#and then sometime later she sitting in my lap and we’re like still trying to sleep I think

[sodacowboy]

every now and then I have a dream that makes me stop and think wait am I attracted to women?? and it’s like?? idk man

[letorip]

Can you do headcanons for Jenna’s characters with a tall reader?

tall reader

it's been a little bit since i've been back on here and actively posted, but you know what i felt bad that i hadn't, so i did this to kind of assure everyone who didn't see my last thing that i'm still alive and well. sorry for not responding sooner to this request. also, if you see this, do not panic, i promise, i'm still finishing kiss with a fist [iii] and we’re only a few days from casual [iii]. the last thing i want is someone seeing me update and then immediately jumping into my inbox to ask about those, because i'm hard at work at them anyways

also, if you're not tall, just imagine it for a moment, lmao

wednesday addams

she’s not especially expressive, so she’ll never admit to it, but she absolutely loves that you’re so much taller than her. it’s cheesy and she knows you'll tease her about it, if she does mention it

she fumbles the bag at first, when during one of your first conversations, she says "you remind me of lurch." it's not exactly flattering to be told you remind her of her 40 year old butler who looks like a skeleton, and it makes you think she doesn't like you, at first, but to be fair, she meant it as a compliment

you try to brush past it, and wednesday too, and she's confused as to why you didn't seem flattered. enid's mouth drops open when wednesday recounts your interaction, and she tries to coach her through fixing her mistake

unfortunately your next conversation is only more awkward, when she walks it back and says "you DON'T remind me of lurch." she thinks it's a good way to recover from her previous error, but you just look even more confused, and she's suddenly walking off before she fucks up anything any more

she does manage to have an actual conversation with you later, after you take the turn to initiate, and that's how you two actually begin to grow closer and closer

even in her big ass platform boots, you’re still taller than her. it closes a little bit of the distance, but you're still much taller

she grabs your tie or bunches your shirt and pulls you down to her level, in order to kiss you. it hurts your neck sometimes, but you’d never ever tell her not to do it

even when she tugs you down for a kiss, she still has to stand on her tippy toes, especially if she’s only in socks

it does make you the ideal height for cuddling, though

wednesday claimed at first that she would cut your fingers off if you tried to hold her, but she slowly learns to crave it. all you have to do is give her a look and lift up your blanket, and she’ll crawl right in, especially if it’s after an investigation and she’s exhausted

theres just something oddly relaxing about curling up and feeling you wrap yourself around her. you’re definitely big spoon in this scenario. not that she wouldn’t hold you the same— she does, especially when she’s worried about the investigation but doesn’t want to say anything— but she likes how you’re able to completely wrap around her and how she can almost burrow herself into you

wednesday absolutely adores to sit on your lap. she’ll sit on your lap whenever and wherever she can. sideways with her arms around your neck, back to front with your arms around her waist, facing you in a straddle, during the more heated moments. she said she’d never be like her parents, but she also finds your lap to be the most comfortable seat around

she plops herself down onto your lap whenever she feels the person you're talking to is laughing a little too much at your jokes. she'll wander right over, wordlessly, sit down on your lap, wrap an arm around your neck, and stare at the person you're talking to with a usual disinterest, and they very quickly get the memo and leave

not that you realise this pattern, of course

you also use your height to help in the investigation. getting books for her off of high-up, dusty shelves, giving her a boost through windows that she shouldn't be breaking into, you name it. your willingness to assist her in her crazy plan is just part of what she loves about you

"can you reach that for me, cara mia?"

she does miraculously know your measurements, of course, when it comes to buying clothes. being tall makes clothes somewhat hard, but she always manages to buy the perfect sized thing, and you're starting to wonder if she somehow measured you, when you weren't paying attention

tara carpenter

you guys begin as sworn enemies after meeting at blackmore, and it results in a lot of mean insults about each others' height. she calls you the jolly green giant and you call her dwarf. she calls you giraffe, you call her stuart little. neither of you will admit that you find the other obnoxiously attractive

she says you're freakishly tall, but you're only a little taller than chad. she never annoys him about his height, only you, but for what it's worth, you annoy her right back

it culminates one night during a drunken hookup after you've shouted insults into each others faces. tara won't admit her anger is from seeing a random girl grind on you, and you won't admit you're annoyed that ethan and chad are obviously in love with her, and doing their best at flirting

you don't know who closes the distance first, but the next thing you know, you're messily pressing your mouths together and tara is climbing you like a damn tree, i mean, this is literally her

immediately after, you and tara try to pretend it didn't happen, and it lasts all of one week before she's jumping your bones again, only this time neither of you are drunk

you get together shortly after, but best believe the teasing doesn't stop. she'll still call you her little construction crane, and you'll smile with a faux sweetness and call her your little hobbit, until she smacks you on the arm

you're definitely a fiery couple, on both sides, but you do have your sweet moments

you give her piggyback rides because you're tall enough to do so, and she just happily wraps her arms around your neck and lets you carry her places. pretty much any time she gets tired enough (or even when she isn't really tired at all), she'll give you a cute pout and put her arms out, and you'll pick her up

tara loves to cuddle with you, but even then, sometimes you both squabble over the blanket, and she'll start complaining about how you hog the whole thing because of your height. it turns into a playful wrestling match, and while you have the obvious advantage and could flip her right around at any given moment, you let her climb on top of you and pin your arms above your head in a proud victory (which takes a lot of effort, considering how short she is)

of course, like all of your play-fights, it turns into something more

she doesn't like to talk about woodsboro, but she does find a comfort in how tall you are. it makes her feel a bit safer with you around, not that a couple inches would stop ghostface or anything

but she feels a genuine relaxation, when you can both be in bed together, and you're completely holding her in your arms, and it's not a thing she thought she'd feel again

you give her your jacket when she's cold, and she has to bunch the fabric around her elbows, or it'll absolutely swim on her. she always teases you about it, but the moment you jokingly threaten to take it back, she'll roll her eyes with a smile and tug it on with a kiss to your cheek

sometimes when you're cooking in the kitchen, she'll wrap her arms around your waist and let her head rest against the small of your back

you also help her when she's studying in the school library, by similarly grabbing books off the shelf for her

when she wants to rest her head on your shoulder, you still have to crane your neck down to let her. it's not super comfortable, but you still do it, because she looks adorable when she sleeps

she's figured out something seriously cruel. you complained about her feet being cold once, when you were snuggling, and ever since you mentioned it, tara realised she's the perfect height to press a cold foot right onto your back. she does it when she wants to start a play-fight, and it works like a charm every time

you're annoyed by it, but it definitely does make her laugh

lorraine day

your height is immediately what lorraine clocks onto, when she first sees you, because she's coming back from a shoot, getting dropped off by RJ, and she sees you in the distance, hopping a fence like it's no effort at all, when the same fence is a pain for lorraine to climb

you're the new ranch hand that her father hired while she was gone, and when she officially meets you, the both of you don't exactly get off on the right foot

you don't actually say much, which is something her father warned her of before you were introduced, but she at least expected some kind of "hello." instead, you just stare down at her from the shadow of your hat with a neutral nod, and then go off to get back to work. no giving her your name, no asking her any questions, no interest whatsoever

she doesn't know if she's more offended by your lack of manners or more upset you don't seem anywhere near as curious about her as she is about you

your height makes you ideal for most ranching activities though. you easily climb up and down from your horse and you're a speedy, fast rider.

when lorraine is on her shorter breed of horse, you're still as tall as her shoulders, and you help her get ready to go out on her horse with you and her father, even if it is wordlessly

she's only heard you speak a few times, and it's mostly been laughing with her father, which abruptly stops when lorraine gets close enough

after a rare bit of rain, lorraine's boots are slippery, and she slides out of the stirrup when dismounting way quicker than she was ready for. luckily, you're there to catch her, and she collides against you, pretty much right into your arms

unfortunately, you both fall back into a pile of horse shit, and the next thing she knows, she's hearing a nice, airy laughter coming from you. she's damn sure it's the first time she's seen you smile or laugh, and it's got her laughing too

she apologises, but you say "it's nothin," and you both kind of naturally grow closer from there

you help her up onto her horse, when she's without a saddle. you're tall enough to do so, and you hoist her up gently and set her on the animal's back with a small smile, and it kind of makes her heart beat real fast

it turns out the rough and tough cowboy exterior is a false image of you lorraine created in her mind. you're actually just a quiet, hot, tall, dork

you're feeding her horse a carrot or something, about to go out and do your job with lorraine eager to tag along, and she doesn't know what comes over her, but she leans down a little and plants a kiss right on your lips

she's the champion of sitting on stuff to reach your face: a fence, her horse, a hay bale. she likes being above you for once, and you're not complaining whatsoever

she tugs on the belt loop of your jeans when she wants you to lean down and kiss her. she also absolutely steals your baseball cap, and then to be funny, your cowboy boots, and she laughs about how big on her the cowboy boots are and clomps around in them

her family house has low ceilings, so it's kind of a pain to walk through, especially in your boots. for the most part, you live above the barn because of the higher ceilings, and sometimes (most nights) lorraine sneaks out to see you

she absolutely loves to sit on your shoulders. it's not especially comfortable for you, but you let her do it at the town events like fireworks and festivals and stuff. she sits on your shoulders for a "better view," and she'll rest her chin on top of your head

sorry to RJ, he's getting dumped the moment he comes back into town

cairo sweet

she doesn't even really realise you're tall at first, because she just sees you in your chair, on the second day of the new semester

you're new in town, a transfer kid and a cross country prodigy, with record times and future athletic scholarships up the wazoo, owed partially to being much taller than average. but the two most annoying things about you is that you can write, and you've read mr. miller's book

mr. miller seems rather pleased with having you in his class, and immediately it makes cairo hate you. her whole plan pretty much crumbles with you now in the way, and she absolutely loathes you for it

her new plan becomes to seduce you and distract you from school, and it works because you do harbour a giant, absolutely massive crush on her

your mother, who's also your coach, wants you to stay focused on athletics and not let cairo get in the way, but talking to her makes you melt, and when she finds you one day, in the locker room after everyone's left, you immediately cave when she sloppily kisses you and shoves her tongue into your mouth

your height is ideal for picking her up and pushing her back against the lockers, while her legs wrap around your waist

tree climber core again

she says it's just a scheme, but after you earnestly ask her out on a date and you both have a fantastic time, cairo's master plan goes out the window, and she just enjoys you for you

she goes to all of your meets, and she'll stand at the railing of the bleachers, and watch you with a smile (she's too fancy to cheer like a soccer mom out loud, but know she's really rooting for you on the inside)

you're like that one track couple at the olympics, if y'all have seen the clip. you finish your run in first place, qualifying for the state competition, and before anyone can congratulate you, you're running in cairo's direction, at the bleachers.

you're tall enough to the point that you just stand there on the ground, and cairo leans over the railing and kisses you, pulling away to cup your cheeks

your height is definitely a plus, in that when cairo is especially miffed at something mr. miller said or another student, after class, she'll grab your arm and wrap it around her shoulder

you barely fit on your twin-sized mattress, but cairo owns a king in her massive ass house, so it's a plus, whenever you go over to her place to "study"

just like with wednesday, when you're over at her house, you're the person who grabs her books off her shelf for her. she'll whisper a thanks and press a kiss to your cheek. sometimes she'll stand behind you and watch you grab a book off the shelf, just to see the stretch in your muscles and watch you move. she's just thinking "i'm no better than a man" while it happens

she love love loves to lay on top of you, on the sofa, when she's got a book to read. she'll just lay back against your chest, in your embrace, with a book in hand

she'll borrow your jacket, even though she complains it doesn't match her style, but it still swims on her

absolutely loves to be princess-carried to her bed when she falls asleep on the couch reading. she'll fall asleep because it's just too comfortable there, and you'll carry her up the stairs and tuck her in

she also grabs your collar and tugs you down to her for a kiss. either that, or she'll tug on your sleeve, which you now know is cairo saying she wants a kiss or a hug

[pshbites]

LOVE ON AiR: 36. boyfriend

WARNiNGS » profanity, food, drinking, cringe at times (not proofread)

wc: 1.7k

the idea of the live bar sounded all fun and dandy until you were actually there, because here you were, cramped in a booth that was too small for you and your friends, trying to take shots. of course, you were still trying to see the upsides. 

“you know atleast the drinks are cheap” you sent a soft smile to the group and jay simply side eyed you. “yeah.. that doesn’t make up for jake practically being on my lap” he grumbled, trying to scoot away from jake but failing after jungwon told him to stop fussing. “then maybe we need to get up and get some air! come on!” giselle, who was conveniently sat at the end of the booth, got up and clapped her hands. a couple of you got out whilst you stayed with sunoo.

“cmon come with me” sunghoon whined, holding your hand and you shook your head. “later i promise” you smiled at him making him sigh, a small smile growing. “fine” he groaned playfully, waving as he followed jake to the bar. 

sunoo watched you stare at sunghoon for a second and then your gaze fell on sunoo, who was sitting across from you. the expression on your face was unreadable but not entirely. “you’re hesitant about him” sunoo said, taking a sip of his drink as if he didn’t even say anything.  

“you always creep me out when you do that” you shook your head, playing with the straw in your cup. it was creepy because anytime sunoo did that, he was right. you were hesitant about sunghoon, but it was hard to say it because he was perfect. just a small flaw that could easily be fixed. 

“what is it?” sunoo propped chin up by his hand, looking right at you. you sighed, pursing your lips wondering if you even wanted to speak. “why hasn’t he asked me out yet? i mean i don’t get it. is it something wrong with me?” sunoo sat across from you, mouth agape as you spoke. “why do you do this? sweetheart i promise you there’s nothing wrong with you, things take time” sunoo reached for your hand, rubbing it. you groaned, looking down at your lap. 

you picked your head back up and sighed once more, “it’s so weird i mean i go over to his place sometimes and it’s like, we act like we’re a couple but he just hasn't done anything. we literally confessed to each other too” sunoo frowned slightly, “have you told him this? i mean i don’t wanna burst your bubble but you aren’t in a talking stage with me” he spoke, a smile growing on his lips. you shook your head, laughing. 

“it’s just hard to talk about it, i mean i don’t really know how to say it” sunoo sighed out, shaking his head whilst looking at you. “sometimes yn, things that are hard to talk about are the easiest to resolve. there no doubt he doesn’t want you, i mean look at him.” sunoo gestured his head to sunghoon at the bar with jake. you looked in that direction and sunghoon waved to you, smiling. you smiled softly then looked to sunoo who only smiled at you. 

it was easy to go to sunoo in these moments, you loved giselle and kats input but you knew that sometimes, they would tell you what you wanted to hear. sunoo on the other head told you what you should be hearing, which was the truth. “you’re right” you finally said, breaking yourself out of your thoughts. “i always am” he replied, with that sassy voice and you rolled your eyes, smiling softly. 

kat walked up to the booth, she crossed her arms and stared at the both of you. “we came to this place to have fun! not sit around and drink cheap cocktails” she grumbled, making both you and sunoo eye each other. he stood up reluctantly and slid out of the booth, you sighed and followed suit. “great! now let’s go dance, this band is so cool” she grabbed both of you, pulling you to the dance floor. 

sunghoon was back at the booth, giselle jungwon and heeseung sat in front him. currently, you were singing your heart out at the cover band, they were doing a rendition of szas gone girl. he watched as you sang with jake and giselle by your side, all three of you so engrossed in the music.  

heeseung eyed sunghoon and then rolled his eyes. “you’re doing that creepy staring thing again” sunghoon smiled softly, staring at you once more then turning his attention to something jungwon was talking about. “why haven’t you asked her out yet” kat cut jungwon off, turning all attention to sunghoon. she eyed him, judgingly. 

“what?” sunghoon looked at the three of them, confused. “are you leading her-“ “-oookay kat let’s chill!” jungwon cut kat off with a nervous laugh, clearly a bit scared of her. sunghoon pursed his lips, then groaned. “it’s just hard you know, like i want to do something grand but i don’t want to overwhelm her?!” he groaned out, clearly in distress over this. 

“that is the most i have ever heard him speak” kat eyed him up and down, mocking him and sunghoon groaned again. “calm down man, im sure whatever you do, she’ll appreciate it” heeseung sighed, annoyed at how irritating sunghoon was being. 

sunghoon looked towards you once more, his heart swelling at how happy you were. how you laughed next to giselle, he also enjoyed that you got along with jake — as weird as he was. the set ended and you, giselle, and jake made your way to the booth. 

“hi” you smiled, sliding in next to sunghoon. he grinned, putting his arm behind you, scooting over making room for you. “you were having fun up there” he mumbled, making it feel like it was only you two now. “yeah and you should’ve joined us” you punched his arm softly, making him dramatically groan in pain. “oh quit it” you laughed, making him giggle along with you. 

“anyone know where sunoo riki and jay are?” jungwons voice broke you two out of your moment, you turned your attention towards him. “i think they’re by the bar” giselle replied, scrolling through her phone absentmindedly. “can someone go check on riki im scared of new years happening again” jungwon sighed out making jake, heeseung, and sunghoon eye each other. 

“what happened on new years” jake looked around at the four of you. you eyed jungwon who only gave an awkward look. giselle looked between the two of you and rolled her eyes. “he got blackout drunk, to put it lightly” all three of their jaws dropped. “riki? no way” sunghoon scoffed, in disbelief. “um yes way!” you replied, laughing. 

“now can someone check on him” jungwon groaned, looking around. everyone suddenly started to act busy and sunghoon pursed his lips. “i’ll go” he sighed out. “can you get me a drink while you’re there” you looked at him as you slid out of the booth to let him out. “of course pretty” he smiled down at you, waving as he walked towards the bar. 

sunoo jay and riki were just sitting there talking, laughing. sunghoon walked up to them, sitting on one of the stools next to jay. “oh hey man” jay said next to him, sunoo and riki looking in his direction. “hi” sunghoon replied back, smiling softly. “oh god he’s gonna start talking about yn” riki rolled his eyes, sunoo slapping his arm. 

“what’s wrong?” jay asked, looking over at sunghoon who only moped. “this is annoying” sunghoon mumbled, feeling all three of them burn their eyes into his body. “look sunghoon im gonna lay it down on you, yn likes you. a lot. we haven’t seen her like anyone this much so anything you would do she would appreciate it” sunoo spoke, almost reassuring sunghoon. he took another sip of his drink. “but, ask her quick because she’s just going to think you’re leading her on” which only made sunghoon groan and rest his head on the bar table. 

“i remember she wouldn’t shut up about the guy who sang to her for her promposal” riki laughed, sunoo mumbling a shut up to him. sunghoon sat up, picking his head up as well. why didn’t he think of this earlier? “does anyone have cash” he spoke up, getting off the barstool. jay pulled out a 20 from his pocket and sunghoon grabbed it. “wait why- SUNGHOON!” jay yelled out, watching sunghoon rush to the steps of the stage. 

he got on the stage and whispered something to the band. he patted the guitarist back as he handed him the money. sunghoon wiped the sweat off his hands by rubbing his jeans.  

a sweet melody started filling everyone’s ears. “holy fucking shit” heeseung mumbled out, getting your attention. you looked to the stage and saw sunghoon standing there in front of the mic, holding it with his eyes shut. “what is he doing” giselle furrowed her brows and looked at you, you only shrugged in response. 

i’d like to be everything you want. he’s singing. park sunghoon was singing in front of a packed bar on a stuffy stage. hey girl, lemme talk to you, if i was your boyfriend i’d never let you go. kat gasped, looking to you. you could feel your heartbeat in your ears. sunghoon opened his eyes to look at you from the stage. you swore you didn’t see his eyes leave yours as he sang. 

soon enough the entire crowd picked up on the fact that he was looking at you. he held out the last note, his voice sweet like honey. “so? will you be my girlfriend” he spoke, looking at you. everyone in the crowd looked towards your booth. “say yes girl!” an unfamiliar voice rang out in the crowd, making you laugh. you nodded, “yes!” you yelled back. 

the crowd cheered, sunghoon grinned, getting off the stage and made his way to the booth. “what the hell is wrong with you” you stood up, letting him engulf you in his arms. “don’t know” he was smiling so hard his cheeks started to hurt. he pulled back to look down at you, his eyes twinkling. you don’t think anyone had looked at you like that, with such love and adoration. 

according to all of your friends, the two of you were insufferable that night. 

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[marauroon]

I love your new fic Hypothermic and the whole trope of Jamie being a big cuddle bug and the best friend trope always has a chokehold on me. Can you write a romantic bestfriend!james maybe about a swim in the black lake or something with a summery vibe please (I miss summer so much rn)

BALL GAME — J.POTTER

James makes the most of being your favourite person to convince you out of the castle and into the lake.

cw — james picks the reader up at one point

james potter x fem!reader || fluff || 1.3k || requests open!

a/n: best friend james has my whole entire heart i fear

Sometimes James is half convinced you’re a vampire, that your skin is so delicate that even a pinprick of sunlight will burn you into a pile of ash.

If it weren’t for your ostentatious love of the summer season—and the privilege James has as your best friend—he’d be surprised you even agreed to his request at all.

