#and by went home I mean went to the other quieter side of the tank

[photozoi]

In Which the Pea Puffers crashed the Guppy Dance, got tired and went home, and the guppies all danced happily ever after.

[carousel-crows]

icemav and sharing the bed for your prompt ask? < 3

Yeah, of course!

Prompt: One Bed

⚠️ tw: panic attacks, implied sex⚠️

———

“What do you mean we only have two rooms?” Ice tried to be polite, but was quickly losing patience.

The receptionist smiled fakely. “I'm sorry, sir. It's just that. There are only two rooms available at this time.”

Ice, Maverick, Slider, and Goose had been sent to a conference by Jester and Viper. They were told there would be rooms available for each of them. Apparently not. Mav and Goose hadn't shown up yet.

“It's alright, ma’am. It isn't your fault.” Slider butts in graciously.

Her smile seemed more genuine now. “Here are your keys. Enjoy your stay.” 

“Thank you.”

The two walk towards the elevator. Ice hands Slider the other key. Just as the elevator doors open, Mav and Goose come barreling into the hotel. Nick tosses his bag to Mav, who catches it and rushes to the elevator. Goose grins at them and goes to sign in. The doors close. They stand there silently. It's awkward, but none of them make any effort to converse.

The elevator finally hit their floor with a gratifying ding. The two rooms were only a couple doors apart. Mav went towards one, Slider and himself towards the other. Ice unlocked the door with a sigh before freezing in the doorway.

There's only one bed.

“Are you fucking serious, man? Only one?”

“It's fine. It's only two nights.”

“You better not wake me up at the asscrack of dawn.”

“No promises.”

———

The boys had gone out for a drink. 

Things had gotten….. 

……out of hand.

Slider and Goose had gotten more than a little drunk. They were also very bad at hiding their horniness for each other. Without Carole to calm them down, they were insatiable. They didn't usually room together for that reason, but it seemed that tonight was an exception. Mav and Ice had to physically separate the two in the hotel lobby.

Ice unlocked his door and slapped the key onto the nearest table. He grabbed his bag and all but ran out of the room. He had no intention of getting in Nick and Ron’s way. Mav watched from outside the door, barely holding in laughter. 

“By god, those two are like rabbits without Carole.”

Maverick barks a laugh. “Oh man, you don't want to know. Sometimes I have to watch Bradley overnight when they get home. It's awful.”

“The amount of times I've had to lecture him about making out in the locker room is ridiculous.”

Mav opened the door and shucked off his bomber jacket. Ice set his bag down near the wall and took out his toothbrush and some sweats. He swiftly headed for the bathroom. 

As he was preparing for bed, he heard Mav clear his throat from the main room. “I can take the floor. You're an old man and need the bed more.”

Ice scoffed as he tied the drawstring to his pants. “First of all, I am not that much older than you. More importantly, there's enough space on that bed for the both of us.”

“I don't want to make you uncomfortable.”

He flicked off the bathroom light and pulled off his tee, leaving him in only his tank top. “You won't. It's only for a couple nights.”

Maverick sighed but didn't argue further. He trotted into the bathroom to change. Ice pretended not to see a pink flush on Mav’s cheeks. Just drunk.

He sat on one side of the bed, hoping he wouldn't have to deal with anything….. awkward in the morning.

———

Ice had dozed off pretty quickly. He slept peacefully. And he was so beautiful.

Maverick wasn't as lucky. 

Hop 31. Flying into a jetwash. Going into a flatspin and losing control of the plane. Ejecting. 

Nick was lucky to be alive, and more so to still be flying. He'd been in a coma for almost two months. 

His fault. He almost cost his best friend his life. He would've left Carole a widow, left Bradley fatherless.

Pete woke up in a cold sweat, tears streaming down his face. He sat up, trying to breathe. Ice stirred, and he cursed himself for not being quieter.

“Mav?” Ice asked blearily, “Are you okay?”

“I'm Fine.” He failed to hide the distress in his voice. 

Tom sat up, brows furrowed. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

“It —” Mav sighed. “It was just a nightmare. I'm fine.”

Ice was silent for a moment. 

“Was it Hop 31?”

Damn it. “Yes.”

Ice wrapped him in a tight hug. Mav froze, but it was only for a second. He buried his head into Ice’s chest, trying to stop crying. Ice slowly laid them back down, not breaking the hug. They laid like that for a while, silent and calming.

“Pete? You know it wasn't your fault, right?”

“I was the one steering the plane. I'm responsible for my RIO.”

“But it wasn't your fault. It was my jetwash. And it was an accident.”

“It's still my responsibility.”

“People care about you, Pete. We want you to be happy. No one blames you.”

‘We?’

“You care about me?”

Tom readjusted to look Pete in the eyes. “You have no idea.”

“Then give me an idea.”

Tom hesitated. “I don't know if you'll take this the wrong way, but I really care about you. I love you so much. I want you to be happy.”

Pete froze.

“You love me?”

“I do.”

“I think I love you too.”

Ice stares at him, searching. Then he leans forward and presses his lips to Pete's. He responds instantly, reaching up to rake hands through Tom’s hair. They kiss the way they fly. Ebbing and flowing, giving and taking. 

And god, it's perfect. 

They break apart, Pete smiling as bright as the sun. Ice watches him lovingly. He pecks s kiss to Mav's hair before resting his chin on it. Mav nestles deeper into the hug, attaching himself to Tom like a koala. Tom couldn't bring himself to care. He waited and listened as Pete's breathing evened out. I love you, Pete Mitchell. I love you I love you I love you.

———

They were woken up by banging on their door. Ice didn't want to move. 

“Go away, we're sleeping.”

“Get up, freaks! Stop banging your boytoy and come on!” Slider yelled from outside.

Pete stirred and Ice wanted to burn a hole in the door. “What's going on?” He was so cute when he was sleepy.

“Slider's about to get castrated.”

“Oh. Loser.” He buried his head deeper into Tom’s chest.

He could hear Goose’s laughter from outside. He sighed and kissed Pete's hair. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“We have to get up.”

“Don't wanna.”

“I know, but Slider is gonna break down the door if we don't, and I don't want to pay that fee.”

Pete sighed and unhooked himself from Tom. He pressed a kiss to his cheek before sliding off the bed to go open the door.

Tom stared as Pete sauntered to the door, unashamed. He was gonna kill Slider for ruining his morning, but maybe he'd thank him for being the reason it happened in the first place. 

Nah, he'd just kick his ass.

[thedevildomdaily]

Demonic Possessions Ch 8: Pizza, Prizes, & Panic

Note: Here’s the Master List for the full story. I recommend reading my stuff on my actual Blog if you enjoy OM! official music! Thank you so much for the support. Please let me hear from you in the comment section. I wanna talk OM!

If you follow this page, you're seeing things correctly! There were in fact TWO chapters posted this week. It's a 'thank you' for being understanding about my hiatus. I appreciate the support.

Warnings: Swearing, NSFW implied, light stuff

Saturday morning arrived and The House of Lamentation was on the quieter side. No arguing nephilim or brotherly squabbles to grate on another’s nerves. Early risers like Lucifer, Satan, and Beelzebub were in the dining room awaiting Lilly’s breakfast. The four of them were always the first ones up, leaving the other half to crawl out at various times.

After giving the typical 30 minute wait, Lilly gave the go-ahead for Beel to dig in. She’d learned long ago not to serve all the food at once on the weekend, preparing for stragglers vs Beelzebub’s appetite. She did find it unusual that Leviathan was missing. He must have pulled an all-nighter waiting for some special or doing a special walk-through for Deviltube.

*************

Leviathan opened his eyes slowly. He was so exhausted and felt on the heavy side. There was also this nagging feeling that someone was talking about him.

Shuffling around in his bathtub bed, the demon realized that it wasn’t his imagination that made him feel heavy. It was the nephilim snuggling on top of him that was passed out.

The female nephilim just about fell off the bench as she grasped at her own heart. Of course he’d say something extremely otaku in this situation. And after a moment to think on this, she nodded as she stared straight ahead, “I'm not seeking-out multiple relationships intentionally. But I can't deny the temptation of that fantasy either..." she chuckled, "You know what Levi-kun. That’s exactly it. I want a reverse harem life. I spent centuries vying for suffrage right. Letting women take a stand for equality. Voting, working jobs outside the home, and for fucks sake the right to wear some jeans! So why can’t I have a harem on my own when Mr. King Solomon saunters around, leaving a city’s worth of women back home!!!!!!?!”

“Mmmmh…” Lena nuzzled against his chest, making Leviathan’s heart want to explode from all of this contact. He suddenly recalled a lot of sounds like that just now as well.

“Lena...you’re on top of me…” he said a little louder.

Her sky blue eyes slowly peeked open. A view of a blushing demon beneath her slowly became clearer. “Oh, good morning Levi…” Her left hand ran up his firm abs, caressing him sensually as she nuzzled him again. “You’re so comfortable to snuggle with. I think I slept better on top of you than I did in Asmo’s bed the other night.” There was a soft giggle and she closed her eyes again.

Leviathan didn’t know what to make of that statement or the state in which they were in. Pulling his blanket down from them, he realized Lena wasn’t wearing her shirt and neither was he. Images of her stripping him of his signature hoodie and undershirt flashed before his eyes. She kissed his chest and ran her tongue across…and he dared to remove her top! The bra...it was his hair color!

“Aaaagh!” he shouted in a panic.

“What’s the matter!?” Lena raised up, completely straddling him. She looked around the room and everything looked fine. She then looked down at the demon beneath her. “Are you okay? You’re not sick are you?”

“N-nooo….” he murmured, covering his crimson face with his hands.

She looked at him curiously for a moment, then realized what was going on. It was the shock of spending the night with someone. He probably thought he dreamed it all. How adorable could Leviathan get?

Setting-up completely, the nephilim looked down at him, then ran both hands up his torso, feeling that ripped, swimmer’s body of his. Gently, she removed his hands and asked for him to look at her. “Leee-vi kuuun….” His eyes opened. She was so sexy and beautiful; her eyes were hypnotizing.

“Wasn’t last night fun?” she asked. Levi nodded rapidly.

“I-it was fun.A LOT of fun…” he admitted. It made Lena giggle.

She took his hands and brought them up to her waist. “Levi-kun. You know now you can touch my body all that you want right? In fact I really want you to.”

Absent-mindedly, Leviathan felt up and down her sides and even dared to grip the nephilim’s ass. It was so firm, yet soft at the same time. It made her gasp and bite her bottom lip.

Lena lowered herself back down on him, pressing her breasts against his bare chest. “Your hands are so big and strong. You’re so incredibly sexy…”

He doubted that wholeheartedly, and yet there was a half-naked 3D woman, the prettiest he’d ever met on top of him. “L-Lena…” He moaned lightly as she kissed his chest again.

“I’d love to continue where we left off last night, but I probably have morning breath…” she pouted at him, but kissed his chest again. “Want to shower together?”

The question caused the demon to fully sit up and nearly toss the nephilim backwards. The sheer thought of him being naked and wet with her was more than any close-in otaku could take. As a precaution, Levi pinched his nose, knowing blood would gush out.

“No Lena….don’t say things like that!!!!” He whimpered.

She couldn’t help but give an evil little chuckle, “You don’t want to? But last night you dove face-first into my tiddies with an itadakimasu. I thought you’d love to get wet and wild with me today!!”

Truth was, although they did make out a lot and he did carry her to his bed. It took a moment, but Levi mustered up the courage to take off her shirt. He kissed and rubbed his face into her boobs, and then he went for the unhooking of the bra.

It was the saddest struggle she’d ever been involved with. He then cried into her chest after all the failed attempts and passed out. If he couldn’t recall that travesty, Lena wasn’t about to refresh his memory. She’d surprise him and not wear one next time. Or maybe she had a front-opening one for starters?

“Don’t tease me about it…” he whined, “I really went beyond my limits last night…”

“Plus ultra babe…” She couldn’t hold back her smirk.

“Stop it!”

“Never. It’s not my way of the ninja…”

“You’re not funny.”

****************

After playing around with Leviathan a little while longer, Lena urged him downstairs. They were both ravenous after all the fun they had the night before.

The two of them entered the dining room and felt eyes upon them. ALL eyes.

“WHAT. THE. HELL!!!!?” Asmo squealed at the top of his lungs.

Mammon, on the other hand, was silent. Dead silent. The rest gave the two of them a once over, save for Beelzebub. He did pause, but his dire need for food out-weighed any curiosity he held for the reason that Lena was a disheveled mess in Leviathan’s hoodie.

“Ah-hmm....I take it a congratulations big brother are in order?” Satan asked in a catty manner as he sipped his cup of coffee.

Leviathan was tomato red and his teeth were clenched. He had no idea how to respond to any of this, but somehow he had the urge to fight everyone if they said anything to Lena.

“Maybe so…” Lena said nonchalantly as she led Levi to his seat, holding his hand. She sat in the empty seat beside him, acting completely calm.

“You guys look so cute together, although I’m totally jealous and wish I could’ve joined the fun last night…” Asmo chimed. Lena giggled at him, but Levi gave him a glare. He’d never share her like that.

Finally, Lucifer had something to say on the matter. “Leviathan. Either ask for your jacket back or find another high neck top to put on later. Your love bites are unseemly…”

“My wha?”

Most of the brothers began to chuckle as Levi looked down. Mammon was roaring at his little brother the most.He was in his low neck tank. Lena had given him hickies all over and he never checked himself over for any.

“W-why didn;t you say anything?...” he asked the nephilim.

“Oh, I thought you knew…” she responded nonchalantly, “I mean, did you see the ones you left on me?”

Mammon wrapped his arm over his brother’s shoulder and pulled him over in a brotherly manner, “I’m happy for you lil bro. If you need any advice, just ask The Great Mammon. I’ll help you out!”

“What advice could you possibly give?” Belphegor called out to Mammon.

“What d’ya mean by that you lil brat?!” Mammon responded.

A lot of bickering began around the table. Leviathan was so embarrassed until a firm hand squeeze brought him to look at Lena.

She merely gave Leviathan a wink and continued to eat her breakfast. This made his face glow, but he managed a small smile. It also gave him enough courage to ignore his brothers through the rest of their meal.

***********

“So did you guys go all of the way?” Asmodeus was the first to ask. He followed the girls to Lilly’s room where they both got ready for the day. And of course they talked about the hottest gossip the house has had in a long time.

“That’s none of your business Mister!” Lena responded as she sorted between outfits.

Lilly lectured the demon for being too nosy, but they both watched a happy Lena decide on her clothes. The two smiled at each other, giving a knowing look.

“I can’t help but to ask,” Lilly finally spoke up, “What was he like?” Asmo perked-up, ready to learn everything.

Lena sighed, but her smile remained, “He was so sweet. Definitely terrified. But the way he kissed was so...gentle…” She gave a little sigh. “I honestly feel both happy and guilty at the same time.”

“How so?” Lilly asked.

Lena furrowed her brows, trying to find a way to describe it. “He was so nervous. But I find him so cute. And I feel guilty that I liked him...squirming around a bit. I’ve seldom been with a submissive male before. Or a nervous one.”

“You like it. So what?” Asmo commented, “There’s nothing wrong with that. No force was there?”

“Of course not. I even bluntly asked for consent and he pulled me into his lap!” Lena’s eyes widened and she covered her hand over her mouth for a moment. ‘You two better not say anything about this to anyone. You hear me!” Her eyes began to glow with killing intent, leaving both the demon and human nodding. “Good.”

Lilly thought about things for a moment, before asking a serious question, “Are the two of you dating now?...are you a couple?”

The nephilim thought about for a moment before responding, “Well, we really didn’t do a lot of talking about it...things just happened…”

“Do you want to be in a relationship with him? You definitely need to be upfront and talk with Levi about it before going forward with anything.” Lilly just wanted her new friend and Levi to remain happy and on the best of terms as possible.

Asmo, for the first time, looked at Lena with a serious expression. “Lilly is right. You need to talk to my brother about this as soon as possible. I’m the last person to be serious about this kind of thing, but Leviathan is the Avatar of Envy; the Admiral of the Devildom’s navy and when he’s mad enough he can summon Lotan to drown and destroy nearly everything in its path. Be careful.”

Lena took their words seriously. She really didn’t think things through before starting things with him. They had valid and, to be honest, horrifying points.

“I believe I’ve mentioned this to the both of you at one point or another. I’m not the type to be held down to one great romance. Not after my last relationship. And NO. I do not want to talk about that. Not ever!” She closed her eyes and sighed, “The best I can do is be honest with him and let him know that. I want an open relationship and I won’t go any further with him if he can’t accept that. I’m not going to make false promises or put effort into something I don’t want.”

Her eyes fell upon Asmodeus. The two of them were rather flirtatious enough. And to be honest, that night she’d have definitely went all the way with him had she not been so intent and excited about the gifts she had for Leviathan. He smiled back at her, although there was a darker look to his eyes. He definitely sensed what was on her mind.

***********

“Levi-kun, let’s go on a lunch date today.” Lena said when she entered his room. Both he and Mammon were playing Luariogi-cart with Belphie asleep as he waited to play the winner.

The sudden request caused the otaku demon to crash; he was frozen. Of course Mammon shouted and cheered, taking the win and began to gloat about it and tease his little brother. Belphegor yelled at him for waking him up and threw his pillow at him.

“D-d-d...d-d-DATE!?” Leviathan stuttered, sounding like he was being electrocuted.

Lena giggled then picked Belphie’s pillow up and slammed it into Mammon for his laughter at Levi and then puffed it up and gave it back to Belphegor. “Yes, a date. I would like to go out with you today..to get more acquainted and to see where things go. I’ll meet you down in the Foyer in half an hour. Casual dating attire only. I want to go to the arcade for sure!” She winked at the demon and waved at everyone before leaving.

Levi was catatonic again. Mammon and Belphegor exchanged evil grins and let their brother stand there for a few minutes before saying anything.

“Don’t you need to get ready?” Belphegor asked in a knowing tone.

“Yeah, for your d-d-d-date!? Ha ha!” Mammon mocked.

This caused their brother to panic, then yell at them to leave. He had no idea what he should wear, what he was supposed to do or anything. It was an absolute nightmare for the reclusive demon. He never pictured himself in this situation. The closest thing he’d ever been to a date was when he went to themed cafes or idol concerts, admiring his favorites from afar.

**********************

When Leviathan began down the stairs to the foyer, he stopped the moment he laid eyes upon Lena. She was standing there, waiting on him, in a cute black dress that had glowing jellyfish on it. She wore purple stockings and goth boots. She matched her aesthetic to match his. It made him blush.

Lena was looking at her DDD, researching where they could go and what they could do together. She was admittedly nervous after the conversation she’d had with Lilly and Asmo earlier. Who knew dating a demon could be so dangerous?

Feeling eyes upon her, the nephilim looked up to see Leviathan frozen on the stairs, blushing and staring down at her. “Well, hello there gorgeous.” She smiled and winked at him. “You ready to have some fun today?!”

When he only nodded and stood there, Lena ran up the stairs to meet him and took his hand, “well then let’s go cutie!” and pulled him with her.

“C-c-cutie…” he whispered, smiling to himself.

***************

Lena and Leviathan decided to get Screamin Berry Swirl slushies and hit the arcade first. The nephilim decided to start with things the demon was both familiar and comfortable with. She truly wanted things to work between the two of them and she also didn’t want him to be on edge the whole time they were together.

“Are the top 10 scores on this game all yours?” she asked.

“Of course they are. I’ve dominated the scores since they got this in.” he boasted.

Lena smiled and joined in laughter with him. “My favorite arcade games back home are the Dino Park Disaster games where you have to take down carnivores and outrun stampedes. Pretty much any shooting arcade games. Oh and racing ones. Pinball games as well…”

Listening to her go into a list of favorite arcade games brought a strong sense of joy in Leviathan’s heart. She really knew her stuff. And it seemed she was genuinely interested in hearing about all of the achievements he held in the games at the arcade. It made him feel a connection to someone that he hadn’t before.

“Hey, look!” Lena jumped with excitement after picking-up a massive sci-fi gun to an alien shooter game. “This looks badass! Let’s play two-player!”

********************

“That was so much fun! Look at our ticket haul!” Lena exclaimed. She was definitely in the moment, having so much fun with Leviathan.

“That was the only game I didn’t have a high score because none of my brothers or anyone could keep up with me.” Levi added.

The two were sitting down at a booth, counting their mega stacks of tickets, eating pizza and cheesy bread. “We make a great team!” she cheered, making Leviathan blush as he slurped his slush. He thought so too.

“If there’s a way for us to play human realm MMORPGs and other games like that here in the Devildom, I have a few that we need to team-up in. I don’t like to play with strangers...can't rely on them too much. I have a couple of friends from school that play and I think you’d get along with them well enough…”

This felt like a dream. He was on a date with a 3D female. One that was enthusiastic about anime, manga, comics, collecting memorabilia, and video games. Leviathan just watched and listened to Lena while in a dreamy-like state of mind.

After a while, the nephilim realized she’d been the only one to talk. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I kinda went off the deep end with excitement there….”

“No, I totally wanted to know what games you play!” Levi chuckled, “It’s so cool to finally have someone that wants to talk about non-normie things! And I’m really curious about these human realm games.”

The two talked shop for a while longer, then cashed their tickets in. Lena got a giant stuffed purple dragon creature that actually puffed smoke from it’s nose and mouth. It had ominous, glowing eyes that was totally something Lena would choose. She also got a matching dragon wing headband.

Leviathan chose some more figurines and a wall scroll of a Devildom anime icon. It was on the more colorful and cute side. It was a funny dynamic to see a demon with cute items and a half angel with scary monster stuff.

“Levi...you’re having a lot of fun today aren’t you?” Lena asked as they exited the arcade. She was looking down at her boots as she walked, not wanting to look at the demon. She had been weary of bringing him out since he’d made it clear that he was a shut-in and hated leaving his room.

There was hesitation, but Levi nodded and looked to the girl at his side. “I am…” There was a split second pause before he panicked and asked, ‘Are you not?! I bet you were bored; just being nice at doing this because I'm just a worthless otaku nerd!” He began huffing and wheezing as Lena stared at him wide-eyed and confused.

“Whoa, whoa, WHOA dude. Chill!” She finally said, pressing her hand against his chest. She was sure he was about to have an actual panic attack and keel over. “Your brain is going into overdrive hun. I’ve had an absolute blast with you today. It’s been fun and refreshing and I’m loving getting to hang out with you.”

She wasn’t able to see his eyes, beyond the indigo bangs covering his face, but she could tell Leviathan was blushing and possibly staring down at her hand. She stepped in close and gave him a hug. “I would’ve been honest with you if I wasn’t having any fun. Trust me on that.” He nodded and hesitantly pressed his hand against her back, returning the hug. Lena couldn’t help but grin to herself at his trembling hand.

Pulling away, the nephilim took his hand and led him away from the Arcade, looking for a bench to sit on and watch a pretty fountain. It was the perfect atmosphere for their date she thought. A great place to talk quietly about their relationship.

“Levi, I want to be honest with you…” Lena began, “I want to talk about us...if you’d like there to be us.”

“Us…” he pondered for a moment and then bit his lip. Leviathan never thought he’d have a conversation like this. He’d never felt more nerve-wracking.

The nephilim gave him a moment to process before continuing, “Before we make any decisions, I want to be forward and honest with you. I think that’s the most important thing about a relationship. Keeping an open dialog with each other and always being honest about our feelings...ok?”

Leviathan was still reeling on the idea that there was a possibility for them to be an ‘us’. After she shook his arm to get his attention, the demon gasped and then nodded, “Uhm...yes. That’s good…”

“The thing I wanted to tell you first and foremost is where I stand on relationships in general.” She was beginning to feel nervous, thinking about Lilly and Asmo’s advice. “I believe in open relationships...especially since we are eternal beings...forever is a long time.”

