#and he's so silly??? i forgot how playful he really is in canon

[faunabel]

i swear if you took a shot every time italy mentions girls in canon, you would die from alcohol poisoning in mere minutes. it is excessive 😭 but kind of adorable actually. he just wants that Female Validation.

[desideriumwriter]

Closest To Heaven

Summary: After years of shoving down your feelings your Fred, believing he'd never felt the same as you did, a loss and a letter tells you otherwise. (based off this request!)

cw: mentions of blood, injuries, explosions, dying, canon character death

a/n: the beginning is a bit sloppy and rushed but bare with me i promise you it gets better and dramatic

wc: 2.7k | f.w. masterlist | navi

Fred and you had always had a tight bond. Everybody knew, you were almost with him as much as he was with George. 

Lately it had been more of just Fred and you together. Rather than Fred, George, and you.

The more and more you hung out with Fred alone, the more you begin to feel differently for him. A good different, a better different.

Every time he would touch you, even if it was a playful shove, your skin felt all tingly. His silly teases or funny comments towards you didn’t feel like joking anymore, there was more of a flirty tone to them.

Godric, you were falling in love with him. It was cliché, falling in love with your bestfriend. The problem was you really couldn’t tell if Fred had any true interest in you. It was hard to tell if he was actually joking or actually flirting with you a lot of the time.

You were unprepared for what would happen if you did confess to Fred, and he didn’t feel the same.

So, you shoved those feelings down. It worked for a while. You would get those occasional butterflies in your stomach when Fred would look at you, but you did your best to ignore them.

Until you saw Fred and Angelina walking hand and hand through the clock tower courtyard. 

Then it came back. That feeling in your stomach again. 

Not fluttering butterflies, but a painfully tight knot.

Angelina was a gorgeous girl. Pretty personality and pretty face. Pretty everything. She was courageous, strong as hell, fiery, and well put together. Who wouldn’t fall in love with her? 

You didn’t feel envious or jealous of her. Not in any angry or resentful way. 

But sometimes you did wish it was your waist that Fred had his arms wrapped around at the Yule Ball. That it’d be you would get a kiss pecked on your cheek before Fred left the room. You who would give him good-luck-kisses before he’d walk on the field first. That it’d your head resting on his shoulder, asleep on his body. That it’d be your fingers intertwined with his during weekend trips to Hogsmeade or even down the hallways of the castle.

You wished that it’d be you. It’d be you.

It made you sick sometimes. But, Fred moved on. You should too.

And you did, you found eyes for others. Desperately trying to find someone who wasn’t him. You were able to get a few successful relationships, at least for a little while. They never lasted very long. 

Later on you found out Fred and Angelina had split. You decided not to pry, but it was mostly likely because of Fred and George abandoning Hogwarts and making a grand exit out of school in year six.

Throughout the years, you kept in touch. Somewhat. Occasionally you both would send owls to each other. Little notes and sometimes Fred and George would send a small gift, usually sweets.

On even rarer occasions you’d pop up to their store.

He’d always let you leave with a free product of your choosing or his persuasion, always trying to lure you into getting something by saying things like:

“This ones a top seller.”

“Customer favorite!’

“This can come in handy when you least expect it.”

You always tried to have a comeback, a refusal to his words, yet he’d always have one in response.

“Hey, you might need it one day!” 

“I’ll need to have a nosebleed one day?” You raised your eyebrows, an amused look on your face as you stared at the nougat in your hand.

“Get out of boring meetings.” He shrugged.

Though you always refuted and attempted to pay. Shoving galleons in his pocket when he wasn’t looking, yet every time you left the money somehow made it back in your purse. You forgot how damn good he was at charms.

Though it would be long periods of time, months, years, since you’d seen each other face to face. There was no tension, no awkward air between you. You both talked and joked the same way you did when you saw each other everyday at Hogwarts.

School honestly felt like a past life every time you saw him.

Now you were back at that castle. Leaning against a fallen over wall with him in the now destroyed courtyard, both a bit bruised and exhausted. Trying to get a moment of relaxation after a long few days of preparing and protecting the castle while fighting other dark wizards.

Everything felt sickening. You stared around the area around you. No longer covered in green grass and healthy plants in pots. Now full of smashed pillars, torn and burnt bushes, cracked concrete.

“You alright?” Fred's voice broke you out of your thoughts.

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“Me too.” He nudged your elbow playfully, of course, in the middle of a battle he could still try and joke through it.

“This was the last place we spoke, before you flew out of here.” You fiddled with the hem of your shirt, trying not to show your hurt due to the memory.

“You’re sure about this? You’re both gonna really go through with it? Leaving?“ You said, pulling your knees up to your chest as you sat together on the cold bench.

“Yeah, tomorrow. You sound disappointed.”

“I’m just worried.” You sighed.

“About?”

“You leaving here and things accidentally going wrong.” You fiddled with your tie.

“Nothings gonna go wrong. We’ve got more than enough to set up our shop, we already have a place claimed for it.” He sounded slightly defensive.

“I just don’t want you to end up regretting this.” You gave him a sympathetic look, he gave you an offended one.

“We’ve been saving up for years. Every bit of money I’ve gotten has gone directly into this. This is all I’ve wanted for years. I’m going to have it and I’m going to be happy with it.” His tone got a bit harsh. “I don’t need some rubbish certificate to get to where I want to be.”

“I know, I know.” You brought your legs down, feet touching the grass. “I’m really gonna miss you.” Your mouth was moving faster than your brain, you didn’t mean to say that out loud.

“I’m really gonna miss you too.” He looked over at you, putting a hand over yours, fingers wrapping around your hand for comfort. You weren’t if he was doing it for his or your comfort. “I’ll send you letters and I’ll tell you all about the process, alright? I’m not gonna become a ghost to you.” He squeezed, you both smiled at the ground.

Before you went back to your dorms, he pulled you into a tight hug.

“You be good, Weasley. Don’t be stupid.” You let out a weak laugh.

“It’s my brand.” He said as he pulled away. “You be smart.” 

“Yeah. It’s been so long.” He leaned his head back against the wall. “I think getting out of here was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” You tried to ignore how that sentence felt like a stab in the gut, so desperately wanting to ask; Was leaving me here a good decision?

“Did you ever miss it here?” You looked over at him, 

“A little bit. I missed the people. I missed you.” Fred felt a bit shy saying that, yet you were in the middle of chaos, anything could happen to either of you. Better to get the truth out now than never. “Sometimes I think about what would’ve happened if I stayed.”

“The same outcome most likely, you’d just have to wait another year. But, I would’ve left early if I could’ve as well.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, sixth year was hell. Especially with Umbridge running the place for that moment.” You looked at the back of your hand, still able to see the faded letters from her punishments scarred in.

Fred put his hand over yours, this time your fingers intertwined with each other rather than wrapping around both your palms. With his other hand, he pulled something out of his coat pocket.

“Um, I want you to have this.” He cleared his throat as he handed you a folded piece of paper. You took it hesitantly, fingers brushing over his, you began to open it but he stopped you. “Don’t. Open it afterwards, all of…this. It’s in case anything happens to me.”

He couldn’t ignore the way your face faltered.

“It’s just for if this will be our last time together.”

“Fred…” Your voice was solemn, almost sounding disappointed. “Come on, don’t talk like that.” Your thumbs fiddling with the paper.

“I just don't have a good feeling about this.” He murmured.

“I don’t think anybody does.” You let out a terribly weak scoff. “We’re in the middle of a literal fucking war, Fred.” You looked around, raised your arms and let them fall to your sides.

“Yeah. But you know what I mean.” He breathed in. You did know what he meant, but you wouldn’t let him know that either.

“Fine. I hope you know you’ll be getting this back though.” You pointed the letter at him, letting out a breathy laugh through your nose and you put the note in your pocket. You both whipped

your heads up once you heard the bells, the secret warning sign everyone agreed on. The one that told you to get to your spots.

As the both of you stood and Fred turned away, you grabbed him onto his hand and pulled him into a hug.

“You be good Weasley.” You spoke softly, hoping that he couldn’t hear the wavering in it and your voice was slightly muffled due to burying your face in his chest. 

It felt different compared to any other embrace you ever had. Those few seconds felt so long, and in those seconds, even in the midst of a battle, you felt the safest you’ve ever been.

“You be safe.” He said sweetly, pressing a kiss onto the top of your head before pulling away. 

You gave him a smile, trying not to wince at how you accidentally broke open the cut on your lip that you sustained earlier. His mouth opened a tiny bit to say something else, instead he closed it, smiling and nodding at you back.

You both left the open area, returning to your spots and both trying to ignore the dread that filled your stomachs.

By the time the sky was pitch black and littered with stars, thats when you heard the explosion, just feet away from you. The force was enough to cause you to stumble but still stay on your feet.

Immediately a long and dark haired man shoved past you, running away as you saw a lanky and tall boy following suit.

Percy?

Percy was already chasing after Rookwood by the time most of the smoke and debris had cleared from the air. Words you’d never expected to come out that proper boys mouth were being shouted.

You turned to the spot behind you that had been blown up, bits of stone and cement shattered everywhere, piles on it. You felt your heart stop as you saw a familiar pair of legs laying over one of the piles.

Running over and your feet coming to a screeching halt as you stood over Freds body, the movement of his chest gave you a tiny bit of relief, but the small bits of blood seeping out the side of his mouth took it all away. 

You dropped to your knees, sweeping the dirt and stone off his chest. His eyes fluttered open and he looked at you, brows faintly knit together as he tried to lift up his head, failing.

He rasped out your name, you gave him a pained smile. 

“Hey. Hey, it’s okay.” You shushed him, he coughed a bit. “It’s alright, I’ll get you help okay? You’re gonna be fine.” You tried your best to blink away the glaze forming in your eyes.

As you wiped the blood off his mouth he brought up a weak, bloodied hand from the rubble. Pulling out the note from your front pocket and pushing it into your chest.

“No, no. You’re getting this back. Nothings gonna happen to you, you’re getting this back.” You tried to convince him, yourself too.

Though he couldn't get any clear words out, his voice was soft, and he smiled. He grabbed your other hand and placed it over the note, you held onto it. His breaths became more raspy and his face went pale. You knew what was happening and you didn’t want to.

That bad feeling Fred had about all this, it was happening. You couldn’t stop it.

“No, no, no.” You whispered hoarsely, “Don’t you dare fucking do this to me.” You sobbed as you continued to wipe the dirt off his face, he just smiled at you with red stained teeth, wiping a tear from your cheek with a weak hand.

A broken plea left your throat.

You could feel his soul begin to drift away from you at that moment. You couldn’t do anything about it. You stroked his face and watched the spark from his eyes go dull, the raspy breaths came to a stop and so did his entire body. He was gone. It was all over.

The letter Fred gave wasn’t opened for a while after that evening in May. It laid on the top of your dresser for months, collecting dust, untouched and taunting you.

Your name written nicely on the top of it, next to the smears of his blood from his hands made it feel like every time you stared at it, you were staring into the burning sun. 

Around the time the leaves outside began to change color, falling from the trees, and a cold wind hit you every time you went outside. That’s when you made your decision to finally open it.

As you sat on your bed, holding the folded parchment in your hands, still absolutely not prepared in any way to open what's in your hands. Yet you unfolded it, a long neatly written letter in front of your eyes, the first word being your name. The first sentence eliciting a sad laugh out of you.

I hope you aren’t pissed at me for dying, I was trying my best not to today. Or that day, I don’t expect you to open this for a while. I know you well. I hope you’re doing well. And I just hope you don’t hold a grudge against me for that, or this letter.

I’m a proper asshole for telling you this now that I’m not here. I’m not sure if you have someone or are seeing someone currently, if you are this would make it worse.

Anyways, the whole reason I’m writing you this is because you were what I wanted for so long, for years. I know you didn’t have much interest in me in the first place. That’s why I never told you, I didn’t want to know what would happen if you had to reject me. I don’t know what I’d do if you did.

I tried my best to move on, I tried my best to shove those feelings away. I never could. I saw you go onto being with other people. I knew I had no chance. Every time I’ve sent you a letter, every time you showed up at the shop, I had to refrain from spilling this secret to you. My silly secret that I’ve kept locked since school.

Now that things turned out strange, and not as good as we hoped in some ways. I just needed you to know this. That I loved you. I love you.

I know I’ve sprung a lot on you. I do apologize. I didn’t want any of this to happen. I’m sorry for everything that happened. I’m hoping you weren’t there when I went. And if you did, I’m sorry again. But hey, at least I’ll be happy knowing one of my last moments was spent with you. Maybe I'll be more accepting of death because of that.

I went knowing I loved you. I went out happily. 

                             Forever Fred.

Your hands began to shake a bit without you even realizing, causing the paper to crumple under your fingers.

You could’ve had what you wanted for so long. That yearning to be with him could’ve ended so long ago if you had just bucked up the courage to tell him. If you didn’t assume he was the one with a disinterest in you.

Now, you’ll be searching for his warmth in everyone that isn’t him once again.

tell me what you thought! <3

ty 🐍 anon for the request i luv u

[voidyyzz]

can i get your opinion on this

The mischaracterization is INSANE /lh

Nonbinary Ixol I can fw but bro is NOT sensitive he is MENTALLY UNSTABLE and an ASSHOLE but in a funny and playful way (most of the time)

Hell he can even make himself pretty intimidating!!

Idk just

The word "sensitive" does NOT fit him

Taking from this since I decided to look it up for clarification, he does NOT act like this

I mean I do hc that he can be a bit nice sometimes to the people he likes (not meaning "like" in a romantic way btw, meaning it in a friends way), but we don't really see that canonically

Warning I am YAPPING MY MOUTH OFF under the cut

Canonically he taunts you, finds your suffering amusing, and has a pretty short temper towards you and others (especially Cyalm). His personality does switch a bit at one point (him breaking down over the loss of his voices/friends) where he does seem more vulnerable, but he is still closed off and a bit aggravated.

Now getting to the mentally unstable aspect (cuz I almost forgot about that lol)

As you can see through the dialogue for the challenge course, he quickly switches up from presumably calm to very aggressive just from a simple rejection to his offer.

Now you could say "oh it's just a simple mood swing, it doesn't show anything about him mentally-" IT DOES

did some research for myself and drastic moods swings (like the ones he's displayed above) can be a sign of mental instability

It can even be a sign of BPD! (I can even confirm this myself as I have BPD)(Though while my BPD is self diagnosed since my parents aren't willing to get me tested, I have done extensive research to make sure I was positive I had it.)

(also this isn't me saying Ixol has BPD (though I do hc that LMAO), just showing that it can be a sign that he's mentally unstable)

Pre Shattered Shardscape, at the point where Cyalm kills off the voices in Ixol's head (which I'm ngl the voices themselves could be used in the claim of him being mentally unstable too), he quickly goes mad and becomes highly aggressive and violent. This is yet another instance of these drastic mood swings.

The level of how violent he becomes could even be a sign of mental illness or instability in itself due to how it can sometimes be associated with mental illness.

Ok now let's get into his funny and playful aspect lol, this'll be the shortest part probably.

...

Just look at this dialogue bro

I can't put all my screenshots since I'm at the image limit but LOOK!! the playfulness and silliness radiates from this dialogue like it's Chernobyl

He's so silly I love him I love him so much mwahmwahmwahmwah kissing the image of ixol I put in my wallet mwamwah

Ok I think I'm getting too silly myself LMAO

I completely forgot abt how I was talking abt how Ixol was being mischaracterized and just went into an whole ass analytic essay god damn

I am normal about him I swear

[halliescomut]

Love Sea Ep 8 Post-Watch Thoughts

I was gonna post thoughts as I went, but forgot, so here's hoping I can remember everything that happened in the episode.

- General comment: I love the more playful air of the intimate scenes this episode. There's no "graphic" NC scenes this ep, and instead Mame basically opts for fade-to-black for the couple we see initiated, but there's a significant increase in the playfulness between Rak and Mut, which is a very subtle but lovely bit of storytelling in my opinion. It demonstrates that what's happening is about more than the contract or the sex, but that they're becoming comfortable with each other.

- The father legit still confuses the fuck out of me. Like....does he actually want something. Does he just want to punish Rak by making him live a life alone because Rak chose his mother? Because that's what it seems like, and yeah shitty people are often just shitty, no deeper meaning, but seriously how can this man think Rak would have done anything else after he was such a garbage husband and father? I feel like if he tried at all to look at the series of events from Rak's perspective at all he'd be like "You know what, that's fair. I probably would have made the same choice."

-I've said this several times, but I like seeing Mut do little things to take care of Rak. I think it's good for Rak, because it shows him what the potential future could be. I also really liked the bit of internal dialogue we got at the opening of the episode about how mundane daily tasks, done in repetition are a way of showing care to those we cherish. I think that's just a really lovely sentiment.

-While I'm still mad at P'Vi, because all of her anxiety over Mook not realizing she's being flirted with could have been avoided if she was just honest. She's pushing Rak so hard to admit his feelings to himself, and even teasing him, but she can't confess to her crush either, so does she really have a leg to stand on? I realize that a lot of these choices are kinda done for the drama, but I feel like there were other options that might land better and wouldn't rely on P'Vi playing a bunch of games. Really, her just repeatedly confessing to Mook and Mook just passing it off as her being silly or not serious would have been a good option.

-Issues with P'Vi's deplorable choices in regards to wooing Mook aside, I did really like her convo with Rak this episode. I really like their friendship and how honest they are with each other. It's an important part of friendship. And while they're very honest and even blunt, it never feels like they're being cruel. Both actors did really well conveying the level of familiarity they would have, and how well they know each other's boundaries. They push and tease, but don't cross the line.

-I feel bad for Meena. Poor lamb. As precocious as she is, she is still just a little kid and shouldn't have ever been pulled into the adult concerns happening. The fact that Rak's father is so willing to use her shows exactly what kind of man he is, truly.

-Mut and his handling of Meena and Rak's dad showed a level of seriousness and maturity that's not unexpected, but is a good counterweight to his more fun-loving casual demeanor most of the time. We love a man that can do both. (Also, idk if you noticed, but the jeans this episode were showcasing the tushy excellently.)

-I've got mixed feelings on the whole jealousy scene and the foreplay-esque fight. It feels just so vaguely ooc to me, but this is original IP, so it's basically canon, so it can't be ooc. It honestly just checks off my bingo box for "poorly considered D/s dynamics portrayed". Watching it it felt like they were a couple doing a scene, but we as the audience weren't present for the pre-game discussion, you know? Maybe part of why it felt so odd is that it seems like Mame is trying to portray consent in a healthier way while at the same time feeding into that 'No" Kink she has and so the scene feels incongruous...idk.

-Truly the only real issue I have with this episode is the continuity of Rak's iPhone. When his father surprises him we watch the phone drop and the screen shatter in slow motion, clearly to a level that would make it unusable, but then after their talk he walks away actively calling Mut on the phone and it's clearly functional. Like this is not a deal breaker for me, but it is such an obvious break in continuity that I'm kind of surprised.

Okay, that's all I can think of. Two episodes left. I'm excited and also a bit sad to see the story end. Sidenote, do any of y'all feel like this show has rewatch potential? I've rewatched LITA & DSN a bunch, and LBC and TT once, and WP none at all, since their original release, but I'm not sure how I'll feel about rewatching Love Sea.

[amazingmsme]

i had more headcanons for polites and elpenor but i got sick and forgot to send them so here u go <3

polites has always felt really sad about elpenor joining the war at such a young age, and it just gets worse as he watches elpenor slowly get older. so whenever elpenor is up to his usual shenanigans polites will actively encourage it most of the time, since he thinks he deserves to have some fun and act like a child again

it’s become sort of a rule on the ship to never send polites and elpenor out on missions together without at least one other person there to supervise, cause chances are it will end in chaos. they’re just both too silly

imagine after elpenor’s death on circe’s island, he ends up in the underworld all sad and alone thinking nobody cared about him, and then he eventually bumps into polites who the first thing he does upon seeing him is give him the biggest hug

polites has always been a very affectionate person with his friends, but he amps it up with elpenor to mess with him. either with physical affection like hugs or hair ruffles or whatever, or with verbal affection like giving him nicknames or hyping him up whenever he does literally anything. and elpenor acts all “ugh stop it you’re embarrassing me >:(“ cause he doesn’t wanna admit that he actually likes the affection

if elpenor gets himself hurt doing something dumb and needs help patching himself up then he usually goes to polites, cause he knows polites won’t get all that mad at him

these two are constantly launching tickle attacks on each other but since they’re both two most easiest people to beat in a tickle fight on ship they’re always teaming up with each other to take down someone else. they’ve come up with some kind of secret code or signal for it at this point

i love these two a lot - 🌙

XBLXBRFMBSKABF THEY’RE MY LIL SKRUNGLIES OK THEY’RE SO CUTE & SILLY I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUUUUUCH!!!

Oh Polites is so used to aiding & abetting Odysseus with all their shenanigans growing up, & he doesn’t want the fun to stop! He knows for a fact everyone else got to go get into trouble when they were young, & he doesn’t want Elpenor to miss out! & it’s a good excuse to go have some fun

& everyone learned that lesson the hard way because wtf it’s been 3 hours it does NOT take that long to do a simple scouting mission & return back to the ship. They probably just found a waterfall or something & decided to cool off for “just 10 minutes” but they lost track of time because it’s just so pretty & the water felt so nice “well I’m glad you 2 enjoyed your swim, we all thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere”

Sadly we won’t get to see this in the fic because I make the rules & he’s alive because I say so. But in the canon universe he’d be so frightened & alone & feel heartbroken over his abandonment, but then he hears a familiar voice & turns to see the most comforting face he knows. & he just collapses in his arms & sobs because how did their lives come to this? 🥺



POLITES IS THE #1 HYPE MAN FRRR! He’ll whoop & cheer you on like he’s at the fucking colosseum or something & he really hams it up for Elpenor! He wants to make him smile & not take things so seriously because he doesn’t want him to loose that playful childish spark he has. So he’ll hail his accomplishments & praise him whenever he can because positive encouragement is the best motivator. I can just see them like “WHOOOO YEAH! Go Elpenor!” & Elpenor is just standing in the middle of the deck blushing like “… I just tied a knot…” yeah but it’s a pretty tough knot you just learned & you got it on the first try. Give yourself some credit bb

I think when most people get hurt, they go to Polites to patch up because they know he’s got a gentle touch & goes out of his way not to hurt you in the process, & it always sparks a good conversation. But for Elpenor, who always ends up hurting himself while doing something stupid, he really appreciates the judgement & lecture free atmosphere

These 2 are such lil giggle bugs I swear! They’re pretty evenly matched in a tickle fight, so it’s always a toss up on who wins. But it’s a decent way to pass the time on slow days. But they’re the most notorious tag team on the ship simply because of how often they strike, & how random it seems. But if you suddenly find yourself sandwiched between them & they’re acting too casual or buddy buddy with you, just know you’re about to get your shit wrecked

[bard-llama]

WiP Wednesday: Time Travel Zuko 2: Electric Boogaloo

I have 2 WiPs with Zuko traveling through time, which is why this is 2. This one features an older post-canon Zuko traveling back in time to tell his younger self all the things no one ever told him that he wished he’d known. 

