#I've been dead and tired but this had been in my drafts for too long

[sweetsunnys]

*posts this and dissapears in the bushes*

[iceandpeaches]

head counsellor duties; luke castellan

a/n: i've been away so long i feel kinda bad but i've so busy.. anyway here's something that has been sitting in my drafts

pairing: luke castellan x demigod reader (godly parent unspecified)

as the eldest, first to be claimed and head counsellor of your cabin, you were tasked with the responsibility of taking care of your younger siblings. and to your acquired knowledge, you were definitely not your parent’s favourite. you felt that your claiming was so your other siblings had a big sister to depend on. your cabin was empty till your parent started claiming your half siblings, your heart growing heavy from all the burden you felt. from then on, your cabin bustled with noise almost every second of the day which honestly gave you a bit of a headache. but anything for your siblings, right?

“rae! could you help me this?”

you nodded, hands now holding the item your sibling needed help with. it takes you some time to figure out but eventually you solve it. you hand it back to your sibling, which leaves her excited and now embracing you tightly. your arms wrap around her small figure, giving her a gentle pat on the back.

“you’re the best, rae!”

“thanks, i try to be.”

you smile, the young girl pulling away and running off to her other siblings. you let a sigh leave your lips as you pinched the bridge of your nose, wishing you had an older sibling to look up to. 

“you holding up okay, rae?”

the familiar male voice made your lips curl into a gentle yet tired looking smile, watching as he sat down beside you. his expression grows weary of your own, wearing a frown on his face as he examines the frustration that was evident to your face.

“i’m alright luke, you?”

luke patted your back, you leaning into his touch. luke understood the pressures of being head counsellor, but seeing your dark circles and tired figure made him worry about you tenfold. in comparison to his cabin, the campers in yours were no older than 11; so he understood the need for your siblings to depend on you the most they could, at least until they were more independent. 

“what activity do you have next?”

“sword fighting training, with risse.”

“so, you’ll be free then?”

“one of my kids needs my help since they're a little too small to be on their own, unfortunately. why?”

luke frowned, he knew that after more of your siblings got claimed; the lesser time you had to just be alone. the lesser time he had to spend with you as well, but he never gave up on trying. 

“well.. i was thinking, maybe we could.. you know, go pick strawberries together?”

“i’d have to bring my kids along, you know. they can’t stand a second without me.”

“they’ll be with clarisse rae, i’m sure they’ll be fine.”

you huff, nodding slowly. you got up from the bench you were sat at, rounding up your siblings then escorted them to sword fighting training with luke following by you. you hum, watching as your siblings interacted with the hermes counsellor; lips curled into a grin. you both were close, but never were more than that. once your siblings were with clarisse, luke whisked you away to the strawberry fields.

for a while, you two picked strawberries in dead silence. you needed the quiet after hearing your siblings fight and scream at each other. and luke desperately wanted to talk to you and yap your ears off in hopes to make you feel a little better. luke stopped picking the crimson berries, his basket lowered and now watching you; which made you stop too.

“what’s wrong, luke? unwell? injury? need a tissue? fever?” 

you frown, the back of your hand already pressed against his forehead. luke shook his head, gently holding your hand and putting it down. he wasn’t surprised by your reaction, that’s was part of their duty as head counsellor.

“i’m okay rae. i just.. hope you are too.”

his arm wrapped around your shoulder, you leaning into him; a sigh leaving your lips. you felt him rubbing your shoulder, eyes peeking up to look at him. 

“were your siblings like this too? clingy and overly dependent?”

“they look up to you, rae. you’re their big big sister after all. plus, it gets better when they get older. they’re all what.. 9? 10? they’re gonna grow up to do fine, rae.”

“i wish i wasn’t though. i’d be fine being second, but not first. they expect me to bounce back from the pain immediately, i wish they knew how much i hate it.”

luke pursed his lips, nodding at appropriate junctions; brows knitted in focus as he listened you speak. he hummed, hand moving to touch your silky hair. you let your mind wander, imagining a life where you weren’t head counsellor of your cabin – running around the fields, sword fighting with clarisse almost everyday and maybe even swimming in the lake at night. but you had to be the responsible head counsellor, stripped of all these desires. 

luke’s lips met with your forehead, glancing up at him; heat staining your cheeks. you gently pull away to look at him, to admire his chiselled features. your lips pursed as you admired, attentively observing him. 

“what? something on my face?”

you giggled, slowly shaking your head; glancing down at the discoloured ‘camp half blood’ printed on his shirt due to how old it was. he ran a hand through his curly locks, your arms moving to his waist bringing him into a tight embrace; which caught him off guard.

“woah woah dove, at least tell me first.”

he chuckled, bringing her in and hugging you tight. he could get used to this, if he were to admit. 

“i’m just gonna.. stay like this for a bit.”

“people are gonna start looking, dove.”

“since when did you care?”

“hmm, i do. don’t knock me down though.”

you giggle, ruffling his brown curls. 

“okay. enough hugging please.”

you both pull away, his arm now wrapped around your waist. you grab your basket half filled with red berries, continuing to pick more of the vibrant berries. one of the ares campers ran over to you, telling you that your siblings were asking for you. you nodded, shoving your basket of berries into luke’s chest.

“gods, i’ll see you later luke.”

luke leaned in and kissed your cheek, you frozen and unable to react; blinking in confusion and luke watching your reaction. a chuckle left his lips as he rubbed your shoulder, 

“go get your siblings, rae. they’re waiting.”

you snapped out of it, nodding vigorously while still being in a daze from the earlier interaction. you hoped your siblings didn’t see. 

“right right. see you later.”

you smile, running off to the training ground to gather your siblings. the young campers were excited to see you, all running up to you and hugging your arm and some your leg. they were mostly about as tall as your torso, with the exception of a few of the boys being slightly taller than the others. your lips curl into a gentle smile, mumbling a headcount under your breath to ensure all of their alive and well. you lead your siblings back to your cabin, putting some of them down for a well needed nap which was suggested by some of the apollo kids at the infirmary. for the younger ones, at least. 

“okay, the rest of you. don’t get yourselves in trouble, okay? it’s free time for all of you, go find your friends to play with. i’ll be with the other counsellors if any of you need to find me.”

the group of older children nodded, running out of the cabin after permission was granted to them. phew, finally some time to yourself. you sat on a step outside your cabin, watching as your siblings played with other campers in the distance. you couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction, you just loved them so much; you'd kill a minotaur for them. 

“there you are, gods.. i’ve been looking all over camp for you.”

you grin, turning to the direction of the voice. luke once again sat by you, gently leaning his head on your shoulder; his curls tickling your neck.

“tired already, castellan?”

his eyes glanced up at you, looking sleepy yet energetic at the same time. you grin, gently running your hand through his soft yet tangled hair. you definitely needed to recommend him a conditioner and maybe some other hair products, but it’s fine. that would be a later you’s problem. a hand of luke’s was set on your knee, nose scrunched as you continued to watch your siblings play. you imagined a life away from camp, preferably in the countryside; with two kids and possibly luke as your husband. 

“hug.. please?”

you heard luke say, your brows furrowed and eyes squinted. luke’s eyes dilated, his pupils now huge. you giggle, slipping your arms under his and pulling him close. you were so close to his chest, that you smelled the musky firewood smell of cabin 11. it smelled so warm and comforting. it was a scent you definitely could get used to, reminding you of times when your mortal parent would roast marshmallows with you in the early days of your time at camp. 

“you know i could easily get used to this, castellan.”

“i could too, dove.”

you hum, glanced up at luke’s lips, then back at him. in that moment, you felt your imaginations come to life.

[toomuchracket]

all i want for christmas (birthday party!matty x reader fluff)

back from the dead (a depressive episode) with a fluffy pre-dating fic that's honestly longer than it needs to be. whatever. it's christmas. this fic is also part of christmas75/twelve days of christmas, organised and curated by my lovely friend @abiiors. hope you all enjoy <3

wednesday, 3:34am

as soon as the “email sent” pop-up appears, you feebly close your laptop and lay your head on the desk, ready to finally give in to the sleep that's been edging ever closer to your eyelids for the past hour. but before you get the chance, your phone buzzes with an incoming notification, the vibrations rattling through the wood of the desk and into your skull.

swearing, your voice scratchy with underuse, you open one eye and tilt the screen towards you - the name it bears above the unread text makes you shoot back up to a sitting position, and knocks all traces of grumpiness and tiredness from your brain and body.

matty.

pointedly ignoring the butterflies in your stomach when you see he's opened his message with hi, darling, you continue reading: hope you're alright, and that the new book isn't kicking your arse too much. saw a group of kids in barnes & noble raving about your last one earlier. would've joined them if i wasn't in a hurry, to be honest. fucking brilliant. anyway, i know it's late, but i had to text you before i forgot. can you give me a call when you get this, darling? flying home early tomorrow so i'll be up from about… 8am your time? i've got a favour to ask you. nothing crazy, though, and nothing urgent. but yeah, just phone me when you can. thanks, darling. miss you, talk to you soon. bye! X

just as you're reeling from the three darlings and the kiss and the miss you, another text from your best friend comes in, accompanied by a photo: also look at who you were next to on this display. i got so excited. my three favourites!

you laugh out loud, a combination of shock at the fact your collection is between slouching towards bethlehem and consider the lobster and adoration at matty's beaming face next to it all. fuck, he's cute.

so cute. enough for you to forget that it’s 3 o'clock in the morning, and happily pick up your phone and dial his number - you've spent so much time poring over your message threads that you know it off by heart - as if it was mid-afternoon. you kick your legs back and forth as the call connects, smiling to yourself at the thought of hearing his voice for the first time in over a month.

luckily, you don't have long to wait; your heart flutters as he picks up on the second ring, voice thick in the way it only goes when he's smoking. “you know, you didn't have to call me right away, darling. thought you'd have been asleep. but hiya!”

“hi, matty,” you smile. “and come on, it's deadline week, of course my sleep schedule is fucked. questioning why i'm not asleep, christ, thought you knew me better than that.”

he takes your teasing in good faith. “i do, darling, i do know you,” matty's voice is soft, his tone as tender as you've ever heard it. it's driving you batshit insane. “but you know me. i just want to make sure you're not stressing yourself out about your work too much. rather have my best friend's wellbeing intact than another book, even though your writing is my favourite. speaking of, that display! i'm recreating it at home. genuinely. s'amazing.”

you can feel your cheeks burning. “i can't even comprehend that display right now, m'too tired. but i’ll text you my thoughts once they make sense. and i'm alright, matty, honest. please don't worry about me, lovely.”

“that'll never happen, and you know it.”

“god, you're obstinate. but thanks. i appreciate the care.”

“even when you're insulting me, you're so eloquent. you've got a gift,” matty laughs down the phone. “how's deadline week going, anyway?”

“it's done. just sent the final draft away for edits. s'why i'm still up, actually.”

“really? congrats, darling!” the genuine happiness in his tone makes your heart hurt. “god, i wish i was home now, so we could go out and celebrate.”

“me too. but we'll see each other this weekend for early christmas dinner, yeah?”

“that's what i wanted to talk to you about, actually. you know those roast potatoes you made last year?”

“you mean the ones you and alexa fought over the last spoonful of?” you laugh, remembering the two of them racing to the tiny kitchen in your flat to try and nab them.

“m'still fucking fuming that she got them. bitch,” matty grumbles, then giggles. “nah, she's like my sister, i love her. but yeah, those potatoes. can i have the recipe for them, please?”

you suck air in through your teeth. “well… no. that’s a family secret, lovely. m'sorry.”

“oh,” matty sounds so genuinely deflated that you could cry - you seldom see him upset, but the thought of his pretty face all sad makes you feel incredibly guilty. “that's alright, darling, i understand. my nana was the same with her soup recipes. you'd have to marry me if you wanted them.”

you hum out a laugh, brain suddenly scrambled at the thought of walking down the aisle towards him. god. get a grip! 

scrunching your eyes closed and blinking them open again - a tried and tested way to stop yourself going off on tangents - an idea pops into your head, so obvious that you’re not sure why you haven't suggested it already. “well, in lieu of us getting hitched within the next week,” you smile, enjoying the way matty laughs softly at the other end of the line. “i could come over early to yours and make the potatoes for you, if you'd like?”

“i quite like the sound of the first option, to be honest…”

what the fuck?! you have to clap a hand over your mouth to stop a gasp. or a scream. perhaps even a moan.

“...but i'm more than happy with the second one. thank you, darling,” matty's smile is as audible as his relief. “you're a lifesaver and a legend. come over whenever on sunday, yeah? wake me up if you have to. actually, no, i'll pick you up. s'the least i could do to thank you. and it means we get to spend even more time together.”

“that sounds nice,” you all but sigh into your phone. “i'm excited to see everyone.”

mostly you, though.

