#and the Bats have a monopoly though I love them too

[fadinggalaxysalad]

reblogging with your tags because YES! I'm going to make him so appealing to our resident Speedster right now. Completely self indulgent of course. Danny was a teenager once. Teenagers are constantly hungry, they're going through so much growing and school is exhausting and nearly half these kids have extracurriculars after school on top of all that. Danny's teaching them to cook which means? Danny gets to feed these kids. His room is known for always having snacks on hand for them to nab, even if their class isn't until afternoon or the next day. Danny didn't want to be a hero, but he still has that protection nudge and this helps that. Plus makes him a student favorite, he knows what having one teachers support can do for someone. Even if its something as simple as restocking homemade meal replacement bars for a kid in a less than stable home to shuffle a few extras into their bag before the weekend. Which means Mr Fenton (or alternative name if you want identity shift) is Bart Allen's favorite teacher.

Knowing that one size fits all learning doesn't work, Danny himself is proof of that doing helped him learn how to fight ghosts, is showing the kids how to work on side dishes while the main is doing their own thing. Your potatoes are boiling, we can start rolling out the dough for our crescent rolls and seeing that you can add 6 different fillings to make them a snack all their own. Kids are learning time management and the wonders of multiple alarms. Step by step print outs are given to all the students so kids who need that detailed check list have it and are never marked off if they need to tackle one part at a time to get it done. Participation grade weighs heavily in this course since there's always someone like Bart who can and will tackle several things to help their groups along. And if the occasional food fight crops up, as long as its cleaned it still counts. As long as there isn't a hot dog uprising, Danny's calling it a good day.

Maybe Bart comes home with a stash of snack bars because the ones Mr. Fenton makes don't taste as bland (anyone whos had some of those bars know they can suck especially if you eat them a lot) and they're actually filling unlike off the shelf brands. Of course the family is questioning, whats in it, who made it, can we trust it. Cue testing and realizing this sucker is packed with a lot more veggies than anyone predicted. (Deceptively Delicious cookbook sneaks a lot of veggie puree into foods for a boost and Danny's been doing it for Tucker for years without him knowing) They've heard Bart wax poetically about how amazing Mr. Fenton is as a teacher, how he doesn't yell at the kids for fidgeting or wearing headphones when they're overwhelmed as long as its pitched low enough to hear the alerts just in case the fire alarm goes off. How he has a whole cupboard of stuffed animals he used in a first aid lesson after he came in with a bandaged ankle (Danny tripped in a hole Cujo dug in his backyard) and decided to make it spontaneous training session. Everyone knows how to properly wrap a bandage and are pro's with the RICE method (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). As a bonus they all safely know how to clean up biological fluids like blood (they used blue tinted water, Danny's seen enough green liquid) because villain attacks happen. Concerning enough that The Flash might want to investigate (and if he trips at the first sight of Mr Fenton that Bart apparently downplayed description wise, thats between Wally and the floor he faceplanted on)

Captain Cold Cousin!! Oh that would be fun, baffle the hell out of everyone if Danny just waves at him during an escape after a robbery. Yells that he'll bring cookies to lockup for him.

Okay okay I've seen a Lot of teacher Danny Aus but what if instead of chemistry or engineering...

It's Home Ec. Like this guy decided to get a degree in home economics due to literally the death trap of a house he grew up in where he ans his sister had to learn home economics things on their own so they could just survive.

But this is Danny so of course his classes are chaotic.

First day he brings out a microwave and a series of different food ingredients and shows his students just what you aren't supposed to microwave. And the first thing be shows is eggs.

By showing each different method that people have tried to cook eggs in a microwave with various levels of explosive results. Starting with a raw still shelled egg.

He did provide them noise canceling headphones and safety goggles just in case.

"Alright class, today you are going to learn what you can't cook in a microwave!"

[mochinek0]

Daminette December 2022: 2-Murder

I didn’t realize I had posted the 1st story a day early. It was a stressful day and I thought I was going to forget to post. I didn’t realize until the next morning. Sorry.

It was game night in the Wayne household. Damian had taken to bringing his new girlfriend, Marinette, to the manor. She had become a regular at Wayne Manor for close to a year now. Just about everyone in his family loved her. Bruce had become very selective on what games were allowed in the house after the Monopoly Incident and the Uno War. Tonight was a card game with questions; he thought he was prepared for anything. When it came to the boys, they always proved him wrong.

"Question, have you ever wanted to murder someone?" Dick read out.

'Who makes these cards?'

"Joker." Jason answered immediately.

"Yes. I have dibs on someone and I have the backing to get away with it." Marinette answered.

All the Waynes, except Damian, looked at the little sunshine who had graced their lives.

"What?" she asked, looking at them, confused, "You all live in Gotham. You can't tell me you haven't thought about it."

"Are they in Gotham?" questioned Bruce, carefully.

"Paris." she replied, handing the dice to Jason.

"Who pissed you off enough for you to want them dead?" Dick asked, "Look at you! You're like sunshine!"

Marinette shook her head, "I'm not telling. I have no doubt in my mind that Damian would go after them and as I said, I have dibs."

"You wouldn't go through with it." Damian implied.

She turned to him and smiled, "I applied to a bunch of scholarships to get away."

"How close were you?" Tim questioned.

"Your acceptance email popped up during my planning so I burned all the evidence and never looked back." she answered, "Congradulations, your email saved someone's life."

Damian scooted closer to his girlfriend, "Who do I have to kill?"

"This is a no killing household, I remind everyone." Bruce announced.

"Fuck you, I have dibs." Marinette replied, ignoring Bruce, "If anyone kills her, it's gonna be me!"

Game night was finally over and Damian had declared he was taking Marinette home.

"I still can't believe Demon Spawn is dating her." Todd declared.

"He takes after Bruce." Tim yawned.

"What does that mean?" Bruce asked.

The trio looked at each other and smiled.

Todd smirked, "If they end up together, she probably wouldn't bat an eye if he came home covered in blood. Honestly, probably wouldn't blink if we told her who we really are."

"She could kill him, too, at this point." Drake stated.

"You like dangerous women, B." Dick winced, "Sure, you put on an act for the media, but those gala ladies don't do it for you."

"Junior isn't that different from you." Jason commented.

"Well, maybe she'll become our legal sister." Tim commented, making the other two nod in approval.

"I call dibs on killing Demon Spawn if he breaks her heart!" Jason shouted.

Bruce sighed, "You can't kill your brother."

"I can protect my sister, though!" he shot back.

"She's not your sister." Bruce declared.

"Fuck you!" Jason stood up, "You adopted us; I can adopt her!"

The boys laughed, while Bruce just sighed.

'Why did I think game night was a good idea?'

Jason was quick to notice Marinette pouting in the Wayne kitchen; he didn't even know she was going to stop by. Usually, Damian told everyone as a precaution. He noticed the air of sadness around her. It was weird to see her looking like Tim when he ran out of coffee.

"What's with Pixie Pop?" he asked.

Damian chuckled, as he drank his black assam tea, "She's been in a bad mood since last night."

"Why?" Jason asked.

"Remember my dib?" Marinette questioned, continuing to pout.

"The murder one?" the older Wayne asked.

"Yeah." she sighed.

"What about it?" Jason groaned.

"She died." Damian declared.

"You killed someone?" Jason shouted.

Marinette glared at him, "You think I would be this pouty if I had done it? I would be baking a storm of macarons, right now!"

Damian smirked, "Bitch died of natural causes."

"Yeah, naturally spreading her legs open." Mari huffed, "Apparently, one of her many boy toys wasn't as faithful as she thought."

"So," Jason spoke looking at the down-hearted Marinette, "karma? How did you find out anyways?"

"She's trending on Parisian twitter." Mari answered, making the brothers chuckle, "Turns out the cause of death was written in her obituary. One of her boyfriends said he was gonna get tested. He was always faithful and wondered if it was from an ex and just never told her. He posted a tweet saying she was the best girlfriend he ever had and how long they had been toegther. Other guys started coming out of the woodworks claiming they were dating her. They started posting pictures and comparing dates. Let's just say it got quiet after awhile and they all started bashing on her afterwards. Her perfect saint picture was shattered and many things came into the light."

Jason walked over and patted her head, "Well, perhaps, those that threw you away will learn the truth."

"Who cares?" Mari answered, "I've been done with them for almost five years. They wanted their golden ticket. They just never noticed the spray paint cans."

"Go rest up." he called, turning to leave the room, "I'm sure sooner or later someone will come looking. They always do."

"They better not." she growled out.

The older Wayne turned and scrutinized her, "You have a whole hit list, don't you?"

Damian walked over and kissed his girlfriend's head, "She was at the top."

Todd smirked as he walked out of the room.

'I knew I liked her.'

"Let's go get you some cheesecake ice cream and you can plan homicide in your pajamas, where you're comfy." Damian declared.

Marinette smiled and kissed his cheek, "You know me best, Habibi."

TAG LIST: @maribat-calendar-events @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

You started talking about prosthetic limbs and I was summoned like a bat from hell. Here are some extra knowledge or ideas, I just really like prosthetics, robotics, and sci-fi

So, a fun fact about prosthetic limbs, especially since he is missing (at least) a leg and an arm from what I have gathered is the fact that, his punches will actually be rather weak. It is impossible to throw a full proper punch if you are missing a leg due to the fact that it is a FULL BODY MOVEMENT. (This has actually been studied)

From your head to your toes, everything goes into proper hand to hand combat, so it creates an interesting dynamic for Aaron if you so choose to use this. A great mech warrior with all the augmentation one needs throws just a shitty punch. Get him without his sword he is significantly weaker than one would imagine, making the robot limbs more for intimidation than actual fighting themselves. Still strong as fuck but less of a raging boar and more of an angry pig, if you catch my drift.

Another thing I would like to suggest is Aaron having to be on anti-rejection medication. Since a lot of his stuff seems to be full-on implant, he needs to take something to combat rejection lest his body shutdowns or goes into overdrive. Could take inspiration from Shimmer (Arcane) in that regards, an anti rejection and pain medication that has side effects since its black market. (Cause I am assuming he wouldn't get an actual prescription medication)

You are also right on the money on the weight and exhaustion issue. He will be dead tired all the time

(All of these facts are brought to you by my studying of prosthetics, helping people acclimate to prosthetics, and my hyperfixation on MMA I had as a child)

If you want more, I have an idea for Shadow Knights, though it is very cyberpunk and less mecha.

Ooo yay thank you.

I have heard of the punch stuff before because of a HTTYD tiktok, funnily enough.

Tw, injury

Aaron’s punches still hurt, but maybe not as much as they could. Against someone else with a similar level of mods, he’d probably not win a brawl, but most people (besides people like the jury) don’t get modded this much anyway, and the cyber leg can compensate a little. Even if his mods aren’t perfect. Ro’Meave tech would give him a leg that’s properly functional but he’d rather struggle.

This also makes me think of Aaron only getting access to safe medication and such when he starts hanging around PD. He refuses to take it at first because he’s stubborn and doesn’t want to have to rely on anyone, but Nekoette sees him struggling with side effects of the stuff he takes and he gives in, he doesn’t want to worry her, or make any of the kids feel like cybernetics are a death sentence. If they need them, he doesn’t want them to refuse them out of worry they’ll turn out like him. He’s not anti-modifications, just anti-Ro’Meave, who have a monopoly on the business. It’s why he teaches them to modify pre-existing parts. So they can help each other.

I’m feeling Nekoette having a cyber limb now, and that’s why she follows him around so much. He’s like her. Hers probably has issues like being too small because she got it when she was younger and they’re too broke to replace it or something. Despite how he treats himself, he always checks up that she’s doing what she needs to do to take care of it, especially since it causes her a lot of issues.

BUT I WOULD LOVE TO HESR YOUR SK IDEAS. My sci-fi thing is very cyberpunk, the mecha stuff is kind of secondary. One of the core ideas of cyberpunk is ‘hey having to be reliant on mega corps to live is bad’ and the ‘how human are you if all of your parts can be bought’ ideas came secondary.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Batfam Among Us Headcanons

I just got a 97.5 on my psych final and I am going to ride that high as long as I can so have some fluff

The world’s greatest detectives are extra okay and of course this transfers into how they play games together

They all arrange desks in one of the guest rooms and set up those testing folders to hide their screens

Bruce bought extra computers just for playing among us, they have about fifty just stacked in the middle of the room in case

They used to use their personal computers but they haven’t since The IncidentTM

(The Incident was when Tim killed Damian for the fifth time that night and Damian nearly strangled him with a computer charger... while it was still attached to a computer... and it fell off the desk and died)

(They also started having assigned seats after that, with Tim and Damian on opposite sides of the circle, but that’s just a coincidence, right?)

Dick

“I’m just happy to spend time with you guys”

It sounds like a lie but he genuinely is just happy to have family time, he’s been suggesting it for years

Who knew all it would take was a murder mystery game with little bean people

Too bad he’s so awful at it

Smiles a lot more when he’s imposter

Sometimes giggles a little when he commits a murder

Everyone is lowkey concerned with how much he’s enjoying killing them

But they don’t think about that or mention it because J’ACCUSE!

He insists it’s part of his strategy and that he does it on purpose

Longest long con in the history of gaming

It’s still going, even

…

(It’s not on purpose)

Jason

“If Bruce is the first one dead it’s Jason”

It makes him very easy to frame

But by god will he continue to do it

Problem is, after a while it became impossible to know if it was him or someone framing him again

And he doesn’t make it easy to figure out

This man hasn’t given a straight answer in his life

“Did you kill him” “No. Yes. Maybe. But I’m gonna say no.”

“What was I doing? Tasks, duh. Where? Places.”

They lowkey hate him

Babs

Originally didn’t play

But eventually wanted to know what the fuss was about

Is now addicted

Even plays when the rest of the family isn’t there

She really only likes the tasks, though

The fact that there’s a murderer on the ship is irrelevant

It’s really obvious when she’s just been killed (at least by bat standards) because she goes “oh”

And then she goes straight back to tasks

Absolutely throws the game when she’s imposter

“Was it you?” “Maybe but have you considered that he deserved it”

Tim

He has made it his mission to figure out who the imposters are every round

Throws accusations everywhere no matter what, he figures he has to be right at some point

His points are all valid but he has trouble giving an actually convincing argument

Trust him guys he knows what he’s saying you’re just s t u p i d

“When I get communication skills it’s over for all of you!”

He does not, in fact, ever get communication skills

When he’s the imposter though…

He also tries to keep up the constant accusations

The reasoning is worse when he’s imposter

But that’s okay because no one understands what he’s saying either way

Kills and then hides in the vents for the rest of the round

They try and stack on vents to catch him out

He always knows

A l w a y s

Steph

She doesn’t care who gets mad at her, she is going to win this if it’s the last thing she does

And what’s her strategy to do so?

She doesn’t really have one

But it’s working

She’s so bold that most the time she stuns people into silence

Blatant lies all around

Will self report and lie her ass off

Will kill in a crowd of people

Will lie and say she was with you even if you only saw her for a few seconds

No one knows when she’s telling the truth

They don’t even know if SHE knows if she’s telling the truth because she is so confident about it

Cass

Isn’t allowed to play

She was allowed to for One Round

The screen comes up and she just says “It’s Bruce and Tim”

It was, in fact, Bruce and Tim

They were not happy with this

Now she sits in the corner and watches them all

It’s a little bit creepy but it’s better than her spoiling the game sooooo

Damian

Plays third imposter when Dick is imposter

Dick will find him alone and run around him in a circle and then off they go

This is never reciprocated

And yet Damian is always shocked when Dick turns him in

Always gets angry when he gets accused

Everyone loves throwing him under the bus

Do they usually think it’s him? No. Are they going to vote for him anyways to watch him get all pouty and whiney? Yes. Absolutely

What else are siblings for?

“I will kill you all!” “That sounds like something an imposter would say” “Not like that!” “That sounds like something an imposter would say”

Duke

Definitely just there to watch them all fight

If this was a few years ago he would have suggested monopoly

He wants to watch the world as we know it burn

But no one ever suspects him of it

They just think he’s too nice

You’d think they’d learn their lesson eventually but this family only has one braincell collectively and, unfortunately, Cass isn’t allowed to play

Sometimes Duke will literally walk away from a body and they won’t even try to throw sus on him

“Duke was standing over a body on cams” “That sounds like something an imposter would --”

Bruce

He takes red so Jason and Tim don’t fight over it

He usually figures out who the imposters are pretty quickly

Too bad he’s always killed first round

“If B makes it to second round it’s him”

That’s okay. He doesn’t like the game anyways

Or, at least, that’s what he tells himself

Whatever helps him sleep at night, I guess

[dark-dragon-8]

Honestly, since violence and weapons (such as knives, guns and Batarangs) are so common/such a necessity in Gotham (for self defense and/or other stuff) that pretty much all Gothamites probably know how to use weapons from a young age.

