#and as for anyone who asks too many questions about sunshine?? hm. hope they can swim well

[softmangoes]

thinking about a sunny time pool au in which joseph and jack are twin brothers who work as lifeguards at a local recreational center. jack watches over the children at the kiddie pool, teaches them how to swim, and organizes activities for them while joseph looks over the adult pool and tries his best not to get too sunburnt.

sunshine works as a maintenance worker and comes by to clean the pools at the center once a week. they grow closer to the haberdae brothers gradually over the summer. it's all fun and great but there are times in which they're called to come in earlier than usual only to find weird things stuck in the pool filter: a deflated beach ball, pieces of a pool noodle, even a few rubber ducks. although they've told the haberdae brothers to be more cautious about stray items, these instances just keep happening.

the clogs cause significant delays to sunshine's schedule, making them stay back later than it usually takes to finish a job. diligently, the haberdae brothers wait for their new friend to finish their tasks. it's to keep them safe, you know? keep them company. it's the nice thing to do.

and it is nice, it really is. joseph and jack are both so sweet, after all. and it's all so nice until one day the brothers decide to take their new friend home so they can have them all to themselves.

[blushy-tigerrr]

Rich Man’s World

c!quackity x gender neutral reader

summary: Las Nevadas was the paradise of very few. On the outside, it was beautiful in the strangest way. People travelled there to let off some steam. They needed an escape from all of the stress of the SMP, and they used gambling as their escape. The leader of this whole idea was none other than Quackity, who was arguably one of the richest men on the server because of this place... or so they thought.

word count: 1.6k

warnings: angst; cursing; mentions of migraines, taking pills; sad ending

based on: money, money, money by abba

a/n: this is my submission for @okpunz ‘s writing comp! super excited to be participating in my first one of these

---

Y/N sighed in exhaustion, throwing their apron on the bar with muted anger. They sat down at the bar with a huff, putting their head in their hands. It was just another day of waiting tables at this godforsaken place, and they were at the end of their wits. The start of another migraine began to creep into their skull, making them wince. Migraines have become a regular thing for them after work, and that really didn’t make this god awful job any easier to deal with.

Y/N fished a bottle of ibuprofen out of their bag with a shaky hand. They walked around to the other side of the bar and filled up a cup of water. They looked out onto the casino floor, taking in the massive amount of trash strewn out across the floor. Knowing that they were the only one left here to be cleaning all of this up made them feel even more woozy. They winced at a piercing shock of pain in their head, gripping onto the edge of the bar with one hand. A few tears of frustration and pain threatened to spill from their eyes. Y/N sniffed, wiping the tears away quickly before anyone could catch them. They quickly tossed the pills into their mouth, washing them down with a long sip of cool water.

“Y/N! Mi amor!” The familiar upbeat voice rang in Y/N’s ears, causing another shock of pain. They cringed again, trying to hold back the pained expression on their face. Quackity. Their boss. Their lover. Someone that they used to call their best friend. Now… it’s a bit complicated. Did he piss them off to no end? Every single fucking day. Did they still love him? “Hey, babe! Another crazy night in Las Nevadas, hm?” Quackity’s lively voice startled them out of their thoughts before they could even answer themselves. Quackity wrapped his arms around Y/N’s waist, planting a sloppy kiss on their cheek.

“Sure is, hon...” Y/N mumbled, still trying to balance themselves on the bar. Quackity began rambling about all of the bets he had won tonight, but the words fell on deaf ears as Y/N began to zone out. That question hadn’t left their mind. They did love him… didn’t they? He may be an asshole sometimes, but they did still love him. Right?

“Alright, I’m just gonna go count up the earnings for tonight, and then you’ll get your pay. Okay, amor?” Quackity grabbed Y/N’s hand, placing a gentle kiss on the top of it. Y/N halfheartedly smiled at him as he made his way back to his secluded office.

Y/N sighed heavily, making their way back around to the front of the bar. They slumped down into the chair, laying their head on their arms resting on the bar. Their massive headache only fueled the extreme emotions filling their chest.

Anger was the most prominent. Y/N worked all night and all day so them and Quackity could pay their bills, but there never seemed to be a single penny left for them. They would spend nearly their entire paycheck on the bills that needed to be paid off. Meanwhile, Quackity could somehow buy himself so many luxuries with what he earned from gambling. It never made sense to them. Why wouldn’t he contribute some of his earnings to things that actually needed it? He wanted to brag so much about being a breadwinner of the household, so why didn’t he act like it?

Suspicion was next to arise. Quackity never told them just how much he was earning. It’s not just that. They were the only person not to know. If anyone else asked him, he’d go on and on about just how rich he was and how much he made every night. With Y/N though, he never said. It made them wonder what he was hiding. Why would he feel the need to hide it? The thought came into their mind. What if he wasn’t paying them as much as he should? What if that was the reason for his secrets?

Guilt followed that thought soon after. Why on Earth would Quackity ever do that to them? He loved Y/N. He would never lie to them about something like that.

…Right?

The sound of heavy footsteps awoke Y/N from their thoughts. Quackity slid their paycheck on the bar to them with a smirk. Y/N gave a small smile back. They went to open the envelope and paused.

“Hey… Quackity. Can I ask you something?” They managed out nervously. He met their gaze, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Sure, babe! Shoot.” He answered, pulling up a chair to sit next to them. Y/N twiddled with their fingers, nervous that they might not like the answer.

“So… why don’t you ever tell me how much you make a night?” They asked bluntly. Quackity sat next to them, stunned. He was not expecting that question, and the expression on his face said that to Y/N right away.

“Uh… well, you see, I-I don’t really discuss earnings with anyone, actually! Just something I like to… y’know, keep to myself.” He responded, scratching the back of his neck. Y/N noticed that. That action plus the fact that he wouldn’t make eye contact told them all they needed to know.

“You’re lying to me.” They stated, staring at him with cold eyes. Quackity’s head shot up to meet their gaze, his face turning slightly pink at the accusation. “You know you’re lying to me. Don’t look at me like that.” They spat at him, their anger starting to show itself.

“Woah, what is going on? I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up about this!” Quackity retorted, matching their piercing tone. Y/N scoffed at him, shaking their head.

“Oh, you don’t? You think I don’t know how you brag to all of your friends about how much money you make each night? I live in the same fucking house as you. I hear everything you say.” Y/N wasn’t yelling. Their tone stayed quiet, and that’s what scared Quackity so much. “It’s constant. The bragging. It never stops until I’m around. ‘Money, money, money!’ That’s all I ever hear anymore, but you’re not telling me! What makes you not trust me?”

“What do you… of course I trust you! I just… I don’t know, it feels weird to talk about it with you because you work here, Y/N!” Quackity shouted, standing up from his chair. Y/N stood up as well, not about to be overshadowed by him.

“Oh, so you can’t tell me, but you can tell Sapnap? Karl? They work here too, y’know, and yet, you’ll brag to them about how ‘it’s a rich man’s world’! What makes me so different? What are you hiding from me, Quackity?” Y/N pleaded. They wanted him to tell the truth. They so desperately wanted some hope that he was still the man they fell in love with so long ago. However, Quackity averted his eyes, staring down at the ground. Y/N threw their hands in the air, exasperated. “Y’know, in my wildest dreams, I had a plan. I would get a wealthy man. I thought I’d never have to work at all. I’d fool around, have a ball, but no. That’s not my life. It’s yours. While I work out here all night and day, and who pays our bills, Quackity? Me. I do, with my paycheck that barely covers it all. While you go out and spend whatever you’re making on frivolous things!”

“Okay, fine! You want the truth? I give you the fucking truth!” Quackity exclaimed, pointing a finger in Y/N’s face. “Maybe I don’t talk to you about my money because I don’t want to admit that I’m going fucking bankrupt, okay? I spent all the money I made on stupid shit or I lost bets and gambled it all away! Okay? I-I didn’t tell anyone about this! I’ve lied to everyone, and I regret it. I regret not being honest. There’s your truth.” Quackity sat back down in a chair, head in his hands. Y/N stared at him, teeth clenched.

“I can’t do this anymore.” They whispered, barely audible. Quackity looked up at them, his eyes pleading them not to go. “I-I can’t just let you lie to me for so long and get away with it.”

“Y/N, please, don’t go. Love, I’m nothing without you!” Quackity begged, grabbing Y/N’s arm gently. They pulled away, refusing to look at him.

“That’s too fucking bad.” Y/N retorted. They picked up their bag, paycheck, and apron. Y/N shoved the apron into Quackity’s hands. “You don’t need me here. It’s a rich man’s world, after all, isn’t it?” Y/N stared blankly at the man they wished they didn’t love. “I quit this shitshow, and I’m moving out tomorrow. We’re over.” Y/N walked briskly out of the casino, tears threatening to spill down their cheeks.

Quackity didn’t bother following them. He knew there was no fixing what he had done. He stared at the apron in his hands. The one that belonged to them. Y/N, the one who supported Quackity through everything. They were his ray of sunshine through the clouds. They were the one thing keeping him going. Now, they’re nothing but a memory. Hot tears spilled out of his eyes as he let out a scream of frustration and pain, letting himself sink onto his knees. “All the things I could do if I had a little money…” He whimpered. He held Y/N’s apron close to his chest, not ready to let go of the love he had lost.

‘It’s a rich man’s world.’

[yandere--stuck]

this is the person that sent an ask here a couple of days ago abt having my own yandere blog and wanting to write smth for the ac stuff!! chickened out of posting it on my own and am still kinda nervous bout submitting, but still wanted to, so here ya go!! <3 (would love to read some of ur thoughts wahaha)  obv this is v heavily inspired by your tom nook / isabelle teaming up but i hope you still like it!! also based in NH cuz that’s the latest game i played lmao - destiny

  Island life hadn’t been all that you had expected.

There were many beautiful sides to it. In ways, it was the best decision of your life. You’d wished to escape the stress and monotony of your previous everyday and you had succeeded. Now, you woke up every day to fresh sea air and sunshine filtering in through your blinds. No stress, no true responsibilities. You could busy yourself with walking around, catching bugs, fishing and relaxing. Even if the island was isolated, for you, for the ones for who the burden of modern society was too heavy, this was the dream. 

But there has always been one more thing on your list of expectations; close bonds with the other people here, in your little haven away from the rest of the world. It’d been that way, at first. But one by one, your close friends moved away. Never with much reason, they’d seemed happy before. Your heart ached every time you had to say goodbye to another one. Soon enough, constant streams of villager came and went until the faces nearly blurred together in your mind. You kept up pleasantries, of course, but getting to know them was another story. You didn’t want to say goodbye again. 

Though you were certain it was all in your head, it had to be, you still felt insecure that it all had something to do with you. That it was your fault, somehow. Whenever you asked Tom or Isabelle, they claimed it was against the customer’s privacy to tell you such things. Which was fair, you guessed. They were two of the few people on the island that became a constant. Despite the villagers around you changing at a steady pace, they never left your side. They’d become a crutch. Even though they had busy schedules, they still listened to you when you stopped by.

It was hard to admit, but you depended on the two of them more than you should. The stability there was a welcome change. 

After another afternoon of hunting bugs in the buzzing spring air, you entered the town hall, remainders of sweat still on your brow. "Good afternoon!" Isabelle's voice rung out from behind the desk, sending you a smile as she dusted off the desks in the back. Tom also sent you a greeting of his own, nodding at you, before he began furiously typing on his laptop once more. 

Both busy, as usual. It was no surprise, the two never stopped having things to do. A twinge of guilt made you falter in your step for a moment, still, they always reassured you that your visits never bothered them. After claiming your daily Nook miles at the terminal, you plopped into a chair, leaning your head on your hand while waiting for Isabelle to come over.

"Any news on the residents?" It was the same question from you every day and the answer was often no different, either. You could simply fear having more work to do and another farewell to prepare. 

"Ah-" Her lips quirked down. Whether her sadness was feigned or not, you didn’t have the mind to worry about at the moment. "I'm sorry, I know she hasn’t been here for long, but Pinkie told me she was leaving earlier today.”

Your head was already going over all the things you'd need to organise as the island representative. Sure, these two did their part as well and you were forever thankful, however, you still needed to see islanders off. Once Tom found another future resident, you’d have to pick a good spot, introduce yourself, show them around all the nice spots, become their friend- 

“Are you alright?” Your head snapped to the side, body jolting. Lost in thought, you hadn’t even noticed he’d taken his chair and put it closer to Isabelle’s, his brow furrowed and a warm hand against your arm.

“I’m… Oh.” About to say you were fine, like you always did, you found that your cheeks were wet. You weren’t sure when you’d started crying. The realization only made it so that you shook more. Cracks appeared in the appearance you’d kept up for so long and the moment it started, it became impossible to put a stop to. Your cheeks burned, you couldn’t look either of them in the eye. Of course you’d have a breakdown, how humiliating.

Isabelle immediately started fussing, patting your head and spilling comforting words that refused to quite reach your ears yet. She looked nearly as distressed as yourself nearly and throughout your tears, you cracked a smile. It didn’t last long. Her worry was just so obvious and genuine that it felt kind of nice. “No one’s been bothering you, right?” She asked, grabbing your other hand and squeezing it. 

“No! Not at all. I’m just… Tired,” You admitted with a trembling voice, staring at the droplets that dripped onto the desk. Above your head, unknown to you, Tom and Isabelle exchanged a knowing glance. “I don’t mind being the representative, I like it, but I keep on having to welcome and say goodbye to new people! It feels like I… I barely know anyone here. I show them around and they never stay long. It’s like…” You trailed off, incapable of speaking your insecurities out loud after all. Silence hung in the air for a couple of moments. 

“Yes, yes, it’s obvious. You need a break. You’ve been overworking yourself, hm?” Tom said, touch still comforting.

“...We were actually worried about you for a bit now.” Isabelle continued, head tilted to the side as she observed you. “You looked tired all the time. I know we’re on a tropical island already, still-! What about a vacation? You should relax, take care of yourself!” 

You perked up, eyes flickering from Isabelle’s to Tom’s face. It wasn’t what you were expecting. “Uh, are you sure? Both of you have enough to do already- I don’t want to cause you trouble.”

“I insist!” Isabelle said, looking sheepish moments later at her own loudness. “Like I said, we noticed before, so we might have made some preparations…”

“She’s right, yes, yes. I have a guest room you can stay at, it’ll be a little change of scenery. So, what do you say, hm?” He smiled, an attempt to cheer you up as well. “I won’t even change any rent.”

By now, you were aware he was far from upset with money, but still, it’d become somewhat of an inside joke. You snorted. “That’s a first.” You played along. The prospect of spending more time around Timmy and Tommy was also nice, they were sweet kids. Wiping the tears from your face, you picked up the parts of yourself. You smiled, the expression coming naturally. 

“Thank you, both of you, really.” Smile turned into a grin. “When do I come over?”

---

I'M ACTUALLY CRYING OH MY GOD???? THIS IS AMAZING HOLY SHIT!!!!!!! THE DESCRIOTIPNS ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND IT'S WRITTEN SO WELL :DDD THANK YOU SO MICH FOR THE SUBMISSION, YOU SHOULD BE SO PROUD OF YOURSELF!!! 💝💝💘💌💗💌💖💝💌💗💌💗

[free-pancakes]

A Fire in the Shadows

LeviHan - Avatar the Last Airbender AU

Characters: Levi, Hange, Erwin, Mike, Nanaba, Moblit, Kenny, Zeke, Sasha, Jean

Summary: Levi, the nephew of a fire nation captain, stumbles upon a ragtag group of 5 known as the Scouts, formidably known for foiling the plans of local fire nation control, living in the forests a few miles north of Ba Sing Se. 

Chapter 2: Trust Chapter 1: The Scouts

(crossposted to ao3) this is definitely a set-up kind of chapter, so i’m sorry if it’s a bit boring! i had a lot of fun writing the scenes tho, especially the first one. hope u like it!

CHAPTER 2: TRUST

“No, I won’t!” Levi cried out. He woke up suddenly, his heart thumping wildly against his chest. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Nightmares have plagued Levi nearly every night since he officially became a soldier, but he rarely remembered the details of his dreams. He would simply jolt awake, beads of sweat forming on his brow—like tiny droplets of fear and regret lingering on his skin.

“Hey Levi, are you okay? Did you have another bad dream?” Hange squinted at him from the other corner of the small room. His startled yell must have woken her up, he thought. She was clearly half-asleep, eyes ridden with exhaustion, hints of drool hugging the corner of her mouth, glasses balanced crookedly on the tip of her nose.

“It’s okay, Hange. Go back to sleep,” Levi said quietly.

“Alrighty,” Hange yawned. She laid back down next to Moblit who was cuddled up next to her, and soon the sound of her snores filled the room again. Levi quietly crawled towards Hange, carefully slid her glasses off of her face, and set them down beside her. He then slipped out from the room and stepped outside of the little hut.

Hange was kind enough to let him share a room with her and Moblit for the last 5 days, as there wasn’t a spare room in their refuge in the trees. Levi still could not believe that he was actually up here, sleeping in a literal treehouse for the past few nights, at least 70 feet above the ground.

He continued along the narrow path outside the hut and peered over the edge of the rails. Looking down at the countless sets of branches and leaves under him, his eyes glimmered in awe over how the Scouts managed to figure out how to live here. He looked ahead, his gaze following the extensive sets of rope bridges connecting huts from tree to tree, each holding either one of the Scout’s quarters, or acting as storage space for food, weapons, supplies, medications, and other materials they needed for their activities. They had animal traps and pulley systems stretching throughout many areas of the vast forest.

Levi limped across the nearest bridge towards a ladder leading up to a looking post that extended above the trees. His leg wasn’t fully healed yet, but he managed to make his way up the ladder, albeit slowly.

The view was simply breathtaking from up there, dawn hurling shades of lilac and orange over the edge of the horizon. Levi closed his eyes as the cool morning breeze gently pushed strands of hair out of his face, and with that, memories of his mother spilled into his thoughts.

On the night before she died, he remembered her hands softly pushing his hair back and tucking it around his ears, her lips planting a small kiss on his forehead. “Levi, someday you might find yourself having to making difficult choices and I won’t be there by your side to help you. The fire nation is not the peaceful land it used to be. So, being born into this world with firepower at your fingertips at this day in age might be a burden to carry, but don’t forget that the most powerful thing about you, Levi, is right here.” She gently placed her finger on his chest, right over his heart. She smiled warmly and took his hand, dropping her good luck charm in his palm. She closed his fingers around it.

Levi opened his eyes and looked down at the charm in his hand, a small metal keychain embossed with the fire nation emblem, and gripped it tightly in his fist. He wondered why these memories decided to flood his mind—why now?

Suddenly, he felt something hit his head. He watched a small pinecone drop and roll away in front of him. He spun around to find Moblit peeping his head through the small opening in the floor. “Tch,” Levi sputtered. He tossed the pinecone back at Moblit, bonking him on the head. Moblit giggled, and climbed up into the deck, a small satchel hung around his arm. He dumped its contents onto the floor. He slid half the food towards Levi, as well as a small jar of ointment. “You forgot to put this on your leg before you came up here,” Moblit said shyly. Levi nodded silently, and started applying it onto his skin, inhaling sharply at the slight burning sensation. Moblit quietly munched on an apple while carefully observing Levi.

After he was finished tending to his leg, he reached for his sandwich, and right before he could take a bite, he was interrupted with a question.

“Why did you come here?”

He looked up at Moblit, whose head was cocked questioningly to the side.

“To get away from your sister’s loud ass snoring,” Levi sighed. Moblit laughed, “No no, why did you come here that night? To this forest?”

Levi chose his words carefully. “I was running away from home.” “Well those burns, did you escape from…” Moblit lowered his voice to a whisper, “…firebenders?”

“…Yes. And that’s enough questions for now,” Levi said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. He was just like his older sister, asking way too many questions, but least he was much more polite about it than Hange. He exercised patience when it came to Moblit because other than Hange, he was the only Scout who at least started to warm up to him over the past few days.

“Hm, okay,” Moblit pouted. “Thanks for answering my questions. You’re pretty nice, yknow?”

Levi scoffed. “What makes you think that?”

“Hmmm well…” Moblit put his apple down and hugged his knees to his chest. “You don’t say anything when Erwin or Mike are rude towards you. And you try to help my sister carry her supplies even though it’s hard to keep up with her with your leg like that. Oh! And I notice you trying to wipe down dusty surfaces, which frankly is kinda weird…”

“Clearly, none of you can manage to keep things clean,” Levi retorted softly.

Moblit laughed. “You’re not wrong.” He then looked down and said bashfully, “And you take off Hange’s glasses when she falls asleep with them on. I think that’s nice.”

Levi blushed—embarrassed, he quickly turned to look out over the trees away from Moblit. This kid was quite observant, Levi thought. Which meant that he should continue to be careful with his words and actions—he couldn’t let him figure out who he really was, because who knows what Erwin, Mike, and Nanaba might do to him. They weren’t benders, but outnumbering him with their level of skill could be problematic, and he wasn’t sure if Hange or Moblit would defend him if they discovered his secret.

If anything, Levi was thankful that Moblit developed a small liking towards him. He thought that Hange probably convinced Moblit to be nicer to him, but it seems he came to this decision all on his own. With that in mind, Levi figured this might be his chance to inquire more about the Scouts.

“Hey Moblit, can I ask you something?” Moblit looked into Levi’s eyes with an intense curiosity. “Why are you all so opposed for me to possibly join your group?”

“Because Erwin doesn’t like you!” He exclaimed matter-of-factly. Levi was caught aback—kids really are just brutally honest sometimes, he thought. “Why?”

“Well, I’m not completely sure, we don’t really talk too much, just the two of us. Buuuut my guess is that they don’t trust you because that’s sort of their default? We’ve had some potential members join our squad in the past and they ended up betraying us.” Sadness fell over his face. “We almost lost Nanaba that one time…“

“Hey you two!” Unintentionally interrupting their conversation, Hange jumped up onto the deck with a goofy smile spread across her face. “I’ve been looking all over for you both! Moblit—Nana wanted you to help her set up the animal traps.”

“Okay, Hange!” He stood up quickly, grabbed his satchel, and hurried towards the ladder. He looked back at Levi and gave him a small wave before heading down to help Nanaba.

Hange bent down to check on Levi’s leg, inspecting the burn wounds. “They’re healing quite nicely, Levi! Hey, if you’re up for it, would you like to come assist me with tending to the wounded in a nearby village?” Hange leaned a bit closer to Levi in excitement. “We just received word of it, and I just know I have some healing salves I’ve been working on that would be of great help!” She looked up towards the sky with a warm smile on her face, her eyes aflame with determination and excitement. The sunrise shrouded the outline of her frame with a warm glow, while her fiery passion to help anyone in need burned brightly inside of her. She was simply a ball of sunshine, radiating light inside and out, and he was utterly mesmerized. Levi had lost his sense of determination since his mother died, and didn’t have much driving him forward or really any goals in his mind to to pursue, other than wanting to defy his uncle, or General Zeke. He felt he had no purpose, but here was this woman, a force of nature living with all the purpose in the world. He was simply entranced by all of her. He’s known her for less than a week and there have been multiple moments like this one, and where he simply could not look away. However, Levi felt that there was something more about her that he felt drawn towards, but he just couldn’t put a finger on it.

“Levi? Hellooooo!” She waved her hand in from of his face with no reaction. “Levi? …HEY SHORTY!” She yelled into his face. Levi finally looked up and locked eyes with hers. He was completely lost in his thoughts, but he was now suddenly aware of how close she was to him, peering into his eyes. Startled, Levi broke out of his trance and he shifted, his knee accidentally bumping into Hange’s back, causing her to yelp out in surprise and topple over right on top of him.

For a fleeting moment, they laid in each others arms, both of them suddenly feeling oddly comfortable being so close to each other. Quickly, the moment fizzled and Hange nervously scrambled to stand up. Levi blushed as he swiftly scooted himself from underneath her.

“Levi, I’m so sorry, is your leg okay??” Hange asked with worry written all over her face. He waved her off, and stood up.

“Yes, don’t worry, it’s okay. And to answer your question, I’ll come with you to help.”

“Oh Levi, thank you!” she smiled brightly. “It’s a large village just northeast of here! There were many casualties among the people there, so a lot of injured people to look after!’

Levi froze.

...What?

Flashbacks of the night he escaped flooded his mind. “…You said a village n-northeast of here?”

“Yes!” Hange exclaimed. “They were attacked by fire nation soldiers just a few days ago, sadly enough.”

Levi broke a sweat, panic quickly taking over his mind. He desperately thought of a way to avoid going back to that village. Why of all places did it have to be that village? He did not need to be reminded of how he sustained his current injuries, but more importantly, he did not want to risk someone recognizing him from that night and blow his cover.

“Oh, actually... maybe I shouldn’t go. I might be a burden to you with my injury and all…”

“Nonsense! You’ll be a great help, Levi. Our intel shows that the fire nation troops that were there are long gone for now and don’t show any hint of movement currently, so we’ll be safe! Plus, you might be able to meet some earthbender friends of mine—I believe one or two may have been in the village during the incident, so they should be there!” She grabbed Levi by the hand and they started towards the ladder.

He considered standing firm in his opposition, but he weighed the pros and cons, concluding that his denial might make the Scouts suspicious. Levi gulped—he did not like where this was going.

———————————

They mounted the backs of two ostrich-horses, and made their way out of the forest towards the village, the early morning sun lighting their path.

After about an hour of Hange babbling on about her ideas on new animal trap designs, the two shared a few moments of peace and quiet, other than the soft sounds of the ostrich-horses feet sliding against the dirt as they continued forward.

“I didn’t realize the Scouts did more than infiltrate fire nation activity,” Levi said, breaking the silence.

“Well yes, we do all sorts of things! I mean that’s primarily what we do, but I mean, there’s so much more things for us to do to help around here,” Hange said excitedly. “Whether that’s bringing food surplus, or aiding to wounded and sick, we try to aid the Earth Kingdom civilians. They’re all really good people, yknow? They don’t deserve this.”

“Well, even if you take part in ways to help like this, what do you hope to do about the fire nation ultimately? Do you have a plan? And…do you think the world could ever change back to how it used to be?” Levi asked.

Levi wondered—was there a way the Scouts thought they could defeat fire nation troops? Because Levi knew it would be impossible to win. At this point, all seemed hopeless, and the Firelord will continue to make moves to take over this world and hurt all these innocent people. He may have made the hard decision to leave his nation behind, but beyond that, figuring out his next move almost felt pointless. How was Hange so optimistic and filled with purpose? Levi desperately needed to hear her answer.

“Wow, Levi,” she teasingly punched his shoulder. “Why are you so talkative all of a sudden? Have you finally decided to break your gloomy silence?”

“Just answer the question, four-eyes,” Levi huffed.

“Aw okay,” Hange pouted. “Well…” Her expression changed ever so slightly, into one of seriousness, hints of sadness in her eyes. “There is no plan.”

“What do you mean there’s no plan? I thought the infamous Scouts would have some kind of plan to overthrow the northern fire nation troops. I mean, I’ve heard you’ve all infiltrated and ruined their raids plenty of times.”

“You’re right, Levi. But in the end, defeating the fire nation is not our role.”

“What do you mean?” “I mean, that it’s the Avatar’s job to do that, silly!” She said matter-of-factly.

“What, you believe in that crap? It’s been almost 100 years since the Avatar went missing.”

“There are rumors that he will come back someday to restore the peace that used to be, but anyway…” She balled her right hand into a fist and softly tapped Levi’s chest with it. “You can believe what you want to believe, Levi! But in the end, we’re just simply a side-story to something bigger. But just because we’re a side role, doesn’t mean we aren’t significant!” Levi looked down at Hange’s hand, and he remembered his mother’s words, her finger lying over his heart. Hange grinned at him, “As Scouts, we decided that our role is to protect those within our reach. And maybe once you’re all healed up, I really hope you decide to join us.”

