time alone together over the weekend.

Maybe Peter needed some space after spending most of his time outwith classes with him over the last week.

Regardless of the reason for them missing each other during the training, he still found himself completely ignoring Rhodey as they warmed up in the gym. Peter and his team had obviously had an early start as they were already working up a sweat on the mats across the gym, taking a rest from their sparring. The high ceilings provided them with the right acoustics to carry the other groups voices across the hall for him to eavesdrop.

“Not bad, Queens. You thought about moving out here rather than staying at the Tower? The gym there’s not bad, but there’s much better resources here.”

“I can’t be the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man if I’m not in the city. Besides,” Peter made a show of flexing his muscles. “I don’t think I’m doing too badly without the fancy gym stuff.”

“True that,” Sam whistled. “It’s unfair how little work you enhanced need to stay looking fine.”

Peter chuckled, scratching the back of his neck but Tony missed whatever his response was when Rhodey smacked the back of his head.

“What’s the point of me even coming to these stupid things, if you’re just going to ignore me the entire time?”

Raising his hands in surrender, Tony turned his back to the others to give Rhodey his full attention while he tried to come up with an excuse.

“Don’t say that, Honeybear. I could never ignore you! I’m just...”

“Ogling your boyfriend across the room, rather than either working out yourself or just going over to say hi?”

“What?” Tony spluttered. He hadn’t been that obvious, had he? Who was he kidding. It was Rhodey he was talking about. He noticed everything.

“Uh-huh,” Rhodey snorted. “Whatever, man. Looks like you missed your chance anyway since they’re getting back to it.”

Glancing over his shoulder, he clenched his jaw at the sight. Peter and Steve were circling each other again to start a new round of sparring, their bare chests glistening with sweat, and muscles tensing as they prepared to pounce.

Some primal part of him wanted to run over and pull a shirt over Peter’s head. Or maybe just drag him off where he couldn’t be seen by the others at all. The adrenaline from the training filled weekend must’ve been getting to him. He wasn’t thinking logically. Even if he desperately wanted to punch Steve for the way his hands gripped at Peter’s shoulders and waist as he tried to pin the younger man down.

It’s fine. They’re just working out. It’s the whole point of the training sessions. The entire reason they were there.

He had no right to be jealous.

“We’re starting with the weights, right?” he said, striding towards the benches without waiting for Rhodey’s response, desperate to distract his mind. Worried that if he didn’t he’d find himself across the hall.

“Sure. I’ll spot you first.”

The familiar repetition of lifting weights, and the burn in his muscles, provided a good distraction. The easy bantering back and forth with Rhodey also helped. At least, it did until the others were leaving to hit the showers.

Standing behind Rhodey to spot his bench press, he was at the perfect angle to witness Sam wrapping his sweaty arm around Peter’s bare shoulders and pulling him against the older man’s naked side. He couldn’t make out what was being said, but he didn’t miss the flush colouring Peter’s face as Steve approached his other side and whispered something into his ear.

Peter had always been friendly. It was one of the things Tony loved about him. He was always open with hugs and affection – friends and family alike. He just hadn’t realised he was as close with the other Avengers. Specifically with the man who had tried to kill him in an abandoned bunker in Siberia. Not that he could raise it with Peter. He had something good going and he wasn’t going to start dictating who he was friends with. That’d be a surefire way to end the best relationship that had ever happened to him.

“A little help?”

“Shit,” he cursed before grabbing the bar from Rhodey to rerack it. “Sorry.”

“Why not just talk to Peter if you don’t want him on their team? I think it’s reasonable that you wouldn’t want him to be with Steve, given everything that went down between you. I’m sure the others would understand as well if you said something.”

“Oh yeah, that’d go down so well. ‘Hey kid, your far too old, insecure partner has decided you can’t hang out with your friends because they had a falling out on the playground.’” Tony rolled his eyes, while reaching for his water. “It’s fine. Peter’s a touchy-feely guy, I’m not trying to change him. I don’t want to scare him off.”

��If you’re sure.” Rhodey hummed unconvincingly. “Ready to spot me again?”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Despite his best efforts, that feeling of what could only be described as jealousy continued to grow throughout the weekend.

Tony himself knew he could be a lot. He had always been a tactile person. It was a way he could control the touches; form physical connections he hadn’t had growing up. A hand on the arm as he was talking, an arm round the shoulder as he walks with friends, a pat to the chest to drive home a point, but none of those touches were ever lingering. Those would always be reserved for his partner. Especially when he’s in a relationship, he tried to keep any and all touches limited – even the most innocent of ones like handshakes. It had always been a pet-peeve of Pepper’s that he’d been so free with his touch around his friends. So, he’d tried not to be. He hated the feeling that he was letting her down, so he worked hard to suppress his hands natural instincts of moving.

He felt shamed for being who he was.

It was for that reason he couldn’t let Peter know how jealous he felt watching his boyfriend flex in the kitchen while other men’s hands trailed over his muscles. They were all showing off, it wasn’t like Peter was the only one being groped, but he couldn’t help but feel inferior watching them. Despite the hours he spent in the gym or the time spent grafting in the workshop, he was aware enough to know he was past his prime. He could never compete with the young, buff men that were showing off in the kitchen. Instead, he sat with Rhodey, Clint and Natasha in the living room making plans for the next training weekend.

“You must be fighting off the girls at school,” Sam commented as they finally joined the rest of them in planning. “Just show them the gun show and they’ll be falling over themselves.”

Peter chuckled, as he took a seat on the couch beside Tony, cheeks turning red.

“Please, unlike you, I don’t need to rely on my muscles for them to come running.”

“Hold up, pipsqueak!” Sam scoffed. “The ladies can’t get enough of my muscles or my ass. Don’t let Cap take all the glory for having America’s ass.”

“I’ve never claimed that,” Steve sighed, sounding defeated.

“You’ve never tried to refute the title either,” Clint added. “Feels like you want people to know.”

“I mean, its not bad,” Peter added, wiggling his eyebrows at Steve who was sat across the room.

“Pretty sure, you’d have the title beat, Pete,” Tony murmured, letting his hand rest on the younger’s thigh.

“He’d certainly be a contender,” Natasha smirked from the other side of Peter. “Lord knows all the Spider-Man fans are appreciative of the suit.”

“Can we stop talking about my ass?”

“Aw, are we embarrassing the Spider-Baby?” Sam cooed.

Peter spluttered before turning bright red, eyes darting to Tony looking for a save.

“Alright, leave the kid alone. He’s got an amazing ass, move on.” Tony rolled his eyes and gave Peter’s thigh a reassuring squeeze. “Are we doing any more planning or will we call it?”

“We’ve still got a lot of details to work out,” Steve stated, focusing back on the job at hand. “I’ve been thinking about adding in some new scenarios...”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Tony was younger, he could never understand why his mom stood by Howard all those years. Tony didn’t have any fond memories of the man, most of them revolved Tony either being berated or ignored by the man, but perhaps the most painful memories where the ones the man hurt his mom instead of him. The memory of the first time he’d been aware of what was going on had stuck with him.

On a rare holiday weekend home, he had spent the evening sitting with his mom in the quiet living room. Jarvis had been dismissed after dinner, and it was just the two of them sitting listening to the ticking of the clock. Conversation had been stilted and slow, but he’d been content to spend the time with her. Although he’d only been eleven at the time, he couldn’t have missed the way she would glance at the clock every ten minutes, or the despair and dread that seemed to radiate off her as the night grew longer waiting for Howard’s return.

The worst part was that Howard’s location wasn’t a secret.

