#OH no it’s the car beside mine jfc

[heca-teaa]

Apologies to my neighbor who was just trying to get their car to start, my head popped out the window and listened bc my car is right beside it and I thought it was suddenly trying to blow up

[stuckinthesun]

༝༚༝༚ Tic-Tac-Toe ༝༚༝༚ — Part Two

Part One

Black suit mod!Leon x Fem!Reader

Warnings: nsfw mdni, drunk sex, p in v, semi-public sex, pet names, riding, spanking, fingering, handjob, unprotected sex (please wrap it jfc)

wc: 2.8k

Ashley got dragged away from you again by another group of people just dying to know about her experience. You honestly felt bad for your friend and you would’ve stayed with her, but with how much you’ve drank you couldn’t trust your mouth right now.

So instead you decided to get some air.

The cool night air hit your face the moment you stepped out of the banquet hall, instantly making your head feel clearer.

Well, almost clear.

It seemed no matter how many glasses of champagne you drank, you couldn’t get Leon out of your head. How good he looked in that dark suit, the sound of his laugh, the feeling of his fingers trailing up your thigh.

God, you’re blushing just thinking about it!

Subconsciously you look down at your leg, at the unfinished game of tic-tac-toe still marking your skin. The one X he left on you stands out against all your markings, and you brush your fingers over it.

“Hey, there you are.” A deep voice startled you, making you jump and turn around.

Leon stood there with an easy smile and a half-empty glass of champagne. He looked the same as before, except his tie was loose and his cheeks were tinted pink with alcohol.

So sexy and disheveled, great.

You blink at him for a second as his words sink in, “Were you looking for me?”

The pink on his face deepens, “Well, I wanted to know if you were up for finishing our game of tic-tac-toe. Would hate to leave it unfinished on your leg.”

You look down at your leg again before smiling at him, “Well I hope you brought a pen because I left mine back inside.”

“I have one in my car,” He shrugs, looking out into the parking lot of the hall toward where you assume his car is.

“Mr. Kennedy,” You say dramatically, pretending to be scandalized, “Are you inviting me to your car? Alone? In the middle of a party while we’re both intoxicated?”

Leon lets out a surprised chuckle and you notice the color on his face deepen more, “You’re making it sound like high school.”

That makes you laugh before you shake your head and smile, “Alright well, as long as you don’t plan on driving, then I’d love to join you in your car for some leg tic-tac-toe.”

“I promise I won’t be driving,” Leon smiled back at you before nodding his head in the direction of his car.

“I’m surprised you were able to escape the vultures inside.” You joked as the both of you snuck away toward Leon’s car drunkenly.

The blonde smirked, “I’m damn good at my job, Miss. If I couldn’t escape a bunch of drunk old men, then I wouldn’t have been able to save your friend.”

“I guess you have a point,” You hum, noticing the nice car you’re approaching.

Leon pulls out a set of keys from his dress pants before unlocking the vehicle. Stepping up to the sleek black car, he opens the passenger door for you.

“Thank you,” You blushed slightly before slipping inside, and you made sure your dress was completely in the car before Leon carefully closed the door.

You looked around the interior of the car as Leon jogged around to the driver's side, it was fairly clean. So clean in fact, it made you wonder just how often Leon was away on those scary missions like the one to save your best friend.

The car door slamming shut brings you back to the moment and you look up to see Leon placing his champagne glass in the cup holder, “Oh my god, did you steal that?”

“No? I’ll probably take it back,” He shrugged, opening up the middle console and pulling out a pen, “Besides we know the President, it’ll be fine.”

“This is true,” You nod and shimmy yourself in your seat so you can once again prop your legs up in his lap. The stretch across the console was uncomfortable but you would make it work, “Alright Kennedy, enough chitchat. It’s game time.”

“Oh, suddenly you’re competitive?” Leon raised an eyebrow as he popped the cap off the pen and grabbed your leg.

The awkward angle made it difficult for him to see the game of tic-tac-toe, so you tried to shift yourself again, “I’ve always been competitive, you just didn’t see it before because we were so rudely interrup- huh?!”

You were cut off mid-sentence by Leon, apparently frustrated with the angle of your legs, leaning forward to wrap an arm around your waist, the other around your leg, and pull you to straddle his lap.

“That’s better,” Leon hummed, quickly marking your skin with another X before looking up at you with a smirk, “Your turn.”

You stare at him, completely caught off guard by his actions. He just continues to smirk at you, pushing the pen into your hand as he indicates toward the game of X’s and O’s.

A blush heats your skin as you feel his hands on your thighs, his fingers once again tangling in your tights and making your breath hitch.

“This okay?” Leon asked, voice teasing but you could tell the question was genuine. If you said you were uncomfortable and wanted to get off, you truly believe he would let you without a second thought.

This thought brings you reassurance for some reason and you smirk back at him, “Course, just need to get comfortable.”

Leon doesn’t get to reply before you’re sitting up a little, and pulling the skirt of your dress out from under you. Honestly, it had been uncomfortable, the fabric pulling tightly against your skin since Leon hadn’t bothered to adjust it before moving you. Now the skirt of your dress pools around your waist, and your warm center sits on his lap only covered by your panties and some string.

His grip on your thighs tightens, making his fingers tug at your tights and tearing them ever so slightly. Your smirk just deepens, “That’s better.”

Finally, you take your turn drawing an O right below his, successfully cutting him off. You hand the pen back to him with a triumphant smile.

“Don’t get too excited,” Leon says, quickly drawing an X across from his previous one.

“Why not? I’m obviously going to win.” You quickly take back the pen and make your move.

“Oh you think so, do you?” Leon’s marking your skin again, the drag of the pen almost hurts.

“Yeah, I do!” You cry out as you draw a messy O and look up at Leon who’s already looking at you with something close to wonder.

Then suddenly, he’s kissing you.

Leon’s hands grab the sides of your face and tug you closer, smashing your lips together. You kiss back without a second thought, dropping the pen in your hand to run your fingers through his hair, pulling him into you.

The kiss is desperate, it’s exactly how both of you have felt since the first time you met inside the banquet hall. His tongue runs along your bottom lip and you're quick to give him access, opening your mouth and moaning at the feeling of his tongue against yours.

Leon’s hands slide along your body, feeling every curve of your smooth skin. Your hands slide down his shoulders, pulling his suit jacket with you. Understanding, Leon sits up without breaking the kiss and quickly shrugs out of his coat.

Flinging the article of clothing to the back of the car, Leon leans back into his seat. His hands glide up your back, following along the teeth of the zipper until he finds the handle.

You feel him start to pull on the small piece of metal, exposing your upper back, before he pulls away from the kiss, “Is this okay?”

It’s the same question he asked before, except the teasing tone is replaced by a breathy grunt. Your answer is the same as before too, just instead of answering verbally, you nod frantically as you tug his tie off from around his neck.

You throw the piece of silk into the passenger seat as Leon finishes unzipping your dress, letting it hang loosely off your shoulders as he kisses your neck. A soft sigh passes between your lips and you tilt your head to the side to give him better access.

“Oh fuck,” You moan, rolling your hips down against his and feeling his bulge pressing against your barely concealed center.

“Fuck baby,” Leon groans, his head thumping back against the headrest, “Don’t roll your hips like that till I’m inside you.”

“Then hurry,” You whine, reaching between the two of you to start undoing his belt. The straps of your dress slip from your shoulders as you do so, exposing your bra to Leon.

As you make quick work of pulling the leather strap from the metal buckle, you feel his large hand cup your breast. You whine again and push your chest out so he can get a better feel, and you can’t help but close your eyes when he squeezes.