I even read a fic a while ago where the Batfam played a game called "knife monopoly" and it turned out it was an actual family game in Gotham that everyone there knows how to play. And several others where all Gothamites attending a Wayne gala had weapons on them and draw them out whenever a villain attacks, or even casually twirl their knives/play with their daggers during the party in general.

So I like to think/have this headcanon that knowing how to throw a knife/use any sort of weapon is something everyone knows how to do in Gotham (like, it's one of their signature traits, even kids know how to do it) to the point where it becomes a part of its culture. Like the suspicion/dislike towards outsiders and not really caring about/just dealing with the crime there without batting an eye, dealing with weapons (and knowing how to fight) has just become another norm for the people of Gotham, a defense mechanism they created in order to keep themselves safe.

Which is why I like the idea that Gotham has an entire "child friendly" (as child friendly as Gotham can be) set of games involving weapons, that it's a norm across the city, something that all its residents know and experience/do regularly/for fun, it teaches their kids how to use them without it being too much of a danger to them, it introduces them to weapons as a form of both self defense and enjoyment rather than hurt and violence. And, later on, gives them a way to enjoy those things, keep on using them (keep them sharp and capable) outside the house/self defense training, because they made it a 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦, a fun, city wide, commonly played game that they can play with their friends whenever they want to. Because, again, they now find it fun, not scary.

So I don't think it'll be so weird if the Waynes, who are known, born and raised Gothamites, know how to throw knives and later on, if enough people ever start learning how to throw them correctly, even Batarangs.

Like, I said it before and I'll say it again, Gothamites should have healthy relationships with weapons and violence the same way IRL people have healthy relationships with eating, drinking and talking, because to them, violence is as common as breathing, it's everywhere, no matter what, it's in the streets, it's in the water (Gotham harbor for example) hell, it's in the air (joker gas, fear gas, every other toxic gas). Gothamites are born and raised on vigilance and violence, the only way I can think of them not being absolutely depressed/suicidal is them creating new norms, developing new ways of survival, of creating and raising families in a way that both introduces, prepares and appeals them to at least a certain level of violence rather than just prepare them for it. Because if they don't find the appeal, if they don't see a light at the end of the tunnel, a way for them to live and 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 in that city then they aren't living, they're surviving, not only that but they're only surviving, without any motivation, without any appeal to life, and that's what makes people die, that's what makes people addicted to drugs, that's what makes people feel suicidal, when they feel as though life has no point, no reason for you to keep going, no reason for you to continue fighting, not if you know there's little to no chance of you getting out of that cycle any time soon.

It's why they need to make those things fun. It's why they need to have a certain love for that city and how it shaped them otherwise they'll just leave, one way or another they'll find a way to leave.

But anyway that's enough for my rambling, I hope you guys enjoyed my little rant, because I'm going to be basing the entirety of Gotham (its premise at least) on this concept when writing my fics.

Do we think random people in Gotham find Batarangs wedged into walls or lying around and decide to take a shot at throwing them, and it slowly becomes a Gotham city staple you can play at the arcade/bar? (Everyone is surprised at how hard it is to throw them with accuracy and the force needed to have any sort of impact)

The Batkids delight in either pretending they don't know how to (as civilians)/alternatively flirting by demonstrating their expert ability to nail phone numbers to alleyways.

There are also definitely collectors who trade these Batarangs and organize them by era based on material, and you get extra acclaim if you know the provenance of the Batarang (fished out of the harbour or taken out of a GCPD squad car).

[themonotonysyndrome]

REDACTED verse - Sadism & Trolling (Vega Headcanons)

NGL, I’m gonna be straight with y’all...

I miss Vega! And uh, since I've been listening to his videos lately, I wanted to write a oneshot for him until I decided on some headcanons at the last minute. 

I'm not sure what role the Inchoate Daemon Listener in his more recent videos would play in the future, so I tried my hands on writing his 'lover'. I always wanted to write a morally dubious Listener anyway! 

So this is entirely separate from the Inchoate Daemon Listener. 

Vega calls his Listener 'Hamster' for their snacking habits. He would only calls you 'Dear heart' when he's feeling vulnerable or in intimate situations. 

He meets them before Ivan's story. He was actually walking around humans for a change of pace, feeding on the faint lingering negative emotions hovering around the park. It's the human equivalent of getting a cup of coffee in the morning to kickstart their day.

Suddenly, Vega felt intense and strange emotions coming from somewhere in the area. It's a combination of righteous fury, hurt and glee. 

He tracks the owner of the maelstrom to find you. A lone human sitting on a bench underneath a tall, shady tree. Your expression is a total contrast to what you're feeling. It's calm and almost bored. 

After using magic to do some digging and breaching personal privacy, Vega found out that you plan an act of horrible revenge on a cheating partner. He sticks around to watch it all play out. 

He loved the show. So much so he claims you as his charge. 

However, jokes on him; you're a passive and lazy person. Your default setting is living life operating on the least amount of brain cells and effort. So after feeding on your heartbreak from the breakup, Vega has no idea what the fuck to do with you. 

So he subtly pulls the strings around you in hopes to get you to feel upset or at least annoyed; coffee spilt on your work laptop, someone bought that last slice of your favourite cake, bad internet connection at home, anything! 

But the most you'd (unknowingly) give him is a sigh before you look for something else to occupy your time. To Vega, he feels like a first-time owner to a pet that isn't behaving as it should be. You're like a hamster running in its ball, utterly oblivious of the world outside.  

When you do react emotionally, it's like a wildfire - a roaring and unapologetic blaze that will burn for days. Especially when it comes to negative emotions. However, it takes such a long time to build up and rarely does it even spark. Honestly, to you, working up to such a passionate response is a hassle. 

Unfortunately for Vega, he realises this a little too late. 

The two of you officially meet when you begin to notice that certain objects around the house aren't exactly where they should be. Like how the coffee cup that you instinctively put away from the laptop is now right next to it when you came out of the bathroom. How you can never find your favourite red mug or t-shirt despite you just wash them. 

Slowly but surely, you feel like you suddenly gain an invisible annoying and unwanted roommate. 

Vega detects your annoyance and plans to 'farm' it, only for it to hilariously backfire when you begin to hit up the local priests to discuss about an exorcism and thus, raise a potential covert risk. 

When he first appeared in front of you, your immediate action was to grab a baseball bat, shock and indignation flare within you. 

"So you're the fucking bastard that has been eating my fucking Pringles!" 

"What!? No! And I swear to any God you believe in, I’ll make you regret it if you swing that thing at me."

“Hah! Is that a challenge!? Buy back my snacks. Now. Before I break your bones and sell them to the black market!”

"News flash, Hamster: you're the one who's been eating all of them. Those after midnight snacks? What? Did you think you were sleep-eating?" 

"Who are you calling hamster!?"

"Of course, that's the one you have a problem with..." 

Do you know that one Tv Trope? The 'savvy guy, energetic girl' and 'monster and the maiden'? You and Vega are something in-between, where Vega is determined to feed on you, his charge, while you make it your life mission to be his biggest inconvenience ever. 

That being said, there's a lot of things you share in common with him. For one thing, you live by the 'not my circus, not my monkey' rule, so you don't particularly care what Vega does outside of your life as long as it doesn't cause you any problems. 

You both can be petty AF, and if one is petty, the other will automatically prepare for the other's revenge. 

Vega likes to give you shit for being an Unempowered Human, and in return, you would do everything in your power to piss him off. EX: You’ll make a joke about his shoe size. You know what they say, small shoes mean small... package. And besides, he's a Daemon, right? Doesn't that mean he has hooves? 

Both of you toed the line between violence and resignation, which is impressive that you're still alive. You made it clear to him that if he wants to take you down, you'll take him down with you, and Vega can respect that. 

Vega starts to catch feelings for you after you blackmail him into going to the cinema with you because there's a discount on the tickets for a pair of friends/couple. He's shocked to find that he enjoyed himself that night. 

As for you, you start to feel fond of him when he orchestrated a string of misfortune on your asshole of a colleague. He never once admit it, but at that point, you could read his body language and behaviours rather well. How could you not when your colleague’s series of unfortunate events result in a whole week of nothing but good vibes for you.

Neither you nor Vega confesses your feelings, but you ended up in a romantic relationship nonetheless.

Vega has never fallen in love before, so this emotion is very strange and new for him. From his annoying charge, you've become his most cherished person in the world. 

Vega protects you the only way he knows how. By making the people who upset you miserable or just straight up terminate their trial period of existence. As a Sadism Daemon, Vega is very well aware of the stigma that comes with his kind, and it really doesn't help that he loves what he does, so you have to rein him in from time to time. 

On that note, expect this Daemon to be possessive as hell. No matter what you do around the house, Vega would attach himself to you. Oh, you're working on the couch with the laptop on your lap? He'll move you so you'll sit on his lap while he watches TV. You're relaxing in the bathtub? Scoot forward, he wants to sit behind you. If you're talking to a friend on the phone, he'll peppered kisses and leave hickies on your neck in an attempt for you to end the call. If he could, he would hide you from the world itself so only he could have you. So please stomp on his feet when he starts to sweetly suggest you disappear with him. 

If it's raining at night, both of you would silently lie on the bed together, just basking in one the other's presence. If you fall asleep first, Vega will turn you into his little spoon.

In terms of dating and due to his possessive and protective nature, most of your dates would be in your home. Movie marathons, him playing as your audience for your video game matches, monopoly sessions ending up in a messy divorce sitcom or just napping together. Good for you if you're a homebody. If you're the outgoing type? Good luck; you'll need to be as persuasive as him to budge Vega. The most Vega is willing to go are breakfast/lunch/dinner dates. The fewer eyes on you, the better. 

It's not long before Vega stops feeding on you entirely. He only takes a few destructive emotions that overwhelm you and help you work the rest out in a healthy manner. 

That's when he starts to think about spending his forever with you. 

Don't be mistaken, though; Vega is still a sadism Daemon that doesn’t take kindly to those getting in his way but to you? His one happiness in life? He's your loyal lover. 

-

OK. I might have gone a bit crazy with Vega but in my defence, I had like 3 mugs of tea and a tub of Belgian chocolate ice-cream and ramen last night after midnight plus a weird longing for him. 

It’s weird. 

[blackkatmagic]

Am also excited for labyrinth!! Mayhaps some Helena processing or reacting to what Marc did when they had finished hunting mobsters for the night?

“Spare room is still empty,” Barbara says, distracted by whatever one of the League members is asking. Helena thinks she catches a glimpse of green light, and—the thought of what Bruce would say about Oracle playing tech support for Green Lantern makes her grin despite the weariness that’s heavy in every limb.

“That mattress is awful,” she complains, and instead of making for the spare room she collapses on the long couch against the wall, practically sinking into the cushions. It’s a terrible, awful couch in a truly painful shade of maroon, but Helena has a long-standing adoration of it that manifests as threats to revolt if Barbara ever gets rid of it.

“Then sleep on the floor,” Barbara tells her, merciless. She frowns, entering a few last keystrokes and then sitting back, watching whatever program she’s got running for a long moment before she pushes her chair back from her computer and turns it. The sweep of her eyes takes in Helena’s slightly battered costume, the empty holster on her thigh, the crossbow on the floor, and she smiles. Helena loves that smile. It’s pure guile, and whenever Bruce or Dick insists that Barbara is the nicest of the Bats, Helena has to laugh. Barbara's tempered steel and opaque glass, never quite what you think she should be, and Helena finds that she likes the unpredictability more than she’d ever thought she would.

“I see you and Moon Knight got along,” she says, lancing her fingers and leaning forward to rest her chin on them.

“When you sit like that it makes you look like a supervillain,” Helena tells her, and leaves out the fact that it makes her look hot, too. The on-again, off-again thing with Dick isn't really something Helena keeps track of, because it’s none of her business. It makes the flirting harder to handle, though. From both of them.

“I would make an amazing supervillain,” Barbara says, unbothered, which is equal parts true and absolutely terrifying.

Helena laughs, pulling one leg up to unlace her boot, then the other, and kicking them off. “If you ever go supervillain, I get first dibs on being your henchwoman,” she says, and Barbara smirks, coppery hair sliding over her shoulders and almost hiding the sharpness in her eyes.

“Only if you go back to the costume with the cleavage,” she counters, and then, before Helena can process the flash of heat at the thought of Barbara looking, she asks, “Moon Knight?”

“I'm keeping him,” Helena says without hesitation, because it’s true. Moon Knight waded into a bar fight right next to her, never even blinked at her methods, and didn’t so much as waver when she all but told him her father was mafia. He’s perfect. She hasn’t had someone willing to brawl with her like that in years. Not since Barbara was forced to leave behind the Batgirl mantle, honestly.

Barbara's smile is slow and a little wicked. “Even though Bruce wants him out of Gotham?” she asks.

Helena rolls her eyes, stripping off her gloves and tossing them on top of her boots, her mask following. “Bruce can choke on his cape,” she says without sympathy. “Plenty of people in the League kill when they're forced to, and Bats likes to think he has a monopoly on Gotham, but he doesn’t. If he did try to keep a hero from helping people in the city, when they're only going after bad guys, that would be shitty, and he knows it.”

“I don’t think he realizes that he knows it,” Barbara says, wry. “You know how Bruce is. He’s going to dig his heels in until he’s forced to admit to an emotion.”

Helena pauses, something about that phrasing catching her attention. She tips her head, eyeing Barbara narrowly, and asks suspiciously, “An emotion?”

Barbara laughs, raising her hands. “He does have them, you know,” she points out. When Helena keeps staring, though, she snorts, and says, “When Moon Knight got shot. I saw them together. Bruce was…softer.”

Well. That’s an interesting thing. Helena cocks a brow, and says, “Does Bruce realize that Moon Knight just summoned his god to cover Gotham?”

Barbara's smile is wicked. “Bruce doesn’t even know who Moon Knight is yet.”

That’s even more interesting. Helena laughs, swinging her feet over the side of the couch and sitting up, leaning forward. “There was a god in the sky,” she tells Barbara, and it’s still a little hard to believe. She’d seen the shadow, and the wings, and the wall of darkness around the city like a fortification. “Moon Knight said he’s the doorway. And Bruce Wayne got gooey about him?”

“Before the god part,” Barbara says dryly. “In all fairness. But it will be interesting to see what happens when he realizes.”

Because Barbara isn't going to tell him. Barbara ended up paralyzed by one of the Joker’s mad plots, and Moon Knight killed the Joker, put that particular ghost to rest. Barbara's got her loyalties, but—Helena can understand why they're knotting themselves around Moon Knight, in light of that.

“He’s got a mean left hook, god or no god,” she says, and then pauses, narrowing her eyes. “Wait, this Khonshu, is he, like, a realgod? From an established mythology? Would I find him if I cracked open a world religion book? Or is this another extradimensional entity pretending it’s a god thing?”

Barbara shrugs. “Does it matter?” she asks, a little wry. “Moon Knight believes in him. Khonshu was Egyptian, once, but according to legend he’s a dead god. Maybe it’s something wearing him like a suit, or maybe it’s something pretending, or maybe Moon Knight resurrected a god. I don’t think it makes a difference.”

Barbara's always been the smart one, Helena thinks, amused. Helena’s got good aim, and a good punch, but there’s a reason Barbara leads the Birds of Prey.

“Thoughts on making Moon Knight a Bird?” she asks, leaning forward to give Barbara a smirk. “Honorary, or whatever. His god looked like a falcon there for a minute. I think it should count.”

Barbara laughs. “I was thinking he could be our mascot,” she counters. “Nominal patron god of the Birds of Prey. Khonshu seems to have a thing for warrior priests. I don’t think he’d object.”

“No one should object to having us around,” Helena says breezily. “Zinda’s the life of any party. And Dinah’s probably down with a god who eats hearts and heals human trafficking victims.”

“I’ll start the paperwork, then,” Barbara says, grinning. “Print up a plaque. Should we get Moon Knight a trophy or a condolences card?”