Everyone – the public, friends and staff alike – knew he was out with his secretary, again. It was something they all knew, but none acknowledged. Tony had heard the whispers at school, had read the gossip articles, but he’d never discussed it. If he tried to mention it to his mom, she shut him down before he even started. Instead, they would sit together watching movies or talking about school. Pass the time together ignoring the elephant in the room.

When Howard would eventually show up – smelling of another woman’s perfume, and with foreign lipstick stains on his shirt – his mom would simply welcome him home and fix him a drink like nothing had even happened.

He could never understand why she would put herself through it. The pain, humiliation and heartbreak of loving a man who clearly didn’t feel the same way.

He didn’t understand until Peter.

It had been late Sunday night before they’d arrived back at the Tower, the planning had taken longer than expected and ended up spilling into the evening. They’d both been tired and achy from the intense training, and while Peter bounced back the following day it wasn’t until Wednesday morning that Tony could get himself out of bed without a medley of old man noises accompanying every movement. That had certainly led to a bruised and wounded ego.

With his muscles no longer actively working against him, he made quick work of getting dressed and made his way to the kitchen to start the coffee while Peter showered. Despite his urge to join him in the shower, he didn’t want to be the reason Peter was late for class. Instead, he let himself make plans for the evening. He knew Peter’s class schedule, and after checking his own meetings, asked Friday to make some reservations for dinner.

“Could you pour me a cup, Tony?” Peter asked, skidding to a stop in the living room and grabbing his bag. “In my flask please? I must have zoned out in the shower cause I’m gonna be late.”

Grabbing Peter’s favourite travel mug, he filled the cup and moved to grab some granola bars for the kid to take with him.

“No worries, just make sure you eat,” he said, grabbing some fruit as well before making his way over to where Peter was hopping around putting on his shoes. “I was thinking we could go out for dinner tonight, make up for lost time now my bodies back under my own control again?”

Peter giggled at his exaggerated eyebrow wiggle, before shaking his head.

“That sounds so nice, but it’s Wednesday and Wednesdays are my date night with Harry. We skipped last week cause it was the first week moving in, but I can’t stand him up two weeks in a row!”

Suddenly Tony was very glad the kid wasn’t looking at him as he double checked everything in his bag. Joking about with the avengers was one thing – could easily be played off as Peter’s friendly nature – but actively going out on dates with another man – how long had it been going on for? He said it was a long-standing thing, was he supposed to already know about that?

He knew Peter was young, fit and in his prime. That there was bound to be competition, he’d just naively thought that Peter would be a one and done kind of guy. Of course, with his enhanced stamina he’d need more than one man to keep up with him – especially one Tony’s age. The past few days had clearly shown that, taking almost three days just to get over some light training. How could he have been so blind?

If he raised an objection to Peter having other lovers, which one of them would Peter break it off with? Harry was obviously fine with it if they skipped the previous week since Peter was moving in with his boyfriend.

If he wanted to stay with Peter, he’d have to accept it. He’d long ago concluded that he was utterly in love with the boy. Knowing that Peter didn’t feel the same way didn’t erase those feelings, even if the emotional knife stabbing him in his chest made him wish that it did.

Despite it all, Peter must still love him to be with him. Its just that, he needed more. More than what Tony could provide, but wouldn’t it still be better to keep what he has, even if that will apparently never be all of Peter?

For the first time in his life, he understood his mother’s silence.

“We can go out tomorrow night though, right?” Peter asked, oblivious to Tony’s internal dilemma.

Thankfully, he had just enough time to school his features before Peter turned round, bag slung over his shoulder ready to go, a question in his eyes.

“Yup. Yeah. Course.” Tony clapped his hands, before giving Peter a chaste kiss. “Gives me longer to make plans. Have fun tonight and I’ll see you later?”

“Sure. Have a good day and I’ll let you know when I’m heading back but don’t feel like you need to wait up,” Peter smiled, leaning in for another kiss before running for the elevator.  “Bye, love you!”

“Love you too,” Tony replied as the elevator doors shut, leaving Tony alone in the penthouse. A rock settling in his stomach.

For the first time in his life, he truly understood his mother.

He’d rather have the person that he loves in anyway that he can, than be without them completely. If being the faithful partner Peter had waiting at home was all he was allowed to be, then that’s what he’d do.

It hurt to know that’s all he apparently was, but it would hurt even worse to be removed from his life completely.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“This where you’ve been hiding?” Rhodey asked, as he barged into the workshop and silencing Tony’s music.

Tony had been elbow-deep in the guts of his latest suit. There hadn’t been anything wrong with it — he’d simply felt the need to take it apart and rebuild it in order to distract himself from his boyfriend’s whereabouts. His mother had spent her time pacing the floor when Howard was out with his flings, the past month Tony had found himself immersed in work in the lab instead.

“I’m not hiding,” Tony huffed, despite knowing that was exactly what he was doing. With a groan he stood up and grabbed a rag to wipe his hands. “I’m working, there’s a difference.”

“Sure,” Rhodey snorted. “Where’s Pete tonight?”

“I think they’re off bowling,” Tony mumbled, staring a hole into the ground and scrunching the rag between his fingers.

“Okay... d’you want to unpack whatever that was?”

“Nothing to unpack, Honeybear.”

“Right,” Rhodey drawled. “Either way, I came to ask if you guys would be making it to my birthday dinner next week. Y’know, since you still haven’t let me know.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Tony sighed.

There was a reason he hadn’t responded yet. Of course of all the days Rhodey’s birthday could have fallen, it just had to be on a Wednesday this year. The one night Peter always reserved for his other partner, the one Tony spent hiding in his workshop. He’d avoided asking the younger man if he would be able to make it as he couldn’t face the rejection he was sure would follow. Instead, he’d simply ignored Rhodey’s attempts to get an RSVP from him. He should’ve known the man would only accept his silence for so long.

“Of course, I’ll be there,” he finally answered. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“And Peter?” Rhodey prodded.

“Think I’ll be going stag, Honeybear. More time for us, if you know what I mean,” he smirked, waggling his eyebrows and barely dodging the towel Rhodey threw his way.

“Did you even ask him?”

“Why would you even ask that?”

“Oh yeah. Like I don’t know a distraction when I hear it. Why not?”

“…It’s complicated.”

“Tones, what’s going on?”

“Drop it, Rhodey,” he huffed, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

That was another reason he’d been ignoring Rhodey. He knew his friend would see through his façade and ask the difficult questions. The ones he’d been doing his best to ignore. His best friend could read him like a book regardless of how well he hid his feelings.

“Don’t give me that shit.”

The two best friends found themselves trapped in a stalemate. The silent glares could only last for so long, and Tony cursed himself for already knowing he’d be the first to break. He hated silences. Especially emotionally charged awkward ones. Of course, Rhodey knew that.

With a deep sigh, Tony turned so his back was to his friend before he spoke quietly.

“Wednesday nights are Peter’s date nights. Some guy called Harry. They’ve been at it for some time, I’m honestly not sure if it was before or after we got together. He doesn’t miss them, and I don’t wanna hear some excuse about why he wouldn’t be able to make it next week.”

“He’s cheating on you?!” Rhodey spluttered indignantly.

“Is it really cheating if I know about it? It’s not like he’s keeping it a secret.”

“Pretty sure it’s still cheating since I’m guessing you never agreed to an open relationship.  I know what the shjt Howard did, did to you. You barely even look at someone else when you’re in a relationship.”

“It’s fine. I love him, Rhodey and I want to be with him in whatever way I can. Regardless of what he does on Wednesday’s, he always comes home to me. That’s the important part. I think I finally get why mom stayed for all those years.”

“You need to tell him, man. Does he even know how much this is affecting you?”

“Of course not,” Tony scoffed. “And he’s not going to. I can deal with it. We’re so happy together and I’m not going to ruin that.”

