#also i'm SO grateful it kept still and didn't try to cross the road

[unfitfordisplay]

saw someone in the ST tag wondering about how they got the deer imagery everywhere these days and like completely unrelated but it reminded me of how many times i saw wild deers this summer like it happened "only" three times but that's three times more than usual so~ two instances (both in broad daylight) with young stags where they crossed my path, first time from not too far, second time from way too close (i was driving and almost ran it over but thank the Lawd i wasn't going too fast and managed to hit the brakes to let it cross the road).

now the third time is the one that left the biggest impression on me. basically i was driving back home from my bortle 3 spot and this road at night, especially during summer, is the "blink and you might miss the foxes, cats, does, hares and what have you crossing and hit them" type. so i'm used to paying extra attention to the roadside the entire drive. so there i am, driving in the middle of the night under the beautiful starry skies, tasty music in my ears and then i see the bIGGEST fucking stag i have ever seen in my life standing there by the roadside. it was keeping completely still and looking my way, and i mean it all happened so fast but like idk seeing it not fully lit bc it wasn't directly in the headlights made this whole encounter even more breathtaking and memorable. it truly felt like witnessing an unearthly apparition and i don't think i'll ever forget it.

[misc-obeyme]

unchained - chapter six

masterpost read the chapter on ao3

recommended music: O Death by Kate Mann word count: 2809

GN!MC x Arsenios [demon OC] a/n: Okay now we're getting into things. But still more questions than answers happening here! Don't worry, all will be revealed in time~ Warnings: blood, minor injury, Lucifer (lol he gets his own warning)

You waited patiently as Arsenios helped the band put away their equipment. You noticed when the blond one waved him away, like she was saying go ahead, we can do the rest. Arsenios proceeded to walk you home, careful to stick to the well lit streets. It wasn't too far to the House of Lamentation from here, but you were grateful to have him by your side. There was something reassuring about his presence.

Not that you couldn't handle yourself should anything dangerous happen. You had no fear of lesser demons these days.

Arsenios kept the conversation light, talking about your upcoming curses and hexes homework.

It was dark, as it always was, but it was also late evening. There was a crescent moon in the sky among the Devildom stars. As you reached the part of the road that crossed with the path to the garden of the House of Lamentation, a surprisingly chilly breeze kicked up. It seemed like only seconds before the entire area was obscured by an odd fog now hanging low among the trees. You shivered a little from the moisture and humidity of it making your skin clammy.

Beside you, Arsenios seemed to be on high alert. He put a hand on your arm and whispered, "Don't move."

You froze. You scanned the area, but you didn't see anything at first. And then something emerged from the fog. Arsenios took a step forward, protectively, positioning himself so he was slightly in front of you.

The something materialized into a person wearing a black robe with a hood pulled up over their head. Your eyes were drawn to the massive silver scythe in their hands. A reaper?

From within the shadows of the hood, you could see a pale face and sunken eyes that glowed with bright yellow light. You could just make out a few stray strands of black hair tipped in neon green.

Arsenios's grip on your arm tightened and you could hear a low growling coming from him. It was as though he was doing everything he could to stop himself from attacking this reaper on sight.

You instinctively put a hand on Arsenios's arm, trying to remind him that he wasn't alone, even though you had no idea who this was or what was going on.

The reaper grinned. The amount of malice behind this simple act was so terrifying you felt the urge to run. But the slight trembling beneath your hand kept you steady.

"What are you doing here, Caligo?" Arsenios asked. Despite the way he seemed to be reacting to the reaper's presence, his voice was confident and betrayed nothing.

The reaper, Caligo, took a single step forward. "Can't I pay a visit to my old friend?"

Arsenios snorted. "We aren't friends."

Caligo tilted his head. "I suppose not. If it makes you feel any better, I don't have it with me."

You frowned. What was that supposed to mean? You wanted to ask, but the tension in Arsenios was wound so tightly now that you thought it best not to intervene.

Caligo's eyes moved from Arsenios to you. "I've heard about this human," he said. "What a delightfully shiny soul they have. Are you going to eat it yourself or sell it?"

Lucifer's words came back to you. Ancient demons like him see humans as prey.

"What do you want?" Arsenios asked.

Caligo shrugged. "I've been thinking about what to do with you. Can’t let you just wander around free, can I?”

Caligo moved so quickly it was almost like he teleported. One moment he was several feet away, taunting Arsenios with his words, the next he was close enough for his scythe to rest beneath Arsenios's chin, the edge of the blade against his throat.

"I'm no use to you dead,” Arsenios said quietly.

"You're no use to me alive either I'm afraid," Caligo replied. “But I don’t intend to kill you.”