The demon’s eye widened just enough that Lena could see them. He was still. “So you’re like Asmo….totally into being lots of other people…?”

“Well, comparing myself to the Avatar of Lust is a little extreme, but sorta.” Lena bit her bottom lip and shifted around uncomfortably. She was self-conscious about this part of herself, but nonetheless she wanted to be open with him. “I-I uh understand if it’s not something you’re okay with...it’s why I wanted to say something up front before we established a….deep connection…”

And there went Leviathan’s poor demonic heart again. Ready to yeet from his chest.

“You could totally see anyone you want to...both in reality or otherwise. However, I can’t promise you complete monogamy. It’s just not my nature. And I don’t want you to ever get upset if I choose to flirt and mingle with someone else.”

“So you are telling me...you’re interested in….living your life like…” Leviathan said quietly. Drawing it out made Lena’s eyes widen with anticipation. “Like a….REVERSE HAREM!?!”

The female nephilim just about fell off the bench as she grasped at her own heart. Of course he’d say something extremely otaku in this situation. And after a moment to think on this, she nodded as she stared straight ahead, “I'm not seeking-out multiple relationships intentionally. But I can't deny the temptation of that fantasy either..." she chuckled, "You know what Levi-kun. That’s exactly it. I want a reverse harem life. I spent centuries vying for suffrage right. Letting women take a stand for equality. Voting, working jobs outside the home, and for fucks sakes the right to wear some jeans! So why can’t I have a harem on my own when Mr. King Solomon saunters around, leaving a city’s worth of women back home!!!!!!?!”

Lena shook her fist in anger thinking about it. She could do what the fuck she wanted with whom the fuck she wanted damn it. “But in all seriousness. Levi…” she returned her attention to the demon, “I’m giving you the option of being my first ever demon lover. I will be as committed to you as I possibly can. You can’t even begin to imagine the benefits of that. You just have the right to know what you'd be getting into if you want to be in a relationship with me.”

She let him stew over those bold words for a while, resting her head on his shoulder gently as she watched the dancing waters before them. “I really like you Levi…”

“I...like you too Lena...chan.”

His head gently rested atop hers. The two sat in silence as the imitation sun of Diavolo’s slowly disappeared from the Devildom sky.

**************

It was dusk by the time Leviathan and Lena returned to The House of Lamentation. The two stood outside the front door like high-schoolers not wanting their date to end. Lena took both of Leviathan’s hands, while their prizes sat on the steps. “Thank you for a lovely date at the arcade today. It was a lot of fun.”

“Your welcome….” Leviathan was looking away from her, completely embarrassed. She was the one that asked him out and planned the whole day. He should thank her for even considering a date with someone like him.

Feeling that he was about to go deep into unsavory thoughts, Lena stood on her tiptoes and kissed the demon. It was soft and sweet. Just like him. “Hey, we can do more of what we did last night if...we can sneak past all of the others…”

Wide eyes stared at the nephilim. If there was something Leviathan wanted, it was definitely more of what they did last night. Just imagining the feeling of her….and the way she….and how they both…

Leviathan in his boldest move of his eternal life, grabbed their loot in one hand and took Lena by the other and raced inside the manor. No man, demon, nephilim, or ghostly was gonna keep this otaku from getting to feel 3D oppas again!

[rai-wick]

Gally x Reader Chapter 20: Section 7

Y/N'S P.O.V.

Minho and I walked over to the Slammer to get Thomas. Minho leaned down and we peered through the gate.

"Big day, Greenie. Are you sure you don't wanna sit this one out?"Minho grinned.

"Come on, man. Get me out of here"Thomas shook his head as I pulled open the gate. We helped him up and I handed him the harness.

"Alright, let's go"We ran to the gate as it began to open. Minho looked at Thomas before running in.

"Let's go"I followed after him with Thomas close behind. We ran quickly as to be able to spend more time looking around.

"This way. Not much further to the inner ring"Minho called back to us"Come on this way!" We slowed down as we approached section 7.

"What the hell?"I whispered, the shock evident on Minho's face too.

"That's strange"

"What?"Thomas asked as we slowly walked to the gate.

"Seven is not supposed to be open for another week"I replied. We looked around us in wonder.

"What the hell is this place?"

"We call them blades"I spotted something in the dirt and jogged towards it, Minho and Thomas right behind me. I knelt down and picked up the bloodied tank top.

"It's Ben's, isn't it?"Thomas said quietly. I sighed and got up as Minho ran a hand over his face"A Griever must have pulled him down here" We heard a crackling sound, looking around in confusion"Woah!"Thomas pulled the device from Minho's harness. It crackled loudly as we went further in but quieter when we moved away "I think it's showing us the way"Thomas looked back at Minho and I. We followed Thomas as he led the way with the crackling device. We came to an open passage, cautiously we walked in.

"Minho, you ever see this place before?"I asked, staring around the chamber in wonder.

"No"We walked up to the end of the passage way"It's just another dead end" Minho put his hand on the wall as Thomas stared down at the device. The red number 7 turned green and we heard a loud click. The wall lifted followed by more walls that opened up, finally revealing a giant hole in the wall.

"Are you sure about this?"I questioned Thomas.

"Nope"He took a deep breath before heading towards the hole, Minho and I right behind him. I ran my hand on the surface, feeling it thick with a slimy substance.

"Grievers" All of a sudden, a red light lit up. It scanned us and we heard clanking.

"What the hell was that?" A loud buzzer followed and Minho grabbed my hand.

"We gotta get out of here"I grabbed Thomas and we began to run.

"Give me the key!"I threw Minho the device as we ran down the passage. The blades began to turn as we exited.

"We gotta go! Run Thomas!"We followed Minho as he led us through the blades. A blade closed in front of me, leaving me on the other side of Thomas and Minho.

"_____!"I ran along the blades as they closed up. Running sideways, I crashed into Thomas"Keep going!"We exited the blades and the ground began to shift and break.

"Don't look back!"We squeezed through the passage as it led us back in the maze. I landed on top of Thomas and Minho. I let out a sigh of relief and we made our way back to the Glade.Some of the Gladers were waiting such as Frypan, Chuck, Newt and Gally. I saw easiness in his eyes as he looked me over.

"What the hell's going on out there?"Newt asked as we panted.

"What the hell have you done now, Thomas?"I shook my head as Thomas, Minho and I paced with Newt.

"We found something, a new passage. We think it could be a way out" I told Newt.

"Really?"

"It's true"Minho agreed"We opened a door, something I'd never seen before. I think it must be where the Grievers go during the day"

"Wait!"Chuck ran up to us"You're saying you found the Grievers' home? And you want us to go in?"

"Their way in could be our way out, Chuck" Thomas suggested.

"Yeah, or there could be a dozen Grievers on the other side"Gally interjected"The truth is, Thomas doesn't know what he has done as usual" Thomas let out an frustrated sigh before turning to Gally.

"At least I did something, Gally. I mean, what have you done? Aside from hide behind these walls all the time?"I saw Gally tense with anger.

"Let me tell you something Greenie. You've been here 3  days, all right? I've been here 3  years!"

"Yeah, you've been here 3 years and you're still here, Gally! What does that tell you? Maybe you should start doing things a little differently"As they argued, I saw Teresa approach and try to get a word in.

"HEY!"They all looked my way"It's about Alby" We turned to Teresa

"He's awake"We followed her to the Med-cabin where Alby was sitting up in bed.

"Alb?"Newt sat down next to him"Alby, are you all right?" I saw he had tears in his eyes and I felt a pit form in my stomach.

"Hey Alby"Thomas crouched down to his eye level"Alby, we might have just found a way out of the maze.Do you hear me? We could be getting out of here"Alby shook his head, his face in pain.

"We can't. We can't leave"His lips shook as he spoke"They won't let us"

"What are you talking about?"I sat down opposite him, the pit deepening.

"I remember"My eyes met with Gally's before I turned back to Alby.

"What do you remember?"Thomas asked quietly.

"You"Alby turned to him"You were always their favorite, Thomas. Always"We heard shouting as Alby stared down at Thomas"Why did you do this? Why did you come here?" Tears rolled down his face and he held his head in his hands as we ran outside.

"Winston, what's going on?"I said to him as Gladers ran around with torches.

"It's the doors. They aren't closing"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[lalahbug]

Only One Night? Levi x Chubby!Reader

Fandom: Attack on Titan Word Count: 2,218

My Masterlist

Warnings/disclaim: general Modern AU! Talks about sex, but no actual smut

Author’s Note: continued under story Originally posted on DeviantArt, under the same username, on 10/26/2016. Revamped/edited in 2020.

___ is a blank for your name/oc/whatever you prefer Written in 3rd person

Line/header is to separate paragraphs to indicate time skips, as Tumblr hates my formatting.

Story under cut

         ___ slowly got out of the stranger's bed, checking the time on her phone, it was almost the time she had to be home. She cursed quietly before wandering the room, gathering her clothes and putting them on. Being as silent as possible, careful to not wake the stranger from his bed. She saw a notebook on his nightstand, she leaned over and wrote a quick note which read; ‘Last night was amazing, thank you for being gentle. It was my first time. I hope you have a wonderful life!’ She smiled to herself and grabbed her purse.          She opened his door, locking the handle, so he’d be safe. Then she walked out of his apartment, put her heels back on, then quickly walked to her car. In a hurry to get home before her dad got pissed off at her.

         Levi woke up with pain in his eyes from lack of sleep. He glanced over at his clock, 3:18 AM. The notebook on his nightstand grabbed his attention, seeing something written on it, he grabbed it. He furrowed his brow before glancing over at the other side of his bed. He honestly didn’t expect her to leave. He wanted her to stay, he didn’t even get her phone number or her last name. He groaned a bit.           ‘What the fuck does she mean, first time? Was she a virgin or was it her first one night stand.’ He thought to himself for a moment. He decided to change his sheets since he was up now. He spotted a bit of blood. ‘Okay, so she was a virgin. Then why did she want to lose it to a stranger and only do a one night stand? She had to be at least 21 because she got a drink from the bar.’ He tried to replay last night in his mind.

          ___ was in a simple black dress, drinking at the bar. Ignoring everyone and everything, obviously, she was there to just drink and didn’t have any intention of getting laid. That’s what caught Levi’s eye. She was beautiful, some might think she’s chubby. But to him, she was just very curvy, which wasn’t too common in this night club. Levi had gone up to her, saying hello. At first, she ignored him.          “Oi, brat. You can at least say hello back.” Levi glared at her, she glanced over at him. Before she looked to her side and behind her.          “Are you talking to me?”          “No. I was talking to your drink.” She giggled, she had a really cute smile. “So what are you doing here?” Levi took the stool next to her, to sit on it.          “Oh, I just had a really bad day, so I decided to try and make myself somewhat pretty and to go drinking. I brought a few friends, but they’ve all left with some guys.”          “Why didn’t you go with them?”          She gave him a dry chuckle. “I wasn’t invited.”          “Then why were your friends?”          “Because they’re pretty and lean. And I’m ugly and fat.” Levi wanted to lecture at her for thinking that, but the way she said it. It didn’t seem like they were her words, but words she’s heard a lot.          “Who thinks that?”          “My family, some guys, and almost every guy here.” She downed her drink.          “Your family says that to you?”          “Well, my dad. He wants to marry me off to a wealthy man, who is willing to deal with me. So far, every suitor agrees with him. That I’m not attractive and I don’t have an ideal body.”          “Your dad and those guys must have shit stuck in their eyes.” She giggled at his joke again. “Because you’re really beautiful.” He saw her face flush before she looked away. “Hey, how about we go talk somewhere else? I don’t want to be around these idiots anymore.”          She gave him a small smile. "Okay.” He took her hand and guided her out of the club. They went to a restaurant to chat and then they were at his place.

         Levi smirked thinking about last night while getting dressed for work. But then got annoyed because she fucking just left him alone. He groaned before grabbing what he needed and left.

         ___ was lectured once she got home at 2:30 AM because she was 30 minutes late home. Once again, her father told her that she had to stay pure, since she’s so unattractive, being pure is the only bargain chip left. ___ felt her heart almost break, realizing that she would have to tell him soon, that she is no longer a virgin. She quickly went down to her room, to the basement, where she lived. She was going to school, so she wanted to stay with her parents until she got her degree which her parents wanted her to finish. Since they both believed, she’d never get married so she’d have to support herself.          She was on a small break in between semesters, with no homework to do to distract herself. She decided to make herself happy by cleaning. She loved to cook and clean, usually only doing the downstairs, so today she would clean the whole house. Once her parents were gone, of course, dad at work, mom out with the girls.

         “Ackerman.” Levi stopped in his tracks and looked over to his boss, Mr. Lowells.          “Yes, sir?”          “We just landed a new campaign, I need someone to lead it. You will have to do a lot of paperwork with me for the next few days if you want it.”          “I’d be fine to do that.”          “Then after lunch, we can go to my home office. So it’s quieter and easier to get through everything.”          “Yes, sir.” Levi continued to his office before sighing with relief. “Finally, I won’t have to work under Shitty Glasses anymore.”

         Mr. Lowells walked into his home with Levi.          “Thought you said it’d be quieter here,” Levi stated with an annoyed tone, as music rang through the house, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t quiet.          “___!” Mr. Lowells shouted. Levi froze as he heard her name then his eyes widened as she popped her head around the corner, the music was abruptly turned off. Her father walked towards where she had popped her head out.          “Sorry, dad. I didn’t think you’d be home this early, so I wanted to clean and make dinner. I’ll finish up polishing the floors. Then if you’d like I can get you and your partner something to drink. Then I’ll go downstairs, so I don’t bother you.” She rambled. Her eyes never leaving her father.          “I don’t mind your cleaning.” He stared her up and down, she was in a tank top and some loose sleep pants. “You look disgusting, though. If you bring us anything, at least make sure to cover your fat first.” ___ hugged her arms, trying to hide them.          “Yes, sir. I apologize.” ___ focused her gaze onto the floor.          “Come on, Ackerman, we have work to do.” Mr. Howells turned on his heel and Levi followed. Trying to process everything in his mind. Everything she had told him last night to remember little things he had heard about her before from Mr. Howells.          “Your office is nice,” Levi stated as he sat down on the couch in the room, spreading out his material over the coffee table.          “Looks like she cleaned in here first since there’s no dust.” He sighed before sitting down in his chair. Levi was pleased with her cleaning. “My daughter, she’s sweet and can cook and clean very well. She’s decently smart too. But, because of how she is and looks, I can never get anyone to marry her. I’ve been looking for years. She gets fatter and uglier as the years go by.” Mr. Howells ran a hand through his hair. Levi was fuming, trying to keep his composure.          “Anyways, sorry you heard all that. Let’s get to work.”

         About an hour had passed before ___ knocked on her father’s door. “Enter.”          “Hey, dad.” ___ only took a couple of steps inside, but Levi could see she changed into a loose-fitting baggy shirt and some jeans. “What would you like to drink?”          “Coffee, black. You, Ackerman?” Levi finally got her to meet his eyes, her whole face flushed.          “Black tea.” Levi gave her a small smirk.          “Okay! I’ll be back in a few then.” ___ squeaked before slowly leaving the room.          Levi was hoping that would be her reaction to remembering him.          “She’s so weird.” Her father grumbled. Levi ignored him and got back to work.

         Once again, a soft knock came, she was told to enter. She kept her eyes on the tray in her hand. She placed the coffee in front of her father. She completely avoided Levi’s gaze, placing his tea in front of him.          “Thanks, beautiful,” Levi whispered to her, once again her face flushed before she quickly left the room. Levi took a sip of his tea, it was perfect, just like her cleaning and her. “Sir, where is your bathroom?”          “Oh, it’s down the hall, the last door on the right.” Levi stood up and headed out of the room.          ���Oi, brat,” Levi called out to her, making her freeze in her tracks, he walked up to her. “You could have at least left me your phone number since you ran away.”          “I didn’t think you’d want it. I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself.” She whispered nervously. “I didn’t mean to run away, I had to be home by 2 AM, I was still late back home, though.”          “Well, you made a fucking fool out of me. I got to be with a wonderful woman last night, then she disappeared into the morning. Because I forgot to get her last name and phone number. I was made a fool.”          “I didn’t mean to. Please don’t tell my father. I have to tell him or it’ll be worse for me.”          “Tell him, what?”          “That I’m not a virgin anymore.” She blushed a bit and focused her eyes on her feet. Oh, she's adorable.          “I can’t believe that my boss is your asshole father. I’ve wanted to hit him since I realized it was you. You looked really sexy while cleaning.” He cupped her cheek, pulling her face up to kiss her softly. “If you are so scared of what your father will say, why did you have sex with me?”          “Because I was weak, you were the first person to tell me I was beautiful. The care and love in your eyes. It was something I had never seen before. Even if it was fake to get a girl into your bed. I felt special for once in my life.” Her eyes were starting to water. “You don’t have to pretend anymore, to care I mean. Our one night, it made me really happy, because I felt loved and wanted for a few hours. So thank you.”          “Would you stop fucking crying.” Levi sneered. “I don’t fake shit like this. I said you’re beautiful because I think so. I said your dad is an ass because I think so. I had sex with you because I wanted you. I was pissed you fucking treated me like a one night stand because I want to see more of you. I want you. I want to have sex with you more than once. Even though we did it 4 times.” He chuckled as the crimson spread down her neck.          “So, you like me?”          “That’s an understatement. I fell in love with you the moment you down your drink. The moment you blushed at my compliment. Fuck, I think I fell in love, the moment I saw you.” Pulling her close to him. “You’re coming home with me tonight and you better fucking be there when I wake up.”          “Ackerman.” Levi glanced over at Mr. Howells's confused face. “What are you doing?”          “Trying to get her to come home with me.” Levi deadpanned, he wanted her to know he was being serious, that he honestly loved her.          Mr. Howells chuckled for a moment, before seeing Levi’s eyes scan back over her face.          “Are you serious?”          “Of course. You were complaining about her never getting married. Whatever offer you’ve made before on her, give it to me.”          “What?” They both looked at him in shock.          “You fucking heard me. Let me marry her. She’s beautiful, she gets my sense of humor, makes good tea, and loves to clean. If you would have told me about her and shown me a picture of her when you started all this shit. I would have taken her off your hands. I’m willing to do it right now.”          “Levi, shut up," she whispered.                    “Fucking, brat. Don’t tell me to shut up.” He looked over at Mr. Howells. “So? Are we planning a wedding or what?”          Mr. Howells smiled at Levi. “Yeah, we can start after we get this new campaign settled.”          “Good, because I’ve already had sex with her.”          “Levi!” She smacked his arm slightly.          “Is that why you were late home this morning?” She could only nod. “Well, you’re marrying him, so I'm not upset.”          “Do I get any say in this?” She asked.          “No.” Her father said sternly.          “You’re mine, don’t you dare think about running from me, again.” She squirmed in his arms from his glare on her. “Hey, sir. Are we done for the day?”          “Yeah.”          "Good.” Levi picked up ___, over his shoulder. "Then I’ll be taking her home with me now.”          Her face flushed again, trying to get out of his arms. She giggled a bit when he swore at her for moving too much. And for once, her father finally saw the beauty in his child. He smiled at her, as Levi walked out the door with her.

Author’s Note: continued (While editing this my tortillas almost burned, oop. Welp, time to eat some amazing tacos.) I feel like Levi would never be the type to do a one night stand. (That may be just blind love for him but it is what I think~) So thus this was born.

[ficforce]

Blind Spot Part 2

Obi x Reader

He didn’t have time to do more than leave a message for his team, Obi ran out of the station after grabbing the first aid kit, his legs carried him as fast as he could stand and then further, his muscles hurt and his lungs began to burn after sprinting block after block but he couldn’t stop until he got to her. She had been snatched from the back of the station and driven to a construction site in the district, Y/N hadn’t given him much more information other than she had gotten away and that she had been shot trying to get away. “Y/N - !” His call was little more than a gasp, he coughed when he finally stopped running, needing to get his heart rate down before he passed out he sucked in air to get the oxygen back into his lungs and muscles - she needed him. Obi’s head moved constantly, turning this way and that in search of her, he felt something drip down onto his head and looked up into the darkness of the half-built structure, another warm splash hit his cheek and he saw Y/N through the grated walkway above when he squinted, “Y/N!” He ran up the stairs and gathered her up in his arms, her head lolled against his chest and the Captain called her name over and over until she came to, “A-Akitaru…” She tried to smile up to him but the pain hit her hard and she took in a sharp breath. “I’m going to take care of you… stay with me, Y/N, this is nothing, right?” Obi knew he had to act fast, he searched for her wound and suddenly his eyebrows drew together, he knew she had headed for the showers after dinner and he knew she would wear her PJ shorts and a tank top before bed after her shower but her shorts were missing and he realised that the top was torn quite badly. The gunshot wound was located just under the left side of her ribs and he had to concentrate on that first, “I’m gonna lay you back down and stop the bleeding.” Obi could hear sirens in the distance and knew his team were on the way, “Y/N, are you… did he hurt you…” He shrugged off his jacket and rolled it up under her head.