“I take it this is why you’ve been so pissy for the last month? I thought you’d just been having second thoughts about him moving in.”

“Nah, I could never regret that. I just… I thought I was enough to make him happy...I hadn’t realised that he’d need—”

Tony physically shook himself when the telltale signs of emotion began growing too much and his eyes began to prickle with unshed tears. He was not going to cry over this. Especially not in front of Rhodey.

He was fine.

“Anyway,” Tony added with a sniff to reign in his emotions. “To answer your question, I doubt Peter will make next week, but I’ll see you there. And no, you don’t get a clue about what I’ve got you. It’ll be a magnificent surprise as always.”

Rhodey sighed like he always did when he wasn’t satisfied but knew Tony wouldn’t answer any more questions. At least not without more time, and probably a lot of alcohol. Their relationship had always been a careful balance of push and pull between them. Tony had no doubts his friend would circle back to the topic at some point, but he was going to take any reprieve he could get.

He deliberately kept Peter’s whereabouts and how they made him feel as far from his mind as often as possible. Scared that otherwise he’d feel himself drifting towards a drink, and he’s not sure he’d have the courage to stop once he started. Unfortunately, Rhodey’s pushing had already brought it to the forefront of his mind.

“I’m just about done here anyway, what d’you say we head upstairs for a drink? You can catch me up on what I’ve missed in DC.”

Without waiting for answer, he made his way towards the elevator and let out a quiet breath of relief when he heard his friend muttering in annoyance yet following in his footsteps. He likely still had several hours to kill until Peter would return and at least this way he could drown his sorrows with a friend.

It wasn’t pathetic if he had a companion while drinking, right?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Voices emanating from the kitchen pulled Tony from his sleep. His back and shoulders ached from his hunched position on what he discovered was the couch in the living area. Empty bottles and glasses were scattered across the coffee table in front of him, and a blanket had been haphazardly draped over his figure.

His mouth felt fuzzy and his head heavy, but he certainly wasn’t hungover. He probably still had hours before that would set in. Glancing at the clock he couldn’t have been out for more than a couple of hours. He’d probably fallen asleep while chatting with Rhodey. It certainly wouldn’t have been the first time. He’d been doing that to his friend since they’d been in college.

Speaking of Rhodey, he could identify his best friend’s angry tones drifting through from the kitchen, although the volume was kept low as if trying not to wake him. Not that it had worked – obviously – but Tony had no plans on letting them know he was awake till he could work out what on earth was going on.

“…some cheek coming in here and getting on at me for encouraging him to drink. Are you just choosing to ignore the whole reason he felt compelled to do so in the first place?”

“What are you talking about?” hissed another familiar voice. “He was fine when I left.”

“Right,” Rhodey snorted in disbelief. “Fine. Tony doesn’t do open relationships. He’s a one and done. And you—“

“Wait, what?” Peter spluttered – and that was definitely Peter’s voice, he recognised it now. “He wants to open our relationship?”

“Of course not. Not that that’s stopping you apparently. I get it works for some people, but you could’ve at least told him up front what was happening. Let him make that choice before he’d went and fallen—“

“What?” Peter interrupted again, Rhodey’s irritated grunt showing his annoyance at the repeated action. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Your Wednesday night date nights?! You know, whatever guy you literally just left? Ringing any bells?”

“Harry?!” Peter yelled, before instantly falling quiet.

Even with his back to the pair, he could feel the twin gazes watching him. Probably about time he joined the shitshow of a conversation. He should’ve known Rhodey wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut. Now he was just going to make it all worse by forcing them to talk about it, and then Peter would definitely notice that he was, in fact, not fine about it at all. He’d worked really hard to keep up that appearance but after a few drinks and having to actually talk it out, he doubted it would last very long.

Still, he’s pretty sure his cover of still sleeping was blown anyway given how they still hadn’t resumed talking.

“You guys can’t whisper-argue for shit. Should’ve taken lessons from Pep. She’s the queen of quiet annihilation,” he smirked as he pushed himself up from the couch, groaning as his body cracked with every small movement. “Rhodey, you promised to stay out of it. Pete, just ignore him. I’m fine, we’re fine, it’s all fine.” At Peter’s uncertain look, he felt the need to confirm. “We are fine, right?”

“I’m so lost right now. Y’think ’m dating Harry?” Peter asked, sounding small and unsure.

It was the type of voice that made him want to hug and reassure the kid. Make sure he never felt that insecure. Although, if Tony was being honest, it was unfair that the kid got to sound like he was the one being wronged in this situation.

“Yeah,” Tony sighed. “But it’s fine—“

“Why?!”

“You’re really not up for letting people finish tonight. Lordy.” Tony sighed, before gripping his left wrist and diverting his eyes to the floor. “Are you really going to make me say it?”

“Say what? You’re not making any sense.”

“You literally told me the week you moved in, that Wednesday nights were your date nights with this Harry guy. You’re always going out to bars, or dinners, or whatever it is you guys do together. It’s not exactly my place to keep track of that stuff.” To distract from the way his voice wavered towards the end, he decided to reiterate, “It’s fine.”

“Oh my God. Will you stop saying ‘It’s fine’. This is so not fine.” Peter paused to run his fingers through his hair, looking like he was minutes away from screaming. “You thought I was cheating on you and never said anything?”

“What else was I supposed to do?”

“Anything!” Peter yelled. Yup, Tony had called his outburst. Although maybe that shouldn’t be what he’s focusing on, because Peter was making zero sense. “Call me out, break it off. You shouldn’t be with someone who treats you like that!”

“You want to break up?” Tony whispered, hating how quickly things were spiralling out of control and the fact he felt so vulnerable in front of not only Peter but his best friend as well. This is not how he expected this conversation to go. Was he supposed to have argued and plead his case with Peter? He hadn’t felt the need to add more unnecessary drama when everything had already been falling apart.

“No, I really don’t. I’m just super confused. Harry’s my friend. Nothing more. We’re the only two openly gay guys in our class, so we started hanging out but with our schedules, Wednesdays are the only time we’re both actually free outwith our classes. We’re most certainly not into each other. That’s gross – besides we’re both complete bottoms. It’d never work between us. I thought you knew that. May’s the one that first jokingly called it our date night and I guess it just stuck. You’ve thought I was cheating on you all this time?”

“Uh,” Tony really had no clue what to say.

Had he misread the signals all this time? It would explain why Peter always seemed so happy with him. How everything always felt perfect between them, other than the few hours he’d disappear each week. He’d tried not to read too much into it. He’d been so sure they were perfect for each other before he’d been blindsided with the news of his Wednesday night date nights.

It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility to acknowledge that he may have simply gotten into his own head and orchestrated the whole thing in his mind. Especially given he’d made a point to never actually address it with Peter. But then he’d always been so out of his league that it had been entirely believable that Peter would be looking for more.

“You’ve got be kidding me,” Rhodey muttered, dropping his head into his hands. “You guys are both dumbasses, I’m out. Talk this stuff out and communicate. I’m off to bed.”

The couple watched Rhodey walk out in silence before returning their gazes to one another.

Tony had no idea what to say, but knew he needed to start. He had honestly believed that Peter – perfect Peter, who went out of his way to avoid stepping on bugs on the sidewalk – was capable of cheating on him. With fresh eyes, he can’t believe he would even think of such things. It went against everything Peter stood for. He’d let his own self-doubts get in the way.

He had to try and fix this.

“I’m sorry,” Tony spoke softly. “When you mentioned the date night I imagined the worst. I hadn’t even thought it was something you’d be capable of, but you’d sounded so sure, and I still think you’d be able to find better than me, so I assumed the worst. I never asked more questions cause I didn’t want to lose you. I’ve already told you my parents’ relationship wasn’t great, but I’ve never really told you the why... My father openly had an affair with his secretary that everyone knew about yet left my mother waiting at home for him. I guess I just figured, if it was something that was happening, I’d rather stay and deal with the hurt than risk losing you.”

