#I can’t have ANYTHING out when I leave the house or else she’ll lose or break it

[onomonopetabread]

Any of y’all want a four year old? Cuz I’m so tired

[yourdeepestfathoms]

The Larks and Being Sick

Cole

Will still try to push themself to perform, but even they have their limits

Conks the hell out when they’re sick, and they’ll sleep for hours (Perrine thought they died once)

Loses their voice. Thinks they’ll never be able to sing again.

Hand tremors won’t let them play their instrument

Gets flustered easily with a lot of affection and care (like if they have to be spoon fed because they’re too weak to hold a bowl themself)

Tries to deter cuddles because they don’t want to get anyone else sick

Emetophobic, and ends up making themself more sick by stressing out over possibly throwing up

Clementine

Super cuddly when they’re sick (usually SOMEONE gets sick after them because they were cuddling)

Mainly because they get really bad chills, so they just want to snuggle up to someone to keep warm

Quiet and mumbly

However, they will ramble deliriously when their fever gets too high

PILED with blankets (which Perrine will have to confiscate so they don’t get overheated, much to their dismay)

Kingsley

A big whiny baby when he’s sick

SUPER overdramatic

“I’M DYING!!!” “You have a cold.”

There’s sometimes a little bit of a “boy who cried wolf” situation with him, where he dramatizes how sick he is, but the others would never leave him to fend for himself, even after all the stuff he pulls for fun

When he has to be spoon fed because he’s too weak from the sickness, he’ll somehow find the strength to make a joke like “chop, chop, peasant!” (Perrine once considered pouring the water she was helping him drink over him)

When he’s really sick, he’s super lethargic, and it’s jarring to see him so worn out when he’s usually the most energetic in the group

Likes to lay his head into the lap of one of the others so they’ll play with his hair, soothing him

Will sometimes force himself into the lap of one of the others (mainly Perrine because she’s the big sibling of the group)

Perrine

Hates being taken care of, so she will act like she’s perfectly fine (she’s not)

Will refuse any and all help until she physically can’t move anymore—and even then, she’ll be stubborn

Pulls out the “but I’m the oldest!” card whenever anyone tries to take care of her

“You’re sick.” “No, I’m not.” “You’re burning up.” “I’m naturally warm.” “You’re shaking.” “It’s just a little cold.” “You literally just threw up.” “I meant to do that.”

She worries about the others when she’s sick in bed. What if something happens? What if they burn the house down while cooking?

Cuddly when she’s ill, but she doesn’t go out of her way to ask for any affection. However, she certainly won’t refuse any…

Easily becomes a little stir crazy from laying in bed. She also gets bored fast. She’s wasting so much time just laying around!

Wears her mask 24/7 to hide how pale and flushed she is from fever (the mask is making her sweat bullets)

Once threw up on stage and then passed out mid-performance because she underestimated how bad she felt (everyone was in a state of shock. she had to be dragged offstage by Cole and Clementine while Kingsley distracted the crowd)

Another time she was making breakfast for the group and fainted, and when she woke up, she was covered in oatmeal from managing to bring the bowl down with her

Would rather starve or die of dehydration than have one of the others spoon feed her

One time, ALL of the kids were sick at once, but Perrine pushed through it to take care of the others (she felt like death after, but anything for her friends)

[robraeinnevermore]

why do u ship robrae so much

short answer: THEY UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER mainly childhood nostalgia my brain refuses to let go of.

long answer: I’m a slut for a brooding couple dynamic. Most of my ship fuel is from the 03 cartoon so I can’t say much about comics or any other media. Warning: I am gonna YAP.

In Nevermore Robin is the one to break through her attack on Dr. Light and then later tries to constantly respect her space when she asks to be left alone despite the others wanting to check on her.

Robin was the one to figure out the connection between Raven’s powers shorting out and the haunted house in Fear Itself because he knows her so well.

They confide in each other their hesitancy’s about Terra, both the first time she comes around and when she makes a come back later on.

It’s a small thing in Spellbound but after one of the missions she runs back to her room and he’s the first one to check on her— noticing specifically how she seemed to be in a rush and wanted to make sure she was okay.

In Haunted she easily could have just used her soul self to fly through the building through the walls and used her empathy to find Robin but instead she made a mental link to him. Whether the show meant it to be a physical bond or not, it stirred up memories and information Robin likely wouldn’t have been open about otherwise. He had the option to deny her access to his mind, but I think he needed some sort of reassurance someone else could really see Slade and that he wasn’t going crazy. If he was going to trust anyone physically in his head it was going to be Raven.

Then we get into the fucking birthmark/prophecy/ end arc and I go absolutely mental.

Robin knows she doesn’t want to celebrate her birthday for some reason and even on the insistence of the others he hesitantly goes along with it because he still wants to celebrate his friend. When they’re fighting Slade, Robin is almost crushed by a gear which is what prompts her to panic and accidentally stop time. Robin is the only one she frees from the time freeze and trusts him with the prophecy of her birth. They’re both trying to protect each other and it’s just the start of them doing anything for each other. I think it’s very heavily insinuated Slade assaults Raven, to an extent, and Robin is the one to catch her after and take her home. When they try to throw another party for her he makes a point to check in again and ask her if she’s really okay with this. Plus Robin’s comment of her being in his head and letting him inside hers will always stick with me. He’s trying to be vulnerable with her and hoping she’ll do the same. She almost wavers, but the fear of losing the people she’s close to holds her back from telling him everything.

Robin can tell there’s something going on with her in The Prophecy, especially when they’re in the library right before she leaves to go to Azarath. When she returns to kick Slades ass and she’s goading Slade about protecting the gem Robin puts it together that Raven is the gem.

Then The fucking End. Raven does her best to make the end of the world the best day she can for her friends and Robin tries to get the others to go easy on her when she makes a dogshit breakfast. When her body starts to react to The End and she falls to the ground crying Robin is the one to comfort her. Robin and Cy working on a room to specifically keep her safe from Trigon so nothing can get to her. Then despite all that Robin literally goes to hell for her. Teams up with Slade, the man he hates the most in the world, in order to find her. He guides her through hell to face her father and once again when Robin is knocked unconscious she finds the strength to kick some ass. The lightness in her tone when she hugs Robin and says “Somebody believed,” and he embraces her in return. Their conversation at the end of the saga about how Raven is what gives Robin hope— as if she doesn’t feel the same exact way wtf.

I think they push each other in ways the others necessarily don’t. They understand there’s a darkness to each of them and it’s something they can fully accept in each other. I think sometimes having someone in a darker place than you can bring out an unexpected light.

Robin knows when to check on Raven but he also knows when to give her space. In contrast, Raven knows when Robin needs space but also knows when to force her help on him. They’re both stubborn, snappy and hot headed; but they would do literally anything for each other and regardless of how heated their words may get they’re always honest with each other. The trust they have for each other is insurmountable and I think that adds to their chemistry.

I also just have so many other small niche things in my brain that are just constantly screaming at me like

[theology101]

BG3 Companions Ranked

This post is for Haley Whipjack on youtube and tiktok and her only so everyone else can leave. But they have three fun videos where she ranks the companions by increasingly silly Metrics. I propose the following

Most likely to turn a non contact sport a contact sport

Minthara. She will elbow, knee, anything to get an advantage and win. There are NO lines that she won’t cross

Astarion. He also has no moral limits but the amount of effort that he puts in heavily depends on his mood. Some days he’s throwing hands, most the time he’s barely paying attention

Karlach. There is no malice in her brain, at all, but she gets really excited when she plays the game and sometimes accidents happen, and by sometimes i mean a lot

Minsc. The same as karlach, but he’s a bit lower cause boo will try to reign him in a bit

Lae’zel. This is actually a flawed premise for lae’zel as she only enjoys contact sports - but if she’s playing an actual game of basketball with rules and stuff, she’ll obey them. If it’s her and karlach playing in the local park, they’re both throwing hands while playing basketball

Shadowheart. She doesnt do it the whole game, but whenever she thinks she can get away with it, she’ll do it. She has moral compunctions about it and feels bad later but in the moment she’s like “oh this is so smart”

Halsin. The caveat is that it’s never violent or painful, because he plays with a lot of children. He, thaniel and oliver play with him in bear form so he just like, knocks them over a little, puts his paw on them, etc

Gale. He wouldn’t, because he doesnt like the concept of cheating like that… but if he was losing? If he started getting really pissy about it? He’s making that sport contact

Jaheira. She just wouldnt do it, but also probably isnt even playing the sport or bothering to pay attention

Wyll. He would NEVER! I don’t need to say much more

Most likely to owe money to someone:

Minthara. She’s committing fraud and tax evasion to fund her various schemes, but it’s all underhanded and subversive that’s it just an open secret. She has BILLIONS in some bank accounts in Thay and no one is ever touching it

Gale. He has so, so, so much student loan debt. Even more from his phase when he was an addict. He can hear the whispers of the private sector but he’s still try to stay pure in accademia

Astarion. He committed Check Fraud. And owes Cazador a lot in back pay for his ‘rent’ and ‘food,’ but if you kill the old bastard Astarion get the estate so its all fine

Karlach. Straight up buys things without knowing how much money she has because she want the thing - but only for like, impulse purchases, and that kinda spontaneity has put her in debt. Plus she has a BUNCH of subscriptions she forgot to quit out

Halsin. He straight up does not know that, but he had an overdue ticket that he owed but he doesnt have a mailing address so no one can tell him

Minsc. Honestly? He doesn’t handle money. If he did, he’d hand it to Boo. If he can’t do that, he will lose it and get in trouble. Jaheria does it

Shadowheart. Not likely to have much debt, pretty sensible, but might get like, a ticket a lot. Red lights have little interest for her

Jaheria. So she has debt, and probably will for a while, but she’s also had it for a while and none of it is especially crushing. She paid off her house decades ago, so most of her money is spent on her children. Now especially that they’re young adults she has more debt on top of living costs - and Minsc too

Wyll. He’s good. He came from money and he gets it. He had a wild amount of debt from Mizaora but by the end of the game he’s good. He’s good

Lae’zel. That’s breaking a rule (because if people are mad its your fault), and Lae’zel would NEVER do that. Plus her life style is INCREDIBLY spartan. m

Most likely to have pets (and what kind):

Halsin. He doesn’t call them pets, but that’s really what the ones in the emerald grove are. For all intents and purposes, they’re domesticated - he just talks to them so he doesnt call them pets

Minsc. He has a hampster in game

Gale, he has a cat (if you origin play as him, otherwise she’s off screen :/ )

Shadowheart. In the farm ending? In her idyllic country side life? She has pet after god damn pet. She loves them all, she has Scratch, a Barn Cat, a House Cat (who doesnt like to go outside), Sheep, Chickens, Cows, you name it? She’s got it

Minthara canonically has a history of pets - we know of mimics, displacer beasts, and giant spiders. She has pets, but they’re VIOLENT things and she does feed them people

Lae’zel. If you count a dragon as a pet, but that feels demeaning. Otherwise (besides being Shadowheart’s wife) and an otherwise practical animal, she’s alright.

Astarion. He likes pets and would love to live in the house with one… he just doesnt want to be its primary care giver. Nothing on animals, he just wont put in the effort. He’s above Wyll because i think he would get incredibly and unhealthily attached to whatever animal he ends up with.

Wyll. He might get a dog, probably not if he’s in hell. It’s something he’s thought about in his head for his possible future but nothing concrete. If he did, he’d take really good care of it, but he wouldnt go out of his way to get one

Karlach. She wants a pet, sooo badly, but can’t have one. Well, maybe she can get a Hellhound or something, but she’s going to be in combat scenario 24/7 so thats… probably temporary

Jaheira. She has enough going on in her life to deal with having a pet. She might coexist in a space with an animal, but she did not want it and is taking 0 steps in that things development or care. She’s busy

Who graduated College and for what major:

Gale. Multiple PhDs at a VERY young age, im thinking like, chemistry and physics? Then he doubled down on some more

Astarion. He’s a lawyer, so he went through college and then law school, as well as passing the bar. Probably has an expired license though and will not be updating it before trying to practice law. His major was pre-law, cause he knew what he wanted as his job but didnt know what he was passionate it

Minthara. She had a VERY good private tutor growing up for multiple subjects, went to a very prestigious university that her uncle was a member of the faculty, buildings named after her family, the whole nine yards. She stopped formal education after her four years but has taken up a number of other subjects to study. PoliSci or Psychology major

Lae’zel. She went to the Military Academy for the Gith, graduated like two months ago and then gets tadpoled. Definitely an anatomy major to know the most fragile parts of the body

Jaheira. She grew up in a comune of hippies and was home schooled by them, but since becoming more active, she’s taken a few courses at the community college to get a civics degree.

Shadowheart. She went to catholic school her entire life, was going to go to a catholic college, but then she changed her hair and moved to the west coast. Since then she’s just been hanging out as a bisexual

Wyll. You’d think he’s be higher, but he became a monster hunter at 17, so he didnt even finish High School, then he either lands a cushy government job and will be too busy, or a monster hunter still and also too busy

Karlach. Dropped out of high school and joined up with Gortash at 16

Minsc. Has never attended a school, he’s just fine. He doesnt know how the world works and frankly? He’s not interested. The least information curious man on the planet

Halsin. He is confused by the concept. You know the type of environment Jaheira grew up in? That. It’s him. He creates that mind of environment for children.

[danikamariewrites]

could i request azriel x reader or lorcan x reader with reader being a vampire and needs to feed but he says to feed on him but she’s scared she’ll hurt him. She finally does and he feels euphoria and it leads to smut👀

Take My Blood and Make Me Yours (SMUT)

Azriel x vampire!reader

A/n: I got two requests that were similar to this so I thought I’d combine them since they were similar. I’m going off my very little knowledge of vampires from Buffy, Twilight, and Supernatural so I’m making up half this shit as I go along lol

Warnings: blood, smut, slight sub!Az

You had held out longer than you expected. But going four months without feeding on a person, human or Fae, was driving you crazy. You felt like you were dying. Animal blood and whatever Amren drunk wasn’t cutting it for you anymore.

You always felt guilty when you fed on a person. It was either turn them or kill them and you didn’t like killing people unlike other vampires.

In hopes that your ‘sickness’, as you called it, would become less extreme. You had avoided being around Azriel. His scent had been too overwhelming the last few days. The urge to drink from him making you itch. Since he was out of the house you felt free to walk around the house.

Although normal food didn’t do much for you, you were addicted to sweets. Chocolates, sour candies, literally anything you could get you hands on. The flavors helped distract you for a while, especially the sting from the sour candies.

Lost in your sweets stash you didn’t hear Azriel come in through the front door. He lovingly squeezed the back of your neck, “Hi love. How are you feeling?” You scramble up from the table backing away from Azriel. A wild look in your eyes telling him not to come near you.

You put your hand out making sure he stayed far away from you. “Az no!” You scream, “please. Please I don’t want to hurt you. I can’t…” your voice cracks as you plead with him.

Azriel hated seeing you like this. You were far too pale, deep bags under your eyes from months without sleep, and your hair looked lifeless. “Y/n, my love please. I need you to listen to me.” You backed farther away from him all the way against the wall of the kitchen.

He kept approaching. Once Azriel was within arms length he gently laced your fingers together. Tears sprung from your eyes as his scent consumed you. Cauldron he smelt divine. And he probably tasted even better. Your mouth started watering at the thought of his sweet Illyrian blood on your tongue. How sweet he would taste. How it would be if he turned and stayed with you forever, as if he weren’t already immortal.

But you had made a promise to yourself when you started seeing each other and again when the mating bond snapped. You would never taste him. You were afraid you’d turn him into something else he would resent or lose control and drain him. Leaving you broken without your mate.

You tilted your head back to avoid his gaze, your tears falling into your hair. “No Azriel. I can’t. I won’t use you.” Like the thoughtful and loving male he is, Azriel had offered himself to you so your suffering would end. You had refused him every time.

“Nothing is working for you. It’s been over a year since you fed from a person. Please let me help you.” You could tell he was in pain seeing you like. Azriel probably felt your pain down the bond and it mustn’t have been easy for him. “Y/n I trust you enough to let you feed from me. I know you could never hurt me.”

Your resolve was crumbling at his sweet words. “Please y/n. My heart breaks to see you like this. Please, just enough to sate the hunger and then you can stop.” You nodded your head whispering out a weak ‘ok’. You couldn’t believe you were breaking your promise. Gods, what was wrong with you.

Azriel was chest to chest with you. You collapsed in his arms letting out small sobs. Azriel kissed the side of your head, scooping you up in his strong arms. After letting out one final cry he asked, “Where would you be comfortable baby?” His question made you pause.