“God you’re really beautiful,” Leon whispers, leaning forward to press open-mouth kisses against your collarbone as you finally pull his belt free from his dress pants, “I’ve been wanting to do this since I first saw you. When I first brought Ashley back.”

That has you pausing. You open your eyes and lean away from him furrowing your eyebrows, “Really?”

“Yeah.” Leon nodded, looking at you with lust-filled eyes, “I didn’t say anything for obvious reasons.”

“You didn’t even know my name earlier,” You pointed out, frowning even more.

“Like I said before, you never told me your name!”

“Yeah, but why didn’t you ask anyone or I don’t know get your spy people to look it up?”

“First off, I’m not a spy.” Leon said chuckling and you just rolled your eyes, “And second, I wanted you to tell me your name.”

Your eyes widen as your chest fills with a sudden warmth. A line like that shouldn’t be all that romantic, and yet for some reason you’re blushing.

Throwing the belt next to the tie in the passenger seat, you grab the collar of Leon’s shirt and pull him into a kiss. It’s messy and heated, much like the first one, but it doesn’t last as long. You quickly pull back, leaning away from the agent as he tries to chase you for another one, and beg, “Please fuck me.”

Leon stops in his attempt at trying to capture your lips again and smirks, “I will, sweetheart, don’t worry.”

Suddenly your dress is over your head and being thrown into the back of the car. You shiver a little, at both the air on your skin and the feeling of being exposed, before you pull his vest off.

His hands glide along your thighs as he kisses your neck and collarbone, stopping at your ass and squeezing. You moan, unbuttoning his pants and untucking his dress shirt.

You feel his fingers lace in between the wide gaps in your tights, and you barely have a second to realize what he’s going to do before he pulls. A loud ripping sound fills the car as you feel Leon rip the crotch of your fishnets wide open.

“Been thinking about doing that all night.” Leon hums, pushing your panties to the side through the gap he made, exposing your dripping pussy.

You gasp, rolling your hips to push back against his hand and you feel him slip his middle finger inside of you, making you cry out, “Already so wet and I hadn’t even touched you yet.”

“Please Leon,” You beg, rocking back against the digit inside of you.

“Need to get out of these pants first.” Leon mumbles, bucking his hips up as if to remind you that his cock is still tucked inside his pants.

You nod, leaning your forehead against his as you look down and begin unbuttoning his slacks. His finger inside of you begins to thrust, curling up just right and rubbing against your G-spot. You let out a long moan, your fingers stuttering against his zipper, causing Leon to hiss and thrust up.

“Come on honey, pull me out so I can get inside this pussy.” Leon says, pushing another finger inside of you and making you see stars.

Quickly you pull Leon’s cock from his dress pants, him lifting his hips slightly so you can pull both the slacks and his underwear down his thighs a little. Once he was finally free from the restraints of his pants, you spit in your palm before wrapping it around his shaft and pumping.

Leon let out a surprised groan, his grip on your ass tightening and his fingers inside of you suddenly reaching deeper, “S-shit baby. Won’t last long if you keep doing that.”

“Then fucking fuck me,” You huff breathlessly, impatient and so turned on.

A loud smack sound rings out, followed by a burning pain on your right asscheek that makes you cry out in a mix of pain and pleasure.

Leon spanked you. Leon just fucking spanked you and you moaned.

Leon looks at you with amusement, “You’re the one who wrapped your hand around my dick instead of your cunt.”

“I can’t exactly get your dick inside me with your fingers in the way,” You glare at him, squeezing the base of his cock just to see his face pinch in pleasure.

“Fine,” Leon grits, removing his fingers from inside you and pulling your hips to align better with his. Your hand fell away from his cock and you quickly gripped the back of the seat as Leon pushed himself inside of you without warning.

Both of you cried out, you louder than him, as he bottomed out, seating himself fully inside of you. Neither of you moved, you trying to adjust to the size of him, and him trying not to cum instantly at the feeling of your warm, wet cunt wrapped so tightly around him.

“There, that better?” Leon asked after a moment of silence and all you could do was nod. You felt his hands on your thighs again, rubbing up and down, every once in a while pulling at the fishnets and letting them snap back against your skin, “Yeah? Then why don’t you try moving those hips for me like you did earlier.”

Slowly you begin to roll your hips around his cock buried inside of you. Leon’s hands instantly stop to rest on the juncture between your hips and thighs, fingers squeezing into the meat of your skin and encouraging your movements, “Fuck there you go, good girl.”

The stimulation and the praise make you moan and ride him faster, your hands move to grip his shoulders as you begin bouncing a little. Leon curses and thrusts up into you, somehow reaching deeper and pushing against your cervix.

“Holy shit,” You moan when Leon pushes a hand between you and begins rubbing your clit, his other hand cupping the back of your head as he presses kisses to your jaw, “Leon, I’m gonna- fuck I’m gonna cum!”

“Cum baby, cum on my cock. Show me how good I make you feel.” Leon groans against your skin, his fingers moving faster against your clit and his hips thrusting up harder.

With a shout of the agent's name, you came, hard, your body tightening up and shaking from the amount of pleasure you felt. Leon fucked you through it, trying not to cum until he could pull out, but the feeling of your walls clamping around him was too much and he was tipping over the edge right with you.

You felt Leon’s hot cum spill inside of you, filling you up and causing another wave of pleasure to shoot through your body. His arms tightened around you, pulling you closer and the two of you sat there together as you came down from your highs.

After a moment you pull away from the embrace and look at the man beneath you. Leon’s blue eyes were hazy as he stared at you and puckered his lips, asking for a kiss. You giggled and gave him one, hand sliding up his neck and cupping his cheeks.

“I have a hotel not too far from here if you want to get cleaned up,” Leon mumbled into the kiss.

You smirked, “You have an entire hotel? What exactly do they pay you?”

“I have a hotel room, smart ass.” Leon huffed, rolling his eyes and pulling away from you.

A chuckle escapes you, “Yeah I’ll go to your hotel room with you, on one condition.”

“Oh?” Leon raises an eyebrow, his hands resting on your thighs, “And what’s that?”

“We actually finish this game of tic-tac-toe.”

Taglist : @cassiecasluciluce @ymrai @admirxation @chessysourcandy @cinnamonminni @uriynne @rottenrosethorns

I did it guys I finally finished it!!! Hope it was worth the wait😭

[junova]

never been in love — single dad!steve (headcannon)

pairing: single dad!steve x teacher!reader

abstract: the one where steve likes you a lot and his daughter does too. 

warnings: it gets a lil smutty towards the end (18+) not really tho, this is so much longer than i intended jfc, bucky being kind of a dick, hint of daddy kink, cheating? 

[a/n]: this was totally inspired by @marvelouspeterparker​ post. i read it and it pulled me out of my writers block so thank u ! also this is so unnecessarily long but i have no excuse other than im a hoe for steve rogers?? 

