#and then goes 'dammit!' after coming back to the car with a puppy
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queercatboyrights · 2 years ago
Note
!!
From the ask game here!!
You're getting a two-4-one on for this ask bc these bitches are a package deal
Name: Loon [REDACTED] -Left || Thelphise - Right
Pronouns: He/They/She || They/Them
Gender/Sexuality: Genderfluid Asexual || Nonbinary Omnisexual
Lore: Loon is an oracle/cleric!! And Thelphise is the trickster god that they worship!! Loon was born with the blessings of Thelphise, though this lead to her being abandoned at a young age by their parents. That never bothered them though, they had their connection with their deity! Despite having no physical presence in his life, Loon could still sense his deity was with him and that sole fact got them through many rough times in her life. As she grew older, Loon would soon start to do all he could to show her devotion to Thelphise and build her own shrine dedicated to their beloved deity. However, due to the nature of the god they chose to worship he often found himself shunned and detested by the people around him. Which unfortunately meant Loon's shrine was rarely visited by anyone. Eventually though, Thelphise begins to take notice to the mortal who bears their blessing, one day deciding to visit her in the mortal realm. Obviously Loon was ecstatic to finally be able to meet Thelphise in the flesh, and the god honestly found it a bit endearing. Amused and a bit appreciative of the little human who adored them so, Thelphine decided to stay in the mortal realm and make Loon their vassal. They would help Loon spread their influence across the land, and finally amass a large following for the trickster god. Thelphine's tactical mind, cunning, and cleverness was perfectly balanced by Loon's charisma and charm, and the two would eventually go on to become quite the power couple!!
Appearance: (Loon is to the left, Thelphine is to the right!)
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Picrew from here!!
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exy-shmexy · 2 years ago
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HC that one day while he’s on his way back from Abby’s house, Wymack finds an abandoned puppy in the middle of the road.
It’s late and he looks hurt so Wymack rushes back to Abby’s so she can look at him. He has an injury on his back leg, probably from getting hit by a car and he is full of fleas. They give him a thorough bath, the water running brown from mud and dead fleas. Despite that, the puppy doesn’t seem bothered by the water in the slightest and even ends up splashing water all around Abby’s bathroom, which makes her laugh.
She treats his wound and the puppy falls asleep in Wymack’s arms as she wraps a bandage around his leg. She smiles fondly at them but he gruffly tells her he’s not keeping him. He’ll go to the vet the next day and leave the puppy there, so don’t get attached Abby dammit.
She takes a photo when he isn’t watching.
They end up spending the night at Abby’s, not really sleeping considering the puppy decided to claim Abby’s bed as his own too and stretched its entire length over the blanket the entire night.
Wymack takes the dog to the vet in the first hours of the morning, telling the Foxes through their group chat that Dan will lead practice for the day as he won’t be able to come. He tells Abby to say goodbye to the puppy before they go, but he’s holding him in his arms and Abby laughs when he pulls up in front of her house an hour later with the puppy happily prancing behind him as best as he can with a thick bandage around his injured leg, a brand new collar around his neck as Wymack carries a puppy bed and toys inside. He grumbles at Abby and she just pats his shoulder. As it turns out, the puppy is a two months old belgian malinois, he is in very good health except for the wound on his leg but it will heal just fine. Abby asks if he picked a name yet and Wymack says no. He wasn’t even supposed to keep him. She rubs the dog between both ears and helps Wymack carry a bag of dog food inside.
She doesn’t comment on it but her heart suddenly feels very warm at the prospect of them visiting often enough to leave stuff at her own place.
The next day, Wymack shows up to practice with the puppy following behind and trying to murder his leash. When the Foxes see him, they all melt. Dan asks for his name and Wymack says he doesn’t have one. Neil immediately suggests calling him Exy, but then gets an exasperated look from everyone except Kevin who is too busy greeting him and getting his hand licked. Neil thinks it would be a great name but then throws his hands up in the air when the Foxes and Wymack firmly say no again.
Wymack tells everyone now is not the time to coo around a puppy so he starts practice for the day but it is very quickly interrupted by the puppy chasing after the balls and running around after everyone.
Practice that day is catastrophically unproductive until the puppy is too tired to keep up so he goes lay down next to Wymack for a much deserved nap.
It’s the middle of the week, but everyone goes to Abby’s after their classes to play with the puppy and try to find him a name. Neil grumbles Exy would be perfect and only gets a smile from Renee.
No one can decide on a name yet but they all agree this is now the official team dog.
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catladyoftheyr · 1 month ago
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⋆。°✩🎃✩°。⋆𝔖𝔭𝔬𝔬𝔨𝔶 ℭ𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔳𝔞𝔩 𝔇𝔬𝔲𝔟𝔩𝔢 𝔇𝔞𝔱𝔢⋆。°✩🎃✩°。⋆
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Happy Halloween Month™️ I wanted to do a little something fun for October and I like putting high stress characters in low stakes situations bc they deserve a day off dammit!!
All Ages, fluff
Double date with Me/ Gojo & Jelly/ Kento
@lazyjellyfish300
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦ ✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
Kento and Gojo are known to argue, and Gojo is a backseat driver. Nanami insists on following the gps, and Gojo is convinced we made a wrong turn. He definitely thinks we can get there faster if take the secret shortcut that’s “only a little illegal I swear”.
We finally get to the carnival and Gojo wants to try all of the carnival food. He bought fried Oreos for everyone to share; Nanami takes one bite and nopes out. Gojo is a “more for me then” guy and eats the rest of it.
Kento indulges in funnel cakes for him and Jelly, having a soft spot for dough based treats.
Since it’s a Halloween carnival, there’s scare actors walking around and Gojo loves antagonizing them. He also tries to lure them over to scare me and Jelly. Nanami has no reaction and Gojo makes it his personal mission to make him jump before the night is over.
Next up is the actual haunted house, and me and Jelly have a low scare tolerance. So we’re both holding our man’s hands TIGHT. It’s spooky, but fun. All of a sudden something grabs Gojo’s waist from behind and he screams like a little girl. Nanami can’t help but chuckle.
Next up is a corn maze. Surely two of the most talented Jujutsu Sorcerers can lead their girlfriends through a corn maze, right? Apparently not because you get hopelessly lost. Gojo insists on running off ahead of the group to find a better path, leaving Kento alone with both us girls. Nanami manages to lead us toward the exit, but Gojo is still MIA. Nanami tries to convince us to leave him behind but eventually goes back in to retrieve him. Meanwhile Gojo had been hiding in between the corn the whole time waiting to get Kento alone so he could jump out at him. Nanami’s fight or flight defaults to fight and he socks Gojo in the gut when he spooks him
After he comes back with Gojo in tow, everyone decides to play some carnival games. We give the men puppy eyes to win us those giant teddy bears they always have hanging up. They definitely use their abilities to cheat once they realize the games are rigged. Gojo is arguing with the carnies about what constitutes a win.
To finish the night we go on some of the carnival rides. Nanami is complaining about how they’re not safe and, “barely being held together”. When we’re on the one that spins so fast you can’t move Gojo is definitely the guy who is upside down the whole time. When we go on one of the thrill rides Kento comes off looking a little green in the face and dizzy. The very last ride of the night is a the Ferris wheel, but since there’s so many people in line they can’t separate couples in different cars. So poor Nanami is stuck in a slow moving enclosed space with professional yapper Gojo.
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hinatastinygiant · 2 years ago
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12 | Pine
Pairing: Tokyo Revengers x Fem!Reader
Wasteland Masterlist
FLASHBACK ~ ONE DAY AGO
DRAKEN’S P.O.V.
A random song that I’d never heard of before starts playing on the radio as I’m driving my car down the road. I then look down at my phone, double-checking the directions to the Operation Finally Home that I’m driving to. After putting in my application over a year ago, the company finally decided to help me get a home and help with my severe PTSD. However, I’m already five minutes late for my interview, and my palms begin to sweat. My whole body then begins to shake and I start feeling nauseous. When I look back up at the road, I feel so disoriented that I hardly even hear a small bell ringing or a man on a bike waving his hand at me.
When I finally do snap back into reality, I try to slam on the brakes but instead hit the bike. I watch as the man goes straight under the car and my whole body freezes. I pull the car over and wait for my breathing to calm down before I get out of the car and rush to the man’s side.
Thankfully, I know CPR. However, after twenty minutes, I know I have to give up. Instead, I check his pulse.
Nothing.
“Wake up, dammit!” I shout as I grab the man’s head and slap his cheeks slightly. “I’m so sorry, man. I didn’t mean to hit you. Please, please, wake up.”
I then look around. The whole road must be completely abandoned or something. Nobody has come along since I ran over the bike.
“Shit,” I mutter to myself as I stand up and walk to the man’s feet.
I continue to curse to myself as I start to drag his body over toward the forest on the side of the road. With a deep breath, I sit him up and lean him back against a tree. I then walk away for a brief moment to bring the bike over as well.
When I finish, I take a step back and look at the dead body sitting limp against the tree. Looking down at my hands, I’m completely shaking. There’s nothing left for me to do. I need to go.
When I get into my car, I turn around back the way I came. I drive back to town and park my car at the nearby church.
When the car’s in park, I reach into the backseat of my car and grab my duffle bag. I dig through it for an extra pair of clothes and change into a fresh outfit that doesn’t smell like shit or have blood stains on it.
After changing, I take another breath and open the car door. I walk toward the church and stop just outside the door. I’m not religious. Why the hell am I here?
“Just do it, man,” I hear a voice chuckle behind me. When I turn around, I see an older man watching me patiently. “Open the goddamn door or I’ll tell him to release a plague on your ass. I go here regularly so me and God are fucking tight!”
“And does he know you curse at strangers?” I smile slightly.
“Look, I’m not standing here judging you so why’re you doin’ it?” he then asks calmly.
“I’m sorry,” I shake my head. “I’ve just never done this before. Well, at least not since I was a kid. I don’t really know why I’m here…”
“So then why did you come here?” he then asks.
“What do you care?” 
“Well, you are blocking the entrance and I’m waiting to go in so since we’re both standing here I might as well talk to you,” he smiles softly.
I shake my head before turning back to face the door. I quickly put my hand on the doorknob and step inside before I can hear another word from that stranger.
“Thanks, kid,” he pats me on the shoulder before walking past.
I follow him slowly as we make our way toward the front of the church... Everything all feels so surreal to me as I follow the man like some lost puppy. When we approach the front of the church, he sits down and pats the spot beside him.
“Sit down, kid,” he tells me. “You’ve gotta wait for one of the priests to free up so they can hear you’re confession. You don’t gotta say it out loud to everybody in here, ya know. It’s not A.A.,” he then chuckles.
“I knew that,” I lie as I sit down beside him.
The two of us then sit together quietly as we wait for our turn. Not long after, another person gets up from their spot beside a priest and kneels at the end of the altar.
“You’re up, kid,” the stranger nudges me. “Are ya ready?”
“My turn? What about you?” I ask, turning to face him.
“Don’t worry ‘bout me. I can wait. Just hope you don’t get one ‘a those judgy ones,” he smiles.
With a deep breath, I stand up and walk toward a young-looking priest who’s staring down at a beaded necklace.
“Uh, hey,” I whisper as I sit down in the chair connected to his.
“Uh, hey?” he repeats. “What happened to ‘forgive me for I have sinned’?”
“Forgive me, father-“ I then begin before he cuts me off.
“Do you even know the Act of Contrition?” he then sighs.
“Don’t tell me you’re one of the judgy ones,” I mutter aloud accidentally.
“Nah, that’d be Father Capriestsun,” he tells me with a straight face.
“What?”
“Forget it,” he shakes his head. “What’re you confessing?”
I look down at my sweaty hands as my brain nearly freezes while I try to think of what to say. “I, uh,” I begin.
“C’mon. You’re only human. Mistakes happen,” he tells me.
“Do priests usually say things like that?” I then ask, looking over at him.
“I’m not as old-fashioned as the rest of the guys here,” he then whispers and winks at me. “Is it bad?”
It’s then that I finally confess my sin to the priest. It felt a lot better than I thought it would, too. If not for that man who walked in with me, I probably would’ve turned around and gone somewhere else instead.
“I’ve gotta go to the cops, don’t I?” I sigh as I ask the priest.
“That’s not really my place to say,” he then shrugs. “But I think you should do what feels best for you.”
“So you’re telling me to do the right thing,” I hum. “Well I guess-“
Before I can finish speaking, there’s suddenly a high-pitched, ringing in my ear. I think I’m the only one who can hear it- probably a symptom of the stress I’m under- but as I’m bent forward with my hands on my ears, I notice the young priest is doing the same.
A few moments later, when it stops, we both sit up and look at each other. The priest is the first to notice that we’re now the only two left in the church, followed by me when I try to follow his gaze.
“What the hell just happened?” he asks.
“You heard it too, right?” I reply.
“That noise that sounded like we just took an elevator straight into the deepest pits of hell? Yeah, I heard it. What the fuck do we do now?”
Wasteland Masterlist
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taetaespeaches · 4 years ago
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“You really want to name her Widowmaker?”
jungkook x reader (oc) genre: fluff word count: 2.4K
a/n: So you know that dog that reader/Holly has in a few fics? Well, this is where she gets it. That’s the whole plot, just Holly getting a dog and Jungkook coming with to meet it for the first time. They’re cute, there’s a dog involved, really what else could we ask for? Thanks for reading lovelies, I hope you all enjoy! :)) 
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With your legs stretched out in front of you and your feet propped up on the coffee table, your fingers ran through Jungkook’s long dark strands. The man was dozing in and out of sleep as he rested his head on your lap, his face slightly hidden amongst your baggy t-shirt. Looking down at his side profile, you appreciated the slope of his charming nose and the way his lips puffed slightly, his face relaxed as he slept, his eyes fluttering lightly. Nuzzling his face further against your abdomen, you smiled down at him, stroking his hair gently.
Scrolling through your Instagram feed, you sighed, becoming increasingly bored of your phone but not wanting to disturb the man’s slumber. However, when a picture of an adorable dog appeared on your phone screen, you couldn’t help the gasp that left your lips, Jungkook stirring against your thighs as he groaned lightly.
The dog was still a puppy; a golden retriever mixed with some other breeds that resulted in the cutest little being you’d ever seen, rivaling the man currently in your lap. The dog, a female, was a stray and came in dirty, underweight, and scared. The post said they estimated her to be about three months old and she was currently unnamed.
Without thinking too much about it, you quickly messaged the shelter and asked if you could come see the dog that very day. Their response was equally as speedy, telling you that you could come by in about an hour to meet the dog and see if it would be a good fit. There would of course be paperwork and background checks, to which you agreed to easily. You wanted that dog.
Taking a screenshot of the photo, you held back a squeal of excitement as you stared down at Jungkook. “Baby,” you whispered, tapping his shoulder gently. “Jeongguk,” you whisper-shouted at him. “Dammit, this is important.” 
The man let out a quiet grunt but didn’t budge, making you groan loudly. “Kookie,” you called out to him. Tapping his nose repeatedly, he turned his face inward toward your legs in annoyance. “Jungkook, I need you to wake up,” you whined, shaking his frame. “I need to go get my puppy,” you added, the man still resisting your efforts. “Jungkook, please,” you pouted at his tired body.
Reaching for the bottom of his shirt, you slid your hand underneath the clothing and up his side, snaking it around his front where your fingers found his nipple. Smirking to yourself, you squeezed the nub, the man instantly shoving your hand away as his eyes opened, annoyance etched in his features. “Fuck, baby,” he complained exaggeratedly, shooting you an irritated look, his eyebrows pulled together.
Laughing at him, you cocked your head to the side, admiring the way your boyfriend’s lips slowly spread into a small smile as he sighed. “What do you want?” He asked you as you bit your lip in excitement.
“You don’t have plans today, right?” You asked him, the man’s tired eyes glaring at you.
“Besides napping?” He joked, you poking his cheek as he giggled lightly. “No, I don’t have plans today.”
“Cool, you know how that animal rescue place? The one by that restaurant we order takeout from all the time?” Staring up at you with his doe eyes, he nodded slowly. “Well, I want this dog and they said I could come meet her in an hour and I want you to come with me,” you grinned at him.
As he let out a single breathy laugh in response, Jungkook gawked at you in surprise. “Wait, what?” He asked, suddenly realizing what you just said. “You’re getting a dog?”
“I hope so,” you told him, pulling up the screenshot of the dog to show him. “Isn’t she precious?” You held the phone in front of his face, Jungkook blinking quickly as his soft eyes adjusted to the lighting and proximity of your phone.
“She’s adorable,” he agreed with a soft smile. “You really want to take on a dog though?” He looked overtop the phone to meet your gaze. “For sure?”
Nodding at him enthusiastically, he let out the lightest of chuckles. “I’ve wanted one for so long and I don’t know. She’s a stray,” you frowned. “She deserves to know love.”
“Baby,” he smiled softly, wrapping his hand over your wrist and pulling your phone closer to him once more, his eyes scanning the photo. “I’ll go with you.”
Squealing in excitement, you leaned down and smushed your lips to his cheek before he turned to catch your mouth with his, kissing you softly. “You’re the best,” you mumbled against his lips, Jungkook slowly shaking his head.
“No, you,” he responded, his hand coming to hold the side of your face as he deepened the kiss, you smiling into the meeting. 
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Pulling up just down the street from the animal rescue, Jungkook put the car in park as you placed your hand on his shoulder. “Oh my god,” you yelled, your boyfriend giggling as he looked at you adoringly.
“Are you ready to meet your new best friend?” He asked, you cocking your head at him.
“Don’t you mean our new best friend?” You corrected, Jungkook turning his head toward his shoulder, placing a kiss to your hand.
“That is what I meant,” he agreed with a stunning grin. Staring into each other’s eyes, your smiles both grew wider and wider as his eyes sparkled beautifully. “Ok, I’m really fucking excited,” he admitted adorably, you bouncing in your seat instantly.
“I know you are, stop acting stoic,” you complained, your boyfriend rolling his eyes.
“I would not call how I’m acting stoic,” he corrected.
“You doing anything but giggling like a giddy school boy is stoic, Jeongguk,” you pointed out teasingly, Jungkook shaking his head at you with a fond grin. Leaning forward, you rested your forehead against his. “What if she doesn’t like me?” You asked, Jungkook’s hands finding the sides of your face as he sighed.
“Is that a real question?” He asked, shifting his head slightly so he could look into your eyes. “Like really?” Shrugging at him, he smiled sweetly. “Holly,” he chuckled. “She’s going to adore you, you’re the sweetest person ever,” he assured you, you groaning at the compliment. “You are,” he insisted.
“Fine,” you relented, Jungkook shaking his head before pushing his lips to yours gently.
Both of you stepping out of the car, you started toward the animal rescue as Jungkook watched you skip down the sidewalk giddily. “Holly, will you slow down for a second?” He complained, jogging after you with a giggle. Spinning around to look at him, you held your hand out toward him.
“Come on, Jeon, hurry up,” you teased with a grin, the man scoffing as he reached you, placing his hand in yours.
“Are you excited or something?” He asked jokingly as he allowed you to drag him to the door of the shelter.
“Well aren’t you?” You countered, the man nodding enthusiastically.
“Of course I am,” he assured. “This place is the best,” he nodded to the restaurant with a massive bratty grin as he joked about getting food.
Groaning at him, you shook your head as you dragged him inside the shelter. “Focus, you brat,” you teased, the man beaming at you as you made your way to the woman at the front desk.
As you told the woman who you were, Jungkook felt something rub up against his shins, looking down to see a black cat running its body against his pants. When he kneeled down to pet the cat’s head, you couldn’t help but set your fond gaze on him, admiring the way he grinned at the cat. The man had a massive soft spot for all things fuzzy and cuddly, and you already couldn’t wait to see him interact with the dog you were minutes away from meeting.
“Ok, we’re all set, I’ll go get her,” the lady told you, you smiling and thanking her. “She’s a little shy so she may take a moment to warm up to you,” the woman added, looking down at Jungkook who was still tending to the cat’s need for headbutts and scratches.  
“We’re patient,” you grinned down at him. “We’ll just see how it goes.” Nodding as she walked away, you turned your full attention to Jungkook and the cat. “I’m nervous,” you admitted when Jungkook looked into your eyes.
Smiling at you, he shook his head gently. “She’s gonna love you,” he assured you.
“This cutie sure loves you,” you nodded to the cat with a giggle, just as the cat got bored of the man and walked to the opposite side of the room. “Never mind,” you teased as Jungkook chuckled, standing up straight so he was shoulder to shoulder with you. “Ah, I’m so excited,” you bounced in place, Jungkook watching you fondly.
“You’re cute when you’re excited,” he complimented, causing you to scrunch your nose in response as you turned toward him.
“Stop that cute shit, I’m already feeling soft,” you complained playfully, Jungkook bringing his hand to the back of your head as he pulled you a little closer so he could softly press his lips to your forehead.
“I think I hear them coming,” he whispered against your skin, you gasping in response.
As you stood up straight and alert, your boyfriend leaned toward you, placing a sweet kiss to your shoulder. As he positioned his hand on the bottom of your back, the door opened and the little dog from the photo came trotting into the room, inquisitively but apprehensively. She looked at you and Jungkook tentatively, and you slowly lowered into a crouching position as you held your hand out gently to her.
“Hi little one,” you cooed, tears already filling your orbs. As the dog nervously but curiously made its way toward you, Jungkook watched you intently, his eyes sparkling in adoration with how you instantly fell in love with the animal.
Pouting as the dog got closer, she stuck her nose out to your hand causing you to coo softly. Shortly after sniffing you, the pup wiggled slightly in subdued excitement and you slowly stroked under her chin, the dog stepping closer in response to your touch.
Within a few seconds, you were sitting cross-legged on the floor and the dog was crawling into your lap as if she belonged there. “Oh, I love you,” you told the dog, Jungkook smiling at the emotions written on your face. Looking up to him, your tearful gaze met his endeared one. “I love her,” you pouted as a tear slid down your cheek.
“Oh, baby,” he smiled widely at you as he crouched down next to you, his eyes shining with utter fondness for you. When his gaze traveled to the dog in your lap, he reached out slowly to pet her. The dog sniffed his hand and then without hesitation dropped her chin into his palm, resting on you both contently.
“Oh goodness, I’ve never seen her warm up to anyone this quickly,” the woman who worked at the shelter told you, both you and Jungkook looking to her and then back to the dog with wide love-struck grins. “Should I get the paperwork started?” She asked.
As you looked to Jungkook, he simply nodded at the woman. “Definitely,” he told her. Slowly turning his head to you, his gaze met yours and you giggled at him. “Why does this already feel like our family?” He asked you with a laugh of his own as you dropped your head to his shoulder, both of you turning your attention back to the dog.
Sighing contentedly, you stroked the dog’s neck. “What are we gonna name her?” You asked, Jungkook humming in thought.
“Widowmaker,” he said, the smile on his face obvious in the tone of his voice.
“Oh my god,” you giggled as the dog suddenly stood and leaped toward Jungkook. “Aww,” you cooed as Jungkook scooped the dog up, your new little baby sticking her nose to his jaw before licking him.
“See, she loves the name,” he teased, you rolling your eyes fondly.
“You really want to name her Widowmaker?” You questioned, Jungkook shrugging. “When did you come up with that name? In the car?” You asked.
Fighting back a smile but failing, he scratched the dog’s head gently. “Maybe I did,” he beamed. “It’s a good name!”
“I don’t know if they’ll let us leave here with her if we put down Widowmaker on her adoption papers,” you giggled, Jungkook looking at you with wide eyes.
“It’s a good name,” he said quietly, you watching him with an endeared smile.
“Hey, what if we named her Amélie?” You suggested, your eyes big with excitement.
“Amélie?” He asked in confusion.
“Yeah, like Widowmaker’s real name. Before she was Widowmaker,” you clarified as Jungkook’s mouth dropped open.
“Oh,” he realized, dragging the word out. “That’s right,” he smiled, you giggling at his reaction. “I actually love that,” he pouted, pushing his nose to the side of the dog’s head as she craned her neck, stretching out to reach you. Bringing your face close to her, allowing her to lick your nose as you giggled, Jungkook repeated the name once more.
“Amélie,” you beamed. “I love it too.”  
When the woman brought out some documents for you to sign, you gave Amélie a quick kiss to the top of her head before standing. Leaning down to Jungkook, you left a kiss to his forehead as well, lingering for a moment. “I love you,” you whispered to him, the man lifting his gaze from the dog to you, watching you with his bambi eyes.
And as you worked on the adoption forms, Jungkook sat with the dog in his arms, having a moment with her that was much too adorable for you to not shoot a photo from across the room. If only you knew what he was saying to the dog as he tucked her in against his chest. 
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Jungkook looked away from you to the dog, butterflies fluttering throughout his frame as he thought of you in tears as you held your new puppy. “You’re so lucky,” Jungkook whispered to the dog, “you have the best mom in the world.”
With that, he looked back to you, your eyes meeting from across the room, you both staring at each other with more love than either of you had ever felt before. “I’m so lucky,” he whispered.
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440mxs-wife · 4 years ago
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No One Hunts Alone
Pairing: Dean x Reader. Other Characters: Sam Winchester, Ruthie (Reader’s BFF) and Amber (OFC’s), Jim and Trevor Morrison (OMC’s)
Word Count: 6460
Warnings: Some mutual pining, Reader is a little stubborn, dreaded class reunion, mostly fluffy though.
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You were putting away some freshly folded laundry when your phone buzzed in your pocket. The screen showed the call was from your best friend, Ruthie. "Hey, chickie, what's going on?" you asked. Silence. "Ruthie? What's wrong, honey?" you insisted. Your panic level escalated with each passing silent moment. "Please, Ruthie, answer me," you pleaded.
