#I was going to do a training dummy one ahead of time in preparation for this ask but I forgot

[hrokkall]

-🥊

Hi 🥊 Anon. Long time no see (I don’t actually think it’s been that long, but hey.)

Favorite thing about them: I wouldn’t say this is my favorite thing about it, but genuinely one of the funniest scenes in the Hex is when it’s inexplicably in video game jail. The answer to that is “Irving is an asshole” obviously, but the juxtaposition of Training Dummy next to an alligator, a giant dragon, a giant radioactive snake-worm, and Sado was a punch to the face. Free training dummy it did nothing wrong.

Least favorite thing about them: There’s nothing to dislike here. If you’re not a Training Dummy fan I don’t want you on this blog (I’m joking, but Training Dummy is… weirdly relevant here.)

Favorite line:

“…”

brOTP: Okay it started as a joke at first but the wizard pupils being inexplicably attached to the training dummy they’ve been using to practice spells on is hilarious to me. “Sorry I cast fireball on you yesterday. I was really excited to see that it worked but then when I thought about it I felt kind of bad… can I… um… sew that back together?” it’s like the wizard school equivalent of a stuffed animal that sits on top of the whiteboard that the entire classroom full of 19-26 year olds immediately deems the class mascot.

OTP: ???????

nOTP: See above.

Random headcanon: I know for a fact this is stolen from you but the concept of every game made using the Gameworks Engine having the Training Dummy somewhere in-game is hilarious to me. It’s like the video game equivalent of the Wilhelm scream. Every game designer HATES seeing it in the final game because it RUINS immersion most of the time but that just makes programmers even more tempted to sneak it in somewhere as a sort of game development inside joke. Having said that, from an in-character point of view this either means multiple training dummies or multiple reassignments so good luck to this guy either way.

Unpopular opinion: I was going to jokingly say Training Dummy should have been a talking card but I quickly realized that probably wouldn’t work. I don’t even know if the Training Dummy would have the required level of sentience to be inscrybed as anything other than a terrain card. As funny as it would be if it was secretly a person I’m pretty sure it’s Literally Just A Mannequin (maybe not? It does have custom inner dialogue when you challenge it with an invalid deck but it’s really unclear whether that’s meant to imply the Training Dummy is a person or if it was just for the bit). Sorry buddy </3

Song I associate with them: I was going to delete this section but you know what, I’ll add one for the bit. We’ll go with Tubthumping by Chumbawamba. I get knocked down but I get up again. You know the one.

Favorite picture of them: I like its Inscryption sprite best personally; the Hex gives it more detail but the Inscryption sprite just has a certain charm to it (plus, it gets a sword. Hell yeah)

[thetraumaking]

The Accursed Crown

Other Chapters

Chapter 13

During your recovery time, you were ordered to mainly focus on tasks within the counsel(where, much to the opposition of the elder members, you held a position.) However, that didn’t stop you from guiding the young royals with their bending.

Now that Prince Zuko had finally started bending, you now held his and Azula’s training together. With the limited free time that you have, you try to teach them as much as possible.

One of the things you learned from that camp was that children develop faster when they have competition. The main reason as to why you have been conducting their training together was to inspire them individually. Yes, Azula is already leaps ahead of her brother, but you hoped that his eagerness might push her more. And vise versa, you hoped his sister’s achievements might spark a bit more drive into him so he fully devotes himself to his bending and training.

Seeing how well you were with your bending, and that the only training you had was at that camp surrounded by peers, you assumed that this was for the best.

You even managed to coach Azula with her anger. Now, whenever she feels that she’s pent up or frustrated, she goes to the grounds and burns the dummies.

Dipping the quill into the ink well, you continued on with your report. Within a week of time, the chieftain of the Northern Water Tribe and his child will be coming into the palace. Due to one of your most recent sieges against the Earth Kingdom, you had gained the Fire Nation a grand trading port, one which the Northern Water Tribe frequent in trading their goods. And seeing how the chieftain is personally coming in for negotiations, the issue that their economy faces must be an urgent one.

For today’s meeting, you, alongside the Fire Lord and his son, conversed on what to do and what possible benefits there are in going along with the waterbenders. After an hour or so, the meeting concluded. Once the Lord retired for the day, you stayed behind to make a written report for the council members and preparations for the palace staff.

Cracking your neck, you continued on writing while Prince Ozai read over the notes his father left. He didn’t waste time finishing reading them before he threw them on the table. “His old age seems to be taking a toll on his judgment.” He mumbled behind you.

Your hand did not stop moving. No citizen of the Fire Nation is allowed to speak negatively of the royal family, especially those who work in close quarters.

Ozai lets out a hum, “My child,” he calls to you, placing his much larger hand on your shoulder, “Do away with the performers. I see no such need to entertain a fallen man.”

Your writing halted. Swallowing dryly, “Your Highness-” you felt the grip on your shoulder tighten.

He let out a sigh, massaging your shoulder, “Dear, have I not told you to call me father?”

“... father?”

“Go on, speak your mind, my child.” His hand moved up to your nape.

“For the… entertainment, I have no say in their employment or contract, it was Lord Azulon who signed-” The stinging in your scalp cut you off as he grabbed you by the hair and shoved your head down. You felt each and every strand of hair being pulled as he tightened his grip.

“That father of mine has gone senile, as long as you do as I say and simply turn in that report of yours, everything will fall into place.” A strangled noise came from your throat as Ozai pulled your head back. He leaned down close to you, “Do you understand?”

“Yes… father.” You strained your neck.

He stared down at you for a second before letting you go with a smile. “Good, you may take your leave.”

You left without another word. Once the doors shut behind you, you heaved out a sigh. Looking down, you noticed your hands were shaking.

Just around the corner, where the palace training grounds were, you heard Azula and her brother argue and a desperate new trainer who tried to keep the peace. You lean on the wall, taking long and deep breaths to calm yourself before making your way to the siblings.

“What’s going on here?” Your voice puts a pause to the chaos as you step out from behind the pillar.

“6!” The two children yell out before running to you. With longer strides, Zuko was about to reach you first before Azula pulled him back by his hair, dragging him down before stepping on his back and jumping to you. She stuck the landing before sticking her tongue out to her brother. “Told you I’d win!”

As the two continued on bantering, their trainer ran up to you and bowed, “Major, I apologise for the unruly sight. I accept any and all punishment you see fit!”

You let out a sigh before crossing your arms, “No need, Lieutenant Zhao. You may also stand at ease. As for our young prince and princess, it is best to let them compete rather than letting them talk it out.” you look towards the two children as they both presented their flames. Declaring who was hotter and bigger.

“I see…” Zhao nodded along, “To let them compete… would a dual suffice?”

At the word, your wound itched. Placing a hand over your chest, you answered. “No, as much it is effective, between the two, Azula has more training and experience in bending compared to her brother.”

Zhao lets out a hum. He stood beside you as you watched over Azula and Zuko.

The two couldn’t seem to come to an agreement when they ran up to you once more with their fire in hand. Zuko was in front of you first this time before thrusting his open flames to you, his sister was quick to follow.

“6, you need to pick, who has the better fire?!” The boy was panting, sweat dribbling down his forehead as Azula stepped on his feet.

“It’s clearly mine, just look, since when have you seen blue fire? Mine’s better!” She pouted, still stepping on her brother’s feet.

“Nuh uh, the standard is red and yellow or orange and yellow. Mine’s better because fire is supposed to be this color!” Zuko argued, “And stop stepping on my foot!”

“Then you’re the default. Basic and boring.” She kicked him in the shin this time.

Despite their pestering, you kept your lips shut. The banter between children should stay between children. As an adult, if you were to answer, it would exemplify favouritism.

You shall keep your mouth shut and let the children deal with their problems.

Besides, a little competition wouldn't kill anyone.

Little do you know, your silence only added to their division. Azula, being the one who you spend the most time with, believed that you were confident in her abilities to deal with pesky problems like her brother, hence why your silence. She thought that you trusted her to come out victorious without your help. Your bond is just that strong.

There was this eager look in her eyes as she smiled up at you. Her fire reflected her emotions as it flickered brighter.

You then looked to Zuko, who was breathing heavily. He was straining himself, you concluded. It hasn’t been long since he started to bend, so it’s a given.

“Bending is like a muscle, the more you train it the better you become.” You lectured.

Before you get to continue, you notice Zuko’s face redden. His anger bursts, embarrassment maybe? “No! I’m going to train until I can beat Azula! I’m the eldest child in this family, it’s not right for me to be weaker than her!” He shouts.

“Hmp, face it Zuzu, you’re not even worth calling competition.” Azula sassed, her hands now folded over her chest. “You’re weak and pathetic, dealing with you is a waste of time.” She leaned her back on you.

Zuko’s fists clenched, his knuckles turning white. Smoke began to escape from his shaking fists when the smell of burned flesh hit your nose. You were quick to take hold of his hands and snap him out of his anger.

His palms were red, not yet burned but the damage was there. “No more bending for you, Zuko. Take time to heal your hands.”

As you’ve said before, bending is like muscle. As fire benders, you are more resilient against the element compared to those of other nations. But to be proficient with your arts, you must practise to build up your resilience. Similar to how you, Azula, and the countless peers you have trained and grown up with, one can’t suddenly bend fire that is too hot for them to handle, if not, the result would be varying degrees of burns on their hands and legs.

Build up for hotter flames and practice for accuracy.

“See? You’re just a weakling.”

“That is not how one speaks to their family, Azula.”

Your body stiffened when you heard her voice. Zhao was quick to turn around and bow to the princess. Ursa greeted him before letting him off for today.

Ursa walked past you before patting her son on the head. “My dear, why don’t you go and freshen up? I’ll meet you in your room once I’m done talking to 6.” Once she got a meek nod from him, she turned and sent you a smile before looking at Azula, “And dear, why don’t you take a bath as well? I’m sure your training with Lieutenant Zhao worked up quite a sweat.”

“As if, you could barely call that training. Unlike Zuzu, I can handle my warm-ups.”

When Ursa sent a look your way, you didn’t meet her eye but nodded nonetheless.

Azula frowned up at you when you pushed her off of you. You quietly walked her towards the terrace, “I’ll be with you in an hour, in the meantime, why don’t you-”

She lets out a sigh, “I don’t like it when you have your little talks with mother.” She looked at you over her shoulder, “You always come back later than the time you said you would.”

“Azula…”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll go.” she rolled her eyes, “What do you even talk about anyway…” she mumbled out with each step.

Once she was out of sight, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You don’t recall going on a run today or yesterday, but your legs felt weak. Shaky even.

You walked back to the training ground, but there was no sight of the older woman. Clinging to hope, you prayed that she had left you. Strength regained back to your legs as you looked around, eager to be left in your lonesome.

Your mood faltered when you finally spotted her. She was on the balcony, looking down at the garden below her.

You steeled your nerves, despite every fibre of your being begging you to run away, you didn’t. You had to do your job. Squeezing your hand twice or thrice, you walked up to her. With each step, it felt as if you were walking in mud, your legs feeling heavier with each step you took.

Once you were standing beside her, she leaned her head on your shoulder. In response, your body stiffened. You felt a shiver run up your spine when she stepped behind you.

“Look at me, 6.”

You turned.

Now with the stone fence against your back, you faced her. She stocked closed so her front rested against your chest. Her arms around your waist with her hands on your shoulder blades.

“I remember a time where I had to bend down to hug you.” She mumbled against your chest. She lets out a hum when she hears your heartbeat spike up. “And now look at us. You have grown so much…”

You stayed frozen. Letting her do as she pleased… once more.

Every breath you took was painful and ragged, it felt better to hold them and pray for it to end. Each intake was shaky as you tried to ignore the grip on you.

She lets out a sigh by your ear. Hot breath hitting you as you clenched your jaw.

Her hand lowered from your shoulders to your waist, later to your hips, and finally, to your upper thighs, all the while dragging her nails down your sides.

“You’re the only one for me, 6.” She whispered in your right ear. Her breath hits you, making you wince.

You stayed there in her arms, frozen and humiliated. To be degraded like this, what had you done in your past life to go through such shame?

Biting your lips, you let the warm blood fill your mouth. The metallic, familiar taste the only thing to ground you.

You stood there, being touched, until Ursa was satisfied. She left a kiss on your cheek before taking her leave.

You were tempted to burn it off but thought it would be too obvious. Letting out a sigh, you wiped your face with your sleeve before going to bid Azula goodnight.

In the end, when you made it to her room, you felt exhausted. Your body felt fine, similar to those nights when you wanted sleep but your body didn’t let you. You knocked on the door before stepping in, closing it behind you.

“And again, you came back late. What took you so long?” Azula was standing in the middle of her room, arms crossed and pouty.

You didn’t answer her, “Why aren’t you in your night robe? It’s already late out.”

“That’s why.” She moved to her bed, “I was going to go retrieve you, recon mission you could say.” she sat down.

“What were you trying to save me from?”

“...” she raised an eyebrow.

“... I appreciate the thought… truly.” You kneel before her, taking her shoes off so you could put her to bed.

“You don’t have to do that, you know, I’m not a kid.” she took her shoe away from you before throwing it away from your reach. She stood up on her bed, ushering you to stand up as well.

“And you don’t need to put me in bed.” Her ears turned the smallest shade of pink, “But, if you really can’t help yourself, I guess I wouldn’t mind humouring you.” She scratched her cheek, looking at you from the sides of her eyes.

She spread her arms wide, waiting for you to embrace her. Once you did, she got on her tippy toes to fully wrap her arms around your neck.

You felt your blood run cold when she exhaled at your ear.

Your right ear.

Exactly where her mother-

No, she wouldn’t have known. Azula wouldn’t have been watching over your interaction with her.

If she did, she would have made her presence known. She would have stopped it.

Wouldn’t she?

[cabinofimagines]

OKAY hear me out Grover introduces the concept of "Satyr Claus," a nature-inspired version of Santa Claus hehe

A/N: I have been summoned -Danny

Words: 615

Warnings: Mentions of drunk!Chiron

Satyr Claus —(Platonic!Grover xGN!Reader)

"There you are!" Grover approaches you with a big smile. "Been looking for you..."

"What's up?" You take a break from training and sit near the dummies making some room for Grover to sit with you.

"Thalia said you were looking to create some new traditions," he sits and pulls his satchel forward. "I've got an idea..."

"Oh, yeah but it was just for the Grace siblings..." your voice dies down when you see Grover pull out a whole notebook and a pen. He really has prepared a whole list for you.

"Okay, so I've been thinking," he starts excitedly. "Some of the traditions that humans have right now surrounding Christmas are so dangerous to the environment, I mean, the wasted food, the extra use of electricity, paper—don't even get me started on pine trees!"

"I won't," you mutter, supporting your chin on one hand. "So what do you have in mind?"

"Behold!" He turns a page and shows you a very well-made sketch, probably drawn by Annabeth. "Satyr Claus!"

You take a look at it and reply matter-of-factly. "That's Krampus."

Grover frowns. "No, it's not. 'Cause Satyr Claus isn't a bad guy."

"Okay, but they definitely look like Krampus."

"No, they don't!" He grabs the notebook and points at different parts of the drawing. "The horns are smaller, there is no ugly cape in sight, no whip, and this guy smells like pine tree!"

"Well, Krampus could smell that way too, you don't know that," you tease him.

"Y/N," he scowls. "I'm trying to do something good here, raise awareness so people stop being so careless about the waste."

You feel a little guilty now, so you grab the notebook again and change your tone to one of real interest.

"But what is the appeal here? I mean, is he going to give out presents if we look after the earth, or candy?"

"Haven't thought that far ahead, that's why I came to you," he pouts.

You're flattered that he's seeing you as an expert, but you sigh. "Honestly I'm completely blank here. You should ask Klaus, bet he's got thousands of lore that people have long forgotten about him."

"For the last time, I'm not Santa!" The boy jumps out of the tree in front of you fuming.

"Oh, there you are!" You smile. "What were you doing there? Is that a secret portal that takes you to the North Pole?"

He shows you the object in his hand and scowls. "I was hanging mistletoe."

Grover squints to try and spot the plant. "You're not actually going to let it sit there for too long, right? Mistletoe is bad for the trees."

"I know that," Klaus huffs, dusting off his jeans. "And no, I'm taking it down after Christmas, since y'all decided to be party poopers this year..."

"Hey, don't get frisky, Santa," you tease him. "Are you still upset about the trivia night?"

Klaus's eyes cloud with resentment. "That was a mean use of my skills and you know it."

Grover is still focused on the mistletoe, staring at it with his mouth slightly open. "Klaus, I don't think anyone's gonna be able to see that, you placed it too high."

"Then you fix it, Satyr Claus," the boy glares at him, his ears turning red with annoyance. "I need a drink..."

"We ran out of eggnog the other night," you inform him as he walks past you. "After Chiron got overexcited, drank his whole cabinet of special drinks, and started to give us his own version of drunk history."

"Dang it!" Klaus kicks a few dry leaves that fell when he jumped off the tree. "I hate it here."

[lassieposting]

Okay but. Netflix!Coën wears a wolf medallion, not a griffin one. So presumably he spent a decent chunk of his training time at Kaer Morhen - enough that he's considered one of Vesemir's boys, rather than a visitor. But he's not in NOTW, so he wasn't mutated at Kaer Morhen, meaning he must've started out as a griffin.

I have a fond headcanon that this is Lambert's doing.

Like. Normally, in their late teens, the Kaer Morons would each go out on the Path with an experienced Witcher and kind of. Practice, with someone bigger and stronger and more savvy there to help out if needed. The Kaer Morons don't have the luxury of doing that, because they only have one adult Witcher between them and they're not all the same age or at the same stage of training.

So Vesemir has to start them a bit earlier than he'd like. Get ahead of the curve. He takes Eskel with him one spring, and in summer he comes back to swap. Eskel stays close to home and takes some easy contracts, nothing too difficult for a young Witcher, while Vesemir takes off again with Geralt. When he comes back, he sends Geralt and Eskel out together, so he can stay home a while and drill the younger Lambert and Remus.

Anyway, Lambert is pretty resentful about all this. Eskel and Geralt are out doing their own thing, and he's stuck fighting dummies with Vesemir on his back about his footwork and his attitude all the time. He takes to sneaking out, partly to go and drink in Ard Carraigh and partly because he wants to find himself a contract and kill a monster so he can rub Ves' nose in it.

It's not a difficult contract. Lambert isn't stupid. He picks a beginner monster. But he doesn't consider that when Vesemir snarks about "easy contracts" or "beginner monsters" or "a spot of light Witchering", he's a) speaking as someone who's right at the top of their game ("the swashbuckling Witcher for hire...the slayer Vesemir, priced only for the foulest of creatures") and b) picturing the "beginner" as a young adult Witcher with a mentor to keep an eye on him, like Deglan did for Vesemir himself.

So he's not prepared for the fight he's going into. There are more drowners or whatever than he was expecting. He ends up in the "food storage" section of their den, along with another young Witcher who tried to take the same contract before him - this is Coën, a year or so older than Lambert, who's been basically having to fend for himself since the attack on Kaer Seren. The two of them decide to team up and try to fight their way out together, because Lambert knows that's what Eskel and Geralt do on their hunts, but Coën is already hurt and really they're too young to be doing this and they're doing their best but their best isn't really making the cut.

They get lucky. Vesemir comes looking for Lambert and, being Vesemir, makes short work of the drowners that have the boys surrounded. Lambert and Ves have a bit of a row, which is pretty standard for them, but Vesemir isn't really angry so much as he's been worried, so Lambert doesn't get in as much Deep Shit as he was expecting. Coën also gets a dressing-down, which basically boils down to "What the fuck are you doing by yourself, where's your mentor?", and when he explains his situation, Vesemir - also the sole survivor of a massacre - goes very quiet for a minute and then barks at Lambert to pack up, they're going home. Bring your friend.

Honestly Coën has been on his own for months and he's so fucking relieved to see an adult Witcher that he's just like. Yep. Okay. Sorry. Sure. Sorry. Thank you. Sorry.

Coën heals up at Kaer Morhen, and just sort of. Never leaves. He finishes his training with Vesemir alongside Lambert and Remus. When he and Lambert are old enough to apprentice, they do the same thing Eskel and Geralt did when they were starting out - Coën spends a season tailing Vesemir, then gets some practice on his own while Lambert does the same, and then they spend a couple of years working together before they're confident enough to split up and handle monsters by themselves. At some point, he swaps his Griffin medallion for a Wolf one, and he comes back to Kaer Morhen in the winter just like all the other boys.

(Lambert gets to keep the coin for the drowners. Vesemir gives him a charred head to show off as proof. He splits the money with Coën. Sometimes Vesemir doesn't suck. Sometimes.)

[ro-valerius]

Calm Before the Storm: Promise

Tofu tries to make sure that everyone is ready, especially mentally, for the task to come. Kore [featured] belongs to @sorrel-haven and Virgil [mentioned] belongs to @ffxiv-f13ndish

There was tension in the house as everyone whirled into action. Blomma had brought Kaiyo to help watch the house while the ones who were to set out made their preparations. Tofu had long been ready, but he could imagine that the others needed to mentally prepare. And there was one more he needed to check on before they set out. He made his way out to the yard, where Kore had been as of late, meditating through training.

Sure enough, there she was, practicing her forms with a focused expression. He leaned against the wall, not near enough to get in the way, but near enough for her to notice, and waited for her to finish the form she was on. She looked at him from the corner of her eye, throwing the chakrams at the dummy without recalling them so they stuck. She dipped low to the ground with the follow through motion and rose slowly as she exhaled. When she finally turned her attention to him, he offered her a calm expression.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

“Well enough.” she said with a smile, though it wasn’t a cheerful one.

Kore faced him as she did some basic stretches to cool her muscles down. His shoulders relaxed, though he remained concerned about the lack of cheer behind her smile. 

“I know you wanted to make sure we were as prepared as possible, and I know that timing has been cut short. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said, straightening up from the wall but not moving away from it just yet. 

He hooked a thumb in the belt that attached to the pouch on his hip before moving to open the pouch. He took out a few of the talismans and walked over to her, holding them out. 

“I-in case something happens…you know?” he said. “They’re not luck or anything, just for…my condition.” He mentally cursed - he should have made good luck charms, too. 

Kore took the talismans in both of her hands and stared at them for a moment. That he would trust her with them, made her heart flutter. She looked up at him and smiled softly before clearing her throat.

“I’m glad we have these just in case.” she tucked them into a hidden pocket in her shirt. “But… I know I’ve been… Difficult preparing for this. I just wanted us to have all the advantages we could.”

She took a seat in the grass and patted the ground next to her for him to join. After a moment of hesitation, he moved to sit on the ground beside her. He sat in silence for a moment as he considered how to put his thoughts into words. 

“Not difficult. You wanted to make sure everyone was ready. That’s completely understandable, and that’s why I didn’t try to push us to go ahead,” he murmured finally. 

“Well, Virgil delivered the information I wanted. So, all that’s left now is to do it.” she looked up at the sky as she spoke.

There was something else that worried him, but he wasn’t sure how to put it into words without coming across as an idiot. Though to be fair, he felt like an idiot for worrying about it, but he couldn’t just…let it hang in silence.

“...I also wanted to… ensure that what we talked about before doesn’t cloud your judgment. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt and it be my fault.” He got quiet for a moment, fidgeting with the blue gemmed ring on his hand. “I…am afraid of losing anyone else that I care about.” His next words were whispered softly. 

“Please don’t go anywhere…”

His words pulled her back down to earth. While she knew circumstances behind it were not the same, they shared the same fear. She hesitated a moment but resolve washed over her and she reached over and grabbed his hand.

“I’m not going anywhere. I promise. Just… Promise me you’ll do the same. I… refuse to lose anyone.” Her words were more confident than the look on her face.

