#I don't wanna remove the ring lol

[carbon8tion]

[live-laugh-lenney]

plz can you write something where the boys tease Arthur TV because he’s so obsessed with you

(i have so many requests but I don’t wanna be annoying lol)

I love your writing!!

i made it holiday related again because i'm really feeling in that mood right now... hahaha.

arthur was enamoured.

he'd always thought yn was pretty and very beautiful and seeing her in a holiday scenario, where she was relaxed and enjoying herself, his infatuation had doubled... tripled.... and then quadrupled as the days of their holiday went on.

the way her striped bikini clung to her in the right spots, the way her hair was pulled back into the messiest bun upon her head to keep it from getting wet (to save having to wash it again because she gave it a wash the previous night, she claims), the way her sunglasses sat on her nose and protected her eyes from the bright light, the way her skin was so beautifully kissed by the rays of the sunshine and how she had practically tanned from the moment she stepped foot out in the open.

he tried to take his eyes from her as she floated in the pool whilst she sunbathed but, sometimes, she was all he wanted to look at.

"i'm not being funny but," george stands to his feet, the sun-lounger beneath him scraping against the floor of the patio area lining the pool of their villa, catching arthur's attention and he walked over in his direction and leant over the back of the lounger that the man was stretched out upon, "if your mouth opens any further, you'll choke on flies."

"shut up," arthur grumbles under his breath, feeling his cheeks turn a rosy red colour which he wasn't sure would be visible due to how red his face had gotten under the harsh croatian sunlight that soaked his skin all afternoon, embarrassment running through his body at how he had been caught staring at one of his best friend, "i thought you were asleep, anyway."

"what? so you could stare at her like a weirdo? no, i was entertained watching you try and hold back a boner," george snickers softly and arthur shuffled uncomfortably on the sun-lounger, "why don't you just say something to her? or at least, shag her and get it out of your system. this is almost unbearable to watch."

"because that's gross behaviour and i'm not that kind of man," arthur mumbles lowly, reaching for his phone that he had placed in the shade underneath his sun-lounger as a way to distract himself, "i'm not after a shag. she's my friend, she's our friend, and i don't want to ruin the dynamic between all of us. that's not fair."

"she'll soon get creeped out with your staring and that really will ruin the group dynamic," george teases and arthur shrugs off his hands from where they were placed on his shoulders, "she'll clock on soon, you might as well tell her."

"no," arthur hisses back, shaking his head before glancing down at his phone and unlocking it so he could divert his attention from the bikini-clad girl floating in a ring on the surface of the pool with her headphones on her head as she listened to music whilst soaking up the sun above, "how you speak about her when she can't hear you is gross sometimes."

"she knows i'm only joking," george holds his hands up in defence and walks towards the open patio doors of their villa as he was bored of lazing for the afternoon, leaving his towel to try on his lounger as he took his belongings from the table and held them tightly in his hands, "i'm going for a shower and then for a nap before anyone else grabs the bathroom."

-

"where's yn?"

"you mean to tell us you've had her surgically removed from your hip?" chris asks, in feigned shock, from where he was stretched out across the sofa in the room, "you're joking?"

"what?"

arthur rolls his eyes and ignores the laugh that came from arthur hill as he done up the buttons of the shirt hanging down his torso, a bold print decorating the cotton material that matched the colour of his shorts buttoned to his waist.

"if you must know, she's just finishing up getting ready in her room and she'll be out soon," arthur hill says, picking up the open can of lager that was set on the table beside her phone, taking a swig from the top before he placed it back down, "can you cope for a couple of minutes without her?"

"you guys suck," arthur grumbles and shakes his head, reaching into the fridge to grab himself a can of beer, cracking it open and taking a hefty swig of the golden liquid hidden behind the metal, "you make it sound like i'm some obsessed freak."

"you are," chris insists, standing to his feet and picking up his own can of his chosen beverage for the week from the coffee table that was a mere stretch from the sofa and arthur could only muster up throwing the middle finger in his friend's direction, "hey, that's not nice. i'm only telling the truth, arthur."

"if you keep taking the piss out of me in front of yn then she's going to start hating me for being a weirdo around her," arthur frowns and chris just snickers at him, "seriously. i'm not a weirdo. she's just-"

the sound of a door opening made him stop mid-sentence and he gave a pleading look to his two friends that wordlessly begged for them not to tease him in front of her. as footsteps were heard coming down the stairs, the three men busied themselves in putting on their shoes and grabbing their jackets so that they were ready to leave once everyone had come together in the lower level of the villa.

it felt like a schoolboy crush. and, of course, he was planning on telling her just how he felt about her... he just wasn't sure when or how he wanted to tell her. he wanted it to be perfect, romantic, not in the earshot of his friends who would, no doubt, tease him for being such a simp in the situation.

"you look beautiful," arthur compliments her as she brushes passed him to grab the denim jacket she had draped over the back of one of the dining table chairs the previous night, "ready for another night on the town?"

"i don't think i can keep up with you guys again," she laughs softly, slipping her arms into the denim sleeves and adjusting it so it was comfortable on her shoulders, "i was coming back early tonight, i've got a bit of a headache. think it's just from being in the sun all day."

"do you want to stay here tonight? the boys can go out without us?"

"us?"

her eyes soften as she looks at him, his eyes darting from her face to anywhere in the room, unwilling to make eye contact because he felt silly for assuming she'd want him to stay behind with her. and he could feel the eyes of arthur hill and chris staring into the back of his head, which he wished would stop, and he was certain they would snicker about the situation behind his back.

"i mean, someone should watch out for you, just in case."

"i think i'll be fine, arthur," she reaches for his arm and squeezes it softly and reassuringly, "i'm starving so it could be to do with that. i'll just play it by ear."

"what are we playing by ear?"

george makes himself known as he walks around the corner, dressed in a pair of chino shorts and a short-sleeved, button-down shirt that matched the same colour. sunglasses on his face, phone and wallet in his hand, socks on his feet that were ready to slip into his trainers.

"arthur's hoping to bring yn home tonight," chris jokes teasingly and arthur swings around on his heels, eyebrows furrowed on his browline and he really wanted the ground to swallow him whole, "i'm kidding. yn's not feeling a hundred percent so she might come back early. arthur offered to stay with her if she needed to come back here."

"oh, that's kind of him," george smiles, sending a wink to arthur that he was surprised yn had completely missed, "what a sweetheart he is."

"i'd do it for any of you," arthur insists - he wouldn't, unless they had asked him to, "can we go? i'm hungry."

"have we decided where we're going?"

-

"is everything okay?"

arthur's brought out of his daze by the sound of her voice, soft and sweet and angelic, the only voice he wanted to hear. he turns around from where he was sat on the stones on the beach, knees brought up to his chest as he leant back on his palms, looking up at her as she approached him.

"why are you down here by yourself?"

"just wanted a bit of quiet time to myself," he explains and she sits herself down beside her, making sure her dress stayed covering her modesty as she stretched her legs out, crossing her ankles and leaning back on her palms in a similar fashion to him, "you didn't have to come and check on me. we should be checking on you."

"my headache's gone now," she smiles, looking across the water and watching as the waves crashed against the shore, "i'm worried about you now."

"i'm okay," he nods, "just want to enjoy the serenity of the scenery. it's beautiful out here. you kind of take it for granted and miss it when you're back home."

silence swallows the two of them, except the atmosphere was full of all kinds of sounds; the chatter of passersby as they went on a look for their chosen restaurant for dinner, the waves crashing against the stones, the crunching of stones as people walked back up from the water... and, in the distance, they could hear the raucous laughter of chris and george and arthur hill as they joked amongst themselves.

"is it the others?"

"the others?"

"they've been teasing you a lot today," yn informs him and he sighs heavily, letting out a deep exhale before rolling his head back and looking to the sky, "i've heard it, arthur. i think it's sweet."

"the teasing?"

he feels confused and weird; what was sweet? surely, if she heard the teasing then she could piece things together...

"no, you muppet," she giggles softly and turns her head to look at him, "i'm not weirded out that you've been staring at me, you know? i, uh, i've kinda been doing the same, i guess."

he looks at her, for the first time since she sat down beside him, and he gulps back the lump in his throat.

"not at myself," she blurts out, "but, at-"

"at me?"

she nods shyly and he can't help but feel the flips in his stomach as he felts knots tighten and loosen low in his gut.

"you haven't heard them teasing me, have you? the last three days of being here, they've been non-stop laughing at me. they think it's funny," she laughs softly and shakes her head, "they practically forced me to come over here and tell you so-"

he stares at her and she can see his brown eyes from behind the lenses covering them up, and she sighs.

"i wanted to come over though," she adds almost instantly, "to see if you were okay and to stop their incessant jokes and pisstakes. they're only trying to help, i guess?"

"they're annoying," arthur grumbles lowly and she can only hum out in agreement, "but, i guess, they know us both too well. almost far too well, i think."

"you coming back up for dessert? i ordered you the same as me," she smiles, moving to stand to her feet, standing before him and holding out her hands for him to take, wiggling her fingers in an enticing way, "come on, you. we might as well face the music."

"what do we tell them?"

"nothing if we don't want to say," she smiles and he takes her hands, and she uses all her strength to pull him to his feet, their fingers entwining together, "or, i don't know, we could just... take things slow this week? figure stuff out?"

he nods softly.

"i like that idea," he grins, dropping one hand from her hold but making sure to keep a tight grip of her other, swinging between them as they made their way back up the beach and back to where their table was located at the front of their restaurant, "reckon they'll leave us alone now?"

"god only knows," yn laughs, "we can only hope." xx

[needtoloveoutloud]

Shadows Of Our Past, Present, and (possible) Future — Series

My Hero Academia — Female!OC Fan Fiction on AO3

Part One (Completed — 93k words):

The one where Shota Aizawa stumbles upon a back alley full of stray cats and ends up adopting a child

“Fine, then a cat? We both know how much you love those little furry…things.” At this, Shota paused the game and turned to the pushy blonde next to him. “I actually have considered that.” “And?” “And: also, no. It makes no sense.” Hizashi looked almost scandalized. “Makes no sense?” “I made a pro and contra list.” “Of course you did.”

When underground hero Shota Aizawa, twenty-two years old, is out on patrol one Friday evening, he doesn't expect that a single meow from a cat would lead him to find a homeless girl called Yoru. From then on, Yoru and Shota grow up together, make mistakes together, and try to overcome every obstacle life throws at them.

>> Read on AO3 <<

Part Two (Ongoing, regular updates — growing long fic — 359k words so far — READ PART 1 FIRST, PLEASE AND THANK YOU):

The one where Yoru Aizawa tries to navigate through life at U.A.

Two days after her fifteenth birthday, Yoru decides to drop the bomb on him. “I want to go to U.A.” “You want to go to U.A.” Her Dad puts the book he's been reading down on the glass balcony table.  “Yes, I want to go to U.A.” She slumps down on the outdoor couch next to him, grabbing the discarded book. “What are you reading?” ‘A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi — The classic guide to strategy ’. She raises an eyebrow. “Reading that for fun, huh?” “Why do you want to go to U.A.? You never cared much about heroes. Besides Edgeshot, that is.” Yoru smirks up at him. “What, jealous?” “As if.” “You know, even if they sold Eraserhead posters, I wouldn’t hang them up. It would be super weird.” “Good to know where your loyalties lie.” He rolls his eyes. “Back to the topic at hand, why do you want to go to U.A.? Because Shinso wants to go?” “No.” Pause. “Okay, that may be part of it. But I’m serious. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and I really want to go.” “That might be so, but you still neglected to tell me why you want to attend there.” Yoru plays with her hair, noting how it’s time for another hair cut when she finds some splint ends. “I wanna be a hero.” Her Dad blinks. “A hero?” “Yes. Well, I want to help people and do some good with that shitty quirk of mine.”

When Yoru tells her Dad that she wants to attend U.A., she expects it to be a difficult path. She didn't expect all the awkwardness, blossoming friendships, confusing feelings, and near-death experiences, though.

>> Read on AO3 <<

Please heed the warnings/tags (TWs in the author's notes of chapters where they apply to).

Also: because someone asked this before - you can read it as a reader insert if you want. I don't mind at all. Feel free to imagine yourself as part of the story. Just know that Yoru (the OC) will have descriptions of her visual appearance.

This story is a mix of:

Slice of life

Hurt/Comfort

Angst/Fluff

Humor

Dadzawa

SLOW BURN Romance ��� Enemies to Lovers (Bakugo x Yoru)

SLOW BURN Romance — EraserMic (but it's a subtle slow burn)

Growing up, coming of age (hopefully lol)

Teenage awkwardness

Mixed media (pictures, music, chat screenshots (later on in Part 2), etc. — chat screenshots will always have the written text below, to make it accessible for visually impaired folks or people who use screen readers)

and more...

Author: NoBecksPleaseNo on AO3

Please don't copy or plagiarize the work, the character, the premise, etc. Also, no cross-posting anywhere, please and thank you.

