#a stray dog walked in...we gave it a cheeseburger

[fangomango]

Hi

Floyd can tailor amd stitch well cause yes

John dory can use a bow and arrow pretty well as well

And Bruce can cook over campfire pretty fucking well

Thank you and good night

[margretta78]

JATP One-Shot

I was thinking about how it went when Alex finally came out to the guys so I decided to write a short little fic about it!  Enjoy!

(Available on AO3 )

Some Things Never Change

Luke let out a little whoop as soon as the last lingering sounds faded away from the song they just rehearsed.  “That’s what I’m talking about, boys!”

“Crooked Teeth is going to be a hit!” Bobby pointed out with a smug smile.  “I’m sure of it!”

“Yeah,” Reggie said with a grin.  “Good thing you were such a great inspiration, Alex!”

Alex let out a high pitch sound and then glanced at Luke who was giving him a firm shake of his head and a stern look.  “Sure…okay,” he finally said, giving in.

“Man, I’m starving,” Luke said as he swung off his guitar.  “Street dogs?”

“Eh…I could go for a big, juicy cheeseburger,” Reggie admitted.

Luke grinned.  “I can dig that…Bobby?”

“Can’t…I have a date,” he said with a wink.

Alex rolled his eyes. “Of course you do.”

“Who is it this time?” Reggie asked. “Karla?”

“No, that was last week…this week is Britney.”

“You’re terrible,” Luke muttered before turning his back on him.  “What about you, Alex?  Hungry?”

“Ahh…sure,” he said a little nervously.  “But, uh…before we go, can…can I talk to you guys for a minute?”

“Sure,” Reggie and Luke said at the same time.

Bobby looked at his watch. “I guess…if you make it quick.”

Luke gave him a judgmental look, before turning back to Alex.  “What’s up, buddy?”

Alex got up from behind the drums but still clutched his drumsticks like a lifeline.  “Um…why don’t you sit down for a sec.”

Worried now, Reggie placed a hand on his shoulder. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he said.  “Yeah, just…I’ll make this quick, I promise, just…”

“Don’t worry about that,” Luke said, glaring at Bobby and daring him to say something.   “We’re all ears.”

Alex waited until they were all seated on the couch, Luke in the middle with Bobby and Reggie flanking him. He couldn’t help but notice that Luke and Reggie were eagerly sitting forward, their forearms resting on his knees, while Bobby was leaning back, looking bored and a little annoyed.  

It was such a typical Bobby move.

He started to pace a bit as he twirled a drumstick through his fingers.  “I’m not really sure how to go about this, but…” He stopped pacing a moment, opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it and began pacing again.

“Alex, whatever it is, man…you can tell us.”

Luke nodded in agreement. “Reggie’s right.”  And when Bobby remained silent, Luke gave him a hard kick.

“OW!  Dude!”  He glared at Luke for a moment and then glanced up at Alex.  “Right…of course!  Anything.”

“I know…I know I can, but like…once it’s out…it’s out and…I can’t take it back.”  He took off his hat to run his fingers nervously through his hair before sliding it back on.  He looked at the guys…his family…and prayed he wouldn’t lose them.  “I’m afraid it will change things and you know how I’m not a fan of change.”

“Some change can be good,” Luke said, hoping to encourage him.  “We’re only fifteen…think of all the things that can happen in just a few years.”

“Exactly…we could be famous in two years!” Reggie exclaimed with a grin.  “Selling out big crowds!”

“And owning our own mansion,” Bobby pointed out.

“It’s not about the money,” Luke said.  “It’s about the music.”

“But having our own mansion would be nice,” Reggie admitted.  

“Okay, I think we’re straying from the topic here,” Alex stepped in.  “You have a point…change can be good…and I hope what I’m about to tell you will also be a good change.  Or at least…not change anything that’s between us.”

“Are you quitting the band?” Reggie asked slightly panicked.

“What?” Alex asked, his voice so high it almost came out a squeak.  “Of course not…I love this band!”

“Then what are you trying to say, Alex,” Bobby said with a hint of impatience in his voice.  “Some of us have places to be and girls to…”

“I’m gay!”

His words lingered in the air as he watched the guys go still, their jaws slightly drop in shock and then closed his eyes as he waited for the worst.  Were they going to kick him out of the band?  Were they going to tell him to get out?  That being gay was wrong and he should feel ashamed?

Before he could even have the courage to open his eyes, he felt someone suddenly hug him so hard that he stumbled back a bit, letting out a little grunt.  His eyes widened open to see that it was Reggie and the huge knot around his heart slightly loosened.  “Okay,” he said with a soft laugh and patted Reggie on the back.  

“We love you, man!” Reggie said as he finally leaned back and gripped his shoulders, shaking him slightly.  “No matter what!”

“What he said,” Luke said as he playfully swung an arm around Alex’s neck, bringing him down to shake the hat on his head.  “Being gay doesn’t change that…it doesn’t change who you are.”

Alex laughed as he shrugged him off and then gave him a little nod. “Thanks, Luke.”

The three of them looked over at Bobby, who slowly stood up, but kept his distance.  “Yeah…it’s cool,” he finally said.  “Besides…that’s less competition for me…not that I’d need it.”

Reggie rolled his eyes, while Luke muttered a, “Dude, come on.”

Alex didn’t care, Bobby was Bobby…he more cared how Reggie and Luke reacted and he couldn’t have been more relieved.  “Sure, Bobby…thanks…you can go on your date now.”

“Sweet!  Check you dudes later!”

“Don’t forget about rehearsals tomorrow!” Luke shouted as he walked out.

“Yeah, yeah,” he waved before finally slipping out the garage doors.

Reggie narrowed his eyes. “Remind me why we keep him in the band?”

“Because although he can be a tool…he’s got mad skills on the guitar.”

“I’m pretty sure we can find someone with mad skills that isn’t such a tool,” Alex pointed out, while Reggie pointed at him in agreement.

Luke just waved it off. “Don’t worry about, Bobby…he’ll be fine…and Alex?”  He placed his hand on his shoulder to give it a squeeze.  “We’ll always support you…and I can promise for the both of us…that will never change.”

“Never,” Reggie repeated as he gently gave his arm a little punch.  

And just like that, Alex felt that last bit of tension around his heart loosened.  The only thing that changed was that they finally knew the one thing he had been keeping from them.  Now that they knew and still loved and supported him…he could truly be himself around them for the first time.

“Thanks guys,” he finally said with a little smile.  “That means a lot.”

Luke gave him another nod before clapping his hands together.  “Now…who’s ready for some cheeseburgers?”

“ME!!” Reggie exclaimed. “I crave meat!”

Alex smiled, his heart full of love for these guys who stood by him and would continue to support him no matter what.  “Okay, let’s do it,” he said as he slung his arms around their shoulders.  “I’m buying.”

[izzyzoellner00]

100 DAYS OF PRODUCTIVITY

DAY 2

wow, let me tell you what a day it has been. this one is going to be an incredibly long story.

i am a waitress at a restaurant, not a corporate one either. long story short, i had to go back to work this morning, before day shift arrived at 10:30am to roll silverware. why so early? because day shift will have words if they walk in and see that silverware needs rolled. it’s a very unfair system because day shift never holds up their end of the deal, the stuff they are SUPPOSED to do.

anyways, another co-worker of mine had to show up also, and when she shows up, she has a stray dog in the car. okay, where did you find this stray dog? is the first question you ask. she found him across the street from her house in the same town essentially that I live in! so since i was headed back that way anyways, i took the dog. i was destined to find his owner. i went exactly to where she said she found him. i parked, got out, and we started on our journeys.

my co-worker warned me about him just leading you random places and peeing on ever bush in the process. i found this to be true... lol. anyways, i knocked on a door, asked an old man “you know this dog?” no luck. my search ended after about 45 minutes or so simply because i had work at 3pm today. so i take him home with me, (yes to my apartment... to my boyfriend)

the dog was a sweet, old, medium sized, black, male dog. pictures will be included! he was harmless! i gave him some water and tried to feed him a hotdog... he did not want the hotdog. we continued to drive around today as i had errands to run. although, today is my little (semi) sisters 9th birthday! i have a gift for her and planned on seeing her today, and everything! but i had this doggy friend with me and was trying to find his home, but i will still see little sister tomorrow. :)

i let him rest, i gave doggy a nice bath, and we even ventured onto our deck for a little bit of sun. he enjoyed a burger king cheeseburger out there too.

soon, the time for me to get ready for work came, and i had to take doggy back to my co-workers house. we were very hesitant to take him to the pound or something of that nature. we all have our reasons. my co-worker had to work at 4pm, so as she showed up after me, she informed me that before she left, a neighbor recognized the dog and had the owner come and retrieve his doggy back. he found his home!

i felt so refreshing, because we had found out, the dog was tied up out back, and lived in a dog house in the backyard. he was very dirty and he actually had his broken cord still attached to his neck. he had a collar, but no tags. i gave him a great bath. he enjoyed an awesome burger king cheese burger. i gave him great pets and we even went on lots of car rides! he enjoyed it all! i know he did.

TODAY I :

tended gently to a stray dog and am at ease knowing he is back with his owner

worked my a$$ off and made $200 tonight

took my cat in her new backpack, will also include in media

❤️❤️❤️

[hailing-stars]

for peter, for @frostysunflowers

summary 

“What can I get for you two fellas?” asked the waitress, still grinning, still wildly amused by the way Tony bullied the manager on shift into letting Buddy come inside the diner and eat at a table.

“I’ll take a cheeseburger,” Tony told the waitress, “And he’ll have the same.”

Buddy barked three times.

“Scratch that, three cheeseburgers and a bowl of water for my friend,” said Tony, catching the eyes of a group of men that sat at a table across restaurant. “What are you all staring at? It’s a dog, alright? What? Never seen a guy having burgers with his dog before?”

OR

Tony recovers from losing Peter to the snap by hanging out with a stray dog he found in the Parker’s apartment.

OR

An AU where instead of being dusted Peter turns into a dog and lives that five year gap with the Starks at their lake cabin.

Irondad Bingo: Fluff

1/4

Read on AO3 or after the undercut 

The door to Peter and May’s apartment was cracked at an odd angle, unnatural and eerie and evidence, somehow, that the world just as crooked as the bolts on the Parker’s door. They were unhinged, and well Tony was unhinged, too, like the lady he passed by in stairwell, who was wailing and screaming for someone Tony assumed was now only dust.

He paused at the end of the hallway, still listening to her faint howling, and stared at the door. He took a breath, released, and walked forward, towards a sight he was certain would break him.

Tony didn’t understand why he was doing this to himself.

He couldn’t even remember why he’d gotten into his car and made the drive into the city, or why his heart worked against logic, that he, of all people, had hoped that somehow the Parker’s apartment might have remained untouched from the devastation that had ransacked the rest of Queens, or all of New York, really.

Everything, everywhere. The whole universe. It was all broken and grey with grief, and Tony felt confident it was the way it was always going to be. The sun wouldn’t sun. There wasn’t any trace of hope left in the atmosphere to be kindled or sparked.

The ache in his soul would keep on aching, with nothing to sooth or comfort.

Pepper helped, sure. She was alive and breathing and real, and he could sit with her all day at their cabin and pretend like the universe wasn’t collapsing around them both. He could get lost in being with her, in her smile and her wit, but he could never get so lost as to forget that he’d never hear Peter Parker laugh again.

He’d never get to make good on that promise to watch every Star Wars movie with him. He’d never get to eat cheeseburgers with him past midnight, at their favorite twenty-four burger joint, after late night missions and patrols. He’d never get to pretend to be annoyed at his fast talking or his bad puns and jokes, or at the way he never stopped making noise.

The baby growing inside Pepper couldn’t replace all that, couldn’t replace intern he’d lost and there was no guarantee that the new baby wouldn’t crumble to ash in his hands, the way Pete had.

Tony pushed the thought away and took the door all the way off the hinges, set it aside, then stepped into the Parker’s apartment, though it was clear it wasn’t their apartment anymore.

It was only ruins of what once was.

Stripped of anything valuable, with heaps of empty candy wrappers, beer cans and chip bags littering the floor and spray paint marking up the walls. The couch Tony had sat on and pretended to like May’s date loaf was flipped over, sitting diagonal in the middle of the living room.

Um, w-what, what are you doing here… uh, hey, I’m, I’m Peter

Tony

He sucked in a breath and kicked at a pile of trash, before moving on, down the hallway and towards Peter’s bedroom. The door was propped open, and as Tony entered, he was greeted with a low growl.

It lasted a half second before the growling stopped, and a dog, a filthy, covered in dirt, dog charged at him. Tony was going to die. He was completely sold on that. He’d survived Afghanistan and the wormhole and space, only to die at the paws of a stray mutt.

He jumped up on him. Dirty paws on his cat t-shirt. He licked him, wagged his tail happily, and barked.

“Hey, hey,” said Tony, moving backwards and pushing the dog away. “We just met, alright? Give it some time.”

The dog sat in front of him and looked up with big, brown eyes, pleading, begging eyes, that had soul and spirit behind them. They were hauntingly familiar, and the memories came unbidden.

Please, Mr. Stark. May won’t let me keep him, and it’s totally unfair. I could hide him from the apartment management, you know.

Sorry, buddy, I don’t have time to take care of a dog.

