#and he says you .. you ... and i frown apologetically and say That bad huh ? well we can put on another. and he cant even say words anymore

[holdmytesseract]

daryl dixon x fem!reader

🪶 part four

warnings for this part: swear words, some slight hurt, fluuuuff! teasing, inexperienced & insecure!daryl, thirst? humor?

word count: 3,9k

a/n: some of you might say finally after reading this chapter, tehe...🤭

[ 🪶 part three ]

masterlist 🪶 EoH Masterlist

LITRM Masterlist 🪶 Daryl Masterlist

"Daryl!" You yelled; watching him drive towards the gates. "Daryl! Wait!"

But it was too late. You were too slow and unable to catch up. All you could do was stand there and watch him disappear in the woods; heart sinking. "I-I didn't kiss him..." you panted in a quiet voice; feeling like the biggest idiot on this planet. You never intended to hurt him. Never.

A laugh slipped past your lips at your friend's really bad joke, and you gently leaned over to bump Mike's shoulder with yours. The man laughed along with you; shaking his head. Then it got quiet between the both of you. Eyes meeting, you held a soft smile, while Mike gazed deeply into your orbs. The atmosphere suddenly shifted around you. Got more tense. Heated. Another beat of silence passed, in which the man wetted his lips, and cupped your cheek in his soft, warm palm. Before you could say something, he leaned in; getting closer and closer to your lips.

It took your brain a hot second to catch up on what was actually going on, but once it did, you instantly turned your head away - just in time. "Mike... W-What are you doing?" Mike swallowed hard; blinking, then moved away from you a few inches. He cleared his throat. "Apologies, I... I just thought w-we...," he tried to explain; drifting off. "That, uh, we had a moment and that there was something between us..." You shook your head and gave the man an apologetic, uptight smile. "No, no, there's not. I'm sorry I've been apparently sending wrong signals. I didn't mean to..." "O-Oh, okay..." The blond haired man beside you nodded; clearly a bit sheepish and disappointed.

"May I, uh, ask why not?" He spoke up after yet another moment of silence. "Well, because...," you started and pulled your knees up to your chest to hug your legs. "It feels... wrong. A-And I'm sorry to say this and I don't mean to hurt you, but... You're not my Prince Charming."

Mike nodded. "I see... You're in love with someone else..." "Yeah..." You pressed your lips together into a thin line in an attempt to give him another apologetic gaze. "There's, uh, there's a different man in my life."

The man beside you eyed you thoroughly; picking at his nails. "Why aren't you with him then? Life's too short to not be with the people we love. Especially now..." You huffed out a laugh. "You sound like my friend... She said that, too." "See? So why don't you take your 'Prince Charming' and never let him go, huh?" You shrugged your shoulders with a sigh. "It's not that easy, I'm afraid. I... I can't quite read his signs. They are... blurred and confuse me." "You have to talk to him then." You sighed again. "W-Well, that's not easy either. He's very... reserved and 'shy'. Words aren't his strong suit. Gestures are." Mike frowned. "Gestures?" You smiled as your brain showed you the memory again in which Daryl had almost kissed you. How close you were. How you could feel his warmth radiating off him. How safe you had felt in his proximity.

"Yeah, gestures..." Before you could sink too deep into a romantic daydream, you turned your head to face Mike with a smile. "He's very... selfless and has a heart of gold underneath the tough surface. He cares about the people he's decided to let into his life and is very protective."

Mike frowned again, then blinked; "Hold on a second..." having a guess all of a sudden. "But we're not talking about that idiot who stormed the stable today and punched me into the face without reason..."

Oh...

You swallowed; cheeks tinting red as you blushed hard. "Y/N... Please tell me we don't..." You fumbled with your fingers, "W-Well..." and Mike rolled his eyes. "Damnit, really? You're in love with that... redneck klutz? You deserve so much better, you know."

Those had been the wrong words Mike had chosen. You felt offended; not liking at all that he insulted Daryl like that. Given the fact that he didn't even know him properly. Sure, the archer's move earlier probably wasn't his most glorious moment, but he had his reason.

You instantly shook your head and stood up. "No. I don't deserve better, because Daryl is the best. I don't want anyone else. He's the man I chose and I love him." You sent Mike a cold glare; shaking your head again. "You have no idea. You don't even know Daryl. You have absolutely no right to talk about him like that. We're done," you stated and walked away; ignoring Mike's apologies and his pleading words for you to stay.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," you cursed underneath your breath while you hastily packed your things. "I'm such an idiot." Tears blurred your vision as you threw your stuff messily in your backpack. You were afraid of losing Daryl now entirely - something you definitely couldn't bear. You loved him for fuck's sake, and it was more than overdue that you were going to tell him just that.

The dirt bike you had found a few years ago helped you to get rather quick from Hilltop to Alexandria. Not before leaving a note and thorough instructions for Ezekiel on how to tend to the injured mare, though. She was way better now but still your patient. But you also knew that she was in good hands with the king. He knew what he was doing, after all.

You arrived at the gates of Alexandria around midday; hoping that it wasn't too late. Hoping that Daryl was even here... You parked your bike and got immediately greeted by Michonne who was on watch.

"Hey, Y/N," she greeted you with a smile; looking down at you from the watch tower. "Mich, hey," you gave her a small smile in return. "What brings you here?" You swallowed hard; nervously fumbling with the fabric of your backpack. "W-Well, uh... Is... Is Daryl here?" An immediate smirk spread on her lips. "Ah, I see," she started and nodded. "He is, yeah. But he seemed to be in a very bad mood this morning. Haven't seen him around since he returned." You squeezed your eyes shut; feeling regret weighing down heavily on your heart.

Yeah, that's 'cause of me. I screwed things up, you wanted to say, but decided against it. You didn't want to explain this to Michonne. Not now. You had to make it up to Daryl first.

"I think seeing you will cheer him up." She was still smiling. "I'm not so sure of that," you mumbled under your breath, gave your friend a nod and turned to walk into the direction of his home. "Thanks, Mich!" You called over your shoulder and quickly made your way to the house he shared with another good friend. You took a deep breath, walked up the steps and knocked at the door. A few moments passed, before a familiar face opened the door... Carol. The moment she saw you, the woman's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"H-Hey, Carol..." A blush instantly formed on your face - out of embarrassment. According to her body language and your awareness of her being Daryl's platonic significant other, you had a feeling that she knew what happened.

"I-It's not what it looked like, I swear!" You immediately tried to explain yourself. Carol shook her head. "He didn't tell me what happened. He's shutting me out. But whatever it was... Can't be good." You sighed. "It was a misunderstanding... I... I hurt him unintentionally and I didn't realize. Please let me in... I... I can't lose him. I have to get things right. I have to make it up to him." The gray haired woman looked at you intensely for quite a few moments, before she nodded. "Alright. But you won't leave until you two finally settled this. You two love each other, so act on it. I'm sick and tired of your cat and mouse games." She stepped aside to let you in. You gave her a thankful smile. "I promise."

After Carol showed you the way down the stairs to reach his basement apartment, you stood in front of the wooden door. You were beyond nervous - and admittedly quite a bit anxious; heart running so fast as if it had to win a marathon and stomach feeling sick of nervosity. But you had to do it. No, you wanted to do it. You just hoped everything turned out well...

Taking a deep shaky breath, you knocked.

Mere seconds later echoed Daryl's voice through the closed door. "Whaddaya want, Carol?! I told ya I dun want to see anyone! Jus' leave me the hell alone!"

You squeezed your eyes shut; cursing under your breath.

"It... It's me, Daryl...," you whispered against the door; unsure if he was even able to hear you.

There was coming nothing from the other side. For what felt like minutes. No shuffle, no answer - not even a peep.

Until the door suddenly got ripped open, almost causing you to stumble forwards. "Whaddaya want? Fuck, what are ya even doin' here? Duncha got better things to do?" His voice wasn't loud, but it was deep and kinda dark. The cold expression on his face and the anger, hurt and sadness in his eyes sent a shiver down your spine, and your heart clenched. You never wanted this to happen. Never.

"I... I want to talk to you." He scoffed. "Yeah? Well, but I dun want to talk to ya." You sighed. "Please... Just... Just give me a chance to explain. Just listen." Daryl huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. You took that as your sign to continue.

"I figured out you saw me and Mike yesterday evening - and I'm so sorry you did. It gave you the wrong impression and-" "The wrong impression? Ya kissed 'im. Not much wrong to interpret," Daryl shot back in a hurt voice. "I came ta Hilltop yesterday, 'cause Carol made me realize that ya deserve clarity. I was a damn coward after tha' mission. Jus' fleein' from you 'n ignoring ya. Ain't fair. So I drove my idiotic ass to Hilltop to finally bite that damn bullet 'n tell ya I like ya a lot." The archer scoffed again and shook his head. "Should've stayed in the woods where I belong. 'M better on my own."

Tears pricked your eyes at his words; heart clenching once more. He wanted to admit his feelings. He wanted to open up his heart for you - and you screwed it up.

"Y-You... You wanted to tell me that you...?" The man across you merely nodded; the heartbreak written all over his face.

And your heart shattered. Quite a few silent tears streamed down your face. You had to explain. You had to get this right again...

"D-Daryl, I... I didn't kiss him."

The archer's eyes instantly jumped up to meet yours. A frown formed on his forehead. "Wha'?"

You shook your head; tears still falling. "I didn't kiss Mike. I know it looked like it, b-but I didn't. I swear. He wanted to kiss me. He was the one initiating it, but I pushed him away," you explained with a shaky voice. "I did not kiss him. Believe me, please."

Daryl blinked; needing to process this whole new information first. "Y-Ya... Ya truly didn't...?" Again you shook your head vehemently. "No, no, I didn't! I'd never lie to you. I didn't kiss Mike. He... He was the wrong man."

Your last sentence piqued Daryl's interest. "Wrong man?" He asked hoarsely. You nodded and took a few slow, cautious steps closer to him. "Wrong man." He noticed you're getting closer and suddenly he couldn't breathe; heart constricting.

"A-And who is the right m-man?" The archer literally croaked out. You smiled softly and hesitantly (not to scare him off and give him enough time to reject) placed your hands on his chest to feel his rapidly beating heart underneath your palm. "Isn't that obvious? I thought you knew the moment you looked into my notebook?"

Daryl swallowed hard; trying to keep it together. It wasn't easy, though. Especially not with you being so incredibly close to him. A cocktail of nervosity, adrenaline, love and insecurity pumped through his veins. "W-Well, I-" It was enough said, you decided. It was time for actions.

So, you interrupted him; stood on your tiptoes and pressed your lips on his - for real this time - for a chaste, gentle kiss.

A literal firework exploded within Daryl. It's been over a decade since he lastly kissed someone, and the first time he kissed someone he truly loved. Not just a teenage girl who wanted into his pants. No, this was different. It felt different. It was like a whole new world had opened up for him. Like he was seeing clearly for the first time in his life.

The feeling quickly vanished again, though, as you slowly pulled back. He had been too overwhelmed to kiss back. A short moment of anxiety hit him; thinking that you were thinking he had pushed you away now again because he didn't reciprocate the kiss. His brain already worked at lightning speed. He wanted to say something; explain himself - but then he saw you smile and that anxious thought got erased again.

"Mhm, yeah..." You whispered; fingers curling into the fabric of his black sweater. "That's the right man. Definitively."

Your words caused his heart to skip a beat. Without thinking and just acting on his feelings, he dipped his head to kiss you again - only to realize that he had actually absolutely no idea what he was doing. He had no real experience and no game - and that made the archer panic a bit. He didn't know if he was doing this right; didn't know where to put his hands, so they awkwardly settled on your sides. You could feel Daryl's 'inexperience' and especially insecurity and nervosity - but you didn't care. Not even in the slightest. Yes, the kiss was a bit chaotic and messy, and yes, he had to practice a bit, but to you it was perfect. It was Daryl.

Once his lips left yours with a soft but audible pop, you could see the heavy blush creeping up on his face instantly. "'M sorry, I- This was terrible. Fuck, this is so embarrassin'. 'M such a loser." You shook your head; hands sliding up to cup his cheeks. "No, Daryl, no. Stop right there. You're not a loser. You're the most perfect and sweetest man ever. It's okay." He blushed even more - if that was physically possible. "Y-Yeah?" He stammered out; his fingertips on your waist twitching nervously.

You nodded; smiling loving. "Ain't been doin' this a lot, ya know..." "And that's okay. I'm not judging you, Daryl. It's okay to be inexperienced. We got this, okay?" He nodded; giving you a sweet small smile and a squeeze. He was visibly thankful for your patience and understanding. "Besides...," you started and gently rubbed your thumbs over his stubbly skin; smiling. "That's the perfect excuse for us to practice." "Practice?" Daryl didn't catch your drift right away. His brain was working hard to process what happened the past ten minutes. "Practice wha'?"

You smiled affectionately but there was also a hint of mischief. "Kissing."

He blushed - again.

Oh...

You giggled and kissed his nose. "Gosh, you're so cute."

You stayed with Daryl the rest of the day - and night; mostly talking. There was quite a lot to talk about. But there were also long moments of pleasant silence, the exchange of loving looks and shy kisses.

Daryl had asked you to stay with him for another while - a few days or even weeks, stating that he had just truly found you and wasn't ready to let go of you right away. Only if you'd be willing, for sure, and not needed back at your community. You were more than willing, of course. After all, you had harbored and hidden these feelings long enough, and now that you were able to act on them, you desperately wanted to.

So, you found yourself sitting in front of the radio station the next morning; radioing Oceanside.