His hand tightened around hers as he processed what she had said. Of course he didn’t plan to go anywhere. But she looked so scared, even if she tried to sound brave. He tilted her face to meet his eyes, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring look.

“No matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere.”

Tears started rolling down her face before she could stop them, and before she could stop herself she threw herself around Tofu in an embrace. She was so relieved to hear him say that. She started laughing as she cried into the crook of his neck.

“No matter what… that’s a promise.”

His first instinct when she started crying was to apologize, for what, he wasn’t sure. But when she wrapped herself around him, he felt a mixture of relief and panic. His heart pounded, but he wrapped his arms around her, placing one hand at the nape of her neck, and held her close. Her laughter confused him, but he took it as a good sign; he hadn’t hurt her again. 

“Of course. I was more worried about hurting you…” He didn’t know if she would catch on that he meant before, but he didn’t have it in him to bring it up fully. All he could do was hold her and hope she could understand his intent, even if he didn’t know how to express anything.

Kore squeezed him to be reassuring but kept her face buried in his neck. “As long as you’ll have me near, in any capacity, I’ll be fine.”

[turnipatthelibrary]

Time for 2004's Spider-Man 2

I like the opening credits "in case you forgot what happened in the first film" sequences

LOL would we all be abusing our super powers to get our day jobs done? I think we would.

I just love how pathetic this version of Spider-Man is. Like yeah, you'd fail at everything too if you were trying to be a college student and hold down a job and have a social life and be a super hero. Why doesn't he just live with Aunt May? This man can't pay his rent but he's obsessed with do-gooding.

Introducing Perpetual Sun Man!

Okay, he did legit get in a car accident on the way to MJs play, but also he just couldn't resist spidering it up.

Yeah, you really get to see how burning the candle at both ends and all the trauma from the first movies just fucks his life all up. Pathetic Spider-Man is a choice.

'member payphones?

Oh but he could make it to Dr. Octavious's unveiling. So clearly he loves this guy more than he loves MJ, or so I'm sure the plot will say.

The smart arms alone are a piece of impressive technology. Imagine the accessibility applications! Why didn't he market these!? Ah yes, because inevitably all the inhibitor chips malfunction and then you have a legion of evil octo-arms running around. Actually, I'd watch that movie.

Okay, but like fundamentally the process for fusion worked though right? If he just hadn't pushed it.

"The power of the sun in the palm of your hand" is a Sunny-D commercial. I need to see this as a Sunny-D commercial.

LOL like father like son, you gotta say "I'm the boss!" like a little baby or it's not true.

aaand cue the bloodbath. Why all the villains in this franchise gotta have the whole multiple personalities thing going on? And where did he find that hat?

Okay, but I feel bad for Harry though, poor little baby, always striving for his father's love, then asked to take over his entire company and not doing a great job because he wasn't properly prepared and yeah, as far as he knows his best friend knows who murdered his father but won't talk to him about it. Like, damn.

LOL Crime up 75% without Spider-Man? Really? One dude? Was the only thing holding back the tide of crime in the city? What did they do before Spider-Man

None of them deserve Aunt May.

This dingus doesn't have health insurance but he's gonna just go ahead and jump off a building.

Awww hell yeah trope of telling the person you love that you don't love them to protect them. That's good shit right there.

Oooh, Doc Ock SMASH! LOL, I literally had to pause the movie I was laughing so hard when he took his sunglasses off with one of the metal arms. Oh dang, then Spiderman SMASH - Hulk ain't the only one can fuck up some stuff

Somebody would have pushed the emergency stop on that train tho

I absolutely love the idea that all the people in that train car just wordlessly decide to grab him up and lower him down and not tell anyone they know what he looks like. We ain't snitches!

Spider-Man's not dead - he's right behind you!

Come on, smart boy, use that big science brain of yours to shut it down

Oops, you forgot MJ was there

Aw, tragic villain "I will not die a monster" That's also good shit right there.

Hur dur, Spider-Man will always have enemies and I can't take that risk, she was freaking at risk even when she didn't KNOW you were Spider-Man, dummy!

Oop bye bye fiancé, I'm in love with my best friend. Happens to everyone at least once, right?

AVENGE ME! Best friend Spiderman reveal, Dad Green Goblin reveal, Harry is not having a good day.

Oh shit, she going through with it? Wait, no she's not. Okay, leaving someone at the alter real messed up though and she looks so elated about it LOL

Peter, kiss me like one of your French girls. I do like the role reversal of him always chasing her in high school and then her kinda chasing him after that.

Alright I'm just gonna say it, I liked this one better than the first one.

[watchtowersbane]

TTCC Toontorial Text:

Lord Lowden Clear:

Hey, Professor Pete! Here's that Toon I was talking about earlier-- mind showing them the ropes?

Professor Pete:

Sure thing, Lord Lowden Clear! Could you set things up in the training room? Lord Lowden Clear: Roger! I'll see you shortly, rookie.

Professor Pete:

Hey there, friend! Let's get the simple stuff out of the way. You can move your Toon with MOVEMENT keys! The default buttons are W, A, S, and D. Alright, now try JUMPING! The default button is SPACE BAR! Looking good! Speaking of looking, you can rotate your camera by holding RIGHT CLICK. You can even combine it with movement! To really get moving, try SPRINTING! The default button for it is SHIFT! Mess around as much as you want, then come up to me when you're ready to continue. Great job! Welcome to Toontown, a place full of laughter and fun! Well... that's the idea at least. Lowden will be able to explain our situation better than I can, though. Speaking of, he should be ready for you by now! Go ahead and check out the training room!

<You enter the training room to meet with Lord Lowden Clear.>

Lord Lowden Clear:

Welcome to the training room, rookie! Let's get you prepared! First thing's first: you need a Laff Meter! Now where is it...

<You receive a Laff Meter, making you mortal.>

Lord Lowden Clear:

Ah, there it is! Your Laff Meter signifies how h appy you are at any point in time! However, if your Laff hits 0... You'll become sad and will be sent back to the nearest playground! Luckily, when in the playground, you can find treasures! These will heal you back up quickly. Why would your Laff hit 0, you may ask? Well, you see,  currently we are under an invasion. An invasion conducted by robots. We call them Cogs. These no fun robots can't take a joke. Thankfully, jokes are our specialty! Gags are used to battle the Cogs around town, and I'm going to teach you how to use them! Let's get started! Approach that Cog dummy over there! Get that Desk Jockey!

<You approach the Desk Jockey to start the battle.>

Lord Lowden Clear:

Ready to train? First thing's first, the battle interface! At the bottom, each Toon has a panel that includes their Laff Meter and what they're planning to do. Cogs have their own panels, located at the top. This shows their health and level. But most importantly, we have your inventory of Gags smack dab in the middle! Each row represents a Gag Track. I'll be walking you through the uses of each one. Something to remember is that Gags are used in Track order, from top to bottom. Now let's get to using some! Here's a SQUIRT Gag for you to use on that Desk Jockey! Click on it to attack!

<You use the SQUIRT Gag on the Desk Jockey, leaving them with the SOAKED debuff.>

Lord Lowden Clear:

Great shot! As you might have noticed, it took some DAMAGE shown by the number that popped up! Also, they became SOAKED! SOAKED is something we call a Status Effect, which you can see is slotted into that Cog's panel. Hovering over a Status Effect will give you a brief description of what it does. It's good to always be aware of the situation!

<Mousing over the SOAKED icon in the Cog's status panel, you can see the details of any buffs/debuffs applied to them:> [SOAKED: Soaked Cogs have -10% dodge chance and are vulnerable to ZAP Gags. Removed if this cog is hit by ZAP gags.]

Lord Lowden Clear:

One of the benefits of SOAKED is that the Cog is less likely to dodge our gags. This is a great time to use DROP! It's a very powerful type of Gag, but has low accuracy.

<You use your DROP gag on the Desk Jockey - as does Lord Lowden Clear, giving the Cog a horrible migraine. The Desk Jockey then uses LIGHTS-ON INITIATIVE, summoning more dummies to the fight.>

Lord Lowden Clear:

Nice, we both hit it! Because of that, we dealt bonus COMBO damage! SQUIRT, THROW, and DROP Gags deal COMBO damage when used with other Gags of their track. However, they used an ability that summoned another Cog! Fortunately, we have ways of dealing with multiple Cogs at once. ZAP Gags can only affect SOAKED Cogs, but their electricity can jump to other SOAKED targets. How about you use ZAP while I use SQUIRT to SOAK both of them?

<Lord Lowden Clear uses a SQUIRT Gag to SOAK both Cogs, and you use your ZAP gag on the Desk Jockeys - destroying one of them.>

Lord Lowden Clear:

Good teamwork! We even managed to destroy one of them. Hopefully Pete won't be mad about that... Notice how the Cog isn't SOAKED anymore? ZAP dries off all the Cogs it hits! Also, when I SOAKED the Cog next to the one I targeted, it dealt a little bit of SPLASH damage. Anyways, let's move on. Go ahead and use a LURE Gag now.

<You LURE the Desk Jockey.>

Lord Lowden Clear:

Guess our friend found that quite alluring! LURED is a Status Effect just like SOAKED, so you can hover over it for info as well!

<Mousing over the LURED icon in the Cog's status panel, you can see the details of any buffs/debuffs applied to them:> [LURED: LURED Cogs cannot attack and take +2 more damage from each THROW or SQUIRT Gag that's used.]

Lord Lowden Clear:

LURED guarantees that our SQUIRT, THROW and SOUND Gags will hit.

[NOTE: Lord Lowden Clear is lying on the internet. I’ve seen SOUND miss on LURED Cogs plenty of times when fighting WH.]

Lord Lowden Clear:

Let's take advantage of it by using THROW Gags! Oof! That sure was a splat fest! See how it was KNOCKED BACK and isn't LURED anymore? Both THROW and SQUIRT Gags deal bonus damage equal to the KNOCKBACK value of the LURED effect. Other sources of damage will still UNLURE the Cog but will not gain the KNOCKBACK damage, so be careful! In addition, DROP Gags cannot hit LURED Cogs. The next track I'll have you use is TRAP. Go ahead and throw down a banana peel!

<You throw down a banana peel in front of the Desk Jockey, who hits Lord Lowden Clear and summons three more dummies to the battle.>

Lord Lowden Clear:

Ouch! I wasn't expecting that... Pete's been messing with the script, I guess. When you start fighting actual Cogs, they will attack every turn after the Toons finish using their Gags. Ugh! Anyway, you can see that the TRAP hasn't done anything yet. Cogs must be LURED into TRAPS for them to work. This many Cogs isn't a good situation... I'm going to LURE them all with my magnet so that they can't attack. Could you give me a TOON-UP to help me shake off that hit I took earlier? It will also help my accuracy! That fall's gotten them dazed and confused now! Similar to SOAKED, DAZED makes the Cog less likely to dodge our attacks. Now then, I've had about enough of these Desk Jockeys! Time for the last track, SOUND! It hits all the Cogs in battle! SOUND off, rookie!

<You and Lowden Clear both use SOUND, defeating 3 Desk Jockeys - the remaining one uses CLIP ON TIE, dealing damage to you. The tie isn't your color, unfortunately.>

Lord Lowden Clear:

Are you OK, rookie? This Desk Jockey is a tough one... Using SOUND gives you the ENCORE effect, which makes your next gag stronger!

<Mousing over the ENCORE icon in your Toon's status panel, you can see the details of any buffs/debuffs applied to you:> [ENCORE: All Gags have a +10% effectiveness boost. By using SOUND again, you'll become Winded.]

Lord Lowden Clear:

If you use SOUND when you have ENCORE, however, you'll become WINDED, which makes your SOUND Gags weaker for a few turns. And that should be everything you need to know about fighting Cogs! I'll give you a TOON-UP to get you back to full laff. Choose a Gag to finish this fight!

<Lord Lowden Clear gives you a TOON-UP, and you use THROW, SQUIRT, SOUND, or DROP to finish off the Desk Jockey.>

Lord Lowden Clear:

Great job, rookie! I think you're ready to take on the Cogs! You now have a very tough decision to make. Which two Gag Tracks will you start with? Once you've decided, head back to the classroom. Pete will want to talk with you.

<After picking your two starting Gags, you head back to the main room of the Schoolhouse to speak with Professor Pete.>

Professor Pete:

Welcome back! I take it that training went well? Well, I have a few welcome gifts for you! They do require some explanation, though. This is your Schtickerbook! It contains all sorts of handy tools to help you around Toontown. Go ahead and open it! This is the Districts page. Each District is a copy of Toontown. If you want to meet up with friends, make sure you're in the same District! Let's continue to the next page, shall we? This is the Map page, where you can view the entirety of Toontown! Some parts of town are covered by clouds, but they will become visible once you've visited them! The 'Go Home' button will take you to your own Toon estate, while the 'Minigames' button will take you to the Minigames area! The 'Playground' button takes you to the nearest playground. That's everything for the Map page, let's continue to the next one. This is your ToonTasks page. Here, you can see everything you're assigned to do around Toontown! Oh look, you have one right now! Looks like Mayor Flippy wants to see you in the Toon Hall after this. Let's hurry onto the next page then! This is the Items and Codes section, here is where you can customize your Toon! Let's continue to the Clothing tab of the page. This is your Toon's wardrobe! It's pretty empty right now since you just got here, but there are many ways to expand your fashion! You look Toontastic right now regardless! Let's continue to the next page. Now, this is your Cog Gallery. We don't have much information on the Cogs right now, so you'll have to fill this out as you encounter them. Go ahead and close the Schtickerbook now. Has everything I said made sense? Cat got your tongue? Oh, you must not know how to speak with SpeedChat yet! Click the SpeedChat button on the far left to say something to me! Great job! By the way, you aren't locked to just these phrases. You can expand the Chat Panel to freely type what you'd like and see what others are saying. Oh, and one more thing... Here you go! This is the Experi-o-Meter, where the experience you earn from doing activities around town goes! Your level will increase as you gain more experience. This unlocks all kinds of cool things, like Training Points, increased Gag storage, and increased Laff! That's all from me! Flippy wants to see you in Toon Hall, so head there first!

<You leave the Schoolhouse and go to Toontown Central's main playground.>

Flippy:

Say, I heard you graduated training! Congradulations! Welcome to Toontown Central, let me show you around some of the most important landmarks. This is a Toon Headquarters, or Toon HQ. Outposts like these are set up all over Toontown! Each one has HQ Officers inside to help Toons. This one happens to be where some of our best Resistance Rangers are stationed, like Lord Lowden Clear! You'll visit the Rangers soon, so let's move on. Here's Toontown Central's Gag Shop! You can buy Gags inside, but that requires Jellybeans! You can earn Jellybeans through battles, completing quests, fishing, playing table games, and trolley games! Speaking of which... The trolley! Hop on with some Toons or by yourself to play some Toontastic minigames while earning Jellybeans! Now, I think those are the most important playground buildings... Oh yes! How could I forget! I'm here in the Toon Hall! Please, come inside so I can give you a proper Toontown welcome!

[This is the end of the Toontorial - starting your very first quest, Welcome to Toontown!]

[omerflorent]

“I thought you would say that so I sent some of my brightest from Brightwater to check the lands around Tumbleton. The soil is still good, nothing that cannot be saved in some areas. With enough people working the land we will continue to be the bread basket of the region while also increasing fortifications.” All around them people were gearing up and preparing for their own standing armies. The West and the North seemed to be ahead of them in many ways. Omer knew they could top them in the way that mattered. Numbers. They had the numbers to protect themselves, if they added training to those numbers it would only be improved.

Omer nodded, he would speak with their master of laws and make sure things were written up properly. He wanted to start right away. With a proper training then even when brigands came upon small villages they would have men who could fight with more than just their tools. Even if it wasn’t with the best swords it was better than shovels and picks. There was so much land in the Reach and based off his maps there was much and more that would fill the coffers with taxes and the songs with Reachly warriors.

“I will start to put together a force of men capable of training them with different weapons, nothing too serious that would take away farming but enough to protect themselves. With farms come villages. And with villages come brigands.” And while he wasn’t going to start in with his ideas for patrolling the Rose Road and going over the desires of one day being able to push into those unsettled areas of the marches and claim them for himself.

“I’ve another matter to discuss with you. Weaponry.” Omer stopped before the table set up for them and picked up the crossbow sitting on it. I call it a repeating crossbow.” He raised up the iron hand and placed it under the crossbow, his finger on the trigger. “The maester claimed it was used in Yi-Ti or some place.” He pulled the trigger and then pulled it again and then a third time. “No reloading. I can do this 4 more times according to the Maester. It’s a slow reload process but that can be mitigated with enough archers and crossbowmen with their average crossbows. Here. Aim at the practice dummy.”

♠

"i have." cedric tyrell had not noticed the increasing stress, or fixation, that had come over his cousin. it was natural for the high commander to find himself engrossed in matters that were far more akin to his abilities, rather than bound to serve through the wielding of a sword as a constant presence, a constant shield. such breadth allowed for him to experiment with matters which he found intense personal interest - matters which cedric, found no interest in.

"there is much of it that remains still in need of resettling." cedric spoke, his hands resting on either of his sides as they walked through the path of these gardens. "the farmland specifically around tumbleton." it was another place cedric sought to seek reform in: the agricultural sector. he had once reminded a fool their gold grew in the ground.

but the innovative side of it? the drawing board? it was not hardly to see glimmers of the golden son of highgarden in such moments: not by his own hand, but rather in the way he established a strong pattern of patronage. gold must be used for betterment on all fronts. a standing army would make their society one rooted in military action; provide a certain label for them. and truthfully, cedric found himself wondering whether that was the image that fit the reach.

he understood regardless of what policies and laws they passed, there was only so much they could do to make the pieces fall together in place. "140 acres in return for mandatory conscription."

military logistics were hardly the enjoyment of the man, and yet, they were a priority of it: considering the reach had made their stance toward the summer isles inherently known, cedric understood that in his forwardness, he had sown seeds of tension and anger between his realm and dorne. even more so than before. this was the time they would need to increase their military strategy, for reachmen were not skilled in matters of gureilla warfare as were the dornish, the valemen, or the crannogmen of the swamp.

[tteokdoroki]

all the love in the world | k.bakugou.

⇝ pairing: katsuki bakugou x fem!reader.

⇝ word count: 5.1K

⇝ rating: 18+, mature.

⇝ genre: pro hero!au, engaged!au, fluff and smut.

⇝ summary: as hard to believe as it may seem, bakugou lives for time off, where the days begin with him waking up by your side and  end with him falling asleep right next to you, while he thinks of all the ways he can love you during the hours in between.

⇝ warning(s): please read ! fluffy domestic bakugou ( i think this needed a warning okay? ), smut ( characters aged up to 20s ), soft morning sex, fingering ( female recieving ), dry humping, light!praise, heavy!breeding kink, switch!reader, dom!bakugou.

⇝ author’s note(s): hellooo my loves ! as a celebration of me reaching 100+ followers, i bring you my very first written imagine !! i love the idea of domestic baku so i hope you enoy reading as i did writing !! special thanks to @ozzy-bozzy​ for the teddy bear bracelets idea hehe

⇝ masterlist | requests

katsuki bakugou considered himself to be a very lucky person.

when he was younger he’d been blessed by a powerful quirk which only lead him to exceed his classmates back in U.A. he’d graduated said school’s hero course top of his class, even if he’d failed his provisionals the first time round— nothing could stop him from becoming the best.

so when the hot headed blonde bagged the role of side kick at a top hero agency and then launched himself to the highest points in the hero charts as a pro later on, katsuki felt like all of his dreams had come true.

that was until, he’d proposed to you.

you were katsuki’s final dream, for him to wait for you at the end of the aisle— your watery smile just for him. 

that’s the vision he saw in his sleep. when you had said yes to him, the night you got engaged under the stars and amongst the roses, it was then that the explosive hero had realised how lucky he truly was.

he had loved you for a long time, katsuki had— he almost couldn’t remember the time when he hadn’t. in the time that you’d spent together; soft gazes and lingering touches, you’d taught him a lot and he’d learned through your tolerance and generosity, something that had rubbed off on him, something he’d so desperately needed to cool down his hot demeanour.

he was grateful for a lot of things, all of the things you’d taught him— but mostly the entirety of you. while you’d always said that neither of you completed each other and only made one another better, bakugou knew that his life would be complete with you in it forever.

 he knew  from the moment you’d pinned him down underneath you during training back in high school— that he was going to make you his wife someday.

“jesus katsu, why’re you up s’early? it’s supposed to be our day off,” you mumble into your silk sheets; his scent sewn into your pillows. katsuki likes the orange silk that lines your bed; mostly because of the colour and partly because other fabrics irritate his skin. with sleepy eyes, you blink up at the blonde and catch him staring mid act. like always, bakugou looks away with a heated blush and paws it away from his cheeks. “whatcha lookin’ at dummy?”

one of kastuki’s favourite things is the way you look when you first wake up, groggily rubbing the sleep away from your eyes with a pout on your lips as the sun hits your face just right— creating a halo effect around you, like you’re his guardian angel…but he wouldn’t ever admit that to you, at least not until his wedding vows. “it’s the only time i get to look at you without hearin’ the dumb shit that comes out your mouth, woman.” katsuki grumbles back, finally meeting your eyes again.  

he can clearly see the love glittering your irises and the faint smile that plays teasingly on your lips as if you know that he’s joking. unwillingly; bakugou feels himself mirror the grin that you bare and a happy warmth then spreads across his chest.

“we still have the whole day ahead for you to ogle me like that katsuki bakugou,” you hum sweetly, the tail end of your words falling into a light giggle. the ash blonde feels his heart flutter just from the sound; a candied melody to his ears that he could never get tired of hearing. 

reaching over your shoulder, katsuki uses his warm hands to roll you over onto his awaiting lap. 

your arms instinctively wrap around his neck as the sheets fall from your body to reveal yourself in one of his shirts with an old merch design and your fingers weave their way into his pretty blonde hair. 

now that you’re in his lap; the pro hero can see the smirk making its way into your face as you look down at him lovingly. “seems like you were doing more than just looking baby…”

your hips grind down against your lover’s now prominent erection that sits hidden in his dark sweats— earning a slight gasp from the man himself. “s-shut up, dumbass…” bakugou growls through gritted teeth while you move above him. 

his words stay lodged in his throat, he wants to tell you that you’re always on his mind no matter what he’s doing or looking at but instead they die down as he drops his head to your neck, leaving sweet kisses along the column of it.

early morning love making with you was what katsuki bakugou considered one of his many blessings. he loves being this close to you— feeling every dip in your skin and kissing every mark on your body, his lips work their way up from your jawline to your chin and finally attempting to land a solid kiss to your own lips.

“nuh, katsu—“ your breathless whine fills the air, sending shivers down the spine of the man below you. he moves up to kiss you again, gripping your hips tightly while your movements begin to sync. “no, morning…morning breath…”

bakugou huffs, hand finding the back of your head to tilt it down into a soft liplock— contrasting with the harshness of his earlier movements. “fuck morning breath, i haven’t made love to you properly in a fucking week so let me kiss you. fuck.” usually, katsuki would have added his salty pet name of ‘shitty woman’ to the tail end of his phrases but he bites his tongue, saving it for later.

you give into your fiancé then, falling in love with the way his lips meld against yours so passionately all over again. fingers that belong to bakugou dance underneath your shirt, finding you bare within the fabric. one hand slips between your plush thighs, smoothly rubbing circles into your swelling clit ever so gently.

your breath hitches as katsuki traps you under his touch, playing with your folds as they begin to grow slick and form a wet patch on his deep grey sweats, making him groan. 

the explosive pro pushes two of his digits past your entrance, curling them and watching with sparkling scarlet eyes as your mouth hangs open in of the prettiest moans katsuki’s ever heard— his mouth falls open with you while your head tilts back, exposing your sweat glimmering skin to the sun’s rays. “feel good baby? yeah, you like that?” he mumbles condescendingly, slowly pumping them inside of you. “yeah you do,  yeah you fuckin’ do.”