———————————

They arrived at the entrance way to the village, Hange and Levi staring at the burned ruins and destruction of half the buildings there. Tents were set up all around tending to wounded, and several people were walking around carrying food and supplies. He felt sick to his stomach seeing all the damage done—he felt nothing but shame.

“Hange!” A young, brown haired girl ran up to give Hange a hug. “It’s so good to see you Sasha,” Hange said softly, and pulled her into her embrace. Levi felt the strength of their bond from where he stood, those feelings of strength and solidarity which each other after years of fighting against the shit that his own comrades plagued these lands with. He tried to push his sadness to the deep recesses of his heart, and continued to stayy vigilant.

As Sasha explained to Hange how the wounded were divided up amongst the tents, Levi looked around in worry. He tried to avert his eyes from anyone else’s gaze, lessening the chance anyone could recognize him. There’s was too much chaos that night, and it’s not like he would have known who was there, but there was a higher chance that someone recognized who he was.

“Levi!” He looked up towards Hange. “Come on, I think I’ll have you join one of our trusted comrades to help hand out our sets of bandages we brought.” The three of them walked into the nearest tent.

“Hey, Jean!” Hange said brightly. They walked towards the tall, messy-haired boy. She firmly placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed tightly. “How’s the rebuilding efforts going?”

“Slow, but sure. Mikasa, Eren, Armin, and Connie went on to the next village over to help, but Sasha and I have been working pretty hard here.”

“Great, I’m so proud of you both.” She turned to Levi, “Jean is one of the earthbenders along with Sasha that work with us closely, and use their bending to help construct and rebuild where they to speed up construction for shelter to house all of the surviving civilians who lost their homes. But Jean here is gonna take a break, and help you hand out supplies! Go say hi!” She cheerfully pushed Levi in front of her and towards Jean, while she turned back to Sasha to continue discussing their plans.

Levi crossed his arms, and looked up towards Jean, who stared back at him, his eyes wide, shock written all over his face. And his shock slowly faded into fear. The two stared at each other, paralyzed. After a moment, Levi came to his senses—he couldn’t let Hange and Sasha see Jean’s reaction to their meeting. He took Jean’s shoulder and turned him to face the other way. “Hange, I think Jean and I will start heading towards the other tents,” Levi said quietly.

“Okay!” She squeezed Levi’s hand. “Meet you back here in an hour, alright?”

“Alright,” Levi said quickly. He swept Jean away and swiftly made their way out of the tent. They continued behind the remains of a destroyed building around the corner, away from all the people walking around.

Levi grabbed Jean’s shirt and shoved him back against the rough, brick wall. “Don’t. Say. Anything.” He tightened his hold on Jean’s collar.

“Not to anyone here, not to anyone who was with you that night, and especially not to Hange.”

Jean was amazed at Levi’s strength, but quickly came to his senses and tried to wriggle himself free. “I won’t, I won’t! Please just let me go,” he pleaded. Levi stared at Jean intensely, and then loosened his grip, letting Jean slide down to the floor. Thinking fast, Jean, hit the ground with his heel, causing the rocky earth to jut forward, encasing Levi’s feet under the dirt, subduing him. Levi lost his balance and fell forward onto his knees. He pushed a flame from his right palm in his frustration, but as he saw Jean’s frightened eyes reflect the fire in his hand, he emembered that he was one of the benders he decided to defend that night. Levi put out the flame and sighed, closing his eyes and looking away.

Jean looked at Levi curiously. “So, I take it that your change of heart that night wasn’t just a fluke?”

Levi didn’t answer, and continued to avoid Jean’s gaze. After a few moments of silence, Jean slid his foot across the ground, and the rock around Levi’s feet smoothly disintegrated back down into the rough soil under him.

Levi finally looked up and locked eyes with Jean. “Just… just don’t tell Hange. Or any of the Scouts. Please.” Underneath Levi’s scowl, Jean noticed a small hint of softness in his eyes. Even though his head screamed in defiance and told him not to trust the young man in front of him, Jean knew that his gut feelings and judgment was almost always right—so he decided to follow those feelings instead.

“Don’t worry, Levi. And… your decision to turn on Kenny, did save us that night. So I do owe you my life.” He relaxed a bit, letting his guard down, and leaned against the wall behind him. “But can I ask, why? Why did you suddenly… decide to side with us?”

“I am not siding with you,” Levi muttered. “I’m not siding with anyone. I did what I did because I chose to, on my own accord.”

Levi knew exactly what triggered him to finally stop passively carrying out missions for the fire nation, blindly following whatever propaganda they spewed out to him his whole life, but he didn’t think it was important to share that information with anyone. It was in the past, and he simply had to live with everything he did prior. But what he did feel compelled to share with Jean was what he intended to do with his life from now on—Levi wanted to be honest with someone for once in his life. On top of that, he wanted to gain Hange, Moblit, and the rest of the Scouts’ trust. For the first time, he felt that he might have a shot at finding purpose in his life if he followed them.

And he hated to admit it, but he felt drawn towards the four-eyed weirdo. He might have been surrounded by fire and flame his entire life, but he’s only ever felt cold for a long time. But when she babbled on about her stupid shit around him, he strangely felt... warm.

“My choice... is to work with Hange, and the rest of the Scouts. But in order to do that, I need you to do something for me.”

Levi reached his hand out towards Jean.

Jean looked at the intense determination in Levi’s eyes, and hoped with all of his heart that helping Levi wouldn’t be a mistake.

They shook hands, confirming their pact.

———————————

Night fell upon the forest, and Levi climbed up once again onto the deck of the Scout’s looking post, staring out at the vast evening sky, the leaves shrouded in the glow of the moon, like a glimmering sea stretched out in front of him. He sat in his thoughts leaving his food beside him, untouched. He wasn’t sure if Jean pulled through successfully, and his fate rested on whether or not they believed him. He couldn’t stand thinking about leaving Hange and Moblit behind, let alone them turning on him if Jean broke his promise. Because then, he’d be truly alone and wouldn’t really know what to make of himself anymore.

A rustling of leaves broke his train of thought.

Without turning around, Levi spoke. “Hey Moblit, if you wanted some more food, you could have some of mine. I’m not really hun—“

Erwin cleared his throat. Levi quickly recognized that this definitely wasn’t Moblit and spun around. He craned his neck up to look towards Erwin standing directly behind him, his intense, blue eyes fixated on the view.

“Levi, what do you plan on doing once Hange is finished tending to your injury?”

Levi scowled and looked away, unwilling to answer Erwin.

“I figured you wouldn’t respond to that kind of question, coming from me.”

Suddenly, Levi felt Erwin’s hand on his shoulder and found himself being shoved down onto the floorboards. Erwin laid his foot on Levi’s chest, and pointed his hooked sword at Levi’s face.

“Hange tells me that Jean spoke very highly of you. Did you convince him to say that?”

Levi glared back at Erwin and spoke unphased by the physical threat.

“No. We worked together once about a year ago,” Levi lied.

Erwin knew this information checked out according to what Hange told him, but kept his stance. “Jean is a trusted comrade of ours, but although this has convinced the rest of our team, I’m not thoroughly convinced. You’re gonna have to prove that to me over time, after you’ve spent at least a few months with us as a Scout.”

…As a Scout? Levi wouldn’t ever consider him feeling “joy” even in his happiest moments, but this was probably the closest he’s ever been to that sort of overwhelming emotion. However, he maintained his calm demeanor. No need to let Erwin see him break.

“Before you officially join us, I need you to understand this. The Scouts have my utmost respect and loyalty. But Hange has been by my side since we were kids. She has always been like a little sister to me.” Levi continued to match the intensity of Erwin’s stare, and showed no sign of backing down.

“You two seem to work together very well, and we’ll confirm this when we start training you up to par with how we fight…” Levi internally scoffed—he was only a respected fighter for his age among high fire nation ranks. “…but I only have a gut feeling that you both will be paired on missions together often, based on the synergy of your complementary energies.”

Levi wasn’t surprised that all the Scouts were ridiculously observant people, but Erwin was considerably more calculating.

“And I don’t know why, but she seems to put a lot of faith in you. So Levi, if anything were to happen to Hange on your watch or if you hurt her in any way…”

Erwin pushed his sword against Levi’s neck.

“Levi, promise me that you’ll protect Hange always, at all costs.”

Levi pushed Erwin’s sword out of the way gently, balled his right hand into a fist and laid it over his heart. He thought of Hange’s goofy smile and the beautiful fire present in her eyes when she looked at him.

“I will protect her with my life.”

[rvmmm21]

Could u please consider a yandere wenseulrene story where Irene and Seulgi are aggressive/obsessive and tries to play nice but eventually just pins Wendy and takes it from her whether she like it or not ? Thank u so much !

oof yes i can try. seulgi’s a new one for me haha. it’s been a little while since i wrote yandere. (i don’t condone this irl! just fiction).

[yandere!seulrene x officegirl!wendy]

tw : noncon, harassment.

...

For the most part, Seungwan could ignore it. The passing compliments, little winks here and there, the ‘accidentally’ brushing themselves up against her when they were waiting for the lift. If it were anyone else, these not so subtle hint drops and attempts at flirting wouldn’t have stood. But Son Seungwan was the kindest girl at work, shy and non-confrontational, making herself the perfect target, heaven-sent, for the disturbing infatuation of her two creepy, obsessive managers.

Bae Joohyun and Kang Seulgi; for two women who worked hand in hand to run a nation-wide corporation, you’d expect them to know how to share by now.

Of course, it was all happiness and sunshine when they had Seungwan alone in their office to discuss the monthly revenue or any potential liabilities; the women were content to share amongst themselves. But it came to a point where any interaction between Seungwan and anyone who wasn’t either Joohyun or Seulgi was downright unacceptable. Stealthy pupils would follow her every movement every day, stalking from the shadows, the sound of someone else making Seungwan giggle or sigh igniting a raging jealousy deep within. Call it frightening naivety, but Seungwan didn’t really pick up on any of it. Not initially, anyway. But very slowly, she began to pay closer attention to what lay behind those eyes, the hidden suggestiveness when they had her in their office for something as simple as a cup of water, the creepiness behind those ‘you look really cute today, Ms. Son’s’ and ‘you should wear that more often’s’ that should’ve been blaring red alarms in her face a long time ago.

However, not having been the subject of an obsession this strong before, Seungwan was at a loss when it came to how she’d handle it. Could she just tell them to bugger off and leave her alone? Of course not! There was no way on earth she was going to be rude to her superiors; plus, personal inclination aside, she really wasn’t planning on getting fired anytime soon.

It was all part and parcel of being an adult in the workplace, wasn’t it?

… …          

It was late, and Joohyun had the younger woman wrapped in her arms as they sat on the sofa, just talking, like they did almost every night. After a while, Seulgi shifted to face Joohyun, who hummed questioningly.

“Unnie… Seungwan seems pretty blur. Have we not done enough? Is she purposely ignoring us, do you think? I’m getting tired.”

Seulgi watched as a familiar darkness flickered in her girlfriend’s eyes.

“Quite probably, yes,” she replied, pushing herself up and away so she had space to think. Furrowed brows, chin in palm and a fixed gaze meant that Joohyun was in action-plan mode, and the other girl couldn’t stop her growing smile as she waited for a taste of her girlfriend’s brilliant mind.

Seulgi waited till Joohyun had finished before chipping in, “Oh my… you don’t think that’ll scare her too much? She seems so fragile.”

“She just needs a little push,” the latter insisted, already devising another potential plan, “sweet girl like her? Probably hasn’t even had her first kiss yet. We’ll show her how it’s done.”

“Hm, okay yeah. Little push,” Seulgi parroted, slowly nodding.

How ‘little’ that push would be, however, was entirely dependent on how easy their victim made it for herself. They were quickly losing their patience, despite having done everything right. They’d been nothing but nice thus far, so if Seungwan still wasn’t chomping down on the bit, they’d just have to yank harder on the reigns.

Enough playing nice.

… …

It was past 5pm, and everyone had left.

Except for Seungwan, naturally. Joohyun had given her work to keep her back late after everyone had checked out.

“Such a good girl,” Seulgi whispered, both of them watching the back of their hardest worker through a creek in the door, “no complaints?”

Joohyun shook her head. “Not one.”

The task she’d been presented with wasn’t difficult. It was just filing. Something they both knew Seungwan was miles too overqualified to do but was simple and time consuming enough that she’d be the last one in the building. If the girl was upset or offended in any way, she certainly did a good job at hiding it, because she’d just accepted the work with a graceful ‘of course, miss’.

Joohyun secretly smiled. Sweet girl really did take whatever came at her.

… …

“All done, miss.”

The bright voice had both women snapping their attention to their pretty little employee, who was stood in the doorway, neat pile of folders balanced in one arm.

“Ah, very good,” Seulgi said, swiftly transferring the folders over to the desk as the other woman rounded it, leaning against its surface, long, lean legs crossed over one another and an imperceptible look on her face. It was an extremely attractive look, no lies, but Seungwan felt a quirk of unease at the way her manager’s eyes were studying her so… thoroughly.

The girl did her best not to let her eyes linger anywhere inappropriate for too long.

“Uh…” she paused to clear the thickness in the throat, anxiously twiddling the sleeves of her cardigan behind her back, “i-if that’s all, may I be excused?”

“Not quite, Ms. Son,” Joohyun said, arms crossed out in front of her, creasing her suit jacket ever so slightly, “please shut the door.”

Confused but complicit, Seungwan did as she was told.

“Lock it.”

“Oh s-sorry, wh-what?”

It only took about two seconds of silence before she ended up clicking the lock into place, the nervous pang in her stomach, wrenching.

Both women approached her in an instant, crowding her, more and more until she found herself backed up against the wall, a hollow thud sounding from where she’d hit her head on the faux wood. Seulgi spoke first.

“Do you know why you’re here?”

The girl in question flinched when Joohyun closed the remaining distance between them, reaching a hand up to stroke her hair, lightly, as if she weren’t touching her at all.

Seungwan bit the inside of her cheek, unsure, “I-I’m not sure I understand, miss.”

She suddenly gasped when fingers dug into her jaw, deeply gripping, hard enough to bruise the soft skin. She met Joohyun’s leering gaze with frightened eyes, unable to speak from how strongly the woman was clamping down.

“Hope you enjoyed yourself, sweetheart. Because we’re done playing.”

She never got to ask what that meant. As soon as she opened her mouth, Joohyun’s lips were on hers. Seungwan’s eyes shot wide open and she immediately renewed her efforts at shoving her away, but the older woman couldn’t be budged, not letting up for a second as she stole the air from the girl’s lungs. She didn’t stop until Seungwan was a dishevelled, flushed mess, the arm across her chest, the wall and the thigh wedged between her legs the only things keeping her upright.

The poor thing was just so overwhelmed; every which way she turned was just more unwanted attention from the two people she wanted to get away from.

They didn’t even grant her the opportunity to catch her breath after Joohyun detached herself from her lips. Seungwan panted, trying to pull away, but that only resulted in a firm grip turning her head to the side. It was Seulgi’s turn. The rising panic caused the smaller girl to instinctively struggle but Joohyun’s free hand had already found her wrists, pinning them painfully into the girl against the wall. The older woman sneered at the sight of Seungwan being ravished like this, the power she had over her, keeping her defenceless, absolutely helpless as Seulgi selfishly took what she wanted.

Just for fun, Joohyun promptly gave her thigh a firm thrust, loving the way it elicited a surprised mewl from her, Seulgi eagerly swallowing every sound she made.

This wasn’t a kiss. She’d been violated. Kisses didn’t leave you feeling the way Seungwan felt; frozen with fear.

Just as she was trying to block it out, a hand fell to her hip, flush against the wood she was pressed into. She couldn’t see whose it was, but did it really matter at this point? Cold fingers slipped past the waistband of her skirt, bunching her panties in a fist and giving it a harsh upward tug. Seungwan jerked at the tightness. Then hands, too many to count, roamed all over her body. The touching, the groping; they were all jagged around the edges, punishing and greedy.

Seulgi grabbed a handful of blonde, roughly yanking sideways, exposing the column of her neck. She moved her attention to the girl’s throat as Joohyun kept up her assault, latching on to suck hard, violent marks into pale flesh, ignoring Seungwan pitifully begging her not to. The spots of indigo would be too fresh, too tender to even touch, let alone hide from her co-workers. But perhaps that was the point.

It didn’t progress any further, though. Clearly this was just the beginning. Seungwan was in for a lot more down the line. This was a sneak peak, as you’d have it.

Joohyun and Seulgi stepped back, composed for the most part, admiring their mess of a victim; tangled hair, lipstick smears, uncontrollable trembling. It was a wonderful thing to behold. Poor Seungwan was incapable of supporting her own weight. Her legs, tired and shocked, gave out, and her backside hit the floor. She gave a weak grunt, shakily glancing up at the lascivious women who had given her a gracious little teaser of what else they had in store.

Suddenly, she felt small and scared and confused and so, so helpless.

[bedbellyandbeyond]

Mystery Baby Theatre, Part 1

(Short Story Post, 1/6)

“Hola, I am Carloco, and welcome back to another episode of ‘Mystery Baby Theatre’! My fiancé, Reggie Twink is here with us. Reg, show the locas what you’re wearing. Driving me crazy over here... Damn.” Reggie came over to his partner, showing off a faded maroon crop top over his pale mostly slim body. The curve of his belly so far could only be caught from a profile view, so he did a little turn, cupping the base of his abdomen. “That’s right, loca. It’s that time of the year. Another little enigma is on the way.” Nine years they’d been together and to think it started as a fluke. When they first met, Carlos’s channel ‘Carloco’, described by some as ‘the Gay Man’s Jackass’, was an overnight hit, and Reggie’s own more established channel, ‘Reggie Twink’ had been doing well for two years already, discussing the sexual experience of trans men.  They hooked up for the clout, but they didn’t expect to actually get along so well and when Reggie’s pregnancy announcement video went viral, they figured it was time to commit and moved in together. “What are we on now, Reg? So many kids…” Carlos asked. “Seven? Eight?”

“This is baby número nueve,” Reggie replied holding up his fingers. “Is that right? Nine?” Carlos grinned and bit Reggie’s ear. “Perfect. You know I love it when you speak Spanish…” Reggie grinned, rubbing between Carlos’s legs. “Thank god these babies aren’t symphonies, or else this’d be the end for us.” Carlos rolled his eyes. “Babe, nobody gets your classical music jokes…” “A lot of composers died after making their ninth symphony,” Reggie explained, pouting. “I thought it was funny…” “Hm, we can edit that out later.” “Babe!” “I’m joking, I’m joking!” Carlos chuckled. “Calm down. I love you. You’re the smart one.” “That’s right. You’re lost without me.” “I really am…” Their first pregnancy, though extremely popular with the fans, had been quite a struggle for the couple. They were both still technically in college at the time, so time and money were limited. Reggie struggled through his year but he was determined to achieve academically and chose to retire his channel so he could concentrate on school and his pregnancy. Carlos on the other hand dropped out of college to do videos full-time. Many fans were heartbroken by Reggie’s retirement, so ‘Reggie Twink’ came back for the birth of their son, in all it’s graphic glory, as a feature on Carlos’s channel. The video was taken down within minutes, but fans had managed to download it anyway and it had been reuploaded by fans countless times. Videos they made later featuring baby boy Vance became incredibly popular and the channel started really taking off with the little family on screen. But it wasn’t always sunshine and daisies. Scandal broke out when photos came out of Reggie caught in public kissing a mystery man. This came just shortly after Carlos and Reggie announced baby number two was on the way. Reggie denied the photos, claiming the man in them didn’t look anything like him, but then the mystery man himself, Carlos’s own friend and hairstylist, admitted to an affair with Reggie, leading to Reggie’s own confession. It wasn’t just the mystery man, however. He admitted to having three other misters he’d been sleeping with since he started dating Carlos. “Breaking up with Reggie Twink” became Carloco’s most viewed video that year. When everyone thought it was over however, Carlos came out and proposed to Reggie. It came as a shock to everyone and the internet went insane. Carlos admitted that he didn’t mind Reggie sleeping with other men and in fact found it to be a huge turn on. The truth was, he was a mess without Reggie and the notion that the baby inside his stomach at that moment was highly likely some other man’s child drove him wild with lust. He wanted to be there for Reggie no matter what and if he was willing to be his husband, he wanted to live with no one else. The fans had never heard of a crazier love story and they ate it all up. When baby Brynn came, the birth video was uploaded again, and Carlos gave her his surname, letting everyone know he was serious about raising Reggie’s children. Not long after, Reggie was pregnant again, and the couple were open about the high likelihood that the baby was not biologically Carlos’s. The fans started spreading theories on who the true biological father could be based on the men Reggie was seen associating with. At this point, Carloco was doing so well, the couple was living easy and in luxury. Carlos hired a small team of staff to help with the production of his videos and every member with a penis was considered a possible baby daddy. Reggie’s belly got huge and it was soon revealed that he was having twins. The birth this time was much riskier, but it was still recorded like the last two and the twins were born naturally. Oddly, they had incredibly different features, and after paternity tests were done, they found out that Reggie had actually managed to get pregnant by two different men, neither of which were Carlos. Once again, the children were given the Fuerte name and were equally loved by the family. After the twins, Reggie took a little break from pregnancy. Family videos became a common feature on Carloco and they were seen doing everything together. Carlos continued to do his jackass style comedy on his channel, but nothing brought in the views quite like Reggie’s pregnancies. It wasn’t too long after that realisation that the bump began to swell again. Paternity speculations began to swarm again, and Reggie fed them by snapping pics with random men and throwing them up on his social media. No one could guess who he’d slept with and many were pretty sure he didn’t know either. Many were hoping for twins again, or maybe triplets, but he didn’t get very big and it seemed he wasn’t going to be able one up his past pregnancy. Until the baby came out with a tail. And not just any tail, a fish tail. People couldn’t believe it. Reggie had given birth to merspawn. This was the first time the couple made national news. Videos involving the merbaby trended for weeks and the family couldn’t even go outside without being harassed for photographs with the latest edition of the family. They were contacted by the APID multitude of times, but they refused to cooperate with the government beyond registering their child as non-human. Their fame made them wealthy beyond expectation and they moved into a bigger house in a more remote location to get away from the paparazzi. This didn’t stop their videos though, and it didn’t stop Reggie’s pregnancies. After the merbabe, a wolf child. After the werewolf, a cat spirit. After kitten, a Yulinian baby. It seemed there was no end to series of Reggie’s half-human line of children and they’d started to call the pregnancy videos ‘Mystery Baby Theatre’. Now with another on the way, the fans couldn’t even fathom what species Reggie had managed to impregnate himself with this time. “How many weeks?” Carlos asked, pulling Reggie into his lap in front of the camera. It was a living room shot and they were just chilling on their couch. The kids were being looked after by the nanny so they could film in peace. “Just five,” Reggie said, stroking his stomach. “Though I could swear I can already feel it kicking.” “Maybe you can. The only thing you’ve let me know is that it’s not human.” Carlos placed a hand on Reggie’s belly and held it there. He was always obsessed with Reggie’s belly through every pregnancy and videos with the two of them, he was always seen with his hand placed possessively on his fiancé’s middle, reminding everyone that these babies were his, no matter who put them in there. “Definitely not human,” Reggie said confidently. No one knew how Reggie managed to find his baby daddies. None of the fathers had ever come forward to claim their children and it was believed they had some kind of contract with the couple not to. As far as anyone could tell, Carlos was taking his fatherhood very seriously and he shared his time with all his children equally, not prioritising his blood in any way. He loved all the children and they regularly featured on his channel, chilling with their dads and showing off their little talents. They’d even started a channel for their eldest, Vance, whom at eight years old, was already his own little personality and liked to do fashion reviews and reaction videos. “So whatcha got brewing in there, huh?” Carlos asked, giving Reggie's belly a pat. “A fairy? El chupacabra? A dragon?” “Wouldn't you like to know...” Reggie smirked and framed his stomach with his hands. “You'll just have to wait like everyone else.” Carlos grinned and pinched Reggie's cheek. “Driving me wild, babe.” Reggie pulled his face away from the pinch and chuckled. “What's on the agenda today?” “Q&A, príncipe. The fans want to know all about everything.” “Okay, any questions for me?” “Of course. The locas want to know everything. Who wouldn't want to know about you?” Carlos called his Carloco followers his locas and they were numerous. Locas from around the globe wanted in on this supernaturally mixed family. Carlos had hired one of his staff specifically for public relations and sorting through all the comments for worthwhile questions for his Q&As. “Start with a question for me then,” Reggie insisted, waiting for Carlos to pull them up. “Okay, okay. Hold on.” Carlos scrolled to the Reggie section of his list of questions. “Ah. 'When is Reggie going to take over the channel'? Feels like you have already.” “That's right. I own 51% of this company,” Reggie grinned. “Another one.” “Hm. ‘What number will they stop at? Reggie can't possibly give birth to endless babies.’” Reggie just shrugged. “We'll stop when I'm ready. I might never be ready.” “Yeah, you'll be ninety-five, pushing out an eight-legged horse, Loki-to.” “Was that...a Spanish pun?” “Si, mi amor. You're supposed to laugh.” “Oh. Ahahahah.” “You're lucky I find you so damn sexy...” Reggie smiled and kissed Carlos's neck. “Another question.” Carlos smirked and scrolled down on his laptop. “Okay... ‘I need need need Reggie's postpartum workout routine and I need it stat. Didn't have a baby or anything. Just fat.’” Reggie laughed genuinely at that. “Oh, sweetheart... I'm sure your body is absolutely beautiful, but if you really need to lose some weight, I recommend talking to your doctor before trying any kind of workout. What works for me won't necessarily work for everyone else.” “So basically, you're going to keep your secrets,” Carlos deduced. Reggie's lips curled. “Maybe. Next question.” Carlos scrolled down. “Okay, one for me please. Ah. ‘When is Carloco going to free climb that redwood tree like he promised umpteen videos ago?’ That is a good question. We looked into it. My researchers said it'd be too dangerous... So, soon. Lo prometo.” Reggie rubbed Carlos's shoulder. “Don't hurt yourself, babe. I need you.” Carlos turned and gave Reggie a peck on the lips. “Te quiero, mi amor. But no promises.” “Another question for me now,” Reggie decided, leaning forward and scrolling the laptop himself. “Ooh, here’s a good one. ‘Will Reggie singlehandedly repopu—” He was suddenly cut off by a sudden urge to puke. He covered his mouth and tried to hold it down, but suddenly black bile escaped through the cracks of his fingers. Carlos jumped up in alarm. “Reg? What… Are you okay?” Reggie nodded but rushed off, dashing to the closest bathroom. Carlos frowned and picked up the camera, heading over to his partner in a jog while retching could be heard off-screen. When he got there, Reggie was bent over the toilet holding his stomach. He’d taken his glasses off which was a sign to Carlos that this was serious. When he looked into the toilet, it was pitch black. Carlos knelt down and rubbed Reggie’s back. “Are you okay? Feeling any better?” Reggie nodded again, panting to recover his breath. “…Towel.” “Of course.” Carlos pulled a towel down from the rack and soaked the edge. With it, he started wiping Reggie’s face. This wasn’t the first morning sickness they’d dealt with by a long shot. Of course, it had never come out pitch black before, but then again it was a mystery creature pregnancy. They’d started to expect weird things like this. Reggie turned over and put his hand on Carlos’s arm. “Babe… Camera… I don’t like being sick on camera.” “Right, right… We’ll be right back, locas.” Carlos turned off the camera and grinned. “Very dramatic, babe.” Reggie chuckled, rubbing his stomach. “You can thank this kid for that. I did not expect this shit…” He leaned over and flushed the toilet, letting the bile wash away. “Think we should be concerned?” Carlos asked. “Naw… I’m already feeling better. Help me up.” Carlos stood up and pulled Reggie up along with him. “Can’t believe you’re willing to go through all this. I don’t think I could handle being pregnant.” “It’s not for the feint of heart, I’ll tell you that.” Reggie stretched. “I’m hungry. Are you gonna keep filming or do you want to lunch with me?” “I want to do everything with you,” Carlos insisted. “What are we craving today?” “Hmmm… I have a serious wine craving.” “That’s not food, babe. And do you think it’s safe?” “Trust me, whatever’s growing inside me can handle it. I promise.” “Okay, but I’ll make us some sandwiches too,” Carlos said before leaving a big kiss on Reggie’s cheek then heading to the kitchen. Reggie took a moment to wash and moisturise his face before going to join his partner.