“Both?” Helena offers, and she grins back. Thinks of Moon Knight, perfectly happy to give as good as he got, whether it was in the fight or just when they were bickering, and laughs. “I promised him roses,” she says. “Roses and condolences card in the trophy?”

“Sold,” Barbara agrees, and reaches out. She obviously means to shake on it, but Helena claims her hand, slides off the couch to flop down at her feet, and drops her cheek on Barbara's knee.

“Bruce is going to have an aneurysm,” she says, entirely delighted by the idea. “He’s having feelings about Moon Knight.”

Barbara chuckles, stroking her hair, and she’s really beautiful when she smiles like that. “I’ll show you the tape,” she promises, and Helena is definitely holding her to that.

[On AO3]

[dreamcatcherjiah]

GAME NIGHT🧩🎲

§ Drabble requested by @gloryofroses19​! I’ve attached a photo of your request at the end of the drabble! I hope you like it 🥺💕

§ Pairing: KTH x Reader (OT7 x S/Os)

§ Word count: 1.3k

§ Warnings: Does chaos count as a warning? LOL There is like one (1) swearword, no biggie. (none, it’s just wholesome fluff)

§A/N: would you guys want me to create a permanent taglist for you guys to be in when I publish these kinds of requests? I have the ones in each series I write, but I don't have a permanent one... You guys let me know if you want!! ILY🥺

“Okay, the ground rules,” said Namjoon, his voice reigning over the chaos in the room. Whenever Bangtan and Co. got together, the noise was inevitable. “No snacks while we’re playing cards, I don’t want to get my fingers all sugary, YES I AM LOOKING AT YOU, JIN HYUNG!” The eldest hid his face against his girlfriend’s shoulder, causing her to laugh at his antics.

“Next, we are NOT playing Monopoly,” added his significant other, “y’all are millionaires but, give you guys those pink bills and you become a bunch of thieving twats.”

Taehyung ignored the rest of the rules as the leader continued chatting away, going over the cheating habits of each of his friends, and telling them one by one which games they would NOT be playing. Tae found himself not caring what they said about him, so focused as he was in your antics as you laughed at what was going on around you. Happiness filled every crevice of your face, your eyes alight with mirth as you turned your head and smiled at him. 

You edged your way closer to him and rested your head on his shoulder, filling his heart with so much love the only thing he could do was just smile until his cheeks hurt.

“Okay, so we’re starting with charades, since we are all here we can just pair up as we are,” said Yoongi, sitting with his back against the couch and holding his girlfriend’s hand on top of his thigh. “We can write team names in slips of paper and pick them out of a bag, to see who plays first.”

Murmurs of agreement rose from his friends as they scattered to pick up what they needed. Jin came back into the living room with a BT21 notepad that had RJ’s face plastered on the back, Hoseok entered with a bright green pen that oddly resembled the stem of a daisy with the cap filled with white small petals; Jimin gave a black beanie to Yoongi to use as a bag — “all the bags I have are either too big, too transparent or too expensive to use for this,” he said. Since the beanie suited you for your purposes just fine, all of you settled back to wait while team names were called around in the room and Yoongi jotted them down. There was a Kim Seokjin team that oddly belonged to Namjoon and his girlfriend, a charade team, a Meow team, yours being Winter Bear… When it was time for Jungkook and his girlfriend to pick a name his absence was noticed for the first time. 

“JEON JUNGKOOK!” Screamed Jimin, almost getting up to go looking for him, just when a sheepish-looking JK showed up coming from the kitchen, arms loaded with bags of chips, a couple of cans of beer, sodas and a bag filled with jellies hanging from his fingers. He stood next to one of the columns of the living room while everyone was looking at him, his eyes looking back and his mouth fighting a knowing smile. 

“I thought we agreed on no snacks,” said Namjoon, raised eyebrow and jaw locked.

“You said “no snacks” while playing cards, and besides,” said JK, cheekily, “I brought these so you can’t complain.”

He turned his back to the room, showing how he had jammed a packet of wet wipes into his back pocket. Joon closed his mouth, somehow impressed at the way the young man had had to circumvent, once again, the sacrosanct NO SNACK rule. That made it the 5th time in two weeks.

“Alright, the names are ready. Now, when you pick a name, Namjoonie will click the randomiser on his phone to give one on the team something to mimic,” directed Yoongi. “No cheating, I will know.”

Laughing at Yoongi’s bravado, it was decided that one of the girls would be the innocent (“not one of them is innocent though, look at their faces, they’re all evil”, “Jin hyung, shut up.”) hand that would pic the first team. 

“WINTER BEAR TEAM, YOU’RE UP!”

Groaning and pouting, Taehyung got up from your place on the couch and picked you up as well. His pout was so adorable you just couldn’t stop gushing over him while the others waited for you to decide who would mimic and who would guess.

“I’ll guess,” Tae told you, pushing a strand of hair away from your forehead, looking at you in the eye, a mischievous glint barely concealed. “You just give me a show, baby!”

“KIM TAEHYUNG!” Shouted the group. Seeing how he was behaving, you already knew the exasperation of the group was only going to increase as you played but you just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be the centre and sole focus of Kim Taehyung’s attention.

You softly slapped his wrist as he tried to pull you close to him, and Namjoon showed you his phone where the words Van Gogh gleamed black against the white background. You smiled, this was in the bag already.

Facing Taehyung, his eyes never leaving yours, you raised two fingers, telling him the number of words and, after his nod, you made the motion of painting something with a brush. Seeing recognition in his eyes, you smirk and proceeded to cover your left ear with your hand. Judging by his face, he got it! You knew the moment you read the name in Joonie’s phone that Tae would get it. How could he not, when he was such an artistic soul? Vante would get it.

“I got it!” He shouted, Yoongi nodding, understanding as well who it was that you were mimicking. “A very beautiful orchestra conductor!”

Your face must have been a poem, his boxy smile showing how much he was enjoying teasing you. Yoongi’s elbow, which was resting against the side of the couch, slipped when he heard what Tae had said. Hoseok was looking at your boyfriend with a no-nonsense expression that would have scared everyone looking at him. But Tae wasn’t looking at him, since he only had eyes for you and the noticeable blush that was gracing your cheeks.

You singled for him to repeat, mimicking the three giving signs again, hoping that this time he would just say it.

“Mmmm…” he murmured, a hand resting on his chin as he thought. “A traffic police officer!”

You just had to laugh at how adamant he was on stalling the game. You two laughed together as indignant claims raised from your friends. “YAH, KIM TAEHYUNG, THOSE WERE THREE WORDS,” screamed Jungkook. “Yeah! She specifically signalled for TWO!” Supported Jimin.

Trying for the third time, you looked him in the eye while you signalled for the last time hoping he would finally get it.

“AH! OKAY!” He screamed.

“FINALLY!” Shouted Jin, getting ready to pick another slip of paper from the beanie and looking at Taehyung wide-eyed.

“IT’S SO EASY, HOW DID I NOT GET IT FIRST!?” He lamented, pulling his sleeves up and getting ready to guess for the last time. 

Everyone was hanging on the edge of their seats, some frowning, some paying rap attention, waiting with batted breath for him to talk. 

“IT WAS GEORGE WEASLEY ALL ALONG!”

“YAH, SIT THE FUCK DOWN!” Said Yoongi, yanking him back down to the couch.

“This idiot knows the answer, he just wants to make us lose time!” Complained Seokjin, already pulling a new slip of paper out of the beanie, “Jungkook and Bora, you up!”

You walked back to the couch where Taehyung was sitting while the rest of the group focused on the couple playing now. He pulled you down to sit sideways on his lap as you cuddled closer to him, your head on his collarbone and his chin resting atop yours. After a while of just hugging and watching the rest of your friends play, he moved his head so that his lips were next to your ear and whispered:

“That was the hottest imitation of Vincent Van Gogh I have ever seen, love.”

[newtonsheffield]

Hello again!!!! I'm the Spanish girl back in here!

Firstly, I'd like to send you my best wishes for this tough week of work, and I bet we're going to miss you around here this week. But duty calls! And, look, how many people can say they've got a whole week for relaxing after a week of work? 😌 (Perhaps I've misunderstood the whole thing; I've read your posts quite quick and I've understood sth different to what you wanted to say lol)

Well, what can I say with one of the last prompts you have gifted to us...? Kate, Anthony (and his Spanish!!!!!!) and Spain; you got me there. 😂 I even cried the famous "Ole!" when I read all of it (curious note: not all Spaniards use the expression "ole" in daily contexts; it is more like a regional expression that became worldwide famous bc of several reasons that are too long to post here, lol) and I think it's needless to say I loved it... isn't it?

And, I LOVED a lot Edwina's POV and story (well, I've loved everything you have posted and gifted to us, but Eddie has a special place in my heart)! I don't know, but sometimes I get the impression that, in romantic literature, relationships between sisters are not addressed at all and kinda force them to be friends (if they're not rivals... which I find stupid, tbh), not really deepening in the bond between them. Like, they're sisters and they behave more like "my next door neighbour and friend to whom sometimes I'm distant bc life happens" instead of "this person and I share much more than many people can imagine that's beyond friendship and she's more important than anybody else" -idk if this makes sense anymore... I rewrote it a couple of times bc I got the impression I can't express my idea very well 😂-. And that's something I think both of you, JQ and yourself, have achieved and gifted to all of us! We see Edwina and Kate as sisters: they fight, they tease the other, they can't stand each other sometimes, but always, ALWAYS, they care for and love the other just as sisters do. Because of this, I think TVWLM is one of my favourite books in this genre: they give us a two fantastic love stories, not only between a -heterosexual- couple but also between sisters; which is as important as any other kind of relationship.

After my TED Talk (sorry if it's been too much... 😅), I cannot help but imagine an escapade between Anthony and Kate (sans children) and Matthew and Edwina (oh, Matthew... I love you) to Spain just for Anthony, in his stupid one-side battle against Matthew (I love this, tbh; it's sooooo fun 😂), demonstrate Matthew he can speak fluently another language... Just for Matthew be oblivious to this and enjoy a little escapade to Spain with his girlfriend and her family. 😂

Anyways; I hope you're alright and, again, I wish you all the best for this week.

Besos!!! ���� (Spanish equivalent for the "Love!" farewell expression; it means "kisses")

Hola! You’re back again! And I’m so glad! 

I do have a week off once I finish work tomorrow (Saturday)!! Very Exciting! I have a scarf to knit, and lots of writing to do so that’s very exciting. 

Oh Anthony on a Spanish beach in tiny little flamingo shorts? Ole! indeed! That is a curious note, I literally love learning things about other cultures and languages so if anyone wants to share a curious note about their culture, hit me up! I will in turn tell you about the curious culture of The Land Down under, and our propensity to butcher the English language!

I agree, Sister relationships are a very curious thing in media. I’m not a huge fan of very contentious relationships between sisters, I’m not saying they don’t exist in real life, they definitely do, I just think having them as constant rivals is exhausting. And Yes! I Love the relationship between Edwina and Kate very much because I see it as a mirror of my relationship with my own sister. My sister drives me more insane than any other person on this planet. We fight, we bicker, I get absolutely enraged when she steals the last property I need for a set in Monopoly, and yet, She is my favourite person. She can say whatever she wants about me, but were anyone else to? It’s fight on sight. I’ll be honest, that all I’m doing is basing their relationship in these fics  on my own with my sister. Nothing special! 

Okay! Here we go! Anthony and Kate + Goose and Edwina +Spain

Kate Bridgerton was many, many things, but she liked to think an idiot, was not one of them. And so, when Anthony had said, in a tone she was sure he thought was casual. “I think we deserve a holiday, you’ve been working very hard to grow the little broad bean after all and your sister and her little gander should celebrate their engagement.” She had known exactly what he was up to. And she wasn’t really sure why she played along along with it. Perhaps something in her thrived on the chaos she knew Anthony would would create, perhaps part of her just really wanted a decent paella. Surely it didn’t matter, the result was the same: Kate fixed an innocent expression on her face and said  “Where did you have in mind?” 

 And so, surprise, surprise, here she was: back on a beach in Spain. She had to admit, eyeing Anthony appreciatively as he paddled demonstratively in the shallow water, his plan had its merits. though thus far his attempts had been... unsuccessful at best. Matthew Bagwell seemed absolutely thrilled to be in Spain, on holiday with his fiancée, giving them helpful facts he knew about the architecture as they walked through the city, a wide smile on his face, Anthony practically purple when he corrected a fact Anthony himself had said.   “Do you speak Spanish, Goose?” Anthony had said dryly in the hotel lobby shortly after they’d arrived. And Kate had rolled her eyes at Anthony, though Matthew was not paying attention. He had his arms wrapped tightly around Edwina’s waist, whispering something in her ear that made her nose crinkle in delight, the sapphire of her engagement ring glinting in the sunlight. And the beautiful picture they made gave Kate’s heart a little stutter. Anthony tutted. “Matt!” He said sharply, getting the man’s attention, Matthew’s glasses slipping down his nose as his head shot upwards in surprise.  “Do you speak Spanish?” Edwina was rolling her eyes now. And Matthew, for his part was completely unbothered  “oh, no. Sorry Mate, might have to lean on your pretty heavily this week.” He said, and Kate caught the smug smile on Anthony’s face and bit back a groan Damnit Matthew.  “I’m pretty fluent in French, German and Mandarin though!” Matthew said smiling happily, turning back towards Edwina, completely oblivious to the scowl Anthony tossing his way. “Of course you fucking are.” He muttered, fixing Kate with an irritated glare as a laugh escaped her!   

The water surely must be a little cool in early October but Anthony showed no signs of it, Beckoning Kate into the water. She groaned and made her way towards him, laughing happily as he tugged her in, his hand resting on her stomach, still no sign of her pregnancy. “Is he watching?” Anthony whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist, spinning her through the water So she had a brief image of her sister smiling brightly at her fiancée who appeared to be... bless him building a sandcastle. 

“No. He’s not.” Kate said batting her husband’s hands away irritatedly as he scowled.  “Are you really trying to look more in love than they are?” Kate scoffed, disbelief at her husband’s idiocy rising with in her. Anthony looked indignant. “No! A man can’t take an interest in his wife now? Very poor show Mrs. Bridgerton.” He said, but his eyes, darted towards the shore at the last second.  “Oh I cannot believe you! You’re absolutely manic!” She replied as Anthony attempted to pull her back towards him, Kate putting up very little fight as she tumbled against. him, his voice hot in her ear. “Insufferable I hear.” Kate scoffed. “Ugh! If Anyone’s insufferable it’s him!” 

Kate turned to follow Anthony’s gaze to find Matthew waving at them, grinning broadly, completely unbothered. And Kate couldn’t keep from laughing as Anthony went on another muttered tirade.

Besos! 

[valdangelodumbasses]

Valdangelo Headcannons #1

Leo and Nico are both introverts but Nico loves affection

Leo made Nico tiramisu once and he swallowed it faster than Percy could ever

Leo couldn't look him in the eyes for a week or he got so flustered

Nico is lawyer bf 

and a demon at monopoly; him playing w/ Annie is the worst.

gamers! both like monster (specifically mango loco) but Nico also loves tropical redbull

Nico teaches Leo and hazel how to play so they can battle 2v2

Nico wipes the floor and Leo is just glad he understands half the rules

Nico and Leo wear heels. 

and they're good at it too.

Confident Nico>>>>>>  

Leo has a fucking heart attack when Nico pins him to a wall

Leo makes Nico laugh with his jokes and shitty pickup lines

but when Uses shitty pickup lines on him he steals them, after he stops looking like a tomato

Nico does Cosplay and they cosplay together and its so fucking rad

making out while baking/cooking? more likely than u think

Leo tells Nico he looks cute one day b4 they started dating and Nico is like: Is this friendly affection

Caffeine addicts rise up

but Nico hates coffee and honestly same

teas n energy drinks>>> 

Leo is a fucking swine who mixes all his foods and Nico nearly vomits bc he wont let his food even touch goddamit

Piper and Hazel being wingman while Percy and Jason are the matchmakers

p r a n k s

like so goddam many

they are unstoppable and they pin it on the Stolls

or Leo gets caught

Nico n e v e r does bc like? scary emo kid? prankster? nah, NAh,

he sticks his tongue out at leo anytime leo gets caught

bisexual leo or gay leo? leo doesn't even know!

all he knows is that nicos hot and has a cute butt & personality

nico is a theater gay

he sings every musical

his favorites are Heathers, Beetle juice, Legally blond, and the greatest showman

Leo has theater kid energy but probably works the tech stuff

he likes heathers, Chicago, legally blond, Grease, and dear evan Hansen the best

Hamilton is neither of their favorites yet they end up dueting it all the time

Art kid and Repair kid>>>>>>>>>>>>

Percy sees them kiss after dating (and kissing) for 6 months and wait yall are friends?