"Alexandria calling Oceanside. Do you copy?" You received no answer. At least not right away. It got you worried for a hot minute. "Hello? Alexandria for Oceanside. Is someone listening?" You tried again - and indeed, after a few beats of silence, you could hear your leader's voice. "This is Oceanside for Alexandria. Y/N is that you?" You smiled; relieved to hear Cyndie. Apparently everything was alright at home. "Yes, it's me. Hey, Cyndie." "You're in Alexandria? Why? Shouldn't you be in Hilltop?" She was a bit confused - understandably. "Uh, yeah, but... The horse is tended to. Her injury is already getting better, and she's in good hands with Ezekiel." "Okay, that's good," Cyndie said, then paused. "But why are you in Alexandria then?" "W-Well, um... I did a slight detour and thought I could stay here for a while. Only if you don't need me back home, of course..."

There was a long moment of silence, before your friend spoke up again. "Staying in Alexandria?" "Uh.Huh." She smiled - unbeknownst to you. The woman wasn't stupid. She definitely saw through this. "You mean staying with Daryl," Cyndie giggled - and caused you to turn beet red. "W-Well..." "You don't have to explain. I know," she was still audibly smiling. "Stay with him. I think we can spare you a few days or even weeks - as long as you remember where your home is." You knew she was most likely just teasing you, but... "Of course! I promise." "I know. I'm happy for you two. Truly. Daryl is more than welcome here, you know that." You smiled. "Thanks, Cyndie."

You and Daryl had packed your things; ready to escape for a little while. You had a lot of wasted time to catch up to. After dancing around each other for weeks - hell, months and years. So, Daryl planned to take you outside the safety of the walls to his little 'camp' down by the river. It was his retreat like he told you. Quiet, isolated and just perfect to be alone. It was just you and Daryl - and perhaps a few walkers, but that could be dealt with.

"Ya ready?" You nodded and gave him a smile. "Of course. Let's go." "C'mon then." He jutted his chin at the door to his home; leading up the stairs. You walked ahead, Daryl following - and Dog, too.

"Nah. Yer gonna stay with Carol," Daryl told his furry friend and gently shoved him back. Dog whined - as if he was disappointed, and sadly trotted back to lay onto the bed; giving you both his best puppy eyes. Your heart felt close to shattering. "Oh, Daryl... Can't we take him with us?" "Nah." "But look how sad he is." Dog whined again - as if on command. "Please?" You looked up at your partner with pleading eyes. Daryl scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Fine." "Yes!" "C'mon ya big fur baby," he looked at Dog and jutted his head at the door. He couldn't suppress the small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he watched Dog jump excitedly from the bed; tail wagging in happiness. You giggled and gave the faithful canine a thorough scratch between his ears, then walked up the stairs; Dog storming after you.

Yeah, you had not just fallen in love with Daryl... With Dog definitively, too.

The three of you were almost out of the house with your backpacks slung over your shoulders; Daryl also carrying his crossbow, as you almost ran into Carol.

"There are you two... I was already wondering." Her eyes darted between you and Daryl. "Well, uh, we had a lot to talk about," you said; shrugging your shoulders. Daryl just nodded. "I see. And now you're heading out?" She eyed the both of you from tip to toe. "Yeah, goin' out." "For a few days," you added and reached for Daryl's hand to intertwine it with yours. It caused the archer standing beside you to blush - and Carol knew. She wasn't blind, neither stupid. Plus, it was easy to count one and one together.

"Aww, look at you two lovebirds," the gray haired woman smiled that smile. "Going to the river?" "Mhm," Daryl grumbled under his breath and started to move past her; knowing very well that the both of you had to leave now or he would never hear the end of his best friend's (affectionate) teasing. Carol giggled. "Being all lovey-dovey?" Daryl grunted and shuffled again; "Gonna build a little love shack?" pulling you with him out of the main door. You just smiled at the best friends' bickering and let yourself be dragged along. "I'm sure the infirmary got some condoms to spare!" Carol shouted after the both of you, as you were already down the stair and on the street. The archer blushed hard as gripped on the handlebar of his bike to set it in motion. "Shuddup!" He yelled over his shoulder; making Carol giggle again.

"She's funny," you said smiling after being out of earshot. Daryl scoffed. You knew that he wasn't one for public affection - and that was okay. "She's a pain in the ass." You giggled. "And your best friend." "Yeah."

You were approaching the gates. "We gon take my bike. Ain't a problem to fit two people on it." You looked over at him with a smile and shook your head. "No, we don't have to. Got my own." Daryl blinked; was visibly surprised by your words. He didn't expect that. "Ya wha'?" You smiled and pointed at the smaller dirt bike you had parked beside the gates. The archer looked from you to the vehicle and back. A soft smile spread on his face. "No way." You nodded proudly. "Yep."

You two came to stand in front of the motorcycle. Daryl swung out the pedestal of his bike with his foot, before he instantly walked over to your dirt bike; inspecting it thoroughly. You watched him with a smile. "Found it a few years ago. It's been quite practical and useful. Especially in the rough territory around Oceanside." Daryl couldn't resist to test it out, so he mounted the bike - which had to work hard to carry the man's weight. After all, this was 'just' a dirt bike. Smaller and definitely not built for a bulky man like Daryl was. It almost looked like a toy compared to him - which was quite hot. You couldn't deny that.

The archer kicked off the pedestal, turned on the engine and tested the sound. You watched; lip tucked between your teeth. Why was that so hot? After thoroughly inspecting the vehicle, he got off again. "Not bad," was his conclusion. You smiled. "Thanks. Shall we?" He nodded and walked around to mount his own bike. You getting on your bike. "'N here I was, thinkin' ya couldn't be more perfect." You smiled once more - almost shyly at his flattering words. Then he started the engine; you following. "Let's ride." You started to drive; the gates getting opened for you two. "Come, Dog." The Malinois barked and started to run after you and Daryl, as you rode into the slowly sinking sun.

[ 🪶 part five ]

tags: @fictive-sl0th @angelwings-crossbowstrings @dixonsdarkelf @dixons-sunshine @negansbestie @bigbaldheadname @erebus-et-eigengrau @making-the-most-0f-it @belitoxx @marvelcasey05 @loz-3 @km-ffluv @cakesandtom @whore4romance @0-aubrie0 @sweetz1919 @mikaela-granger @secretsicanthideanymore @huntedmusicgardenn @ffsjustletmesleep @mayday2007 @stitchintimefan @dilfdixon

[mysicklove-main]

Uzui Tengen is known for his dramatics. You knew that when you first decided to marry him, and have grown used to it with the years. His flashy appearance and bold words don't even phase you now. That's just who he is and who you came to love.

Until he gets sick. The dramatics pick up to a whole level you've never thought could occur. Of course if other people saw him that we're not you, or his other wives, he would pretend to be fine, grinning and showing off. But he would never let his lovers off the hook like that, it would be not flashy at all.

“I think it's time I say my final goodbye.”

You roll your eyes, placing a damp towel on his forehead. He coughs, and honestly you can't tell if it's fake or not, but you hold out a cup for him to drink a water out of. When he doesn't move, you sigh and press it to his lips, watching with amusement at the way he gulps it down. “Your fever is bound to break soon, maybe if you stopped complaining and rest, you'll feel better.”

He glances at you when you pull the cup away, a small pout on his face. “Hurts so bad, I must be dying. I feel so weak," His voice is horse, and his body is unusually warm.

You can't help but want to dote on him at his words. He's got to be acting just a bit, but he truly does sound broken. But before you could comfort him he says, “Is this how you feel like all the time? This weak?”

You sigh, pinching your brows, but you can't help the smile that creeps on your face. He's so ridiculous, but at least he keeps you on your toes. In his sickly state or not. “Really?”

“Just joking. I know you aren't this weak.” You can see it in his eyes that he wants to boast about his strength again, but your watchful eyes shut it down. You adore how powerful your husband is, but you weren't Suma who fangirls every time he spoke about himself (Of course you did love that side of Suma as well, it was cute seeing her so excited).

You roll your eyes again but smile at him, and adjust the bedsheets, pulling them higher up on his chest. He let's out a throaty complaint, but doesn't fight it. “Hey, where are the others? Can't bare to see me this pathetic?”

“No, “god” of the dramatics.” He frowns at the mock nickname. “You scared the daylights out of Suma, who actually thinks you're going to die. Hinatsura is comforting her outside. And you know Makio, she isn't the one to be near when someone is sick.”

He hums, closing his eyes for the first time in the past hour with a content smile on his face. “So I get you all to myself, huh?”

You grin, puffing up his pillow again before sitting in the chair next to him. “Guess you can say that. Until your fever breaks at least.”

“Nurse Y/N,” He sighs, breathlessly with a grin on his face. His eyes are still shut and by the looks of it he is imagining something lewd.

You shut it down immediately. “No. I'm not a nurse. I'm an assassin.”

He ignores your words. “Why arent you wearing the cute outfit. I'm sickly, please treat me nurse!”

“I'm leaving,” You deadpan, but before you can stand up a hand flies to your wrist. He tilts his head toward you with a small apologetic smile. His cheeks are flushed from the fever and his neck is slightly beaded with sweat.

“Sorry. I'm done, I'm done, promise. Just stay with me? Honestly, I am a little scared about how week I feel." The tone of his voice is solemn, and his hands slightly tremble on your wrist. You grab onto it and set it back down on the bed, and grab the cloth to dab the beads of sweat on his neck.

It's been ages since he has gotten sick. The last time probably in his early teens, so you aren't too surprised he is uncomfortable, but it was surprising for him to admit something like this. “Scared” is not in his vocabulary, or at least he preaches.

So you take pity on him, and smile at him. “Of course, Lord Tengen. Close your eyes and rest, I'll be here when you wake up, promise.”

He glances at you for a final time, and closes his eyes. “Thanks, Nurse Y/N.”

You shake your head slowly, and take in his appearance. Even in his sweaty, weak state he wears his signature smug grin that you've grown to love. You can't be too mad at him.

[pinkroseblooms]

Could you do a Mataka x reader x slight creepy Shindo. The reader is Arajins sister that just got discharged from the hospital and is cleared to go to school. (They are part of the reason their family moved back) They’ve had a childhood crush on Mataka, but they met Shindo in a book store. He thinks winning Arajin is through his sister, or threaten them.

This got my brain buzzing with ideas! Here's the first part, I'll probably break it down to 3 parts total!

A Chance Meeting and a Declaration of Protection?!

Summary: You've come back to your old hometown for a fresh start and a shot at a normal life; too bad being reunited with your childhood crush and attracting the attention of an unhinged gang leader is proving a detriment to your health in more ways than one! wc: 2.3 A/N: This takes place in an AU without honki people/magic, and tw for future chapters for Shindo being a creep/yandere coded because...I mean come on. Makatara/f!Reader/Shindo (mostly one sided though)

“Come on, just a little more…”

Standing on your tiptoes, you stretch your arm as high as you can, but the novel atop the highest shelf is still out of reach.

“Ugh, I should have asked Macchan to come and help me.”

“My, my, what do we have here?”

You feel a presence behind you before you hear their voice; at first you had assumed Arajin had returned to the bookstore to walk you home. Your mother had made him your personal escort of sorts and your brother had obeyed, walking you to and from the few places you felt well enough to explore. 

After spending so much time in a hospital bed, being outside was almost overwhelming, but you also felt restless. When you found out your favorite bookstore was still open after all these years, you could have cried. Now as you stand on somewhat wobbly legs, vision a touch fuzzy, the last thing you need is stress. Where was Arajin? And who was this strange man smirking at you like you were some amusing joke?

“You must realize the owner has a ladder for this exact reason.” 

“Huh?” 

He taps the spine of the book, easily reaching over your head. “This book, you want it, yes?”

“Oh, yes.” You nod, somewhat hesitantly; your eyes scan the aisle, but it would seem there’s no one else around.  Briefly, your eyes linger on his braided hair and light eyes; he wasn’t wearing a school uniform, just a plain, gray sweatshirt and matching pants. You were certain he was around your age though. 

“What are you staring at?”

“Oh sorry, I was thinking, um, did you want the book?” You smile apologetically, hoping your embarrassment wasn’t obvious. “I didn’t mean to be in the way.”

“No, no, I was amused by you hopping like a bunny.”

Your smile falls. “Uh, I guess I’ll just go on and ask for assistance then-”

But the stranger takes the book, holds it up over your head with a sickly sweet smile.

“I wouldn’t leave a lady struggling. Here, take it.”

“Oh, thank you.”

But before you can take the book, he holds it up even higher. You frown, confused; is he just messing with you?

“I thought you were giving me the book?”

“Isn’t it a bit rude to ask for favors from a stranger?” He asks innocently. “My name is Shindo  Akutaro; might I ask for your name?”

“Tomoshibi.” You say curtly. “May I please have that book, Shindo-san?”

“I suppose.” 

The book is unceremoniously dropped and you fail to catch it; the novel lands on the hard tiled floor and you slowly kneel to pick it up. Bending and stooping too quickly makes you light headed and your limbs feel like noodles at the least bit of sudden motion. 

“You don’t need to kneel before me for such a small favor.” 

Shindo’s smile widens until you see his canines; he looks down at you over the rim of his glasses, eyes shining with an odd sort of glee, as though you’re doing something very silly and he has to hold back laughter. You straighten up, standing up too quickly; for a second, you teeter on unsteady feet and your hand grabs the shelf for support. 

“You look very pale; are you sick? In that case, maybe you ought to be home, not hopping around.”

“I spent enough time cooped up.” You rub your forehead gently with your fingers, holding the book to your chest. “I should be able to manage shopping for a book.”

It’s more than your desire to purchase a new novel though; this book store is a place of comfort. You used to spend hours either browsing the selection or sitting in the cafe area to read the newest addition to your collection. It wasn’t like you could run around with Arajin and Matakara, as badly as you wanted to. Even now, you’ve only just begun to feel what you assume for others is something like “normal”. 

“It’s not funny.”

Shindo blinks, looking vaguely perturbed as you stare up at him defiantly; suddenly, you feel very irritated. Whether it’s due to his prior teasing or your own frustration, you’re not sure. 

