#also sometimes chips/crisps/whatever you call them

[whimsicalwitchm]

For cold sandwich my favourite is either tomato and cheese on a crusty white roll or Vegemite and cheese on sliced white bread.

Fanciest sandwich I’ve ever made has to be a French toast grilled cheese (sliced white bread as well).

YES the type of bread is important.

Also it’s not cold or fancy but white bread with butter and hot chips is perfection.

SURVEY QUESTION: what is your personal favorite cold sandwich to make at home. alternatively, what is the fanciest sandwich you make

[royalpicaro]

So, to go off of the Fast Food AU, I got an idea from a comment by @livmightlive about a headcanon. What car does each Link drive and what state are they in? So, this is that post.

Photos included of each car.

|Time|

A Crisp 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500

Color: Blue Granite Metallic

- This truck is his baby

- It's been reliable for many years, and he's always fixed it himself.

- His knowledge of cars is standard Dad™ knowledge so he calls up Four when he doesn't know something

- He keeps it clean most of the time.

- He'll sometimes have trash in the passenger seat or on the floor of the passenger seat, but he'll grab it when he's getting out of the car to go into the store to throw in the outside trash cans.

- The bed of the truck has seen better days, but it's not in terrible shape.

- Some of the paint on the bed door is chipping off, but you can only see it if you get close enough.

- Loves taking it through the car wash

- He has those little dice that hang off of the rear view mirror.

- There's occasionally dirt caked on the bottom, but it doesn't stay there long

- The smell is nice because its from the Black Ice air freshener Malon buys and reminds Time to put in there.

- He likes it and has tried to buy other air fresheners but he likes the Black Ice one the best.

|Twilight|

A muddy 2019 Ram 1500

Color: White

- Loves this truck

- Jfc clean this poor thing(on the outside)

- The picture looks clean but in reality, the truck is muddy and it's because he always forgets to take it through the car wash or goddesses forbid he takes the hose to it.

- On the inside, it's a little dirty on the floorboards, but nothing too bad. A little shake should do them some good.

- He keeps it pretty free of trash because he likes to make sure it looks nice despite his baffling logic for the exterior.

- He definitely has a carabiner keychain that he clips to his pants everywhere he goes.

- It's no longer a thought, he just clicks that hoe on the second he takes them keys out.

- He's that shift lead that you can identify right as he comes through the door. *keychain clicking together* Bro has a precussion anthem each time he decides to move

- Carries gum with him wherever he goes.

- Perfers 5 gum but will get whatever he can grab

- Definitely sits in his trucks on his breaks

- He'd rather people not have feet on his dash

- Can parallel park as easily as a chicken can fly

- His car smells like a mix of mint and lawn clippings.

|Sky|

2019 Subaru Crosstrek

Color: Maroon Red

- This is the family car that he got as a hand me down

- It's reliable

- Sometimes, it makes a funny sound, but Sky likes to ignore it

- The aux cord is always Sky's

- It's a little dirty

- Some candy wrappers here and there

- The back seat has some books in a box that will move between the back seat and the truck back and forth

- It smells like bird feathers and some mysteriously vague cologne

- He loves bird imagery so its literally all over his car with ornaments, stickers, etc.

- Will sometimes bring his bird in the car with him(It's an african grey named Chloe who likes to sing September. He also hadls a cockatiel named Issac)

- The car's seats are ripped in places by his birds picking at them

- There's a mark on the driver side dash from when Legend let Sky smoke for the first time and he ended up wiping some of the ash off on the dash and now its just there

- Legend thinks it's hilarious

- Sky finds it embarrassing

- "Do NOT put your feet up on the dash!"

- Has slept in his car on break and will do it again

- Very comfy

|Wars|

A very well cared for 2016 Dodge Challenger 2D

Color: Baby Blue

- The love of his life

- He found this car in a used car lot and HAD to get it

- Wasn't cheap

- Likes to remind the others that it wasn't cheap when they make fun of him for it.

- He is BIG on decorating his car

- Not as much as Legend is, but he likes his car to feel nice

- Smells DIVINE(Like a really high end cologne, but just enough to not be too much)

- Has a work backpack that stays in the car

- Likes funny little things like the cupholder coasters

- Please be nice to the car

- He does drive like a maniac if he's given the chance to.

- Has constantly asked Wild to race him.

- Doesn't hang out in it on breaks

- Keeps it clean and tidy

- I'm talking he wipes down the car twice a week on the interior and takes it through a car wash once a week, two if needed

- is really proud of his car

- There's some chips and a small dent in the back bumper, but its barely noticable

- he might cry if you call it ugly

- Rarely eats in his car

- The main reason why he likes it so much is because of how the exterior looks. Its satisfying.

|Wild|

Venom x22GT 250cc

Color: Midnight Black

- Motorcycle homie 🤙

- Someone always asks who's motorcycle it is

- He's proud of it

- He loves how fast it goes and how free he feels

- He gets pulled over pretty often, but is usually apologetic

- Gets scared around bigger vehicles

- Hates being beside 18 wheelers

- Parks it where he can see it from the back door

- Is paranoid about it being stolen

- doesn't race people

- Has a bit of an ego about it

- Loves finding stickers he can put on it

- the little keychains that fit on the little bits and don't get in the way? OH! Loves em

- Overall, pretty chill about it but will try to impress someone and likely fail if they show interest in him or wanting a ride on it

|Legend|

1985 Coachman Camper(Modified)

Color: Beige and Brown

- Van lifer

- He loves being on the road, freely going where he wants, and doing what he wants

- He will camp out in the back area of his work since it's mostly a dirt area no one is using

- Will walk around to nearby areas if its a nice day because he loves exploring

- Finding new things is a hobby

- He will hang out at Warriors or Time's place if he really needs people around him.

- Loves to decorate seasonally

- Hoarder

- No literally, dude hoards so much shit that he has to give it to Ravio to keep at his place cause he doesn't want to get rid of it but has no place in the van

- I originally thought he'd have a concrete place, but I felt like it would be better this way because it fits his vibe.

- I imagine he was really closed off and stayed in the van for a long time after he lost Marin, but Warriors really helped him out by letting him crash at his place

- He decided he was going to go to van life as a change of pace after losing Marin and Ravio happened to show up just as he was about to end his lease.

- He lost Marin early in the year that he bought the van, hoping for a van life because they talked about how fun it could. He crashed with Warriors later that year.

- Ravio stayed in the place and signed the lease and now Legend is living his best life

- Will only ever invite people in if he trusts them

- Spotify 24/7

- Somehow, everyone is surprised when they find out.

|Hyrule|

A dying 2010 Honda Accord LX-P

Color: Auburn Brown

- Has been in the family since 2010

- Ol' Reliable

- Shudders when he starts it up

- Loves it anyway

- Comfortable asf

- Him decorating it in fairy aesthetic just makes so much sense to me

- It fits and he loves it and he's not ashamed

- He makes a lot of friends off of his decorating choices

- Has a satchel that he carries that has everything anyone could need.

- Pain meds? Got em. Allergy meds? He's a walking pharmacy.

- Want some acid?

- Experimental

- Hippie coded

- Like Legend is on one end of the hippie spectrum and Hyrule is on the complete opposite side

- Bro will sleep in his car and come back as if he had a moment with Hylia

- Scares him to hell and back when it starts making funny sounds

- Will go to Four as soon as he knows something is wrong.

- It's his baby 🥹 He likes the vibes he has with the car

- "I'll give up on her when she gives up on me."

- Ride or die fr

|Four|

2016 Volkswagen Jetta

Color: Pure White(the site said it and I have doubts)

- A gift

- The mechanic of the group

- He's fixed his car multiple times so he usually fixes the others cars or tells them whats wrong and how to fix it/where to go to get the best price

- Helps Time with stuff he doesn't know.

- He doesn't really decorate it cause he can never decide HOW to

- He keeps it clean though and likes to go to those car wash vaccum places

- Is a safe driver

- Not 100% of the time

- Does not like being in his car more than he has to.

- He'll eat in his car if he's really hungry

- Overall, not too crazy about his car to really do much to it.

- Is usually a good person to call if you need a last minute pick up

- The Sane One™

- Aux cord is an option

- He's a radio kind of guy

- Will hang out with Legend in his van if he just wants to destress

- HATES driving in the snow

- HATES other drivers

That's pretty much it :3

I TOTALLY didn't forget to put the name on each one like I did with Time's :D

BAAAAHHHHYYYYEEEEE!♡

[bubuslutty]

part 8: carpool karaoke

Pairing: platonic moon boys x fem!reader

word count: 897

Tags: reader is referred to darling because i said so (and steven calls her darling cuz he’s a lil british dude innit), some fluff with our boy Jake!!

Warnings: none

Summary: darling stays late to the library and texts jake to come n pick her up

a/n: Nu Nu & You Wish by Flyana Boss

Me: jake

Me: are you done with work?

Jake: yeah why?

Me: are you home?

Jake: not yet

Me: can you pick me up pls?

Jake: where are you?

Me: library

Jake: I’ll be there in 15

Darling waits for Jake in front of the library building, hood pulled over her head and trying to act like a roadman so she won’t get harassed or killed by some stranger in the middle of the night.

When Jake pulls up in his black taxi, she sighs in relief, bag slung over her shoulder and opens the passenger door, getting in and chucking her bag into the back seats.

“How was work?” She asked, turning her head to look at the man, a dark shadow cast over his eyes due to his hat, his gloved fingers resting on the wheel.

“Good, how was studying?” He asked.

“Torture, can I play some music?” 

“Sure. Are you hungry?” Jake asked and she paused for a second, “A bit yeah, do you want to go somewhere specific?”

Jake ends up driving them to his favourite Kebab place while Darling sings along to the music playing through the car’s speakers. And Jake bobs his head along the beat, tapping his fingers against the wheel when they’re at a red light while Darling sings her heart out to the cuntiest and girliest song ever, and this time it’s songs from a duo called Flyana Boss.

She even goes as far as to make a whole seated choreography in his passenger seat while he glances at her once in a while, secretly amused. She sure has a lot of energy when she has very visible dark circles and droopy tired eyes, maybe it’s human zoomies or some shit, whatever it is, it gives Jake some entertainment in his otherwise empty cab.

Jake also ends up victim to listening to whatever new music she’s listening to at the moment, gracing his ears with new noises and melodies every other week when he has to drive her somewhere. And sometimes, he adds some of her played songs to his own Spotify playlist, without telling her of course, because that’ll make her ego big for no reason and annoy him.

And when they do get kebabs, they sit at a two-person table, facing each other while eating. And Darling is rambling and babbling about random things, she does that sometimes, if she gets enough tired, she somehow becomes delusional and starts talking with no filter.

Jake doesn’t mind the chatting, he’s just happy to be eating something before passing out in bed to rest. But hanging out with their neighbour is also nice. It was nice to have to listen to another voice other than Khonshu’s or the screams of death and pain in dark hallways.

Jake doesn’t tell her about his job, she knows he’s a cab driver as cover, but has never asked anything about what he actually does. And she’s no dummy, she knows he serves Khonshu’s justice with his fists and a gun strapped up to him at all times.

To put it shortly, he’s quite a grey character while she’s violently colourful.

“Yep, that’s what I’m talking about, yummy in my tummy-” Darling talks to herself and nods while devouring her kebab and shoving chips down her throat.

“Thanks for paying, by the way.” She thanks him without looking up.

“Don’t worry about it, anything for my favourite clown.” Jake teases, taking off his hat and running his hand through his slicked-back hair, white crisp button-up stretching over his broad shoulders, muscled back and biceps.

“Hey!” Darling glares at him and he laughs, “You’re a clown. You sometimes dress like one, and you procrastinate revising for tests and then when they approach, you have a panic attack and Steven has to hold your hand while you revise.” 

“Don’t make fun of me, I’m trying!” Darling whines, taking a swing from her Fanta.

“I know,” Jake says, and that’s one of the closest things he can get to as a compliment.

“I’m done, let’s go.” Darling eventually says, slapping her hands on her thighs like a 40-year-old dad and starts cleaning up the table while Jake helps and wears his jacket and hat.

“Cheers, bossman! Good night!” Darling says loudly, giving the man behind the counter a thumbs up and walking out of the door as Jake gives the man a polite nod.

Jake unlocks the cab and goes around to his door, and when he notices her still standing there, he frowns, “What are you doing?”

“Look,” She points at the sky, behind him, and he turns around, “The moon looks beautiful tonight.” 

Jake looks up at the sky, free of any clouds and sees the bright moon shining in the middle of the sky, in all of its beautiful glory, “Hm, it’s nice.”

“Jake, whatever you’ve done tonight, you did a good thing. So thank you.” Darling says, voice low, almost a whisper.

Jake doesn’t say anything and keeps staring at the moon, feeling a warmth spread through his chest. He shivers and turns to look at her, “Get in, Steven has class tomorrow and so do you.” 

“Fine, mum.” Darling groans dramatically and gets in the car, buckling herself in.

“Can I play some mu-”

“Hell nah.”

“Why not? I thought you liked my music?”

“You’ve had your turn, now it’s mine.”

Tag list (pls ask to be added or removed): @bobastayhigh @weblesstherains @h-leigh @unspokenmoon @ahookedheroespureheart @thursdaywritings @gebstargeb 

[joshbruh10x]

Random Headcanons for them SB characters

So i listed some headcanons I like to think happen, they are literally living rent free in my head and I just wanted to share em with somebody lmao.

*sharp inhales*

THESE ARE ALL MY THOUGHTS IM NOT SAYING THEY’RE CANON OK WE GOOD? O K GOOD

*exhales*

Oh btw these are in alphabetical order bc i say so :> Bonnie-acts like a literal vegetarian, eats a bunch of carrots bc he a bunny

-really likes his bowling attraction but likes Fazer Blast more

-will not hesitate to jump at you with full speed if you manage to fully piss him off

-does stand-up comedy at night in his bowling alley

-the dude’s body build is like thin but broad

-he likes to annoy Freddy using his epic s p e e d

-his program was a bit more upgraded to protect kids (bc kids and heavy bowling equipment do not end pretty)

Chica

-Yes she loves Pizza but will go crazy for small finger food or snacks like chips, fries, finger sandwhiches, etc.

-Pops off when she feels like it

-You thought Monty was the strongest? H A H NO ITS CHICA

-She has a gym and she’s practically the buffest out of all of them

-Literally the light of everyone’s day, without her, Roxy would’ve crashed a car at a child or Monty would’ve started eating babies

-She has a built in ecometer to keep the place clean, but that also means she sometimes has to clean trash, by e a t I n g

DJMM

-loud when he wants to be

-his children are the little music men in the vents

-his bouncer mode will not hurt you, but will simply just fling you back to the elevato

r-loves the peace and quiet

-he doesn’t need to eat but Chica tried getting him to taste pizza atleast once or twice

Foxy

-does he even exist

-whatever anyways, foxy a very caring person despite his rash nature

-literally the third-or fourth wheel? Of Bonnie Monty and Freddy

-he doesn’t need love he got his booty

-his treasure get your mind out of the fucking gutters

-teams with sun and moon in the daycare theater

-it’s a hassle to keep his fur well groomed

Freddy

-YOOOO ITS BEAR DAD

-cannot stand any foul language within a 10 feet radius especially if its Gregory

-Best cook in the house/pizzaplex whoop whoop

-Will not hesitate to help anyone, you dropped your wallet near him? He will instantly rush to get it for you

-Despite being the main singer of the band, he sometimes lets the others lead-If he’s too tired, he will be in sleep mode until he’s well rested

-Are you feeling sad, like you wanna cry for no apparent reason at all? Too bad he’s on your way right now to hug you

-He dated Bonnie first before roping Monty to their side 

Gregory

-feral child all the way

-he knows who eli and cc is do not ask

-his legal name is now Gregory Fazbear

-Everyone acts like a specified guardian to him, Freddy his dad, Monty and Bonnie his cool uncles, Chica his aunt, Roxy and Vanessa his epic older sisters, sun/moon the protective babysitters

-he finally made a deal with the vent music men to stop attacking him in return of leading them back to DJMM

-Picked up cursing from Monty and adult jokes from Bonnie, Freddy is not impressed

Monty

-finally get to write headcanons bout the gator boi

-Nervous-ass wreck, when he first started as the bassist replacing Bonnie, he literally does not know what he’s doing leading him to cry and wreck his room on his first day

-man’s more upset replacing Bonnie than Bonnie actually is

-he knew Bonnie before replacing him

-HAHA GAY PANIC ATTACKS

-His cooking is literal rng, sometimes it comes out burnt to crisps, others, he makes fine ass cuisine

-He cannot control his tail, if it wags uncontrollably and hits you in the face you know it’s not his fault

-He wants control of the situation every single time, are we driving to mcdonald’s? Monty calls driver, unless it’s Freddy then he calls shotgun

-Amazing upper strength but he skipped leg day, yeah he can jump high but can he kick stuff as good as he can punch? I don’t think so

-Gator Uncle and Feral child causes mayhem

-When Freddy and Bonnie invited him to their relationship, my god was this gator soft as a LITERAL marshmallow on pillows

Moon

-your typical depressed angsty teen

-loves listening to soft lullabitic music

-has the same obsession of cleanliness with sun

-he likes bitter flavored foods, don’t ask how he can eat bc I don’t know either

-Despises Monty due to him babbling about everything and is disturbing the peace and quiet

-learned how to not scare Gregory for once

Roxy

-Girlboss, gaslight, gatekeep

-Never let’s go of Chica when she’s in sight

-despite having a Feminine build, she is very strong-bangs her head when metal music starts playing

-Monty and Roxy are besties for life

-DID YOU JUST LOOK AT HER GF? She will glare at you the moment Chica leaves the room

-Anything that ruins her form, she will and I mean WILL cry about it, a nudge on her makeup? Frizzy hair? C R Y I N G ENSUES

-When Gregory took her eyes, she relied more on smell than sound, she has memorized about what everyone smells like, Freddy smells like cologne and fiber, Monty smells like fresh damp grass, Chica smelled like lavender and Pizza (most occasions trash), Foxy smells like the Caribbean and Bonnie smelt like vegetables or Bowling polish

-She was Foxy’s replacement, none of them minded, they get along

-Teases Monty each time Freddy or Bonnie is near, calls him Lover-Gator 

Sun

-my god who fed the animatronic sugar?

-Too hyperactive and is all around the place

-Gets along with Monty and his loud attitude-He is aware of Moon not liking Monty so Sun likes rubbing it in his face

-Another reason he gets along with the gator is Sweets, they both love sugar that Freddy found them sleeping in the daycare surrounded by cans of Fizzy faz and chocolate bars, animatronics can get food commas???

-ball of SUNshine aha get it

-Nothing gets in his way when he wants to play (yo that rhymed)

-Gregory finally warmed up to him

-Acts as the therapist of the Pizzaplex, very understanding and calm when he needs to be

-Vanessa is his top customer to his therapy sessions, the girl needs more than a beer or two 

Vanessa

-after getting saved by Gregory and the gang, she vowed to keep Gregory safe

-Chocoholic, Coffeeholic, Alcoholic (but not so much alcohol she get’s drunk, that’s a rare occurance when she does a full day shift)

-Less strict to the animatronics but she does glare at them when they try to do something stupid (cough cough Bonnie and Gregory)

-As I said, Sun is her therapist-She has access to everything on the Pizzaplex so she can be anywhere

-She also has her own apartment to stay at but she likes sleeping overnight at the pizzaplex, she has a warm couch, some blankets and coffee

-The animatronic she seems to warm up to the most is Chica 

Vanny

-not much to say about her

-sassy and aggressive, her most hated animatronic? Freddy

-brings a knife everywhere she goes

-devoted her life to burntrap like some husband or smth, looks like Bonnie isn’’t the only Rabbit simp in the Pizzaplex

-Vanny is now arrested and is broght to rehab to forget about Glitchtrap but it doesn’t seem to be working lmao 

William (this is just for fun)

-LITERAL OLD MAN WHO WON’T STAY IN HIS RETIREMENT HOME

-SOMEONE GET MIKE HERE HIS DAD WONT STFU

-he always comes back-his weak frail body is now even weaker because of Blob

-when will he die, goddamit guys, use ice or smth, fire is obviously not working, IM LOOKING AT YOU THREE HENRY, MIKE AND GREGORY

Ok wow that was a lot, so uhh yea enjoy this stupid brain rot

Atleast im not the only one suffering

[scorpiobitch95]

Summary: You try convince Walter to love your favorite snack throughout your years together. The best dates are shared over cereal, after all.

Pairing: Walter Marshall x Female Reader

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: sugary sweet fluff, implied smut — nothing graphic, snarkiness, grumpy Walter to fluffy Walter, cursing, cuteness overload.

Author's Note: I let myself get carried away with this one. I needed grumpy but sweet Walter in my life. I hope you enjoy!

Edited by myself, sorry not sorry for the errors.

Taglist: @justaboringadult @greensleeves888 @cavillsharman @beck07990 @summersong69 @myloveforhenrycavill @kebabgirl67

Taglist for this fic: @lumiousmoon

*No permission is given for reposting my work, copying it, or claiming any ideas or parts as your own.

Please comment and reblog if you enjoyed!

It started when you and Walter were early dating.

💋

“Mmmm, pause. I need a snack.” Uncurling yourself from Walter’s warm body on the couch, you made your way to the kitchen to find something to cure your hunger. You called behind you, “Want anything, Marsh?”

“Whatever you’re having... I’ll have the same.”

“Cereal it is!” You pulled the ceramic bowls from the cabinet and opened the fridge to grab the milk. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Walter’s face scrunch in confusion. “What?”

“Cereal? Absolutely not,” Walter scoffed. “Would you grab me those spicy crisps?”

“Spicy chips, coming right up.” Vernacular was the subject of an ongoing heated debate with the Brit: the great ‘Names for Snacks Debate’ was especially hostile.

Once settled back under the blanket and snuggled into his side once more, you unpaused the movie. The energy in the room shifted, you could sense that you were being watched, but you refused to look up to look at Walter’s face. The judgment coming from the bear of a man who crunched his chips beside you was glaring.