"Hey," Ruthie finally answered softly. "Listen, I know you said you wouldn't be able, or didn't want to come back home for the class reunion, but...." she trailed off. "I really think you should reconsider. Please. There's something weird going on around here. You know, your kind of weird," she emphasized.
Dammit. You pinched the bridge of your nose between your thumb and forefinger and sighed heavily. "Yeah, okay. I'll pack up tonight, and leave early in the morning. I can bunk with you, right?" you asked.
"Of course you can stay here, you never have to ask. You know that," she gently chided. "Just you, though? You're not bringing the Wonder Twins?" she asked.
"Nope, just me," you replied. For now, anyway. They have too much going on already, wouldn't want to be a bother to them, you thought. You heard a knocking at your door. "Ruthie, I gotta go. Someone's at the door. I'll text you before I leave tomorrow," you promised.
You opened your door to find Dean standing there. "Hey, sweetheart. Ready for our Movie Night in the 'Cave?" he asked.
Ordinarily, you'd jump at the chance to spend any amount of time you could with Dean. But you had to pack tonight so you could easily slip out in the morning. "Is that tonight? I'm sorry, Dean, but I'm kinda tired," you replied.
"Aw, come on, it's still early. Please?" Dean tried his best to give you the puppy dog eyes.
"Not tonight, Dean. I'm sorry, I'm just tired and I have a lot on my mind right now. This thing with Ruthie--" you stopped short before you gave everything away.
"Wait, what 'thing' with Ruthie, is everything okay?" he asked with concern. Dean knew how close you and Ruthie were, that you were more like sisters than best friends.
"It's just some local stuff. It's probably a bigger deal in her mind than it actually is," you explained, hoping he'd buy it.
"Well, if you're sure," he remarked, raising one eyebrow. "But you owe me for missing our regular Movie Night," he grinned and tapped the end of your nose.
"Put it on my tab, Winchester," you teased. "Goodnight, Dean," you replied softly.
"Goodnight, darlin'. Sweet dreams," he responded. You closed the door and leaned back against it, breathing a deep sigh of relief.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
After he left your door, Dean walked into the library, where Sam was sitting at the table, reading. He looked up to see the concerned look on his brother's face. "What's up with you?" Sam asked.
Dean explained that he had just reminded it was time for your usual Movie Night in the Dean Cave, but that you had backed out. "So what, Dean? Maybe she really is tired and has a lot on her mind," Sam defended.
"Nah, I think there's more to it than that, Sammy. She said there was a 'thing' going on with Ruthie, then tried to play it off as no big deal. Some kind of 'local' situation," Dean muttered.
"You want me to check online, see if there's anything resembling a case in her hometown?" Sam asked.
"For right now, let's just keep an eye on things, see what happens. There has to be some reason she didn't or doesn't want me--er, us--knowing what's going on," Dean replied. Sam nodded in agreement but grinned internally at Dean's almost confession.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
You went to bed shortly after packing your bags and stowing them in your closet. You felt a twinge of guilt about turning Dean down for your Movie Night, considering your feelings for him. As far as he was concerned, you have been and probably always would be just his best friend. For you, though, it was more than a crush. Yep. You were full-blown, head-over-heels, heart eyes, Cupid's-arrow-in-the-butt, in love with Dean Winchester.
Too many times, you were almost caught staring at him, wondering what it would be like to be held in his strong arms. Or kissed by those plump, perfect lips. One look in his forest-green eyes and you were a goner, throwing almost all speaking ability out the window. For all his strength and take-charge attitude, though, he let you see his tender side as well. The one that brought you tea when you weren't feeling well, or held you close when you watched a horror movie in the 'Cave. How tenderly he dressed your wounds after a hunt.
Yep. In love with your best friend, and you couldn't do thing one about it. Not without it becoming awkward around the bunker when he didn't return your feelings. Sam figured it out a long time ago, but you made him promise not to say anything to Dean about it. So far, so good, but you weren't sure how much longer you could go without him finding out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The way Ruthie sounded on the phone made your heart clench, especially when she said it was your kind of weird. She knew what you did for a day job and that it was important, even though she didn't like thinking about you in danger.
Ruthie didn't give you many details, but because she was involved, that made it personal. Despite having so little to go on, you knew you had to drop everything and go. There was no way you were going to trust another hunter to handle it.
There was always the hope that it was a 'milk run' kind of situation, and that you could cover it on your own. If not, you were sure that you could call Sam and Dean for help, though you considered that as a last resort. They have enough to worry about. No, you thought, this one's on me, I can do this. I have to do this myself. You rolled over, closed your eyes and tried to get some sleep.
Early the next morning, you quietly slipped out of your room with your bags and locked the door behind you. Using one of the secret passageways, you silently made your way to the garage, undetected. Your weapons bag was put into the warded compartment under the trunk bottom, with your other duffel bag on top. Before you left, you turned off the GPS function on your phone so you couldn't be tracked. You texted Ruthie, then eased your car out of the garage and headed for your hometown.
Your route out of town took you by one of the nearby parks where Sam usually went for his morning run. You hoped that you had left the bunker before him, to reduce the chances that he would see you as you drove past him. Just as you passed the park, you saw a familiar figure in a navy blue jogging shorts, sweatshirt and beanie. The figure turned his head in your direction and you knew you'd been made. Welp, you thought. So much for a clean getaway.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Sam turned his head just in time to see you drive past the park. He stopped on the path to stretch, then pulled out his phone to call you.
Next to you on the seat, your phone rang. A quick glance at the Caller ID showed that it was Sam, but you chose not to answer it at first. Immediately after it stopped ringing, it started again, so this time you picked up.
"Hey, you're up awfully early, what's going on?" Sam asked.
"Nothing, Sam, I'm running some errands," you explained.
"You don't really expect me to believe that, do you?" he shot back.
"Believe what you want to believe, Sam. Listen, I have something that I need to handle. I'll be back in 2, maybe 3 days, tops. Bye, Sam," you replied.
"No, wait, don't hang up! I'm headed back to the bunker now. Just please pull over and wait so that Dean and I can catch up to you. Whatever it is, we want to help. Please," he implored.
You thought about doing as he asked, but then you realized that they have enough to worry about in their own lives. Surely you could handle this one case by yourself. "I'm sorry, Sam. You guys have enough to deal with on your own, I can't put this on you. I have to do this on my own. Please understand. I'll be home in 2-3 days," you said. After you hung up, you turned your phone off.
Sam knew there wasn't a moment to waste. Whatever you had going on, he knew it was better for you to have back-up, despite what you thought. He hightailed it back to the bunker to wake up Dean and try to figure out what you're doing.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"She WHAT?!?" Dean roared.
"I saw her on the highway, headed out of town, so I called her to ask what was going on. All she told me was that there was something she had to handle, and she'd be back in 2 or 3 days at most. I tried to get her to pull over and wait for us, so we could go with her. She said we had enough to deal with on our own, that she wasn't going to put this on us. Then she hung up, and I haven't been able to reach her since," Sam explained.
Dean cast his eyes downward and shook his head. "That stubborn woman. Doesn't she know that I--we--would drop everything to help her? That hunting alone in a highly emotional state is dangerous? What if something goes wrong, what if she zigs instead of zags and she ends up getting hurt? Or worse?" he whispered the last part.
Sam studied his brother as he ranted about you and your decision to hunt alone. Granted, he had the same thoughts as Dean, that he was worried about you, but with Dean....it was more. "You care about her, don't you?" he asked.
"Of course I do, Sam! She's my best friend," Dean snapped.
Sam gave his brother an epic bitch face. "C'mon, Dean. You know what I'm talking about," Sam admonished.
Dean couldn't form the words at first, so he just nodded. "Been wanting to tell her for a long time, man. I decided that last night was time to 'nut up or shut up', which is why I waited until our Movie Night in the 'Cave. I was going to tell her everything," he explained. "She's amazing, Sam. So sweet and kind, smart, she's got the best sense of humor and she's an awesome hunter. Damn gorgeous, too."
Sam chuckled softly at his brother's assessment of you. "So, you said this had something to do with Ruthie. Wouldn't Ruthie's house be the first place she's going to go?" Sam asked, to which Dean nodded. "Okay. I'm going to go shower, then we're gonna pack up and head in that direction. You with me?" Sam inquired, his hand out for Dean to take.
"Yeah, let's do this," he said as he locked hands with his brother to bring him in for a bro hug. Dean caught a whiff of Sam's shirt and immediately drew back, waving in front of his nose, which was wrinkled in disgust. "Whoa, dude, you reek! Get to the showers, man, before I pass out!" he grinned. Sam shook his head, and as he left, Dean clapped a hand on his shoulder.
After Sam left the room, Dean pulled out his phone and dialed your number, only to have it go straight to voicemail. He decided to lay it all out on the line and let the chips fall where they may.
"Hey, sweetheart. Listen, Sam told me you're on your way out of town, on a case. I-I know you have your reasons for doing this alone, and I hope you'll tell me sometime. But please, honey, whatever you do, be careful," Dean pleaded.
"I'm....I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm kinda freaking out right now, 'cause you're out there, alone, and you don't have to be. I wish you were here with me, because then I'd know you were safe. Please call me back when you get this," he ended the message and started packing.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ruthie was sitting on her front porch when you pulled your car into her driveway. You got out of the car, grabbed your duffel bag with your clothes and headed into the house. Ruthie's husband, Jim, was waiting inside the door and gave you a hug when you came in. He took your bag and put it in the back bedroom, where you would be sleeping. Ruthie gave you a hug as well and asked you to join her in the kitchen while she made you something for lunch.
A plate with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chips and two cookies was placed in front of you. "EAT. Then, you're going to tell me why you didn't want the Lumberjack Brothers to join you on this case," she remarked grimly. "You know, they've been calling me, asking what's going on and if I've seen you. They're worried about you, sweetie, especially Dean. He sounded miserable," she added.
You dropped your head to the table. "Oh, man, that is the last thing I wanted. I thought I'd come here, take care of things and that would be it. Zip, zap, no muss, no fuss. I can see now that was a mistake," you admitted. You pulled out your phone and turned it back on, only to see about 10 missed calls and 4 voicemails from Sam.
There were twice as many calls from Dean, but only one voicemail message. You punched in the code and waited for the recording to start. What you heard was the last thing you expected. Instead of an angry tirade, you heard the concern, the understanding, but mostly the fear in his voice that you were out here on your own. You realized that you had made a huge mistake in thinking you could work this case without them. Time to face the music, you thought.
With trembling fingers, you accessed your contacts list and selected Dean's number. You wondered if he'd even pick up, and if he did, how would he react to you calling him? You had to try, had to start somewhere. Just as you were about ready to hang up, you heard, "Hello? Sweetheart, is that you?" he asked.
"H-hey, Dean, it's me," you answered. There was an audible sigh of relief on his end. "Dean, I'm sorry for leaving and not telling you where I was going. I--" you started to explain, tears threatening.
"Never mind that right now, just listen. Sammy and I are on our way to Ruthie's right now, so stay there with her and Jim, where it's safe. We should be there in a couple of hours, hopefully less. I am very much looking forward to hearing your explanation of why you thought hunting on your own was such a good idea," Dean replied sternly.
You swallowed back a sob at hearing the disappointment in his voice. "Yes, Dean," you choked out. "I promise I'll wait here, talk to Ruthie and see if we can figure out what's going on," you whispered.
Dean agreed that talking about the case with Ruthie and getting some details down would be a good idea. "Hey?" he called.
"Yes, Dean?" you answered.
"Whatever this is, whatever is going on, we'll figure it out and fix it together. Remember, sweetheart?" he inquired softly.
"I do, I remember, Dean. See you soon," you responded.
After you hung up the phone, Ruthie pointed down the hall and ordered you to go get some rest. She said she would wake you up when Sam and Dean got there, and then you all could talk about the case.
You thought about protesting, but you figured you'd made enough bad choices already. Finally, you relented and trudged to the bedroom at the end of the hall. Once inside, you changed into more comfy sleep clothes and crawled beneath the blankets. As soon as your head hit the pillow, you were out cold.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Around a couple of hours later, you awoke from your peaceful slumber to voices and laughter in the kitchen. You splashed some water on your face, took a swig of mouthwash then pointed yourself towards the voices. Ruthie looked up to see you standing in the doorway. "Hey! There she is! Did you enjoy your nap, honey?" she asked.
You nodded. With your eyes transfixed on Sam and Dean, mostly Dean, you tried to gauge their mood. Sam rose from the table, coffee cup in hand. He motioned that he was going to get a refill on his coffee, and as he passed by you, he squeezed then patted your shoulder.
"I'm going to get some coffee," you mumbled. As you walked by Dean, he stood up and you knew he was following you.
He brushed his knuckles up and down your bare arm. "Can we talk?" he murmured. You nodded and led him by the hand out to Ruthie's back porch. Dean stood next to you at the railing, neither of you speaking at first. You turned to Dean and opened your mouth to say something, then closed your mouth again as if you'd thought better of it.
"Okay, I'll start then," Dean remarked. "That night I asked you to watch a movie with me, this was what you were talking about with Ruthie? A case?" he asked.
"Yes. She told me about the stupid class reunion a while ago, and I had already decided that I didn't want to come back for it. But, when she said something else was happening here that was 'our kind of weird', I had to check it out," you replied.
"But why didn't you tell me or Sam about it? Why did you think you had to do this all on your own?" he demanded.
"Dean, we just got back from a series of back-to-back hunts. You and Sam were exhausted, I was trying to give you guys time to rest. Besides, you two have enough going on, you don't need me adding to your list," you retorted.
"So, what, you don't think you need rest as well? Last time I checked, you got thrown around pretty good on that last salt-and-burn we did," Dean snapped.
"Dean, she's my sister! No matter what, no matter when or why, if she calls, I drop everything and come running. That's how it works," you shot back.
He put his hands on your shoulders then ran them down your arms and cupped your elbows to pull you closer. "Sweetheart, I understand that, really I do, but you are just as important to us. If you had brought us in on this case, exhausted or not, we would've dropped everything for you," he affirmed.
You laid a hand alongside his face. "I know, Dean, and I'm sorry for running out like that on you and Sam," you replied gently. "Let's go back inside and Ruthie will fill us in on what she knows. Then we can hopefully fill in the blanks," you started to walk back into the house.
Dean caught your hand in his and pulled you back to face him. "Hey. I'm still a little upset with you," he declared as he narrowed his eyes at you a bit. Then he cupped your cheek and caressed it with his thumb. "But I'm also glad you're okay and that we're working this together," he added, softening his gaze. He pressed his lips to your forehead in a lingering kiss and you closed your eyes to savor the moment. "Come on, let's head inside to see what we're dealing with," he said.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
You and Dean walked back into the kitchen, hand-in-hand, which did not escape anyone's notice. "I was just starting to tell Sam what I know, Sis," Ruthie informed you. "I was in the grocery store the other day, and I heard someone mention Trevor Morrison's name."
"Ugh," you remarked, rolling your eyes and making a noise of disgust. "And?"
"And, they were saying that he just got back from some overseas trip, and that there was a late-night delivery to his house the following day," Ruthie explained.
"How big was the delivery? Did anyone see any strange markings on the package?" you inquired.
"No one mentioned seeing anything strange on the box. Size-wise, not that big, maybe the size of a phone book and about as thick," Ruthie answered.
"Sam, do you think you can patch in to the cargo plane manifests and figure out what it could be?" Dean asked.
"Let me see what I can do, Dean," Sam replied, taking out his laptop.
While Sam was getting his laptop set up, Dean noticed the troubled expression on your face and pulled you aside. "What's the deal with you and Trevor Morrison?" he asked.
You took a deep breath to calm yourself before responding. "He's an ex-boyfriend from high school. We were supposed to go to Prom together, but we sorta didn't after I found out that he cheated on me with the head cheerleader," you muttered.
Dean put his arm around you and rubbed his hand up and down your back. "I'm so sorry that happened to you, sweetheart," he murmured.
"I got it, here it is. The Grimoire of Astaroth is what Trevor had delivered to his house," Sam swung the laptop around to show everyone the packing slip.
"So, what's the significance?" you asked. "Who's Astaroth?"
"Astaroth is a demon, who makes his appearance by riding a dragon-like creature and carrying a viper in his right hand. The lore says he knows the answers to the Past, Present and Yet to Come, and can discover all secrets," Sam explained.
"That's an awful lot of power in the hands of one man," you warned. "We need to get in to his house and retrieve that Grimoire."
"Leave that to me, dear sister," Ruthie said with a smug grin on her face.
You quirked an eyebrow at her statement. "And just how do you propose to get us in there?" you asked.
"I can get everyone tickets for the reunion. You go in with Sam or Dean, then Jim and I will go in with you. Whoever doesn't go in is in charge of surveillance, telling us where the cameras and security guards are. Sound good?" Ruthie suggested.
You, Sam and Dean looked at each other in silent communication. "It's worked for us in the past, I don't see why it won't work this time," you acknowledged. "Which one of you is going in with me?" you asked.
The boys looked at each other, brought up their fist for Rock, Paper, Scissors. You and Ruthie both rolled your eyes at the way that this was being decided, but you knew this was the easiest way. "Okay, winner goes in to the party, loser is stuck with surveillance," Dean said.
"Ready? One, two, three!" Sam counted. He chose paper, while Dean chose scissors. A smile as wide as the Grand Canyon broke out over Dean's face.
"You bring your 'Fed threads'?" you asked.
"Always, sweetheart. What about you? Do you need to go shopping for something to wear?" Dean inquired.
Ruthie spoke up. "I'm sure I have something she can wear. I might have picked something up for her when I was out shopping for my own dress," she added with a wry grin.
Your eyes narrowed at her. "Did you set this up just to get me out here?" you exclaimed.
"Relax, would ya? No, I did not set this up, but there is definitely something weird going on. You coming out here is just a nice little side bonus," she stated simply. "Come on, let me show you what you'll be wearing."
"I'm going out to the car and get our bags," Dean announced.
As you walked by Sam, you caught him chuckling quietly to himself. You took hold of the open sides of his flannel shirt and yanked him downward. "You lost on purpose, didn't you? You KNOW he always chooses scissors, and you planned your move accordingly, right?" you remarked, then let go of his shirt.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. If you'll excuse me, I have to set up surveillance," Sam replied, still with a smirk on his face. "But you're welcome," he said in a sing-song voice.
"Yeah, right, you have no idea what I'm talking about," you mumbled. "Ruthie! Where's this dress you have for me?" you barked then walked down the hall towards her room.
"Step into my office, sister dear. It's time to make some magic!" Ruthie declared.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Where did you get this dress? It's gorgeous!" you whispered.
"You'd better hope Dean's wearing socks, because you're going to knock them off of him when he sees you," Ruthie smirked.
"I don't know about that, but thank you so much for this," you turned and gave Ruthie a hug.
The floor-length dress was a one-shoulder, with the strap encrusted with crystals in a starburst pattern. The bodice was black, which continued down the length of the dress until it faded into a deep red at about knee-level. There was a band of crystals at the waist to divide the top half from the bottom half. A pair of black pumps completed the outfit.
Ruthie even did your makeup for you which was great, because as a hunter, you didn't have much call for it. She curled and fluffed your hair, pulling it back on each side with crystal-encrusted clips. "There, I think that should do it, don't you think?" she remarked.
You stared at yourself in the full-length mirror, trying to recognize yourself. "Whoa. This can't be me. Is it?" you asked.
"Of course it is, silly," Ruthie chuckled. "Now wait here while I get ready, then we'll walk out there together. I'll go first, save the best for last," she giggled, while you just shook your head at her in amusement.
While the two of you were getting ready, Dean slipped out and found a place that was able to rent him a tux at the last minute. He was looking forward to going to this party, because it meant he'd be going with you on his arm.
Ruthie was wearing a floor-length navy blue dress, strapless, with a gathered bodice. The pattern was criss-crossed in the chest area, so it held everything in place. "Okay, Sis, it's your turn. Come on down!" she called.
You stepped into your black suede pumps and nervously strode down the hall, fidgeting nearly the entire way. Sam saw you first, a look of surprise mixed with wonder flitted across his face. But his was not the opinion you sought, the one that meant the most to you was yet to be determined.
Dean raised his head and locked his eyes with yours when you stepped fully into the room. His eyes widened and his lips slightly parted in amazement, then closed. He slowly walked towards you and held out his hand for you to take, which you did. Dean raised your hand to his lips, brushing them gently across your knuckles. "Wow. Sweetheart, you look gorgeous," he rumbled in that deep, sexy voice of his.
You could feel the heat rising from your neck, all the way to the ends of your hair. "Thank you, Dean. Might I say, you look particularly handsome yourself in that not-Fed-suit tuxedo," you noted with a small curtsy.
"Whaaaat? This old thing?" he replied then held out his arm for you. "Shall we, milady?" he asked.
"We shall, good sir," you answered, taking his arm and feeling him tuck yours in close to his side. "Here," you reached into your small handbag and pulled out the keys. "You can drive my car, because I know there will be valet parking. And there's no way you'll let anyone park Baby except you," you remarked.
"You're right about that, darlin'. You trust me to drive your car?" Dean asked.
You stopped him and stared straight into his emerald eyes. "I trust you with my life, Dean. Why wouldn't I trust you with my car?" you reasoned. When the two of you reached your car, Dean opened the passenger door and waited to close it until you and your dress were all settled.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The short ride over to Morrison Manor was mostly silent, except for the rumble of the engine. Dean took hold of your hand and interlaced your fingers. Every once in a while, you'd catch him looking in your direction, so you sent him an encouraging smile. He would respond by lifting your joined hands to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of your hand. The toothy grin he gave you afterwards was more than enough to make your heart flutter in your chest.
Dean pulled up to the valet station, stepped out and hurried over to your side of the car to open your door. He held out his hand to help you exit the car, which you readily accepted. Just before you entered the manor, Dean tugged on your arm to pull you back a little. "You ready for this?" he asked softly.
You looked at Dean and gave him a soft smile. "Yep. We go in, get the Grimoire, then get out. The rest of it, facing everyone in there? That's nothing. I don't owe anyone an explanation, nor am I required to have lived up to their expectations. I'm good with who I am, with who you and Sam are. I'm proud of us," you replied while you walked into the event.
Dean leaned over and placed a lingering kiss to your temple. "Let's do this," he murmured against your skin. You nodded slowly and the two of you walked in behind Ruthie and Jim.
Sam's voice came over your earpiece. "Okay, I've found it. The book is in his study, but unfortunately, so is he at the moment. You'll have to do something until he's clear," he informed you and Dean.
"Come on, sweetheart. Dance with me," Dean said, leading you to the dance floor. You followed, and Dean took your left hand and curled his fingers around it. His other hand snaked around your waist and splayed across your back. The contact of his fingertips on your partially bare back caused you to gasp at the sensation.
"Relax, darlin', it's just dancing," Dean whispered in your ear.
Easy for you to say, you thought, with your heart beating a mile a minute. At that moment, the voice you never wanted to hear again was demanding your attention. Your dance with Dean was interrupted by none other than the former head cheerleader, Amber.
Dean must have sensed your apprehension because he tightened his hold on you all the more, making sure you knew he was there for you. "Do you trust me?" he asked. You nodded slowly.
Amber stood in front of you and Dean, holding on to Trevor's arm. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to grace us with her presence. I thought you weren’t coming," she drawled. Shifting her attention to Dean, Amber let out a low whistle. "Wow, she must have paid a fortune for you," she sneered.
"Excuse me? That happens to be my wife you're talking about, and I think you should be a little more respectful," Dean snapped.
"Ha! You expect me to believe that? You and her, husband and wife? Prove it. Let me see the ring," Amber demanded.
You looked around nervously, but when your eyes met Dean's, he gave you an almost imperceptible wink. "Honey? You left this on the sink in the bathroom, remember? You must've taken it off while you were getting ready for tonight," Dean pulled a ring out of his pocket and slid it onto your left ring finger. He brought your hand to his lips and pressed a tender kiss to where he'd just placed the ring.
Amber gave you a snort of disgust and stormed off, while Trevor shook his head at Amber's lack of manners. "Excuse me, I have a business matter to attend to," he left you and walked off in the opposite direction as Amber.
"That was smooth, and quick thinking, thank you. Where did you get the rings?" you inquired.
Dean wiggled his left hand for you to see his ring before grasping your left hand. "Remember that museum job where we went undercover?" he asked, to which you nodded. "Well, these are the rings we used for that case. Good thing I kept them in the glove compartment all this time," he declared.
"Thank you, Dean. I don't know what I'd do without you," you remarked, leaning into his embrace.
"No thanks necessary, darlin'," he replied while his hand settled on the small of your back.
"Uh, guys, I hate to interrupt, but a window of opportunity just opened to go into the study and grab that book," Sam interjected.
Dean released you from his hold and grinned as he searched your face. "Ready?" he asked. You nodded your head enthusiastically and took his outstretched hand in yours. "Then let's get this thing and go home," he remarked.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Around 90 minutes, a couple of slices of pizza and a beer or two later, everyone had returned to Ruthie's house to relax. The Grimoire of Astaroth was safely stowed in the warded compartment in the trunk of your car to escape detection. Once you returned to the bunker, it would be catalogued as had been done with other charmed or cursed objects.
"Who's up for another round?" you asked, rising from your chair at the kitchen table. Everyone raised their hand, so Dean got up to help you. Before you could open the refrigerator door for more beer, Dean caught your hand and motioned for you to follow him outside. Curious, you slipped out the back door to the porch and into the cool night air.
"You warm enough?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay," you replied just as a shiver ran through you.
Dean chuckled. "Come here," he said as he unzipped his sweatshirt and wrapped his arms around you from behind.
"Mmm, that feels nice, thank you," you sighed and closed your eyes.
"There's something I've been meaning to tell you," Dean began. "You've been my best friend for the longest time, and I wouldn't trade that for the world. That's why what I'm going to say next is so difficult," he added.
You turned around in Dean's arms to face him. "Dean, no matter what it is, you know you can tell me and I'll still be your best friend," you tried to assure him.
