#WORD ON THE STREET SAYS THEYRE ALL TOGETHER AND DOING WELL………

[dirtbra1n]

emotionally fragile and very satisfied. Need to wipe my tears

[once-in-a-blood-moon]

AHH THEYRE OPEN!!! EEEEE

Could I request for your 🌹valentines event🌹 the prompt voice with Solomon with a GN MC? He’s heard their voice for a long time giving him encouragement and praise but he’s long since given up actually meeting them. They meet during the exchange program and he immediately recognizes their voice.

I’ve never heard of the soulmate voice scenario before so I’m realty looking forward to how you pull it all together! I love your works and am really excited for this event! Thank you so much for sharing your writing!💖💖💖💖💖

Solomon - Voice

Solomon x GN! reader

Prompt: The voice in their head is their soulmate’s voice

AN: Hi Ivy!! Thank you for your sweet words, I'm really glad you like what I do! 💕 I'm so sorry about the wait on this request, but I suppose better late than never! I really got in a groove writing this, and uh...it's a little more hurt/comfort than I expected it to be, so I hope that's okay. Thank you for being patient and I hope you enjoy! 😊

Warnings: Slight hurt/comfort, mimics how you meet Solomon in the OG but diverges a tad.

The cool night air whipped through Solomon’s hair gently as he leaned out of the open window. His eyes had grown tired from hours of combing through the weathered pages of an ancient tome he’d miraculously gotten his hands on, so he decided to take a small break to rest them. The sooner he did that, the quicker he’d be back at his desk furiously devouring the magical literature the book had to offer. 

Bleary eyes flicked lazily across the landscape of the soft city nightlife beyond his walls. He’s not in the thick of it, but sometimes he listens just to feel included. The distant sounds of horns honking, the gentle clicks of heels on the street below him as two friends pass by with gossip juggled between them, even smelling the cheap, greasy pizza from one of the restaurants nearby. It’s all something that eludes him. Like an inside joke he’s not allowed in on…

“I hope you’re doing okay…”

Solomon perks upon hearing the soft, almost solemn voice in his head. It had started just a few short decades ago, popping up occasionally to say hello or to spout some words of encouragement. He was aware he was hearing the voice of his soulmate, but it seemed hard for him to let go of his reservations and interact with them. He knew it would never last, and he’d never meet them. So, he keeps his mind quiet like he always does, not wanting to give them false hope.

And it seemed he was disappointing them further by not responding yet again, hearing their soft sigh before speaking again.

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re even there. Maybe I’m talking to nobody...”

He wishes you were – or at least someone that wasn’t him.

“But it’s almost as if I can feel your presence. You exist. I know it.”

Oh, he exists, alright. Longer than he thinks you could ever fathom. How the universe could’ve paired such a patient soul to his jaded one is a mystery to him. It’s curious how you’re able to sense him too. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think you had some magical prowess as well – however small that may be. 

“Are you looking at the same moon I am? It’s so bright and beautiful tonight… A full moon.”

The sorcerer’s ancient eyes slowly move to the moon hanging above the city, where the skyscrapers seem to just brush its surface. It’s the same moon he’s looked at for centuries, the one thing that’s stayed constant in his eternal life. Tonight’s moon seems to glow a hair brighter than usual. Perhaps it’s a super moon just playing with his perception. Either way, he basks in her maternal essence all the same. 

It grows quiet in his mind and Solomon assumes his soulmate is lost in the moment, just as he is. Whether it’s due to the moon’s company illuminating his figure perched on the windowsill or because of the presence that has wriggled their way into his thoughts, he doesn’t feel as alone tonight.

The minutes drag on with nothing more from his soulmate, so he takes this as a sign his break is over. With a long, drawn out sigh, he pushes himself off the windowsill before shutting the window and pulling the curtains closed. He takes slow strides back to his desk, stretching his back muscles before he inevitably hunches over the tome until his body gives out to exhaustion. The old, rickety chair creaks beneath him as the hard wood already begins to gnaw away at his bum. Though he pays no mind to the mild pain as he aims to jump right back into the marked pages he’d left open on his desk. 

“Take care of yourself.” 

It’s the last thing he hears right before his eager eyes can reach a word on either of the sprawled out pages. That gentle reminder causes his heart to ache in guilt knowing he should do better to take care of himself, yet...he’s too consumed with his life’s work to try harder. With a slight shake of his head to rid himself of those feelings, he plunges right back into the mystical tome. 

-

The halls of RAD bustle with first-day gossip shared between demon cliques about the newly implemented exchange program and the exchange students that came with it.

Solomon, who keeps to himself against one of the walls to blend in with the crowd, hears the names of his angelic dorm mates, as well as his own, bouncing around as if it were a game of Hot Potato. It’s the typical fare of “that sorcerer, Solomon, is one of the exchange students this year” and “watch out for that guy, you know he’s a bit of a shady fellow.” Every other word that’s been tacked onto his persona is spit out with a venomous hiss. 

Powerful. Shady. No good. Hardly human. Sorcerer... Solomon, Solomon, Solomon.

He’s heard them so many times he’s started to believe there might be merit behind the sentiments. 

Beyond that, he’s also heard a few rumors about the second human exchange student. Due to the quickly buzzing word, the clever sorcerer had already caught wind of their name and a few other interesting details, like how Mammon had been appointed as the “human babysitter.” Solomon couldn’t help but chuckle to himself when he’d first heard that. Mammon as a babysitter of anything, let alone a fellow human… That’s rich. 

“I should run…” 

Solomon’s brow raises sharply, almost instantly, upon hearing that phrase in his head. What an odd thing for his soulmate to say. They hadn’t spoken much to him in the past few weeks, apart from some nerves about something they never fully divulged to him, but for this to be the first thing in a while is concerning to say the least. It may not even be a conscious effort as the panic of the voice in his head is quite obvious.

“That’s what Mammon said to do…” 

Mammon? How does this person…

It’s then that Solomon notices a timid looking human in the middle of the hall, their eyes casting side to side as a few groups of demons seem to eye them dangerously. The sorcerer’s feet move faster than his thoughts and he’s suddenly in front of the human with a friendly grin on his lips.

“Hey, you there.” 

He watches you startle at his sudden appearance, your phone slipping through your fingers and clattering on the floor as you just stare at him with anxiety practically radiating off you. It seems you’re opting for the freeze response from how on edge you are around him. He automatically feels guilty for scaring you so terribly, but he understands why. 

Slowly, as to not spook you further, he crouches down to pick up your phone, doing a quick check to make sure it’s not damaged as he rises back to his normal height. 

“This belongs to you. I saw you drop it just now,” he hands it out to you, chuckling as he does. “You should be lucky it didn’t crack.” 

He watches you glance down to his outstretched hand before slowly taking your phone from him. Your fingers brush lightly against his, sending a chill up his spine. For it being such a minuscule touch, it felt so natural. 

A small appreciative smile eases your frightened features. Though he can tell you’re still tentative. “Thank you.” 

Solomon’s heart skips a beat as he recognizes the voice instantly. He stills momentarily, though not enough to seem like he’d lost composure...but internally, he was flustered. The previous phrases he’d heard in his head suddenly made sense now. Before he gets completely ahead of himself, he decides to converse with you further to confirm his suspicions. 

“My name’s Solomon. I’m an exchange student from the human world, just like you.” 

Your fears instantly seem to vanish upon learning that he’s not one of the demons wanting to cause you harm. “Ah, well, that’s a relief then. It’s nice to meet you.” 

You give a quick introduction of yourself as well. The name he’d heard whispered among others earlier rolled off your tongue in the same kind voice he’s had in his head for decades. It doesn’t seem you realize the situation yet, but how could you? He never spoke to you… You didn’t know what he sounded like. If he had known meeting you wasn’t a slim to none chance, maybe he would’ve asked how your day was, reminded you to hydrate or study, or just said hi. 

The sorcerer makes his mind up pretty quickly – he’d make it up to you once he reveals the true nature of your special connection. 

Even now, he’s realizing you’re more than just a stranger to him. You were the kind words he couldn’t give himself, the reasoning he was blind to, and the connection he thought was best to deny. 

You were the sound he was lonely without.

[never-enough-novels]

🧚‍♀️ iM a FaiRy ✨🌟🌸💮

Do it Grayson

Prompt: Reader's parents are fighting and they don't wanna be there so they ask Grayson if they can stay over.

Take your time, love

It's finally done bbg

A/n: im sorry if there are any mistakes in this. This was my first time writing anything like this 😭. I tried my best. Really hope you like this. It's also mostly very shit so I'm sorry beforehand

World limit: about 700 words

Tw: argument between parents, blaming yourself about it

Coffee and comfort

They're fighting again

On the same topic again

God I only wish they would just not shout so much. Or if they want to just not infront of me. Each accusation, each word spat to one another felt like it was my fault. I don’t even know why I think its my fault. The air itself was so thick it was suffocating. I tried sleeping it off but the shouting just went on and on and an like it was in my brain. I wanted to cry but couldn’t and it felt like a barb wire in my throat. As I lay on my bed, with the comfort of my favourite playlist playing in the background, the weight of the situation pressed down on me. Hands trembling I decided to call the one person I thought could provide me comfort right now: Grayson.

I reached for my phone, my fingers hesitantly hovering over his contact before pressing call. The phone rang briefly before his warm, familiar voice filled the line.

“Hey, love, everything okay?” Grayson’s voice was tinged with immediate concern.

Hearing his voice again tipped my emotions over the edge. I tried to cover my mouth and not cry so I don’t worry him any further; which obviously turns futile.

“Hamnah what happened? Talk to me love” he asked worriedly

“Can I please come over to your place? Theyre fighting again” I ask as quietly as I can without breaking down after hearing his voice

There was no hesitation on his end, just the comforting certainty of his reply. “Of course, come over. The house feels empty without you anyway.”

Disconnecting the call, I packed a few necessities into a bag, throwing in a book and my journal, knowing well that Grayson’s place was the only place where I could find peace enough to write. The drive over was quick, the familiar streets bathed in the soft glow of the streetlights leading me to his penthouse which was his safe place too.

As soon as he opened the door I was enveloped in a comforting hug which was the best thing in the world. We stayed in that position which felt like hours but could only have been a few minutes.

Grayson, cupping my face up gave me the most gentle kiss on lips and then asked “Are you ok Hamna? Wanna talk about it?”

Shaking my head I said, “I'd really rather not right now”

Nodding his head with a small comforting smile on his face he went into the kitchen while I situated myself on his bed; finally taking a deep breath and letting myself relax.

He comes back and hands me a glass of water and says “You know you’re always welcome here, right? This is as much your home as it is mine,” he said, his voice earnest.

I nodded, my heart swelling with gratitude. “I know, Gray. Thank you. It means everything to me.”

We spent the evening tucked away in his bedroom, watching movies that made us laugh and making me forget the harshness of reality of my home. Grayson held me close, his presence a shield against the outside world. It was moments like these that I was reminded of how much he meant to me,and how we came to be together and him being my boyfriend and safe space.

Later, while cuddling with his arm around my back and my head on chest, listening to heartbeats I decided to speak about what happened.

“I hate that you have to see this side of my life, I never wanted to show you this ” I confessed quietly, the darkness of the room and his presence making it easier for me to express my fears and feelings.

Grayson’s arm tightened around me, pulling me closer. “Hamna, we all have our battles. But you’re not alone in this, okay? I’m here for you, no matter what.” His words, feeling sincere and reassuring, helped the tightening around my cheat and throat.

“I love you, Gray,” I whispered, feeling his kiss on my forehead in response.

“I love you more,” he said back, a line so simple yet profound, promising unspoken vows of support and everything I could wish for.

As I drifted off to sleep, the echo of my parents’ shouting seemed like miles away. Here, in Grayson’s arms, I found more than just a temporary escape; I found a promise of hope and a reminder of his love for me.

[beepochi]

many thoughts head overflowing but Liam going to spend the holiday with his dad and his dad's partner (they drink milk tea together and vibe)

eheh yea this is p much canon. liam genuinely loves jian once theyre finally introduced n vice versa😌 (one thing james actually facilitated well)

think ive only ever written one drabble thing w jian n liam interacting (even tho also hv many thoughts) but dont reckon itll ever see the light of day? so just gonna stick it down below for fun >:) its uhh set after james n jian break up🕺

It’s pouring outside the bar and Jian just stands on the footpath, feeling too cold and too hot. He also feels like he’s about to cry and briefly considers calling someone. Desmond or Marcus. No, not Marcus. Nor Desmond, actually. He swallows and starts walking, the rain hitting his shoulders. He loves them both. But they can be stifling. Their worry; concern; care for him. So earnest and real. He finds it overwhelming and he’s not sure he could face it tonight.

He starts feeling properly cold after he’s walked about a block. He’s soaked now and regrets wearing just the one layer; a thin white shirt. He wipes a forearm across his face and hopes he doesn’t get sick. Sniffing, and still feeling on the verge of tears for no apparent reason, he looks around. He recognises these buildings, he knows where he is. James lives nearby.

Jian swallows and his eyes actually well up for a moment. He blinks rapidly and blames it on the rain. He crosses the street.

On any other night, he’d go home. On any other night, he’d text first. On any other night, he’d stop and think. But tonight is not any other night and he’s not sure what he’s doing.

He doesn’t even need to think about the route; his feet just naturally take him to the classy apartment building.

It’s only when he’s rung the doorbell that Jian starts feeling sick. What if he tells Jian to go away; what if he’s found himself someone new; what if said someone new answers the door?

The door opens. Jian blinks and looks down.

“Liam.” he says, surprised. Liam’s face goes from confused to delighted in a matter of seconds. “Jian!” Jian swallows and desperately tries to think of an excuse, of a reason he suddenly has to leave again, of some reason for Liam to pretend he never saw him, of- “Jian.” a lower, less delighted voice sounds. Jian shifts his gaze upwards again. James stands behind Liam, a vegetable knife in his right hand. He’s in a white dress shirt and navy slacks; the dress shirt is pushed up to his elbows with the first two buttons undone. He looks gorgeous. Jian doesn’t have any words for him. James’s face shifts to a frown as he runs his eyes over Jian. “You’re soaked.” Jian swallows and looks down. He’s made a wet patch on the flooring outside. “I-” “-come in.” James tells him, putting his left hand on Liam’s shoulder as they both step back. Jian’s stomach turns. Nonetheless, he bends down to pull off his shoes before stepping inside and letting the door close behind him. He places his shoes beside the various other pairs, then has nothing to do with his hands. Liam moves in for a hug and Jian doesn’t mean to sidestep. Liam pulls back and pouts. “You don’t like me anymore?” Jian swallows, eyes flicking up to James’s before he answers. “Course I still like you.” He says. “But ‘m all wet. Don’t want you gettin’ sick.” Liam nods slowly and James’s free hand falls to ruffle his hair. “Go lay the table bud.” he says gently. “For Jian too.” Jian opens his mouth to refuse when James cuts him off with a look. Liam gives his dad a corny little salute before running to the kitchen. Jian clicks his thumb joint and feels his stomach twist. “‘M sorry, I-” “-it’s fine. You need to change, c’mon.” James turns and starts after his son. Jian watches him for a second, feeling god-awful, before he bites his cheek, peels off his wet socks and follows.

After a brief stop in the kitchen to deposit the knife, James leads them to the bedroom. Jian hovers awkwardly by the bed as James goes through his wardrobe. Jian is fascinated by how somewhere that used to be his home now feels so foreign. He bites his lip. “James, I didn’t- ‘f I’d known Liam was here I wouldn’t’ve-” “-it’s okay.” James cuts him off calmly, turning away from the wardrobe with a pair of grey sweats and a black shirt. Jian feels his eyes go hot and prickly and he scowls. “It’s not— ‘m sorry. I didn’t mean— t’ come. I-” “-Jian.” James hands him the clothes and catches Jian’s eye. “It’s okay. I mean it. Let me get you a towel.” Jian numbly accepts the clothes as James moves to the ensuite. He drops his gaze to them and they feel so soft. He puts them on the bed.