You rolled your eyes. You'd had enough of these theatrics. You weren't afraid of the most powerful demons in the Devildom and you weren't afraid of a random reaper, either.

You reached out and grabbed the handle of the scythe, forcing it away from Arsenios's throat. You pushed until it was vertical and met the eyes of the reaper as you stepped in front of Arsenios. Caligo looked almost amused.

Arsenios rested his hands on your shoulders. "MC," he said, his voice strained, almost pleading.

"As always, I've been underestimated," you said. "Do you really think I'm going to simply stand by and let you hurt him? Do you think that I'm some innocent little idiot because I'm a human? Don't insult me."

You let go of the scythe roughly, pushing it back, causing Caligo to retreat a few steps. Arsenios's hands on your shoulders clenched.

Caligo laughed and gripped the scythe in both hands. "If I wanted to, human, I could tell that demon to kill you and he would."

This statement caused Arsenios to grip your shoulders so hard you thought he might break your bones. You wondered if this meant Caligo had a pact with Arsenios. Was that even possible?

"I'm done listening to your bullshit," you said. You raised a hand and began to recite a spell, one that would banish the reaper from your sight.

Caligo snarled and raised his scythe, pulled it back like he was preparing to make a wide slash right through your head.

Arsenios growled, low and deep and loud, echoing through the street and the garden. He pushed you out of the way as the scythe sliced through the air.

It missed you entirely, instead cutting cleanly across Arsenios's chest.

You gasped a little as you regained your footing. Arsenios grunted, but didn't move from where he stood. The blade of the scythe glittered wetly with blood. It looked black in the darkness.

You began to recite another spell, one that would summon one of the brothers, but your words were interrupted.

"Don't bother," Caligo snapped. "I missed my chance to behead you, so I'll take my leave before you can summon any other demons. I'll wait to find you when you're alone, Arsenios."

Arsenios smirked and his eyes looked wild. "I dare you to find me again, Caligo."

Caligo didn't reply. The fog surrounded him completely, obscuring him to the point where he was no longer visible at all.

Arsenios didn't move. He watched the spot where Caligo had disappeared. The mists still swirled, making it impossible to see far into the garden.

And then the fog cleared and the area was empty.

You stepped toward Arsenios and put a hand on his arm. "Arsenios?"

Arsenios started a little and looked at you. His hair was in disarray from the wind that had been blowing the fog out, strands falling into his eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

“Me?” you demanded, reaching out a hand toward the slash across his chest. The fabric of his shirt hung open, exposing a long cut that was still oozing blood. You didn’t touch it, but your fingertips hovered just above it. “You’re the one who’s bleeding. Who even was that?”

“Don’t worry about him,” Arsenios said. “And don’t worry about me, either. It’s just a cut. I’ve had worse.”

You looked at him flatly. “You can’t be serious. At least come inside and let me clean it up.”

“It’s really not-“

You grabbed his hand and tugged on it as you turned back to the House of Lamentation’s front door. “Don’t argue with me. Just come on.”

Arsenios actually chuckled behind you. You stopped abruptly to turn and glare at him.

He raised a hand in defense. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just… you really should be more careful. Powerful or not, you're still a human."

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you asked.

Arsenios stepped closer to you, his hand still clasped in yours. “Most demons aren’t like the brothers. Most of us don't let humans boss us around. Especially if we don't have a pact with them."

“If you’re trying to scare me into letting you leave, it’s not going to work,” you said bluntly. “I’m pretty sure it was just a couple of days ago that I saw you eating macarons with a cute little angel.”

Arsenios smiled as he let out an amused hmph. “I have layers you haven’t seen yet.”

You huffed. “Maybe I should just let you leave. You’re being really cocky for someone who’s still bleeding.”

“That’s because, as I’ve been trying to tell you, this injury is minor,” Arsenios said. “I’ll be fine. And you have other things to do.”

“I care more about your explanation for what just happened,” you said. “So I might as well clean you up while I’m at it. You aren’t getting out of this.”

Before he could continue to argue with you, you turned around and started tugging him back toward the front door.

Arsenios wasn’t exactly a small or weak demon. He could have pulled his hand out of yours and left if he really wanted to. And yet, he allowed you to bring him inside.

You took him to your own room, where you had him sit down on your bed while you got the first aid kit out of your bathroom.

You put the kit on the bed beside him and opened it, taking out the items you would need to clean the wound.

It was no longer bleeding. The cut had been far more shallow than you realized.

You lifted the tattered edge of Arsenios’s black t-shirt, exposing the cut, which stretched across the center of his chest. A glint of metal caught your eye and you pulled the fabric open just a little bit more.

You tried to fight down the blush that you could feel creeping up your neck when you realized you were looking at the silver barbell of a nipple piercing. You schooled your expression and tried to allow the fabric to return to where you could see the cut, but not the piercing.