You were about to drink his blood and he was asking you where you’d be most comfortable? This just reminded you of how selfless Azriel is. You didn’t deserve this male. “Wherever you’re comfortable Az.” You mumble into his shoulder.

He started heading up the stairs toward your bedroom. While you were relieved your pain would be over soon, you were terrified you’d harm Azriel.

Before you knew it Azriel was sitting on the bed with you cradled to his chest. “We can take this at your pace.” You nod against his chest. Moments pass as you sit still. Taking a deep, nervous breath you lift your head to meet his sweet hazel eyes.

You cup his face and run your thumbs across his cheeks. “Thank you, my love. You have no idea…” he covers your hand with one of his large scarred one. “I’m doing what any good mate would. I love you.” You were at a loss for words as you teared up again. “I love you too.”

Leaning forward his scent overwhelms you. He’s night, rain, mist, and everything beautiful in the world to you. Part of you was excited to get a taste of him. All your worries left your mind as you pressed your nose into the side of his neck. His soft, supple neck.

You licked from his pulse point up to just under his earlobe. Straddling him, you move your mouth back down so you hovered just above his pulse point. You left a small peck on his warm skin. “If it gets too much or you think I’ve gone too far, do what you have to. Even if that means hurting me.” “I…ok.” You heard the hesitation in his voice.

You gave his neck one last kiss, letting your fangs slide out and scrape against his skin. Finally, you skin your teeth in, biting down on Azriel his blood starts to seep out and into your mouth. The second the thick red liquid hit your tongue an electric shock went through you. Azriel’s shadows were going haywire as they wrapped around you and their master.

He tasted even better than you imagined. Cauldron, he was the sweetest thing you had ever tasted. Having Azriel like this did things to you. The way he willingly gave himself to you and tasting the most delicious blood you’ve ever had, had you grinding down on Azriel.

Azriel moaned, gripping you tighter to him. You were surprised when you felt his hips buck up into you. “Fuck baby. Feels good.” Holy shit, Az was enjoying this as much as you.

You had your fill a few mouth fulls ago but you stayed sunken into his skin, lapping up a few drops. You felt heavenly. Like you were new again and finding out what blood tasted like for the first time.

Pulling your fangs from him Azriel whimpered. The sound went straight to your core making the slick in your panties more prominent. When you could finally focuses on your surroundings you could feel Azriel’s hard cock through his pants.

You sat up, stretching your arms, pushing your hair up and letting it fall seductively over your shoulders as you let out a seductive hum. You much better. Your skin returned to its normal shade. Your eyes vibrant and full of life. You gave Azriel a dark smile, his blood coated your lips teeth.

Azriel’s shadows relaxed, going back to their spot on his shoulders. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of you. Azriel grabbed you pulling you into a bruising kiss, licking at your sharp teeth. You moan into his mouth forcing your tongue into his, dominating him.

You took control from Azriel, ripping your nightgown off and clawing at his shirt with your sharp nails. He rips it off and you undo his pants. Sliding them down just enough to let his cock spring free.

You take him in your hand running your thumb around the head. Kissing up his jaw you stop at his ear nibbling at it. “I think you deserve a reward, don’t you? My brave boy.” He let out another whimper, loud and unashamed. “Yes, fuck please baby?”

You run a finger along the ridge of his wing up to the talon. Azriel tenses up under you, his cock twitching in your hand. Getting to the talon you slowly run your finger down the vein, onto the red and gold flecked membrane. Azriel moaned, gripping your ass hard enough to leave fingerprints. “Please y/n, I need you please, please, please.”

You let out a dark laugh. Sitting up you lay your hands on his chest forcing him back into the headboard. “Such a good boy saying please. You’ll get what you want baby.” Azriel let out a harsh breath at the new praise from you. “You like that?” You say in a tantalizing voice. “You like being my good boy?”

“Yes. So much.” You hum running your hands down his abs. “Good Azzy, good.” You peck his lips and line his cock up with your entrance, teasing him by spreading your slick around your folds. Finally you sink all the way down on him. You both let out moans of pleasure at the feeling of being connected.

You start rocking back and forth on him, your eyes fluttering. “Gonna help me ride you baby.” Azriel wordlessly bent his knees and brought his hands to your hips. You started bouncing on him. Azriel picked you up, slamming you back down faster and faster as he chased his high.

The room smelled of blood and sex. The sound of slapping skin echoing as praised Azriel. A few more thrusts and you were coming undone together.

Azriel’s head started to fall backward. You cupped the back of it before it could hit the headboard. His eyes screwed shut. You laid your forehead on his rapidly moving chest while you both caught your breath. “Fuck.” You panted. Azriel lazily snaked his arms around your waist. Slipping into a laying position with you still on his chest.

“Azzy we need to get cleaned up baby.” You squeezed his bicep signaling for him to get up. He shook his head against the pillow. “Can’t. Just need to lay here with you.” You weren’t going to argue with him. You were spent and ready to sleep for the first time in a while.

tags: @rigelus @nyotamalfoy @auggiesolovey @msiecrane @bubybubsters @baybay123455 @aroseinvelaris @twsssmlmaa

[hilarychuff]

Chrissy hesitates while getting dressed Thursday morning. She’s got her uniform on, her cheer cardigan too, but when she looks at herself in the mirror, she half wants to shrug the sweater off. Hang it back up in her closet. She won’t be swapping it out for Jason’s letterman after first period today. What would happen if she just… left it at home. Maybe, if she gets cold, someone else will let her borrow their jacket for the day. She wonders if Jason would offer. Would he insist? Can’t have my girl looking cold, Chris, she imagines in his voice. I know it’s game day, but here, you should take it. Maybe it wouldn’t be like that, though. Maybe it would be the opposite. Baby, how am I supposed to feel you cheering me on all day long if I don’t have my jacket? Plus, you know all the guys are wearing theirs. It’s good for team unity, and I have to set the right example as captain. I thought you girls were wearing your sweaters today. She half entertains the idea of sneaking into her father’s room to borrow one of his sport coats. What would Robin think if she showed up in a blazer of her own? Or could Chrissy maybe not pull it off the same as Robin does? Robin always looks so cool and effortless in her outfits, like putting them together comes as naturally to her as breathing. Her style is so — her own compared to most of the other girls at Hawkins High. Maybe if Chrissy tried to copy it, she’d just look exactly like she would be: a little girl playing dress up in her father’s closet. Maybe she could squeeze into one of PJ’s. His size probably isn’t so different from hers. As long as he has something that fits over her shoulders, it wouldn’t matter too much if the arms were a little short. She could roll the sleeves to her elbows the same way Robin usually does. Chrissy doesn’t typically wear anything tight, though. Her own sense of style tends to favor a looser fit, her closet full of long cardigans and pleated pants, structured jumpsuits and billowy dresses that can be belted in at the waist. Her mom would call those sorts of items forgiving. Things that can change with or hide her fluctuating weight. It also tends to mean it’s less noticeable when her mother buys her clothes a size too large or decides she’s gained another few pounds and takes it upon herself to let out all the seams. Oh. Her mother. Her mother would never let her leave the house in something like that. Not ladylike enough. Of course, it’s one thing to wear her boyfriend’s jacket at school, but it’s another to include men’s clothing as part of her regular wardrobe. And it’s not like she’d be able to hide it from her parents. Even if she managed to sneak into someone else’s closet without being discovered, she couldn’t just stuff a blazer into her backpack and pull it out later. Not if she also wanted to fit any of her books in there. She’s pretty sure there isn’t a world where her mother would be swayed by any claims that it’s some sort of new trend either. Laura Cunningham always insists that truly well-dressed women always look timeless. Classic. They don’t chase trends that will look silly in pictures they’ll be showing their children one day. There’s no use, really, in trying to prepare for a conversation she’ll just lose. She keeps the cardigan on.

all the best people see you (all the best people know), chapter 8, a season 4 buckingham au

[chthonic-mommy]

Imagine a Good Ending for Karlach

Larian hire me right now.

also my English is weak but I’m trying so please be kind I can’t REMAIN SILENT ANYMORE. it was a 3am unfiltered stream of consciousness written in language which isn’t my native.

So, the final battle. Karlach overheats. I don’t care how are they going to get rid of anything else - that’s not the topic. Then Tav (maybe with Gale’s help) uses extreme ice spell on Karlach, a few seconds before the end. This won’t let her die - but won’t let her live either. Tav just couldn’t tolerate the thought of Karlach dying. The battle ends. Everything’s over. Everyone is alive. But there is Tav - with swollen eyes, feeling like her own heart’s gonna explode instead of Karlach’s engine. And then there is The Body. Tav holds her head close to her chest, crying, but Karlach’s cold now, too cold. Gale tries to go talk with her, but both Astarion and Lae’zel ask him not to. Tav is overwhelmed and incredibly protective over The Body. She is a short and weak bard, but she will not let anyone touch Karlach, she’ll protect her like a mother lioness protects her cub.

She’ll take The Body home with her. Cold, with an ice crust on that place where soft light was coming from.

A year passed. Tav stayed in Baldurs Gate. Karlach’s dream was to help tiefling children who lost their parents. Karlach told Tav “All children should have proper housing. I didn’t have any opportunities when I was a child myself. It didn’t turn out good.”

So Tav opened a home school. She wasn’t as good with children as Karlach was, but she originated from aristocratic family, so she, as a woman of great knowledge, became a teacher for tiefling kids. They were stubborn at first and didn’t attend classes, but by time they started to listen. They began to help Tav with the garden, so they could eat stuff they grew together afterwards. Mattis remembered what Karlach told him - it’s easier to avoid battle and come out as winner out of any situation if you have a way with words. Mol was the last to stop leading her illegal lifestyle, influenced by others.

Tav taught them proper writing, counting, helped them with better clothing. She couldn’t give them everything - money won’t last forever. But she tried - tiefling kids had breakfast and dinner, they had a place to sleep, they were learning something.

Tav was numb. She stopped crying - work and children who needed her, all of that made her tougher. She was weak physically before - Karlach was always there for her to help. She remained weak, but could hardly afford that weakness now.

Three years have passed. Tav searched. Karlach’s body remained the same. There was a way to melt her heart, but she’ll die right after, Tav needed a way to melt her engine without damage, and a way to make it work. Gale told her one day “You need to move on, Tav, those children need you.” Tav answered him “She wanted to live more than any of us did. I’ll rip my own heart out, if needed. Help me or leave me alone.” She and Gale stopped talking for a year. Than he returned to her with loads of books and an apology.

Astarion didn’t like the whole idea of home school at first, but he still was coming to Tav as frequent as he could. He taught kids personal boundaries, cuz Tav didn’t want to be touched, so Astarion taught children that before a hug you need to ask first. Astarion never left Tav’s side, he supported her in her dream to bring Karlach back. He missed his barbarian friend too.

Five years have passed. Lae’zel and Shadowheart came to Tav’s place and brought their hatched gith child with them. Lae’zel also brought githyanki medicine, Shadowheart brought her prayers. Gale and Astarion came, bringing a fire artifact they’ve been searching for during the last year. Halsin and Will came, bringing their magic. Dammon was there as well. The whole group have got together again because everyone knew - if today’s stuff won’t work out, Tav will lose her life purpose. She needed their support.

It was the dark and cold night. Tav was nearly as cold as Karlach, tearless and calm. Gale started to dissolve the spell, the engine began to melt. Halsin was trying to support Karlach’s health, at least till the engine starts. And then everything went wrong. The engine started to heat like crazy, burning Karlach from inside, Dammon took his blacksmith tools and started to repair the engine right there. Tav took the fire artifact and put it into the engine. It burned through her gloves, it burned her hands heavily. Dammon took a step back.

Karlach’s body twisted in pain, she started to cough. She threw up. She coughed again, there was a black smoke, the smell of charcoal and burned flesh.

Everyone stood still, until Astarion ran for Karlach and hugged her tight.

“Damn, Fangs, I’m gonna vomit again…”

He looked nervous, his eyes twitched just like he was going to start crying, but he buried himself into that hug even more. Lae’zel came to them too, swearing, but hugged them with all her strength. Then was Halsin and his bear-like hugs. And Gale - who already started crying. Shadowheart and Will stood aside politely.

Karlach coughed uncontrollably, suffering from pain, laughed, not quite understanding what happened. For her it was just a moment - like she slept for a while. But everyone was different then she remembered. Gale had more wrinkles, Astarion never hugged her like this before, and Tav… looked like a pale imitation of herself. She stood silent, watching the hugs happening. Like she wasn’t there at all.

Everyone moved away, leaving Karlach sitting on the floor, still coughing but not that bad. Tav stayed on her place. She was afraid to believe it.

“Love…” Karlach started, and Tav whimpered, her heart skipped a beat. “…What’s with your hands? Did I burn you?”

Tav came closer, with tears dropping on the floor, breathing fast, looking like she’s gonna either have an anxiety attack or faint.

“Tav?” That’s was enough for her to burst out crying. She rushed into Karlach’s arms, crying like a baby, shivering.

Karlach’s started to kiss Tav’s face, trying to calm her down, caressed her hair. She worried so much and her engine was still unstable - it started heating again. Tav kissed her lips and felt them burning, like it was their first kiss.

“We need to stop, Tav, something’s wrong.”

“I’ll never stop! Karlach I missed you so fucking much! You were here, your body, cold and silent, I could touch you but there was no YOU in there! For five fucking years! I’ll rather burn myself than hold back now.”

Karlach looked at her in shock.

“Five years? How… How did you?..”

“I needed you to live. I did what I could.”

“That’s why your hands are burned?”

“That’s a small price.”

Karlach pulled her close, while her engine calmed down a little.

“And you waited for me for five years…unable to reach me… just like I waited to touch you… when we just met… it’s all crazy.”

“I was afraid I’d lose you. I’d die too.”

“Love…”

“Don’t tell me anything. It’s easy to get used to good things. When you lose them - you may never recover.”

Karlach kissed her again, kissed her burned lips, kissed her forehead, kissed the tears traces on her cheeks.

“We’ll talk about it later… I’m here, love, I’m here…”

That was the first night after the final battle which they spent happy, together. Tav was crying over and over, snuggling to Karlach and holding her hand tight, like she’ll disappear at any moment.

The next morning Karlach found out about kids. Most kids who she remembered were nearly young adults now. Mol and Mattis came early to help Tav with her house chores and ran to Karlach’s arms like they were her own kids.

“Karlach, we thought you dead!”

“Yeah, we thought mama Tav lied to us so we wouldn’t be sad about you!”

And Karlach hugged them close, but then pushed away to ask a question.

“Mama Tav?”

“Yeah, everyone calls her mom, it’s easier to explain and to remember.”

“She adopted EVERY child here?”

“Not really, but we’re still hers, I guess. She helped us all this years.”

They told Karlach about their jobs, about little ones who came when Karlach was already “away”. When little ones, those who stayed at Tav’s place, woke up, they rushed to see what’s happening and why this place is so crowded.

Mol said: “Listen here, little bastards, THAT’S Karlach we told you stories about! She finally came back!”

And then there were lots of “wow”, “she’s as tall as I thought!”, “the light from her chest is real, see?” and “are you mama Tav’s wife? she wouldn’t tell us”. Karlach was delighted.

She got to meet Lae’zel’s and Shadowheart’s baby gith, and couldn’t get enough of him.

She and Tav made use of every free minute to speak. Tav started to bloom like she used to - colors came back to her. They kissed again and again to the point when Astarion started to joke dirty about putting Karlach back to sleep.

When Karlach asked Dammon, how’s her engine, he told her he doesn’t know how long will it last. They didn’t know anything at all.

Lae’zel always asked Tav before, why does she read so much, isn’t she already one of the smartest women in Faerun?

Tav always answered that the main point of learning is that you never stop. Science has no answers, you learn and then you understand that you know nothing and then you learn again. And that’s an endless path, you’re never stagnated. Lae’zel was fascinated by that.

Tav answered Karlach’s question about her engine just as expected.

“If it breaks, we’ll find a way to heal you again. And again. That’s the never-ending path of knowledge…”

“Knew you’ll say that.”

“So why did you ask then?”

“Just wanted to hear it aloud. It’s strange to know… that now I’m finally free. What should I do, Tav?”

“You can start at helping me with our homeschooled gang. I’m slowly getting burnt out. Mal and Mattis are helpful, but I can’t trust them with everything and they don’t have to be here all the time.”

“Understood…” Karlach stopped thinking about her future after Dammon for the first time told her that her engine can’t be entirely fixed. She couldn’t imagine someone going this far to bring her back. But Tav did it.

Karlach was free. Finally free of Avernus, free of her past, nearly free of death (Tav made her believe in that). She was surrounded by children and her friends were all here to welcome her back. Tav was here - with her hands and lips burned and painful, but refusing to leave her no matter what. Sweet Tav, who seemed so little in comparison to Karlach. Her savior.