James returns and comes far too close in order to drop the towel over Jian’s head. He then starts to dry Jian’s hair. His jaw is set, Jian notices, yet not quite in anger. “You look nice.” James tells him after a heavy silence. His eyes are on his hands as he continues to move the towel against Jian’s hair. Jian’s throat clicks as he swallows. “Night out?” James pushes and Jian feels nauseous. “I—” he starts and wishes he could read James’s face, his tone, anything. “-went to a bar.” James’s hands finish and he nods, stepping back. “With friends?” Jian doesn’t know why he’s asking this of all things. He pulls the towel off his head and drops it on the bed. “No.” He mutters, stripping off his shirt and retrieving the towel to rub roughly over his arms and torso. “By yourself.” James says and he folds his arms over his chest. Jian focuses on pulling on the black shirt. It’s too big for him, obviously, and smells of James. “Are you okay?” James asks after Jian stays silent. Jian moves his hands to the waistband of his trousers. He’s not sure how to answer and undoes his fly button and then his fly. James lets out a very light sigh. “Are your boxers wet too?” He asks. “Do you want to borrow some?” “S’fine.” Jian peels off his trousers. James hums as he nods. Jian wishes he would look away as he moves his hands to the waistband of his pants. “Which bar?” James asks. Jian sets his jaw. The shirt is big enough that it covers everything so he pushes his boxers down quickly and doesn’t bother drying before he tugs on James’s sweats. “The Bridge.” Jian mutters and he watches James’s eyebrow twitch. “Why that one?” Jian bites the inside of his cheek and breaks eye contact. He pulls the drawstring of the sweats tight. “Thought it was what I wanted.” James is quiet. Jian has trouble making a knot. “But?” James prods. Jian scowls as his fingers fumble and he has to start again. “But nothin’. Some creep tried t’—” He fucks up a simple knot once again and cusses. James steps closer and knocks his hands away. “Tried to what?” He asks, making quick work of tying the drawstring but not moving back when he’s done. Jian refuses to lift his eyes from the waistband of the sweatpants. James’s hands come to rest at his waist. So light, Jian can’t even feel them. “Nothin’.” He says. “He was just horny. I wasn’t bein’ clear.” The hands get a little tighter. And then, finally, the question Jian had been waiting for: “And you came here. Why?” Jian can feel the warmth of James’s body, he can smell his shampoo, his cologne. He looks at James’s socked feet and his chest aches. Wetness returns to his eyes and he glowers. “Why d’you think?” There’s a small breath from James. “I can’t read your mind, Jian. You need to tell me.” Jian takes his bottom lip into his mouth and realises James’s socks are mismatched. One is navy, the other is black. He sniffs wetly and he didn’t mean it to be such a loud noise. “Needed t’ see you.” He manages. James is quiet. Jian regrets his phrasing. And then there are soft lips pressing against his forehead. “Okay.” James murmurs, pulling back. His hands travel up to cup Jian’s face and he makes it unavoidable to meet his eyes. Jian’s vision is blurry and he blinks. A tear slips out and he clenches his jaw. James’s thumb brushes it away. “I really didn’t-” His voice is tight and he doesn’t know what he’s even saying. “-‘m sorry.” James just watches him, eyes critical. Jian bites his lip as his eyes overflow again. “I know ‘m not- it- but I couldn’t—” James cuts him off with a kiss.

Jian, of course, hadn’t expected a kiss. And if he did, he might expect a soft, tender one. This one, however, is firm and hot and demanding. James’s hands tighten where they cup Jian’s face, giving him nowhere to go. There is tongue and teeth and Jian’s mind is hazy as he just lets James take.

When James finally pulls back, it’s only enough to let them both breathe. “Stay the night.” He says, nose brushing Jian’s. Jian should say no. “Okay.” James presses another kiss against his lips. “Liam’ll be happy.” He says, stepping back. “Put your clothes in the laundry, I’ll wash them tomorrow.” Jian nods and picks up his soaked clothes.

James goes back to the kitchen and Jian watches him continue chopping vegetables. He feels awkward and is about to offer to help when there’s a light tug on his shirt. “Jian, I did your ones the right way round, look.” Liam pulls him along to the sleek dining table and shows Jian where he’s set Jian’s plate. Jian nods, confused, but gives Liam a small smile anyway. “Fork on left, knife on right.” he explains proudly. Jian blinks and looks back to the table. He notices his place is the only one set this way and can’t help laughing, ever so quietly. “You got it wrong man.” He says softly and switches the knife and fork around. “Knife ’n the left.” Liam groans. “I knew it.” He grumbles and moves to fix his and James’s. When he’s done he looks back to Jian. “Does this mean you’re coming back?” He asks, eyes bright and hopeful. Jian’s stomach drops. He doesn’t know how to respond. “Dad said you didn’t love him anymore.” Liam obliviously continues and Jian thinks he might vomit. His eyes flick over to where James tenses in the kitchen. “But that’s not true.” Liam tells him. Jian really doesn’t want to start crying again, definitely not in front of a child. He clears his throat, trying to get rid of the lump there. “Yeah. S’not true.” He agrees quietly. Liam smiles and Jian notices a missing tooth, one of his top canines. It’s very cute. He points halfheartedly, “When’d that happen?” Liam’s face - impossibly - brightens. “Two days ago!” He says, sticking fingers into his mouth as if to better show Jian. Jian snorts and gently tugs the hand down. “Very cool.” “This one’s loose too!” Liam pushes his tongue against one of his bottom canines and Jian nearly cringes as he watches it wiggle. “Careful.” he mutters, not feeling particularly keen on watching it be pushed from Liam’s gum. Liam rolls his eyes. “Doesn’t hurt.” Jian snorts again. “So brave.” Liam laughs and then he’s taking Jian’s hand and pulling him to his bedroom.

He sits Jian on the bed before telling him to stay and carefully moving a big Lego structure to the middle of his floor. “It’s a spaceship.” he starts, adjusting the toy dinosaur seemingly just plonked on top. “And a hair dresser’s.” Jian laughs and slips off the bed in order to have a better look.

Liam happily guides him through, pointing out all the little secrets and quirks. Jian thinks it’s actually quite impressive and tells him so. Liam accepts the praise as if he already knows and Jian’s chest pangs with affection, listening to Liam start on the dinosaur’s backstory.

They’re up to the bit where the dinosaur is wanted in seven states when James’s voice cuts through. “Dinner’s ready boys.” Jian looks up. James is leant on the doorframe, expression unplaceable. “Yus!!” Liam shoots up and races out of his room. “Wash your hands!” James calls idly after him. There’s an ambiguous yell in reply. Jian stands and steps carefully around Liam’s spaceship. “Did you make?” He asks. James pushes off the doorframe. “Pasta.”

Liam’s plate is already full when he and James join him. Piled high with pasta and one leaf of salad. Jian snorts to himself as he sits beside Liam. “Leave some salad f’r us, huh?” Liam ignores him, shovelling a forkful of pasta into his tiny mouth. “‘Lwedy ate slad jus’-” He swallows. “you guys didn’t see me eat it.” Jian laughs. James doesn’t. “Liam, manners please.” Liam pouts, but sits up straighter nonetheless. James looks to Jian. “Help yourself.” Jian nods and puts only a little bit on his plate. He doesn’t feel hungry. James watches with a moderate expression but doesn’t comment, helping himself once Jian is done.

It’s quiet for the first minute. A weird tenseness hangs in the air. Jian swallows his mouthful, stabbing a piece of cucumber with his fork. “What’re you doin’ at school Liam?” He asks because the silence is making him more and more anxious. Liam, much to his father’s approval, chews and swallows before answering. “Doing a project on the Nile.” “Yeah?” Jian pushes because if he can just get Liam to start… “Yeah!” Liam grins and Jian feels a flood of relief. “And it’s also- I’m working with Amelia who’s my best friend! And we have to- it’s really cool!” He pauses to have another mouthful before excitedly continuing. “We’re making a cardboard copy of the Nile. To scale! And-” Jian lets out a helpless laugh and even James, who seems so restrained and distracted, snorts quietly. “-y’mean not t’ scale, yeah?” Jian gently interjects. Liam’s cheeks tinge red and he lets out a bashful laugh. “Right, right. It’d be massive otherwise! Oh, right! It’s the Nile from ancient Egypt. Forgot that bit. That’s the main bit.” Jian smiles and nods, picking through his food. “So we’re making a cardboard copy, not to scale, and then we’re also making some games from ancient Egypt and it’s so much fun!” he quickly munches down another forkful. “Jian, did you know the ancient Egyptians invented toothpaste?” Jian did not. “No.” He says. “That’s awesome.” Liam nods. “Yeah! And locks too!”

Thus, over the course of the meal, Jian learns all kinds of trivia about ancient Egypt. Interesting facts he will no doubt forget by tomorrow. After everyone’s finished, James tells Liam to load the dishwasher and he goes to the bathroom. Jian feels useless as Liam does his chores, so helps out by wiping the dining table and kitchen down. Liam tells him he doesn’t need to and soon enough shoos Jian out of the kitchen to ‘relax.’

Jian sits on the sofa and does not relax. He spots the blue highlighter stain he’d accidentally marked on the couch last year and idly rubs at it. He’s surprised James hasn’t cleaned it off properly. He then looks at the blank TV before standing and moving to the window. He shifts the curtain and peeks out at the cityscape. It’s pretty.

He goes onto the balcony and leans on the railing. It’s cold but he likes it. Gives him something to feel other than sad. He doesn’t even know if it’s sadness. Maybe it’s more like disconnect. Uncertainty and confusion, too.

He hears the door slide open then shut behind him and his chest twinges for no reason. A hand slips around his waist as James comes to stand next to him. “What’s going on?” he asks, soft. Jian goes straight back to on the verge of tears. He swallows and starts scratching at the railing. “Nothin’.” James makes a noise of disagreement. “You want anything? Beer?” “Tea.” Jian says. James lets out a breath of laughter. “I only have earl grey, that alright?” Jian wrinkles his nose and straightens up. “Hot chocolate.” James’s hand rubs up and down his back. “Okay.” The hand drops as he turns to go back inside. “Don't stay out here, it’s too cold.” So Jian follows him in.

He drops next to Liam on the sofa and squints at the TV. He’s watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Jian keeps his distaste to himself and instead drops a hand over Liam’s shoulder and shuffles so they’re both comfy.

James makes them each a hot chocolate and has a glass of wine for himself. He sits beside Jian on the couch but doesn’t touch him and Jian isn’t sure if he’s happy or sad for the fact.

They watch one more episode before James tells Liam to go to bed. Reluctantly, Liam does so. But before he goes, he makes Jian promise to be here tomorrow. Jian’s stomach knots as he does.

The atmosphere immediately changes when James comes back from tucking Liam in and Jian tries to ignore it. He bites his thumb nail as James drops beside him, watching him go back to the Netflix homepage. “Anything you wanna watch?” he asks, absently scrolling through the many options. Jian drops his hand from his mouth. “No.” James pauses on some crime show before scrolling on. “Movie or TV?” “TV.” Jian mutters, not sure what to do now he’s not chewing his nails. James moves to the TV shows page. Jian sees he’s been watching Queer Eye (though he’d not apparently managed to finish his episode) and Abstract. He can’t think of anything further from what he feels like than Queer Eye. The trailer for some psychological crime drama starts playing. A woman stabs a man on a beach. “Light or heavy?” James asks, frowning at the trailer. “I don’t—” Jian starts before worrying indecisiveness will annoy James. “-let’s just watch…” He hurriedly scans the screen for something. “Tintin.” James glances at him. His lips twitch as he looks away. “Okay.”

Jian does actually like Tintin, but he doesn’t think James is enjoying it. That starts making him antsy. He keeps glancing from the screen to James’s deadpan face. He chews his lip and wonders if it would annoy James more to continue watching a kid’s show or to start the search for something to watch all over again. “Relax.” James finally says and there is an edge of annoyance in his tone. Jian’s gut sinks and he bites the inside of his cheek, glancing over. James side-eyes him. “You’re being very loud.” He says. Jian scowls. “Didn’t say ‘nythin’.” James sighs and runs a hand over his face. “You didn’t need to.” He looks at Jian for a while, then fixes his eyes back on the screen. Jian had assumed there was more to come but apparently there’s not. He swallows audibly and shifts, tucking his legs underneath himself and leaning subtly away from James.

A few minutes pass in which Jian quietly watches the TV. But he’s just getting more and more edgy. Finally, he puts his feet down on the plush carpet. “I should go.” He mutters as Tintin and Snowy board a boat. James looks over at him. His eyebrows are raised, not in surprise, not in worry, but in something almost like flat disapproval. “What about Liam?” He asks, returning his gaze to the TV. Jian hates the disinterested air he’s putting on and clicks his thumb joint again. “Shouldn’t’ve even come.” James doesn’t reply to that and Jian feels a rush of frustration. “What about you?” he asks and he sounds immature. A muscle in James’s jaw jumps. “What about me?” He keeps his eyes trained on the TV. Jian swallows. “Don’t you want me t’ leave?” James lets out a dry breath of laughter and looks back at him. “Clearly, baby. That’s why I asked you to stay.” Jian hates when James is sarcastic. It always makes him feel stupid and small. “Doesn’t seem like you want me here.” Jian tells him and he hopes to god he doesn’t start fucking crying again. James sets his jaw before he answers. “I don’t know why you’re here.” He says and his tone now has a slightly softer edge. “I’m trying to give you space.” The lump in Jian’s throat aches. “I don’t want space.” He says, very quietly. James watches him. “What do you want?” God fucking knows. Jian wants to go home, he wants to stay. He wants to talk things through, he never wants to speak again. He wants James to touch him.

Slowly, so James can tell him to fuck off if he wants to, Jian moves. He moves to sit on James’s lap, thighs either side of him. James’s hands naturally come to rest on his hips and Jian isn’t sure where to put his. He settles for James’s shoulders. James continues to watch him. “This is what you want?” He asks. Jian isn’t entirely sure. He nods. James is still for a moment more before one hand comes up behind Jian’s neck and tugs him down.

[theodoraflowerday]

heartstopper s3e5 live episode reaction

LETS FUCKING GO THIS WINTER/OLIVER SPRING/VICTORIA SPRING/NICKTORI STANS

genuinely the episode I'm most excited about

me, currently surrounded by three pillows and two throw pillows: oh wow tori's got a lot of pillows

BIG SISTER TORI

"I hope I get a soul" "I hope I get good mental health" the way I love the spring siblings cannot be described accurately in mere words.

I HOPE I GET A MUM WHO CAN REGULATE HER EMOTIONS OH MY GOD

"I hope I get grandparents who don't comment on my weight" wouldn't that be so fucking awesome charlie (not that my grandparents have ever been like that but other family members have)

I HOPE DAD REMEMBERS TO PROPERLY SEASON THE TURKEY - HE WON'T - YEAH HE WON'T

I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUUUUUUUUUUUCH

move over jane I will in fact be taking over care duties for these two

honestly jane needs therapy the most out of everybody in that household. and we're talking about the same household where charlie and tori spring live in.

HENRYYYYYYYYY

BRO HE'S SO CUTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I was imagining he'd be smaller tho :(

"by little guy who needs hugs I did mean henry but actually that applies to me as well so" I WAS *ABOUT* TO SAY AKDJFISJFOSJFSOIF

OLIVEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

OLIVER SPRING I MISSED YOU SO MUCH I MISS YOU EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY

I know why they couldn't have oliver but GOD I MISSED YOU

HE'S GOT LOADS OF TRACTORS THATS MY BABY BOY

oh my god it's been eight months? that's so cute

"any lovely boys in your life?" "no"

STRAIGHT BOYS ARE THE WORST LAJFLSJFLSJF

good thing michael isn't straight eh eh eh eh eh

"he might not end up being straight" olly is the springs' token straight but he's a good one. like tao.