Yet there you were, sat pretty underneath the shade of one of the small willow trees lining the water with a book in your lap and a picnic blanket separating you from the grass.

Was he a little sad you’d decided not to join the group in splashing around? A little. Was he going to ask you again later with his puppy dog eyes so you couldn’t refuse him? Probably.

But right now he was content with watching how your eyebrows furrowed and left small wrinkles between your eyes as you read a particularly interesting paragraph, and the slight fluttering of your hair against the small breeze.

A sharp splash of water to the back of his head tore James’ attention from watching the way your eyes scanned the pages of your novel with your nose scrunched in a mix of surprise and disgust at whatever was printed in the ink, and he turned around with an exaggerated gesture of annoyance only to be met with another splash straight to his face.

Whilst the icy water was a nice relief from the nearly 30° heat, it was still cold.

“What was that for?” James pulls his glasses from his face to try and wipe the water droplets from the lenses with his thumb, turning Sirius’ face into a blurry pale blob in the process.

“We’re picking teams for a makeshift volleyball game? You’d know that if you stopped gawking over there like a dog in heat,” James can vaguely make out Sirius crossing his arms over his chest, and lo and behold, when he slots his glasses back on, Sirius’ expression is just as smug as he expected it to be.

“I wasn’t ‘gawking’ anywhere you twat,” James sends a splash of water in Sirius’ direction as a retaliation. “I was just appreciating the fact that she actually joined us, that’s all,”

“Appreciating her face you mean,” Sirius’ tone matches his smugness perfectly, and James lets out a short scoff with a roll of his eyes.

“You’re such a dog Pads,”

“You know it,” Sirius shoots James a wink and he pretends to gag. “Seriously though, stop staring so we can play,”

“Orrr,” Marlene wades over to the two to interrupt the conversation, laying her arm over Sirius’ shoulder. “You can go over there and convince her to join us, we’re uneven,”

James shoots another glance in your direction with an uncertain hum. “I don’t think we should disturb her,”

“We can’t play 4 to 3 James,” Marlene tilts her head and shakes it lightly. “So go bat your eyelashes and use your favouritism to get us another player,”

She gives a dismissive wave of her hand and Sirius joins her, James sending the two a very unimpressed look as he drags himself out of the water to speak to you.

It’s not the new source of shade from the sun that informs you of James’s presence, nor is it the sight of him sitting down cross-legged beside you in your peripheral vision. It’s the water droplets that sprinkle the right side of your face and the pages of your book that give him away.

“James—” You let out a low groan to voice your disapproval at him shaking his head like a dog to dry his hair, something that very clearly didn’t work very well as water continued to drip from his curls onto his shoulders, disappearing into the already soaked fabric of his t-shirt.

“Sorry sorry collateral damage I swear,” He throws up his hands in an immediate surrender, and you let out a small scoff with a shake of your head as you pull his glasses from the bridge of his nose to dry them on the hem of your t-shirt.

“Having fun then?” You leave your book on the blanket to shift onto your knees, carefully placing James’ glasses back on his face so they properly catch behind his ears.

James nods with a smile at how gentle your fingers are as they brush the sides of his cheeks when you return them to your lap. “Yeah, we’re about to play a round of volleyball, fancy joining us?”

You scrunch up your nose slightly and he can immediately anticipate your answer. “…no?”

“Awe come on we’re uneven,” James tilts his head as he gestures towards the others in the water, a small pout etched onto his face. “We can’t play 3 to 4 that’s not how it works,”

He blinks at you softly, eyes filled with carefully curated desperation. “Please? We can team up together,” He adds the idea of teaming up like it’s an added bonus to your agreement, his voice sweet, sticky, and absolutely dripping in persuasion.

He looks perfectly pathetic when he looks at you like that, and who are you really to say no to him?

“One game,” Your answer is joined by an exasperated sigh, but James reacts like you’ve just told him all of Severus’ hair has fallen out rather than begrudgingly agreeing to play water volleyball with him.

“Perfect! Let’s go,” James holds out his hand to help you up eagerly, a smile beaming across his face that almost puts the blazing sun to shame in it’s brightness.

You roll your eyes at him, but take his hand nonetheless, and he’s a little too excited in pulling you to your feet as he sends you stumbling forward from his pull, and he uses the momentum to lean down and take the top half of your body over his shoulder, hoisting you off the ground in the process.

You can sense the inevitable immediately.

“Don’t you dare—” You arms wrap tightly around James’ waist as he straightens his posture, his arms secured around your thighs as he walks the two of you towards the lake, suspiciously quiet considering his earlier excitement. “James I swear to god if you do what I think you are going to do I will destroy you,”

You kick your legs the closer you get to the water, although it’s to no real avail compared to the arm strength that is James’ chaser practice, and all it really ends up doing is garnering you an audience as James begins to wade in the water.

“James, you better put me down right now.“ Your warning falls on deaf ears, and your half surprised at the amount of will power he has to keep ignoring you as the water reaches his knees.

“James—“ You barely manage to get his name out before he dive on a you both into the water, it’s icy temperature immediately sending a chill up your spine as you resurface with a gasp, James laughing as he breaks the water himself.

“You absolute twat—” You send a splash of water in James’ direction with an over-exaggerated show of your disapproval, and he blocks it with his forearm, laughter still steadily streaming from his mouth.

Needless to say, you didn’t team with him for the volleyball game.

[still-breathing-au-p3r]

With their impending final battle just two days away, it’s no wonder that everyone is opting to take it easy and make this Sunday a good and lazy one. Usually Minato would go out to the shrine to meet Kamiki at their usual bench, and maybe he will still do that later. 

But Junpei beckons him over, brandishing another manga excitedly. The instant he sits down on the couch next to his friend, Koromaru worms his way into Minato’s lap and settles himself there.

Welp. There’s no way he’s moving. He lives here now, on this couch, forever. Or at least until Koromaru decides to get up. 

Minato starts losing track of what Junpei’s saying– he talks a little too fast sometimes– but what he does manage to pick out is pretty interesting. And it’s also just nice just to be around this kind of enthusiasm. He lets Junpei’s words break over him like a wave, soaking in the pleasant atmosphere, until a soft ping from his pocket brings him back to reality. 

“Oooh, someone asking you out on a Sunday date?” Junpei interrupts himself almost mid-word, grinning hugely.

Minato opens his phone without responding. The subject line reads, ‘Need a favor’ and the sender is not at all who he would have expected. He’s suddenly getting deja vu.

“It’s Sanada-senpai,” he eventually replies. 

“Wait, you’ve got a date with Sanada-san?!” 

“Are you kidding? Of course not, he’s way out of my league.” Minato opens the email.

Hey. If you’re not too busy, would you mind helping me and Mitsuru out today? Shinji’s getting out of the hospital this week and we’re trying to find something for him as a welcome back thing.

“Dude!” Junpei hoots not even five centimeters from his ear. Minato jerks away and tucks the screen of his phone against his chest, surprised and affronted at how close Junpei suddenly is and how blatantly he’d just read over Minato’s shoulder.

“Don’t look at me like that, man, you’ve got no room to talk.” That’s… fair actually. “For real, though? Aragaki-san’s really coming back this week?”

“He is?!” Minato and Junpei look up to find Fuuka standing at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes bright and enormous and her hands folded prayerfully beneath her chin. Yukari and Aigis stand a few steps behind her, looking equally elated.

“That’s what Sanada-san just said!” Junpei cheers. “He and Kirijo-senpai are getting him some kinda welcome-home present and asked Minato to come along and help!”

Hopefully Sanada hadn’t planned on keeping the news a secret or a surprise for any reason.

“That sounds like a great idea! We should all go and pitch in!” Yukari says.

While they’re all talking about it, Minato takes a quick picture of Koromaru, still situated very comfortably in his lap, and attaches it to a reply. 

I’m being held hostage 

It’s only a few moments later that another message comes in. 

Lol. What’s the ransom? 

Never in a million years did he think he’d ever see Sanada use internet slang. It’s weird, but also kind of hilarious.

Hold on let me call a professional in to negotiate

He catches Aigis��� attention and beckons her over. She’s by his side in a matter of seconds. “Yes Minato-san?” She asks. 

“What’s it gonna take for Koromaru to let me stand up?”

Koromaru makes a soft chuffing noise and Aigis hums. “Unfortunately, Koromaru-san, that is not an option. His presence was specifically requested.” 

Koromaru lets out a long sigh, like she’s asking him to haul the entire population of the dorm across the city all on his own, and not simply to move his own furry butt one couch cushion to the left. He gives a melancholy but thoughtful warble. 

Aigis nods smartly and turns to Minato. “He is requesting that Aragaki-san cook for him as soon as he comes back. Only if you promise this to him will you be allowed the use of your legs.” 

“Done.” Minato doubts it will take much convincing for Aragaki to spoil Koromaru with homemade food. He shoots another text to Sanada.

Aragaki’s cooking apparently

Koromaru isn’t much of a negotiator, is he? Shinji would do that anyway. Lol.

Hope Koro can’t read or I’m gonna be stuck here while he comes up with a new demand. Be there asap

Where is there btw

Oh! Right, sorry. We’ll wait for you by the big fountain at the center of Paulownia Mall.

K I’ll see you there

He decides to omit the detail that everyone else in the dorm will be coming as well. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, after all. 

Thanks. We appreciate it. 

Successfully bribed, Koromaru reluctantly scooches himself off Minato’s legs. Minato scratches under his chin and gently smushes his face until Koromaru lets out a cheerful little ‘ruff’. Hopefully that means Minato’s been absolved of his great sin in displacing him. 

“Shall I go fetch Amada-san?” Aigis asks. 

“Um. Fetch me for what?”

Everyone turns towards the stairs with a level of synchronicity that’s either eerie or hilarious, Minato can’t decide which.

Amada stands fidgeting on the bottom step, and judging by his expression he also isn’t sure whether to be amused or unsettled at seeing his older dorm mates suddenly channel a stand of flamingos.

“We have just received the news that Aragaki-san will be returning to the dorm within the week,” Aigis continues as if she doesn’t sense the slight tension in the air. “Sanada-san and Mitsuru-san have invited us to assist them in choosing a gift to commemorate the occasion. Would you like to accompany us in this endeavor?”

“He’s really well enough to come back? That’s great!” Amada has got one heck of a poker face– the only clue to the nerves hiding behind it is that his voice has tilted up half an octave. Minato’s impressed. “I would come along but–” His eyes alight on Koromaru and he seems inspired. Minato has to hand it to him for thinking on his feet like that too. “I promised Koromaru I would take him on a good, long walk today. Since it’s so nice out and it’s supposed to get cold again by tomorrow. Y-you know?”

If this is the first Koromaru is hearing about this agreement, he gives no indication. He chuffs happily and slinks off the couch, trotting to sit at Amada’s feet. His tail wags with so much gusto that his entire back end gently sways along with it.

“Well we definitely can’t let you break a promise to Koro-chan.” Yukari picks up the thread effortlessly. Her voice is warm and contains not a single note of pity. “Those sad puppy eyes he does are dangerous!”

Not for the first time, Minato is almost dizzy with gratitude for Yukari’s social graces. Thank god that someone on their team has them.

“Yeah,” Amada agrees, too relieved to fully hide it. “I’ve even seen Mitsuru-san cave to them! Um. Don’t tell her that, though. Anyway, I hope you guys have fun and I’ll see you later–!” He trips over his words in his effort to get them out quickly, and he almost trips over his house shoes too as he hastily swaps them out for his sneakers. And then he’s out the door, Koromaru bouncing joyfully in stride with him.

“How unfortunate,” Aigis laments with her usual mildness. “I had hoped that Amada-san’s participation in this exercise would help ease some of the anxiety he might be experiencing regarding Aragaki-san’s impending return.”

“Oh, Aigis,” Yukari sighs. “That’s a really sweet thought, but… It’s kind of more complicated than that.”

“I see,” Aigis says, in a way that gives the distinct impression that she doesn’t and isn’t sure what to do about it besides fall back on default social scripts. 

“Amada-kun might feel weird about helping to pick out a gift for Aragaki-senpai because of– everything,” Yukari says delicately, picking at her nail polish as she chooses her words. “He might think that Aragaki-senpai would be uncomfortable or wouldn’t want something that’s even partly from him. I don’t think Aragaki-senpai would actually feel that way, but…”

“I see,” Aigis says again, and this time it seems like she actually does. “Shall I apologize to Amada-san when I see him next, or would that be another ‘social blunder’?”

“I don’t think you need to apologize, Aigis,” Fuuka assures her. “I’m sure Amada-kun knows that you meant well.”

“Yeah, don’t sweat it, Ai-chan! You and Amada are cool, definitely.” Junpei claps once and starts walking backwards to the front door, arms spread theatrically. “Now, let’s get this show on the road, people! We can’t keep our senpais waitin’!”

[verfound]

FIC: "Mellie's Halloween Costume" (MLB; Lukanette; LBSC Lukanette Month 2024)

@lovebugs-and-snakecharmers is doing a Lukanette Month for September 2024, and we all just kinda tossed some prompts in the disco to compile a list?  We ended up with 71 prompts, so I decided I’d roll some dice to pick a prompt, do a twenty minute (ish, bc we all know sometimes they run away from me) sprint, and try to get some short fics out this month?

Read on Ao3

07 September 2024

Prompt 23: Myth

The flat was quiet when he got home.  That wasn’t entirely surprising, given the time of day: it was just around mid-morning, which meant that the girls had already been through their breakfast routine.  Harmony should already be in school, and Melody had been spending more time with her grandparents when he was on the road these days.  Tom and Sabine loved watching her (so did his ma, when she was around), and it was helping Marinette adjust to life with the twins.  So while he had possibly expected to hear something – Marinette singing in the kitchen, a baby crying, Melody screaming at one of her shows in the living room – it wasn’t entirely unsurprising when things seemed…quiet.

Calm.

“Darning?” he called, setting his bag down by the door.  He’d get it later.  Just then, he had a wife to find.  “You home?”

“Girls’ room!” her voice called from deeper in the flat, and he felt his smile grow as he followed the sound.  It grew even wider when he finally saw her, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the little bookcase they had set between the girls’ beds.  The shelves had been ransacked, most of the books lying in piles around her as she flipped through another one on her lap.  He sat down behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle and bending to press a kiss against the back of her neck.  His smile warmed when she shivered at the touch.  “…stop that.”

“Never,” he chuckled, kissing her again.  Another shiver ran up her spine, and his smile grew as he tucked his face behind her shoulder.  “It’s been two weeks.  I have time to make up for.”

She hummed, and when he went to trail a line of kisses along her shoulder she turned her head towards him, so he kissed her lips instead.  She sank back against him, and they both sighed when they parted.

“Welcome home,” she said, smiling up at him.  “I missed you.”

“I missed all of you,” he said.  He looked around, frowning.  “Where’re the boys?”

“Napping in their cribs, if we’re lucky,” she said.  “We had…an eventful morning.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her, and then she held up her arms for him to see.  The sleeves of her dressing gown fell to her elbows, and he sucked in a breath when he saw angry, blistering welts shining on her skin.  He reached out to catch her wrist, then hesitated when he realized that might hurt her.

“Marinette, what…?” he asked.  She leaned up to kiss the underside of his jaw, which had clenched at the sight of the burns.  “Darning.  Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” she insisted.  “I already put some ointment on them.  It doesn’t really hurt that much – you know I’ve had worse.”

…he did, but that still didn’t mean he had to like it.

“It looks plenty bad from here,” he said.  He caught her hand, loosely holding it in his own as he brought her wrist to his lips to kiss above the burn.  “What the hell happened?”

“Your daughter,” she sighed, laying her arms over his as she leaned back against him.  “Well.  Your mother, technically, but Melody only did what she did because of what her Granarchy did.  The Captain is a horrible influence on our girls, Lu.”

“And what did my mother do now?” he laughed, shaking his head.

“Gave the girls a book on Celtic myths,” she sighed.  She tipped her head back onto his shoulder, smiling helplessly up at him.  “So now Mellie’s obsessed.  She already has her Halloween costume picked out.”

“…do I even want to know?” he asked.  She rolled her eyes and wiggled one of her arms in front of them.

“She walks right up to me this morning – while I was pulling breakfast out of the oven – and declares, ‘Look, Maman!  I’m gonna be a banshee for Halloween!’” she said, pitching her voice to match their daughter’s.  Luka’s eyes widened, and he tried not to smile.  He really did.  From the annoyed roll of her eyes, he didn’t think he was very successful.

“Oh no…” he said.  She nodded.

“Oh yes,” she said.  “Because then, Luka Llewellyn Couffaine, your precious little Melody screamed as loud as she could in my face.”

“No,” he laughed, and she groaned as she turned her head to tuck against his neck.

“Yes,” she said.  “I was looking right at her, but I was still so surprised I dropped the pan – and then I tried to catch the pan, like an idiot.  So she’s staying with my parents today while I recover.”

“And here I thought you just wanted me to yourself before the girls got home,” he chuckled.  He felt her smile against his skin, and then her lips were pressing a little kiss just below his ear and he was the one shivering.  He found himself wondering how long they had until the boys woke up, and what exactly they could get up to without using her arms.  “Mari…”

“Of course I do,” she said, nipping at his ear.  “It has been two weeks, after all.  That was not, however, my immediate intention when I called my mother this morning.”

“So.  What’s with the books, then?” he asked, glancing at the mess around them.

“Research,” she said.  “I’m trying to find something even half as interesting as banshees to distract her.  I don’t want our daughter screaming in my face for the next month, Luka.”

“That’s…fair,” he chuckled, nodding.  He squeezed her middle and stole another kiss.  “But what I’m hearing is it’s something that can wait.”

“…do I need to reenact this morning to show you just how important it is we find her another favorite mythological creature?” she asked, her voice flat.  She groaned and squirmed, turning towards him and wrapping her arms around him.  She hissed as the sleeves of her robe scratched against the burns, tensing a moment at the flash of pain.  “Why couldn’t she be like her Aunt Rose and be obsessed with unicorns or something?”

“Because then she’d probably tape a knife to her head and headbutt you,” Luka deadpanned, and she rolled her eyes and pinched his hip.  He kissed the crown of her head, chuckling.  “How about this.  You come with me, maybe take a nice, long, relaxing bath and make up for lost time?  And then I’ll help you find a better costume for Mellie later.  Deal?”

“De…” she started, but then a crying started up from down the hall and she sighed as she slumped against him.  “Raincheck?”

“I’ve got them,” he said.  “You go draw that bath.  I’ll be in as soon as they’re settled.”

“They’re probably hungry,” she said, “which means you will be absolutely useless putting them down.  So how about you draw the bath, and I’ll join you as soon as I’m able?”

“Not as crazy about that,” he said.  “Two babies.  Two of us.  How about I help, then we draw the bath together?”

She poked at his chest, smirking at him.

“And how do you plan to help?  I’d love to see you feed them with these,” she teased, and he barked out a laugh.

“Marinette!” he said.  “I can burp one while you feed the other.  Or maybe they need changing – I’m good at that.”

“I suppose,” she giggled.  She pecked a kiss against his cheek.  “You’ll just have to be content with sharing me for a bit.”

He laughed as he helped her up.  Another cry joined the first, and she gave him a pointed look.  He stole one last kiss before leading her towards their room, where the cribs were set up.  He didn’t want to think about when they were older yet – he knew they’d have to start thinking about moving soon, but he loved this flat.  He paused just outside the door, taking a moment to just…look at her.

“Luka,” she said, her smile exasperated but fond.  “The babies?”

He pulled her close, stealing just one more kiss.  Just because he could.

“I missed you,” he whispered against her lips.  “I missed this.”

She smiled and kissed him again.

“We missed you,” she said.  “Now come on, before I get a headache on top of everything else.”

“God forbid,” he laughed, opening the door and following her into the room.  She rolled her eyes and nudged his side with her elbow, but he noticed how the movement made her wince and frowned.  He slipped around her, moving to Huey’s crib before she could say anything.  “Here.  Let me help, Marinette.  I’m here.  Use me.”

She gave him a Look that told him exactly what she thought of that idea, but then Huey wailed again and it was gone.

“I’m fine, Luka – I can hold my own babies,” she said, rolling her eyes as she folded her arms across her chest.  It would have been more convincing if that hadn’t made her wince, too.  He gave her a pointed look, and she huffed out a sigh before waving him towards the rocking chair between the cribs.  “Oh, fine.  I have some backup milk in the fridge.  I’ll be right back.”

“I love you!” he called, patting Huey’s back as he bounced him.  He carried him over to the other crib, where Louie was squirming on his back as he fussed.  Luka smiled as he reached down and laid a hand on his tummy, rubbing.  “I love you, too, stinker,” he said.  He kissed Huey’s downy head, smiling.  “Both of you.”

[mama-qwerty]

A Bad Idea Made Better

Okay, I'm done staring at this thing. Hopefully it came out better than I think it did, because it's bugging me for some reason.

Anyway, enjoy!