Arsenios didn’t react when you started to dab at the blood on his chest. He watched you in silence and you could feel the tension rising.

Then you remembered why you had made him come inside in the first place.

“Who was that?” you asked.

“Caligo,” Arsenios replied.

You frowned at him.

Arsenios sighed. “He’s a reaper. It’s a long story. You don’t need to worry about him.”

“I’ve never seen a reaper other than Thirteen,” you said.

“Yeah, that’s because they don’t usually come around to socialize with people,” Arsenios said. “I had an… agreement with Caligo for a while, but things changed. Things didn't end well between us.”

"No kidding," you said. "He was trying to kill you."

Arsenios was quiet. You were focused on your task, having finally cleaned away the blood. When it looked satisfactory, you raised your eyes to meet his. He was frowning, but he didn’t say anything.

"Right?" you prodded.

Arsenios ran a hand through his hair. "He tried to kill you," he said.

You blinked at him. He wasn't wrong, but you were sure this situation wasn't about you. "Maybe, but only because I was in the way," you said. "He's after you, there's no question about that."

Arsenios was restless suddenly, looking at anything but you. "I'm not sure why he came here. But he might want me to work with him again. All the threats were probably just posturing on his part. Trying to scare me into compliance."

"Would that work?" you asked.

Arsenios shrugged. "It's complicated. But he's seen your soul now and I'm worried that he'll try to get me to help him kill you."

You watched Arsenios’s face for a moment. He wasn’t looking at you. “Would you?”

When Arsenios met your eyes again, you saw that your question bothered him. “Do you think I would?”

You reached out and put your fingertips on top of Arsenios’s hand where it rested on his knee. Your skin stayed in contact with the black tattoo there.

“What happened to you?” you asked.

Arsenios pulled his hand back out of your reach. "You can trust me," he said. "You were right, Caligo came here for me. I don't think you're in danger. But even if you were, I would never help him. He betrayed me a long time ago, but aside from that, I like you. I don't want you to get hurt."

Although through most of this speech, Arsenios was not looking at you, he met your eyes at the end. Maybe he could hide it if he was lying, but you were sure he was telling you the truth.

“Okay,” you said. “I believe you.”

You noted the way tension seemed to leave Arsenios’s body at this. You took out a large white bandage and pressed it over his wound, your fingers brushing lightly against the skin of his chest.

Before you could pull away, Arsenios took hold of your hands, keeping you close to his face. “I mean it, MC. I know you don’t need my protection, but I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

You saw only sincerity in his purple eyes. Could you truly trust this music demon? He had pushed you out of the way and was injured himself. And he wasn’t singing you into compliance, which he certainly could have done.

You squeezed his hands. “I know.”

You might have said more, but the door to your room flew open and an ominous black aura seemed to emanate from it.

Arsenios dropped your hands and stood up to face Lucifer who was standing in your doorway.

You were a little surprised to see him - you knew he had been at the Demon Lord’s Castle that evening. He must have just gotten back.

“I knew you would be here,” Lucifer said.

Arsenios folded his arms. “I was just leaving.”

“I saw Caligo on my way back from the castle,” Lucifer said. His eyes flicked down to the bandage on Arsenios’s chest. “I see you had an encounter with him.”

Arsenios was about to say something, but Lucifer cut him off.

“I hope MC wasn't injured,” he said, his eyes now landing on you.

“I wouldn’t let that happen,” Arsenios said.

Lucifer took a few steps into the room, coming closer to where Arsenios was standing. “I hope I don't need to tell you that you had better make sure that reaper comes nowhere near MC.”

Arsenios actually took a step forward, his face close to Lucifer’s. “Don’t worry yourself about it. You won’t see him around here again.”

They stared each other down.

You were a little confused. They seemed to be agreeing about protecting you from Caligo, but they were acting as though they were arguing. You supposed it had to do with demonic egos. It was especially irritating because you had been the one to take care of things.

Arsenios stepped away from Lucifer to look at you. “I’m sorry about all of this, MC. It won’t happen again.”

Arsenios moved easily around Lucifer before exiting the room.

You looked at Lucifer and frowned. “What was all that about?”

Lucifer shook his head. “Barbatos told me you've been spending time with Arsenios lately. You should stay away from him, MC. I told you before, he's dangerous.”

“What do you know about him? About that reaper?” you asked, hoping Lucifer would tell you more.

“Not much,” Lucifer said. “Only that they used to work together. Barbatos wouldn’t tell me more and I can’t be bothered with the sordid pasts of lesser demons. I just want you to be careful.”

You sighed. “You know I can handle myself. I’m not worried.”

Lucifer frowned, but he didn’t argue with you about this.