“Gods,” Karlach smiled bright. ”Love, it feels so good to be alive.”

[kelseytheballerina]

how do you have a high maintenance routine while being married? I assume that being married means that you now have a heck ton of new responsibilities, I know that it’s not really just your life anymore, as you now have 2 lives in one. and not just focusing on yourself anymore, you have somebody else. I know I’ll get married in the near future but a part of me is afraid that i’ll lose what I have now or won’t be able to do what I want to do in the future, like pampering myself, making time for myself to do all those things you mentioned in your high maintenance routine while cooking for two, cleaning the house, running errands, doing my own work from home as well, and eventually with children as well. I want to get married but it seems overwhelming and scary that maybe I won’t be able to have this high maintenance lifestyle doing things I want to be doing because of how busy life will get as a married woman. AND being pregnant too.

No this is a very valid question. As it turns out, being married didn’t diminish my free time or ability to pamper myself at all. If anything, it’s given me more of it. I have plenty of time to myself since I don’t have to work, my husband is a doctor that works really long hours, neither of us are messy people and he doesn’t control my schedule but rather I decide it all. If I had to scrub our apartment from top to bottom every day bc he leaves stuff all over the place and makes a mess like a toddler in a daycare, I wouldn’t be with him. Nothing worse than a nasty man whose mama never taught him to put dishes in the sink and clothes in the hamper. He’s naturally quite neat and low maintenance so I’m not really spending a ton of time tending to him. All of the things I do are things I was going to do anyway. Dishes, cooking, cleaning, laundry, tidying up etc are standards for living I already set for myself whether I would be living alone or not. A few extra dishes from his serving is no problem. If he gets hair all over the bathroom floor he sweeps it up himself. Yes I have to run a few errands for him since he doesn’t always have the time (for example going to the post office is near impossible with his work schedule) but it’s not a frequent thing and I know he’d do it for me, no questions asked.

Not all marriages are the same and some partners may require more of your time and energy. Obviously my marriage is still young so I can’t speak on the long haul, but for now it’s very chill. The only “restraint” (and I use that word lightly) is more so related to timing. If he’s home at 6:30pm, then I need dinner ready by that time instead of me cooking all willy nilly at 8pm or smth. Outside of breakfast and dinner requiring me to keep a timing to match his work schedule, he has little bearing on my day to day endeavors.

He actually enjoys when I do fun things for myself and takes pride in being able to provide it. He likes when I send cute selfies from the nail salon or spa or cafes I’m at. If there’s times where I’m being more of a homebody and just staying indoors all day, he encourages me to go out and have fun, try a new place to eat, meet up with a friend, etc. Some men hate seeing women being pampered and being leisurely and some men absolutely love it and encourage it. If you’re a girl who spoils yourself even when single, get a man who appreciates that and wants to contribute to the spoiling, not snuff the flame or expects you to “sit down”. I’ve never understood that. You get a girl who always looks cute with her hair and makeup done, nice clothes, fun experiences and then expect her to stop bc she’s married now? You should’ve been with a plain Jane in the first place then!

When our baby is born, that will be more of a change than my marriage in and of itself since she’ll have a nap schedule, bath time, etc that will prevent me from always being able to get up and go on a whim or spend ample amounts of time at certain venues but that’s part of motherhood and the responsibilities and sacrifices that come with it. I’ll have to alter my schedule, pull back on the frequency I do certain things, and just wait for her to get a bit older. All moms can relate and it just comes with the territory but it doesn’t have to be a negative thing.

Basically it just comes down to making a schedule that works for you and prioritizing your self care and making the most of the hours allotted to you. Don’t lose yourself in your marriage. Your youth and fun doesn’t have to die just bc you’re wearing a ring.

[sodor-spirit]

Lady continued floating away, the clear sighted boy still following after her. She only reached to a few feet before the Steam Creator let loose another sigh and turned back around to face the inquisitive child.

“Surely, someone is taking care of you,” She spoke to him, her tone of voice still hard and icy then how it normally is. “Your… (What is that word?) Parents? Where are they?”

The boy’s face melted to one of utter misery, washing over him and slumping down onto his shoulders. “I… I don’t have parents…. Not anymore…”

Hearing this made Lady drop her cold expression and closed off body language. She looked at the little human with clear shock in her eyes. The Creator didn’t really consider herself a parent, since she always sent the steam spirits souls down to Earth the moment they’re created (except for one special little soul), but she knew that parents seems to mean some among humans.

Lady was about to open her mouth to ask what happened to them, but the sad young boy beat her to it. “Someone set my old house on fire and… they did make it…” He wiped away the tears and snot away from his face. “I don’t have anyone else to care for me… expect my friend, Tasha.”

“Oh…” The Creator extended her hand out to the boy, only to hesitate and bring it back. “I…I”m so sorry that happened to you, little human…” It was no lie. She truly was sad for the poor boy loosing his parents in such a way, like how most of her Steam Spirits are being scrapped and melted down.

But… she still wasn’t sure whether to trust the young boy and take him with her. “Regardless, my answer is still no. I understand how hard it is to lose someone so precious to you forever, but I still can’t take you with me to find my other half on this strange dimension.” A scoff left her lips. “Why would I even trust you? Considering how your kind treats my creations.”

The boy’s cheeks puffed out in indignation. “You can’t blame me for being one of them and I can see you so that must mean I’m different!” He grumbled, trying to keep up with the magical lady, floating a few feet of the ground and away. “And besides, you don’t even know where he is or anything about my world. Wait up!” He started running after her. “I can help you! Let me help you find your husband!”

Lady was about to yell back that Diesel 10 is not her husband (Humans and their weird labels for everything, she’ll never understand it), but started to really consider the boy’s words. He had some points in his attempt at trying to convince her; Lady didn’t know much about the human dimension, she had no way of knowing where Ten has fallen after that shadowy monster attacked them. and this incredibly annoying and stubborn child has been living on this world for his entire life, so he must know how to get around this horrid place and survive.

And he may also have some potential in the mystical arts considering he’s able to see her. Maybe one day even as her successor when he reaches the end of his lifespan, but we’ll see how that goes.

The Gold dust creator let out one final sigh, brushing some of her bangs out of the way and turns back to the human child.

“Okay, fine.”

He looked up at the mysterious lady, eyes filled with surprise and disbelief. “Really? I can go with you?”

Lady’s face turn a slight shade of stubborn pink. “Yes. I do need help to finding my other half on this dimension, you’re the only one who can perceive me and…” Her features soften, but only a short amount. “I don’t understand how human families work but no one should be leaving you all alone if your parents are gone. So I guess you are better off guiding me.” With that display of swallowed pride, she held her hand out to the boy.

Sparkles appeared in his eyes, running up to her and taking the hand. The two started walking towards the Mountain range where Muffle Mountain is situated.

“Well then young soul, enlightened me,” Lady spoke to her new guide. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Burnett. Burnett Stone.” The young boy introduced himself with the largest smile on his face. “What’s yours?”

“My name is Lady.”

END?

[scary-grace]

Love Like Ghosts (Chapter 12) -- a Shigaraki x f!Reader fic

You knew the empty house in a quiet neighborhood was too good to be true, but you were so desperate to get out of your tiny apartment that you didn't care, and now you find yourself sharing space with something inhuman and immensely powerful. As you struggle to coexist with a ghost whose intentions you're unsure of, you find yourself drawn unwillingly into the upside world of spirits and conjurers, and becoming part of a neighborhood whose existence depends on your house staying exactly as it is, forever. But ghosts can change, just like people can. And as your feelings and your ghost's become more complex and intertwined, everything else begins to crumble. (cross-posted to Ao3)

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Chapter 12

Any workday when you don’t go to work and aren’t sick feels strange, but you only got three words into explaining why you wanted the day off before Mr. Yagi excused you. Now you’re running around to every nursery and garden shop in the city, asking which of their plants are invasive, and buying all of them, leaving a trail of environmentalists who hate you in your wake. You’re going to have to go out of town if you ever want to buy plants again, but you’ve got plenty of plants. Enough plants to power up Dabi, Nemuri, and Tomura to a truly ridiculous degree.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Keigo says when he sees you coming with the fifth oversized butterfly bush of the day. “He can’t control his consumption rate the way he used to.”

“Who cares? It’s not like I need to materialize.” Dabi is eyeing the new plant in a way that creeps you out. Four pots with charred-to-death trees are already sitting in Keigo’s front yard. “When my conjurer gets here, I’m going to burn him from the inside out.”

“Not a chance,” Nemuri says from across the street. She’s hanging out on your front porch, barely materialized. “He’s tortured two of my friends. I get to suffocate him.”

“Fuck you both. This is my neighborhood.” Tomura’s not materialized at all, but his voice echoes up and down the street. “He’s mine to kill.”

This has been going on all day. “You’re all pretty,” Keigo says, exasperated, which cracks you up. Your laughter sounds ever so slightly hysterical. “Whoever gets him first can do the honors.”

Keigo hasn’t heard the same legend Spinner has, then – that, or the idea of Dabi getting sucked back into the world between doesn’t bother him very much. As far as potential conjurer assassins go, you think Nemuri’s most likely to do the deed. She’s stronger than Dabi is, and unlike Tomura, she’s free to move around the neighborhood. Likely as not, she’ll deal with the conjurer, and the rest of you won’t have anything to do at all.

At least, that’s what you’re hoping. You believe everyone when they talk about how strong Tomura is. You doubt there are many ghosts who could go up against him and win. But you remember what Mr. Yagi said about conjurers drawing power from the world between through multiple conduits, and you remember what Aizawa said about who usually wins in clashes between ghosts and conjurers of equal or greater power. Tomura could face one ghost. Maybe even ten. But twenty, or fifty, or a hundred? You don’t see how it could work, and you don’t know how many ghosts Garaki has left to draw from.

As terrible as it feels to admit, you’re okay with sacrificing Nemuri. When it comes down to it, you’d sacrifice Dabi, too, although you wouldn’t like upsetting Keigo. It’s Tomura you don’t want to lose. He’s got a lot of strength, but he’s never used it. With that in mind, you find yourself going to Hizashi for help for the second time in the last twenty-four hours.

You find him ransacking your garden shed for makeshift weapons. He doesn’t notice you, and you take the opportunity to scare him for once, something you regret doing the instant you hear the earsplitting shriek he lets out. Inside the house, Phantom howls. “What do you want, human?” Hizashi snaps, red in the face. “Don’t you have more plants to buy?”

“Not right now,” you say. Nemuri told you to stop bringing them. She and Dabi are maxed out, and if you power Tomura up anymore he might blow up the house. “I know you’ve killed a conjurer before. Have you killed a ghost?”

Hizashi raises an eyebrow. “That’s a personal question.”

“Get over it,” you say, ignoring the affronted sound he makes. “Have you killed a ghost?”

Hizashi glances left, then right, like he’s checking for eavesdroppers. Then he nods. “Good,” you say. “I need you to teach Tomura how.”

“I know how,” Tomura says, indignant. You should have known he’d be listening. “They die the same way anything else does.”

“No, they don’t,” Hizashi says, pointedly avoiding your eyes. “If you try draining another ghost, it won’t work. You’ll just keep sucking up power from the world between, and once you exceed your capacity, you’ll blow apart. It’s a stupid way to die, which would be in-character for you.”

For once, Tomura doesn’t rise to the bait. “So I’ll send power to them. That way they’ll blow up instead of me.”

Hizashi looks surprised, but he shouldn’t be. Tomura catches on fast when he wants to. “Right, but it’s a weird feeling. It’s the opposite of what comes naturally to us. It’s not something you want to try for the first time in the middle of a fight.”

“Then I need somebody to practice on,” Tomura decides. He raises his voice. “Hey, idiot –”

“No,” Hizashi says as Dabi shouts back from across the street, calling Tomura something unrepeatable. “Dabi and Nem are both maxed out. You can’t use them.”

“What about Shirakumo?” you suggest. “If we could get rid of the ghost –”

“That ghost is my friend, and separating them like that could kill them both,” Hizashi snaps. He turns away from you and begins to pace back and forth in front of the shed. “If you really want to practice, you gloomy brat – not that you’ll need it, Nem will handle most of this before Garaki clears the top of the street – there’s only one way to do it. And you’re not going to like it.”

Tomura’s influence deepens, so dark and threatening that even you can feel it. “That’s not an option.”

“That’s your only option. You can’t practice on a live ghost, and there’s only one person on the planet you care enough about hurting to make this even slightly safe,” Hizashi says, and it clicks into place for you. “Ghostly energy doesn’t affect them the same as it affects us, and you need to get used to the sensation of discharging power.”

“I’ve done it before. When I fucked up the fence.”

“By accident. You need to do it on purpose.” Hizashi lowers his voice, and you can tell he’s trying to sound reassuring. “You don’t need to use a lot, and even if you overdo it by accident, it won’t hurt her. She’ll glow in the dark until it burns off, but that’s it.”

“No.”

“Yes,” you say. You’re not sure how much you trust Hizashi, but you’re damn sure that Tomura needs to know how to fight properly. “It’s fine. Let’s do it.”

“No!” Tomura’s voice is sharp and angry. “Don’t be stupid. I’ll use his human.”

“You don’t give a shit about my human,” Hizashi snaps. “I don’t trust you with him. To be honest, I don’t trust you with her. I don’t even trust you with that dog. But you need to learn, and if she’s okay with it –”

He breaks off midsentence. For a second you wonder if Tomura’s silenced him somehow, but then you see the way Hizashi’s making eye contact with empty space and realize that he and Tomura are talking. It takes you a second to grasp the implications, and once you do, unease uncoils in the pit of your stomach. Tomura changed the mode of communication. Whatever he and Hizashi are talking about, it’s not something he wants you to hear.

The silent part of the conversation ends when Hizashi shakes his head. “Tough shit,” he says out loud. “If you want to win against whatever’s coming here tonight, this is how it has to be.”

Tomura materializes slower than you’ve ever seen him do it. “Good,” Hizashi says. He looks to you. “Hold your hand out.”

You extend your hand and Tomura takes it. His hand is cold, like always, but it’s shaky in a way that makes you worried. “It’s okay,” you say.

Tomura won’t look at you. “Shut up.”

“It’s time,” Hizashi says. “Take the smallest amount of power you can and deliberately push it out. It’s going to feel unnatural to you, but remember, it’s not going to hurt her.”

Tomura’s eyes are closed, concentrating. You see Hizashi waving his hand in your peripheral vision, and you glance at him in time to see him mouth two words, then raise a finger to his lips. He’s sorry. He’s saying he’s sorry, and shushing you – and then a rush of cold sweeps over you, obliterating every thought and feeling in its path except one. Pain.

Hizashi lied. You know why he lied. You’ve got no idea how he successfully lied to Tomura, or if he lied at all and Tomura decided that learning to fight was worth hurting you. You decided it was, didn’t you? That’s why you volunteered. That’s why you feel like razor-sharp shards of ice are piercing through every last nerve in your body.

But that’s not the only thing you feel. Your own feelings might be gone, but in their place there’s something else – a vast, yawning emptiness, unfathomably deep and dark. Other emotions waver at its edge, confusion and hurt and fear, and slowly but surely they’re being dragged down into the black hole at the center of it all. Loneliness, or hopelessness. In Tomura’s world, they’re one and the same. That’s what this is, what these are. This is Tomura’s power. This is how he feels.

The cold dissipates suddenly, and you hear Hizashi’s voice addressing Tomura. “I’m guessing that’s all the control you’re capable of exerting. How did that feel?”

Tomura’s voice sounds strange. “You’re sure it doesn’t hurt her?”

“Definitely,” Hizashi says. You blink hard, trying to clear your vision. “Ask her. Go ahead.”

Hizashi’s at least a little bit of a sadist. “I’m fine,” you say before Tomura can ask. “Just a little cold.”

“Let’s go again,” Hizashi says, and you revise your assessment from “a little bit of a sadist” to “fully sadistic”. “One time’s a fluke. Let’s see if you can replicate it.”

It’s worse this time, because you know what’s coming. The pain is bad enough, but you’re afraid of seeing what you saw before – that glimpse into Tomura’s feelings rattled your mind more than you want to admit. You keep your eyes open this time, and instead of feeling, you see. You’re not seeing your world through Tomura’s eyes. You’re seeing through Tomura’s eyes, back into the world he came from. The world between.

You can’t grasp it, not all the way. Trying feels like it’s twisting your mind apart. There’s no light, no direction, no up or down or left or right; no landmarks to work from, no wind to push in one direction or the other – but you can feel at the same time that there are features, structures, humming cities that you can perceive but not see. The world between is empty and boiling with life at once, a different kind of life than you can grasp, a different kind than you can understand. If you wanted to understand it. You don’t. All you want is for it to stop.