"Stop it," you told him as you kept your eyes on the movie.

Walter didn’t say a word. His eyes traveled back to the TV but kept finding their way back to you.

“Walt, what is it? Is there something on my face?” You giggled at him lightly, unsure of what was bothering him.

“You really chose that for a snack?” His face was bewildered as if you were eating a bowl of Jeep parts.

“What? Don’t tell me you don’t eat cereal as a snack.” He shook his head curtly, wearing a look of disgust. Your eyebrows crinkled together as you followed by asking, “Not even as a quick dinner?”

“Cereal is meant for one time and one place, and that’s sometimes in the mornings for breakfast. That's why they call it breakfast cereal, love. Not dinner cereal, not snack cereal... Do you also eat cereal for lunch?” He was poking fun at you now.

“No, I’m not a heathen, Walter. Here, try a bite, just trust me. It’s amazing as a movie snack.”

His eyes were wide as a grimace was sent in your direction, “You’re crazy — no one does that.”

“Plenty of people do that,” you stated matter-of-factly.

“I’m really not the biggest fan…” Walter sighed and settled further into the couch, preparing for your exasperation that he knew was soon to follow.

“WHAT. Not the biggest fan of cereal? I’m sorry, you were sheltered as a child, weren’t you? There's cereal out there for everyone, Walt. Come on, try it.” You scooped a spoonful of your sugary Cinnamon Toast Crunch and held it to him. He reluctantly obliged your wishes, eating the bite but keeping a look of pain on his face for the entire time he chewed.

"See? Delicious. Ice-cold, crunchy, sweet, perfect." A sugary grin accompanied your playful tone, and Walter shook his head again, exaggerating his distaste for having to chew such an atrocity.

"Mhm. Definitely delicious." Your goofy bear was simmering under the surface of his scouring demeanor, though he stuck his tongue out in mock disgust.

"You're not the biggest fan," you muttered under your breath and rolled your eyes for dramatic effect. "I'll show you."

💋

Standing in the grocery store, you and Walter were having a battle of wits, arguing on the subject of your sweet tooth.

“I’m just trying to show concern for your dental health since you obviously won’t; all that sugar isn’t good for you.” Walter stood stern with his arms crossed, unmoving and solid like a brick wall.

“I appreciate your worry, Dad, but I’m going to keep eating it because I love it. One day, I bet I’ll convince you and you’ll be eating it with me. Plus, my dental health is immaculate, my dentist said so.”

The expression on Walter's face was unwavering as his eyebrows raised in a non-verbal challenge to your declaration.

“I don’t know how you can stand to eat that crap,” he muttered, thinking you couldn’t hear him.

“Oh no, don’t you dare, you grump! I don’t get on you about your snacks, back off mine. ” Despite his unnecessary grouchiness, you placed a hand on his crossed arms and raised up on your toes to give him a soft kiss on his bearded face. “Balance, babe. It’s all about balance.” You dug your way through his arms to find his hands and you drug him a little further down the cereal aisle.

“Come on, grumbly, pick out a cereal you think you might enjoy, for experiment’s sake.”

💋

“Fuck, babe. I’m going to be late, we just got called out on another accident. I am so sorry… I’m not sure when I’ll be home.” Walter had been working a ton lately, and his irritation with just how much he’d been working was starting to show. The two of you had been together for a few months now and had started to grow accustomed to having the other around consistently. You both became out of sorts when you hadn’t seen each other in a while.

“Don’t even worry about it, Walter. Just be careful, please... You should still come over when you’re finished tonight, but no pressure if you’re exhausted.”

“Of course, still need to kiss you goodnight. I can’t sleep if I haven’t.”

Walter Marshall might be a grump, but that grump could make your heart flutter in ways that you’d never felt before. Maybe it was that his sweetness and his charms were completely reserved for you and you alone. His teddy bear nature only appeared when he was near you.  After putting back the ingredients for dinner to save for another night, you went to change into your sweats.

Walter appeared at your front door at 12:30 that night, nearly asleep but still standing strong. You’d dozed off on the couch after his call, but were immediately energized again when you saw his beautiful form standing in your doorway.

“Hello, I’m here to have a very late night date with an incredibly beautiful woman,” Walter said, the gravel in his voice making you shiver. Despite his exhaustion, Walter managed to smile at you with one of the biggest smiles you’d ever seen him manage.

You smirked, waving him inside. “Get in here, Bear.”

Walter reached his arms out to you, inviting you into his embrace. Your arms wrapped around his thick torso and you ran your hands up and down his sweater-clad back; he melted into you and burrowed his face into your neck. Walter released an exhaustive exhale. It was heavy and forceful, as though he’d been holding it back behind a stone barricade for the entirety of his day. Warmth flooded your body as his words vibrated from his chest, “Mmm... I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. Let’s get you fed. Preferences?”

Still snuggled in your neck, he gave his reply, “Nothing heavy, please. I don’t want to fall asleep at the table. That wouldn’t make for a good date.”

“Oh Walter, we can postpone date night, you need to eat something and get to bed. It’s nearly one,” you observed gently as you leaned your head back to get a better look at his face.

“No. I came here to have a date night. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day. I need you.” Walter’s warm lips caressed your forehead, placing soft kisses on you. “You think you’re still up for it?”

Nodding at him sweetly, you untangled from his embrace and went to tumble through the fridge, offering out suggestions for food, but he insisted, yet again, that you don’t go to any trouble.

“Okay… you’re going to hate it, but my last option is cereal. Other than that, it’s gonna be random leftovers.” You continued moving containers around in the fridge, taking stock of what you had left from the week before.

“Actually, I think I can handle some cereal.” You whipped your head around incredulously to look and heckle him, but he gruffly interrupted, pointing a finger at you from where he sat at your kitchen table. "Don't. Don't start. It's been a brutal day, and something cold doesn't sound half bad."

You smirked in silence as you turned back and poured your bowls, dancing your hips lightly side to side. Grabbing the candles you had left out for your dinner date, you lit them and placed them gently on the table between the two of you. It was date night, after all.

“Late night cereal date, it is.” Reaching down to caress his chin, you kissed one bearded cheek before sitting beside him. Walter’s lips held a slight curl, softly smiling at your glee.

💋

“Love, snack break?”

The two of you were engaged in an intense game of Scrabble, one of your favorite date-night-in traditions. Nodding your head in Walter’s direction, you continued to study your letters and the board with pure focus until you heard the twinkling sound of cereal hitting ceramic.

Not wanting to draw too much attention, you peeked up from your letter rack to make sure your ears weren’t deceiving you. Walter was not just making a bowl for you, but he was also making one for himself.

No way.

Walter made his way back to the table with the cereal, and you looked up at him in shock as though you hadn’t already noticed what he’d done.

“What is this? What is this I see? Walter Marshall choosing breakfast cereal as a snack? Why, I just cannot believe it.” Mock-surprise overtook your form as you motioned fake mind-blowing explosions from your head. Walter rolled his eyes.

“I figured If I can learn to like you, I can learn to like cereal.”

“HEY.”

Walter shrugged, retaking his seat at the table.

You squinted your eyes at him as you declared, “You’re going down for that. And I don’t just mean by losing this game.” A wicked grin crossed your face when you played your double score word:

“CHEERIO”

💋

Walter worked a lot of graveyard shifts while you were dating and during your early years of marriage while you worked a normal 8-5. Sometimes the only moments that you could see each other were when he came home from his shift early in the mornings before you started your day or in the evenings when you got home before he left to start his.

One early morning during your engagement, Walt showed up unannounced after a hard few nights at the PD. He was worn down but happy to see you, smiling through his exhaustion. This was the longest you’d been apart in a while; you hadn't seen each other in 4 days. You kissed him, lips attacking his while his arms snaked around you and pulled you tightly to his body. He hadn’t even come into the house yet.

Pulling him inside, your hands reached up to hold his scruffy face as you placed a more gentle kiss on his lips. “Babe, have you had dinner? Let’s get you something to eat… what would you like?”

He unfastened his holster, dropping it on the table by the door. Sinking into a chair, Walter bent over to untie his boots as he answered, “Honestly, anything is fine, just some kind of food.”

“I can cook you something! Why don’t you let me —“

“Sweet, don’t go to any trouble. I just want to see you before you go to work.”

He looked at the table where you had just sat down to a bowl of cereal for a quick breakfast before he arrived and pointed lazily to it. “That, I’ll take some,” he said, sleep trying to overtake his form.

Slowly grinning at his statement, you mentioned, "Isn't this technically your dinner time?" Walter wasn’t amused as he tilted his head to look at you as you gasped playfully, “You do realize you're about to eat cereal for dinner, right, Marsh?" Too sleepy to give his verbal rebuttal, he glared at you, the corners of his lips turning up slightly, which was your signal to accept your victory and move on.

Smiling softly back at him, you made your way to pour him a big bowl and made him a cup of piping hot tea to accompany it. Watching his face as he ate, you observed the little creases and purple-gray rings that had formed around his deep ocean-blue eyes. His beard was unkempt and had grown past its normal length just in the few days you’d been apart; you could see this was a new level of exhaustion.

“Tough night?” You asked him, moving your chair closer to him.

He nodded. “Very.” The nights were becoming more strenuous recently. Ever since he had switched to the detective unit, work had been holding him hostage and was taking a toll more than he’d like to admit.

His hand reached over to squeeze the free one lying on your lap. “I’m happy to see you, love.” The hard lines on his face softened as he traced lazy circles on the back of your hand with his calloused thumb. You could see in his eyes that he meant it, that you were his safe space. Walter always was in protection mode, always on alert, even though you tried to keep him at ease when he was with you. He was only really ever at ease once he was home and you were safe in his arms.

The food began to rouse him from sleepiness, and as he gained alertness, Walter’s brow furrowed as he took notice of the cereal box sitting on the dining table. “This is the one we’re eating? I expected you to be eating more of one of those tooth-rotting cereals that you love so much.” He looked over at the box of Honey Bunches of Oats with curiosity and then back at you, lifting what you called his ‘detective eyebrow.’

“This is… surprisingly somewhat better for you? Or at least it acts like it is.”

“Oh come on, I’m not that bad. I only let you believe that I am. It is my breakfast time after all,” you winked at him knowingly.

“Good to know my words are finally starting to sink in. I mean, it’s not that much better for you,” he was reading the box now, “but at least it isn’t borderline fluorescent, like those artificial fruity ones you’re always eating.”

“You know, it’s almost like I expect the hate and just enact my deflection shield every time you walk in the door.” You started giggling, unable to keep a straight face as you threw your arms in front of your face as a shield to his words. “Don’t worry, Walt, my guilty pleasure cereal collection is well-stocked. And quit hating on my Fruity Pebbles.”

💋

Slowly over time, these seemingly random cereal dates became a large foundation for quality time. These dates became like snapshots, each one memorable in its own way.

When you two hadn’t seen each other in days, you caught up over a cold bowl of sugary sweetness. You, telling all the details of your days; him, quietly listening and trying his best to leave his nights behind.

From then on, all it took was knowing you could have a cereal date mixed in the chaos of everyday life. Anytime things got hard or heavy, it was time to have a cereal date. Anytime you had a fight: you both would pause and make a bowl of cereal, sitting across the table from each other so that you could speak your feelings. There weren’t many of the world’s problems, or your own, that couldn’t be solved over sugary cereal and cold milk.

💋

You’d dragged Walter to your shared bed as soon as he’d arrived home, having not seen him for more than a few minutes at a time for the past month. This current case of his was intense and ongoing, but he was finally finished. You knew he was defeated in energy, but you were ovulating and your hormones were raging. Your body craved his touch and the feel of his skin gliding upon your own.

The plan was to go to dinner for a romantic evening since it had been a long while since that had been possible, but as soon as he walked through the door, your feral sexuality washed over you and you jumped into his arms. You clung to him with your face in his neck, taking in his scent and the warmth of his strong arms holding you up. He clung to you just as tightly. There was no complaint from the bear, for he was more than happy to spend the evening spoiling his lover.

Cuddling in the afterglow of your countless orgasms, a storm raged outside as tree limbs slapped at your windows incessantly.

“Wow, it sounds awful out there. I know we were going out, but I think that point is moot now.” You glanced up at Walter, kissing his jaw. “Let’s just cook something easy instead.”

“That sounds great, and we can stay naked.” Walt’s eyebrows danced flirtatiously as he grinned down at you, his hands caressing your warm skin. “I’ll go hunt around so I can keep my woman energized for the night ahead. We are nowhere near done.”

He’d only been gone a minute when a crack of thunder shook the house and the lights went dark. You heard his mumbling coming from the kitchen; he had called in to get a status update from the energy company.

Walking back into the bedroom, Walter, in his naked glory, walked over to where you laid, illuminated only by the candle he held in his hand. Wow, your husband was delicious.

"Power’s out for the whole city. It’ll take hours since this storm doesn’t have an end in sight. Looks like a hot dinner is off the table… and no one will deliver in this weather. I guess we know what’s for dinner." Setting the candle on the nightstand, he crawled back into bed.

Feeling seductive, despite being completely spent from your ravenous love-making mere minutes beforehand, you still hadn’t had your fill of your husband. You bit your lip as you ran your eyes up and down his exquisite body and cheekily replied, “Me, I hope.”

He chuckled lowly, the fangs in his pearly-white smile glinting at you in the candlelight. “You? Yes. I plan to feast on you all night long, kitten. But you’re going to need some sustenance first.” He was hovering over you. You couldn’t help yourself as you reached to run your fingers along his hairy chest and wrapped a leg around his hip, pulling him closer to you.

"Make it a cereal date?" You grinned at him.

“You read my mind.”

💋

“Our child is going to come out looking like the Lucky Charms Leprechaun if you don’t change it up some, love.”

Your cravings were intense. You’d heard several different views from your girlfriends and sisters: some craved random things they never even liked before, and some craved more of the things that they already loved and ate religiously before pregnancy. You fell into the latter. Cereal was your most sought-after snack: a big surprise to no one.

There weren’t many cliche late-night ice cream runs, but there were plenty of cereal and milk runs. Walter was a dutiful dad already, not lecturing you too often on what you wanted; he knew you were doing what you had to for the baby, and you ate healthily enough… aside from the copious amounts of junk cereal.

True to numerous other times in your life, date nights were hard to come by, even still. Sometimes the only dates you and Walter would get were in the wee hours of the morning when you’d wake up with a craving.

Walter was extremely doting, and even though he’d always been a caretaker, he really came into his own when you both learned you were to become parents. He’d crawl from the bed without a word, rummaging in the kitchen to bring you a bowl of your favorite and even bringing a small one for himself. You two would snuggle in the bed and talk. Talk about your baby, about future babies, about the future, about your dreams, all of it. You never knew when you met the grumpy bear that he would become this sweet of a man, always tender with you even when he was rough. Maybe it was the cereal sugar that had sweetened him up, at least you’d like to think so.

💋

Your daughter had been in the world for a little over three weeks, and neither you nor Walter had gotten much sleep since her arrival.

Walter finally got her down to sleep while you watched from the nursery doorway. You hadn’t had a meal together or slept at the same time for more than 10 minutes in weeks.

He was standing over her crib, resting his arms on the side as he watched her sleep. He was infatuated with this tiny human who had completely taken hold of his heart.

“Honey, join me for a date?” Your smile was tired, and as your bear’s exhausted eyes met yours, you wondered if you two shouldn’t just go to bed, but you missed him. You’d barely gotten the chance to praise him for how good of a daddy he was to your little girl.

“Mhm, gladly. Our usual?” He quietly followed you to the living room, where the coffee table had already been set up with the works. Craving the feel of his touch on your skin, you both sat on the couch and you laid your legs across his lap while you enjoyed the serenity of each other’s company.

💋

A chill glided across your skin as you awoke from a dream. You rolled over, reaching your arms out to find your sturdy man, searching for his warmth. Instead, you found cold bedsheets.

Unlike Walter to not be in bed with a furry arm draped over you, you pulled on your robe and went to find him, a slight worry filling your mind.

Surely he would have woken me if he’d had to go in?

As you stepped into the hallway, you heard hushed giggles and whispers coming from the kitchen. You stopped to poke your head into your kids’ rooms. Their beds were empty.

At least it’s Saturday.

Quietly pitter-pattering to your kitchen, you peered your head around the corner to find one of the sweetest sights your eyes had ever seen: your two babes, 8 and 5, were playing a princess board game at the table with your Bear. Cereal by their side, giggles ensued as the sugar hit their systems and they tried their best to keep quiet.

Walter’s deep whisper quietly filled the space. “Shh, girls. We can’t wake Mum, she needs her rest.”

“Can I have more Cap’n Crunch, Daddy?” Your youngest had an insatiable sweet tooth, just like her mama. She was quietly bouncing in her chair and smiling a toothy grin at her daddy.

“You’re just like your mum,” Walter beamed at her, obliging her wishes. “Just a little more, love, then we need to brush our teeth and get back to sleep.”

Not wanting the girls to know that you knew about their secret, you decided to make your way back to bed, but not before catching your husband’s eye as he winked at you and a grin radiated from his face.

Warm tingles filled your body as you silently thanked the universe for Walter and the life that the two of you had built together. Walter was the best dad and husband in the world. How had you gotten so lucky?

💋

“Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Golden Grahams, love?” Walter called to you from the kitchen.

The movie was selected, the kids were away for the evening sleeping at friend’s houses, and you and Walter were having a much-deserved night in.

You called back to him, “I’m thinking I’m going to skip the cereal? I’m not really feeling it tonight. I will, however, eat the spicy chips. Oh, and grab that dip out of the fridge, will ya?”

“For the last time, they are crisps.” Annoyance was evident by his tone.

“They’re chips, Walter. You’ve lived in the states for how long now? Just give it up already.”

“No fucking way. Wait… You don’t want cereal? Are you feeling alright?” Walter’s head popped into the doorway that connected the kitchen to the living room, his face stern with confusion and concern.

“Ehh, not right now. Yes, I’m fine, Marsh,” you giggled. “Just feeling like something different for once.”

“Well, that’s shocking. I’m just wondering if you’re really my wife.” Giggles continued to flow out of you as he wandered back to where you were seated. He handed you your snack, and plopped on the couch next to you, cuddling into you as you tossed a blanket over both of your bodies. Walter started the movie and began to chow down on the bowl of cereal he’d made for himself. You couldn’t control the smirk that spread across your lips as you watched him out of the corner of your eye.

“What?” he asked, his mouth full of the golden and cinnamon squares. His eyes met yours, questioning you.

“I would just like to point out that I knew I could convince you.”

His brow furrowed in confusion, not sure what you meant. “Convince me of what?”

“That cereal is the best movie snack.”

“I don’t know if I’d say it’s the best…”

“Walt, I’m sitting here with your previous favorite movie snack in my hands, and you totally skipped over it and went for cereal. I’m just saying, I told you so. It’s okay, I’ve known I was right all along, you don’t have to admit it.”

“Hmm.” He growled, mouth full again as he ignored your statement.

“Give me a bite!” You pressed closer to him, reaching for his spoon as he angled his body and cereal away from you.

“Oh no, nice try. You tease, you don’t get any.”

“Fine, grumpy, I’ll go make my own. Keep watching, I’ll be back.”

Shuffling to the kitchen, you proceeded to grab a bowl and make your own, but you found both cereal boxes empty on the counter. Quickly turning to check your special cereal cabinet for a backup box, you discovered you were completely out.

“WALTER! Are you fucking kidding me? We just bought those!” Standing with your arms crossed in the doorway, you glared at Walt as he stared back at you unfazed.

“I hate to break up your gloating, but you created this monster, love. And don’t forget about our two other little monsters who take after you.” His grin was cocky; he knew he’d bested you. Laser beams could have been shooting from your eyes for all you knew. You shook your head in disbelief at the audacity of your husband.

That bastard. That beautiful bastard.

Walter smiled softly at you and motioned for you to rejoin him on the couch. Much to your dismay, your anger at him diffused immediately. “Love, I’ll go buy more first thing in the morning. Here, come and share mine. I’ll be nice… it is date night, after all.”

* I do not own Walter Marshall, Nomis, Night Hunter, or anything related to it.

[fbfh]

light up the dark [VI] - leo x reader

genre: mid adventure domestic fluff overture, romance, smutty lemony bit towards the end

word count: 3k

pairing: Leo x gothy!child of eros!fem reader

requested: very much so, yes

warnings: magic manipulation powers, feelings are hard and weird and scary, some innuendos, the phrase hot gusher out of context, the word dirty talk, trying to "proposition [someone] in front of two for one cookie crisp", brief credit card theft, jason thinks ketchup is spicy and gets clowned on for it, one use of the word lube in reference to mechanical lubricant, shirtless leo remember that one piece of shirtless leo viria art?????? remember the caption?????, your facade is beginning to crack, deadpan joke about being dead in space, making out, whole lotta sexual tension, brief mention of a boner, teeny tiny bit of grinding, getting interrupted, c*lypso

summary: after an extensive shopping trip, you, Leo, and Jason settle into your airbnb and wait for the others to arrive. Jason takes a nap, and Leo helps you dye your hair. You return the favor by helping him make dinner which leads to two things; a well timed boner, and a poorly timed visitor.

listen to: power and control - marina, 100 bad days - ajr, all I ask - adele

a/n: let's play spot the zack and cody reference within the first paragraph

also surprise the series isn't dead!! a shock to all but mostly me!!

as with all smexy smutty nsfw content, all characters are aged up to 18+

Standing in front of a wall of hair dye taller than you are should have been exciting. It would have been, except for the fact that all the colors were various shades of honey mist auburn. You really don’t want to have to make a separate trip to a beauty store for hair dye. Your eyes land on a firetruck red box, and gratefully, you realize you won’t have to.

“Perfect,” you muse, throwing it into your cart, along with the other stuff on the list you’d divided between you. You grab a few other things from the beauty section while you’re there; some makeup, eyeliner, a glass nail file, and a tiny pair of oil slick cuticle scissors.

Nearby is a guy a little older than you in a varsity hoodie and sweatpants squinting at a two in one shampoo label.