Disclaimer: Yoru's image is AI generated and then edited/adjusted by the author. The other character images in the header are from Pinterest (besides the one of Present Mic/Midnight, that one's from the light novels) — unfortunately without a source. If you're the artist, and you're not okay with me using them, please message me and I will remove them. If you're the artist and are okay with me using them, please tell me, so I can credit you.

Besides the OC characters, I don't own any already existing characters from the My Hero Academia Universe — that honor belongs to Kohei Horikoshi.

[heehoonies]

🎀

Just had a thought,what if Heeseung asked his nuna to peg him?

don't ask me these kinds of things 🎀 anon you're going for the killshot rn (idc if this ask is old! i have been thinking abt it for a while!)

obvious noona kink warning! lol

.

"c-can i ask you something?"

you turn to your boyfriend, eyebrows raising in response to his question. "anything, hee."

"it's kind of embarrassing..." heeseung tries to hide his face, to which you restrict his hands and force him to look at you. "what is it?" you ask gently, trying to pry the answer out of him.

"noona..." you feel the wetness already pooling in your panties as heeseung says the nickname he reserves for when he's feeling needy.

"yes, baby boy?"

you see him freeze for a moment, your baby always being so shy when he's subbed out.

"c-can... can we try something new?"

you nod in response, rubbing a reassuring thumb over the backs of his hands. "of course, my pretty boy, what do you want to try?"

"can you fuck me, noona?" the foul words slipping from your innocent heeseung's mouth has your eyes rolling back. "fuck... seungie..." you bring his hands to your mouth, peppering them with kisses. "do you know what you're asking me to do?"

heeseung nods in response, his embarrassment and shyness slowly slipping away as his comfortability with you takes over once more. "i do, noona. i wanna feel you inside me."

"you're sure, hee?" his nod in response and a small 'yes' leaving his lips is all you need to witness before you're telling him to get on all fours on your bed. you pull out a small box from beneath the bed as heeseung strips himself, diligently following your orders.

you find the small strap the two of you bought while very drunk and very horny one night, smiling at your past self for being so... all knowing.

"my baby boy, you're so good," you coo at him, wrapping the silicone cock's strap around your waist and securing it. you gaze down at his already gaping hole, the sight of his lubed up rim making your pussy clench around nothing. "you prepped yourself for your noona?"

"yes, need you so bad, noona. need you right now..."

you chuckle lightly, grabbing onto heeseung's hips before slathering some lube on your cock as well. "is this why you've been having me add more fingers when i'm in your ass? been training yourself in secret, baby?" heeseung nods shamelessly, "yes, noona, been needing you so bad but i know you wouldn't let me unless i was ready."

you slip two fingers inside, breaching his hole easily, "my baby is so cock hungry, isn't he? couldn't even wait to have noona size train him, had to prep himself because he couldn't be patient for noona's cock." heeseung whimpers as he feels you add a third finger inside his asshole, rim barely stretching from the extensive size training he had completed merely an hour before.

"no, noona, couldn't wait-" he whines out as you remove your three fingers, pressing the tip of your cock against his fluttering rim. "sure you're ready, my love? i know you usually love foreplay."

heeseung groans at your lack of movement, trying to shift his hips back to get you to press into him already. his voice is whiny as he cranes his head to look back at you, wide bambi eyes pleading into your skull, "foreplay after, noona... need you now."

you caress heeseung's asscheeks with your soft palms, spreading them apart to watch him take you in. your cock slips in with ease, watching closely as his hole sucks you inside without hesitation.

"fuck, look at you..."

"i love you so much..." he whimpers from beneath you, hands gripping the sheets, face stuffed in the pillow, gasping for air at the new, overwhelming feeling of being completely stuffed.

"i love you too, heeseung. my good boy, can't wait to stuff you full of my cum."

heeseung groans loudly when the words hit his ringing ears as you press your hips flush to his ass. "gonna fuck you so good you won't be able to walk tomorrow." you grin as your thrusts begin, his groans accentuating every harsh movement as heeseung is dragged up and down along the bed's surface. heeseung's ass jiggles with each movement and you smack one cheek lightly, watching as it bounces back easily. you groan lowly at the sight, "baby boy, you were made to be loved by me." he whines lowly at your words, pressing his hips flush to your pelvic bone, the affection shooting straight to his heart. "can't wait to make a mess of you, over and over..."

[gangrenados]

naughty questions about our boys time!!! (all the batboys+bruce+clark+titans boys+whoever you want lmao) which of our boys 1) would swallow during oral, 2) would get a dick piercing, 3) would get a tongue piercing and a vibe tongue ring specifically for their partner's pleasure, 4) sleeps nude, 5) would masturbate in public, 6) would eat ass, 7) would do sexual things with an unknown partner (eg: glory holes), 8) would suck/play with titties in public?

Imma do 2 characters per question :D

1) who swallows during oral?

Dick, he's gonna slurp you up like a slushie. He's all for slutting out and, to him at least, the act can't finish without the adding a little else. He doesn't do this for everyone, just those he deems especial.

I think Jason would do it too, but not in the theatrical way Dick's does it. In Jason case is more of a reflex, he doesn't show off as much. After that you can catch him whipping his mouth with his forearm before getting to the next thing.

Honestly I feel like Bruce would do too, he's a little freak underneath all that stoic exterior lol.

2)Would get a dick piercing?

COMICS!CONNER. lmao I don't have anything to say to explain why, but I just know. Trust me.

Honestly I feel like titans!Jason might consider it, maybe even do it, but he would end up regretting it and getting it removed.

3) Would get a tongue piercing.

Roy Harper and no one can convince me otherwise. He would be smug about it, saying the only thing he needs to make you see stars it's his tongue.

There's something about Gar that tells me that he would get a tongue piercing at some point and he's gonna rock your world with it lmao. But unlike Roy whose all smug and cocky about it, Gar found out about this particular ability by accident, a funny little surprise if you will.

Again, comics!Conner lol, I think he would get every part of his body pierced tbh.

4)Sleeps nude.

Clark, I feel like he runs insanely hot at night and that might help him to cool off a bit.

Dick, he needs to feel free from the constriction of his clothes and suit (can you blame him? That thing it's skintight). Sometimes he's so tired that after a shower he just likes down in bed and falls asleep without giving a fuck about a pijama, not even a boxer.

5) masturbates in public

Roy, but he's subtle about it. He just wanna get it done, honestly I feel like he has done this during missions lmao.

The other one I can see doing this is Constantine lmao, the rest (like Dick, Hank and even Jason) wouldn't jack off in public, but they surely would be down to have a quickly in public.

6) would eat ass

My options for this one are:

Honestly I feel like Clark would be down to try.

-Tim

-Bruce.

7) Would do sexual things with an unknown partner

Hank definitely has done this, usually happens when he's in a low point in his life. He doesn't care about feelings, he just wanna feel something,

8) Would suck/play with titties in public

Gar, I think he might if he transforms into something, he doesn't wanna be that obvious lol

I'm a believer that Jason loves sucking titties to calm down lmao, but I don't think he would ever do it in public. So this one is for Hank.

I think he's the type who would play with your titties to mess around with you.

[bella-rose29]

You Shall Go to the Ball!

Anthony Lockwood x f!Karim!reader

Requested by anon: Hey, I don't know if you accept requests, but I have one. Reader(she is George's sister) accompanies Lockwood&co to the ball at Fittes and she is jealous when she sees Lockwood talking to the girl (maybe reader enemy or something)most of the time. She decides to interrupt the conversation and introduces herself as his wife, while showing the ring Lucy gave her, explaining what to do. A long chapter please😊

I am so sorry that this took so long anon 😭 (I'm also not sure about the title tbh but oh well)

a long chapter this will be! I made the reader George's adopted sister (I hope that's ok!). I also made this super long because I got so carried away and if it deviates from what you wanted then I'm so sorry my lovely

I made it just... a generic ball? I don't know if you had one specifically in mind but I thought it would fit better to have an occasion where they aren't fighting for their lives lol

sorry if your name is Maya bc that is the name of Lucy's crush in this and also sorry if your name is Steph bc she's the enemy of the reader (I had to put names in I'm sorry 🥲)

Word count: 9.8k (I'm doing my bit you guys)

Warnings: swearing, a sexual innuendo or two, bullying (mostly focused on the fact the reader is adopted), lockwood and reader love each other but they haven't done anything about it, tumblr lagged while I wrote most of this so there are probably mistakes, lockwood has some mildly self-deprecating thoughts, mentions of lockwood's suicidal tendencies, there's probably more but idk what

Tag list: @anathemaloren, @augustisintheair, @avdiobliss, @dangelnleif, @el-de-phi, @ell0ra-br3kk3r, @informedimagining, @karensirkobabes, @mischivana, @mitskiswift99, @mrsklockwood, @mrsyixingunicorn10, @novelizt, @ran23sblog, @superpositvecloudshipper, @t2sh0, @taygrls, @tournesol77, @wandamaximoffbae, @whenselenefallsinlove, @wordsarelife

As always, let me know here if you would like to be added to/removed from the tag list for my lockwood and co works (or drop me a message!) <3

Y/n was not happy.

She ought to have been, given the occasion, but she was very much unhappy instead.

Lucy was trying not to laugh too loudly, but was failing at her attempts to stifle just how funny she found the whole situation. "You know," she said between breathy laughs, "all of this would be a whole lot easier if you just told him how you feel."

"Nope. Not happening. Every time I try I freeze up and blabber some unintelligible words that make no sense, and I look like an idiot. So no."

The 'him' in question was Anthony Lockwood, the head of Lockwood and Co and resident of 35 Portland Row. Lucy Carlyle, George Karim and Holly Munro lived here too, and as George's sister Y/n had been invited to Lucy's 18th birthday party. It was a small party, only the five of them (six if you included the Skull, but only Lucy could hear it so Y/n didn't), but the atmosphere was lively and music was playing over the speakers George had set up. Banners and balloons stating 'Happy Birthday!' were strewn all over the living room (Y/n could already see Holly's eye twitching at the amount of confetti on the floor), and the boys were busy refilling glasses (another reason not to count the Skull - it had nothing to hold a drink with).

"You have to do it at some point though," she whispered into Y/n's ear. "But right now, you need to move." Lucy pointed in the direction Y/n was supposed to go, and she tilted her head back as she groaned.

"Remind me why you ever made me play this game?"

"Because it's my birthday, and you love me. Go on, unless you wanna forfeit."

"You're evil," Y/n hissed as she pushed herself off of the floor and made her way over to Lockwood. "I'm sorry, again."

"I'm not sure what for, to be honest. You're just playing the game." He smiled up at her from his place by the fire, and Y/n tried to ignore George's glare. "George, please stop looking at me like that. Lucy was the one who dared Y/n to sit on me." Y/n felt her face warm at his words, knowing that this night could only end in disaster for her, and decided to bite the bullet. Huffing, she turned and sat down, her back facing Lockwood as her legs went either side of his, and she let out a small yelp of surprise when his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her against him. Lucy only laughed, loud and obnoxious, and Y/n couldn't find it in her to shoot a look, still too taken aback by the feel of being hugged by Lockwood in this way. "You alright?" he asked, voice quiet and gentle in her ear, and she felt his breath on the side of her face.

"Y-yeah. I'm alright. How are you?" She cringed at herself, but his light chuckle reverberated through her and calmed her immediately.

"I'm alright. Quite comfy, actually. You're very warm." As if to back up his point he snuggled in to her shoulder, nose rubbing against the side of her neck, and Y/n almost choked. Instead she made a sort of strangled noise, and he stopped and looked up at her as though he was about to say something. Lockwood opened his mouth, but was cut off by George.

"Okay, she's sat on him, can she go back now? I don't wanna look at this anymore."

"George, Lucy dared her to do it for the rest of the game," Holly piped up, clearly enjoying this as much as Lucy. She also knew about Y/n's feelings for Lockwood, the three of them having had multiple nights where they talked for hours about the other two members of Lockwood and Co, and hadn't wasted any time at all in joining Lucy in her teasing about Y/n's crush. "Rules are rules, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, and it's my birthday, so don't even start to think about asking to stop the game. Besides, they look quite comfortable now, wouldn't wanna make 'em move again, would we?"

"I'm very comfortable, thanks Luce," Lockwood said, his hold tightening on Y/n.

"Y-yep. Perfectly good." Lucy and Holly shared a look, stifling their laughter. George sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, huffing at the scene in front of him. Y/n's brother also knew about her feelings for his boss, and he while he wasn't exactly mad about it, he also wasn't thrilled. She knew that he meant well, and was only looking out for her (especially since Lockwood tended to throw himself directly into danger most of the time), but a little support would be appreciated.

The rest of the game went without much incident, although George did have to stick his hand in the toilet (a dare from Holly that nobody expected, although since her arrival in the house the toilets were spotless so it wasn't much of a trial), and by the time Y/n realised that she should be getting home it was well past midnight.