(Who is Callie?)

~~~~~

“You can’t be serious.”

Maddie and Callie were sitting at the counter in the ‘kitchen’ of the Sanctuary. A handful of Knuckles mingled in the various areas—the game corner, the sparring area, behind them rummaging through cupboards in search of snacks—and the moms were there in case anyone needed anything. The redhead cast a cocked eyebrow to her friend. “Tell me you’re not serious.”

Maddie shrugged. “He’s already started three fights in the last half hour,” she said, and a commotion drew their attention to another starting. “Make that four.”

Callie turned toward the noise with an annoyed sigh. “Dread, KNOCK IT OFF!”

“I be innocent as a newborn babe, lass! T’ain’t me fault that Rennie here be so easy to rile!”

“DON’T CALL ME RENNIE!”

The two continued to bicker as Callie rolled her eyes and turned back to Maddie. “And you want me to take him to my house? Why not just ship him back to No Place?”

Another shrug from the vet. “He came in today with a note pinned to his back from his crew.” She slid it toward Callie. ’Don’t let him come back until he’s less of an ass.’

The redhead snorted out a laugh. “He’d never go home, then.”

“Right?” Maddie sighed, rubbing her temple. “Look, I know it’s not ideal, but if he stays here, he’s gonna cause a multi-versal brawl. Just . . . take him for an hour. Two at most.”

“Have you forgotten I have my own gremlin at home? You think I can handle two of them?”

Maddie sat up straighter, clapping a hand on Callie’s shoulder. “I have the utmost faith in you, Madam MacPherson. Keeper of the Gremlins. Controller of the Most Troublesome.”

Callie heaved a defeated sigh. “Fine. I’ll take him. But if, no WHEN, this blows up in my face, you owe me.”

“I’ll make you a batch of my incredibly tantalizing lasagna. With extra ricotta.”

The redhead hissed in a breath. “Oh, you temptress.”

“I may even make it for you anyway. I know this is a big ask.”

“Yeah, but you’re right,” Callie said, glancing over to where Dread and Ren were starting to throw hands. “He’s in rare form today. Maybe a change of scenery will help.”

“Thanks, Cal.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She pushed herself away from the counter, clapping her hands as she walked closer to the two fighting echidna. “Break it up, boys! Dread, you’re coming with me. We’re going on a field trip.”

~X~X~X~

Silver sat on the couch with Eclipse, trying to catch up in Mario Kart. He’d gotten better over the last few months, but still had trouble with curves.

“I’m so gonna beat you!” the darkling laughed as he maneuvered his way around the track. “You’re so slow.”

The hedgehog didn’t answer. He focused on his car, moving his thumbs over the controls to try and gain some ground.

He’d just started the second lap when the portal that led to the Sanctuary opened. He didn’t quite understand everything about this magic place his mom went to. Something about it being another dimension, one that didn’t follow the normal rules of time. She would go through, and then come back a few seconds later, even though she would say she’d been there for a long time.

Silver kinda wanted to see what this place was like. Mom said there were a lot of different Knuckles there—like that one Spiderman movie with all the different versions—and they have fun sometimes, but sometimes there are fights, or it’s sad and she helps them not be sad. He didn’t doubt that—his mom was really good at helping people feel better.

He normally didn’t pay a whole lot of attention when she came back, but today she wasn’t alone. The portal opened in the archway between the living room and kitchen, and she walked out as usual, but someone followed. He looked a lot like the Knuckles they knew, but he was dressed in funny clothes.

He looked like a pirate!

“Cool!” Silver gasped, dropping his controller and rushing over to where his mom and this new Knuckles stood. “Hi! You look so cool!”

The echidna startled, his hand going to the hilt of his sword, when Callie reached down to grab his wrist.

“No swordplay,” she said, her voice stern. The Knuckles flicked his eyes to her, then back to Silver, a look of confusion on his muzzle. “These are my boys. My sons. Silver the Hedgehog, and Eclipse the Darkling.”

Silver gave a little wave at his name, and he heard Eclipse pause the game and wander over.

“Who’s that?” the darkling asked, crossing his arms. “Why’s he dressed so weird?”

“Eclipse, don’t be rude,” Callie sighed, and a frown passed over the echidna’s face.

“I be the legendary captain Knuckles the Dread.” He raised his hand in a flourish as he flashed a smile, the light shining off his gold tooth. “The strongest, most dangerous pirate on the seven seas of No Place.”

Silver’s ears flicked back slightly. A pirate? Weren’t pirates mean? His mom wouldn’t bring a mean pirate home, would she?

Beside him, Eclipse’s body language changed, and he wore an excited smile.

“A pirate??” he exclaimed, moving forward and bouncing on the balls of his feet. “That’s so cool! Do you attack other pirates? Do you swing on ropes around your ship? Do you have sword fights?” He gasped. “Can I see your sword??”

“Eclipse, pull it back, kiddo,” Callie said, moving to push the darkling back a little. “Dread is here as a guest for a few hours today. You will both be polite and not crowd him, or ask all sorts of nosy questions.”

“Nonsense!” the pirate cried, moving forward to pat Eclipse on the shoulder. “They be curious ‘bout the life and adventures of such a far-traveled pirate! Ye can’t begrudge them a few tales, can ye, lass?”

“Yeah, Mom!” Eclipse said, trying his best to give her puppy dog eyes. “C’mon! I wanna hear some pirate stories from a real life pirate!”

Silver flicked his eyes back and forth between his brother, the echidna, and his mom. She seemed pretty calm. If Dread was dangerous, he theorized, she wouldn’t have brought him here in the first place, and would be much more protective. He relaxed some, his ears returning to a more upright position.

Pirate stories did sound pretty cool.

“Did you ever find treasure?” he asked, and Dread smiled wide.

“Oh, lad,” he said, throwing an arm around each boy and bringing them close. “Ye have no idea.”

~X~X~X~

Dread was in his element. He stood before the boys, telling tales of his greatest adventures, gesturing and miming his actions as he spoke. They were enthralled—eyes wide and cheering in just the right places.

He flicked his eyes over to Callie, and the lass sat to the side, a small smile on her lips. She shook her head slightly occasionally. Okay, maybe he was . . . embellishing a bit. Just a bit. Just enough to keep the boys’ attention.

This felt good. Felt right. Having all eyes on him, admiring his feats. No one at the Sanctuary gave him this much attention. Not without ridiculing him, or doubting every word he said. There he felt as though he were constantly being judged, constantly dismissed. Tolerated at best.

But here? He felt welcomed. Valued. Appreciated.

And it made a warmth spread in his chest. It was a feeling he’d never really experienced before, and he liked it. He liked it a lot.

Yessir, this was a nice change of pace.

~X~X~X~

Callie gave a little eye roll as Dread continued his tales. She’d heard most of these before—Dread wasn’t shy about telling others of his deeds—but the details seemed to be a bit . . . stretchy. There were more foes than she remembered, the kraken was much bigger, (oh, and now there were two), and some of the timelines didn’t seem to add up.

But, whatever. He was having fun, no one was fighting, and the boys seemed completely spellbound by his stories. She was checking this as a win.

~X~X~X~

Eclipse leaned closer as Dread spoke of monsters and battles, treasure and triumph. He was so cool! Not like the Knuckles they knew. Knuckles Wachowski may have been the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy at one time, but now he was more interested in gardening and doing yoga. Always talking about how ‘fighting is only a last resort’ and ‘live a life of virtue’ and blah blah blah.

What a load of bunk. Eclipse was a weapon. A soldier built specifically to fight and win. Sure, he liked not having to fight now, and living with his mom and brother was a lot better than his life on the Black Comet, but that didn’t mean he was some weak pushover! Dread’s life sounded so fun!

The pirate finished up another story, and Eclipse cheered.

“That was awesome! I wanna be a pirate! Mom, can I be a pirate like Dread?”

“’Course ye can, lad!” Dread answered before Callie could open her mouth. “In fact, both ye and yer brother here c’n be honorary members of me crew!”

The two boys moved in sync, hopping to their feet and flashing him a salute. “Aye, aye, Captain!”

“Okay, let’s not get carried away,” Callie said, just as her phone rang. She pulled it from her back pocket, giving it a tap to answer. “Hello? Linda? What’s wrong?”

Eclipse sighed, rolling his eyes. Linda was one of the other ladies who worked at the library. She was nice and all, but kinda boring. She always seemed nervous around him. He didn’t know why—he’d only almost bit her that one time. Almost. Hardly something to hold a grudge about, really.

“Is he okay? Good. Come in? Oh, I can’t, I have . . .” She glanced at Dread. “Company. From out of town. Call Karen and see if she can . . . oh she can’t?” She sighed. “Okay. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

She hung up and turned to the three by the couch. “I have to head into work. Linda’s son broke his arm and they’ve gotta run him to the hospital.”

“Oh,” Silver said, his ears flicked back. “Is Jake okay?”

“Yeah, he’ll be fine. Just needs his arm set.” She chewed her lip slightly, her eyes on the echidna. “Dread, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“’Course, lass.”

He followed her to the kitchen, just as Eclipse turned to Silver.

“Remember when I said Knuckles wasn’t cool?” Silver nodded. “I take it back. This one is soooo cooool.”

~X~X~X~

Callie led Dread into the kitchen, around the island to speak quietly with him.

“I’ve gotta head into work, and can’t take the boys with me.” She paused, pulling her lips tight. These next words out of her mouth were really gonna hurt. “I need to know I can trust you to watch over them for an hour.”

Her voice was soft, but firm, her eyes locked with his. She didn’t want to do this. This wasn’t an ideal scenario. On any other day, she would have simply closed the library for emergency reasons, but there was a book club meeting there in 20 minutes and she couldn’t leave them in the lurch.

Dread looked back, a little scowl on his face.

“Lass, ye offend me,” he said, crossing his arms. “When have I ever shown meself as untrustworthy?”

She gave him a look. One that essentially said ‘Do you want that answer alphabetically, or in order of importance?’

He seemed to catch her meaning, and dropped the scowl with a guilty smile.

“Aye, that be a bit of bad phrasing on my part,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. He stood straighter, bringing his fist to his chest. “I give ye me word, lass. I’ll guard them with me life.”

A little smirk curled her lip, and she gave a slight chuckle. “Not sure that will be necessary, but I appreciate the thought.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, giving a little squeeze. “God forgive me for what I’m about to say, but . . .”

She took a breath, pulling her lips tight.

“Dread, you’re in charge.”

~X~X~X~

Silver sat at the kitchen table, watching Eclipse and Dread rummage through the fridge. There were plenty of leftovers, and before his mom left she said they could have what they wanted if they were hungry.

“Blimey!” Dread had exclaimed when Eclipse opened the fridge door. He reached his hand inside with an expression of wonder. “It be colder than a witch’s—” He caught himself, flicking his eyes to the boys before clearing his throat. “I mean, heh, it be mighty cold in this cupboard.”

“It helps keep food fresh,” the hedgehog said as he moved closer to pull out some leftover macaroni and cheese. “The cold makes sure it doesn’t spoil as fast.”

“Bloomin’ brilliant,” the pirate muttered as he peered into the shelves.

Eclipse piled leftover spaghetti on his plate, shoving a forkful into his mouth before crinkling his nose. “Ugh, too cold.”

“I’ll warm it up,” Silver said, priming his power to move the plate to the microwave. Eclipse balked, waving him away as he carried the plate over himself.

“I can do it!”

“Mom says you’re not allowed to use the microwave. Not after what happened last time.”

Eclipse waved a dismissive hand, uttering an annoyed ‘tch’. “Mom’s not here, is she? And that was weeks ago. Ancient history.”

The darkling popped the plate into the microwave and pressed a few buttons. The machine hummed to life, but shortly thereafter it began to spark and issue loud snaps. Silver gasped.

“You forgot to take your fork off the plate again!”

“You distracted me!”

“Get it out!”

“I will, don’t rush me!”

Eclipse turned to reach for the microwave door, when Dread jumped in front of him, pushing the boy back and drawing his sword.

“Watch yerself, lad! That be dangerous!”

And with that, the pirate swung his sword, slashing the microwave and cleaving it in two. It fell to the counter with a mighty crash.

Silver’s eyes went wide. Oh. Ohhh no.

“You killed our microwave!” he yelled, his hands pressed to this cheeks. This was so bad. “Mom’s gonna kill us!”

Dread looked confused, snapping his head back and forth from Silver to the now greatly deceased machine. “I thought . . . it be sparkin’ like a lightning storm, and I didn’t . . .”

The cats’ automatic feeder kicked in then, startling Dread, who spun and hurled his sword toward the new sound. It struck the feeder, splitting the side and spilling dry food all over the floor. Much to Bloom’s delight.

Silver shrieked. “Stop breaking things!”

“It ain’t me fault!” Dread cried back, hurrying over to pull his sword free.

“What are we gonna do??” Silver cried, wringing one of his long head spikes. “Mom’s gonna be so mad when she sees this!”

“Calm down, we’ll just . . . fix it,” Eclipse shrugged, poking at the pieces of microwave littering the counter. “Think Tails could come over?”

Silver shook his head. “Tails can’t fix that! It’s destroyed!”

“Then we’ll just get a new one!” the darkling yelled, throwing his arms over his head. “How much could they cost? $20?”

“Do you have $20?”

“No!”

“THEN HOW ARE WE GONNA BUY A NEW ONE??”

“I DON’T HEAR ANY IDEAS FROM YOU!!”

“QUIET!!”

Dread’s shout snapped the two out of their argument, and they turned to him. He sheathed his sword, walking toward them with a contemplative expression.

“Yellin’ and fussin’ ain’t gonna solve nothin’,” he said, stopping with his hands on his hips. “We need a plan. Be there any shops in town that carry those warming box things?”

The boys exchanged a glance, and Silver nodded. “Charlie’s should. They have a bunch of stuff like fridges and washing machines and stuff.”

The echidna nodded. “Then we go to this Charlie’s and see what we can do to get a new one.”

“But we don’t have any money.”

Dread smiled, in a smirky, confident kind of way. “Ye leave that to me.”

~X~X~X~

Ten minutes later and they were walking into town. Most of the townspeople didn’t really bat an eye at them, but Dread’s outfit drew some double takes. Eclipse supposed they weren’t expecting to see the red echidna they were used to dressed up like a pirate.

“What’s it like being a pirate?” the darkling asked. All of Dread’s stories sounded so fun. “Is it hard?”

“Oh, the pirate life be full of danger and adventure,” Dread said, a fond smile on his face. “Sometimes more danger than adventure, and there be plenty o’ times I nearly got me head handed t’ me, but it be the only life I know.”

“Don’t you have to . . . hurt people, if you’re a pirate?”

Eclipse flicked his eyes to his brother. Part of him wanted to feel annoyed at the hedgehog’s sensitivity to things like this, but another part fully understood Silver’s point of view. The world Silver came from was hard and violent and scary. Not something he wanted to relive.

Dread seemed to sense the boy’s mood, and he curled an arm around Silver’s shoulders to pull him close.

“Aye, sometimes there be no avoidin’ a battle,” he said, his voice soft. “Sometimes fighting be all we can do to keep ourselves safe. We try not to seek out fights, but we deal with ‘em if they come to us.”

Silver seemed to think about this. “So you’re . . . defending yourselves.”

Dread nodded, that smirk on his face again. “Aye. We defend ourselves and what be ours.”

“I guess that’s okay.”

“It’s not just okay, it sounds awesome!” Eclipse said, moving to walk backward in front of them. “Think you could teach me to sword fight? Man, I wanna come to your world and fight a kraken! I bet I could take it!”

The echidna cocked an eyebrow at the boy. “Do ye even know what a kraken be?”

Eclipse felt his muzzle warm. “I dunno. Like a big turtle?”

“’Fraid not, me lad,” Dread said with a chuckle. “It be a giant leviathan from the depths of the ocean. A creature longer than most ships and bearin’ a grudge against anything that breathes the air. It wraps its thick tentacles ‘round yer boat and drags it below the waves, to drown everyone aboard and eat them at its leisure.”

A beat of silence. “I could still take it.”

Dread barked out a loud laugh. “I bet ye could, lad. I bet ye could. Ye have the soul of a pirate, ye do, with the bravery to match.” He leaned a bit closer, dropping his voice. “Though don’t tell yer mum I said such a thing. She’d box me ears somethin’ good.”

Eclipse nodded with a smile. He wasn’t exactly sure what ‘box me ears’ meant, but he got the gist of it. His mom could get a little scary when angry. And a little over protective when it came to him and Silver. If she found out Dread was encouraging any dangerous or risky behavior, he’d be on the receiving end of that anger.

And even a seasoned pirate didn’t want to face her wrath.

“There’s Charlie’s,” Silver said, pointing across the street.

Dread nodded. “Aye. Let’s get what we came for.”

~X~X~X~

The building was larger than any shop Dread had ever been in. It held many different machines, and he could only guess what they were made for. Since they were designed for humans, most were larger than him. This world made him feel so much smaller than his own. It was unnerving.

He let the boys take the lead, since this was their world, and they were more comfortable navigating it. He still kept a sharp eye and ear on their surroundings—he’d promised the lass he would care for them, and come hell or high water, he would. They would not be harmed under his watch.

“Over here,” Silver called as he headed down an aisle. Dread followed, and they soon found themselves before a row of boxes with a picture of a microwave on the front. “This one looks like ours.”

“Aye.”

Dread stepped forward, and pulled the box off the shelf. It was heavier than he expected, but nothing his strength couldn’t handle. He hoisted it over his head, turning to the boys.

“Now what?” Eclipse asked.

The echidna paused. He was at war with himself.

Part of him wanted to do this the right way. Callie had trusted him, and he wanted so badly to make her proud, to do right and prove her trust in him was well placed. That part said to go to the owners of the shop, discuss terms, and see if there was some deal they could make. He had some gold in his jacket pocket, but he didn’t know how it compared to the currency of this world.

“What be the price on this?”

Silver looked at a little tag on the shelf. His ears flicked backwards. “Two hundred dollars.”

Eclipse grimaced. “That’s . . . a lot more than $20.”

Dread gave a little hum as he thought. He had no idea what a ‘dollar’ was, but he didn’t have that many gold pieces on him. He supposed he could have gone back to No Place to get more, but honestly, that was a lot of hassle, and he was getting impatient. He didn’t know when Callie would return home, and wanted this solved quickly.

And the other part of him, the part that told him all that ‘do the right thing’ stuff was a load of bollocks, slowly got louder.

It looked like there was only one solution.

“Ye know, this Charlie be pretty selfish to keep all these to himself,” he said, keeping his voice casual. “Look how many be on the shelf. He won’t miss one.”

Silver turned to him, eyes wide. “What do you mean? Are you saying we should . . .” His voice dropped low, and he looked around. “Steal it??”

“It all be a matter of perspective, lad. If ye were really hungry, would ye steal a loaf of bread?”

The boys exchanged a glance. Eclipse shrugged.

“I guess,” Silver said, pulling his head spike around to squeeze and twist. “But this isn’t the same, is it? You can’t eat a microwave.”

“Nay, but ye can make food in the thing.” He shrugged. “It be a gray area.”

The hedgehog continued to worry at his head spike, and now pulled his lip in to chew on. Dread flicked his eyes to Eclipse, who seemed less bothered with the whole situation. “Ye understand, don’t ye, lad?”

Eclipse seemed to consider things for a moment, before turning to his brother.

“C’mon Silver,” the darkling said, his voice tinged with annoyance. “It’s not like he’s even gonna notice it missing.”

“Can I help you kids?”

The three froze, and slowly turned to see an older man standing at the end of the aisle. His eyes flicked up to the microwave over Dread’s head, and the echidna’s pirate instincts kicked in.

“RUN FOR IT, LADS!”

And without bothering to check on the boys, Dread sprinted toward the front door.

~X~X~X~

Eclipse’s tail went rigid when Dread took off. He left them?? He was this cool pirate and he left them??

Snapping his head back around, he saw the look on Mr. Charlie’s face. First he was confused, then shocked. Then he was mad.

Oh. Oh no.

“It’s not what you think!” Silver was saying, his hands held out in front of him. Eclipse lunged forward to grab his brother’s wrist, before teleporting them back to the front of the store.

~X~X~X~

The door was in sight. Dread ran for it, holding his prize high above his head. All he had to do was get through that door, and he’d be good as gold.

Right now he wasn’t thinking about Callie. He wasn’t thinking about the two boys he left back in that aisle. He was running on ‘pirate brain’, consumed with winning and doing what he wanted, what he needed, to get his mission accomplished.

And that’s when he was hit in the middle by a screeching darkling.

“You’re gonna get me in trouble!” Eclipse yelled as he wrestled with Dread. The microwave went flying, and the echidna was surprised at the strength and agility the boy possessed. He tried to grab him to pull him off, but the darkling was too quick.

“Get off me!” he bellowed, right before he suddenly realized he couldn’t move. Glancing to his left, he found Silver with his hands extended out. A strange cyan glow surrounded them, the same glow that held him and the microwave captive. “By Neptune’s beard . . .”

“I’m sorry!” Silver said, his voice shaky and high-pitched. “I’m sorry but you can’t steal!”

Dread tried to break free from this strange hold, but his muscles would not obey him. It was as if he were completely frozen. Paralyzed. He struggled for another moment, before uttering a frustrated growl and giving up.

“Aye, lad,” he said with a sigh. “Ye got me. I surrender.”

~X~X~X~

Callie sat at the red light, lips pulled tight and feeling like the top of her head was about to explode.

Dread sat beside her, in the passenger seat, and he kept his gaze out the window. Her boys were in the back seat, and the microwave she apparently had to buy because the one at her house had met with an unfortunate fate was tucked in the cargo area of her Subaru.

No one said anything. She wasn’t sure she would have been able to speak anyway, considering how angry she was. At least not without a lot of colorful words sprinkled into the mix.

When she got the call to come to Charlie’s, she’d just seen the last of the book club out and was about to lock up anyway. Good thing. Because apparently the supposed adult she put in charge of her children had thought it a good idea to take them to be accomplices to attempted larceny.

At least Charlie had been understanding. Well, as understanding as he could be in such a strange situation. Trying to explain to him that this was a Knuckles, but not the Knuckles he was familiar with had taken a few tries. But when it suddenly clicked—”Like that Spiderman movie?”—he’d been much more willing to just let everything go.

Which was more than she was willing to do.

The light turned green and she pulled away. The ride to her house was a quiet one. She flicked her eyes to the rearview mirror, and saw two guilty looking kids in the back. Well, one guilty, and one pretty pissed kid. Eclipse kept shooting Dread dirty looks. He’d really been enthralled by the pirate, and when Dread essentially ditched them in favor of saving his own skin, it apparently left a sour taste in the darkling’s mouth. She didn’t blame him, really.

And she honestly wasn’t mad at them. They had done the right thing in the end and stopped Dread from running out with the microwave. That made her pretty proud, actually.

She pulled into her driveway, killing the engine and turning in her seat to talk to her boys.

“You two head on inside. We’ll be in in a minute.”

They nodded quickly, and hurried into the house. Callie turned to Dread, a finger tapping on the steering wheel.

“An hour. I was barely gone for one freaking hour.”

Dread said nothing, his back still turned to her.

“I trusted you.”

A beat of silence. “Aye. I know.”

She sighed, sitting back in her seat, tilting her head back against the rest. “Suppose it’s not your fault. You are how you are. I knew that and trusted you anyway.”

Now he turned, his lip curled in a snarl. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What do you think it means?” she asked, turning to him with her own snarl. “You’re a pirate! Knuckles the Dread! I should’ve known you’d do something to try and warp my kids’ minds to your pirate ways.”

His snarl became more pronounced. “I did nothing to those lads. I would not hurt them.”

“No, instead you dragged them off to shoplift a microwave!”

“There be a problem, and I found a solution!”

“A problem YOU caused!”

“It weren’t me fault! I was tryin’ to make ye proud!”

Callie uttered a sharp laugh, her temper flaring. “Proud?? For making my boys accomplices to your crime?? I trusted you! THEY trusted you! Do you realize just how badly you messed up? Those boys come from really bad childhoods! They were both used and abused by someone they trusted, someone who should have taken care of them. They—”

“SO WAS I!” he shouted, his hands curled into fists. “Ye don’t know anything about me childhood. I be a child of five when taken by a cruel man. He . . . his crew . . . they did the most awful things to me. I be just a child and they hurt me. Tortured me. I had to turn into this to survive.”

Callie quieted, and just stared at him. She didn’t know that. She didn’t really know anything about his childhood. He had always acted like being a pirate was the only thing he’d ever wanted. But, now that she thought about it, he’d always said it was the only thing he’d ever known. That was different, wasn’t it?

“Yer boys be good lads,” he said, some of the anger fading from his tone. “And aye, I admit it made me feel good to see them look up to me. To see their excitement when I told me tales.” He sighed, sitting back in his seat. “And ye be right. I could’ve done things diff’rently. Seen if I had enough gold on me to cover the cost. But instead I let me pirate instincts kick in and caused ye all this trouble.”

Silence descended over them, and Callie’s anger dissipated. She saw Dread in a different light now, and recognized the hurt little boy he used to be. Yes, he was a gremlin. Yes, he caused trouble and poked at the others and started fights. Yes, he seemed to behave in ways that were almost self-destructive.

But she’d seen that before, hadn’t she? When Eclipse first came, he’d acted out very similarly before he acclimated to the family. (And honestly, even now he could devolve into gremlin mode every now and then.) It was all a cover for the hurt he still carried. The pain from a life of abuse.

And sometimes that pain caused anger, and selfishness, and violence born of fear. Fear of being loved. Fear of being hurt again.

She could have kicked herself. Dread was suffering from the same trauma her own children were. And she’d never seen it.

“Those pirate instincts are what kept you alive,” she said, her voice softer.

Dread stared at his feet. “Don’t make what I did right.”

“No, it doesn’t.” She quieted. “Dread, I didn’t know.”

He shrugged, letting out a tired sigh. “I didn’t want ye to. Didn’t want anyone to. Me childhood be something I try to forget. Try to ignore. Pretend it happened to someone else. ‘Cause if I think about it, remember it, it would drive me mad.”

A quiet moment passed. The familiarity of his past trauma was almost funny. She seemed to attract the aliens with the abusive childhoods, while the Wachowskis attracted the ones with the abandonment issues.

Considering her own past, she supposed it was a case of like attracting like, only on a much more universal scale.

Callie reached over to cup his muzzle and turn his face back toward her.

“Our pasts hurt us whether we want to remember them or not,” she said, a sad smile on her lips. “My boys . . . they remember their pasts. Still have nightmares about them. I can’t change their past, or take those memories away. But what I can do, is try really hard to make sure their present has as much love and happiness as I can possibly give them.”

He stared at her, and his eyes grew shiny.

“They be lucky to have ye,” he whispered.

Callie’s heart nearly broke in half. For all his bravado, all his boasting and confidence and arrogance, Dread was still a lost little boy, trying to find someone who would love him.

“Ya know,” she said, rubbing her thumb over his muzzle, where a tear may or may not have fallen. “The boys seem to be under this really weird impression that you’re cool. So, I guess, if you wanted to, you could hang out here whenever you wanted.” She gave him a more stern look. “So long as you keep the crime sprees to an absolute minimum. Like zero.”

His eyes grew wide. “Ye . . . ye still want me around?”

She shrugged. “What kind of person would I be if I let a little thing like microwave destruction and attempted theft push away someone whom I consider one of my best friends?”

He froze. “B-best . . . ?”

“One of,” she said, keeping her voice light. “In the top five. It varies. Sometimes minute-by-minute.”

Dread stared at her for another moment, before a smile spread across his muzzle. “Ye be an angel, lass,” he said, and he blinked quickly to hide his tears. “An absolute angel made flesh.”

Callie wrinkled her nose, uttering a little grunt. “Ugh, don’t get all mushy and make this weird. C’mere.”

She pulled him to her, and took his hat off to rest their foreheads together.

“You ever need anything,” she said, her voice soft, “you come to me. Understand? You ever feel like you’re gonna explode if you don’t talk about something, or if your past is poking at you more than usual, or just need someone to be there, you come to me. Anytime. No judgment. My home is your home now. And you are part of my family. Don’t argue with me, just accept it.”

At first Dread didn’t seem like he knew what to do, how to feel. But after a moment he relaxed against her, and brought his hand up to cup the back of her neck to hold her to him more firmly.

“Aye,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “It be an honor to join your family.”

They sat like that for a moment, before pulling away. Callie gave him a little smirk, and dropped his hat back in place as she turned for her door.

“C’mon. Let’s get the new microwave in and then you need to have a little chat with a couple of boys.”

“Aye. Yes, ma’am.”

~X~X~X~

Eclipse sat on the couch with Silver. He crossed his arms, trying not to look at the stupid pirate standing before them.

His mom seemed to have forgiven Dread. They’d sat out in the car for a while after getting home and he’d watched through the window. They seemed like they were yelling for a bit, which was good because he wanted Dread to get into trouble. He was supposed to be this cool guy, this much cooler version of the Knuckles they knew. But instead he was just some jerk who ran off to let him and Silver get in trouble for something that was his idea.

Dread stood with his hands behind his back, a serious expression on his face. After standing quietly for a moment, he coughed into his fist before speaking.

“Yargh, I suppose an apology be in order for the way I behaved back in the shop.”

“You ditched us!” Eclipse snapped, his muzzle curled in a snarl. “You were gonna leave us to get into trouble!”

“Aye. I did.”

“The Knuckles we know wouldn’t do that,” Silver said, crossing his own arms. He wasn’t as angry as Eclipse, but wasn’t overly happy with Dread, either. “He’s a good friend and always does what he thinks is right.”

Dread shrugged. “I ain’t him.”

“No kidding,” Eclipse asked, jumping off the couch to get in Dread’s face. His arm spikes flared, tail flicking in angry whips. “I thought you were cool. You told such awesome stories. But you’re just a jerk and all those stories are probably lies, too!”

The echidna kept his composure, but a little smirk curled the corner of his lips. “Oh lad, they all be true. They be the more tame stories. There be many others, some would give ye nightmares for a week.”

Eclipse paused. More stories? With more danger?

He narrowed his eyes, casting a suspicious glance at the pirate. “Like what?”

A grin split Dread’s lips, and he tossed a glance over his shoulder. Callie was distracted in the kitchen, cleaning the messes from the old microwave and split cat feeder. The echidna turned back, leaning forward and speaking in a low, conspirator-like whisper.

“Like the time I single-handedly took down two pirate ships, while in the middle of a monsoon, and a kraken decided to have me for its lunch!”

Eclipse’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

“May lightning strike me down if I be lyin’.”

Silver took a moment to look to the skies outside, while Eclipse grabbed Dread’s wrist. He dragged the pirate behind him, heading for the kitchen door.

“We’re going outside, just to play and not to hear any more pirate stories that may be too scary for Silver!” he said, barely putting space between his words.

“Hey!” Silver whined, hurrying out after them. “I’m not scared!”

~X~X~X~

Callie smiled as she watched her boys through the window. Silver and Eclipse sat on the deck, watching as Dread gestured and mimed and told his grand—and in no way embellished—stories of his life as a pirate.

An eventful day, but everything worked out.

Her boys were happy. Dread was happy. She was happy.

Yep. She’ll call that a win.

[netmomplus]

Touhou Ship Week 2023 Day 4: Habits/AU (Yep, a bit of both.)

“Okay, so how are we going to get you to quit?”

That was the big question of the day that Keine Kamishirasawa had proposed as she settled in for the night. Her partner Mokou, who was sitting next to her, was staring at something on a nearby table: A carton of cigarettes, as it turned out. There was a restless look on the immortal’s face, something that Keine was all too familiar with. Mokou had tried quitting cold turkey, but some habits, especially addictions like this, were particularly hard to break.

“Wild that we’re… finally doing this, huh?” Mokou just sat and sighed, her hands visibly fidgeting with the phone sitting in her lap. “I moved in with you… what, last year? And here we are, finally dealing with this whole smoking thing. It feels like we should have addressed this ages ago, and yet…”

“...it was hard figuring out how I was going to help me,” Keine admitted. “Truth be told, I’m still not sure I know. But I think if we just… start by talking through it, I’m sure we’ll figure out a solution.”

“Yeah… yeah, that’s what I’m hoping.”

The duo sat in silence for another minute or so. Keine looked up at the currently turned-off TV in front of them; maybe some background noise would help. She nabbed the remote and turned the set on, revealing a news program. Well that wouldn’t do, that’d just be too depressing; she moved over to a documentary station instead. That would work a lot better.

“Okay, so… I guess we can start with… how you feel right now?”

Mokou looked at Keine with a tired, half-lidded stare, like she hadn’t gotten any sleep in days. It was apparent from her face that she wasn’t doing well, but Keine figured she’d ask anyway just to be totally clear.

“...I simultaneously feel restless and exhausted. Like I want to sleep but can’t. Like I’m hungry but also… can’t feel bothered to eat. It’s not a fun feeling.” The immortal rubbed her eyes. “It makes me miss smoking.”

“That seems right. And…” Keine reached for a glass of water and handed it over to Mokou. “How did smoking make you feel?”

“That’s a tricky one to answer. I guess… they make me feel relaxed? They let me focus on things I wouldn’t be able to otherwise, it feels like. And then a bit later I start to feel bad again and need to go for another one. Of course I know those positive thoughts are a load of crock, but that doesn’t really change my feelings before, during and after.”

“Well thank you, that helps me a lot actually.”

Indeed, Keine was already working to take this knowledge and apply it to try and figure out the best way to help Mokou kick this habit. Very clearly cold turkey alone was giving her trouble, but she wasn’t sure if weaning would do much for her either. Maybe there were some alternate methods they could try?

“Well, maybe we can start going out more? Do you think spending some time away from home would-”

“Nope.” Mokou shut Keine down almost immediately. “Don’t get me wrong, going out more would be great, I wouldn’t want to spend time alone with anyone else. But even on the few times we do go out, I still have to deal with it.”

“...ah, right. Last time we went to eat out you had to step out for a smoke…”

Keine wanted to beat herself up for forgetting about that. Maybe she’d eaten a bit too much history lately and just couldn’t remember that day. Probably would have helped her figure things out for her first guess, but at least that was a bit more knowledge to add to the pile. So simple distractions weren’t going to work, huh? This was going to be harder than she thought.

“...Mokou?” Keine decided to ask. “Can you think of anything else that sort of… makes you feel like how those little death sticks make you feel?”

“I assume you mean the positives,” Mokou said with a half-chuckle. “Give me a minute to think about that… hmmm… well, I do like sitting and looking at nature. Urbanization hitting the Human Village like a brick hasn’t done me any favors, but sometimes I’ll just walk out and find, you know, somewhere more peaceful and just relax. Why do you think I spend so much time loitering around that old bamboo forest?”

“Hey, that’s something.” Keine patted Mokou on the back and smiled. “We can start heading out there together maybe. I can be there to help keep you in check, help you feel safe… anything you need dear, I’m hear for you.”

“...thanks.” Mokou rubbed the back of her neck. “Though… what do we do if you’re busy, or I’m busy, or, uh… y’know, neither of us are really in the mood? Can’t just spend all our time loitering outside.”

“Oh, that’s a fair point actually…”

Guess that meant they needed to do some more thinking. There was probably something else that they could do to help, though what exactly? Damn it, Keine’s knowledge was all based on history, not anything like this. Maybe her knowledge base wasn’t enough to figure this out, maybe she needed to just… urgh, but…

“...sheesh, if only there was like… a pill or something for this. Is there?”

A pill? That’d be convenient, wouldn’t it? Would’ve been convenient if she’d thought about it sooner, but with her youkai blood-triggered extended lifespan, she was still pretty oldfashioned… but wait, Mokou was even older. Damn it, she couldn’t even use that as an excuse for her forgetfulness. Completely out of ideas, Keine decided to ask Mokou a question.

“Hey, can I borrow your phone? Mine’s still charging.”

“Sure?”

Mokou handed her phone over to Keine, who began making the search. As it turned out she didn’t have to look for very long, as indeed there were numerous medications available just for that sort of thing. Prescriptions could be gotten from doctors, and there were some weaker over-the-counter treatments available as well. Maybe combining those might do the trick…

“...Mokou, I think that might be the right idea.”

“Had a feeling.” Mokou lied down and groaned. “Mind handing me my phone back? I’ll book the appointment myself.”

Keine obliged and returned the phone to her girlfriend’s clutches. She looked over and watched as Mokou did exactly as she said, making an appointment with their favorite semi-local doctor. Turned out there was a slot available tomorrow, how convenient.

“It’s during your job,” Mokou admitted, “but I’ll be fine going over myself. I’ll just take my bike, told you the yakitori money wasn’t gonna go to waste.”

“Alright, dear. Even if I’m not immediately there, remember that you can always message me and I’ll respond whenever I’m able. And of course I’ll be here for you to help, even medicated I want to make sure you’re doing your best.”

“Thanks, Keine… love ya.”

“Love you too.”

With the appointment made, Mokou set the phone down on a nearby table and closed her eyes. Keine soon followed suit, and the pair would eventually drift off to sleep. Whether this would for sure work out or not, neither could confirm, but they had hopes. This habit was breakable, just needed to work at it. And by the Gods, would they work.

[the-rice-farm]

Hardships: Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Waylen

“Get up.” 

Some bloody children are just so lazy sometimes. I sighed in annoyance. “Mina, if you don’t get up in the next two seconds then we’re leaving and moving on the trail without you.” 

“Waylen, dear, she’s just four.”

Four is old enough to know that we’re not lying around waiting to be killed. She got up and rubbed her eyes. We all seem to have dark bags sagging underneath our eyes-- even the younger ones. Mina is the youngest of them all, and hers are starting to form. Everyone’s tried to make sure she gets more sleep than the rest of us, but it’s not possible when all of us have to work in some way. It’s either that or getting kicked out. 

My mother stood next to me with a tired smile on her face. “Don’t be so strict on her, Waylen.” 

“She’ll be thanking me when she doesn’t get left behind.”

After Mina folded up the rags she’d been sleeping with, I hoisted her up in my arms and gave her a banana to eat. Instead, she pulled at my necklace and I quickly swatted her hand away. 

“I already told you, I’ll make you one once we get our hands on some thread.”

“Will it have a bead like yours?” 

I sharply inhaled and shook my head. “No, I’ll find something else. Now eat the fruit-- you’re already scrawny enough.” I doubted she was past 3 feet and 6 inches. There were also certain reasons I refused to make her a necklace like mine or even let her touch it. I never let anyone touch it. Not even Mother. I didn’t let go of it since the night the raids started again. 

Or to rephrase it, the night May died. 

I’d sulked for weeks, refusing to accept the fact that May was dead. I had hallucinations and insisted that she was in front of me and next to me when I slept. When I realized that she was gone for good, I just sat in the corner and stared at her necklace in my hands every night. 

Mother tried to take it once, but I lashed out at her and clasped it around my neck. It didn’t dangle, so it made work easy. It clung and took the shape of my neck just like it did to May’s. 

Mina helped me pack away things while telling me about her dream. Today’s story was… different. 

“I saw a girl. She was wearing the same necklace as yours! That’s why-”

“Shut up. Shut up right now.”

Mina looked at her feet and didn’t say anything more. 