*** gif isnt mine — i forgot creds srry :/

                             -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-  

oh god this one is going to hUrt me

but can you just imagine when steve really gets to see you, not just in passing as he picks up his daughter

he nearly shits himself because how in the hell had he not noticed you before?

one any given day, he’s right on time to pick up shai

he’s always punctual

— until today

not only was he late, but he was an hour late and in his mess of mind he was fully convinced they’d never let him bring her to the school again

to make matters even worse his phone had died and his cable was nowhere to be found in his dying, old pick up truck

not to mention his sweet little angel, more than likely frightened out of her mind

— but he was so wrong

practically in a full sprint, he quickly made his way to shai’s classroom when he found her perfectly peaceful while she talked with her teacher

even though, she was facing him and could see him she paid him no mind. it didn’t faze her that her father was so late because you had stayed to keep her company

“well, it looks like he finally decided to show up.” shai spoke to you, loud enough so her father in the doorway could her. the edge in her tone pushing sassy all the way through

of course as soon as shai found her way in steve’s arms he profusely apologized and graciously thanked you for staying with her saying he would repay you for it

— and it definitely had nothing to do with how attracted steve was to you. nope. not at all

you dismissed his gesture, it was a delight to be with shai and you told him such but you had a feeling he wouldn’t let it go

— and he didn’t

the very next day, when he dropped shai off and handed you a dozen pastries he had made fresh this morning

the way you gushed over it, cheekbones high and happy over his kindness made steve’s heart swell

they were still warm and you just couldn’t believe he made these with his bare hands

it was easily the kindest gift anyone ever gave you and you told him that too before you could stop yourself

then he just started bringing you a pastry or two every other day, even if you’d refused them the next day he would bring double the amount he brought the day before

you stopped refusing him bc you already felt guilt since he wouldn’t let you pay for a single one

after two weeks, steve asked you out. you weren’t shocked he had, he had been buttering you up but no matter how charming you thought he was you couldn’t.

he was a parent of one of your students and you just couldn’t allow yourself to go there

it wasn’t necessarily against the rules, but it was frowned upon

accepting your rejection with grace and humility he grabbed shai before bidding you goodbye that day

you thought that was the end of it, until you saw him the following friday night at the bar you frequented at

— alone

you wanted to talk to him, the tequila in your system giving you an irresistible urge to but you were on a date with on of your friends’ coworkers

james buchanan barnes

he definitely was a smooth taker, those dazzling blue eyes sparkling like they knew something you didn’t

you really wanted to be interested, he was a loose shape of a man you’d dream about. maybe you could even pretend he was the one you really wanted

not when steve was sitting at the bar, alone.

but you left that thought behind and you convinced yourself you really were smitten with bucky

two weeks later, bucky and you had been on a few dates and he seemed to like you but you knew you had to end things.

whatever little fling you had going on

your heart got more of kick when steve used to bring you pastries in the morning before class than when bucky kissed you after your first date.

then he asked if you would come to his house, he was having a small get together and would love if you’d be there

— reluctantly, you went

bucky’s friends were nice, each one of them making you feel welcomed into their tight circle.

it turned into a better night than you thought and bucky seemed to be super touchy, guiding you onto his lap as you sat around the fire in his patio

natasha, bucky’s long friend since high school, had you all in fits on the stories from the past

everyone was too busy reeling to recognize his presence but you had the to be blind not to

there steve stood gaping at you’d like you were a ghost, certainly surprised to see you perched on bucky’s lap

yep you wanted to just crawl under a whole a stay there forever

“Glad to see you showed up, punk.” Bucky gesturing for him to make his way over to you, even when you pulled at the sleeve of his henley to stop him.

— of course your efforts to tame bucky in did nothing

he grabbed a cold one before making his way to the two of you

and dear god was it as awkward as ever

“Honey, this is my best friend, Steve.” Honey? He had never called you anything besides your name. By the way he pulled you even closer to him made you think there was something else entirely going on.

you certainly didn’t miss the way steve’s jaw clenched or as he held his right hand picking at the piece of bark rather aggressively

“Um, we actually know each other. Shai is in my class, actually.” Feeling rather suffocated by the weight of Bucky’s arms now that the man you felt too much for was here. “Really? I had no idea.”

steve’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head, infuriated. it wasn’t just that bucky knew you were shai’s teacher but he knew just how much steve liked you.

he didn’t shut up about you since he you with his daughter — something inside him changing in an instance

it wasn’t just that he thought you were the most wonderful woman he’d me — shai also raved over you

shai’s mother leaving a gaping whole in her heart she didn’t quite understand at the age of five was filled by you

you were kind to her, your patience never wearing thin as you gave her the attention she deserved

it may be your job but you enjoyed every moment with her and steve noticed

“Oh? She’s the one you would wake up an hour early for to make the pastries?” Bucky blurted out.

he woke up an early just to make those for you?

the way steve looked at the ground, grinding his fingertip against the label of his beer made you want to cry. his neck flaring pink at the embarrassment only made you wish you were in his arm instead

— even more than you already did

“You really should have seen the smile on his face when he came back from the school gushing over how much you liked what he had made.”

Bucky tightened his arm around your waist before saying. “Or when you reject him, I still can’t decide which is better.”

“That’s enough, James.” You tone harsh, before you ripped yourself away.

you couldn’t even look at steve, you don’t think your heart could handle it so you practically sprinted to your car

you needed to get the fuck out of here

until you reached for you keys, but they weren’t in your pocket

“Looking for these?” His hands looping through your keys giving it a twirl. “Star Wars fan?” Steve gesturing to you baby yoda key chain. “Maybe just a tad.”

“Thank you, Steve.” He tried to ignore the jump you ignited in his heart whenever you said his name.

handing your keys, he turned away from you, heading back into the house until you yanked him forward

the force so strong he though he was going to body slam into you before he pushing his weight against the car.....and you

“I’m sorry about, Bucky. I never would have gone out with him if I knew you two were friends.” You admitted while Steve just stood there looking embarrassed.

god did you always have to ruin everything

“I-I just, um, have these feelings for you. These very complicated feelings that make me want to throw every morally sound thought I have to the wind.”

“Which thought did you want to get rid of right now?” Stepping outside of his comfort zone, Steve grabbed your hands and just on instinct alone you cradled his face like it was the most natural act in the world. Like you had done it a thousand times.

“I mean, for one I’m telling myself I shouldn’t be this close to you.” Steve taking you by surprise as he tilted his head to the side, kissing the palm of your hand.

did he really just-

“What else, sweet girl?”

oh, you really were a goner

“I don’t know.” You spoke softly. Admitting to not only him but yourself — you couldn’t think when he was this close to you.

“Oh, but I think you do.” Steve diving right in as he latched his plump lips to your neck. Making whispers of his name drip off your tongue.

before you register what was happening steve had you pressed up against the car, rough hands gripping your thighs as your legs clinged to his slim waist

not to mention the ratio from his broad shoulders to his hips had your pussy drowning more

making you forget why you’d ever rejected him in the first place and he had hardly even touched you yet

then his lips met yours and you knew he had ruined you for anyone else. no one would ever compare to him and not anyone from your past did.

“Holy shit.” You whispered, completely in awe of what Steve was capable of doing to you in a matter of seconds. The proud smirk he wore in great contrast to what he felt back by the fire when he saw your body entangled with Bucky.

“If I ever see you sitting on my best friend’s lap again, I will go fucking crazy. Do you understand?” Steve eyes burning with envy.

“Yes, Daddy.”

brb gonna cry that i don’t have my very own steve rogers rip 

                            -ˋˏ ༻✿༺ ˎˊ-

 tags: @tonystankschild​ @parkastoria​ @kayteewritessteve​ 

[allforthecourtt]

rereading aftg with my dumbass opinions pt. 2 (tfc chapters 6-10)

pt. 1 | pt. 2 | pt. 3

look guys! its the highly unanticipated continuation of my reread of aftg!

chapter 6 (aka. meet this MESS of a team)

“My mother's family is French." It was a lie that probably had his British mother rolling over in her sandy grave.”

neil really never misses an opportunity to remind readers that he fucking buried his mom on the beach huh?