“You’re not going to lose me, Tony. I wouldn’t want to be with anyone else. Hell, ask my friends – all they do is complain about how much I talk about you. I know I wasn’t cheating, and now you do too, but if I was – and this is entirely hypothetical – but if I was, you can’t just accept it. I can’t even imagine the hurt I’ve been causing you, and I feel even worse because how could I not see it?”  Peter took a step forward, and this close Tony could see the tears glistening in his eyes. Hurt that he had caused. “Its my job as your boyfriend to love and protect you, not even counting my responsibilities as Spider-Man, and I missed it. Rhodey was here for a couple of hours and spotted it.”

“Rhodey’s had an extra twenty years to learn to read me, Pete. It’s hardly a fair comparison.”

“Regardless, I should’ve seen it. I’m so sorry for not.” Peter paused to take a deep breath. “I understand if you wanted to call things off after all this.”

“That’s the last thing I want to do,” Tony breathed, reaching out to grab Peter’s hands in his own. “I want to be with you, and only you. I want to grow old – well, older – and be the man you come home to at the end of the day. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. If I’d asked you any questions about your date nights, I would’ve saved myself the heartache.”

“I understand not wanting to ask though. I’m just… sorry that you felt that way. For the record, I want to grow old with you, too. I love being able to wake up each morning with you and falling into bed at the end of the day together. I love you, Tony.” Peter pressed a kiss to Tony’s lips, that felt like a cooling balm to his soul. This whole evening has felt like an emotional rollercoaster and the alcohol from earlier was not helping steady him, especially with the way Peter was looking at him. “For what it’s worth, I only have eyes for you. How am I supposed to like someone else when you’re right here. Body and brains, you’ve got it all.”

Chuckling, Tony bent forward to lean his forehead against Peter’s shoulder.

“Please, I saw you ogling Steve, remember?”

“I was definitely not ogling Steve. We were training! Besides, we spent near enough the entire weekend talking ‘bout you. I’m pretty sure the whole team knows we’re together.”

“Huh,” Tony said ineloquently. “I hadn’t realised they knew.”

“Probably cause you don’t talk to them. I thought you guys had worked things out?”

“I mean, we have, but not enough for me to want them to know everything that goes on in my life. Especially when they’re trying to steal my insanely hot boyfriend.”

“Trust me, you don’t have to worry about that. Just between you and me, I’m pretty sure Cap and Sam have something going on.”

“Really?!”

“I mean, talking of open relationships, I’m not sure if its threesome thing or not, but there was definitely tension between them.”

“I might actually have to pay attention during the next training session.”

“Yeah, you really should,” Peter agreed, pulling him in for another hug. “And remember to talk to me. This only works if we stay open with each other.”

“Oh, trust me,” Tony snorted, “I will not be making this mistake again.”

[tiny-minecraft-rabbit]

Untitled Soulmate Goose

Or, Joel and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad misadventure for his soulmate. This is the Final Chapter!

Here for Chapter One - Read on AO3 - Next Chapter (coming soon)

It was a long time of people watching before Joel was really getting bored. There were only so many families with kids and dog walkers and couples holding hands and guys on boats that he could take before he completely lost his mind. Honestly, how patient was this stupid goose? Did it not have other things to do? (The answer was an obvious, resounding, No, but that meant nothing to Joel.)

He had tried a few times to sneak off of the top of the bench, but the goose was persistent and observant. Any time he thought the thing had drifted off or was distracted it only took his foot touching the grass for it to spring to attention. He was half tempted to just make a break for it at this point and hope he could outrun the damned thing and wait out the disaster in the safety of his own home. 

“Hey, man–” Joel turned away from the park entrance to make eye contact with the stranger that just walked up “–Uh, I hate to ask, but I’ve been watching you for like the last hour, do you want me to, like, scare the goose off for you?” 

The guy was, unfortunately, tall and kind of handsome, in a mysterious sort of way (though, of course, they weren’t any taller or handsomer than Joel, especially since he was standing on the bench now). Their left eye was a stormy grey and the other a burning red– bright, like redstone. Their hair was silver, cropped short and their bangs held back by a bandanna. They had a black mask covering their lower face, an olive green jacket with fur, black cargo pants, and bright green crocs that matched the pair Joel had at home. They held themselves with the confidence of someone that thought themselves better than average birds but uncomfortable around people in general.

Joel eyed them up and down and scoffed, “Doubt it. This is not your average goose problem. It’s an above average one. That goose isn’t budging.” 

The goose honked, this one holding a softer tilt to it, like it was agreeing joyously with Joel. Joel thought about kicking it. 

The stranger hummed, like they didn’t quite believe it, and took a step towards the goose. “Well, let me just see about–” 

As soon as they were in pecking range the goose sprung forward. The guy yelped and tried to backpedal but the goose was rounding on their heels now. They were apparently very easily herded by water fowl, cause it only took about thirty seconds for them to be jumping on the bench and joining Joel.

“That goose is crazy!” They huffed between panicked breaths, staring at it with wide eyes.

“I tried to tell you, man! It’s blooming stubborn,” Joel grumbled, crossing his arms. “I will say you’re the only other person it’s attacked, it’s only had eyes on me since my stupid, dumb, awful roommate and his even stupider, dumber and awfuller boyfriend summoned it. It’s nice that it’s branching out, maybe at this rate I can go back home if I can get it to focus on you long enough.” 

“Summoned?” They questioned with a squeak.

“Oh, yeah, it’s like a soulmate guide or something. I don’t know, it’s been a pretty shoddy one. It chased me to this park but basically gave up the moment it couldn’t reach my shins to bite me anymore. Like, where even is my soulmate? Why couldn’t the goose just show me their number in the phone book or something.” 

“It’s a soulmate guide?”

“That’s what I said.” 

“And I’m the only other person it’s, like, attacked?” 

“Uh, yeah? You having a hard time hearing, mate?” 

The stranger stared at him for a moment before darting their gaze away, face turning a readily growing pink, “So, doesn’t that mean… we could be soulmates, or something?” 

Joel blinked wide for a few minutes before looking down at the goose, “You made me wait this long for this guy?” 

“What? Hey!” They whined. Joel could practically see their pout under the mask. “That’s uncalled for, man, I’m a catch!” 

“People who are “catches” usually don’t need to say they are, unless they're me of course. I’m certainly more of a catch than you are, since your main points of attraction are like the mysterious vibes you got going on and not much else.” 

They smirked (Joel could see it in their eyes), “So you do think I’m attractive?” 

Joel’s face, down to his neck, heated up, “No! Not at all… Shut up!” 

“I’m Etho,” they said instead of shutting up, chuckling a little. 

“Joel,” he replied begrudgingly, and held out his hand, “It’s a pleasure; for you that is.”

Etho rolled their eyes and shook his hand, “I’m sure. Though, the goose I could have done without.”

“I agree.” 

There was a ruffle of feathers and they both turned to the goose. The goose that was now standing on the edge of the table, a fire in its eyes.

“Run?” 

“Run.” 

The goose chased them both. 

At some point one of them had grabbed the other’s hand. The two of them ran down to the lake, fingers interlocked, and jumped into the first available rental boat they could. They would pay for the rental later, of course, when they’d finally lost stupid bird. Until then they hurriedly rowed away, laughing their asses off as they tried (and failed) to out-paddle the goose. 