Perfect, you think, beginning to approach. You work your magic - literally - and within a few minutes you have his credit card. It takes way less time than it used to. You also didn’t have to smile and flirt nearly as much as you used to. You’re relieved that you don’t have to fake enthusiasm around rich douchebags the way you used to, and a new inky drop of fear begins to stain the corners of your mind. You can’t even bear to admit it to yourself, but you’re kind of scared. Before you can begin to question if you know what love is and if you’re capable of experiencing it without the influence of your divine heritage, you shove it all away. Not the place, not the time. You speed up a little, passing an endcap of candy, and knock a box into your cart.

On the other side of the store, Jason checks off items from their half of the list as Leo tosses items in the cart, talking along the way. Of course, you came up in conversation rather quickly.

“She’s… a real piece of work.” Jason says, treading lightly.

“You said it, man,” Leo agrees, sliding a pack of coke onto the bottom of the cart. Jason thinks for a moment before continuing.

“She seems to,” he tries to figure out how to phrase their dynamic, “not hate you as much as everyone else.” Leo laughs at the accuracy of the statement. He can tell Jason has something else to say, so he’s quiet while putting paper plates and napkins into the cart.

“Hey, Leo?”

“Yeah?”

“Just… don’t let her hurt you, okay?”

He stops for a second. He’s so lucky to have a friend like Jason, one that will genuinely look out for him, but sometimes people caring for him still catches him off guard. Really off guard. With no idea how to begin to verbalize that complicated mess, he takes a split second to collect himself.

“Thanks, man.”

His smile is sincere.

Don’t let her hurt you. Can he just do that? Not let someone hurt him? Especially someone like you. He’s only had a few long term crushes before, all just out of reach and only getting further away. Only one had amounted to something - not that he could call what he had with Calypso ‘something’. She certainly wouldn’t. He looks around, trying to shake off the sting. He starts to get that unsettled, itchy feeling when he focuses on stuff like that for too long.

‘At least I got some good stories out of it,’ he thinks, messing with the back of his hair and fixing his hoodie strings.

“Here.”

He turns around, coming face to face with you, holding out a box very close to him.

“Hot gusher.” You say softly. What? His cheeks heat up, pulse speeding up suddenly. He glances at Jason, who’s at the other end of the aisle asking an employee something. Are you implying something? Are you trying to proposition him in front of two for one cookie crisp? He’s unable to look away from your gaze, intense and striking. You couldn’t possibly mean what he thinks you mean. Your fingers brush and he’s struggling to find an elegant way to say ‘hey, maybe the grocery store isn’t an ideal place for dirty talk’.

“W- uh, sorry, what?” he says, laughing in an equally hushed tone, needing to make sure you meant what he thought you did. You glance down, then back up.

“They’re spicy gushers. I thought you’d like them.” the feeling is gone in a split second, the same time it took to arrive, and is replaced with relief. He looks down at the box, realizing he’d taken it from you at some point. He laughs at the ridiculousness of his previous panic.

“Thanks,” he says, a reflective smile on his face.

You realize how comforted you are to see him smile, really smile, when you catch yourself having to keep a neutral face. One of the first times your resting bitch face has been intentional. Before you can say you’re welcome, Jason comes back over. You hand him the card.

“Pin number’s 0401.”

They both stare at you, skimming the label of a granola bar, completely unperturbed.

“How…”

“Credit card theft.”

The logical part of Leo’s brain starts to speak up, telling him to raise his guard, that his stomach should be twisting. If you can just take someone’s credit card without a hint of remorse, who knows what the hell kind of damage you could do to him if he got closer to you? And he really wants to get closer to you.

“Oh,” you pull a small pop top tube out of your cart and hand it to Leo, “this is for you too. You know, since you don’t like coffee,” you trail off as he reads the label. Caffeine and electrolyte drink tablets, red berry rampage flavor. He looks up at you, feeling warm and… something else, something ineffable, at the gesture.

You stare at each other, eyes locked, surprised at the strangely intimate feeling stirring in both of you.

“What are those?” Jason asks, snapping you out of whatever that was.

“Spicy gushers,” Leo says, smiling again, “I didn’t even know they made those.”

“Hot mango,” Jason reads from the side of the box, “that actually sounds pretty good.”

“No way dude, you can’t handle spicy food.” He starts to protest, and Leo continues, “You think ketchup is spicy!” He looks shocked.

“Okay, that was one time! It was a weird brand and there was way too much pepper in it!”

You bite back a giggle at their bickering, taking note of how much better Leo seems to be doing and finding surprising comfort in their banter.

It doesn’t take long to get to the airbnb and get set up. You all dump your bags in your rooms, bring in the groceries, and shove everything into the cabinets in a reasonably organized manner.

Jason heads upstairs to unpack and call Piper, announcing a few minutes later that they should be here in less than two hours.

“Perfect,” you pull out your hair dye from the last bag. It’s not exactly the manic panic wildfire red you’d initially wanted, but it’s definitely better than nothing. You stare at the box for a second, then up at Leo who’s trying to get one more bag of chips to fit in with the others.

“Hey,” you say, just loud enough to get his attention, “do you… can you get the back of my head?” He looks at you, questioning, and you hold up the box dye. He smiles, once again noting your softened edges around him.

“Yeah,” he agrees, and minutes later you’re in the bathroom, adorned in a big tee shirt covered in all your previous hair colors. He’s staring at your shirt, eyes dancing over the swirls and splatters of color. It reminds him of a painting he’d seen once, unable to remember the name.

You shake the bottle, skimming the instructions again, then start speaking to him, eyes still on the box.

“Take a section of hair, about this much,” you demonstrate, holding out a section of hair, “rub in the dye like this…”

You hand him the second bottle of red dye, and he starts on the back. His fingertips start separating out a section of your hair, and you still, a shiver running up your spine. He hesitates for a moment, then continues, and you hope he hadn’t noticed. His breath fans your ear, and you can feel the heat radiating off his chest. Your lungs are shallow suddenly, squeezed tight like a bouquet clutched in a shaking hand. You find it almost impossible to focus on dying the front half of your hair.

You don’t want it to stop, you realize. His fingertips dancing along your hair, the glimpses of his incredibly focused face in the bathroom mirror, the way he’ll gently turn your head to make sure he didn’t miss a spot.

“Shit,” he leans back, hunching forward. You look behind you, eyes landing immediately on the spot of red dye on his shirt.

“Shit,” you echo. He looks back at you, waiting to see how he’ll react.

“Oh, it’s all good - no worries. I already have a ton of motor oil and lube - lubricant… machine grade, petroleum based engine lubricant-” he laughs, “stains on this shirt anyway. Don’t sweat it.”

You almost laugh. A giggle bubbles up from your chest and stomach, but catches in your throat. Before it can come out, he slips off his dye stained gloves, and tugs off his dye stained shirt from the back. It seems to happen in slow motion. In a mere moment, your eyes engraving every detail, every line and curve and freckle to memory.

There’s really no delicate way to put it; he’s fucking jacked. Deceptively so. You’re frozen in place, cheeks flushed. You suddenly wonder what it would be like to be wrapped up in his arms, held so close to him.

You snap yourself out of the thought, all of that occurring in just a few seconds. He leans past you, setting the dye stained shirt carefully on the counter, glancing at you intensely.

“Are you checking me out?”

You make yourself roll your eyes and turn away, replying, “I’m sure you’d love that.”

Angled away from him, you momentarily reprimand yourself, squeezing your eyes shut and mouthing oh my god. You turn back to him, not recalling the last time you had to deliberately keep up your aloof front around someone like this.

“So, are we finishing my hair or just gonna leave it like this?” you ask rhetorically, motioning to your half done hair.

He watches you do this, confirming his suspicion that you’re really not as cold as you let on. A smile blooms on his face, and he doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything as… cute as that.

“Yeah,” he replies, slipping his gloves back on. The things you do around him seem to mean more now. He notices the way your eyes flutter closed for a moment when he plays with your hair, working in the dye, or the way you still for a split second when he gets a little too close to the side of your face, checking that he didn’t miss a spot.

He doesn’t want this to end either. But eventually, your hair is fully saturated with dye, the timer on your phone counting down slowly. There’s still some dye left. He sits on the closed toilet.

“Your turn. Do me.”

“What?” you laugh.

“Yeah, a little streak - up here.” He leans forward, sectioning off a part of his hair.

“Seriously?” you ask.

“Yeah. Unless you don’t want to match…” he muses. Your eyes get this dreamy look for the briefest second, then you’re turning back to shake the bottle some more.

“I guess… I mean there’s too much dye to throw out, we might as well do something with it.”

It’s his turn, now, to feel the warmth from your body, your hands running through his hair. His eyes want to close, and bask in the feeling, but he refuses to miss out on the view of you so soft, so close to him. It doesn’t last nearly long enough for either of you, and much too soon you’re pulling away and throwing away the gloves and empty bottles.

By the time you finish cleaning up and throw out the garbage, it’s time to rinse your hair. Hanging your head over the tub, you let the water flow over your head until Leo tells you it’s running clear. He does the same, and you point out too late that he only had to rinse the dyed part, not his whole head.

You both laugh as you wrap a towel around your hair, teaching him how to do the same.

“Sweet, I’ve always wondered how to do the spa snail towel thing.”

“The spa snail towel thing?” You try in vain to fight another laugh.

“Yeah, you know… cause it looks like a snail, and they do it at spas…”

“Oh… my gods…” you laugh, exiting the bathroom and heading down the hall, “I”m going to get changed.” you call.

“Am I wrong?” he asks after you, and you bite your lip to stop yourself from laughing. He heads to his room to do the same.

A few minutes later, you’re carefully pulling on your top, when he calls through your door.

“Hey, I’m gonna be in the kitchen, come down when you’re ready.”

“...Okay,” you agree.

You check your outfit in the mirror. You can still feel his fingers brushing your neck. Your head tilts at the memory. Snapshots of him pulling off his shirt in slow motion flash in your memory.

You realize how much of an affect the last hour has had on you. Your stomach drops.

You can’t possibly be falling in love. No way. Not a snowball’s chance in hell.

You’re not the falling in love type. At most, you’d hook up with someone a couple times on the rare occasion you thought they were hot, too.

Oh, you decide, that must be what’s happening. I just think he’s hot. I mean, duh. Of course he’s hot. Did you see him in there?

That’s all you have to do; hook up with him once, maybe twice, then you’ll get over it. It’ll make his ex jealous, and they’ll get back together. It will go just like it always has. Then you can move on to whatever the next crisis is.

You take a breath, resolving to follow the plan, exit your room. You throw yours and Leo’s old clothes and towels in the hamper, and head down stairs. He greets you, and pulls you into the kitchen.

“I have something to ask you.” Your brow furrows.

“...Okay.”

He takes your hand in his, the other behind his back.

“Will you…” he looks at you, gaze piercing, “...be my sous-chef.” he finishes, holding out an apron, matching his.

You study him, a hopeful, surprisingly confident look on his face. His hair is still damp. You’re sure yours is, too. You wait a beat, before replying slowly.

“Yes. But I’m not wearing that.”

“That’s fair,” he says, setting the apron on the counter, “I will have to dock your pay for being out of uniform, though.” You let out a puff of air from your nose, biting back a laugh. He pulls out a skillet, bowl, and oil, and begins preheating the pan. You watch him pull out more ingredients, and begin to set things up.

“Right now we’re waiting on that,” he says nodding at the stove. You nod, inspecting a bottle of seasoning he’d pulled out, and settle into a comfortable silence.

He thinks back to the last time you had time like this - playing twenty questions at your apartment. A pit forms in his stomach as he remembers the conversation veering to Calypso, as it always seemed to. He shoves it away. Not this time. He steadies his nerves. “So, you want to play twenty questions?”

You agree, coming closer to him.

��If you could go anywhere, where would you go?”

Your eyes flick over to the clock. You have a solid hour, hour and a half before the others are supposed to get here. You stare at him, brushing hair out of his face.

“I’d be dead in the endless void of deep space.”

He cracks a smile at how on brand that response was. Your fingertips trail down to his neck, rethen shoulder. The smile doesn’t leave his face, not completely. Your heart beats loudly in anticipation.

“My turn. Do you want to make out?”

His head snaps up, eyes locked with yours, trying to tell if you’re serious or if this is another example of your distinct sense of humor. But he can tell it’s not - there’s something a little too close to the surface in your eyes.

“Yeah. Yes, totally-”

You grab his collar, pulling him in for a kiss, and leaning back against the empty counter.

His lips are soft and warm, moving gracefully with yours. You barely register that the first kiss ends before you dive back in. You angle your head, deepening the kiss. He plants one hand on the counter, the other making its way to the small of your back. You flick your tongue past his lips, and his grip on your waist tightens. You clutch his collar tighter, other hand moving through his hair, still damp at the ends.

You can tell he’s enjoying what you do by the way his mouth quirks up ever so slightly at the corners, and by the way he starts to harden beneath you. You roll your hips into his, and he falters, sighing, breath fanning your lips. Not quite a moan, but you’re getting there.

The front door opens before you can.

Leo pulls away reluctantly, very reluctantly, and turns off the stove.

“That was fast,” he says, panting slightly and still very flushed. They’re not supposed to be here for a while, still.

A tall girl enters the kitchen, dark strawberry blonde hair pulled over her shoulder. She looks between you and Leo with a sour expression on her face.

“Calypso,” Leo says.

"...Hi."

[totallytododeku]

☁ studying together ( x reader hc's) ☁

characters: midoriya, bakugou, todoroki, kirishima, yaoyorozu, uraraka, + ashido

genre: fluff  <33

☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁

I. Midoriya 🌳🍀🌻

this poor boy is so excited to be spending time with you

but he will not take his nose out of his textbook

he can't help it

he's so happy to be in the hero course he takes his schoolwork a little too seriously

however, you can use this to your advantage ;)

normally you're almost as invested in his journey to becoming the next Symbol of Peace and achieving his dream as he is

and you would never dream of doing anything that could jeopardize it

So you were silently bouncing off the walls with glee when you realized he was impervious to distractions when it came to studying

literally anything is fair game

which is why studying with him is your new favorite time of day

pet his hair

kiss his cheeks

climb into his lap

pat his head

hold his non-dominant hand

hug him from behind his chair

rest your head on his shoulder and take a nap

do whatever you want

you can basically do anything to him while he's studying without having to worry about distracting him

he will blush a little bit of you kiss him but but you think it's adorable

lol turn on whatever tv or music you want

but only if you're done with your work!!

hes very adamant that you keep up with your work as best you can do you can graduate side by side and be pro heroes together someday

K. Bakugou 💣💥 📢

he would totally be the one to invite you to study and he would probably want to study in his dorm

it's super quiet and nobody will bother you guys because they know it's that spiky gremlin's room

overall his room just has a really relaxing atmosphere

you love being near him as much as possible

and he's much more affectionate in the comfort of his dorm room

but that doesn't mean he's gonna go easy on u ;-;

he still has his gruff attitude and will make sure you're studying every day

or else he will call u baka and force you to sit down and study until you know all your material

he's actually a great tutor tho

he writes out all the work for each problem and explains them thoroughly

all while holding in you in his arms while you sit in his lap

sometimes you can convince him to play a game with you where every time you get an answer right he gives you a kiss

but you whine when you get one wrong and he won't kiss you

he huffs before giving you a kiss while still trying to look annoyed

stupid girl he mutters

but he pulls you a bit closer to him to hide his blush and moves on to the next problem despite your giggles

S. Todoroki ❄🔥🍜

he doesn't really need to study but he doesn't know how to just .. relax

like he doesn't know how to not do what his dad tells him to do

and his dad wants him to study

it's just easier for Todoroki to do what his dad wants than to rebel

that is, it was

Until he met you and the dekusquad

obviously everyone cares about their homework and wants to graduate well and go Plus Ultra!

but study sessions with Todoroki usually end up just being you guys trying to help him be less hard on himself while you have him as a captive audience

he doesn't really mind, though, especially when it's just you two

the intimacy of studying together in comfortable silence and just

enjoying each other's company

makes his heart go (*￣∇￣*)

like i said he doesn't really need to study so he'll just end up helping you review material

please just ... hold his hand :)

after you're done studying for the day just pull him into a hug and over to your bed

he needs a nap

you feel warm fuzzies inside from how caring he's been to sit with you while you finished your homework and bring you warm tea

you don't even think you just

Time for cuddles :3

it becomes your daily ritual to study together and then cuddle

he always falls asleep in your arms with a small smile

E. Kirishima 🗿🗿🗿

(HAHAHSHNSJ THE 🗿 EMOJI OMG I'M LITERALLY SO FUNNY LOL I'M CRYING)

"Okay, Y/N, let's study hard and do our homework like men!" *fist-pumping the air and grinning like an idiot*

"...what's so funny? "

he doesn't care if you're not a man it's his trademark

he likes to study at his desk because he says it's "important to stay focused and work diligently"

generally he is the least focused person, ever. besides kaminari.

however, he's so energetic and enthusiastic that once you sit down and start studying he'll be able to keep your motivation up until you've finished all your homework

GREAT at studying for tests and quizzes (in theory)

he will never give up

like I said he could keep studying for hours once he sets his mind to it

So you have to compromise and get him to study in short bursts throughout the day to help him have a better chance of remembering anything ;-;

his memory is not great but it's kinda cute

you, being the smart cookie that u are, realized the best way to help him memorize things was to study with flashcards frequently throughout the weekend while doing other activities

so you plan to hang out together and do something fun every week while having your study material on index cards in your back pockets

it's a literal study date.

a weekly date out to the mall or the park or a little coffee shop but with math trivia thrown in randomly throughout the afternoon!! :D

Of course he was ready to turn it into a game he's a literal puppy

he just wants to show you you can be proud of him

you giggle lightly when you hear him say that and let him know that you'll always be proud of him, no matter what

M. Yaoyorozu 👑🏆☕

studyblr wants what u have.

studying in momo's room makes you feel like a Victorian young lady studying moral philosophy, writing poetry about the mourning doves outside the garden window, and waiting for her husband to come home from sailing the seven seas

it's your Belle moment where she's in the royal library except it's every day

stacks of beautiful, old books

the smell of the crisp, white pages

soft classical music floating through the air

the window cracked open slightly

and you are the luckiest student in all of UA because you get to study with the smartest girl in the whole school

she's also gorgeous and sweet and perfect which def doesn't hurt

u know that joke that ur teacher can spend a year explaining something and u never understand but then a random indian guy on YouTube explains it in 2 minutes and you finally get it

she is that random indian guy

you will never struggle with a single concept after you start studying with her

And she's so proud of you for every little question you answer correctly

(even thought she's the one that explained it all so well in the first place)

it's the definition of comfortable silence

she insists that neither of you study too hard and that you take lots of breaks to stretch

she says its to help you stay concentrated but really she just wants to feel your gentle hands on her shoulders as you massage out the knots

you take turns kneading the tension out of each other's shoulders

you feel a pleasant tingle down your spine at the feeling of her soft breath on the back of your neck

She pulls away and you share awkward smiles, neither of you realizing the other one of blushing, too

(((*≧艸≦)ﾌﾟﾌﾟｯ

O. Uraraka 🌜🚀🙏

ur actually super productive study buddies

Like u started studying together and then all of a sudden you were almost at the top of your class

she's just so sweet that being with her gives you the energy you need to write that essay all in one sitting instead of procrastinating like a normal person

Shows up at your dorm with snacks and drinks to keep your energy up!! :D

even though she's still going to end up getting sleepy anyway later in the afternoon

You get most of your studying done at the beginning of your study date so it's not really a problem

you know she doesn't have a lot of money to be throwing around so you pay for dinner every night

It's usually takeout but sometimes you guys make your own dinner for fun!

it always turns out almost inedible and burned because neither of you were paying attention to the stove

don't let baku see it or he'll start screaming about how you need to try your best at everything so he can beat you fair and square and that includes cooking too

neither you nor uraraka can handle spicey food so you never eat what Bakugou cooks for the class

You grab a few bags of chips and some sushi and shut yourselves in your dorm to pull an all-nighter study session about once a month

it should make you tired but, again, studying with her is so enjoyable that you don't mind

u two enjoy each others company in studying so much that you sometimes read ahead in your textbooks just to be able to study more

overall, hanging out with her is just lighthearted and filled with giggles

and you just so happen to get all your homework done along the way

M. Ashido 👾👽🚿

"studying" with her is so much fun

Hanging out with Mina in general is so much fun

it's impossible not to smile when she's around so even if you have a huge exam tomorrow, all your worries fade away just from being with her

She is pretty distracting in cases where you actually wanted to get stuff done

But you don't care

Change of plans

you're doing mani pedi's with Mina

No more studying

it's not as bad as it sounds though

You're not slacking off or anything and you can still keep your grades up with help from your other friends like Momo and Iida

you guys are just goofing off in the privacy of your dorm room when you should be studying

"It's not a crime to be young, Y/ N ;)"

she's just so energetic and happy like a little pink ball of sunshine

you can't help but laugh at her silliness and cute antics after a long day of classes

she makes your heart beat faster like you're on a roller coaster but without the nerves

somehow you feel giddy and comfortable in her presence at the same time

it doesn't matter what you two are doing, you always have fun

make sure she goes to bed on time, though, or she might end up baking a seven-tier cake at 3 am and Bakugou will scream at you for waking him up

don't feed her after midnight lmao

i started writing this after i almost died of boredom in my online calc class. my senioritis is already kicking in and it's still September (｡-ω-)  

[fanficparker]

Hey! Can I request for a Haz x shy!reader where they go to his house to meet his family and she is all nervous or probably makes a mistake and is like, “your family must hate me now” and Haz comforts her? asasjajskkssjsk

LOVE SO SOFT // H.O.

Boyfriend!Harrison Osterfield x Fem!Reader

Word count: 1.7k words

Warnings: A little bit of blood, minor injury, anxious reader, loads of FLUFF, hurt/comfort

A/N: I made it a complete one-shot, haha. Hope, you like it :)

Summary: It starts on a crisp winter morning with a rose. It continues on a lazy summer afternoon with a bouquet. It doesn’t end on a pouring monsoon evening even with those three magic words.