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

[cozycryptidcorner]

Shark Merfolk Boyfriend

Hey guys- here’s the first place winner of the raffle! Sorry I’ve been MIA for a little while, school and family stuff has had be busy af this month. Hope you enjoy this story about a smartass shark merfolk with a gender neutral reader.

The train from the coastline to the Center takes well over an hour, the lights of the cars dim enough so the passengers can look out windows and into the depths. The glass that protects the track network is thick and military-grade, strong enough not to crack underneath the pressure of the ocean. You don’t mind the time it takes to get there, it gives you a moment to breathe, or finish up any last-minute projects. The paperwork at the Center can be a bitch, and it seems like everyone is running behind on it, even you. So while the wheels on the tracks whirl and moan, you have your laptop out, fingers flying across the keys as you electronically sign off a thing or two.

The shriek of the breaks is dulled significantly by the padding of the train’s walls, but you still hear the barest echo of the slowing wheels. There, out the window, you can see the lights shimmering through the currents, shadows of creatures swimming to and fro dancing on the edge of your vision. Carefully, you start placing your work things back into your bag, placing the strap on your shoulder as the cars come to a final stop. The intercom buzzes as someone’s recorded voice announces this as the Center, reminding tourists to calmly file towards the main lobby for the tours and special bundle deals for the whole family.

You watch your step as you get off, helping a mother carry a rather bulky stroller down the steep stairs while her toddler coos at the bright lights hanging overhead. Instead of following the crowd, most of them just curious passersby here to spend a long day, you scan an employee’s pass on a nearby elevator, stepping in and pressing your floor when the doors close. The labs are a lower level down, far from the loud shrieking of children and the aghast staring of couples as they look into the many different aquatic exhibits. You are similar to them in that you are here to be a spectator, though the reasons are vastly different.

The wetsuit waiting for you in the locker room is cold and wet, as it hadn’t managed to dry from when you left it the night before. You don’t think you’ve put that thing on while it was dry since you first got it, but it doesn’t matter so much once you get it on. It traps the heat from your body, keeping you warm despite the obvious chill deep seawater brings. You step into the main hall, barefoot and with your water shoes in hand, looking over at the adjoining waterway the merfolk use to get around. Someone waits for you, skin a dark shade of blue-gray, teeth sharp and layered in rows in his mouth.

“Hey,” you say, holding your bookbag slightly away from your body, so it doesn’t soak through. “How’d your night go?”

“Oh, you know,” Kanoa says, baring his razor-sharp teeth in a greeting smile, “the same. I watched a- what was it called... RIP Vine compilation for the Chaotic Good. I also learned a new human word: yeet.”

“Hm, interesting.” You bite your bottom lip, looking over the day’s agenda. “You are aware of the proper use of that word, right?”

“Of course, doctor. I would demonstrate, but I have nothing to throw besides an expensive, government-issued tablet.”

“Please don’t,” you are tempted to laugh, but hold everything together for the sake of a professional persona. “Management will not be particularly pleased about that. Our mysterious benefactor’s money can only go so far.”

When you walk, Kanoa follows alongside in the waterway, tail flicking for movement. You know that he could easily outpace you is he wanted, there have been some foot races up and down the halls just for the sake of fun. The merfolk are typically the ones who come out winning, their slick, long bodies perfect examples of speed and agility. Still, there isn’t any use in outrunning your partner when they can barely keep up, so Kanoa matches your rate of steps, looking over his tablet with a furrowed brow.

“How did our patient do during the night?” You ask, bringing up the file of a dolphin.

“I heard from our night crew that she had no issues, though she seemed lonely.”

“Once her wounds are healed up enough, she can join the communal tank.” You push open a set of double doors, entering a large, domed room, an artificial glow shining from the many lights against the ceiling. The simulation of daytime is remarkable, you would readily admit, for anyone less aware of the small biome’s existence, they might be readily fooled for some time, though the painted horizon on one side would be an easy giveaway. The sand feels warm against your bare toes, as the heated plates just a couple of feet below work to keep the internal temperatures like that of a paradise.

There, in the shallows of the water, a baby dolphin swims around in circles, though her movements are rather weak. Still, she’s significantly healed from when she first arrived, bloody and bruised from struggling to escape a stray plastic net she caught herself in. A little rest and some TLC and she’ll be back with her pod in no time, though her family went ahead and migrated without her, most likely under the assumption that their poor baby was dead. The GPS tags have them out in the northern waters already, so you’ll probably have her kept in rehabilitation until they come back.

Kanoa pops out from his own entrance underneath the water, shaking his head back and forth to get the water from his eyes. The dolphin clicks with joy when she sees him, swimming weak circles around his large, gray frame in an invitation to play. He picks her up, and she wriggles in his arms with joy, making loud, squeaky cries of excitement as he dives backward in the water, popping back up only a yard away from the artificial shore. She squeals when she notices you, too, beckoning you closer so she could swim excited circles around your waist.

“She missed us,” Kanoa laughs, picking her up again and placing a kiss on her forehead. “Awww, little baby, look at you! Getting better already.”

The dolphin’s excitement is ridiculously infectious, so you find yourself giggling along to her chirps of happiness. Your fingers run over her back as she wriggles back and forth between you and Kanoa, unable to decide who gets to get the honor of playing the first game of the day with her. Physical therapy, actually, it’s just disguised as something fun for her to do, but every little thing the both of you do has the express purpose of helping her recover. Still, dressing it up to be fun and engaging certainly hurts no one, least of all the patient in question.

“We need to come up with a name for you,” Kanoa coos, cradling her in his arms.

“Don’t look at me,” you say, “you can’t put me on the spot like that.”

“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” Kanoa says, more to the dolphin than you, “yes I will, baby girl, yes I will…”

You hide your smile behind the tablet, tapping briefly just to make it seem like you’re working. Kanoa is more than happy to take the first game, something designed to strengthen her muscles, while you sit on the sandy edge, monitoring her progress from a distance in case he misses something vital in her movement. She’s a wily one, even while injured, so she runs to risk of straining herself far too early, something that might permanently damage what has already been harmed. Then it’s your turn to give her some attention, swimming laps around the pool in the guise of tag.

“You take lunch with the other scientists, don’t you?” Kanoa asks, after a few hours of working with the dolphin.

“Usually. I don’t have the energy to pack my own food, so I eat from the cafeteria.”

“You should eat it with me. If you don’t mind.” Kanoa fiddles with his tablet, the corner of his mouth twitching. “It would give us some extra time to discuss our little patient here.”

It only takes a moment of hesitation for you to agree. “Sure, but you’ll have to let me grab something to-go from the main caf.”

“Of course,” Kanoa says, perhaps a little too quickly. “I usually eat here with little miss sunshine, so-”

“I’ll get something to eat and come back down,” you finish, nodding, “sounds good.”

It doesn’t take much longer for lunchtime to arrive, but it does take you a hot minute to go up to the cafeteria, lines all up the wazoo. You through on a simple cover dress, one thin layer to hide your skin-tight wetsuit from prying, curious eyes. Thanks to the ridiculous amount of tourism that takes up a good portion of the Center, there are many chain restaurants present to feed them all, so you always have a decent selection of menu. There’s an authentic Japanese restaurant, carved out in their own little corner, one that many a night you’ve spent with your land-dwelling coworkers.

The sushi there is top-notch, or at least you’ve been told so by your coworkers with more experience in the cuisine. While a tad bit pricey, it is one of the few things that both humans and merfolk can consume, so you’re drawn to it all the same. Just on a whim, you order one or two more than you think you can eat... in case someone wants to share. After a couple of minutes of waiting after your order was taken, the chef finishes up the lunch, placing everything in a sturdy paper box, one that biodegrades after a couple of days once it’s been used. Plastics are strictly prohibited; after all, styrofoam included, so everything that gets put in the trash rots after a couple of days. Keeps the risk of pollution at a minimum.

You walk back to the elevators, careful to dodge a group of shrieking children running out of the gift shop, little trinkets that couldn’t have cost more than five dollars in hand. It doesn’t take you as long to navigate the tunneling corridors back down to the rehab domes, the chill of the hallways biting at your fingers. The warmth of the artificial sun is a relief the moment you push your way through the doors, and you’re quick to kick off your sandals and bury your toes beneath the sand.

Kanoa waits for you, tail curled up, ceramic bowl in hand with spiced fish inside. It’s rather hard to cook food beneath the sea when a fire isn’t exactly an option, and going to any heat source like a lava flow would end up with you roasting alongside whatever you have, so it’s not really a surprise that merfolk eat their food raw. You sit next to him, placing a metal water bottle in the sand and wriggling it, so it stays upright, and look over to where the dolphin is swimming around in circles, playing her own little game with a large, inflated ball.

“How’s she doing?”

“In the few minutes that you’ve been gone?” Kanoa pops another slice of fish into his mouth. “Not very different. She’s extremely chipper today, wonder what the night crew did to put her in such a good mood.”

“Maybe she’s just stoked to see us.”

Kanoa looks over at you, brow furrowed.

“Stoked, uh, means,”

“Just playing,” he flicks your shoulder, “I know what it means: very excited.”

You snort, snapping a pair of disposable chopsticks in half. “You got me there, dude. I almost went on a whole tangent explaining what it means and how it’s used. Can’t have a repeat of the lmao incident from last year.”

Kanoa lets out a huffy laugh, looking over your meal with an interested gaze. “Sushi? You like that?”

You shrug, picking up one of the more fishy bites and offered it to him. “Mostly. You want some?”

He leans over and takes the sushi in his mouth, not taking too much time to chew before swallowing, eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he takes a moment to decide whether or not he likes it. “It’s good.”

“Yeah?” You aren’t sure if you’re feeling relief or not.

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” You quickly pick up another and eat it, mouth savoring the natural saltiness of the fish and the soft crunch of an accompanying radish.

“I have a question,” Kanoa says in a casual-not-casual voice, “just something I’ve been wondering about.”

“Yes?” You take the bait, not sure where to look. Definitely not on his chiseled abs, that’s not a great place to stare at right now. Maybe not at your sushi, either, because that might seem rude. Ugh, eye contact it is, then.

“I’ve seen acts of affection on the Tube. Kissing, right?”

“First, never call YouTube ‘the tube’ again,” you take a breath, steeling yourself for where you know he’s trying to steer the conversation towards. You know what? You’re okay with this. “Second, yes, I’m aware of kissing.”

“I’d like to try it, if you don’t mind, with someone with experience in the action. Most humans do, yeah? You do?”

You clear the air away from your throat. “Yeah.”

“Would you mind?”

You let the question mull over in your head for all but two seconds while you bring forth the pros and cons of doing allowing a shark merfolk press his mouth against yours- or, you suppose, you’ll have to be the one to initiate, coaching him through the process. Pros; you look down at his abs, then back up to the shapely outline of his jaw. Cons; uhm, letting the softer parts of your face get up and cozy with that gauntlet of ridiculously sharp teeth.

“Sure,” you say, swallowing thickly, eyeing his pecs, “for science.”

Carefully, you set the box of sushi onto the sand. Then, slowly, you place both hands on either side of his shoulders, getting up onto your knees, and go in for the kill before you hesitate any longer. His mouth isn’t soft as a human’s; rather, it’s a tad bit rubbery, nor is it at all warm. It’s almost like kissing one of those dreaded dodgeballs that’s been hanging out in the cold night air for a good couple of hours, though his mouth is decidedly far more shapely than a sphere.

Kanoa doesn’t move an inch, frozen in place, almost like he hadn’t expected you to take his offer, or at least do so as quickly as you ended up doing so. When you pull away, though, his hand unexpectedly falls on your arm, his dark eyes almost glazed over from whatever emotions are running through his body. After a moment, he presses his forehead against yours, then tries his best to mimic the way your lips had gently pressed up against his. He’s clumsy at first, but that doesn’t stop him from making a second attempt, one that’s much more improved in the way of technique.

You’re quickly breathless, and you can’t remember how you ended up underneath him, only that his kissing abilities are improving very rapidly with every single intimate moment that passes. It takes you a minute to be able to think properly because you want to ask him something, but the heat the two of you share makes it awfully hard to create a single, coherent sentence in your mind. Oh, the coolness of his mouth was only offputting in the beginning, now it’s grown on you. “Ho-” you let out a little gasp when his face tilts, and he offers a teasing kiss on your earlobe, “how to your people do this?”

“They don’t.” He’s as breathless as you, unable to process any of his thoughts or your words correctly.

“Not this, but- but ways they show love?” You tangling your fingers through his drying hair, your nails pressing into his scalp.

Kanoa mulls it over for a moment, eyes darting across your face, your eyes, nose, mouth, then falls down to a sliver of skin that the wetsuit doesn’t cover on your neck. He leans over, his hair tickling your chin, then bites, not hard, not enough to draw blood, but enough to send a little spark through your nerves. Instead of immediately letting go, he stays that way for a bit longer, then slowly opens his mouth enough to release your skin. His teeth graze against your neck as he does so, the warmth of his breath sending delicious shivers down your spine.

“Like that.” He says, sounding satisfied with how disheveled you look beneath him.

“Oh,” you say, your voice small. “Do it again.”

He obeys, switching over to the other side of your neck, his teeth pulling at your skin. The way he bites is careful, full of cautious movement, clearly aware that any sort of wrong twitch might leave your skin torn and bloody. It’s a careful dance between too much and not enough, the line between pain and pleasure as thin as a silk thread, but he somehow manages to walk it with a sort of ease that you’re not confident you can come close to emulate, should the tables turn. When he lets go, the sharpness ceases, and you are left breathless and heated.

“We should stop,” he says, his voice quiet and muted, as though there’s suddenly a wall dividing the two of you.

“Wha- why?” You ask, suddenly aware that the zipper of your wetsuit had somehow managed to make it down past your collarbone. Did he do that? Did you? It’s a blur.

“I’m afraid I won’t want to stop if we continue- and I don’t think you would, either.” He looks over to where the dolphin is swimming around in circles, eagerly awaiting your return to playtime. “We’re still at work.”

“Right.” Your stomach stops its drop, relieved that he hadn’t suddenly decided that this was all too much, too fast, because the pace seemed to be just right in your eyes.

“There’s a utility closet that I can get into upstairs,” he says, “no one ever enters because it’s tucked in a far off corner.”

You smile wide enough that it hurts. “Oh? And what would be doing in there?”

“Going as far as we’d like without worrying about an audience.”

“I’ll give it some thought,” you say, playing the hard to get card. “Weigh the benefits of any feasible outcomes.”

“Well, please write out your final thesis on the topic and bring it by my desk by evening.”

[madmadmilk]

Like  Dark Chocolate Part 7 | Tom Holland x Reader (FINALLY)

IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, BUT WE’RE BACK IN THE GAME BABEYYY. Thank u for waiting so patiently~ it literally took like 6 months lol pls be kind ((pics not mine))

READ THE TEASER FIRST | PART 1 | PART 2| PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7 | PART 8 | (Updates next week?)

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: You can’t help but fall into something familiar, something warm, something you deserve. He’s been waiting for you while you’ve been wondering. They say time heals all wounds, but the real question is, how much time does it take to even believe you’ve healed?

Warning: Swearing, sweating, and something like forgiveness

Word Count: 10.8K petals on the floor

Special thank you to some of my lovely BETAs: @fangirl-writer-awesomeness @laucontrerasv @spidey-waffles11 (and honestly anyone who sent asks looking for this. thank you)

-

“Same old Tom.”

Your head tilts as you look into those familiar chocolatey browns. You can see the arrow run straight through his heart. It’s the first time he’s hearing your voice say his name in a month. And it’s one of the few times you’ve let yourself say it out loud.

There’s a familiar taste that coats your mouth.

I don’t want to admit it but–���

A shallow breath catches in your throat, a faint smile on your lips. You just can’t hold it back anymore, old feelings threatening to spill over.

I do miss you, Tom.

They were never really forgotten.

Just a little bit.

And well, you could never hide it from yourself.

You fight the smile on you dry lips from widening, you fight the warm flush ferociously crawling up your chest, you fight every urge in your body from jumping up to wrap yourself up and all around him.

You missed him.

And the bare sight of him is enough to drive you mad.

“It’s been a long time.”

“It has been,” you reply curtly, eating up the sight before you. He was dressed in a rush, slouchy, ruffled but smelling like a cosy detergent and sexy shampoo. The giddy smile has never left his lips.

The space between you both is maddening, easy to be made close, easy to pull further apart.

Your fingers twitch by your sides.        

Ha.

He probably can’t even remember the text he sent you–– “Blink 3 times if you miss me,” how the hell would you count how many times a person blinks? We do it all the time? When does the clock run––

But, Tom… Tom gets it. Of course he does.

1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3.1, 2, 3.

A devilish grin stretches across his boyish face, an overwhelming excitement vibrating through him. He stood taller, shoulders hunched up as he leaned forward. It was a short victory he would hold against you and then it evenly faded into a relieved smile. The corners of his brows pull down as he lets out a soft sigh. You can hear the click of his tongue. His shoulders slump in satisfaction, and cheeks pinken as if his whole body being was saying, “thank god, thank god.”

He finally has your attention, better, at your admission.

His quiet voice confirms,

“So you have been reading the things I’ve sent you,” whispering now, “And listening?”

Haha.

You give him a blank stare, but inadvertently stretch your lips from smile to pucker to smile. You’re trying not to give him anything more than your telling blinks. You’re not going to make yourself anymore vulnerable, any more needy, any more…. generous. This was already too much.

But the silence gives him one more confirmation; tells him that you still think of him, at least enough to let him think you do. And this circular rationale reminds you of just how much of a sweet lil cavity he is.

An aching pain you can’t ignore.

He nods, wiggling his jaw while his eyes dance over your shoulders to your nose and back to your eyes,

“Good to know.”

Oh, hell.

Tom’s confidence comes and goes as he laughs to himself, only to flush in embarrassment. Neither of you can keep your composure. Both of your minds roll over all the little things he’s said in the messages and that’s more than enough to fill the remaining gap between you.

You feel like you know almost everything he’s feeling right now.

Almost, almost.

He clears his throat, scratching his head and bowing down,

“Listen, I–I really didn’t expect to see you at all. For the while. It’s just that Mal messaged me about an emergency, just saying that it was you and––“

“It was me. I sent it,” you clarify, not wanting to smear any more blame on your ill neighbor. Hadn’t she had enough? Questionably.

“I used her phone.”

“Oh,” he laughs emptily. You see his entire face sink in guilt. He scratches his head a little harder, trying to piece it together.

“She practically begged me to get your attention and she––“ he hums to your truth, “She showed it to me. I… I saw the messages she sent to you.”

Tom freezes, and drops his hand. He searches for an answer in your eyes. His blinks are slow, and the deep stare makes you all too aware.

Suddenly, you wonder if that was a breach of his privacy, if his healing should have been done alone. If you had stepped into a part of him you weren’t meant to see.

You step forward, putting your hands up.

“Sorry! Uhm, she… She let me read what she sent you, at the end… end of it all,” an uneasy chuckle falls past your lips, “She left your conversation open… and yeah, I saw a little bit. I think she was apologizing to me with it… or something like that.”

He nods, stare looking past you now, far away. He mutters under his breath,

“I’m still waiting for one too.”

And now you felt the restlessness of guilt; maybe it was a breach of trust. You squeeze your eyes tight for a second, trying to reorganize yourself, trust this and trust that. You’re getting tangled deeper into problems you were trying so hard to move past, smooth past.

The truth is all you have left.

You offer him a way out of the storm, praising softly,

“At the very least, I want to say thank you… for uhm, letting me know you were coming.”

His brows twitch into a furrow before he smiles gently, his cheek pulling.  His hands were itching to reach out, to hold you. And, honestly, if he did… you wouldn’t resist too hard. Maybe.

“Of course,” Tom confirms so lovingly. In that short phrase you can hear the tumbling of his feelings, the way he had to hold back from spilling his heart out and taking all of you in his arms, up and away from this cursed apartment.

But you both hear the echo of your own words, cast like a spell, “give me time.” So he did.

“And…. I’ll be getting out of your hair now.”

Your head tilts as you take him all in. His hair has dried, somewhere between curls and waves, the bags under his eyes are deep but the expression on his face is warm. You notice his pause, wondering if you should ask him to stay.

You can’t.

And he knows that.

Tom cracks into a laugh, rolling his head in a circle. You stand back on your heels, tension dissipating. He rocks back too, and starts to pick up his scattered jacket and hat. He puts them on quickly and you lean against the back of the couch. The apartment is quiet, save for the sound of his rustling clothes.

He heads to the door, ruffling his hair before he sticks it back under his cap. His hand is on the doorknob, cranking it slowly. He turns back to give you a dazzling smile,

“It was really, really amazing to see you again.”

You stomach flips. You can only nod and smile, as he holds your gaze. He looks down stepping out and––

“Hey! Tom?”

He looks over his shoulder expectantly, and you take the door. He’s still halfway inside your apartment, and sorely full in your heart. He raises his brow in question, stuffing his hands in his pockets as you hold the door open for him.

Here it goes.

“I… I stayed around because… I kind of wanted to see you.”

His jaw drops.

“It was nice.”

And that goddamn heart-stopping grin is burned into your memory. You could see the sunshine and hope leaking out of his pores as he smiles with an open mouth.

Ooh.

And with a boyish chuckle, he accepts.

“Thank you, Y/N,” the flushing boy turns back and retreats with a happy skip,

“I’ll see you around.”

My name.

You don’t let yourself watch him walk away for too long, and shut the door quickly. Similarly, trying to shut out the emotions welling in your chest. Warm, worn, weak.

If Mal was awake, listening, or even remotely on “your side” you could just imagine her slow clapping to that awkward exchange.

You and Tom had finally moved forward; maybe they were baby steps. Or maybe they were even something less.

Anything is better than where you were nearly a month ago.

You retreat back to the couch and sink into your spot, alone with your rambling thoughts. Are we in, or are we out? Are we back? Is there more? Are we less––?

Gah.

You laugh as you wipe your hands over your face. You pull your cheeks down and let out a garbled sigh.

It’s really annoying how much you miss the taste of chocolate.

-

☎️ “Hey, It’s Tom. Again. Uhm, alright… This…. This feels ten times MORE awkward now that I know that you actually listen to these. Haha, shit! And I’ve sounded so pathetic in every single message–– hahaha, but, uhm, thanks. Not sure what part I’m thanking you for… but… I’m just thankful for you. Hah, hope that’s okay. I really just can’t believe I got to see you. It’s really been a long while, and I… I just wasn’t sure how we were even going to meet again. And, I realized I don’t have many pictures of you and you haven’t updated ANYTHING so––– oh, oh my god. I didn't mean to sound so fucking creepy! I swear I’m not checking on you everyday or something, hahahaha. Wah! I–– well. I don’t think i’ll ever forget what you look like, and I hope you’ll let me stick around……………… ugh, I’m the worst. For fucks sake. Hm….. you…. You really did look amazing, babe. I couldn’t breathe. And maybe you look even better without me……. Ahem. Ah, yeah. Sorry this is a fucking, that I’m a fucking mess. I’ll leave you be. Yeah. I’ll-- uhm, later. Bye, Y/N. I’ve missed you too.”

-

☎️ “Hey! Hey, uhm, It’s me. Tom. Again, again. Haha. Okay, uhm, totally slipped my mind, but I’ll be at Jay and Jae’s wedding like next, next week. Harrison said you were going as his date? Yeah, no problem with that. Just– uh, yeah. Just letting you know i’ll be there too. I know Mal, is invited so, she might be around? I’m not too sure. And… shouldn’t Zendaya be back around that time? Hahaha. Yeah, i–– This is just a heads up. I…. I won’t bother you there but…. Can i say that i’m looking forward to seeing you again so soon? Because I am….. Ooooohhhh….. Okay. Yeah, sorry. I’ll see you there, or not. Bye, babe.”

-

You smooth out your dress over your legs as you sit in a stiff chair. You kick your feet next to Harrison, lost on his phone. He ignores your fidgeting.

True to Tom’s voicemails, that you did listen to the moment you got them, you were at a wedding. Together, but not exactly. Jay and Jae were distant friends of yours, closer to Tom and his group of friends more than anyone else.

So naturally, Tom was there, sitting alone and far off, since Harrison took you as his date. He kept a professional distance, you would say.

Now, Mal was meant to be here too–– but she wasn’t. She declined without giving a specific reason, but you could imagine a few. The idea of fluffy bright whites, bouncy chatter and the honest glow of fairy lights might not shine too well on her particular shade of red.

Not that she doesn’t deserve her own sparkly moment in time, but you suppose this is all too fresh. And all too soon.

You reach out to touch the flowers wrapped around the chair in front of you. Were they real? Were they fake? You occupied yourself like this, and wondered…. Should you be feeling the same way as Mal?

Your eyes dart around, following strings of lights and greenery and warm sounds. Being at weddings, whether you knew the party well enough or not, has always made you feel loved. There's a certain warmth and love and respect that just overflows and spills into your own heart. Making you nostalgic for things you’ve never felt before.

So lovely.

Your thumbs smooth over a large petal.

And a ceremony like this…. Isn’t that bad. One day…

Your eyes flicker up, immediately finding that curious cute cavity.

One day maybe.

Tom is sitting with his arms resting on his legs. He switches between looking up, waving at distant friends and checking his phone, only to put it away quickly. He’s fidgeting too– trying his hardest not to look directly back at you.

You still catch him a few times.

You lean back, obscuring yourself from his view and  line up your arm with Harrison. You lean your head on his shoulder and laugh to yourself, pressing a fist against your lips to stifle it.

“Hm?” Harrison hums, craning his neck to see your face, “What’s so funny?”

You quiet down and smile gently. Curiosity is bubbling inside you and you feel like you’re in such high spirits–– the giddy nature of weddings is infectious, after all.

Is it because you feel like you have the upper hand tonight? Because Tom is trying so hard to not stare, but is so bad at hiding it? Because you feel like nothing can go wrong from this point?

Knock on wood.

Having Harrison by your side definitely feeds you a bit of confidence, at his expense. But you don’t think of that immediately. Things are only just coming to focus for you, and you eyes are willing to see.

You squeeze Haz’s arms softly, and suggest,

“Shall we invite him over?”

The golden haired boy scoffs, cocking his head back before looking at you,

“You sure about that?”

“‘Can’t leave him looking like a chump all by himself, right?”

He smiles at your thoughtfulness, raising his eyebrows then standing up. He calls over his friend quickly without much question. Tom perks up at the call of his name, and you could see his eyes widen across the ways.

He shimmies his way over, dodging people with a easygoing smile. He stands next to Haz, nodding his head politely,

“Hey, guys.”

“Hey, come sit with us,” you offer plainly, pointing beside Harrison.

You could see Tom doing the math in his head, but he doesn’t challenge it. He smiles instead, a little wary and a little stiff but thanks you. You could hear Harrison snort in dull annoyance, making you giggle.

You’re giddy for real.

Haz is sat between you two during the wedding ceremony, but you can feel whenever either of them turn to look at you, hot stares on your cheek. You all sit and stand together, following the procession.