Things in a fight with the Avatar were never predictable – but sometimes, they were more unexpected than others.

The bright light that encompassed the area made everyone look away, and when Zuko looked back as soon as he could stand to, he saw a tall regal-looking man in fine quality Fire Nation robes… with a golden flame in his hair and a scar on his face.

What!?

“Where did you come from!?” the Water Tribe boy demanded.

“Oh wow, it worked,” the man said with some surprise. He took a moment to assess himself, checking his hands and patting down his body. “Wow, I honestly did not think that would work.”

“What worked? Who are you!?” The waterbender held her hands at the ready, waterskin uncapped.

Zuko was a little stuck on examining the scar, which looked exactly like his – and he’d forced himself to not react to his reflection in the mirror so many times that he knew without a doubt that they looked identical.

“How–!?” he choked out.

Uncle, who always lagged behind during races for the Avatar, caught up just in time to hear the man introduce himself.

“Hello,” he said, bowing and forming the flame. “I am Fire Lord Zuko.”

“What!?”

“Wow, I forgot how young we were,” ‘Fire Lord Zuko’ mumbled to himself. And,”they were right about the hair, dammit.”

That made Zuko – the real Zuko flushed, jaw clenching. “What are you playing at!?”

Considering the rest of them were tense and ready to fight, ‘Fire Lord Zuko’ was surprisingly casual as he shrugged. “I genuinely did not think this would work. I’m honestly still reeling a bit. It’s been a long time.”

“Hold on,” the Water Tribe boy interrupted, “are you claiming to have traveled through time!?”

“Yeah, isn’t that wild?” ‘Fire Lord Zuko’ outright laughed. It was kind of bizarre to see joy wrinkling the lines of his scar. “Sokka – my Sokka – is probably explaining how this is completely impossible in my time right now.”

“Why are you here?” Uncle asked warily.

‘Fire Lord Zuko’s face turned serious. “Ah, yeah. Um. Okay, it’s maybe a little silly, but I wanted to tell myself all the shit that I figured out later and wished someone had told me. So… like I said, I really didn’t think this would work. Guess the spirits are feeling playful or something.”

“I’m sorry,” Uncle cleared his throat. “You – you claim to be my nephew… from the future?”

“Yeah.”

“I go home, then,” Zuko managed to rasp, still mostly just feeling shocked. But there was some hope in that shock and–

“Ah. Well, not exactly.”

–and it crashed and burned. Zuko frowned, displeased.

“Wasn’t really thinking there’d be witnesses for this, but oh well,” ‘Fire Lord Zuko’ said, stepping closer to actual Zuko, who stiffened with the expectation of pain. But all the older man did was put a hand on his shoulder and meet his gaze directly. “He was wrong.”

Zuko sputtered. “What?”

The other man squeezed his shoulder, face serious as he repeated, “he was wrong. He never should have done that. No reasonable person would ever even consider that to be a just punishment. He was wrong. He’s always been wrong. We never deserved any of what he did to us. Ever.” The golden eye holding his gaze was sad, but firm in its resolve. This man meant everything he was saying.

But that couldn’t be true. It couldn’t!

“He – you–” Zuko stammered, trying to find a response that made sense. He knew exactly who the older man was talking about, but it didn’t compute, because it wasn’t possible for Father to be wrong.

“No one ever told me,” ‘Fire Lord Zuko’ said quietly. “It took me a long time to figure it out on my own. And I know it’s not that easy. I know you don’t just suddenly believe it. But you need to hear it said. It was never your fault what he did.”

Zuko shook his head, but he couldn’t quite break the other man’s gaze.

The man held it for a long moment and then squeezed his shoulder again and drew back. “That was… really all I had planned, honestly. Not sure what to do now.”

“What the fuck!?” the Water Tribe boy barked. “What the fuck was that!?”

His sister elbowed him for his language, but honestly, Zuko was with him. What the fuck was that and what was he supposed to do with it?

‘Fire Lord Zuko’ just shrugged, tossing long hair over his shoulder. Unlike the real Zuko’s mark of shame, this Zuko had a full head of hair and a proper topknot, the golden flame of the Fire Lord bright against the dark strands.

It was difficult to believe that this could ever be him. It was honestly kind of difficult to even imagine getting to whatever age this other man was. When he thought about the future, he thought about getting back to Father and Azula and Mai and Ty Lee and the turtleducks in the garden and–

But he never thought further than that. He never thought ahead to a time when he might be Fire Lord. The idea kind of terrified him.

“May I ask?” Uncle inquired. “When did you become Fire Lord?”

“The thirtieth anniversary of my crowning was a few months ago,” this other man who wore his face said. At Uncle’s clear shock, he added, “I became Fire Lord at sixteen. Youngest in history,” he grimaced. “The early years after the war were rough for a lot of reasons, but people pissed at a kid being in charge definitely didn’t help.”

“...after the war?”

“Oh, yeah. Um. We – we kind of ended it? All of us? And some other people?”

The Avatar and his friends shared a look. “Like… together?” the Avatar hazarded.

‘Fire Lord Zuko’ scratched his scalp with half a shrug. “Yeah. Um. I changed. A lot. Because it turns out that someone who responds to dissent by burning people is also someone who kind of just wants to burn the whole world down. And he tried.”

Everyone was stunned into silence for a few moments. That – that didn’t – that couldn’t – why would Father want to burn down the world!?

“Why would he burn a kid?” ‘Fire Lord Zuko’ countered quietly, and the Avatar’s group gasped, apparently piecing together the thing going unsaid.

“It was a punishment,” Zuko murmured through numb lips. “I deserved it.”

“No,” ‘Fire Lord Zuko’ said clearly, “you didn’t. No one could deserve that. Ever. And someone who does that to others cannot be trusted to lead the world.”

Zuko shook his head. This man was just trying to poison him against his father, that was all these lies were.

Desperate, he looked to Uncle, whose face was so achingly sad that he could hardly manage to meet soft amber eyes.

“He’s right,” Uncle said quietly. “You did not deserve that, Zuko. No one could ever deserve that.”

“But–”

“Wait, your Father burned you and you think that’s okay!?” the Water Tribe boy’s voice was shrill with disbelief. “What the fuck!?”

“Sokka!” his sister hissed, elbowing him.

Zuko glared at both of them.

The Avatar’s big grey eyes were wide with concern just like they had been when Zuko had woken up after taking an arrow to the head.

[formless-monkeys]

What is your favorite relationship(s) in the show (romantically or platonically, doesn’t matter!)

Anon you will regret opening pandora’s box. Or not. In any case, this post is going to be very long because I’m full of love. Also, anything marked romantic does not need to be romantic for me to lose my shit over them. In no particular order, either. Just in the order I thought of them.

1. The Black-eyed trio

Characters: Otto, Sparx, and Gibson.

Type: Platonic, Romantic,

Explanation: These three are grouped together by virtue of not being obscenely powerful and serving more practical uses on the team. Also, their eyes are all the same color. Besides the poetic connections of the colors of their design, they were alone in the robot together while the other three monkeys were out training.

Sparx and Gibson’s interactions give me life, going from playful jabs to genuine fighting right back to ride-or-die is amazing. The beginning of Night Of Fear, the battles in Brothers In Arms, and a bunch of small moments throughout the series are wonderful for this.

I could write an essay about Otto and Gibson, and someone else already has, but I’ll summarize it as ADHD autism solidarity with a side of Shut The Fuck Up Gibson. They care about each other and learn to respect each other in a way that’s better for both of them. I know a real-life Gibson to my Otto and learning that she’s just pretentious and doesn’t really hate anyone, and figuring out that we’re both equally brilliant and incredibly similar has made life a million times better.

Otto and Sparx don’t have as much development as Gibson with both of them, but their jokes together and general trust is amazing. Sparx is the dumb monkey and Otto supports him in his himbo endeavors. 

These three together make an unstoppable technical team, and the only reason they probably couldn’t be a superhero team on their own is because of the raw power and fun dynamics brought by the other half of the team. 

Romantically, these three would make the DUMBEST polycule ever. There is no true mediator here. It’s three dumbasses figuring out how they could possibly share a twin-sized bed when they have the ability to just make a bigger bed. Gibson calculates the most efficient 3 monkey makeout and none of them follow the statistics. They all give Chiro equally useless and conflicting advice on homework. Trying to give them a mediator in the polycule just makes me go back to shipping polymonkeys because I literally can’t decide if Antauri or Nova go better with them.

2. Quiet trust and encouragement

Characters: Otto, Antauri

Type: Platonic, Romantic

Explanation: When Otto is being dismissed by the other monkeys, or by the show itself, Antauri is usually the first to say “that’s bullshit, Otto is wonderful”. Circus Of Ooze is a notable example, but there are little moments in other seasons as well. 

I just love the idea of the historically MOST SERIOUS and strongest monkey, sometimes even elevated to god-like status by some fanworks... paired with the monkey that has been infantilized and disrespected to no end. I personally like making Antauri have to lean on Otto, just to subvert that even further. 

Beyond spite, I ship this simply because I like their dynamic. Antauri needs someone to ground him with more tactile physical things, and Otto needs someone to share his more nebulous thoughts I can’t imagine the others listening to. I love them.

Also, I want Antauri to unlock his true dumbass potential. He has the abilities, but not the will. Be silly with Otto. I want to hear him snort-laugh.

I literally forgot all the silver monkey stuff but I got three fics about that you know I go nuts over mechanic x robot shit.

3. The monkeys and their human son.

Characters: Chiro, Antauri, Nova, Sparx, Gibson, Otto

Type: Familial

Explanation: This family gives me joy. They were forced together through astronomical means and they made the best of it. 

Everyone living in the robot is absolutely fucked up. They help each other in the darkest of times. They lift each other up when it’s light. They are a perfect team and nobody can be missing without it feeling wrong. But they can add people!

“Girl Trouble” as a concept is AMAZING to me but my secondhand embarrassment is so strong that I hate the episode. But never once is any of the monkeys resentful of Chiro. Not even Mandarin is like “wow I wish he didn’t take my place” no he’s also struck with the urge to nurture this kid to his fullest potential. Whether you see the team as a bunch of older siblings or 4 dads and a mom doesn’t really matter, they’re a family.

I mean, this also has a sprinkling of shipping all the monkeys in a really domestic way because I like seeing my optimal future in characters I like, but like literally all of these, it doesn’t need to be romantic for me to go nuts. I just think it would be fun to throw just a big monkey wedding or whatever. And funnier for Antauri to go “Chiro I’m having a baby. The baby is you” and holding up adoption papers because on the principle of Toby “Radiation” Fox I love that joke, especially when made much less weird than the original context.

I have a set of characters who is just 5 people in a polycule raising kids and living life because I really love this concept as a family.

4. Evil Coworkers

Characters: Mandarin, Sakko

Type: Romantic, Platonic,

Explanation: Why the hell are these two, in particular, working together? SK could’ve put Mandarin with literally anybody else and he chose what on the surface appears to be the LEAST compatible person on the account that they’re both monkeys. Some bitter asshole who now looks like the epitome of toxic masculinity and this tiny pink pet who used his femininity both as an advantage and a style. They’re different but it ends up working really well for both of them because they’re different in ways that cover each other’s bases. It’s wonderful. Pink and Orange go well together. Green and Purple go well together. Mandarin and Sakko go well together. Also, they clearly trust each other. During almost the entirety of “Hidden Fortress” Sakko was presumably just chilling inside of Mandarin’s armor. Mandarin trusted him enough to have Sakko in a place where he’s able to mess with his cybernetics, and Sakko trusted Mandarin enough to go into the battlefield with him and probably get tossed around.

If they were both human and in a more modern media, then they would definitely be shipped in the straightest way you can get without actually being straight. The Straightest Gay Ship. 

5. A Witch and her Accidental Evil Coworker

Characters: Skelemandarin, Valeena.

Type: Platonic, Romantic, 

Explanation: These two have been through some shit. Skelemandy was made to serve Skeleton King only to have that purpose yanked away from him. Valeena was groomed to idolize and serve Skeleton King for nearly her entire life. They were forced together by SHEER CHANCE and they both hated it. Arguably they both died at some point. 

They both have absolutely NOBODY they can trust so let’s make them trust each other. All hilarity and sweetness comes from that. 

Their dynamic is so good that I have them on a blog for a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FANDOM and people love them with no context. 

This is the only cross-species ship I have (besides chinmay and the antauri ships but that doesn’t count), but the fact that Skelemandy isn’t actually a monkey and needs no cybernetic assistance to be human-level sentient makes it a lot less weird. Just put them on equal ground power-wise (like by nerfing Valeena’s magic) and you have the ingredients for bonding. 

They have like, no cute moments in canon, but that’s why we have fics and art. They have potential. I want them to help each other figure out who they are without their purpose. I want them to survive this horrible life together. I want them to figure out how to trust again. I want a lot but Valeena is fucking dead.

But she doesn’t have to be.

(Also Valeena is REALLY HOT and Skelemandarin is just me as a monkey)

6. Gay Dads

Characters: The Alchemist, Captain Shuggazoom

Type: Romantic, Platonic

Explanation: Oh my stars. Oh null. Oh me oh my hhougfhfakjghf. These two have the angst of Mantauri but on crack. 

They only appeared in about two episodes each and all three episodes are top tier. They call each other “Friend” multiple times in their shared episode. THEY’RE FRIENDS!!!!!!!!! The face Al makes when he realizes that Cap is visiting makes me really happy. The fact that Cap had this whole Batman Double Life thing and he shows the Alchemist BOTH OF THEM is amazing. The alchemist is a hermit living in the woods and he lets Cap into that life. 

There isn’t a lot shown, much less than everything else here. But that makes every single fanfic so much richer since they’re almost completely based on headcanons. Friends who have a mutual crush on each other but are No Homo about it? Secret boyfriends? Husbands with 6 monkey kids? An Old man and a grumpy Skeleton making it work? Literally just platonic friends? Dude, you can do whatever you want. 

The tragedy of these two losing each other to one big horrible event crushes me. It influences my every move in my creative work. I have an entire character dedicated to reuniting these two in the most astronomical and ridiculous way possible because the alchemist angered the gods but she thinks he needs some company in his eternal punishment.

I want Clayton to unlock Al’s less serious, more fun side. I want them to work together. I want them to hold hands. GHGHGHDFBG UTTHTYE CNAZSNT EBCV ASUA ER

7. The girl power duo

Characters: Nova, Jinmay

Type: Familial

Explanation: These two were my only comfort during the uncomfortable nightmare that is “The Hills Have Five”

Nova was the one who trained Jinmay, and it seems like they hang out a lot offscreen in season 4. They fulfill the early 2000′s cartoon archetypes of girl and Girl, so they’re supposed to get along. If they didn’t I probably wouldn’t like Jinmay.

Nova is a really good big sister/parental figure to Jinmay, who never had any family to speak of. 

Anyway, this entry has to be shorter because most of their bonding is in “The Hills Have Five” which is either #1 or #2 in my least favorite episode list. Not because it’s bad, but because it makes me viscerally uncomfortable. I really wish literally any other character than Jinmay was in her role in that episode. Or that the “taken to an offscreen area by an adult man while she screams” just wasn’t there. SHE’S 13!!! Nova did literally all she could to help. 

I really like that scene in questionable where Valeena kills almost the entire gang. It’s what they deserve.

Look I just really like Jinmay and I always have. She deserves a good Mom.

8. "My Second In Command”

Characters: Antauri, Mandarin

Type: Theoretical

Explanation: The fandom has really made this ship go from “literally nothing to stand on” to “integral plot point in a lot of fics”. Seriously. I have TWO screenshots that vaguely imply these two ever stood next to each other on the battlefield. This was entirely title-based and fan-made until ProjectAfectivity interviewed Ciro. Yeah he knows Antauri but only as well as the rest of the team. Anyway. Wow. This ship.

This is by far the worst breakup in history. These two, despite what Antauri says, were on equal ground at some point. According to Ciro (and fan speculation), they trained together. This (and other Mandy ship) changes wildly depending on if you think Mandarin was corrupted by the portal or not. Maybe Mandarin was once a kind leader who just crossed the wrong boundaries and paid for it. He could’ve held Antauri gently before battle. He could’ve been the monkey Antauri went to when he needed someone to talk to. He could’ve hyped the team up like Chiro does.

Or maybe, they were constantly fighting against each other in small ways. An incredibly unhealthy relationship, yes, but an interesting story. I like stories where Antauri isn’t this all-knowing pillar of stability. He’s got weaknesses. One of them may have been Mandarin.

Now that’s a good nickname from one to the other.

Imagine Antauri, in a moment of complete trust, declaring Mandarin his weakness. A sweet sentiment. They both know the other is incredibly strong, and trust that the other would never take advantage of that connection. They love each other. Until...

9. "My Closest Ally”

Characters: Otto, Mandarin

Type: Theoretical

Explanation: Okay I'm looking at the screenshot I put for this entry while also having watched Evil Ages recently. My brain is making uncomfortable connections. Combine that with the fandom and the show’s general treatment of Otto and I’m about to slam my head into a wall. I really do not like that, but I feel like there’s somebody out there who does. 

Anyway, this is Gibotto and Ottauri but with all the spice that shipping Mandarin with one of the other monkeys brings. When done well, it’s all the respecting Otto that comes with Ottauri and all the intimate partnership of Gibotto. And the Angst of Mantauri, but a lot more grounded. 

It paints a lot of stories. A story of a single point of comfort in a world Mandarin thinks is out to get him. A story of powerful validation from the one authority in Otto’s life. Of letting your guard down. Of trust, then breaking that trust.

I’d LOVE to see some things with Mandottotauri because that’s epic and cool and poggers. Don’t see a lot, though.

10.The Hets, I guess.

Characters: Jinmay, Chiro. 

Type: Romantic. Platonic. Canon.

Explanation: Look two entries on this list are polyamorous and four of them are mandarin so I have to say SOMETHING for the heteroes following me. Picked this ship over Spova because when I was a young child still suffering from comphet, I never watched the last episode of the show. I only saw up to season 3 at the most. This was the only canon ship for me. And out of all the ships, it’s the most relatable. I’m currently a teenager with black hair who looks really good in eyeliner dating a girl with pink hair who can pick me up and is unbelievably sweet. Except we’re gay and polyam. Wait a second I totally had a crush on Jinmay as a kid and now my gf is the Jinmay in this situation. Oh my god I was going to make this comparison if I did Spova too and I liked Nova.

ANYWAY

These are two LONELY kids. Chiro had bullies during school, and now he doesn’t even go to school. Jinmay hasn’t really had friends at all. Two kids with places in their universe that they aren’t too sure about, and just need someone to lean on. Their date was cute. They instantly bonded over their love of monkeys and I love that. 

The super robot is sometimes an analog for Chiro, in the first two season at least, and the way the super robot held Jinmay’s hands to keep her steady on the COB while her head flew in was SO SWEET. Chiro’s instant recognition and reaction to Jinmay’s head being thrown at the team, as well. He really loves her.

I think it’d be interesting if she didn’t love him back, though. I might take a stab at writing that.

[phoenix-downer]

His and Hers

Sora/Kairi. Post-canon. Fluff, romance, teasing, happily married life, and tacky matching t-shirts. ~2300 words. For @angel-with-a-pipette​, whose birthday is today! 

Kairi liked collecting things. Fun things, pretty things, ridiculous things, practical things, weird things, tacky things. She also liked taking those things and making them into new things. And now that she and Sora shared a home of their own, she wanted to fill it with things that represented the two of them. Gluing thalassa shells to a picture frame she’d found at a flea market and then inserting a picture of her and Sora eating sea-salt ice cream. Making a scrapbook of photos from their wedding and setting it on the coffee table that Sora had repainted. Teaching him how to knit so they could work on a big blanket for the couch together with yarn she’d gotten from an old friend.

Sometimes, however, she found things that were perfect as they were. Today was one of those days. She was shopping for some necessities on the Main Island when she spotted the perfect things hanging proudly in front of one of the many little shops that had recently popped up. No local worth their salt would come here, but now that the Lanes Between had been opened up to commercial flight, the tourists happily would. 

She giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. Two t-shirts were hanging side-by-side. One was blue with a white arrow pointing to the right, and the other was pink with a white arrow pointing to the left. The blue one said “I’m hers,” but the pink one didn’t say “I’m his,” it said, “He’s mine,” instead.

She wanted those shirts. They were ridiculous and tacky and perfect for her and Sora.

She blushed and shook her head. “No, I can’t get them, they’re completely impractical.” She started pacing back and forth. “Munny’s a little tight this month, and I promised him I wouldn’t buy any extra stuff today. What would he even think if I got these? We’d never be able to wear them in public, we’d have a good laugh and then never look at them again—”

She fetched her Gummiphone out of her purse. She’d take a picture and show him later. But right as she was about to, the phone started ringing. 

“Sora?” she asked as she answered the call. “What’s up?”

“You’re still out shopping, right?” 

“I am. I’m about done though.”

“Guess who had a good haul with the Heartless today.” 

Her heart pounded in her chest. “You got more munny?” 