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Okay, um- Lockwood! Hi!" He had just entered the living room where Y/n was stood clearing up (the others had gone up to their respective bedrooms), and she apprehended him in the doorway. "Can you help me call a taxi? I need to go home now and it's really late and-"

"Woah, slow down!" He placed his hands on her shoulders, a smile on his face. "Why don't you just stay over, yeah? It's what, two in the morning? You might as well sleep here and leave after breakfast. Your parents probably expected you to stay here anyway, right?" She nodded. It was a common occurrence for her to stay the night at Portland Row when visiting, since she didn't see them all that much. "So it's not a problem, really. You can take my bed if you like, save waking the others up."

"Lockwood, you really don't have to do that," Y/n started, but he cut her off.

"Nonsense. Holly's stayed too, so I'd feel bad if I turfed you out at this time of night."

"No, I mean giving me your bed. You don't have to do that." He shrugged, then moved to grab a blanket from one of the cupboards.

"I'll be alright, I'll sleep on the sofa. Seriously, Y/n/n, it's fine." He flashed her one of his smiles, and instantly she melted and gave in.

"Ugh, fine. But don't complain tomorrow morning when your back hurts," she wagged a finger at him, exhaustion winning out over guilt about taking his bed as she moved towards the door.

"Alright," he laughed, and Y/n didn't think she'd heard a better sound.

She traipsed upstairs and got ready for bed, and when she fell asleep moments after settling in she dreamed of the brown haired boy downstairs.

~~~

Y/n was sat at home in her room a day or so later when George burst in, arms filled with papers and glasses skewed on his nose.

"I've been thinking," he started, dumping the papers on the end of her bed and flopping next to her.

"Hi, Georgie, I'm doing great, thanks. What am I doing? Oh, not much, just sat here reading a book and listening to music." She sent him a pointed look to which he huffed and lightly slapped her arm.

"Shut up. Hi, how are you? Great, nice, okay. Can you listen to me now?"

"What?"

"So I've been thinking about you and Lockwood, and I've decided I don't mind too much. I mean, it's irritating, really, but technically I don't need to do a boyfriend check because I live with him so I know all his nasty habits and that, and I know that he's loyal to a fault, which is something I should probably raise with him, actually," George paused, frowning as he lost his train of thought.

"Um- okay... Where has this come from? I thought you wanted me to stop liking him?"

"Yeah, but then I had to listen to him pining after you for the last two hours at the Archives and I realised that maybe it would be better if you just got together already." Y/n stared at him in shock, processing the information her brother had just spewed.

"Wait, wait. Lockwood likes me? Are you sure?"

"Completely. This isn't some hypothesis or theory, it's fact. My sanity can prove it because it's nearly all gone."

"Okay, but... you're sure? Like this isn't a joke, right?"

"No! It's not a joke! God, you really are perfect for each other; he said the same thing you know. Didn't believe that I was telling the truth about you reciprocating his feelings. Seriously, you're both idiots for not seeing it, I mean, he let you sit on him a couple of days ago!"

"That was part of a game!" Y/n spluttered, face heating at the memory of his hands around her and his head in the crook of her neck.

"Well he wouldn't have cosied up to me, would he!" Y/n fell backwards against the headboard, hands pressed to her face as she groaned in frustration."You're still not gonna do anything about it, are you?" George was quieter now, and Y/n moved her hands slightly to peer at him through her fingers.

"Correct. I want cold hard proof before I make a proper fool of myself and have to never go to Portland Row again for fear of dying from embarrassment." Now it was George's turn to groan in frustration.

"Well somebody's just going to have to engineer a situation where you confess then, aren't they?!"

"Please, no. I will murder you while you sleep if you try anything." George was impassive when Y/n glared at him, used to her threats of death.

"Fine! I won't do anything, alright! Happy?"

"Sort of." They sat in comfortable silence for a little while, Y/n trying to read her book again but eventually getting too distracted by the mountain of paperwork that her brother hadn't touched since arriving. "What is all that, anyway?" she pointed to the end of the bed.

"Oh, my research for a case we have in a couple of days. I couldn't sit with Lockwood anymore, he was driving me insane."

Y/n rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatics. "Do you want help looking through it all?"

"Please. I have no doubts that Lockwood will be doing anything but research right now, and there's a lot to get through. At least I know that you'll stay focused."

"Come on then. Oh, are you staying for dinner? Mum's cooking tonight so you know it'll be good."

"I might do. I get caught up in this stuff anyway so we'll see what time it is. Thanks for the help, Y/n/n."

"No problem, Georgie." She ruffled his hair, laughing when he practically threw himself off of the bed to escape. He landed on the floor with a thud, only making Y/n laugh harder.

"I hate you," he said, sitting up and glaring at her through wonky glasses. "You're the devil, I swear."

~~~

Lockwood and George were cleaning the equipment after yet another successful case when George dropped the chains he was oiling and looked up at his boss.

"I don't get it," he started, making Lockwood glance up with a frown.

"Get what?"

"You barely know Y/n, and you only ever interact when she's here with us, so how are you so hopeless when it comes to my sister?"

Lockwood blushed as he remembered all the times he'd lied to his friends, telling them that he was going on a supply run or heading to the shops when in reality he was making his way to the cafe that Y/n worked at. He spent a good hour or so in there multiple times a week, and sometimes he'd offer to walk her home at the end of her shift, desperate for another few minutes in her presence. Since first meeting her not long after George joined his agency (she'd brought cake, homemade, saying that she wanted to give George a 'congrats on the new job!' present) Lockwood had wanted to be around her all the time; she was like the sun, and everything was gloomy without her. The first time he'd showed up at her place of work, he'd pretended it was a coincidence, acting surprised when he saw her behind the counter. Truthfully, he'd taken a gamble on whether or not she'd be working that day, but the blinding smile that was present on her face as she served customers (although Lockwood could tell it was a fake one) immediately told him that his gamble had paid off.

"Lockwood? Hi! How are you? How's Georgie doing, is he alright? Oh, did you want anything?"

"Just a tea, thanks love," he'd replied, not meaning for the term of endearment to slip out, but her resultant blush was enough to make him decide on repeating it. She started making a cup (he'd asked for it to take away), asking questions every now and then to get his order right, and he answered those as well as her previous questions about George. Eventually, he'd had to leave, paying for the tea he now held and exiting the shop with a promise to come back soon when she'd waved goodbye. It had become a sort of ritual for the two of them, Lockwood appearing a couple of times a week, sometimes to sit at a table with some case files, others he would just get his order to go, but he'd find a way to talk to her every time. On the days when he'd promised to walk her home she would have a cup of tea already prepared for him, sat on his usual table in the corner next to a plate of whatever pastry or cake she thought that he would enjoy. At some point over the years, Lockwood had started feeling his cheeks heat up whenever Y/n smiled at him, or butterflies start up in his stomach when their hands brushed, and eventually he'd had to accept the fact that he was falling in love with her.

"Lockwood? Lockwood! Back to the present, please!" George demanded, snapping his fingers in front of his friend's face. He was sure it had only been a few seconds, but George was annoyed all the same at Lockwood's daydreaming. He huffed in frustration, picking up the chains again."You two are insufferable, do you know that? Seriously, just ask her out already. She feels the same and you know it."

"I thought you didn't want me dating your sister?" Lockwood frowned, feeling hope start to bloom in his chest.

"Yeah, well, then I had to sit and listen to you talk about her for two hours the other day and I lost my mind."

"Oh. Well. I wasn't that annoying, was I?" George only stared at him, expression saying 'Are you serious?' and Lockwood had his answer.

"Just, I don't know. You both like each other, so why not? It'll save me from the pining at least."

Lockwood was quiet for a while, mulling over George's words. "I just know that she can do better than me," he eventually said, not looking up from the boots he was polishing. "I don't want her to... regret being with me, or something."

"Lockwood, having spent the last four years listening to her talk about you I can say with confidence that she won't regret being with you. All I ask is that you dial down the suicidal tendencies on cases, yeah? I really don't want to deal with her heartbroken." George's voice was the softest Lockwood had ever heard it, and Lockwood nodded his assent.

"Alright. I'm not making any promises though Sometimes my suicidal tendencies help us stop dying instead."

"I'm not doing much better than that, am I?"

"Nope. I will be slightly less chaotic on cases and that's as much as I can do for you."

"Fine. Keep polishing those boots, you've missed a spot."

~~~

It was a few weeks later when Lucy called Y/n up in a panic, yelling random words down the phone and ranting about something that sounded important.

"Lucy, Lucy! Stop talking for a moment!" The other girl did so, promptly falling silent, and Y/n took a breath. "What's happened?"

"There's this party- ball- thing that Fittes are throwing in like, two weeks, and we have to go because we've been invited but I have nothing to wear. At all. And you always know what to do in these situations so I figured you could help me?"

She was quiet for a moment, and then said "But it's... in two weeks?"

"Yeah."

"So why are you worrying about it right now?"

"Because loads of people have been invited, Y/n! What if the perfect outfit sells out? What if I end up in something I hate because there was nothing else?"

"Wait, wait wait." Y/n sat forward on her bed, pulling the phone off of the nightstand when the cord no longer reached. "Are you trying to impress somebody?" Now it was Lucy's turn to be quiet, and Y/n scoffed in disbelief. "Oh my god, Lucy Carlyle, do you have a crush?!"

"No, I don't! Shut up! Ugh! You are so annoying, for fuck's sake!"

"You totally do! You so have a crush! Who is it? Tell me!"

"I am telling you nothing, you nosey little bastard!"

"Okay, okay! Fine! I will get this information out of you, I hope you know. When do you wanna go shopping then?"

"Today?"

"Jesus, thanks for the notice!"

"A different day then! But we are not leaving it to the last minute like you always do!"

"No, no, it's fine, Luce. Mum's gone full clean mode anyway so it gives me an excuse to get out the house. Make my siblings do the work."

"Aren't you worried about your own room coming under fire?"

"Nope. We did mine yesterday, so I know I'm safe. I'll meet you at yours in twenty minutes?"

"Yeah, alright." They hung up and Y/n rushed downstairs, grabbing her bag and coat and pulling her shoes on, and within a few minutes she was yelling to her parents that she'd be back later and laughing at her siblings when they complained about her leaving them to their mother's cleaning fury.

~~~

"So," Y/n started, her tone supposedly disinterested as she, Lucy and Holly browsed the department store racks for something for the two agents to wear. "Who is it? The person you're dressing up for?"

"Oi, quit it." Lucy sent a glare her way, but it was too late. Holly had overheard and was joining in, and for once Y/n was glad that it wasn't her being questioned about a crush.

"Are we talking about Maya?"

"No," Lucy shot back, far too quickly for it to be the truth, and her rapidly reddening cheeks weren't helping either.

"Is that her name? Oh my god, okay! Wait, what do you know about her, Holly?"

"She hasn't told you anything? Okay, okay, so she's called Maya, works at Fittes which isn't brilliant, but she's sweet enough. Lucy totally wrecked her first impression though, which was hilarious."

"It was not! I looked like an idiot!" Lucy now had her face in her hands, and Holly had moved to link arms with Y/n. It turned out that Lucy had quite literally fallen for this girl after tripping on a kerb when staring at her, and Holly had laughed so hard she had to dash to a nearby toilet.

"Yeah, no, that is hilarious, Luce," Y/n cackled, gaining some glares from other shoppers.

"You can't talk, little miss 'I sat on Lockwood's lap and fucking yelped'!" Y/n opened her mouth in protest, looking to Holly for support, but the girl only shook her head and sided with Lucy again.

"I didn't think anybody heard that," she mumbled, mortified that apparently they had heard, and worse, hadn't forgotten.

"Oh we all heard, trust me."

"Ugh, I thought I was free because Lucy has a crush now!"

"Nope. Neither of you are off the hook," Holly declared as she laughed, and Y/n and Lucy shared a look. "Why did you yelp, anyway?"

"I was surprised, okay?"

"Did he have a flare in his pocket?" Lucy snickered with an exaggerated wink, and Y/n whacked her arm.

"No, he did not! You are ridiculous! He just... pulled me backwards into a hug, and it surprised me," she explained, voice higher than usual.

"Right... okay," Holly said, playfully narrowing her eyes. "Whatever you say!"