“A liar who practices occasional honesty. Clever. Keeps people guessing. Very effective. I would know. I do it myself, you see. Come on, then. After you.”

have i mentioned how entertaining high andrew is? because he’s funny as hell

also rereading these are fun because Nora is incredible at foreshadowing just sayin

“Neil automatically reached for his seatbelt, but one of the brothers was sitting on it.”

how neil would be in the back of the cousins’ car if they let him:

“You?" Neil said. "You can't." Andrew's smile curved wider. "Ohhh, that sounds like a challenge. Mother may I?" "Your mother's dead. I don't think she cares what you do.”

HO HO HOLY SHIT NEIL

“Starting a fight was too out of character for who he portrayed "Neil” to be, though.”

“Consider this your official invite, you suicidal wretch. I'm bringing you to Columbia with us this Friday.”

awe suicidal wretch... glad they’re starting those pet names early

“I don't drink or dance," Neil said.

andrew: i kno u can

“Kevin doesn't dance anymore”

anymore? ANYMORE??? release the cursed events that led to him not dancing anymore Nora im begging you

“Are you bleeding anywhere?" Matt asked. "Nowhere vital," Neil said.

gskjgnsak god i stan this little asshole so much

“She said it gently, with the hint of a smile on her face, but Neil still felt the rebuke. It was subtler but somehow deadlier”

have i mentioned how gay i am for renee? because im very gay for renee

“Allison looked ready for a photo shoot with perfect platinum curls, spiked heels, and a skintight dress.”

im also gay for allison ngl

“I can move if you want to sit here," Neil said. "No, this is fine." She smiled, but it had a smug edge to it, probably because Seth was glaring at them like he could kill them with willpower alone. ”

lol remember how neil doesn’t think he’s attractive and yet in 0.1 seconds after meeting him allison is like “yes this idiot is hot enough to piss off the other idiot im dating”

“Personal favorite was when someone told the police we were running a meth lab out of the dorm," Dan said sourly. "Police raids are awesome.”

no offence dan but that’s fucking hilarious omg

that’s kind of like the time my residence floor had to get evacuated bc some kids hotboxed their dorm room

god i love uni

“The death threats were creative, though," Nicky said. "Maybe this time they'll follow through and actually kill one of us. Let's vote. I nominate Seth.”

pfffffttttt i love Nicky omg

also hahahahahah foreshadowing!

“It'll be fine," Andrew said. "I promised, didn't I? Don't you believe me?" It took a while, but at last Kevin visibly relaxed. ”

again this is why i thought they were fucking for like the better part of the first two books

“The dead look Kevin turned on Andrew today was the same look Neil saw in his reflection. When Neil stopped acting, when he stopped worrying about who was watching, when he let go of the lies that kept him alive, that was the only expression he could make.”

it’s fine i didnt need a heart anyways

this kid is 18 hes A BABY

the first time i read this i was 18 too and like jfc i was a BABY at 18 and so i neil

“One of us has to make it, Mom." It wasn't going to be Neil. It was obvious he was too stupid to survive without his mother if he let himself get into messes like this. But maybe Kevin could do it.”

sorry let me just wipe my TEARS off my fucking laptop neil honey what the fuck

“He felt distant as he watched them walk in. Maybe he was already dying, his stupid soul fading from his short body in preparation for a brutal end.”

neil we get it you have depression (me too bitch u aint special)

“Fuck running," Seth said.

now that’s a whole ass mood

“he didn't know how Renee could smile so warmly when she was speaking to Andrew.”

haha bitch just wait

“when he slept, he dreamed of his father waiting for him on the Foxhole Court.”

remember how at the end of the series his father is waiting on the court but neil wins??? god we love good storytelling

this is such a fucking wild chapter

could you imagine? coming back from the summer and your first introduction to this amateur from arizona is this neil josten level of sass? because i’d probably kill him

first years are bad enough but first years who dont care about other people’s opinions? the fucking worst

chapter 7 (aka. neil does NOT have a fun night out)

“It seemed Allison and Seth didn't believe in middle ground: either they were slinging vile insults at each other or they were making out in the locker room regardless of whoever might be around.”

that’s just how the straights are

“It reminded Neil a little of Allison and Seth, except without the desperate sexual undertones.”

i’ll just leave this gem of a line here

“His teammates held so little regard for him he didn't even have the dubious honor of being dead last.”

neil shading himself is actually hilarious how relatable

“Neil watched him do it, trying to remember the last time someone gave him a gift and coming up blank. That his first one should be from Andrew was unsettling.”

i actually love the fact that andrew bought him clothes so early on like andrew your gay is showing

“Neil debated how much damage the thick heels of his new boots would do against Andrew's face and liked what his mind came up with.”

i thank god everyday that these books are neil’s pov

“Andrew gave Neil another slow once-over and let go. "We're going.”

^andrew seeing neil w/o contacts (aka. the ‘i can’t think straight’ vine)

“Most of the men wore leather, half the women had corsets, and a good number of both genders were covered in buckles and chains.”

this... is a... gay bar

“Andrew saluted the bouncers on his way by and led the way into the club, bypassing the line entirely.”

i always forget the drinking age in the us is 21 but like this bar really dont care about their liquor license AT ALL lmao

“You think Kevin would risk his future over a night out at the club?" "What future?" Neil asked.”

WOW NEIL WAY TO BE A BITCH

“Neil hadn't seen Aaron get up, but he was waiting behind Neil when Andrew let go. Neil reached for Andrew with lethal intent, but Aaron grabbed the back of his chair and pulled hard enough to topple it over.”

why are the twins literally this gif:

real talk nicky kissing neil like that is horrible and really reflects poorly on nicky as a character

andrew for this entire chapter:

chapter 8 (aka. a hitchhiker’s guide to lying about your identity)

“I don't know how your conversation with Andrew went, but it didn't end well. Rumor has it you paid a busboy a hundred bucks to knock you out. Way to cut our night short.”

this is probably my favourite thing neil does in the entire series ngl

“Wymack grabbed his elbow and hauled him inside. He slowed just long enough to slam the door behind Neil. "Are you stupid or just crazy? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you between here and there? What were you thinking?”

Why does Wymack literally sound like my father?

foxes: daddy?

wymack: DO I LOOK LIKE

follow up:

kevin: daddy?

wymack: uh yeah

“I don't know what the beef is between you two, but it ends here and now.”

Wymack @ neil: tell your boyfriend, if he says he’s got beef that your a vegetarian and your not fucking scared of him

“Then correct me." "Give me a reason." "Besides the obvious?" Andrew said. "If I can't get an answer from you, I'll get it wherever I can.”

andrew:

“I'm—" Neil didn't want to say it, but the word was already there, broken and pathetic between them, "—nothing. I'll always have and be nothing.”

“He wondered for a moment if Andrew could handle the entire truth so calmly, but that was too dangerous and stupid to consider.”

“Hope was a dangerous, disquieting thing, but he thought perhaps he liked it.”

this is such a good fucking line like i am shooketh

chapter 9 (aka. neil is, like, really horny for exy)

“Are you stupid?" Seth asked. "Yeah," Neil said.”

what a fuckin MOOD

“Neil had almost forgotten why he liked Exy so much. He did his best at practices but these days he worked mostly to keep his teammates off his back. As Neil surveyed Kevin's damage, he finally felt inspired again. On its heels was a hungry, desperate rush.”