Dean looked up to the starry sky and took a deep breath then locked eyes with you again. "I hope so, sweetheart, because I wanted to tell you I'm in love with you," he declared.
"What?" you whispered.
"It's true. You're smart, kind, you have the best sense of humor, even though you still laugh at my feeble attempts at telling jokes. You have the biggest heart of anyone I know, and your dedication to family is almost stronger than mine. As was just recently proven, I believe," he chuckled.
"Yeah," you returned his chuckle.
"And for me to say you're so beautiful just doesn't even cover it. From your eyes that look at things from a different perspective, to your cute little nose that crinkles when you're researching. From your smile that brightens up my day just to see it, to hands that are tough when swinging a machete and soft when sewing up an injury. Ones I can't wait to have roaming over every inch of my body while I'm taking my sweet time to learn every inch of yours," he explained.
"I had no idea you felt this way, Dean, but I'm glad you told me. Kinda makes what I have to say next so easy, which is I'm in love with you too. I have been for a long time, but I didn't want to give up what we had if you didn't love me. So I kept my feelings to myself," you finished.
"Oh, sweetheart," Dean whispered.
"There are so many things I love about you. Such as, you like to show the world how tough you are, but I know about the flip side of that. The one that tenderly patches me up after a hunt or takes care of me when I'm sick. Or holds me in his arms so I feel safe from my fears, real or imagined. The side that knows when something's bothering me and won't let up until it's out in the open. And believe me, you're no slouch in the looks department," you giggle at the last part.
"Really? Well, don't stop now, baby, I think you're really on to something," he replied.
"Let's start with the eyes. I know I can tell you anything and I won't see an ounce of judgement in them. Plus, they kind of shine when you talk about the things you love, like music," you started.
Your index finger began tracing a line down the edge of his jaw. "Your smile is contagious and it lights up the room. And last but not least," you whispered, inching ever closer. "I really want to know how soft your lips are. So, for the sake of science," you closed the gap and meshed your lips together with his.
The kiss itself was perfect, all you'd ever imagined, and then some. Your lips left his for a brief second until he recaptured them and dove back in for more. As your mouths moved in tandem, Dean's tongue swept along your bottom lip to request access, which you readily granted.
"Mmf, sweetheart, I love you so much," he murmured against your mouth. He nudged your head upwards to trail a path of open-mouthed kisses across and down your neck. Once he reached the place where your neck met your collarbone, he attached his lips and sucked at the skin. When he pulled back, he had left a mark there for all to see. "Now everyone will know who you belong to," he grinned.
"My heart was always yours, Dean. Always and forever," you sighed. "I love you."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tags:
@janicho88 @yourelivingwrong @akshi8278 @magssteenkamp @swiftlymoniquesblog @lyarr24 @miss-nerd95 @distefano123 @hobby27 @deanwanddamons @jessica-noel94 @wayward-mikaelson @gabrielslittleangel @jensengirl83 @deangirl93 @ellewritesfix05 @supernatural-jackles @idreamofplaid @like-a-bag-of-potatoes @winchesterprincessbride @babygurltt @ejlovespie @flamencodiva @deandreamernp
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moving-wright-along · 5 years ago
Text
breaking and entering
y/n’s house gets broken into, your boy comes to the rescue
Masky
-The SECOND, he receives a text message from his S/O that just says “help”, he’s throwing everything aside and rushing to see what’s wrong. 
-he’s tempted to call you, but decides against it until he knows the situation better. 
-Confused at first. the lights in your house are dark, your car is in the driveway, what was the problem?
-it’s when he notices the open window and the black van at the end of the road that the pieces click.
-Masky is not a man of subtlety. he’s kicking in the door. 
-Whatever dumb motherfucker broke into your house is gonna regret the day he was born. Did this guy really think he could put HIS s/o in danger and get away with it???
-Although, in the moment, he cares way more about making sure you’re safe. So he gives the guy a swift kick in the pants as he shoves him out the door. 
-Don’t be mistaken, though. Tim takes NOTES. he’ll get to that guy later, once you’re safe and comfortable again, of course. 
-He’s also pretty sure that, burglar or not, you’d be pissed as fuck if he got blood on your new carpet. 
-The feeling of scooping you up into his arms after you emerge from your hiding place is very gratifying. 
-He’ll hold you and let you cry out all your fear in his arms. You wouldn’t be able to tell by his face, but the whole time he’s holding you, he’s plotting out exactly what he’s going to do to the stupid fuck that scared you. 
Toby
-You sent him a long string of keysmash texts.
-Confused at first, because he didn't send you anything funny. So you weren't keysmashing from laughter.
-He can't kick the paranoid feeling in his chest, so he rushes over to your house to see what's wrong, his anxiety rising the entire time.
-Like Masky, there is not an ounce of subtlety in his body.
-Kicks down the door, practically knocking it off its hinges
-This, understandably, scares the shit out of you since one of the assholes in your house shoved and locked you inside the closet right beside your front door. 
-Around you, Toby is practically a puppy, all sweet and affectionate. To the point where you almost forget how fucking terrifying he can be. Especially when he’s angry. It’s no surprise these guys almost shit themselves when Tobes busts in, who wouldn’t?
-very few people wouldn’t be scared of a twitching dude with two bloody hatchets. 
-the robbers made a mad dash for the back door, and Tob is about to give chase when you start banging on the door. 
-When you call out for him, Toby instantly drops his hatchets and goes to get you out. 
-He’s definitely not happy about the robbers getting away... but, getting to hold you kinda makes up for it. Especially when you’re clinging to him and being all cute. 
-It’s not that he likes you being in danger.. but he will admit that coming to your rescue was nice. It makes him feel like he’s a knight, and you’re his princess~
Hoodie 
-He got a text from you at 3am
-”babe pls stop kicking at the backdoor, the window is unlocked”
-Cue “????” from him.
-”OH MY GOD THATS NOT YOU SOMEONE JUST BROKE IN”
-Welp. Brian wasn’t planning on committing a murder tonight, but he supposes his plans have changed. 
-Luckily, the guy who just broke into your house is seemingly a total moron. I mean, he kicked in the backdoor of a house that wasn’t even empty. 
-Since he’s not much of a threat, Brian decides to have a little bit of fun. 
-If the guy was actually dangerous, Brian probably would’ve walked straight in and beaten the guy to death. 
-Instead, imagine this robbers surprise when he opens his van doors, his arms full with your TV, to see a hooded dude crouching inside. 
-”Oh hi there.” 
-I’ll spare you the gorey details, but I’m sure you can imagine what happens next. 
-Discards his bloody clothes by the door and finds you hunkered down in your bathroom. 
-He expects payment for his work in the form of lots of kisses. So you better pay up. 
EJ
-Now, you’re not entirely unfamiliar with people crawling in through your window, since your boyfriend had a tendency to do that often, but this...
-This is not the same thing. 
-Of course the fucker managed to catch you at the worst time possible. All you had wanted was a little midnight snack, and now here you were, hiding in your fucking pantry. 
-And of course you had left your phone upstairs, so you couldn’t even call for help...
-Luckily enough for you, your boyfriend had similar plans of crawling through your window tonight.
-Usually, when it’s already late and he's been missing you, he'd just crawl in and silently slip into bed with you.
-Although he's concerned when he notices you're not in bed. He didn't hear water in the bathroom running- or anything else for that matter. Your phone was on your nightstand, so it's not like you went anywhere...
-Jack has really sensitive hearing, so he perks up when he hears shuffling downstairs- only to tense up again when they're clearly not your footsteps.
-...Well. Looks like he knows where his next meal will come from.
-He doesn't usually like brute forcing his way through problems, but this is an exception.
-Tapes the guy's mouth, ties him up, and leaves him in your shed. Jack will properly deal with him later. And if he breaks both the intruders hands while he’s at it then that's his business.
-When you come out, he just scoops you up and takes you to bed. He came to cuddle and that's what he's gonna do. Not that you'd complain about cuddles, though.
BEN
-He doesn’t notice your first call because he’s in the middle of a game, but in between rounds, he notices his phone flashing.
-he’s a little confused, since it’s really late, and you’re usually asleep by now. He texted you goodnight earlier and everything.
-then you call him again, practically hyperventilating as you hid beneath your bed after you heard your window shatter downstairs. 
-BEN isn't the strongest guy around.. His killings are more psychological, not physical.
-Part of him might want to get another proxy to just run over to your place and tear the fucker apart.
-But BEN decides to handle it on his own. No one fucks with his s/o except him, dammit.
-Pops out of your TV as the intruder is trying to lift it. Under any other circumstances, BEN might’ve been satisfied with the terrified expression on the guy’s face and call it a night. 
-Takes a ride in the intruder’s phone as the guy is running off, just long enough to get every bit of information BEN needs to completely ruin this fool’s life. But he’ll get to that later. 
-Coaxes you out from underneath the bed, assuring you that everything’s been dealt with. 
-If youre not up for trying to go back to sleep, youre more than welcome to stay up and play games with him
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bellatrixxue · 4 years ago
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Xue’s Supernatural Dare: Wendigo (S1 EP2)
Hello, everyone? How did everyone feel about the finale? Yes? Yes? Oh. Oh. Oh my. Oh, dear.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell that half-assed homophobic chicken-shit fuckbucket’s not gonna stop me, since I strapped myself onto this roller coaster already and I promised I’m not getting out until the ride’s over, so here we go, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Also, those who are in this roller coaster with me, ready? Tag list is: @fangirlxwritesx67​ @amazingiam00​ @kalliravenne​ @indecisive20something​ @2musiclover2​ @impossibletosleepthrough @there-must-be-a-lock​ @wingedcatninja​ @arvit​
Oh my gods this recap is so cheesy I actually can make a fondue out of it. 2000s, everybody!
A WHOLE MINUTE AND A HALF FOR THAT FONDUE
FUCKJUMPSCARETITLEFUCKYOU
So we’re starting the episode with the murder scene first, eh? Is that gonna be a trend?
Oh come on, Chads, you’re out in nature and you’re playing video games? Absorb the nature...before it absorbs you!
Waitwait. Holy shit is that...is that Cory Monteith? Oh, bless his soul...
If the wendigo eats his dick as he’s peeing I’m immediately giving Jensen Ackles $100. For no real reason, I just feel like giving him money for already carrying the show on his back.
I can’t tell if it did or not, so I’m not paying yet.
Aw, Sammy...
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"I should have told you the truth.” *Vine voice* BUT YOU DIDN’T
FUCKYOUINTHEASSHOhnightmare. Nightmare. So did he visit her at her grave or not? I need answers.
A week? Goddamn. Poor thing. That man-eating tree’s fucking good at his job, man.
“There’s nothing there, it’s just...woods,” Sam, I don’t know if Jess’s death hit you hard or if you got into law school by eating some ancient dick and/or pussy instead of earning that high score fair and square, but the woods “in the middle of nowhere” (your words) are known to be one of the top places full of weird-ass creatures. Even kindergartners know that.
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Ehehehehehehehehe he’s so smol next to his lil bro my lil shit
At least you’re coming up with decent covers this time. No Agent Mulder and Scully ruining things for you this time around.
“Bull” oop-
Oh Dean’s a smoooooooooth operator. Good going, buddy.
AND HE GOT A COPY OF THAT DOCUMENT TEAM DEAN TEAM DEAN
Oh that death really got to Sam. I hope he doesn’t turn out to be a trigger-happy psycho. Or eat the man-eating tree and become one himself.
Oh, Haley’s a cutie! Which one’s her brother? Cory? Discount Enrique Iglesias?
Do you have a card for EVERY profession, Dean? And how do I get them too?
That is a very pretty car. I bet they wasted half the budget on that thing.
Okay, sonny boy, little bro, Broseidon, calm down.
Ah, fuck, Haley and Broseidon is gonna go into the woods, that’s more heads to worry about.
How the fuck does Sam find information this fast? I’m impressed, I take five hours to get to one article for my research paper. Or maybe I’m just lazy. So he really earned his law school interview without having to eat dick and pussy, huh.
Every 23 years? What is this, Pennywise? Are we going to see the wendigo do his best Tim Curry do his best scary clown impression? Honk honk?
“Whatever that thing is, it can move.” And the sun rises on the East, Sammy. Why are you so smart and dumb at the same time? Is this his character trait? It might grow on me.
Ahhh, so Sam’s go-to move at interrogation is doing puppy dog eyes and sympathize with the person. He’d make a good lawyer, shame that man-eating tree.
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Go Grandpa Exposition, go!
Go Grandpa Exposition, go, give us information and none at all!
OH GEEZ THAT SCAR. PENNYWISE WENDIGO IS VICIOUS.
Skinwalker, Back Dog...Ooh, those all sound cool! I hope we get to see them soon!
‘Corporeal’ doesn’t sound like a real word, but then again, English doesn’t sound like a real language. Sorry. Moving on.
Sam’s gonna eat the wendigo with that attitude, Jesus Christ.
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AND HIS BROTHER, AT THIS RATE. If the real villain turns out to be inside Sam all along I’m gonna flip. Is that why women keep dying and burning on ceilings where he sleeps? Is he secretly Lucifer’s spawn or something?
“Oh sweetheart I don’t wear shorts”. They queer-coded him from the start and they tried to make you believe he was straight for fifteen seasons straight? And some people bought that?
Oh, crap, another crappy death treatment for Cory before he got into Glee...No, I wasn’t into Glee, I just watched a few episodes and I might hate Rachel Berry...And Lea Michele...ahem...
Dean is totally flirting with Roy shut upppppppp
OOP AND THERE ROY GOES OH THE SEXUAL TENSION IS HIGH IN THESE WOODS TODAY
“It’s probably the most honest I’ve been with a woman. Ever.” See. Bi. Bi bi bi.
So...why the coordinates, Daddy Negan? Is this a portal to Hell? A place where man-eating trees grow?
*carefully places death flag on Roy*
Ooooh the campsite is very...haunted house-y. You know what I’m saying?
That’s not Discount Enrique Iglesias, but Pennywise wendigo, yes? Those things can mimic human voices, right?
*Google searches*...There are so many versions of this tale I can’t even confirm or deny it. Dammit.
Maybe Pennywise wendigo just wants some snacks and a nice phone and GPS? Maybe he misses his family in uh, Canada or something?
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Daddy Negan’s journal is  a e s t h e t i q u e .
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I’m so sorry, but the way Sammy smirks as he speaks with those dark, dark voids for eyes? My boy’s a demon. He’s a demon, I’m telling you.
At least Haley has some sense to her. *puts another death flag on Roy*
*PUTS YET ANOTHER DEATH FLAG ON ROY*
True, that. What the heck is Daddy Negan up to with all of this?
“Saving people, hunting things, the family business!” Okay, the way Dean said it gave me chills.
I can actually empathize with Sam here...As whiny and bitchy as he is, he has his reasons to be this way. I guess if I were in his shoes, I’d be less of a Dean and more of a Sam, too. We deal with our losses quite similarly.
Ah, the brotherly bonding moments like these little talks make the show worth it. It’s so heartwarming.
Pennywise wendigo! I didn’t miss you, why’re you here to burst my happy bubble?
I’m starting to see a slight parallel between Haley and Broseidon and Dean and Sammy. Hmm.
Nice meeting you, Roy. Zoop you go.
Haley and Broseidon are taking this rather well, I’m glad they do.
Okay, actual exposition time, thank you.
Whoa, Broseidon speaks! Donner Party! Please don’t remind me of that! Those poor people!
Hibernation and food storage. Delightful, just delightful.
TORCHING? *CALLS RAMMSTEIN*
Somehow, not being able to see the wendigo is scarier to me than what I will probably see itself. Limited budget horror can actually work well.
Oh, dear, Roy literally did a death drop. Badum tissssssssss.
FUCK IT TOOK DEAN THE ONLY CHARACTER I CARE ABOUImean I love you too, Sam! Come on, let’s find him before it’s too late!
A trail of M&Ms! Yes, Broseidon! And Hansel and Gretel refercalled it. Sammy, you and I share the same wavelength?
SHITSHITTHEYTRIPPEDANDFELLINTHEFUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Thank the gods the Pennywise wendigo kept them right there. Chances.
DISCOUNT ENRIQUE IGLESIAS IS STILL ALIVE GEEZ BUT ALSO PHEW
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Ah, Dean Winchester, I love you so much that I can’t even begin to describe it.
Also how convenient that the flare guns are there. Deus ex machina!
Haley would bode well as a hunter, look at her courage, her will. There are more hunters around than Daddy Negan and the brothers, right?
Yeah, seeing the actual wendigo makes me less scared of it now. It’s unnerving, but still.
TEAM DEAN YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAW
Graphics are...alright, but it’s the thought that counts!
Running with the grizzly bear story. Smart Broseidon. Ben. Sorry, you deserve to be called by your real name. I think with practice they could become good hunters, along with their Discount Enrique Iglesias brother! Is there a fanfiction for that? Can I write it now?
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...
I AM WILLING TO DIE TO PROTECT DEAN WINCHESTER I
Haley’s a lesbian, that’s why she kissed him on the cheek only. Headcanoned. Also I have a crush on her, she’s really pretty? Like? Heart eyes???
Ah, the siblings parallels again. Let’s hope neither of the two brothers end up in the bed like that.
“Man, I hate camping.” Really. Really really. Really.
“I’m driving”
...
SAM WINCHESTER I’M SORRY I EVER SPOKE ILL OF YOU I WILL PROTECT YOU WITH MY LIFE TOO I PROMISE YOU I WILL
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It’s just a sassy bisexual brother and his little snide bisexual brother on the road to kill evil creatures and find their father and I love this show? Help? Help???
I really, really see the charm of Supernatural now! I’m fully invested in both brothers and their story, and I’m cheering them both on! Let’s get Daddy Negan back and get rid of that man-eating tree once and for all!
Six stars out of five!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This dare is introducing me to a whole new world, and I really, really am glad I took that jump a few days ago, man!
Thank you everyone for reading my ramblings, and I’ll see you in the day after with the next review! Thank you for sticking with me! Buh-bye!
- Xue
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onlysarah235678 · 4 years ago
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A Little Bit Part 8
Pairing: Billie Dean Howard x female reader
A/N: So here is a break from the death. Just a little dog fluff, annoying people, and flowers and lube as promised.  Thanks for reading 😊. Also special thank you to illuminated-blue for helping me figure out what gifs I wanted and then making them for me again (and for listening to me rant today). You’re the best ❤
Warnings: annoying people, brief mention of blood/wound cleaning, and slight dog aggression/distress. 
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The next day at work you feel like you’re floating you’re so happy. Everything is going well so far with appointments, and you’ve seen at least three happy, healthy puppies today. Not even the reporter waiting for you outside your building this morning could bring your mood down. You and Milo had just waltzed right by them to your car because you were determined to make it through this day unscathed. At least up until you went to Billie’s house.
The two of you had decided that you should come over because then Billie wouldn’t have to worry about the cats being left with the sitter. You felt bad for Heather who always seemed to be watching them, and Billie most likely wouldn’t be able to see you until after dinner time. The teen probably had better things to do than watch kittens all night. Even though they were adorable.
Speaking of cats, you look to your schedule and see that it’s changed a little. You take a minute to review the new client’s information before running up to your desk to finish up some notes while you had the chance. They should be here soon if they were in fact on time.
Claire smiles as she arrives at the clinic with her cat. She shuts the door behind her after grabbing the meowing cat in the back seat. She had specifically taken the day off so she could get her cat’s vaccines updated. Fridays were ideal because they were usually the busiest at the pet store. That’s why she’d picked today. She didn’t want to work. She also had wanted to make sure you’d be here, and that she could schedule an appointment with you. That was the real reason why Claire had taken today off of work.
She hadn’t seen you since running into you and Milo at that bar and that was too long for her liking. That meeting hadn’t gone the way she’d wanted so she was going to try again. She also had never gotten the chance to see you in your element, and she was way too excited for this opportunity today.
As Claire walked in through the front door, she immediately looked around for you, but came up empty. She turned to the blonde at the front desk with a half-smile.
“Hi, I’m here with Jonesy. I have an appointment with Dr. Y/L/N.”
You had never bothered to learn Claire’s last name. However, after being harassed by the brunette numerous times, you’d think that you’d want to have that sort of information. Unfortunately, you realize your mistake too late, and you walk into the exam room with Claire and her cat only to be completely blindsided. Dammit.
You barely hold back the urge to groan as you allow your professional persona to take over. You stomp down your personal feelings toward the brunette for probably the umpteenth time since you’d met her.
“Hi, Claire. Good to see you.”
For fuck’s sake. You had to stop saying that to her.
The exam went pretty well. Claire’s cat was a little shit for some of it, but he wasn’t the worst you’ve had to deal with. You’re at the point where you just need to get samples on him, but you have a feeling that you’ll need a little help. At the end of the exam, Jonesy got a little feisty and not too keen with being poked. For this reason, you asked the assistant helping you, Maria to go get another person to lend a hand, but Claire spoke up before she could leave. They exchange an uncomfortable look before you manage to cut the tension by smiling and effectively shutting Claire down.
“Don’t think you can handle little old Jonesy, Dr. Y/L/N?”
Maria’s jaw drops and you remind yourself to be a professional as you just laugh slightly instead of rolling your eyes.
“Not at all. I just want to make sure that no one gets hurt and that Jonesy is as least stressed as possible.”
Jonesy was very stressed. He hadn’t wanted any of the baby food that was offered and it took two holders wrapping him in a towel to keep him still. You pulled his blood easily enough, despite him having old cat veins that were practically non-existent, but there was no way in hell you were going to be able to get pee on him with how he was squirming.
As you did your job, you pretended not to notice Claire’s eyes on you. It was unsettling to say the least, but you weren’t going to call her out on it and let your assistants know that you’re tense. Well, you were all tense because Jonesy was getting pissed off.
You finish up quickly and pull out the needle from Jonesy’s leg, but you have to hold it for a moment to make sure his blood clots. That’s when he claws you with the nails you hadn’t gotten around to trimming yet. Maria had lifted her hand off of his leg like she was supposed to, and Jonesy took that opportunity to claw the shit out of your hand.
“Oww, okay! Let. Go.”
You pull Jonesy’s nail out of the back of your hand as carefully as possible before dropping his foot back onto the table. You used the towel wrapped around him to wipe up the blood that was already pooling before you go to grab the nail trimmers.
“Are you okay?”
You nod before grabbing the first paw with dagger-like nails. Jonesy of course hates it, but you finish quickly enough and manage to get out of there before Claire says anything too inappropriate. First thing you do is go to treatment and grab some gauze and disinfectant to put on your cut. It was still bleeding and you hiss in pain as you scrub it clean. This one is going to hurt like a bitch for a while.
Once done you wave your hand to dry it off before returning to pharmacy. You are about to start writing up Jonesy’s note when Maria comes out of the room you’d just been in with an uncertain look.
“Dr. Y/L/N.  She has another question for you.”
You hold in your sigh before you nod and head back into the exam room. Hopefully this goes quickly.
Billie Dean was on lunch when you texted her about Claire. She had been working non-stop since she arrived to the studio at 6 this morning. She was ready for a break long enough to finish a cigarette because she was long overdue for one. She was grateful that Michelle had gotten her lunch and had it waiting for her once she finished her most recent episode. She only had one left to get to, and she was excited to be done. Even though it would definitely take the rest of the day.
After re-recording was done for the season, she was going back on television and radio to promote it. The thought made Billie exhausted, but she had to admit it would be nice to leave this studio for the next one. She had a television interview scheduled for next week, and she had already decided to talk to you about it beforehand.
There was no doubt in Billie Dean’s mind that the interviewer would ask her about her relationship with Y/N. She couldn’t just sit there and dodge it, well she could, but it would be too obvious. She needed to figure out where you both stood with your relationship. It was something she’d have to mention tonight when you came over.
Billie had to stop herself from smiling at the thought of what tonight would bring. You had agreed to come over, and you had even offered to cook. Billie wasn’t very good in the kitchen despite learning a couple of your favorite dishes, but she knew how much you loved cooking. You had practically begged her to let you make her dinner, and of course she’d said yes. How could she have said no to that?
She was eager to see what you made and was certain that the image of you cooking in her kitchen would be enough to get her through the rest of the day.
Billie sighed as she put out her cigarette before grabbing her phone out of her purse. She ignored the emails and immediately looked to your messages. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she reread the texts a couple of times.
Even after doing that, she still had no idea what you were talking about.
You were angrily texting Billie in your office when Erin came upstairs to give you your stethoscope.  You’d left it downstairs in your hurry to go vent to Billie and you hadn’t even realized it. You didn’t hear her because you were muttering darkly under your breath, and you nearly fell out of your chair when she spoke up.
“Damn, annoying persistent little--.”
“Uh…Dr. Y/L/N?”
Your feet hit the ground fast as you spun around in your chair to see Erin standing in your doorway with your stethoscope in hand. You smile before laughing awkwardly and reaching out for it. You see Erin look to your phone before shooting you a concerned look.
“Oh, thank you!”
“Everything okay, doc?”
You nod despite the fact that you’re lying. You are annoyed at Claire for reasons you can’t really work out, but it’s enough to tick you off. You were having such a good day, and then she had to come in here and trap you in a room with her. She didn’t really have any questions for you, at least ones related to Jonesy. You try not to think about those same annoying questions before you shrug and decide to tell a little bit of the truth.
“Yeah, I just saw a client who I’ve had not so fun encounters with before.”
This piques Erin’s curiosity and she can’t help but ask who you just saw. You mention her name and how she works at a pet store you go to, and Erin practically jumps at this.
“Wait, is she brunette and kind of lanky?”
You open your mouth to reply, but don’t want to be unnecessarily mean so you just shrug noncommittally.
“Possibly?”
Erin groans as she moves a little closer so she can whisper and not be overheard. You are a little surprised by what the brunette says but you figure you shouldn’t be. She has pets too after all, and she is the one who told you about the store in the first place.