She knew what he was asking and shook her head, “He underestimated me…” He applied pressure to her wound after trying to clean it up with disinfectant a bit, he didn’t complain as her nails bit into his arm from the pain he was causing her. Obi wasn’t medically trained and he only knew a little to get someone almost stable enough to move, he knew he was hurting her but tried to keep focused, “Hinawa’s gonna be so mad…” “Hinawa?” Obi asked and looked up at her face, she was getting pale and her shivering had gotten worse. “I tried to defend myself but he took the gun from me, shot me before I could kick him away… he fell off the side.” Y/N cried out as he tried to lift her, the man apologising over and over as he caused her pain. Obi carried her down the stairs and out to the front of the building just as the matchbox squealed to a halt, the doors opened and Obi was ushered inside, some of the team remaining to hunt down Y/N’s stalker whilst the other half tried to help keep the woman steady as Hinawa put on the sirens and lights, the man pushing the vehicle as fast as it would go to get to the nearest hospital in time. Maki pulled a blanket out and covered her friend to give both decency and warmth, “Trust you to get kidnapped in your underwear.” Y/N couldn’t laugh through the chattering of her teeth, “A-at l-l-least they’re p-pretty…” She had lost consciousness before they reached the hospital and the doctors rushed her straight into surgery. The team sat outside the operating room, later joined by the rest of Company 8 and they waited and waited. Obi paced up and down, ignoring his concerned friends as they tried to get him to stop - how could he stop? His heart was pumping his blood so fast that if he stopped he felt like he might explode, the Captain clasped his hands together anxiously and it was then that he seemed to suddenly realise that Y/N’s blood was on his hands and headed for the bathroom, Hinawa followed him a second later. The Lieutenant watched as Obi scrubbed at his hands and forearms almost frantically, he wasn’t used to seeing him like that and pushed up his glasses a little, “I shouldn’t have given her a weapon when I knew her opponent could take it from her, I’m sorry, Captain.” He had known the man was military and he should have known that Y/N would have been better with some hand to hand training instead. Obi continued to scrub at his hands and glanced at the Hinawa’s reflection, “I should have asked her out instead of letting her go to that stupid dating agency… I was worried she’d say no and now…” He really was just a stupid gorilla… “Now I might never get to ask her - Hell, she might not want to date anyone who looks like me ever again!” She was his type, Obi had lamented the fact so often but he had never asked her out, he had simply assumed she’d want to be his friend only. “He tore at her clothes like some animal, Hinawa, if he’d -” “He didn’t.” The Lieutenant cut him off and pulled out some hand towels for Obi to dry himself on, he couldn’t ignore the tremble in his Captain’s voice and he hated the way Obi was punishing himself. Hinawa grabbed the man’s shoulders and gave him a firm shake, his eyes wide and bright as heat spiked up inside him, “And he’s never going to because he’s dead. The police will want a statement later but he smashed open his skull when he fell from the walkway. He’d done this to other women, Captain.” They hadn’t been dealing with an amateur and as far as Hinawa was concerned it was done. “You know I respect you more than anyone, Captain, but you need to get your shit together and get back out there.” “…You’re right…” — - Y/N had been stuck in the hospital for weeks before she was allowed to go home, she was still supposed to rest whilst she healed but the woman was excited to return to her friends. She wasn’t allowed to walk around for another week and then she would have to go to physio in order to get back on her feet; the bullet had been fired so close to her that it had torn through some core muscles and if it had been a little further to the left

she wouldn’t have walked again. Company 8 cheered as Iris wheeled her into the rec room and Y/N was ecstatic that Hinawa had cooked an amazing feast for her ‘welcome Back’ dinner. Arthur and Shinra fought over who would give her the best cuts of meat but Vulcan took advantage of their arguing to make sure she had enough food. She was grateful that they wanted to look after her and she managed to stop Hinawa murdering the two loudest by complimenting his cooking, everyone was loud and Y/N was so pleased to be back with her family. The only thing that wasn’t quite right was Obi. His smile didn’t reach his eyes and he was much quieter than she had ever known him to be, he hadn’t really spent much time with her since she had woken up in the hospital. She picked up her cup and brought it to her lips, not realising it was empty because she had been staring at him, she had barely put it down when the Captain automatically refilled it for her, “Thanks.” “No problem…” He didn’t even look at her before stuffing his mouth full of rice. Licht was opposite her and he began talking about something they had been chatting about the day before, Y/N sighed and told him again that she didn’t think the matchbox needed a flaming exhaust, the scientist and Vulcan gave a sigh as she dashed their dreams again, “You’re so mean, Y/N…” He chewed thoughtfully for a moment and then he came right out with a question he had been wondering about, “Do you think you’ll start dating again when you feel better?” A silence descended over the table and the only person who hadn’t frozen awkwardly was Y/N. She sipped her tea and then gave a little shrug, “I’m giving up on the agency and meeting strangers. Hinawa was right when he told me to look a little closer to home.” “I said to look in the real world.” “Can’t you just be happy I’m listening to you for once?” “This is my happy face.” Hinawa insisted. Y/N’s expression was amused, “It just looks the same as your murder face…” Laughter broke the awkward moment and the Team went back to a lively dinner. She wasn’t going to let her experience stop her from being happy, the man had been a predator and he had gotten into her head from the very start - it had thrown her off and then when he had snatched her she had lost her cool and panicked. She should have kept herself calm and then the whole thing would have been so different. It had been pure luck that she had collapsed so close to the site’s phone and then when she had heard Obi’s voice Y/N had felt so hopeful that she would be saved; he had always been reaching her like some… Prince Charming. Her head turned to the side and she was suddenly fascinated by the man’s profile. She had always had some attraction to him but suddenly she didn’t feel like he was missing something, it was as if Obi had always been just inside her blindspot and now she could see him clearly. Y/N had always dreamed of a Prince charging into her life one day, sweeping her off her feet and loving her until the end of time, she had felt like she had been running out of time and she hadn’t had a long, meaningful relationship in her life. She had always wondered if Mr Right would ever find her… That’s what she had thought. In truth, for the past ten years, she had had Obi by her side, even when they hadn’t worked together anymore they would still meet up for drinks, he had helped her with her training when she got a little behind on performance. That was long and it was meaningful - he was one of her very best friends. Maybe Mr Right was right there but she hadn’t seen it. Even the first time they met had been the epitome of being swept off her feet. Obi had carried her out of a collapsed building after she had broken her leg falling through the floor. The celebratory mood of the table made it easy for some of them to miss her realisation and she hadn’t even realised she was shaking a little until a large warm hand rested on her thigh, a comforting warmth spreading through her body and soothing her nerves, looking to her side she met chocolate brown eyes and they didn’t

have to speak for the other to know. He really had been in her blindspot all this time but now she could only return his shy smile as they saw each other for what felt like the first time.

[cabinofimagines]

In the end, cleaning wins.

Percy x gn!reader

Summary: Percy and Y/n are trying their best to be adults. Between work, school, being a demigod, and keeping up the apartment, something or someone was bound to snap.

A/N: Bro I’m always so bad at writing fight scenes since I’m such a peacekeeper lmao. I try to avoid conflict often so rip if this isn’t good.

-Day

_______________________________________

Being an adult is exhausting. 

No seriously, it is. Percy hadn’t slept in over 26 hours at the fault of his new job at the aquarium. It held unusually odd hours, the only upside being a nice pay and working with sea creatures. He loved it, but the position and people he had to work with were obnoxious in many ways.

He stayed up all night trying to cram for a chem exam coming up, but he would’ve slept an hour at least if he’d known the bullshit coming his way. He left home yesterday morning for his bio lecture where he zoned out for 2 out of the 3 hours. Unfortunately, homework was assigned based on the day’s lecture. Amazing. Then, he was called into work directly after because the opening manager flaked out. Also amazing.

The school was across town from the aquarium so he figured he could catch some sleep on the subway, but before he even boarded, a group of dracaena ambushed him. He took off running, hoping that maybe he could lose them instead of having to fight. If he fought in this sluggish state then he’d probably screw up and shish kebab himself.

 He could probably just run to the aquarium from here, take a few back alleys and shake off the slithering psychos. He turned to check if they were still following and to his surprise, they were right on his heels. Pretty fast for creatures with no legs. Or would having the ability to just… glide be faster? Like being on skateboard?

Now really wasn’t the time to be thinking of dracaena with skateboard bodies.

He turned sharply and took the fire escape three steps at a time. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but he was fairly certain that in the prospect of jumping buildings, the person with legs had the upper hand. He could hear the dracaena hissing out things like “get back here, sssson of the sssssea god” or “come here, child”. How the Hades are they still behind him?

He saw the edge of the building approaching and realized that maybe it was a little too far of a jump. But he was already flying over the gap and praying that his ankles don’t snap like twigs when he lands. 

Luckily, he made it. He hit the ledge with his chest, his arms pulling him up. He scrambled to his feet, ready to turn and fight if that jump didn’t shake them. Turns out that it did work, because he’d the pleasure of seeing the failed attempt of the hissing heathers falling one by one into the gap between the buildings. He heard them yelp out curses on the way down, but wasn’t sure if they combusted into dust or not. 

He decided to roof hop for most of the way to work, one because it was a little faster this way and because he had less of a chance to run into bored monsters. Man, he was glad that he didn’t have a manager to answer to this time, they’d probably just be glad he showed up.

---

Percy prided himself on being a pretty chill person both at work and on the regular. However, there wasn’t a day that passed where he wondered if he should just hop in one of the tanks and pretend to be a fish. The sea otters seem pretty stress-free.

He was exhausted and running on energy drinks he’d bought from the gas station a little ways from work. What was supposed to be a 6-hour shift on his one day off turned into him working from 11:30 am to midnight after the evening manager decided to leave early. Percy was never one to complain when others went home before him, in fact, he usually chooses to go last unless he has homework due at 11:59. But when Cooper decided Percy could handle closing the aquarium by himself, he lost it. 

He took the last bus home, thankfully, his trip home was quieter than his trip to work. He sat in the back, head tilted toward the window as he tried to calm the headache that tortured him. He was pretty sure that Y/n would be asleep by now, they had an early morning and he didn’t expect them to wait up for him… but tonight, he really hoped they did.

The promise that Y/n would be there, asleep or not, was comforting enough to him. He wanted nothing more than wordless cuddles and a deep sleep right now. 

----

Walking through the building door he noticed the hall light was off– correction, it was blown. No biggie, Percy had found his way in the dark multiple times, but the stairs seemed to be a different story. He tried so hard to be quiet on the way upstairs, but he managed to trip over the ledge. He swore quietly, fumbling for the railing and hoping his neighbor was dead asleep.

Ronnie often threw fits over the amount of noise the couple made, even if it wasn’t much of a ruckus, Ronnie always claimed that his keen ears could hear everything. He still hadn’t forgiven Percy for the quip he made about maybe turning his hearing aids down, but he will. Hopefully.

Somehow he made it to the apartment door in one piece fumbling for his keys and unlocking the door. He took note of the darkened place and figured that maybe Y/n really did go to bed. It’s alright, Percy was ready to crash and catch a few hours of sleep.

But the lamp was on in their bedroom and the door was cracked open still, so… are you up?

Percy kicked off his shoes and dropped his book bag by the door, trudging over to the bedroom and nudging the door open. Sitting upright in the bed sat Y/n reading a book he’d bought for your birthday. Percy smiled, you looked so cute bundled up in his old uni t-shirt. 

Your eyes shifted to him, crinkling with happiness, “You’re back?” You didn’t move though, clearly comfortable under the heavy duvet. 

He nodded with a small smile, moving over to your side of the bed and placing a quick kiss on your forehead, “I’m gonna take a shower and grab something to eat, you go ahead and get some rest.”

After he turned to leave you heaved a sigh, not sure how to bring this up when he’s as tired as he is. Maybe this could wait until tomorrow? Then he’d be less tired and maybe… no, you already put this off long enough. He’ll be tired regardless of when it’s brought up, might as well get it over with.

So you sat there, not really even reading the words on the page anymore, your thoughts wandering from the universe the author had written about. It really shouldn’t have been this nerve-wracking. It’s a basic thing that needs to be done in every house and you were getting tired of doing it every single time.

Cabinets shutting brought your attention back to the present. Reluctantly, you pushed the duvet back and shuffled towards the kitchen, Percy eating a PB&J sandwich coming into view. He looked like a little kid, leaning against the counter in his black sweatpants and a graphic tee, munching on a small sandwich he made. You grinned and leaned beside him, ignoring the confused glances he gave.

“You miss me that much?” He joked, mouth full of food.

You snorted and looked down, something you tended to do when you got nervous. He seemed in a good mood despite whatever may had happened today, so it’s now or never.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” you mumbled, “And I know you’re tired but I feel like this is only going to get worse if we don’t talk about it now.”

Percy blinked and continued to eat, his silence a cue to continue. He didn’t really want to talk about anything right now, he just wanted to eat his sandwich and go to bed. But it seemed important so he figured he’d survive a little longer.

You studied your sock-clad feet closely, “I know we’re both really busy and it’s hard to find time for certain things like time with each other, time to study, or cleaning. But it’s something we have to find time for, y’know?”

Percy hummed, “I can ask off on Saturday if you want? We can spend the day together, we haven’t had a whole day in a while.”

You gave a small smile because while that is a concern, that’s not what you were talking about. You won’t say no though. You stole a glance at him, “I have missed being with you, I guess.”

“You guess?” Percy said a little louder, poking your stomach teasingly, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

You chuckled, swatting his hand away, “Be quiet! Ronnie will be at our door in a second, you know that.” Just do it, he’s in a good mood! “I was actually talking about the cleaning…”

At that, Percy took a look around. The dishes weren’t overflowing and the laundry wasn’t piling up, it didn’t look like something needed to be addressed. He finished the last of his sandwich, “Okay? What needs to be done?”

“Well between the two of us there is hardly any time to do anything else right? Well, it feels like I’m the only one taking care of the place-”

“But I do take care of the place,” He interrupted, “I pay the bills and I pick up after myself so-”

“But you don’t.” You spoke exasperated, “You don’t always pick up after yourself. Look, you left the bread and the PB&J out!” A fight isn’t what you wanted so you tried to approach it a different way. You took a deep breath, “...I understand you’re busy, I am too. I just want you to make a conscious effort to put things away where they belong.”

He scoffed, a disbelieving smile on his face, “I’m not a kid anymore, Y/n. I know how to clean up after myself, my mom made sure of that.”

“Then why don’t you? You used to be really good about helping me out–”

“I’m exhausted Y/n, what do you want me to do?!” 

“Fucking help me, that’s what!”

It went quiet, staring the other down and wondering who would back down first. It was silly honestly, but you were tired of picking up the slack. The work in the apartment used to be equal but lately its looking a lot like you do 88% and Percy does 12%.

You relented, huffing and shaking your head, “Okay then.” You turned on your heel, going over to the front door and putting your shoes on along with a jacket. You needed to calm down, a little fresh air to maybe come up with a different way of approaching this. 

The convenience store across the road might still be open. You could grab one of those bottled iced coffees for tomorrow morning, maybe a small snack too. Hopefully the small errand would be long enough for you to think of another approach. Maybe one where Percy was less of an ass, or less tired, whichever one really.

Percy followed you around to the door, his crossed arms dropping to his sides when he noticed what you were doing. He furrowed his brows, “Where are you going? It’s past midnight.”

“I’m well aware of the time, Perseus.” You hissed, “I’m going out to grab a few things.”

He shook his head, his black hair still wet from the shower, “You can wait until morning for that, come on!” he spoke lowly as he approached you, “let’s just get some rest...”

You pulled from his reach and twisted the door knob open, walking out without another word. You closed it behind you and padded over to the stairs, hopping down the unlit steps like you normally did. 

Unluckily, your foot narrowly missed the next step and without the light to see where you could potentially catch yourself, you fell. Yep, you hit every step on the way down. If Ronnie hadn’t heard the argument you just had, he had to have heard your swears as your body fumbled down to the 1st floor.

Percy flung the door open, the light from your apartment lighting up the dark stairwell. His footsteps thundered down the stairs and there he sat in front of you, words flying out of his mouth so fast that you didn’t even know what he was saying. The fall caught you so off guard that you weren’t sure what was happening right now.

Ronnie threw his door open, profanities slipping out his mouth at the noise, “And this is why I never rent to young couples!” He shouted, but the threat of his words were tame without his dentures to help him spit it out. He turned his head to the bottom of the stairs where Percy leaned over your confused figure, fumbling over his words and oblivious to Ronnie.

“Well shit...” Ronnie muttered, backing back into his apartment quietly.

You snapped out of your daze, noticing how much your ankle actually hurt. Okay you’ve definitely dealt with worse, but the pain was still annoying. You started to push yourself off the steps and into a standing position, using the railing to steady yourself on your good foot.

Percy’s hands slid up your body, settling on your waist and attempting to help you back up the stairs. He kept his mouth shut on the way into the apartment, knowing that you’re probably even more irritated now.

Once you were sat comfortably on the couch, he rushed off to grab a bag of frozen peas to put on your ankle to stop the swelling. You did appreciate the thought, but you were not dealing with this any longer than you had to.

“Percy, there’s some ambrosia in my dresser, bottom drawer on the left.” 

He blinked and wandered off to the bedroom, shuffling through your stuff before muttering, “It’s not even in here.” He spent a couple of more minutes looking around for the Ziploc bag you had, but clearly wasn’t really looking.

You hauled yourself off the couch, chuckling and shaking your head at his antics. Hobbling into the room you saw that he was looking in the night stand, not the dresser like you told him to. No wonder he couldn’t find it. 

“Kelp head, I said the dresser not the night stand.” You laughed, limping over to the dresser and lcoating the bits of ambrosia. Percy was by your side in an instant, leading you back towards the bed and helping you situate yourself there comfortably. You said nothing as you opened the bag and nibbled on one of the pieces, a warm feeling washing over you.

You could feel the pain in your ankle easing off slowly and hopefully it would only be a little sore by morning. Percy took the bag from your hands and set it aside wordlessly, he muttered something about closing the front door before leaving the room.

You could tell he felt awkward about what just happened and he probably felt a little guilty about the argument you just had, even if it wasn’t all that serious. The two of you have had worse fights about worse things, but this is the first time in a while. It was bound to happen.

He came back in right as you shifted under the blankets, turning the light off and slipping underneath with you. He didn’t snuggle up to you right away, waiting to see if you were still pissed at him, but you didn’t make a move to kick him out the bed.

“I’m sorry for being such a dick, Y/n.” He whispered, “I didn’t know how much it bothered you and I’ll try to clean more often. I swear.” 

Nothing was said, for a moment, Percy thought you’d fallen asleep, but you turned slowly to face him, eyes scanning his face in the dim light from the window. You brought a hand up to his face and traced his jawline gently, “That’s all I wanted you to do, stupid.”

He huffed and inched closer to nuzzle your nose with his, “And all it took was a sprained ankle for me to figure that out.”

You laughed and knocked your forehead against his, “It’s my fault for being so deadset on grabbing coffee for tomorrow morning. I should’ve just gone to bed.”

“Do you want coffee now? I can go grab it–”

“No, I’m not getting up tomorrow. Go to sleep, fish brain.”

[stfredsa]

𝐇𝐂 —— 𝐏𝐓𝐒𝐃 ( or: outside / inside scars ).

TW : domestic abuse , domestic violence , choking , gaslighting , ptsd . what follows is a more or less thorough rundown of fred’s post-traumatic stress disorder. because it’s loaded with triggers, most of it is placed under a read more for everyone’s safety. it’s not a clinical description of ptsd, obviously, but it’s a deeper insight in fred’s character and inner monologue, for sure.

      “ every morning i wake up       from a dream of you holding me       —— underwater.       is it a dream       or a memory? ”

freddie still carries the signs of jimmy’s ( and not just his ) ABUSE — if anyone were ever allowed to see them, she’d smile apologetically and call them BATTLE SCARS. a mark inside her right forearm, from when he snuffed a cigarette out on her skin. a cut across the left side of her cleavage, when he was playing with a pocket knife once, and lost his patience on her. you could call her body a MAP of her suffering, though it doesn’t quite cut it — ‘suffering’ sounds like a passive action, the receiving of an act. the sad, darker truth is that, most times, she welcomed the abuse. it doesn’t matter how many scars or marks she still carries over her body — the scars he left in her mind go far, far deeper than them.

one of jimmy’s preferred ways of physically assaulting her was by GRABBING her by the neck, most times also CHOKING her. because of this, freddie can’t stand pressure around her neck any more, in any way: she only wears wide-necked shirts, tank tops or open shirts, and can’t stand turtlenecks at all. she also loathes the feeling of scarves or necklaces around her neck, and will usually have a knee-jerk reaction to anyone touching her neck for any purpose. slaps or any kind of smack to the face also elicit a similar response from her, as it also mirrors one of jimmy’s behaviors.

in the very first years after leaving him, LOUD / SUDDEN noises would trigger her immensely. the first week in ashford was spent at peter’s place, on his couch, in a relatively safe neighborhood: the lack of noises made it so that every little creak of the house, every gast of wind would have her JUMP at any moment. for this reason, she decided to force herself into a shock therapy of sorts, and picked an apartment in the WORST, loudest neighborhood in town: as traumatic as the first few nights were, the constant stream of sounds and shouting somehow helped her ease back into a condition of relative quiet.

SILENCE, for the above mentioned reasons, makes her terribly uneasy. most times when she can’t sleep at night it’s for a lack of noises: those nights she’ll get anxious and the only way to calm down will be having a smoke on the fire escape, where the sounds are louder and the distraction of the city below eases her right back into her quiet chaos.

jimmy had a thing for saying she was WRONG. inadequate, weak, just plain stupid. she’d roll her eyes at that, she’d pretend it didn’t matter much more than any other bullshit that would usually leave his mouth — at some point, however, the words started piling up inside of her. and the longer it went on without her being able to get out of that relationship, the more she felt POWERLESS against him, the more she started believing him. and this ripples throughout her life, it has an effect on her even now: because no matter how hard she may struggle for a decent life, no matter the relationships and bonds she’s made to keep herself grounded — she still feels like an OUTSIDER. in her mind, everyone’s healthy, functional, strong: she — she is just plain WRONG.

he was successful in bringing her so low because he knew WHEN to strike, too. because when she tried to react and fight back, the first thing he’d do was call her CRAZY. he’d gaslight her, turn things around, confuse her out of her mind and then he would hold her, talking down to her, treating her like a mad, helpless child — “POOR BABY”, he’d often say, “WHERE WOULD YOU BE WITHOUT ME?”. even now, being called CRAZY or any inflection of it is a huge trigger for fred. though she tries hard to maintain her calm, even just the word makes her stop dead in her tracks, a sudden fury rising inside of her, tears in her eyes. when in a fight, it’s the one surefire way to make her lose her cool altogether.

saying the WRONG THING at the wrong time could trigger jimmy’s anger, so at some point she learned how to think hard about anything she’d say. it wouldn’t always work, but even now she usually takes about ten seconds before responding to anything, sometimes even more. unless involved in a friendly conversation with someone she’s truly close with, when asked a question freddie will usually go quiet, let her eyes drift downward, then reply in a quieter tone of voice. it’s a natural response she’s not at all aware of, and it’s usually dropped with people she’s truly CLOSE with ( people she can honestly trust ). she also tends to stall, when talking — use certain formulas that will allow her to gain some more time to think ( “i mean”, “uh, uhm”, “i think -”, etc ).

one consequence of her fear of acting / saying anything is her difficulty with CHOICES. when presented with a choice of any kind ( even something as menial as picking a restaurant or a song ), fred tends to get uneasy and embarrassed, and will try to find a way out of it any way she can.

on the other hand, decisions that require EMOTIONAL COMMITMENT ( which is to say, anything relating to relationships and feelings ) trigger her FIGHT or FLIGHT response, and she’s been known to act illogically in these scenarios. it’s never a matter of thinking clearly, it’s a matter of feeling SAFE or not. which, most of the time, doesn’t even have to do with the other party involved: most times, it’s her own FEAR kicking in and blocking her every action.

tying to that last part, her ILLOGICAL thinking is also aimed at herself. freddie is RECKLESS and doesn’t hold her own well being in much account: she drives too fast, forgets to lock the doors at night, walks home alone after closing the bar each night. it’s not a conscious DEATH WISH — it’s more that, despite the TERROR of jimmy or victor catching up to her, she both EXPECTS it to happen and thinks she DESERVES it, at least unconsciously. in a way, she believes this is a reckoning that awaits her further down the line, and she spontaneously works to shorten the wait. because despite the brave face she puts on every day, despite the way she’ll smile and say ‘ it’s all gone now ‘, she lives in CONSTANT terror: any chance to end it, even in the worst possible way, she’ll take it.

last but not least, fred is extremely self-conscious about her body, because her body is littered with the signs of what she went through ( in her mind, something she was an accomplice to — in her mind, something she DESERVED ). there are a handful of thin, faded CUTS ( the most visible on her collarbone, but many can be found on her thighs and her abdomen ) that were not self-inflicted but mostly came from sick games her customers at the motel forced on her ( a few of them, like the one on her collarbone, where caused by jimmy when he was high and deranged ). a few cigarette marks can be seen over her forearms too, and a jagged whiteish line on the side of her right calf where the glass of a vase cut her after he’d smashed it to the ground. her body in general, even not counting the scars, feels like a burial ground for the woman she could’ve been and the million ways she was used. though she’s fine exposing her skin through revealing / scant clothing, being naked and exposed is a raw, intense experience she’ll reject as long as she can: seeing herself naked still brings up a darkness she can barely rationalize.

[marvels-writings]

Hi if you’re taking requests plz consider this! Carol x girl bff are roomates in uni, and they totally act like a married couple and everyone can see that except them who are in love but just thing the other person is overly affectionate and flirtatious cuz they both think the other is straight. Things they do which they think is normal: (cuddle / sleep in the same bed , excuse they use the other bed for storage/carol puts her hand on the reader’s thigh in the car/ they peck on the cheek/ flirt)

Glamour Girl (1)

Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel Masterlist)

Series Masterlist

A/N: I’ve actually gotten a lot of UNI requests recently ngl, but like here you go.

“Carol, I really don’t want to go!” You whined, flopping down angrily on the couch of your share dorm.

There was a frat party Carol wanted to go to, but she refused to go without you. You on the other hand, loved parties but there were people you absolutely hated at this party, and you’d had a shit day. 

