#I could have gotten the smaller lighter phone

[wannabeelf]

My new phone does not have a SD card slot 🙃.

I can’t believe 1TB microsd cards are like a thing that exists, thats like crossing a line, thats alarmingly close to playing god, where the FUCK are they PUTTING it

[messylustt]

can i pls request a small fic where reader is from earth 1218 and miguel has to hide at thier house for a bit to get away? cos he dosent wanna be in a universe where he exsists, you he randomly chooses your house? doesn't have to be exactly like that but 1218 reader pls 🙏🙏

i love this. makes me feel like it could happen to me jwjidkskkkwks (i’m delusional ik. it’s okay) — also I feel like this needs a part two…

╰┈➤ ꒰ 💿 ┊bon bons ꒱

thunderstorm — miguel o’hara + reader ( spiderverse ) : miguel finds his way into your home, your universe. 1816, where no superheroes exist.

contents : kinda suggestive. suspense?? wc 3.0k. check out my spiderverse m.list

you didn’t have much planned for the day. nothing of importance. all that was required of you was to make sure you didn’t leave your sheets out on the clothes horse before the rain came.

apparently a thunderstorm. though the weather information usually stated extremes. no harm in being careful, you guess.

so, when the day got later you ventured outside, lifting on your tiptoes to remove the pegs. throwing the sheets in a basket you felt a very light drop hit your hair. looking up to the sky you could see the grey clouds slowly covering the already setting sun.

with one arm hooked around the basket, you locked the door and made your way down to the basement—to place the pegs back in their designated smaller basket. as you do, you try multiple times in flicking the switch, until it finally turns on.

you jump down the last step, throwing the pegs and moving to retrace your steps when the lights flicker off. “really…?” you quietly mutter to yourself, squinting your eyes against the darkness as you slowly tried for the steep stairs.

with only a slight misstep you reach the light switch again. flicking up down, up down, up down. and…the powers out.

luckily the sun was still barely visible when you walked back through your hallway, letting you see where you were going. you had planned to check the tv for weather news or maybe your phone. but both annoyingly won’t work. you guess that’s indication enough that the storm is almost here.

and surely so, the wind begins to howl as you stare out the window, checking that they are locked tight, as you fiddle with a lighter and a box of candles.

and just as you set up the last candle in your kitchen a noise stops your hands movements. looking to your left—down the hallway—you squint. it’s probably the storm. because the rain had begun to sound like hail on your roof.

and then just as you go for food in the fridge you hear that same noise. you can’t really make out what type of noise it is, just that it’s loud enough to run right through your entire home. you finally step out of your kitchen, walking down the hallway.

you begin to slightly smile to yourself. because this all feels too much like that horror movie you watched the other day. you stop at your front door, looking out through the key hole, and checking the lock as you slide the chain.

the house shook, as you gaze around, before your eyes widen. “shit—“ you mutter, quickly racing up your stairs to reach the bathroom. you had left the window open to help with the condensation.

and just as you began to make your way back down the steps something dark walks across your hallway. you freeze. what was that? you didn’t want to know, now your mind whirring, as you stay midway from taking the next step.

it was just…a shadow…of a tree…yeah. for some reason that got your body moving again, you don’t really know why, because a shadow that dark isn’t just some reflection.

you swiftly peek your head round the corner of your hallway, eyeing your dimly lit house. could an animal have gotten in? usually in a storm animals look for shelter. that’s why when you went upstairs to your bathroom you saw a friendly spider by your sink.

now in the kitchen you sigh, seeing no animal or anything similar. you open the fridge, scanning for food. but that’s when you hear a creak.

whipping around, your breathing caught, your gaze stops on a slowly turning figure. you’re frozen, the fridge light probably displaying your expression rather well. and then you catch this…thing’s face. at first he looked like a man.

until you saw his red, almost glowing eyes, and fangs that glinted in the dim candle light. now you’ve found your voice, while simultaneously finding food, as all you can think to do is hurl it at the figure.

“what are—how—huh??!” you’re now skirting past the kitchen island as the man-thing watches you. your hand finds a salt shaker and as you aim to throw it at his head, his hand swiftly flies up, catching it far too fluidly.

you’re breathing heavy as your eyes now physically hurt from staying so wide. he inspects the salt shaker, before placing it on the kitchen island. he has claws…

“am i going insane…?” you whisper to yourself. because that’s what crazy people do right? whisper to themselves. “yeah…you’re not…real.”

you actually look back to him. your statement a…statement, but you guess part of you was wanting some sort of confirmation.

he tilts his head, eyeing you. “it’s like you’ve never seen a spider-person before.” he finally speaks.

you blink, still pressed against the kitchen counter as if that will serve you some form of protection. in your mind it does. “what?”

he flexes his claws, as you now notice a mask in his grasp. “…are you a robber?” mask equaled robber, in your mind.

he raises a brow, looking throughly unimpressed. He has ventured a fraction closer, now more in the light, and now more visible to you. you’re slightly taken aback. because even though it looks as though he does have red eyes and fangs. he doesn’t look…horrid.

“is that really what i look like?” he asks, as you now notice his wet hair, curling around his face and a certain suit that you swear you’ve seen before.

“no.” you say slowly. “you look like a…vampire.” you could actually laugh if you weren’t so terrified. “are those contacts?”

yes, you’re still in disbelief, and denial. The man narrows his eyes, then glances out the window. you watch him carefully, your hand moving to grab something behind you.

“don’t throw that.” he holds up his hand, still looking out the window.

you stop midway from grabbing an orange as you continue to stare. “what are doing in my house?” you finally ask the essential question. whatever he is he’s still broken in.

then your brows furrow, because you didn’t hear glass smashing…you don’t think. “how even did you get in? i swear i locked everything…”

he looks back to you. “i have my ways.”

“that’s…descriptive.” you mutter more so to yourself. “are you…like a cosplayer or something?” because you swear you’ve seen his suit before.

he eyes you. “what universe is this?”

“universe?” you blink a shit tonne of times. because what?

he seems to be thinking as he gazes around, before some sort of realisation hits him. “1218.”

“12 what?” you’re utterly confused, as you scrunch your nose, pressing your fingers to your temples. Your brain was starting to hurt. but then he was moving closer.

you hold your hand out, suddenly becoming more alert. “don’t—“ you say firmly, but then his head is swiftly turning in the direction of your front door. and then he’s right in front of you making you jump, your eyeballs threatening to fall out. “what—“

“shh.” he says, placing his hand over your mouth, as his body pushes you further against the counter and into the corner—where your cupboard creates a blindspot.

you go to at least try and say something, your heart beating on overdrive, but then you hear gruff voices and a loud noise that resembled the breaking of wood, and smashing of glass. you go real quiet after that, trying to see past this large man.

miguel can feel your body still. obviously still tense, but you aren’t shoving him off you. he keeps his hand over your mouth, his breath now hitting your eyelashes.

you stay still. because this man in front of you didn’t have a weapon—from what you know—and his heaving chest and darting eyes are showing you he doesn’t like your new visitors either. then you make eye contact, and you hate to say that you aren’t repulsed by his blood red eyes.

miguel slowly removes his hands, making a ‘silence’ motion with his finger, to which you gulp and close your mouth. miguel can hear the approaching footsteps, and the crunch of glass under their feet.

then his breath is by your ear. “is there somewhere we can hide?” his words tickle your neck, making you shiver.

“uh…there’s…” you try and think. because where the hell can you hide?

“take your time.” he whisper-comments. but you ignore his sarcasm as you meet his gaze, hearing the further approaching men. “the attic.”

miguel tilts his head to the side, silently asking you to show him. but you hesitate. alone. in the attic. with this…stranger. miguel seems to catch onto your swaying mind, as he leans back closer to your ear. “i’m not gonna hurt you, if that’s what your worried about. i have no use for that.”

no use for that? but you can’t dwell because the urgency is back in his voice. “but these guys will. so, if you don’t want a bullet in your head. move.”

and you do. because a bullet in the head doesn’t sound nice. and again—this guy didn’t a weapon. you shift past him, him having moved slightly out of the way.

you lead him—as silently as possible—down the hallway, which is now littered with glass, and your front door is busted open, letting the howling wind prickle your skin.

you turn left and then right, coming to a stop as you reach the long stick you use to hook around the retractable stairs. but miguel doesn’t want to waste time, as he takes the stick from you, while simultaneously hooking his claw around the metal loop and tugging.

you stare at him, seeming to realise just how tall he is. the stairs are soon down as you hear voices, much much closer. miguel grabs your shirt, yanking you towards him as he a practically lifts you onto the first few steps. you hold down your yelp, because right now that would cause a disaster.

scrabbling up you try to keep your feet light, as miguel moves, hot on your heels. then he’s pulling the stairs up in the nick of time, and it all seems to make you sweat, as you pull at your t-shirt, fanning yourself.

miguel stands, having slid the lock, part of his suit getting caught up with cobwebs.

“okay, what the fuck is going on?” you whisper-hiss, making miguel turn to you.

“it’s nothing personal.” he says, walking past you, to look out the small, circular window.

“thank god. but that really doesn’t explain anything.” you say, a mix of fear and adrenaline leading you to anger. “who are you? and who are they? at least answer me that.”

miguel looks back at you, sighing, as he takes in your flustered state. “maybe i should have left you down there.”

“is your name that top secret?” you keep fanning yourself as you scrunch your eyes together, trying to wrap your head around everything that had just happened.

“miguel.” he finally says, making you open your eyes.

“what?”

“my name…” he says, slightly stepping closer. “is miguel.”

“ah…” you say, but then your brows furrow. “is it real?”

miguel looks at you, pausing a moment. “my…name? you’re asking if my name is real?” he’s in slight disbelief, as his expression displays what looks to be distaste.

“well, i would have assumed you’d say some…hero name. you look like you jumped out of a comic book.” okay…you may be saying too much. but your mind is fried and you desperately needed answers. of any kind at this point.

“that’s flattering.” he states dryly.

“no seriously. why are you dressed like that?” you ask, eyeing him. you hated the fact that he didn’t look…bad.

“right…i keep forgetting you don’t a have a spider-person here.”

“what? like spider-man?” you force a chuckle. “yeah, you must be some sort of cosplayer.”

“whatever that is, i’m not. just…” he pinches the bridge of his nose. “how about let’s not talk?”

“no, no, i need answers.” you stepped closer. “if not about you, then about them.” you point to the floor.

miguel licks his teeth—or more accurately his fangs, making your gaze get caught up in the action as you gulp.

“all you need to know is that they’re bad men who like to kill.” miguel edged closer to you. “if you stay out of their way you might survive.” and then he’s brushing past you, crouching by the trap door as he pays close attention to the noises below.

your gaze follows him, as you move to crouch down beside him. miguel looks slightly up, watching you try to listen. miguel tilts his head in observation, as you visibly strain to catch any words.

“you can’t hear them.” he states bluntly. you look up. “then why did you look so intent as if you could hear them?” you ask, narrowing your eyes on him.

“because i can.” he simply answers, catching the intruders’ words again.

“wait…check that.” one of the guys are saying. “don’t most boring houses have those things called attics?”

miguel is then quick, because the little bolt locking you guys in isn’t gonna hold if they try to come up here. he grabs your arm, pulling you to stand, as you slightly jolt at the fast movement. all you had heard was muffled voices.

miguel pulls you closer as he scans the room, stopping on a nook that even he barely noticed, along with a mattress that he could slide over as coverage. before you could say a word, miguel’s hand has moved to your shirt, making it easier to move you with him.

“what’s going on—“

“shut up.” miguel whisper-hisses by your ear, pushing you towards the nook, as you both crouch down. miguel then webs the mattress tight against the wall, making it inhumanly possible to move it if you didn’t have the type of strength miguel had.

your eyes widen as you see the fading orange strings shoot out of his wrist, before he’s pulling you back to him. but with the harsh, unexpected pull, your foot slips.

miguel reacts quick, because if you fell, the thud would alert them of your hideout—“them” having now bashed through the trap door. your breathing hitches, as miguel moves, your head almost hitting the floor.

now you rest against the dirty ground, breathing erratic as miguel hovers over you, breathing equally as hard. his hand is holding the back of your head, as the other cages by your hip.

and you can’t move, because they’re already walking up into the attic. you sew your mouth shut, as you do your eyes, the slight scrunch of your features getting noticed by miguel. whose face is millimetres away, his breath tickling your heated skin.

“why am i even helping you…” he mutters so quietly you almost don’t catch it.

“i’d like to know that too.” you whisper just as quietly back. you slightly crack your eyes open, meeting his gaze. you press your lips together, at the close proximity. miguel’s eyes narrow. “don’t talk.”

“you talked first.” you reply, slightly lifting your head to his ear before placing your head back down. “and you can move your hand—“ because it was still placed under your head, but then miguel’s finger—or claw—was pressing firm against your lips, shushing you.

the footsteps were near, and you actually hold your breath. miguel slightly pushes down on your stomach, forcing you to breathe, as the warm air hits his finger—still pressed against your lip. then his breathe is by your ear. “it’d be a wasted effort if I didn’t keep you alive longer.”

your heart is beating in your chest, his practically right up against yours. and he doesn’t leave his spot by your neck, as his breathing tickles the hairs there. “mi…miguel.” you carefully whisper, and his hold on the back of your head tightens, his claws sinking into your hair.

“didn’t i say to be quiet?”

“then stop talking.” you mutter back. and miguel could actually laugh at you. because what position are you in to use that harsh tone. he grabs your cheeks with his hand that was placed by your hip, resulting in him being practically on top of you, making you tense.

he squeezes your cheeks so that your mouth was forced to open. “stop. talking.” he said slowly. and now you physically couldn’t with his claws pressed to your cheeks.

but then the footsteps grew very very close. right by the mattress. and both you and miguel turn your head. you then glance down because you felt a breeze across your ankle. your foot was in an easy view and you want to curse. because was that really going to be your undoing?

miguel notices your body’s movement and your almost frightened gaze. looking down, miguel clenched his jaw. his hand moved down your body, wrapping around your thigh, as he very slowly widened your legs.

your look is of harsh question when miguel meets your gaze. but he doesn’t stop, pulling your foot out of few, by spreading your leg to the side, resulting in him practically laying between them.

you rest your head back, clenching your jaw as you ignore anything and everything. then miguel is pulling your chin back to face him, as he listens to the men’s steps. “anything else I need to fix for you?” he whispers so quietly in your ear. you want to hit him, because this position makes you feels far too vulnerable.

but you can’t say a thing. you know you can’t. not until the men leave. you slightly shift, your hip bone pressed into the wood. miguel’s hand flies to grab your thigh again, holding you still. tou couldn’t do that. god, you really couldn’t do that.

he keeps his hand on your thigh now, spreading it even wider, making your breathing hitch as you force your lips to press together till it hurts.

how the hell did you go from organising your washing to being under a large man…vampire…thing, where you could feel everything? that’s an answer you’d love to know right about now.

© messylustt.tumblr please don’t steal, copy or translate my work onto other platforms.

[crowdeerdire]

Scars

a/n: Just a blurb about how Kel got her scar on her legs and of Cove finally asking about it. This would take place in Step 3 sometime after Reflection where Cove explains how he broke his arm.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask… How did you get this scar?”

It was a sunny afternoon where Kel and Cove were lounging around in his room, just spending time with one another in comfortable silence.

Cove laid back along his bed, his head resting upon his pillows as his phone sat on his chest now. Kel, however, laid with her head resting at the foot of the bed, legs up with knees locked as she pressed her feet against the top of Cove’s bunk bed. Being in that position and with shorts on, the long jagged and faded scar on her right leg was apparent in the afternoon light.