"I'm telling the truth!" Y/n called after them as they moved on, and she rushed to catch up.

~~~

"Oh, this store is so much better than that last one, look at the range!"

"Holly, have you ever considered working in retail if you stop being an agent?"

"God no, have you heard the horror stories? No thank you."

They were wandering around the third department store of the day when Lucy gasped loudly and practically ran to a rack of clothes.

"This one. This is the one. Oh, look at it! No, no way! It has pockets?! I am in love, and I can die happy!"

"Lucy, what are you actually talking about? Because we can't see it from here," Y/n said, and Lucy turned around with a wide smile on her face as she held up the dress. It was similar to the one she'd worn a while ago, back before Holly had joined and Lockwood and Co were into theft (they needed a book from the Black Library), but Lucy had wanted a new one given the other was slightly worse for wear.

"Oh, Lucy, it's gorgeous," Holly complimented, and Y/n agreed.

"Yeah, seriously Luce. Go and try it on!"

They ushered her into the changing rooms, and while they were waiting Holly and Y/n had a seat on the chairs nearby.

"What are you going to wear?" Holly asked, and Y/n frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"To the ball? What are you going to wear? You are coming with us, aren't you?"

"Uh, I guess I can. I hadn't thought about it, to be honest. I don't think I have anything suitable to wear though."

"Well we've still got time, we can look around for something! Maybe something that will help you confess?" Holly nudged, and Y/n was just about to stop spluttering in protest and defend herself when Lucy walked out.

"Holy shit, Lucy."

"Yeah, holy shit."

"'Holy shit' in a good way or 'holy shit' in a bad way?" she asked, chewing on her lip and smoothing out the fabric.

"Good way," Y/n and Holly replied instantly.

"You look amazing, Luce, honestly," Y/n smiled, and Lucy returned it.

"Definitely that one," Holly agreed.

~~~

Holly had insisted that they keep looking around the store for something for Y/n (Lucy had agreed with Holly that Y/n 'shall go to the ball!' - she'd even declared it like the fairy godmother), and so they spent the next few hours carrying out the same painful process that they had just done with Lucy.

"Y/n? Is that you? It is!"

Y/n froze at the voice, squeezing her eyes shut in the hopes that if she just kept walking then she would be left alone.

"Y/n!"

No chance of that, then, given she'd been taken by the arm and wrapped in a hug that was entirely too fake and smelt incredibly strongly of perfume.

"Steph, hi," Y/n hoped she didn't sound too displeased to see the girl, but then again they'd never been friends, and Steph had always been a bitch to her.

"What are you doing here? I didn't think shopping was your..." she waved her hands at Y/n, "thing." She glanced up and down Y/n's body, raising her eyebrows slightly and smiling too widely.

"Not really, but I prefer it when I'm with my friends and they wanted to go out," she said, trying to figure out an escape route.

"Oh, so you're not getting anything?" Before Y/n could respond, Steph had already started talking again. "Of course you aren't, you couldn't afford it, what with your family having so many people in it."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Lucy, please don't," Y/n hissed, trying to deter her friend from beating the shit out of her enemy.

"You have no right to talk to her like that, okay? And for your information, she is getting something, and it's going to be a dress that makes her look like the goddess she is, alright? So take your fake brands and irrelevant opinions and shove 'em up your arse!" Lucy ranted, shoving her finger in Steph's direction to emphasise her points. The girl was taken aback for a moment, blinking in shock, then scoffed.

"Whatever. Enjoy your lame dress, Karim. Or whatever your last name is, since we all know that you're adopted." Steph left, her two companions following with a click of their stupidly high heels, and Y/n felt tears start to prick at the corners of her eyes. Lucy was practically growling after them, and Holly had brought Y/n into a proper hug, tight and comforting.

"Well she's a bitch. How d'you know her?"

"School," Y/n sniffed, trying to prevent the tears from falling. "She never liked me for some reason, or maybe I was just easy to pick on because I don't know who my real parents are, but she always made it a point to single me out."

"Right, if she ever comes back I'm punching her."

"Lucy," Y/n berated, although she was laughing a little as she did so.

"I mean it! She's awful! Now, have we looked everywhere in this store?"

"I think so, let's try the next one," Holly said.

"Guys, it's not a big deal, really. Don't let me take up more of your time."

"Y/n, stop being ridiculous. We are finding you a dress and that's that."

"Lucy," Y/n whined as the girl grabbed hold of her arm, Holly taking the other, and led her off out of the store.

~~~

"This one?"

"Hm? No, I don't think so."

"What about this one?"

"God no, I'd look like shit."

"How about-"

"Ew, nope."

Many of their discussions had continued in this manner since leaving the store where Steph had appeared, and Y/n was still trying to find a dress that she loved. There had been many that had looked great, but when she'd tried them on there was something just not quite right, and she'd taken it off with a sigh. Curfew was starting to creep up on the three of them, and Y/n was worried that she'd never find an outfit and have to either go in a potato sack or just not go at all.

"You'll find something, Y/n," Holly said, nudging her shoulder against Y/n's.

"It's not looking very likely though, is it?" Holly didn't say anything, offering a sympathetic smile instead.

"Oh. My. God. Y/n/n, what about this one?" Lucy shouted from across the store (the last one that they hadn't previously looked around). Y/n and Holly giggled at their friend's antics, walking over to see what she wanted them to see. She was holding up a deep red dress, gaping at it with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open like she was a fish. "Ok. No thinking, no questioning, find the dressing room and put this on." Lucy bundled the dress into Y/n's arms and then shoved her in the direction of the changing rooms.

"You sure about this one, Lucy?"

"I'm positive, Holly."

~~~

The two agents were waiting outside for Y/n to appear when George turned up.

"What are you two doing here? Lucy, haven't you already got a dress?"

"Oh, hi George. Yeah, I got one earlier since my other nice dress is kind of old now, but Y/n's trying one on. Why are you here?"

"Apparently my other suit isn't nice enough, so I had to get a new one. Lucky that we've been getting some high paying customers recently that I could afford it."

"When you say your 'other suit', do you mean the one that has plasm stains and holes in it from moths?"

"...Yes."

"She's been in there a while, do you think she needs help?" Holly said after a lull in Lucy and George's conversation.

"I'm fine! Gimme two seconds!" Y/n shouted, and Lucy snickered.

"Wait, why's she trying on a dress?" George frowned, finally registering the fact that his sister was in the changing room.

"Because she's coming with us to the Fittes Ball in a couple of weeks and this girl was being a bitch-"

"Stephanie?"

"Uh- yeah. How'd you know?"

"Y/n complains about her a lot. I think they're arch enemies or something."

"Oh."

"What's she got to do with finding a dress though? Attending the ball makes sense, but where does Steph come into this?"

"Lucy might have shouted that Y/n was going to get a dress that made her look like a goddess," Holly chimed in.

"Ah, I see. So now my sister is... what, trying one on?"

"Yep. You sure you're okay?" Lucy shouted the last part in the direction of a stall, just as Y/n swept back the curtain and stepped out.

"Woah," Lucy and Holly said. George was silent, staring at his sister.

"Good woah or bad woah?" Y/n asked, smiling a little as she remembered Lucy asking a similar thing earlier that day.

"Good woah, for sure," Holly said, Lucy nodding next to her.

"Oh, Georgie. I didn't know you were here," Y/n looked more nervous now, clearly wanting her brother to say something positive.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"Yeah. I do. I really do."

"You look beautiful, Y/n/n."

"Thank you, Georgie."

"Definitely look like a goddess," Lucy added.

~~~

"Lockwood, hi!" Y/n hadn't expected to see him today, but he had just entered the small cafe that she worked in.

"Hi, Y/n/n, how're you?" He looked antsy, like he wanted to know something, and was shifting on his feet.

"I'm alright... you okay? You look like you have a rash," she said, starting to make him a tea the way she knew he liked it.

"Uh- what? No, I don't... I don't have a rash, I just, well, I heard that you're coming to the ball with us next week?"

"Oh, yeah. The girls convinced me to go. We went dress shopping for Lucy last week and Holly told me I should go with you all. You don't mind, do you?"

"No! No, of course I don't mind!"

"Good, 'cause I already got a dress when Lucy got hers, and it was expensive and I need a justification for getting it or Mum'll be mad." She poured the hot water in, careful not to spill any over her hands (it had happened more times today than she'd like to admit), turning and finishing the tea off, placing a lid on the top of the take away cup. She pushed it across the counter, shaking her head when Lockwood pulled out his wallet to pay. "On the house, you look like you need it." He smiled at her, making her heart flutter, and pushed a fiver into the tip jar next to her as he ignored her protests.

"Thank you. Are you going to get changed with the rest of us? Or do you want us to pick you up from yours?"

"Oh, I was gonna get changed with Holly and Lucy. I'll probably come over quite early if that's alright with you?"

"Of course, you know I don't mind having you over, love. Thanks for the tea!" he called out as he left, unaware of Y/n's blush.

~~~

"Why do girls take so long getting ready for things?"

Lockwood looked up at George's words as he entered the kitchen, folding his paper and throwing it on the table. "Not sure. I'm relatively sure they plan world domination while they do it."

"Makes sense," George shrugged, flopping into a chair and pulling at his bow tie. "They have been in Lucy's room for hours now though. Do you think we need to be worried?"

"I hear them laughing every now and then, so they're still alive at least," Lockwood replied. George hummed, pushing his glasses back up his nose. All of a sudden the two boys heard footsteps thundering on the stairs, and a moment later Lucy's head poked through the kitchen door.

"Please make your way into the hall!" she half shouted, not caring that she was only a few metres away from them and disappearing again. Lockwood and George shared a look, then slowly pushed themselves out of their chairs and moved into the hallway to stand in front of the stairs. A few minutes passed, with hushed conversation barely audible from the top of the stairs, and eventually Holly said "Oh, I'll go!" and came downstairs. She looked lovely in her dress, gold fabric shimmering as she took the steps and ended up at the bottom, Lucy following closely behind in her deep blue (a staple colour for the girl), also looking gorgeous. Lockwood frowned slightly when he realised that Y/n wasn't with them, and when her head poked over the bannister with a worried expression he started feeling nervous.

"Guys, are you sure?" she asked, biting her lip. Lucy and Holly nodded, and George gave her a thumbs up.

"Wait," Lockwood started. "Has everybody seen her dress but me?"

"Yep," George said, the girls nodding behind him.

"So why are you so nervous, Y/n/n?" he called up, frowning.

"I don't know!"

"Just come downstairs!" A loud honk sounded from outside then, and the four agents turned to look in the direction of the sound.

"That'll be the cab," Lucy piped up, heading over to the door. "We'll wait for you two," she winked, and Lockwood felt his face heat up. How did she know about his feelings for Y/n?

"Please don't break her heart, Lockwood. Or I'll deliberately throw badly the next time we're on a case."

"George, no offence, but you can't aim anyway. Maybe if you deliberately aimed badly you'd throw it the right way."

"I mean it. Remember what we talked about the other week, and don't screw it up, yeah?" George patted Lockwood's shoulder, grabbing his jacket and heading outside after the girls.

"Lockwood?"

"Yeah?"

"They've all left, haven't they?"

"Yeah." Y/n didn't answer, instead letting out a groan that made Lockwood chuckle.

"Just come downstairs, Y/n/n. We're going to be late."

"Promise you'll be nice?"

"Why would I not be nice?"

"I don't know! Just promise?"

"Okay! I promise!" He was trying to stifle his laughter in the hopes that she wouldn't take it the wrong way when Y/n appeared at the top of the landing and took his breath away. She was stunning, the dress fitting perfectly and making her look ethereal.

"Lockwood? I look terrible, don't I? I'll stay here, you guys go without me-"

"No! No, don't... you look... you look- pretty," he settled on, wincing at his awkwardness. "You look really pretty, Y/n." He didn't miss the way her smile grew, or the way his face warmed, and when she muttered a small 'Thanks' under her breath his heart stuttered. "We should, uh," he cleared his throat. "We should probably... go..." he trailed off, still blushing. She had come closer and now he could smell her perfume, and when she brushed past him to open the door he thought he might faint from the brief physical contact. What was wrong with him? He was Anthony bloody Lockwood, so why was he acting so foolishly around this girl?

"Are you coming, then? Or are you gonna keep standing there like a lemon?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm- yep."

They packed themselves into the taxi, Lockwood stubbornly ignoring Lucy's smirk as the last two available seats for him and Y/n were right next to each other (which he was entirely certain had been planned), thighs pressed together, and a few moments later they were on the road, heading for the Fittes building.

~~~

"Holy shit, this is insane, Lucy," Y/n gasped, staring around the room in wonder. "Lucy?" She looked for her friend, wondering why she hadn't said anything in response, when she saw Lucy talking to a girl.

"That's Maya," Holly whispered, taking Y/n's arm and looping it through her own.

"God, she's gorgeous. I can see why Lucy likes her." Holly hummed her agreement, taking the two of them on a lap of the room.

"Did something happen between you and Lockwood before you got in the taxi?" she asked after a pause.

"What? No, why?" Y/n's eyes were wide, heat creeping up her neck at the memory of him calling her pretty.

"He can't stop staring at you. He looks like an idiot, to be completely honest." Now her eyes were wide for a different reason, turning to find Lockwood's body in the crowd. Sure enough, he was already looking their way, and after a few moments he seemed to realise that he'd been caught, blushing and rejoining the conversation he was having with George and some agent from Rotwell.

"You sure nothing happened?" Holly asked again, eyebrow raised.

"...Yep." The other girl just laughed, clearly not believing her, and dragged her further around the room.

~~~

"You alright, Luce?"

"Not really," she said, slumping into the chair next to Y/n. "Maya's talking to some other girl and I couldn't relate to anything they were saying, so I left."