Later that night, as you tried to sleep, you found you couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. You had asked Arsenios questions, but he wouldn’t answer all of them. Something happened between him and that reaper. It seemed like Caligo hadn't been around for a while. Arsenios was certainly surprised to see him. He tried to make it sound like you might get caught up in whatever was going on between them, but you weren't so sure.

Either way, you found you were more concerned about Arsenios than you were about yourself. He had tried to scare you tonight, to bring up the fact that demons aren't like the brothers. He was trying to push you away, to protect you. He was worried about you, but you could tell that in this situation he was the one who was in danger.

Still, you hadn't lied before. You did believe him. And you trusted him. You couldn't quite explain it, but you did. Only time would tell if that trust was misplaced.

masterpost | chapter five | chapter seven

taglist: @avalordream @lonely-north-star @expressionless-fr @featheredcrowbones @pumpkinsareamazing @szired comment to be added or removed!

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[hannahhasnofriends]

two people one bed | dream

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summary: famous bed sharing trope!

pairing: dream x reader

warnings: swearing, fluff :)

word count: 1.7k

a/n: this fic was weird to write bc i normally write that the character calls him clay but with the setting it didn't seem right lmao – also psa, i have very little knowledge about constellations but i thought it was cute so i left it in lol

many members from the dsmp decided to take a road trip together (yes they clowned on dream the whole time)

it was a week long trip and it was finally the last day! you'd went cross country, stopping at a few different airbnbs along the way

and at this point, you were kind of over it😐don't get me wrong, it'd been an amazing trip, but you'd had little to no alone time in a week and you were just relieved to be going home after this

until you saw the last house, where someone had to share a bed.... and you and dream had just happened to pull out the two shortest straws…

‘Damn it.’ You mentally rolled your eyes, of course you’d end up the one to share a bed on the last day. You’d been driving all day and considering it was only one night, you had no mental energy to argue over sharing. Dream didn’t even seem phased at the fact, honestly you almost felt bad about how annoyed you were with everyone with how nice he’d been about it all. But he was always like this, he was always kind to you.

That was until you rolled over for the hundredth time that night. The space between the pillow wall you'd built and the edge of the bed was seeming to get smaller and smaller as the night went on. Even though the air was thick in the room, your feet were cold from Dream hogging the blanket and the bed would shake every few minutes from his constant movement. You could tell he was awake even though he was staying silent, and you tried your hardest not to let out an annoyed huff.

Finally, he shifted to peer over the pillow wall. In the dark you could still make out his green eyes and fluffy hair.

"You awake?" He whispered. You groaned internally, literally why does this man want to have a conversation now?

"No."

"Oh come on now, you can't say that and be asleep. I cant't sleep. We should do something." He shifted again so his forearms were leaning against the wall, basically destroying it.

"We are doing something. It's called trying to sleep so we can wake up at a good hour and go home." You sighed, screwing your eyes shut.

"It's only like 1 in the morning, we have plenty of time to sleep. Come on.. please, it'll be fun." Whatever, fine, maybe he'll actually calm the fuck down after this.

"Fine. What the hell can we even do right now." You opened your eyes up again, staring at the ceiling.

"We can go for a drive?" You can hear the smile in his voice. This man's love for driving was absurd.

"Uh how about no? We've literally been in the car all day and I'd rather not go back until we have to." You finally turned to face him, he wore a lopsided grin and a crooked pajama shirt. Cute.

"Fine, fine. How about we just go for a walk, yeah?" You grumbled, swinging your legs over the edge of the bed and grabbing the hoodie you left on the floor. No way in hell were you changing for this, it was bad enough you were even indulging in it.

“Alright,” He grinned in your direction, slipping a pair of shoes on. “We can walk to that clearing with the little pond we saw on our way here, it's not far."

"That's fine but can we please not be out forever? I'm serious about getting sleep." You recalled the place he was talking about, it was pretty over there. Plus, you were pretty sure you could see the stars tonight.

Dream hummed, "Yeah, yeah grumpy. Let's go and be quiet, I don't want to wake anyone."

"Didn't seem to mind waking me up." You rolled your eyes, the audacity.

"Not my fault you got stuck sharing with me." He elbowed your side lightly.

You decided to keep quiet after that, slipping out of the airbnb. It wasn't cold, but there was enough chill to make goosebumps rise on your skin.

The walk there was silent, both of you just taking in the scenery. Your mind was replaying all your favorite moments from the past week, sure you were tired and ready to sleep in your own bed, but you were grateful for the people around you and how happy you'd been the past 6 days. Dream had invited you to come along almost last minute compared to everyone else. He had messaged you one night and told you he was paying for everything and would be happy if you came, and who could say no to that?