Tony crouched down, hesitantly reached his hand out, stroking the dog’s fur. “So, you’re Peter’s stray, huh?”

The golden retriever titled his head at him, listening, then barked once, and turned. He trotted off to the corner of Peter’s room, where two cardboard boxes sat. He dug his nose around in one, scooped something up in his mouth, then brought it back to Tony, dropping it on the floor and nudging it at his feet.

Tony picked it up and shattered his heart. Just one cheap frame with a picture inside was all it took to make Tony stumble over, butt on the floor, back against the wall. He swallowed and stared at the picture, looking at a happier version of himself, with Pete by his side. They were holding a certificate upside down and giving each other bunny ears.

They had laughed a lot that day. The echoes rattled around in Tony’s head.

The dog barked and Tony looked up. “You’re… you’re waiting for Peter to come back.”

He stared intently back at Tony, with eyes that convinced him that he somehow understood what he was telling him.

“I don’t really know about to tell you this, buddy,” said Tony, taking a shaky breath. “But Pete’s gone. I lost him, and he won’t be - He isn’t coming back.”

Tony sniffed and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, while the dog made a noise that was somewhere between a whine and groan.

“I know, I – I’m gonna miss him, too.” He reached out again, giving the dog another good pet, and watched his eyes. There was warmth behind him, warmth that reminded Tony just how compassionate and caring Peter had been.

The dog whined as Tony lifted his hand and wiped his eyes again with his sleeve. He straightened out and stood up, looking around the ravaged bedroom and gripping the picture frame. It’d been pointless. Thinking he could save any of Peter’s stuff or somehow get transported back to the past.

It was clear why he really came there, now. To say goodbye.

Even still, the two boxes in the corner of the room looked savable. Tony put the picture frame back inside the first box, stacked them on top of each other and picked them up. He walked towards the door but stopped before stepping out in the hallway. He turned, and the filthy golden retriever was still staring up at him, expectant, waiting for someone who’d never come back.

“Wanna come home with me?” asked Tony. “Look, I’m not Peter, I’m nowhere near as good and kind, hell I don’t even really like dogs, but… I have a house with a big yard and plenty of squirrels and rats to chase and… if you’re lucky, I might even feed you.”

The retriever barked and followed Tony as he left Peter’s room, and eventually the apartment building. It only figured, and brought the briefest smile to his face, that Peter had won the dog argument. Tony ended up with the stray after all, and even in death, Peter was getting his way.

*

Pepper had been waiting for him on the front porch, with a book in her lap, and an unreadable expression on her face, as Tony watched her watch him park the car, get out, and open the back door, releasing the hound.

He jumped out and put his nose straight into the grass and dirt. He sniffed around, before yelping out a few happy barks.

“Who is this?” asked Pepper. She shut her book, put it down on the chair next to her, and stepped on the porch. Her eyes moved back and forth between the dog and Tony, until Tony turned, distracted himself from Pepper’s question by fishing Peter’s boxes from the car.

“Tony,” said Pepper. “Why do you have a dog?”

He turned back around, with two boxes gripped in his hand, and shut the car door with his foot.

“Tony,” she said, louder. She beckoned at the dog. “Who is this?”

“He’s my new best friend,” said Tony. “You’ll have to break the news to Rhodes and Hap that they’ve been replaced, I don’t think my heart could take seeing their faces when they find out.”

Pepper stared at Tony, while the retriever stopped sniffing the dirt and sat directly in front of her, looking up, giving her actual, literal puppy dog eyes. She didn’t look down. Refused to acknowledge him. If she did, Tony knew that, just like he had, she’d cave within seconds.

“Just look at him, Pep. Isn’t he adorable, uh, under all that dirt?”

“We can’t adopt a dog.”

“Why not?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Pepper. “Maybe because we’re about to have a newborn.”

“I know that.”

“Do you know that, Tony? Because I’m starting to wonder… I know, I know things have been a nightmare, since the snap, it’s been hell, but I thought we at least had each other… but sometimes, it’s like you’re not even here. Like you never came back from space.”

“I’m right here,” said Tony, though even to his own ears, he sounded far away. “And I’m really excited for the baby. I’m pumped.”

“Oh, you’re pumped?” asked Pepper, with a raised eyebrow. Tony gave her a nod. “Then why haven’t you painted the nursery?”

“I’m gonna paint it. I’m gonna do it tomorrow.”

“That’s what you said yesterday.”

“This time I’m serious,” said Tony. He swallowed and shifted his eyes back to his dog. He still sat at attention, waiting for Pepper to notice him, the same way he’d been waiting for Peter to come back home. “Look, Pep, he’s Peter’s stray. I couldn’t just – I couldn’t just leave him there by himself.”

Pepper released a breath, her body relaxed, her eyes went softer, as she finally looked down to give the dog attention. “Does he at least have a name? Besides Peter’s stray?”

“Buddy,” said Tony. The name rolled off his tongue without any thought. It didn’t require any. Buddy was his name, and Tony, somehow, just knew.

“Buddy,” repeated Pepper, crouching down, and patting him on the head. She massaged his ears. “Welcome to our mess.” She straightened out and leveled her stare back at Tony. “He gets a bath before he comes in the house or you’re both sleeping in the shed.”

She snatched the boxes out from Tony’s hands, turned, and walked back inside, the outer door swinging shut behind her.

“Better get used to that, boy, she’s your overlord now, too.”

Buddy barked and followed Tony as he walked around to the side of the cabin, searching for the hose.

The sun beat down bright and hot as Tony dragged a metal bin he found, that he could only assume belong to the cabin’s previous owners, from the garage to yard and stuck the hose inside, letting it fill with water while Buddy watched with mournful eyes.

“Okay, we’re good,” said Tony, when the tin was half full. He took the hose out and held it out away from his shoes, so he wouldn’t get them wet. “Well go on. Get in.”

Buddy didn’t move.

Tony stuck his hand in and flicked water at him. “It’s not that cold. It’s just like swimming.”

Buddy laid down on his belly, stretched his front legs and paws out in front of him, and whined.

“Don’t be a drama queen about it, alright? We gotta get all that dirt off you,” said Tony. He hoped just plain water would do the trick. He didn’t have any dog shampoo, and he knew, thanks to one of Peter’s rambles, that he shouldn’t use human shampoo on dogs.

Grief hit him like an icicle through his heart. He’d never get listen to Peter rattle off rambles while he was trying to work.

Buddy barked, loud and abrupt, breaking Tony out of his stupor. He was suddenly up on all four of his legs, charging at Tony. He bit down on the hose, tried to wrestle it away, and in the process, sprayed Tony first in the face, then the chest, and then finally, his shoes.

“Hey! You little shit!”

Buddy released the hose, and Tony fall backwards, landing with a thud on the ground, his hair dripping wet, the hose spilling water out on the ground.

“Really, that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?”

Buddy titled his head, then raced off towards the lake, where he jumped in the water with no hesitation and happily swam around.

This dog was worse than a teenager.

He released an annoyed, slow sigh, before standing up and switching off the hose. By the time Buddy was done with his afternoon swim in the lake, Tony had a towel waiting. Predictably, Buddy had another method of getting dry. He shook the water from his fur, right in front of Tony and his towel, and had the audacity to look smug about it.

“Now you smell like lake water,” Tony complained, as he kneeled on one knee and ruffled the towel through Buddy’s fur. He wagged his tail, nipping and licking at Tony’s face while he attempted to help him get dry. “Uh-uh, no way, don’t even try making it up to me now.”

Buddy stared at him, with wide brown eyes. Tony melted.

“You’re just lucky you’re Pete’s stray or else I’d take you straight to the pound.”

*

Tony tried to ignore it.

He squeezed his eyes shut and clung onto to sleep, trying to block out the loud, repetitive and persistent barking. He groaned, and shifted under his covers, and burrowed his head under his pillow, holding the sides against his ears. It didn’t help, did not do a thing to block out the noise, but Tony wanted to pretend.

He thought Buddy would tire out and let him sleep.

Tony had no reason to think this, other than being overly optimistic, or maybe, more likely, in denial. He’d suffered through three mornings with Buddy. All three of those went the same way. The dog was an alarm clock without a snooze button. A needy, attention hungry pile of golden fluff that refused to let Tony sleep past ten.

In the past, anxiety and nightmares would not let him rest, and now, that grief and depression sapped his energy dry, it was Buddy who would not let him sleep stay sleeping.

Life, he supposed, was unfair that way.

Tony lifted his head from under the pillow and opened his eyes.

Buddy stared back at him, looking serious and intent. He barked.

“Go away.”

Buddy stuck his head up into the air and howled.

“Alright, alright, Jesus, mom,” said Tony, raising up, out from under the covers. “I’m up.”

The golden retriever ran out of the bedroom once he saw Tony put his feet on the floor, his claws scrapping against the wood as he went, just another example of how damn noisy that animal was.

If he wasn’t barking, he was howling. If he wasn’t howling, his tail was thudding against the floor or the wall, in a rhythm only Buddy understood, reminding Tony of the way Peter used to tap his pencil against his notebook when he concentrated.

Tony slipped on pajamas pants and headed down to the kitchen, before Buddy got impatient and started howling again. When he passed by the room Pepper designated as the nursey, he stuck his head in and looked at the paint and brushes she had laid out in the center of the room.

They were unused, and the walls were still off-white.

He shook his head and continued downstairs, on to his morning routine, which consisted only of eating pop-tarts and watching TV with his dog. He plopped down on the couch, ripped the tin foil off the first packet and laid it down for Buddy, then opened his and took a bite.

“Breakfast of champions,” said Tony. Buddy was too busy eating and licking up crumbs off the couch to bark his usual agreement. “That’s right. Good boy. Get rid of the all evidence.”

Pepper didn’t like him feeding Buddy human food, but Tony couldn’t help it. Buddy didn’t seem to like the dog food very much and Tony couldn’t blame him. The stuff looked and smelled disgusting.

Tony mindlessly flipped through the channels as he ate, with an actual, physical remote, since he hadn’t bothered with installing FRIDAY into the cabin yet. He stopped when Buddy started barking and landed on a channel that displayed two cloaked figures fighting each other with laser swords.

“This?” asked Tony. Buddy barked, his head looking back and forth from Tony to the TV. “You watched this with Pete, huh? At least one of us made time for him.”

Tony put his thumb back on the button, about to push down, and keep channel surfing, when Buddy stopped him with a low, menacing growl.

“Okay, okay fine. We can watch this,” said Tony, but Buddy didn’t take his eyes off him until he put the remote down on the coffee table.

He barked, jumped off the couch and trotted out of the room, only to return seconds later with a teddy bear in his mouth. On his first night in the Stark cabin, he’d dug it out from one Peter’s boxes, and slept with it every night since. Familiar smells, Tony guessed, comforted him.

He jumped back up to sit next to Tony, eventually laying down, stretching his legs and his paws across Tony’s lap, then using his leg as a pillow, with that old ratty teddy bear still nestled in his mouth.

Tony let it happen, cuddled him, even, massaged his head and played with his ears as they both watched space wizards fight each other, movie after movie. They spent the entire day watching Star Wars, only stopping for bathroom breaks and that time between movies when Buddy sat in front of the fridge and howled until Tony made them both something to eat.

*

Tony woke up the next morning on his own, without any barking. His mind and his body automatically jolted him from his sleep before ten, proving to Tony that he wasn��t just being dramatic, the world really was off its hinges and as a result, everything was crooked.

He was supposed to be training the dog, but instead, the dog was training him.

When he opened his eyes, Buddy came into focus first. He was staring at him, with a paintbrush gripped between his teeth. His woof was muffled by the object he held.

Tony blinked.

“Not today, Buddy.”

He made a sound of disapproval and ran out of the room, only to return seconds later with his leash in his mouth, instead. Tony let out a breath. He didn’t have the heart to tell Buddy no twice in the span of a minute, so he forced himself out of bed, then forced himself to get dressed.

He didn’t regret it.

It turned out to be a perfect day to be walking around in the park, or rather, Buddy had taken a regular day and turned it into the perfect day. Tony watched him chasing and barking at ducks, smelling every new smell, letting random children pet him and pull on his ears. He was living it up, having the best time, and it was hard for Tony to remember he was miserable and sad watching Buddy attempt to play with stray cat, who hissed and swatted at him.

A little girl holding hands with her mother walked by as Buddy retreated from the cat with a whine, nursing a scratch on his nose.

“Cute dog,” said the girl. “Can I pet him?”

“You know, he’d really like that,” said Tony, watching the girl smile and reach her hand out. “He never says no to extra attention.”

She laughed, pet Buddy, who wagged his tail and sniffed her, then the girl and the mother continued on their way, saying thanks as they waved goodbye. Just for a few flickering seconds, Tony pictured Pepper and their child, here at this park, with him and Buddy, and for the first time, in a long time, he looked forward to the future.

*

Quiet moments were rare after Buddy joined the family, but when things got still and the noise in Tony’s head got loud, he would sit on the back porch with Buddy and watch the lake. That night, the breeze was gentle, and the moon was high. It’s light reflected in the water below.

Nature was peaceful and calm, and yet, all Tony could hear was Peter Parker and the words he said right before he died.