“Is it hot in here, or is it just me?” the taller boy teases over the tension, bumping you with his elbow. You bump him back and he continues, “I’m in the line of fire.”

“Shut up!” you whisper back to him, catching Tom’s attention.

He turns to you, only like quarter cheek, but you can see the side of his eye wrinkle and how his cheek lift in a smile. You’re left looking at the teasing image of his jaw and ear and cheek and the tangle of waves on the nape of his neck––

Bring the heat.

The ceremony ambles on, and in the lull you hear Tom joke with Haz,

“Can’t wait for the drinks, man.”

Pffft.

His face was dusted pink. He needed something to keep him cool, something to do with his hands, and it might as well take the edge off too. It really couldn’t do much harm at this point. But would it even help with his nerves?

You stop yourself from giggling again, some kind of ancient, wretched, cliche girliness crawling out from you. You’re trying to play coy, but you can’t go exposing yourself.

Is this what it’s like to be wanted? And know you’re wanted?

Feels a little nice to be on this end, you have to admit.

You pull through the rest of the service, crying as the grooms whisper their vows to one another. Honestly you could barely hear it, but the way that they cried and smiled and cheered told you everything you needed to know.

Your heart swells as they kiss and walk by, everyone throwing handfuls of petals over them. It rains pink and white, a small flurry of love.

And while you take in the loving visual, you miss the way that a certain brunette turns back to catch a glimpse of you. Through the light mist of flowers, he sees a happy tear mark down your cheek and wishes nothing more than to be by your side and wipe it away.

“Catch you in a few,” comes Harrison’s voice and parting tap on your shoulder.

“Huh?” you blink, rubbing the corners of your eyes delicately.

He smiles, tilting his head towards company calling his name. He disappears into the crowd after giving your shoulder a squeeze and Tom a sharp pat on the back.

Ah, alone at last. You roll your eyes and nod to yourself.

There’s a wave of people leaving the ceremony to walk over to the reception hall, but you end up waiting in your row with Tom. You step close to his back, peering over him to see if it would be any easier to get out. You don’t talk.

After a while of being stuck, you both dart between chairs and exit the opposite way. You feel his hand almost touch the small of your back as he urges your way through.

The touch doesn’t connect, but a part of you wish it had.

You laugh bitterly as you push through the doors that lead out. It’s more than a bit ironic that you meet again at a wedding. The place of commitment and love and attempt at eternal happiness.

It’s kind of funny actually.

You step onto the sidewalk, shivering slightly at the cool spring weather. The smell of spring and summer was strong, but your teeth still chattered.

You stand side by side as you wait to cross the street, cars zipping through. You’re too aware of the space you hold between each other. You hold your hands to your chest and look ahead to the reception hall, glittery lights and soft noise wafting through.

“That was beautiful,” Tom comments quietly.

“Wasn’t it?” you smile, brought back to those glimmering emotions. You blink the wetness away from your eyes as you face him for a moment.

I’m such a sucker.

His hair is gelled back neater than usual, though a rogue curl tries to coil at the side of his head.

For…. things………..

“Mhm,” he hums, returning your gaze warmly. Those dark browns caught a twinkle the evening glow. Your heart beats oddly, as your lips pressed together. Tom smiles then taps the back of your arm, looking ahead of you.

“Let’s cross this street now.”

And you walk behind him, following his steps while skipping in your formal shoes, watching the broad sweep of his back in a smart black jacket.

You felt safe here.

Again.

-

Tom stood by your side as you crossed the threshold of the reception hall. The clack of your shoes against the hardwood didn’t catch any new attention but it sounded so fucking loud to you.You felt his shoulders roll back, as yours did, taking in the beautiful sight. Fairy lights and flowers and white drapery, hidden and highlighted by crowds of people. Wah.

You turn your cheek softly to look at him, your lashes fluttering. He was doing the same thing, both cautious of what to do and what to say next. You can’t stand at the entrance forever.

Oh, fuck it all––

“Hey! Tom! Is that you–?” a new voice crackles into range. Said boy ducks down and hollers back to an unfamiliar crowd, stepping away from you.

“Y/N!” and that call was for you, from a blonde you could hardly call yours.

You bounce back to Harrison, quickly hooking your arms into his without thinking. You wanted cover, fast.

Tom’s presence beside you was short lived as you went separate ways to greet some familiar faces, to your frail relief. You both get swept away in the tides of people, hardly saying goodbye to one another. Hm. You look back over your shoulder to see Tom smiling back at you gently. Hmm. He nods simply, then turns away.

See you later.

You suck in your cheeks, feeling a pang of disappointment as your expectations didn’t last long. But it’s fine. It’s fine. You weren’t even counting on spending the time that you did with him. Its fine! Really!

You float between hanging out with Harrison to meeting up with some old friends. Eventually starting to be dragged away by some especially gossip-y pals, Jenn and Sam. You hold on to Harrison’s arm as they tug you away,

“Nooooooo, guys, I can’t leave him by himself!”

Haz pries your fingers off one by one, sticking his tongue out and pointing behind him,

“Don’t worry about me, I have some other chumps to hang out with.”

You tilt your head for a second to see Tom, of course, looking down. His hands are stuffed deep into his pockets, laughing to himself, a pretty smile you wish you could have ignored. There’s a little unease that you notice about him too quickly, and that’s when you bounce back up.

Ha.

“Enjoy,” you say quietly, quite literally being pulled to the bar.

Conversation blends in seamlessly, with the help of some casual alcohol and swishy dancing. You haven’t met with them in along time, catching up and dissecting updates you’ve only seen through instagram and facebook. Then that drama starting spilling out as you look deeper into your cup, seeing where it all was heading….

“So, I heard Tom and Mal officially split,” Sam starts.

“Tom and Mal? They were a thing?” Jenn gasps.

“Yeah, official-ish–– right, Y/N? You roomin’ with Mal right now, yeah?”

And you nodded, “Yeah.”

“And they’re over? Done?”

Their eyes both shone bright with excitement, nearly licking their lips for the spill. Please, oh please! Share that shit!

You hold your shakey glass to your lip, wishing you didn’t have to answer this. But under their wide eyed stares and the desire to speak some truth, you squeak,

“Yeah, something like that.”

And they assume the pitying position quickly with,

“Oh, poor Tom. I knew he’d get dumped. He’s too nice and Mal was obviously taking advantage of that––”

And,

“Oh, well, I heard that Mal was just trying to use him to get back with someone.”

“Like, Jon, right? Or was it Tobey? I don’t remember––”

“Yeah, and Tom isn’t the type to date frivolously, so he must have known––”

Their story was wrong, but not so wrong. Just enough to get you itching. Itching to set it straight  and itching about whether or not you had the authority to correct them. Like what, just save Tom’s face, and tell them that Mal got what she deserved? That could be easy. But what happens when they ask about your role in this story–– is it even yours to tell?

“They did look great together though, Tom was head over heels for that bitch.”

“How could she let him go? I mean, the girl was all over everyone all the time, but Tom was a good one.”

They looked for him in the crowd, spotting him and cooing in pity. They were being so obvious, god. And at this point, you really couldn’t help yourself. You spoke in a hushed tone,

“Hm, actually, Tom dumped Mal.”

“Huh? For real?” and “Tells us what happened!”

You pause for a second, trying not to get in too deep.

“I don’t know for sure, but Tom realized he could… be better.”

“‘Be’ better? Not ‘do’ better? What do you mean by that?” Sam pushes, leaning closer to you, stepping by your side so you could both get a view of Tom swaying with some friends.

You shrug, turning your back to Tom, “I don’t know! I just saw the aftermath. I haven’t really talked to him, or Mal. It’s been tense–– you know?”

“Yeah, we get it,” Jenn nods solemnly, but perks up to wave, “We can just ask Tom himself! Hey! Tom! Harrison!”

Gah–!

Both of them are waving and making a scene towards the pair of boys somewhere behind you. You can only hunch your shoulders to brace yourself. It’s not like you could just walk away––

And “poor” Tom didn’t even realize you were there until the last second, freezing as he stops next to you.

Huuuu.

You’re very aware of how close he is.

With no formalities, no greetings, your friends cut right to it, only directing themselves towards the darker brunette,

“So, how have you been, Tom?”

He shrugs coolly, laughing sheepishly. His eyes are a little half-lidded as he blinked,

“Just… ask what you want to ask.”

Woah.

You look at him in dull surprise, Harrison too. You notice the soft pink glow on his cheeks and how he’s supporting himself on one leg. Maybe he’s drunk?  Maybe he’s just that ready to get it over with.

Cheers.

“Sooooo, you? And… Mal?”

“Not a thing anymore,” he shrugs again, holding up his beer bottle and smiling cryptically.

Your old friends turn on the pity again.

“Awwww, but you guys were so cute together!”

You have to squint your eyes at that remark, knowing they were egging him on. Buttering up the situation, but…. Ugh. You hate these kind of exchanges. But hey, transitions are important right?

Tom tries hard not to look at you as he nods slowly, explaining only a little bit more.

“Yeah, we… just didn’t work out. We… we wanted different things.”

You could see the questions bubbling in their pretty lil heads, but they offer some kindness, some room to take a breath.

“Oh, well good on you for getting out, Tom. We’re happy for you.”

And there it goes. You laugh under your breath at their blatant flip of the coin.

Tom smiles a little warmer this time, eyes crinkling genuinely.

“Thanks, ‘appreciate it.”

“And you know,” Jenn sings, shimmying her shoulders, “If you’re looking for a new, new love. There’s plenty of candidates right here!”

She bumps your shoulder, making you fall towards him. You dance a few steps forward, clinging onto his arm to balance yourself. You scoff as you stand up straight, your hand gripping his sleeve and nearly stretched across his chest.

Oh.

He stiffens beneath your touch.

Right.

You pull back to yourself, stepping aside as he clears his throat. Your brows furrow but he continues to speak uninterrupted.

“Ahem, yeah… thanks. I’m still–– I’m figuring things out. But I’ll be sure to do it right next time.”

Next time.

And you crack a one-sided smile, pursing your lips and looking down. Haha.

Harrison gives Tom’s shoulder a hard pat, not to be forgotten.

“If you get a next time!”

Oh, that was a bit pointed. A little sharp.

Tom opens his mouth in reaction, booing. Harrison laughs wide hugging his shoulders as everyone teases. You can’t look straight at him, knowing that you would fold and join into the glee all too quickly.

He looks too pretty in this light.

“Well, we still have some rounds to make,” Haz hugs Sam, then Jenn, then you, “We’ll grab a drink with you later.”

You close your eyes in the short embrace with Harrison, recharging. He squeezes your shoulder and starts to pull Tom away. Tom was in the middle of hugging your old pals, no hard feelings.

He gets to stand before you but speaks to the group,

“Yeah, ‘nice seeing you guys.”

The one rogue curl has turned into three framing his face, his canine pokes over his lip in a warm smile, and you feel the world stop turning.

“Y/N.”

You nod, giving him a quiet goodbye, tracing the lovely expression on his face. You blink softly, calming the pinpricks in your heart.

Damn.

And before you realize it, you’re smiling.

Greaaat.

It’s getting harder to deny that he’s got you got.

Cos now....

I’m actually kind of rooting for you.

-

How great is it that wedding playlists are full of love songs, huh? Gives you lots of material to think about as you bob your head to some bops with a chilled glass of wine in hand.

“I love you” and “I need you,” those are the songs singing. And the warmth in your face? You can blame it on the bubbly.

Right.

You raise your glass with another circle of friends as you spin in a daze. You let yourself blend into the blur of company, focused on remaining present.

Present as in–– not falling too back into those chocolatey clutches. Too soon anyway.

You don’t need to spend this time thinking about Tom. You don’t need to worry about where he is or how you’ll meet again–– in the next hour? After this wedding? Next week or…

Stop!

You’re just two separate people living on this planet, and your worlds don’t need to revolve around each other. At least, not all the time.

Tom is respecting your space, and you his. You don’t know what happened during this month long break, but… you still have time to think some things through. Whatever.

You nod along with friends to the music, finding your attention drifting away as the songs switch to something slower. The spell is wearing off, clarity is coming.

“I’ll be right back,” you hum but sure they didn’t actually hear you, and head to the bathroom.

And what a surprise, he is standing outside talking on his phone.

He doesn’t see you at first, kicking his feet on the floor and spinning alone.  You tiptoe past him, and maybe that was when he notices you–– you can’t fully tell either because you’ve already made it inside.

You make no impression of it, only looking at your face in the mirror. You take out an oil-blotting sheet and press it against your forehead. You look at your reflection, and it simply stares back. Nothing new, just some lines of wear and tiredness beneath your eyes. The usual.

You exit the restroom, and he isn’t there.

Hm.

You make your way, pulled into some conversations and breaking free for another drink, waiting at the counter of the bar. Your fingers tap against the counter fidgeting not out of impatience and––

There’s a raucous eruption of laughter and rustling beside you. You turn your cheek to see none other than, that man. He’s hugging another guy as they stuff a few bills into the tip jar. He notices you this time.

Small smile, and then disappears into the crowd.

You managed to smile back as your drink came and you flit away just as quickly. There’s an incredulous laugh that edges in the back of your throat.

Hmm.

Next, you go out for some fresh air on the balcony and, huh, he’s there, too. Harrison and Tom smoke some cigars with the grooms and you quite literally smack your lips and turn a heel to the other direction.

Not the kind of air you were looking for at the moment.

You sputter a laugh in disbelief, shaking your head as you clomp your way to… wherever the hell else.

God, you weren’t even looking for him! He was just always fucking… right there. Your pace quickens and you focus on the tap of your shoes as you run away––

But there’s something else in your step.

Disappointment?

Maybe it’s weighing on you that he isn’t making any moves. Not that you want him to, but you kinda did expect him to.You see him miraculously after a month and he leaves all those begging and wanting messages and now you see him here and–– nothing.

Shit, Tom. Don’t be such a great guy.

You laugh, shaking your head, feeling your hair come undone a lil. You tuck it behind your ear as you come back to face the twinkling lights.

You’re making it hard to ignore you.

You take a deep breath, rolling your shoulders back in an attempt to relax. Sliding your way back onto the dance floor, you find friends and hold onto your waning freedom.

Dancing is the best way to get him out of your head. He’s outside, you’re in a tangle, you won’t find him here. You won’t even look for him here!

Shimmy. Sing. Shake. Grind.

Your eyes are closed to just fall in tune with the music, and maybe you’re dancing badly but that’s always alright. Just enough to get the feelings out.

In the throes of expressing yourself with your body, you fail to ignore another body coming up behind you, shushing your friends. Warm hands melt down your waist, rolling with the contours of your hips.

You yelp, jumping up and falling back into the body. You turn to see that it’s just Harrison, laughing smartly. His cheeks are flushed as he hugs your waist close to him,

“Hello there, thing.”

Thing.

“God! You scared me.” You swat at him, as you struggle against his arms to face him. You hug his own waist back easily, fingers spreading across his back. You giggle sheepishly, feeling the full weight of tiredness as you’re finally able to lean on someone.

His warm fingertips gently brush hair away from your sticky face, commenting,

“You’re look beautiful, even 3 hours into this thing.”

“That’s the alcohol speakin’, Haz.”

“No, no.Just accept it,” his eyes soften, watery blue, “I mean it.”

Oh, the pang of guilt.

“Not looking so bad yourself,” you say, patting his cheek. You could feel the beginnings of stubble beneath your hand, sending shivers down your spine.

The song slows and you collapse into a dance together, feet shuffling softly and heads leaned. You take solace on his shoulder, breathing in his manly cologne, still going strong. You can smell a feminine perfume mixed along in there somewhere too––

“So, where’s Tom now?” you callously ask.

“Why are you looking for him?”

“N-no, I’m just wondering,” you callously reply.

Harrison shallowly laughs at your obvious interest, shaking his head to hit his chin against you.

“‘Trying not to keep bumping into you, he says,” you hear a deep sigh come from deep within, “Ya’ll are so annoying.”

His bold hand pats the space right above your ass in poor punishment. You inhale deeply, words spilling,

“I don’t know what to do with… with this, honestly.”

“Spend some time with him, you’ll know.”

You frown, craning to look back at him, eventually standing straight before him, “I… don’t want to.”

“Then don’t look for him,” Haz says firmly, bluntly, clearly.

He’s giving you an empty smile, his eyes icy. And it hurts your heart, hurts you knowing that he’s still having a hard time with this too. You step back, making distance,

“I’m sorry, Harrison–– I didn’t mean to.”

“No, no, you’re alright,” his eyes close, tilting his head. His perfect hair falls with his movements, “I don’t want you to pity me, just–– just let yourself be happy, or else i can’t move on.”

Woof.

That’s the first time he’s said it out loud.

And you hear it loud and clear.

You don’t know what to say, offering him a crooked smile, eyebrows pulled. You try to give him a look that looks more like understanding rather than pity.

He chuckles, a bit more genuinely this time,

“What are we going to do with you?”

You bob your head. You’re a wreck and you know it.

“Dance?”

“I dare you to dance with Tom.”

“What?No way! I can’t do that,” you look past Harrison as he spins you. That pretty boy is standing alone against the wall somewhere far off. He’s not looking in your direction now, but you could never be sure of where his eyes were mere seconds ago.

“No!”

You want to tell Harrison that you’d rather dance with him, no one else, but that would just be twisting the knife in further. Pure cruelty.

“Come on,” Harrison hugs you from behind, swaying for a moment while he presses his cheek against yours. The grain of his stubble tickles your face as he whispers into you ear,

“There’s nothing to be worried about.”

Easy for you to say, is what comes to mind. There’s PLENTY of things to worry about–– but further burdening Harrison with your troubles is just.... Unfair, and you know it.

Fuck it all.

The song ends, and Haz lets you go with a soft spin and swivel. Your shoes tap on the hardwood, as he motions for you to go. It fills you with a little bit of confidence, if you can call it that.

You make your way, looking back to see the beautiful boy already chatting up some people nearby, his perfect smile on display. There was a little ease given back to you there. A little.

The songs get slower, and it’s harder to make it out there alone.

Your stupid eyes keep trailing back to Tom leaning against the wall, glass in hand. You suck in a breath and finally waltz yourself over to him.

At least you have the element of surprise on your side, right?

“Hey.”

“Ah! H-hey!” he’s caught off guard, pushing himself off the wall to stand tall.

You fall into place next to him, looking around as you control the pace.

“You enjoying yourself?”

You’re aware of how strange this sudden exchange must be, but you’re tired of running in place. You think Tom picks up on that too as his shoulder slumps in casual ease, able to speak loosely,

“Of course, great company and an open bar. It’s a good night.”

You break into a wry smile, wondering who and where his company was. You were out there with his best friend, who was left?

That’s a little mean, haha.

“You’re not gonna go dance?”

“No one I wanna dance with out there,” he bumps his head to the music, looking out into the sea, and back at you.

You exhale, taking a small leap,

“No one for the… past few months?”

Tom fights a grin, puffing his cheeks up as he turns to you fully. His eyes scan over your face, looking for permission to be back on that cheeky shit,

“There’s only (1) person that comes to mind.”

Mmhmm.

“––Well ,a few ones. But you’re the main one, don’t worry,” he jokes with a weak smile.

That’s enough to make you laugh though, his easy teasing. You fix the strap of your dress as you smooth out the conversation with just as much tact,

“So, how have you been otherwise, busy?”

“Yeah, a little bit, and you?”

“Not busy enough,” you laugh, maybe this wasn’t so easy. The nervous energy boiled in the pit of your stomach as you kept talking, “––with work and class and stuff. It’s been slow but i’d rather be stressed. I don’t know it’s weird, being idle.”

“No, no, I get it,” Tom points his finger as he takes a drink, maintaining eye contact, “Don’t overwork yourself though.”

“Thanks.”

And the conversation stops, not flowing to the next thing like it used to.

There should be so many things to talk about, so many things to catch up on, movies, shows, life, anything! But there were still wrinkles you had to iron out, not to be forgotten.

The silence isn’t unpleasant though, though you can credit that to being at a loud and rowdy wedding. Lots of background noise and things to avert your gaze to.

“How’s Mal?” he asks outright and suddenly.

“Doin’ better,” you reply just as earnestly, “Haven’t talked to her much though, if I’m being honest.”

“That’s good. She… really worried me last week, but we left on good terms.”

Thank god.

You face him fully this time too, “I’m glad. That’s great, Tom. I’m really happy for you.”

He puts down his glass, scratching his nose to hide his face. You can see his eyes were a little watery while his brows furrowed,

“Listen, I– I gotta clear some things up with you too. If you’ll––”

You hear the loud crackle of a microphone, eyes directed towards the mass of people rushing to the dance floor. The DJ announces it’s time for the bouquet toss, people pushing beside you asking you to come join, Hands reaching out as they pass.

Uhm, hell no.

You shake your head in rejection, it may just be superstition, but you’ll take no chances. Predictions for the future made you queasy, forever waiting for those star sign events to come true. It’s limiting, in a way. Strings of people pass by you, pulling at you and Tom to join. They smelled a little too hopeful and a little too much like alcohol.

“Come on, you’re single. Just go!”

“No thanks,” you breath.

“Why, are you taken?”

“No,” you had to reply over and over.

You held still, your stomach churning for some reason. Maybe it was just having your future ~love~ predicted and dissected by a crowd of people. You just felt rushed and hot and annoyed. These festivities were meant to be fun, harmless! But you feel too conscious about it in this state.

“Want to get out of here?” Tom offers, expertly sensing your nerves, his hand already hovering over the small of your back.

“Please.”

He takes the outside and you walk along the wall, weaving through threads of people while his hand guides you. You couldn’t look at him, embarrassed about your mini-meltdown as he leads you out into an empty hall. It led to a quiet lobby.

No one was there, the only sign of use were the half-drunken booze littered across a table. There was still plenty of room to stand and talk. You lean against a marble column and look out the window. There’s meant to be a view of the city, sparkling at night, but the glare allowed you to see your reflections. Both of you stood apart and stiff.

You hug your shoulders, thinking of just moments ago, “Pushy.”

“Sorry about that,” Tom offers, leaning against the same pillar, close. “Is this alright?”

“It’s not you,” is all you can return.

You both take the moment to try to look past your own reflections to the outside world, listening to the muffled sounds of the DJ and blurry cheering. Soon enough, you push off the column stand closer to the glass, looking out and seeing clearly.

“I have to apologize for speaking on your behalf… about Mal.”

There’s a beat of silence before he comes beside you again, searching for the same view. In the faint reflection, you see his hand reach for yours and stop, stuffing his back into his pocket. He pretends he hadn’t moved at all.

“No, no, thanks for saying something. I, uhm, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.”

You both chuckle, looking down–– no one really knows anything. It’s contained, it’s a secret.

It’s stills something that’s only between the three of you.

And it’s all you can think about lately.

What are we now?

During this gap, you’ve spent so much time thinking about what to say, and what you would do when you get the chance to speak one on one…. But now you’re fumbling. So far, you don’t know anything about thisTom. This Tom you have seen for days, weeks, months. You don’t know what he’s being doing, how he’s doing or what he’s even thinking about–– not like before. Not like back when you could read his mind. Not like when you knew, “I’m on my way” meant “I’ll be 10 minutes late, but I’ll be there.”

There’s so little to go off of.

The boy before you wasn’t a complete stranger, but not exactly a friend either.

And you don’t know where to start with that.

You cross and uncross your arms in the dragging echo of silence.

You feel like a child, helpless. You feel like a teenager, confused. But worst of all, you felt like an adult who has no idea what the fuck to say.

It would have been comforting to know that Tom felt the same way, but you didn’t notice that. You didn’t see how his forefinger pressed into his thumb, and how he bit the inside of his cheek, navigating the same path to the truth and apology.

It would actually be a relief for someone to burst in at this moment.

But the time for peace and clarity has arrived, and you both know you shouldn’t let it go.

“I’m sorry for… kissing you the last time I saw you. The last, last time, I mean. At the party,” Tom courageously blurts, turning a frustrated red. He steps back to the column, leaning against it as he balls his hands into fists,

“That’s one the biggest… things I have to say sorry for. And… yeah, you know the rest. I just–– I know that I shouldn’t have done that. The alcohol and confusion isn’t an excuse… and yeah, it’s disgusting, I know.” He trails off, hoping that you would pick up from there. But you don’t, properly giving him time to say what he needs to,

“I–I’ve been so lost for so long, you know? Looking for someone to be with, and Mal was there. She was someone who wasn’t perfect, needed help… Someone I thought I could help. And I wanted to stick through it, but when I met you––aside from what happened between us, you taught me that I deserved better. Better than someone who wouldn’t do anything in return for all I’ve done. That that relationship isn’t… something I had to destroy myself to save,” he looks up, looking for you.

“You just… none of this is your fault and you don’t need to feel bad for any of it. For me.”

Tom laughs, shaking his head more curls and waves coming undone.

“You don’t need to be anything to me. But I’m just going to be the sap that’s still falling in love with you for a while longer.”

The laugh takes a bittersweet turn, and you can tell he wishes he were holding your hand–– anything to physically show you he means it. But you’re not sure you’re ready for that kind of direct touch just yet.

You’re just absorbing it all in. It’s been a tumultuous few months, both caught in a vicious tide. Rolling, tumbling, drowning–– and it’s not an excuse for either of you. You can’t just let things fall where they may.

“No… Tom, I have to apologize too,” you start shakily, after you hear cheers from the vibrating reception.

“For what?”

Breathe.

The past few months of getting close to Tom, getting closer and falling apart, run though your mind. And you really wonder if he thinks that you are blameless in this catastrophe.That you hadn’t seduced him or wanted him while he was promised to someone else.

That’s pretty shit of you, right?

You lick your bottom lip in a small smile, Tom always had that kind of innocence about you. The assumption that you don’t play the game, that you could never wish ill-will. He could never think that you had ever schemed against his relationship.

And you didn’t, explicitly, but….

“Tom,” you dig your heel into the ground, leaning against the window while you watch his face, “I shouldn’t have ever… tempted you–– or spent that time with you. Back then, in the beginning, you had Mal. And I walked right in between you.”

“You didn’t.”

“I did, and maybe it wasn’t forcefully or with the intention of taking you away but… it was wrong of me to even try to confuse you. It was selfish and stupid.”

And it hurt everyone involved.

Whether it started with you is up for debate, but you want this cycle of hurt to end with you. Or end with the truth.

You think of Harrison and even Mal. Maybe it’s not your fault or Tom’s fault, but it’s hard to feel blameless as you assess the damage.

“If I hadn’t gotten involved, none of this would have happened and…”

Your eyes shift left and right as you wait for his reply. Tom hangs his head, rocking for a moment before coming back up to smile,

“It’s okay.”

His words hang in the air, releasing you. And something has changed, with your confessions, something has reverted back to those glossier days. He teases,

“I’m glad you confused me.”

You scrunch your nose at your words being brought back.

Tom and Mal’s relationship was rockier than either of you knew at the start, and with your intentional slash unintentional meddling, lots of things came to light, got messy and now… you’re here.

Confused.

Far from the start, but still just as lost.

Tom’s brows raise and soften as he watches your heart on your sleeve,

“I…. I know there’s still a lot to think about but… I gotta say that I’m so happy that you’re still here talking to me.”

You have to laugh, one that you can’t swallow and pretend. You rub the corner of your eye, and muse,

“I’m not that cold, Tom.”

But you had been, and he knew he deserved it.

And while time has not swept away all the hurt, the path seemed a little bit clearer.

There were still some things you couldn’t deny.

“Hey... You know what?”

He hums in response, kicking off the column to come stand beside you again. You could see the pretty wrinkles on the side of his mouth deepen as he breathes into a smile.

You start,

“Despite this mess, I’m glad I got to know you. At all.”

His dark eyes widen as he takes it in, the future still in question. His pale hands yearns to reach out to you, and even with this new confidence he is wary of rejection. Instead he cuts through the still and get straight to it,

“What does that mean?”