Hes slow but he means well, Nico sticks his tongue in leo's mouth after percy says that

he's like  “O H , sorry im dumb”

“jackpot” “Valdez shush”

they talk abt their moms

angsty emo boys listen to greenday

and every other emo band

Leo calls Nico mammacita once

never again (Nico started crying)

why? It was commonplace used by his uncles and grandpa

Nico demands leo call him that more though

Leo is Hesitant but obliges

mexican or italian food restaurant arguments

leo steals nicos breadsticks even tho he has some

nico steals leo's nachos when he has his own

they're petty? yes but petty and in love!

and gay/ did i mention g a y 

Demiboy leo rights

leos a fuckin lefty

Trans Nico rights mtf or ftm rights

nico may not be trans but he's also demiboy

demi boys calling each other they all day because nobody uses the they in he/they (speaking as a demigirl)

If nico IS trans tho hades 100% uses magic to transition Nico bc yes good dad

laughing abt trauma and they're friends are like: NO

memes

“get ur hands off my bf”

“kick their ass baby i got cho flower”

imagine, just imagine nico fussing over leos hair because curly is the cutest

leo fusses over nicos when he's in a slump and brushes his hair

skincare is vital to both

Leo does engineering n shit but does it for like 16 hours straight much to everyone's dismay, but Nico who has (arguably) fresh eyes and make sure his physics is right

Nico loves physics fight me

but nico sleeps like 4 times a week for 3 hours or 3 days a week for 12 hours

Insomnia gang don’t rise up go to fuckin sleep 

will keeps giving them melatonin and they always forget to take ti and will is going to fuckin murder them maybe then they'll sleep

u know that comic where they naruto kiss S P I D E R M A N  K I S S I E S

nico hangs like a bat and leo is a memelord

nico also loves spider man

they def try to make spider man gear but annie smashes the shit out of it

dorks! comic!

omg comic book shop au nico owns it

soulmate au where u loose shit n it goes to ur soulmate

nico has NO clue what the hell to do with all this nails n hammers n shit

Leo builds stuff out of nicos lost mytho dupes 

Leo doesnt know what to do with his underwear, or all the mcdonalds receipts and the crumpled up sketches and sketch books

anyway

aphrodite ships it as she SHOULD and hades n heppy do too

why did i cal hephaestus heppy ? idk maybe aphrodite calls him that

They both hate yoga with a passion

does nico have an obsession with spn or does he hate it sm that he watches it ?

its as ambiguous as leo's sexuality!

Leos like what if i'm straight

then nico walks in 

No he's definitely not straight

who even heard of greeks being straight smh

Nico in miniskirts, aline, or any skirt makes leo go brrrrrrr

he wears leggings or tights under them though

Nico also wears leggins to bed

or the fluffy pants he steals from leo so leo doesn't have any pants

“IM FEELINGS DEVIOUS AND LOOKING GLAMORUS-”

band band band band band band band band band  Nico can sing and leo plays drums

Nico and katie are friends and Nico has a green thumb so leo is surprised when nico has more houseplants than crowley (Good omens)

He has tons of hanging and not hanging terrariums

Leo tries not to set them on fire

After Leo and Nico start hanging out more Nico bribes Lou Ellen to make his plants fire proof

they are now

Nico knows how to fire a gun and he's good at it

Pirate Nico!! 

Leo and Hades get along well

So does Nico and heppy

the parents get along too but they diss heras bad mothering

Nico gets de aged and leo is ???? but he's so CUTE AND TINY

Leo babysits him for a week in the bunker and nobody even knows until Percy and Will goes in there looking for him

Nico and Clarisse sparing? Sweaty bf? Leo loves it and chris and leo are just staring and say “yes”

Nico has freckles and leo kisses each one

Leo has these really dark freckles spread across his body but they aren't as frequent as freckles?? y'all know what i mean? ne way nico kisses them

Leo uses Yall. 

It rubs off on nico

jason is a die hard anti y’all

they annoy the shit out of him

Cuddles

nico and leo having bakeoffs

Nico asking piper for advice but editing it so its not super obvious its leo

She figures it out and tells leo like any good bff

nico promptly leaves camp when leo busts in asking if he has a crush on him

hades laughs but understands

leo sulks back to piper and percy is there and Percy got no chill

so he goes down there

Hades ain't too happy w that but Nico just gets so embarrassed and goes back with him

Hephaestus and aphro watching this go down like a romcom

I'm getting tired so im going to stop here anyway stan valdangelo for clear skin

[hogwartsmarvelmommy]

Fallout of the Century 🌑💔

Part 1. 🥜

Word-count: 4.5K

Warnings- This is very angsty, Mentions of cheating, falling apart, and overall depression. 

Masterlist

Summery: Your wold has practically fallen apart when you walk in on something you weren't supposed to see. Causing you and your soon to be husband Harry Holland to call of your engagement. Months pass and you are just trying to put the pieces back together. Will you ever be able to sort your life out?

My head came up from under the surface, breaking the water around me. I let out a gasp as I rubbed the water from my face. There was a banging at the bathroom door before it swung open with force. He swung the curtain open, exposing my naked body. He had seen me this way before, so the sight didn't even make him bat an eyelash. 

“Seriously peanut? I was out there for like three minutes calling you.” His tone was harsh and firm, this was not the first time this had happened. Ever since the break up I just wasn't the same anymore, and the only one who saw the bad was Harrison. 

“Sorry,” I muttered , slipping back below the surface of the water. Harrison’s hands reached in and grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up.

“We are not doing this again peanut,” he groaned as he pulled me to my feet, soaking himself in the process. 

“Harrison, I'm fine,” I tried to convince him, but he knew otherwise. 

“I know tonight will be hard, and I know you'll want to bail, and I know that you will hate it, but I'll be right here, and so will Tuwaine. We have to try and put this behind us,” He pulled the towel around my shoulders and helped me out of the tub. He walked me to my bedroom and stood in the doorway until I had a pair of leggings and a hoodie on. “You sure you want to wear that one?” he asked. I looked down, noticing I had grabbed Harry's pink hoodie, because I was in such a haze. I felt tears rush to my eyes as I pulled it off and grabbed one of my own. We walked down to the living room and sat on the armchairs, waiting. My hair was still wet, and Harrison’s shirt was damp from helping me out of the bath, but I was sure no one would notice. Or care. 

First to arrive was Tuwaine, he walked over giving me a hug and kissing my forehead before finding his usual spot on the couch. Next it was Sam, then Tom, and then finally. Harry. 

He didn't look good, not like himself, he looked sad and hollow, but i tried to ignore it. Six months ago there would have been one more person with us, but six months ago seemed like a lifetime away.

Harry walked past me, without even so much as a glance, which was no different than I had expected. 

Harrison pulled out the board game and arranged it on the table in front of us. I looked up and caught Harry's glance, he instantly looked away. I sighed and went to get up but was stopped by Harrison’s voice. 

“OK, this is going to go differently tonight. No name calling. No snide comments. No outbursts. None. and if anyone does, their buy-in is instantly up for grabs and you forfeit.” Everyone shook their heads at the new rules Harrison had put in place. It sucked to think Harry and I were the reason for it, but that's the way life works sometimes. 

Our monthly monopoly games had become nothing more than awkward, so when Harrison had brought it up last week at dinner I was instantly ready to find anything else to do, But he insisted I be there. 

So here I am, sitting across from the love of my life, broken and damaged and completely regretting agreeing to this. 

“You're on my property Y/N, pay up.” Harry said coldly to me. I grabbed the five dollars I owed him and handed it over. I felt bad for our friends, the tension between us was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. No one knew what had happened between us, but they all knew it had to have been bad. 

“Where has Olivia been?” Tuwaine asked, not knowing where the girl had disappeared to. Truth be told no one knew, because I had told her if she ever showed her face or talked to any of them again I would do a lot worse to her than she did to me. I took a deep breath trying to keep my cool. 

“I'm sorry Harrison, I just can't do this tonight,” I told him as I got up and stormed out of the living room. All I could think about was that night, the memories flashing through my mind. 

“Harry baby, I'm home,” I yelled as I walked into our small apartment. I had been out of town on a business trip, but somehow made it home earlier than i expected. I had set my keys on the table and noticed a key chain that I recognized, but was not my fiance’s. I remember the tightening in my stomach as I walked down the hall and saw discarded clothing all the way to our bedroom. And when I opened the door, I was shocked to see the man I was set to marry in less than four months and my best friend laying naked and asleep in my bed.

There was a knock on my door and it opened slowly. I looked up expecting Hazza but instead saw the man I once would do anything for. “Can I come in?” He asked quietly. I nodded my head and scooted over on the bed giving him a spot to sit. 

“They make you come up?” I asked him. 

“No, they actually told me not to.” He said. “You still haven't told them?” He asked me softly.

“I have no reason to ruin the way everyone sees you, Harry,” I told him coldly. He nodded and I could see him chewing the inside of his cheek, a bad habit he had when he was stressed. “Stop doing that, you're going to put a hole in your cheek,” I told him. He laughed at that although it was a dry laugh. 

“You know you're not the only one hurting Y/N,” He said boldly. I wasn't one to freak out, hell i was the calmest person i knew, but he had a way of just getting under my skin.

“No you're right Harry, I'm not. You must be devastated that you cheated on my with my best friend, you must be crushed that you wasted five years of your life just to throw it away over some dumb slut who was always out for your dick, You must be wrecked, not having to explain to all your family and friends that your wedding is canceled, and not having anything to tell them because your too loving of a person to ruin your ex’s reputation,” i took a deep breath trying to keep my cool, seemed to be a trend tonight. 

“Well, you didn't exactly make the five years easy Y/N. I'm sorry I slept with Olivia, yes. But I'm pretty sure our relationship ended way before that,” I looked at Harry dumbfounded, our relationship had been perfect, never once was there any problems, until the week leading up to the fall out. 

“Because I got a good job and was traveling more?” I demanded. He nodded his head and it took everything inside me not to punch him in the jaw. “Get out Harry,” I told him, annoyed with his presence in my room. “And take that stupid hoodie with you,”

He stood up standing at the edge of the bed and looked down at the pink hoodie, before looking back at me. I thought for a moment I saw the boy I had fallen In love with all those years ago shine through, but his face quickly contorted back to what he had become. "That one always looked better on you, keep it," he said as he walked out the door. 

I wanted to scream and shout. I wanted to cry. 

I wanted to feel anything.

But I just felt numb. 

I walked around the apartment grabbing all the discarded clothes and Olivia's keys before walking back to my bedroom and throwing them on them sleeping in MY bed. “Forgot to clean up after yourselves” I shouted slamming the door closed. I heard rummaging around and Olivia shrieked. 

“Oh my god what did we do?” 

Harry came rushing out of our bedroom and found me standing in the kitchen. “Baby, i don't know what happened,” He was panicking. Maybe they had gotten drunk, maybe it was a spur of the moment thing, but no excuse would make up for it. 

“I'm going to Harrison's, I'll be here to get my stuff in a few days,” Was all I told him that night. I walked out the door, my head held high and kept my composure until Harrison opened his door. I collapsed in his arms, every emotion flooding my body, I couldn't speak, or move. 

I rolled out of bed and looked at my alarm clock. 2am. I was sure the boys would probably still be down there playing the game. I needed to go and get a glass of water, so I walked downstairs and to the kitchen. Just as I thought they were all still huddled around the coffee table, empty beer bottles all around them. 

“Peanut!” Tom exclaimed as soon as his eyes saw me, “I thought you went to bed,” He was drunk, and I was sure he wasn't the only one.

“Need water,” I told him, giving him a weak smile. 

“She sleeps with like five bottles next to the bed,” Harry laughed. I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen. I could hear some of the conversation from the kitchen but nothing sparked my interest until I heard Harry say. “Well if i would not have slept with Olivia then nothing would be fucked up, so its my fault anyway,” all the noise subsided. 

I stepped out of the kitchen with my water in hand and looked at Harry who was sitting with his face in his hands, and everyone else was staring at him, with their jaws on the floor. 

“Is that why you guys broke up?” Tom asked. He wasn't asking me, he needed to hear from his brother. I had kept all of the bad to myself, not wanting anyone to look at Harry like a monster. Cause i knew he wasn't one. 

Harry didn't move his hands from his face, “I fucked it all up,” He groaned. I felt a twinge of guilt rush over me and I went to go comfort him despite how much he had hurt me, but Sam stood up as soon as he saw me take a step, shaking his head. I nodded and scurried off to my room, soon after I heard my door open, and Harrison walked in, flipping my light switch on. “You didn't tell me.” He said.

“Didn't want you to see him differently,” I told him quietly.

“With Olivia?” He asked as he walked over to my bed. 

“Yeah,” I scoffed. “I'm not innocent in this though, so please don't feel sorry for me,” I told him. 

“How are you not innocent?” He asked me. 

I thought about whether or not I wanted to tell Harrison, would he think as low of me as Harry now did? “Before me and Harry got together. One night we were all out at a pub, and me and Tom snuck off and, had sex. The next day he told us he blacked out and didn't remember anything, so I never brought that night up. Me and Harry started dating like a month after that, but I kept that secret. Until I threw it in his face to hurt him.” I sighed. I didn't want to look at Harrison, I was scared he would look at me like a monster. 

“That was before you together though, it's not the same nut,” He said, surprising me. 

“Maybe not, but it was still shitty of me,” I told him.  He shrugged his shoulders and then we started to hear yelling downstairs. Harrison got up and left to go see what was going on.

About an hour passed and the yelling had stopped and so had any noise. I assumed everyone had gone to bed or left. My door opened quietly and then shut. There was a shuffling as someone climbed into bed next to me. I rolled over and before my eyes even made out who it was, the smell hit me. So familiar yet so distant. 

“Harry,” I whispered, looking at the ginger boy whose eyes were puffy and nose was red, surly from crying.

“I know,” He whispered. “I just, can I please, just tonight?” he asked. I wanted to be strong and tell him to get out of my room. I wanted to push him off my bed. I wanted to hate him. Truth be told, I missed him. Sleeping in his arms, his curly hair tickling my face as he snuggles into my neck, the sweet kisses he would litter my body with. 

“Just tonight,” I told him firmly. A smile spread across his lips and he pulled my body into his, holding me close, instantly falling back into a routine we both knew so well. 

“Hey miss,” A voice called from behind me. I turned to see Harry running after me. 

“Harry?” I asked recognizing him from a few nights we had bumped into each other at clubs and parties. 

“Oh you remembered?” He asked surprised. 

“I mean a face like that is pretty hard to forget,” I chuckled. 

“I was wondering if I could take you out? On a date?” He was nervous to ask me. 

“Yeah, id- Id like that a lot,” I told him, a smile spread across his face as we exchanged numbers.

I didn't know then how much I would love him. Also how much I would hate him. 

I opened my eyes and looked down to see the familiar arms still around me holding me tight. He was drunk last night so i hadn't been mad about him crashing in my bed, but i wasn't sure i wanted to lay here cuddling him. “Harry,” I said as I wriggled my body trying to get out of his firm grip. 

“Five more minutes,” He groaned. 

“Harry,” I said a bit more forcefully, making his arms loosen their grip so I could get up. “I have to get ready for work, and you should probably go,” I was practically whispering. 

“Peanut,” He started, but then shook his head. “You're right, I should go,” he pushed himself up and then stood up from the bed. He looked at me for a minute standing at the end of my bed with my arms crossed, I was sure I looked pathetic. He stepped forward, coming dangerously close to me. He reached out letting his fingers brush across my cheek. I felt the tears rush to my eyes, but held them back. “Will we ever be able to fix this?” He asked quietly. I bit my bottom lip, hard, trying to figure out how to respond. 

“Is there anything worth fixing anymore?” I asked him. Looking up and seeing the hurt in his eyes. 

“I think a life with you is worth fixing,” He muttered. “I'm sorry,” He said before he walked out of my room. 