“yeah, katsu...more…” a  breathless moan escapes you with every thrust of bakugou’s hot fingers, the cheeky bastard setting off small scale explosions to stimulate you from within. he’s hot, the heat from his body filling the space between you and spreading right down to your glistening mound— causing slick to gush from your tiny abused hole. 

you can feel his cock pulse beneath you with every twist of his fingers to reach that spongy pleasure spot deep within your leaking hot walls.

katsuki’s thick fingers stretch open your tiny hole, making your mouth water at the thought of his weighty cock being the next thing press into you but your raging thoughts are swiftly interrupted by your fiancé— who pulls from you completely and sucks the two fingers into his mouth to lick them clean of your sweet nectar.

katsuki keeps his vermillion eyes locked on you, the lewd action making saliva pool on your tongue. his own pink muscle darts out to wet his lips, no doubt spreading the taste of you across them before making a move to kiss you. 

the pro is quickly stopped, your hands that once roamed his bare back and messed hair, now pinning his own above his head.

bakugou is a strong man, he wouldn’t have been a top hero if he wasn’t— he trained constantly and sparred often with his fellow heroes but he doesn’t resist when you grip his wrists in your free hand, releasing his hard cock from it’s restraints before it slaps against his well toned stomach.

milky precum leaks against his warm skin, while you prepare yourself to mount him. the pair of you let out a groan in unison as you sink down on the hero’s thick length— as if the tensions and stresses of the week have melted away just him being sheathed inside of you.

“mnnn, so fuckin’ tight baby, gonna need to fuck you open again…”

bakugou’s voice is low and gravelly from the early morning, just how you like as his hips roll up into yours— further pushing his fat cock into you. his tip barely grazes your cervix  as you set the pace, lifting yourself up and down to bounce on your lover’s length. 

the way you feel inside, your soft velvety walls and gushing pussy make him buck up into you with more fever, as his own symphony of moans and weightless gasps dance through your ears. “yeah? take this pussy katsuki…m-make it yours,” you sigh, grip on his wrists loosening to the point where you set him free.  the blonde’s hands immediately move to grip your ass tightly— smirking at you lazily while the pads of his fingers sink into your flesh.

you look beautiful to him, bouncing on his cock and dripping all over his pelvis under the early morning sun, the way the gold lights up your hazy lust filled eyes.  

the fire of desire burns brightly in the depths of katsuki’s stomach, love finds its way into each of his thrusts from then on— mind clouding with the desire to fill you up so good with his love as the leaking  head of his thick girth drags against your walls, prodding at the spot that has you seeing stars. “that’s right yn baby…fuck that cock, fuck yeah baby,” he whispers brokenly to you, chest rising and falling desperately while sweat beads on his hairline. “love you, love you s’much...”

bakugou watches your gaze on him soften at his confession, the words he doesn’t say often but shows you everyday still hanging in the thick, warm air.  “i love you katsu, p-please,” your erratic thrusts slow to somewhat of a passionate grind, two lovers pressed hotly against one another as the sounds of your moans twist with that of skin on skin.

knot in your stomach tightening, katsuki can feel your release creeping on you from the way you clench around him at every plunge deep inside your sweet hole. strong arms wrap around you, katsuki noticing how you shake from pleasure above him while he brings you down onto loving thrusts as if to draw you closer. 

“gonna cum!”

your fiancé nods into your neck, rubbing smooth circles over your back as he pulls out of your heat completely and earns a needy whine from you. your hole spasms around nothing, right on the edge of release before bakugou forces his girth back into your accepting pushing. “cum for me angel, right on this cock,” he pants, holding you close while he rocks into you. “i've got you baby, let it all out…”

“mph, baku-! oh !”

hips stilling above his, you scratch and claw at any part of bakugou’s skin that you can— shaking as your release splashes against him, sending your eyes rolling to the back of your head and white spots dancing across your vision. the tightness of your heat drives the pro right over the edge, hot ropes of thick cum painting your insides white as his release reaches your womb.

the pair of you lay still, catching your breath as you collapse forward on your lover’s chest. while your breathing slows, katsuki rubs warming circles into your back to help calm you down— only smiling softly when you look up at him with clear, affectionate eyes. “did so good for me yn, fuckin’ love it when you take my cock like that first thing in the morning,” his words are soft on his usually sharp tongue, bakugou smoothing a thumb over your cheek while using a forefinger to tilt your head up into a sweet kiss

“always and only for you, my love,” you hum, eyes fluttering shut at the simple gesture even after you pull away. “and if you keep cummin’ in me like that katsuki ‘m gonna end up pregnant one of these days…”

bakugou smirks, pressing smaller kisses all over your face to make you giggle. you smile and greedily accept each one, loving the these tender moments between yourself and your fiancé.  “maybe that’s the fucking point, dumbass,”  he quips, biting on your cheek after landing a kiss there. “trying to put a shitty little brat in you.”

despite the small bite to his words, a blush still manages to creep its way onto katsuki’s face as you lay your head down on his chest with a smack to his waist. the ash blonde means every word and you know it too, he can tell by the knowing smile and slight gleam in your eye.

you fall back asleep not long after bakugou cleans you up.

he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy counting every mark and bite he’d left on you as he tenderly wiped between your thighs and massaged over your skin. 

but he loved how cute you looked when curled up on his chest more, your hand clings to bakugou’s shoulder as if to check he’s still there even in your sleep— giving the hero ample opportunity to play with the ‘teddy bear’ bracelet thats cuffed to your wrist. you’d made it for one of your anniversaries; matching the ‘grizzly bear’ one on his own.

prying himself from your arms is no easy task for katsuki, your grip on him like an adorable iron vice or a child with a teddy bear. after setting himself free, the ash blonde with the crimson eyes heads down to the kitchen to make breakfast for the two of you— it was some what of a routine on your days off together, you always got the munchies after sex and bakugou knew just how to soothe your roaring appetite.

as he worked with the eggs and other breakfast ingredients, katsuki thought back to how much you praised him for his skills in the kitchen— he knew how much you loved his cooking and he would do anything to see you smile.

“god katsuki, i might have to start taking more days off it means i get to see my grizzly bear in the kitchen like this,” you hum from place leaning against the door frame. 

your fiancé turns round to face you with a light smirk, glimmering eyes inviting you further into the room. the explosive pro holds the sizzling pan he’d taken off the stove high above your head as you cuddle into his side, breathing in his warm caramel scent.

katsuki clicks his tongue, staring down at you fondly. “tell that to the fucking villains who fuck up the city every other day, maybe then we’d have more time to relax.” he counters, pulling a sweet chuckle from your sweet lips.

“if we start handing out your cooking, they’ll probably start turning themselves in!” you tease your lover back, swiping a bit of the pancakes from the pan above your head. katsuki grumbles and pats your ass indulgently— the supple skin peaking out from under the shirt that’s found it’s way back over your form. it’s a silent scold for eating before he’s fixed you a plate of all your favourites.

as usual bakugou pulls out your chair at the table, pressing his lips to your hairline before putting your steaming plate in front of you. your mouth waters while katsuki takes his seat opposite you with rolling eyes as he watches you tuck in to your breakfast. 

the entirety of your meal is filled with lingering gazes and hums of delight while you eat, almost as if you’re back on your first date ( bakugou spent half of the time watching you eat rather than doing so himself, but he just wanted to see if you liked the place ). 

leaning over the table to wipe syrup from your chin, the blonde smirks— quiet words falling calmly from his lips. “what do you want to do today, sweetheart?”

the birds chirps lovingly outside of your window, dancing under the sunshine— they remind you of your early mentor and often patrol partner hawks, who you needed to remember to invite to dinner soon. 

the weather is nice today and that gives you an idea. “let’s go out,” your eyes sparkle with a million dreams, each one bakugou wants to live out with you. “to the park with the roses, the pink ones where you—“

“where i proposed, got it,” katsuki smiles, the fond memory catching the tail end of his words. “i hear they introduced some new blooms too.”

you mirror his expression; stabbing your fork through a strawberry in the bowl of fresh fruit your lover had prepared for you. you hold the fork out to his lips and watch amusedly as he chomps the fruit from its place. “care to escort me, lover bear?”

“who else is going to? dumbass.”

“miss nightsky ! will ya sign my bag!”

“that’s a nice bag sweet one, you sure i can sign it?”

katsuki loves the way you are with kids, even though you’re a massive child yourself.

the pair of you decided to walk to the park; since the nice weather held up and it wasn’t too far from your private neighbourhood— even though it took a little longer to get there than expected. 

not that either of you minded, but many curious fans stopped to talk and ask for pictures; some even asked for autographs which you happily gave them. while the mighty ground zero was slightly grumbly about it, he adored how kind and patient you were with everyone you met no matter how old they were.

his vermillion eyes, though brownish looking under golden light, sparkle as you ruffle the little kid’s hair and wave politely to their awaiting parents. bakugou wants to have kids with you one day. 

it was something he hadn’t really thought about until recently, he knew it would be difficult, with both of you reaching the heights of your careers and the pair of you were still very private about your relationship as well, with word of your recent engagement already slipping into the tabloids.

there was no doubt that they’d speculate about your marriage too, no matter how private you kept it. keeping a child secret would be even harder. 

and yet; the thought of you holding a baby…his baby would, on some nights lull him to sleep.

you squeal like a little girl when the ash blonde stops to buy you an ice cream from a van by the entrance of the park; he can’t stand how much you love mint chocolate chip but buys you a towering double scoop anyways.  “how do you even eat that toothpastey shit?” bakugou grumbles, finishing off his orange popsicle as you walk into the flower garden.

“says the one who likes orange, you have no taste katsuki bakugou.” you chide but take his freehand nonetheless. the explosive pro’s thumb brushes over the back of your hand while you make your way through and he can’t help but pluck one of the pretty blooms from the bushes to tuck behind your ear.

you scold him for taking the flowers but your smile betrays you as katsuki dips you for a honeyed kiss on the lips. 

he’s never one for PDA but this was your spot, here just last year bakugou had sunk to his knees in front of you with an expensive diamond ring you were eyeing months before ( you would never say anything but katsuki always picked up on these things ). 

he would also never admit it, but his hand shook with every word that passed his lips and you were sure he had been crying harder than you were while he slipped a ring on your finger.

your secret kisses and tangled limbs hiding deep in the rose bushes are soon completely soaked by an onslaught of unexpected rain.

you shriek at the rain while katsuki grabs your hand, free arms thrown over your heads as you make a dash from the flower garden and head for the main streets in order to catch a bus.

the pair of you giggle as you stumble onto the vehicle, ringing out your drenched clothes and wiping at your wet faces as it heads home. bakugou pulls you into his arms, head resting atop yours to draw you closer— the heat from his quirk allows him to keep you warm and you get a load full of his sugary scent as well ( not that you mind ).

you stay like that on through the rustling traffic, cuddling like a cat to your heated fiancé but a tug on the bottom of bakugou’s wet shirt captures your attention. the pair of you look down to catch the innocent eyes belonging to a darling little girl. “u-uh h-hi mister gwound zewo!” the little one stumbles through her words and in the corner of your eyes you can spot the girl’s mother and give her a reassuring grin.

bakugou’s gaze softens at the curly haired girl and releases you to crouch down to her level despite the shaking bus.  his hand still holds onto yours though. 

he ruffles her hair with his free hand, making your heart warm— there was a side of katsuki the public never really got to see, where the hotheaded pro could be tender and quiet and often quite reserved. 

the media got a kick out of playing on the ash blonde’s explosive nature but moments like this let the real bakugou shine through.

“hey there kiddo, whatcha’ got there?” katsuki mumbles delicatley, noticing the girl hiding something behind her back.

“tisswue! for my favouwite hewo!” the little one says, gingerly holding it out to the blonde’s wet face for him to use. bakugou taps his cheek and cleans closer to let the little girl wipe his face with a tiny chubby hand. they chatter for the rest of the ride home— the girl bashfully twirling her hair around her fingers as katsuki compliments her quirk.

leaning your head on katsuki’s soused shoulder while you walk home, you look up at him with an adoring expression, wondering what he’d be like with a little girl of your own. “that was quiet adorable mister ground zero, you stole my hear away!” you tease, kissing your linked hands.

“yeah? well don’t get used to it shitty woman.” he says through gritted teeth and marches you both through the rain to get you home but the blush on his face tells you otherwise. if you ever had a daughter, you could only imagine what he’d be like with her.

katsuki heads straight for the shower when you get in, leaving you to pick a movie and order takeout as you’d discussed on the way home.

it was a regular routine for you both on nights off; you always picked the movie because if you left it up to your fiancé you’d end up watching some boring documentary on all might or cooking ( he was a closeted nerd at heart ). 

you settle on a cheesy romcom that you’ve seen about a hundred times because for one;  it’s your favourite and two, you’ll never get tired of seeing bakugou cry towards the end of the movie.

“take out should be here in twenty!” you call to your lover, when he passes by you to enter your living room.

“got it, now go wash up before you catch a cold, stupid—“ the ends of katsuki’s words are cut off by your stream of giggles, bouncing off your cream coloured walls. your ash blonde fiancé has half a mind to curse you out for slapping his ass through his fresh set of sweat pants but rolls his eyes nonetheless. 

he finishes pulling his tank top over his head while heading deeper into the room, not wanting to answer the door without one ( as much as your regular delivery driver would like that ).

while in the shower, you manage to scrub away stains of the rain and soreness from the day— washing over sweet love marks from katsuki with pride. a temporary reminder of his eternal love for you and you only. 

there’s already a change of clothes waiting for you when you step out of the shower; one of his old shirts and a set of boxers that you slip into comfortably. your nostrils are filled with nothing but the alluring scent of burning sugar, the traces left by bakugou himself.

he’s already munching on a box of tempura by the time you’ve headed back downstairs, crimson eyes light up when they land on you and you make a dive for the couch— rolling into katsuki’s side. “did you tip the delivery driver?” you ask, watching as your fiancé dips a piece of the food into some sauce before he holds it up to your lips.

“damn right i did, i didn’t wanna though…they kept staring at my arms,” bakugou revels in the way you laugh around the piece of food he pushes into your mouth. you chew with a grateful smile, the look of amusement never leaving your pretty face. “whatcha laughin’ at dumbass?”

“i think you forget how much the public loves your arms, ground zero.”

as soon as you press play on the movie, time seems to fly away from you both— the air is filled with streams of laughter and moments where you swipe from one another’s plates, picking on one another fondly. somehow by the time the film reaches it’s climax the food has been devoured and you’ve ended up huddling into bakugou’s chest. 

fingers laced with yours, bakugou twirls the diamond engagement ring you have on, around your finger, smiling at the precious reminder that you’re to be his forever and always.  “where do you think we’ll be in the future?” you question quietly, nuzzling into your fiancé’s side.

“married, of course.” crimson eyes find yours in the dimly lit room, almost rolling annoyance as if your question is the dumbest thing in the world. in response, you lean up and squish the explosive pro’s cheeks together and beam up at him while he scowls at you.

“stupid, you know that’s not what i meant,” the words despite harsh, leave your lips dreamily and a contented expression crosses your face. “i see us with kids, in a house much bigger than this one and a backyard that stretches for miles and miles—“ your words die warmly in your throat, figuring that you’ve gotten slightly carried away with the fanticies you’ve made for yourself and katsuki. 

in your mind, you can’t help but conjour up a litter of tiny bakugou’s running around a plush green garden— maybe a little dog too and your heart swells in your chest at the idea.

the hot head squeezes your hand, resurfacing you from your sea of thoughts. “you want kids? with me?” his voice is barely above a whisper, all of his vulnerabilities splayed out in the tone as he looks at you warmly.

“a whole family with you, as many as you want.”

suddenly, bakugou has you flipped onto your back and pinned underneath his muscular frame. 

his warm breath fans across your face making your eyes fall heavy with adoration. “four.” the blonde grunts, swooping down to brush his lips gently across yours, not quite kissing you much to your dismay. “i want four of those snotty little gremlins with you, maybe have the fifth by accident and then we’ll get a big fucking house for them to destroy—“

“f-five kids katsu?” you gasp out your words at katsuki starts to press increasingly harsh kisses to your jawline, settling on your neck while he licks over bites he’d left earlier today. 

bakugou murmurs something about ‘you said as many as i want’ before he’s growling at your hands that find their way into his blonde locks, tugging on them tightly as pleasure overwhelms your senses. 

he hums against your sweet skin, finding his place between your legs at the same time as his thoughts take him away from you. he’d love to see you pregnant, so full of his love and his children.

the movie is long forgotten by now as lust settles in every corner of the room. hands push beneath your shirt, groping and massaging your breasts to pull all sorts of sounds from you. 

bakugou forces a knee between your thighs, finally capturing your lips in a hungry and heated kiss— his tongue slips in your mouth after he pinches your thigh, fighting yours in a passionate dance for dominance. “gonna fuck a shitty little brat into you, yn,” katsuki almost whines as he pulls away from your inviting lips to press your foreheads together. you look gorgeous beneath him, flustered with swollen lips from each of your rough kisses and there’s no doubt in his mind you’re thinking the same about him. “gonna fill you up so good, gonna make pretty babies with you, hah?”

“ka-katsuki!” you can’t help but mewl at his breathless sinful words while you fist at his tank top. everything is hot, burning hot and you grind up into him with a newfound desperation, the friction against his hardening length sending your eyes rolling with ecstasy.. “we’re not even— mmm god, right there— we’re not even married yet!”

“gonna be at some point, why waste time fucking trying? not when i can cum in you and give you one right fucking now—“  bakugou moans heavily into your ear, diving back into a sloppy kiss as he fumbles around with the string of his sweatpants. 

you’re whimpering out for him, pulling the blonde into a lustful trance while you make a move to kick off your underwear when the sound of shattering glass pierces through the bubble of horniness you’ve both created. “shit.”

you both freeze and your matching gazes drop to the floor; a rapidly growing stain of red wine spilling onto the carpet under the coffee table your take out was on. 

the fluffy white rug had been a housewarming gift that katsuki begrudgingly accepted from your old school friend and fellow pro, izuku midoriya— so the sight of the now ruined rug makes you both burst out into harmonious laughter. you’re sure the number one wouldn’t mind. it’d make a great wedding story too.

you focus your eyes back on katsuki, cupping his face as that same love filled smile from earlier returns to your face. ”let’s start trying tomorrow, then?”

“tomorrow it is.” bakugou grins back, dotting your hairline with sweet pecks before cuddling into you.

baby making can wait for now, he supposes, for with another day off— he has all the time and all the love in the world to give to you.

[stellocchia]

Okay, okay, Undertale AU now. 

So... I’ve been playing Undertale again... as I do once a year since it came out. It’s tradition. So I was kind of thinking who from the Dsmp whould fit which role... and yeah... 

(I also wanted to add that none of the characters who are in a romantic relationship in the game are in this au. As a matter of fact, no romance in general here!)

First of all, we gotta give the role of Frisk to Ranboo, not because he played Undertale, but because of that one time that he told the story of how he flirted with his opponents in volleyball (was it volleyball? Maybe another sport. It’s irrelevant!) and that’s simply a very Frisk thing to do...

Then first monster we encounter is Flowey and... I mean... that’s c!Dream right there. All the focus on “fun” and “power” and seeing life as a “game” and the bloodlust... yeah, no that’s definitely Dream right there. 

Then Toriel comes in! Yay! Puffy is Toriel, no doubt. Both of them have a focus on protecting the children and they’re both really kind, but can get hella scary when angry... 

Also Niki is Napstablook ... mostly because she basically did end up haunting/being haunted by the Secret City for a while... also pretty sure both like music and are pretty soft spoken

Then we get the skeleton brothers! Well, Sans first... and who would fit Sans better then Wilbur! Both of their characters struggled heavily with mental health related problems and they are both really strong but somehow also weak at the same time... (strongest boss in the game with 1 hp and all that) not to mention that they both have way too many simps...

Also that means Tommy is Papyrus. I do not make the rules here. Hyper younger brother who is endlessly optimistic and soft hearted? Yep! That’s him!

Which, may have you think that Tubbo is Undyne because, you know, best friends, but no. Undyne is, in fact, Philza Minecraft everybody. They don’t call him Angel of Death for nothing, so he definitely gets to be the captain of the royal guard in this one! He’s just a much more laid back but equally deadly Undyne.

Also Techno gets the role of the socially anxious nerdy scientist, because he’s been ibernating under a pile of dogs for a few months now and also because he once got peer pressured into murder much like Alphys did into building a murderous robot... so yeah. 

Also, to complete the ghost family now: Jack Manifold gets the role of Mad Dummy, cousin of Napstablook, because they’re both short, bald and full of spite

And none other then Eret gets the role of Mettaton (other cousin of Napstablook) because they’re both absolutely fabulous and because they’d rock the Mettaton EX form...

Moving on,Schlatt is Asgore. He and Puffy are brother and sister. Why? Because they are both sheeps and it would fit... though admittedly Schlatt has had less moral qualms with killing children then Asgore so far, they do both have that in common as well

Which brings us to Tubbo inevitably being Asriel, because sheep guy, but also because, as a character, he has a history of being pushed around by power hungry people with more charisma then him, and also because Asriel in his God of Hyperdeath form has a f*cking rainbow laser cannon and I think that’s a very Tubbo thing to have...

Quackity is Chara. Both are pretty vengful and power-hungry characters who are not afraid of doing some seriously f*cked up shit to get to their goals, but also they both care about those close to them deeply and have a sort of tragedy to their character

Also Awesamdude gets to be Gaster, and no it’s not only because there is as much Awesamdad fan content as there was Dadster despite neither of them ever being confirmed as canon, but because both characters are brilliant inventors who got screwed over by their own creation...

For some other fun bonuses I could think about: 

Sapnap as Monster Kid just because of the absurdly chaotic personality

BBH gets to be Muffet, for no particular reason aside from general vibe

Foolish as Burgerpants because they’re both underpaid and extremely stressed

Punz as Grillby because: money and intimidating aura

Purpled as Nice Cream Guy because: money

And this is pretty much all I could think about... I would include others but I’m kind of stomped at the moment...

So here’s some revisited quotes instead (under the cut):

Flowey!Dream: “Howdy! it’s me Dream. Dream the Dreamon!”

Toriel!Puffy: “Did you want to hear about the book I’m reading? It’s called “72 ways to crack an Egg”. How about it?”

Papyrus!Tommy: “Ah yes, Music Disks, a great reference for theoretical battle scenarios and parties! To which I get invited just constantly!”

Papyrus!Tommy: “W-well, that’s not what I expected... but st- still! I believe in you prick! You can definitely do better! Even if you don’t think so! I... promise....”

Sans!Wilbur: “On days like this, kids like you... should be suffering in Limbo!”

Sans!Wilbur: “Just... don’t say I didn’t warn you. Well. I’m going to Punz’s. Tommy, do you want anything?”

Undyne!Phil: “...Forget it. Look mate. Tommy didn't come to his meeting today. Say what you want about him. He's loud, he's bit selfish, he's obsessed with disks... But Tommy has NEVER missed a meeting. (...) But now he's gone. And his brother isn't around, either. ... What did you do to him? What did you DO TO HIM? Tommy, who I have trained every day... Even though I KNOW he's too soft to ever hurt anyone. Tommy who is... was just a child... ... Go ahead. Prepare however you want. But when you step forward... I will KILL you”

Alphys!Techno: “A long time ago, I made a robot named Eret. Originally I built them to be a farmer robot for my potatoes... didn’t turn out quite right there. Anyway, recently I decided to make them more useful. Heh, you know, just some practical adjustments.... and I might have been carried away a bit and added some, um... Anti-human combat features?”