“You know how I broke my arm…” Cove continued, his voice becoming thoughtful as he looked at the scar on Kel’s leg, seeing how it was beginning to fade into her pale skin. Without a second thought he reached up, fingers ghosting along the scar tissue, mentally trying to see if he could figure out the puzzle before Kel could even answer.

“You’ve had this since I’ve known you.”

If Cove had been paying a bit more attention to the way Kel reacted to his touch, he would have noticed the small jump and shiver that ran through her. Her legs stiffened, refusing to move as his fingers danced along her scar.

“O-oh…” Kel stammered, trying not to focus on what her crush was currently doing, touching her so easily. Sure they held hands and hugged… but this was new territory. “D-… did I never tell you the story?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Cove murmured back, choosing to run the rough pad of his thumb over the scar, tracing the way it ran along the full width of Kel’s thigh, “And you have one on the front of your thigh, too, right?”

Kel took in a shaky breath, heart racing against her ribs so loudly she was certain Cove could hear it. However, with one peek past her legs she could see the faraway look in his eyes that he sometimes got when he was lost in thought. A small huff escaped her nose when she realized she doubted Cove really registered what he was doing.

How cruel.

“W-well,” Kel began before clearing her throat, trying to make sure her voice was even. She would sit up then and explain to him the story if he wasn’t busy touching her. And, well… the fact that she really liked the feeling.

“It’s not as interesting as your jet skiing story.” Kel chuckled as her gray eyes found the wood texture on the ceiling, trying to focus on that as she told her story. “But I fell out of a tree.”

“A tree?” Cove finally stopped running his fingers over Kel’s scar then as he sat up, more curious about the story. “Really? But it’s such a big scar?”

Kel couldn’t help but feel a bit deflated that he stopped, but she soldiered on as she sat up, meeting him in the middle of the bed with a small snort. “Well that’s because when I landed a whole ass branch was jammed through my leg.”

Cove outwardly winced, seeming to fidget at the mere idea of a whole branch through Kel’s leg. It was not a pretty mental image, especially since he knew she would have gotten it before she was eight. Little Kel that injured was not something he wanted to think about… Which made him sympathize with her reaction when he told her about the jet skiing story.

“Oh my god that sounds awful.”

Kel gave a lazy shrug with one shoulder before shifting her position so she sat on her legs. Moving her shorts a bit, she exposed the much smaller and lighter scar that was on the top of her thigh, about one fifth of the size of the one in the back.

“I mean it wasn’t fun.. And to be honest? I don’t remember much. I mostly know what happened because of Liz and moms.” She said softly, a far away look casting on her own face as she tried to remember all she was told.

“You know how wild and weird I was as a kid, right?” Kel said then, coming back from her memories and gaining a snort and laugh from Cove as she brought up her eight year old self. “Well, when I was seven I started to REALLY enjoy climbing things. Like… anything I could.”she laughed, “And apparently trees were my favorite. Especially this really old one out back on poppy hill.”

Cove knew of the tree Kel spoke about. Nowadays it was just a stump since it had begun to rot about five years back. Maybe it was rotting even before then if Kel had fallen out of it?

“Anyways, that day I climbed as high as I could. I kind of remember seeing the ocean from up there. Liz was there too, yelling at me to get down.” Kel chuckled at the memory, her sister's nagging voice clear in her mind. “Well, just then the branch I was on snapped. This is where my memory goes.” She nodded, “But Liz says I hit like five branches on the way down before landing on the ground with one of them stuck through my leg. Apparently it’s a miracle that was the worst of my injuries. I guess I was a spry kid.”

With the last of her story told, Kel leaned back on her hands, giving another lazy shrug as she tilted her head, watching Cove’s reaction. He looked like he was really contemplating the story despite there not being much.

“And that’s it.” Kel added, hoping to prompt his delayed reaction. “Kind of boring, eh?”

Cove let out a small ‘hm’ before finally firmly nodded, a small smirk on his lips. “Yeah, not as cool as mine. At least I got to ride a jet ski.”

Kel gasped, offended that was his conclusion. With a huff of fake anger, she grabbed his pillow and slapped him in the face. “Cove Holden! You’re so frickin’ rude!”

Last time she told him a cool story.

[freakshowtwopointoh]

Road to Hell - All I've Ever Known Part 5

It was the road to hell

It was hard times

< prev | next >

By the time I made it back to my bedroom, my head was still spinning. It all made sense, and yet didn’t at the same time. But I had gotten my answers, right? Vought wants to control the narrative - of course they wouldn’t want it public knowledge that their superhero serum causes spontaneous heart attacks. If they control Maggie, they can use her device without her research going public. And this way, she becomes good PR for GodU as an added bonus. They didn’t even need to lift her up, just pretend like they discovered her instead of her existing on her own merits. It should have made me feel better - knowing that she wasn’t being artificially boosted in the rankings or whatever. It should have made it easy for me to stop obsessing over Maggie and focus back on my own life.

If I was honest with myself (and I’m usually not), the way she reacted when I brought up Sam changed my mind more than anything she told me in that warehouse. The crack in her facade, a glimmer of truth behind the lies. She’s clearly powerful, and intelligent... Maybe I should be more worried about her being a legitimate rival than a nepotism plant.

But shoulds didn’t matter when she met my eyes across a room - my heart would begin thumping erratically in my chest, and my mouth would go dry. 

We fell into a strange routine, now that we had something of an understanding. She was always awake before me, sitting in the kitchen and sipping coffee when I would come downstairs to go running. We rarely said anything to each other in the mornings, but it was easy. I could feel Maggie let her guard down around me slowly - like the air in the room was getting marginally lighter. We ended up spending most evenings on the porch - she would lay on the couch and read or just scroll on her phone while I smoked. Sometimes we’d talk, but we usually didn’t. 

I started looking forward to it, in spite of myself. Even knowing I had studying or work to do, I didn’t want to give up these few moments of peace that I had managed to carve out in my life. She started bringing songs to share with me. I remember the first time: she seemed kind of nervous that evening, picking at her nails.

Flashback

“What’s up, mouse?” I asked her, flicking my eyes to her briefly before looking back out into the night. It was getting harder and harder not to stare at her - she was absolutely beautiful in the twilight. She still hesitated, chewing her lip for a moment. I almost gave up on getting an answer from her - it was useless trying to pry information out of Maggie, especially like this. But she surprised me.

“I want to play you this song. I think you’ll like it?” She said it like a question, which made me chuckle. 

“Go for it. I’m always down for new music,” I said lightly, trying to ignore the way my heart swooped and twisted at the thought of her thinking of me.

And she was right, I did like the song. And each song she showed me in the following weeks. It was hard to keep her at arms length when she kept seeing right through every wall I put up.

One Saturday morning, I came downstairs to see Maggie looking more tired than normal, staring off into the distance as she stirred her coffee. Without really knowing why, I came up next to her. “Come with me,” I said gruffly, walking towards the door without waiting.

“Where?” She asked, her voice rough with sleep as she stood up.

“Just come.” I said. We walked in silence towards the gym, as I tried to deny the real reason I was doing this. I led Maggie towards the back, into the training room I usually frequent. It isn’t outfitted for powers, but there’s some sandbags and stuff. “Punch something. It might help you sleep.” I said. “S’What I do, anyways.” Then I began my workout, shifting into my smaller form and falling into a rhythm. I put in my headphones but I didn’t listen to any music, listening to Maggie’s rhythm as she began striking the sandbag. Whatever training Park had put her through had worked - she had force behind each strike and an even rhythm. I wondered what it would be like to spar with her - face her in the ring, mind running a mile a minute to out-maneuver her, sweat leaving a soft sheen on her skin, finally pinning her down...

Focus, Li! I thought to myself, starting my workout playlist and putting all my frustration into the sandbag in front of me. I let myself fall into the familiar beat of the music, accented by fists meeting leather. It was easy for me to clear my mind when I trained - sometimes, it was the only thing that could keep me from losing my mind entirely. 

It was raining lightly when we left the gym, an oppressive layer of clouds above our heads foreshadowing a worse storm coming soon. I was hurrying through the rain, trying to keep my hair from being entirely ruined. Having two heads of hair means two sets of curls to keep from frizzing out.

“Wait!” Maggie said, sticking her arm out to stop me, almost clotheslining me. “Careful.” She pointed at the ground, a massive earthworm slithering across my path.

“Did you just stop me... from stepping on a worm?” I asked her, not sure what to make of this. As with most things Maggie does, if I’m honest. But I stepped around the worm anyways, rolling my eyes. 

“When it rains, the worms flee to the pavement. Scientists think it's because the vibrations feel like moles.” She explained, continuing to hop across the sidewalk as if that explained literally anything at all. I hurried to keep up with her, shaking my head in amusement. 

Once inside, I turned to her. “By the way, if you ever need to, uh, train with someone,.” I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “No pressure, of course.” I was cringing at myself as I spoke. 

“I’ll probably take you up on that.” She said, surprising me once more. She smiled at me with that crooked grin that made my heart go erratic. I headed up to my bedroom, trying to suppress a smile. I thought back to the time I saw her training earlier this semester. Watching her figure out how her powers work and utilizing them to gain the upper hand reminded me of my own experimentation with shifting mid fight. Yes, it was Brink who first suggested it, but once I was able to analyze the situation on my own and ascertain the right time to shift, it felt like a whole new world opened up. When we’re able to actually understand our powers and the role they play within the entire encounter, the better we’re able to actually use them.

One of the downsides to growing up in a... volatile home is that you become aware of all sounds and what they mean in your spaces. So I had instinctively removed my headphones when I heard the telltale signs of people gathering in the kitchen. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the usual happy sounds of dinner being made. I heard raised voices - Luke, and Maggie? I knew I shouldn’t listen but I found myself straining to hear in spite of myself. 

“God damn it, Maggie, let it go! This isn’t healthy for either of us.” Luke sounded angrier than I’d ever heard him.

“Isn’t healthy? Luke, what if... I just mean,” She didn’t sound angry - she sounded desperate. “He wouldn’t h-”

“Just stop! We just didn’t know him as well as we thought we did. You have to let this go before it eats you alive.”

“This? He’s our brother - our baby brother. If there’s even a tiny chance...” Maggie took a long deep breath, and I could almost hear her jaw tighten as she tried to keep her emotions in check.

“Stop it! You silly little girl! Maggie, grow up, and face reality: he’s gone. Forever.” I heard him storm off, and I sat back in my desk chair, in shock. Luke was always so cheerful, kind, and careful with others' feelings. But the way he was yelling at his own sister, the way he was dismissing her concerns about their brother - someone I know he loved dearly... it was a side of Luke I had never seen before, and I didn’t like it. My heart was pounding in my chest and the memories of my childhood were tainting everything around me. Laying in bed at night, hearing my parents yell about my problems (read: my powers), fighting with each other about how to deal with me. I was frozen, just like back then, unable to do anything but listen and try to understand. Because maybe if I understood what was going on, it wouldn’t scare me so much. It never worked. 

I still went out that evening to meet Maggie on the porch. Like most nights, we didn’t say much. I didn’t comment on the joint she had brought out with her, and she didn’t comment on the tremble in my hands, and neither of us wanted to go back inside. I knew I shouldn’t mention what I overheard, but I had to say something. 

“Listen to this.” I said finally, pulling up Into the Ocean by Blue October and playing it from my phone. It felt strangely vulnerable, playing this song that had been a comfort to me when I felt so alone. It makes me sound like an emo teen, but to be fair, I was one when I found this song. And it made me feel understood for the first time since getting my powers. I hadn’t ever been the one to bring in a song, but since I couldn’t find my own words, I thought someone else’s might help. 

And from the look in Maggie’s eyes, they did.

< prev | next >

edits by @barbieprincesshilton

[awrldalone]

18th December 2022, 12.15pm

It snowed a few days ago, ad the roads are still white with ice. It fell down from the sky in less than an hour, covering everything in the thinnest layer of alabaster, which froze immediately. 

I left the house in the afternoon and went on a walk. I needed to pick up some packages and a book for university, everything was slippery and I trembled in the wind, there was no one, it was all quiet. I could’ve been the last person in the world, passing through empty suburban houses with blackened windows. The only trace of human presence were the footprints in the snow, the tire marks on the road and the occasional heart or word scribbled on snow-covered windshields. I drew a heart on one too.

I had to ask my housemate for his jacket, because I do not have one that is thick enough, and I wore my only scarf. It’s big, like a blanket, a brownish green with some pale blue spots. 

Then, I just studied. I have gotten to that point when I start asking myself why, rather than the what. I’ve been here often, in the past five years, wondering why I’m studying something, and not what I have to study. Throughout high-school, the answer was always because I have to, and I have always been told that university would be different, because I would choose what to study. And it’s true. I just chose wrong.

Yesterday I went to Brussels. I woke up early, showered, wet my hair again because I did not like how it looked. 

I bought a coffee and a scarf at the station, to keep me warm. It matched my purple coat. It’s a sort of multi-colored gingham that ranges from brick red to blue to purple to lilac. It was discounted, and I remembered a conversation I had with my mother. She told me to spend money on things I need, and a scarf is what I need when the temperature is in the negative. 

The coffee burnt my tongue as I stood on the platform. I did not get into the train immediately, because I wanted to throw away the paper cup. So i just sipped it quickly next to the bin and threw it away.

I have been reading The Metamorphosis or The Golden Ass by Apuleius, and it got me thinking that classicists and Ancient Greek and Roman literature specialists are seen as pretentious for no reason. This book, this cornerstone of Roman literature, filled to the brim with erudite references to myths and legends and other literary endeavors, is comedy. It’s filled with dirty jokes, licentious paragraphs, it feels like a fabula milesia. 

Obviously it is beautifully written, but the idea that Latin translators and philologists and those who are generally thought of as boring dusty scholars read this type of stuff goes against the very image that the world has of them.

What I have been very fascinated by is the amount of stories contained inside of the frame of Lucius’s journey. I just got to the beginning of Love and Psyche, which a few summers ago I had to translate as homework, and although I knew about the incredible amount of novellas contained in the book I wonder why authors do not do it anymore. 

It’s much better than whatever Boccaccio did with his Decameron. There’s a real story outside of the novellas, it is not just a means to an end, a platter on which to serve short stories. It is a complex tale in which there are smaller tales, just as complex as the bigger picture. 

I had to wait at the station, when I arrived in Brussels, because S. was late. Two girls stopped to talk to me in French, one offered me her waffle, and I politely declined, puzzled by the whole thing.

S. arrived from behind. I’m still not used to the idea of him being a physical tangible human being of a certain height with a certain hair color with a certain eye color, and not just a person entity energy that lives in my phone. We actually look quite alike, in terms of height and hair and skin. We could be cousins, but our features are much different, and his eyes much lighter. 

Just like the first time we met, we immediately got comfortable with each other, and we went to a café where we studied for hours. His exams are in January, my first exam of this period is tomorrow. 

At around three, we left and walked around until we stumbled on a used music store, where we spent an hour or two.

-c.

[sig-nifier]

Shane

After filling in the grave - which had certainly taken less time than it had to dig - Ryan had driven Shane back into town. 

     It had gotten lighter as the night faded. Wherever they were, it was a pretty little town. The radio was playing an early morning show, and despite the lack of sleep and general sense of doom, Shane felt content to sit in this car forever. 

     Ryan slowed the car to a stop on a residential street. He then lent over Shane and opened his door.