Ever since she and Sora had gotten married, they’d spent less time fighting as they focused on building a life for themselves on Destiny Islands again, and that meant less munny in their bank accounts. Dropping out of school while they were still teens meant there weren’t a whole lot of job opportunities open to them, and their erratic schedules meant that most places didn’t want to hire them anyway. Sora had become a mercenary of sorts, traveling the worlds and fighting so he could still help people but also get to keep the munny the Heartless and Nobodies dropped. She went on missions of her own too, but they’d agreed that someone should be home whenever possible, and this month was her turn. 

“I did,” he said, breaking her out of her thoughts. “I’m gonna talk to Uncle Scrooge about investing some of it with him like we talked about, and the rest we can put in our bank account on one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You get something nice to treat yourself with. I know this month’s been kinda rough, and I wanna make it up to you.”

She smiled and looked at the t-shirts again. “Thank you.” 

They discussed how much she could spend today, how much he would be investing with Uncle Scrooge, and how much would be going to their bank account, and then he ended the call like he always did: with a heartfelt “I love you,” which she returned in kind.

Some careful haggling on her end won her the t-shirts for only 2000 munny, and she still had leftover munny to get something else. Sora had told her to treat herself, but she wanted to treat him, too. She went to the Main Island’s department store and found a good bargain on something she knew would catch his eye.

Satisfied with the day’s purchases, she boarded the ferry to one of the smaller islands where she and Sora lived. It was bigger than the Play Island but much smaller than the Main Island, and it was their little oasis of privacy from the larger world. Their house was the only house on the whole island, and the previous owners had sold it to them for cheap because it needed so much fixing up. Kairi was proud of how good it looked now, of how much hard work she and Sora had put into it. They’d truly made it their own, and coming home to it felt wonderful.

She set the groceries on the counter and started unloading them, and she heard Sora come in when she was done with putting up all the stuff that needed refrigerating. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and sighed.

“I’m back,” he murmured as he kissed her shoulder. 

“You’re home,” she said as she set the groceries down and rested her hands over his. Sharing their usual greeting like this would never get old, and she would always drop whatever she was doing to do so. He smelled so good, too, his natural scent mixed with a little sweat from exertion and the breezy smell of the beach. 

“I missed you,” he said, and she could hear the pout in his voice as he kissed her neck. 

She turned and faced him. “I missed you too.” 

He cupped her face and kissed her, slowly and tenderly at first and then more and more passionately as she wrapped her arms around him. The groceries all but forgotten now that they were reunited, he swept her off her feet and carried her to their bedroom so they could pick up where they’d left off. 

Afterwards, they cuddled and caught each other up on everything that had happened since they’d parted, then took a quick shower to cool down and clean up. Sora went around the house opening the windows to let in the late afternoon breeze after that, and Kairi returned to the kitchen to finish putting up the groceries and get dinner started. 

She caught sight of today’s extra purchases again and smiled and stashed them away for later. Sora popped into the kitchen soon afterwards, and together they made dinner. Fried rice with pineapple, shrimp, chicken, and paopu fruit that they fed to each other with big goofy smiles on their faces as the sun set behind them.

It had taken a long time to reach this point, but Kairi wouldn’t trade their hard-earned life here for anything. 

After they’d washed the dishes and put up the food, they cuddled on the couch as they took turns reading each other stories from a book Sora had been given on his latest travels. As Kairi finished up the most recent story, she brushed Sora’s bangs back and kissed his forehead. 

“It’s good to have you back,” she said. Even though he’d only been gone a few days, it wasn’t the same without him around.

“It’s good to be home.” 

He hummed happily as she played with his hair, then said, “Oh, I forgot to ask, what did you get to treat yourself?” 

“Oh! I nearly forgot, too.” She untangled herself from him and went to get the bag out of the corner. “I found these at one of those new little tourist shops today, and I couldn’t say no.” 

She pulled the t-shirts out of the bag and showed him, and he burst out laughing. She loved his laugh, loved how it made his entire face light up and how the sound started deep in his belly and echoed across the whole room. Soon she was giggling too, because it was impossible not to join with him. His laughter was contagious and warm and always made everything feel better. 

“Kairi, they’re amazing! What a great find.”

“Right? I’ve never stumbled across clothes that suited us so well.” 

She tossed the blue one to him and he held it to his body. “Yep, looks like it’s gonna fit.” 

As she saw him sizing it up like he was serious about wearing it, her face flushed. “You don’t have to actually wear it, silly. I can take them back if I need to—” 

“Don’t. I’m gonna wear this, and I’m gonna wear it proudly.”  He looked at her and grinned, and she felt her blush getting darker. “What? It’s true, and I’m proud I’m yours.” 

She ducked her face and giggled. “I would’ve gotten one that says, ‘I’m his,’ but they didn’t have any.” 

His grin turned into a smirk. “Oh, we both know the ‘He’s mine,’ shirt fits you better anyway. Don’t you even try to deny it.” 

“Guilty as charged.” She giggled and reached into the shopping bag for the other thing she’d bought. “I got a little something else, too, something I think you’ll like…”

He perked up as she pretended to rustle around for it. 

“I wanted to get something for you, too,” she said, “something to treat you…” 

Now she really had his interest. He craned his neck to try to see into the bag, and she shook her head and hid it behind her back.

“You have to guess what it is.” 

“Chocolate? Candy?”

She shook her head.

“A new project for us to work on together?”

She shook her head again.

He laughed. “C’mon, gimme a hint please,” he said, putting on his best pout paired with his best puppy dog eyes. 

“Starts with an ‘L.’” 

He murmured to himself, trying out various L-words, and then paused. A grin spread across his face, a mischievous, playful grin, and he wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Oh, I think I know exactly what’s in there, and you’re right, it is a treat for me.” He waited for a moment, building up the tension, and then said, “You got me lemonade, didn’t you?” 

She stared at him for a moment and then burst out laughing. 

“Just kidding,” he said with a grin, then sprang to his feet and gave her a peck on the cheek. “I’m looking forward to seeing you wear that lingerie for me later, though,” he murmured in her ear. “Tomorrow maybe, when we’re both feeling well-rested.” 

“When would you like me to wear it, exactly?” she teased. “The morning, the afternoon, the evening…” 

“Surprise me.” 

She followed him to the bathroom and then to bed, and they fell asleep soon afterwards. They were both tired, him from his travels, her from the day’s errands. She slept like a baby with him here; not once did she wake up in the middle of the night. It had taken a little while to adjust to sleeping together, but once they had, neither of them slept very soundly without the other. 

The next morning, she woke up to an empty bed. Strange. Sora usually preferred to cuddle with her in the morning as they soaked in the sunlight and murmured sweet nothings to each other. She rolled over onto her back, only for him to burst through the door with breakfast for her. Sausage and eggs and pancakes all neatly arranged on a plate her family had gifted them. 

“Morning!” he called as he set the food on one of their bedside tables. That was when she realized what he had on.

“You’re actually wearing it. You’re actually wearing the shirt,” she said with a giggle.

“Darn right I am, and you should wear yours today, too.” 

“But we were planning on going to the Main Island again today.” 

“Exactly.” 

“You won’t be embarrassed?”

“No. It’s like I told you, I’ll be proud. How could I not be when you’re my wife? Now eat up, we’ve got a lot to do today.” 

They got some really great looks from random tourists they passed by, and Sora even called a few of them out on it and offered to take pictures with them, which made everyone laugh. One couple even took them up on the offer, and Sora charmed them into taking a photo of him and Kairi on his Gummiphone afterwards. 

“There, now there’s photographic evidence,” he said very seriously. 

“Of what?”

“Of my beautiful wife being as charming as ever.” 

They finished up the day’s errands, and once they’d gotten home and had put everything away, Sora turned to her with another one of his mischievous smiles. She knew what he was thinking, and he knew what she was thinking. And not much more needed to be said about the subject. 

“Now?” was all he said as he wiggled his eyebrows. 

She giggled and nodded. “Now.” 

He swooped her into his arms and carried her to their bedroom, and as she did, she couldn’t help but smile. The t-shirts were fun, but the reality behind them was so much better. She and Sora were finally together, and they would always have each other. His, hers, mine, ours, the labels didn’t matter so much as the truth behind them. And because they were so serious about being with each other, they didn’t have to take themselves very seriously at all. 

And all the moments of joy and playfulness and teasing that came out of their love and commitment to each other—that was the best part of all.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Happy Birthday to @angel-with-a-pipette​! Thank you so much for your friendship and support over the past few years! I’m so glad we met and bonded over SoKai. Thank you for all the wonderful memories, all the writing feedback, and all the great conversations and discussions. I hope you enjoyed! 

And to everyone else, as always, thank you for reading! 

[m00nslippers]

Just a few more of Jason Todd’s feats (Part 2)

Part 1 | Part 2

This is continued from Part 1, where I went through most everything relevant in the Preboot-era for Jason that I’m aware of. The exception to that is the events of Countdown which does feature Jason but also had him fighting extra-dimensional people so there is not much relevance to the main DC universe, and Lost Days where he doesn’t fight anyone who has ever fought anyone else of note. Happily, Jason kept the vast majority of his stories as canon after the reboot, so the only things from Part One that are questionable are things that don’t take place in Batman comics. I totally forgot Nightwing: Brothers in Blood though so I’m adding it, even if it isn’t canon anymore.

As before, I’m listing the major fights where Jason fights against skilled vigilantes or assassins, basically people skilled/important enough that you can use the match to measure his ability, so I’m discounting fights with nobodies and goons and low tier vigilantes/criminals.

To reiterate from Part 1, Jason is often in a position to kill his opponents, so in many matches he could technically win at any point, but he chooses not to. In the New 52 and beyond Jason acts more as a hero/protagonist in many cases so he runs a lot less and fights other Bats less often. But as before in the case that he does run or the fight is inconclusive, I’m just going to call it a ‘tie’. I’m going to rate the outcome of matches as such:

Win - Jason kills, incapacitates, checkmates or otherwise defeats his opponent.

Tie with an advantage - Jason escapes or stops the fight with less damage than his opponent or having achieved more goals.

Tie - More or less an equal amount of damage, or goal achievement on both sides.

Tie with a disadvantage - Jason escapes or stops the fight with more damage than his opponent or not having achieved his goal.

Loss - Jason is captured, incapacitated, checkmated or otherwise defeated.

Let me just preface this by saying that many fights in the New 52/Rebirth, especially any instance where Jason fights alongside other batkids--especially Tim and Damian--Jason is purposefully made to look incompetent and the other superior, contrary to pretty much everything we know about Jason and Damian or Tim’s skills. Not that Tim or Damian are bad fighters, but Part 1 of this series makes it pretty damn clear that Jason is superior to both in skill/ability--which makes sense, he’s bigger and older and been fighting longer, there is no shame in that. So take the fights that involve them with a grain of salt, because most of them paint one or both characters as OOC. I usually try to be quick with the summaries of fights but I’m going to go into why some of these fights don’t make sense.

Nightwing: Brothers in Blood (1996)

Nightwing (Jason Todd) vs Nightwing (Dick Grayson)

Win - Jason actually saves Dick from falling off a building right before this, which Dick doesn’t really appreciate. They roll about fighting on the rooftop a bit with Jason seeming more playful while Dick is furious, ending in Dick hanging off the side of a building Lion-King style and Jason slashing his hand to drop him, effectively winning the fight.

Nightwing (Jason Todd) vs Nightwing (Dick Grayson)

Win - Dick leaps off a catwalk to try to fight Jason in civilian identity, which is silly but whatever. They trade some good blows but in the end, Jason knocks Dick out and escapes.

Batman, Incorporated (2012)

Wingman (Jason Todd), Redbird (Damian Wayne), The Hood and El Gaucho vs Merlyn, Sportsmaster, and thirty of the best League Assassins.

Win - Jason just walks through these guys. Damian shoots Merlyn with an arrow which was helpful but completely unnecessary and Jason electrocutes the guy. El Gaucho and The Hood help out but they struggle throughout. Jason casually takes out anyone who gets close. I only bother mentioning this fight at all because we are explicitly told these guys are THE BEST THIRTY assassins the League has, including named guys like Sportsmaster and it’s a joke. That is the level Jason is at.

Red Hood and The Outlaws (2011)

Red Hood and Starfire vs Lady Shiva, Manbats and Bronze Tiger

Tie with an advantage - Jason starts this fight chained to a pillar, which he gets out of in the blink of an eye. He then proceeds to punch out some manbats, gets in a fight with Lady Shiva, which he wins with a nerve strike, though it’s implied to be cheating by the dialogue, and then trades blows with Bronze Tiger. Granted, he gets in a tight spot with Bronze Tiger, for Star to jump in and assist. I’ll call it a tie, but anytime you take out Lady Godamn Shiva it’s a win.

Red Hood vs Ra’s Al Ghul

Win - This fight has more going on than just the martial arts, there’s magic Well of Sins/All-Caste stuff going on too, but generally speaking it’s a sword fight between Ra’s and Jason, in which Jason has the upper hand throughout and in the end he strike Ra’s down and strips him of the power of the Well of Sins.

Red Hood vs Ravager

Tie - Jason and Ravager are pretty evenly matched but it’s likely neither are trying their hardest because even after they stalemate each other, the fight ends and they go about their business.

Batman And Robin (2011)

Red Hood vs Robin (Damian Wayne)

Tie - By his own admission, Jason isn’t fighting his hardest against Damian. They exchange blows, Damian at one point has Jason at sword point, but Jason pulls an electrified baton like Nightwing’s, only Damian isn’t there, he’s escaped with his objective, which is Jason’s Red Hood helmet. So you may wonder why I classify this match as a tie when Damian seemed to get away with his objective. Well, it’s because Jason’s helmet can be remote detonated. Jason technically has Damian at a checkmate, but he’s not going to blow up his baby brother so I’d call this a tie.

Red Hood vs Batman

Tie - Jason is compromised through this whole fight but despite feeling betrayed and anxious he manages to hold it together pretty well. He and Bruce trade blows that results in a similar amount of damage but neither are really trying to win they just want to hurt each other. In the end, Jason is the one to decide to stop fighting and walk away.

Batman Eternal

Red Hood vs Batgirl (Barbara Gordon)

Loss - Even though Jason really is purposefully not hurting Barbara, because she’s been mind-whammied to think he’s the Joker, it still shows him getting his ass kicked more than it probably should. Basically Jason losses because he’s not trying to win. The win is waking Barb up, which he does, so it’s hard to tell how useful this fight is to gauge his abilities.

Batman & Robin Eternal

Red Hood vs Orphan (Cassandra Cain)

Win - Jason pretty clearly had the upper hand in this fight, though Cass gets some good hits in. Jason checkmates her twice, Cass breaks the first one when Jason is distracted on the phone with Dick, only for Jason to get her in another that could have resulted in real injury if Dick hadn’t stopped him from landing the blow.

Red Hood and Red Robin vs Bane

Tie with a disadvantage - First of all, Tim just gets in the way in this fight but it’s presented as if he is the smarter/superior fighter/strategist somehow. Jason gets a good hit or two on Bane even if he takes some bad hits too. But Tim straight up throws some birdarangs into Jason’s chest like an idiot and then when Bane manages to get Jason down, Tim pulls Jason’s gun and ‘checkmates’ Bane...except who in the hell believes Red Robin would actually pull the trigger to kill Bane? Nobody, so it’s a stalemate at best. This fight is dumb and Tim especially is written stupidly in this fight but I’d be remiss if I didn’t include it.

Red Hood and Red Robin vs Azrael

Tie with a disadvantage - This fight is less out of character but is still stupid. It shows Jason on the ground right at the beginning but doesn’t even show how/why that happened. Red Robin refuses to run when Jason tells him to, as if he’s going to have better luck against the guy, and jumps into the fight with Azrael. He knocks off his helmet somehow but then pretty much gets whooped, at which point Jason gets a good knock on Azrael, steals Tim and escapes.

Deathstroke (2014)

Red Hood vs Deathstroke

Win - Granted, Slade says his healing factor is compromised in this fight, but when it comes down to it, that doesn’t make him fight better, just bypass damage. They trade blows pretty evenly but as soon as Slade seems like he might get a real hit on Jason, our Jay just shoots him and it’s over.

Robin War

Red Hood vs Robin (Damian Wayne)

Loss -  This fight is short and completely stupid. Jason doesn’t land a hit, Damian essentially knocks him out with the ground.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016)

Red Hood vs Artemis of Bana-Migdall

Tie - Artemis has an overwhelming strength advantage over Jason, shattering his helmet with one punch and deflecting his bullets, but Jason does manage to briefly knock her out with the tazer in his bodyarmor, which some might call a win, but considering he was on the ropes most of the fight seems like a reach. After this they team up, and the fight ends without a clear victor.

Red Hood and Artemis of Bana-Migdall vs Orphan, Azrael, Batwing and Clayface

Loss - Hey, remember those fights with Azrael before in that trash comic that shall not be named? This is a more accurate representation of Jason’s strength. Jason starts off fighting Batwing, Clayface and Azrael, which he seems to easily be able to handle individually and in twos, while Artemis takes on Orphan and gets a hit in on the other opponents when there are openings. The fight seems pretty well in hand until Bizarro is taken out, causing Jason to turn to save him, at which point Batwing tasers him with a shot in the back. Despite technically losing, Jason was clearly superior to any single fighter on the other side who participated.

Red Hood vs Batman

Loss - This is the only time Jason has ever outright lost to Batman, but he was compromised and rushed through the entire battle, having been trying to rescue his friends and then reacting to their presumed death. He made a few defensive maneuvers and counters but it was clear he wasn’t trying to fight, whereas Batman beat at Jason, even when he was checkmated. Despite being rescued by Arsenal at the end of the battle, Jason definitely lost, but it’s difficult to say how invested he was in winning to begin with.

Teen Titans (2018) Annual 1

Red Hood vs Robin (Damian Wayne)

Win -  Jason starts off the fight trying to avoid fighting or hurting Damian. He lets Damian get in a number of hits on him without retaliation, until Damian pulls some kind of box that seems to upset Jason enough to get a real fight going. At this point Jason destroys Damian, the kid really never had a chance. And Damian resorts to trying to stalemate Jason with a suicide bomb, which Jason calls Damian’s bluff on and just leaves the battle with Damian defeated.

Conclusions

Fights from the New 52 and onward involving Jason are inconsistent compared to those before the reboot.

In his own title he fights mostly within a team and has few solo fights with street-level martial artists to really gauge his abilities.

The few times he does though, it upholds the skill that he is shown to have in the preboot era, showing him defeat Lady Shiva, Ra’s Al Ghul and survive in a match against Bronze Tiger, Ravager and Artemis of Bana-Migdall.

Taking into account all of his feats, it’s pretty easy to point out which fights are outliers: every fight with Tim in Batman and Robin Eternal and the fight with Damian in Robin War. Some other fights in Batman Eternal are also suspect.

Before these instances Tim never really had much chance against Jason in past fights. He could get good hits but for the most part he was on the defensive and absolutely nothing has changed to make him suddenly superior enough to perform better in fights or treat Jason the way he does in those comic runs. Jason is just completely written out of character in those runs. He doesn’t even act like himself most of the time.

Similarly Damian beating Jason at all is stupid, especially since it’s later shown Jason is still superior enough to Damian to basically toy with him. Damian being shown easily defeating Tim is also dumb because Tim tends to do better against Jason than Damian so really Tim should be a slightly better fighter than Damian.

A number of other fights also show Jason not dodging big, clearly telegraphed punches or dive kicks that make him look really incompetent, and which he would never be shown getting hit with in his other appearances.

The only fight involving Jason in those comics I’m not dismissing out of hand is Jay vs Cass. Cassandra fans will probably be upset with Jason beating her, but with Jason easily beating Shiva, and Cassandra also shown beating Lady Shiva in Detective Comics, it’s consistent at least. I’m tempted to say she wasn’t really trying, but considering Jason was about to open her up, that would be a pretty dumb decision. Unlike Jason, all of Cassandra’s appearances from the preboot have been completely retconned, so you can’t take any of them into account in this new iteration of her.

Basically just anything involving Jason in Batman Eternal and Batman and Robin Eternal and Robin War is stupid and you shouldn’t base your idea of his character on either of those runs because they’ve proven themselves to be inconsistent with EVERYTHING ELSE EVER WRITTEN ABOUT HIM.

Honestly the only good thing about his appearances in those runs is he consistently has the best one-liners.

[earthbovndmisfit]

Kiss me, Mister Joestar! (fanfic)

A Victorian gay man is madly in love with the sweetest gentleman. His love for him is so overwhelming that everyone around them seems to have noticed it already, including said gentleman's wife, who our sweet gay icon has become close friends with...

Is Jonathan really /that/ painfully oblivious to it all? Or could there be something more going on...? Whatever it might be, it's driving Robert insane, and things start getting even tougher on the matter for Speedwagon after the birthday party the Joestars threw for him.

A story written for Speedwagon's birthday, as you can tell by now.

Happy belated 156th birthday, you sweet dork!! <3 (posted it on the 16th on Ao3 but forgot to bring it here orz)

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Pairings: Jonathan/Erina /&/ Jonathan/Speedwagon

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More details and the whole fic under the cut... (if Read Mores don’t work for you and you don’t want to see this post, feel free to block the ;long post tag)

Notes: The story is set in 1889, a little less than a year after the events in PB. It’s also an AU where Jonathan lives. Everything went down the same as in canon, save for the fact that Dio died in Windknight's Lot (or at least he hasn't come back since). Jonathan's and Erina's honeymoon went as smoothly as it should have. Jonathan is also now an archaeologist, working on his many different researches on Aztec culture mainly. The rest more or less remains the same as in canon, including Speedwagon being helplessly in love with Jonathan.

In this story (and any other of my stories involving the Ogre Street gang), the Kenpo Master will be referred to as Li. That's the name I've given him: Li Jiang. I also have this headcanon that "Tattoo" is not the red-head's name, but a nickname he adopted after getting that trademark tattoo on his face (his name being Stephen O’Moore, but he's still addressed as Tattoo most of the time for his own personal reasons anyway).

Fun fact I just realized while writing this story: Just like this year's (2019) Oct 16th fell on a Wednesday, 1889's Oct 16th also fell on a Wednesday (cue a loud OH MY GOD).