“Oh my god. She is the worst. She’s always there when I go get something for Dex and she-.”
Erin trails off as she looks to you uncertainly before deciding that you should probably know. She was really hoping that what she had to tell you didn’t surprise you. If you were annoyed with her it was very likely that you were well aware of Claire’s creepy tendencies.
“She always asks about you, but I promise I don’t tell her anything!”
Despite the chill you feel travel up your spine at the thought of Claire being that creepy, you smile at Erin. You’re grateful that she can tell when someone’s being a creep, and that she’s smart enough to not give them anything they could use against her. It’s also nice to know that she has your back when it matters.
“Thank you for that. She’s always just a little too pushy.”
Erin frowns a this before nodding to herself and you. She decides that she was going to have to run interference if this Claire showed up again. She leaves you alone after that to go back to work, and you almost forgot that you’d texted Billie when your phone beeps. You jump slightly in surprise before looking to what she wrote.
Who is it that’s bothering you? One of your coworkers?
You look back to the messages you sent to her as if you’d forgotten and cringe at how you let Claire rile you up this much.
This bitch won’t leave me alone.
Her cat’s a little shit too.
Okay, so maybe this had been a little unnecessary. Sure Claire was kind of a bitch and annoying, but you probably shouldn’t have said this. She just wouldn’t leave you alone no matter what you did, and now she was showing up at your work? Next thing you knew she’d be showing up at your damn front door.
The part about her cat was true though. He was a little shit.
You type a response before returning to your records. You write up the last details for Claire’s cat, you’d been waiting until everything else was done before doing that, before heading downstairs. It’s almost 1:30, so you only have about half an hour until your next appointment. You take the steps two at a time going down on your way to the kennels. You see Milo sleeping and smile as he jumps up at the sound of the door opening.
“Hey, Milo. Want to go out?”
He nearly knocks you over in his excitement to get out. You curse before grabbing onto Milo’s harness to lead him outside. As soon as you reach the yard and make sure it is empty, you release Milo and watch him run away. He pees here and there before coming back to jump on the bench that you were sitting on. You sighed before standing up and grabbing a frisbee and holding it up with a smile.
“Ready?”
Milo runs after the frisbee until he’s exhausted and panting ten minutes later. He’s lying in the grass with the frisbee near his mouth because he still had to hold onto it so you wouldn’t take it from him. You walk over to him because you figure he needs to go inside for some water, but Milo grabs the frisbee when he sees you coming. He runs away despite still panting and you sigh as you watch your dog run around with his frisbee. You decide it’s a lost cause and leave him to play with it for a minute as you run inside really quickly to grab something.
You nearly run into Erin on your way inside, but you stop just in time before shooting her an apologetic look.
“Sorry, Erin.”
She waves you off before glancing outside. “Milo out there?”
You just nod and she asks if she can take the twins out there. The ‘twins’ are two golden retrievers that are boarding for about a month while their home is under construction. They’re super sweet like most goldens and Milo loves them. You smile before nodding and continuing on your way into the clinic. You don’t make it very far before you’re stopped again.
“Dr. Y/L/N!”
You turn at the sound of someone calling your name. One of the receptionists is holding a large arrangement of flowers that almost completely hides their face. You smile about to ask who they were for before she hands them to you.
“For you. Do you want me to put them in your office?”
You shoot her a confused look and it takes you a second to respond. You eventually shake you head before reaching out to take them from her. You thank her before watching as she heads back up front before you look to the flowers again.
They’re beautiful and bright and they smell wonderful. The arrangement is a mix of roses, lilies and a couple other flowers you didn’t know the name of. You were halfway up the stairs before you attempted to look for a card. It was hidden and you couldn’t pull it from the flowers easily. You set the vase down on your desk before freeing the card from the petals and flipping it over to read what was written.
Can’t wait to see you tonight.
Billie Dean.
You smile at the note before tucking it away somewhere safe. You were touched that Billie would surprise you like this and you couldn’t wait for tonight either.
It was going to be different from any of your previous dates. You were going to cook because you had been wanting to since you found out how much take-out Billie ate, and it was going to be at her house so you could see the kittens. You were only a little nervous about going over to Billie’s house again, but you were determined not to make it a big deal.
It had only been a few weeks since you met, but you hadn’t felt like how you did with Billie, with anyone else. Certainly not with your horrible exes. Billie Dean made you feel comfortable in a way that no one else ever had. She was different. Obviously because she was a medium, but honestly that wasn’t the difference that mattered to you. You hadn’t been lucky enough to be with someone that was as considerate and understanding as Billie. She never faulted you for your awkward and depressing past, and she was busier than you were so the sporadic texts and the even more sporadic dates didn’t upset her like you feared it would.
You’re pulled from your thoughts by the sound of yet someone else calling your name. This time however it was more frantic than you were expecting and you hurried out of your office. You’re met at the stairs by a slightly panicked Lindsey who must have been on lunch because she still had half of it in her hand.
“What’s is it? Is something wrong?”
Lindsey just hurries back down the stairs and opens the door to treatment. You follow her without question as she nods and fills you in on what’s going on.
“Milo was playing with the twins and he got stuck in the fence chasing the frisbee.”
You have to hold in your groan of disbelief because of course your overzealous and slightly impulsive dog would do this. You just mutter an okay under your breath before heading back out into the yard where you see Erin and Mina standing beside your screaming dog. He’s thrashing and trying to pull himself out, but he’s pretty stuck and really must have been running full speed.
You run over to the trio to try and calm Milo down because it seems like he really is stuck. You crouch down next to him on his right before reaching out for the panicked shepherd.
“Hey! Milo, hey, hi. It’s me, you’re okay. Shh, it’s okay, buddy.”
You reach through the bars of fence to pet Milo’s head and he calms enough for you not to be worried about him injuring himself further. You look him over quickly and don’t see any blood immediately, but then you reach his head and you see some dripping from his nose. You sigh in frustration as you try to figure out what the best thing to do is.
“Could you run inside and get a couple of towels and some lube?”
You figure that’s the best thing to get him out of this jam and you watch as both Erin and Mina leave, the latter leading the twins inside so they don’t get in the way. You turn back to your dog who is still panting in either exertion or stress, you’re not sure, and you do your best to keep him calm while you wait for your supplies.
“It’s okay Milo. You’re alright. We’re going to get you out, okay?”
Milo just whines before he turns to lick your hand that had been scratching his neck. You realize that you should probably take off his harness if you hope to slide him back through the fence, but you only get it halfway off before it becomes stuck.
“Dammit.”
Erin returns first and she stands back a little not sure if you want help before she speaks up.
“Anything I can do?”
You nod before motioning for the brunette to come closer so you can show her what you’re trying to do. If you pull on his harness while Erin pushes him away from the fence post a bit you might be able to get it off. You explain this and Erin just nods before moving to put her hands on Milo.
“Sorry buddy.”
It works but Milo yelps as you do it, so you decide to leave the other side be. Maybe you can slide him forward enough on the other side and figure it out from there. He was trapped from just behind his shoulders with most of his body still inside the yard, so maybe you could just pull him back in. When Mina arrives with the towels and what looks like all of the lube in the hospital, you relay the plan and put on the gloves that Mina luckily had the foresight to bring.
“Okay, Milo. We’re going to put this on you and try to slide you out alright?”
You know that he’s not going to respond or even really comprehend what you’re saying, but you know that hearing your voice will calm him down. He’s always been anxious when having things done to him and this was going to be worse due to the fact that he’s already highly stressed before anything has even begun.
You start to rub some of the lube on his right shoulder through the fence while Mina and Erin take his left side. Milo turns as they talk to him too, but is unable to see and growls as they touch him.
“Hey, Milo, stop that. They’re just trying to help you, okay?”
You try to keep going, you even move one of your hands to his left side but it doesn’t help. Milo just gets antsier and he’s growling louder before you realize it’s not working. You can’t be mad at him for being scared. He doesn’t know what’s going on and he can’t see them so he’s distrustful.
You make the decision to switch sides with them so he can see them and just hear you on his blind side. You berate yourself for not doing this initially because Milo immediately calms down and his tail starts to wag as you scratch him between his shoulder blades.
“Good boy, Milo. Almost done okay?”
Now that Mio is sufficiently lubed, you try and slide him back through the bars. You manipulate one of his legs forward to try and slide him backwards but he’s still too wide. You instruct Erin and Mina to do the same and Milo’s legs are stretched out as far forward as they can go before you try again. You have to readjust as Erin moves to pull him from behind, and you breathe a sigh of relief as Milo finally slides back into the yard. You hold onto him as his head whips around to see who’s at his rear end, and you look at his nose carefully before taking his harness off completely. You try to wipe off some of the lube with the towels, but it’s no use. Milo’s too excited about being freed and he’s already shaking it everywhere anyway.
“Look at you Milo. You’re a mess, huh? You need a bath.”
He just licks your face and you groan in annoyance before thanking both of your helpers. You scratch your dog behind his ears for another few seconds before you stand up and motion for him to follow you.
“No more frisbee for a while, okay?”
It turns out that Milo’s a little sorer than anticipated and after his bath he yelps when you reach underneath him to pick him up. You try again more carefully before just letting him jump up on you. You regret this immediately once all 70+ lbs of him is in your arms, but you put him down quickly as he shakes all of the water off of him. You groan in disgust before covering him with a towel and attempting to dry him off.
He whines when you put him in the kennel with the blow dryer, but you have to get to your appointment. You’ll check on him afterwards, but for now you have to go see a dog about some skin issues.
“I’ll be back Milo. Be good.”
It’s 4 before you are able to take the time to examine Milo again. You are in between appointments when you pull him out of his kennel and bring him into treatment. You brush him out because he looks like a mess and as you’re doing that you notice he’s a little sensitive along his ribs. Not that you’re shocked. He’d forced himself through a damn hole he shouldn’t have been able to fit through.
You listened to him and didn’t find anything else wrong and decided to just give him a little something for the pain that would be worse tomorrow. Your next appointment arrives as you are finishing up with him but it’s taking you a minute to get Milo to take his pill. He’s always been horrible about taking medication.
“Dr. Y/L/N. Billy’s here.”
You’re a little confused by this and you turn to Erin with a frown. You’re currently holding open Milo’s mouth to try and shove this pill down his throat when you realize what she means. Billy. The cat with arthritis.
“Right okay, what’s going on with him?”
Billie Dean checks her phone again once she’s done with work. She hasn’t heard from you yet which makes her think you’re still working. It’s nearly 6:30 which is a little late for you, but she decides to just head home and get things ready.
Other than taking care of the kittens and making sure there were clean dishes for you two to use, she didn’t have much she could do. You had refused to tell her what you were cooking and had insisted on shopping yourself. Billie was already in the car when her phone rang. She answers it without looking to see who it is because she’s driving, but she doesn’t have to wonder long.
“Hello?”
“Hi! Billie I’m so sorry for not calling you sooner! Things got crazy here. Milo got stuck in a fence, a dog came in after getting hit by a car, but thank you so much! The flowers are beautiful!”
Billie chuckles under her breath at your flustered state, but then she registers everything that you said and she frowns in concern.
“I’m glad you liked them, Y/N. Did you say that Milo got stuck in a fence? Is he okay?”
You turned around to glance in the back seat briefly to see him fast asleep. He was exhausted from his exciting day and probably would sleep the rest of the night.
“Yeah, he was having too much fun with some friends and a frisbee and ended up halfway through an iron fence.”
Billie shakes her head at the image this conjures up and she sighs as she turns into her driveway.
“Aw poor baby.”
You laugh at this before pulling up to your apartment building. You still had to go shopping to get groceries, but you had to make sure that Milo was situated first. You weren’t sure how long you would be gone and were a little stressed by this, but you would figure it out.
“Yeah, he had a rough day.”
You both were silent as you turn off your cars and consider what to say next. You were trying to figure out how much time you needed to take care of Milo and shop before you could head over to Billie’s. Billie was trying to figure out things for Milo as well, but you hadn’t even considered what she suggested.
“How was your day?”
“Do you want to bring him?”
You both speak at the same time and it takes you a second to realize what she’s said. You shake your head as you turn around to see Milo still out cold. You hoped you wouldn’t have to carry him. Again.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll just get him set up here before heading to the store.”
Billie’s already out of her car by the time she responds. She doesn’t mind either way, but she has a feeling she knows what you want to do. Not to mention, she supposes that the kittens need to be socialized and Bit possibly scared obedient. As if that would ever work.
“Would you feel better if you brought him?”                            
You don’t answer immediately which is honestly the only answer that Billie needs. You’re thinking about how you would love to bring him along because you’d be able to watch him and you could see how Milo would act around the kittens. You had always wanted a cat, and you supposed now was as good a time as any to see how it might work. Or not. As long as Billie didn’t mind.
Eventually you answer and Billie has to force herself not to smile smugly at how well she knew you already.
“I guess. I don’t want you to feel obligated though. I can’t exactly promise that he won’t get hair everywhere!”
You jump out of your car quickly before opening the back door startling Milo awake. He sits up quickly and you reach into the back seat and unbuckle him before grabbing his leash. He jumps to the ground a little more carefully than he usually would before you hear Billie reply.
“I want you to do whatever you need, Y/N. I’m fine either way. You know I adore Milo.”
You smile at this as you look to your dog who is yawning as you walk to the elevator. You suppose that you can take him with you. He might actually enjoy it. You just had to make sure he behaved and didn’t hurt any of the kittens. Billie said this before you got a chance to and you laugh as you nod in agreement.
“We’ll just have to see how he plays along with the kittens.”
You follow Milo into the elevator before leaning against the wall with a sigh. You suppose it’s decided then. You feel your excitement for tonight increasing again, now that you know Milo won’t be home alone. You just smile as the doors close and you take a deep breath.
“We will. I’ll feed him and then be over in about an hour. Does that work?”
Billie’s nodding before she greets Heather who is with Mickey in the living room.
“I’ll see you both then.”
Part 9
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tothemeadow · 3 years ago
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Commissioned by @hinokami-s
Kamado Tanjiro x OC
- The tension between Tanjiro and Hayami has always been too thick. However, at a rather eventful party, Tanjiro finds himself to have more luck than he thought. -
warnings: spicy, mentions of underage drinking
words: 4.9k
-
“Oi, oi, oi! Wake up Tanjiro!”
Smack!
“Ah!” Tanjiro yelps, shooting straight up in his chair. Glancing around frantically, he blinks owlishly at his surroundings, at the countless shelves of beaten-down books. An array of textbooks is sitting on the table before him, lone notebooks by their sides. Tanjiro groans as he peels the sheet of homework sticking to his face. Dammit, looks like he fell asleep while doing homework.
“Jeez, and I thought I was having problems with my math classes,” his “savior,” Sumiyuri Hayami, teases. She gives a twinkle of a laugh, her pretty eyes gleaming with mirth. “What gives, Tanjiro?” she continues, her voice turning serious but the smile never leaving her face. “You’re usually not one to fall asleep in school like this.”
“Tell me about it,” Tanjiro groans, rubbing the tiredness away from his eyes with his fists. “What time is it?”
With a hum, Hayami rolls up the sleeve of her sweater and checks the watch on her wrist. “Just after four o’clock. What, you think I wouldn’t you hiding away, taking a power nap?”
An ashamed warmth blooms in Tanjiro’s chest – he knows Hayami is only teasing, but he can’t shake away the familiar feeling of guilt. It’s such a heavy weight in his gut, tight like a knot and unwilling to come undone. He remembers her words from earlier, along with the messages in their text conversation.
Tanjiro, let’s hang out after school!!! Can we go shopping? I promise to buy anything you want!
It’s not that he didn’t forget to do meet up with Hayami or anything. No, he simply wanted to get a head start on his assignments, nestled away by the back window in the library. Things like this just happen.
“Don’t think too hard,” Hayami says, jabbing Tanjiro’s forehead with a manicured finger. “I can practically see the gears turning in your head. Keep that up and smoke’s going to start coming out of your ears.”
“I’m not Inosuke,” Tanjiro grumbles. Nevertheless, he shoves his school supplies into his backpack and draws himself to a stand, throwing his arms above his heads and stretching out his back. “I’m really sorry about falling asleep – honest!” he babbles as he slings his backpack on.
Hayami flashes Tanjiro a soft smile. She’s always looked pretty while smiling, petal lips encasing a neat row of pearly teeth. It’s at times like this where Tanjiro’s reminded that Hayami is regarded as one of the academy’s Three Beauties. He hesitates for just a moment, nearly struck into some fan-crazed silence as he ogles that gorgeous smile.
Reaching out a pale hand, Hayami clasps onto Tanjiro’s before turning around and guiding him towards the library exit. While it’s not the first time the two friends have held hands, it always amazes Tanjiro how graceful Hayami’s hands are, how lithe and delicate. Compared to the thick callouses on his from working in the family bakery for so long, he enjoys the stark difference in how soft her hands feel.
“W-wait!” Tanjiro exclaims. What is with him today, seriously? He’s hardly one to ever babble on like this! “Don’t you have archery practice today?”
“You worry too much!” Hayami throws over her shoulder. She doesn’t let Tanjiro go, opting to pick up speed until the two are running past the school’s gates, taking off into the surrounding neighborhood and to who knows where.
A multitude of colors swirls around Tanjiro’s head as he rushes past houses and maple and gingko trees alike. Hayami’s long ponytail swishes behind her with each pounding step, her messenger bag bouncing along with the movements. Now, Tanjiro’s long grown used to the pure energy that seems to seep from Hayami’s very pores, but he can’t but smile in return whenever she flashes him bubbly grins. If only they could stop so he could stand there and admire her smile for as long as he wants. He knows it’s a foolish wish, something incredibly silly, but he commits it to memory nevertheless.
Before long, the residential neighborhood melts into a street lined with markets and stores; cars slowly make their way down the street, most likely heading home from a long day of work. It’s only then that Hayami slows down, leaving herself and Tanjiro panting for a much-needed breath. Still, the two smile stupidly at each other, too overcome with the sheer blinding joy of being in each other’s company.
Again, it’s silly.
“I want to go clothes shopping,” Hayami suggests, smoothing down the front of her sweater. “I’m feeling… saucy.”
Tanjiro blinks at her, his eyebrows furrowing together. “Saucy…?”
“You know, Tanjiro, sometimes you’ve just got to feelyourself.”
“I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
Hayami waves a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry about it. But,” she puts an index finger up, “I will be picking out a brand new outfit for you! Come on, Tanjiro, don’t you think you need to be spoiled?”
Before he can even give a proper response, Hayami starts dragging him down the street. Tanjiro flushes at her choice of words. What did she mean by spoiled? It’s not going to be something bad, is it? No, Tanjiro shouldn’t think like that. He isn’t some pervert like Zenitsu (as much as he loves the guy, Zenitsu is pretty greasy), but there’s just something about the way those words rolled off so easily from Hayami’s tongue that it makes Tanjiro hope for something more.
Still, he lets her do as she pleases, mindlessly letting himself be pulled along by storefronts and throngs of other passersby. For a split second, he wonders just how he and Hayami look in the eyes of the strangers. Do they look like… a couple? Tanjiro swallows heavily at the thought.
Yeah, he wishes.
Hayami makes a sudden turn, then, heading towards a chic little boutique. The outside is completely white and framed by all white trimming, but splotches of green and pinky hues disrupt the monotonous tones. Tanjiro admires the hanging pots outside, the pretty buds and vines hanging low over the wicker. Tanjiro’s throat goes dry once he sees the inside of the store; the wooden floor practically gleams under the bright lights, delicate vines and fairy lights dangle from the walls, and racks upon racks of clothing freckle the shop’s floor. He can feel the expensiveness of the atmosphere seep into his skin. Whatever kinds of clothes they sell here, it probably costs more than what Tanjiro’s family makes in a month.
“Uh,” he starts, nervously scratching at his cheek, “Hayami… When you said you wanted to buy me an outfit, you didn’t mean stuff like this, right?”
Lightly smacking his hand away, Hayami pinches Tanjiro’s cheek instead. “I said I was going to spoil you, didn’t I? Let me do it this once.”
“But-“
“Please?” Hayami coos, pressing her full lips into a pout and flashing Tanjiro a pair of puppy eyes. He can’t deny that the expression makes his stomach do flips.
Tanjiro sighs. “Okay…”
With an excited clap of her hands and a delightful giggle, Hayami takes off into the store, weaving between the racks and searching for anything that catches her eye. Meanwhile, Tanjiro picks a rack close to him and mindlessly thumbs the delicate fabrics, wincing whenever he spots a price tag. And, just like he thought, they are all way out of his allowance range.
“Tanjiro, come over here!” Hayami calls out a couple minutes later. Tanjiro crosses to where she stands, taking extra care as to not bump into anything and potentially ruin its value. A silky shirt is perched between her slender fingers, olive tone in color. It’s nice, that much is for sure. Turning on her heel, Hayami holds the shirt up before Tanjiro, mentally determining whether or not it’d be a suitable fit. “Try this on,” she proclaims, shoving the shirt into Tanjiro’s arms.
The silk practically feels like nothing in Tanjiro’s hold. “This looks pretty fancy,” Tanjiro says, unease threading his words. “Are you sure I could pull this off?”
“Of course you can!” Hayami chirps, pushing Tanjiro in the direction of the curtained changing rooms. “Trust me, Tanjiro. I knowwhat’s going to look great on you. Ooo, I’ll have to find bottoms to match!” Hurriedly, she takes off, heading over to a shelf of jeans.
With another sigh, Tanjiro walks to the changing rooms; pulling the curtain shut behind him, he makes quick work of undoing his tie and shirt. Carefully, ever so carefully, he pulls the silky shirt on and buttons it closed. Although he shouldn’t be surprised, but Hayami was right. She did know what would look great on him. The olive color compliments his honeyed skin perfectly, and the shape it provides showcases the muscle he’s gained throughout his teen years. He just doesn’t look good, he looks stunning.
“Psst, Tanjiro! Did you put it on?” Hayami’s voice rings from the other side of the curtain.
Humming, Tanjiro turns away from the mirror, pulling the curtain open and revealing himself to Hayami. Hayami claps happily, a wide grin breaking her face. “I knew it would look great! Here, try these on with it,” she says, thrusting a pair of dark jeans towards him. “Go on, put them on! You can thank me later for when you see how awesome you’re going to look.”
Doing as told, Tanjiro sheepishly pulls the curtain to a close and sets the jeans to the side. His blood pounds in his ears at the thought of Hayami being right there while he’s changing, more so since he’s literally taking off his pants. Pushing the thought to the side (after yet another mental scolding to not act like Zenitsu), Tanjiro quickly puts the jeans on and opens the curtain once more.
“Oh my god,” Hayami breathes, clutching her hands to her chest. “Look at you!”
Tanjiro clears his throat and hopes the blush on his face isn’t too noticeable. “Is it that good?”
Hayami nods her head, but then she steps closer. Tanjiro’s breath catches in his throat as Hayami tucks the shirt into his pants, her fingers skimming beneath the waist of the jeans. Tanjiro’s face explodeswith a violent blush, his body turning entirely rigid. “Uh, Hayami…?” he squeaks.
Has she no shame? No embarrassment? But no, once look at her face tells Tanjiro that she is completely serious.
He nearly sighs in relief when her lithe hands leave his pants, but then they’re shooting upwards, up towards the top buttons of the silk shirt. She pops the first few buttons loose, exposing a sliver of honeyed skin. Hayami steps back, then, placing her hands on her hips and humming in approval at her handiwork.
“There,” she says, flashing Tanjiro a smile, “that’s better.”
Actually, Tanjiro shouldn’t be surprised – Hayami is big into fashion overall – but the mere fact that she was that close and that she touched him has his stomach doing somersaults and heart begging to leap from his chest. Still, he forces himself to turn around, to look back at the reflection staring at him. And – much to his pleasant surprise – Tanjiro likes what he sees. The slight changes really pull the outfit together, bring attention to the shape of his shoulders and the taper of his waist. He looks… handsome.
“Told you,” Hayami singsongs, a smug expression adorning her features.
Despite the heavy feeling of embarrassment still settled on his chest, Tanjiro smiles lightly, eyes glancing over the expensive outfit. Maybe it’s the look in his eyes or the expression he wears, but Hayami lays a reassuring hand on Tanjiro’s shoulder and gives it a tight squeeze.
“Remember: spoiling. Come on, Tanjiro, get changed and then we can go out to eat.”
“Wait, I thought you wanted to buy an outfit for yourself…?”
Hayami holds a finger to her lips, a sneaky glint in her eyes. “I never said such a thing.” She winks. “Now, come on, tiger – get your clothes back on so we can ditch this joint. I’m starving.”
It’s only a short time later that the two find themselves in a coffee shop, tucked away against a cream-colored wall. A neat, crisp paper tote sits on the chair next to Tanjiro while Hayami sits on the one directly across from him. Hayami mindlessly sips at her tea, casually scrolling through her phone. Tanjiro, on the other hand, busies himself with one of the numerous magazines scattered around the shop. It’s one of the beauty kind – meant for fashion, skincare, makeup, the regular works. He’s somewhat familiar with it due to the fact that Nezuko reads the exact same thing at home.
His eyes scan over an add meant for a type of facial moisturizer. It seems simple enough, clean and straight to the point, but when his eyes flicker over to the next page, they nearly bulge from his very skull.
There’s a picture of Hayami.
And no, not just any picture, but a closeup of her beautiful face, relaxed and poised in a way that only a model could pull off. Tanjiro’s well aware of the situation at Hayami’s home, how her mother is a cold, power hungry woman that craves nothing more than all of the wealth in the world. Needless to say, it isn’t much of a surprise that she capitalizes on her daughter’s extraordinary looks, forcing her to do photoshoots at whatever cost. The mere thought of it leaves Tanjiro sick to the stomach, knowing that a parent could treat their child in such a vile way for personal gain. Still, Tanjiro never brings it up despite how much it pisses him off.