Jane I SWEAR TO GOD

oh my god

is that David? NOOOOO I THOUGHT WE WERE FREE OF HIM

oh my god I'm gonna rip his balls off I'm gonna drag him down the street with his dick tied to the car I'm gonna rip every single one of his eyelashes

FUCK YOU DAVID

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOO

TEAM LET NICK NELSON SAY FUCK 2K24 JUST HAD ITS BIGGEST WIN YET

nick really needs to tell david to shut the fuck up more often honestly

"stop flirting in the group chat" same isaac

DARCYYYYYYYYYYYYY

DARCY'S GRANDMA SAYING YOU LOOK SO HANDSOME I'M GONNA CRY

oh..... oh is sahar flirting???

TEAM ZAHEANEY

god this is stressing me out so much

TORI

TORI NOOOOOOOOOO

fuckkkkkkk her FACE my BABY GIRL

oh he's so soaked baby :(

parallel gifset thoooooooo

OH THEYRE KISSING okay I see it

ODKFKDJFDKFKDLGKDLGKF

AUNTIE DIANE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

oh he's peaking I see u nick

RIDICULOUSLY ADORABLE

god

I love both of them so much? it's insane?

obsessed with auntie diane also adoring charlie like that's a nelson sisters thing

god sarah should be here I miss her :(

nick and charlie and the twins :( I love them :(

henry as everyone's emotional support pug

fuck you david you know what you did

JAKFJSKFJDKFJDJF I know david's terrified of tori I know he is

AGAIN: henry as everyone's emotional support pug!!!! get tori a dog please for the love of god!!!!!

"I worry about you all the time, you know" of course you do bbg, best sister ever award goes to victoria spring

nicktori teaming up on charlie to support him! charlie spring stans #1

"there's always new years eve" god I hope NYE is good

"I think about it. like all the time--NOT all the time, a respectful amount of time that one thinks about one's girlfriend in that way" JAKFJSKFJDKFJDJF TAO I LOVE YOU

off the top of my head I can't imagine a single show or movie that's handled being a transgender teenager and starting your sex life. let alone in a way that feels so beautiful and respectful. heartstopper is truly just breaking barriers left and right.

tori, charlie and oliver playing mario kart together....... you will rip this scene from my cold dead hands. COLD DEAD HANDS im telling you

HOW'S MY TINY BOYYYYY

oh my god

the way nick said "lucky me" sounded so.........

I know those two are going to salt that car

IMOGEN HUGGING CHARLIEEEEEEEEEE

omg

oh poor tara baby

ZAHEANEYYYYYYY

oh. oh yeah imogen honey no

yeah I see why sahar would be so annoyed like omg

DARCY AND FELIX ARE DISCUSSING PRONOUNS IM GONNA SOB

not rush playing in the background lmfao this party is so homosexual

oh OH OH OHHHHH okay

okay so that WAS the point I thought I was being odd when thinking that song was weirdly sensual

naomi is the sweetest tiniest loveliest babygirl I'm so glad we have her

god they're SO BEAUTIFUL we lucked out so much with kit and joe

oh tori

"the only person I care about is you" oh tori baby girl love of my life

"that won't be true forever" IT WON'T BE!!!!! I CAN ALMOST FEEL MICHAEL

oh my god

"we haven't spoken properly since halloween and now you're here to kiss me at midnight" god I wish I was sahar she's so brave and cool and fuckin awesome

GASp

WHAF

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

IMOGEN IS WHY SAHAR REALIZED SHE WAS BI

WHAT ZJFLSJFLDJFSLFJDLFJDLFISLFIDLFI

G A S p

OH MY GIC

MICJAEL

MICHAEL

OYMGJ

THRUR ENOT MEETING LIKE TJAT

BRO THATS A MEET CUTE

SPROOOOLLLLDDEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNN

TJR LITTLE SNOWFLAKE

IM NOT

BRO I'M NOT DOING OKAY

TAOELLE

Y'ALL AREN'T HAVING SEX RIGHT AT NEW YEARS DJDKSUFKDJFLDJFLDKF

IMOGEN AND SAHAR???????????

oh my go d

BRO

BRO I'M DYING

NICK AND CHARLIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

fuck

yeah I was so right this is probably gonna be my favorite episode of the season

[razzmothazz]

okay, but what fob songs and lines for what characters, I want to know also, for autism reasons lmao.

IM SO GLAD YOU ASKED BUT ALSO I DONT WANNA GO TOO DEEP CAUSE I COULD TALK ABT IT FOR HOURS AAAA

i could take reqs for certains songs cause i have thoughts on nearly all of them, but im gonna ramble rn about how i feel so much (for) stardust [album, not the song specifically] is so vbs to me actually...

starting off strong with love from the other side

THIS IS SO AN TO ME !!! especially after her learning about how everyone hid the passing of someone SO important to her away for three god damn years.

this part is kinda self explanatory i feel? especially "what would you trade the pain for", refering to the pain of losing her role model of sorts of course. someone she looked up to so much and held in such high regard and she didnt even know theyve been gone.. she makes me SOB

this part refering to her feeling like the whole "city" [vivid street] pretty much lied to her and deceived her, everything feels wrong and off now. its not the same home it was before.

the feeling in this case would obviously be grief, anger and so many others tbh, she lets the feelings out and uses music as an outlet of sorts for it ?? not sure how to explain what i mean [im writing this at 3am sorry] the feelings are so overwhelming i dont think she could fight them if she wanted to, but why would you want to fight such justified feelings ?? i feel SO bad for her omg

this part works for all of vbs, but i feel like it especially applies to akito and an, obviously referencing surpassing rad weekend and how difficult it is considering their constant feeling of inferiority, with akitos being a pretty extreme case of it.

also just feels to me like something akito would actually say/sing

also haha funny hampster refering to kohane /j

i dont have words that can describe this line other than just imagine an singing it with the context of what i said before. that is all.

OFF TO HEARTBREAK FEELS SO GOOD

this is just very vbs to me, its easy to apply their stories and themes to these verses. they will surpass radweekend someday. they can do it, and they can do it together and go even further after, hopefully.

the pre-chorus reminded me of akitos situation with older musicians, how they mocked him etc. which at first obviously made him feel horrible, but he learned from that and now he alone is even better than some of them, and with all of vbs at his side hes even better.

dont have as much for this one, so moving on to

HOLD ME LIKE A GRUDGE

one word. AKITOYA.

cmon now. you see the vision.

this is SO akito talking to toya, how he motivates him to do better and better and helps him up any time he feels down.

they are soulmates, no matter how you look at it!! but theres also akito being a bit of a menace as well as often feeling like hes dragging toya down, yet despite that he wants to stay with him. akito doesnt want to do this without toya, and the feeling is obviously mutual [im actually so insane about them. they are SO important to me not even as a romantic couple just 2 guys meant to be together as partners UEUEUUEUEUEUEEE]

after all the hardships theyre still going strong, some dreams were crushed along the way but their main goal is always there.

the pressure bit makes me think about how each of them feels somewhat inferior to the others, [they need therapy istg] which makes them want to constantly keep pushing themselves to do better and better, and to keep going and going. they have what it takes, they just need to work to perfect it. they know they will do it but they still have a lot to figure out, obviously. they get a bit lost and stuck at times trying to get to their desired level but they will surpass rad weekend. someday.

OKAY IM GONNA STOP HERE BUT I COULD GO ON AND ON AAAAAAAAA I LOVE ASSOCIATING MUSIC I LOVE WITH CHARACTERS I LOVE!!!!!!

< 3333333333

[hannahlovesluca]

hey hey! i saw you were doing ninisani matchups and i wanna request one pretty please 👉🏻👈🏻 if not then that’s okay!

Gender: Female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: I am straight, basic like that but boobies are hot.

Zodiac: Pisces. the fish.

Appearance: I am 5’4 and have pretty long hair that reaches my waist, it’s brown but the inside part of my hair is dyed purple currently, it was pink until a few days ago! I also have big boobies, they are my pride and joy, my personal stress balls (heh balls). I am fair skinned i’d say, my eyes are HUGE bro it’s a jumpscare, they’re also green so that makes it so funny when i look at someone with fully opened eyes randomly. the way i dress is very random because one day i will be looking like an angsty teen and the other day i will be looking like a business woman, but i do put too much effort into the way i look.

MBTI: I AM IN ENFJ and i do take the test every year, that’s what i get

Personality: Dude if it wasn’t obvious by now i am literally like a little too extroverted. I ADORE being around people, in fact i find it to be so easy to just make a random conversation with anyone on the street. If i think someone looks cool i will go talk to them and become friends, literally collecting them friends like pokémon. I am known to have a pretty flirty and booming personality. I can get pretty annoying due to how loud and energetic I am, i would call you at 3 in the morning to tell you that i beat my record in Hades. I do tend to have a short temper when it comes to incompetence and to people who are clearly two faced or just full of shit, i would say i am pretty good at reading a person as well :) if you yell at me i will cry tho so dont BUT FOR THE MOST PART I AM A DELIGHT (i love dogs and cats as well 👉🏻👈🏻)

Likes: MUSIC, IKEA FISH it’s so good and melts in your mouth omfg the haddock is everything. Trying new things, horror movies even though i am a coward, r-r-r-roblox👉🏻👈🏻 , AND WAFFLES.

Dislikes: PEOPLE CHEWING LOUDLY OMFG PLEASE JUST SHUT UP BEFORE I SHOVE MY FOOT DOWN YOUR THEOAT PLEASE, people who beat around the bush.

Love Language: basic yes but it’s physical touch, receiving and giving. But i would also say words of affirmation for giving as well :))

EXTRAS: I can fluently speak four languages. I will also always announce when i am going to pee. why? not sure 👩‍🦯

(you’re so cute ily mwah mwah all the love 😩🫶🏻🫶🏻 i hope your day is going great pookie bear ����🏻👈🏻)

i pair you with…

Doppio Dropscythe!

hear me out…

• you and doppi mesh so well together!

• you’re genuinely like the same person

• honestly the man didnt even know what coochie was so he probably doesnt know what roblox is but he’ll play it if you ask (but he’ll be making you play Bug Fables)

• tbf i didnt know what coochie meant either but like… english is my sl….

• LMAO HE’LL PROBABLY CHEW REALLY LOUD ON PURPOSE JUST TO ANNOY YOU THIS LITTLE SHITHEAD

• “what are you talking about Y/N?” he says, still chewing. “i’m just eating!”

• i hear his voice saying that…

• HE LOVES YOUR EYES

• THEYRE SO PRETTY THEYRE SO UGHHHHHHHHHHH

• god he goes insane just thinking ab you hes so smitten

• i hc that it takes a lot for pio-chan to fall in love, but once he does, hes forever smitten

RUNNERS UP: Shu Yamino, Luca Kaneshiro

[crazyf0rswayze]

Johnny x Tae: Parents pt.5

Warnings: violence, some cursing, yelling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun had risen, and Tae and Johnny had woken up. They both knew the other person was awake, but decided to just lie there.

"Mmmhhhhmmmm" Johnny groaned out. He sounded cute when he was tired. Johnny sat up and Tae did as well.

"How'd you sleep?" Tae asked.

"Fabulous" Johnny said sarcastically.

"But in all seriousness, I slept alright"

"Mmhm, good" Tae replied with a yawn

"How'd you sleep?" Johnny asked

"Pretty good, your chest makes a nice pillow. I can hear your heart beat...it's soothing" Tae said, a little flirtatiously.

Johnny just blushed an said nothing. Tae stood up and held he hand up for Johnny to get up, only she never actually let go. Johnny tried to let go, because that's what you usually do after using someone else hand to stand up. But Tae held a grip on his hand.

"W-what..." Johnny looked at Tae.

"What 'what'" Tae asked cocking her head to the side, and asking him innocently.

"Y-you won't let go. Usually after helping people up you let go of their hand" Johnny said, kind of obliviously

"Johnny....I wanna hold you hand" Tae said looking at him.

"O-oh. O-o-ok" Johnny stuttered out.

Tae let out light chuckle.

"Come on, let's go to Darry's, maybe we can get breakfast" Tae said as the couple walked down the street.

The two continued walking, and holding hands. They walked in the door....and Dallas was there too.

"Pay up Two-bit" Dally said, almost as soon as they walked in.

Johnny and Tae just stood there watching the interaction.

"Huh...how do you know their together. They just walked in the door. They haven't said a word!"

"Look down dumb ass...." Two-bit looked down

"See, theyre holdin' hands"

Two-bit pulled out a ten dollar bill, as Johnny and Tae stared at the two friends.

"Are you serious....you made a bet on us Winston?"

Tae asked the boy.

"Doll, it was easy money. I'm close with Johnnycakes, and I knew it was gon' happen. I can't pass up on easy money" Dallas said shrugging as he stuffed the bill in his pocket.

Tae rolled her eyes dropping Johnny's hand to walk to the kitchen.

"See what you did! She had a really shitty night and I'm sure that didn't help" Johnny said, whisper yelling.

"What happened?" Dallas questioned. The rest of the gang watched the interaction like it was a TV. They watched intensely, which only made Johnny madder.

"None of you buissnes"

"Well if you not gon' tell me the don't even mention it " Dally said scoffing and rolling his eyes.

"Thats not the point Dally" Johnny said with his arms crossed

"Then what's the point huh?"

"Th-the point is that you made her upset..and you had to make it a big deal, an make it super obvious that you had a bet. Just because you won doesn't mean you have to make a big deal" Johnny and Dally had managed to keep their voices to a whisper, dispite how heated the conversation was.

"Well, be happy Two didn't win because he would be screaming and laughing"

"That's. Not. The. Point." Johnny said. "Don't make this about Two-bit when it's really about you"

"What do you want me to say huh?"

"I want you to say sorry to Tae for making a big deal out of it, you can keep the money, I truly don't give a shit, and I want you to not make an argument that's clearly about you, about someone, or something else." Johnny said. He was so close to smacking Dallas. Dally was taller than Johnny, so it made Johnny a little more mad and embarrassed to be standing up to Dally as the shorter one.

Dallas snorted

"What ever you want Johnnycakes" Dallas began to walk to say sorry to Tae but Johnny pushed Dallas back by his shoulder.

"You're not allowed to call me that anymore, you hear?" Johnny said

"Call you what?" Dallas snorted out

"'Johnnycakes', I dont wanna hear that from your mouth until I say it's ok"

"Yea... whatever Johnnycakes"

Johnny pushed Dallas, with two hand on his shoulders

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT" Johnny yelled out.

Darrel and Tae ran into the living room to see Johnny and Dally tumbling around on the floor, both Johnny and Dally threw punches.

"HEY! I DONT WHAT NO FIGHTIN' IN MY HOUSE!" Darry yelled.

Dallas and Johnny immediately got up. Steve went over to grab Dally, and hold him back, because Dallas Winston, could never keep his cool. Ponyboy sprang up to make sure Johnny was ok, and wouldnt throw another punch. Although Johnny usually always kept his cool, you never really knew when it came to something as heated as this.

Johnny walked away and over to Darrel

"Sorry Darry" he said, head hung low, and just above a whisper. Johnny proceeded to walk out the door. Dallas reached out for Tae to say sorry, but she shrugged his hand right off of her shoulder.

"I dont wanna hear nothing from you! You started the whole thing" Tae said, standing inches away from Dally, pointing a finger at him. Dallas lunged forward in an attempt to hurt, and possibly punch Tae, but Steve held a grip on him. The door slammed as Tae walked out of the house.

"I DONT WANNA HEAR NONE OF YOUR BULLSHIT DALLAS" Johnny yelled at who he thought was Dallas walking out of the house. He didn't even turn around.