     "Get out."

     Shane stared blankly, looking between Ryan and the open door. "What?"

     “Get out the car, Shane.”

     His stomach dropped. Ryan couldn't just leave him here. He wouldn't. Shane knew too much, or something like that. Anxiety bloomed in his chest and began to crawl up his throat.

     "But...what if I go to the police?" He tried.

     "Do you want to go to jail?" Ryan asked with a sigh. 

     "...No."

     "Then don't go to the police."

     Shane was hit with the sudden and very real consideration that he wouldn't make it on his own. This wasn't the way his life was supposed to go, and it certainly wasn't the life he was cut out for. Ryan, on the other hand. Ryan was intelligent. He was calm, resourceful, capable. Shane would never have thought of involving someone in a crime to keep them quiet. He'd never had dark bruises on his hands, couldn't slip subtle threats into conversations, didn't know how to dig a grave. Ryan was exactly the type of person Shane needed around.

     "You still haven't told me what the person on the phone said," Shane tried again.

     Ryan gave the smallest of unbothered shrugs. "Not my problem."

     Crossing his arms stubbornly across his chest, Shane gave Ryan a pointed look. He wouldn't move until Ryan told him, and maybe he still wouldn't move after that. Sat here, legs cramped, staring down a killer might be the safest he was going to be.

     Ryan rubbed his eyes, shaking his head with a sigh.

     "Shane," he said, exasperated, "don't make me drag you out."

     He didn't know if he believed Ryan would actually do that, but it would be one of the smaller man's tamer actions. He feared he was losing this battle, and panic started clawing at his lungs. There was only one more card he could play.

     "I'll tell you what I was running from."

guess who decided to rewrite her bfu fics five years later. ive got a creative writing degree now, so im putting it to good use.

this is an extract from my bfu fic Hitchhikers, which did pretty well back in the day. I started out as a bfu account, so I can only hope that some of my old readers are still around, and if you are, I invite you to reread this story with its improved quality.

it wasn't bad before, but i have been thoroughly cringing through a lot of it.

ive done 4 chapters so far! (and a few of my Axeman of New Orleans bfu fic.) you can tell a chapter is new through the indented lines. if you're new here, i recommend waiting for the updated chapters, rather than reading the old ones. they'll be far more dramatic.

so I hope you read, and I hope you enjoy!

[jakelandryshorts]

Photoshoot Part 01

Bryce felt a bit uncomfortable as he went to the tryouts for the photoshoot. It’d been a little while since he’d actually done one and his shape wasn’t exactly the contest ready it was supposed to be. ‘They’ll just fix it in post,’ he told himself; though a bit of anxiety still sat with him. He knew his abs had softened a bit. And his arms or shoulders weren’t nearly as sculpted as they should have been, but he figured with his size, it should still be fine.

However, stepping into the room, the anxiety he had quickly doubled into something far more than he was prepared for. He was surrounded by massive men. Each one a paragon of masculinity and libido. None of them looked like they’d taken the last year any lighter than they had been prior. ‘Shit…’ he cursed to himself.

He still held his head high as he walked over to the receptionist and took the form. She let out a bit of a snicker as he grabbed the paper. Bryce couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. His hand shook as he grabbed it. ‘You’ll be fine,’ he tried to sooth himself as he sat back down.

No one else really looked at him, yet he could only feel like all eyes were on him. Bryce tried focusing on the form. It asked him about his size, weight, date of birth and more. He filled it out. Then leaned back in his chair.

That’s when his phone buzzed in his pocket. ‘Hey man, thought you’d need a bit of a pick me up ;D,’ read the text message. It was quickly followed by a link to download an app.

“Strange…” Bryce muttered to himself. It caught the attention of the guy next to him who looked over at his phone and then snickered, going back to looking at his own phone. Bryce did his best to ignore it and then clicked on the link. It instantly downloaded something onto his phone. ‘Shit!’ he screamed in his head. The only things that download that fast are viruses. But when he went to the home screen there was a new app there. His thumb hovered over it for a second and then he clicked it. The app quickly loaded and the words ‘Type what you would like to change,’ appeared on the screen. “Strange…” Bryce repeated.

“You’ll need to do more than just type it,” the man next to him snickered again.

“Right…” Bryce agreed. He was still between anger and embarrassment.

“Maybe you could join my gym. You got the size, just need to trim up a bit,” the guy said. “Names Travis.” He pulled out a card with his name and gym information on it.

“Travis Smidt,” the receptionist called.

Travis got up out of his chair. “Just think about it,” he said.

Bryce gripped his phone even tighter. Travis was big. He clearly knew what he was doing. But the condescending way he spoke was really getting to him. He knew how to work out. It had just been a tough year. And he needed some time off.

His phone beeped. ‘Type what you would like to change,’ still was displayed on his screen. Bryce felt a pang of anger as he typed out, ‘I didn’t take a year off of working out or eating right and gained more muscle than I have since I started.’

“MMPH!” Bryce grunted as he felt a surge of power rush through him. Instantly every bit of him started expanding. His unkempt body changed rather quickly. At 230 pounds, he’d grown a bit of a gut, but that quickly resided. Instead, that weight rushed to his arms, chest and legs. His belly receded into firm, defined abs. They could even be seen through his shirt. But that became less than important as his thick round shoulders spread wide, tearing the fabric in two.

Bryce let out another grunt feeling the cool air of the office building brush up against his nipples. However, his attention turned to the rest of the room. Everyone was staring at him. “Excuse me,” he smiled uncomfortably and rushed to the bathroom. The front of his feet stuck out of his shoes making it a bit harder to walk.

He closed the door behind him and leaned his weight against it, then locked it. “What the hell?” he questioned. Somehow everything around him felt so much smaller. Like he’d gotten even bigger. In the corner was a scale. ‘249,’ it read. “No way…” he stared at the number in disbelief. “Almost 20 pounds in less than a minute?” But looking at the remnants of his clothes it had to be true. He quickly raised his arm giving it a flex. Not only was it far more defined, but he could tell it was bigger. Stronger. Denser.

“No fucking way!” Bryce’s confusion quickly turned to joy as he tore what remained from his shirt off his body. He twisted and turned to get every angle he possibly could. Everything was bigger. Everything was fuller. “This is so fucking crazy.” He looked down at his phone again. The words, ‘type what you would like to change,’ were still displayed.

A grin appeared on his face. ‘I’m sexy and everyone knows it,’ he quickly typed. Again, he could feel the differences take over his body. It mostly started in his face, making it more angular and squared. A bit of facial hair covered his chin giving him a more rugged look. But most surprising was the consistent bit of scentless sweat that covered his body. The light glistened off his muscles, giving him a constant glow about him.

Bryce smirked at the added effect. However, he still figured he should make sure to present himself properly and quickly typed that he’d have clothes that would fit him properly. As he hit enter, a bright blue shirt appeared over his massive chest. It clung tightly to his body leaving nothing to the imagination. The same was true of his shorts as they shrunk slightly to show off his big round ass a bit better.

With that Bryce stepped back out to the main lobby. The stares and looks he’d been given before had changed from confusion or laughter at his situation to something a bit more suggestive. He smiled and took his seat, waiting for his name to be called.

more stories on wordpress

[thedeathdeelers]

juke + fairy lights

again, this was supposed to be shorter but like..you know. hope you enjoy tho 🥺

——

He knew she was miserable.

She had caught a cold a few days ago, and she was going through it. Her nose was clogged up, her throat so sore she barely had a voice, and whenever Luke watched her try to get up and out of bed, she would lose her balance, nearly toppling over. Thankfully he had been there every single time to catch her, steadying her before leading her back into bed.

But now, sitting on the beanbag in her bedroom watching her as she scowled up at her ceiling, he knew he had to do something. Anything. He didn’t like seeing her like this, understanding all too well what she was going through - he remembered how awful it felt being stuck indoors doing absolutely nothing for days on end while watching everyone around you go about their day. She was a kindred spirit - he knew exactly how she felt.

Luke sneaked a look at Julie again only to find her staring out her window, a slight frown taking over her features.

Over the last few weeks, before Julie had gotten sick and had gotten stuck indoors, they had started spending their nights lying down side by side on the roof terrace outside her window, watching the stars twinkling away against the dark inky expanse of the night sky. Luke had seen the way Julie watched the sky, a look of wonder in her eyes followed by a smile that transformed up her face, conveying the unadulterated happiness she felt surrounded by the miracle of nature.

But now she was stuck inside, hidden from the lights that brought her so much joy.

Turning his head towards the window, Luke peered up at the night sky littered with stars stretching out as far as the eyes could see. For a fleeting second he had thought of suggesting they sit by her window on the floor and watch the shimmering spectacle from there, but had thought better of it. He knew it wouldn’t be the same, and he definitely didn’t want to move her from her bed or risk make her more tired than she already was.

He racked his brain trying to think up of an alternative, of a way to make her day a little brighter, when he suddenly remembered a picture Julie had shown him of her and Flynn posing in Flynn’s bedroom a while ago. He remembered being completely focused on the Julie in the picture at the time in her cropped Double Trouble t-shirt, but now that he thought back to it, he vaguely remembered seeing a string of lights twinkling away behind the girls in the background.

Hm, maybe...

With a tentative idea forming in his mind, Luke shot up from his seat, bouncing over to where Julie was lying on her bed. He kneeled down beside her, coming face to face with a sorrowful looking Julie.

“Hey,” he whispered, his fingers grazing her cheeks.

“Hi,” she mouthed back, her voice still absent after days of coughing and a sore throat.

“I’m going to go check on something with the guys, but I’ll be right back, okay?”

He watched as the corner of her lips tugged down, a slight pout forming.

She nodded at him, even though he could tell she wasn’t happy about him leaving her.

“I swear I won’t be long, just need to do something real quick.”

She nodded again, her bottom lip jutting out a little more. He chuckled, dropping a kiss to her forehead before getting up and poofing out of her room. He knew if he had spent a second longer looking at her pout, he would have caved and stayed put.

But no - the idea in his head was now fully formed and he wanted to do this for her. He was getting excited just thinking about the small chance that he might be able to make her feel a little better. He had to at least try.

He poofed into Carlos’ room, happy to find the littlest Molina playing on his iPad - communicating with him this time ‘round would be easy.

He moved in closer, clicking the lock screen button 3 times, just as Reggie had instructed him to. As soon as the third click sounded, Carlos’ head whipped up in his direction.

“Reggie?” Carlos quickly swiped out of the game he was playing, and switched to the program Luke knew how to use.

Holding out his iPad in Luke’s general direction, Luke grabbed the fake fancy pen attached to Carlos’ iPad he was told to use, and started typing out his message.

Watching the screen as letters and words started to appear, Carlos corrected himself.

“Ah, hey boy band.”

It usually got on Luke’s nerves when Julie’s little brother still insisted on calling him that, but right now he had more important things to focus on.

He finished typing out his request, and waited. Not a minute later, Carlos reached for his phone and started dialling the number Luke needed.

“Hey Flynn...no everything’s fine. What? How could you say that...I always call just to say hi...no.... Okay fine yeah, boy band needs something. No, not Alex. He’s drumstick. Yeah. Hers.”

Hers?

“Yeah, she’s still pretty sick, I think. Hasn’t really left her room for a few days, but neither has he, according to Reggie.”

Luke could hear Flynn’s eye roll all the way from the other side of the line.

“Yup, pretty much. Uh yeah so he- uh, I think he’s asking if he can borrow your star lights? I don’t know he just said uh-” Carlos referred back to his iPad, rereading Luke’s request. “Yeah, that’s what he said. I don’t know Flynn. Fairy-” Carlos turned his head back towards Luke, and asked “Do you mean fairy lights?”

Luke wasn’t entirely sure what they were called, but he figured they were on the right path.

He typed out his quick reply onto the screen, and watched as Carlos relayed his message to Flynn.

“Okay, yup. Cool, I’ll let him know. Okay okay, yes. Ok bye Flynn!” Carlos quickly hung up even though Luke was pretty sure he could still hear Flynn talking on the phone.

“So boy band, Flynn said the lights will be ready in like 5 minutes. She’ll leave them on her windowsill. She said to just grab them and leave, but she’ll want them back once Julie’s feeling better. She’s assuming they’re for Julie so..”

Carlos shrugged, and went back to his game, losing any and all interest in the ghost still standing in his room.

Luke reached out and quickly ruffled Carlos’ hair, poofing out just in time to hear an indignant yelp escape Carlos as he attempted to swipe at the space Luke had just vacated.

He reappeared outside Flynn’s house, taking his time walking around the perimeter of her house, keeping an eye on each first floor window he saw, unsure of which one led to Flynn’s bedroom. On his third walk around the house, he spotted a bundle of cables with stars attached to them sitting on the outside ledge of one of the windows on the North facing side of the house.

Luke poofed up, balancing precariously on the much smaller rooftop terrace as he grabbed the lights, waving them in the air once he noticed Flynn watching from the other side of window pane.

“You better take good care of her, lover boy,” she said, pointing a finger at him. “And don’t break my lights!”

With one final wave of the lights in his hand, Luke poofed out of there, quietly landing back in Julie’s bedroom. He hid the lights behind his back as he checked on her, making sure she wasn’t looking at him.

Once he was assured that she was asleep, Luke started setting up.

He started by hanging the lights around the top of her bed frame, the higher up, the better. He strung them across her ceiling, making sure to hook up the end of the fairy lights onto the hanging rod of her curtains. He then proceeded by wrapping the rest of the lights down the sides of her bed posts, leaving a couple of the soon-to-be blinking lights to pool onto the foot of her bed.

Satisfied with his work, Luke switched off every single light in her bedroom, plugged in the fairy lights and settled himself next to her on the bed, leaning against the headboard as he watched her sleep, a peaceful expression on her face.

Now all he had to do was wait.

——

A few hours later, while Luke was working through a difficult bridge in his head, his eyes closed as he rested against the headboard, he felt Julie shifting next to him.

He opened his eyes and found that she had turned to face him, her stare fixed on him.

“Hey sleepyhead,” he whispered, a small smile appearing on his lips.

Julie’s lips twitched, her hand appearing from under the covers to wave at him.

“You feeling a little better?” His fingers reached out, pressing against her forehead to check for any signs of the fever that had finally gone down yesterday.

At her nod, his smile transformed itself into a grin.

“Good, ‘cause I’ve got a little surprise for you.”

He could already feel the ball of worry in his chest getting lighter at the way her eyes lit up at the mention of a surprise.

“Come on, close your eyes. I just need you to sit up a tiny bit, though.” At his words, her eyes slid shut, her arms coming out from under the covers to push herself up into a slight sitting position. Once there was a little bit more space behind her for Luke to fit, he took his spot, slipping in between her and her headboard. He placed his hands on her waist, pulling her back towards him as they both settled themselves into a comfortable position, his legs on either side of her.

Once they were set, she leaned back against his chest, her head nestled in the crook of his neck, her eyes still closed but her smile a little wider.

“You ready?” He whispered in her ear, his hands lightly squeezing her sides once.

She nodded.

“Alright. You can open your eyes, boss.”

At his words, Julie’s eyes fluttered open, immediately followed by a small gasp escaping her as she took in their surroundings. Her hands shot up to cover her mouth before they landed back down into the bed a few seconds later in search of his.

He shifted his hands from her sides, moving them to rest on her stomach. Her hands instantly followed suit as she covered his with her smaller, softer ones, her fingers gripping onto his.

He watched her as she took in the show, the glimmering lights above and all around them reflected in her eyes.