I don’t wanna go

That moment, those words, they replayed over and over. They stabbed at his heart and made him wish more than anything that it’d been him instead of Peter. That kid, he just really loved being alive, and the more Tony remembered him, the more that was evident, by his laugh and his smile and the way he threw himself into everything he did.

Thanos had wanted balance, but this balance wasn’t fair.

Buddy stared up at him from his resting place on the porch, next to his feet, and Tony refused to look down, into those eyes. It was too damn hard. Buddy, though, never liked to be ignored. He only tolerated it for a few minutes before he sat up and nudged Tony’s knee with his nose.

Tony forced a laugh, and gave in, just like he always did.

“I bet Peter loved you,” said Tony, giving him a good pet. “Spoiled you, probably, with the way you behave. I guess I should’ve listened to him more and took you in when he asked me. Let him have a dog while he was still here. Truth be told, bud, there’s probably a lot of things I should’ve done.”

Buddy titled his head at him, something Tony learned to associate with listening. Really, he was starting to believe he was losing his mind. He was starting to believe Buddy the golden retriever understood everything he said. Empathized with him. That the two of them were grieving Peter together, and they both understood the paralyzing silence he’d left behind.

“I should’ve-“ started Tony. He stopped. Closed his mouth, then opened it again, forcing the words out. He had to get it out. “He… he was my son, and I never told him how much he meant to me.”

Buddy laid his head down on Tony’s knee, and let out a sad, pitiful whine.

The admission was a heavy, heavy sorrow, that somehow got lighter after he spoke it out loud. Before he denied it for fear he’d be a repeat of Howard, and then, after the snap, he’d been denying it because it just hurt too much to admit he was a grieving father.

Speaking the words out loud opened up something in him that took him by surprised.

Tony needed to feel close to Peter again, even if he knew it would hurt.

“You like cheeseburgers, boy?”

Buddy perked up with a bark and wagged his tail furiously.

“Of course you do, let’s get out of here.”

*

Plastic crinkled under Tony as he shifted his position in the booth. Buddy sat across the table from him, in his own booth seat, and they were silent while they waited for the waitress to come around and take their order. They were just man and dog, waiting for their cheeseburgers come and their grief to end.

Tony knew he’d be waiting forever.

He wouldn’t ever get over losing Peter Parker, but he could celebrate his life, by doing all the things Peter loved doing. He could still go out to diners after midnight and have cheeseburgers and remember the way Peter couldn’t ever eat without making a mess.

Tony hadn’t driven to their exact favorite burger joint, the one in Queens they had eaten at together, countless times before, but the one he found had the same vibe, the same checkered floor and greasy smell in the air.

“What can I get for you two fellas?” asked the waitress, still grinning, still wildly amused by the way Tony bullied the manager on shift into letting Buddy come inside the diner and eat at a table.

“I’ll take a cheeseburger,” Tony told the waitress, “And he’ll have the same.”

Buddy barked three times.

“Scratch that, three cheeseburgers and a bowl of water for my friend,” said Tony, catching the eyes of a group of men that sat at a table across restaurant. “What are you all staring at? It’s a dog, alright? What? Never seen a guy having burgers with his dog before?”

The men went back to their own business, whispering with raised eyebrows, and the waitress took the menus and walked off towards the kitchen. Their food arrived in under fifteen minutes, and together, Tony and Buddy went to work on their burgers.

It just was the sort of absurdity Peter lived for.

Really, he just lived for anything, no matter how absurd or crazy. Cheeseburgers at midnight, Star Wars marathons, school trips to places the rest of his classmates considered boring, and, the thought hit him sudden and hard, his new baby sibling.

If he’d had the chance to know about baby Stark, he would’ve been excited, would’ve happy for him.

He would’ve bought Spider-Man onesies and Iron Man plushies. He would’ve swung to the tower with late-night pints of ice cream for Pepper.

He would’ve helped Tony paint the nursery.

“For Peter,” said Tony, holding up his burger, the same way a champagne chute would be held during a toast. Buddy gave a quiet, sorrowful howl, then they both finished their meals.

On the drive back to the cabin, Tony cranked the music up and drove with the windows down, allowing Buddy to stick his head out the window. His ears flopped around with the wind, and his tail thudded against the car seat to the rhythm Back in Black as it blasted through the speakers.

*

“Are they closed?” asked Tony, as he pulled Pepper down the hallway by her hand, with his other hand covering her eyes. “You gotta keep them closed.”

“Yes, Tony, they’re closed, just like they were five second ago.”

Tony took his hand away from her eyes and hooked it with Pepper’s free hand, walking backwards into the nursery and stopping only once they got into the center.

“Alright, you can open them.”

Tony watched Pepper’s eyes open and look around the freshly painted nursery. He’d taken it a step further, and put in the crib, a rocking chair, a changing table, anything and everything they’d need when baby Stark arrived.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it,” said Pepper. “It’s perfect, Tony. Thank you.”  

Tony dropped her hands, only to pull her closer, into a hug. “I know I’ve been, uh – “

“Spacey? Distant?”

“Yeah, both those things,” said Tony. “I just want you to know, I’m all in. This is our second chance and we’re gonna make the most of it.”

Pepper let out a breath, and her body relaxed against his, for the first time, in a long time. They held each other in the middle of their new nursery and Tony was happy, grateful, even, that they still had each other, even if there were so many that were lost.

“Tony?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are there paw prints on my wall?”

“Buddy wanted to help,” said Tony, smiling, at the memory of Buddy dipping his paws into the baby blue paint and then jumping up on the wall, splattering it everywhere. He’d gotten another bath after that. A real one. With dog shampoo Tony had ordered off the internet.

“You and the damn dog,” laughed Pepper.

“I can paint over it.”

“Don’t. I like it.”

Tony nodded and let himself get lost in the moment. He had his dog and his wife and a baby on the way. There was sun streaming in through the windows, and there was paw prints on the wall.

He still wasn’t okay, but he believed one day, he could be. For just that moment, Tony allowed himself to consider that it might be enough.

[smokingtomas]

Hi, hi! Can I request SoRina for the ship meme? (The one from which you have recently published TakuMegu) ❤️ thaaaaanks~~

Heyheey thank you for the ask! Anything for this pairing~ (Yeah right, just look at the prompt requests lining up in my inbox). And let’s make this an entry for day 2 of @shokugekiweek: Favorite pairing

1. Acts like they’re dying when they have a cold. I think both of them would try to tough it out, but it’s only a matter of time when they would just collapse to the floor and secretly seeks some attention.

2. Gets mad at the TV and throws the remote. I think Soma went a little overboard when his favorite Masterchef contestant got eliminated xD Erina gave him the side eye like, “That guy got eliminated for a good reason; his food looks disgusting. Calm your horses.”

3. Gets the worst road rage. Erina is such an impatient driver. Maybe the only one time her potty-mouth side comes out. Bikers are her biggest pet peeve aaand that’s why Soma’s the one who’s always driving.

4. Spends too much time in the bathroom on their phone. Soma and his endless scrolling on Buzzfeed Tasty page… or his addiction towards Clash of Clans. The only way he’ll stop is when he hears Erina’s irritated knocks.

5. Packs the whole closet for an overnight trip. Erina packs more than Beyonce does tbh

6. Hates the in-laws. Soma is not fond of Azami. Not a single bit obviously. I mean we can’t blame him why.

7. Hits the snooze button…11 times. YUKIHIRA SOMA. Again, Erina’s role in smacking his head with a pillow is quite important to get his ass up and actually start the day.

8. Makes the other late for work. Soma with his tendency to held a surprise breakfast shokugeki… or something else *wink wink*

9. Uses the television as a babysitter. Soma will shamelessly do so if he needs more time to sleep. Erina, who’s nearly giving up on telling him that it’s not the way to go, will just shake her hopeless head.

10. Takes in the stray dog. Soma would, but Erina would not let it into the house if Soma hasn’t bathe it, took it to the vet to get it checked up and vaccinated, or bought some actual dog food with him so he doesn’t feed it with their leftover meatloaf.

11. Suggests a 3am trip to McDonald’s. Headcanon when Erina was pregnant, she had a constant craving of McDonald’s cheeseburger, and Soma would laugh at her because he doesn’t even like it (but still taking her anyway).

12. Leaves their shoes out for the other to trip over. If Erina catches Soma putting his shoes haphazardly, she would purposely put them in Soma’s track so he’d trip over and she’ll go “That’s why shoe racks are invented, blockhead!”

13. Can’t make up their mind when it comes to dinner. Both would argue most often about this. Soma wants something, Erina wants another thing. It gets endless and they both ended up cooking a huge feast.

14. Needs to be reminded of all their appointments. Erina has an assistant…. Which Soma uses for his own benefit as well. How shameless.

15. Bribes the other into doing chores, getting out of the house…and taking a shower. None. Soma loves doing chores and Erina loves taking a long shower while he’s doing so.

16. Picks the movies. They would take turns and they are both pretty demanding of their turn. “You picked the movie last time, Yukihira! Now we’re watching Love, Rosie!” and he’d be like, “

17. Takes the safety steps when building a pillow fort. Nakiri ‘Protective’ Erina. The girl would download a 46 pages PDF of a safety step and read it… while Soma ignores her and continue on building the pillow fort.

18. Kisses the other’s injuries better. Soma could be a cutie when Erina accidentally cuts her finger in the kitchen.

19. Is addicted to angry birds, game of war, candy crush, temple run, or flappy bird. Soma is an avid mobile gamer, and no one in their circle can beat his high score.

20. Kills the spiders. Soma sees spiders like they’re nothing. While Erina basically screams at the top or her lungs, Soma would just, “Geez, relax Nakiri. They won’t kill ya.”

21. Hogs the blankets. Erina! And Soma would let her.

22. Takes pranks too far. One time Soma placed a half-dressed mannequin near their door to scare Erina. No, she was not happy.

23. Makes the dirty jokes. Soma has quite a collection of dirty jokes lol

24. Keeps a piggy bank.  Not a piggy bank perse, more like, as what Soma called it, a mean jar. Erina needs to put a dollar every time Soma catches her telling people off or just plainly being rude. Soma would be like, “Uh oh, that’s a meanie right there.” and she’d be like, “W-WHAT?! That’s not mean! It’s just clearly stupid!.” of course he’d reply with, “See, you’re being mean again.”

25. Has no problem having ice cream for breakfast. Soma, but Erina doesn’t say anything bcs she knew he’d run to the bathroom before his bowl is even clean.

26. Gets a tattoo when they’re drunk. They lock their door if they want to drink in order to prevent doing reckless things. Erina’s idea, ofc.

27. Trips over their own feet. None

28. Makes the other go for a walk. Soma loves to take Erina for a stroll down the park because he loves how her face lits up whenever she sees the twinkling lights.

29. Whines until they get what they want. Soma can be quite a baby when he wants something from Erina usually some ‘love’, but she doesn’t always reject him.

30. Tries to act tough but really isn’t. This is definitely Soma. He would come home looking with smiles and looking supposedly ordinary, but the only person he can’t hide it from is Erina, who is quite expressive when it comes to her negative emotions. Erina would try to give him some tough love, which often works, and some chocolate based dessert like mousse.

[shuushuushuu]

New experiences

A little bit early, this is my contribution to the Stafighter Secret Santa 2018. Although I’m no native english speaker,I hope you will enjoy this piece of fluff and smut, dear @elisetales! Merry christmas <3</p>

SMUT UNDER THE CUT~ (If you prefer reading on AO3, go this way: http://archiveofourown.org/works/13146279 )

They’d only been here for a mere two hours, but it was exhausting already.

“Cain! Would you please hurry up already?” he demanded in a tone, which clearly spoke of growing annoyance. He turned around to find his partner sniffing the air, confusedly looking around. “What is that smell?” – “Hotdogs… there’s a food truck over there!” He nodded in the direction and turned to continue their way, but Cain took a grip on his arm. “You are eating dogs on earth???” Horrified.

Abel sighed deeply. “No Cain… we do NOT eat dogs. A hotdog is a sausage in a bread roll. You put ketchup on top and onions and- HEY!” He tripped and almost fell over, when Cain yanked on his arm and pulled him to the food truck. “Sounds awesome! I want one!” Thrilled.

Closing his eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, Abel followed Cain and bought a damn hotdog. “Ok, listen to me: No more questions, no more detours, no more stops on the way to pet stray cats. We will run late, so you will quietly eat your hotdog and follow me, ok?” he said to Cain, who had been pestering him ever since they had landed and Cain for the first time in his life had set foot on earth. Cain clearly didn’t like his tone and he was about to speak up to him, but luckily he was handed his hotdog right then. He took it and was silent. Abel sighed. Hopefully this would last until they had arrived their destination.

~*~

A long bus ride, another one hundred questions and two cheeseburgers later, they arrived. Cain was still a little pale, but kept eating his third burger anyways, although in the meantime it was cold. Abel had been surprised, that a fighter like Cain would get travel-sick so easily. A few turns and a bumpy street were enough to twist his stomach, which Abel found mildly amusing.

Now that they had left the bus, Cain seemed to be ok again. Good, because they needed to make a good impression now! Because they had been one of the highest-scoring teams in the last standard-year, they had been invited to the alliance’s recruiting center on earth to tell their story. Well… a heavily shortened, partly-altered story anyways. They would meet with Galileo at the center in (Abel checked his wristwatch) 20 minutes. More than enough time to finish their fast food and walk there.