"What? What is it?" Dream had his eyes on you as you came to a stop, reaching your destination. "What's with the smile, I thought you were grumpy."

"Shut up. I'm just thinking about the past week. I had a really good time, I'm really glad I came, thank you for inviting me." You rolled your eyes, but the smile stayed put.

Dream hummed, "Me too. Honestly I thought you were gonna say no when I asked you." He chuckled as his arm raised to the back of neck, scratching slightly.

"Really? What makes you say that?" Your nose scrunched slightly, you guys had always had a good relationship, you always enjoyed hanging out with him.

"I don't know! I guess I thought you wouldn't want to spend that much time with me." He was smiling, but you could tell he was being serious.

You frowned, "I'd never say no to something like this. I know I'm 'grumpy' or whatever but I seriously like spending time with you, all of you."

"Thanks, I like spending time with you too." He turned to face you, but you tilted your head up, getting a good look at the stars. Your heart softened at his words, he really was a good man.

There was a moment of silence before you spoke up again, "Do you know any constellations?"

"Uh, I can find Leo probably." His head tilted up to match yours and you snorted.

"Of course you can." You smiled and shook your head, typical Leos.

"Oh, there it is, here look." His finger pointed up at the sky, your eyes following where it led.

"There?" You asked, raising your own finger. Dream shifted behind you, close enough to feel his breath on your neck. He hooked his hand on yours and moved your finger up slightly, "Here." He murmured. His skin was soft against yours, you felt his heartbeat on your back and you could smell his aroma.

Neither of you moved, you could feel him turn his head to look at you. Your cheeks heated and you slowly lowered both your hands. You tilted your head to meet his eyes, your noses were barely touching. The beating in your chest grew faster and your mind whirled as you saw him lean in, just so slightly.

You pulled away and turned around quickly, "We should get back." You cleared your throat. Your palms were still sweating, but for a second your thoughts went blank.

"Um, yeah sure." He shoved his hands in his pockets and started his way back to the airbnb. You stood there for a moment before following after him.

What the actual fuck just happened. You were going to kiss him? Or was he going to kiss you? None of that even matters since you'd just rejected him. You cursed yourself as you kept trudging on.

This whole thing was a hot mess, it wasn't like you didn't like him, it was just you'd never thought about it before. Sure, you'd flirt with him in call or make dumb suggestive jokes, but you'd always assure yourself there was nothing underlying there. They were just jokes.

But now you couldn't stop thinking about it, his soft skin against yours, his heartbeat, the way his eyes looked so intensely into your own. Your brain kept repeating it over and over again, it made you sick.

By the time you reached the airbnb again, you began to hate how you yearned to be touched by him again. That, ok fine, you did want him to kiss you but you chickened out. He didn't help by holding the door open for you when sneaking back inside. You mumbled a thanks, not daring to look at him. You could still feel him behind you as you tiptoed back to your room, which you just conveniently forgot you had to share.

You got situated as fast as you could, climbing back into the bed, holding your breath as you went. You waited to feel the dip in the bed signally him coming to lay next to you. When it didn't come, you peeked at his side, he stood there gathering a pillow and his phone before turning to leave. Your heartbeat sped up again.

"Clay," You sat up before you could stop yourself. "Wait, can- can you stay. Please." Your voice wobbled, but the moments back at the clearing kept playing again and you couldn't just sit there anymore.

He turned around shifting his feet, "Yeah, yeah sure." His eyes seemed to soften at the expression on your face.

Your hand swiped at the pillow wall, this time completely dismantling it and you lied back down. You felt the weight shift as he settled next to you, your breath was still shaky. He lied down facing you, eyes searching your face.

"Hi." You whisper, nerves come rushing back now that he's here again.

"Hi." He chuckles and smiles softly. His eyes are still searching your face, he looks uncertain.

"I– Well I–"

"Listen, don't worry about it. I was dumb I don't even know what I was thinking. We can just forget it." He interrupts you, his eyes darting down and cheeks flushing.

"That's not what I was gonna say." You faltered. He stares quizzically, silently asking you to continue. "Well I-I first wanted to apologize, I was a dick back there. And um.."

The words taper off, lost. You feel his gaze bore into your face, he tentatively raised his arm from inside the covers, hooking your chin with a finger.

"It's ok." He whispers affirmatively. The consequences are instant, your nerves slow and you can only focus on how close he is. His eyes find yours, and he no longer seems uncertain. "Can I kiss you?"

You can only nod, so sure of your decision.

And he does.

[neighborhood-houseplant]

Damian Wayne x Reader

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♡ Pairing: Damian Wayne x reader

♡ Relationship Status: Dating

♡ Type: Fluff

♡ Requested: @yourcatcoffeeaddictfan

♡ Gender: Female Reader

♡ Prompt: "It's time to get up."