Sometimes the thing you are searching the most in your life, never comes to you, no matter how hard you try to find it. But when you finally give up and stop searching for it, it may just right there, find you itself.

That thing was love in the case of Harrison.

IT HAPPENED ON ONE COLD CRISP MORNING. He was brisk walking on the pavement, enjoying the cool wind hitting his face when he was stopped by a little "Excuse me!"

He stopped and plugged the earphones out of his ears, turning to find a woman around his age, holding a piece of paper in her hand.

"Yeah?" He asked, shifting her eyes from the paper to his face.

"Er..." She walked closer. He could sense a brief hesitation in her movement, nevertheless, she stood in front of him, speaking - "Do you have any idea where this (she read out from the paper) Mi-Michi and Mavey's Bookstore is?"

The name seemed familiar to his ears. Before he could think any further, she interrupted him: "It's near some Burger shop... I forgot its name."

The bells rang this time.

"Yeah... It on the opposite side of the post office to the left!"

Oh, of course, she didn't know where that was either. He could tell by her expressions. She must be new here.

"Thank you." She smiled, though. He could again read the hesitation in her voice and movements. She was moving away from him, walking towards the wrong direction, away from the bookstore, from the post office. And that's when he offered to walk her there.

He wasn't looking out for anything that day. He wasn't looking out to talk to her. To notice the slight smile on her lips, or the great complimenting colour outfit she was wearing. Or the way she hid her embarrassment over small things. Or the rose she gave him either.

The rose.

Yes, it was the rose that did it all.

He wasn't expecting anything more than a thank you. And definitely nothing like a flower, a rose specifically.

When they stopped outside the bookstore, she did say thank you, but she also fiddled inside the handbag she was carrying. She plucked out a pink rose and handed it to him. He couldn't deny it because he never had learned to expect it in the first place.

Someone just gave him a rose. Someone he didn't even know the name of.

"Wait... What's your name?"

But she had got inside the bookstore and he had some urgent errands to run.

There was a shop tag attached to that rose. He could read it. He knew where to find her again. He did find her again.

And then again and again...

IT HAPPENED ON ONE HOT LAZY AFTERNOON. He had brought a red rose bouquet for her. How stupid it can be? After all, she worked here in a flower shop.

"You know this a flower shop, right?" She leaned across the counter, biting her lip.

"Yup, but this is not for you." He smirked while her face grew panicky.

"Tis' for my girlfriend..." He whispered, pecking at the base of the bouquet.

Not for her... She tried to push away the feeling of her heart ripping apart inside her rib cage.

It was okay; she told herself. She wasn't expecting him to fall in love for her like the way she did for him.

It was okay. She tried to smile.

"Oh... Th-that's great!" She showed some fake enthusiasm.

It was okay.

"I-I will like to meet her someday."

He noticed the hesitation again. But this time he wanted that. He watched her as she pretended, pretended to not care, to be happy for him.

It was too much.

"You can take that spot though and get these for yourself..." He sucked in a deep breath, "Be my girlfriend."

They kissed that day at the back of the shop in that narrow alleyway, slowly and passionately. Softly and hesitantly. Shyly and confidently.

They kissed again.

And then again and again...

IT HAPPENED ON ONE POURING MONSOON EVENING. He invited her to meet his family. She hesitated again. He had held her hand, not wanting to let go.

"Please... They will love you."

She still hesitated, not wanting to meet just yet. She was ready before they actually stepped on the front porch. She literally spent two hours getting ready. But now...

"Please... For me?"

His eyes, the way they glimmered and pleaded, was again too much. He was always too much for her. She closed her eyes and pressed the door-bell. Her smile was strained when his mom welcomed her. Her heart was pounding when she hugged her. She was anxious upon removing her wet sandals, afraid if the wooden floor got dirty.

Harrison noticed again. He dumped the umbrella in the stand and stood close to her, his palm stroking her bicep, shooting her a smile which did all the magic.

She heard the unspoken message in his actions.

It's going to be okay.

Should she wait at the dinner table or help his family in the kitchen? It became the question that bothered her after a few minutes of positive interaction, draining all the optimism she had gathered. It became awkward when both his mum and sister left for the kitchen. It became weirder when he followed them, leaving her alone near the dining area.

Playing with the hem of her long sleeves was no more a suitable pass time. She didn't want to chip off the nail paint she applied so intricately. When the noise of a metal spoon or spatula falling to the kitchen floor reached her ears, that was it for her. She walked to the kitchen, desperate to get involved in whatever Harrison and his family were doing.

"Sorry, love. We should have arranged everything on time, but it got a bit delayed." His mum addressed her apologetically.

"Harrison, why don't you spend time with her?" She asked him next.

"Uh---"

"No problem. I was just... bored... thought I could be of any help?" She smiled, joining them inside the kitchen, standing beside her lover, finding something to do.

"I can chop the salad?" She offered when her eyes landed on the uncut vegetables lying over the chopping board.

"Sure..."

They were talking and laughing. So far, so good. His sister was stirring the soup on the stove. He and his mum were arranging the plates and crockery while she was cutting the tomatoes and the green vegetables.

"You can use the serrated knife for the tomatoes. It would be easier." His sister suggested.

"It's fine." She placed a tomato on the board after removing its core and started running the blade vertically. She needed to impress them, flex her chopping abilities. She went on faster, slicing the large tomatoes one after another. Until the knife slipped off and ran across her finger instead. No, the tomatoes were too soft and juicy for that kind of cutting.

The knife dropped on the floor with a sharp noise, diverting all their attention to hers.

"You oka-"

"Yeah. I will just use the bathroom," She excused herself, moving at a pace that was something between running and walking.

Opening the tap of the basin, she let the blood wash off her finger. It was a minor cut but deep. Upon hearing Harrison's voice calling her outside, she turned off the tap instantly and searched the cabinet to find some cotton and rubbing alcohol.

She walked outside, pressing the cotton over her wound, hiding it from Harrison's vision.

"Are you hurt?"

What?

"No. Of course, not." She let out a burst of staggering laughter, trying to surface the lie.

He hummed, pausing for a second, looking into her eyes. She refused to meet his icy-blue ones, clenching her fist tighter to ease the stinging pain.

"There was some blood on the board."

And now Harrison found her outright lying, hiding things. She had read on various online articles how for many people this was the end of the trust. All she wanted was to look good in his family's eyes and they must have come to know about her carelessness too. She even rejected his sister's advice.

Instead, she received a hug. Harrison had softly pushed her back into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around her body, keeping his head on her shoulder.

"I told you it was going to be okay..." He whispered below her ear, softly blowing some stray hair off that area.

"It didn't go okay though," She could feel her voice breaking.

"What didn't go okay, love? All I see is my family being absolutely fond of you." He kissed at the spot below her ear, his favourite place to kiss her.

"I just... made a fool of myself. I am such a noob."

He giggled at the choice of her words.

"No, you are not," He stepped in front of her, lifting her chin with his fingers.

"First, cutting yourself while chopping isn't a big deal. And second, even if you were a noob (he made a dorky face at the word, pouting dramatically), I don't see how it will make you a fool. Come on Y/n, we are here to meet my family not to give an exam." He wiped the little wetness on her eye-lashes and leaned in to peck her over her eyelids.

"I love you, you know that, right?"

Her heart again thudded inside her chest. He just said those three magic words for the first time or was she hearing wrong... She nodded instead, unable to say anything back.

"So, no need to feel embarrassed. And now get me your hand. Let me fix it real fast."

He made her sit over the counter and wrapped a band-aid over the cut. Meanwhile, she still thought of the words, dreading to reply.

"We good to go?"

"Huh?" She realised she was blankly staring at his face. "Er... Yeah."

She jumped off the counter as he walked towards the door.

"Hey, Harrison?"

He stopped at her voice and turned to see her walking towards him.

"I love you too." She said, pressing a kiss over his lips.

He was smiling into the kiss.

She bet she could make him smile again and again. And she did.

 ONE-SHOT TAGLIST:  @god-knows-what-am-i-doing // @multifandomlover121// @its-a-leap-of-faith-kid // @emmaloo21 // @swiftmind // @trustfundparker // @hollands-weasley //  @hazmyheart // @lost-aesthetic-of-past // @tommysparker // @redlips-c // @just-a-littlebit-of-everything // @miraclesoflove // @serendipitous-amor // @hazardosterfield // @lizzyosterfield // @thenoddingbunny-blog // @halfblood-princess-505 // @spidergirl007 // @viagracex // @parkerpeter24 // @fanficscuziranout // @httplayer // @veronicas-littleworld // @slytherin-chaser // @perspectiveparker // 

[gallavictorious]

Fic: Foreign Country

For fuck’s sake... So I got an ask in response to this comment, wherein the lovely nonnie suggested that Ian and Mickey’s reaction to the Kash and Grab would be a reverse sort of situation, with that place holding very happy memories in spite of being a site of trauma (because Kash shot Mickey there). I’m paraphrasing here, obviously... And I spent over a week trying to write the fic that this ask (unintentionally) inspired and now when I posted it Tumblr was messing with the ‘Read more’ so I, stupid and/or tired bastard that I am, deleted the thing to repost it but of course that means the ask is gone aaaaand yeah. I AM SO SORRY NONNIE! :( Hope this one finds you all the same.

Anyway, here’s my resonse:

Ah, yes. Yes! Nonnie, I applaud your dedication to sparking joy and thank you for sharing this delightful reflection! <3 And, uh, it got me thinking about the Kash and Grab and its role as the site of so much that went down with Ian and Mickey in the early years, and yeah, now there’s a ficlet. It involves a trip down memory lane, some angst, some fluff, and a rather startling number of I love you:s. It’s also the reason why it took me so damned long to get back to you… Sorry about that!

Did you ask me to write this? No. Does it stay completely true to your observation rather than carelessly running with it? Also no, but with slightly more regret.  

---

Never returning had not been a conscious choice. Neither was going back.

---

Chicago, on a Thursday afternoon in early October, and the air is unusually crisp when Ian steps out from the ambulance station. He's been working the early shift and now he pauses on the sidewalk and turns his face towards the sun, considering. No one's expecting him for another few hours, and it's a fine day: maybe he needn't rush home. Maybe he could walk for a bit.

It's an idea. He's feeling restless, though not the sort of restless that heralds the on-set of a manic episode (or so he thinks, but he makes a mental note to keep an eye out for other signs, and maybe mention it to Mickey). But yeah. He could walk for a bit, then maybe find a station for the L when he tires.

So he walks. Walks and walks and doesn’t tire, and eventually he finds himself on a familiar street and outside a familiar store and he realizes with a start that he hasn't been here in years. Hadn't even known the store was still open, but the sign on the door proudly proclaims it so, and above it the name remains the same, white letters on red: Kash and Grab.

Huh. Without making a conscious decision to, he's stopped walking and is just standing there, staring at the store. The sight of it brings a strange jumble of emotions, and the quietly jarring mingle of familiarty and distance that comes from returning to a place where once you did belong, but belong no longer.

The last time he stood here was the day before he ran off to join the Army, leaving Linda with nothing more than a short message on her phone. That’s more than what his family got, so he hopes she wasn’t too upset. He never asked; never came back; never really thought back – until now.

He hesitates for a moment, then walks up to the door and steps inside. He’s running low on smokes anyway.

It's the smell that hits him first. It hasn't changed, and brings him back to the days when it would cling to his clothes and follow him home, a not unpleasant but distinctive whiff of frozen food and sweet spices.

The interior hasn't changed much either. There’s a kid behind the counter that looks to be in his early teens, and Ian wonders if it’s one of Kash’s sons, if Linda's still running the store. He could ask, but who knows what Linda's told her kids about the teenager who fucked their closeted father before he ran off?

He glances at the boy again – and yeah, he could be Kash's, there's something about the eyes and the chin – and wonders if he ever looked that young when he manned the register. Wonders if that's what he looked like to Mickey, when he'd come into the store to just take whatever the hell he wanted, wether it was chips or, later, Ian's fucking breath away.

Ian Gallagher. You messed with the wrong girl.

And just like that, it's like no time's passed, and he's 15 and 16 and 17 again; he's doing it with Kash and he thinks he loves him; he excels at ROTC and dreams of Westpoint; his mother is alive and he doesn’t yet know that Frank isn’t his father at all – it hardly matters anyhow, because Fiona is there, as she has always been there, as he still thinks she will always be.

She got out and good for her. If she'd stayed here, she'd never been free of her role as sister-mother – never free to be Fiona. And as for him... he'd mourned the army dream when it died, but knows now that it was an uninformed dream, one he would not have cared to live even if  given the opportunity.

Glancing at the counter where he used to open his trigonomy textbook he feels no regret, though perhaps a twinge of sadness for the loss of that optimistic, determined kid, who had not had an easy life by any means, but who had yet to take any real blows, any blows that truly mattered. Those had come later (had come in this very store, some of them) and standing here, where he'd spent so much time as a child and none as a man, he feels something of that kid returning. Remembers the weight of the hundreth can put on a shelf; feels the ghost of a (too) easy smile on his lips; sees himself as he moves between the backroom and counter and fridge.

And everywhere he looks, there is Mickey. Mickey, in a dirty coat or a security west, angry and rough and funny and sometimes with the briefest flash of something softer, sweeter. He is stealing and scaring of thieving kids and restocking the shelves and plotting to murder Frank and moaning as Ian pushes into him.

He is on the floor, too, cursing Kash but otherwise strangely unaffected by having been shot. Ian thinks he might have been more scared and upset than Mickey. It strikes him now as a moment of innocence lost; your lover shot by a jealous ex, a real gun and real blood and what if Kash had had better aim? This was a thing that happened in the world, and if that could happen – anything could.

It strikes him, too, as a turning point: Mickey going away could easily have spelled the end of their intense but brief affair. For all they knew each other's bodies they hadn't really know each other back then, and while Ian had been crushing hard he had not yet loved Mickey. Perhaps they might both have moved on, found other lives and loves. Perhaps that had still been possible, then.

Or perhaps not. It was the first time they were separated and the first time they found their way back to one another, but not the last. It's a dance of coming together and coming apart and coming together, again and again, and they've traced its steps for close to a decade, never once stopping, not truly.

Because even in the absences, Mickey had been, is; there, always, in the stretches of time when he was locked up in juvie; in the eager hours of wating for him to show up at the store; in the exact distance between them at any given time.

Ian can still feel the jolt, like a punch to his gut, like electricity, of looking up from stacking oranges and finding blue eyes staring straight into his.

He remembers the last time they were in here together, when him and his siblings had been taken away by the CPS and Mickey invited him to crash at his place. He remembers his giddy delight at the question, his excitement at the realization that Mickey wanted to spend time with him. He had been so nervous, and looking back, knowing what he now knows, he thinks that Mickey might have been fucking terrified, but there'd been such ease to that evening and night; such familiarty and tenderness. And oh, the sex had been fantastic.

He tries to remember only this, not what came after with the morning light and a door suddenly slammed open –

Mickey had never returned to the store after that, and a few months later Ian had left for the army. Not really for the army, though; what he'd been moving towards had not been nearly as important as what he was moving away from.

Stings, still, that memory; but less than it once did, and as he strolls down the aisles, noting where the pickled cucumber jars have been replaced with tins of tuna and where the small bottles of cheap olive oil still remain, he is surprised to find himself... okay. For a long time, so much of his past had been a painful, tangled thing he did his best to forget, and even after he made his peace with it, he made a point of looking forward rather than back. Now he thinks that maybe, if you're happy with where you ended up, the hardships of the road which led you there are easier to bear.

Doesn't make everything that happened right; just... yeah. Easier to bear.

He buys a pack of cigarettes. The kid behind the counter is eyeing him suspiciously, but Ian thinks that has more to do with him walking around the store and staring at random things rather than with the boy recognizing him from some lurid tale of Linda's. Ian almost asks him to say hello to her from him, but nah. Let old dogs lie.

Outside, twilight is coming on, and there's a slight chill to the air now that the sun is sinking. Ian lights a cigarette and sucks the smoke deep into his lungs. This, too, is familiar, and for a moment he feels unthethered, unsure of when he is, who he is.

Without really thinking about it, he picks up his phone. Mickey's still working but can't be too busy because he answers on the second signal: “Hey.”

“Hey,” Ian says, and then he doesn't say anything else for long enough that Mickey asks him if he fucking wanted something or he's just being a creepy ass phone stalker.

It makes Ian smile. Grounds him. “I love you,” he says.

A beat. “You called me at fucking work to tell me that?” And Ian knows that the gruff disbelief is partially an attempt to cover Mickey's surprised delight at the proclamation.

“Yeah, I guess I did,” he says. Waits for a moment, but Mickey is silent. “You gonna say it back?”

“You fucking serious?”

“Kinda need to hear it.” Because he gets to say that; gets to ask for that. They're not kids not anymore and they don't need to hide. They’re fucking married.

That is real. That is now.

“Jesus Christ, Ian.” But then Mickey, as Ian knew he would, relents. “I love you,” he says, and Ian doesn't know if he's already alone or if he just doesn't care who overhears him, because he doesn't lower his voice or take the time to move somewhere more private.

A brief silence as neither of them speak, but simply rest in the warmth of the words, the truth of them.

Then: “Are you okay?” There's a trace of real worry in Mickey's voice now, and there's a part of Ian's that immediately annoyed because he hates that people worry about him so easily – but a larger part of him has made his peace with it; knows and accepts the reason for it; loves that Mickey loves him enough to worry.

So he offers a brief smile, even though Mickey cannot see it. Hopes it translates into his voice.  “Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, I promise, it's just... I'll tell you when you get home, okay?”

“Okay.” And maybe Mickey isn't convinced but he takes Ian's word for it. Trust. That's another thing they've been doing better with. “I'll see you in maybe an hour then? I get off at five.”

”Yeah, I'll see you then.” And, because he can, because it's true: ”I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you fucking said that already.” A brief pause, then quietly: “I love you, too.”

They hang up. Throwing one last look at Kash and Grab before he walks off, Ian is pleased to realize that he feels nothing but a vague sense of affection for the place. Some things withered and was left here, sure, youthful dreams and ambitions and most of his naivite – but the best thing about it he kept, and Ian will see him soon and hold him soon, and this time he will neither leave nor let him go. Their new dance will move to a different beat.

[unmanageable-day]

16. Between a friend and another friend

When you are friends for so long, and it has never come across your mind to date one of them. Until one particular guy friend of yours came to offer you a relationship, a new chapter of life like no other before.

prev | next

Taeyong wished he could skip the dinner invitation from Yuta who specially arranged it for you and Doyoung. He didn't have to come though. But you had personally texted him in the morning, asking—making sure that he would be there. Now he felt obliged to come. Despite the fact he had talked with you and Doyoung, basically suggesting he was now (still trying to be) cool with your relationship, how he wished there is a pain killer for his longtime broken heart.

There you were, approaching the group with a big smile. Doyoung walked behind you. On the contrary, he looked tense but he tried to give his best smile. This dinner was held to celebrate you and him after all. Maybe he was just nervous to meet Taeyong again.

Somehow you just made the way to sit beside Taeyong. Doyoung had no choice but to follow you. He would never choose to sit across you to have better sight of you and Taeyong.

Taeyong felt it again. That happiness, warmth, and the comfort whenever you were around, yet pain wouldn't leave him. He must know his boundaries. And he must witness all your interaction with the dearie fiancee. Although, little did he know, Doyoung felt the more or less similar.

Trying his best to shrug off all the bothering feelings, Taeyong would just respond at the bare minimum to everything you said. Yet he effortlessly earned your attention, making him like the center of your world no matter the least words coming out of his mouth.

He lost it.

The initial intention was not to get too close to you. Instead, you were the one who kept approaching him, merely thinking because things were cool and you could have your bestfriend back. Taeyong found himself unable to reject your friendly gestures. He kept coming back at you, like he used to be, with random stories about his niece and nephew, a new dog he was going to adopt, the never-ending battle in games with Jaehyun, and how he wanted to re-decorate his closet. Just like the old days, you would actively respond with enthusiast. The little giggles you let out whem he told you silly stuff of how clumsy he was. Oh, how he had been longing to hear that.

Taking things even further, he also kept making sure you have something on your plate. He knew you were not into seafood dish, beside that you were allergic to some of it. He forgot to tell Yuta to not pick a seafood restaurant. He knew you can't eat spicy food too much, that was why he would always have a taste before giving something to you. He would do all of this unconsciously and he couldn't stop himself. Even after realizing that Doyoung seemed bothered.

Doyoung was mostly paying his attention to the youngsters. Or more like diverting his attention so he didn't have to look whatever Taeyong did for you.

"Doyoung, try this." You had nacho chips with tomato salsa in your hand, ready to feed him. He took a quick glance at Taeyong, who was not looking at you. He accepted the nacho with a shy smile yet he felt a little victory.

"Yummy, right? I think I can eat this my whole life. It looks like it's easy to make too," you commented as you took another bite.

"Don't. Let's just go here if you want to eat this. You'll leave crumbles all over the place at home." Soon he exposed you how he had to do the cleaning after you cooked—more like experimenting a new dish you never did—and ate the food in the living room. Non-stop complains and nagging kept coming out of his mouth.

Taeyong's ears sting at the word home, which followed by the stories he didn't want to hear about your new life. Doyoung's voice sounded like murmurs as sharp as knife piercing both his ears and heart. He instantly lost focus and stayed quiet, while your friends were laughing and chattering. He couldn't even smile when the youngsters were teasing Doyoung.

"Oh, what to do.. Our Joo-ey noona has to spend her entire life with Hyung's nagging," Donghyuk said dramatically.

"Since we live closer now, Noona can visit us easily anytime. Especially when Noona is fed up with Hyung," Jaemin added. "We will send Jeno there and we are very happy to exchange Jeno for you."

"Jaemin, not you too!" Doyoung hissed.

"Be ready to pick up my call everyday, guys," you replied their jokes. "Ah, right. Since I live nearby, it would be easier for me to get a ride home. Johnny, Jaehyun, my office is the closest with you guys." You wiggled your eyebrows at the giant guys.