[firearrowreal]

The WORST Miraculous Fanfiction Ever

The WORST Miraculous Fanfiction Ever - Chapter 1 - FireArrowA03 - Miraculous Ladybug [Archive of Our Own]

Chapter 1: Lying Troubles (Part 1)

Because saying it was a normal day in Paris is boring, we will omit it. We had to sell the Miraculous magic because of budget cuts, so Marinette cannot become Ladybug.

Marinette was wondering what happened to the Miraculous. Were they gone? No one knows. However, because you read the above line, you should. Anyways, we’ll cut to school.

If you’re wondering, they are all wearing the same outfits they’ve always had on. Marinette still wears her dark gray jacket, white t-shirt with pink flowers, and pink jeans, for example.

At school, Marinette tripped on nothing, for the 563rd time this month. And it’s only the THIRD! Once we get enough money to fix the physics engine in this world, we will.

Marinette said: "You know what? I shouldn’t wear these shoes anymore. I could hurt myself. I could hurt my friends. I could accidentally trip, hit the nuclear reactor in the school, cause it to explode, and kill everyone. I could even waste a second of my time getting back up!" However, taking off your shoes is not recommended in school, so unfortunately, she couldn’t do so right now.

As she walked up to her class, a new encounter had appeared. However, since we also sold Zoe due to budget cuts, the only other new kid was Lila. You already know what Lila looks like, and we do not have enough budget to describe properly, so yeah, it’s Lila. The only thing we can describe about her looks that isn’t just the same as canon is that her tights/leggings/stockings are now shiny. Like, you could probably use them as a mirror.

However, as Marinette shouldn’t know her name at this moment, we will call her "Girl" until Marinette learns her name. Marinette asked Girl for her name, and she said "Lila", which is a nickname for "Liliana". We changed her name because "Lila" isn’t a common name in Italy.

Lila had said: "Look, I’m in really deep sh*t right now. I’ve joked about knowing celebrities, and everyone was stupid and believed me! Now I have to continue lying about those 'facts'." Marinette had replied with "Well, if you don’t like what you're getting into, why did you lie in the first place?"

"I don’t know! I was stupid. I miss fifteen minutes ago.", Lila explained.

Marinette said: "Sorry, but I don't think I can help you."

"But it’s serious! I can’t do this for the rest of my school days! Why does everyone here, barring you, have the IQ of this strand of hair I plucked off of my head at night but way less? I just wanted to make friends…", Lila groaned.

Marinette then (hesitantly) said: "Okay, since it's apparently serious, guess I legally have to help."

[agirlwithbigdreamsforher]

MR. AND MRS. BARBER

THE NANNY: ONE SHOT

MR. AND MRS. BARBER

Pairing: Andy Barber x Annie Johnson (OFC)

Summary: I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Barber.

Warnings: NONE.

A/N:  I honestly cried while writing this. The song I chose for them was “In your eyes” by Peter Gabriel.

Word count: 1609

Disclaimer: I do not give permission for any of my works to be copied, used, translated nor reposted anywhere else but here on this blog. Do not steal what you didn’t work for. Minors and ageless blank blogs don’t interact with me or my works. Reblogs and likes are always welcome. Thank you for reading this work of fiction.

GIFS not mine, you can find the credits in each gif :)

                                   ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

“I think I’m about to throw up.” Annie said as she was getting her make up done.

“Just breathe, darling. You are going to be fine.” Justin, the makeup artist, told her.

“Right, breath.” She took a deep breath and let the air out of her mouth.

“You should probably eat something.” Sharon said.

“Your friend is right. You need to eat before the weeding, I don’t think you want to pass out while walking down the aisle.”

Meanwhile Andy was at the house running around trying to get Jake and himself ready.

“Come on, buddy.”

“No! I don’t like the jacket!”

“Fine! No jacket, but you have to wear the vest and your bowtie.”

“I look stupid.”

“Hey! Language. Thank god, Annie is not here.” Jake ran to his room. “Jake! Please! Do this for me and Annie, it’s just one day, I promise!”

Jake crossed his arms, “I want ice cream.”

“This is not a negotiation!”

“My terms are final.”

“I get you ice cream if you let me dress you.”

Jake thought for a bit before smiling widely “Ok!”

It was 6:30 when Andy left the house along with Jake in the car.

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

“Please, can someone tell me if Andy is here?”

Annie was ready in the room of the hotel where the wedding was taking place. Pacing around the room with a knot in her stomach.

“I’ll go and check.” Mark said.

Mark was about to leave when Tom walked in.

“Wow!” He looked at her sister lovingly, “You look so beautiful. You look like a princess.” His eyes watered.

“Please don’t cry. If you cry, I’ll cry and that will ruin my make up.” She hugged his brother.

“Yeah, you’re right!” He let out his breath, “Andy is gonna died when he sees you.”

“So, he is here?”

“Of course! I have never seen him so nervous by the way. Not even when he asked for my permission to marry you.” He winked at Annie. “Are you ready?”

“I think so.”

“It’s never too late to run away.” Annie slap him on the chest, “OW! I’m kidding!”

“Let’s go then.”

Annie hooked her arm to his brother’s and left the room, followed by Sharon and Mark.

A couple of minutes later they stood in front of the doors of the hall where all the guests were waiting for her to begin the ceremony.

The wedding march began to play behind the doors and then they open. Everyone were standing there looking at her.

“Breath” Tom said in a low voice and caressed her hand, “Focus on Andy.”

And she did. There he was, wearing a blue tux, smiling and with tears in his eyes. She smiled to him and then they walked.

Andy couldn’t believe what his eyes were seeing, Annie was like a vision, an angel. He could sword there was light coming out of her as he saw her walking down the aisle, she looked perfect; she looked beautiful as always.

Tom handed his sister’s hand to Andy. “Take care of her, will you?”

“I will.” Andy took Annie’s hand, “Hi.”

“Hi.” She smiled.

“Good evening,” The minister spoke, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Andy and Annie in matrimony. Their time together, they have seen their love and understanding of each other grow and blossom and now they have decided to live out the rest of their lives as one. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together - let them speak now or forever hold their peace.” No one said anything. “Marriage is a commitment to life, the best that two people can find and bring out in each other…”

The minister continued as Annie and Andy shared loving looks at each other, not really paying attention to what was happening around them.

“I believe you have written some vows.”

“Yes.” Andy said as he took out a piece of paper out of his pocket. “Annie, I love you with my whole heart. My love for you it’s so great that I can’t express it with words. I promise to be your honest, faithful and loving husband as long as we both live. I will always protect you from harm, to stand with you against your troubles, and to look to you when I need protection.” A few tears were running down his cheeks at this point. He took a breath and continued. “Thank you for being a mother to Jake, for taking care of him, and loving him as if he was your own kid. I couldn’t ask for a better woman to raise Jake with. I love you, and I always will.”

“Annie?”

“Yes,” She turned to take her piece of paper from Mark, “Andy, you helped me when I needed the most. You are my every dream come true, and I can't wait for the reality we get to build together. I choose you and promise to choose you as my husband every day we wake. I will love you in word and deed. I will laugh with you, cry with you, scream with you, grow with you, and craft with you. To be your kin and your partner in all of life's adventures is all I could hope for in the world. Loving what I know of you and trusting what I don't yet know, I give you my hand. I give you my love. I give you myself, the good, the bad, and the yet to come. I love you with all my heart, Andy.”

“Andy, do you take this woman to be your wife, to live together in matrimony, to love her, to honor her, to comfort her, and to keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?”

"I do."  Andy said confident.

“Annie, do you take this man to be your husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?" 

"I do." Annie said tearfully.

"Repeat after me, Andy" The minister said the lines and Andy repeat them.

"I, Andy, take you Annie, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." 

Annie then followed through.

"I, Annie, take you Andy, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." 

“Can we have the rings?” Jake walked towards his dad and handed him the ring, while Sharon did the same with Annie.