“as am i, darling,” matty yawns. it's the cutest sound you've ever heard. for fuck's sake. “m'not bored talking to you, honest, just tired. this is actually the most fun i've had in weeks, this phone call.”

you want to assume he's lying out of politeness, but something in your brain tells you he's being sincere; it's not like you can say anything to dispute him, either, given it's also the most fun you've had in weeks. “matty, you’re in new york. at christmas time.”

“yeah, alone! s'boring. macaulay culkin made it seem a lot more fun when i was a kid,” matty snorts. “plus, i saw you the last time i was here. any trip you're not on is just automatically a bad one.”

christ, what is with him today? “flatterer,” you smirk, before grimacing and continuing to talk. “but i assume you've not been… totally alone, the whole time? i don't like the thought of that being the case.”

you hope to god he's too tired to pick up on your actual meaning; the sight of him with another girl isn’t unfamiliar to you, but that isn’t to say you don't mind it. quite the opposite, in fact.

thank christ, he misses it. “no, i’ve been good. slept by myself every night,” he laughs.

you giggle, relieved. “really? wow.”

“why are you surprised at that?”

“you're you, matty.”

“yeah, well, i'm going through a metamorphosis-”

“kafkaesque of you.”

“knew that one was coming as soon as i said it,” matty sighs. “but in all seriousness, in the past couple of months, i've just… fully realised what i want in life, you know? and it's not what i used to want, or get up to.”

interesting. “well, that's good. m'happy for you, lovely.”

“yeah, thanks. and what about you, miss? you, um, bringing anyone to christmas dinner?”

you snort. “obvs not.”

matty hums. “why'd you say it like that?”

“like what?”

“like,” he pauses, trying to find the words. you can just picture the shape of his eyebrows as he does. “derisively. as if it's a silly question.”

“because it is a silly question, matty.”

“is it?”

“yeah,” you giggle. “i wouldn't even have time for a one night stand, let alone a relationship. not that there's anyone particularly interested, right now, anyway.”

“oh, there is,” comes the reply. “there really is.”

“if you say so.”

“believe me, darling, people want you. they're down bad. totally in love with you.”

“oh, you are so high right now, aren't you?”

“i mean, yeah. but i'm right!”

“uh huh,” you smirk. “i think you need your bed, matty.”

“pot, kettle.”

“alright, point taken,” you peel yourself off your chair, joints cracking slightly worryingly as you stand and pad across the flat to your room. “i'm going there now.”

matty sighs happily. “good. but send me a selfie as proof. accountability and all.”

it's an innocent enough ask, and not a totally unprecedented one - in the times where your self-neglect was at its worst, you would send matty and your other friends selfies so they could make sure you were alright - but the concept of sending matty a late-night pic from your bed does something quite odd to your brain and stomach.

still, you’ll oblige. but will he?

matty giggles when you ask him as much. “yeah, i'll send you one in return. i'm all about reciprocation, me.”

the words leave your mouth before you can stop them. “good to know.”

he laughs, that stupid hyena cackle of his that might be your favourite sound in the world. “christ, i've missed you.”

“it's reciprocated,” you smile, switching your phone between hands as you get into bed and hissing quietly at how cold the sheets are. “alright, i'm in my bed. and you should be too.”

“you're right, i should be,” matty says. his voice is lower than you've ever heard it, the rasp of his cigarettes prominent; despite yourself, it goes straight between your legs. “soon, though, darling. promise.”

“good,” your voice comes out breathier than expected, a setting you haven't used in some time. “i think we both need it.”

“yeah, i think we do, too,” matty yawns again, following it up with a sigh. “right. i'm going to hang up now, darling. i really don't want to, but i feel like if i don't then one of us is gonna fall asleep before we can exchange pics. and i can't be having that, honestly. miss looking at you.”

you giggle, rolling onto your stomach and kicking your legs back and forth. jesus christ, what is this man doing to you? “don't get too excited, i look like shit.”

well, you've looked worse lately - you at least showered and clipped your hair up and put on a clean outfit today. but still, far less glamorous than matty's used to.

or not - “i've literally held your hair back while you yoshed in a plant pot, darling, i think you're alright.”

“and on that note, let's wrap it up,” you laugh, rolling back to lie down. “what time should i be ready for on sunday?”

“oh, um… half twelve? that should be enough time to get everything sorted.”

“half twelve it is,” you yawn. “ok. bedtime. have a safe flight, lovely. talk soon?”

“‘course. don't forget that selfie, by the way. eagerly awaiting it.”

“et toi. lots of love, see you soon.”

“back at you, darling. goodnight.”

the call ends. you close your eyes and, for the briefest of moments, let yourself dwell on the fact your best friend - who, let's be honest, you have a bit of a crush on - shamelessly flirted with you to the point of bordering on phone sex, and let yourself believe that maybe, just maybe, there's a chance he might feel the same way you do.

but it's matty. sweet, cheeky, affectionate matty, who'd find a way to flirt with a brick wall if he was bored enough. because that's what he is, really - bored, high, alone on a phone call with a girl late at night. it's just a natural thing for him to do in those circumstances. you're not special, you were just… there.

that notion stings more than you expected. but you persevere, opening your camera and fixing your glasses. he's your best friend, after all, and he asked you to do this to make sure you were alright. nothing more than that.

still, as you close your eyes and smile, you hold the phone with both hands so your boobs push ever so slightly more together. just in case. then you caption the pic as requested, and hit send.

matty’s reply buzzes in a few seconds later, eliciting a shocked giggle from your lips: fucking love it when you wear your glasses. a follow-up appears in another few seconds: if that's you looking like shit… you're defo the sexiest bit of shit i've ever seen.

fuck him for getting you flustered like this. honestly, fuck him.

and, oh, when he sends a selfie in return, shirtless in low light, hair in its natural state, one hand behind his head… don't you want to do just that?

you bite your lip as you compose your response: my condolences to the single girls in nyc who are missing out on you looking like that tonight.

matty: i know, poor them lol. but their loss is one specific single girl in london’s gain, though, yeah?

you: fuck yeah

matty: you crack me up

matty: miss you sm

matty: anyway, sweet dreams. see you in them, i hope

matty: but see you irl on sunday lol xx

you: miss you too, lovely. goodnight xx

***

sunday, 12:56pm

a mass of black fur rams into your legs as soon as you step through matty's front door. you laugh, dropping your bags and crouching to pet an over-excited mayhem, while matty grumbles behind you. “at least let her get in the house, mayhem, christ!”

“don't listen to him,” you coo at the dog, nuzzling into you quite adorably. “i'm just as happy to see you as you are to see me, baby. got a present for you and everything.”

“you did not buy the dog a christmas present,” matty groans, gently pulling the coat from your shoulders.

“of course i did. got you one as well.”

“thought we agreed we weren't doing presents this year?”

“well, i'm a dirty liar,” you brush down your dress and turn to face matty, smiling. “that, and i saw something when i was in glasgow that i couldn't resist getting you.”

matty's eyes widen near-imperceptibly as he takes in the dark red fabric clinging to you like a second skin, raking up and down your body almost too quickly for you to clock. 

almost. you bite back a smirk. got him!

much to your chagrin, though, he recovers quickly and turns the tables. “well, it's difficult to keep control when you see something… attractive,” he murmurs, gaze lifting to meet yours. “i like that dress, darling, you look gorgeous. and,” his tone and face brighten. “i actually got you a gift, too.”

the revelation is just as shocking as the way he looked at you is. “you did?”

“we're both dirty liars, it seems,” matty grins. he nods towards the kitchen. “make yourself comfortable in there, darling, and i'll go and get it. only be two minutes, promise, and then i'll help you find whatever you need, yeah?”

“you've not done a mad rearranging of your kitchen cupboards since the last time we all came over for dinner, have you?”

“nah.”

you wave nonchalantly. “then i'm good, i know where everything i need is.”

matty smiles down at you - there's an expression in his eyes that you can't quite name - and gently nudges you down the hall. his hand is light against your back, but it sends shockwaves through your nervous system regardless. “alright. give me a shout if you need anything, though, please.”

“i will, lovely,” you smile back just as sweetly. “want me to put some christmas music on? get into the festive spirit and all?”

“anything but band aid.”

you laugh, and matty joins in. “i was thinking more sinatra, anyway.”

“perfect.”

and that's exactly how he'd describe the scene in the kitchen he walks into thirty minutes later. the room is warm, made cosy by the oven that's been slow-cooking turkey for a little while now, soundtracked by frank crooning out have yourself a merry little christmas. mayhem snoozes in his bed by the massive window, which shows snow dusting over the garden like icing sugar on a cake, and then there's you. still keeping an eye on the potatoes bubbling on the hob, you sway gently to the music as you pour dried spices and seasonings into a bowl, your face as content as matty feels.

it breaks into a big smile when you see him in the doorway, white dress shirt hugging his chest quite deliciously. “oh! you got changed. i like it.”

“had to keep up with you, didn't i?” matty smiles, wandering into the room and laying a gift bag on the counter. he peers into the pan of potatoes. “thank you for doing this, by the way, darling. means a lot.”

he opens his arms, and you slot into them before they wrap around you tightly, resting your chin on matty's shoulder and smiling. “no one else i'd do it for.”

matty hums happily. “god, i've missed you. you're always a total peach to me. makes me feel good.”

“a peach? you've spent too much time stateside, matty,” you giggle, pulling away just enough to look at him. “thank god you're home for a bit. but thank you, lovely, i'll take the compliment.”

“for once, you'll take one,” matty teases. his face turns slightly more solemn. “yeah, m'glad to be home. it's a shame you won't be at any of the UK shows, though. i always like them more when you're there.”

“well, when hollywood calls, you have to answer,” you shrug, then smirk. “you just want me at the shows so i'll praise your narrative structuring again, don't you?”

matty's eyes close in bliss. “don’t tease, you literally barrelling towards me backstage screaming about midpoints and how proud of me you were is genuinely the best thing that's ever happened to me.”

“oh, shush,” you roll your eyes, suddenly shy.

“i'm serious! it'd be like joan telling you she thought one of your sentences had perfect structure. a writing compliment from you is a gift, darling.”

“well… thank you. and speaking of gifts,” you - with great reluctance - pull away from matty, bending down to grab a wrapped box from your bag. “here. joyeux noël.”

your best friend takes the present from you, murmuring a “thank you” and smiling at the tag addressed to him. he holds it to his ear and shakes the box, eyebrows raising at the slight rattle.

sighing, you roll your eyes. “just open it, matty.”

his face lights up. “alright.”

after carefully peeling the tag from the box and placing it in his pocket, matty tears through the paper and lifts the lid off. he squints at the sides of the smaller plastic boxes inside, before realisation hits and his jaw drops. “this is…”

“cassette recordings of ten blue nile gigs throughout the eighties and nineties, in their entirety,” you finish, smiling. “thought you'd like them.”

“like them? darling, this is- i don't even know what to say, other than thank you,” matty looks at you, awed, and pulls you into another tight hug. “how the fuck did you manage to get them?”

“the guy in one of the record shops i went into in glasgow was selling them. they're his recordings,” you say, half into matty’s neck. “and he'd digitised them, so he didn't need the tapes anymore, and he wanted them to go to someone who'd genuinely use them. remembered you saying you'd bought a tape deck, and i know how much you love that band, so… i kinda had to buy them.”

matty turns his head and presses a kiss onto your temple; while you bite the inside of your cheek to keep from screaming in delight, he speaks again. “you really are one of the best people i know. christ, i'm so overwhelmed by how perfect that present is. i need a drink,” he pulls away and heads to the fridge. “d’you fancy some champagne, darling, before i give you your gift? you might need it, actually.”

“that's not ominous at all,” you quip, then nod. “pour me a glass while i sort the potatoes and get them in the oven, please.”

matty nods, pulling out a bottle of perrier and grabbing glasses to take over to the table, while you drain and pat-dry the potatoes. he hums along to the background music while he fiddles around with the foil covering the champagne cork; you smile, eyes flicking up periodically to look at his cutely confused face, then back down to the food you're currently buttering and seasoning. it's incredibly domestic, a cosy little christmas dinner tableau, so much so that it hurts your heart to think that life isn't always like this for you and matty. and mayhem, obvs, curled up so adorably in his bed that you have to resist awwwwing every time you look at him.

still, it's hard to be melancholy when matty's irritation at the bottle foil is so amusing. you giggle at his grumbling, turning around to look at him scowl once the potatoes are safely in the oven. “need a hand?”

“no thanks, darling, i'm- ok, yeah, please,” matty sighs, leaning back in his chair and stretching. you pretend not to notice the way his shirt rides up and exposes his hip tattoo. “can't find the tab on the foil.”

“hmm, let me see,” you wander to the table and sit beside matty, moving your chair closer to him. well, to the bottle. “ah - that's because there isn't one.”