“Please?” Carol begged, moving to stand in front of you before standing on her knees, looking up at you with puppy eyes, short hair falling into her face.

“You’re begging?” You asked with a raised eyebrow, Carol nodded, clasping her hands together, holding back a smirk the best she could. Both of you knew this always worked on you.

“This is the last time your puppy eyes are working on me.” You stated, getting off the couch as Carol grinned at you, jumping up and hugging you from behind, pressing her face into your back.

“Thank you y/n/n.” She squealed, she was stronger than you but she allowed you to practically drag her into the main bedroom, the other one had too many things neither of you used in it.

You grumbled something and started picking out an outfit for the party, per Carol’s request, you picked one out for her too, telling her to get ready in the storage room while you got changed. Carol had whined until you’d finally picked out matching outfits, you were wearing a fav/color v neck top with thin gold stripes and a black denim skirt with a belt and black killer boots. Carol wore a similar colored tank top tucked into black ripped jeans and black vans. 

“Ready?” She asked, you nodded, tucking your phone in the back pocket of your skirt and trying not to stare at Carol.

While walking out the dorm doors, Carol gently linked her finger with yours, slowly moving to hold your hand while walking to her mustang, you couldn’t help the blush that was creeping onto your face. Carol had been your best friend and roommate for years now, you loved her and she loved you.  But you still couldn’t help the butterflies in your stomach whenever she smiled at you.

“You look really great by the way.” You stated as Carol opened the door for you, she smirked and closed the door before sliding into the driver’s seat.

“Not so bad yourself y/l/n.” She commented, revving up the car and grinning at the loud sound it made. 

“Watch it Danvers.” You joked, she laughed and you swore your stomach exploded in butterflies, switching on the radio.

Glamour Girl by Rodney Hunter started playing and you couldn’t help but grin at Carol, this was the song which played at the party when you two first met, you danced to this song and talked for hours before you revealed you didn’t have a dorm yet, Carol could barely help herself when she offered her place for you to move in to. You couldn’t agree fast enough.

You started humming to the song, looking out the window as Carol drove, she smiled softly at you and rested one hand on your knee comfortably, you glanced at her, seeing her soft smile before turning back to the window, trying not to pay attention to how warm her hand was. 

When your favorite part of the song you had to sing to it, trying your best to ignore Carol’s thumb stroking your knee and facing her while belting out the lyrics to the song.

‘You’re looking good to me tonight.’ You sang practically into Carol’s ear, she laughed and continued singing the rest of the song with you, sighing when she had to get out of the car to go inside.

“I don’t think you wanted to come to this party either.” You commented, opening the door yourself as Carol got out, she shrugged and started walking inside, you followed her, moving closer when you heard someone throw up to the left of you.

“Well this should be fun.” Carol hoped, you raised an eyebrow and turned to face her.

“I miss my bed already.” You whined, Carol laughed and threw an arm around your shoulders, you shuffled towards her a little more when you saw she was going to open the door.

“I think you mean our bed.” She whispered in your ear, treasuring your shiver at feeling her breath on your ear before walking in, the smell of alcohol and sweat invaded your senses, you wrinkled your nose as Carol pulled you inside, heading towards your shared group of friends.

“I see you brought a date Carol.” Natasha winked at her, sipping some blue drink in a red Solo cup.

“We aren’t dating.” You said, the words rolling off your tongue like the past 100 times you’ve said them

“Right, they are married, Nat.” Clint said, throwing an arm over Nat’s shoulders and mocking Carol who rolled her eyes and took a drink, offering you one and taking her arm off your shoulders, still staying close to you.

Another hour or so went by with talking and drinking, you had a few more drinks than you had intended to, the atmosphere of the party getting to you a little. Carol wasn’t nearly drunk enough yet, so she pulled you into the kitchen where it was a bit quieter, both of you leaned back against the counter, Carol scooched towards you when someone puked in the sink she was right next to. 

“You two definitely should date.” Tony stated, walking into the kitchen with his arm around Pepper’s waist. 

You rolled your eyes and groaned, burying your face in Carol’s neck as she held back a laugh, answering for you as Tony playfully teased you about how you two looked like a married couple. He even offered both of you jobs in his Dad’s company, which honestly you were considering.

“Honestly, you should think about it.” Pepper said, talking with Tony for some time more before disappearing into the rest of the crowd. 

“That guy keeps staring at you.” Carol said, trying to play it smooth by reaching behind you to get another drink, pretending she hadn’t just whispered to you.

“I noticed, isn’t he one of your exes?,” You asked, biting your lip a little, trying to ignore Carol invading your personal space, she nodded and turned around.

He had been a genuine asshole, so she’d broken up with him. The only reason she had dated him in the first place was because he had seemed similar to you, he quickly proved her wrong. Dating him would  be one of her biggest mistakes, it made you think she was straight. 

“I winked at him a while back.” You slurred with a playful grin.

“Well, go dance then.” Carol said stiffly, leaning back against the counter and looking at you with a hard expression, even in your half drunken state you could see she didn’t want you to leave.

“The only person I want to dance with is you.” You said, grinning at her and grabbing her wrist, dragging her to the center of the dance floor as the same song came on.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, it’s about that time’

You’re looking good to me tonight’

You grinned and started dancing with Carol, the alcohol you had before giving you a bit more courage than you usually had. Carol loved it, she danced with you, glaring at a few people who even dared get close to you, the guy who had been staring at you came to the two of you, offering his hand for you to dance with him, you looked up at Carol, saw her jealousy and waved him off.

“You could’ve gone with him.” Carol shouted, just loud enough for you to hear. 

“Did I want to leave my best girl?” You asked, then answered your own question. “No.”

Butterflies erupted in both you and Carol’s stomach at the statement, you moved to dance a little closer to her as the dance floor got more crowded. The DJ somehow made the song into a slow dance song, but it still sounded amazing. Carol took your hand and twirled you around, your back facing her chest as her arms slid around your waist comfortably.

“I was thinking,” Carol said aloud, mouth right next to your ear so you could practically feel the vibrations from her voice.

“Tony might be right about something for once.” She stated, hesitating at saying it as she swayed slowly with you, you frowned.

“We should work for him?” You asked, sliding your hands to hold Carol’s around your waist, unsure of what to do as you continued swaying with her.

“No,” Carol laughed before continuing, breaking contact to briefly twirl you, smiling at each other before pulling you back in. “I think we should, I mean if you want to we could date.”

“Are you asking me out Danvers?” You asked, smirking and turning around in Carol’s arms, wrapping your hands around her neck, noses touching softly.

“Maybe I am y/l/n.” She smiled nervously, you giggled and nodded, shuffling closer to Carol so you could feel a little warmer.

“Then maybe I will date you, but first,” You pulled away, eyes sleepily opening and closing as you looked up at the blonde. “Take me home?”

“Anything for you y/n/n.” Carol laughed, breaking apart and offering you her arm, which you ignored and instead snuggled into her side, Carol giggled again and started walking you out, waving a last goodbye to the group before leading you into the car.

The car ride home was fairly quiet, you were too drunk to say anything or have any sensible conversation, Carol was too happy and shocked you’d agreed to go out with her. Once you got home, Carol turned to find you asleep, a peaceful smile on your face as your head rested against the window.

She laughed lightly and got out of her seat, moving to your side and opening the door, catching you instantly so you wouldn’t wake up. Carol gently unbuckled the seatbelt and slid one arm under your knees, her forearm touching the skin on the back of your knees was enough to fluster her as she slid another arm underneath your shoulders.

Once you were safe in her arms, she kicked the door closed and locked the car, keys in one hand as her arms carried you into your dorm, thankful she had picked the ground floor dorm. Opening the door was a struggle, but she eventually managed it, opening the door to the dorm.

She carried you onto the shared bed, hoping you would wake up so she wouldn’t have to help you change. She quickly went into her room and changed into a sweatshirt and some sweatpants, realizing the sweatshirt was yours after she had put it on.

When she came back into your shared room she found you sitting cross legged, looking around with tears in your eyes, Carol panicked and instantly moved in front of you, kneeling in front of you and her hands on your knees.

“What’s wrong?” She asked softly, reaching up to move your face so your eyes would meet hers, confusion increasing when your face lit up instantly when you saw her.

“I thought you’d moved out and I was alone.” You answered, grinning at her as she laughed, getting up and kissing the crown of your hair gently.

“You’re not alone y/n.” She said, reaching into the closet and taking out another pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, having no idea who owned it at this point.

“Here.” She handed you the clothes, you squinted at them and then started taking your shirt off, Carol’s eyes widened and she turned away instantly, a blush on her face as she heard you struggle to take it off.

“Carol.” You whined, Carol turned around to find your arm coming out of the neck hole and your head in the sleeve.

“Man you really are a lightweight.” She said, laughing and trying not the stare at the exposed skin and struggling a little to get your shirt on correctly.

“Thank you.” You exclaimed happily, reaching down to take the skirt off, Carol turned around again, this time not hearing you struggle.

After a minute, Carol was about to turn around when you threw yourself at her back, arms quickly wrapping around her waist as your face pressed into the middle of her back.

“Come to bed with me.” You whined into her back. 

Carol laughed at your drunken state and took your arms off her, smiling while she moved you so your head was on the pillow. You pouted at her until she moved into her side of the bed, you snuggled into her instantly, resting your head over her chest and wrapping your arm lazily around her waist.

“You’re cuddly when you’re drunk.” Carol commented, trying to ignore the blush on her face while she moved her arm to play with your hair.

“Don’t you dare tell anyone Danvers.” You slurred, eyes sleepily starting to close as Carol chuckled lightly, fingers twirling strands of your hair in her fingers.

“I won’t.” She stated, feeling you snuggle into her more as butterflies erupted in her stomach.

“I love you.” You murmured, seconds away from sleep, Carol’s heart skipped a beat as it always did when you said those words.

“I love you too.” Carol whispered, kissing the top of your head, meaning every word she said. She knew you would forget half of what you two shared in the morning, but Carol would have so much fun teasing you, she looked forward to the date more than anything though, she looked forward to spending the rest of her time with you.

| Part 2 |

A/N: Thoughts?

Tag List: @capcarolsdanver, @versdan, @lesbian-girls-wayhaught, @lovebotlarson, @dhengkt, @5aftermidnight, @hstoria, @natasha-danvers, @veryfunnyal, @xxxtwilightaxelxxx , @ophelias-heart  , @never-didbefore , @justarandomhumanhere, @the-most-unicorn-of-them-all , @thatssocamryn , @lesbian-x-blackwidow , @marvelbbyx , @wlw-imaginesss let me know if you’d like to be in any of my tag lists!

[just-dreaming-marvel]