“Seth made as if to throw his beer at Neil. "His life is not more important than mine just because he's more talented.”

sometimes i really wish seth was actually given a chance to have some character development

“ "Maybe you're not as stupid as I thought." "Maybe I am," Neil said”

another big fucking MOOD

chapter 10 (aka. shocking: university is hard :/ )

“It's fun telling Kevin no," Andrew said with a wicked grin.”

why is andrew like this omg

betsy probably was like just looking for a chill job and was like “oh cool uni students? ill have to deal with like a lot of anxiety, sexual tension, depression and like confusion about the future, not to bad” but NOPE welcome to the fucking MAFIA WARS

“That wasn't so bad, was it? Andrew was convinced it would be a disaster. He put money on you hating Betsy." "Did you bet against him?" "Yes," Renee said. "It was a private bet between the two of us.”

“I hope you didn't lose much," Neil said.”

god why is he such an asshole at every opportunity i love him

“I can take care of myself," Neil said. "Watch me beam with pride.”

wymack is the best father in the world and you cant convince me otherwise

“There was one for every fall team with schedules printed on each. Neil kept the Exy one, tossed the rest into the trash, and buried his magnet deep in his pocket where he didn't have to look at the dates.”

neil “i only care about exy” josten strikes again with his great school spirit

“Palmetto State was facing Edgar Allan on Friday, October 13th”

that’s such a cliche and i love it

“He detoured around students toward one of Palmetto State's three dining halls. Two were for the general student body. The third was for athletes only”

lmao my school literally has one dining hall and it couldnt give less of a fuck what type of student they’re selling food too as long as they’ll pay $15 for chicken fingers

what kind of money does palmetto state fuckin have

like i get us tuition is a lot but jesus so’s mine and my school couldn’t be less fucked

“It was only the first day of school and he already had three assignments: a short paper, a fifty-page chapter to read, and a page of questions about said chapter. Neil debated for a minute as to which one sounded least painful. Five minutes later he was still uninspired, so he put his head down on his desk.”

1. MOOD

2. first years are so cute thinking that’s a lot of assignments i remember in first year being like “i have to read 40 pages thats so unfair :(” and now i’m like “ah sick only 200 pgs of readings this week? im gonna have so much free time!”

upper year history sucks ngl

“I'm fine," Neil said.”

neil knows exactly two (2) words and those are it

“You say that an awful lot," Matt said. "I'm starting to think you don't know what it means.”

overall thoughts:

the plot is pickinnnng upppp

i kind of forget how much world building happens in the first book but like its good

also i love neil literally hating everyone its so funny bc like bby these going to be your best friends just wait

anyways that’s all for now

part 3 will be the rest of tfc and then we’ll move onto trk if you guys still want more of this? let me know

love u all bye

[blatherkatt]

Title: The Calm Is Terrifying When The Storm Is All You Know [Homestuck]

Chapter 31: Light 

Summary: There were two kinds of trolls who went to Earth: rich shitheads with too much money and free time, and desperate assholes who couldn’t survive on Alternia, even with the best efforts of the young Condesce. Karkat hated the planet almost immediately, but with his home planet too dangerous for mutants, he really didn’t have any choice but to hide out on this weird little diurnal planet. At least he’d be safe. Or so he thought, right before blundering his way into an accidental friendship with the son of an anti-troll terrorist.

Rating: M

Chapter Warnings: Injuries and blood (including in illustrations), near death experience, suicidal imagery (**the character’s not actually suicidal i promise its just the imagery of the scene could read that way), mentioned alcohol abuse, mentioned physical abuse, some minor medical talk; Illustrated

Author’s note: chapter is named after the song Light by Sleeping At Last which u can access by clicking that link, but for best effect u should wait to do that until you’re at the final scene/the part that starts with “Climbing out of sleep” and then just like. listen to it on repeat for the rest of the scene 

also wow thanks tumblr for killing the color quality on the pics from the dream jfC whys it so brown its supposed to be way orangeyer 

FIRST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

They were in a safehouse, evidently. One chosen by Terezi, who was going to want to know how exactly Rose and Rachel had gotten to the scene before she did, just as soon as she returned from chasing down Derek and dealing with on-sight investigation. That was going to be an interesting conversation, certainly. Explaining that a bird had shown them the way was going to be difficult, especially with the crow now nowhere to be seen.

And yet, Rose still found that she’d prefer to be in the midst of that uncomfortable conversation right now, rather than where she currently sat: on a chair outside the room Dave had been rushed into, next to her mother. The door muffled most sound, but she could make out the beeping of a heart monitor and sometimes catch what two doctors tending to Dave were saying. The heart monitor was worryingly unsteady, and what little she could make out of the doctors’ words did not help soothe her anxiety any.

Dirk was in some other room, being treated for a broken leg, a days-old concussion, and general exhaustion. He’d apparently passed out shortly after they all arrived here. Dave had been unconscious even before then.

Probably the most frustrating piece of all of this was how, now, after they’d finally been able to do something, they were right back to being helpless.

Desperate for some conversation, something to pass the time as they waited for something to happen — it had been over an hour, now, just sitting out here, waiting — she tugged the first loose thread she could find in her memory and dragged it into the open.

“So. Ravens, huh?”

Mom snorted. “You’re waiting until now to ask about that?”

“I was focused on other things on the way over, in my defense,” said Rose, “But, really, you can’t just leave something like that in front of me and not expect to clarify. What did you mean when you said that Aunt Ramona usually uses ravens? You hardly seemed surprised at all that our guide wasn’t human, and you responded so cryptically. Please, mother, the curiosity is killing me.”

“Ha. Okay, you’ll have to forgive me a little, I’m really not sure of the specifics,” Mom sighed, rubbing a hand over her eyes, “But my understanding is that a part of the family magic is that…you just. Get to be friends with a particular kind of bird. Our mom could get those little, uh, sparrows? Finches? Y’know, the little brown birds you see everywhere, she’d just hold a hand out at one and it’d come land on her finger. We had an uncle who could not get seagulls to leave him alone ever. And Ramona has ravens.”

“Really?” Rose said, perking up a little. It was an interesting topic, albeit one she felt a bit bitter at not learning about before now, but it also made for an excellent distraction from the worrying sounds coming from behind the door.

“Yeah. She actually used them as scouts during the invasion, too,” Mom said, sinking back in her chair. “I dunno how exactly, but she’d call one down, whisper at it, and then it’d…fly off and she’d go real still and quiet for a while, and then it’d come back and she’d just. Know shit.”

“So what kind of bird do you have?” Rose asked.

“The family magic skipped me altogether, honey,” she said, “I don’t have any.”

Rose looked down. “And I suppose if I had some, I’d already know, wouldn’t I? You said before that her powers started kicking in when she was thirteen.”

“Maybe,” Rachel shrugged. “But I mean, you might be a late bloomer. Who knows.”

Conversation fell away again for a moment. The sounds from the room behind them were getting really worrying.

“Dave mentioned at one point that he gets harassed by crows a lot,” Rose said, desperate to break up the silence. “Does that sound like the family magic?”

Rachel laughed. “Oh, God, I bet that’s exactly what it is, poor baby.”

“There was a particular crow he described that perfectly matched the description of the one we followed,” Rose said, “Which is why I…”

—The unsteady, frantic bleeping of the heart monitor had turned into one long, cruel note. Her breath caught in her throat, and something in her chest turned to ice, burning with cold.

(He…wasn’t sure how long he’d been here. Or exactly where ‘here’ was. It felt kind of like he had just suddenly appeared here, and also at the same time like he’d just always been here.

‘Here’ was…probably Texas. He wasn’t sure what city. It was quieter than any city he remembered being in, but he didn’t know of anywhere else with such oppressively hot, heavy air choked with smoke. The world was dyed shades of orange and red and white, distant buildings seeming to shimmer, dissolving and reforming themselves like a mirage or a hologram projected onto smoke. The building he was standing on seemed only marginally more solid. Sure, he was standing on it, but thick clouds of dust or smoke constantly floated off of it. It felt like the heat was causing everything to boil, almost.