"What, why? I will pick you up." Doyoung protested.

"It would be faster if I go home with Jaehyun though?"

"Eyy, Hyung, Joo-ey noona already stays with you. She can't even take a rest on the way home? She must want to have some time not being with you." Donghyuk butt in again.

"Look at you speaking, Lee Donghyuk." Doyoung pointed at him with a bread instead of his finger, his expression was rather funny than threatening.

"Taeyong hyung, this hyung bullies me," he cried, still teasing the bunny guy. "Noona, too, you will join us against Doyoung hyung, right?"

You let out a crisp laugh. "Anything for baby Hyuckie."

"That's right!" he exclaimed with his annoying face that never fails provoking Doyoung. "Teaming up with Taeyong hyung is much better than with Doyoung." Donghyuk meant it as a joke. Either you, Doyoung, and Taeyong himself knew that better than anyone else. But the three of you slightly got worked up. If Johnny didn't cut in to save the mood, the tension in the air between you, Doyoung and Taeyong would be too obvious.

Taeyong couldn't help but feeling envious and jealous. He imagined it over and over, would it be the same if you chose to be with him? Would he now sit where Doyoung was sitting, bickering like lovebirds with you?

"Taeyong?" you softly called him, making him flinched now that he had gotten back go reality.

He always liked the way you call his name. It was always soothing his ears. Sometimes he wondered if you call Doyoung that way too. But why would it matter? Doyoung had all the privilege to be with you 24/7 now.

"I think I'll head back home first. It looks like Doyoung's brother sent us something. The delivery guy is waiting for us," you told him.

Nodding was the only answer he could give. Again, how he wished it was him who gets to leave with you. He silently watched the figures of you and Doyoung walking away without looking back. You'd often rub Doyoung's back and stretch up your neck talking to him. Taeyong hated himself for asking this over and over; why it can't be him. Why Doyoung instead of him?

Johnny, Jaehyun, Mark and Yuta ended up taking him out for another round of drinks and some more of late night snack. They kept saying 'good job' and 'you've gone through a lot', hoping it could console him even for a bit. Yet those words couldn't even penetrate his ears anymore. His throat felt numb as he chugged on his drink, not even bothered to feel the burning sensation of the alcohol.

Taeyong felt a buzz from his phone inside his sling bag. He didn't feel like knowing who contacted him this late at night, yet he still checked his phone. When he saw your name popping up on the notification of new messages, again, the mixed feelings filled his heart. To him, you were that close yet so far. He could easily come to you, but he wouldn't be able to reach your hand. If he pushed himself, either he couldn't afford letting you go, or you would end up leaving him again. Pretending to be strong was never this difficult. From : Joo Great to see you today. I know you had a hard time and you went through a lot. But you are stronger than you know. You did well. You always do. Thank you once again. And one more thing... I'm sorry. —

on the way back home from restaurant

"Doyoung?"

"Hm?"

"Don't think too much of what the kids said. You and I know how much jokesters they are," you calmly said, as if having the capability to read his mind. "I would never compare you and him. Both of you are my friends. I cherish you both."

Teaming up with Taeyong is better. With Taeyong is better. Taeyong is better.

Doyoung would acknowledge that. Even when he was the one with you right now, Taeyong would still win.

Yeah, sure, both Doyoung and Taeyong were your beloved friends. But why did it feel like he had to compete with Taeyong? The intention of marrying you was merely for Doyoung to have a normal life as someone's husband who will make the wife, the parents, and the in-laws happy. He knew he was capable of that. You were not someone he chose after going for a deep thinking. He was just 'oh, I think she's good and we both know each other for a long time, so it should be easy' and there he was now. Everything went smoothly until he realized there was this man named Lee Taeyong and his great willingness to walk through fire for you if he has to. It was truthfully one part that Doyoung never thought it would be this severe. None of his intention ever had something to do with him. Thr relationship with Hyemi used to be promising to be the long-term one. Who knew it would get crushed by Taeyong himself? Why can't he just stay with Hyemi? Doyoung even had imagined it before, him and Taeyong being married with the significant other, complaining about marriage life, sharing their old married couple stories, and also the happy and dark days in child caring when they got much older. Honestly it was a beautiful future he had hoped. Yet now he and him became rivals?

"I don't," he lied, giving you a smile to convince you enough.

Was it Doyoung's fault to choose you out of all people?

You smiled back at him, hugging him from the side part and rubbing his back.

No. Up to this second, you never brought up any sensitive topic about the relationship that will be official in a matter of weeks. Doyoung kept reassuring himself that he had made it clear to you if in any time you doubt anything, you could call it off.

Calm down, Kim Doyoung. She already chose to be with you. If she doesn't have any regret, then this should be the right thing to do.

[what-is-your-plan-today]

CSI: Rogers and Barnes- The Serious Cereal Serial Killer

Episode 1- Walk of Shame

Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Episode Summary: Someone’s dead. Bucky has some plums and despairs at Steve’s choice of breakfast. They go to DC to try and convince Katie to come back and help with the case but she aint having it…coz she hates Steve’s guts… Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Dark Comedy themes basically CSI:NY + Brooklyn 99 = CSI: Steeb.

Episode Pairings:  Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark (yeah she still doesn’t like him this Episode…)

Song for Episode:  Let Her Go by Passenger 

A/N: Contains Avengers and Stark Spangled Banner Easter Eggs and jokes. You don’t need to have read that series to understand or enjoy this, but we’ve used the Universe to spin this off from.

Also, our knowledge of American Policing and Brooklyn is limited, so bear with us if we slip up, but at the end of the day this is a fiction so we’ll claim any mistakes as creative license!!

PLEASE REBLOG and COMMENT! 

Tags are open. 

CSI Rogers and Barnes Master List 

Main Masterlist 

Steve turned the key in the lock of his apartment, stepped inside and closed the door behind him as slowly and quietly as possible so as not to wake up Bucky. It was still quite early, he had been on the usual morning run with Sam, something that the men did daily during the week unless work cases got in the way. He walked through the hallway and tossed his keys on the kitchen counter before grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. He practically drained it in one before he set a fresh pot of coffee to brew and then headed for the shower. He stopped on his way down the corridor as he saw the door to the spare bedroom, now Bucky’s, was wide open. Steve peered into the bedroom but there was no trace of Bucky and his bed was perfectly made, cushions in place. He sighed and went into his own bedroom, taking off his clothes and trainers and heading into the en-suite. He turned on the shower and stepped under the warm spray, tilting his head to greet the water as it cascaded down on him.

Bucky had returned from an undercover mission in Russia almost 7 months ago and had immediately taken possession of the spare room in Steve’s apartment. What had started as a favour to a friend who had returned from a long term mission overseas and was trying now to re-settle in New York, had turned into Steve seemingly permanently (and reluctantly for that matter) sharing his flat with his lead Sergeant and sometimes annoying friend. Their personalities were as opposed as day and night, but there was a bond between them that went back to their teenage years and both secretly hoped it would last till the end of the line.

Rinsing off his hair he turned off the shower and stepped out. He gave his hair a quick rub over and then, wrapping a towel round his waist he headed into the bedroom and over to the dresser which stood against the wall by the foot of his bed. His eyes fell to the framed photo on the top of it and he blew out a little huff as 2 laughing faces greeted him back. It was a photo of him and Katie, a selfie that she had snapped whilst they had been in Central Park. Katie had positioned them to get a squirrel in the back ground and it had worked. Just as Katie had pushed the button the squirrel had looked directly at the camera from behind them and it had sent the pair of them into a fit of laugher. Up until Bucky moving in, this photo had been in his living room by the stereo. But now it stayed in the private of his room. He couldn’t bring himself to place it in a drawer. 

He dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt, before grabbing his electric razor to sort his facial hair out, ensuring his once again present (albeit shorter than before) beard was clean, crisp and defined. Once he had finished the rest of his morning routine he made his way to the kitchen and poured himself freshly brewed coffee into his favoured breakfast mug, one that was adored with the words “O Captain! My Captain!” a quote from the poem by Walt Whitman as read by Robin Williams in “Dead Poet Society” one of his favourite films. It had been a joke gift from Katie when he had gotten his promotion, just another reminder of how good their friendship used to be. He had just grabbed a piece of left over pizza from the fridge when the front door open and he heard Bucky taking off his shoes as he muttered something under his breath. When Bucky entered the kitchen Steve was leaning on the kitchen counter sipping from his mug and looking at his friend from under his long eyelashes.

 “That your breakfast?“ Steve asked nodding towards a brown paper bag Bucky was sporting.

"Yup. That yours?” he answered looking at the pizza in Steve’s hand Steve shrugged. “Man, have a plum instead” Bucky offered.

 "No, thanks.“ Steve refused curtly.

"You know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, don’t you?” Bucky quipped, biting into a plum. “That nutrition program you took years ago clearly didn’t teach you shit” he snorted.

“You’re hilarious" Steve deadpanned. “Where did you sleep last night? Or should that be with WHOM did you sleep last night?” Steve was asking both out of curiosity and as a way to distract attention from his eating habits. “What’s the dame’s name this time? That’s if you even bothered to ask.”

Bucky rolled his eyes as Steve drained his mug. “Name’s Alex seeing as you’re that interested, granddad.” Bucky informed. Steve merely arched an eyebrow and shoved his now empty mug in the dishwasher.

“I’m impressed” Steve said, walking out of the kitchen and heading to the living room “Have you remembered what Miss Friday was called yet?” “Maybe I always knew full well but didn’t want to tell you as you’re a judgemental dick.” Bucky shot back, following him into the living room “Just because you’re not getting any.”

Steve snorted and shook his head “I really don’t care about the fact you seem to be working your way through the entire female population of New York…” “Admit it, you’re backed up.” Bucky said, looking at him and Steve rolled his eyes. “When was the last time you got any?”

Steve really wasn’t prepared to divulge that. It had been Christmas time, with Katie…7 months ago. And he had no desire to tell Bucky. Instead, he ignored him and looked at his watch. 

“We’re leaving in five” Steve said “Get ready Punk.”

 "I am ready, jerk" Bucky replied gesturing to his outfit.

“You’re seriously gonna got to work wearing the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?“ Steve looked at him with an expression of disgust on his face. "Talk about the walk of shame.”

“Well, yesterday was my day off so nobody at the station will know what the hell I was wearing" Bucky replied with a wide playful smile.

 "Whatever.“ Steve sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose while saying "Take your weapon and your badge and let’s go, it’s getting late.”

“Aye, Aye Captain” Bucky said miming a salute.

********

“Captain Rogers” greeted the security guard at the door of the station. “Sergeant Barnes.”

“Good morning, Heimdall” Steve greeted back while Bucky acknowledged the man with a nod of his head.

As the pair headed for the floor where the Investigation Unit of the 101st was located, Bucky pulled out his phone and started typing.

“Texting her?” Steve asked looking down at Bucky’s phone.

“Who’s her?” Bucky replied. 

“Jeez, Buck, the girl you spent last night with. Alex, was it?” Steve scoffed.

“Oh.., nah.” he said with a frown “What would I?” he continued. “And you can say bang, Steve. You’re not a medieval bard” a mischievous smile now spreading on his face.

“Bucky, I swear to God one day….” Steve started to say but was interrupted by the melodious voice of Wanda as he got out of the elevator, Bucky following him cackling.

“Good morning, Steve.” Wanda said “Coffee?” she asked looking at him with doe eyes.

“No thanks, Wanda. Already had breakfast” he replied while Bucky muttered “If that’s what you call it”. Steve turned to give an icy look to Bucky who retreated to his desk. 

“I’ve left the reports you asked for yesterday on your desk.” Wanda informed him. “Would that be all?”

“Thanks, Wanda.” he said before ordering “Assemble the team in the briefing room in fifteen.” and he walked towards where Natasha was scrolling through her phone and Clint was sat on his chair, his feet on the desk throwing a baseball against the nearby wall.

“Morning Romanoff” Steve said. Natasha lifted her eyes from the phone and acknowledged him.

“Rogers.”. She might seem to be engrossed on whatever she was doing with her phone but Steve knew she never missed a trick.

“Barton” the Captain raised his voice “You break something, you’re paying for it. We’re on a tight budget.” and with that he entered his office and shut the door behind him, something that was unusual for their Captain. His door normally remained open unless the conversation was private or he was pissed off. 

As there was no one else in there with him, it was clearly the latter.

“He needs to get laid.” Clint said, turning back to Natasha, resuming his bouncing of his baseball again. Bucky let out a snort.

“He sure does” replied Natasha who suddenly threw her phone on her desk and got up to make her way towards Wanda’s counter. 

“You should ask him out on a date” she whispered to Wanda leaning over her desk.

“Wh… What are you talking about” Wanda stuttered while closing the book she was reading and feeling the heat spread through her neck up to her cheeks.

“I’ve seen the way you look at him” Natasha added with a half-smile. 

“That obvious” Wanda enquired covering her cheeks, which were now deep red, with her hands showing Natasha her chipped black nail polish. Bucky watched the exchange with a slight smirk. 

Natasha only shrugged and retorted “Well, you should find the courage to do it in that witchery book you’re reading” she said pointing to the paperback with a movement of her head. “Scarlett Witch”.

Bucky picked up the phone, there was a message on his desk to call Stark about some evidence on a case, turning away to allow Wanda to get over her embarrassment. He heard the voice of Deputy Commissioner Fury and turned to watch as he greeted Natasha and Wanda.

 "Good morning, ladies.“

“Good morning Sir…” They both said in unison as her swept past them heading towards Steve’s office.  He rapped on the door and didn’t wait for an answer before he swung it open, causing Steve to glance up slightly puzzled. His team knew to wait for him to call them in before entering if his door was closed. At seeing his boss he immediately stood.

“Sir.”

“At ease Captain” The deputy commissioner spoke, waving his hand. Steve gestured for him to take the seat opposite his desk.

“You hear with a mission?”

“You could say that.” Fury said, “Get Barnes in here and close the door. This one’s sensitive.”

“Sir…” Steve frowned slightly and stood up, heading out into the main office.

“Buck…” 

Bucky was by this point on the phone, leaning back in his chair feet on his desk. He looked at Steve, nodding to acknowledge him, holding his hand up, finger on his right hand extended instructing Steve to keep quiet. 

“That’s great Stark!” he paused, “So it’s definitely a match…excellent, yeah…sure…thanks…”

He placed the phone down “Science Bros got a match on the bullet from the mini-mart robbery. Matches the gun Simon Cranston had in his possession when we brought him in. We got him bang to rights!”

“Good, listen, Buck…Fury’s here. Says he has a case but it’s sensitive…” Understanding immediately Bucky stood up. He smoothed down his blue and white button down and followed Steve into his office, closing the door behind him.

“We have a situation.” Fury said. “Body, found by a dog walker early hours of this morning. Early shift called it in.”

“Ok, well we’ve not held briefing yet…” Bucky said, trailing off as he saw the frown on Steve’s face.

“What is it sir?” “Technically it’s the 99s patch…” Fury said, “But as soon as Peralta realised who it was he called Holt who in turn called me. This is one for the 101st.”

“Why?” Steve asked, frowning. 

“It’s Senator Ross.” Fury said, looking at him.

“Shit.” Steve sighed

“I’m not gonna lie Steve, as much as I admire and like Holt, your unit is more geared up for this and the 99 are currently swamped on a drugs case any way so…” Fury shrugged.

“Right, I’ll get the team onto it right away.”

“Odinson and his team are currently manning the scene, I had them take over from Holt’s guys as soon as I found out.” Fury nodded “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that we need absolute discretion about this, at least for the time being. I’ll liaise with the top brass and Capitol Hill. Once we know what we’re dealing with we can discuss how we handle the press. For now, keep them away.” “Sir.” Steve agreed. 

“I trust you can take it from here?”

Steve nodded and watched as his boss left before he turned to Bucky. “Get Romanoff and Barton down there now, and then get onto Wilson and Stark. I’ll call Holt, find out the details and sort out taking over. Then we’ll head down there.”

“Sure.” Bucky said, heading out into the office, closing the door behind him.

Steve paused for a second, before he picked up the phone sighing. A murder always attracted attention but when it was a public figure that interest was going to be relentless.

*****

It was almost ten when Steve pulled his car to a stop near Greenway Terrace in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Bucky got out of the car closing the door behind him and put his phone in the back pocket of his black jeans and waited for Steve to reach his side before they both started walking towards the tightly secured area. 

They approached Thor who was standing by the Scene Crime Do Not Cross yellow tape ordering to one of his immediate subordinates to remove unnecessary individuals from the scene and keep the tourists and the press as far away as possible. It was a bright July morning and this part of the park offered the tourists, and the public in general, a beautiful shady sitting area with stunning views to New York Harbor.

Once they exchanged a few words with Thor who assured them he would keep the press at bay, they ducked under the tape and headed to the area where Detectives Romanoff and Barton were examining the surroundings of the crime scene. 

"Romanoff, Barton. What do we got?” Bucky heard Steve ask the pair of detectives.

He was looking around trying to get used to the scene before him. He had spent the last years mostly doing undercover work, gathering intel, bringing down drugs or arms dealers and smugglers so, it had been a while since he had been in a presumed murder scene. 

“We’re sweeping the area for casings or slugs.” Natasha said. 

“Nothing, Cap, according to Wilson there’s no gunshot wound, so…” Clint added.

“Footprints? Vehicle tracks?” Steve enquired.

“No vehicle tracks. And seeing as this is a granite terrace no chance of footprints either.” Clint replied. “We are searching the area for some mud or dirt marks though." 

Steve nodded, analysing the information his detectives had delivered, his hands perched on his belt. "Any indications that the crime may have occurred somewhere else?" 

“Nope.” Natasha said “But we won’t know for certain until forensics finish.”

"All right. I want you two to investigate the surrounding neighbourhood. This took place presumably last night and there’s this hill over there that separates the area from Furman Street, so it is unlikely that we find any witnesses.” Steve elaborated.

“Got it Cap…” Clint said. “We’ll talk to the neighbours. See if anybody has seen anything suspicious.”

“Romanoff…” Steve started to say before Natasha cut in.

“We’ll visit the surrounding shops and businesses to check surveillance footage. I know the drill , Rogers.” to which Steve couldn’t help but smile.

“Ok. See you at the station when you’re done.” Steve dismissed them and looked at Bucky who was watching as the forensics assistants were taking photos of the crime scene and the corpse from every angle possible.

“Ready to see what Ross has to say?” Steve asked Bucky as he began to walk towards Sam Wilson, the unit Pathologist and Tony Stark, lead forensic who was gathering evidence.

“Didn’t know you were one for black humour, punk” Bucky replied suppressing a laugh.

“Wilson?” Steve greeted Sam. “What do you have?”

“Hi, Rogers. You prefer the cause or the manner?” Sam shot back.

“Is the order relevant?” Steve asked smiling at Sam’s playful ways.

“Not in this case.” Sam said. 

“What about the time of death?” Bucky asked.

Sam pondered about it for a few seconds before replying “I estimate it between three and five a.m.”

“What? Two hours span? Couldn’t you be more specific?” Bucky said surprised by Wilson answer.

“Where did you get this guy, Rogers?” Tony entered the exchange. “Do you want the exact hour and minute? That’s impossible unless you were here with a stopwatch!" 

"Stark.” Sam tried to shut Tony. 

“All right. Call it, Wilson” Tony said with a sigh but glaring at Bucky.

“Well, based on the corpse temperature and his body mass and taking into account muscle stiffening and blood setting, I could give you from three to four thirty in the morning, but we’ll have to wait until I’ve opened him up to be more accurate.” Sam elaborated.

“The guy is as pale as a ghost” Bucky tried to say something meaningful.

“No shit, Sherlock. It’s called palor in scientific jargon.” Tony quipped visibly annoyed at Bucky’s presence.

“That’s enough!” Steve raised his voice. “Wilson, please, continue.”

“All right. So, it looks like he was killed here. There’s enough blood on the ground and no sign that he was moved after the killing took place…the murderer knocked him down first, nasty wound on the back of the head and he took a bit of a beating too. Lots of bruising to his face.” Sam explained.

“Quite a violent MO. Rage…” Steve mused.

“Yeah. If the cereal didn’t choke him to death, the blunt force trauma did it.” Sam said looking down at the corpse. “But again, I’ll know more when…”

“Hang on, what do you mean? What cereal?” Steve cut him off while sharing a surprised look with Bucky.

“I pulled this out of his throat with a pair of tweezers.” Tony said to Steve showing him an evidence bag with what looked like some sort of breakfast cereal.

“Are those Puffed Rice?”  Bucky asked gaining a glare from Tony. Sam and Steve looked at him at the same time.

“That’s one hell of an odd calling card.” Steve whispered gazing past the other men into the river front. “What kind of message is cereal conveying?”

“Well, I think that…” Bucky was beginning to say but was interrupted by a raging Tony.

“Barnes, would you shut up? We’re trying to work here and your presence is disturbing enough without your silly comments.”

Steve wanted to warn Tony about his remarks but things were a bit rocky between them after what had happened at the Commendation party, so he let it be. 

“Thanks, Wilson. Let me know when you’re ready to do the PM.” Steve said. He always liked to attend the Post Mortems in person, if possible. It was easier to ask questions and understand as Sam worked.

“Yeah, well, cut the cheque.” Sam replied.

Steve smiled at the pathologist, who was waiting for Judge Hill’s order to remove the body and take it to the morgue, and waved both men goodbye as he ordered Bucky to follow him with a movement of his head.

“What do you think?” Steve asked him

“Well before Stark jumped in, and by the way that guy has a stick up his ass, I was about to say I think we need a profiler” Bucky replied while both men walked their way back to the car. 

Steve was quiet for a minute before saying “I know someone." 

Bucky had noticed Steve hesitation before speaking and was about to ask him who he was talking about but was interrupted by Steve’s phone ringing. So he waited patiently leaning on the car door while Steve got the call. He was scrolling through his own messages when Steve came back with a serious demeanour. 

"We’re stopping at Police Plaza. It was Pierce, he wants to meet me at headquarters.”