Luke nudged her temple with his nose before placing a kiss on the soft skin under her ear.

“I figured since we couldn’t go outside to watch the stars, I’d bring them to you,” he whispered.

Julie’s hands tightened their grip on his, her eyes not leaving the spectacle in front of her.

As he continued to watch her, her eyes flitting from one dancing light to the other, he noticed a lone tear making its way down her cheek.

“Jules? Jules! Are you okay? Is something wrong?” Why was she crying? Did he do something wrong? Was it because he had moved her? Wha-

But before he could start to fully panic, Julie simply shook her head, before turning to face him.

“It’s perfect,” came her quiet whisper. “Thank you, Luke.”

At her words, Luke let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding in. “Of course Julie, anything for you. You know that.”

She stared at him for a few more minutes, the look in her eyes morphing into something that had his stomach erupting into thousands of fluttering butterflies.

“I love you,” she mouthed, her lips tilting up at the corners.

Three simple words. Three simple life changing words.

Luke could do nothing but stare at her, his mouth hanging slightly open, as his brain tried to process what was happening. Sure he had been head over heels for her from the moment he laid eyes on her, the moment he heard her sing. But to have her here in his arms, actually saying these words to him - he felt like he had somehow crossed over, finally making it into Heaven.

In his momentary daze at her proclamation, he had barely noticed Julie shifting again in his embrace, just enough so that she could cup his cheek with her hand.

“Luke?” She whispered questioningly. The sensation of her thumb brushing against his cheekbone jerked him out of his stupor, his hand coming up to press hers closer to his face.

“I love you too.” His voice was low, quiet & soft, but still full of all the conviction he could muster. At his reply, her eyes crinkled up with the force of the smile that was taking over her face.

He loved her. He loved her. He loved her.

He brushed her hand against his face, moving his head just enough so that he could place a kiss on the palm of her hand. The smile on her face didn’t budge as she withdrew her hand, turning her head around so that she was facing the lights in front of them once again.

She settled herself back against his chest as Luke wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, bringing her closer to him, closer to her place in his heart.

FIN

[sw124]

BonelyHearts Reader Insert

{Female!ReaderXSkeleton household}

Camping! Pt.1

It was nippy outside, no question there. But you couldn’t beat the sheer beauty of it all. The field was vast and filled with rolling hills turning the loveliest shades of tan from the upcoming winter season. There was not a tree for miles around. You stretched your arms back, breathing in that beautiful air, it was so crisp it would put an apple’s skin to shame. You let out a long breath, watching it curl into its own cloud before quickly dissipating.

“So pretty here...” you whispered to yourself.

“Human! Have you found a spot yet?!”

You turn to see your gaggle of skeleton friends all unloading things from the van, you smile and wave to Papyrus.

“One sec ok I think I found a great spot for us all!”

Happily you half-jogged down the little hill you were standing on and scoped out a nice spot, it was flat and void of twigs and leaves. You stamped the ground to be sure there weren’t any spots waterlogged from rain, but no the ground was perfectly dry and level.

Back up the hill you run and call out. “Guys over here, I found the perfect spot!”

Back down you raced and skipped around the spot, the first skeleton over the hill was Blue with the picnic table; a perfect sign that this spot is claimed by someone. Blue hands you the table and you set it up, he runs back over the hill. The next skeleton to come over the hill is Papyrus with some of the chairs, all neatly marked with everyone’s name on the back of each unique chair, including yours.

You take them and set them up in a line; to both keep them out of the way and to let everyone choose where they’d like to sit when things get ready. Boss and Ash were the next couple of skeletons over the hill bringing the tents. Poplar was close behind carrying some bags, Nox and Rus were the next two over the threshold carrying two large boxes.

You rushed back up the hill to the van and met up with Red and Sans who were digging stuff out of the van. You came up and collected what they just took out and went back to the spot, you set the things down and went back for more. Stretch passed you carrying some of the sleeping bags. You couldn’t help but imagine everyone plus yourself as a bunch of worker ants. You were the one to get the last of the things, the box labeled ‘plates, utensils and cleanup’.

You just reached over the crest of the hill, you watched as Boss and Papyrus began laying out the tarps for some of the tents while Nox and Blue set up the canopy tent, Stretch and Rus were getting the sleeping bags sorted out. Of course Sans was already napping in his chair, you walked over to Ash, Poplar and Red who were getting the portable fire pit ready. You set the things down and grabbed a bucket nearby, you turned to the skeletons.

“I’m gonna go get some water and firewood!”

“Wait human!” You paused as Papyrus walked up to you...Sans neatly tucked under one arm. “Take Sans with you, he needs to do something productive instead of lazing about!”

Sans gave you shrug after Papyrus sat him down, you smile and take his hand.

“Its not that far, lets go lazy bones.” You just had to giggle seeing the blush form on his face.

You and Sans didn’t have far to walk, the communal area was at least just a yard away. You paid for fire wood, making sure to have extra just in case also filling the bucket up with water. You told Sans to teleport the wood back to the campsite you’d be fine walking back with the bucket.

“Actually, I got a better idea.” Taking your hand and in a blink of an eye, the both of you were back at the campsite, firewood and water in hand.

“Ah you’re back! That was quick!” Papyrus took the bucket from you as Sans sat the fire wood down by Red.

“The hell- I don’t know how to start a damn fire, why you putting it by me?” Red growled.

“Well someone’s gotta know, other wise we’re gonna be ‘burned out’ by the end of this.” Sans chuckled, a echo of groans is heard.

You took the initiative, while Sans and Red went back and forth you began setting things up for the fire. Ash and Poplar watched, you balled up some dry-dead grass and layered some small twigs on it. Taking out a lighter you packed you lite the grass, after you got the smaller fire going you started layering on the wood. In a matter of a few minutes you had a nice fire all set.

“Fires ready.” You said, you felt a little proud seeing everyone’s expressions.

“Anything else that needs to be done?” You asked, surveying the layout.

“If you could set up the cooking station under the canopy that would be nice.” Said Poplar, Ash helping him stand up.

Nodding you went to the canopy and start unpacking, you unpacked the snacks first but kept the perishables like the fish inside the cooler along with the vegetables. You took out a large pot, pasta, ramen and other things and set them on a separate fold-out table; preparations for tonight’s dinner. You had just set out the last of the snacks when you heard Nox curse, you look to see him knelt down by a peg and holding his hand.

“Nox, you ok?” You walk over.

“I’m fine, I just caught the side of my hand with the hammer.”

You were quick to take his hand and inspect it, a habit of yours whenever someone had gotten an injury no matter how minor it was. Nox grumbles but doesn’t take his hand away, you gently rub his hand between yours to sooth the wound before standing back up. Giving him a sweet smile, was it your imagination or was he blushing.

“I’m setting up some snacks for when you boys are done, drinks too; I’ll let you know when there done.” You left before he could give you a reply, you had a task to complete.

You arranged the small snack bags into two groups, one side was for the shorter skeletons the other for the taller skeletons. Of course it had everyone’s name written on the baggies but this just made it simpler. Next were the drinks, coco and coffee. You took great pains to make sure the coffee was just right too, you brought a special hand grinder for the coffee beans.

The coco you decided was going to be just as special, you were going to make it just like how your parents did back when you were really small. As you were finishing everything up, something caught your attention. You turned and saw at least a few yards away a giant RV party bus pull in, it was blaring popular club music, you could feel the ground vibrating from it. You wrinkled your nose a little, the smug oozing off the thing was almost too much. You tried to tell yourself it might just be a family and their kids put the music on loud as a joke.....you were dead wrong. The people that stepped out were four young men. You wrinkled your nose again, everyone else around the campground were either elderly/young couples or families. Not these wannabe campers...

You turned back to your task, just ignore them and things would be fine. You took the pot of hot coco and poured them into some mugs, next was the coffee and whatever the boys put in their coffee. You basically memorized everything these boys put in their drinks. You had just finished pouring the last cup when you heard Papyrus’s triumphant laugh. You turn to find a rather impressive sight, three tents but they were all connected with small extension tunnels, length maybe a single meter?

“Whoa...” you whispered.

You had two large tents sandwiching a slightly smaller one in the middle, you walked over and marveled at them. Papyrus walked over, his hand proudly placed on his hips and chest puffed high.

“Yes a magnificent sight indeed human! A friend of ours lent this to us, the tent on the left over here is where I, Boss, Poplar, Rus and Stretch will sleep. Our brothers will be in the tent on the far right and you will have the center tent!”

You blinked, the center tent was yours? You unzipped the front and looked inside, for goodness sake the center tent could fit five fully grown adults it was so huge! It had pockets to fit your phone too, you looked to and saw two opening ��doorways’? Tentways? Whatever it was called you looked inside and goodness both sides were massive, but then again it probably was for the best since they were fitting five tall skeletons...and five short ones. Thankfully you found you could zip up both sides for privacy.

“What do you think human?” Asked Papyrus.

“Really amazing!” You couldn’t lie, this was impressive.

“Nyeheheh! Thank you human!”

“Well I’m glad your done cause I’ve just finish setting up the kitchen and have some hot drinks and snacks ready.”

You turned to get the drinks as Papyrus called everyone together, the skeletons all propped their chairs around the fire as you passed out their snacks, coco and coffee. You made yourself a cup of warm butterfly pea tea and sat down in your own chair. Rus softly blew across the top of his coco to cool it down before taking a sip of it, you smiled seeing his eyes light up.

“W-Wow...did you buy a new coco brand?” Rus looked at you, stars dancing in his eyes.

“No, I just made coco the way my parents did. No instant coco or coffee for this camping trip!” You giggle.

Ash smiled wildly as he tasted his coco along with his brother, Nox was inspecting his coffee, inhaling its steam to be sure you did a proper job in preparing his drink. You slyly rolled your eyes but didn’t hold it against him, good coffee is hard to come by or make right. Stretch though was not as picky and spoke up.

“Heeeeey this is pretty good, you sure you didn’t use the instant stuff?”

You knew he was poking fun at you but shook your head, you turned back to Nox, you caught a glimpse of his eyes going wide before returning to normal...followed by a fox like grin.

“Well my dear you certainly have been paying attention to my lessons on coffee haven’t you?” He purred.

“Yes, even I must admit you do have a way with making a good cup of coffee.” Replied Boss sipping his own cup.

Blue, much like Rus had stars dancing in his eyes, if the coffee was a little more cooler he might have chugged his entire mug down in a single go but it was still nice and hot so he had no choice but to sip. Red seemed to be restraining himself from downing his own cup as well. Papyrus and Sans were the last to speak up.

“Wowie human this is truly amazing!”

“Yeah, what did you buy?” Asked Sans, looking into his cup.

You smiled. “If you really want to know, I used milk, butter, sugar and coco powder all mixed together in a small cooking pot. My parents would make that kind of coco all the time in winter when I was really little, when I heard we were going camping I thought I’d share it with you guys.”

“Thats really nice...” said Ash, you smile at him...you were making a lot of skeletons blush today.

Papyrus spoke up next.

“So human, what shall we do now that we’re set up?”

[To be continued..]

[A fanfic reader insert for the fan-game @bonelyheartsclub I hope you enjoy and I will be planning more in the future with gender neutral or male centered readers, I hope you enjoy. Also I kinda guessed on what drinks the boys would like so don’t rag on me about getting drink choices mixed up ok? I’ll make corrections when I learn more about the boys]

[wind0wg0blin]

Wolf Predator x Reader

Gender Neutral Reader 

You accidentally befriend Wolf. An AvP Requiem Fix it fic if you will.

Also I didn’t beta read this & I wrote it on my phone so like, if theres a bunch of issues you know why lmao

It had almost been a full week since you had been kicked out of your house. You had decided to come clean to your parents about how you truly felt and the things you had been doing and they did not take too kindly to this. Being far from the perfect Christian child they wanted they simply threw you out with only the clothes on your back and the things in your pockets. 

You had been lucky enough to couch surf at some friends houses for the first few nights but now your luck had run out. Now you found yourself trudging through the sewer system in one of the larger tunnels that ran under the city. You had gotten a tip that a group of homeless people often stayed down here during the colder nights and if you wanted any long term chance of living on the streets you would need to get in with them. 

You had little more than the light from your lighter to illuminate your path. The already pitch black darkness only seemed more menacing with each scuffle coming from within it. You knew better than to be put off though. As nothing down here could truly hurt you. Or at least, this is what you thought. 

The tunnel you had been traveling through eventually came to an end. Opening into a rotunda, where multiple tunnels came to an intersection. You were still a few meters away from the true end of the tunnel when you heard strange inhuman sounds. Then came the gunfire and screams. 

You couldn't help the startled jump as you drove down trying to hunker against the side of the tunnel. You could see the large silhouettes of some creatures ahead of you. It was clear that they were fighting. It was also clear that one was losing. 

Massive black snake like monsters swarmed after a more humanoid but still oddly reptilian creature. It was outfitted in some kind of armor that seemed to be doing little good as one of the black serpents sunk its teeth into his leg. You wanted to look away, you wanted to turn and run. Yet something in you compelled you to stay, it made you want to help your fellow underdog. 

Crouching, you rushed forward to the edge of the tunnel following the pathway to stay out of the sewage. A piece of copper piping was laying propped up against the flooring of the sewer. The perfect way for you to make a distraction. 

Your plan was to get the attention of the monsters saving the other and allowing them to escape possibly killing you in the process. But in the end you would rather die knowing you saved another life than to not try at all. 

Taking the pipe in both hands you slammed it into the metal wall beside you. The reverberating Tang was more than enough to garner their interest but not their attention as the largest of the serpents continued its assault on the now struggling humanoid. 

Without thinking you blindly charged forward and brought the pipe down as hard as you could on the serpents back hearing a satisfying crack as it hissed in pain turning now to face you. You acted on instinct as you turned your grip and swung the pipe like a bat striking the monster across the face knocking it away from you. The other smaller monsters that had been lurking in the shadows watching you took this opportunity to lunge. 

Dropping to your knees in the filthy sewage you braced the pipe against the floor and using the creature's own momentum against it. It leaped directly onto you and appropriately directly onto the tapered end of the pipe driving it into its chest. Green blood leaked out from the wound as the pipe hissed and you stumbled back as it ate through it like acid and finally cracked. 

Just as you fumbled to get away from the dying serpent. The other smaller one darted out to attack you from behind. You had no idea this was even happening until you saw a ball of white hot energy fly past you and incinerate the creature. 

You couldn't help your ragged breath as you looked back to the humanoid. The largest of the monsters had vanished during your fight most likely fleeing back to the surface. Leaving you and the reptilian humanoid remaining. They stood before you now and in the moonlight you could make out their visage. 

A large mask covered their face. They were gauntlets and some kind of full body fish netting. Multiple gadgets covered their wrist and belt. They easily towered over you. The emotionless eyes of the mask glaring down at you as you suddenly realized that this had been a very very stupid thing to do. 

Your moment of terrified silence was broken when you heard distant screaming and the cries of that monster. 

All in a moment an object was being thrust into your hands and you were pulled to your feet. As you looked down and processed that a much too large spear had been placed into your hand, the creature strode a few paces away from you before quite literally punching through the ground above you. 

You stared in stunned horror for a moment before you watched the monster clamber out. When you slowly approached you could see that he was standing there looking back towards you expectantly. 

You couldn't help but yelp as you were once again manhandled being hoisted up by your forearm. 

Before you could even question what was happening your accidentally acquired partner was leading you away towards the town. 