“well that's fucking stupid. how are you meant to open it?”

you smile, swiping your index nail across the foil; it slices clean through, and you're able to peel the covering off the cork. “like that. these aren't just for aesthetic purposes, you know.”

“that was actually quite hot. let me see them?” matty gently takes your hand in both of his own, admiring the abstract line pattern on your fingernails, tenderly rubbing his thumbs over the gel. “yeah, definitely hot. let me open the champagne from here though, darling, yeah? can't risk these pretty nails being damaged.”

you bite the inside of your cheek again; this time, to stop from giggling flirtily. “have at it, lovely.”

“i like it when you call me that,” matty smiles, grabbing the neck of the bottle in one hand and the cork in the other, and slowly twisting. “makes me feel good.”

“well, you are lovely,” you smile back. “and opening that champagne quite effectively, i must say.”

“learnt from the best,” matty winks. “you're right, though, it's a lot less messy. although i don't mind that, sometimes. s'fun.”

“yeah, me too,” you smirk, glad to be sitting down and not having to worry about your legs caving in at matty and his words. “kinda fun getting it all over your hand, isn't it?”

matty's eyes widen again, and the cork breaks free with a loud pop; before either of you can cringe at or make light of it, though, mayhem jolts awake with a yelp at the sound, and quickly runs over to sit at your feet. 

you coo at him, reaching down to scratch his sweet head and reassure him (and berate his dad). “aww, mayhem. you scared the baby, matty! look at him, he's terrified! s'ok, sweetheart, i'll keep you safe. come on, you can have your christmas present to cheer you up.”

matty rolls his eyes, but he can't keep the smile from his face as he watches his dog eagerly follow you to your bag. “you know, mayhem, you're such a sap, honestly.”

“oi, don't talk about my friend like that,” you frown, face lighting up as you find what you're looking for in your bag. “aha! here you go, mayhem. merry christmas.”

the dog takes the guitar-shaped dog toy with relish, plodding back over to his bed and playing with it contentedly. matty leans to the side to look at mayhem's gift, bursting into laughter when he sees it. “fucking brilliant. that'll be his new favourite, by the way. but you're his favourite, so it checks out, i s'pose.”

“really?”

“oh, he loves you. he never gets so excited to see anyone else,” matty nods, pouring champagne and sliding a glass to you. “bet he'd enjoy seeing more of you. as would i, actually - i really like spending time with you, darling.”

you nod, touched. “so do i,” you raise a glass. “to seeing more of each other next year.”

matty clinks his glass off yours, repeating your words with a soft smile. you take a sip of your respective drinks, humming in satisfaction as the champagne hits your lips. you nod again as you swallow. “christ, that's good.”

“agreed. and now that we've had a drink,” matty puts his glass down, then leans back in his chair and reaches to grab your gift from the counter. he presents it to you with a grin. “merry christmas, darling. save the box til last, yeah?”

“ok. thank you,” you smile sheepishly, opening the bag and pulling out its contents: a notebook, with a pen tucked into the front cover, a book, and a thin, a4-size box. laying them on the table, you inspect each facet of the present in turn, starting with the notebook. “a parker pen? matty, this is beautiful.”

“that one's also kinda a congratulations gift for getting your manuscript in. there's a little message on the inside, too,” comes his reply. 

you flick your gaze up to find him blushing, and it makes you smile even wider. carefully, you lift open the black cover, and find matty's familiar scrawl on the inside: to my favourite writer… this is for the next one. lots of love, matty ♡. a little giggle leaves your lips, and you reach for your friend's hand to squeeze it. “you really are the loveliest, you know.”

“shhh, it's nothing,” matty softly rubs the back of your hand with his thumb. “the next bits are the good ones, really. m'excited to see you react to them.”

“better not keep you waiting, then,” you smile, reaching for the book; you let out a little cry of excitement when you read the title. “on beauty! i haven't read this since i was at uni, my god. thanks, matty, i can't believe you remembered me saying that! oh, this is amazing.”

“open it.”

your head shoots up. “what? why?”

matty smiles. “just do it, please.”

“alright,” you do as requested. when you see what’s on the title page, your jaw drops. “matthew…”

“oh, shit, the full name. am i in trouble?” matty quips, smirking as he takes another sip of champagne.

“no, no, just… you got zadie fucking smith to sign a book for me? with a personal message?” you all but sob, lip quivering, completely overcome. “she's telling me she loves my work? what the fuck?”

“well, she's got good taste.”

“matty,” you wail. “this is the best gift i've ever been given.”

matty giggles. “no it isn't.”

“i'm telling you, it really is.”

“nah,” matty gently tugs the book from your hands and replaces it with the box. “this might be, though. but you need to stop crying before you open it, though, darling. can i just…?”

tenderly, so tenderly, matty takes your face in his hands and uses his thumbs to carefully wipe the tears pooling on your lower lashline. at his touch alone, your breathing starts to regulate; the same can't be said for your heart or brain, which both go haywire at the intimacy of his actions, something not helped by him whispering reassuringly to you. “there you are, darling. you're alright.”

it's not a question, but you nod anyway. “thank you.”

“anytime,” matty lets go of your face and sits back; you miss him as soon as he lets go. “right. now you can open it.”

with a smile, you lift the lid from the box - it falters, though, as soon as you take in the words on the paper in front of you. “these are outlines.”

“yeah, they are. look closer, darling.”

you squint at the paper, a choked noise escaping your lips. “feel free… fuck off. zadie gave you her essay notes?!”

“she did. and told me to give them to you.”

“how?”

“well,” matty grins, shuffling in his seat. “i went to see her and nick while i was in new york, and i asked her to sign the book while i was there. when she found out it was for you… she insisted you have those. printed more off for me and everything. she thinks you're the shit, darling.”

“you're sure she didn't say i was shit?” you hiccup, sliding the box onto the table before your tears hit the paper and picking up your glass for a long drink.

“positive. she only had lovely things to say about you,” matty takes your glass and refills it, beaming at you. “so, yeah. bit of a weird present, i know, but i knew you'd appreciate it.”

you laugh through your tears, wiping your eyes and shuffling your chair next to matty's to hug him. “i really do. and i appreciate you even more. thank you, lovely, you're too good to me.”

“nah, you deserve the best, darling,” matty’s hand comes up to rest on the back of your hair, stroking it gently.

you wallow in the tender moment for a second, before pulling back to smile at him. “m'sorry for crying, christ.”

he shakes his head. “don't worry about it, s'cute. and you still look fit when you cry, so…”

“shut up,” you laugh, shoving his shoulder.

“really, you look perfect,” matty smiles, eyes soft. “m'glad you came over early today. not just because it means we get the good potatoes, but because we get to do this, have a bit of peace before everyone gets here. s'nice. really nice.”

you nod. “it is. thanks for having me. and for the gift.”

he kisses your hand. “anytime. thank you for my gift. and just for being you, i s'pose.”

“it's like you want me to keep crying.”

“well, like i said, you look fit,” matty grins. “but nah, i'll stop. let's have a nice time and get rid of this champagne before everyone else gets here, yeah?”

“sounds like a plan.”

so that's what you do - sit at matty's kitchen table, drinking champagne and watching mayhem playing with his new toy, talking and laughing with your best friend. outside, the snow falls faster and faster, blanketing the garden in pristine white, but it's falling nowhere near as quickly as you are for matty. when the front door goes, you’re actually welcome for the excuse to leave the table, the kitchen, the intense care in those beautiful eyes that threatens to shatter your sanity and perspective.

it's your newly engaged friends, laden with more champagne and christmas crackers. once you've exchanged pleasantries, your friend sends her fiancé into the kitchen with the bags so she can interrogate you. “now why are you here so early? you're a little bit unsteady on your feet… oh my god, did you and matty fuck?”

“no! christ! and keep your fucking voice down,” you hiss, looking back down the hall to make sure the coast is clear. “i came over early to help with dinner. and we opened champagne. that's it.”

her eyes narrow. “but you want to fuck him, don't you?”

you open your mouth to answer, but pause for a split-second too long; she cuts back in again. “oh, you do! well, you should.”

“i don't just want to fuck him, babe,” you sigh, leaning against the cold concrete wall. your brain is screaming at you to shut up, but you can't. “i… like him. in a more-than-platonic way. like in a deep way.”

“so… tell him that.”

you blanch. “today?”

“yes! it's christmas. we've all seen love actually - it's the perfect time!” she quietly claps, beaming. “and you won't see him again until my birthday dinner, so if the revelation goes tits up… you've got two months to get over it.”

“really filling me with confidence here.”

“sorry,” she kisses your cheek. “i just like the thought of the two of you being happy, that's all.”

“i know, it's just-”

“darling?” matty wanders down the hall to you, pulling your friend into a welcoming hug, then turning to face you. “sorry to interrupt, but your timer is going off.”

“oh, thanks, lovely,” you smile at him. “be in in a minute, yeah?”

“alright. looking forward to it,” with a wink, he's gone again.

your friend smiles at him, then turns to you. “he is looking forward to you returning to the same room as him. how interesting!”

“yeah, because it means we all get the roast potatoes i made. that's it.”

“oh, you made those again? amazing,” she nods appreciatively, then looks at you and tilts her head. “he could still just be looking forward to being in close proximity to you again, though. wonder if there's any mistletoe around.”

“shut up, please, i am literally begging.”

she laughs, tucking you under her arm and walking to the kitchen. “alright, i'll leave it be tonight. but i'm just saying - i think you have to seriously consider that matty might want you under his christmas tree this month just as much as you want him under yours.”

“and i think you have to seriously consider that you might be delusional.”

“well, we'll soon find out, i'm sure.”

[parad-ice-lostandfound]

Prompt: Because I'm tired and want someone to cuddle me <3

Pairing: OM!Boys and GN!Reader

Genre: Fluff, comfort

TW: NA

AN: Because I feel drained. You know that bone-deep tiredness that's there for no apparent reason? Yeah, that's what I've been feeling for the past 4 days. Add horrible, horrible summer heat with it and you have one very tired, sticky and frustrated Icey.

This is very self-indulgent btw. Not really happy with the ending, but oh well, this has spent too long in my drafts, so enjoy~

The first sign that something was not right with you was when you woke up.

Your skin was clammy, the t-shirt you had slipped into the previous night sticking to your body despite it being a fairly cold night. An odd sense of exhaustion hung over as you sat up in bed, drowsily willing your limbs to move.

You jolted slightly at a sudden pounding at your door, groaning as you heard Mammon's voice telling you that you were late. Letting out a tired sigh, you swung your legs to get out of bed.

You went through your morning routine (that Asmo had all but wrestled you into following), trying to fight the alluring call of your still unmade bed. Normally you would make your bed as soon as you woke up, but considering the time constraints imposed upon you, you decided not to today. Besides, if you were to keep feeling this way the entire day, you would collapse into bed the moment you came home.

Mind made, you slung your bag (that you had the foresight to pack the day before, thank Diavolo-) over your shoulder. Time for another day of learning at RAD.

What could possibly go wrong?

You had been feeling queasy the entire day, and that only heightened when it was time for lunch.

Solomon eyed you as you kept playing with the food on your plate. A glance at Simeon revealed that he too had noticed your off behavior. The brothers were all a bit pre-occupied with some student council related work, which was why you were currently sitting with the Purgatory Hall members; but that couldn't be the reason for the way you barely made a dent in the food provided by the cafeteria. And it was one of your favorites as well.

"MC?" he called out to you gently.

You hummed in response. "Yes Sol?"

"Is the food not to your liking?" Simeon asked, his careful question bringing Luke's attention to your mostly untouched food. The younger angel began fretting and worrying over you instantaneously.

Luke's actions brought out the very first smile from you all day. "I'm fine Luke, just a bit tired," you responded to his heart-warming actions, lightly ruffling his hair. Luke huffed, but still hovered close to you with a concerned expression on his face. Simeon took one of your hands in his, checking your well-being using his angelic powers. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, and he told you as much.

"But still, you shouldn't overexert yourself MC," Simeon added after some thought. Just as you were going to reply, a familiar voice cut in.

"Indeed MC. There is no need to force yourself to attend RAD if you're not feeling well," Diavolo gave you a smile as he took a seat next to Simeon. Barbatos stood at his side, a fond smile on his lips as well.

"You should take the day off. Lucifer won't mind, I'm sure."

"I-"

Solomon lightly elbowed you, mischief in his eyes as he whispered, "Take the day off. You look dead on your feet, and I would prefer it if my little apprentice is in prime condition for all our experiments~"

You huffed in amusement. For all his cockiness, you could hear the concern in his words. "Fine," you conceded, missing the way everyone seemed relieved, "I'll go home, but only because I feel like trash. And i probably wont be able to concentrate in class." You stood to throw your uneaten lunch in the trash, coming back to your friends to get your bag. "Guess I'll get going now."