"Aw, Lucy. You have been talking to her for what, an hour already? You're not going to have everything in common," Y/n reassured her friend, offering a soft smile.

"I s'pose you're right," she started. "That's what makes a good relationship, right?" Lucy was perking up with every word, sitting up in her chair and leaning forward.

"Yeah, like Y/n and Lockwood," Holly chimed in.

"Yeah, Holly's right. Wait, like- what?! What do you mean?! We're not- he's not-" Y/n spluttered, trying desperately to gain control of the situation after the slip-up and failing miserably. Lucy and Holly were doubled over laughing, clearly finding the situation hilarious, when all of a sudden Y/n shot her arms out to either side, grabbing hold of her friends. "No, seriously, stop it now. Look," she pointed towards Lockwood, hoping the girls would pick up on what was wrong.

"Is that-?"

"I'm gonna kick her arse into next fucking we-"

"Fucking Stephanie," Y/n spat, not missing the way that she was flirting with Lockwood. She hadn't realised the bitch was here, but now that she had it was incredibly difficult to take her eyes off of the scene. Now it was her turn to be gloomy, and every attempt to talk to Lockwood ended with Steph's friends (minions) pushing her back and acting like incredibly non-threatening bodyguards, but Y/n didn't want to cause a scene in the middle of a party that she wasn't technically invited to by shoving back.

Roughly an hour and a half after first spotting Stephanie with Lockwood, Y/n was stood with her back to a wall as she miserably looked on at the two of them somehow still engaged in conversation. The worst part was, Steph didn't look like she would be ending their chat anytime soon, and didn't appear to want to leave. Whether the girl knew about his affiliation with Y/n or not, she wasn't sure, but it was making Y/n increasingly more irritated as the night went on.

"Here," Lucy said, appearing at Y/n's side. "Take this." She held her hand out, one of her rings that she always wore sat in the centre of her palm, the sapphire shining up at her from its place in the centre of the band of silver.

"Uh, why?" A frown settled on Y/n's face, unsure where Lucy's mind was going.

"Because you're gonna go up to Lockwood, big smile on your face, and ask Steph why she's fondling your husband." Y/n could only stare at her friend, wondering what the actual hell had come over her.

"But... he's not my husband?"

"She doesn't need to know that, does she? You two are practically an old married couple anyway, so what does it matter? Besides, if nothing else it's an opportunity to cuddle up to him," she said the last part with a wink, making Y/n flush as she remembered the last time she had 'cuddled up' to Lockwood.

"Well, George is over there, he's not going to play along, is he?" she attempted to find a way out of this situation that Lucy had put her in, but the agent had a solution to everything, it seemed.

"Oh, I told him about this. He's promised to go with it. There was absolutely no way I was gonna let your brother be oblivious, he's a terrible liar sometimes." Lucy was still standing with her hand out, ring gleaming up at Y/n, and she had half a mind to say no and continue suffering until she heard a loud laugh come from the other side of the room. Both girls looked for the source, and Y/n bristled when she realised that it was Steph laughing, hand placed firmly on Lockwood's arm as she leaned into him. Not thinking twice, Y/n grabbed the ring, shoved it on her finger, and marched over to where her new fake husband stood. She squeezed between Steph and Lockwood (difficult, since the other girl had practically glued herself to him) and wrapped her arms around his waist, trying to steady her heart as she felt his warmth engulf her.

"Hi, love," she smiled up at him, willing him to stop staring at her with his eyes so wide open in shock and hug her back. He stuttered for a moment, going red, and vaguely Y/n registered Steph's outraged expression in the corner of her eye and George's stifled laughter.

"Uh- hi- hello."

"Y/n? I didn't realise you were going to be here," Steph asked through gritted teeth, obviously annoyed at the interruption.

"Oh, Steph! I didn't see you there! Of course I'm here, why wouldn't I be? My husband got invited and so naturally I was his plus one!" It was petty, she knew, but totally worth it for the look on Steph's face when Y/n emphasised the word 'husband' while smiling lovingly up at Lockwood.

"...Husband?" she asked, eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them. Lockwood was still rigid as a pole, although he had brought his arms around Y/n's waist after she pinched him in the side. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I second that. Husband?"

"Oh, did I not tell you?" Lockwood hadn't moved his head away from her ear, instead nuzzling further into her neck, and it was becoming difficult to think straight. "We got married!" She flashed the ring at Steph, delighting in both the pure, unfiltered shock on her face and also the way in which Lockwood had moved his hands to hold her body closer to his.

"Well- I- okay then. But one question, for Lockwood?" He pulled his head up, dopey smile on his face as he nodded for Steph to continue.

"Why would you ever marry someone like her? I mean, you know that she's adopted, right?"

Y/n could practically feel George bristle behind her and get ready to punch Steph's lights out, but Lockwood remained calm, his expression sharpening and spine straightening as he took Steph in.

"I don't see how her not being biologically related to her parents affects how much I love her, do you?"

"It's just that-"

"I married Y/n because of who she is, not because of her family, although having George around is wonderful," Lockwood cast a smile at Y/n's brother before continuing. "She's the most incredible person I have ever met, and she far outshines you in every way and I think you know that, and you're jealous of it. I know that I'm jealous of how incredible you are, darling," he turned to Y/n, using the hand that wasn't around her waist to push back a lock of hair, his fingers lingering for a few moments more than was necessary as he smiled softly at her. "And quite honestly, Steph, if you can't agree with me on that then I don't think we have anything else to talk about, do we?" It was a rhetorical question, Lockwood already turning away and linking his hand with Y/n's as he dragged her to the side of the room, but they could hear Steph spluttering being them as they went.

"So," he started once they were far enough away. "What was that all about?" He hadn't let go of her hand, and his thumb had started softly tracing patterns over their intertwined fingers.

"What?"

"I don't remember marrying you, Y/n, unless it happened when I was really drunk or sleep deprived," he joked, although something in his eyes was searching for any hint of truth to the words in her face.

"I just- she's- I-" Y/n took a breath, trying to figure out how to explain the whole thing to him without him getting mad or laughing at her. "Steph's always hated me, and Lucy knows that-"

"What's Lucy got to do with this?" She huffed at him, small frown appearing on her face.

"If you let me finish then you'd know!"

"Alright! Alright!"

"Yeah, so Lucy knows that Steph hates me, and I hate her, and you two were talking for so long and she was all over you and I couldn't keep watching, so Lucy gave me this ring that I think is actually one of mine that she stole," she frowned down at her hand, going off on a tangent, "and she told me I should go over and say we were married to get rid of Steph."

Lockwood didn't say anything, instead just staring at her with a blank expression, and Y/n looked down at their still linked hands.

"I'm sorry," she whispered after a while.

"Don't be," he whispered back, using his free hand to lift her chin up. "I'm just a little annoyed, to be honest."

"Oh, god, I really am sorry, Lockwood! I didn't mean to make you upset or anything, I just got pissed off with her and-"

"No! No no no, stop right there. I'm not annoyed at you, darling, never you. I'm annoyed at myself for not coming up with that plan earlier. She was really starting to piss me off too, and I kept hoping that George would intervene or something and he never did- I'm going to have to talk to him about that," Lockwood frowned, looking in her brother's direction. "I'm also... I'm annoyed that this is how I tell you that-"

"Here you are! I was wondering where you two had run off to!" George appeared, bright smile on his face, and Y/n couldn't stop the glare that came onto her face. Tell me what? If only George had turned up a few moments later, then she would know what Lockwood wanted to say. "We should probably find the others, party's wrapping up now and I'm craving my bed." Lockwood heaved a sigh, then nodded in agreement, following after George as her brother tried to find Lucy and Holly, casting a slightly pained glance over his shoulder at Y/n.

Tell me what?!

~~~

The journey back to Portland Row was uneventful since everybody was exhausted, although Lucy was practically buzzing in her seat because Maya had passed on her number, telling Lucy to call her.

"This means something, right?" she exclaimed as they piled through the front door. "I have a real chance with her, don't I?"

"Yes, Lucy. Yes you do," Y/n yawned, leaning slightly on Lockwood to take her heels off. Why she'd ever let Holly convince her that heels were needed when she could have worn her trainers instead she wasn't sure, but she breathed a sigh of relief when the first one was finally off. She wobbled for a moment trying to undo the strap on the other one when Lockwood steadied her, crouched down, and took her leg into his hands as his fingers worked the clasp. A few moments later he was done, gently pulling the shoe off of her foot, and although he had only had his hands on her for what couldn't have been more than ten seconds Y/n could feel her cheeks heating up and her heart beating faster.

"Lockwood, what the fuck are you doing?"

"George, they're having a moment, alright? Leave 'em alone," Lucy hissed, taking him by the arm and dragging him upstairs, hushed apologies whispered as he tripped and face planted due to her harsh tugging.

"Good night you two, I'll see you in the morning," Holly said, following after her coworkers and leaving Y/n and Lockwood in the entrance hall alone for the second time in the last twenty-four hours.

"You're not going to bed, are you?" Y/n asked, a knowing smile on her face as she looked at Lockwood. He shrugged, heading towards the library instead of up the stairs.

"I'm not feeling too tired, to be honest," he replied.

"You never feel tired, I swear. Do you ever sleep?" She mock gasped. "Are you a vampire? Is that why you're so pale and are always awake at night?" She broke off into a fit of giggles, exhaustion making her mildly hyper.

"No, I am not a vampire," Lockwood laughed, shaking his head at her antics. "Go on, you should head up. Unlike me you can't run on tea and tea alone."

Y/n nodded, heading for the stairs, but stopped a little way up as she remembered something. "Lockwood?"

He paused in the doorway of the library, turning to face her with one hand still on the handle. "Yeah?"

"What were you gonna tell me before George came over? At the ball? You said you were annoyed that it took you so long to tell me something." A frown had worked its way onto her face, but Lockwood's was filled with a smile.

"Go to bed, darling. I'll see you in the morning." He disappeared into the library, leaving Y/n standing on the staircase staring at the place he had just been.

~~~

The next morning Y/n woke to an empty room, Lucy and Holly nowhere to be seen in the attic. She laid in bed for a little while, soaking in not having to get up and go to work, but eventually the need for food grew too strong and she was forced to start her day.

The kitchen was empty of George, too, and a short investigation led to finding a scribbled note on the thinking cloth that Holly, Lucy and George had gone for a grocery run at the supermarket. That left Lockwood, who was either hiding away in the house or had gone off on his own somewhere. Y/n's question was answered a few minutes later as she was pouring hot water into a mug for tea, and she nearly spilled the liquid all over her hands when Lockwood appeared and asked her to pour a cup for him.

"Shitting hell, Lockwood! Where did you come from?"

"Oh, I was downstairs. Doing a spot of rapier practice. Thanks," he gratefully accepted the mug that Y/n handed him, smiling brightly at her over the edge. She tried desperately to ignore the flush to his skin (and the mental images of Lockwood training), and turned back to her own mug of tea, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment in the hopes that she could go back to thinking normal thoughts. "You alright?"

"Hm? Oh, yes! Yeah, yep. I'm fine," she exclaimed, wincing at how the words came out. Lockwood stifled a snort (unsuccessfully) and took a sip of tea, yelping a moment later.

"Shit, that's hot!"

"Why wouldn't it be? You idiot!" Y/n was laughing fully, not bothering to hide how amusing she found the whole situation, and Lockwood was glaring at her from where he stood fanning his mouth. "You literally watched me pour boiling water into that like, a minute ago!"

"I know! I know! Stop laughing, will you? I feel bullied. I'm being bullied."

He took a glass out of the cupboard, filling it up with cold water from the tap and taking a long drink. They stood in silence for a while after that, Lockwood taking tentative sips of his tea while Y/n took large gulps, trying not to laugh at him when the memory of his reaction came back. They were very rarely alone in the house, with at least one other person somewhere and about to walk in, and Y/n decided that Lockwood had nowhere to go so she might as well corner him.

"Why didn't you answer me last night? When I asked what you wanted to tell me?"

He froze momentarily, the tips of his ears going pink as he hid behind his mug and scratched at the back of his head. "It doesn't matter, Y/n/n. Really."

"Well it matters to me, Lockwood. If nothing else the not knowing is killing me. Also I had just dragged you into a marriage with me, and while I do feel bad about that I also feel that you owe me this as well."

"You didn't drag me into a marriage, you surprised me with one," he joked, clearly stalling.

"Okay, fine, but seriously what were you going to say before my idiot brother came over?"

"I was just... going to say that..." he mumbled the last part, all the words smushed together and said quietly so that Y/n had trouble picking them out.

"Sorry, I genuinely could not hear you for the life of me Lockwood," her expression was apologetic, and he sighed through his nose as he looked up at the ceiling, closing his eyes before making a decision.

"I was going to say that I was annoyed that it took me so long to tell you that I love you."

"I love you too, Lockwood," Y/n frowned, wondering why he looked so beaten up about it. The five of them often told each other that they loved them, the words thrown around casually all the time.

"No, I mean- I love you, Y/n. To the point that George punches me in the arm sometimes because I won't shut up about how amazing or funny or kind or smart you are."