-----

You had been following Wolf, what you had nicknamed the lone hunter, all over town chasing down this alien as you have come to understand. Your chase has led you all over town and now finally to the hospital where it seemed to be making its final stand against the two of you. It had always managed to slip away at the last moment in your previous interactions though this time you were certain you would not allow it to escape. 

As you made your way through the hospital you tried your best to ignore the trail of carnage that was left in its wake. Soon enough you found yourself outside on the rooftop of the hospital. You were surrounded by people from the town that had somehow found their way here as well as a swarm of aliens. You couldn't tell which was worse as stray gunfire threatened to off you just as much as the aliens stalking you in the shadows. 

Wolf had the predalien busy for most of the fight as you and the other towns folk focused on picking off the rest of the swarm. Things eventually came to a head as the once formidable swarm of aliens now dwindled in number and the townsfolk were clambering into the helicopter as it prepared for take off. Wolf though was nowhere to be seen. 

The only sign you had of his position was the deep roar that sounded out through the worsening rainfall. Stumbling over the slick roofing you forced yourself to move as fast as you could in the direction you heard the fighting. With the spear gripped tightly in your hand you could see just vaguely through the veil of rain that Wolf was pinned with his back to the wall. 

Panicking you did the only thing you could think of in that split second. Smashing the blunt side of the spear against the exposed air conditioning unit you screamed out towards the predalien in a means to draw its attention towards you. 

In all honesty, you had done this as a desperate attempt to draw it away from Wolf not expecting it to actually work. You felt your heart stutter in your chest as suddenly the predalien was charging at you roaring over the thunder of the storm. You screamed now this time in true terror as you threw the spear at it. 

The spear sailed cleanly over its shoulder clattering somewhere beyond it as the predalien now leaped for you. With nowhere to run you ducked back and forced yourself between the air conditioning unit and the wall of the hospital. You were able to squeeze down just out of the predalien initially swipe as it now tore at the metal of the unit to get to you. 

As you stared up at the hideous beast you honestly hoped this would not be the end of you. Everything had just seemed to be getting interesting for you. 

Closing your eyes you held your breath as you prepared for pain as the top panel of the unit was torn away exposing you to the predalien. Though just as you feared your end was upon you it was the aliens screams that filled the air and not yours. You were yanked back as the aliens blood splattered the ground where you had stood moments before eating holes through the flooring. 

The alien staggered a moment before collapsing into a pool of its own acidic blood. A spear protruding from the carapace of its skull. Wolf was standing behind you, his hand still firmly on your upper arm as he stared down at the body of the alien. 

You felt as if you didn't have time to do so much as catch your breath. Wolf was already moving, ushering you to follow him as he pressed buttons on his wrist thingy. You all but ran after him, his strides normally dwarfing your own but now his hurried step left you behind. 

You stopped and watched him feeling more than a little frustrated as to why now he had a sense of urgency. Wolf all but yanked his mask up off the floor before pointing at you forcefully and motioning hurriedly for you to follow. 

Though obviously you were not moving fast enough for him as he doubled back and threw your soaking wet form over his shoulder. You feel like you didn't protest as much as you really should have as you watched Wolf take what looked to be a step straight off the edge of the building. Though instead of plummeting to your death, his feet found surface on something you just had yet to have seen. 

Your eyes widened in shock as a spaceship materialized around you. Wolf dropped you down in a much too large chair as he sat down in a matching one to your left. The dash in front of you lit up in an array of switches, dials and buttons. Wolf hit something and suddenly the view of your hometown from the front window slipped away and transformed into the night sky. All in the matter of a night your life up until that point disappeared. Leading you to where you were now. Sitting in the pilot's chair of an alien spacecraft with an alien you accidentally befriended soaked to the bone. 

So much for being the perfect Christian child huh?

If you enjoyed please leave a like and reblog! Thank you so much <3 

[whatsmyline-pb]

The Art of Quitting

Part 3 of Inspired, Part 2 of Peaky Summer Bingo.

Tags: Fluff, humor, a bunch implied smut

Zalatwic (Polish): to accomplish something in a way that is either illegal or bends the rules, usually involve a bribe, political clout/connections, or simply personal charm

--

If asked, Alfie would deny that he loves Tommy. Not because he doesn’t (he absolutely, 100% does) and not because he’s some bumbling idiot who thinks himself above such emotions and is afraid to admit them to himself, but because Tommy is some bumbling idiot and Alfie’s not quite ready to risk scaring the little fucker away.

So Alfie holds back. He bites his tongue in uncharacteristic self-control and doesn’t let loose the mounds of adoration he so desperately wishes to bestow upon Tommy. One day he will, when Tommy is good and ready (or more likely okay and nearly ready), but not yet.

Instead, Alfie forces himself to focus on the bad— he needs something to keep him grounded, after all. Tommy has many flaws, so it should be easy. But the problem is those flaws are a strange amalgam of fortitude and hesitancy that should make loving him impossible but instead make not loving him a ridiculous, laughable endeavor, and in the end, Alfie’s left with his head in the clouds.

So it’s the trivial things that Alfie latches onto. Tommy’s smoking has been his main focus for weeks now, and he’s determined that Tommy quit the disgusting habit, even though he’s not once expressed the desire to do so himself.

Alfie takes a Pavlovian approach to it, at first. Every time Tommy lights up a fag Alfie delivers him a swift smack to the head, which has earned him uncountable glares and just as many blows in return. It’s gotten a bit out of control, Alfie has to admit. Tommy will flick his lighter with a wary eye trained on Alfie and Alfie will pretend he’s paying no heed and only when Tommy seems to have relaxed does he move to strike. But then Tommy’s only been feigning relaxation and is in fact ready for his assault and a ridiculous struggle ensues.

More than once this has led to them wrestling like adolescent fools on the streets. They inadvertently knock into an old lady one day who exclaims, cheerfully, “Goodness! Really boys, save the horseplay for the bedroom!” Tommy blushes a deep red and Alfie could kiss the woman. He refrains, instead scooping up the groceries that she’s dropped and escorting her to her car. (“Handsome and a gentleman to boot,” she beams. Alfie does kiss her, a polite peck on the cheek.)

Tommy’s long gone when he returns and Alfie has to ask a passing stranger, “You see which way a smoking man with brilliant blue eyes and a ridiculous haircut went?”

He finds him moments later, around the block, moodily stubbing his cigarette out. “You really need to befriend everyone we meet , Alfie?” he asks, and Alfie grins widely, throwing an arm around him.

—

When this counter-conditioning fails and leads only to the endangerment of the public, Alfie takes a more direct approach. He resigns to simply snagging each newly lit cigarette from Tommy’s lips and flinging them carelessly to the ground. Tommy, without fail, refuses to acknowledge this, fishes another from his pack in feigned indifference and lights it, only to have that one too snatched and thrown away, until the ruse leads to a pack fully spent and Tommy stalking off to the nearest corner shop in a storm of unbridled annoyance.

A sane person would retreat, take his newly purchased pack home and leave Alfie in the dust. But for some, inexplicable reason Tommy always returns, knocking impatiently on Alfie’s door minutes later, replenished and ready for more.

—

When Tommy at last addresses Alfie’s new approach it is night, and they’ve just had a spectacular and rather vigorous shag. Alfie’s just slipped out of him and Tommy is a puddle of bliss, pliant and open and satiated, cock soft and spent against his stomach. So naturally, it’s his next move to reach to his bedside table to extract the stowed pack, and naturally, Alfie plucks the pack quickly away and chucks it firmly against the furthest wall.

Tommy levels him with a look and Alfie shrugs.

“Die on your own time, sweetie,” he says.

It seems just the opportunity Tommy has been waiting for. He heaves himself up with determination and grabs his phone, scrolling through it, before shoving the screen into Alfie’s face.

And there they are, displayed in all their glory, the slew of photos Alfie had texted him just hours ago.

Alright, so yeah, Alfie had been craving a cigar earlier today, and yeah, he’d forced Ollie, burgeoning photographer that he is, to take some choice photos of him. Because Alfie knows how he looks while puffing on a cigar; knows that cigars are decidedly phallic and that Tommy's mind is as dirty as his and that, above all else, it is Alfie's humor that turns Tommy on, no matter how desperately he denies it. So, of course, he’d taken those photos for Tommy, sending them in an obvious attempt to rile him before their date that evening.

It had worked, hadn’t it? He's had Tommy moaning and writhing beneath him for the better part of two hours and they’d missed their dinner reservations entirely.

Now, Tommy displays those photos inches from Alfie’s face and triumphantly proclaims, “Hypocrisy at its greatest.”

But Alfie just laughs, wraps his hand around Tommy’s soft cock, and says, “Was just reminding you what this mouth could do.”

—

This gives Alfie another idea. He begins tallying on his phone just how much Tommy smokes in a day. At the end of the first day, as soon as they've entered his flat, he exclaims, “Seventeen!”

Tommy blinks at him blankly, says, “What?”

“That’s how many cigarettes you’ve smoked today and that’s how many blow jobs you owe me. So on your knees and pay up.”

Tommy does his best to look affronted but in the end, after a long silence, cracks a lopsided smile. “Alfie, you can’t keep it up for three blow jobs, let alone seventeen.”

Alfie is undeterred. He pins Tommy with the most serious of looks and declares, “Challenge accepted.”

He makes it to four.

—

As delightful as it was, this experiment backfires stupendously, because now every time Tommy has a fag resting casually in his lips Alfie’s mind goes quickly south and he squirms with arousal and Tommy sends him knowing, satisfied smirks.

“Alfie,” Tommy says, “is something the matter?”

“Tommy,” Alfie says, “Go fuck yourself.”

And so a new routine emerges, in which Alfie pretends he doesn’t care and Tommy sucks down too many cigarettes and Alfie has to eventually leave the room .

—

One night, when they’re undressing, Alfie realizes he’s forgotten to notice the smoking at all that day. Forgotten to notice because there hasn’t been any, and only when Tommy is laid beneath him bare and naked but for a small square patch on his arm does Alfie still in alarm.

He stares and blinks and catches his breath with a determined calm.

“You… Do that for me?”

Tommy rolls his eyes.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Just sick of your antics.”

In Tommy-speak that’s a resounding yes. Alfie feels a bit lightheaded. He brings him in for a kiss, long and deep, and when they part it just happens, just slips out on its own accord.

“Fuck, but I love you,” he says.

Tommy huffs out an exasperated sigh, mutters, “For fucks sake,” and tries to pull away. But it’s undeniable, that Tommy’s cock had leapt at his words (practically bounced off Alfie’s hip, hadn’t it?) and it spurs Alfie shamelessly on.

“Fucking love every little thing about you, don’t I?” He grins, cupping him suggestively, nosing against his throat. Tommy shoves him away.

“We've been over this, Alfie. Smaller than yours doesn’t equate to little.”

Alfie smiles broadly. It’s just too goddamn endearing how incapable Tommy is of letting a compliment simply stand. He pulls him back in.

“Don’t worry, treacle,” he says, “you’re just perfect, ” and proceeds to prove to him just how true he believes this to be.

[tommytranselo]

“you're really cute, you know. “ joevito

this one also turned out pretty long, whoops.  anyway no warnings besides language, text under the cut, prompt list here ~~~~

“You take that end, I take this one,” Vito says, gesturing to the couch in front of them on the lawn.  They’re in the process of hauling furniture into the new house, Vito having elected to do it himself instead of letting the moving company send their men–after that damned apartment salesman, he’s had enough with strangers in his house.  Joe hadn’t been thrilled to volunteer, but upon hearing Vito evidently intended to go it alone, he’d somewhat reluctantly enlisted his services.  Now here they are, in a yard full of furniture that Frankie mostly picked out.

“Alright, I got it.”

“On three,” Vito says.  “One...two...three!”  With a grunt, they heft the couch in unison and start shuffling towards the door.

“Shit, this thing is heavy,” Joe complains.  “You couldn’t have picked a lighter model?”

“What, you can’t handle this?  Not going soft on me, are you?” Vito replies tauntingly, though his voice is strained with effort.  “It’s only a little further.”

It’s a struggle, but they get it into place against the wall.  Joe wipes his brow, face creasing with dismay as he realizes Vito’s already bouncing out of the house again.

“You coming or what?” he hollers, halfway out the door.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” he calls back, following.

“I want to get all this stuff inside quick, before it rains or something.”

“It’s not gonna rain.  There’s not a cloud in the sky.”

“Over there.”  Vito points off to the horizon, far to the west.

“They’re miles away.  And they’ll blow right past us.”

“Oh, since when are you a weatherman?”  He picks his way between a couple smaller pieces to the dining room table resting on the grass.  “Just give me a hand with this one, will ya?”

A couple hours later they have, at long last, gotten it all inside.  Joe mostly trails after him as Vito skitters around putting the smaller things into place–lamps, pictures, the phone and radio–and makes occasional suggestions that are, inevitably, waved off.  Joe doesn’t even mean them, mostly, just finds it fun to tease him.  It’s clear Vito doesn’t know a damn thing about decorating, but he throws himself into it anyway, albeit haphazardly, and Joe can’t help but find his seriousness about it all endearing.  After a while he ends up on the newly placed couch, watching in amusement as Vito rearranges the little details of the living room two, three, four times even, trying to get everything just how he likes it.

At last he winds down, standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips, slowly looking around.  “I think that about does it.”  A sound draws his attention to the window; he frowns for a second, then cracks a smirk.  “Told you it was gonna rain.”

“Alright, so you did,” Joe admits.  “But hey, we got everything in with plenty of time to spare.”

“I guess we did.”  He skirts around the coffee table and flops down on the couch right beside Joe with a heavy but contented sigh.  “I’m beat.”

“Me too.”

They sit there in silence for a moment, listening to the rain.  Vito stares up at the ceiling, smiling, and slowly an exhausted little laugh comes bubbling up out of him.  “Jesus Christ, we did it.  I can’t believe it.”

“What, moving a bunch of furniture?” Joe says, though even confused he can’t help but grin too.

“No, I mean...I always wanted a house like this.  And I finally made it.”  He turns to look at Joe, beaming, and Joe feels his heart skip a beat.  “Couldn’t have done it without you, Joey.”

Joe keeps staring at him, nearly starstruck seeing him smile like that; even after how well the past couple months have gone, it’s a smile he hasn’t seen in a long time, and Joe swears it could light up all of Empire Bay.  Vito looks up at the ceiling again, still breathless.

“Ah, thanks for helping.  I’d say let’s go out and celebrate, but I’m worn out.  And I don’t feel like going out in this weather, anyway…”

Joe shrugs.  “Who says we have to go out to celebrate?”

“Good point...staying in sounds pretty nice right about now, honestly.”  After a moment he takes his eyes off the ceiling; his expression turns quizzical when he realizes Joe’s still staring.  He laughs again softly, and Joe’s smile widens.  “What are you looking at me like that for?”

“Ah, nothing.”

His cheeks are turning pink.  “No, come on.  What is it?”

Joe shakes his head.  “Nothing, just...you’re really cute, you know.”

Vito goes from pink to bright red.  He drops his gaze in a hurry, but he can’t help the smile that lingers on his face.  “Oh.  Shit, Joe, I...”

“Come on.  You're cute when you get all excited.”  Joe raises his eyebrows.  “Ain't seen you smile like that in a while.”

He's turning redder by the second.  “Knock it off,” he mumbles, but he has to admit he's flattered.

They look at each other for a moment.  Joe reaches over and pats his cheek, then jerks his hand back like he's been burned.  “Oof!  The heat coming off you, you won't even need a fireplace.”