“Ease off,” you hear Hizashi say, and the world between disappears from your sight. Tomura’s all that’s in your field of vision now. “Was it easier this time?”

Tomura nods, but he’s looking at you. “We can stop now. I know how to do it.”

“One more time,” Hizashi says. He’s getting off on this. He has to be. “Prove to me that you’ve got it.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Tomura’s grip on your hand tightens, and it happens again.

You shut your eyes this time. As much as you don’t want to see into Tomura’s head, you’d rather look at anything but the world between. This time, when you’re pulled to the edge of the void, you see that it’s not quite as empty as you first thought. There’s a light flickering somewhere down in the darkness. No, two lights. Two tiny lights, small enough to mean almost nothing. But when the other feelings fall into the void, it’s the lights that swallow them. And the lights grow brighter with every scrap of confusion or fear they consume.

You focus on the lights with all your strength, clenching your jaw against the agonized howl that wants to escape. It’s not much protection from the cold and pain, but it’s enough. Enough that when it fades and you open your eyes again, you can tell Tomura that it doesn’t hurt and make him believe you.

Hizashi, pleased with Tomura’s success, heads across the street to teach Dabi the same lesson. He brings you with him. Ostensibly your job is to convince Keigo to let Dabi practice on him, just like Tomura practiced on you, but you’re pretty sure Hizashi has an ulterior motive, and once you’re over Keigo’s property line, he proves you right. “Personally. I don’t give a damn whether Dabi learns this or not. You can’t go back over there until I’m sure you won’t give the game away.”

“So he didn’t know,” you say. “You lied to him.”

“So did you,” Hizashi points out. “I’m glad someone around here can see the big picture.”

You see the big picture, all right. Hizashi pretends his big picture is protecting the neighborhood, but in reality, he’s just like Tomura – except there are three people he really cares about instead of just one. He’ll do what he has to do to keep them safe, and keep himself safe in the bargain. Keigo may not have heard the story about what happens if a ghost kills their own conjurer, but Aizawa and Hizashi have, and Hizashi wants to make sure the duty of killing Garaki falls to anybody but him. If convincing Tomura to torture you and convincing you to keep quiet about it is what it takes for that to happen, Hizashi will do it.

You don’t realize you’re glaring until Hizashi comments on it. “Don’t look at me like that. You could have said no.”

“And then what? Let you push him into a fight he doesn’t know how to win?” You shake your head. A flash of the world between spins through your vision and you almost throw up. “If I tell him what you did, you’re dead. You know that, right?”

Hizashi doesn’t respond to your threat. “How about I tell you what he and I talked about, hmm? We’ll call it even there.”

You really want to know. Besides, there’s no reason you can’t break your promise to Hizashi later. “Tell me.”

“He’s more aware than you give him credit for,” Hizashi says instead. “Not that much more aware, granted, but enough. Enough to tell that the way you feel about him is a lot different than the way he feels about you.”

Your stomach clenches. “That’s not what I asked.”

“He wanted to know if discharging power into you would let you know what we’ve all known for months,” Hizashi says. “I told him of course not. Human minds can’t comprehend us, we’re too complex, all that jazz. I told him not to worry, because there’s absolutely no way that the human girl could possibly find out how much he feels about her.”

Hizashi scoffs. “He knew I was lying, of course. I asked him why he was so spooked – clearly you’re not opposed to it, or you wouldn’t spend so much time having obnoxiously horny ghost sex with him – and he gets quiet all of a sudden. He’s not very bright, your ghost, but that doesn’t mean he’s stupid. You see him as a – what do humans call it? A friend with benefits. He sees you as the only thing in his entire existence that’s ever made him happy. And he thinks that if you find that out, you’ll leave.”

For a moment, your hatred for Hizashi feels strong enough to wipe him off the map. You swallow it with an effort. “So naturally, the first thing you do is tell me the exact thing he didn’t want me to find out.”

“If he embodies himself permanently, we’re fucked,” Hizashi says flatly. “That won’t happen if you leave.”

“You’re fucked? Your conjurer’s dead after tonight. That just leaves his. We don’t even know if his is coming back.”

“You’re not that naïve. You’ve read the same research as I have,” Hizashi says. “His conjurer’s coming back one of these days. He might be planning to punish Tomura, but he’ll take the rest of us down, too. If we don’t have a ghost to stop him.”

“You think Tomura will keep protecting the neighborhood if I’m gone?”

“We don’t need him to actively protect the neighborhood. He does it just by being here and being a ghost,” Hizashi says. “How he feels about it is irrelevant.”

You fight to keep your temper in check, trying to match Hizashi’s cold calculations with your own. You replay all your interactions with Hizashi, all the times he’s scared you on purpose, all the times he’s deliberately made you uncomfortable, all the times he’s tried to provoke Tomura into acting like the kind of ghost he’s supposed to be. “You’ve wanted me gone since I moved in,” you say. “This is why, isn’t it?”

Hizashi does you the minor courtesy of not lying to you. “When you lasted longer than three weeks in that house, I saw the writing on the wall. Shou said I was being ridiculous, but I know ghosts like yours. I was a ghost like yours. All the power in the world doesn’t matter if there’s nothing you want enough to use it. And once you do, it’s over.”

He looks at you without a hint of remorse in his face. “My family is on the line here, and I’ll do anything to keep them safe. You wouldn’t understand what that means.”

Your stomach lurches. “Shut up.”

“I did some research of my own. Your backstory’s not tragic, it’s just pathetic. Mommy and Daddy didn’t love you enough, and nobody else liked you all that much, so you move in here and act like you belong.” Hizashi laughs, cold and cruel, and you feel your eyes well up. “If you think anyone here will miss you, you’re wrong. We were all happier when that house was empty.”

Some part of you knows Hizashi is lying. Most of you knows it, because if you were in his spot, you’d probably do the same thing – pinpoint the problem and do whatever you had to in order to get rid of it. Most of you knows that somewhere underneath this cruelty, Hizashi’s scared shitless. His conjurer’s gunning for him, he’s lost most of his powers, and his family’s in the line of fire. Knowing all that doesn’t change how it feels to hear him target every last one of your deepest insecurities, every agonizing thought you’ve ever tried to push aside. You’re one wrong move away from bursting into tears on Keigo’s front lawn.

You hold it together. It takes everything you have, but you do. “Did it feel good to get that off your chest?”

“It’s not personal,” Hizashi says, which puts the final nail in the question of whether ghosts are capable of lying. “I’d say good luck out there, but you survived here long enough. You won’t need it.”

Someone calls out to you from across the street, and you look over to find Aizawa on your porch. “We need some plants kept in reserve, in case the ghosts burn through more power than expected. Are there any nurseries you haven’t checked?”

“A few,” you say. Aizawa’s eyesight isn’t great. There’s no way he’ll be able to see the look on your face. “I’ll go right now.”

“We’ll Venmo you,” Hizashi says, patting your shoulder. If you thought you could get away with it, you’d break his hand. “I’ve been doing lots of gardening these days. I know plants aren’t cheap.”

“Thanks.” You force the words out around a smile, hop Keigo’s property line, and head for your car at high speed.

You make it out of the neighborhood. Quite a ways out of the neighborhood. You make it at least halfway to the next nursery on your list before you start crying too hard to drive. You pull over, put your hazard lights on, and double over with your head against the steering wheel. Your head hurts and you’re freezing cold and your stomach turns every time you think about what you saw in Tomura’s head – and worse every time Hizashi’s words sink into your chest. You’ve never felt this sick in your life. You want to die.

Your phone is ringing. You don’t care who it is, but whoever it is keeps calling, and when you pick it up to silence it, you see that it’s Aizawa. You text him, trying not to sound like you’re a) crying yourself to death and b) plotting the murder of his husband. I’m busy.

Tomura wants to talk to you. The phone rings again. This time you pick up. “Hi.”

“What did he do?” Tomura’s voice is full of cold rage, and your heart sinks. “I saw your face and I felt what he’s feeling, so I want to know what he did. That way he’ll know why I’m killing his human when I do it.”

“No,” you say. Your voice sounds awful – not calm and collected like you want to be, but sick and miserable and lonely. Like you got your feelings hurt exactly as much as Tomura thinks you did, which isn’t great when you’re trying to convince Tomura that it’s fine. “Tomura, don’t. Please. It’s not worth it.”

“He wants you to leave me. He made you leave.” Tomura sounds like he’s pacing. You try to pinpoint where he is in the house, but can’t. “I can take away his human, too.”

“Please don’t,” you say again. You just wanted to cry yourself out in peace. Why couldn’t you just do that? You grit your teeth and make a threat you never wanted to make again. “If you hurt Aizawa or the children to punish Hizashi, I am never coming back to that house.”

“He made you leave –”

“He can’t make me do anything.” Your voice wavers when you think about what Hizashi said, but you repeat yourself anyway. “If you hurt Aizawa or the children, I’m never coming home.”

It’s quiet for a moment. “Why do you care so much about them?” Tomura asks. It occurs to you that Tomura’s got Aizawa’s phone, that Aizawa’s probably sitting there listening to you try to talk Tomura out of killing him. “Why don’t you want to pay him back?”

“Because it’s not their fault,” you say. You’re pretty sure Aizawa wasn’t in on Hizashi’s little torture session, and you know for sure the kids weren’t. “They’re good people, Tomura. They’ve been kind to me, and even if they weren’t, they don’t deserve to die because Hizashi mouthed off.”

“He made you cry,” Tomura says. It’s quiet for a second. “I didn’t know you did that.”

You always cry in the shower when you cry at home. You’ve been doing that since you were little, and the memory of Hizashi’s taunt – Mommy and Daddy didn’t love you enough – blasts apart what little composure you’ve gained. You press your hand against your mouth, trying to stifle your tears. Tomura snarls, and you force yourself to speak. “Please don’t do what you’re thinking of doing. It won’t fix anything. It will make me feel worse if you do.”

“Fine.” Tomura’s voice is still icy. You wish you could drive home, drag him into the passenger seat, and drive around until he’s calmed down. You’re scared of what will happen when you hang up, and worse when you hear his voice, speaking to Aizawa. “You’re only alive because that’s what my human wants.”

“Understood.” Aizawa’s voice is steady, and when he speaks again, it’s clear that the phone’s back in his possession. “Go get the plants and come back. Everything here is fine.”

“Um –” You cough into your elbow, make some kind of godawful snuffling sound into your sleeve. “I’m sorry. About Tomura. That’s not okay. He shouldn’t –”

“You have as much control over Tomura’s behavior as I do over Hizashi’s.” Aizawa’s voice takes on a dangerous note, and for a split second you actually feel bad for Hizashi. “Get the plants and come back, quickly. The children’s bus is here, and it’ll be dark soon.”

You cough a few more times. “Right. I’ll hurry,” you say. Something occurs to you. “If he starts acting scary, get out of there. I’ll deal with it when I get back.”

“I’m past the property line. My husband and I need to have a conversation.”

Whatever conversation the two of them are about to have, you don’t want to be anywhere near it. You hang up the phone, blink a few times to clear your vision, and switch your hazard lights off before pulling back onto the road.

You do your best to calm down before you get to the nursery, but you know you look like you’ve been crying your eyes out anyway. There’s nothing you can do about that right now. You browse through the nursery, searching for plants you know are invasive, choosing the largest and healthiest ones, trying to focus on the task at hand. But Hizashi’s words hit home, as much as you didn’t want them to. Even thinking about hitting him with a shovel doesn’t make you feel much better, and the longer you dwell on it, the worse it gets, until you’re sniffling and wiping your eyes again in the middle of the tropical plants aisle.

“Are you all right?”

It’s a man’s voice. You’ve always been a little wary of men who approach crying women in public. “I’m fine,” you say blindly. “Um. Everything’s fine. I just –”

“Here.” The man, whoever he is, pushes a handkerchief into your field of vision, and you seize it, just to avoid wiping your eyes and nose on your sleeve. “You can keep that. I have plenty.”

“Thank you,” you say, and mean it. And then you feel like you’ve got to explain yourself. “I really am fine. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

“That makes everything more difficult,” the man agrees. You peer up at him and discover that he’s around the same age as Mr. Yagi. The same height, too. “I doubt that’s all it is, though. Whoever made you so upset ought to feel ashamed of himself.”

You have a few problems with that statement, mainly with the assumption that you’re upset over a man, even if it’s true. But this man is being kind to you. You’re not immune to kindness. “That’s quite a lot of plants you’ve got there,” the man continues. “Are you a gardener?”

“I’ve got a garden. I don’t know if I can call myself a gardener,” you say. “What about you?”

“Oh, it’s been many years since I was settled enough to have a garden,” the man says, and laughs. “But I’ve planted many trees. It’s always interesting to check back and see what they’ve grown into. Some of them are magnificent. Others need a little – assistance.”

“I’ll remember that if I ever get into planting trees.” You wipe your eyes again, then glance down at the mess you’ve made of the handkerchief. “I really am sorry about this.”

“It’s no trouble. And it’s yours. If we should ever cross paths again, you can return it to me then.” The man inclines his head, then starts off down the aisle, heading for the saplings at the far end. You add one more plant to your wagon and make your way to the cash register.

You feel better after meeting the man. If a stranger thinks you’re worth being kind to, then it’s easier to believe in the kindness of your neighbors, who actually know you. By the time you reach the neighborhood again, the puffiness around your eyes has mostly gone down, and you feel ready to confront Hizashi. You’re not sure what you want to say when you confront him. “Fuck off” feels appropriate, but some part of you also wants to remind him that Tomura’s more than able and more than willing to return whatever insult Hizashi levels at you towards his own family.  But that’s shitty. You know it’s shitty. You’ll be better off telling Hizashi the truth: This is your neighborhood, too. And you’re not leaving.

When you get back, though, you realize there’s no need to confront Hizashi at all. Aizawa’s already doing it, or something similar. They’re both on Keigo’s lawn, standing a few feet apart, voices too quiet to hear from your side of the street. Hizashi looks mulish, defensive, sulky – just like Tomura looks sometimes, when he’s accepted that you get to be mad about something but still thinks it’s stupid. If Aizawa looked at you with the same expression he’s aiming at Hizashi, you’d run for your life.

“Hey,” someone hisses as you get out of your car. You look up and find Shinsou staring at you from the other side. He looks alarmed. “What the hell happened? My dads are fighting. I’ve never seen them fight. Dabi’s been texting me updates and he says they’re fighting about you!”

Dabi’s an asshole, and also a liar. You have a feeling that Aizawa’s upset less because of what Hizashi said and more because of Tomura’s reaction to it. But Aizawa’s clearly not worried enough about Tomura’s reaction to keep his kids away from the shelter provided by the house. Shinsou came down to talk to you from the porch. Eri’s still up there, on the swing, and she’s playing a game with somebody. At first you think it’s Nemuri. Then you see Nemuri up the street, talking to Magne, and you realize that Eri’s playing a game with Tomura.

You need to check on that. You need to check on that immediately. You skid around Shinsou and book it up the steps, only to find Eri sitting in the swing and Tomura sitting on the ground, a collection of facedown cards spread out between them. You recognize the cards. In fact, you’re pretty sure this game came from inside your house. It was one of the few things you managed to rescue when your parents downsized while you were in college. “Uh, is that the Rainbow Fish matching game?”

“It’s so pretty,” Eri says, smiling up at you. “Toshi won’t play with me but Tomura said he would.”

Tomura looks sort of like he’s regretting it. “How come it’s still your turn?”

“If you make a match, you get to try again. And you keep trying until you don’t get one.” You study Eri’s pileup of cards. She’s really good at this. “So it’ll be your turn when Eri misses one.”

In talking to you, Eri lost focus. She misses her next match, and Tomura promptly racks up eight matches in a row. You cringe, wishing he’d let Eri win like adults are supposed to do with kids, but Eri’s more pleased with the result than he is. “I knew you’d be good at this,” she crows. “You got the shells and the rainbow fish –”

“That’s not hard. There are ten of them.” Tomura looks sort of pleased with himself, and you wonder at how quickly he’s calmed down. Maybe it wasn’t actually that quick – you were gone for about an hour – but his control over his temper is shaky at best. You’d have expected to find the entire house vibrating with fury, not to find him sitting quietly and playing a kid’s game with the youngest ghost in the neighborhood, who also happens to be the daughter of the ghost who pissed him off in the first place.

He looks up at you. “Are you going to watch?”

“I have to move the plants.”

“I’ll move the plants. Me and Keigo,” Shinsou says hastily. Keigo pops up next to him, looking like he’s been through a war. You don’t even want to know what it’s like inside Keigo’s house right now. “You stay here.”