"Oh."

"Yeah." He hesitated for a few seconds, then spoke up again. "If you don't... I don't want this to ruin our friendship if you don't feel the same way though."

"Why wouldn't I feel the same?"

"You haven't said anything and it's- it's freaking me out!"

"Well I do feel the same! I'm just also freaking out because you love me too!"

"We're a mess, aren't we?" Lockwood laughed.

"Absolutely."

"So- So if I asked you on a date... would you-"

"Yes. Sorry, I- you can finish."

"I mean I think I got my answer, to be honest." He smiled softly at Y/n, placing his mug down and slowly coming over to where she leaned against the countertop. She reached her arms up and draped them around his neck, bringing him into a hug, and his own hands found their way to her waist. His eyes flicked between hers and her lips, and then he was whispering "Can I kiss you?" and leaning in when she nodded, pressing his lips to hers gently. They didn't rush, taking their time as they kissed softly, Lockwood's fingers brushing the skin just under her jumper and Y/n's fingers tangling in his hair, and when they pulled away for air they stayed close, foreheads bumping against each other.

~~~

When Holly, Lucy and George got home just over an hour later, arms laden with shopping bags, the silence was deafening.

"I really hope they haven't killed each other," Holly frowned, peering up the stairs as if doing so would help her find their missing friends.

"Maybe they've finally got together and are on a date," Lucy exclaimed, poking George in the side when he wouldn't move out of the way of the cupboard that she needed to open.

"Ow! I'm torn about that. On the one hand if they do get together I'll be glad they've stopped pining, on the other they'll be insufferable. You know what Lockwood's like, all lovey-dovey and attention giving, and Y/n will soak it up like a dry sponge."

"Oh, I found them!" Holly poked her head through the kitchen door, neither Lucy or George having noticed her leave. She lead them to the library, motioning for quiet as she pushed the door open. "They must have been reading and got tired. They totally confessed, just look at them!"

Lockwood and Y/n were curled up (somehow) on the larger of the two armchairs in the library, limbs entangled and hanging off of the arms and a book dangled in Lockwood's free hand, the other wrapped around Y/n keeping her safely tucked into his chest as the two of them slept. George looked like he was trying to be upset, but Lucy could see the smile he was holding off at the sight in front of them.

"We should leave them to it, I s'pose," Lucy murmured, pulling the door shut softly with a small click. "You alright, George?"

"Just thinking about how horrible things will be with them finally together," he replied, rolling his eyes and heading back into the kitchen to start dinner.

"He's not really upset, is he," Holly said, more stating it as a fact than posing a question.

"Nope. He's gonna be singing while he cooks, I can guarantee it."

Sure enough, barely five seconds after Lucy said the words, singing could be heard from behind the closed kitchen door alongside the clash of pots and pans.

[gxlds-doodles]

was thinking abt how much i miss the 2014-2015 era fnaf fandom and it's interpretations of the characters (oh vincent purple guy how i miss you.) so new au alert!! lil chibis of my vincent n phone guy <3 designs are very much inspired by the popular designs for them around that time (originally popularized/created by rebornica i believe - though these are completely separate from their au i am not associated with them in any way shape or form) 🎉✧ SUPER COOL EPIC LORE INFO UNDER THE CUT!!!!!!! ✧🎉

general lore ☆ basically a whole rewrite - not because i have issues with the story (i stopped paying full attention after sister location tbh) just for fun!! again very much based on me missing 2010s fnaf fandom that was PEAK to me ☆ i still tie in some pieces of the lore but for the most part. forget what u know abt fnaf this is a whole rewrite (ex. animatronics are sentient but not possessed by children - not possessed at all in fact!! except for perhaps a few exceptions but i'm working on it) ☆ these two have quite a lot of canon lore tie-ins but beyond these two it's different LOL ☆ set in or around 2014, timeline is a wip vincent dorian (formerly afton) ☆ italian on his dad's side, armenian on his mom's side ☆ william afton's only child, born while freddy's was open but doesn't remember it rlly - his father and henry emily were co-owners/business partners but split ways (aka william got fired bc henry found out what he did. why he didn't bring this to the cops i'm still working out) soon after he was born ☆ raised by william as a single father ☆ was forced to help his father kill since he was like 12 this guy's got TRAUMA. ☆ still deciding on why he's purple (boy why you ourple.) but ik that it's william's fault. idk if i wanna go the walking corpse route like with michael in canon yet ☆ cuts off his dad when he's 18 - moves out on his own, etc. ☆ still kills for reasons i am currently working on however he does NOTTTT kill children ☆ starts working at freddy's at 27 as a way to 'rebel' against his dad, even if he hasn't seen him in yeeears by this point ☆ night guard at first, eventual day shift guard and sometimes a technician when needed ☆ his hair is naturally still black - he dyes it purple bc he thinks it looks cool ☆ his red scrunchie matches the red of phone guy's head <3 scott emily ☆ THE DRAWING IS OF A VERY SPECIFIC POINT IN THE AU I HAVE YET TO FLESH OUT it's not the most reflective of his character overall ☆ puerto rican ☆ henry emily's only child - remembers a tiny bit about william, remembers being scared shitless of him ☆ gets caught in a fire set by william when he's 16. he barely makes it out alive ☆ henry makes him the phone head mask thing. it can *technically* be removed but it never is bc it keeps the scars that never quite fully healed from getting worse ☆ head somehow works like a real phone... don't ask i just thought the idea of him ringing when he feels strong emotions is rlly funny (henry makes sentient animatronics in this au he can do anything. everyone say ty plot device dad!!) ☆ has some sort of contacts made by his dad that allow him to see through the phone ☆ grew up with the restaurant, his dad managed the location he's currently at until passing the business and the manager position onto him when he was 25 and henry was ready to retire ☆ henry told scott the full truth about william shortly before retiring - including that he set the fire that he got caught in. it's made him pretty paranoid that he's coming for him or something's gonna happen to him, even if neither of them have heard from william since then and he's essentially off the grid ☆ always at the restaurant during opening hours but rarely ever seen bc he doesn't want to scare any of the kids with his phone head vincent & scott ☆ yes they're dating. everyone cheer!! early fandom purplephone was my SHITTTT i love them so much ugh they r everything 2 me ☆ ngl they remind me of poolverine (deadpool x wolverine). vincent is deadpool (VERY accurate.) and scott is wolverine (less accurate but their dynamic stands) ☆ scott finds vincent annoying at first but eventually warms up to him and now he loooooves him. he's still annoying but he loooooooooves him ☆ scott doesn't know vince is william's son at first since he changed his surname and looks completely different ☆ they're just rlly cute and deeply in love and got some angsty shit going on later but that'll be a surprise oooo

[sunny-speaks]

Househusband Harper Headcanons

Hello, hello !! I am going to be redoing some blog design stuff when I WORK UP THE MOTIVATION-- so if the blog name changes, y’all know why!!

Anyway, I've been deep diving for Harper crumbs to accurately write him as one does. (gotta get everything lore accurate, would not be able to live with a too OOC in any of my fictional literature./hj)

AND I KNOW HE WOULD RATHER HAVE YOU BE THE AT-HOME PERSON AND WHATNOT while he works but hear me out… He would be such a good househusband, alright? AUHG- Everything's under the cut, lol.

also Harper is from @campwillowpeak !! I can remove the tag btw, if you don't wanna be tagged in further works ;-;

So maybe the two of you had been married for years. Doesn’t make Harper feel any less happy when you introduce him to people as your husband or when he sees the ring on your hand that he bought for you before you leave the house, it always leaves him with a tingly feeling.

After all, now you’re his. And doesn’t that sound just lovely?

Harper’s got that side job of his to keep the both of you financially stable, as long as you don’t ask too many questions about it.

He doesn’t understand why you need to go work, when the two of you could be comfortable at home from his profits.

Especially when he has more than enough to keep you happy with him!

But if that’s what his partner wants, who is he to deny you?

He’s always anxious to let you leave the house, you’re so magnificent, what if on your way home, some creep tries to hit on you?

He knows you wouldn’t cheat on him and that you can defend yourself, but… but wouldn’t it be safer to just be at home with you?

Or worse, what if one of your coworkers, god forbid your boss, tried to… coerce you into something!

He knows you always wear your wedding ring, and he made sure that it was shiny enough to show people how much he loved you. (Material objects could never dare to show anyone how much he loved you. He loves you sooo much and he knows you love him too !)

But there are a lot of ignorant people out there! 

If you let him, Harper's be more than glad to mark you up, stake his claim so your peers know exactly who you’re married to.

“Cara miaaa,” Your husband looked up at you with wide, pleading, unfaltering eyes, “You said your coworkers were giving you trouble, right?” He’d practiced saying it without violently cursing out your coworkers. You wouldn’t like it if he was mean about them… Even if it was true.

“Unfortunately, yeah. They can’t take a hint, even with this.” You gestured to your wedding ring. “I don’t get how it’s so hard for them to understand I’m a faithful spouse…”

And with that, Harper set his plan into action. “Y’know… we could do something a bit more drastic, if you wish, dear?”

Your eyes glinted with a hint of mischief. “And what would that be, Harp?” You had a vague idea what he was hinting at, but you wanted to hear him say it.

“Mm, just showing them how much I looove you… and maybe biting you.” He muttered the last part to himself, a light flush making its way to his face. He had not prepared too much on how to convince you.

“You mind giving me a little preview?” You sat yourself down on the couch and beckoned him towards you with a finger.

“Not at all, cara mia.”

But there are some pros to being alone when you’re gone!

Harper being your dutiful househusband means he can and will do anything and everything for you !

(And indulge himself in certain activities while you’re gone)

He also has complete control over everything you sleep in, you eat, you wear.

So if you notice some odd stains on your clothes or weird tastes in your food, he doesn’t know what you’re talking about ! Do you not like the food he spent so much time preparing? Or the laundry he did to take a load off your back ?

It’s not his fault he gets so lonely when you’re gone ! It’s just because he misses you so much !

You should just quit your job, you know? It’s so dangerous ! That boss of yours was targeted by an arsonist ! (Because he had the nerve to try and touch you.) Gosh, what if you were next ?! (Harper would never do that to you though… <3)

You should just listen to your husband, he’s so worried for you ! Won’t you pleaaase hear him out?

[c00kieguy]

Honkai Birb Rail: the Parrot Express

a/n: They are all so parrot coded to me [you can click on the link to learn more about the birds!]

Himeko: chattering lory

I love these ones!! The primarily red color really fits her and the green and yellow just adds to how regal she looks!! I think it just overall fits her really well!

She is very adventurous with food. (Since birds can't feel capsaicin) she likes to add a few bird's eye chili in any of her drinks for the extra crunch

Also a professional shrimp lover. especially fried. More into the crunchy exterior than the flesh tbh

Bird Himeko still drinks coffee because she lives on the edge and no one can tell her what to do oh my god someone get a doctor -

Welt: timney african grey

African grey was an obvious choice for him but i went with timney specifically because of the beak coloration.

It gives him that 'white streak in hair' look without the hair lol (ik it's sometimes red/pick we don't talk about that).

His go to phrase when deescalating a situation is asking "Wanna earn a pistash?" and usually whatever commotion was happening immediately stops

Everyone loves a good pistash (pistachio)

(Yes he makes them do tricks before giving it to them. Makes it taste more yummy)

Trailblazer: green cheek conure

When you think garbage you think green cheek conure, weather it be the color or just because they love causing mischief

These are all the silliest little goofballs so very fitting, the og gcc color really fits the TB too, but if I had to choose another conure color i'd probably go with dusky.

Loves bath and jumping into trash cans. Hanging upside down and licking random things are also included.

Do not leave them with any object that has removeable parts, you'll never be able to put it back again

March 7th: lovebird

With a bit more pink!!

Very round, very soft, super cute, so very March 7th.

They're also really outgoing and the way they collect nesting material is, well, so very March 7th.

Loves bath as well, and collecting pretty strings and other shiny things she finds in her tail and brings it to the express.

Her room is a mess, but a beautiful mess. Don't go in there tho you'll never find your way out

Dan Heng: Indian ring neck

In turquoise, naturally.

They're intelligent and a bit on the lanky side? when they're happy. So it looks like they're on high alert all the time

I just like the idea of a tall tired Dan Heng among the other two short outgoing birds (TB and M7).

He carries around a mini spray bottle just to spritz the other two when they get in trouble and they immediately go into bath mode.

He too enjoys baths a lot. but prefers a steady stream over his head instead of mist

a/n: i'll probably do a part 2 with the cosmic characters (+ Boothill) and a part 3 with the stellaron hunters

[huggingtentacles]

I just wanted to ask why you think Summons are *inherently* cheese, exactly? It's... like it's just a part of the game. You don't have to use it, but people who use it aren't cheesing the game -- the game is unfair, by design, and it expects you to get every edge you can. Like, you not liking summons is fine, but by the exact same token, people that use summons are also fine?? and judging them for using a game mechanic you don't to enjoy the game is... like, kinda not cool actually. No respect for the summon gankers that dogpile invaders tho. those guys suck.

I explained in a big post about summons I'm a bit too lazy to find it now here are the points from it quickly. I wanna preface this by saying that the game isn't actually unfair. There are literally like 1 unreactable attack in the entire game, and a couple bosses are badly designed with poor visibility, but those are exceptions that prove the rule, those are mistakes the devs made.