"I give you this ring as a token and pledge of our constant faith and abiding love." They both said one at the time as they exchanged their rings.

"By virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the State of Massachusetts, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Andy, you may kiss the bride."

“Finally!” He said and got closer to her wife and kissed her.

“I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Barber.”

All the guests began clapping as they continued kissing.

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

“LET’S WELCOME MR. AND MRS. BARBER!!!!!” The singer of the band said through the mic. Everyone cheered and clapped as they walked into the venue. “COME ON! LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE HAPPY COUPLE!” people kept clapping as they moved to the middle of the dance floor. “And now, please everybody take your sits, as the newlyweds will share their first dance together.” The room became silent, “This was a special request from the husband. Annie, this is for you.”

Andy grabbed Annie’s right hand as she placed the other on his shoulder; and the band began to play.

Annie still didn’t know what song Andy had picked for them. He always kept it a secret.

Love I get so lost sometimes

Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart

When I want to run away I drive off in my car

But whichever way I go

I come back to the place you are.

Annie listened to the song attentively as they swing back and forth.

All my instincts, they return

The grand facade, so soon will burn

Without a noise, without my pride

I reach out from the inside

She heard Andy began to sing and turned to see him. He was looking at her, with all the love he had in him. His hand caressed her cheek and she closed her eyes as they hugged each other.

In your eyes

The light, the heat (in your eyes)

I am complete (in your eyes)

I see the doorway (in your eyes)

To a thousand churches (in your eyes)

The resolution (in your eyes)

Of all the fruitless searches (in your eyes).

Oh, I see the light and the heat (in your eyes)

Oh, I wanna be that complete

I wanna touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes.

The song soon came to an end, and they kissed like there was no one around them.

“Congratulations Andy and Annie! We wish you a life time of happiness.” The singer said, “Now let’s get this party started. But first, dinner. Everybody enjoy and we will come back later to keep celebrating our couple.”

“I love you.”

“I love you more, Andy.”

[pwurrz]

what if.. childe knows that dottore is experimenting on children? what if he knows, and is utterly horrified by it and vehemently against it, but he can’t say or do anything about because he doesn’t want to put his own family in danger?

he discovers one of the kids by pure accident. he was looking for dottore, but couldn’t find him or any of his segments, so naturally he headed towards the doctor’s lab. and that’s when he finds one of them.

cowering in the corner of what could only be described as a jail cell, begging childe not to get any closer for fear of being hurt. he quickly reassures the child that he’s not going to hurt them, and he immediately starts concocting a rescue plan. if he tried hard enough he could cut through the bars of the cell with his hydro daggers, or-

“tartaglia.”

a pit settles in childe’s stomach, more severe than the usual one that accompanies dottore’s presence. childe stutters out the excuse that he was just looking for him, but given his proximity to the cell and his dimming vision, it’s obvious what he was planning to do. dottore knows this, and he’s decidedly unimpressed with childe’s attempt at a lie.

the air of the laboratory is uncomfortably thick with tension, and anyone could sense the danger of the situation. but childe, ever bold and stubborn (and perhaps slightly stupid in this moment) decides to be blunt and ask outright:

“what are you doing, dottore?”

“that’s none of your business, now is it, eleventh?”

“why does it involve kids?”

“ah, yes. the countries we have friendly relations with so generously decided to donate their youth to our.. various causes. some believe their children are simply joining our military program, others handed them to me specifically under the impression i could cure whatever ailment they’re suffering from.”

the thought that these poor kids, already suffering so severely that their parents thought they had no choice but to give them up to the fatui, were suffering even more purely for dottore’s amusement was a thought that made childe’s blood run cold.

desperate escape plans formed in his mind, like a cornered animal moments before its inevitable death. he couldn’t beat dottore in a fight, he definitely wasn’t strong enough for that. could he distract him and give the child enough time to escape? but what if there were more children? sacrificing himself to save one child would end up dooming countless others.

almost as if dottore could read his mind, the doctor simply said “you know, if something were to happen to all of my test subjects, i would have to find replacements from somewhere.. closer to home.”

it was obvious what he meant, but the sinister tone of his voice and the leer he sent childe solidified it; he was directly threatening childe’s family.

the kid in the cell next to childe was around teucer’s age, and it was so easy to imagine him in there instead, facing torturous experiments while childe was helpless to save him, knowing his reckless actions put him there in the first place.

for the first and last time in his entire life, childe took the cowards way out. that decision, and the desperate cries of the child begging him not to leave, continue to haunt him to this day.

[ell0ra-br3kk3r-writes]

Christmas

pairing: evelyn thomas (oc) x sirius black

genre: fluff/angst

el's thoughts: okay i'm posting the chapter i have no clue if anyone will read it but that's fine. i will however tag @romanticvampire just 'cause.

her diary masterlist

As Christmas rolled around, Thomas manor grew into a frenzy. It was the first time in ten years since their family hosted a winter ball and there was a lot of pressure from the other pureblood families. Their name has always been at the center of all the gossip and this ball coming up only added to the stress. But today was the day and Evelyn couldn’t care about the other pureblood families coming, all she could think about was her friends. And a certain raven-haired boy with mesmerizing gray eyes. 

She sighed as she tried on her deep green, silk ball gown for the eighth time. Her hands slid down the front as she turned side to side, the skirt flaring around her. It was a strapless dress that hugged her at her waist and flared out beautifully. She loved the design but she still stared at her reflection with furrowed eyebrows. She reached for her wand and changed the color of the dress to a deep red and added a small pocket on the side to fit her wand. Smiling at herself, she twirled around. “Much better.” 

“You look stunning, Eva!” 

“I guess we’ll find out.”

Her black hair flipped over her shoulder when she spun to see Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas standing in her doorway. “No, you guys look like literal goddesses!” Her smile was so bright as she rushed over to the girls as fast as she could without tripping over the long skirt of her dress, giving them a tight hug. “Are you guys ready for tonight?”

“We are, but are you?” Lily spoke softly with a curious tone.

~

Music filled the house as people arrived for the next few hours. Dresses flared around heels as couples waltzed through the center of the ballroom. It would be hard to believe that just a few hours ago the house was so quiet with the exception of Mrs. Thomas’ heels clicking in a hurry on the wooden floors. 

Evelyn held her glass tightly in her hand as she continued to watch the couples spin by her. 

She sighed to herself, no one ever asked her to dance because of the reputation that her family held. She didn’t blame the boys. Her last name did tend to instill a certain level of fear in people, but she longed to dance with someone other than her brother. 

These were the type of social events where kids of her type were supposed to find their partners. Their parents watched them like hawks, waiting to see if they clicked with anyone so they could start planning the wedding. It used to bother her to no end, the idea of an arranged marriage. But at this rate, it seemed like that was going to be the only way she would ever find herself a husband. 

A part of her mind scolded her for thinking that way. She was young, only sixteen, and she had her whole life ahead of her. She shouldn’t be worrying about finding a husband.

A gentle tap on her shoulder broke her out of her thoughts. She turned around and was met with a familiar pair of stormy gray eyes. “Sirius! When did you arrive? I didn’t even see you come in.” 

“Oh, we’ve been here for a while now. You seemed lonely, standing here by yourself. You should be out dancing with someone.”

A cold chuckle fell from her lips, “No one ever asks me to dance, you must’ve picked up on that by now. They’re scared of my family name. It’s stupid really, it’s just a name.”

“Well, let’s see what they think when they see a Black and Thomas dancing together, shall we?”

A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, “Are you asking me to dance?”

With only a small nod of his head, he extended his hand to her. She smiled to herself and took it, letting him lead her to the dance floor. She brought her other hand to his shoulder and let his free hand hold her waist. 