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE - DONE AND GONE

LEGACY: A Tony Stark Daughter Story

MASTERLIST

< previous

Word Count: 1,750ish

Summary: Tony and Bailey fight, causing her to make a run for it.

~~~

Over the next few weeks, my headache slowly continued to get worse. I had officially moved into the compound, which everyone was excited about. Tony semi started talking to me, but it was still a struggle and only through texts. I ignored most of them, mad that he wasn’t trying harder to fix things. I trained in the training rooms in the mornings with Nat and Wanda and then would go on a run with Sam, and occasionally Steve, in the evenings. They went on missions without me, but I really didn’t mind. Well.. I acted and convinced myself really well that I didn’t mind. If they came back with cuts and bruises, it gave me a chance to practice my healing abilities on them. 

They had just come back from a mission one day, I was in the Med-Bay making sure everyone was okay. I had almost finished checking everyone out and sending them one their ways.

“Thanks Bailey,” Sam said, as he walked out of the Med-Bay.

“No problem,” I responded. I turned to Steve who was standing there, still in his Captain America suit. “Now it’s your turn Cap.”

“I’m good.”

I put a hand on my hip and pointed to his side. “You were hit. I can see the blood.” I pointed to the bed I was standing next to. “Take off the shirt and lay down.” I sounded a little more demanding than I wanted to. But I wasn’t about to let him bleed out, not like he was actually going to though. “Now.”

“Fine,” he grudgingly gave in. He pulled the suit shirt off to reveal a white tank top with blood running down his side. “Do you need this off too?” He pulled at the tank top.

“Nope. Now lay down.”

Steve walked over and laid down. I set my hand on the wound and focused. It began to heal and I winced a little when I felt my headache getting worse and some strength leaving me. Ever since the day after the party, my headache has gradually been getting worse. And I had no idea why. Steve noticed me wince.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, true concern in his tone.

“Nothing,” I quickly answered. “Nothing’s wrong. Why would you think somethings wrong?” I couldn’t look at his face. Regret quickly washed over me and I grimaced when I realized that I shouldn’t have spoken so fast.

“You just winced. Is this too much for you? Are you using too much of your strength?”

“No, Steve. I’m fine. This is nothing.” I lifted my hand up a little to see the cut. It had healed. “See. All better.” 

I turned around and walked over to the sink and began washing my hands. I heard Steve get up off the bed and walk over. I grabbed a towel and turned around. We were very close to each other. As I looked up at him, I saw the concern all over his facial features. 

“Come on, B.” He whispered. He grabbed one of my hands and began rubbing the top of it with his thumb. “Don’t hide things from me.”

“I’m not hiding anything, Steve.”

“Then why did you wince?”

I sighed and looked down at our hands. “My headaches have started up again,” I whispered.

“Like Ultron bad?” I bit my lip, closed my eyes, and nodded. “B, why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

“I didn’t want to wor—“ But I was cut off by the sound of the Med-Bay doors opening. I quickly turned back around and set the towel on the counter. Steve stepped away.

“Am I interrupting something?” I heard Tony ask. I tensed up.

“No,” Steve answered. “Bailey was just finishing up. She’s getting real good at fixing us all up.”

“Well, she is a very talented young woman,” Tony stated. “Now, Old Man, can I have a moment with my daughter?”

“Sure.” Steve began walking out. “Thanks for the help, Bailey. I’ll see you around.”

I nodded, unable to make myself turn around and face Tony. This was the first time Tony and I had been in the same room for weeks, maybe even months. I wanted to talk to him and be civilized, but at this point in time, after everything, I couldn’t make any promises.

“So you moved here to work as their nurse?” He broke the silence. “Didn’t think you were interested in the medical field.”

“Well, it’s better than being useless,” I quickly retorted. I turned around, leaned against the counter, and folded my arms. “And I’m not interested in the medical field. I’ve just decided to use the gift that I was born with.”

“That’s good,” Tony nodded along.

“What are you doing here, Dad?”

“I came to get you. It’s time for you to move back home.” 

“Home? This is my home. The Tower is not my home anymore.”

“Yes it is. Wherever I am, where ever I am living, that is your home.”

I shook my head. “You don’t get it, do you? Who am I kidding? Why would I expect you to understand?”

“Get what? What am I suppose to get?”

“You pushed me away!” I snapped. I stopped when I had realized that I yelled and took a deep breath before I starting again. “I told you…” My voice was much quieter now. “I showed you my files and then you pushed me away. Why?” 

“I was protecting you. I—“

“Protecting me?!” I was really trying to stay calm, but this man was getting on my last nerves. “You ignored me, ran away from me! You call that protection? Because I sure as hell don’t. I call that abandonment. I’ve already had one father abandon me, I really didn’t need you to do it too.” I could feel how much that hurt him, strange enough, as my headache grew. I could feel how much he was taken back by what I had just said but I continued on. “Why did you even adopt me? You’ve actually never told me. And I’m fairly interested because you’re acting like I mean nothing to you. Like you don’t love me.”

“Bailey, of course I—“

“You’ve made all these promises, told me everything that I ever longed to hear. But you’ve failed to keep almost any of them. So please, tell me, do you still want me?” 

“Yes, I wan—“

“Actually,” I cut him off again and held out my hand for him to stop, “I don’t care anymore. I don’t want to hear anymore excuses. I’m done, with all of it.”

Then I took off running. I ran passed Tony, avoiding his out reached arms. I ran out of the Med-Bay, finding Steve standing there. He had listened in the whole time.

“Bailey,” he called, noticing my distress.

“Don’t follow me,” I shook my head as I started backwards. I looked into his eyes. “Please. I just need time.” I turned and ran down the hall, heading for the garage.

“Bailey!” Steve shouted, but not chasing after me. He wanted to have a word with Tony first, giving me some time that way.

I ignored his shout. Once I reached the garage, I quickly found my motorcycle. Fortunately, I had made it. So it didn’t have one of Tony’s tracking devices on it. I swung onto it and was out of there. As I reached the facility gates, they began to close. Tony was trying to prevent my escape. I heard Steve’s motorcycle start up as I sped up and narrowly made it through the gates. I continued down the road and eventually went into the woods to avoid any agents or Avengers from finding me. I rode in the woods until I found a town. I knew that it wouldn’t be smart to stop, but I had too. I needed to get some food and water. 

Turning into the town, I quickly found a store with an alley way close by that I could park in. I lifted up the motorcycle seat once I was parked. I was smart enough to have packed sunglasses, a baseball cap, cash, and a backpack under the seat. I quickly put the baseball cap and sunglasses on and flung the backpack over my shoulder. I knew that I didn’t have a lot of time, so I quickly went into the store. I grabbed some quick foods, water bottles, and black hair dye. I checked out and began making my way back to my motorcycle. The whole time, I kept having this feeling that I was being followed. I glanced over my shoulder but didn’t see anyone I thought that looked suspicious. I picked up my pace anyway. When I reached the alleyway, there were two men waiting next to my bike.

“Hey guys!” I greeted, trying to act cool. “Is this your alley? Sorry I totally didn’t mean to park here.” I walked over to my bike. “Let me just get this out of your way.” I went to get onto my motorcycle when one of them grabbed my arm. I quickly kicked him in the stomach, sending him stumbling back. The other guy grabbed my waist. “Shouldn’t you ask me on a date first?” I laughed. “I feel like we’re moving a little fast here, buddy.” 

I pushed my legs off the ground and latched them around his neck. I used my momentum and caused us to fall to the ground. I quickly stood up and kicked him in the face. I could hear the other guy coming up from behind, so I quickly ripped off my backpack and hit him with it. While I was doing this, I didn’t notice a third man enter the alley. He pulled a syringe out of his coat pocket and stabbed it into my neck. Feeling the pain, I quickly put my hand to my neck and turned around. I couldn’t get a good look at the man though. I became light headed and my vision was cloudy. 

“Call headquarters and tell them we have her,” one of the men said as I fell to the ground. “Tell them that our soldier is coming home.” That was the last thing I heard before my world went black. The men carried me to a black SUV, threw me in the trunk, and quickly drove off.

next >

[ashiversary]

If We're Honest - Chapter 3

Read the full fic on ao3!

It was a testament to how little Blanche knew Candela that they did not see this coming.

Blanche stared at the restaurant, which was one of the most upscale in Opal City, with dismay. The patrons glittered in suits and floor-length gowns with diamonds and sipped the most expensive wines the city had to offer. “I am not dressed for this,” Blanche said as Candela took their arm and steered them through the door.

“Don’t worry, darling, they know me here,” Candela replied. This was not reassuring, as Candela was wearing a red silk gown with a plunging neckline and golden six-inch heels. Rubies glimmered at her ears and throat, and a series of gold bangles covered her wrists. She was stunning. Blanche could not believe she kept red-carpet attire in a gym bag in her car.

They considered it extremely discourteous of her to not warn them. Or give them the chance to stop by their apartment to change into a suit.

The only comfort was that Spark hadn’t changed either, and was still in his orange tank and leather jacket.

“Candy, I thought we were going to a steakhouse!” Spark complained as Candela spoke to the hostess.

“This is a steakhouse! Yes, I have a reservation for three,” Candela said when the hostess asked.

“Just because steaks are on the menu does not make it a steakhouse,” Blanche said. Spark sent them a grateful look for taking his side, and the sense of camaraderie made Blanche feel slightly better.

Candela did not reply, and Spark and Blanche were forced to follow her and the hostess through the restaurant to the table. It was covered by a snow-white tablecloth and crystal wine glasses. Spark went to pull out Candela’s chair, which pleased her, but Blanche made sure to sit down before Spark could repeat the gesture for them. No thank you.

Their little group attracted some curious and amused glances, which was no surprise given that Candela was the only one dressed appropriately for the venue. Blanche did their best to ignore the attention as they unfolded their pristine white cloth napkin and draped it over their lap. Despite their efforts, their face and chest grew hot and sweaty at the sound of nearby laughter. It was a couple on a date who weren’t even looking in their direction, but it felt like their amusement was directed at Blanche regardless.

It could have been worse, they knew. At least Spark was in the same boat as them. He whined to Candela for misleading him about where they were going to eat, and she smirked in reply. She seemed to enjoy being the best dressed person at the table. Blanche could deal with agents of chaos, but they liked to have some warning that was what they were dealing with.

As Spark flipped his menu open, he grumbled, “They probably don’t even have chicken tenders here.”

Blanche had to stifle a laugh as they were reminded of their twin, whose tastes leaned toward juvenile.

Candela grimaced. “Definitely not. But they do have steak!” She helped Spark by flipping to the appropriate page of his menu. “Ribs too, see?”

Appeased for the moment, Spark scanned the page for his choices while Candela ordered a bottle of wine for the table. Red, of course.

Blanche scanned their own menu and winced at the prices. They had been a research assistant for the last few years, and that had not been a high-paying job. Spark must be able to read their face, because he leaned into their space while Candela was busy chatting with the server about the day’s specials. “I can cover ya, if ya want,” Spark whispered.

Blanche flushed. They could make it work with their finances. It just would have been easier if they hadn’t moved from a different region recently. “It’s all right. I’ll manage.”

“Seriously, it’s fine. Candy comes from money, so she forgets about this stuff. It’s not payday yet. Let me cover you.”

Ugh, he had such a reassuring smile. “I’ll pay you back later.” They hoped he would not argue. Soulmate or not, they did not know him well enough to accept freebies yet.

“Sure thing!”

This arrangement did make them feel better, and they were able to choose a tasty-looking seafood dish without too much guilt. Spark ordered his steak, along with vegetables and an extra side of potatoes. Blanche couldn’t imagine attempting to eat that much food at once, but Candela acted as if this were normal.

The table lapsed into silence, and Blanche felt that they ought to say something to incite conversation. After all, they were the new person being integrated into an established friendship (Blanche wasn’t sure about thinking of either of them as more than that yet). “So, Candela, were you born in Opal?” Blanche asked, fishing for a safe topic.

Something flickered across her face that told them that this topic might not have been as safe as they had thought. However, before they could apologize and backtrack, she smiled. “Oh, not at all! I’ve lived here for a couple years now, but I was born in Unova.”

“I see.” Blanche had never been to Unova and was curious about what kind of pokemon Candela saw growing up. But there was a strange tension in the air, so they weren’t sure it would be right to ask.

Spark, however, felt no such restraint. “Candy’s got four older brothers!” He grinned as he said it. “Can ya believe it? I’m an only child, so I can’t imagine.”

“It sounds boisterous,” Blanche replied.

Candela waved a hand. “It certainly was! It’s much quieter now that they don’t talk to me.”

Oh. Despite her flippant tone, there was pain in her eyes. “May I ask?” She didn’t have to tell them if she didn’t want to, but they would like to know the source of her pain if she was comfortable sharing it with them.

She sighed and drummed her fingers on the table before she picked up her wine and took a generous sip. “It was stupid, really.”

“I’m sure it isn’t stupid, if it caused you pain,” Blanche murmured.

Candela sent them a grateful look. “Thank you, darling. But how it happened was stupid.” She sighed and tapped the side of her wine glass. “Spark knows the story. My family has a long history tied to Moltres. It’s kind of like our guardian legendary. The tradition is that the oldest child will form a bond, which is like this telepathic connection, with Moltres. It was supposed to be my oldest brother Lucifel next, but I encountered Moltres while walking home one night. It recognized my bloodline and formed the bond.” She sighed again.

“And that’s bad?” Blanche asked.

Candela shrugged. “My parents were furious. In their mind, I usurped tradition and stole my brother’s birthright. It didn’t matter that I didn’t do it on purpose. I was a bad and rebellious daughter who brought shame to the family. Everyone stopped talking to me, even my Grandma. Eventually I couldn’t take it and moved in with my cousin in Alola. Her family is much less traditional than mine. One way or another, I ended up here.”

Spark reached out to rub her bare shoulder. She leaned into the touch and managed a small smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to put a dampener on our date.”

“It’s no problem, Candy. Don’t worry about it.”

The server came back with their meals, offering fresh ground pepper before disappearing to serve the next table. Blanche sampled their seafood pasta and was very pleased - it was delicious, with just the right amounts of butter and garlic.

Blanche didn’t want to detract from Candela’s story, but now seemed like a good time to mention Articuno.

“I do know about bonds with legendaries,” Blanche said. Both of the others looked at them in surprise, though Candela recovered first and took advantage of Spark’s inattention to steal a bite of his steak. Blanche ignored this and continued. “While I was travelling around Kanto and Johto with Professor Oak, I encountered Articuno.”

“And it bonded with you?” Spark asked with far more excitement than Blanche thought that the situation warranted. He shook Candela’s shoulder. “Did you hear that, Candy? Can you believe it?”

“Right?” Candela said around another stolen bite of steak. “Three for three. What are the odds, Sparky?”

“I beg your pardon?” Blanche was missing some context.

“Sparky here is bonded with Zapdos!” Candela said, laughing, draping an arm around Spark’s shoulders and pointing to his face.

“Are you joking?” Blanche wanted to make sure. They weren’t always the best at catching on to jokes.

“Nope! Met it at the power plant with my Uncle when I was a kid. Been together ever since.”

Blanche looked between them. They could understand the other two’s mirth now. What were the chances of the three of them being soulmates, team leaders of the Go Program, and bonded to Kanto’s titans? “Unbelievable.” Was all they could think to say.

“I know!” Spark said.

“Well, eat up, you two,” Candela said. “The food is getting cold.”

The date was very relaxed after that, enough so that Blanche forgot to be self conscious that they weren’t dressed appropriately for the venue. The wine made them all tipsy. Spark and Candela tried to talk Blanche into coming to Spark’s apartment to play Super Smash Bros, but Blanche wasn’t comfortable with that yet and ended up taking a taxi home. Once there, they kicked off their shoes and flopped face down on their bed until morning.

The next day, the soulmate bond between the team leaders seemed to be all anyone could talk about. By lunch Blanche was both annoyed and flustered by all the people congratulating them and the shy approaches from young interns asking if the rumours were true. It didn’t help that interest kicked up several notches when Spark and Candela showed up at lunch with grins and sandwiches.

Blanche accepted their invitation to a picnic with a sigh.

“Aw, Blanche, we’re gonna think you aren’t happy to see us,” Spark teased as they settled into a small courtyard outside Mystic Headquarters.

Blanche was squinting at their sandwich with suspicion. It was somehow their favourite, despite the fact that they had no recollection of telling Spark what kind of sandwiches they liked. They hadn’t been so drunk the night before as to have forgotten something like that. “Did Annie tell you what sandwiches I like?” they wondered out loud, for that was the only explanation they could think of. As their assistant, Annie was almost always around. She would have picked up on their tastes.

Spark’s expression turned sheepish, and he shook his head. “Um, no, about that…” he began, and Blanche turned their suspicious squint from the sandwich to him. Candela choked on her apple juice as she laughed, and Spark waved a hand. “No, no, it’s nothing weird! I just, y’know, happened to run into Noire, so I asked.”

That didn’t clear things up. “How did you run into Noire?”

“Well, they dropped by Instinct - like, literally, through the ceiling - to steal some rare pokemon eggs. I recognized ‘em as your sib, so, y’know, once I’d thwarted their plans I asked.”

Candela laughed harder. “Darling, you’re so weird,” she sighed. “You captured a Rocket exec just to interrogate them about Blanche’s food preferences?”

“Well, sure,” Spark said. “Why not?”

Blanche put their face in their hands. They could not believe Noire had not called to laugh at them about their soulmate being a major dork. In fairness, Noire was also a major dork.

“Anyway, they’re coming over tonight so I can wreck their ass in Mario Kart. Wanna join?” Spark continued.

Blanche supposed they could not complain about Noire and Spark getting along if this fledgling potential relationship was to work out. But goodness it was awkward.

“Oh, I’d love to come,” Candela said, getting her laughter under control. Her smile glittered dangerously, and there was no doubt she would also love to kick Noire’s butt at Mario Kart. “I have to pay them back for messing with my team, don’t I?” She leaned over to wrap her free arm around Blanche’s. “Do come, Blanche. It won’t be as much fun without you.”

And if that wasn’t one of the sweetest things Blanche had ever been told. Their cheeks went pink. No one had ever called them fun before. They were too serious, too awkward, too stoic. Noire was the fun, friendly one. But if they were wanted… “I’ll see if I can make time,” Blanche said, trying to play it cool.

“Great! I’ll provide snacks. All ya gotta do is show up,” Spark said, beaming.

“Very well.” Blanche was abysmal in the kitchen, so at least it wasn’t going to be a potluck. Candela was still holding onto their arm. It felt nice. Very nice.

Blanche still had not told them.

The thought of bringing up their background made their heart hammer and a lump stick in their throat. It was too hard. They did not want to. But if they did not, would it not be deceitful? Candela and Spark had both told Blanche things about their pasts, things that were difficult for them to say. Reciprocating would be the right thing to do.

“While you’re here, there was something I wanted to tell you,” Blanche began. Even those words had to be forced out of their mouth. Candela gave their arm a brief squeeze. There was so much comfort in that touch. It gave Blanche the courage to continue. Spark stopped teasing the wild pidgey that had landed on his shoulder in hopes of bits of sandwich, and was giving Blanche his full attention. He didn’t seem to notice that this gave the pidgey the opportunity to steal a large chunk of his sandwich meat and take flight for a nearby tree to eat its spoils.

“When we were children, Noire and I were found on the streets of Orre.” The memories, vague and clouded as they were, came up. Blanche pushed the back in order to continue. “We were found by Team Rocket taking shelter among stacks of pallets at an abandoned warehouse. I do not remember how we got there. Neither does Noire.” They only remembered two days prior at most, but they weren’t sure of that. They remembered twisting a spigot on the side of the building and getting a thin trickle of water. They remembered hunger, blistering hot days, and cold nights. Fear. That was all.

“That’s okay, Blanche,” Spark hastened to reassure them. “We’re all orphans, in a way.” He glanced at Candela, whose parents were still alive but had effectively abandoned her. “It’s okay.”

“Thank you. But that’s not it.” Blanche drew in a deep breath, then pressed on. “I don’t recall anything before that clearly. But I do have… I suppose I would call them *impressions* of things. Nothing clear. Locked doors. Needles. Terror. People in white coats. That’s all.”

Spark scooted until he was sitting on Blanche’s other side. He draped his arm over their shoulders and squeezed. “That’s rough. Thank you for telling us,” he murmured.

Blanche was mortified to feel tears prick their eyes. They swiped at their face with the back of their hand to wipe away the moisture, and Spark squeezed again. “Hey. It’s okay. Cry if you gotta. It’s tough stuff we’re talking about.”

Blanche hiccuped, and despite Spark’s reassurance, they were ashamed of their weakness. How stupid was it to cry over things that the didn’t even remember? “I might not be human,” they choked out.

“Of course you are!” Candela’s voice was fierce. She pushed up until she was kneeling and cupped their face in her hands. Blanche wanted to look away, but Candela wasn’t having it. “No, no, you listen to me,” she said. Her eyes were gold. Had Blanche ever noticed that before? “You are human. Absolutely. Just as human as me and Sparky over there, even though he has the mentality of a pokemon sometimes and eats weird things he finds in the forest.”

Blanche gave a wet laugh, and Candela smiled in relief. “Hey, I’m serious! He once ate this weird twisty berry and his face was paralyzed for an entire day. Who does that?”

“Hey! It was only temporary. And Go dared me. I don’t back down from a challenge, Candy.”

“But did you learn your lesson? No!” Candela shot back. “He tried to eat an apricorn the next day,” she explained to Blanche.

“Apricorns can be juiced, but they are not edible raw,” Blanche said.

“Well, I know that now,” Spark said. “Geez, Candy, you never let anything go.”

“It was only two months ago Spark!” Despite her more aggressive tone toward Spark, Candela’s hands remained gentle on Blanche’s face. She stopped frowning at Spark to smile at Blanche and give them a soft kiss on the forehead. Blanche flushed and automatically pulled away. They weren’t used to such casual affection.

Fortunately, Candela didn’t seem to be offended. “Finish your sandwich, Blanche,” she said, and settled herself back on the grass to eat her own.

Spark was frowning as his sandwich like he’d just realized there was a chunk missing. Blanche opted not to tell him about the pidgey. “Like Candy said,” Spark continued. “You’re human for sure. No matter how your life started. Okay?”

“Okay,” Blanche said.

The other two had to leave shortly after in order to make it back to their respective team headquarters in time. Blanche was sorry to see them go. They couldn’t quite see the relationship as romantic yet, but they were starting to consider Spark and Candela to be very good friends.

And maybe that was how it started. As friends. There was always the chance to move on to other things later.

Then again, given the behaviour the other two had exhibited, they clearly didn’t view this as a platonic relationship of any sort.

When they got back to their office, Annie had a stack of reports waiting that needed their review and approval. She smiled at them as they slid behind their desk. “Did you have a good lunch?” she chirped.

“Yes, thank you,” Blanche replied. They picked up the first report in the stack and grimaced, already knowing that this one was going to be a mess. This tech was brilliant in the lab, but their writing left much to be desired.

“I’m glad you’re taking proper breaks now,” she said. “I thought you were going to be one of the types that works themselves to death when you first started, so I’m glad that’s not the case.”

Blanhce grimaced at being so accurately called out. “I am exactly that type.” It was difficult to focus on a conversation and skim a report at the same time, and their attention drifted away from Annie to the report in their hands. “I haven’t been given much of a choice about taking breaks at the moment, though.” After all, it was Spark and Candela who kept showing up unannounced and making them leave work that they otherwise wouldn’t.

Because Annie no longer registered in their mind, they missed her murmured, “Is that so?” and the thoughtful gleam in her eye. Therefore, they did not expect it later when she put her hands on their desk with a smile and said, “Chief! Leader Spark is here to pick you up!”

Blanche was in the middle of working through a thorny supplier issue and it took them a second to process what she’d said, so what came out was an intelligent, “Huh?”

Annie continued to smile. “Leader Spark is waiting for you down in reception! We couldn’t let him come up because of the Pokemon snuffles outbreak among some new breeding pairs at Instinct. It’s a minor illness but highly contagious, so it’s better if he doesn’t access the elevator used to transport lab pokemon.” While she talked, Annie packed the materials she knew they would want to take him with them into their briefcase, along with some thumb drives and a malfunctioning lure Blanche had been trying to repair in their spare time.

“But why is he here?” Blanche glanced at the clock. “It’s only six.”

“It’s 6:45.” Was it Blanche’s imagination or did Annie’s smile look a bit threatening? “I heard that you, Leader Spark, and Leader Candela have plans for the evening. It’s rude to keep them waiting!”

Blanche blinked at her as she tossed their coat over their shoulders and shoved their briefcase into their hands.

Baffled by Annie’s pushiness, Blanche nonetheless logged out of their computer and complied. They did not want to be on bad terms with their assistant, and it seemed important to Annie that Blanche clear out. The warning edge to her tone dissipated when Blanche stood up and shoved their arms through the sleeves of their coat.

They eyed Annie with suspicion. “You seem to be in quite a hurry to see me out.”

“Not at all!” That was feigned innocence if Blanche ever saw it. “It’s just that Leader Spark is already here and all, and it would be rude to make him wait.”

Blanche didn’t know what she was up to, but they supposed it wouldn’t be anything nefarious. To their understanding, Annie had been with Mystic for some time and there had never been any complaints about her conduct. “All right. Have a good evening.”

“You too, Chief! See you tomorrow!”

Blanche locked the office door behind them, and with a final wave, Annie skipped off to her own, smaller office, presumably to get ready to leave herself.

Spark was indeed waiting when Blanche reached the main level. Rather than his typical leader attire, he was wearing jeans that appeared to have torn and faded through wear rather than been purchased that way and a T-shirt that said “If found, return to Go.”

“Is that a custom shirt?” Blanche asked as they approached.

Spark had been browsing memes on his phone. At the sound of Blanche’s voice, he put his phone away and leaped up to take their hands. Blanche was caught off guard and let him, though their cheeks went pink when he squeezed their hands with obvious affection. “Heya, Blanche! Ready to go?”

“I suppose. I’d like to stop by my place and change, if that’s all right.”

“No prob!” Spark let go of one of Blanche’s hands, but held on to the other as he led them to where he’d parked his car on the street. “And yeah, me’n Go had these made up a li’l while after I started with Instinct. I keep it and the jeans in a bag at work in case my clothes get yucked. You know how it is, working with pokemon.”

“Indeed.” Blanche slid into the passenger’s seat and crossed their legs. “I find your change of clothes much more practical than Candela’s.”

Spark laughed, and Blanche knew they were both thinking of the red dress and accessories from the other day. “Yeah, well, Candy’s like that. She does have a change of more practical clothes at Valor, too. And gym clothes. She says she’s gotta be prepared for any situation, her appearance included. Gotta admire that, even if it’s not for me.”

“I suppose.”

They pulled in next to Blanche’s apartment. Blanche went upstairs to stow away their briefcase and change into something more casual. They weren’t comfortable enough with the other two yet to not dress on the nicer end of casual, so they put on their nicest pair of jeans and a teal button-up shirt. After that they floundered a little, unsure what was expected of them and if they needed to bring anything else. Spark had said they just needed to show up, but did they really?