“You're an ass,” Vito says, chuckling and swatting at him weakly.  “You keep on like that, I'll…”

Joe leans forward, challenging.  “Yeah?”

Another brief staredown, leaning towards each other, and then all at once Vito plants a hard kiss right on his mouth; his heart’s in his throat, and oh, god, Joe's kissing back.  His face is just as red as Vito’s when they break apart.

“Huh,” he stammers, “I guess you were serious.”

“Yeah,” Vito replies shakily.  “Can't believe I made you of all people blush.”

Joe turns a shade redder.  “Well, I–” but for once, he's at a loss for words.

Vito just shrugs, smiling nervously at the floor, his heart still racing.  “You know something?” he says after a moment, as that nervous grin turns to a smirk.  “You're pretty cute too.”

“Ah, shut up!”

[echo-hiraeth]

Chapter 6: “Te quiero”

Part of the “Illicit Limerence” series

Pairing: Javier Peña x F!Reader

Summary: Having her back in his arms, Javier needs to figure out what happened and more importantly what to do next.

Warnings: swearing, medical check-ups, angst, mentions of abusive household/parent, mentions of injury

Masterlist

Previous chapter

Next chapter

“¿Qué paso?”, he repeated, dashing his way over to you.

You opened your mouth but the only thing you managed to choke out was a loud sob. Protesting, aching muscles as you launched yourself into his arms, knees buckling as he grabbed a hold of you, entire body shaking with pent-up fear and emotion. He clung onto you, slowly sliding down the door to sit on the floor, keeping you pressed against his chest. Your cries sounded almost like screams, the intensity of it all causing Javier’s heart to go in a frenzy of trepidation and alarm. He’d never seen you like this, he knew what you were like when you were shaken or anxious, and this was anything but that. You were fucking hysterical, the way you ripped at the fabric of his shit not lost on him.

He stared straight ahead of him as he just held you, not bothering to say anything or try to touch you. It was best to let it all out now and God-fucking-damn was he happy he was here. When you hadn’t called him even once today, he grew a little worried, though not enough to do anything about it. It wasn’t until he’d talked to Steve about it, who revealed what had previously gone down in your childhood home, that he grew worried. By the time he’d gotten home from work, which was rather late, you still hadn’t called him. It was then Javier decided to call the hotel and after some light blackmailing the receptionist informed him that you’d left a couple hours ago. He’d fucking ran out of his apartment, not bothering to even tempt the hell that was evening traffic as he just sprinted through the familiar streets. By the time he was in front of your door, out of breath and soaked in sweat, it was about half past eleven. He knew there was a late flight and that you could be coming home any minute, so he decided to call Connie and Steve, informing them about what he’d discovered. They’d promised to call him if you showed up at their door, but just as he hung up the phone, disappearing in the bathroom to wash the sweat off of his face, he’d heard you come in.

 The poor man’s heart had crumbled at the sight. You were hunched over, eyes completely void of their usual light and joy, shirt torn and stretched out jeans not looking any better. Whether you’d been snatched by your father or a sicario was unclear to him – hell what happened was a complete fucking mystery. As your wailing diminished in volume and intensity, he carefully started scanning your face, scolding himself for not just being able to read you.

A black eye had begun to form, bottom lip busted and you had some smaller scratches scattered across the rest of your face. Your nose seemed to be somewhat askew as well, though that might’ve just been the lighting or even his paranoia. It was hard for him to be calm, anger and frustration fighting his self-discipline for the upper hand. But he wouldn’t allow it, you needed him to be there, you needed your Javi, not the vengeful, bloodthirsty agent. So he closed his eyes, pressing a tender kiss to the crown of your head as he counted to ten, taking a set of essential, deep breaths.

When the sobbing died down to sniffles and silent tears he slowly started to move, standing up with you in his arms. You were limp in his arms even though you were fully conscious and aware of your surroundings. He laid you down in the bed, slowly unlacing your tennis shoes as you looked up at the ceiling. You were usually very talkative so your lack of babbling was incredibly unsettling to Javier.

“I’m gonna take these clothes off, okay?”, he softly announced, searching you for any sign of protest.

He slowly got you out of your ripped jeans, shirt and underwear, only leaving the room to throw them into your laundry bin. While he was in the bathroom he wet a washcloth and grabbed a towel to help you wash up. As he sat back down next to you, he put a hand on your knee, to let you know that he was right there with you.

“Stop me if it hurts too much”, he whispered as he started dragging the cloth over your face.

You were still looking up at the ceiling, hands fisted in the sheets. Painfully aware of every sore spot as Javier carefully cleansed your skin. A hand found its way to your abdomen, slowly resting on the warm skin there, preventing him from touching you there.

He understood the message and left it alone, finishing up on your legs before chasing the wet skin with the soft towel. The chances of you speaking up about it tonight were low to non-existent, even he could figure that out for himself. So he decided to just help you into a fresh pair of underwear and a t-shirt, sliding the covers over your still form when he finished.

“I’ll be right with you baby, I’m just gonna give Murphy a call”, he promised, sat on his knees beside the bed. “If you need anything, just shout.”

When he left the bedroom he felt like screaming. He was fucking angry, enraged, livid. Who in their right mind would hurt his girl.. he wanted – needed answers. That’s when he dialled his best mate’s number, no matter the hour, he needed to figure this shit out, right this instant.

A groan was heard from the other side of the line, followed by some shuffling. “Murphy.”

“She’s in bed, battered and bruised”, Javi stated, voice completely monotone.

“Shit – do you need me to come over?”, Steve replied, sounding more awake already.

Javier rested a hand against his forehead. “I need some of my stuff, I’m staying with her but I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course, I got that spare key around here somewhere. Fucking hell Peña… did she say anything?”

He sighed into the horn, feeling completely drained of any energy. “Not a single word, she was hysteric.”

“And the baby?”, he asked, tone changing.

“I-I don’t know.. didn’t really see any bruising but I don’t know.”

There was some more shuffling on the other end, the sound of metal hitting the floor. “I’ll be there in thirty.”

Hanging the phone back on the wall, he leaned over to glance into the room. You were still there, facing the door, eyes closed. He came back into the room, trying his best not to make any noise. As he got closer he could tell you were asleep, hands clutching onto the pillow next to yours, the one he slept on. He heaved another sigh, not entirely sure what to do now. He didn’t want to lay down next to you, reeking of sweat and knowing Murphy would be here soon. So he headed back into the other room, making his way over to the kitchen. Fuck he wanted a smoke, you probably had a pack around here somewhere. He started a frantic search, the urge to soothe the tension and panic growing stronger every passing moment. And there it was, a half empty pack of neatly rolled cigarettes, stowed away behind an empty cookie jar. He pulled the lighter from his back pocket, hands shaking with anticipation. The first drag felt like pure elation, so much so that he moaned at the sensation, his free hand tangling in his matted hair.

“Fuck baby, you’re breaking my heart”, he muttered with his eyes closed, bud pursed in-between his lips.

As soon as the smoke started curling towards the bedroom he stepped away from it, opening the windows in the living room. He smoked two more cigarettes and got your bag up off the floor before Steve arrived. The familiar knock making Javier jolt out of his slumber-like state. He opened the door, an overnight bag immediately pushed into his hands.

“She in there?”, Steve asked, already making too much noise for his liking.

“Yeah”, he put the duffel bag on the couch, “but keep it down.”

Steve rubbed a hand over his moustache, glancing into the room from where he stood. “Hysteric you said?”

“She was fucking weeping man”, he spat, lighting a fourth cigarette.

“Her dad?”, his friend asked, helping himself to a cig as well.

Javier let his head drop as he took a deep breath. “I don’t know, she’s been dead silent. Has he done this before? Is there a case against him in the States?”

“Not that I know of.. her mother just sorta made her promise never to get authorities involved, saying he’s still her dad and shit.”

“Bull fucking shit, a father doesn’t throw hands like that. You should’ve seen the state of her, jeans ripped to shreds, lip fucking busted open.. fucking repulsive.”

Steve put a hand on his shoulder, quirking an eyebrow towards the bedroom. “Watch the voice Javi, let’s just go outside.”

He shook his head, extinguishing the cigarette in the sink. “I wanna be here if she wakes up.”

“I understand, let’s just sit down, you need to settle down”, the blonde offered. “Let’s just have a beer and talk things through, yeah?”

The two men sat on the couch and shared a couple of drinks, talking everything over. When you were ready to talk they’d listen to you and if you’d be willing to file a case, then they’d fucking handle it for you. Steve had brought up the baby again, suggesting Javier take you to a hospital and get your injuries noted down. Javier had confided in Steve about how scared he’d been, frantic upon hearing you’d left the hotel. He’d listened to him, reassuring him you were a strong and smart woman and that you’d tell him if something was wrong. Furthermore Steve had promised to handle things at the embassy the next day, ensuring your boyfriend could stay with you all day. Javier had gratefully agreed, not wanting to so much as set a foot out of your apartment until you’d tell him you were okay.

“I should head back for the night, Con doesn’t like sleeping alone.”

He followed him to the door, clapping him on the back as he reached for the door handle. “Thanks, Steve, I appreciate it.”

“Just do us all a favour and take a shower, you fucking stink”, Steve teased, shaking his partner’s hand. With that he left the small apartment.

“Pendejo.”

But he was right. The bathroom sink and a hand-towel would have to do for now, the shower way too noisy at this hour. He slipped into a fresh pair of briefs, putting some cologne on before joining you in the bed. Your hand was still on his pillow, so he carefully pried it off, holding it in his as he scooted closer towards you.

 When you came to a couple hours later, all you could smell was him, your face nestled in the crook of his neck, a warm palm resting on your neck. By the light pouring in from the windows you could tell it was morning, but you felt completely exhausted still. As your brain slowly woke up as well you felt the way your body started quivering again. The man beneath you groaned lowly, nudging his chin against the top of your head as he changed positions. The more you focused on trying to make the trembling stop the worse it got, to a point where you just started crying out of frustration. Javier was quick to notice, rolling over onto his side, covering your body with his, ready to shield you from any harm. When he noticed what was going on he just laid back down, pulling you on top of him and securing you in a loving, comforting hold.

“S’okay, I gotchu, nothing’s gonna hurt you here”, he murmured into your hair.

The shaking got less and less severe the longer he held you, lips pressed to your forehead. You felt like you could finally breathe again, as if the heaviness within your chest had finally lifted, so that’s what you did. Javier’s ears perked out as he heard the shuddering breath.

“Need some fresh air?”

You looked up at him, eyes meeting his for the first time in ages. It took your breath away, suddenly very aware of your surroundings and what had occurred last night. The words left your lips before you could even comprehend it: “I love you.”

His eyes went wide with shock. “W-what?” It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard you, he just didn’t understand it. Well, he understood the semantic meaning of the phrase but he didn’t understand why you said it.. to him.. like now or at all. “Wait- shit, are you sure?”

It was your turn to just stare at him, not comprehending the situation yourself. “Huh?”

“I’m gonna kiss you, yeah?”

You closed your eyes, letting his lips slowly hit the space above your upper lip, strategically avoiding the injured one.

“Did you hit your head or something”, he softly joked, thumb tracing the outline of your cheek.

The tiniest smile formed on your lips, fingers lacing with his. “Thank you for being here.”

“Are you feeling up to eat something?”

You just nodded, not finding the energy to do much more. He got out of the bed, walking over to your side to help you stand. You braced your hands on his chest, forehead resting on his sternum. It wasn’t that you needed the support, you’d be fine walking on your own, you just wanted to be close to him a little longer.

“I-I’m scared”, you blurted out.

“Hmm?”, he questioned, tilting your chin up to look into your eyes.

“The baby- I-I haven’t felt… pregnant.. What if-“

He put a finger over your lips, encouraging you to stop talking. “We’ll go see a doctor after you’ve eaten something, I promise.”

You let out a shaky breath before cupping his jaw, giving him a half smile before walking out of your bedroom. The fact that he was here was beyond your comprehension. This was all you ever wanted and yet you couldn’t find it within yourself to be happy about it, the gnawing feeling of knowing the baby might not be okay eating away at you.

 After the two of you had eaten a small breakfast he drove you to the clinic as promised, his hand laced with yours the entire ride. He didn’t ask questions, instead respected your silence and didn’t push on it. His aviators rested on your nose, preventing the early sun from blinding you as you drove through the bustling streets of Bogotá.

“You want me to come with you?”, he asked, eyes squinted at the bright sunrays.

“Uh yeah, if you don’t mind..”, you shyly answered, raising a hand towards the window to provide some shade.

He pulled on the handbrake, turning his head to look at you. “I’ll only be there if you want me there, corazon.”

 The hospital was rather calm, aside from some emergency patients being rolled in. Javier had flashed them the good ole’ DEA badge, making you somewhat of a priority patient. He insisted you get some scans and x-rays done first, wanting to make sure none of the bruising and swelling was anything serious. Afterwards the two of you were put into a waiting room together, him with a coffee in his hands and you with your head on his shoulder, resting your eyes just a little while longer.

“Peña”, someone announced. Javi gave a nod, and the two of you followed a man into yet another room. “I hear baby needs a check-up too?”

“Uh yeah, we’re just a little worried”, he told the doctor, a protective hand on the small of your back.

The doctor gestured for you to take a seat in the medical chair, wheeling a cart carrying various equipment closer to it. “Well let’s have a quick look then. You can take a seat next to your wife.”

Javi sat down in the chair next to yours, giving your shoulder a reassuring squeeze as the doctor lifted your shirt. The gel was absolutely freezing, making you huff out an awkward chuckle. The applicator slid over your skin, the doctor trying to locate your baby as you looked over at Javier, who seemed to be entranced by it all. His brows were furrowed as he closely watched the doctor’s every movement, ready to step in if needed.

“There we go”, you both looked up at the screen, “baby looks good so far.”

“N-no complications?”, you squeaked out.

The doctor smiled at the two of you, flipping a switch on the cart to let the two of you hear a thumping sound. “Heartbeat is perfectly normal as well.”

You covered your eyes, letting out a sob as you listened to the rhythmic pulse. Javier was right there with you, eyes glossy with unshed tears. There was something so strange about it all, the stress and tension of the previous weeks suddenly just disappearing. It was peaceful, a moment nobody could intrude on or steal away. That was his baby right there, on that small screen. This was it, his everything, the woman he loved and the baby he never knew he wanted- needed. The doctor had stepped out, muttering something about giving you some time alone.

“I-I love you”, Javier expressed, bringing your free hand up to his lips and he’d never meant it more.

You dragged him down to you, crashing your sore lips on his. When you broke apart you wiped one of your tears off his face, slowly chuckling to yourself. “Te quiero Javi.”

 After your ultrasound finished up you got your results and when you were told there was nothing to worry about, the two of you set out on your way back to your apartment. Along the way you’d discussed filing for a restraining order and Javier had swerved the car back around, heading straight for the embassy.

“I-I don’t know if I should go inside”, you protested, suddenly feeling very nervous and self-aware.

“You’ll be fine, amor, it’s lunchtime anyway”, he assured you, pulling the keys from the engine.

You trailed behind him, clutching onto his hand as you walked into the building, looking down at the floor to avoid any and all stares. He swiftly pulled you into your shared office, where Steve sat in his chair, feet propped onto his desk. He promptly extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray on his desk, standing up to walk over to the two of you.

“I’m gonna start a case”, you announced, engulfing your friend in a lingering hug.

He patted your back, closing his eyes as he squeezed you a bit tighter. “I’m so proud of you, girly. We’ll get through this.”