*******

Bucky headed into the coffee shop over the road whilst Steve was waved up to Pierce’s office.

“Captain Rogers…” Pierce greeted him. “I’m sure you can guess what this is about.” “Ross.” Steve nodded, taking a seat as Pierce nodded.

“Ross and I were at University together.” Pierce said, “So this…well, it’s kind of personal for me.” “I’m sorry to hear that sir.” Steve nodded.

“So, I want to be kept in the loop on this one. Normally I don’t take an interest in every body we find, I can’t but…”

“I understand.” Steve assured the Commissioner. 

“So, do we have a cause of death?”

“Well…” Steve scratched at his chin “We won’t know for sure until we can do the Post Mortum, which hopefully will be later today but…well, it’s odd. It was either a blow to the head or cereal.”

“Cereal?” Pierce blinked.

“Yes, Forensics recovered a quantity of the stuff in his throat. But like I say, we won’t know for sure until Dr Wilson has done his job.” Pierce sighed. “Who uses Cereal as a murder weapon?” “Well, on that…” Steve sighed. “I think we could do with a profiler.”

“Whatever you need.” Pierce said, “I’ll pull some strings, get you someone from the FBI, anything.” “With all due respect Sir…” Steve looked at him “I’d rather bring in a profiler who’s in the force…and I know just the person. But I’d like the chance to speak to them first. They won’t feel happy about simply being forced into this if that makes sense.” “I really don’t care if they’re happy or not.” Pierce said, his jaw twitching “I want the A- team on this, Rogers, no matter what.” “Absolutely, and you have my word. If they don’t agree I’ll call, then you can pull whatever strings you need.”

“Who do you have in mind?” Pierce looked at him. They continued to talk, Pierce promising to make budget available for all the overtime he needed before he headed down in the elevator, leaning back against the wall. Working a murder was always stressful as you were under so much pressure to bring the perp to justice, but with Pierce now being personally interested, the pressure was going to double. He stepped out of the cool air conditioned lobby of HQ and called Fury to run his idea passed him. Fury gave him the green light and with that he crossed the road, finding Bucky was on the phone.

“I don’t believe in co-incidences Romanoff.” he said, nodding to Steve “It could be nothing but just keep an open mind…” Steve gestured to the phone and Bucky handed it over.

“Romanoff, its Rogers.” he said,

“Hey Cap.” “Listen, I need to head out of town with Sergeant Barnes for the evening, related to this case. We’re bringing in a profiler and I need to speak to them in person. Can you liaise with Wilson and ensure either your or Clint, or both are at the PM. Usual stuff…” “Sure.” there was a pause “Who’s the profiler, anyone we know?” There was a lilt to her voice that told Steve she knew exactly who he had in mind.

“Dismissed” he said simply, ending the call and tossing the phone back to Bucky.  “What’ the coincidence?”

“Oh, erm… Ross’s real name is Paul Thaddeus Ross, he uses his middle name.” “So?” “PR…his initials, same as the cereal…puffed rice.” “That’s a bit tentative Buck” Steve said. “But good spot, we’ll bear it in mind.”

“So, you taking me on a trip?” Bucky looked at him, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yeah.

“Anywhere nice?” 

“DC.” Steve looked at him “The profiler I told you about. She lives there.” “She…oh, you’re talking about Stark…the little one?” Bucky said with a slight sigh. “You want me to drive with you to DC, to convince the woman that hates your guts to come back and work for you?” “Pretty much, yeah.” Steve nodded. “Why her man? You could bring in any profiler…” “Because she knows the team.” Steve said, “I explained this to Pierce. Getting that lot to trust an outsider to the force will be hard work and I don’t have time for Natasha pulling her grin of death shit. Profilers who are actually still active officers within the Police Service are a rare commodity and, well frankly Buck, she’s one of the best in the business.” “And you let her go…” Bucky sighed, shaking his head. “I wasn’t going to stand in the way of her taking an opportunity that was, frankly, too good to refuse.” Steve sighed. “Right.” Bucky said “and that’s all there was to it?” “Yup” Steve held his gaze as best he could. “You’re a shit liar.” Bucky grumbled, standing up “I take it we get an overnighter?” Steve smiled, knowing that was Bucky’s way of agreeing to come with him. “Yeah, we’ll stay tonight. If we leave within the hour we should be there for just before 6pm.” Steve said, checking his watch. “You’re the boss…” Bucky said, standing up “We best go grab a bag.”

Less than 30 minutes later the 2 of them were making their way out of Brooklyn, the address of the SHIELD unit building programmed into the GPS.

"So how you gonna play this?” Bucky asked, lounging back in the passenger seat of Steve’s Audi Q5. It made Bucky laugh how Steve’s newest purchase, the sleek steel grey Audi held every gadget and extra he could ever need and then some. Steve lived quite a frugal lifestyle. He had nice things, his apartment was furnished well, his clothes were a mixture of high end high street brands with the odd designer item thrown in, but he never bought what he didn’t need as such. His apartment was a total of 5 rooms including the bedrooms despite the fact he could easily afford a more grandiose place. Bucky knew that it was as a product of growing up without much, his mom had never been well off, and Steve was likely stashing most of his money for a rainy day.

But when it came to cars, Steve Rogers was happy to splurge.

The Captain shifted slightly and bit his bottom lip , his thumb rapping on the top of the steering wheel.  "I’m gonna show her the case file. Ask her opinion. See what she makes of it…and hopefully it’s gonna grab her interest enough to make her agree to come back for a while…“ "And if it fails?” Steve hesitated. He looked at Bucky who gave a groan, spotting the look on his face. “You’ll go over her head…man she’s gonna hate you even more then!” “Not sure that’s possible.” Steve sighed

*******

“Steve…” Captain Phil Coulson stood up, greeting him warmly “It’s been a while.” “Indeed it has.” Steve smiled at the man he had worked a case with a few years back, one which saw Thor’s brother, Loki, put away for a very long time. “Almost 3 years I believe.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun huh?”  Coulson smiled and Steve reciprocated.

“Sergeant, James Barnes…Captain Phil Coulson.” Steve introduced the two men. “Please, call me Bucky.”

Phil nodded and then gestured to the elevator “Shall we?”

They followed him in, their Visitors badges pinned to their chests

“So, Fury called ahead. You want Stark back?”

“In a nutshell.” Steve nodded “I can’t go into details but…we need a profiler, and this one’s already getting some high up attention. From our Commissioner no less.” “Yeah I won’t lie, I’m not happy about this.” Coulson sighed “She’s working a case on a very big Sex Trafficking ring at the moment so losing her will be a blow…”

“She is only on secondment.” Steve reminded the man “The deal was if we need her back…” “I know” Coulson assured Steve he understood, “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Phil, I wouldn’t be doing this if I had a choice.” Steve said gently.

“That’s right, he wouldn’t. She hates him…” Bucky added. Steve shot him a glare.

Coulson frowned “Really? She’s never had anything but praise for her old team and commanding officer.” Steve felt something in his chest warm slightly.

“But of course, that could just be professional courtesy.” Coulson finished.

The warmth disappeared.

The elevator stopped and they stepped out into a large, modern, open planned office. Coulson led them through the throngs of desks, towards the right side of the room. Steve heard her before he saw her.

“I really don’t give a shit…” she was saying, her tone exasperated “This is a big chance for us to nail this guy. So you tell Sergeant Jones his men are needed…and don’t make me go to Coulson…”

As they approached her desk Steve saw her slam the phone down and rub her hands over her face and he could already smell her day perfume- Daisy By Marc Jacobs. A light, woody fragrance yet fresh and feminine at the same time. Whenever he caught the smell of it on anyone else he instantly thought of her. It was alluring, comforting…

Her head raised, her green eyes locked onto his and she shook her head. “You have got to be shitting me…” she spluttered out.

“Sergeant…” Coulson looked at her, “Really?”

“Sorry Sir, I’m just…surprised, shall we say, to see Captain Rogers. And Sergeant Barnes.” her tone was even but her eyes were flashing dangerously.

“Strictly business…” Steve held his hands up “Got a case I need your help on.”

“Out of all the profilers…you need me?”

“He says you’re the best.” Bucky jumped in. At that her face softened somewhat and she gave a sigh and turned to her boss.

“Can we use the briefing room?”

Coulson nodded “I’ll get Jackson to book it out for you.” “Thanks.” she said, moving her chair back. She stood up and Steve took her in, dressed as always for work, a button down (light pink this time) the top few buttons undone revealing a navy blue vest top coupled with black jeans and tan knee high boots. “Gentlemen…” She motioned for them to follow her and they headed into the large room at the back. She closed the door and perched on the desk at the front and looked at Steve expectantly. “So what made you drive 4 hours over here to hear me tell you to fuck off instead of merely picking up the phone?” “This.” Steve said, handing her his phone after he pulled up the photos he’d had Tony email him.

“Holy shit…” she mumbled “Ross? He’s dead?”

Steve nodded “Commissioner Pierce is taking a personal interest on this, and given the odd calling card left, I’ve got a feeling this isn’t going to be the last body that turns up.” She looked at him, the pair of them sharing an understanding. Unless it was gang related, it was unusual for a calling card to be left by a onetime killer.

“Keep going…” Steve said, as she swiped across his screen. He watched as her mouth dropped open as she squinted at the screen, before looking at Steve, then Bucky, then back to the photo.

“Is that…puffed rice?” she asked.

“You got it.” Bucky nodded “But we won’t know if that’s what killed him until Wilson’s done the PM.” “Death by Cereal…” she snorted “A Cereal Serial killer…”

Despite himself, Steve felt his mouth curl up in a smile “I was hoping it would grab your attention.”

Katie bit the inside of her cheek “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” “Why cereal?” Bucky looked at her.

She scratched her head “Ok, so this is purely supposition, but when I was training to become a profiler, there was a case study about a killer in Minnesota. He was leaving Caviar in the mouths of his victims. They were upper class bankers and dealers, he was targeting them because he blamed them for his business going bankrupt. It was kind of a taunt really…” she bit her lip “But Cereal is something that’s so widely available, it can’t be that…maybe it’s the opposite. Look how dangerous something that you can see or take for granted every day can be…”

Bucky looked at Steve, and had to smile at the way the Captain was looking at the woman opposite him, his expression soft, almost proud.

“You said she was good Steve…” he said and Steve turned to him, giving him a smile. Katie held out his phone and he took it, his fingers brushing her slightly and she pulled her hand back immediately, a pink flush rising to her cheeks as she looked down at her legs which were swinging to and fro as she sat on the desk.

“So what do you say?” Steve asked softly

“I can’t.” she said after a pause.

“Katie…” “No, Steve.” she looked at him “I left Brooklyn to do a job here, and that’s what I’m gonna do. Pull someone in from the Bureau.”

“I don’t want someone from the Bureau.” Steve said “I need someone on this we can trust, someone that knows the team, someone that can get their hands dirty…”

She sighed and looked up at him, and he didn’t miss the flash of sadness across her face “The days of me jumping to your tune are over.” she said with a shrug “Sorry, you’ve had a wasted journey but no is my final answer. Good luck.” With that she hopped off the desk and left the room without looking back.

“Well that went well.” Bucky said, “I could say I told you so but…” “Don’t” Steve practically growled, his hands on the buckle of his belt. “Looks like I’m gonna have to do this the hard way.”

“Yeah she’s gonna have your balls for earrings.” Bucky turned to him. “Now I don’t know about you but I think we should check in with Romanoff about the PM and then go get a drink.” ***** “So you’re alive then?” Katie’s voice hit Steve’s ears as she shut the office door behind her. “Just ghosting me.”

“I’m not…” he started to protest but knew it was useless, she’d hit the nail on the head. He had been avoiding her. Completely.

“Why Steve?” she asked, her eyes brimming with tears “I thought…I thought it meant something to you, that I meant something to you…” “Sweetheart…” he sighed, walking out from his desk towards her “It did, you do, I just…” “You just what?” she looked up at him. “I wake up, and you’re gone…didn’t even stay for breakfast… and then you ignore me for 3 days?”

“I shouldn’t have let it get as far as it did.” he sighed.

“So you regret it?” “No, it’s not that…” he sighed “Katie, I’m your boss…this…us…” he waved his hand between them “it can’t happen.” “It’s a bit late for that…” Katie shook her head, the tears in her eyes were now replaced with a blazing fire, one that he knew only too well and he inwardly cringed at the verbal attack he was about to receive. Only it never came. Instead her voice remained level as she raised her chin to look at him straight on “You know, you pretend to be this moral guy, when all along you’re no different to the rest of them. You got what you wanted and now you’re not interested.” “Katie, that’s not what it was.” he sighed “I care about you, everything I said that night was true but…” “I’m gonna take that job in DC.” she said, cutting him off.

Steve sighed “There’s plenty of time to think about that. Don’t do anything rash…” “Well then give me a reason to stay.” she whispered, pleading with him as she stepped forward. “Steve, we could have something so good if you just give it a chance.” Steve’s hands fell to her hips, an automatic response, before he moved back, shaking his head. And that was the moment he saw her break. The disappointment in her eyes killed him and he couldn’t look at her anymore.

“I can’t.” he said, turning away.

She didn’t speak another word. Instead she turned and left, not even slamming the door behind her.

“The next day I signed the paper work to authorise the 2 year secondment.” Steve said, his fingers sliding across the label on the bottle of beer in front of him as he sat in the bar opposite the hotel with Bucky, finishing his explanation  “She left at the weekend without speaking so much as another word to me, said her goodbyes to the team when she knew I wouldn’t be there.”

“You didn’t even try and fight for her?” Bucky looked at him, shaking his head “Man, what the actual fuck?” “Can you imagine the shit storm it would cause?” Steve sighed “One of us would have had to move units, and that would have been her, not me.” “Dude, you could have worked through that!” Bucky said “She was coming to DC, it’s not that far away. You could have seen each other at weekends, or in your free time…” “Maybe.” Steve sighed. If truth be told he’d thought about that a lot after she left. Thought about calling her and seeing if they could work it out, but the longer he left it the harder it got. And she ignored all the calls and texts he had sent her anyway. “It’s too late now.” he shook his head. “Do you love her?” Bucky looked at him. Steve hesitated for a second, considering the question. It was an easy answer in the end.

“I think in a way I always have.” Steve shrugged “As a friend anyway…”

“That’s not what I asked.” Bucky said simply.

Steve looked at him and sighed “Don’t make me say it Buck, please.”

That was all the confirmation Bucky needed. He shook his head and looked at his friend “You’re an idiot.” “I know.”

“How are you gonna feel when she comes back?” “Same as I always feel when she’s around.” Steve drained his bottle “Like that scrawny assed punk from Brooklyn that was always getting his ass kicked.”

“Well, just like old times then…” Bucky said, knocking back the rest of his drink before he clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder “I got ya back pal, till the end of the line.”

@the-omni-princess  @momobaby227 @geekofmanythings16 @angelofhell-666 @thewackywriter @marvelfansworld  @cobalt-gear  @asgardlover75 @jennmurawski13  @jtargaryen18 @saiyanprincessswanie  @navispalace @patzammit  @joannaliceevans-fanficblog  @djeniiscorner  @ayamenimthiriel  @coldmuffinbanditshoe  @disneylovingal @madzmilllz  @sgtjaamesbaarnes @sweater-daddiesdumbdork  @southerngracela @goldenfightergir @kellymat @official-and-unstable-satan 

[purplesurveys]

952

I can see the sunshine in your eyes Survey by xflirtykaosx

What does your Town's name begin with? A.

What number how do you live at? It’s a number between 1-1000.

Are you a seafood fan? Yes. Runs in my veins. If humans are on average 60% water, I’m pretty sure the rest of my 40% is just seafood.

Do you prefer dark, brown or white chocolate? White chocolate doesn’t count as chocolate but it’s still my favorite kind. I find that milk chocolate can sometimes be too irritatingly sweet, and I don’t usually enjoy bitter foods so I don’t do well with dark chocolate either.

Give me a random word in another language. Tell me what it means. I’m pretty sure I’ve filled this out before because I remember answering this exact question...anyway, more Filipino lessons! My laptop is currently sitting on top of a kwaderno, which just means notebook.

Can you cook Thai food? I just can’t cook. But Thai cuisine is something I really want to learn to master.

Do you get easter eggs at easter? Some years. I have relatives who will sometimes hold Easter egg hunt parties, and the older kids’ crew like some of my cousins and I are still allowed to join so that we don’t miss out on the fun, heh.

How long does it roughly take you to do the weekly or bi weekly shopping? My parents usually take an hour. Though back when we were still under an enhanced lockdown and stores kept a strict control of how many people were allowed inside, my dad used to take six hours :( He’d leave around 7 AM to start lining up, but there were always people who arrived way earlier so he usually had to queue for a few hours.

Who taught you the most valuable lesson in life and what was that lesson? I’ve touched on this before but the first death I was directly affected by, my grandfather’s, taught me the world will never slow down for your problems and in the end you’ll have to learn how to simply suck certain things up. I remember having to write an excuse letter to my teacher saying I’ll have to be absent for one day to attend to my grandpa’s wake, and all she did was stamp on it and say my absence would be excused. Didn’t even check up on me. It was in the middle of an exam week and a week before the UPCAT. It was such a jarring experience and toughened me the fuck up overnight.

Which city would you like to visit- Rome, Tunis, London, Madrid or Paris? Tunis just because I feel like it would have the least amount of tourists, and I’m also all about going to less-familiar places. Madrid would be nice too.

Would you rather visit Australia, Germany, Croatia or Jamaica? Croatia.

Have you got perfect vision? Far from. My vision is pretty much useless without my glasses, and I like to tell people that without them I can only make out colors haha. Which is obviously kind of an exaggeration but I’m also not 100% lying when I say it, so. 

What colour bedspread or blanket is on your bed now? It’s a multi-colored geometric design so there’s magenta, pink, lime green, orange, gray, and white, among a few other colors.

What colour is the door to your house? Brown.

Would you prefer a pet rat, mouse, snake, lizard or spider? I’d rather these animals are out in the wild, but if it was a situation where I had to save one I’d pick the snake.

What song(s) do you put on repeat often? I don’t tend to listen to music when I’m sad/depressed so I haven’t any songs on for quite a while now. The last one I discovered and really got into is a song called Lose, by Niki.

How many letters long is your last name? Six.

Can you play the violin? If not, would you like to? I can’t, but yeah it’s one of the instruments I’ve always wanted to learn to.

Can you keep a pokerface and not show your emotions easily? Passively, if that makes sense? I have no problem pretending to be happy or looking unbothered like, over dinner or if I’m with friends. But if someone had suddenly told me something upsetting or harsh to my face, I usually immediately show my hurt or anger or disappointment or displeasure or whatever negative emotion I would instantly feel in that moment. My eyebrows and eyes always give everything away.

Are you a good liar (tell the truth this time)? Maybe not around the people who know me best. I wear my heart on my sleeve with the people I’m most comfortable with.

Are you wearing shoes, just socks or nothing on your feet? Nothing. I might wear socks tonight, we’ll see.

What word or phrase is disgusting in your opinion and you hate hearing it? I hate having to hear or use the word ‘gunk.’ I think of dirty fingernails every time and it just makes me wince.

Do you like the smell of a barbecue or bonfire? It’s alright, but I don’t live for it. It certainly gives a comforting sensation though.

Do you prefer to write etc, ecetera or something else? Etc, and it highkey makes my blood boil whenever I read ect hahaha.

Do you think rainbows are pretty or overrated? I think rainbow prints and/or designs are overrated themselves, but seeing real-life rainbows tend to make me feel happy.

Are your lips chapped? Nope.

Have you ever fallen into a hole or crevice whilst hiking? I don’t think so. I’d be able to remember it if I have.

Ever been quadbiking? Was it any good? Nah but close, I guess? My family once did this thing where we rode on the trunk of a 4x4 while a professional drove through sand dunes in Ilocos. It was a lot of fun but I couldn’t entirely enjoy my time knowing I was in the land of the Marcoses lol

What is different about you than others you hang out with? I have a lot of unpopular opinions when it comes to Filipino food hah, like I hate well-loved dishes like sinigang and bulalo.

Are you more skeptical or gullible? I’m honestly really just both, depending on the context. Like how I’m skeptical when it comes to religion, ghosts, the afterlife, etc, but I’m equally gullible in a way that I’m terrible at recognizing sarcasm sometimes.

How often do you drink sodas or fizzy drinks? Once a year and it’s always simply to try it out and see if I’ve changed my opinion about it. I have not been converted in the last 22 years.

How many cups of tea or coffee do you have a day? Just one cup of coffee. I’m scared to have multiple ones haha, I’m scared of the palpitations or long-term effects it might give me.

Has anyone ever called you apathetic or unemotional? No. I’m the most un-unemotional person I know.

Favourite crisp/chip flavour? Just good ol’ plain. Nothing beats a simple potato flavor with a bit of salt.

Do you put salt and vinegar on your fries? Salt yeah, vinegar no.

What accent is the sexiest? Whatever accent Florence Pugh and Carey Mulligan have; they sound lovely.

Do you currently live in the same country you were born in? Yep.

What's your current mood? A little sad but I’m honestly glad my workplace gave me SO MUCH work to do over the weekend because it can keep my busy tonight. 

Do you struggle to articulate your thoughts and feelings? Not really. I like describing my emotions and sharing my thought processes.

A romantic meal, a trip to a theme park or go to a concert? Probs the romantic meal. I like the atmosphere and it’s always nice to have food involved hehe

Prefer being in control in a team enviroment, helping out or taking orders? I like being a mix of all these. I never want to be 100% a leader giving orders or 100% a subordinate waiting for tasks.

Do you like carrot cake? Not really.

Don't you hate it when people say 'I don't mean to be rude but...'? Especially considering 98% of the time they ARE trying to be rude? It will always depend on how they say what follows. Like how it will always be irritating to hear “I don’t mean to be rude but your work sucks,” but I can stomach it better and even be motivated to do better if it was said as “I don’t mean to be rude but there are areas you can tweak more to make the work better.”

Would you say yes from a drink of a friend of a friend? Only if I already know them well enough. Otherwise, no.