This was ridiculous. They were keeping him waiting with pointless dithering. Blanche sighed and trooped back out. Spark had passed the time by browsing memes again, and he put his phone away and headed in what Blanche assumed was the direction of his own home.

The inside of Spark’s apartment was cluttered and cozy, but also gave away the fact that a bachelor lived there. There was equipment for raising baby pokemon scattered about, dirty dishes scattered in the sink, and Blanche saw through an open door that Spark’s shower curtain was shoved straight through the rod. There was a nice smell wafting from the kitchen, and Candela poked her head out.

“Spark! I pulled the stuff in the oven like you asked!” she said, coming over to give Spark a hug. They seemed to have adjusted easily to the reality of being soulmates and had made the shift from friends to lovers without thinking too deeply about it. Blanche wished they could be so lighthearted about things.

“Thanks, Candy. Ya got it at the right temperature, yeah?” he asked, kicking off his shoes and placing them on the rack by the door. The shoes on the rack were a mess, but Blanche supposed the fact that they were up off the floor was a point in Spark’s favour as they discarded their own shoes and added them to the mess.

“Of course I’ve got them on the right temp. I know how to work an oven,” Candela said, her lips turning downward in a pout. This might be the first time Blanche had seen her without lipstick. Candela rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest as Spark passed her on the way into the kitchen. “He doesn’t trust me,” she huffed to Blanche, who smiled.

“I do trust ya, Candy! I just… gotta make sure.” Blanche could not see Spark from their vantage point, but they could hear pots clanking as he moved around.

With no idea what else to do, since they doubted they would fit in Spark’s kitchen while he and Candela were already in there, Blanche sat on the couch. Their lap was immediately invaded by a clutch of tiny Vulpix kits, who seemed to have been sleeping under a blanket until Blanche disturbed them. Delighted, Blanche scratched their little heads and was relieved that they had not chosen to sit on that blanket. If they had crushed the little babies, they would have died.

There was a knock at the door, which Candela went to answer. “Hello Rocket,” she said, managing somehow to sound both cheerful and menacing at the same time.

The response was unmistakably Noire. “Bite me.”

Noire stomped into the apartment still wearing their boots. “We brought booze- oh, babies!” they broke off with a gasp. Noire shoved the packs of beer into Candela’s arms and knelt on the floor in front of Blanche to coo at the kits.

Amelie kicked off her own boots, gave Candela a polite nod, and came in to join them.

Whatever Spark was doing in the kitchen caused the apartment to be full of delectable smells. Noire kept sniffing the air as they tried to steal all of the Vulpix kits from Blanche’s lap. Blanche kept stealing them back, and this continued until the kits began to protest loudly and Amelie confiscated them all.

Noire counted this as a victory until they realized that she did not plan to share with them, and they returned to the couch to sulk with Blanche.

Spark came out of the kitchen bearing steaming pans of food, and they all gravitated in that direction with their mouths watering. “I didn’t know you could cook,” Blanche commented to Spark.

He grinned, but there was an edge of shyness to it. “Oh, yeah, I love to cook. Feeding people is one of my favourite things.”

There was rice and stir-fried veggies, a platter of meatballs, bread that appeared home-made, though it was not fresh from the oven, and a plate of fresh-baked cookies. They all piled their plates high and settled around the living room, since Spark didn’t have enough chairs in his tiny eating area, and the chairs he did have held baskets of sleeping Pichu.

Candela and Spark opted to sit on the floor, sitting close enough to brush against Blanche’s legs. Amelie sat on the couch with Noire half lounging in her lap. Whenever Noire’s feet came too close to Blanche’s lap, and therefore their plate, Blanche would pinch Noire’s toes.

“This is delicious,” said Blanche. On impulse, they ruffled Spark’s hair, and was immediately embarrassed.

Spark twisted around to grin up at them. “Thanks! Glad you like it!” He lifted one hand to squeeze Blanche’s knee, and their face went hot. Spark blinked in surprise at their reaction, then smiled. “Hey, uh, Blanche,” he said, almost shy.

“Hm?”

“Sorry if this is sudden, but… Can I kiss you?”

Blanche flushed all over and a nervous, fluttery feeling filled their chest. It was probably too soon, but Blanche wasn’t as opposed to the idea as they thought they would be.

Blanche’s hands clenched their jeans and they bit their lower lip as they nodded. “I suppose,” they said, aware that their voice sounded small and uncertain.

Spark had not removed his hand from Blanche’s knee. He kept it there for support as he turned toward Blanche and shifted into a kneeling position. Blanche’s heart pounded against their ribs as he leaned closer. When they felt his breath on their face and his hand cup their cheek, they closed their eyes.

The kiss was soft and gentle. It was obvious that Spark was trying not to scare them away. Blanche’s hand came up to grip Spark’s t-shirt, and they only pulled away when Noire started making fake gagging sounds.

“Blanche, gross,” Noire groaned.

Blanche turned their head to glare at their twin. “Like you don’t kiss Amelie in front of me.”

Noire glared back. “That’s different. I’m eating here!”

Blanche was going to snap back, but hands on their face distracted them. Blanche looked up in surprise as Candela shoved Spark out of the way and settled on Blanche’s lap. “Aw, does little Noire not like PDA?” she purred, snuggling against Blanche’s chest and turning their face the same red as her t-shirt. She looped an arm around Blanche’s neck and smirked at Noire.

While Noire sputtered, Candela leaned in so close that her breath tickled Blanche’s ear as she whispered, “May I have a kiss too, darling?”

Half the reason they accepted was desire, but they would be lying if the other half wasn’t the need to antagonize Noire.

Whatever concerns Spark had about scaring Blanche away, Candela did not share. This was not a light, gentle kiss. It was hot and hungry, and by the time Candela pulled away Blanche was panting to catch their breath.

Candela smiled at them, softer and happier than Blanche had ever seen her.

They opened their mouth to say something, but were interrupted by Spark’s whistle. “Nice, Candy,” he said, awed.

Candela snorted.

Blanche peeked to the side to gauge Noire’s reaction. Noire was red-faced and sputtering. When their eyes met Blanche’s they snapped. “What the HELL. Did you invite me here just to watch you guys make out?”

Blanche couldn’t help it - they started to laugh. Soon the others joined in, even Amelie, while Noire whined and sputtered.

This wasn’t bad. It was quite nice. Blanche wouldn’t mind having soulmates, if it meant they could have a lot of days like this in their future.

[blissfulalchemist]

“Oh! So we’re keeping score now?” + “Are you forgetting who my parents are?” + “Two can play at that game.” For Liz and Wyatt? 😘😘😘

“Are you forgetting who my our parents are?” had a little change there. 

Tiny Dancer living on main in a 6.8k debut!

The end of the day shrill overtook the hallway as Liz organized her textbooks, getting the ones that she needed together for the weekend ahead. Ideally she should just bring all of them home with her, get a head start on some of the history report due before the holiday break. Wyatt though seemed to have other plans as he pleaded with Liz, “Come on, Liz,” he leaned on his shoulder against the lockers, black hair falling into his eyes, “You never come out with me. It’s just one little party.”

Liz laughed slamming the locker shut, “I have been to parties with you Wyatt. I just can’t go out this weekend. I’m grounded, remember.”

“Ugh, you’re always grounded,” he leaned back against the lockers looking up to the ceiling, eyes quickly looking down to her, “What did you get grounded for again? Was it the billboard or ditching class for the protest in Missoula?”

“They were one and the same Wyatt,” she reminded him, “but the ditching school is the official story,” Liz poked his arm, cocking an eyebrow, “and that’s how it’s gonna stay.”

“You know what I don’t get?” He turned to look down at her, “Why haven’t they just made you live with your dad? Seems like he can control you better and you get to see the world.”

Liz gave him a smirk, “Have you met me Wyatt? I’d have been wanted in three countries by now, forcing me to be on the run.” Liz patted his chest, “Better I just get in trouble here in the states.”

The two laughed as Wyatt pushed himself off the lockers, making their way to the auditorium, Wyatt putting his arm around her shoulders, “Seriously though Liz, why can’t you just ask to come with me?”

“Why does this party matter so much to you anyway?” Liz stepped away from him walking backwards a few steps pointing to him, “Or better question, why is it so important that I go with you to this one?”

He gave an exasperated sigh, “Mom and dad said I couldn’t go unless you’d be there with me,” he rolled his eyes brushing his hair out of his eyes, “Something about the buddy system or something like that.”

“Haven’t you gone to parties without me before though?”

“Yeah to people that didn’t have the reputation Kobie Wicks does though,” Oh that’s why, “You’ve heard the kind of parties he throws, his parents having all that money and their house. I mean I’m not wanting to party at the same level as some of the other attendees but still you know how it can be.”

She turned, flipping her hair, “If your parents won’t let you go, what makes you think that mom and dad will let me go?” The two opened the door to the auditorium, setting their things down in the back rows, the chatter of other students hushing their voices, “Especially while I’m supposed to be grounded. Pretty sure that’s why Tia said no to you.”

He gave a shrug of his shoulders, “Then lie about why you need to be out tomorrow night,” he grabbed his change of clothes from the bag, looking at the clock on the wall, “We can tell your parents that we have a project to work on and then we tell mine that you were allowed to go.” 

Liz crossed her arms, brow raising as she looked up to him, “Wyatt,” he smiled, eyes hopeful, “are you forgetting who our parents are?” He shook his head, Liz giving him a light punch on the arm, “So what makes you think that’ll work? It’s not like our parents just met once we became friends you know? They were all friends way before we were even thoughts in their heads. They’d call our bluff faster than we could even tell them.” She shook her head, bending down to change her shoes, “There’s no way around this Wyatt. I know you want to go, but there’s nothing we can do to make this work.”

“You know, still doesn’t seem fair that you get to rehearse in your everyday clothes for the musical,” he grumbled, quickly hiding himself in the soundbooth to switch pants.

“Well it would be more accurate for Mamma Mia if I was able to stay in my boots though with my overalls,” Liz rolled her eyes, “But no, I could hurt my ankle. Not like I haven’t climbed out of windows or up trees in them before.”

Wyatt’s eyes lit up as he walked back out to her, quickly changing his shirt, “There is one thing we can do,” he gave Liz a smirk leaning closer to her, “We can both just sneak out.”

“Sneak out?” He nodded, “You want to sneak out and go to a party neither of us would ever be allowed to go to,” she crossed her arms looking up at him.

“Yeah,” Wyatt’s blue-green eyes flicked to the stage seeing the last of the other student actors straggling in, “We just take a page out of Uncle Chance’s book and we just sneak out. Those parties run late into the night and early morning, so we’ll be back before any of them wake up.”

“Wessy is always up early though,” Liz pointed out.

Wyatt scoffed, “What you think he comes and checks up on me when he wakes up and tucks me in again?” Liz gave a quick raise of her eyebrows shrugging, “And your mom sleeps in, so we won’t be found out.”

“You think you have this all thought out don’t you?” He nodded, Liz rolled her eyes. A smile like that only meant he was gonna do it either way at this point, someone had to save him from himself, “Well if we do this you have to figure out how we get there,” Wyatt’s smile grew holding his hand up for a high five, “and when you figure that out text me in our code so we can pull this off.”

“You got it, Lizzy,” she rolled her eyes, slapping her hand against his, “Just watch it’s gonna be worth it. We’ll have so much fun.” I hope so Wyatt. I hope so, the teacher called for them to take their places on the stage, their planning cut short.

Saturday night came and Liz couldn’t help but pace around her room making sure everything was how it should be, all in an attempt to make sure that no one was going to come and check up on her. Not that anyone would but she still couldn’t help but worry about it. Liz felt she really shouldn’t have been seeing as she snuck out before this, maybe it was just the destination this time that had her on edge. She didn’t even like going to the parties all the time, no one really liked her and it felt being at parties made her reputation tank more than raise it. At least this time she tried to look like she could fit in, taking another look at the skinny jeans, off shoulder floral print crop top, and black suede heeled booties. The top was tighter than she was used to, in fact the whole outfit was, and for once she did her hair and makeup to match the girls at school, she actually looked like someone her age, or well those that were cooler than her at school. 

Her phone dinged with a picture of a golden retriever, her signal that Wyatt was there and time for her to make her way down the side of the house. Liz slipped her purse across her body, grabbing the wooden wedge as she slipped out the window. She lodged the wedge in place keeping the window open enough to let her back in by the end of the night. Liz looked down to the ground making sure her feet rested on the top of the window on the first floor, before shuffling over to make herself closer to the fence surrounding the house. Once there she easily made her way down it, this stunt normally done in her taller go-go boots. She landed on the grass silently, Wyatt’s arms helping in making her fall quieter in the still night. She smiled up at him brushing the dirt off her knees. 

He waved for her to follow him, placing her on his back once they reached the concrete, stopping her heeled shoes from giving them away. Once a safe distance he placed her back on the ground, “Car’s just a little farther away,” he whispered, stuffing his hands in the pockets of the old leather jacket.

“How did you manage to get the car without them knowing?” Liz asked, a little impressed, rubbing her upper arms, she should have grabbed something with longer sleeves.

“Just borrowed one from Tommy, said I needed it for a project,” he explained, pulling the keys out, “Which means I get it until tomorrow afternoon without any questions.”

Liz shook her head holding back her laughter, “Tommy is too nice to you sometimes Wyatt. What did you agree to give him this time?” She smirked as he held the door open for her, “Not another week of slavery I hope.”

He slammed the door taking his place in the driver’s seat, “A dance lesson. Wants to impress some girl at a cotillion so that’s what I get to do next week.”

“I see no difference Wyatt,” Liz turned on the radio, checking her makeup and hair in the small car mirror, “That boy has two left feet. I should know, I had the bruises after homecoming to prove it.”

He laughed making his way to the main road, “Well then I will endure for us having some unsanctioned fun. When was the last time we did?”

“Hmmm, pretty sure the sophomore summer grounding,” Liz responded, reapplying her lipstick.

Wyatt thought a moment before laughing, “Oh yeah! That was the year you helped the seniors pull off their prank. I still believe you were in the right to help them, the principal deserved it, he was a dick most of the time.”

“Thank you! At least you’re still in my corner for that one,” she flashed him a smile as he kept his eyes on the road, “I would have gotten off Scott free if I didn’t have to put my political statement on the prank, cause I was young and stupid.”

Wyatt looked over to Liz as she adjusted her outfit, “You went with something different tonight?” She looked down, eyes wide, “No, no, not in a bad way. It looks nice Liz,” he focused back on the road clearing his throat, “Still like your normal style but you look really nice. Might have to keep people off of ya.”

She looked away hiding the small blush coming to her cheeks, “I think I can handle myself Wyatt.”

“Oh I know but there might be too many for you to take on all at once. I gotta help you, we’re a tag team you and me.” He pulled up to the party, parking behind a small line of cars along the driveway, the bass shaking the windows. The two looked at each other smiling, hearts pounding to the beat of the music, “Okay we still gotta drive so no hard liquor and max-. What time is it?” 

Liz looked to her phone, “Eleven thirty.”

“Okay so max three drinks with equal or more parts water slash non-alcoholic drinks. Got it?” Liz nodded, Wyatt taking a deep breath, “Alright, let’s do this.”

“Wait,” she grabbed his arm, “What time does our carriage turn into a pumpkin?”

Wyatt thought for a moment, “Three just to play it safe.” The two nodded, performing their secret handshake before stepping out of the car. The lights were dimmed and accented by the flowing colors of a few light fixtures ranging from disco balls to star projectors, the outdoor areas with regular lighting. From the looks of it every one of the upperclassmen were in attendance, including a few recent graduates from the year before, each one a different level of intoxication and high. Wyatt’s eyes scanned the room spotting a few drinking games, varying dance floors, and other games that seemed to be getting started, Liz wide eyed as she took it in.

“Where do we start tonight, Brooks?” Liz asked a smile coming to her face, noticing the few stares the two of them were getting, eyes lingering on her more. “Drinks then dancing?”

“You read my mind,” he smiled pulling her to the kitchen getting their night started. The two bounced throughout the activities separating at times when Liz got held up in conversation or Wyatt decided to try his hand at seven minutes in heaven, he only got lucky two out of the six times he tried. The attention Liz got felt unnerving to her as people couldn’t stop talking to her, pulling her to the dance floor, or offering her drinks. People that never paid much mind to her in school were suddenly acting as if they had been friends forever. A single night where Liz didn’t feel like such an outcast and she was actually enjoying it….until she nearly got thrown into the pool by a football player. Wyatt managed to help pull her away just in time, walking them to a beer pong table.

“Thanks for that,” she yelled, making sure he heard her over the music.

“It’s no problem. That’s the fifth time tonight I’ve had to save you,” he laughed ruffling her hair.

She pushed his hand away, “Oh! So we’re keeping score now? Cause if I recall I’ve saved you from three girls, two boyfriends of said girls, an ex of yours, and yourself from jumping off the roof.”

Wyatt waved her off, “I was gonna be fine and you know it,” he took a sip of his drink, Liz noticing that it didn’t look like the beer they were supposed to be drinking, “You just didn’t want me to take the attention away from you.”

Liz gave a loud laugh, “You were gonna biff it,” she pointed to his cup curious, “Thought no hard liquor tonight?” He looked down to it giving her a sheepish smile, Liz stopping any explanation from him, “Don’t worry about it, I’m on drink two so I’ll stop and drive us home. You can stay with me tonight.”

“Won’t that defeat the idea of us sneaking out though?” Wyatt asked, his body starting to move along to the music.

Liz shook her head, “Nah. We just say you had a hard night and needed a friend. They can’t fault us for that.”

His eyes went wide, “Won’t they think we’re together though? Like together together.” 

She rolled her eyes playfully putting her hand on his shoulder, “Wyatt, the minute they start thinking that is the minute we call them seniors, cause they’re blind as hell.”

The two almost toppled over as Carmina embraced them from behind, “Hey you two,” her blue eyes looking between them, “Can I request you two love birds’ presence on the dance floor?”

Liz rolled her eyes, feeling her cheeks getting warm, “We’re not together, Carmina. Don’t know how many times I have to remind you of that.”

“Then don’t look like you are,” she teased, grabbing their hands, “Come on let’s go dance!”

Liz and Wyatt followed her out to the floor getting lost in the music that played, the two ignoring the time as it passed. Liz had felt herself sobering up as she and Wyatt worked their through more games, conversations, and meeting the new friends Carmina had made at the community college. The three of them had just finished making their way through beating everyone at darts, and even with the slight sway in Wyatt, he was making near dead center shots, collecting the twenty dollar bet against a recent graduate by the time Liz looked to the clock on her phone, eyes growing wide.

She brought the phone screen up to Wyatt, “We gotta go!”

He was ready to laugh her off when he saw the clock reading four in the morning, “Oh fuck!” They left Carmina’s side without a goodbye Wyatt having to stop setting his drink down reaching for the keys in his coat pocket, his fumbling hands dropping them. Liz reached down to get them, a football player snatching them first, “Hey give them here!” Wyatt called out.

“Hey Jason,” their classmate called out, catching the eye of a teammate of his, “Catch!”

“Hey!” Liz yelled running to try and catch the keys before Jason did. His taller frame had him snatching them from the air. “Give those here Jason!”

He smirked, tossing them back to his friend, Wyatt trying to catch them to no avail, “Catch them and you can have them.” The keys were tossed towards Liz again, jumping up to try and catch them, Jason holding her to the ground. 

“Now you’re just playing dirty,” she glared up at him, hands on her hips.

Jason gave her a shrug holding the keys above her, “We can always work out another deal you know,” her eyes narrowed watching as his grey eyes moved up her body slowly, “You don’t have to leave the party just yet.”

“Fuck no,” she tried to jump for them again, Wyatt coming up behind her, “Now give them back!”

Wyatt took the distraction to snatch the keys back, earning a glare from Jason, “Come on Liz let’s get out of here,” Wyatt said pushing her towards the door.

“I won’t be so nice next time Jason! I can promise you that,” Liz called out before leaving the house, Wyatt handing her the keys. “Stupid Jason thinking he can get what he wants just by playing stupid games,” Liz grumbled opening the passenger door for Wyatt, “He’s got another thing coming, cause two can play at that game. Doesn’t even know that I have the power to fail him in math class.”

“Liz,” Wyatt said softly as she started the car, she glanced at him with her brown eyes, “forget about him. He’s just some jerk. Not worth being petty over.”

She sighed putting the radio on low, “You’re right, I just never liked him and tonight didn’t help his case.”

Wyatt gave her a smirk turning his head to look out the window, “That’s no surprise. He obviously wanted to hook up with you so we know what that means.”

Liz furrowed her brow, trying and failing to come up with an answer, “I have no idea actually Wyatt.”

“He wants what he can’t have,” he rolled his head back to face her with a lazy smile, “You won’t let him sleep with you or give him any kind of positive attention and it just makes him more upset and possibly desire you more because normally everyone loves him and agrees to what he wants. But you,” he reached a hand to poke her cheek, Liz grabbing his hand before he could make contact, placing it on the seat, “you don’t. You’re his unicorn, hence his behavior.” 

Liz shook her head, rolling her eyes, “Well he’s never gonna win.”

“Cause you like girls more,” Wyatt nodded, changing the song.

She gave a small laugh, “I like guys too, but it's his personality. I just can’t get past that.”

“And you shouldn’t,” he sat up straighter in the seat, “Liz we’ve grown up together and I know you. So I know that someone like him ain’t gonna cut it.” Wyatt scoffed, running a hand through his hair, pushing it back, “Hell even if there was some clone of me that wasn’t a part of our family circle out there, they still wouldn’t deserve you.”

She chuckled, shaking her head lightly, “You might be a little tipsy I think Wyatt, cause if it was a clone of you that would mean that they are a part of the family circle technically, because they have your DNA.”

“All ‘bout the details with you,” he smiled laughing, “Just like Uncle Raf. Raf,” he repeated, tilting his head, “Weird name to say don’t you think? Raf,” he said slowly shaking his head.

“Yeah it’s a good thing you’re staying with me tonight,” Liz mused, parking the car down the street like he had done earlier. “Alright buddy, here’s how this is gonna go,” she turned to face him, keeping his eyes focused on her, “I’m gonna climb over the fence, let you in. Then, I’ll climb to the window first so I can get you the ladder to come up.”

“Can’t I just climb like you?”

Liz shook her head, “You’re not as quiet like this Wyatt. Speaking of which,” Liz took her shoes off carrying them, Wyatt giving her a curious look, “So we can make less noise.” She and Wyatt made their way to her house trying to stop him from humming too loudly the entire walk there. The fence was easy to scale with Wyatt as Liz’s boost, along with making it to the window, her hand not meeting the inner sill like she should have. Liz looked along the window seeing that he was shut and impossible to open with how she was situated, even on her own it would be impossible. She looked to the ground below her, there was no way that it had come out….at least on it’s own. “Oh no,” she breathed out, that wasn’t a reassuring sign. “Wyatt,” she whispered, “put me down.”

He placed her down, eyes looking her over, “What’s wrong?”

“The window’s locked, could have been Danny, though. He can be a little jerk sometimes,” she pulled him to the back door, “Let’s sneak in the back, but keep quiet okay.” He nodded, following silently as they made their way to the back, Liz testing the door finding it locked. She looked to Wyatt frowning, “I think we’re in trouble Wyatt.”

“Gotta use the front door?” Liz nodded, “Fuck.” Wyatt rubbed the back of his neck, “My idea, I’ll take the heat. Hopefully it’s your mom,” he said shaking his shoulders out.

Liz looked at him confused, “Of course it’d be my mom. Why would you think otherwise?”

“Saw your dad’s car I think,” he pointed towards the front of the house, “Hope it's not him.”

Liz groaned quietly, it was very possible he got that earlier flight in the end, “I hope so too. But if it is him, let me take it okay. I’m used to it.” She put her arm around Wyatt as the two made their way to the front of the house, each preparing for the inevitable punishments. Standing in front of the door they look to each other grabbing the other’s hand, “Remember let me take the heat for this one okay. I convinced you like I do all the time-.”

“Not true I’ve convinced you before,” he interjected.

“How many times were those actually blamed on you though?” 

“Touche,” Wyatt nodded. 

“So I take the blame and hopefully I can convince dad to just let you stay here tonight. Then Aunt Wren and Uncle Wes can’t punish you as much or even find out if we’re super lucky.”

He gave her a smirk, “When have we ever been that lucky, Liz?” Wyatt gave her hand a squeeze, “Let’s do this.” Wyatt opened the door stepping in first, the living room light turning on, their eyes locking with Raf’s narrowed brown eyes, his jaw set, arms crossed, and not alone. Wyatt’s eyes went wide, “Dad,” he squeaked out, “What are you doing here?”

“What do you think Wyatt?” Raf said calmly, “You two are in a lot of trouble,” he pointed to Liz, “You especially young lady. What were you thinking sneaking out?” Liz looked down to the ground briefly gathering herself, while Raf took in her outfit, “And dressed like that. Do you know how worried I was, how worried Wes was with your little stunt. On top of that-.”

“Wasn’t her idea,” Wyatt said standing straighter, the three looking his way, Liz hissing his name under her breath, “It was mine. The whole thing. Liz just didn’t want me to go to the party alone, wanted to keep an eye on me. So you can’t blame her.”

“You drunk, kid?” Wes asked, looking to see if Liz was in the same state.

Wyatt gave a slow shrug, “You both drank? And then decided to drive,” Raf took a deep breath in, “What were you two thinking!” 

“Liz didn’t drink, she stayed sober once she saw me drinking more,” Liz covered her face, Wyatt that’s not how you lie, “She drove not me.”

Raf pinched the bridge of his nose, Wes shaking his head, “Liz, is this true?”

She nodded, “Yeah, one and a half beers at the very beginning of the night with two glasses of water between them. I’ve taken your guys’ advice when it comes to drinking, seriously.”

Wes nodded, “Least you were smart about it.”

“Was it really your idea,” Raf interrupted, eyes staring down at her, “and don’t try to take the full heat for this, Wyatt has to learn his lesson too.”

Liz looked at Wyatt, eyes sad, it was better to lie and make herself the villain, save Wyatt from her dad, but it would make it worse for herself if she just didn’t tell the truth either. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, Wyatt giving a slow nod in understanding, turning to meet her father’s eyes, “It was Wyatt’s idea. I helped with some planning-.”

Raf cut her off, pointing up the stairs, “Room. Now.”

“Dad but you should know that-,” she tried to argue, a sliver of hope that maybe she could lessen the extent of Wyatt’s punishment.

“Room,” his voice was calm and left no arguing, “We’ll talk later.” Liz grabbed Wyatt’s hand giving him a sympathetic squeeze, her eyes meeting his green eyes, “Now Liz.”

Wes’ eyes looked down to their hands noticing how slow they were to let go, “Yes sir,” Liz said, hanging her head making her way up the stairs, sitting in front of her door wanting to hear how much trouble she got him in.

“In your room, no sitting in front of it,” Liz rolled her eyes at her father’s voice, she knew there was no faking him out either. She sat in her room behind the door hoping to hear some of what was being said. It really wasn’t fair to Wyatt to be taking on the lecture, that Liz could handle, he didn’t deserve it. She didn’t have to agree to go with him, but she did and therefore should have taken the lecture and extra punishment, worth it for him to stay on dad’s good side. Not to mention his mom when he got home was going to double down on it. Liz could hear their voices muffled but distinct, Wes interjecting when needed, but Raf did most of the lecturing, her name being tossed in a few times. 

It was an hour before Raf finally stopped his lecture letting Wes and Wyatt go home. Liz let out a slow breath getting up to sit on her bed, listening to her dad’s footsteps making their way to her room. He knocked on the door, waiting for her, “You can come in,” she said softly looking at the carpet, kicking her foot out below her.