~~~

A few hours later, we stopped and took a break near a creek. I watched as my Mother lifted heavy metal cans of water onto her waist to fill the canteens. Droplets of water fell from the sky and I looked at fish weave their way through the rocks. I reached for a long stick and skewered it through one of them. Dmitri clapped me on the back and held the slimy bass in his hands. 

“Show-off much? And what’s with the dim face? Mina said you were sad. You’re so boring, Way.”

“I told you not to call me that. Just put the damn thing away before it leaves its stench on you.” 

Dmitri was a few years older than me and used to be a senior in my school before the wars. He always told me pointless stories at night that he made up when we were trying to sleep. It was his original dream to become a poet. His wealthy parents didn’t approve. That doesn’t matter anymore. They traveled to the States and left him. 

“Waylen?” I lifted my head and saw Mina standing on the slippery rocks with a piece of jam-spread bread in her hands. 

“It’s a little stale…but it’s still food.” 

She must feel upset about her dream.

I took it and had Mina sit in my lap while I shredded pieces of it for both of us. I nudged Kali, who was sitting next to me, and she happily took the bread. I heard the rough scratches of her remaining graphite lead against her sketchbook. 

The only thing I know about Kali is that we found her at an orphanage. One that was practically burnt to the ground. All she ever does is draw or daydream. Anything that doesn’t help or contribute to our effort. She’ll be forced to leave soon by Kian. Kian’s already kicked out plenty of people.

I don’t really care, but I hope she’s aware of what will happen if she doesn’t detach herself from that stupid sketchbook.

[witchthewriter]

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐯𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

⤷ female, ambiguous race, and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!  

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ      

𝑺𝑭𝑾🌿

⭑ A lot of dance parties with Harley, and you have to pull Ivy into joining 

⭑ Harley really likes ABBA, and you three often watch the Mamma Mia movies

⭑ You all live together, with all separate rooms (so a person can escape whenever they wanted to)

⭑ The place is full of plants, just absolutely hundreds of them; dangling from the ceiling, on window sills, in the bathroom, etc.

⭑ You have a collection of books and Harley will bring you back at least 3 whenever she goes out 

⭑ Ivy is actually super ticklish and whenever she’s upset at what Harley’s done, Harley will chase her around the apartment, trying to get Ivy to forgive her 

⭑ Ivy is always chastising Harley for deliberately getting the lyrics wrong in a song. She does it just to piss her off

⭑ Harley initially thought you and Ivy talking to the plants was stupid, but whenever she thinks she’s alone, you can hear her having full blown conversations with (to) them

⭑ Harley gets upset if she falls asleep on the couch and you guys go to bed. So now you have to carry her to bed. She usually sleeps in the middle while you guys cuddle up next to her

⭑ Ivy beomes really out-going/funny when she’s had a few drinks. And it’s a common occurance for her to break out on song. But she’ll deny it in the morning. 