Still, it was…kind of eerie. The place should have been full of sounds. Distant cars, maybe a siren or two, some guy below swearing at someone for cutting him off, but…nothing. It was completely silent. Nothing seemed like it was moving, except for the smoke, and even that was so slow it barely seemed to move at all.

Something, he wasn’t sure what, drew him to the edge. Peering over the side of the building, he looked down. He couldn’t see the ground. Just a whole lot of a strange, dark mist. It looked…cool, and inviting, almost seeming to whisper promises of rest, and…

God, he was so tired. Exhaustion was weighing on him, dragging him down, making the call of that mist below all the more tempting. He just wanted to rest, please, fuck, he couldn’t even remember what he’d been doing before but he was so tired…

Easy there, Junior, there’s no coming back if y’go that way.

There was the sound of fluttering wings. Dave heaved a sigh, even before turning around. “Of course,” he said, “Of fucking course the king of brainless feathery assholes is here. Can’t ever fucking escape for a Goddamn moment, can I. Nope, only living being for miles besides me is this motherfucker.”

I mean, “living” might be stretchin’ it just a bit, all things considered.

That…hm. He’d thought these were his own thoughts, but…He turned his head. There was another part of the building he was on that stood out a lot higher, and there he was, perched with his legs hanging over the edge, looking down at Dave with a relaxed if sorta sad smile.

Seriously though, he said, and if Dave wasn’t watching the guy’s mouth move, he’d have thought the words were coming from his own head — they weren’t sound, exactly, the kid’s mouth just moved and words seemed to appear — you should step away from there. I know shit’s tempting, but trust me, if you go down there, you’re gonna be stuck looking like that forever. I mean, look at me. I never even got my fuckin’ shoe back. He gestured angrily at his feet, one of which was indeed in only a sock. It’s fuckin’ bullshit. And, uh, no offense, but you look like shit, Junior, you really don’t wanna get stuck lookin’ like that for eternity.

Dave glanced back down at the mist, then back up at the kid. “I’m so tired,” he said.

I know, believe me, I remember that part. But ya gotta trust me here. You gotta keep fighting a little bit longer, okay? I didn’t have a fuckin’ chance, but you still do. If not for yourself, then for all the people waiting for you on the flipside, huh?

Sighing, Dave took his foot away from the ledge and backed up several steps, turning to face the kid before dropping down heavily onto his ass. Fine. If he couldn’t sleep yet, he was at least going to sit the fuck down.

There y’go, Junior. We got this.

“Aren’t you a little young to be calling me Junior?” Dave shot.

The kid jerked back with a snort of laughter. Motherfucker, it was my name first! Anyway, I’d be plenty older than you if I hadn’t, uh, y’know. He gestured at the ragged slashes torn through both layers of clothing on his chest. Point is, I can call you Junior all I damn well wanna, fuckin’ deal with it and respect your elders or whatever.

“Hah,” Dave huffed. He looked around. “So. Any idea where the fuck we are?”

It’s not really a ‘where,’ exactly? It’s like…A border, I guess? I mean, that’s what I think it is, yours looks super different from what mine looked like. And also because this shit doesn’t come with any fucking explanation, honestly, so I have no idea if I’m right or wrong about any of this, but I think it’s like…a crossroads, sorta, between being alive and being dead.

Dave blinked.

“Oh.”

Shit, yours would be buildings, though, wouldn’t it? Kinda predictable, there, Junior.

“I’m dying.”

The kid winced. I mean, you might be, he said, rubbing his hand underneath the backwards rim of his hat. Like, your heart’s definitely stopped right now, but there’s actually a nonzero chance of you pulling through.

“And…why’re you here, then?”

He grinned. Well, for starters, I’m not gonna pass up what might be my only chance of finally getting to talk to ya without you thinkin’ I’m your own fuckin’ brain. God, do you have any idea how fuckin’ boring it is to pass seventeen years with no one able to hear you? Except Ramona, apparently, but I literally found out she could hear and see me, like, today, and thank fuck because she’s the entire reason I was able to get Ray’s help to save your ass. But, uh, also, I’m stalling.

Dave tilted his head. “Stallin’ for what?”

For the doctors tryin’ get your heart goin’ again. Like, I’m pretty sure time moves way the fuck faster in here than it does outside, and this whole conversation’s happened over the course of about a minute or so out in real time, but, still. Y’know. Tell you not to go into the light, except in this case it’s some sorta weird smokey shit, but, same difference. Give ‘em time to fuckin’ bring you back around so you’re not stuck lookin’ like you picked a fight with five flamethrowers and a steamroller for the rest of your fuckin’ existence.

Pulling a face, he plucked at his shirt. Yeah, this shit was beyond ruined, fuck, all black and brown and twisted up. “I really do look like shit, don’t I?”

Yeah, man, it’s pretty — A tremor rocked the building, abruptly. Both Dave and the ghost looked down.

Shit, said the kid, that can’t be good.

Another tremor, this one filling the air with the sounds of stone grinding and breaking. Cracks formed all along the building. Dave struggled to his feet, only to nearly lose his balance again as the stone beneath his feet began to crumble away and fall.

Fuck, Junior — hold on!

The earth was giving way beneath him, he was falling. Smoke and dust threatened to cloud his lungs.

The sound of flapping wings filled the air again, and a massive shadow fell over him, huge black feathers surrounding him as clawed feet reached out to catch him —)

Dave’s eyes shot open as he gasped for an agonizing breath. It was too bright in here, fuck, what the fuck was beeping, where was he, fuck, everything HURT —

“Easy there, son, easy, welcome back,” said a voice. Two hands, one on his shoulder and  one just below his ribs, pressed him gently back onto clean fabrics. His eyes tried to focus — two white clad figures were leaning over him, one a human woman, one a troll that was probably a guy. Doctors? Fuck, his side hurt, his throat hurt, his lungs were screaming, fuck.

“Try to stay with us, okay?” The human woman was saying. “Don’t try to talk, just try to stay conscious as long as you can. We’re gonna patch you up, maybe put you on a ventilator.”

—Hang in there, Junior, I dunno how many more of those either you or me has left in us.

There were tears running down his face. He didn’t even realize he was crying, but they were there. The doctors were back to talking to each other, frantically doing…something, sometimes they’d be touching him, he couldn’t…he was so tired………

Even as the beeping started up again, even as she heard one of the doctors say, “It’s alright, he’s just unconscious this time,” the frozen thing in Rose’s chest refused to thaw out.

“Oh, God,” Mom whispered, her voice hoarse. “Oh, God, they almost lost him.”

Sometime after three in the morning, one of the doctors came and quietly told Rachel that Dave was stable.

She and Rose had moved over to Dirk’s room, where he was sound asleep, poor thing. They’d gotten the gel outta his hair, at least, it looked like, and he didn’t have the makeshift bandage wrapped around his face anymore. Still stuck with a bit of a beard, though, which was bizarre to see and, knowing him, was probably pissing him off.

Rose was asleep, too, her head pillowed on her arms, leaned over onto Dirk’s bed. She had gone…real quiet after Dave had…

Had flatlined. She had to force herself to actually think the word. He’d flatlined. It’d only been a minute and a half — felt a lot fuckin’ longer — but he’d been gone for a moment there. This really was that bad.

Dirk, too, God, Derek had been standing over both of them, ready to fucking — to fucking skewer them both.

She didn’t want to think about it. Every instinct of the past ten, hell, the past seventeen years screamed at her to ignore it, put up the walls, reach for the booze she didn’t have on her for once and drown out the things she didn’t want to be real.  