1. Summons break the combat fundamentally due to the fact that no boss in the game, not even the ones intended to be fought in a group like Radahn, have the capacity to fight 2 different targets at the same time. The whole game is fundamentally dodging and hitting: finding openings to attack a boss and learning timings to avoid damage. With summons you can remove that entirely by controlling the aggro of a boss.

2. Spirit summons specifically lower the multiplayer activity. Fromsoft removed solo invasions and spirit summons are much easier to use than finding a real player, so there is less coop happening and less invasions. The game became less social as a result.

3. The playerbase is fractured because of how fundamentally different the game is for those who use summons. When someone beats a boss and posts about it on Tumblr my first question always is "Did you use summons?" because if they didn't, only then I know that they actually learned the boss or found an interesting strategy. "Oh but huggingtentacles isn't that kinda mean, why aren't you just happy for everyone who beats a boss?" because I'm tired of keeping congratulating their mimic tear. Someone even made a funny comic way back in the day about how it's actually the mimic tear who deserves to become Elden Lord lol. "But the player themselves also participated in the fight" Maybe they did, but they didn't have to.

4. Spirit summons have 0 trade-off. It's only benefits and zero drawbacks. Back in the day you had to spend some minor resource for it that was semi-valuable in other fromsoft games, but in Elden Ring there is no cost to summoning, making them always the optimal strategy for every fight. It's the definition of overpowered. It's badly balanced compared to the rest of the game. With regular summons it's only kinda true. They're still overpowered but at least bosses get higher resistances, health and stance. Doesn't affect the rest of the game tho.

I don't judge anyone using spirit summons or summons in general. I dislike the mechanic for my personal reasons, but the people who use it are fine. Maybe they just don't want to engage with the combat in a combat centred action RPG. Let's be real, Elden Ring is just a dress-up game with combat.

I just think having a mechanic like that diminishes the experience of Fromsoft games and takes away a lot from the gameplay and the whole "overcoming adversity for a satisfying victory" thing. They could make it better, improve the enemy AI, add a real cost to summoning. It's not fundamentally a bad idea it's just badly executed.

[goatsludge]

Customer purchased one of the ShekkinGear replicas of the Surefire 660 for his custom Gangster Grip

Thought I'd take a moment to compare it to my real SF660 (on the right, I'm too lazy to remove it from my g-grip lol)

The Shekkin repro does a LOT of things wrong that aren't instantly visible to most;

The bezel (head) isn't a flush fit with the body

The bezel and body are wrenched the fuck together insanely tight

The body lacks any o-rings on the threads

The threads themselves are anodized with the rest of the body, meaning they had to shave the ends to bare metal to make a connection (probably why they put it together so tightly)

The tailcap uses the most chinesium-quality pressure pad cable possible, they have a reputation for spontaneously pulling out

The way the cable is installed on the tailcap makes it so it can't thread in as much as it should be able to

I guess they work for aesthetics if you don't wanna spend $200-$300+ on a legit SF660 (death to the cloner market)

But considering these have a reputation of flickering under the recoil of just gas blowback airsoft guns, god bless the poor guy that paid me to wire this thing into a gangster grip.

[copper-9spurgatory]

Null: WELL? my deal? dad wanted to create the perfect- superhero! cooked up the MOST advanced android powered by an endless energy source you've ever seen! and once he got a hold of some alien tech! built ME and my baby bro Wrai- ugh... 9... to use'em! I wanted a normal life- he was a good intention pushy jerk... so I took my half finished brother'n fled! and to shorten a long story! I was SUPPOSED to be a guy's "evil counter part" in another universe! so, someone decided to write my destiny- and drove me insane! made me the evil, COMIC book trope-! "I was meant to be!" if it wasn't for the fact the guy I was based on, had a heart! i'd be- I don't wanna THINK about WHAT i'd be! so I'm on a life long repentance tour basically! screwing over the guy'n THING that ruined my life! lol-! as for armed? uh- I have these rings! and several things I PHYSICALLY can't remove from me! unless I can remove ALL my cells- can I put my arms down? now?

Yeah put your arms down, but if you do anything I’ll …I’ll do something. What’s up with people forcing their plans onto their kids, it’s so common it’s concerning me. I’d have two nickels by now.

I got a few ground rules for this planet: one, don’t go near any caves, two, don’t destroy abandoned buildings..it hurts my ears and frankly makes this planet a mess, three don’t get in my way. Am I clear?! Good news, this planet is mostly safe. The only things you have to worry about is me and my squad…and maybe the hostile environment. Blizzards are frequent and the sun is practically nonexistent. Just telling you this now so you don’t expect me to guide you anywhere, I mean this planet is still underdeveloped aside from the colony.

She sighed, the X across her visor disappeared and her eye lights returned. She still had her claws out, still stained with oil. She didn’t dare to look off to the side, by how close she was, taking her eyes off him would make her vulnerable to an attack. According to her.

[familyagrestefanblog]

I don't think I will ever get over the fact that Adrinette's Disney Sleeping Beauty romance was in actuality an adaptation of the Maleficent remake where the prince is basically useless and Maleficent saves and wakes Aurora up by the power of parental love herself (although, A+ subversion. I didn't see that one coming lol)

Marinette did not save Adrien. She never did. All she did was giving Gabriel the motivation to use the wish for Adrien for which Gabriel had to trick and betray Marinette and straight up win, and during the wish process GABRIEL made the decision to take of the rings and leave them with Marinette instead of just making it a part of the wish that Adrien gets them immediately, Nathalie, Emilie/Amilie or for Adrien to not be a Sentihuman at all anymore.

Gabriel was the one who brought the peacock miraculous into their lives which put enslavement device into Adrien's existence and he also chose to not remove it.

Gabriel merely was the one who decided to let Adrien go. Marinette didn't do any saving here. Unless you wanna tell me that her not withholding Adrien's amoks from him and abusing and controlling him through them herself somehow counts as "saving him".

All Marinette did was kissing Adrien awake after Gabriel already saved him and brought him back into a save home. Gabriel basically did all the work but let Marinette have the credit. That's it.

I don't know what you want to hear but in my opinion Marinette and feminism deserve more than demanding worshipping for gender subversion when Marinette basically didn't do any actual saving in these 5 seasons and therefore everything amouts to lip-service.

Sorry that I don't think lip-service is enough, your low standards are your problem. I'm gonna watch the next 3 seasons to hopefully see Marinette actually be allowed to save Adrien (and the other Sentihumans and Kwamis) from their magical enslavement, same as I'm not going to celebrate Marinette as the sole savior and most amazing hero of all time based of the lip-service lie of her having defeated Monarque when she in fact fucking lost and Gabriel got his wish but decided to play nice enough for now.

I'm woman enough to request that my female empowerment characters actually win and do the deed to be celebrated for it. The villain doing the heros work like this isn't a win for the hero, it's plain stupid luck.

I always wanted to call Marinette Adrien's savior and the greatest heroine ever too but for that she actually has to do it and not being given it by the villain based on lies.

Marinette has the potential to be called those two things and that's what I hope will happen by the end of the last 3 seasons. Marinette actually defeating Lila as the new butterfly villain and saving not only her prince from enslavement but the Kwamis and other Sentihumans/ Sentibeings too.

Doing more than glorifying lip-service shouldn't be too much to ask for right?

[epickiya722]

Those are questions I can answer! Somewhat.

One was how did he even managed to get some info? Did Skeptic help him or did he do it himself? 1) Unknown! Current hypothesis is that Dabi tried looking into Hawks, found his "lack of existence" hella sus, decided to take a break to bully Endeavor, found "Ending" who was released from prison, who also happened to be an Endeavor fanatic who just so happened to be present during Takami's arrest. I assume he was passionately ranting about the first time he saw Endeavor's flames fight "the thief with red feathers" and how it inspired him to become a villain, and that was enough for Dabi to get curious. Skeptic could've hacked into the HPSC database because surely they'd have a record of all ProHeroes right? But this creates more issues because they erased Hawks' name, they sure as hell wouldn't have records of his mom, so I'm assuming they instead tried following money trails, paychecks from Hawks' agency to his mom's place? We don't really know who was paying for everything, when Hawks was younger it could've been the HPSC, but now I assume it all comes from his paycheck. Tbh I find this whole thing flimsy, Hori was all "Dabi just somehow did it" and expects us to magically he believe he found Hawks' mom's house. Because I think Hori ran into some issues with that plot, I highly suspect he had to find a hasty way to wrap things up and that's a whole separate post if you wanna hear my complaints.

That leads in to how much time he spent finding the information he did because that is some confidential stuff? 2) Oh, absolutely. He has nothing to track because Hawks doesn't even have a birth certificate. He has no legal identity. Removing "Takami Keigo" was more of a formality, cutting off his mind's connection to the name. Following my theory, I say around January to early March is about the time frame for it. Tomie fled at an unknown time before the end of the war, which was last week of March, but since Dabi had his video done for awhile, (everything else was hastily edited in later on the way to the battlefield) I wanna say it could've been earlier in the month? Regardless, within that time frame.

Another is wouldn't that be some information that the Commission would have locked up tight so that no one could access it? Is Skeptic (or Dabi) really that tech savvy or is someone in the Commission is actually worse than what we are lead to believe? 3) See above. Don't think Dabi knows about the HPSC truthfully, he never mentions them. Either because he doesn't want Hawks being seen as sympathetic, or he just doesn't know or care, cause yeah his story would be another way to shatter hero society, but...it doesn't suit the narrative Dabi was going for. Which is a whole other essay.

Another question is did Dabi do research on the other Pro Heroes or did he not care to? 4) Didn't care to. He doesn't actually care about the other Pros. Only Endeavor. He says as much, that "I'm not saying that everybody has to be pure and selfless, just you." He targeted Hawks to get at Endeavor, he realizes Endy cares about him. Says, "This is my present to you Endeavor" when he mentions doing research on Hawks. In the same way he calls bringing Shouto's corpse as "a present" for dear old dad. And I suspect he wants to the public to think that "if Hawks, a hero, killed someone because of his upbringing by a villain for a father, then Dabi, the son of a hero, having killed all these people, must have also been influenced by his hero of a father...but hero? If Dabi turned out this way, how bad is Endeavor?" He's actually implies that really hard too. Pretty much states it out right. I could point out every piece of dialogue but this is getting long lol.

If he did, did nothing strike him as worth enough to disclose to the public? How about Miruko? Knowing her backstory, he didn't think to disclose that? 5) See above. Fatgum actually fought in underground rings too, but Dabi has no grudges against them, nor does he actually care for "please think for critically!" he likes to act like a concerned whistleblower, but Endeavor is his only goal. This whole disaster that ruins the ProHero profession ruins the "hero" Endeavor by default and places the blame on him. It's that association again. He was all, "Even Endeavor's friends, like Hawks are bad!" So I'm assuming this could also partially be his reasons for trying to criticize all heroes in his video, ruin his old man's job fully, no leeway. If they hate the idea of heroes so much, no chances left for Endy, just their hatred for this failure, and when that didn't happen, he's seen thinking to himself, "so I didn't go far enough heh."

Anon, you didn't have to take the time out to answer these questions! You really didn't!

But I really appreciate it anyways and those answers are really thought out and put together!

[erigold13261]

Heartbeats ship questions!

Is Yinu a megaartist, or are papa and mama charters?

(For me I lean towards papa being good too, but not as good at powering the quaza than Yinu)

Do you think papa still has lingering symptoms post surgery?

Also, Papa definitely makes flower crowns for everyone.

And space dates! I wanna hear more about them

I... don't know about the megastar question... Hmmm.

It could be possible that Yinu is a megastar, but I honestly don't see Papa being okay with that, like at all. I feel like the only reason Mama let Yinu become a megastar was so that Yinu had something to think of other than Papa's death.

But that makes me wonder then how Neon J would have gotten into contact with the Spinose family. At first I was thinking about him meeting them through NSR, but that wouldn't be happening in this version because Neon HAS to meet Papa before he dies, and Yinu only joins NSR after Papa dies.

So I would say that Neon met Papa through chance. Neon was visiting the cybernetic hospital either for a checkup or to talk with doctors/mechanics. And Papa was at that specific hospital to at least think about the possibility of getting a cybernetic heart.

The doctors would introduce Neon to Papa, they talk for a bit, exchange contacts and talk some more as Neon truly wants to help him and Papa is now a bit more open to the idea of cybernetics.

So anyway, once all that happens and Papa is alive and Neon ends up being a family friend. I would say that Neon offers Papa, Mama, AND Yinu a spot to try out at the Lights Up auditions. Yinu is super excited and just wants to play piano with Papa while Mama is on harp.

I can see Papa again being hesitant, but knowing that Neon works for NSR would ease his anxiety. They end up playing a double piano duet with harp accompaniment that has EDM elements as Neon suggested that would give them a better chance (with him teaching the family how to do EDM. I can see OG Yinu getting in without any EDM in her audition because her age made her a great candidate/special case, but with Papa and Mama accompanying her here they NEEDED that EDM to help them get picked).