Hayami’s ad is for another type of facial cream, hence the closeup. The lilac of her eyes glitter although it’s printed on glossy paper, her fair skin smooth and perfect. It’s almost ridiculous how incredibleshe looks, hair loose and framing her features in a way that is too tempting for Tanjiro’s poor heart. Seriously, how whipped can he be? Hayami is literallysitting straight across from him, yet here he is, ogling some photo of her.
He’s such a fool.
Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.
Tanjiro’s attention switches from the magazine to his friend when she sighs. “It’s Mother,” she says briskly, an unpleased glint coming to her eyes. Drawing a breath, she accepts the call and places the speaker next to her ear. “Hello?”
Sipping from his drink, Tanjiro keeps himself quiet as he watches Hayami with a curious gaze. It’s more of a rare occasion than not whenever Hayami’s mother calls her; however, when it does happen, it’s mostly because she wants Hayami to do something.
The conversation between Hayami and her mother turns into a senseless buzz as Tanjiro focuses back on the magazine in his hands. It’s not that he doesn’t care, not in the slightest, but overhearing family arguments that aren’t his own make him… well, uncomfortable. He’s not alone in that stance, not by a long shot.
But then Hayami’s suddenly gripping onto his wrist, forcing his attention back on her; she’s grinning, beautiful face basically splitting itself in half at the sheer force of it. With a simple goodbye, she hangs up and sets her phone on the table. “Yes!” she exclaims, other hand grasping onto Tanjiro’s free wrist. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Hayami so happyafter ending a phone call with her mother.
“What is it?”
“Long story short, but my parents are going on a business trip for two whole weeks! Can you believe it? I finally get the house all to myself!”
A smile of his own grows on Tanjiro’s face. This istruly an occasion worth celebrating; while the relationship between her and her mother is rocky, Hayami’s father is somewhat kinder. However, since he’s the one that married into the family, his own image – much like his wife’s – is more important than his own child, so he usually takes after the mother’s side and neglects Hayami. It’s an all-around bad situation on all fronts, so it’s no wonder Hayami gets so excited when something like this happens. And, if Tanjiro’s being entirely truthful, he doesn’t blame her one bit.
“You know that this calls for, right?” Hayami continues. “Bear with me here, but I may have been planning a party for some time now. With my parents gone, I can finally do it! Think about it, Tanjiro! There’ll be food and drinks, music, games – the whole shebang! Wouldn’t it be great to kick back and relax for once?”
“I guess…?”
“Oh, come on! You have to come, Tanjiro! It’ll be more fun with you there! Please? I’ll invite all of our friends!”
Tanjiro sighs. He’s not one for parties – or for large crowds – in general. But with the hopeful glint in Hayami’s eyes and the cute pout of her lips, it’s nearly impossible to say no. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Yay!” Hayami cheers. Standing up from her chair, she leans across the table and throws her arms around Tanjiro’s shoulders. And if that wasn’t enough, she places a brisk kiss to his cheek, a joyful giggle following suit.
Oh, this poor boy’s aching heart.
Hayami goes off in an excitable tangent about all the things she has to prepare for the upcoming weekend; Tanjiro tries to listen, he really does, but he can’t ignore the pleasant sting in his cheek or the furious beating in his chest.
Good grief.
-
That following Saturday night, Tanjiro finds himself outside the gated residence of the Sumiyuri Estate. While it isn’t the first time Tanjiro’s been to Hayami’s house, the mere size of it always sends a chill down his spine. His own home could easily fit inside numerous times. A steady blast of a muted bass fills his ears, the golden cast of light streaming from the windows lighting up the front yard and the street.
Tanjiro lets himself in, trekking towards the front door; the music steadily grows louder the closer he gets, and his palms start to grow sweaty. Tanjiro’s always considered himself a people person, somehow managing to get along with anyone, but the idea of a party is a bit nerve-wracking.
The front door opens, then, revealing Hayami’s grinning face. Tanjiro offers a wave in greeting, but his hand quickly falls back by his side as he notices the outfit she’s wearing. It’s relatively simple – a burgundy two-piece dress, but the top has a window cut in the front, revealing Hayami’s way-too-giving cleavage. His mouth seals shut as he tears his gaze away, a rush of blood flooding into his face.
“Tanjiro, you finally made it!"
Rubbing the back of his neck, Tanjiro chokes on his response, muttering a nice to see you. He curses his own height; when they were a bit younger, Hayami used to tower over Tanjiro, but after his growth spurt, the tables have changed. Now, if he simply wanted to glimpse at her, he’d have to look down. The only problem is… well… breasts.
“You’re wearing the outfit I picked out!” Hayami gushes, clapping her hands together. “Wait until everyone sees you!”
Before he has the chance to respond, Hayami promptly grabs Tanjiro by the hand and drags him inside the manor. The music is much louder now that he’s inside; he recognizes it as some bass-heavy K-pop song (again, thanks to Nezuko). The two weave around the other party goers, food and red plastic cups in hand. Hayami brings him to where their group of friends sit, all clustered around a wide screen TV and in the midst of a round of Mario Kart. Although he’s glad to see them, Tanjiro’s genuinely surprised that he didn’t hear Inosuke and Zenitsu’s screaming over the music when he first arrived.
“Hey, hey, heyyyy,” Hayami’s cousin, Kagami, drawls. She practically slithers to where Tanjiro and Hayami stand, a mischievous smirk playing on her face. Her gaze snaps down to where the two’s hands are connected, her smirk further curling into a Cheshire grin. “Oh, I see. So, you two finally doing something?” she asks, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
Hayami immediately drops Tanjiro’s hand, much to his disappointment. She hurries a no and sends Kagami a stern look.
Kagami shrugs. “I’m just saying. Anyway, you look mightyhandsome, Tanjiro. I never pegged you as the type to show off some skin,” she says, motioning to the sliver of skin poking out from his shirt. “Oh, and won’t you look at his waistline, Hayami? The boy is snatched!”
“You are insufferable,” Hayami hisses at her cousin, but the blush on her face is way too obvious.
“Come on, let’s have some fun!” Kagami exclaims, grabbing onto both Hayami and Tanjiro and yanking them towards the TV.
And, despite not being a party person, Tanjiro finds himself actually having some fun. Granted, it’s just him playing video games with his best friends, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. He was perfectly content with playing Mario Kart for the entirety of the party, but then it was Kagami’s self-proclaimed brilliant idea to switch to Just Dance. Not like that idea isn’t fine and dandy, it’s just that he was forced to take center stage with Hayami and perform a duet dance with her.
And that’s fine.
Perfectly fine.
…Fuck.
Tanjiro blames it on the strong smell of teenage hormones and perspiration. Perhaps this is his true coming of age moment? It’s not an everyday occasion where he gets to dance with someone so pretty, someone who isn’this sister. Game or not, it’s a big deal to him.
As the hours melt away further into the night, people slowly start to trickle out of Hayami’s house, wishing the others a good night before disappearing into the pitch-black night. Only a handful of people remain – mostly friends of Hayami that Tanjiro’s on good terms with, along with Inosuke and Zenitsu. Inosuke’s fast asleep on the couch, head thrown back and snoring loudly. Tanjiro doesn’t blame him for being tired, but he’s also surprised to see the rambunctious guy clocked out like that.
There’s an idle chatter amongst the small group as they pass around the last of the drinks and food left from the party and start the timely task of cleaning the place. Tanjiro is only half listening to what the others are saying, his thoughts straying to what happened earlier that night. His face warms at the memory of dancing close with Hayami, how her sweet perfume filled his lungs in the loveliest way possible. Really, he is such a fool.
“Come on, Hayami!” Kagami whines off to the side. “It’ll be fun! Everyone can let loose, if you know what I’m saying.”
“I’m all down for it!” Zenitsu chirps.
“Down for what?” Tanjiro asks.
“Seven minutes in heaven,” Zenitsu tells him with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.
Tanjiro blinks at him. “…I’m sorry?”
Zenitsu’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head. “Wait, don’t tell me- You don’t know what seven minutes in heaven is?! Oh, Tanjiro, you innocent babe! My eyes can’t handle the righteousness!”
“Zenitsu, calm down,” Hayami says, abruptly appearing by Tanjiro’s side. “You’re being too loud.”
“But Hayami! Tanjiro doesn’t know what seven minutes is!” Zenitsu exclaims.
Hayami rolls her eyes. “And there’s nothing wrong with that.” She turns to Tanjiro. “The whole point of the game is to have two people unknowingly get selected to go into a closest together and have fun. Think of it as a…. make out session, but with an unexpected twist.”
The color in Tanjiro’s face drains. “So they like…” Trailing off, he raises his hands before him and makes them mimic two people kissing. At Hayami’s nod, Tanjiro’s face turns a bright red.
Kagami pops up right next to them (where she came from, Tanjiro has no idea), a large plastic bowl in hand. “Alright, you two! Time to put a possession into the bowl!”
Tanjiro blinks owlishly at her. “A possession…?”
“It’s how you get selected,” Hayami explains. Reaching up, she tugs an earring from her ear and places it into the bowl. “Here, I’ll help you.” She gives Tanjiro the same treatment, taking an earring out from his lobe and also putting it in the bowl. Tanjiro slaps a hand to his ear, a ticklish feeling swirling around inside his chest.
He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t hoping for Hayami’s item. It’s the only thought that sticks in his head while Kagami cackles to herself, going around the group and making everyone pull out an item. His heart skips a beat each time; he tries to focus on something else, he really does, but knowing that literally anyone could pull out his or Hayami’s item is too much to bear.
Especially Ginjuro, Tanjiro thinks bitterly to himself. Ginjuro and Hayami have been friends since middle school, Tanjiro knows that much, but the former has a bit of a tendency of trying to flirt and woo Hayami. They’re friends, nothing more, but the sheer idea of Ginjuro trying to worm his way into Hayami’s heart makes Tanjiro’s blood boil.
“Yo, Tanjiro!” Kagami barks. As Tanjiro breaks himself free from his thoughts, he’s met with Kagami’s hand urgently snapping its fingers in his face. “Your earring got picked,” she says simply, although the smirk on her face is nothing short of wicked.
A wave of panic washes over Tanjiro. He got picked? By who?
Before he has the chance to say anything, Kagami grabs him by the wrist and tugs him away from the rest of the group, heading towards a closet in the main hallway of Hayami’s home. “Have fun you two,” Kagami purrs. “Don’t get too wild, hehe!” Tanjiro yips as she pushes him into the closet and shuts the door behind him, plunging him into complete darkness.
Tanjiro sighs. This girl, he swears…
The sound of someone clearing their throat causes Tanjiro to jump. “Tanjiro…?” Hayami’s voice calls through the darkness – it sounds smaller than usual.
Holy shit, Tanjiro thinks. Hayami picked me?
“Hayami,” Tanjiro stammers. “I… I wasn’t expecting this…”
Hayami lets out a tiny giggle. “Neither was I.” She sounds closer than before.
Swallowing thickly, Tanjiro can easily feel her presence now, smell the tempting scent of her perfume. She’s literally right there, right in front of him, and he’s tensing up like no tomorrow. “I, uh…”
“We just have to play the game, Tanjiro,” Hayami interrupts. She takes a deep breath. “No big deal, right?”
He bites his lip. “I guess… But don’t feel like you have to!” he exclaims. “I don’t want you to get uncomfortable or anything! We can just chill out in here, right? Just until time’s up? We could just sit on the floor and – mmph!”
Tanjiro’s words are cut off by Hayami’s lips. His mind goes blank as she kisses him, her hands holding on tightly to his arms. He sucks in a ragged breath as she pulls away. “You need to shut up sometimes,” she breathes. “I want this, Tanjiro.”
“Hayami,” Tanjiro begins, but then she’s kissing him again. It’s a bit awkward at first, mostly because Tanjiro’s become stiff, but then Hayami soothingly rubs his arms and shoulders, her plush lips easing him into the kiss.
“Tanjiro,” Hayami murmurs, her fingers clenching onto the front of Tanjiro’s shirt, “kiss me.”
Maybe it’s the way her voice sounds angelically breathy, but Tanjiro’s will absolutely snaps in that very moment, all sensible thoughts being tossed out the window. He kisses her, truly kisses her, with as much might as he can summon, with all the pent-up love and desire that his heart has been holding onto for so long.
This is really happening.
“Fuck,” Hayami breathes. Her tongue slips its way into Tanjiro’s mouth, caresses his own tongue, flicks against his teeth. There’s a dull thud as she promptly pushes Tanjiro against the wall, body following suit and worming its way in between his legs.
Tanjiro’s a near panting mess, his entire being on fire. He can’t help but moan at Hayami’s taste, at her scent, at the way her breasts push up against his chest. It turns into a pleasured mewl as her fingers card through his hair, digging into the strands and giving them a yank.
He holds onto her, desperately so, hands on her waist and fingers brushing against the exposed skin her dress shows. He wants to hold moreof her, kiss her with everything he’s got, show her how much she meansto him. But oh, there her mouth goes, slipping from his lips and to his bared throat; her fingers fall from his hair and to his pants instead, wrapping around the belt loops and tugging his hips into hers. He grunts at the mere sensation, at how splendidly warm she feels through the clothing. Then she’s gripping onto his ass while she lavishes his neck, her lip gloss smearing all over the skin.
It’s too much, too intense, too extreme, but Tanjiro lovesit. He can’t help but buck his hips into Hayami, the prominent bulge in his pants grazing against her stomach. He chokes on a moan when one of her hands grips onto him, her teeth sinking into his neck.
“Tanjiro,” Hayami purrs, her voice deliciously creamy, “we should go to my bedroom.”
Tanjiro nods, albeit a bit too hastily. “Y-yeah…”
Stepping away, Hayami promptly yanks the door to the closet open. The house is eerily silent, the idle chatter of friends and low music suddenly gone. That sneaky Kagami, she probably did this, Hayami realizes.
The gulp Tanjiro gives is audible. “Is there… something wrong…?”
Hayami looks at him over her shoulder. “Come on, tiger. There’s a ride I want to catch.”
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leo-gold-hotchner · 4 years ago
Text
Come Rain or Come Shine
Writer’s block, especially with the Sinner series..  And I really should work on S03 Hotch gifs..
It’s the same AU with ‘I kissed a boy’. And I thank all of you for liking it XD
Summary: Hotch can’t concentrate and you’re upset about something. Hotch comes to rescue you?
Aaron Hotchner X Male Reader
I kissed a boy AU
Warning: blood
Word: 2.1k
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It’s been a slow day for the BAU, catching up every paperwork while joking and eating snacks with others. Morgan threw a popcorn to Prentiss who were whispering to JJ and Garcia. With an irritated look, Prentiss mouthed ‘what’ to her friend. Morgan, who was sitting on Reid’s desk gestured towards Hotch’s office with his chin. 
“He’s not working is he?” Prentiss raised her brows knowingly. 
“He was looking at his phone when I went him,” JJ shrugged. 
“Usually, he’d come and say we have to give him the reports by now,” Reid checked his watch, “but it’s been 43 minutes 23 seconds he hasn’t ask for any reports.” 
“I hope it’s not about Jack.” Garcia glanced at her boss worriedly. 
“Nah, if it was about Jack, he’d be frantic and would’ve left already.” JJ shook her head, thinking she’d do the same if anything happens related to Henry. Their eyes went to Hotch, then Rossi who was standing still in front of Hotch. “How long he’s been standing there?” 
 “3 minutes and 48 seconds,” Reid replied automatically. 
Hotch looked down at his phone once again, a deep sigh escaping his tight lips. His phone was showing the time, 19:44. Something happened? Why wouldn’t you call him? You always called him after your work. It’s been 44 minutes and Hotch was still waiting for your call. 
“You could always call him.” A dry yet amused voice said, startling Hotch. Rossi smirked as he could hear his friend’s heart running fast. The usual stoic man’s eyes were widened, his jaw tightened and wincing in surprise. 
“When did you come in?” 
“Ask Reid.” Rossi shrugged, his hands in the pockets. “If you’re worried, call him.” 
“What do you mean?” Hotch quickly busied himself with the files and papers that were in front of him, shoving his phone under the yellow folders. 
“We all know you’re dating with the young man from the club,” the older man rolled his eyes as Hotch stopped moving. “As a profiler, you’re not that discreet about dating the fella.” 
Hotch sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. “What if he’s still working, just late?” 
“You could always check his home and wait and surprise him. You’ve been there, aren’t you?” 
“Once.” 
Hotch wondered if his mentor was insinuating if he slept with you at your home. It never happened, not yet as Hotch hoped. You two were just watching a late-night movie and Hotch just drove you to your home, that’s all. Although, you did invite him to have a coffee which Hotch refused and off. 
“But I don’t have time, I have to work and go to Jack.” Hotch said dismissively at Rossi. 
“I can take Jack with me, I’m sure Henry will love to have Jack sleepover.” JJ said from the door. 
With his mouth ajar, Hotch looked at his team who were looking at him expectantly from his office door. Everyone except Rossi was looking at him with their heads only popping out from the door frame. 
“And, those guys will still be here when you return tomorrow,” Morgan pointed the files on Hotch’s desk. 
“Since when all of you were interested in my personal life?” Hotch muttered drily. 
“Every time, every day,” Prentiss grinned, “you don’t have to be a profiler to see you’re looking like a lost puppy looking for his owner.”
Hotch huffed, his brain kept screaming he should stay and finish the paperwork. But his hands were already stacking the files and papers, preparing to leave to see you. 
“Atta boy,” Rossi smiled as Hotch was ready to leave. 
Hotch left to see you while calling Jessica to inform her that JJ will pick up Jack. Garcia offered if JJ needed a hand to look after the boys, Prentiss quickly joining her friend to go to JJ’s home. Reid wanted to see Henry, though Morgan put his arm around the younger man’s shoulder, saying they need to go to the night club again. But Morgan’s wish dissipated as Rossi rescued Reid with an offer they couldn’t refuse. With a wink Rossi offered the team to have a sleepover at his mansion, giving Hotch some privacy to relax. 
                                                       -Hotch-
As Aaron entered your neighbourhood, the Sun was already set, and the Moon was beaming along with the stars in the night sky. He immediately recognised your car in the driveway, and the engine goes silent as he parked behind your car. As he descended from his car, only thing he could hear was crickets playing their autumn instrument. 
He briefly inspected your home, all curtains were drawn, no light visible in your house. He wondered if you’d fallen asleep, and his visit would wake you up. Should he turn back? Just like from his office, his legs were already walking towards your home, his eyes fixed on the door. Aaron stood in front of your home, the light on the porch brightening the area. His hesitant hand hovered around the doorbell as he bit the inside of his cheek. What if you were just busy and couldn’t call him? What if you just fall asleep after returning home? What if…? Okay, he wasn’t about to think about the worst scenario. He shook his head, and exhaled deeply. Grab your sense, Hotchner, you’re not a teenager. You’ve done this before, dammit. 
For a brief moment, he didn’t hear anything after he pressed the bell. There was little light flash next to the security camera, and he had to move his face to avoid the light. He didn’t hear your voice through the security, but soon the door opened abruptly. You stared at him through the steel security door, eyes blinking. You were wearing a blue extra-large box t-shirt, and inappropriately Aaron was thinking whether you were wearing shorts or not. 
“Aaron? What’re you doing here?” 
“Good evening to you too,” Aaron gave you a small smile. 
You opened the security door for him, and Aaron enters your home. The living area was dark and cold without any light, only the glittering light coming from the upstairs. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” You asked, gesturing if he wanted any drink. 
Aaron shook his head gently, telling you he wasn’t thirsty. “I was, but,” he gave you a little pout, pushing his lips to the side, “I was worried because you didn’t call me.” He hoped he didn’t sound like he was being a worrywart or even possessive. 
You gave him hearty laugh at that, leading him to the upstairs. You didn’t say anything other than laughing, but Aaron could see something happened. Even with a merry smile, sadness was lingering on your face. 
                                                      -Hotch-
You entered a large room where the blinking light was coming from, Aaron could hear voices from the television, but he wasn’t sure what you were watching. He momentarily hesitated to enter your room, entering your private room. 
“Come on in, Aaron,” you called for him. As Aaron entered the room, he realised the room wasn’t your private room, but merely a small living room with couch and television. “It’s kinda weird to have sofa and telly in a room, isn’t it? Not in the living room.” 
“Everyone has their own style,” Aaron shrugged, standing by the door awkwardly. 
“Really,” you rolled your eyes, “come sit next to me,” you lightly patted the couch, “you weren’t awkward at the club.” You insinuated the kiss from the club when you first met.
Aaron huffed and sat next to you, thinking the first time when you two met. They haven’t kissed after that night, hell, they didn’t even hold hands or hugged yet. He stared the television, but he didn’t recognise the program at all, though he thought one of the actresses looked like JJ. You rested your head on his shoulder and he automatically moved his arm to make you comfortable. 
“So, I made you worry?” 
“You didn’t call me.” Aaron replied simply, but amused as an actor who looked like Gideon appeared on the television. “You called me every night after you finished your work, or texted me for the last two weeks.” 
“I was?” You frowned as you replayed your memories in your head. “’m sorry if I worried you,” you mumbled an apology. 
“No need to say sorry. You can tell me anything, you know.” Aaron looked down at your head, you blankly watching the television. 
“You already have lots in your mind. I couldn’t burden you with mine.” 
The silence quickly folded them around, and Aaron thought deeply if he should ask what was in his mind or not. Maybe you’d be more comfortable if he was really seeing you.
“Before I could ask you anything, are we in a relationship?” Aaron asked bluntly, and you snapped your head with your mouth ajar. “You look like a goldfish,” he laughed softly. 
“Like a boyfriend?” 
“’Boyfriend’ sounds juvenile for both of us,” Aaron replied drily, cocking his brow. 
You stifled your laugh, hiding your face in his broad chest. “It sounds better than ‘manfriend’ isn’t it?” 
Aaron snorted laugh, kissing your crown. “’Boyfriends’ or ‘manfriends’ or whatever you want to call us, I want to stay next to you. I want you to share your joy and sadness with me, talk me anything you’re worried about.” You brought his free hand into yours, and started to rub his fingers with your thumbs. “I’ll be with you as long as you want me to.” He brought your hand to his lips, and kissed your knuckle. “Now, am I yours?” 
“Yes, and I’m yours,” your lips quirked in a small smile, gazing at his chocolate orbs. 
“Good, now tell me why you didn’t call me. I know you acted surprised, but you knew you were calling me every night and deliberately didn’t call me today.” 
“But it’s really nothing. I don’t wanna bother you with a trivial thing.” 
“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” Aaron’s voice was gentle, his chest rumbling with his voice in your ears. 
“I,” you sighed, looking at the television and turning if off. “I was called for a car accident. I’m fairly new, but I was told many stories and I always prepare myself for anything. But this was different than I thought,” you shuddered and his grip on your shoulder tightened to comfort you, “it was teenagers. The boy probably was drink driving, smashing into woods after going over the guardrail. I don’t know the detail, but it was so obvious from the scene.” You paused and Aaron waited patiently for you to continue. “The driver’s chest was plunged with a tree branch, blood looked so black in the dark,” you looked very ill, the event so vivid in your memory, “and his friend, he, he,” you gulped, “he was thrown over, and his head, oh gods Aaron.” You shut your eyes, burrowing into your boyfriend’s chest. Aaron gently murmured into your ear, chanting everything was fine and he was with you. “His skull was totally cracked, I could see the inside despite the blood. The brain, Aaron, it was dripping with the blood. His eyes were looking at me.” You nearly howled. “There’s nothing I could do, they were already gone.” 
“It’s not your fault,” Aaron rubbed your back. “You were there to help them, you did everything you could.” 
“I know, but I can’t get out the image of his eyes looking at me.” 
“Were you late?” 
“No,” you shook your head, “everything gone smooth, every car moved aside so we could pass through.” 
“Did you try to help the boys?” 
“Yes,” you nodded your head vigorously, “we just knew we were late to revive them, but we tried still.” 
“See? You tried everything you could do. You did your best, you shouldn’t feel guilty.” Aaron knew you couldn’t just believe what he was saying. Because it also happens to him all the time whenever he couldn’t save people from UnSubs. “You’re the bravest man I’ve known, and trust me I don’t say this very often,” he inhaled your scent, burying his nose in the crook of your neck. He was trying to distract you. “Trust me with this, F/N, I’m in your position most of time. I know how you feel, but you can’t let that have you.” 
“It’s going to be hard,” you said in a quiet voice. 
“I know. It’ll come back to you as soon as you let it have you. It’ll never go away, you’ll have to learn to live with that.” He didn’t say anything for some time, letting everything sink into you. 
Everything around you were quiet, only thing you could hear was your boyfriend’s heart in his chest. Without a warning, he let you go and stood up, leaving you who was frowning at him. 
“They say when you’re sad, you should have something sweet,” he stretched his hand and you grabbed his. “Let’s go to a chocolate cafe, and I’ll tell what I did today.” Although, Aaron could easily imagine you pouting hearing he only did paperworks today.
“Who’s they?” You asked with a smile, your heavy mind lightened a bit after telling Aaron what happened. 
“My friends,” Aaron gave you a soft smile. “You’ll see them, but not tonight. You and I are going to celebrate our first date as boyfriends.” 
“Boyfriends sound so juvenile when it’s coming from you,” you laughed. 
“You insisted, boyfriend.” Aaron smirked.
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bechloeislegit · 4 years ago
Text
Things are Different in the Light of Day
Beca is stunned to find out something about Chloe and doesn't know what to do with the information. She avoids Chloe but Chloe confronts her and storms out when Beca tells her to back off. What happens when Beca goes looking for Chloe? Will she finally spill her guts to Chloe? Set during PP2 but modified a tiny bit.