 I threw myself onto my bed and groaned. My life honestly sucked. I got out of bed and got ready for work. I walked down to the kitchen to see Harrison drinking a cup of tea. “Hazza,” I smiled. 

“I don't like it,” he said softly. I turned to him as I poured my coffee. 

“Don't like what?” I asked. 

“Him trying to weasel his way in. you deserve more than him, and he knows it,” i was caught off guard by his sudden anger towards Harry. 

“Harrison, I-” I was quickly cut off as he stepped forward, grabbing my face and pushing his lips into mine. I was going to push him away, but I found myself kissing him back. He broke his lips away from mine and left the kitchen without so much as a word. Leaving me standing there, dumbfounded and confused. 

I grabbed my keys and left the house. Maybe work would be less confusing than my morning. 

“Try it,” Harry pushed the sushi in my face. 

“Harry, it has raw fish,” I complained, pushing it back. 

“Babe just take a tiny bite, you might just like it,” He told me. I rolled my eyes and took the smallest bite, chewing for a minute and then spitting it in the napkin. 

“Awful, just like I thought,” I told him.he laughed as he pushed the sushi to the side and leaned forward, kissing me. 

“I love you,” He whispered for the first time. 

“You do?” I asked. He nodded his head and kissed me once more. “I love you, Harry,” I told him. 

Work flew by, faster than I would have hoped. My day had come to an end and I was sitting in my car, debating on what to do, when my phone started to ring. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey, it's me,” id recognize that voice anywhere. 

“What do you want Olivia?” I asked. 

“Can we just talk? I miss you.” 

“I don't want to talk to you, and i don’t miss you,” i hung up the call without letting her respond. I just wanted to crawl into a whole and die. 

I drove home, and parked in my spot. I wasn't sure I wanted to go in. Harrison had kissed me this morning. Which in and of itself was weird, but add on top of that that I had spent the night with Harry. I threw my head back hitting the headrest, I let out a loud groan as I grabbed my phone and dialed a number I had dialed too many times to count. 

“Are you OK?” His voice was full of concern and worry, I hadn't called him in months. 

“I'm so lost, Harry,” I said quietly.

“Like you need me to come and find you? Or metaphorically?” He asked me, i could sense the smirk through the phone.

“Metaphorically, I guess.” I told him.

“I can come to you if you want,” He sounded hopeful and eager. 

“No.” I just wanted to talk to you,” I muttered. Why had I called him anyway? Did I enjoy torturing myself? “Do you remember the first time you told me you loved me?” 

“The sushi date? Of course I do nut,” He said quietly. 

“I was sure that that was forever. That day, I knew it was you, and it always would be. Looking back, we were so happy. So why did you do it?” I had never given him a chance to explain what had happened that night, every time he would try I would storm off or yell. I think deep down I didn't want to know the truth, but if I was going to figure out what I was doing I needed to know all the facts. 

I heard him sigh through the other side of the phone. “I missed you, probably too much. She had come over for some reason, and I had been drinking, I don't even remember it. I just remember waking up, to you throwing clothes and shoes at us, and then seeing your face. I… I didn't know it was possible to physically feel your heart shatter, but that night I did. I felt my whole world slip out from under me,” He sounded sincere.

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Tom. That wasn't a fair secret to keep, I should have told you as soon as I knew he was your brother,” I said. 

“It was none of my business, It happened before we even knew each other,” he said. 

“I love you Harry. I do. But i don’t what to do,” I whispered. 

“I love you, I'll keep fighting for you, for us. This can't be how we end, ours was the epic one, the love story for the ages,” he said.

“And it was the fallout of the century,” I whispered as I hung up. 

I walked into the house, not sure what to expect. Harrison was standing in the kitchen cooking something and Tuwaine was on the couch watching TV. “Smells good,” I told Harrison as I walked over to beside him. 

“It's your favorite,” He said, giving me a big smile. 

“What's the occasion?” I asked. He looked at me with a goofy grin and his crystal blue eyes.

“Just thought you could use a little pick me up,” He leaned over kissing my forehead, which was not out of the ordinary. 

“I definitely do need it,” I said as I went to the couch, throwing myself down next to Tuwaine. 

“Work?” He asked me. 

“It was fast, so not bad” I smiled at him. 

“And are you OK? I mean last night was kind of a lot for all of us,” He muttered. 

“I will be, in time. I just need to figure out what I need and want,” he looked over his shoulder to Harrison who was distracted with his cooking. 

“I don't know if you know this or not, but he's in love with you, and I know Harry still is too. Things are probably going to get really complicated,” He warned me.

“I don't even know what to do. Harry crushed me, like soul shattering pain, but I still love him. And Hazza, i mean i love him so much, but I've never considered him as anything other than a friend,” i told Tuwaine. 

“Well, you never had to consider Hazza as anything else, cause you had Harry, and now you don't. So you can make the choice for yourself. Maybe Harrison is who you were meant to be with, and Harry was just keeping you close until Harrison was ready,” he whispered, shrugging his shoulders. I laughed at that.

“Damn,” Harrison said from the kitchen. We both looked back to see him staring at us. 

“What?” I asked him.

“I missed the sound of your laugh,” He said, making my cheeks go red. Maybe Tuwaine was right.

We ate dinner and talked and laughed about our days, before turning in for the night. Tuwaine’s room was on the opposite side of the house than mine and Harrison’s, so Harrison walked me to my bedroom door. 

“I'm sorry about this morning, that may have been out of line,” he ran his hand through his wavy blonde hair. 

“You don't need to apologize to me,” I told him, grabbing his hand. “I just don't know if I'm ready to move on, or not,” I whispered. 

“Well, when you decide you are, you know where i'll be,” He leaned in, pushing his lips softly against mine before walking across the hall to his room. As if my life wasn't already confusing.

“Harry!” I groaned as we hiked up the tall hill. 

“Just a bit farther, baby, I promise the view will be worth it,” He told me. We reached the top of the hill just as the sun was setting over the horizon. It was a breathtaking view. I turned to Harry, or where he should have been, but he wasn't there. I turned around to see him down on one knee in front of me holding a little white box. 

“I know this is cheesy, but I'm a little cheesy. I've known for so long that you were my forever, my happily ever after. I can't imagine my life without you in it, and I don't want to. Y/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?” He flipped the box open revealing a white band ring with a black and blue stone, something I had always said I wanted.

“Oh my god Harry, yes i'll marry you. A million times yes!” I exclaimed , pulling him to his feet and jumping into his arms. 

How did we go from that to now?

I was sitting on my bed, going through pictures when my phone vibrated. I looked down and it was a text from Harry. 

‘You think I could swing by for a minute?’ 

I knew I should tell him no, but I was curious as to what he wanted at this hour. 

‘Sure’ I texted him back. I heard the front door open almost as soon as the text was delivered, and then my door opened and he stepped into my room, shutting the door behind him. 

“You came before texting?” I asked him. 

“I forgot to, until I pulled in,” He sighed. “What are you doing?” He asked me. 

“Going through all these pictures. I want to frame a few, just don't know which ones,” I told him. He walked over grabbing one of the photos that I had in a pile, it was from when he proposed, a stranger had taken it for us. The picture itself was blurry but it was still my favorite. 

“That one was always my favorite,” He said, setting it back down. I nodded in agreement.

“So what brings you over?” I asked quietly. 

“Um, Olivia called me.” He said. My eyes shot up, my brows were furrowed and I could feel the anger rising inside of me. “She said you won't talk to her, and she just wants to apologize or something,” he sighed. “I didn't answer her, that's just what she said on my voicemail,” 

“Well i’m not going to call her, i don’t need her stupid apology,” I said blankly. “It sucks knowing my best friend came over to my house and took advantage of my intoxicated fiance. like I could maybe forgive you, in time. But I want to kill her, with every fiber of my being, I want to hurt her.” I took a deep breath, and looked at the pictures in my hands. 

“Yeah,” was all he said. 

“Maybe we should try dating,” I told him quietly. 

“Each other?” He asked me. 

“No, I mean other people. We should probably put ourselves back out there, and who knows maybe we will hate it and come back together. But it's been six months, we have to start moving on,” I sighed. 

He stood there looking at me, his eyes full of hurt and confusion, and I felt bad, but I knew that this was something we both needed. “Yeah we probably should do the dating thing, i'm not sure where I'd even look, but yeah,” He said. I rolled my eyes and laughed. 

“There is that girl at the coffee shop, she used to eye fuck you,” i told him. 

“The barista? Shelby?” I nodded, recalling how irritated I used to get when her eyes were all over him. “Maybe I'll ask for her number, or something,” He laughed. “And you?” 

“Hmm?”

“Where will you look?” he asked. 

“For dating? Oh I don't know.” I said, which was a blatant lie. 

“Okay, well I should go,” he smiled before leaving my room and then the house.

 I moved the pictures that were scattered across my bed to my dresser, and laid in my bed. I regretted telling Harry we should date other people, I think seeing him with someone would crush me even worse. I knew it was for the best though, we needed to give ourselves this, the chance to move on, to be happy, without each other. We had spent so long together that I had forgotten how to do the dating thing. 

“I found my dress,” I teased as I climbed onto Harry's lap. “It accentuates all the best parts of my body,” I leaned in letting my lips brush his earlobe before whispering “Your favorite parts,” 

He grabbed my ass squeezing it hard. 

“Can't wait to see you in it baby, I'm sure I'll be blown away,” he smiled sweetly. 

I leaned in to let our lips devour each other, until we needed more. 

And he never saw the dress, and he probably never would.

Part 2 🥜

[pandoraimperatrix]

hey Pandoraimperatix, my friend I would like to request sunflower Behave Yourself Make Me for Batcat and Violet Stop staring at me to distract me!" "Oh , I'm not staring to distract you ." for Dickkory.

Sorry for the huge delay, it has been busy lately.

We go back to the Titans AU that only exists in my heart in a time between season one and two in which Trigon is gone, but the core four + Jason are living together as a family and the rest of the adults Titans are... Dunno.

Beware, this is so sugary I’m now dependent of insulin.

--------

It started as a regular game night, and for the first two hours or so it really happened as it should.

Gar was in charge of food, so even though everything in the menu was vegetarian he managed to serve a delicious feast with plenty decadent deep fried snacks that Dick would never approve, there was no cauliflower pizza nonsense and frizzy drinks with real sugar in their composition among the diet options.

Rachel fixed the games, Gar offered, but she dismissed him saying that he had too much a niche taste and Jason would only pick the boring battle ones. Besides, she was better at guessing which kind of game would entertain their family without causing a horrible fight over whom was owing whom rent at monopoly or something.

Jason was in charge of music, because he was the only one of the whole team with a decent taste. Or that's what he claimed.

Dick and Kory were not allowed to have any say in the game night activities, the kids said they were merely invited to join. Dick, being true to his namesake wanted to forbid the whole thing, already thinking of all the many ways a night of fun and games could turn into chaos and disgrace. But when Rachel proposed it, she already expected that from him, and that’s why she asked him right after Kory’s morning flight, so when she entered the room, skin glowing fresh from a sunbath, he seemed to had lost the train of his thoughts, mumbling something incoherent, Rachel took that as a yes and ran with it.

But after all the food was gone the strangest thing started to happen. Stranger than Jason going to bed early instead of throwing a fit after losing three rounds or darts in a row. Dick was worried and even tried to talk to him, worried he was just self-isolating out of frustration, but when he went to the boy's room found him actually reading, that gave him a weird mix of surprise and bittersweet joy over his little brother's evolution. He was better now, and didn't need him as much.

But when he went back to the living room there was only Kory.

“Where are Gar and Rachel?”

Kory took a while to answer because she had just stuffed her mouth with a particular big deep fried veggie dumpling, Dick tried to not fixate too much on how plump and kissable her lips were, but he probably didn’t make a very good job. All those long acting classes with Alfred growing up and now, twenty years and an alien princess after, he suddenly couldn’t hide his feelings. Dishonour on him, dishonour on his bats.

“Could have asked you the same,” she said finally swallowing down, and now it was her elegant neck and the dark path to her cleavage that was catching his eyes. Damn, it should be worrisome how much pull she had over him. It was true that he had a past o falling in love with his female teammates and it usually ended badly, but there was something different about him and Kory. While with Dawn and Babs there was always the shadow of this other man he supposed to be, a better man, and the weight of the expectations he put on himself and that he felt at the time that his exes added to, crushed their relationship.

Kory… Well, even after meeting Bruce last time they went to Gotham to officialise Jason’s situation – and also a move orchestrated by Alfred to meet his new grandchildren – she didn’t change with him. Of course, she didn’t have years of indoctrinating to find Batman the most amazing man in existence,  but even after learning his status, and listening to stories about him, she didn’t look as impressed as people usually did. And for some crazy miracle, she was still very much interested in him, Dick, whom she already knew better than most people, maybe even better than Donna, and enough to know all his worst faults, enough to tell him he was being stupid when he let all his paranoia and inferiority complex make him act out. And she was still there, in love with him.

“Are they coming back? There’s still food.”

“Who’s to say?” she said in a nonchalant tone, as she picked the fallen darts from the floor.

He crossed his arms, eying her with amused suspicion.

“Miss Anders, what are you planning?”

“Me?” she asked over her shoulder. “Nothing at all,” and he didn’t believe a bit, but waited and she straighten up, turning back to face him. “But we don’t need the kids to have fun, do we?”

And he could have died right there, the last thing he’d see was the smile she was giving to him, his favourite, that was in equal measures playful, promising, innocent and very dirty. That picture alone with be worthier than any paradise.

Dick walked towards her, and positioned his body behind hers, framing her hips with his hands. “Depending of the type of fun you have in mind…” he said against her ear after pulling her hair aside.

Kory clicked her tongue in disapproval, but leaned back into him slightly, “Grayson, Grayson, what a naughty mind you have.” She prepared to throw a dart and recoiled when he kissed her neck. “I was merely trying to challenge you for a darts’ competition.”

“Yeah?”

She turned her face to look at him, her eyes glowing so green in the way he learned it meant she was getting aroused.

“Yes.”

Dick let her go and didn’t comment when she let out a disappointed sigh.

“I accept,” he took a sip of his own sugar free pop and regretted immediately because it became flat after being forgotten for so long, “what do I get when I win?”

“Cocky, aren’t we?”

“In time.”

She bended in half unable to hide her giggles.

“You are ridiculous.”

He just pouted.

Kory rolled her eyes in amusement, took a deep breath to calm herself and prepared to throw her first dart.

"Stop staring at me to distract me!" She complained.

"Oh, I'm not staring to distract you."

She threw it and it missed, badly. Dick pressed his lips but wasn’t able to hold his own laughter.

“That’s your fault!” her face was glowing golden, and Dick resented the fact they didn’t get to meet earlier, how had been Kory as a teenager? Was she easier to rile up back then? Nowadays, she was the coolest person he ever met, cooler than Bruce, than his uncle Clark. It was the rarest thing to see Kory act in a self-conscious way, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy this newfound power he had. The power to make Princess Koriand’r blush.

“I’ll be more careful now when you start throwing starbolts around from now on,” he teased.

“I’ll use you as my training target, then” was her comeback.

“I think I’ll be fine.”

She sighed and turned back to him, her hands on her hips.

“Why are you torturing me?”

He gave her his best kicked puppy look.

“We are here, all alone, and all you care about is some dumb game…”

Kory’s face broke in one of her full smiles and she threw the darts without even looking, all of them bull’s eye, and walked towards him, hugging him by the neck. 

“Awnnnn, is that it? Why didn’t you say earlier?”

He let go of his demure stance and in a display of his true intentions hoisted her up by her backside, Kory let out an elated exclamation and adjusted her arms grabbing his face and bringing their lips together.

“Hmm,” he made as she parted from his lips to let him breathe and spread kisses down his neck, “can we really? Won’t they come back?”

“Nah,” she said licking his ear, “I gave them money.”

“Not only she has a very good aim, but she’s also so smart,” he mumbled as he walked them to the sofa.

“Aren’t I a catch?” she said opening her legs to accommodate him after he lied her body on the cushions, and pushed his floppy hair back behind his ear, “aren’t you lucky?”

“The luckiest,” and he kissed her.

[mikauzoran]

Lukadrien: Your Hands Hold Home: Chapter Three

@lukadrien-june

Read it on AO3: Your Hands Hold Home: Chapter Three: Rival Musicians

Adrien received the shock of his life when he went up on deck to find Luka and Xavier-Yves Roth hanging out in the upstairs living room.