You felt caught off guard at his parry, but your answer comes out all on its own.

“It means that, I’ve liked you, Tom. and––”

And?

“I don’t completely want you out of my life.”

You find yourself smiling as you tuck your chin back in embarrassment. That sounded an awful lot like you still felt That Way about him. You shut your eyes and sigh, shaking your head a little bit.

“Not completely?” he repeats, egging you on for more. He leans close to you, making his way back to your heart.

You chuckle under your breath.

“Let’s start over.”

Tom’s brows harden.

You stretch out your hand towards him, which he cautiously accepts as you put out the flames.

“As friends.”

There’s another loud round of applause that echoes through the hall. Shouts and whistles bleed out to the lobby.

“As friends,” he murmurs.

You shake firmly, avoiding his eyes as your hands fall back to your sides. You turn your cheek to face away from him and suggest,

“Let’s get back in, yeah?”

You don’t want him to see the strange, flustered, excited, happy expression drawn so obviously on your face.

“Let’s,” Tom agrees easily.

His hand smoothes over the small of your back, in a brave and bold little show of camaraderie.

Let’s start off as friends.

You smile stiffly, because you don’t want him to know that your heart is pounding like it used to.

That it would be too easy to melt back into that old mold.

Let’s just see where we go from there.

-

As with all romantic dramedies, you enter the party together with no resolution or closure to your prior conversation. And once again, you are immediately swept away into the tide.

You lose each other for a moment, following the flow of people and conversation.  But this time, you find your way back to one another, willingly.

Tom stands tall by your side, instead of cowering away, and you roll your shoulders back with inviting poise. You feel at ease and he smiles warmly.

That’s not to write off the unbelievable and undeniable tension stretching in the small gap between your shoulders. It’s TOO real.

Your hand had bumped his once, and you both jump back and fumble over hurried apologies.

“Sorry.”

“You’re good.”

And it’s back to standing still but not too still. You both manage to relax with your favorite blonde slash brunette makes his way, and stands in between. He’s throws his arms over both of you, drunken weight pulling down as he sways.

You laugh at the rumple in his collar, fixing it while berating him for still being so drunk at the end of the night. Harrison waves the hand on your side and twirls a finger in the air,

“Indulge a little.”

The celebration nears the end as the lights dim and people start making two lines by the exit, standing together holding party poppers to burst over the grooms in the grand finale. A parting gift of glitter and petals and kisses.

Tom has placed Harrison in a chair by the wall, both of you standing nearby. You both snicker  as he rubs his eyes and checks his phone, undoubtedly texting you both.

Facing forward, you hold the small device in your hands as you wait together, scraping to make small talk. Your voice startles him.

“You know, Z is coming back in a week.”

Tom’s eyes widen, looking at you with genuine surprise. He nods, looking for more,

“Oh, for real? Does she want––” His eyes dart from side to side, thinking of his next words carefully.

You finish it for him.

“She wants to see you. And uh-oh, biiiiig trouble.”

“Oh,” he pulls an exaggerated face, tugging at his collar.

“Not all bad trouble. But–– you know, it could help your case if you could help us with the move. Uhm, If I could trouble you with that.”

Tom smiles wide, his eyes crinkling near shut as he looks down. This is your arm stretched out towards him, offering a path back to where he wants to be. But it’s just a feeler, if anything at all.

“Yeah, of course, I’d love to.”

You giggle, shaking your head. No one wants to help anyone with a move, dummy. God, you don’t want to take advantage of his feelings but–– he does have a car and some apologies he wanted to make. Haha, it’s nothing malicious! You could just use the help.

“I can bring Haz and Jacob too, if that’s alright.”

“Oh, I don’t have that much shit.”

“Just Harrison then?”

Your eyes scan over him, wondering if he was worried about spending time in the same place as 3 women who were, arguably, after his throat. You really can’t blame him for looking for some protection.

You offer your sympathy with a edging smile, “Yeah, bring the drunkard with you. He’ll be a lot of help, yeah?”

You both turn back to look at him, squinting into the crowd. You laugh as he finally finds you, and offer him a little wave. You turn to Tom to see if he was waving too, but he wasn’t.

His face is close, and tilted towards you. You could see those freckles you missed so much, and the brow you’ve always wanted to tame. You could smell that faint boyish cologne that always reminded you of home––

“Oh! Here they come!” Tom interrupts, his whole face perking up animatedly. His smile is so wide and true, leaving you in a daze and you turn back to the grooms.

They make their way through the lines, dressed in white, only to be covered in glitter and streamers and petals.

You squeal in excitement, screaming congratulations as you pull the string and feel the pop in your bones. Tom is whistling and howling beside you, a cheeky hand making its way across your back.

Goosebumps prickle across your skin as you watch the new couple pass.

Hey.

They disappear into night, as the crowd collapses into one. You hear stray pops and fizzles, delayed responses but none to go to waste. The flurry of confetti is dense and never ending, feeling like a stubborn snow flurry in the early spring.

You lean into the warm palm into your back, and spin to find it’s owner.

Through falling flowers, muted music and passing bodies, you turn back to Tom.

Lovely Tom.

And he’s found you too, hair tousled just right and lips a rosy pink.

Picture perfect and sugary sweet.

“Hey, you.”

Your back is still blooming with warmth even after his hand falls away.

“Hey.”

Before the flurry ends, he’s pulled you aside to avoid the bustling of people making their exit. The dim light and soft rustling makes you feel small and lonely, yearning to be held again.

Your eyes shift towards Harrison, coming up from his seat and taking a video of the falling flowers. You blink back into your body.

Straightening yourself out, you tuck hair behind your ear, making rogue petals fall out onto the floor. You and Tom laugh, as he brushes his shoulders off and shakes his blazer.

You’re shaking off your dress as Harrison comes up, and Tom speaks low,

“Can I give you a ride home?”

Oh, the night’s not over.

You look at Haz, still in and out of his coordination and seeing that he was your ride… you agree. You walk with the pair of boys clinging to each other into the warm night and softly bump into Tom’s shoulder.

“Did you plan for this?”

He raises his brows to give you a smug smile,

“Nope, only hoped.”

You roll your eyes as you get into Harrison’s car–– Tom must have gotten a Lyft or something. Harrison surrendered his keys and quickly settled into his seat up front. He dozes off quickly, dropping his phone and making no reaction.

Tom snickers as you take a picture of the blonde sweetie, sitting back to type on your phone.

He plays some whatever late night radio music, and it’s quiet in the car but it’s not so bad. It’s comfortable.

You don’t feel the pressure to talk after all the talking you had already done.

You focus on picking off flowers that have gotten into precarious places, and rub the glitter off your skin. You seethe,

“These better be biodegradable.”

And Tom laughs, glitter and paper confetti falling out of his hair.

He takes you home on familiar dips and turn, getting back to your apartment in no time. You almost forgot about your roommate for a moment too––

He parks to the side and as you gather your things he runs out to get the door for you, making you blow up at your hair. You take the hand he offers as you step out,

“Thank you, thank you. That’ll be all.”

You start to walk to the front door, realizing Tom is following you after the car door shuts and you hear his hurried steps. You look at him, lips pressed to avoid a smile. He shrugs,

“Just want to make sure you get inside.”

You both look towards the door, only a short distance away. And reconvene with those dark browns, curious to see what could happen next.

He understands that there’s still a line, still a few things to settle. And you appreciate that–– except for the fact that your insides are buzzing to take him in, to watching something dumb or to catch up or to drink drinks or to just to have him on your couch again.

But it can’t be tonight.

You climb up a few steps, making yourself a lot taller than him, and lick your lips,

“”Thank you, Tom. Uhm, it was nice talking to you again.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he scratches the side of his neck, “This eases some of my worries.”

“You don’t have to worry,” you say softly leaning back.

“But I want to.”

You shake your head, throwing your shoulders up as you laugh,

“Stay worried then!”

Tom pouts, slapping his arms at his side in defense, and you only rub your nose.

“Thanks,” he sarcastically nods, continuing the banter. He wants to spend more time with you too, to wrap himself in that fuzzy gray blanket and tell you how much you meant and mean to him. But he rocks back on his heels, trying to get away from your sweet scent and away from the sweet licks of temptation.

Let’s not make the same mistakes twice, yeah?

“Text me when you make it back, okay? Tell Harrison to too,” you conclude, stepping on the brakes.

He smiles a little too wide at the permission you just gave him, and you only realize it a second after. Then the lines of communication were open again, that this is something you will really move forward with–– and as Tom bows his head to hide his ecstatic grin, you catch sight of a stray white petal knotted in his locks.

“Hold on!”

You reach forward instinctively, and he keeps his head lowered. You hold the side of his head with one hand, the bottom of your palm smoothing across his forehead and the other plucking the petal from a nest of gel,

“Got it.”

And he looks up then, with no warning. You hand frozen in place, and ultimately cupping his cheek. Your thumb presses against the corner of his lip, pressed in a gorgeous and heartbreaking smile.

You manage to speak, “Look, silly.”

Your hand shakes as you show him the white petal between your faces, and he defiantly looks past it and straight at you.

“You can keep that,” he whispers, making your hair stand on end.

And it’s funny because your arm lowers, and your hand slides off his burning cheek onto his chest. You smooth down his lapel and hold his gaze before you let your hand fall back to your side. You wished nothing more than to tumble forward, to collapse back into his arms. To embrace him wholly, for him to embrace you back.

To forget the stupid messes made and fall in love with the sweetness again.

“I will.”

There’s still a trust to be earned, a new recipe to follow. Proper ingredients, real sugar and in the end, it’s still gotta taste good too.

But, oh, what would wouldn't do to kiss him again.

To take a bite of that sweet chocolate.

“I’ll see you soon, Tom.”

I wonder what it would taste like now?

-

-

-

A/N: …… FINALLY. OH MY GOD. it’s been like what, 6 months? Since December? This series took a hard hit because of my birthday and holidays and tumblr banning blogs left and right. I’m glad to return to it, and fucking… END it. Thank you so much to those of you who have stuck around, remembered this series and asked for updates! This is for you.

If you can, please like, comment and reblog. I want all of those who have been waiting for this to see the end! Maybe like 2-3 more chapters left?

And i’ll let you know when i can update next. The next one won’t be as long, so maybe i can get it out in a week or two?

Track #LDC or #Like Dark Chocolate to see the updates!

Again, thank you so much and i love you guys! See you very soon.

Peace,

Madmadmilk

[kisses-holland]

Hi!! Could you please write something about Peter Parker x Stark!reader in which he breaks up with her for her safety, but then Tony speaks to him about it and make him realize he wanna be with her? Have an amazing day! ❤️

title: these four walls

pairing: peter parker x stark!reader

warnings: sadness, heartbreak, depictions of starvation and unhealthy coping, angst, fluff

a/n:  this imagine gave me so many problems and i had to rewrite it twice and i’m not proud of this whatsoever, but thank you for the request and i hope you guys enjoy :) also, i promise i’m getting to all of your requests. it’s just taking me a while with summer school but i promise i’ll get them done soon!

peter stood shakily as he thought about what he was about to do.

you were the light of his life; his sunshine. he was so thankful for everything that you have given him. you loved him for who he was and supported him through everything.

of course he feels scared and guilty. he promised he’d never hurt you, and he was just about to do it.

“i’m doing this for her. her safety. this is for the best.” he thought. he can only keep you safe to a certain extent. being tony stark’s daughter put you in evident danger, but being spider man’s girlfriend as well? that could get you killed, and peter couldn’t bare to live if something had happened to you under his watch. he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.

he stood outside your bedroom; pacing and fiddling with his thumbs, trying to think of the right words to say without hurting you too much. but how can he not hurt you? he knows this will kill you. and he knows it’ll be his fault.

suddenly, the door to your bedroom opened, and both you and peter flinched back, surprised by each others presence.

“peter? babe, why didn’t you come inside?” you giggled, pulling him into a hug, except he didn’t hug back. your eyebrows furrowed and you stepped back. “what’s wrong?”

“uh y/n, i- i think we need to break up.” peter blurted our, eyes widening as soon as he said those words.

“what?” you said, barely above a whisper. “w-why?” voice quivering.

“i just - i just don’t feel a connection anymore. i-i’m sorry. i don’t love you like i used to.” hearing those words knocked the wind out of you, and you had no idea how to comprehend them, let alone respond.

“get out.” you whispered, slowly walking backwards towards your bedroom.

“i’m so sor-“

“GET OUT OF MY HOUSE.” you knew asking peter to leave the avengers tower was a bit ridiculous, considering the fact he would room in there. but you also knew that peter had everything to lose if he didn’t listen to tony stark’s daughter, and he quickly scampered away, avoiding eye contact with steve and natalie in the main hall.

“hey kid-“ steve started, but peter had already ran out of the tower.

“hm. wonder what’s up with him.” natalie asked, not looking up from what she was working on.

“teenagers. what can ya do?” steve rolled his eyes and got back to work.

meanwhile, you had snuck under the covers, sobbing your heart out; wondering what you had done to make the love of your life not want you anymore.

no one knew what had just happened. no one knew you were weeping under your covers until you couldn’t breathe. no one knew that you felt like you weren’t enough for him. no one.

days have gone past, and you had refused to leave your bedroom, eat, and had trouble sleeping at night. everyone in the tower found out, and had tried to speak to you, but you refused to let them in, not wanting them to see you in such vulnerable state.

you had given peter everything; your love, compassion, care. why did he choose to end it with you? this overthinking thoughts in your head kept you up at night, and just thinking about getting up and walking downstairs where everyone will send looks of pity to you made you feel sick to your stomach.

not only was your health affected with peter breaking up with you, but your perfect gpa at midtown high were tarnished. you haven’t been to school in days, resulting in you missing tests and projects.

all of your peers at school were worried about you as well, asking where tony stark’s daughter had went.

even flash was worried. and when flash has feelings, that’s when you know the situation is bad.

another day had passed, and it was time your father had finally decided to break your shell.

“y/n/n, c’mon, it’s time to open the door now. c’mon, kid.” he rested his head on your bedroom door, desperately thinking of ways he can get you to open up to him. literally.

hearing the subtle whimper brought tony out of his thoughts and that was when he thought that enough was enough.

“FRIDAY, i need you to unlock y/n’s room.” ignoring the argument you had with FRIDAY where you threatened to not talk to anyone else again, FRIDAY unlocked your bedroom door, and when tony walked in, a gasp had escaped his lips as soon as he saw you. 

you lay weeping underneath your covers. there was dark circles underneath your red, bloodshot eyes. it definitely looked like you were thinner, and your hair was a ratty mess. tony could also tell that you haven’t showered in the time you were cooped up in here. and all tony could think was that this was all peter’s fault.

your whimpers slowly became sobs again, not noticing your father standing in your bedroom. quickly and quietly, tony approached you and embraced you into a tight hug, where you sobbed into his shoulder and tried catching your breathe has much as you could.

“hey, its okay. you’re okay, kid. you’re alright. breathe.” tony tried his best to calm you down. he had never seen you in a state like this, and he hated to admit it, but it terrified him. how was he supposed to help you? this was the one mission tony failed to succeed at; getting through to you. he was never the comforting type.

“i - i just, and- and peter said-” you tried explaining everything that happened, even though you knew that everyone in the tower knows already what happened. 

“shh. i already know. just breathe, kiddo. c’mon, let’s have some dinner and you can clean up and we can talk after, hm? how does that sound?” making a silent prayer and hoping you oblige, tony noticed that your sobs had decreased and you had calmed down.

“can - can you make pancakes? i’m really craving them.” you chuckled as you stood up and rubbed your empty stomach. 

“pancakes for breakfast? ew. for you? anything. c’mon sweetheart.” he placed a protective hand on your back and guided you down the hall down to the kitchen, where all the avengers were there and happy for your return. but all tony could think about, was how he needed to talk to peter himself to fix this mess.

after you had eaten, taken a shower, and talked to the others about what happened and how to deal with situations like these in a healthy way, you finally started to feel like yourself again. sam and bucky offered to bring peter in and beat him up, and thor even offered to throw his hammer at him. despite the hatred you had for the friendly neighbourhood spider-man, you knew that you would never let anyone hurt peter. you still loved him to pieces, and it would kill you if anything happened to him.

bruce had offered to help you with the homework you desperately needed to get done, and while you got started on that, tony decided to find peter, and hopefully talk some sense into the kid.

it wasn’t too hard to find the kid. he was sitting on the edge of the rooftop of his apartment building, patrolling for the evening. queens was pretty quiet, so all peter was doing was sitting and thinking. thinking about how you haven’t been at school for a week. thinking about how you probably hated him at this point. thinking about all the kids at school asking him where you had gone. it was odd, really, you had chosen to keep your relationship public at school, but private when peter was spider man. you knew that a few kids picked on peter, and despite what he said, you chose to go public at school so that no one would dare say a word to him. and no one did, and peter was always thankful for that. but now, all he gets are glares from students, kids occasionally whispering about how he hurt you. 

peter hated himself too. he did not like his decision one bit, but he had to do what was right. did he regret his decision? of course he did. does he want to get back together with you? he would do anything. 

peter was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard tony clear his throat.turning around, peter’s eyes went wide, and words couldn’t come to his mouth.

“mr stark, i am so sorry, i-” 

“i don’t think it’s me you have to apologize to.” tony got closer to him and peter was afraid that he was gonna get blasted into dust if he said one wrong thing.

“i know i made a mistake, and i have a reason, i promise.” peter felt relieved when tony didn’t blast him, but put a hand on his shoulder, urging him to sit down on the edge where he was sitting before, tony joining him. 

“kid, i know how you feel about her, and i know that you regret the choice you made. so i just have one question, why? you guys were perfect for each other, and as much as i don’t like saying this, i think you’re the one for her, pete.”all tony wanted were some answers, because by the looks of it, peter wasn’t doing well either. 

“it sounds stupid and i know i made a stupid mistake but i-i just panicked, okay? i lost my parents and- and uncle ben and i’m already worried about may and if i lost y/n, i wouldn’t be able to live with myself, mr. stark. you gotta understand.” peter was in tears now, and he felt pathetic that he was crying in front of the strongest men he knew.

tony rubbed his back and was a little shocked by how much peter wants to protect y/n, understanding why he did all of this. to protect his daughter.

“and the kids at school keep giving me hell and i’m sorry but she would get hurt because of me.” sobbing, peter hid his face into his hands, and all tony could do was run his back and tell him that he’s alright, this being the second time he had dealt with teenager problems.

before tony could say anything else, peter interrupted again, “how is she?” he asked in a hushed tone.

tony sighed, “kid.”

“no. i need to know, mr stark. how is she?” peter urged. he knew you weren’t alright. and he shouldn’t be asking because he knows the answer will just hurt him, but he needed to know.

“i think she’d feel a lot better if you see her.” with that being said, peter stood up, eyes widening.

“you really think so, mr stark?” he asked, already putting his mask on.

he nodded, “let’s head back.”

tony didn’t know for sure how you’d act with peter coming back to talk to you, but he prayed that everything would be okay with you guys.

meanwhile, tony had alerted everyone at the tower that he was coming back with peter, and soon enough, you were alone in the den doing your physics homework, stuck on a problem. you kept tapping your pencil against your chin. growing frustrated, you put your pencil down and grabbed both sides of your head, closing your eyes.

“i can help with that.” the familiar voice of your ex boyfriend caused you to flinch and turn around immediately.

“what are you doing here? i told you to leave.” you said, tears welling up in your eyes again. “please leave.” you whispered, turning around so he wouldn’t see you cry.

“please listen to me. i made a mistake- a huge one and i’m sorry.” peter begged, slowly approaching you.

you scoffed, “you’re sorry? you told me you didn’t love me anymore, and you’re sorry? yeah, cause that’ll fix every thing.” you walked towards the door, almost walking out but you were stopped when peter grabbed your wrist and turned you around.

“don’t. don’t leave please. hear me out.” with pleading eyes, he slowly let go of your wrist, but didn’t break eye contact.

“you have one minute to explain. and then i want you out.” you crossed your arms and waited for his explanation.

“fuck. i-i’m sorry, okay?! i’m sorry for breaking up with you like that, for lying to you and telling you i didn’t love you anymore. that’s far from the truth. i love you so much, y/n. i love you more than you can even imagine. you know that. i just-i got scared that you were gonna get hurt around me. i was scared that something would happen to you under my watch. i cant lose you too.” he cried, trying to hide his tears.

at this point, both of you were crying. peter had broken up with you for your safety.

“you know, nothings going to happen to me. or you. not for a long time. we have so many people who love us and are protecting us, if something were to happen to me, it would’ve already.” you sniffled, wiping your tears on the back of your hand. “but that still doesn’t excuse you what you said.”

“i know-and i’m sorry. and if you’re willing to give me a second chance i promise i’ll prove to you that i love you. i’ll help you with your homework, i’ll stay with you every night, i’ll stop patrolling for a while.” he rushed out, putting a hand through his hair, hoping you’d say yes.

you hesitated. maybe he’s telling the truth? he wouldn’t hurt you on purpose.

“okay.” you smiled.

“okay?” peter looked at you with confused eyes

“okay, i’ll give you a second chance. but that means you’ll have to earn my trust back first.” he smiled and pulled you into a hug, about to kiss you.

“can i?” he whispered.

“of course you can.” you closed your eyes and felt the soft taste of his lips that you missed again. it was a soft and sweet kiss, no tongue, but that’s okay.

you pulled away and rested your head on his chest, having your arms wrapped around him.

“ned told me that people have been bothering you at school. and i hope you know that i’m sorry and that i’m kicking their asses.” you looked up at him and smirked.

“it’s nothing. just a little glares a whispers. no big deal.” your smile suddenly turned into a frown, and you pulled him into a tighter hug.

“i’m sorry. you don’t deserve that. i promise i’ll kick their asses.” you mumbled against his chest.

peter sighed in relief, finally getting his girl back and having the tormenting at school going to a halt.

“i love you.” he mumbled, and gave a quick peck to your forehead.

“i love you too, but now you’re going to have to talk to them.” you pointed to thor, bucky, and sam who were outside the door, listening to you guys the entire time.

“shit.”

[daydreamweavercat]

OC Interview

Tagged by the incredible @dickeybbqpit​. Thank you, deary! I will tag @frecklef0x​, @trvelyans​, @kura-marty​, @apostatetabris​, and anyone else who would like to!

This is for my Sidestep good girl, just trying to get through this, Anna Maria Collings, aka Anonymous. Art by the talented @peebsayle​!

name ➔ “Um, Anna Maria Collings. Please don’t publish that, I like to keep a low profile. Could you just refer to me as the vigilante formerly known as Sidestep? Thanks.” are you single ➔ “That is personal!” She says quickly, blushing up a storm. “No?” are you happy ➔ “Not yet. I want to be.” There is a brief spark to her eyes, a determination that slips away after a too brief second.  are you angry ➔ She thinks a moment, crossing her legs, “No, not right now.”  are your parents still married ➔ She stares at the interviewer. “I would say no, we...uh...haven’t really communicated in years.” 

NINE FACTS

birthplace ➔ "The United States.” At the interviewer’s prompting look, she dips her head. “That’s as close as you’ll get. Sorry.”  hair color ➔ “Dark Brown. You can see that right? Or were you asking natural color? Because it is dark brown.” She rambles a bit more. “I have a few silver hairs, I know.”  eye color ➔ “I have heterochromatic eyes, unfortunately. One brown, one kind of a silvery blue.” She fiddles with her glasses. “I don’t like them, they make me stand out.” 

birthday ➔ “I celebrate my birthday on August 10th, only because Ortega and Anathema made a thing about it.” She has a fond, wistful smile. “They threw me a surprise party once...it was nice.” 

mood ➔ "Is tired a mood?” She sighs.  gender ➔ “I’m a woman.” She shrugs.  summer or winter ➔  “Winter. I like to wear layers and the summers here can be so hot.” 

morning or afternoon ➔ “Mornings. I’m more motivated in the mornings.” 

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

are you in love ➔ She looks panicked and ready to flee. “I...maybe? Why do you need to know?” She gulps and then whispers to herself. “Bloody hell, probably.” 

do you believe in love at first sight ➔ “No. How would that work? It would be purely physical, wouldn’t it? You can’t tell what a person is like just from how they look.” She looks like she has a realization, then bats it away mentally. “I think love takes time.” 

who ended your last relationship ➔ “I...honestly I haven’t had a relationship before this-” She cuts herself off. “I’m not saying I’m in one now!” have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ "No! Of course not!” are you afraid of commitments ➔ Anna Maria looks down at her hands, tugging at the edge of her suit jacket. “Yes. I’m afraid it won’t be returned. The commitment. If they see me, they won’t want me.” 

have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ She smiles awkwardly, “Yes, surprisingly. I’m not much of a hugger, usually. I’m still getting used to the physical contact.”  have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ “No, I don’t...” She pauses, the wheels turning and then she blushes, “Yes...yes I have. Uh, they aren’t a secret anymore.”  have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ "I’ve lost count of the times.” 

SIX CHOICES

love or lust ➔ "Love. Love is better.”  lemonade or iced tea ➔ “Iced Tea. Preferably in the Southern style with lots of sugar and a slice of lemon.”  cats or dogs ➔ “I like them both, but dogs are my favorite.” Anna Maria says and smiles brightly for a moment, in spite of herself. “Especially one dog. He is a very good boy.” 

a few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “I prefer a few close friends. It’s hard to keep up with a lot of people. And I don’t like crowds.” wild night out or romantic night in ➔ She chuckles nervously. “I guess...a romantic night in? I’m not much of a partier.” She clears her throat.  day or night ➔ “Day. I like the sunshine.”

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

been caught sneaking out ➔ She smiles truly, a bit of confidence rising to the surface. “No, I am very good at moving silently and going unseen.” 

fallen down/up the stairs ➔ She tilts her head, considering the question. “No, I don’t think I have.”  wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ “Yes...there are many things I want...only a few I might actually have.” She picks at her sleeve, running her fingers over scars the interviewer can’t see.  wanted to disappear ➔ "Constantly.” She says immediately, then adds. “Less so recently.” 

FOUR PREFERENCES

smile or eyes ➔ “Smiles.” She gives a small one of her own, before her eyes make contact with the interviewer’s and she balks. “No one’s in particular!”  shorter or taller ➔ "Hm, I don’t think I have a preference, but taller?”  intelligence or attraction ➔ “Intelligence. I like strategy and clever puzzles.”  hook-up or relationship ➔ That panicked look again. “Relationships?” 

FAMILY

do you and your family get along ➔ “No...I would say we do not get along. I avoid them as much as possible and hope I never see them again.” She crosses her arms over her chest.  would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ “You have no idea how much it is.”  have you ever ran away from home ➔ “I’ve never ran away from anywhere I considered home. Los Diablos is the closest thing to it and I can’t seem to leave it.”  have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ "I was never kicked out.” After a pause. “I was never let in, in one sense. Steel, um, never let me join the Rangers.”  

FRIENDS

do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ “No. We may argue, but I don’t actually hate them. I think I’m too tired for that. It takes so much energy to hate.”  do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ "I hope so.” She says. “I hope they consider me a good friend.”  who is your best friend ➔ She freezes, thinking about it. “Ortega...he knows me too well. He’s also my oldest friend.”  who knows everything about you ➔ “No one knows everything. I’m...a private person. Dan- I mean Herald and Ortega know more about me than I thought.” She mutters afterwords, “Probably more than they should.”  

[hexusproductions]

Oz Squad - 50 Questions

Answering a list of 50 character questions in-character. The original list can be found here. 

Note: All boys were ‘questioned’ separately, but for the sake of brevity, all of their responses have been collected together.

1. Are you a morning person or more of a night owl?

D: “Morning person, I guess. But like, manufactured, after getting up at an early hour every morning.”