So, that was all just a long winded way to say that I see Papa, Mama, and Yinu being the charters for Natura together. Obviously Mama and Papa do all the paperwork and remixing, but Yinu ends up being the main face of the trio as she is so young and brilliant. Sometimes she will even do solo shows which actually gets more fans and more power output because of her passion and confidence playing alone (so yes, Yinu is also better at powering the Qwaza alone than when she is with her parents lol).

Anyway, back to the other questions. Papa probably would have SOME affects still, but they would all be psychological and not physical. Think something like phantom pain. He will be physically all right but sometimes he feels like he is about to collapse. This would be what brings him and Neon very close I think, as Neon knows all too well what Papa is going through (well not EXACTLY because Neon still has his own heart, but one of his lungs is gone so he kinda knows what it's like to have an important internal organ fully removed and replaced).

That flower crown idea is so cute! Of course Papa would do that! He would be the best at it too. Neon would probably get a flower necklace since it would fall off his screen too easily, but it would still be super pretty. Also imagine flower arm bracelets for Yinu, flower rings for DJSS, and then flower crown or a flower veil for Mama. Papa is way too skilled at flower crowns and nothing will be able to stop him.

And hmmm, space dates... I don't know really. Yinu would definitely not be allowed to go as she is too young and it would be dangerous. Also it would cost a LOT of money to do so and need a LOT of preparation. I don't see them going on many space dates. At least not in actual space.

I would like to believe there is a way (either with science magic/passion or elemental magic) that allows people to experience zero-G while not going directly into space. I say this because Papa and Neon would probably be disqualified from ever going into space because of their cybernetics (even if it has been a while since cybernetics have been around, it still hasn't been tested of how cybernetics would react in space. At least major cybernetics relating to internal organs).

So definitely there would be dates to Astronomi (what I THINK is the equivalence of NASA based on the logo) where they are just touring. And then there would be a date in the zero-G device thingy after Neon and DJ talk to people.

I would say their time would be very limited, at least Papa's and Neon's. Mama and DJSS would be able to stay in longer as they are cybernetic free, and they probably would as Papa and Neon tell them to have fun while they talk outside the chamber. They do have fun though together when they can. I can see the four dancing, Mama and DJSS dancing in zero-G and talking while Neon and Papa slow dance as Neon sings and Papa hums. Kinda like parallel playing but more like parallel dating lol.

But yeah, this would be a very fun experience and DJSS gets to show off all he knows and even talks to some people he knows there and introduce them to their significant others. All good times (now Neon taking them on boat rides/battleship tours is a whole other thing lol)

[indouloureux]

𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐌 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑

where you goin'? i'm too fast you say 'what you doin?' don't do that never been a liar, baby, i'm a lilac and you are my sun and every season i need you to keep glowing

summary: bloody and bruised, you watch the thick crimson ichor blend into the thin waters that seeps through the faucet of steve's pristine bathtub. grime and black tar stain the marble of his bathroom floor from the wounds on your feet, and his tears stain your tired thumbs. he trembles in your touch, and he melts into your sacrilegious kiss, and revels in your promising words

warnings: angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, hurt steve, mentions of blood, events before the two days later time skip of volume two, no one dies but max gets hurt and so does eddie

a/n: ik i said i had a 20k fluff fic with eddie but i wanna give steve some love and comfort bc poor baby :((( (images are not reader in steve its just hard to find a pic like that lol)

there's nothing but the lone owl hooting behind the cluster of trees beside steve's house. the lights are off, there's fog hovering over his cerulean pool that he refuses to dive into since 1983. you watch as nancy's car scurries away into the road until her lights are nothing but a speck of dust, and switch your attention to him.

him, steve. who has a lenient hand on your back as he stares off into the abyss of the empty street in front of him. from afar you hear chaos, the confused screams of the clueless townspeople at the sight of a gnarly opening that splits hawkins into four. you can still hear houses falling into that red pit, but most of all you can hear steve's breathing.

a breathing that's hanging by a thread. a tired breathing. one that breaks your heart and probably his, too.

he's covered in grime and blood. not his, anyway. eddie's, who he had to carry with the help of his limping friend who'd cried the entire time. you had watched the way steve's eyes were wide with panic when he practically hurls eddie to you and nancy with all his strength before he'd helped dustin up.

eddie's blood had spread across his face when he wipes the tears away. he doesn't want to show vulnerability yet. not when his friend was on the verge of death. not now. don't be selfish.

"hey," your voice brings him back to earth, from wherever reminiscing daze he'd been on. and his head whips at you in worry.

"hey, baby. you alright?" his hands, although covered in the dried tar and grease of vecna's black veins, comes up to touch your face. it reeks, but there's that congenial scent that holds on to bring you both some comfort as you lean into his touch.

"yeah," tingling fingers come up to brush his hair out of his forehead, coming down to grasp the red ring around his neck that makes your bottom lip wobble. "let's go inside, yeah?"

wordless, he nods, wrapping his arm around your waist to keep you close to him. like he's afraid one of the vines would come up from the gates and hurl you back into that blue hell.

the door to his house opens with ease. he doesn't even care if someone had decided to break in inside his unlocked home. because it doesn't feel like home anyway. not when his parents are gone still, not when you're not in it. it's not a home. it's just a house. an empty, boring, lifeless house.

steve switches the lights open. the dim flaxen color illuminating the entire living room, coated in dust. he scans it, finds everything still in the same place before he continues your journey up to the stairs that lead to his bedroom—the only thing used other than the kitchen, his bathroom, and the television in the living room that he barely even opens now that he mostly spends his time at your place watching movies from the tapes he "borrows" from work.

the door to his room creaks eerily, the same lights from downstairs adding a too much optimistic glow on his bedroom. steve sighs, uncurling his arm from you to unsheathe his jacket and throws it into whatever corner.

"here, let me help," he walks over to you when you struggle to remove the clasp of the vest he'd practically forced you to wear. his hands gently remove yours from your vest, pressing down onto the sides until you feel yourself breathe properly; lax in from the freedom of the tight protection. "'m gonna take a shower, okay? wanna join me?"

he's already got his shirt off when he asks if you want to join, where you can see his bandages wrapped tightly around his torso. there's barely any blood there but you can see the light brown taint on his sides, the once wheaten bandaging now darkly brindle.

"yeah sure. just let me grab some towels,"

"there's some inside, baby," steve takes your hand, kisses the open cuts on your knuckles that had faded into this heavy numbness. "lets get you cleaned up, yeah?"

when he holds your hand and leads you to his bathroom where he sits you on the closed toilet, he closes the drain and opens his faucet to fill his alabaster tub. and once it starts flowing, he starts undressing you first with delicacy as if you'd been the one brutally hurt.

with gentle kisses to your shoulder, you let him rip your soiled shirt into two. steve's kisses are healing, antiseptic to your open wounds, honey to your sore throat and sage for your withering health.

then he lets you remove your jeans as he removes his own, where he takes yours into his hands and throws the both of them into the bin beside the sink. just in time for the tub to be full enough to wash the both of you.

with a hand to your back and a hand that clutches yours for safety, you dip your feet onto the tub.

once you've settled, steve follows next. he dips his body into the water, blood shattering the clear mosaic as you both feel the water wash off the ichor of a dead monster. but it feels wrong - rather it felt like steve had dipped his body, clad in open wounds, into an ocean, the salt stinging his bleeding scars. with his bandages long gone and discarded onto the charred floor, he feels the waves stab onto his bites like they want to hurt him more.

he lets his pain show with the way his face grimaces and he hisses. steve gasps quietly, watching his blood and dirt amalgamate with yours into the water you bless yourselves upon, watching everything turn pink with the specks of soot.

"christ, that feels good," he takes your hand into his once more, dipping your knuckles beneath the water and lets his thumbs wash the dirt off your knuckles to prevent any risk of an infection. "we showered yesterday before we went in but it feels like i haven't showered in years,"

"seems like that, to be honest," your shoulder raises, resting your cheek onto it. "you reek, stevie. like...dead meat."

"yeah, well, god knows what those veins have touched," he shivers. your hands arose from the pink water, the grime washed off meticulously by his soapless, gentle scrubbing. but you reach for the small bar of soap from the handle beside you and dip it lightly onto the water before you start scrubbing it along his hairy arms. "you don't have to do that."

"no, let me," you want to take care of him. you pity the dread that circles around his irises, the lethargy visible in his hunched body, the fear that exudes with his blood, the muscles that continue to fight; if not for himself then for the people he loves. the people he'll continue to love and give love in the way he wants to be given with. steve dilutes in your touch, watching the white foam turn gray.

and you see it. right when you've been expecting it do you see the crystal glass that gloss over his eyes that had been threatening to spill out since yesterday. steve's shallow breathing, the hair on his chest rising with the waters making it cling onto him, and his hands shaking against you.

"god, i can't fucking keep it anymore," he barely washes the soap off his skin when he curls his hands into fists and presses it against his eyes. "i can't hold it in, baby."

you scoot closer to take steve's broken soul into your arms. he sobs, breaks down and lets his cries break. your hands tangle themselves onto his damp locks, keeping him close to your shoulder and let him cry onto you. you do nothing but rub his back, bite your own tears in and listen to his lugubrious wails.

"i feel so weak. i feel like i don't deserve to cry because i don't have it harder. they've seen worse things but i felt...i felt a lot of pain," he whimpers into you. "there's this ringing in my ears that never leave, (y/n). i feel like i'm going deaf in one ear and my head just—" he pulls away from you, wiping his own tears. "my head just hurts and i don't know what's wrong with me."

"baby, come on," you cup his face, large in juxtaposition to your small hands, his tears staining your tired thumbs. "nothing's wrong with you. you're allowed to cry, honey. what makes you feel this way?"

"i don't wanna seem weak to you," he sniffles. "don't wanna look like a coward to dustin. to anyone but i've been trying so hard to put on a brave face. ah, fuck,"

everything inside you breaks when you see his eyes; striving to let it live with love but drowns in melancholy grief and heedless torpor. they gloss and they shine in the dim light of his bathroom, begging for remedy as they search yours for any aid. steve's own hand touches yours, his face crumbles and lets himself quietly sob.

"you're a hero," you whisper to him, leaning closer that your nose brushes with his. "people may not say it but you're a hero. you fought off the demogorgon in the byers house, you helped dustin and the kids with the whole demogorgon thing too and saving them from billy and helping will. and you helped dustin discover those russians and if you hadn't, maybe they would have invaded us by now," steve chuckles against you. "you did all those things without any hesitance, stevie. you're amazing,"

in your hands was a boy who craved love and appreciation. a boy who's changed for the greater good and yearns for felicitations. a boy who's kept his nightmares to himself in fear of seeming weak and too vulnerable; and steve lets himself be that boy to you.

"i have these dreams," steve's eyes are wide with fear. "that everyone died and it was all my fault. you'd been killed by a demogorgon, dustin and the kids they—they burned inside that lab. same one every night baby—"

"well i'm here now," you shush him, dragging your hands across his shoulders and massage the tension away. "and the kids are safe. i'm here, honey. i'm alive and i'm okay,"

"everything hurts," he gasps. "my head and my ears and my fucking neck," he tilts his head up to kiss your forehead, digging his wet lips into the soiled skin. "i don't know when it'll stop and i want it to stop, baby."

you know he's not just talking about the physical pain.

you both know he's talking about the never ending guilt in his chest when he sees the pool, the faded scars on his face that yells stupidity at him, the circular scar on his neck from after he was drugged beneath the mall he worked for, and now the cruel bites of the inter dimensional monsters.

"i'm here baby," three reverential words, sacrilegious that's prosed into a promise of protection and endless devotion. steve sobs into your skin and expresses his gratitude with a hard, chaste kiss to your split lips. warm, home, loving.

"you'll be here forever, right?"

his words that come from the years spent wandering around the desolated walls of his home, his longing for parental guidance and genuine love. the words that come from a changed man who promises himself to remain good and forget his old asshole self. steve cries against you.

"forever, baby," you furrow your eyebrows, smiling at him. "till i'm all dust."

he's the wilting lilac in a dead field that blooms when your radiance glows from your sunny disposition. even know with your bare limbs tangled inside the confined tub of his sacred bathroom, arms entwined and lips locked together into an oath. steve vows to show himself to you no matter what—lets himself break down and cry.

for now, steve harrington will grieve and cry and break against your touch. and he'll bloom later once the sun has risen and he's gathered up all his courage to face whatever challenge their failure has brought upon them. with his hand in yours and his heart mended.

reblogs and feedback are appreciated &lt;3