But. Ignoring it was how she’d gotten into this mess, wasn’t it.

She’d pretended it hadn’t existed and drowned it all in alcohol and hadn’t seen that her kids fuckin’ needed her until they were dying.

“Ray, girl,” she said to herself, “You gotta get your shit together and do better.”

There was a blanket laid down on the end of the bed; she picked it up and draped it gently over Rose’s shoulders, kissed both her kids on the forehead, and headed down the hall to Dave’s room.

The doctor’d warned her he was still unconscious and on life support, but, God, seeing her baby passed out with a tube down his throat, hooked up to a gently bleeping machine and covered in bruises…

She didn’t let herself look away, though. Not anymore.

No more trying to live in a memory. She needed to be here now.

She pulled a chair up to his side. She couldn’t go back and take away all the hurt that’d been done, but at the very least, she could keep a vigil until morning, so that if, by some chance, he woke up, he wouldn’t be alone. In all likelihood, she wasn’t going to be able to sleep, anyway.

Well, they’d all somehow survived Dave’s insane escape plan, somehow (although Dirk hadn’t been able to see him just yet, and what he’d heard from a nurse had been…concerning), and yet, freshly showered with no small amount of effort, Dirk found himself faced with his hardest task yet: finally shaving off the fucking forest that had taken root on his damn face.

He glared down at his hands, pressed against the counter of the little bathroom he’d been guided into and to the plastic razor next to them, willing all three to fucking cooperate already. He hadn’t waited this long to finally get this shit off his face only for his nerves to stop him.

(They were particularly determined nerves, though. The nurse had said Dave was finally stabilized at three in the morning, how bad was he if it had taken that long…? That awful, broken scream kept ringing in his ears, over and over…)

He nearly jumped at a knock on the door. Rose’s voice came through; they’d both agreed to go in to see Dave together once they’d both eaten (already done) and gotten cleaned up (Rose had already finished that; Dirk had gone second since the new cast on his leg meant he was sort of doomed to take longer). “Are you alright in there?” she said. “I’ve already got one brother in need of intensive care. At this point, it’d be a cruel joke to wind up with two because you managed to slip and fall.”

“I’m already out of the shower and dressed,” Dirk said. “Just, uh, having a bit of a shaving malfunction.”

Rose tipped the door open (left unlocked on the doctors’ orders, just in case Dirk really had slipped and fallen) and glanced in. “What sort of malfunction?” she asked, a tired amusement twinkling in her eyes.

Dirk held up one of his hands so she could see how badly they were shaking. “Think my blood sugar might still be low,” he said. It…wasn’t entirely a lie. He and Dave hadn’t had much food the past four days, so that could certainly be a part of it.

Her face softened. “Do you need some help with that?” she asked.

Dirk sighed. God, it was embarrassing, but they’d be here all day if he tried to wait for his hands to stop shaking, so. “Yes please.”

It was awkward as hell, and needing help for something as simple as fucking shaving felt like one last insult on top of the hell that had been the past several days. But at the very least, it felt good to have his face back. He thanked Rose, thanked her again when she helped him up from where he’d been sitting and onto the crutches he’d been given.

They shared a look full of an unspoken, mutual apprehension before heading toward Dave’s room.

Mom, in a chair by the bed and looking exhausted, was talking with Terezi in hushed tones when they entered the room. Both girls looked up, and Terezi said something quietly to Mom before brushing past them both, granting them a sympathetic nod as she passed.

Dave had a blanket over most of him, tucked under his arms and pulled up to his chest. What little of him was visible beyond the blanket was a mess of wires, tubes, and bandages that made Dirk’s breath twist painfully in his throat.

Mom smiled, her eyes heavy and a little bloodshot. “The doctors said they don’t know when he’ll wake up,” she said, “But that he’s at least not technically in a coma or anything. Just really exhausted, poor bugger. Whole lotta years of not getting enough to eat combined with the shit you two’ve been through this past few days all caught up to him at once.”

Rose was silent as she drifted across the room to Dave’s side, opposite their mother. She pressed clenched fists against the mattress, focus fixed on her twin, although Dirk couldn’t see her eyes from here.

Dirk forced himself to look away, turned to Mom instead. “Did you sleep at all last night?” he asked.

“Uh-uh,” Mom said, shaking her head. “Couldn’t. Wanted to make sure Dave wasn’t alone, anyway, so it worked out.”

Dirk swallowed. “Well, he won’t be alone now, either,” he said. “Me and Rose can take turns watching him if Terezi needs to question us, and if not, we’ll just…both hang out in here, I guess. You should get some rest.”

“Probably,” Mom said. “Terezi’s not quite done talking to me, though, she’s just giving us some time alone. She made a lotta arrests last night, though, it sounds like. That dragon of hers got a buncha treats.”

“Good,” Dirk said, not trying to keep the contempt out of his voice. “I hope those bastards fucking rot. They were all nearly as bad as the old man.”

“Speaking of,” Mom said, “I’m pretty sure he got away.”

Rose stiffened.

“Figures,” Dirk muttered. “Really, though, Mom, we’re fine, you should finish up with Terezi and get some sleep.”

“You sure?” she said, glancing at Rose.

“We’re fine,” Rose said, her voice flat.

“…Alright, I can take a hint,” Mom said. “I’ll talk to you later, then.”

Silence hung over the room as she left. Tightening his hold on the crutches and forcing a deep breath, Dirk limped across to stand near where Mom had been, across from Rose. She hadn’t moved, but this close, Dirk could see that her arms were trembling.

Dave’s face, at least, didn’t look particularly troubled, if one were to look past the bruises and bandages.

Rose’s hands tightened on the sheets. Her voice was cold and calm, her face hidden to Dirk by her bangs as she stared down at her clenched fists. She spoke with a certainty that would have chilled Dirk to the bone had he not  been just as furious.

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” she said.

Unsure whether to reach out to comfort her, or if he should indeed respond at all, Dirk simply nodded.

The two settled in to wait, for however long it might take.

Dave didn’t wake up that day at all. Eventually, the doctors insisted that Dirk go to bed, as he needed to rest his concussion or some shit like that. Rose was watching over Dave alone when the machine Dave was hooked up to began screeching, and the doctors chased her out of the room. The commotion woke both Dirk and Mom, all three family members clustered worried around the door.

Not long after, one of the doctors came out and told them that Dave had briefly regained consciousness, for only a few minutes; he’d been desperate to speak, and panicked upon being unable to do so due to the breathing tube down his throat, so they’d taken him off the ventilator.  His breathing had been fine enough without it that they’d kept it off, in case he awoke again later and the same thing happened.

Apparently, he’d stayed conscious only long enough to ask if Dirk was alright, and had calmed and fallen back asleep as soon as he’d been told that he was okay.

Dirk felt his heart twist itself into knots at the news. Of course he did. Of course the first fucking thing he did was ask if Dirk was okay. Of course even after all this Dave still thought he was the one who had to protect Dirk.

God, he didn’t deserve his little brother.

No one got back to sleep.

Climbing out of sleep felt kinda like he’d imagined snow would feel like, except not as cold, just the parts about it being soft and fluffy and filling everything up around him. And, uh, climbing up out of actual snow that thick would probably have been terrifying, so there was that too, but this was just…a slow, lethargic crawl out of some sort of thick subconscious pool of…whatever.

The first thing he was sort of aware of was that someone was holding his hand. Not very tightly, and at a kind of awkward angle, but there was someone there. He hoped they were real. He really hoped he wasn’t dreaming anymore. His dreams had been of running through a thick, choking forest of branches that reached out to grab him and hold him back, hunted all the while by some terrible beast he never quite saw, but he somehow knew to be there; a creature too wild to be human, too cruel to be an animal, hungry and angry and relentless.