O: “I get up a lot during the night, because I can’t sleep. I’m more of a 24-hour owl.”

J: “I love getting up when it’s still early and seeing all the warm sunshine. It lets me check on my garden too, make sure they’re all doing okay.”

2. What’s the first thing you notice about a person when you meet them?

D: “Shoes. I don’t look at people when I meet them, so I usually end up seeing their shoes in more detail first. Which…does sound a little creepy.”

O: “Hands. Specifically what they’re doing, like a handshake or stuck in pockets.”

J: “How big they are! Like I’m mentally taking their measurements, in case I need to make something for them.”

3. You see a huge spider in your room. What do you do?

D: “Move away slowly, and then use my quirk to try and slingshot it out the window.”

O: “Grab a shoe. Sneak up so you don’t spook it into running, because then you can’t find them again.”

J: “No no no. Get away as fast as possible.”

4. If you could go back and change one decision you made in the past, what would you change?

D: “Only one decision? Okay. I guess I would try to do better in the entrance exam? Maybe I would actually be able to pass this time.”

O: “I guess, um. I guess I would stop mom from leaving the house on the day of the accident.”

J: “I would stop my last prototype from exploding. There was smoke everywhere. People were very mad.”

5. Tell me about your first kiss.

D: “Mine was with Ozzy. I think he figured out I had a crush on him and he kissed me while we were studying together. It was nice.”

O: “Nothing special, really. She was my friend and we tried dating but eventually figured out we’d be better staying friends. There’s no hard feelings.”

J: *Blushy giggles* “It was sweet.”

6. Do you give people second chances?

D: “If they want one, then I’ll give them another chance. They deserve an opportunity. Right?”

O: “People who’ve made a mistake, I’ll give them as many chances as they want to fix that. People who fuck up, as in majorly, get one second chance. There won’t be any more after that.”

J: “If you’ve done something bad enough that I feel like you need to ask for a second chance, then that’s the only chance you’ll get. I’ll be keeping a close eye on you during that chance.”

7. Are you a cat person or a dog person?

D: “Um, I don’t know?? Dogs are cool, I guess.”

O: “I would die for any dog.”

J: “Both are great!! Except when they eat my plants. Then that’s bad, please don’t do that you’ll get sick.”

8. Do you think you’re attractive?

D: “I got a boyfriend, somehow, so that’s fucking incredible.”

O: “Meh. If I am I’m not trying to be. I do feel like I am when I’m in my hero gear.”

J: “I’m cute, and I don’t always like that. Sometimes it’s nice, but sometimes it isn’t.”

9. What’s your worst habit?

D: “All of them. Um, sorry, I mean, I say things without thinking?? It’s a real problem.”

O: “I worry. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, emotionally or physically. I feel like it’s my job to stop that from happening.”

J: “I mean, occasionally I can get a little side-tracked. Other people get annoyed with me for it, but it’s kind of like my brain is a train that keeps going along the track even when it should be stopping. Stopping for passengers and fuel and things, stuff like that.”

10. When was the last time you cried?

D: “Like two days ago probably.”

O: “Not sure. I think it was when Dion went missing during his internship.”

J: “Uhh…I do try not to cry too often. I don’t wanna seem, uh, unmanly. The last time I cried was because Higan was going through some stuff and he seemed really upset and my heart kinda broke for him.”

11. Are you a good liar?

D: “I break super easy if someone puts pressure on me. If I don’t crack then I might be able to get away with it.”

O: “I think so. People take almost everything I say at face value because my tone is like, monotone. I don’t lie much but when I do, I use that to my advantage.”

J: “Not really. I keep piling things on until people can tell that I’m not telling the truth. My best lies have been when I wasn’t paying attention.”

12. What’s your biggest pet peeve?

D: “I try to let people do what they want. But, piling on unnecessary pressure, especially after being told to stop because it’s causing stress for other people.”

O: “People who act cocky and proud after they’ve lost. The ‘I let you win’ people.”

J: “Being interrupted while someone is trying to talk.”

13. Have you ever had your heart broken?

D: “I guess, technically. I think some people might not care about me as much as I thought.”

O: “You mean in the romantic way? Not really.

J: “Sort of. It breaks for my friends because of things that were done to them, not because of them.”

14. Are you more likely to use your fists or your words in an argument?

D: “Words start coming out first. I’m not great with my fists, and I’d like the argument to end quickly.”

O: “Words first, as a warning. Then fists if things don’t calm down.”

J: “Words…? I don’t usually get into arguments.”

15. What’s something you’re naturally good at?

D: “Um…I don’t know. My quirk’s pretty powerful but I can’t get it up to those levels without being super stressed out. So, nothing, really.”

O: “Keeping a level head. Staying consistent.”

J: “I can eat three or four Warheads at once!”

16. What’s something you had to work hard to be good at?

D: “Helping people and being worthy of being a hero. I only got into the course because I worked hard and I didn’t want to disappoint anyone.”

O: “Combat. My dad owns a gym, so that helps.”

J: “I’ve gotten way better at inventing things so they do what I want them to. Same with ‘reading the room’, so that way I know what I’m supposed to be doing instead of going off and doing my own thing.”

17. Can you tell when someone is flirting with you?

D: “Yes and no? If I start thinking someone’s flirting with me I get really fidgety, but sometimes they’re not, and I have to apologise for getting it wrong.”

O: “Usually, yeah. I don’t always stop ‘em but I don’t reciprocate if I’m not feeling the same way.”

J: “Nope. If I’m not focused on what you’re saying then it goes completely over my head.”

18. Do you think money can buy happiness?

D: “Maybe. It might be nice to test out, just for a bit.”

O: “No. Only giving someone what they need can.”

J: “Yeah! If you have more money you can buy even more stuff.”

19. Do you believe in destiny?

D: “All destiny is made up, right? Being told you were meant for something is something only real people do.”

O: “The idea that someone’s whole life has been leading up to one point is super cool. It sounds like an underdog story.”

J: “I think some people have a destiny, but some people are free to explore and do whatever they want.”  

20. Are you a good cook?

D: “I can make noodles and eggs, and toast. Only really simple things. I’m very good at making food quickly.”

O: “I improved when I started making more dinners and lunches. Sometimes I bring leftovers to school too.”

J: “I’m not good in a kitchen. No-one trusts me in a kitchen either. A lot of yelling happens.”

21. What do you think happens after you die?

D: “A funeral. Your loved ones show up and they grieve. Hopefully.”

O: “I hope Heaven and Hell exist. Just for the people I want to end up eventually in a better place. Not now, but someday.”

J: “I don’t think about it. Something good, that’s all I wish for.”

22. Did you have to grow up fast?

D: “I got rushed. Um, I mean, I’m sure everyone had the best intentions and wanted me to do my best! It did seem really fast though.”

O: “Yeah…kinda did. I know it was only recently, but it feels like I lost that whole year I was gone while my family put ourselves back together.”

J: “No, not really. Felt kind of slow, actually. I feel a little guilty, you know? All of my friends seem to be doing worse than I am, or I feel like I’m doing better. It feels unfair. They shouldn’t have to live with what they’re going through.”

23. Who do you look up to?

D: “…I don’t wanna answer this one.”

O: “My dad. Heroes like Gang Orca and Eraserhead. All total badasses who win the fight or give as much as they can while trying.”

J: “I look up to my family, my friends, and myself. I want to push myself to do the best I can every single day.”

24. When you go to a tavern, what do you order?

D: “Just like soft drink or something. Something sugary.”

O: “Water. Simple and refreshing.”

J: “Lemonade, the sourer the better.”

25. What do you like most about yourself?

D: “Not much, really. Um, sorry. I guess…I’m a hard worker. I work hard.”

O: “I’m smart and I can win a fight. I take care of people and I protect them from being hurt again.”

J: “I’m very clever. I’m always coming up with new ideas. Not all of them all allowed, but most of them are really good.”

26. What do you like least about yourself?

D: “That I don’t seem to be enough.”

O: “I always say I’m fine.”

J: “I’m not happy with my body yet. But it’ll get there! Eventually.”

27. Do you want kids someday?

D: “I don’t want to mess them up. I mean, I don’t know.”

O: “Yeah, sure. I like the idea of being a dad. I’d just want my own house first.”

J: “Kids? Hm…at the moment, I don’t think I want kids. They’re great, but if things go my way I’ll be working long hours all the time and have a bank loan or something. Hypothetical future me is way too busy.”

28. Are you a planner, or more spontaneous?

D: “I like having a plan. If I know what I’m meant to do, then that helps avoid a panic attack. They can get pretty bad.”

O: “I take things as they come along. In the middle of a fight it’s especially helpful to be able to think on my feet.”

J: “I always have an initial plan and then I get taken on a few detours here and there. Does that mean I’m a bit of both?”

29. Can you keep a secret?

D: “Same thing with lying but way worse. Nobody tells me secrets, because as soon as I let my guard down, I say it out loud. I don’t blame them for not telling me though, I understand. I’m trying to work on it.”

O: “As long as it’s not hurting anyone I’ll keep the secret as long as I can.”

J: “Sure, why, did you want to tell me something?”

30. Do you like being the centre of attention?

D: “No, no, it’s awful. I’d rather be a little off to the side, the side of the centre of attention. That probably doesn’t make a lot of sense…”

O: “I love it. Gives me an excuse to show off for a bit.”

J: “I like to be in the centre of attention occasionally, when I have something I’d like to talk about. Otherwise I’d rather point the spotlight at someone else, give them an opportunity to have the same thing.”

31. If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?

D: “And there was no way out of it? I would be honest. With everyone. I’d tell everyone exactly what I think and I wouldn’t care about the consequences.”

O: “…oh, jeeze. I don’t know. I’d give everyone a hug. My mum, dad, the lads, Dion. I’ll hug Higan, even if he accidentally poisons me. Just…just so they know that I care about them.”

J: “I would tell everyone so that we could stop it from happening.”

32. Do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?

D: “Yeah but it usually doesn’t end up turning out that way. I get told what to wear and when to go and what I should be doing, until eventually I just go along with it just to get it over with.”

O: “I usually end up looking like a mess because I rush getting ready. I have never once worn a tie properly in my life.”

J: “I don’t think I have a lot in my closet for ‘dressing up’. I have a lot of short sleeve button-up shirts, I think I can get away with those. I really prefer wearing overalls.”

33. Where do you feel safe?

D: “Alone. I mean, when I’m not being watched.”

O: “In a boxing ring, or any kind of sparring match. Even though we’re encouraged to be a little aggressive, at the end of the day, everything is in a controlled environment.”

J: “Working. You know that sweet spot when you’re super invested and focused and nothing can distract you? That’s the best.”

34. Do you love or hate being alone?

D: “Being alone is great to start with. But, after a while, the room – the lack of company – gets to me and I start thinking I’ve forgotten to do something important.”

O: “Not really, to be honest. I like having one or two other people around, even if they’re existing and doing their own thing.”

J: “I actually do like being by myself, because it lets me do whatever I want, without disturbing anyone else.”

35. What’s the last nightmare you remember having?

D: “I haven’t had nightmares since I was a little kid. None that I’ve seen. I was being chased by some big ball-shaped thing with a big mouth.”

O: “Mm…no, I don’t want to talk about it. Please. …It was recent.”

J: “Be-Being impaled. I couldn’t breathe, my throat was full of, moss or something.”

36. Do you admit to mistakes when you make them?

D: “Always. Sometimes when I haven’t actually made a mistake.”

O: “I’ll say sorry. That’s the same thing, right?”

J: “I always try to say sorry and fix my mistake. I try extra hard if I’ve made someone upset.”

37. Do you want to grow up to be like your parents?

D: “That’s what I’m supposed to do. Be a great hero, in the top ten just like my dad. But I don’t know if that’s possible for me to do, and I don’t want to think about what he’ll do if I don’t succeed.”

O: “Yes, definitely. My parents are both strong in different ways, and I would love to be just like them.”

J: “I’d like to grow past them. I love them and my dad is pretty good in his field, so I’d like to get to the same point he is and then reach above that.”

38. How do you deal with being sick? Are you stoic, or super whiny?

D: “I don’t say anything about it unless it’s like, asking my mom for a sick day. I can take care of myself for the day.”

O: “Completely stoic. People don’t usually realise until I have a sneezing fit or something.”

J: “I stay away from everyone but it still sucks!! I just want it to be over so I can get back to work.”

39. What did your parents expect from you when you were born?

D: “The next great pro hero.”

O: “A rowdy boy that was going to make a mess of the furniture.”

J: “I don’t think they expected anything, really. I think they want to see what me and my little sister turn into, and support us from there.”

40. Do you have a strong sense of style?

D: “I don’t know, maybe. Most of my clothes are pretty basic. I’ve never really experimented before to see if I have any sense of style.”

O: “Ha, not really. I’ll wear what’s comfy. It can be covered in bright orange spots for all I care, as long as I’m comfortable.”

J: “Overalls and sunflower print are my signature style! They’re always my go-to.”

41. Would you rather camp outdoors or stay the night in an inn?

D: “Camping outside sounds like fun! I’m totally up for that.”

O: “An inn sounds safer, honestly.”

J: “Um, maybe inside? There’s a lot of risks in camping. There’s a lot of stories, too. About people being murdered…”

42. Is there a food that most people like that you absolutely hate?

D: “Jasper’s sherbet things are gross, honestly. But there’s nothing wrong with him liking them! They’re just too sour for me, and there’s too much in one pack.”

O: “Jelly. It’s a gross texture.”

J: “Huh, not really. I can’t really eat spicy food, but that’s pretty common.”

43. Are you more of a hoarder or a minimalist?

D: “I like hoarding when it comes to places like my bedroom, where it’s supposed to be my space. It feels good to personalise where I’m living, and I like to do that with as much as I can pack in there.”

O: “Minimalist, I guess. I usually get rid of stuff if I don’t use it anymore, see if any of my friends want it second-hand. I think the only exception is clothes, I like the look of torn clothing.”

J: “I like having lots of stuff. It’s all organised, so I know where to find everything.”

44. Are you superstitious?

D: “I’ll go along with all the luck superstitions, just in case. I’d like to think angels and demons are real, because I like those.”

O: “It’s fun to engage in, but I don’t really take it too seriously.”

J: “Ghosts will kill us if we invite them into our homes.”

45. Are you the kind of person who remembers people’s birthdays and pets’ names and stuff?

D: “I have all the special dates in my calendar so I don’t forget them.”

O: “Pet names are easy to remember. Birthdays can slip my mind, especially if I haven’t slept in a while.”

J: “Of course, doesn’t everyone?”

46. What do you do to feel better when you’re sad?

D: “Keep it to myself so that nobody sees and gets mad. Then I can let it out later.”

O: “Lie in bed, maybe take a nap. Have some alone time where I can just exist for a while and not really think.”

J: “I don’t really have any good methods. I guess I tell people I’m not doing okay, then they know why I’m keeping a distance, or they can try to help, if they want.”

47. Is it hard for you to trust someone?

D: “Not really. I end up saying stupid things in front of people and based on how they react, I know whether they’re someone who’s okay with me saying stupid things.”

O: “I put my trust in people pretty quickly, once I know what they’re about. If they’re not a murderer after the first impression, then sure, welcome aboard.

J: “I only tell people certain things if I haven’t known them for long. We have to be okay for a while for me to tell you the rest.”

48. Are you susceptible to peer pressure?

D: “Yeah, unfortunately. I’m trying to work on working through pressure instead of panicking.”

O: “I don’t have to worry about peer pressure because I’m usually the one doing the pressuring. It’s how I became friends with Higan – my other friends told me he was a freak, but I ignored them and wore Higan down until he agreed to hang out with me.”

J: “People tell me ‘We’re doing this’ and I’ll be like ‘okay’ and listen to them. That’s not peer pressure, I just like hanging out with my friends.”

49. If you decided to stop adventuring and settle down, what kind of job would you take?

D: “If I didn’t finish school and become a pro hero I think my dad would disown me, haha. Maybe work at the planetarium? I don’t know, I’m not really into space that much.”

O: “I’d take a job at my dad’s gym. If the best I can do to protect people is give self-defence classes, then I’ll take it.”

J: “A general engineer? Maybe go to another university and learn robotics!! Whoa!! That could be really good!”

50. As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

D: “I wanted to be a super cool hero like my mom and dad. The big hands on the hips poses, the confident smile, I idolised all of that.”

O: “…Human cannonball…”

J: “I wanted to be a Power Ranger. I’d fight bad guys and protect my entire backyard.”

[shreddedleopard]

Inktober - Day 1: ‘A Captain’s Promise’

PROMPT - Ring

Okay so, here goes nothing. Inktober day one - a scene from AQR universe between Levi and Historia.

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Levi watched with amusement as Historia’s feet carried her slowly about his room. The neat bump at her abdomen seemed to have come out of nowhere, and it surprised him how quickly she’d begun to show - perhaps it had something to do with the smallness of her stature and frame. She carried it beautifully, though, and it made his heart swell with a pride he never thought himself capable of. “What is your fascination with my stuff?” He mumbled at her from his comfortable recline in his worn, red armchair. It wasn’t often Historia managed to sneak into his place for their secret evenings together - more often than not, it was easier for him to steal up to her quarters using 3DMG, or meet her at the Orphanage. But this night was different. “I can’t help it,” she threw back with a grin. “It still amazes me that I’m in The Captain Levi’s room, touching his personal belongings.” She turned back to where she was stood near his desk, picking up his stationary and examining it all one by one. “This is a lovely pen. Did you buy this yourself?” He rolled his eyes at the realisation that she was probably going to do this with every damn item in the entirety of his quarters. All he really wanted to do was pull her back on to his knee; wrap his arms around her like the stupid soft shit she’d made him. But he didn’t. He humoured her, because the smile on her face was a bit too beautiful to resist. “No. That one was a gift from Erwin. I ...” he fumbled for a moment, not really wanting to admit to her the story behind it, but also unable to deny the truth of it from her curiously wide, azure eyes. He sighed, resigning himself to his answer. “When I first came here, from the underground, my reading and writing wasn’t especially good. Don’t get me wrong - it was a lot fucking better than most of the poor bastards down there, but that’s not saying much. Never really bothered me; I was hardly writing love letters to titans before I disposed of them, was I?” His fingers reached to his throat to straighten his cravat, but then he realised it wasn’t there; he was in his casual shirt and pants after sharing a bath with her. His fingers curled awkwardly on the empty air as his hand lowered. “Then Erwin decided to make me Captain. It wasn’t a promotion I especially wanted, to be honest, but when he explained to me what it entailed, it made sense for me to take it to support him. The only fucker was, it involved a lot more paperwork than I’d been exposed to in the past. Almost made me back out of the whole thing altogether, to be honest.” He felt her gaze intensely; almost as though it were boring into his skin. 

“That would have been a huge loss for the Survey Corps.” He shifted uncomfortably with a small ‘tch.’ “What changed your mind?” He grimaced, hoping that she wouldn’t think of repeating this to anyone. Especially not the person it was regarding. “Honestly? Hange did. Stupid Shitty Glasses went on and on about how she could get me up to speed with my literacy skills in no time; I hadn’t even told the cheeky shit that’s why I wasn’t taking the promotion. But she fucking knew, of course; like she always does. Anyway, in the end, I agreed just to shut her up. And, quite clearly, she was true to her word. Although fuck me, is her handwriting atrocious. Good job she’s a half decent teacher. Anyway, Erwin gave me that as a gift when Hange told him I’d re-thought my decision. Four Eyes has a matching one. If I’d have known then just how much shitty paperwork there was involved, I’d have thrown it at his stupid thick head.” He met her eyes finally, and found her smile had spread right up into her cheeks, creating little dimples. “What?” She shook her head. “Just you. Commander Hange is a saint.” He spluttered, incredulous. “She’s a saint?” “Yes.”

Damn his Queen and Commander for becoming so pally lately. She turned back to his desk, and her fingers swept over the draw handles. His heart lurched uncomfortably as his mind shifted to the mahogany box containing the little squares of fabric emblazoned with the wings of freedom that resided in his bottom draw. It wasn’t the fact that he’d have minded her finding them; more the fact that their evening had been so sweet so far, and the idea of it turning to darker topics dismayed him. Thankfully, they settled on the top drawer instead. She pulled it open slowly, peering inside unashamedly. “You’re such a nosy shit, you know?” “Just checking there aren’t any secret love letters in here, now you’re adept at writing.” He cocked a brow at her. “You’ve seen the extent of my penmanship in that department.” He left the chair, moving to stand behind her, a palm coming to rest atop her protruding abdomen. “I’m better with actions.” She twisted to look at him, and shit, if those eyes couldn’t draw the right words from him then he knew absolutely no fucker could. He lifted a hand to her chin, tipping her lips up gently to meet his in a soft kiss. “Mm-hm,” Historia murmured against his mouth in agreement. He couldn’t help smiling a little into their kiss. No one made him smile like she did, stubborn brat that she was. She withdrew from him after a moment, her attention turning back to his drawer. “Hey - who said I was done?” He cocked a brow at her. “Me,” she fired back at him without looking, her hand reaching into his drawer. “Fair enough.” He rolled his eyes again. How could he argue with that? Her fingers reappeared, and wrapped around them was a medal on a bolo tie. The medal she’d placed around his neck after Shiganshina. “Huh ...” she whispered. “I’d almost forgotten ...” Levi frowned at the medal. “Feels like another lifetime, you giving me that.” He felt her lean into him, her head resting against his shoulder as she turned the item over in her hands. “I wished I could have been there. Fighting beside you all.” The thought made his heart constrict uncomfortably. “I’m glad you weren’t.” She turned back to him properly then, her face suddenly twisted with an emotion Levi was unsure of. She seemed to search his eyes. “The thought of you going back ... to something like that ... I ...” He knew what she was trying to say. He felt it too; the idea of them being apart - him having to leave her for a battle he may not return from. But no matter how much he felt what she did, he couldn’t reassure her. Couldn’t promise her that there wouldn’t be another battle like Shiganshina, or worse. And he most certainly couldn’t promise her he wouldn’t be there, fighting beside his comrades as always. “I know.” He curled his fingers around hers, pressing the medal to her palm. His eyes closed, and he inhaled, merely revelling in the feel of them being there, together. All three of them. He wondered how many of these moments they might all be allowed, in the future. Best not to ask himself those questions. Fuck; if things were different ... if they were in a different situation, a different time ... But they weren’t. He opened his eyes, and brought their clasped hands up between their faces. “Listen, Historia. I’m going to be honest with you here; I can’t offer you what most men could - I told you this from the start. No cozy home, no stable lifestyle, no reassurances, no fucking gold ring.” He grit his teeth between the words. “But if I could ...” No. No use talking like that. She lifted a pale, dainty hand to cup his cheek, and right there and then he hated himself. Hated himself for stealing the heart of this pure, young girl that he didn’t deserve. Robbing her of the life she should have, with a better man. “I don’t want all that, “ she whispered, thumb stroking his cheekbone. “I want you. This. Us.” He stared into her sweet face for a moment, before pulling her roughly into his embrace. Damnit. He didn’t deserve her, but he couldn’t help himself greedily clinging to her with every fibre of his being. When he stood back, he unwound the bolo from her grasp, and pulled the strings taut together until the loop was tiny. Small enough for a finger. He clutched at her left hand, lifting it to his face as though inspecting it. Left was the hand for your ring finger, right? He took a long, deep breath, wondering if he was actually going to make an idiot of himself and actually do this. Fuck it. He knelt down awkwardly before her, and his mind was suddenly cast back to the day she placed the medal around his neck. Back when they were nothing more than comrades; acquaintances; Captain and Queen. He refused to let his eyes part from hers, crowned by crinkled brows as she gaped at him. “What are you ...” “I can’t give you a ring or any of that shit, Historia. But what I can give you is my life.” His fingers pulled the loop of the bolo tie gently over her ring finger, and he adjusted it so that the little medal was facing upwards, Wings of Freedom glinting symbolically up at them. “Levi-“ “Let me finish,” he cut across her, willing the stupid fucking blush he could feel at his shirt collar to stay put and not rise to paint his features. “I promise you, and our child, that I will serve and protect you both until the day I die. No matter what, I will fight for you; anything you ask of me, I will give you - my blades belong to you.” It sounded a lot less cheesy in his head. He averted his eyes finally, waiting for her to laugh at him, or tell him to get a life. But neither of those things happened. Instead, Levi saw a wet, glistening globe smatter on the floor before him. He looked up to find her face streaked with tears. Rising swiftly, he pulled her to him again. She fit so snugly under his chin - it was as though she’d been crafted especially for him. The little ray of fucking sunshine to his gloomy cloud. And here he was robbing her jovial light again. He rubbed her back as he felt her breath hot and hurried against his neck. “Shit; sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I didn’t want to upset you. I ...” “No,” she pulled back to look at him, and there was that damn irresistible smile again. “These are happy tears.”

[helloalycia]

your secret // kara danvers

summary: It wasn't difficult to put two and two together - Kara was an alien and you knew that. Hiding the fact that you knew she was hiding this was much more difficult however...

warning/s: none.

masterlist

          Kara Danvers was strange ever since I first met her. University was full of weirdos (as I was kindly warned by my parents), but Kara was more 'strange' than 'weird'. Don't get me wrong, she was an amazing person, but certain things about her were... odd.

         We were roommates at National City University and I remember meeting her and thinking "wow, this girl is always happy". As time went on, we became closer and closer and suddenly, we were best friends. But it was in all of that time, and more, that I noticed the little things about her that were different.

         She could lift things heavier than herself, which certainly caught my attention. Then there was the fact that she would never wear oven gloves when taking things out of the oven. Or the fact that I sometimes witnessed her heating up her hot drink with lasers from her eyes.

         Honestly, at first, it was shocking, mind-blowing, unbelievable and– well, you get the hint. I was very confused (to say the least), but I eventually got over that confusion and kinda got used to it. I never asked her about it because she was obviously trying to keep this power a secret. But I did have so many questions. Mostly along the lines of "is she even human?"

         Despite the many pressing questions I had, I never pressured her or even made it noticeable that I knew of her powers. She was keeping them a secret for a reason and she would tell me when she was ready. If anything, it made her kind of adorable. She was this bundle of sunshine that was my best friend who I may or may not have had feelings for and she had powers that were beyond imaginable. Hm.

         That brought me to now. Three years later and we were roommates, again. Except this time, we lived in an apartment in National City. She was a journalist at CatCo Media and I was an English teacher at our local high school. We kept each other sane in this grown up world and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

         "Y/N, I'm leaving now!" I heard Kara call from the front door, and I immediately dropped my pencil and called back.

         "Wait! Lemme see you!"

         I jumped off my bed and went to the living-area. Our apartment was an open space, so I could see her from here, hovering by the front door. She was wearing black skinny jeans, a blue jumper and a white leather jacket that made her look very attractive.

         "Do I look okay?" she asked, biting her lower lip and glancing down at her outfit. "I'm hoping this won't be my first and last Tinder date."

         I chuckled at her uneasiness and smiled reassuringly. "You look beautiful, Kara. I'm sure this Kevin guy will say the same."

         Kara smiled bashfully and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose – a nervous habit of hers.

         "Thanks, Y/N," she said, her blue eyes meeting mine. "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."

         I glanced at the watch on my wrist before stepping forward and opening the door for her. "You'd be late. Now go on, Danvers. You don't wanna keep Kevin waiting!"

         Her melodious laughter echoed around me and I felt the butterflies in my stomach swirl a storm at the sound of it. She leaned in to give me a quick hug before waving goodbye and leaving me alone in our apartment. When she was gone, I released a heavy sigh.

         I was happy for her, I really was... but it didn't mean it didn't hurt me a little to know that she was going on a date with somebody else. She never was good with the whole dating thing. Even in university, she didn't really find anyone she connected with. That's why this was a big deal to her now and why I was showing my utmost support. But even so, I still wished I could suck it up and ask her out.