John Smith and Gail Abernathy-McKadden-Feinberg, members of the Collegiate Acapella Commission, had just informed the Barden Bellas that they were suspended from competing in this year's acapella competitions due to Fat Amy's "Muffgate" incident.
"It says we can't hold auditions, or do the Victory Tour," Chloe Beale said as she read the documents given to them regarding their suspension. "Who's going to sing at the Puppy Bowl?"
Beca put a comforting hand on Chloe's arm and looked at the Dean, John, and Gail.
"The most recent winners of the World Acapella Championships," Gail said. "They call themselves DSM."
"Wait!" Chloe said. "It doesn't say anything about stripping us of our title, which does not preclude us from competing in the World Acapella Championships."
The Acapella Committee Reps laughed in their faces and said the U.S. has never won the World title.
"What if the Bellas win it?" Beca asked. "Will we be reinstated then?"
"If you win, little missy," John said. "I will personally see to it that the Bellas are reinstated. But, don't get your hopes up, because you'll never win Worlds."
"Come on girls," Chloe said, ushering the Bellas out of the Dean's office. "We have a lot of work to do."
The Bellas all filed out behind Chloe; Beca stopped them and told Chloe, "I have to go to the radio station. I'll meet you back at the house."
"Don't be too long," Chloe said. "We need to start strategizing."
"I won't," Beca said and hurried in the opposite direction.
Chloe turned and the girls followed her back to the Bellas House.
~~ Things Are Different in the Light of Day ~~
"What are we going to do?" Stacie asked as they entered the house and gathered in the living room.
"We'll figure it out as we go," Chloe said. "First, we have to fill out the entry form for the Worlds. Second, we'll have to make sure our passports are all up to date. And, third, we'll need to make our reservations. After that, it will be up to Beca to put together a setlist so we can start working on choreography and vocals."
Chloe started pacing back and forth, anxiously biting her lip. She stopped and looked at the other Bellas.
"Did I forget anything?"
"It sounds like you hit on everything," Stacie said. "Let's look up the registration and get that out of the way."
"Sounds like a plan," Chloe said. "My laptop is in the kitchen."
Stacie followed Chloe and sat next to her as she registered the Bellas for the World Acapella Championships.
"Okay, done," Chloe said. "Find and update your passport, Stacie, because we're going to Copenhagen."
~~ Things Are Different in the Light of Day ~~
It was late when Beca returned from the radio station.
"Chloe's going to kill me," Beca muttered as she entered the Bellas House.
"You're safe until the morning," Stacie's voice said from the living room.
"Oh, hey, Stace," Beca said. "I didn't know anyone was still up."
"I'm studying," Stacie said. "Everyone else went to bed. And Chloe was exhausted so she was the first to call it a night."
"I'm sure she's probably mad at me because I got back so late," Beca sighed. She sat down across from Stacie and looked at her. "Um, Stacie, can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure, Beca," Stacie said, setting her book aside to face Beca. "What's up?"
"I really like Chloe," Beca said. "As in like, like her."
"I know," Stacie said, smiling.
"You do?" Beca asked. "How do you know that? It's taken me months to figure it out."
"It's the way you two look at each other," Stacie said. "You look at her like she's the only person in the room. And she looks at you like you hung the moon and the stars."
"She looks at me like that?" Beca asked. "I've never seen it."
"Just because you haven't caught her looking at you, doesn't mean she isn't," Stacie said.
"I want to tell her how I feel about her," Beca said. "And, I want to hear her say she feels the same way."
"I think that's great, Beca," Stacie said. "I'm glad you're going to tell her. I can guarantee you that Chloe likes you, too."
"What?! How in the world can you guarantee something like that?"
"Because she told me. Besides, you and Brey are the reason Chloe and I stopped hooking up," Stacie said, nonchalantly. "Chloe likes you, and I like Aubrey. It didn't seem right to keep doing it."
"You and Chloe hooked up?" Beca mumbled, shaking her head. "Did not see that coming."
"It only happened twice and was just a Friends with Benefits type thing," Stacie said, shrugging her shoulders. "That's all. It was no big deal."
"So, you don't have any romantic feelings for her?" Beca asked.
"No," Stacie said. "I just told you I like Aubrey."
"Riiiiight," Beca said, sounding unconvinced. "I'm going to head up to bed. Goodnight, Stacie."
"Goodnight, Beca," Stacie said, as she opened her textbook to continue studying.
~~ Things Are Different in the Light of Day ~~
Beca made her way slowly up the stairs, stopping outside Chloe's room. She debated on whether to let Chloe know she was home and decided against it.
"Stacie and Chloe?" Beca thought. "Even on my best day, I can't compete with Stacie. This changes everything."
Beca hung her head and slowly continued making her way to her room.
After a restless night thinking about Chloe and Stacie, Beca woke early and decided to get dressed and leave the Bellas house before anyone else was up. She showered and dressed and was quietly making her way downstairs when she heard Chloe's door open behind her. She hesitated and looked up to see a giggling Stacie and Chloe coming out of Chloe's room. She sprinted down the last few steps and out the door with the sound of Chloe calling after her.
Beca didn't stop; she kept going and hurried to her car. She jumped in and drove off before Chloe could catch up to her. She looked in her rearview mirror to see Chloe standing on the front sidewalk watching as Beca's car drove away.
"Dammit," Chloe muttered, stomping her foot.
She ran a hand through her hair and went back inside the house.
A couple of hours later, Stacie was looking for Beca. She saw Chloe and asked, "Hey, Chloe, where's Beca?"
"I don't know," Chloe said. "I haven't seen her since she left this morning. Or rather since she ran away from me. I was going to ask her to breakfast because I wanted to talk to her about something."
"Maybe you can ask her to dinner at rehearsal," Stacie suggested.
"That's if she comes to rehearsal," Chloe mumbled. "You know how she is when she gets into one of her moods."
"Why don't you call her to find out where she went?" Stacie asked.
"She's obviously ignoring me for some reason," Chloe said. "I'm not entirely sure she would answer my call."
"Do you want me to call her for you?" Stacie asked.
"Would you? Maybe she'll actually answer for you."
"Sure," Stacie said, pulling out her phone and placing the call. "Huh, she's not answering. I’ll send her a text and ask if she's coming to rehearsal."
Stacie sent the text and told Chloe not to worry because Beca is always good about answering texts.
"I just wish I knew what I did for her to run away and avoid me," Chloe said sadly, wiping a tear from her eye.
Stacie reached over and pulled Chloe to her in a hug.
"Calm down, Chloe," Stacie said quietly as she rubbed her hand up and down Chloe's back. "I'm sure Beca will come to talk to you when she's ready."
Unbeknownst to Stacie and Chloe, Beca chose that moment to walk in. Seeing Stacie holding Chloe, and whispering to each other, Beca turned and immediately walked back out again.
"So much for there being nothing between them," Beca mumbled, as she stood on the porch, wiping a tear from her eye.
Beca pulled her phone from her pocket as she turned to walk down the porch steps. She was surprised to see a text from Stacie asking about rehearsal. She wanted to say she wouldn't be at rehearsal but knew everyone would be after her if she didn't show up.
I'll see you at rehearsal Beca texted back. She quickly made her way down the steps and into her car.
Stacie's phone pinged and she checked it.
"It's from Beca," Stacie told Chloe. "She said she'd see us at rehearsal."
"That's good," Chloe said. "She can't avoid me if I'm standing right in front of her."
~~ Things Are Different in the Light of Day ~~
Beca waited until all the Bellas had entered before making her way into the Auditorium. She saw Stacie sitting next to Chloe and hurried to the front where she dropped her bag on the floor before taking the vacant seat between Jessica and Cynthia Rose.
Chloe watched Beca and frowned when she didn't sit next to her. Beca crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at the ground.
"So, um, Beca," Chloe said. "Do you have anything you want to say before I start?"
"No, I'm good," Beca said quickly without looking at Chloe.
"Okay, so, um," Chloe stuttered as she looked at Beca. "I've registered us for Worlds, so everyone needs to make sure their passports are up to date as soon as possible. I'll check airfares and lodging and make all our reservations this week. Then we'll be set until we get closer to the Worlds."
The girls all clapped and squealed with excitement. Beca just sat there staring at the ground.
"Becs?" Chloe called out, causing Beca to finally look at her. "We'll need to discuss the set so we can get started on choreography."
"No problem," Beca said, shifting in her seat.
"Okay, let's call it for now," Chloe said, looking around at everyone.
"Aw, yeah," Fat Amy yelled. "Let's go out tonight and celebrate."
"You mean, let's go out and get drunk tonight," Jessica said.
"That goes without saying," Ashley said.
The other Bellas shouted in agreement as they gathered their stuff to leave. Fat Amy shoved Jessica, who fell into Emily, causing both to fall to the floor. They laughed and stood up to follow the girls out of the Auditorium.
"Hold up for a second," Chloe called out, stopping them. "For now, be careful and try not to kill yourselves, or each other, okay? And, I'll let you know when our next rehearsal will be scheduled."
"You got it, Captain," Fat Amy said, saluting Chloe.
Beca took the opportunity to leave while everyone was distracted. Chloe watched the girls leave but didn't see Beca.
"Hey, Stacie," Chloe called out, racing to catch up with her. "Did you see where Beca went?"
"No, Chloe," Stacie said. "I didn't even see her leave. But, don't worry, I'm sure you'll catch her at the house."
"I'm sure you're right," Chloe said.
~~ Things Are Different in the Light of Day ~~
Beca had been in the house for about ten minutes and was sitting at her desk in her room. She heard the Bellas returning, excited about going out that night. Beca put her headphones on and stared at her computer screen so she looked like she was working.
"Are you going to get ready?" Fat Amy asked when she saw Beca just sitting and staring at her computer.
"I'm not going," Beca said. "I really need to start working on the set for Worlds."
"We have months to worry about that," Fat Amy said. "Come on, we all need to unwind a bit."
"Maybe next time," Beca said, randomly moving her mouse and clicking the screen, hoping Amy would take the hint and leave her alone.
Fat Amy shrugged her shoulders and got changed to go out with the Bellas. Beca continued to act as if she was working on their set.
When Fat Amy finally left to join the other girls, Beca breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Where's Beca?" Chloe asked when she saw Fat Amy coming down the stairs alone.
"She's not coming," Fat Amy said.
"What?" Stacie asked.
"Why?" Chloe asked.
"She said she needed to start working on the set for Worlds," Fat Amy said.
"You girls go ahead," Chloe said as she started up the stairs. "I'll let you know if I'm going to join you or not after I've had a chat with Beca."
"Go easy on her, Chloe," Stacie said with a laugh. "We need her to do the set before you kill her, okay?"
"I don't have any plans to kill her," Chloe said, stopping midway and looking down at Stacie. "At least not yet anyway."
"Come on girls," Stacie said. "Let's go."
Stacie and Fat Amy led the girls out the door and Chloe thought for a moment and went into the living room and sat down. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited.
The door slammed closed as the last Bella made it out the door. Chloe smiled when she heard Beca coming down from her attic bedroom. She patiently waited until Beca walked toward the kitchen.
"How's the set for Worlds coming along, Beca?"
Beca squealed, jumped, and grabbed at her chest. "Jesus, you scared the shit out of me!"
"It's just you and me now," Chloe said, standing and walking over to Beca. Beca took the opportunity to check Chloe out as she walked toward her. Chloe looked hot, but then again Chloe did know how to dress to impress.
"We need to talk."
"That's never good," Beca said, pushing past Chloe to continue into the kitchen.
Chloe grabbed Beca's arm and pulled her back. "Just tell me why you've started avoiding me and the conversation will be over."
"I'm not avoiding you," Beca said, jerking her arm out of Chloe's grasp.
"Okay, then," Chloe said. "Tell me why you're suddenly going out of your way to make sure you don't occupy the same general area or space I do?"
"No matter how you dress it up," Beca said. "I'm not avoiding you."
"Then why does it feel like you are?" Chloe asked, frowning.
"I'm not," Beca whispered.
"Will you talk to me?" Chloe asked. "Or at least tell me what's going on with you? Did I do something? Did something happen to you? Please, tell me."
"There's nothing to tell," Beca snapped. "Could you cool it with the inquisition? I've got work to do."
Chloe's face fell; Beca's words stung. Chloe turned and stomped toward the door, grabbing her things. She turned to look at Beca.
"Fine!" Chloe said. "I'm sorry to be such a bother to you."
Chloe opened the door and walked out, slamming it behind her. Beca stood there, speechless. She ran a hand through her hair and slid down the wall so she was sitting on the floor.
"Way to go, Mitchell," she mumbled.
~~ Things Are Different in the Light of Day ~~
Chloe walked into the bar and found the Bellas.
"Chloe!" Stacie called out. "Where's little Miss Grumpy?"
"Don't know," Chloe said. "And don't really care."
"What happened?" CR asked.
"Just Beca being Beca," Chloe said. "And not giving two shits about how her words can cut right through someone."
Chloe wiped a tear before it could fall. Stacie pulled Chloe into a hug and Chloe sniffled against Stacie's shirt.
"Why do I let her get to me so much?" Chloe cried.
"Because you have feelings for her," CR said. "The ones we love always hurt us more than someone we don't care so much about."
"Here, Chloe," Fat Amy said, handing Chloe a shot. "I think you need to get drunk so you can forget about Beca for a while."
"Thanks, Amy," Chloe said, taking the drink and downing it. "Keep 'em coming. I want you girls to have to carry me out of here."
"YES!" Fat Amy cheered.
The other Bellas cheered and toasted each other with a shot. Chloe downed her shot and slammed the glass down on the table. Chloe kept downing shots and it wasn't long before she was really feeling them. She sat at the table with her head on her arms.
"Chloe?" Stacie said, causing Chloe to slowly lift her head and look at her.
Stacie nodded her head in the direction behind the Bellas; Chloe turned to see Beca standing there. Chloe sighed and looked at Beca. Beca moved closer to the table.
"I thought you were too busy to come out with us," Chloe said, downing another shot.
"I came to apologize. . . to you," Beca said. "Can you come outside with me so we can talk?"
Chloe looked around at the Bellas and saw Stacie nod her head. "Go ahead, Chloe."
"Fine," Chloe said. "This had better be one hell of an apology."
Beca turned around and walked toward the door without saying anything. Chloe stumbled after her, barely managing to stay on her feet. She stopped and stared at Beca once they were outside.
"I'm sorry I was such a dick to you," Beca said. "I, uh, I found out something about you and it messed with my head. I didn't know how to process it."
"What did you find out about me?" Chloe asked, slurring her words.
Beca took a moment to really look at Chloe. She frowned when she realized Chloe was swaying a bit.
"You're drunk?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes, it matters," Beca said. "Let me take you home and then we can talk, okay? I want you sober when I tell you what I have to tell you."
"I'll have to let the girls know I'm leaving," Chloe said as she turned to make her way back into the bar.
Chloe stumbled and Beca grabbed her before she fell.
"I'll tell them," Beca said, guiding Chloe to a bench where she could sit down. "Stay here and I'll be right back."
"M'kay," Chloe said.
Beca went inside and found Stacie.
"I'm taking Chloe home," Beca told her. "She's drunk. I know it's my fault she's like this, so I'll take care of her."
"Okay," Stacie said. She picked up Chloe's purse and phone and handed them to Beca. "I'll text you when we're on the way back to the house."
"Okay," Beca said. "Be careful."
With that, Beca turned and went back to Chloe. She sat next to the redhead and called for an Uber.
"Our ride should be here in about three minutes," Beca told Chloe.
"Okay," Chloe said, snuggling against Beca's side.
~~ Things Are Different in the Light of Day ~~
The ride back to the Bellas house was quiet; Chloe continued to snuggle Beca. Beca tried to keep Chloe from falling asleep.
"Come on, Chloe," Beca said, shaking her best friend. "We're home."
Chloe mumbled something and Beca got out of the car. She helped Chloe out of the car and managed to get her into the house. She didn't think she could get Chloe to her room so she laid her on the sofa in the living room.
"I'm going to get you some water, okay?" Beca said and turned to leave.
"Don't go," Chloe said, as she grabbed Beca's arm.
"I'll only be gone for a minute," Beca said. "I promise."
Beca went to the kitchen and came back with two bottles of water.
"Here," Beca said, handing one of the waters to Chloe.
Chloe drank down about half the bottle before handing it back to Beca.
"Thanks," Chloe said, clearing her throat. "I recall you saying something about an apology."
"I did," Beca said, as she sat on the edge of the sofa next to Chloe. "I'm sorry I was such a dick to you earlier. I found out something about, um, about you that really surprised me. I didn't know how to process it and I lashed out at you. I'm really sorry."
"What did you find out about me?" Chloe asked.
"It doesn't matter," Beca said. "It's really none of my business. It all happened before I knew how I felt about you."
Chloe furrowed her brow. "And how do you feel about me?"
"I like you," Beca said. "As more than a friend. And I wanted to tell you but I got scared when I found out that you and-. Um, you."
"I what?" Chloe asked. "And don't say it doesn't matter, because obviously, it matters to you."
"I, uh, found out that you and, uh, Stacie hooked up a couple of times when you were drunk," Beca said.
"Oh," Chloe breathed out. "And that bothers you?"
"Yes. No," Beca said. "Yes. I mean, you've seen Stacie. I can't compete with that."
"Then don't," Chloe said. "It didn't mean anything."
"Stacie said it was a Friends with Benefits type of arrangement," Beca said, looking down at her hands.
Chloe nodded and said, "It was. And it only happened a couple of times. We both liked someone else and it didn't feel right to keep doing it, so we stopped."
Beca looked up at Chloe. "So, I know Stacie wanted Aubrey; who did you want to be with?"
Chloe decided to take the bull by the horns and pulled Beca to her and kissed her. She pulled back after a moment.
"Does that answer your question?"
"Are you going to remember this in the morning?" Beca asked.
"Can you help me upstairs to my room?" Chloe asked. "And stay with me so we can cuddle? Then we'll see how things go in the morning."
Beca smiled and did as Chloe requested.
~~ Things Are Different in the Light of Day ~~
Beca woke the next morning when she heard someone knocking on Chloe's door. She looked around and quietly got out of bed to answer the door.
"Shhh," Beca said as soon as Stacie opened her mouth to speak. "Chloe's still asleep."
"Is she okay?" Stacie asked as Beca stepped outside the room. "Oh, did you two finally get together?"
"She's fine," Beca said. "She was still pretty drunk when we talked. I did tell her I liked her, but I wasn't sure she'd remember it this morning. So, I put her to bed and we said we'd talk more this morning."
"So, do you think she'll remember what was said last night?" Stacie asked.
"I hope so," Beca replied.
"Becs?" Chloe's voice called out.
"I'd better get back to her," Beca said and left Stacie standing in the hallway.
"I thought you went back to your room," Chloe said.
"I said I'd stay," Beca told her.
Chloe patted the bed beside her and Beca laid down. Chloe snuggled into her.
"Please tell me I didn't dream last night," Chloe said.
"What do you remember?" Beca asked.
"I remember me telling you that I liked you," Chloe replied. "And you told me you liked me, too."
"That wasn't a dream," Beca said. "It really happened. So, are things different in the light of day?"
"Yes," Chloe said, causing Beca to stiffen and look at her.
"How so?" Beca asked softly.
"Well, last night I said I liked you," Chloe said. "But what I should have said was that I love you."
Beca's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yes, I really do love you," Chloe said, turning on her side to face Beca.
Beca did the same and was now facing Chloe.
"I love you, too," Beca said smiling.
Chloe smiled back and leaned in to kiss Beca. Beca met her halfway and pulled Chloe closer to her. The kiss broke naturally and they smiled at each other.
"Can I take you out to breakfast?" Beca asked.
"Can we make it lunch, instead?" Chloe countered. "I just want to stay here like this for a while."
"I'm good with that," Beca said and snuggled closer to Chloe.
37 notes · View notes
trekchik · 4 years ago
Text
Steve pulls into a parking spot right in front of the restaurant. Score! He checks his watch - he’s on time for his lunch with Sam. 
He hops out of the car, ready to put change in the meter. Only, when he checks his pockets, he realizes, he forgot to put change in them. Dammit. He goes back to the car to check for any loose change there. Nada. 
Well fuck. He goes back to the meter and stares at it as if it will give him any answers. He actually thunks his head on the thing. No answers are forthcoming. 
It’s then that he notices a guy at the meter next to him. He’s cute, Steve thinks. Not the time, though. He knows how brutal parking enforcement can be, and he really doesn’t want to get a ticket. 
“Um, hey,” Steve says, going for lost puppy. “You don’t happen to have a quarter, do you?”
“What’s that?” the man asks. 
“Just one, so I can run inside and get change.” He rubs his hands on his thighs.
The man cocks an eyebrow at him. “You in the habit of begging for change?” he teases. 
“I forgot to put change in my pocket this morning, and I don’t have a quarter. And parking enforcement around here…”
“Say no more,” the man says. He closes the gap between them, and pulls out his wallet. He swipes a card in the meter. “There. You’ve got the full two hours,” he says pushing a button. 
Steve feels like an idiot. “I didn’t realize you could do that.” 
The man’s smile is blinding. “You managed to miss the card reader?”
“Apparently, I’m not the smartest,” Steve says. He pulls out his own wallet to give the man two dollars. 
“Nah, that’s okay,” he says. “Two bucks won’t break the bank.” 
“Thank you,” Steve says. “I appreciate it.” 
“Yeah?” The man gets a gleam in his eye that Steve can’t mistake for anything but lust. “How appreciative?” The man steps a little closer. 
“Buy you a cup of coffee?” Steve asks nervously, flicking his eyes down to the man’s lips. 
“That’s a start,” he says. He runs his hand down Steve’s arm and Steve thinks he just might combust. 
“I’m meeting a friend for lunch right now, but after?” He jerks his thumb towards the restaurant. 
The man bites his bottom lip and looks Steve up and down. “Tell you what. I’ll be across the street in the bookstore. You come find me when you’re done.” 
“Okay - “ he pauses, realizing he doesn’t know the man’s name. 
“Bucky.” 
“Steve.” 
“Don’t be too long, Steve. I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
88 notes · View notes
lycanbucky · 3 years ago
Text
Drabble Prompts:
Prompts obtained from this generator.
Send me your favorite prompt from the list below, and I’ll write a drabble for it! Feel free to change the names of the characters, too!
Frank holding a sobbing Bucky. Bucky cries themselves to sleep with their face buried into Frank.
Frank and Bucky were separated for several years for reasons they couldn't help. They finally find each other and have a heartfelt reunion.
Frank and Bucky struggling to find each other in a crowded place. Fortunately, Frank knows just the thing.
Frank screaming over a picture of Bucky from long before they met. Frank describes the younger Bucky as a tiny precious child, then looks at Bucky, and says 'Well, you're still a tiny precious child'.
Bucky is the barista at a coffee shop and always screws up Frank's name on purpose.
Bucky and Frank as the main characters in the last show you watched/book you read/game you played.
Bucky and Frank playing games in the small arcade.
Frank giving Bucky a back massage when they flop on the couch or bed.
Bucky and Frank spending Christmas Eve on a party with their friends, and sharing a kiss under the mistletoe in front of everyone. 
Bucky getting to go back in time and change something bad that happened in their past with Frank. (or vice-versa)
Bucky and Frank walking through town, holding hands while it snows.
Frank and Bucky texting. Or better yet, writing letters to each other. 
Frank holding Bucky's hands when they are shaking.
Frank buying Bucky something unrequested because it made Frank think of them.
Frank gets into a heated argument with someone. Frank begins threatening them, so Bucky, picks up Frank and carries/drags them out of the room before anyone gets hurt.
Bucky hogs all the blankets and Frank gets cold so they cling tightly to Bucky for warmth.
Frank captioning everything Bucky does with 'That's hot/cute'.
Frank having to help Bucky undress after an injury.
Frank tucking Bucky's hair behind their ear to help them get it out of their face.
Frank making Bucky their favorite meal when they are having a hard day.
Bucky and Frank spending the night on the perfect hill for stargazing.
Frank reading in bed while Bucky rests their head on Frank's shoulder, sleeping.
Frank and Bucky getting sick at the same time.
Frank helping Bucky dry and brush their hair after a shower.
Bucky: Is it hot in here or is it just me? Frank: It's you. Bucky: What? Frank: What?
Bucky having to comfort Frank because Frank just encountered a very unpleasant situation that scared them.
Frank kissing away Bucky's tears.
Frank lends their sweater to Bucky. When Bucky is home, they realize they still have Frank's sweater and find Frank's iPod. Out of curiosity, Bucky looks through Frank's music and finds a playlist titled with Bucky's name. (or vice-versa)
Bucky and Frank sleeping on top of each other (in the bed, couch, where ever you prefer) when Frank flops down on the floor.
Frank and Bucky are about to kiss when instead they accidentally hit foreheads really hard and have matching bruises.
Frank following Bucky's family traditions that they enjoy.
Frank telling Bucky a story but Bucky isn't paying attention at all because they’re too busy thinking about what a cutie Frank is.
Frank hurt their ankle and is laid up with a cast and crutches. Bucky is sitting next to them, doodling little hearts on their cast to cheer them up.
Frank falls asleep in Bucky's lap and Bucky has a conversation with someone else while stroking Frank's hair as if they were a sleeping cat.
They are on a ferris wheel, and everything is going great - until it gets stuck at the very top. For thirty whole minutes.
Bucky and Frank adopting an orphan.
Frank buying Bucky a special treat when they go out shopping.
Bucky giving Frank a tight hug that makes them lose their breath.
Bucky and Frank watching a horror movie. Bucky can't sleep that night and Frank comforts them in a cuddle.
Frank and Bucky getting locked in a store.
Bucky and Frank going to explore an abandoned house on the edge of town.
Frank wants to use their laptop on the couch, but Bucky always occupies the space in their lap.
Bucky and Frank unable to sleep after watching a horror movie, but neither will admit that the movie scared them.