The guys helped you set up your defence, Javi eventually taking one of the polaroid cameras to capture the evidence. He had you strip down to your undergarments, fixing the lighting to make sure the bruises and scratches were plenty visible. When he’d gathered images of your body be eventually got started on photographing your face, tilting your chin and adjusting his angles every so often. Steve had walked in, when you were once again fully dressed, staring into the lens.

“I take it baby’s good then?”, he asked, examining some of the developed polaroids.

“Yeah, don’t need to go back for another four weeks”, you’d replied, not wanting to overshare in the moment.

“This a maternity shoot or what?”, he joked, noticing the effort his colleague was putting in.

Javier put the camera down, ignoring Steve’s joke as he neatly stowed the images away in a brown envelope. “Let’s get some statements and then we can send this shit in.”

“Are you sure you want to be here for this?”, Steve asked so only him and Javi could hear.

“I need to know what that scumbag did to her.”

The blonde sighed, shaking his head: “This is about her, yeah? So keep your cool.”

He hit his partner on the head with the envelope. “I’ll go get the tape-recorder.”

You told the story just as it happened, sparing them no details. The urge to just get up and leave was there, but you wanted this all to done and dealt with. So you bit your tongue, answering Murphy’s questions one by one, taking five minute breaks after the really tough ones. By the end of it you were just about ready to get the fuck out of there.

“You got a good lawyer back home, in case he takes it to court?”

You looked up at Steve, lips pursed into a thin line as you impatiently tapped your fingertips against the table. “I’ve got some ideas, yeah. But if we’re done I’d really like to go home, I’m fucking bushed.”

He got up off his chair, stowing your signature and tape into the envelope containing the pictures. “’Course, you coming in on Monday then or?”

“Well I technically still have another week off, but I’ll see, I’ll give Con a call.”

“C’mon let’s go”, Javier intercepted, a hand on your upper back.

Once out of earshot you leaned into his side, whispering: “What was that about?”

“I want you all to myself tonight, amor, tonight is all about you.”

Taglist: @pedritomando @peterhollandkait @ophelia-ingenue @radiowallet @phoenixhalliwell @diogodxlot @rosiefridayrogersunday @a-court-of-feysand-and-elorcan​

[wisp-exe]

Okay fine ill post the story i wrote abt my found family. @vanillawaiver @killza-minecraft @ari-is-lonely @jackstanifold @157-bees @remy-roth

im sorry i used the wrong pronouns 4 u karmen but i submitted this for an english assignment and my teacher probably wouldnt accept the right pronouns

The microwave burst into flames as the light bulb exploded. CJ flinched back hard, staring at the flames. She was pulled out of her stupar by a hand on her shoulder.

“What are you doing, CJ?!” Karmen asked, grabbing the fire extinguisher.

“Ah, nothing. Sorry, I zoned out.” She responded, calmly.

The storm let out a loud BANG. Karmen had started to clean up the mess. CJ decided to go find her brother. She entered the living room, it looked old. All the furniture was victorian style. Marv sat on the dark green couch, right by the fireplace. He was reading a book she couldn't quite read the title of. The fireplace was big, and beautiful. It was engraved with stories told in pictures. The main one was the story of Theseus.

The story of Theseus is about a man who slays a beast, and then gets banished. A king, Lycomedes, takes him in. This is where the story has different endings. Theseus either falls off a cliff, or is pushed by Lycomedes.

CJ had been pulled out of her thoughts by another BANG from the storm.

The storm was louder than before, some might find it scary. That ‘some’ just happened to be Phil. He jumped at least a foot into the air at the next sound of thunder, before calming down and going back to the book he was reading, it was about Greek Mythology.

CJ distantly wondered where her brother Tommy was.

Meanwhile, on the second floor, Wilbur was wandering the halls. He couldn't find it in himself to settle down in one place. He glanced out the window, the storm looked like it would just be getting worse. Guess he was stuck inside. He should go find Ari and Bee. That would entertain him.

Bee was alone in their room. They were scrolling through their phone, when they decided to go find someone else in the house. Bee got off their bed and walked out the door. The hallway was dingy, and clearly water damaged. The carpet was a dark red with some gold details. They started down the hall. After just a few steps they could feel someone watching them. they suddenly felt a hand on their shoulder. They felt the cold metal of a knife at their throat. They let out one last scream before everything went dark.

There was a scream from the second floor. Everyone rushed to find the noise. What they saw terrified them. It was the dead body of Bee. They had been stabbed in the throat. Marv screamed. Everyone was crying. The death was clearly not an accident.

“Oh my god, someone here is a murderer!” Phil exclaimed.

Everyone looked at each other suspiciously

“Well it can't be CJ. She's so nice” Tommy spoke

“What if it was Wilbur? He was alone!” Marv shouted

“So were you!”

What if another person gets killed? The storm was raging, and people were blaming Wilbur. He was upset. Bee was his best friend. Everyone agreed to return to their rooms for the night and hope for the best. The phones aren't working anyways, the internet had gone out and there was no service in the area their airbnb was in. Wilbur decided to entertain himself with the bad mobile game he downloaded that was full of ads unless there was no internet.

Wilbur’s room was one of the smaller ones, consisting of just a bed, desk, and wardrobe. The bedsheets were a medium blue, and were queen size even though the bed was only a twin. He had set his bag on the dark spruce desk. The floor was a lighter oak wood color.

Wilbur heard a knock at his door. He didn't know who it could be, everyone was scared of him because they think he killed Bee.

“Who is it?”

Another knock, this time in a melodic pattern.

“Alright, fine i'm coming.”

Wilbur opened the door and froze. In Front of him was the killer, holding a bloody knife. He felt like he was going to puke at the sight of his friend’s blood. The murderer gave him a wicked grin. They covered his mouth as they stabbed him, making sure no one could hear the scream. Wilbur’s room was a bit aways from the closet inhabited room.

Wilbur’s body was found the next morning. No one felt safe around the others. It was only Karmen, CJ, Tommy, Marv, and Ari left, so it was easy to avoid each other in this big house.

Karmen was currently making themself toast. The toaster went off with a ding. Karmen put their toast on a plate, and spread butter on it. They then entered the living room to eat in front of the fire.

They heard footsteps from behind them. They turned just in time to get a glance at the killer, before being shoved into the fire. They screamed as they were burned. Soon the house was filled with the smell of burning flesh, the killer was nowhere to be seen.

Later around 11pm, the remaining people decided to stay together. They were in one of the bigger bedrooms, it had two beds, its own bathroom, and lots of floor space. The room’s color theme was green and yellow. Then the power went out. Tommy had taken out a flashlight and turned it on.

“I always keep it on me in old places, just in case.”

Marv felt like something was off. CJ was nowhere to be seen.

He had gotten stabbed, so had Ari. CJ had a sick grin on her face, Tommy had a neutral look on his. That was the last thing he saw.

CJ and Tommy proceeded to walk to the main staircase, not speaking a word. CJ started to walk towards her room.

“CJ, wait. I have something to tell you.”

CJ approached him, “What is it Tommy?”

She was going to say more when she felt herself get shoved over the railings, falling straight from the third floor to the first. There she laid, bleeding out in the middle of the beautiful entry way. Tommy then left the airbnb.

Thomas closed the book, “And that was the last they saw of Tommy, some say he still might be killing, without his sister. Others think he settled down with a family. I guess we will never know.”

[all-might-can-smash-me]

New Girl

Keigo Takami/Hawks x reader

Summary: You run into prohero Hawks while on night patrol for the agency that took you in after recently graduating from UA

Masterlist

You were fresh out of the hero course of UA and you just simply couldn’t believe it. It all felt so surreal, like it was still all just a big lucid dream you would have as a child with a mind that would yearn to be a hero. It was real though, all those tough years in UA and training got you here. You may have just been a sidekick in a smaller agency, but it was more than you had ever hoped for with your quirk. You see, you were a hair hero, your hair would go to almost an infinite length and you would use it like a capturing weapon, but you couldn’t retract it. With that downside, everyone saw your quirk as troublesome, not wanting to mess with the cleanup of hair after a fight. Though an agency showed an interest from the start and guided you through your job shadowing and your hero work studies, helping you make a name for yourself and even offering you a job once you graduated.

Though with being a newbie at the agency, you usually got placed on night patrol. You were fine with it though, honestly, you expected that with you being a new member of the agency. Sometimes you wished you didn’t though because it was quite frightening. Shadows would trick your eyes, cats jumping from alleyways would startle you. Tonight you just couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching you though as you slowed your pace down, footsteps now softer as you tried to listen. There...a soft flutter, like a bird. You could hear it coming up from behind you. No time was spared as your hair was clutched within your hands, spinning to quickly whip it towards the sound above you, but it only dodged, so you continued your attacks until finally it landed next to a lamp post a few feet away from where you stood. You sighed in relief as you finally got a good look at the other, hands releasing the hair that you gripped on.

You knew exactly who he was, you didn’t even need an introduction for the hero that now stood a bit ahead of you. Everyone in Japan new his image and name. Hawks was an icon amongst the people. Plus he was handsome, hard to miss that face on the news and gossip magazines.

“You! How dare you sneak up on me like that!” You shouted as you caught your breath and tried to subside the trembles of fear that plagued your body. The pro hero non other than Hawks only smugly stood in front of you, leaning against the lamp post letting out a laugh.

“Sorry sweet heart, just wanted to swoop by and see who the new girl is, but nobody warned me that the she was a feisty one.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders as his wings boredly ruffled and shook themselves out.

“Damn...” you spat out as you finally managed to calm yourself down a bit, eyes finally looking to your hair that trailed around you on the ground, branching out in so many directions. “Look what you made me do...you know, it isn’t easy to gather all this up.” You grumbled out as you let the toe of your boot nudge up against a pile of your hair.

“Ah...well....” he groaned as he squatted down, gloved hand grabbing a handful of your hair to bring it up to his face to examine it. “At least it looked cool, you actually had me shaking in my boots for a sec, I recommend you get some night visiom eyewear for late hour patrols” He stood up, hand still messing with the hair in his hands. “You would have honestly probably have gotten me if it weren’t for you probably not being able to see in this lighting.” With that he looked up to the lamp post. Though you only gave a click of your tongue as your hands shot to the belt that hugged your hips, the sound of Velcro ripping followed and soon you had a pair of scissors in your hand.

“Yeah? Well you still could have been nice and helped me avoid this by not sneaking up on me” You pointed out to the other, soon making your way up to him, trying not to trip over your own hair, and offered him the scissors. “Well since you got me in this mess, why don’t you help me out” Hawks hesitantly grabbed the scissors from your hands, slowly walking behind you. A gloved hand went to pull your hair, with the help of your too, all to your backside.

“Right here fine?” He asked, fingers gently rubbing the length that he was referencing across your back. You tried not to let the shiver you felt from that touch show as you nodded your head, a gentle flush on your cheeks as he began to snip away as neatly as he could, soon handed you back the scissors.

“That’s better....” you said with a sigh of relief as you ran your fingers through the new length of your hair, your head already feeling 10 times lighter. The scissors were soon placed back in their designated pouch at your hip, your hands now beginning to gather up the hair that stretch across the area you stood in. Hawks stood there for a second before letting out a sigh before bending over himself, now beginning to help you gather the hair as well from the ground.

“Damn! What do you do with all this?” He exclaimed as the two of you finally managed to clear the area of hair. “This stuff is heavy!” He said as he moved his arms up and down to get a good feel o for weight it had made within his arms.

“Well....I usually just throw it or donate it, but I donate pretty frequently anyway.” You explained as you led him up to a nearby trash can where you dumped your bundle in there, Hawks following right after you. Your quirk may have seemed simple, but dang, with all that hair he was impressed that your scalp didn’t rip off under all that weight.

“Donate it often? Good girl...” he said with a smirk as he looked to the trash that was almost completely filled with hair. On the other hand your cheeks began to feel hotter at his words, your arms crossing over your chest with a huff.

“Why you had to be weird though? Sneaking up behind me like that....” You said as you scrapped your shoes against the pavement below. “That was scary! Plus it’s dark!” You continues on as you leaned against the lamp post, watching Hawks saunter up to you with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Eh? Flying up behind you to see what’s up is weird?” He asked with a raised brow, wings now stretch out “I thought flying around was pretty normal honestly....or have I just been lying to myself all these years?” He said with a playful pout as his wings rested back down, leaving you to only roll your eyes as you played with a piece of your hair that fell over your shoulder.

“Oh har har...” you said as you began to braid the bit of hair that you were playing with, the smirk upon Hawks’ face only growing as he watched you and listened to your response. He liked your more every second it seemed.

“I’m funny right? I try to be.” He said with a grin, a hand making a quick swoop over his messy hair. Though he quickly went to pressing his hands over the pockets of his jacket and pants before finally pulling out a pen, handing it over to you. “Though I’m not trying to be funny now, I would like your number though....you know....so I can warn you next time I’ll be swooping in.” He said with a wink “Ok now that was suppose to funny, but you get the gist.” Hawks said with a chuckle. After a few seconds of a pause, you let out a sigh before finally taking the pen from his hands, your own hands grabbing one of his arms to roll up the jacket sleeve and begin scribbling down your phone number and possibly a name.

“There, hopefully you will remember to warn me since I’m guessing you really are a bird brain.” You said with a small smirk upon your lips as you handed the pen back, which he gave off a playful pout as he grabbed the pen from you and shoved it away.

“Ouch....that hurt....that really hurt...” he spoke dramatically as his wings began to flap, lifting him up from the ground “I’ll see you some other time though....or maybe your hair, who knows!” He called down as he was soon zipping through the night sky. It didn’t take long for him to swoop down on the balcony of his apartment, stepping though the unlocked sliding door into his apartment, speaking up for his Alexa device to turn on the lights. Slipping off his shoes and tossing his jacket aside, he tossed himself onto the couch in his living room, phone whipped out and in his hands, eyes now searching for the number on his arm. Though he let out a laugh as he saw the number and the words ‘for Mr.Not Really Funny’ written besides it.

He still couldn’t stop laughing as he added your number and sent a simple winky face emoji to you. He had a feeling you would know exactly what number was texting you just by looking at that....

[alittlebitgoofy]

if i had my way i would be yours - chapter six (taywhora)

here we are, the final chapter. it's time these girls get their feelings together, it's weird having finished this fic I devoted a lot of time, planning and energy to but all things come to an end, I've got another big taywhora fic in the works so enjoy!!

thanks to @goodemornting for betaing :)) ao3 link

A’whora felt a weight atop her as she awoke.

It was warm, an arm wrapped around her waist comfortably tight. Her tired brain tried to piece together the prior night as she melted under the warmth. Her brain felt like mush, the pleasure of being under another person keeping her too busy to think too hard about it.

But she hadn’t talked to any girls last night, she’d mostly spent time with Tayce. Sure, they’d gotten a bit drunk, but surely she would remember chatting someone up and getting them in her bed.

Wait. Getting drunk with tayce. Her roommate Tayce... Oh. 