Raf entered, shutting the door behind him, pulling the chair from her desk sitting across from her, arms resting on his knees. The two sat in silence for a minute, the tension causing goosebumps to raise on her arms, “Liz,” Raf started, her shoulders hunching over, “what are we going to do with you? It seems like every other week there’s something with you and your mom and I,” he ran a hand through his hair, “well we’re running out of ways to put a stop to this behavior.”

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, I promise,” Liz’s heart falling, holding back the lump in her throat.

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it this time, Liz,” he snapped trying to keep his voice soft, “We just need you to understand that what you’re doing has consequences and one day no one is going to be there to bail you out. We can’t keep saving you. You’ll be an adult in the eyes of the law soon and with your history they won’t go easy on you.” Liz curled into herself more hiding her face as best she could, “I don’t want to see you make mistakes that will affect you for the rest of your life. I know you want to be headstrong, do the right thing, speak up for the underdog, and just be a teenager all at the same time but you have to start thinking about the long term effects.” 

“I’m trying though,” Liz whispered, “I promise you I am.”

“Not hard enough,” she flinched at his words, Raf let out a sigh, “Look I know you want to act like an adult, think you’re one already, but you aren’t Liz,” he placed a hand on her knee, “You just aren’t and that’s why we set these rules and boundaries for you. We aren’t placing them there just because we like to, far from it, it’s because we care about you. You just keep pushing and pushing those boundaries to the limit and,” he took a breath looking away for a moment, “well the next limit for us to take is treating you like a real adult.”

“What,” her voice cracked, “What do you mean?” By his tone of voice she could tell he didn’t mean it in the way every teenager dreamed of. 

“You heard me,” he sat up straight in the chair, his eyes never leaving hers, “Your mom and I will treat you like a real adult. You’ll have to find some way to pay rent, get your own food, and finish school. You’ll be on your own.” 

Eyes going wide Liz pleaded, “That’s-that’s not fair,” her father gave a shrug of his shoulders, “You can’t do that! I’m your daughter, you have to take care of me.”

“You want to be an adult so badly, We’ll treat you like one.”

“You’re bluffing,” she countered, “You’d never just cut me off like that. Mom wouldn’t let you.”

“You really want to put that to the test?” He leaned forward, “Cause that’s our last option with you. There isn’t anything else for us to do other than for us to stop bailing you out when you get in trouble.” 

Liz scoffed, “So that’s my punishment for just sneaking out?” There’s no way mom would allow for that, not after how her mom handled punishments, “Doesn’t seem like it fits the crime honestly, too harsh. Just ask anyone.”

“You’re right, so for tonight’s stunt, your grounding is extended by another two weeks and I’m revoking online privileges, I’m putting up more blocks on all devices. You have to get approval for sites if you need them for school purposes only,” Liz opened her mouth to protest Raf holding a hand up, “Look there is nothing else I can really take from you at this point that wouldn’t have effects into other parts of your life that I want you to focus on.” Raf took a deep breath, “I’m also locking that window and you have a set time frame that you must be home by. No going out anywhere, not even to family unless your mom or I are with you.” Liz let herself relax hearing the new terms of her grounding, I should have brought a notebook out with everything he’s just thrown at me. “You break any and I mean any of these rules or you get in trouble for something else I will not allow for anyone to bail you out. You will be on your own.” He leaned closer to Liz, jaw set and voice low, “Do I make myself clear?” 

Liz’s heart pounded in her chest, feeling the anger starting to burn in her blood. She wanted to tell him no, what he was proposing was unfair and unjust, that a child should not be left to fend for themselves….and yet she knew he had a point. Raf was being strict and sounding unkind in how he presented her options, but there was genuine worry there. She knew that he loved her, he always had, even when he was away he always managed to find some way to show how he was there for her. Why would this time be any different? It was unfair punishment in her eyes still but it must have all come to a head for it to have gotten under his skin this much after the countless times she had been caught for other things. Liz let out a slow breath swallowing her pride, “Crystal sir.”

He nodded leaning back in the chair, running his hands down his face, looking back at her, his face softer. “Come here,” Raf stretched his arms out to her, Liz looking at him suspiciously, “Just want to give you a hug. I missed you.” Liz didn’t move from where she sat, Raf getting up to sit next to her putting an arm around her, “You know I love you right? I always will, mija,” he said softly, “I just worry about you so much, I don’t want to see you hurt. I also- I just want you to have the world open to you. You deserve to take it on and have them all listen whether they like it or not.” He kissed the side of her head, “I just wish you’d be smarter about it like I know you are.”

“Just don’t want me to end up having to make my early adulthood harder than it needs to be like others in our family had,” Liz said looking back to the ground.

“Exactly,” he pulled her closer, “I want you to have it better than we did.”

“I apparently take after Uncle Wes so that may be inevitable,” she moved closer leaning her head against Raf’s shoulder.

Raf gave a small smile shaking his head, “I know we like to make that joke but while it is partially true, you actually take after you mom,” Liz looked up furrowing her brow, “It’s true, you just don’t get to see it. You get your big heart from her, being headstrong, compassionate, and impulsiveness from her.”

“Mom has never been impulsive like I am though,” Liz shook her head, “When she was younger, like way younger, right?”

“Like I said you don’t see it. Now don’t tell her I told you this but her control goes out the window when she has too much to drink,” Liz’s eyes went wide a smile threatened her lips, “She doesn’t get that way too much now but there was a Halloween she broke a man’s nose and beat him for making fun of her height or the time she wanted to spray paint a rainbow on someone’s house for their homophobic comments about her and Wren’s sexuality.” Liz laughed in disbelief, “So see a lot like her. Just have to work on getting her control and you’ll make your mark in the history books.”

“I’ll try, dad,” Liz wrapped her arms around him tightly, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Raf kissed the top of her head, hugging her, “Though please don’t try to test my limits.”

She nodded, “I know. You’ll follow through with it.” Raf patted her back standing, making his way to the door, “Hey dad,” he turned to face her, “How did you even find out?”

“Oh,” he gave her a smile, “Wes wanted to just tuck in his kids, something about having so much time with them while being young, or something cheesy like that. Nothing that our family would understand honestly.”

Liz gave a light laugh seeing his smile, “Oh yeah, totally. Who wants to be cheesy like that with their kids.”

 “Anyway, he saw Wyatt was gone. Called your mom wondering if he came over like he does on occasion when he’s upset. I just got home, saw her phone go off and answered it.” Raf shrugged, “Would have found out either way, was planning on looking in on you guys after I got my stuff settled.”

“Of all nights for Wessy to be cheesy,” Liz whispered to herself, letting out a sigh.

“Now we both need some sleep,” he pointed to the window, “I’ll take care of what we discussed later today. So don’t try to sneak out again this early,” Liz nodded, watching as he left her room closing the door. She sat waiting for the sound of her parent’s bedroom door to close, making a break for her laptop. She opened up the messages connected to her phone seeing if Wyatt had tried to get a hold of her, nothing showing. She quickly typed a message to him, leg bouncing as she waited for a response from him. Five minutes passed before he responded, sending her a video call.

Wyatt had a lopsided smile on his face already changed out of the clothes he was wearing, “Hey trouble maker,” he said laughing.

“Har har. You’re one to talk, Sherlock,” Liz rolled her eyes once, settling her face worry taking over her features, “You doing okay? I know my dad can be a lot and you had your dad getting in on it too,” she rambled, waving her hands getting her thoughts back in order, “Just wanted to see how you held up.”

His face turned serious, taking a deep breath, “You know I think I know how it feels to be short now. Like really understand now.”

Liz let out a snort, “That’s dads for ya, somehow manage to make you feel three feet tall. What was the final verdict on punishment for you?”

“No surprise, but grounded,” he gave a shrug, “Mom was a bit upset about the whole thing, so I got it from her too. I also have no games, so I now have the punishment laptop for school,” Liz gave an exaggerated wince, Wyatt laughing. “I know right? But uh a slightly stricter curfew and manual labor with dad for the duration or until he has nothing left for me to do. I’m sure you got off easier this time Liz since I was to blame. Just a very harsh lecture from Uncle Raf.” 

Liz looked at the desk, pursing her lips, “Wyatt I am….a repeat offender. I am not allowed out of the house without supervision, or well even in the house without someone else being here. Window is gonna be sealed too.”

“But nothing taken away though,” he pointed out, “Better than me.”

Liz’s jaw dropped before laughing, “Excuse me sir but there is nothing left for them to take from me that wouldn’t have consequences in other parts of my life.”

He thought for a moment, “Fair point. Oh you know what dad also told me on the drive home?” Liz shook her head, “He gave me a six out of ten for my sneaking out attempt. A rank, Liz. He ranked my sneaking out ability.”

“Hey, six out of ten isn’t bad,” Liz shrugged, smiling.

He leaned back in his chair with a huff, “You kidding me? That’s a failing grade right there. I gotta do better next time, gotta pass with flying colors like I do everything else.”

Liz shook her head, rolling her eyes, “There will not be a second time.”

“Sure there won’t be Lizzy,” Wyatt laughed, Liz feeling the automatic response to give him a shove, opting to shake her head groaning. When his laughter subsided, he met her eyes with his light green ones, catching the light of the rising sun, “I am glad to see you’ll be okay though Liz. Sorry I dragged you into this, got you in trouble.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she waved him off, “I had a lot of fun tonight, so worth it you know?” 

“Yeah,” he repeated, his eyes getting a far away look, “Worth it.”

“Anyway you should get some sleep and end this call before your mom finds you,” Liz said, “I’ll see you Monday at school,” he nodded. Liz gasped, “Oh also, don’t forget to bring a second meal tomorrow cause we have the test performance that night.”

“Aye aye, captain,” he saluted her, the two laughing, “And you don’t forget the Hot Tamales for me.”

“I know. You took the heat this time so fair is fair.” The two waved to each other, their screens going dark, Liz leaning back in her chair. “We’ll do it again,” she mocked, “In your dreams.”

[queenmylovely]

Save Me

Summary: Ben hardy x fem!reader. A misunderstanding leads to an interesting day with your neighbor, Ben. 

Word Count: 3.8k

Warnings: cussing, only really fluff though 

A/N: Just a little thing I wrote about Ben when I was inspired by swimming this summer. It may or may not be a little miniseries, so if that sounds cool, let me know! I hope you guys enjoy this cute little fic, and any feedback including likes, replies, and reblog are greatly appreciated!

Masterlist 

☆☆☆

Summer was always your favorite. There was the benefit of no school, a perk that stayed with you until this year, as it was your last summer before your last year of college. You were enjoying it as much as possible; road trips with friends, shopping at open air markets, going to concerts, and your favorite, swimming in your parent’s pool.

Ever since you were a kid, you loved the water. Whether it be a pool, lake, river, or ocean (which was your absolute favorite), you loved it. You had spent the past 10 years in and out of the pool at your house once your parents had installed it when you were 11.

As a little kid you had taken swimming lessons at the local pool, but had only gotten far enough to learn freestyle. While you weren’t technically trained, you had spent enough years swimming for hours in your pool that you were a strong enough swimmer to be confident in most any river or ocean. (You still had respect for the water, but knew how to work with it for your benefit.)

As such, you had built up a large capacity for holding your breath. Underwater, you could manage just under a minute if you were holding still. You had built up the tolerance on purpose. Your favorite thing to do while swimming was to sit or lay down at the bottom of the pool and look up to the surface. You loved seeing the rays of the sun shining through the water and how the world was changed by it. Everything was quieter and more peaceful under the surface and the weightless feeling of floating relaxed you more than anything else could.

It was on another of these gorgeous, sunny, summer days that you were planning on swimming once again. You were wearing a polka dot bikini and high waisted black bottoms. Carrying your phone, portable speaker, a glass of water, a summer sweatshirt, your towel, and sunscreen, you walked out of your house and onto the deck. Walking down to the pool, you placed your things on a lawn chair and started applying the sunblock. It was then that you felt his eyes on you.

This past year, someone had moved into the house next door after your elderly neighbors had moved closer to their adult children. He was older than you, but still young; you guessed 28 or 29. Since you were at college during most of the year, you had only caught glimpses of him during your visits home and had only actually met him at the beginning of the summer when he had offered to help you and your parents carry your things inside.

His name was Ben and he was hot, and British. That’s really all you knew about him. Your parents didn’t seem to know much more, other than that he travelled at least once a month, and if they did, you didn’t ask. He was tall enough, blonde, and had beautiful green eyes and from what you could tell, was very muscular.

Over the course of the summer you had slyly watched each other as you listened to podcasts in the sun or swam and he took care of his yard or read in a lawn chair. He usually wore well-fitting t-shirts or muscle tanks and shorts, while you wore jean shorts and tank tops if you weren’t in a swimsuit. The summer clothing brought both of your eyes to each other’s bodies and that was how you knew he was watching you now.

You applied the sunscreen slowly, making sure to get every part of your body. After the sunburn you got last year, you weren’t taking any chances. Refusing to look at him, you did keep your body angled towards his yard so he could easily see you. It was difficult to keep the smirk off of your face as you did. When you were done, you put the light sweatshirt on so your sunscreen could soak in for a second before you got in the water and to be a little covered up.

Still feeling his eyes on you, you looked across the yard and over the little fence to where he was standing on his raised deck and gave him a little wave. You could tell he was a little embarrassed that you had caught him as his cheeks reddened, but he waved back nonetheless.

Grabbing your phone and putting on your most current playlist, you turned the music up and walked over to the pool. Fiddling with the cover, you unclipped it and went to the other side so you could roll it back completely. Once that was done, you hooked it into place so it wouldn’t fall in while you swam. You walked back over to the other side, throwing your sweatshirt onto a chair, electing to walk down the steps instead of diving in.

Once you got to where the water hit your waist, you dunked your head and submerged yourself. You started by just paddling around for a little bit keeping your head above the water just to get used to it. After a few minutes, you grabbed a pair of goggles and started doing laps. You did about five each of freestyle and backstroke (because you didn’t know breaststroke or butterfly) before taking a rest to stand by the edge and look at your phone.

You answered a couple snapchats, sending pictures of you with the pool in the background to let your friends know what you were up to. Once you did that, you changed the music to a playlist you had of 70’s and 80’s rock and did another round of laps. This time when you wanted a rest you just floated on your back, closing your eyes and letting the wind and water move you around. You were close to dozing off when you heard the clatter of metal and stood up.

In the next yard over, Ben had dropped something as he carried it out of his garage. You tilted your neck trying to see what it was but couldn’t.

“You okay?” you slightly yelled over to him.

Looking up quickly at your voice, his eyes found you in the pool and he answered while awkwardly holding what he had dropped, “Yeah, just dropped my croquet set.”

You giggled at what he said and asked, “Do British people actually play croquet?”

“Well, um, yeah I guess we do sometimes. I have some American friends coming over this weekend that wanted to play though, so I guess Americans do too,” he answered.

“Huh. Well, have fun,” you called back with a smile.

“Thanks, have fun with your swim- with your swimming,” he replied, smiling back, albeit a little nervously.

You went back to swimming and he went back to setting up his game.

Deciding to start going to the bottom you grabbed your goggles again. Taking a deep breath you dove to the bottom, turning around quickly so you could watch the surface. It was like a flip in reality. Being completely submerged and looking through the water to the air made it seem like the world was reversed. As soon as you hit the bottom, you started floating back towards the top. As human bodies are buoyant, it was always a struggle to stay at the bottom.

The best way to do so was to go along the side and use that as leverage to keep yourself under longer. Giving yourself a chance to catch your breath, and to appreciate the song that had just came on, you took a deep breath and went back down as soon as the first chorus started.

In his yard, Ben had been setting up the croquet set and humming along with the music you were playing. For a girl as young as you were, he was surprised to hear that you seemed to like classic rock as much as the current pop you had been playing earlier.

When the Queen song, “Save Me,” came on he started singing under his breath and when the chorus started he lifted his head slightly and called out, “Hey, I love this song!”

He waited for a reply, looking over to the pool but not seeing you. Assuming you had just dove down for a second he waited, but when the song got well into the second verse he got worried. Jumping over the little fence that separated the properties, he took a closer look in the pool. He could see you on the bottom, along the side, seemingly motionless and faced away from him. Fearing that you had hit your head on the side, he cursed to himself and pulled his shirt off, kicking his shoes to the side.

Unbeknownst to Ben, you were looking at one of the trees visible in your yard and only about ⅔ of the way through your ability to hold your breath.

Ben dove in quickly, swimming straight for you. As you were focused on the tree, you hadn’t seen him so when he dove in, disrupting the water, you didn’t know quite what you were seeing. Before you could really react, he had reached you and grabbed you into his arms, pulling you to his body and making his way back to the surface.

As soon as the two of you breached the top, you pulled off your goggles and turned yourself in his arms so you were facing him.

“What the hell are you doing?” you asked in shock.

“Y/N, are you okay?” he asked with concern.

“What do you mean ‘am I okay?’ I’m fine,” you replied, confused.

“I thought you were drowning or something,” he answered.

“Drowning? I’m probably a better swimmer you,” you said defensively.

“Well, you were motionless and on the bottom of the pool. Plus, even the best swimmer can have an accident,” he pointed out, sounding a little annoyed at your reaction.

You took his words into consideration and thought about what you had looked like, “I guess you’re right, and I can see how it might’ve looked from above the water... Thank you for trying to save my life, even if it wasn’t actually in danger,” you conceded with a slight smile.

“You’re welcome,” he responded with a small smile of his own, his frustration washed away.

It was only then, after all of the explanations were given and after all of the adrenaline had dissipated that the two of you realized how close you still were. Although you were in water that Ben could stand in, he was still holding you to him with his left arm around your waist and right arm under your arm on your upper back so you were at his same height with both of your shoulders out of the water. You had been gesturing with your arms while arguing, but they had naturally rested on his shoulders when you stopped talking.  

“I’ll, um, put you down now,” he said, staring into your eyes and not yet moving.

“Okay,” you replied, returning his gaze. Your faces were level and his still semi-heavy breath was washing over your face, making you a little dizzy. Slowly, he lowered you to the floor of the pool and you stood on your own, standing on your tip-toes so your chin stayed out of the water.

He started walking towards the steps and you followed, stopping him before he got too far.

“Ben, wait. You’re all wet already, do you wanna just stay and swim?” you asked hopefully.

“Really?” Ben questioned, unsure.

“Yeah, I can show you what I was doing at the bottom of the pool,” you replied with a smile.

“Okay, I guess I am curious about that,” he said, walking back to where you were in waist-deep water.

“Wait here,” you said as you got out quickly and walked over to a big bin full of pool toys and stuff you used when you were younger. You had been looking for another pair of goggles, but upon seeing the pool noodles, you grabbed them too. Knocking the dust off of them before throwing them in the pool, you walked back over to the edge and tossed Ben the goggles.

You leaned down a second to check on your phone and asked, “Are you cool with this music?”

“Yeah, I was actually going to tell you that I liked what you were playing before I interrupted whatever it was that you were doing,” he said sheepishly, but still with a smirk.

You laughed and said, “Thanks,” before moving your phone under your chair where it would be protected. Protected, that is, from water as you suddenly jumped into the pool with a yell of “Cannonball!” splashing water all over the side, and your target, Ben.

As you came back to the top, you wiped the water from your eyes, already laughing as you took in Ben. He was already thoroughly wet from “rescuing” you, but his torso had began to dry off in the summer heat as he stood waiting for you and he was now dripping. He was looking at you in shock, but couldn’t stop his own laughter and he pushed the hair that had been disturbed away from his face and swiped away water from his eyes.

“I can’t believe you did that!” he exclaimed, still laughing.

“Consider it a ‘thanks’ for saving me,” you joked.

“If that’s how you thank someone, I’d hate to see how you get revenge,” he said with a smile as you shrugged. Squinting at you for a second, his eyes got a mischievous glint as he said, “Well, I’ll show you how I get revenge.”

You didn’t have time to react as he used his arms to push a wall of water at you, that forced you back a couple steps and that half of hit your face. You spluttered as you yelled, “Ben! How could you?”

He smirked back but that was quickly washed away with splashes coming from you. Soon enough, the two of you were engaged in an all-out splash war. It wasn’t really fair, though, as his arms were much bigger and stronger than yours which made his splashes and waves bigger than yours.

“Stop! Stop! This isn’t fair!” you shrieked as you laughed.

“All’s fair in love and war,” Ben reasoned, not letting up.

Deciding that you would never win this way, you rushed him, surprising him enough that you could get behind him and jump on his back before he realized what you were doing.

“A-ha! Now you can’t get me!” you said triumphantly, ignoring how strong his body felt pressed against your legs and arms.

Ben just laughed and said, “I don’t think you realize how vulnerable you’ve made yourself.”

“What do you mean, vulner- aahh!” your question turned into a scream as Ben let himself fall backward into the water, forcing you to fall with him.

“Okay, okay,” you said, emerging from the water. “We have to call a truce or this is never gonna end.”

“You’re just saying that ‘cause you know you’re losing,” Ben taunted.

“Possibly. Truce anyway?” you asked sticking out your hand.

Ben grabbed it and pulled, making you stumble forward until you had to look up at him to see his face. “Truce.”

Again, the two of you just stared at each other for a moment before you were able to tear your eyes from his and dropped your hand and walked over to the edge to grab your goggles.

“Do you still have your goggles?” you asked him.

“Yeah,” he said, looking around for a second before seeing them in the water and grabbing them.

“Okay, come over here to the edge and then we’ll swim along it to the deep end,” you instructed. He did as you said and then looked to you for more explanation.

“How long can you hold your breath?” you questioned.

“Umm, I don’t know,” he responded.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out. We’re gonna swim down, and then hold on to the wall to keep ourselves at the bottom. When we get there, look up. Look through the surface and the sun in the water. That’s what I was doing,” you told him.

He nodded to indicate his understanding, you pulled on your goggles and he did the same. Once they were on and comfortable, you took a deep breath and pushed yourself down into the water, him following half a second after. You guys got to the bottom and were able to keep yourselves down there with the wall. He looked at you for a second and you gestured outwards, reminding him what he was supposed to do.

Doing what you had told him, he looked around and saw why you had brought him down there. Even though it was just a pool, there was something otherworldly about being under for so long, like you belonged to the water instead of the air.

Before too long, Ben had to go up to the surface and you followed. As you surfaced, you heard him breathing heavily to catch his breath. As you probably could have been down there twice as long, you were pretty much fine with a couple deep breaths.

“How can you hold your breath so long?” he asked with disbelief.

“I do that a lot. It just takes practice,” you said simply.

“Well, I can see why. It’s… kinda amazing down there,” Ben admitted.

“Isn’t it?” you said, a dreamy look coming into your eyes and a smile to your face. “I love the water. That’s probably pretty evident.”

He laughed brightly and smiled back.

“Ready to go again?” you asked and he nodded.

Taking another breath, you both went down again. This time, as you were looking up, you saw a hummingbird fly above the surface and hover there for a second. You reached out and grabbed Ben’s hand for his attention, pointing with your other one to show him the bird. He looked at it in awe and as you both continued to look, your hands stayed clasped together. It was only when you went back up that they broke apart.

After a couple more trips down, the two of you floated using the pool noodles to relax but before long you suggested sitting in the sun to dry off while it was still out. Having him wait in the pool for a second, you got out and wrapped your towel around your shoulders before dashing inside to grab him a towel too. You held it for him as he got out of the pool.

He walked up to you, and instead of handing it to him, you lifted it around him and draped it over his shoulders, pulling the edges towards the center of his chest and keeping your hands there.

“There you go,” you said in a soft voice, looking more at his dripping chest and neck than his face.

“Thank you,” he replied, causing your eyes to flick to his. He was smiling down at you with something in his eyes that you couldn’t quite place.

“Mhm. Let’s go lie down in the grass,” you said as you picked up your glass of water and phone. “Could you grab my speaker?”

He did, and followed you over to the patch of grass that you chose. You took the towel off of your shoulders and laid it in front of you; Ben followed suit. You stretched yourself out on the towel, laying on your stomach and using your arms to prop your head up. Ben did the same, although he tilted his body so that he was facing you more.

Grabbing your water, you took a drink and then held it out to him, “Want some water? It’s important to stay hydrated while swimming. Most people forget that since they’re surrounded by water.”

“We’re not swimming,” he pointed out.

“It’s still important to stay hydrated,” you countered.

“True,” he said, accepting the glass and drinking some. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

You grabbed your phone from where it was next to you and handed it to him. “Why don’t you show me what kind of music you listen to. I never really hear anything coming from your yard or house.”

“Oh yeah, I guess I’m usually wearing headphones. Side effect of living with roommates for years,” he explained.

“Must be nice to live on your own then,” you reasoned.

“Yeah it is. Lots of freedom,” he agreed, brows furrowed in thought as he was deciding what to play for you. He thought it was probably an important judge of character for you and didn’t want to pick something you would hate.

Finally, he thought of something and used your phone to search for it, pressing play with a slight wince as he looked to see your reaction. He had chosen Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys.

You recognized the first song, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” immediately, bobbing your head along with the tune.

“The Beach Boys. Appropriate for the season,” you acknowledged. “A little more American than what I was expecting.”

“You were playing Queen earlier; they’re a British band. Anyway, good music is universal,” he countered, a little relieved that you seemed to enjoy the song.

“You’re right about that,” you said. The two of you lapsed into silence for a bit, enjoying the music and the feeling of the sun warming up and drying off your bodies. After about 10 minutes, you flipped onto your back so the rest of you could dry off and Ben did the same.

After the two of you got settled, you asked without turning to him, “Why did you leave England?”