“Thanks, I suppose, for getting the book.” You say quietly. “But I don’t appreciate a perfect stranger laughing at me. I never asked to be sick and I didn’t ask for your help. Excuse me, but my brother will be here soon to take me home and I need to go buy this.”

With a slight nod, you scurry away to the register on the other side of the store; as he hands you the receipt and your new book, a soft chime signals someone has entered the store. You turn around, met with the sight of a disgruntled Arajin and-

“Macchan?” You almost drop your bag and wallet. “What are you doing here?”

“I bumped into Ara-chan, so I thought I’d tag along.” Matakara waves with a sunny smile. “You’re doing okay? You haven’t had to go back to the hospital or anything?”

“I told you she was fine.” Arajin walks over to you and takes your hand. “Come on, let’s get going,”

“You’re in a hurry for someone who was late to get me.”

“Mom asked me to pick up a few things for dinner.” Arajin explains with a sigh, leading you to the sliding doors, Matakara following behind dutifully. “I figured you’d want more time anyway; you could have called.”

“You could have called if you were going to be gone later.” You grumble, slipping your hand from his grasp. “Arajin, slow down, I can’t walk that fast.”

“Do you want me to take that?” Matakara comes to your side. “Here, let me carry your bag. You look kinda pale.”

“So I’ve heard.” You sigh; of course he had to come and see you winded from the most menial task. “Thanks Macchan, but I got it.”

“Come on, we need to get home.” Arajin gives Matakara a look. “Don’t you have to get going too?”

“I can stay.” Matakara turns to you. “You don’t mind, do you? I feel like we haven’t had a chance to catch up since you moved back. It’s been too long.”

“No kidding; honestly I almost didn’t recognize you when you came to visit.” You chuckle and pat the top of Matakara’s head. “I used to be taller than you.”

“Um, yeah.”

Matakara’s face flushes a bit; it’s nice to see he hasn’t changed too much from the bashful sweetheart you remember. Now, if only you had changed as much; you both envy and admire your old friend’s strong build. 

“Don’t strain yourself too much tomorrow.” Arajin looks over his shoulder at you; he’s still looking a bit grumpy, but his eyes soften as they meet yours. “My class is basically across the hall from you and the teacher’s already know what to expect.”

“I know, I’ll be okay!”

You sound more confident than you feel; from what Arajin has said about his time attending the academy, the place sounds less like an institution of education and more a playground for delinquents. Still, you have limited options and if you have to attend a school in the area, you feel better knowing at least two people already. 

“I’m in the same class as Ara-chan; you can come to me if there’s a problem. If you want to.” Matakara says with an oddly serious expression. “I’ll be there, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“I’m not worried.” You lie, your smile feeling like a mask stretched over your face. “Thank you, Macchan. I don’t want to bother you though, you and Arajin have your own lives. I’m sure I’ll be totally fine. I’m so pitiful, even bullies don’t want to bug me.”

“No you’re not.” Matakara frowns. “You’re not pitiful, you're strong. I always thought so. You should too.”

You’re not sure how to respond; Arajin makes a choking sound deep from his throat and puts his hands over his ears.

“Ugh, I can not listen to this! You two walk back together, I’m going on ahead.”

“Huh?!”

“Arajin!” You gap as your brother stalks off down the sidewalk without a glance back at you. “That little shit! He’s lucky I can’t chase him down. Ugh, sorry Macchan, he’s being such a brat.”

“No, it’s okay.”

“It is not.” You huff, crossing your arms, glaring at the dot that’s now Arajin’s head. “He’s been on edge ever since we came back. I get him being angry with me, but you haven’t done anything.”

“Why would Ara-chan be angry with you?”

“Not me exactly, just,” You unfold your arms and they hang at your sides. “A big reason we came back was for my treatment. Mom’s settled in fine but Arajin…it’s not my place to speak for him, but I know being here is frustrating.”

“But it’s not your fault you’re sick.”

“Still, I think…he’d never say so, but I think he resents me. Arajin always has to deal with mom putting me first because of my poor health.”

Arajin never says it, but you can tell he gets frustrated; he never asked for a sister who constantly needed to be minded and tended to. Even now as you’ve gotten older, he’s still being pushed into the role of caretaker. You don’t want him to feel like he’s responsible for how you do when you go back to attending in person classes. 

“He brings a lot of it on himself, but I know he worries about me. Anyway, I don’t want to burden him or you.” You muster up a genuine smile. “I’m going to take it one day at a time, but I can do this. I have to at least try; I can’t let it all be for nothing.”

“You,” Matakara pauses, gazing at you with wide eyes and parted lips. “You haven’t changed at all.”

You can’t help snort. “Seriously? I know I said I wanted to toughen up and all, but-”

“You’ve gotten even cooler.”

Maybe it’s a good thing Arajin decided to leave the two of you in the dust; if he saw the way Matakara was staring at you, you might have had Arajin ready to drag you away. Before you can say anything, Matakara gently takes the bag from your loosened grip.

“For the record, I never thought looking after you was a burden. I want you to ask me for help. Matakara confesses shyly. “I’m stronger now.”

“I noticed.” Your eyes flicker to his arms; his muscles are basically straining against the thin cotton of his worn t-shirt. “Are you sure? I really don’t have trouble carrying something that small.”

“I want to!” Matakara insists; he almost whines and your heart skips a beat as he pouts down at you. “I could even carry you if you needed me to.”

“Okay, okay, I got it.” At this point the thought of your crush carrying you around in his absurdly strong arms is making you so lightheaded, you might end up needing to be hauled home anyway. On the bright side, you doubt you’re looking pallid; heat radiates from your face as Matakara walks with you. He walks in time with your steps; if you asked, he would probably take your hand to lead you home.

“I bet you’re really popular.” You nudge his shoulder. “Arajin told me you’re like, a class leader or something?”

“He did?”

“Uh huh. But don’t tell him I told you.” You put a finger to your lips. “If you do, I’ll tell him about how you cried after stealing one of my horror novels.”

“I didn’t know it was a scary book! I thought it was about a magic doll.”

“To be fair, it was brought to life with occult magic. I still can’t believe you threw out my baby doll.”

“...I thought it would come to life and haunt you.”

“That’s right, I was so mad!” You recall with a giggle. “Do dolls still freak you out?”

“No...”

“Aw,” You feel a bit guilty at the kicked puppy dog look on Matakara’s face. “I’m sorry for teasing you.”

Matakara remains silent for a few seconds and you feel anxious: was that too far? It had been a long time since the two of you were able to talk like this. Perhaps you were getting ahead of yourself, acting so familiar with him. 

“Matakara? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hassle you. I won’t actually tell Arajin about the doll thing.”

“It’s not that.” 

Matakara fidgets with the handle of the shopping bag; the sun is setting now. The soft golden light makes his eyes almost sparkle; as if getting enough oxygen wasn’t already a concern. Now you had to have your breath stolen by the warm gaze holding your attention captive. 

“It’s just…I don’t want you to think of me that way. I’m not that weak cry baby anymore.”

“I never thought you were.” You tell him earnestly. “I shouldn’t have teased you.”

“You really don’t get it.” Matakara’s voice lowers. “Even though you were so sick, you looked out for me. Now I want to do that for you. I want you to see me as someone strong you can depend on.”

“Macchan, you don’t have to look out for me: that’s not your responsibility.”

“Do I…look different to you?”

“What?”

Matakara inches a bit closer, as if he's afraid to startle you, before taking yours hands in his own. You can feel callouses on his warm palms are warm; his cheeks are pink and his stare is hard with determination. Abruptly, you're reminded of that tenderhearted boy who would rush to your side every time you so much as hinted at being fatigued.

"Do you trust me?"

"O-of course." You study his urgent gaze warily. "I always have."

“I could-no. I will protect you. If anyone tries to bother you tomorrow, you come straight to me. I’ll deal with them. I'll be there; as long as you can trust in that, I can only get stronger." Matakara squeezes your hands gently. "Believe in me and I'll protect you with that strength."

You’re taken aback; you’ve never heard Matakara speak this way to you or at all. Not that you don’t appreciate it; on the contrary, your tummy is doing somersaults. With that said, you can’t help wondering: just how much did your friend change these past few years? And what exactly is he expecting he’ll need to protect you from? 

[gravehags]

sweet treat

pairing: cardinal copia x curator!reader (plus bonus ghoulettes)