"Do you need someone to escort you MC?" Barbatos asked, his hand coming up to brush a few strands of your hair behind your ear. An innocent gesture that had your heart speeding up momentarily, and a red tint spreading all over your face. Barbatos chuckled at your flustered state as you squeaked out, "Nope! I'll be fine!"

"Rest well."

As soon as you reached the House of Lamentation, it was like a switch had been flipped. The exhaustion you had been fighting to keep back hit you with all the force of a rampaging beast. You barely made it to the bathroom, stripping off your clothes and getting into the bathtub.

You lost track of time as you soaked in the warm water, the bath salts Asmo had gotten for you relaxing you and taking some of the tiredness away. Once the water lost its warmth and your fingers became all wrinkled, you decided to get out. You nearly slipped when you placed one foot on the bathroom floor, hand shooting out to hold onto the side of the bathtub. A breathless laugh tumbled out of your lips, your heart hammering away in your rib cage from the close call. Carefully this time, your extracted yourself and quickly changed into clean and comfortable clothes after drying yourself.

Now that you felt less like a grimy gremlin, you decided to take a nap. Unfortunately, your bed did not feel as comfortable as it looked anymore. You tossed and turned for a few minutes, huffing in frustration before finally sitting up and glaring at the offending piece of furniture.

You needed to sleep. You wanted to sleep. But you were not comfortable enough to and it was driving you mad. Grumbling, you got off your bed, shooting it another nasty glare, picked up your favorite fluffy blanket and left the room.

One long and arduous journey up a flight of stairs led you to the perfect place for taking naps; the attic. You sighed in bliss as you sank into the bed, fluffy blanket on top of you soft and comforting on your skin. Things couldn't be any better.

You slipped into dreamland soon after, not realizing that you had forgotten your DDD in your room.

Lucifer frowned, looking at his chat with you.

When Diavolo first told him that you had gone home because you hadn't been feeling well, he wondered whether it was just an excuse. While he hadn't paid you much attention that morning, you seemed perfectly fine. When Simeon told him about your off behavior throughout the day, he got concerned enough to send you messages asking if you had reached the House of Lamentation safely and if you needed anything.

Messages that had gone unread and unanswered, even as it was nearing the end of the school day.

Lucifer wondered momentarily if he was the only one who went ignored, a belief shattered when he heard the loud voices of Asmo and Mammon complaining that you had ignored their messages and calls. Levi nervously asked, "D-do you think they're hurt or something? They don't usually ignore our messages..."

A ripple of panic passed through the brothers, but before anyone could act on that panic, Satan spoke up. "If something was wrong with them, we would have felt it through our pacts. Calm down."

"Satan's right. They must be resting right now," Lucifer hummed, hand resting on his hip as he looked at his brothers. "So you should all refrain from bombarding them with texts and calls. There are only two lectures remaining for the day to end; we can check up on them once we're home."

Garnet eyes watched as his brothers left the student council room one by one, before taking another look at his DDD.

Still unread...

"MC? We're home darling!"

"Shut up Asmo, they're sleeping right now. I can feel it," Belphie grumbled, the soothing hum of the pact mark against his skin lulling him to sleep. It was a calm that washed over him when you were taking part in his sin, and with the intensity of it, he could tell you were in the house.

That was good. The House of Lamentation was safe, more or less.

He watched as Mammon bee-lined straight to your room. Then, in true Mammon fashion, he threw open the door, only to freeze instantaneously.

"Oi, MC?" he called out as he stepped inside the room, eyes finding it empty. "Hey human, where are you?"

"They're not in their room?" Satan asked as he peeked inside said room, frowning as though it could tell him where you went. "Their bag and DDD is still here," he observed.

"Maybe they've gone to one of our rooms? Oh, I do hope it's mine~" Asmo giggled before skipping away. Belphie watched all of his brothers try to get to their own rooms, including Lucifer, in hope they'd find you resting there. Idiots, the bunch of them.

"...Where do you think they are Belphie?"

"The attic, Beel."

"Okay."

Levi made his way to the common room after having checked if you were in his room. It's not like he seriously thought you would be there. He sleeps in a bathtub, and that isn't the most relaxing place to sleep, he knows this. But he was surprised to see almost all of his brothers there as well.

Asmo pouted, leaning against Satan on the sofa. Lucifer sat on the armchair, watching as Mammon paced left and right.

"What's going on?"

"Oh, Levi! MC's not in any of our rooms, and I'm guessing they aren't in yours either?" Asmo hummed as Levi nodded.

"Did you check the twin's room?"

"I did, it was empty as well," Satan answered.

A beat of silence before... "Did anyone check the attic?"

The five brothers looked at each other, realization setting in as 4 of them scrambled to get to their resting human.

Lucifer sighed, before following his brothers up the stairs to the attic. Once he reached the top, he could see Asmo taking photos and cooing at the scene in front of them all.

You were cocooned in a fluffy blanket, your hair the only part of you visible. Beel slept comfortably on his side, his back facing the door to the attic, one arm over your swaddled figure securely. Belphie was on the other side, not asleep for once as he gave his older brothers a lazy smirk. "Took you guys long enough," he chuckled.

"Oi, you brat- mmph!"

"Shut up, they're sleeping," Belphie hissed, the arm used to throw a pillow at Mammon's face lowering and maneuvering the blanket around you so your face was now somewhat visible. "If you promise to be quiet, you can join us," he hummed, before closing his eyes and drifting off to dreamland.

Lucifer gave an exasperated smile as the rest of his brothers joined the cuddle pile, opting to pull a chair beside the bed for himself, content with watching over his family as they rested.

[tigirl-and-co]

Middle-Aged Man (But Not a Dad (Probably))

Heyooooo, back at it again with a super rough draft for a fic!

inspired by @dballzposting but especially THIS post!

Basic plot summary is Trunks accidentally imprinted on Yamcha like a baby bird but is too emotionally stunted from growing up with the least familial family in all of classic anime to realize that he's being weird as hell about it.

To nobody's surprise, it's a character study! Woohoo!

And before we begin, I wrote almost all of this while dead tired, so it's probably even rougher than my usual rough drafts, but good god I wanted to write this sooooo bad.

Obsession ran on both sides of his family. This was an issue for Trunks, as he'd really fucking rather be thinking about quite literally anything else. But here he was, at the get-together-slash-party-slash-ritual-to-appease-a-big-purple-cat-with-food-so-we-don't-get-blown-up, staring at his mom's ex from the other side of the dessert table.

And praying said ex wouldn't look up from the eclairs he'd never be able to afford otherwise and see Trunks' stupid, stupid eyes staring at him.

But he did.

Fuck.

"Hey, Champ! How've ya been, Buddy?" Yamcha said, in his stupid fucking aging dudebro voice that filled Trunks with an overwhelming sensation of warmth and comfort. He hated it. Yamcha smiled at him the way, Trunks thought, a dad smiles at his somewhat estranged son.

It was probably a kinder smile than his real dad gave when he hugged him for the first time. Not that Trunks would know. Couldn't really see Vegeta's face, too busy experiencing every emotion he could name and also being shoved against Vegeta's inhuman, statuesque form.

It fucking felt like being shoved face-first into a statue, too.

Not like Yamcha probably felt, with his all-too-human physique. There was a softness that covered his features, even though he was still as tough and muscular as ever.

He kinda reminded Trunks of the big blue guy from Monsters Inc. But like, less serious. And very slightly less hairy.

Trunks had been staring too long, but apparently Yamcha was willing to write off the icy glare as a genetic thing and not an actual threat, because he approached the teen with no hint of trepidation.

He stood in front of Trunks and hucked a thumb at the spread of confections behind him. "Yo, you tried the weird cream cake thing? The one covered in chocolate? No idea what it is, but it is good!"

Trunks tried desperately to claw himself out of this conversation with "It's called an eclair cake." He wasn't sure whether or not he had meant to sound that gruff. Either way he sounded too much like his dad, and it pissed him off more.

"Yo, what? They can make eclairs into cake? That's crazy!" Yamcha took pause and then nearly busted his gut, laughing a bit too loud like guys that age tend to do. "But I guess when you're rich, you can pay people to cook up just about anything!"

There! An opening! Trunks knew how to win this conversation and then make his getaway!

"Actually, Yamcha, I think it's just graham crackers, pudding, and chocolate. Pretty simple recipe. I can ask the cooks to give it to you."

Yamcha blinked. "R-Really? That's it?" He sighed. "Well, as much as I'd love to eat cake all day, I really shouldn't." He slapped his gut, which jiggled slightly. "I'm at that age where I've gotta start watching what I eat or I won't be in any shape to show off to the ladies, haha!"

Trunks immediately threw his gaze to his shoes. He fucking lost that interaction, and now he'd have to talk to Yamcha for however long the older man could stand him. Fuck. Well, Trunks knew how conversations worked. He'd seen the guys at Kame House get into it sometimes, and since Trunks was no longer a child, he figured he should talk like that. The ball was in his court.

"Ladies, huh? What... sort of ladies are you into?"

Fuckin' killed it.

~~~

Now it was Yamcha's turn to be cornered. Was it okay to be talking about that kind of stuff with a kid? With someone else's kid? With the kid of somebody he dated?

But he couldn't just say that! Trunks was at the age where he was starting to go after the ladies himself, and Yamcha didn't want to discourage that! He had to find a middle ground, hopefully there was an avenue in this conversation that wouldn't lead to either of Trunks' parents hitting his head clean off his shoulders.

"Um. Your-" NONONONO CAN'T MENTION BULMA. "I m-mean, I like women who..." and how is he supposed to word this? Obviously he's not gonna say 'pretty women' because that would sound so damn shallow, coming from him. "I like. When girls. Can stand on their own... but enjoy having someone around to make their lives easier? I guess?"

He ran his hands through the hair on the back of his head. "To be honest, kid, I'm not really sure anymore! The more I think about it, the more I realize that sometimes people you think should work don't, but the real crazy shi- the real crazy stuff ends up better." Yamcha laughed the kind of shitty laugh you let out when you're nervous and stalling for time. "What about you, Trunks? You a ladies' man? Got a preference?"

~~~

Well, Trunks had been expecting an answer like 'I like redheads' or 'I'm a boob guy' so he was a little unsure of his next move, but he had to think of something to say!

"Um idk there's this one YouTuber I like." Trunks crossed his arms. "So you like women like my mom, right? It kind of sucks that she ended up with my dad."

Yamcha couldn't move. He wasn't sure he was breathing, either. "H-Huh?"

"Yeah 'cuz you probably woulda been a way better husband. All my dad does is train all day and then sit at the table and stuff his stupid face." Trunks put his fist on his hip. "You like watching movies and being nice and shit. I dunno."

~~~

Yamcha was desperately hoping Vegeta wasn't going to manifest behind him and reduce him to ashes. The things Trunks was saying were weird, sure, but the whole family had always been blunt. Trunks probably didn't mean anything by it. Not that that would stop either of his parents from hunting Yamcha down if they heard.

And Yamcha wasn't stupid! He had issues with his own parents, way back when. It's what eventually led him to become a bandit out in the middle of the desert for Chrissake! But he had just wanted to be a dude Trunks could come talk to if he was having the sort of human troubles an ex-evil alien dad couldn't help him solve, and apparently he had been too approachable. Or Vegeta really did just suck that bad.

Either way, oops.

"Hey kid, l-listen! You can't just say things like that!" Yamcha sighed deeply, trying to compose himself. He was still looking around like a raccoon that could hear hound dogs braying, but at least he stopped stuttering.

And then he saw Trunks' face harden even further, scowling angrily. The tykebomb looked like he was barely resisting shouting his next statement, and Yamcha was very glad for that.