Asgore!Schlatt: “I'd like to ask, 'would you like a protein shake?' But... you know how it is”

Asriel!Tubbo: “I always was a pushover, wasn’t I, Quackity? I know... you’re not actually Quackity are you? Quackity’s been gone for a long time. Um... what... what is your name? Ranboo? That’s... a weird name bossman...”

Chara!Quackity: “Hey man. I am Quackity. Thank you man. Your power brought me back from Limbo. My "human soul"... my "determination"... they were not mine, but YOURS. At first, I was so confused. Our plan had failed, hadn't it? Why was I brought back to life? ...You. With your “guidance” I realized the purpose of my reincarnation: POWER”

[siriushxney]

⊱┊ searing light | chapter one

— pairing ; darkling!dream x sun summoner!reader

— au ; shadow and bone

— wordcount ; 1.7k

— warnings ; cursing, talks of war, no dream yet but he will appear somewhere in the next few parts!

series masterlist | next

the fold was scarier then you could've ever imagined — it stretched for miles upon miles, casting a shadow down upon where it stood. down onto the land of ravka. for centuries the blackness of it stood tall — no way to get through, under, or over safely. but despite the risks and dangers, with war raging on both sides of the country — you had no choice to go through for resources.

climbing out of the back of the truck, you could feel the rocks digging into the soles of your feet as you walked alongside the rest of your squadron — the cheap leather boots that were supplied to you and the rest of the first army, doing nothing to shield your feet from the rough and jagged ground. but despite the aching state that the boots left your feet in at the end of the day, you reminded yourself daily that it could've been worse. you could have been on the next skiff to enter the fold — the chance of coming back being slim to none.

anything was better than going into the fold.

“Y/L/N, why don’t you keep the move on?” another cartographer bumped their shoulder into your own, knocking you out of your tense state, and urging you to continue moving down towards your new camp.

everyone in ravka knew what the fold looked like — it was hard not to when it stood at unreachable heights and stretched the length of the country. but despite this, you had never been this close. no one ever spoke of the coldness it radiated, bringing a chill and goosebumps to anyone that dared to near it. and the thing that no one could have prepared you for at all was the sounds.

the sounds of the creatures that lived inside of the black barrier, screeching at deafening volumes and with such ferocity that it could send even the bravest of man or woman running for the hills.

with a deep breath and encouragement for yourself running through your head like a mantra, you pushed forward, closer and closer to the fold.

“Y/N!” you stopped in your tracks — the other cartographers passing you with quick feet and watchful eyes. turning, you caught a glimpse of a boy that you knew all too well — wilbur. while he was also in the first army, he was named a tracker due to his brilliant mind and tracking skills — skills that proved to be beneficial numerous times, making him one of, if not the best tracker in all of ravka. “you know, for a little mapmaker like yourself, you sure do have quick feet,” wilbur threw his arms around your shoulders, pulling you to continue walking beside him.

“you know, for an amazing tracker like yourself, you do stick out like a sore thumb — what if you're on enemy territory? they're gonna spot you from miles away, you tree.”

“I’ll have you know that despite my large stature, I’m quite good at blending into my surroundings — that and I don’t wear bright colours like them,” wilbur halted, standing awkwardly as he watched the group clothed in bright purple, blue, and red observed and trained with eagle like eyes — their hands drawn to grasp in front of their body as they waited their turn to strike the dummy.

them — the grisha.

grisha were people, much like you and wilbur, who were gifted with abilities like no other — abilities that could either take, or save a man's life. there were three orders of the grisha — the corporalki, the order of the living and the dead, who had people known as heartrenders, healers, and tailors; the materialki, the order of fabrikator’s who had people known as durasts and alkemi; and then there was etherealki, the order of the summoners, who had people known as squallers, inferni, and tidemakers.

but there was one being that you had heard about — someone they named the darkling. a grisha who did not possess an ability like any other — instead, he had the ability to summon and control darkness itself. a walking horror story with the ability to wipe out dozens if he wished.

he came from a line of them — a line consisting of only his families blood.

“I can feel their ego wafting onto us from here,” wilbur whispered slightly, not wanting any of them to hear due to their nature to lash out at people they considered ‘lower’ than themselves.

“no kidding,” you looked around the area in wonder, before looking down to your hands — a map that the head cartographer had handed each and every one of you before you arrived at the camp, displayed your tent being directly where the grisha now stood. “wait… this is where my tent is supposed to be, is it not?” you spun slightly as if it would magically appear.

wilbur stopped your spinning, and guided you towards a different area of the base. “they moved our tents this way, in order for the grisha to have more room — as if the entire upper region of the base wasn’t enough for them,” he couldn't help but grumble out now that he was farther away from the gifted individuals, throwing one more glare before looking ahead once more.

you casted one more look over your shoulder as you followed beside him — one grisha catching your eye for a moment before she turned away. the purple of her uniform — something that they called a kefta, catching your eye instantly alongside the grey embroidering on it. she was a durast — someone who could manipulate things such as steel and glass.

as much as grisha were dangerous and cold — they had a knack for looking their best at every waking moment, with a style that could kill. quite literally.

—

many of the first army stood shoulder to shoulder as they were awaiting orders — the general standing overhead with a paper in hand that no doubt held the list of names of the unfortunate people that would be ushered onto the skiff that would cross the fold.

wringing your hands nervously, you waited for your name or wilburs to be called, hoping and praying to any saint that would bother to listen. wilbur dug his elbow into your shoulder lightly, drawing your attention to him. “we’re among the youngest batch of the first army — we’re in the clear,” he spoke his words with such certainty. but as much as you wanted to believe him, you couldn't.

“I don’t know… I have a weird feeling, wil,” you gave him a serious look, only to be brushed off with a roll of his eyes. “I’m serious — somethings not right.”

wilbur brought a hand to your forehead, feeling for any sign of heat that could indicate sickness, before lowering it slowly and leaning it. “maybe you should rest — I think all those waffles you’ve eaten are making you fall ill,” while his joke was lighthearted, you couldn't help but sigh.

sigh over the fact that he didn’t believe you in the slightest, and sighing at the fact that you haven’t had a full meal, let alone waffles, in over five years — merely table scraps left over from the grisha’s wonderful and elegant meals they were served daily.

“attention soldiers! tomorrow is the first journey through the fold of this season, and we are taking volunteers!” the room laughed at that, the general included — no one sought out to enter the fold — you were selected and that was final. “knowing that none of you will volunteer however, I have taken it upon myself to select a group of you that will accompany the second army across the fold.”

the first army was full of people like you and wilbur — mapmakers, trackers, and ordinary soldiers that could barely hold their own in a fight. mere children when they entered the army, chosen based on how healthy they were. if you could walk, talk, and breathe normally — you were selected.

the second army however, is what the battles were one with — with grisha only ranks, they dominated against the fjerdans and the shu, two nations that had it out for ravka.

no one could bring themselves to laugh this time around — all too weary and nervous to crack a joke.

“entering the fold tomorrow will be… malyen oretsev, atlas cooper, wilbur soot...” you turned to wilbur in horror. “please come to the docks at 1600 for deployment. that will be all soldiers,” the general stepped down from the stage, leaving a room full of shocked, scared, and relieved soldiers.

he tried to put on a strong face for you, but you could see through it as if it were glass. the man that he was today had retreated into the scared and small boy who could never fight for himself. “wil…” you could only whisper tearfully, knowing full well that this moment could be the last time you’d ever see him.

wilbur slapped on the best smile he could in the situation, and pulled your into a hug. “I’m going to be okay, you hear me? if not you can kick my ass,” he laughed lightly in your ear, not able to hide the way his voice shook.

“I can’t kick your ass if you're hurt,” your mind searched for some way that you could fix this — perhaps it was a mistake? or maybe he could get out of it through faking an injury or a sickness. “what if I shot you in the foot?”

“you have a terrible aim.”

“if it means you stay, wouldn’t you take the chance?”

“I have to go.”

“wil-”

“Y/N,” he gave you a look — a look that you had given him minutes before. “I have to go — I have orders to, you know that.”

an order was an order. there was no way out. no amount of arguing, begging, or offering could buy your way out of doing something no matter what your case was, or what the order was. wilbur swore to follow orders at the beginning of his first army career, much like you had.

“I promise you I’ll come back to you.”

“you better,” your head lowered to his chest once more, basking in the warmth one more time before you had to let him go.

if there was really anything as saints, you prayed for them to watch over him.

he had to come back.

because you didn’t know what you would do if he didn’t.

— word bank

grisha [gree - shah] — unique individuals who have abilities

ravka — a country in the books of shadow and bone

corporalki [core - pour - ral - kee] — an order in the grisha

materialki [mat - eire - al - kee] — an order in the grisha

etherialki [ether - ree - al - kee] — an order in the grisha

fjerdan [fee - yair - den] — the ethnicity of fjerda residents

shu [shoo] — the ethnicity of shu-han residents

[tomtenadia]

A Little Braver - Chapter 2

I think I will be brave as well and post chapter 2.

In the chapter when Rowan muses about his call sign he uses the term FNG - it literally mean Fucking new guy. In US military it describes a newcomer.

Enjoy the chapter!

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The next morning Rowan was on his way to the fire station. He had left the house a bit early to allow for traffic or getting lost. In the end he had arrived with ten minutes to spare. He parked the car along the road and walked to the main area in front of the station and stopped. 

The tall training building was on fire and a few people were outside in front of it as if in waiting. He searched for the captain but she was not there. He wanted to go and ask to the team about her whereabouts but did not want to interrupt the training session. So he just decided to lean against a wall of the fire station, arms folded at his chest and just watch the drill. 

He was curious about why they were not using the truck or water and wondered if they were following a specific exercise.

Being a fighter pilot was full of risks but by looking at the raging fire and thinking that there were people willingly putting themselves through that inferno made him shiver. He’d rather been strapped in a metal cage than in a house on fire.

All of a sudden a figure ran out of the building carrying what looked like a dummy and two more followed.  He gasped when he recognised the captain. The dummy she was carrying on her shoulders must have weighed a ton and he was impressed. He followed her, dumping the dummy on the ground and joining the tall blonde man and pat him on the shoulder looking happy. His lips turned up in a hint of a smile.

Her eyes met his and she gave him a huge smile and Rowan straightened up and pulled away from the wall. She walked to him while unbuttoning her bulky fireproof jacket.

“Morning Captain,” she brushed her hair away from her face and Rowan’s heart started to race.

“Enjoyed the show?”

He cleared his voice while he tried to gain some sense again “That was fascinating.”

“Can you give me twenty minutes to have a very quick shower and get changed? You don’t want to be in a meeting with a stinky woman.”

Captain Whitethorn nodded “Take your time.”

“You can go and meet the guys. They are a friendly bunch.” She offered “just ignore the lewd jokes.”

“Thank you for the head’s up.”

Aelin ran away and he gathered some courage and walked to the team. He was not the best around people he did not know, but he wanted to play nice.

He took another step and the tall blond man noticed him and walked with purpose toward him and offered him his hand “Captain Whitethorn isn’t it?”

Rowan nodded.

“Aelin told us you were coming. I am Lieutenant Ashryver.”

Rowan nodded and studied the man in front of him and noticed that his posture and attitude screamed military. After he had spent all his adult life in the force he had gotten used to spot one of them. He had the same feeling at the base during the fire. 

“Can I introduce you to our team?”

“Gladly.”

Aedion turned to the red-haired woman “Ladies first. This is Ansel. Never leave her and Aelin alone because then you are in trouble.”

“Hey, I’ll tell her you said that and she will put you on truck cleaning duties for a month.” Aedion ignored her and continued “then here we have Brullo, Nox, Ress, Ren and finally Luca.” He grabbed the young man’s shoulder “he is our probie. He finished the academy and he joined us a few months ago. For now he is coming to the less serious calls but we are planning on coddling him a bit less and make him see the real stuff as well.”

Then the man turned around, scanning the area in search for something or someone “we also have two EMTs, Elide and Lysandra but they must be around the station doing something. You will meet them anyway.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“Everyone, clean up and don’t leave everything to Luca. All of you haul ass. Nox, Ren you are on equipment duty. Ansel, Ress you two are on uniform checks. Brullo, take Luca with you and go over him some truck procedures for before and after calls. Now away all of you.”

Rowan chuckled. The man was definitely ex military. 

“Where did you serve?” He asked the man taking a chance.

“I was in the army. I was an artillery specialist. Once I retired Aelin called me saying her station was looking for recruits and I applied for the job. Guess my experience with explosives and such was a plus. Many years later I am still here and still loving it.” Then he studied the Captain “how did you guess?”

“Your posture. It’s the stick up your arse, as Captain Galathynius would say, that gets drilled into you from day one. The way you give order, again, very familiar.”

“Call her Aelin, Cap or Captain. She hates being called Captain Galathynius.”

Rowan raised a eyebrow with curiosity for that statement.

“I usually call her brat or menace.” Aedion chuckled “she is my cousin. I have known her since we were little. I have earned that privilege.”

Aedion started walking back into the station and Captain Whitethorn followed him.

“She has the bas habit of not filtering what she wants to say, can be brash and very vocal when she is mad at something or someone, but she loves her job and her team. She loves being a firefighter. She might be young be she is extremely capable. She is the first female captain. Absurd to think that before her it was just a boy’s club, eh?” The man joked, and lead him into a big spacious room with a lone table and chair and a kitchen at the bottom of it “If she keeps likes this I can see her climbing up the ladder pretty quickly, although I cannot imagine her in a desk job.”

Rowan knew very little about the woman but he had the same feeling.

“This is where we spend most of the time when we are on shift, all tasks are done and just wait for a call. We have books, video-games, tv… you name it. And like all families we fight for who controls the remote.”

Aelin joined them a moment later “Are you giving our Captain the tour?”

“Yes, just the cheap tour for now. You can give him the proper one later.” Aedion winked at her.

“I guess that after our meeting, the Captain will be more than happy to get rid of me.

“I gave you a tour of the base, I would love a tour of the station.”

Aelin’s mouth almost fell open in disbelief.

“If you are not fed up with me we can think about it.” And she turned around and walked away the same way he did the day before. 

Aedion gestured with his head to follow her and Rowan ran after her.

“I am sorry for the delay. Once I got back to work yesterday I had an email saying that our annual performance review is due in three weeks. I did not have a way to contact you otherwise I would have pushed the meeting forward a bit.”

“It was actually interesting watching you guys train.” He followed her to her office and took the seat she offered “we have performance reviews as well. What do you guys have to do?”

Aelin was caught off guard by him being talkative all of a sudden “We get tested on our abilities. We usually go to the academy, are given a scenario and the whole team has to work as if that was a real call. We also get to perform some individual tasks and those are timed. It’s a very stressful period.”

“You can leave our project to me until you are done with your review. I am happy to give you an update and you can come once a week to check how things are progressing if you are too busy.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me, Captain?” She smiled at him, leaning back in her chair.

He shook his head and she noticed him finally relaxing and sitting more comfortably in his chair “we have those review as well and they are always stressful for the team and I am aware how much of my time, preparing drills takes me. I am offering you to concentrate on your mission ahead for now and then catch up in three weeks.”

Was he actually being nice to her?

“I will be fine captain, but thank you for the offer. I appreciate it.”

“If you change your mind, my offer will still be on the table.”

“So,” she said quite abruptly changing the subject. If he even thought she needed his help because she was a woman he was in for a tough ride.

Aelin grabbed a folder with her plan. She had spent the entire previous day working on it. “These are the copies for you.” And she passed him a pile of papers “they are the ideas and changes I would like to suggest. I believe that is the part you will have to discuss with your CO. the biggest and probably most time consuming change is the extra door. All the other suggestions are repairs and perhaps replacements of old parts. I would like to explain again that these changes are not up for discussion. They need to happen.”

Captain Whitethorn nodded “I have discussed the matter with my CO after our meeting and he understands that and agrees. He promised me that he will fight until the last ditch if they start blocking him with budget bullshit, his exact words.”

“Please tell Air Commodore Salvaterre that I appreciate his cooperation. It goes in the interest of every single person who works at the base. Him included.”

“This pile here is a draft of possible training sessions for both your squadron and the ground crew. I want basic fire prevention training, fire extinguisher training, reviews of fire drills. I would like to do some training, especially with the ground crew on fuels handling, fuel storing and clearing spillages. Your squadron will be welcome as well. I think it will benefit everyone.” She flipped through her notes “I would like to nominate a couple of people as Fire champions or any other name we can come up with. Their role would be to perform monthly deep inspections and weekly spot checks. The idea is that by doing this, you are always on the ball with any problems. Of course we will provide training on how to do all this.” She kept explaining and the man in front of her listened to her with great interest, never interrupting her. 

“Needless to say that fire prevention is everyone’s job. See it, report it. And if you can, fix it.” She jotted down a few things “of course all of this depends on our rosters. I don’t know how it works for you guys but we work in shift patterns.”

“My squadron and I, we work Monday to Friday when we are ground-side. Ground staff such as engineers for example, they tend to follow shift patterns as well. I can talk to the supervisors for the mechanics and engineering team and see if I can get a roster from them. They are aware of the fact that extra training is on its way.”

“Please do. I have a feeling that will be the biggest job.”

“Do you have any questions for me so far?”

“Which venue will we use?”

Aelin tapped her pen on the table “I was thinking here if it’s okay with you. We have the equipment, also we don’t have maximum security checks.”

“Speaking of security…” he extracted something from his pocket “`I have your badge.”

Aelin took the badge he offered in surprise.

“I imagine we will be working together quite a lot and you will need to visit the base as well on a regular basis. You have now the badge with consultant clearance. It’s not a lot, but it will grant you access to all the are you will need. And no more forms to fill.”

“Thank you, captain,” she was speechless “Thank you for trusting me.”

She smiled fondly at him and Rowan realised he’d do literally anything to see that smile. It was intoxicating.

They worked for a few hours and Aelin realised it was not as bad as she had feared. The captain had been very keen to listen to her plans and making suggestions according to his knowledge of the base and his team. He had also looked a bit less uncomfortable and more willing to have a full conversation instead of monosyllables. At least it was progress and since it looked like they were going to work together for a while it was a good thing. 

When her stomach grumbled loudly she coughed embarrassed to try and cover it but the very faint hint of a grin on the captain’s lips told her that he had head her.

“We can stop for lunch, captain.”

Aelin almost blushed “I guess so. I think I have a black hole forming in my stomach. Those drills always leave me famished.” She stood “there is a lovely diner very nearby. Can I interest you in lunch? It’s on me. But no shop talk.” She was ready for a refusal but the captain stood and nodded.

“I’d like lunch.”

When they left the office they met Elide and Lysandra carrying boxes full of supplies to stock the ambulance. As soon as Rowan noticed he jumped forward and offered to help Elide.

“Let me carry them. They are quite bulky.”

“Thank you,” said the woman flashing a smile to Aelin then showed the captain the direction to the ambulance.

“Where do I place it?” He asked once they were arrived. Elide opened the back door of the vehicle “just here. Lys and I will sort through everything. Thank for the help.”

Lysandra dropped all her stuff and turned to the two captains.

“These are Lysandra and Elide, they are our two resident EMTs.”

“Ladies, this is captain Whitethorn.”

Lysandra mouthed hot to Aelin and the woman rolled her eyes. 

“The captain and I were going for lunch. Could you please tell Aedion to man the fort for me while I am away? I am just going to Emrys and I have a radio with me if anything happens.”

The woman nodded “I know the drill. Go, enjoy lunch.”

The two captains left “we are walking. The place is just down the road. We are all regulars there.”

Five minutes later they reached the small diner and Rowan thought the place looked cosy and felt like the good old fashioned family run restaurant.

“Emrys and his husband Malakai have been running this place since forever. It’s an institution in the neighbourhood.”

“Aelin, my girl.” A very smiling Emrys walked from behind the counter and went to hug the woman “Are you keeping well?”

“Of course.”

“Two today?” He asked looking at the Aelin’s companion.

“Yes please. Can we sit anywhere?”

“Go ahead.” He gestured pointing at the tables.

“Quiet today?”

“Not at all. You just missed the rush. Until twenty minutes ago we were full. Malkai is delivering an order to the police station.”

Aelin walked to the table near the window and invited Rowan to join her.

“Here’s the menu for your friend. Let me know when you are ready to order.”

Rowan took the menu, opened it and lowered his head to start reading it.

Aelin studied him for a moment while he was distracted. Stared at his hands and noticed the hint of a tattoo sneaking from underneath the uniform. Interesting, she would have never pinned the man as someone who would have a tattoo. A smile tugged at her lips. A part of her wanted quite badly to get to know him a bit more. “Your hair,” she asked “has it always been silver or it became like that with age?” Then she stopped embarrassed “I mean I am not saying that you look old. I just meant as if it got like that as you grew up.”

He lifted his head from the menu and his piercing green eyes settled on her “I was born like this. Apparently it runs in my family.”

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. I was just curious.”

He gave her a half a smile. It did not linger. It was quick and for a second she thought she had imagined it “I am used to it.” He tapped on the plastic menu “you haven’t decided yet?”

“Oh no, I don’t need a menu. I know it by heart and I know what I want.”

Emrys came back and both placed their orders and Aelin enjoyed the shocked expression on the captain.

“You can’t possibly eat all that stuff.”

“Watch me.”

The silence grew uncomfortable again. It looked as if he was chatty only when it came to work.

“Why did you join the airforce?”

For a moment he looked stunned at her question “I was eighteen and fresh out of high school. Happy I was done studying. My parents wanted me to go to uni, but the idea of spending four more years on books was not for me.” He explained and noticed she had he hands folded under her chin “One day I met Lorcan. We knew each other from before already, being both from Wendlyn and all. It was nice to see a friendly face in a new place. Anyway, he told me he had moved here to Terrasen with the TAF. He told me they were recruiting and I went to the base during an open day. The day after I had signed up and a month later I was starting pilot academy.”

“Where in Wendlyn?”

“Doranelle.”

“I was there once. On holiday with…” no, not time yet “with a friend. We loved it very much.”

He nodded “It’s a nice place, but I must admit that after so many years I feel like an adopted citizen of Terrasen. Orynth is quite a gorgeous place.”

Emrys came with their food and Rowan noticed how skilfully placed all the plates on the table. As if he was used to have all those orders from her.

“You can’t be serious and actually eat all this food.”

Aelin tackled her first plate “watch the pro at work, captain.” She gave him a smile and Rowan shook his head and tackled his food.

“Why firefighter?”

He noticed her still for a second and the happiness wash away from her face in an instant. Fuck. Wrong question already.

“I was eight.” She said playing with her food for a moment “I was out playing with some of my friends. I was on my way home when I saw two massive fire trucks in front of my house and my home on fire.” She placed the fork on the plate “I ran toward the house but this fireman stopped me. I was crying and calling for my parents. He hugged me, he told me they were working to try and save my parents. I remember trashing in his arms to get free but he held me tight.” She took a bit to keep herself busy while telling the story “he took me to the back of the engine and showed me some of the tools and explained to me how the engine worked. He distracted me while his colleagues worked to stop the fire and save my parents.” She finally met his gaze “it took them almost two hours to kill the fire. After that there was nothing left of the house and of my life. My parents had been found dead in the house. The gas boiler has suffered a fault and basically exploded. They stood no chance.”

“Aelin I am…” his hand moved slowly closer to hers and brushed it gently “I am so sorry.”

“When I grew up I decided I wanted to be like the firemen who attended my fire. I wanted to rush into a house on fire and try to save some person’s parents of spouse and help them avoid the loss I suffered. I wanted to be like the man who stood with me and distracted me.”