He froze in the doorway, trying to comprehend what was going on.

The last thing that Adrien knew, XY had stolen Kitty Section’s music and look and had tried to pass them off as his own. Seeing as this had ended in Luka’s akumatization, Adrien didn’t think that Luka was on speaking terms with the slightly older popstar.

…And yet, Luka and XY were lounging on the couch together, laughing as XY recounted some inane story about trying to find proper American varieties of cheese (like Velveeta and the eponymous “American Cheese”) in France.

“You do realize that those are crimes against the word ‘cheese’, don’t you?” Luka snickered, slumping back in exhaustion from laughing so hard.

XY turned, hooking his arm over the back of the couch. “You only say that because you haven’t had Velveeta before,” he scoffed with a playful smirk.

The bottom dropped out of Adrien’s stomach as XY leaned into Luka’s space and Luka didn’t so much as bat an eye.

“Next time I have you over, Six Strings, I’m gonna make nachos,” XY announced. “Then, you’ll see.”

Luka snorted, shaking his head fondly at XY’s antics. “You’d have to pay me to eat that.”

“Done and done,” Xavier-Yves crowed. “That new amp you’ve been eyeing is yours, and I’ll still let you eat as many nachos as you want.”

Luka cursed, giving XY’s arm a halfhearted shove. “That is completely unfair.”

“Serves you right for having a type,” XY preened.

Luka looked away and crossed his arms, blushing furiously as he sulked, “I do not have a type.”

XY rolled his eyes as he infringed even more on Luka’s personal space, teasing, “You totally have a type.”

Luka turned his head to rebuff Xavier-Yves’s claim only to stop short when he realized how close their faces were.

It felt like someone had punched through Adrien’s chest and now had their fist wrapped tightly around Adrien’s heart, squeezing it mercilessly.

He contemplated coming out of hiding and interrupting them.

Thankfully, XY’s phone did the dirty work for Adrien.

“Crap,” Xavier-Yves hissed, looking down at the caller ID. “It’s my dad. I’ve gotta go.”

“Text me later so we can figure out when you’re making nachos for me,” Luka instructed, bumping XY’s shoulder with his own.

XY quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Luka snickered. “I want that amp.”

XY rolled his eyes and punched Luka’s arm. “I’ll text you as soon as Dad’s done with me. It might be late.”

Luka shrugged. “Since when do I sleep?”

Xavier-Yves shook his head, grabbing his laptop off of the coffee table and getting up to go. “Check ya later.”

“Later,” Luka echoed, waving.

Adrien waited until the other blonde was out of sight before making his presence known. “Was that XY Roth just now?”

Luka jumped. “Oh. Hey. Adrien. Yeah, Xavier-Yves is a friend.”

Adrien arched an eyebrow as he took a seat on the couch next to Luka. “Really? When did that happen? I thought he was your nemesis or something after he and his dad stole your music.”

Luka burst out laughing.

At Adrien’s slightly hurt look, Luka rushed to explain, putting his hands up in a placating gesture. “Sorry. It’s just…that was almost five years ago. It seems like a different lifetime.”

Adrien chuckled bitterly, looking away. “Hn. Yeah.”

Luka winced. “Sorry.”

Adrien shook his head. “Don’t worry about it…. So…you and XY?”

“He showed up here one day about six months after The Incident, and he wanted me to show him how to love music,” Luka explained.

Adrien’s head whipped around, a look of befuddlement on his face. “He did what now?”

Luka shrugged, smiling sheepishly. “Maybe you’ve noticed, but his father, Bob Roth, is kind of an abusive, manipulative jerk. He treats Xavier-Yves really poorly, but Xavier-Yves isn’t willing to break things off because he loves his father.”

Adrien shifted uncomfortably at the pang of recognition he felt for XY’s family situation.

“Xavier-Yves used to do music because it was what his father wanted, and he wanted to make his father proud and happy. He didn’t used to love music himself,” Luka continued. “So, he showed up here, and he asked me to teach him how to love music…so I did.”

Adrien nodded. “You’re really amazing to be able to forgive and help someone who wronged you like that.”

“It wasn’t easy,” Luka snickered. “He’s kind of obnoxious until you get inoculated. For about a month, I wanted to slap him…but then I really got to know him…and now we’re friends.”

“Just friends?” Adrien pressed, even though he suspected the answer would hurt.

Luka’s brow scrunched together into a deep “v” of confusion. “Yes?”

“But you like him,” Adrien rebutted, gaze locked on a knot in the floorboard. “And he likes you.”

“No, no, no,” Luka laughed at the very idea. “No. Adrien, nothing romantic is going on between me and Xavier-Yves.”

Adrien took a chance and looked up, meeting Luka’s gaze. “But you two were flirting. He was all in your space, and you didn’t look like you minded at all. And wasn’t he about to kiss you at the end before his phone rang?”

Luka’s cheeks coloured in embarrassment as he scrubbed at his face with both hands. “Oh my gosh, no. That wasn’t… Adrien, you flirt with Nino, don’t you?”

Adrien blinked speechlessly as he considered this new evidence. “…I mean…yeah.”

“And you and Nino snuggle and get all in each other’s space, right?” Luka added, buttressing up his arguments.

“Yes,” Adrien admitted.

“Okay,” Luka sighed, running a hand through his hair. “So, think of it like that.”

Adrien bit his lip and considered. “…I mean…if you say so.”

Luka broke out in a startled laugh. “Someone doesn’t sound convinced…. Adrien…are you jealous?”

It was Adrien’s turn to blush as he asked, “Why would I be jealous?”

He mentally kicked himself because he knew he had no right to be jealous.

Just because Luka had been kind to him when Adrien was feeling vulnerable and taken care of him when Adrien couldn’t take care of himself, that didn’t give him the right to be possessive. He didn’t have a monopoly on Luka’s time or kindness or affections.

Luka deflated a little. “Right. Sorry. Stupid question. You’re right. There’s no reason for you to be jealous…. Xavier-Yves really is just a friend, though. We hang out, jam a little, watch dumb movies, talk…just as friends. Just like you and I do.”

Adrien nodded, still not persuaded.

Maybe Luka thought that there was nothing there, but Adrien had been oblivious to his own feelings too many times to take Luka at his word. There was definitely a spark between Luka and XY, whether Luka was aware of it or not.

“What did he mean when he said you have a type?” Adrien looked back at Luka.

This time it was Luka who looked away. “Oh. You know. He thinks I have a thing for blondes.”

More specifically, rich, pretty, sheltered blondes with daddy issues, but Luka would literally die before admitting that to Adrien because Xavier-Yves wasn’t wrong, and Luka would be a fool to risk messing up his friendship with Adrien by confessing his longstanding crush on him now.

Adrien’s brow crumpled into a frown. “But Marinette isn’t blonde.”

“Precisely,” Luka agreed, leaving out the fact that it was blonde men he had a thing for. “Thank you. So, you can just ignore Xavier-Yves because he’s, honestly, a total idiot.”

Adrien hummed thoughtfully, leaning back into the couch cushions. “He seems nice. You should introduce us. Maybe we can be friends.”

It would be good to get to know the competition, and, that way, he could perhaps monitor the evolving romantic situation between XY and Luka.

“Uh…sure,” Luka tentatively agreed, not certain that he wanted different parts of his life merging like that.

He mentally smacked himself because how selfish was he to deny Adrien the opportunity to make more friends? It was going to be hard on Adrien going forward, now that people primarily recognized him as “Papillon’s son”. Luka needed to put his own wants aside to be there for Adrien.

After all, he’d promised.

[litwitlady]

Monopoly

‘Monopoly?’ Alex looks at him dubiously.

‘Yes, Monopoly. And I get to be the banker.’ Michael drops the game onto Alex’s dining room table and smirks at him. ‘Game night was your idea.’

‘I was thinking more along the lines of strip poker, not a game that involves so much math.’ Alex suddenly frowns. ‘Which is why you chose it because you’ll win easily.’

‘Poker is also just math. And while strip poker sounds incredibly enticing, that’s not the point of game night.’ He sits in the chair opposite Alex and shakes the top loose from the Monopoly box. 

One week ago, they’d both spent Friday evening at the Pony, tucked away together at the end of the bar. Talking about anything and everything under the moon. Catching up on what they’d missed the four months Alex had tried dating Forrest. In all those hours, they never noticed Maria refilling their drinks or Liz patting them on the shoulder in hello. They didn’t hear last call and had no idea the bar was closed until Maria dropped her keys loudly on the bartop between them, making them promise to lock up after themselves. When the sun had finally started to rise, neither had wanted to say goodbye so Alex had volunteered his house for game night the next Friday evening.

And now Friday has arrived. Alex reaches over the table and snatches the shoe token. Michael raises an eyebrow at him but says nothing, taking the dog for himself. He rolls the dice with his mind and gets a six. Alex gets an eight and pumps his fist in celebration while Michael tries to hide the grin threatening his lips.

‘Let’s make the game more interesting, shall we?’ Michael leans back in his seat, arm extended across the chair next to him.

‘Strip Monopoly?’ Alex doesn’t bother hiding his own grin.

Rolling his eyes, Michael places both their pieces on the board and deals out their allotted starting cash. ‘We’re keeping our clothes on. But we can still get naked. For every hotel you buy, you have to share a truth with me at the end of the game. And vice versa.

‘A truth?’ Alex is back to looking at him dubiously.

‘Yeah. Something you want me to know. Could be anything, doesn’t matter. Just has to be true.’ They stare at each other for a long minute before Alex nods.

The game begins. They play until 3 am and it’s no surprise that Michael ends up with five hotels to Alex’s three. It’s also no surprise that Michael wins and doesn’t even bother to gloat about it. Alex pretends not to be infuriated.

Even though it’s late, they both grab a fresh beer to play out the next part of their game. Michael pops both the caps on their bottles and smiles at Alex. ‘Losers first.’

‘All three?’ He squirms in his chair, already uncomfortable.

‘All three.’ Michael would be lying if he said he wasn’t also nervous.

Alex takes several long sips from his beer and narrows his eyes at Michael. ‘Okay, first one. I’ll start obvious. You’re much, much better in bed than Forrest.’

Michael doesn’t even bat an eye.

‘Two. I have an entire notebook of songs I wrote for you while overseas. Songs from all three tours.’ Alex darts his eyes away at first, but slowly drags them back. Michael smiles at him in reward. 

‘Three.’ He pauses because there’s a lot he could say. There’s stay the night. There’s I miss you. There’s I love you, I love you, I love you. But he chooses something different. ‘I want you. I want you here with me in this life forever.’

Silence settles across the table in the wake of Alex’s final truth. Michael waits for their racing hearts to rest before continuing.

Their gazes stay firmly locked together as Michael begins his own list. ‘One. I knew about the notebook.’ Alex shakes his head in mock exasperation. ‘Two. The day you left for basic I broke myself free from lockup and watched you board the bus from the parking lot.’

Alex’s whole face shifts, closing in on itself while he blinks rapidly at Michael’s admission. ‘Why didn’t you say something?’

‘I did. You just didn’t hear it.’ He gulps at his beer.

‘Michael?’ Alex’s eyes are wide and questioning. 

‘Three. You’ve hurt me before and I’m afraid you’ll hurt me again.’ Alex’s face softens and he gently nods his head. ‘Four. I only want to be friends right now. And maybe for a long time.’ Alex reaches across the table and Michael takes his hand. ‘Five. But I want you too. I want you here with me in this life forever. I just want us to take our time.'

Eventually, they let go of each other’s hands and put away the board game. There’s a new layer of comfort that’s seeped between them. One that’s never been there before in all their many, many years of each other. 

Alex walks Michael to his truck. ‘Next week, Scrabble. I can’t lose twice in a row.’

They both laugh and Michael leans in to kiss him on the cheek. ‘I’ll bring takeout. But don’t get too cocky. Max made me read all that Russian literature once upon a time.’ 

Alex groans as he wraps his arms around Michael’s neck, allowing himself to weave his fingers through Michael’s hair one time before he leaves. ‘See you next week.’

They pull apart and Michael climbs inside the Chevy. Reaching out with his telekinesis, he pushes lightly on Alex’s chest. Alex lifts his hand to the newly warm spot over his heart and waves goodbye.

[thoughtsaboutshows]

"I though you loved me.” “Get over it, it’s just monopoly.”

Post Part-4 Witchy AU 

“So we’re set for Saturday then?”  Sabrina asked Roz as she pulled her history book out of her locker.  For Sabrina, the first class of the day was boring and wildly inaccurate.  And the annoyance had only gotten worse when Nick Scratch started attending Baxter High and began whispering to her under his breath just how much mortals got history wrong.  He’d nearly gotten them in trouble multiple times but Nick smirked and charmed them out of it, typically earning a smack from Sabrina to which he just smirked more.

“Yup!”  Roz confirmed, leaning against the locker next to Sabrina’s.  “Theo’s gonna stop at Dr. Cee’s to pick up food, Harvey will grab drinks out of his Father’s no longer in use liquor cabinet, and I will bring the music.”  

“And I got the games and location!”  Sabrina nodded as she closed her locker door.  She should have known she was about to yelp in shock when Roz pressed her lips together to suppress a laugh and looked down.  But she’d realized it too late and suddenly she was squealing in surprise as a steady pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind, lifting her up.  A pair of warm lips pressed to her cheek and she giggled on instinct, praying his lips didn’t travel further as no one needed to hear the noises he’d draw if he reached her neck. 

“Nick!  Put me down!”  Sabrina cried, smiling wide as  Nick nuzzled his nose in her hair.  She had used her rose shampoo that morning and was one of Nick’s favorites.  It reminded him of walking through the woods with her.  Or perhaps the real reason why was because she sometimes let him massage it into her hair when they showered together.  Roz waved and scurried away in search of Harvey as Sabrina was obviously distracted by her warlock boyfriend wrapping her in his arms.  Roz didn’t mind, enjoying the beaming smile that was plastered on Sabrina’s face ever since the two had reconciled.  

“Fine.”  Nick said as he set her back on her feet.  But she still felt his sly grin on her face and his arms around her waist, despite the fact that she was on solid ground.  “But, babe, if you think I’m letting you go, you’re crazy.” 

“Nick…”  Sabrina breathed out as his lips reached the spot below her ear, and she knew she had to halt the breaks or they’d both get written up for indecency in the hallway.  So she turned in his arms instead and pulled him close so her back was against her locker and he was cradling her in his grasp.  She reached up and brushed away a curl and then grazed his cheek with her painted nails, perfectly aware of the hypocrisy of her next statement.  “Why so touchy this morning?”  

“Well someone sent me back to the Academy last night so I didn’t get to wake up with my girlfriend.”  Nick narrowed her eyes at her, only slightly faking his annoyance.  She rolled her eyes at his pouting and moved her hand to massage his brow, trying to get the furrow to un-crease.  

“Come on, you know why I did that.”  Sabrina said biting back a laugh at the way his pout only seemed to grow when she tilted her head and explained.  “It was one night, Nick.  We’ve hardly spent a night apart since-”

“Since you came back from the dead.”  Nick finished for her with a more intentional tone and took a slight step closer when he saw the way she cringed at his words.  When she wouldn’t meet his eyes he sighed and tilted her chin up with his finger, brushing her bottom lip and preventing her from biting on it like she so often did when upset.  “Spellman, I’m sorry.  I don’t mean to keep you all to myself it’s just that...”  She blinked at him a few times and didn’t try to stop a tear from falling down her cheek.  Nick didn’t hesitate to wipe it away with his thumb, but he wouldn’t let his own tears fall.  Not here in the halls of Baxter High, that was meant for the safety of Sabrina’s bedroom.  “It’s hard for me to accept sometimes that you’re actually here.  That you’re not going to slip through my fingers again.”  

“Nick.”  Sabrina didn’t care what anyone would think at that moment.  She placed her warm hand on the back of Nick’s neck and brought his face down to hers and pressed their foreheads together.  He sighed into the touch, remembering how cold her hands had been when she’d died.  “I know it’s a lot to wrap our heads around.  Me dying and Hecate bringing me back.  I remember what it was like when you were in Hell and…”  Sabrina swallowed down the crushing pain of when she had to hand Nick over to Lilith.   “And I don’t want to be separated from you either.  But when you lost me, my family did too.”  She paused again and gave him her puppy dog eyes, the same one she sent his way when she’d convinced him her party at the mortuary was a good idea.  “And last night Ambrose and I needed a cousin night.”  