Bucky and Frank cooking something without the recipe, because Frank is confident they know how to cook it from memory.
Frank wearing clothes in Bucky's favorite color.
Frank and Bucky getting lost in IKEA.
Bucky princess carrying Frank.
Frank and Bucky sharing a soft smile across a crowded room.
Bucky and Frank living together for the first time.
Bucky giving Frank a kiss before going to work and they are still in bed.
Bucky trying to get something on their computer to work. While they’re getting frustrated and flipping out, Frank is sitting nearby cracking up.
Bucky's mom gives Bucky and Frank very cheesy, matching shirts/sweaters/scarfs. Frank does their very best to pretend that they love it.
Bucky buys a box of sweets and puts them in the cupboard. Frank spontaneously eats them all in the middle of the night and tries to keep it a secret.
Frank likes stealing Bucky's phone to change Bucky's phone wallpaper into something stupid (like unattractive pictures of Bucky's face or doing something like picking their nose). Frank is doing another routine swipe of Bucky's phone, but doesn't have the heart to change it because this time because Bucky's phone wallpaper is a cute picture of the two of them (like their first date together, or the only picture they have together).
Bucky and Frank trying to hide their relationship. However, it turns out everyone knows they're dating.
Bucky letting Frank warm their cold hands under their shirt.
Bucky and Frank's child coming to sleep with them after having a bad dream.
Frank and Bucky backpacking across the world.
Bucky: “Ah, shit.” Frank: “Watch your fucking language.”
Bucky and Frank sleeping together. Bucky wakes up first and contemplates waking Frank with a kiss. Bucky leans in only to hesitate centimeters away out of embarrassment. Frank opens their eyes and says, 'Well if you won't do it, I will.'
Frank getting shy about being naked in front of Bucky for the first time.
Bucky doing a chore they know Frank isn't fond of.
Frank breaking into Bucky's room through their window.
Frank won't let Bucky get out of bed by cuddling them.
Bucky and Frank burning something together.
Frank tucking the sheets around Bucky when they stir during the night.
Bucky goes over to Frank's home after staying up all night. Even though they do their best to stay awake, they end up falling asleep while cuddling Frank. Bucky is quite embarrassed (and half-asleep) when they wake up, but Frank doesn't mind.
Frank and Bucky in a large field with a fresh foot of snow.
Bucky using Frank's lap as a pillow.
Frank running out in the middle of the night to get a food item that Bucky is craving.
Bucky and Frank discovering a hidden treasure.
Bucky is scared of the thunder and Frank tries to calm them down during an particularly heavy storm.
Bucky and Frank at a theme park or carnival, and walking towards one of the many games to win a large stuffed animal. Bucky is sure that they can win the game, but after many attempts (and a lot of cash down the drain) Bucky gives up. Frank, however, tries and succeeds on their first go.
Frank tossing snowballs at Bucky's window, not knowing the window is open and has no screen.
Bucky and Frank drowning in oversized sweaters during chilly days.
Bucky taking Frank out for Valentine's Day to cheer them up after their original plans with someone else fell through. As Bucky tries their best to make Frank happy and succeeds after only a few attempts, Frank realizes they would have rather been with Bucky anyways.
Them huddled by the fireplace at night after spending the day outside in the cold.
Bucky and Frank not speaking each other languages, falling in love and learning together.
Frank and Bucky haven't kissed yet. Each time Frank sees Bucky they think to themselves 'I've gotta do it this time' but they keep being too shy to do anything. One day a friend asks Frank if Bucky has ever tried to kiss them and Frank just screams.
Frank and Bucky playing in water and splashing each other.
Frank and Bucky wearing matching Halloween costumes or ugly Christmas sweaters. Or any matching outfits.
Bucky and Frank sending each other sexy/silly messages. 
Bucky and Frank playing a co-op video game and Bucky keeps dicking around and Frank just wants to get past the first level god dammit.
Them getting a puppy/kitty, and arguing over names.
Bucky and Frank dancing in the moonlight.
Frank pressing their forehead against Bucky's forehead to check if they have a fever.
Bucky is a special effects make-up artist and Frank always volunteers as their model when they want to try something new.
Bucky has amnesia and Frank is taking care of them. Frank tries their best to help Bucky remember them.
Bucky and Frank falling asleep together with their heads on the other's shoulder/head in the backseat of the car while their friend is driving.
Frank trying to mooch off of Bucky's wifi and jokingly putting their own name in as the password, then being shocked that it actually works and they're now connected to Bucky's wifi...
Frank catches a cold so Bucky makes them breakfast in bed.
Bucky and Frank holding hands because there's a crowd but not letting go when they get out of it.
Frank teaching Bucky how to kiss, and Bucky ends up kissing Frank really quick, nervously asks 'Like that?' and leaves Frank silent and flustered for a moment.
Frank lightly kissing Bucky on top of a freshly formed bruise.
Bucky snuggling up to Frank because it's cold.
Their first holiday season together.
Bucky playing their fingers through Frank's hair while sitting next to them on the couch.
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hopeisour4letteredword · 5 years ago
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look through your textbook (cause i’m history) ch2
Content warnings: implied/referenced domestic violence
Summary: After dropping out, Yuri’s life is a haze of working and trying not to lose his damn mind. Then he meets Estelle.
Read it here or check the notes for the link to AO3.
Estelle spends  a whole morning huddled down in front of Yuri’s clunky old laptop. He doesn’t have internet at his apartment right now, so they bring it over to the community center. Hanks helps her for a while, but soon the morning crowd trickles in, and duty calls him away. Yuri is banned from helping, on the grounds that he has no business advising anyone on how to interact with the police. He wishes he could do something for her, aside from repeatedly confirm that yes, he’ll be a block away the whole time; yes, she can still stay with him afterwards; yes, he will break into the station and whisk her away to safety if the police try any bullshit.
“I thought I told you to get away from her and not give any advice,” Hanks says, smacking Yuri away from Estelle’s side with the soft end of a broom.
“It’s not advice,” Yuri protests. “It’s reassurance.”
"Do n’t you listen to a damn thing that boy tells you,” Hanks tells Estelle, sternly. Estelle smiles nervously at both of them, eyes crinkled up despite the dark bags underneath them. She didn’t sleep much last night, according to Yuri’s creaky old box springs. That or nightmares, the way she was tossing and turning. It doesn’t make a difference which it was, really. “Keep doing what you’re doing.”
What she’s doing is reading a lot of advice blogs and mumbling to herself about her rights. Just watching her raises the metaphorical hackles of Yuri’s protective instincts. Hanks has a point, though. The less Yuri is involved, the better. He keeps himself busy in the kitchen for the rest of the morning. At least he can be sure the chicken stock won’t try to coerce Estelle into returning to an abusive household.
After lunch, they pack up Yuri’s laptop and  get ready to go. Hanks unexpectedly flags them down before they make it out the door.
“Be careful, you two. Yuri, you’re on your best God damned behavior, you hear me?”
“Sir yes sir,” Yuri says, dryly.
“Young lady, you take this.”
“Huh?” Estelle fumbles with the solid object he drops into her hands. “Your—your phone? But—“
“I turned off the password lock,” Hanks says. “And Yuri’s name is plainly labeled in the contacts. That should stop him getting antsy and bursting in because he thinks it’s taking too long. I imagine it’ll make you feel a smidge better, too.”
“Thanks, Hanks,” Yuri says. He doesn’t have the heart to brush this one off. It really does make him feel a fuck of a lot better to know Estelle will be able to reach him even if she can’t get out of the building.
“Mind you, I want that back, of course,” Hanks says, patting Estelle on the shoulder. She clutches the phone to her chest, wide-eyed.
“Thank you so much...!”
Yuri flippantly salutes Hanks, reaching for the door. “Alright, boss, I’m clocking out for now.”
“No, you aren’t; community escorts are on the clock. Same as it would be if you were taking her to a clinic. Don’t argue with me, son. You need to pay for that gas somehow. Get a move on.”
“A clinic?” Estelle asks, as Yuri shepherds her out the door and into his car.
“Planned Parenthood, usually,” Yuri says. He turns the key and the car rumbles angrily at him, put out that he continues to expect it to function. He gives the dashboard a consoling pat. “Or other reproductive health clinics. Anywhere you can get an ob-gyn. Family planning services. You get the picture.”
“I think I do.” Estelle endearingly turns with Yuri to check behind the car as they reverse, then pull out of the parking lot. Even his shitty car seems to be a novelty to her sometimes. “You do an awful lot for the community center, don’t you?”
“Mm. Yeah. No more than they’ve done for me, though.”
There’s a moment of silence where Estelle fidgets with the sleeve cuffs of Hanks’s jacket. Yuri keeps an eye on her in the corner of his vision, but he can’t get a very good look at her expression. He needs to focus on the road. The last thing they need right now is for him to break a traffic law or cause an accident and get pulled over.
“Can... can you keep talking?”
“Sure. Any requests?”
“Ah... tell me a story about you and Flynn?”
Yuri ends up telling her the story of Repede’s blind eye. It’s not too gruesome if he plays it right, and he’s got a bit of practice at that from curious kids at the center. Yuri was her age at the time—God, that was a weird thought—and he’d been new to dog-ownership. Repede broke out of the hovel he and Flynn called an apartment overnight. After hours of searching in the dark, Hanks had hauled them both inside by their ears and forced them to rest. Repede turned up on the doorstep the next morning, face horribly scratched and howling for all his tiny little lungs were worth. Yuri was terrified to so much as wipe him off, in case he made the wound worse. All he could do was bundle Repede up in the cleanest towel he could find. He didn’t have the car yet, so Hanks called them a cab and Flynn, stuttering with panic, had asked to be taken to the vet their Coach used to take Repede and Lambert to.
“So you’ve got these two scruffy, sleep-deprived teenage boys obviously losing our minds while trying to keep a grip on this bloody puppy that was just—I know it sounds wrong, for a dog, but really the only way to describe it is screaming,” Yuri says. He flicks his turn signal on. They’re getting close to the police station. “And the poor receptionist was trying to ask for Repede’s info, but we didn’t know what to tell her, because we hadn’t taken Repede to the vet before—don’t look at me like that, we’d only had him two months or something, it’s not like we skipped out—and all the sudden the vet comes out to see what all the noise is about, and he takes one look at us and he goes, ‘that’s Lambert’s pup.’”
“Lambert?”
“Repede’s dad. He was our fencing coach’s dog. Apparently the vet worked with Coach at ZU back in the day, although we didn’t know that until later. Anyway, he whisked Repede into the back and told us to wait in the lobby, ‘cause it wasn’t going to be pretty. I was flipping my shit, because, you know, we’d only been taking care of Repede for a little while, and the wound looked so bad I had convinced myself he was going to die.”
“Oh, Yuri.”
“I was also running on like two hours of sleep at the time, which may have contributed. Anyway, Flynn had to sit there for like an hour, literally holding my hand, telling me that Repede was going to be fine and everything would be okay. He was freaking out too, but he still babysat me while I lost my min d . It was fucking heroic. And we were covered in blood that whole time. I mean, the receptionist took us to a sink where we could clean up a little bit, but some shit is just there to stay unless you change clothes.”
“Ew.”
“Uh-huh. But after a while the vet popped back out and he was like, ‘your dog is fine, come see him.’ They had knocked him out and stitched him up all pretty. Funny in retrospect—I wish I had a picture. Repede was boneless. Puppy puddle.”
“Maybe Flynn has a picture?”
“I don’t think so. We were both too busy being relieved.” Yuri pulls over in front of the police station. Estelle is a rigid line of tension in the passenger seat. “Alright, princess. You’ll just have to get this over with and hurry back out to get the rest of the story.”
Estelle’s lower lip wobbles. “You’ll have your phone on the whole time?”
“Max volume. Texts and calls.”
“And I don’t have to go back. I can—I can still stay with you.”
“Long as you need.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“You’re gonna be A-okay,” Yuri says, firmly, “Just like Repede was. Look, you’ve got the beat-up face and everything. You have to be okay. It’s just cinematic parallels at this point.”
Estelle smiles, even though it doesn’t reach her eyes, as she clicks open the car door. “Where are you going to be parked?”
“You see over at that corner?” Yuri points down the block, through the windshield. “I’ll be at that convenience store. I’ll go in and buy a snack at some point so they can’t boot me out, since I’m a paying customer.”
“I’ll come find you when I’m done.”
“Sure thing.” Yuri holds his hand up to her. She stares at it blankly. “What? Come on. High five for good luck.”
Estelle slowly presses her palm against his and holds it there for a beat, looking at him dubiously. Yuri snorts.
“Okay, we’ll work on that one later.”
“Is this not—?”
“Nope, nuh-uh, this is a problem for post-police Estelle. Out you get.”
She puts Hanks’s phone into her pocket and slides out of the car. She gives Yuri another halfhearted smile as she closes the door, mouthing bye through the window. See you, Yuri mouths back. He doesn’t pull away from the curb until she’s all the way inside. When he does, he’s muttering curses under his breath.
Dammit. She’s going to be fine. Cinematic parallels. Estelle is a smart cookie, and she spent all morning preparing. She has Hanks’s phone. She’s a legal adult.
Yuri wishes he had brought Repede along. But there was a toddler read-along today at the community center, and Repede likes to lounge on the carpet between all the kids, soaking up their attention while he naps. It’s not like there’s anyplace close to the station where Yuri could be exercising with him, which is the only way he could justify it. If Repede isn’t getting a workout either way, he might as well do the one he likes better. Yuri’s the human here. He can suck it up.
He pulls into the lot of the convenience store and cranks the parking brake into place with more force than necessary. His forehead thuds against the top of the steering wheel, well away from the horn. Maybe he shouldn’t have told Estelle a Flynn story. Now he just fucking misses Flynn. He always does, has for the last few years, but now it’s sharp and immediate. He misses knowing that Flynn could take Repede out between classes when Yuri was too busy. He misses having his best friend there to tell him shit’s going to be alright. He misses Flynn being able to cheer him up just by being there, misses Flynn helping him do school shit even if it was too simple for him when it was stupidly hard for Yuri.
The problem is that it’s so easy to talk to Estelle about Flynn. Everybody at the community center drives him up the freaking wall treading on eggshells about it. They’re always watching him when Flynn comes up in conversation, waiting for him to snap and get mad. They only know scattered fragments of why Yuri and Flynn aren’t the same unit they used to be, but they know enough to be wary of bringing it up. Estelle, though. Estelle doesn’t know any of it. It’s bizarre to Yuri. They nearly physically fought the last time they saw each other, and Flynn told Estelle that Yuri is his best friend. Estelle will go, one time Flynn—and Yuri can go, yeah, that’s Flynn alright, did he tell you about this other time? And there’s no secret second conversation about whether Yuri’s about to go completely unhinged. It makes him run his mouth more than he should. He didn’t even tell Hanks that Flynn held his hand in the vet lobby while Repede had surgery. He doesn’t think anybody but Raven knows about that, if Raven even remembers.
If he doesn’t get a grip, Estelle is going to figure out a lot more about how he feels about Flynn than he wants her to. She’s not an idiot. Worse, she’s a romantic. She’ll connect the dots.
...Now he’s worrying about Estelle and missing Flynn and kicking himself over his shitty feelings again. Great. Fantastic. This afternoon is going just swell.
Yuri lets himself out of the damn car and goes into the convenience store to buy chocolate or something. He needs it.
Yuri is used to his friends just opening the door and hopping back in the car, so when Estelle taps on the window, he jumps about a foot in the air and almost hits his head.
“Sorry,” Estelle says, cracking the door open to peer in at him. “Can I—?”
“Yeah, get in,” Yuri says. She climbs into her seat and draws her knees up so she can wrap her arms around them, and takes a deep, shuddering breath. Yuri watches her for a moment, then reaches past her to get into the glove compartment. “Hey. Here. Got you something.”
“Huh?” Estelle sniffles a little. Her eyes go big when she sees what Yuri is offering her. “Oh, you didn’t have to—“
“It’s convenience store chocolate,” Yuri says. He pokes her in the arm with it until she frees a hand to take it from him. “Not exactly a crazy luxury gift. I got the receipt if you want a different flavor, though.”
“No, this is good,” Estelle mumbles. She unwraps it, sniffling some more. “’M—‘m sorry. I know c-crying makes you uncomfortable.”
“That’s my problem. You worry about yourself.” Yuri crosses his arms, leaning back in his seat to watch her. “You wanna talk about it?”
“Th-they wanted me to go back.” She scrubs at her eyes. “I knew they would. It’s okay. I expected it. You were right, they couldn’t force me to do anything because I’m eighteen.”
“Still shitty, though.”
“Y-yeah.”
“They give you any other problems?”
“I had to argue with them about n-not telling my guardian where I was staying. But they said they would officially delist me as missing. That’s what—what matters.”
Yuri nods, slowly. “You just tell me if there’s anyone I should be running off the property if I catch them near the apartment, alright?”
“Ah. Okay.” She nibbles at the chocolate. “...Will you, um, tell me the rest of the story about Repede?”
“Sure. Lemme pull out first.” When they’re both seat-belted and Yuri has managed to exit the parking lot without running anyone over, he drums his fingers against the steering wheel. “Where was I?”
“P-puppy puddle.”
Yuri huffs out a laugh. “That’s right. Poor Repede. Raven—that’s our vet—he gave us a bunch of antibiotics to give Repede, and talked us through what to expect during Repede’s recovery until he woke up. Once he was conscious they got the cone of shame on him. Only time he’s ever needed one, while we had him. Think he had one when he got fixed, too, but that was before we took him in.”
Estelle giggles wetly. “P-poor thing. Borzoi pups are all—all skinny, aren’t they? He must’ve been falling over with the heavy cone on his head.”
“God, you would think so, but Repede was a big boy when he was a puppy. Solid chunk of dog. He was like that even when Coach had him, so it wasn’t our fault for overfeeding him or anything . Probably the German Shepherd blood. They’re a little thicker than Borzoi pups. I definitely do have pictures of puppy Repede, I’ll find them for you when I get home from work tonight.” Yuri sifts through the memories and snorts fondly. “Didn’t help much with the cone, though. I don’t think losing one of his eyes was doing him any favors either. The first few nights after the surgery were terrible. He would wake up and try to get some kibble or water, and he’d knock over damn near everything in the apartment, so of course that would wake us up, too. Even if we managed to sleep through that, he would get frustrated and start crying. ”
“But you were already so tired!”
“Like I said, rough couple of nights. We ended up having to coordinate a schedule of who got up to deal with it at what times on what nights. Hanks kept telling us it was a practice run for having kids someday.”
Estelle cocks her head, more alert. “Kids? For you two, together? Flynn didn’t tell me—”
“No.” Yuri grips the steering wheel tighter and prays his cheeks aren’t red. “No, not together. Just in general. It was a bad joke either way—I’d make a crummy dad .”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“You’re very nice to say so, but you’re also very wrong.”
Estelle gives him a thoughtful look. Yuri hurries on with the story.
“Anyway, giving him the antibiotics was probably the worst part. Raven gave them to us in a syringe at first, to squirt into his mouth, but Repede would lose his mind when we tried to open his mouth to give it to him. It was hard to hold his head still without aggravating the wound. So we tried switching to pill form and mixing them into his food, but the little brat would just pick them out and we’d find a little pile of them in his empty bowl after he ate.”
“What did you do?”
Yuri grins nostalgically. “Wrapped ‘em in bits of deli turkey.”
“Yuri!”
“Yeah, Flynn yelled at me too. He damn near killed me the first time I did it. Still, it was the only thing that worked, and we were too exhausted to fight over it. Repede would be so excited to eat the turkey, he wouldn’t realize there was a pill until it was too late. Flynn did get to say ‘I told you so’ a lot afterwards, though, because I’ve never been able to keep deli turkey in the house since. Repede is convinced it’s for him.”
“Can’t you just keep it away from him?”
“Nope. He’s a dog on a mission.”
Estelle smiles, small but real. Some of the tension has left her posture. Good.
“That whole ordeal is probably why Repede hates the vet, now, anyway,” Yuri says. He mentally plots their route back to the community center. He should have enough time before bartending to drop Estelle off and take Repede for a run.
“Maybe if you switched vets...?”
“Nah—I don’t think it’s just Raven, since he’s not very happy to see any of the vet techs, either. I guess it could be the location itself. Best vet within a convenient distance, though—if you ever meet Raven, don’t tell him I said that, okay? He’d be fucking insufferable about it. But he did us... a lot of favors, back then. Had to guide me through a lot of stupid first-time dog-owner stuff. Least I can do is give him my business.”
Estelle’s been looking out the passenger-side window, but now her head lolls against the headrest to face Yuri. “Hey, Yuri?”
“Hm?”
“Why do you talk about Repede like he was yours and Flynn’s when he was a puppy, but just yours now?”
“...Flynn’s pretty busy with school these days.” Too busy to be wasting time on some stupid drop-out. “I’ve got more free time, so I took Repede. He hasn’t seen Flynn in a long time. I don’t know if he would remember Flynn now.”
“You don’t have very much free time at all, though.”
Yuri cocks a smile with as much conviction as he can muster. “Yeah, because I’ve filled it all with Repede. It doesn’t really look like free time any more. It just looks like Repede time.”
Estelle is quiet for a moment. Just when Yuri starts to hope that she’ll drop it, she says, “You miss him.”
Yuri brakes maybe a little too sharply at a stop sign. Their seatbelts snap taught. Estelle yelps.
“Sorry,” Yuri mutters. “Noticed the sign a little late. Miss who, Repede? It’s true, I do miss Repede when I have to leave him for more than five minutes— ”
“Flynn. You miss Flynn, don’t you?”
Yuri tries to fast forward through all the different ways this conversation could play out in his head. What’s the answer least likely to swamp him with a discussion of his feelings and his current relationship with Flynn? If he tries to say no, Estelle might tell him why she thought he did, and he doesn’t want to deal with that kind of self-awareness. The truth is probably safer. “...Yeah.”
“Why don’t you call him?”
“He got a new number at some point since I last saw him in person.”
“Wh—oh.” Estelle frowns a bit. “I think I remember when that happened. He didn’t give you the new number?”
“Nope. Probably didn’t have mine memorized, or something.” Or he just figured it was as good an excuse as any to move on to better social circles, and leave the squalor of his past behind. That’s what Yuri’s been betting on.
At least, it was until Estelle showe d up and started saying weird shit about how Flynn still talks about him.
“I could give you his new number!”
Somehow, that catches Yuri completely off guard. He glances over at her. “You have his number memorized? Wow, princess. I didn’t realize you were that into him.”
“I’m—“ Estelle splutters at him, red-faced. Yuri grins despite himself as he turns back to the road. “I am not! It’s not like that! I forgot I didn’t have my phone—”
“Uh-huh. I’ll start working on my speech for your wedding.”
“Yuri! I don’t like him that way! And that’s not even—Flynn doesn’t even like g—“
Girls. Estelle slaps a hand over her own mouth before the rest of the word can slip out. She looks at Yuri, wide-eyed and pink-cheeked. Yuri considers messing with her some more, but decides to have some pity.
“Relax. I already knew Flynn was gay. I’m just screwing around.”
“Oh, good,” Estelle breathes, slumping back in her seat.
“Anyway, speaking of your phone, maybe we should figure out a plan to rescue some of your shit.”
Estelle wrings her hands. “...I don’t know. I don’t think there’s a good way to get into my old home without having to talk to...”
“ Don’t you worry,” Yuri says, cheerfully. He was just trying to find a way to divert the conversation away from Flynn, but he’s quickly warming to the idea. He doesn’t have bartending too late tonight. “I’ll take care of that. Just wait and see. You didn’t have any plans for tonight, did you?”
“This is illegal!” Estelle hisses. Yuri, halfway through the action of pulling himself over a brick wall, gives her an incredulous look. She’s been trying to dissuade him since they came within a few blocks of the property. Apparently Estelle is willing to stand up when people try to steamroll past her. She just picks her battles.
“How? I’m pretty sure you technically still live here, legally.”
“It’s still breaking and entering! And theft! ”
“Oh, wah wah wah. It’s not like we’re really stealing. It’s all your stuff.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works!”
Yuri snorts and pulls himself the rest of the way up, perched on the top. “Are you coming, or do you want to wait here?”
“I—I don’t want to start my new life with a criminal record!”
“So wait.”
“Yuri!”
“Relax, I’ve got this under control. Which floor is your room on?”
Estelle makes a high-pitched sound of aggravation and tries to scramble up the wall after him. She almost topples back down halfway up, and Yuri has to reach down to haul her up by the collar of Hanks’s jacket. The jitters probably aren’t doing her coordination any favors.
“What happened to not wanting a criminal record?”
“If I come with you so you know where to go, everything will be faster, and we can be done and leave sooner.”
“You can tell me where to go from here, you don’t have to be involved.”
Estelle gives him a sulky, anxious look. “I don’t want to—to just wait alone in the dark. What if someone comes by?”
“Hide in a bush.”
“Flynn and Hanks were right, you are a troublemaker.”
“I can’t tell you how flattered and alarmed I am that it’s taken you like a week and a half to figure that out.”
Yuri did sort of count on Estelle staying behind, although he gets why she doesn’t want to now that she mentions it. There’s no car in the driveway right now. What if her guardian comes back while Yuri is inside? Still, now he has to factor her into his entry and exit strategy. Damn. He should have just made her give him an address, left her at home and winged it from there.
“Okay,” Yuri mutters. He swings his legs over the other side of the wall and starts his descent. “Just... do what I do, alright? I’ll try not to do anything too crazy. Lemme know if you can’t keep up and I’ll figure something else out.”
“A-alright.” Estelle tentatively lowers her leg over the edge of the wall, searching for the uneven bricks Yuri used to get down. Yuri hops down the last few feet and gets under her, spotting her in case of a fall. It seems to help with the mental side of things, at least. Estelle stops trembling so much and plants her feet more confidently. Yuri whisks her off the wall when she gets as far down as he jumped from.