⭑ Um you guys definitely keep news paper articles about your shenanigans ... okay maybe they shouldn’t be called shenanigans, more like crimes ... 

⭑ Your periods are definitely synched up, but Ivy has plants that can alleviate the cramps. And in the bathroom, there’s an array of pads, tampons, diva cups, re-usable pads etc., (obviously you know who owns which when it comes to reusable ones) 

⭑ Whenever you’re making a promise you and Harley do the pinky thing, but if they’re even bigger promises - or even bets, then you do a spit shake.

⭑ Ivy thinks it’s absolutely disgusting, but she gets so used to it that she joins in too

⭑ Being each other’s best friends 

⭑ Having Selina over for dinner 

⭑ And you guys probably have super obscure pets - like yes, Harley would most definitely have her hyena named Bruce, and Ivy made a living Venus Fly Trap, like one that seems almost sentient and you just want a goddamn dog, or even a cat. But they refuse, and you point out their pets -

⭑ So then they agree

⭑ But you can’t decide what to get 

⭑ And maybe one time when Selina is over for dinner, she says that she found a stray that doesn’t like being around too many other cats, so you say you’ll take him

⭑ But then you realise a few months later that the reason why the cat didn’t like being around other cats was because it wasn’t a he, but a she THAT IS NOW PREGNANT 

⭑ “Awww we’re gonna be grandparents!” Harley cooed when you guys figured it out 

⭑ “Well we can’t have all of them, and Selina already has an apartment full.” Ivy stated, but you wanted to keep all of them so desperately. 

⭑ Your cat still hasn’t given birth yet, but she’s so big that all she can do is lay down all-day. You can find her on your bed, snoozing in the sunlight. 

⭑ And she actually really likes Bruce (the hyena)

⭑ Harley particularly likes to sit on your lap, and Ivy likes to rest her head on your shoulder 

⭑ You usually make dinner 

⭑ Ivy cleans up 

⭑ Harley will go and get the groceries

⭑ Sometimes you do all sleep in the same bed, but the majority of each of your belongings are in your separate rooms

⭑ Harley will leave lipstick marks on your cheek

⭑ And you’ll find red/orange hair in the bathroom, but you can’t deny that you love these women. 

⭑ Theme Song: 

‘Lay All Your Love On Me’ by Pale Honey

⭑ Relationship Tropes: 

  ✧ Touch Either Of My Girlfriends And You Die x3

  ✧ Dumbass (Harley) x Dumbass In Training (You) x Oh God I Guess They’re My Dumbasses (Ivy)

  ✧ Moon (Ivy) x Eclipse (Harley) x Sun (You)

[illfoandillfie]

Kinktober Day 17: Afternoon Delight

Kinktober Masterlist | Regular Masterlist

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Reader

Words: 749

Warnings: more sweet than smutty, implied sex, discussions of filming sex scenes for movies, just pedro being v reassuring and lovey dovey.

A/N: highkey inspired by a scene in a book i read recently (the seven husbands of evelyn hugo) lmao

It had been a quiet weekend, one of the rare occasions neither you nor Pedro had anything scheduled. You’d allowed yourselves to sleep in, had a nice brunch with your coffees, and then settled in for a relaxing day of doing very little. By the mid-afternoon Pedro way sitting on one end of the couch reading and you were laying across the rest, your head in his lap, your attention on your phone. Every so often you let out a soft hum as Pedro absentmindedly played with your hair, and sometimes one of you would interrupt the quiet to share something funny you’d seen or just comment on how nice it was to do nothing. After some time in the peaceful bliss, Pedro’s page turning happened less frequently. You didn’t click to it right away but it became increasingly clear that something other than the plot of the novel had his attention. Finally, he cracked.   “Hey, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” You dragged your attention from your phone, “What is it?” “It’s about work next week.” “Mmm, what about it?” you asked, pushing yourself to sit up and face him better, a suspicion of what he was trying to get at already in your head.   “Well, next week we’ll be filming the sex scene.” “Right, I remember you mentioning that you’d be doing that soon.” “I thought I should warn you that it’s coming up, I think it’s going to be quite an...intense scene.” Your forehead creased as you pondered what that meant, “How so? What do you mean intense?” “Well, like I said before it’s got some actual nudity in it. Not full frontal but definitely my ass and I think her uhhh chest...maybe other parts too.” he blushed a little as he skirted around the words, “It’s not going to be a fade to black type scene, we aren’t shying away from showing the sex.” You’d let out a giggle as he’d cutely stumbled over his phrasing but fell quiet again with the rest, “Okay....do you feel like it’s overly gratuitous?” "No. I don’t think so. Our director explained his vision and the three of us talked through the scene. We came to the conclusion that it’s important for the characters. Seeing their desire for each other and seeing that each of them receives pleasure from the other will help the audience understand decisions they make later on. It’s not like it’ll be pornographic anyway, but it might not be that taseful either.” “Okay.” “Okay?” You shrugged, “Well, what do you want me to say? I mean I can’t say I’m thrilled at the idea of seeing you fuck someone else or even pretend to. But I know it’s your job and it sounds like it’s in there for a reason and that you were included in decisions about it, so if you feel comfortable doing the scenes then... okay.” “I’d still like to know if you have any misgivings,” he grabbed your hand, giving it a squeeze, “I’m not the only one this scene could effect.” You squeezed his hand back in a silent acknowledgement of his thoughtfulness, “I don’t know that I’d feel entirely comfortable watching it.” “If you want to skip the premiere screening you can.” He smiled, only a little bit teasing.   You laughed, “No, just give me a heads up when it’s coming up so I can close my eyes or pop out to the bathroom or something.” He chuckled, “Alright, deal.’ You swallowed thickly, “You don’t feel anything for her, do you? Your co-star I mean.” “No, definitely not. She’s beautiful, can’t deny that, and she’d really great to work with, but no.” You nodded again but before you could say anything more he’d pulled your hand to his chest, “You’re my heart. I want to do the scene because I think it’s important for the story we’re telling and the character I’m playing, but you are the only person I actually want to be with.” You smiled, “I know, but it’s very nice to hear you say it.” “I can do more than say it, if you like, I can prove it?” “How would you do tha-” Pedro cut you off, leaning in to kiss your neck and you melted into him with a nod and an, “mmhmm, yes please.” He laughed softly against your ear, making a shiver run down your spine, his hands already moving to remove your clothes, “It’ll be my absolute pleasure.”

[k3rm1e]

cuddling headcanons! ★~(◡﹏◕✿)

this is more of a test thing to see if i like writing this way and if this blog does well

other imagines and headcanons won't include everyone i write unless it is specifically requested and is a prompt i really like

includes: wilbur nihachu karljacobs quackity dream georgenotfound sapnap p!tommyinnnit p!badboyhalo p!skeppy p!eret p!philza p!tubbo p!ranboo

cw: cursing

wilbur:

wilbur is a very cuddle-y guy

to me he seems very soft

i always see people saying he would like spooning, but i disagree

i feel like he would do more of a half-spooning thing with his head on your chest or the other way around

mans would DEFINITELY make you run your fingers through his hair

i feel like he would lay on your chest and just *nuzzle* into the space between your shoulder and neck

anytime you tried to leave him, whether it was because he had to do something or you had to, he would whine. so. fucking. much.

It would probably always go something like:

you - i need to piss

wilbur - no <3

but the moment he decides its time to stop cuddling its fine

and if you complain that you’re gonna miss him he’ll just call you clingy and tease you

like??? sir???

all in good fun though, no bad intentions :)

nihachu:

i feel like you and niki would face each other

with your head like under her chin and in her chest (this is a bad description but look at the “honeymoon hug” on the list for better explanation ;-;)

she would always want to protect you

so she does that by like almost guarding you and keeping you close

niki would definitely do the arm thing where she just lightly moves her hand up and down you arm

i’m so sorry if you don't understand that, it just feels like something she would do

if you haven't experienced that it kinda sorta feels like spiders??? but in a good way???

but generally she is very protective

she just holds you so close the whole time

even if she doesn’t want to let you go, she’s more understanding about it

she would be upset but wouldn’t show it because she doesn’t want to make you feel guilty

niki is generally just an amazing cuddle-r (is that a word?) and has a super comforting presence

karljacobs:

karl would definitely keep your head on his chest

the whole time he would just absolutely squeeze the life out of you

he would constantly bend his neck down to kiss your head

and instead of just like leaving his head down so he could kiss you it would just be:

*inner monologue karl* hmmm i wanna kiss them on their head

and he would lean down to do so which, cute

but then five seconds later he would do it again

and again another five seconds later

and again

very cute karl but please sir, your neck is gonna be so messed up after this

when you had to leave he would be upset, but like niki, would try not to show it

except karl is very bad at that and his pouting would be so obvious

so you would feel guilty and layback down with him

immediately he just becomes (●´ω｀●)

like a happy little puppy

karl is just too adorable for you to deny

quackity:

now we all know this, quackity is a huge dork

which is why i believe he would DEFINITELY use your butt as a pillow

not even in a weird way

i just feel like quackity isn’t too comfortable with touch so this is sorta his way of being close to you without it being a whole serious thing

like he still is able to be goofy and comfortable without it being a whole big thing

him doing this would almost always come with a flatty patty joke from you

which always causes him to threaten divorce, even though you aren’t married

while it isn’t a very good position for things like physical touch, it is good for talking and having conversations

for some reason i feel like he’s the type of person to text someone when they’re right next to each other

so while he’s laying down he’ll just send you random photos of himself

very annoying when your phone is spammed, but also good blackmail material >:)

i don’t think he’d be too clingy

obviously, he enjoys spending time with you

but if you told him you need to go do work or something he wouldn’t throw a fit or pout

big q just seems like he’d be more rational about stuff like that

overall a 420/69 cuddle partner

dream:

one word: spooning

mans just envelops you and has no shame

very big: “no you are mine! >:(“ energy

while he’s sleeping he’ll unconsciously nuzzle his head into your hair/the back of your neck

when you guys got to bed patches usually climbs in and you hold her

i love patches so much i could write headcanons just about her

dream always wants to be cuddling you

if you try to leave he won’t pout, there simply isn't a discussion on whether you’re moving or not

incase you haven’t caught on yet, the answer is no

you need to do work? just bring the laptop to bed

he needs to edit? just sit in his lap at his desk, duh

obviously, he knows at some point you guys need to stop cuddling

he just isn’t too stoked about it

when it comes time where he absolutely can’t cuddle with you, i feel like he’d be more chill

mainly just annoyed

georgenotfound:

i feel like george, like quackity, also wouldn’t be too touchy

i’m pretty sure he has a hard time expressing emotions (please correct me if i’m wrong!!) and i think that would crossover to his sleeping habits

i think he would prefer a sort of back-to-back cuddling position

it seems cold, i know

but also he would most definitely kick at you

so every night while trying to go to sleep suddenly you would just feel *kick*

and then instead of sleep you’re suddenly playing footsie

lots of laughter and warm feelings involved

george would probably pretend that you kicked his leg hard or something and act like you hurt him

the first few times you were actually worried

but then after a few months your only response was a sarcastic “cry about it”

which just led to more laughter

sapnap:

sapnap and you would do a sort of leg hug thing

you both you try to go to sleep in a cute spooning-type position

but the moment one of you fell asleep it all unraveled

you would wake up apart but you’re legs would still be touching

sapnap would joking blame it on you

“wow can’t believe you don't wanna be close with me even when we’re asleep”

“it’s not my fault! i can’t control where i end up when i sleep!”

“no, no. you don’t have to lie. i see how it is.”

“>:(“

but it's okay!

your legs are the first thing to react in a flight-or-fight situation, so they usually react in an honest way

which is like your legs are both reaching to hold each other!

p!tommyinnit:

i don’t get a very touchy vibe from tommy

i feel like the most he would do is put his arm over your shoulder

not in a flirty way, just in a “hey, there isn’t a lot of space, this will make sitting down more comfortable” way

he will let you sorta fidget with his hand/arm

i don't know if that makes sense but what i mean is that he’ll pretty much let his arm go *flop* so you can control it (by like moving it around or playing with his fingers)

in the beginning he would get annoyed

but eventually he would get used to it and wouldn’t really care

it sounds a bit strange but i personally find it very comforting to just have something to fidget with while watching youtube or netflix in bed with my friends

and it’s entertaining (sometimes i do this to me sister to annoy her :>)

he would act like he didn’t mind if you left him

but holy shit he is so clingy

If you try to leave it’ll just be “no, why??? stay here dumbass”

you would be slightly annoyed when he had to leave  but knew he had to film and stream and all that so you would be okay

p!badboyhalo:

you would kinda sit within bad’s lap

like not on his lap, but more of in between his legs

he would have his arms around you

and his phone would be in front of you so you two could scroll through twt or instagram together

or you guys could watch skeppy’s youtube ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

rat would sit in your lap

she’s just;;;;;;;; so adorable

rat is just so soft and fuzzy in your lap and everytime you move to pet her she just melts

rat is the the superior cuddle buddy to any of these block people

p!skeppy:

skeppy, similar to quackity, is a total dork

he would make sure you guys were in a position where he could effectively troll you

so if your head was near his lap he would just flick you or some

“dude can you please stop hitting me in the head”

“it turns out i am not actually hitting you in your head because based on the perpendicularity of the bisector multiplied by the photosynthesis of the dividend, it is impossible for me to do so”

“wtf”

lya is so goddamn sick of you guys

she's trying to get him to actually do something but instead he’s just sitting there throwing paper airplanes at you while you sleep

he’s an annoying asshole but it's okay because he gives you money for absurd reasons

p!eret:

eret has such a comfortable presence

i feel like she wouldn’t be up for cuddling too much

more of like putting your head on a friends shoulder so you can see the tweet their showing you

but they do like to hold hands

holding hands isn’t very intimate but it's also just such a sweet comforting thing

she even holds your hand when you guys are out walking around

like if you guys were getting food somewhere (post-covid of course)

you most likely would get addressed as a couple

and he would just be like”...wut?”

it’s happened so many times at this point you just go along with it

“you guys look like such a cute couple!”

“oh we aren't-” “thank you!”

can you tell that i love eret?

p!philza:

phil always has such dad vibes

i feel like the closest he would get to cuddling is hugs and hand holding

even though cuddling isn’t inherently romantic, he is married to kristen

so i fell he would get most of his touch in with her

but with you he’s just so fatherly

hello dadza

whether you have a good or bad relationship with your father, everyone can admit that philza minecraft is dadza

this is such a dad thing, but tries to hold you hand when you cross the street

no matter the age, he just feels the need to protect you

hugs are similar

uses hugs as a way to comfort you and protect you

just so amazing all around

p!tubbo:

tubbo would love cuddling in any way, shape, or form

if you guys are hanging out at like the park or something and lying down

get ready to become this mans pillow

this is really fun to do with your friends but imagine you guys are hanging out in a field type area (with my friends we hand out in the field next to the cemetery but it can be any open grass area)

tubbo would just use your lap as a pillow the whole time

and when you guys were walking back to his house he would sorta drape his arms over your shoulders (assuming he’s taller than you)

he would do the same thing when you guys were sitting in chairs or at a desk

just drapes his arms over your shoulder with his chin on your head

if it's really late and he's tired he’ll just hug you

p!ranboo:

if you thought tubbo is bad, ranboo is even worse

not even really cuddling, he just likes having a sort of skin-to-skin contact

so handholding and laying on top of eachother

if he’s streaming he will legitimately message ou to just sit next to him

so sometimes if he’s just chilling by himself on the smp you’ll end up on his streams

he’ll have you next to him just because he likes be near someone

and so randomly it’ll just be like “chat, a real human is here, behave”

chat does not behave

(they heavily bully him)

he’s pretty clingy but when you HAVE to leave he’ll understand and just be a bit bummed out

holy shit this took me so long-

if you read this whole thing thank you!

[erodasfishtacos]

~ MLB Curious Gazes ~

prompt: four different situations where people have run into or hung out with MLB!H - told from their perspective.

word: 6k +

warnings: language, mentions of sexual content

If you enjoyed this please - reblog, like, recommend, comment, and inbox me to chat about it!

please consider donating to my kofi - my work is FREE and it is a great way to show support!

enjoy!

-=-=-=-=-=-

The Doctor’s Office

Aubrey couldn’t believe her eyes as she sat in her uncomfortable, too small chair in the empty waiting room at the OBGYN office in the early hours of the morning. 

She was sitting alone with her baby boy sitting in his carrier on the floor - it was his nine month checkup and it was taking forever to be seen.

The woman was sitting, scrolling on her phone when out of her peripheral she saw an extremely - like extremely handsome man step into the area with a carrier.

Aubrey was a married woman but holy shit this guy was hot- without even trying is the thing. 

He had on a New York Yankees Nike hoodie and a pair of Nike athletic shorts with some calf length Blake Nike socks and trainers.

In the carrier was a fresh little baby, couldn’t be older than three months who was bundled up with a sunflower headband on.

The man was multitasking with a curly haired toddler on his other hip as he finds a seat a little bit down from Aubrey on the opposite side.

His wife was standing up at the check-in and of course it made sense that she was absolutely beautiful as well even though Aubrey could relate to how tired she looked.

The woman still had a small bit of her pregnancy bump left signifying that the baby was indeed very very new to the world.

She keeps glancing over at the man, he looks so familiar but she would remember if she had even met someone that handsome.

Then the context clues hit her, his hoodie, his toddler son was also in a little Yankees hoodie that matched his fathers and Aubrey googled quickly.

Her eyes flitted throughout the recent articles.

Styles’ Alleged $65 Million Dollar Bonus

Hot Head Harry Styles - how he managed to start three bench clearing brawls in one game!

Breaking Records and Bats - Styles manages to break his own record in the same season followed by breaking a bat in celebration

Holy shit.

She could help but watch them - this was much more interesting than reading a magazine.

Aubrey didn’t follow baseball but Harry had turned celebrity status and was this well known cocky dickhead to the media - women and men loved and drooled over him for his looks and his skills.

Right now, he sat down with his two babies - the boy looked exactly like Harry, it was quite unbelievable from the curly locks to mossy green eyes that was copy and paste.

Harry was currently tucking an applesauce pouch between his lips and guiding the boy's small hands to hold it for himself.

“Good job,  ,” He murmurs in the dead quiet waiting room as he tucks him further into the crook of his arm.

Harry looks up to his wife who joins them, she is a bit in awe when Aubrey sees him palm a bit at her bloated belly and whisper, “Y’look gorgeous today, mama.”

Aubrey couldn’t help but frown, she wished her husband did that.

YN sits down, leaning her head on his shoulder - Aubrey didn’t know her but she seems tired - of course she was a new mother.

The silence is broken when a nurse comes out and with an apologetic face says, “I’m sorry, we are running really behind today. It might be another thirty minutes,” before shutting the door again.

Harry kisses his wife’s forehead before wrapping his unoccupied arm around her shoulder, a flashing gold band on his ring finger.

Aubrey zones off for a little when her son wakes up, rocking the carrier a few times before he settles again.

She’s brought back to the couple when she hears a sniffle comes from Harry’s wife and his face turned towards hers, hand rubbing her shoulder reassuringly.

“Mama, she’s so healthy. There’s nothin’ to worry about, did a perfect job growing her in y’belly. I know these check-ups make you anxious but nothin’ is gonna be wrong,” He soothes, a near whisper because of how quiet the room is and he didn’t want to disrupt.

“I just don’t know if she’s been getting enough milk, it’s so hard to tell,” YN replies sadly, like she’s disappointed in herself.

“Y’kidding me? She’s our chunkiest baby - look at those little rolls. She’s on y’tits more than any of the boys including me,” He jokes softly, obviously trying to make her feel better.

It seems to work a little bit because she lets out a light giggle with a roll of her eyes, “No one is on them more than you.”

Harry shrugs unashamed before replying seriously, “Everything will be okay. She’s perfect and healthy.”

The curly haired little boy gets a bit squirmy with the wait after he finished his pouch, asking to be set down which his father does.

Harry is watching him carefully, his nervous but still adventurous little two and a half year old, as he toddles around the waiting room.

When he spots Aubrey and her carrier, he wanders over looking up her with wide curious eyes, he points at her son and squeaks, “Baby?”

Ever the diligent father, Harry is up and next to his son, Aubrey is a bit starstruck if she’s honest when he talks to her.

“M’sorry, he’s a curious little one,” Harry smiles at her, going to pick Ezra back up to guide him away from bothering her.

Aubrey waves her hand though, lifting the visor to show the sleeping baby, “Yeah, he’s a baby. That’s Dominic.”

The boy gazes at the baby before lisping, “Bry!”

Aubrey isn’t sure what he means but his father clarifies, “You’re right, Dominic is a baby just like your little sister Briar.”

“Okay,” Ezra shrugs and goes back to his mom to inform him of what he just discovered before crawling up and cuddling into her chest.