~~~

"I'm not a fucking kid! Goddamnit, I'm just trying to have a normal fucking conversation, why are you being so fucking weird about this?" Trunks would have been a truly intimidating sight to behold at this point if he wasn't three-foot-five with lavender hair. "And I was gonna apologize for suckerpunching you that one time when you stayed over, but you can fucking forget it! I'm glad I punched you!"

~~~

The older man knew he had to take responsibility here, because apparently he was right and neither of the kid's parents bothered to teach him the difference in how you're supposed to talk to people outside your own home.

...Thinking on it, neither Bulma nor Vegeta had ever deferred to authority in their lives. Vegeta had a habit of trying to kill anybody stationed above him, and Bulma either screamed until listened to or flashed her tits at someone until she got her way.

Fuck him, maybe he would have made a better parent! Too late now, though.

"No, Trunks, that's not what I meant," he reassured the stunted youth. "I want you to know you can talk to me about stuff, alright? But maybe- maybe not out where your parents can hear? The earth dragon balls can't bring me back again, y'know?"

Trunks looked back up, waiting to hear the rest of the statement.

"And I mean, actually you probably shouldn't say that sort of stuff, because it makes people uncomfortable, but-" here he took the chance of fucking it all up even worse and ruffled Trunks' hair. Trunks didn't even flinch and Yamcha didn't know what that meant. "We're already friends, right? And friends can totally say that sort of stuff. In private."

Trunks met him dead in the eye, unblinking and unemoting. "Okay."

Yamcha chuckled unconvincingly. It fooled Trunks, though. "So, were you actually gonna apologize for that gut punch, or...?"

"No."

"So, what? You were just gonna feel like shit about it your entire life? Until you died?"

"Yeah."

"Haha, okay then! Did... you want a slice of this, um, eclair cake? There's not a lot left!"

"Sure. Can I call you 'Uncle?'"

Yamcha tensed up just slightly, before letting it drain out of him. "Not where anybody who might tell your parents can hear, okay?"

"Deal."

[ageless-aislynn]

Hey, friends. Just wanted to say bye for now. I'm tired of fighting to no avail. If I can fix the computer eventually, then yay. But I'm tired of hours of research, hours of repair, all to seem like it worked and then something else crashes. For example, Steam/Halo has been working fine this whole time then tonight, it went absolutely nuts. Steam started updating in the middle of my Halo game. Then it wouldn't stop updating even after rebooting. Then it crashed every time I tried to load it again. I spent a LONG time reading debugging logs, tracking down key phrases and words, all to eventually come around to... Other people have had that happen but nobody seems to know why. All my drivers are updated. I've tested for program conflicts. Windows passed all of its tests. The computer hardware passed all of its tests. I'm just stumped.

Then as suddenly as this storm of blue screens (5 of them just tonight) came on, they stopped. I can launch and play Halo fine. For now.

I've had honestly had enough, so I'm going to take an offline vacation for however long I need to. I'm still writing the next chapter of "15 Minutes" but just by hand because it's too nerve-wracking to try and write on a device that suddenly BAM is dead and you never know when it's going to happen or if you managed to save what you just wrote in time.

That's another thing, I put all 7 drafts of this chapter on this computer from my backups, I started writing the 8th and went back to continue it... and the last 6 drafts are just gone. I mean, I looked everywhere. I cannot for the life of me figure out what caused them to vanish. I didn't do anything to roll the computer back that should've done that. Fortunately, I'd copied that last 8th draft into a Google doc so was able to get a new copy and didn't lose half the chapter. But now I feel so stressed writing, like... Will it be here when I get back? Will something eat it again? What ate it in the first place?

Eventually, if I can finish it, I'll transcribe it up and hopefully get to post it. I also hope to be back to enjoy the new season of Halo with y'all in Feb. That would be cool but I don't know if it's meant to be or not.

Anyway, feel free to still @ me and message if you'd like but I don't know when I'll be able to check in, so please forgive me if I seem to not respond for an unusual amount of time. I'll miss you. I miss you already. Sending you much love and well wishes. Hope to see you again before long.

[asterhaze]

If you get this, answer w three random facts about yourself and send it to the last seven blogs in your notifs! Anon or not, doesn’t matter, let’s get to know the person behind the blog :)

Thank you for the ask! I have enjoyed talking about myself a little bit lately.

Serious: I also art! Though I haven't posted any of my newer stuff online because my tablet broke and some of my traditional work is stuff I want to eventually draw digitally and hopefully sell. I'm terrified of AI taking away my dream of being a super cool artist writer dream before I even have a chance. So yeah.

Silly Fact: I have a horrible phobia of mascots. It inspired a comic idea that I will probably end up writing about evil mascots that try to take over the world and cause the apocalypse. It's a pretty serious phobia that councilors and therapists have tried to help me with but nothing has worked because I've refused exposure therapy. There are some masks that trigger this phobia, but honestly it's mostly helmets!

Random: I only started writing seriously last October, and the amount of progress I have made this year shocks even myself. This is hard for me, but here is an example of my writing from last October versus something I wrote a few weeks ago.

October:

Glen stood beneath the willow tree in a small graveyard. He stated down at two small graves whose names had been worn away by time. But he knew them well and kept them close to his heart.

"Maria. My love. I miss you dearly, even still to this day." Glen began, going down on one knee to brush his hands across the grass. "I wish I was there with you. Wherever you are and whatever is beyind this life. I wish we could sit beneath our willow tree and I could tell you how much I love you again."

Last week - a longer piece that may or may not make it into a final draft-

“Now your suit really will be ruined. Your socks too.” But I have the money now to buy new clothes. Who cares, Maria, about suits and pants and socks and shoes? Who cares about arranged weddings? Who cares about any of that when you’re dead, dead, dead and I’m here, here, here? I’m still here, here, here… He reached out, brushing his fingertips along the front of the tombstone, weathered smooth by time. Faintly he could see the first letter of her first and last name but the rest was worn away. He traced the letters, very gently, before pulling his hand away and putting it back in his lap. Willow had cried and cried so many times sitting here before Maria’s grave. Mourning her, missing her, wishing desperately that she would come back to him and forgive him for everything and being left with only memories. The tears had dried decades ago, but the longing in his chest and the aching in his soul still remained. Now he just stared, his eyes glossed over, his lips moving without a voice as he spoke in his imaginary world where Maria was fussing at him for this, that, or the other. He knew he was crazy, or ill, or pretending, or at least that whatever he was doing was wrong but it made him feel better. Talking there, remembering things, it made him feel complete despite reminding him otherwise and he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was that people left him alone at the graveyard, let him spend however long he wanted there, or maybe it was because he was close to her again. Eventually, when a headache was starting to form across his temple, he imagined Maria turning to him and smiling. Still wearing that horrible dress that flattered only her body, sickly yellow. Maria fluffed her skirt, slapping it when she was done, before turning to walk away. Won’t you take me with you this time? Can’t we go together? I’m tired of living without you, Maria. Maria looked over her shoulder, a sad look over her sunshine eyes, as she sighed and turned away. “You’re too good.” And with that, he imagined her walking away and fading from his vision in a great glowing light that blinded him until he closed his eyes so tightly shut he prayed he would never be able to open them again. Anything else he would see would just tarnish it. Tarnish his memory of her, but eventually he did open his eyes, and there was all that was left of her before him. Faded, worn, and nearly falling apart. Here Lies M….M…. Loved Forever.

Tagging: @mthollowell-writes @rainisawriter @doublegoblin @gummybugg @veetvoojagigthemagnificent

[hazbean-hotel-imagines]

Okay okay, its been a while since I requested a matchup so sorry if i forget something! I dont mind both helluva and hazbin, i like both <3

Online I go by Dead or just D, I am not comfortable with my irl name and am still trying to figure it out

My pronouns are they/she, I'm still trying to find the right label for what I'm into though. I like everybody to sum it up tho!

I'm an INFP-t

I really like cats (I've got six), the colors blue and black, skeletons, cards/dice (i have some cool jewelry with card symbols n stuff) drawing, reading/writing and watching cartoons.

I've got diagnosed with ADD/ADHD though I'm more tired than hyper, but if you get me talking about something im interested in I could talk your ear off

I try really hard to be consious of how other people feel so I tend to back up if I can tell someone isn't enjoying the conversation/what we're doing. I also really try hard to include others in what I'm currently blabbing about by asking them questions 'cause I know what it's like to not have a say in a convo.

In terms of my appearence, I'm afab, and I'm sadly well endowed, it causes me some back issues. But on the bright side they make good pillows for friends!!

I've got short blonde hair that i dye black and i tend to wear loose clothes that are a few sizes too big. I usually tend to wear all black non gendered clothes (I'm goth) and if i feel like getting dolled up I'll wear a dress and accessories!

I need glasses cause my long distance sight is shit 💀💀💀

In terms of humor? I like making dirty jokes or dark jokes. Like, my fave dark joke is "my grandfather told me i was too reliant on technology. So i called him a hypocrite and unplugged his life support"

But yeah!! Thanks for taking the time to read this <3

Matchup

I pair you with…

~ Hi Dead! Omg so I had these done two days ago, then I looked up what a charcuterie board was out of curiosity… bro it was completely finished, I didn’t save it as a draft, and lost my progress because I. Wanted to look. At pictures of charcuterie boards. Anyway I like charcuterie boards 🤭

~ Okay! So Blitzo was first that came to mind when I read about you. Firstly, y’all give off the extrovert adopts introvert trope. Except, it’s more like vague kidnapping than adopting. One meeting and you’re friends for life, no exceptions.

~ Blitzo’s favourite quality in a partner is someone who enjoys his sense of humour. This is a little bit because of his past in the circus. He not only loved that you understand and laugh at his jokes, but when you add on to them!

~He’s awful at communicating. The way you listen and genuinely show an effort in gaging his mood and engagement really means a lot to him, he notices. Blitzo works really well with someone who is patient and good at communication, because he’s lacking in that department, and you help him learn.

I pair you with…

~ This is another extrovert adopts introvert, but much less extreme. Asmodeus is interested in you, and he finds excuses and ways to see you again. If he notices the same interest is reciprocated, he’ll slowly integrate himself into your life and become a constant.

~ Loves listening to people talk. Will let you talk his ear off about your interests, and will never lose focus. Is completely invested from start to finish. Will literally sit there smiling with his heads in his hands kicking his feet.

~ Additionally, he digs that you’re so attentive in conversations. Asmodeus has a tendency to let himself become a listener when he’s in romantic relationships, mostly because he just genuinely enjoys listening to his partners speak and is such an invested listener. It’s a welcome change of pace that you’re constantly ensuring it’s a back and forth conversation, and how conscious you are of his feelings and attention. He reciprocates these efforts tenfold.

~ Super domestic. Will watch cartoons with you in a blanket pile on the couch for hours. Favourite thing is to make unique charcuterie boards and start a show together. This prompted me to go and look at pictures of fucking cheese last time.

~ Can be content with just admiring you while you draw.

~ Loves your sense of humour. Especially loves when he says something dirty to flirt, and you clap back with something super dark. It always catches him off guard, and it takes a lot to leave him speechless. He adores it.

I pair you with…

~ Loves your aesthetic.

~ “Omg I have a goth partner” type beat.

~ Unsure the trope of you guys meeting, but I had ideas for your relationship dynamic. Cherri uses you to recharge her social battery. After a long day, all she wants to do is come home to you and just rest. She’ll definitely text often throughout the day, but when she comes home she always beelines to the couch to make a next of pillows and blankets so you can watch cartoons together.

~ The ultimate cat sitter. Immediately once she hears you have cats she’s at your place. Is she with you for you or the cats? No one knows. It’s you. Don’t be surprised if you come home one day, and she’s just… there, with your cats.

~ If she finds cool jewelry that reminds her of you she’ll send you a selfie holding it next to her head, with a “?” text following to see if you want it. Sometimes it’ll be from cool little shops, but sometimes you can see the wreckage of a turf war in the background and you know she’s just looting people.

~ You both have the same sense of humour, it’s like you guys mesh so well. I imagine conversations between you go so well, you’re super excitable and somehow always find something to talk about. Every day is exciting.

Alternate pairing…

Charlie

[ziskandra]

Fic Round Up 2022: Questions and Stats

I posted the actual list of fics in a separate post to keep things from getting too unwieldy! I produced 38 written works across 10 fandoms this year, which means that despite writing less than 2021, I actually dipped my toe into different waters! Thank you @queenaeducan, @mxanigel & @little--abyss for the tags! 💖 Now, onto the questions. Words posted: 68,731

Additional Words Written: Probably another 10k or so all up scattered across various half-written exchange treats...

Highest Kudos: At 69 kudos (nice) it's White Noise, my first, and so far only, foray into Hot Fuzz fic! Definitely could be tempted to write some Butterangel again. 🧈👼 Highest Kudos to Hits ratio: Possibly because of recency bias (it hasn't had time to accumulate more hits!), but it's with no place to go, the angsty Franziska ficlet I posted just before Christmas this year! (That being said, there are a few fics of mine with less hits, so I think it's doing well regardless 🥰)