rating: T for suggestive content

tags: summertime activities, gelato, ghoulettes cockblocking (affectionately), flirting, copia plotting

~~~

"Ah, feels good to be home!"

The man walking at your side turns to you with a devilish grin, reaching behind you to grip you by the ass and pull you towards him, chuckling sinisterly.

"Copia," you giggle, playfully shoving him away, "you're insatiable."

"Sì, and? I don't recall hearing any complaints about it last night when I had you bent over so prettily an--"

"Copia!" you stage whisper, looking around the silent country road. The only sounds in the warm air are cicadas buzzing and your footfalls on the hot pavement.

"Dolcezza, there is no one around but us. If I wanted to pull you into that bush over there and have my wicked way with you, there would be no one to save you."

Well that's a thought. You stop and consider it, ultimately deciding--

"Hey!" a feminine voice calls in the distance, "Wait up!"

Copia groans in frustration as the two of you turn and behold two figures lightly jogging towards you. You immediately recognize them as Copia's ghoulettes - Cumulus and Cirrus. They've abandoned their uniforms for something more weather appropriate - glamours cast. Cumulus' long white curls are piled high on her head in a messy bun, and she looks sweet enough to eat in her tanktop and Daisy Dukes. Cirrus, on the other hand, with her long dark hair, wears a pair of loose basketball shorts and a sports bra. They're both smiling as they approach, panting in the summer heat.

"Afternoon ladies," you say, "You wanted to get gelato too?"

Cumulus nods eagerly while Cirrus gives you a playful little eye roll.

"Mind if we tag along?"

You turn to Copia who looks as though he does, in fact, mind, but you also know he adores his ghoulettes and can't deny them anything, much like he can't with you.

"Come along, bellezze mie," he says, waving them into step with you. You really liked the ghoulettes - thought they were so charming (and beautiful), you never complained about an opportunity to chat with them. Cumulus slings an arm around your waist and pulls you close.

"He treating you right?" she whispers loudly, causing Copia to whip his head around with a pout. You laugh and lean into her.

"Yeah he's not half bad," you whisper back, giving the ladies a wink, "Just between us girls I'm using him for his money but he doesn't know that okay?"

Cirrus snorts loudly and grins.

"How much does being a Satanic cardinal pay these days, huh?"

"Since becoming the head of the Ghost project," Copia interjects loudly and archly, "A considerable amount. But that's entirely none of your business, ghoulette."

The ladies dramatically "ooooo" while you bump his arm with your shoulder.

"He's just sensitive because Imperator had to confiscate the Ministry credit card."

"Amore!" he squawks, glaring at you. You shrug with a smile.

"Boss what did you buy that pissed Imperator off that much?" Cumulus inquires, highly intrigued.

He's really pouting now, mustache twitching as he frowns deeply.

"I don't want to talk about it."

They look to you and you mime a zipping motion over your lips, giving them an apologetic, yet amused, glance.

The four of you walk in silence for a few minutes and you reach up to wipe the sweat from your forehead with the back of your hand. Which is also sweaty so it really doesn't make much difference.

"This humidity, huh?" you pant, using the hem of your sundress as a fan for your legs, "You girls must hate it."

"We do," they say in sync, "but we run cooler by nature so that does help."

"Oh yeah?" you ask, fascinated, "because you're air ghouls? Or do you have some other infernal secret?"

"The air ghoul thing," Cirrus confirms before waving you over to her, "C'mere"

You step over to her and she looks to Copia for a moment, who nods, before wrapping her arms around you. All of a sudden you're awash with deliciously chilled air, and the feeling makes you moan. Cumulus, not wanting to be left out, embraces you from behind with a grin.

"It's like being inside an ice cream sandwich," you marvel, "This is divine. Copia have you tried this? Copia?"

The man in question is standing, watching the three of you with a peculiar look in his eye. If you didn't know any better you'd say it was...hungry. Predatory, even. It's as if he doesn't hear you as his gaze flicks between the three of you. The ghoulettes catch him staring and slowly pull away, the loss of your air conditioners making you whine.

"Come on, village is close," Cirrus says and you spot her giving Copia a wink and a grin. You have the distinct feeling that a plot is being hatched but before you can air your suspicions, Cumulus grabs you by the hand and drags you up the street.

"Look at these!" she gushes, gesturing to the small yellow climbing roses on one of the storefronts. She reaches up and picks a bundle, tucking it behind your ear with a soft smile.

"Beautiful," she murmurs, "they suit you."

Something about the way she regards you makes butterflies flit around in your stomach and you open your mouth to thank her when Cirrus and Copia catch up to you. Copia gives you a soft, knowing look that makes you cock your head but you stay quiet. The gelato shop is only a few doors down and is mercifully quiet. The owner knows the two of you by name and greets you warmly. You all place your orders (stracciatella for you, lemon for Copia, mandarin for Cirrus, and fior di latte for Cumulus) and step outside with your prizes.

"Stracciatella," Copia sniffs, "You've been spending too much time with Terzo."

"Oh excuse me, signore," you say archly, "Not all of us like sour fruit flavors. Next time I'm ordering two scoops just to piss you off even harder."

Cirrus snorts mid spoonful and looks at Cumulus, who grins into her treat.

"Guys," you say, playfulness dropping from your face and voice, "I have some really fucking bad news."

Copia looks so intensely concerned as he comes to your side and cups your elbow you nearly laugh.

"Dolcezza, what is it, what's wrong?"

"We've got to walk all the way back to the fucking abbey after this."

A silence falls on the three of you before Copia speaks.

"I'm calling a ghoul to pick us up."

[redflagshipwriter]

Hi, it's Tim (just Tim) chapter 6

Masterpost

San Francisco was a breath of fresh air. It would have been better if Dick wasn’t shepherding him there like the world’s most anxious and chatty herding dog. Tim halfway wanted to make a break for it to see if Dick would bark at him.

He nobly resisted the urge. He actually hadn’t gotten in trouble for going no contact. Incredibly, Bruce hadn’t noticed that he had been with Superboy. He must really be wound up about the Red Hood.

Speaking of- “What’s the Red Hood done that makes B think I’m the target to be concerned about?” Tim asked.

Dick looked a little ill. He clearly didn’t want to answer. “Well, he’s been pretty clear,” he said apologetically. “Very clear. A lot of metaphors about breaking off your wings that B is taking pretty seriously. It’s like English class all over again,” he complained. Dick scrunched up his face and gestured wildly with his long elegant hands. “There was this like, poetic reference that I didn’t get, but it was about stomping on a bird and crushing all their bones under your boot. B had to look it up.” He cocked his head to the side at the end.

…This guy was referencing poets B didn't know offhand, and they were meant to think he was some big scary thug?

“...So he’s, uh, well-read, then,” Tim concluded, adding it to the very short list of things they knew about the Red Hood. “Loser.”

“We shouldn’t say that,” Dick demurred, which meant ‘lol yeah.”

Tim gave the older bird a judgemental look for even trying as Dick typed in pass codes for Titan Tower. That was their whole thing as Bats. They took information and made deductions. This particular deduction made him feel cockier. While the big bad Red Hood had been wasting time reading, Tim had been studying the blade and uh, making out with a really hot guy. Heh. He couldn't hold in the self satisfied smirk. Hood was a loser. He could use his time much better than by reading moldy old books.

Dick stayed long enough to get Tim settled, but he was clearly anxious to get back to Gotham.

Tim was torn. On the one hand, he did not like essentially being benched. But… Well, he wasn't benched outside of Gotham, Tim decided, wandering through the shared kitchen and rummaging around for a snack. He could go on any Titans mission that came up. He opened the fridge and squinted suspiciously at something in the vegetable crisper.

He had always assumed someone really liked potatoes. But knowing what he did now, he wondered if those were Kon’s groceries. Did the guy just eat raw fruit like some kind of lunatic?

…Maybe no one kept potatoes there after all. He had thought it was weird since he never really saw anyone cook. Tim picked the suspect up and sniffed at it. This ugly thing was a fruit?

Well. He was brave and he was bold. Tim bit through the skin. His teeth sank in with much less resistance than he expected: not a raw potato. It tasted okay. This was Kon’s favorite flavor? Tim had another bite and mulled it over. It was alright. It wasn’t exactly bacon and artichoke pizza or sour cherry candy, though.

Huh. He shut the fridge door with his hip and made his way to his room, planning to drop off his travel bag.

A window opened and slammed shut nearby. Tim detoured to see who it was. His heart beat hard against his chest when he rounded the corner.

“Superboy,” he said casually, as if he hadn't been making out with the guy a couple hours ago.

“Hey, Rob.” Kon breezed past, obviously lost in thought. He stopped midair and frowned. “Do you smell mango?”

Tim hid the half eaten fruit in his utility belt. “No. Maybe you're just hungry.”

Gaslight gatekeep girlbossing worked, as always. Kon let out a “huh,” cocked his head, and zipped away to the kitchen.

Ah, hell. Tim realized he was smiling like a dope to the empty hallway. He wiped the expression from his face and hoped that no one ever reviewed that section of security tape. How embarrassing.

He hid away in his room for a while, letting tactics and plans stew away in his mind. He was hyper aware of the fact that Kon was somewhere in the tower. Was anyone else? He didn't know. He should check.

While he was at it, he should try and hack into whatever B was hiding about the Red Hood on the bat computer. Tim spun idly in his desk chair as he thought it over. Bruce was being twitchy. He wanted Tim so far away from the situation that Tim knew in his gut it would eventually be his problem. That was how this shit always worked; the most dramatic thing possible would happen.

He emerged from his room to find Kon in some kind of argument with Cassie. Tim decided to stay way the fuck away from that. He steered to the living room. Raven looked up from her book, expression flatly unamused.

“Robin.” She acknowledged. Then she looked away.

She was in a great mood, then.

He checked through the logs: it was just the four of them. As Tim watched, Cassie's status dinged to display ‘out of the tower’.

Just the three of them, then. And Raven wasn't going to come seek anyone out.

Tim went Kon hunting. Kon was sprawled out in his room, tossing something up and down. It glittered where it caught the air.

“Superboy,” he said, leaning on the doorframe casually. Did it look casual? Did it look douchey? Tim stood up straight before Kon looked up.

“Hey, Rob,” Kon said. He flashed his toothiest grin at Tim. Fuck, he was pretty. “Did you want something?”

“Yeah, I wanted to talk. Can I come in?”

Kon sat up on his elbows. “Come right the hell in, my dude.” He cocked his head to the side and a curl fell over his face. “Everything alright?” A smile tugged one half of his mouth up mischievously. “Come sit on my lap and tell me all about it.”

The thing was that Kon said shit like that all the time. He said it to Tim, he said it to Cassie, he said it to any number of civilians. Tim had thought that Kon was just being kind of a bitch to him.

“Thanks,” he said easily, and sat with his knees on either side of Kon’s thighs.

Kon’s mouth fell open. Tim waited, but no sound came out.

“I was actually wondering- you say things like that to me a lot,” Tim continued, feeling very smug. Haha, Kon hadn't just been needling him. He'd been pulling pigtails. He wanted Tim, what a loser. “A guy starts to get the impression that you're interested. And…” he dragged his gaze pointedly down Kon’s perfect body. “I'm not disinterested,” he finished coyly.

“Robin.” Kon swallowed visibly. “I uh. I'm really flattered.”

Ah. Fuck. Tim had a very bad feeling.

“I'm kind of seeing someone at the moment.” Kon’s voice cracked. “If- if I hadn't been, I would be all over this. But I am. So.” His hands hovered uselessly a few inches from Tim’s sides.

Well then. Tim slid off Kon’s lap. He didn't let howling frustration show on his face. He was cock blocking himself. “I see,” he said simply. “No worries. I'll see you around.”

“Right.” Kon’s voice cracked again. He shoved his hands in his pockets. His eyes were wild.

Wow. Okay, so life isn't fair. It was good to know. Tim sulked his way back to his room. Well no, actually, he hated this information a lot. But it was useful for his prediction models. He should have known better than to think things would work out.

On the one hand, Kon was apparently loyal to his flavor of the week. Tim could choose to appreciate that, since he was flavor for early September.

Or he could be mad that he'd apparently chosen the wrong ID to flirt with Kon under. He paced an angry circuit in his room around the pile of things he was going to eventually reconstruct. Hell. Fuck. This sucked. Kon had a crush on Robin, the guy he actually knew. What a wasted opportunity!

He calmed down enough to think.

Of course that was when sirens went off. Tim booked it to the landing pad, pulling up the alert on his wrist computer on the way.

They had a mission. Okay. Tim compartmentalized away all the mortification. He could deal with it after they got back.

[finnlygaying]

"What are we doing, again?"

"Learning about the Unforgivable Curses," Evans says, "Do you not listen to anything the teachers say?"

"I try not to," Sirius shrugs.

"Well, come on," James takes Sirius by the shoulder, "Let's not be late."

They arrive at the classroom, somehow not being the last ones there. Sirius looks around the room and frowns.

"Why do we have to be with the Slytherins?"

"Because," Evans sighs, "that's how they've organised it. We can't change that."

"But-"

Sirius is cut off by the Professor. "Alright, class. Settle down and find the table with your name on it."

"We have assigned seats?" Sirius groans.

"I'm sure we'll be next to each other," James assures.

They weren't. In fact, the Professor made sure they were on opposite sides of the classroom.

Sirius walks over to his desk, and looks at the name of the person meant to be next to him.

"Hey, Professor!" He yells, "Can I switch tables?"

"No, Mr Black, I'm afraid not," the Professor groans.

Sirius doesn't even know the Professor, why is he so annoyed with him?

Sirius groans, but holds out hope. No one's sat next to him yet.

That hope instantly dies, however, when the door opens to reveal Barty Crouch and Regulus Black, coming in late.

"Mr Crouch, Mr Black, may I ask why you're only just arriving?" The Professor asks.

"Sorry, sir," Crouch smiles, "just got a bit lost."

Regulus elbows Crouch discretely, muttering something to him.

"Whatever you say," the Professor says, unbelieving, "please, find your seats."

Crouch, who is seated next to Mary, looks over at Regulus, smiling apologetically.

Regulus just rolls his eyes and goes to find his seat. He stops short when he does.

"Professor?"

"Enough. No one is switching seats," he says, already predicting what Regulus was going to ask, "Now, let the lesson begin."

Regulus and Sirius both sit very stiffly next to each other, trying and failing to ignore the other's presence.

"And lastly, the Cruciatus Curse," the Professor announces, having discussed the Killing and the Imperius Curse.

"Huh?" Sirius murmurs, "I thought we were discussing Unforgiveables."

Regulus just stares ahead, brow furrowed.

"The Cruciatus Curse, also known as the Torture Curse, is only used by the most vile Dark Wizards, wishing to cause their victims immense pain. It is of the most Unforgiveable actions of a wizard, and whoever uses this curse will be sent straight to Azkaban."

"Sorry, sir," Sirius puts his hand up, "I'm confused. I thought Cruciatus was like... for punishment or whatever? How is it Unforgiveable?"

"No, Mr Black, this curse is highly illegal, as it would cause, whoever is on the receiving end, life-long mental and physical trauma."

"That's not true," Regulus speaks up, seemingly without meaning to. "I mean," he says, more shyly now that everyone's eyes are on him, "it would be painful but not... not that bad, right?"