"DO I LOOK LIKE DALLAS TO YOU?!" Tae yelled back.

"Tae..." Johnny said stopping, and waiting for Tae to catch up.

"Hi" Tae said.

"Hi" Johnny replied.

"A-are you ok?...ph-physicly I mean" Tae asked

"Y-yea. Um...I really only took punches to my arms and legs. A few on my stomach...but nothin' I ain't used to" Johnny said looking down

"It sucks....you shouldn't have to be used to it." Tae said quietly

"Mmmm...its whatever. I can really change it. But you know."

"Yea...I understand. You cant change how people act, only how you react. Come on, let's go get breakfast at the diner"

"Ooohhh a little date" Johnny nudges me.

"Yea...I guess you could call it that"

"Cool"

"Cool!"

Johnny grabbed Tae's hand as they walked to The Dingo for some food.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pt.6?

@tougherthanyou

[spicycowboyhole]

posting because the psychicatrist decided to get sick when im having a crisis?:

idk where to start tbh LLOOL but i think im NOT DOING WELL. like on the outside evertytthings fine like nothings changed at all but i think im going insane. i think ive just realized how i have like 0 emotional suppoport system and whenever someone says something genuinely nice about me it makes me feel emotional because like i had family visiting this past week and my mom and my cousins tarted talking about college and my mom was saying how i wasted money going to college. i said that i didnt feel like i wasted my money becasue i have a degree now and i could always go back and get my bachelors but she said "BUT WHAT ARE U DOING EITH IT" and it just pissed me off because i feel like shes negating my accomplishment.

what made me cry last night was when i was messaging this guy and he was telling me about how he had class in the morning and we started talking about college. i told him how i was thinking about going back to school in january and he said i should.

for some reason i feel like getting my degree in psych would be cringe or a waste of time/money because my friend told me everyone she knows who did thinks so, like its some useless art degree. but when i asked this guy if it was cringe he said "so cringe... imagine having ambitions" im fucking stupid and didnt notice the sarcasm and i said "might as well start playing bucket drums on the street ig" because idk i guess i imagine getting a degree in psych would be just as dumb as someone trying to make it in the music business by playing on the street or something. he said "everyone thats going to college has ambitions. So in that case we all need to go play street bongos" and that perspective completely exploded my brain and i started crying LMAO because i guess going to college is a risk no matter what and u just have to believe in urself or some gay shit. it made me think of a taz cameo where he told someone that "nobody is gonna support your journey no matter how much they love you until youve proved to them that your journey was worth supporting" and that made me sad kinda because like i said i dont think i really have any kind of support from family rn and i kinda just have myself but i have like 0 confidence and negative self esteem and my family just being dissapointed in me and saying negative stuff really doesnt help. so i guess the moral of the story is that i have to trust and believe in myself because no one else will! really sucks i think. yeah but i only just started talking to that guy like YESTERDAY and im sure he prob felt like what he told me was nothing but it really did impact me and pulled the last tiny string that was emotionally holding me together. i apologized for being cynical and i told him i appreciated his words because i was kinda responding in a joking way that might have come off as rude i think? the silly bandaid just isnt working so good no more.

but fr i think while my anxiety is a lot better i think my depression is getting worse just due to my circumstances. like can u believe i almost went to the movies with some stranger internet guy just because i didnt want to be with my family?? i think somethings making me more impulsive than usual. i was going to buy cigarettes today and the only reason i didnt was because my appointment got canceled.

some other things tho i kinda didnt like having my cousins come visit because i just feel so inferior to them. like they look better and are just doing kinda all the stuff i should be doing yk? makes me feel shitty AND i feel like my mom just kinda infantilizes me like my parents treat me like nemo and i just cant do some things for some reason. its just so frustrating like my parents make me upset and i just want to move far away from them but also like they dont encourage me to do stuff on my own and when i try theyre like how are you even gonna do that you cant do that you have a bad fin like HELLO HELP ME FIX MY FIN THEN? I WOULDNT HAVE A BAD FIN IF YOU DIDNT HELP PREVENT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE LOL BUT IT JUST SUCKS THAT I HAVE TO DO ALL THIS BY MYSELF

i just dont want to be living here in like 5 years. thats a goal huh? if i had been asked where i wanted to be in 5 yrs when i was in high school id be like idk but i somehow managed to grow a goal somehow just out of misery i guess. and the steps are so cleaar in my head but then the voices tell me i cant do it because im scared BUT thats the point of life or something right??

jesus chhrososttt in reality nothing is really changing irl but im having some sort of crisis rn

ive even been trying to talk to boys LOL ive just been wanting some kind of escape from my life,, some independence, i want MY OWN LIFE that my mommy doesnt know everything about. i want to go to the movies with someone im not related to.

ok these paragraphes are all fucked up and i would fix it but i dont wanna go through and reread them

[lakesbian]

this is a post i and i alone care about but sometimes we have to make posts like such. as bedtime stories for ourselves. anyway if he didn't die due to they never go to behemoth fight it'd be like

normal bestiefriendship for extended period of time but like. ft their brand of absurd amounts of physical intimacy and secret-sharing and gay little 'heehee i'm putting my feet on the table in front of you' 'heehee i'm pushing them off' flirting

aisha 'impulsive' laborn randomly kissing him one time when they're hanging out bc she was feeling Particularly Well Perceived or Teenage Hormonal or whatever the fuck and then just immediately resuming pretending absolutely nothing happened and theyre having a completely normal time watching this movie together. which alec goes along with because he emotionally bluescreens and his response to any sort of realization that he's having Feelings, Of Any Kind, is to play it cool calm and casual

alecs attempt to convince himself that he's calm cool and casual and doesn't even care and is absolutely not going to make things Weird or Uncomfortable for his Exceedingly Flighty Best Friend Whose Traumas And Approaches To Interpersonal Relationships He Is Deeply Aware Of fails within 48 hours tops because he keeps laying awake rotating the kiss in his mind and being like. doyou think she would do it again. not that i care. would she though. for longer. does this mean she likes me. do i like her.i guess i like her probably. not that its a big deal. i mean i dont care that much. would she sit on my lap. What if she hates me forever and we're not friends anymore. ok no i should just go to bed. and subsequently he caves and starts a conversation to ask where the hell they stand. while being like "if i ran into the street right now that semi-truck probably wouldn't be able to stop in time to avoid hitting me" the entire time in his head

comically enough theyre Literally Canonically the only undersider pair thats even remotely functional about communication and subsequently said conversation is awkward and both of them hate being in it but they survive. mutual conclusion is both of them think the idea of a relationship with anyone sounds awful due to the horrors. which does not change that they still patently like each other and overcompensate by spending the next 1.5 weeks being cartoonishly stilted w/ each other. out there standing 3 entire feet apart while talking. actual sitcom for lisa. brian finds the entire thing very suspicious but can't pin down why. and hes mad bc lisa won't snitch.

they eventually get back 2 their normal equilibrium. and then like 3 weeks later kiss again anyway. and this time they put their brains together and come up with the genius solution of "woagh....if we're Both severely traumatized teenagers with zero interest in or readiness for the idea of a traditional relationship we can simply do whatever we want all of the time forever without making it a Thing." but like in less direct words.

2 straight years of unlabeled meandering until they realize they're more or less for all intents and purposes dating and may as well not bother Refuting The Accusations anymore. but they still go around calling each other dude and fistbumping and glaring at anyone who calls literally any attention 2 their whole deal. this isnt to say that couples calling each other dude or fistbumping is notably out of the ordinary just that they would start gagging if they even Thought about doing anything traditionally romantic. irony-poisoned little shits. they would be cute though. like if alec was there when aisha is being scared of heights during the cauldron base invasion he would yank her down so theyre sitting together & hug her from behind and be like "now when we fall and die they'll find our skeletons together :)" while patting her hand and she would be like Dont Say That Dickhole. but still not move an inch until they got 2 the ground. and most importantly he would engage in highly academic debate regarding the nature of dragons genitals with her.

if alec doesn't die because they never go to behemoth fight in the first place he and aisha have a relatively pleasant and normal time and are kind of sort of ambiguously dating in a genuinely functional and reparative and cute manner 2 years down the line. if alec doesnt die because he tries to kill himself but god or whoever intervenes for the sake of watching him continue to do freak behaviors they become the worlds first strained dead bedroom married couple with children to have never dated at all. brian style. and because aisha has never actually had the "havent said wowzers for a while probably due to grief" inducing experience of her best friend and only confidant killing himself in front of her at the age of 13 she is entirely un-sobered and like 45% worse at herding the heartbroken. it also doesnt help that one of her toxic traits is if alec kicked a baby into traffic in front of her she would be like Lol hes so silly and that includes if that baby is one of his own siblings. miserable for everyone involved butv ery funny. give it 15 years and they can all laugh about it. maybe.

[asherlookit]

Steve and robin headcanons cause i said so

bit of a longer post bc i love them so much

- robin makes all the mixtapes for steves car!!! she's made one for long drives, morning drives, robin leaning, steve leaning, and for all weather

- steve "if i don't give physical affection this instant I'm going to die" harrington and robin "hGHHH fine u can hug me whatever but make it quick" buckley

- they once went into a corn maze cause they thought it would be funny but when hour three comes and theyre still lost their bickering gets a little too intense and the ride home is absolutely silent

- robin tries to teach steve one of the languages she speaks, he's a really slow learner but he uses the very few words they DO have to fuck with dustin and pretend they're talking shit about him in Italian or something

- in return steve tries teaching robin to cook once but after she almost sets his hair on fire he decides to just cook for the two of them for the rest of their lives

- robin absolutely fucking solos steve in arm wrestling contests. he doesn't know how bc hes a pretty strong guy if he does say so himself (it's spite and willpower)

-steve was sooooo fucking embarrassing at her graduation. I'm talking full whooping "that's my BEST FRIEND!!!!" as she walks up the stage. she calls him an idiot but she's absolutely beaming

- robins freakishly into puzzles, and really good at them too, steve starts buying her puzzles weekly like a dad who finds out their kid likes oranges and uses it to connect with them, it gets to a point where she has to stop him because her house simply doesn't have room. (he's like "I've got loads of space in my house?, problem solved lol")

- steve the kinda guy to apologise to inanimate objects when he bumps into them. robin thinks it's very stupid till she picks up the habit

- took a knitting class together mainly as a joke. robins "scarf" was full of back stitches and holes but steve oddly took to it really well. makes hats for all the kids during winter but makes robin give them over bc he gets too embarrassed to do it himself ("Steve made you hats-" "roBIN SHUT UP")

- robin threatens to shave steves head in his sleep. this has never not worked in shutting steve up, not matter how obviously empty the threat

- allergic to cats steve vs drops everything to pet cats on the street robin

- really in tune to what one another needs during panic attacks or nightmares, it's never been a proper conversation between them but it's happened often enough that they've each worked it out

- They travel together for a year- it's super chaotic but robin finds it great practice for when she goes to europe, and she enjoys every second of it. they've a whole albums worth of photographs by the time theyre home

- when she comes home from her solo european travels, steve throws her a big welcome home party, and she sees every single post card she sent him stuck to his fridge

[a-hundred-jewels]

Tales of the Vampiric, Ghostly, or Otherwise Unholy Residents of the Penderwick House - ch 1: Sleepless Nights

Ao3

Words: 1630

Summary: "What if the Penderwicks were a bunch of trans ace vampires who lived together in a big strange house a la What We Do In The Shadows?" said me at 2am.

Tags: Rosalind Penderwick/Tommy Geiger, Martin Penderwick/Elizabeth Penderwick Sr./Iantha Penderwick, Skye Penderwick, Jane Penderwick, Jeffrey Tifton, Rosalind Penderwick, Elizabeth "Batty" Penderwick, Lydia Penderwick, Ben Aaronson-Penderwick, Iantha Aaronson-Penderwick, Elizabeth Penderwick Sr., Martin Penderwick, Tommy Geiger, Hound Penderwick, Feldspar (Penderwicks), Sonata (Penderwicks), Yaz (Penderwicks), Carla (Penderwicks), Original Snake Character, Original Ferret Character, Cagney Pelletier, Mrs. Tifton (Penderwicks), Non-Binary Skye Penderwick, Non-Binary Jane Penderwick, Trans Penderwicks, Trans Rosalind Penderwick, ok theyre all trans im just leaving it at that bc that would be a lot of tags, Trans Characters, Miscillaneous Townspeople, Vampires, What We Do In The Shadows AU, Sort Of, like it could very much be considered that, The Penderwicks Are Vampires, Mrs. Tifton is Cisgender, Mrs. Tifton is a Ghost, Mrs. Tifton is a Cat, Jeffrey is a Ghost, Cagney is a Mysterious Growth, They/Them Pronouns For Skye Penderwick, She/Her Pronouns For Jane Penderwick

notes and fic under the cut

Welcome to my self-indulgent therapy fic! Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. Chapters will probably come out within the vague month of october. If not, then whoops. Anyway.

This first chapter is dedicated to me, without whom this fic would not have been possible.

Disclaimer: Clearly, these are not my characters. However I like to think that Jeanne Birdsall is an all knowing immortal being who can see what I am writing and knows in her heart that it's all canon. Thanks, Jeanne.

Enjoy!

There was something special about that house on Gardam street. “Vampires live there,” a teenager said, not looking up from his copy of Breaking Dawn. “Like the Cullens, except they’re all trans.”

“That’s why the house is painted red!” his friend added. “The vampire thing, I mean. One of the people who lives there--you know, the young one with pretty hair who danced at the community center last winter--said it’s symbolic of the blood they’ve spilled and a reminder of who they are.”

Most of these statements were, in fact, incorrect. The bright red exterior of the house was because it had been Elizabeth Penderwick’s favourite color at the time they repainted, and because the paint store was having an oddly specific sale. (Footnote: Let's just say a new hire had made some mistakes with the monthly supply order. End of footnote). And not all of them were trans. One of the cats was cis.

However, it was true that vampires resided at the Penderwick House on Gardam street. Nine of them, to be exact. There was Elizabeth, who’d changed her name at least three times and was originally some early century English noble; her husband Martin, who would be a lot better at botany if he acknowledged that technology had indeed progressed in the past fifty years; and her wife Iantha, who could name any star visible from Earth from memory, but needed a cookbook to make rice without burning it.

Rosalind had been with them the longest, (though they’d only been able to legally adopt her some time in the twentieth century) and she was the only one of the children to be originally from England, as after she got Turned and joined up with Penderwicks, the family had begun to travel. Skye and Jane were the next to join, from Scandinavia and France respectively. They looked nothing alike and bickered constantly, but were secretly each other’s favourite people on the planet. (Footnote: Jane called it nonbinary solidarity. Skye called chance and proximity. Either way they were Siblings. End of footnote). Batty was next, as well as her ever growing litter of carefully Turned animal children. Then Ben, who thought movies were the greatest thing ever invented, and finally, Lydia, Turned at the ager of fifteen while being an overworked Vaudeville performer who’d run away from home. (She was also “the one with the pretty hair who danced at the community center” mentioned earlier). (Footnote: And these are just the vampires. There were also three dogs, two rabbits, a ferret (all Batty's), a cat (Iantha's), a snake (Rosalind's), two ghosts, and a mysterious growth named Cagney with 702 genders who'd lived in a room on the third floor since before any of them had been born, and only ate red shoes. Needless to say, it was a full house. End of footnote).

The family was big and strange and had been living in Cameron for longer than the collective memories of the townspeople could recall. They’d been friendly neighbors, reclusive weirdos (whatever suited them best at the time), had gone to school, gone to work, ate people, for hundreds of years. Now, though, it was daytime and they were all in their rooms.

At one pm, Skye felt a rustle on their bed. They stirred, slightly, then fell straight back to sleep. The alarm wouldn’t go off for hours and they would need to be well rested for the night’s hunt.