Warnings: There’s a depiction of tobacco smoking. There are also a few mentions/depictions of pregnancy, and the usual cursing our dear Robert has us used to. Also “mentions” of period-typical homophobia.

Soft chuckles and giggles could be heard coming from behind the closed doors of the tea room. A bit of a feat, considering how espacious the room was. Inside, two blondes comfortably sat in the large, cushioned, armchairs around the tea table, talking about all sorts of stuff over tea and pastries, filling each other in on the other’s news and sharing a laugh every now and then and just enjoying each other's company like they would normally do on evenings like this. It was getting late, and the time to say goodbye for the night was getting closer.

"I enjoyed spendin' this evenin' with you, Miss Joestar. As always, it was a wonderful one!"

"You don't have to keep up the formalities, Robert. We have been friends for how long now?" She made a brief pause. A rhetorical question that both knew didn't need an answer. "Just call me Erina." A kind smile graced her delicate features. He nodded, still feeling a bit inadequate to address any of the Joestars by their first names, but he couldn’t simply say no to them. "And, the feeling is mutual. It is always a pleasure to have you here. I just wish Jonathan could have been able to join us today."

"He's still workin' on that thesis, isn’t he?" A soft nod of her head was given in response.

"He says he is almost done with it. It is also due next week’s Monday, so he has had to work extra hours on it these past days." There's a sense of pride in her voice despite how much she wished she could have had more time to spend with him as of late.

"I'm completely sure 'is 'ard work 's gonna pay off." It always did. Jonathan was truly a hard working man, not only on the battlefield, but also in everything he did, always giving his all. Not to mention how passionate he was about his field.

"I have no doubts about it. Now, about that week’s Wednesday..."

"Oh. Please, don't burden yourself with that!" The man was quick to reply. "It 's nothin' special at all!"

"Come on. Don't be silly, Robert." The lady offered an even warmer smile and put her hand on top of Robert's as it rested on the table, giving it a soft and friendly squeeze. "It is all the opposite to 'nothing'. And it most certainly is special, too. And I'm completely sure Jonathan thinks so, too." Well, there was no arguing to that as Speedwagon could almost hear the brunet echoing his wife's words while giving Robert a pat to his shoulder. Still…

"But, Miss Joest–" Erina gave him a look and Robert tried again. "Ahh. Sorry... Erina. Blimey. It 's just, I... I wouldn't want t' impose and be a burden t’ any of you..."

"And you won't be. Never have been such, and I assure you that will not be the case either. Besides, this will be the first time we get to celebrate your birthday together, and I know Jonathan is just as excited as if this was his own birthday." She let out a soft chuckle, and she withdrew her hand, placing it this time on top of her pregnant belly. "And I can tell this little one is excited, too." Robert couldn't help a fond smile at all that. He certainly couldn't –and wouldn’t either– let any of the three down in any possible way. Not in this life or the next one (and every other lives that could come after that).

"Alrigh', but only if you're sure this 's not a hindrance t' you or Mister Jo–.... T' Jonathan."

"You have my word on that. Please, come visit us again for the date. And bring your friends, too. The maids will make sure everything is ready for the occasion. You don't have to worry about anything at all besides gracing us with your presence and having fun." She added with such a kind tone to her voice that it made it impossible for Speedwagon to add any "buts" to the conversation.

“I swear you two are too kind t’ me sometimes…”

“You deserve it.” She added with absolute honesty. “You have always done so much for us, and for Jonathan, mainly. It is the least we can do for you.”

“It’s nothin’ grand. I’m just doin’ my part on repayin’ Jojo for all ‘is kindness and everythin’ he’s done for me since we met.”

“You always make it sound like everything you do for us is insignificant, Robert, but I assure you it is not. We truly appreciate all of your actions. And I know you are so very special to Jonathan as much as he is to you.” Robert couldn’t help the blush that was now creeping up to his face, even though Erina voicing that sort of knowledge she had was not new by now. She had long ago found out about his true feelings for Jonathan, never having any issues with it at all.

Erina was fully aware of how easy it was to love Jonathan, and she also knew some of the story between Robert and him. She had also been perceptive enough to understand that there was something more to those apparent “codes” in Robert’s general appearance, which was far different from that of most gentlemen in England. That had been something Robert gladly explained for her as their friendship grew and both became more comfortable around each other, letting her know that, indeed, there was a meaning to them all, and that he had always had a liking for men. Whatever fear or worries he could have had until then about letting her know something as delicate as that faded away almost immediately after informing her of his situation as she never made any sorts of disgusting comments, nor gave him any weird looks nor treated him poorly, like many others would have probably done. All the opposite, all he ever got from her was sympathy without any kinds of judgement, and all her support.

And it never ceased, not even after he finally caved in, some time later, and admitted to her his undying feelings for Jonathan. It didn’t take her by surprise when he did, though. Then again, Robert had always had a tendency to be quite transparent about his feelings for the gentleman even when he tried not to. It had always been crystal clear that his admiration for him went far beyond a simple friendship, and that there was so much more that was still left unsaid. Something deeper. Something vastly more meaningful and everlasting. And she fully supported it.

“I will not take any attempts of refutals, Robert, and you know it.” She promptly added, not allowing him to downplay his own acts of love towards them but, mostly, towards Jonathan once more. The blond let out a soft whine, hoping the pink dusting his face would go away soon.

“You are mean, Erina…” He simply jested this time, leaning back into his chair.

“If that is what is going to take to make you understand just how special you are to us; how special you are to Jonathan, then I will be the meanest lady you will ever meet.” She said, her tone playful, but her words sincere. And Speedwagon could see that very well in her clear blue eyes.

“I truly do not deserve a friend like you.” A soft chuckle in the shape of a huff punctuated his words. He then picked up his cup of tea, sipping the last of it’s contents so he could take his leave.

“You are a wonderful man. You just haven’t realized it yet.”

“Wish I could believe that. I mean, it ‘s not that I doubt you or anythin’!! It ‘s just...” Robert averted his gaze, unconsciously letting his head hang a little. His tone sounded defeated, and Erina could tell the reason why.

“Jojo is fully aware of how wonderful you are, too. He just...” She sighed softly, unable to find the right words for it. “He can be a bit oblivious to the signs if you are not direct or clear enough with him sometimes. Especially at moments like this, when his mind is fully absorbed by something else.” Both remained in silence for a moment. Erina’s soft hand once more offering a reassuring touch to the back of Robert’s scarred one.

“I… know. I… I just wish I ‘ad the guts t’ finally be open with ‘im and just tell ‘im ‘ow I feel.” The man didn’t do much to lift his head, slipping his eyes closed for a moment instead. Erina could feel the muscles in Robert’s hand tensing up a little under her palm, right before he lifted his head. There was pain in his eyes. “I’m scared t’ death that he might find me disgustin’ and will not want t’ see me ever again.”

“Fear of rejection is the most normal thing to feel in this type of situations. The views most people have regarding people with ‘a different taste’ than the rest does not help much on that matter, but it does not mean everyone will turn against you, and I’m almost certain you know that very well after all the experiences you’ve had, and all the people you have met around the globe.” Her tone was soft, reassuring. Even with his lack of an interest in women, it was easy for Robert to see why Jojo loved her so much. “I’m afraid I don’t have the exact answer you are looking for, but I know in my heart that, no matter what, Jojo will never think any less of you.” The pain was still visible in his gaze, but he seemed to be a bit more at ease after hearing that.

“Thank you, Erina. You are an absolute saint.” The woman then shook her head, lightly.

“I beg to differ. I just want you two to be the happiest possible.”

“And you say you’re not a saint, eh…?” Both blondes shared a soft laugh and Erina withdrew her hand once more. “Well, looks like it ‘s time for me t’ go.” Speedwagon stood up from his seat. He straightened his waist coat and adjusted his frock coat before he picked his hat and put it on his head. Erina stood up as well.

“The carriage that will take you home is waiting for you.” To which Robert could only stare at her; his eyes widening a bit and his mouth slightly agape.

“What? Blimey, that won’t be necessary. I can just–”

“I told you before: I will not be taking any negative responses for an answer.” She cut him short with that gentle tone of hers and a matching smile.

“One day, I don’t know ‘ow, but one day I will repay you two for everythin’ you’ve done for me.”

“Until then, please, be kind and accept these small displays of gratitude of ours.” Truly, there was no way they could dislike each other.

It took Robert some effort to convince Erina not to walk him to the main entrance of the mansion, but he did it. He worried too much over her and her pregnancy sometimes. It was almost comical in an endearing way just how much Jonathan and him resembled each other on that matter. However, and all that aside, the truth was that Erina was in her 8th month of pregnancy, almost the 9th, so moving around freely and without getting easily tired was not as simple as before, so she had to take it easy, mostly for the baby’s sake.

Not long after saying their farewells for the night –and Robert saying farewell to little Jojo as well–, and after greeting the coachman that was going to take him home, Robert was finally on the carriage, leaving the Joestar state. As the place began to disappear behind them, one of Speedwagon's hands went up to the chest pocket of his coat. He could feel the squared shape of the envelope Erina had given him earlier that day, shortly after he’d arrived. It was a little letter Jonathan had left for him to make up for his absence that day. He hadn't read it yet, and he was completely sure nothing out of the ordinary was written in it, and yet…

"He really took some time outta 'is day t' write this for me, huh...?" He mused under his breath, and the sole thought made his heart flutter. He was so madly in love with that man it was almost unbelievable.

With that image of Jonathan, as busy as he was, taking some time for him and writing that letter with him in mind, still lingering in his head, Robert leaned back into the cushioned seat of the carriage. He wanted to read the contents of the letter, even if there was nothing more in it than Jojo’s heartfelt apologies for missing his visit and the promise of properly making up for it and seeing him next time, but he knew any attempts of actually reading it would be futile with the lack of proper lighting inside the carriage. He let out a sigh and took his hat off, placing it on the empty seat beside him. He made himself comfortable –as comfortable as a big, 5’11” tall man like him could get in a space like that– and tried to get some sleep.

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About a week later, the same carriage was seen making it’s way back to Liverpool. This time, though, there were two more passengers travelling along. The trip, unlike last time, felt a lot shorter. Probably because this time Robert had his Ogre Street mates with him all along to kill some time. Or maybe because, this time, he knew what Jonathan had wanted to tell him in the letter.

Just as Robert had expected then, there had been nothing particularly grand in it. It had been full to the brim with sincere apologies and all as well filling him in on some of the news of his everyday and stuff about his most recent work. What had made him feel a bit too anxious in anticipation, though, had been a line that Jojo added near the end. Something about a big surprise. Of course, it was a bit too much of a stretch that that could mean… what Robert kind of thought (more like, wished) it could mean, and he knew it. But still, that didn’t make much to ease that feeling that was pooling in the pit of his stomach, and he felt kind of silly about it. Being so excited over something that was most likely not going to happen, was he even for real? He questioned himself over and over again since reading that letter the morning after he’d left the Joestar mansion days ago, and still did now as the three guests were led into the mansion by one of the butlers while another took their baggage to the designated rooms upstairs. The first butler then took them into the banquet hall, where their hosts were awaiting for them.

Even though this was not the first time Tattoo and Li visited the Joestar estate, that didn’t change much that feeling of inadequacy the three of them were always victims of whenever they visited. This place was so huge and imposing. Regardless of the kind nature of Jonathan and Erina, always making them feel welcome, it was near impossible for folks with much less fortunate backgrounds such as the three of them not to feel that way, like they were completely out of place. Never in their lives they would have imagined they would set foot into a majestic place like this unless they were raiding it...

The big double doors of the hall were pushed open by the butler guiding them through the mansion and he stepped aside, so the group could come in. The first thing Robert saw as he stepped into the room was Jonathan’s beautiful smile.

“Robert!” The younger man greeted, excited, waving his hand –manners and 100% proper and sober Victorian etiquette were still not his forte, huh– and rushed towards the newcomers. “You came! I was worried you wouldn’t!”

“There ‘s no way on Earth I’d ever let you down, Jonathan.” Robert took his hat off and offered a gentle smile of his own while secretly trying to hide the soft blush he felt was threatening to creep up to his cheeks at the sight of his favorite gentleman smiling so bright at him. The taller man then grabbed him by his shoulders in a gentle manner, showing just how excited he was to see him again after so long.

“I know, I know!! But still! I was just...worried, you know?” Jonathan rubbed his cheek a little before he loosened his grip and hugged the man instead. Something quite improper, especially between two men, but it was something that Speedwagon couldn't find any reasons to complain about. He returned the hug in a very similar manner, enjoying every second of it, unconsciously memorizing the smell of Jojo’s lotion mixed with his own flowery scent. A true delight to his sensitive nose. "I'm so happy that you're here." His voice was low as there was no need to raise it with how close they were from each other, Jonathan practically whispering those words into his ear. Robert felt his legs go a tad weak, but they didn't give in, mostly thanks to Jonathan’s strong but tender embrace. He knew Tattoo and Li were going to tease him on end about this later but, fuck it, he couldn't care less about that.

“And I am truly ‘appy t’ be ‘ere, you big sap.” He replied in a lighthearted way, adding that last bit in an attempt to play it cool and not completely give himself away, even though he was almost completely sure at this point that everyone in the room –save for the object of his affections, unfortunately– were well aware of the true nature of his feelings for Jonathan. The brunet finally pulled away from the hug and properly greeted Li and Tattoo as well, shaking hands with them and exchanging kind words and genuine smiles. Erina also came to greet them all, in a much more proper manner than her husband, but just as warm and kind as him. Those two were nothing at all like most other rich folks Speedwagon had ever met before.

“How’s little Jojo doin’ today?” Robert asked, his gaze falling down to Erina’s pregnant belly for a moment.

“Wonderfully!” She replied; her smile never fading away. “And quite excited, too. They have been kicking a lot today.”

“They are excited because they knew Uncle Speedwagon was coming today.” Jonathan added as he moved back to Erina’s side, draping an arm around her shoulders. That sweet smile of his in full display once more…

...And Robert couldn’t help the blush on his face. Not just at that beautiful sight, but at what Jonathan had just said.

“Uncle…?” He echoed, and the couple’s smiles grew wider and even warmer.

“That’s correct!” They both said almost in unison.

To think Erina and Jojo considered him good enough for such an important role in their child’s life… Lord, he felt so undeserving.

“I honestly don’t think I’m the most fit for the role, but I’ll ‘appily do my best t’ not disappoint any of you!” The smile gracing his features mirrored those on the couple’s faces in every possible way, showing just how touched he genuinely was. Having known Robert long before Jojo had come into his life, Li and Tattoo found it truly sweet to finally see him being this happy, and surrounded with so much love, even if not everything about it had been going the exact way their mate wished. They knew the kind of man he was underneath that tough and rough exterior he was very well known for in all of the slums, and knew how deserving he truly was of every single ounce of it. Both of them placed a hand on each of Speedwagon’s shoulders as a sign of that, smiling at him and at the Joestars as well, and the man returned the gesture with that genuine smile of his as well.

“We are so happy to hear you say that. Now, please, don’t stand there and come take a seat!” Erina added and walked over to the huge dining table. Jojo led them to it as well. Some of the maids had already come in and were already getting everything ready for the meal, bringing in the dishes for them all to enjoy.

“Hope you have a good appetite today!” Jojo exclaimed as he pulled the chairs out for their guests. “The staff worked hard on all this, so I hope the food is to your taste.” And he finally sat down as well once everyone was in their seats; the maids and butlers putting the many plates of hot food on the table before each one of them and getting everything ready for everyone to enjoy their meals. Once they all had finished their food, they all went outside and took a walk around the majestic gardens surrounding the mansion, enjoying the beautiful views and the still gentle breeze of the first month of Fall.

The reunion went down as smooth as expected so far: A shared high spirit, lots of fun and interesting stories about many different subjects shared by everyone, genuine laughter and smiles, incredibly tasty food (and many different dishes to sink their teeth into, too). A pleasant time they all deserved and had been looking forward to as well.

Low tea time then came, and they were all greeted in the tea room by a different part of the staff working at the mansion. Hot beverages, all sorts of delicious pastries, the perfect lighting. Everything was ready by the time they got there. Everyone took a seat and soon after, the tea was served.

“This ‘as been such a lovely day,” Robert finally said sometime later, visibly touched by the heartwarming gesture of the Joestar couple towards him and his old friends. It was hard to believe that, this exact day, one year ago, he had been spending the day in the streets, just wandering around aimlessly, killing time and causing trouble... “and I wanna thank you both for everythin’. I still don’t know what on Earth did I do so right t’ deserve you both in my life.”

“Just being yourself. That’s what you did.” Jonathan replied with that gentle smile of his aimed at the blond, who was sitting right beside him. Erina nodded. “I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to say this before, but I think you already know it: You are one of the persons I admire the most. You are so very special, Robert. And I hope you haven't forgotten about the surprise I mentioned in the letter." Jonathan's words, as usual, didn't fail to paint the blond’s cheeks a sweet tone of pink that, hopefully, was not easy to notice. And, the reminder of the letter only served to make that blush last a little longer.

Jojo stood up and walked over to one of the cabinets in the room. From one of the drawers, he pulled something out, something he had previously put in there himself for this moment, and asked Robert to come over, which he did. Everyone's eyes followed them, curious as to what Jonathan had gotten him. Not even Erina knew, as Jonathan had insisted all the time that it was a surprise. Meanwhile, Robert was inwardly pleading for his heart to stop pounding so hard in his chest. Once he was before Jonathan, he was presented with a light-gray small box –though it could very well just be that anything looked small in Jonathan's hands–. It was a bit flat and there was a lavender ribbon on top of it. He nodded, encouraging Robert to open his present right away.

"I hope you like it." The nobleman added, expectant for the other's reaction, watching him open the box, revealing an elegant sterling silver pocket watch –a hunter-case one–, attached to a silver chain. The thing looked so expensive it felt so alien in Robert's hand.

"Jojo, you didn't–"

"I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to." He finished his sentence with a kind smile. "You deserve so much more than this, but I hope you like it nevertheless!"

"Are you kiddin' me? I love it!" He beamed. And he wasn’t lying. He did love it, but not because of how fancy and nice it looked. It was because it was a present from the man he loved so dearly. He could have gotten some cheap trinket from him and his reaction would have been entirely the same.

"I'm so happy to hear that! And there's one more thing. Take a look inside." His index finger pointing at the watch. Robert did as requested and carefully opened it. On the back of the lid there was a set of numbers engraved, written in beautiful cursive. It was… a date?

"Jonathan. This ‘s...?" Jonathan nodded.

"The date of the day we met for the first time." And Robert froze on the spot. Of course, there was the ‘embarrassing’ part attached to the memory –that of Tattoo, Li and him trying to gut Jonathan alive while the young man had been doing nothing but seeking for an antidote to save his Father’s life, something that the three ruffians still felt terrible about–, but there was also a unique feeling to it, as that had also been the day that this man had come into his life, ready to change everything in it for good: His views, his wrecked and reckless ways, his life style and the way he perceived life and the world around him, the way he perceived himself, showing him that he was worth something, showing him that there was so much more to life than what that little underworld in the slums had to offer. The day he had so fiercely fallen for this ‘rich boy’ that was nothing like the rest, the one who was a true gentleman in every possible way. The one that had captivated his heart like no other had and that Robert was absolutely convinced was the one and only love of his life.

The blond couldn’t find any words to say. He was genuinely speechless, with his gaze fixed on the engraving for a little longer as the memories and the swirl of emotions engulfed him whole. It was such a ‘small’ detail, but one that meant the world to him, as it showed and left no doubts about Robert’s importance in Jonathan’s life. The moment he raised his gaze, meeting Jojo’s, his eyes were visibly glassy, and that was something that didn’t escape Jonathan. He didn’t make any comments on it, though, figuring it would make Speedwagon feel uncomfortable and exposed so, instead, he pulled him into a tight hug.

“Happy Birthday, Robert.” He said in a soft voice. Speedwagon leaned into the hug, wrapping his arms around Jojo’s larger frame.

“Thank you… Jojo…” He replied in a similar manner, trying his best to choke down his tears, and doing a fairly decent job at it. When the hug ended, they both went back to the table and enjoyed the rest of the evening along with the rest of their friends and family. Outside, the night had fallen over the vast Liverpool skies.

Ever since this celebration had been planned, it had been agreed by all of them that Robert, Li and Tattoo were staying over for a few days after that. There were plenty of guest rooms in the mansion, so having them over would definitely be no issue at all. Since they weren’t going back to London tonight, there was also no need to rush anything, and so conversations and all sorts of activities went on for a while longer than they usually would on a regular visit. Time went fast by, and it was getting really late. They were all tired after such a long and fun day, so everyone went to their respective bedrooms, ready to call it a day.

“Erina, dear.” Jojo called once they were alone in their room. Something seemed to be bothering him.

“Yes?”

“…It might just be me but, did you notice anything different in Robert later today?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how to describe it, but it felt like…”

“Like something was off?” She looked at him; her soft hands rested on her belly as she remained sitting on the edge of their bed.

“Yes. Yes, something like that.” He said after a moment of pondering about it. “Do you know what it could possibly be? I don’t recall him mentioning any issues before or anything that could be bothering him.” He inquired, hoping she would know something he didn’t and could tell him about. Maybe the two of them had talked about something that could be troubling him during his previous visit?

Erina let out a soft sigh and lightly shook her head.

“Oh, Jojo.” She looked into her husband’s eyes. Even through the dim light from the oil lamp on the nightstand he could see that look she would always give him whenever he was missing something important that was a bit obvious. It wasn’t a condescending look at all. All the opposite, really. “You have not noticed it yet, have you?”

And her words threw him off. Completely.

“Notice...what?”

“I could tell you, but I think it would be best for you, and for Robert, that you find that answer out for yourself, dear.”

Jonathan continued staring at her; his thick brows knitted together. He was infinitely puzzled still. She stood up and walked towards him. She cupped his face in her hands and gently pulled him closer, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

“Look. I won’t mind if you want to go and talk with him. Knowing him, I’m sure he is going to be up for a while longer, and I’m convinced he will appreciate your company through the night.” Which was something both knew for sure. It was no secret that Speedwagon was a night owl, and him staying over at someone’s place probably wouldn’t change that the slightest. Jonathan nodded. He then kissed Erina in return before he left.