For a while, there is silence, making Sirius's skin crawl. He turns to his brother, hoping this is all one big joke.

Regulus looks back at him, just as confused, as the Professor speaks once more.

"I'm not sure where you've heard these false rumours, but please know that whoever is telling you these things are lying."

"No..." Regulus protests under his breath, his face going slack.

Sirius, equally confused, just puts a hand on his brother's shoulder, hiding his face as he tries to blink away his tears.

If their parents are willing to break the law to use an Unforgiveable Curse on their own children, then there really is no hope that they might love them, is there?

Its that realisation that makes Sirius stand, abruptly, and leave, to hide the evidence of his fears. And for once, Regulus follows, not to fight, but for comfort.

[omgrachwrites]

In Another Life - Dalton Lambert

Pairing: Dalton Lambert x Reader

Summary: You confess your feelings to Dalton, the only problem? He can't return them.

Warnings: tiny bit of fluff, angst, unrequited love :(

A/N: Just a short lil something! I'm so sorry I've been MIA I've been so ill but I'm better now! I hope you guys enjoy this, I love you all! xxx

You had been acting weird lately and you knew that Dalton was starting to get worried about you, you saw the worried looks he constantly threw your way. He’d even started talking to you almost as if he was trying not to spook you. You knew it wasn’t fair to keep such a big secret from him but if you told him it would ruin everything.

One day, the both of you were studying in his room when he finally spoke up, “Y/N?” he started, taking your hand in his, “what’s wrong?”

“Huh?” you looked up at his gorgeous worried face. You stared blankly at him for a couple of moments before you realised what he’d asked, “it’s nothing, I’m fine,” you were lying through your teeth.

Dalton just stared at you, a little crease forming in between his eyebrows as he frowned at you. You felt a twinge of guilt as you looked at his concerned face, “Y/N, I know you too well,” he paused, “I know something is bothering you.”

You sighed as you shook your head, “can’t you just drop it? I don’t want to talk about it.”

“No, Y/N. I won’t just drop it, not when you’re clearly not okay,” he sighed, “we’re friends aren’t we?” he trailed off, looking at you with those big blue eyes that made you melt.

“Of course we are.”

Dalton nodded, “so, are you saying that you can’t trust me with your problems?”

You looked anywhere but him as you replied, “it’s just something I need to deal with on my own.”

He looked at you sadly as he linked his fingers through yours and squeezed your hand, “you never have to deal with your problems on your own. I’m here for you, Y/N.”

You looked up at him, his soft eyes swirling with endless shades of blue, a small smile spread across his face as his thumb soothingly rubbed against your knuckles. You had to tell him, you couldn’t lie to him for much longer. It wasn’t fair. You fiddled with a loose thread on your jeans as Dalton patiently waited for you to open up to him.

Finally, it seemed as though his patience was wearing thin, “Y/N, please. Tell me what’s wrong.”

You were terrified, “if I tell you, I’ll lose you,” you whispered.

Dalton shook his head, his voice still gentle, “you’re never going to lose me, you’re my best friend.”

“I’m in love with you,” you said it quickly before you had time to second guess yourself.

Dalton froze and you instantly knew that you had made a mistake as he tried to process your words, “you’re in love with me?” he asked.

You nodded, your heart quickly sinking as you tried to explain yourself, “I know you don’t feel the same and it’s fine, I just thought you should know,” you said as if he hadn’t just forced it out of you. You were praying to every God in existence that he felt the same but when his face dropped you knew you had your answer.

You didn’t want to hear his reply but you knew you had to hear him out so you braced yourself. You braced yourself for the heartbreak that was about to come.

“Y/N,” he started, taking both of your hands, “you know I care about you, you’re my best friend. You know how special you are to me but um,” he stuttered as he looked at the floor before he took a deep breath as he looked back up at you, “but I don’t feel the same. I um, I’m actually seeing someone.”

You felt tears sting at your eyes as your heart split in half, it was bad enough hearing him say he didn’t have feelings for you, it was even worse hearing him say he had feelings for someone else, “oh,” you said pathetically as you looked at the floor.

“Hey, hey,” Dalton whispered, tilting your head up so you looked at him, his face was apologetic as he wiped the tears that blurred your vision, “it’s okay. Let’s go somewhere and talk about this, we can get something to eat.”

You shook your head, “I’m not hungry.”

“Then let’s talk about this.” Dalton begged.

You knew you had to talk about it but you couldn’t without breaking down, “I’m actually just going to head back to my room.”

“Alone?” Dalton asked, looking at you sadly.

“I need to be alone right now,” you stand up as you forced back tears.

Dalton sighed with a nod when he realised you weren’t going to change your mind, “okay. I’ll come and check on you later.”

You nodded, barely hearing his words as you left his room, letting out a choked sob. You got back to your room as quickly as you could without actually running and you immediately curled up in bed, pulling the covers over your head. You cried your heart out, your tears staining your pillow, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. It hurt so much.

Hours passed and you stayed in the same position, ignoring your phone every time it buzzed or rang, you knew it would be Dalton apologising. You didn’t want him to apologise, it wasn’t his fault he didn’t return your feelings. Finally, after you dodging every single one of Dalton’s calls there was a knock on your door and he lightly pushed the door open.

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

You’d stopped crying but the pain was still unbearable, you heard him sigh as he walked over and perched on the end of your bed, “Y/N. Please, talk to me. Can I get you anything?”

You shook your head refusing to speak to him, “can I do anything to make you feel better?”

“I would just prefer it if you left,” you mumbled.

“Oh,” you could hear the hurt in his voice, “of course, if that’s what you want. I’ll leave, I never meant to hurt you, Y/N.”

“It’s not your fault,” you whisper as his footsteps made their way to the door.

He hesitated as he turned back to face you, “there’s been so many nights when I’ve pulled an all-nighter, trying to talk myself into having feelings for you. We’d be perfect if only I felt the same. Maybe in another life,” he let out a little broken laugh that crushed your heart.

“In another life,” you agreed.

[hes-striker]

The children have not spoken to striker directly?

Blitzø glances at Wesson and Winnie, who have been quietly playing with some toys in the corner of the room. He kneels down to their level, his tone gentle and encouraging.

Blitzø: Hey, kiddos. Why don’t you come over and talk to Mr. Striker for a bit? I mean, he might not remember everything right now, but maybe you can ask him about his past or tell him about yourselves. It could help, y’know?

Wesson looks up from his toy horse, tilting his head thoughtfully before glancing at Winnie, who nods with curiosity. The twins approach cautiously, their little tails swishing nervously as they stand by Striker’s bedside. Striker watches them carefully, unsure of how to respond but trying to soften his expression for their sake.

Wesson: *looking up at Striker, his voice small but curious* So, um… do you really not remember us at all?

Striker: *rubbing the back of his neck, his tone apologetic* ’Fraid not, kiddo. It’s all a bit of a blur.

Winnie: *frowning, clutching her stuffed horse tightly* Daddy says you used to tell us stories about cowboys and outlaws. Don’t you remember any of them?

Striker looks down at her, a pang of guilt hitting him square in the chest. He hesitates before shaking his head gently.

Striker: I wish I did, darlin’. Sounds like I was real good at makin’ up stories, though.

Wesson steps a little closer, his eyes narrowing in thought.

Wesson: Daddy says you’re a real cowboy, like the ones in the stories. Were you?

Striker lets out a small chuckle, scratching at his chin as he considers the question.

Striker: Well, I suppose you could say that. Did a bit of ridin’, ropin’, and raisin’ hell back in my day. Sounds like somethin’ I might’ve told you about, huh?

Wesson and Winnie exchange excited glances before Wesson pipes up again.

Wesson: Do you still like cowboy stuff? Like hats and boots and… uh, shootin’ bad guys?

Striker: *chuckling softly* Can’t say I’ve lost my taste for it. Somethin’ tells me I’d still look pretty good in a hat.

The twins giggle at that, their initial nervousness fading as they start to pepper Striker with more questions about his life. Striker listens patiently, his unease gradually melting away as he begins to see glimpses of himself in their wide-eyed curiosity and playful banter. Blitzø watches from the doorway, a small smile tugging at his lips as the kids and Striker start to bridge the gap between them.

Even if Striker didn’t remember it right now, he was the kids’s birth mom and that was evident even now as he interacted with them.

[movedtoacolorlessworld]

"Damn bro I miss my husband." — Amazing Mighty, probably

Lmao

Anyways I wrote this yesterday but didn't post it for some reason. It's really cheesy and sappy and EWWWWWW I HATE ITTTTTTT I HATE MIGHTYFELYSSSSSS (lie)

———

Sitting on his seat and sulking, Amazing Mighty isn't really feeling amazing today.

Ever since he woke up yesterday, he hasn't seen Felys at all. Felys did left a letter saying that he has some things to do in the living world, so he'll be gone all day.

But Mighty wouldn't have thought that it would actually be all day.

Now here he is, completely being drowned in anxiety, overthinking. What if something happened to Felys? What if that something is bad? It's been a day, where could he have gone to?

What if the same thing that happened centuries ago happened again?

With that last thought finally appearing in his head, Amazing Mighty could feel himself hyperventilating. He's literally fucking panicking right now. He knows the only rational thing to do is to message Felys, but again, he's literally fucking panicking right now. There's no way he'd think straight during a panic attack.

He hugs himself as he feels tears welling up in his eyes. He tries to reassure himself; "He's fine, Mighty," "He'll be alright, Mighty," "He can defend himself nowadays. If he was in danger he would've taken care of that immediately."

But those thoughts didn't comforted him at all.

Instead, he feels worse.

He really can't breathe, his head feels like it's spinning, and he literally feels like crying.

"Felys...where...-"

Suddenly, the door opens, and Mighty immediately looks up to see who it is.

He feels a little more calmer and relieved when he found out it's Felys.

"Huh- Mighty?!" The man rushes over to his lover, standing beside him before finally wrapping his arms around him. Amazing Mighty melts into the touch, and from there, he lets out many choked sobs.

———

It took a little while to calm the God down, but it's nothing that his husband can't handle.

Now rubbing circles on a much more calmer and steadily breathing Amazing Mighty's back, Felys decides to finally ask the real question here. "What happened?" Mighty glanced over to his beloved, before sighing. "I just...you've been gone for a day! Can't you at least tell me you'll be gone for more than a few hours?!"

"Ah, right. The thing that I was doing down there...it took so long to deal with, so I had to stay over at a friend's place for the night." Felys explained, before adding with a frown, "I forgot to tell you last night. I didn't think I'd end up making you worry too much about me." He then took Mighty's hands in his, gazing at him with an apologetic look in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, dear."

Amazing Mighty sighed, a smile finally visible on his face as he looked back at Felys. "It's alright, Felys. It's just that...I didn't want that to happen again." Upon hearing the word "that" being said in a particular tone, Felys frowns even more. "I promise you, I won't ever let that happen again. It happened once—and I'm not going to let myself get taken away like that ever again."

The determination in Felys' voice managed to put Amazing Mighty at ease. He squeezes Felys' hands that are intertwined with his and nods. "Yeah...alright. Sorry that you had to come back to me...acting like that." He then said, feeling embarrassment wash over him. Felys simply chuckles, before cupping the God's cheek with his hand, and then slowly pulling him into a kiss.

Oh Ms. Paradox, Amazing Mighty truly does miss the feeling of his beloved's lips on his.

At the very least, now he knows that his most dearest Felys is alright now.

[parttimepuff]

Wait yeah how ARE you gonna explain Hermit and Magolor? Like Orbee just kinda got brought up but you won’t say you have 1.5 other matters hanging out? That seems important

"Fuck! We forgot to tell them!" Beep exclaimed. "Er, yeah, we did." Reverie nodded. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if bringing the two up along with everything else would have been a good idea to do at once. "We'll have to tell him soon. But, y'know, also check with the two of them to see what they think." Gremlin figured. His niece, having already shot to the front door, paused with her hand on the doorknob. She didn't like what that implied.

"They’ll be scared of them too?" The Matter asked, turning to face them again. No one really wanted to say so, but Gremlin reluctantly replied. "…yeah. Yeah, they probably would be." He apologetically confirmed. "In Wiz's case, his reputation has taken a hit once before… I dunno how he's gonna feel about this." Reverie pondered, bringing a wing to his chin in thought. "Huh…?" Beep muttered, confused and worried.

"Mm, you mean he'd be scared to be viewed bad again, right?" Gremlin questioned for her benefit, Reverie glancing away. "I don't know, I don't, feel like I know him well enough to judge that." The Dream Fae admitted. Luna frowned, finding it unfair that they were almost deciding what Magolor would think before he had a say in it. "Just as well that you talk to him about it, then." She pointed out

Dropping her hand off the doorknob, Beep slowly floated back to them. "I guess." She mumbled. Her uncle took note of her somber attitude, opting to throw in his own two cents. "No real point speculating about it when we can just ask him. I can't say I know him well enough, either, but we have, a similar background. And I'm still here." Gremlin reminded them. "Yeah…" Reverie agreed, hoping the Halcandran wouldn't be entirely opposed to coming clean.

"Okay…" The Matter sighed, sitting back on the couch. The atmosphere had become more melancholy and that was no way to celebrate. "…hey, we need to get ready for the party still, right? Let's do that first." Luna brought up. The reminder quickly gave Beep some energy. "Oh yeah, yeah! I wanna do that…" She expressed, a bit hesitant. "And we're gonna!" Reverie jumped in.

"Right! I'll text 'em that we're heading back to have some fun." Gremlin suggested, reaching for his cellphone. "I can tell em!" Beep responded, her method decidedly faster. "Oh yeah! Let 'em know I'll bring Beeper Bites!" Luna chimed in. "And I… have some snacks here? I could bring 'em!" The Dream Demon added, already beginning to search about the kitchen. The Matter smiled. They could just celebrate right now. 'Wiz, Hermit, we're coming back. And we’re gonna celebrate.' Beep communicated to the two Matters. 'Celebrate?' Magolor was the first to respond, relief clear in his thoughts. 'Come home safe.' Hermit insisted, not entirely sure what they were doing, but knowing it was a good thing. 'Yeah!! We'll be here and ready to have a party!!' The Halcandran added. Beep smiled more at that. "They’re waiting for us, let’s go home." She told the others. "Let's!" Her father agreed, ready to celebrate the good news.

[curseofaphrodite]

the love club

regulus black x fem!gryffindor!reader

summary: in which he realizes just how grateful he is for having a best friend. alternate title - Fuck Friends I Have A Crush On You. | written for @cryonme's celebration!

"Love your sweater," you said, smiling a bit too much, as if you had just said an inside joke.

Regulus beamed, sitting beside you without a second thought. Slytherins weren't usually seen at the Gryffindor table, but Christmas was a good excuse as any, right?

"Almost didn't recognize you but merry Christmas, little brother," Sirius yelled, hugging him sideways. "Looking less like the Bloody Baron each day, huh? You're blending in well."