There was another rustle. Skye could have sworn someone poked their foot. They kicked in the general direction of the affront, grinning into the black silk pillow when they heard a yelp and someone mutter “little shit.”

“Go haunt someone else. I need sleep,” Skye mumbled. As they said it, though, they slid over to one side of the bed and pulled back the covers, letting Jeffrey crawl in beside them. He was trying hard to be corporeal right now, and not fall right through the bed or accidentally inhabit Skye’s body. Even after being a ghost for hundreds of years, though, it was difficult for him. Before the Penderwicks had moved into the ancient Penderwick House (previously known as “Arundel”), Jeffrey had floated aimlessly around the grounds, with only a highly judgemental cat for company. It had taken him a while to warm up to the family and to see the point of things like being visible and occasionally even tangible. They hadn’t pushed him, but it was nice to have a friend

“Mmph,” Jeffrey said, burrowing closer to Skye.

“Not fair, you’re melding partially with the mattress!”

He flicked Skye on the nose, semi-successful in keeping his fingers separate from their flesh. “I do what I like, you blood-sucking fiend. Also, it’f more comfy this way.”

Skye rolled their eyes behind closed eyelids. “Spoiled. You didn’t wake Jane when you came in, did you?” They inclined their head slightly to see Jane’s bed across the room, which was outfitted with eggplant colored sheets and matching canopy that she’d made herself.

Jeffrey snorted. “The French Revolution couldn’t wake Jane.”

At that moment, Jane began to rise from her sheets in the creepy stiff-as-a-board way she preferred, speaking in her low, resonant, “drama” voice that was usually reserved for victims, or royalty, or both.

“To the surprise of all but herself, the vampiress reveals that she has been awake for three and a quarter hours, using the guise of sleep to avoid socializing.”

Skye sighed. “Of course you did. Now come over here.” The rest of the house was still asleep and neither Skye nor Jane had ever succeeded at Sound Barrier charms, so it was best to not be shouting across their shared bedroom.

Jane wrapped herself in her purple quilt and levitated across the room in a tangled mess of limbs, plopping dowm beside Skye. For a moment, the three lay in comfortable silence. Then, Jane reached cross her sibling and mussed Jeffrey’s hair (or rather, she would have, had Jeffrey made his head a consistency other than “slightly condensed cloud,” but Jane decided not to mention that.)

“I had been deep in imagining I was dining with Oscar Wilde when you came in, Jeffrey. For a moment, I thought it was that horrid cat--back to bite off another of my toes! Imagine my relief to find it was just a ghost!”

Jeffrey laughed, grinning up at the ceiling. “From what I could tell, Mrs. Tifton seemed to heartily dislike the toe of yours she did eat, so I wouldn’t worry too much.”

“She may be a monster, but she’s not a self-destructive monster,” Skye chimed in, frowning when they saw Jeffrey wince. “Sorry, too far?”

“A little,” Jeffrey replied.

“Noted. Won’t happen again.”

Jeffrey smiled, his usual self again, and they resumed their conversation.

Now, while Skye and Jane were atrocious at casting sound barriers (and, if we’re being honest, pretty much every other form of magic), Batty Penderwick was the best in the house. She had to be, for her room was shared with three dogs, two rabbits, and a ferret--all of them immortal--who she’d acquired over decades of her life. At the moment, in a room on the third floor of the house, Batty was hovering in the darkness. On one side of the room, Hound, Sonata, and Feldspar (the dogs) were sleeping in a den of pillows, while Yaz and Carla (the rabbits) munched on dandelions in their crate. Queen Latifah (the ferret, and a new family member as well) reclined around Batty’s neck, utterly undisturbed by her mother’s floating.

On a table in the corner, Batty’s record player was set up, the needle carefully situated on a groove of The White Album, softly playing “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey.”

Batty was meditating. As one of the younger vampires--not even 200 years old!--and one who’d had sensory issues even before she was Turned, Batty still found her highly tuned immortal senses annoying from time to time, when they would crowd and overwhelm her brain. Thus, she and her animal children had become accustomed to having a peaceful float in the dark several times a week, while the record player softly serenaded them with whatever Batty was currently obsessed with, even when the music was, objectively, not even remotely relaxing.

The song ended and the record went on to the opening chords of “Sexy Sadie.” Batty sighed (she didn’t like this song), and opened her eyes, floating over to stop the music. She should get some sleep. Her head was mostly soothed, at least enough so that she felt content to turn on her fairy lights (one oof humanity’s greatest inventions as far as Batty was concerned), and crawl under her covers, settling Queen Latifah in her own bed under the nightstand.

But, just as Batty was drifting off, there was a soft knock on the door.

Batty waved her hand to dispel the sound barrier, and called out “come in.” The door clicked open, and her oldest sister padded in on bare feet.

Rosalind’s room was right next to Batty’s and, when the latter had first been Turned (after nearly dying of influenza in 1870), she’d spent many a sleepless day curled up next to Rosalind, being regaled with tales of 14th century England, where Rosalind had grown up. Now, Rosalind crawled into Batty’s bed.

“Why’s your room always warmer than mine?” she muttered by way of explanation, then promptly fell asleep. One or the other of them did this at least once a week. It was nice.

Batty smiled, her head now full warm and happy without the buzz of extra noise or sensation or too-bright colors, and curled up beside her sister, asleep at last.

[20rubixcubes]

enhypen as baristas

maknae line x gn!reader (comedy, fluff, mild angst)

~1.2k words ea (headcanons)

warnings: cursing

a/n: i just wrote this for funsies, please be mindful that there is heavy swearing in these headcanons (particularly in ni-ki’s part), so if that isn’t your taste, perhaps skip this one! other than that, the rest of this is pretty chill, so i hope you enjoy my shitposting. oh, and lmk if you like this enough to want part two with the hyung line 👀 just maybe i’ll do it

sunoo

was only recently employed as an afternoon shift employee and was both shocked and distressed after discovering the cafe didnt have an instagram

“what do you MEAN you dont have instagram??? how do we post selfies???” “sunoo we sell coffee” “NO ONE WANTS COFFEE JUNGWON THEY WANT CUTE BARISTAS”

starts an instagram for the cafe and takes aesthetic pictures of his latte art

his selfies get way more likes though

speaking of his latte art, he masters the skill like a week in and everyone else is incredibly jealous

their jealousy wears off when jungwon tells him that he has to start training the new apprentices

pretends he forgot how to do it for like a week but it hurts his pride so he begrudgingly agrees to train the apprentices instead

in his free time he can be found snapping pictures around the shop, eventually expanding to taking pictures of the others too

“sunghoon stop moving you look cute and i need to take a photo” “sunoo im holding hot milk” “does it look like i care beauty is pain sweetie”

other than that, he sometimes sits in the booths to snack on muffins and do his homework since he only comes in to the shop for about an hour during his school lunch break and on the weekends

you meet sunoo after applying for an apprenticeship, wanting to get a job before you finish high school and start college

seen as though jungwon looks like the boss, you approach him, nervous for your first shift

“i’m here for the apprenticeship program?” “oh yeah! one second!”

he trots off to the back room, leaving you standing awkwardly in the middle of the cafe

“SUNOO GET OFF JAY YOU HAVE AN APPRENTICE TO TRAIN” “*gasp* YOU MADE ME SMUDGE HIS LIPSTICK I'M QUITTING” “NO YOURE NOT GET OUT THERE RIGHT NOW”

the yelling pauses before who you presume is sunoo stomps through the back room door, a scowl on his face

he spots you, groaning loudly “are you the apprentice?”

“yes” you say meekly, guilty for seeming to ruin his shift

he gestures you to follow him behind the counter, pulling an apron out from under the sink and shoving it to your chest

its clear that hes pissed, yanking his tools out from the cupboards as you tie your apron behind your back quietly

“have you made coffee before?” “only instant coffee” “oh fantastic”

he seems to be getting more irritated by the minute before he takes a deep breath and starts directing you around the machines

“to do the art, you angle the mug like this and draw with the milk, but it wont show until it reaches the top so dont go crazy”

as if its nothing, he demonstrates by drawing a perfect swan in the milk, setting the latte down and dusting his hands off

“wow… thats amazing” “i know right? no one here appreciates me enough” “they should! this is the best i’ve ever seen”

he grins at your compliment, nodding with satisfaction and sending a wave of relief over you as you notice he looks less angry with you now

“um… im sorry if i interrupted whatever you were doing before” “oh, that? i was just doing jay’s makeup” “you like makeup? me too! i’ve never seen a boy interested in it though, thats really cool” you smile genuinely at him as he blinks in surprise

“really? you think its cool?” “definitely!”

you watch the gears turn in his head before he smiles widely, seeming to have come to some kind of revelation as he nods

“i like you.”

your cheeks heat up immediately, but before you can say anything in return, he starts calling out for jungwon, leaning over the counter

“JUNGWOOON, CAN WE HAVE THIS ONE?”

“well thats up to them” he looks up from the table hes wiping down, adjusting his apron as he walks over to the counter

“so youre all finished with the course? i hope sunoo wasnt too much for you”

“i wasnt! anyways, youre employed, okay?” “sunoo stop theyre just an apprentice”

he groans loudly, irritated once more as he whips his head to you

“you have to work here, ok? i said so, so come back and apply or i’ll be mad!”

you laugh at his antics and smile “i’ll see what i can do”

after jungwon pries sunoo off of your arm, you return your apron and leave the shop with a wave

“YOU BETTER COME BACK!” is the last thing you hear as you step out onto the street, the bell ringing to signal your exit

a week later, you return to the shop, slightly anxious that your new friend(?) might have forgotten about you

but this is quickly washed away when you hear a high pitched squeal from the counter

“JUNGWON! HURRY THE FUCK UP AND GET THE FORMS THEYRE HERE”

you laugh as you approach the counter, a teasing tone on your voice

“are you supposed to be talking to your boss like that?” “whats he gonna do? fire me? im the only one who can make coffee in this place” “true”

soon enough, jungwon comes out of his hiding place, his hands clasped together

“im really sorry to ask this but please, you have to work here, sunoo hasnt shut up about you all week and i dont know if i can stand him anymore, i’ll even pay you extra please dear god”

you give sunoo a look, only receiving an innocent smile and puppy eyes back

“sure, i’ll take the job!”

jungwon sighs in relief as sunoo begins jumping up and down, yelling something about having his own little baby to take care around the shop as you groan, covering your blushing face

once you have your hours established (sunoo made you take the same as all of his, but you did the nights instead of the afternoons on the weekends, to his displeasure), you get straight to working

… well, sort of

it was hard to get work done with sunoo pestering you around the clock

“you think im cute right?” “yes sunoo” “even though i have bags under my eyes? “yes sunoo” “you promise?” “yes sunoo” “good”

admittedly he is slightly of help when it comes to the more fiddly parts of making coffee, but every other second of the day he seems to be flirting nonstop

“can i kiss you?” “no” “why not” “sunoo we’ve been over this” “BEING AT WORK ISNT A VALID EXCUSE”

worn down after his incessant yelling all day, you find yourself snapping faster than usual

“we’re not even dating, sunoo! why would i kiss you!? just stop playing with my feelings already!”

for the first time since you’ve known him, sunoo goes quiet

“why not?”

“what are you talking about now sunoo?” “why arent we dating”

now its your turn to go quiet

“do you not like me?” “what? no, sunoo-” before you can reason with him, you watch him quickly rush away from you around the counter, slamming the break room door behind him with tears in his eyes

cursing to yourself, you ensure there are no customers to serve before quickly darting after him

after looking around a bit, you hear sniffling from the supply closet and knock on the door quietly

“sunoo?” “leave me alone!”

you sigh, taking a step back and turning on your heel to face the opposite direction, running a hand through your hair as you think

you spot a dog bed at your feet, suddenly remembering that jake usually keeps his dog supplies covered in dog hair in the closet

“sunoo arent you allergic to dogs?”

“... *sniffle* y-yeah”

after you persuade him to come out by mentioning that his face is going to get all puffy, he steps out, eyes glued to the floor as he looks away from you in shame

placing a hand on his shoulder, you speak to him softly

“sunoo, look at me”

he does, hesitantly, his eyes red and watery and, as you said, puffy and inflamed

despite this, you smile

“i do like you back”

his eyes start watering again, your heart skipping a beat in fear that you had said something wrong

“e-even if my face is all puffy and gross?” his voice wobbles, the tears filling his eyes giving him a sense of vulnerability as you sigh

“yes, even if your face is all puffy and gross”

he smiles at that, shutting his eyes cutely as you press a kiss to his cheek

“and theres your kiss”

he whines “i was supposed to do that!”

“you can do it after we finish work, okay?” “WORK STILL ISNT A VALID EXCUSE…. but maybe today just because i need to ice my face” “yeah you really should, can you even see?” “no not at all” “great”

jungwon

the previous manager left suddenly and jungwon was given a semi-forced promotion as he was the only employee with at least half of a brain cell

poor boy is stressed 24/7

doesnt get paid enough for this

“hey jungwon we ran out out of coffee bea-” “I ORDERED NEW ONES FOUR HOURS AGO NOW SHUT UP IM TRYING TO MAKE SURE THE BOSS DOESNT FIND JAKE’S DOG SHELTER IN THE SUPPLY CLOSET”

goes through hell every day just to make sure the others dont burn the cafe down

is supposed to be on the morning shift but he stays until the afternoon

in his rare moments of downtime, he likes to go around and water the hanging plants around the shop

is that one vine where the mom listens to nicki minaj for the first time and screams “no” over and over whenever ni-ki gets control of the cafe music

“RIKI NISHIMURA WHAT IS THAT ON THE SPEAKERS” “ITS OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR ARIANA GRANDE” “TURN IT OFF THIS IS NOT PG13” “SHUT THE FUCK UP GRANDPA”

is only 16 but acts like a 32-year-old father going through a midlife crisis

lifts boxes of supplies all day yet his joints are famously brittle

“hey jungwon did you hear glass shattering too?” “sorry jay that was my back” “you need to invest in physical therapy” “maybe if i wasnt paying for property damage every other week 😊”

you meet jungwon when you drop into the cafe for a croissant and a coffee before your class starts

usually you come at night maybe an hour before closing so you had never seen him before, but here you were watching this cute but clearly stressed boy scramble around the shop carrying boxes of supplies to the back

trying not to be creepy, you sigh, turning back to your phone after watching him for a solid five minutes straight

as you do, you hear a crash coming from what you assume is the supply closet followed by a disgruntled groan

pausing, looking around at the other customers typing away at their laptops and waiting for another staff member to go check on the boy, you stand up as you discern that he must be the only one working and hesitantly go to see if he’s okay

“hello? are you okay?” you peer through the door, your eyes widening at the sight of him rubbing his head with a wince on his features, supplies strewn around him at his feet and a box knocked over beside him

“ah… um, yes, i’m okay, sorry if i disturbed you with that noise…” he smiles bashfully, pulling himself back onto his feet

“do you need help with all of that stuff?”

he opens his mouth to protest, not wanting to have to ask for help from a customer, but after seeing the amount of crap off of the shelves, he realises that there is no way in hell he’s going to be able to clean all of it up alone before his shift ends

“um… is that okay?” his cheeks flush with embarrassment as you smile

“sure!”

over the next couple of hours you two establish a little system of bagging the spilt supplies and passes them to eachother to put in boxes, chatting never ceasing as you discover that you actually have a lot of things in common

“since you work here, what’s your favourite kind of coffee?” “i like lattes… i cant stand bitter things” “me too! my friend drinks espressos though” “ditch them”

you also find out that he started being homeschooled after becoming the manager as he doesnt have time to attend normal school

the both of you find yourselves laughing nonstop, having fun in eachother’s company

so much so that you end up late for school

“oh shit! i completely missed my first class”

guilty for making you late, he offers to take you

“i can take you?” “you drive?” “well….. not exactly”

once sunoo and ni-ki arrive to care for the shop, he takes you out to the car park, pulling a spare helmet out of his backpack and securing it on your head before giving your head a pat as he gets onto his scooter

“you look cute” “i look like a bug” “a cute bug”

once you get to school, face red after having to hold onto him the entire time, you hop off and pass him the helmet with a shy smile

“thanks for driving me” you mutter, brushing off imaginary dirt from your shirt as you do your best to avoid eye contact, your face still flushed and heart racing

is it possible to develop a crush on someone this quickly???

jungwon is so cute that he makes it possible, you surmise

“of course” he mirrors your nervous smile, a blush finding its way to his own cheeks

as you bow and spin on your heel to start walking inside, he stops you

“wait!”