Shit. Oh god. Well, It wasn’t as if she didn’t want to—

But it was so soon. She was Tayce’s first experience with a woman. She’d offered to, gleeful at the opportunity while cautious about not wanting to take advantage of her. She didn’t take advantage of her, they were two consenting adult roommates who happened to hook up. It came back to her quickly, now. How Tayce had kissed her. The way Tayce had cuddled up to her after, a warm mix of giddy and tired. Maybe this wasn’t so bad? She’d only be able to tell when Tayce woke up. A’whora finally glanced at her phone to check the time. 9 A.M. The fatigue in her body reminded her she had only gotten to sleep around 3, letting Tayce’s soft breathing lull her back to sleep. She’d deal with all this after a little more rest. It wouldn’t hurt to enjoy it for just a bit longer.  Tayce’s reaction was a lot less calm. She felt someone’s presence next to her as she stirred awake, failing to remember a thing before she opened her eyes to see A’whora with her arms wrapped around her waist. It was warm, almost suffocatingly so. The realisation that any movement would likely wake the blonde up dawned on her. Either Tayce would carefully wriggle out of her arms and risk waking her up or stew in the position and wait until A’whora woke up. Either way, they’d have to address this, and she didn’t know if she was ready to. Part of her was freaking out, how could they have gotten into this position? Would she regret it? This was her best friend, who she spent the better parts of all her days with. Tayce knew that if A’whora went cold on her again, she wouldn’t be able to cope for long.

But A’whora was next to her, asleep but still cuddled up with her. She would probably just make a dirty comment and shrug it off, right?. Though her mind screamed in what could happen the other half of her senses melted into the embrace of her companion. Her mind couldn’t help but stop racing while being engulfed in her companion’s embrace. A’whora had shown so much affection the previous night it was hard not to.  “Tayce?” A’whora’s eyes cracked open blearily, tilting her head in tired confusion. A dopey smile grew on her face as she noticed the position they were in. She looked beyond silly like that, but it still made Tayce’s heart skip a beat. “Morning to you, too.” 

Tayce shook her head at the laugh A’whora let out. She was clearly aware of everything that had happened, just plainly unaffected by it. Tayce envied the ease she took this with, her brain and heart conflicting with every action she made. “We fucked, huh?” “Yeah, we did,” Tayce spluttered at the forwardness, feeling her cheeks heat up. Of course A’whora would have no problem talking about the sex she’d had with her roommate the night prior. The blonde didn’t seem phased by her reaction, pulling her arms tighter around her body and bringing herself into Tayce’s side. “You’re warm.” Her words were followed by a content sigh, A’whora looking blissful as Tayce returned the affection, her arms looping around the smaller woman to pull her in tight as she could. “You’re such a softie.” Tayce tried to sound jokingly insulting, but any power to her words fizzled out as soon as she felt A’whora’s head on her chest. She melted into speaking loving words, holding the girl that caused her so much heartache like nothing had happened, as if it was second nature. They stayed locked together, the outside world not a concern in the embrace of one another. Though Tayce eventually shifted, her stomach roared with a ferocity that sent A’whora spiralling into a fit of hiccuping laughter. “Do you want beans on toast?” A’whora settled down enough to speak, a smirk still playing at her lips at the interruption of their moment. 

“Depends how you make them.” “Like you taught me. The ketchup, the cheese, the salt and the pepper and the butter.” The blonde laughed; Tayce was so specific about how she made her beans on toast. There was a method to it, she’d taught it to A’whora the instant they moved in together and made her come to love the breakfast almost as much as she did. “You’ve learnt well.” Tayce patted her on the back like a proud parent, before sliding herself out of the bed to follow A’whora into their kitchen. She missed the warmth of it. But the idea of food was more than enough to coax her out. --- There was something heart-warmingly domestic about making your roommate breakfast, the meaning changed dramatically with whatever was going on between her and Tayce, but A’whora tried to keep her thoughts up.Tayce was still around, she hadn’t freaked out and ran so it could be worse.

Tayce was too busy entrapped in her thoughts to spare the blonde much more than a sideways glance. Her thoughts were buzzing even as she was trying to silence them. It was a mix of things, fear for whatever this could mean or couldn’t mean but also comfort, she’d been with someone she trusted with her life and she’d not made it awkward. A’whora’s affectionate side was a welcomed addition, the way she’d cuddled up to Tayce left her feeling lighter than ever. The way her eyes crinkled as she laughed at whatever dumb comment Tayce has made was euphoric.

God damn, she was in deep. 

She somehow managed to look attractive, sat there with her hair messy in one of Tayce's baggy shirts she’d flung to attempt to cover herself, preoccupied with shoving beans in her mouth after she’d served them both breakfast. Tayce tried to focus on eating her own, though her eyes never quite left the blonde. Something about her was magnetic. She couldn’t help but look at her and feel her heart squeeze with how much she adored her. 

“You just gonna stare at me or are you gonna eat? Your food is getting cold!” A’whora pouted slightly at the lack of attention Tayce was giving her food. God, Tayce wanted to kiss that pout off her. 

“Hmm? You should be taking it as a compliment, I never normally put someone above my beans.” “Wow, she thinks I'm better than beans on toast. How romantic.”  A’whora scoffed, she knew that it was some kind of warped compliment, something Tayce didn’t want to actually say but imply through something humorous to shelter the realisation of the true meanings of her words. Though she did get it, Tayce held her highly, over most people even. It made her hopeful, maybe they stood a chance if she cared that deeply?  They ate with a few more quips, the atmosphere too easy for what they’d done the night prior. A’whora was thankful for the lack of awkwardness though her roommate was the other end of the spectrum. She had far too many thoughts and had to spill them to someone, maybe it would be good to give Bimini a call? 

God, this was a lot to deal with.

--- 

“Bim? I need help, asap.” Tayce rushed out as her friend answered the phone, more than ready to spill everything to someone. She felt like A’whora, unable to keep any secrets without telling at least one person. Oh god, A’whora was going to tell someone. “You two didn’t get into a fight again, did you?” Bimini asked cautiously, not ready to deal with that trainwreck again. At least Tayce was more likely to admit her own fault but trying to reason with her would take too much energy.  “No! The, uh, opposite actually.” The hesitation in her voice was way too obvious, the vulnerability threw Tayce through a loop. At least she knew Bimini wouldn’t bring it up to anyone. “You two fucked? Finally.” Bimini laughed down the line, it felt like inevitably they’d hook up especially after Tayce came out. The way they looked at each other? Nothing platonic about that, in Bimini’s humble opinion “Yeah, what the fuck do I do?” Tayce sighed, putting her phone to the side as she put her head in her hands. Why was this so complicated? All these feelings, it was so much to deal with. “Have you two talked about it? How’s she acting?” “She’s been pretty good, nothing odd, I guess. We haven’t talked about it really, just acknowledged it happened and then she made breakfast.” “Wait, she made you breakfast?” Bimini paused, Tayce could hear the cogs whirring in their brain. Tayce narrowed her eyes, trying and failing to figure out what she meant. 

“Does that... mean something?” She hesitated. Surely it couldn’t be that important. Making breakfast for someone wasn’t that deep. “She’s showing you how much she loves you!” “It’s not that deep, I was just hungry,” Tayce laughed, the idea was absolutely ludicrous. She’d just acted on Tayce’s stomach growling, like any sane human being would.

“It’s A’whora, her love language is gifts and acts of service, y’know. She adores you and does things for you to show it, you know she does.” Bimini followed up, knowing Tayce was silently admitting defeat when she didn’t answer. As much as she didn’t believe it, it made sense. She’d offered to buy food when she messed up, often doing things if Tayce was tired. She’d always chalked it up to A’whora being a bit dramatic, but it made a little too much sense to just be a coincidence anymore. “God, what… what the fuck do I even do in this situation?” Tayce sighed, groaning at the amount of things this could all mean and how she should approach it. Who could even make sense of these things? It was a nightmare. “I’d say talk to her but you avoided that last time.” “I can’t just tell her, what if it makes things awkward?” Tayce spoke softly, unsure of what could happen and too afraid to take a huge step. All she wanted was A’whora but she couldn’t risk losing her after what had happened last time.

Bimini paused, hearing Tayce so hesitant was strange. 

“This is why it took you 22 years to consider you were into women, isn’t it? You’re useless with girls.” Asttina chimed in, jumping out of nowhere to surprise both Tayce and Bimini. “Asttina! She’s going through a lot to cut her some slack.” “She needs to hear the truth, you need to talk to her or this is just going to become more of a mess.” Asttina sighed, Tayce didn’t want to admit she was right but she knew. They’d talked it out last time and it went smoothly, A’whora wouldn’t just turn cold on her if they were having a discussion. Her shoulders slumped in a small bit of relief, hoping that it wouldn’t be so scary, perhaps.

She could end up with the person that she wanted, the one no one could ever compare to. 

Maybe that was worth the risk? “Alright, you have a point. I’ll talk to her. What’s the worst that could happen? We’ve already fucked, there’s not more to it.” --- A’whora knew something was up with Tayce.

She was too in her head about anything to do with feelings, especially in the wake of her recent realisations and just attempting to converse with A’whora. The way they had acted last night would set her right off. She needed a second opinion, though she suspected Tayce was calling Bimini or Asttina out of panic again. The duty thus fell to Ellie, she knew how to keep her friend's mouth shut.

“Hey bitch, what’s up?” “I fucked Tayce.” A’whora got straight to the point. Ellie spluttered a laugh, her cackles crackling through the phone speaker. 

“You two shagged? Fucking finally, we’ve all been waiting.” A’whora huffed, unimpressed by the reminder of the constant jabs about sexual tension between her and her roommate. It wasn’t like she was unaware of everything, but it was mostly her profound ability to repress her feelings and Tayce being so affectionate, at least she thought it was before all of this. “Yes, but you can’t tell anyone,” She paused,  “Especially not Lawrence.” “Why not? She’ll hear about it anyway, God knows you can’t keep secrets for shit.” Ellie huffed back. The pair of them were horrible at keeping things from people, Ellie almost always ended up spilling things to Lawrence  when she had the chance. “Not the point, how did this happen?”

“We were tipsy and everyone else had partnered off, you were too busy making out with Lawrence, and Bim and Asttina were uncomfortably close to going at it. We went home and things escalated and she... ended up in my bed naked.”

“Do you make a habit of hooking up with your friends?” “No, only the tall ones. Which is exactly why you won’t tell Lawrence. She doesn’t need to know about what we did that time—“ 

“No one needs to know.” Ellie interrupted, desperately trying to steer the conversation away.She knew bringing it up would be the best way to buy Ellie’s silence. They’d never told anyone about that night and planned to keep it that way, alcohol did a lot to a person and almost shagging your friend is one of them. 

“Anyway, she’s a bit.. off now, I guess. Not bad or anything but she just seemed to be processing everything very slowly. How do you deal with that?” A’whora questioned, exasperated. Tayce was always a bit of an enigma, it made navigating everything needlessly difficult but she didn’t blame her. It was a lot to deal with realising your own sexuality and coming to terms with it, she had every reason to be shaken at anything happening between them. “You deal with it by not crushing on the most emotionally unavailable person you know.” A’whora wanted to get defensive— Tayce wasn’t emotionally unavailable, she was just.. complex. She wasn’t one to be super outward with things, she liked to keep to herself when something was bothering her and not make a big deal of it. Though it served no help to the current predicament, only to show how whipped she was for Tayce. 

“No, you torture your friends seeing you pine for years when it’s clear that you both love each other.” “I know you mean me and Loz but that’s you and Tayce, hen.” Ellie laughed, anyone with eyes could see they were a little closer than most friends. It was cute at first but neither of them acted on anything and one of them not realising her feelings until recently made it painful to watch. “She’s not in love with me!” The blonde huffed,  “I would’ve known by now if she was.”

“She’s in love with you you’re just too dumb to see it.” Even Ellie saw it, the way Tayce looked and acted around A’whora was way more loving and tender than she’d ever been with any of her friends. It was like she was the only person to exist, everything in the world that Tayce loved rolled into one person.

It would have been cute if it wasn’t so painful to watch her not realise her own feelings. “Like you were with Lawrence?” “Yes but I have a girlfriend, now go get your welsh hound.”

---

“Aurora?” Tayce poked her head round the door to her room, visibly nervous. 

Oh god. Real name, Tayce looked awkward, shit was about to hit the fan. 

“Come in, what’s bothering you.” Tayce settled next to the blonde on her bed, her nerves were clear as day from her body language. The way her eyes darted to anything other than A’whora, her finger restlessly tapping her leg. She looked uncomfortable, though there was a determination pushing her though it. The way she sat up so straight like she had something to do, no matter how much it ate her up inside.

“Nothing. I mean, it’s not bothering me, I just want to talk.”There was the usual denial, Tayce knew it wouldn’t fool A’whora, it rarely did and she couldn’t fake it at the minute, not with everything on her mind “I know what you mean but saying it like that is very unnerving” A’whora laughed nervously, she wasn’t the anxious one but the way Tayce was acting made her hesitate. “It’s okay, I'm not going to kill you.” Tayce eased the tension with a joke, delighting in how A’whora smiled at the joke, wide enough for her dimples to show.  “Alright come on talk to me then.” “I think i’m in love with you” Tayce blurted, mouth moving too fast for her mind to catch up. 

Oh.

Oh. 

That was. Sudden, Tayce felt frozen, A’whora’s eyes trained on her. What did she do? No lead up, just said it. It wasn’t that hard but she shouldn’t have said it. The shock was written all over her face, it made Tayces stomach twist, a sinking feeling engulfing her as the worst case scenario seemed to come to life. 

“You’re in love with me?” A’whora echoed, her voice soft with some emotion Tayce couldn’t catch on to, something meant to be comforting, hopefully.

She couldn’t reply, any words caught in her throat, fizzled out by the time she opened her mouth. What was she meant to say? She just said the scariest words she could’ve ever thought of saying. Her heart ached for her best friend in a way she never considered possible until a few weeks ago. 

“Tayce…” A’whora trailed off, Tayce’s stomach churning more by the second. 

She couldn’t make eye contact fearing what she might see on her face. She felt movement, A’whora coming closer to her. Was she trying to console her? Then she felt her face gently lifted up to meet A’whora’s eyes. Something shifted in her expression as she saw Tayce’s meekness, soft smile lighting up her features in a way that made Tayce’s heart flutter. She didn’t hold back, pulling her into a passionate kiss. 

Tayce regained herself, kissing back as she felt A’whora melt into her. She felt more confident, taking the lead, her hand running through the blonde hair as her roommate moved closer, taking place in her lap. 

They broke apart, a goofy grin growing on A’whora’s face as she stared at Tayce, eyes shining in wonder. 

“I’ve been in love with you for years.” she murmured, feeling euphoric after the progression of events. Tayce cocked her head in puzzlement. 

“Years?” “Years. How could I not? You’re gorgeous and the most positive energy I've ever met. Nothing is ever boring with you, there’s always something going on or that you can make interesting. There’s something magnetic about you, I can't leave you alone. We clicked so well, no one ever got me as well as you did and I think about how lucky I am we even became friends, Tayce.” “You’re such a hound.” Tayce laughed, visibly taken aback. She didn’t know how to react, that was a lot to process all at once but it made her feel on top of the world. The euphoria rushed through her, a grin growing larger on her face by the minute.

“Is that your way of saying you love me?” A’whora knew what she was trying to communicate, her face saying it all, she looked happier than she’d ever seen, apart from the time she’d bought her a personalised tin of baked beans, that was one of the few times Tayce had cried in front of her. 

“It is, you’re a hound but you’re my hound.” The brunette wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into her lap to cuddle into her back.  “Oh? Your hound? Sounds decent, I'll take it.” The wamrht in A’whora’s tone contrasted from her words, turning around to pull Tayce into another kiss. She knew this was going to be complicated, nothing was ever easy between the two of them but with enough communication it would work, they cared too much about each other to not try.  Maybe this whole mess had been worth it, cuddled in Tayce’s arms like nothing else mattered, just the two of them against the world like it always had been.