Harry nods, “Thanks for indulging him.”

“No pro-problem,” She stutters like an idiot and Harry smiles a bit like he knows but doesn’t say anything else before going back to his family.

A few minutes later when a high-pitched cry resounds through the room, Harry is carefully cradling his daughter who Aubrey notes looks nothing like him but like her mother even though her features were still so little.

“Shush, darlin’,” Harry coos with a soft drawl, leaning in to kiss at the newborn’s button nose.

Briar roots at her father’s chest, smacking her plump lips, and squeaking in frustration when she doesn’t find a nipple. It makes Harry chuckle before he glances at his wife and his smile falters a bit, “Sweetheart, did y’bring a bottle?”

Aubrey watches his wife shake her head, she is facing away from her so she can’t see her expression but gauging Harry’s it seems that she may be upset, “No, I completely forgot. I didn’t bring my nursing blanket either - I’m going to have to go the bathroom. M’being such a bad mom.”

The observer feels a pang in her chest, she can definitely relate to not always feeling like she is a good mother because of little mistakes she makes like forgetting diapers, buying the wrong formula, forgetting to bring a pacifier.

“Hey,” Harry’s voice is firm, “Y’not going to talk like that when s’the farthest thing from the truth. S’okay, we have four babies, we’re both goin’ t’forget things sometimes, okay? Here, let me help you.”

Aubrey wishes she had a husband who was as empowering, supportive of his wife.

He hands the whimpering baby over to his wife, he’s then tugging off his hoodie. Aubrey tries but fails to divert her eyes when his shirt rides up revealing  a glimpse of his taut abdomen and a light dusting of hair leading into his shorts, obscene tattoos covering his hipbones .

Harry maneuvers the hoodie over his wife’s shoulder, helping her tug down her loose shirt and nursing bra, and guiding his newborn to his wife’s breast until she latches and starts suckling hungrily.

“There y’go mama,” He whispers encouragingly before tugging Ezra back onto his lap to rock him a bit as he’s getting whiny - ready for a nap soon and not liking being in an unfamiliar place for too long.

-

Aubrey is buckling Dominic into his carseat when she spots the other family exiting the office. 

Harry’s wife looks much more relaxed, a smile on her face, and her arm tucked around her husband’s narrow hip, they’re parked close to each other, and Aubrey climbs into her small sedan - blasting the aircon.

She watches the parents strapp their kids into a massive, tinted and brand new cadillac escalade that was no doubt over a hundred thousand dollar car but who could expect them to be driving around a mid-level minivan?

After the kids are secured and they close the doors, Harry presses his wife up against it with his arm resting over her shoulder against the window. He is whispering to her, their mouths close before he ducks down to connect their lips.

His hand comes back to her deflating baby bump like he did in the doctor’s office, hand massaging the skin with adoration that was visible even to Aubrey as she sat in her car watching them.

Later on in the week, as she sits on her couch, a video pops up on her timeline. It’s a sports report she was about to skip until the name caught her attention. 

The sports reporter stated, “Harry Styles was fined an alleged sixty thousand dollars at last night’s game after getting into a verbal altercation when the second base man purposely tripped him.”

It flashes to the man she just saw in the doctor’s office in a form-fitting Yankee’s blue and white striped uniform with a helmet on as he ran at an impressive speed from first to second, stumbling when the baseman put out his foot.

Harry recovers quickly enough to touch the base to be considered safe. 

After that though, he’s pushing himself up and brushing off the dirt, then he’s charging towards the man who fucked up the play. 

He has no fear as he gets in the man’s face, veins on his neck standing out as he shouts. They don’t play the audio but you could tell Harry was cussing this man up and down.

It flashed back to the reporter speaking to another, “Nearly every team in the league reports that Styles is an absolute nightmare to play against from his skill to his downright arrogant and cocky attitude. He’s not someone I’d find myself wanting to hang around.”

“I agree with you there, Tucker. He has a right to be proud with all of his broken records and achievements but being a bit humble would do this man so good. I feel sorry for his wife and kids. He probably just spends all day bragging about himself.”

Aubrey clicks off the video, if only everyone in the world just saw the Harry Styles she saw just a few days ago - well they’d all change their minds on what kind of person he is. Especially what kind of husband and father.

--

The Charity Event

It was a charity event at Madison Square Garden in Time Square. 

It was for all Major League Baseball teams who had qualified for the playoffs and of course, The New York Yankees were there.

There were tables filling the whole stadium, extravagant in white linen tablecloths, multiple bars, and it was black tie dress code. 

It was a private event and it was not open to the public but after the dinner there would be awards given out and that would be broadcasted.

Nicole was there with her husband, Trent, the left outfielder with an average batting score. He wasn’t the most popular on the team by far - well everyone got outshined by Styles. 

She couldn’t help but be a little bitter that Harry had gotten a $60 million dollar bonus (the biggest bonus ever gifted but also the Yankees were not taking any chances at losing their star and their ultimate money-maker). Trent got a measly bonus of $100,000 which was nothing in baseball terms. 

The wives and girlfriends of the Yankees players did not like YN one bit. It really wasn’t fair because she was always lovely, kind, and friendly. It didn’t matter because they were all spurred on by jealousy of what she had.

Nicole couldn’t help by gaze at Harry as they sat at the same circle table towards the podium where the awards would be presented after dinner. He was in a sharp all black suit with a small team logo pin of the lapel.

She couldn’t deny how stunning YN looked in an absolutely stunning dress. It was a one-shoulder with sparkling black stripes against a tan background, it fit like a glove and accentuated her stunning legs with a high slit. ***

It blew Nicole’s basic black Gucci dress out of the water which made her even more infuriated at the woman. She knew she was being irrational and if she hated her so much, why couldn’t see stop staring at the couple?

Nicole could get away with it by looking past them at other tables but to be quite honest, the two were much too wrapped up in each other to be aware of any of their surroundings or people watching them.

Trent was off bullshitting with all the other players while the Styles’ sat at the table and Harry waited for people to approach him - like the cocky asshole that he was. He would give them a minute of his time before becoming visibly bored and returning his attention back to his wife.

As the appetizers arrived, Trent finally sat down with a grunt, giving his wife literally no attention as he dug into the salad like a slob. 

Across the table, Harry looked down at his plate, picked out all the tomatoes and stabbed them with his fork. He then brought his hand over to his wife who giggled and let him feed her the three little tomatoes for his salad.

“Don’t like tomatoes, Styles?” Henry, third-baseman, jokes as he watches him feed his wife without any shame.

“I love ‘em, m’missus just really like the little grape ones,” Harry shrugs casually - like that didn’t just sound like the most whipped thing that he could say.

Trent probably couldn’t even guess Nicole’s favorite color - let alone know something so minuscule like YN like the little tomatoes that come on house salads. 

Throughout the whole dinner, it was quite disgusting how infatuated these two were with each other - Harry had at least one hand on her body at one time - her thigh, shoulder, even cupping her neck in a way that was almost too intimate for the setting.

At one point, Harry notices that YN is a bit quiet - sipping on her glass of water and he pulls back from the conversation, murmuring, “Y’alright, mama?”

Nicole bites her lip hard at the cute pet name, feeling even more dislike towards YN - why couldn’t she have had someone like Harry?

“D’you think the babies are okay? Ezra’s been so anxious lately,” YN replies quietly, there were no phones allowed at the event and had to be left at home or at the door.

Harry kisses her temple, “Y’know Ezzie is good with m’mum, doesn’t get as anxious as he used to at sleepovers. Y’know East and Cash are probably on a sugar high.”

YN nods, agreeing and Harry jumps right back into the conversation but she notices that he keeps looking over at his wife to check on her.

Trent accidentally knocks her elbow hard and just grunts out a bland, “Sorry.”

The topic changed to traveling for games. Ellie, another wife of a player who was nice to YN were chatting about how stressful it is.

“I know, loading all three boys up is rough when we do decide to travel to games with H,” YN says to Ellie, a small smile on her face.

“Ugh, I know. Lily and Parker are the worst flyers! They usually end up throwing up or not being able to nap at all,” Ellie groans about her two little ones she has back at home.

YN let’s out a laugh that just irked Nicole to not end.

“It's going to be even harder when we have more kids,” YN laments like she’s bothered.

“Oh? More kids?” Ellie squeaks with excitement, clapping her hands together.

Nicole reaches a breaking point, jumping into the chat,“Really? More kids? Don’t you think you should focus on the ones you have? Or do you think because your husband makes an unfair amount of money, you can just have as many as you want? Hire nannies and act like you take care of them?”

Before YN frowns, about to respond when Harry interjects with a booming, displeased voice, “First off, why don’t y’mind your own fuckin’ business. My wife and I can ‘ave any many kids as we want, last time I checked.”

He continues with tense posture, all of his previous calmness disappears, “Second off, don’t take it out on my wife tha’ your husband got a shit bonus, we all know tha’ why y’pissy. And don’t act like y’dont have a nanny for your one kid while we don’t nor ever will have one.”

Nicole sneers, “You’re a cocky bastard.”

Harry smiles in faux charm, “Of course I am, dear. I’ve got a fucking beautiful wife, three healthy babies, the most records broken in history, and the fattest bank account in this room.”

“Alright, alright,” Trent interrupts and it doesn’t go unnoticed that he doesn’t defend his wife. Instead he shoots Harry an apologetic look for his wife’s behaviors.

Harry just scoffs at the couple, rudely rolling his eyes, and tugging his wife in for a kiss that’s a bit too intense but he can’t help himself, smiles against her lips when his wife pinches his thigh playfully.

He says (not quietly at all), “All these women are jealous of you, hm? S’cause you’re so beautiful and such a fuckin’ catch.”

Nicole feel a sharp pang in her chest at the indirect comment - fucking asshole.

Deep down, Nicole is unfavorably realizing that somehow YN has it all - a loving husband, who is seemingly head over heels four her, three well-behaved children, and everything she could ever want - sitting on Harry’s $600 million dollar net worth, on top of being gorgeous.

She didn’t have that. Trent and her were on the rocks constantly, has definitely cheated on her, their kid is a literal nightmare, and they’re both so reckless with money they have no savings.

It made her jealous to see Harry whispering in YN ear to make her giggle- lips brushing her ear, his hand splayed across her bumcheek while they waited for drinks at the bar, she even hears them murmur ‘I love yous’ at least twice.

Then the lights dim, spotlight on a podium in the front of the room, an older man in a crisp navy suit taking the stage.

“It is an honor for me to announce ‘Player of the Year.’ The decision by the board of Major League Baseball wasn’t a hard one. The statistics and records broke continuously by the man has led us to only one option.”

Everyone watches all the other players in room deflate a bit because they realize the award is going to Harry yet again.

 “He is again breaking a record tonight, he is the first player to earn this achievement four years in a row. The duality of this man when it comes to pitching a curveball or hitting a homer is truly remarkable.”

It makes all the players even more irritated than they already are when they look over at Harry who’s sitting back, manspreading, hand on the back of his wife’s neck gently, and a cocky, unbothered grin.

Like this award wasn’t the biggest accomplishment he could earn.

One of the players from an opposing team at a different table mutters to one of his teammates, “Fucking arrogant asshole. The only thing this award does is feed his gigantic ego.” 

“Such a douchebag,” The other agrees, jealousy tinges his voice.

“I’ve most likely made it obvious who the the recipient is this year. The New York Yankees pitcher with the most strikeouts to date and top-scoring hitter - Mr. Harry Styles!”

The crowd erupts in applause, whistles, and a standing ovation because despite his unsavory demeanor - no one could deny he was a legend.

Before he gets up, Nicole watches as he cups his wife’s cheek - locking her lips in a kiss before she has to give him a playful shove when he tries to slip some tongue.

When Harry gets up to the stage, he shakes the hand of the announcer and takes the award from him, setting it on the podium.

“Fourth year in a row has a nice ring to it,” Harry gives the crowd a dazzling white smile that have his dimples digging into his cheek.

The crowd whistles and coos.

Nicole notices YN getting teary-eyed as she watches her husband accept the award.

“I want t’thank a few people tonight. I want t’thank m’wife and the mama of my babies - YN. She’s supported me from when I was in college with no other career path but baseball, unsure of if I’d fail or not, she stuck through it.”

She can sense everyone’s eyes dart over to YN who is still staring up at her husband - who is giving her a gleaming smile right back.

“We’ve been through some really hard obstacles in our first years as a couple but she’s the reason for all this - the fact that she always believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.”

The audience is respectful, quiet as he publicly tells a story of his deep love for his wife.

“I want t’thank m’three babies. Easton, Cash, and Ezra. They inspire me to be a better better man and a good role model - even though I think y’all agree they won’t be if they watch too much how I play when I’m out in the field.”

The crowd erupts in laughter at Harry poking fun at his own antics that he’s most famous for. He goes on to thank the team, coaches, Nike, everyone on the professional side of career.

When he’s done, everyone stands back up to congratulate him, patting him on the back as he returns to his seat.

Nicole watches as Harry sits back down, chuckling as he swipes a tear off his wife’s cheek, “Why y’crying, mama?”  

“I’m just so proud of you. Everything you do for me and our babies. The best husband, best daddy. My heart is just full,” She murmurs, clearly not meant for others to hear but Nicole was eavesdropping.

Harry’s eyes darken with something Nicole can’t identify but does notice his hand creeping a bit further up her thigh.

He leans into whisper something into her ear before she sees his lightly nip at her lobe before pulling back to join into the conversation.

-

After the lights come back up, Trent abandons her to go shoot the shit with other guys.

When she trails off to the bathroom, down a long hallway from the main area - she hears a rustling from behind a door labeled with a plaque that says ‘executive meeting room’.

Nicole pauses confused, all these offices and other rooms were strictly off limits during events obviously. She was confused to hear someone in a room that was not supposed to be in use.

Then she realizes it’s not just someone - it’s two people.

“S’good, sweetheart. Give it t’me so good.”

And she knows right then and there all she needs to know about who’s in that conference room and what they were doing.

“Be quiet, you’re being too loud,” YN scolds back, the walls were clearly thin because she could hear the exchange.

“Make y’cunt not feel like heaven then,” He remarks back, his voice slower and more soft than it would be in front of people.

God, Trent and her haven’t slept together in ages - let alone has spontaneous hookups or dirty talk like that ever.

When they all end up back at the table before the closing speech for the night, Nicole spots a nicely sized mark under Harry’s jaw that he’s wearing with pride.

YN had her lipstick wiped off and was much more clingy as the night rolled on which Harry seemed to thrive on.

As she and Trent are on their way home, Nicole speaks into their silence, “I don’t think our relationship is working.”

Not after she saw love and happiness at that event table tonight - she wanted that kind of love not settling for some cheating asshole.

-

The Little League Game

It was a cool autumn evening, it was an important game - if you could call it that for the little league team that Kayla had her son on.

The goal was to determine which team would move onto the playoffs, even though most of this was all in good fun because it was for eight-year-olds and it wasn’t serious.

Kayla couldn’t lie and say that she didn’t spend some of the time curiously gazing at the New York Yankees player who would come to watch his son play.

He wasn’t at every game due to his schedule but it seemed like he came to whatever ones he could with his wife and other three kids.

They had taken the bench on the bleachers right below her so she had an up close and personal view of the family when they’ve never sat this close before.

As the kids warmed up, Harry had his youngest son who looked to be about four sit next to him, squished between his dad and mom happily.

Their middle son was next to his mom on the other side, looking to be about six, and he was wriggling impatiently in his seat - eager to join the other kids in the jungle gym.

The baby girl who looked about a year and a half old didn’t look anything like her brothers - it was obvious that she was a spitting image of her mother (who was stunning).

She was curled up in her mom’s lap, asleep with her face squished against her mother’s chest - a pacifier suckling fiercely between her puffy lips.

“Mama, please,” The curly haired boy begs with greedy puppy dog eyes as he keeps glancing back to look at the other kids.

“You stay right where daddy and I can see you, yes?” YN murmurs, brushing back his unruly curls that where getting long, “And what are our rules?”

“Stay where you can see, don’t talk to strangers, and be nice to others,” He recites perfectly, Kayla was a bit blown away by his manners.

She watches baseball. It was hard to believe their children were so mild mannered when their father was the exact opposite - at least on the field.

Harry was rustling in the diaper bag for something as his son looked at him with wide, concerned eyes, “My baby, daddy.”

“I know, Ezzie. M’lookin’ f’your baby,” His father replies softly, the polar extreme of his normal brash, crude language that had a nasty tone like he couldn’t bother giving people the time of day.

“Daddy, please,” The youngest whines, his little hand grasping at his father’s tattooed wrist as he gets to his knees to help his dad look.

“Left inner pocket,” YN murmurs offhandedly as she makes sure Cash gets to the playground safely with his friends.

“Say ‘thanks mama’,” Harry coos to his son as he manages to tug out the baby doll and hand it to the awaiting little boy.

“Thanks mama,” He replies instantly with a gapped smile as he nuzzles right back into his father’s side as if he can’t get close enough.

“How are you feeling, Ezra?” His mother leans over to ask, keeping the baby close to her chest.

“M’happy, mama,” Ezra replies simply before starting to babble to himself as he plays with the babydoll.

Kayla watches Harry and YN swap a fond look at their son but she couldn’t help but wonder why they asked him that? He seemed fine so why did they feel the need to do that?

The game is going okay, Harry stands up to cheer and whistle when Easton hits a two-base hit but YN smacks his thigh and motions to their sleeping baby.

He looks at her sheepishly before sitting back down, kissing her cheek in apology, and peeking down into the fleece blanket to watch his daughter sleep for a moment.

Then it seems like Easton starts to lose momentum after he pitches two home-runs, his face pinched in disappointment as the other team scores but Harry is attempting to keep him motivated with encouraging shouts.

Easton struggles from then on, he strikes out for his final three turns, doesn’t catch two pop-ups, and his pitches start to get a little shaky. It’s obvious in his facial expression he’s getting upset because he’s breathing heavier like he’s trying not to cry.

Kayla feels a sense of dread for the little boy, his father who’s the best baseball player in modern day history is watching his son not do well during an important game.

 Because of what she knows of him from his temper and attitude on the field - she worries that he’s one of those father’s who will hound their kid for doing poorly.

“Oh, c’mon East,” Harry murmurs softly when his son stumbles over a ground ball before another kid picks it up and throws it in - their son smacking his glove down against the ground in frustration.

“He’s getting himself worked up,” YN notes as she watches her oldest kick his cleats in the dirt with a quivering bottom lip.

“I know,” Harry replies to his wife, “Wish he wouldn’t, he’s gettin’ upset out there, I can tell.”

“Sad?” Ezra squeaks, clambering onto his father’s lap and stating, “Hold me, daddy.”

Harry obliges easily, gathering up his small son before his attention is directed back onto the game - it was down to the last few minutes and unfortunately Easton pitched a ball that resulted in a home run for the other team.

“Fuck,” Harry mutters, running a hand through his messy locks before he’s setting Ezra back down on the bleachers, “I’m going to go talk to him. Do you want to meet back home?”

YN nods, leaning down to tuck the baby into the double stroller before buckling Ezra in as well, “I’m going to go get Cash and head out. Why don’t you take him out for some ice cream? I love you.”

“I love you too, mama,” He replies, kissing her softly before kissing both of his kids foreheads and stepping down the bleachers - ignoring all the adults who are staring at him with a starstruck expression as he heads to the dugout.

It cleared out fast, nobody sticking around after the loss that ended with them not continuing on to the championship, and Easton was sat on the bench - he was stoic and there was a hard, angry expression on his face that reminded Kayla of what she saw Harry look like when he played.

As she gathers up her son and makes sure he’s got all of his equipment, Kayla stands and chats to a few of the moms before she’s heading to her car - which happened to be parked next to a sleek Masserati crossover, who would let their muddy kid go in there? Rich people, she guesses.***

Kayla pops the trunk to her van with her key as they get closer, she notices that Harry also has his up and Easton is sitting on the tailgate with his eyes looking down at the pavement. She tries not to appear as nosey or eavesdropping as she tucks her items into the back.

“Sweetheart, s’okay. Y’did so so good tonight,” Harry assures his pouty son, he squats down to start to untie his son’s nike cleats but continues to make eye contact with him. 

“No, I didn’t, Daddy!” Easton whines, tears finally starting to bubble over the surface as he begins to sob with a shuddering chest, “I gave up home runs and then I missed ground balls!”

“Whoa, bubby,” Harry simpers after he tugs off the shoes and throws them carelessly into the back before standing up, “Y’did amazing, are you kiddin’? You did three innings of strikeouts, hit two of y’own homeruns. Y’played like a professional, way better than daddy.”

Kayla’s heart aches a bit when she sees Harry sit down next to him before hugging him harshly into his side, thumbing at the tears that are running down his son’s sweaty cheeks with soft reassurances.

“Daddy, are you mad I didn’t win?” Easton asks shakily, keeping his head buried into his father’s side and his small hand clutching into the fabric of his hoodie.