“what is it?” you turn to him, your heart still thundering against your ribcage at the fond expression he has plastered on his features

“actually… can i pick you up? after school?”

when you pause, your face growing hotter and hotter, he begins to sputter

“i-i’m really sorry, its fine if not! that was way too forward, i just really like you and- oh god that was even more forward- um-” “okay” “yeah i’m sorry that was a stupid questio- wait, what?”

before he can say anything else, your smile widens

“i’ll see you later, okay? don’t be late!” you wave, skipping into the building with a fluffy feeling in your chest

with an awkward wave, jungwon watches you leave, his mouth wide open in shock before a grin replaces his expression

getting back into his seat, the lovestruck smile never leaving his face as he drives off, he begins to count down the minutes until he gets to see you again

ni-ki

works the afternoon shift

technically an apprentice but he gets paid and has been there forever so basically an employee at this point

or he would be if he ever actually made coffee

he sits with the work phone all morning and chooses the music

perpetually dancing to 7 rings by ariana grande (look up his cover. youre welcome in advance)

jungwon and jay scream at him to at least do the mopping to which he complies, but not without performing a whole ass concert with it

once they saw him twirl and dip the mop

eventually they just told him to go back to curating the music because he was scaring customers away and they were losing business

he was horrible at cleaning anyway

“hey jungwon i think i got window cleaner in your plant” “im firing you” “i dont even go here” “STOP QUOTING MEAN GIRLS AND FIX THE DAMAGE YOUVE CAUSED”

you meet ni-ki while youre drinking your coffee at a booth and he plays your favourite obscure indie song so you have to compliment his taste and get to talking

he plays your favourite songs whenever youre in the shop and audibly hisses at anyone who tries to change it

makes choreography to said songs at home and tries to impress you by casually belting it out by your booth

when you compliment his dancing and ask how long hes been practicing that choreography hes all like “oh hahaha it was just casual freestyle super easy peasy”

(hes been practicing for two weeks)

thought he was being super obvious by doing these things but apparently nOT because you have not caught the hint at all and hes getting impatient

asks for advice from the others begrudgingly

“give them flowers” “jay thats so boring” “do you want to use one of my dogs? everyone loves dogs” “wtf jake since when have you had more than one dog” “make them latte art with a heart on it” “sunoo ive literally never made a coffee in my life” “why dont you just ask them out like a normal perso-” “shut the fuck up grandpa thats so weird no one does that”

eventually he settles on sunoo’s idea of making you latte art and he embarks on his journey to make his first coffee

rather than focusing on the actual taste, sunoo tells him to just do whatever so that he can show him how to do the art

“why is it green ni-ki” “you said to do whatever” “and your first idea was to make poison? idk if this is the best idea if youre trying to ask this person out” “shut up and pass me the milk”

burns his hands on the steaming milk jug at least fifteen times and ends up with so many bandaids on his fingers

despite how stiff the bandages are on his hands, he eventually manages to make a sort-of legible heart

“it looks like africa” “have you ever had steamed milk poured on your eyes sunoo?”

poor ni-ki waits for you all day, his heart leaping every time the bell on the door rings only to roll his eyes when it isnt you

he even stays past his shift so youd better let him take you on a date or hes quitting

when you finally arrive he trips over the bucket at his feet he was using to clean and spills dirty water all over his pants

“omg ni-ki are you okay what happened” *five octaves higher* “NOTHING I'M COMPLETELY FINE WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT”

by the time he’s finished cleaning himself up (and by that i mean fixing his hair in the mirror for twenty minutes) he takes a deep breath and walks over to you, somewhat cold latte in hand

“um,” he clears his throat, his face growing red as he slides the mug towards you “i made this for you”

“aw thanks ni-ki! why is it green” “........its matcha?”

youre slightly suspicious but you look back to the mug and slowly realise that the “drawing” slightly resembles a heart, smiling a little bit to yourself

when you look back to him, youre a little confused as to why hes just standing there

“is something wrong?” you press the mug to your lips, taking a sip

“o-uh uh actually, i wanted to ask if… if you would uh maybe sort of go on a date with me”

you can only smile

“yes, but…”

his heart starts beating faster, watching you anxiously

you stand up, taking the notepad and pen from his apron pocket and scribbling your phone number

“only if you promise to learn how to make actual coffee” you wink, handing him the notepad and sauntering out of the shop

hes stood there dumbstruck, stars in his eyes at the slip of paper in his hand

but then he realises: he has a new mission

rushing to the back room, he slams the door open

“grandpa, i need you to teach me how to make coffee right now” “literally why do i pay you”

with your promise in mind, the others see him work more diligently at the counter than they ever have before

“wow youre actually working today?” “shut up i need to figure out how to do this butterfly before i pry my eyes out with a fork” “haha funny joke ni-” “did i stutter”

at the end of the week, he forces heeseung (the cafe’s best coffee maker) and sunoo (the cafe’s best latte artist) to judge his latte

“this is… surprisingly good” heeseung peers into the mug, smiling at the swan ni-ki created with the latte foam as sunoo grumbles “dont tell me im gonna have to start competing with this kid, it probably tastes gross” “it tastes amazing too” “im quitting”

with his coworkers’ notes in mind, he finally works up the nerve to send you a quick message telling you to come into the shop

when you arrive the next day, ni-ki greets you and immediately gets to work, making sure to stand as close as humanly possible to your booth so he can show off his newly acquired coffee making skills

with you only inches away, he does make a mistake and spill milk on his shirt after looking at you and not his hands for a second too long, but you decide to give him the benefit of the doubt when he sets the mug in front of you

“wow! this heart is perfect!”

you smile, looking up to him “did you seriously learn how to do latte art just so you could take me on a date?” “… y-yeah, and?”

you can only chuckle as you press the mug to your lips, readying yourself to drink liquid dirt…

“this is… really good!” you grin, taking another sip and putting the mug down on its saucer

“i think you’ve definitely earned yourself a date… or two”

at this news, ni-ki’s face lights up, shoving the urge to scream down his throat before nodding stiffly to try and contain his excitement with a strained “cool” escaping his lips

“are you okay ni-ki?” “yes just give me one second”

he quickly scrambles to the break room, a moment of silence wafting through the store before a shrill scream fills the air

eyes wide, you turn to jay, who had been manning the till, after hearing him burst into laughter

“what is he doing?”

“we told him the freezer was sound proof”

[thompsborn]

do you have any spare ironhusbands or sambucky headcanons?

ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY

oh my god okay i’ve been so fucking wrapped up in both ironhusbands and sambucky and absolutely nothing else for WEEKS because of tfatws (obviously if you have seen my endless spam of reblogs but can you BLAME ME) and the portal closed has ironhusbands so i’ve been just. oh my god i am happily drowning in this and them and i do not need nor want air. ok.

also these are all hc’s based just in canon not au, and lol warning this got so long help me, though my brain is so scrambled from tfatws finale that all sambucky thoughts are scrambled and jumbled so i wasn't able to coordinate them as well as ironhusbands so the ironhusbands section is definitely longer pfighf i'm so sorry i'm like this

ironhusbands:

when they met at mit tony didnt know shit. like. like nothing. he didnt know a single god damn thing about anything. like he was a genius he could solve any equation given to him and baffled professors when he was handed like two supposedly impossible equations to this fuckin fourteen year old and he just looked at them with like a mcdonalds burger or some shit hanging out of his mouth and just answered them no problem, but he was still such a hopeless idiot, and rhodey, also a genius attending as a sixteen year old, had to teach him the basics of life, like. making toast. tony how do NOT know how to make toast. its TOAST. you put it in the TOASTER. have you NEVER SEEN A—OH MY GOD HOW DID YOU FUCKING CATCH IT ON FIRE—

he does not perfect the clearly impossible task of making toast until he is 17 and rhodey buys him a cake to celebrate the momentous occasion even though tony went though 528 toasters

you are gold by the national parks. thats it. thats all i have to say. listen to the song and look up the lyrics. you’ll get it.

and also paper planes by jon bellion but specifically for after rhodey tells tony he’s gonna join the air force and tony is worried but doesnt know how to show it and they have like a chill night in and all tony can think about is how stupid he is and how he’s such a coward because he cant get himself to tell rhodey that hi!! i love u!! and im scared to lose u and that you’ll get hurt and maybe die or smth!!

when rhodey finds out about how tony was raised (going with mcu, where tony wasnt physically abused but more emotionally neglected and ignored by howard and always talked down to and compared to others and wasnt treated like he was worthy and never was told he was loved and everything like that) he gets PISSED. like he is MONUMENTALLY angry. and it takes YEARS for him to find out about this too. and it actually puts a bit of a strain on their friendship for awhile when they meet too

like rhodey knows about the starks obviously and he assumes tony is going to be this obnoxious arrogant rich boy asshole and is so not looking forward to being roommates but he was raised to have an open mind and give everyone a chance, but tony was raised to be wary of everyone and keep his walls up and his emotions in shackles because whatever he shows can be used against him, so they clash, you know? they dont fight or anything but theres tension bc it isnt right and they dont get each other.

rhodey tries to be nice and tony doesnt understand nice because his only example of nice is jarvis and his mom and even then his mom and jarvis are always off with his dad so he barely sees them so its still rare for him to experience the nice of them so he doesnt know how to be around someone nice all the time, and so he gets defensive and thinks about how howard drilled it into him to be wary and he thinks maybe rhodey isnt ACTUALLY nice but someone PRETENDING to be

and rhodey starts to feel justified in assuming the worst about tony stark because tony is all cold and distant and rude and is about to stop the keeping an open mind thing about a month into their first year but then he comes back to their dorm early from class one day and tony doesnt come in so rhodey is just standing there and watches for a minute as tony sits there staring down at his twenty sixth attempt at a letter he wants to send his mom becauss he knows his mom likes letters even though he could just call but they havent really called him (howards fault but he’s fourteen still and its hard to rationalize that howards busy life and controlling thumb extends past his son) and rhodey is just confused because tony just suddenly sighs and sniffles a bit and murmurs “this is so stupid” and crumbles up the paper and throws it in the garbage and rhodey cant help but peer into it and barely sees the words hey mom scribbled at the top and that. that. hm. okay.

so rhodey keeps trying because he wasnt supposed to see that but he did and now he kind of has a feeling that maybe tony isnt all that cold and distant and rude as he seems, maybe he just doesnt really know how to be any different, so he thinks about all the subtle little ways that his family has shown him they care about him and starts to invite tony to go get food or to study together even though neither of them really need to study or to help each other with assignments or just anything thats mundane enough to not raise suspicion but still starts to open the door and make tony relax around him just that little bit and then before tony realizes it the end of their first year is there and theyre like friends or something and it hits him that he’s gonna miss rhodey.

for the first time ever there’s someone other than his mom and jarvis that he’s actually going to miss.

rhodey grins at him and says that they’ll be roommates again next year because they have to be and that the summer will be over before they know it and the sentiment is nice but tony spends the summer alone wandering around a house too big and empty after being in a dorm that’s small and has a friend.

but rhodey doesn’t know this. like he knows that tony isn’t the kind of guy he originally assumed but he doesn’t know that he’s literally ignored and neglected and like emotionally and sometimes verbally abused so he’s kind of surprised when the next year begins and they DO end up being roommates again (because tony kind of asked his mom, on a rare day when he got to see her and howard wasnt around, to get mit to make sure they could be) and tony just HUGS him like its been years and they’ve known each other forever but he goes with it and hugs him back because maybe tony’s just more affectionate once he gets to know someone and rhodey is okay w that.

they get closer as the years go by and they graduate from mit together and they’re BEST friends and at the end of the year rhodey invites tony to spend new years eve w his family but tony cant bc howard is having some kind of gala starting at 5 because hes weird and dumb and tony hates it and he also isnt given the option of not going even though he doesnt want to but the entire way there howard drills into him about not fucking up and berates him for all the times he has in the past and when they get there tony is already just not feeling it so he’s like nope!! no!! i simply cannot!!

so he goes in and finds an exit thats in the back and he leaves and finds a fucking payphone of all things and he has rhodeys home number memorized for years now and he calls and someone he doesnt knoe answers and theres music in the background and voices and tony’s entire stomach is in his throat and his heart is sunken into his twisted gut because he just wanted one night where maybe he could smile next to his parents and feel like he fit with them but he couldnt have that and he asks to talk to rhodey and then he is and asks if its too late to accept his invite and rhodey is like yeah of course do u need my address bc its still only 5 pm and its a 2 hour drive between south philadelphia and manhattan so he’d make it with plenty of time before it got to midnight so yay

and tony is like. oh. hm. i dont know how to drive actually. that was a thing that no one ever thought to teach me even though i asked about it about ten million times. and rhodey is used to tony not knowing how to do things that most people their age can (see: the toast) and plus its not uncommon for people from new york to not drive anyway so he doesnt think anything of it and instead asks for tony’s address to come pick him up instead and they’d still make it back by like 9-9:30 so that would work too

and thats when tony is like. well.

about that.

he might be calling from a payphone.

on a random street corner.

and its kind of raining. and he’s cold. and he’s a bit dulled out from everything so he doesn’t really think about the fact that admitting this is going to lead to having to explain what happened and also why and that is happens often. but that doesnt matter because he kind of just wants to be with his best friend and not back at that gala with his dad right now.

rhodey is like,,, ok. ok. wheres a coffee shop nearby u can wait in. and tony thankfully is by a 24 hour one and tells him the name and the street corner its closest to and rhodey is like i’ll be there asap and tony goes and he waits.

a two hour drive turns into an hour and a half because rhodey is Worried™

but when he walks in tony goes from being all dulled out to being all HOLY SHIT because rhodey has a SPLIT LIP and he’s like WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED WHAT THE FUCK WHAT

and rhodey’s like no no its good my uncle was having fun and trying to wrestle with me and he accidentally elbowed me its all good man dont worry about it

tony isnt used to accidentally being hurt tho so he’s still like hmmm but he takes rhodeys word on it and they head out and tony wont say what happened or why he was calling from a payphone ?? which btw tony literally only was able to do bc there happened to be dropped change on the ground because boy would not have change on him ok, but rhodeys like alright lets go with this for now

so they gets to the rhodes house and it is in full swing with family and extended family and adopted family bc they are 100% the family that just adopts the neighborhood kids and the people who have no one else and like ex boyfriends and ex girlfriends even after the relationship ends bc they still are family despite not dating whoever it was they had been dating in order to be introduced to them so its a LOT of people and tony is like. this is semi familiar in terms a lot of people but this is NOTHING like what he has ever seen before holy fucking SHIT

rhodey is just like oh u have a small family then? so ur used to smaller gatherings?

and tonys like wtf are gatherings

and rhodey is starting to get a feel for what might be wrong but just takes tony inside to get him changed because he’s not spending new years eve at the rhodes house in a fucking expensive suit ok

tony is completely out of his element and like he’s not the only white guy there bc again the rhodes adopt people and those people are of every race and nationally you can imagine but he just isnt used to the vibe there are people laughing and sitting close together and playing games and theres music playing but not like classy music its music people can dance to and are dancing to and the food isnt the food he’s used to at galas and shit and nothing is what he’s used to and he just sticks to rhodey’s side like a fucking lost puppy and tries his best not to look like an idiot when rhodey introduces him to people and a lot of them know who he is but dont judge him or assume shit about him bc obviously if he’s friends w rhodey then he’s a good guy and they want to know him and thats enough

but tony is v overwhelmed bc what the FUCK IS HAPPENING this is nothing like anything he has ever experienced EVER

so eventually rhodey can tell he’s getting overwhelmed and takes him inside and lets him have a breather and then asks him about whats going in and thats when rhodey learns about what tonys life at home is really like and. anger.