(Sometimes, he’d heard the distant beating of wings, as well, and somehow, he’d known them to be friendly, trying to lead him to safety. He’d never seen their owner, either.)

The nightmares already were starting to fade out of mind, though; and he dearly hoped this wasn’t another one. Trying to move his fingers at all was a fight and a half, like someone had dumped the pathways between them and his brain full of fuckin’ molasses or something. At first, he could only get them to twitch a bit, but with a bit of an effort, he managed to curl his hand around the other.

The owner was moving, now, suddenly frantic; he tried to stop them, but the hand slipped away. Sound was starting to come back, distant, as if through a thick, impenetrable fog; some strange high pitched  repetitive noise and a lower sound that might be someone speaking. A new hand wrapped around his, their thumb dragging across his knuckles.

It took a bunch of false starts to get his eyes open, sound leaking in more and more strongly — that beeping was fucking annoying, Jesus — and, shit, did he regret getting them open even a little almost immediately. Fuck, it was bright in here. Once he managed to get them like, halfway open, though, a darker shape slowly resolved into a human being — their silhouette was unfamiliar, but something about the face was familiar.

“Hey,” said the guy, an actual word finally managing to filter through the haze, as did the realization as to who was talking. Dirk. It was Dirk, but minus that fuckin’ beard he’d complained so much about, and with his hair down, pulled into a loose bob behind his neck. Dirk was here. Okay. That was either really good, or really bad, probably.

It took even more effort (was there…something around his neck? What the fuck), but he managed to look around a bit, get some stock of their surroundings. Not, like sitting up or anything, he wasn’t sure he wanted to give that a shot just yet, but he could move his eyes around.

“Where t’fuck are we?” he said. His voice was fuckin’ awful, Christ, all strained and quiet and a little bit wheezy. He was breathing fine, at least, but, shit.

“Safehouse,” said Dirk.

Like…like a police safehouse? “We’re alive?” Dave asked, just to make sure, because boy, was he not sure of that one. He felt….like the ghost of pain, like he should’ve been hurting all over, but something was keeping it just barely at bay. “We made it?”

Dirk’s worried smile turned more gentle. “We made it. Your plan worked, Dave, you got us both out of there alive.”

“Fuckin’ sweet,” Dave said, because it was. Holy shit, it had worked.

“Rose went to go get Mom, she’ll be back — right now, actually, by the sound of it,” said Dirk, as the sound of rapid footsteps came  through from outside and the door swung open. Dave would’ve jumped if his body wasn’t currently made of cotton and overcooked spaghetti.

Rose about barreled in, her face probably the closest to actual honestly expressing real fuckin’ emotion besides anger that he’d ever seen. She nearly bowled Dirk over, he had to hobble over to the side and give up his grip on Dave’s hand (moving instead to let his hand rest on Dave’s shoulder). Mom came around the other side of the bed, careful not to disturb the IV tube Dave had just noticed was in his arm (hey there, how long had that been a thing), and pressed one hand against the side of his face.

“Hey, baby,” she cooed, eyes already threatening to fill with tears, “Welcome back.”

Alright. Enough of this laying around shit, he was gonna try and sit up and wake up all the way.

It didn’t work. He didn’t even make it up off the bed, and felt even more tired for his efforts. Like they were all part of one being, Dirk, Rose, and Mom all moved to press his chest down (not that it had gone up any) as Mom said, “Nonono, honey, don’t try to move. Hold on, there’s a doohickey here we can use to get you more upright…” She reached around for something, some sorta box, and pressed a button on it, and, oh, hey, the part of the bed his head was on was tilting up slowly, alright, cool. Dirk kept his hands out to steady Dave the entire time as it lifted up, only pulling away once the bed had stopped moving.

Soon as he did that, Rose stiffened up and surprised Dave by lunging forward, sweeping him into a careful hug around his neck. He felt himself go tense, fuck, it was like when Mom would surprise hug him back at home except it was Rose doing it? Mom got in on the action pretty quick, too, her hands wrapping gently around either side of his face, peppering the side of his head with kisses. For a moment, it was way too much, too overwhelming, and he flashed Dirk a nervous look, he couldn’t move to get away, fuck —

The fear faded pretty quickly, actually, though.

Mom was murmuring soft reassurances in Spanish, weaving them in between kisses. Rose was fucking weeping, he could hear it, she was doing it right in his ear. And that overwhelming wave of panic turned into something warm and soft and safe, and….Fuck it. He sank into it. It was too much, way too much, but it was so fucking nice to feel so fucking loved for a while.

Yeah. Yeah, that’s what it was.

Dirk rubbed gently at Dave’s shoulder, unable to get in on the hug from this angle, but it was plenty for now. Dave let himself lean into Mom, let one of his arms weakly wrap around Rose until she pulled away, trying to compose herself and saying something snarky about how Dave had “certainly taken his sweet time to wake up,” and as soon as she gave him the room, Dirk leaned in for a hug of his own, bumping his head gently against Dave’s, all while the barrage of kisses just kept fuckin’ going.

“We made it,” Dirk whispered, and Dave felt the last bit of tension he hadn’t known he’d been holding slip away.

[chromsai]

Just curious Sai, what is the most emotional moment in Arc V for you. Mine is episode 135 and 140 ( Yes the ultimate episode that toy my feeling so badly) I cry so loud that my parent shush me. While my lil sis told me that im too extreme... And also Sai does you mom know Arc V because your story that your mom want to steal your son crack me up

oh my god.... i can think of so many... but i’ll say for me the most emotional moments were 

1. episodes 31-32 (i remember these....i was going thru some stuff and these two episodes cheered me up so bad i cried, esp ep 32)2. episode 129. i am not lying to you how real the pain was at the end of the episode for me. it was. very. vERY REAL. again, i cried....so unexpectedly...3. yep also episode 135. i um.... yeah i’m not even gonna say how bad that one was for me. wow.

there are more. i felt and also happiness throughout but yeah.

and lmao no my mom actually doesn’t know much about arc v at all. she just thinks my yooyers pillow is really cute. plus she’s like me she really loves pillows but when she saw my yooyers i was surprised she wanted to steal him cuz she thought he was cute.

she actually doesnt really pay much attention to the stuff i obsess over... (because i’m an intp piece of shit that doesn’t share my stuff out loud much besides with my really trusted friends) but i don’t really hide my merch or anything (just right now where i live i don’t have the space to display much or at all :/) but she never questions my decors or judges me over them, heck when i had my room back in college she would try to help me put up my merch + decorations (tho usually i fix her placement of things cuz i dont usually agree how she sets things up lol but she tries)... this reminds me when my religious aunt visited my old college apt up north and saw all my amiibs display + zelda posters and linkin park tapestry, apparently my aunt told my mom that all that was “weird, demon stuff” or something like that and my mom was like “jfc she’s fucking out of her ass it’s just decor of stuff you like” and i laughed so hard i was like thanks mom for not agreeing with her

oh but my mom DOES know how much i love my oshawotts and Luma (since my car has a Luma plush and i named it after Luma) and i still have a bunch of pikachu plushes and stuff she bought me from when i was a kid.

lmao when we move to a different place and i finally get a bigger room and can decorate again, she’s definitely gonna notice the yuya shrine... i can already see her face staring at it and going “ay chiquilla...” and then walking away. lol that’s what she always does. oh and she treated my chrom charaforme like a bracelet holder once...

wow this got outta hand wtf were we talking about again oh right pain