“Sabrina, I’m not upset you sent me away to hang with Ambrose.”  Nick grumbled and Sabrina giggled in response, sneaking a kiss on his cheek.  

“Then what are you upset about, Nicholas?”  Sabrina wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer as his hands went to her waist.  He looked down and shook his head, giving in eventually and meeting her eyes.  She was biting her lip, not in a worried way, but in a way that knew she was about to get exactly what she wanted.  The smile he gave her was adorable and one only she got to see.

“I just missed you is all.”  He shrugged and picked at her jacket.  He didn’t expect her to kiss him, but when she leaned up just a little bit and pressed her ruby red lips to his he couldn’t help but respond.  Kissing him randomly whenever she pleased cemented even further that she was here.  When the bell rang they broke apart, still breathing heavy despite the fact they’d kept the kiss PG-13.

“I missed you too, Scratch.”  She wiped her lipstick off of his lips before grabbing his hand and pulling him to first period.  “And you can stay over tonight.  And after game night Saturday.”  

“Well obviously I’m doing that, Spellman.”  He lifted their hands to his mouth and brushed hit against his lips.  “I have some games planned of my own.”

                            -

Nick sighed as he dug into more of the chili fries and leaned against the foot of the couch.  He, Sabrina and her friends had just finished a game of Sorry and somehow Harvey had managed to knock him back to the beginning four times.  He didn’t take it personally, but didn’t rule out hexing him in the near future.  Thankfully Robin ended up winning and Nick didn’t even try to hide his smile when Harvey huffed in annoyance.  Earlier they’d played Yahtzee and the mortals had made Nick, Sabrina, and Roz swear they wouldn’t charm the dice.  Nick was tempted but played fair.  And Sabrina didn’t even cross her fingers, but she won anyways. 

Sabrina dropped the final board game box on the floor and Nick turned his head to the side, slightly perplexed.  

“And now, the pièce de résistance, Monopoly.”  Sabrina smirked and plopped back on the ground next to Nick and placed her hand on his knee.  She turned to him to explain.  “This ones all about buying properties, building houses and hotels, and basically just taking everyone’s money.”

“And this one is way too good at it.”  Theo said as he pointed his finger at Sabrina.  She wrinkled her nose in response and leaned further into Nick who gazed at her adoringly.  

“Oh yeah?”  Nick wrapped his arm around her waist tighter and jostled her.  “You’re a Moneypoly master?”  

“Monopoly Nick.”  Sabrina laughed before ruffling his hair.  “And yes.  I win every time.” 

“She’s not even exaggerating either.”  Roz pointed out before taking a sip of her drink.  “She either wins or she gets so ahead that we all just quit.”  

“Well I just so happen to be very good at property acquisition.  I’ve been in charge of the Scratch Family assets for years.”  Nick teased, directly to Sabrina as she leaned in and brushed his nose with hers. 

“It’s more than just property acquisition, Scratch.  It’s also about luck.” 

“I also happen to know I’m extremely lucky.”  He was closer to her now, and they were both caught up in it.  Neither noticed the groans and whistles from their friends when Nick weaved his hand in her hair and pulled her in for a kiss.  

“We’ll see about that.”  Sabrina retorted with a wink when she pulled back, pecking his lips one more time before opening the box and beginning to explain the rules.  Nick hung on her every word, keeping his eyes on her lips as she enthusiastically explained each pawn and claiming the dog as her own.  Salem meowed in disagreement with that. And when she shrugged her familiar off he jumped into Nick’s lap, seeking affection from him.  

Nick caught on quick, getting himself out of jail right away every time.  Meanwhile Sabrina hadn’t managed to get any properties of quality and landed on the tax square one too many times.  

In the end, Nick had hotels on both Park Place and Boardwalk and their friends started to go bankrupt one by one.  Harvey was the first to go, having spent most of his money on buying houses on his properties so he had no money left when he landed on Nick’s spaces.  Roz and Robin went next, leaving Theo and Sabrina to take Nick down.  Theo gave up after landing on both expensive pieces of real estate, and Sabrina grew more determined by the second.  

No one had ever beaten her in Monopoly before, not even Ambrose and not even when he’d charmed the board.  Sabrina had just undone the magic and dumped her glass of chocolate milk on him.  She was seven at the time. 

She had been through a lot in her sixteenth year, but nothing prepared her for the dread and rage that fueled her celestial blood when she landed on Park Place, and knew she did not have enough money to pay.  Nick had been wearing his signature smirk all game, but it had reached a whole new level when he realized he was about to win.  Their friends noticed what happened too, and were quick to egg her on and cheer for Nick.  Sabrina was drinking wine now and came very close to dumping it on them all. 

“Come on, Nick.  You can give me a discount.”  Sabrina batted her eyelashes at him and traced his jaw with her fingers.  She’d been bartering with him for the past few minutes and decided to change tactics, knowing he struggled to resist her.  

“Rules are rules, Spellman.”  Nick smacked his lips and shook his head, making her hand fall away from his face.  “No discounts allowed.  You told me so when I tried to negotiate with Roz.”

“But I have something you really really want.”  She narrowed her eyes at him and slid her hand up his thigh.  He did his best to not let on how affected he was by her hand movements, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart.  She didn’t care that her friends were right there.  She simply wanted to win.

“And I really really want to win this game of Monopoly.”  Sabrina scrunched her nose when she realized he wasn’t giving in.  He kissed it to prove his point before holding out his hand, palm up.  “Fork over the cash, Spellman or declare bankruptcy.”  

“You know I don’t have the money, Nick.”  Sabrina narrowed her eyes, voice dripping in annoyance.  

“Well then.”  He brushed a curl back and she smacked his hand away.  “I win.” 

Sabrina’s friends cheered and Sabrina leaned her head back and covered her face with her hands, still refusing to accept her defeat verbally.  

"Ugh. I thought you loved me, Nicholas.” 

“Get over it, it’s just monopoly, Spellman.”  He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her hair before whispering in her ear.  “And get over me later.” 

His husky voice made her blush and blood run hot despite how frustrated she was at losing to him.

“Okay well this was fun guys!”  Sabrina bolted from his side and stood up, beginning to clean up.  She ignored Nick’s smug look, knowing that it seemed like she was kicking them out so she could bring Nick upstairs.  And if she was honest?  That was exactly what she was doing.    

“Thanks for having all of us, Brina.”  Theo said as he hugged her goodbye.  Sabrina hugged the rest of her friends too while Nick waved his hands to pack all the board games up.  They both waved them off from the porch and when they drove away and their taillights were out of view, Nick turned to her.

“Sooo, Spellman.”  She pressed her lips together and turned to him, raising her eyebrows in his direction.  “You up for another round?”

“You think I’m gonna sleep with you after you crushed me in Monopoly?”  

“Sabrina!” Nick mock scoffed and pressed his hand to his chest.  “I meant a game.  Who do you take me for?” 

“Someone who’s gonna spend another night at the Academy if he isn’t careful.”  Sabrina crossed her hands and smirked at him, enjoying how his eyes lost their playful glint and went dark. 

“You wouldn’t dare, Spellman.”  He stepped closer to her and grabbed her waist and pinned her to the railing, similar to how he had her pressed against the lockers a few days ago.  

“Well I don’t know, Nicholas.”  Sabrina shrugged and pretended to consider sending him away.  “What’s your offer?”

“My offer?  It’s simple, Sabrina.”  He raised his eyebrows and leaned close to her ear whispering everything he wanted to do to her, making promises that made her toes curl just thinking about it.  Images of him between her legs flooded her brain as her eyes fluttered and rolled into the back of her head.  She was grateful the rest of her family were gone for the night as it seemed Nick had plenty in store for the two of them. 

“Nick…”  She barely got out with her exhale as he nibbled on her ear.  “I accept.  Take me upstairs.  Now.”  

Nick wasted no time, teleporting them to her room and tossing her to the bed.  She was frustrated from losing the game and from the way Nick was staring at her.  She’d never admit it to him, but she found the way he’d immersed himself into a mortal board game incredibly sexy.  

After kissing her soundly on the mouth and starting the trail down lower he paused. 

“I can stay right?”  His hair was already messy and he was panting, breathing heavy.  She brushed his hair back and he nearly whimpered at the intimacy of it. 

“Oh you’re not going anywhere.”  She winked at him before pushing his head back to her body.  She may have lost monopoly, but right now she was the winner. 

[smells-like-mettaton]

Rating: G

Summary:  Papyrus's New Year's resolutions include: trying new fashion choices, helping his brother talk about his feelings, keeping his friends from murdering each other over Monopoly, and admitting his crush on Mettaton.

Word Count:  4333

XXX

“Hmmm… I feel a little… nervous.”  Papyrus tugged at the end of his shirt.  His very long, very tight shirt.  That aspect felt more embarrassing than the fact that Mettaton’s face was cross-stitched into it.  “This outfit is very different from my battle body.”

Sans blinked.  His grin stayed tight, but still not as tight as this strange shirt.  The red-and-pink fabric clung to the invisible magic that filled out his form.  His usual crop tops covered just his ribcage, but this full-length shirt… it showed his abs.  A full six pack of them.  It was weird.  

Of course, he knew that if he had physical muscles, he would surely have such a buff physique.  A skeleton’s clothed form was based on their perception of their true self, after all.  Sans was lazy and round.  Papyrus trained daily, and his magic chiseled his form to show it.

He just hoped he didn’t look too chiseled.  He didn’t want to intimidate anyone with his handsome figure.  Though… perhaps a certain robot wouldn’t mind...

“You don’t have to wear it, bro.  I’m sure the bucket of bolts will understand.”

No.  No, the ‘bucket of bolts,” the fabulous Mettaton himself, would not understand.  He would wonder why Papyrus didn’t wear his Christmas gift to the New Year’s Eve party.  And then Mettaton would never believe how much Papyrus cared for him…

“No!  Change can be refreshing.  New year, new fashion!  Yeah!!!”

“...Alright.”  Sans shrugged.  

He wouldn’t understand.  He was wearing the same dingey hoodie he’d worn every day in the underground.  At least it smelled a little better now that Toriel was around to occasionally wrangle it off of him and throw it in the wash.  (Sans always complained, but Papyrus had caught him sniffing it and smiling dreamily each time.)

“You could stand to freshen up too, you know!  Don’t you want to impress Miss Toriel?  HMM??”

He elbowed his brother in the ribs (nyeh heh) but it wasn’t as effective as usual.  This shirt had long sleeves, which left Papyrus’s arms looking more filled-out than in his battle body.  And thus, his elbow had less boney-nudging power.

“Hey.  Don’t try to jack-et up my style. ‘Sides, if Tori didn’t like the hoodie, it hood have ended up in the garbage ages ago.”

“Oh my gosh!!! Both of you belong in the garbage then!”

“Only if you’re there too, bro.”  Sans winked.  “Come on, I think we’re late enough to make an entrance.  I know a—”

“Geez, Sans, I know you can teleport.  You don’t have to be dramatic about it!”

Sans’s browbones scrunched.  “You really are nervous, huh?  It’s gonna be fine, bro.  You’re gonna knock that robot’s socks off.  Y’know, if he had socks.”

Sweat beaded on Papyrus’s forehead.  He wasn’t surprised that Sans had guessed the source of his anxiety, but that didn’t mean he had to admit it.

“N-no I’m not nervous!  It’s just… hot in here!  Let’s take that shortcut and hope that Miss Toriel has been banned from the celebratory cider!”

“Yeah, it’d be a shame to have to lock her in her own garage this time…”

Sans casually slipped his arm through Papyrus’s and led them towards the bathroom.  Of course, when Papyrus blinked at the entryway, they were suddenly walking through the tall doorframe into Toriel’s living room.

It wasn’t covered in Mew Mew- or Mettaton-bits.  That was a good sign—Papyrus would’ve hated to miss a live chainsaw fight again.  At the Gyftmas party, he’d been too busy wrangling Toriel to watch.

Sound always took a second to catch up with Sans’s shortcuts, so Papyrus felt Undyne’s smack on his back before he heard her.

“ACK!”  He jumped before attempting to cover it with a cough.  Undyne laughed.

“Dude, I know you don’t have to breathe!  You can’t fool me!”

“It was a courtesy scream! Of greeting!  Because I know how much you love to be intimidating!!”

“Heck yeah I do!  Thanks, Papyrus!”  She slugged him again for good measure, this time on the shoulder.  It felt weird, with his bones covered in layers of protective magic and fabric.  “Lookin’ good, by the way!  I haven’t seen you in a full shirt in… geez, has it been a year?  I almost didn’t recognize you!”

He tugged at his collar, though it wouldn’t keep him from sweating.  Toriel kept her house cool, at least.  Probably because she was covered in fur.

“I know, I know.  It still feels unseemly for a royal mascot to be seen out of uniform…”

“Nah, it’s all good!  I’m sure all the monsters with two good eyes won’t have a problem recognizing the Great Papyrus.”

He felt his cheeks warm.  “Nyeh heh... heh… so it doesn’t look weird?  Sans said it was fine, but you know Sans… he only wears the same smelly outfit, day in and day out!  I can’t trust his fashion sense.”

“Then trust me.  I practically invented fashion!  Like, if you replaced Mettaton’s face with… a spear!  Or an anime princess with a sword!  IT WOULD INSPIRE FEAR INTO THE HEARTS OF YOUR ENEMIES!”

Papyrus hunched his shoulders and scratched the back of his neck.  At least the shirt didn’t have a high collar, so he could still feel the tips of his vertebrae.  

“I’m not sure fear is the emotion I am going for.  Perhaps… grandeur?  Or even… admiration??”  His skull heated a bit more.  Oh, he hoped his cheekbones weren’t stained pink.  He hadn’t intended to keep his feelings from his best friend… but Undyne and Mettaton butted heads so often.  He just wanted everyone to be friends!  

Especially his best friend and the robot he maybe-sort-of had a crush on!

Undyne took a step back, squinting at him with her one good eye.  Darn it, she was so perceptive!

“B-but I didn’t say it was romantic admiration!”  Papyrus clarified.  “It is—”

“OH MY GOSH!!”  Undyne interrupted, her voice echoing over the human program Toriel had on TV.  “YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON—?”

“SHHHH!”  He slapped her hands over her mouth.  She batted at them with her face-fins, her muffled shouting seeping through his gloves.

Eventually she quieted.  Probably because the whole room was staring at them.  Sans and Toriel on the couch, Frisk squished between them.  Flowey on the windowsill, leaves crossed and faking disinterest.  Alphys with wide eyes, as if predicting what Undyne was about to shout.  And Napstablook, Mew Mew, and…

Mettaton.

Papyrus didn’t need to gulp.  He did anyway.

“DARLING!”  Mettaton spread his arms wide as he strutted towards Papyrus.  His heeled boots somehow made a loud CLICK-CLICK-CLICK, even though the living room’s floor was carpeted. “Oh, you look wonderful!  Positively ravishing!”

He stopped at arms’ length, then scanned Papyrus up and down.  It felt like his robot vision could see right through him.  Not that there was much to see—just normal bones.  It was still rattling regardless.

“Th-thank you!  The Great Papyrus strives to always be ready to be ravished!”

Sans spit out his drink.  Thankfully it was just water, and not anything more intoxicating.  With Frisk present, adult drinks would be off-limits.

But it still left a puddle on the floor, and wet bubbles gurgling out of Sans’s eyesockets.

“Oh dear.” Toriel bit back a giggle. “Frisk, do you mind getting your dunkle a towel?”

Frisk nodded eagerly, shooting Papyrus a wink before scampering off to the kitchen.  Double dang it.  Even Frisk could see right through him!  Of course, Frisk was a master of flirtation, even if none of it had wooed Papyrus in the end.  Perhaps the child could help him… if he survived this current encounter. 

He straightened his spine.  He was the Great Papyrus, and he would not be intimidated by a soul-fluttering crush.

“I um—I mean—”

Undyne pushed in front of him before he could come up with a super-effective conversation saver.

“Dude, you got Papyrus a shirt with your face on it?  Why didn’t you pick out something cool?”

“Please.” Mettaton snorted, even though he also didn’t need to breathe.  (They had so much in common!!) “You’d have me embroider your human cartoons instead, wouldn’t you?”