Meanwhile, a few doors down the hall, in his room, Robert was leaning against the door frame that led to the balcony. He had already taken his coat and waistcoat off, both of which he had left on the footboard of the four poster bed. The turmoil inside his head (and heart) had gotten considerably worse as hours had ticked away, so he had opted for making himself comfortable –as comfortable as one could in that condition– and take a breath of fresh air while, a bit ironically, having a smoke, hoping that would soothe him enough so he could get some sleep later that night. He lit a cigarette and stared outside, softly humming to a tune he had heard some time ago, when he visited the Caribbean. His room had quite a nice view of the gardens their whole group had walked through earlier. They looked so different under the moonlight, but still as beautiful as before. It was a really nice change from the urban landscapes he was so used to back in London. He remained like that for a moment, enjoying the chilly but gentle wind of Fall. His tie was undone, and his shirt was open, allowing that chilly wind to gently brush against the exposed skin of his scarred chest. He put the cigarette between his lips and slipped a hand into the pocket of his trousers, producing the silver pocket watch Jonathan had given him earlier, idly fiddling with it and running his fingers over the smooth surface as he took a drag of his cigarette. His gaze was fixed on the timepiece now and he could see the way the moonlight shone so beautiful on it’s surface. His mind, suddenly, decided to go back to earlier that day, to that moment when Jonathan had hugged him for the second time, and he felt that rush of emotions strike him all over again.

“You’re such a bloody fool, Robert…” He whispered to himself. Being so madly in love with a nobleman. And not just that, but a married gentleman. His friend’s husband at that. And, while said friend was absolutely okay with those tender feelings he had for him, and even encouraged him to take the next step whenever he felt ready for it, if he ever did, he still felt so silly about it all. He had no leads that Jonathan was… well, like that. No leads or hints that he had somewhat of a taste for men, like an invert man such as Robert did. And not just that, but he was also scared to death of not only being rejected by the man he loved, but he was also scared of being seen by him as nothing but a disgusting pervert as well. The sole idea of Jonathan telling him that he didn’t want anything to do with him anymore was frightening and painful enough to make the former thug want to keep his mouth and heart shut as much as he could, as much as it hurt. He’d rather remain a close friend and be by his side always, until the very end, than risk losing him forever…

A soft knock on his room’s door echoed through the room, dragging him back to the present time.

“C’mon in.” Speedwagon raised his voice enough for the visitor to hear and slipped the watch back into his pocket. He looked over his shoulder when he heard the door open and then click shut a second later. Even in the darkness that was engulfing the room now that the oil lamps were off, he could still make out the huge silhouette of the Joestar heir walking towards him. The blond turned on his heels, failing to realize just how ‘improper’ he must have been looking at the time (etiquette wasn’t always his forte, especially with an upbringing like his and the fact that he was still a man from the worst part of the slums). “Oi, Jojo.” He greeted, raising his hand a little.

“H-Hey.” He said once he got to Speedwagon’s side, mirroring that gesture.

“I thought you were with Erina. ‘s somethin’ the matter?” He asked, genuinely curious, and even a tad worried.

“No, no. Everything is fine! I mean, not everything, but yes. Just...”

“Are you sure? ‘cause this ‘s definitely not like you.” His concern growing deeper. “Do you need t’ talk, perhaps?”

“Yeah, I guess...” His voice trailed off. He looked, and sounded, so lost for a moment. Robert had no clue what this was all about, but he was going to try his best to be of aid. “It’s about earlier…”

Oh…

“Yeah…? What ‘bout it?”

“I couldn’t help but notice that something was kind of, well, off with you…”

“...”

“Erina noticed it, too. I tried to ask her about it. She seems to know something, but she wouldn’t tell me anything. She said it would be best for us to talk.”

Robert couldn’t help a soft chuckle, exhaling a bit of smoke in the process.

“Don’t get me wrong for what I’m ‘bout t’ say, please, but that woman ‘s an absolute angel. I can truly see why you love ‘er so much.” He admitted as he looked away into the horizon once more. Jonathan smiled in response, finding no fails or lies in that whole statement about his sweet Erina. His gaze followed Robert’s and, after a moment of silence and even a little of hesitation, he tried again.

“So…? Something’s been bothering you…?” He asked cautiously, not wishing to upset Speedwagon in any possible way. The blond hesitated to respond, taking a couple seconds to think, and re-think, his answer. He suddenly felt cold, as if his blood had been drained from his body, and a chill ran down his spine as realization fell down on him. There was no turning back now, was it?

“...It ‘s not like there’s somethin’ botherin’ me per se… It s just… somethin’ else. Somethin’ that’s been goin’ on for quite a long time now and that I, shamefully, ‘aven’t had the ballocks t’ be frank ‘bout it.” He admitted, unconsciously taking another drag of his cigarette before putting it off on the ashtray that was sitting on top of the bureau by the door. Jonathan’s face was colored in concern after hearing those words. It had to be something quite undesirable if it had lasted for so long while also making Speedwagon want to keep his mouth shut on the matter all this time, he figured.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner about it?” His voice reflecting that same concern that was plastered all over his face. “I would have helped you out as soon as you told me!” There was a tinge of pain in Robert’s features, and the moonlight made sure Jonathan didn’t miss that as the shorter man turned to look at him.

“Haven’t you noticed it yet, Jojo...?” The brunet remained silent, trying to piece it all together.

“I…” He stammered. Robert gulped hard and locked eyes with him. It was now or never, right? Right.

“I love you.”

“What…?”

“You ‘eard me right!” He nearly shouted. “I love you, Jonathan…! I love you so damn much! And I always ‘ave ever since you came into my life all that time ago...” He said, trying to keep himself collected as much as he could. His fists were clenched into tight balls at his sides while hot tears threatened him, stinging his eyes. Jojo stared at him, wide eyed, and at a complete loss for words. “I’d been keepin’ that t' myself all this time ‘cause… ‘cause I was scared t’ death of losin’ you. I still am!” He took a deep breathe. It was still hard for Robert to conceive that a ruthless gang leader such as himself could be this vulnerable before someone else, but here he was, exposing himself once more, though in a completely open manner this time for a change, confessing all those feelings he had tried so hard to keep to himself. “I don’t expect you t’ return my feelings. Bloody ‘ell, I will even understand if you don’t wanna see my disgustin’ arse ever again, and I promise I will never show m’self ‘round ‘ere anymore! I just… I just… really ‘ad t’ let all this out somehow before it ate me alive whole...” The pain was almost tangible in his voice as he uttered all those words.

And, suddenly, all those signs Jonathan had seen countless times coming from him before made so much sense. So much more that he couldn’t help but feel so inept, and like the biggest fool around for being so painfully oblivious to it all while even Erina had noticed it so long ago but, also, for having forced himself to keep his own feelings towards this man before him locked away…

“I’m...sorry for disappointin’ you and not bein’ who you thought I was, Mister Joestar…” He spoke again, even shaking a little, and he lowered his eyes, bringing back the formalities now that his chances of being on the list of undesirable people in this household had increased exponentially...

...Or so he thought.

“What on Earth are you talking about!?” The younger male grabbed him by the shoulders, making him raise his head and look back into Jojo’s face. There was a glint of something in his eyes. Something that Speedwagon could not quite read at first but that seemed like… pain? He had no time to ponder too much about it as Jonathan immediately pulled him into yet another tight hug, though, this time he was holding on to him like his very life depended on it, yet careful not to crush him in the process. “There is no way you could ever disappoint me!!” He sounded hurt, and he legitimately was. “The only one I am disappointed with is myself for being so blind and not being able to return your feelings sooner…” He paused, trying to find the right words to voice what was going on through his mind. “...I think I’d known about it all for a bit. I just… didn’t say anything for that same reason: I was afraid of being wrong in my assumptions and losing you forever! And, also, Erina… I… I didn’t know how she would react to the news that I had a special fondness for you, a special fondness as intense as that I have for her, and I didn’t want to make her feel like I didn’t love her anymore, much less now that she is carrying our baby.” The brunet tightened the hug a little; his fingers gently digging into the fabric of Robert’s shirt as he finally opened up, his hot tears rolling down and soaking Robert’s shirt. There was nothing but absolute honesty in his every word, and Robert could easily notice that. “I was so confused because I love her so much, and never have stopped loving her either. At first I was not aware that it was possible to love two different persons in the same manner, and so fiercely, at the same time. It… It took me a while to figure that out on my own and, still, I decided to keep quiet about it because I didn’t know how to bring it up to her, and how to bring it up to you as well. I tried to convince myself that… all of this, all those signs you gave off… as well as everything I was feeling… that it was all in my head. Guess I only made a fool out of myself in the end, didn’t I?”

Robert pulled Jojo away just enough so they could make eye contact once more. It broke his heart to see his gentleman break down like this.

“Jojo... dear. Lord…” He struggled to find the right words to say and could feel his own tears finally rolling down his face. There was so much in what Jonathan had just said that he could relate to in his own way... “You ‘aven’t done anythin’ wrong! Besides… It 's also my fault that you didn’t know for sure just ‘ow much I’ve always loved you until now! And I’m really sorry ‘bout that… I really wish I ‘ad the guts t’ be open with you ‘bout that sooner instead of tryin’ t’ hide it all and pretend nothin’ else was goin’ on...” Both men, remained in silence for a moment, still close to each other. It was then that Jonathan spoke once more.

“I guess… that makes both of us a pair of fools…”

“The biggest of ‘em all, I’m afraid…” Both of them shared a soft laugh despite those tears still wetting their faces; their foreheads pressed together as they did. One of Jojo’s hands went up to tenderly cup Speedwagon’s chin with his thumb and index finger.

“Robert… May I…?”

“Goddamnit, Jojo…” Robert let out a soft huff and cupped Jonathan’s face in his hands; his little smile not fading away the slightest. “Just fuckin’ kiss me…!”

Jonathan tilted Robert’s face slightly to the side, allowing himself a better access. His other hand went to rest on the small of the blond’s back, and he finally pressed their lips together in a long awaited kiss that Robert gladly returned in the same loving manner, both of them pouring into it all those feelings they had been holding back for so long.

They remained in each other’s arms for a little longer after the kiss ended, refusing to let go just like that.

“Would you… stay with me tonight? I mean, only if you think Erina will be alrigh’ with that. I wouldn’t wanna get on ‘er bad side ever.” Robert whispered as he rested his head on Jonathan’s chest. He could hear the soft rumble that was his chuckle. They both knew very well that Erina could be quite scary when she wished to.

“That will be completely alright.” He said with a full smile on his face. “We should go inside, though. It’s getting colder, and I don’t want you to catch a cold or worse!”

“This is nothin’ compared t’ what Ogre Street ‘as me used to, darlin’.”

“Yeah, I suppose so, but... About that, I know that you along with Tattoo and Li have turned down the offer of moving in with us countless times already, but I must insist once more.”

“I told you, dear, we don’t wanna be a nuisance t’ either of you.”

“But you wouldn’t be! Besides… I want. No, I need Erina and you, my two loves, by my side.” Speedwagon let out yet another soft chuckle.

“Blimey... You’re really the biggest daisy I’ve ever met, Jonathan.” He said fondly, “But I will gladly take you up on that this time. Little Jojo might need their Uncle ‘round when they arrive, and I’m sure Erina might appreciate some friendly company as well. And, much like yourself...” He stood on his tiptoes, gently bringing Jojo’s face down by his chin a little. “...I also need my one true love by my side.” His voice soft, sealing those words with yet another kiss under the pale moonlight.

Final notes: This story took so long for me to get it done from start to end, but it's finally here!

This is, I think, the first time I actually write something for the lovely jonaeri/jonawagon ot3~ :'D I also loved writing those bits with Robert and Erina together. They were super fun, and I also loved the idea of Robert happily telling her about the gay codes from that time and just kind of getting her into that little secret world, not only because Erina is the ultimate ally, but also, because, given the taboos in Victorian England, it's pretty much a given that Robert usually had to keep a lot of things from most people, sometimes friends included, so he really appreciates those time whenever he's allowed to be himself and is able to share some of that with others. Needless to say how much I love writing jonawagon and putting them in sweet and cozy scenes~

I can honestly say I'm pleased with how this story turned out, but I would definitely love to hear your thoughts on it!

Feedback, likes, reblogs and everything else (shares outside of Tumblr and Ao3, too) are always encouraged and highly appreciated!!

Thanks for reading!

[madpanda75]

I have one for Sonny too if that's ok? “Shut up and kiss me already.” Love that talkative daddy long legs. 😅Thank you!

I’m with you, love me some Sonny! That sweet sexy bean pole does things to me! Thanks for the request, I hope you like it ❤️ Also I believe it is canon that Sonny Carisi loves games (especially Twister 😉)

“Classroom Kisses”

The first grade students at P.S.19 quietly read in their seats while you were writing out math problems on the board. You sighed, slightly shaking your head when a small familiar voice cut through the silence. Without even looking, you already knew who was disrupting the class.

“Dominick,” you turned around and crossed your arms, a stern look on your face. “This is quiet reading time.”

The blue eyed boy looked up at you sheepishly, “Sorry, Ms. Y/L/N, I was just telling Caroline a joke.

“Save it for recess, Dominick,” you said before turning back to the board. Unfortunately, Dominick didn’t save his joke for recess. For the remainder of the day, the little boy continued to talk, trying to get the attention of his classmates. You had scolded Dominick more times than you could count. In a way you almost felt sorry for him. It was as if he couldn’t stop himself from talking.

Dominick was a handful, but you had a soft spot in your heart for the little boy. He was bright and incredibly sweet, one of your favorite students. He just couldn’t stop talking.

After school, the two of you sat in your classroom working on an art project while waiting for the little boy’s mom to pick him up. You smiled, watching as he painted a rainbow on poster board, “You’re a good artist, Dom!”

The little boy beamed at your compliment, “Thanks, art’s my favorite subject!”

“Mine too,” you replied, painting a fluffy white cloud next to his rainbow. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Looking up, you saw a tall handsome man with the cutest dimples you had ever seen.

“Uncle Sonny!” Dominick exclaimed, running to the older man.

Sonny gave Dominick a high five, “Hey, little man! What’s up? Ya’ have a good day at school?”

“Yep! The best! I got to help Ms. Y/L/N with her art project!” Dominick took his uncle by the hand, pulling him over to you. “Ms. Y/L/N, this is my Uncle Sonny!”

Sonny’s heart skipped a beat when he saw you. He had heard his nephew talk about his favorite teacher, but he had no idea how beautiful you were.

“The famous Uncle Sonny. I’ve heard a lot about you,” you said with a smile.

“Likewise, Dominick talks about ya’ all the time. I hope it’s ok that I’m picking him up, his mom had to work an extra shift.”

“That’s fine, Mr.?”

“Carisi, but please call me, Sonny,” he replied.

“Only if you call me, Y/N,” you shook his hand, drinking in his bright blue eyes and sweet smile.

He leaned in, studying your face. “You..uh…got some paint on your forehead,” he said, motioning to a spot on his own head.

“Oh, I do?” You touched your forehead, trying to wipe off the paint, but only making it worse.

He bit back a laugh, reaching into his jacket for a handkerchief, “May I?”

“Thanks,” you bit your lip and blushed as he cupped your face with one hand while gently wiping the paint off.

Dominick looked between his uncle and teacher, “Are you two gonna kiss?”

“Dominick!” You and Sonny both said at the same time, catching each other’s eye and laughing.

“Dominick, why don’t you go to the restroom and clean the paint brushes for me,” you ruffled his hair a bit, handing him the dirty brushes.

Sonny chuckled to himself, watching his little nephew walk into the bathroom, “He’s a character.”

You nodded your head, “Dominick is a great student, but he’s a social butterfly, talks a bit too much in class.”

Sonny walked over and helped you put the paints away, “I was the same way when I was his age. Always talking. I mean I could just talk and talk and talk. My ma says I was worse than my sisters. Every report card I got always said the same thing, Dominick Carisi Jr. is a smart boy but chats too much in class.” He stopped talking and rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed when he realized he was rambling on. “Looks like I’m still a talker.”

You giggled, “Must be family trait.”

“All done!” Dominick came running back into the classroom, handing you the clean brushes, looking expectantly at his uncle. “Can we go home now?”

“Sure thing, pal. You’re driving right?” Sonny teased.

“Uncle Sonny, you’re silly!” The little boy ran out the room. “Meet you at the car!”

“Wait for me, Dom!” Sonny called out before turning back to you. “It was nice to meet ya’, Y/N. Hope to see ya’ around sometime.”

“Well, now you know where to find me,” you winked at him, sitting back at your desk.

Over the next few weeks, Sonny began picking up his nephew more and more. You didn’t mind one bit. Apart from being sweet and gorgeous, you and Sonny really hit it off, becoming good friends.

Even if Dominick’s mom would pick him up from school, Sonny would still stop by with a cup of coffee or a donut, just to talk. You would tell him about all the crazy antics his nephew or another student tried to pull on you that day. His line of work was always dark and depressing. Visiting you was an escape for him.

One day you asked if Sonny wouldn’t mind stopping by after school to help you put up some decorations for Saint Patrick’s Day. Every month you would choose a theme, transforming your room into a whole other world for your students. The kids loved it, but decorating an entire classroom was a big job for one person to do alone.  

Sonny was happy to help. He strode into the room, pizza box in hand watching as you stood on your tiptoes on top of your desk, struggling to hang up a fluffy cotton ball cloud from the ceiling, “Hey, be careful up there.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve done this a million times,” you replied, hanging a pot of gold next to the cloud. “Thanks for helping me with this. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” Sonny set the pizza box down on a nearby desk. He cleared his throat, unable to look away as your skirt rode up, revealing your shapely legs. “I brought pizza from that place you were telling me about.”

“You went to Lombardi’s?!” You turned towards him, momentarily forgetting where you were standing. One misstep and you were falling to the floor. Sonny was quick to action, moving to catch you in his arms.

You both stared at each other for a moment, a flush creeping up on your face, “Betcha haven’t met a girl who would tumble to her death just for a slice of pizza,” you mumbled.

“You’d be surprised,” he smirked, setting you down on your feet. “Almost forgot, I brought ya’ this,” he opened a bag, holding out a shiny red apple.

You quirked an eyebrow at him, “Are you trying to be teacher’s pet?”

“Maybe,” he winked at you before looking at the assortment of decorations on your desk. “Tell ya’ what. Why don’t we eat and then you can leave the ceiling decorations to the tall guy,” he rolled up his sleeves and hung up a green shamrock with ease.

After pizza, you and Sonny continued to decorate your classroom. By the time you finished, the place looked like a lush green fairyland, covered in clouds, rainbows, and pots of gold. Sonny half expected a leprechaun to leap out of a desk. “Wow,” he whistled, taking in the state of the room. “This place looks amazing. Wish my teachers did stuff like this when I was in school.”

“Thanks! It’s a win-win. I love arts and crafts and the kids flip when they see the room like this,” you stamped the last of your leprechaun footprints with green paint as Sonny walked around the room, surveying all the books and games you had. Some of them he remembered from when he was a kid. A smirk tugged at his lips when one game in particular caught his eye.

“Hey, Y/N, what do ya’ think?” He asked, holding up Twister. “Up for a little fun?”

You sauntered over to him, a playful expression on your face, “Hmm, you sure you’re up for that, my long limbed friend? I am the Twister champion around here.”

Sonny scoffed, “Do not underestimate these long limbs.” He leaned in closer to you, “I can move in ways you’ve never seen.”

A shiver shot down your spine at his words. Narrowing your eyes, you looked between the game and Sonny, “You’re on. I hope you’re prepared to lose.” You grabbed the game to begin setting up as he pushed some chairs out of the way.

By the fourth spin, you and Sonny were a tangle of limbs, your hands and feet all over the mat, looking like one giant human pretzel.

“Sonny…stop making me laugh! I’m trying to concentrate!” You gasped between fits of giggles.

“Sorry, doll,” he laughed.

You stretched and reached for the spinner, the board instructing you to move left hand, green. “Ok, how am, I going to do this,” you said to yourself, looking around the mat for a free green space within reach. Biting your lip in concentration, you leaned closer to Sonny, your arm snaking under his. “Aha! I did it!” You exclaimed.

“It’s…ummm…it’s your turn,” you murmured, glancing down at his bubblegum pink lips. You tried to maintain your position even though the scent of his cologne and his crystal blue eyes were causing you to lose your focus on the game.

With your free foot, you pushed the spinner towards him. Sonny got a left foot, blue. He let out a deep breath, slowly inching his foot around your leg so he could hit his spot. Stretched out his leg, he moved even closer to you until his foot landed on a blue spot.

“Y/N?” He stared into your eyes, your noses practically brushed up against each other.

“Sonny,” you whispered, no longer caring about the game. All you wanted in that moment was his mouth on yours.

“It’s your turn,” he licked his lips, eyes darting down to your cherry red pout.

“Sonny?” You interjected again, but he wasn’t listening.

“Can ya’….uh.. reach the spinner or do ya’ need help reaching it. Cause I can uhhh….get it for ya’ or I can just say a color or something. There has to be some rule for when only two people play and can’t reach the spinner,” he nervously rambled on.

“Sonny!”

“Yeah, doll,” his eyes locked with yours, your bodies entwined, breaths mingling as your chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Shut up and kiss me already,” you softly said.

A smirk tugged at his lips as he craned his neck, “I can do that.” His lips softly brushed up against yours, kissing you slow and sweet. His tongue tentatively moved against your own. Your legs and arms were shaking from holding such an awkward position, but you didn’t care. You moaned, tilting your head to deepen the kiss, so caught up in Sonny and his tender touch, that you lost your balance and fell, taking him down with you.

You both laughed, his body perched on top of yours. “Wait, so does that mean I won?” He chuckled.

“No! You distracted me, Sonny Carisi!” You smacked him on the shoulder. “That game was a draw.”

“Wanna have a rematch?” He said in a husky voice, running a hand through your hair.

“I’m game,” you tugged on his tie, bringing his mouth back to yours. He kissed you with such passion, it took your breath away. You wrapped your arms around his neck, gently nipping on his bottom lip when you heard someone clear their throat. Turning your head, you saw your coworker, Tony, standing in the doorway.