She looked around nervously, “Please know, that the last time I danced with anyone, it was my brother and I stood on his toes.” 

Sirius didn’t respond with words, only smiled at her as the music started and he guided her across the floor.

~

“That was amazing!” Evelyn let out an airy laugh as they walked out to a balcony. She leaned against the railing and slid her heels off. “I haven’t had that much fun in a long time. At least not at these events.” She felt her heart skip when she saw his smile.

“I could say the same thing. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” Sirius spoke with nothing but sincerity in his voice.

Evelyn looked at him with confusion in her eyes. He was strangely quiet today, and it made her feel pins and needles. “Sirius… Are you okay?” 

Sirius tilted his head slightly, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

She shrugged in return, “You just seem… Out of character. Not that I don’t like it. I mean- you’re still annoying and all…” She quickly averted her eyes to the starry sky, “You just seem happy, is all. Like actually happy.”

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, “Well, I’d say I have a reason to be happy.”

Evelyn smiled up at him. Now or never Thomas. If she could shake her brain without having to move her head she would. She couldn’t possibly tell him now. It would be so… Random.  Now or never Thomas. “Now or never.” Her words were muttered to herself before she spoke louder. “Sirius… I need to tell you something, and I totally understand if it comes off too strong, or if it’s a lot to understand. But just listen to me, please. I don’t even know how to say it, but I’ve been meaning to for a little bit now, and- Merlin.”

Sirius took a small step forward, “Evelyn. Breathe.”

“What I’m trying to say is…” She sighed and looked at the floor, “This is my confession. As- as dark as the world is I’ll always find enough stars in the sky to make enough light to adore you. All your pieces with all my pieces.” She wrung her hands together as her voice was just above a whisper, “Did I practice that? Yes. Sirius, I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while now, and… And you can’t tell me you don’t feel the same. I notice the way you look at me. I know it’s only started as of late, us hanging out I mean. But still. You can’t tell me you don’t feel the same…” 

Sirius gave her an empty stare as her words settled in. She deserved better. He felt like his insides were being twisted and pulled at. It didn’t matter how badly he wanted to tell her his feelings as well, he couldn’t. 

Evelyn twisted her fingers together tightly and chuckled awkwardly, “Are you going to say something?”

A heavy sigh fell from his lips. I’m sorry. “Evelyn, trust me, you’ll be better off alone. There’s no need for you to wait for my love. You don’t need it anyway. It wouldn’t be good for you. I’m not the type of guy a girl like you should fall for. And you’re right, I do like you. I really do. But I’m sorry if I’ve led you on. You don’t deserve that. You’re an amazing girl, and trust me when I say that whoever you end up with… They’ll be one lucky guy. That guy just can’t be me.”

Evelyn felt her heart shatter into a million pieces as the words tumbled from his lips. What she would have noticed if she wasn’t blinded by heartbreak was that he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself as well. She watched his mouth keep moving but she heard nothing. A small buzzing was heard in the back of her head. 

He didn’t love her. At least not truly. 

She nodded mindlessly and turned away from him slowly. Her name was called from behind her but it sounded so far away so she paid no mind to it. She let her feet carry her to the staircase. She could hear Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas chasing her up the steps calling her name, but she didn’t care. Her mind felt like a hollow cave as her thoughts echoed in her head. 

December 24, 1977

How could I have been so stupid? Of course, he didn’t love me. I’m only Evelyn Odette Thomas. He’s Sirius Orion Black. I should’ve known that he’d turn me down. I wasn’t worthy of him. But it was funny how so many people thought I could have anyone I wanted with just a simple flash of my smile. I’ve never wished them to be right more than I do right now. But apparently, they were wrong. They’re always wrong.

I can’t have anyone I want. 

I can’t possibly have Sirius Black.

[starlostjimin]

Title: spring for the first time Chapter 1/? WC: Chapter Rating: T Fandom: Stray Kids Pairing: Han Jisung/Lee Minho Tags/warnings: feelings of internal shame about virginity, societal pressure, gay awakening, assumed heterosexuality (joke's on them), magic, mind reading, innuendo, mythology (or is it?), best friend!hyunjin, workplace au, light urban fantasy au, i guess, fluff, possible smut later in the fic i haven't decided yet, currently SFW Summary: The day before Jisung's thirtieth birthday, Hyunjin tells him an old wives' tale about people who are virgins when they turn thirty. A shy accountant just trying to make it through life, Jisung brushes him off.

Until he wakes up the next day and hears things he definitely shouldn't be able to.

Or: Cherry Magic: Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard!....but make it minsung

next chapter

The office buzzed around him as Jisung tried to concentrate on the spreadsheet in front of him. On the other side of the room, the sales department was celebrating another big contract brought in by Lee Minho, the star of the office. Minho was everything Jisung wanted to be - incredible at his job, personable, good-looking, well-liked among the male coworkers and…popular among the female coworkers. Jisung thought he remembered hearing about Minho winning some athletics award in his school years, because of course he did. Jisung had only spoken with him once or twice, and while he remembered every detail, he was sure that the more popular man didn’t. They had been brief, work related encounters that had left Jisung with the speeding heartbeat that his anxiety always caused. 

“Oh, thank god,” Jisung mumbled as he watched the computer’s clock tick over to 5. Between the office being A Lot during celebrations, he’d also had his brain stuck on a joke Hyunjin had made at lunch. A stupid joke. Something not even remotely based in reality. 

And yet Jisung couldn’t shake it. 

“You’d better hurry up and get a girlfriend tonight,” Hyunjin said. 

Jisung raised an eyebrow. “What? I mean, we both know that’s not going to happen, so why all of a sudden?” 

“Don’t you know the old stories? If you’re still a virgin when you turn thirty, you get superpowers.” Hyunjin grinned. “We both know you couldn’t handle that.” 

“You’re the worst friend ever,” Jisung pouted. 

“You love me,” Hyunjin said, patting his best friend on the hand. 

It was stupid. So stupid. Only children believed in superpowers - which may have been the point, Jisung considered. Promise them superpowers so they don’t start sleeping around young. It made sense. And yet here he was, on the precipice of thirty, and he’d never even dated anyone, let alone had sex. He’d never met a girl he was attracted to, and even if he had, he was sure his anxiety would have kept him from doing anything about it. He sometimes thought it would be nice to have someone to come home to who would understand him, but opening up to someone? That was dangerous, plain and simple. Besides, he had little to offer in the dating department. His apartment was tiny, he walked everywhere, and he was pretty sure he was severely underpaid but too afraid to ask for a raise. Not exactly a prize. 

Jisung sighed and kicked a rock that was in his path. If he could be more like Minho, that would probably help. Everybody loved Lee Minho, and Jisung was sure he hadn’t gotten superpowers on his thirtieth birthday. Jisung tried to imagine himself smiling at his coworkers, expressing greetings that were more than the bare minimum needed to be polite. 

He couldn’t do it. Imagination-Jisung still stumbled over his words, still had hair out of place, still had a crooked tie. “Even in my imagination I’m a loser,” he muttered as he turned onto his street. Stopping briefly into the convenience store at the end of his block to pick up something to eat, he finished his short walk home, ready to change into pyjamas and sit in his bed with a movie playing until he fell asleep. 

His alarm blared, startling Jisung out of sleep. He wished briefly that he’d booked his birthday off like most people did - he was lucky with his workplace in that sense. But he hadn’t, knowing that 1. He wouldn’t have plans anyway and 2. He would probably, as always, have a huge stack of paperwork to get through. 