♡ Au: Normal Au

♡ Warnings: There's nothing sexual going on, but both Damian and the Reader are 18.

____________

____________

The morning rays cracked through the gap in the curtains, shining on the two people lying in bed. Birds chirped, and flew around, beginning their days. Damian and (Y/n) lay in their bed, still fast asleep in a tangled mess of limbs. Subconsciously pulling (Y/n) closer to his shirtless frame, Damian lowly groaned as a buzzing noise filled the bedroom. Sighing in annoyance, the male attempted to turn off the noise.

Gently removing his arms from her waist, Damian rolled over and reached for his phone, charging on the bedside table, hastily turning off the alarm. Sighing, he ran his hands through his messy locks, attempting to somewhat fix his bedhead. His eyes trailed over towards (Y/n) who was still fast asleep, burrowing herself deeper into the blankets. 

Moving closer to her, Damian lightly shook her shoulder, a fond smile on his face. "Beloved, It's time to get up," he spoke, his voice a little raspy, having just woken up. However, only receiving a groan in response from the girl. Continuing to shake her shoulder, the girl finally turned towards him. Rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wake herself up a bit more. 

Lightly groaning, she looked at him with a quizzical expression. Smirking at her lightly, he spoke. "It's time to get out of bed." Letting out a playful and dramatic groan, she flopped herself back onto the mattress. Damian rolled his eyes, getting out of bed, lightly hissing when his feet hit the cold floors. Opening the bathroom door, he glanced back to (Y/n). 

Seeing her begin to go back underneath the covers, he spoke up. "Beloved, I'd better not find you in bed." Smiling in satisfaction as he watched her get out of bed, a very annoyed look on her. Entering the bathroom, she washed her face with cold water, hoping to wake herself up a bit more. "We're going over to Grayson's later." The male glanced at her, waiting for an answer. "Yeah, I know."

Walking back into the bedroom, (Y/n) opened the closet, pulling out one of Damian's turtle necks, some jeans, as well as her socks and undergarments. Quickly changing into the clothes, she rolled her shoulders to wake them up. "At least we get to skip training today," she mumbled, hoping Damian hadn't heard her. Arms wrapped around her waist as Damian rested his head on top of hers. 

"Unlikely." He spoke, having obviously heard her. His eyes trailed to the top she was wearing. "Beloved, why are you so insistent on taking my clothing?" Damian asked, "Do you want me to stop?" (Y/n) responded, glancing into his emerald green eyes. "No, you look ravishing in my clothing." He mumbled. Humming in response, (Y/n) finally took notice of the lack of a shirt on Damian. "You should get changed, Dami."

"I suppose." He mumbled, rummaging through the cupboard, pulling out his own clothes and shooing (Y/n) away, as she laughed, shutting the door behind her. Sliding down the railing, she hopped off, entering the kitchen to make breakfast for two of them and Titus. Washing her hands, she dried them and began to cook. First filling up Titus's food and water bowls. Deciding on just making the toast. Adding a few strawberries to both the plates, as well as some tea, since Damian wasn't the biggest fan of coffee.

Just as (Y/n) finished setting the table, and putting out Titus's food, Damian came downstairs, Titus following right behind him. Lightly kissing her temple, Damian sat down. "Thank you for making breakfast." He paused to take a sip of his tea. "It was delicious." (Y/n) grinned at him, silently thanking him for the compliment. 

After this, (Y/n) collected the plates and mugs. Damian offered to help with washing the dishes before they headed out. Scrubbing away at the dishes,  (Y/n) finally finished rinsing out the dishes, handing them to Damian who dried them off. Finally drying their hands, the two walked towards the front door, where their shoes were. 

Putting on their shoes, (Y/n) placed her hand on the doorknob, stopping as Damian piped up. "Beloved, I believe you are forgetting someone important." Turning around to look at him, with an irritated expression, she spoke. "We are not bringing Titus." Watching as Damain recoiled in horror. "And what is the reasoning for that." An equally irritated expression adorned his features. "We're only going to be gone for a few hours Damian, he'll be fine."

"And how would you possibly know that?" He glanced at her, awaiting a response. Rolling her eyes at him, (Y/n) grabbed her phone and keys and exited through the front door. Flabbergasted at the gesture action, Damian quickly petted Titus goodbye and grabbed his things before leaving and locking the door behind him.

(Y/n) was already in the car, in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone, and could do little to stop the small smirk that played its way onto her face when Damian finally got in the car. An annoyed scowl set on his face. Starting the car as the two pulled out onto the driveway, still very annoyed. "We could have taken Titus with us." He grumbled out when he realized that (Y/n) wasn't going to fall for his petty attitude. Gently placing her hand on the one he wasn't using, (Y/n) gently smiled at him. "Titus will be fine, we'll be back home soon anyway." 