Shinsou clearly doesn’t trust Tomura’s unusual calmness any more than you do. You nod in thanks and settle down next to Tomura on the porch, only to hop up again to retrieve Phantom when she whines from inside the house. You hold her in your lap so she won’t run through the cards and scatter them, scratching her ears and watching the game. Eri and Tomura are playing with equal amounts of seriousness, which looks unbelievably funny. The two of them look enough alike with their grey-tinted hair and red eyes that they could almost be siblings. Eri’s pleased whenever Tomura gets a match, and after a few rounds of being congratulated every time he finds two of the same card, Tomura congratulates her on a match in response. It’s not much of a congratulations, but Eri beams at him like he’s just handed her a gold star.

Eri wins by one match, and although you’re worried he won’t, Tomura offers her a grudging congratulations. “Nice game.”

“Do you want to play again?” Eri asks eagerly. “I bet you’ll beat me this time.”

“I’ll play with you, Eri,” Himiko calls from outside the fence. “If Tomura lets me in.”

You think Tomura will say no, but it turns out that Tomura’s so desperate to get away from the Rainbow Fish matching game that he’ll say yes to just about anything. “That game is stupid,” he mutters once you’re both inside and out of earshot. “You actually liked that?”

“When I was a kid.” You were good at memory games, and you liked how pretty the cards were. But you’ve got a bigger problem than what Tomura thinks of a card game you played as a kid. “Why are you so calm? On the phone –”

“I don’t mess with other people’s humans. I’m not like him.” Tomura’s voice takes on that icy note again. He’s glaring out the front window. You wonder if he can hear what they’re arguing about. “You said it would make you feel worse if I hurt them. And last night you said you were scared the first time because you didn’t know what I’d do when I got angry. Me getting angry makes you feel worse. So I stopped.”

“Just like that?”

“It wasn’t easy,” Tomura says, insulted. “The kid said she knows how it feels to want to hurt people who make her human sad, so I asked her what she does to not kill everyone who makes her human sad. She said she has to do something else. So we played that stupid game.”

You’ve been searching for the right word to describe the scene you just watched unfold. “It was cute.”

“I thought I was pretty.”

“You are,” you say. “But that – you playing a game with her – was cute.”

Tomura’s nose wrinkles. “What does that mean?”

“It means –” Now that you think about it, cute is hard to define. “It makes you feel nice to look at. Warm. Happy. People react to babies that way a lot. Or dogs.”

“So that’s what it was,” Tomura says. You look questioningly at him. “The thing that happened when I saw you and Phantom. Cute.”

He’s talking about the day you moved in. You didn’t even know you had something in your house, much less what it was, and you thought Tomura was just as indifferent as you were. But what he just said – that means he wasn’t. And that means this all started a lot earlier than you thought it did. Hizashi’s words drift through your head, not his insults but something worse: He sees you as the only thing in his entire existence that’s ever made him happy.

Fine. If that’s how it’s going to be, you’ll take it. This is the only place in your entire life that’s ever felt like home.

“Hey,” you say, and Tomura looks at you. “Do you have enough energy stored up to stay materialized?”

“Yeah. Why?”

He probably thinks you’re angling for a hookup, but that’s not what you want. You step forward, closing the space between the two of you, and wrap your arms around him. The two of you are close in height. Your forehead is level with his chin, so you turn your head to the side, resting it against his shoulder. The same place he rested his head all of last night, until the sun came up and you set off on your mission to buy every invasive plant within twenty miles of here.

You’re expecting Tomura to complain, and you’re ready to fire back that it’s your turn, but he keeps quiet. His arms wrap around you in return, and the two of you stand there, each of you holding tight to something that could vanish easily from your grip, as the sun sinks and the neighborhood drowns in dusk, then sunset, and finally full dark.

[herearedragons]

Cold Water (chapter 5: Worth It)

AO3 | chapter 1

Spoiler warning: spoilers for The White March.

They’re putting out the last embers of the bonfire when something possesses him to ask her:

“Hey, Selene... Remember Cayron’s Scar?”

Maybe it’s just his imagination, but it’s like the air itself changes once the words leave his mouth; it’s almost like they’re back in Ondra’s ghostly sea again, in the dark and cold.

Selene stands still and silent for a full second. Then, she says:

“What about it?”

Her expression doesn’t change much, but Edèr can hear in her voice that she’s bracing for impact.

“Well,” he says, “We just never talked about it, is all.”

The embers have all gone out; the only light they have is Selene’s. When she meets his eyes, her pupils burn two dark dots into his vision.

“It was bad. I almost - we almost lost you. I’m glad we didn’t. If we did…” She looks away, towards the house. “...Well, I wouldn’t be taking dance lessons in your backyard, that’s for sure.”

It sounds like that was supposed to be a joke, but her heart’s not in it; her voice rings hollow.

She looks at him again.

“Why are you asking me about this?”

It’s a damn good question, and he wishes he knew the answer. It’s on his mind for some reason, and maybe it has something to do with his plans for tomorrow night, or maybe it’s just one of those thoughts that pop up when you least expect them.

So he answers honestly:

“I don’t know.”

They stand in silence for a couple of seconds. Then, Selene nods shortly, and says:

“Alright.”

She turns away to gather up their cups; Edèr watches her do it. It’s hard to tell if she’s mad at him or upset about something else, but it isn't like her to give up on a conversation like that.

Did he stumble into something important by chance? 

“...Selene?”

She turns around.

“It still troubles you, doesn't it?" he asks. "What happened back then."

Her posture deflates a little; some of the guard she’s put up goes away. She doesn’t seem relieved, though; just tired.

“Want to hear a secret?” she asks.

“‘Course.”

“I’m scared that she’ll try again,” Selene says. “I think I’ll be scared of that for the rest of my life.”

Her voice catches a little at the end of that sentence; she stands there for a moment staring at the cups in her hands, and her lips press together in a way that tells him she’s trying hard to keep a straight face.

It is important - and he’s not sure he would’ve gotten it out of her under different circumstances. Something about all the dancing and laughing and standing together in the dark made this moment right.

“Well, if you ask me,” Edèr says, “It’d be mighty brave of her to try again. Not sure a god’s ego can survive what you did to her twice.”

She smiles, a little. It’s not a very happy smile.

“I didn’t do anything to her. I was in the right place at the right time - it was a miracle.”

He shrugs:

“It got you this far, didn’t it?”

Selene presses her lips together again. It’s like she’s trying to keep some words from getting out; something she doesn’t want him to hear.

“If it was just about me, I would have taken those odds,” she says finally. “I’ve evaded her for almost four decades; that’s four more than I was supposed to have. But it wasn’t about me, was it? It was you down there, and, Edèr - had you - died then, I never would have let that go. I would have done something horrible. I don’t know what, I just know that - ” she exhales, frustrated, looking for words - “I know that there are very few people I can get along with, and there’s no one else like you, and - I can’t lose that.”

She falls silent, and he just stands there staring at her, trying to wrap his head around everything she just said, knowing that he’s running out of time to say something before the silence gets weird.

He needs to say something. Anything. Now - 

“Will you be mad if I say it still would've been worth it?”

Her expression is impossible to read. It’s all dark eyes and glowing shapes and she doesn’t say anything and part of his brain is still busy thinking about the way she just said his name and everything that came after that.

So he just keeps going.

“'Cause it would,” he says. “Mind you, I’m glad to be alive still - but I’d rather have you alive and angry as all Hel than gone.”

Selene stares at him with that weird expression for a moment longer, and then looks away and… sniffles? And then she wipes her eyes with the back of her hand.

She’s crying?

Oh gods, he made her cry. That never happens - this is bad - he made it worse - 

“This doesn’t change anything,” she says, “...But it matters. To me. That you said that. Gods.” She brushes both hands over her face, wiping away more tears. “...I’m sorry. I - I still don’t know why you’re talking about this, but I’m not going to dig in your thoughts to find out. I just - I’m really glad that you’re here, alright? That’s all that matters about Cayron’s Scar. That we both made it.”

Her voice sounds a little thick and shaky and she has this small crooked smile on her face now.

Her tears glow. He forgot that they do that.

"I'm glad you're here, too," Edèr says.

He almost says more, but doesn't. Doesn't feel right; not like this, not while she's crying.

Selene nods and takes a deep breath, collecting herself.

Tomorrow night, he tells himself. Tomorrow night, for sure.

That night, he loses way too much sleep to staring at the ceiling and thinking about Selene's voice saying there's no one else like you.

[1-800-local-slut]

With a Heavy Heart- Chapter 3

𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃ℊ𝓈： 𝓈𝓉ℯ𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓃ℊ， 𝓋𝒾ℴ𝓁ℯ𝓃𝒸ℯ 𝒯𝒲： 𝒥*𝒽𝓃 𝒲𝒾𝓃𝒸****ℯ𝓇， 𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓁𝒹 𝒶𝒷𝓊𝓈ℯ （𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓁𝒹 𝓃ℯℊ𝓁ℯ𝒸𝓉， 𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓁𝒹 𝒶𝒷𝒶𝓃𝒹ℴ𝓃𝓂ℯ𝓃𝓉）, 𝒶𝓃ℊ𝓈𝓉，𝓈𝓂ℴ𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔，𝓂ℴ𝓃𝓈𝓉ℯ𝓇𝓈，𝓁𝒾𝓉ℯ𝓇𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝓊𝓇𝒹ℯ𝓇 𝓁ℴ𝓁， 𝒥ℴ𝒽𝓃’𝓈 𝒶 𝒷𝒶𝒹 𝓅𝒶𝓇ℯ𝓃𝓉 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓌ℯ 𝒶𝓁𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝓀𝓃ℯ𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉，𝓂ℴ𝓂𝓂𝓎 𝒾𝓈𝓈𝓊ℯ𝓈

༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻༺༻

August 16th, 1997

Dear diary- It’s been awhile, I know. But I have a lot to tell you, and I hope you're ready to hear about it. So to start off, mom’s been letting me take solos. I only take small , simple ones close to hers. I can’t hunt with her, she’s either always rushing or always in my way. The older I get it, the more it seems like my mom and I should just go our separate ways. This new system has been helping, she just gives me a few hundred dollars, a bus ticket, and sends me on my way if we’re out of state on spring break or something. Then she’ll call me when it's time for us to leave and meet me at whatever shitty diner she picks. I think when I get my own car though, (i’ve been saving up), I probably won’t see her anymore. Or at least not as often.

There won’t be much keeping me attached to her other than her being my mom. That’s starting to lose meaning in itself. Maybe I should wait until I’m 18. I’m going into my senior year, and I’ll take some time off to sort myself out. I don’t want to enter university to early. Two years off won’t really do anything, and once I turn 17 I’ll start applying to colleges. Or I’ll do online. I saw it on the news a few years ago, 1989, University of Phoenix started an online university. I have the proper grades and credentials to get into a good school and thanks to my stubbornness, I was able to stay in Maryland for school all four years. She also leaves me home alone most times. Said she couldn’t stay tied down in one state for too long. That’s her business though. I think she’s been gone for three weeks, right now she’s hunting a wraith in Wyoming. Then afterwards, she has a banshee in Florida. She won’t be back for a while.

She said her only rules are not to let anyone in at night, and keep an eye on any guest I have during the day. We’ve been staying at my Aunt Lacy’s house, she gave it to my mom when my mom told her we were moving here for school. Aunt Lacy left her car here too, but I don’t drive it often. I don’t have my license and I really do have to stay out of trouble here so I usually walk or catch a bus anywhere I need to go.

I like the house. It’s big, we have tons of space, I get my own room and my own room to do research for my cases. There are two guest rooms as well, I’ve been storing stuff in them though. My mom has never been big on research but she’ll do it if she has too or if she’s in the mood. I like research. It’s easy, and makes sense. I have broken her rules though.

Whenever Dean’s in Maryland or passing through, I let him stay here. He comes to visit me whenever he has the chance. Every time he leaves, it's like one of those movies where the woman sends her lover off to war. I don’t feel bad about breaking my moms rules. I personally feel like it’s not her business what I do. She literally chooses not to be here, it’s not like she’ll know. That’s the next thing I have to tell you! Dean’s bus gets here in a few hours, 7:30 in the morning. I’m excited. When Dean comes, it’s like my own little slice of peace in the world. He’s so sweet with me. He takes away the loneliness for just a few days.

Something else that helps with the loneliness is that mom let me get a cat. He was a stray kitten we found in Tallahassee on our move up here. We fought and I ran away over him, because I couldn’t take being alone anymore. She found me and let me keep him. His name is Salem. Salem Grim. I named him after the cat from Sabrina but I feel like the name fits.

He likes to come with me on my nightwalks and when I visit the cemetery. I’ve been going to visit grandpa every now and again. One issue with Salem is that he keeps trying to eat my cigarettes if he gets into my purse. He hasn’t succeeded in the three times I caught him trying.

 Speaking of those, I lost my cigarettes on the bus ride back from my last hunt. I noticed after dinner. I think they fell out of my purse when the driver swerved like a fucking crazy person and I smacked my head on the window. On the bright side, Dean can get them for me when he’s here and I won’t have to steal them from the convenience store. He's finally old enough to look 21 for his fake ID, John won't even bother him about drinking too much anymore either.

And let’s talk about Dean. He gets more and more handsome everytime I see him. I think I have a crush on him, but honestly? I don’t feel like dealing with that. I don’t think I’m ready. I have enough issues of my own to work through, and Dean’s too emotionally constipated to work through his own issues. He has a new girlfriend in every state. I have my own steady trail of broken hearts (plus if I flirt with Maya's older brother enough he'll get me all the cigarettes and hard liquor I want). Plus I don't want to confess then end up looking fucking stupid!

Would he even be loyal if he knew how I felt about him? He cheated on his last girlfriend (who cursed him out when she caught him and honestly she was right but I won’t tell him that) and even though sometimes it feels like he looks at me like I’m the only girl in the world that might not mean anything to him.

I’ll have to hit the grocery store when Dean comes by, he’ll drive in Lacy’s car for me  (I love when Dean drives me around, and does all the heavy lifting. It’s hot) and we’ll go together. I love that part of his visits when he gets to stay here for a while. I’m gonna head to sleep, I have to get him from the bus stop early in the morning. I’ll write more tomorrow.

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Dean stepped off the bus, the warm air touching his skin and he clutched his backpack. He squinted through the sunlight, and glanced around looking for his friend. Friend seemed like a bit of an insult these days considering his feelings, but he shook those thoughts from his head. All Dean was really worried about was getting into her nice, air conditioned house and away from the heat of the Sun.

He walked onto the sidewalk, and noticed a cherry red car across the street with the lovely lady he’s spent so much of his time with but not enough in his opinion. She was leaning against her aunt's cherry red 1969 Mustang convertible. God, she looked better every time he saw her. She had on a pair of cheetah print sunglasses and was chewing on a piece of gum.

He smiled at her, and jogged across the street to meet up with her. 

“Hey sweetheart.” With a coy smile matching his own, she pushed off the car and pulled him into a hug. He felt a pair of soft lips touch his neck right on his pulse. Good God. Part of him hoped she left a stain. He suppressed a pleased hum. Dean took a small chance and slid his hands down her waist. After a few seconds the two pulled apart. 

“How was your bus ride?” She asked him, walking around to the other side of the car and hopping over the door into the passenger's seat. Dean giggled, knowing she’d always let him drive. He liked it that way, it made him feel like he was her man. Even though he was 99.99% sure it was just because he had an actual license, he'd let himself be delusional. He liked his little rendezvous to Maryland. While he didn’t personally like the state, he liked who was in it.

“It was alright. I’m coming in from Maine so it was a bitch and a half getting here. Dad and Sammy are gonna head to Illinois but dad sent me to handle what’s been terrorizing y’all here in the Old Line state.” Dean responded, throwing his bags into the back seat. Right now he was just on a regular ghost hunt, a salt and burn. It’d take him a few days to deal with, but he was gonna stay for about a week. Even if he had to lie to his dad, which he was definitely about to do.

He liked having a place to return too with food in it that wasn’t a shitty motel. He liked having someone walking around in his t-shirts and flannel shirts, cooking breakfast and doing laundry. You know, instead of the three times it sometimes takes him and Sam to do their laundry correctly.

All he had to do was take out the trash at night, wash up the dishes, maybe cut the grass, and do manual labor. He literally does way harder work than that everyday. In return, he got to cuddle up next too the girl of his dreams every night. No other girl in any other state could compare to her. Sure there were a lot, but in each of them he looked for her. In each of them, he’d look for her strong personality, her unbreakable will and some level of the comfort, trust and safety he had with her. And sure he found girls with those traits, but still none of them were her. None of them could ever be her.