"Especially in that sweater,' Remus added, reaching for the mashed potatoes. Regulus frowned, looking at his clothes again.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked, offended.

"No I didn't say- well, you're wearing Gryffindor colors."

Regulus paled when you burst out laughing. The glares his housemates have been giving him from across the hallway suddenly made sense to him. He started fumbling with his words.

"You- you said gold was your favorite color!" he said defensively, hugging himself as if that would shield his idiotic mistake.

"I was just seeing if you'd fall for it," you shrugged, cutting yourself a piece of cake. "No one's favorite color could be gold. Oh stop the glare, you look wonderful."

"Aw, you picked out this because you thought it was Y/N's favorite color?" Marlene asked teasingly from the other side of the table. Regulus wanted to throw a fork at her.

"It was an honest mistake," you spoke up on his behalf. "Reg's terrible at fashion, you know that."

Sirius squinted his eyes suspiciously. Out of everyone at that table, his brother was the only one with a proper sense of shopping. Regulus shrank under his questioning eyes.

Shit, shit, shit.

He hoped Sirius wouldn't ask anything. It's not like he could say - hey I love shopping but pretends to be bad so I could spend more time with my best friend. Yes, I know I don't need any excuse to talk to her but I'm still new to human affections. I don't want to be distant and if that means I have to wear ugly sweaters or nod at her questionable choices, I'll do that gladly. With a forced smile.

Sirius muttered something like interesting under his breath, but he didn't go on, which Regulus was grateful about.

But his brother wasn't the kind to let things go that easily. He cornered Regulus as soon as everyone went outside to see the snow.

-

"Have you seen Reg?" you asked Lily, who shook her head apologetically.

"I saw him with Pads a while ago. They looked very much deep in thought," James said.

You groaned. "Do you reckon they're fighting again?"

"Nah, they're far past all that," James waved it off. "Maybe he's telling him he's an animagus."

"HE'S AN ANIMAGUS?"

"Oh, you didn't know that," he laughed nervously. "Uhm, if you see a huge dog in our room, just act surprised. Lils, my love, wanna sneak off to Hogsmeade?"

"Still no on the date," Lily said, rolling her eyes. She went her way and James followed with a pout, leaving you in the snow to be a one-person search party for Regulus Arcturus Black.

-

"There you are!" you said sharply, stopping Sirius on his path. "Where the hell is your brother?"

"He uhm- he's, I don't think I'm supposed to tell you that," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"What did you do?" you sighed. "If you buried him somewhere, there's still time to dig him out—"

"Merlin I was near the pond," Regulus said, walking up to you from behind. "Though I'm glad to know you have little to no reaction if I do get murdered."

"As if he would ever kill someone and get his clothes dirty," you scoffed. Sirius shrugged.

"Fair point. See ya," Regulus started to walk away but you chased after him with no hesitation.

"Where are you going?" you asked, careful not to step on branches and roots. "I'd jump off a cliff for you but sometimes I fear I may also be the one pushing you. Can you PLEASE talk?"

"Just needed some quiet time."

"You're sure you're not just ignoring me? Because you were perfectly fine earlier."

"Not everything about me is you," he stopped, a little meaner than he intended to. You were used to his occasional outbursts so you stood your ground.

"What did Sirius tell you?" you asked casually.

If he was taken back, he didn't show it. "We were just catching up on everything we missed. Birthdays, quidditch matches, dates. I always knew he had a thing for Remus but he actually asked him out? I didn't think he had the courage."

I certainly don't, he thought, smiling sadly. You mistook his stares for nostalgia. He mistook yours for pity.

"Then he asked me if I ever fancied someone," he continued, shrugging. "I said I was alone too much of my life for anything of that sort."

"Really? Cause I thought you were the kind of guy to easily fall in love."

"I wouldn't even know what love feels like," he lied swiftly. "Would you?"

"I only had crushes," you pointed out.

"Hmm, how do crushes feel like?"

"Well, you can’t stop thinking about them, you feel strange when they’re around, and then you want to— why are you looking at me like that?"

His eyes had completely melted, and the slight twinkle in them looked as if someone stole the stars just for him. He shooked his head slightly, disagreeing with what you said.

"You make it sound like a fever," he laughed. "It's nothing like that. You feel calm, happy, and safe. You feel like yourself with them, and they make you want to love yourself. It's wonderful, not chaotic."

"For someone who's never felt love, you know a lot about it."

This is it. Just say it. Just say it.

"Actually, I- sort of. Uhm, you're-duck."

"What?"

A smack at the back of your head made you lose balance. You landed on your back as clumsily as you could and watched as Sirius roared with laughter. You saw him reaching for another snowball already.

"Oh hell no," you stood up and ran away, hiding behind a tree just in time. Sirius started attacking Regulus instead.

"MY JACKET!" Reg yelled, angrily scooping up a heap of snow. Without even forming it into a ball, he dumped them on his brother's head.

"YES FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT—" James had appeared out of nowhere, but his words were cut off as you used your wand to make another snowball hit him square in the face.

"Cheating," he mumbled inaudibly, half-buried in snow.

You laughed and walked back to the scene, removing yourself from the tree's protection. Regulus smiled mischievously.

"No!" you yelled, running away. He chased you without hesitation.

[chilumi-shipper]

Hi, I hope you're having a nice day! Congrats on 500 btw, can I request the “Can we finally go to that place I was talking about?” / “I’m busy.” / “Yeah… you always are.” Angst/Fluff prompt if its okay? Could have childe in there ahem ahem... childe simp right here, but the others (If you want it multiple characters, its up to you) (IM SORRY IF IM AWKWARD THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IVE DONE THIS)

Maybe Next Time

Childe x Insecure!GN!Reader (Modern AU)

Summary: For the past month, you had tried to plan something for you and Childe to do together, but he's busy, as always. You were hurt that he wasn't giving even just a portion of his time for you. Too scared to confront him, you just chose to find solace in another person.

(Also, Childe fighting hard for your attention after, hehehe ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ)

Prompt: "Can we finally go to that place I was talking about?" / "I'm busy." / "Yeah... you always are."

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

You looked at the face of your lover sitting on your bed, his expression serious as his eyes were glued to his laptop screen.

"Sooo... When will you be free?" You asked him, hoping that this time, you'll finally be able to spend time with him outside of your home. Childe sighs as he stops typing to look at you.

"Not for another month." You visibly frowned at his answer.

'You said that last month...' That was what circled in your mind, but it was something that you refused to say to him, scared that it may do more harm than good.

"Maybe on your day-off... we could finally go to that place I was talking about...?" You discreetly suggested, his eyes missing the hopeful gleam of your own. The man beside you looked back at hos laptop screen.

"Sorry, I've been so tired lately, I'm not getting enough sleep... But maybe, if I have the energy." Well, at least it was a maybe and not a no. You lied down, getting comfortable in your shared bed as the thick blanket covered your body.

"You should get some rest too, Childe." You said to him, but he didn't answer. "Night..." You whispered to the air, knowing he wouldn't answer you anymore.

...

"What about tomorrow? You said that a lot have finally been off your shoulders since last month." You tried again, you always kept trying.

Too bad you always seem to fail.

"What...?" The ginger had questioned you, unsure of what you're trying to suggest.

"...The amusement park I was talking about, I thought maybe we could go tomorrow?" You finally clarified, hoping that he'll finally say yes.

As you were both sitting on the couch, his work papers in his hands again, "Uh-huh." Your eyes lit up at what he said.

"So we'll go, what time do you want to go?" You asked in excitement, clapping a bit.

"Okay..." Your eyebrows knit together in confusion, but seeing that his eyes have not even left the paper in his hand, you can only sigh.

"Childe?" You called for him, and the man finally looked at you. "Are you listening to me?" You feel hurt as you look at his speechless expression, knowing full well that he didn't listen.

"Oh... Uhh, amusement park, right?" Childe had scratched the back of his head in nervousness. "Can't really go right now, there's a new project coming up for our department and..." He trailed off, smiling apologetically. "I'll be very busy again."

You just smiled at him, despite your hopes being crushed again, you understand, he needs to work hard for both of you... maybe that's why you're scared to confront him about how you really feel for the past months.

You just nodded, standing up to head to your bedroom. As you walked up the stairs, there was something you wanted to say so badly.

"Yeah... you're always busy..."

"Something on your mind?" You hear Zhongli deep voice behind you, as you looked around the amusement park that you've been wanting to go to for so long.

You looked back at him, smiling as he offered you one of the two ice creams he bought for both of you before taking it with a thank you. "Nothing in particular, just looking around." That was a lie and you knew that within yourself.

You had so much fun! Going on rides that made even the ever so composed man with you scream in absolute horror, eating the tastiest and probably the most unhealthy food ever, winning small prizes like the hat with kitty ears you're wearing right now and even a little fluffy puppy keychain... yeah, you two weren't that good with the games, but it was still a lot of fun!

You just wished that you could actually share such a happy moment with your boyfriend, yet he's probably busy drowning himself in work, as always.

Zhongli was a nice company, a good person to be around with. But the man with you right now is just so undeniably different from the man you wanted to be here with you right now.

"Well, what do you want to do next?" You asked him as both of you started walking around, looking for other stuff to do.

You hear the man beside you chuckle. "Despite my distaste for very crowed places such as these, you've shown me such a good time tonight, Y/N. Thank you." Zhongli had told you, sounding very genuine and thankful.

You giggled, "No problem, Zhongli. I had a great time to! Even more than I thought I would." As you said that, your ears perked up as you heard a faint yell of someone... someone that seemed like they were calling out your name.

You looked around, as did the man with you, he did also hear someone call for you. Just then, you see a man with familiar orange hair run up to you the moment his eyes landed on your figure.

"Y/N!" You look at the direction of where the yell came from...

"Childe...?" Your lover had smiled at you after he had reached your point. "What... what are you doing here?" You asked, in somewhat disbelief and excitement.

He pouted at you, "I just saw your text to me today, you said you'll be here. Is there something wrong with me wanting to join you?" He had asked in a jokingly pained voice, making you laugh. As Childe's eyes landed on the man beside you, however, his smile tightens. "You know, cause I'm your boyfriend and all."

"You're off work early tonight. What happened?" You asked him, concerned a bit. His hand landing on your head, ruffling your hair slightly.

"Just asked to leave early today, I thought that maybe I could join you. Need a little bit of a break to be honest." Childe had answered, making your heart leap in happiness.

Your smile widened, he's finally getting a bit more time off, to spend time with you. It made you really happy.

"Let's go see what other stuff we can do!" You said excitedly, making Childe chucklem

Zhongli knew exactly what the younger man in front of him was on about, yet his expression stayed composed. He must say that he is a bit amused, your boyfriend only coming here once he found out that your hanging out with another man.

Throughout the entire day, you would briefly bring up Childe everytime you two would do something that reminded you of him.

"Oh, Childe would hate this ride. If he's too dizzy he's gonna puke."

"Childe really likes curly fries, extra spicy. Sometimes, even the smell would make me cry." That's what you said whilst you two were in line for snacks.

"Childe's really bad at shooting. Once, we had a bet that whoever could throw a dart closest to bullseye can make the loser do whatever they want. He didn't even hit the board." You laughed as you told him that story.

As you two were eating, you told him a bit about your troubles too, the whole not being able to tell your lover that you wanted a bit more of his time, because you're scared that he think you're too clingy or insensitive when he's already flooded by work.

Zhongli felt amused about everything, as you were leading them to another mini game, he felt Childe's attitude so soft and warm towards you, but so murderously looking at the man behind both of you.

"Hey, I wanna play that!" You exclaimed, the two men looked at what you're pointing at, seeing a game with water guns attached to a table and a target mounted on a wall a few feet away from the water guns.

"Come on!" You grabbed them both by the wrists, jogging up to the stand. As you were about to ask the person behind the table for a go, you feel Childe's hand on your shoulder.

"How about a friendly competition between me and your friend over there?" Childe tilted his head to the brown haired man, who just smiles at you as you looked back at him.

You look at your boyfriend confused. "But... you're not good at aiming."

Zhongli had to keep his laugh in when you said that.

"It's fine, love. I'm still gonna kick his ass." You raised an eyebrow at him, unamused.

"If you say so." You look at Zhongli again. "What do you say, Zhongli?"

The man walks closer to both of you, "I'll try my best."

...

As it turns out, "Zhongli's best" is another term for "winning everytime". At their fourteenth round, with the worker just absolutely done with them, Childe had to finally throw in the towel.

"Y/N, you can choose anything from the prizes I won." Zhongli showed you an entire bag of stuffed animals he go from winning all those rounds.

As Childe was grumbling behind you, you pick up a little brown dragon, golden spikes decorating its form. "Aww, I want this one! Reminds me of you." You said to him, bringing the stuffed dragon to your chest.

"Oh please, it looks like a turd with gold flakes." Childe had dissed the cute dragon, making you slap his shoulder with the stuffed toy.

"He does not!"

The ginger laughed, taking your hand in his, "Fine, come on, let's get you something that reminds you of me." You nodded smiling, scouting out for another game to play.

Meanwhile, Childe had slipped beside the brown-haired man. "Just so you know, I was just going easy on you."

Zhongli took a whale plushie out of his bag of stuffed toys, offering it to the man beside him. "Between you and me, I don't think you'll be winning anything for Y/N with all the rigged games in this place."

Childe was just about to spit back an insult when you called out for him. "Childe! Let's go over there. There's a whole line of games."

And true to the older man's words, Childe did not win anything. After that, you went on more rides!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

You were buzzing with happiness on your drive back, the dragon plushie and the whale plushie on your lap as Childe drove back home.

Oh yeah, the whale plushie... Zhongli gave it to you and said that Childe had won it while you weren't looking, ignoring the death glare of the ginger behind you.

"I really had fun today, especially after you showed up." You looked at him smiling, despite his eyes fixed on the road.

He smiled as well, "Yeah... me too. I'd go with you sooner if I knew that it would be so nice." You sighed in content, melting into your seat and closing your eyes. "It made me realize something too." Your ears perk up at that.

"We hadn't done something like that in such a long time, have we?" Childe asked, his voice seemed to turn a bit sad. You just nodded, him seeing your gesture on his peripherals.

"You've been busy..."