Letting out a defeated sigh, Damian kept his eyes on the road, rubbing circles on (Y/n)'s palm as she was doing something uninteresting to him on her phone. She would occasionally look up from her phone when Damian pointed out something that had changed since the last time they'd come here. Soon, the neighborhood they pulled into became familiar. Making a final turn, Damian parked the car in Dick and Kori's driveway, turning off the engine but slightly frowning when he let go of (Y/n)'s hand.

Walking up to the front door, (Y/n) rung the doorbell, and not long after Kori opened the door. Pulling (Y/n) into a hug, Kori said gleefully. "(Y/n), it's been too long!" quietly laughing as she pulled back from the hug, as Kori turned to Damian. "Hello Damian." She smiled at him warmly as he waved uninterested. "So, where's Dick?" (Y/n) asked, peering over Kori's shoulder.

"I would also wish to know the whereabouts of Grayson." Damiam piped up. "I actually left him in the kitchen, he's making dinner." She spoke with a worried look on her face. A string if curses left the kitchen, which the three heard. Realization dawned on Kori's face, as she opened the door wider. "It's pretty cold outside, please come in." Thanking her, (Y/n) grabbed Damian's hand and dragged him into the house with her.

For the next few hours, Kori and (Y/n) engaged in conversations that were either beyond Damian's understanding, or his interest. For the most part, he was on his phone, reading something in Arabic but he was grateful that (Y/n) would try to involve him in their conversations, even if he was giving one word answers. Soon, Dick called them into the to eat, as the three sighed, finally happy to eat something.

Upon entering the dining room, the three glanced at the food that was spread out. Half of it looked over cooked, while the other half appeared to be undercooked. Kori and (Y/n) tried their best to be polite, thanking Dick for making the wonderful food, however this wasn't the case for Damian. "What is this rubbish?" As he glared at the food in complete disgust. "The only thing that doesn't look burnt is the salad." He crossed his arms.

Delivering a swift kick to his shin from underneath the table, (Y/n) interrupted him. "It looks lovely Dick, thank you for making the food." Glaring at Damian. From there, Kori and (Y/n) forced down the food, as to not hurt Dick's feelings. Whereas Damian completely refused to eat anything. When the food was finished, the four were ingaging in some light conversation.

"So (Y/n)," Dick began, as (Y/n) glanced at him, awaiting his question. "Can you cook?" He asked. "I guess so, not anything too complicated though." She quietly laughed when Damian rolled his eyes and spoke up. "You give yourself too little credit, Beloved. I'm sure you could cook much better than Grayson and Kori" Watching as Kori feigned mock offense, however Dick was quiet the opposite.

"Well, I bet Kori is much better than (Y/n) at a lot of things," he narrowed his eyes in Damian's direction. "Do you wish to name those things?" Damian glared back with just as much intensity. "Yes, just take how strong Kori is." Dick said gesturing to his girlfriend, as Damian scoffed at him. "My Beloved could rival Kori's strength effortlessly." "But she can't fly can she?" Dick responded, adding fuel to the fire.

Both Kori and (Y/n) both made uncomfortable eye contact, watching the two males argue back and forth. Kori gestured for them to slip away, as they both got up but Dick and Damian were too invested in their argument that the two didn't notice. Back in the living room, the two females sat there in silence for a moment before bursting out into fits of giggles and laughter. As their laughter died down, (Y/n) spoke up.

"I'm really sorry about Damian." As Kori shook her hand in dismissal. "Its alright, Dick is just as bad." As (Y/n) nodded in response. The two decided to play a game of card to pass the time. Roughly an hour in, Damian came in and looked around the room. Once he'd spotted (Y/n) he grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the house. "We're leaving, I refuse to be around to Grayson's utter stupidity." Quickly waving goodbye to Kori, she let Damian drag her into the car.

"You seem mad, huh?" (Y/n) stated in a teasing tone of voice. Rolling his eyes and refusing to look at her, Damian continued to drive. Once again grabbing the hand that he wasn't using, (Y/n) began to trace small shapes on his knuckles with her fingers. It was a silent attempt to calm him down, which more often than not, worked. Letting out a sigh, Damian spoke. "Thank you." Humming in response, (Y/n) continued to play with his fingers.

At something during the car ride, (Y/n) stopped tracing shapes on Damian's hand, he turned to glance at her, smiling in content as he noticed that she'd fallen asleep. He was thankful to have her, even if he didn't often show it. That was the exact reason he'd fired up when Dick tried to compare her to Kori. It was nights like this, he was grateful he could experience.

"Good night, Beloved."