He took a sip of his coke and watched Cain pick up a French fry, eyeing it skeptically, then eating it. He tried not to laugh at that sight. Fast food was not a usual thing in the colonies, Cain had told him as much. But it seemed more like he was completely unfamiliar with some of the things that were perfectly normal on earth. It was somehow cute to see his self-confident fighter like this.

Abel put down the cup of coke and began eating his chicken nuggets. He eyed Cain. His partner looked so different in normal clothes. When they had left for earth, they had been given back the few private things they had once come with. For Abel it was a small backpack filled with jeans, some shirts, underwear and a pair of sport shoes. For Cain it was nothing more than old boots, a black tank top and ripped jeans. At least someone had taken the effort to wash and neatly fold everything, before it had been stowed away, so they could simply change into it right after the landing.

“Maybe we should go buy new clothes” Abel mused. Tomorrow they would be standing in front of hundreds – maybe thousands – of new recruits to tell them how perfect and fulfilling their job was. Of course without talking about the risks and dangers it brought. Anyway, they probably should look like serious adults – not like they had put on the only things they still owned.

“What’s wrong with my clothes?” Cain asked, after swallowing a mouthful of French fries. “Nothing. Just not the right thing for the occasion I guess…” He smiled and checked his watch again. “Time to go, hurry up!” Abel drank the last of his coke and shoved the last two nuggets in his mouth, which made Cain laugh. “Training your jaws for the night?” Abel almost choked, but managed to chew and swallow, before coughing a little. “Just GO!”

Under Cain’s continuing laughter, they strolled out into the street. The recruiting center was on the opposite site of the street. A tall man with greying hair was already waiting for them. “Galileo I suppose?” Abel held out his hand smiling. “I’m Abel, this is my partner Cain!”

Galileo eyed him from head to feet, then did the same with Cain. “Nice to meet you” he said, but it didn’t sound like he meant it. He didn’t take Abel’s hand, instead he turned and entered the building. “Follow me!” Abel looked to Cain, who just shrugged and followed the man inside. With mixed feelings, Abel took a deep breath and pushed through the door.

~*~

Abel let himself fall on the bed in the huge hotel room. He closed his eyes and relaxed for a moment, but a strange, rummaging sound let him turn his head and open one eye. Cain had entered the room behind him and was now looking around the room with wide eyes. The rumbling noise had been his backpack, which he had dropped right there at the door. “Close the door Cain! Not all earth doors are not automatic you know!?”

He turned on his side and smiled, as Cain did what he was told, before coming into the room. It was indeed nice, more a small suite than a normal hotel room. Abel had been fearing to be living in a cramped motel for the few days they were staying, but obviously they wanted the both of them in good mood.

Sighing, Abel sprawled on the bed, enjoying the softness, the flowery smell of the bedspread, which he really had missed in the last years. He watched Cain, who had started to examine the room. Aside from the big king-size bed, there was a large flat screen, a comfy-looking sofa, a low table and panorama window. Galileo had brought them here after showing them around the recruiting center. He had simply handed Abel the keycard at the reception, then left with a short ‘bye’. A strange guy indeed. They had come up to the 20th floor with a glass-elevator, which made Cain turn pale once again.

Now, his fighter was carefully eyeing the windows, which reached down to the floor and gave a nice view other the city. Obviously, Cain did not only have a problem with driving vehicles, but also with heights. Smiling softly, Abel watched, as Cain dared to walk closer and touch the cold glass of the window. It was strange, for a fighter especially. Abel wondered, which tests recruits had to pass in order to become fighters. Obviously none of them had to do with heights or travel-sickness or Cain would have probably failed. On the other hand, Cain never got sick in the Reliant, so maybe it was just because he was so nervous today.

Stretching his tired body, Abel got up to find the bathroom. A small door led to a room, which reminded more of a wellness-oasis than a simple bathroom. A huge bathtub was standing in the corner. Lion-feeted and with golden ornaments, it was a strange, but appealing contrast to the modern, shiny-black floor. “Oh wow…” he mumbled and immediately felt Cain slide up behind him.

“OH WOW!” he echoed and shuffled into the room. “Look at that!” Cain turned on the water-tap – a water-spitting, golden lion’s head. Abel laughed softly, but got interrupted by a yawn. “Let’s head to bed, Cain. It’s been an awfully long day!” He opened the small cabinet beneath the door and found toothbrushes, towels, soap and everything else and traveler might need. He took off his clothes, reached for a toothbrush and headed for the shower, while Cain was watching him. While washing his hair one-handed, he brushed his teeth with the other. Abel was exhausted and wished for nothing more than heading to bed as soon as possible. After a few minutes, he felt Cain entering the shower, his arms wrapping around his waist, his nose buried into Abel’s wet hair.

Abel let himself lean back against him, but only for a few moments. Then he grabbed for a towel and left the shower, which earned him a grim mumble from Cain. Abel walked to the sink, washed out his mouth, then turned to Cain, who has meanwhile started shampooing his hair. Smiling faintly, Abel dropped his towel. “Come to bed, Alexej…” he whispered and walked out of the bathroom naked.

As soon as he dragged his body under the cozy, soft blanket, he was asleep. When Cain joined him, he cuddled up to his warm body without waking.

~*~*~*~

Cain didn’t like it. Not at all.

Abel had been annoyed with him all day. At least it had seemed like it. Cain had seem his eye-rolls and suppressed laughs. Fucking idiot! His oh-so-intelligent navigator should have known that he would be excited about his first visit on earth. But he only seemed irritated by it.

Cain had tried to ignore it. Had tried to enjoy his limited time on this planet, which was somehow familiar and yet so completely unknown.

And now, after luring – more like seducing – him to bed: Abel slept deeply, even snored softly. Cain gave a low grunt, but in the silence of the room he soon felt his body drifting into sleep.

~*~

He woke to a strange sensation, he could not name right away. Turning his head, blinking lightly, the information slowly entered his brain. Light. Yellow, warm light…

Cain sat up in shock, automatically pushed back from the warming sunlight. It took a moment for him to realize, where he was. Earth, yes. He looked down at the pile of blanket beside him, from which a sleepy Abel emerged. “Cain… what are you do… oooooh-ing?” he asked, interrupted by a long yawn.

“Nothing, I just…” he was still for a moment, not willing to admit that he had been scared of the sunlight – even if only in half-sleep. “I’m hungry!” Abel yawned again and stretched himself, before looking at the alarm. “Ok, let’s get up then. Galileo will be here in about an hour…”

They dressed in the clothes they had worn yesterday and made their way to the hotel’s restaurant where they found a huge buffet. The smell of fresh bread had Cain almost floating towards it.

Later – holding his achingly full stomach – Cain returned to the hotel room with Abel. Galileo was already waiting for them, silently sitting in the sofa as if it was the most normal thing to just enter other people’s rooms in their absence.

“Good morning” he greeted in his usual stand-offish voice that clearly indicated that he did not give a fuck about how your morning really was. Galileo indicated to the wardrobe beside the bed. “I brought suits for you. Got your measures from the shithouse, so complain there if it doesn’t fit.” He stood up and waved in a lazy gesture. “Get moving, I’m awaiting you in the lobby in…” he glanced at his watch. “In 8 minutes!”

Cain glared at the door, which had closed with a ‘bang’ behind Galileo. “Stupid asshole… Couldn’t they send someone who actually cares?” Abel only shrugged and opened the closet. Cain’s nightmares came true, when he saw, what they were supposed to wear…

~*~

“I’m not going to wear this outside!” – “Cain, just come out and let me see!”

Cain threw a short glance at the mirror. He looked ridiculous. Black, sleek pants, a white shirt without even the slightest wrinkle, a tight black jacket. The necktie hung loosely around his neck. Sighing, he opened the bath door. “Abel, this is ridiculous! I look like a damn butler!”

For a moment, Abel just stared at him. Ah, so he really looked stupid! “I’m taking this off, screw that asshole!” He started unbuttoning his shirt, but Abel held his wrists. “No! No, it looks…” Was that a faint blush on Abel’s cheeks? His dark eyes looked up into Cain’s. Unconsciously, Abel licked his lips, which drew Cain’s attention. “It… looks sexy on you!”

Cain stopped for a moment. “So… you have a thing for butlers or something?” Abel just sighed and rolled his eyes (AGAIN!). “No Cain, I have a thing for >you<!”</p>

Before Cain could act and throw Abel to the next wall and kiss him senseless, Abel grabbed his necktie. Magically, it fell in place under his hands just perfectly. Puzzled, Cain looked in the mirror. He still was not sure how he felt about this. The suit was uncomfortable, itchy and just strange. He had never worn something similar and had always laughed at people who did.

They met Galileo in the lobby and were escorted to the recruiting center. Yesterday it had been quiet here, but as they approached, they became aware of the huge crowds in front of the building. Could it be these were all new recruits? Cain lifted a brow at Abel, who just shrugged (again). Cain sighed and decided to just go with the flow and get this behind him as soon as possible. At least their flight back was planned for the day after tomorrow, so they had a little bit of vacation left after this.

~*~

Thankworthy, Abel did most of the talk. Cain was even ok with being handled as the dumb know-nothing fighter these people considered him as. All the faces looking at them were aspiring navigators of course. Or at least they hoped to be.

While all of them were probably from rich families, well-educated and privileged, fighters were almost exclusively from the colonies, where education and money were not nearly as easy to achieve as on earth. Cain had often wondered about why characteristics like low-education, poverty and a colorful criminal record seemed to make a good fighter. He really shouldn’t care though.

Hours turned by. They were escorted by the asshole to get lunch, then escorted back to the conference hall to repeat the same speech for a second set of wannabe-navigators.

When they finally left the center, it was already dark outside. Just as Cain’s mood. He yanked himself free of his necktie and opened the upper buttons of his shirt. He breathed deeply. Ah, this felt good!

He felt Abel slide up to him. “So… what’s the plan for the evening?” he asked with this damn happy face, that prevented Cain effectively from being angry with him. He growled and shrugged. “How should I know!” he snorted and pushed his hands in his pockets. Without looking at Abel and his damn smile, he walked towards their hotel. First of all, he needed to change, before he went insane in this stupid masquerade.

He heard Abel falling into step beside him. “But didn’t you think about what you wanted to do on earth? Something you wanted to see or try?” Cain gave him a short glance. “Going by bus or taxi. Eating a lot of good food. Maybe petting some cute animals… all the things you hate it seems.” He knew he sounded like a sulking child. And maybe he was. Sulking he meant. But he had looked forward to this trip so much! Still, Abel seemed to be unnerved by everything he was excited about.

“Come on Cain, don’t be like that. I’m sorry I was a bit harsh yesterday… I was tired and you were damn slow…” Cain just gave a low grunt. “Ok, listen! We have a full day off tomorrow. Let’s do whatever you want to. And I will not complain about anything at all, promise!”

Whatever he wanted to do… sounded awfully good to Cain. Still, he hesitated. “ANYTHING I want to do?” – “Well, anything that’s possible by means of time and budget!” Cain entered the elevator in the hotel lobby, scratching his chin thinking. “Ok, it’s a deal!”

Abel smiled and Cain knew immediately, that Abel had no idea of what lay ahead of him.

~*~*~*~

They spent the evening in their hotel room. They had changed, then had went out to buy more fast food, snacks and drinks in a nearby supermarket. They had watched TV until night. By then, the two bottles of wine had made them tired enough to fall to sleep in seconds.

The next morning, when Abel woke up, the bed beside him was empty. Puzzled, he sat up and looked around the room. From the bathroom he heard the soft noise of running water. Rubbing his eyes and yawning loudly, he glanced at the clock. 7 am. They had only slept for five hours and Cain was awake already? Abel shook his head, yawning again. He nestled down in the soft cushions, but only a few minutes later, Cain was standing beside the bed, demanding him to stand up.

“Cain, it’s only seven!” he complained, but Cain just pulled away the warm, comfortable blanket without mercy. “It’s 7:30 already. You promised, Abel!”

Right, Abel had promised they would do whatever Cain wanted today. Fine. He stretched himself and made his way for the bathroom.

Galileo had not only brought their suits yesterday, but also some fresh shirts for them to wear. When Abel came back from the bathroom, Cain had already pulled on a black one, which perfectly matched his worn-out jeans. The contrast of the neatly ironed, deep black shirt to the faded denim looked good, though not as good as the suit.

He chose a white shirt from the closet. It was a little too big, but with his tight, black pants it would be ok. It was a strange feeling to worry about what to wear. Home at the fleet, he had 3 sets: Flight, Sports and Official suit. It was easy to choose.

“So… what’s the plan?” he asked, looking up at Cain, who grinned widely. “First: Ice-cream for breakfast!” Abel stilled for a moment, wanted to grimace at that idea, but held back. He had promised him! “Ok!”

~*~

As expected, Cain had felt sick after eating too much ice-cream for breakfast. Abel had contented himself with a cup of coffee and suggested to take a short break until Cain felt better. But of course, his fighter didn’t listen to him. So they had headed for the mall to appease Cain’s stomach with some hot French fries from the food court. Abel had a hard time to keep up with his promise, and it was getting harder by the minute.