Her finger lifted a little and met his almost in acknowledgement “Aedion’s family took me in. As soon as I finished high school I was like you. I had no interest in uni. So I signed up for the fire academy.”

“Sorry for ruining lunch.”

She shook her head and flicked his finger playfully. That had been the first contact between them. He had always kept his distance and that little flicker of affection made he heart flutter. The man was a puzzle. He could go from stone cold bastard to this in a small amount of time.

Aelin finished her food and noticed the captain staring at her with curiosity.

“I cannot believe it.”

“Told you,” she smiled at him with a smug expression “and I am even going to get cake.”

“No you are not.”

In defiance she stood and went to the counter and ordered chocolate hazelnut cake from Emrys. She came back and sat down again and ate the whole slice.

“Remind me to apply for a mortgage if I ever take you out for dinner.” At those words Rowan froze. He did not mean to do say that. It was supposed to be a joke but he should have learned by now that he was bad at making jokes.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Iceman.”

His head shoot up and looked at her. She had used his callsign. Something that only his squadron members would ever use. They all had one. It was a tradition. But it also meant something. It was always the other pilots in the team who choose the callsign. Never the pilot himself. It was a rite of passage that welcome you in the squadron. In a family. He got his one because of his hair. Everyone thought it was because he was cool and calm under pressure but no. When he was still one of the FNG he went through his naming ceremony like all the others FNG and they had decided he was going to be iceman because with his hair he reminded them of a creature from the snowy glaciers of the Staghorn mountains, hence iceman. Hearing her calling him like that made his heart skip a beat.

“We don’t have call signs. We got nicknames but nothing official like you guys.” She polished the plate from the chocolate left from the cake “the guys usually call me Captain or Cap. Aedion is the worst. Because he is my cousin he takes the liberty to call me brat or menace. I should really write him up for insubordination.”

She tapped his hand “come on grampa, let’s get back to work.” And stood. Rowan had wanted to grab that hand and hold it for a moment. It felt as if a small shift had happened in their weird work relationship.

Aelin paid for the meal as promised and they walked back to the station “are you sure you will be able to concentrate with all that food in you?”

On the way back Aelin looked up at the sky and noticed a few flakes that had started to follow. “Looks like it’s going to snow.”

She turned her head and caught Rowan sniffing the air, the eyes closed and a relaxed expression. The hard lines of his face had disappeared and the faint smile on his lips changed him completely. Yes, the man was hot but there was more to it. The very rare times that his face softened his eyes lit up as well turning a deeper green and made him stunning. She had a feeling those moments were rare and was glad that she had caught at least a couple. Like right now, his body relaxed enjoying the first flakes of snow. That was a precious insight in the man at her side.

“You like winter?” She broke the magic.

His eyes snapped open and his face turned hard again as if he hated being caught enjoying something.

“I do.” He said softly “I love the snow and winters in Terrasen are incredible.

Aelin smiled. His scent. His scent reminded her of Terrasen. Pine and snow. She had smelled it the other day while she was inside his plane and he was quite close to her. He smelled like winter and realised for a second that the nickname Iceman was perfect as well for that reason and not just because he could be a cold hearted bastard. They got back to the station and she found it quiet apart from Brullo and Luca near the fire engine. Apparently the man was explaining the youngster some of the routine checks they performed. He was their resident engineer and mechanic so he was the best one for that type of training.

“Nice lunch, Cap? Did you eat all the food at Emrys?”

“The vegetables are still there. They are safe.” Aelin turned when noticed that the joke came from Rowan.

Brullo and Luca burst out laughing “oh he is good.” Added the older man.

“My eating habits are the joke of the station.”

“Cap, they are insane.” Added Luca.

Aelin turned to Rowan and he lifted and eyebrow as if to say I agree with them.

She turned again on her colleagues “one more joke from the two of you and I’ll have you scrub the station from top to bottom with a toothbrush.” Then she turned on her feet and walked away to her office. 

Rowan tapped his hat in salute to the two men and followed her. He found her in the kitchen making coffee “Do you drink coffee?”

“I don’t think I could function without it.”

“Good. We basically drink it by the litre. It keeps you alive on a night shifts.”

She made some coffee and offered him a mug “milk, sugar?”

“Black, thank you.”

He watched her as she dropped two spoonfuls of sugar in it “All this sugar is not good for you.”

“Shhh you heathen.”

He rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee “Thank you for lunch by the way.”

“My treat, for working with me.” She apologised, while leaning against the counter and drinking her coffee.

“You are not as bad as I thought. I agree with Aedion, you are a brat and a menace but I can work with that.” Bad idea. Rowan noticed anger flash in her eyes.

“I am not having you calling me that.” She slammed the cup on the counter “you barely know me and I have been professional, sure if cracking a joke or two makes me a brat it’s your problem you need sense of humour. I have been busting my ass to fix the shit that went down in your station.” She took a step toward him and Rowan braced himself “I know how I run my station. I am aware of every single problem or fault that happens here. Your fucking hangar went down in a blaze of glory and you had no idea of the shitstorm about to happen.” She was now a few mere centimetres from his face and a foolish part of him wanted to push her against the counter and kiss her senseless. She was mad at him and all he thought was how her lips would feel. What was wrong with him?

“Don’t ever call me that again with that smug face of your because I have no problems removing that smirk with a punch.”

Rowan kept staring at her in silence, not risking saying a word while she was that mad at him. Damn the woman had fire in her. And it did not matter he was getting a well deserved lashing down from her, he could not stop thinking that she was beautiful. Not just physically, she was fierce, brave and passionate and he was irremediably drawn to her.

Which it was totally crazy since they had met the day before.

“Now get the fuck out of my station. We are done for today.” And she stepped back.

“Captain, I did not mean to offend you.”

“I said out.” She repeated through gritted teeth “I have your contact. I will let you know when I am in the mood to meet you again.” She grabbed her coffee and walked away from him.

Rowan stood still and stared at the spot where she had been. He ran a hand through his hair and cursed himself for his stupidity. They had finally set aside the bad start they had, and messed up everything again.

He picked up his cap on the counter and then realised he had left all the documents in her office. He was about to walk to her but then changed his mind bad idea. So he just left the station, got back to his car and drove back to the base.

Aelin was furious. Why did he have to go and ruin everything with his bloody mouth of his?

That beautiful mouth of his.

She paced the office for ten minutes then she left, went to changing room and changed into her training gear. Some exercise will do her good to clear her head.

Aedion found her twenty minutes later “here you are,” he shouted as she ran back and forth in the yard with a dummy on her shoulders.

“Aelin!” He shouted when she did not stop. When she ignored him again he went in front of her and stopped her “Aelin.”

“What?” She growled dropping the dummy on the ground with a loud thump. She was breathless.

“I thought you were with the captain.”

She ignored him and grabbed the dummy again but Aedion stopped her and grabbed her hand “did something happened?”

“Yes, he happened. He is an arsehole and I don’t know why I am bothering to help him.”

“Because it’s your job.”

“Well, he can go and ask west station for all I care.”

Aedion shook his head “they are in our territory.”

Aelin ran a hand through her hair.

“Did he do something to you? Because if he did I am very good at hand to hand combat. I’ll destroy his stiff arse.”

Aelin chuckled. Aedion had always been very protective with her.

“He called me a brat and a menace. He said that I am not as bad as he thought and that he agrees with you for my nicknames.”

Aedion laughed “that’s why you are mad at him? Ace, I love you but you can be both.”

She sat down on the dummy “I know. But if you say it it doesn’t bother me. We grew up together. You know me better than anyone. He instead…” she punched the dummy’s face “he had this smug face and he used this tone like a condescending prick.”

She groaned “you can be a brat and a menace but I can work with it,” she repeated in a mocking tone “I am the one doing him a favour to help him. Idiot.”

“You just want to find an excuse to hate him and push him away from you.” He sat down on the dummy beside her “Ace, could it be that you like him but you are still too scared to allow another man in your life?”

“No. I have known the guy for two days. And no, I do not like him.” She protested.

“Would it be that bad?”

Aelin stood and faced him “I am not interested in getting any closer to him than what works dictates. Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie.

“You are overreacting and you are behaving like a brat and proving him right.”

She pushed him off the dummy “you are on truck duty for the whole week.” Aelin grabbed the dummy and went back to her training.

Rowan finally made it back to the base and went straight to his office but Lorcan intercepted him.

“You are back early. I thought you were going to be at the station all afternoon.”

Rowan ignored his CO and plopped on his chair and closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“That bad, eh?” Joked Lorcan at the man’s reaction.

“I opened my damn mouth. That’s what I did.”

Lorcan sat on the chair on the opposite side of the desk “What did you do? I thought you were the guy who counted till ten before opening his mouth. That’s why I gave you this assignment. I need this to go smoothly and fix all the shit that the old CO messed up. If I wanted to piss off the TFD’s captain I would have sent Moonbeam.”

Rowan snorted “probably would have been better. Far more charming than this cranky old bastard.”

“I have seen the woman. Fenrys would end up fucking everything. Literally.”

Lorcan sat back relaxed “I am coming to the station tomorrow and I will talk to her and bring her back into our good books.”

“You?” Rowan scoffed “if there is someone who has a worse temper than me is you, Lorcan.”

“I’ll be my charming self.” The man joked.

“The gods save us all.” Rowan joked standing and pacing the office “trying to scare her will not work either.”

“I noticed that. I wish some of our men would have that level of balls. Quite amazing for a woman.” Rowan’s head snapped at his CO’s words.

“Don’t even dare say anything like that in her face or you are a dead man.”

He and Lorcan would go along on most of the days but on some concepts, Lorcan still followed the good old fashioned ideas that for example females were not suited for the military, a topic they had many fights on. Rowan had tried to open up the ranks to a few more females in the squadron but Lorcan had rejected the idea every single time.

“You know how I feel about those things.”

“Yes, our very progressive man. Equality and all.”

“You can be such an arsehole.” Rowan stopped at the window “even the Navy is accepting women. Their recruitment for female officers is up by 40%. We are still to celebrate when we will have our first female officer.”

Lorcan growled “well, then move to the Navy.” He stood annoyed “flying a jet is not like service on an aircraft carrier!”

Rowan turned furious “you are not seriously telling me that you don’t believe a woman could fly a jet.” He slammed his fist on the table “I have seen Aelin in action and during drills. I have seen her jump into a building on fire without any second thought to save one of our men. I have seen her drag a dummy twice her size off a burning building while wearing the fire suit and an oxygen tank on her shoulder. She could probably do a vertical, pull 9G and then get off the plane and have a dance in our face. She is definitely not the fragile thing you think she is just because she is a woman.”

“What is your point?”

“Stop being a misogynist prick.”

Rowan phone went off and Lorcan moved away “if you are coming tomorrow, you leave that attitude behind.” Lorcan left and Rowan took the call. Once he was done he sat back down on his chair and looked outside noticing the snow falling and a gentle smile tugged his lips at the memory of the moment they had shared at the restaurant. He had to apologise. And quickly.

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She’ll never know [Yandere! Iceland x reader]

Synopsis: Everybody’s pumped for the week-long skiing trip in Switzerland. While Emil and you are back to showcasing your weird relationship— “platonically” holding hands and sharing beds, Mathias never catches the drift like everyone else does and demands the same treatment from you. Emil eventually gives in to jealousy and denounces his friendship with you the first night in. He thought he was satisfied with these developments, all until he overhears a conversation between Mathias and Lukas two days later. Seems like he wasn’t the only one pining for you. His chance at revenge arrives when he finds the Dane unconscious in the snow after a freak accident. Wordcount: 4,288 The reader is referred to as she/her.

It was supposed to be a drama-free ski trip. 

You were tagging along for the first time, sitting with him on the plane and sharing a room at the resort. Getting a seat next to you was a wildcard, for sure. But the latter was a given, considering it was Tino who made the sleeping arrangements. Out of everyone in the group, or anyone for that matter, you had always been the closest to Emil—the Finnish man was well aware of that.

Even then, he planned on sticking to you like a tattoo. For seven straight days, being with him also meant you would be in the company of a loud-mouthed Dane. And sometimes, he could be all up in your business. But he was safe for now, so long as he didn’t try anything on the plane. 

The soft murmuring of passengers and white noise of the cabin filled his ears as he walked down one of the aisles. Once you found your seats, he didn’t waste time to buckle himself in and get comfortable, all so he could pull out his phone. The last time you were with him, you both watched Interstellar. Well, most of it. 

“Em, this flight is a little over an hour. Why not take a nap instead?” You suggested, but he never slowed his movements to open Netflix.

While the downloaded video loaded, he pulled off his sweatshirt to ruffle up his silvery-white hair. Under that was a black graphic T-shirt with a cat on it. “Mm... No. We have to finish it while it’s still fresh in our memory.”

“Okay, fine. I didn’t wanna watch it right now because I’ll cry again.”

“So? Nobody’s gonna see.” 

Nobody except him. But you never minded, as you were already leaning over to finish the movie with him. His taste in sad movies rubbed off on you, and you were quick to tears. That, he was very familiar with. But besides crying, you also had a habit of falling asleep in his bed after staying up to watch things or play games. So it wasn’t weird to know how often you slept with him. 

Eventually, a strange chemistry started to brew between you both. 

A physical and emotional closeness so intimate, it was comparable to that of a relationship. But Emil never thought of things like that. Best friends could do this stuff, couldn’t they? Holding hands and sharing clothes was the norm. 

Drinking from the same cup was just a regular Tuesday.  

“Gimme some of your apple juice.” You whispered, feeling a little dry in the mouth after tearing up. Reaching out for his cup to take a few gulps, he furrowed his brows and grumbled. He was left with nothing but backwash. 

“I was gonna drink that.”

A few mischievous laughs fell from your lips. “There’s still some left.” Picking the cup up, you swished around the remaining contents, which wasn’t much. 

“This should be more than enough for you, you dehydrated gremlin. I’d encourage you to have more, but we both know you’d only have a sip whether I drank from it or not."

A light blush dusted his cheeks and he frowned. “No I wouldn’t.”

“You would. That’s why I left you a sip.”

“... Shut up.”

The plane landed not long after, and your spunk died down near the conclusion of the film. Yes, it was sad. And yes, you cried. Like Emil expected, you were going to be silent for a while. When everyone regrouped to walk around the airport, you stayed by his side and held his hand. At the platforms to wait for the train, you and him were inseparable—head on his shoulder and all. But in your defence, you were tired. And this wasn’t the first time.

If anybody else did this to him, he would be shoving them off. They could hit their head for all he cared. And that was precisely why Tino and Lukas were giving him funny looks in the carriage. 

Laughing quietly to themselves with a hand covering their mouths, they watched on with a devilish expression. “Huhuhu,” was what Emil heard as he sat comfortably in his seat, but he knew what it translated to. Look at you, holding her hand while she’s asleep. He simply turned away with rosy cheeks. He didn’t know what they were on about. This wasn’t weird at all. 

Yes, he wasn’t exactly the most touchy-feely with people, but you weren’t just anybody. And he knew he liked you, a lot at that, but it was perfectly platonic. 

Nobody was convinced, however. All except for the Dane who practically came bounding over from a few rows down. But it was likely he never even got the gist.

The train finally reached a slower, constant speed, so he was prepared to join the group for some small talk. Leaning down on the backrest, he laid his eyes on you and Emil with a grin. “Well, well, well. Don’t you two look cozy.” He commented, his voice making the boy glance up. “Don’t get too comfortable, though. We’re going skiing today!”

“But hey—”Combing a hand through his wild and unruly locks of blonde, he smiled sheepishly. “Do you think I could sit with her on the way back?”

Just when he thought nothing could ruin this vacation, he was proven wrong. That was right. Mathias was the only other person present who actively showed you affection, and it always bothered him. God, the thought of you sitting with him for hours made him sick. 

“... Only if she wants to.” He mumbled, sinking lower into his seat to cause his hoodie to ride up. Since it was already on his head, it came drooping over his face to hide his dark purple eyes. There, he could read the other’s expression.

He could take a few things away from it. Right now, he was rubbing the nape of his neck while watching you snooze. Every time Mathias was expectant, he wouldn’t stop moving his hands. The sight made his frown deepen. When Lukas and Tino witnessed this, they looked away and shared the same thought. 

Just let him be, you idiot.

But Mathias didn’t quite get the memo, let alone read their minds.

So he stood up and responded with this. “Well, of course she’ll want to! Who wouldn’t sit next to me?” A brief silence fell around the group. Lukas coughed. Berwald continued to watch the mountainous landscape outside the window without a word, trailing his icy blue eyes over the snow that glowed purple at dawn. “Seriously, guys? This is why I like (F/N) the best. At least she’s nice to me.” 

Emil squeezed your hand as you slept. The tightness in his chest only seemed to worsen by the second. And it showed in his visible discomfort. Lowering his head, he let his fringe fall over his eyes.

“... She’s nice to everyone.” 

The blonde shrugged while closing his eyes in a look of satisfaction. 

“If you’re gonna be train buddies, then we can be skiing buddies. Right, (F/N)?” Reaching down to your head, he tipped it gently in a nod before saying this. “Of course, Mathias! You’re my favorite.” 

As if. 

“That was a terrible impression.” 

“What impression?” 

He huffed under his breath. They hadn’t even arrived at the resort, and he was already dreading the next seven days. This gut feeling turned out to be right, because it only seemed to get worse. 

***

Shortly after arriving, everyone dropped off their things before leaving to get right into the sport. After napping for nearly two hours, you were replenished with the energy to go skiing. Despite being quite the skilled skier himself, Mathias was kind enough to accompany you on the easier slopes. More accurately put, he was jumping at the opportunity to teach you. 

Hell, he’d been waiting outside your room to take you to the ski lifts. The moment you opened the door, you were greeted by the man all geared up, with goggles on and all. 

“Morning. You ready to roll? Or, slide?” He asked. 

Seeing him so eager was cute, so you were obliged to follow, leaving Emil alone in the room. When said boy left the bathroom after freshening up, he saw the door close behind you. “Sorry, Emil! I’m gonna go ahead! I’ll see you outside!” 

And just like that, you were gone. Dropping his face towel off on a chair, he dug his hands through his hair and breathed in deeply. Since when was the last time he felt this much anguish? Yes, he was rooming with you. But that was only at night. Daytime meant you would be with Mathias. He had no place complaining, considering he wasn’t the best at skiing. Nothing he could do about that. 

He changed out of his T-shirt and into his snow gear with a sigh. 

His excitement to go skiing was gone. 

And if he wasn’t going to ski, he’d be holed up in his room. His logic told him this was selfish, but he wanted you to stay with him more than anything. 

You returned late in the afternoon as the sun was going down, but he’d been staying inside ever since lunch. Perking up at the sound of the door creaking open, he forced his head down and popped his earphones in. After you set your things down and changed to more comfortable clothes, you walked over to the bed and found a bump under the blanket. Lifting it up by the hem, you found him curled up with his phone. 

His earphones fell out. “(F/N)?” 

“Who else would it be, dummy? I was wondering where you went.” You kicked off your slippers and slid right in. He didn’t know how much he’d been longing for this until now—the feeling of you laying next to him in bed. But he couldn’t get carried away yet. It wasn’t even night yet.

A displeased expression contorted at your features, but it melted away as you pulled his phone away. 

“H-Hey!” He tried reaching out for it, but it was already on the bedside table. 

“No more screen time for you.” You tapped him on the nose. “How else am I gonna get your lazy ass out of bed?” He knitted his brows together and rolled into you to hide his face. Then, he curled two arms around you, albeit slowly.

“To do what?”

“To ski, duh.” 

He squeezed you. “But I don’t want to.” Emil’s wintry white locks were soft against your chest, and you felt his body heat waft over to yours. It was a sure fire sign he’d been under the covers for too long. That was when an idea struck him. This would definitely get you to stay with him for the rest of the day, and maybe tomorrow if he was lucky. “I... feel kinda sick.” 

Your smile fell and you immediately reached out to cup his cheeks, then clamp a hand over his forehead. When he felt your touch as you checked his temperature, his heart rate escalated. He was on cloud nine. 

“... Oh no... You’re a bit warm. I think it’s best that you stay in bed. But don’t use too many blankets, or your fever will get worse.”

The sensation of your hands on him was to die for, and the thought that you were worried about him made it better. Nobody would have expected this trait from the usually detached boy, but he was secretly clingy. And he had the most subtle ways of showing it. An example would be lying about feeling unwell, but he didn’t feel bad about it at all. 

A headache was pounding in his skull, and it wasn’t wrong to say he was upset. And plus, if this worked, you could stay with him. He could practically feel a smile creeping to his lips at the thought, but he hid half of his face with the blanket. “... Are you gonna ski tomorrow?” He asked quietly. 

You craned your head to the side in thought. 

“Only if you can. Who’s gonna look after you when I’m gone?”

Blood rushed up to his face and he nodded. “Okay.” 

Reaching out to his cheek again, you groaned. “Oh my god. Why are you so hot? Hold on. I’m gonna find you an ice pack.” You slid off the bed, but not before giving him an affectionate pinch. He made a soft noise in protest. “I think this is a sign for you to fix your sleep schedule and stop eating instant.” 

Before you left, he reached out to grab your wrist. 

“What is it?”

He released you after a few moments. “... Nothing...” 

You smiled weirdly. “Okay, hun. Give me a ring if you need anything.” 

A couple hours later, the group gathered for dinner in a nearby restaurant. Despite the freezing temperatures that dropped significantly at night, Mathias insisted to sit outside at the balcony to enjoy the views. The views in question weren’t even that visible with how dark out it was. There was nothing but faint outlines of mountains stretching on for miles into the horizon. 

Much to Emil’s displeasure, you insisted that he sit opposite you. Understandable, because it was closer to the indoors where the warm air was wafting out of. But that only meant you’d sit next to the Dane, and he was quick to notice you shivering lightly in the cold. 

Like him, you had a sweater on, but he was the human heater, not you. Curling an arm around your shoulders with a softened gaze, he rubbed your arm up and down. Almost like how a boyfriend would to their girlfriend. 

And Emil witnessed it all happen. 

“You’re shaking like a leaf, min elskede. Do you want my sweater as well?” He laughed, to where you shook your head profusely. 

Did he just call you ‘my love’ in Danish? Since when did he start calling you that? And he was offering his clothes to you as well? He thought only he did that. Gripping the hem of his hoodie with clammy hands, he lowered his head as his heart started to sting. Fuck. He hated this feeling. 

But what he saw next made it unfathomable. 

“No, of course not! I can deal with this. You’d be crazy to take it off—" He lifted his sweater up and threw it over his head, the action making his t-shirt ride up. “—and, you’re taking it off.” He fixed his top before sliding the knit over you. Pulling it down so you could fit your arms through the arm holes, you were overwhelmed with his smell, and not to mention, completely encased with warmth. 

He was now left in nothing but a T-shirt.

“That better?” Mathias grinned.

“Yes, you idiot. But if you catch a cold because of me, you won’t be the only sick one in the group.” You grumbled under a blush, a little embarrassed he actually gave you his sweater. “Thank you, though.”

His stomach churned. His breathing deepened. Unbeknownst to you, or anyone for that matter, he started to spiral down a path of self-destructive thoughts. Did he always like you that much? He lifted his gaze to you, and found you carrying on with your usual banter with the Dane. Did you always like him that much? You laughed. Emil bit his lip. It always made him euphoric to hear you laugh, but knowing it wasn’t him that was responsible for it made him feel an unpleasant mix of all kinds of things. Sadness, anger, and a violent kind of jealousy.

So shortly after finishing his food, he stood up and left without a word. That silenced the chatter at the table, and everyone called out to him. But he was too quick on his feet.