Harry chuckles lowly, “Daddy would never be mad at you f’anythin’, definitely not a baseball game. Remember what mama and I said? If at any point y’want to stop playin’, just let us know and we can find something else, yeah? Just like how Ezzie does art classes.”

Easton seems to calm down after a few moments of Harry rocking him and reassuring him of what an amazing son he is.

As Kayla drove away that night, her perspective on the all-star baseball player definitely changed. It was refreshing to see someone to not hold their child to an unreasonable expectation just like she thought Harry would.

--

The Campfire

Austin was the shortstop on the baseball team, he’d brought along his girlfriend, Chelsea, to the frat party to celebrate another win.

Everyone was in whispers that Harry was bringing his new girlfriend but nobody knew who she actually was because it was just a rumor.

It was surprising because Harry wasn’t a relationship kind-of man. He wasn’t into hookups much - always said he needed to focus on baseball.

Many of his teammates were envious of how many girls were constantly coming up to Harry at parties to flirt and try to get a dance in but he had always rejected them.

Harry had never showed interest in any of these girls at the parties, never seen him disappear upstairs with one or really entertain a conversation over a beer like they’d expect.

Chelsea pokes his shoulder and nods towards the entrance when Harry walks in with his arm around YN’s shoulder.

Most were in a little shock because they seemed like such an unlikely couple - YN had written some scathing articles about him and it was no secret he hadn’t been a fan of her.

“Holy shit, Harry’s dating YN?” Chelsea whispers to Austin as the group of party-goers cheer and whistle at the allstars appearance.

“Guess so,” Austin replies with a shrug, tugging Chelsea into the kitchen for a drink.

Later on that night, there’s a bonfire on one side of the backyard and a volleyball net on the other where a group was gathering to play.

Austin and Chelsea are on the opposing team of Harry and YN - she can’t help but watch them with curiosity because of what a surprise it is that they’re dating.

Even Austin has been watching because Harry’s acting in a way that he’s never seen throughout his time on the team with him.

Harry is just all over YN which was confusing how he went from not being remotely interested in the college girls to being a lovestruck puppy.

When she throws the ball up to serve, Harry reaches over and pinches her bum which makes her squeak and accidentally drop the ball which has him cackling as she glares at him.

As they change positions, he crowds up behind her, and massages her hips, leaning down to murmuring something in her ear.

She blushes wildly before smacking him off which has him laughing hard and kissing the back of her head before taking his position.

After Harry jumps and spikes the ball hard, earning them the winning point, YN turns around and wraps her arms around him to hug him tightly.

Harry wraps his arms around her shoulders, returning the hug before pulling back to kiss her lips in a soft peck.

Chelsea elbows Austin, “Who’s that and what did they do with Harry?”

Austin shakes his head, “I really don’t fucking know.”

The group migrates over to the fire as they might become cooler and the stars are high up in the sky, the fire flickering orange and yellow crackles of sparks.

Harry plops into a chair, pulling YN right onto his lap, and she wriggles until she’s comfortable. Chelsea notices him tap her thigh as if telling her to cut it out, too much motion right on his crotch.

Jake, one of his teammates, says in a teasing tone, “YN, I’m surprised to see you around these parts . I clearly remember a strongly worded article about how stupid frat parties are.”

YN takes it in stride, smiling as she replies, “And this party just proves my point.”

The group laughs easily, they enjoy YN’s sharp wit and comebacks as they get to know her. Austin can’t help but to notice how quiet Harry is.

Normally, he’s the life of the party, loud and making his presence known to everyone but not tonight. He has his chin propped on her shoulder and she’s cuddled back into his chest.

Austin can’t make out what Harry is saying but he’s constantly whispering in her ear and accentuating each time with a squeeze to her thighs.

“Are you guys official?” One of the teammates asked bluntly, a few beers deep by this point in the night.

Harry replies instantly, a possessive squeeze, “She’s mine and off the market, s’don’t even think about it.”

“Well I don’t think it matters because she’s turned down the whole baseball team by this point. I think everyone tried to ask her out at least once,” Steve jokes as the others agree.

“Tha’s m’girl,” Harry murmurs to her before teasing his friends,“Who’d want to go out with any you? You’re all dickheads.”

Everyone continues to joke around, it’s nearing midnight and that’s right about when Harry gets in his prime - like the party just started.

But not tonight.

YN’s eyes start to flutter shut as everyone banters and drinks around the fire, obviously not used to these late night parties.

“I better get this one t’bed,” Harry states after a few minutes, thumbing at YN’s cheekbone as she tries to stay awake.

“I’m okay,” She mumbles weakly, head still heavy against his shoulder.

“You’re coming back though, right?” Kyle asks expectantly, brows furrowed.

Harry shakes his head, “Nah, m’in for the night when she is.”

All the players look at him with a bit of a dumbfounded look, Steve shooting out, “Who knew you’d be so pussy whipped, Styles?”

Chelsea’s eyebrows raise at the crude comment, waiting with bated breath as Harry’s jaw clenches as it seems like he’s biting his tongue.

“Goodnight,” Harry says in a tone Austin has never heard before - agitated and almost…offended.

When Austin and Chelsea are sneaking up to his room for a late night hook-up, she overhears Harry and YN in his bedroom.

At first, she thinks they’re in an actual argument but as she listens to them - it’s not the kind of arguement she thought it was.

“You’re always the little spoon,” YN groans from behind the closed door.

Harry squawks, affronted before huffing back at her, “S’my favorite, please spoon me, darling?”

“You’re so fucking spoiled,” YN giggles as Chelsea assumes they move into a position where Harry’s the little spoon.

“Mm, I like feelin’ y’tits against my back, s’nice,” Harry hums with a boyish tone.

Chelsea doesn’t even realize she’s smiling until Austin drags her from her stupor. 

All she knew was that Harry Styles really really fancied that school reporter.

-=-=-=-=-=-

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[myadmiringmind]

A Day to Remember | Gwen Stacy

Gwen Stacy Masterlist

Word Count: 1.1k

Genre: fluff | established relationship

Pairings: Gwen Stacy x gf!reader

Summary: A winter day with the blonde you love.

Warnings: Food, large crowds

Characters mentioned: Peter Parker

Good to know/notes:

no homophobia

Gwen and Peter never had a romantic past

no labels for Gwen or Readers sexuality

|PICTURES ARE NOT MINE|

New York City was especially beautiful during winter. The number of tourists skyrocketed only proved that.

You’ve lived in New York City long enough to tell the difference between residents and visitors.

Currently, It’s mid-december. The streets are covered in white powdery snow with hundreds of bundled up figures walking here and there.

You were sitting inside a cafe. Your favorite drink in front of you as you waited for your girlfriend to walk through the cafe doors.

Soon enough, the blonde emerged from the cold streets. She was no exception to all the other pedestrians walking the streets. She was bundled up quite nicely. But she still looked exceptionally beautiful.

Not a surprise to you, of course. 

The blonde's eyes observed the cafe looking for someone. When her eyes landed on you she smiled. A smile you couldn’t help but mirror, feeling like a love-sick idiot. 

“I really thought we were gonna be snowed in this morning.” She said coming up to you

“Well I suppose I'm lucky we weren’t.” You say standing up to properly greet your girlfriend. She gave you a quick kiss on your lips before beginning to unzip her heavy coat. You sat down and watched her, mesmerized by her entire being. 

“The wait to get a cab was a nightmare, though. I think my fingers are gonna fall off soon.” Gwen pulled her hands out of her gloves but they were indeed red with chill. 

You frowned, reaching over and engulfing her hands with your own in an attempt to warm them up. She watched you with a smile before she leaned in for a more passionate kiss. 

“Do you still want to go ice skating later?” You ask, threading your fingers through hers and resting them on your lap. 

She nodded, “I’ve been looking forward to it all week. I’m not gonna bail out now because of the cold. Besides, I have you to keep me warm.” 

You huff out a laugh, unlacing one of your hands to take a sip of your drink as one of the waitresses comes up and asks Gwen for her order. 

“Yes, Hi. I’ll just have a hot chocolate and a chocolate chip croissant, please.” She asked the waitress, watching as the waitress scribbled down her order

“You don’t want to try something different?” You ask after the waitress left

She glanced at your cup, “I could ask you the same.” She raised an eyebrow

“Nothing wrong with tradition.” You say 

“Agreed.” The blonde replies

“Did you see Spider-man on your way here?” You laugh a little taking another sip of your drink

Gwen laughed as well, “I’m sorry to say I didn’t. Not to worry, I'm sure he’ll show up sometime soon.” 

The two of you were well aware of the identity of Spider-man, considering the amount of romantic dates he interrupted with his need for medical assistance. You adore Peter, truly, he’s one of your best friends, but you also adore spending time with your girlfriend, un-interrupted.

“Here you are.” The waitress set Gwens order down in front of her. 

“Thank you.” Gwen mumbled as the waitress walked away

“It looks like a Christmas Card out there.” You comment looking out the window

Gwen nodded after taking a bite of her croissant. 

“I still need to get some gifts for my brothers while we’re out.” Gwen commented and you nodded.

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

Walking hand-in-hand with your girlfriend while walking down main street was certainly a memory to last. Pointing out all the Spider-man merchandise (and buying quite a bit) while laughing and speculating what Peter's reaction to them would be. Walking through the stores with Christmas music playing while looking at the toys and the ornaments. You felt that this holiday season was going to be one to look back on for many years. 

“Look at this!” Gwen squealed, turning around with an ornament in her hand.

The ornament in question was one of the good old Spidey caught in a Christmas tree. 

“I’m buying this.” Gwen said excitedly, walking towards the cashier 

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

Gwen, unsurprisingly, was quite skilled at ice skating. She stepped onto the ice with a state of grace only she seemed to possess.

“Just put one foot in front of the other…there you go! Now step…and slide. Amazing! You’re doing wonderful, my love!” She praised you, watching as you got the hang of it.

The ice arena you were skating on was outside with beautiful scenery. Many couples could be seen, hand in hand, tripping over their feet and falling. Your heart warmed, happy to be able to experience other people's joys as well as your own.

“What are you smiling about?” You hadn’t realized she had been watching you until you had heard her voice. Her eyes were filled with adoration, something you were sure reflected in your own.

“I’m happy.” You answered honestly. You’ve always enjoyed winter, but these past few years being able to experience them with Gwen was…something out of a story book.

You looked down at your feet suddenly caught up in your movements disrupting your rhythm. You chuckled a little to yourself. Squeezing Gwen’s hand tighter when you thought you might fall.

“I’m happy too.” You didn’t have to look at her to know she was telling the truth. Gwen was a decent liar, you’d seen her do it enough times to say that with confidence. But, sometimes, her voice or her eyes gave her away. You loved being able to read her. It felt safe. Knowing that she could read you as well. Even if one of you had lied the other knew the majority of the time, so lying wasn’t something that occurred often in your relationship.

“We should convince Peter to do the tree lighting ceremony.” You commented suddenly. Peter- or Spider-man you should say had been offered to light the tree in Central Park. He hadn’t given them a definite answer, not sure if he should. You and Gwen had said it would be a fantastic idea but he wasn’t so convinced. But if Gwen truly wanted to convince him you knew she could.

“We should.” Gwen agreed, smiling

You smiled back, at peace, with your life. The majority of your life you always wanted something to be different. And sure there were things that you still wished to change. But, right now, those things didn’t matter. Not right now. Not when Gwen’s hand held yours, not too tightly, embracing your fingers in warmth that was underlined with love. Today was a good day, you decided.Today wasn’t a day that you would never look back on, a day that you felt like you were simply a being in something bigger. No, today you felt like today was meant to be a good day. That you were something bigger than an everyday citizen, even though you didn’t have any powers like Peter, or a wicked brain like Gwen’s. Today is a good day.

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

edited on 05/17/2024

[lonely-lost-soul]

“I’m Not Soft.”

Request 5: Techno and the voices simping for the reader, maybe after reader gets in (and wins) a fight or something more domestic like farming or playing with Steve

Requested By: Anonymous 

(Technoblade X Female Reader)

~Added a little bit of spice~

Technoblade kicked the snow off his boots sending little flurries all inside the doorway of his cabin. He had just arrived home, he was coming home much later than he anticipated getting held up at a long-running syndicate meeting. He was greeted by the savory smell of baked potatoes and steak, it had him practically drooling. Techno wandered into the kitchen after hanging up his cloak by the door, his plate was sitting in the furnace. He peeked inside and saw it was set on low heat just to keep his food warm, he smiled softly. 

‘She’s so thoughtful. Keeping it warm for us. We should give her a kiss! Where even is she? Find her before you eat. You can sit together!’ 

Technoblade let out a soft hum of acknowledgment listening to the advice of the voices and searching for his lady love. He stepped into the living room and noticed the fire was roaring away in the fireplace, you were still here then, very early on he made sure you knew to put the fireplace out when you were finished in the room. He had a close call with Tommy when he was living here, and since then he made sure to remind you constantly about the fireplace. He spotted you and Steve curled up next to one another by the said fireplace, you were buried in his white fur and he was snoring away loudly beside you. A book was in your lap and you were wearing one of his shirts as a pajama top, socks with little bears on them adorned your feet. 

‘Oh my god, they’re so cute together. Take a picture! Take a picture! She looks so peaceful…’

Technoblade smiled gently making sure he did end up snapping a picture, just so he could tease you about it later. Plus you were adorable and you snuggling with Steve really melted his frozen heart, 

‘SIMP!’ 

     “You guys are doing the same thing shut up.” He growled under his breath finally walking over to you, Steve cracked his eyes open and let out a low snarl before comprehending who stood in front of him. Once he recognized The Blade he let out a disgruntled huff before falling back asleep, his movement caused you to stir. Technoblade watched as you rub the sleep from your eyes, before running your hands through your messy hair. “Morning Princess,” He cooed squatting down beside you. You blinked blearily at him for a moment before a smile lit up your face, you moved quickly wrapping your arms around his shoulders. He couldn’t help but smile in response to the hug, his hands were placed on his lower back as he squeezed.

‘So small and cute. Just like a little kitten.~ Can you give her a kiss now? I’m tired of asking for a kiss just do it. Stop making him sound like a simp. Wait look she’s pulling away-’

You pressed a kiss to his lips murmuring a weak, ‘welcome home Protesilaus.’ He shivered a little at the use of his Greek title and gave you a kiss back. 

     “Did you make me dinner?” You hummed nodded your head sleepily, “You spoil me, Princess.” He cupped your cheek with his hand and you nuzzled into it, you looked blissful. 

     “Only cause you deserve it, big guy. Want me to sit with you while you eat.” 

     “If you’re up for it.” Another kiss was pressed against the side of his lips and he purred fondly. You giggled a little and he flushed darkly, “Don’t laugh at me that’s cringe.”

     “Not laughing at you, I just love it when you purr. You’re like a big lion, who’s only soft for me.” He scoffed with an eye roll, 

     “I’m soft to no one.” 

     “Sure you’re not Tech.” You gently pat his cheek before standing up and cracking your back, Technoblade stood up beside you. The both of you walked into the kitchen, you sat at the table while he grabbed his meal. He dug in and his eyes fluttered, 

     “This is so good, god I’m so glad you’re my girlfriend.” 

     “Just for the cooking?” You teased fluttering your eyes at him and he looked thoughtful for a moment, 

     “Well, that and the great se-” You let out an indignant sound interrupting his sentence you went so red it even spread to your ears. Technoblade laughed loudly, “You’re so adorable when you’re flustered,” a smirk spread across his lips. 

‘We got her. Oh my god, she’s so cute. Awwww she’s embarrassed what a sweetheart. You should pinch her cheeks. Show her what we mean- DON’T BE GROSS. He was gross first though!’

     “You’re a terror,” You scoffed fanning your hot face with your hand trying to cool yourself down. 

     “Exactly and don’t you forget it, Princess.” He had a soft pink flush across his cheeks as you flipped him off, “Maybe later.”

     “Techno!” You squawked as he roared with laugher, “What is with you tonight!?”

     “I just missed you. I’ve been away from you all day can you blame me?”

     “I suppose not…” You trailed off smiling softly over at him and he smiled right back at you. “I’m going to head to bed, you coming or what?”

     “I’m right behind you.” He hummed placing his plate in the sink before following you up the stairs. 

The next morning was dedicated solely to you, not only because Technoblade wanted to but also because the voices just wanted to stay close to you. Your head was tightly tucked underneath his chin as he watched you sleep. The rise and fall of your chest was hypnotic and he placed his hand on your chest feeling your heartbeat flutter against his hand. He smiled watching you wake up for a second time with a sweet yawn, he kissed your nose as you regained consciousness. You snickered softly giving him a kiss right back, “Morning Techno.” 

     “Morning Princess,” He greeted, “I was wondering if you wanted to walk Steve with me today.”  

     “I’d love nothing more,” you smiled warmly “on one condition.”

     “And that would be?” Technoblade raised an eyebrow, his hand gently stroking your hip. 

      “I get to wear your cape.” His face scrunched up with disgust, 

      “My cape is sacred, you know this.”

      “I promise I’ll take really good care of it. Please for your wonderful and stunning girlfriend.” 

      “Eh?” He muttered as you batted your eyelashes at him, and despite his original distaste the voices melted seeing your face. 

‘She’s so cute. Adorable, look at those big ole eyes. Tell her she’s cute! Love of our life truly. She’s a teasing little shit ain’t she? Let her wear the cape, what's the harm?’

       “Cringe,” Technoblade said instead and the voices groaned loudly in his ears, he watched your face settle into a pout. He clicked his tongue annoyed at your pout, “come or don’t either way I gotta walk Steve- oof-“ Technoblade grunted as you sat down on his hips glaring at him. 

      “Give me the cape now.” You glared into his eyes, hands gripping onto his shoulders, his eyes lit up with amusement. 

     “Oh, you taking charge here Princess? I don’t mind if you think you can handle me.” The voices and he relished in the way your entire face turned red and you rested your forehead on his neck. 

    “You’re impossible but I’m still taking your fucking cape cringe-lord.”

     “Nerd.” He mused with a fond kiss to your lips, “but fine. I suppose you can borrow it.” Technoblade relented with a small smile, as your entire face lit up like the sun. 

‘Worth it. That smile! Be still my heart! She’s going to look so adorable. Trust us Techno you made the correct choice.’

He rolled his eyes and watched you tilt your head to the side, “The voices?” Technoblade gave a little nod. 

      “They’re being stupid.”

‘STUPID! FUCK OFF! WE’RE HELPING YOU SCORE!’

      “What’re they saying?” 

Sweat gathered on Technoblade’s brow, well now he couldn’t say they were complimenting you. He’d look like such an asshole. 

        “Nothing important.” He tried to cover himself up quickly and you gave a little smirk of your own. “Shut up don’t-“

       “Aw, do they like me?~” You cooed pinching the man’s cheek. “I love them too, they’re a part of you after all.” Now it was Technoblade’s turn to flush red all over if the voices weren’t gushing before they were now. 

‘Kiss her oh my god kiss her. We love her too! Tell her that right now! She needs to know! Bark bark bark bark! Everyone here is a simp. I’m the only one with a brain cell. Technooooooo tell her pleaaaaaseeeee.’

      “They Ugh...they want me to tell you they love you too.” He watched you smile again, “they also want me to give you a kiss.”

       “Well tell them I accept their kiss.”

       “Oh, they know sweetheart believe me.” He leaned forward to capture your lips, he felt you sigh pleasantly against them. His hands moved down to rest on your hips, rubbing gentle circles on them. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss but you pulled away from him, he let out a growl of disagreement. 

        “Oh hush up you grump. We have to feed the bears and dogs, plus if we’re walking Steve we need to get going.” 

       “Tease.” He grunted as you whacked him on the chest, before hopping off his lap to get dressed. He followed you out of bed, as the both of you got ready for the day ahead. You finished before Techno and slid down the ladders to whip up a quick breakfast and feed Steve. By the time Technoblade came downstairs, Steve was happily chowing away and you handed Technoblade two slices of bread. He gave you a quick kiss on the side of his head before shoveling the food into his mouth, he heard you giggle and he raised an eyebrow. “What’re you laughing at exactly?”

     “You’re eating like Steve,” Technoblade made an indignant sound of protest which only caused you to laugh harder. Sometimes he genuinely wondered how he put up with you but then he remembered he loved you and wouldn’t trade you for the world. He only rolled his eyes at you before grabbing Steve’s designated leash and hooking him up to it, the bear let out a huff and his little stub of a tail began to wiggle. “Someone’s excited,” You cooed at the bear scratching under his chin, “My big ole sweetheart.”

     “(Y/n) he’s supposed to be a killing machine please don’t coddle him.”

     “Oh fuck off Techno. Look at his face!��� You squished the bear’s cheeks between your hands, “he wouldn’t hurt a fly!” The bear rumbled loudly in his throat but it was more of a pleasant sound than a threatening one. Technoblade raised an eyebrow at the antics before him, 

     “Leave our guard bear alone and go put on your boots.” You huffed but ultimately decided not to be a brat and listen to your boyfriend for once, you stood beside the door as Steve and he wandered up towards you. An eyebrow was raised and he looked you up and down, 

     “What?”