He took a second to respond, and you hoped that you hadn’t crossed a line or brought up a sensitive subject. More casually than you were expecting, he answered, “I wanted change. I wanted to see more of the world and America was all I ever heard about growing up. I figured I’d see what it was like for myself.”

“And you liked it enough to buy a house?” you asked incredulously. The U.S. had always seemed so mundane to you growing up. Europe seemed like a dreamy, far-off place that might not even exist, but that you were desperate to see.

“I didn’t actually buy the house, I’m just renting it,” he explained, laughing at your disbelief.

“Oh,” you said, trying to mask the sudden disappointment you felt. It seemed this blonde neighbor boy was already making much more of an impact on you than you expected. “How long are you planning to stay?”

“I’m not sure. Through the summer at least, but I’m not sure after that. I’m waiting to see how some things pan out,” he said, his vague words convincing you not to ask what.

“Well, that’s good,” you said, and he could hear the smile in your voice.

“Why’s that?” he asked, finding himself excited to hear your answer.

“Because,” you replied in a teasing tone. “I’ll have my own personal lifeguard around all summer if I need somebody to save me.”

★★★

Taglist: @somekindof-cheese @gwilyoubemine @deacytits @supersonicfreddie @siriuslovesmarlene @bowiequeen @acdeaky @deakysgirl @sunflower-borhap-boys @deakyfordays @queensilveryrog @happy-at-home @ceruleanrainblues @briarrose26

I just kinda created this taglist so if you would like to be taken off or added, just send me a message or ask!

Reminder that my requests are open! If you would like something in a sort of one shot format/length or blurb, etc. send it in! I’ll write for any of the Borhap or Queen boys (Freddie only platonically), Lucy, Patrick Murray, Gardner Langway and adult!Tim Murphy or possibly any of the other characters these people have played if I know enough about them!

[therainroguefanfiction]

⁂ Eggshells (Jou Tetsuma)

Genre: Crack, Fluff ☁

Word Count: 1,174 ☁

Pairing: Reader x Tetsuma ☁

World: Eyeshield 21 ☁

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Being in a relationship with Tetsuma Jo of the Seibu Wild Gunmen was like walking on eggshells. You always had to carefully think over your words before you said them to him or he’d end up running around town for days without stopping, drink hundreds of gallons of water until he pops, or jump out of bus windows to wake someone up. You also had to set limits with certain things you told him to do. Other than that, Tetsuma was a good boyfriend… if you didn’t mind the fact that he had the personality of a piece of wood. Even so, he’s a good guy, loyal, and a very good listener. Not to mention fast and powerful. His team would take some getting used to, though…

You stood beside Kid, a look of disbelief on your face.

Kid simply sighed, pulling his hat down to cover his face.

Tetsuma, who stood behind the two of you, remained as stoic as ever.

“Y-You’ve got to be kidding me…”

“Hmm, I would have thought you would have been used to this by now, Y/N.”

“Sure, I’ve gotten used to your coaches antics, but this? Isn’t this taking it a bit too far?” you used your hands to help express the blatant surprise that you felt.

Billy “Doc” Horide, Seibu’s coach, was standing just a couple of feet in front of you, his hand resting on the side of a fairly large-sized bull that huffed every now and then. His free hand was holding a rope that was attached to the large animal’s neck.

“I’m pretty sure bulls are not allowed on the football field, Kid!”

He raised his hat just enough so he could stare at you lazily. “You make it sound like I can do something about this.”

“You’re his favorite!”

“Tetsuma’s his favorite,”

“You’re both his favorite!”

Kid sighed, turning his gaze to the short gun-baring man. “And? Why did you take the bull?”

“I couldn’t leave it!” Billy yelled, using the hand that didn’t hold the rope to fire his gun into the air. “They were going to slaughter him!”

You heaved a sigh of frustration as you fell back against Tetsuma’s chest. He looked down at you, his expression unchanging. You brought your hand to your forehead, which was beginning to throb, your eyes set on the large animal. “Where’d you even find something like that around here?”

“It wasn’t easy!”

You sweatdropped, turning around and resting your forehead on Tetsuma’s chest, fist gently hitting him. ‘That implies you went looking!’

Tetsuma blinked, one hand moving to the small of your back and the other on the top of your head. His grip was firm, but not hard. It had been a bit awkward when you first started dating because he didn’t know how to react to you, but he was slowly getting better about it.

Kid glanced at the two of you before returning his gaze to his coach. He was happy for you and Tetsuma, but he didn’t want to show it. “The school’s not going to let you keep it…”

“That’s why we’re gonna hide it!”

“Hide it?” You lifted your head and stared at him in disbelief, hand clenched around Tetsuma’s white tank top. “Where do you plan to hide that?! I’m pretty sure people are going to notice the near three thousand pound snorting bull!”

He opened his mouth to respond when Riku came rushing over, his face panicked. “Coach! The principal is heading the way!”

Billy freaked out, shooting his guns into the air as he danced around.

The bull huffed, stomping his back feet. He was clearly getting agitated by all the noise.

You felt a bead of sweat roll down your cheek as you eyed the creature. “Maybe you should be a little quieter… he’s looking a bit annoyed.”

He was too busy panicking, running around in circles to hear you.

The bull bellowed loudly, eyes turning red as he prepared to attack – and his was staring directly at you! In the blink of an eye, he had broken free of the rope and was charging directly at you. Your eyes widened, body frozen in fear and shock. No one had ever taught you what to do in the case of a raging bull barrelling towards you like a train.

“Y/N!” Kid yelled, running after the bull, but he had noticed too late.

You cried, squeezing your eyes shut as you put your hands over your ears, preparing for the impact – but it didn’t come. You heard the bull make a surprised noise and you slowly peeled your eyes open.

Tetsuma was standing in front of you, the bull lifted over his head. It had gone completely still, eyes wide.

“Y/N!” Kid kneeled beside you, his eyes scanning your body for any injuries. “Are you okay?!”

Tetsuma also looked over his shoulder at you, waiting for your reply.

You swallowed hard, falling to your knees. “Y-Yeah… I-I’m fine…”

Billy noticed the principal closing in on the field. “Tetsuma, run!”

He didn’t have to be told twice. He turned around and took off like a bullet kicking up dust as he went. The principal rounded the corner shortly after, looking at you all curiously.

━━━━━━༻🌧️༺━━━━━━

You huffed as you jogged down the street, head swinging back and forth as you scanned your surroundings. Night had fallen about two hours ago, and you and the rest of the Gunmen had been searching for Tetsuma, who hadn’t returned. You all knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t stop running until he was ordered to do so.

‘Jeez, where did that big oaf go?’ you frowned, leaning against a nearby building to catch your breath. You had been running around town for hours trying to find your boyfriend with no success. You felt exhausted, but you couldn’t give up – just thinking about how exhausted he must feel kept you going.

You caught movement out of the corner of your eye and snapped your head up. “Tetsuma!”

He ran by so quickly that he didn’t hear you.

You groaned, giving chase. You filled your lungs, “TET-SU-MA!”

His speed dropped, head whipping around to land on you.

“STOP!” you ordered, feeling your lungs burning.

Tetsuma dug his heels into the pavement and came to a dead stop. The bull was still held over his head, its eyes swirling and body limp. You could see Tetsuma’s arms shaking from the strain.

You leaned on your knees, breathing heavy as you raised your finger to point at him. “Tetsu… ma… drop tha… t dam… n bull!!”

He did as you ordered, setting the bull on the ground. It took a step forward before falling onto its side, eyes spinning.

Tetsuma frowned as he approached you, large hands resting on your shoulders.

You leaned against him. “Jeez… I’ve been looking everywhere… for you.”

“Sorry,” he murmured, gruffly.

With a sigh, you gently grabbed his face, offering him a gentle smile. “Let’s go home, Tetsuma.”

He nodded, bringing you into his arms.

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[lunanightingaleart]

“I Wanna Be Free” (A Yancy Fanfic)

Start With Chapter 1

Chapter 2: Visiting Day

“Merrisa, where did those bruises come from?” 

“Oh, this? I fell on my jog in the park, completely spaced on tying my left shoe and I tripped right there in front of everyone, so embarrassing.” Addison stared at her best friend, wishing to trust her words, but finding a gut feeling speaking loudly. 

“Meri, that doesn’t look like you just fell. You’ve got one scare in the jaw, and...aren’t you hot? You’re wearing long sleeves and it’s like 85 degrees out here.” 

“Not really, you know I’m always cold. Besides, this is his jacket~! It’s so comfy and smells like him, I just couldn’t bring myself to take it off.” She stared at Merissa, chewing her lip with an exhale of her nose. 

“Alright, but you promise you’d tell me if anything was going on right?” 

“Aw come on Willow~ You know I’d never hide anything from you~” With every visit there was a noticeable change in Merissa. Whether it be she grew quieter, or flinched at any sudden loud noise, or sudden movement towards her. The visits grew further apart, until Addison got text messages constantly about rescheduling their hangouts. One night, Addison had enough and decided she was going to go and give Merissa a surprise visit to her and her fiance’s home. She had her best friend’s favorite food inside of her bag, along with Addi’s birthday pocket knife she got from Merissa. Just in case, she grabbed a second one on her way out in case of emergencies. She figured she wouldn’t need it, but a part of her did feel a tight lump in her stomach. She figured it was just her worrying about her best friend. Upon walking up to her friend’s door, she sent a text message to her.

‘Hey girl, you home?’ As she waited for her to answer, she heard muffled screaming from the inside. At first, she figured it was just the television, but the tightness in her stomach didn’t stop. Checking the door, she noticed it wasn’t locked, and went inside to check. She figured if it was nothing, the worst that would happen is Merissa would give her a stern talking to for just entering without any warning. Addison followed the sound and found it was coming from their bedroom. It didn’t sound loving in the slightest, much more like they were at each other’s throats. A large crashing sound startled her, and she ran to the door quickly.

“Stupid Bitch! Next time I say something, you listen! Worthless, you’re lucky I’m marrying you. No one else would even give you a second glance, and here I am giving you a place to live and a ring on your finger! You should be praising me!” She heard Merissa scream, and Addison ripped the door open.

“Meri!” Her friend was on the floor, wearing nothing but a tank top and underwear. Her entire body was covered in bruises old and new, and the floor was scattered in broken glass from the mirror and picture frames scattered across the room. Her fiance was standing above her, gripping a chunk of her hair and now looking to Addison with rage. 

“Who the hell let you in!? Get the fuck out of my house!” Addison didn’t move, looking to Merissa who had tears streaming down her face. 

“It’s fine Willow, just forget you saw anything. Okay?”

“Meri…”

“Listen to your friend, otherwise I’ll have you arrested for breaking and entering.” Addison felt something in her chest; heavy heartbeats in her head as she began to see everything in red. Dropping her opened bag on the ground, she went on a rampage. It all became a blur, screams filling the home. 

“Addison stop! STOP IT!” She could hear her friend begging, but she couldn’t bring herself to. This man deserved everything that was coming to him. She finally stopped when she heard police sirens outside. Underneath her was a barely conscious bloody and bruised man. His arm was twisted in a way that had to be shattered, his nose was not only bent in a weird way, but was blue and bloodied. Looking to her hands, she was holding the pocket knife Merissa had given her for her birthday. It was covered in blood, along with her skin. Slowly crawling off the body, she dropped the knife to the ground and looked to Merissa, who only whimpered in the corner looking to her with fear. 

“Police! Get down! Put your hands where I can see them!” The blue and red lights flooded her vision as she felt her face hit the floor. She closed her eyes in defeat, only to suddenly open them again. She woke from her dream, staring at the bottom of the bunk bed. It’s been a few weeks since she entered the state penitentiary, and she was starting to get sick of it. Sure it was better than what she imagined a jail would be, but after a few weeks it was really getting old. She wanted to walk in the park near her home, or go to the little coffee shop next to the botanical garden. She just...missed her home. 

“Hey Addi, hurry it up.” She glanced over to find Tiny standing at her cell door. 

“Today’s visiting day.” Once she slipped on her prison shirt loosely over her tank top, Addison walked out with Tiny to the courtyard. She had to admit, the only thing that kept her sane in this place was The Family. Bam Bam weirded her out with the amount of shives he had on standby, or how many guards he’d stab with them, but otherwise he seemed alright. She really didn’t drink anything from Hank’s toilet, as despite everything she couldn’t bring herself to go anywhere near that damn toilet. But Tiny and Jimmy The Pickle were alright. Turns out Jimmy is actually a sweetheart, just has a short fuse with idiots. Out of everyone she had to admit her favorite was Yancy. He was a total Broadway nerd, loved dancing and humming. 

“There she is~!” Speaking of Yancy. Addison turned only to have an arm suddenly wrap around her shoulders. She was being noogied, and her natural response was to grab the hand, twist it, and flip the body over herself onto the ground. A couple of the prisoners gasped as Yancy was now on the ground, coughing as his spine hit the ground. He suddenly grinned and let out a chuckle.

“Whoa, feisty~”

“Sorry, don’t sneak up on me like that.” She offered her hand to him to help him up. With her help he got up with a big grin. 

“How youse liking it here? Pretty good, huh?” She gave a soft smile.

“Oh, yeah, it’s pretty good here. No wonder you don’t want to leave.” He nudged her smiling. 

“So youse get it~! Took youse long enough, eh?” She rolled her eyes. She couldn’t tell him she wanted to leave. The guy was so dead set on staying in prison for the rest of his life, that and...she didn’t wanna see that smile ever leave his face. 

“So today’s visiting day?” His eyes clouded a bit, but he kept the smile on his face. 

“Oh, hah, yeah. A fews of us get visits every third sunday. It’s...pretty great.” He stared at the ground for a second, before looking around and then back up at Addi. 

“So what about youses? Youse got someone comin to visits you?” It shouldn’t have sunk so deep with her what he said, but for a good moment, she felt fear slowly run through her. Did she? Who would come and visit her? Would Merissa? Was she afraid of her after what she did? Did she hate her? 

“I...I don’t know.” Her voice grew soft, glancing at the ground as they entered the courtyard. 

“Hey...It’s okays.” Yancy slowly set his hand on her shoulder, shaking her slightly with a friendly nod. 

“Youse always got us.” Yancy’s words gave her a soft comfort, which relaxed her shoulders. The whole family went to the courtyard, and some immediately went to shoot some hoops. Addison sat back and just stared at the sky, watching the clouds roll by. She listened to a few names get called through, and noticed Yancy didn’t seem to even bother listening. He was doing the same thing she was, just staring at the clouds. 

“Hey Yancy, you’ve never told me what you're in here for.” The smallest flinch grabbed her attention, and she noticed his eyes darken. 

“That’s...a very difficult topic. Youses got no clue what I’ve dones to get here.” She leaned forward a bit, staring up at him.

“Well its prison, try me.” He sighed softly. 

“...I murdered my parents. Theys weren’t bad people, my ma was very coddling and caring. My dad didn’t understand my loves for musicals and why funny accent, but he wasn’t a bads guy. Well there was an incident, and one night I went and had…a momentary relapse in judgements. I remember suddenly both of thems dead, and the police barging through the door. Well, since then I’ve been here. So, this is home.” She stared towards Yancy with a shocked expression. 

“...Look, I’m not going to say it wasn’t your fault or that you didn’t do anything bad, because you did, but I will say you’re doing good for being here.” He looked to her with a soft expression. 

“You’re atoning for what you did, and instead of trying to be in denial and saying you’re innocent, you know you’ve done wrong. That’s the best I think you can do in that sort of situation.” He smiled brightly.

“Exactly! See? That’s exactly why I’m not trying t’ leave this place. I still have a lots to atone for befores I could ever consider being out there.” Yancy almost seemed relaxed now that he told Addison what he was thinking. Slowly resting her hand on Yancy’s arm, she smiled softly 

“It’s fine to atone for what you’ve done, just...make sure you aren't afraid of the world out there. It’s not as scary as you think.” He let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head while still looking to the ground.

“Addison Willow, you got a visitor.” She flinched and then quickly got up. She had a visitor, really? Looking to Yancy, he smiled and gestured for her to go, and she did just that. Entering the room she paused for a moment, slowly going over to the chair and seeing Merissa sitting there. She picked up the phone slowly.

“...Hey, you came to see me?” Merissa looked to the side, and sighed.

“Yeah, look I know you were protecting me, but you really scared me back there. I mean, Willow you stabbed him! You broke his arm, and his nose, and he could’ve died!” 

“Well you could’ve died! That fucker was beating you Meri, he could’ve seriously killed you!”

“But he didn’t!”

“That’s not an excuse!” She slammed her hand down on the table. Sighing, Addison forced herself to calm down. 

“Look, I know I shouldn’t have taken it to such extremes...but I don’t deny that he had it coming. I’m...gonna be in here for a while. You can hate me if you want...but that bastard deserves what I did to him.” They sat in silence for a bit, before Merissa sighed.

“I don’t...hate you. I could never hate you Willow. Just...please, behave while you're here. Maybe they’ll give you parole on good behavior?” Addi scoffed.

“I wish I could get out of here faster. I’ll see you next visiting day?” 

“You betcha, love you bestie.” She hung up, and went back into the courtyard. Looking around, Addi noticed Yancy was gone. 

“Hey, Sparkles. Where’s Yance?”

“Oh, he doesn’t really get visitors. He probably went back to his cell.” It never occurred to her that he might not get any visitors. He was alone on Visiting day? Well, that can’t happen. She thanked Sparkles, and then quickly went back into the prison.

“Now just where are you going?” Murder-Slaughter asked friendly.

“I had my visit already, and I’m kinda tired. I’d love to go back to my cell.” 

“Well alright, just as long as you promise to behave.”

“Wouldn’t dream of misbehaving sir.” She got back into the Prison, slowly looking around before heading towards the cells. She wondered if Yancy was doing okay by himself, maybe he just wanted to be alone. That’s when she heard it, his singing voice echoing through the halls. 

“The outside world recoils in fear, Thinking if they slip up, they'll get locked up in here. You're killing yourself to make ends meet, while I'm workin' on my tan and kicking up my feet.” Following the voice, she noticed he sounded almost melancholic. She silently walked towards his cell, listening to him sing his own song. Peeking slowly, she saw his back towards her. He was sitting on his bed and kicking his foot off the side of the bed. 

“I got a trash pedigree, but in here I'm bourgeoisie. I never think about the world beyond, then I'd recall how I killed my mom. No! I don't wanna be free! Not the life for me, No! I don't wanna be…” He suddenly stopped, turning his head and noticing Addison standing there. 

“Hey, watchu’s doin out here?” His voice was drained of any joy that he usually had. Addison slowly walked into his cell.

“Visiting hours are almost over, I...I heard you didn’t...that you don’t get…”

“Visitors? Who would come visits me? I did a lot of bad things after all.” Addison walked over and slowly sat on his bed. 

“...I liked our song. You’ve got a nice singing voice.” His eyes slowly went up and met Addison’s.

“Hey, thanks...I’ve been trying to revise it with your name in the song. Since youses part of the family now.” 

“You don’t have to, but...I would love to hear the whole song come together.” He broke a small smile out, nodding.

“I could teach youes the dance. What do ya says?” Addison slowly rubbed her neck.

“I’m not...a good dancer. I’ve got two left feet.”

“That don’t stop the others~ How’s about I teach ya’s?” Her cheeks turned pink.

“Teach me? How to dance?”

“Why not?” For the rest of the time they had, Addison and Yancy chatted together about whatever they could think of. It seemed the two successfully broke a few walls down, and relaxed amongst each other. However, once lunch was one, the two were escorted to the cafeteria, where the rest of the family seemed to smile in their direction and then go back to their lunches. Yancy looked to Addi with that bright grin on his features again.

“So’s….Lunch?”

[eleventhdoctorsangel]

Can’t we be seventeen

Summary: This is the story of the future king ben’s little sister. A princess who is quite different from the others. While the other princess's would wear pastel colors she wore dark colors. While the others trying to find their true love she was worried about the future of the kingdom. Not that she didn’t want to find her true love because she did. She just wasn’t sure if her true love was in the kingdom or the isle of the lost.

Evie literally was almost dragging to her and Mal’s dorm. It was easy to see how excited she was but it was harder to tell from Mal if she was excited or not. “So why did you offer to show us where are our dorm was?” Mal asked. “Well if I didn’t I would have to spend time with Ben and Audrey. Audrey hates when I interrupted her time with ben which is all of the time.” I said. “But he’s your brother why would she have a problem with you spending time with him?” Evie asked. “Well Audrey has always had to be the center of attention and if it’s not on her then she makes it about her. So I just have gotten use to not being able to spend much time with my brother anymore. She honestly demands so much of his attention I feel like I’ve been doing more of the royal stuff than he has.” I said. “She sounds like a royal pain.” Mal said. “She is.” I said laughing. “Y/n I noticed you dress differently than the other princesses why is that?” Evie asked. “Oh the pastel colors are not really my thing. I mean I still wear yellow dresses from time to time but I really prefer to wear darker colors.” I said. “I like you.” Mal said. “Well here we are girls.” I said as we walked up to their dorm. Mal opened the door and the three of us walked into. “Wow!” Evie said as she and Mal looked around the room. I could tell that they probably didn’t like all the pink that was in the room. I already made plans to change their room if they wanted anything different in their room same with Carlos and Jay. “This place is so amaz.” Evie said before Mal interrupted her. “Gross.” Mal said. “I know right? Amazingly gross.” Evie said. “It’s all the pink isn’t. if you two want different bedding or anything else just let me know and I’ll get it for you same goes for the boys.” I said. ”I’m going to need some serious sunscreen.” Mal said. “Yeah.” Evie said. “E.” Mal said pointing to a window that was open. Her and Evie went to close the curtains. “Phew that is much better.” Mal said. “Well I should let you two get settled. Now is there any special request that any of you two want?” I asked. Evie opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it. “Evie it’s ok whatever it is that you want I promise that I will try my best to get it for you.” I said. “A sewing machine?”  Evie asked. “Of course. With dark blue colored fabric?” I asked. Evie smiled and nodded. “You got it. Mal is there anything I can get for you?” I asked. “Not anything that I can think of right now.” Mal said. “Alright if you change your mind let me know and if there anything that the boys need please let me know.” I said. Both of the girls nodded. “I’ll see you two tomorrow.” I said and left. I went ahead and started to look for the perfect sewing machine that Evie would like. I already managed to find the perfect fabric for her. It took a little longer but I finally found a sewing machine that I thought Evie would really like. I paid for everything and gave instruction to take everything to Evie and Mal’s dorm. I made back home I just hope that mom and dad wouldn’t question where I was. When I walked in the house it was quieter than normal. I shook it off and made my way to my room so I could take off my shoes. Once I got to my room I went over to my bed sitting down and took off my shoes. I got up from bed and went to look for anyone. I went to go see if Ben was in his room. I knocked on his door. “Come in.” I heard ben said from the other side of the door. I opened the door and walked in. “There you are.” Ben said as I walked in. “Where’s mom and dad?” I asked as I sat down on his bed. “They decided to do date night tonight. Where have you been?” Ben asked. “I was making sure that the girls were comfortable and if they needed anything. Evie wanted a sewing machine. So I went out and got her one and some fabric. It should have already been dropped off at their dorm.” I said. “How did they like the dorm?” Ben asked. “I think the only thing they didn’t like was all the pink. I’m thinking of getting different bedding for them.” I said. “That’s great.” Ben said. “You know it would be easier if you would help out.” I said. “I know. I will I promise.” Ben said. “Where have I heard that before.” I said. “I know that I haven’t been very helpful but I plan to keep my promise this time.” Ben said. “Until Audrey forces you to change your mind.” I said. “I’m not going to let her change my mind this time.” Ben said. “I’ll believe that when I see it. I’m going to go take a bath.” I said getting up and walked out of his room. I went back to my room grabbing a tank top and a pair of shorts going into my bathroom. I grabbed a towel and put it on the toilet seat. I sat the warm water and waited as the bathtub to fill. Once the tub filled with the amount of water I wanted I turn off the water. I took off my dress, underwear and bra. I got in the water and soaked in the warm water. I washed my hair and body. I stayed in the water for about twenty minutes. Once I got out I grabbed the towel from the toilet seat and wrapped it around me. I went over to the bathroom counter grabbing my brush and started to brush my hair. Once I was down I brushed my teeth. Then I put on my Pj’s. I grabbed my dress from the ground and my towel.  I put them in my dirty clothes and put them in my dirty clothes hamper. Once I left my bathroom and went back to my room I saw mom sitting on my bed. Which made me jump. “Gees mom are you trying to give me a heart attack.” I said putting a hand over my heart. “Ben told me what you did for the evil queen’s daughter.” Mom said. “All I did was get her a sewing machine and some fabric.” I said. “Sure it starts with a sew machine but what else will that turn into.” Mom said. “Mom can you just give them a chance please.” I said. Mom let out a sigh. “Ok I will try but I’m not to sure about your father.” Mom said. “Thank you mom.” I said. “Have you ate yet?” Mom asked. I shook my head. “Go eat please.” Mom said. 

I left my room and handed to the kitchen. When I walked in the kitchen and saw Mrs. Potts. “Oh hello dear. I haven’t seen you ate all today.” Mrs. Potts said. “Yeah I’ve been busy making sure that the new kids where settled. Evie the evil queen’s daughter asked for a sewing machine and some fabric so I’ve been out getting that for her.” I said. “That sweet of you dear. Are you hungry?” Mrs. Potts said. “A little. I’ve been so busy I guess I forgot to eat.” I said. “Well sit down dear and I’ll whip you up something.” Mrs. Potts said. “Thank you Mrs. Potts.” I said sitting down on one of the bar stools at the island. “You’re welcome dear.” Mrs. Potts said as she started cooking. After about ten minutes she sat a bowl of tomato soup and grill cheese with a glass of apple juice in front of me. “Eat up dear.” Mrs. Potts said. I nodded and started to eat what she had made for me. “How do you think those kids will do dear?” Miss Potts asked. “I think they will do well. I don’t believe that they will be like their parents but it seems like I’m the only person who believes it.” I said. “You mean Audrey.” Mrs. Potts said. I nodded. “That girl needs a good smack to be put in her place.” Mrs. Potts said. I nodded. “Well why don’t you go get some sleep dear. You have school in the morning.” Mrs. Potts said. I took one last drink of my juice and hopped down from my chair. “Thanks for the food Mrs. Potts.” I said. “Oh you’re welcome my dear. Good night.” Mrs. Potts said. “Good night Mrs. Potts.” I said and walked out of the kitchen back to my room. I walked into my room turning off the lights leaving the bed side lamp still turned on. Once I got under the covers I turned off the lamp and went to sleep. 

I woke up to knocking at my door. “Come on sweetie wake up. It’s time to get ready for school.” Mom said. I sat up from my bed and stretched. I got up from bed and went to go pick out a dress to wear from the day. I chose a simple dark purple dress with black boots to wear. I sat the dress and boots at the foot of my bed and headed to my bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. Once I was done I put my hair into a high pony and left my bathroom going back to my room. Where I put my dress on then went to go make my bed. I went and put on my boots. I grabbed my bag and left my room to go eat breakfast. I saw that Ben was already in the kitchen eating. “Morning sis.” Ben said as I went to grab a bowl for some cereal. “Morning.” I said pouring some cereal into my bowl and adding some milk. “So what other things do you think they like?” Ben asked. “I don’t know maybe if you didn’t let Audrey drag you away maybe you can find out on your own.” I said. Ben gave me a look. “You know I’m right ben.” I said. “Yeah I know but what am I supposed to do?” Ben asked. “Maybe tell her to back off.” I said. “Nicely.” Ben said. “Alright tell her to please back off.” I said. Ben let out a sigh and looked at his watch. “Come on. We don’t want to be late.” Ben said. I quickly ate my cereal and put my empty bowl in the sink running some water into. I grabbed my bag and followed Ben out and to school.