You’d never seen him do something like that. Either he was nauseous, or something was really wrong. “He’d got a fever, so maybe he’s going to... You know. I’ll check on him.” With that said, you stood up and took Mathias’s sweater off. “Here. Just in case I don’t come back.”

Jogging up to your room, you were relieved to see that your instincts were right on the mark. Emil had retreated back here, and was currently hiding under the covers. Nearing his side, you lowered yourself to your knees. "Em? Are you okay? Did you puke?”

“... No.” His voice was thick and nasally.

And that pointed to one thing.

The poor boy was crying.

Breathing out a soft sigh, you removed all your layers until you were in your undergarments. Lifting up the corner of the blanket, you joined him before wrapping your arms around his form. “I know you don’t like talking about yourself, but I can’t help you unless you tell me what’s wrong.” You murmured, rubbing soothing circles into his back. “You can tell me anything. I won’t be weirded out or judge you. I’m just worried about you, okay?”

He popped his head out from under the blanket to reveal his flushed face stained with tears.

“... Anything?”

You hummed. “Mmhm. Anything.”

Emil paused for a moment. Frankly, he had no idea why he was feeling like this. Perhaps he did, he just didn’t want to say it. That maybe, everyone was right about him. That what he felt about you was anything but innocent. The signs were all there. He’d never been this attached to anyone, ever, and even if he was, he would’ve hid it to some degree. But not with you. He’d been all over you since the start of the trip, and even now, he had his arms looped around your neck. And when other people decided to do the same to you, he was choked with turbulent emotions.

It even got to the point of intrusive thoughts. Back at the dinner table, all he could think about aside from worrying about this relationship was this—something terrible happening to Mathias. He didn’t want him to be there. He just wished he’d disappear, even for a little while.

When he realized these desires, he knew he couldn’t tell you. But there was still something he wanted. “... I’m fine now. But I just wanted to ask you something.”

You frowned. “Doesn’t look like you’re fine. You can’t keep brushing it off and expect me to let it go.”

“You’re right. But I promise I’ll feel better after this.”

“... Alright. But the next time this happens, I’m not letting you off the hook.” You murmured, reaching out to give his cheek a pat. “What did you wanna ask me?”

He flickered his eyes down to your lips. Then, he returned his gaze, but his stare felt a little hot on you for some reason. It never crossed your mind that he was hugging you around your neck, but it did now. “Would you ever...” Emil blushed darkly. “... Kiss me?”

You blinked at the unexpected question, but reacted nevertheless. The red flushing his cheeks spread to yours as you strung together the words to respond. “Well... I’m not disgusted or anything. We’re really close, so I wouldn’t mind kissing you.” You answered honestly, but that didn’t change the fact that you were curious why he even asked such a thing. “... Why?”

“I just wanted to know.” Emil mumbled. “Would you kiss anyone else?”

“No. That would be weird, wouldn’t it?”

His heart started to pound in euphoria. But the longer he lingered on what you said, his heart began to pound with another emotion.

“If you’d kiss me, then would you kiss me now?”

You had a feeling things would pan out this way. But you didn’t mind it in the least, in fact, you kind of wanted to do this. Leaning in to him, you heard his breath hitch from the close proximity. “... Maybe. But only a short one, because you’re sick.” Pressing your lips to his for short and sweet peck, he squeezed his arms around you and pulled you in again. Attaching his mouth to yours for a deeper kiss, he caught you off guard by the sudden build-up in intensity.

His coils around your neck tightened, and for the next few minutes or so, he kept kissing you. He just couldn’t stop moving his mouth with yours, nibbling on your lips ever so often. It felt too good. He never thought he’d ever be able to do this, but he was never going back now.

Everything he’d ever done with you now felt like child’s play. How could he have resisted these feelings for so long? Rolling you onto your back, he loomed over you and continued to make out with you on the bed. The connection between your mouths was starting to feel hot. The taste of yours only grew more prominent, and that was how he knew he was denouncing everything he used to have with you. He couldn’t take it, being friends with you. Emil had always been clingy. Jealous. And he was facing the truth—the reason.

He liked you. In every way you could like someone. But that wasn’t all. He was obsessed with you.

That night, you fell asleep on his chest.

To say he was satisfied with these developments was an understatement. He always thought of himself as your best friend, nothing more, nothing less. But he was relieved he finally accepted he really felt about you. So there was no need to pretend to be sick anymore.

He felt like skiing again, especially when you had another reason to be with him instead of Mathias.

The next day was a blast.

He finally got to try the intermediate slope thanks to your encouragement, and he could officially say he wasn’t terrible at skiing. And he continued to explore the harder slopes the day after as well.

Sometime in the afternoon, he returned back to the resort for a hot drink break. Taking a seat in the dining hall, he overheard two familiar voices. He swallowed down what he had in his mouth before listening in to their conversation. Hm. Was that... Mathias? And Lukas? Those two have always been pretty close, so he could already guess that their conversation would include pretty confidential contents. But it wasn’t his fault they held it in his earshot, right?

“Hey, so I’ve been thinking. I really like... You know. And I wanted to ask her out.”

“You mean (F/N)? Good luck trying to separate her from Emil. If they somehow don’t already like each other, then maybe you’ll have a chance.”

“Nah, it’s worth a shot! He isn’t the type to be in a relationship, anyway.”

Emil froze.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

The memories of that conversation replayed in his head like a broken record. Even while he was enjoying the cold night air as he skied later that day, he couldn’t stop lingering on it. Fuelling the anger he felt a few days ago. So that was why he gave you his sweater. Gliding through the soft blankets of snow, he never slowed down. Nobody knew you were dating him yet, but that only reinforced the fact that this relationship was new. Nothing was set in stone yet. And that only meant things could change, wouldn’t it?

His chest tightened and he slowed to a stop. He couldn’t let that happen, no matter what.

As if the world wanted to test that statement, his attention was stolen by a gap in the snow fencing. It looked as if something shot through it, or more accurately put, crashed into it and broke it. Sliding himself closer to take a better look, he was shocked to find a body outside the barriers. A skier. He must’ve swerved too hard and passed out from possible head trauma.

But Emil soon discovered it wasn’t just any random ‘he’. The clothes and gear were all too familiar. Could it be? His blonde hair gave it all away. This skier wasn’t a stranger. It was Mathias.

He was laying on his side with half his head submerged in white.

Upon realizing their identity, the fear-induced urgency to call for help suddenly subsided. Instead, he turned around, and skied away, slowly, back to the resort. What was he doing? Was he seriously going to leave him out in the snow where he could easily die? Emil couldn’t stop himself from moving. Was he seriously that upset? It was clear. He was.

But he knew he didn’t want him to die.

Even then, he couldn’t bring himself to tell anyone, not until an hour later, at least.

He didn’t know what was going through his head. But he knew what he felt. He wanted him to get sick at least. That would incapacitate him for a while, but not forever.

Sure enough, when the search and rescue found him, he was down with a bad case of hypothermia. He was immediately tended to by medical professionals, and it was revealed that he wouldn’t have made it if Emil never brought up the matter that Mathias had been missing. The color drained from his face when he heard that, and he never felt this guilty in his life. But it was short-lived. After all, he was still alive, wasn’t he?

He secured you in his arms as you cried softly into his chest. Nobody had to know about this. Especially not you, who warbled out how thankful you were that he remembered Mathias’s disappearance.

As he kissed your tears away, the only thought that repeated in his head was this.

She’ll never know.

[breathings-of-the-heart]

Imagine Levi Confessing his Love for You

A/N: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ THE TEXT BELOW BEFORE PROCEEDING THANK YOU :))

HERE IS A TIMELINE /  EXPLANATION / BACKGROUND INFORMATION BECAUSE CASE THE TIME SKIPS OF THIS STORY ARE CONFUSING: I’m sorry for that everyone, I know the dates are sloppy and as a whole this fic doesn’t make too much sense; I tried to edit this piece as best I could to make the story as easy to follow as possible, but seeing as I can’t unpublish part 1 or 2, the cleanup still leaves things bit unclear. These imagines were originally chapters of a longer Levi x Reader fic that I decided to discontinue, which is why there are so many loose ends. Here was my original intention for this story, broken down for the few who choose to read the Author’s Notes lol.

We are going to do this in the order of the 3 part fic (I also put attached all the links to the titles)

Part 1: Imagine Relating to Mikasa About Loving Someone in the Military

The scene is set during the events of SEASON 1 of Attack on Titan, BEFORE the Female Titan Arc. (Y/N) was also hand selected by Levi to be part of the original Special Operation Squad; she bit her hand at the dinner table along with Petra, Gunther, Eld, and Oluo to show their dedication and understanding towards Eren wayyy back in the beginning of the series. The Survey Corps is making preparations for their first attempt to go to Shiganshina since the Fall of Wall Maria and not only uncover the mole who killed captive titans Sonny and Bean, but also to get to Eren’s basement.

Part 2: To Love Another

The flashback and opening scene in the beginning of this writing piece (where (Y/N) and Hange are talking to each other) occurs shortly after (Y/N) wakes up in the infirmary room, before anyone breaks the news that she, aside from an injured Levi, is the last surviving member of Squad Levi after Annie killed the others in the Forest of Giant Trees in her female titan form. Hange’s intentions were to bring the (Y/N) and Levi together so they would be able to support each other during this mutual loss. But alas, (Y/N) accepts his rejection and the two suffer the aftermath of this tragic news alone. To read this arc for context/bonus content to get a better understanding of this mini series, see my posts (as a sort of prequel, if you will) Imagine Levi Finding you Injured on an Expedition and Imagine Being the Last Member of Squad Levi To Survive to fill that time gap :)

In real-time, all of Season 2 and Season 3 Part 1 have gone by with limited interaction between (Y/N) and Levi. This part of the story is occurring during Season 3 PART 2, (spoilers) after the Coup D'etat, and after Historia becomes Queen. (Y/N) is no longer an active soldier, having sustained injuries too severe to be reliable in combat. She remains useful to the Corps as a battle strategist, however, which allows her to stay. The Scouting Regiment is currently preparing to go to Eren’s basement in their second attempt, knowing Reiner and Berthold will be waiting for them there.

Part 3: Imagine Levi Confessing his Love for You (YOU ARE HERE)

This part takes place pretty much a week or so after the events of “To Love Another.” It is revealed how much (Y/N) has isolated herself in the months between Parts 1 and 2 from not only Levi, but Hange, the only one besides Mikasa who knew about her feelings for Levi prior to their falling out. (Y/N) confesses her feelings for Levi before the mission to Shiganshina in Season one, and the fic parallels itself and comes full circle once their final interaction occurs before the second and final mission to Shiganshina, for which, (Y/N) is unable to go for her death would be almost certain. She seen to be more valuable inside the walls, where she can carry on the duties of the Survey Corps should the entire regiment collapse during the mission. This is the final part :)

I HOPE THAT CLEARS THINGS UP!

requested by @a-single-uwo @dracq and @little-diva-gurl and a lovely anon who def isn’t the happiest that this took so long. Deepest apologies! Hope this was worth the wait. I also hope this post finds everyone safe and in good health during these crazy times <3

~~~~~

Dread bottled up in the bottom of your stomach, which threatened to fall down to your knees. Even Hange’s eyes brimmed with concern when she informed you that Levi requested your presence in his office; all of which was out of the blue, uncharacteristic, after months of him being accustomed to giving you your space.

Feigning annoyance, you stared at the soldier dummy two paces ahead, dented heavily with the marks of your punches. The sun was beating down on the early autumn day, and heat waves rose from the ground. It illuminated the glistening perspiration sliding down your figure, torso rising and falling in short breaths of exhaustion.

Hange watched you carefully from a distance. She noticed your tense muscles, clad in a sports bra and boxing shorts; the lack of attire made it impossible to hide the sudden tension and stiffness embedded in your lean muscles, a tell tale sign of distress. As a creature of observation and analytics, the Squad Leader could sense your discomfort as if it was written across your forehead.

The brunette watched you wipe the sweat off your forehead and yell in frustration, turning towards her direction and moving to land a kick at her head.

Unfazed and in possession of sharp reflexes, Hange took a step back, only to watch as you twisted mid-air and landed a 360 Crescent kick to the dummy-shaped bag, which broke open on impact under the force of the blow. Sand poured out of its opening and spilled onto the ground in a steady stream that grew less heavy as the seconds passed.

“I’ll have to admit, you are getting better, but (Y/N), don’t get your hopes up,” Hange cautioned. “The problem does not reside in your muscles. No matter how well you learn to fight like you used to, Annie crushed your ribs and threw you to the ground: it's your lungs that will never recover. You can’t come with us to Shiganshina tomorrow like this.”

Hunched over with hands on your knees, you regained a regular breathing pattern and began to feel the explosive pain in your chest. Airways blocked, you began coughing, willing the oxygen to enter your body.

“Let me humor myself, Hange-san. If I don’t try, I might go insane.”

It was almost tragic that such a young soldier was out of commission; you were full of promise, rivalling Mikasa in skill. Hange knew you were itching to do what you trained for your whole life: Coming to Shiganshina and putting it all on the line had always been your number one goal. You didn’t want to be left behind again, to die bitter and alone without the only people you cared about.

“Regardless, (Y/N), you’re stalling,” Hange smoothly shifted the topic of conversation back to what brought her to you in the first place. “He still has that power over you, huh?”

"It'll pass eventually," you sighed, hoping the words were true.

You bowed towards the tall female. She smiled in return, shaking her head softly.

Whilst pacing away, said person stopped you once more.

“(Y/N). For what it’s worth, I stand by what I said before. Don’t look so nervous, okay?”

Her words replayed in your head, a haunting ghost of the not-so-long ago past. Time was strange, that way. It seemed like everything happened yesterday yet in another lifetime, all at once. “He loves you, more than he’s ever loved anyone. Surely you know that.”

Stupid, you thought, how I might have believed it once.

As you made your way down the hall, numbness crept into your body once again. You were too proud to admit you were afraid, especially with the Section Commander’s radiating sympathy, but everyone knew the once friendly dynamic between you and the Captain transformed into one more distant and cold. With each step towards the door, you felt the icy chill grow and that fact alone shook you to the core. 

But it didn’t matter, seeing as Levi was of superior authority. There was no way around it.

Your hand shook as it raised to knock.

~~~~~~

“Name and business,” Levi spoke, voice muffled by the closed door.

“It’s (Y/N), sir. I was hoping to speak with you.”

There was a pause, and in that time you considered the option of fleeing back to your room and retreating back to a life of emotional safety, normality. It wasn’t too late to forget.

It had been a week since you spoke to Mikasa on the rooftop, after realizing the deep shit your heart decided to put you in. You didn’t think Levi would notice the distracted nature of your behavior-- tried to make it as subtle as possible whilst you figured out what you felt for him. 

But before you could explore other options, Levi muttered a stern “enter.” You knew with the first expedition back to Shiganshina tomorrow, and the prospect of death closer than it has ever been on a mission, it was now or never. 

The room was dim, small, warm, and thick with building tension. Shadows danced across the Captain’s face, sharp features lit by an orange flame. Only candlelight, sourced at his desk, assisted your adjusting eyes. 

Your nose was hit with the smell of tea and cleaning products upon entry. This fact made you smile despite your bundling nervous energy. It was a familiar place, filled with memories of late night conversations (granted, of mostly you speaking and him listening), witnessed only by the large piles of paperwork. It started here and resulted in a natural, growing fondness kept secret to all except you two and the moon looking in from the window. 

This man was your squad leader, your commander, your trusted comrade. There was no need to be afraid-- Not unless of course, you held the potential to shatter such damn a delicate relationship.

And you did. 

Was it worth it?

Your gaze gravitated towards the center of the room where the Lance Corporal sat. And in that instant, your smile evaporated instantly. He placed his pen down, gracefully resting his cheek on his fist and lazily tossing the raven locks out of his eyes-- they landed on you, piercing yet drowsy and indifferent upon first glance. He was beautiful, as always. The allure was nearly sickening; unfair to the rest of the world.

Looking closer, however, he was anything but relaxed. The observant eye could see his countenance stirred something different. He seemed sharp and focused, ready to dart out and wrap himself around your heart, squeezing tighter with every breath you took. And you felt it-- the heart palpitations, which got worse at the sight of him.

He seemed… different. Dangerous, like a storm stirring in the distance, and the inevitable downpour that comes with it. The dark circles under his eyes told tales about the insomnia; a fresh cup of caffeinated black tea even rested on his left, steam rising out of it. And whilst attraction was undeniable, your concern always came first.

Levi was never quite good at getting proper rest before a mission.

“(Y/N),” The word was breathy, yet his voice was rough.

You shuffled in your spot, your name on his tongue making your stomach churn with desire.

Levi seemed to pick up on your affliction, getting out of his chair and gliding towards you. Everything happened fast and slow all at once, starting off with a momentaneous rush of air and  the collision of your back with the office wall. A small shriek filled the air, out of place against the silence; was that your voice? The pain should’ve been there, but it wasn’t.

Then the seconds dragged out. Levi was a new person, setting your skin aflame as he gripped your wrists and pinned them against the wall. His lips brushed your eartips, which turned red the instant the raven’s breath fanned over them. This normally reserved, disciplined man unleashed something you had never seen before.

“Finally ready to talk to me about why you’ve been acting so strange, brat?” he whispered.  

This wasn’t supposed to be so dirty. He was angry, but the mood was established in layers: something more sinister existed beneath.

The scent of fresh pine filled your nostrils until your brain went foggy. Levi was close--so close, and with the fact that you’ve been avoiding him mixed in with the fact that you missed him for it, all bets were off: there was no stopping the words that came out of your mouth next.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” you whispered back, looking him dead in the eyes, no fear this time.

His grip on your wrist slackened.

“Hm?”

You took in a deep breath, ready to leave it all on the line, and spoke.

“I like you a lot, sir. And not in a comradery type of way. I-I just thought I’d tell you before, you know, we leave tomorrow.” Your gaze found the floor again, too timid for your own good. But the statement was said, and it was finite; there was no turning away from it.

The Captain’s eyes went wide and gleamed brightly at you. His chest felt lighter and as he looked down at you in speechless awe, staring at anything but his face in your adorable embarrassment, he realized exactly why your absent look irked him those days ago. Why your lack of enthusiasm and lighthearted-ness gave him a strange sense of frustration. 

Levi never felt more awake, more hyper aware of his surroundings. 

The feeling of your chest pressed against him, the heat of those rosy cheeks, the pounding within his ribcage, the moon hitting your pretty face. With your figure in his arms, after the blissful seconds passed, everything felt, for once, okay.

Until it wasn’t.

Gaining the courage to look back up at him, you all but tore apart at the scowl on his face as demons flitted through his beautiful brain and polluted the image of happiness. Levi grew more indignant by the second, all but throwing your arms he held back at your sides like they were poison to the touch. 

Tears pooled in your eyes as the soft expression you didn’t get to see turned sour, disgusted-- the Captain’s lips curling into a snarl as he imagined what he could lose if he opened up his heart for this girl in front of him to take. The risk and pain of falling for someone, in the world the two of you lived in. And all the stoic man could think was how he allowed this charade to come so far.

No, he wouldn't allow it.

“Get out, (L/N)” he commanded, harsh and unforgiving.

You were trembling, body feeling detached from reality as it moved, convincing itself that it was simply a nightmare. Levi’s cruel demeanor all but shattered you as you looked wide-eyed and his anger grew, the short man pacing behind his desk and bringing a hand over his face. His free one crumpled into a fist, knuckles turning white as he slammed it on the wood, the loud bang making you jump; the fear, grief, confusion coming all at once until it choked you and your vision spotted black.

“I said GET OUT!”

The room stilled and Levi looked up to face you cowering near the door, a single tear rolling down your cheek. He stilled at the sight, the weight of his words dawning upon him.  

“I-I’m sorry,” you gasped before racing out of the room.

Had you looked back, you would’ve seen Levi’s outstretched hand betraying his body, desperately reaching out for you, gray eyes filled with pain.

But you knew now you’d never be dumb enough to spare him that second glance-- and maybe that was the right call, seeing as his feet moved in the direction you left, only to shut the door left askew in your wake.  

~~~

The Captain’s gaze was on you more than necessary, but it was clear the two of you had the same thought: You focused everything into this discussion, melting into the emotionally-detached soldier your duty commanded, just like Levi did. His words had no ulterior motive, no deeper meaning. They were monotonous and empty.

Or so you thought.

Levi stood up the second you came in, but your gaze fell to the ground in submission.

“Hange said you needed to see me, Captain?” your voice was small and weak; you kicked yourself for it. How pathetic.

“Damn you...”

The man said nothing more, brushing his fingers along your cheekbones and you everything hit you like whiplash, the memories. Levi ran them along your face, down to your chin to lift it gently, so that for once you’d let your eyes meet instead of looking at the ground like a coward.

When they did the man’s breath hitched in his throat, because although your (eye color) orbs were no longer as vibrant, they were still beautiful and entrancing; why hadn’t he ever appreciated them before? 

"I missed you, brat," he spoke firmly.

You felt a churn in your abdomen as you watched his eyes study the details of your face and take in every feature, committing it to memory painfully slow. You were paralyzed, his face inches away from yours and forcing buried emotions to resurface as months of restraint came undone. He didn’t speak, holding you delicately after not being this close for far too long and discerning what he’s been missing.  

“Um, Captain? What are you...?"

You bit your lip, feeling puzzled and confused as you remembered the hate in Levi's orbs the last time you saw him like this.

All you could see now was how quickly his emotions shifted from serenity to fury that fateful night, and as you recollected the way Levi lashed out, all chaos and fury, he retracted his hand.

And you flinched away.

The Captain froze.

“Don’t-- don’t fucking do that,” he growled, his urgency startling. “I would never hurt you, (Y/N).”

Your eyebrows furrowed, all inhibition thrown out the window the second Levi’s countenance flashed with hurt at your response to his touch. You let your fear go and emotions free at the irony of the raven’s statement. Your mind went into overdrive, recounting every instance you wanted to give up and leave, drown in yourself, give up on finding purpose in the aftermath of rejection and Squad Levi’s death and your permanent injury changing your way of life. Things you faced alone, because instead of rekindling any semblance of a relationship, Levi tossed everything away and berated you for feeling.

The man who resided here cut your heart expertisely like the countless swords he wielded then disposed. He did not have the right to look at you so kindly; did not have to right to fan the flames of false hope. But here he was, procrastinating until the very last day to take initiative regarding those actions.

“Why are you doing this?” you whispered, forgetting your composure.

“I’d advise you not to speak in riddles,” Levi spoke in a low and even voice, no real malice as he addressed you and tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

You took a deep breath and fought to remain calm, grabbing Levi's wrist to keep him from touching you.

“Please don’t toy with me, or mock my feelings like this. Why did you call me here? You made it plenty clear how you feel about me, Levi. What else is there to say?" you begged, the lack of closure driving you insane.

This was the first time you used his name, an unprecedented amount of spite and pain expressed through it, because you wanted Levi to remember this moment. It was over: that time of feeling sorry and ashamed of yourself for being nothing other than human. The remorse was gone, and the heartache was fleeting.

“Tell me, dammit!”

His was overflowing.

“You want to know how I really feel about you, (Y/N)!?” the Captain shouted, voice rising because for a man who relied on impulse and action on the battlefield it was fucking frustrating, watching the woman in front of him live this way for the simple reason that he was not good with words. "The thoughts that go through my head when you can't even bear to look at me?!"

"No, that's not what I asked. I already know that you don't--"

"--Fuck this."

Relying on instinct to guide him, Levi leaned forward and kissed you.

The second his lips met yours, you melted on the spot, knees giving out beneath you. Tongue sliding into your mouth, Levi simultaneously lifted you into the air, feeling lightheaded as you moaned into him, eagerly returning the kiss. His hands were everywhere, grasping at your waist, clutching the back of your head, running down your thighs. You were in such a state of euphoria that nothing else existed.

Your own digits threaded through Levi’s raven locks and pulled needily, emitting a growl from his throat as he bit down on your lower lip. He reveled in the feeling of your legs around his waist as your soft lips worked against his own, hungry and relentless. The kiss was passionate and you’d imagined it a million times over, but this-- Levi successfully ruined you for any other man.

The need for oxygen pulled you apart, Levi’s strong arms keeping you in the air as his eyes remained shut; he pecked your lips once, then twice, savoring the moment until it mournfully passed.

He was hesitant to break the silence, but you deserved it. You waited long enough to hear the truth, and he knew his time was running out; you weren’t going to wait for him forever.

“(Y/N)...” he began to speak, forehead resting on yours as he panted softly to catch his breath. “I dreamt of you last night. I have been for days.”

“Levi--”

“--Just listen,” he interrupted, unable to stop himself from kissing you softly once more. “Neither of us are running away this time.”

You fell silent as the man let you down, pulling you into his solid chest as you buried your face in his shirt, patiently listening. His calm heartbeat thrummed soothingly in your ears like a metronome.

“Isabel, Farlan, Oluo, Petra, Gunther, Eld. They all knew that what they meant to me. And I them."

One of the only things that made it easier to say goodbye, you thought with a bittersweet pang in your chest.

"With us, it's different. I died in every dream, (Y/N). Every one. And in every single one, you lived on believing I never loved you. Call me selfish, but I...”

You pulled away from the stoic man, searching his gaze as he trailed off. Shyly, you interlaced your fingers, his larger hand enveloping yours and you prayed to whoever was listening upstairs that all of this was real.

“I just can't leave until you understand...”

He clutched you impossibly tighter, eyes squeezing shut.

"...that you, are everything."