“Uh, YEAH!”  Undyne was one of the few monsters who could almost match Mettaton in height, and she made use of that fact.  Their noses—er, Mettaton’s nose and where Undyne’s nose would be—were nearly touching.  Papyrus wished that meant they were about to hug and make up, but Undyne always kept her friends close and her enemies closer.  She’d be more likely to strangle the robot than hug him.

Alphys hovered near her girlfriend, but her stammering was too quiet to break up the intense glare-off.  That was too bad; Alphys was the one person who was beloved by both Undyne and Mettaton.

“You care about Papyrus, right?  Don’t you want him to look as cool as possible?” Undyne continued.

“Of course I do.”  Mettaton nudged her back with one gloved finger.  “Papyrus is the very epitome of cool. And thus, the only accessory that could possibly accentuate his natural style is my face.”

Papyrus blinked.  Maybe Alphys wasn’t the only person Undyne and Mettaton both respected.

“WOWIE!! You… think I’m that cool?”

“Oh, don’t sound so surprised, darling.  I don’t cross-stitch for just anyone.”  Mettaton winked—or maybe it was just a blink; his bangs covered the other half of his face—and then turned on his heel.  “You may join Mew Mew, Blooky, and I in the kitchen if you’d like. Mew is absolutely desperate to be crushed at Monopoly.”

“HEY!  YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S GONNA GET CRUSHED, METTA-LOSER!”

Mettaton rolled his eyes.  “Seriously.  What is the point of an insult if it doesn’t include at least one clever pun?  No class whatsoever.”

“Exactly!”  Papyrus agreed.  

“Hey, Me and Al want in on some metal butt crushing!”  Undyne bent down and seized her girlfriend in a headlock, making Alphys’s face burn red.  Papyrus wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or lack of oxygen, since that was her natural state around Undyne anyway.

“W-well, a-as long as all c-crushing is metaphorical…”

“Darling, the only Metta-phorical thing at this party is me.”

“UGH!!  Papyrus, how can you hate Sans’s puns and put up with this?” Undyne threw her arms in the air, which had the side effect of releasing Alphys.  “Come on, babe, I’m gonna need you to come up with our battle strategy!”

“Umm, you do know that Monopoly isn’t a fighting game, right…?”

Mettaton, Undyne, and Alphys all trailed into the kitchen with various levels of excitement.  Papyrus was about to follow them when he caught Sans staring again.  

Frisk was wiping his face with a snail-embroidered dish towel.  His brother didn’t even blink, and his eyelights had gone oddly dim.

“Brother?  Are you alright?”  Papyrus leaned over the armrest and said in as quiet a voice as he could manage.  “Did you want to play Monopoly too?  You can be on my team!”

“Nah, it’s all good. I think Tori, Frisk, and I are gonna play Uno.  It’s a lot easier for a lazybones like me.”  He winked, but Papyrus wasn’t fooled.

“Sans.  You made a New Year’s resolution to be more honest about your feelings.  As is the time-honored tradition, you must keep your promise or risk a year’s worth of bad luck!”

Toriel and Frisk shared a glance.  Had they seriously not heard of this tradition?  Frisk had an excuse, being both a human and a child, but Toriel was hundreds of years old!  

“Uh. Bro. I didn’t make any kinda resolution like that.”

“I know!  You were too busy boondoggling, so I made it for you!”  Papyrus grinned.  “It’s already written on the refrigerator at home, so don’t even try to get out of it.”

Sans let out a long breath through his nasal cavity.  His smile looked strained.

“Alright.  You’re always better at comin’ up with that kinda stuff than me, anyway.  But it’s no big deal this time.  Really.  I’ll tell ya after your Monopoly game.”

Papyrus’s browbone furrowed.  “Okay… but Toriel and Frisk are my witnesses!  You can’t wriggle out of it this time!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, bro.”

After one last knowing look, Papyrus left him in the living room.  Perhaps he just wanted some alone time with Toriel, but that look… it had definitely been focused on Papyrus.  He wasn’t so smitten by Mettaton’s charms to ignore that.

But Papyrus trusted his brother.  And he trusted his own ability to pin Sans down by his gross hoodie until he got answers, if necessary.

“I hope you guys saved me the car!” Papyrus called as he plopped down at the kitchen table.  

The empty seat just happened to be next to Mettaton.  Had Undyne been wingmanning… (wingwomaning… finwomaning…?) for him already?  Maybe he should’ve revealed his crush earlier.  Her letter had managed to woo Alphys, after all.

“Oh no…” Napstablook said quietly. “We, umm, didn’t bring that Monopoly…”

“We brought Monster Monopoly!” Mew Mew brushed her hair out of her face with a paw.  “It’s way cooler, mew~”

“It’s, umm, a-actually… Pocket Monster Monopoly, if we’re being specific,” Alphys said from her spot in Undyne’s lap.  

“POKEMON!” Undyne grinned.  “You remember watching Pokemon with me and Al, right, Papyrus?  There was the epic fight between the Charizards, and then there was the lab that got Alphys all spooked, and then Ash got turned into a rock and you started crying—”

“I remember!”  Papyrus cut her off.  Not because he was embarrassed—it had been perfectly reasonable to cry when the human was resurrected by the love of the strange monsters.  But Alphys might not want to think about the anime lab that had been reminiscent of her old home.

“Great!  Then pick your mon!”  Undyne reached around Alphys to push the two remaining pieces towards him.  

One was an orange lizard Pokemon with flames on its tail.  Was that Charizard? Papyrus had expected Undyne to pick that one, but she’d chosen a blue turtle-looking Pokemon with canons coming from its back.  Alphys had presumably let her pick, or else they would’ve had the round pink Pokemon.  Mettaton had chosen that one, and was cooing it it as he balanced it on his fingertip.

The other available option was Pikachu.  Everyone liked Pikachu.  Papyrus set that figure on the starting square.

“Excellent choice, darling.  Now it’s time for the real show!”

The real show turned out to be a three-hour long battle royale.  Despite Alphys’s insistence that Monopoly wasn’t a fighting game, the board game was interrupted by three and a half chainsaw battles.  Two of those were stopped by Toriel entering with slices of pie and fistfuls of fire magic, respectively.  The other two were settled by Sans distracting Mettaton with bad puns, and flashing his blue eye socket.  Drama queen.  It worked though, startling Mettaton and Mew Mew into calling a draw.

“Not that it matters, since Al and I are winning anyway!”  Undyne grinned, stacking her paper cash into a tall tower.  “I’d like to see your MTT-brand resort come back from that!”

It was true.  If anything, Mettaton and Mew Mew were battling for last place.  Each of them only held a few mortgaged properties to their name, while Team Shellshock (as Undyne named her and Alphys’s duo) had racked up monopolies on the two highest-priced sides of the board.  Napstablook had owned the two purple spaces at the beginning of the board, until all the fighting drove them to vanish into the ground.  They later reappeared the living room, chatting quietly with Toriel, Frisk, and Sans, and occasionally calling out “Oooo-no.”  Papyrus wondered how he was playing the card game with no arms.

Papyrus himself was rather satisfied with owning the orange properties before Free Parking.  His stacks of houses caught the other players as they escaped from jail. Plus, Tangela and Victreebel were rather cute.

“Do you hear her, Papyrus?” Mettaton raised the back of his hand to his forehead and leaned dramatically into Papyrus’s space.  “Insulting my brand when she hasn’t even had the nerve to duel me!  Of course, I would have to show her mercy, on account of her being Alphys’s one true love.”

“You? Show ME mercy??” Undyne stood abruptly, accidentally dumping Alphys onto the floor.  “Oh, uh. Sorry babe.”

“I’m used to it…” Alphys muttered.  “Maybe I should just stay down here…”

“No!  No more fighting!  The Great Papyrus will not allow this lighthearted board game to devolve into yet another brawl!” Besides, he really did not want to find out what Sans would do if the others caused any more damage to Toriel’s house.  The scorch marks on the tile would already take hours to buff out.

“Very well, darling.  I’ve showed off all of my moves for the night, anyway.  I wouldn’t want to let my performance go stale.”

“Oh, like it wasn’t stale to begin with,” Mew Mew said.  Mettaton glared at her before—to Papyrus’s surprise—the robot rested his head on Papyrus’s shoulder.

“Wake me up when Mew comes up with some more original material.”  His metallic eyelids slid closed.

“It’s Mewtwo to you, bolts for brains!”  Mew Mew pointed to her character, the purple Pokemon from the movie.  

She’d landed on Alphys and Undyne’s Nidoking space again, but neither of the girls seemed to notice.  Undyne because she was busy snapping a not-so-discreet photo of Mettaton on Papyrus’s shoulder, and Alphys because she was still under the table.

In response, Mettaton just started emitting tiny Zs.  Papyrus was careful not to move and possibly disturb him, even though his bones wanted to rattle with nervous energy.  No one had ever slept on his shoulder before, let alone a handsome robot.  Normally he was simply too bony to be comfortable.

Maybe this new shirt would have to become a permanent part of his wardrobe.

“Enough. ENOUGH. ENOUGH!!!  I refuse to play under these conditions any longer!!” Mew Mew shoved herself back from the table.  Her tail lashed back and forth, and the bells in her hair jingled angrily.

“Mewtwo—” Papyrus called, but she was already in the living room, opening the door to leave.  He sighed.  Why was it so difficult to be friends with everyone…?

“Oh!  Uh, h-hi, Asgore!”  Mew Mew’s voice was suddenly respectful.

Asgore?  Papyrus had thought he wasn’t invited, since the party was at Toriel’s house.  He tried to crane his neck to check on Miss Toriel, but couldn’t turn far enough with Mettaton’s weight on him.  Well, Sans and Frisk would surely be there with her.  Hopefully with enough moral support, the two Dreemurrs could get along.

If not, they probably couldn’t do much more damage than Mew Mew and Mettaton already had with their chainsaws.

“He made it!”  Undyne grinned toothily before throwing Alphys over her shoulder and jogging to join them in the living room.

Which left only Papyrus and Mettaton in the kitchen.  Alone.

Stars, he hoped Mettaton couldn’t tell how sweaty he was.

“Finally,” Mettaton murmured, wrapping his arm around Papyrus’s not-bicep. “As much as I adore the spotlight, every star needs a moment to regain their shine.”

Papyrus blinked.  Mettaton’s fingers tap-tap-tapped over his sleeve, a rhythm that was both comforting and baffling.  What was he doing?  Had he been faking sleep this whole time?

“I… are you alright, Mettaton?” He settled for asking.

“Oh my.  I am being awfully forward, aren’t I?”  He let go of Papyrus’s arm, but still left his head resting on his shoulder.  His dark hair obscured his eyes from Papyrus’s angle.  “This… isn’t something I’m used to, you know.”

Papyrus cleared his throat.  “I, the Great Papyrus, know many things!  But you will have to be more specific.”

Mettaton chuckled.  “Very well.  I am not used to cuddling with such a sweet, sincere, and devilishly handsome skeleton.”

His jaw dropped.  Literally.  It clinked off of Mettaton’s shoulder and landed in Papyrus’s lap.  He had to reattach it before he could ask the question that pounded in his soul.

“Are you… flirting with me?”  He didn’t have his dating handbook with him!  Or a plate of emergency spaghetti!! How was he supposed to secure Mettaton’s affections??

Though… Mettaton seemed affectionate enough already, without any of those things.  Could it be… that he just liked him?

“Finally!  I made a bet with Alphys on how long it would take you to notice.  The suspense was absolutely killing me, darling.  You do know how to create dramatic tension.”

“Mettaton.”  Papyrus scooted his chair back, leaving him space to grip Mettaton’s spiked shoulders.  “You… like me?  Romantically??”

Mettaton’s smoulder looked a little less confident than usual.  “Is that so surprising?  You’re the only one who shines as brightly as me.  Your energy… your passion… you give one hundred percent to everything you put your mind to.  That’s what makes a true star, darling.”

“Wowie…” Papyrus breathed.  His head felt like it was spinning.  Of course Mettaton, being an actor, would be good with words, but… these ones felt sincere. “Would you like to… maybe… go on a date??”

The robot blinked before shooting his signature dazzling smile.  “I thought you’d never ask, darling.”

“Are you two done flirting?”

Papyrus jumped at Frisk’s voice.  Their head had poked through the entrance of the kitchen.

“Of course not!  I, the Great Papyrus, have barely begun flirting!”  He puffed out his chest, and Mettaton laughed.

“Fabulous!  That’s the confidence I want to hear!  It’s no wonder you were able to help Alphys.”  Mettaton’s smile softened.  It was something Papyrus had never seen before, something that had certainly never been captured on film or broadcast on television.  He would like to save that smile forever, if he could.  “I must thank you for that, by the way.  I… haven’t always been the greatest friend to her.  But you were able to do for her what I should have.  She has positively sparkled since your self-confidence lessons.”

“I am glad to hear it!  Alphys is a wonderful friend, and she deserves to feel wonderful about herself!”  He beamed.

“Keep flirting if you want, but you’re gonna miss the ball drop,” Frisk called again, and then their messy brown hair disappeared back into the living room.

“It can’t be that spectacular,” Mettaton scoffed, though he hadn’t stopped smiling. “Now, if I were swinging in on the disco ball… now that would be a way to ring in the new year!”

“We’ll have to plan that for next year!  I can’t wait to build a giant disco ball.  It will be just like building a puzzle… but spherical!  Nyeh heh heh!!”

“I’ll be looking forward to it, darling.”

And then, before Papyrus could blink, Mettaton gave him a quick peck on the cheek.  Warmth pulsed through his bones, even though Mettaton’s metal lips were cold.

“Nyeh! Heh!!  Heh???” He melted back into his chair with a hysterical giggle.  He could see the appeal of Sans’s hoodie now.  It would be nice to have a hood to hide his blush in.

But Mettaton was giggling too.  The sound mixed with the cheers from the living room as the clock struck midnight.

“Happy new year, darling.”  Mettaton winked.

“Happy new year!”  Papyrus pulled him into a hug that probably would’ve crushed someone not made of metal.  But Mettaton was, so everything was fine.  “Have you regained your shine now?”

Mettaton squeezed him back.  “Oh yes.  I definitely have.”

XXX

“Some party, huh?” Sans yawned when they arrived home hours after midnight.  It was a miracle he’d stayed awake this long.  He’d even helped Toriel clean up, despite leaving Papyrus to clear the mess from his holiday party last week.  Sans definitely had it bad, but at least Toriel was a good influence on him.

“It certainly was!”  Papyrus beamed.  “I’m sorry I did not spend much of it with you.”

“‘S alright.  Frisk filled me in on everything.”  Sans winked.  “I gotta admit, I was worried at first, but I’m happy for ya.”

“Worried?”  Papyrus squinted.  “Wait… is that why you were acting weird earlier?  I thought it might be about Miss Toriel.”

He chuckled. “Not this time, bro.  You, uh… I don’t want you to think I don’t believe in ya, because I do.  If anyone could get a superstar boyfriend, it would be you.”

Papyrus’s face warmed.  He wasn’t sure that Mettaton was his boyfriend yet, but… he could be!  Eventually!! The thought was nearly enough to make him see stars.

“But, uh, I just didn’t want him to lead you on.”  He shrugged, hands in his pockets.  “I’m glad he’s head over stiletto heels for you too.”

“Awww!”  Papyrus squeezed his brother’s shoulders with one arm, the other grinding his knuckles against his skull.

“Hey, hey.”  Sans pretended to struggle, but he was laughing.  “Watch the skull.  These things bone’t grow on trees.”

That pun was absolutely horrible, but Papyrus elected to ignore it for now.

“Thank you for caring, Sans.  And thank you even more for not scaring him away.”

“Me? Scare anyone? You must be thinking of a different Sans. That would take way too much energy.”

“Oh, you can’t play innocent with me!  You were going to give Mew Mew and Mettaton a bad time if they broke Toriel’s dining table!”

Sans’s eye sockets widened, as if he’d already forgotten about breaking up the fourth chainsaw fight.

“Heh. Nah, all I had to do was spook ‘em a little.”

“Spooking and scaring are synonyms, brother!”

“But I didn’t scare him away.  In fact, I think I scared him towards ya.” He winked again.  “You’re welcome, bro.”

Papyrus just shook his head and let out a soft nyeh-heh-heh.  By the time he blinked, Sans had disappeared, probably shortcutting himself to his bedroom.  It was rather late, even for Papyrus.

He flopped in his bed, still in his long-sleeved MTT-brand shirt, and dreamt of the fond memories to be made in the new year.