“Sorry! Just wanted to stop by and see if you needed help with your room but it looks like you got it covered,” Tony blushed, quickly scampering away, leaving you and Sonny alone again.

“That was embarrassing,” you cringed and covered your face.

“Yeah, guess we shouldn’t be making out in the middle of a first grade classroom,” he sat up, offering his hand to help you to your feet as you both put your shoes back on. “I should get going but I would like to take ya’ out on a date. Maybe Saturday night?”

“I’d love that. After all I owe you a rematch in Twister,” your hand found his as he pulled you into another feverish kiss. “You’re a good kisser,” you whispered against his lips, teasingly darting your tongue in his mouth.

“So are you,” he purred. Since your first meeting, Sonny had often wondered what it would be like to kiss you. Now standing there, your lips locked with his, it was better than he ever could have imagined. You were luscious and sweet, intoxicating to him. He kissed you all the way to the door, blindly bumping into desks, until finally letting you go. “Have fun tomorrow. Hopefully Dom will keep the chatter down.”

You snorted a laugh, “From your lips to God’s ears.” He smiled, cupping your face and kissing you one last time before leaving.

You put the game away, moving back to your desk to pack up your things. Your coworker slyly poked his head back into your room, “So does your friend have a brother?”

You playfully rolled your eyes, “Good night, Tony! I’ll fill you in tomorrow at lunch.”

“You better!” He sang down the hallway.

Finally alone in your room, you leaned back in your chair. Spying the red apple, you smiled to yourself, your lips tingling. If Sonny’s kisses were any indication, then you were going to have an incredible date.

@amirightcounsellor @obfuscateyummy @beltzboys2015-blog @southern-magnolia @letty-o @sweetsummertime99 @sonnysdoll @lyssa1385 @burningsorr0ws @katmstanton @gibbs274 @izzythefanfreak @riodallas @eclecticminded @delia26 @glimmerglittergirl @sweetcannolicarisi @babypink224221 @livxrafa

[sanguinarius-archive]

(sal)ly face headcanons bc why not

sal actually loves bright/jarring colors, but claims he doesnt look good when wearing them (he does tho, just ask the artists ash and larry)

he loves loves loves space!!! he knows the names of random stars and planets. he doesnt talk about it much bc its hard for him to word it correctly but he just.. FOCUSES on it for HOURS

when people ask him “comics or novels” he literally cannot decide. he’ll read stephen king’s “it” but then a second later he’s reading a fuckin archie comic or garfield comic

he actually loves sci fi films more than horror!

horror movies tend to freak him out because hes more psychologically affected by them (bc of his trauma), so he’d rather avoid that and go with something like sci fi

this is canon but- he loves to paint his nails! one time he painted each nail with the bi flag. it actually took a lot of precision but it was worth it

sal loves small dogs. he also loves rottweilers and chihuahuas bc they look so silly and cute with those big bulging eyes and that waggy tail

he thinks bunnies are AWESOME and one time larry put one on his head and he felt like an angel was above him

“sal how does it feel?” “it feels like… like god has sent her top guardian down to protect my mind…” “from what?” “from negative energy”

it is utter chaos when hes forced to go to school with a cold

poor boy sneezes but he cant take off his prosthetic bc he’ll feel naked af

dont worry tho, ash and larry to the rescue! they take him to larry’s apartment and hide him there and take care of him for a bit before going back to school themselves. they also bring sal any work he misses

sal gets emotional very easily over happy things!

like literally if he thinks abt his friends for one (1) second he’ll start to tear up because he just appreciates them so much

he hates strawberries. they are always too weirdly cold for him and that hurts his teeth and he also just doesn’t like the way they taste

he also stims!!!! he tends to blink a lot and grind his teeth. other stims are more visible ones like flexing his fingers or drumming them on tables, and flapping his hands as well. also kicks his legs a lot

sal loves all animals, this is canon, but like

imagine if he frickin got like.. a snake

larry is SUPER terrified of snakes, he thinks theyre cool from a distance but he hates seeing them

so when sal is like “i got something to show u” larry isnt expecting it and he sees the snake that is very clearly in its container but he just BOLTS

and sal is like “noo… babey snek is nice…”

he… has a weird relationship with bugs like all of us. but he baby talks all of them from time to time

he literally will pick up a centipede and be like “what are you doing here mister?? just crawlin around? how delightful!! i wonder what it’s like to see the world in your eyes… with that many legs…”

sal will obviously wear whatever he wants

but traditionally “masculine” clothes? no thanks. he hates it. thats why he wears dresses to formal stuff. he feels trapped or suffocated if he wears a suit or anything like that

he just prefers really baggy/loose clothing

if given a meal with different portions he’ll eat it one by one

so like… if he has fries and chicken strips. if he starts on the fries, he finishes the fries. he doesn’t switch back and forth

he also loves sweets but only if they’re small

big candy bars? no thank you

also going back to the stim thing- ash stims as well so she and sal share stim toys!!! things like squishies or weighted stuff or spinner rings or chewie jewelery, they’ll share those with each other

okay but one day he’s in art class just goofing off with larry

and larry puts glitter in his own hair as like a joke

but sal is just FASCINATED

because… oh my god… sparkl…………. shinyy…

and so he practically pours the entire tub of glitter on his hair

and he gets in so much trouble for it but he’s like “no miss listen i am a goddess. this is who i am. i am a teen figuring my life out”

and for the rest of the day he doesn’t bother to get any of it out so he walks around the school with a terribly large amount of glitter in his hair

larry cries of laughter whenever he sees him

ash thinks he’s a QUEEN and insists that he comes over and lets her fiddle with his hair and actually make it v pretty and sparkly

so he accepts!!!!!

sal also loves little kids and is super good with them. sometimes kids get scared of his mask, but it’s easy for him to reassure them

when soda is born, sal declares he’s going to be her favorite uncle

and he’s right!

larry’s not jealous though cause yeah, sal is pretty great

and honestly? sal is super protective of soda. he shields her from seeing or hearing any bad things

i also headcanon sal’s voice is a bit like kurt cobain’s- so he kind of sings like him too? but doesn’t scream or anything. his singing voice very soft like kurt’s in the beginning of lithium

sal doesn’t really like to sing though. in front of people, at least

he loves music box versions of songs, they’re just so relaxing and they help him fall asleep a lot of the time

also when he sleeps it’s usually on his back, so gizmo lays on his stomach through the night. sal doesn’t move a lot during his sleep

he has sleepwalked though, to larry’s place

and larry woke up and saw sal (this is after he first saw him without his mask) and he saw him without his glass eye For The First Time

larry TRIES not to wake him up but pretty much fails and sal kind of has a panic attack

he’s like “that- i- i’m sorry- my eye-” and covers it but larry pulls his hand down back to his side and is like “it’s ok you look super cool without it”

prom is honestly one of the best nights of sal’s life

he’s got his hair up in a bun and wears a rainbow-striped t-shirt with a high-waisted black skirt and a long-sleeved black shirt underneath the t-shirt and tall dark leather boots

his nails are painted blue, red, purple, orange to represent him, larry, ash and todd (tho his nails on his thumbs are painted black)

because he secretly loves dancing when no one is around, he just kind of rocks it at prom and his friends are blown away bc… holy shit?? sal fisher can Dance????

but he’s more playful with it

he and larry scream the lyrics to the songs that play

they all end up ditching the prom and going outside to the back of the school and just kinda goof off

larry and ash share a cigarette and todd drives all of them out beyond city limits to an open field

they just kinda lay down in the grass there and stargaze for nearly the entire night

they talk about stupid stuff and serious stuff

honestly sal just goes back to his apartment very later and happy cries

cause again, he gets so emotional over happy stuff

and he loves his friends very much

and no there is no bad ending to this or bad ending that i won’t talk about

they all grow up together and are happy

EDIT: ANOTHER ONE I FORGOT TO ADD... sal LOVES deadpool. hes only into marvel for deadpool. he relates to him bc hey they both have deformed faces (except for dp its his whole body too i think) but ya!!!! he loves wade frickin wilson

[kinsbin]

Rainy Night

Title: Rainy Night Ship: William Macbeth/Chrysi [OC/Canon] Word Count: 4677

Summary: Chrysi and Will get caught in the rain on their way back from the hospital. Shenanigans ensue and the two may or may not have to share a bed now. Chrysi isn’t sure how it happened, but she’s going with it.

A/N: A part of a trade with @beccabeeships! This was so much fun to write and i’m so happy I got to do a trade with them ;w;

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The rain came down hard.

Droplets of water stung her skin like bullets, leaving behind near bruises and indents in the flesh of her pale skin as the clouds over Hellsalem gave no quarter to those foolish enough to be outside in the jaws of its weather. Curses flooded her ears of people and monsters scurrying around the concrete sidewalks in a desperate effort to either get home on time, find a taxi, or take some shelter in nearby diners and hospitals until the unruly and fierce deluge had finally passed. Chrysi frowned upwards at the water from her spot in front of the hospital for a long time, her eyes following the shifting clouds and darkening skies with a careful gaze. She couldn’t see the stars through the thick-set onslaught of water. It made her… sad for some reason.

It wasn’t like you could normally see the stars against the skyline anyways. Why did it matter now?

She took in a deep breath and, when she exhaled, the frigid air turned her breath into a cloud in front of her. It danced in the rainy atmosphere for a long moment before dissipating into nothingness, as breath seemed to do. She wondered what it would be like to be that breath for a long moment, the thought floating around in her head as she watched the rain continue to fall from her spot on the bench beneath it. God, she realized with a modicum of annoyance to the thought in the back of her mind, was she really sitting in the rain like some sort of stupid loser like this? Half of her wanted to laugh at herself but the other half wanted to cry.

An umbrella held itself over her head suddenly, stopping the rain that had begun to fall just a little bit harder than it already was. The clear plastic of the device still allowed her a view of the waterfront above her. She watched it hit the edges of the umbrella and dribble down, racing its rain drop brethren to the end where it dipped itself into the streets below with a careful movement that held her eye through its entire travel. Confusion hit her stomach as her brows furrowed, wondering just what it was (or who it was) that had blocked out the cold rain from her form so quickly.

Her answer was a familiar voice, amused and warm like the sweetest baked good somewhere behind her body:

“You’re going to catch a cold if you keep this up.”

She wasn’t able to hide her smile when she heard his voice. Its tone, so playful and relaxed, burned her heart as though it were made of paper. It was a melodic sound to her ears now. Any time will talked, all she heard was bells. The Macbeth boy was a star in the sky where she had previously seen none, she declared somewhere in her mind as she leaned her head back to spot the man hovering over her. His eyes were bright under his glasses, the specs reflect partially the street lights of the world around them. It made his blue eyes shine with an even brighter shade than they normally were. When her lips curled into the smile she had always seemed to save especially for him, her heart skipped a beat. Above her, William’s face turned its own discrete shade of red that he hoped, oh gods he hoped, that she wouldn’t notice.

If she did she said nothing as she laughed, raising an eyebrow up at the other as they watched one another.

“I mean there are worse places to get sick. We are right next to a hospital.”

She gestured to the building behind them both as she stood up, trying to keep herself under the umbrella as they made it around the bench between them to join under the safety of it. Chrysi couldn’t help but think about just how silly the situation was. Was silly the right word? She wasn’t sure. Not when he was so close to her under the safety of the umbrella. Not when she could see every strand of his loose blonde hair as it fell messily into his face, his eyes wide as he stared back at her before continuing to speak with a shrug to his movements and a smile the size of a sunflower on his lips.

“True, but the MEDICAL BILLS.”

“That’s too real, Macbeth, that’s too real.”

The two laughed together as the cars along the streets continued on their routes, the sound of engines revving drowning out the conversation for a moment as a truck passed by. The two watched it, the side of it plastered with some sort of advertisement they didn’t actually care about but couldn’t stop from staring as they admired it. When it passed and silence echoed a request to change the subject at hand, it was Will who seamlessly shifted it as he gazed down at the girl before him.

“So what are you doing out here so late, anyways? I thought you’d be going home by now.”

“Oh,” Chrysi felt a blush of embarrassment now hit her cheeks as she rubbed the back of her head with a nervous laugh, “Well, you see, this rain’s raised a flash flood warning in where I live.”

“That sounds dangerous.” William nodded with worry. Chrysi’s smiled even wider, her nervousness apparent as she laughed.

“Yeahhh, but, flash flood to monsters means it floods the first five stories of the building so… I kind of… don’t have a home right now until they clear the water out of it. I was just going to see if the hospital or a hostel had a room nearby I could crash in and-.”

“You could stay with me.”

The words fell from his lips before he could dare to stop them. Each one dropped out from between his lips like the chime of church bells. They run sterile through the entire world, the rain silencing itself as if by magic as Chrysi dared to stare into his eyes, red searching blue as she wondered if he meant it. If he wasn’t doing it just to be polite. Which, of course, he wasn’t. They had been good friends for a while now, the words William said were always ones that heald meaning to him. It was the nature of him as a person to be honest in those words. A lot of times she forgot that people in this world could still be so honest and open. With the things going on in Hellsalem and the world that they inhabited now, full of darkness and a craving to crush smaller beings beneath their feet, it was a welcome relief.

Her hesitance caused him to backpedal, his eyebrow raising for a moment before dipping in an embarrassed look as he blushed, “O-Or, I get it you probably already had something planned for yourself and-.”

“N-No! No, hey, I’d-”

Pale hands reached out and touched his own, bringing it close to her so that he wouldn’t plan an escape away. His palm was so warm against her cold fingertips, the heat flowing from one part of her hand to another as she clutched it together, revelling in the feeling. As they stood their, hands entwined, she found her voice through the acknowledging nod she gave him. Her gaze was a burn of sincerity as she declared, “I’d love to stay with you, if you're offering. Sleepovers at your place are rad, of course I’m down!”

His grin was relieved as he nodded, the ends of his hair bouncing out of excitement. It was… so cute. Chrysi felt the urge to reach her hand up and tuck the strands away and out of his face. For her fingertips to find his cheek and caress it with a careful affection. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought, her face flushing as she cleared her throat and moved her hands away from the grip of the boy before turning and facing the rain, hurrying out into it and leaving William stunned in her wake, as she seemed to normally due. The water dappled across her hair as she skipped into the sidewalk, twirling in her skirt as she tucked her hands behind her back and smiled.

“Well, then, what are we waiting for?”

There was something ethereal about the image. The way her hair sparkled in the rain as the lights of the city were reflected off of her side. Of the way her smile spread the freckles across her cheek even thicker than they already were. The way her lips were curled so perfectly with that smile that he half though she would float up to heaven, she looked so much like an angel. A shiver went up William’s spine as he gazed on at her, his heartbeat suddenly all too loud in his ears and his throat thick with an anxious saliva that wasn’t there before. Why did he keep thinking she was so beautiful… Why did he half to want something so far out of his reach?

What was wrong with him?

“Yoooo, Williammmmmmmmm-!” Chrysi’s voice echoed starkly through the sound of rain as she waved her hand with a grin, “You’re the one with the keys to your place. Are you gonna hurry up or am I going to have to steal them and lock you out of your house myself?”

He snapped out of it, the joke bringing a laugh to his lips as he hurried up after her, extending his umbrella out with a worried tone as he smiled, “Okay, okay, just get back under here! You really are going to get sick if you don’t keep yourself out of the rain.”

They walked down the streets for what felt like hours. Perhaps it was something close to an hour. As they moved, asphalt was lit up rainbow and orange as the lights reflected off of the buildings and lamps around them and into the wet ground. Each line of color shimmered like a painting in their wake as they walked, their feet hitting large puddles and causing a ripple in the bustling environment in such a far dimension away. She wondered if puddles were actual dimensions to other universes, but she doubted it was true. For if it was, all she would have to do would be step in a puddle and fall into somewhere she wanted to be. Fall far away into a world that was better than this one.

Chrysi cast her gaze to her side, where William walked along with her. His smile was warm as his eyes gazed forward, taking in the sight of shops that lined the streets and the people that passed them by. She bit her lip to hide her own smile. That was silly, she decided for herself, for a world without William would be a stupid place to live in if she was being honest.

It wasn’t a world she wanted.

It was a while more that they walked before a stop light halted their progress. Chrysi hit the button on the side of the nearby pole with its pleasant walking man above it and they waited for the light to fade back into green so that they could go forward. The traffic roared its way to life nearby, the echo startling in her ears as she stared at the street before them both. It was always so loud downtown. The cars never stopped, nor did the people and demons that inhabited it. A few different species wiggled their way across the street, jaywalking and shouting at cars that bared their horns at them for the movement. She couldn’t help but laugh, the lopsided smile easy on her lips until…

Until…

A roar of a car. The screams of people as it drunkenly careened through the streets. With a startled gasp the girl jumped back to avoid the metal monstrosity itself, but not in time to avoid the splashback of a puddle in the rain that it had driven through. The water fell upwards like a tidal wave. A tsunami approached her and she could have sworn that she saw her life flash before her eyes as she stared at the wall of damp, dirty road water. The foam was teeth and its body was a demon for a long, terrifying moment before it all came crashing down upon her.

Her clothes soaked it in, the fabric sticking needily to her form in the most uncomfortable fashion. Her hair was suddenly all too heavy with moisture as it weighed itself down on her shoulders. Her eyes stung with whatever the hell was in that water as she let out a surprised yelp at the frigid coldness that enveloped her alongside the mass of moisture, her arms splayed out on her sides as her gaze went wide with shock. Goosebumps littered her damp skin but nothing felt dry or warm anymore as it even soaked through her undershirts and into her bra. Into her socks, giving the squishiest and most unpleasant texture to her toes she had ever had the displeasure of experiencing.

“Woah! Chrysi, are you okay!?”

William’s voice was shocked and worried as he joined her at her side, himself having enough sense and awareness to jump out of the way of the oncoming vehicle and is splashback. Chrysi responded by waving her hands about, sending droplets of water splashing as she groaned.

“FUCK! I love this shirt!”

“Let’s hurry to my place! We can put your clothes in the wash there, come on! The rain’s getting worse.”

They sprinted the last few blocks to William’s home hand-in-hand, their grip tight on one another so that they wouldn’t be lost. They dragged one another behind whenever one of them fell back even a little to catch their breath. The wind whipped through their hair, droplets of rain water cascading off of them like the tail of a comet as they moved. As they pushed one another  to their limits in that final sprint that they came across. It was like something out of a video game, only the air in her lungs was real and the wind in his bangs was real and the world around them, despite that feeling of intense illusions, was all so real.

The world felt so real with her.

They arrived and entered his home out of breath. When the lights were turned on, Chrysi had given up and chosen to accept her fate by laying face down on the floor of his living room, heaving empty breaths as she tried to keep herself from hyperventilating through the rush of adrenaline the impromptu workout had caused her. William leaned forward, his hands on his knees, as he also tried to catch his breath. For a long while the only noises around them were the sound of the rain on the rooftop and the sound of their breathing filling the entire room.

“We’re never…. “ Chrysi gasped through her exhaustion in the floorboards, “Doing that… AGAIN…”

William laughed through his breathlessness. The laughter grew contagious and, soon, Chrysi was laughing too. The two began to giggle uncontrollably as William soon joined her on the floor, the both of them laying in the middle of the floor as the laughter of their adventure subsided away into a cold and dull ache somewhere in the base of their lungs.

As the silence finally engulfed the both of them, they were left on their backs, staring up idly at the ceiling above them. The rain seemed to grow louder as they rested like that, the world around them an echo in the night as they both found comfort in the endless quiet they were able to have together. It had always been like this, Chrysi supposed. Their relationship was made up of something in this general area. A quiet presence that they enjoyed in one another at times, but a loud and obnoxious series of laughters when they also felt like it. The world was changing and shifting subject of facts and fictions for the both of them. One that they seemed to endure together as the world spun around.

“We should get you changed out of those clothes.” Will managed to murmur out as his gaze cast itself around towards Chrysi. Chrysi blinked up at the ceiling, suddenly all too aware of the way her clothes stuck to her body. How wet and dripping they were, seeping into his floor and sagging against her already dampened hair. She laughed despite herself, giving a nod and a soft ‘yeah’ as she stood up and looked around, frowning as she spoke half to herself, “I don’t have any clothes I keep at your place, though, do I?”

The question hung heavy between them as they both rose to their feet, William biting his lip for a moment before the offer fell softly from between his lips, “You could… borrow some of my stuff.”

Chrysi’s eyes went wide, her gaze facing his with a look of something like ‘are you serious?’ scrawled across it. Her cheeks flushed a redness the likes of which neither had seen them go before and William felt the empathy warmness caress his face as he bit his lip and turned away for a moment in thought. There was no way to take back that offer was there? Oh God did he just seriously screw up? Anxiety swelled in his chest like a tidal wave as he tried to find his voice enough backtrack and-

“Yeah I’d like that! Um, can I borrow your shower too?”

It was his turn to gawk as Chrysi smiled shyly.

That was the only conversation that followed her stepping into his shower, washing off the cold water from her icy skin and warming her body back up before slipping into a large, long-sleeved sweater that Will had laid fout for her and a pair of comfortable pajama shorts that hung a little too far off of her hips to say that they fit properly. She tugged at the edge of the sweater as she exited the bathroom, her hair still slightly damp from the shower but enough to be out of its toweled prison with minimal damage to the already damp flooring.

“I have to admit, this is comfy.” She chirped with a laugh as William caught her eye. His gaze widened a single moment before he looked away with his own giggle, hand finding the back of his head to rub at it awkwardly as he defended himself easily, “I like comfortable things! Can you blame me?”

“If we need to wear clothes every day, guess it's best that you feel good in them!”

They spent the rest of the evening in. Will played video games with Chrysi (mario kart was a disaster never to be talked about again) and hot chocolate was boiled and shared between the two, extra marshmallows piled high into the mugs as they told one another embarrassing stories of their childhood with fits of giggles between sugar rushed words.

Hearing about William’s childhood was like opening the pages to a fairy tale. The world around her melted away as his stories painted a new picture in her mind. As the understanding she had for him grew, more and more, with teach tale of him and his sister and their beautiful farm with their family… It was so warm. So carefully constructed. She could feel the sun on her skin and the wind in her hair. She felt like she understood him a bit more. With every word they grew closer and closer still, their exchanges soft and their hands nearly touching as stories reached their climax and the shake of the world seemed to shatter around them. It was… So beautiful.