Highest Hit Oneshot: two in the bush, a Cersei/Sansa fic I wrote for nonconathon this year. Never underestimate the power of porny fic in a large fandom: this work received four times as many hits as the next fic on the list (which was Kristoph/Phoenix hatesex).

New Things I Tried: I did a lot more drafting and rewriting and starting things earlier than I have in the past, and I think it's really improved the quality of my writing, and I've found that I actually quite enjoy it? Surprise, surprise, this was the first year I tried writing after starting ADHD meds 😅 (the autism really takes over once I can actually focus, lol.)

Fic I Spent the Most Time On: All's Fair, the arranged marriage Meresino fic I wrote in an exchange for @venatohru! I kept wanting to add things to it, and then a whole actual plot evolved that I had no hope of actually completing in the time allocated, so I had to then rework the actual fic I submitted to be properly standalone and ahh. It was so much fun, though! Still working on that sequel...

Fic I Spent the Least Time On: Funnily enough, also an exchange gift for @venatohru! This time, an Ace Attorney twincest fic, (be)longing. I literally sat down, wrote the first draft in forty minutes, and when I looked over it again a few days leter to edit, discovered it didn't really need much improvement!

Favorite Thing I Wrote: Basically anything from Orsino's POV, which is still a massive surprise to me. Here's a couple of my favourites. From Precipice:

And Orsino was so, so tired of losing more of his own to the crushing oppression of the Gallows. It had been bad enough when he had been an apprentice, templars breathing down the necks of those who didn’t learn fast enough, or conversely, those with too much ambition. Only those who were able to adequately toe the line between these two different types of danger had successfully escaped notice.

Fortunately, Orsino’s childhood in the alienage, what little of it he remembered, had served him well when it came to knowing when to keep his head down and when to speak up. Make too much noise, or too little, and one could disappear.

It was why his parents had said nothing when the templars had come for him. Better the Gallows than the alienage, better this than dead.

He’d always held onto the hope that so long as he lived to see another day, he might one day bear witness to a better world, and perhaps even be granted the chance to help shape it himself.   

Only here in the Gallows would he, an elf, a mage, an elf and a mage, be granted such an opportunity. Only in this unique set of circumstances could Orsino be the kind of man who might ascend to the ranks of First Enchanter.

It hadn't mattered that no-one else had wanted it, that the chalice was tainted, nor that he had most likely signed his own inevitable death warrant. In the absence of a silver spoon in his mouth, or indeed, any spoon at all, Orsino would always make do with whatever scraps of success he could scavenge.

But also the entire masturbation scene in end and the beginning, wherein Meredith becomes an unwilling passenger in Orsino's body after The Last Straw and nobody's truly having a great time. A tinier snippet because I don't want to make this post too nsfw:

Meredith had known that someone like Orsino would find her actions indefensible long before the red lyrium had entrenched itself in the recesses of her mind, promising her the power to fix everything she had broken, the ability to save everyone she had failed —

I suppose, Orsino interrupted, dead is a type of safe.

Favorite Thing I Read: My reading tastes are wide and eclectic! (I've actually been working on a small project to do themed fic recs, starting with weekly DA recs, so keep an eye out for that!) If you're really burning for recs right now, my bookmarks are pretty reliable!

Writing Goals for 2023: I'm actually hoping to write less and read more. (Both in fandom and otherwise.) 😅 I'm planning on doing less exchanges and working on more of my own fic ideas.

Tagging: @ineffableaz, @venatohru, @darethshirl, @bogunicorn, @chocochipbiscuit, @syrupwit, @fandomn00blr, and YOU!

[linaket]

Writing Update (2/18/23)

Tinder Saint Progress:

8 / 15 chapters complete

word count: we made it to 20k! (projected: 40k)

Excerpt:

Cathan’s gaze fell to the small flicker she cradled. “I am tired of being afraid.” She wrapped her other hand around the fire, holding it close enough to burn. “I’ve always been afraid. Every day. Look at you, Vahn. Even if I wanted to ask, I can’t. You are bleeding and no one has bothered to say anything about it.”

Vahn lifted a hand to his brow, scraping over the dried flakes of blood and wincing from the bruise. “Not bleeding anymore, technically.”

“There has to be something better than this. I have to believe that. If the wars don’t take us, there is always someone else waiting. ”

Salinae’s heavy, willing hands were a ghost at Vahn’s throat, and Ilye’s too-loud voice bracketed the memory. 

“Maybe they're waiting," he said, "but these trials will kill you a lot quicker.”

Cathan’s smile was an elegy that had long been written. “Then I won’t have to be afraid anymore, will I?”

🎵 Music: Eyes On Fire, Hahlweg ft. wayfie

I’m taking it slow Feeding my flame Shuffling the cards of your game And just in time In the right place Suddenly I will play my ace

I've been listening to some version of this song since I first started writing SP, but it is usually a Kanna song (the Blue Foundation, Zed's Dead Remix lives on her playlist).

This one didn't really inform any of the current chapters I worked on. It's actually far more consistent with Vahn in later chapters or even after Tinder Saint closes, but it's been keeping me excited to get these early chapters tightened up so I can show him growing and getting there and have my powerful, confident Vahn come out the other side of all this.

Thoughts:

I'm actually doing this a day early because I start a long stretch of work days tomorrow. I planned to do these on Sundays, but it's probably going to be... around Sunday because I'm very bad at knowing what day of the week it is.

Technically, I only have two scenes left lingering in what I'm considering my "early" section to complete... I had a lot of lingering bits that needed to get edited in and I managed to get that done, so its just those two scenes remaining.

I am getting more excited each day as I get closer to actually hitting the part of this story that I'm dying to write. Somehow, all three of my days off are in a row the week after next (Feb. 27-Mar. 1) and I want to have all this early part cleaned up enough by then that I can marathon through that section. It's hmm... 2-3 chapters and not even the "biggest" reveal, plot wise, it is simply the thing I'm most excited about in terms of being challenging and tricky in the best way.

It feels really strange, though, to think about how little I have left to write? Technically I've already written half of what I projected this novella to end up at and that took forever but... I have a feeling that after I get these last lingering parts from the beginning out of the way, if I had a free week to just write morning to night I'd be able to finish this in that time because its all knocking-down instead of carefully setting up and I tend to wrecking ball through that part of things.

I can probably get pretty close to finishing this draft by end of March... middle of March, depending on how far I can get in those three days that I do have off and if nothing out-of-bounds happens which... it really might, I have a lot of odd things floating around in my life right now that I'm expecting to hit right when I don't want them to.

[prev. week]

[blueathens]

Dear Princess - Agape Series

         ACT TWO, SCENE TWO

Song: Can You Hold Me by NF Quote: Bobby wished he knew what was going on in her head, but just like everyone else, he knew he wasn't as strong as Kasey.

A/N: Not read through, or edited. A/N 2: This piece has been in my drafts for a while, so I think it was a little rushed, but it's more of a filler chapter in a way

Previous || Next

Masterlist//Main Masterlist//Agape Masterlist  

Dear Princess,

I miss you, but you scared me the last time we saw one another. You scared me. Your eyes scared me because I saw the pain I caused you. You became a ghost, you become something of my own imagination. Kasey, princess, you already were dead before I did anything to you that night, I was just helping to remove all that pain you carried.

But I also helped to just simply get rid of you because you may be too good for me, but that doesn't mean someone else can have you. You're still mine. Always will be mine.

I own you now princess.

You won't know it yet, but I'm apart of you now princess – every thought, every word, everything you do will be because of me – I've broken your little mind and I now control it.

And trust me, whatever I do, won't be pretty.

You'll never going to be able to get rid of me Kasey, I'm always going to be here, always going to be lurking in the shadows, always knowing everything you're doing. But I need you to know that everything I do, everything I've done, is out of love. Kasey I love you and I will never not love you

Love from the guy who will love you the most,

Jordan

Kasey didn't know how long she was sat in her car for, she didn't know even know how long she was staring at that letter for. But she realised she missed Christmas when a message came through her phone, making it ring and vibrate on the seat next to her.

She reaches over, seeing the time was 10am, and below the time was many notifications, but the one on the top was the one that pulled her out from her thoughts.

Owen: Just wanted to tell you that I've finished my last round of immunotherapy and that my blood work and pulmonary function tests looks good. My tumour has been reduced by 73% too. Hope you had an amazing Christmas and hope I see you again soon x

Kasey sniffles, throwing her phone back to the seat and threw her head back onto the pillow, eyes squeezing shut as her hands crumbled up the letter and threw that somewhere in her car. And with a little tired sob, her hands moved to press against her eyes as she tried to mentally prepare herself for work in half an hour.

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"Sh-shark! Shark! A man's been attacked by a shark!"

"What beach are you on ma'am?"

"We're not on the beach! We're on the freeway!"

"LAFD. Make room!" Bobby yelled as him and his team walked through the makeshift path that the crowd of people have created.

"What the hell," both Buck and Kasey said, jaw's dropping at the sight of a shark gripping onto a man's arm. A few people were around the shark, trying to tug it off the man, but none of their efforts were doing anything for the man with the shark eating his arm.

"Tiger shark." A woman claimed with struggle. "We were transporting her for release into the wild. Truck jackknifed."

"Jaws!" Bobby yelled.

"Wrong type of shark, Cap." Kasey turned to look at him. "Jaws was a Great-White–" she trails off once she noticed the look of disbelief on her Captain's face. "Oh...right...right...get those Jaws...not –Jaws! Someone get this man some Jaws!" Kasey span on her heel to look at some of the 118 that stood behind her.

"I'm on it!" Eddie calls, running back to the fire truck to grab the piece of equipment the crew needed.

Kasey span around to look at the man who was in agony.

"Hey, at least you'll get a cool scar from this."

"Or no arm." Buck muttered as he made his way round to stand by Kasey's side, who gave him a quick glare.

"Or an arm with a cool scar."

"Are you sure you two are professionals?" The woman asked them through gritted teeth and the two younger firefighter looked down at the ground, lips pursed as they awaited their next instructions.

"How'd his arm get in there?" Chimney questioned, chewing on his gum as he hovered over the shark.

The man grunts and yells in pain. Kasey looks up from the ground and back at the incident at hand. "A really, really cool scar," she mumbles to herself.

"Diego was trying to get what water was left in our pump system. She can't breathe without it!" The man with the 'California Marine Life Centre' jacket told him, directing his eyesight to Diego – the man who had a shark attached to his arm – and Chimney who was just simply watching the sight.

"How much time does she have left?" Hen asked in concern.

"Minutes." The woman told her.

"Uh, do we wait that long or, just, you know..." Buck asked, raising the mechanic jaws up before being pushed back slightly by Bobby.

"No, no, don't kill her! She's come so far!" Diego grunted.

"All right, guys, we're gonna do this really carefully." Bobby told the crew. "All right, come on. Let's get in there."

"Can't we just put her to sleep for a little bit, then gently guide her grip off from Diego?" Kasey questioned Hen who began to shake her head.

"It's too risky." Was all Hen said, and Kasey took a step back to give the rest of her team room to use the Jaws. She felt helpless right now, but there wasn't much else she could do. If she even tried to stand nearer the group that kneeled by the shark, then she would just be in the way and could risk the whole plan.

So, she just stood a few steps back, her thumb and finger were pinching the bottom of her lip as she listened to Diego cries of agony gets mixed in with the sound of the Jaws. And ever so slowly, she watched the bloody arm that belonged to Diego get pulled out. It was covered in numerous bite marks, but Kasey knew that Diego would be happy that the shark and his arm would all be okay eventually.

And within a second of Bobby's next instruction, Kasey watched Chimney and a few others helped to lie Diego down on the stretcher. Kasey stared at the arm with wide eyes, and her fingers began to pinch her bottom lip more, and she wouldn't have cared or even noticed if it began to bleed, because the sight in front of her made her sick to the stomach – she heard incidents of stories of sharks, but she never knew she would see one of those stories right in front of her due to how rare they were – but here she was, watching a man who would rather live with one arm than let a shark die.

"Don't let her die," Diego begs. "Please."

Kasey turns around to face the fire truck, eyes narrowing at the sight where the hose was, and with a shake of her head she rushed off to grab the hose and dragged it all the way to where Bobby stood by the shark.

She wasn't going to let this shark die – Diego didn't want that – he didn't risk his entire arm for nothing.

And on a much softer setting that was similar to the pouring of a bucket, she sprayed the shark, keeping it hydrated with water whilst Bobby watched her. He watched her keep the shark alive, and he knew he had to help the shark in some other way too.

So with another order, a firefighter climbed in front of the steering wheel of the truck, whilst the other members of the team very gently bust speedily placed a harshness round the shark, and at the all clear, Kasey stopped her spraying and was replaced with the blue jacket man with his bucket. She hurriedly put the rope back before jumping into the truck, followed by Buck.

They drove off with the shark harnessed in front of them, and the crowd of people cheering them on the side.

And they drove towards the body of water they needed to be at, lowering the shark down quick into it, and everyone watched as the shark swam out of it harness and out to sea.

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

"Kasey?" Bobby calls as he notices the youngest firefighter sitting on the bed she would sleep in if she ever did a full day shift. Her knees were pulled towards her chest, chin resting on top of it as she just sat in the dark. "Kasey? You're not on a full shift tonight."

"It's better than sleeping in my car again," Kasey mutters, not making one look at Bobby.