SO MUCH anger

because not only has every single assumption he has ever made about tony been proven wrong, but now he knows that the best person he knows has never been treated the way he deserves and has never known a true home and comfort and love and safety and

and he’s gonna fix it

and this is the first step

so he takes tony back out and they’re still just friends but this is the day they both quietly realize they might kind of definitely like each other as more because tony is still so confused by the fact that what he knows isnt the normal and overwhelmed by how much there is and how different it is but rhodey holds his hand as a grounding point and whenever it might be too much they move off to the side where they arent completely gone but its less hectic and a bit more quiet and its just nice

tony goes to rhodeys house for every holiday despite whatever howard says

rhodey decks howard the only time they ever meet before tonys parents die and he has the most shit eating grin on his face afterwards that tony cant help but lose his shit laughing his ass off

anyway i didnt mean to ramble for so long about that specific idea so i’ll end the ironhusbands ramble with this one last thought, which is as follows:

rhodey gets hurt in the air force at some point, and it isnt that bad tbh but he does have to go the hospital and shit and gets stitches or whatever idk i dont know what specifically happens i just think it’d be just bad enough that it takes him a few weeks to be able to go back to work but he’s not like OH GOD HURT yk?

but like stated above tony was scared and worried when rhodey told him he was gonna go into the air force so he hears about this and they’re probably like almost 30 at this point because they’re dumb and it takes them forever to get their heads out of their asses (i say this even though in the portal closed it takes them even longer but i digress) rhodey has like his mon his sister his niece visiting him and they were worried but they know hes fine so theyre just talking and in a good mood and then—

door slams open. tony stark enter stage left. disheveled suit, fresh from a meeting he definitely was not supposed to leave, having flown in from maibu the second he heard and then had happy drive him and then got impatient because of traffic and ended up sprinting like ten blocks while happy was like what the FUCK

of course rhodeys family are well aware that these idiots are desperately in love with each other so they’re just like lol ok and just leave the room while tony starts fretting over him like he’s about to die himself if he doesnt know if rhodey is okay and rhodey is like tony tony dude tones stop tony im okay tony stop it

until finally tony just fucking breaks down like full on tears in his eyes voice cracking hands clasped as he leans against rhodeys bed and tells him that he was so scared and he is so scared all the time whenever rhodey is out there because all he can think about is losing him and him getting hurt or dying and it’s maddening and this is when they get their heads out of their asses and kiss for the first time

(irony at its finest bc later when they are married and tony becomes iron man rhodey refuses to not have a suit of his own because if tony is going out there in a metal flying tin can then he isn’t going alone and wow what a power couple)

sambucky:

firstly i’m going to go post tfatws, but i’ll make a bullet point before going into it so if you wanna read up until that point you can but most of this will be random little headcanons based post tfatws

also it isnt like a whole plotline thing like the ironhusbands ones ended up being these ones are more random and kinda all over the place but loosely connected

update from after writing this: i lied

let me start by saying my interpretation of why they are the way they are in civil war is because of steve

thats not saying steve is the bad guy i mean to say that they’re jealous of each other because they thought that THEY were steve’s best friend who the fuck is THIS guy i dont want him here go away

children. they are children.

which i find very funny to imagine from sams pov because he literally is a licensed therapist and would 100% recognize why he’s acting how he is but he’s petty enough to do it anyway

and also he literally was helping steve track bucky down but i like to imagine that sam didnt think they’d ever really find him again and it’d just make him and steve like super mega best friends or something because hes a CHILD

and then from bucky’s pov steve goes through all this trouble to find him and protect him and then this random guy is acting like steve’s best friend and gets to sit in the front seat ??? bullshit. absolutely bullshit. worst thing ever. so stupid.

its so funny to me okay its SO funny

its like that schoolyard thing where your friend makes another friend and you hate it so much that you do something stupid like color on their drawing or put gum in their hair or whatever but they’re adults with 1. super soldier serum or 2. a superhero reputation/avengers status and suit with wings. so thats a thing.

post civil war i dont think they get much yk. because bucky is out in cryo and team cap is on the run and i doubt theyre able to return to wakanda much, if at all, and then it’s infinity war and then it’s endgame and after endgame there’s the aftermath and the aftermath is a mess

i like to think they have some moments before tfatws though. not many but enough for that slight foundation thats we can kind of see in episode 2 yk.

okay NOW it gets into post tfatws so!!

SO post tfatws everything is different because now they not only have spent all this time together, but they understand each other in a way that they didn’t before. in a way no one ever has. not even steve, who may have known them before, but he isn’t here anymore and he wouldn’t understand who they are now vs who they were before and it’s different.

bucky finds comfort in sam’s home town. sam finds comfort in watching bucky find a home there and he doesnt know why.

also sam treats redwing like a puppy and lets him fly around on his own and gets pet and stuff and bucky acts annoyed but the longer it happens you can tell he’s like “oh my god why is this thing endearing”

bucky has nightmares and sam knows this but bucky doesnt know that sam also has nightmares until one night when they’re still in sams home town and they’re staying on the boat because sams nephews are having a sleepover with some friends and they didnt want to get in the way or smth idk i just want an excuse for them to be on the boat and somewhat secluded from people but bucky already woke up from his nightmare and is out on the deck to get some fresh out and then oop

sam havin a nightmare too

because fucking of COURSE sam has nightmares he has been through some shit too!! not being able to catch riley and everything that happened since meeting steve and thanos and he turned to dust alone in the bushes ok like yes everyone that died were traumatized undoubtedly (peter my baby boy baby im so sorry that you got the worst of it) but bucky was around people but sam was laying on the ground and probably just watched his hands as he disappeared and he was alone and like. jesus christ ok.

and then steve trusted him with every weight and everything that comes with the shield not knowing how much more the shield has when he gave it to a black man and just like he has nightmares everyone in marvel does its a fact

but bucky finds out like this and he is shocked even though he realizes he probably should have been able to guess that this is a thing and he knows so much more about sam now than he ever did but this is how he learns more. he learns about riley. he learns so much.

sometimes bucky has those like “oh shit” moments where he’s like “maybe i was kind of a dick to someone who didnt deserve it” and he already had one of those with sam about the shield but he has another one because he assumed shit about sam when they were being all childish and jealous about someone else being friends with steve but like fuck

steve and sam probably got it

the not catching someone. the way it felt to try and to reach out and to miss and to have to choice but to watch as they fell.

what’s different is that steve got bucky back. he got to have that relief, eventually, even if there was the pain of knowing bucky had been taken by hydra, but at least he knew bucky had made it.

sam didn’t have that. riley didnt make it.

therefore, bucky has his “oh shit”

and bucky was already going soft around the edges with sam (as clearly seen in the last two episodes of tfatws, ESPECIALLY the finale because like did tou SEEZ ALL THE HEART EYES oh my GOD) but it’s this that really makes something in him melt and he just. he loses the last remnants of whatever tension or resentment or whatever negative feeling he may have been clutching onto.

there wasnt much left. but now theres none. now its all washed away.

its gone, and he gets it.

sam is a licensed therapist and he knew the reason he was being all dumb and childish and jealous with bucky was because steve had another best friend but also because steve’s other best friend was the guy that had been a big factor in how him and steve understood each other and how they bonded and it

it had kind of felt like they lost part of that when they found bucky again in civil war and he kind of wanted to blame bucky for it even though he didnt actually blame him at all so all it translated to was that dumb kind of jealous thing instead

but now it’s just them. its sam and bucky and it isnt steve and it isnt about steve and it shouldnt be because its about them. its about the boat and the water and the way they sit and watch the waves while the silence settles over them and the way that bucky says, “im sorry.”

its the way sam says, “me too.”

and bucky says, “you dont have to be.”

its the way they stay there until sarah comes to get them for breakfast and sams nephews convince them to play with them and their friends and the world is still shit and there is so much to do but

but its this and its them and that can wait

it can wait

they can take their time if they want to

maybe they’ve earned that much, at least

(it isn't a fast development because they're a complicated pair and there's so much to the two of them that need to figured out individually before they can even realize how well they work together, but the steps are so much easier knowing that they have the other in their corner and bucky knows that sam's home town is a place he's welcome to go and sam helps him make his own dreary little apartment into something that feels real and tangible with a bed and a couch and when they've become something that resembles stable and they've found a balance and they're okay, that's when they realize that maybe they can try for the more that sometimes bubbles under their skin and that they started to think about the more they spend time together. the warmth that sam feels every time he sees bucky playing games with his nephew and the smile that bucky has to fight to hide and still can't fully suppress when sam stands tall and proud with the shield in its rightful place, and it takes time, it takes work, it takes carefully placed bricks to build the foundation they need, but they get there, and when they do...

when they do, they're already happy, and it just makes them happier, and that's what makes it so much better.

that's what makes it worth the wait.)

[littlemissaddict]

7 Minutes in Heaven

Request: could you maybe do a reggie x reader where theyre playing spin the bottle/7 minutes in heaven? like not a smut but they do make out and it gets pretty heated?

Word count: 2724

A/n: I’m sorry this took so long to write, I had to rewrite it a couple of times because I didn’t like how it was turning out and I’m still not 100% happy with it but I hope you like it.

The sound of a book hitting the table by her head is what broke her from her daze as she stared blankly at the textbook in front of her. Blinking a couple of times to refocus her vision she turned to see the person responsible for the noise.

"It's Friday night what are you doing in the library?" Rose questioned, her hand rested on her hip the other one on the table beside y/n as she raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm getting a head start on the assignment due for English next week" she stated as if it was obvious because the last thing she wanted to do was rush it and risk dropping her grade.

"Well we got a party to go to so that will have to wait" Rose responds, letting out an exasperated sigh when y/n shakes her head and goes back to her work. "Come on I promised Bobby we would go" she pleads sitting down on the empty seat next to her.

"Just because I'm not going doesn't mean you can't" y/n mumbled not looking away from the textbook she was using for research.

"But Reggie’s going to be there," Rose says in a singsong voice with a sly smile on her face which turns into a giggle when she sees y/n's hands still against the pages and hears her breath catch. 

It had been about two year since Rose and Bobby had met during one of their shared college classes and he was always inviting her to parties which she ended up dragging y/n along too so it wasn't long before she had introduced y/n to Bobby’s best friends and bandmates. Ever since then y/n had been completely gone for the bassist and Rose knew that she could get her to do anything if it involved Reggie.

"You can't keep using him against me" she groans, turning to face Rose, a small pout on her face.

"So does that mean you're coming?" Rose asks, letting out a cheer, which earns her a couple of glares from others in the library, when she confirms that she is. "Let's go!" She says rushing y/n who's struggling to fit her books and laptop back into her bag before she follows, both girls heading back to their shared dorm room.

Once they're back at the dorm, Rose connects her phone to the speaker to play music while they get ready as y/n goes straight to looking through her clothes for something to wear. She pulls out a couple of outfits but Rose shakes her head at them and even offers her one of her dresses but she declines as dresses never really were her thing.

"Wait what about them?" Rose exclaims excitedly, reaching for the trousers that she had been talked into buying on their last shopping trip. They were skin tight black faux leather and reminded her of the ones that Olivia Newton John wore at the end of Grease.

"I don't know" she says hesitantly until Rose hands her a black bardot crop top telling her that they would look killer with her favourite heeled boots "okay fine, so where's the party at" she asks, laying the clothes out on the bed before reaching for her make up.

"No idea, somewhere off campus but we're meeting Bobby and the guys in about an hour so we better hurry up" Rose tells her as she checks the time on her phone.

Both girls are just about ready when there's a knock at the door followed by Bobby's voice asking they're ready. Rose answers letting them know they'll be a couple more minutes and she hears a loud groan from the other side of the door as she adds the finishing touches to her makeup and Rose finishes off clearing the clothes that they had left out from earlier.

"Finally" Bobby exclaims as the two girls exit the room. Rose playfully slaps his arm telling him to behave and he rolls his eyes in response but the smile on his face lets her know that he's only playing.

The girls greet Bobby properly once he's finished teasing them and they hear a disgruntled Luke calling them from a little further down the hallway.

"Hey Bobby’s not the only one here" he calls as he pouts at them but it quickly disappears when they acknowledge them. Y/n's gaze drifts from Luke to Alex and then finally to Reggie, where she lets her gaze stay a little longer than she should and the boy definitely notices sending her a wink as she feels herself flush slightly under his gaze.

The group make their way out of the dorm building, Bobby and Rose taking the lead with Luke animatedly explaining something to Alex a couple of steps behind them which leaves her and Reggie at the back of the group. She notices that Reggie seems quieter than usual and she's not sure why but she brushes it off assuming it's because they're not that close so they don't really have a lot to talk about, although she doesn't miss the way that Reggie keeps glancing over at her before pulling his gaze away when she catches him.

It only takes about fifteen minutes of walking before they come to a street where the party must be as they can hear the music as soon as they turn onto it, which leaves her wondering how they haven't had any noise complaints yet from neighbours. Although she didn’t have long to ponder the thought as the group were making their way through the front door to the house and the boys disappeared as soon as they got there so the girls went to find themselves a drink.

“So what’s going on between you and Bobby?” she asks, taking the plastic cup from Rose after she finishes mixing the drink for her.

“What do you mean? There’s nothing going on” Rose says a little bit too defensively for there to be nothing between the two.

“Oh come on, the way you look at each other; how you always pair up with him whenever we do anything as a group; the way you act with each other. Would you like me to go on?” Y/n states with a raise of her eyebrow as she peers over the rim of the cup at her friend as she takes a sip. 

“Okay maybe I do like him a little bit but I’m not sure he feels the same” Rose replies with a small sigh causing y/n to shake her head at the other girl.

“You’re joking right, have you seen the way her looks at you? I’m like 100% sure he’s in love with you” she says with a slight giggle at the look of shock that crosses Rose’s face.

“Okay, well what about you and Reggie?” Rose shoots back with an expectant look on her face as if she’s going to tell her something she doesn’t already know.

“Me and Reggie? The two of us together are nonexistent except in my mind. I mean did you see him on the walk over here he wouldn’t even speak to me and usually you can’t get the boy to be quiet” she chuckles, trying not to let on how much it pains her to admit it because at this point she’s sure the feelings she has for the boy in question are more than just a simple crush.

“Okay but he definitely likes you, did you see the way he stared when we left the dorm and he kept looking at you on the way over her” Rose points out and she lets out a chuckle leaving y/n confused until she adds “I just remembered that Bobby told me that whenever we’ve hung out as a group or even if Reggie sees you he will talk forever about you”

Y/n feels a blush spread across her cheeks at that and finds herself avoiding Rose’s gaze when she next speaks. “Alright enough about boys lets go and have fun” as they go in search of the others.

They don’t make it far before they come crashing into Luke who has a big smile on his face. “Ah just the girls I was looking for, would either of you be up for a game of seven minutes in heaven?” he asks.

“Um.. Who’s playing?” Rose asks as Y/n just raises her eyebrows at him.

Luke chuckles at their responses before he answers “I don’t know who most of them are we kind of just stumbled across and asked if we could join but Alex refused as he has Willie; Bobby claimed there was only one person he would want to play with” Luke said, aiming at a wink at Rose as he told her about Bobby “so it’s just me and Reg unless you want to join” he adds as he waits for their replies.