After finishing his fries, Cain headed straight for the pet shop, where he spent almost an hour petting puppies, rabbits and kitties. The shop owner was so happy about Cain’s excitement, he even took a chinchilla and a parrot from their cages to let Cain pet them. Abel smiled. Well, at least Cain was having fun!

After, they headed to a fair, the lady from the reception had recommended, when they had asked about the nearest ice-cream parlor. It was a short trip by subway, which seemed to be more bearable to Cain than the bus ride. Maybe it was, because it was mostly dark, so you weren’t that aware of turns.

When they came near the fair, Cain stopped for a moment and looked up at the Ferris wheel. “What the hell is THAT?” he asked, blinking against the sun. “A Ferris wheel, you can sit in the-“ – “You can go up THERE???” Cain interrupted, visibly more excited than ever. Abel smiled and just nodded. He felt Cain gripping his wrist, pulling him towards the fair. “Then what the fuck are we waiting for?”

The girl at the entrance to the Ferris wheel had blushed heavily, when she saw Cain. Abel was well aware why. Cain simply looked stunning in his simple, yet appealing outfit. The bright sun gave his hair an unusual glow even Abel had caught himself staring at.

The fair was still almost empty. It was only noon, so only few people visited. They entered the Ferris wheel, that did not hold small cabins as Abel remembered from his childhood, but a tiny gondola, that reminded him a little of a reversed umbrella. It was open to all sides and gave a great all-round view, although Abel was a bit worried Cain might fall out of it in his excitement.

They sat face to face in the small seats. The blushing girl waved at them from the cashier-box and started the wheel. Slowly, they were lifted from the ground. Abel had a feeling that the girl was making it extra-slow, but he wouldn’t complain.

“So…” started Cain, his grin now of a different quality. “Open your pants!” Abel stared. “What?” – “Anything I want, right?” Cain grinned and slowly, Abel began to realize he had made a huge mistake. He had seen Cain, innocently, childishly enjoying petting kitties and eating too much ice-cream and he had completely forgotten that this still was >Cain<!</p>

He swallowed and looked around. They were only 5 or 7 meters above the ground, people may see from the funhouse to the left, or the rollercoaster to their right. “Don’t look, just do it!” said Cain, who had leaned back in his seat.

Abel swallowed. Why did he have to promise this? He should have known, Cain was dangerous. But the fact, that he was dangerous had Abel fall for him in the first place, so screw it! Abel lifted his shirt to open his pants. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Cain licking his lips. Blushing, Abel felt he already got hard under his fighter’s gaze. When he slightly pulled at the waistband of his shorts, his cock sprung free.

“Hm, seems like some parts of you don’t think this is a bad idea…” An amused smile lay on Cain’s lips. Knowing, this would be Cain’s next demand, Abel closed his hand around his shaft and began stroking slowly. He bit his lip to prevent himself from moaning, fearing somebody could hear him. It was irrational and he knew it. They were now high enough so nobody could see or hear them, except maybe someone was watching with a spyglass from one of the skyscrapers. Not very likely.

He realized he had closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them and looked up to Cain, he saw that his fighter had opened his pants too, his hard cock held lazily between his fingers. Cain’s gaze was fixed to Abel’s hand, which had begun stroking faster. It was unusual, exciting to feel the cool breeze on his cock. Abel stroked over his tip, spreading a drop of precum around, enjoying the wet sensation in the open air.

“Suck me!” Cain demanded suddenly, waving slowly with his cock, still grinning the dirtiest of grins. If the blushing girl knew, what was going on up here! Abel felt himself move, before he realized it. He kneeled down in the limited space between them, letting himself be fed eagerly. Cain did not hold back his moan. They had almost reached the highest spot, so he did not need to anyway. Not that Cain would care, probably.

Abel pushed his tongue into the small, salty slit at Cain’s tip, knowing how much his fighter liked that. He felt Cain’s hand weaving softly in his hair, than pulling sharply, so the hard shaft entered his mouth to the root. Cain gave a loud moan and eased his grip to give Abel space to move on his own. His pulse was already speeding, he could hear it pump in his ears. He grabbed his own cock again, pumping fast and hard. He knew he would not last long. This whole experience was new, dangerously exciting and had him achingly hard in no time. Who would’ve guessed he was into public sex? Or was he?

Abel shoved the thoughts away. This did not matter now. They were on their way down, so they needed to finish this. Sucking Cain deeper, he started humming. Cain’s body rocked against him, demanding more of the feeling, Abel was more than willing to give. When he noticed a familiar, salty taste on his tongue, he knew Cain was also close. He gave his cock some more strokes and came with a moan that was muffled by Cain’s cock, which started to spurt only seconds later.

~*~

Somehow they had managed to get out of the Ferris wheel neatly clothed and without the girl noticing the strange splatters of whitish fluid. Abel’s heart was still racing, hardly coming down, when Cain already pulled him over to ask about what these pink clouds on a stick were. They shared the cotton candy and Abel was amazed at how easy Cain was able to change from naughty to that cute childish excitement. It was extraordinary to see this new, unknown part of Cain’s personality, which Abel was pretty sure he was one of very few people who knew it even existed.

After having lunch – well, lunch was not the correct term, since it was just a variety of snacks like chocolate and candy-apples – they headed to their next stop: The zoo!

~*~

Abel was happy. After realizing that Cain would probably never show this side of him to anybody else, he was actually enjoying to see Cain’s excitement at seemingly simple things. He had asked a thousand times if he could pet the lions, but Abel had to ensure him, that these animals were dangerous, although they might look cute. /Exactly like Cain/ Abel thought and laughed to himself.

It turned out that Cain had no idea about earth animals. He knew about dogs, cats, hyenas, rats and horses, because there were similar animals in the colonies. But aside from that, he had only seen few earth-animals on photos.

“Oh I know that one! It’s a rhino!” he exclaimed when they strolled up to the next compound. “No Cain, it’s a hippo! See? No horn in his face!” Abel smiled and pointed out all of the facts he knew about any animal that seemed interesting to Cain – which were almost all of them! It was already dawning, when Cain suddenly began to run to a compound, holding onto the fence in excitement. “Oh my fucking god! Abel look! A hippo with a dick in his face!!!” he exclaimed, which resulted in offended looks from people nearby. Abel tried hard to keep himself from laughing. “It’s an elephant, Cain. And it’s not his dick, but his trunk. It’s his nose in fact and he can also use it to grab things” he explained. Cain listened, while staring at the huge gray thing completely fascinated.

“It’s huge!” he said after a while. Abel nodded. “It has to be, since they cannot bend down to drink with their mouths. They have to use-“ – “No, its dick!” – “Cain, I already told you, it’s not-…” Abel fell silent, when he noticed two other elephants at the far right of the compound, which were… well, starting to have fun, Abel guessed. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, you are right. It’s huge!” he giggled, shaking his head. They made a stop at the souvenir shop, where they decided to get a small ‘dick-face’-animal figure, as Cain named it. “Let’s call it Mister Dick-face then!” Abel suggested, but Cain only grinned. “And there I thought that was Praxis’ nickname!”

~*~

After, they had dinner at the hotel. Abel was happy to get normal food instead of more fast food, but he did not mention it. Cain seemed happy enough with his pizza, so he did not even make a remark on Abel’s big bowl of Caesar-salad.

They headed up to their room afterwards, still talking and laughing about the day. Abel put ‘Mister dick-face’ on the bedside-table and gazed over to Cain, who was already undressing himself.

“Would… you wear that suit one more time?” Abel asked in a sudden burst of unusual boldness. Cain had asked him to blow him in a Ferris wheel today, so he felt it was only fair! But Cain didn’t seem to be willing. “That stupid thing? Hell no, it’s too tight and uncomfortable!”

Abel sat on the bed, leaning back on his elbow, using his free hand und stroke over his belly, pushing up his shirt just enough for Cain to see some more skin. “Not even for me? Please…” he begged sweetly, knowing fully well, that Cain wouldn’t resist. A low groan, some seconds of hesitation, then Cain grabbed the suit from the closet and headed for the bathroom. “You better be undressed and hard when I come back!” he commanded and Abel was more than willing to obey.

He stood up and undressed, putting the clothes in the closet. Getting himself hard was easy. He only had to remember how Cain had looked in the crisp black suit. He lay down on the bed, watching his own hand stroking over his hardening shaft slowly. He remembered how thrilling it had been to feel the cool breeze on his cock in the Ferris wheel. Abel smiled, as a small bead leaked from his tip as he thought about it.

The door opened and Cain emerged from the bath room. It was visible he had tried much harder than yesterday. His shirt was neatly pushed into his pants, black leather belt perfectly in place. Only the necktie hung loosely, which did nothing to the effect, this picture had on Abel.

Licking his lips, he stood up and slowly walked over to Cain, completely aware of his gaze on his body. Silently, he grabbed the tie and knotted it neatly. His hands trailed down Cain’s chest, perfectly hugged by the jacket as if it were tailor-made just for him. Abel heard a deep moan and realized a second later it was his own. Unthinkingly, he pushed closer, rubbed his naked, hard cock against the fine fabric of the suit.

“Hm… you look so good in that!” he whispered to Cain’s ear. His fighter’s hands were on his body, hot and demanding. Abel closed his eyes and let himself feel for some moments, not stopping to slowly thrust against Cain. This trip seemed to be full of new experiences for him! His hands slid down Cain’s back and came to rest at his buttocks. Abel grabbed them, pulled Cain closer and couldn’t hold back the soft moan that escaped his lips.

He licked his dry lips, when he took a step back and kneeled. Stroking along his long legs that were perfectly displayed by expensive, black fabric, Abel leaned close and took a deep breath. Cain smelled a little different it seemed. A faint note of soil, grass – the smell of earth – accompanied his familiar smell. Abel liked it.

His hands came up and pulled open the zipper, pleased with the fact that Cain had chosen not to bother with underwear. Abel groaned and sucked his cock into his mouth eagerly. He held it on his tongue, allowing himself for a moment to feel it harden there. Then he started sucking, moving against his fighter, who seemed to enjoy himself despite the unloved suit.

Abel knelt on the floor, his legs spread wide, so his testicles were rubbing over the soft carpet with each movement. He looked up at Cain’s face and for a moment he had to stop, holding himself very still to keep himself from coming right there and then. Cain seemed to realize it, because his lips formed into a wide grin. “I think… I might come to like this outfit…” he admitted, reaching out to rub his thumb over Abel’s upper lip, stroking his own shaft in the process.

Abel smiled around his cock, giving him a slow suck, humming again lowly. His head felt strangely light, almost dizzy, his own cock was already aching. Moaning, he began rubbing himself on the carpet, without even realizing what he was doing. It was Cain preventing his orgasm by grabbing his hair and pulling him to his feet. A wild kiss, Cain’s hand on his cock – before Abel knew, he was coming in three, maybe four waves of blinding pleasure.

He felt like his legs might give up, but Cain was there to steady him. “Oh no, princess, we’re not done yet!” he heard Cain say, heard the smile in his voice. He opened his eyes, looked up to him and nodded. He just needed a minute to come down from this high. He let Cain guide him through the room, not questioning where they were headed. Not caring, to be honest.

It was only when he faced the huge mirror, which stretched from the ceiling down to the floor, when he realized what Cain was planning. His heart sped up again in excitement. Abel let himself be turned around by his fighter. Now facing the mirror, he was able to watch Cain nuzzling his neck, kissing and biting his way down his shoulder. Cains hands slipped down his chest, stroking, sometimes scratching and had Abel shiver in anticipation. His cock was rigidly pointing at the ceiling, maybe hadn’t even lost any of its hardness.

He felt Cain’s slick fingers sliding up between his buttocks. He hadn’t realized Cain wetting them, but right now he simply did not care as long as Cain did not stop. Eagerly he bent his back, presentating himself before his fighter. Through the mirror, he continued looking at Cain. Abel could see his broad shoulders, his slim waist, the fine, perfect suit - only stained by some wet, milky stains. Galileo would probably be furious - but they would be gone before he would notice. Hopefully.

“Hn… enough…” he groaned, as Cain slid a third finger into him, stretching him with agonizingly slow strokes. He clenched his hands to fists, leaving greasings of sweat on the glass. In the reflection, he watched Cain lick his lips, but his fighter did not stop stretching him slowly. Abel heard a whiny sound an realized a moment too late, that it had come out of his dry throat. His voice was sounding hoarse, when he said. “Don’t play around… Fuck me…” he grinned at Cain’s reflection and added, in a soft, whispering voice: “Alexej…”

A sharp kick at his knees and they gave in. Abel found himself kneeling in front of the mirror, Cain beside him, his cock already at his entrance. Moaning, he pushed back against him, felt his tip sliding inside. For a moment he closed his eyes, then he remembered he should be trying to be aware, to remember every detail, since this would be a one-time experience. They wouldn’t be allowed to take the suit with them, also it was unlikely they would be sent to earth again anytime soon. And so Abel opened his eyes, fixing his gaze at Cain.

Abel pushed back against each of Cain’s thrusts, which soon came faster and more hurried. Abel could feel his necktie touching his naked back with each movement. He tensed up for a moment, watching Cain’s mouth open and listened to his long-drawn moan. Cain had always liked it best near the end, when Abel’s body was so tense, he couldn’t help but strain his muscles. Over time, Abel had learned how to stimulate his fighter whenever he himself was nearing his orgasm. Smiling at Cain through the mirror, he waited for him to pull out, just to tense up again as soon as the next thrust came. He saw Cain biting his lip, then leaning down to his neck, breathing heavily into his ear. “Go on…” he whispered and Abel obeyed. Automatically he craned his neck to give Cain more space. He heard his fighter’s low, lusty groan. His thrusts became harder, faster.