____________

How was that? I hope you liked it!

- Pinky

[muellercorn]

Basically I Love Taylor Swift

Heyo I want to talk about how important of a figure Taylor Swift has been in my life since 2006. In 2015 I attended my firstTaylor concert (and my only to date) so now that we are on the verge of a new era (and hopefully tour) I've started saving to try to attend a concert soon. Therefore, I eventually feel ready to talk about my experience of attending the 1989 world tour at Hyde Park. This is a story I never even spoke about with friends because I was so desperate to attend a concert for so long that I was ashamed and embarrassed to admit what happened when I attended.

I've been a Taylor Swift fan since day one, I was 6 years old and just completely in awe. So after 9 years of dreaming and wishing I was seeing Taylor live and I could not have been more excited. My parents and I travelled down to London from our home in the North East of England, checked into our hotel then headed towards Hyde Park. Crossing over the road to Hyde Park my vision suddenly went to black and in a split second I'd completely disassociated from everything around me. You see, at age 6 I'd founded my love for TS, but I'd also been put in therapy for what would remain undiagnosed for 11 years but later be named as Emetophobia, OCD, anxiety among a few more. At age 15 I was absolutely no stranger to panic attacks, I'd had several a week since I was 6, however this was only my second time ever disassociating and by far the worst. As we got to Hyde Park I immediately needed to sit down, it started with a panic attack that I felt too tired to have. I couldn't accept that the world around me was real, I wouldn't let my parents touch me as I kept thinking and shouting that I didn't know who they were and they didn't seem like my parents. I just froze on a bench afraid to move for the fear that I'd black out. I just wanted to go back to my hotel, I begged and begged, I was willing to completely abandon my dream of seeing Taylor live. I was getting laughed at and mocked by passers by and I was just done. My parents however were not, although it felt like torture at the time they stayed with me and helped calm me down for at least 2 hours (if not more) because they knew I'd be heart broken if I missed the concert.

So eventually I got myself through the gates, got my light up wrist band and found a spot on the field. Literally just in time for Taylor coming on stage. I still wasn't all with 'there' mentally, but physically I'd made it. Obviously by this time I was right at the back of the field and I couldn't cope with trying to get amongst the crowd anyway, but I couldn't have cared less. I always denied it to others and said our train got there late and we couldn't get to the front, but at the time I was just happy to get to see my idol. I was having anxiety attacks every few minutes and my parents had sworn this was the last concert they'd take me to (and I haven't had the confidence to go to one since). A few months prior they'd decided to stop taking me to the theatre (my other great love) because despite my adoration for the arts, the anxiety the situation caused, resulted in me walking out and wasting a lot of money. All I know is if it weren't for how much Taylor inspired me that night, I would have given up on myself and denied myself so many opportunities and so much happiness in the future.

The concert is a blur to me, the best night of my life, but a blur. However, I have one incredibly distinct clear memory - listening to the speech before Clean, my favourite song from 1989. I'd watched previous speeches on YouTube so as soon as I heard the first few words I knew what was coming, but nothing could have prepared me. Taylor talked about how we were all going through our own anxieties, worries and hard times, but right now we were in awesome outfits and having the best night of our lives. The tears started to flow and it felt so surreal and magical it felt as if I was standing by myself in Hyde Park, just me and Taylor and she was giving me personalised life advice. Then I realised that despite the fact I had never met a single person in that crowd, we were all connected, we all had similar hearts and minds, and as Taylor said in hard times we all turn to music to get through. I cried my eyes out at this moment, I needed to hear what Taylor had to say and more over I needed to feel that inspired and moved.

That moment I decided to not give up on myself, to keep going, to return to a Taylor Swift concert when fates would allow. What made this moment even more special was that I knew it came directly from Taylor's heart, this wasn't the same speech that she'd given at the previous concert or the concert before there were ad-libs that came from raw emotion and passion and it was beautiful. I will never forget how I felt during this and the feeling I felt walking back to my hotel, hope that I hadn't felt in years and I'm so grateful. This is why I've loved Taylor for 13 years. She writes music that matters, that really really matters. This isn't music to make money it's art to heal, to comfort and to provide company.

I can not wait for this new era and to (hopefully) see Taylor Swift live again! It feels like she's written her song specifically for you each lyric related to the human condition at its core and that truly is enchanting. My battle with mental illness still goes on, I'm frightened at the thought of going to another concert, however there's nothing I'm more excited for right now than the idea of seeing Taylor perform live again, I trust her, I trust that the wisdom she'll bestow on me that night will make any prior anxiety completely worth it and will be laid to rest. I'm so grateful and beyond excited for this next era, music is my salvation and I'm ready for my soul to be nourished.

@taylorswift @taylornation