~~~ Extended Ending ~~~

A soft hum filled the air, the tune dreamy and sweet as you repeated the melody once again. You smiled warmly as hands wound around your waist, pulling you closer to a toned and shirtless Captain Levi, silken sheets tossed haphazardly on top of the two of you. His breath sent goosebumps on your neck as he kissed your shoulder gently, warmth deliciously intoxicating. 

Giggling now, you turned around to face him, the man’s onyx hair ticking you softly. You captured your lips in his with one smooth movement and snuggled closer, taking in the small slice of heaven that was home in his arms, legs tangled together. Feeling unbelievably content, like your heart might burst, you leaned forward and rubbed your nose against Levi's. 

Although he wasn't smiling, the look he was giving you revealed his own sensation of happiness.

“I never thought you’d be the cuddling type,” you remarked devilishly, scrunching up your nose as you teased him. 

Though your tone was lighthearted, you were painfully aware that the moment was ending. You internally cursed the sun as it started to set, orange light peeking in through the window shades to signal the coming of night. Levi said nothing, looking deeply into your eyes, and like always, it felt as if he could read the contents of your soul. 

But it wasn’t vulnerability you felt: on the contrary, you knew you would never find as safe a place as here. With him. Finally.  

“Levi...” you swallowed, humor all but gone. “Now you have to come home.” 

To emphasize your point you sat up on the bed, legs tucked neatly underneath you as you stared imperatively at your lover. 

“Mhm. We’ve wasted enough time,” he agreed, taking you by the wrist to pull you back on top of him, to bask in this personal paradise if only for another minute. 

[liliesoftherain]

Hiya hun! Wondering if I could get Izuku x single mom! Reader with twin sons? Please and thank you!

A/N: It’s 5am and the ending feels rushed but I wanted to get this out so I hope you enjoy!! Thanks again for the request hun(:

Title: It’s Deku!

Pairing: Izuku Midoriya x Reader

Izuku Midoriya!:

You sighed as you finished bringing in the last of the boxes from the moving truck you rented, happy at the fact you could take a break before you started the rest of your busy day. You stared up at your new place, a nice and small little place you were to call home for now on. Just big enough for you and your boys, and speaking of the rascals,

“Alright my little stars, are you hungry?” You called out to the twins who were playing in the living room, the only other thing occupying it being the boxes you had just set there for the time being. The boys looked up at you with a grin, nodding excitedly while standing and running to each hug one of your legs.

“Yeah momma can we have pizza?”

“Yea pizza pizza!” 

They were shaking you, and with the both of them doing it they almost succeeded in making you fall over.

“Woah calm down guys, of course we can. We have to go out anyways since we don’t have food in the fridge, I’ll have to stop by the store too and pick some stuff up, and get everything unpacked..” You rubbed your temple with one hand, trying to calm the raging headache that was forming. 

The boys stopped listening after you said okay, cheering as the let go of your legs.

Both boys were the carbon copy of you, and you couldn’t have been more grateful for it, seeing as how you would have hated to have a reminder of their father every single day. The man just wasn’t someone worth remembering, why would you want to after he abandoned you and they boys? 

They deserved better than a man who didn’t want them. 

Kosuke was a lot more outgoing than his brother, and being the eldest it only made sense. He was into superheroes and action, yelling about how he was ready for his quirk to manifest so he could train and be just like his favorite hero. 

Isao was a bit more reserved and nervous in situations, but always following his big brother around with no hesitation. You are often reminded of your own childhood adventures, and you felt a sad sense of nostalgia when you realized your boys acted like your two childhood best friends. 

Izuku always used to follow Katsuki around. 

You wondered about them constantly, hoping they were alright with all the hero work they were in, Izuku especially. You two had been so close, and had lost contact when you moved away 7 years ago, leaving right after his graduation. You always kept up with his achievements on tv, cheering him on from the sidelines, but that still didn’t stop the hurt that crept in at the thought of leaving him. You never stopped feeling terrible about it, but you just couldn’t stay, you had always wanted to leave this place. 

Oh the irony of now returning to your hometown.

“Well let’s go momma we’re hungry!”

“Yeahh!”

“Okay guys, let’s go then!”

“Yay!” They shouted at the same time, running towards the front door to get their shoes on. 

You made sure they had a light jacket on as well, even if it wasn’t cold yet, you didn’t want to risk anyone getting sick. Holding both of their hands, you all decided to walk to the mall. It wasn’t that bad of a walk, the mall not being too far away from your new place. It was a bit weird being home, but it made your heart swell with happiness to see your three-year-olds taking in the sights with wide eyes. Laughing and playing on the sidewalk as they let go of your hand, choosing to be a few steps ahead of you instead. 

When you reached the mall, you made sure to hold onto them tight as you tried to navigate the place by memory. It seemed as if it hadn’t changed much, the same old shops and food courts, maybe only one or two new stores were open. You guided the kids up the escalator, and walked to your old favorite pizza place before placing your order. 

You all sat at a table and began to eat, letting the kids laugh and have their fun while you took time to relax your aching body. It was hard some days, having to do this all alone, but the bright smiles on their faces made it worth it. You’d wouldn’t trade your boys for the world.

“Momma, when do we get to go to school?” Isao asked you, chewing and talking at the same time. 

You tsk’d at him, wiping his mouth with a napkin before responding.

“You boys are almost four-”

“We get to go to school AND get our quirks when we’re four, right momma!?” Kosuke puffed out his chest and smacked it, a mouth full of food just like his brother.

“You rowdy kids, chew with your mouth closed! But yes, when your four all of that is going to happen.”

“So we’re going to get your quirk right momma?” Isao asked, while his brother just rolled his eyes at him.

“Well duh, of course we’re getting momma’s quirk dummy.”

“Be nice Kosuke,” You warned, “but you might get my quirk. It may not be exactly like mine, but it’s possible.”

“I want your par-lal-eses quirk!” Kosuke put his hand on Isao, who played along and went stiff and only moved with the tiny giggles coming from his mouth.

“Paralysis yes, I need it when I have you two running around so much.” You ruffled both of their heads before telling them to finish their food, that way they could get back and start unpacking. 

They listened for the most part, eating and playing superheroes at the same time. Your mind began to drift back to your teen years, how you’d come with your friends to this very mall and have a blast. You missed the old days sometimes, and wondered how it would have been if you hadn’t left, but if you didn’t, you wouldn’t have your sons.

“We’re done!” They spoke in sync, smiling as they put their plates together with good table manners. 

You smiled, grabbing the rest of the trash as you stood to throw it away. 

“Stay here my stars, I’ll be back.” You held all the trash in your arms and walked to the waste container on the other side of the room. 

You made sure to throw all the trash in the proper bins before setting the trays on top of the island. You grabbed a few napkins and wiped your hands, making a mental note to take the kids to the restroom to wash up before going home. You threw the used napkins away before turning around, walking back to your seat. You glanced up find the booth you were sitting in, only to pause with wide eyes of an empty table. You tried not to panic, rushing back over to see if they were hiding from you underneath, but when you looked under they weren’t there. 

Your heart was thumping wildly, snapping your head from side to side, trying to catch a glimpse of your boys. You couldn’t see them in the large crowd, and panic flooded your senses. 

“Kosuke!? Isao!!” You called out, your breathing picking up as you ran to find them.

Kosuke was bored, even though you had only been gone for two seconds, and got up from his seat.

“Kosu-nii, you should wait for momma before you get up.” Isao warned, swinging his legs as he patiently waited while watching you walk towards the trash can.

“I am waiting dummy, I’m not going anywhere-” He stopped, squinting at the crowd of people before tugging on his brothers sleeve.

“Hey Isao, doesn’t that look a lot like the top 5 hero..”

“Deku!?” 

Both boys looked at each other before rushing off, trying to catch up to their favorite hero while they still had him in their sights.

Izuku pulled his hat down farther down as he heard excited whispers, heading down the escalator to get away from the girls who were eyeing him like candy. He loved his fans, but it was his first day off in two weeks and he really just needed to get a couple of training shirts and get back to home. He just got back from a mission and he really needed a nap to replenish his strength. The Hero Public Safety Commission was getting ready to lay out the new rankings, and talk of him moving up to fourth were being tossed around, but he wasn’t sure. So he had been working more, trying to make that become a reality. 

He walked off the escalator, walking towards one of the clothing shops he had come here for and went inside. It was a larger store, and he felt better at the privacy he got inside of it, looking for more shirts in peace. However, that didn’t last for long when he felt something crash into both of his legs. 

“Ow-why did you make me run into him dummy?”

“You’re the one who made me run into him, Kosu-nii!”

Deku looked back and saw two kids on the floor, two boys who looked super alike. Their faces had caused a brief flash of your memory pass through his mind before he shook that thought away. He hadn’t seen you in years, no need to think of the painful past at a time like this.

“You kiddos okay?” He smiled, bending down to help them up.

They snapped their gaze to the man, eyes open wide and mouths on the ground. 

Izuku easily lifted them, staying crouched down to remain eye level, an easy grin on his face to help calm them down if they were upset.

“Wow..” Isao breathed out.

“It’s really you!” Kosuke finished, a grin taking over his face as he hugged the man.

Izuku almost fell back at the body as the boy flung himself into his chest, but quickly adjusted the body weight and put his right hand on the boys back.

“Kosu-nii you can’t just hug Deku like that out of nowhere!” The other boy huffed, arms crossing.

Izuku noticed he looked a little jealous and so he lifted his left arm up and smiled at him. 

“Did you want a hug too?” 

Isao didn’t need to be told twice, he quickly threw himself into Izuku’s arms as well, and this time Deku was prepared for it. 

They both pulled away, and Izuku swears there were stars in their eyes, and he held back a chuckle at how cute they were. He remembers the days where he’d look at All Might’s videos in the same fashion, they seemed to be around that age as well. 

Speaking of a younger age, Izuku glanced around and saw no one who could have been their parents in the store. Since the only other people where the workers and an elderly lady looking at blankets on the other side of the store, not paying attention to them at all.

“Wow! You’re my favoritist hero ever, Deku! Smash!” Kosuke punched the air, imitating Deku’s catchphrase.

Izuku had to hold back another laugh.

“Mine too! We always heard stories from our momma how you’re just the bestest ever!” Isao spoke, a shy smile on his face at being so close to his hero.

“You’re momma’s favoritist hero too!”

“Yeah momma always says you’re the coolest hero.”

“Well, as much as momma loves you, I’m your number one fan! I’m Kosuke!” He grinned, hands on his hips as he puffed his chest out.

“I’m Isao!”

“Well hello Isao, Kosuke, it’s good to meet you. But where’s your mom hm? Is she around here? Or your dad?” Izuku glanced out the shop windows, but didn’t see anyone waiting.

“Oh no, we left her upstairs huh. She’s going to be mad.”  Isao pouted, knuckles rubbing together in a nervous manner.

“Yea, it’s just our momma, we don’t have a dad.”

Izuku knew the feeling, his mother the only parent in his life as well. 

“Well, let’s get you back up to her okay? She must be worried!”  Deku grinned, lifting both boys in the air as they squealed in laughter.

Izuku felt his heart swell, enjoying the laughter and excited questions both boys were asking him. It was easy to pretend as he held the boys in his arms, pretend that they could be kids of his own. He was only 25 but he felt lonely, longing for a family. 

Although he knew it’d be hard, with all of his ambitions it’d be better to be single. At one point, he thought he would have someone to spend his time with, but you had left before he could make your friendship into anything more, and he learned to live with the fact that you weren’t coming back. 

As much as it pained him to do so.

“Deku, I wanna be a hero just like you,” Kosuke grinned,”But I’ll have my momma’s quirk, and one day I’ll beat you!”

“Kosu-nii you can’t beat Deku!” 

Izuku did let out a laugh this time, which caused the older boy to pout.

“You don’t believe me!? My birthday is soon, and as soon as I get my quirk I wanna fight you!” 

“Oh? Think you can take me on little man?” Izuku said, a teasing grin on his face.

“I know it! I’ll make it where you can’t move!”

“But Kosu-nii, don’t you remember the video?”

“The video?” Izuku asked.

“Yeah, the one where you had to do a bunch of stuff at school, momma said you were a, uhm…”

“He was a first year dummy! Momma showed us how you got out of that guys hold, you were like, BOOM with your fingers, and he was all AHH.” The kids were now making sound effects, telling him all about his first years U.A. Sports Festival. He felt flattered, the kids knowing so much.

He humored them, but as soon as he reached the top floor he kept a lookout.

“Hey little heroes, tell me, do you see your mom anywhere?” 

The boys looked around, trying to see if they could spot her.

“Nope.” Both boys said at the same time, and Izuku only hummed in response. 

He walked around for a little longer, before he decided he’d make a call on the malls intercom system.

“Alright boys-” He felt a jab in between his shoulder blades and his body went numb instantly.

He panicked as his grip around the boys went slack and he tried to hold onto them as he fell, but he couldn’t no matter how hard he tried. However the boys were scooped from his arms as he crumbled to the ground, unable to speak or move. He hasn’t experienced this type of total body shutdown since-

“Oh my babies are you alright!? What the hell were you doing with my kids you bastard.”

“Momma! That’s Deku!”

“Don’t be mad at him, we followed him to the store-”

“I-Izuku?”

You were looking down at him in shock, immediately setting your boys down to un-paralyze him. You didn’t realize since you were looking at him from behind, all you saw was a man holding your babies and you struck, trying to make sure they were okay.

Izuku felt like needles were pricking his skin as you touched him to release your quirk. He groaned while sitting up, coming face to face with you as you were crouched down.

“(y-y/n).. It’s really you, I-” He looked back to the boys and saw how similar they really looked to you.

“I’m so sorry Izuku I didn’t know that was you!” You apologized repeatedly, helping him stand up.

He held onto your arms before looking back at the boys, slowly letting you go. They were staring up at him, one with a smug look and the other with a look of worry.

“See, when I get momma’s quirk, I can totally kick your butt.” Kosuke boasted, and you shushed him.

“How impolite, you can’t tell people that Kosuke.” 

“If you get your mom’s quirk little man, then you will most definitely beat me.” Izuku said with a smile while he stared at you. 

Your cheeks lit up at the praise, and you took a long hard look at the boy, no man, you once knew. He was so different, and you wanted to hug him so bad.

“I missed you,” You threw your arms around him, and he hugged you back too.

His arms tightened around your waist as he buried his face into your neck. His heart thumping wildly at the notion of you in his arms.

“We got to hug him first momma.”

“Yea we did it first!”

The twins stuck their tongues out at you and Izuku let out a laugh, releasing you slowly, finding it difficult to leave your embrace.

“They’re right, they did get hugs from me first.” He teased, and you rolled your eyes in response.

“Thank you, for finding them.”

“Oh it was no problem-”

“As for you brats,” You spoke down to the boys with a stern look on your face, “What have I told you about running off? You know that’s not safe at all, I was so worried.”

“Awh but momma, we saw Deku!” 

“Yea, we had to say hi!”

“No kiddos she’s right,” Izuku crouched down to be eye level with them again, “It’s not very heroic to make you mom worried like that. Or run off when you’re not supposed to, I think you need to tell her you’re sorry.”

Both boys frowned, light tears coming to their eyes.

“We’re sorry momma.” Both boys mumbled.

You just hugged them tight, giving them a kiss on the head.

“It’s alright my stars, I’m not mad. I’m glad you’re okay. But you’re never allowed to do that again, got it?”

“Yes.”

“Good, now tell Deku thank you.” 

The boys did just that, and Izuku ruffled their hair before giving a thumbs up.

“You’re welcome!” You held back a laugh at how dorky it was, thinking back to All Might and his rambunctious ways. You smiled though, enjoying the moment. When Izuku looked up into your eyes, you felt your heart skip a beat. His eyes remained the same ones you remembered; loving, honest, full of hope and pride. 

“Well, thank you again Izuku, I’m sorry about everything. But we have to get going.”

You ignored the boys’ pouts and protests, choosing to bow your head slightly before walking away, throwing one last glance over your shoulder before giving a sad smile.

Izuku’s heart picked up the pace at the thought of you leaving again, so he caught up to and rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin.

“I might as well accompany you, if you don’t mind.”

“I’d love that.”

Izuku walked you all the way back to your house, playing with and holding the kids the entire time, as they took more of his attention than you did. He didn’t mind, really enjoying how sweet they were. 

“This is us.” You stopped in front of your place, telling the kids to say goodbye. 

They were frowning harder than before, unwillingly saying their goodbyes.

“Are we ever going to see you again Deku?” Isao asked, lip pulled in a pout. 

Izuku glanced up at you before looking back down at the boy with a smile.

“Of course kiddo!”

They smiled and ran inside after you unlocked the door for them, and you turned to face the man who walked you home.

“So you’re back.” Izuku stated, and you bite your lip as you looked down.

“Yeah, back here now. I guess I couldn’t stay away.”

“Well, I’m glad then. I really missed you.” He said with a sad smile.

“I missed you too, really. I shouldn’t have waited so long to come back.”

Izuku wasn’t sure how to respond to that, knowing if he did say anything he’d be asking why you hadn’t come back sooner, so he changed the subject.

“They’re both good, cute kids. Look just like you.”

“It’s better that way.”

“How come?”

“Their uh, their dad wasn’t the best guy. Didn’t want them, and I did. Wasn’t going to,” You looked behind you to make sure they weren’t listening, lowering your voice all the same, “I was not going to get rid of my babies. And if he thinks that’s a mistake, that’s his loss.” 

“He doesn’t deserve those boys then.” Izuku agreed, and you smiled sadly at him, God how you missed him.

“Izuk-”

“(y/n) wait, I want to say something.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“Uhm, whenever you’re not busy, I’d really like for us to catch up for real. When you have the time of course. Even if you have to bring the boys I, I like their company. They’re pretty funny you know.” He laughed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I want nothing more.”

“Good, then it’s a date.” He blushed, looking off to the side as he fixed his hat.

You laughed, pushing his hat down over his face and listening to his whine as you did.

“A date sounds amazing, Izuku.” 

[madamewriterofwrongs]

can i prompt: "Those things you said yesterday… Did you mean them?” for buddie? <33

Alicia! I meant to write something sweet and funny and instead, I wrote this. Regardless, I hope you enjoy <3

This, I Promise You

911/Buddie, 6k

“Eddie? Can you hear me?” Checking his best friend’s pulse, while constantly looking outside the grocery store window for the approaching ambulance, was not how he expected to spend his Thursday evening.

He had intended to take Eddie shopping for ingredients to make homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Instead, Buck had watched in horror as his partner collapsed in the dairy aisle, curling into his right side and only able to speak in pained groans.

Much later, he would feel grateful for his minimal medical training taking over his body while his mind swirled in panic but in the moment, the only thing that mattered was figuring out what was taking the ambulance so damn long.

“Just keep breathing, okay?” His fingers lightly brushed Eddie’s side and the man cried out louder, pulling Buck away from his work. He recoiled at the thought of hurting his friend in any way but there were so many other problems to deal with in the moment. What was happening to him? Where was the ambulance? What would he tell Christopher if Eddie died on his watch? The boy would never forgive him.

“Sir,” Buck jumped to his feet when a gloved hand touched his shoulder, watching from a panicked distance as the paramedics made their quick assessment that Eddie was safe to travel, and carefully lifted him onto the stretcher. All the while, Eddie continued his chorus of grunts and groans, fully-formed words having left his vocabulary entirely.

Buck opted to drive his jeep behind the ambulance (better to give them space to work, he reasoned), ignoring the selfish guilt in his stomach that somehow, he’d caused Eddie’s malady. He chose, instead, to focus his energy on calling Carla to bring Christopher to the hospital, then to inform Bobby of what little he knew, and finally, he called his sister. Second to his best friend, he needed someone to keep him calm with logic and a warm hug. Who better than the former nurse?

He would never tell Athena how he was nearly on par with the speeding ambulance on their way to the hospital, but he met them as they were wheeling him inside.

“Eddie?” He called to the man as he watched the pale form being wheeled past.

A nurse with a familiar stature to Maddie raised her hand to stop him with a firm tone. “Sir, you have to wait here.”

“But” he couldn’t leave Eddie alone now. What if something happened to him?

Again, the nurse stopped him. “If you give your and your friend’s information to the nurse over there, he’ll keep you updated, okay?” Her words were patient and gentle but left no room for argument. With one last glance at his friend disappearing behind the swinging doors, Buck turned towards the check-in desk. He was fully prepared to stand there until any new information came in, even if it took all night (which he sincerely hoped it didn’t).

That was exactly how Maddie found him when she hurried into the waiting area, operator’s uniform hidden under her sweater to accommodate the turning season. In fact, Buck wasn’t able to acknowledge her presence until two hands physically halted his mission to dig a trench in the hospital floor and he finally faced his sister.

“Any news on Eddie?”

She gently guided her brother to the nearest chair, only to press a hand into his leg when it began to shake with anxiety.

“Not yet. They took him back half an hour ago, why haven’t they figured out what’s wrong with him?”

“It could be such a simple diagnosis that they’re seeing to him right now.” Even if her words were just platitudes, they brought Buck a modicum of comfort to have another voice in his ear other than the one currently rambling about the worst-case scenarios. “What happened?”

“We were picking up groceries for dinner and he just collapsed.” Were he not in complete distress, he might have noticed the odd doubletake of his sister’s expression as his words set in. “He’s been hiding pain in his side for a few days, I thought he just pulled something at work and didn’t want to call out. Maddie, what if I didn’t say anything and now it’s only gotten worse?”

“Eddie’s a big boy,” she reminded him with no small amount of humor in her voice. “he can make his own decisions. If this is an untreated injury, then he’ll just have to deal with the consequences. But I have a feeling it’s nothing that serious.”

“That serious? Maddie, he collapsed in the grocery store. He was in so much pain, he couldn’t speak. How is that not serious?”

“By the way, since when did you and Eddie go grocery shopping together?” The blush in his cheek seemed to blossom instantaneously. “That’s very domestic of you.”