“I don’t suppose you know whether there’s any security cameras?”
“Ah—yes, but—but we’ll be able to see them, there’s a little light when they’re on.”
“You sure they’re not motion-activated?”
“Y...yes?”
Well, there’s only one way to figure out for sure.
They creep around the perimeter of the property. Estelle murmurs directions and notes about the layout of the property. Here’s the garden; there’s the shed, but that definitely has a security camera, so don’t go that way. The greenhouse doesn’t have a camera, but it’s locked. Estelle thinks it will be, anyway, and Yuri’s not going to stick his fingerprints on every random surface just for funsies. Back door to the kitchen is a no go, too. There’s a chance the housekeeper might be around. Obviously they’re not going through the front door.
“I...” Estelle looks at him sideways, wringing her hands. They’re crouched in the shadows of the small orchard on the far side of the house. “I never locked my balcony door? But it’s on the second floor. There’s a tree, but no branches until higher up—I don’t know if it’s...”
“Oh, princess,” Yuri says. “Have some faith. I will make it climbable.”
“M-maybe for you!”
But she still helps guide Yuri back around the house and points out the window. It’s dark, which isn’t surprising. Estelle hasn’t been in her room for at least a week and a half. They’re too close to the ground floor windows now to risk talking, even whispering, so Yuri just pats her on the back and hoists himself up on the nearest decorative garden statue. From the top, he leaps to grab a tree branch hanging ten feet off the ground. It’s a solid jump, there’s no getting around it. Estelle’s wide eyes gleam in the moonlight as she clambers up the statue after him. Yuri hastily climbs up to straddle the branch. If she gets a bad grip, he’s going to want to be stable enough to catch her.
She wobbles at the top of the statue and casts a fretful look at Yuri. Yuri’s not feeling so hot about this himself, really, but at this point all he can do is flash her a thumbs-up and lean forward, body pressed to the branch to extend his reach below it.
She jumps.
The tree shu dders violently. Estelle gasps. Yuri hisses through his teeth, straining to keep his grip on Estelle’s free hand. She managed to get one hand onto the branch, at least, but she’s scrabbling not to lose her hold.  The longer this goes on, the less likely someone inside will be willing to write it off as a bird or a raccoon or something—honestly, though, with her fingertips sliding over bark, it seems more likely that she’ll plummet to the ground and break something.
But right as Yuri starts to seriously consider freaking out, she grits her teeth, stretches up with Yuri’s help to get a second hand on the branch, and somehow, somehow works her way up to sit beside him. It’s fucking impressive. Yuri didn’t know she had that kind of arm strength. She really is a determined little monster when she puts her mind to it.
From there, it’s not easy, but it’s easier. The tree is good for climbing once you’re on it. Estelle shadows Yuri’s footwork, even with her second-hand sneakers slipping where the traction has worn down. Yuri helps her swing out of the branches and onto the balcony. He reaches for the door. Estelle catches his wrist, shaking her head, and opens it herself.
Of course. Estelle leaving fingerprints won’t alarm anybody if someone investigates the break-in. Yuri should have thought of that.
Estelle’s room is cast in odd angles of shadow, but Yuri can still tell that it’s exactly as frilly as he expected. Gauzy pink drapes surround the bed. The sheets gleam like satin. The moonlight makes the carpet look snow-white. It’s horrifyingly clean, too. Yuri has never seen a carpet that looked less walked-upon than this one. For fuck’s sake, did they steam-press her carpet the second she left the house, or does it always look like this?
He glances at Estelle. She stares at the room like she’s never seen it before.
No, wait. She doesn’t look like she’s seeing it at all. Shit. Yuri didn’t think this through. He should have been ready for the chance that coming back here would make Estelle dissociate.
“Estelle,” Yuri hisses, as quietly as he possibly can. It’s rough. He’s not built for low volumes. He touches her elbow. “Estelle, stick with me.”
Estelle looks down at his hand, blinking sightlessly. Yuri jostles her a bit. That snaps her out of it. She shakes herself out, jaw clenching. Yuri passes her one of the drawstring backpacks he brought with him.
“What do I grab?” she whispers.
“Whatever you want.”
“But...”
“Irreplaceable family shit. Books. Any clothes you really like.” He holds up the other bag. “Just point me to what you want and I’ll grab it for you.”
Estelle’s face falls. “I can’t fit all of my books.”
“That’s what the library is for, princess.”
“I don’t have a library card.”
“I have some great news for you about public libraries, but we’ll save that for later. Come on, let’s hurry up.”
Estelle’s wardrobe is baffling to Yuri. Almost everything in it is nicer than the value of all of his clothes put together. To get to the clothes she wants, she has to shove aside a whole row of hangers with fancy dresses on them. Thank God she doesn’t seem to want to take those ones with her. She points him to her bookshelf, whispering, “As many as possible!” and tiptoes off toward an ensuite bathroom. The floor doesn’t creak a peep. Yuri’s not sure he’s ever been in a room where it was possible to move this quietly.
He gives Estelle’s personal library his full consideration, which is to say he stares at each title for about two seconds and tries to picture it in the Lower Quarter’s public library. If he can’t, he grabs it. Most of the fiction gets left behind this way, but he figures Estelle will forgive him once they get her a library card. It’s gonna be awkward if she’s no longer interested in hardcover nonfiction novels about the history of European mythology or what the fuck ever, though.
Estelle emerges from the bathroom again, clutching her bag to her chest. On her way back to Yuri, she stoops to retrieve a pair of sneakers from under the bed. They’re fucking pristine. Yuri has seen shoes in shoe commercials that looked more used. She peers at what’s left on the bookshelf. Yuri allows her to double-check his work with as much patience as he can muster, but it’s not long before he nudges her insistently again. She huffs but obliges, crossing over to her desk. She retrieves several notebooks, then hesitates. Yuri peeks around her. Her hand hovers over her phone.
“It’s your call,” he says. “But I wouldn’t put money on that not being tracked.”
“I know,” Estelle says, miserably. She reaches down to turn it on and Yuri winces away from the sudden illumination of the screen. “Oh, no... I knew everyone might worry, but this is...”
“Maybe they’ll figure it out when the posters go down.” Or they’ll think she was found dead in a ditch, but Yuri probably shouldn’t say that to Estelle. Oh, hell, maybe Flynn thinks she’s dead in a ditch. Yuri is intimately acquainted with how badly Flynn copes with grief. Maybe they should be looking into secret, safe venues of contact. It won’t be from Estelle’s old phone, though, because she gives it one last wistful caress and leaves it on the desk.
Somehow, Yuri gets them both back out the window, down the tree and off the property without making too much of a ruckus. They sprint back to the edge of campus where Yuri left his car. For a few minutes, Estelle is too busy wheezing to say anything, and Yuri is more than happy to drive them through quiet streets bathed in yellow lamplight in silence. He likes the cover of night. It feels safe. He appreciates that, after the luxuriousness of Estelle’s house up close showed him that he was in way, way deeper than he’d thought.
“Oh, drat,” Estelle says, abruptly. Yuri side-eyes her.
“What now?”
“I ought to have at least gotten my contacts out of my old phone. I wanted to get Flynn’s number for you.”
“Christ’s sake, Estelle. Don’t do that to me. I thought we needed to go back for something important.”
“No! No. That was—this is enough. More than enough. You shouldn’t have—and I mean you really, actually shouldn’t have. I can’t believe you made me into a criminal!”
“I don’t see how it’s breaking and entering and stealing if I escort a lady back into her old house to pick up her own shit,” Yuri says, rolling his eyes. He does, in a clean-cut legal way, but it’s a stupid case to make in the first place. Everything they took was Estelle’s. Honestly, none of it seems to be worth much by itself. With a little luck, Estelle’s guardian or whoever won’t even notice that anything is missing until it’s way too late.
“It was extremely illegal!”
Yuri drops his voice several octaves to drone, blandly, “Your honor, the defendant is responsible for the theft of her own fucking notebooks, which have absolutely no commercial value and are basically useless to literally anyone else.”
Estelle laughs, once, sharp like she can’t help herself. She pushes at Yuri’s shoulder with almost no real force. “You’re awful.”
“Hey, no hitting the driver.”
“You didn’t even flinch!”
“I let you hit me, someday you’ll do it while Ted’s watching, suddenly Ted thinks he’s allowed to hit me and then we’ll all die in a fiery car crash.”
“You’re absurd.”
Yuri snorts. “You sound like Flynn.”
“I probably sound like everybody who knows you!”
“Absurd? Nah, that one’s all Flynn. Most people stick with ‘dumbass.’”
“Well,” Estelle says, primly, “I can’t imagine why.”
“Ouch,” Yuri laughs. He pulls into his apartment’s parking lot. “Right in the heart. I don’t know if I’ll ever recover.”
They’re still sniping at each other when they exit the car and head inside. The banter keeps up all the way to Yuri’s door, but Estelle is definitely sagging before they’re halfway up the stairs. She drags her feet on her way across the threshold, dropping her bag of rescued possessions on the couch before she collapses in a pile on the floor, next to Repede. Repede lifts his head enough to sniff at her suspiciously. When she offers her hand, he licks it, then unexpectedly leans over to lick her on the nose. Estelle half-laughs, half-yelps.
“Yuck! Repede!”
“Aw,” Yuri says. He kicks off his shoes and leaves the bag of Estelle’s books with her other shit before throwing himself down next to her and Repede. Repede quickly turns to plop his head into Yuri’s lap, tail wagging. Yuri strokes his back. “You’re getting used to her, aren’t you, bud?”
“He’s a good boy,” Estelle says. She pats Repede’s belly. He huffs a little, but allows it. “Repede, Yuri told me all about what a brave puppy you were today.”
She traces her fingers across his muzzle to touch the scarred side of his face. He doesn’t react much—he never has, not since it finished healing.
“I wish I was as brave as you,” Estelle whispers.
“I told you,” Yuri says, uncomfortably. “Cinematic parallels. You pulled through, just like him. I didn’t even have to force-feed you your antibiotics.” To Repede, he adds, dryly, “Unlike someone.”
Repede, who is a dog and has no clue Yuri is shit-talking him, yawns widely.
“I wish I could be strong,” Estelle mumbles. Her eyelids are drooping. Her whole body is drooping, actually. She wobbles unsteadily, even sitting down. “I wish I could... could go back and talk to my friends and not be so scared. That I could just knock on the door and ask to pick up my things. I’m such a baby.”
“Estelle,” Yuri says, around the lump in his throat. He reaches out and catches her by the shoulders as she sways forward, then eases her down so her head rests on Repede’s side. She sniffles a bit. “Being afraid of an abuser doesn’t make you a baby. Sometimes running away is the brave thing to do.”
“It’s not like he hit me that often.” Her fingers curl into Repede’s fur. He whuffles anxiously. Yuri strokes his head, trying to give Repede the comfort he wishes he knew how to give Estelle. “I should have stayed. I overreacted. I’m so stupid. And now I’m causing you trouble, and...”
“Estelle, c’mon.”
“It’s not fair.”
“No,” Yuri says. He rubs her back. “It’s not. But it’s not your fault.”
“I should have...”
“You should get some sleep is what you should do,” Yuri says. He heaves himself to his feet, then crouches again to scoop Estelle into his arms. She buries her face against his shoulder as he lifts her. Shit, she’s heavier than she looks. He grunts with the effort. “Okay, princess? Let’s get you to bed. In the morning we’ll eat a good breakfast and go talk to Hanks, and you’ll feel better. It’s gonna be alright.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah. I promise.”
He carries her to the bedroom and dumps her on the bed. She clings to his shirt when he tries to pull away.
“I d-don’t want to be alone—”
“Okay,” Yuri says. “Then let’s get you into some pajamas, and I can sleep on the floor in here for tonight.”
“I’m s-sorry.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I took you someplace that was shitty for you tonight. Of course you’re upset.”
Estelle changes while he brushes his teeth. Once he’s got on his own soft sleep shirt and old shorts, he flops down in a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor. Repede curls up behind his knees.
“Thank you, Yuri,” Estelle mumbles, from under the comforter.
“It’s no problem. Wake me up if you need anything, alright? Anything at all.”
“...Okay.”
Yuri wakes up to smoke.
“The fuck?” he croaks. Repede sticks his head in through the open bedroom door, whining quietly. Yuri kicks his way out of the blanket cocoon he’s tangled in and staggers into the kitchen.
Ah. Estelle.
“I’m sorry,” she starts, wide-eyed and near to tears in front of a blackened skillet of what possibly used to be eggs. “I just wanted to—“
“Windows first, apologies later,” Yuri says. He yanks open the living room window, then grabs a magazine off the coffee table to wave uselessly through the smoke. Estelle coughs. “Damn. I forgot to change the batteries in the smoke detector.”
“A-are we going to—?”
“It’s fine, we’re fine. Go open the window in the bedroom, will you?”
Estelle hurries to obey while Yuri opens the kitchen window. The smoke isn’t as bad as it could be, given the apparent death of the detector. Seems like it’s already clearing out a bit. He picks up the spatula Estelle abandoned to prod at the lump of charcoal in his skillet.
“I wanted to make breakfast,” Estelle says, miserably, from somewhere behind him. “To thank you. But I messed it up.”
“Of course you did,” Yuri says. He scrapes at the skillet a little. It spreads charcoal around. “You haven’t ever cooked before, have you?”
“No...”
“You should have gotten me up. I could teach you.”
“But it wouldn’t be thanking you if I made you work more!”
“Yet here we are,” Yuri says. “Besides, I don’t need to be thanked, Christ. Open the trash for me.”
Estelle dutifully opens the cupboard the trash bin is stashed inside. Yuri pushes the less stubborn bits of charcoal into the bin, kicks the cupboard closed, then dumps the pan into the sink to soak.
“You do need to be thanked,” Estelle says. Yuri gives her an exasperated look over his shoulder; when he opens his mouth, she adds, hurriedly, “I want to thank you.”
“Well stop it,” Yuri grumbles. He goes into the cupboard for  a new pan. At least the smoke is clearing out relatively fast. “Are there still eggs?”
“Y-yeah?”
“Alright. We’re going to give the smoke another minute to disperse, and in the meantime you can get a small bowl down for me and take the eggs back out.”
Yuri fucks off to find batteries. When he returns to the kitchen, Estelle is waiting anxiously with a small bowl and the egg carton. The air is only faintly smokey. Yuri grabs a chair and shoves it under the smoke detector.
“Crack the eggs into the bowl,” he says, as he clicks the cover off. “I’ll watch from here.”
“How many eggs?”
“Four.”
“You eat four eggs at once?”
“What are you going to have for breakfast?”
Estelle gives him a baffled look, like it hadn’t even occurred to her that she could make her own breakfast too. “I—I guess eggs?”
“If we have four eggs left, do four. If we don’t, I’ll just split whatever we have with you. We’ve got bread. We can have toast or something too.” Yuri sighs as he slides the new batteries into place. “I guess we need to go to the store. Shit.”
“I only used two eggs before,” Estelle blurts out. “We’ve still got five eggs.”
“Yeah, but I was gonna make shakshuka tomorrow.” Yuri puts the cover back on the smoke detector. Estelle finally, hesitantly removes an egg from the carton. She taps it lightly against the side of the bowl.
“Harder than that.”
“I’ll get egg everywhere!”
“You won’t.” Yuri climbs down from the chair. “You need a clean break to pull it apart, or you’ll get bits of shell in everything. Here, I’ll show you one.”
Yuri dumps the dead batteries into the garbage along with the still-faintly-smoking wreckage of the burnt eggs, then washes his hands. Estelle watches raptly as he plucks an egg out of the carton and snaps it against the edge of the bowl before pulling it cleanly apart.
“Like that. Now you—yeah, okay, that was a lot better. Now the next two.”
Estelle furrows her brow and does as instructed. She still gets a piece of eggshell in the mix, but nothing Yuri can’t fish out with his fingers. “Why are we using a bowl? Can’t it just go straight in the pan?”
“It can if you know what you’re doing.” Yuri shrugs, leaning his hip against the counter as he monitors Estelle’s dismemberment of the final egg. “For a beginner, though, it’s easier to make sure all of the eggs will go in the pan at the same time. Are we doing sunny-side up, or scrambled?”
“Uh—scrambled?”
“Okay. Let’s both wash the raw egg off our hands, then you’re gonna get the milk out.” Yuri towels off his own hands as Estelle opens the fridge, then reaches into the silverware drawer for a fork. “Just dump in a little bit.”
“How much?”
“A little bit. Like I said.”
“That’s not very specific.”
“Well, I just eyeball it. Here, I’ll do it the first time so you can see. Just—this much, about. A glug.”
“A glug,” Estelle echoes, side-eyeing him dubiously.
“A very precise measurement,” Yuri says. He flashes her a grin and hands the milk back. “Put this away.”
Salt and pepper to taste and whisking the yolks into the whites, at least, Estelle seems comfortable with. While she does that, he dumps some cooking oil into the new pan and turns on the heat.
“You’re a good teacher,” Estelle tells him, as she carefully pours the beaten eggs into the skillet. “You should teach classes.”
Yuri snorts. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I don’t have the patience for teaching as a job.”
“But you do!”
“I’ve taught stuff for the community center occasionally. I know I’m not cut out to do it full-time. You’re an angel of a student compared to most people, princess.”
Estelle tries not to visibly preen at the praise and mostly fails. Yuri laughs. “Here, grab the spatula. What you want to do now is—“
“You could’ve gotten her in a lot of trouble.”
“I told her she could stay behind.”
“Yuri.”
Yuri sighs. Estelle is on the other side of the community center, helping some of the kids with their homework. Yuri has to leave for the bar in ten minutes, and he was starting to think he might escape without the lecture, but no such luck. “Hanks.”
“Boy, what am I going to do with you?” Hanks sighs too, leaning back in his chair. “I thought you would have grown out of this by now.”
“Sorry,” Yuri says, snippy and insincere. “Really shitty of me to want her to have some of her own stuff that she likes again.”
“You know that’s not what the issue is, son.” Hanks rubs his temples. “You’re too impulsive. What if you had been caught? Forget Estellise. What do you think would have happened if someone had caught you?”
Yuri shrugs. “Nothing good.”
“And you still did it?”
“It was a calculated risk.”
“Your damn calculations are off.” Hanks scrubs a hand through his beard and fixes Yuri with a tired look. “I wish your old coach was still here. You were always better behaved for him.”
Yuri’s stomach drops. Hanks seems to realize his mistake as soon as he makes it, hastily opening his mouth again, but it’s too late for that now. Yuri is already shoving his chair back, the legs screeching on the floor. Estelle looks up from the other side of the room; Yuri sees her in his periphery before he turns to the door.
“Yuri?”
“I’m going to work,” Yuri gets out, through gritted teeth.
“Yuri, come on—“ Hanks tries. Yuri strides away without looking back. He shoves his way out the community center’s doors. There’s a quick patter of footsteps behind him, but it’s not Hanks’s gait, so Yuri forces himself not to lash out when someone catches him by the arm before he can get in his car. Estelle blinks up at him with her big green eyes.
“I thought you had a few more minutes.”
“I’m leaving early.”
She chews on her lower lip. A little guiltily, she admits, “I told the children you would do a knife trick for them if they finished their homework.”
Against all odds, that punches a short bark of laughter out of Yuri. He feels a little of the tension go with it, but the damn ache in his chest doesn’t go anywhere. “They’ll have to do their homework tomorrow, too, then. Tell them I’ll do two knife tricks to make up for it.”
Estelle beams at him. Her hand is still resting gently on his arm.
“Are you...” The smile slides off her face. “Are you upset? When you left, it seemed like...”
“It has nothing to do with you,” Yuri says, too sharply. Estelle’s face falls further. God dammit. Estelle is the last person who deserves Yuri’s ire. Trying to speak more softly, he adds, “Hanks chewed me out and I got mad because I’m secretly twelve. That’s all.”
“It didn’t look like you were mad about being lectured,” Estelle presses. Yuri swallows down a bitter sigh. He doesn’t want to talk about Coach in the middle of the community center’s parking lot when he has to drive to work in five minutes. He doesn’t want to talk about Coach at all, really. Estelle has enough baggage of her own without trying to unpack Yuri’s.
“I don’t really want to get into it right now.”
Estelle still looks a little hurt, but she nods. Her hand drops from Yuri’s arm as she steps back.
“Hang on.” Yuri digs into his pocket and fiddles with his keyring, then holds a fist out to Estelle. “Here. Gimme your hand.”
Estelle complies, her wounded expression melting into curiosity. Yuri presses a set of keys into her open palm.
“Take these. You can just go straight back to the apartment instead of having to wait for me to finish up at the bar.”
Estelle stands up a little straighter, with her mouth a little o of shock. “Are you sure? Is that really okay?”
“Sure. What’re you gonna do, rob me?”
“Well, I—I could! Hypothetically!”
Yuri rolls his eyes. “Right. Just take Repede for a long walk in the evening before you steal all of my shit, then. And I’m gonna need you to let me in or leave the door unlocked when I get home.”
“Okay!” Before Yuri can do much except fight down the reflex to throw her across the parking lot, Estelle launches herself forward to wrap Yuri in a hug. Yuri grunts in surprise, arms trapped. “Thank you so much!”
“It’s your apartment too, for now,” Yuri says. He manages to wriggle a hand free to pat her on the head. “We’ll get a second key tomorrow or something. I’ll see you tonight.”
“See you!”
Yuri waves as he drives off. It’s—an odd feeling, almost distracting enough that he stops feeling so nauseated. He’s taken on down-on-their-luck guests before, but he’s never given them his fucking keys.
Well. That’s the power of Estelle, he guesses.
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alexandriteobscuraarchive · 5 years ago
Text
To Realize a Wish (closed)
@maskedmuses​
Honestly he ought to be grateful for the space; ought to be grateful to do one of these jobs alone for once, and back then? He would’ve. But now....
But now Eva had happened. Eva had made it harder and harder for him to shut others out---to shut h e r out---and not just because they were work partners either. Her presence had become a fixture in his life, one that he was unable to admit just how much he both focused and relied on and now...
“Dammit Roxy...! Stealing Eva for some stupid ‘girl’s trip’ and leaving me to do a job by myself!! I know I’m a GENIUS but still---” His words fade into mutters and grumbles as he absently kicks at the street, looking almost like a petulant child. He had every right to be grumpy, dammit!! Neil knew he could solve this case by himself in no time---but he and Eva were partners and Roxy practically kidnapping her for some inane outing was uncalled for. She completely messed up the flow! The whole deal!!!
Not even the fact that he was; technically so long as no one called him, wholly unsupervised cheered him up. He couldn’t even think of anything f u n to do---not when he didn’t have Eva to sass him correct him chime in. At least doing this one solo meant he didn’t have to make an excuse about his pills should the need arise...
Fuming and grumbling the brunette; looking wildly out of place in his lab coat and carrying a rather large case, made his way down the street towards where the client’s house was. He really ought to of taken the car---but that would’ve meant he needed to deal with Rob, and he’d sooner eat twenty jars of olives rather than deal with that guy. Surprisingly enough Robert hadn’t mentioned babysitting ‘looking after’ him or coming along as his stand-in partner which was......strange. Strange but not unwelcome. ...Still strange though.
Well whatever---the great Doctor Neil was on the case and he’d have it all wrapped up before they even came back in a few days time! It’d be twice the work but this client had, as they were soon to discover, the best tech that Sigmund had on staff. It’d be a cakewalk, easy-peasy, it’d be child’s play. Maybe. ....Hopefully. Someone better start praying.
“....God she better at least call me. Even just to mock me for forgetting the papers---” Oh. Crap he’d forgotten the papers!!! A g a i n! “.......Ugh. This better be over with soon.” She better come back soon.
After a few blocks---god why hadn’t he brought the c a r!?---he pauses to catch his breath, his faintly sweaty hands setting the case down with a thump. This was stupid. He wasn’t thinking straight---hardly thinking at all, really. Why was he so thrown off?! Just because his partner was off without him?? Ugh!
‘I’m not some lovesick, useless puppy---get it together. If this goes well I can gloat right in their faces! I can tell Eva about it and she’ll---’ ..........
God this sucked.
Muttering again he picks the case back up and resumes his trek, the houses lined on both sides of the street becoming noticeably larger and fancier the further he walked. He’d forgotten the papers and would have to get them faxed in short order but at least he remembered the number attached to the property: 251.
Let’s see....245.....248.....251....oh. Oh god.
“....Geez.”
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The house he stood in front of s c r e a m e d ‘money’---it was common knowledge that barring certain special circumstances the price for Sigmund’s services were not cheap but this place....
“God it’s huge. I bet they have a butler for their butler...and a butler for their dog. A dog..ler.” Well this was going to be awkward. Clearly s o m e o n e had money.
Morosely silent now he wrestled the case up onto their front steps and set it down and---hardly a blip on his radar any other time, much less any other case he’d been assigned to previously, Neil quickly wiped his hands off on his coat and then ran them through his hair...just in case it needed touching up. ‘Eva would scoff at me for s u r e. This isn’t a prom date---it’s work!’
God even the front door was fancy---the aura this place gave off suggested they could even own their own Sigmund corp if the wanted and maybe they did, haha! just...ugh.
Alright, time was wasting and someone was dying (not that he could remember who and he had no papers to consult on the matter) so it was best to get a move on. After one last adjustment to his tie Neil pressed on the buzzer near the door. He could hear a muffled ring from somewhere inside and then--almost instantly afterwards---the door opened. But rather than a stately looking ‘Alfred’ type butler Neil found himself staring almost eye level with a....young girl?
“Ermh....” He coughs sharply and when his curled fist moves away from his mouth he’s smiling---or trying to smile anyhow. Please don’t be a brat, please don’t be a brat--- “Hey there, uh, I’m Doctor Neil Watts and I was told that someone needed my help here. Is your mother at home?” Smooth Neil, smooth.
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