"You've been living in your car?" Bobby questioned, slowly making his way towards the girl. "Were you kicked out of your old place? Because if it's a place you needed, you know you're always welcomed–"

"No." Kasey utters, clearing her throat as she shakes her head. Her fingers moved to play with the end of her trousers. "I just can't go back there. I tried to, but every time I do, I end up in the shower, trying to wash off the blood that's not even there. Trying to wash off the feeling of him. I can't remember when I last slept either, cause that night still haunts me, no matter how many times I try to push it out of my mind; the thoughts, the sound, him, Bear...the pain....the smell...the blood... it all so haunts me."

Kasey brings her knees in closer for Bobby to sit down.

"Where is Bear now?"

"With Buck...He thinks I just wants a deeper clean of my house...which I do, but no matter how much I clean it, it still feels like it did on that night."

"Kasey," Bobby reaches forward to rub her knee.

"I'm just so terrified, Bobby. I'm always terrified. I act like I'm fine, but...but I'm scared. He knows everything, a-and that is so fucking scary." She rubs her palm over her eye as she begins to sob, and Bobby reached forwards to bring her into his arms, as if it he was creating a shield to protect her from everything. "Could you just take this pain away? It hurts, so much...help me." Her voice was so weak, so vulnerable.

Bobby was terrified too as he doesn't recall a time he has ever seen Kasey like this – she has always seemed as tough as a wall of bricks, that nothing could hurt her, but here she was, remembering that she was human and began to broke down in a man who she saw as a father.

Kasey was clutching Bobby's shoulder so hard, nails gripping in, palms steadily pushing against the clavicle, and Bobby began to wonder if it was possible for a human to break bones with their bare hands, if it was humanly possible that if they pushed hard enough his bones would snap.

Bobby didn't care though, he didn't care how many bones she may break of his, he didn't mind at all as she was the girl that he thought of as a daughter and she was crying, more like sobbing. She wouldn't stop.

Bobby believed that if she was sat in a hole in the ground then she be overflowing it by now. Her crying was deadly to hear, one of those cries that rips a heart out of one's chest, she cried as if she was in pain, and she was. She's always been in pain, suffering in the silence and this is one of the times where the bottle of emotions spilled within her, unleashing all these emotions she's been hiding from everyone.

It scared Bobby, it scared him as he has never seen Kasey like this, and he had no clue how to help her. But it was the silence that followed that scared him the most, just them two sitting in that room for three hours straight in pure silence. Bobby wished he knew what was going on in her head, but just like everyone else, he knew he wasn't as strong as Kasey.

[lavendermage]

Apocalypse Impact

Characters: Kaeya(Romantic), Amber, benny’s adventure team 

Genre: Apocalypse au, gender neutral reader

TW: Mild Violence, scars

1.4k words

AN: This was sitting in my drafts for a while. I've got a whole series planned out. Hope you enjoy!

Masterlist

You advanced, weapon in hand, toward the sounds a few aisles down. Your weapon wasn’t much, just an old baseball bat, but it has held up. It’s efficient too, though it’s not too hard to put the dead back down. Most of them, at least. Some of them were - different.

You poked your head around the edge. It’s not some undead. They’re definitely people, but that doesn’t mean you can trust them. You’ve had a few bad run-ins with other survivors. They didn't seem to be hostile though. They were talking about something, but you were too far away to hear. You decided to creep closer. You crouched one aisle away, listening in.

“Let’s keep looking around. We might find somebody.” A woman’s voice said. 

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Said a young boy’s voice. He seemed very enthusiastic.

“Hmm” The third voice just huffed in agreement. 

“You two stay together, alright? I’ll go on my own. Let’s meet back here if we find anything.” The first voice said. 

The others agreed, and they separated. The two steps walked away but the third walked towards you. You stayed still. A young woman walked into view. Her brown hair was long and held back with a red ribbon. She didn’t look like a threat.

“Hello.” You stepped out of your hiding place.

She startled and drew an arrow, aiming it at you. “Stand back!”

You held up your hands. You miscalculated. “Ok, ok. I don’t want to hurt you, and you don’t seem to want to hurt me either. Please don’t shoot me.”

She considered her option for a few seconds before lowering her bow. “All right.” She called the two boys over. 

One of them was covered in band-aids and the other was scarred. 

“Hi, my name’s Bennett!” Band-aid-boy said eagerly. He poked the kid next to him. “And this is Razor.” The other boy just grunted.

“My name’s [name]. And you?” You turned towards the brunette,

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you! I’m Amber.” She said, flustered, very different from how confident she was earlier.

“No worries, it’s easy to forget formalities in this climate.” You waved off her apology. “Are you guys part of a camp of some sort?” They looked in good condition, at least by post-apocalyptic standards.

“Yes. We have a whole city set up!” Bennett balled his hands into fists excitedly.

“Don’t just tell them that!” Amber chastised.

“Hmm, A city. Do you have room for one more?” You scratched the back of your neck nervously. “I’m really tired of sleep deprivation.” It was unsafe to sleep alone, both because of the undead and other people.

“Well… as long as one of the other captains checks…” Amber trailed off. “It should be fine.”

“Thanks a lot. By the way, can I get my stuff? It’s all packed.” You had been careful to keep all your things together, ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

Amber nodded, and you ran off to get it.

“I’m back.” You carried a backpack filled with gear. 

“Alright, let’s head back.”

Amber sent the two boys to fetch one of the captains to integrate you, while she led you to an abandoned shed on one of the apartment’s roofs. The camp itself was on the roof and top floors of the building. She made small talk with you, or at least tried. “So how were you doing?” She started playing with the hem of her shirt. “Before I… you know… tried to shoot you. Sorry about that.”

You shrugged. “It happens. First time I’ve seen someone with a bow. It’s kind of cool.” You tried your best to calm her nerves. She was very sweet, and you didn’t want her to beat herself up over a reasonable reaction. “Where did you get it?”

She brightened up immediately, rambling about her grandfather. Apparently he trained her to use a bow since she was little. You liked how animated she was. It was – endearing.

There was a knock on the door and you both looked up. “Sorry for my lateness, I was in the middle of a meeting.” A tall, slender man entered the door, closing it behind him. He looked familiar. His hair was longer, but that teasing inflection in his voice was still there. 

“Kaeya?” 

His eyes widened as he recognized you. “[Name].” His voice broke.

Amber decided it was best to leave and darted out the door.

Kaeya rushed in and pulled you to his chest. “I knew you would be alright. I knew it.” He rested his head on yours. 

You wrapped your hands around his back. “I’m glad you’re alive.” You pulled away from him and cupped his face in your hands. 

He startled, but didn’t stop you. 

“Your eye though...” Worry crushed the features of your face. One of his eyes was covered by an eyepatch. 

“Don’t worry.” He brushed your hand from his face. “I see you’ve got some new scars too.” He smirked. “They look badass.”

You laughed, choosing to drop the topic. “You think so? Thanks. So am I approved to enter the camp?” 

“Of course, no friend of mine will be left out there.” He grabbed your hand. “Now let’s introduce you to everyone.” He walked ahead and opened the door for you, still holding your hand. 

He walked you around the camp, introducing you to the people who lived there. A woman with blonde hair and a red tassel was in charge of supplies and rationing. You also met the woman in charge of managing work, a strong willed person named Keqing. Kaeya and Diluc’s friend, Jean, was in charge of the scouts. You didn’t know her very well, but she still greeted you warmly. There were alot of kids too. The two you met earlier, of course, and a strange girl with an eyepatch, among others.

When you asked Kaeya about it he just laughed. “She wears it as a fashion accessory.”

You two continued your tour, meeting a whirlwind of faces. When you finished, the sun was setting. You realized you needed some place to sleep. 

“Hey, Kaeya, where will I stay?”

“In my room.” He opened the door to the top floor. “After you.” He swept his hand out and bowed.

“You’re so dramatic.” You laughed. When you entered you noticed the bed. “Nice!” You sat on it and bounced.

“Haven’t slept in a bed for a while, have you?” You missed the sadness in his voice.

“Yeah. Remember that asshole that would hide razor blades in mattresses?” An unknown survivor would break into houses just to stick blades into any couches and beds. 

“Did you lay in one of them?” This time you didn’t miss the worry in his voice.

“No, just started rigging up a hammock wherever I went.” You realized something. “So where am I sleeping?” 

“The bed of course.” He looked at you, surprised by your question.

“And you?”

“The couch probably.”

“You won’t fit.” He was very tall.

“It’ll be fine.”

You thought for a second, thinking about how to word your feelings. “Can… you sleep with me?”

“With?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Next to! You know what I mean!” You punched his shoulder. 

“Alright, Alright.” He held up his hands in surrender. 

“I’ll go to the bathroom to change.” You grabbed your night clothes and left.

He changed too, undressing and pulling on a pair of boxers. He usually slept shirtless but he pulled on a t-shirt to make you more comfortable. 

“Are you decent?” You called from the bathroom.

“Yes, come in.” 

Your sleep clothes exposed more skin and more scars. They littered your back and arms, including one large one crossing your bicep. He couldn’t help but stare, fixated on them and what must have happened for you to get them. 

You dropped onto the bed and groaned. “Kaeya, turn off the light and sleep!”

“Ok, ok.” He turned off the lights and made his way to the bed, careful not to trip over your stuff in the dark. He reached the side of the bed. You grabbed his wrists and pulled him onto it. He fell. You placed your head on his chest and he panics. His heart was beating hard and fast because he was next to you. You’d hear him.

“Did I scare you?” He could hear the smile in your voice and for a second he was overwhelmed with his love for you. 

The wave passed and he could speak again. “You’re a little trickster, aren’t you?”

You laughed and burrowed into his chest. You were together and you were safe.

Masterlist

[bonkie-barnes]

reconnected

monica rambeau x gn!reader

word count: 524

A/N: i've had this in the drafts for way too long. enjoy.

- - -

Your phone ringing loudly is what wakes you out of a dead sleep. It's been days since you'd last been able to fall asleep for more than a few hours, so you're about ready to fight whoever just interrupted your slumber.

Trying to rub the sleep out of your eyes, you pat your hand around the bedside table looking for the offending noise. In your tired state, you knock the phone onto the floor. The ringing stops.

Before you can even begin to pick up your phone, it starts ringing again. You pick it up and answer without looking at the caller I.D.

"Do you even know what time it is?" you ask with annoyance.

"I know, baby. I just had to talk to you."

Monica.

You hadn't heard from her since she was first called out to some random town in New Jersey.

"Monica! Oh my god, are you okay?" you bolt immediately upright. Your phone is clutched tightly in your hand as though she would disappear the minute you loosened your grip.

"I'm fine, baby. I'm okay," Monica tells you softly.

"I tried calling everyone. No one would tell me anything. What happened to you?" Your breathing is frantic as you wait for her reply.

"Honey, breathe. I'm okay, I just got caught up in something. You know I'd tell you if I could."

A lot of Monica's work is classified, and you respect how seriously she takes her responsibilities. Right now, though, you could deal with a little less secrecy.

"I thought I lost you," you mumble in the quietest voice Monica has ever heard from you.

All the stress and sleep deprivation catches up to you as you start to sob.

Monica wishes she could do more as she comforts you with soft reassurances from the other line.

At some point, your cries slow and your breathing evens out some.

"Are you okay, honey?" Monica asks you softly.

"When are you coming back?" you say to avoid her question. You're scared to admit just how much her being gone has affected you.

"Baby…"

Oh no. You've heard that tone before. Monica is nothing if not dedicated to her work.

"You're not coming back yet, are you?" you ask sadly.

Her sigh is answer enough, but her next statement confirms it. "I have to stay. There's still something I have to do."

"Is it dangerous?" You dread Monica's response

"A little, but you know I have to help."

You know that's a lie. You know it's terribly dangerous.

"I know," you sigh. You wrap your blanket tightly around your shoulders. "Just be careful please."

"I always am."

"It's not like you have super powers or anything," you chuckle. Oh, if you only knew.

"I know, wouldn't that be crazy," she jokes along. You can hear the smile in Monica's voice and it relieves some of the weight sitting on your chest.

"Will you stay on the line?" you ask hesitantly. 

"Of course, baby."

You slowly fall asleep to Monica's sweet voice telling you stories about anything and everything, your dreams full of your favorite S.W.O.R.D. agent.

- - -

taglist: @007giu @vancityfire13 @romanoffscottage

[little-fairy-forest]

Hi! I hope you are having a great time and healthy! Since you opened the requests again, may I have a scenario or headcanon with Shinsou, Momo and Todoroki with an s/o who has 2 quirks: immortality and healing? They heal people by giving a part of her remaining life but since she is immortal( or have a longer span of life) she wouldn't die even if she overuses their quirk. The boys get hurt pretty bad so she immediately uses the quirk but since she healed a lot of people beforehand she collapses and doesn't open their eyes. I would like to see their reaction when their s/o explains their quirks because obviously they thought they were dead when they collapsed.

If you don't want to write it, that's okay! And if you do, thanks in advance and have nice day🥰🥰

🍀 hello sweetheart! Sorry for the long wait, I was quite busy :( apologies x100

This is quite long so I'm going to squish it down and just do Todoroki, apologies I've had this in my drafts for far too long

Reader with a immorality quirk

Todoroki, x gn!reader, fluff, angsty

Todoroki

Shouto knew you had a powerful quirk, he watched you train each day in the gym before he had the courage to ask you out, you passed each test with flying covers

You had no issue jumping headfirst into battle, you'd come out coverd in bumps and bruises , but he never once seen you go to recovery girl!