He was right on both counts. Jisung rolled over and shut off the alarm, rolling out of bed and rubbing his eyes as he headed to the bathroom to wash up. Staring at himself in the mirror, he wondered for a moment why people made such a big deal about birthdays. He looked exactly the same as he had yesterday. He woke up at the same time, he was going to put on the same suit he always wore to work, and he’d stop at his usual food truck on the way to pick up some breakfast for the walk over. Absolutely nothing had changed about him. 

Unless…Jisung cracked a slight smile at the thought. He jumped up and down a few times. It appeared flying and levitating were out. He stared hard at the sink. Turn on! He thought. Water!! He tried again. The sink stubbornly refused to turn itself on. “I guess I can rule out superpowers,” he chuckled as he put toothpaste on his toothbrush. 

“Morning, Jisung,” the owner of the food truck said as he approached. 

“Morning,” he said. 

“I’ve already got it ready for you,” the older man said, holding out a small bag. Jisung grinned. “Thank you. I guess I’m a little predictable, huh?” 

“8:00am, on the dot. I can practically set my clock by you,” the owner said with a laugh. As he tapped his phone against the pin pad, Jisung reached out to take the bag from the other man. When he did, his fingers brushed against his hand. 

This poor kid. He seems to live such a boring life. He’s young! He should be dating a nice girl. 

Jisung’s head shot up and he stared at the man, who was smiling back at him. 

“Something wrong?” he asked. 

“No, uh, I…just thought you said something. I’m going to have to make an extra coffee when I get to work. Didn’t sleep well last night. Thanks, bye!” Jisung left the truck, walking quicker than normal towards his office. He was sure he’d heard the old man saying something about his life being boring, but the man had clearly not been speaking. Jisung shook his head and kept walking quickly, eager to get into the safe space that was his cubicle. 

While he waited for the elevator, Jisung pulled out his phone to check his texts. As expected, there were two. One from Hyunjin, one from his mother, both wishing him a happy birthday. He smiled a tight, close-lipped smile at the screen as he tapped out a quick thank you to his mother, and made up his mind to call her later. He shoved his phone back in his pocket just as the elevator door slid open in front of him. It was packed, as always. Jisung held himself as steady as possible. The last thing he needed was to accidentally touch someone inappropriately if he got jostled by another person. 

He didn’t account for gravity. 

The old elevator shuddered to a stop at the next floor, throwing off Jisung’s balance and sending him stumbling into the person to his left. 

Oh my god, it’s him. 

The voice was familiar, but Jisung couldn’t place it. He looked up and found himself locking eyes with none other than Lee Minho. The man’s eyes were wide and Jisung worried he’d stepped on the other man’s foot. That was the last thing he needed. 

“Ah! Uh, I’m sorry, I lost my balance,” Jisung stammered out. 

He’s so cute. 

The voice again. Minho’s voice. But Jisung was literally looking at his face, and Minho wasn’t talking. It was then that he realized Minho’s hand was on his arm, steadying him. The elevator started again, jolting Jisung out of his thoughts. He stepped back, thankful for the feeling of Minho’s hand dropping off his arm. At the next floor, he rushed off the elevator, despite still being several floors away from his own. I’m going to have a great ass after taking the stairs to the tenth floor for the rest of my life, he thought to himself.

[owlbearwrites]

Hi, I'm writing a serialized novel about how two people in love get separated by an apocalypse, but find each other against all odds, 200 years later! The full WIP intro is here, but here's a snippet that might well become the opening scene, featuring one of the protagonists' diary.

Other writeblrs, if you see this, please share your stories too!

***

Fate is Just the Half of It

To whoever finds this: hope humans still know how to read

October 23, 2077 (wait, is it 24th already? hard to keep track of time here; nah, couldn’t have been here more than ten hours)

Personal panic room of the Triumvirate Inc. CEO (wow, no, that’s so douchey)

ground zero, day one

Are you fucking kidding me?

Yeah, how’s that for a first line? Well, it was gonna be my last. Not bad as famous last words go, but there wasn’t anyone nearby to take it down, so I figured I’d stick around. Shame to die without an audience and let a good line go to waste. 

The mushroom cloud in my window made for one hell of a backdrop, though. The oranges and the blacks, all swirling together, like a sunrise, but more badass. Except, you know, sunrises usually signify beginnings, whereas this one… yeah. Still pretty, though. And you thought there were no upsides to being in the office at 6 a.m. 

It wasn’t a total surprise. Like, I couldn’t actually believe it till I saw it—hell, I don’t think I believe it now, even. But I knew it was coming. Got a 30-minute warning like the rest of the city. Didn’t run for the hills like the rest of the city, though. ‘Cause there weren’t any hills I cared to run for. None I could reach in half an hour, anyway.

Okay, whoever’s reading this, I don’t expect you’ll ever get a say in designing a nuclear strike early warning system, but I’m gonna tell you this anyway. 30 minutes is a really, really shitty warning period. Not enough time to get anywhere you might wanna get to, and way too much time to think. To wish you were somewhere else. Like, say, a suburban two-bedroom with a Vac-Evac link. 30 minutes to really appreciate what an idiot you were to stay at the office, stay in the city, stay optimistic, stay hopeful, stay invested in the idea that there was a shred of reason left in the collective humanity ‘cause c’mon, it’s all just talk, they’re not actually gonna do it, humans have scraps, always have done, always will have, but they’re NOT actually gonna blow up the fucking world, c’mon, what kind of FUCKING IDIOTS would actually, ACTUALLY do something like that??

Anyway. 30-minute warning is bullshit. Put that into your feedback form and smoke it.

still day one, probably

When the alarm went off, I knew that was it. Almost ran to the parking garage before it hit me that every other sad bastard in Boston was doing the same thing. I’d never make it to Havenford. I’d never make it out of the city. The best I could do out there was die in traffic. No, thanks.

I still tried to make a call, though. No luck. All lines jammed. Network access barred: emergency services only. Told myself it’s for the best. Didn’t wanna lie to him, didn’t want our last talk to turn into a fight. Least of all didn’t want him to try and do something stupid like coming to get me. Not that he’d ever make it. He’d just miss his evac and die for nothing. Wouldn’t stop him trying, though. Man has no quit in him.

Funny thing: normally, I don’t either. But knowing your whole world is gonna go to hell in, oh, twenty-five minutes now, and everything you’ve built is gonna go to pieces, and once the dust has settled, no-one will even remember your name… yeah, that’ll get a guy down a skosh.

So, yeah, the bit where I said that swearing at the mushroom cloud was gonna be the last thing I ever did? I meant it at the time. I wasn’t gonna run and die out there. But I wasn’t gonna hide and try to survive it, either. ‘Cause like I said, my world was about to get wiped out. And the only bit of it that stood a chance of making it through the next hour was gonna be out of my reach for good. Assuming he didn’t do something real fucking stupid.

Please tell me you didn’t. Please tell me you went to the evac as planned. For fuck’s sake, please tell me you took the train, and the lift and the whatever. Please be up there now. 

So I waited. Smoked a cigarette. Yeah, yeah, I know, those things’ll kill ya. Made a real good cup of coffee with which to watch the show.

And then it happened. Right on time. And I just stared out of my window. Couldn’t bring myself to believe it.

And then I ran. So much for hanging on to hubris to the end. So much for going down with the ship. Call it animal instinct, call it good old-fashioned cowardice, call it whatever. Point is, I ran straight for the panic room. Didn’t even spill the coffee.

Good thing, too. The supply kits in here only have instant. In case you want proof that I never really believed it was gonna start raining nukes.

okay so every couple of weeks i have the thought 'wow people dont reblog writing like they used too anymore' and it's true but what's the point in having that thought and doing nothing to change it?

you all should reblog this post and share some of your writing or art or moodboards or fun facts off of it! give me something to look at and reblog!

even better, try and check out the notes once this gets spreading, and do the same!