Abel had to forcefully stop himself from closing his eyes. Instead, he locked his gaze with Cain’s, moaned, as his cock was gripped by Cain’s hand.

Abel felt his whole body shiver, felt goosebumps on his legs, his hip, his waist and back, up to his neck, where he felt Cain’s hot breath against his sweaty skin. He felt his orgasm rolling over him, tried to hold it back just for a few more seconds, but when Cain licked his neck, before biting down hard, it was over. His body shuddered, his arms almost gave in, not able to support his weight, if it wasn’t for Cain holding him up, pressing him against his chest. Somewhere in his pleasure-drowned brain, Abel registrated Cain’s moan, muffled in his neck. He felt Cain’s cock twitch, spilling deep inside him.

Abel’s lips curved into a satisfied smile, when he allowed himself to close his eyes.

~*~

Who would have thought that a trip to earth did not only hold many new experiences for Cain, but also for himself.

[pineapplekeith]

House Cat - Pt. 3

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Pairing: Klance

Universe: Modern Earth/Fantasy

Rating: T (language)

Word Count: 3K+

Part: [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ]

Summary:  Werecats are hard to find outside of lab facilities now-a-days and Lance has had a suspicion that a small stray that comes by his house now and then is one when he noticed a new face around town around the same time. / Modern AU setting with werecats for fun and seriousness now and then. Klance heavy with Garrison Trio and maybe some more ships making an appearance later on.

A/N: So far, this has been well liked on AO3 and FF so I decided to post the full parts on here. Links to AO3 and FF are on my story blog @kal-i-ka-stories 

Lance got up off the floor and took a deep breath before he lightly knocked on his bedroom door. “Hey, are you done?” The room was silent. “I know you’re probably still upset about everything, but if you want you can still stay the night.” The room was still silent. “Hey, did you hear me?” Lance started to open the door, “I said you could stay the night if you wanted to.”

The room was empty and the window was left wide open.

..::::..::::..::::..

He left. How could he just leave?

“Hey Lance.”

Why would he just leave? It wasn’t like I was going to tell anyone about what happened.

“Lance.”

I was nice. I kept him fed. Gave him a place to sleep. Heck, I was even going to offer him to stay!

“Lance!”

I wonder if he’s doing ok. Maybe I’ll run into him when he’s human? But he might just run away again.

“Lance come back to Earth will you!” Hunk practically yelled as he snapped his fingers in front of Lance’s face.

“How could he just leave?” Lance mumbled to himself as he stayed in his own little world.

“Uh, who left?” Hunk asked, seriously confused about what his friend was thinking about, or who he was thinking about.

Lance finally came out of his head when Hunk’s question interrupted the one question he kept repeating to himself. “What?”

“You said, ‘How could he just leave?’” Hunk repeated. “You’ve been out of it most of the week man. Did something happen that you’re not telling me about?” Hunk asked, feeling a little hurt that Lance was keeping secrets from him. They’ve been friends since their daycare days and something like that has never happened.

“Uh, well,” Lance started thinking of how he should handle the conversation. I can’t lie to Hunk. He’s my best friend. But then again, Keith looked really serious about not wanting anyone to know what happened. And if he’s found out, who knows what will happen to him.

“Well what?” Hunk asked, wanting to know what was wrong.

“Well,” Lance thought more of what to do. He looked around the room and was reminded that they were still in class in the middle of study hall. “Well, the thing is, I met up with a Tinder guy over the weekend.” In his current situation, lying seemed to be Lance’s only answer. “And I thought we hit off really well but then he just up and left after getting a phone call. That’s all.”

Hunk frowned, not sure if that was the truth or not but still willing to take it. “Really? He didn’t give you any reason why he had to go?”

“No, all he said when he came back was that he had to go. I’m pretty sure it was his girlfriend or something. He seemed nervous about being out with a guy. But oh well, dodged a bullet there I guess.” Lance shrugged, a little proud that his story was believable but still upset that it was a lie.

“You really did. You need someone who wants to be around you and not have you as a side piece or experiment.” Hunk said as he agreed with his friend. “But maybe this will cheer you up.” Hunk turned around in his seat and grabbed his phone off his desk. “Allura posted in the group chat and asked if we wanted to go to some snack shack by the beach. Pidge already said that she was down and now they’re just waiting on us.”

Lance thought about it. Although his crush for Allura faded away with time, the sight of her always cheered him up. And hopefully spending time with her would get his mind off a certain stray. “Yeah, let’s go!”

“Awesome!” Hunk quickly texted his reply.

::::::::::

Me: Lance and I are down! Where do you want to meet?

Katie (Pidge): He’s not going to be moody the whole time, is he? (;¬_¬)

Me: No, he’s better now. Turns out a jerk hurt his feelings over the weekend.

Allura: Don’t tell me it was another Tinder date… And we can meet in front of the gym and walk there.

Me: Yeah it was. Hopefully he’ll learn to stop using apps to find dates soon.

Katie (Pidge): Coran’s not driving? Yay I get to keep my lunch!!! ＼（＾▽＾）／

Lance: HEY!! I’M IN HERE TOO REMEMBER!!!!!! QUIT TALKING ABOUT ME!!!!!! ESPECIALLY YOU HUNK!!! YOU’RE RIGHT NEXT TO ME!!!!! DX

::::::::::

Hunk looked up at Lance, who was staring at him with daggers in his eyes. “Sorry,” Hunk smiled.

Lance looked back at his phone and scrolled up in the group chat to see what else he missed. “Yeah right,” Lance pouted.

::::::::::

Me: HEY!! I’M IN HERE TOO REMEMBER!!!!!! QUIT TALKING ABOUT ME!!!!!! ESPECIALLY YOU HUNK!!! YOU’RE RIGHT NEXT TO ME!!!!! DX

Me: I need new friends!!!

Nugget: Quit being such a baby. (e_e)

Princess: Sorry about your date Lance. Whatever you get is on me!!

Me: You’re the only one that loves me!!!!!! ^3^

::::::::::

..::::..::::..::::..

“It should be at the end of this street.” Allura said as she continued to lead her friends down the seawall path toward the small, beaten-up pier that overlooked the equally small, beaten-up beach.

“How did you find out about this place again?” Pidge asked as she looked around the area.

The group of friends have walked across the seawall before to look at the coast, but they’ve been on this side of town. Not many people came this far down the coast because of how cold and isolated the atmosphere was. All the buildings in the area were further apart than they were in town and they were worn down due to the salty air and age of the structures. But the area did have its interesting side. Even though the isolation was something unusual, some did find it comforting when they wanted somewhere to run to when the brighter side of town became too much. In the distance, there were some people on the small beach and walking around the pier enjoying the escape that the area provided.

“Coran told me about it. He said he just found on a whim when he was running errands and hit it off with the owner. The shack isn’t really something to fawn over, but it’s a nice break from our usual spots and the food they have is ok.” Allura explained as she continued down the path.

“Something new is nice Allura, but I don’t think the weather is a good setting for it.” Lance said as he stared up at the gray sky. A setting that the area always seemed to have over it. “Isn’t it supposed to rain today?”

“Not till tonight I think,” Hunk said as he pulled out his phone to check. “And it’s only a 20% chance. I think you’ll be fine.”

“If it rains we’re staying over at Pidge’s!” Lance announced as he started to pick up his pace so he could walk by Allura.

“Why me?!”

“Because your house is closer.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just invite yourself over!” Pidge complained.

“Calm down you two,” Allura started, “Rain or shine, how about we all stay at my place tonight? We don’t have school tomorrow and it’ll be fun.”

“Yes! Party at Allura’s!” Pidge cheered, the mood lightening right away.

Once the group of teens reached the pier, Allura had alerted them that the shack was just down the small hill on the other side of the seawall lined with all the other buildings. The building was just like the others that were around it, a worn-out, dulled colored, two story building that was converted to a beachside shop. The single entrance door and the two front windows were propped open despite it being slightly cold outside. The smell coming from the shack was a usual smell you sense from a place that cooked a lot of fattening foods. The inside of the snack wasn’t that special either. The colors looked as if they had a brighter past, but time had dulled them out and the walls were dotted with the usual coastal themed decorations. The room was as open as the structure would allow, with some support beams and the tables making the room feel like a maze. There was a bar at the back of the room where one could sit and possibly talk to the cook and on either side were doors that led to employees only areas.

“Let get that table by the window,” Allura suggested as she walked through the hectic floor plan.

The group of friends looked a bit out of place compared to the few customers in the shop that were either by themselves or with just one other person. After they had all sat down, the cook behind the bar soon noticed the abnormally large group in his shop. “Hey kid, get out here and work,” he yelled to the back room through a small window in the wall. The group shared the single menu that was left at the table. The menu was simple with the usual burgers, hot dogs, fries, milkshakes, and a list of a few seafood dishes organized by season.

“Are you all ready?” The waiter asked once he walked up to the table.

Everyone ordered what they thought would be decent; Pidge got a large plate of fries with a soda, Hunk a cheeseburger with fries, and Allura a milkshake.

“Lance what are you getting?” Hunk asked as he bumped Lance’s shoulder.

Lance was a bit out of it, he was more interested in watching the ocean across the street than looking at the menu. He scanned it over, not really trusting the food based on the atmosphere. “I’ll just have a shake,” Lance said as he looked up at the waiter. He nearly fell back out of his seat from the shock when he finally noticed who he was talking to. There, standing at the head of the table writing on his notepad, was the same guy that’s been on Lance’s mind for the last couple of days.

Keith looked just as unremarkable the snack shack in his jeans and black t-shirt. But this time he had his hair pulled back in a small ponytail, and it gave him a sort of calming yet serious look. This was a complete turnaround compared to how Lance saw him last – naked and his hair a mess.

Just as quickly as Lance noticed that Keith was taking the orders, he was already walking back to the bar. Giving no sign that he had noticed Lance at the table.

Did he ignore me? Did he even see me?! Lance thought to himself, his questions quickly pushing him to demand for answers. He quickly excused himself from the table, interrupting the conversation that he didn’t notice his friends were having, and quickly followed Keith to the bar. Keith was busy at work, quickly passing off his orders to his boss at the grill and then walking to the side to start on the drinks.

“Hey,” Lance said in a hushed tone as he huddled over the bar, trying to keep their conversation quiet and discreet.

“Go away.” Keith said sternly as he topped off both Pidge and Hunk’s drinks.

Lance smiled. “So you did notice me.”

Keith cut his eyes up at Lance and then looked back down at the bar as his moved the drinks over to a small tray. “I’m working, go away.” Keith was starting to get irritated with Lance’s pestering.

Lance watched Keith get the ingredients for his and Allura’s milkshakes together. “How have you been,” he tried asking, really wanting him to answer at least some of his questions that’s been bugging him since that night. Keith didn’t reply. “You just left and then never came back so I’ve been a bit worried.” Keith continued to stay quiet. “I haven’t told anyone you know.” Keith was still quiet. “I won’t tell anyone if that’s what’s bugging you. You can actually trust me with what happened.” Keith was still quiet as he turned on the blender. Lance waited for the blender to finish before speaking again. If Keith was going to stay silent, he can stay silent. But Lance was still going to talk. “You said you came over to be fed and get warm, right? Well,” Lance grabbed a napkin and pen from behind the bar, “if you want to come over again just let me know. You can come by however you want.” Lance held out the napkin as Keith finished pouring the milkshakes into Styrofoam cups.

Keith looked at the napkin and notice that it had a phone number on it. He then looked at Lance, his face showing his natural angry resting look. He then snatched the napkin out of Lance’s hand and threw it in the small trashcan behind the bar. “I told you to forget what happened. I’m not a charity case. I don’t need to be pitied. Leave me alone.” Keith said calmly and quietly and he stared at Lance. He then put the milkshakes with the other drinks on the tray and picked them up and walked past Lance and toward the table.

Fucking jerk!

..::::..::::..::::..

“Winner! Player 1!” The television cheered as it flashed its announcement across the screen.

“What the heck Lance?! What did I do to deserve this?” Hunk complained after being virtually beaten to a pulp for the fourth time in a row.

Lance was playing as if he were out for real blood and nothing in the world was going to stop him. During all four matches, he just stared angrily at the screen with dead eyes and mumbled curses under his breath.

The teens were all sitting in the spacious entertainment room of Allura’s home. She lived on what the locals knew as the ‘nicer’ side of town where the houses were renovated manors and newly built modern homes. Allura never really waved her family’s good fortune around since she was raised to not really rely on it, it was one of the main reasons why she chose to attend the public school in town instead of a private school in the city or having a tutor come teach her instead like she had as a kid. Her father was almost always away overseas on business trips, so most of the time it would be just her and her childhood nanny turned adopted uncle Coran in the spacious home. Which made nights like these with her friends staying over more precious to her

“Isn’t it obvious,” Pidge called from the couch, “He’s mad because the waiter at the shack turned him down.”

“Wait, when did that happen?” Allura asked as she looked down at Pidge, who was leaning against her instead of a couch cushion.