“You go, I’m going to go find Bobby” Rose smirks at her as she walks away in the direction that Luke pointed at leaving her to be pulled along by Luke.

Luke leads her upstairs to a room which turns out to be a bedroom where there are about seven people, including Reggie, sat in a circle. After they’ve joined the circle someone places an empty beer bottle in the middle and spins it, they all watch as it lands on the boy to her left. She lets out a quiet sigh, which only Luke seems to hear, when she sees that the bottle hasn’t landed on her as the two get up and make their way to what looks like a closet at the far side of the room that she missed upon entering the room. Someone sets a timer and conversation breaks out while they wait and Luke, who seems to know everyone, introduces her to the girl on his right as he chats excitedly about a small upcoming show the boys have which seems to interest the girl. However y/n gets distracted by the feeling that someone is staring at her and she turns to find Reggie’s gaze locked on her. She shoots him a questioning look and she watches as color flares on his cheeks when he realises he’s been caught but then the timer goes off before anything else can happen.

The two step out from the closest looking a little ruffled and as they sit down to join the game again, someone else leans forward to spin the bottle and everyone watches waiting for it to stop. This carries on for another couple of turns until it’s Reggie’s turn to spin the bottle and she holds her breath as they wait for it to come to a stop and when it does it lands directly between her and Luke.

“I guess you get to choose between the two” someone speaks up but she doesn’t catch who said it as she’s too busy looking at Reggie as color flares on his cheeks again.

“Sorry Luke but it’s gotta be y/n” he finally speaks up and can’t believe what's about to happen. She’s spent so long imagining this and it’s about to happen but she’s glad that Rose isn’t here because she would definitely bring it up.

Luke gasps dramatically, feigning hurt as he brings his hand up to his chest as he speaks “And here I thought we had something” he jokes getting a few laughs from the others in the room including Reggie and herself.

Reggie leads her into the closet and once the door shuts he goes still which leaves her feeling confused, although she’s not exactly sure what she was expecting to happen.

“We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to” she tells him, reaching forward and blindly finding his hand which seems to male him jump so she goes to let go but he squeezes it tightly not letting her.

“No it’s not that, I want to it’s just I really like you and I don’t want to ruin this” he admits, his voice quiet and that’s when she realises that despite all his flirting and the confidence that radiates off of him, he’s just like everyone else, a little bit insecure.

“That’s not going to happen because I really like you too and I want this, I wouldn’t have agreed if I didn’t want to” she assures him and before she has a chance to take a breath Reggie crashes his lips against hers in a bruising kiss that she wasn’t expecting so it takes her a second to react but when she does she kisses him back with just as much passion as him. 

Reggie lets go of her hand to rest his hands on her waist as he lets his fingers brush against the exposed skin there which makes her shiver. Whereas she trails her hands up his chest and over his shoulders until she can tangle her fingers into his perfectly styled hair and mess it up a little bit. He bites her bottom lip as she tugs on his hair which draws a gasp from her parted lips. Moving away from her lips, he traces gentle kisses down her jaw to her neck until he reaches the spot just below her ear where he grazes his teeth against the skin which makes her breath hitch and her finger tighten in his hair again and he groans into her neck but doesn’t stop his kisses which he begins trailing lower down her neck to her collar bones and she knows there will be marks for to cover in the morning.

She’s breathing heavily at this point as Reggie’s hands leave her waist, moving higher until there pushing under the edge of her top until he stops over her chest, palming the tender flesh over her bra and she can’t help the roll of her hips against his which causes him to stop his assault of kisses against her neck.

“Do that again” he asks as he lifts his head to kiss her properly again, moaning against her lips as she does. She does it one more time before a voice from the other side of the door is telling them that time is up. Reggie groans in frustration as he pulls away from her lips causing her to giggle.

“Do you wanna ditch the game and maybe get a drink?” he asks, pressing a quick kiss to her lips again when she agrees and they exit the closet. Reggie lets everyone know they’re leaving as the head for the door and down the stairs to the kitchen where they fill up their cups and then head into the garden where it’s a little bit quieter so they can talk.

“I’m sorry about messing up your hair” she giggles when she notices Reggie, running his hands through it to try and style it again.

“Don’t worry about it because if anyone should be sorry it should be me for marking up your neck” he says, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he brings one of his hands up to trace the red marks on her collarbones which makes her shiver. “Are you cold?” he asks when he notices and he’s already pulling off his leather jacket and draping it over her shoulders before she has the chance to reply.

She thanks him as she runs her hands over the smooth leather against her body and she takes in the way his eyes run down her body. When he finally meets her eyes again his pupils are wide and he’s biting his lip “It’s a good look on you, you look ho- um you look good, really good” he rambles taking a step closer to her and glancing down to her lips.

“Do you wanna leave, we could head back to my room?” she suggests, as she feels her phone buzz in her pocket.

“You sure? What about Rose?” he asks, meeting her gaze again.

“Won’t be a problem, looks like she’s heading back with Bobby” she grins, showing him the message and letting out a yelp of surprise when he takes her hand and pulls her along with him back to the dorms.

[lovingmyselfcore]

Skate Into My Heart

Chapter Three; Uh oh

BESTIES

I'M ALIVE AND I DID THE WRITING THING

@ciaraloves (or @perseusjackson-jasongrace ig) LOOK AT ME DOING THE THING

As soon as Nico left the locker room, Piper pounced on him. Literally.

He was forced to take a step back and caught her by the shoulders, “What’s up?”

She was practically vibrating with excitement, “Annabeth’s back!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Come on!” She grabbed his hand and yanked him through the hallways and into the main rink where a crowd of people had formed next to the bleachers.

It was the rest of the team and in the center was Annabeth, a duffle bag slung over one shoulder, looking exhausted as all hell but she was grinning as the team peppered her with questions and play-by-plays of the practices she’d missed.

Piper shouldered them into the center so Nico was directly in front of Annabeth, Piper on one side and Calypso on the other.

“Hey, Nico,” Annabeth said, still grinning. She stepped forward for a hug and he let her, burying his face into her neck and breathing, already feeling the responsibility leaking from his tight shoulders. Annabeth was like a big sister to him, not that he’d ever admit that, but still.

“You want to get out?” Nico whispered into her neck.

“Yes,” She whispered back emphatically. Nico could barely stop himself from laughing but as they pulled apart he saw the genuine relief in her eyes and felt himself worrying. He needed to talk to her, about the team and skating, about Will and of course, if she needed to talk about why she’d been gone for so long, he’d do that too.

Apparently, Calypso recognized that too and, bless her heart, muttered something to Leo, and together they captured the team’s attention, allowing Nico to tug Annabeth away from the crowd and out of the rink. She sighed as soon as they were ejected onto the city streets. Nico stuck an arm out and she smiled and linked their arms.

“Where are you headed?” Nico asked as they walked the short distance to the car garage.

“Oh, probably just my apartment.”

Nico nodded, “I wasn’t sure if you’d be staying with your dad or not.”

She shook her head, “He doesn’t even know I landed yet. I’ll head over in the morning.”

Her voice was stiff and Nico took that as his cue to change the subject. “So I have something to confide in you.”

She perked up almost immediately and he swallowed hard. But she just looked at him with those gray eyes and he reminded himself that this was Annabeth. That she wasn’t going to get angry with him.

At least, he hoped not.

“I’m talking to one of the hockey players,” He said casually.

Her grip on his arm stiffened and he braced himself but she was still just looking at him.

Finally, she grinned, “So when you say ‘talking to’...”

He groaned and felt himself flush, “Oh, shut up! Just friends.”

She hummed and released his arm to dig for her keys in her jacket pocket. “Is he nice?”

“No, he’s a dick,” Nico said sarcastically.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “I don’t know why I even bother.”

“He’s blonde,” Nico offered.

“Oooh,” Annabeth drawled.

He rolled his eyes and she burst out laughing, her voice echoing off the stone walls of the parking garage.

“Is he gay?” Annabeth asked.

Nico nearly flinched and passed it off with another eye roll, “I don’t know, Annie, that’s not something that’s come up in casual conversation.”

She glared at him and Nico, being the mature adult he is, stuck his tongue out at her. She did it back then shook her head. “Too much time with Percy,” She muttered and Nico snorted. She grinned at him.

“So he’s okay?”

That sobered her immediately. “Yeah. Well, as okay as he can be. I’m only here for like two weeks because he insisted I come back, but I’m leaving as soon as possible,” She glanced sideways at him, “Not to leave you alone again, though.”

He shrugged off the flash of selfish hurt he’d felt, “I’m good, Beth.” But he wasn’t good. He’d just told her about Will, and not even the start of the way his stomach would twist when he saw a new text from the hockey player and not the same twist when he panicked. And that also meant his chances of performing solo again were climbing. He didn’t know how to feel about that part.

“Stop that!” She exclaimed, halting once they’d reached her car.

“Get some sleep, Annabeth,” He said genuinely then smirked a little, “It looks like you need it.”

She threw a balled-up receipt she’d found in her bag at him, “Dick!”

~~~~

“Hey, Nico.”

Nico nearly leaped out of his skin, spinning to see Persephone in the living room.

She snorted, “Didn’t mean to scare you, sorry. Did practice go well?”

His phone buzzed in his pocket, “Yeah. Annabeth’s back.”

Persephone hummed, reaching up to untwist her hair, sending it cascading down her shoulders, “That’s good. I know you’ve missed her,” She said with a knowing look in her eyes that made him shift uncomfortably.

“Yeah, definitely, um, I’m tired we learned some new moves for Regionals today, so,”

“Yeah of course.” She was still smiling.

“‘Night Persephone,”

~~~

Nico flopped face-down onto his bed with a groan. He knew Persephone though he had a crush on Annabeth; he didn’t blame her, he���d never really made it a point that he didn’t. He wished he could come out to her and his dad, he didn’t really have a reason why he hadn’t besides the weight of anxiety on his lungs.

His phone buzzed again, and he wriggled upright to yank it out of his pocket.

Will: Distract me

Will: My mom is driving me insane

Nico grinned to himself, both of them were dealing with mommy issues at the moment.

Nico: idk how you expect me to distract you

Will: Just tell me about snakes or smth

Nico: you think i just have fun facts about snakes on hand?

Will: Yeah?

Nico: good

Nico: cause i do

Will: :)

Nico: snakes can slither 12.5 mph

Will: Good lord

Nico: snakes have internal ears but not external ones

Will: ??

Nico: they can’t create their own body heat which is why theyre in the sun all the time

Will: Hmmmm

Nico: they smell w/their tongues

Will: I thought they had nostrils??

Nico: they do

Will: what

Nico: it’s their Jacobson’s organ my dude it works in mysterious ways

Nico: not really but yk

Nico: sCieNcE

Will: ok….

Nico: if you get bored of snakes i’ve also got a bunch of random cheetah facts

Nico: i love cheetahs

Nico: very cool

Nico: fast cats

Will: Lmao go ahead

Nico: but first

Nico: why’s your mom driving you insane

Nico: if you want to tell me ofc

Nico: not trying to be weird

Will: Nah you’re fine

Will: She wants me to focus entirely on med school and not hockey

Will: She’s trying to get me out of it, actually

Will: Do something ‘respectable’

Will: Not turn out like my dad

Will: Even though dad has literally NOTHING to do with hockey

Will: And in my opinion he’s not bad. Not great. Not awful yk

Will: But hockey’s what’s putting me through med school so

Will: Gods, I really just burdened you with that I’m so sorry

Nico: med school huh

Nico: now i can say i know a doctor

Will: In training

Nico: close enough

Nico: you’re a great hockey player and you're going to be a great doctor

Nico: and you can always talk to me, will

Nico: you’re not burdening me with shit

Will: thanks <3

Nico didn’t understand why he blushed. It was a goddamn emoji. Calm down, Di Angelo.

Will: So we’ve been talking for a few weeks now. Can I call you my friend yet?

Nico snorted, feeling like he was fifteen again, sprawled on his bed, in the dark (because for some reason he didn’t turn his lights on) late at night, texting his- well, anyway.

Nico: yea dumbass

Nico: we’re friends

Will: Nice

Will: Now give me cheetah facts you adorable nerd

~~~

WILL

“Will? You good?”

Will blinked, Jason coming in to focus in front of him. “Uh, yeah.”

“That was believable,” Clarisse said sarcastically from behind Jason.

Will attempted to shake the fog from his head, “Yes,” He repeated.

Jason just blinked at him and Will was formulating an excuse for why he was so tired besides the fact that he’d spent all night talking to a cute figure skater with a ridiculous amount of animal facts stored in his small body when Coach Hedge’s voice boomed from his seat on the bleachers, “Solace! You alive?”

“Yes, coach!” Will shot back.

“Then why are you just standing there? Get back to the game! You too, La Rue and Grace!”

“Yes, sir!” They all barked back.

Clarisse gave him a once over before skating back to her goal and Jason went over to Will’s spot with him, “You sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, just tired.”

Jason opened his mouth, probably to question why the mom friend of their group was tired enough he nearly tripped over his stick but Will just said, “It’s fine, Jase. It’s not a big deal.”

“Grace!” Coach Hedge screeched.

Jason gave up on trying to interrogate Will and skated back over to his spot.

~~~~

“Mama, please,” Will tried, but his mother cut him off.

“Willaim. Hush. How’s that girl you said you were dating?”

What?

He was silent for a beat too long.

“Oh, baby,” His mother’s thick southern accent drenched her words. “You broke up? I’m so sorry.”

Oh gods, Lou Ellen Blackstone.

Will and Lou Ellen had dated for two months a long time ago, and when they were still dating he’d told his mother about her to get her to back off of his personal life a little. Their break up hadn’t had a huge fallout, Lou Ellen had told him through tears in his living room that she was aromantic. They were still friends, had been even before they dated, actually, and talked to each other pretty regularly.

But the problem was, that had been three months ago, and he hadn’t told his mother about their breakup. He knew she’d ask why, and he didn’t want to out Lou Ellen or make her a devil in his mother’s eyes. So he’d procrastinated coming up with a reason until he’d forgotten about it entirely.

And now it had come back to bite him in the ass.

“Yeah we broke up a little while ago,” He forced himself to sound choked up, which wasn’t hard, giving the way his panicked brain was now sprinting in circles on his lungs. “I just didn’t disappoint you.” Probably the most honest thing he’d said in weeks, but that’ll be unpacked later.

“Honey,” She sighed sadly and Will didn’t know whether or not that was on his behalf or hers.

“Well, it’s okay, because I’m dating someone new.”

“Oh?” He could hear her spine straighten. “Is it someone I know?”

No, mom, it’s not one of the country girls I grew up with.

“No,” He winced at how southern he sounded. He’d been talking to his mother for five minutes. “You don’t know him.”

HIM. Good Gods, Will. Yeah, you came out as bi to your mom, but still, you haven’t actually mentioned a guy to her yet.

She was silent for so long his heart joined his brain in the track meet happening on top of his lungs. “What’s his name?”

He was so she’d spoken that he blurted, “Nico.”

What. The. Fuck. Willaim.

Apparently, his heart had won that damn track race.

“Well, what I was leading up to before you told me about what happened,”

Will hummed non-committally, trying not to sound like he was taking relieved breaths as she spoke.

“The family’s come for a reunion and you should bring that boy!” Will choked on his spit.

“Mom, I don’t know about-”

“No, William. There isn’t a set date yet so we can work around your schedule,” Fuck. “I insist, Will. I need to meet this boy you clearly like very much, even though all you’ve said is his name, a mother knows.”

Umm, what.

“Sure,” Will said, sounding a little strangled. “But we have a game this weekend.”

“Alright, William.” She sounded the way she always did when he brought up hockey. “But as I said, we can work around your schedule and his. Talk to him about it, and let me know.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” Will repeated. “I’ll do that.”

She hung up and he was left staring at the wilting daisies at his kitchen table.

What had he just done?