"I know." Your lover sighs deeply. "Today made me realize that... it wouldn't hurt to just share my workload with my co-workers, so I could..." He drifted off, hoping that you would get what he's saying.

"Spend more time with me?" You guessed, eyes glimmering at what he just said. His smile widened, nodding at your question.

"...Thank you." You leaned to him a little, kissing his cheek, before sitting back properly.

Childe can't believe that he might have to thank that old man you called a friend.

"Y/N told me a lot about you." Zhongli said whilst you were away getting some cotton candy.

Childe didn't answer, just looking at your figure near the cotton candy stand, looking in awe as the worker forms the rainbow cotton candy into the shape of a flower.

"They said you're a very busy person, never had time to go with them here." Zhongli wasn't really trying to make conversation, just trying to make the younger man understand what you felt, since you were too insecure to tell him yourself. "That's why they invited me."

Childe will just let that be his little secret. Like he's gonna let another man one up him in your heart.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

So this is more just fluff rather than angst to fluff, but I hope you liked it. Plus, I really liked writing jealous Tartaglia, hehehe. Thank you for requesting!!!

Also don't worry, clxevr you weren't awkward, you're cute uwu~

[luveline]

perhaps a small drabble in which the reader gives peter a massage for his stiff back? it can be fluffy or spicy!

thank u for ur request this was so sweet <3! also i have never given a massage so idk how u even do that

Peter's stretched out on his front on the couch, watching TV with a pinched crease between his brows. You're across the coffee table transcribing his pained expression into your sketchbook, eyes flitting between him and the thick paper under your pencil as you work leisurely. He hasn't moved in hours. 

"Watcha doing, bub?" he asks. 

"You," you murmur, shading in the shadow under his neck. His real shadow stretches as he lifts his head. 

"I wish," he says, grinning. 

You laugh, a quick exhale through your nose, closing the leather of your sketchbook around a well loved mechanical pencil. Peter raises his eyebrows. They dance as you approach, moving to kneel in front of him for a quick kiss you never get - he tries to sit up and the action makes him hiss.

His groan is muffled by the couch cushions as he faceplants. 

The easy smile falls off your face. You bring your hand up to the back of his head, stroking the soft hair tickling the skin of his neck. Your heart aches for him. 

"Is it really bad?" you ask him quietly. 

He perks up, giving you his signature lopsided smile. "No. Little stiff, that's all." 

You scratch his scalp gently, humming. "Huh, poor baby." 

He relaxes under your touch. It gets you thinking - maybe you can make him feel a little better with a massage. You've never given him one before, but it could work. 

You cup his neck and smile lazily. He's predictable – your smile makes him smile, and you know he'll say yes before you ask just 'cos you're both smiling. "Want a back rub?" 

"What?" he asks, rasping. 

You stand up on your knees and trail your hand slowly down your boyfriend's neck, pushing a light pressure against his shoulder blades and traversing down until his breathing hikes. 

You frown in sympathy. "Sorry, baby. Can I try make it better?" 

He doesn't say yes so much as he lets himself lie flat. You climb up over the back of his thighs. "I'm gonna sit on you," you say apologetically. 

"Oh no," he moans dramatically. Then, when you hover,. "Sit down, sweetness- your full weight!" 

You titter. "Fine! But tell me if I hurt you." 

"Whatever you want." 

You roll your eyes at his sticky soft tone and settle on his lower back. You rub slowly over his shirt using the heels of your hands. You feel ridiculous - you've no clue what you're doing or how to do it, you only want him to feel better. 

You push his shirt up to his shoulders and trace the lines of his muscle. He's tense under your fingertips. There's a smattering of tiny brown beauty spots like stars over his back and you pause to press your lips to the biggest, just above a wall of silver stretch marks.

It's barely a kiss. Still, he makes a nice sound. 

You find the knot in his back after some gentle exploring, focusing your efforts on the area, firm but with enough pressure to make a difference. His pained breathing turns to contentment and your heart soars when you realise you might actually be making a difference.

You dot him with another kiss, this time to a beauty mark at the nape of his neck, your mouth tracing constellations into the white sky of his skin. You're careful not to lie on him as you lean over, murmuring into the shell of his ear, "Is this okay? Working?" 

"Yeah," he says, and he sounds bone tired, voice thick with sleep. "Really working. You have magic in your hands, sweetheart." 

"Why thank you," you say sweetly, lightly.

"Will you keep going?" he asks. 

You would've said yes anyway, but his shyness makes you soften like warm butter. You rub the tip of your nose into his neck, the barest hint of a touch. 

"Anything you want," you promise.

You straighten back up and start the process all over again. Eventually, worn out, Peter falls asleep underneath your hands. You keep going, slow, long minutes of his deep breaths and the shushing of your palms over the planes of his back.

My poor, sweet boy, you think, shaking your head as you worry after his inane need to overwork himself. What a dummy. My dummy.

[redflagshipwriter]

Chapter 2

Danny made a face when Jason handed him a coat.

"You don't have to," Jason said, a little offended. "I just thought you seem underdressed for the weather." He'd found his smallest coat, even, which was in great shape because he couldn't fit any armor underneath it and therefore didn't wear it often. That was his sexy coat. That was the going out coat. He was wearing a work coat now.

Masterpost

Danny looked at his brown coat like it might bite him. "... I'd look pretty strange outside in a t- shirt, right?" He confirmed. "It's cold here?"

"Very."

Danny put on the coat and folded the sleeves up so that it fit better. "Okay, I'm ready to go." He wiggled. "Where are we going?"

"Nuh uh uh, it's a surprise," said Jason, because he didn't know yet. He ushered his guest out the door and locked up in a practiced movement. "So, where have you been that's not cold?"

Danny snorted. "It's not that it isn't cold," he admitted carelessly. He put his hands in his pockets and followed Jason. The attention made him stand even straighter than usual. "People just expect me to be weird now, I think."

"So you've got a civilian ID," Jason nodded.

"....civilian." When Jason looked back over his shoulder, Danny looked like he was having some kind of realization. "Yeah. You could say that."

"You know who I am, right?" Jason confirmed. He resisted the urge to fidget, not least because the Red Hood had a pretty low rate of public approval. He'd done the ritual with the hood on and off. He'd always had at least the mask on, but Danny had recognized him instantly in his civvies. So. That was one more person who had his identity.

"...Are we in Gotham?" Danny asked meekly.

Fuck. Jason forced his lips to stay pressed together even when they trembled. Don't laugh. You can't laugh at your date. "Yepp."

Danny nodded sagely. He gripped the back of Jason's sleeve and pulled in close. That forced them both to stop walking down the apartment hallway. He must have gone up on his tippy toes to get his mouth near Jason's ear. "You're Red Robin," he whispered. The feeling of his breath on Jason's ear made his heart skip a beat.

It took a moment to process the words. Jason let out an offended huff.

His date laughed. "The other Red one," he said. His tone was faux apologetic at best. "It's easy to get them mixed up." He patted Jason's shoulder.

"Red Robin is a twig," Jason grumbled. He shook Danny off. He was playing up his scowl, but there was some genuine frustration and insecurity there. He didn't like being compared to Tim. It sent him to a bad headspace. But- "You should tell him that you mixed us up, it would make his year."

"He looks up to you?" Danny asked, openly curious. He jogged after Jason, down the stairs.

Jason snorted. "Not sure if that's true anymore, but he copies everything I do."

"...Little sibling energy," Danny decided. "I bet you like that he thinks you're cool."

"Let's change the subject." Ugh. No. Probably? Jason made a face.

Danny laughed. "What do you wanna talk about?"

Well. Jason stole a sideways glance as they crossed a landing and tried not to fidget. "Why'd you pick me?"

"...huh?"

It was hard not to hunch his shoulders up. "We were all, uh, throwing ourselves at you." That was still hilarious. "Why'd you pick me?"

They walked in silence for a while. They reached the bottom step and Jason held the door open for Danny. They stepped out into the brisk Autumn air.

"Well," he started slowly. "That's not quite… how I saw it." A wrinkle formed on his forehead when he frowned. "It's not like I was picking the best one out of the group of suitors or anything? Because obviously, that's not a way that I look to meet people. Romantically or otherwise."

His stomach fluttered. "So you're saying-"

"Think of it more like if I saw you in a coffee shop and asked for your number." Danny rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'd have thought you were… I mean, if we met elsewhere, I'd have…"

"I'm your type," Jason said, pleasantly surprised by it. He knew that big and muscular was a type, but it was just hard to think of himself as being particularly appealing.

Danny was bright pink. "... Why'd you accept?" He shoved his hands into the pockets of his borrowed coat.

"Curiosity," he admitted freely. "Didn't know anything about you. Wondered what you're like. Thought it might be fun."

"Huh." Danny seemed to consider this. "So far, am I what you expected?"

Jason held out an arm to stop Danny from walking into the street. He huffed a laugh. "I had no expectations," he said dryly. "But you're my type, if that's what you're asking." Apparently, playfulness worked for him. The teasing made him a little nervous, but in a good way.

"... Mysterious and cool?" Danny suggested.

He laughed. The pedestrian light turned green and he started walking.

Danny let out a huge, put upon sigh, but he was grinning lopsided as he trotted to catch up. "Laugh it up," he said cheerfully. "I'm cool and I can't be convinced otherwise."

Jason cleared his throat. "I guess I can't argue with that. D'you want to eat in a restaurant, or get it to go and sit up somewhere real high?"

"To go," Danny said instantly. "I don't like sitting, I get so antsy." He jogged in place to make a point, which had him fall behind Jason's regular walking pace. He caught back up easily.

Huh. Danny was pretty athletic, actually, so far as Jason could tell so far. He hadn't stopped moving since they'd met.

'Probably burns a ton of calories.'

Danny picked Mexican food, so Jason navigated them to a hole in the wall restaurant and got a few things to go. He was a goddamn gentleman, so he carried both bags and held them up high when Danny argued and tried to take one. "You can get drinks, okay?" He compromised.

They stopped at a convenience store

Jason waited outside while Danny flew in and out. He emerged with a bag that he wouldn't let Jason look at. "So, you said you want to go eat this somewhere up high?" Danny prompted.

Right. "Gotham's got good views," Jason explained. "You up for a climb?"

Danny's brow furrowed. "We both have full hands."

Jason grinned down at him. Aww, that was cute. "If that's too much for you, I can carry you up too."

He went beet red. "That will not be necessary."

"You sure?" Jason prodded, teasing.

"I'm very-"

"Hands up."

Both of them turned their heads to focus their attention on the man who was trying to mug them. Jason stared in disbelief. "Come on, man," he said, shaking the takeout bag pointedly. "Can't you see we're kind of busy here?"

Who did that? Who tried to mug two people on a date? Granted- Jason noted- the safety was on the gun. This guy hadn't exactly come ready to catch a murder charge.

The mugger had his face covered with a gray winter mask, but they could kinda see his brows furrow through the eyeholes. "I don't- you know you're being mugged, right?"

"It's up for debate," Danny said philosophically. He cocked his head to the side. Someone edged around them on the sidewalk, because this was fucking Gotham. "I'm not sure you're having the effect that you're going for, my guy. You should consider getting a gimmick or theme."

That was fucking terrible advice, actually. In Gotham, anyway. Maybe it helped villains to have a performance arts background where Danny lived.

"Just give me your wallets!" He shook the gun, as if hoping they just hadn't noticed it yet.

Jason sighed. He transferred both bags to his left hand. The mugger focused on him. He darted his now free right hand out and pulled the gun out of the mugger's grip.

The wannabe thief and Danny stared at him. Jason shrugged and started disassembling the firearm.

"Oh, shit," said the mugger. He sounded very young. "Fuck."

"Your Dad gonna be mad?" Jason asked sympathetically. "I know this isn't your fuckin gun."

"...My grandpa."

He hummed his acknowledgement. "Hands out." When the kid obeyed, he deposited the pieces of the gun into his hands. Jason put his now empty hand over the kid's skull and shook veeeery lightly. "Bad," he enunciated. "You're lucky. Try this shit again and you're eventually gonna get unlucky, you got that? The big bad bat is gonna give you medical debt you can't ever recover from."

"....Thanks. Have a good day, man."

"Have a good one," Jason returned, and put an arm around Danny's shoulder to steer him on his way. Danny craned his neck to watch their attempted thief cram the disassembled gun in his pockets.

"We aren't gonna fight him?" Danny sounded halfway confused about that. "That's what it's like to fight humans? He gave up just like that?"

Jason snickered and reeled Danny in that little bit closer so that his shoulder bumped against Jason's chest. "We should compare stories. On our way up the old city hall tower."

Check Yes (to go on a date with a dead guy)

Chapter 1

The expectant smiles froze on his siblings’ faces.

Jason blinked, still shaking off the disorientation of the green twisting blur that always came when he took his turn with tHe RitUaL. “What?” he said. It came out defensive. Usually they were all laughing by this point.

Dick reached out and took the post-it off his forehead. “We may have misunderstood this sacrificial thing.” He frowned at the note.

Jason tore it away and flipped it around to read it.

“...Please stop the bridal sacrifices,” he read, voice instantly trembling with the need to laugh. Holy shit. “Proposal is kinda forward. But if you really want, I’d totally go on a date with you. Check yes or no. Danny.” There were two smiley faces after the name and a scribbled drawing of a human looking guy with tall hair.

The batcave was in total, mortified silence. The ritual that had become their pre-patrol goof-off activity of choice had maybe… maybe been a mistake?

“I’m kinda hurt,” Dick broke the silence. “I’m marriageable. I’m a catch, even.” He was joking, but Jason was pretty sure that it wasn’t totally baseless. Who would look at Dick and then choose Jason, of all the people?

Stephanie snorted. “It’s probably your reputation as Ritchie Rich,” she soothed. “I’m sure if this… is it the same guy every time?” She blinked, clearly distracted from her original thought. “Have we all been proposing to Danny day after day?” She wondered. She started counting on her fingers.

“Twice last week,” Tim said thoughtfully. “I proposed to him twice last week.” A line formed between his brows. “I should probably tell Bernard, huh?”

“We must communicate with whoever this Danny is,” Damian said immediately. “If this realm possesses both animal life that resembles our fauna and sentient beings capable of the bad judgment necessary to select Todd as a suitor over Richard, we must know more.”

Jason made a face at Damian and flipped him off, but didn’t disagree. “How is this supposed to work?” He waved the post-it. That did imply some modernity, at least. They were communicating with someone who had stationary. “If I was going to check it, would he know what I picked? Or would I have to– should be bride sacrifice a notebook back and forth?”

“A notebook,” Tim said scathingly. “We can do better than that. A communicator, a phone.”

“Who says Danny has signal, dingbat,” Jason shot back. “He’s probably out of the service area.”

Cass took the paper out of his hand and peered at it. “Yes or no,” she asked, cutting off the disagreement before it could get heated.

He didn’t have to think about it. “Yes,” Jason said, mischief in every line of his body. “I gotta see where this is going. We should at least meet the guy.”