“After the guy took our order. Lance went over to the bar to hit on him, even gave him his number. But the guy wasn’t interested and now Lance is taking his anger out on the video game.” Pidge then paused from her computer work and looked over at the group. “Where were you guys during all this?”

Hunk looked at her confused and amazed. “I swear, you’re not human Pidge.”

“Yeah I know. Matt says that I’m more like a robot most of the time.” She said as she went back to her computer.

“Well, getting my butt beat made me thirsty.” Hunk said as he got up from the floor. “Lance why don’t you fight the computer-,” he then stopped midsentence and saw that Lance was already doing what he was going to suggest. “Never mind.” He then walked out of the room to head for the kitchen.

Allura watched Lance for a bit, worrying about his mood more as he became ruthless in his virtual attacks. “We really need to find him someone so these mood swings will end.” She spoke out, sure that Lance was too far gone to really know what was going on.

“The problem is who to find,” Pidge said as she continued to type. “It needs to be someone who doesn’t go to our school, everyone’s already used to him there. Girls fall for him easily, but he likes the brainy types and they don’t like him because his flirting style is a turnoff. But, you already know that.”

“Yep,” Allura confirmed, remembering what happened when she first met Lance and had to deal with his loverboy persona.

“And guys for him are a bit hard to find around here. He’s not interested in any of the guys at school and every guy he talks to outside of school either turns him down right away, or lead him on to experiment. If you ask me, he needs to go out of the town if he wants to find someone and be happy.”

“You know he’s not going to leave town. He loves his family too much.” Allura closed her book and threw it on the floor before leaning back against the couch cushion, making Pidge readjust her positioning against her.

“So, he needs someone who’s smart, understands their own sexuality, and likes big families. We can probably find a two-out-of-three here with some time.”

“Maybe,” Allura shrugged. She then looked over at Pidge’s computer screen. “What are you doing by the way?”

“Talking to friends on the dark web.”

“You’re not doing anything that would make the cops come here, are you?”

“One time Allura, you really need to let that go. And no, we’re just talking about stuff and one of them is sending me high resolution photos of Jupiter that NASA just took.”

“Are you sure they’re not just trying to hack you?”

“If they were, they would be regretting it right now.” Pidge responded, hinting at just how powerful her security system was.

“Hey Allura, can I ask you something,” Hunk called out as he walked back into the room.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Well I just noticed this when I was walking to the kitchen, but how come all your family pictures don’t show you as a kid?” Hunk then heard what he had said and panicked. “I mean it’s cool if that’s just what you and your dad do! He might just like to keep those pictures private! I just wanted to ask.”

Allura laughed at Hunk’s worry, finding it sweet that he cared about not wanting to offend her or her father. “It’s ok Hunk. Daddy just likes certain photos of us to be out and some to be kept in. He may seem like a tough guy, but he keeps all my baby pictures in his wallet and in a little album her carries around when he travels. It’s all a front he does just because he thinks it’s what he has to do to be taken seriously when work buddies come over.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense,” Hunk nodded. “I guess I just keep forgetting that your life is different from what we’re all used to. The business world seems brutal if you have to decorate your house a certain way to be taken seriously.”

Allura shrugged. “It’s really no big deal. I’m used to it and daddy treats it like a game and has some fun with it.”

“Whoa! Guys check this out!” Pidge announced as she shot up from her relaxed position against Allura’s shoulder. Hunk and Allura crowded around Pidge’s computer to see what the fuss was about. “One of my black hat friends just sent me an old surveillance video of a werecat escaping a lab.”

“Wait seriously?” Hunk asked as he huddled closer to couch to get a better look at the screen.

“Why did they send you that?” Allura asked she looked over Pidge’s shoulder.

“I was talking to them about how we talked about werecats this week in bio class and I wondered what it looked like when they transformed. And then they sent me this, turns out it was leaked on the dark web a few years ago by a group that tries to get labs shut down and werecats freed.” Pidge typed what she needed to quickly scan the video to be safe, and then a black and white night-vision video expanded on her screen.

In the video, someone could be seen walking along a gate. They looked tall, but skinny. The person then knelt down by the gate, seeming to inspect for something, and then fully sat on the ground. “What are they doing?” Pidge asked as she leaned in closer to the screen. Right away, the figure began to look as if they were melting until there was just a pile of their clothes covering a small mound. The mound soon crawled out from under the clothes and a light-colored cat went to the gate, crawling under what seemed to be a hole in the gate.

“Whoa! Did you see that?!” Pidge asked excitedly, not really sure if she should believe what she just saw.

“That was so cool!” Hunk commented, in awe over the video. “For some reason, I always thought it would be more magical or painful looking, like what you see on TV.”

“Where was that at?” Allura asked, wanting to learn more about the video.

“Hold on, let me ask.” Pidge exited the video and went back to typing to the source.

Over by the television, Lance was in the middle of winning his third game against the game’s computer system. Once the screen announced his victory, his phone vibrated in his pocket, alerting him that he had a new text message. Lance glanced at the time on the cable box. It’s too late to be mamá or pops. He then looked over his shoulder. Seeing that everyone was busy with something, Lance dug through his jacket pocket for his phone.

::::::::::

Unknown Number: You weren’t home. We need to talk. -Keith

::::::::::

[spnroundrobin]

Masterpost: Round Three - Ship Round

Prompt: Newly human Cas has been staying at the bunker and helping the boys with research while they are away on hunts but has been feeling lonely being in the bunker by himself. During one of the lulls between hunts, he broaches the subject of getting a pet. Dean isn’t very excited about the idea. (established Destiel)

(Remember: This is the ship round so ship to your heart’s content. We’d like to keep this Teen rated so no sexual acts on screen. Innuendo is allowed. Sam is in the bunker so he can be included but side characters will have to be over the phone or on Skype.)

Schedule and Posting Instructions

(As submissions are made, they will be posted here by the mods.)

#1 @deadlykittenkay - Submission: 1

Cas was sitting at the table with books spread out before him and Dean’s laptop. He had decided to take a break from his research on how to get Mary back from the other universe. He always enjoyed watching videos online the featured little kitties and puppies playing. Sometimes Sam would try to find one that he hadn’t seen yet and send it to his phone while he and Dean were hunting.

Cas muted the current video of a cat pretending to be the famous Pokemon character when he thought he heard the bunker door open. After several beats of silence, Cas let out a heavy sigh. The bunker was such a lonely place without another living presence there, whether it be the Winchesters or Jody and Claire. Cas needed a companion, especially if Dean continued to be the over protective boyfriend, insisting that Cas stay behind on the bigger jobs.

#2 @zolaliz - Submission: 1

Of course, Dean would never agree to a pet.

“Who’ll feed it when we’re away, knee deep in some world-ending shitfest? No one. And then it’ll stink up the bunker.”

Cas scowled, recalling the conversation. As much as he hated to admit, Dean did have a point.

He mentally ruled out cats and dogs, glancing longingly at the muted laptop screen. Most mammals would need the same amount of care. Cas had learned over the past few weeks that humans were included in that category of high-maintenance, as he struggled with remembering to eat and sleep. This only added fuel to Dean’s runner-up argument against getting Cas a companion.

“You gotta start taking care of yourself before you go off trying to take care of something else, Cas,” Dean would say, in that highly hypocritical way of his (though Cas highly doubted that was intentional). But Cas reasoned he could work around that argument once he found a way to make Dean’s first one void.

He clicked open a new tab, and tapped “pets that don’t need to eat” into the search bar. Unsurprisingly, it heeded no helpful results.

“Maybe I’ll try to refine the search,” he mumbled, and bounced his fingers over the keys again.

#3 @ravenscat-tumbler - Submission: 1

Cas spent hours trying to find the perfect pet that would be low maintenance but that would still keep him company. He finally decides on a hamster. He knew that it would be easy to care for and not very costly. The little guy would also keep him company when Dean and Sam were away for cases.

The only thing now was to convince Dean to let him get one. He knew that Sam would be open to the idea and he also knew that Sam would help him convince Dean. So, he just had to bring up the idea with Sam first.

Perfect, now all he had to do was wait for the brothers to come home, hopefully safe and in one piece. He sits back and stretches on his chair. He does some more research and finds some useful things to help the brothers speed up their hunt. He picks up the phone and before he can dial he gets an incoming call from Dean.

He answers with a smile.“Hello, baby. I was just about to call you.” Cas answers.

#4 @blue-reveries - Submission: 1

“I just wanted to let you know that Sam and me are on our way back,” Dean said. Castiel could hear the rumble of the Impala in the background as Dean paused. “You sound like you’re in a good mood, any particular reason why?”

Cas scowled; was he really that transparent? He was going to have to seriously up his game if his plan to bring Dean around on the pet front but he knew it was going to have to be extra devious. His eyes widened and he smiled as an idea occurred to him.

“Nothing really but I was going to ask if you were going to be home tonight?” Cas replied smoothly, standing up to wander into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and started taking inventory.

Dean hummed in the affirmative. “Yep, we’re only about an hour out now. I was going to ask if what you wanted for dinner, we’ll stop somewhere on our way in.”

Smiling, Cas pulled his chosen items from the fridge. “Actually, since you’re almost home, I was thinking I could make something,” he said, grinning to himself. “I need something to do anyway and you guys are probably sick of take out.”

“That sounds really freaking good,” Dean sighed happily. “We’ll see you in a bit, babe.” This was followed by a quieter, “love you.”

“Love you too,” Cas said, smiling and shaking his head. All this time and Dean was still shy about saying that when Sam was nearby. It didn’t bother him since he knew it was just a fear of brotherly teasing, not that Dean was ashamed of them. “See you soon.”

After Dean hung up, Cas sat his phone down and looked at the pile of ingredients in front of him before glancing at the clock. He calculated carefully and smiled as he started peeling potatoes.

An hour was plenty of time.

Almost exactly an hour later as Cas was putting the finishing touches on the food, a familiar metallic clang echoed through the bunker and signaled the boys return. He worked quickly to clean up and wash his hands, hurrying out to the main area to see Dean and Sam’ booted feet clomping down the staircase.

“Oh my god, what smells so good?” Dean groaned as he walked over to drop his bag on the map table. He smiled brightly and pulled Cas into a tight hug, giving him a quick peck on the lips at the same time.

Sam rolled his eyes affectionately. “Hey, Cas,” he said as he walked by to place his armful of books on the table. “I’m gonna go clean up before I eat. Don’t let Dean eat it all. He’s been whining for the last half hour about how hungry he is.”

Stepping back from Dean but not dropping his hand, he chuckled. “Don’t worry, Sam. I’ll make sure to save you some.”

“Speaking of food,” Dean interjected not so smoothly as Sam disappeared down the hall to his room. He draped himself over Cas’ back and wrapped his arms around his waist. “What are we having?”

“I may have made homemade bacon cheeseburgers and fresh cut french fries,” Cas said innocently; happy that Dean couldn’t see the smug smirk on his face.

Dean squeezed him into a quick hug and kissed him on the cheek. “Mmmm…my favorite…”

Exactly, Cas thought, internally preening as everything fell into place as he planned as he and Dean trooped to the kitchen. And just wait until you see the peanut butter pie.

#1 @Deadlykittykay Submission: 2

As expected, Dean showed his appreciation for the burgers with gusto. He would moan appreciatively with each bite, his cheeks filling like that of a chipmunk, or better yet, much like the hamsters videos Cas had seen on YouTube. Castiel couldn’t help but smile at Dean fondly every time he did this. Even Sam was enjoying his meal, despite his brother’s unseemly manners.

Cas had missed the brother’s terribly and watching them bicker and interact with each other, even throwing stray fries at one another, filled Cas’ chest with warmth. Between this, the feel of Dean’s knee knee against his own, and listening to Sam retell the story of the latest hunt, Cas nearly forgot about his mission behind tonight’s dinner.

“So,” Sam started, pushing his plate away and smiling at Cas. “What were you up to while we were gone?”

Cas just shrugged, glancing at Dean before redirecting his attention to Sam. “The usual. I’m still trying to find some lore about alternate universes. It’s a bit trickier than I had imagined.”

“Come on, Cas,” Dean nudged his knee with his own, giving him a found smile. “Don’t tell me you were a nerd the whole time.”

Cas rolled his eyes and reached for the brother’s empty plates. “No, Dean. I did more than research. I watched Netflix and YouTube videos. Pie?” he asked quickly, internally kicking himself when Dean groaned at the mention of the videos

#2 Submission: 2

Skipped

#3 @ravenscat-tumbler - Submission: 2

“Pie?” Dean’s face lights up at the mention of pie. “You made pie too? God, you’re perfect.” He says and then immediately blushes.

Sam snorts into his cup as he tires and fails miserably to hide his laugh. Dean glares at him and rubs the back of his head in embarrassment.

“I’ll go get that pie now.” Cas says.

Dean nods not meeting anyone’s eye.

“I’m gonna go put these plates in the kitchen.” Sam says, grabbing the dishes off the table and heading after Cas.

“Hello, Sam. Do you have a minute?” Cas asks as Sam walks into the kitchen.

“Yeah man, what’s up?” He asks, putting the dishes in the sink and leaning back against the counter. He looks at Cas and waits patiently.

Cas takes a breath, “I would like to get a hamster.” He says in one go.