“Good. I just got back from a case in Pennsylvania a few days ago. I got jumped by skinwalkers.” She lifted her hair off her shoulder while she slipped her seatbelt on. Dean chuckled, knowing about her hatred of skinwalkers. She said something about them just made her angry, maybe it was the deceit. His eyes stuck to the way her hair framed her beautiful face despite the white bandana she had tied the front of her hair back to keep it from her eyes.

Ever since she stopped wearing her hair in braids all the time, Dean was enamored by her afro. He loved hearing her talk about it too. Learning about the different hair types during a trip to the hair store was strangely the highlight of his week last time he was here. It was big, and as much as she complained about it she also talked about how much she adored her own hair. Dean loved watching her pick her hair out, and comb her hair into braids before sleeping, and put her myriad of products that were in bottles like potions in her hair. He loved the silk texture of her hair ties and bonnets too.

“Is that your way of telling me you’re not riding with me for this one?” She glared at him playfully and then broke out into a smile but the question was a heavy one. Dean knew she hated leaving for hunts in general but, leaving for days plus encountering her least favorite monster? There’s no way she’d want to go find a ghost. He frowned a bit, knowing he’d be alone on the road for at least two days when she was just a few hours away from him. And no one can start a fire faster than her, which was a plus when one needed to light shit on fire.

“It’s my way of saying I will stay in the car and give moral support.” With a large, dramatic grin, Dean playfully rolled his eyes at her smile. Her hair glittered in the sunlight and it matched her beautiful smile. Starting the car, he grabbed the stick shift and reversed the car. 

They cruised down the street making leisure conversation until eventually they pulled up to the gorgeous home. The Sun shone on her skin, painting her a gorgeous sun kissed color. Her lips had gloss on them that Dean just wanted to kiss off. Pulling into the driveway and parking. Dean stepped out first, before he ran around the front of the car.

He popped open the car door for her and she stepped out, uttering a soft ‘thank you’. Handing him his bag, they began to walk up the porch, leaving the car on the street. It would be a few minutes of them in the house before they went to the grocery store, no point reopening the garage. Behind her Dean stopped staring at her from behind for a few minutes, and looked around. The neighborhood was beautiful, one with kids playing up and down the street, some adults rode past on their bikes calling out good mornings. In front of him, the younger huntress called back a good morning to a man on a bike who called out to her.

People knew her here. She had been here long enough for her neighbors to recognize her and wave hello when she got home. Long enough for her neighbors to raise an eyebrow upon seeing Dean go inside with her, clearly knowing it was just her and her mom. Dean felt a pang of jealousy, and another weight settled over him. She had normalcy. Consistency. Neighbors who worried about a strange young man entering her home, who knew that it was just her living in that big house. Who looked out for intruders, out of kindness for their teenage neighbor whose mom was always away working some job that prevented her from being fully present.

The front door unlocked and she pushed it open for Dean. He stepped inside, putting his bag down next to the door. The house was still beautiful, with its usual cozy air. The living room he stood in now was just as welcoming as it was last time he was here.

It was his 18th birthday, with her mom here with his dad and Sammy. They needed help researching a case. That same night Dean snuck out of the guest room and into her room where she left the door unlocked for him. The 16 year old laid on his chest while they watched TV, something simple. He still remembered the comfort her soft pajamas and many sheets gave to his tense muscles. She had asked him, ‘are you scared to turn 18’ and he replied ‘what do I have to be scared of’ and she didn’t answer. Then two hours later, 17 turned to 18 as the clock struck midnight. With a soft kiss to his clothed chest, she wished him a happy birthday.

 January 24th 1997, he laid in the room with her while she snuggled into him. He understood then what he had to be afraid of. Rain poured outside the window, the soft pattering of the rain matched his quickening heartbeat.  He was technically an adult now. He didn’t graduate high school, he didn’t have any other plans with his life that didn’t involve hunting (he honestly gave up quitting long ago but the idea still danced in his brain at times), he didn’t even have a job that gave him money.

What if some day he was given the chance to get out? What would he have then? He wouldn't be able to do anything, as far as the government is aware he just fell off the Earth with his dad and brother after a freak accident that killed his mom. How do you go back into the regular world? Waves of anxiety began to wash over him in just a few seconds and then they were washed away. He felt toned arms squishing him. 

“Happy Birthday, Dean.” She whispered softly. Right. He wasn’t alone. He relaxed his arms and relaxed his tightened grip on her that he didn’t even realize he had. 

“It’ll be okay. You’ll be okay, it’ll work out.” And Dean remembered those words fondly. He remembered how she smiled at him and ran her nails through his hair. That was when. That was the moment when Dean felt his heart swell with comfort and love. She held him through the short waves of panic, and from then Dean knew he wanted no one else in this world. Eventually they drifted off into a calm sleep, and Dean didn’t even wake up to sneak back into his room with his dad and Sammy. For once he let himself sleep in and nothing woke him while he was in her arms. Not Sammy, not his dad, nothing.

Now, Dean was sitting on a soft red porch swing, holding a glass of lemonade.

“Thanks sweetheart. So what’s the agenda for today?” He asked while taking a sip and holding his arm out for her to sit down next to him. She complied, and snuggled into his muscular frame. Dean loved holding her, she always felt like a pillow and smelt like lavender, vanilla and cocoa butter. A muscular arm wrapped around her and she brought her knees up for her chest and pressed her back into his side.

A book was placed down, with a steaming cup of tea on the small table right next to her and her purse right next to it. Wrapping her own arms around her knees Dean admired her face while she thought. Salem jumped up in front of the two and attempted to crawl onto his owner's lap and received head scratches. Dean reached around and gave the loveable cat some affection as well. 

“I was thinking we could hit the grocery store in about an hour, then the deli and the fruit market. I haven’t gone since I came back. Then we can do some research for your case, have dinner and get you set to head out tomorrow.” Of course she thought it all out. One of the many things he loved about her. He nodded and pulled her closer to him while she ran her hands over the fur of Salem.

“Can we get pie?” 

“I already put it on the list. Can you buy me cigarettes?” He hid a smile at hearing she already put his food on the list. It made his heart flutter and he hoped she couldn’t feel it. She frowned and muttered something about sooner rather than later.

“Only if you let me have beers too.” Upon hearing his request she snapped up and turned, slapping him on his chest. 

“Absolutely not! Last time you never finished them. I had to drink four on my own before my mom found them.” Dean laughed at the wagging finger in front of his face. In his defense, last time he had to leave early. John called him, saying Sam came down with a fever and he needed Dean back to help as soon as possible. So he woke her up three days before he planned to leave, told her the news and left to catch a bus to New York.

"Why didn't you just throw them away or give them to one of your friends?" Dean asked through breathless chuckles.

"I panicked and drank them all but then I was drunk and had to just toss the bottles out the window so they'd land in a bush." She laughed, hiding her face in her hands and Dean took special notice to how the Sun caught in her brown eyes. She way her shoulders shook lightly with each inhale.

“You can’t get ‘em without me sweetheart.” With a huff, she then playfully rolled her eyes and went back to leaning against him. Dean was just happy that she relished being around him in any capacity.

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It was dark now. The Sun fully set ten minutes ago, as Dean drove the car filled with groceries down the street. They’d been out all day, getting groceries, trying new food, and when she discovered that Dean only had three pairs of underwear, they went straight to the store to get him some new clothing. Now all they needed to do was pick up dinner, some beers and they’d have themselves a set night. A random song played through the radio. Her eyes were shut in peace while the wind blew across her face. Even at night, the moonlight illuminated her warm skin and kissed her cheeks. 

Returning his focus to the road, Dean continued to drive until he pulled up to a 7-Eleven across the street from a restaurant she told him had some really good Chinese food. Dean didn’t care though, as long as he got food in his body. 

“Get up.” He whispered as he nudged the still girl. He took the chance to stare at her. Her lashes fluttered against her skin and her two toned lips were plump and full. Dean admired her until her eyes quickly shot open. Creepy as shit but he’d let it go.

“Oh are we here?” She asked as she looked at Dean who averted her gaze. 

“We are. Let’s hurry up before the groceries go bad.” Dean repeated his usual habit of opening the door for her and she stepped out. As she laid her head on his shoulder covered in his dads leather jacket, she shook sleep out of her body. Standing still, Dean glanced up at the stars that twinkled through the sky. 

“I’m gonna go order the food. I want Marlboro blacks and nothing else.” With a stretch Dean stuck up a thumb and winked at her. 

“Oooo charming.” She remarked with a teasing smirk while the two separated from the parking lot. Dean entered the 7-Eleven, wandering to the back. He fucked around for five minutes, looking through magazines and CD’s. Then he spent another five debating which slushie he should get and if he even wanted one. He decided against it in the end. He grabbed two six packs of beers, then went up to the cash register. The cashier stared at him with a blank stare that sent a chill through Dean’s spine and activated some bloodlust in him that he only ever got while hunting. Still, it could’ve just been an actual chill. Maybe he was just cold.

“Marlboro blacks.” Dean kept his eyes glued on the woman who blinked up at him for two minutes. Then she broke out into a wild, large smile that allowed Dean to see all of her teeth and gums. He shuddered, as she swung her body around instead of simply turning her neck. Her arms seemed incredibly long, too long and thick for her small body. Like they were trying to change into something else. That certainly wasn’t normal. He licked his lips as his eyes narrowed as he contemplated his choices.

Did he kill it? Interrogate it? As Dean thought, he let his eyes travel to the glass the cigarettes were behind. He was met with purely white eyes in the reflection staring right back at him as a car drove past and the light shone in. Dean’s blood went cold. The woman was no longer smiling, a straight face with deep frown lines, while her long arms opened the display then threw the pack onto the counter behind her.

For a moment Dean was frozen. Completely frozen, which is the number one thing you should never do in an encounter like this. But he had no idea what this was. Did he leave it alone? Did he just run away? Did he say something to it? A few more seconds passed. Suddenly the door opened and in walked his huntress.

“What the fuck is taking you so long?” For some reason she didn’t come inside, but stuck the top part of her body inside.

“Nothing, I was just-” He started as the woman resumed moving around again, and she turned back to face Dean. Her eyes were completely normal and she blinked with a warm smile. 

“I got the food, let’s go.” She was rushing to leave, her mouth set in a deep frown. Dean nodded at her, left 20 dollars on the counter and grabbed a lighter on his way out.

“Thank you! Come again soon!” The ‘woman’ called while the two hunters fled. They made their way back to the car, and Dean didn’t even make sure the door was properly closed before he peeled off into the night, speeding down the empty streets. Glancing back in the rearview mirror, Dean saw two sets of white eyes standing in the street far behind.

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“That bitch was really creepy.” Dean said as he used his chopsticks to eat a piece of chicken.

“The dude I got was weird too. Ain’t nothing normal around here I guess.” She grumbled as she ashed her cigarette and Dean took a sip of his beer.

The two had gotten home, and pulled the car into the garage and unloaded the groceries in silence.  The two took a much needed shower, and Dean saw her putting her hair into four large braids before slipping on a silk bonnet.

Then, after doing the usual nightly routine of locking all the doors and windows, the two were sat in the living room eating dinner while the TV played the weather in the back. A silver hatchet sat next to Dean as he flipped through a book in front of him that was on the coffee table. Next to the huntress's food, was a gun loaded with silver bullets. The two had been reading through the lore now, and realized they had encountered two shape shifters with terrible social skills.

“God, you want one normal night and here come the bums to ruin everything.” She scoffed, taking a drag of her cigarette and blowing out the smoke. She finished eating and opened up her spring rolls, taking a bite out of one before she lifted the book off the table. Folding her legs over the arms of her recliner, she pulled the book into her lap and sighed. Salem once again jumped onto her lap, she pressed a kiss to his forehead and the cat purred, nuzzling his head into his owner. 

“Well, we take care of those two, and you can have all the normal nights you want until the next bottom feeders roll in.” Dean’s green eyes scanned over the page. His brain was unable to focus, feeling fried from all the reading.

“Says here they tend to live in packs.” Read off the young woman but she frowned. Now she had to hunt a pack. Fun. Dean had his own thing, he wouldn’t have time to help her hunt a whole pack. First skinwalkers, and now their freaky ass cousins. With an aggressive sigh, she slammed the book shut and threw it on the floor. It landed with a thud on the rug and she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Aw, don’t pout.” Mocking laughter added to her annoyance. Dean watched her flick her crumbs off her fingers at him. He took his final sip of beer and finished off his first one of the night. He let out a belch with his eyes flickering to her plump lips drinking from the bottle. He shoved a piece of chicken into his mouth and he grinned at her. 

“Let’s look into your ghost guy now.” Dean groaned remembering his own hunt. Son of a bitch, he forgot all about that.

“Ghost AND shape shifters? You should consider moving.” Folding his hands he leaned back against the couch.

“Haha. Come on, I’ll go on my hunt tomorrow, you’ll go on yours and we’ll see each other soon enough.” Dean wasn’t sure when she got up and retrieved her book. But there she was standing over his sitting form with Salem in her hand like he was a baby. Pushing the book into his chest with her free hand, Dean let out a groan of exasperation. 

“Read the book!” She scolded as he began to playfully fight her on the couch. Salem jumped free and Dean took the chance to grab her arms and swing her into his lap.

“No! Read it to me, like a bedtime story.” He pulled her body into his with brute strength and she squealed. 

“Dean no, I have to do my own research!” She was laughing but Dean knew she was right. He rested his chin in the crook of her neck and let out a low grunt. The silk of her bonnet tickling his forehead.

Suddenly the world and his heart beat slowed, and time stopped as they made eye contact. His skin felt warm from the weight of her sitting on him he could notice every little thing. Her breath seemed to hitch, and her eyelashes fluttered.

Dean wanted to slowly, ever so slowly, bring her closer and plant a tender kiss on her lips. It was like this force existed between them, pulling them closer and closer together with each passing second. A The pull felt like it came right from his chest and his eyes wanted to flutter shut on their own for a deep kiss.

Would she hold his face in her hands while he held her hips? Would she turn her body to face his, and place her legs on the side of his? How would she kiss him, slowly? Then, she'd push up against him, and they'd refuse to part for air until totally necessary. His hands would find her thighs and squeeze the soft, doughy flesh and maybe she'd let out a small whimper while he pressed kisses down her neck. Down the front, deeply inhaling her scent and feeling her shudder lightly.

How did they go from playing to suddenly being sucked into their own little world? And how could Dean ever be expected to leave?

She tore her eyes away first and brought her attention back to the book. Right, the book. And the rest of the world. Blinking, Dean was able to clear his mind even if just for two seconds.

Someone had to take care of the two shapeshifters they had encountered tonight as well as the ghost. As much as Dean wanted to kill them himself or even wished he took the chance to fight while he was still in the store, he didn’t. Now he’d probably return to an empty home while she cleared out the shapeshifters.

“Ooorrrr we can go back to the store tonight, kill the shapeshifters, and then tomorrow you can give me that moral support from the car!” He suggested, burying his face in her neck. She rolled her eyes playfully. He should’ve known she wasn’t going to head back out. The  minute they came in she ushered him into the shower, complaining that he smelt like outside and 7-Eleven. She was comfortable in her pajamas and slippers.

“Or, since you’ll miss me so much we can clear out the shifters tomorrow, and then we go do the ghost thing.” Dean’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas. Of course! It was genius! Start up here, catch the two and find their pack if  they were with a pack. In that case, Dean would have to stay and handle them and he’d get to stay with her. If not they’d drive down to Baltimore and get the ghost! Either way they stayed together, it was perfect.

“Of course I’ll help you out sweet heart.” She scoffed and placed her cigarette in his mouth. Taking a drag he exhaled and gave her a toothy grin.

“Okay, let’s head to bed. I leave early for my hunts.” Dean protested as she shut off the TV. When she said early, she without a doubt always meant early. He knows because he remembers the last time everyone was together, and she woke up at 4:30 with her mom for their own hunt and the two were back in time for lunch.

And she stayed true to her word. It was 4:30 when Dean woke up to her rising out the bed, wiggling out of his tight grasp. The two hunters were now in the car, loaded with everything needed to kill a ghost, a shifter, some tupperware containers with lunch (some curry chicken and white rice and he felt honored knowing she remembered his favorite dish of hers) and 4 beers in a cooler. Dean drove silently, the Sun rising as they made their way back to the 7-eleven. At least Dean knew it would be quick. She never had time to converse on her hunts, always preferring to just aim, kill and go back home. Dean could do the interrogating of the other shapeshifter at the food shop. 