“He said you were tempting!” Dick gasped. He grabbed Jason by the arm and clung on. “Remember? The first time? You’re his type!”

Damian made a ‘gross’ face, features scrunched up like an unhappy cat. Stephanie ‘ooooed’ like she was watching a wrestling match. Cass merely looked thoughtful.

Jason shook his annoying brother off and kept him at a distance with a palm on Dick’s forehead.

“Oooh, the void boy has a crush on you,” Stephanie teased. “You’d be such a beautiful bride, Jason.” She didn’t react to Cass reaching into her hip pouch and withdrawing a sparkly purple pen. Jason loftily ignored Stephanie and watched Cass carefully check YES.

The note disappeared. Cass looked at her empty hand. She flicked the pen between her fingers. Her brow scrunched up.

“Shit!” Jason cursed. “Did-”

The group broke out into an explosion of excited sound.

A throat cleared from the stairs. “Kids?”

Batman stood there, wearing wary suspicion and most of his patrol outfit. He was under the impression that they had agreed to stop sacrificing each other to the green void.

“She took my pen,” Stephanie wailed, instantly switching tracks. Cass backflipped away three times and then leapt directly upwards into the rafters, waiving the purple pen tauntingly. Stephanie chased after her.

“What-”

“Jason won’t let me hug him,” Dick tattletailed. He lunged to grab at Jason. Jason dodged on reflex and threw himself into the scuffle.

“I need to call Bernard.” Tim turned and outright left the Batcave. “I’ll be about five minutes late for patrol, B.”

Bruce watched this chaos with bewildered eyes. “...We leave in ten,” he said, and visibly gave up.

…

The date, when it came, was a fuckin surprise to Jason. He was minding his own business compiling a report on everything the Two-Facers had done last week. (There was a surprising amount of bureaucratic process involved in making yourself the judge, jury, and executioner of people who sucked.)

And then there was a violently green hole in his wall. “Huh,” Jason said, leaning back in his chair. He pulled the handgun out of his desk drawer and cocked it at the portal. “Not sure I care for that.”

“Thanks, wolf,” came a warbled and nonsensical reply. Jason turned off the safety.

His brow furrowed. “What?”

The portal flashed white and it closed. He was lifting his gun to point at the man now standing in his apartment before he’d actually processed that someone had come through. This guy moved fast.

“This is where you live?” The other man was peering around Jason’s apartment. He seemed politely interested at best, and, Jason felt, much less concerned by the gun than he should have been. “I heard bats before. I thought there would be more bats.” His tone was disappointed. He looked at Jason and then flinched his palms out and up, as if he thought he might have come off rude. “Not that you need bats! Or that I’m disappointed by the lack of bats in your decor. In fact you have wonderful, uh, curtains.” He very obviously named the first thing that he saw. He pretended to be fascinated by them. “The red sure is a choice.”

Jason snorted.

“A great choice! I’m not criticizing your home. It’s great.”

Jason realized that if he didn’t say anything to save him, Danny was going to ramble himself into a verbal corner and slink out of the dimension to escape his obvious embarrassment.

“...You hair looks just like in the picture you drew,” Jason said. He put the safety back on. “Hello, Danny.” The name tasted odd in his mouth. It twas just a little pedestrian for the other man– no, teenager, the other teenager.

Danny looked young. No wonder he’d thrown Dic back like the wrong fish.

Jason felt a little less smug about having been the one chosen. Maybe he was just the most age appropriate candidate, not Danny’s type. Timmers was only two years younger, sure, but he was petite enough that it was a little ambiguous.

Danny turned away from Jason’s window and beamed up at him like that was the greated compliment he could have ever received. “I don’t actually have your name! Which is funny, since you kept manifesting in my house.”

God help him, Danny was cute. Jason reached out a hand. “Jason.”

Danny looked at his outstretched hand and then back to his eyes. He blinked. “Are- oh!” He flushed green and his hand shot out to meet Jason’s in what was very clearly the first handshake of his life.

It was a struggle not to laugh. He didn’t wanna make Danny feel bad so he held it in. There was a helpful distraction in that Danny was fascinating to the touch. It didn’t feel like he was touching a human hand. First off, the hand was about the temperature of butter straight from the fridge. Secondly, somehow the physical contact made Jason taste mint in his mouth.

But really, it just… it didn’t feel like human skin. It was too smooth. There was a raised line from a scar, but the texture was as if all the wrinkles and pores of human skin had been polished off. Like if you held the hand of a marble statue and it was somehow also soft.

Jason pulled his hand away before he could wonder too much if that supernatural smoothness extended elsewhere. Ah. Too late. He flushed a little red, even though the only exposed skin was Danny’s hands and face. “So you’re here to uh, set up a date?” he offered.

Danny blinked at him. “Are you busy now? I was thinking now.”

…He was sort of busy. Jason closed his notebooks, only now concerned that Danny might have seen extremely sensitive information. “Nope,” he lied, attention catching on Danny’s freckles. Something about them was pinging as relevant. Was there a pattern? They weren’t symmetrical or anything. Were they fake?

Danny beamed and - he floated up a few inches in his excitement. Holy hell that was cute. “Great!” he enthused. “Should we go to your place or to mine?”

Uh.

Jason turned violently red. “We are already in my place.” His voice came out tight. He- he hadn’t meant that. That was not a first date activity for him.

It took a few seconds for the penny to drop. “Go out in your city or go to the Ghost Zone!” Danny waved his hands frantically. “I’m not being a creep I swear! I mean, we are kind of spiritually engaged but I’m also engaged to– are those people your friends and family?” He was outright horrified. “Oh my GOD, I’m-”

“I would love to take you out around town, but you’ll stand out,” Jason interrupted. He couldn’t hold back the smile. “We can make it work, though. Thoughts on hats and glowing less?”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Danny twitched his hands outward in a motion he probably didn’t even know he was doing. There was another flash of white light that crawled up and down his body.

And Danny one was gone. Danny two stood in Jason’s apartment with dark hair, patched jeans, and a loose t-shirt that hid the musculature his jumpsuit had displayed. He had a full palette switch of his eyes and skin tone as well.

He was obviously the same guy. He just felt more down to earth now.

“Useful,” Jason said, and tugged at his snow-white forelock. “Think you could teach me to change my hair like that?” He was only half joking. It was the bane of his existence when he needed to go undercover. It was too distinctive.

“No, but Doctor Frostbite might be able to sort that out for you,” Danny replied absently.

Jason grimaced instinctively. He knew way too many gimmicky villains to want to do to someone called Doctor Frostbite. “That sounds like the name of a B-tier villain with blue hair.”

Danny paused and clearly contemplated it. “That’s Ember, actually,” which made no branding sense because the word ember evoked warm colors. “Lead the way!” He bounced on his heels, which Jason guessed was his human form equivalent to floating up.

Jason cleared his throat. “I, uh, am gonna want to change.”

For the first time, Danny really looked him up and down and realized that he was wearing a white sleeveless undershirt and black boxers. Jason waited patiently as Danny went through all the stages of grief and social mortification. That didn’t stop Danny’s eyes from followed Jason’s bare arms when he casually lifted one and flexed a little, rubbing at the back of his head. Ha. Eat that, Dick.

“I’m going to go drown myself,” Danny said, now violently pink. Huh, even blushing for a color change. “Can I use your restroom?”

“Stay alive enough to pick between Korean or Mexican,” Jason advised. “I’ll be right back. Should I find you a coat?” He didn’t wait for an answer, frowning at Danny’s bare arms. “I’m gonna find you a coat.” He was already on the way to his bedroom. “It’s freezing out.”

…

[harunayuuka2060]

Satan: Levi? Aren't you supposed to be doing that project with MC?

Levi: *shakes his head* Nope! I'm doing it alone! I can never be comfortable around that person!

Satan: *frowns a little* You're being too judgmental, do you know that? Even Luke wants to befriend them.

Levi: Luke? B-But why?

Satan: He didn't explain. Though I think you should at least try to be civil. I'm sure MC hasn't done anything to offend you.

Levi: W-Well... No. But they're always glaring at me like they want to kill me! I swear they're scarier than Lucifer!

Lucifer: Scarier than me, huh?

Levi: L-Lucifer! *then sees MC beside him* *shrieks in horror*

Levi: *proceeds to bow apologetically on the floor* P-Please forgive me! I didn't mean to talk behind your back!

MC: ...

Satan: Levi, you're making it awkward.

MC: *turns around and about to walk away*

Lucifer: *grabs their shirt* Where do you think you're going?

MC: *glares at him*

Lucifer: You're helping Levi with the school project. Don't think you can laze around.

MC: *gives Levi a hostile glance*

Levi: *gulps*

Asmo: Oi, Mammon. Don't you want to help Levi? He's literally sweating.

Mammon: Huh? Why should I? He brought that to himself.

Levi: *his hands trembling and sweating nervously while giving MC some pointers* M-Make sure the lines are e-equal on both sides.

MC: ...

Belphie: If I were MC, I would have already punched Levi.

Beel: ...

Beel: I think MC is listening to him intently.

Mammon: You think? It's more like they're already killing him inside their head.

MC: *silently working on their task*

Levi: *stealing glances* *checking if he's safe*

Lucifer: *goes to check on them* How is everything so far?

Levi: I-I'm almost done.

Lucifer: *looks at MC* *raises an eyebrow* Levi, you need to keep up. I think MC is just waiting for you to finish.

Levi: H-Huh?

MC: *their eyebrows furrowed*

Levi: I-I'll be quick-

MC: *stood up and left*

Levi: ...

Lucifer: *frowns disapprovingly* Diavolo will have to know about this behavior.

Levi: *looks at what they've finished* *notices that he can adjust it to his liking*

Levi: Whoa...

Lucifer: What's wrong, Levi?

Levi: I-It's nothing!

*the next morning*

Levi: *submitted their project to the teacher*

The teacher: *frowns in confusion* Why is MC's name on it?

Levi: Because we made it together.

The teacher: Sir Leviathan, MC asked me for a deadline extension because they told me that they didn't have time to help you with this.

Levi: Huh...?

The teacher: *shakes her head* You don't have to include them with the project you have done by yourself.

Levi: But-

MC: *enters the office* *carrying their own, but the quality is bad*

The teacher: *sigh* Just put it there.

MC: *just left without saying anything*

Levi: ...

[laurenairay]

can I request prompt 5 with my big man dougie Hamilton?? happy birthday!!! ❤️❤️

I appreciate that you appreciate Dougie as much as I appreciate Dougie. Especially his big hands 😘

“We should compare hands. You know, for science.”

Words: 990

*

“Hey! Hey baby, you’re here! You look so pretty! Isn’t she so pretty, Cap?” Dougie sighed happily.

By the glassy eyes and the widely gesturing hands, it didn’t take you long to figure out what was wrong with him. When your boyfriend’s captain had called you to say that Dougie had to be carried off the ice during practice because he was seconds away from passing out, you knew you should’ve put your foot down harder this morning when he was leaving home. But it was too late now – so here you were, leaning in the doorway of a trainer’s room with Nico looming beside you, Dougie stretched out on a medical bed without a care in the world.

He was an idiot. But he was your idiot.

“Very pretty,” Nico agreed solemnly, corner of his mouth twitching in a smile.

Then he turned to you with an apologetic expression.

“I should’ve warned you on the phone,” he started.

You held your hands up, shaking your head with an amused smile.

“You guys have him on the good cold & flu meds huh?” you mused.

“Yeah sorry about that – there were no notes about him reacting this way to them,” Nico winced.

“Eh, no harm no foul. I wouldn’t mind help getting him out to the car though,” you shrugged, laughing.

Nico laughed as well, nodding as he clearly tried to picture you carrying the drowsy giant out by yourself. “Not a problem – that’s why the trainer left us, he’s already gone to find something to wheel him out with.”

“I did tell him that he shouldn’t have gone in for practice today, but he insisted,” you said.

“Yeah that sounds like him. It was scary seeing him sway on the ice though, and that was before the nasty coughing,” Nico frowned.

You rolled your eyes fondly, shaking your head, to which your oblivious boyfriend just smiled. You could imagine it clearly – considering how bad Dougie was when he left the house this morning, you would put money on him being dehydrated from pushing himself so hard, as well as the phlegm having built in his chest not helped by the fact that his nose was blocked. Such an idiot. He was lucky he was so endearing.

“I’ll make sure he rests up this time, I promise,” you sighed, still unable to stop yourself from smiling slightly at the sight in front of you.

“I know you will,” Nico mused, “Also I’m pretty sure Dougie knows that you’re a little mad at him so I can’t see him fighting you on this again.”

The trainer interrupted your laughter, arriving in the corridor with a wheeling flatbed cart.

“Is this the thing they cart the goalies out on?” you snickered.

“Have you seen the size of your boyfriend?” Nico grinned.

He had you there.

Between the three of you, you managed to get Dougie up off the bed and onto the cart, Dougie immediately grabbing your hand, Nico just grinning as he snapped a few subtle pictures. No way were you going to stop the blackmail opportunity. Nico and the trainer pushed the cart down the hallways, Dougie just chattering to you nonsensically, and you found yourself humming and listening to the chatter as you walked by his side.

It was kind of sweet, seeing this side of him, although you knew that he would massively regret getting into this situation in the first place as soon as he was lucid enough.

“You know what, baby?”

“What?” you mused, looking down at Dougie again.

“We should compare hands. You know, for science,” he slurred.

What the fuck?

Nico didn’t bother hiding laughter this time, the trainer snickering as well, but Dougie just stared up at you with big eyes, waiting for your response.

“For science?” you said lightly.

“Yeah! Because my hands are so big and yours are so small and I like holding your hand,” he nodded.

Oh bless his heart.

He was definitely going to regret this tomorrow.

“We can definitely do that. At home, though, where we can log the results properly,” you mused, “for science.”

Dougie seemed happy with that answer, nodding to himself and smiling as the cart finally reached the doors for the car parking area. Nico was still grinning as he helped the trainer lift Dougie into your car, and you knew that he wasn’t going to waste a moment texting the team the full details of Dougie’s clouded mental reactions, just as Dougie deserved.

“Have you got it from here?” Nico asked, watching in amusement as Dougie fumbled with the seatbelt catch.

“Yeah, I think so. Thanks for your help,” you nodded, smiling, “Make sure there’s enough chirping that he doesn’t do this again.”

“That I can definitely help with,” Nico grinned.

You grinned back at him before getting in the car yourself, waving goodbye as Nico and the trainer headed back inside.

“Ready to go home?” you mused, starting the car.

“Yeah, I don’t feel so good,” Dougie nodded, eyes a little more half-lidded.

You could only imagine how out of it he would be by the time you arrived home, poor guy.

“Okay, let’s get going. Try to stay awake for me, yeah?” you said, smiling softly as you pulled out of the parking spot.

“I will do my best,” Dougie said seriously, although the slur in his voice made him sound more than a little silly, “Did I tell you that I love you?”

This guy. This sweet guy.

“This morning you did, yes,” you nodded, smiling a little wider.

“Good. You should always know how much I love you,” he said happily, wiggling his shoulders as if he was snuggling into the seat, “Because I do. Love you, that is.”

“I love you too, Dougie.”

If loving him meant hauling him out of the car mostly unconscious, then it was worth it for that brilliant sweet smile he sent your way.