How good is your memory? Pretty sharp, a little too sharp for my liking. I’m able to store too many memories, some of them I don’t even want to remember anymore.

On a scale of 1-10 how was this survey? Did you enjoy it? 10! It was a delight to answer.

[stickswrites]

Keiko Aizawa: Origin “Her Shadows” (Chapter One)

It was the first day of classes at UA and I was less nervous than I probably should have been. I hadn't met anyone new from my class yet and I wasn't sure how well we would get along, not that I cared too much about making friends, but it's nice to get along with heroes you could work with in the future. You see, I got into the prestigious UA High School on recommendation from a few different pro heroes.

Allow me to back up for you. My name is Keiko Aizawa and I am a part of the 80% of the population that has a unique ability called a quirk. Mine is known as shadow manipulation and it does exactly as the name suggests, plus a few other things. I've been using it for years, training and pushing my limits so that I could be like my dad, the pro hero Eraserhead. He's not my biological dad, but he's more of a father than my real one. My biological parents are a story for another time.

Like I said, it was my first day of classes and the first day I would meet the rest of my classmates. I had to drag my ass out of bed at the crack of dawn in order to get to school on time and do my morning routine of going for a run and working out. I'm not exactly a gym rat because my social anxiety would actually manifest and kick my ass for making me go out in public to train, so Dad and I made a small at-home gym and training room so that we could both train, occasionally inviting my best friend over. I guess you could say my personality fits my quirk. I'm like a shadow in a room and lots of people don't notice me, which is fine by me. I don't want to be a pro hero like All Might, although I do respect him (who doesn't). I'd much rather be a hero like Dad, who stays out of the public eye as much as possible.

After I got out of bed, I walked sluggishly out of my room, petting my cat, Yuzuki, who was laying at the foot of my bed. I opened the door to the hallway and walked to the kitchen, where I figured Dad would already be waiting. Sure enough, there he was, sitting at the table and looking like he was half asleep, which he probably was. If you didn't know any better, you'd think that Dad and I were related by more than a name. We acted extremely similar and I even looked kind of like him after spending 8 years with him.

"Good morning," he said lazily, bringing his coffee to his mouth and taking a sip.

"If it was a good morning, I'd still be asleep," I retorted.

Dad snorted into his coffee as soon as I said that, but he composed himself again very quickly. I went about the kitchen looking for something to eat but didn't find anything. Guess we'll have to go grocery shopping sometime soon. I thought to myself. Instead, I poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a bag of chips that were definitely not meant to be eaten as breakfast. I was about to sit down across from Dad to eat when our two long-haired cats started circling around me and meowing, signaling that they were ready for their breakfast. Sighing, I set my breakfast down and poured their food into the designated bowls on the ground. I grabbed my breakfast again and sat down across from Dad.

"Are you still not going to tell me who my teacher is?" I asked for the millionth time since I found out I was accepted into UA.

"No," he responded. "You'll figure it out later today. Besides, you already know the majority of the teachers there."

"I know," I pouted while tossing a chip into my mouth. "But still, what's the point of having a dad who is a teacher at the school I'm attending, but not being able to know in advance who my teacher will be?"

"Maybe I should have just kept my job a secret then," he mused with a small smile on his face.

"Maybe you should have," I responded with a smile.

The rest of our breakfast was eaten with very few words exchanged. That's just how Dad and I were though. We didn't use a lot of words, so we showed our love with our actions instead. That's why he got me Yuzuki when I was eight years old. I had been bullied at school for my quirk and my eyes, which were obviously things I could control, and Dad happened to find Yuzuki, who shared a unique eye color with me, at a shelter. After that, I'd been bullied a few more times because of the scars I had on my face. There was an x-shaped one under my left eye and a vertical scar on the right side of my lips. The kids in my classes always found them unnerving. It was after those incidents that he finally pulled me out of public school and homeschooled me instead, which led to me hanging out around UA facilities a lot and meeting almost all of the teachers and faculty there.

"Are you ready for today?" Dad asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"I will be after I go for a run," I responded with a smile. "I don't want to get lazy just because I was accepted into the UA Hero Course. Also, Mako is coming over to go on my run with me this morning."

"Good idea," Dad said with a smile.

Mako, or Makoto Saeki, has been my best friend since Dad adopted me. He got accepted into U.A. through recommendations like I did. What he didn't know was that Dad was the one to recommend him. Makoto has an amazing quirk called 'buffer'. It basically allows him to create gravitational plates that he can use to walk on walls, ceilings, air, etc. We've trained with my dad for as long as I can remember and are practically siblings at this point. For the majority of our childhood, we've been over at one of our houses. His parents were both pro heroes, but they'd been killed in action by a pair of villains. So his grandmother, who owns UNERI CO., bought the house that was right next to ours for Makoto and his little sister, Ichika. They had a nanny, Shiore, over at the house, so Makoto was able to come over a lot to hang out with someone his own age. So it was only natural that we became as close as we did and that we began working out together when we decided to apply to U.A. At least three times a week we would go on a morning run together before our days really got started. Today was one of those days. I glanced at the microwave clock to see that I still had half an hour before I was supposed to meet him in front of the tree that stood between our houses.

As soon as I finished my "breakfast", I went to my room to grab my pill bottle and take my medicine, noting that I would have to ask Recovery Girl for a refill in a day or two. Then I changed into some sweats and a muscle tank top before pulling my dark purple hair back into a ponytail and pinning my bangs back so that they were no longer in my face. As I reached down to tie my sneakers' laces, I scratched Yuzuki's chin as he tried to force himself under my hands. Finally being able to tie my shoes with the cat on my feet, I stood up and stretched a bit. I grabbed my phone, earbuds, and the armband I put my phone in when I ran and walked out of my room. I passed by the kitchen as I put my armband on and put my phone in it.

"I'm heading out now, Dad!" I called into the house as I bent down to pet Hana, Dad's cat, one more time before I left.

"Be safe!" he called back. "Tell Makoto I say 'hello'!"

With a promise that I would, I walked out the door and closed it behind me, making sure neither of the cats escaped. I took a deep breath of the crisp morning air before walking to the tree Mako and I always met in front of and saw that he wasn't there. I checked the time just to see if I was early or if he was late, but was disappointed when I saw I was a few minutes early.

"Damn," I said quietly. "Now I don't have anything I can hold over him."

While waiting for Mako, I took the time to plug my headphones into my phone and find a song I wanted to listen to when we would start running. The few minutes passed quickly and Mako was right on time. His messy, deep maroon hair catching the morning light like his eyes. One of the things the two of us had bonded over was our eyes. They didn't look the same, but we'd both been bullied for them in the past. While my eyes had a kaleidoscope of blues and purples, Mako had heterochromia. His right eye was bright orange and his left eye was an equally bright red.

"Hey, Koko!" he said cheerfully, a bright smile on his face as he pulled an earbud out of his ear.

"Hey, Mako," I responded with a smile. "How are you doing this morning?"

"I'm doing alright," he said with a small pout appearing on his face. "Although, my orange shirt was still wet from the wash, so I had to wear my yellow one."

"Oh don't pout," I said with a small laugh. "Yellow suits you just fine."

"You're just poking fun at me because you were able to find your purple tank top today," he retorted.

"Whatever," I said while putting an earbud in, knowing it was true. "Are you ready to head out?"

"You bet," he responded, clicking shuffle on his music."Normal route?"

"You know it," I said with a large smile as I clicked play on my music and put the other earbud in.

The two of us made our way on our usual jogging route. As usual, we didn't talk about anything while running, but that may have also been because we were both anxious about what U.A. could bring for us. Within a half-hour, we got back to our houses and said our goodbyes so that we could do our separate morning routines. I walked back into my house, not breathing super heavily because I was used to the run, but my face was still somewhat flushed with exertion.

"You back already?" Dad asked from the kitchen sink, washing his coffee mug. "That was pretty quick."

"Guess Mako and I both have some nerves then," I responded, pulling my earbuds out of my ears and wrapping the cord for storage. "After all, we are starting the Hero Course today."

Dad hummed in agreement as I went back to my room to do some stretching before showering. As soon as I walked in, Yuzuki greeted me from my bed with a meow.

"Good to see you too," I mumbled while scratching under his chin, causing a purr to come from his throat.

Glancing at my alarm clock, I realized that I only had another half an hour before I had to leave with Dad to get to the school. Sighing, I stopped petting Yuzuki and began stretching. Afterward, I quickly showered and got changed into my school uniform. Pulling my mostly dry hair back into a half-up ponytail, I looked at myself in the mirror and gave myself a silent pep talk. I wrapped the hair tie around one last time before letting my hands fall back to my sides. I nodded at myself as I fixed my bangs a little bit, satisfied with my appearance, and walked back into my room from the adjoined bathroom. I walked over to my bed and grabbed my backpack and made sure it had all of the school materials I would need. After seeing I had all of my stuff, I slung my bag onto my back and gripped the strap.

"Kiki, you ready?" I heard Dad call from the front door.

"Yeah!" I responded. "I'm coming!" I turned back to my bed and bent down to give Yuzuki, who was still laying on my bed in "loaf mode", a kiss on the head, which he shoved into my face as an attempt to get attention faster. "Goodness, you're so needy," I mumbled, standing back up straight.

I pet his head one more time before walking out of my room and to the front of the house, where Dad was waiting with his hero gear on. When I got over to him, he didn't open the front door right away, but instead straightened my tie, which I had spent 10 minutes on to try to make it look presentable but apparently failed to do so. After he fixed it, I gave him a grin that he responded to with a wide smile of his own.

"Let's go," he said, pulling the front door open.

We both walked out of the house and to the car in the driveway. Makoto, with his hair styled this time and his school uniform on, walked out of his house at the same time and came over to the car.

"Hey, Mr. Aizawa!" He greeted cheerfully. "Thanks for agreeing to take me to school! Shiore wasn't sure what she was gonna do with Ichika if she drove me. She gets carsick, you know."

"It's no problem at all, Makoto," Dad responded. "I'm happy to help out. And please, as long as we're not at school, just call me Shota."

Makoto and I were two of the only people Dad ever let his strict and uncaring facade down around. With me, he never even bothered to try to keep his facade up but he tried to keep it up with Makoto around. He gave up on that too though after we'd seen him cry while watching the Lion King with us when we were kids.

"Alright," Dad started. "Hop in the car and let's get going, you two."

Mako and I nodded and both got in the backseat of the car. The car ride was pretty quiet, but that was also normal for us. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence like one might expect, but to someone outside of us three, it might appear to be so.

The car ride wasn't very long, maybe a half-hour or so, but it felt longer as I thought of all the possibilities of today. Soon enough, Dad pulled into the staff parking lot of the school, by the back of the building, and parked. As he turned the car off, Mako and I grabbed our bags and stepped out of the car, taking the time to stretch our legs before stepping toward the building. Right before we walked into UA High School, Dad stopped us.

"I'm proud of you," he said. "Both of you. You're exceptional young people and I'm sure you'll be some of the best students this school has ever seen."

I swear both Mako and I started tearing up as we practically threw ourselves into Dad's arms, hugging him tightly. I squeezed his waist tightly as I felt the tears start to overflow. Dad wrapped his arms around the two of us and we stayed like that for a few more seconds before Mako and I released him.

"We'll make you proud, Dad," I responded, wiping the tears from my eyes.

Mako nodded vigorously as he wiped his eyes as well. Dad let out a small chuckle and placed a hand on top of my head.

"Both of you already have," he responded with a smile.

Mako and I turned to each other with wide smiles before turning back to Dad, who put his hands in his pockets. Without another word, he gave us another smile and walked in through the door we'd opened, kissing the top of my head as he passed by.

"He's the kind of hero I want to be when I graduate," Makoto said.

"Same here," I replied with a small smile. "He does it for the right reasons and not for the fame."

"It is strange that not many heroes choose to be humble," Makoto told me with a newfound determined glint in his eyes. "I'll be one of them."

I nodded in agreement and we finally walked into the building, looking at the place that would be our path to becoming the heroes we longed to be. We stopped in the middle of the empty hallway.

"Ready or not?" I asked with a small smile, holding my fist out to Makoto.

"Here we come," he responded with a grin, bumping his fist with mine.

------------------------------------------------------------

A/N

Hey everyone! This is my first MHA story and I'm super excited to share it with you. A few things, unless it is otherwise specified, all artwork is done by me. I don't claim to own any of the My Hero Academia characters or plotlines. Those all belong to the creators. I do, however, own Keiko Aizawa as well as her parents. My friend owns Makoto and his family, including Shiore and Ichika. He has given me permission to use him in this story. The picture at the top of this chapter is what Keiko looks like! On the left is her everyday clothing and the right is her hero suit. Anyway, I'm super excited for you all to read this story that I've spent so much time on!

-Sticks

Word Count: 3007 words

[vntcniv]

                                               {    H S H Q T A S K 0 2 1    }

1. COLD HARD FACTS

population: 54,8M area:  130,279 km2  / 50,301 sq mi  offical language: english currency: pound sterling ( GBP / £ )

2. SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

This is what everything boils down to. Doesn’t matter what kind of a person you make out of yourself, you are what you were born as. Usually, if a person isn’t hellbent on rising through ranks, they are proud to be what they are. If you come from a slightly poorer family? Oh you won’t hide the accent, you like footie --- the posh kids can have their rugby, Sainsbury’s all good, Poundland too. Rich and happy? Horses, rugby, sailing... that good received pronunciation aka “english accent”. Middle-class will divide between the two extremes, middle-class people also are more concerned about their image than the two other groups. Perhaps it’s the notion that perhaps, just perhaps, if they are lucky they could become something better, nicer. But like I mentioned before, you are what you were born as, the harsh truth remains. Self-made men, nouveau riche... they are try-hards, or they don’t know their place. Depends on whom you ask. The English tend to categorize people and then decide how to treat them. Where is their accent from? Which part of the town/county are they from? What school did they go/do their children go? The more facts you know about a person, the better guess you can make about their family. England is obsessed with its socioeconomic hierarchy.

3. VOCABULARY

Oh the confusion! Tea doesn’t always refer to the drink. Tea can also mean supper, lunch, in some cases even some snack. Pants mean underwear, trousers is a more appropriate word. Chips = french fries; crisps = potato chips. Trainers = sneakers, rubber = eraser. There’s of course more words that are mainly used in Britain but listing them all would be unnecessary. 

4. EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

First of all, to simplify it, there are two types of schools: state-funded & private. State-funded schools are free of charge. Private schools, for day students, cost around 10K per annum, and for boarders 20K. Getting into a private school isn’t just about the money. The schools handpick their students and you may need to “prove your worth” to get in. So having connections helps a lot. The connection doesn’t even need to have anything to do with the school board --- if you know someone with a nice name or even better, someone with a title, and you get them to write a letter on your behalf, your chances of getting accepted are once again higher than some random chap’s. Most famous private school ( more specifically, public school ) is Eton. Alumni include William & Harry. Eton has produced a good number of prime ministers. It’s an all-boys school.

You know... the houses in Hogwarts, it’s not a made up concept. In more traditional schools, in majority of boarding schools, the students belong to houses. The houses are sometimes named after a founder or a person who has supported the school in some manner ( £££ ). 

Kids start school around the time they turn five. Some go to nursery before that. Primary school is the years 1-6. Nothing that important happens through years 1-11. At the end of year 11, students take GCSEs. There’s a lot of subjects to choose from, but it really depends on what subjects your school even offers. The GCSE grades are important and cause a lot of stress for students. After GCSEs students start college / sixth form that lasts for two years. At the end of college / sixth form, are the A-levels. A-levels are the hardcore version of GCSEs. Once you finish college / sixth form, you go to uni. There’s more terminology and it’s possible to get very specific but that would be a waste of time.

5. DRINKING

Legal drinking age is 18. You can usually enter most pubs even when you aren’t of age; they are just places to hang out at. Some places are stricter than others. If you’re with an adult, you’ll get in. After 16 it’s legal to have mild alcoholic drinks with dinner if you’re accompanied by an adult. Most parents aren’t that chill though. You can’t buy alcohol from stores after 11pm. Most pubs / clubs have to stop serving around 3-4am. Most places close around that time for that reason.

6. FOOD & DRINKS

Yes, fish and chips is a thing and so is tea, but they aren’t all people eat and drink. Being a tea person is playing into a stereotype, which some people do happily. There are people who have a cuppa every two hours. The palate is pretty bland. Steamed vegetables, fish or meat, and maybe some gravy to go with it. Every day food isn’t special. Beans on toast is an acquired taste. 

Beer is pretty popular and main reason for it is pub culture. Beer is cheap and there’s plenty to choose from, and when you spend a lot of time at pubs you kind of learn to appreciate those facts. 

Fast food? America has more chains, that’s for sure. You can find the most popular ones in the UK. Chains such as McDonald’s, Subway, Burger King, Taco Bell & KFC. But you won’t find Denny’s, Wendy’s or Applebee’s in the UK. Five Guys is the most popular one according to a survey ( and I am not surprised ;)  )

7. TV

What’s on the telly? Most people are familiar with BBC hit shows such as Doctor Who, Sherlock and... I don’t know what’s good, you get my point. That stuff is easy to like, it’s so universal. But then there’s that famous British humour. Monty Python is pretty famous, most people find it funny. But then there are other cult classics like Fawlty Towers and Blackadder. They are old but they are gold ( perhaps not my personal opinion but that’s beside the point ). You can never forget shows like EastEnders and Emmerdale. They just keep producing the shows, it’s crazy. They are the Brits’ The Bold and the Beautiful. 

8. LONDON

London is, well, huge. The underground zones go up to 9, though zones 7-9 aren’t that relevant. Most people use this thing called an Oyster card to move around the city, it’s basically just a London version of MetroCard or whatever you have in your city. The city center of London isn’t that big though, you can see the main attractions in a day --- and you can walk! But the minute you venture away from zones 1 and 2, you realize just how big it is. The area of London is roughly two times NYC’s. Locals avoid Oxford Street --- sure it’s cool to have all of the shops in one place but... you can just take the tube to Westfield and enjoy a less hectic atmosphere. East London has a slightly bad reputation while West London is rather posh: nice houses with big gardens, private schools, that sweet life. Each borough has its own stereotype if you want to get even more specific. London is also expensive as heck! Hell, England is expensive. The prices for apartments within zones 1 and 2 start at a million --- and they go up up up. It’s one of the reason why people who work in London might actually commute from a bit further away. There are a lot of smaller towns surrounding London and even though they aren’t part of the City of London, they are said to be part of Greater London. For example towns in northeast of Surrey are a good example for commuter towns. Real estate prices are lower in these towns but I wouldn’t call them cheap.

9. MISCELLANEOUS

People don’t wear shoes inside the house. Nope. Most detached houses have carpeted floors upstairs. Most detached houses have three floors and fucking narrow staircases. English love reading up on royals. HELLO! is a daily magazine that centers around royals. They do articles on fashion, other celebrities and etc. but it’s mainly just about royals. Football is life. 

[pitubea1910]

It Was All A Plan

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Featuring: Ned Leeds, MJ, Flash, Gwen, Aron (OC).

Words: 3549

Warnings: alcohol, teasing, fluff

Tags: @imabloodynerd @esoltis280

Request: requested by anonymous:

“Can you do one with Peter Parker and he is invited to MJ’s birthday party with her friends outside of school? (Ned and the decathlon team is invited too) And the reader knows MJ because they do dance together or something and they do this really awesome routine and somehow Peter got roped into learning the dance and one of the dance moves make him trip onto the reader. You can do the standard games if truth or dare and would you rather if you want to. Ends with fluff and teasing please.”

Notes: -

MASTERLIST

To say that you loved partying was not enough. You loved the music, the dance, spending time with your friends, taking photos and videos to remember the moments. You also enjoyed the drinking part but most of the times you just avoided it in order to avoid lectures at home. Your mum being an over protective doctor was a problem when it came to alcohol, drugs and all those ‘poisoning substances for your body’, like she used to call them. So you only drank when you were to stay at a friend’s house. And that was one of those days.

It was your best friend’s birthday party and she had invited you not only to the party but also to sleep over. MJ and you had been friends since you two were 7 years old and your parents decided to sign you up for dance class. At first you hated it. You used to sit on the floor throughout complete classes, but you ended up liking it. There was something about dance that made you feel free, careless, yourself. You knew it wasn’t the same for MJ, who was more of a book and chess girl, but she still loved it and you loved creating new routines by yourselves and show them during the classes. She was your first friend out of school and also your best friend, your mum loved her so when you told her you would to MJ’s birthday party and then you would stay over the night, your mum did not complain.

“I still can’t believe my parents let me have the house for this” MJ said while you two were getting ready.

“It’s your 17th birthday, MJ” you told her, “they had to” you added.

“You know how my father is” she rolled her eyes. Her father was quite strict when it came to her. He only wanted the best for her daughter but sometimes the pressure he put on her was too much.

“I’m sure your mum talked to him” you commented.

“Me too”, she nodded as she looked in the mirror once she was done getting ready. “So what do you think?” She asked turning to look at you.      

You smiled as you saw the outfit she had chosen. It didn’t matter what this girl wore, she would always look great. Plus, she used make up in so rare occasions that when she did, she looked awesome, as natural as it was.

“You look great”, you complimented her. She smiled widely and looked into the mirror again.

“Thanks” she sighed before taking the phone to check for any messages. “Peter is coming” she smirked looking at you, making you blush all of sudden.

“Good” you mumbled, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

You had met Peter Parker a few months ago during some decathlon trials they have had. Afterwards, MJ had introduced you to the whole team but one of them stood out from the rest. Peter Parker. From the very first second he was extra nice to you, always making sure you didn’t feel left out while you were having lunch and offering to share a menu with you when no one else wanted to split. Ever since, you two had seen multiples times, always thanks to MJ who had seen the tiny crush you had on his friend and had always invited you every time she met up with the team.

“You’re blushing!” She exclaimed.

“I’m not” you rolled your eyes, trying to hide the actual colour of your face from your best friend.

“You like him, that’s okay” she shrugged sitting on her bed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” you said applying some make before putting on your favourite necklace and turning to look at her. “So? How do I look?”