He was beautiful.

“We should get to bed.”

Will spoke the words almost reluctantly and Chrysi was aware of just how… not tired she really was… but regardless she nodded.

“Yeah that’s a good idea, um…” Her gaze shot around the room awkwardly, biting her lips as she tilted her head, “You got a pull out couch or anything I can sleep on?”

“Huh? Oh, no I don’t I just have… my bed in my room and that’s it.” Will smiled meekly, “I don’t get a lot of visitors I guess… But it’s okay, you can have the bed and I’ll put a few pillows on the floor. I don’t mind.”

“What?” Chrysi sat up with wide eyes, “No way! This is your house, I’m not making you sleep on the floor for me?”

“It is my house and i insist,” Will grinned, “I know how comfortable these floors are, trust me, its fine.”

“If it’s so fine then let me sleep on the floor. I couldn’t kick you out of your bed.”

“No way!”

And so the argument went, back and forth and back again, until the two came into another circle of blame that settled in the same argument. An ouroborus of decision making flooded their senses as neither refused to budge on their stance of sleeping arrangements and, Chrysi swore, she could feel herself growing increasingly more exhausted with every single end and break the conversation came upon. The weather outside was still cold. The world around them was still rainy. She just wanted some damn sleep. Her eyes narrowed as she took in a deep breath, clapping her hands together as she finally settled it in her mind:

“Fine, then we share.”

“WH-WHAT!?”

“LOOK-!” Chrysi defended her idea with a wave of her hands as she blushed, “I don’t want you to sleep on the floor and you don’t want ME to sleep on the floor and I trust you as a friend and shit so-! I don’t see what the big deal is, let’s just both split the bed. If it’s such a big deal we can just… put some pillows between us or whatever? It’s fine! Okay, so lets do it!”

Her hand held itself out, a shake of truce on the near-fight but not-quite fight they were both having. Her gaze was sincere and bore into his soul. Awkwardly he reached out to take it, accepting hte truce in a single hand shake, unable to hide the grin that came with the ridiculous movements the both of them were using for some odd reason. Chrysi’s own smile eventually permeated her lips as they laughed through the moment, finding it silly now that the decision had been made.

The bed was smaller than she was used to, but, still a decent enough size for two people. As the both of them crawled into its soft, warm covers, Chrysi let out a sigh of contentment. Her back hit the sheets and her head hit the pillow with a relaxing sigh, her body stretching and moving like a cat as she crawled around the entire thing. William watched her stretch in his clothes, the top she was wearing riding up just a little to reveal her stomach. He blushed and looked away, biting his lip to avoid staring. It would have been rude. It would have been weird.

She was so cute this way, though.

“Here, I have an idea.”

Chrysi stared at Will as he took some of the copious amounts of pillows he had and lined it between them,  a small wall forming in the middle of the bed. It divided neat sides between them, enough blankets for them to use separately instead of the single duvet that had been neatly organized on the covers earlier. Chrysi raised an eyebrow as she sat up, rubbing her scalp to loosen her hair against it a little bit.

“What are you doing?”

“This way we won’t kick one another at night or something.”

“Are you saying you kick at night or are you implying that I’ll kick you at night?”

“You’ve kicked me plenty of times when you’re awake.”

She snorted at his quippy response, making him grin as he finished organizing the pillows neatly before them both. The vast wall of soft items was a pleasant divider. Half of her just wanted to cuddle the structure itself as she fell asleep. Another half of her, somewhere deep down, wanted to cuddle Will. The thought was embarrassing enough as she lay down with him in the bed and took a deep breath, shutting her eyes to listen to the sound of the rain above them for a moment.

Everything here smelled like him. The clothes she wore… The sheets around her… The pillows separating her form from his.. The world was a beautiful olfactorius cacophony of his scent and sounds as he climbed and adjusted in his own side of the bed.

“Okay well… Goodnight.” William whispered out, unsure of what else to say.

“Mhm… “ Was all Chrysi could respond with, her eyelids heavy as she suddenly felt all too aware of how exhausted she was, “‘Night…”

And in a single moment, she was asleep.

---

The morning came without incident. The clouds ceased in their constant deluge of water and offered the citizens of Hellsalem a momentary reprieve from their fearsome bites. All that was left of the rain was puddles in the streets and droplets that slid from the edges of roofs and down to the sidewalks below them. The sound of cars driving by and beings muttering outside as they went about their day filled the world, once again, with an endless business that seemed to clog it like an artery. It was normal, once more, and it felt as though nothing truly intense had happened. Not yet, anyways.

Chrysi’s eyes cracked open, bleary sleepiness hanging in the corners of her visions like long forgotten shadows. She sighed and mumbled a nonsense phrase somewhere deep in her mouth, cuddling closer to the warmth that no presented itself in front of her. She hugged it close, her arms wrapping around a soft form and bringing it forward so that she coudl try and use it to block out the light daring to filter in through the air behind her. She just wanted a few more minutes of sleep, she decided, and it would be fine if she did.

Then the thing she hugged sighed and snored softly above her, its own arms reaching and brining her closer as it sighed.

Her eyes shot open, face burning the most intense red it had been in a very, very long time. Her hands clutched and then let go of the figure, eyes rolling up to see just who it was she was holding on to.

William looked peaceful in his sleep, his lack of glasses doing nothing but accentuating his beauty as his mouth opened softly in his sleep. His snores were more like light breathing, a gentle noise that left his lips as he hugged her closer and adjusted himself accordingly. Oh god, she realized with horror, oh god oh Jesus Fuck oh god oh MAN-.

Did she wake him up? Did she move away? Did she-

Her mind stopped working when his forehead pressed onto hers, his body curling in on her as he held her closer. Chrysi’s face was in his neck now, the bob of his adam’s apple soft on her nose as she inhaled his scent. It still smelled like rain and it was a beautiful, warm field smell that made her feel almost… at home.

Slowly her body destressed, the tenseness of her movements pushing itself away as she relaxed into his grip, eyes fluttering shut as she sighed in defeat. A smile printed itself nicely on her lips, a twitch of them as she felt herself lull softly into sleep yet again. She could cherish this for a while. At least while they slept. The consequences of its movements could be handled later. She didn’t have to worry about it now.

For, in that moment, she felt truly complete.

[randomaumemes]

favorite photoshoot

Alex Høgh Andersen Imagine

pairing: Alex x Reader warnings: smut, swearing, but also a lot of fluff I guess summary: Alex takes nude photos of you for the first time

With his last thrust he pushes you back down against him. You immediately roll your hips on top of him and he groans in pleasure, applying counter-pressure, twitching lightly as he slowly comes down from his high. You feel him releasing into the condom for the last time. His lips are pressed together when he breathes out through them and eases his grip a little, realizing how strong it was. His facial expression softens, his fingers start caressing you there. Almost as if he wanted to make up for it, his blue eyes still fixated on where you both are connected. Relaxed and happy you smile down at him and put your hands on his, after which he looks back up to you and slides his fingers between yours. Your sheepish grin causes him to smirk as well and you let go of his hands, leaning forward to kiss him. Only once, then you sit back up and start to raise your hips from him a little. Quickly he takes a hold of himself, reaching underneath you and between the both of you to make sure the condom stays in place. He slips out of you and you lift one leg off of him and let yourself fall back onto the mattress next to him. With one hand on your breasts and the other arm tiredly next to your body you lay there while he reaches for a tissue to wrap the condom in. You don’t look back over at Alex until after a little while, only to notice that he’s already looking at you, his eyes wandering over your body. You let out a silly laugh at his facial expression and remove your hand from your boobs to wave around in front of his eyes. “You okay?” He smirks a little before tiredly chuckling when he snaps out of it. “Sorry.”, he smiles lazily, his accent more noticeable than usual, “I just like looking at you.” You feel the heat rushing through your body because you have to admit, that’s such a sweet, genuine compliment. “Look as much as you want. You’re even allowed to touch.”, You joke, laughing a little, still somehow calm around him. To be honest you don’t mind at all, even if every inch of you is exposed to him, you feel comfortable around him. “Okay wow”, he answers, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise, “I was expecting anything but that answer.” He leans a little closer, hovering above you, a playful smile on his full lips “but, you know… not complaining” his free hand reaches for your hip to hold you in place before his face sinks down between your breasts, kissing you there. You let out a squeaky laugh. Your boobs are too small to motorboat them but you already know he doesn’t care about that. “Why?”, You grin when he starts playing with one of your nipples with his hand. You draw in a breath in arousal when his fingers are lightly pinching it. “Why, what?”, Alex asks distractedly, like he already completely forgot what he said two minutes ago. “Why are you surprised by my reaction?” He slowly takes his hands off of you. “Oh, well. The usual reaction when you tell a naked woman that you like looking at her is ‘Ahh, stahp. Don’t stare at me like that, I have stretchmarks’”, his voice is much higher when he tries to talk girly, turning away from you and shielding his body with his arms. Of course he doesn’t seriously believe that. He’s exaggerating and being dramatic. That’s just something he likes to do because most of the time, it makes you laugh. You giggle warm-heartedly. “Alex, everybody has those. Who cares” He turns back to a normal lying position, looks at you and starts to smile so big that you can see his almost perfect teeth. “Do you have them, too?” At first you’re a little surprised. Does that mean he hasn’t noticed them before? He’s seen you naked enough times and you always thought your stretchmarks were rather obvious. But then you figure he just doesn’t care about that. Alex doesn’t pay attention to those small imperfections of your body “Yeah. On my thighs and on my hips. Here.” His glance lowers immediately as he examines the spot your fingers point at, head tilting, before his own fingers wander over the skin, curiousity written on his face. “Oh right, you do.” You smile about his reaction. He doesn’t seem grossed out or averse to them. Not in the slightest. Which only confirms your own mindset. As long as you’re comfortable with whatever feature of yourself, other people will be, too. “Wow I can actually feel them”, he observes, his mouth slightly agape, as if he just discovered something completely new. “Yeah. They’re like small cracks in the skin”, You answer, tracing them with your own fingers. He smiles before his fingers travel higher, strands of his long hair falling into his face, always keeping his glance wherever his fingertips touch your skin. Until he’s arrived at your breasts again, briefly caressing them. You close your eyes in pleasure. But his hands don’t stay for long, they trail higher, up to your jaw and then to your lips. Gently his thumb grazes your lower lip, you feel the calloused skin of his fingers and you smile with closed eyes. You don’t notice the way he suddenly pauses, licking his lips, contemplating wether or not to tell you what’s on his mind. What has been on his mind pretty much since the two of you walked through the streets of his neighborhood one afternoon, equipped with his camera. Since he took photos of you for the first time. His heart rate increases the slightest bit as he thinks about doing something he’s never done before. He breathes out, his thumb traveling from your lip to your cheek before he leans in to replace it’s original spot with his own lips, kissing you. This time, compared to an hour ago, you’re both gentle. It’s obvious you’re not craving each other as much anymore, your bodies satisfied, relaxed and the kiss remaining innocent, with no use of tongue. He pulls back, smiling, looking at your lips, then searching for your eyes as you open them again. “Can I take pictures of you?” he finally asks, looking back and forth between your eyes, waiting for your reaction. He feels vulnerable as soon as the question leaves his lips, worried you might find it creepy. You frown a little, not completely understanding what he’s asking. “You mean -” “Right now.”, he explains himself quickly, “Like that.”, his eyes trail over your body for a second, hand caressing your stomach, “of you laying on my bed, naked.” Your eyes widen a little in surprise, looking up at him trying to read if he’s serious or maybe joking. But he isn’t, his jaw clenches under the touch of your hand, he wouldn’t be this tense if he was just messing around with you. So your eyes trail off, contemplating while you bite your lips. “I get it if that’s too much. If you don’t want to-” he immediately feels self conscious, his tone humorous, but nervous. “No”, you interrupt him, looking back at him, “I don’t think it’s too much. I just… I’ve never done anything like that before” His facial expression softens and a warm smile starts to appear on his lips when his whole body relaxes a little “Me neither. Does it matter?” You look at him and shrug briefly, thinking about it. You know how good he is at taking photographs. He has talent and an eye for it, he’s professional. Some of your favorite pictures of yourself are ones that he’s taken. Why would it be any different when you’re naked? Why not give it a try? “I really want to do this with you. If you’re comfortable with it.”, he interrupts your thoughts, “Do you trust me?” “Yeah”, you almost immediately answer and look back up to him. You do. He smiles down at you. That adorable happy smile he has that you love so much. “Good.” He leans down to you, pressing his lips to yours one more time before gently pushing you back onto his bed. “Stay right here, relax.”, he tells you softly, “I’ll be right back.” With that, he almost jumps from the bed, aiming for the shelf where he keeps his Canon. He wasn’t sure at all if you would agree to it but now that you did, his stomach turns with excitement. He stands there naked for a minute, in the middle of his bedroom, his hair falling into his face while he’s making sure all the setups of his camera are correct and adjusted. Then he walks back over to the bed and to you, putting the strap around his head. He already decided that the lighting is pretty much perfect, the morning sun shining through his curtains, illuminating the room in such a natural way. You smile at him, your head raised off the mattress in curiosity and anticipation. He smiles back at you, taking the first look at you through the lens “Lay down”, he instructs, stepping to the edge of the bed. So you lay your head back down, sheepishly smiling to yourself, trying not to look at the camera at first. His knee rests on the matress as he hovers above you, adjusting the focus. “Stay like that”, you hear him say calmly. And then the first shutter of his camera. A second passes. Then another shutter. This is really happening, you think, you’re actually doing this. It feels much more natural than you thought it would. You see him move a little in the corner of your eye, adjusting the angle he’s capturing you with. Then he takes another picture. “Okay now look at me”, he pulls your attention back to him and you finally look directly into the camera lens. He could swear his heart stopped there for a second. He holds his breath, not saying anything for the first three times he releases the shutter, wanting to make sure he captured it right. He pulls back to check it for a second, looking at the screen of his camera with a captivated look on his face. Somebody please fucking pinch him. This is so much better than every fantasy he had. With his heart bursting with joy and pride, he looks back at you. “Am I doing okay? Should I change anything?”, you begin to ask him, unaware of his thoughts. “No no no”, he stops you quickly, before smiling at you warmly “you’re perfect” You chuckle softly, relaxing back into his mattress and blanket. “Just like that. Let me take a couple more closeups” He’s leaning in and you try your best to bled out the camera and pretend it’s just him you’re looking at. Again, the sound of his shutter goes off a couple times. “Beautiful”, he praises you pulling back a to give you more space, “Now turn around for me, will you?” You smirk a little, obeying him and getting on your stomach. You’d lie if you said it wasn’t turning you on a little, hearing him speak to you like that, even if you know his intentions aren’t sexual. You feel his hand in your hair all of a sudden, gently fixing it and adjusting the way it falls along your back. You wish he’d touch you longer than that, but he already pulls back, dedicated to find the perfect angle to accentuate your curves just the right way. You lay there, the side of your face resting on his pillow you arch your back a little, trying to give him a good view of your ass as you’re starting to get more confident about the situation. He bites his lip in concentration as he adjusts the focus again, and that’s when he notices a few details that he didn’t really see before. The red marks of his fingers on your hips and ass only make the pictures more beautiful to him. He takes a couple, then he adjusts the blanket around you, pulling it over you until half of your ass is covered, focusing on your back and shoulders. You feel the mattress under you sink a little as he crawls onto his bed completely, one leg on either side of you he kneels over you, straddling you to take the next few photos. He stays in that position for a little bit, looking through the pictures. Mesmerized about what it is that you both are creating. This must be his new favorite way of making art. It’s a weird sensation, almost a little like looking at porn, but much more personal and emotional. “Have any good shots yet?”, you ask him, chuckling. “Baby you have no idea”, he answers, the corners of his lips twisting upwards. He’s still naked himself, hovering above you when he decides to take his camera off for a second, placing it on the bed next to you. He looks down at you, large hands caressing your back and traveling up to your shoulders until he leans down a little. You feel his breath hot on your neck “Favorite fucking photoshoot ever” You giggle, then moan a little when he leaves a few kisses on your neck, moving your hair out of the way gently. And then he pulls away and climbs off of you, getting his camera again, thinking about what to do with you next. He can’t really explain what it is that he’s feeling. He’s not nervous or tense anymore. He’s almost as relaxed and focused as he is when he takes regular photos with his camera. But the difference is that this is more exciting, so much more intimate. He climbs back onto his bed with you. You look at him, observing his actions when he lays down next to you, facing you, camera in one hand, the other traveling up your hip. “Straddle me”, he says, his blue eyes slowly wandering back up to meet yours. You nod slightly, slowly raising yourself from your lying position and Alex immediately reacts, lying on his back. You climb on top of him, his free hand supporting and guiding you a little in the process untill you slowly sit down on his naked thighs. Your glance stays there for a second, swallowing at the sight of him being almost fully hard again. What you two are doing is definitely affecting him as much as it is affecting you. You look back to his face and the camera, throwing your hair over one shoulder. You see his lips curling into a half smirk as he looks up at you through the lense, obviously happy with however it looks like. You smile innocently at first, looking down at him. He takes a couple of shots. You look away from him to the side, biting your lip. You hear the clicking of his shutter again. But then you decide to have some fun with it. He’s still focused on you through the lense when he twitches a little, feeling your hands on his dick, grabbing him. “What are you doing?”, he starts to breathe lowly before his back arches at the sensation “Ohh-” he’s gritting his teeth when you grind your hips over his length, holding him between your folds, letting him feel how wet you are, completely taking him off-guard with your actions “Fuckk” he takes his camera away from his face, his blue eyes looking up at you in amazement, examining your face to figure out what you’re up to. A small smile playing on your lips, you grind your hips again, letting out a sigh when you feel him grow harder between your folds. He groans, finally setting his camera aside. He reaches for the drawer where he keeps his condoms in. He takes one out, then relaxes back into the mattress, handing it to you. “Are you sure about that?”, he asks you, eyebrows raised, making sure to have your consent when he grabs the camera again. You nod, looking into his eyes. Then you sit back onto his muscular thighs, tearing open the package and putting the condom on for him. His heart is racing as he tries his hardest to focus on getting his camera ready with your hands caressing him, ready to go for the second round of the day. When he’s done, he looks up at you, nodding. So you raise your hips and adjust yourself on top of him. Both of you hold your breaths when you sink down onto him for the second time that morning, still a little sore from before, feeling him stretching you out until your pelvis is in contact with his. “Mhhh”, you moan out and Alex breathes out relieved, looking at you directly for a second, making sure to enjoy and appreciate the moment before he uses his camera again. He feels a little torn, like he doesn’t know what to prefer; continuing to take those perfect pictures of you or fully focusing on having sex with you. He’s feeling horny and he wants to touch you badly, feeling as much of you as possible but at the same time he really wants to capture you on top of him, riding him. He decides to focus on one thing at a time. So he puts the camera to his face again, biting his lip as you start to move on top of him, rolling your hips. Slowly, rotating. Quiet moans leaving your lips. You don’t pay attention to the camera anymore as you close your eyes, your face twisting in pleasure. You don’t even hear the shutter anymore when he takes the first few pictures of you in this intimate moment. “So good”, you hear him moan underneath you. He decides to stop paying attention to the pictures he’s taking, lowering the camera to his chest to look at you directly, making sure to keep his finger on the release. “Open your eyes, look at me” 

You do. And you smile when you’re finally able to look at his face again. Not looking away from his blue eyes once, you continue to ride him, going back and forth, still agonisingly slow. He seems to have taken enough pictures because one of his hands grips your thigh all of a sudden, finally touching you. He reaches to put the camera away, more than ready to turn the both of you around and make you feel good himself. But you stop him, grabbing it from his hands. He looks back up at you confused when you stop riding him for a second to fiddle with his camera. Then, suddenly, something clicks in him and he chuckles, relaxing back into the pillow and looking up at you. You know the basics of how to work a camera. He taught you that. And now you’re turning the tables. 

You giggle when you see him grin at you playfully through the lens, sticking his tongue out between his teeth. You take the first picture of him laying there, still buried inside you. Messy hair, full lips, muscular chest, well built arms and blue eyes staring into your soul. He’s far too beautiful to not be captured as well. You focus on moving again, pleasuring him, slowly lifting your hips up so he almost slips out of you, then sitting back down in a rotating motion, feeling his whole length, centimetre by centimetre, stretching you out again. You can’t help but let out a moan yourself, before you calm down enough to operate the camera again. Like you hoped, his facial expression is different now. It isn’t staged anymore. With his eyes half closed, brows furrowed and mouth slightly open, his face is twisting in pleasure. You press the shutter release, then you move again. His hands dig into your thighs as he hisses, arching his back a little. You take another picture of him, deciding this would be the last one because the both of you clearly won’t be able to keep this up for much longer.  You bend forward to set the camera on his drawer and he opens his eyes immediately, staring at you as you sit back down onto him, hands resting on his chest. His arms reach around you, pulling your chest down to his, groaning into your ear. “My turn”  Then, in one swift movement, he has the both of you turned around, finally being able to move the way he wants to. You squeal when your head hits the pillow, his facial expression turns serious when he adjusts the condom briefly, then he leans over you again and this time he fills you up completely with one powerful thrust. You moan into his ear in surprise as for the first time a pretty loud groan escapes his lips before he continues with strong thrusts, his hips snapping against yours. Sweat begins to form on your skin, everywhere you’re touching. He lifts his head from your shoulder to find your lips for sloppy, damp kisses that he eventually spreads along your jaw and neck and you feel the familiar knot in your stomach forming. You wrap your legs around his hips, pressing your nails into his back and pulling his upper body closer to you to have more physical contact. Something you can’t get enough of right now. That way the angle of him entering you changes just enough to have him exactly where you need him. With your moans and sighs into the crook of his neck becoming more regular you try to signal him to keep going. “Just like that”, you tell him breathlessly. Breathing heavily, he gives you a couple more aimed and deep thrusts. “Come on baby”, he stimulates you, voice strained, “Come for me” His words and his voice are exactly what you needed to send you over the edge. Overwhelmed you cling onto him and shortly after that you don’t even know what you’re doing anymore as you lose control of your body, your second orgasm rushing through you. As soon as you’re able to think somewhat clearly again, you still feel his fast thrusts, your body much more sensitive then before, and Alex still on the edge of his own release. He’s not quite there yet, you both know he takes longer the second time. So you losen your grasp on him so he has room to do whatever he needs to do right now. He comes back up a little, supporting himself on his arms, lips parted and breathing heavy and you try your best to focus on keeping up with his fast thrusts, which are now turning increasingly sloppy. You become aware of the sounds around you, the faint creaking of the bed frame and the slapping of your skin is filling his room, mixed with his low groans. When you reach up with your arms, pushing yourself away from the head of his bed to be able meet with his thrusts more, his muscles suddenly contract, a throaty grunt coming out of his mouth. He stiffens over you, breath hitching in his throat for a second. You feel his hips jerk slightly, him twitching inside you. When he finally begins to loosen up again, he breathes out with a shaky, relieved moan, leaning forward again. Still breathing heavily, he finds your lips to kiss you. Only once and slowly, then he starts to smile against your lips, chuckling hoarsely. You can’t help but smirk yourself. “Well fuck”, he breathes, exhausted and you giggle “Mhm”. You pull him back down to you by his by now sweaty neck to give him another audible kiss. Then he pulls away, sitting up and the cool air hits your damp skin as he carefully pulls out of you.                                                      You lay on his bedding, refusing to use any blankets because you need to cool down first. Smiling and cuddling comfortable silence as you relax into him, focusing on his breath and his body in a whole different way then you just did a few minutes ago, feeling completely calm. 