“If they aren’t here, I’m gonna give up.” Whispered the girl. Even though it was still incredibly early in the morning, she still looked perfect. Her brown eyes had slight bags under them and she was fidgeting with the ends of the two large braids she neatly plaited her hair into. Her cargo pants slightly twisted around her body and she quickly adjusted them. Pulling up to their location, Dean watched as she pulled out her gun and handed Dean his hatchet.

“You think you’ll need backup?”

“No, a silver bullet and he won’t put up a fight.” Dean found it sexy when she talked like that, all determined and smart. He watched her with a crooked smile and he wet his lips with his tongue. Green eyes scanned her curved figure like they were the last thing they’d ever see. Dean would be very pleased if she was the last thing he ever saw.

“In and out.” He nodded back, feeling the fire pump through his blood that he always got before a hunt. That thrill would never leave Dean, as sick as it was. He was about to do some good, save some lives, and take a few in the process. He watched her cock her gun, as she walked towards the Chinese restaurant and he adjusted his grip on the hatchet, entering the convenience store. Maybe he’d get a slushy on his way out.

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Notes:

And that's part two, I hope you're all enjoying this story so far! Also, weird fact, the title of this was originally 'Apple Pie and Cigarettes' but I kept thinking of Apple Jack from MLP for some reason? It was so weird, cuz I watched that show like 1000s years ago when I was little and I hardly watched it but thats a tiny part of why I changed the title. But part of me really wants to change it back, I liked that title.

Its a way for me to show that Dean and the reader aren't burdened by the weight of the world together, they don't have any expectations together. They can just enjoy themselves with the simple things. They aren't these big serious hunters when their together, their just a normal couple enjoy their vices at the end of the day. Anyways, I'm still considering it <3

Also please let me know if you want to be added to my Dean Winchester taglist or this series taglist in the notes <3

Dean Winchester Taglist:

@roseblue373

@titty-teetee

[thvshusband]

bubba sawyer sfw alphabet ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

a/n: sorry it took so long to post, i’ve been experiencing writers block and was visiting family. i’m getting back to writing :))

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A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

bubba definitely finds your face very attractive! your legs, especially your thighs, are also a personal favorite of his! you find his stomach and his hands very attractive.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why/Why not?)

he definitely wants a family, having a family is all he’s ever known. growing up, his job was to provide for his loved ones so he can’t imagine anything else.

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

she usually is the big spoon, she just wants to make you feel safe. she is a big teddy bear when it comes to cuddling.

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

you guys can’t really go on dates often, but when you’re both able to picking flowers, flicking through fashion magazines, or dancing along to songs on the radio are popular date ideas.

E = Everything (You are my ____ (e.g. my life, my world…)

you are my world.

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

he knew he was in love when he first laid eyes on you. at that point, bubba knew he had to make you his and protect you.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

she is so gentle, she’s too afraid to lose you. she wants to show you how much she loves and cares about you. if she accidentally hurts you physically or hurts your feelings in some way, she’ll show much remorse and make it up to you- she doesn’t want you to leave her.

H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

they intertwine their fingers with yours and caress your hand with their thumb.

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

when he first saw you he thought you were so pretty. when you were kind and gentle to him, he was surprised since nobody has treated him so nice before.

J = Jealous

she gets jealous easily. if she sees you talking to a customer at drayton’s barbecue a certain way that makes it seem like you like them, she babbles very nervously. and you can tell she gets insecure because of how their brothers treat her, she doesn’t feel like she’s good enough, so she’ll need some reassurance.

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

she kisses very passionately. even though bubba had no experience before you, she tried her best to be as loving as she could. she kissed you first :)

L = Love (Who says ‘I love you’ first?)

you said i love you first. it just happen to slip out while you were saying goodnight to them. when they heard you say it, they gurgled something back that sounded like a reciprocated confession.

M = Memory (What’s their favourite memory together?)

your first date with bubba. he had blindfolded you and led you towards you his favorite area of the farm- the dirt clearing in front the beautiful and radiant sunflower field. he puts down the radio down near the both of you and turns it on. he takes off the blindfold and starts dancing with you.

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

bubba always spoils you. she can’t buy anything, but she will ask drayton to get you things. she will also craft gifts from things she found around the house and the field. if she saw something she thinks you would like on a victim, once they’re dead, she’ll wash it off and give it to you.

O = Orange (What colour reminds them of their other half?)

pink, white, and pastel yellow reminds him of your love, like two high schoolers, infatuated with each other.

P = Pet names (What pet names do they use?)

pretty girl, baby, sweetie/sweetheart, and love are his personal favorites when it comes to calling you loving names.

Q = Quaint (What is their favorite non-modern thing?)

the dining table; it’s old, grandpa made it when he was a teen.

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

she loves making doll clothes and accessories for your doll collection and cuddling with you.

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

they cheer you up by making you clothes and giving you flowers. preparing food for you is another way they try to make you feel better and it’s also how they try to make themselves feel better, too. cuddling with you makes the both of you feel a lot better.

T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

he loves talking about his day, Chicken (his pet rooster), you, flowers, and makeup.

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

a nice nap or cuddling session helps him unwind with you, looking at magazines and doing your makeup helps him feel a lot less tense.

V = Vaunt (What do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

she’s very proud of you and shows you off all the time. she can’t believe someone as attractive as you loves someone like her (even though you insist that she’s the most beautiful person you’ve met, it’s hard for her to believe you due to what she grew up hearing from his older brothers).

W = Wedding (When, how?)

you guys got married about a year after you first met. one day, they asked you to cover your eyes. when you were told to open them, they were on their knees with a diamond ring that they took off the ring finger of a victim. you accepted happily and three weeks later you guys had your wedding in front of the sunflower field. you wore bubba’s mom’s wedding dress from fifty years before. it was. a beautiful antique gown with a high lace neckline, lace covering your arms and the top of your cleavage. the test of the gown was big and puffed out at the waist, ivory in color. bubba wore their least dirty suit and blue tie. when they saw you walking down the makeshift aisle, arm in arm with drayton, they tried their best not to cry with happiness. they were finally truly happy with someone.

X = Xylophone (What’s their song?)

starman by david bowie, his favorite song by his role model.

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

yes, they always think of being committed to you. it’s something she’s always wanted-

someone to love and someone who truly loves her, even though she always thought it would never happen.

Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

they already have a pet chicken, but they’ve always wanted a rabbit, and they would name is bubbles :3

[xatsperesso]

Click

That’s all the indication Kazuki needed to know what’s happening. What’s going to happen. He tentatively raised his arms, looking at the wall as if he could see what, or who was behind the wall.

He was there in the times of sorrow. As cold as he was back then, he didn’t leave. He stayed. He didn’t leave. That’s way more than what everyone did, and for that, Kazuki’s grateful.

Grateful that he stayed with him despite everything. Despite all the rules that he forced on him, all the critiquing of the other’s lifestyle, all the stupid decisions fuelled by his gambling addiction.

Sure, Kazuki only thought the other stuck around because of his cooking. Because he cleans the house and takes care of the laundry, but he likes to think that they’re closer now. That he cares now, not just about Kazuki, but about Miri too. That hopefully, with Kazuki out of the picture, he’s going to continue taking care of their little girl.

But Rei has always been hard to read, just like cats. maybe Rei will be fine. After all, they knew this was going to happen one way or another.

Miri isn’t going to like this. She may think that her papa left her like her mom, but she’s still too young. She forgot about her mom pretty quickly, so maybe she’ll forget about him too. Maybe, hopefully, he’ll only be a distant memory for her, so she wouldn’t have to bear the pain of losing someone

He regrets coming here today. He regrets not being prepared enough, that he didn’t put a better plan, didn’t prepare better for the mission, that he agreed on the mission in the first place.

But most of all, he regrets what going to happen next. How he’s going to leave his best friend, his partner, and his baby girl like that.

“Take care of Miri for me, will ya?” His smile was bittersweet, but he smiled nonetheless.

At least he got the time to say his last words.

A loud bang resonated around the warehouse, and everything went black.

.

“Take care of Miri for me, will ya?” That’s all the indication Rei needed to know what’s going to happen.

He knew this was a bad idea. He knew that this was going to happen someday, but no matter how many times he told Kazuki he just never listens

‘This is the best way to do it’ he says. ‘You can’t act, so I have to do this’ he argued. ‘Careful, now. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that you care’ he teases as if it isn’t so painfully obvious that Rei cares.

Because of course he cares! How can he not when Kazuki’s the only one who didn’t mind living with Rei’s everything. That no matter how many times Rei attacked him when he was startled, he still approached him. That no matter how cold Rei was, he still talked to him. That no matter how much of a blunt, uncooperative, untrusting asshole he was, Kazuki still spent time with him.

He allowed Rei to stay with him. He didn’t care how messy Rei was, how he never helped around the house and always slept in the tub forcing Kazuki to stop showering in the mornings. How Rei never even thanked Kazuki for cooking him food, and yet he continued to do so. He continued to care for the house while all Rei did was play his video games. He continued to do these chores after Miri came into their lives, making them a lot harder.

Rei cared about Kazuki more than he cared about anything else.

Rei starts to move because how dare he try leave Rei after he infected him with these feelings. How dare he try to leave Miri like that after both her parents abandoned her. How dare he leave Rei to be the one to tell her how she’d never see her papa again.

He should be here to get exasperated at the amount games and plushies Rei bought, and the colors Miri painted on the walls. He should be here feeling joy at Miri’s happiness whenever she eats his food and done with Rei’s pickiness. He should stand beside Rei crying as Miri entered her first day of school and as she grew up to graduate and live the life he always wanted and be happy with them as they grew old enough to retire this life-

But before Rei could even take one step towards the warehouse, a loud bang resonated from there, echoing through their earpiece. All Rei saw at that moment was red.

He’s going to make sure who pulled that trigger regrets it deeply.

[dayswritting]

“There she goes”

Chapter 2: The one with The Hard Deck

Bob Floyd x Teacher! OC

Summary: Maybe getting out of the house wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Especially if it end up with the opportunity of meeting that cute stranger again.

Pairing: 

Word count: 4,4k

Warning: Bad spelling (English is not my first language), fluff, sloooooow buuuuuurn, Bob being gentleman, Bradley being the fairy godmother

Masterlist

Sunday, a day after Bradley got home, after going to church and having a nice day together. The family was found gathered in the kitchen. Talking about a serious subject they needed to focus on. Getting Lucy out of the house for Sunday night.

“I’m not going,” Lucy said, getting a whine from her brother-in-law. Bradley had decided it would be a good idea if she went with him to Hard Deck. Lucy hated the idea. It was a Sunday night, and tomorrow she’ll have work and didn’t like looking tired. Another reason why she didn’t want to was easy because of Sienna. 

“Come on” Bradley begged her “You need to go out more. Abuela told me that you spend all your weekends in the house”

“Yeah, because I’m spending my time with my niece.” She replied, trying to defend herself. Bradley just laughed at her like what she just said was a joke.

“Don’t use my daughter as an excuse. I know for a fact that mamá has taken Sienna to her house on some weekends and you stay all by yourself at home” Lucy gasped about this confession. She couldn’t believe it, her own mother betrayed her. “And don’t get me started. Because Joel told me that you turn down his invitations when he is in town”

“I can’t believe it.” she hit him in the chest. “You turn my family against me!” she shouted at him. This was completely nonsense. She was a grown-ass woman, she could do anything she wanted. Even if that involves staying at her house for the weekend.

“Yeah, so don’t make me tell you what Sienna told me.” Lucy turned at her niece who was hiding behind the kitchen aisle. The child was trying so hard not to laugh. Nice, now Sienna was on Bradley’s side. “C’mon Lu, we’re worried about you.”

“That’s true, Tia” Sienne finally said “I mean, even I had plans for tonight” That caught Noa by surprise.

“You did?” she asked concerned that her own niece didn’t tell her “Why you didn’t say anything”

“You sound so excited about today's movie night and I didn’t want to hurt you,” Sienna said.

“Oh darling,” Noa got close to her niece and hugged her. “You can tell me if you want to do something else. You could never hurt me for something like that” Noa separated a little to look into her eyes “What are your plans, bee?”

“Lisa’s mom is making pizza for dinner so she invited me to eat with them and have a sleepover” Sienna answered excitedly.

“Well, if your dad is okay with it.” Noa turns to Bradley who just nods in answer “We can call Lucy’s mom and tell her you are going. But I hope you won't be sleeping late because tomorrow is a school day”

“ I promised we won't.” Sienna replies “Her mom said that we can sleep till 10, is it okay?” Lucy and Bradley only nodded in answer.

“You better pack your stuff, baby.” Bradley said, confirming with a smirk.

Sienna smiled so big and jumped to her father’s arm to give him a kiss on his cheek. She hugged her aunt while saying a million thank you. Bradley just laughs warmly at the actions of his daughter. He missed these moments the most when he was on call.

When Sienna left the room, Bradley didn’t lose time and looked at his sister-in-law with a mischievous smile.

“Well, now, since Sienna is going to her friend’s house. You can’t say no to going to the bar” Bradley announced pleased.

“I’m not sure, Brad.” Noa stared at the book in her hands “I’m pretty sure it would be more fun without me. Why don’t you go and enjoyed yourself”

“No way. I’m not leaving my little sis all by herself in this big old house” Bradley replied

“I’m fine being by myself.” Lucy showed Bradley her book “And I have some reading to catch on”

“‘Don’t care. You’re coming with me” Bradley took Lucy’s book and put it on the table to start pushing her to the stairs. “Now, go and get ready. Put the best of your wardrobe to catch the eye of a guy.” Lucy fake laughs at him

“Yeah, right. Good joke, Brads” She started to climb the stairs “I’ll call Marie’s mom and then get ready”” Lucy mocked Bradley.

Lucy looked at her wardrobe without knowing what to use. Sure, when she was in college, she knew how to dress up for going to a bar. But now it was different. She hasn’t gone out like that in ages. Especially now that she is a teacher, she didn’t like the idea of accidentally meeting some parents. Yes, definitely she was not going. So she simply sent a text to Bradley to avoid confrontation.

I have nothing to wear. I’m not going. Sorry.

When she sent the text she heard some noises coming from the room next door. Her door opened and the duo of father and daughter came through it. Quickly, Sienna sat on Lucy’s bed to watch the show while her dad went directly to her wardrobe. After a minute he came out with clothes in his hands.

“Wear this with some white sneakers, tie your hair up and you’re ready to go” Bradley said while handing her the clothes “I expect you downstairs in 10 minutes. We still have to drop Sienna at her friend’s house” He exited her room after saying that. Leaving a shocked Lucy and a smiley Sienna in the bedroom.

“You should use some light makeup.” Sienna said capturing the focus of her aunt “It will make you look gorgeous”

“How do you know so much about makeup?” Lucy asked amazed.

“Abuela Alma told me. Especially that, light makeup it's better because it brings out your inner beauty” her niece answered, trying to imitate her grandmother.

“Well, I’ll listen to you, my beauty guru. Now, get out of here so I can start getting ready” Lucy pushed her niece making her laugh.

Alone in her room, Lucy decided to listen to those two and get ready. No one would believe her but Bradley did have a good sense of style. Sadly it looked like it didn’t work when it came to his stupid Hawaiian shirts. 

What he chose for her was something comfortable and just like her. A white blouse and some blue mom jeans. And just like he said, with her flowered vans it looked perfect. Definitely, the best brother-in-law she could have.

With the essential stuff in her bag, she went downstairs. Finding a quite unique image before her eyes. Dad and daughter were wearing the same Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses. Lucy grabbed her phone and took a picture of them, gaining their attention.

“I don’t even want to ask about how you got another shirt like that,” Lucy said

“Don’t worry I have one for you too. But today I've decided to have mercy since it's your first time out ” Bradley replied.

Now that everyone was ready, they went to Bradley’s Bronco.

“I’ll see you inside,” Lucy told Bradley when they came out of the car. “I got a call from my principal”

“It’s Sunday! You can check that tomorrow” Bradley said, trying to stop her.

“It’s really quick. You can go ahead” Lucy answered, gaining a not much convinced nod from Bradley. He went to the bar after telling her “You buy the first round”. To which Lucy just laughed at it.

Lucy called back to her principal. It turns out that in a few weeks, they were having a little fundraiser. It was a yearly event trying to gain some extra money for school supplies. Since being a public school it’s always hard to get money for special materials. Her principal wanted to ask Lucy to take care of the baking area. She had to make some cakes and ask for support to parents to sell some of them. Lucy accepted happily because she loved baking, so it wasn’t a problem for her.

After the call, she made her way toward the bar when a man was thrown out of it. She got close to the man and helped him to stand up.

“Let me guess, you put your phone on Penny’s bar more than once,” Lucy says while offering her hand so he could stand up.

“Seems like I didn’t get the memo” the man responded while taking her hand.

“Yeah, a newcomer 's mistake.” she faked a laugh, helping him. 