“A hamster?” Sam tilts his head.

“A hamster.” Cas repeats again. “I need someone to keep me company when you two leave to go on long hunts.”

“Uhm, Ohhkay. So what’s the big issue?” Sam says, scratching the back of his head.

“And I need your help to convince Dean.”

Sam groans, “Dammit, that’s gonna be hard but alright, I’ll help you.”

Cas smiles warmly at Sam.

#4 @blue-reveries - Submission: 2

A quick and rough plan was quickly established and it all started with an extra large slice of peanut butter pie and Netflix.

“Wow, that was so freaking good,” Dean groaned, leaning back in his chair and patting his stomach before letting out a contented belch that had Sam scrunching his nose. Cas picked stood up and collected their plates. Dean tugged him down and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, a sure sign that he was in an extra happy mood. That would make the next stage of the plan easier.

Sam pushed back from the table and stood up. “I think I’m going to get into some sweats and watch some Netflix, you guys in?”

Dean replied in the affirmative and, while Cas quickly washed up the dishes, he and Sam went to change since Cas was already comfortably dressed. Fifteen minutes later, Cas and Dean were on the sofa in the room that had become the unofficial den after they’d picked up a couch at a second hand store. Sam was booting up Netflix from his armchair.

They settled on a light comedy show since Sam and Dean weren’t really interested in anything heavy after being out on a hunt. Cas curled up next to Dean and rested his head on his shoulder but he wasn’t really watching the show. He was waiting for his opportunity.

Three episodes in he enacted phase two.

Over the course of the next episode, Cas slowly and carefully situated himself so that his head was pillowed in Dean’s lap, one hand resting on his knees. According to plan, Dean began absentmindedly running his fingers through Cas’ hair while he continued to watch and Cas pretended to fall asleep.

“You know, I kinda feel bad for him,” Cas heard Sam say after about twenty minutes of ‘sleeping’. “Cas seems like he’s been sort of lonely while we’re gone.”

Dean grunted. “What makes you say that?”

“Oh, he just mentioned how nice it was to have people moving around in the bunker again,” Sam said, his voice appropriately casual. Dean continued to toy with Cas’ hair, a sign that he was still relaxed. “I have to admit, it does get boring here when you’re by yourself.”

“I mean, we could probably take him on a few extra hunts,” Dean said though he sounded extremely reluctant, “but it’s really been working out for us to have someone here at home base.”

Cas heard Sam shifting in his seat. “Oh, yeah, I agree,” Sam replied before letting the conversation pause for a little bit. Cas had to work really hard to keep his body relaxed. “I don’t think it would hurt to have a pet around here though.”

The hand in Cas’ hair froze.

Dean sighed heavily and Cas’ stomach twisted in anticipation. “Sam,” he said heavily, his hand starting to move again, “you know my stance on pets, man. Cats hate people and dogs are just too high maintenance for a bunch of dudes who routinely get stuck on the road for weeks at a time. It’s not like we can call up the neighbors and ask them to pet sit.”

Cas felt his stomach start to sink. Dean wasn’t going to go for it; having Sam talk to Dean first wasn’t going to help his case. He had just decided to ‘wake up’ and forget the whole thing when Sam spoke up.

“But what if it wasn’t a cat or a dog?”

#1 @deadlykittenkay - Submission: 3

“Then what, Sammy?” Dean asked his voice sounding much more tired than Cas had ever heard come from the hunter. “A fish? So that way we can come home to it bloated and floating upside down? Think of how he reacted when you accidentally killed the bee last year. How do you think he’s going to react to a fish dying. Not just any fish but his fish.”

Sam sighed and leaned forward, bracing his forearms onto his thighs. “Not a fish, Dean.”

“Well I’d rather go to Hell again than have a snake or glorified spider in the bunker.”

“What about a hamster?” Sam tried.

Dean wrinkled his nose in distaste. “I don’t know, Sammy. They’re rodents.”

Sam’s eyes connected with Cas’ from across the room. Cas opened his mouth to say something but closed it when he saw the flick of Sam’s hand, motioning for him not to say anything.

“Dean,” Sam said softly, a tone that Dean knew as the one Sam uses when he pulls his lawyer card on someone. “You love Cas, right?”

#2 @zolaliz - Submission: 3

Skip

#3 @ravenscat-tumbler - Submission: 3

“Of course I do!” Dean says a little too loudly. He bites his lip and looks down at Castiel, who stirs in protest.

Castiel keeps calm and tries not to open his eyes.

“Of course I do.” Dean says again, a little quieter this time.

“Then don’t you want him to be happy?” Sam asks.

“I do,” Dean says, looking down and carding his hand through Cas’ hair. “but I don’t see how a stupid hamster is going to do that.” He grumbles out.

“It will Dean, trust me. It will.” Sam says. “It gets pretty lonely here when you are alone.”

Dean sighs softly, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I know.” Sam says smugly.

Castiel opens his eyes and looks in Sam’s.

Sam smirks down at him and Castiel mouths ‘Thank you’ at him.

#4 @blue-reveries - Submission: 3

When he’d “woken up” from his nap, Dean hadn’t said anything at first much to Cas’ disappointment. Maybe Dean had taken the time to think and decided that he’d changed his mind. It actually hadn’t been until they were getting ready for bed that Dean had haltingly admitted that he had been wrong and that it wouldn’t be a horrible idea for Cas to have a pet.

“So I guess, if you wanted, we could go to the pet store tomorrow and you know, look for some sort of critter…but only one.”

Cas tried extremely hard to receive Dean’s acquiescence towards getting a pet with grace and dignity and felt he succeeded…barely. Instead of jumping up and cheering at finally achieving his goal, he beamed and leaned in to kiss Dean silly before moving on to other ways to show his gratitude.

It would be well into the later part of the morning before they left their room for breakfast the next day.

After breakfast, which definitely seemed to take longer than normal to Cas, they left the bunker to head into town. Cas had the directions to the pet store pulled up on his phone; he’d spent days upon days while he’d been on his own researching the best places to find pets and had bookmarked marked them.

“Turn up here,” he said, pointing to the last turn that should take them to Pet-topia. Excitement had him practically vibrating in his seat as Dean pulled the Impala into the parking lot and maneuvered into one of the store’s parking spaces.

Dean looked vaguely grumpy as they got out of the car but Cas suspected that he was just trying to pretend to be upset that he’d caved to save face or other such nonsense. He trailed behind Cas as they entered the store.

There was a bored looking teenager standing at the register when they entered who sighed heavily and didn’t straighten from his slouched position over his phone when he asked in a flat voice, “welcome to Pet-topia, is there anything I can help you with today?”

“No, thank you,” Cas said, noting the teenager went happily back to his phone.

Keeping his and Dean’s discussion in mind, he forced himself to pass the rabbits and other larger animals despite the fact of how much he wished they were an option and walked on until they found themselves in front of the hamster display.

Looking down into the massive cage, he saw oodles of small balls of fluff; some of them scurrying around on the wood shaving covered cage floor or on the wheels while other’s nibbled at the food and water or laid sedately in their chosen spots. Cas looked down at the hamsters, his heart sinking ever so slightly.

How was he supposed to pick just one?

#1 @deadlyangelkay - Submission: 4

Dean could tell from the slightly panicked look in Castiel’s eyes and the frown etching it’s ways at the corner of his mouth, that he was over whelmed. Hell, Dean wasn’t even the one picking the damn rodent and he felt over whelmed.

Dean’s heart broke when he heard Cas mutter that he should just get a fish. He hated hearing the defeated tone in his love’s voice and was determined to make this easier.

Dean draped his arm around Castiel’s shoulder, pulling him closer and placing a kiss to his temple.

“How about this?” Dean suggested. “You spend some time with these little guys, see which one grabs your attention and I’ll go look at the cages and crap for his new home.”

Castiel gave Dean a small smile and nodded. “That is agreeable.”

“Awesome. Text me when you’ve found the one.” He gives Castiel another kiss, to the forehead this time and smiles at him before heading off to cages.

Dean had no idea that there were so many options for a hamster to call home. As if picking the perfect one was hard, Dean could only imagine how Castiel would feel about selecting a cage. Dean selected a colorful plastic monstrosity that had a Ferris wheel looking thing attached to it.

Of course, Dean turned down the wrong aisle and was accosted by the site of adorable balls of fluff. He would never admit it, but he had a soft spot for rabbits. The little balls of fluff with floppy ears and twitchy noses made Dean give pause every time. And this time was no different than any other time. Especially when one of the dwarf rabbits happened to be interested in his movements. Dean would be a bold face liar if he said that the damned ball of fluff hadn’t already set it’s hooks into him. And how could it not? It’s black fur contrasting with the bright blue eyes. Dean was so captivated by it that he hadn’t even noticed he had company.

“I thought you said no rabbits,” Castiel’s voice was soft and teasing.

#writer 2 drop

#3 @ravenscat-tumbler - Submission: 4

“I did not say that…” Dean starts, “And I’m not saying that now either.” He finishes. Castiel just smirks at him, eyes glinting.“Don’t give me that look.” He says, turning back to looks at the dwarf rabbit. “We can get the rabbit if you want to Dean.” Castiel says. He stands slightly behind Dean and places his hand on his lower back, looking at the rabbit with him. “He is a cute little fella, isn’t he?” Dean ask. “That he is.” “Alright, let’s get em.” Dean says, making up his mind. Castiel smiles warmly at Dean and then goes to talk to the person at the counter.The lady helps them pick out the necessary items they need to take the rabbit home. They leave the place with loads of bags and a lot less money than they came with. They come home and Sam is instantly taken to the little guy.“Hey, his features look like Cas’.” Sam says with the bunny on his lap. He scratches behind his ear and the rabbit wiggles his nose in content. Castiel smiles mischievously looking towards Dean, who had adverted his gaze and was pretending to read the bag of the food.“Is that why you wanted to get him, Dean?” “What?” Dean asks, looking up and pretending to hear them for the first time. “Did you want to get the rabbit because it had similar features to me?” “What? No! Don’t be ridiculous.” Dean says. “Anyways… what do we name the little guy?” He asks changing the topic.

#4 @blue-reveries - Submission: 4

The debate on what to name their, and Cas maintained that this pet belonged to all of them now after seeing Sam and Dean’s faces, rabbit raged on for the rest of the day until a decision was made just after dinner.

And so the rabbit was dubbed Bruce in honor of the Hulk and so that he had a “manly” name.

(Though Cas suspected Dean only agreed to the name so he could go around saying “Hello..my name is Bruce…” in an entirely inaccurate Australian accent despite his previous insistence that Finding Nemo had been boring.)

Originally when they’d been hammering out the details on where the hamster they’d been planning to get would reside, Dean had been adamant that “the critter” would be staying in the room next door to his and Cas’ room. He’d argued that he didn’t need a rodent in his living space. So Cas was surprised when Dean picked up the rabbit cage they’d purchased and carried it past the room they’d prepared only to enter their bedroom.

As much as Cas wanted to ask why their new pet was suddenly allowed to be in their room, he refrained. Today had been a big day for Dean what with agreeing to not only having a pet but changing that pet to a slightly bigger animal so he didn’t want to risk pushing his buttons too much. He cuddled Bruce to his chest as he watched Dean clear off a space on the one dresser for the rabbit cage; the little ball of fluff burrowing into the fabric of his t-shirt. Running his fingers through Bruce’s hair was extremely soothing and this pleased Cas.

Bruce wouldn’t be a substitute for actual human interaction but he’d definitely be a comfort and a fitting companion for when Sam and Dean needed to leave for extended hunts.

“There,” Dean said, stepping back to brush his hands off.  He stood there, examining his handiwork for a bit before turning to face Cas. “Bruce’s place is all set.” Dean reached out and scooped Bruce out of his hands, cooing at him. “Here you are, big guy. A home just for you.”

It took every ounce of control that Cas had cultivated over millenias of existence to not burst out laughing at his self-proclaimed “macho” boyfriend turning into a puddle of goo in the presence of a small bunny.

#1 @deadlyangelkay - Submission: 5

A few weeks had passed since they had brought home both Bruce and Peanut. The brothers hadn’t found a case and it gave time for all three to bond with the animals. Cas’ favorite part was watching the rabbit and hamster interact and Dean’s reaction to it. At first Dean was hesitant, having his precious Bruce and the rodent near each other. But once Sam pointed out that essentially the two were brothers, Dean begrudgingly relented.

Now, it’s as if Dean looks forward to their play time. Castiel smiles fondly at Dean as he laughs at the way Bruce and Peanut play. More like the way that would climb over Bruce and Bruce would twitch his nose at the hamster. The best part about watching “their boys” – as Dean has started to call them – was the Dean would periodically lean against Cas. Happy, content, and peaceful.

Before Castiel knew it, it was time for the Winchesters to go off to another hunt. Dean gave Cas the familiar speech about how it was just a simple salt and burn and they would be back before he could miss them. And as always Cas would roll his eyes because after all this time, when has anything been easy for the Winchesters? A quick kiss goodbye and a promise to call when they got to the motel, Castiel was once again left in the large quiet bunker.

He scooped up Bruce into his arms, the little guy nuzzling into his shirt as he carried Bruce to the bedroom. “You know, there’s an excellent documentary on Netflix that you might like,” Castiel says softly, happy to no longer be alone.