“Great” she smiled. “Peter will love it” she winked.

“I don’t care what Peter thinks” you quickly said, taking your phone from the bed just to have something to look at that wasn’t MJ.

“Whatever you say” she laughed and got up from the bed. “Let’s go and get everything ready. People will be arriving in an hour” she added.

You locked your phone and followed your friend out of her room, closing the door behind you. Once downstairs you started pouring snacks into the bowls: chips, crisps, crackers, popcorns; meanwhile, MJ was taking out plastics cups along with the drinks before she went upstairs to get the hidden booze she had managed to buy.

An hour later everything was settled and, just like MJ had said, people started arriving. You started the music and started saying hi to the people you already knew and introducing yourself to those you didn’t. Every time the bell rang your heart skipped a beat hoping it was Peter, but when everyone had already arrived and he was nowhere to be seen, you assumed he wouldn’t come. It was disappointing but you all were already used to these kind of things from him. He would disappear during hours just to come up with a stupid excuse and a million apologies.

People immediately started drinking and you found yourself refilling the bowls of snacks from time to time, so before you noticed you had had two cups of a mix MJ had made (gin, lemon and grenadine) and an hour had gone by.

“(Y/N)! Open the door, please!” MJ screamed from the other side of the living room where she was talking to Flash.

Quickly, you made your way to the door, hoping it wasn’t the police nor MJ’s parents. Your surprise was huge when you opened the door and found yourself face to face with Peter Parker and Ned Leeds. You had just assumed he wasn’t going to show up so seeing him all of sudden took the air out of your lungs.

“Hey (Y/N)!” Ned smiled making his way in like it was his own house.

“Hi” Peter said shyly, also walking in but staying by the door until you closed.

“I thought you weren’t coming” you commented, trying to hide how nervous you were.

“I had to do something first” he shrugged. “But I couldn’t miss MJ’s birthday” he added.

“I see” you mumbled awkwardly, not knowing what to say. “Um… well, drinks are in the kitchen and there are bowls of snacks all around the place” you informed him politely.

“Oh thanks” he smiled before turning, but he stopped midway and turned to look at you again. “You look great, by the way” he said with a wink.

The compliment took you with the guard down and you didn’t even have time to say thank you or anything before he turned around and walked towards the kitchen. Actually, he looked great as well.

Once you had recovered from the shock of seeing him, you forced yourself to move and join the party again, looking for MJ to spend some time with her, but she was the one who found you and judging by the huge smirk on her face, either she knew Peter was here or she had seen your interaction with him.

“I saw you” she said. There we go again, you thought. “You should’ve seen your face when you were talking to Peter” she laughed.

“You knew he was coming later, right?” You asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Of course, I’m the host” she said cockily. “He texted me earlier”

“And you didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell me?” You asked, even when you already knew the answer to that.

“No, it was funnier this way” she said, laughing at your expression. “C’mon! He’s here, go and talk to him, don’t be shy” she encouraged you.

“I’m not shy” you defended yourself. “I just wouldn’t know what to tell him”

Before she could reply, Flash came out of nowhere, saying it was drinking games time and you were all up for it, as long as it meant you didn’t have to have this conversation any longer. You shrugged at your best friend and took a seat in the circle that had formed in the middle of the living room. Many people sat down, eager to play, while others just stood around, watching the players. MJ was just by your side, next to Flash, who was next to a girl named Gwen. Next to her was another boy whose name you didn’t remember and another one named Aron. There were a couple of other girls: Lizz and Sandy and suddenly Peter appeared out of nowhere, followed by Ned. You thought they wouldn’t sit and they would just stay there and watch, but you were more than surprised when Peter did take a seat just in front of you while Ned started talking to some guy you had never met without sitting.

“Okay guys, so what do you prefer…truth or dare, would you rather, never have I ever…?” Flash asked.

“I’m not drunk enough to play truth or dare, man” the one named Aron said.

“Amen to that” you nodded.

“Never have I ever?” Peter suggested.

“Good for me” you nodded in agreement. Then you felt a slight nudge from MJ which you chose to ignore. Once everyone else agreed the game started.

“Never have I ever…cheated on an exam” Flash said. Everyone took a sip. “I knew it Parker! I knew you weren’t that brilliant” he exclaimed.

“I was 10!” Peter exclaimed, defending herself.

“You cheated, that’s what counts” you shrugged. He narrowed his eyes at you but kept on smiling anyway. “Never have I ever… kiss two people on the same night”

Just two people drank with this one and a part of you was happy that Peter wasn’t one of them. He didn’t look like the kind of person who does that but still, you can never be sure. The game kept on going, question after question and everyone was getting tipsier and tipsier.

“Never have I ever have a crush on someone of this circle” MJ said.

You looked at her with your eyes wide open just to be face to face with her usual smirk. You were going to kill this girl. Taking a deep breath, you took a sip from the cup and looked up, just to see Peter drinking as well. You didn’t think too much about it since MJ had told you about that time when Peter had a crush on Lizz, but the fact that he was staring at you as he drank was confusing.

“Okay, let’s play something else!” You exclaimed and everyone agreed.

“What about truth or dare?” MJ asked.

“Maybe something else?” You asked, knowing it couldn’t be good to play that game when you were in such state and when MJ was even tipsier than you.

“Truth or dare!” Gwen exclaimed.

It looked like everyone wanted to play that damn game so you ended up agreeing as well. At first, every truth and every dare were stupid and easy to reply or do. Like what was your most embarrassing moment, sing something out loud, stuff like that. It was even fun when MJ and you were dared to show one of your routines and you decided to show the one you created for Who Run the World. 

Once you finished the routine, you two were sweaty and exhausted but everyone started cheering and clapping around. You looked at MJ who just smiled at you before taking a seat in the circle once again.

“I need a drink” you said getting up again to refill your cup, taking MJ’s cup with you as well.

The kitchen was empty due to everyone being in the living room, watching the game or just enjoying the party. Actually, you thanked this little time to yourself since sometimes a party could be a bit overwhelming. But your peace didn’t last long.

“What you just did was amazing”, you looked behind your back and blushed when you saw it was Peter.

“Thanks” you said pouring some gin in your cup. “We created it a long time, I’m surprised we still remembered it” you added.

You gave the bottle of gin to Peter who was waiting for it, and took the lemon one, pouring some to mix it before the grenadine. Peter copied your mix in silent. You wanted to say something, maybe something clever or funny, but it looked like words were stuck in your throat.

“Can I ask you something?” He asked turning his body to face you, leaning against the counter. You looked at him for a moment and nodded. “When MJ said who had had a crush on someone of that circle you drank…who was it?”

You looked at him again, panicking, as you tried to find a way out of that hole you had just fell into. There weren’t many possible answers since you had just met most of the group that was out there. Peter kept on looking at you, waiting for the answer to his question. If it wasn’t because of the amount of alcohol he had consumed, he would have never drop the question. Hell, he would have never followed you into the kitchen. He saw you gulping before taking a sip from your mix, still not answering.

“That’s…kind of private…” you mumbled, not being able to look at him.

“Oh… I’m sorry” he quickly said. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable” he added.

“No, you didn’t. It’s just…embarrassing” you sighed.

“Why?” He frowned confused.

“I don’t think he likes me back” you shrugged.

“That’s just stupid” he stated. “Any guy would like you. I mean, look at you, you’re gorgeous, funny, intelligent…” he felt himself blushing as you looked up to him so he looked away.

“Thanks” you said. Silence overcame the two of you again. A silent broke by your fake cough. “We should go back” you said once you had finished filling up MJ’s cup.

“Sure” he nodded and followed you out of the kitchen.

You saw everyone was still seated on the floor but they looked like they were just talking instead of playing which you thanked, since you were a bit tired of drinking games. But when you joined them, it looked like they really had been talking, especially MJ.

“We have a dare for the two of you” she announced to Peter and you. You looked at her when you handed her the cup and narrowed your eyes. She was planning something. Something not good. Something probably embarrassing.

“When did any of us chose to make a dare?” Peter asked also frowning.

“Shut up” MJ said. “(Y/N), I dare you to teach Peter that routine”

“What?” You frowned. “What kind of dare is that?”

“Just a bit! The chorus part for example” she smirked.

“Well, that doesn’t sound bad” Peter commented getting up after taking a long sip from his drink. “I’m totally up for it, if you are” he said offering his hand for you to take it.

You glared at MJ but she was just smiling innocently. With a sigh, you put the cup down, not saying it out loud but actually wanting to do it. With a shaky hand, you took Peter’s who led you to where you and MJ had danced just some minutes ago. The conversation you two had was still in the air, tensing both of you but you shook it off and started showing him the steps. He was actually quick to understand them and do them, but you knew the tricky one when you had to lift your leg as high as you could, like kicking the air, and then spin, would be a bit harder.

“So you have to take the impulse from the kick to do the spin, you see?” You explained as you showed him the move.

“I think so” he nodded slowly, his forehead brightening with sweat. “It should be easy”

“It should be, but you’re a bit drunk” you shrugged.

“So are you” he smirked.

“But I can take more than you” you teased placing your hands over your hips.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, darling” he winked, making your stomach flip when he moved a bit closer to you.

“Go ahead, Parker, I’m waiting” you crossed your arms now.

Everyone had got tired of waiting until you showed him the routine so they were back to their conversations. Some of them were even playing, but no one was paying attention to you two which you truly thanked. You didn’t like being the centre of attention. Peter took his cup and took a long sip before placing it over the table and getting ready to make the dance move. Surprisingly enough, he had no problem with the kick, which showed how flexible he actually was. But when he had to do the spin, the alcohol took the best of him and made him trip over his own feet, falling on the ground and taking you down with him on the process. Luckily you didn’t heat your head too hard.

“Damn” Peter mumbled.

“Shit” you chuckled with your eyes closed as the whole room spun.

“I’m sorry” you heard him saying.

When you opened your eyes you realised his body was on the top of yours and you could feel his whole body against yours, just like he could feel yours. Both of you blushed as you look into each other’s eyes.

“For a first time, it wasn’t that bad” you said. He laughed quietly and got up, helping you to get on your feet.

“You want a drink? You know…as compensation” he shrugged.

“I think we both already had enough to drink” you smiled. “But maybe we can go to the backyard and take some air? Away from all this” you suggested, biting your lip as you looked up at him.

Peter smiled widely and nodded, letting you go first. On his way to the back door he looked around for MJ, who immediately caught his eye and gave him a thumbs up. MJ and Ned were the only ones who knew about the crush he had on MJ’s best friend and they had actually been the ones who had encouraged Peter to talk to you that night. It hasn’t been easy but with a few drinks he had relaxed and was on his way to the backyard with you, where you would finally be able to be alone.

“I needed this” you mumbled looking up at the sky when you took a seat on the porch stairs. Peter sat next to you and sighed.

“Me too” he nodded. “Did it hurt?” He asked, talking about the fall you two just had.

“Don’t worry, I’m okay” you smiled at him. “It was too much to ask for a first time anyway” you shrugged.

“Excuse me?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m an incredible dancer” he said making you laugh.

“You’re not bad” you teased looking at him with a smile that he returned.

He looked into your eyes and laughed a little before looking down at your lips. He noticed they had a light shade of red, probably because of the grenadine in your drink. It didn’t matter why it was, all that mattered was that looking at them had been a mistake and now all Peter could think about was kissing you. He just wished he was brave enough.

“You know… about what you asked me before in the kitchen” you said looking away from him. You weren’t really sure about it, but it really looked like a good moment to drop such bomb. Plus, the way he had been looking at you had to mean something. You couldn’t be that insane. “You know…about who I like” you explained.

“Oh, yeah” he nodded looking down at his hands for a few moments. Maybe he was planning on making a move on you, but he suddenly froze. What was he expecting? That you were going to say that he was your crush?

“It’s you, Peter”, you just said, without thinking it twice.

“What?” He asked looking at you.

You didn’t think you could repeat what you had just said so instead, you leaned forward and placed your lips over his, slowly and a bit scared. What if you had mistaken everything? What if he pulled away? All your doubts were solved when you felt one of his hands on your cheek and his lips kissing you back. You knew it was cliché but you felt fireworks all around you and even inside of you. You were kissing Peter Parker and he was kissing you back.

“I’ll have to thank MJ” he whispered when you two pulled apart. You gave him a confused look. “She told me to make a move tonight” he shrugged.

And it all made sense. Why he had been teasing so much lately, the reason behind all those smirks, the dare, making you open the door when he came. It all had been a plan and you didn’t know if you wanted to kill her or kiss her. Probably the second one but you would never tell her, you would just kill her.

“I will kill her” you laughed closing the distance between you two and kissing him again.

[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

41 Gluten Free Party Food Recipes for the Holidays

New blog post! If there's one thing five years of being diagnosed with celiac disease and eating gluten free has taught me, it's that you can have just as delicious a holiday season as everyone else! The catch? You need to know the right gluten free recipes!

That's why, this year, I thought I'd kick off the holiday season with a round-up of some of my favorite gluten free party food recipes from around the blogosphere. This post is full of gluten free appetizer ideas, gluten free snacks and gluten free desserts - basically, everything you need to have an epic holiday gettogether, whether you bring one of these appetizers to Thanksgiving dinner or save them for a New Year's Eve party. So enough of my talking...let's dive into the food! Without further adieu, here are 41 gluten free party food recipes that can make the 2018 holiday season extra special (and delicious)!

1. Cajun Shrimp and Corn Dip With Cream Cheese - A Sprinkling of Cayenne 

Talk about a delicious way to spice up your usual holiday eats!

2. Creamy White Bean Beet Hummus (Vegan) - Casey the College Celiac

If you need a gluten free and vegan dip that's as colorful as it is tasty, look no further than my white bean beet hummus! You only need five ingredients (including water) to make it, and it tastes delicious on everything from chips to veggies to potatoes.

3. Pumpkin Spice Fruit Dip (Dairy Free, Egg Free, Refined Sugar Free) - Raia's Recipes

Fruit just got an upgrade with this pumpkin-spiced dip!

4. Spicy Ranch and Broccoli Stuffed Mushrooms - Family Food and Travel 

Even convert veggie haters won't be able to resist this gluten free appetizer...

5. Spiced Apple Cider Made from Apple Juice - Faithfully Gluten Free

Because no party is complete without some delicious drinks!

6. Nut-Free Bone Broth Pesto (Paleo) - Casey the College Celiac

Sneak some extra protein and nutrients into your party food with my bone broth pesto! Trust me. This pesto is soooo flavorful, no one will ever know you swapped bone broth for the traditional oil...

7. Vegan Paleo Pecan Pie Bars - Allergy Free Alaska

I don't know what kind of witchcraft was used to make this dessert vegan and paleo, but I'm excited to bring that same magic to my own kitchen ASAP!

8. Gluten Free Chips and Guacamole Bites - My Gluten-Free Kitchen

Whether you're throwing a casual Friendsgiving or going to a fancy dinner party, you can't go wrong with chips and guac....

9. Cranberry Salsa (Vegan) - The Welcoming Table

Who knew that salsa could be so festive?!? Plus, this gluten free appetizer only takes five minutes to make!

10. Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites - The Happy Housewife

Excuse me while I lick my computer screen and swoon...

11. Pepperoni Pizza Dip - Baking Beauty

As always, make sure you use all gluten free ingredients, like with the pizza sauce and pepperoni. Then all you have to do is watch as people start raving over this gluten free appetizer!

12. Easy Caprese Salad Skewers with Balsamic Glaze - Zesty Olive

Like the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!" This classic is as good as it gets.

13. Chewy Pumpkin Popcorn Balls (Vegan) - Casey the College Celiac

Love pumpkin? Love popcorn? Love bite-size, delicious desserts? Then prepare to fall head over heels for these pumpkin popcorn balls!

14. Olive Tapenade (Vegan, Soy Free, Nut Free) - Fried Dandelions

Pair it with some gluten free crackers, toast or even pasta, and this olive tapenade spread will create one heck of a tasty snack.

15. Mini Pear, Pecan and Goat Cheese Appetizers - The Foodie and the Fix

Combine pears, pecans, goat cheese, sage and honey, and you're basically guaranteed one heck of a tasty appetizer.

16. Smokey Chipotle Pumpkin Hummus (Vegan) - Pink Fortitude

Is there anything more perfect for fall than PUMPKIN hummus?!? I think not...

17. Superfood Chocolate Banana Brownies (Vegan) - Casey the College Celiac 

A cross between brownies and banana bread, this gluten free dessert will be a hit with any and all of your party guests!

18. Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings with Parmesan (Low Carb, Keto) - Recipes From a Pantry

Who says you can't eat fried chicken as part of a healthy, gluten free diet?

19. Keto Cheese Dip For Low Carb Vegetables and Chips - Low Carb Yum

The Christmas colors of this keto cheese dip make it a winning appetizer for any holiday party this year!

20. Healthy Cranberry Wassail Recipe (Sugar Free) - Healthy Christian Home

Apple juice, orange juice, lemon juice, cranberries and spices combine in this flavorful holiday drink.

21. Convenient Bacon Wrapped Asparagus Bites With Cream Cheese (Keto, Low Carb) - Savory Tooth  

This appetizer only takes five ingredients to make, and it's a super tasty way to sneak some veggies into your holiday party!

22. Vegan Cake Batter Dip (Sugar Free, Oil Free, Keto, Low Carb) - VegAnnie

Cake batter...in dip form...that's also gluten free and vegan!?! Serve with some gluten free cookies or fruit, and I'm sure this dip will disappear fast!

23. Gluten Free Pizza Quesadilla - The Helpful GF

Whether you need a gluten free snack for kids (or kids at heart), this quesadilla is a winning choice.

24. 5-Minute Avocado Ranch Dip with Greek Yogurt - Two Healthy Kitchens

Who knew that avocado could get 100000X times better combined with Greek yogurt, vinegar and spices?

25. Flourless Rocky Road Chocolate Cookies - Foodal

Gooey chocolate cookies...with chewy marshmallows...and crunchy walnuts? SIGN ME UP!

26. Secretly Veggie-Packed Vegan Cheese Sauce - Casey the College Celiac

Nowadays, I always have some of this homemade vegan cheese sauce hiding in my fridge because it's just that addictive. Use it as a dip for chips, as a drizzle for veggies or even as a sauce for a big pot of vegan mac and cheese for all your party goers to share.

27. Crispy Roasted Rosemary Potatoes (Vegan) - Sweet and Savory Meals

Crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside? My kind of potato heaven...

28. Flourless Mocha Brownie Bites - The Monday Box

Excuse me as I swoon over that chewy, fudgy bite!

29. Party Cheese Ball with Goat Cheese and Almonds - The Anthony Kitchen

If you and your guests can eat dairy, you can't go wrong with a flavorful and festive cheeseball.

30. Gluten Free Intensely Chocolate Cookies - Tikkido 

Only six ingredients stand between you and diving into this deliciously chocolatey dessert.

31. Cream Cheese Stuffed Dates with Walnuts - Oh, The Things We'll Make 

If you need a gluten free appetizer by, like, yesterday, this three-ingredient appetizer is exactly what you're looking for.

32. Crunchy Caramel Apple Energy Balls (Vegan) - Casey the College Celiac

Out of all the gluten free snacks for kids I've shared on my blog's recipe page, this one is perfect for a fall get-together. And I promise. The combination of sticky dates, crunchy pumpkin seeds and sweet applesauce makes this one healthy dessert everyone will love!

33. Autumn Salad with Butternut Squash, Apples, Cranberries & Candied Pecans (Vegetarian) - The Rising Spoon

If there's another salad recipe that's more perfect for fall than this one, I've never seen it. And I wouldn't be surprised if guests just start eating the candied pecans from the salad...so definitely make extra for them (or you!).

34. Keto Taco Stuffed Mini Peppers - Beauty and the Foodie

Make sure you use a gluten free taco seasoning to whip up this flavor-packed gluten free appetizer.

35. Ginger and Pear Polenta Cake - Veggie Desserts

Who knew that pears and polenta would be the secret to one insanely delicious gluten free cake?!?

36. Healthy Tzatziki Sauce - Attainable Sustainable 

Slather this sauce on veggies, gluten free bread or tortillas or anything else your heart (or stomach) desires...

37. Vegan Chickpea Squash Fritters - Piping Pot Curry

...including these vibrant chickpea squash fritters, which are another tasty way to sneak extra veggies into your holiday eats!

38. White Chocolate Dipped Pistachio Cookies - Brooklyn Farm Girl

I'm a sucker for pistachios, so you can bet that these cookies are on my to-do list this year!

39. Kale Guacamole - Savory Lotus 

Because sometimes even guac needs a facelift.

40. Mozzarella Sticks (Vegan) - Pink Fortitude 

Mozzarella sticks that are also gluten free and vegan? You know I'd be digging in...

41. Candied Pecans - Salt and Baker

If you need a gluten free dessert that's as simple as it is scrumptious, these candied pecans are exactly what you need! Just make sure you use gluten free (and non-cross-contaminated) nuts.

  The Bottom Line of Gluten Free Party Food and Having an Awesome Gluten Free Holiday Season

I know from experience that for people with celiac disease, food allergies or dietary restrictions, the holiday season can be, well, awkward. A lot of times, holidays are full of parties and dinners where you don't have anything to eat. And sometimes, that can make you feel like the odd one of out. That's why, this year, I'm challenging YOU (and myself!) to make your holiday season extra tasty, whether it's your first year eating gluten free during the holidays or your twentieth. Try out a new gluten free snack recipe. Bring a gluten free appetizer to a party and watch people's minds get toootally blown by how good gluten free food can be! Heck, you could even throw your own 100% gluten free holiday party. There are plenty of delicious, gluten free possibilities for the next few months! Whatever way you decide to celebrate the holidays this year, I hope that these gluten free party food recipes give you some new ideas for how to spice up your daily eats. And if one of these recipes becomes a new family favorite...well, consider that your Christmas present from me. What gluten free appetizer or snack from this list is calling your name? Tell me in the comments! via Blogger https://ift.tt/2FkeJ6Y