         Barely an hour had passed when I saw something completely unexpected. I was sat in the living-room, on my laptop, planning a lesson. The TV was on, the news playing in the background. The sound of a presenter narrating a flight crashing caught my attention as I recognised the flight number as the same number Alex (Kara's sister) was flying on.

         I fumbled around for the volume button on the remote before turning it up and watching the screen with wide eyes.

         "It seems that the plane is slowing down and... wait a minute. That's a person holding it!"

         The camera zoomed in on an individual directing the plane into the water. The crash didn't look like it had hurt anyone because it was slowed down. The same figure who seemed to be strong enough to carry it down emerged from the water and stepped onto the wing of the plane. Helicopters were flying above, directing spotlights on the anonymous girl. The news reporter was babbling on about a new superhero, meanwhile, my jaw had dropped.

         It was Kara.

         The picture wasn't clear and it was dark outside, so it was hard to make out her face, but I knew it was her. She was wearing the same outfit, I recognised her hair and she was the only person I knew with super strength!

         "Holy shit," I said, unable to believe my eyes. The whole world now knew that she existed. Maybe not who she was, but they knew she was there.

         I stayed up that evening, until Kara returned from her date. As I was pacing, I realised how amazing Kara was. She saved all of those people, including Alex, and risked her life in the process. But she did it and now everything was okay. Nobody got hurt. She truly was a hero. And I was so proud of her.

         I wondered if she would share with me who she really was when she came home. Maybe she knew that I knew? Would this be when she would finally reveal her secret?

         When I heard keys rattling in the door, I sat at the kitchen counter and pulled out my phone, pretending to be using it. Kara soon walked in and squeaked with surprise when she saw me up.

         I smiled and looked up, only to act confused when I saw her soaking wet from head to toe. Though, that confirmed my thoughts of her being the girl on our TV. She was the hero.

         "Erm... bad date?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I secretly hoped she would finally tell me the truth.

         As she closed the door, I saw her smile awkwardly. "Yeah... the guy was an ass. So, I walked it home and it, uh, rained."

         I stifled the urge to laugh at her bad excuse. I figured she wasn't going to share the truth with me just yet, and I respected that, so I allowed her to come up with an excuse, despite how terrible it was.

         "Okay, well, I'll let you get cleaned up," I said, offering a small smile before heading to my room. It wasn't really private seeing as it was all open space, but it gave Kara time to think about everything.

         After she sorted everything out, I remembered the two of us watching the news and talking about this 'mysterious saviour'. Kara obviously tried her best to hide the fact that it was her, but she was just so darn excited and I couldn't help but let her ramble freely about how amazing this 'person' must have felt.

         She was bad at hiding things from me, but I let her have it because it was her secret to keep. Plus, I liked seeing her eyes light up with excitement as she recalled the events. She looked beautiful.

         Alex stopped by that evening, too, probably to check on Kara. From the looks of it, she wasn't too happy with Kara's actions. I said I'd give them some space to talk, so I never actually heard their conversation, but I could only presume it was good. I mean, why wouldn't it be?

         As time went on, Supergirl became the hero of National City. Everywhere I went, I saw the superhero that was my best friend, plastered on billboards, in magazines, on my television. She was saving people left, right and centre and I felt so proud of her. Though, she still hadn't told me the truth.

         Everything I learnt about the real her was through interviews with 'Supergirl'. I learnt she was Kryptonian and Superman's cousin when Kara interviewed, well, herself, and accidentally revealed that information. It did hurt to learn these amazing things about her through secondary sources. It made me question whether she trusted me just as much as I trusted her. Did she really think I didn't know? But I wouldn't let that bother me because something was holding her back and I had to respect that and wait until the time was right. If it ever was.

         A lot of things added up, though. She was adopted, which made sense because she was a literal alien. Whenever we were at university, she would get homesick and I would try to comfort her and make her feel better. That made sense now though. She didn't miss her home. She missed Krypton.

         I remember coming home from work one evening and finding her curled up on the couch, staring ahead at nothing. I left my coat and bag by the door and headed towards her, sitting on the couch. She was wrapped in her fluffy blanket, and barely acknowledged my presence.

         "Kara, you okay?" I asked gently, resting a hand on her lap.

         She glanced at me before moving forward and laying on my lap. A shaky sigh escaped her lips and I frowned at her discomfort. I moved her hair from her eyes and ran my hands through it soothingly. I felt her shoulders relax as I did so.

         "I miss home," was all she said.

         I knew she was talking about Krypton. About her family there. I wondered what happened. Why she came here. How old she was when she came. If she wasn't too young, then having some memories of what she once had must have been hurting her inside. And so it hurt me.

         But she didn't know I knew who she was. She didn't know, so I had to play dumb.

         "You can visit anytime, Kara," I feigned reassurance, only causing her to sigh quietly. She thought I didn't understand. I wished she knew I did.

         "It doesn't matter," she mumbled quietly.

         I frowned and looked down at her. I wished she would talk to me and not bottle everything up. I truly wished she would trust me enough to share this important part of her life with me. Not for me, but for her.

         I just wanted her to be okay.

         Surprisingly, we still remained as close as we were. She skirted the topic of discussing Supergirl and managed to avoid slipping the truth out to me. We would hang out, spend time together (which we kind of had to since we lived together), but not once did she tell me the truth about her.

         At this point, admittedly, I was growing self-conscious to our friendship. I was eighty percent sure that her close friend from work, Winn Schott, knew about her powers. There were times when I'd see the two privately discussing matters, acting secretive around me and blatantly hiding a secret which I could only presume was about her superhero status. James Olsen, another friend from her workplace, would sometimes be involved in their discussions, too. She began to spend a lot more time with the two, which made me feel a bit left out.

         Okay, a lot left out.

         I figured she trusted them more than me, but it was when she returned home late in the evening when I realised that maybe she didn't tell me because she wanted at least one person to be just Kara around.

         I was reading a book on the couch, settling in for the evening, when I heard the front door open. Presuming it was Kara, I called out to her, not looking up from my book.

         "There's some leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry."

         There was no response, so I looked up and saw the blonde hanging up her coat. It was unusual for her to not say anything; she was usually so outspoken and bubbly, so I tried to get her attention.

         "How was work?"

         She finally turned around, managing to give me a forced smile and a little thumbs up. I instantly noticed the sadness in her red eyes. She'd been crying.

         "Kara..." I dropped my book in a heartbeat and went to her, wanting to get a closer look and see if my eyes were betraying me. But no. Her eyes were glassy and the smile on her lips only showed sadness and regret.

         "I'm okay," she lied, her voice hoarse and her hand shaking slightly as she tried to motion for me to step back. "I'm–"

         "You're not okay," I breathed out, stepping forward.

         She tried to shake her head, but obviously her emotions got the best of her and she covered her mouth with a shaking hand. Tears escaped her eyes and I couldn't help but move forward and pull her into a hug. She finally let it out, no longer hiding how she felt, and my heart ached as she sobbed into my arms.

         "You're okay," I consoled her, rubbing circles on her back. "Everything is okay."

         I never did find out why she was crying that night. What could have possibly been so horrible that it caused the girl of steel to crack? To break down horribly? But it did make me realise that at that moment, she wasn't the girl of steel at all. Not Supergirl.

         She was Kara Danvers, my best friend, and she needed comforting.

***

         As time went on, Supergirl's shifts at saving the world happened to be more and more frequent. Kara was rarely around, and when she was, she was tired or had to come up with some lame, unbelievable excuse as to why she had to leave again. Yes, it was very selfish of me to wish she wouldn't have to go save lives all the time... I just wanted my best friend back, was that too much to ask for?

         But there was a time when she didn't come back. It was a Tuesday evening. I'd said my goodbye's to Kara in the morning at breakfast, as usual, before I went to work. I started earlier than her so she would make us breakfast and we'd eat together before I had to leave. But it was unusual because I hadn't heard from the blonde throughout the day. Usually she dropped a little text or gave me a call and we'd share stories of dumb things we'd done that day. But she hadn't this time.

         When I returned home after work, the apartment was empty. I figured she was doing some Supergirl stuff so I continued my evening as usual, but it was almost midnight and she was nowhere to be seen or heard. So, of course, I worried. I rang and texted, but no response. I went to sleep nonetheless (with great difficulty) and decided to see if she'd show in the morning. But nothing.

         Of course my mind thought the worst thoughts. She could have been hurt? Imprisoned? Tortured? She was Supergirl for crying out loud! Always putting herself before others. What if something terrible had happened?

         However, it was that same morning, just as I was about to leave for work, when I opened the front door to reveal Kara, appearing unharmed and slightly nervous. Upon instinct, I pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug before pulling apart and glaring at her.

         "Where on earth have you been?!" I asked angrily, though I felt slightly reassured to see she was fine.

         She smiled awkwardly and walked in, taking a look around. I knew my best friend, so I knew something was different about her when she turned around and met my gaze.

         "I had to run some, erm... errands," she blurted out unconvincingly.

         I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

         "I should have called," she admitted, but something was off. Her mannerisms were all different. They were only small details, but I could tell from them that this wasn't Kara. It couldn't be. Even if there was no logical explanation. "I'm going to be gone for a few days, Y/N."

         I raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?"

         She chewed the inside of her cheek and avoided my eyes. "I'm heading to Eliza's. I need some time away for a bit. I hope that's okay."

         I studied the person who looked suspiciously like Kara. "You've never needed my permission before."

         'Kara' widened her eyes and smiled with embarrassment. "Right! I haven't." Her eyes wandered around before settling on the clock hung on the wall. "You should get going! You're going to be late."

         I knew she was right, but I wanted to know what was happening here.

         "I'll be gone when you're back, and I won't be using my phone much when I'm there, but I'll see you in a few days, yeah?" She leaned forward and pulled me in for a hug, but it was limp and forced and uncomfortable.

         This wasn't Kara.

         Whoever it was though, was correct about being gone by the time I returned home that evening. Kara's things were still there though, including her suitcase. Something wasn't right. When I tried to contact Alex, she wasn't answering her calls or texts. She only sent a single text confirming what 'Kara' said this morning – she was at Eliza's. I refused to believe that though.

         All I could do was wait and wonder where Kara was and whether she was okay. It wasn't a good feeling.

         Few days had passed and it was the weekend. I was watching TV, barely paying attention to what was playing. I felt too anxious to focus on anything. Kara's well-being wouldn't escape my mind. I knew she was practically invincible, but that didn't help ease my nerves at all. Why hadn't she contacted me? At least let me know she was okay?

         A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts and I sighed as I got up to answer it. It was probably the delivery guy – I had no effort to cook today.

         I pulled open the door and caught my breath when I saw Kara stood there. The real Kara. I knew it was her because she was smiling, only a small smile, but it reached her eyes and made her look beautiful. She was wearing a hoodie and some jeans – very unlike her. Her glasses weren't on her face and she seemed tired, but she wasn't hurt. Physically, anyway. I felt relieved.

         "Y/N," she breathed out. "Hey... I forgot my key when I left," she said as she stepped inside. "And I've just seen your calls and texts... sorry I couldn't answer. I needed some space at Eliza's for a bit..."

         I knew I was supposed to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary and as if I hadn't been worried sick about her. But I couldn't help myself as I pulled her in for a hug. She was alive and well and in my embrace.

         My arms were wrapped tight around her shoulders and I tucked my face into her neck. Her familiar and comforting scent filled my senses and I knew it was her. No doubt about it.

"I know you were only gone for a few days at Eliza's," I mumbled into her hoodie, playing the part, but not very well, "but I missed you... a lot..."

         I wasn't sure if she suspected anything, but I did feel her body relax as a sigh escaped her lips and she wrapped her arms around my waist.

         "I missed you, too," she whispered quietly. "So, so much..."

         I was curious to what happened to her and what she meant by that, but I knew it wasn't my business to ask. And I knew she wouldn't tell me either. So I suffered in silence and thanked God for bringing her back home safely.

***

         I knew of Kara's secret. She thought I didn't know. Everyone thought I didn't know. But I guess I'd become so used to the fact that she did have powers that sometimes, I forgot to play the part of the oblivious best friend.

         Kara wanted to host a dinner party at ours for her friends, and since I didn't really have a problem with that, I said yes. She'd invited James, Winn and Alex over.

         It was a relatively normal evening, honestly, but certain things would occur that I guess I didn't realise were an issue till later on...

         "Kara's been practicing, and it's actually not so terrible," I chirped, glancing at the Kryptonian with a teasing smile.

         "Hey," she argued playfully, nudging me in the arm. "My cooking isn't even that bad!"

         I raised an eyebrow and simply looked towards her sister and two friends. They all avoided Kara's threatening glare, which only proved me point.

         "I hate you all," Kara said with a shrug of her shoulders.

         "We're sorry, Kara, but Y/N is kinda right!" Winn tried to apologise. "Your cooking isn't exactly the best..."

         Kara rolled her eyes, only making me laugh at her childishness. Just in time, the alarm from the oven went off, signalling the chicken had finished cooking.

         "Come on, let's go see if you burnt it," I joked, dragging Kara to the kitchen with me. I heard her grumbling incoherently from behind which made me chuckle in response.

         I bent down to the oven and opened it, feeling the heat escape and brushing over my face.

         "Kara, can you pass us the oven gloves?" I asked, glancing up, but she merely bent down and grabbed the tray of chicken herself.

         "It's okay, I got it," she assured, pulling out the tray with her bare hands.

         I was used to this behaviour, since she was an alien and literally felt nothing, from a pinch to a burn. So used to this behaviour in fact, that I forgot it technically wasn't normal behaviour.

         "It looks pretty good," Kara complimented herself, and when I stood up beside her, I saw she was grinning like a child.

         Her smile was contagious and I found myself mirroring her expression, before checking out the chicken. Roasted to perfection, really.

         "Wow, Kara, you've actually done a good job!" I said with sarcasm dripping from my voice.

         Kara licked her lips before pouting ever-so-adorably. I gave her a knowing look.

         "Oh, Kara, you know I'm kidding," I reassured, before putting an arm on her shoulder and directing our attention to the food. "But we do have to make sure it tastes good."

         We called the others to help lay the chicken out with the rest of the food, and as we did, I couldn't help but notice the stare Alex was giving me. A puzzled expression was directed my way, and obviously, at this point, I had absolutely no idea why.

         Dinner went by smoothly, and the food was delicious, courtesy of Kara. It was when we were all cleaning the dining table and taking the pots to the sink when another fault on my part came about.

         I was washing the dishes when I heard a smash come from behind me. I turned around to see Winn (unsurprisingly), had accidentally dropped a wine glass on the floor. I rolled my eyes at his clumsiness and guilty smile.

         "Oops?"

         I suppressed the urge to smile at his dismay before continuing with the washing.

         "Kara, do you think you can–?" I began, but was cut off.

         "Already on it," she responded, and I glanced over my shoulder to see she was picking up the bits of glass with her hands.

         Another action, so simple and thoughtless that I was used to her doing. Many time, she'd cleaned up a mess, that I'd usually made, with her bare hands, so I was used to it. But once again, I forgot that this wasn't normal behaviour.

         I finished off washing the last dish before drying my hands. I saw Kara putting the glass in the bin and when she looked up, we exchanged a quick smile. The two of us headed to the living-room, where the others were chatting mindlessly. Once again, Alex was staring at me with a puzzled expression.

         The rest of the evening was pretty much that, and it was when we had said goodbye to everyone that Kara had pulled me aside.

         "What's up?" I asked the concerned blonde.

         She seemed nervous as she avoided my eyes. "Y/N..." She breathed in and out, slowly, before finally looking at me. "You know about me, don't you?"

         I certainly wasn't expecting this. She'd made no sign that she was going to talk about her secret, so I was surprised to say the least.

         "Know about you?"  

         She gave me a knowing look. "C'mon, Y/N... at first, I didn't realise. But Alex noticed today. You know I have powers. You let me take the tray out of the oven without gloves. And you've done so in the past! You watched me clean that glass up and not get cut, just as you've done in the past. You've known this whole time, haven't you?"

         I suddenly felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders as she spoke. I hadn't realised how hard it was pretending not to know until now.  

         "I knew," I admitted, offering a small smile. "I figured it out in university, Kara."

         Her eyes widened at this revelation. "What– why didn't you tell me?"

         Her blue eyes were glistening with confusion as she didn't look away once. I grew nervous as I shrugged my shoulders.

         "I'm not sure?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know, Kara, I guess I just thought, well, it's your secret to tell, isn't it? I couldn't just reveal to you that I knew you were an alien when you were obviously trying so hard to hide it."

         She seemed speechless as she finally looked away. She rubbed her head, trying to relieve some sort of tension that was building up.

         "Kara, what's wrong?" I asked, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She spread her hands in defeat, a conflicted smile on her lips. "What did I do, Y/N?"

         I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

         She sighed heavily. "You know that Winn and James know, don't you?" I nodded. "And yet you stuck by me this whole time. You didn't get angry with me or pressure me, but I can only imagine how annoyed you would've been. Believing I didn't trust you with something like this. Especially when we tell each other everything."

         I smiled with reassurance as I looked her in the eyes. "Kara, no... at first, maybe I felt a bit jealous that you chose them over me. But I grew to understand and I don't want you feeling bad about any of this."

         "But Y/N–"

         "No," I interrupted firmly. "No more buts. Let's just move on. I know and you know I know. Everything is okay. Okay?"

         She searched my eyes for any sign of hatred or annoyance or anger, but there was none. I had no hard feelings about any of this.

         "Okay," she agreed, before smiling. "Thank you."

         I merely nodded in return. "Now... since this is finally out in the open..."

         I said nothing more as I rushed forward and hugged her as tightly as I could. She couldn't get hurt anyway, so I held her with all my strength and didn't let go.

         "All those times on the news, when I would see you fighting aliens and criminals... I thought that you wouldn't..." I closed my eyes as she wrapped her arms around me. "You would always come back. And I couldn't say a thing about it."

         "I'm sorry," she whispered, regretfully.

         I didn't know what else to say, so I just stayed there. Still and in her strong, safe embrace. Where I knew she would be okay.

[nailbatss]

Mi Princesa Especial - Zabdiel de Jesús

Pairing: Zabdiel x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1,150

Content warnings: None, just a lot of fluff, and from Zab’s POV

Note: I reuploaded because I forgot to add hashtags. Hope you enjoy!🖤

Do you ever wish something would happen to you? Like, you want some new car, or you want a cute little dog to be by your side always. I did too. All I wanted was someone special to love me for who I was. Let me tell you, I found that in a special someone that I’m quite close to. Her name is (Y/N) and she has the prettiest hair. I love to twirl it around my fingers, run my fingers through it, and I also love to make sure that she’s loved and cared for all the time. Her eyes were the most dazzling, warm eyes that I have ever seen. I often find myself lost in them when I stare for long periods of time. Her body has so many curves that I love to run my hands over, to feel the way she giggles when I do, or to feel the way her breathing hitches as she thinks I’m going to tickle her. Dios mio, (Y/N) also has the most adorable laugh I have ever heard from anyone. I think that she’s the one I want to marry someday. I think that I’m a lucky guy to have (Y/N) by my side. She has the softest skin that I love to touch, including her lips. I absolutely love hearing her talk-- or watching her lips move.

Everything about her is literal perfection. I never thought that I would find someone just like her. The energy she has when talking about her passions drives me. It’s like I can feed off of her energy and feel the vibes she has going on. On my worst days where I want to shut the world out, seeing nothing but darkness and gloom, (Y/N) is my light. She has saved my life probably more than I have saved hers. She claims I was there for her in such a dark point of her life, when she was the exact same way with me. No one was willing to reach out to me the way she did. I mean, the boys are fantastic and I couldn’t ask for better brothers, but they don’t understand me the way she seems to get me. It’s like she knows exactly when I’m having a bad day because she wraps her arms around me and grips me tight. I will wrap my arms around her, burying my face in her neck to breathe in her calming scent. My girl smells just like happiness, warmth, sunshine, and flowers. I think of morning glories when I inhale her scent. The world tries to pull me away from everyone with my thoughts, but her scent grounds me. It brings me back to the present and back to the moment. She will run her fingers through my messy hair and whisper how much I mean to her, and that I am doing my best. I am constantly reminded by this angel how much she loves me. Her little kisses to my head and whispers show me exactly how much she loves me. I have no doubt in my mind that she is the one for me. I love her with all my heart and I cannot wait to call her mine forever.

There is a small diamond ring in the pocket of my jacket from the Hey DJ video. I know how much she loves that suit, so I thought I would wear it for our very special date tonight. I hope she says yes to the very special question I have for her tonight. I think that I’m going to ask her the question while we have dessert. Think about it, I’m ending the night with a sweet treat with the sweetest thing I have in my life. I’ve already spoken to (Y/N)’s father and he gave me the approval. Of course, he did so after giving me the whole “if you hurt her, I’ll hurt you” talk. I understand because she is his little girl. I told him that we wouldn’t be taking away from her family, but adding on. My mother has no idea, but I plan to tell her when we have dinner next week. That would be the next time I see her and it would be in a public place. She doesn’t like causing scenes in public so it’s a safe bet.

“Zab? Are you alright?’ A sweet voice pulled me from my thoughts. It was (Y/N). Her kind eyes were gazing into my dark ones, making my heart flutter with every word she spoke to me. “Si, mi amor. Just thinking.” I kissed her knuckles after raising her hand to my lips, hopefully where the ring would be placed. “What are you thinking about so hard?” She smiled sweetly up at me. “Hm, just our date tonight. I bet you’re going to look so beautiful.” I could see the small blush forming on her cheeks. A light smack to my chest made me laugh. “Don’t even! You’re going to look so much better!” She whined. “No, no, you will definitely look bonita, mi princesa.” I knew that nickname always made her melt and would let me win. “Fine.” She huffed. She was always so cute when her cheeks puffed out, her eyebrows furrowed to feign anger, and her hands were crossed over her chest. I chuckled gently and gave her a soft kiss to pull her out of this little attitude she was having. (Y/N) gave in and she wrapped her arms around me. See? I always win.

That night, I got to ask her that very special question. However, it wasn’t in the way I wanted to ask her. It was actually a funny story as to how it happened. We were eating dinner and I had told her a joke that especially made her laugh. I watched her throw her head back and she put her hands against her side. I thought it was the cutest thing and my face probably showed surprise. I felt my jaw drop at the pure beauty of watching her laugh. I swore I heard angels when I heard her laughing, and I could see my future with her right then and there.

“(Y/N), I want to marry you.” I blurted out in the middle of my thought. Her eyes got wide and she gasped softly. “Zab, I- are you serious?” My plan wasn’t completely a failure. I pulled the ring out of my pocket and laughed nervously, “Yeah, muy serio.” I answered. She threw her arms around me and gave me a huge kiss. I guess I had my answer.

This was how I fell in love with mi princesa especial. I’m going to marry my true love.

[turtleparadise]

[ ~ One ~ Two ~ Three ~ Four ~ Five ~ Six ~ Seven ~ ]

[ I thought I was pretty much done pouring out my heart for the moment, but... Nope. Enjoy. ]

3. You Run Like A River

"Okay, who's in charge around here?"

Several worn-out adults turned their heads in the direction of the young ninja who had come walking into North Corel like she owned the place.

"We ain't got government around here," one of them said. "But if you're lookin' for some kinda leader, it's me."

"Vaast," Barret greeted, raising his hand in a motionless wave, though he couldn't think of anything else to say. The one called Vaast scoffed, but only addressed Yuffie.

"This guy with you?"

"Haha... Yeah... Hold on." Yuffie turned to Barret. "I thought you said you made up with these guys!"

"You could say that," Vaast nodded. "But we still don't much wanna see 'im."

"Too bad, 'cause he's here to help me!"

"Oh? And what're you here for?"

As if in answer, the trucks began to arrive, large construction machinery. One by one they filled the perimeter, waiting for orders.

"For some remodeling," she said with a lighthearted laugh.

"Wait... You're that Empress Kee-somethin'-or-other that contacted my dad?"

"That's me! Yuffie Kisaragi. But you can call me Yuffie. Your, uh, dad, was it? He got you guys to clear out all your possessions, right?" He stared at her, dumbfounded, not even realizing she had asked a question.

"Some kid is the ruler of a nation?"

"Hey!"

"Do you want our help, or not?" Barret asked, stepping forward, looking about ready to rough someone up.

"Hey, whoa, Barret, it's okay!" Yuffie waved him down. He nodded, but was still irritable.

"Sure," Vaast finally said, turning to walk away. "Do whatever you want. Ain't nobody attached to this trash heap."

"Well, what a regular ray o' sunshine," Cid scoffed. "Alright, let's level this place an' build a town."

"What's the plan, Yuffie?" Cloud asked.

"Heehee... I'm glad you asked! Behold the Great Ninja Empress Yuffie's Construction Plan Number Three! ...Mostly drawn up by her fantastic advisor Ayase!" She unrolled a set of large papers, some of them blueprints, some of them compiled data, but one of them was a general map of the town as it currently was, with a red ink overlay of the planned future.

"Oh boy," Reeve laughed. "Well, I'm glad we're working with machinery this time." Yuffie nodded.

"We've got a lot of work to do!"

\\\\\

"Empress?"

"Hm?" Yuffie turned this way and that, before realizing an elderly couple had approached her. She took off her safety goggles and let them rest atop her head. "Ah, Mister Reach? Is that you? We spoke on the phone, so I thought I recognized your voice."

"You can call me Sebastian," he chuckled. "And this is my husband, Morgan."

"It's a pleasure to meet the Empress of Wutai," the other man said, extending his hand, which Yuffie shook energetically.

"Nice to meet both of you in person," she beamed. "But just call me Yuffie, okay?"

"We can do that," Sebastian nodded. "We just wanted to thank you so much for what you're doin'. I know folks around here are rough around the edges, but we've been through a lot, so... I hope you can forgive us."

"Your son is a good person," she said. "I can tell. He's got a chip on his shoulder, but I don't blame him. I don't blame anyone. Shin-Ra... ruined the lives of people all over this planet. We should all come together and build each other up."

"So that's the philosophy?" Morgan asked. "I like it."

"I'll be honest," Sebastian said, glancing around at the ever-changing town of North Corel, mostly level dirt now with many concrete plots being placed, though two buildings had already been completed. "I just thought you were comin' here to build some houses, then you'd be on your merry way. Didn't think you'd clean the whole place up."

"Gotta make a good foundation," she shrugged, wiping sweat from her brow. "Otherwise, you'll have plenty of problems in the long run."

"Too wise for her age," Morgan laughed.

"You're not... just talking about houses, are you, Yuffie?" She grinned at the question.

"I'm a schemer, Sebastian. Always have been. I look a hundred moves ahead. I'm not gonna lie, I will ask for something. But we'll get to that when the time is right. And I think... you'll like it, too."

"But the buildings won't take that long, will they? Looks like your crew is gettin' 'em done in record time."

"We're far from done," she said. "Once we finish with the buildings, we're splitting into two teams; one that's gonna help you guys clear the nearby land and start a new farm, and another that's heading up to the river in the mountains. A little bit of terraforming, and we'll have the Corel River flowing through here."

"Are you serious...?" Both men stared at her, jaws agape.

"Why would you go to all that trouble?" Sebastian asked.

"Because I can," she chuckled.

"She loves saying that," Vincent said as he passed by, carrying fresh lumber to one of the lots.

"Hush, you," Yuffie said, her cheeks flushed. "I'll deal with you later."

"What can we ever do to repay you?" Morgan asked.

"Like I said, we'll work something out," she said with a grin.

\\\\\

"Water!! Water!"

"Water's moving!"

"Look how fast it is!"

The children of North Corel ran to the newly expanded Corel River, some jumping into it, some kicking it up and splashing, but mostly dropping immediately to their knees to take a drink.

"It tastes so good!"

"It's the BEST WATER EVER!"