“Shut up.” Even Buck was unimpressed with his feeble attempt at indignation, too stressed to care much for appearances. “We were just picking up a few things so I could cook vegan spaghetti and meatballs for Christopher.”

“Where is Christopher?”

In all his pacing, Buck have never once forgotten about the little one’s imminent arrival. Facing the younger Diaz was the thing he seemed to be dreading the most in this entire ordeal. All the ways it could go wrong, all the ways he could fail that kid; it lingered in the air, refusing to offer a modicum of reprieve.

“Carla’s on her way with him. I really wanted an answer before they got here, though.” Having answers meant having hope and with hope on his side, maybe he could face those innocent grey eyes.

“I think you’re about to get it.” With Maddie’s assistance, he rose from his chair to face the approaching nurse he’d met earlier.

“Mr. Buckley.” He was too numb to feel her hand even as he shook it but he had a vague recollection of nodding in greeting. “You’re Mr. Diaz’s emergency contact, correct?” Again, he nodded as Maddie introduced herself to the other woman. “It’s a good thing you were with Mr. Diaz when he collapsed. It appears his appendix ruptured and if he had been alone, there could have been complications.”

All Buck heard was the crackling of static as the implications of her commendation sank in. “But, he’s okay, right?” She’d said it could have led to complications, that meant there weren’t any. Then where was Eddie?

“He will be. We’re prepping him for surgery as we speak but Mr. Diaz is heavily medicated, so we need your consent to move ahead.”

Wait, surgery? Surgery wasn’t safe. Surgery didn’t mean that everything was all right.

“Why-why does he need surgery?”

He saw more than felt Maddie’s hand on his arm. “They have to remove his appendix, Buck. It’s a very routine procedure, I promise.”

Of course, he trusted his sister, but that didn’t stop him from asking every question about the surgery that came to mind – even some he might consider irrational or fear-inducing under other circumstances. But these weren’t other circumstances. This was Eddie’s life. He needed to make sure his friend was safe above all else.

Thank goodness for Maddie, who gently pinched his bicep when he tried to ask for the credentials of the anesthesiologist, effectively drawing his attention to the impatient expression of the nurse before him.

“Sorry, yeah, you can go forward with the surgery.” He sheepishly signed his consent on the dotted line, even as his sister rolled her eyes at his hyperactive antics.

“Thank you, Mr. Buckley.” The other woman seemed to have the same expression on her face (though more professionally masked behind her clipboard. “Now, your friend has been very frantically asking for you so would you like to see him before we”

“Yes.” He cried with nearly too much enthusiasm, earning a startled jolt from the nurse who turned back towards the triage rooms without waiting for him. “Sorry, yes, I’m coming.”

Without looking back at Maddie, Buck pushed through the swinging doors Eddie had disappeared behind less than an hour earlier, his eyes immediately searching for his friend. Thankfully for the nurse’s sanity, Eddie’s room was the second on the left and already open for them to step through (lest she be forced to endure any more of Buck’s fidgeting demeanor.

The moment Buck’s eyes found Eddie’s, the room grew a degree brighter.

“Buck!” The firefighter cried. “You made it. I was worried you would miss it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, buddy.” Buck grinned on his way to Eddie’s side, careful to stay out of the way as the other attendants continued their preparation work, but standing as close as physically possible. “How are you feeling?”

In lieu of answering his question, Eddie stared unblinking at the man before him. “Your eyes are like the ocean.”

Ignoring the smirks from the staff around him, Buck shook his head with nothing but fondness in his smile. “I’m going to remind you that you said that once you’re sober enough to be embarrassed about it.”

“Thanks, Buck.” The sincerity in the other man’s voice was nearly comical. “You’re a really good friend, you know that?”

“After everything you’ve put me through today, I better be your best friend.” He congratulated himself on his ability to make light of one of the most stressful days of his life (disregarding the times when his own life was in peril). “And we’re going to have a serious talk about you hiding things from me, too, young man.”

At this, Eddie seemed to grow paler as his eyes grew innocently wide. “How did you know?”

“The nurse told me, dummy.” He resisted the urge to sweep a stray hair from his friend’s face, but promptly surrendered under the reasoning that this may be his only opportunity. “You can’t keep scaring me like this.”

It was almost precious to see the grown man shrink into the pillows with a doe-eyed apology in his red eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to get hurt but I do it a lot, don’t I?” As Eddie fell into some sort of high contemplation, Buck gave one last glance over his friend’s features. Beyond a small reddening on the side of his face, he appeared to have no outward injuries from his fall. As for his insides – Buck hoped his unending questions were enough to sooth his anxiety but they hadn’t dissipated them completely.  

“No more than the rest of us, Eddie. The doctor will fix you right up and you’ll be back at the station within a week.”

“Two.” He caught his new favourite nurse’s voice as she rolled her eyes.

“One and a half.” He countered, only to be met with another definitive expression (was that a part of their medical school training?). “Two it is.”

“What if I get hurt again?” Eddie’s voice cut through the light air and pulled Buck back to his side.

“Maybe the staff will give us some sort of discount if we come in so many times in a year.” On more than one occasion, Buck had jokingly tried to bargain with the accounting department about some sort of punch card – and the fact that he’d an opportunity to make his horrible joke several times had not escaped his notice. “You’ll be okay. Just like you always are.”

“But what happens if I’m not?” That doomful thought had also crossed his mind but he’d struggled to keep it at bay. And now Eddie was staring up at him and no matter his own fears, he couldn’t let that sadness and fear take up residence on his friend’s face for any longer.

“I promise, everything will be all right, okay? You’ll have this surgery and then you’ll never have to worry about your appendix ever again.”

“I know the mortality rates on an appendectomy, Buck, there’s still a chance.” Even high as a kite, Eddie was still so smart. He was quick on his feet and calm under pressure in a way Buck wished he could emulate.

The trouble was: Buck also knew the mortality rates (having grilled the nurse on all possible complications, no matter how outlandish). “I know the numbers too, Eddie. You’re more likely to die in a skiing accident.”

“I would hope so.” The man scoffed.

Buck made a mental note to renew his statistics knowledge so he could win the next argument.

“I promise you’ll be fine.”

When Eddie grabbed his wrist, he was thankful his heart wasn’t the one being monitored. “Buck, I need you to make a serious promise to me.”

Even without the urgency in his friend’s voice, the firefighter would have agreed to anything. “Of course.”

“If anything happens to me, I need you to look after Christopher for me.” Before he could open his mouth to protest, Eddie continued. “He looks up to you and I know you’ll do everything you can to look after him.” Nothing that the man said was new information for Buck and yet every word sliced through the sudden fog around his mind with sudden clarity. “And don’t let my parents bully you into taking him back to Texas. He belongs here with you, okay?” When Buck didn’t answer right away, Eddie squeezed his wrist tighter. “Promise me?”

“I promise, Eddie.”

Logically, he knew that he shouldn’t be taking any of Eddie’s demands at face value, as he was under heavy pain medication and anesthetics. He had no control over what he was saying and yet it all rang true to the Eddie he knew – if a little more slurred and enthusiastic.

“You really are such a good friend, you know that?” As the man continued his speech, the attendants began to hook his stretcher to be wheeled into the hallway. Buck followed steadfast behind the group as he listened intently. “I don’t know what I would have done without you all these years. You’re kind and loyal and smart and beautiful. If I was going to marry someone again, I’d want to marry you. You’re amazing, don’t ever forget that.”

As the doors opened to where Buck could no longer follow, Eddie called out: “Buck, I love you.”

Before the words could fully register amidst the other ramblings, the surgery doors had closed and Buck was left in an empty hallway that echoed with every unspoken word suddenly flooding to the surface. What had Eddie meant by that? Why had he said it at all? He couldn’t wait however long the surgery took before he got his answers.

“Wait!” He feebly called to the door, knowing even in that moment, he couldn’t cross over just to question a man most likely unconscious from the drugs by this point. What was he meant to do with his hands? Did his legs function on their own without him consciously moving one foot and then the other? Was he currently breathing? The air was too stale to take a reasonable breath, he needed space in order for his mind to spiral properly.

“Buck? What did Eddie say?” When had he returned to the waiting area to face Maddie? How did she know that Eddie had said anything? Right; Eddie had been asking for him.

“He, uh, he asked me to look after Christopher.”

Buck passed by his sister’s nodding head on his way to the exit doors, hoping the late afternoon air would provide some much-needed clarity from his overwhelming mental journey. The world outside the hospital walls was a creamy orange as the thinnest traces of the setting sun began to pierce the sky. A soft breeze blew just enough to remind him that the world still turned despite the numbness in his fingers.

Before his legs could attempt to buckle from underneath him, he found a small concrete wall surrounding some barely tended shrubbery and let himself collapse against it. His head fell naturally into his hands as he reminded himself to take one deep breath and then another. Another breath came and again and again until he felt the ground beneath his feet and the denim against his elbows and the sweat in his hair once again.

Eddie’s in surgery now.

Eddie’s in surgery and he asked you to look after Christopher if anything happened to him.

Eddie’s in surgery and he said he loved you.

Eddie was also incredibly high on medication and wasn’t acting entirely himself despite the similarities in his speech. They weren’t things he’d even imagine his friend to say out loud, but he knew them to be true.

Except for the part where he said he loved you.

Admittedly, that was the part that stuck with him. More than his faux deathbed confession to care for his son, more than his ramblings about Buck’s qualities. The simple admission that his feelings for the man went beyond friendship, threatened to bring back the swirling mind and tingling fingertips.

Eddie will be okay and then you can talk to him about it once he’s recovered.

Or you could just never talk about it and see if he forgets.

Do you want him to forget about it?

What do you want to say back?

“Eddie’s going to be okay.” Buck snapped to attention, looking at his sudden companion with a smile that seemed to grow of its own accord.

“I know, Carla. It’s a common procedure and he’s come back from worse.” Of course, worse had been getting shot in Afghanistan, but this was nothing compared to the trials he’d endured there. In terms of Eddie’s canon of injures, this particular incident was hardly worth noting.

With the exception of one, distinct, admission.

“Then what’s got that pretty face all screwed up?”

He opened his mouth to tell his friend the same thing he’d told Maddie, only to catch the thing missing in his life just in time. “Where’s Christopher?”

“Inside with your sister. She asked me to check on you.” There were many reasons Buck could name as to why he loved his sister, and he added another to his list. “So, if it’s not Eddie, what is it?”

Without needed words exchanged between them, Buck shuffled over to allow room for his friend to sit beside him. Perhaps there was another solution to his dilemma that he’d never considered before.

“It is Eddie but it’s not about the surgery. Well it is about the surgery but not the” Buck took a deep breath to steady his rambling mind and it marginally worked. “I’m not worried about his physical health.” His mental health, perhaps. How can he love me?

“What did he tell you?” The confusion must have been evident on his face because Carla supplied the answer. “Maddie said you went in to see Eddie and when you came back you looked like you were going hurl – her words, not mine.” He smiled at that. “What did Eddie say to you that got you so twisted?”

Four words. Not large for a statement but grand in stature and bewilderingly unsettling.

“He told me he loved me.”

“Oh.” Carla blinked in surprise, but he saw no disgust or apprehension, which he knew would be absent from the woman who’d known them both for the entirety of their friendship. Of the people in his Los Angeles family, she was the only person he might consider to be closer to Eddie simply because she had a different relationship with the man. There was something about Carla that had always put him at ease, and one night spent lying awake and missing the home he’d left behind many years ago, he realized the thing he loved about Carla was also the thing he loved about Eddie: no matter their dynamic or status, there was trust and respect and kindness. She might call it ‘being damn good at her job’ but Buck hadn’t called Carla all those years ago because she was the best in-home care worker he’d even known (not that he’d known too many in his time), he’d called because he trusted her with something important that he couldn’t do on his own.

Perhaps he could trust her again.

“I just wasn’t expecting him to say it when he was being wheeled into the operating room.”

“But you were expecting him to say it?”

He opened his mouth to protest, cursing his own subconscious, but a gently impatient look from the woman next to him silenced those thoughts. “I think maybe I was but I didn’t realize until it happened. Like, I’ve never thought about Eddie as anything other than my…” Suddenly, calling him his ‘friend’ didn’t seem like enough. “Eddie.”

“Well your Eddie just laid his cards on the table, it seems.” He had the horrifying realization that he would never escape that particular tease for some time. “So what are you going to do about it?”

Buck had been asking that very question since Carla found him and yet he still hadn’t come up with an answer. “What if he didn’t mean it? Or what if he meant it as a friend? Or what if he forgets? Or what if he didn’t mean to say it now and he’s not ready?”

“Honey, I’m going to say something I don’t think you hear enough.” She placed a firm hand on his shoulder to ground him into silence. “Stop thinking so much and just do something.”

Buck had, in fact, never heard that command uttered in the context of himself before in his entire life. If anything, he’d spent most of his career being constantly reminded to do the exact opposite. He knew reminding her of that would only earn him an eye roll and maybe a light smack on the arm, but she cut him off before he could consider if it would be worth it.

“I’m serious. Don’t think for one second and just tell me the first thing that comes to mind.

Run.

“Do you love Eddie?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to be with him?”

“Yes.”

Something warm and heavy settled in the front of his chest, spreading across his sternum like a blanket. Freedom, he realized, freedom and hope and contentment. He wasn’t as afraid of those words as he probably should have been.

“Would Eddie ever intentionally hurt you?”

“Never.”

More truth spilled from his lips as Carla questioned him and the warmth spread into his shoulders and curled down his back.

“Would he ever lie in order to lead you on, or in any way hurt you?”

“No.”

“Do you want him to have meant it?”

“Yes.”

“If the two of you were together, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“We break up and I have to change stations and he never lets me see Christopher again.”

“What’s the best thing that could happen?”

“Everything.”

Upon his confession, he saw the same surprise on Carla’s face that she’d worn earlier: no judgement or hint at foreknowledge. Pure, quiet, realization.

“Oh you love him, love him.” He hadn’t realized it until she’d said it out loud – and part of him felt ridiculous for connecting with such a childish explanation – but it was as true as anything else he’d said in the safety of their stone wall. “You can’t keep that thing bottled inside. If there’s even a chance that he feels the same, you have to go for it.”

Easier said than done. “But what if”

“No buts, Evan Buckley.” He shut his mouth at her command. “When that boy is out of surgery, you are going to tell him that you love him, too. Do you understand me?” It was almost surreal to think of such a tender moment being turned into a threat, but he nodded with panicked fervor. “Good. And no talking yourself out of it between now and then, either. You’re telling that boy tonight or I will drag you into his hospital room and lock the door until you do. Although you’re more than welcome to lock the door yourself once you’ve made your confession. No pulling his stitches, though.”

Buck had no idea his skin to blush that shade of red, but as images of all the reasons he might need to lock him and Eddie inside a room for privacy tumbled through his mind, he felt his entire body boil over from the heat.

“Carla!” He admonished with a smirk.

“Honey, if I looked half as good as either of you, I wouldn’t have been able to hold out as long as you both have. Honestly, your resistance is impressive.” He would never tire of her honest commentary (she hadn’t been the first to notice Eddie’s quote ‘perfect bone structure’, but she was the first to say it out loud).

“And I think you’ve both earned a little happiness, don’t you?” That same honesty could hit him with just as much depth. Her talent was startling.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Damn right, you would.” She bumped his shoulder to pull a smile from within his nervous, terrified, hopeful body. “Now, are you going to be okay for the next few hours or do I need to bring your sister out here to give you another pep talk?”

Oh god, how would he explain this to Maddie without being mercilessly teased at their wedding reception? Slow your roll, there, Buckley (his inner thoughts sounded strangely like Bobby). Get through the night and see if you both make it to a first date. “I think I’ll be okay.”

And after saying it so many times in his life, Buck meant it in a rare burst of honesty that settled in his bones. Granted, he was still terrified out of his mind – because telling someone that they make the sun shine brighter for the very first time was never an easy task – but no matter the outcome, he knew he would be okay.

“Thanks, Carla.”

“Thank me by inviting me to the wedding.” As if she weren’t already near the top of his guest list.

--

It was to Eddie’s great shame that waking up in the hospital following his emergency appendectomy felt painless. The first time he’d opened his eyes completely, two very patient nurses had asked his questions while examining him with clinical precision. It was nothing he hadn’t experienced over and over in his time. The second time he’d opened his eyes, there were no nurses or questions; in fact, from the light outside the window in the open hallway, he would guess it to be early in the morning (despite the distinct lack of change inside the building. He had, unfortunately grown accustomed to opening his eyes to the harsh overhead lighting and constant yet distant noise of the machines. The post-pain-med-hangover was a distant memory, and the only sign that anything in his life had changed was a slight soreness in his side where he’d no doubt have another scar to add to his ever-growing collection.

That, and the hand squeezing his as he returned to consciousness. But feeling Buck by his side was not a sign that anything had changed. If anything, it was confirmation that he had returned to the land of the living.

He would save his questions of how he knew Buck’s hand from anyone else’s for another time. Or perhaps never (though if he were honest with himself, the concept of ‘never’ hurt his heart worse than the idea of ‘not you’). Right now, he focused on looking at the eyes which owned the hand massaging his knuckle just below the heart monitor attached to his finger. If he focused on his breathing, maybe the machine wouldn’t pick up on the way his heart skipped a beat when he saw Buck’s smiling face.

“Hey Bu-”

“I love you.”

There was no mistaking the sudden drop and double count on the monitor, but all Eddie could hear were Buck’s words repeating over and over in some sort of recursive loop.

Maybe he was still dreaming.

“What?”

He missed their connection, but the way his partner shot up and began slowly pacing the length of his bed was more concerning. “I was going to lead up to it but then I saw your face, and Carla told me that if I didn’t tell you when you woke up, she would lock me in here and I panicked a little.” His explanation was only mildly helping Eddie’s nerves, but he accepted what little context was provided. Something about Carla.

Okay, so he needed more information.

“Carla made you say that?” But why? Was this some sort of pity confession, or fear for his safety? She had been encouraging him to start dating again but coercing his best friend was a bit much.

“Yes. No.” Buck stopped and restarted his pacing every time his train of thought shifted tracks and frankly, Eddie wasn’t nearly awake enough to understanding what was going on.

“Buck, sit down, okay? Tell me from the beginning.”

As easily as though he’d made his own decision, Buck obeyed Eddie’s command and flopped into the seat – though he didn’t retake his friend’s hand, a fact from which Eddie attempted to hide his disappointment. With a long breath, Buck began his speech while Eddie watched his changing expressions with increasing awe.

“I don’t know how much you remember about yesterday or what you said before you went into surgery. I know you were pretty out of it from the pain meds and anesthesia but you said some things.”

Oh god, Eddie prayed for more anesthesia so he could go back to sleep and wake up in a world where he hadn’t embarrassed himself. He had no idea what those things were that he’d apparently said to Buck but from his demeanor the instant Eddie laid eyes on him, he knew it must have been something big.

“You asked me to look after Christopher if anything happened to you.”

Oh? That wasn’t too bad. “I meant that. I trust you.” If that was all he’d said, there was nothing to be worried about. He would have asked that of Buck regardless. It just made sense at this point. “Just promise you wouldn’t let my parents bully you into taking him back to Texas, okay? His home is here, now.”

Buck’s blush was awfully adorable in the sharp, white light (perhaps not all of the medication had worn off). “You, uh, you told me that, too.”

“Okay good, I mean it. We can make it official if you want? Sign the paperwork and everything.” He should take a look at his will anyways. He hadn’t had a chance to adjust it since before Shannon’s death and some things had definitely changed. Was that why Buck looked so anxious: he didn’t know how to ask Eddie for guardianship? That was an easy fix. So far, nothing had come up to explain what had prompted the sudden confession or Carla’s involvement.

“We could?”

“Of course.” He shrugged, careful of his wiring and newly acquired stitching. “I told you: there’s no one I trust more with my son than you.” He’d meant it then and, if anything, that belief had only grown with time.

“What about your heart?”

The one currently alerting the nurse’s station that it was beating uncontrollably? That heart?

“What about it?”

“Do you trust me with your heart more than anyone?”

“Buck, wha-”

“You also said,” Buck seemed to be powering through now, regardless of anything Eddie wanted to say. “You also said that if you were going to marry anyone else, it would be me.” Oh god. “And you said that you love me.” Oh god. “Did you mean it?” Oh. God.

The truth of it was that Eddie didn’t remember anything between experiencing a pain in his side as they walked into the grocery store and waking up to the two nurses hovering over him. He’d guessed it was a problem with his appendix but like many unpleasant things, he’d put off making an appointment too long and it had apparently come to bite him in the ass in the worst (and most expensive) way possible.

And on top of that, his subconscious mind was punishing him by letting slip the confession he’d been rolling around on his tongue for months.

Great.

He’d realized he was in love with Buck one night when they had been on an endless shift with too many calls involving high stakes and stupid people. He was beyond exhausted and frustrated, and every emotion seemed to take up residence in his shoulder muscles. Finally, they’d been freed to go home to their loved ones, except because of the late hour, his loved one was sleeping over with his friends. So, Eddie had no one to go home to – a fact which he had resigned himself to long ago – when he felt a familiar hand clap his back and, with a simple nod of his head, Buck invited him over for pizza and video games. And just like that: Eddie wasn’t alone any more. And just like that: Eddie realized he loved Buck.

For months, he’d wrestled over the depth of his emotions for the man currently watching his every expression. Was it just a crush born out of proximity? Was it a physical attraction coupled with a close friendship which would mean a less than successful romantic relationship? Was it loneliness and desperation? Was it a forever kind of love? Did it have to be in order to mean something important?

It had taken time, but eventually Eddie had come to the conclusion that Buck was more than a fling and worth more than mere physical attraction (though the man had been making frequent visits to his dreams of late and many of them involved the need to wash his sheets in the morning).

He was beginning to contemplate the notion of possibly thinking about telling Buck how he felt, when his appendix decided to do it for him. And now here was Buck, looking him in the eyes – those eyes that were like the ocean in a storm – to ask him if he’d meant it when he���d said that he loved him, despite not remembering making that very significant confession.

And on top of that: Buck’s first words in response to that very significant confession, was to tell Eddie that he loved him. Because of Carla. Somehow.

“Why did Carla make you say…what you said?” Dare he get his hopes up? Dare he allow himself to believe that the things Buck said were said in earnest?

“She didn’t make me say it, I wanted to say it, but she told me if I chickened out when you woke up, she would lock me in here until I did.” If anyone asked him the colour of the sky, he would have no earthly idea what the sky even was. The only thought that existed in his mind were five words.

“You wanted to say it?”

Buck’s cheeks really did turn a lovely shade of pink when he was flustered. “Yeah, Eddie, I wanted to say it. And I wanted to hear you say it. Just not when you were being wheeled into surgery.”

“It wasn’t how I planned on saying it, either.” He muttered his confession despite barely regaining consciousness from losing all other thought.

“But you meant it?”

Buck reiterated the question Eddie had yet to answer because it felt like reaching a door that would disappear once opened. But wasn’t that the real question: did he want to open the door?

“Yes.”

The smile on his partner’s face was warm enough to soothe the cool remnants of their parted hands, and Eddie felt his own expression soften and expand from just the sight of the other man’s joy.

“Good.” Buck whispered. “I love you, too. By the way.”

If laughter didn’t threaten to pull his stitches, he would have joined in the bubbling happiness that filled the room. Instead, he resigned himself to watching the man he loved – the man who loved him back – relax into their shared knowledge that things would be all right between them.

Not that he ever truly worried. Things with Buck weren’t always easy but they always found that world again: one where they were both too frightened to speak their hearts and minds, but the universe brought them together anyways.

Grocery store appendectomies were decidedly not on his list of ways to confess his love. He wouldn’t have it any other way.