Lucy took a look at the man, noticing the pilot’s jacket he was wearing. A Navy pilot, nothing new here. But the nametag caught her eye for a second. Maverick, that name sounds a little familiar. But she couldn't put her finger on it.

“Well, thank you. You didn’t need to help an old man.” The man said with a grateful smile.

“Well, my parents raised me well, sir.” She smiled at him when a familiar song came from the bar. Damn it, Rooster. He really needed to listen to more music. “I think that’s my call. And you're welcome, sir. Have a nice night”

“You too, kid” He replied and Lucy answered with a smiled 

She walked back to the bar. Opened the door and was greeted by the voices of drunk and sober people singing along to “Great Balls of Fire”. Before getting in she got a text from her brother, Joel.

No pilots allowed.

Lucy chuckled at his warning.

Don't worry. Too busy for that.

She went straight to the bar and tried to get Penny's attention. When the woman saw her, Penny's face lit up, and smiled at her. Before Lucy could ask, Penny got her a soda.

"It’s on the house Luce. It's really good to see you." Penny smiled at her handing her the cup before leaning on the counter "So… What do I owe this pleasure?"

"I was dragged here, Pen. You know I don't like this stuff." Lucy replied.

Penny knew her thanks to Lucy's Mom. Three years ago they went to the same book club. And since Amelia needed help with Spanish, her mom offered Lucy's help. After a few sessions, Lucy and Penny became friends. Penny became Lucy's confidant when Lucy felt she couldn't keep going and vice-versa. 

"And who should I thank?" Penny asked.

"My stupid brother-in-law," Lucy said, making her laugh.

"Well, I'm glad he did." Penny placed her hand on Lucy’s shoulder. "You really needed it." After saying that, she left, leaving a speechless Lucy alone.

While at the counter, Lucy analyzed the room realizing how out of place she was. Friends chatting and dancing, people making out, girls trying to flirt with Navy officers. If she had come here eight years ago, she would be dancing with her sister or singing along to Bradley’s piano. But now this wasn't her thing anymore. She was too lonely even in a crowded place like this. And the sound was making her ears feel overstimulated. She really needed to distract herself or get out of the place.

Before she could still feel petty for herself she heard a "Teach" calling in her back. When she turned around she was greeted by the life-sized version of a Ken doll. He walked confidently to her side.

"Hey, Luce. Missed me?" He asked flirtatiously as he gave her a hug.

"Hey, Jake." Lucy answered, “I think I should ask you that question.” She crossed her arms and smiled at him.

“Well, I did miss you.” He smiled at her while leaning closer

The relationship between her and Jake “Hangman” Seresin was one of frenemies. They met at a cafe when Lucy went to pick up some drinks for her co-workers. They talk while waiting and connect in a good way. Even had some more encounters around Miramar. After a while, they meet again at Bradley's Top Gun graduation. That’s when she learned Jake was Hangman, the one pilot that always loved to mess with Bradley. And Lucy didn’t like it when someone messed with her family. Even if she likes them, in a friendly way.

 “Still taking care of other people’s children,” he asked.

“Yep. Still giving girls headaches?” Lucy counterattacks, making Jake laugh. She drinks her soda while he tries to get her to talk. But she barely listened, the noise was becoming louder so it was hard for her to concentrate. She only could see Jake move his lips but nothing came out from them.

She felt a hand on her shoulder “Hey, Teach. Are you okay?” Jake asked, seeing her sudden change of demeanor. 

Before she could answer, Bradley came into her vision. And Lucy into his. She saw how his carefree smile tense when he registered who was next to her. Like the big brother he is, Bradley moves faster to take place next to Lucy and taking Jake's arm away from her.

“Need something from my sister, Bagman?” Bradley asked while putting his arm around Lucy’s shoulders.

“Don’t worry, Big bird.” Jake showed his hand like surrendered “Just catching up with an old friend. Don't need to be so overprotective, Rooster.” Before any of them could keep going, Lucy interceded. She really didn’t want to be in the middle of their bickering.

“And we are already finished.” Lucy turned to Jake and smiled “It was really nice catching up, Jake. See you around.” She took Bradley’s arm and started dragging him to the pool table. Where Bradley was before coming.

“See you, sweetheart” Jake shouted playfully making Bradley groan of annoyance.

“I swear you two are worse than my kids,” Lucy mumbled annoyed.

“He started it,” Bradley said, winning a look from her.

Getting to the pool table Bradley left Lucy's side when he saw a brunette getting closer. Lucy didn’t realize it since she started to look around the people in that area. When she found someone she thought never saw again.

“Tasha?” Lucy asked not believing her friend was in front of her.

"Teach!" She got closer to hug her "It's so good to see you, girl" Lucy embraced her warmly.

It had been years since the last time they saw each other. Phoenix and Lucy meet at the same time she and Hangman did. It had been all thanks to Bradley, he invited Phoenix to have dinner with her after hearing how homesick she was. When Natasha saw her in the kitchen feeding Sienna, she immediately thought that Lucy was Bradley's wife. But after presentations, she learned that they were nothing more than in-laws, a family helping each other. Lucy still remembers the look of relief on her face.

"I didn’t know you were called. Bradley didn't tell me anything." Lucy said when they broke the hug.

"You and I, Luce. He forgot to tell me he was called too." Natasha answered by lacing her arm with Lucy "I'm so happy that you're here, now I'm not the only girl in the group. Well, except for Halo, but she's with the other guys." Phoenix pointed out a girl next to two guys in the corner. "Now let me present you to everyone else."

Natasha took her where Bradley and the other three guys were surrounding a small table in the back. Here the sound was a little lower, so that helped Lucy to calm down. Bradley was chatting cheerfully to two of them while the other had his back turned. When they saw the two girls coming, they stopped their chat so the presentations could begin. Payback and Fanboy, that's how Bradley introduced them, where reall y excited to meet her . The first shook her hand while the second went for a hug saying something about how happy he was to "finally meet Teach".

"I told them about the time you punched Hangman in the face," Natasha explained proudly, putting her arm on Lucy's shoulder.

"Oh, that was an accident," Lucy told them. Feeling that she needed to explain the situation, she began to ramble. "Some guy was following me and Jake tried to help me. But I thought he was the guy so I ambushed him and punched him straight in the eye." She smiled ashamed, looking at her shoes. 

While the guys laughed so hard that they were almost crying. Especially Fanboy that had to lean on Payback's arm.

"IT WAS YOU? You gave him the black eye?" Bradley asked, astonished. Lucy just nodded and chuckled, eyes still fixed on the floor.

"Yeah, Jake make me promise that a won’t tell anyone" Lucy explained to her brother-in-law.

“But you told Phoenix!” Bradley argued like a little child.

“Because she wouldn’t use to annoy him. As you would” Lucy muttered loud enough to make everyone expect Bradley, to chuckle.

Before he could “defend” himself, a new voice joined the group.

"Sorry, guys. I had a call from my Meemaw" Someone spoke next to Phoenix.

When Lucy raised her head, her eyes were met with a pair of Birth control glasses and cobalt eyes. It was him, the same man from the library, he was in front of her. Just that this time he was wearing khakis instead of some blue jeans and a blue plaid shirt. And his hair, if Lucy thought he looked cute before, now that she saw him with his hair styled, that changed him to handsome.

From the man's point of view, it was almost the same. He never thought fate was on his side, but maybe just for today. Maybe the scales have changed for good. For him, Lucy looked more beautiful than yesterday. Without a doubt, she was the most beautiful woman in the bar, no, in the whole world. He started to feel his heart racing, making him unable to talk.

"Library boy" Lucy was the first to speak, making the group look at the just mentioned.

"Hi…hi" He stuttered, still in awe. 

"You know Bob?" Phoenix asked, interrupting their moment. Everyone was asking the same question. How was that possible? 

"Yeah. We met yesterday," Lucy answered, not knowing how to answer correctly.

"In the library" Bob completed shyly, feeling everyone's eyes on him. 

Lucy smiled at him, ashamed of the possible future reactions from Bradley and Phoenix. Those two were so happy to see her like that. Maybe even planning their wedding already.

"Well, that's great!" Natasha said gaining the attention "Now you know my backseater"

"Your backseater?" Lucy asked with her brown furrow “You’re a WSO?” her voiced sound surprise. And for him was the same, it was rare that women not NAVY related knew what his job was.

“Yeah,” he admitted flustered. He extended his hand to introduce himself. “Lieutenant Robert Floyd, Weapon System Officer” 

Lucy smiled at his actions and how he told her exactly what WSO meant. Even though she already knew what it was. She took his hand and shook it.

“Lucia Orozco” she answered with a smile “But everyone calls me Lucy or Teach”

“You have a call sign?” Bob asked, surprised.

“More like a nickname, Tasha and Bradley gave me one a long time ago” she explained, a little embarrassed. She placed her hand on her wrist, playing with her bracelet “What’s yours?” She asked curiously. But before he could answer, Fanboy did it for him. Getting in between.

“It’s Bob,” he said with a giggle.

“Dude!” Bradley scolded him as he had just interrupted an important moment. 

Lucy only chuckled at it. She thought Bob had a call sign just as his name fitted him perfectly. Bob on the other side, felt ashamed of it. He was thinking that it wasn't as cool as the others were. So he just hide a little, like he was trying to make himself smaller. Lucy quickly catches his change of demeanor.

“I think it's a great call sign,” She said sure of herself, making everyone surprised. “It’s short and easy to say. Most callsign should be like that. Especially if you’re in situations where you can’t use too many words” she explained “Imagine you're in a difficult situation and say Fanboy instead of Bob. I mean that's three letters of difference, too much trouble.” she finished.

Both WSOs had their cheeks tint red the only difference was the meaning of each. Fanboy felt ashamed, while Bob was surprised and his heart was racing faster than ever. It was barely the second time they saw each other and Lucy was ready to defend him. 

“Damn, she got you good, man” Payback started bursting into laughter. Seconds later everyone joined him

But on the other side, Lucy realized what she just said. And now she blushed too.

“I'm so sorry, Mickey. I swear I didn’t want to make fun of you.” Lucy apologized “Sometimes the filter between my brain and mouth doesn’t work” Bradley hugged her shoulders.

“Lu, don’t apologize to that guy. He deserved it” He said, trying to calm her down. After that, Mickey assured her that it was okay, he just was caught by surprise.

After that, everyone fell into a more comfortable and friendly conversation. Everyone except Bob, decided to stay silent and enjoy the moment. Or at least try. Since his eyes couldn't focus beyond the arm of Rooster on Lucy’s shoulders and how comfortable they seem with each other. Yeah, definitely her noticing was too good to be true.

“Stop that,” Phoenix told him making him jump. Bob didn't realize when she moved next to him.

“What? I… I don’t know what you mean” he said confused at what she just said to him. She looked at him for a second, trying to decide if he was telling the truth or trying to fool her. But after seeing his baby deer eyes, she realized Bob actually didn’t know what she meant.

“That face of hurt baby deer” she reply while she moved closer to him like she didn’t want to be heard by the others.

“Hurt? Wha… what do you mean?” he asked. Phoenix sighed at his reaction. Man, this boy couldn’t be more blind, joke aside.

“I just, I know what your thinking” she stated in a whisper “I had the same face the first time I met them. And, since you are a nice guy or that’s what I hope, I’m gonna tell you this.” Phoenix moved closer, making it look like she was taking some of the peanuts from Bob’s cup. “They’re family. Rooster and Lu are in-laws. He was married to her sister before she died giving birth to his daughter” she explained.

Suddenly it clicked, the little girl in the library. She was Rooster’s daughter. Even Lucy had told him she was her niece. Now he really felt embarrassed. He made conclusions without knowing all the information. His Meemaw would be ashamed of him right now.

“I don’t know what to say” he admitted avoiding Phoenix's eyes. The woman seeing his action, felt compassion for her WSO so she just gave him some pats on his back.

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself” she tried to calm Bob down “It’s not the first time someone thought that about them.” Bob drinks some water from his cup “Now you can definitely try to get a chance with her” She added mischievously making Bob choke.

When he started to cough he got everyone's attention fixed on him. Lucy quickly moved closer to Bob seeing if he was okay, Phoenix seeing this left his side. Maybe it was the teacher inside of her, but Lucy wanted to make sure he was fine.

“Are you okay, Robert?” she asked him getting his attention while she placed her hand on his back.

Bob simply nodded and blushed, no one called him by his name when he was on call. After calming down he just stared at her. 

“What is it? Do you need more water?” she questioned him quickly worried. 

“No, no, it’s just… It’s silly, don’t worry about it” he replied softly but the brunette looked at him like she was expecting an explanation. Bob sighed defeated “It’s just no one around here calls me by my name”

“Oh,” Lucy simply commented “Do you want me to call you Bob? I mean, I call everyone by their name. But I can totally call you Bob if you wanted. I mean, I don’t have a problem at all” She started to ramble, feeling a little anxious about making a mistake. 

Bob notice how she started to talk faster than before, just like when they meet at the library. He simply giggled at her reaction, damn, she was cute.

“Robert is fine” He replied friendly trying to ease her “I mean, my ma tends to use it when she is mad at me. But you can call me Robert or anything you want” Bob chuckled awkwardly.

“Okay, Robert” Lucy smile warmly.

They stood there in comfortable silence. A minute passed and Lucy decided to try to have a conversation with him, because, even if she leaked the silence she always needed to fill it. Thankfully, Bob found that endearing and followed everything she said to him. Paying attention to what Lucy said, answering all of her questions, and sometimes making them himself. The time passed but they didn’t felt since they were inside their own bubble. So they didn’t realize that two sets of eyes were watching this whole interaction from the pool table.

“You’re thinking what I’m thinking?” Phoenix smiled mischievously at Rooster.

“I don’t know. Are you thinking about how I should play again “Great Balls of Fire”?” He reply winning a glare from the brunette “I’m joking” he chuckled “Yes, I think they look good together” Rooster rolled his eyes

“Good, so we are definitely going to do something about it” she said determined.

“Are you sure? I mean, you know where Lu is standing when we talk about relationships” Rooster knew better than anyone his sister-in-law feeling about having someone to care for romantically speaking.

“Bradley” Phoenix talk with a serious tone “You know better than anyone that this is what she needs” She stared into his eyes hoping to convince him. Rooster sighed.

“Fine, but if something happens it is all your fault” He accepted making Phoenix smile excited.

Half an hour later, the gang decided to go home so they could sleep before the big day that was coming. Everyone said their goodbyes and went their own ways. Before getting into his car, Bob gave one last peek at Lucy, who was talking with Rooster while getting into their car, and smiled warmly. Tonight it had been the best night of his life.

What he didn’t know was that the girl from the other side was looking at him too. Grateful that her brother-in-law and niece got her out of their house. She definitely went to sleep with a smile on her face.

[21witnokidz]

IN THE GHETTO

Chapter 1

“Come in y’all and get washed up for supper!”

Your momma called out to you and your daddy. You and your pa loved to go fishing. It was a way for you to see the world and learn to appreciate nature.

When y’all got washed up and settled y’all sat down at the table. You even had your book with you. Along with fishing your daddy finally agreed to teach you to read a few words. Though you’re still learning you’ve started to get the hang of it.

The door to your house busts open. In comes 2 men with shiny revolvers and big hats. They couldn’t be anything else but outlaws.

“Alright everyone let’s see who gets the prize for keeping their cool. Everybody down on the floor!”

The big man who must’ve been in charge then points to your father.

“You! You must know where all the money is ain’t that right? Tell ya what if you hurry on to wherever it is you keep said money no one will have to lose their head”

Your father was never one to fight back so he’d rather just give the man what he wants. As soon as he came back in the room with the money he gave it to the man.

Once the outlaw took his share of all the money y’all had along with his gang members he took out his six shooter and shot 2 hot ones right into your fathers chest.

“Oh I’m sorry for that. Lord forgive me I must have butter fingers”

The outlaw said clearly not sorry at all. All the other men around him began to laugh sinisterly. Then your mother ran up to the big man and tackled him in a rage.

“Run Y/N! Run!”

But you couldn’t even move. You could barely even hear anymore. Your eyes glued to your fathers now cold body.

Soon you heard more bullets flying and your mothers screams had come to an end. You finally looked at the outlaw. He had a birthmark on his forehead in the shape of a pig and a gold tooth. You knew you were going to die. But you didn’t want to. Your human instinct to keep on living came strong and caused your hands to go flying up in defense.

“Please! I’m just a kid! I-I can’t do anything please!”

You were so scared shitless you’re pretty sure you were peeing yourself now.

“Oh man look at her go. Haha she soiling herself. Let’s just leave her here and she’ll have no choice but to live with her parents death”

The men just took the money and left.