He kept his mouth shut since he thought maybe you had a first aid kit in your dorm room– even though some of your injuries definitely needed medical attention greater then a first aid kit

You were also the first person to attend anyone to was injured during hero training, you would even go attend other classes hero training incase someone got hurt

He thought it was because you had a kind soul– you do– but he never knew the underlining meaning

During today's hero training you had been bouncing around and healing peoples cuts and wounds, big or small you helped them. Shouto could tell you were getting tired using your quirk but kept his mouth shut since you always brushed his concerns off

When Shouto was horribly injured during hero training against Kaminari, he used a lot of voltage against Shouto and he wasn't quick enough to build and ice wall leading him to be shocked by a strong voltage and collapse

You rushed over, Aizawa not far behind and immediately used your quirk to heal shouto, you were always quick on your feet

Shouto began to feel better my the millisecond as you used your quirk, it was like he could feel the electricity leaving his body,

Unfortunately at your own strength was taking a toll, you had been using your quirk all day (way more then your used to) and became very weak

After Shouto was fully healed he went to go give you a hug and bring you to recovery girl, you looked dizzy

You ending up collapsing in front of Shouto– he was so scared. He never seen you pass out before let alone when you look so sickly

"Y/n?? h-hey can you hear me?? AIZAWA WE NEED TO BRING THEN TO RECOVERY GIRL–"

Shouto looks down and he swears he seen you not breathing why weren't you waking up??

"Calm down Todoroki, they will be alright they just overused their quirk. I asked them to be careful, clearly didn't listen" Aizawa lifts you up and makes his way to every girl "Yaomomo continue the training, I'll be back shortly. No one leave"

Shouto couldn't stop thinking about your current state, you never over use your quirk to the point you collapse

After training shouto goes straight to recovery girls office, he needs to make sure your awake...and even alive.

Shouto notices all the machines attached to you, you looked like you were on thin ice, how did you get this bad??

"Young todoroki I can assure you they will be fine. They are sleep but we are giving them nutrients through a IV drip and making sure they get the rest they need" recovery girl assures Shouto

"But they looked gravely ill, are you sure??" Shouto was panicking– you look so frail

"Yes, their quirk allows them to regenerate others injures at the cost of their own health, they overused their quirk today and didn't inform Aizawa before training so hard. You kids need a break"

Shouto looks over at you wondering why you never told him the extent of your quirk

You were able to make out Shoutos voice when he came into your room, you tried to sit up to see him, but he quickly tried to lye you back down again

"Don't move please, your injured enough as it is" he continues to say "why didn't you say anything about your current situation. I can always offer a break"

"Shouto my quirk normally allows me to use it past what I should be using it for, I'm slight immortal, just a longer life span then most people, I try to spare my quirk to who ever needs it more"

"You can give away your quirk?" Shouto was confused by the explanation

"I can heal people, but it costs a fraction of my life" you joke by saying "good thing I'm like a cat who has nine lives"

"Not funny y/n, please be careful. You know I can't loose you...at least not after I go first"

Shouto stayed by your side until Aizawa came back to check on you, safe to say Aizawa gave you an earful.

You now know when it's reasonable to use your quirk on...and who derives it

(According to Shouto Mineta is at the bottom of that list due to basic reasons)

Thank you for reading

Sorry for the long wait for this fic, I had a hard time writing for each person so I cut it down to just shouto since I'm more familiar with his character

Apologies,

-> masterlist

[luvlyrv]

Our Songs | Extra | Wendy x F!Reader SM!AU

Word Count: 1.4k

A/N: So happy to say this series is completely finished now!! Enjoy!! I'm moving onto more projects and hopefully can wrap up some one shots I've been working on. This is a different style from what I usually do since it is an extra, warning that the post looks really long because it's in bulleted style lol

Date: 9/1/21

Series Masterlist

after your confession with wendy you were stuck with an enormous burst of energy

you were on cloud nine, a seemingly never-ending high

you decided not to text wendy the day right after

you didn't want her to think you regretted anything but you also didn't want to seem too clingy

also it didn't help that just thinking about her was enough to throw you into cardiac arrest

you didn't receive any notifications from wendy either

it was a bit disappointing, but you assumed she was also trying to take in the shock of it all

trying to take your mind off of wendy you spend an entire day running around your house

you pick up your instruments and have the jam of your life

emotional highs are very good for your creativity it seems

you decide to record some things and save some drafts

who knows if it'll be useful in the future?

you worked till you felt dead tired and like you couldn't have another thought in your brain

even after you spent an entire day trying to exert your nervous and elated energy you were still hesitating on texting wendy when you woke up

but you missed her so much already

so you send a text asking her how she feels

she says she feels okay, and then asks about you

'yeah, i'm okay too'

your conversation was rocky

things weren't going as smooth as before

and it was evident that it was because the both of you had no idea how to behave

you took a deep breath before texting her your question

'so, can i take you on that first date?'

you see a bubble showing that she was texting

and then it disappeared

before showing up again

and disappearing

and- ugh! your heart was racing waiting for her answer

i mean, she liked you back right? so why would she say no?

'yeah, of course! :)'

whew, okay, looked like you almost made a big deal out of nothing

little did you know wendy was freaking out

she was a bit embarrassed at herself, acting as if she was a high school kid in love or something

it took wayyy too much concentration for her to type out something sensible

but she was excited for you to finally ask

you were also excited for her to say yes

your first date is at the downtown center

there was a festival and you were hoping to enjoy all the effort the artisans put into their work with wendy

you're walking with her through the numerous stalls set up

as the both of you admire the beautiful crafts set on display your hand reaches for hers

you feel the pressure of her hand squeezing back and you look at her

she looks at you and giggles

you didn't even realize what you were doing

'oh, i'm sorry. i didn't mean to do that suddenly.' you freak out and let go of her hand

you're worried that she was laughing at you and that she didn't want to hold hands

'it's okay! i thought it was cute'

she reaches out for you and you don't let go this time

instead you enjoy how happy she seems to be sharing this moment with you

and out in public too

later on you both go to the square where there were musicians

the sun was beginning to set, allowing for beautiful lighting and you appreciated songs you've never listened to before

wendy tugs at your arm while still staring at the performers

'i hope we can perform up there someday. together.'

you smile at her as she still looks on

'i think we will.' you assure her

finally night hits and you both call it a day

you walk her to her car and stop her

you kiss her forehead

'so, will there be a second?' you ask with a smile

you feel like you already know the answer

'i think that sounds great.'

life with wendy in it became easy

you guys seldom fought

and even when you did at least one of you would make something for the other

dropping it off at the doorstep and leaving an apology note

and after enough time of cooling down you would always come back to each other, talking out your problems from before

you personally felt like your work improved as well

wendy had become your muse

you sought to create tracks that would impress her

or that would be worthy of having her voice in it

and you felt like it was easier to write lyrics

because every experience with wendy created new feelings

feelings that you could hardly describe sometimes

when you guys decided to finally start working on your second collaboration you busted out the drafts you created long ago

wendy was impressed after sitting down and listening to your drafts

'woah, how many hidden gems do you have on your computer?'

'well, these ones in particular i made on the same day. the day after i confessed to you.'

you're both flustered

because it's easy to tell the kind of state you were in by the songs

wendy takes your hand and kisses it gently as your music continued to play

'you must think of me pretty highly, if the thought of me compelled you to make something so incredible'

you heat up at her cheesiness

'oh stop it.'

the two of you end up choosing a refreshing feeling/sound for the album

'cause you recharge me every time i see you!' she says

when you guys are almost done producing the album, that was when you went on the dinner date with wendy

the one where you guys would finally confess to the world

after recording and uploading the announcement video the both of you decided to turn off your notifications and avoid reading people's reactions

instead you guys opted to spend the rest of the day baking and then watching a movie together

the both of you decided that it would be stressful to engage with your audience right away, and that's why it took a full day for you both to check your phones again

both seulgi and yeri already knew about your relationship but they both flooded you guys with congratulations anyways

they just wanted you to know they were proud of your bravery!

besides them, both of your families already knew and didn't comment much

they'd already stated how they think you're good for each other when you guys had visited together

especially your younger cousin

cause apparently she's a big fan of wendy and is definitely not using you as a way to get close to her idol

and is definitely not bragging about her how cousin is 'super super cool and famous and is dating another famous person and i think they'll be rich someday!!! so get on my nice side!'

you're happy to see that a lot of fans are happy for your relationship

wendy just keeps telling you 'of course they are, who wouldn't for a cute ass couple like us?'

it was at that point that you guys had decided to save up and move into a nice place together

you guys had talked about future plans before

not only that, but you had been practically living together already

between all the dates that lead to seemingly indefinite sleepovers

and the recent collaboration that made you guys be stuck together

it was really you guys living at each other's place weeks at a time

when you guys move in you're grateful

because you get to experience all the little things from her even more

some nights when you're stressed she rubs circles on your back to help you sleep

when you guys shower together she takes her time to carefully wash your hair

it was those deeply intimate moments that made you the happiest

both of your careers were doing really well due to the reception of your second collab and all the media fuss that happened with your dating annoucement

you both still have solo careers and interact with other musicians

but along with moving in, you guys decided to become a duo and consistently create music together

in the morning when you share breakfast you always remind her how good life is and how thankful you are

[matbarzyy]

hi, how r u, so now tyler is my new obsession, and im feeling like i've had a crush on every canadian man that's ever existed, but that's not the point of the ask, since i've been obsessed with that cocky bastard i wondered if u could do a fic where him and the reader have a big fight and all that shit, i wanted it pretty angsty but with a fluff end. love ur writing 💕

Hi! I’m doing okay, definitely obsessing over Tyler too. I didn’t have a lot of time to write this but I do have a lot of Tyler angst planned in my drafts, it’ll just take me a while to finish it all. Until then, I hope this will do!

Fights with Tyler aren’t really that common, he’s relatively easy going so there’s not much that annoys him

Except when he’s tired

Tired Tyler is a clingy attention seeker and it’s cute 99% of the time

That other 1% can cause big fights

You were just chilling with a few friends at home, all four of you on the couch watching a movie and talking over it while Tyler had a work thing you didn’t really ask him about

He barely slept the night before so you knew he’d be exhausted and crash the second he got home, probably with Gerry stealing your spot on the bed

You just figured you’d stay in the living room with your friends and join him later

Instead, you both got annoyed as soon as he got back

He was dead tired and he just wanted to be home and rest with his girl and dogs

But no, you had to invite your friends over

Which was pretty normal in your opinion, you seeing your friends shouldn’t be causing a fight

Tyler’s tiredness just made him extra grumpy and kinda rude to your friends for the brief time he spent in the living room

So they all felt like they were overstaying their welcome

They didn’t want to cause trouble in your relationship and all decided leaving a little early was the best option

Which in turn annoyed you because Tyler ruined your night and it was unfair of him

The dogs stayed out of the way when you went to the bedroom, all three could tell you were angry and they didn’t want to be in the middle of it

Tyler barely even said anything, he was still pissy and he wasn’t even sleepy anymore because he was getting worked up

There was no way you’d go to bed without bringing it up

You told him he acted like an ass with your friends and you and he rolled his eyes

He talked back in a way that was so patronising you were wordless for a minute

You just left the room because you could argue with him if he wouldn’t even listen to what you had to say

Cash was first to try and come close to you on the couch to comfort you while you cried

Tyler didn’t leave the bedroom

You wouldn’t go back in there until he apologised

It took an hour of tossing and turning in bed for him to get up and find you cuddling the dogs and crying silently on the couch

He was still exhausted but he wouldn’t get any sleep until he fixed things with you

The first thing he did was put a blanket over you because he could tell you were cold

Then, he knelt by the couch and apologised

You’d never seen him so embarrassed because of something he had said (and Tyler said a lot of stupid things in his life, especially while drunk)

It didn’t take long for the two of you to hug it out

The dogs tried to get in the middle of it and the five of you ended up in a mess of wet noses and kisses

It was a lot more comfortable once you got on the bed

Tyler was never the type to hold you too tight while you slept because you were both more comfy on your sides

But he spent the night spooning you and he wouldn’t let go for a second

Maybe he was an idiot, and he definitely messed up a little, but he loved you more than anything and he wanted to make sure you knew that

You loved him more than you could say too, so maybe he was an idiot, but he’d always be your idiot