A sweaty Yuffie, covered in dirt, walked toward the water and knelt down beside them, taking off her gloves, and dipped her cupped hands into the water. She brought the small amount up to her lips and drank, raising her head up to make sure she got every drop.

"Aaah... It really is the best water." She opened her eyes, and...

SPLASH!

The youngsters laughed uncontrollably at their antics, some of them continuing to throw and kick water in her direction, some of them falling into the shallow riverbank.

"Oh yeah?" She laughed, rising to her feet. "Oh yeah?!"

SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!

The giggling grew louder and louder - they were all soaked within seconds. Her friends, and the citizens of North Corel, had a good laugh at them, some of them even joining in - though several of them only wanted a drink, so they kept their distance from the splashing. Yuffie took one glance at her friends, and a huge grin swept across her face. He was standing just close enough...

"Okay, guys, here's what we're gonna do..." She whispered instructions to the children, who all started laughing once more. They threw handfuls of water toward Vincent, who skillfully and swiftly moved out of the way - right behind Yuffie.

SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!

Of course, it didn't affect her much, considering she was already soaking wet, but she scowled at him anyway.

"Come here, you...!" She charged directly at Vincent, smacking her head into his abdomen, then grabbed him and threw him into the water, falling down with him. He couldn't resist laughing along with her. She moved in to kiss him...

But he pushed against her shoulder with his right arm.

"All eyes are on you, Empress Kisaragi."

It stung. She felt like he had run her through with a lance. But she nodded, knowing he had made the right choice, grateful that he had more self-control than she did. No one could know... Not yet. She rose to her feet, lightly smacking her cheeks with her palms to get rid of the wounded look on her face, and turned back to the children, putting on her best smile.

"Okay, your turn again!"

"Oh no," the children all screamed, scattering and making a run for it. Yuffie chased after them, splashing away, managing to catch a couple of them and giving them the gentlest version of the neck hold she often caught her father in, before dropping backwards into the water. The two, a girl and a boy, laughed along with her, and moved their limbs around in no particular rhythm, enjoying the feeling of lying in wild water.

"Hey, are you really a princess from across the ocean?" The boy asked, as the rest of the children began to come back.

"Empress," she laughed. "But not to you guys, okay? To you guys, I'm just Yuffie."

"Why?"

"Because, I want to be your friend. When you all grow up, and I have to talk to you about boring adult stuff, then you can call me 'Empress'. But then... After the business part is over, you have to go back to calling me 'Yuffie'."

"You'll still be our friend?" One of the children who had scattered.

"Even when we're older?"

"Of course!"

"And you'll still splash around in the river with us?" asked the girl lying beside her.

"Oh, you know it," she laughed. "I'll come back to visit whenever I can."

"Thanks for the river, Yuffie," the boy next to her said.

"Hey, don't thank me! This is the blessing of Leviathan."

"Leviathan?"

"What, you don't know about them? Ohhh boy, you guys have got a lot to learn. Well, then again, so do I! Nyuk nyuk nyuk... I guess everybody does. You never really stop learning."

"You did the right thing, Vincent," Cloud whispered as his friend walked by, completely drenched, allowing his soaking black mane to hide his face; he couldn't fake a smile at the moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he answered, walking past him, to the workers' rest house. Cloud pulled Barret and Tifa a bit away from the group, still whispering.

"Barret, go after him."

"What? Why me?"

"I've never been good at the touchy-feely stuff. You give the best hugs, so..."

"Heh, well, when you're right, you're right. I'll try ta' cheer 'im up."

"Tifa, when Yuffie comes back, can you-?"

"Leave it to me," his wife nodded.

"Alright, go team!"

"'Go team'?" Barret couldn't help but laugh as he made his way to the workers' house. "That boy..."

\\\\\

"So, the time has come," Yuffie said, drawing up a contract, while Vaast and his fathers took a seat across the table from her.

"I guess so," Sebastian said, wondering what their benefactor was going to ask of them.

"First of all, Vaast, you know everybody in town, right?"

"Of course," the middle-aged man nodded.

"Then I want you in charge of picking a few people to make a city council."

"What now?"

"Pick people who have the town's best interests at heart, who can make decisions on issues everyone else presents to them. You'll be in charge of the council as the Mayor. Sound like a plan?"

"Wait just a second... What makes you think I wanna be stuck with some dumbass job like that?"

"I think you really want to," she said, not taking her eyes from the parchment. "I think you want what's best for everyone here. And it's clear that everyone here admires and respects you, so I don't think they'll go against your decision. If you don't want the seat, you can pass it to someone else. But in the meantime, I'd really appreciate it if you made that council. Unless you don't think you can handle it..."

"Pshh... Whatever. Not like that's hard t'do."

"Morgan, Sebastian, I'd like you two to be the farm's official Overseers. You don't have to do anything, just check in with the farmers once in a while. Your new house is right by the farm, after all, so I hope you're okay with that."

"Are you sayin' you're payin' us to basically do nothin'?" Morgan chuckled. "I can do that."

"I want their salary to be paid by City Hall," Yuffie said to Vaast.

"What're you talkin' about? Nobody here has any money! I told ya that when you built that damn bank!"

"You will," she said, without elaborating. "By the way, I've already put that woman, Mirabelle, in charge of the bank. I told her she could decide who to hire."

"Mirabelle?" Vaast scoffed, his cheeks flushing just the slightest bit. "She's the clumsiest fool you could find. You put her in charge of a bank?"

"She's someone you can trust with money," Yuffie said, finally looking up from her form to stare into his eyes. "I promise you that."

"How would you know that?"

"I looked into her eyes."

"Bunch'a damn fools," Vaast sighed, rubbing his face with both hands.

"Now, about our business... I understand this was once a mining town."

"All the coal's gone," Morgan said. "Veins dried up years ago."

"That's what I had heard," she nodded. "But I don't want you digging for coal. The Corel Mountains are chock full of gems and minerals. Lots of it gets carried away by the rivers running through the range." All three men stared at her, incredulous.

"You dug the river so we could have...?" Sebastian started laughing, and couldn't even finish his sentence. He leaned on his husband, who patted him on the back and kissed him, pushing his glasses up.

"You should be able to sift through the river and find loads of treasures with ease, without having to mine. And, if you feel the need, the town can be expanded upstream, closer to the mountains, if anyone really wants to go mining. If it were me, I wouldn't expend the energy." she let out a laugh. "Sitting in the water and letting it send all the riches my way sounds a lot better to me."

"What's your game?" Vaast asked. "Why're you doin' all this for us? Wutai's got its own problems, don't it?"

"Again, because I can. This isn't all coming from Wutai's money, Mayor Vaast. I've been exchanging goods and favors for a long time, saving up for projects like this. And now, I can finally make them reality."

"But why, though? What do you get out of it? You have to be after somethin'."

"I am," she said, finally looking up at the three men. "I want a share of those riches."

"'S'cuse me?"

"The minerals and gems that'll be flowing down the river. This town used to be famous for its metalwork, right? Jewelry, armor, all of that? None of the regions of Wutai do much of that, we're mostly wood, stone, clay. We have some excellent smiths, but they're all specialists, and they're few and far between. What I need, is a town rich with metals of all kinds, that can craft exquisite works of art my people will want to buy from you. And in exchange, we'll ship you rice fresh from our fields."

"Waitwaitwaitwait," Vaast said, shaking his hand from side to side. "Hold on a minute here... I thought the metalworkin' was already in exchange for everything you've done here this month. The cleanup, the construction, the farm, the river...? Right?" Yuffie blinked a few times, keeping a straight face, before shaking her head.

"That was a gift."

"A GIFT??" He pounded his fist against the table and jumped up from his seat. Yuffie had to hold back her laughter at this point. "A GIFT! What the ?#@$'s your economy even like? How is your country not bankrupt by now?" At this, she could hold it back no longer - she threw her head back and laughed. Once she calmed down, she apologized.

"I'm so sorry. Look... I have the best team of personal advisors, and the best Imperial Council I could ever have, made up of the best and brightest young minds from each region in the Wutai Empire. We have it well taken care of, I promise. Like I've said before, I've been saving up for this."

"So... You're good with callin' it even, right here and now. You're not gonna ask for any future payment or interest, or anything, on the construction?"

"Not a single Gil."

"Then in that case, I want somethin' better for our metal, than just rice."

"Vaast!" Sebastian spoke up. "How much longer are you going to be rude to the Empress?" Yuffie didn't seem to be fazed at all.

"Why am I even listenin' to a kid?" Vaast asked himself. "How the hell you're an Empress is beyond me. You look like you're nineteen."

"I'm twenty-three, Mayor."

"Still way too damn young," he shook his head. "Shouldn't be in control o' one country, let alone an empire. Bet you don't know the first thing about runnin' a nation."

"Vaast!" Morgan scolded him. Yuffie shook her head and made a downward wave of her hand, before addressing the new mayor.

"I really don't. That's what I have my council for. I picked each member for specific reasons. Because I don't have experience as a leader... I didn't even have experience in architecture, farming, or construction before I gave it a shot. But I know what it's like to be human..." She trailed off for a moment, before discarding the subject altogether. "Have you ever had Wutaian rice, Mayor?" He shook his head and shrugged. "Once you've had rice from Wutai, especially from the Jeijyuu Region, all other rice will be bland and coarse to you. I guarantee it."

"All rice is bland n' coarse, yers can't be much different." She smiled at this.

"You've obviously never had ours. What do you say? One trial shipment, free of charge? And if you're not satisfied, I guess we'll have to throw something else into the deal... But... If you eat your words, along with our rice, then we'll set up a trade route and have a regular exchange."

"Pssh, I can win that bet. You're on," he smiled, shaking her hand. "Lemme sign that damn paper."

\\\\\

"You're really on a roll, hon," Tifa said, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. "What's the next project?"

"Well, I'm not sure just yet. I need to save up a bit more before we get started on South Corel..."

"South Corel," half of the group exclaimed.

"When Ruby Weapon demolished the Gold Saucer, it made the prison even worse than it had been. I know we got everyone out, but there used to be a town there, right? Barret, that's where you were born?"

"I don't know if it's possible," he shook his head. "The Saucer smashed everything... And it'd take more money than you could imagine, t'move those giant hunks o' metal."

"Still... I'd like to travel there to just look at things, assess the damage. Vinnie, you'll keep traveling with me, right?"

"Of course." Their friends gave them looks, some of them hooting and hollering, and Yuffie yelled at them all to hush.

"We'd better get out of here," Tifa said, giving Yuffie a wink. The younger woman was not entertained. "Yuffie, let us know when it's time for the next project."

"We'll be there," Cait Sith said from his place on his "father"'s head as they followed Cloud and Tifa outside.

"You kids behave, now," Cid chuckled on his way out.

"Until next time," Nanaki said with a short bow.

"You alright, buddy?" Barret asked. Vincent nodded.

"I'm fine now. Thank you, Barret."

"Alright, I'm outta here, then." He turned to Yuffie. "You be good to him, now." She nodded, blushing.

"See you later, guys!" Yuffie waved goodbye to all of their friends.

She closed the door, locked it, and turned around to stare at her boyfriend for only a few seconds, before running at him.

"Wait, wait-"

"YAAAH!" She jumped onto him, clinging with her arms and legs, and stole the kisses she had been longing for, for far too long now. "Hom... mmm... ohmm.."

"Do you... have to... make it... sound... like you're eating?" Vincent finally got out between passionate kisses. The two couldn't keep their hands - or lips - off of each other.

"You like it," she declared boldly. "I like eating your face. Mmmm, dear Leviathan, it's been so long!"

"It's been a few weeks," he said, and she immediately shushed him. "But I know what you mean." It had been an agonizing, slow two weeks, not allowed to touch, not allowed to give their secret away - not that their friends didn't know, at this point. Forcing himself not to kiss her in the river had been torture. But now his lips were hers again, to glide over her body, to taste her cheek, her hair, her arms, her neck, her shoulders...

"Okay," Yuffie sighed, letting herself fall back to her feet, before grabbing almost violently at his black shirt. "I wanna take this off. Is that okay?"

"I... Well... Yes, I'd... be okay with that."

"Ahhh I love making you blush!" She sprang for another kiss, before pulling up on his shirt, getting it stuck around his head.

"Hold on... Let me... Okay, now pull..." The shirt came off, and Yuffie felt blood rush to her cheeks as she stared at him.

"Collarbone..."

"Collarbone?" Without another word, she leaped at him once again, practically biting down on his clavicle. Feeling the brush of her lips against his bare skin, Vincent sharply inhaled, and fell to the floor; Yuffie came crashing down on top of him.

"Paralyzed again?" She asked. He nodded. "Are you okay with me, uh..." She wriggled her fingers excitedly. "Well, I don't know what I'm gonna do, I just know I wanna touch all of this." Another nod. And then, more sounds of shock and delight as she ran her fingers over his chest, his ribs, his abdomen - not excluding the parts of his body she had already conquered, either. "Oh man, you're so much fun, Vinnie." Vincent couldn't quite articulate a response at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep.

\\\\\

"...'And so, he steeled up his courage and began to walk once again. The tears were fresh on his cheeks, and he was still so very, very afraid. But he knew that if he followed the fireflies' glow, followed the river, he would make it back home somehow. But it would be a long journey.

'Unfortunately, he couldn't keep going all through the night. His legs begged for rest, his eyelids grew heavy, and he knew he would have to sleep. Of course, the many unknown dangers of the forest filled his mind, but at this point, he didn't have a choice. He looked around...' Oh, hey."

Yuffie let out a gentle laugh as she felt Vincent sit up and wrap his arms around her from behind, his long legs encompassing her, bent at the knees, and his mouth pressed against her shoulder. She reached a hand over to pet him and run her fingers through his shining black hair, but kept the other hand's hold on her book.

"Hey. I was going for soft and romantic, not possessive and sensual. What do you think? Did I do it right?"

"You did perfect," she smiled. "But what's up? I thought you wanted to take a nap."

"I did, but..." He sighed, pressing his cheek against the back of her head. "You know those moments when you're just... overcome?"

"Overcome by...?"

"Emotion. Romantic fluff. The desire to pour out your heart because it's overflowing."

"Oh..."

"I just had one of those, listening to you read to me. That's all."

"I'm glad you like it. It's one of my favorite books."

"I haven't caught all of it," he admitted. "I've dozed off from time to time. Which was the point in the first place, but..." He didn't know where he was going from here. "Thank you. I'll ask you to do this again in the future, if that's okay."

"Sure... You mean my reading style isn't boring or annoying to you?" In response to this, he touched his fingers to her chin, then moved them down her jawline, and under.

"Your voice... is like a river running through a dry, harsh mountain range. Bringing life and color to everything around it. I have never heard a more beautiful sound." Yuffie's face went red.

"You'd better cut that poetry crap out if you want me to keep reading. 'Cause it's making me wanna throw you on the bed."

"I'm already on the bed," he pointed out.

"I'll pick you up and throw you back on it!"

"Keep reading," he chuckled, planting one more kiss just below her left eye. "There will be plenty of time for that later. But... I hope you don't mind if I stay like this." He embraced her once again.

"Of course not," she smiled.

"Let me know if I start to get too heavy." Yuffie shook her head in response to this.

"I can hold you up."

\\\\\

He woke up in the middle of the night, and smiled at the woman he was falling more and more in love with every day. He kissed her ever so gently on the tip of one of her closed eyes, before moving to get up.

"No..." Yuffie clamped her hand around his arm, fiercely. "You can't go. You can't..." A loud yawn. "You belong here."

"Are you dreaming?"

"I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss," she sang slowly, before snoring. He chuckled, and made to pry her hand off, but her grip tightened. "No! I'm awake! And you can't go!"

"I'm just going to get some water."

"Come back in ten seconds."

"I'll try."

"I'll accept that," she mumbled, relinquishing her hold on him. He went about his business, and came back, placing his new glass of water on the sidetable after a few sips. "That was more than ten seconds."

"I said I'd try."

"Whatever." She yanked him back into bed, pulling him closer until her heart beat against his bare back. "I want..." More snoring sounds.

"You want?" Vincent asked, rolling over and caressing her cheek as he squeezed under the covers.

"I crave..."

"You crave...?" She opened her eyes again, and clawed at his chest.

"Skin... Your heart against mine... Vinnie... I wanna feel it. Why did you moooove?"

"I'm coming back," he promised, scooching closer to her, wrapping one of his arms around her. "That better?"

"Yes." She pressed her lips against the bridge of his nose. "I want... to take you... Have you..."

"I'm yours."

"Mmm... Say that again."

"I'm yours," he repeated, kissing her knuckles. "I'm yours. I'm yours."

"Mine..."

\\\\\

"I think I'll make a road here."

"Tell me all about it."

"It'll stretch from North Corel, then split! One side of the fork will go left to South Corel - if we can make that impossible dream come true - and the other will go to Gongaga. That way they can all trade amongst themselves, and visit easier. This old road is... Well... Almost non-existent."

"Sounds like we have our next project."

A Techno song suddenly filled the air, and she reached for her phone.

"Whoops, sounds like Cloud's calling... Hello?"

"Yuffie, I've got some bad news."

"You ran out of hair gel?"

"This isn't the time for that," Cloud said over the phone. His tone made Yuffie blink, wondering what could have happened. "Hana was attacked. It was arson. We caught the culprits."

"Wait, what, what?!"

"They're not talking. We can't get any answers out of them, on why they did it, or who they're working for. But I'd like you to come down here and make a public statement."

"What? Why me?"

"You funded the construction of this city. You helped build it. Everyone knows your face. If you come by and make a confident statement, it'll help soothe the tension in the air. The townspeople are all on edge."

"Wait, wait, back up! Slow down! I don't even... I don't even know if I can be confident! The place we spent so long securing..."

"It doesn't matter if you can or not," he said, raising his voice just a tad. "They need you to."

CLICK.

"Well... Um..."

"What's going on?" Vincent asked.

"Come here. Please." He nodded, and made his way over to sit behind her. She leaned back against him, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

"Hana... Hana was attacked..." He said nothing, allowing her to process everything and form her words in her own time, but he did begin to play with her hair, running his fingers along the strands a bunch at a time. "I can't... They want me to go make a statement. In front of the whole city. ME!" She dropped her phone, leaving it opened for the time being. She had made public statements before, but he wasn't going to bring it up. Not in a situation like this.

"Let's go."

"I..." She turned around and threw her arms around him. "Vinnie! I can't..."

"This is a shocking moment for you," he said plainly. "Hana is more than just a city to you, it was a months-long project you oversaw personally. And the chance that someone could hurt it was obviously always there, but it actually happening has unnerved you. And in this state, you've forgotten how strong you are, even if just temporarily."

"Vince..."

"And I understand. And I won't ask you to be strong all the time. But I will see you to your duty, even if I have to carry you across the ocean myself. So... Be strong when the time comes, but until then, allow yourself this moment. Just make sure to lean on me in the process."

"I will, if you're sure," she said, the shadow of a smile creeping onto her face. "Just warning you, my feelings right now are pretty heavy." He shook his head and kissed her on the brow.

"Nothing that I can't hold on to."

\\\\\

[ ~ One ~ Two ~ Three ~ Four ~ Five ~ Six ~ Seven ~ ]

[fanfic-scribbles]

Chill

A/N: Finally, I have a non-smut Destielxreader idea! This turned out way different than I intended –I just wanted some snow shenanigans and fluff– but I like it well enough. I hope you like it too, but if it’s not your bag then that’s cool too.

Summary: Reader is starting to feel the burn of the hunting life. Luckily Dean and Cas are always on their side.

Quick facts: Romance fic – Dean/Castiel/Reader with a dash of Sam/Gabriel – Nondescript Reader

Warnings: Destielxreader, implied Sabriel, implied sexytimes, fluff, little bit o’ self-deprecating reader.

Words: 1739

     “And another evil son of a bitch bites the dust!” Dean says proudly, standing over the wendigo’s body smoldering in the snow.

You roll your eyes at the energetic (adorable) bastard and share a look with Gabriel. He materializes some cheerleader pom-poms and shakes them. “Gooooo team!” he says sarcastically and you have to chuckle. You have to, because it’s the first chance you’ve had to laugh in a while and it’ll probably be the only chance you have for some time to come. After this there’s going to be another hunt, possibly after a night of sleep, but more likely you’ll be back on the road by nightfall. It’s been like this for weeks now, going nonstop from place to place and you don’t complain because…well, no one else is, and if you don’t save these people then who’s going to? You get sleep, you eat well enough, and Dean and Castiel are fairly doting boyfriends that make sure you’re healthy and upright.

Still, you can’t explain why you feel so tired.

Castiel comes up next to you and takes your hand in his as Dean and Gabriel talk about something. “Are you all right?” he murmurs.

“Oh yeah, I’m great, Cas.” You force a smile for him and slip away, looking at the snow-covered clearing. It’s a shame you can’t stay a while, you think as Gabriel snaps away the body and blood and the area is once more pristinely white. The air isn’t as cold as it has been and you can’t imagine a better place to make snowmen or snow angels. Hell, even just being able to take a nice, quiet walk would be–

“Hey!” Dean sputters as he’s hit with something. You have your gun up and out before you see him dusting snow off his face and realize it was just…

A snowball, you realize as another one hits him right in the nose. Dean blinks, startled but not alarmed, and his cross-eyed expression of confusion is just priceless enough that you double over and laugh so hard it hurts. You look ridiculous, you know, because everyone is staring at you and you can’t explain why it’s so funny, it just is. Cas looks so damn pleased with himself that it makes you laugh even harder, though Dean– Dean has a strange look on his face that you don’t have time to parse before he shoots your shared angelic boyfriend a playfully dirty look.

“You’re asking for it, angel,” Dean says, kneeling to pack a snowball.

Cas tilts his head and smirks. “Bring it, human,” he says in that low voice that normally gets the three of you off and running in the bedroom, but right now it gets your blood pumping for a much more innocent reason. Though you’ll keep the other option in mind for later.

Dean throws and Cas dodges it, but he doesn’t dodge the snowball thrown by Gabriel. Cas blinks owlishly in surprise and you decide that only one person gets to put that look on your angel’s face, thank you very much. Well, technically two people. Still.

Gabriel gets a snowball to the head, courtesy of your excellent aim, but while he’s busy narrowing his eyes at you, Sam picks up a bunch of snow in his arms and dumps it over his boyfriend’s head.

After that, it’s everyone for themselves. Snowballs fly at anyone stupid enough to come out from behind cover and the angels play by the rules (mostly, cough, Gabriel, cough) but the entire time you’re on edge. You keep waiting for Dean to call you all back into line, to make the march back towards the car, towards some other horrific monster doing things that will keep your nightmares full for the rest of your life.

You lean against your tree to catch your breath and calm your nerves. Cas suddenly appears in front of you and you yelp, but instead of pelting you with snow, he grabs your jacket and leans in to kiss you. He’s so warm you accept the company without hesitation, and once he’s done with your lips he warms your face with even more kisses. If this is a trap, it’s a really nice one.

“Stop thinking so hard,” Cas says. “We’re not going anywhere today. Enjoy it.”

“Really?” you ask, relief seeping into your entire being. Cas winks at you and disappears.

You take a snowball to the chest and it hits so hard you jump and curse, especially when you see trails of luxurious hair flow behind someone as they jump behind a tree. “Sam!”

The snowball-snow-anything fight ends with the bunch of you collapsed in a pile near the center of the clearing. All around you shows signs of the epic battle– the ground is all trampled and the trees are marked with the remains of snowballs gone astray. You lazily make the worst snow angel ever, think about what Cas might have to say if you tell him what it is, and turn to laugh helplessly into Dean’s chest.

“What’s so funny?” he chuckles and holds you close. Cas peers at you from Dean’s other side, but you shake your head at both of them and hide yourself in Dean’s open jacket.

“Nothing, nothing, I just…” You take a deep breath and smile, for real, at your boyfriends. “That was fun.”

“And now for the really fun part of warming up,” Dean says with a truly ridiculous eyebrow movement that makes you collapse into laughter yet again.

“Eeewwww!” Gabe says and you look back to see him jump up and offer Sam a hand. He screws his face in mock disgust and sticks his tongue out at you. “Come on, Sam; we should get going before these deviants start screwing in the snow.”

You roll your eyes but you, Dean, and Cas get up and dust yourselves off. “Says the exhibitionist,” Dean huffs. You all grab your gear and set off after Sam’s giant steps and Gabe’s snow fairy prancing. Dean mutters under his breath, “I swear I think I’ve seen that guy’s ass more often than I’ve seen either of yours.”

You laugh and Cas snorts in amusement. You can’t remember the last time you’ve felt so light but you want to savor this moment, walking in between Cas and Dean, arms linked with your two favorite people. You want to savor that happiness but…well, but then Cas looks at you like that, deep blue focusing on you and lips quirking into a familiar smirk. “We should fix that, then,” he says, and as Dean slips a hand into your back pocket you think that you’re going to give ‘warming up’ a fair shot.

  It exceeds all expectations. At the end you snuggle into bed, spooned on either side by Dean and Cas as they share a deep kiss right above your head. “Is it my birthday or something?” you mumble. Sex with three people can turn into an adventure real quick and it’s never boring, but Dean and Cas had teamed up against you from the start and you spent the entire time blissed out with nonstop pleasure. Watching them with each other had been just as hot, of course, but their hands had never left you and you tend to be able to predict when and why that happens.

“Can’t we just want to please you?”

“Oh, definitely not complaining. Just curious,” you say and sigh in contentment.

“Hm,” Dean says and runs his hand up and down your bare hip. “Can I ask you a question?” He kisses your shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell us you were getting burned out?”

You’re a lot more awake now, and frozen in the metaphorical sense. “Um…I…” You have no good response for that.

“Easy,” Cas murmurs and kisses down your throat. “It is not an accusation, but a question.”

You swallow. “We…what we do is important. How can we take a break when we save lives?”

Cas hugs Dean tighter, squeezing you both. “Going without rest –real rest– can be just as harmful as not eating, not sleeping; it is as important in caring for yourself as the ‘mundane’ daily tasks you make time for.”

You look down. “No one else was complaining,” you mumble. You really are the weak link in the chain. Great.

Dean snorts right into your neck and the ticklish sensation makes you squirm. “Gabe takes Sam away for the drives and the nights. And I…” He sighs. “I guess I can get a little…focused…”

Cas coughs. “Sorry,” he says, smiling at whatever look Dean is giving him.

“Yeah, I bet,” Dean mutters and then clears his throat. “But anyway, Sam and Gabe do get breaks. Cas has always been pretty focused himself. And I…I guess I just don’t think about it because I’ve got what I need. Sam is safe and happy. I’ve got you and Cas all the time, my Baby on the open road, killing monsters and saving people. This is more than I ever thought I’d get in my life. So I just keep going.”

You sigh. “I wish I could.”

“Dean has the same limits everyone else does,” Cas says. “He’s just better at ignoring the warning signs that come before imminent collapse.”

“Not exactly something I want you to emulate,” Dean admits sheepishly and reaches to squeeze your hand. “So maybe you can help. When you start to feel run down, tell us. I learn my limits, we all up our communication; win-win-win.”

“Perhaps you could speak up even before fatigue sets in,” Cas says. “I’ve never been in a snowball fight before. It was quite enjoyable. There are many other human experiences I’d like to partake in.”

“Oh man, you’re right,” Dean says, getting too excited for how late it is and how utterly spent you are. “We should–”

You decide to start helping him learn his limits and turn to give him a quick kiss. “We should take it one day at a time,” you say and settle back down, shutting your eyes.

He relaxes, nuzzles your shoulder, and speaks softly. “Taking on every single day with my Sweetheart and Sunshine? Can’t think of anything better.”

You smile as you and Dean fall asleep, cuddled together under the watch of an angel who loves both of you. Honestly, monsters and all, you have to agree with Dean– there’s nothing better.