     “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

He watched you slowly blink before patting the sides of your winter jacket, and he chuckled deeply. He took off his cape and draped it across your shoulders, your face lit up and you snuggled into the fluff. It flowed behind you much more than it did when Technoblade wore it, it was swallowing you up. 

‘She’s so precious! We were correct, good job Techno. Such a good, sweet girl. We’re protecting her from the harsh elements! True! You don’t want her to get sick do you?’

Technoblade snapped out of his thoughts as he felt a soft kiss against the side of his cheek, “Thank you Tech, you made my morning.”

     “Anything for you.”

‘We’d kill for her you know. If anyone even looks at her wrong we’ll tear them apart. Guys, could you lighten up a little? Sheesh. Never she’s our stability.’

     “Shall we?” He held out his arm and you wrapped your hand around it snuggling against his side, he really was down bad for you. The both of you stepped out it was a beautiful sunny day the wind only a gentle chill, Techno grunted as Steve eagerly pulled him forward. He heard you laugh as he stumbled down the steps, he shot you a glare over his shoulder and you flipped him off. 

‘Hot.’ 

Technoblade’s face scrunched up in disbelief, “what the hell chat…” he muttered but the heat he felt in his cheeks showed he agreed with the voices. Once again at his side the two of you walked in the direction of Snow Chester, once you both came to the shoreline Technoblade turned towards you. “Would you like to visit L’manhole someday day soon?”

     “Like you even have to ask me that. I’d love to see the damage you caused.”

‘Our little anarchist in training.~ I for one, Can’t wait for her to join the Syndicate. We don’t want her to remember, we want to protect her. Exactly, her joining could put her at risk.’

     “Then we’ll go soon I promise.” 

     “I look forward to it big guy,” You cooed, pressing a feather-light kiss to his lips that sent electricity down to the tips of his toes. He tilted his head deepening the kiss slightly, his hand cupping your cheek, it was so small in his hand. He loved hearing the soft whimper you made against his lips as his tongue slipped into your mouth but the moment was shattered as he heard Steve let out a low warning growl. He rapidly pulled away and shoved you behind his back, he came face to face with BadBoyHalo, the egg cult leader himself. “Is that BBH?” 

     “Looks like it,” Techno muttered as you slipped out from behind him, the demon was in his smaller form and he waved enthusiastically. “Careful Princess,” Techno murmured hesitantly, watching him skip over, “remember the egg.” 

     “I got this Tech, no worries. I’ll be back in a moment alright.” You met Bad halfway and Technoblade shuffled uncomfortably. 

‘Don’t let her go. He’s gonna hurt her. Keep a steady eye. She’s not fragile but eavesdrop just in case. Be careful, and keep alert. Blood for the Blood God. Not yet shut up.’ 

Technoblade clicked his tongue but did eavesdrop on their conversation allowing Steve to sniff at the ground nearby for bugs.

     “(Y/n) my little muffin! How’re you doing?” 

     “I’m doing good Bad! I haven’t seen you in a while, how're you doing? Still doing egg stuff?”

     “Of course silly! That’s why I wanted to visit you.” He grabbed your hands, “I need your help.” He grazed his claws across the back of your hands, Techno watched you raise a suspicious eyebrow. 

‘That’s my girl. Always being suspicious and alert.’ He mentally praised, and the voice agreed with his though,

     “And that help would be what exactly?”

     “You need to convince Techno to give the egg a second chance!” You stared at him blankly and Technoblade tried not to laugh. 

     “Bad, you’re one of my good friends but I fucking hate the egg too.” His smile faltered a little bit and Technoblade’s hand went to the sword on his hip. Bad’s smile quickly returned and cupped your cheeks,

     “Language dear.” He scolded his smile turning strained, “this just means I need to introduce you to the egg silly! It’s going to love you,” 

     “Bad No.” He began to squeeze your face, nails digging into the flesh of your cheeks. Your eyes flashed with fear and Technoblade was about to step forward and intervene but skidded to a halt as he watched you knee Bad in the stomach. Technoblade’s jaw fell open, as you grabbed Bad’s arm as he bent over in pain and flipped him over your shoulder slamming his back into the snow and dirt. Bad let out a pained sound, but all Technoblade could focus on was the way his cape flew to the side with a flourish as you recovered. Your hair stuck to your cheeks as you glowered at the demon, “Don’t touch me.” You stood up, looking more regal than Techno’s ever seen you look, “Go home Bad, and don’t come back till you’ve sorted yourself out. This egg thing has really fucked with your head.” You walked back over towards Techno and smirked at him the fire in your eyes still burning bright. You brought a hand towards his face and you closed Technoblade’s jaw with your finger, “You’re going to catch flies babe.” His jaw snapped shut as you winked at him, you took Steve from his hand and began to walk away. 

‘Damn the cape’s covering her ass. THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE FOCUSING ON?! SHE JUST FLIPPED BADBOYHALO LIKE HE WAS A SACK OF POTATOES! NO FUCKS GIVEN! Stop screaming you’re too loud. Get me a woman who can flip me like that. God, I love strong women. Techno go make out with her right now don’t let her get away with that! We made the right choice with her, maybe she should join the Syndicate. Yeah but then seeing this side wouldn’t be as special-’

     “Tech you coming?” You called over your shoulder, 

‘Yes ma’am. Anything for you. Such a tease.’

He said nothing but followed in your footsteps, hands twitching at his sides, desperately trying to ignore the way the voices purred and begged for him to make out with you right here in the snow. 

As soon as you removed the collar from around Steve’s neck, and hung it back in it’s place by the door Technoblade pushed you up against the wall. You gave a squeak in surprise that he absolutely relished in, maybe he was a little bit of a sadist. His cape fell from your shoulders with a soft clatter as he roughly pressed his lips to yours, he watched your eyes droop closed before closing his eyes as well. “That was the hottest thing we’ve ever fucking seen,” He growled against your lips hoisting you up so that your legs wrapped around his waist. 

     “We?” You said breathlessly as his kisses moved from your lips and down to your neck, 

     “The voices.” He nipped at the skin between your shoulder and neck, enjoying the way your breath hitched in your throat. 

     “Oh,” was all you managed to get out letting your head fall back against the wall with a soft thump. Techno snickered against the burning skin on your neck, you whined a little before meekly murmuring, “Don’t stop. Please Technoblade.” 

‘Well, you heard the little lady. Don’t stop Technoblade. Make her beg some more first. Agreed, that’s what she gets for teasing us after all. Give the girl what she wants already. Who are we to deny her when she looks like that? We live to please one person and that’s her.’

Technoblade panted softly, throughout his life he was never one to deny giving the voices what they wanted. Especially when that something was you.  

[folklorelise]

The cadets are turned into kids and think you and Levi are their parents (2)

Here is PART 2 of this!

MASTERLIST

— You were mad at them.

Since the cadets turned into kids you were more stressed than usual – between taking care of them all, doing your paperwork in time and helping Hange with theirs, it was a lot. Adding to this, your sleeping hours were cut in half as well due to kids never sleeping. You were overwhelmed and on edge, ready to snap at any moment.

“Levi,” you called him after lunch, “can you watch over the kids for a few hours? I–.” you took a deep breath, “I just have to take a bath and rest a little bit… it won’t be long!”

“Of course, take your time.” Levi kissed your forehead before leaving your room.

Levi went to the children’s room while you went to relax a bit.

“Where’s mommy?” Eren asked when Levi came in alone.

“She’ll come later.”

“I want mommy now!” Jean shouted frowning.

“Stop whining or she won’t come here at all.” Levi told them which made them all shut up.

They continued to play together when Jean came to Levi. He struggled to climb on the couch but succeeded and sat on Levi’s lap. He turned around so he could face Levi and asked.

“When is mommy coming here?”

“I don’t know.” Levi answered calmly.

“Play with us then!” Jean pouted. “Come with us.” Jean stood on Levi’s lap when Levi ignored him.

“No. Sit down or leave.” Levi told him in a harsh tone. “No, don’t cry.” Levi’s voice softened when he saw Jean’s tears. “I’ll come and play ok? Just… don’t cry.” Levi stood up with Jean in his arms.

For a few hours, Levi had to play dolls with the kids who were really into it – imagining complex stories, doing voices etc. It was dinner time when they all started to get tired of playing.

“Where’s mommy?” Armin asked shyly.

“Aren’t you all hungry?” Levi quickly changed the subject.

“Yay!” they all shouted.

“I’ll go grab something to eat then, don’t move.” Levi ordered before leaving the room.

When Levi left the room, Eren stood up and told the others that he was going to look for you. Sasha, Connie, Mikasa and Armin were against the idea knowing that Levi would not be happy about it, then there was Jean who agreed with Eren.

“Fine, we’ll leave without you!” Eren opened the door with difficulty.

Mikasa quickly followed Eren and Jean as well as Armin because lately, Armin got the habit of following or imitating Jean. Wherever Jean went, Armin would follow – whatever Jean was doing, Armin would do the same. Jean felt irritated when Armin follow or copied him, but he never said anything. He did once – the first time – and Armin cried which made Jean felt bad and he swore never to make Armin cry again.

“Where is mommy?” Armin asked.

“I don’t know.” Eren said.

“Just go to her room.” Mikasa commented.

They all run to your room and it was not locked. You were trying to sleep in your bed after a few hours of work when you suddenly heard the kids yelling.

“Mommy!” Jean yelled, jumping in your bed.

Meanwhile, Levi immediately regretted his decision when he came back to only two kids out of six. He asked them where the rest of them went and Sasha told him that they were looking for you. Levi took them with him and directly went to your room. Armin and Mikasa were clinging onto you while Jean and Eren were shouting and jumping on the bed.

“Stop jumping on the bed or you’ll break it!” you desperately tried to stop them.

“Eren! Jean! Stop.” Levi ordered in a harsh tone which made them immediately stop. “Y/N,” Levi said more softly, “are you ok?”

“Is mommy sick?” Sasha asked.

“No.” you said.

“Then come play us!” Eren shouted.

“Stop screaming.” you warned him. “And let go of me.” you told Armin and Mikasa but none of them listened to you.

“Kids, come here and let’s go.” Levi tried.

“NO!” Eren shouted loudly, “MOMMY! Come play with us!”

“Mommy!” Jean joined Eren.

“Stop calling me that!” you shouted back which made everyone shut up, “I am not your mother so all of you… just –.” you felt tears falling down, “stop.”

“Mommy?” Mikasa whispered worried.

“I heard shouting outside.” Erwin came in. “What’s happening?” he asked worried.

“Take the kids with you.” Levi said. “And close the door please.”

Erwin did not questioned Levi’s request and took the kids with him in his office. None of the kids wanted to leave you, but Erwin easily took them in his arms. Levi walked to you and wrapped his arms around you.

“Hey, it’s ok.” Levi murmured. “Let’s sit down.”

Levi brought you to bed and sat next you and let you cry on his shoulder. He would just hold you close to him until you stopped crying.

“I feel like shit.” you sobbed. “The kids probably hate me by now too.”

“They don’t.”

“Did you hear what I said? Th-they’re kids! And I- I just yelled at them.” you lamented, “I am the worst mother ever, and they’re not even my real kids!”

“I’m sure everything will work out.”

Erwin on his way to his office with the children saw Hange and brought them with him. Erwin, with Hange’s help, tried to cheer the kids up but they would not stop crying – they wanted to be with you and Levi.

“Is mommy going to leave us?” Armin sobbed.

“No!” Erwin said quickly.

“Y/N, she loves you all very much.” Hange said. “But you have to understand that she was… mh… very tired and she had a lot of work to do.”

“And sometimes,” Erwin continued, “you just have to let that person alone.”

“We have to leave mommy?” Connie asked.

“Yes,” Hange said, “but not forever. It would just be for a day so she can rest.”

“Is mommy not going to be our mommy because we made her upset?” Jean asked shyly.

“No, of course not.” Erwin reassured them. “I’m sure she’ll come back soon.”

Erwin and Hange stayed with the kids until night before Levi came in to put them to bed. Once they cleaned up and changed, they all went to bed without protest.

“Ok, I’ll turn off the lights.” Levi walked out.

“Daddy.” Armin called him before he closed the door, “Is mommy not going to say goodnight to us?”

“She’s n –.” Levi thought about it, “I’ll go and ask her.”

Levi came back to your room and you were already laying in bed, comfortably installed under the blanket. Levi sat next to you and rested his head on your stomach.

“The kids want to see you.”

“Aren’t they upset?” you worried, putting your hand through his hair.

“No, they’re just… they want to see you.”

“I should go then.” you stood up. “I’ll be right back.” you kissed him before leaving.

You walked very quickly toward the kids room and when you opened the door, you noticed they were all still up even though the lights were off. Sasha was the first one to see you and she jumped out of the bed to hug you.

“Hey.” you smiled, kneeling down. “Aren’t you sleepy?”

“No.” Sasha smiled.

“Let’s go back to bed alright?”

You sat down on the bed next to all the kids – they were all staring at you, waiting for you to talk first.

“I’m sorry about what happened earlier.” you apologised. “I should never have yelled at you kids.”

“Don’t stop being my mommy please.” Eren frowned.

“We’re sorry mommy.” Jean said with teary eyes.

“No don’t be.” you comforted them, “I love you all very much.” you smiled.

You opened your arms and they all came to hug you, smiling and happy.

— They sleep between you two — captain dad and squad leader mum.

Armin:

Armin had a nightmare about you leaving for an expedition and not coming back to him. He had Levi coming back devastated and not talking to him or anyone. A stranger – someone from your squad – had to tell him the news that you were never coming back. He woke up panicked and ran to your room. You and Levi agreed that the doors to your room would always be opened if there were any problems.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Armin came in crying.

“Armin?” Levi woke up. “Hey what’s wrong?” he put Armin between you too.

“What’s wrong?” you asked still half asleep.

“Mommy!” Armin cried next to you which woke you up instantly.

“What happened?” you panicked. “Armin, it’s ok.” you patted his head, “I’m here.”

“You didn’t come back.” Armin sobbed.

“What?” you whispered looking at Levi.

“I don’t know.” Levi mouthed.

“Armin,” you wiped his tears away, “what happened?”

“Bad dream.” Armin sobbed harder. “You were n-not here and daddy was s-sad! An-and he wasn’t w-with me!”

“Armin, it’s ok.” you reassured him, “I’m here and daddy’s here too.”

Levi laid on the bed and put Armin next to him. You took the blanket and put it on the three of you and soon enough, Armin calmed down and fell back asleep. In the morning, Armin was found to be sleeping on top of Levi, with his hand resting on Armin’s back so he would not fall.

“This is too much for my heart.” you whispered to yourself.

Jean:

Jean had been feeling slightly sick for the past couple of days but did not tell anyone. He stayed in bed when it was time to eat dinner and you were worried at first which made you bring him dinner but he was asleep already. You brought back the tray and gave it to the kids who were not against the idea of eating more.

Jean woke up in the middle of the night, still slightly sick and extremely hungry. He discreetly go out of bed and went to your room. When Jean came in, he noticed lights were still on – Levi was still awake, probably working.

“Daddy?” Jean asked timidly. Which startled Levi.

“What are you still doing up at this hour?” Levi whispered, scared to wake you up.

“I’m hungry.” Jean admitted.

“Come here.” Levi put away his papers.

Levi took him in his arms and put him on the bed between you two which woke you up.

“Mh. What’s wrong?” you mumbled.

Jean turned his head toward Levi so he could answer for him.

“Jean’s hungry.” Levi said.

“Mh – I’m up.” you dragged yourself out of bed slowly. “I’m going to bring you some food alright?” you patted Jean’s head and noticed his forehead was a little hot. “Are you sick Jean?” you asked worried.

“No.” Jean answered.

“Jean, don’t lie. Are you sick?” Levi asked again.

“I don’t know.” Jean said looking at his hands playing with the blanket.

“Jean,” you said softly, “it’s ok. I’ll go and bring some hot tea too alright?”

You went to the kitchen and prepared some food and started to boil some water as well. You took two cups – one for Jean and another for Levi - and poured some water in it with the tea leafs. You put the smashed potatoes and the vegetables on a plate and put everything on a tray before going back to your room. Levi started to feed Jean while you prepared a cold towel for Jean.

“Jean, what did you forget earlier?” Levi said when you came back.

“Thank you mommy!” Jean smiled.

“You’re welcome baby.” you smiled back.

When Jean finished eating, Levi offered to cleaned it up while you put Jean to sleep. You thanked him and went back to bed. You put the cold towel on Jean’s forehead and laid next to him.

“You can sleep now.” you rest your hand on Jean stomach.

“Good night mommy.”

“Good night.”

“Good night daddy!” Jean said when Levi came back to bed.

Eren:

Just like Armin, Eren had a nightmare that night. When he first woke up, he tried to go back to sleep because he did not want to bother you nor Levi. But after thirty minutes of trying, he went to your bedroom. This time, both of you were asleep.

Eren hesitated a second about whether he should wake you up or not. He quickly decided not to and laid on the floor. Levi woke up not too long after Eren came in because he was thirsty. He only noticed Eren’s presence when he came back from the kitchen.

“Y/N.” Levi whispered

“Mmh?”

“Eren’s on the ground.”

“Mh.” you mumbled, “What?” you asked again a minutes later – your eyes wide open.

“Look.” Levi pointed at Eren.

“What is he doing on the ground?”

“I don’t know.”

“Bring him here.” you told Levi.

“You do it.” Levi argued.

“I’ll wake him up.”

“And I won’t?”

“You never did when I used to fell asleep in your office.” you reminded him.

“Fine.”

Levi miraculously brought Eren on the bed without waking him up and put him between you two. During the night, Eren ended up on Levi’s left side meaning Levi was in the middle. While he had his arms around Eren – so he would not fall – you had yours around Levi.

— Sasha and Connie would often sneak out and sleep with you and Levi.

— Mikasa never did. When she had nightmares she would only hug her teddy bear closer. She was scared to bother you. Once she did wake Sasha up and slept closer to her.

——————————

Shorter Stories

— Mikasa was known to be always quiet – she was afraid to bother people especially you or Levi. Even when she was hurt, she would stay quiet. Once during a meeting, she accidentality cut herself with a piece of paper. It was Eren, ten minutes later who had to tell you.

“Next time, you tell me immediately ok?” you told Mikasa as you cleaned the cut.

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“You had to leave for me.” Mikasa explained.

“You are more important than the meeting, so next time just tell me alright?”

Mikasa only nodded and followed you back to the meeting.

— Jean is known to be a momma’s boy – he would always stay with you and play with you rather than Levi. He often cried when you had to leave without them. He loved to be held by you, he knew how to walk perfectly, but he would rather stay with you.

“Stop spoiling him.” Levi would often say to you.

“I can’t help it. Jean is adorable!”

When others were watching over the kids, you were the one Jean would be asking for, not Levi which surprised you when Hange came because Jean hurt himself while playing.

“Jean’s at the infirmary – nothing serious though!” Hange quickly added.

“I’ll go.” you stood up.

“Mh…” Hange stopped you, “he asked for Levi.”

“Are you sure?” you asked them.

“Yes.”

“Oh,” you gasped dramatically, “did you hear that?”

“What?” Levi asked ready to leave.

“My heart being broken by that kid.” you threw yourself back to bed.

When Jean got better, he immediately came back to you. You tried to be mad at Jean – in a playful way – but when you saw him nearly crying, you apologised and let him stay with you.

— The kids were staying with you in the morning, and it was decided that Levi would watch them after lunch because you had work to do with your squad. You were holding Eren in your arms and he refused to let go of you when Levi arrived.

“I want to stay with mommy please!” Eren cried holding onto you.

“Eren,” you calmed him down, “I will be back really quick, I promise.”

“Noo!” Eren cried as Levi took him.

Eren was desperately trying to hold your arms, but Levi was swift. Eren leaned over and grabbed your hair and pulled it which made you scream and lose your balance.

“Eren!” Levi yelled putting him down. “Y/N, are you ok?” he knelt down.

“I’m fine.” you reassured him, “it’s ok.”

“Mommy?” Eren hesitated.

“Eren,” Levi started, “go to your room with the others.” but Eren did not move, “right now!” Levi ordered.

“Levi.” you put your hands on his face, “I’m ok.” you turned to Eren who was now crying silently. “Eren, it’s ok, I’m fine.”

“’M sorry mommy!”

“It’s ok, now go with daddy and listen to him ok?”

Eren nodded and took Levi’s hand and left.

“Sorry daddy.” Eren sobbed.

“Mh.” Levi answered. “Don’t ever do that again am I clear?”

“Never!”

——————————

Short HCs:

— Sasha’s birthday happened that year when they were still kids. You all baked a cake together.

— Connie would often draw pictures of you all as a family during meetings.

— Erwin loved staying with the kids. He would often put them to bed.

— Hange loved the kids too – they would always play with them outside with Moblit, Mike and Nanaba.

PART 3 (coming soon)