But Alex, he can’t help it. He reaches over you to get the camera from his drawer, adjusting the way he lies with you as he presses the button to look at all the taken pictures. “Well,”, he purses his lips, an impressed look on his face, “now I have something to jerk off to” You let out a dirty laugh, shoving him gently. “Shut up” but then your curiosity gets the best of you “Can I see them?”  You end up scrolling through them all, not sure how to feel about it. You don’t know what you expected, it’s new and a bit weird to look at pictures of yourself in such private, intimate settings but you definitely kinda like them. You like the ones you took of Alex more, of course. But there are definitely two or three of those photos he took of you that you feel really good about.  “This one’s my favourite”, he beams proudly at one of the pictures of you on your stomach, your hair spread out on the pillow, zooming in on the red marks on your hips. “Of course it is.”, you mock him, cackling, “It’s my ass.”, knowing exactly which part of your body he’s always liked the most.  “What are we doing with those now?”, you ask him, head resting on his shoulder as he continues to look at them. “I’d say we print them out, I keep yours to myself and you keep mine.” You smile warmly, your hand resting on his toned stomach, cuddling into him just a little more “I like that”  He still looks at them, a sudden wave of excitement and joy rushing over him as he smiles from ear to ear, letting out an adorable squeak. “Ahh they’re so beautiful. I’m so fucking happy we did this.” You giggle at his childlike joy as he puts the camera to the side, smiling and looking at you, his hand reaching for your cheek “I love you so fucking much.”, he beams, kissing you before he pulls you into him, hugging and cuddling into you. “You’re my favourite photo subject”       

Ayyeee my first written imagine on here. 🙌

I barely do those because they take me forever, even longer than AU Memes, especially until I’m content with them. Also this is the first time I’ve ever posted something smutty, so I’m double self conscious right now haha. I hope y'all can give me feedback, that would be much appreciated.  I fucking love this concept, since Alex super into photography and a bit of artsy, I can totally imagine this happening with him and I tried my best to put it into words. 

I wanted to make this relatable, but also somewhat realistic so I had to go into detail a bit. I hope it’s okay that I pictured the reader with small boobs and stretch marks. If that’s not applying to you, feel free to ignore that part. Anyways I hope you enjoyed! MASTERLIST 

[amaryllisblackthorn]

to make up for the looong time its been taking me to get done with my curse au fic i’m uploading snippets  of an unfinished abandoned fic in the same verse. it’s not canon, so i guess its like an au of an au heh. it’s the same universe as the body remembers what the memory forgot, but like i said, it’s not canon so the second installment will completely disregard these parts.

Moonlight shone dimly through veils of dust that covered the faces of virgin windows. The once paragonal coat of youth chipped away from the abrasive wear of time. The emptiness was suffocating if one did not tread carefully, and the silence would have been deafening if not for the rhythm of footsteps accompanying a duo. 

“Christ -- Georgie!” Duncan said as soon as he realized the identity of one of the girl’s facing him. He darted from his place on the stairs leaving the woman, Jolie, where she stood unmoving.

           “Yes, it’s nice to see you too, Duncan,” Sara said, using sarcasm to aid in her recovery of the alarming incident. Her hand was holding Georgie’s, but whether it was for her comfort or her own was hard to tell. Maybe it was both. “Your concern is touching.”

           In the midst of his anger and worry, the boy found the time to flash her a grin. “Always a pleasure, Sara.” His appearance quickly turned serious again as he looked to Georgie and then turned to face Jolie, his brows furrowing. “Can you explain exactly what you were doing here?”

           His voice had a terribly controlled sound to it, a dangerous calm. It was the kind of tone that brought kings to their knees and made the bones in Georgie’s body shake. Somehow, however, it didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Jolie. She stood, stoic. “They’re intruders.”

           “Well, this was fun,” Georgie started to say, already taking some steps back. Her hands opened and unopened several times. Everything seemed so fake for some reason, so unreal. “But I think I’m going to go.”

           “No -- wait!” Duncan said, extending his hand as though to stop her. He had moved slightly closer to her in an attempt to gain her attention. His green eyes implored with hers, looked at her with a sense of understanding and empathy. It was to ensure the advantage that he remained eye level with her, saying, “Stay. Just for a bit -- if you’re still uncomfortable then you can go. Just -- don’t go. Not yet.”

           There was still nothing in Georgie that wanted her to stay. Warnings of go, go! still beat in her heart, her thumb rubbing the hem of her skirt again and again. Even though the danger had passed, her body didn’t seem to be aware. It was a sensation that was too familiar, and she didn’t like it. “I -- I don’t know, Duncan. I don’t really like to keep company with people who try to kill me.”

The hesitance did not completely depart from Georgie, but his words did have an effect on her. It calmed the rattling of her bones, even if just a little bit. He was also so insistent, wanting terribly for her to stay. She decided she could give him a few minutes of her time without it hurting anyone. “Okay,” she breathed, and then, a bit clearer, “Okay, fine. I’ll stay for a bit. As long as there are no more attempts on my life.”

           A smile appeared on the boy’s face, breaking through his attempt to suppress it. “There won’t be. I promise.”

Jolie had a scowl ingrained on her face, and although it may have always been at that intensity, Georgie couldn’t help but feel it was directed at them (her specifically). The again, maybe Georgie was just worrying too much, thinking too much of herself. Nevertheless, it was a less than welcoming expression, and it made the hairs on Georgie’s skin stand up just a little. It’s not that Georgie genuinely believed that the older woman would actually hurt her, but she had a suspicion that’s exactly what she wanted to do.

           “Hey,” a voice said, breaking through her thoughts. Duncan had approached her, having left Jolie’s side. His lips formed a half smile, and she had to admit he looked kind of cute when his smile wasn’t a smirk. Objectively speaking. “Everything okay? You look kind of disquieted.”

           Her lips tightened as she gave him a close smile. “No, yeah, I’m fine,” Georgie said, putting a loose strand of hair behind her ear. For someone who regularly wore ponytails, she would have thought she’d be able to do them better. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if she really liked ponytail. They made her feel kind of … mature? Not that that was a problem, exactly, but when was the last time she wore her hair down, besides from sleeping and showering? Strange were the things she’d been beginning to notice after years of them never crossing her mind. That was life, she guessed.

           “See -- there!” Duncan said, once again interrupting her musings. There was something almost playful about his features as he gained her attention again. “You did it again. You sure everything’s okay?”

           “Positive,” Georgie assured him, then added, “but, I mean, I guess this just isn’t my cup of tea? It’s nothing personal, it’s just I was kind of expecting to, you know, explore an abandoned building or something. I didn’t expect like a haunted house kind of a deal or like Paris catacombs under the building or anything, but I guess I was looking forward to the thrill of walking through an isolated building? It’s silly, I know. It’s just that this is kind of … boring.”

           She didn’t want to be too blunt and end up offending him, but he seemed to take it very well. His lips spread wider, and he seemed somewhat amused. “You haven’t even been here for ten minutes,” Duncan said (he wasn’t exactly sure of how much time had actually passed but it certainly seemed like not much), “and you’ve already decided that you know everything there is to know about this building! I’ll let you know, bird, there’s a lot to still explore in this old building.”

           Georgie scrunched her nose and exaggerated an angry pout at the use of that nickname. It was a stupid one (unlike Georgie which was a pleasant sounding derivative of Georgia, her name), but she didn’t really have that much of an objection to it. It was just really fun when she pretended that she did. In fact, she kind of liked that he did it, because in an odd way it made her feel better about that whole kidnapped-by-a-sicko incident. Like it had less power over her because they were able to refer to it without avoidance or caution. She didn’t know how to explain it, but it was kind of nice.

          The eyes of the boy in front of her were no longer on her but gazed somewhere past her. “I don’t know, she seems to be all right,” he said, casually.

          Georgie spun her head around to see what he was talking about. Sara was talking to three boys who had names that evaded Georgie but whom seemed to be engaged in the conversation. Her friend’s hands moved animatedly as she spoke, her eyes housing a spark as she did so.

          “After a lot of trial and error, experience, and extensive research,” she was saying, “I’ve found out that the best materials are balsa wood, thick clear pine, steel wool, unbleached muslin, dowels, carpet thread, and sheet brass. I’ve heard some things about trunk fiber, and honestly I’m dying to use it.”

          “What is she talking about?” Georgie said half-absently to herself, staring at Sara in bewilderment. Man, did her friend have some peculiar hobbies.

            “So?” Duncan asked, his voice full of anticipation. He tried to suppress it, but it was there. In an odd way, he resembled a puppy, with a tilted head and wide expecting eyes. She wouldn’t be surprised if his ears had perked up. It was actually a pretty amusing imagery.

           “I -- I don’t know, Duncan,” Georgie told him, putting her hands together, restless. “I just don’t … feel comfortable, you know? I should probably just -- ”

           “ -- go home?” Duncan finished for her, his eyebrow raised. His features had become harsher, judgmental even. Maybe even hurt.

           “Duncan -- ”

           “And what waits for you there, Georgie, hm? A practical life of routine and predictability, where you grow up silently without any protest? You would rather go back fading into the abyss? You would rather stay where you know is safe and protected, not just from dangers and threats but from living and excitement? Are you really that afraid of the dark that you would rather keep your window shut than go out and venture through and discover what lies there? So afraid that you’d rather close your eyes and miss all of the marvels and wonders that pass you by, that you’d see if you only looked? Is that really what you want to go back to, Georgie? Is it?”

           “How dare you,” said Georgie, clenching her fists. Her brow was furrowed as her cheeks raised. She tried to keep her voice from raising while still expressing all of the fury that she felt. “How dare you. How dare you criticize me for wanting safety -- after everything that I’ve been through? Where do you get off judging me for being afraid after I’ve been abducted by some murderous psycho who had a room covered in the blood of his victims? I’ve earned the right to be afraid, and you can go screw yourself for saying otherwise.”

           “Why can’t you just believe that I won’t let anyone hurt you?” he asked furiously, as though he was the one being wronged.

           “Because I can’t trust you not to do it yourself!” she retorted right back, refusing to shrink down. “I can’t trust you, not when you may have burned down a house and killed someone! I thought I could have ignored it, I thought that I could be okay with it, but I realize now that I’m not. I’m not, because if you could have done that, then who knows what else you could be capable of? I can’t trust you to be able to control yourself, and that’s terrifying. The boys never do anything to upset you, but is that out of loyalty or fear? At the end of the day, Duncan Faber, I still don’t know you. I can say what instruments you play and what language you take, but I can’t say that I trust you, because I can’t. Not really.”

           His glare was thrown like daggers, but Georgie stood unfazed, her nerves impenetrable armor. Heat seemed to be seething from him, his breaths rough and ragged. Oh, if looks could kill. Well, he wasn’t the only one who knew how to throw daggers. She had an advantage over him, too; he constantly overestimated himself and underestimated others. Georgia McCarthy was not one to be underestimated lightly.

           Before he was able to find his voice, to form words out of his turbulent emotion, Georgie spun around and started to make her way across the corridor. “Don’t follow me,” she warned, not even looking back. She wasn’t going to stay in the company of someone who didn’t respect her, who invalidated how she felt. No, Georgie held too much self-respect for herself, too much dignity. There was no way she was going to let a smug pompous jerk spit all over here as she just took it. No, sir. Not Georgie.

There was something nagging in the back of her mind — like, Yeah, good luck with this one. Did you honestly think you would be able to find something like this? How much longer are you going to keep romanticizing things that aren’t meant to be romanticized?  Don’t you remember how things worked out last time?

(For a moment, a quick fleeting moment, she scratched sentience and was so very close to the cracks of remembrance.)

The tracks guiding the train of thought disassembled as quickly as they were put down, and Georgie occupied herself with this latest development. She honestly didn’t expect for it to work, especially not this soon. One of the negatives of making it up as she went was not knowing what to do next; how was she supposed to enter?

A once passive nature had transformed into a creation much different, much more comfortable. Stubbornness was an old jacket she found without trying that had been custom made for her. It suited her perfectly, and she accepted it so intrinsically that it was hard to remember that she hadn’t always worn it. The knitted brow, the intense frown, the stonewall resolve — they all appeared bringing with them a sense of reversion.

[giranswife]

More Babies, More Chores

Summary: It’s bed time at the Shirogane household, and that means wrestling with the kids for their baths and last minute chores. There’s a little surprise in store for the couple, who had no idea that they’d have more bodies to attend to in the near future.

W: self-insert x canon, fluff

(( Note: This is the announcement we’ve all been waiting for! Coming soon on March 19th, is our sweet baby girl! We didn’t plan this, but we are super excited for our cutie pie. I might actually have her come a bit earlier in terms of fics, just because I can’t wait that long to write another XD but that is going to be her birthday! This fic also takes place in the summer, because that’s around the time whenever she was technically conceived. This is my self-insert shipped w a canon character. Also let me now if you’d like to be tagged in my next baby and pregnancy fics I make! ))

@self-shipping-angel

The beginning of summer is always an exciting time in our household. Especially with a three year old and two middle schoolers. It’s the time that Ariana and Sage are finishing up their schooling and about to be on their break. It was definitely a lot to handle, but after Hiroshi was born we got into a good groove of things. We were finally figuring out what worked good for us and what was great for the family.

It seemed like we had just such amazing kids. Hiroshi was definitely a bigger handful than Ariana was, and definitely a lot more playful than Sage at times. But he just has so much personality that I love so much. I want him to embrace that, especially since it’s mainly just about him being a happy baby.

He’s also using his words a lot, which warms my heart. Shiroe works with him constantly just like he did the twins, and I can just see how curious and fun loving of a child he’s going to be. Just by how he’s constantly looking at the world around him. I couldn’t imagine having such a full life before than I do right now with my babies.

Tonight was the first of many nights of the summer, which meant that none of the kids wanted to go to bed or get ready for bed. Ariana is the worst at this, just wanting to spend more time with me and her dad. But we still wanted to keep them on a schedule, especially with them still being young.

After dinner we let the twins watch a movie with us, and Hiroshi mainly played on the ground in front of me. Sometimes Ari would jump down to play with him or he’d climb up onto the couch to sit in my lap. It was pretty much a nice, calm time with the family. But once it was over it was time to get ready for bed.

Which is my favorite time of the day.

“Alright, who’s getting a bath first?” I asked, clapping my hands just as Shiroe turned back on the lights.

Ariana pushed out her bottom lip, standing up on the couch beside me.

“But Mooommmyyyy-”

“No buts, sweetie! It’s getting late, and you guys still need your baths!”

“Don’t worry, princess. We can watch two movies tomorrow, how does that sound?” Shiroe asked, ruffling her hair.

She giggled, fixing it and mumbling about him messing it up like she always does.

“Can we watch Rapunzel?”

“Of course, we can watch whatever you two want!”

She squealed happily, jumping down and zooming towards the bathroom before I could even ask Sage. Shouting behind her that she was going first and not to let anyone help her. She was getting to the point where she wanted to do just about everything on her own, unless it was having to do with anyone else. With us she is just super hyperactive and silly, which is what I love about my little lovebug.

Shiroe cracked the bathroom door behind her, making sure that if she needed us at all we would hear her.

“What about me?” Hiroshi asked, tugging on my pant leg that dangled from the side of the couch.

I felt like he wasn’t as worried about the bath as he was that Ariana was doing something that he wasn’t.

“You’ll get a bath after Sagey, baby,” I said, poking his nose, “He’s bigger so it’ll be faster. Do you want Mommy to bathe you or Daddy?”

“I want you.”

“Alright, well, looks like I’m on bath duty.”

I giggled, standing up and giving Shiroe a little smile.

My dead felt a little dizzy from standing up too fast, and I felt all of my dinner settle in my stomach. I knew it was only a matter of time before I got nauseous again. It was a good thing, though, because it reminded me of something that I needed to do tonight once the kids went to bed.

I was a little nervous to tell Shiroe what was going on, considering I wasn’t for sure. And I didn’t know how I was going to tell him until I knew for sure. It wasn’t that I thought he’d be upset, more like I just knew we weren’t expecting it.

“Oh, baby,” I said, holding my stomach as I felt it churn a bit, “I forgot to finish the laundry, could you do that for me while I get the kids ready for bed?”

“Sure thing.”

He gave me a kiss on the forehead, leaning down to kiss Hiro on the top of the head.

“There’s quite a bit, though. I tried to do a majority of it, but I forgot when I started dinner.”

“No worries, sweetheart. I’m happy to help.”

He walked passed the two of us to get my basket that I left in our bedroom, and I tidied up the living room and left Sage to play with Hiro. Hearing the two of them chatting together was always adorable. I knew that Sage, even at a young age, was worried that he wouldn’t be a good older brother. But he was the best.

Him and Ari both are the best siblings to Hiro. She tries to help me, even though she’s still small herself. If she wasn’t taking a bath she’d want to help me bathe Hiro or have them take a bath together.

Shiroe walked back into the living room with the basket, that was a lot more full than I expected. I felt a little bad that I had forgotten to finish a load, knowing that a family as big as ours wasn’t easy. But it was me who usually did the laundry before he came home, so I guess it was only fair.

“I’m sorry again, baby,” I mumbled.

He shook his head, “It’s fine, Ashley. Really.”

He chuckled a little, adding on at the end as he passed me.

“At least this is the biggest that it’s going to get.”

I pursed my lips.

I had to tell him. I couldn’t just let him say that and not make a comment.

Turning around, I gave a little giggle as my face turned red. It was really a big, dead give away. And if Shiroe was looking at me, then he would have noticed.

“Yeah, uhm… about that…” I mumbled, turning around to walk away.

Shiroe practically dropped the basket in his hands, fumbling a bit and I was rushing towards the bathroom to check on Ari. It was more about me just wanting to be cheeky than anything else. I really didn’t want to start it all this way, but it was better than waiting.

“Ashley… what does that mean?” He asked.

“Huh? What?” I asked, “Ari, baby, you okay?”

“Yes, Mommy. I’m almost done.”

“Ashley…. Ashley!”

Swallowing hard, I spun around and slowly shut the door behind me. Shiroe turned around to look at me, lifting his brows and I almost lost it. I gave him a little motion to my stomach, shrugging my shoulders a bit. Hopefully he would get the idea, and I almost giggled when I saw the color drain from his face.

We didn’t want to say anything around the kids, so Shiroe basically followed me around trying to get me to say something. I kept telling him I didn’t know about the bun in my oven and I had to check it later. Which was a really funny thing to do with him. He didn’t really say anything other than that I needed to tell him when I checked.

The rest of the time that I got the kids ready for bed it was tough. Because I was so anxious to finally take a test. I’ve been having similar symptoms to my other pregnancies, and I just knew that I was pregnant. But I needed to be sure.

Finally, Shiroe and I were done with the rest of the chores and we both laid the kids down for bed. Ariana and Sage were still sharing a room for now until we could move into a bigger place, which would hopefully be soon. Though, if we have another baby on the way… we’d need a bigger house than that. An actual house, but in all honesty my dream home would be enough.

I sat down on my bed after the bathes and the tuck ins, pregnancy test in hand. I was waiting patiently to look at it, nervous that it wouldn’t be what I wanted it to. Shiroe didn’t seem to talk much, but he squeezed my hand so tightly. It was very comforting, and I could tell he was just anxious as I was.

“I know we said that we weren’t going to have another…”

“We did, but… another wouldn’t be so bad.”

Shiroe smiled a bit, and I could see the happiness in his face. He was the exact same as me. We didn’t expect to have another child and we were fine with our kids now, but that didn’t mean we weren’t excited. We loved our kids and we always wanted a big family. It was just a lot bigger than we originally planned.

It just means more love.

“Alright… time’s up,” I mumbled.

I shoved the stick in his face, sheilding my eyes.

“Baby, you look at it first. I can’t do it.”

“I can’t look at it first!”

“Baby! Pleaaassseeeee??”

“Okay, okay.”

He took it from my hands and I waited with my hands covering my face.

Shiroe paused for several seconds, not saying a single word. It made me very nervous, and I could barely contain the shaking of my hands and entire body. I hated the silence, and I just wanted to know what was going on.

“Shiroe? What is it?”

I slowly uncovered my face, glancing over at him and meeting his eyes.

“Am I…”

He nodded, a smile forming on his face.

“We’re gonna have another baby?” I asked, my eyes watering a bit with tears.

“Yeah, sweetheart… Yeah, we are.”

I pressed my forehead against his, closing my eyes and pulling him closer into a hug.

Even though just a few short days ago we never dreamed of this, I was still more than happy. We were both going to have another baby together. Our family was just getting bigger, and we were the luckiest in the world in that moment.